A new beginning (Namo, Elamie) - FINISHED

[Mystica]

Elamie stood waiting at the entrance of the Hold. At first light, she had told him. Punctuality was key in an Aiel's life, for the entirety of a Hold may depend on it. She allowed herself a small smile as she saw a figure approaching, right before the first rays of light rose from the horizon.

 

"I see you, Namo" she greeted the arrival as he came to a halt before her. He carried one bag, as instructed, with a day's worth of provisions in them.

 

"We're going on a trip to the Shadow Oasis, which lies about 4 days from here. One of the basic skills any Aiel must have is the ability to navigate the Threefold Land and survive the harsh conditions our homeland put upon us. This will be your responsibility during our trip to the Oasis. I want you to start preparing our trip, lay out a route and anticipate any problems we might come across along the way and how to deal with them."

 

She eyed the thirteen year old boy sternly and added, "prepare well, Namo, for the Threefold Land has little sympathy for those that do not."

 

She took a seat on one of the bare rocks scattering the floor.

 

"We'll leave once you're ready."

 

 

 

OOC: write a decent sized post about how Namo prepares for the trip. How he plots their route and anticipates the dangers and challenges that lay ahead. Keep in mind that he only has provisions for one day, so they'll need to forrage for the other three days. Share his thought pattern with the readers and describe his feelings for his first trip outside the Hold.

[amegakure]

*Namo walked up to the exit of the hold thinking on the journey that awaited him. he was ready for this, it was his time to prove himself of the aiel blood. Nodding to Elamie he crouched pulling out a map. Namo studied the map. looking at map, he took reference of the little watering holes spread thinly throughout the waste. looking for a rout that would challenge but not entirely endanger them. he saw the other lands they would have cross to reach their destination. he was not scared of battle but did not wish to die at the age of 13 or start a feud between clans that would cost the clan many spears. even though they would win in the end. fun but unnecessary. looking up he studied the sun judging when they would be out of their territory. it would be late. It would be good to use the night for our advantage. calmly he stood and said. "we shall go at a steady pace, carry on through the night and sleep through the day." putting his stuff up he looked over his shoulder to Elamie to signal he was ready to go and in at a slow pace started to jog.

[Mystica]

Elamie observed the youth during his preparations and noticed, with a little smile, how eagerness to prove himself shone through despite valiant attempts to hide the fact. She also noticed that he checked the map and marked the water supplies on it, which was good. Water is life, after all. Especially in the Threefold Land. A common, and expected, decision to move at night didn't surprise her much. He would soon learn that Aiel were equally adapted to the day's heat as they were to the night's cold. His route took them well out of the way of any known problem areas from other clans, which was really good. She knew that, rather than be afraid, youngsters often displayed a missplaced eagerness to prove themselves in battle, often with disastrous results. She was pleased to see Namo showing good judgement in this area.

 

"Have you given any thoughts on what we'll do for food along the way, Namo?" She asked as she kept pace with him quite easily.

[amegakure]

*jogging along side Elamie he wondered what awaited him on this trip. Battle, acceptance, hate, disgust, honor, Love, death. all these occupied his thoughts. with all these thoughts he did not quite hear Elamie when she spoke. finally realizing that elamie had asked a question he turned his head towards her and nodded. looking out ahead in the distance he noticed the haze of the first watering hole. checking the map real quick. it would take them another hour to get there. stuffing the map back he looked up to the sky and whistled. smiling softly when he heard the screech of mihako. his falcon. watching the young bird swoop down. he noticed mihako had the body of a lizard in his talons. Namo walked up to the bird and taking a knife cut the head and tail from the creature and quickly cleaned the organs from inside. throwing these to the bird he turned and raised the left over muscle from the creature. "This is how we eat." he said with a grin. "i also can hunt."

[Mystica]

She smiled back at the boy. "That's a nice looking bird you got there, Namo. What is the story with it? How did you get it so tame?"

They continued on with their easy jog as the sun rose steadily overhead, heating the land and all in it more and more by the minute. Elamie had run this route many times in her days and could do so blind folded. In fact, she had done it blind folded as part of her Maiden training. The Maidens were rightfully proud of their abilities to match, and in many ways outmatch, the male warriors from the Aiel and they weren't about to allow any of their sisters to lower their standards. Training among the Maidens was hard, brutal and unmerciful. Quite a shock for any young girl seeking acceptance in their society.

 

Namo put up the piece of lizzard in his pack while he ran. He obviously had had good training so far in the Hold, doing his family and himself honor in the process. Yes, she thought, this one might just turn out to be quite an addition to the Aiel once fully trained.

[amegakure]

*Namo jogs down the path careful not to trip on the rocky ground. waving his hand the bird takes off high in the sky were the sun blazed down on them unmercifully. " i found him about 7 mounths ago. he was barely more than a fledgling who fell from his nest. i splinted his wings and hes never left me since." namo wondered what his parents would think if they were alive now. interested in the woman standing beside him he studied how fluidly she moved never looking down always looking for dangers. while he was studying her abit maybe a little to long he saw a flash of movement on the ground. instinct took over and he dove throwing himself in front of her. tighting his hands around the creature he finally managed to get the creatures head. it was a black mamba. looking down he saw a shallow bite mark. quickly throwing the snake in a little bucket that hung from his back. he got a cloth and tied it above the bite. pulling some leaves from his pack he chewed them up and swallowed them. looking over to Elaime he asked "are you okay"

Edited October 4, 2010 by amegakure

[Mystica]

She stood with her fists on her hips, glaring down at him as he asked her if she was ok.

"I'm quite fine, thank you. Now would you mind telling me what a fool stunt that was? Do you always go diving on top of snakes' heads without a moment's thought?"

Grabbing the bucket in which the snake was trying to escape, she examined it closer. The slithering thing tried to snap at her several times, but her reflexes were finely tuned. "Do you know what breed this is, Young Namo?" She asked the youth testilly. Elamie had little patience with what she considered fools.

 

"Yes, a black mamba." She rounded on him as he answered her. "But not your every day black mamba! This one is a spotted black mamba. The most poisonous ones around. Those leaves you too will barely keep you alive till we reach the water hole."

 

Grabbing him by his arm, not too softly, Elamie hoisted the boy up on her shoulders, like a pack of grain, and set in a sprint towards the water hole. "You move more than you need to and you'll learn not to act the fool twice today!" She growled under the breath, hoping she wouldn't be too late.

[amegakure]

*"but ive been barely bitten.... really it no big deal, been bitten many times." Namo squirmed but stopped when he realized he was slightly faint... Hmm apparently this snake has more venom than i thought. we will have to study him very closely. looking over the maidens shoulders he look out ahead he could see the watering hole in the distance. for some reason he was sweating. that wasn't normal. whistling alittle tune while they ran he saw mahiko pass ahead of them studing the ground. Yawning, namo wrapped his arms around the maidens neck and layed his head in the crook of her neck and shoulder. yawning one last time his eyes closed and fell into a black sleep.

[Mystica]

'Lightblinder's eyes', Elamie cursed silently as she felt the boy faint on her shoulders. There was very little time, she knew and launched into a full out sprint, as though she wasn't carrying the weight of the boy and his luggage. The water hole rose promisingly from the horizon into being and she laid him down on a patch of sand shaded faintly by surrounding rock bolders.

"Don't you die on me boy!" She growled as she unpacked her bag and set about digging into the ground where some brown tufts of growth marked the location of the rootplant she needed. Ripping the round shaped black root out of the ground, she swiftly cut it up in little pieces and then grinded them with one of the rocks against one of the larger rocks. Adding some water from the water hole, a black paste started to form. It had been all but 2 minutes since she started on the medicin, but to Elamie she felt like it had taken hours. She had never lost a youngen on their first trip out the Hold and she wasn't about to start now! Already the toh towards the boy's family started to nag at her, though she knew it was foolishness on her part. Every Aiel knew the dangers of the Treefold Land and yet, she felt responsible. The boy was not an adult yet and under her care.

 

She took her knife tucked inside her left boot and made an incision into the boy's arm. Deep red blood started to flow over the arm and her fingers as she grabbed a little of the black paste and rubbed it into the wound. She had made the cut right next to the place where the snake had bitten, so that the medicine could travel up the same route the poison had. The paste would travel faster, but barely and it was a question whether she got it into his system fast enough to begin with. If the poison reached his heart or brains before the paste caught up.... She didn't bare thinking about it.

 

Every Aiel expected to wake from the dream and it was not something to fret over for overly long, but Elamie took special pride in preventing the dream from ending for those under her charge. She finished up rubbing in as much of the paste as she could and then bound the wouldn't tightly with a strip of clean cloth she carried in her bag.

 

Now all they could do was wait. The boy would wake once the poison was beaten, which could be instantly or take up to half a day. She started piling up rocks around him to keep him shaded as the sun travelled along her path overhead and then set to wait.

[amegakure]

*namo opened his eyes looking around. with a start he noticed he was at a watering hole. examining the bite he saw it was puffy and slightly painful. aww nothing i cant deal with. it dosent hurt as bad as when i got bit by that spider. looking around he saw elamie sitting on a rock getting up and almost falling on his face he walks to the watering hole giving elamie a look to not even try and put him back to bed. i knew what i was getting into so let me deal with it maiden. walking to the watering hole namo filled his hands with water and took small drink of water. looking around he saw mahiko on a nearby rock. pulling out the meat he whisted and watched mahiko take to the sky. crouching he looked to elamie irrated about what was to come.*

Edited October 7, 2010 by amegakure

[Mystica]

'So that's how it's going to be' Elamie thought as she silently watched Namo wobble to the water hole to get a drink. She hadn't missed the look he cast her, of course, or the silent challenge it held. Calmly she continued to strip the lizard's hide, making sure she got all of the sticky seethrough layer that glued the skin to the flesh and ignored the boy for now. His falcon was twirling overhead, a shere beackon that something was happening here since falcons didn't hang around the same spot for overly long in the wild. She didn't make any remarks on that either, her mind already listing up the preparations they'd have to set for the night. For more things than just snakes inhabited the desert and some of them only came out at night. When she finished cleaning up the lizard, she poked one of her iron cooking rods through it's body, back to front, and placed it over the fire she had started in a pit dug into the ground and shielded with rocks. This makeshift oven worked really well and would guide the smoke into the ground, from where it would seep out through the small openings in the sand again, appearing as a natural dust disturbance rather than a smoke signal in the sky.

 

"So," she said to Namo, her voice neutral "you think you had enough rest, do you?" Her eyes glowered dangerously, though the boy did not know her well enough to know what that meant. Among the Maidens, she was known to be patient, tolerant and an excellent teacher. But she didn't suffer fools lightly and age was no reason to be foolish in her book. "perhaps you think you can do this trip all by yourself and don't need any training at all." She continued in that misleadingly neutral manner. "Namo, the Aiel Warrior, does not need any training where all the Spears in history have needed training for many years before earning the right to call themselves Aiel Warriors." Her eyes locked with his, as he was still crouching and watching her. "Perhaps you feel that the pain from that bite is not so bad, forgetting the healing powers of the rootpaste that was needed to prevent you from waking from the dream today?"

 

'Ah yes,' She thought as she saw the startled look in his eye. 'Just as I thought.'

 

"Since you feel you've rested enough, boy, you might as well learn something from this disaster. Come here and sit with me, you will learn to make the paste that is now numbing the pain and healing your body." Her voice now was piercing ice.

 

As he joined her, she showed him the steps and then let him search the ground to find a root of his own and observed him as he prepared the paste.

 

 

 

 

ooc: he'll get it wrong the first time, so work that in to your RP post. you can have him try again at Elamie's orders and have it right on the second try.

[amegakure]

*Namo stared coldly at elamie. who was she to talk so to him. thinking for a moment he turned his head in the other direction and said "no i dont believe myself as superior to you or anyone who has passed the trials yet. but to think that i need to be dependent on you or anyone you will be very sorry. i have lived life alone since i was nothing but a crying child and i dont need anyone now." Namo stood up and walked towards the plant elaime had indicated crouching he studied it. "as for this root i had need of it today because i threw myself into danger to save you. snakes have a tendency to leave me alone and on occasion act rather peacefully. but i shall try in case a snake bites you." Namo watched as elamie showed him the steps on how to make the paste. namo tried his hand but as he had thought Elamie explained what he did wrong. looking at the plant he went quiet as his mind whirled. i shall have to take some of this and do some expirements. i wonder if i combined this with a small amount of venom and used it for several weeks what would happen. snapping back to the present he saw elamie looking at him he looked back to the plant and went through the steps one more time. ah i got it right very good namo. namo packed the paste into his pack. standing up and walking some distance he whistled and heard a shriek and watched mahiko streak to the ground landing on a rock by namo. Mahiko had a little creature with much more meat than a lizard. namo grabbed the creature while pulling out some dried meats from his pack that he tossed toward mahiko. throwing the animal to elamie he sat down and grabbed the bucket with the snake and opened the lid.

 

 

 

ooc: go for it ill finish on my next post.

[Mystica]

She sighed inwardly. He showed so much potential but that attitude of his was going to get him killed one day. If they were to make it to the oasis in one piece, she'd better make sure he understood reality. His overconfidence already proved to get in the way of any wisdom he might possess and could, one day, endanger those that come to depend on him. Realising that she wasn't going to turn him into a full blown Aiel Warrior on this one trip, Elamie resolved in to making sure the boy at least knew how not to get himself killed through shere rudeness alone.

 

"Have you also taught yourself how to properly address other Aiel, boy? Especially those older and wiser than yourself? Up till now you had the cover of your childhood to let you get away with any rudeness you showed and possibly the sympathy of those for your situation. When you become a man, every Aiel will expect you to act like one and leave behind the childish attitude you so readily display with me now." She caught the animal he tossed at her. "Only fools believe themselves so skilled that they don't need others, child. We all depend on each other, every single day. That is as much a part of your training as any lessons with the spears will be. A vital lesson."

 

She tossed the animal back to him, ordering him to put away the snake bucket and prepare the thing for his dinner. "While you prepare your dinner, think on what I said. Then you can decide whether you still wish to act like a child or whether you are ready to learn how to become a man."

 

Elamie finished up her lizard dinner and set about preparing their camp for the night. She'd give the boy some time to cool down and reflect on his situation. Shaking her head, she moved about her task automatically. If he ever showed that attitude with one of the Wise Ones or the Clan Chief, they'd chew him out for breakfast and regurgetate him for lunch. Her patience was getting thin with this one, but she was determined to see it through. It was clear that he had been left to his own devices for far too long.

 

 

OOC: I suggest we finish up this day and get to sleep so we can move on to the next day and our next destination on the road to the oasis.

[amegakure]

Namo studied here as he picked up the snake, which wrapped around his hand calmly, stroking it head he reached in his pack finding a small container and brought it to the snakes fangs. he waited till there was a decent amount of venom in container before unwrapping the snake. he put the snake down and watched as it slithered away from the camp getting up he grabbed a piece of meat. and chewed on it to quench his hunger. looking at elamie he thought hmmm i wonder what shes about. content to let elamie talk he sat down and closed his eyes getting ready for the longer journey ahead.

[Mystica]

She finished up setting the camp so that they would be alerted to any approach in the night and returned to the camp. Pleased to see the boy had followed her instructions, they retired for the night and had a blisfully uneventful sleep.

 

The next morning, Elamie examined the wound on Namo's arm and applied fresh paste and a clean bandage. The medicin worked fine, but without the paste he'd be in pain and she wanted them to move to the next water hole in one day. Namo didn't talk much, which was fine with her, but seemed to be unhappy still and that troubled her. Usually the youngsters were very excited about their first trip outside the Hold, but with Namo it was almost as though he was being punished. Very odd kid, this one, she decided. She wondered where he got the notion that snakes usually don't harm him from, but didn't ask. He didn't seem to want to share information and, so long as it didn't endanger them, she wasn't going to pry.

 

"I'd like us to reach the next water hole today, Namo, so we'll have to pick up the pace somewhat. The Wise Ones told me you are a good runner, so you should be able to keep up. Let's be off then."

 

Moving at a moderate speed, yet faster than the first day, they left the campsite for their next destination.

[amegakure]

*getting up from the rock he jumped up and stretched his legs a little. gathering his stuff he made haste as elamie told him they were leaving. as he started to run. he wondered about the expirament that he would do soon. then his thoughts drifted to which of the society's he would like best. the knife hands are a good choices but what about the night eyes. stealth and hand to hand combat which i love. i think that shall be mine. noticing the different plants he wondered when this part of the journey would be over. he wished to get on with his expirament and put the new poison on his knife.

[Mystica]

They continued on for several hours until they came to a spot Elamie knew well as a good resting point. The boy wasn't much of a talker and they had run without speaking a word. She hadn't tried to make him talk, since something told her that it was no use. It didn't feel like he was shy or uncertain, just not very open or social. Elamie didn't have a problem with that, after all each Aiel had to follow the path they choose themselves. So long as he didn't endanger himself or those depending on him, she was content to let him be. When they stopped at the resting point, she made him take off his pack.

 

"It is time for our lunch break. I know you still have some edible items in your pack, but they can come in useful later. This is a good spot to do some small animal hunting. As part of your training, I want you to go out in the nearby area and find us something to eat." She looked up at the falcon flying circles above. "And Namo? Without the bird this time. You won't always be able to rely on it for your meals." Her voice was friendly yet distant, which seemed to work best with this one. "Keep within sight of this resting spot" was all she added before taking a waiting position on one of the larger bolders laying around.

[amegakure]

*without even raising his head to show he had heard he he he grab a set of small lightweight throwing knife's and took off a trot into the sparse brush around them. Namo found a likely tree and climbed his way up. looking up to the sky he saw that mahiko had not let him down the falcon would normally have landed now but was losely in the area around camp and above him. the bird had be going over this direction for and hour or so. so he must have seen some prey around here. now all that is left is to wait. studying the terrain as he waited for his victim to come across he wondered about life. will i accept a wreath if its laid by a maiden i respect will i become clan chief. or the head of my society who knows anymore but i hope its soon. then with a flicker of movement he saw his prey and threw 2 knifes one taking the creature in the back and the the gut. jumping down he pulled his blade free and jogged the rest of the way to camp. as he reach camp he did not give the body to elamie as she indicated by reaching out he hands. instead he laid it on a rock and got down on his knees and bowed before it giving thanks silently for waking from the dream so soon for his sake. after he was done he got up and called for mahiko to land so he could sleep.

[Mystica]

Elamie watched as the boy went about his hunting. He was good with the knives, she noticed. But then, most Aiel were. What troubled her most was his secluded nature. Not a word was spoken and she got the impression he wouldn't welcome a conversation much. Her eyebrow lifted slightly as he ignored her outstretched hand to receive what he had caught so she could start preparing it. 'Hm,' she thought, 'plenty respect for nature, but severely untrusting of humans it seems.' It was a good sign, nevertheless, for it meant the boy was capable of caring. A heart could grow very cold without that talent and while Aiel were expected to be tough, they were definately not expected to be of ice.

 

When he finally gave her the prey, she prepared their meal with practiced hands. They sat down to eat and she decided to test his general knowledge as part of his training. He'll have to talk sometimes, so might as well start training those vocal chords.

 

"We will rest here for half an hour and then set off to the next water hole in one go. Tell me, Namo. How can you recognise a water source under ground and how would you go about uncovering it to reach the water?"

[amegakure]

Namo ate his food while pulling tiny bits for mahiko. who flapped his wings in protest about not getting to hunt. namo looked up as elamie spoke. "well were there are more plants than normal with no sign of a watering hole. and i would dig i guess." getting up he pulled out his knifes and the venom along with the reserves of paste. taking a small bit of paste he dipped the end of his knife in the poison and let it drip a dot on the paste stirring the paste he put it back in a seperate container. then he preceded to sharpen his knifes counting them as he did them. after he reached 13 he put them back in there concealed places among his person.

[Mystica]

Elamie sighed. Getting this boy to talk was proving to be more difficult than facing three Trollocs with a sore tooth. She watched as he worked with the venom, her face clearly showing her disgust. Aiel did not use poison, for it was generally accepted as dishonorable. It killed without facing your enemy, without giving them a chance to defend themselves. There was no Ji to be gained from using poison. Making a mental note to pass the boy's interest in poison on to whoever would end up as his mentor, she watched as he started sharpening his knives. He sure had enough of those on his body. She still wondered what he was doing with that poison though.

 

After they cleaned up their campsite they set off again at a brisk pace. Their next stop would be at the oasis itself, where they would spend the night and the next day and then head back during the following night. Aiel were required to move at any time, day or night, so she had incorporated that into this training session.

 

"Where does your interest in poisons come from?" She asked him as they jogged towards their goal.

Edited October 15, 2010 by Mystica
editted out the comment about poisonous knives.

[amegakure]

ooc: im sorry but i think you misinterpreted the post. he is not applying the poison to his blades. just using it as a tool to deliver the drop of poison to the plant mixture.

 

 

Namo looked at her as they ran with irritation in his voices. "from the snakes." looking back to the surrounding area he looked to the left and thought he saw something but looking back towards elaime he decided to keep quite there was no reason to speak she probly had spotted them already, this being a test to see how well he could spot potential dangers before hand. but after the last time he had tried to help it had turned and bit him, literally. why must she try and talk to me. she does not understand me at all. i can still sense the toh she feels for me after the snake bite. foolishness. Namo ran harder pulling ahead to indicate that he need to think. this was lost when he heard namo shriek two times to the left. looking up to the sky he saw the bird rushing towards the ground. stopping he looked back to elamie and said in a cold voice. "there coming." with that he took a ambush spot in a pile of rocks pulling out his knifes 3 for throwing and 2 bigger ones for hand to hand combat. after settling down he waited. mahiko shriek in the trees of to the right, indicating his impatience with the attackers. just wait mahiko and blood will spill. just wait.

[Mystica]

She had spotted them too, but before she could say a word Namo was crouching in a nearby bush with five knives in his hands.

 

"Put those away, Namo. I recognise them, they're another group of trainees on their first trip out just like you." She didn't look wether he did as told, but went to meet the new arrivals. There were two trainees, a girl and a boy, accompanied by a Stone Dog. After exchanging the customary greetings, Elamie invited them to join her and Namo who was watching with a thunderstorm look on his face. The Stone Dog suggested that they travel to the Oasis together and let the youngens work together on the return trip. This sounded like a good plan to Elamie and so it was done. She was curious to see how Namo would respond to people his own age, though she didn't get her hopes up too much. The boy seemed determine to dislike just about anyone. He had such great potential, though. She really hoped he would come around soon.

 

The two trainees went to talk with Namo and greeted him politely.

[amegakure]

*namo nodded to the two trainees but choose not to speak. waving at mahiko he motion for the bird to come back and sitt on his arm. moving the bird to his shoulder he slinked over to elamie and the stone dog. they do not speak much. but to be invisible to everyone would be even better. he listened to the stone dog spealk while putting mahiko's blinds on and putting him a rock were he could rest. looking back at the other trainees he studied them and easily dismiss the wannabe stonedog male. he was interested in the girl was she worth his interest. she was messing with some plants. while the brute was sharpening his weapons. he slowly paced over to the girl tuning out the adults conversation and watched the girl. she was picking plants and gathering certain ones. a thought struck him i could get information out of her for his antidote. walking closer he crouched and when the girl turned and looked at him he pointed at the plant and asked curiously "what is it."

 

after many hours of foraging for different plant that were edible and poisonous and countless comments on why someone would want poisons he grunted his thanks to the girl and walked over to elamie. she wanted to know about my poison so lets tell her. asking about when they were leaving she told him that it would be very soon. in moments they were packing. Namo went over to the girl and helped her pack and shared a smile with her. quite soon they were running at a jog and they kept that pace for hours on end. namo looked to elamie and saw he joking with the stone dog, although he seemed to be part of the joke. with the night half way over when they reached the oasis namo felt relieved. finally we have made it. now i must talk to elamie. approaching her he sat down and looked at her. " you wished to know why i use poison"

Edited October 16, 2010 by amegakure

[Mystica]

The Stone Dog, Yorn of the TreeStone Sept, set about putting up camp, leaving the trainees to prepare their dinner which they set to with a passion. When they were ready to eat, Namo surprisingly came to sit with her and seemed ready to respond to her question she'd asked hours ago.

 

"Yes, I would like to know as it is an unusual interest in a warrior. Wise Ones sometimes use it for medicinal purposes, I think, but what a warrior might need it for I am curious." She kept her voice conversational and non-judgemental, though Yorn grimaced slightly.

 

Elamie had noticed Namo making attempts to talk to the girl and was pleased to see it. He would need to get along with people as well as stand his ground against them.