Forest Bonds

[FenFren]

@Dusk

With the melodic sounds of the forest, the birds chirping in an arranged harmony, the river water flowing as the percussion in the background, Colton wandered through the woods. He was looking for something to feast upon, and the rest of his group had gone earlier without him. Shaking his head, he reminded himself that he need not any of their help, much less their company. All he needed was what the forest provided.

Trudging along, he kept his gaze moving along the ground to see if he could spot a rabbit, maybe a mouse or two. His footsteps were silent, as to not alert any prey of his presence. Finally, Colton spotted something. A fawn having lost its mother, prancing around in search of her lost guardian. His hand went for the knife sheathed in his belt, lowering his body to the ground to slowly approach the animal.

Once he had gotten close enough, and the fawn seemed to be still and unaware of his presence, he lunged for it. He plunged the blade into the side of the fawn, watching it go limp below him.

Confirming it was dead, Colton removed his knife and wiped it off, returning it to its sheath. He closed his eyes and held his hand over the small deer's chest, a silent apology for having to take its life, and to perhaps the mother for feeding upon her child. He picked up the deer, carrying it off to a place where he could start a fire and cook the meat.

 

[Dusk]

It was generous to call it an accident. Noll had stumbled upon the beast accidentally but it was his choice to act as he had. In the forests surrounding his hamlet, at the end of a small ravine, Noll had found an ancient altar. It had been left alone for at least a century as branches and weeds had encroached upon the old stone. The bone offerings left in ages past were brittle and the trinkets indistinguishable. Noll had slid right into the shrine. He'd known immediately that he was in danger. A sense of dread had overcome him. The hunter gripped his bow tightly and surveyed the scene. He'd spotted it then. A massive beast of a deer, as beautiful as it was terrifying. It was no ordinary creature.

Its gaze locked with Noll and the young hunter knew it meant him harm. What it was he did not know but he knew it was something of the old world and he knew to fear it and the hostile intention behind its eyes. Noll could've run then. He could've scrambled away and prayed for his escape but he couldn't move. He was frozen in those black eyes. And then the deer beast charged. It moved quickly across the ravine and Noll did the only thing he could think to do in that moment. He raised his bow and loosed an arrow. His aim was true, piercing the beast through the skull. It screamed with animalistic fury but there was something too human there. Something deep within him sunk. He knew he had fucked up. He knew, almost before he felt it, that he was going to pay for his action.

And then he felt it.

It was a suffocating pain which pressed on him from every angle. Agonized, he crumpled to the ground. His bow cracked beneath him as he thrashed upon the ground, clawing to pull away the invisible force. Noll did not know how long he squirmed upon the ground and when the pain ceased he was out of breath and drenched in sweat. He'd heard of such things. Noll had killed something ancient and he'd earned his prize — a curse. He had returned home to have it confirmed by the village elder. Worse yet, there were two more things. The first was that there was no known way of breaking it. The second was that his people feared the spread of the curse and banished Noll for fear that he would bring ruin to their village.

That had been two months prior. It left Noll disheartened. He'd left behind his entire world — all of his friends, his family, and familiarity. Unwilling as his departure had been Noll planned to use it to seek a cure, if such a thing could be found. He had visited witches and shamans and neither had had the tools to heal him. Old magic, they had said, required older powers to lift. Noll was directed toward the ancient forest. Woods rumoured to be full of magic. The last beacon of the old gods. The nearest villages had warned him not to enter. Told him he would never come out. But the attacks from the curse came more often and they came stronger. He had to believe it would kill him eventually. So Noll entered the forest reluctantly.

And that was where he stood. Everything else aside, it was beautiful. Although he had not yet come across it, Noll could hear the sound of water beneath the birdsong. He had to push thick greenery away to make his passage, yet he found the lush ferns and bushes to be as lovely as the massive trees which imposed on the forest around them. The forest was as beautiful as it was intimidating. It left him jumpy, nevertheless, and he kept his bow firmly in his hand.

The dark-haired freckled man smelled it before he saw it — the smoke of a fire. He pressed through the trees, using the scent to guide him. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to seek out the smoke but he was lured by the potential of human contact, and of food, as he had wandered the woods for three days alone. He was correct in his expectation, finding a man, a deer, and a fire. Noll stood perfectly still at the edge of the small clearing. Dark eyes locked on the man as his fingers wrapped around his bow. He had not been threatened but he found himself trepidatious. Noll didn't speak.

 

[FenFren]

Colton proceeded with his task of cooking the deer, as he kept the fire going, he began to sharpen his dagger with a rock. He hadn't caught the other presence in the forest quite yet, so he went on to make sure his dagger was adequetly sharp. He pulled the deer closer to him, sitting down and starting to cut off the limbs, plus the fur. Searching around for a nearby stick, he grabbed one and impaled a chunk of meat. Colton situated the stick next to the so the meat was cooking over the fire. He did this a few more times until the blaze was surrouned by deer meat. While it was cooking, he stood to fetch some water. With his dagger in hand, and what looked similar to a shallow bowl in another, he headed off to the nearest river.

Where there was a bonfire, there were no wild animals going after it. The only others he'd thought would steal his food would be his pack, and they were currently miles away doing their own hunting.

He got to the river, dipping his bowl in. Being out of reach of the smell of smoke, he caught another smell. A stranger. A trespasser. He about dropped the bowl upon catching it. The forest hadn't had anyone coming into there for... quite a long time. It caught him off-guard. He turned to look around, keeping his senses perked. He sipped from his bowl, continuing to look around.

 

[Dusk]

Along with the smell of smoke, Noll caught the scent of cooking meat. It caused his mouth to salivate as he eyed the chunk of deer skewered above the fire. He wasn't desperate enough to try to steal it — he had rations from the last village, but he longed to sink his teeth into the flame-licked meat. Noll was momentarily distracted by the food, but his attention quickly returned to the other man as he tried to assess whether he was in danger. The man did not move in a threatening manner, but many dangerous things did not. This woodsman picked up a small bowl and moved from the fire. Noll's ears picked up the sound then. He could hear the running water clearer than before. It would be a perfect opportunity for him to refill his water pouch. But that was another thing that would have to wait until he established if this man was friend or foe. Noll stalked cautiously behind the man, trailing him to the river. He did his best to remain stealthy.

The other man looked alert. He turned and surveyed the surroundings with intent. Noll inhaled. His knuckles had grown tight around his bow, but he forcibly relaxed his hand to let the wood sway softly in his grip. Noll exhaled. He was not being exceptionally quiet any more, and he knew the other man was already aware of him, but if he had any doubt about it that dispelled it. Noll stepped forward through some brush and into the man's line of sight. He kept his bow relaxed in his grip but raised his hands in greeting, doing his best to appear genial and non-threatening. Fuck, he hoped this wasn't the dumbest thing he'd ever done.

"Ho there, friend." He said as amicably as possible, keeping his tone casual. There was the smallest hint of nervousness to it that he hoped the other man did not perceive.

 

[FenFren]

Colton, upon catching sight of the stranger, held up his dagger in retaliation. He bared his teeth and let out a firm growl from the back of his throat. His stance had grown more defensive, looking as though he was preparing to lunge at the man at any given moment.

He took quick note of the person's weapon, he would go for that first if he were to show any signs of aggression or being generally dangerous to the forest or himself.

"What're you doing here?" Colton hissed, going to start cautiously walking around the stranger. Unfortunately for the stranger, he did manage to catch the nervous tone of his voice. He had to restrain himself from smirking. This man was either looking for trouble or to be the forest's next meal. The scent of fear and something outside the territory would surely draw something out after him.

"Where did you come from?"

 

[Dusk]

Maybe Noll had overestimated the friendliness of this stranger, as the man not only raised his dagger but growled at him. The man looked prepared to attack and Noll regreted getting so close. He was a good archer, but in a close combat fight there was little he could do, especially as he was unarmed. He did have a small practical knife, but he wasn't holding it.

"The village," Noll said, answering his second question first. Noll made an awkward twitching movement as he wanted to gesture but then thought better of it. "I — shit, I don't remember the name." Noll swallowed.

"I'm here to…" Noll wondered if he should tell this man the truth. He inhaled, and decided to risk it, but he wouldn't reveal everything. "I'm searching — for some way to break a curse." This stranger appeared to be at least partially a creature of the forest, and Noll wasn't prepared to risk his life by mentioning how he had gotten the curse.

 

[FenFren]

Colton kept his eyes narrowed at the stranger, tightening his grip on his dagger as he glared. He cautiously took another step towards the man, before completely getting up in his space. He lifted up his arm, looking through his belt, lifted the other arm, and walking a full circle around the man twice before stopping in front of him.

He decided this man wasn't as much of a threat as he had thought. That had his posture relaxing, but not by much. He still had to be careful just in case.

"There is the faint smell of a curse.. I can't make out what it is, but you won't find whatever cure you're searching for here," Colton growled at him again, "now leave."

The scent of the curse was confusing. He couldn't tell what it was or what could fix it. He only wanted this man out of the forest, in case he ended up being dangerous or a harm to the creatures dwelling there.