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Class Quest Solo

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Mornings in the village were filled with a cacophony of voices, filling the trees with the hoots and hollers of a successful hunt. It began with the soft calls of the scout, a sound similar to a bird fluttering through the trees. The villagers would echo it back, those that were awake early, and soon the call echoed back and forth. Once the greater hunt team made way through to the village clearing, sounds of cheering and success would vary depending on how big of a kill. If it was a small haul, it was soft and supportive. For the larger kills, it was similar to a celebration. No matter what, the sounds honored those who went out to risk themselves for the good of the community, and many were used to such wake-up calls.

Yonas had grown up around such sounds. When he was a youngling, he would spend time with his sister at the break of dawn. While she would be leaned against the open window pane, her head resting on her folded arms as she peered seriously out into the murky darkness, he would be groggy and wrapped in a blanket. It wasn't by choice that she would force him up, but then again she was the early bird and he the night owl.

He would watch his sister as she heard the first call, pushing herself up and holding her hands around her mouth as she joined the calls back. Her excitement was to be part of the process, not because of family but simply because of the experience of the tribe. He was mostly grateful to know that everyone was safe.

As they grew older, Kamber often joined his side, curling up next to him groggy as their sister returned the calls. Often, Maizah was the first to reply, her eyes bright as she would turn and express how excited she was to join the hunt. Yonas felt even more uncertain about the process, and when finally Maizah joined the hunt, he couldn't sleep. For once, he was the one lingering at the window, waiting as the sun rose for the first calls. And when they came, he darted outside with Kamber, watching as Maizah appeared with a large kill over her shoulder. An immediate success, as was expected.

Whereas Maizah found something new that day, Yonas lost something of his own. His safety net was falling away, and in his desperation he attempted to join her on future hunts. It was a failure, of course, but he attempted to try and he knew Maizah appreciated it in turn. Kamber couldn't be bothered, she seemed to prefer staying back and cooking instead of hunting. And so Yonas was stuck. Not interested in hunting, not interested in waiting.

He ended up joining his father one day when the hunting group went on a multi-day trip. He had helped his father build homes in the past, but this time it was a new area. For once he understood why his father did such activities, finding himself falling into the art of building from the ground up. By the end of the day his muscles were pleasantly worn, his arms hard to lift over his head, and his father seemed pleased for all of the help. He leaned into his father's large arm as they walked back, smiling to himself at a job well done.

That night he slept soundly for the first time in awhile, his exhaustion leaving him with few dreams. Before he knew it, he awoke to the calls of the tribe, the sounds of his sister returning and Kamber stumbling to the window to greet them back. His muscles were tight and his hands worn, and it took awhile for him to lift himself slowly up and approach the group, his own eyes easily finding his sister and nodding in reaction to her success.

The next few weeks he found himself working hard with his father, developing muscles and strengthening his hands and his constitution. It was easier to be separated from his sister, mostly because he didn't need to speak so often with the workers. They all were content to work in peace, his father the only one who would spend time speaking as he took the time to teach Yonas. It was a slow process, mostly because he needed to learn generations of techniques, and more often than not he failed. But the group helped him correct such mistakes, supportive even with the gentle teasing that he had grown to love.

When Kamber approached him one night, the heat of the summer broken by the soft breeze through the open window, he was surprised to find himself falling asleep.

"Yonas..." She whispered, crawling into the bed next to him which was empty from Maizah's travels, "...Yonas...you haven't been staying up to wait for Maizah..."

"I-I-I know..." he stuttered back lowly, tired but paying attention to his sister's questions. It wasn't often they had these late night talks.

"Are you not going to become a hunter?" She asked softly.

"No."

It echoed in the silence, final and true. He felt Kamber reach out to hold his hand.

"You're going to be a builder, like papa?" She asked after a moment, and Yonas couldn't answer. But he did squeeze her hand, looking up into the darkness. Yes, he was going to try. It was an art that he could follow, something to live up to the family name that didn't depend on his confidence or his words. He was good at it, and it was what he wanted to do.

"Yes." He said finally, as the sounds of the hunters began to echo once more. This time, both of them waited for their sister to arrive, sleeping in for the first time since they could remember.

Run Free
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Yonas x Makatza

The Aftermath
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Yonas x Maizah

Truth or Dare
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Yonas x Maizah