The Preserve, Thursday Morning

[bitchprince]

So there had been a conversation yesterday. It had been a conversation. Yes. Everything was now settled, and good, and the lot of it, and it really left Arthur with just one issue.

Going out and killing things in order to avoid dealing with certain other things tended to involve taking along the one person he was currently avoiding dealing with-- had just dealt with things with. Which meant that he was left to his own devices if he did wish to embark on that particular... project. Not that he was going to resort to anything as ridiculous as sneaking out. No, none of that. For God's sake, he was Arthur fucking Pendragon.

It was just that morning happened to find Arthur at the edge of the preserve, crossbow in hand, and more than ready to shoot a few things. More than a few. Quite a bit, really.

As there was nothing left to be dealt with.

Yes.

Maybe he should just get married to Morgana and die a grisly death for it. Might be easier to deal with. If he was in luck, she'd get to the grisly death part early and he wouldn't even have to deal with anything at all.

Or maybe, he pontificated, as he kneeled down behind a bush to inspect some tracks, he was just going to have to give up on his life ever making any sense whatsoever.

[[ open if anyone wants to run into him while hunting and nearly be struck by a stray crossbow bolt, sure! ]]

Comments

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

It was long past time for a good hunt, honestly, which is why Firekeeper and Blind Seer had headed out to the preserve.

And so Blind Seer wandered up beside Arthur. Firekeeper, meanwhile, was back a bit since two legs moved slower than four. She wasn't about to call out a greeting though, so Blind Seer's presence would have to do.

[bitchprince]

Yes, that was startling enough to nearly send Arthur's crossbow firing at the sudden presence, but luckily, he caught himself enough to-- "Blind Seer!" --be vaguely irate in the wolf's general direction.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

His jaws parted in wolfish laughter at the reaction while from behind came a more human version of the same.

"Arthur, morning," Firekeeper finally spoke as she approached non-shouting distance.

[bitchprince]

"Lady Blysse," Arthur greeted, shooting the wolf a slightly maligned look as he yanked himself upright. "Out hunting this morning?"

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"Is good day for it," she confirmed with a nod. She wasn't going to apologize for Blind Seer, nor was the wolf going to apologize for himself.

[bitchprince]

"The game's still lacking," Arthur said, "But I'd be grateful if you'd be willing to join me."

Not that he'd been aching for some company without his usual around, or anything.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

Of course not!

Firekeeper nodded. "Would like," she replied. "Have not had enough time for such, lately."

[bitchprince]

"No better time than the present," he said, checking his crossbow to make sure it wouldn't go off without his permission. He flashed her a smile with some teeth in it - friendly, still. "What say you," he said, "Furry fish or rabbit?"

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"Rabbit," Firekeeper said with a decisive nod as she pulled an arrow from the quiver at her back. "More meat," she reasoned. Not much more, but still.

[bitchprince]

"And just enough sport," Arthur had to agree, lowering his crossbow to hip-height. "I've been tracking some down to the east, but the trail's running cold."

See? This was sensible. This was sane. This was...

...Well, it involved a girl who thought she was a wolf, but Arthur was willing to allow for that right now.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

There was no 'thought' there! She just was.

"Then should not be wasting any more time here," she had to point out. Blind Seer had already moved off further into the preserve.

[bitchprince]

"All right," he said.

Not eager. Not eager at all.

So not eager that he was already heading straight after Blind Seer. "See if we can't pick it back up."

[glacial_queen]

Karla wasn't hiding in the Preserve...exactly. She was simply out wandering in a place where it just so happened that she was alone.

Without her Sapphire, she felt almost naked. Truth be told, she'd rather be back at home hiding meditating in her alcove, but the cabin seemed deserted. And if Karla was going to be alone, she wanted to be alone somewhere she could run if she needed to.

...Err, not that she was frightenedworried or anything. That would be silly.

She hadn't quite come up with a way to explain away her flinching at every sound yet.

[bitchprince]

A few... well, at best a hundred feet away, Arthur had finally spotted his prey.

Sure, the crossbow wasn't always ideal for small game, but he wasn't in a mood to set any traps, and firing bolts off into nothingness seemed vastly more cathartic than waiting for hours upon end.

Levelling the bow, he pulled the trigger.

The bolt landed squarely in the rabbit he'd aimed for; the mechanism was fairly loud, constrated with the silence of the woods around him.

[glacial_queen]

Karla screamed--a fact that she would probably cringe over until her dying day, trufax--spun on her heel and began running through the underbrush.

Which, coincidentally, was a hell of a lot harder when airwalking or passing through the items burned like your veins had turned to liquid fire. Even basic Craft wasn't possible today.

She didn't get very far before she was tangled up in plant life and sprawled out on the ground. That didn't stop her from trying to crawl away.

Darkness, don't let them find me. Please, Darkness, don't let them find me!

Assuming she survived this encounter and the humiliation that would follow she was going home and locking herself in her cabin. Hand to...whatever.

[bitchprince]

And here Arthur had just been jumping up to check out his prey. He turned abruptly towards the sound of the noise - that was definitely a feminine scream - and began moving towards it before he even realised it, all instinct.

"Who's there?" he called, "Are you all right?"

He already had his hand on his sword; never knew when bandits could attack, even here. He wouldn't draw it until he was sure, however, unwilling to startle just yet.

[glacial_queen]

Karla glanced over her shoulder to see Arthur heading towards her, hand on his sword. She tried to scrabble away, almost crying in panic, trying and failing to throw up some kind of shield between the two of them.

She got nothing other than a kind of pain for her efforts.

"Stay back!" she said. Followed quickly by a "Please don't hurt me! I beg you!"

Later, she would give serious thought to the dignity of seppuku.

[bitchprince]

"Karla?" He couldn't see anyone here, so he dropped his hand away from the hilt. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said, with firm conviction, and stepped closer with as calm a step as he could.

He had some practice remaining calm in the face of hysterical women. Unfortunately. "Did someone attack you?"

[glacial_queen]

She kept scooting away from him. Because he'd tell her if her was about to harm her.

And how to answer his question? 'Well, yes, but back home, and now I think you're here to finish what they started'? 'Not recently, but please don't take that as an invitation'? 'It depends on what your definition of attack is'?

Still, Arthur was using the voice she unconsciously labeled 'male soothing female emotions' voice. Which edged him slightly closer to proper-Kaeleeran on a subconscious level. "No, I--I heard a noise..."

Yeah, that didn't sound stupid at all.

[bitchprince]

Arthur came to a pause once he realised that advancing on her wasn't going to be much of a help, and made sure his hands were clearly visible. Dealing with hysterical women came down to about two-thirds practise calming wild animals, if anything.

"That was my crossbow," he guessed, "I was out hunting rabbit."

She was fairly easily startled, all in all.

[glacial_queen]

"Mother Night," Karla groaned, hiding her face in her hands. She was slowly convincing herself that this was Arthur, who loved honor more than oxygen, and he might want to throttle her on occasion, but that was about it. It was helping that he was no longer advancing on her. Which meant that she was coming off as a right idiot.

In front of Arthur. Of all people.

"Arthur...you would never harm anyone under your care, would you?" she asked, slowly standing to face him. She seemed almost normal, if one discounted the trembling hands.

[bitchprince]

"Of course not," he said, like it actually surprised him (and hurt, slightly, although he'd never admit it) that she'd even ask. "It's against the knight's code," because Arthur had the weirdest inkling she might need that explained. Or something. "Are you all right now?"

[glacial_queen]

"I--no." More than anything else, she wanted Morton, or someone who'd understand without her having to explain it. But she didn't.

While she didn't particularly like Arthur, she was pretty sure she could trust him. "Arthur, may I put myself under your care? Just for a little while? Even just long enough to escort me back to the cabins? Please. I think I could use a knight right about now." She gave him a sad, crooked little grin.

[bitchprince]

Arthur nodded once. If she hadn't asked, he would've probably offered within the next minute. "Of course," he said, all chivalry talking, "Give me a moment to get my crossbow, and we'll be on our way."

Morgana could tell you, that was probably the easiest approach if you ever wanted to get anything out of Arthur.

[grand-fallguy.livejournal.com]

Tim missed the preserve, so he decided that morning to go for a walk to get the remainder of his sleep out of his head. With a bit of nostalgia, he tried to move without making any noise.

*snap!* Damnit.