Meadow

[Kookaburra]

Khedivo breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he temporarily broke out of the thick forest - and more importantly, its stiff and bespined undergrowth - into a more open meadow. It was empty, of course - there were very few humans or even elves who wandered this far in to the tangled darkness - and Khedivo could not have been happier at the thought. It had been pure luck that he had met not just Shiori, his kin, but three friendly Outsiders at once. Added to this, there had been the two toughs. //How strange ... the coincidences that direct our lives.// He had a feeling that this was one of those moments.

Careful not to reveal himself, the fledge crouched low behind a clump of dense rhododendrons on the edge of the small clearing. On the far side, several white-tailed deer were grazing. Knowing that he did not want to pursue them through the forest, endangering the safety of his flight feathers, Khedivo stalked them for a full fifteen minutes. Whenever they raised their heads, or their ears twitched, he froze. //That's the nice thing about deer. As long as you're down-wind and they can't smell or see you, they don't think you exist.// At the end of the fifteen minutes, he was not fifteen feet away from the nearest, a buck. It did not take a huge exertion on his part to strike, killing the deer in the quickest, least painful manner that the fledge could employ. He decided to cut the meat and clean the hide on the spot, and proceeded to do so with a long-bladed knife he had appropriated during his last encounter with hostiles. It did not take long, seeing as how the knife was exceedingly sharp. The meat was wrapped in the deer's skin, and bound with some vines into a pack easier to carry than a dead deer.

Khedivo lifted the pack and headed back towards the others, knowing that he was a good distance away and needed to hurry. Just before leaving, he raised his eyes to the sky and murmured a traditional avian saying - "I take my portion, and leave you yours - reclaim and purify," - leaving the carcass for the earth's processes to return to dust. At a tiny brook along the way, Khedivo cleaned his bloodied hands under a thin cascade.

 

[CJF]

Ruim made sure that the mans hands and feet were tied and that he was gagged. Once that was done, he sat and prepared a fire for when Khedivo returned. Sairin sat next to him, never leaving his side. Of course he didn't mind.

 

[Jenka]

Shiori looked at the young man and woman sitting so closely to eachother.
She felt a slight pang of jelousy, but tossed the feeling away.
The fire began to burn, bright and hot. Shiori put down the long piece of wood she had been sharpening and picked up one of the cubes of meat. Easily she pierced the meat with her stick and slid the meat down, she proceeded to do this until all the meat was on the stick.

She held it gingerly over the fire.

Fledge's were a very flammable species, their feathers were hallow and dry and could easily catch flame.
Shiroi's bright red eyes studied the flames, she pulled her massive wings around her shoulders like a cloak.

The air smelled sweet now that the sun was beginning to set, causing the sky to erupt in gay colours of reds and golds.
The colour reminded her of Khedivo's wings, the next thought she had was wondering if he was having any luck hunting.
She shook her head, she had become lost in her thoughts, she smiled at her companions.

//This silence is driving me mad.// She thought.

She pointed from one to the other. "friends??" She raised an eyebrow a mischevious grin on her face. "lovers?"
Ha! She knew what that word meant! Shiori waited for the woman to blush as most ladies would.
Shiroi knew she was being nosey, but she couldn't help it, and Khedivo wasn't there to chastise her. If she was going to ask, now seemed like the right time.

 

[CJF]

Sairin did blush and looked down at her hands. If she'd been looking up she would have seen Ruim blush as well. Both were blushing for entirely different reasons; she was blushing because she believed they were just friends and was slightly embrassed at the thought of Ruim and her being lovers. Rum was blushing because he wished they were more than just friends, but knew they weren't and probably would never be.
"Friends." he said finally, adding a smile to hide his disappointment.

 

[Kookaburra]

At the same moment as Ruim spoke, Khedivo materialised from the surrounding trees. //It's interesting,// the fledge thought to himself while lowering the packets of deer meat to the ground beside the fire, //I seem to have taken up with a rather wood-wise group.// He was not incredibly experienced with woodland living, but having been born and bred in the jagged spires of the mountains, he knew quite a bit about the necessity for a sheltered fire. Especially in hostile territory. As it was, the fire was tucked away in the curve of a stone outcrop, shielded from the meadow by a stand of slender trees and dense undergrowth. As a result, it was quite warm in their little cove.

Shiori was already toasting the rabbit meat that she had butchered, and the smell of it was enticing. Khedivo tossed one of the packets of deer meat to Ruim and another to Drake before unwrapping another. A quick forage in the undergrowth had garnered a good haul of basic herbs, and now he crushed them in his fingers and pressed them to the aromatic meat before rewrapping the meat and burying it in the coals to roast slowly.

Knowing that it would take a good length of time for his meat to cook, Khedivo eyed the meat roasting on the end of Shiori's stick. He caught her eye and grinned, but knew she probably wouldn't give him any. So, the fledge slouched down by the fire and prodded the captive ungently while thinking. //The deer meat should last us several days if we're wise with it. But these Outsiders probably know how to hunt, so we won't run short.//

He glanced up at Ruim, noting the semi-embarrased, semi-regretful look that passed over his face when he looked over at Sairin. //Ah. Outsider love ....//

 

[Jenka]

Shiori watched Khedivo come out of the trees, she had felt his presence, and so was not surprised by his abrupt entrance.

She snorted slightly. //Of course he got a deer.// She looked down at the little rabbit meat on the stick and frowned.
Khedivo hunched down and grinned at her, Shirori gave him a mock-angry face and turned the stick.
She grinned inwardly though at the two blushing "friends."
Even Khedivo had noticed. Shiori could feel a laugh starting to build in her chest, but she bit her lip, holding it back. She couldn't help the grin that spread over her face however.
Shiori handed the rabbit meat to Ruim. "Almost done--you eat." She waved a hand towards Khedivo. "we wait--eat that." she pointed to the venision.

"I go wash skin" Shiori held up the rabbit skin and ducked off towards a small creek, she washed it quickly then came back to the "camp."
She sat down next to Khedivo and began to beat the underside and topside with a smooth stone.

"Khedivo" She said quietly in Avain "Why are we staying here? Let's give them some meat and go. I've only been away for three days and I've wasted it all searching for you." Shiori gave him a playful poke. "Plus that man is starting to....frighten me." She glanced sharply at the tied man.

Shiroi ran a hand over the soft rabbit fur, she picked it up and with her dagger poked holes along one side, the the other. Using some strips of deer hide she tied a long switch of yew into a hoop. With expert fingers she tied the skin inside the hoop, stretching it.
She began to beat it again.

"I will make a beautiful sheath." She said looking with child-like excitment at the pelt.

 

[CJF]

Ruim took the rabbit from Shiori and smiled his thanks. He finished cooking it, split the meat in half and gave the larger piece to Sairin who smiled and took the meat. Although he wasn't acting strangely, Sairin couldn't help but notice a difference in his attitude. Normally when he looked at her, he looked her in the eye; he hadn't just then and he looked a bit...sad. Sairin wondered why, but reamained silent.