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 Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:39 pm
He wasn't really supposed to eavesdrop on people, it was very rude to do so and anyone decent would have known better. Jerishude was not a decent person in the slightest so he didn't feel an ounce of regret for listening in on the gossip of a few whiteriders here and there. They'd mentioned tunnelsnakes or something similar and naturally that'd piqued the interest of the youth who really enjoyed doing things he wasn't supposed to be doing. Hunting tunnelsnakes sounded pretty tame regardless of the fact they'd mention something about 'poison' and 'it really hurts'. None the less Jerishude really, really wanted to try his hand at killing something. He could chalk it up to trying to help the Weyr if he got caught and he'd do his best to not get bitten.
Scampering back to his room that he managed to have all to himself (yay for being known as the creepy guy that no one wanted to room with!) he gathered what he thought might be helpful in killing off those large and ungainly creatures. His heavy oar-like object that he used to crush firelizard eggs would probably come in handy, so would thick boots and wrappings on his legs and hands. He wasn't too worried about his head or his torso, if he was bit on either of those places he deserved it, and so the youth set out to check the halls and cliffs for any signs of the beasts.
This was going to be sharing awesome.
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Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 2:04 pm
Vessali had been helping to transfer some goods out of a storage room where a tunnelsnake had been spotted, on the off chance that they might find a nest or a least a passage back to one. He had broad shoulders and shifting boxes wasn't beyond him, so he'd been put to work.
He was headed back to change, now, since he was a little dusty. As he passed the room, he narrowly avoided a collision with Jerishude and his ...oar? He slowed and turned back, brow furrowing. "Are you going padd--" No, he didn't have the first what that was for, really. "Where are you going with that?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 2:37 pm
Jerishude stopped in his tracks the moment he heard a voice hail to him and he spun on his heels. It wasn't someone important, just another candidate, and the usually thin and snarky grin that he liked to wear spread over his lips rapidly. He raised an eyebrow at the very vague salutation and bowed his head a bit, acknowledging the speaker.
"I'm just going out and about, trying to see what I can see and do what I can do? Why? You want to come along~?"
There was a hint of sing-song to his voice, like he was goading on this person whom he didn't know. He knew their face of course, but not their name. Names always escaped Jerishude no matter how hard he tried to hang on to them. Patterns of behavior and faces? Not a problem.
"I've just heard some fun rumors and wanted to see if they're true. No harm in that either, right~?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 3:35 pm
Well. There was probably no harm in investigating rumors. Depending on the rumor, of course. Vessali wasn't much reassured by Jerishude's grin, but he was curious. He liked knowing what was going on on the islands just as much as the next boy.
He stepped a little closer to the narrower young man. "What sort of rumors?" The sort that required a stick the heft of the one Jerishude held? What sort of rumor prompted that? He gestured with his chin toward the oar. "Going to need one of those to come along?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 5:53 pm
"Hm, two is always better then one so if you think you can grab one quickly and we can head out at the same time then sure, why not? Otherwise you can simply act as the distraction and I can hit them on the head while they lunge for you. Also don't worry, I'm pretty accurate when it comes to killing things with one strike."
Of course Jerishude didn't make a single mention of what they were going after but he hoped that his companion would be smart enough to catch on with the dropping of "lunge" "kill" and "rumours". Surely everyone had heard about the tunnelsnakes by now, right? If they hadn't then they weren't listening well enough or they weren't Jerishude. Also he hoped the thick leather on his arms and legs were a rough indication of proper attire. At least his companion looked thick enough that his skin might deflect a bite. Maybe.
"Well? You going to come or not? I really don't have all day to stand here, it'll really be hard when it gets dark. Harder and far more fun probably, but certainly harder."
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Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 7:29 pm
Vessali looked a lot slower than he was. He could figure out, based on the way Jerishude spoke, what he wore and what he carried, that he wasn't going out to tend the herdbeasts, or anything nearly that tame. He also wasn't thick enough to be duped into playing bait for anyone, much less a fellow candidate he barely knew.
He'd go along, though, just to satisfy his curiosity. "I'm coming," he answered. "Give me a tenth-mark." Enough time to get a stick to swing himself, just in case, and to snatch a pair of gloves out of his things. Then he was back beside Jerishude and ready to go. "How far are we going?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 7:56 pm
"Not really sure where we're going, but I figure we can start by snooping around the hatching grounds. People last spotted the tunnelsnakes around there and maybe we'll see them again. After all we did have them running around during the touching. Are you a bit worried that we might get a hold of one of them that's big? You look strong enough to smash the head in of one."
Of course hunting tunnelsnakes was a very bad idea in all regards, but it would help out in the Weyr, right? Anyway candidates helped out by killing tunnelsnakes anyway when the Whers and the Whiteguard couldn't get to them so it wasn't like Jerishude had never seen one before. He figured his companion was in the same boat.
"Plus by killing any that we see, we're protecting the Weyr in our own way, aren't we? Let's get moving."
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Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 12:09 pm
Vessali had seen tunnelsnakes, yes. He'd even chopped at a few with shovels before. He wasn't a squeamish sort and he did have strength going for him, so he got those sorts of chores sometimes. That said, he'd not yet run into any that were big enough to kill or eat a man. Given his druthers, he'd avoid that all his life.
"We'll protect the Weyr, but we'll watch out for ourselves, too," he insisted. "I'm not getting eaten by a tunnelsnake today." Or any, Faranth's spirit protect them.
He swung his makeshift cudgel over his shoulder, though, and headed out after Jerishude, a step or so behind. No reason to trod on the other boy's heels, after all.
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Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 5:28 pm
Jerishude smiled his usual grin, something that could make people wonder if he actually knew how to properly smile. He didn't say much else after the other boy's words but instead started off with something akin to a skip, the sheer delight in the task at hand obvious. Maybe they'd get lucky and kill a really big one and they could put it in someone's bed.
That would be awesome.
It didn't take long though for the pair to find their way into a darker area of the Weyr and to hear the familiar sounds of skittering that a tunnelsnake often made when moving. Jerishude turned to Vessali and raised one of his eyebrows, wondering if his companion had heard it too.
"By the way, my name is Jerishude. Pleasure to meet you, I hope you don't get bitten."
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Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 9:01 pm
Vessali couldn't say he'd ever met anyone happy about heading off to hunt tunnelsnakes before, but he felt pretty sure that Jerishude was. Odd, that, but he didn't judge. He tried not to, at any rate. Maybe the other boy had a good reason for being gleeful about the possibility of bludgeoning a snake to death.
Dark parts of the Weyr always gave Vessali a little pause. He wasn't going in to any narrow tunnels. Couldn't. This didn't look bad so far, but still. "We should go back and get glows. Don't want to be surprised and caught off guard, do we?" Especially not with the telltale sounds of movement echoing around them.
"Vessali," the bigger lad offered in return. "Pleasure's mine. And the same. Let's neither of us bleed today."
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 7:37 pm
"Don't tell me you're scared of the dark. Are you really?"
Jerishude paused in his steps and turned around, his face actually holding a look of confusion. There was nothing to fear about the dark or narrow places that the Weyr held, not so much because he'd been in nearly every inch that he could find. Jerishude spent most of his younger years raising hell and running and hiding from the punishment so these tunnels and the darkness were like second nature. It was just weird to hear that someone didn't want to go in them.
"Should I hold your hand then, Vessali? I know these tunnels well enough and they're silent enough that we can hear the sounds the tunnelsnakes make. If you really want though then we can go back but I think the light will do us more harm then good."
As far as he knew it would anyway. Tunnelsnakes were things he only know about smashing on the head and killing. That was pretty much it.
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