On sore and tired feet, she stalked her easily spotted prey. A white tail wagged like a lamb's over a heart-shaped rump as if to tease the hunter into hasty action. Carefully, she eyed where each foot would fall before gently sinking it into dry earth. One false move, one broken twig or crackle of dry leaves would lose her the meal she desperately needed.
Winter was coming and food had been scarce. Hunters had encroached on her territory, claiming and scaring away all the game. 'Humans,' she seethed even has stomach rumbled in protest. Dropping down she curled in or herself, praying the beast had not heard.
His heavy head raised, ears swinging back and forth before settling back to graze. Ariel readied her bow. This was one shot she could not afford to miss. The meat of this deer would feed her for a while if she was careful. His white hide alone would be more precious than anything come winter. Camouflage in the snow and warmth against the win. This kill would be hers.
Zane was walking through the heavily forested area, enjoying how it was getting colder but glad that he had his warm cowl. Also enjoying the calm of nature around him. It reminded him of the forest that he called home for two centuries. That forest is behind me now, but I'm sure to return one day.
After a little while he realized that there was another magic creature in this forest. A White Stag calls this place home. I wonder what else is here. Concentrating, he was able to pick out the individual creatures living here. The squirrels, the hibernating bears, the assorted deer and rare moose.
While reading the signs of life in the forest he was able to pick out that there was a hunter. A hunter and a White Stag in close proximity of each other. This can't be good. Zane started running through the forest, other creatures not even noticing as he silently sped through the forest.
As he was running his tail slipped out from under his cowl. getting closer and closer he finally cam within the area of the hunter and the stag. pulling his bow off of his back, he notched and drew an arrow. When the hunter fires I will take out her arrow with mine I pray to god I don't miss it could mean the end of us all
Unaware of newcomer, Ariel raised her bow and pulled the string taut. With a loud snap that should have sent the arrow loose the makeshift string broke in two and recoiled into her face. Startled, the stag trumpeted his fear and displeasure before bounding off on strong legs.
Cursing, the young huntress took off after him. The time for stealth was over and her belly was still empty. Unknowingly, she passed by the hiding place of the other. Hunger drove her on foolishly, She did not even bother to take the time to mind her surroundings as she crashed through the foliage, knife in hand.
That was luck, the string snapped as she drew. Taking off after the huntress and the stag. Don't let her catch up to the stag that could mean the end of us all. zane was starting to catch up to the huntress getting closer and closer. It's only a matter of time before she notices me.
But, still she did not notice. Her intent was on food. Like a wild thing, it was all she could focus on. Her less sensitive human sense did nothing to aid her both in her pursuit of her prey and in warning her of her tailing shadow.
A thin arm raised the knife high even as she kept on running, ignoring how rock and root tore at her bare feet. 'Food! Dinner! Fresh meat! Stupid Humans! Warmth. I must!'
Zane was going full sprint now, ignoring the need for silence as the huntress was gaining on the stag. She seemed to be ignoring the pain in her now bleeding feet. She is hunger crazed, I might be able to reach her using one of my abilities. Summoning the power he used to talk to feral animals he shouted in the forgotten tongue. "If you kill that stag we all die."
Startled and frightened by the foreign voice, Ariel dropped to the ground and rolled. Wide eyes darted about, searching for what had made the sound and once they found it, her mouth opened to snarl. In defense, she crouched low to the ground, her weapon clutched tightly, to offer her protection should she need it.
Taking a step forward the huntress let forth another growl. This was her territory, whatever this thing was, he did not belong here. She had not understood his words but her body had still understood the command to stop of its own accord. It both terrified and confused her. "Mine!" Ariel forcefully declared even as her eyes sought out the disappearing hindquarters of her prey.
Thank the gods, she stopped. But she is acting like a cornered animal. I will have to use caution. Laying his voice thick with power, "I mean you no harm, if you are hungry, I have food. If you are cold, I can provide warmth. But you must stay away from the stag. Zane stepped within the line of sight of the woman. He then laid his bow and quiver on the ground and kept his arms up, as to show he was harmless. "If you trust me I can help you." with that he knelt and bowed his head. There was enough distance between them that if she attacked, he could defend himself.
Ariel watched the figure approach, putting down its weapon and pretending to surrender. What interested her though was the tail that moved behind him. 'Fox! Wolf! Liar, traitor, encroacher! This is MY territory!' She hissed at him again and pressed low to the earth.
Even her breath stilled as she waited for any threatening move. A long, painful rumble from her midsection though would not let her forget the price she had paid for this man's intrusion. Now it was his turn. Springing effortlessly, Ariel made a lunge, intent in tearing his throat out. He would now pay for her attention.
Great, now she wants to eat me. Zane waited until she got very close. Then he grabbed her wrist, rolled onto back, placed his feet on her midsection, then launched him behind her.
Zane was on his feet in an instant. He reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of dried rabbit meat. He held it out as she got to her feet, "for you." Zane pointed at the meat then at her. Then again as he waited for her next move.
The young huntress scoffed and wrinkled her nose in disapproval. "You scared away what was rightfully mine and now you dare dangle rotten meat at like I am some dog! How stupid do you think me to be? Leave! This is my hunting grounds! Go!"
She stomped her foot in anger, inadvertently taking a step forward. There was not a bone of trust in her for this stranger. 'How dare he! her mind railed. 'Comes here, scares off my game and already has food of his own. Probably poisoned so he can have the fresh meat all to himself. Such a human!'
"I said go!"
"Alright, okay, I'll go. I truly meant you no harm" picking up his bow and quiver, he slung them across his back, "about 150 paces behind you, you will find a grazing buck, about the same size as the stag. Don't believe me? Look down. You're standing on it's tracks. But you will need something to shoot it with, you could use my bow if you wish." Zane had no idea how she would react to that bit of information. But it was the least he could do. He had scared off the stag, even if it was for the greater good, and she was obviously hungry. Zane turned and slowly started to walk away, hoping that she would inspect the tracks before he got to far.
Ariel was having none of it. Everything this stranger had pointed out to her only served to further infuriate her. 'Tracks. A bow. As if I am some helpless infant who doesn't know what she's doing! The nerve! I'm not going to put up with this, am I? Of course not!'
"Hey!" Quick feet directed her to stand directly in the taller man's path. "Just who do you think you are? You come in here like you are some savior. I don't need you and your stupid help! What do you want from me? Why are you here? Huh!"
Small she may be but, the young woman was making up for it in fire. She screamed and shouted, scaring off any chance of a meal as she gesticulated wildly and even poked him in the chest a few times. Ariel was quickly working herself up into a frenzy and as of now the stranger was the only one in her path of destruction.
Zane looked back at the huntress. Keeping his voice calm and his tone low, "The only reason I bothered you is because you were hunting the white stag. The white stag is and ancient being that houses a demon, if you kill it you release the demon" She is going to think I'm crazy, but it doesn't matter now. "I pointed out the buck as a way to compensate you for the loss of the stag, trying to be nice. Everything I have done since we had that unfaithful encounter has been an attempt to help you."
She grumbled and growled deep within her throat. Everything from his calmness to his odd looks served to drag her deeper into her boiling fury. "How can you stand there and spout such nonsense? Do you take me for a fool? A child perhaps? They are nothing but stories! A demon? Grow up! I'm not going to let you pull the wool over my eyes! I'm not like those other humans. I'm not some worthless creature to be mystified by the likes of you! How can you claim to help me when all you have done is destroy my peace and steal my meal from me? What cause do you even have to do such things? What-urg!"
Ariel screeched angrily and stomped her feet. She was hungry and tired. Winter was coming soon and she did not have in close to enough food to survive the next few months let alone the week. This hunger that festered within her belly made her rash and bold. Where she should have fled from this creature she instead stood up and screamed at him. Where she should have cowered away she threw jabs and hurled fiery words.
"This is all your fault!" she finally ended, pouting and staring down at the ground in disgust. 'Still a child after all.'
"I can prove that I am not lying." Looking to his left, he saw the white stag. It was watching, ever patient. Zane mustered the power from his gut, "come, white demon." The stag slowly approached, weary of the huntress, trusting of the man with the voice of power.
"When you kill a white stag it releases a demon, but if you catch one you can make a wish, which will always come true." Zane placed a hand on the stag's horn then looked it in the eyes. "Winter camouflage, if you would be so kind."
It took a few seconds, then a grey and white molted cloak formed across his arm, which he held out to the huntress, "now it's your turn, grab the horn, look into it's eyes, and make a wish."
Ariel took the cloak from him, her mouth open in awe. It was as soft as she had expected the stag's coat to be and seemed to be just as versatile. 'Unbelievable! It's just like magic, it's-magic doesn't exist. He's done it to you Owlet. He pulled the wool miles thick of your eyes you foolish little girl. You really are nothing more than a scared brat. Look at you! Despicable!'
For a moment she found herself reaching forward to do as the unnamed man had suggested but then just as quick she snatched her hand back down to her side as if burned. Her eyes squeezed shut, locking in the tears that threatened to overflow. "I do not believe in wishes and fairy tales. Take your sorcery back." The coat was shoved back into his hands as she scuttled back.
She wanted to run further but her feet were glued by fear to the spot. It was all so unreal, so wrong in her mind. Those of the wild did not come when called or grant wishes and offer winter coats. Strange men did not come out of nowhere and offer kindness without expecting things in return, nor did demons exist in this world. Ariel had an image of her past and shuddered. Well, some demons existed but certainly not the kind that this stranger was trying to suggest.
Her heart beat within her chest like a drum, seemingly ready to burst right out of its fleshy cage. "Why can't you just go? Why must you show off your little tricks? You want to eat? Fine, go hunt, do whatever you want just leave me alone. I never did anything to you. I don't even know you. Just leave me alone. Please, that's all I'm asking. Just go," she hiccuped, very close to crying.
Zane was sad that she didn't accept his kindness, if it was her wish for him to leave then he would leave. "Fine, I'll go" Zane turned and started to leave. The stag, unsure of what to do, followed him. He walked on in silence, until he was out of sight. then he turned to the stag, "I have one final wish if you will permit me, my friend" the stag nodded. Zane grabbed it's horns and looked into it's eyes, "I wish the huntress will have plentiful game from today until the end of winter" again the stag nodded. Then Zane went back to walking
Autumn had turned into winter and the bitter cold now froze every inch of the forest, coating tree and shrub alike in its frozen white fluff. Ever since that strange creature had left, Ariel's hunting grounds had been filled with prey. It was as if it was springtime all over again and the beasts were just awakening from their hibernation dens.
She dared not question her good fortune as the winter was just as harsh as she had predicted. Her bounties though were what was keeping her alive now. Her belly was full and her bed of furs, warm. The huntress took great care to ensure that her supplies did not run out. She was cautious enough to fear her luck to disappear just as quickly as it had appeared.
Today for example she was down by the frozen stream, working to break the ice in order to collect fresh water and possibly a sleeping fish. Her traps had been full as of late but the meat they yielded could be preserved and saved for when the traps failed to catch prey. Fish were harder to find and best eaten sooner than later. Ariel was saving the trap catches for the blizzard the sky proclaimed was coming. Fish would sustain her for now.
Zane was following a partially frozen stream, it was a bit big to be a stream but not big enough to be a river. He was wearing the winter camouflage that the huntress had turned down. I wonder how she is doing, it has been a pretty harsh winter so far. Then he realized what he was thinking about, "You're here to check on the stag. Besides, she made it clear that she didn't want to see you again." Zane had been worried about the huntress since he left, he had left her with a broken bow and she seemed to be quite hungry.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize that he was walking up to where the huntress was gathering water. He realized that his throat was getting dry so he knelt next to the river, pulled out an arrow and quietly but efficiently broke up the thin ice. When he had drank his fill he looked up and saw the huntress, "um. Hi."
"What are you doing back here? Heard of my good fortune on the wind and decided to bother me some more?" Despite her caustic accusations, Ariel was rather surprised to see the creature. She had certainly not forgiven and forgotten what he had done. But, she had mellowed some. Food and shelter did wonders for a person and her attitude.
Her posture was stiff but not nearly as tensed as it had been months before when they had first met. Ariel was a calmer individual now, a full belly made her confident if not a little overly so. Should trouble arise, she believed that she could win against him. Whether that was true or not, was a different story.
Zane smiled a sad smile, "guess I deserved that, but no. I am merely here to check on the stag, it has been a pretty harsh winter thus far." Zane got up and brushed off his knees. "You are welcome to join me. I'm sure the stag won't mind."
Ariel eyed him questioningly. "Has it? I would not know. I have had better luck then you I suppose. As for the stag, what has he become your pet now? Surely you cannot believe I am not still sore about that. You robbed me of a large supply of food you know. There was no way of telling that I would come into the wealth that I have. As you've said, it is very harsh this year."
She stood as well and crossed her arms over chest, feet spread in a stance of strength. "You never told me who you are anyway. Nor have you given me any reason to trust you. Hell I would just be happy to know what you are for a start."
Zane moved his feet to stand dismissively. "As you saw on that day, the stag is an important creature and needs to be defended. And I would have been happy to help you get on your feet, I even told you were you could find a meal equal to that of the stag, but you made it clear you wanted me to leave. So respecting your wishes, I left."
Zane took a small breath to calm down, maybe she would be less hostile if she had something of true value. Zane took out his spare bowstring, "I noticed last time I was here that you were using a longbow with a twine bowstring. Well this bowstring is made from flax, far stronger then twine. If you will permit me, I would like to give it to you. My name is Zane, and I am a traveling healer, mainly dealing with herbs but my heart is always with the forest." his ears angled themselves at the huntress while he said that.
She rolled her eyes at his haughty reminder of his desire to help her in the past. 'Magic tricks, nothing more. I'm not that easily-' Her thoughts were brought to a sudden halt though as she caught sight of movement on the stranger's head. 'Ears?'
Her head cocked to the side and a lop-sided grin tugged at her lips. Absentmindedly she took the flaxen string in her hands and wound it loosely around them. "And do all traveling healers have ears and a tail like you Zane?"
"Fortunately, no. As far as I know, I'm the only one. Which is a good thing." Zane grabbed the base of his tail and moved his hand along it, as he often did when someone mentioned his tail or ears.
Zane sensed a movement off to his right. When he looked over in that direction, he smiled. "Well it looks like my quarry has found me" Zane said as the stag walked up to him, pressing it's snout into his cloak. Then it looked over to the huntress and bowed it's head.
"The stag wants to thank you for sparing it's life" the stag seemed to nod it's head.
"Don't play those games with me Zane. I don't believe in such fairy tales. I may believe in being one of the Wild but, animals don't talk. The only reason he is alive is because of you. My stomach would have dictated a different fate for him if I had had my way and you know that."
Ariel still could not get over his ears and tail. While it was true that she despised humans and had decided to live the rest of her life in the forests as a wild thing, she still could not fathom what exactly she was looking at when she saw Zane. "I don't understand. You are both fox and human in one? Whatever did you do in life to be cursed with such an affliction as humanity?"
Zane started checking over the stag, making sure it was healthy, mulling over what the huntress was saying. "My being is not a curse, if anything, it is a blessing. I can do things that neither human nor animal can do. Like for one I can communicate with both humans and animals. But as you said, you don't believe in such fairy tails." Zane finished his inspection of the stag and then lead it to the broken ice to let it drink.
Ariel scoffed and rolled her eyes in disgust. "I still believe having human qualities is a curse. Why would you want anything to do with those despicable, greedy, selfish, spoiled pigs? They do nothing but take and take, and destroy everything in their paths! They have no regard for anyone but themselves, not even their own families. Humans are a waste."
Jerkily she moved to stand beside the stag, startling it for a moment as she brought a gentle hand down to rest on its neck. Her eyes were those of a very sad and lonely child. She was hurting inside and had allowed her territorial nature to hide it away.
But standing here with this man that was not quite a man and this mysterious and beautiful stag was slowly reducing her back into that painful corner she had buried deep within her heart. Ariel stood on the opposite Zane with the stag in between them so that his tall body hid her face from view.
"He's so soft," her awe-filled voice finally declared.
Zane understood where she was coming from, he had been quite pissed when he saw the lumber yard. Men mindlessly destroying trees. But his heart softened as he watched, they took what the needed and nothing more.
"Mankind is capable of great good and great evil, I dare not justify what they do. But I do know this, in the seventeen years since I left my home forest, I have seen good come from these creatures. I fear you have seen the bad." Then he was silent.
Zane watched as she laid a hand on the stag. "He is soft, unnaturally so for one who roams alone. I believe he has a mate somewhere." The stag stopped drinking and swung it's head over to look at the huntress. "You know my name, do you mind if I ask you yours."
"You're wrong," she declared quietly in a voice that was not nearly as heated as it had been in the past. "There is no good among mankind. They seek only to destroy. If you have found good, it is only because they have been benefiting from doing so. They are a selfish species. The world would be better without them."
Her eyes widened as her brows shot into her hairline and her hand dropped away from the stag's coat. "Mate?" Inside her head, Ariel saw images of family. For a moment she wondered if he had fawns. A quick shake of her head dispelled those thoughts though. Food was food and she had tried to do what she needed to do to survive. Nothing had come of it and she still would not regret her decision to have tried and possibly succeeded knowing what she did now.
"I am Owlet."
Zane was finished checking on the stag, it was strong and healthy. Zane went to pet the stag some more, "Well Owlet, my check up of the stag is complete, which is all I came to do. So with your pardon I will take my leave. Unless you wish for me to stay."
Zane purposely phased the wording like that, Owlet had made it clear that this forest was hers, so it was up to her if he stayed or left.
She was undecided as to what she wanted. Ariel understood what he was doing in practically asking her permission to stay. If he had stayed away from her she would have in turn left him alone and there would be no issue now as whether or not to let him remain.
On the other hand, she had been alone for so long now she was beginning to realize just how lonely she was now that they were talking. 'What would I want with such a funny creature anyway? He'd slow me down,' the huntress tried to reason even as her heart screamed that she was only lying to herself.
"You said that he has a mate? Shouldn't you look out for her as well? Or are you so lazy as to only do half of the job required of you?"
Zane softened as Owlet mulled over the words. He could practically feel her mind and heart in conflict. In a way he could feel her conflict, it troubled her nature which in turn was practically broadcasted to him. It was in this same way that Zane could tell if a person was sick, as the battling sickness disrupts the bodies alignment to nature. While he couldn't know Owlet's thoughts, he knew that she was at war with herself because of them. Then she brought up the stag.
"I'm doing my job as far as the stag allows me to. Most males, more often in mammals, are overbearingly protective over their mates. If I were to make an attempt to check up on his mate, I dare say he would become hostile, as I would be offering her a service that he could not. But if the stag wishes for me to meet his mate, I would not dare refuse his offer." The stag seemed to nod as Zane said this, as if it were agreeing with him.
"But how could you even know that? You are like me," she looked him up and down, "sort of. You certainly aren't like him though. He is an animal and does not speak our language. What kind of fool do you take me for? I may be human but I am not like them!"
Distraught, Ariel ran her fingers gently through the stag's winter coat. "I don't understand," she admitted weakly, as a child would in the dark of night when monsters have come to play in the shadows. She had not meant to say it but still it had slipped past her lips before she had been able to recall it. Something about this stranger made her feel different. Ariel feared the differences, loathed them even and yet she was still drawn to stay.
"Owlet" Zane walked around to the side of the stag she was on, "Animals have their own language, one that you nor anyone else could understand. I, being part animal, recognize and understand this language. I can quite literally talk to animals, or more directly the nature of the animal. That night when you were hunting the stag and I shouted, I would bet you didn't even hear me. But your body did" Zane summoned power into his voice, "and your body reacted to it." Any normal person would not, at first, understand what Zane said, but if they dug deep into themselves, they would understand.
Zane laid his hand onto the stag, running his hand along it's soft fur. "And animals communicate with me, but using body language instead of the vocalized language." It wasn't often that Zane reviled the language of the animals. But it wasn't like Owlet could use it, the language didn't come naturally to humans anymore.
The huntress snorted and rolled her eyes. 'How stupid do you think me? Not understand their language? Anyone keen enough to watch can figure out what they are doing and want. Men, all the same!' She had tuned out and missed what Zane was saying.
For a moment she had to pause and press the heel of her hand to her head. A twinge of pain had built behind her left eye. "My body did not obey!" Ariel suddenly shouted in response, surprising even herself. Eyes wide, she stared up at the creature before her in distrust.
"What did you just do?" she accused lowly, her hands itching to reach for her dagger.
"This is the language of the animals. The spoken form at least. It is long lost to humans, that pain behind your eye, was your mind remembering the language. All creatures, even humans, understand this language, but mankind no longer recognizes it when it is spoken." Zane Didn't know how he knew the language, maybe it was because he had grown up around animals, maybe it was because he was a nature spirit, he didn't know. "If I were to talk to you more often in the language you would start to recognize is as it is said, maybe even be able to understand the animals."
Ariel was quiet for a long while, barely daring to breathe as a sleeping part of her mind awakened on a new level. What her ears did not comprehend, that long forgotten wild instinct did. The sensations of fear and awe over this new understanding washed over her in powerful waves of emotions that soon settled into numb silence, leaving her mind free to at last think once more unaided by the presence that was clawing for her attention.
This new consciousness demanded that she take heed of it but, dulled by millennium of disuse and human intelligence made it easy for the huntress to overcome it for now. In these moments of silence, Ariel was beginning to form decisions to things she had long since abandoned. 'Sometimes the way forward is the way back,' she kept reminding herself.
Impulsively she reached for the stranger's arm. "Come, I want to show you something."
Zane watched Owlet as seconds turned to minutes. He had a basic understanding of what was going on. He knew that now she was aware of that long silent part of her mind she would have to find balance with it, or it would control her. After several moments she seemed herself again.
Zane looked at Owlet as she took his arm. "I am yours to lead." He turned to the stag, "stay here."
"Must you keep doing that!" she complained, flinching at hearing Zane speak to the stag. "It's very...uncomfortable!" Ariel grumbled further to herself for a few more minutes as she led him around the ice before finally settling.
Rounding on him, she froze in her paces as they came up to the base of a frozen waterfall. "You must swear to me, not show this to anyone. If you do I will hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands. Is that clear?"
The waterfall was exceedingly beautiful, rainbows of vibrant color were just below the surface of the ice. "I swear I shall not, you have my word." Zane looked over to Owlet, her body language was determined, she meant what she said, she would kill him if he broke that promise.
Staring him down a moment more to ensure the severity of her threat had taken hold of him, Ariel at last nodded her head curtly. Swiftly she latched onto his arm and jerkily pulled him along beside her as she slipped between the frozen fall and the rockface behind it into a large cavern.
Inside was a multitude of supplies and store reserves. Ariel had found this alcove within her first year of living in the wild and continued to claim it as her own every winter after. The walls were lined with weapons, tools, clothes, and food. Anything the huntress could salvage, steal, or hunt was kept here to be used at a later time. The center of the cave's floor was scattered with long since cold ashes of a fire from the night before.
Ariel stood off to the side, having released the stranger's arm once they were inside. Awkwardly she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "You can stay here tonight. It gets very cold at night." Raising her chin high, she continued, "of course I expect repayment for my generosity."
Was Owlet opening up to him? Sure her kindness was wrapped in expectation and a death threat, but it was still a long way from when they had first met. "You should have no doubt that your kindness is appreciated and will be returned." Zane just had to figure out a way to do so. Looking around the cavern, there was quite a bit amassed here. How long had she been living out here?
Ariel curtly nodded her head in acknowledgement, finally satisfied that her efforts would not be taken for granted. Nervously she shuffled about, not knowing what to do and finally deciding on starting another fire. She turned her back on Zane, unwilling to see what he thought of her. The huntress would not allow herself to see the pity or disgust she was sure to spread across his features. Everyone else did, why would he be any different?
However, when the fire was made and crackling contently, she found she had no other choice other than to address him again. "Are you uh hungry?" she finally asked. "You'll be paying me back for that as well though. Just so you know." Her face turned back to the fire, letting its warmth lick at her cheeks.
'You could do better than that Owlet. You have been shown better kindness than that.'
Zane watched as Owlet went to make a fire, the way she acted it seemed that she was determined not to look at him. When the fire was lit she turned back and offered him food. He took a swig from his flask of water and went to sit across the fire from her. "You have already given me great kindness by letting me stay here, especially since there will be a snowstorm tonight, you need not worry about feeding me."
When he mentioned the impending storm, she looked at him like he knew something that she wasn't expecting him to know. "The air pressure is dropping, significantly. I expect that it will be quite the storm." There was silence between the two of them for several minutes. Zane broke the silence, "As a start to repaying you I will keep the fire going throughout the night. I think you deserve a long deep sleep." Which worked out because Zane did not have a physical need for sleep, he often spent weeks at a time without sleep. Thunder sounded in the distance, "Quite a storm indeed" he chuckled to himself.
'Idiot,' she snidely thought. 'A storm comes and you think not to eat? Fine, just you wait. If you get snowed in here, it will not be me who feeds you. You want to be snub my kindness and efforts, go ahead. Worst than a human, hope he freezes.'
Ariel snorted, shrugged and rolled her eyes, turning her back on her companion. "Don't care what you do. Keep you out of my treasures," she hissed, leveling him a look over her shoulder before shuffling away into a dark corner of the cave.She was not tired but her anger was running high again.
There was much she had planned to accomplish for the day, the impending storm had pressed her to hurry but her encounter with Zane had put a damper on those plans. Now after welcoming him into her personal sanctuary he had not only appeared to disrespect her efforts but to also talk down to her like a child that did not know what she was doing. 'I know a storm when I smell one. Human in body but not in soul.'
Her stomach grumbled lightly in protest. The huntress had meant to eat but moving out of her spot would mean defeat as she would have to return to the hearth and therefore Zane's side. This realization only served to anger her further as she glared darkly out at him from the shadows.
Zane sighed, whatever warmth Owlet had been showing was gone. She moved away from the fire and watched him from the inconstant shadows. 'Well' he thought, 'what can I do to make things less strained. This storm could be a very bad one so I might be stuck here for a while, I need to make things at least a little peaceful'.
Zane's ears constantly shifted directions, straining for every slight sound. The howl of the wind outside, the slight drip from a piece of melting ice, the grumbling of Owlet, the- Huh? Zane's ears focused on Owlet, at first thought he guess she had growled. After a few minutes there was the noise again. While she had growled, it was her stomach not her throat that issued the rumbling moan. Maybe, just maybe.
Thinking about what he could do to help, he remembered the food he had in is bag and the cooking dish. Moving from his place at the fire, Zane retrieved the metalware from his pack and stepped outside. It was already snowing heavily. Zane spent the next few minutes scooping snow off the frozen waterfall until the pot was two thirds full.
Once back inside he used two of his arrows to adjust the burning logs in the fire to make the warmth fire into a cooking fire. it wasn't long before the snow in the pot had melted and Zane was digging through his bag for dried meats, herbs, vegetables, and his cooking wine. Zane didn't have a need to eat as long as he had water, the only reason he carried food was for travelers he met, he would make a meal and exchange stories, needless to say, he had a fair amount of skill cooking.
Moving diligently, he set about making a venison soup. As he cooked, he could hear Owlet's stomach growling a little louder every few minutes. He smiled, this meal was entirely for her. It was twenty minutes after he started that the soup was ready. Zane pulled a small bowl out of his bag and poured some soup into it, setting his spoon into the soup, he brought it over to her.
"I figured you might be hungry, So I made you something. Eat it or not the choice is yours" he sat the soup next to her, "maybe when you are full we could talk, perhaps get to know each other better, I doubt the storm will let up anytime soon and it will help to pass the time." he went and sat down next to the fire but called out to her again, "I am guest in your home, if there is anything you wish to know about me, anything at all, ask. I'm an open book so to say."
The huntress resisted the impulse to screech and growl at her now unwanted companion. 'Takes my fire. Takes my home. Refuses my efforts. Refuses my food. Thinks he's better. Thinks he's special. Worthless! Useless! Human!' She cursed him up and down in her mind. Then, once she had run out of things to call him again, Ariel started up once more from the beginning.
She glared daggers at him as he came closer to her, sneering with a large curl of her lip as he offered her food. Ariel turned her face away from him, choosing to stare at the wall as he retreated. The fire that burned within her though finally set the pot boiling over and she swept her arm out, knocking it against the bowl and overturning half the contents.
"You wish to talk, do you? Why should I talk to you? You refuse my kindness and dare to imply that you are better than me, that my things are not good enough for you, then try to feed me as if I am some pathetic little babe. Look around you! All of this is mine. I did this. I worked for it and killed for it. If you are too good to accept then you can leave and freeze out there for all I care. I hope you die, you ungrateful halfbreed."
The words had come tumbling off her tongue before she had a chance to recall them. In truth she was more intrigued than horrified by the animal-like parts were Zane, however she allowed human hatred to flow through her veins and lash out in the only way she knew how. He had hurt her just as she had taken a risk in inviting him in. She did not trust him. The humans had done this to her, making her strong yet fragile, free yet broken. This was their doing and something she did not believe could be ever fixed again. She would not be whole, could not be whole as long as she fought to retain the wildness that she was coming to love. How she longed to be one of them. It was envy mostly that made her hate him. He was more wild than she, Ariel could never hope to compare.
Zane looked down as she lashed out at him. He was generally hurt by her words. He had been trying to smooth things over. But the exact opposite had happened. Zane stood and looked at at Owlet with sad eyes and a look of nostalgia on his face.
"It was not me intention to wrong you. I had refused you kind offer of food because I normally don't eat and I know food can be scarce. I was trying to help you preserve your resources. I made you food because I heard your stomach growl and I thought if I did something nice for you as you had done for me, maybe things would be less strained. I was not treating you as a child I was treating you as a friend." Zane gathered up his quiver and bow then rummaged through his bag until he found a white herb. "This is called Kings Crown. It has a known effect of suppressing hunger. In the future food will be scarce. Chew on this when hunger pains hit, it will help you keep a level head while starving, and that could save your life."
Zane set the herb on the floor of the cave and made his way out. It was snowing heavily. Zane pulled his cowl over his head and started trudging through the snow thankful for the warmth of the cloak. After a ways walk he found a rock outcropping the formed a natural defense against the snow. He huddled up to the rock and brought out his grey and green cloak and draped it across his front. It was going to be a cold night.
Ariel snorted at the word. Friend. There were no such things in the wild. 'What a human concept,' she mused bitterly. 'It seems even I am more in touch with that side than you. What a fool!' In the heat of her anger she took great joy in his leaving, looking very much the part of a kicked puppy.
But, it was in the silence of his absence that she began to think and to regret and to curse herself for her cruelty. Her head turned to survey her home, the beads in her hair sounding loud in comparison to the depressing quiet. Brown doe eyes came to rest on a patch of white and Ariel thought she was going to be sick.
"He showed me human kindness and instead I offered him human cruelty. He was the better creature and now he pays for his kindness. He could have had somewhere to spend the night if it was not for me. I offered him shelter, preventing him from returning to his own and then I send him away again. What have I done?"
Wistfully she looked from the warm, inviting fire to the unforgiving sheet of ice that walled in her home from the elements. She knew what she had to do but that did not mean that she was looking forward to doing so. In fact, the huntress was looking for any excuse to stay. While she found a few, the sinking feeling in her gut prevented her from following through with her desire.
The still existing human part of her demanded her up and out into the cold. It propelled her forward to track the quickly disappearing footprints of her former guest. The wind howled and ripped at her, yanking with icy fingers of anger that chilled her to her very soul. He had been right, the storm was going to be a bad one. The thought only pushed forward faster and further despite the aching in her lungs and legs. She had sent him out into this, now she sought to correct her act of cruel temper, before it was too late.
Twice now she had lost her footing and sank down into snow that reached her knees and hips, causing her to waste precious time digging herself out. The snow was coming down harder, blinding her and stealing the path from her sight. Desperate and cold she screamed his name as loud as she could, hoping against hope he would hear her even as the words were stolen from her throat by the wind.
'I'm sorry! Please be alright.'
Zane was slipping into a state of semi-consciousness. The bitter winds bite at him while the cold stole what little warmth he had. 'What I wouldn't give to have fire magic right now' he mused in his near hypothermic state. Now he started to get warm thinking about fire, something crossed his mind that he should be weary of the warmth, but he didn't entertain the thought as the warmth was pleasing. But one thing kept him from embracing the warmth and going to sleep. Something felt wrong, like he was needed by somebody, then he heard his name.
It was a feint cry against the wind, but in that cry there was desperation, it Snapped Zane to attention. He then realized that he was actually freezing, his skin having paled and slightly blued. His hands numbly felt through his bag until he found the warmweed. Warmweed is a narcotic that is used to induce a feeling of warmth similar to that of a hypothermic lapse but help you retain a conscious mind. Zane began to chew on the drug, feeling the non-existent warmth spread through his body. He quickly set out after Owlet.
It didn't take long for Zane to find her, he had a sixth sense for forests. He quickly threw the grey and green cloak over her and shouted over the wind, "you'll catch your death out here. Let's head back before The Creator calls us home." He then offered her some of the warmweed under the advice "Chew but don't stop moving."
Out of both fear and relief, the huntress uncharacteristically hugged Zane about his middle the moment she recognized who it was that was talking to her. One arm remained around him as she attempted to share his cloak and her warmth in the bitter coldness of the unforgiving outdoors.
'Your fault I'm out here to begin with,' her mind grumpily shot out even as her body huddled closer. Later she would feel the deep guilt turned fury, but right now getting home alive was far more pertinent.
With shaking hands she took the unknown plant and held it tightly so as to keep from dropping it and losing it in the blinding white that surrounded them. "What is it?" she shouted hoarsely above the screeching wind.
Ariel did not truly wish to be difficult all the time but experience had taught her wariness until it became second nature. She was freezing already and he had been out there longer. There was always the possibility that the storm had addled his brain and what he was giving her was unsafe despite his best intentions.
Owlet caught him off guard when she hugged him, Which he returned. Then continued a one armed hold as he lead her on back towards the waterfall. "The Herb is called Warmweed" he shouted, "Very similar to Kings Crown in the fact is suppresses the ability to feel the cold while keeping your mind clear." He led on regardless of whether or not she started chewing on the herb.
After what felt like an eternity the came within sight of the frozen waterfall. He let Owlet enter first then quickly entered himself. He quickly set about building back up the diminishing flame. Within minutes there was a well sized fire going and spreading warmth across the room. Than was when Zane spit out the well ground Warmweed that he was chewing out. Rinsing his mouth out with some of the broth from the pan of soup, leaving some for her to do the same.
Now that he could see no other immediate things to be done, he realized his cloak, shirt and pants were drenched, which he then stripped his cloak and shirt, after which he exposed his back to the flame. "Anything that is overly wet you should remove, it will sap you of your heat." He had left is wet pants on out of decency.
The names meant nothing to her. Between the cold and her concern for Zane, Ariel's mind had become slow and fogged. Instinct drove her to remain close to him, to mingle their heat together in hopes of managing a tad bit longer. She did not comprehend everything he said, but the idea of false warmth scared her. She would rather know she was going to die than to think everything was alright, and drop dead where she stood.
With great relief she finally stumbled into the cave but, quickly attached herself to him as soon as he was also within its sheltering confines. It took some creativity on her part to still cling to him even as he worked on the fire and then removed some of his wet garments.
When at last a bit of heat had managed to seep into her bones, and she no longer felt like she was going to shake shiver herself to death, Ariel made a dash to her supplies wall, casting off articles of clothing along the way, uncaring of where they landed. The little huntress had forgotten human modesty and cared not that her body was bared before a stranger. Only thoughts of dry warmth commanded and compelled her.
Just as quickly as she had left, she returned, two blankets tight in hand. One was tossed in a heap into Zane's lap before in a blur of motion Ariel herself nearly joined it. Her own blanket was tightly cocooned around her bare flesh as she once more pressed close into her companion's side to the point of nearly sitting on him.
"Idiot," Ariel at last hissed from between cracked lips and chattering teeth. "Why'd you leave?"
Zane quickly wrapped himself in the fur blanket that Owlet tossed at him, she was by his side before he finished arranging the blanket so he draped part of it across her over her blanket, he frame was slimmer than his by what he saw at a glance (He refused to look for long when he realized she was stripping) therefore she should be freezing. He continued to leave his back exposed to the fire so that the warms of the fire would spread to his extremities. Even then he was still bitterly cold, it was a side effect of warmweed, once the narcotic had passed through your mind you were left cold until it was out of your system. He mentally kicked himself because he had tried to give it to Owlet. What had he been thinking? Speaking of thinking, he had left his Bow and his quiver at the rock outcropping. But at least he knew why he did that, he was going after Owlet. It was just a bow and a few arrows, easily replaced.
Finally Owlet Spoke up. "Well, as I'm sure you have guessed, I'm not the best at social situations for one. I'm not the best at reading people, animals? Yeah no problem, but then again I know their language, I've only known common for seventeen years. Your mood was worsening and my attempts to smooth things over had little effect if not made things worse. I hadn't the foggiest idea how to smooth things over. So I felt it was best to leave.
"Let me make this clear, I do not blame you in the slightest as to me leaving, I came to the decision on my own, I'm not the best at dealing with humans. When I left my home I intended to help people by using my knowledge of herbs, but it would seem having the characteristics of a fox makes you not so trustworthy. Heck on the island of Thanatos they have stories about creatures called 'Fox-kin' which are trickster foxes that can become human. In seventeen years I've helped maybe a handful of people. Well anyway, once I was out of the cave I realized that the storm was worse than I thought it was going to be, and that the snow was far deeper than I assumed it would be. So I couldn't get out of the forest like I thought I could. So I stopped and about fell asleep, that would have been the end of me." Zane sighed and leaned back, pulling the blanket across his back as he lowered himself halfway between upright and laying down.
She looked over to him with a face of pure disinterest as he attempted, in her mind, to justify his actions. 'Bloody fool blaming this on me. Don't say otherwise, I know what you're like. Martyr nearly died too if it wasn't for me saving your pathetic hide,' Ariel grumbled to herself. The cold had done nothing for testiness but she was settling some as she came to accept Zane's more gentle nature, no matter how much it annoyed her.
His sudden shift into a more recumbent posture caused the little huntress to flail slightly and fall partially on top of him. A moment to correct her posture and a half-hearted glare were sent his way but, she kept her acid tongue tempered behind her teeth for the time being.
Waiting until he had finished speaking completely before shifting to be able to hover over Zane slightly and stare down at him coldly. Then, with a quick movement of her hand from beneath the fur her tiny hand shot out and flicked him on the forehead.
"Dumbass, don't do it again. I'm not saving your sorry behind again, understand?"
Zane flinched slightly as Owlet flicked, the then looked her in the eyes and half smiled, "Don't worry, I won't, least not in this lifetime." At this point, he was just glad that they didn't start fighting, he was going to try to keep it that way, hopefully with more success the he had in his previous attempts.
After several minutes, the chilling aftereffect of the warmweed subsided, not that Zane would miss it. His mind wandered to the Stag, how was the creature staying alive out there, it was probably using it's magic to survive, perhaps Zane should try to learn from it, all he could do is purify water, talk to pretty much anything, and go without food or sleep. Not the best in the way of survival.
Then he looked down at Owlet, he wasn't sure what to make of her. One minute she seemed to be warming up to him, the next, she was very bitter with him. He had no idea what to do, the only human that he had ever really gotten along with was Ariel from Jadenshrine. But Ariel and Owlet were two very different beings all together.
Ariel nodded sharply before burrowing down against Zane, using him as a pillow for her back and head so that she could stare up at the dancing shapes the fire cast on the ceiling. "At least you're good for something," she muttered not feeling at all as surely as she may have sounded. Her testiness was more out of habit than actual anger now as sleepiness and warmth began to settle in around her.
"I could keep you as a pillow," she continued, poking him gently in the side. "Might need some plumping up though but I guess that could be fixed. Don't you think?"
Zane chuckled softly, "I suppose I would make a good pillow. Better a pillow then a blanket." He joked. The storm outside was growing ever the more fierce, odds are they would be snowed in. But that wouldn't be a problem. He would just return the snow to water and they could be on their way. But something else toyed with the back of his mind. The effect nature spirits have on forests. The forest would start to live off his power instead of its own before long if he left tomorrow, there would be no issue, any later then that, and there could be ramifications, slight or severe, it depended on how long he stayed.
"You'd make a lousy blanket," she spat back without any real venom. "You're colder than an icicle and about as prickly as a pinecone. Although that tail might be good for something she said peeking over his side at it. "What exactly are you anyway? Besides a mediocre pillow of course?"
It did not matter to her that he may have answered that before. As much as she denied it, she longed for another's company. Despite her desire to become and be one of the wild, her primal being was still that of a more sociable creature. The long months, or was it years now, out in the wilderness by herself had left her lonely and cynical.
She claim to hate humans all she wanted, Ariel was a huntress but she was also a human, if in skin alone. Her heart though like many other species would always long for company, no matter how hard she forced herself to forget it and bury her emotions in silence and hunting. Animals were not the companions she needed when she needed to speak nor were they truly ones that would share their dens with her on cold nights like this where her fire was a must to keep her furless hide warm.
For now Zane would provide that comfort her heart so desperately thought. But in the back of her mind she could not help wondering just how much longer this would last. He would leave, that was for sure. But how much of her heart would he steal away with him? How much of that human nature that he brought forth to the surface would he leave reeling in his abrupt absence?
"I'm a lousy blanket," he started very seriously. "But in all honesty, my being is the reason I can speak to animals and people alike. As I am a nature spirit. An embodiment of nature." He didn't expect her to take that news easily, or believe him for that matter, simply because she took the news of white stag so wonderfully. Though it was still alive so she might have heeded his warnings.
Many queer things came from being a nature spirit. Like being hunted in Thanatos, or marked in Connloath. That's why Zane preferred to stick to the wild. Only ever going to towns to get things he can't get in the wild, such as cooking wine. But even when he did go to towns, his tail was under his cloak and he often wore his hood up, some people weren't accepting of oddities such as animalistic qualities.
As Zane spoke, Ariel found herself missing something deep within her heart. She did not understand what he was saying. Certainly the words were clear but their meaning was not. At least it was not to her. She was just a child after all and a wild one at that. Concepts such as embodiments of nature were beyond her scope of understanding. There was the wild and there were the humans. Anything beyond that, Ariel could not comprehend.
"So...what do you do then?" The huntress, yawned softly, nuzzling her head more comfortably into his stomach. "What does it mean?"
"It means...."
Zane had thought about this many, many times. He knew next to nothing about himself. He knew nothing of any form of personal parentage. Though another spirit told him his mother was among the greats, that was before she became a Banshee after her father's death at the hands of a hunter. Looking back about twenty years, he knew nothing of humans. never even knew they existed. His forest was the most natural place in the world, he knew the entire happenings of the place without having to be there. It was him.
But on that fateful day the hunter came in, his world changed. He left the forest. Three months, He was gone for all of three months. He walked through the mountain to his home, The only home he had ever known, to find the trees lain waste with atrophy. The grass long dead, devoid of any and all signs of life.
"It means that, while a forest is my home, a dept has to be paid for that security. The forest will gain life from my presence. Eventually it will stop supporting itself and be entirely dependent on me should I stay long enough. Once that happens, my absence could kill the forest. On the flip side, there is no greater security then linking with a forest, you become omnipresent. The entire forest knows of your existence. It makes you feel important. There is nothing you couldn't do in your forest...." He droned on for a bit, just making it seem real magical to be one with a forest, telling about how at one time humans had worshiped Nature Spirits, they had the deepest connection to nature then any of the bipedal race had after them.
He looked over and noticed that the fire was growing dim, he just waved his hand over at it and it sprung back to life.
((OOC: Sorry for cutting off his speach, it just wouldn't come for some reason.))
She listened closely to Zane, trying to imagine what he was saying but it made absolutely no sense to her. How could a forest possibly come to rely on a single man? And for that matter how could it possibly whither away without his attention? It was not like he could be everywhere at once and he was just one man. It was simply ridiculous to imagine so Ariel quickly gave up trying to imagine it.
Instead she allowed his voice to lull her into a relaxed state until she fell asleep, cuddled close to the strange man she was hoping to call friend.
Zane ceased his droning as he realized that Owlet had fallen asleep, a smile tugged at his lips as there was something disarmingly soft about the way a slow intake of breath could cause the young woman snuggling against him to rise ever so slightly, then fall again as he exhaled. Looking around the cavern, looking past the shifting shadows caused by the fire. The walls were littered with tools, some forged from a stone, a stick, and some twine. Others obviously stolen, as shown by the fine craftsmanship not available in a forest such at this.
In they ways of men, Owlet was little more than a child. But in the eyes of nature. She was a bold huntress, vastly independent, and worthy of respect. If she were apart of a pack, she would have been an alpha, a leader. It crossed his mind, what would cause a child to run to the woods? But it wasn't much like it mattered. The fact that she had made it this far alone was proof enough that she was more than determined to survive. Zane had many things on his mind recently. He could honestly say that he found himself missing the security of a forest. Away from eyes that judge. Away from those who don't accept what they don't understand.
The storm was quelled with the the rising of the sun. True to his word. Zane had kept the fire going all night, although how he managed to do so when he didn't appear to have moved from the spot where Owlet drifted off to sleep on him remained to be seen. Sleepless night though it was, it was what Zane had done during this night that was off per norm. That night he had spent searching the forest, not physically, no it was more of a psionic power. He was able to explore various environments. Throughout the night, he had found many animal dens, including the Stag's, a Spirit Spring, which would explain why the Stag had taken up residence here, as well as a bandit camp not far from the main road, there must have been a few dozen of them in total, but they had tools, coin, and hostages. "Today we should hunt among the wolves."
Gently placing his hand on Owlet's shoulder, he lightly shook her shoulder, "Hey, Wake up sleepy head, it's morning." Deciding if he wanted to stay here would have to wait until after the bandits were dealt with.
Dreamless sleep had left her peaceful and still throughout the night. To then be woken, no matter how gently, made the little huntress grumpy and recalcitrant. Defiantly, she curled her body further around that of Zane's. An arm and a leg latched onto his other side and clung desperately while a dirt-smudged face buried within his shoulder in an attempt to escape that act of waking.
She was stubborn if anything and Ariel wanted absolutely nothing to do with waking up especially with the first ray's of the morning light. She was warm and not hungry, she decided. Those were cause enough to remain put.
[This reply has been long overdue. I am deeply sorry for the wait my dear friend.]
Zane sighed. It was annoying to him how others needed sleep while he did not. Life is so much more fun in the company of others and yet here there is daylight gone to waste. But never the matter. Sunlight was starting to refractive through the glass-like ice of the frozen waterfall and Owlet's body would react to it soon enough, hopefully. Just as long as the bandits didn't start to break camp then things should be fine.
While physically being clung to, Zane's mind's eye was going through the ins and outs of the camp. There were twenty seven people there in total. About ten of which were hostages from la' marri. The bandits were more human traffickers than simple bandits. The female hostages were probably going to be sold into sex slavery while able males were sold into labor. Then anyone left were to be sold to the Mordicai. Zane shuddered at the thought, how he hated the slave trade. These trades should die, or at least that is how he saw it. And they would soon. If only Owlet would wake up.
Ariel tossed and turned, fighting the need to awaken even as the morning's light began to creep further and further into her little haven. In protest, she rolled more onto her stomach so as to bury her face withing the confines of Zane's clothes all the while grumbling quite loudly in disapproval.
'If Owlet was a bear this would be much easier to ignore,' she grumpily mused to herself even as a massive yawn forced her eyes blearily open.
Zane looked down as Owlet yawned, "Good morning" the nature spirit grinned, cocking his head to the side, "sleep well?"
In the back of his mind, he was still working over possible ways of attack, there were ten bandits in all, only about three of them were up. There was a wolf pack to the north of their camp, about two kilometers. But by the time they made it there, odds are there would be more bandits awake and that may result in the death of many pack alpha, which would be necessary to the survival of the rest of the pack until mid spring. No, they would have to take on the bandits, with naught but the support of each other.
The huntress glared up at the creature she was currently using as a pillow but refused to answer as she finally drove herself to sit up. "Owlets are of the night," she grumbled. "Nothing good about morning." Seeing the distant expression on his face though, Ariel poked Zane in the side as she tilted her own head to the side. "Where are you?"
"I'm tracking some game. Some very dangerous game. Up for a challenge? It might yield you some more tools. Some furs as well. Not to mention food." It was a bit disquieting that his nature had already bonded so much with this forest that he could see great spans of distance within this vast forest. He wondered if there was a spirit in this forest already. Had he taken to dormancy? Zane had no idea. But he knew he shouldn't stay for more than a few days at a time, otherwise the forest might bond to him.
"Food?" she asked, her head immediately snapping up to attention. The winter cold meant she had to scrounge and store as much as she could or suffer the consequences later. The idea of more resources that could ensure her survival were not something to be easily overlooked.
Staring at him intently, she nudged his shoulder. "Where?"
"Just a little over two miles north by north-east of here." He slowly starts to untangle himself from her and her covers and rising to his feet with fox-like grace. Trotting over to the drying rack, he dons his cloak over his simple grey homespun. Attaching his quiver to his belt, he ran a finger over the many tips there. "It's a Bandit camp. Seventeen slavers, ten slaves. My guess is that these men have been leaving a trail of missing persons in their wake. If we liberate the captives, the camp is yours to loot."
Ariel scowled, her nose wrinkling up in disgust. "Not Owlet's territory. Not Owlet's problem. Nasty bandits keep 'way humans. Know better then come 'ere. Wake Owlet for food but no food. Day is for sleeping," the huntress hissed in disgust while trying to burrow back into her nest of furs. The notion of dealing with bandits was more effort than was needed in her mind. Humans could deal with their own human problems. They certainly created them on their own after all.