Plans and Plots (Part 2 of 2)

Writers: Arale, Miriah
Date Posted: 10th July 2012

Characters: J'ackt, Yarlna
Description: Jenackt escorts Yarlna home and agrees to start teaching her
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 8, day 13 of Turn 6

J'ackt

She smiled at Jenackt and said, "Here, eat this while we walk." She
handed him one of the bundles she'd packed. "And tell me how you got
away from the hunting party. That must have been exciting!"

The moment she mentioned the chase, Jenackt went still for a moment
and stared at her. Apparently bad news traveled quickly. "What
did you hear?"

"That there was a dangerous holdless man running around and attacking
girls. My mother wouldn't let me out of the cot all day, not even to
do chores," the girl added, rolling he eyes. Now that she was sure
that there was more to the story, the whole thing seemed ridiculous
instead of frightening. "My father and some of my uncles and cousins
all went looking, in case he came our way, but they never spotted
anyone. Then, we got word that he'd given the hunting party that was
chasing him the slip by jumping in a river. My mother didn't let me
out the next day either, and then the next was Thread so I was stuck
inside yesterday too. I snuck out at night though, when everyone was
asleep."

She eyed her friend up and down as they walked before asking, "Is that
how you got hurt? In the river?"

"Attacking girls...." Jenackt frowned, his eyes narrowing. Again it only proved,
as his father had told him so many times, that Holder's could not be
trusted. If it wasn't completely foolish, Jenackt would have liked to
show them what a real attack would be like. It would have only
drawn more attention to him. That notion buried itself in his mind
for later perusal.

He glanced at Yarlna and snorted softly. "Hardly." He rubbed his ribs in
remembrance. "I was looking for tubers and all I saw was a shadow behind
me with a club. I just...reacted and I tackled her before I realized
that she was a girl, but not before she got me in the ribs with her
sharding club. I was trying to keep her quiet and I did NOT hurt her.
I could have. Easily." He didn't apologize for his actions. "I let her
know that. I don't like having to hurt people if I don't have to."

He turned to Yarlna and frowned. "You don't need to be sneaking out either.
There are worse things than me lurking out here and you were lucky that
I was following you. Wild felines hunt at night and you don't know this area
enough to wander through it without knowing how to track. " His voice was
gruff. "You get hurt and they'll blame me now."

The girl nodded along as he told his story, glad that she was getting
to hear it. She only wished that others would be willing to listen. It
wasn't fair that no one seemed to care to find out his side of things.
When he got to the part about warning her from sneaking out, she
frowned stubbornly. "I didn't know if you were ok or not. I had to
find out."

The idea of being attacked by felines was worrisome though. She hadn't
even really considered that. The canines kept around the small holding
kept felines away for the most part and the danger of leaving that
protection for the deeper forest had slipped her mind in the wake of
her concern for her stranger. Her friend.

"So," she started, trying to sound casual but betrayed by the way her
eyes darted about, looking for signs of tawny fur in the darkness
between the trees, "how -can- you tell if a feline is tracking you?"

Jenackt stopped completely to look at Yarlna and his brows furrowed
deeply as a frown settled on his face. "For one, the forest gets quiet
when a predator is on the hunt. If you know where the feline normally
prowls, you can usually avoid it. Otherwise, its best to be armed,
just in case. " He patted the sword at his side. " Don't they teach
you these things? Its kind of important to know if you live so close
to the forest. You have to know where the dangers are. Its the first
thing I learned and I was much younger than you."

He shook his head and began to walk a little quicker, cursing softly
under his breath. "Careless. Shaffing, bloody, careless holders." He
glanced at her. "Not you, though you should have been more careful.
You'll have to get your parents to teach you these things, especially
if you insist on taking late night strolls."

She laughed, "My parents would lay eggs if they knew I was in the
forest. My mother doesn't even like it when I play around the edges.
They think I sew all night when I can't sleep." To be fair, before she
met Jenackt that was what she had done. But the idea of anyone
teaching her how to use a sword was pretty funny.

But maybe... "You could teach me. How to use a sword, I mean."

"You're kidding. Sewing?" Jenackt wrinkled his nose. "That's useful on
occasion. They're not going to teach you anything else? Even my mam
knew how to use a sword when she had to. She didn't like it, but she
knew how at least to protect herself...."

He paused at her suggestion, then spoke slowly. "I could...." he
looked at her and arched his brow. "Its not easy. It takes work. And
strength." He eyed her arms and kept walking. "It means you would have
to learn the woods. I don't think I would be welcome at your cothold."

Yarlna felt a thrill of excitement rush through her. She would learn
how to use a sword! Her! "I can sneak out into the woods each night,
like when I bring your bundles." She agreed with him that he wouldn't
be welcome. The thought doused some of her excitement, in fact. The
last thing she wanted was to be responsible for getting her friend
caught. "But, will it be loud?"

"You can consider it fair payment for the food." His lips quirked
wryly, the he shook his head. "Not at first. I doubt you could even
lift my sword, Yarlna. That takes time. No, you'll learn with light
reeds bundled together in the basic shape to learn the forms you'll
need. They sting when they strike," he warned "but only enough to make
sure you're less likely to make them again."

He stared at her as they grew closer to her cothold. "You'll not be
able to come every night. You need sleep and focus. " He stopped as
they neared the edge of the clearing. "I can't come and find you when
you're ready all the time." His eyes were suddenly intense upon her.
"Travel west for a candlemark. When you encounter the small creek,
follow it upstream until you come to the base of the cliffs. I am
normally there in the evening." His eyes narrowed. "I'm trusting you
with that. Don't betray my trust because I will protect myself.
Understood?"

"You can trust me," Yarlna replied in an offended tone. Her frown
shifted to a more pensive look as she considered what he'd said. She
didn't think she'd have a problem finding the place he'd mentioned.
She was pretty sure she knew the creek he was speaking of anyway. If
it was the same one she was thinking of, she'd been there a few times,
playing. It was about the furthest she'd ever trekked into the forest
before tonight. She'd never followed it up or down stream though.

"I have a hard time sleeping," she admitted after a while. His
statement about her needing sleep worried her. "Sometimes I lay awake
for half the night or more. That's why I was up when I saw you that
first time, in the wherry pen."

"So far, yes." His statement left little doubt that he'd encountered
little to trust in his life. He ran a hand through his hair, the blonde
strands sticking up haphazardly. Shards, he didn't even know why
he'd agreed to teach her, but he ached for company. As it was,
he doubted she'd stick with the lessons. Girls her age were preparing
to get married, weren't they? It was probably just an amusing
diversion for her. For him, swordplay was essential, and one of the
few passions he had. For all of his father's faults, he missed the
daily sparring that his father's company had offered. He was
getting rusty.

He glanced at her, crossing his arms over his chest as he pushed his
thoughts away for the moment. He drummed his fingers over his biceps
for a moment as he considered her. "At least try to sleep well the night
before you come to me, then. And make sure you aren't followed. "
He gestured to the nearby clearing. "There you go. Get some sleep. "
He gathered his satchels in his arms and looked down at her.
"And...be careful." He was about to turn away and then paused,
staring ahead. "Thank you, Yarlna. For caring. I'm not used to it...
and..." he paused struggling for a moment then looked over his
shoulder at her. He finally smiled, teeth flashing for a
quick moment. "Thank you."

"I'll try," the girl promised. She really would too. She wanted to do
well with the sword lessons. Her friend was different from anyone
she'd met, but she had enough cousins near what she guessed was his
age to know that they only had so much patience in dealing with little
girls like her. The last thing she wanted was for him to change his
mind!

She started into the clearing where her home was located, but turned
back with a bright smile at his parting words. "You're welcome,
Jenackt."

Last updated on the August 3rd 2012

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Plans and Plots (Part 2 of 2)