Practice Swords Who: Tayne and Bramble When: Anesus 3, Mid-afternoon Where: The courtyard
For some reason, Tayne always felt better when he was doing something physical. Since that day was one of his off-days, he was technically supposed to be available for weapons training, which meant a lot of hanging around in the courtyard first during the afternoon and then just after sunset, for if any Vrykolas deigned to come to him for instruction or practice. A couple even did, sometimes.
That day he'd had one human come by briefly for a little work-out and some instruction on his foot-work, and then Gochin for a fun little spar. Right then he'd just finished running through a series of blocks and strikes against a shadow-opponent and was stopping for a breather, pushing his wet hair back with one half-gloved hand and leaning on his practice sword with the other. He had a bucket or water with a cup around here somewhere, didn't he? Where did he leave that....
Bramble, who had slowly been overcoming her hesitations with humans, if no one else, had been watching. She wasn't certain why this human was displaying such unhealthy behavior. He had been waving some large, stick-like object at nothing, but almost like he expected it to be something. Was he fighting off spirits? Bramble didn't think such a thing would be well advised, but what she knew of humans amounted to that they weren't comfortable with human-form nudity and they liked to do strange things with water and rags.
Which was, presumably, something this human was going to do. He smelled strongly of sweat and, in her opinion, dehydration. Where was he expecting to drink? There were water sources far outside the Compound, and a few within, like in that hellacious hole that never seemed to end which Bramble found after she crawled up next to the human who was working magic on it to make water levitate in buckets.
Her nose finally picked out a familiar scent, and she spotted a bucket with something made of metal to its side. Sure enough, it was filled with water, though the human male hadn't made his way toward it yet. Unsure if this was wise or not, Bramble crept forward, letting out a sharp yip as she strode toward the bucket, turning to regard the human male's chest with her ears forward, tail down. This was attempt number two to see how males of this species reacted to unfamiliar Lykos. Would he be like Marcus? Marcus had been very kind, and even playful. Or would he be resentful, or displeased that she'd made herself known? Bramble shook off the worries. She'd know soon enough, and with the scents of other creatures lurking near-by, she might learn more than she wanted from a few different sources. Still, it was the desperate loneliness of wanting to belong that was making her more bold, though she still couldn't bring herself to approach the packs she'd scented out in the Compound proper. There was something frightening about having to approach a new pack yet again, particularly after the first two times she'd tried here, the growls echoing out of the rooms having sent her scampering away.
The eyes on him hadn't been completely unnoticed, but Tayne certainly hadn't bothered himself about them. He'd been busy, after all, and if someone wanted to talk to him, he'd be fine with that. All it really amounted to, though, was not jumping at the unexpected yip. After all, he felt like he was too tired to jump at anything, so it wouldn't have been fun to wind up doing so.
He did, however, turn to see the little Lykos next to his water-- oh, there it was!-- and he smiled over at her. He didn't approach yet, seeing as she looked a bit... nervous. "Hey. 'Afternoon." He didn't recognize the coloring or patterning, so he could only guess she was a new one, a first year. And in her animal form, at that, this could be interesting. "Something I can help you with?" He couldn't actually tell her gender, crouched as she was, though he guessed female from her size.
Bramble fought the urge that curled in her stomach to bolt when the human addressed her, knowing it was silly, as she'd been the one to engage. He'd given her a polite call, and she returned it with a nod of her head. In the same instance, she was inadvertently answering his question with an affirmative - there was something he could help her with. Backing to a safe distance away from the water, she eyed him with curiosity.
What had he been doing? An explanation for that odd behavior would be satisfying; learning if humans too found some way to make up for their physical differences to fight for dominance would be good to know. Then Bramble would build a bigger picture of what she needed to avoid. The only problem she encountered, as her tail curled protectively around her legs, was that of communication.
She hoped to the Ancestors she wouldn't have to run around in clothing all the time just to talk, but it was seeming more likely the more often she ended up encountering humans. Spirits forbid she encountered a Vrykolas on anything other than four paws!
Taking her backing off as her allowing him to get to the water without crowding her, Tayne set his sword down and approached to pick up the cup and dip it into the bucket. He still had plenty; it wasn't near warm enough to evaporate much, and he'd brought out a full bucket. Still, Winds, he was thirsty.
Before drinking, though, he dropped to a crouch, to better be on the Lykos's level, and asked, "So what can I do for you? I understand a little of your Lykos speech, so as long as you're clear I, uh, might get it. Or you could change back and I could offer you my cloak, if you prefer."
Bramble watched the man, cocking her head to the side. She sniffed the air, not coming back with any scents that stood out as abnormal, waiting for the other to make his move. Considering his words, Bramble decided that (based on her success otherwise), perhaps speaking directly would help. Marcus had read her fairly well in this form, and this man was stating he had a fair knowledge of Lykos communication. This only made her more curious, and less able to fully communicate. At least she was aware enough to know which may be the more direct way of becoming better informed.
She stood again, moving in a small circle and issuing a bark to inform the human of her intent to change. Within moments of her warning, Bramble was lifting herself off her hands and knees and pushing her hair out of her face. Despite the chill of winter still heavy in the air, the temperature wasn't too bad. Bramble could vividly remember suffering worse. "If it is not too much of me to ask, this may be easiest." Out of self-protective wishes, rather than cold, she wrapped her arms around her chest, keeping her eyes off the human male.
Guessing the intent, Tayne set down the water cup and went to get his cloak from where he'd folded it on the other side of his impromptu and largely invisible practice turf. By picking it up and shaking it out to offer to her, he actually took away one of the "boundaries" for it.
And when he turned back, she was human-formed, and he politely didn't look directly at her as he approached with the cloak. "Not too much at all," he replied amiably enough, holding it out in her direction once he was close enough for her to reach it. Part of him very much wanted to toss the cloak around her shoulders for her, but he resisted the slightly parental urge and just let her take it off his hands. "Now, I'm Tayne--" Which she probably already knew, if she'd been at that moderate disaster of a meeting. "--and you are?"
Plucking the offered cloak away from Tayne, Bramble wrapped herself as tight as she was comfortable in it. At least she was presentable to the other individual, and that was frankly what mattered (next to her own comfort, and probably before it). "I heard you," she said, almost mumbling, "When all the people were in the large room the other night." She shuffled her feet, one leaving the ground to itch at some imagined bug on the back of her calf. "I'm Bramble." She chanced looking at his face, flashed a small, then looked back at the ground. In this case, her eyes chose to rest finally on the object she'd seen him waving around not all that long before.
"Were you angry with someone?" He hadn't smelt angry, and he didn't now, but perhaps he had some control over what he did or did not smell like. To be fair, she hadn't actually encountered an angry human yet. She thought they'd smell at least familiar, since to a degree, most creatures did, but there was still too much frightening unknown for her to guess. "There wasn't anything there that I saw, and I wondered if you were mentally sound, or why you were doing it, or if you were playing rough with the Ancestors," she said in a rapid windfall, closing her mouth abruptly at the end. She looked toward his face once again, hoping the tone of voice he'd spoke in early would carry over to now. Kind was just so much less unnerving in the long run.
Ah, yeah, he'd figured she'd know him. At least she wasn't laughing. Looking back now that she was decently covered-- not that he'd had any desire to peek, as he knew Gochin or his brother would have done, and shamelessly-- Tayne offered a reassuring smile, relieved a bit, himself, that she had a nice, easy name. "Nice to meet you Bramble." He settled himself on the ground, where the water was and where he could stretch out his legs a bit after the workout, and patted the ground lightly in invitation for her to join him.
"I wasn't angry at anyone, no," he explained. "I was practicing some blocks and strikes, and since there was no one around who'd want to be the person I was practicing on, I got to just attack the air. Kind of like the play-fights you Lykos get into just for exercise and fun, only by myself." He gulped down a few swallows of water then acceded amiably, "I'm sure it looked pretty funny, though, didn't it?"
Bramble settled down after a moment of hesitation, curiosity winning out over reluctance. "Oh," she said, squirming around until she was comfortable. "Play fighting. I get that." And depending on if the play or the fighting was emphasized, she didn't always like the activities. She examined her toes, which peeked out from under Tayne's cloak, glad to feel something exceedingly more natural under them. Maybe she should take to wearing a shorter version of this. If nothing else, it wasn't constricting.
She glanced up, giving Tayne a quick smile before averting her gaze again. "You did look silly. Not much more than a pup chasing flutters," she said, giving him the benefit of the doubt. "You do this often? With others, or always alone?" That he'd compared the activity to one common among packmates made her curious if the humans likewise chose to hone skills in groups. It would also mean avoiding large groups of people, but Bramble was already well versed in doing that.
"It actually works better with other people," Tayne said with a smile. "I just didn't have anyone to play-fight with, right now. A friend came by earlier, and I'm supposed to be out here to teach, but I haven't had any prospective students come by in a while. So...." He shrugged amiably and downed some more water. "I was 'play-fighting' by myself. I don't know that your people do that. Play-fight just for practice on their own. Gochin doesn't like to, I know, but that's what he's got me for, to beat up on when he needs to." That time the grin was wry and fond. The Lykos was the stronger of the two, physically, though Tayne had a few tricks up his sleeve when they "fought".
Regarding her with friendly interest, Tayne asked, "I looked that silly, huh? I don't think anyone's called me a 'pup' since I was your age. First year, right?"
The idea of several individuals all waving sticks at each other, regardless of the material of these sticks, did seem odd, but only as Bramble's familiarity with weaponry was considerably less than per-say normal. The fact this activity seemed to largely be a matter of show between individuals similarly equipped helped the younger woman settle down even more.
At his question, Bramble looked up, daring herself to meet his eyes. "Yes. First year, from the Nuzar tribe, Bramble, that's me." She smiled and looked away again, eying the courtyard. Even now she could smell others around, just not here. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult. I know you're older than me, it's ridiculous to compare you to a pup." She fell into a sort of self-imposed silence. She broke it not long after, hoping she hadn't offended Tayne.
"Do humans need to be taught how to play-fight? I mean," she said, ducking her head. "You said you teach people. Is this so you can fight," she looked for the word, "For status, or only for fun?"
Tayne took the brief pause to dip himself another cup of water, though he paused and offered it to her, first. Manners, must never forget them, especially with a woman. "It's all right, I wasn't insulted," he assured her. "And I sure don't mind questions, so don't worry there." He didn't mind questions at all, when "work" was slow and maybe he'd feel a bit better about being able to answer them.
"People fight," he explained, "or play-fight, for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes it's for a job, keeping the peace in a city or getting rid of bandits. People who steal from other people. Sometimes it's for sport, we humans like our sports like your people like your hunts. Sometimes, yes, it's for status, and sometimes it's just for fun, something to do with your friends. Sometimes it's just to keep in shape, so we don't get all fat and lazy." He grinned, poking a bit of fun at his species for her.
Startled by his offering her water, Bramble looked at him questioningly a moment before accepting. She wasn't particularly thirsty, but she felt the gesture didn't have any outside meaning to it, at least that she could detect. Besides, it meant the hellacious hole of water really did have water, and fairly decent tasting water to boot. She managed to gulp half of it down before handing it back, licking the corner of her mouth where a few stray droplets had taken to falling. "Thank you," she said, again avoiding looking directly at Tayne.
Bramble could understand, in equivalences, most of what Tayne said his fighting was for. After all, it was her job to fight for the pack, and even the Tribe, if called upon. Various members of the pack needed to use force to bring others into their place, though Bramble preferred asking first, and generally hadn't don't physical force peace-keeping herself. Even staying in shape - well, a Lykos couldn't afford to be a liability when young, before they knew enough of the more complicated and important rituals to guide from a place of wisdom instead of brute strength.
At the last comment, she laughed. She could try remembering what older members of the tribe looked like, but they didn't tend to err toward fat, even if a few tried desperately to be lazy. Trying to form a mental image of a fat human was ending up looking like a ridiculous cross between a well-fed deer and Tayne. "I guess that's important," she said, still amused. "I didn't know fighting was as important to humans as the People." She really would have to watch herself around humans, which saddened her. Probably best to find a good pack, if a good pack would take her, so she wouldn't have to rely on her own judgments. She just really wanted people to be kind and, well, not violent. She knew how silly that was, but it didn't stop her from hoping. She squirmed a little, her thoughts broadcasting across her face.
The fact that he'd gotten her to laugh made Tayne chuckle, himself, as he finished up the water in two big gulps. Working like that, even in the cold, was thirsty work. Her comments, though, unlike his own to her, sobered him a little. "Well, it's been a long war... fighting is really all anybody knows, these days. We're trying to learn new things, sure, but it'll take some time... so until then, we need more militia and more police and more bodyguards, as we figure out what we're doing with all our energy and convince people not to put it towards stealing things."
He shook his head, trying to shake off the brief gloom with it. "It's not as bad as all that, though. The sports help a lot, they're still getting off the ground. And at least we're not attacking your folk or the Vrykolas."
Bramble fell quiet. She listened, taking in his words, and sorting them out into semi-sensible heaps. Still, the world of humans did, in little, sporadic bits, remind her a lot of her own tribes and growing up. She was only a few years into adulthood, but she felt she could relate (at least a little) at an interspecial level. Ancestors, if she'd even been told of these things as a youth!
"That is nice," she said softly, not well able to reflect. "I think it's mostly the same, the People trying to avoid both you , and the blood-ea---" Bramble realized that since Tayne had called the blood-eaters by their high-sounding name, she better too. "The Vrykolas, I'm sorry, them, we're trying to avoid you and them. At least, we do. The Nuzar. Sort of. Mostly." She fidgeted, something tickling at the back of her mind. Something about chores, and ---
"Tayne!" she almost shouted, one arm poking out of the cloak and half-fending off someone who wasn't there. "Chores! Jacta, talk to you, chores, nasty things, I don't want to do the nasty things, but chores-" she said, pausing, then breathing deep. Bramble knew she wasn't making sense, and she tried to make herself smaller in restatement. "Jacta is another human who was making the floors wet earlier," she offered, before continuing. "She said I should talk to you about chores before I was forced to do something nasty." The Lykos shivered, just imagining.
Tayne just about fell backwards in surprise at the sudden outburst, torn between jumping up and away and lunging forward to grab her flailing arm before it hurt him. Thank the Winds that before he did either, she stopped herself and actually started speaking rather than shouting. "You didn't get signed up for any last night?" he asked, half-sympathetic and half-surprised. "I did see that there were a few holes, but...." He sighed a bit, running a hand through his damp hair and taking a deep breath of his own to think. He couldn't remember off-hand where the wholes were, and he didn't know the new folks enough to know who else was "missing", but....
"What kinds of chores would you like?" he asked at last. "What counts as 'nasty'? And what kinds of skills do you have? I'll see what I can do about fitting you in."
Bramble gave him the most pitiful, obviously thankful, and almost fawning look that she'd given anyone in at least seven days. "Oh thank you," she said, actually meeting his eyes and still curling in on herself. "I am good at following orders," she said, her fingers counting off as she made the list grow. "I can hunt, small things, but not big things because I'm still..." She shook her head, continuing on without filling in what she was without. "I can... wash things. I'm pretty good at roasting things, if I need to. I think. I was complimented about it before, so that probably means I'm good at least a little." She blinked, trying to figure out if she really was good at anything, but dismissing it. She was god at being Bramble. "I haven't herded much, but I think I could do that. I don't want to fight." She pulled back in on herself even further. "Not at all."
She was silent for a moment. "I just don't want to do something that smells really bad. But I can! If you need me to." Her poor nose. She could imagine several scents parading around that she wouldn't be able to stand. "I'm pretty strong, so I guess, things that need that," she finished, nodding her head with what authority she could muster. The fact she looked back at Tayne with pleading in her eyes belied that authority, but she was trying. "I can... play?"
Generally uninterested in the female sex though he was, Tayne was just as susceptible to puppy-ish eyes as anyone else, and he dredged up a reassuring smile, trying not to melt at the sight of the poor girl looking so pitifully grateful. "I can work with that. We can always use new folks in the kitchen, making meals. First-years don't do any hunting, officially, though, but I can set you to gathering firewood."
Anything that required acting with any kind authority was obviously out. Tayne could recognize the submission in her by now, that "low rung in the pack ladder" sensation that some Lykos had about them, though hers was definitely an "I'm happy to be here" kind of submission. She wasn't downtrodden, she just preferred to be given orders. Tayne could sympathize with that. Being the one giving the orders felt distinctly backwards, to him.
"I could pair you up with someone for hall monitoring, too," he mused, eyes on her. "That doesn't require fighting, it just requires running to get me if there's a problem. And if I paired you with someone assertive enough...." He shook his head. "What room are you in, Bramble? I'd like to get back to you tomorrow, once I check my lists for what holes I have, if that's all right with you."
Bramble was simply relieved to have someone who knew more than her give her some concrete guidance. Before long, she'd also have a pack, and even more guidance, and life would be... chipper! Yes, it would be chipper. "Kitchens, alright." She'd helped out with what served as kitchens for her own people, but with the amount of activity in the cooking area she felt she wouldn't be able to stay lost for long.
She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he mentioned this pairing up for hall monitoring. She thought before answering. "I can run well, that's for sure." She smiled, then tried to give him an answer to the room question. "I'm downstairs, near the place where I smell lots of food being kept. There's a sort of squiggle on my door, like this." She pantomimed a three on the ground. She hadn't recognized it for what it was, yet. "Stale scents, safe back in there," she said authoritatively... mostly because she had believed it to be when she'd raced down there on day one. "When I sleep there," she finished. Bramble had been haunting different parts of the Compound for short lapses of sleep, as the attention of the residents waxed and waned.
"That'd be block thirty, room three," Tayne said absently, still thinking. "Block thirty, room three, Bramble with kitchens and hall duty and firewood and... I'm going to forget this before I get back to my room tonight," he realized, "I know it." Which left only one option: running upstairs to deal with it now as opposed to waiting until that evening after his turn with whatever Vrykolas wanted to test his mettle. He pushed himself reluctantly to his feet. "If you'll excuse me, Bramble, I've got to get upstairs to write this down. I'll find you tomorrow, then, with your chores and your day off?" He offered her a hand both to help her to her feet, as well, and in a kind of farewell. He had to collect his various blunted weaponry, and his bucket and cup, but then he'd be away.