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Post by Fleda of the Fang on Sept 4, 2013 3:10:08 GMT
"Suit yourselves." Shievik shrugs, tapping her spear on the ground a couple times before striding over to Ahmed. "Come now, Leaderman. You should know better than to drag a dead carcass." With a huff she drives the spear in her hand into the ground, letting it stand before leaning down to scoop the deer up and over her shoulders with a grunt. Ieksha chortles again, dancing around the woman's legs excitedly now that the smell of blood is strong once more. Shievik laughs, the sound rolling out of her throat in a far more girlish manner than would be expected from a woman of her stature. "Lets go. Bring a large cloth if you have it. Otherwise we will have to carry the meat by hand."
Shievik chose a direction, a little northeast of their current position, and began walking into the dark. No torch, no light, just eyes. Her Hyena continued to frolic around her in a winding circle, dodging between her legs when she made a long enough stride, laughing all the while in what sounds like a cheerful manner. The two could see quite well in the black, and being so used to being just them, the thought to check back at their Cavalier follower never crossed her mind. She just continued on at a consistent pace, in an almost perfectly straight line, until she felt she had walked enough of distance downwind of their campsite. There she stopped, and only then did she glance around for their friend.
"Friend Rider?" She called, searching. Ieshka giggled again, rearing up on her hind legs and nipping at the bloody cloven hoof of the deer around her neck.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2013 14:33:14 GMT
Ahmed nods lightly at the brothers decision giving Shievik a side long glance we she mentions dragging the dear but deciding not to say anything about the make shift gurney it was being pulled on to keep it off the ground. As she walks off into the darkness he turns back to Ravi and pulls out an ever burning torch and a rolled up leather scroll of some sort.
Ahmed turns to Mahir "I will return shortly, after hearing how inadequate I am for a bit" he says tossing Mahir a smirk and the rolled up scroll at the same time. "That is a map I have of the local area feel free to use it to reference your own cartography." as he holds the torch up and follows after Shievik's direction he calls back "Ravi keep an eye on them...they practice dark ways" there is the obvious sound of levity in his tone and at the statement Ravi chuffs and snaps his teeth in Mahir's direction before nickering lightly.
As Shievik turns and calls out for "friend rider" she spots the point of light moving toward her, the light from the torch dancing about his studded armor and desert robes striking a rather imposing figure in the shadow.
"I am here friend druid, and for once since our meeting not ill equipped." he says a smile dancing about Ahmed's lips as he draws near he pats his side. There she sees a length of rope he must have pulled from his saddlebags "Perhaps we should fine something to tie her up to...I hear one part of dressing is letting the blood run off as you do so?" that smirk still easily resting on his lips.
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Post by Fleda of the Fang on Sept 4, 2013 15:02:33 GMT
Shievik motions around and laughs. (Assuming we're in a hilly/plains area where shrubbery is only most common) "Do you see many trees? Would make life easier, but we'll have to make due." She reaches behind her back and draws her second spear from its resting place between her shoulder blades and her pack. Though it is significantly shorter than a normal spear, it still has length enough to drive into the ground and lash the back legs of the deer to. "Have you ever skinned an animal before? You seem more rugged than those other two, so I do not doubt you have had experience in the field." She draws her hunting knife from her belt, reaching down and gouging a large slash across the carcass' neck. Beside her Ieksha yips and jumps, licking her chops. With a single, silent look the Hyena settles, plopping her butt beside where Ahmed stood and doing her best to look pouty.
As she works at cutting through the hide into the ankles and wrists, allowing the blood to flow downhill from the gash, she continues. "I've only ever met one other caster, aside from myself. And I honestly do not consider myself... in the same area, I suppose. You just seemed a tad uncomfortable around the other two, and from the way your horse was behaving I feel the need to explain." When she saw that most of the blood had stopped trickling out of the neck wound she reached in and sawed her way through the rest of the neck, hacking through the spine and severing the head all together. With a few more quick slices through the hide, she reached up and yanked the pelt off the carcass with two huge heaves. Laying it flat in the grass she held her hand out for the torch Ahmed has and offering her knife with the other.
"Your turn. Take the knife, carefully cut into the belly, and pull out its guts. Throw them to the ground and Ieksha will take care of it." At the sound of her name the creature giggles and bares her teeth in excitement. "Intestines are only good when cleaned thoroughly, and even then they still taste of shit." Shievik makes a face, shaking her head in disgust. "But carefully cut. If you pierce the stomach or bile sac, you will contaminate all of the abdomen meat." She smiles and nudges the knife at him. "Go ahead. It's not difficult. Just try to keep as much blood off of you as possible."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2013 15:11:56 GMT
Mahir looks up long enough to give Ahmed a thankful nod as he tosses the rolled up parchment over to him.
"Thank you, I'm sure that will greatly reduce the amount of time it would have otherwise taken me to get my records up to date" *He leans over and unrolls it, quickly scanning the parchment and making a few more quick marks into his book*
*He looks over to Seren who is playing with the fire and looking for kindling and laughs a little bit*
"Since when do you need kindling to produce fire little brother? I'm think that fire will be going strong for awhile still but perhaps our friends here will find something along the way that can keep the fire going longer. Although if you don't want to wait that long I'm sure you can find a few bushes around here that are thick enough to burn a bit.*He says before going back to writing in his book, referencing the map every couple of minutes.*
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2013 15:35:12 GMT
Ahmed shrugs lightly after she motions around at the lack of trees and chuckles "It is the thought that counts" he says lightly. He watches her as she places the spear and uses the rope to lash the deer to it. He stands back and makes no move to assist or interfere until asked and responds when she asks about his experience.
"I have, basic field survival was taught in the militia including dressing kills for the purposes of foraging in the field should supplies run low. As for the other two, I doubt they are very much into the mess that is handling a kill. I will not hold them to it." as Shievik makes her first cut Ahmed watches intently filing every move away in the cold and calculating fashion he uses when assessing skill. His reverie is broken by the yips of the hyena and he can't help but smirk at the look from Shievik and the response from Ieksha as it feels so familiar to him and Ravi.
As she speaks of casters again his left hand moves in the warding gesture seemingly without him knowing. "I will admit a fair amount of discomfort of being around the forces that casters wield, I will not be so abrasive as to call it unnatural but I would not be as foolish to call it anything close to natural. My horses discomfort was more due to Ieksha here..." Shievik notices he uses the hyena's given name and in the statement of it there is an underlying feeling of respect conveyed to the creature. "Ieksha and her kine are not common friends to the equestrian breeds." he states in am almost far off sounding voice as he is once again focused on her cuts and motions while dressing the deer. As Shievik pulls off the pelt and holds out her hand for the torch Ahmed readily hands it over and removes his burhka and over robe revealing fully his face, and arms.
With is head wrap removed he appeared more eastern than the more common arabic look in the Yesadi Sultanate, his hair black and pulled back into a tight bun and his eyes having a slight slant to them that is usually hard to spot while wearing his turban. His arms are lean and well toned, the muscles defined by a life time of military practice. As he takes the knife his movements are more graceful than strong and he looks at the spot to cut carefully.
As he steps up she hears and intake of breath as he places the knife and exhale as he pushes in and cuts into the belly. The exercise obviously a rote practice that he has learned over the years. The cut is not perfect but it is sound and does not break the stomach or the bile sac. He then transfers the knife from his right to his left and reaches into the cut. A moment of pause as he grips and then the muscle of Ahmed's right arm tenses suddenly as he pulls, the intestines removed in one quick and graceful pull no doubt do to his years spent pulling the draw of a bow. He readily delivers the intestines to Ieksha as she hears him murmur what sounds like a small prayer before speaking out loud.
"For you Ieksha, and if I may say while you are no doubt a fine companion if such is your appetite I am afraid me and Ravi will not often dine at your table." Again his address of Ieksha sounds respectful as if he is talking to a person not an animal. He then looks back to Shievik and hold the knife back out to her, his ability at keeping himself from getting to bloody evident in the lack of blood on his clothes.
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Post by Fleda of the Fang on Sept 4, 2013 16:00:14 GMT
Ieksha looks up at Ahmed as he speaks, her scarred ears twitching as if she were listening intently. Only when he finished did she tear into the meat laid on the ground before her, all sounds of yipping and laughing muffled by that of her dinner sliding down her throat. Shievik laughs, taking back the knife and handing him again his torch.
"Beautiful, friend Rider. Very beautiful." Still laughing a little to herself she turns to the now bare and gutted carcass and begins to carve off every morsel of meat she can manage to glean from the bones. No sinew goes un-harvested, not even the tough cartilage escapes her hungry knife. "The Magic sorcerers and mages use is... appalling to me at times. Druids so rarely force themselves upon the energies of nature that our bond with it is as strong as its bond with balance." With every hunk of meat she cleaves she tosses it into the upturned skin in the grass. With the fur side down, the flesh stays clean and free of dirt.
(Is the deer a doe or buck, out of curiosity?)
Shievik looks over at Ieksha, smiling fondly when the Hyena lifts her now blood drenched head to practically smile at her. "I find solace in the company of animals, and while I acknowledge my power is only owed to Nature, I do argue against your thought that Magic is not a natural thing. On the contrary, the energy I use to communicate with my beloved Companion is not entirely unlike that which you use to speak with your horse. Though no words are exchanged, at least none that you both understand, you still hear it and know its meaning."
She turns back to her task, hacking through the animal's exposed ribs and ripping off one entire slab. "Is that kind of communication not magical to you?"
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2013 20:18:02 GMT
(Doe)
He smiles in return to her statement accepting the compliment? gracefully. As she speaks about the magic of the sorcerers and magi he nods his agreement perhaps to wholeheartedly. He cocks his head to the side as she speaks of the energies that druids use. "I can, whether through bias or ignorance, more easily accept the energies of clerics and druids, mainly because I know that it comes from nature or their gods. The pure arcane though make something out of nothing, creates destruction and mahem with the movement on a hand and the muttering of a word." he shivers and wards himself again.
He looks to Ieksha and smiles as well despite the hyenas morbid appearance. He turns back to Shievik, his face not following her statement in the least. "I don't see any magic in the bond of brothers, warriors, or friends. Ravi and I have fought, bled, and killed together. Throughout it all I was there for him and he for me. That itself always forms a bond, to me it isn't magic just knowing and familiarity." he looks back toward the camp at his last statement as if by doing so he would be able to see Ravi.
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Post by Garrett the Clanless on Sept 5, 2013 3:53:32 GMT
(Buck actually, it's horns have just been removed, if you mean the one Mahir and Seren killed)
"I just mean kindling to keep the fire going. I can light it fine, I just don't want it to die out. Desert nights can be quite cold y'know, brother." He said, grabbing at some bushes and breaking them up into sticks to pile up to help fuel the fire he was preparing.
As he listens to Ahmed, he nods a bit, listening to his opinion. "The pure arcane can also create fire to warm the hearts of others, shields to defend, and roads to walk on. It's just a different tool, really. I find pride in my heritage, being born of a being who's arcane magic is innate to them. The Gold's have always been mighty spellcasters by nature, though they also dabble in the divine." He said, not taking any offense to Ahmed's fear, but just trying to express his view. "Ah..." Seren moves his shoulder a bit, a white raven crawling out of the collar of his shirt. "Good evening, Dante." He said, the raven opening it's mouth and cawing out... some language or another back at its master. The language was a series of long s's, and strong syllables.
(Raven is speaking Draconic for those that know it.)
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2013 4:53:16 GMT
Mahir looks up as the raven appears and he seems to tilt his head slightly as if listening to his brother and the Raven communicate. He even smiles slightly at one point as it seems he understands the language perfectly well. He sets his inkpen down and reaches over to rest a hand on his staff always sitting in arms reach of him. Somedays he regretted the choice to not take a familiar and have the bond that his brother shares with his but at the same time Mahir did have a deeper connection with the pristine quarterstaff that has survived many battles with him. It was more than a weapon to him and they shared a bond that none could see and few could understand.
He pulled his hand back and leaned up against a rock he had settled himself next to and closed the book. Rolling up the map that Ahmed had given him and tucked it safely away. "I think that's enough work for tonight" *He says as he notices the sun has set more and now the only source of light is that of the fire still going strong because of his brothers tending.
He leaned back and looked at the night sky and all the stars hovering above them and smiled more as the temperature started to drop, offering a cooling gust to roll over the area.
"This here is the nicest thing about being out and away from the city" *He said out loud even though he wasn't really talking to anyone in particular. He layed there enjoying the serenity of the area while the others went about their various tasks.
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Post by Garrett the Clanless on Sept 5, 2013 5:04:32 GMT
Seren leaned forward, blowing a puff of flame out of his mouth and lighting the kindling in his triangle of fire after he set up a circle of rocks around it. "There we go." He said, leaning back, his raven flying up and landing on top of Seren's head and seeming to get comfortable up there. The pair continued to chatter as Seren poked at the fire with a stick, occasionally adding a little extra sticks and bush to keep it going.
"If any of you have some extra logs, it'd do us great to keep warm at night." He said, smiling up at the human and half-orc.
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Post by Fleda of the Fang on Sept 6, 2013 14:55:45 GMT
The Half-Orc hacks away at the deer for a good fifteen minutes, tossing excess waste or broken bones to her small Companion who snatches the morsels out of the air like treats. "I am glad you think our ways are acceptable, friend Rider. I think of all I have met so far since coming out of the desert and wilds you may prove to be the most discerning of all." When Shievik finally stills her knife she takes a step back from the hanging doe. Now all but the connective tissues and bones and other waste remain, and she reaches up to untie the still dangling back legs from her spear. It falls to the ground in a bloody heap where Ieksha happily jumps upon it, her wide jaws crushing through to get at the tastiest marrow inside. Without missing a beat Shievik sits cross legged and pulls the head of the kill into her lap, gazing into its dead eyes for a moment. She frowns, looking down from it as if ashamed, and then pries open its mouth to slice out the tongue. It is tossed in with the rest of the meat, along with the cheeks, eyes, and after a great but delicate effort, the brain.
"I suppose it is because I am blessed with the ability to converse with them that I find the bond between such differing creatures magical. I myself hold no god among the Druid orders, instead choosing to worship and work with Nature itself, but although I find it not an entity of its own... It speaks through the life around you if you listen. Even if you do not see it as a result of magic, your relationship with your friend is beyond what most non-Druid practitioners ever achieve with a being they don't see as sentient." With the skull cleaned out of every last scrap she tosses it into the pile of bones and blood that her Hyena is still happily destroying. Turning toward the upturned skin, now piled high with a fair amount of meat, she uses the length of the legs to tie it into a rough sack. "Do you think your horse a sentient, friend Rider?"
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2013 19:30:50 GMT
Ahmed pauses for a second at the question.
"Honestly I am not much of a philosopher, nor an intellectual for that matter. I am a tactician little more, and such deep conversations are probably beyond me but I will field your question all the same." he breaths for a second as if focusing. "I am sure is it a philosophical flaw, but I must answer your question with a question. What do you consider Sentient?" without waiting for an answer he goes on as if trying to say something before it slips his mind.
"For example if you refer to sentient as the ability to think above and beyond basic survival needs, then in aspect I believe most if not all creatures are sentient. Honestly there could be a good argument that is this case of sentience that there are plenty of humanoids who are less sentient, or even not sentient, than the most base of animals. For this matter my response would be yes Ravi is quite sentient." said with a hint of pride.
"if you are referring to sentient on a far more intrinsic and spiritual level, I will admit I am out of my league there and in all honesty in that case i am probably less sentient than Ravi is."
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Post by sylyle on Sept 6, 2013 23:50:05 GMT
~~ Late at night there is a wrestling sound in the supplies. Ahmed hearing the noise stalks up to the noise as quiet as his training dictates. Looking he sees a raven trying to crawl into the cage they were forced to bring. Grabbing the seemingly tame raven there is a small tube tied to the leg of the bird.
Opening the sealed tube and reading what the note says: (translated from message)
City in chaos. Viz in Power. Sultan party condition unknown. Mass executions. Emirs being arrested or are dead. Take care cousin.
The last part an obvious goodbye. The bird squawks loudly expecting something. Probably food and it's other home. Another note sent back to the city would probably be pointless. And groups of guard were sent out of the city scattered to the winds with almost no order to them. Very sound time to try to wrest control for sure. Putting the bird into it's cage Ahmed has some serious decisions ahead of him as commander.
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