[PRP - Yael] Adventures into the Unknown [Tai x Kieran] FIN

[Sabra Knight]

Another beautiful evening. Tonight's adventure found Kieran on the edge of Yael, slightly away from any nearby villages. Where he stood was above a rocky expanse that touched the edges of the shoreline where the ocean waves rolled. Before him was a cave system that had glimmering stones and crystals along the way. Some, in fact, were actually Keldari who rattled warnings as he approached. Oh this definitely looked like an interesting spot.

Sitting down on a ledge, the Yaeli stuck out a long leg and began to skirt down the rock side. Behind him the forest seemed to rustle warnings, but the male pressed on. Anyone seeing him might take the wrong idea, perhaps he was insane or even looking to end things by tossing his body into the waves, but truly was he looking for better footholds. Cliffside caverns at best could hide many secrets and he wanted to get a better look inside of this particular one. As he moved his knapsack swung behind him as a weight of journals and writing material. Why would he ever leave home without something to document his finds after all?

Frowning, Kieran straightened his back against the weight and began to move down the rocks...

Painted Moose

 

[Painted Moose]

Taijana was on the hunt.

She, Tryios and Trilanna had been exploring the yaelian wilderness for well over two weeks now. Her siblings had thought it time to return home, but Taijana had stayed behind. She wasn't ready to go back to the overwhelming crowds in the city; for now all she wanted was the peace that only nature could provide.

As she walked she kept a lax, if not noticeable, hold on her crossbow. Being a huntress meant that she needed to stay on her guard at all times, but some days a little stroll was just fine too. Taijana wasn't planning on bringing in anymore game today; not unless something succulent came by her, anyway!

Rather, her goal was the ocean. She'd yet to see it, and with it being so close she thought now might be the time. So, with a little pep in her step, Taijana came closer still to the shoreline where she saw a younger boy....sliding down the stone?!

She shrieked and started to run closer. "Hang on, I'll help you!"

Sabra Knight

 

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

He had the perfect hold. Smirking, Kieran reached out and prepared to grasp it until sudden noise made the boy stumble. Damn! Anyone else would have thought that truly he had fallen, but somehow he managed to just disappear a few inches below sight. In a rather uncharacteristic sense the male flailed before he finally managed to hug the cliff wall. His bag, dangerously unbalanced from the sudden flurry of movement, flew out behind him as the latch began to strain. Not my journals, no, no, no! He closed his eyes in a silent prayer and let out a sigh of relief as he managed to get a better grip on the leather straps.

Now who in the world?

Frowning, Kieran pushed himself up so that he could reappear. Before his maneuver almost seemed as if he had indeed fallen into the waters below, but now the appearance of his fluff of hair and then eventually his face proved otherwise. "Help me?" He replied while resting his elbows on the surface, "I think you almost helped me into the next life. If that was your intentions then congratulations." With that said the male took a moment to calm his racing heart. It had been a while since he had almost fallen to his death. Really he hadn't expected to see anyone this far out...blinking the male looked towards the other Yaeli. So why was she here?

 

[Painted Moose]

Sabra Knight

Spirits!

Where did he go?! Even as she ran Taijana was fumbling with a length of rope in her bag, pulling it out length by length in preparing of an emergency rescue that thankfully wouldn't have to happen. Around the time she got close to the edge he reappeared, tearing another shriek out of her, one that had Taijana falling onto her butt in the dirt.

Her breathing was erratic at best, doe like eyes already widened pushed further by shock. She clutched the fabric over her chest in an effort to keep her heart from escaping into the wilderness. Was he a spirit now? Or perhaps some undead creature lurking in the chasm, or maybe-

"Oh thank the Gods," She murmured on a deep exhale. Her eyes fluttered closed with the act, and opened once she had a better reign on herself. Almost as if a jolt ran through her Taijana remembered the purpose of her panic and reached for her rope. "I can help get you out if you'll let me. You'll be safe in no time."

She had already lost one young man into the abyss; it wouldn't happen again.
 

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

"Ouch." Kieran winced at the extra shriek. Was she intent on making him lose his hearing? As his ears stopped ringing the male opened his eyes again to glance towards her, "Help me what?" He frowned before realization dawned in his gaze. "Did...did you truly think I was in trouble?" Yet, the sight of rope made his expression light up.

"You can help me." He commented as he looked towards her with his elbows propped against the ground, "But not up. I want to go down." Kieran motioned with a hand as his body hugged the cliff wall, "There's a cavern in these cliffs and I'm intent on exploring it. I have rope, but having someone else with rope is a different story. So what do you think?"

 

[Painted Moose]

Sabra Knight

"...Yes." The tension in Taijana's shoulders slipped out some, and left her with a bit of a slump. He probably thought she was a total idiot for jumping to that drastic of a conclusion. She was learning how to judge these things better, but obviously she still had a long way to go.

Quirking her brow, she picked herself up off the ground and moved forward. The petite girl looked over the cliff side in trepidation. It reminded her all too well of falling into the crevasse with Match, and ending up in a raging underground river. They had both almost died that day, but she was smarter now. Surely it wouldn't end the same.

She lowered herself to the ground once more, but this time it was to be closer to the boy. "What do you need me to do?"  

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

Kieran smirked with faint amusement, "Well at least I appreciate the thought." The boy glanced over the girl with a gentle gaze, "Perhaps just next time look really carefully before rushing to the rescue." They both were fortunate that he had managed to find his grip again. A drop into the ocean may be survivable, but with those sharp rocks below as well...he wasn't feeling too keen about trying.

He was rather surprised though to find someone so helpful. He honestly had expected her to give him a full blown lecture about how this was dangerous and he was insane for doing such stunts. Perhaps he was just too used to the old codger who always fixed his lenses? "See that fat tree? You can tie the rope around it and while I attach the rest to my own body you can lower me." If the rope was long enough, but the tree was next to the cliff's edge. Surely it would reach ? If not it would be a decent safety.

"Unless...you would want to come along?" The random thought surprised him, but the male blurted it out without much thought. Had she not already proved she wanted to be helpful? It would come in handy to have someone who could assist him for once...

 

[Painted Moose]

Sabra Knight

This is the abyss all over again. Match had wanted her to tie a rope off to a tree as well, and in the end the knot had come undone, sending them both down in the crevasse. At the time she had been a scared young girl, barely able to leave her own home, but now she was a wussy young adult who knew how to make a proper knot.

Did she want to go? Taijana did love to explore, and nature was her greatest love. She hadn't yet been to this area, so what could it really hurt? "How about I tie off the rope, lower you down and then climb down myself?" Climbing was a skill she might have bragged about, if she were the type. "Either way, you'll need the rope, so hang on."

She rose up once more to make her way to the fat tree. Tai looped the rope twice about it's trunk, pulled it tight, and crafted a firm, solid knot. This one wouldn't drop them like the last!

When she made her way back to the boy she trailed the rope behind her. "Can you wrap it around yourself?" With his perched position she wasn't sure he would be able to do it without losing a handhold.  

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

So that was a yes? Kieran's gaze gleamed with excitement, "Sounds fine by me, but are you comfortable climbing?" He frowned slightly. While he didn't know the other Yaeli well what if she didn't have his experience? "But fine, since I'm already here. Just keep the rope as a safety for you to follow on the way down. Worst case I'll reach out and grab you while you come down."

Balancing on the edge, Kieran watched as she approached the tree. That wasn't such a bad knot. Here was hoping that it would stay firm. "Can you reach over and wrap it? I can try, but my particular position isn't the best..." He laughed quietly, "At this rate I might just climb up myself and help you down then join you. But you don't know the opening...it's rather slim like a crack." There would be a fair share of squeezing for sure to get inside, but once there...he wondered what they would find.
 

[Painted Moose]

Sabra Knight

Taijana just smiled. He was concerned about her safety, and while very sweet, it was misplaced. "I'm a good climber. I spent most of my time out in the world either hunting or enjoying it, so you don't have to worry over me."

She scooted a little closer to him, intimately aware that she was about to share close proximity with a strange boy. Her sister was trying to work the superstitions out of her mind and yet...what if something bad happened because of this? Had Taijana's cheeks not already sported a good, healthy flush then she would have been in real trouble here.

Her slim, nimble hands moved to slip under his arms, but she stopped. Unless he kept the rope just underneath his pits it would rub against his skin. Frowning, she leaned back and dug around in her pack before producing a long, so very obviously home made scarf. "The last thing you want on your big adventure is rope burn." Once it was loosely wrapped around the rope she leaned back in and proceeded to secure it to his torso. When she was finished she gave the knot a little tug, just to be sure, before straightening herself up.

"Lead the way."  

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

"Good to hear." Perhaps the spirits favored him after all. As the girl reached around him Kieran paused. How long had it been since he had allowed someone to get this close to him? The slightest shadows of sorrow flickered across his expression before he laughed at her extra addition. "Thank you. It's nice having someone to think of such things." Was this what it was like to have a partner?

Smiling, Kieran nodded and began to shimmy his way down the cliff. As his hands expertly found the holds he had previously lost the Yaeli climbed until he found the crack along the walls, "It's here. I'm about to get on the landing, but it's narrow. So when you climb down I'll grab and pull you in so you don't fall. Okay?" He called up before waiting for her descent.
 

[Painted Moose]

Sabra Knight

He seemed like such a nice guy that it was truly a shame he was out here doing this alone. Hopefully he had someone at home, either family, a partner, or a friend to do little things like this for him...right?

Taijana tucked her legs underneath her so that she could lean over the cliffside. Her braid slipped around her shoulders and fall over the crystals that trailed down her neck. At one point in her life she might have found this kind of thing worrisome, but now all she wanted to do was find out what was in that cave.

She waited for him to get to the crack before swinging her legs over the side. "I'm going to come down now, but j-just...just don't look up." The drawbacks to wearing such a small skirt were obvious now that she shimmied down the cliffside. Occasionally she used the rope to aid her but Taijana was more than comfortable with just the hand holds.
 

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

"Alright." Of course her comment about not looking up made him look up. As realization dawned on the Yaeli he just turned his gaze away for a moment. Yet, how was he supposed to know the exact moment? The thought -along with perhaps just male curiosity- made him peek out again before he decided to just listen for her. As he heard sounds that marked her arrival towards the narrow entrance, Kieran moved so that his arms could reach around her. Almost like an embrace the male pulled back and allowed her to tumble into the opening with him.

"You might have missed it." He commented as they were squeezed together in the narrow space. Taking a moment to catch his own breath the male attempted to pull his arms away from the girl and had to brush against her on his way further into the entrance. "Sorry." Yet once he was further inside the male squinted. There was some light from the opening that could light the path but eventually he would have to break out the jars resting in his bag. Hopefully if this was a cave his mother had recorded then there would be more of a natural glow as well to guide the way.
 

[Painted Moose]

Sabra Knight

Taijana squeaked a little as she was pulled in, and on instinct she moved into him, clutching at the fabric of his shawl to keep her balance. Her toes skimmed the cool rock floor as she stood on her tip toes, inevitably giving him a false impression as to her height.

She looked around the space, trying to focus on something other than the fact she was pressed up close against a stranger. "I-it's okay." Taijana tried to pressed her back against the stone wall to give him some more space, but it didn't seem to do any good. Until the moment he had pushed through Taijana felt near fainting.

When she had some space to breath she could move forward. She kept her hands busy by unhooking her crossbow from her hip, and keeping it ready; boltless, of course, since she had a nervous finger. One jump scare and he would have an arrow in his skin!

"How did you know about this place?"  

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

As he moved forward Kieran kept his hands against the stone wall. It was cold and slightly damp. Frowning the male rubbed his hands on his pants before pausing, "It really is dark, right?" He asked before her question caught his attention. "My mother." The words came out in a whisper, "She was an explorer so she left me with countless journals and maps. I just finally located this place today."

That stated the male paused to ruffle in his bag and held out a jar towards the other Yaeli, "Here." Taking out another Kieran shook it and watched as the jar slowly came to life. Little wiggling worm like creatures lit up the insides of the jar and cast a faint glow around them. Glancing back towards the girl the male smiled, "Shake it. They'll glow for several hours before settling back down."

Pausing, Kieran frowned thoughtfully. "Kieran by the way. You've helped me so much already and we haven't even introduced ourselves." He truly was awful with introduction. It always seemed to slip his mind.