Ursa: Homecoming (Chyril 27, early MT)

[Xenovia Canace]

OOC: Hope I understood you correctly, Brytan, in that they would get back on the 27th. And Scarlet, hope you don't mind my embellishing.

She wasn't weary. She was exhausted. The thick soles of Xenovia's feet dragged heavily through the dirt as she walked. Somehow they had managed to survive two nights out in the forest, and now Xenovia and Scarlet were almost home. Had she been alone, Xenovia would not have hesitated to attempt to morph into her bird form so that she might simply fly back to the village. It would have been so much faster...

Xenovia dared a sideways glance at Scarlet. After a full night of rest, and of course after allowing her to hunt for their breakfast, Xenovia had insisted that the young kit morph back into her two-legged form. It took less energy, she had explained, to work two legs -- and she didn't want to waste time hunting. It was painful for the girl, but that was part of being a kanthrop. What she didn't tell Scarlet was that she felt a bit overwhelmed. Xenovia was at least two years older, and yet she had only morphed less than a handful of times. Scarlet was special; or maybe when your life was in danger it was easier to awaken. After all, the trials were always very difficult.

Scarlet discovered early on that Xenovia wasn't very adept at handling social situations, despite having been part of a tribe since she was five yahren. Her conversation was strained, and she always seemed to be brooding about something, her bird eyes focused upward on the trees and the sky. Why, she even seemed a bit shy. Xenovia hardly knew Scarlet, never having dealt with her much due to the age difference. Niamh had been the closest thing to a companion Xenovia had, and she hadn't seen her in a couple days. Yet all she could think of was getting back to her tent and sleeping for weeks.

"We're almost there," she said for the millionth time, yet this time it was true. Scarlet knew, of course, but Xenovia had said it several times during the course of their journey back to the village. It was impossible to tell whether she was saying it for Scarlet's benefit or her own. It was impossible to tell a lot of things with Xenovia. One thing was for sure: she needed a bath. Her hands were caked with blood and her hair was a tangled mess which made the thickest jungles look like fields and meadows. Furthermore, dirt was smeared across all areas of her body, even those meant to stay clean, since she had used her kanthar to bind Scarlet's wounds. She didn't care much, of course, but that didn't change the fact that she looked like she'd just come back from the Nether.

[Brytan]

OOC: You understood me just fine. Will fill in some blanks here and there.

The word exhausted nearly didn't cover the feeling that might become these Kanthrop. Two days had been spent trying to find a way out of the mountains and back across the valley to the village of their elders. The mountain had been unforgiving to the two and they had had to seek shelter from the darkness quickly, spending a cold night in a crevice along the steep path down, hiding from the Cryers which howled inside the mountain, seeking their lost prey.

Yet they were not detected, the Bane unused. Scarlet was wounded and the bandages did little to aid her. Loss of blood left her weak and warping back was nearly impossible, yet she managed if she tried, taking nearly twice as long and burning twice as much energy as the warp into her cat form.

A healthy Kanthrop would have had no trouble with the isle, the isle they knew so well. But now the mountains and the forest were a living nightmare, with Cryers lurking around every bend.

Finally however they reached a familiar path. The sun had risen over the eastern Skymyst only briefly when Xenovia caught the first glimpse of the wooden wall that barred the darkness and held Valley Village. A plume of smoke rose from Threed Fox Inn which stood on the hill, visible as they made another turn.

Safety.

The two Kanthrop would have to nearly drag themselves to the wall, where four guards stood, talking about the events of the previous eveningtide.

"...I heard they were gonna leave today."

"Yeah, methinks they can't get out of here soon enough."

"But what if Oni said was true, what if..."

"What in the Mother's name..."

The guards caught sight of the two as they erupted from the path that led them to the northern gate.

"Quick! Give me a hand! It's Xenovia and Scarlet!"

Helping hands and feet rushed to their sides, the faces and voices lost to the barely conscious duo.

"What in the Mother's name happened to them? Look at them, like they've been to the Nether and back!"

"We have to warn Gannas, they need help."

[Xenovia Canace]

Xenovia had loved the mountains once, but during the trek home she had begun to doubt whether or not she would ever look at them so fondly. Yet all of these thoughts had been forgotten when she espied the wooden wall surrounding her home, and she almost cried again -- stopping herself only because Scarlet was conscious this time. Almost like a flood, relief hit her first, followed by exhaustion.

We're home. Xenovia thought she'd said it out loud, but the words never left her lips. We're home.

Golden eyes, hazed and distant, stared unseeing at the group who rushed to help them. Her free hand grabbed weakly at assistance, but her other would not leave the Bane. The scroll was still tucked safely into her famirl, pressed against her pale skin. "Bow," she tried to say. "Scroll...don't take..the...."

Her form slumped as consciousness left her. Just before darkness surrounded her, she almost sighed. I am fainting a lot lately.

[Scarlet]

ooc:No problems at all, im sure Xen is very persuasive

It was not just on Xenovia's part that conversation faltered. Scarlet was terrified. She had never heard of warping this early; even Cuwalgo had been over a year older than she, and he had lost himself to his beast. Questions clouded her mind. Would she also have to fight to control her own body or risk being a beast forever? It had, in truth, taken little urging for Scarlet to abandon her beast-form and she was only too happy to be on her own feet again, pained though they may be. The strength of her beast's spirit had scared her, forcing the change unbidden. Warping was different for everyone, but scarlet had always pictured something a little more serene...

We will have to work on this.

The pair walked in silence for most of the journey, Scarlet breaking her mute fear to voice her need to rest when the pain in her leg became too much. Occasionally she would pause to gather a relevant herb that might ease the suffering of either kanthrop whilst Xen hunted. The strips of Xen's kathar that bound the lacerations to her thigh and torso were supplemented by Scarlet's own, and she paused by nearly every stream to replace lost fluid. Scarlet had an idea in the healing arts, but she knew nothing would heal her so much now as bed rest. She tried to help Xen as best she could, but a herbal tea to relieve stress and a few burns spent working the knots from her back were all she could manage. The strain from drawing her Crystal bow had fatigued the muscles, and her body would adapt quickly should she wish it. Scarlet, novice though she was, could easily draw the hunting bow she had left in the peak. If Xen's soul could adapt to the strain of the bow though... that was another question entirely.

That bow... Scarlet had lost hers along with the contents of her pack in the cave, but then material goods were easily replaced. The crystal bow that she carried was something else. The details had passed her by in the cave, but the construct seemed to be made from hard stone. What arcane work let it flex seemed beyond her, and she could not shake the notion that the searing light that had burned the Cryers could be the very saviour of her people. Xen had a lot to tell, but Scarlet had not yet asked. The truth would reveal itself in time.

"We're almost there,"

Scarlet nodded mutely, leaning heavily on a crutch fashioned from deadwood. The smoke from the village silhouetted against the half-light of the dawn and she salivated at the scents of cooking that pierced the air. It was incredible. Her sense of smell had been good before, her vision in the darkness and her hearing, similarly acute. What she felt now was almost an overload. She had seen in the darkness as clearly as daylight, her hearing picked up each footfall it seemed for a hundred yards. Xen's vision outstripped her own certainly, but she felt more aware than she had ever been, like someone had lifted a sack from her head.

It was this perception alone that let her free arm catch Xen as she fell, and slowly let the two kanthrop drop to their knees.

"Its a good story," Scarlet said, her eyes barely open, "but it will wait." Her voice choked as she began to cry. "Keep the bow near her," she instructed, golden eyes locking on to the first guard before she clenched them shut and wept. She cradled Xen's head in her arms as the guard surrounded them.

In hushed tones she whispered, "We're alive."

[Brytan]

One of the guards, Kimar, rushed off, shouting for the shaman. Beyond the entrance Scarlet could tell many of the villagers were waking, roused by the shouting voice of Kimar. Xenovia had passed out and was quickly picked up by the guards and carried into the village, to the Shaman's hut. Scarlet was also hoisted up and supported there.

"Put them down! Leave them outside in the sun. I'll need light!" The voice of Hawkeye called to the guards as they were about to carry the both of them inside. Instead, they were placed on a few skins that were carried out from inside the hut and placed in front of it, out in the open near the Shaman's fire pit. Everything ached and burned and the carrying didn't really do either of them much good.

"By the Mother what happened to you two..." Gannas said as he kneeled down beside the two. Scarlet was overcome with fatigue and found it harder and harder to stay awake aswell. "Fetch me clean water, cloth and the green pouch from inside. I'll need Leafblossom and Hiriweeds. Go, go!"

The order didn't seem directed at anyone in particular.

[Xenovia Canace]

Movement and words brought her back briefly as the world began to shift around her. Xenovia barely felt Scarlet's arms, though she was vaguely aware of a growing warmth around her head which she mistook for blood. Someone is crying. Her eyes opened for the barest flicker, but they were unseeing, Scarlet's form over her hiding the light. Oh, she thought mistily. I must be dying. It was a matter-of-fact consideration, the last she had before yielding to what she believed was her death, but was in fact yet another black-out. Scarlet's hushed tones could no longer reach her ears, and she did not wake again.

Not only quite light but almost entirely nude, Xen's body was easy to pick up and carry. The pain of movement, however, reached Xenovia even through unconsciousness, and she growled menacingly, the fingers of her free hand clawing at the air as she fought off the Cryers in her dreams. For a bird warper, she was very catlike. When she was set down, however, Xenovia promptly quieted, after releasing a soft whine. In her subconscious mind, she found herself impaled on a sharp stone, a result of the distinct pain in her back. Sweat rolled down the side of her grimacing face, getting lost in the tangle of her hair. Dying was hard work, even in dreams.

[Scarlet]

Scarlet grunted as she was carried to the shaman's fire, the pain was dull now, a mere discomfort to what she had endured days earlier. The soft furs of the camp were a warm embrace that offered to carry her into the ether itself. Heavy lidded eyes glinted in the early morning sun and it took all she had to prop herself up on her elbows and fix her gaze on Gannas.

The kit, little more than a girl, was so exhausted as to appear drunk. Her golden eyes drifted over his face, unable to focus. She smiled at his question, to speak these words that drifted from her lips she would have suffered such pain gladly and endured greater still.

"She did it. She can kill the Cryers."

She said it quietly, for Gannas' ears alone, but the euphoria at even considering such a possibility must have been palatable.

"I found her in the mountains," she whispered, her eyes slowly closing. "We had to run from the Cryers. Ran fast. She shot them, pierced them with light... shiny bow." Her words got quieter and quieter still as she fought to stay awake.

"Need me a shiny bow."

She felt her head lowered to the floor and she relaxed almost totally, tears still trickling down her face.

[Kytani Hajgomb]

Kytani was both silent and focused as she followed the shaman from the stump, her eyes half-lidded themselves in focus as Xenovia and Scarlet were carried to a better spot for treatment. When Gannas barked out orders for the water, cloth, and green pouch, the young panther was more than willing to rush for them, not sure if the Leafblossom and Hiriweeds were within the pouch or another order entirely.

At that flicker, it was best to get him what she could identify as quickly as possible and allow for another to go after the harder items.

As such, she was back as soon as possible with the cloth piled in a basin, the green pouch riding on top of that, and the other hand filled with a pitcher of water as per his instructions. “Where are the Leafblossom and Hiriweeds, Master Gammas?” she asked, not knowing if they had already been fetched or not, but ready in case they still needed to be.

[Muraco]

Muraco followed like a concerned cub as they moved Scarlet and Xen to the front of Gannas' tent. Poor Xenovia had fainted away yet snarled and clawed like an injured beast as she was jostled. A grim, sad ghost of a smile lightly colored Muraco's expression...she wasn't going to die yet. There was still fight in her even locked in the smothering furs of unconsciousness. As they were lain down, he knelt close to them both. As close as he could be without being completely underfoot. Scarlet was still conscious albeit barely and she recounted her story to Gannas. Muraco's vibrant green eyes, watched each move of her lips as he absorbed the tale she told. When the Elder told anyone to fetch him supplies, Muraco did not move. It was not disobedience, for he did not actually hear the older Kanthrop. Extraneous sounds seemed muddled to his ears and all he saw, almost in vivid new color, were his fellow Kanthrop injured and ailing. All he heard was Scarlet's words and Xenovia's shallow breaths.

The tears Muraco had fought back in his own wallowing made a acute return. He was so angry, so concerned, that when a drop traced down his cheek he hardly noticed. The kit wanted to take away their injuries, strike back at those that had done this to them. Swallowing hard, trying to fold away his potent emotions for later consideration. Hopefully with a measure of control achieved, he took his scarf from about his neck and gingerly wiped the tears from Scarlet's face. His other hand smoothed her hair, much in the way he barely remembered his mother to do to him.

"You are safe Scarlet. You are both safe, home. Thank the Mother," murmured Muraco warmly. The kit sidled over to Xenovia's frame that was locked in fitful sleep. He took the scarf and gently wiped the trickling sweat from Xenovia's brow. There was a chance she would claw him for the trouble and he would take the injury willingly. Muraco was sick with concern so he was likely right in the middle of where someone else needed to be. He could be shooed away but for that flicker he was oblivious.

[Brytan]

"They are above the table, hanging off the tent poles. The dark green seaweed and the red flowers." As the shaman spoke he took the pouch and the water and started to mix a salve which he applied to the wounds of Xenovia and Scarlet. The salve was cold and felt soothing. Would Kytani return with the herbs he would crush them into a bowl of water.

"Hang that over a fire and heat it to a boil. They must drink it once it's cooled."

The shaman was calm and gave his instructions while working his art. More and more kanthrop emerged from their huts and tents as word spread of the two kanthrop returning. Many knew however the wrath of the shaman they would suffer if they got in his way so they kept a respectable distance mostly as he worked on the two that now lay in the grass in front of his hut.

Once Xenovia and Scarlet were given the tea, the shaman stood up. "They must rest. Leave them be. They should be fine but they need rest. It has been a long and rugged journey for them both." Once he got up his foot tapped against the Bane. Gannas looked down as if seeing it for the first time.

"What is this then?" He looked at the bow and then noticed the scroll Xenovia clutched. He took it from her fingers gently and opened it. "This...can't be..." He turned to Kytani and Muraco. "Keep an eye on them, I must think." He replaced the scroll in her hand and walked away without saying anything else to anyone.

[Scarlet]

ooc: fin?

[Brytan]

OOC: I think it's safe to call it quits here, yes. The evening thread is well underway so no need to dwell on the past Locking for skilling and archiving.