• Closed • Bird Hunt

[Nightshade Eld]

Vhalar 90th, 716

It was a cloudy late morning, the season was already showing signs of turning vicious as the cold seeped into the very being of those who were out and about. A pair of avriel flew along making a show out of their existence. Neither one seemed fond of the other and they often got into arguments. It was a wonder why they were together, at least it was a wonder to someone who didn't understand the importance of the pair. That was to say anyone outside of avriel and half avriel culture. To the half avriel these two were known to be a threat. The pair was unknown to the average person because they often changed their names as they wandered about. To the average person they wouldn't be more than annoying avriel passing through, prideful and loud and a pain but nothing outside of that.

To the half avriel these two were monsters. The male and female both with wings like ash and eyes like lightning were menaces at best. The sibling pair had dedicated their entire lives to zealously hunting down half breeds in the name of purity of race. Most of their misdeeds were ignored for the simple fact they murdered half breeds alone. Part avriel half breeds for that mater, usually the ones on the fringes of society that they could catch easier or the ones who left town often enough to be caught out on their own. The pair spoke in Lorien, a rough language that was abusive to the ears of any nearby. To even someone with broken Lorien it was easy to tell by their tone that the pair hated each other at best. They tried to go opposite directions many times as they hunted down their most recent mark. They had heard rumors from some of the other avriel about a pair of half breeds who had been living in Etzos for a good amount of time. One was a complete monstrosity who shouldn't have lived, it would have been kinder to kill the disfigured babe than to make him suffer life. The other was a woman who on the opposite side of the spectrum seemed to be genetically blessed. The woman had been making a name for herself, a good one at that, and would be harder to get rid of until she next set out on a job of some kind. The man was known to live in a cave outside of Etzos, which made tracking him and and hunting him down easier in the eyes of the pair.

The two eventually stumbled across the cave they had been able to track down through rumor. The sister nodded at her most hated brother as she pulled out a light weight blade. Her brother on the other hand had heard the dangers of this half breed. He pulled out his own short bow and took a position in hiding, thought the ashen color of feathers made him more than noticeable swathed in layers of dark green and sunlight.

Neither expected for one of the half breeds to try and set a trap for them upon hearing of their coming. This wasn't the first time Nightshade had faced off against half breed hunters. And it most certainly wouldn't be her last if she kept becoming more and more notable. She hated pure breeds like these two, they were the true disgraces to avirel. Jealous and scared of the potential power that half breeds could hold against them, emotions they swathed in thick layers of pride to make themselves look better. They weren't fooling her. She waited quietly in the shadows of a tree. The tree itself was full of thick dark green leaves, shadowed and made darker by other larger trees. It was the perfect hiding place for an avriel of all black. And considering she had been hiding hours prior to the two showing up it made things easier. She wasn't sure if the other half breed was aware of her, but the pure breeds sure as heck weren't. She wanted to see what happened first, the best case scenario would be the cleanest end to the fight. But she didn't know how the other half breed would response to this having never met him before. She wasn't even sure if he would realize she was another half breed, something so many people seemed not to notice in spite of her rather human looks.

"Hey abomination! Come out you monster, it's time to meet your death," the female avriel cried out trying to summon the more monstrous half breed out from his cave. The brother pulled back his bow ready to shoot the moment the creature emerged. "Come fight me you disgusting beast!"

[Noth]

Noth yawned away sleep as he continued maneuvering himself throughout his cavern, glancing back every few moments at the darkness that had caused him such trouble several trials earlier. The fear that had originally gripped him upon returning to his home had since subsided for the most part, but there was a residual thought that something absolutely awful would scurry out from the nothingness. There was the slightest flickering noise from his side, and he glanced back towards it, already knowing what would await his eyes. There upon the ground lay Vern, moving herself around the cave as she attempted to locate some manner of food.

He would need to locate some manner of food for the goose to eat when the coldest months became colder, and he feared that the cave would become achingly cold in only a few trials. The early chill of the morning seemed to be evidence enough of that, and Noth wondered for a moment whether he would need to begin forming up some manner of fortification to keep out the cold. The spikes that had surrounded his home for the last few seasons were absolutely splendid for keeping out savage and stupid predators, but it seemed extremely unlikely that they would keep out the piercing chill of snow.

It was whilst the twilight hybrid performed these mental tasks, and moved his belongings to more suitable positions within the cave that the voice made itself known. It took a trill before Noth even consciously recognized that he had heard someone speak, because intruders to his home were fairly uncommon, and when they were capable of speech they were often far too drunk to pose any threat. He lifted his head carefully above the log that acted as a doorway into his home, allowing his crimson eye to pick out the figure of a female Avriel.

Knowledge was a curious commodity of the market, and flowed so strangely as though it were a stream. The one thing that was nearly always involved in the transfer of knowledge, however, was the inclusion of people. Noth had secluded himself as far as he possibly could from the busy city life of Etzos, and thus had starved himself of much of the knowledge entering into that trading zone. To his benefit, he had managed to keep most people from knowing much about him, and that had helped in keeping him safe from potential harm.

The issue of course arose when he spoke to traders and hermits and drunks. They were his only source of information, and despite his desire to stay as far from civilization as he could, they were a necessary evil. That meant there was at least one pathway of communication between himself and civilization, and it appeared that that was all that was needed for someone to locate him. He retreated quietly into the shadows of his home, stepping further into the cave to the portions where the light began to die to a greater extent than it shone through. Hidden within his veil of darkness, he clutched a longbow, a weapon that he had grown accustomed to using for both defense and hunting. A handful of arrows were quickly gathered into his palm, and one was gently notched upon its’ string.

Noth knew not who the woman truly was, and nor did he care for her story. It was evident enough by her rough tone of voice, and the fact that she spoke Lorien that she was an enemy of his. The hybrid knew not that she was a hunter of his race, but that much could be inferred by her mere presence in such an uncommon place. He had not thought that he would be bothered by the purebloods after his actions in the war against the shadows, but such things could never truly be predicted to their conclusion.

With his weapon clasped in hand, and his crimson eyes peering from the shadows, ready to defend his home and his life, Noth waited. They would need to siege the castle if they wanted the king.

[Nightshade Eld]

The female muttered to herself unhappily as the male gave her a small wave inside. She glanced about her. The two had a feeling something like this would happen, they knew that half breed inside was a powerful bow user. The pair had heard from their sources about his contributions during the fighting against the shadows. But neither sibling cared about something with such minimal effect on themselves. The vicious and greedy pair was no less thank blood thirsty and they fully intended to take life away from a half breed on this day or die trying. The sister had prepared to go against a bow user after hearing about his actions during the march. She had worn far heavier clothing than she pleased, a heavy chain mail to be exact. Something that would be able to keep arrows from causing to much damage. "Brother!" She snapped and the male avriel produced a full body shield from off of his back. The woman took it.

The walked in with the shield in front of her and a look on her face like she was some kind of proud warrior. Her brother realizing that hiding in the bush wasn't going to get him much action followed her. He was slow and careful stalking along behind his sister with an arrow notched. The sister clicked her tongue assessing the situation. Her movements were slow as she did her best to block all angles. Neither was honestly very stealthy. The sister loudly clanked along without a care in the world. She continued to shout out vulgarities and insults, "half bred monster! You never should have been born, life must really suck for you. Come out and let me make it easier~!" She cawed in a demented sing song kind of voice. The words were rough as if she wasn't completely fluent in common yet. The brother who was actually fluent rolled his eyes at her rough pronunciations. She new the words, but was bad with saying them.

The brother was better, at least less noticeable compared to his sister. But his footsteps were audible. Pronounced at the very least. His breathing was heavy without any kind of control. It would have given him away rather quickly if his approach had been made on his own. His bow was strung taught as he waited for the half breed to come into sight. Any arrows would be blocked by his sisters shield, so unless he figured out a way to get behind them it would be hard to take them both our. That confidence made them both a little blind to anything that could have interfered with their plan. Neither paused to glance around them and make sure that nothing would go wrong. They were just focused on the half breed in front of them, not even noticing the half breed behind them.

Nightshade watching the pair carefully from her perch. She didn't dare leave the safety of the tree until both had entered the came and gone in a short ways. She carefully allowed herself to drop down making a slight thud. Ever the most graceful she tripped herself up slightly having to place her hands against the ground to make sure she didn't get a face full of earth. She pushed herself upward carefully glancing at the cave entrance. No response. She moved towards the cave with caution. She foot steps were less pronounced than then the male avriel, she was naturally light in step. Her airy gait still made noise since there was no kind of skill behind it let alone practice. But it was softer and the main noise came from the clicking of her nails against the bottom of the cave floor every time she set her foot down. She sighed pulling on the ends of her cloak slightly. A strong enough tug caused two pieces of cloth to come off easily. She wrapped one around the claws of each foot and tried again. The clicking stopped and she finally started to move forward.

She made sure to keep a nice wide gap between herself and the true pure bred avriel. If she got to close there was always the chance one would notice her if they weren't focused enough on their target. It was a miracle she was able to get as close as she was now. She was somewhere between 10 and 5 feet away, though it was impossible to give an exact measurement. Neither one had noticed her as of yet. She wasn't sure if she should be grateful to whatever controlled her luck or just ignore it in fear of jinxing herself.

[Noth]

Steady fingers curled and uncurled themselves around the string, tightening and loosening it as time progressed at a rate that seemed impossibly slower than normal. Noth waited for the predators to enter into his home, and find themselves prey to his ambush. He was aware now that there were at least two purebloods, because they spoke to themselves in muttering and frustrated voices as they neared his home. His mind raced with the possible solutions to his problem, and they were plentiful, though not entirely thought out in some circumstances. He had the ever present option of retreating further into the cave system, but he had discovered monsters there before, and there was little evidence that he would not find something far worse in the shadows. Even without the presence of some abomination, he would need to find another exit from the tunnels lest he starve to death in them, and then be subjected to the awful effects of decomposition, his bones preserved until a lonesome explorer stumbled upon them.

Such things were pushed from his mind as the footsteps marched closer. Noth removed himself farther into the shadows, knowing for certain that he was nearly invisible in the sensory death of darkness, but still able to see the pair as they traversed over his makeshift spikes and entryway, avoiding the crude constructions with ease. There were two Avriel, that much could be discerned now clearly, though their exact physical features were marred, and they appeared more as silhouettes than anything else to the twilight hybrid. It appeared as though the one in the front carried a large shield, and she clanked around as though she were a strange mechanical construction; a clear indicator of armor.

As they entered, Noth ensured that his arrow was notched, and stuffed himself into a very slight cubbyhole in the rock wall, noting that he was somewhat off of the main path into the deeper parts of the cave, but still invisible to any observer. He did not possess any excessive ability in stealth, but fear kept him quiet, and hushed his breathing to a greater extent than normal, and the dim light allowed for a natural deterrent to enemy sight. They marched with a slow, but steady pace, shifting themselves in differing directions as they meandered through the cave, searching for signs of the hybrid.

He shut his eyes, listening to the world around him as they continued stepping. He heard them, the clanking of her armor as it felt weight upon it, and his incessant breathing which followed behind her like a loyal mutt. Despite their obvious lack of stealth, they remained relatively quiet, and if one were to take away their objective, it would appear to have been a fairly peaceable scene. That peace was interrupted when she decided to shout out that the hybrid’s death was an accident, and that he should never have been born. He had considered similar thoughts in the past, but had since resolved to continue his survival, at least until his goals had been completed. He had been cursed, but that did not mean he ought to give up on life completely. The purebloods would have the scenario end only one way, with death.

They stepped further into the darkness, and Noth lost their silhouettes, not knowing exactly where they were, but aware of their breathing and clanking which gave away their general positions. They were cautious, but they were searching, and they had no idea how deep the cave ran. A clanking foot stepped near him, incredibly close, enough that he felt certain that he might touch it if he stretched out his arm, but a trill later it carried on down the path. Behind it was the breathing male, the one holding a taut string and ready to engage him in ranged war.

Feathered fingers curled around the string, feeling the wood of the arrow as it was drawn back. There wasn’t quite room to bring it to full draw, but there was enough that he could feel the pressure mounting upon his forearm. He aimed it carefully, listening in the dark, not allowing his eyes to interfere with his observations. Inhale, the sucking in of breath, audible as oxygen sank into his lungs. Coincidentally, less than a trill later, the arrow made a far quicker path to the same place. The exhale was choked, and immediately Noth was up, abandoning his position in a hurry as he sprinted towards the exit, unaware of the person he would soon run into. There was a shriek of metal on stone as someone swung at where he had been only a moment prior, behind it, the quiet gurgle of a wounded hunter.

[Nightshade Eld]

Night tried to get out of the way as she heard the movements of a fast approaching Noth. The scene had unfurled far to quickly for her to actually give some kind of response. Her original intent was to stay a couple paces back until they stumbled upon Noth. When that happened she was going to move forward and send her blade right through the back of the archer. But it seemed Noth had beaten her to slaying the bowman. Now all that remained was the warrior, who obviously was going to put up more of a fight than her brother.

As her brother crumpled into a heap on the floor the warrior roared out a mighty shout running after Noth at full speed in an attempt to ram him. She did not expect for him to run into something else. Nightshade quickly pulled both of them out of the way of the woman as she shot right past. She skidded slightly as she tried to turn around, almost falling over. The midnight mixed breed assessed the situation as best she could. She had pulled both herself and Noth back into the darkness and the woman had once more lost sight of both of them. She moved around on clanking feet, her shield dropped in her mad dash, but armor that would be hard for a short ranged arrow of piece adorned her body.

"Shhh," Night whispered quietly. The woman pulled a stick off the corpse of her brother, a stick that turned out to be a torch. She lit the piece of wood and started searching around. Fire light danced around the cave though it didn't completely shine on the two. The fire light however was enough to show that Night was in fact the very same other half breed Noth had taken note of during The Journey to Ne'Haer. The fire light played and danced in her eyes causing them to go from their typical midnight blue to a darker and much fiercer blue gray that glowed with an animosity directed at the woman. The female Avriel had yet to take note of either her back being turned on them, and so Night moved herself to the other half of cave while the clanking warrior turned about. Her breathing was no where near as pronounced as either the warrior or the brothers had been, one of the reasons she hadn't gotten noticed before she was so rudely rammed into. She lifted her feet in a way that she only walked on the balls of them, making sure that her nails didn't click against the stone. It didn't look to be the most comfortable way of walking but it was silent. Once she was in a different shadow she waited a couple moments for the woman to look their direction and then move away.

She then moved outside of her shadow making a small signal towards the woman hoping that Noth was willing to cooperate for mutual benefit. But a scream ripped through the air causing the armored woman to turn around and come face to face with Night. For a couple of moments Night didn't realize who screamed. Time seemed to both slow down and speed up at the same time. Her mind was racing, but everything around her was moving slowly. Then she realized it had been her own scream. The brother who she'd thought for certain was dead was still very much alive. Of course, wounds like that killed slowly and one of her own coworkers had survived a broken lung for hours not many trials prior. The brother had shot and arrow which lodged itself into her thigh. He flopped down most of his strength gone as he continued to wheeze away. He broke off the end of the arrow, but dared not remove it.

Night tried to scramble backwards but she only ended up falling over her own feet as the world started to blur into a feverish haze. Suddenly everything was going wrong and moving to quickly for her to respond while her brain worked to slowly. She barely had enough time to bring up her sword and block a killing blow as the woman tried to bring her weapon down on Night's head.

[Noth]

His tactical retreat away from the obviously angered pureblood was suddenly interrupted when he ran directly into an obstacle. The obstacle felt faintly of flesh, and he identified it quickly as a person, his scrambling hands grasped hold of her shoulders for the briefest interval, and suddenly he found himself hauled aside, away from his path. There was a feeling of wind as the pureblood charged past them, still roaring an angered and hate filled noise. There was little doubt that the individual whom Noth had pierced with his arrow was someone that she cared deeply for, but their exact relationship was difficult to pinpoint.

The twilight hybrid nearly spoke, questioning why he had been pulled away from the charge, and his fright filled mind readied itself to choke the life from the hidden person who still had a hold on him. He was interrupted by a hushed noise, admonishing him to keep quiet lest they be rediscovered by their predator. They had been artfully maneuvered back into the shadows, and out of sight of the creeping sunlight which lit up the entrance of the cave. There was a gentle noise as flames were ignited, and soon a torch gently cast light upon the face of his obstacle.

Recognition flashed through his mind as he made eye contact. Crimson eyes met eyes painted a blue gray that reminded Noth vaguely of a rocky stream. She was not someone who was completely unfamiliar to Noth, though he did not believe that they had ever truly met one another. During the fierce and gory campaign against the shadow creatures, he had laid eyes upon her, and taken notice that she was clearly a halfbreed in a similar manner to himself. She likely faced the same persecutions that he often faced when dealing with his Avriel brethren, and so a sense of understanding dawned through his mind as she glared hatefully at the confused pureblood. Logic dictated that she had tracked down the pair of hunters, and then determined that they were in pursuit of a fellow halfblood. She had risked her life to assure his safety, and to annihilate the pair, and that was exactly the manner of cooperation that Noth could support. He nodded a gentle acceptance, his hands still clutching around his bow.

The woman sneakily crossed the width of the cave, still watching their ignorant prey. The armored Avriel turned a couple of times, but she could not easily peer beyond the veil of shadow, and thus their cover and subsequent ambush was preserved. No one even considered that the man whose lung had been pierced with an arrow was still a player in the game, and in all the excitement, he had managed to position his hands upon his own weapon once more. There was a frightening scream that made Noth jolt slightly, his eyes drifting instantly towards the origin of the horrific noise. It was difficult to discern what had happened in the darkness, but since the woman was only now approaching his ally, it seemed likely that the brother had inflicted a wound upon her.

The torch cast a faint light around his newly found ally, and the armored warrior noticed it as if though it were a beacon atop a lighthouse. It was unlikely that his bow could punch through the armor, especially since he would have difficulty fully drawing in inside of these tunnels, but he knew that he needed to do something, or else his ally would surely perish. She collapsed upon her back, barely raising her sword as her opponent’s fell down with righteous indignation. There was a shriek of metal upon metal, and sparks were sprayed outwards from the blow. It was a heavy enough swing, and Noth doubted that the halfblood could withstand another one.

He pounced forward, taking advantage of the armored purebloods’ distractedness as he charged towards her. He leapt into the air, attacking in a manner which wasn’t so terribly different from Vern’s, though admittedly with far more force behind it. The vicious and animalistic savagery that embodied his preferred fighting style was released as his foot made contact with her head, jamming it harshly against the nearby stone wall, and eliciting a gentle crackle as teeth were knocked loose and gums were rent open with sheer kinetic force.

She turned, screaming profanities in Lorien as her blade whizzed through the air. He attempted to leap backwards, though he had committed himself far too much to his attack for it to be completely effective, and he felt the tip of the weapon bite into his stomach, drawing a crimson line across it, and sending coating his feathers in blood. They stuck together quickly as the liquid lightly fell from his wound, working as a sort of natural bandage, albeit one that was not nearly as efficient as it could possibly have been.

He had drawn the ire of the armored woman, and her attention, but in so doing he had preserved the life of his wounded opponent. He need only distract her long enough for his ally to stab her through the back.

[Nightshade Eld]

Night took a chance to catch her breath when Noth distracted the pure breed. Reality crashed into place around her as everything became normal. Her eyes darted about as she tried to analyze the situation. The pure breed was quickly advancing at Noth, Night could just stab her now but it wouldn't end the situation. She didn't have a clean enough point to stab that would be a killing blow. She noticed out of the corner of her eye something interesting that could change the situation. The male was still alive and he was trying to notch another arrow. Her mind worked quick as she came up with a plan that would end this battle for good. She just needed to be fast enough to put it into action.

Night lunged at the warrior with a feral scream that was between human and avriel. It sounded like a slur of some Lorien curse word. That was the only thing her father ever said in Lorien so it was the only thing she ever picked up on. She smirked as the warrior screeched a bloody noised as Night's blade dug deeply into her side, pushing past ribs and digging in. Though it wasn't a killing blow. Instead she quickly turned using the blade and all of the force in her body to push the woman into a different direction. A twang sounded through the cave the second the woman was moved, she was about to bring down her weapon when she came to a complete and total stop. Her eyes widened for a moment before they lost all color and light. Because the way she was positioned she fell forward giving Night barely enough time to jump out of the way. The woman's weapon clanged to the ground as it was revealed what killed her. An arrow stood proudly out of the back of her head.

The brother with his blood coated bow clutched tightly in his hands had a look of horror on his face. It was uncertain if killing his sister or realizing his own fate was the cause of such a look, but it didn't matter for long. Night took of a moment to breath a shaky breath while she took a glance at her new comrade. Alive and mostly well. Good. She turned on the brother moving forward with strong and easy movements. She pulled up the hood of her cloak, blade in hand. "Best half breed hunting pair my arse," she muttered to herself quietly. The talons of her feet made a screeching sound similar to the souls of the damned crying out in a mournful choir. With her hood up the woman looked like the grim reaper herself. Finally she loomed over the brother. "You fought well, better then your sister considering your injury. Your cause is what damned you. Begone," she said placing a taloned foot on his neck and quickly thrusting her blade into the base of his skull. The life was lost from his eyes in moments, the pain ended as his life's blood ceased to flow.

She wiped her blade against the light armor that he wore before sheathing the faithful weapon. She pulled the hood off of her head and turned to Noth. "Now then, I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting yet. I've heard whispers about you but nothing concrete and certainly not enough of a lead to track you. But I've wanted to meet you ever since I heard the rumor another half breed was living in Etzos. I think we could get along," she said with a brilliant smile holding out her hand. The ease she brushed off the entire situation was strange and astounding. To a degree it painted a portrait of heartlessness for this new stranger, but at the same time one of strength. Yet her actions were a direct contradiction to the first assessment of her character. If she was truly heartless then why would she go out of her way and nearly get herself killed trying to help Noth? There was little she could gain from the situation. Noth held no wealth and it seemed likely he would rather die than serve. To add on to that point why would she go so far out of her way tracking a rumor about another half breed when there was little profit to glean from the situation. Her goals had yet to be observed.

In her mind however her goals were no where near as dark as one could assume from the situation. She'd wanted to meet Noth for the sake of meeting another half breed. She'd never met another one before, at least not a living one. Curiosity and maybe a faint sense of camaraderie had driven her to actively try to find the half breed ever since she heard of one in Etzos. Perhaps in truth her reasoning for trying to find Noth had been a little foolish. But she was drawn to the idea that someone in the world was like her, someone had suffered the same kind of hate and pain caused by their other two parts. Had been made to think themselves a monster simply because the birth they could not control. Maybe it was a desperate and foolish hope that Noth would understand and Night would be able to befriend him. But it was a hope she clung to with every fiber of her being and so she tried to make the best impression on him that she could.

[Noth]

Another slash came down towards the twilight hybrid, nearly hacking into his arm were it not for a last minute jump backwards. His back collided with the stone wall, pressing his wing roughly against it. It was at least slightly painful, though it was definitely necessary to avoid a harsh fate. He could attempt to deflect one of the blows with his bow, and whilst he was at least somewhat confident that he would be able to stop the blade, he also figured that it would tear the useful equipment to pieces, and thus leave him helpless should any further hunters ever show their scowling faces near his home. He was on the edge of losing his battle against the woman, however, and desperation would force him to choose his life over the bow should she release another strike against him.

There was a frightening shriek as though a wild beast had been released within the cave, though it held human and Avriel qualities in it, and thus it was quickly identified as his ally. Noth was genuinely happy that she was in fair condition, though that was less out of compassion for his fellow being, and more because it meant she could stab the harpy hunter in the spine. He could hear the blade as it jammed itself through armor, into the woman’s chest. It did not seem to be a lethal blow though, because she continued to fight for a moment later, wildly swinging her blade around in the air in a frantic attempt to strike at something, anything.

The briefness of the struggle caught Noth slightly off-guard, and he observed as his ally spun the hunter around by the blade, using it as a pivot to put her into the path of something. There was the rough twang of a bow, and suddenly she ceased fighting. The hunter collapsed onto the ground, the arrow clearly having jammed through her fragile skull and brain. It was with the falling of his sister that the brother must have realized that he was destined to be killed, to be cruelly removed from existence in the same manner that he had destined others to death. The horror that crossed his face could have been for any number of reasons, whether the realization that he had just caused his sibling’s demise, or perhaps the former realization that he would not be slaughtered. It did not matter.

His ally gradually approached the brother who was splayed out across the ground, the fight having gone out of him. The darkness helped to obscure some of the bloody mess that followed, but Noth could still feel the crimson liquid upon his feet, and he flicked the limbs in an attempt at splattering the liquid elsewhere. The adrenaline gradually left his system as he adjusted once more to normal behaviors, turning towards his ally and observing her for a brief instance as she wiped the blood off of her blade. He had definitely seen her before when they had been on the campaign against the shadows, but he had never met her.

She stated that she had heard whispers and rumors about his existence, but that there was little solidified evidence of his existence. He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that statement, because it meant that others were gradually beginning to become aware of him, and he had tried quite hard to keep them as oblivious as possible to his presence. He supposed after fighting in a campaign with some of the warriors of Etzos, a pair of Immortals, and just the general sequence of recent events, that some information was destined to be revealed about him. It seemed likely that her source of information came from those very soldiers that he had served alongside, because she stated that she had heard of another halfbreed, and the drunkards that frequented the forests had only ever identified him as a monster living in the woods.

Noth paid little attention to the ease with which she forgot the recent events, or the nonchalant manner in which she spoke after having just split someone’s head open. He likely behaved in a similar manner, and though he couldn’t quite understand why anyone would assist someone for no reason whatsoever, he could at least recognize that others felt such emotions of compassion, and of loneliness. She wouldn’t have come to his aid if she did not have a reason, and although it might have seemed to be a petty one at first glance, she had yet to request any items as payment for services rendered, and it seemed unlikely that she was planning on betraying him after having just assisted in saving his life.

“I am Noth. You are correct, we have not yet met one another, though I recognize you from the battles against Faldrun and the shadow beasts.” He spoke, his voice calming gradually from the excitement of the last few bits. “Tell me, what shall I call my savior?” Perhaps that was too melodramatic, but it was never bad to compliment others for their actions, especially when they were useful to one’s own means.

[Nightshade Eld]

Savior was a strong word. She wasn't sure how she felt about being called a Savior for what little she did. In fact she nearly got herself killed in the process of trying to help. She wasn't sure if Noth would have done better or worse without her, but she leaned towards the idea he might have done better. Then again she was always the kind of person to doubt her own skills. "My name is Nightshade. I'm glad I finally have a chance to meet you Noth," she said with a warm smile. The woman seemed strong enough. Night looked at Noth curiously. Only one wing. A sense of sadness washed over her though she didn't allow it to show on her face. A rush of empathy hit her with the same impact as a truck. It wasn't pity. Night didn't like pity, it was a disgusting way to disguise looking down on someone less fortunate then you. Sympathy or empathy were forms of understand and feeling sadness for the problems of another. To not be born with two fully functioning wings as a full breed or a half breed was a horrible kind of spiteful curse. It was something that none should have to experience. To be born with one wing was the same as being a Sev'ryn and losing your familiar. You get a taste of what you are, how you're supposed to live. And then it's all ripped away from you in seconds and you're left with the longing to feel like what you really are again.

"I see you use a bow. I always wanted to learn but I never had a very good teacher. Circumstance led me to only learn how to use a blade. And knock someone's light out if I lost that blade," she said trying to derail her own thoughts more than anything. The comment about her unarmed fighting was meant as a joke and she hoping that maybe she could get a laugh out of him. Her attention was even further lost when she could hear the noises of what sounded like a goose coming from... somewhere? She craned her head about slightly trying to locate the noise while also trying to not be rude.

[Noth]

She identified herself as Nightshade. It was a curious name, though it didn’t take much mental processing to understand why she had been given the name. He nodded, noting the name mentally as he went to work, searching through his pile of possessions for a suitable knife. She stated that it was good to have met him, though that was obviously a statement born of ignorance. She didn’t know who he truly was, but it seemed likely enough that she would get an impression of the type of individual he could be in only a few short bits. Despite that, Noth genuinely felt normal around the fellow halfbreed, and didn’t have the general feeling of worry that commonly accompanied the presence of others. She had likely faced many of the same struggles that he had dealt with throughout his life, and her mere assistance during the recent battle highlighted that she understand the threat of halfblood hunters throughout Idalos.

He wondered for a moment whether she saw him and felt some sort of camaraderie or pity for his condition. It was dark in the cave, and so he couldn’t easily see every dimension of her face, but it seemed likely. Most people saw the crippled bird that could not fly, and felt some semblance of sadness for his condition, and whilst he could understand why they might feel such things, he preferred that they didn’t. They couldn’t truly understand what it felt like to be him, the gnawing desire to flap one’s wings and soar through the sky. He was cursed to forever tread his feet upon solid ground, never to feel the gentle kiss of the clouds.

Nightshade commented on his use of a bow. She mentioned that she had desired to learn to use the weapon, but that she had never located an adequate teacher to assist her in mastering the craft. Noth himself was by no means an expert in the weapon, but he was good enough that he usually hit his target. Mind you, when the only things you shot at were large game animals, or humanoids, it was far easier to strike them.

“I’ve had that bow since I was younger. My father taught me to shoot it in the beginning, though much of my knowledge now has been self-learned. Practice and perseverance are good teachers when tempered by the harshness of desperation.” He spoke, his voice attempting to cover over any emotion at the mention of his father, but it failed at hiding a forlorn noise, as though he missed the days of old.

It was clear enough that Nightshade was attempting to joke about what she would do if she ever lost her blade, but honestly he found that it was a reasonable enough example of real world situations. If one’s only defensive item was stolen away from them, then their only defense lay in their own natural abilities. He simply nodded, moving over towards the brother’s corpse, and grasping at the feathered appendages that jutted from his back. With a gradual sliding motion, he began to remove his wings, the noise sounding roughly like a knife cutting vertically through a sheet of paper. It wasn’t terribly messy, mostly because there were few veins and arteries in the wings, and because the heart had already ceased, but nonetheless there was some residual blood that dripped upon his hands as he worked.

Meanwhile, Vern decided to make an appearance from wherever she had been hidden. Squawking loudly a single time at the intruder before sprinting forward to her master. He greeted it with a pat on the head, accidentally leaving a droplet of blood upon its’ skull as she inquisitively looked at the dead body.

“So, what brings you to Etzos, Nightshade.”