RP:I Spy With My Little Eye

Various Tracks

Orikahn stands atop a low, snowy hill, peering off into the distance. His arms are folded tightly across his chest, and he is making no attempt at stealth or concealment. Whatever he's looking at, it's holding the cat's whole attention. Following Kahn's eyes, one might see a dark mass of some kind shifting against the vast, frozen tundra.

Aira had been moving amongst the frozen trees for quite some time, hopping from branch to branch, tree to tree as she went. The high elf dropped to the ground silently, thanks to a combination of her sylvan grace and the snow, and pulled an arrow from her recent kill. She stowed her arrow back in the quiver and unceremoniously stuffed the rabbit in her nearly full bag. “That should be enough for Drargon,” Aira thought as she moved to head back towards the tavern. As she walked, though, she spotted a familiar silhouette standing stoically and peering off in the distance. She look a few more strides until she was nearly level with him and followed his gaze to the black mass. “What that?”

Orikahn looks over to Aira as she approaches. "Aira, hmmph." The Prime Hunter greets with a nod and a grunt, the nearest thing to a salute Kahn has ever offered. He glances down to her bag. "Hard at work, I see." The massive feline sniffs. "Rabbits. Good. Let's see those wolves repopulate while their food supply is dwindling. They'll be no trouble again soon. Hmm?" Aira's question reaches him, and he points out at the dark mass. "Frostmares." Hundreds of them, by the look of it, gathered miles out, a real herd of them. "They're moving out of the west. Something's driven them out. I have a fair guess what." With a frosty sigh, the cat folds his arms again. "I don't like how close to town they're getting."

Aira bowed her head in greeting and lifted her bag and offered a slight shrug. Despite being raised to believe she was better than everyone, thanks to her parents, Aira never learned the trait. Perhaps it was because she was verbally abused and put down so often, but the runaway never seemed to think much of the work she did. “Have to pay for room somehow.” She chances a quick look up at the feline before looking at the black mass again. “No, not good they get close to town.” Aira ran a hand through her platinum locks. “Things really bad in west to drive beasties away.”

Orikahn flexes his fists, leather grinding on metal. "Grmph." A bestial grunt is his only immediate reply. The herd stretches on an on, black shapes crested with azure flames flowing hither and thither across the snow, raising up a frosty cloud and tinting the horizon blue with the cerulean glow of their preternatural manes. The sound is like that of a distant storm, or a great body rushing, white water. If one can see past the potential impending danger, the sight is the very sort of thing that makes poets and naturalists swoon alike. "Have you heard from your shadow girl, hunter?" Kahn's visored face swings to find her.

Hunter. Aira still wasn't used to the title, she supposed it would take some getting used to. The runaway continued to look out at the herd, not answering right away. Finally, she let out a deep sigh that lifted a few rogue tresses from her face before turning to look up at Orikahn, a slight frown on her full lips. "No she not come to me. I notice graveyard by ruins the other day. I think I go there." Aira lowered her copper gaze to the snow and hugged her arms around her chest. "I think she too scared to come far to find me. I have to go to her."

Orikahn recalls his troublesome encounters out by the graveyard. He's preached caution often enough; the elf can weigh her own risks now. "Bring back heads," is the feline's only advice. "The woods are getting quieter now." His tone implies this might not be a good thing, "so I'll finally be able to finish work on my lodge. Once it's up, I won't be in town much," he turns his palm upward, gesturing as he explains, "only on business and errands. There will be shelter and supplies enough there for you and the other hunters to operate effectively in the wilds or," the cat scratches at the back of his neck, "in your case, for now, the ruins. I've had the wood curing, but only the foundation is laid so far. When it is finished, you'll be among the first to know."

Aira felt a grin begin to curve on her lips at the mention of heads. "Many heads, but hopefully not mine." Aira shifted kicking the snow off her boots and moving her bag of game to the other hand. "Lodge? Hmm." Aira considered for a moment and nodded. "I hope to not live in tavern one day. You build yourself?" The high elf seemed more interested than was probably warranted but growing up sheltered, she was eager to learn how things operated outside her mansion walls. "Thank you," she offered before a question burst from her lips. "How many hunters you have, Orikahn?"

Orikahn looks back out to the frostmares; their shifting numbers and strange colors are rather entrancing. "Aye." The sound of her kicking distracts him temporarily, startling him enough to puff his tail out, but he soon realizes the source of the noise and looks back out to the distance. "Yes," he slaps one of his forearms, then the other, "by my own labor and design. A mighty lodge for mighty endeavors." Kahn likes using that word: mighty. "There, one can pursue their primal ends, suitably unfettered by civilization. Hmm?" Aira's thanks catches him off guard; the cat dismissed it with a simple shake of his head and goes on, chuckling at her next question. "One, in fact. Soon to be two. You have the honor and distinction of being the first in my band. I once led others, many years ago, but, well," he tilts his head from side to side, "I've already told you how long it's been since my island life."

Aira nodded her head at the talk of the lodge, a genuine smile finding it's way on her lips, along with a small, musical chuckle. "Mighty lodge and mighty endeavors for mighty hunter like you, Kitty." Aira lifted her hands, cupping them around her mouth before blowing her breath and rubbing them together in an attempt to warm them up. When the feline mentioned that she was his first hunter she goes still, cocking her brow and giving him a disbelieving look. "I worry your standards not set high with me." She shook her head then, and bounced on the balls of her feet, casting a look over her shoulders back at the trees from where she came. Still looking over her shoulder she asked, "Do you miss island?"

Orikahn puts his fists on his hips and puffs his chest out, cloak waving behind him in the faint arctic breeze. He doesn't mind basking in Aira's compliments. Then, of course, her words of worry have him deflating. "What? Nonsense," he flippantly waves away her concerns, dismissing them without a second consideration, "you put an arrow through the eye of a mammoth and slipped through my own clutches. You've passed your trials." Do I miss the island? His mind flies back to white ash, black skies, and the great orange glow of the fires. "Elf, another day," Orikahn snaps back at her, a little harsher than is necessary. With a long, steadying breath, he grounds himself back in the moment and breaks his gaze away from the frostmare herd. "There's work to be done. I feel disaster waiting." He taps his faceplate. "Like a sneeze in my nose that won't come out. I must prepare."

Aira scoffed at his talk of her abilities as she completely turned to face the trees. Something, or someone, was vying for the elf's attention. She shook her head, waving off the distraction. She was spinning to face Kahn as he snapped at her causing her to halt and peer up at him with those metallic eyes. She remained silent and only acquiesced with a curt nod. "Well then, bless you." Aira dropped to her knee and began to tie her game bag a big tighter before standing and tossing it over her shoulder again.

Orikahn nods, lingering, then gathers up his gumption and begins moving toward the wilds. "Savage spirits be with you," he offers in parting. In little time and a short distance, his white cloak has vanished amid the drifting snows.