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Beast Charmer to Beast Tamer Growth Solo
Poaching Never Pays

Kiyelt sat astride one of Oba’s greatest wonders; the fierce but loyal Janarim, as far as he was concerned there was no better companion for whatever came ones way in life. Big enough to be a real help in any battle, the janarim’s wit power and strength were legendary. Perhaps that was why they had become the target of hunters bent on increasing their fame for taking them down. That was all well and good, hunting was hunting, it was a nessessary act of survival for people. He had absolutely no beef with legitimate hunting for survival or to make a living, however the rumors he was hearing disturbed him greatly. There was a group of people out there that hunting but made no use of the meat or the bones or well anything. They just killed because of the status it gave them. He had already decided that if he came across them he would pick a fight, see how they liked fighting someone who matched them physically and mentally. But if they didn’t come across them out in the bush than so be it, he wasn’t about to go poking trouble.
That was until he heard the descriptions of their next targets. A brown male and a dark black female, he was very familiar with the Janarim who were residents around his town, and the bonded pair that matched that description happened to be old friends of his from his training days and Skiyaii’s parents Leatherback and Blue Stone. He was emotionally invested in their survival, despite them being a different species, they felt like family to him and he had to hoard all the family he could get out here in Oba away from his blood still in Zena.
So here he was gazing out over the land in search of the two janarim who had helped him gain so much over his time in Oba, they meant more to him than most of the people in his town. “Where are you guys?” He wasn’t looking for the poachers,that would take too much time and would leave the janarim pair vulnerable to attack while he traipsed along most likely finding nothing. No he would use the skills he already had to track and find the alpha pair and stay with them until the threat came, then he would try and explain to the poachers why they couldn’t take his friends for glory. If that didn’t work and if they were willing to risk their lives in the desert to do it, he was pretty sure talking would not dissuade them. But as he was a fair man he would at least give them the chance to leave without harm. He had no idea who they were what they looked like, what their stories were, he had been unable to get the information out of the Oban who had been telling the tale. Apparently he didn’t talk to icelings; of all the unhelpful informants it had to be that one that was his only lead. He would have suspected a trick if the man had not been talking to someone else and Kiyelt had simply overheard their discussion. He had been lucky, very lucky, not all were as fortunate to meet such nice Obans as he usually did, there were bound to be people who didn’t understand him, who were afraid because he was different. All he could do was work through it.
Kiyelt nudged Skiyaii forward, they would not find his canny parents sitting here, there was a lot of ground to cover and the first place he would head is the watering hole. Everyone liked a drink once in a while, Janarim included. Once they reached the bank it was plain to see that there had indeed been a janarim here, the heavy footprints were encased in mud, a broad sign post to anyone with a brain. He sighed and stepped over them himself, covering up the fresh tracks in the hopes that the poachers would not follow them as he had. They were fresh, one of the pair was nearby, now he just needed to find it. “One would think after all this time spent around you guys that the janarim would just present themselves once they know I’m in the area.” He chuckled to himself and slapped Skyaii’s hide affectionately. He remounted and ranged until he found where the janarim had left, from there they followed sign and scent until they found Bluestone, feeding at a kill. Skiyaii called a greeting to his mother who grunted in return. She ignored the iceling perched on her son’s back, she knew him, he wasn’t going to pester them, so she let him stay. “Hey old lady, where is your husband this sunny day? It’s important that I know where both of you are..oh and I’ll be spending the night, and I know your not going to like it.” Bluestone stared blandly at the creature as it jabbered on and grunted again. Kiyelt knew she didn’t understand and thought that was best, it worried him that she was so unafraid of people, of course usually a janarim was relatively safe and she knew he was not out to hurt them. He sighed and nudged his mount over to the edge of the thicket to wait, he would hide himself and Skiyaii in the hopes of luring the poachers with what they would think a perfect ambush. The bushes grew tall and thick due to the proximity of water and it was most helpful for his espionage.
Eventually ol’ Leatherback himself made an appearance to feed beside his mate; he too knew Kiyelt was there and he too ignored his presence which worked out wonderfully for him. The day faded and eventually the pair moved off to their den. Kiyelt followed hoping fervently that there would be no pups in there, if there were he was in big, big trouble. There would be no way they would let him into the cave despite his large ambassador. When the two entered the cave Kiyelt sent Skiyaii in too, and sat sheltered just inside the entrance. It was not going to be a restful night sitting so close to two wild janarim. On the plus side they had full bellies, on the negative he was still an intruder and his presence was still an affront Beast Charmer or no. He was careful to minimize his scent, rubbing mud and old dung over himself. It would help to keep them calm hopefully. He didn’t really blame them for the uneasy noises drifting out from the depths of the cave, he was uneasy himself but it was for their own good that he had them cornered like this. He watched for a long time before finally drifting off, to be awoken in the morning by Leatherback stepping over him, grumbling the whole time. The beasts feet kicked him a little as it passed, but Kiyelt knew it wasn’t out of menace..but he better move before the Mrs. came out. She would probably take great delight in stepping him. Bluestone had never been as open minded as her mate. Kiyelt followed them as they scent marked the territory, making sure to keep by at least one’s side when they were apart, but further back so as not to be immediately noticeable to hunters. A few days went by like this, the janarim eventually not caring much at all that he was there, he was like a piece of raggedy furniture to them. Kiyelt began to believe it was all a hoax and he had spent the last few days covered in dung for nothing. Until the fourth night when he heard the murmured voices once the janarim had entered their cave. They were here.
The group approached the cave relatively stealthily, which was smart of them, they brought torches as well to burn their quarry out, that he couldn’t allow. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he used his deepest most intimidating voice. There were three of them, large Oban hunters, muscles on top of muscles. This could hurt. Or he could lie. He would do anything to save the janarim behind him. If it came to a fight he would fight, but it didn’t nessesarily have to. His voice leaked out of the cave like a slow flow of magma. The men paused, shocked into stillness, “There wasn’t supposed to be men here,” one muttered. “Come out so we can see you!”
Kiyelt strode to the entrance, “What are you doing here, at my home?” He asked, to the accompanying growls of three Janarim. He didn’t recognize them, these men were from a different city, not Tivrod, which was a huge relief because there would probably not be any mention of an iceling living with a pile of critters in a tent.
“We are come hunting, these were supposed to be wild beasts out here, not tamed.”
The janarim had come to investigate the strange voices infiltrating their sleeping place. Bluestone stood closest to him, which made Kiyelt sweat a little, why couldn’t it have been Leatherback or even better her son? Why? He might lose a hand with what he was about to do. He swallowed and reached a hand out placing it gently but firmly on her shoulder. “Do they look wild to you?”
Bluestone could eat him for this, he was pretty much convinced she was going to, but she glanced at him, sensing the real threat. She had become accustomed to him over time, even though this was as far as close as he had ever gotten without actually battling her. His breathing had stuttered a little too as her eye slid over and he hoped they wouldn’t notice.
The men looked like they had swallowed lemons. Kiyelt smirked and removed his hand. “Be gone the lot of you and I won’t kick your butts back to wherever you came from. A man with three tame janarim would be a terrible force in battle and he had put on a lot of muscle out here himself. The men glanced at each other, “Fine, we will take our hunt elsewhere.” They turned one after the other and left slowly. Kiyelt would stay a few more nights out here to be sure. Maybe he would move out close to here anyway. By not eating him, the janarim had just solidified his feeling of rightness for saving them. They were good critters, even Mrs. Grumpy Pants. He counted all his fingers in case he had imagined it. He slowly melted to his knees all the adrenaline bleeding out of him and leaving him a mess. He could have lost them, he could have been injured. He couldn’t even imagine how awful he would feel if one of them had gotten hurt. He breathed deep trying to still his panic. They were safe, so was he and they would remain safe and wild if he had anything to say about it. Bluestone had given him more than one gift; her son and her trust. Both were invaluable to him and he had to admit he was touched. This rational behaviour he expected from Leatherback but not so much from his more aggressive mate.
This trip had taught him many things, familiarity breeds trust, sometimes you had to take a chance to prove your bluff, and don’t judge a janarim by her crotchety attitude.

He sat there outside the cave and thought about the past, his family, who he used to be. Judgemental and close minded on the plains of Zena, to living in a country he had fought a war with, among people and creatures that meant so much to him. Out here in the desert he could be himself, he no longer cared so much about what other icelings thought about him, a far cry from his pre-adolescent self. This not caring and more open minded approach had given him so much more than it had taken from him. He had followed his own dreams to Oba, that had been his decision to leave, not his parents decree. It was also his decision to stay here and identify himself as Oban if not a fireling. He never ever thought that he would bond so much with another country that he would basically give up Zena as a home. Looking back he realized that for him he was in a much better place. He had never really felt as right with the creatures and the people there as he did here. The color and the vibrancy of the Oban culture set into the rugged, harsh terrain of the desert. One thing was for sure, this land was never frozen, the sand always shifted, change was always happening, and he reveled in it, it was difficult even to navigate the desert due to that change. He still faced a culture with its superiority complex but now he was the outsider, which rather changed ones perspective. He was also very lucky in the few friends he did have, he was more accepted in the small town of Tivrod than in the bigger centers which was alirght with him. In Tivrod he got to know people easier, make deeper connections, touch peoples lives and be touched in return.

In the desert all the politics, social norms and occasional awkwardness fell away. He could just be himself, just another rung on the great food chain, not labeled or stuffed into categorical boxes. Not just an iceling, not just a beast charmer, but something less and something more. He was able to become one with the desert ecosystem less of a man and more of an animal but most importantly free. Free of expectations and pre-conceived notions. Free to pursue and observe the creatures that he loved far more then the fluffy mammus or elegant raptrix of home.

He still loved his family of course, but didn't need to depend on iceling society for his identity or Oban society for that matter. He made his own self identity and that was really what mattered most to him. He may visit Zena or the other provinces again. But Oba was his home, and it was here that he would return.

Word Count: 2384

Blurb: Solo now shows how he has worked through how he self identifies with himself as of Oba. How the desert biome allows him to fall away from all of the social niceties of earthling culture and how it is ever changing. All things that appeal to him enough to mentally "move" to Oba and make it his home. It may be harder to live there but he prefers this new perspective. It makes him feel more enlightened in that he knows how both sides of the coin feels; the race thinking they are superior and the race feeling judged. In the end it is how you view yourself that should matter.

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World Event: Strange Weather XxX