Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Come along then, Veka!" Rastian called as he ascended an ice covered hill. He stared down to his side where his friend stood among the snow, his hands messing with his cloak for about the fifteenth time since they had left Viveka's home. The hybrid boy sighed and sat down upon a ledge. How could someone born in such a rough climate not know that long, fluffy cloaks would get stuck in deep snow? Honestly, he thought that would be basic knowledge. A few layer shirts, a pair of decent boots, and insulated pants were all you needed up here. He knew that, and he didn't even live up here! At least not full time.

After watching Viveka struggle with his cloak for a few minutes more, he raised a hand to his head, rubbed his temples, and made his way back down the slope.

"You really should dress for simplicity and warmth, not just warmth..." He said, digging Viveka's cloak out of the snow.

Speaking of the sweet sounds of silence someone was moving through the snow at the moment in a manner more quiet then one his size should. A massive mountain of a man who stood a head taller then anyone in his village and was wider then more of them as well. Gyuri, a halfbreed from a nearby village was tasked by his father with the job of going out to follow the trap line, tossing any creature unfortunate enough to get themselves into the large basket strapped to the sled he was pulling. It was a job he'd done many times in the past, not old enough to go hunting, even though he did have the appearance of someone much older then aprentice.

He'd seen about getting this done, getting everything all gathered, and the he would head home for the next part of the task which was even more mind numbing, that being skinning them creatures, preparing the hides, and bringing the meant to his mother to prepare. She made some of the best jerky around though so that was something to look forward to he thought to himself as he continued to follow the trap line, that was until he heard... voices? Out here? He blinked his mismatched eyes a couple times before looking around the area, wondering where the voices were coming from of it he was just so bored at the moment that he was starting to hear things. Best that he didn't tell his father that or the man might think that he was just in need of more work to do he thought to himself.

Making a bit of a face at the thought, Gyuri continued his walk, certain that it was just him hearing things. He was just far too used to being in silence since there was little going on at this time of day, save for a few animals shuffling about. He was just hoping that something might happen to make the day more interesting, that was all... and how he wished it would. Gathering was so dull, yet another reason why he didn't look forward to becoming a hunter when he was old enough to join his father for real.

Viveka had noticed Gyuri before Rastian had, and had moved himself towards the slope in an attempt to hide. Who was this big guy and why was he pulling that sled? Was he lost? Did he lose his sled Raptrix? Whatever the reason, Viveka didn't care, but the mere sight of someone that buff made him nervous! Amber eyes darted away to see where Rastian had gone, hoping that he would be able to hide behind him, and flashed upwards to where he had heard him call out. His mouth just about dropped to the floor.

"RASTIAN, GET DOWN! YOU ARE TOO HIGH UP THERE!" He shrieked. "YOU'LL FALL, CRACK YOUR SKULL, AND DIE!"

In reality, Rastian was only about four feet above his head, and couldn't suffer such a level of damage if he fell. But to Viveka, he was clinging to the edge of a cliff that was forty feet off the ground, and he needed to get down THIS INSTANT before he started to CRY!

Rastian heaved a sigh as Viveka freaked out. This happened every time he wanted to climb up the slopes while traveling with his friend. It was the most irritating, and yet saddening thing about Viveka. Despite how dramatic and idiotic it seemed, the feelings stemmed from a terrifying event that Viveka had gone through as a child, his mother's death. She had fallen off of a slope during a blizzard and cracked her skull. No amount of healing could have saved her.

Thus, as Gyuri came to his "rescue", he smiled and allowed the larger Prentice to pluck him off of the "tower of doom" he was standing on. Once he was "safely" back on the ground, he turned to Gyuri and chuckled.

"Thank you, it was truly terrifying up there!" He exclaimed, sticking his tongue out at Viveka. "I was shaking in my boots!"

When the other allowed it Gyuri took a careful hold of Rastian, helping him down off of his perch, and placed him carefully on the snow in front of him. Once he was safely off of the little cliff he had been standing on the big guy turned to look over at his friend who was talking about how dangerously high the other man was. He glanced up at the little cliff, down at the ground, then back up again... but said nothing. That wasn't too big a deal though, he rarely said anything so why start now? Besides it seemed as though the other two men were talkative enough, seeming as though they were able to fill the silence at the moment. Why should he interrupt when it seemed that they had a lot to say to one another? They must be close if they were as talkative as all of this he decided. Not to mention the concern that the anxious one showed for his braver friend. Yes, they must be close he thought to himself, a touch envious. He didn't have anyone that close yet but then again given how busy he was all the time it was as though he had much of a social life at the moment. Something he really needed to remedy.

Even as the two of them thanked him Gyuri merely nodded at them, noticing the way that they were continuing to talk with one another after their words of gratitude. He didn't want to be a bother, so perhaps it was best that he stayed quiet? He merely smiled where he felt that he should smile, giving both of them a pat on the shoulder, before he glanced over at the sled. He should probably return to it, huh? It wouldn't be right of him to slack off in the middle of his chores for too long. The one called Rastian was rescued now so he supposed that he could return to work, right? He gave himself a mental push and started forward toward where his sled was waiting for him.

Once he arrived at the sled, which really wasn't far from where the chatty pair were standing, he gave everything a quick once over. It all seemed to be in order, nothing missing or tipped, that was good. The very last thing he wanted was for anything to be stolen from the sled's baskets because he wasn't paying attention. His father wouldn't be too pleased and he'd likely end up with extra chores to make up for the loss which was never fun.

Viveka, though still far behind, was nowhere near out of ear shot. He pouted and furrowed his eyebrows at Rastian as he glanced over and turned his nose in the air. How could he be so rude? He wasn't hounding Rastian, he was just telling him what wasn't safe to do around here! He could climb all he wanted in Sauti, but climbing in Zena was forbidden unless it was upon a mountain path! Those were safe to wander along, not those small ledges that had no markers!

After a moment, he huffed and decided to wander forward to join the pair, only to get his cloak stuck in the snow for the umpteenth time. Pathetically, he gazed up to Rastian and whimpered.
"I'm stuck, Rastian!" He cried. "Help me!"

Rastian's eyes could have been mistaken for emeralds as Gyuri nodded to his question. Yes! Oh my god, did he need fur for trading! People all over the place were looking for it and he could never find it without having to do some insane amount of labor for it. Maybe this guy would be kind enough to trade a few skins for some crystals or other sort of fabric? He had a whole list of questions ready for asking when, once again, Viveka's squeaky little voice interrupted him. Slowly, olive toned eyes crawled towards Viveka's direction for a solid glare, when they were met with Gyuri's backside instead. He blinked, his face going blank for a moment, before smirking. Oh ho hoooo, Viveka was getting "rescued" by someone else! How would he react?

Then, he had to keep himself from falling over in the snow from a bout of laughter. HE WAS CARRYING VIVEKA! OH OH OH, HOW ADORABLE! He clenched his stomach as Viveka was set down next to the sled and made a rather off "PFFT" sound as he continued to shove his laughter down. Too cute, too precious, and SO WORTH BLACKMAILING HIM FOR! He could just see Natsu's lip pursing and fists clenching as he recanted the day that his Viveka got swept off his feet by another man! That would be the BEST DAY EVER. Unless he got punched, of course, but it even then it would still be worth every second.

Of course, when he was told to sit down upon the empty spot, he did as he was told, though still keeping a rather amused eye on Viveka. He made himself comfortable and gazed up to Gyuri with a smile.

"Thanks for rescuing the Princess!" He chirped, leaning over as another bout of laughter rose up from within his chest. "His prince is stuck in Sauti baby sitting and couldn't make it out for a stroll. I'm assured you're his hero!" He stuck his tongue out at Viveka. He could be a real jerk when he wanted to be, and damn it, he really frigging wanted to be. It was fun to irritate Viveka!

Gyuri merely smiled as Rastian thanked him for his help in 'rescuing the princess' something that he couldn't help but to be amused over. The teasing was rather funny, especially given that he had 'saved' both of them already from various 'dangers' that Zena presented. He didn't mind though, he might as well make good use of his muscles after all given that he had so many of them. So long as he could be of some use it was rather... nice. It went to show that he was good for something other then just being a pack animal he thought to himself. Of course even as he thought that he was betraying the thought at the same time as he waited for the pair to sit down on the sled so that he could pull them around just like the animal that he was claiming not to be.

When Rastian mentioned that Viveka's 'Prince' was stuck in Sauti and couldn't make it out that Gyuri got to be the hero. It was something that caused his smile to grow some more, rather enjoying the idea of getting to be a hero. It was so much better then some of the more boring things that he did he thought to himself before he started toward the front of the sled, picking up the straps, attaching them to the harness he was wearing, and set to pulling the sled along. It seemed as though the added weight of two people on it meant absolutely jack to Gyuri but given his sheer size it wasn't all that surprising. This was rather... nice. It was a shame he couldn't have people with him more often when he worked, especially kind, chatty sorts like these two. He paused only when Viveka asked his name, turning to look at them, "I'm Gyuri." He murmured, then added after a moment of thought, "Nice to meet you both." Ack, so many words, but it was an important thought that he wanted to convey to them.

With that he was once more pulling them along, checking on the trap line, gathering more various creatures, tossing them into the baskets on the sled behind his two passengers. After he a few stops he told them, "Done now." He said, then moved to turn them around, heading back toward the village, wondering if the one who seemed so interested in the furs he was gathering would want to see what they had prepared already. They were going to be brought to market soon but maybe they could give Rastian a sneak peek? He'd have to ask his father when he got back he thought to himself.