In over my head. [open!]

[Rhindeer]

In over her head.

That's what Koi was.

It had seemed like such an easy hunt: an injured young boar, alone, its tusks not even grown in. It hadn't seen her--she knew they had horrible eyesight--and didn't notice her as she grew closer, spear at the ready. Normally she wouldn't even dream of taking on a boar alone but she had the upper hand here and this was a rare opportunity.

So confident was she that she forgot one crucial fact: boars rarely traveled alone.

And that boar's mama was pissed.

A great deal of squealing and screaming later and Koi found herself stuck up a tree, her spear out of reach on the earth below, while beneath her the boar grunted and paced, clearly wanting to make sure her tormenter would not be tormenting her again and her baby again. Heart hammering in her chest and sweat beading on her brow, Koi shifted her balance on the branch she was perched on and watched the two through the leaves.

Go away, already!

She didn't know how much time had passed since she'd gotten herself stuck up there, but enough time for the jungle to grow darker. And she did not want to still be here at nightfall; larger things came out in the dark.

[Aumpa]

A loud, shrill cry pierced the air from somewhere in the jungle nearby. It came from a man, and he was jumping up and down, waving his arms madly in the air, his eyes fixed on the boar at the foot of the tree.

He had observed and contemplated the scene for some time before making this display. Watching through a bush, he had opened his heart towards the mother boar, feeling her anger. "Yes," he acknowledged, sending his thoughts silently to her. "The woman attacked first. But this is not the timing for revenge. Please forgive her." He waited in hiding, giving the the boar the opportunity to work out her anger through huffs and snorts. "I'm sorry, but you need to understand the ferocity of my people," he thought. "Look! I will demonstrate our virility!"

He jumped out from the bush with a scream and began his jumping and waving display. "You could chase me, but it won't do you any good! I will only climb a tree too, and the woman will escape! I am not afraid of spending the night in the jungle! Just go! Let her go!" These thoughts he put voice to, shouting them at the boar, all the while continuing his vigorous flailing movements.

[Rhindeer]

Oh dear spirits.

The boar was tame compared to what came screaming out of the bushes.

For a few moments, Koi could only stare, eyes wide and mouth dropping open in a combination of shock and horror. A man that she didn't really recognize, screaming and flailing and apparently talking to the boar? "What're you doing?" she yelped, hardly able to believe what she was witnessing and not sure who she should be more afraid of: the boar or the man.

Well, he got the boar's attention, all right. The mother turned toward him, beady eyes angry; to her, he only looked like a blur of threatening, erratic movement and whatever calm his thoughts had imparted upon her fled at the sight and sound of him, waving at her and her young. She let out a scream of rage and charged him, forgetting about the girl in the tree and desperate to drive that threat from her child.

At least he provided the distraction Koi needed. Sliding down the tree trunk and hopping nimbly to the leaf-littered ground, she took off at a run.

[Aumpa]

The man turned and casually climbed up a nearby tree. "There now!" he said to the boar as she came charging up towards the base of the trunk amongst the high roots. "You see? You've forgotten all about the original object of your anger, but you've stored up so much of it inside you that you just can't help yourself, eh?" he explained to her calmly. "Go ahead, breathe out the anger through your nose. That's good. And stamp it out through your hooves. That's it. Yes, let it out in all directions. Now, aren't you starting to feel better?" The man continued on speaking like this, but his voiced dropped lower, becoming softer and sweeter until it was almost a whisper, and the specifics of what else was said was lost to all but he and the sow.

[Winters-Feather]

OOC: Jumping in! XD
IC:
It was a beautiful evening, and Narron was feeling ...restless. He didn't often feel this way, but the man supposed it was the beautiful sky and the wind. Done with his work and all packed up, the man had took to the skies to stretch out his large, brown wings. He swooped down low enough now and then to wave at villagers, or paused in his flight to chat for a moment with others who had the same idea as he had. He didn't really like all the talking, though. The people were nice, and it would have been rude not to, but he liked his silence. Finally, after an hour or so of flying, he swooped down into a clearing of a wood not terribly far from a village and gracefully landed. He plopped himself onto the ground, and wiped the sweat off of his brow.

However, something wasn't quite right. Narron turned his head towards a shady part of the jungle. Something was heading his way...Alarmed, the man jumped to his feet, ready to fly away if need be; this part of the jungle wasn't particularly dangerous, which is why he landed her, but somethings things tended to stray. However, it wasn't a wild beast, but a girl.
"Hey, sister! Where are you going?" he called out as he began to chase after her, a bit concerned.

[Rhindeer]

Koi could have melted with relief at the sound of a familiar voice. Skidding to a stop and breathing hard, she jerked a thumb toward the place she'd just come from.

"Away from there!" she panted, turning to face Narron. It was safe to stop now; the boar would not chase her this far, anyway, even if it hadn't found a new target. Shaking her head, she wiped the back of her hand across her brow. "There's a man back there," she added breathlessly, "and a boar. And, uh...the man was acting kinda..."

She waved a hand, not quite sure how to explain it and too high on the rush of it all to even try. "I've never seen him before," she finished lamely, and let out a sigh. "I suppose we should save him."

Koi hadn't really meant to ditch him like that, but the screaming and flailing and wild talk at the boar had been unsettling, to say the least.

[Aumpa]

Before long, the boar was subdued and trotted away into the underbrush. The man jumped down from the tree and retrieved the spear that Koi had left. After examining the craftsmanship briefly, he hefted it, miming a throwing motion. Imagining himself as a hunter, he allowed the spear's habits to guide him, and he entered into a mild trance. He crouched low, holding the spear as if ready to throw, and looked into the underbrush at visionary animals that were not there to be seen.

After a short period, he broke the trance and stood upright, satisfied that he understood something of the feeling of the hunt. He thanked the spear and the huntress it belonged to for these lessons, then carried it away in the direction she had run.

((ooc: take some rl time to play out exchanges between your characters, if you like, and I'll look for an interesting time to have him find you. or else you could go find him, but don't feel rushed. ^^))

[Winters-Feather]

Narron was grateful the chase didn't last long, for Koi soon halted and turned around to face him. He gently held her at the shoulders and looked down to make eye contact, hoping she would calm down some more from her frantic state. As she talked, he glanced in the direction she was pointing at, down right confused.
"A boar and an odd man?" he repeated.
What had been going on?
The man paused before nodding in agreement.
"Stay close," he suggested.
He was all right with investigating this curious situation, but he didn't want any harm to come to them.

Narron started to march into the direction Koi had pointed at. Eventually they crossed the path of the odd man, who was now holding a spear. Narron's body's tensed a little as his wings twitched.
"What are you doing with that?" he asked in a wary tone.
The man wasn't quite so odd as Koi put it. At least, not yet. It was obvious by his dress that he was a shaman, and shamen were supposed to be good people, but Koi had been so alarmed.
It's best not to run into conclusions, he determined, his body relaxing a bit.

[Rhindeer]

Koi cautiously followed after Narron, feeling a little foolish and rude for fleeing, but the whole situation had been startling. She stuck close to him, tense. "Be careful. I dunno if the boar's still there..."

Fortunately, it was gone--but when they arrived back on the scene, the boar was gone and only the man remained. With her spear.

"Oh. Uh. That's mine..." she said, looking to Narron.

[Winters-Feather]

Narron gave Koi and the sha man a blank look.
"... Oh," he replied, a bit embarrassed by his blunder.
Narron was a bit relieved though. Perhaps the man had been meaning to return the weapon to the distressed huntress?  
That still didn't fully explain just what was really going on....

[Aumpa]

The shaman held the spear out vertically in front of him with the point towards the ground as he walked towards the pair.

"Hey-- your hunting weapon," he said to the young woman. His expression was blank and humorless as he offered the spear back to her.

"The sow," he said with a gesture over his shoulder. "...she did not approve of your methods. But she will not hold a grudge if you accept a challenge." He looked briefly at the man before continuing to explain to her flatly. "You must return to this place another day, stalk her, and confront her in a duel. I am involved, because I distracted her, but I cannot help with the hunt. There are more details, but I will explain later. Now, we must return to the village, as the spirits and long shadows are rather upset about the whole affair." After saying this, he turned in the direction of the village, ready to proceed. "Don't worry," he added. "All will be resolved."

[Winters-Feather]

Narron listened politely to the sha man, as was the proper thing to do.
However, he was beyond confused. Just what was going on, now? Something about a duel between a boar and Koi? This was the first time he had ever heard of such an odd request, but perhaps there was some sort of great wisdom and message behind it that Koi had to discover. Either way, Narron felt uncomfortable being a bystander like this... not that he wanted to be involved.  
He turned towards Koi and gave her a questioning glance.
Was she going to accept his challenge?

[Rhindeer]

Koi listened to the man, then exchanged a confused look with Narron, one eyebrow arched impossibly high and mouth forming a silent question as she pointed at the shaman when she thought he wasn't looking.

What?

A duel? Ahaha, no way. Not happening. Koi had been after the sow's youngling, not the sow herself! And while Koi was a lot of things, she certainly didn't have a death wish! A young boar she could take; a huge, mature one like that with all the scars and wisdom of a hard life? Oh no. Uh uh.

When Koi found her voice again, it came out as an incredulous laugh. "Well, uh...then I guess ya can tell her 'no thanks, she wins, peace!' for me, alright? I...I'm not really interested in this 'duel' thing..."