[CLASS QUEST] Keilana

[Suhuba]

This Quest is for Keilana who wishes to become a Guard.

OOC
||. You may not control any NPCs or other characters; Keilana must face her trials alone.
||. Respond to the prompts given as you would any other RP.
||. Your responses may be as long or short as you feel necessary.

IC
Earlier in the day, a messenger had been sent to Keilana with detailed instructions, from Enki, to head to a specific site in Sauti. It was a difficult place to navigate for one unfamiliar with the terrain. There were too many natural landmarks that all looked very similar. A basic map had been provided for the Leaf Tribe Prentice. Her presence at this spot had sounded urgent.

A boy marked the very spot where Kei had been instructed to go. He sat atop a boulder, looking quite serious. He was young, stuck in the awkward stage between Youngling and Prentice. His skin and hair were lighter in hue than the Leaf Tribe's; he was a Wind Earthling to be sure. And yet, all things considered, he bore a striking resemblance to the Leaf Tribe's archer, Jacinthus.

The boy heaved a great sigh, glancing at the sky. It was clear that he had been sitting here, waiting, for quite some time. Against the base of the boulder rested a shield, a hammer, and a pair of gauntlets.
 

[jayoku]

Why on earth would anyone make such a useless map for her to follow??? Keilana was a good tracker, but this was a new land for her and even the sketchy map seemed to have been more of a burden than a help in trying to figure her way to the meeting place Enki had requested of her.

The sheer thought of Enki needing her help had her heart a flutter, she cuold only ponder on all sorts of reason's why Enki would summon her, many of them causing a slight blush to form across her face. When she rounded the corner however...she was startled out of her day dream when it wasn't Enki who was sitting there but a young....boy clearly from the Wind tribe looking bored out of his mind.

Her shoulders sagged a little, great so Enki had summoned her to babysit? Lovely...

Grumbling she moved forward looking to the boy and then to each weapon on the ground. "What you running a store here? " She asked teasing the boy somewhat.  

[Suhuba]

The boy looked up at Keilana's approach... and looked just as disappointed to see her as she seemed to be to see him. He sighed. It was clear that he had been summoned here too, although perhaps for very different reasons.

"If you have money to spend, sure, I'm running a store." The boy said with a toothy grin before letting his own shoulders sad in a slight shrug. "Nah. I'm just watching them for a bit." The boy slipped from the boulder and picked up the pair of gauntlets.

"I like these the best." He slipped them on, holding his hands up in a fighting stance as he faced the older woman. The boy glowered at Keilana, throwing a punch that was much too far away to actually hit her, before lowering his arms once more, a grin plastered to his face. "Which do you like?"  

[jayoku]

Keilana blew a piece of her hair out of her face and looked unimpressed by the kids smart a** remark. But at least they were both dissapointed on the same level about who they were expecting to show up.

"Do I look like a girl who can afford weapons?" The leaf girl replied with a snort of a laugh, "I can make do with what I find to make a weapon.." Thinking back to her tree branch she had been forced to leave behind. It was..just too big to drag cross country.

Watching him warily as he slid off the rock and picked out a set of gauntlets and put them on before facing her. Oh...please.. those things would weigh as much as the kid, the scowl on her face was apparent when he gave a mock swing in her direction.

"Listen kid, don't swing a weapon unless you are expecting a fight. I may be a girl but I don't take it easy on anyone." Glancing over at the left over weapons her gaze lingered on the hammer.

"I like my tree branch...but since that isn't here..." Keilana muttered as she went to pick it up. Grunting as she hefted it. This was a lot heavier than her branch at home, but more balanced. Inspecting it over she wasn't sure she liked the reach of it. But it was the closest thing to her branch and thus she turned to face the kid.

"Why are you here anyway? And why are you watching weapons....your not preparing for a raiding party are you?" The question was full of suspicion.  

[Suhuba]

"A... tree branch?" The boy questioned with equal suspicion, almost as though he had never seen such a thing before. At least... not one large enough to be wielded effectively as a weapon.

The boy chuckled as she questioned him. "To raid what? Your Tribe?" He shook his head, grinning, crossing his gauntlet-clad hands across his chest. "No. We're not that kind of people... not that you brought anything with you worth raiding."

A trio of screams rang through the area. The Wind boy's brow furrowed as he turned in the direction of the sound. "How strange..." Without another word to the Leaf Tribe girl, he bounded off in the direction of the disturbance, leaving the untouched Shield on the ground where it lay.  

[jayoku]

Keilana wondered why the boy was giving her such a look, it was as if he thought her wielding a branch was laughable. Of course...given that she hadn't noticed many tree's in the area that could be why. Feeling the weight of the hammer on her shoulder she knew it would be a tough one to try and swing around. It was so...heavy, the staff attached to it felt weird.

At the boy's comment she wanted to retort, of course they had stuff of value! Even if....it was a lie she didn't want her people to seem weak, or useless . Granted she shouldn't give him reason to tell his people the grand idea of raiding the unsuspecting Leaf tribe.

The screams however caught her attention. Turning her head she saw the boy sprint ahead, she reached out with one hand trying to stop him but only to grab air. The wind ...people were fast. Glancing at the shield she too abandoned it, promising herself that it would still be there right? When they got back.

Keilana had no idea what to expect, after all people screaming meant ..more often than one that they were being attacked. She was on unfamiliar land holding an unfamiliar and heavy weapon. Keilana could only prey that it would only be a minor problem.  

[Suhuba]

Hidden behind one of the many mountainous structures, the Wind Tribe boy had come to a sudden stop. His eyes were wide, the smug expression wiped from his face. Ahead of him, suspended from various mountainous structures were an elderly Wind Tribe man, a woman of the Leaf Tribe and a Youngling Shifter. They all seemed to be unconscious... or... worse.

Above the trio, a gaggle of great, winged beasts circled. Their feathers were dark, much unlike the colorful Kinfa of Tale. Their beaks were full of layers of razor-sharp teeth, clearly carnivorous beasts.

"How... how did they get there?" The boy breathed. His gauntlets were suddenly heavy, his arms drooping at his sides. As Kei approached, he turned to her. "What do we do?"  

[jayoku]

Keilana hadn't been prepared for what she saw, the three figures her eye's latching on the young boy first before traveling to the leaf tribe woman and then to elderly man all suspended from rocks and unconscious. Well...that is just...great. Looking up when she caught the glimpse of the giant birds of prey circling above...

When the boy turned to her and asked her what they should do she gave him a incredulous look. What should they do? How did she know?? Okay calm down she was the eldest here..and..she did have the hammer though she doubted she could use it...

Scanning the rock faces she tried to figure out if they could climb the rocks...but then there was the problem of cutting them down. The ground before them was rocky and they could further injure themselves upon landing. Pointing to the birds instead she tried to buy herself a bit of time.

"What are those? Will they hurt those people?" She asked though the latter question seemed a bit obvious, birds that big didn't tend to lend themselves to a vegetarian diet. Moving she lay her hammer down and began gathering rocks of all sizes. She had to make sure those birds didn't try anything. Maybe they could scare them off or lure them away.

"Help me get some of these...we will try and hit those things."  

[Satin Doilee]

The boy grimaced at Keilana as she asked about the birds. Clearly he'd had experience with them before.

Figuring a demonstration was easier than explaining, the boy ran forward. He leapt onto one of the rocky mountains. Growing up in this area, he could climb the craggy structures with ease. However, as soon as he touched the rock, the ugly birds above began dive-bombing him, shrieking, sharp teeth bared.

The boy knew what was coming and managed to raise a gauntlet in defense. He pushed himself off and away from the rock, knowing that the onslaught would only continue if he stayed put or tried to climb.

He returned to Keilana and nodded in agreement as she suggested trying to hit the beasts with rocks. At least, maybe, that would give them enough time to climb up the rockside.

The boy grabbed a pile of hefty stones and began to launch them at the birds. He had relatively good aim and managed to knock one in the head. It fell to the ground, probably more shocked than unconscious. The other birds were beginning to catch on, though. There were about twelve of them in all and while the boy continued to lob rocks with fair accuracy, the birds began to turn on the duo, preparing their toothy divebomb.  

[jayoku]

Watching Keilana's gaze furrowed in thought, they were aggressive birds...large birds so they could be protecting their nests if they roosted in those rocks. Parents could be very very aggressive with such things when it came to their young...and though this made a pang in Keilana's heart it shriveled when they started to get more aggressive.

Okay so this was ...just not going to work. Though perhaps ...Keilana looked to the weapon she had dragged along with her..the weight was new to her it would be awkward to wield but perhaps if she could scare them off by being more intimidating than they were...

Growling she threw her last rock as the birds seemed to decide that attacking all at once would be the best course of action. They would aim for the boy since he was the bigger pest...(for he was a lot better in aim with those rocks than she) and she wasn't going to allow them to lay one claw on him. Even if he wasn't from her tribe he was just a boy and she wasn't going to let them hurt him.

Eying the one on the ground she felt a twinge of remorse but figured....if all else it could be good eating. The hammer came down on the head in a sickening crunch hoping perhaps this would be enough to get the other bastards to take them seriously. She was not going to pull punches and she was not afraid of them.

"DUCK!" She shouted as she came in the hefty hammer in tow and as the birds came in close she swung. Her aim was...less then accurate but she hoped that it would cow them enough to get them to leave them in peace.  

[Suhuba]

The boy did as he was told, ducking out of the way as Keilana swung her hammer at the massive onslaught of birds. She had suddenly become the bigger threat, remnants of their friend still clinging to her weapon.

The boy glanced towards the three people suspended from the rock as the birds came gliding towards them. He dove behind a rock, not wanting them to focus their attention back on him. "Can you keep them busy?" He asked, not sounding entirely confident. "Maybe... maybe I can get to at least one of them."  

[jayoku]

Keilana knew that...her arms were going to hate her later, the muscles were already protesting at they way she swung the hammer. Nodding her head she didn't look to the boy after all she wanted to focus on those sharp beaks and talons.

"Yes, I'll try and lure them away." She voiced as she took another swung resting between each round of flocking birds. "Come on you pathetic excuse's for birds...come and get it." Keilana hissed taking a few steps back slowly, she didn't want to appear intimidated but those birds certainly needed be further from the three unconscious people.

Arms..getting so tired....each hammer thrust which already was wildly arced was becoming unsteady as well. If she managed to hit anything it was probably incredibly good luck.  

[Suhuba]

The boy began to climb the rock, keeping as much of the craggy mountain between him and the birds as possible. Maybe they wouldn't see him... why they were guarding these people in the first place, or how they had gotten here, he wasn't entirely sure.

He moved as quickly as possible. The Leaf Tribe woman had already begun to look as if her muscles were becoming fatigued from the weight of the hammer. He could climb fast... but it would take time to get all three of these people down safely. How he would go about that, exactly, he hadn't exactly figured out... after all, he was not yet a full grown man...

The boy went for the Youngling first. He easily broke the Shifter from his bindings and swung the younger boy onto his back. Without much difficulty, he made it back to the ground. He laid the unconscious child under a rocky overhang, hoping to keep him concealed from the territorial beasts as well.

With a glance towards the Leaf woman, who had successfully managed to hit a bird or two, no doubt shattering one bone structure or another, the boy began to climb again. He was headed for the Leaf Tribe woman this time, thinking she might still be easier for him to transport than the elderly man. He reached her and broke her bindings, but as he began the descent with her hung over his back, he felt himself faltering, his muscles buckling beneath the weight.

The boy grimaced and laid the woman back on the platform. If only... if only he could slide her down to the next platform... take her down the mountain bit by bit. Unfortunately, in her unconscious state, he worried that she would miss the platform and go tumbling down the rocky mountain. If only those birds would disperse... then the Prentice woman could at least catch her.

Feeling trapped and at a loss, the boy quickly climbed back down the mountain. He ran back towards Kei, his metal gauntlet connecting with one of the birds, squarely in the face, as it came soaring towards him. "I can't get them... on my own." He panted, fists raised, prepared to help the woman fight off the birds.  

[jayoku]

Keilana had her hand full with those rather aggressive birds and she glanced over to where the boy was working and was relieved to find that two out of the three had managed to be taken down. The only problem now was the boy confessing he didn't think he could help the man. Sighing out of frustration she ..literally released the hammer on her next swing. It was on purpose and she doubted she'd be able to swing that damned thing any longer.

Hoping to create a fluster amongst the birds she sprinted to where the boy was, pointing quickly off away from the rocks. "Take those you can away from here, try and protect them from those things." She barked as she then looked up to where the man was hanging from unconscious. Taking a deep breath she started to climb.

There were a couple moments where she felt like she was going to slip and fall, but she didn't have time, she had to get to the man and hope to hell those friggin birds didn't came after her. Getting up there she started to undo the ropes before moving to mimic the boy by swinging the man onto her back. She nearly felt her leg buckle and was forced to lock it in place before testing the full weight and standing.  

[Suhuba]

The birds scattered as the Hammer came flying in their direction. They flew after it, doing their best to kill the fallen weapon. After all, it was the thing that had injured their brethren.

The boy nodded as Keilana instructed him. The Youngling was already safely concealed. Half-carrying the woman, he managed to drag her under the overhang as well. The birds still seemed distracted, but with their prey apparently successfully killed, they were beginning to turn their attention elsewhere once more. They shrieked in displeasure, slowly rising into the air once more, moving into formation to circle above the spot where Kei had swung the man over her back.

With expert swiftness attributable only to his years of practice and growing up in his land, the Wind boy made it back up the mountain, standing on a platform only a few feet below where Keilana stood with the man slowly breaking her back. ”Let me help.” He called as the first of the birds began its attack. He knocked the bird to the ground with a well-placed rock before extending his hands up towards the duo. He had thought, at first, to go up and help her carry the man, but it would have been impossible for them to climb, locked together with an unconscious body dangling between them. ”Slide him down to me. I’ll catch him.” If they could just keep sliding him down from platform to platform, maybe they could get him safely to the ground.

The rock, although successful in downing one bird, had managed to rile up the others. The new threat had been established. They would have to work swiftly to get this man, and themselves, back to safety.