Helping the Tribe, Pt II [Job/Solo]

Job Overview: With the wolves taken care of, the tribe tells you there is a nest of Screeching Horrors nearby, the flying creatures large enough to become a threat to the children of the tribe. Take out the Horrors and claim your reward.

Spoiler:

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Tak and Shana were impressed by the wolves Lexi had slaughtered, the meat and skins would be quite useful for the tribe for food and to make clothing or huts. The couple decided to sit Lexi and Onyx down, giving them instruction on what type of wood they would need to gather to begin making their own hut. Lexi had to excuse herself several times to empty her stomach, Onyx shooting worried looks at his sister. He had hoped she would begin feeling better once they settled down and she had time to rest, but she was still getting sick most mornings. By afternoon, she was feeling better, but he insisted she stay behind as he and Tak went out to begin finding the materials to make a hut. While the men were out, she and Shana worked on skinning and butchering out the wolves, taking the meat to a hut full of smoke to dry out, though Leo got more than a few pieces in the effort. Once that was done, Shana showed Lexi how to stretch and hang the skins so they could be used for leather.

The woman was patient with Lexi as the younger woman struggled to try and stretch out the skins to dry in the sun. It was obvious Lexi had lost her parents before learning some of the more intricate tasks of a village, though from what she remembered of Lexi’s original tribe, they were primarily hunters, not relying on herd animals or farming for their survival. Instead, they simply hunted and gathered from their surroundings, migrating as different herds moved across the Plains. The Ookami tribe was much smaller than the Canis tribe, so they did not need to keep their own animals or to farm. Lexi did her best to remember all the steps of preparing the skins to make into leather, being careful with the skinning and stretching. After they were stretched out, she followed Shana’s instructions on how to rub salt along the skin to help it dry faster.

She found herself enjoying the menial task, it was relaxing though challenging. It felt nice to know she was contributing to the survival of the tribe, even though she had not been able to save her own tribe. Shana was a quiet, patient woman and an excellent mother and wife. When Tak and Onyx returned, they were dragging several long, thin trees. Lexi recognized the trees as ones she had learned to make bows from, ideal because of how flexible the wood remained. As Tak and Onyx began the process of stripping down the wood, Lexi helped Shana to prepare dinner for the evening, using some of the fresh wolf meat and some potatoes. She found out through Shana that while the tribe traveled every few months, some crops grew fast enough for the tribe to grow them. In most places they stayed, they also planted crops like potatoes that took much longer to ripen. When Lexi questioned why they would plant something they would not be around to harvest, Shana chuckled and explained that things like potatoes would remain good underground for quite a long time, so they simply harvested them on their next cycle of migration. While some of the crop would be lost to weather, wild animals and other nomadic tribes, enough remained for them to gather quite a stock. They would also find wild vegetables to help keep their food stocked up. Fruits were the rarest thing, as it relied completely upon finding wild fruit trees without spoiled goods. They occasionally traded for some fresh fruit, but not often, as it was quite expensive.

The next day, Lexi watched as Tak and Onyx prepared the wood, using twine to connect the beams and begin forming the frame of a hut. While it was all attached in a secure manner, she noticed most of it was designed to be easy to take down for when the nomadic tribe moved on. As the men struggled to put the frame work together, Shana showed Lexi how to properly weave reeds, grass, and bark together to make a leak-proof roof for the hut. By the end of the day, the men had the frame put up and had attached a few sections of the roof together. By the end of the week, the hut was complete, Shana and Lexi sewing hides together for the walls and the men attaching it to the frame work, Tak and Shana making sure Lexi and Onyx knew how everything fit together and how to take everything down in a rush. When the hut was finally complete, Shana presented the siblings with a pillow made of the wolf skin from the night Lexi had taken out the pack. Giving the older woman a tight hug, Lexi eagerly retired into the hut, Onyx chuckling at her. It was nice to finally have a place to call their own. Leo was especially appreciative, Tak and Shana’s hut had not been large enough for him to sleep inside next to his mistress, but this one had plenty of room.

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Lexi had found them falling into their own little spot within the tribe after a couple of weeks. They had been doing their part to help the tribe thrive and Shana had taken Lexi under her wing, showing the younger woman some of the things her own mother had died before teaching her. Peace did not last forever, however, and soon Tak informed them of a new threat. Large birds had taken to coming to try and pick off parts of the flock and the birds were growing large enough to become a threat to the children as well. Lexi frowned at the knowledge, knowing that they tribe tried to avoid interfering with the local wildlife if they could. However, the safety of the tribe came first and a hunt was organized. Lexi happily allowed Onyx and Leo to accompany her on the hunt, along with Tak. While Lexi had no problem taking on the more menial tasks of a woman within the tribe, her skill with a bow was well known. The small group set out to find the Screeching Horrors, wanting to eliminate the threat before a child was harmed.

It took three days of searching for them to find the nest of the large birds. When the group approached the nests, they were immediately assaulted by the sounds of angry screeches. Each of the four birds targeted one of the group, the one targeting Tak using Immobilizing Screech.  Lexi looked up as one began to swoop towards her, shooting a basic arrow at the bird. The Horror used Feather Shield to deflect the shot, but Lexi wasted no time in shooting another basic arrow into the birds chest. It fell to the ground with a sickening thud before Lexi turned her attention to Tak, the man unable to move as a bird swooped down to attack him.

Lexi reached into her quiver, pulling out four arrows and launching Multi-Shot at the Horror. All four arrows buried into the birds side, making it fall. The two remaining birds reacted in pure fury, one diving toward Leo with Bleeding Claws, the scratches aimed for the tiger’s eyes. Leo leapt to the side before jumping onto the birds back, biting into the birds neck and snapping it. The final bird gave a terrible screech before it dived for Onyx, making Lexi’s heart race. Without even thinking about it, she pulled another arrow from her quiver and launched Death Shot at the bird just before it could reach Onyx, her brother shooting her a thankful smile as the bird tumbled to the ground.

While Onyx went to check on Tak, Lexi examined the birds, finding the feathers would harder than normal ones, which was what had allowed one to deflect her shot. Knowing it could be useful, Lexi began loading the corpses onto Leo’s back before searching around more. As she pulled herself up onto a rocky ledge, her eyes widened. There were four nests carefully constructed in the rocks, two nests containing several eggs and the other two containing three baby Horrors. So that was why the birds had become more aggressive, there were young ones to protect and feed. Lexi gave a quiet sob, she had just made these poor babies orphans. They would likely die without their mothers around to feed them. Onyx came at the sound of her crying, frowning at the discovery of the tiny baby birds.

Tak, finally recovering, came to see the commotion as well, humming in understanding when he saw the chicks. Without a word, he moved towards the nests and began carefully picking up the chicks, checking them over for injury or sickness.

“We can take these back to the tribe. We have a couple of people that might be able to train them. These birds make fierce hunters, if they can be tamed. We cannot do much for the eggs, but we can try to salvage them as well. Help me gather them.”

Lexi’s eyes brightened at the news that they may be able to save the chicks, hurriedly moving forward to begin carefully picking up the eggs and arranging them in her pack. She used the feathers in the nests to make sure the eggs would not become cold or get damaged on the trip back, nestling everything in the pack and holding it securely. While she did this, the men tried to gather the chicks without harming them, the flapping featherless wings showing the chicks’ anger at being touched by strangers.

The trip back to the village was quiet, Lexi protecting the eggs and trying to keep them warm by holding them against her body while Tak and Onyx struggled to keep the chicks from escaping or pecking them. Leo showed restraint, not eating the dead birds on his back as they finally arrived back in the middle of the huts, the rest of the tribe helping to unload the chicks, corpses and eggs. Exhausted, Lexi made her way for her hut, barely in the door before she collapsed, falling into a deep sleep.

[1697/1500]
[Stamina: 180/250]
[Ammunition: 13/15]

Spoiler: