Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Anahita is training you?!” The girls whispered in unison, the twins both awed and startled by their older brother’s revelation. All Lautaro could do was nod, a small smile on his face as he watched the twins absorb the news. Haizea and Nasima grabbed each other’s hands, the pair pulling closer to each other so that they could whisper in low voices as Lautaro simply watched with amusement. You would think that he had just announced he was the new leader of the village or some sort of lost Oban nobility or something with how dramatically his sisters were handling the news. Still, it made him feel a bit better since they seemed more willing to accept it than Hansika who would surely storm away with muttered protests of how he was only wasting Anahita’s time. Though it would have been nice if they hadn’t seemed so darned startled about it all, that much he could admit as he patiently waited for their whispers to cease. “So when do you start?” They finally asked as they stepped away from each other, both pairs of sapphire eyes studying their brother intently. He recognized the expressions fairly well. It was the same looks that they gave his family members whenever they shared spooky stories or something of the like, the girls refusing to believe in spirits haunting the woods yet still jumping at every sound for the next few nights after a good story was told around the bonfire. Was his training with Anahita truly that unbelievable? But just like the noises that made the girls jump in the middle of the night, they also knew that their brother wouldn’t say something like this for no reason. So they had to believe it was somehow true, right?

“Well, she did get pulled into a short mission before we could actually begin. But we did discuss it during the storm yesterday. Remember? We got trapped for the afternoon until the storm passed and so we talked a bit. She offered to help me with my training since I’m slightly behind the others.” Admitted Lautaro, his expression falling slightly with disappointment that they didn’t get to train together yet. They had originally planned on training right away but another ranger had fallen ill so Anahita had taken his place to escort a merchant through the forest into Sauti. Even if she rushed and returned the day after tomorrow it would only leave them with maybe two or three days before another mission would take her further towards Oba. It all just depended on when the caravan from Zena arrived at the edges of the forest, the arrival of merchants being noted by the rangers who patrolled the outer paths and were promptly guided to the meeting point for the actual escorts to meet them. That was how it worked. A caravan would arrive at the designated spot at the edge of the forest, check in with the patrol when they arrived and then be guided to another area to meet their escort through the forest. Valhein Village was so secluded that no random visitor could navigate the heavy foliage in the ancient forest where the trees were taller than most buildings and stretched so far that the sunlight was mostly blocked out by their twisting limbs and branches, but the rangers who had lived here their whole life had learned how to navigate the paths in their own way. The slight scratches along the bark of trees, the few colorful swirls of paint along the trees having a code of some sort which changed with the seasons to keep bandits and the like from learning too much, while even the normal growing season of certain berries could even be a trace of what path was the correct one to the center of the woods where a giant clearing awaited those who could successfully make their way inside. It was there that a crystal clear stream of fresh water emerged from the underground to sustain the rangers who built along the natural springs there, a bridge connecting two large fields that now housed some roati, capramel and even bees for the rangers to make their own resources like wool, milk and honey. Some root vegetables and such were grown in small garden plots scattered along their little village with a tavern nestled at the base of one of the larger trees, the hollowed out trunk of the old pine serving as storage for the barrels of mead and bottles of wine that the rangers enjoyed whenever on a break from missions or patrol. Worn stone paths had been embedded throughout the clearing with some buildings, including a large meeting and trading hall for the whole village to use especially during harvest celebrations or emergencies, connected together with the curving paths while most rangers had built their homes up in the trees, the large homes similar to those that one would see throughout Tale or Jahaur with swinging rope bridges in between. Anything that could not be grown or raised in the clearing was instead harvested or hunted in the surrounding forest, the ancient grounds full of life and things to gather for survival. The southern cliffs that marked the forest boundary as well connected with a larger river that surrounded the area, the cascading waterfalls swarmed with a horde of fish every spring and autumn for the rangers to enjoy. And as for anything that they could not provide for themselves? Well, that had started the escort missions with rangers trading their skills for goods from traveling merchants who either feared the bandits roaming the main trade paths and for those who also wanted a quicker passage through the forest which they could only navigate with the aid of the rangers. What had started as a group of six wanderers who came into the forest over a century ago had grown into a full village with rangers taking in families and healers, herbalists, crafters and the like had also adapted to life in the forest with many accepting their secrecy. Those that did not want to stay in the forest forever eventually migrated to neighboring towns in Sauti or Tale, if not further away for some of the more adventurous types, but never once did they admit to the location of the village in the forest where the rangers continued to thrive. The nearby towns in Sauti and Tale served as a stop for the rangers who went there weekly for any notices or requests that were left at the local taverns for them. Merchants had learned through others to leave notices in town, sending letters to the tavern keeps there for the rangers to plan out escort missions across the different countries. Other requests sometimes involved taking care of some issues along the roads, mostly bandits, and on occasion the rangers would also be requested to help take care of any wild beast that might be rampaging and harming locals or travelers on the main paths. Lautaro expected Anahita to keep busy with all sorts of missions like that as the eldest daughter of the head ranger and she made no move to hide her own desire to take over from her father one day. It kept her busy and made her an idol of sorts to the younger generation, the reaction from his twin sisters only expected since they also saw Anahita as some sort of hero with how many stories were starting to spread about the ideal ranger. She was basically the opposite of him, her victories outpacing his klutzy struggles, and even Lautaro couldn’t imagine getting to the level that Anahita was when it came to her ranger skills. But here she was actually offering to train him personally….maybe it was even hard for him to believe now that he thought about things. “I’m hoping the day after tomorrow we can try our first session together.” He finally added, realizing that the girls were still looking at him while waiting for some sort of confirmation.

More whispering and then. “Okay! We’ll make her the prettiest piece of jewelry that we can. We just got those gemstones from Papa too that we can work with for this one.” The twins nodded as they continued to think about ideas, Nasima even making a determined fist as she held it up in the air. “It might not be up to Kyril’s work, but we’ll do our best!”

“A gift for Anahita?” Lautaro blinked with surprise as he looked between his sisters. Why would they be the ones getting her a gift when she was training him? If anything….well, should he have gotten her a gift? Though she had said to bring more jerky with him which he had already packed to give her when she returned from her mission…should he do something else as well?

“Yeah! That way she might be more enticed to keep trying with you even if she gets frustrated.” Haizea blurted even as Nasima elbowed her in warning. “I mean…you have to thank her somehow that is. It’s most definitely not us trying to bribe her to keep helping you, nope!” She continued, a flush decorating her cheeks as she looked towards Lautaro sheepishly. “We’ll go work on it right away. Good luck, Taro!”

Well, at least they were being supportive? Lautaro let out a soft chuckle before grabbing his own bow and heading outside. Their home was built into one of the largest trees, the older tree house built by his own great-grandparents who had come to the clearing as one of the original families. Not that it mattered to those who knew Lautaro and learned that he lacked the skills that most would expect, especially in comparison to his older sister who excelled at everything, but it was still his heritage. It was part of the reason he was pushing himself so hard to become a ranger, his desire to keep with his family tradition strong. How could he, the only son of the Vihur lineage, be so lacking in comparison to the rest of his family? It was best that Hansika was the oldest child, Lautaro thankful that she could be the heir while he struggled to just keep up with the rest of the apprentices who wanted to become rangers. “It’s fine.” He shook his head as if to clear the negative thoughts before going towards the rope bridge that would lead away from their house and towards the main clearing below.

Crossing down the stairs that weaved around a large tree, Lautaro stumbled onto the ground as he lost his balance for a moment. A flush decorated his cheeks as he quickly looked to the left and right to make certain that no one had seen his mishap. Thankfully no one was there and so he straightened his belongings and continued forward. Two left feet as they say. He was constantly stumbling into traps or accidentally knocking into furniture or something like that. Even recently because of his own mistake he had worked hard to replace his sister’s bow rack, the specially engraved wood with twisting vines, one of her favored decorative pieces in their family’s own training hall. Thankfully the new one was accepted, his sister actually liking it even though she stayed disgruntled with Lautaro for a while longer. But that purchase was exactly why Lautaro was out training by himself as soon as breakfast was over with. He had extra chores that would take up his afternoon, the teen having picked up extra work to make up for the cost of the replacement weapon rack for his sister. And part of those chores would take quite a bit of time since he had agreed to help his mother with the kinfa, the giant birds raised within the village to be companions for some of the rangers who relied upon their aerial mounts for scouting.

For now though he made his way towards the outer edges of the clearing where other apprentices practiced with their bows or sparred to practice more physical combat. A couple of early risers were already at work, but none of them seemed eager to break apart from their current partner to offer Lautaro a chance to go against them. That was to be expected since none knew how to really work with Lautaro with how easy it was for him to trip himself up. So he didn’t even flinch as he simply smiled towards the others, shoving the darker and more twisted thoughts aside, and continued forward until he came to a more tattered target that was further away from most. Others who got here early fought for the better targets, but Lautaro simply wanted some peace as he notched his arrow and fired that first shot.

An hour later he was still enjoying his little corner of the training area, Lautaro ignoring the exclamation of other apprentices as they started to fill in the open field. Sure they were getting bullseye quite a lot on targets while taking turns efficiently pinning each other with fighting stances, but he could at least hit closer to the center of the target now! It was something, right? As usual, despite the darkness at the edge of his spirit which was a combination of the depression and the desperation that he sometimes felt, Lautaro was determined to try to keep strong. He just had to keep at it. Surely all of his effort and training would eventually pay off. Even Anahita had said that after one of his worst days. How had he gotten caught in that trap? Unfortunately, it was simple. He had just been in a dark mindset and not paying any attention to his actual surroundings when stumbling through the forest lost in his thoughts. He could shoot an arrow, he had perception and knew the basics of traps and survival…so why was he such a klutz? It was like his feet simply didn’t want to cooperate with the rest of his body. Which Hansika loved to remind him about as she tried to convince him to pick up any other profession than fighting alongside the rangers. How could he not be a ranger though? Lautaro frowned at the thought, an arrow slipping through his fingers and veering into the side of a nearby tree instead of the main target. Their last argument about it had happened the very day he got caught up in the trap and was later rescued by Anahita. Hansika had watched him trip over his feet while running errands around the village, Lautaro nearly falling into the stream when he slipped on a loose rock with a crate in his arms. Of course his older sister had caught him in time but then as usual she was angry with him and her frustration caused her to spit some cruel words towards him about his incompetence and how she couldn’t ever imagine him surviving one mission with the rangers. He couldn’t even carry supplies without harming himself! So why bother with all this training? Just pick up crafting or something! There’s other roles in this village other than fighting and doing missions. What about healing? Or even apprenticing at the smithy? You could try that too…well, maybe not. That’s got a lot of dangerous objects in there as well. Maybe baking or gardening? You could also consider running the tavern with Yves… Lautaro’s cheeks had burned with embarrassment as he realized other rangers were in the area, some simply walking past to get to the tavern and finding themselves slowing down as they watched the siblings spat. Or rather watched as Hansika lectured Lautaro, the teen thinking about how tempting it would be for him to just go back towards the stream and jump in. Could he just become one of those little silver fish and swim away from this mess? It was an awful feeling and he found himself at a loss for words, Lautaro simply shaking his head and pulling away from Hansika as he ran away. The crate was dropped off at the main hall as requested but then Lautaro simply kept walking and walking…until the forest enveloped him and he couldn’t see anyone looking at him with pity like before. And then a few wrong twists and turns later…well, that’s when the storm clouds started covering the sky and he found himself hanging upside down for a bit. Thankfully Ana had cut him down and by the time she arrived he had managed to plaster on that painful smile again, Lautaro masking his own inner turmoil as he simply tried to make it through that stormy afternoon with Anahita watching him.

Though maybe the storm had been a blessing in disguise. Now he had new hope for his future since Anahita was going to train him soon. She had even mentioned that perhaps he could find a new way to fight, using the kinfa that he was so comfortable with instead of simply trying out archery. And even as he practiced now the thought did stick with Lautaro. Maybe Anahita did have a point, he should expand his options instead of being so stubborn about the exact title he was pursuing. If anyone could help him break through his awkwardness then surely it would be one of the most talented new rangers that the village had. She was only a couple of years older than Lautaro and he had grown up watching her from behind, the younger boy too shy to venture towards the outgoing girl who was so focused on her studies. She had helped him out once when they were younglings…not that he expected her to remember him from so long ago, but the memory did stay with Lautaro since he had been a bit terrified that day. Others would consider him a crybaby but it had been an experience getting lost in the woods like that and having Anahita help him out once more. It was kind of strange now that he realized it and a chuckle escaped him. It seemed that things had come full circle with her helping him out in the woods again during a bad storm, Lautaro having wandered off as a child back then and falling with Anahita being the one to stumble into him. Ever since then he had been the one to randomly leave something small like a sweet or flowers with her belongings, a small token of encouragement whenever he knew that Anahita was also having a rough time during training. He had seen those moments where she thought no one was nearby when her guard lowered and the tears fell. After all, they all had their own trials and struggles through life and Lautaro had to keep reminding himself that when he left the training area to go begin on his chores. He would preserve and figure this out, he would find a way to help out the rangers even if it was through something other than his original intentions and more focused on being a beast master in the future. No matter what his exact path was Lautaro was determined to help those who worked so hard to keep their hidden community safe and thriving.

[3225]

Lautaro’s changes were subtle at first. So subtle that he hadn’t even realized how much more confident he was when spending time in the aviary. What had started as extra chores for his mother balanced in between training and normal family time was now something he looked forward to every morning and afternoon. Lautaro loved spending time with the kinfa, the whole flock of birds that his family kept bonding easily with him as he connected and understood them better than most. It was a talent that even had his older sister pausing when she finally saw him in the sky one day atop of a newer tame, an azure bird that Lautaro had named Zephyrus. He was like a sky god, the kinfa flying with twists in the air like the wind itself whenever he had finally healed up after being cooped up for weeks to recover. Lautaro was actually the one who had spent the most time with the bird, helping to set the leg that had gotten snagged in a trap and keeping the kinfa calm whenever others approached. “I know I had started thinking about becoming a beast master, but you really didn’t have to fall out of the sky for me.” He teased the kinfa who snapped at him, the silver orbs somehow bright with warmth despite the nasty temper of the wild familiar. Zeph definitely had attitude, but Lautaro loved that about the kinfa. He had even stood up against Hansika, snapping at her and chasing her away from Lautaro the one time that she had tried claiming him. It was from that moment that the pair knew they were going to be good friends, Lautaro standing up against his sister for Zeph and realizing that he wanted to be the one to ride the kinfa should he stay within the rangers and not return to the wilds. Bonding with the kinfa who was so full of attitude had somehow sparked more confidence in Lautaro, flying with him and learning how to shoot from the air had only increased his strength and made him realize that perhaps Ana was right. Maybe he just had to find his own way this whole time instead of desperately trying to follow in Hansika and his father’s footsteps. Why couldn’t he be a ranger that had more strength in the air and with kinfa? It truly wasn’t a bad thing at all and when Zeph decided to stay, the bird turning around and settling on the ground next to Lautaro instead of flying away and never coming back, the teen realized that it truly was a sign that he should pursue his own path of being a beast master ranger instead of simply following in the footsteps of those before him.

[463 wc]

Lautaro found himself in the aviary, the teen helping his mother more and more with the kinfa ever since his own training with Anahita had been placed on hold and he had taken her advice about exploring other options. Thankfully, it wasn’t because she had given up on him or anything like that. Instead the weather had shifted and strange storms had kept her from returning easily. Now there was even snow on the horizon, the weather so unexpected that it had affected the ranger’s travels and kept Anahita stuck in a foreign country while the merchants waited for the snow to melt away instead of risking their cargo on the now dangerous paths. Lautaro was somewhat more accustomed to cold since their little village in the forest did experience a couple of months of winter during the year, but it was never cold this early. Normally they’d have a few inches of snow during the worst of the season, but this time the cold had come earlier than usual and nearly a foot had fallen across the forest over the last two days with huge piles of snow being pushed around to make paths for the rangers traveling on the ground below. A couple of the hanging bridges had nearly been destroyed by the sheer weight of the snow, the villagers rushing to clear off what they could before more snow arrived to add to the weight on the swaying bridges. Lautaro had tried to help a couple of times but after making more of a mess than actually assisting the teen had gone to help with the kinfa where he seemed more capable. The girls at least had made a snowman, their figures in the snow below almost like dots fading more and more against the pure white background the further that Lautaro climbed up the stairs into the wide space that had been built for the large birds so that they could roost in peace.

“It’s disappointing that Anahita can’t be here, but I suppose our training will just pick back up next week.” Murmured Lautaro as he rubbed an emerald colored kinfa’s neck, the bird cooing as he comforted the older bird who was waiting for the snow to settle. The birds weren’t as fond of the snow, unlike the girls playing down in the clearing below the beasts were all cuddled up in the warmth of their nests that were scattered throughout the space. His family had built this aviary years ago, back when his mother first came to settle in the village, and it had expanded over time with other rangers making smaller versions for their own homes to give their familiars comfortable spaces above the village. You could see some from the open arches of the wooden structure, the round huts of rangers having another level of wooden structure built above their main home with openings for the kinfa to easily fly in and out. It made coming up here a bit colder than what Lautaro wanted, but thankfully the layers of straw and feathers kept it somewhat insulated despite the bitter winds that slipped in through the open areas of the aviary. For now he was just helping to make sure the snow didn’t completely ruin the layers of straw, the teen taking out the old to replace it with fresh and dry materials that weren’t soaked from what snow had gotten into the aviary. Zephyrus was not happy at all with it, Lautaro’s kinfa squawking every time a bit of snow flew into the aviary. His beak opened and closed as if to snap at the invasive material, the bird’s feathers ruffling at the very presence of the strange white fluff that turned into water at touch.

“Oh you’ll be fine.” Lautaro chuckled as he looked at the canvas that they kept at the aviary for when bad weather hit. When it wasn’t sunny out they kept the top of the enclosure mostly covered to keep out rain and in this case snow, but the strong winds and sudden change in weather had made it more difficult to be fully prepared and so here he was working to try to resolve any break in the barrier. “Just think Zeph.” He began with a smile as he looked over at the deep blue kinfa with his silver and gold accented feathers and bright teal eyes. “Now that the snow has calmed we can go flying and see how beautiful the forest is from above with the snow on the trees.” The kinfa made a chirp as if perplexed by his partner’s happiness about the snow, but instead of protesting more he began to preen as if preparing to go on an outing.

“I see you beat me to coming up here.” Lautaro’s mother mentioned, the wind earthling leaning against the doorframe with her lilac gaze gleaming with amusement. Her golden locks were tied back into a braid, her riding leathers on with a longer tunic than normal on top of them to keep out the cold, and she had a short cape that wouldn’t hinder her own kinfa’s movements in the air but would serve to help her against the cold with its layers of fur and wool. “You’ve really embraced spending time with the kinfa, haven’t you?”

“I have.” Lautaro admitted with a small smile, realizing how true it was since he felt so comfortable in the aviary in comparison to training with others on the ground. “I think I’ve accepted that I’m best in the air and not as lucky on the ground.”

“Thank the spirits.” Lihini grinned as she reached over to pat her son’s shoulders. “I’m glad that you finally realized it. You’ll be a talented beast master ranger one day, I have no doubts about that.”

“Sheesh.” Lautaro shook his head. “You make me sound like I was almost helpless. But don’t worry! I’m going to be training more and I’ll start doing escort missions myself soon enough.” He grinned towards his mother. “I’ll ask Anahita to let me tag along on her next once after we train some more.” And he would bring Zeph with him so that he wouldn’t be tripping over his own feet on the ground like usual. In the air he could shoot things from far away and scout with ease, a completely different side of him from the klutz that others saw on the ground.

“Good to hear. What do you say to taking a flight now that the winds have calmed down more?”

“Sounds like a perfect afternoon to me.” Lautaro agreed, ready to take a flight and test out how capable he would be flying out in the snow like this. For once he was confident though, far more eager to test himself than ever before now that he was in the air.

[1148]