[FIN][PRP Yael] Doing Some Tracking ~ Cey & Naq ~

[Orpheus Solon]

The Only Black Uke

Ceylinae had gathered up her things, a pack filled with supplies, her bow and quiver, and she was heading out of the village with an excited look on her face. Today was the first of many days that were going to lead to something exciting in the end! She was going out to scout around, further then she ever had before, to get a good lay out of things and figure out where the closest Limbara were located. She was going to find them, track them, figure out their habits, and in the end she was going to catch one of them for herself!

She couldn't wait! It was going to be something that would bring her one step closer to her dream of becoming a powerful Guardian that was able to serve her people. Having a limbara at her side as a mount and a partner was going to be grand, not to mention that it was going to help her to look that much more imposing. She was going to strike a powerful sight, the sort that was going to strike fear into the hearts of those glowy eyed weirdos that were skulking about Yael. Stupid things were a liability to her people and soon, once enough power was amassed, she felt that they really should banish the lot of them from Yael. The island should be theirs and theirs alone after all and those idiot Earthlings could return to the mainland with their own kind.

Shaking her head she told herself that wasn't what she was supposed to be thinking about. Not today at least, that would be saved for another day. She had to focus her mind for the task at hand and that important task was tracking a pack of Limbara. While she wanted to believe that she could charge in and easily claim the biggest one among them she knew better. She'd seen what they looked like, knew that they got massive, and knew that she would need to get a little one. If she could get her hands on a baby limbara it would make it far easier to train. Having such a large beast obeying her every command would only make it that much more useful to her. It would be a lot of work, taking care of an infant of any sort, but it would definitely be worth it.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

A ‘team,’ they’d said.

It will help you work together, they’d said.

Strengthen that bond between sisters—

Naqenni puffed, shouldering her quiver and snatching up her bow before heading out from her tent, towards the edge of the small tribe village where she was to meet with her sister.

To be fair, Ceylinae made among the most decent company of all that might be hoped for. She was at least her age, from the same blooming trio, conceived by Elzira: her true sister, from the moment their blossoms had formed on the tree together, and if Naqenni were being especially generous (or simply honest with herself), she knew Ceylinae pushed her in ways that her alkidike cousins wouldn’t and her younger, later-bloomed sisters couldn’t.

They were, loathe though she was to admit it, approximate equals. Perfect for trading competition amongst each other, back and forth, in an unbroken circle of attempting to each best the other. It was invigorating, on a good day. And, certainly, that tendency to test and learn from each other had surely encouraged their being set to attempt this together. That, and their equal determination to have mounts.

At least, Naqenni thought as she approached at Cey’s back and all of the long, long red braid that trailed down it, it was a pleasant enough day. Naqenni reached, pulling a portion as she came up beside her.

“You excite easy.”  

[Orpheus Solon]

The Only Black Uke

Naqenni's words and the tug on her braid sent a jolt of shock through Ceylinae's system that caused all of her antennae to jump before she turned, glancing at her sister over her shoulder. Lifting a hand to her chest she drew in a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly before she said, "It's not me being easily excited, it's me being excited over taking the first step toward one of my most important goals, sister." She told her, not wanting her to think that she was acting like a overly excited youngling or something. It wasn't like that, she wasn't so foolish as that, she was just eager to get out there and figure out the territories of the various limbara packs so that she could start to stalk after them was all!

Turning around to face Naqenni she rested one hand on her hip as she said, "I plan on heading out to seem out the limbara. How do you plan to spend your afternoon?" What was Naqenni up to today? Training of her own? What sort? Was it something that might give her a leg up on Ceylinae? It was something that she couldn't help but to wonder about since, as two of the first three they were in competition with one another in a lot of ways. She wanted nothing more then figure out what Naqenni might be doing so she would know if she would have to put in extra training after her limbara hunt to assure she was keeping up! Last thing she wanted was to fall behind her sister after all.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Naqenni’s attention flicked to her sister’s antennae as she jumped and turned, hand to her chest. She tipped her head, expression neutral. “You’re always excited.”

Whether or not it was strictly true was arguable, but given Ceylinae’s haste to defend the notion, Naq saw no reason not to pursue it, and there was truth in it, regardless. Whether over new creatures or her training or over the blooming festival or exploring, in Naq’s experience, her sister was often either metaphorically or literally on the balls of her feet, eager to dive into whatever it was she thought she needed to accomplish.

After the question, Naqenni rolled her shoulders in a shrug.

“Hunting limbara with you,” she said. “If you keep up.”  

[Orpheus Solon]

The Only Black Uke

Ceylinae's antennae gave another bounce as she tried to decide if that were an insult or not. Was it a bad thing to be excited? Likely if she got too overly excited she would look foolish for sure, but as it stood she didn't think that she looked too excited even if she felt it inside. Inside her heart was racing a mile a minute, with her wanting nothing more then to rush on ahead no matter what the consequences were if it meant finding her limbara... not that she would of course. She couldn't allow her emotions to lead her into danger after all! She had to be careful.

Looking over at Naqenni her eyes actually went wide as she said that she would be hunting limbara with her. There was a part of her that wanted to balk, not wanting to let everyone know where the limbara were, not wanting all her sisters to get them before her. She didn't though, recalling the lesson she learned about not doing everything herself. She had to accept help in some instances and since it was just a scouting mission right now it should be alright. Right?

Blinking a couple times she gave bit of a smirk and said in a teasing manner, "Yes, try to run on ahead of me, Naqenni. It will look awfully silly when you get lost and find nothing." Surrely she didn't know where the limbara were already... right? Ceylinae sure hoped not.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Naqenni eyed her sister, and then squinted, lids narrowing as she gave a terse scoff.

Silly.

“I never look ‘silly.’”

She glanced out over the surrounding jungle, weighing her options. Of course, running was not the best way to track regardless, so there was no reason to physically dash ahead, but she was also in no mood to look as though she didn’t have any idea which way they were headed. She had spied limbara tracks on occasion in the past, or certainly what looked to be them, but she hadn’t been on the look out for them especially recently, either.

“I will stay close enough,” she added at length. “I would not want you to become hurt and be blamed for it in my absence. Have you scouted this section of jungle recently?”  

[Orpheus Solon]

The Only Black Uke

Ceylinae couldn't help but to smirk a bit as her sister said that she 'never' looked silly. It was something she couldn't help but to find amusing since she was so serious about it. Not as though Ceylinae wasn't equally as serious when it came to... well, everything, but that didn't mean she couldn't find amusement in her sister's words.

Crossing her arms over her chest she glanced around then said, "I haven't gone tracking in today's area, no. I've been slowly spiraling out from the village, checking different areas for any signs of the limbara. No luck yet save for a few foot prints here and there or a couple limbara I saw in the distance." Nothing that she would see as being a good sign but instead it looked as though they were stragglers or maybe loner types. She didn't want a loner though as it would likely be more difficult to bond with and train. She wanted a more group orientated beast.

"Best that we are careful since the area we will be checking out is a complete mystery to me." And Ceylinae didn't want to get in over her head during what was supposed to be a scouting mission.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Naqenni glanced outwards, her attention moving from Ceylinae herself to the jungles beyond. Familiar, but always wild in their own way. Still: home, for what it was worth. At the admittance that she hadn’t scouted the area recently, Naq’s antennae flicked, and she grunted. That at least ought to make it interesting. And, Cey was at no greater advantage than her going forward, which was always pleasant to note.

“We’ll be careful, then.”

Naqenni stepped past her sister, and despite the pseudo-casual nature of her words and tone, her gaze was intent and her attention focused on the surrounding brush from forest floor level, to as high up as something the size of a limbara might leave evidence of passing through. Tracking was something she and her sisters had all been taught beginning with the basics as young as they were capable of processing such information, and by now — if not, though she would never admit it, so expert as some of the older alkidike who had been doing it all their lives and had decades more experience under their belts — she was at least quite practiced. Her greatest detriment, if anything, was her quickness to grow impatient.

But no mortal ear would ever catch her admitting that either.

“Try not to snag your hair on the branches.”  

[Orpheus Solon]

The Only Black Uke

"Hmmm... probably. The last thing that I want is for us to stumble across limbara when we aren't ready for them." It would only get them mauled at best. No, if she was going to hunt a limbara then she meant to do so only after she got a lot of intel on them, enough that she felt that it would be safe for her to sneak up on them. There was so much that would need to be done before hand but the scouting was the most important step, so that she could be ready for the future hunts.

As Naqenni started to move passed her she was quick to follow along after her, not wanting to fall behind her sister. As they walked along her eyes flicked from side to side, taking in everything around her in detail, where they were going, what the terrain was like, if there were any foot prints about, the sounds of the wildlife around them. They needed to take everything in so that nothing got the jump on them.

Glancing toward her sister she said, "Of course, sister. I wouldn't let something as simple as a silly branch slow us down or impede us." As though she had the power to get nature to move out of her way or something. Still, it sounded strong and full of confidence, which was how she wanted to appear in front of everyone else even if on the inside she tended to second guess herself a lot.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

I wouldn't let something as simple as a silly branch slow us down…

Naqenni eyed her sister after the words. One of the first three like herself, Cey was one of the few among her sisters — if she were to be fully honest with herself — that she considered on her level: in terms of their positioning in the tribe, their relative progression in skills, and importance for Elzira’s future. Ceylinae had developed physically stronger than she, putting on bulk in muscle where Naqenni remained reedy, lithe, and flat.

Yet, despite her accomplishments, Cey often seemed especially ready to defend or explain herself, even against superficial remarks of teasing or otherwise. As though, despite her outward display of general confidence and despite all of her own genuine achievements, she felt—uncertainty? Something else?

Naqenni dismissed the thought. It wasn’t really her concern what Cey felt, and they had plenty to do.

As though summoned by the thought, she then saw it—a partial indentation in the soft soil and underbrush that looked to be a track. Two—no, three of them, though only one was especially clear given the mixed terrain. She slowed her pace very slightly as they approached, but said nothing, sure that Ceylinae was already picking up on the scene as well. After as much time as Ceylinae had spent around Lumikani’s limbara, Naqenni was suspicious at least that her sister may well know more about the beasts than she did.

But she would leave that unspoken, and judge how to proceed in part on Ceylinae’s assessment.  

[Orpheus Solon]

The Only Black Uke

Ceylinae looked over at her sister, watching her closely, taking in her silence. What was she thinking about? Something that had all of her antennae twitching a bit before she turned away, a thoughtful look on her face. As she started forward she asked, "What's struck you silent, Sister?" Wondering if she would actually tell Ceylinae what it was that she was thinking about. Not if she was planning something that she didn't want to share...

She took a couple steps forward, a thoughtful look on her face, before coming to a halt. Her aqua eyes went wide as she spotted the tracks on the ground. Hurrying forward she squatted down, giving them a once over. She rested her hand within the biggest of the tracks, spreading her fingers wide to compare the size of her hand to the footprint before giving a little whistle, "That's a rather massive print, isn't it? I bet the one that made this has to be pretty huge, huh?" This track was the sort that belonged to the beast that Ceylinae wanted... only it was the sort that she wanted in the future. What she really wanted to do was to catch a young limbara so that she could raise it into the perfect partner.

Giving a humming sound, her antennae twitching slightly, she finally said, "Not the sort that we want to catch but maybe we can follow them, see if they have young." Pushing up to her feet she set to brushing herself off of any dirt that might be climbing to her, turning to look at Naqenni, curious to see what she thought of the plan.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

At the initial question, Naqenni said nothing, waiting. As expected, it did not take her sister long to catch on, and she too slowed to a halt as Cey scurried forward to kneel by the tracks, fingers splaying out over the pressed dirt.

They were sizeable.

An adult, and a large one at that Naqenni presumed. Her sister seemed to agree, and at the follow up commentary, she nodded with a grunt of concurrence. Her eyes, though, had moved on from Ceylinae and out, studying the jungle in the direction the tracks lead for further signs of disturbance — snapped branches, scuffed or scraped bark, disturbed leaves — and wondering how far afoot they were from the beast itself. The impressions did not look that old, and if they were fresh, they might well have answers to work with soon.

When Cey mentioned young, Naq glanced down again. It seemed obvious in retrospect—a grown, wild beast would be near impossible to tame and at least as likely to permanently injure or damage itself in the process of rebelling as to actually take to training—but in truth, Naqenni hadn’t given the process much thought beyond the ‘find’ and ‘take’ portion. But perhaps that was one of the boons of Ceylinae’s presence.

Aloud, she said nothing, but nodded again and stepped past her sister to follow the trail further. It seemed Cey had plenty enough of a plan, and whatever the case, they wouldn’t know what they were dealing with until they found it.

That, from Naqenni’s perspective, was ample reason to speed the ‘finding’ process, and make further choices from there.  

[Orpheus Solon]

The Only Black Uke

Ceylinae lifted her gaze as Naqenni moved passed her, her many antennae giving a twitch. It seemed as though they were moving out already, though it made sense, they weren't going to find anything just starring at the tracks after all. Ceylinae had just been so fascinated starring at said tracks because she was trying to visualize in her head exactly how big the one that left the tracks might be. She'd guess that it was a good sized beast, intimidatingly so. Hurrying forward so that she could follow along after her sister she kept her eyes on the ground, watching the tracks for a while longer as the two of them walked.

"Hmm..." Ceylinae was watching the tracks closely and she was starting to pick up on a fact that made her grumble just a little. There was only the one set of large tracks on this path. Did that mean that it was just a lone limbara? Between the fact that it was on its own and the fact that they were on a path like this started to make her mind whirl a bit. She blinked a couple times before quickening her steps so that she could reaching out, catching hold of Naqenni's arm, "Hold on, Sister!"

She glanced around for a moment, listening for anything that might say where the beast was exactly, before she said, "I don't see any other tracks so I think maybe it's a lone one... maybe a hunting male? We should be on guard as I'd rather we didn't become the lunch of some beast." She did her best to sound flippant about it, not wanting to appear weak, but the idea that a long limbara might decide to hunt them put her on edge.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Ceylinae’s hand caught her wrist.

Naqenni’s lips pursed. How were they ever going to get anywhere if her sister constantly wanted to stop? She did, however, pause at the grip, and made some attempt at smoothing over the impatience in her expression when she turned to look as Cey spoke. A ‘lone’ anything didn’t sound especially scary, and regardless of what it was, they surely had the advantage of stealth and adaptivity.

But Ceylinae was evidently — at the very least — concerned from a tactical standpoint, and Naqenni couldn’t deny that the other girl had more experience with this particular variety of beast. And she wasn’t stupid, nor did she have a death wish. She gave a stiff exhale, reluctantly (at least mentally) ‘conceding’ her sister’s point.

“I’m always on guard,” she grumbled beneath her breath. But it was an empty retort, and her gaze was already climbing the trunks of the surrounding foliage up, up into the tangled canopy overhead.

Their cousins before them had moved as comfortably and agilely amidst the jungle trees as they had upon the forest floor, and she and her sisters had been trained in kind. While it was easier (and sometimes necessary) to pick up the finer details necessary for tracking certain beasts from a ground-view vantage point, now that they had already located the tracks, and were dealing with a massive beast that left far more evidence than just its footprints, it didn’t seem necessary to remain grounded, particularly if Ceylinae was concerned.

Last Naqenni checked, limbara did not climb trees.

So, she did.

After skirting past her sister’s side, she darted and jumped, long fingers catching to the low branch of the nearest trunk and hoisting herself a second later.  

[Orpheus Solon]

The Only Black Uke

Ceylinae's many antennae twitched before she followed her sister up into the tree, moving up through the branches, finding herself a good perch. Upon finding a good branch that would give them a decent view settled down and started to scan the area, "A lone adult won't be all that useful to us since it will be too much of a hassle to try to train." She muttered to herself, lifting a hand to chew on her thumbnail a bit as she sought out any sign of the beast that was out there.

It took some time before she finally spotted some shaking among the trees. She followed the tree down to the base, finding the limbara there. It was rubbing itself against the tree, likely soothing an itch it had. The fact that it was able to shake the whole of the tree with its movements was enough to make her eyes go rather wide, "Wow... that is some strength." Strength that she wanted on her side. If she was able to harness the strength of one of those beasts then she would feel more as though she was worthy of being among her sisters.

Lifting a hand she tapped a finger against her lips before she looked over to Naqenni, "It looks amazing, huh? Now to find one that is a bit younger."