Who Aranthi, Ghaliya, Kimmila
What Aranthi and Ghaliya are on candidate hunting duty, joined by Kimmila, but they get interrupted by wild canines. The knives come out.
When Spring, Day 12 of Turn 2728
Where Fort Weyr - Weyr Approach

 

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Fort Weyr - Weyr Approach
The massive rock face that makes up the outer walls of Fort Weyr dominate your view amongst the small cotholds that dot the landscape. The path is well-worn and well tended, bushes and tall pine trees running right up against the road, keeping it well shaded in summer, and protected in winter.
Next to the tunnel entrance is a small Tavern, sounds of merriment facilitated by alcohol pouring out the doorway each time some one opens it.

Above, the soft glow from electric lamps offer sufficient lighting during waking hours, while a basket of emergency glows are stored in corners around the cavern for use during power outages.


It's early morning in a Fortian spring, biting cold and muddy and not really a great day to go out on a hike. But hunting was Aranthi's given chore, and so here she is. Standing at the end of the weyr tunnel, staring out at the forests, the Journeyman turned Candidate waits for whoever else is going to show up, scowling into the light of the pre-dawn. On her shoulder, her young blue firelizard Wick shuffles his wings and chirps happily, clearly more of a morning person than his perch.

The early morning isn't a time of day that usually finds the former weaver apprentice up from the cocoon of blankets that makes up her cot, but then it isn't every day that Ghaliya is assigned to hunting. "Good morning," the other candidate mutters, however brightly the underlying tone is, as she shuffles towards Aranthi. She's dressed for the day in more moveable materials and warmer underlayers, and only a dark wherhide coat overtop and a knitted cap to protect her ears from the cold. "Do the hunters always," her words are dragged out with a yarn, "get up this early?" She rubs at her eyes, trying to dispel those last bits of sleep. "I don't even think the tea I had helped any."

Aranthi peers over at Ghaliya, blinking for a moment. "You got Searched? Congrats. Did you ever figure out how to make dye from tubers?" There's a small quirk of a grin before she exhales a sigh. "Sometimes earlier, but I think we're just going to go check the traps. Not, you know, actually go kill anything." She shrugs her shoulders and shifts the collar of her lined coat to better protect against the chill.

"Oh." The dark-haired teen blinks away her lingering sleep-confusion and offers Aranthi a nervous smile. "Yes. I got searched by the weyrleader's dragon. I didn't want to disappoint him, but I think.." Ghaliya's brow furrows a bit as she glances towards the horizon. "I think it was a good choice. I don't think I'll get this opportunity again, and if I get further into my craft I doubt I would be willing to give up the hard work for the knot." And then her expression clears, her mouth curving into her usual winsome smile, the youthfulness returning. "Some of us did, but I never did find that healer boy. He disappeared. Unprofessional if you ask me." R-U-D-E, more like. "Oh, good," is that relief!?, "I've never handled a bow or a knife in such a manner. Just the traps? What if there's something in them?"

Aranthi exhales sharply. "Velokraeth? Well… that's great! He's a great dragon." Lucky you. Her expression softens a bit then and she nods. "It…yeah. It was hard to leave the Craft for this," gesture back towards the weyr, "but I couldn't very well turn down the chance, you know?" She shrugs and reaches up to rub Wick's muzzle gently. "We'll take it out of the trap and haul it back to the weyr. The caverns staff will break it down."

"Velokraeth seemed very sure that I should." There, again, with that touch of nervousness that does not point to any certain cause or reason; perhaps it is the usual nerves surrounding interactions with leadership. "I understand completely." Ghaliya nods her head so solidly her cap bobbles up before settling back down into its knitted folds. "It was one of the Journeymen who made me feel more confident about it. It is quite different being in a craft and then considering throwing all of those turns, all of the practice and the people, for something so different. But," her smile brightens, "it's either going to happen or it won't, and I like my odds either way." Back to the reality of animals in traps, the other candidate looks querulously towards Aranthi. "What if they don't want to come out of the trap? With us?"

Aranthi clenches her teeth for a moment before she forces her jaw to relax. A smile is offered in Crafter comraderie and then her expression goes rather flat. Pitty? Surprise? She stares at the younger woman for a long moment and then exhales. "Oh," sweetie, "they'll be dead." They won't have a choice.

If Ghaliya senses anything amiss with the other girl, she at least has the tact to remain oblivious and jovial just the same - unless it really is obliviousness, then, well. It's her turn to looks surprised, her mouth falling open then forming a small 'o'. "They're dead? That's a relief, but.." She seems confused. "The traps kill them?" Weavercraft really doesn't prepare one for this sort of thing, after all.

Aranthi tilts her head a bit, continuing to stare at the other Candidate in a bit of disbelief. "Well…yeah? I mean, you wouldn't just want them stuck in a trap starving to death, right? Or just…stuck there waiting for us to come kill them. That's cruel."

Is it so very clear that Ghaliya has never thought about or had to think about such things? Her lips push together in a thoughtful line as she considers the reality. "I see," she says slowly, carefully, "that does seem somehow less cruel, but the trap has to.." Dark eyes sliiiide towards the former herder. "No, it doesn't matter. We should just do what needs to be done," is her ending statement, tone firm. Will she become a vegetarian? Will she faint at the sight? Stay tuned..

Aranthi nods, looking around again and then sighing as she sees someone coming down the passageway. "Mother," she greets with a faint smile. Kimmila returns the smile, though hers is more chipper and warm. "Good morning Candidates! Let's go check some traps, shall we?" The bluerider adjusts the bow she's carrying, and strides off towards the woods. Aranthi sighs. "I hope you're ready to move quickly," she mutters aside to Ghaliya before she steps quickly after the bluerider.

Relief floods the short girl's pale face, as the bluerider appears, and upon hearing the exchange between the two she seems even more pleased. "Good morning!" Ghaliya returns the greeting. "That's your mother? That's so fantastic that she can be a part of all of this. It would be very comforting to have my mother here," she prattles off in reply to Aranthi, setting off after Kimmila without hesitation and a bounce in her step.

Kimmila does set a brisk pace into the woods, keeping them to well-defined trails. For now.

Aranthi sighs quietly, shrugging. "I guess…maybe? I don't know. She and I don't always get along." But at least her relationship with her mother isn't nearly as volitile as her relationship with her father! "Where does your mother live?" she asks, eager to shift the conversation away from herself.

Hands finding their way into the warm insides of her jacket pockets, Ghaliya happily follows behind and at a similar pace to Aranthi, enjoying the journey if she likely won't enjoy the destination. "North of Fort Hold, but east of Breakwater Hold, there's a smaller cothold. It's a bit of a distance to get there, unless you enjoy dragon transportation, which my mother does not." She wrinkles her nose up. "I usually see her around the new turn or my turnday, but I wouldn't mind seeing her now and asking her opinion about," a vague gesture from inside her pockets, "all of this."

Aranthi tilts her head as she navigates over some branches that have fallen across the trail. It's getting narrower now, less of a wagon trail and more of a walking trail. "So does she ride runners down when she needs to go somewhere? Could you take a dragon yourself to go visit? I'm sure there's someone willing to take you…" Or maybe she's just spoiled.

A careful step is taken over the same branch, following the older candidate's lead as the path gets a little more treacherous for feet. "Honestly, my mother doesn't leave home much. She would say that she doesn't have much of a reason, but either by runner or wagon, and on the very rare and much beleaguered occasion she has ridden a dragon." That last bit makes Ghaliya laugh a little to herself, likely recalling some memory only she knows. "I suppose I could, if I asked, but I think I would just disrupt their day. I wrote them, and I'm awaiting a response," she offers. "I'd like them to come see the Weyr for themselves and.. me." Thriving? Doing something new?

Aranthi nods. "Well hopefully they can visit. If at all possible, I know Fort tries to get Candidates' families to the weyr for the Hatching, so perhaps a rider will pop up there for them when the humming starts."

"Alright," Kimmila says, "the first trap is over there," and she points into the brush while listening closely. "Why don't you two go look and see if we got anything."
Aranthi looks to Ghaliya and shrugs. "Shall we?" she asks, moving off the trail in the direction the bluerider indicated.

"Mama's never seen a hatching," Ghaliya murmurs absently, and then with a burst of energy and a widening smile she adds, "I bet she would get a thrill from people-watching." But there is the serious matter of traps at hand suddenly, and she's brought to from the pleasant-and-distracting conversation to consider the bluerider leading them to their day's chore. "Oh, um, yes." She shoots a nervous look towards the bluerider, then to Aranthi, and ultimately follows the other candidate at a more sedate pace towards their intended 'target'. "How many traps do you suppose there are?"

Aranthi shrugs as she carefully leads the way through the brush. "Total? Maybe a hundred or more? Depends on how many hunters Fort has right now, and how far they've gone. Might have traps further in the mountains that riders check, too. It's a lot of land we've got, but you don't want to hunt too much in one spot too, so maybe it's less than a hundred. I don't know, really," she finally admits. She pushes through some bushes and finally comes upon the trap. It's empty. "Well, there you go. See the bait's gone? Something managed to get the bait out and not get caught." Does she sound a little bit happy about that? You bet.

"A hundred or more," echoes the teen. "I'd think it would be more, but they have to use some of the weyr's herds too." Ghaliya frowns down at the empty trap, then bends down, getting a closer look at the whole mechanism and the bait within. "Do they check these daily?" she asks, looking back at Aranthi with a look of expectation. It's candidate education day! But unlucky Aranthi, she's the unwitting teacher. "It seems like a lot of work." She straightens and readjusts her cap more snuggly on her head, turning back towards the way they came. "Do we keep going until we find the next one? How does your mother remember where they all are?"

Aranthi shrugs again, "I think it's every other day? Or…it depends? I really don't know, I never helped out much with the hunting stuff. And it is a lot of work, but you have to keep everyone fed. I know sometimes Mother uses her flirelizards to check them. The just pop out of between above a trap and tell her if there's something that needs fetching, or resetting. That way you're not hiking to a trap that doesn't need any attention. And…if you're a hunter, you remember where you put your traps. You have to remember, otherwise you've lost all that time and effort, not to mention the trap itself." She shakes her head and turns back. "No, we go back to Mother and we'll hike along to the next trap. So," sudden topic shift, "how /do/ you dye fabric with tubers?"

It seems sound, if the way Ghaliya bobs her head up in down in responses is any indication. "It seems like you need to have a lot of patience, a good memory, and a strong stomach to be a hunter," the teen says conversationally, quickening her pace as she heads back to the path and the bluerider who has the blueprints to their next trap. "Hm? Oh," she says, giving a little laugh as she looks over at Aranthi, "it's not a very difficult process and you can do the same with other food scraps to make other colors. You boil your tuber peels, after they're scrubbed clean, which they should be anyway if they're leftovers from the kitchen. Boiling them extracts the natural pigments. Once you have your dye, you put your dye and vinegar in boiling water, over a heat source, and add your fabric. There's other dying methods but that's the simplest explanation."

Aranthi follows along as Kimmila leads them through the woods to the next trap. Listening closely to Ghaliya's explination, the Beastcrafter considers things for a moment before asking hesitantly, "You think you could…show me sometime? I'd like to try it. It sounds real interesting, how you can take something that's trash, and turn it into something useful and maybe even nice looking."

The edge of the chore has worn off, and Ghaliya just seems happy that they're out on this hike together with Aranthi's mother in the great Fort wilderness, enjoying the early morning quiet and the lingering winter weather. As if they won't soon stumble upon something horrendous. As if this is just a planned escapade. "Of course I will show you," she says, purposefully moving close to be able to bump into the other candidate's arm with her own, in a show of solidarity. "It is my job to create things. I've wanted to do that ever since.. forever. Making something out of nothing, or making something people love out of what others might consider trash. Dyeing is one form, and it can be easily done, even over a campfire if you can control the flames." Other people being interested in her craft obviously makes the raven-haired teen happier on another level because she can't stop smiling now. "Or if you want to learn how to knit. Or if you want to learn how to mend things. I teach you.. anytime, since we are in the barracks now, awaiting.." Their futures.

Aranthi clears her throat, a bit overwhelmed by the other girl's eagerness. "Ahh, okay," she finally says with a little smile. "Maybe we start with dying and then, just, see how far we get." She does feel like adding though, "I know how to mend things well enough. Leather, mostly, because of my Craft." Lots of leather repair needed in the BeastCraft.

"This way," Kimmila calls, leading them down a very small and narrow game trail. "Go on ahead," the bluerider adds with an encouraging smile.

Aranthi gestures for Ghaliya to take the lead this time. "Go on, you first. Let me know if we caught anything in this next trap."

"Leather repair is interesting and complex in its own right," Ghaliya replies. "That's pretty advanced seaming, so that's amazing you can do it without the training. You might have made a good weaver or tanner, if you hadn't chosen herdering, Aranthi." Still, all smiles, she practically skips down the narrow game trail, looking this way and that, her confident footsteps bringing her farther down the pathway at a decent clip. "Oh." Oh. There is the trap, and unfortunately, something lifeless inside it. She stops and mechanically turns her head towards Aranthi. "It's.." Dead. "Do we just.." She moves closer, then pauses, visibly gritting her teeth. It's a scene, for sure.

Aranthi shrugs. "I got a bit of training at the Crafthall, but I'm not /good/ at it. Just passable. I can make something last until it gets to someone who can /really/ fix it." She stops behind Ghaliya and peers over her shoulder, nodding. "Yup." Dead. "Yup." We just. "Come help me. I'll hold open the trap, you pull it out okay? Just grab it there," head nod, "and pull it back out of this thing. Shoo, Wick, knock it off." The little blue might be hungry given how eager he seems to land on the creature, but at his perch's order he wings up to perch in a tree and just watch.

An ordeal is what this is! Maybe she's thinking of how hunters should be paid more. Maybe she's thinking of how she had that conversation with the wyerleader about feeding chunks of bloody meat to new dragons. In the interim, Ghaliya's face pales a bit and her hands get a bit shaky, but she nods and does as Aranthi instructs her, kneeling beside the cage then pulling with much hesitation and a barely-there-grasp. She grimaces as blood streaks the cage when she pulls, but she manages to tug the thing out and then tries to stand, holding the lifeless animal by one hand. "Now what?" she squeezes out between tight lips.

Aranthi carefully holds the trap open until the critter is out, and then she closes it again, deactivating it so someone else can re-set it later with fresh bait. Or move it. Whatever, that's not her job. "I can carry it if you'd like," she offers, noticing the other's obvious discomfort. "It goes back to the weyr. This one's small enough we can carry it back ourselves. Larger traps make for larger catches - wherries and the like - and those are picked up by runner or dragon."

"No, I.." The response surprises even Ghaliya herself, but she clenches her jaw and sets about with a determined expression as she drapes the dead, lifeless animal corpse over her jacket-clad arm. "I need to get used to it. I will probably get this chore again and.. if what they say is true, there's a lot of gross and hard things ahead. Right?" Right, Aranthi? She glances at Aranthi as if for reassurance, then shakes her head and starts back towards the path. "I need to just do it and not be a baby about it. No one likes fussy."

Aranthi looks impressed, and her smile is genuine and even a little warm. "Good for you. Yes. Dragon hatchings are gross. Egg goo is gross. Feeding baby dragons is gross. Dragon poop is gross. It's all gross. Everything is gross." All of it. She leads the way back to Kimmila and the bluerider smiles at the pair of them. "Well done! I-" but then she cuts herself off, stiffening and peering past them into the woods. Uh-oh?

Never mind the way Ghaliya holds her arm with the dead animal over it away from her body, she is doing it regardless, with less distaste on her face the farther removed they are from the actual trap and bloodstained scene. "And you have to feed them, and it's messy like the feeding pens, right? Not as grizzly maybe because the meat is dead already, but there's still blood and a mess and.." She shudders to think of it, but follows along back to Kimmila, to whom she offers a shaky smile and a jerk of her arm, showing off their prize. Didn't we do good mom!? But, the bluerider's posture has her peeking back towards the woods, concern evident in the widening of her dark eyes.

Kimmila is very pleased, yes! Or she would be if she weren't listening intently to the silence of the dawn woods. "Aranthi," she says quietly, and the Beastcrafter nods. "Right. Give me that, Ghaliya, and stay close," she murmurs, reaching for the dead animal. In her other hand a knife appears. It's not a large one, but it's bigger than a blade you'd use to eat. "Do you have a knife with you?" What kind of a question is that?

Kimmila pulls an arrow from her quiver and begins to walk backwards, keeping herself between whatever she thinks she hears and the Candidates. "We're going to walk back to the main trail quickly, and quietly and calmly, alright?"

Purpose suddenly comes over the usually youthful and happy candidate, and she hands over their catch with speed before locating Aranthi and edging closer to the other girl to make Kimmila's job of protecting them easier. "I.. I don't?" Ghaliya says, strain in her voice. "Do you?" But that's not a clear-thinking question, as obviously she does, it's right there. It would seem impossible for the petite candidate's eyes to get bigger, but they do, as she keeps her eyes on the woods and starts walking backwards at the bluerider's behest. "Quietly and calmly," she repeats under her breath, squeezing her arms tightly to her side.

"It'll be okay," Aranthi murmurs to the younger Candidate. "Let's go." She turns around, putting her back to her mother and encouraging Ghaliya to do the same, so they're not falling over things - like those logs they had to climb over earlier! - while they walk back.

Suddenly, there's more noise from the underbrush - a low growl and the crack of twigs, and Kimmila draws the bow. "Aranthi," she says again, and in a smooth movement the Beastcrafter turns and lobs the dead creature underhand, right into the brush in the direction of the noise. Here, fine, just take it! There's a quick snarl and tangle of bodies diving for the morsel, but Kimmila doesn't loose the arrow. She stands still and watches. "Let's go," Aranthi says, picking up the pace.

Every command is followed without pause, and even the reassurance is a welcome statement for the less-traveled candidate and her softer upbringing. It is within many frenzied looks backwards that Ghaliya turns to pick her way back along the path, dodging branches and debris, but the growling and wilderness sounds make her freeze in her tracks and swing her head around to stare wild-eyed into the brush. "Bu—" All of that hard work for some beasties to get the spoils!? She even glares at the creatures now feasting upon their catch before she turns and moves after Aranthi, her own feet moving with quicker speed. Quiet and calm, yes.

Aranthi deftly nudges Ghaliya in front of her, so she can lead the way - and have someone else with a weapon between her and the beasts. "I know," Aranthi murmurs in agreement, "but better they get that, than us, right?" Right. Back to the main trail they get, and there Aranthi stops, peering back into the woods. "You okay?" she finally asks, taking a deep breath. "Shards, this makes me miss my canines from the Hall."

The nudging is taken with some protest, and ultimately Ghaliya steps into the lead, her swift pace pointing them back to the main trail with a directness that she may not have had otherwise if not motivated by crisis. "You're right, but it's a shame," she mutters, sliding her cap down lower so it covers her brows as well, as if to hide the furrow residing there now. "I'm whole." It's a true statement, levied with a tumultuous sigh as she steps and peers back from where they just came. "How are you? Where did you get a knife?"

Aranthi looks down at the blade she's still holding, and slips it back into its sheath. "I always carry it. You never know when you'll need one, especially in the Craft. If a line gets tangled, an animal is stuck somewhere…it's just nice to have one. You should start carrying one." She glances back towards the woods again, and there is some ease in the tension of her shoulders as Kimmila finally emerges. "You both okay?" she asks, reaching out to give Aranthi's shoulder a squeeze, and offering one to Ghaliya as well, though the younger Candidate could move out of the way if she wishes.

"A knife?" Disbelief colors both her face and her voice, but another glance towards the path resolves some of her confusion. "I wouldn't even know how to use it." Ghaliya frowns, lost to introspection, but the older woman's reemergence causes more relief and a thankful smile for the shoulder squeeze; even teenagers welcome the assurance of adults sometimes, it would seem! "We're okay. Are you okay? What were those?" Curiosity takes over where good sense might otherwise prevail - does it matter, if they were dangerous and hungry?

Aranthi chuckles. "You stab and cut things that need stabbing and cutting. I can show you some basics if you want."

Kimmila shifts her bow to the other hand and glances over her shoulder. "Wild canines. They're close to the weyr. Must have been a lean winter for them in the mountains." She looks a little concerned. "We'll have to send out more dragon patrols to keep them further from the weyr. Well, I think that's all the traps we're going to check for today. Let's head on back to the weyr." She sets off at a brisk pace.

"Trade practice for practice?" Dyeing classes for knife skills, or something to that endeavor - it perks Ghaliya up a bit, less wilted flower on the dirt path. "I would love to learn. I would be too scared to.." Stab? Maim? Slip? She quiets down as she listens to Kimmila, giving the stray nod to agree with the other woman's words with some gravity. "Canines," she says in some wonder, but begins to follow at a slower pace, "the canines back at the Hall and Hold are docile. They often beg for scraps but not like that." She folds her arms over her jacket, completely forgetting the blood streaking her outerwear, and keeps on trudging. "I do think I should learn. Just in case?"

Aranthi nods, "Sure, that sounds fair. And yeah, you should learn. You'll need to cut meat for your lifemate if you Impress, so you need to have at least the basics down."
Kimmila finally shifts the arrow back into the quiver as they move onto the wider wagon road leading toward the weyr. "Wild canines. Feral ones. They're big, and definitely not tame. They'd rip you apart if they were hungry enough and bold enough to try. They don't usually take down people but if they get desperate enough…"

Confidence may have covered her at one point in their venture, but it has left Ghaliya now and she continues to look unnerved by the incident. "At least the basics," she agrees, "and maybe a trick or two if.." Her gaze strays to the wilderness beyond and behind them. "You never know? I just never expected anything like that.. I should have. Weyrlife isn't like Hall life." She is having conflicting emotions, that much is evident, as she trudges along towards the Weyr. "It was startling, right? Even for you?" Just checking.

Aranthi smiles a little bit, understanding. "I don't think anyone ever expects wild canines to try and steal food from them," she says gently. "It was scary, yeah. But…my mom's a real good shot with that bow. I mean…/real/ good. Plus I know Varmiroth wasn't far away, so I…I knew we were safe, even if it was still scary. You okay?"

"They don't, right?" It is unclear if she asks that of Aranthi or of the universe in general, lifting her eyes to the light spreading out over the land and forests around them. "It isn't every day that a girl stumbles upon wild canines and has to brandish a knife. I would think? I just feel.." Ghaliya chews on her lower lip as she contemplates. "Out of my element sometimes? I am new but I can't tell if it's being new or if I'm just.." A helpless look. "Too unlearned in the basics of the world."

Aranthi stops outside the weyr and looks out across the forest, and Kimmila stays a short distance away to let the Candidates talk. "No, no one expects that except maybe hunters or people going up into the mountains. But…it happens sometimes." She smiles. "It's okay to be out of your element sometimes. That's how you learn, right? I wouldn't say defending a trapped animal from wild canines is a basic experience. That's pretty niche. Just like dying stuff with tubers. We've all got our areas."

Dark eyes fall onto Aranthi unwaveringly, and her expression remains intent throughout the other candidates' speech, focused in on the reassurance being given. "I appreciate you saying that, Aranthi," Ghaliya says at last, dipping her chin and looking down at her feet briefly before she looks up again with a genuine smile. "That makes me feel a little less silly about it all. I thought I was going to pass out right there for a minute, but I couldn't be a burden to you or your mama," she imparts, glancing down the way to the bluerider. "Let's get something yummy to eat? That made me quite famished." Turning, she starts shooting the sunshine beams of her grin - pew pew pew - back towards the herder-candidate.

Aranthi chuckles, following after her. "No need to feel silly. And if you /had/ passed out, I'd have put you over my shoulder and kept walking. I've carried ovines down mountains when they got hurt, I could've carried you. And yeah, let's get some breakfast, I'm famished."

Kimmila follows after them through the tunnel, and then she cuts away to meet with some of the sweeps riders, directing them to fly low and watch out for any signs of the wild canine packs.

The very thought has Ghaliya stifling a giggle, but it appears her unbendable spirit is back with a vengeance after she waves off their chaperone with a smile. She prattles on about this and that, inane trivialities and bits of preposterous candidate gossip, as they make their way to the living cavern and a filling meal to make up for the morning's loss; warm pastries, porridge with fixings, and savory proteins and breads alike, enough to refill their bellies.


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