Klara & Humayra D-Rank Reim Job: The Displaced Pt. I/III

Spoiler:

A young Teenager with brown hair, black eyes, and pale skin sits at a table in a quiet tavern in the middle of the mountains. Dust blanketed every surface despite the wooden interior lack of damage. In truth, this was a public shelter for travelers to rest or wait out unfortunate weather. Today, it served as a meeting spot for a scholar and his two hired hands.

See, the most respectable council had learned of some new beast appearing in these mountains and was paying good money to those who braved the danger and elements to bring back information about them. The teen was one of those takers who sought not only good favor with his majesty but the wealth to have whatever he wanted. He was known in his inner circle as overly selfish for his age and so nobody in his circle would assist him. Thus he was forced to share a bit of his future wealth with strangers. Having conversed with both Klara and Humayra a day or two before, he told them to meet him here so now he waits.

The first to arrive was Klara. Dawning a White cloak lace with fur to keep warm. She entered the Tavern with curious eyes. Excitement seeped from under her hood and insect skull helmet despite her not saying a word. Her red strap and black unitard formed a makeshift dress with a black ban forming the short skirt. However, the girl wore bandages around her arms and legs, something she only did when she planned to enter a cold climate like these mountains. A black strap hugged her right thigh and black gloves covered her hands, riding up her arm up to her triceps. However, the right glove was fingerless revealing the bandages covering the girl's hand. Finally the girl had her weapon behind her back under her cloak.

The boy noticed the girl but did not say anything, expecting her to make an introduction. He was paying her so he assumed she would give him the proper respect but the girl was too enthralled with the room, running her fingers along the various dusty tables, chairs, and counters. She thought the place would be rundown and broken in multiple places but seeing everything in tip top shape, aside from the dust, was too fascinating.


388/500
@Humayra

The insulated, slightly dilapidated building designated as the meeting place before the joint mission would commence came into view over the drifting snow. Why it had to be up in the mountains like this, Humayra didn’t understand, but this was where the young scholar boy she’d met just the other day had told her to meet him. At the time, she’d forked the flyer over to him and asked him what the job was for and after explaining it to her he immediately decided she was hired and going to participate in this job he'd posted. The outcome wasn’t exactly what she’d planned for but this job seemed simple enough and didn’t seem like it would require a lot of combat readiness unlike the other jobs she’d undertaken in the past. The only reason the young Fanalis girl accepted the boy’s proposal to work together had to do with the fact this job required someone to actually document the monster discoveries. Reading and writing was far from Humayra’s strong suit, being a practically nonexistent skill for her. She thus deemed it necessary to bring along company who could aid in the more technical documenting portion of the mission. She would handle any and all potential hostiles that ended up coming their way. Or rather that should have been the case but it seemed Humayra would have a rival to contend with in this endeavor.

Another Fanalis quickly approached during their initial mission selection and the young scholar boy recruited her to join the mission as well. This was all done before Humayra had the chance to object. Mission rewards split better two ways than they did three… At least The Fanalis girl was pretty certain that was the case. Her mathing skills weren’t exactly something she could be proud of either and were comparable to her reading and writing skills…

The door to the solitary structure at the side of the mountain was already partially clear of snow and two sets of tracks indented upon the bank suggested to Humayra that she would be the final person to this pre-mission gathering. With a sigh, Humayra puffed white breath into the air before setting her hands to push open the heavy wooden door. The wind riled up to a blustering gust as the Fanalis girl passed over the threshold and into the aging shelter. She turned about once inside and proceeded to shove the door closed, fighting against the blistering gust of cold wind that pressed around the door and licked harshly against her exposed cheeks.

“Whew, It gets pretty cold up here doesn’t it.” Humayra chimed, intending the words for no one in particular other than herself. But with the door now closed, her voice did happen to carry through the small structure in relative ease. Knowing beforehand that the mission would take place in potentially cold climate, Humayra had fashioned her old clothes into wraps to cover her head, arms, legs, and feet. The Silk, Heliohaptian Cotton, and gold threaded robe she wore sufficed in keeping the rest of her body at an acceptably warm temperature given the weather outside.

Looking around the shelter, Humayra spotted the scholar boy, who appeared more than just a little bit irritated, but she couldn’t tell if it was because of the other Female Fanalis who was sweeping her hands over every dusty surface in the place, or the fact that her own entrance into the building just now had let in a gust of wind so strong it’d blown his parchment all over the floor.

“So, when do we get started?” Humayra asked, directing her question not at the boy busy scrambling to recapture his writing implements, but to the other Fanalis girl who appeared to be enthralled by the shelter’s dustiness.

WC: 630/500

Bringing With:

The Emira's Robes:

Noble's Crest Dagger:

Gift Of Freedom:

Al-Shamsura Snake Necklace:

A gust of wind escaped through the door as the final member of the team arrived. The scholar shuttered from the much unneeded draft, quickly moving towards the fireplace. With a quick swipe of a match the man made embers with the leftover firewood. The heat was not going to fix the room but he selfishly kept it all to himself. Still, his disappointment at the situation was only growing as the newest girl failed to greet him.
"All the more reason to keep the door closed."

Klara turned back to the familiar girl before returning to her own mini adventure. She had made it to the kitchen area as was inspecting the empty cabins. She paused at the sound of the struck match but otherwise, she remained to herself. That was until the other girl spoke up for the second time.

Klara did not immediately respond but something told her to look back and, to her surprise, the other girl was talking to her and not the scholar. The girl smirked at the question before shrugging her shoulders. Her role on this team was to be the guide and ensure the trek there and back was safe. In truth, she did not understand the true nature of the request until the scholar explained the job more. However, she was already daydreaming about the discovery, about the value this job would bring to her and the Reim chapter of her life.

The scholar forcefully coughed desperately for the attention of his two hired hands. "Ladies, could you please come here. I have the answer to that question and much more planned out, quite brilliantly might I add, over here." The man tapped his foot while hugging the small area of warmth from the fireplace. In front of him was a coffee table with a map and some arrow-like red symbols. Scribbles danced along the edges though none of them were relevant to the situation. Whether the two girls came or not, he would pick up the paper and start pointing. "So like I said before, we are looking for new creatures. I hope the two of you together have enough brain power to make such a determination." A pompous grin followed, "When you see such a beast, you are to write down anything important about it but more importantly, you are to make sure I stay alive because you don't have the qualifications to understand what us scholars care about when it comes to these beasts."

A final chuckle ended his arrogant gloat. The man completely forgot Humayra's situation as this delusion of grandeur blinded him from the visual reactions of the girls or the truth of this situation. Klara looked at the map with the pins not really paying the man any mind. People like this existed everywhere and had their value, in the sense that they normally paid a lot of money for the dumbest of jobs. The wanderer also sort of acted like this most of her time under him so she kind of had a tolerance for it. As long as they were not being too malicious with their words; money, story, and adventure were always worth forgiving people for, even if they never said sorry.

Nevertheless, The map was very clear, if you ignored the bored doodling and pointless notes. They were going to ascend probably several dozen meters or so into the forest. From under her cloak she pulled out a roll of paper being her own, much less modified map. Matching it to the man's map, she quickly understood the time frames they had to meet. The girl cleared her throat while adjusting her helmet. "Okay Let's go. It will be a two hour walk I think."

Klara retreated back to her map bowing out of the conversation, if you could call it that. In her mind, she could surely make it up the mountain faster alone. With the other fanalis, it would not take much longer than an hour but with a human... a scholar type at that, she had to be more conservative due to being unsure of his physical abilities. It was cold and windy but snow had not reached this low yet. The summit and taller mountains around them were glazed like a fresh donut. The sky above only grew darker by the hours with compacting clouds. The girl was no meteorologist but she was confident that snowfall would reach even the base of the mountain by nightfall. Assuming that it would not become a storm, they would be fine. However, if the storm hit, they would have to find or make shelter. She had a couple shelters marked on her map but there was going to be the possibility of having to hunker down and set up a temporary camp if things got too wild. Of course all of this was the issue with working with a human.

The girl's eyes shifted to the other Fanalis on the team. Klara never did introduce herself given the personality of the client and her experience on her last job. You would be surprised how far one could go off titles alone. She had no plans of doing it now. It would be too embarrassing. She blushed thinking about it. She knew she was shy around strangers and got tongue tied, especially around her own kind. Something about growing up weak and sick combined with following a human around for years sometimes made her think she was not the same... maybe lesser than those who grew up among their people. Of course, she would never admit this and she kept her guard up but it always ate at her in the back of her head. That being said, she did not know much about this girl. The girl clearly was not scared, a common trait among their people. The girl did however, go to Klara instead of the client when she first came in. On one hand, that could be seen as smart since Klara was the guide... but on the other hand, she was not the client. She could only make suggestions based on her view of the situation. This could be a test or a way to challenge for dominance over the group. The wander did say people did that sometimes. Klara had no desire to be the alpha... but she was not going to just roll over for someone else's ego... especially if they were not paying her. If the girl looked at Klara, Klara would duck behind her map but otherwise, she was carefully watching the girl... and continuously being disappointed that she could not explore the building more.



1500/500

She’d suspected it of the scholar during their first meeting but now Humayra was certain of it. This man had a tongue, and a rather obnoxious one at that. She watched the feeble attempt he made in starting the kindling in the fireplace. There were coals and a small amount of wood, but her quick glance at the firewood stockpile while she’d been outside informed the Fanalis girl that whoever’d used this shelter prior to their arrival had conveniently (or perhaps inconveniently in their case) forgotten to restock the place. It would be fine for a quick stop and Humayra had come dressed for the occasion, but a longer stay in this shelter would mean one of them would likely need to head out and search for some wood to keep the fire going.

The other girl had turned her back after Humayra’s arrival and seemed to be continuing her exploration of the shelter within the kitchen area. Though there didn’t happen to be any verbal response from the other girl, the smirk and shrugging of her shoulders hadn’t escape Humayra’s notice. Was she glad to see Humayra? Or was it something else in the girl’s eyes that Humayra noticed about the girl. Either way, despite the fact they were both Fanalis, Humayra knew very little about her own people, let alone the cultural mentality of those who’d never grown up under the yoke of slavery. All of them had red eyes, red hair, and exceptional physical strength. That… was about all Humayra knew about Fanalis. Most of the ones she knew had been slaves just like herself until recently. She’d never stopped to even consider that one day she might be working alongside her own kind like this. It was a moment of surreal realization for Humayra and it caught the Fanalis girl off guard. Her thoughts weren’t on the mission or the curiosities of the shelter, instead Humayra found herself wondering if an introduction were in order. They hadn’t introduced themselves during their first meet, and even now no introductions were being offered. Perhaps such behavior was normal. This would be Humayra’s first joint mission and as such she couldn’t count herself an expert when it came to the interpersonal expectations of such a job…

The forced cough did catch Humayra’s attention, though its intentions eluded the girl, making her wonder if the man were coming down with a cold. Likely his choice of attire hadn’t been sufficient enough for the trek, so it made sense if that were the case. Either way, he decided to address them both verbally and with a strangely polite wording, asked them to approach him. Humayra then realized she had asked when they’d be getting on with the mission, that must be why the man was addressing them now. Humayra approached and noticed that despite the man’s attempt to block the heat from the rest of the room, he did have a map spread out over the coffee table. On it were markings and symbols. He made a whimsical insult directed toward the two of them but Humayra ignored it as she withdrew her own map from the folds of her robe. It didn’t have nearly as many markings as the one the man was showing off and pointing at, but she at least understood what the symbols on her own map were intended to symbolize.

Write down… Did he really expect her to be the one doing that part of this job? Humayra almost scoffed at the notion but managed to hold in her reaction. The mission did call for this sort of activity, though Humayra felt her usefulness would be more in tune with actually finding the creatures over actually documenting anything about them. The man made some statement about keeping him safe during the mission and understanding something about what he cared about. In all Honesty Humayra couldn’t care less about what the man cared about. She was here to do the job he’d hired her for and that was it. Nothing more, nothing less.

The man seemed all over the place in Humayra’s observations. Her mind begged the question of why he found the need to chuckle out loud to himself. Was there something he’d said that was supposed to be funny? Humayra looked to the other Fanalis girl in an attempt to garner some form of answer about the situation from her demeanor, but this effort proved useless as the other girl was busy looking at a map she’d brought herself. She spoke up shortly after adjusting her helmet and bowed out of the conversation however and Humayra gathered that it would be time to move soon.

Rather than paying any heed to the words of the pompous man before her, Humayra opted to keep her eyes fashioned on the other Fanalis as she took to burying herself in the map she held looking as if something about it deeply interested her. Whether intentional or not, Humayra’s gaze crossed paths with that of the other Fanalis and for a moment they actually saw one another. Humayra noticed the other girl’s cheeks brighten into a blush before she retreated behind the confines of the map she held. Humayra neither reciprocated with a blush of her own, nor did she make any effort to speak. This girl’s reactions seemed unnecessary and didn’t make much sense to Humayra but at the same time she didn’t have the mental state of mind to bother asking the other Fanalis what the problem was. Fanalis were fierce and strong. Humayra knew this because she’d tested her mettle in battle plenty of times, but the girl standing before her seemed to shy away from Humayra in much the same way as a cat that’d become aware of a dog in the room would…

Humayra didn’t have anything she wanted to add to her map, or rather she wasn’t really sure if there was anything she needed to add to it. Glancing at it once more, Humayra folded it up and returned it into the confines of her robes.

WC: 1,644/500

There was no real response to the man's words, no objections to his plans, and no backtalking. He felt very respected despite everything that happened. Why should he work with those other useless people when hiring people was obviously the better route. So with an ever expanding ego, the man readied himself to speak again but Klara beat him to the punch. He took a second take at the girl, dropping his jovial excitement at not only the girl's returned ability to speak but her words in general. Two hours of walking in that cold to reach a place so close was a bit much.

He started to retort but the other girl did not seem to mine the statement. It was possible that she did not understand what Klara was saying but even he was not so oblivious to assume such an idiotic thought. The two girls were also looking at each other almost like two dogs unsure what to do with the other despite the owner being in the room. So what were they thinking? Better question, did he care? "Two hours... that would put us past four. It would only get colder as the sun was setting. That's a bit unacceptable, no?"

Klara snapped out of her thoughts to turn back to the client. His words of concern were valid. "I suppose it would get colder." The girl's eyes studied her map, "But there aren't any shorter paths that go to your destination." The girl looked up, giving a pleading smile hoping the scholar would understand. If only life was that easy.

"Then we can go off the path." The man stared at the girl, disappointed by her lack of imagination.
"That would be dangerous. We would be more prone to getting lost." Klara rebutted.
"But that's why I hired you, no? So we don't get lost."

Klara let out a sigh. These were the worst people to work for. They tunneled in on a goal and cared not for the advice of those who potentially had to clean up their mess. Worst, it was going to be so much more unsafe and she was not exactly getting paid a lot for this job. Klara turned to the other fanalis seeking support but then she remembered what they were. She probably was appearing weak or scared which she was not. She was just concerned for the human safety if not for the selfish reason of if he died, she was not getting paid. So assuming she was the minority she gave in.
"I will... work on making a new path..." *and bringing my value to the team despite not being paid for it.*

The man was pleased, puffing up his chest to celebrate his victory of persuading the girl to give in. He figured it should not be that hard to walk through some trees. The girl was clearly overestimating everything to get easy money and he as a scholar was not going to be fooled. If anything, he was surprised that the other girl did not see an issue with this but she was a fanalis as well. Maybe their brains were just on the same wavelength.

With that win, a greedy urge took over the man. "Since you all were late as well, we will just have to delay this trip till the morning. On the off chance that our guide makes a mistake, I will not do investigations and be stuck traveling at night in this cold." The man rubbed his chin not noticing the brief glare Klara gave him. In truth, the man was trying to play the long game of motivating Klara. So he would have acknowledged he was being a bit mean spirited but it was for the sake of science.

2130/500

Humayra listened. She listened well. This was one aspect of the young fanalis that’d been developed quite stringently over the last sixteen years of her life. A slave who didn’t listen, missed words spoken to them or who misinterpreted a directed instruction from their master would be severely punished for her incompetence. While she wondered why two hours had been the targeted goal of a walk up the mountain, Humayra chose to remain silent on the matter instead of speaking up about it. It wasn’t until later on in the conversation between the masked fanalis and the scholar that Humayra realized she’d been referring to the inadequacies of human physical capability. Of course! It made sense! They needed to pace themselves, lowering their expectations down to the level of the human so as not to wear him out too quickly. Granted one of them could shoulder the burden and perhaps carry the man but Humayra very much desired to embrace her freedoms now that she’d actually obtained them, and through brute force and murder no less…

The Cold. Humayra hailed originally from Heliohapt. The desert nights there could become far more extreme than the base of a mountain covered in trees. She could deal with the cold weather that the night would bring in the coverings she’d brought along. Perhaps the other fanalis could as well, but then there was the human to consider. He’d been hogging the heat for some time now so perhaps he was weak to the cold… The more she thought about it, the more Humayra began to wonder how she, or any of her kind, could have ever fallen victim to the laws of slavery in the first place… Her own circumstances notwithstanding, it’d taken the young fanalis sixteen years to notice just how fragile the life of a non-fanalis actually was.

Going off the path was a bold statement, albeit one Humayra would’ve likely chosen anyway given her growing and uniquely fanalis way of approaching challenges. Why follow the suggested paths the maps marked out if there was an easier (fanalis) way to traverse the landscape. But to tow a human along for the ride would prove dangerous, though Humayra disagreed with the other fanalis about the reason why. Getting lost wasn’t the issue. Knowing the direction was as simple as spotting where this side of the mountain faced in relativity to the sun’s position. From there all they had to do was remember that tidbit of information, look at their maps, and decide the correct direction to travel whenever the way became unclear.

The scholar had a strange take on his hired hands. What were they supposed to be? His compasses? One would think a scholar of all people would’ve known to bring their own tools for determining the way, but apparently this scholar was slow witted enough to rely on others for that information. Still, he was the client… And it seemed the conversation’s verdict was that they would be moving out of the shelter at first morning’s light, rather than immediately…

Humayra let out an audible sigh, resigning herself to the decision. The scholar was their client and if he wanted to hunker down overnight then so be it. That was his call to make. Still, this man’s pompous behavior was beginning to irk the often too patient Humayra. Now would be the perfect time to take a moment and bring the man down a step or two from his self-constructed pedestal. “The trip wouldn’t take anywhere near two hours under normal circumstances. Unfortunately we do have a human in the group, so I guess it’s to be expected.” Humayra, addressed the other fanalis, giving a slightly exaggerated shrug before moving to the shelter’s door. ”Since we’ll be staying the night, I'll go get us something to burn. The last visitors who were here didn’t exactly leave a sizable enough stockpile of firewood…” Humayra pulled open the shelter door, letting in another small gust of bitter cold air before stepping out to locate wood for collection.


WC: 2,319/500

Klara turned to the other fanalis after she made her comment regarding how working with a human was slowing them down. Speechless, she was unsure what to do or if there was anything she could do. The girl was not wrong. Had her and Klara worked alone, they could easily get across the mountain in a much shorter time. However, they were not working alone nor as equals in a sense. They both were working under the man, the client. They needed to support him in whatever realistic way possible to ensure they got paid. There was an upside to this though. At least Klara knew that the other fanalis did not think of her as a weakling.

Klara then turned to the client who seemed to lack a single sign of resentment or embarrassment. Was it his pride? Did he take into account this might happen? Maybe he did not care cause they were going to get fired. That would be awfully dreadful. A failed mission does not improve one's value. If anything it can lower it. A bead of sweat dripped from under her helmet as the girl tried to work out a battle plan.

The man chuckled under his breath. "Yes, I heard of the great feats your kind are capable of. Quite beautiful how different we all are. Like you can run fast while I understand these animals. However, if you feel you can go out and take proper notes acceptable for the council, let me know!"

Klara flinched at the man's statement. It was not horrible or insulting at face value but somewhere deep down, she felt the man was calling them stupid again... or at least the other fanalis. He probably should stop doing that but she was not getting paid to tell him that. Honestly, she was not getting paid to deal with this drama.

When the other girl left the building, Klara turned to the client who seemed pretty happy. "Despite her attitude, it's a good thing she can at least pick out what needs to be done for our mission to succeed." Klara pulled her hand over the left eye hole in her mask. Everything the man said felt like it hid some sort of hidden meaning and she really was really exhausted reading into these words. "I think... I'm going to go out too to better survey the land." Without giving the man any chance to respond, she slipped out the door, closing it gently on her way out.

Klara looked around and quickly identified the other fanalis walking into the forest. Klara quickly jogged after her while pulling her cloak tighter over her body. It was really getting colder. Perhaps the scholar really had a point. With this wind and cloud cover, she would not be surprised if it started snowing any minute. A chill ran down her legs stopping her for a brief moment. The girl would shake her body like a dog ridding itself of water though in her case, she was ridding herself of her sensitivity to the weather. Reaching the girl she wanted to speak but she felt her throat freeze up. So instead the girl just followed a few feet behind her looking around and exploring the forest visually within the safety of the other fanalis’ shadow.

2683/500

Humayra heard the scholar’s words but the undertone of insults didn’t end up phasing the fanalis in the slightest. She couldn’t do what she couldn’t do and there was no shame in that. Humayra also couldn’t use magic at all but that was beside the point. So what if the scholar guy could read and write, a lot of people could read and write whereas Humayra had never once even picked up a writing utensil before, nor had she been shown how to spell out or write lettering. Being unable to read or write hadn’t hindered her one bit in the last sixteen years of her life, and she could speak and understand people just fine. As far as communication went, Humayra found herself content with this level of understanding. The job they were engaged in would be completed because all roles were filled. The scholar would do his part, Humayra and the other fanalis would do theirs. Once the job was finished, Humayra could simply part ways with any disagreeable company.

It didn’t take long for Humayra to notice the tail following behind her. She was glad for the company, though for a time Humayra didn’t make any motion to acknowledge the other. ”I’m looking for a tree.” The phrasing felt forcibly blunt and awkward. In general Humayra was used to people, but her history of interactions with other fanalis was nearly zero. Aside from her own traits, the young fanalis didn’t know much at all about communicating with her own kind. Were there any formalities to be held to? Customs? A realization then hit Humayra, they had yet to introduce themselves to one another. Humayra halted to a stop upon the path and turned to face the fellow crimson haired woman. ”I guess we haven’t really been introduced yet. My name is Humayra.” she spoke plainly, seeking to look the other fanalis in the eyes. She’d wait just long enough to receive the other girl’s name before moving to scan the trees within their immediate vicinity. Spotting a particularly robust tree with branches higher up the trunk than most of its siblings. Walking over to it Humayra eyed the tree crouching down before hurtling herself into a jump up into the air. She jumped just high enough for her hands to reach the lowest branches and she grabbed onto it with both hands. Pulling herself on top of the branch, she then started climbing the rest of the way up to the top of the tree.

Ascending to the tree’s uppermost reach, Humayra popped her head over the leaves and proceeded to scout the surrounding forested area until she spotted a tree possessed of a particularly dull appearance. Having located the ideal option, Humayra descended the tree she’d climbed and addressed the other fanalis. ”There’s a tree over there that should be good for what we need.” Pointing towards the direction of the tree she’d spotted and Keeping in mind her bearings relative to the tree she’d identified, Humayra broke out into a light dash. After dodging between trees and underbrush for a minute or two the target tree came into sight. Rather than stop to assess the tree further, Humayra instead ran right up to it and immediately spun on her feet, delivering a powerful kick to the trunk of the old tree’s base.

Wood creaked and complained violently, releasing an echoed groan in response to the force the with which the fanalis girl had delivered her Lashing tail strike. Wood splintered and burst at the immediate point of impact and the tree, measuring easily two full bodies wide, came crashing down. Leaves and debris from the canopy above her head showered down all around and Humayra quickly judged it a good idea to step aside. The tree’s trunk collapsed in on itself, forcing the rest of the behemoth log to follow a path opposite to the directional force of Humayra’s attack. The branches of other more lively trees caught the falling ancient but only served to split the tree in two as it fell. The sound the two halves of the gigantic tree made in their descent rose to an astonishing crescendo as both halves simultaneously slammed into the forest floor. The crashing tree spooked tens of birds in the vicinity of the tree and a dozen different forms of wildlife all dashed away in fear at the sudden disturbance.

”I found the firewood. Now we just need to take it back to the shelter.” Humayra stated bluntly, looking back to the other fanalis. There was a slight and peculiar grin playing over Humayra’s face despite her attempts to remain stoic and serious.



Stamina: 265/275
WC: 3,096/500

Lashing Tail:

There was no time for the Scholar to say anything as Klara walked out though the girl doubted he would have any complaint. He did want her to figure something out about the path and the long travel time. That was the excuse she gave herself for not looking back. It might have been a little cold, as the wanderer would taunt but it was still colder outside.

At first it was quiet. There was no rivalry, no hidden insults, no drama. It was peaceful and quiet making the moment easier to remember. The ground was clear of fauna outside of the sparce sapling and pine needles. No feeling of danger. If there was less clouds in the sky, it would be perfect for a hike and wilderness expedition. The girl's head dropped, regretting not taking a more fun job like that. Hell, she would have even done it for free.

Humayra's voice broke the silence, perking Klara up for only a moment. The girl was not expecting anything wise or well thought out... though that's what the wanderer would have done. His mind would quickly spin a lie and sprinkle the sweet quiet with morsels of truth wedged between the bread of tall tales. Humayra did not seem like the person to do such a thing but boy did Klara wish for it. Instead she got a weird random exertion of random fact. She was looking for trees.

Klara tilted her head in confusion. Was there a deeper meaning to this? Was the girl pulling a scholar? Was there a secret hidden objective to this job? Was Klara gonna get a bonus? Bonuses were pretty awesome and the girl knew she deserved it. Still she kept quiet with curious tethering disappointed eyes glued to her companion. Then after no response from Klara, Humayra turned around and looked the girl dead in the eye. It as another challenge and Klara was ready.

Her name was Humayra. "I'm Klara." The girl responded quietly before following up with a small giggle. It was nice to see that introductions were still somewhat a thing in this part of the world. In truth, the girl was fearful that she would never get her own name out, her own value bolstered by familiarly of strangers. The girl would then raise her helmet just enough to show her face. "I hope to be as valuable as possible for this job!" Though still quiet, there was a bit more energy in her words. There was no bonus it seemed but a friend would be an easy substitute.

When the girl turned away, Klara lowered her helmet. In that time, Humayra found something of interest. Perhaps it was the "tree" she was looking for. Though instead of cutting it down, she started to climb it, or technically jump up it. Startled at first, it took Klara a moment to remember that they were a bit more athletic than the other races. Since her clients were rarely ever fanalis, she never got to push herself very hard... and kind of forgot about her own abilities on quiet jobs like this.

When Humayra reached the top there was another moment of silence. Klara took this time move to a growing sapling and poke it with her foot. It was not dangerous but what if it was? What if it was secretly a dungeon beast that gobbled up curious fanalis? What if, Klara could fight it and crush it and the city sung her praise? Then Humayra called out again and it was time to stop fantasizing.

Humayra found a tree she liked. It was great for their party but terrible for the fauna. It was going to die but its value would live on in them... and the ash in the sky. Klara expected Humayra to jump back down but nope. The girl took to the sky, hopping branch to branch. It was a bold move and while Klara was sure she could do it, she was gonna stay on the ground. A light jog was good for the mind anyway.

Once she arrived, she caught Humayra kicking the tree down. Klara clapped at the spectacle. It was a good kick and the girl managed to get the trunk to split into two more manageable pieces. It was not the most fantastical kick in the world. Klara would not tell the story to anyone, but she was gonna support Humayra... at least till she said it was time to go back.

"I don't think we should. Lets explore more." Klara lowered her head unsure if this was the right move, "There's not much value to be gain from sitting quietly with the scholar."

3,466/500

The fanalis known now to Humayra as Klara stood with an unusual proposal that confused the former slave. She wanted them to leave the tree where it fell and go off to explore. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to Humayra for the other fanalis to be offering an option that denoted straying from the task at hand. While the task of collecting wood to burn back at the shelter had been one she’d given to herself to accomplish, Humayra’s mindset still wanted to see this first task properly concluded before they proceeded on to another task. “Multitasking is a waste of time. Always complete your first task before starting another.” At least those were the instructions her former masters had ingrained into her head. The logic behind it only followed when Humayra remembered that mixing a multitude of tasks and objectives together only brought upon confusion and a loss of efficiency. There was also the strange matter of Klara’s earlier giggling when she announced her name. Was there some hilarity in announcing one’s name that she hadn’t been made aware of? Was that why Klara had let out her strange little giggle earlier?

Glancing up and down at Klara, Humayra attempted to gather what insight she could into Klara’s motives based solely on the limited observations she’d already gained. One, Klara had seemed to be oddly interested in the shelter even though there was nothing there to really look at, taking particular interest to investigate areas that were closed off from immediate view. Two, she’d followed Humayra out of the shelter under the pretense of helping when she didn’t actually need to. Three, Klara’s statement just now suggested that she had not actually come along and followed with the intention of helping with the gathering of firewood. Was she perhaps… a thief looking for a score? The analytics of her thoughts crossed Humayra’s mind with this possibility, though she chose not to voice the question itself. If Klara was a thief then it wasn’t exactly Humayra’s place to know about it unless Klara’s thieving happened to involve items that belonged to herself. Of course if a situation like that did eventually come up only then would Humayra confront Klara regarding such matters, for better or worse. For now Humayra was content to know another fanalis, even if her intentions were to avoid the firewood and do something else.

Despite Klara’s objection to the work, Humayra proceeded to start walking along one side of the fallen tree to forcibly hack off each extended branch. ”Why shouldn’t we?” Humayra quirked her head to the side while addressing Klara. ”I mean, you are probably right and there is no real value in going to sit with the scholar at the shelter but there’s equally little value in felling a tree like this if the intent is to just leave it here where it lies.” Humayra didn’t show any signs of being annoyed with Klara’s statements. On the contrary, she was curious to know the reasoning for why Klara didn’t want to go back to the shelter after they gathered enough wood to keep the place tolerably warmed overnight.

As Humayra continued her laboring, each newly severed branch clashed noisily with the ground, kicking up a small amount of dirt and plant matter in its wake. Even if the two of them did go and explore, preparing and getting enough of the tree back to the shelter to provide an overnight fire would take time… It still made more sense to Humayra for them to complete this task first before then going out to explore. If they worked together on this they could gather enough of the wood for the shelter and be back out to explore like Klara wanted to well before the sun dipped out of view and started to settle into the night’s bitter cold darkness. ”Did you bring anything to write with?” Humayra suddenly asked in the midst of knocking another branch to the ground. If Klara was intent to do this job without the scholar’s help then she’d have to be the one doing the field recording and writing about the new creatures they discover. Humayra’s writing skills, as well as her artistic capabilities, were utterly nonexistent.  She would be relying entirely on Klara’s capacity for that portion of the job. Humayra could spot the creatures and point them out, Klara could observe the critter’s behavior and write about it. In a way this thought process brought a subtle smile to the redhead’s face as she considered what the scholar might say if they brought back a completed set of notes about the new creatures they had yet to discover.


WC: 3,880/500

Stamina: 265/275

The girls question in response was not unexpected. It was not something Klara thought well in advance but she was not the least be surprise. After all, Humayra did say she was going to get more firewood. It was nice to see some people were reliable. Of course, that was if one was not basically raised by a liar. "Well, you could bring the wood back later. So your tree won't go to waste." Klara mosey over to other half of the tree pretending to inspected it. "So for now, we could have a little fun. Our job is to guide and protect the man, not gather firewood. So I see no value in completing the task now instead of later."

The girl picked off a smaller branch as she kept up the act of helping while sneaking peeks at Humayra. How valuable was this girl going to be now that they were friends... probably? Klara was not the type of person who only befriend folk when they brought benefits to her life but she was not one to miss the opportunities either. Though the girl's next question would make Klara a bit confused. "Yes, I always carry a pen and notebook with me for the stories I uncover in my travels." Her voice grew louder despite her having to stop herself from reaching into her cloak to pull it out.

3,697/500

”Fun?” Humayra uttered the word like one would when faced with an unfamiliar subject. Hearing Klara talk about leaving the work for later so that the two of them could go off somewhere and have a little fun gave Humayra pause. While her concept of fun was severely limited due to her history of being a slave, she had actually begun to embrace this abstract idea as of late. Being free, she was no longer held to the expectations of a master hovering over her every second of the day, ordering her to do odd jobs and tasks, many of which she’d never enjoyed doing anyway. They were in the wilderness right now so having a bit of fun would be unlikely to disturb anyone but the wildlife. In a way it could be beneficial to their job because if they did end up scaring out some animals, some of them might be ones that hadn’t been recorded by anyone yet. Humayra’s thoughts mixed the idea of having fun with simultaneously accomplishing the job they’d been hired to do. ”I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have a little bit of fun.” Humayra responded, having ceased her action of moving along the fallen tree’s trunk to strike off its branches.

Klara’s confirmation about having a pen and notebook garnered a curious glance from Humayra. If Klara could write and draw then they could effectively complete the scholar’s own job without needing his assistance at all. Two birds with one stone, or rather in this case it would be three stones. They could go out of their way to have fun together, kick up a raucous and reveal hidden wildlife, and record what they find. All of this could be done simultaneously and accomplished before sunset. Then all they would need to do is bring back some wood for the shelter and instead of heading up the mountain in the morning, they could simply head back and get their rewards for the completed job.

Sheepishly, Humayra looked to Klara’s pen and notebook before asserting a more confident gaze to catch Klara’s eye, asking “Do you know how to write? If you do, we could probably have fun and complete this job before heading back to the shelter tonight.”

WC: 4,256/500

Stamina: 265/275

This was the moment of truth. The wanderer would turn this into a nail biting tale adding unneeded lies and stretching out the conclusion like a girl picking petals off a flower. She will join me. She wont join me. Fortunately, Klara was not the wanderer.

For Klara, her excitement was only skin deep. At most, she had the urge to give a small smile but that was more to sway Humayra into stepping into her own current and even that was pointless since Klara was wearing her helmet and doubted the girl could see her face. It matter not though because Humayra agreed.

"I knew you would see value in my side!" The girl spoke out as if winning a small debate. Be it from her never being good at convincing people or just being proud about speaking out for herself, none would be the wiser. Before their "fun" could start, Humayra asked a silly question. Could she write?

Klara dropped the mini fanfare in her head and faced the other girl with her head tilted. What kind of question was that. Of course she could write. Why would she carry paper and pens if she could not? How would she record the great TRUE stories of her life? How would other people see her value when she was not around? It was a dumb question and insulting. The girl had half a mind to blow up at the other fanalis for such a demeaning scholar like question. But something stopped her. A little voice, an angel on her shoulder whispering in the blasting words of the devil.

"Can you not read and write Humayra?" Her voice was soft but not comforting. Like a scientist surveying volunteers with boring questionnaires. It seem silly at first but with some thought about the previous question, it was an honest possibility. If she was wrong, then she could just play it off like a joke and save face. After all, she was not the first to ask the question.

4,034/500

Value? Klara’s tone sounded uplifted as if she’d accomplished something she was proud of herself for, but Humayra found the statement to be oddly out of place. Was there really any value in their going off course just to enjoy partaking in this side quest of hers? Thrumming one of the unbroken branches of the tree, Humayra thought on it a moment. She glanced at Klara to see if there were any giveaways in the girl’s motives but she couldn’t determine much by just looking at her. It likely had something to do with the helmet Klara wore, Humayra couldn’t read anything from her features when she couldn’t even see the girl’s face. Ultimately Humayra chose to respond to Klara’s little victory with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders.

At Klara’s retort, Humayra froze up. “Can you not read and write?” Klara’s words struck with such refined sharpness that Humayra couldn’t bring herself to respond fast enough. She’d intended the question as nothing more than an inquiry but it’d somehow turned around on her, transforming itself into a trap that threatened to expose the illiterate fanalis in all of her inadequacies. Based solely on the sharpness of Klara’s response, Humayra could clearly identify that she did in fact know how to read and write. Suddenly the world felt small. Humayra’s foolishness and lack of educated capacity would be exposed in the next few moments if she didn’t think quickly and pick the appropriate words with which to respond to the girl’s counter inquiry.

”Sorry, I guess that was a really stupid question.” Humayra apologized, feigning mortification. Despite her act she wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest, but if reading and writing was something fanalis could normally do then the last thing Humayra wanted was for one of her own kind to realize that she, a fanalis, could not. Would Klara think less of her if she couldn’t read or write? Would it be too shameful for her to ask a literate fanalis for lessons? No. Fanalis were strong, powerful warriors. Even if she couldn’t read or write Humayra could maintain her pride in both her physical strength and ability to move with feral swiftness during combat.


WC: 4,621/500

Stamina 265/275

Klara watched as Humayra froze up after her question. Was it a bingo? Was it a realization of rudeness? Was she not expecting Klara to be literate? There was a lot of options but she held strong to her own hypothesis. This girl did not know how to read nor write.

Klara had traveled the world with the wanderer and heard countless stories. She seen cities clean of trash and well taken care of. She seen slums where diseases ravage home after home. She met scholar types full of themselves and desperate urchins who could not afford proper metal to properly rob someone for food. Illiterate people existed in this unfair world, just as slaves, monsters, corruption, and greed. So, if Humayra were to be honest about it, Klara would not think anything less than her. In fact, this would be a chance to learn how those with less education moved around in the world. It would truly be a valuable experience.

Unfortunately Humayra made a good enough attempt to dodge the question. Klara and her curiosity were left empty and starving. A juicy meal of experiences in front of her and she could only window shop. The girl frown behind her mask before turning around. "Less stupid... more... inconsiderate. Less you find value in the have nots in the world." Klara felt so cool. She totally felt like this was something the wanderer would say in order to feel intelligent and boy did she feel smart after that.

With a full ego, the girl looked up at the death of the curiosity that would revive sooner than later. Now as not to time to force value out of a new friend. Later when they had more time together and Humayra could not escape would be when she wrapped her chain of questions around the girl to squeeze out the very thing she was robbed of. An evil grin hid behind her mask as she turn back around. Her voice relaxed to something more friendly again, "But for now lets explore. I don't think there is anything worth... no wait. Maybe we could find an edible mushroom. Or maybe we could try and cook up some bark from a tree. I heard people in the new lands would do that as emergency food!"

4,417/500

Klara’s replacement for the word Humayra’d used pushed an obvious difference between two separate meanings. It evoked a twinge of emotion to flare up and Humayra quickly chose to bury it within the palm of her hand, crushing it into a fist in an effort to release the unwanted feeling. She was free. Free to live her life. Free to do what she wanted, but yet she still couldn’t escape the ostracizing judgements of her peers. Like her, Klara was a fanalis. to Humayra it should have been a comfort to know the fanalis were people she could trust, but now… Now she wasn’t so certain that would be the case… ”That really depends on your point of view, I guess...” Humayra muttered under her breath, snapping off a smaller branch from the fallen tree in an effort to conceal her indignation. Feigning interest in the branch she’d taken up, Humayra looked at it momentarily before letting it fall to the ground.

Exploring the area suddenly sounded like a great idea to Humayra. If anything, it would get her to concentrate on something new and much less emotionally chaotic… the hand that she’d subconsciously balled into a fist gradually restored itself to a more inviting and open palm, though she could still feel the dimming pulse of ghosted pressure with each heartbeat. Klara’s excitement filled the atmosphere, putting Humayra into a position of quandary. She tossed a quizzical glance in Klara’s direction. Mushrooms made sense as an edible survival food but tree bark? ”I don’t have any objections to looking for edible plants or anything but I’m not so sure I can understand the interest you have in wanting to find edible tree bark… How would you even prepare something like that for eating?” Humayra’s vaguely inherent disgust at the idea of eating tree bark quickly turned to intrigue even as she attempted to speak her own objections about it. She wasn’t opposed to finding new forms of food that could be eaten in a pinch. Being able to identify something that could be eaten in an emergency could possibly save her life some day and this fact alone made it nearly impossible for Humayra to back down on the curiosities of Klara’s proposed hunt. Humayra would wait only long enough for a response or acknowledgement from Klara before proceeding with her in their newfound goal of locating obscure and edible plant life.


WC: 5,024/500

Stamina 265/275

Klara placed her hand on a nearby tree and ran her hand along the bark. "Because. I never done it before. Don't you find it thrilling to try new things? Its like listening to a new story... only. You are the story!" She started to turn back to humayra but stopped short of seeing her out of her own helmet. There was no value in seeing the girl's reaction. It would be great for her to share the same excitement but all that mattered was her own feeling, her own value.

Klara started walking forward assuming Humayra was going to follow her. "Well, according to the stories. They would fry it in a pan." The girl paused briefly to imagine the idea of eating a thick dark brown chip.  "I did not bring anything to season it but maybe we could find something to hunt and use its fat."

4,566/500

“Yes… I do.” Humayra responded to Klara’s question about trying new things and finding them thrilling. Her life was full of new things now that she didn’t constantly answer to a master who’d keep her locked up in a room at night in order to keep her from running away. ”I’ve been able to try a lot of new things lately that I was never able to do before and it is both fun and thrilling.” She stated, moving to follow Klara when she noticed the other fanalis was moving away from the tree now. She listened to Klara speak and when there came a pause, Humayra found an opportunity to chime in. ”Do you think all tree bark is edible or is it possible that there are some types of trees that have tastier bark than others do?” She’d never have considered bark as an appetizing pursuit, but now Klara was making Humayra curious about the possibilities and what edible bark could mean as a dish by itself or even as a side to a larger assortment within a meal.

”Do you think any of these trees have edible bark?” Humayra paused next to a young and oddly sturdy tree that was no thicker than the width of her hand. The bark on this tree was still smooth and had yet to age into the more rugged roughness one could see on the much larger trees all throughout the area. It had Humayra wondering if edible bark was limited to just the older trees or if maybe the younger trees might have an edible flavor as well.

WC: 5,292/500

Stamina 265/275

Klara smiled behind her mask. It was nice to hear that the spirit of discovery was not gone from her fellow fanalis. She would not respond though. Her eyes darted around the endless forest of trees looking for something to make her cuisine journey more fun. This was until a direct question was asked.

"I suppose not. There's got to be at least one tree that is poisonous or maybe dangerous." This was all speculation though as she had never witness such a thing nor has the wanderer told her any stories about it. Though the experience of finding such a plant would no doubt be valuable, she would rather put that at the bottom of her ever increasing bucket list. Upon hearing the second question, the girl would stop. Reaching her hand out, she would gently grab the nearest tree and then flex her strength to dent the bark. Then she would pull off a piece of the loose bark and hold it in front of Humayra.

"So from what I heard, you don't eat the dark brown part. You want to eat the tannish part." She would then peel a strip off and offer it to the girl. "You should try it. Tell me what you think?"

As Humayra grabbed the strip, assuming Humayra accepted it, a loud growing would break the peaceful ambiance of the forest. Klara would shift her head to the direction of the sound but there was nothing visible. Was she going crazy? Maybe it was not such a good idea to break the bark so casually.  The girl reached for behind her cloak but stopped. They where dealing with a animal, did she really need a weapon? Of course if it was a monster that would be different but they had time to figure things out. Plus she was not alone.

The girl turned to Humayra, silently asking for the way forward. She was more combat focused for this job so now would be a good time to asset her value in her skills. At worst Klara knew they both could retreat to a safer spot like in the trees. Then the girl felt a leaf fall onto her head.

She looked up and saw this large monstrosity diving for her. Tumbling forward, she found herself back on her feet and swerved around to get a better picture of the beast. It was cloud white though its fur seemed to darken by the second as if it was adjust to better fit its surroundings. Large teeth dipped out from its feline like snout and two bore-like tusk erupted from its forehead. It had black claws which were now slowly retracting back into its overly furry paws. Before Klara could further analyze the animal, it ducked behind a tree and then disappeared.

5,034/500

Klara’s response suggested that some trees could possibly be poisonous and it brought Humayra to the point of briefly pausing before she accepted the offered strip of bark. Despite the word of warning about poisonous trees, Klara had continued on to instruct Humayra about which part of the bark was likely to be the most edible. ”I see…” Humayra uttered. She’d no sooner turned the piece over in her hand trying to determine which side of the bark was the denoted edible part, when a loud growling noise echoed through the forest.

Without a moment’s hesitation Humayra discarded the scrap of wood and assumed a combat ready stance, eyes darting towards the noise she’d heard. With her eyes unable to spot the threat, the young fanalis switched to focusing on her hearing sense. She picked up on the subtle noise of shifting branches and it immediately alerted Humayra to an impending threat looming just above.

Leaping backwards, Humayra swiftly avoided the impact of the beast’s pounce. Recovering her combat stance nearly immediately, she prepared herself to fight the beast face to face. Much to Humayra’s surprise however, the large catlike beast didn’t move to pursue after its initial pounce but instead opted to retreat back into the foliage. The color of its white fur quickly turned to varying dark shades to match the trees it’d disappeared into. Humayra struggled to follow the creature with her eyes as it slunk through the trunks and underbrush. Lucky enough for Humayra, the size of the creature actually made it difficult for the beast to avoid making noise as its large body weaved through and disturbed foliage. She followed the creature’s movements with her eyes, catching glimpses of the beast’s persistently changing fur.

A moment passed, then another. A silent showdown of predator vs its prey played out between the unknown beast and Humayra. At one point the fanalis girl even managed to lock eyes with the creature, at which point the beast turned its gaze away only slightly in an attempt to fake-out Humayra’s perception and stealthily reposition itself. ”I don’t think there’s much to worry about from this creature so long as it knows we’re aware of it…” Humayra spoke up, breaking the stifling silence of the situation. Rather than turn to Klara and address her, Humayra continued to keep her gaze fixated on the beast’s position.

When she noticed that the creature was just biding its time, Humayra opted to do what she thought would be appropriate in this situation and properly challenge the beast. Taking in a deep breath, she released a Fanalis Roar aimed in the beast’s direction. She listened a moment after and determined that her intimidation must’ve worked because she could hear the frantic scrambling of an oversized creature clumsily scurrying away through the woods.

”What do you suppose that was?” Humayra looked to Klara and asked when she could no longer hear the sound of the panicked beast’s retreat.

Fanalis Roar:

WC: 5,785
Stamina 265/275

Klara's blood was boiling with excitement. The battle was over. Nobody was in danger. Yet, her skin itched for the rush of battle. This repressed side of the girl always found its way to poke its head ever so often but it had never been this strong. This electricity running through her could only be linked to one thing, Humayra.

Thinking back, It was amazing how her friend had taking control of the situation. She stared down the beast like the hero looking down the great demon king. There was no fear in her body, only control, confidence, and the feeling of a predator. Then the girl let out a special roar. This was something all fanalis could do but Klara herself had never done. She seen her mother and sister do it when fighting the very creature who's skull she wore. Now because of it, she had to battle to contain herself. Lucky for her, Humayra herded her energy into something much more productive than fruitless fighting.

"Maybe that was one of the creatures we were suppose to find." Klara pulled out her notebook and started writing. "Is there anything about the creature you remember? Did you notice anything special?" Klara was already writing the various things she saw like the creatures fur color and the creatures ability to change its color. She noted how the creature was an ambush style predator but did not seem to be confident or it was aware of the difference between various humanoid people.

WC: 251
5,285/500