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 Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 10:05 am
After a restless night spent with little sleep and too many thoughts crowding his head, Luc rose before the sun. Slinking out of the split-room he shared with Nyxa, Luc grunted at her loud ripsaw snores.
Plucking up a few ashcakes and some jerky, he grabbed a towel and wrapped up enough for both Osero and himself. The remaining wild berries from the previous night were secured in a bowl, and Luc helped himself to those, as well. Luc didn't have much of a taste for the things, but what with Nyxa harping at him to eat them, he always managed to choke them down.
His package placed tidily on the table, Luc stealthily moved back up the ladder to retrieve his bow. It just didn't feel right to leave the lovely weapon at home, not when he was going to be learning about ways to become a very skilled hunter. Besides, after liberating Nyxa of another pair of socks, his sling was once more ready to go.
Moving towards the door, he slipped outside and stretched before trotting to Osero's cabin.
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:04 pm
Osero was sitting outside his cabin when he spotted the youngster approach. Good - he was nice and early. The tall hunter wasn't carrying much - his forked fish spear, a simple leather pouch that was tied to his wide cloth belt and a sheathed knife tucked beside it. He rose as Lucius approached, the hint of a smile on his face.
"Good morning, Lucius. Ready to start?"
The hunter had a few ideas about how to go about everything, now that he'd had the time to consider it. The centre had plenty of fish and game at the moment, so he could forego a proper hunt for now. Luc needed to learn the basics before they could go after prey properly. But, Osero always liked to be prepared, just in case.
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:57 pm
Luc nodded abruptly, hoisting the parcel of food he'd brought. "Here, s'for us to eat." Sure, the cakes weren't going to taste all too great, but the jerky would be nice and it'd be interesting to see if Osero ate the berries.
Every nuance of the other Aerandir's appearance was taken into consideration, from the fish spear, the pouch, the knife. That's one thing that Luc didn't have, well, two things. "Need a pouch, too. Knife, too." The list just seemed to be getting longer. He'd have to talk to Nyxa about his needs. A pouch, a knife, an arrow sling, a bow sling.
"Not really hungry, just thought maybe you would wanna eat." He was far too excited to get going to eat, but he'd choke something down if Osero would rather wait before heading out to start their first real official day of training.
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:31 pm
Osero quietly approved as Luc held up the parcel of food. Not that he was hungry right now, more that Lucius had clearly thought ahead. That was a good sign.
"Good thinking, Lucius." Osero smiled a little. "I have some with me as well." He motioned to the leather pouch before continuing. "I'm not hungry at the moment either. How about we eat later?"
He could see that the youngster was excited. It was understandable, afterall. "We'll head out to the nearby woods today and start on some stealth training."
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:51 pm
Satisfied, Luc nodded. He set the pack aside, figuring that they'd come back to eat, and if they didn't that was fine, too. There was plenty of food in the wild, even if most of it was those horrible berries.
"Stealth training, whassat?" He knew the woods pretty well by now, having spent much of his time out there both as a gryphon and a youth. He fell silent and waited for Osero's reply, a curious expression on his face.
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 3:02 pm
"Learning to move quietly, so that nothing at all can hear you," Osero replied. "Now, how about we head into the woods so that we can get started?"
Propping the slender spear on his shoulder, the tall hunter turned, and began to head northeast towards the nearby forest. The dead leaves and undergrowth rustled only faintly as he padded past the first few trees. Then Osero paused for a short moment, waiting to ensure that the youngster followed.
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:46 am
Luc would be right on the heels of the older Aerandir, eager for his first day of training. Only a soft mutter could be heard from the youngster, "Stealth trainin'," before he nodded and fell silent once more, nearly bumping into Osero when he stopped.
Luc noticed the way that nary a sound could be heard when Osero moved about, and Lucius instantly set himself to attempting to move the same way as his mentor: swift, silent. Disrupting the growth as little as possible.
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:54 pm
Osero continued on a short way into the forest, moving between the familiar trees easily. He knew exactly where to go just now. He could hear the difference in the youngster's movement behind him. The fact that Lucius was practicing even before they had started was a good sign.
After a short period of walking, Osero pushed aside a tree branch to reveal a large clearing. The morning sun shone in, lighting up the area. Here, the hunter stopped and turned to Lucius.
"Here we are. Now, firstly, a few pointers. When you're moving quietly, it's important that you know the ground under your feet, so that you don't disturb twigs and dead leaves. Step slowly, and place the ball of your foot down first before your heel. As a hunter, you need to learn to be aware of everything around you. And practice." Osero smiled faintly.
"We're going to start on the practicing now. What I'm going to do is go out into the centre of that clearing there. What I want you to do is try to sneak up on me without me hearing you." Pausing, he dug into the pouch attached to his belt, and drew out a length of woven cloth.
"I'm going to blindfold myself to make it a bit easier. You can come into the clearing from any direction. Alright?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 2:31 am
Luc's brows drew together as he listened, and waited until he was sure that Osero had tied the blindfold securely around his head after making it to the center of the clearing. "No cheatin', neither." Nodding once, he paused for a mere moment before taking in everything around him. Though he was only a child, instincts kicked in even at his tender age.
Amber eyes rose as he surveyed the tops of the trees, watching what direction they were moving in, if any. Next he catalogued the ground, as if to preplan his steps before making them. Assuring himself that his bow was secured to his back, Luc began to move.
His steps were placed exactly as Osero had suggested, ball-to-heel and slowly, carefully. He made extra sure to do his best, creeping closer and closer to Osero's left side.
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Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 5:34 am
Mildly amused, Osero nodded. "Don't worry. I'm not going to cheat." Pulling the blindfold down over his eyes, he crouched lightly in the centre of the clearing, laying his spear down on the ground beside him. He didn't expect Lucius to be able to do this immediately. It was a hard task that he'd set the youngster, but one that should help him a lot. What Osero was concerned with was not whether or not Luc could sneak up on him successfully. What he was listening for was improvements in the youngling's movements.
As he crouched, the hunter's ears twitched regularly as he listened in all directions. For a time, he could hear nothing but the usual sounds of the forest. Good. He wanted Luc to take his time over this. You couldn't rush moving silently.
Osero then became aware of a light rustle off to the side. He listened for a moment. He could hear a faint rustle, then a pause, then the noise again. Slow, deliberate movements. Not bad for a beginner.
The larger Aerandir turned his head in the direction of the sound. "I can hear you. You're on the left." Reaching up, he pulled down the blindfold a little, leaving it tied so that he could pull it up again easily.
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Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 7:02 pm
Luc merely grunted before pausing for only a moment, perusing the ground with harsh intent. A disgusted look was on his face; it was obvious that he wanted to be the best of the best, the "top c**k" of the hunters. It ran in his blood, the competitive nature, and despite being a child, his nature was already strong.
"Whattam I doin' wrong, huh? Y'think m'goin' too fast?" He grunted, and having noticed that Osero had pulled down the bandana, Luc showed the older Aerandir how he was actually moving. His small feet rolled in an almost-fluid motion, though the clumsiness of childhood was still obvious.
Not waiting for any advice for the moment, Luc spoke again, "Spin 'round in a buncha circles so you don't know where I am and I'm gon' try again."
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:43 am
"You just need some more practice. You can't expect to be an expert the first time you try." Osero smiled at the youngster. "Just try your best. What I'm asking you to do isn't easy.
You've made a good start though, and you sound like you're trying to be careful. Now, let's try it again."
Osero pulled the blindfold back down again, turning around and crouching down lightly in the middle of the clearing, waiting for Lucius to try once more.
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:55 am
Luc stifled a grunt, his sturdy body moving once more. He crept along, sounding noiseless to himself though it would be obvious he wasn't as silent as he thought he was.
With the slightest rustle of leaves, Luc approached from Osero's other side, his eyes alternating from Osero to the ground. His path seemed clear enough, and he crept closer, closer. Almost not breathing, Lucius was trying much harder this time to approach the older, larger hunter.
He was sure he'd get him this time..
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:22 am
Osero sat silently in the clearing, his ears swivelling again as he listened to the sounds around him. Again, he didn't really expect Lucius to manage this yet. It would take him a good bit more practice before he was silent enough to manage this particular task. However, if he learned as fast as Osero thought he might, then perhaps they would be able to pull off a hunt today. If the time and place was right.
This time, the rustling came from his opposite side. Osero listened for a moment longer in order to be sure that it was Lucius. The rhythm of the noises confirmed it shortly afterwards. Rising up and turning to face the noise, Osero spoke out loud. "You're to the right this time. But that was better." Pulling down the blindfold, he smiled. "Keep trying like you are and you'll be an excellent stealther in no time."
This exercise continued on for some time in the clearing. A few hours had passed, and the midday sun was shining through the trees when Osero decided it was time to call a stop. Time for lunch and a break.
"Ok, we'll leave it there for now." The tall hunter smiled. "You must be hungry by now. How about we have something to eat?" Loosening a tied bag from his broad belt, Osero moved over to a fallen tree trunk at the edge of the clearing and sat down upon it. Unfastening the bag, he produced some wrapped food before waiting for the youngster to join him.
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 10:56 am
Eyeing the sky like he'd learned in one of the books Nyxa'd given him, Luc guessed that a few hours must've gone by. In answer to Osero's question, his little tummy grumbled menacingly. With a quick nod, Luc moved over to the taller Aerandir, his wings flexing idly. "I'm hungry too." He grappled for his own bag of food, sneakily leaving the berries behind as he brought his own knapsack closer.
"Nyxa don't know how t'cook," he muttered, almost angrily tearing at a piece of jerky. The ashcakes were crumbly, and Luc couldn't help but greedily eye the other Aerandir's food.
"She tries t'feed me berries." Forlornly he swallowed, shoulders slumping.
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