Otataral, 956th Year in the Time Dying

[albatross]

The trade official has a large pile of animals brought. They look like large rodents, but they are fresh killed. In this low tech culture, meat for food is likely salted or dried for preservation.

While they wait, the trader tells Bellephobe that those raiders are part of a larger force and the town won't be attacking them unless they attack first. Supposedly they set traps round their camps to stop calvary raids and they have skilled archers.

[albatross]

The horse keeper listens to Aki with rapt attention and asks all kinds of questions. The next day, one of the pregnant mares gives birth early. Not the one with twins. It is a difficult birth, but the mare is calm throughout with Aki beside her. When the birth is finished, the horse keeper preforms a naming ritual asks Aki to name it.

When everything is cleaned up and the mare and colt taken care of, the keeper gives Aki a giantic bird called a Warbird or Warhawk. Its only a little smaller than a griffon. Aki can tell the bird is old, tough and mean. The town is likely giving her the great bird because the can't control it. But it is probably too old to be released into the wild. As cruel as the creature is, its been decades since it hunted o. Its own.

[shiivster]

Aki has watches with rapt attention to the ceremony. when she's asked to name the little colt, she studies it for a bit then names it 'Star Racer' as she traces the crooked blaze that appears to be like a comet down its small face. she says little else but grins as the small nose searches her over and accepts the odd 'herd member' smell before resuming its nursing and becoming a member of the bigger herd.

*mare and colt rest for the rest of the day in the 'birthing' corral, then are placed back among the herd the next day.

She gives the bird a good long stare then appraches. <oh there noble one. your wisdom would be best shared. let me close to groom the crest feathers and the rest of where you can't reach. i have nimble fingers and Yumi will eat the ones that nibble your flesh. have you a nest hidden away? that would be most clever, hiding the nest from the ground walkers>.

*once she's close enough her hands start searching the feathers it can't reach and drops the fattened nits for Yumi to kill. its clear that the odd furry beast is like an extension of the slight girl as it noses about after the grubs. from the bird, Aki will attempt to learn more about the town and the area

'perhaps when the other flying one returns and heads out to hunt . . you could join it? i will have to ask if that would be possible. you seem most angry with itches. there we go . . '. Aki has chattered at the Warhawk and once all the nibbling grubs are removed, places both hands on the big bird and starts chanting and a glow emerges from her hands as she summons up healing energies to cure the wounds so the grubs wont return from a new source.

[thorley]

Bellephoebe nods and thanks the town trader "Thank you, I shall bring the meat to Starlighter. I don't blame you for not wanting to pick a fight with a band that large, but we should hopefully be able to deal with them on our own as we pass through.

I guess we'll wait in the tavern until our healer is done, then we'll have to decide how to approach the problem since turning back isn't really an option for us."

Bellephoebe will feed Starlighter and then meet the others (Sapphire, Tesla) in the tavern, since they will probably want to head there first. When she does she'll inquire of Sapphire and Tesla "So, what do you two think of these raiders? We can probably fight our way through if we have to, but I'd prefer to avoid it and not use the resources we'd expend if it's at all avoidable."

[albatross]

The cougar runs away...

[albatross]

Telsa says, "I'd rather not fight them either. Too bad they aren't friendly, I'll bet a group of nomads that large might be able to tell us what we are looking for. Maybe we can capture one?"

[shiivster]

She approaches the young herdsman and motions to the horse hooves and asks 'you have . . foot shaver? [rasp] may i borrow for a while? the old one is needing attentions too. maybe some foot oils?'

*Aki aids the old warbird with its grooming so its pride won't continue to suffer. she just wishes there was a way to make him a little younger so that he could fly and hunt on its own again. when the horses don't need her, she leads the bird to a dust bowl and encourages it to 'get clean'.

*she waits while it fluffs and flaps sand up and over itself and her. she giggles at that as she wipes the eyes clear.

[thorley]

Bellephoebe wonders why Sapphire is so quiet, and if she's still miffed about their conversation months ago. Responding to Tesla she says:

"Well, it's possible we might be able to engage them in dialogue despite being generally unfriendly. If we made enough of a show of force to make it clear that we wouldn't be easy marks, and then offered them some kind of gift that they knew they couldn't take from us easily, we might be able to get past with far less of a resource expendature if we had wiped them out.

I'm not too fond of the idea of trying to take a prisoner, as these guys are probably some kind of stoic, warrior culture who aren't going to be easily intimidated by simply being captured and asked questions. With my abillities so limited in this world I don't have many options, and I don't like the idea of torture. Then on top of everything we'd probably be stuck dragging the guy around for a while at least, and that's just going to be a pain in the neck."

[albatross]

"So appoach them and ask for a truce? Crush a few if they try to take advantage?" Telse asks, he is still turning it over in his mind. He feels comfortable with interrogation, but torture would be too far.

[shiivster]

Aki frowns as the herdsman seems to ignore her . . and she resumes her tending of hte old bird. she pulls the dagger she carries and showsit to the bird even as she strokes hte headcrest with her comments of what she's going to do with it.

*that done, she bends at he waist and studies hte toes ofhte old bird and will trim the talon tips and reshapes them. she might not be able to make the big beast young again, but she does what she can to remake him into an effective hunter again.

[albatross]

A couple days later, the mare with twins gives birth. The birth is relatively un complicated for twins. This time the quiet stable master gives Aki two other birds. Ora tells Aki that the white bird with red striped feathers is called a Blood hawk. It is valuable as a tracker if properly trained. Ora says to to Aki, "If you allow it, one of us should train the bloodhawk. He'll train easily. Good trackers."

As for the second bird Ora squints at the small blue-black bird and shakes her head. The stablemaster speaks up, "A nighthawk." Ora looks again, "A little small for a hawk, looks about twice the size of cliff swallow." The stableman nods, "Yes, they aren't really hawks. Its a messenger bird, but this one is untrainable. It goes where it will and takes no commands." Ora smiles and laughs shortly, "a kingly gift. The blood hawk is amazing though."

[shiivster]

Aki nods at Ora's words about training the Bloodhawk. then quietly comments 'i am soon to be Aki of the birds . . not Aki of the beasts . . . ' *the light chuckle that emerges shows that her humor is rare, but she can laugh but it is indeed rare. animals don't 'laugh', but then she isn't full animal.

*she settles the Nighthawk on the shoulder and allows it to rest there and become acclimatized to her. Yumi settles on the ground and studies the new birds, then sneezes and climbs back into her carry sack and roots about before emerging with a chunk of snake she smuggled in. Aki shitters at the beast and takes out her shiny black glassy blade and slices it up and offers to both birds. she knows that thes ones are unhappy, but she'll learn 'why' soon enough

*i thank you for gifting of birds. i will do all i can to make them proud of where they came from and bring honor to your place here. it is called?'

*the smaller bird on the shoulder makes a disgusted sound before it starts 'grooming' the feathers on her head. Aki seems to get a faint red tone as she holds back the giggles from the birds commentary of "poor feathers" and other assorted complaints that featherless beings are called from the birds.

[albatross]

Soon Aki has wrapped up her midwife duties and everyone sets out to find the place in Allen's vision. Ora asks Bellephobe all kinds of questions about the raiding party she tracked. She thinks about it for hours and finally says, "You and Starlighter will be the most effective in an open space, especially a steep slope. My own boomernags will have more range outside the forest. However, chains and swords will be better againt superior numbers if we can hide behind cover til their archers close. Alternatively, we could find a place impassable to their horses, but that would pose problems for our camels... What do you think? Meet them in a clearing for a parley and keep everyone back in the forest in case things go wrong? Or sneak up on them?"

[shiivster]

'if it is at night, i could go in and visit their horses and see if they would like to take a midnight stroll . . ?' Aki sees nothing wrong with her suggestion of horse theft. to her it isn't really theft, it is walking the herd elsewhere

*meanwhile, her attention is on the three birds. the biggest is too old and will depart in time. the nighthawk is difficult as it actually wnats to be wild and free again, but the bloodhawk might just want to stay with her, so she does what she can to help the three of htem inderstand their 'role' in groups of people.

[Dome]

Romidus rubs his chin as he listens to Ora and Bellephoebe discuss strategy, "perhaps I can help. I can blind their soldiers, at least temporarily. It should throw them into a state of confusion. In a world where magic is non existent, a being that is made of and can control light may really disorient them, perhaps send them running."