Senses, ATTN: Firion

[Aurin]

EYOTA

 

Today would be a challenging day. He had trained countless new wanderers; but this was the first time he had to train someone who couldn’t see. John had asked him to take the task, and as always Eyota had agreed. He was a little nervous to be working with this boy, working in close proximity to another. Eyota had left word at the infirmary for the boy to meet him in the woods out by his cave. He knew he had a companion and he hoped he would work as the boys eyes in the tangled brush.

 

Before the boy actually came into sight Eyota caught his scent, Eyota could tell the young one was slightly nervous. He could understand his hesitation, he had felt much the same when he began his training. Eyota schooled his own senses, quickly masking what he felt truly inside, if he were with Janna, Wall, or Feilena, but she was gone wasn’t she, they would instantly know what he was truly feeling, but fortunately this young cub would be none the wiser of the darker currents running through Eyotas thoughts.

 

As Firion came into view Eyota rose to greet him, “Hello Firion I have the privilege of being your mentor for the coming months or years.†The young man grinned as he introduced him self. “I don’t come into the stedding much anymore so I’m sorry we haven’t met before this. I understand you have some limitations, however I’m sure the wolfkin senses will help you compensate. If you wouldn’t mind I’d like to know a little about you and your past.â€

 

OOC: Aurin now goes exclusively by his wolf name Eyota. He his dark skinned from staying out in the sun. He had long hair tied back with a leather thong. He wears woodland garbs, soft brown pants, and a leather shirt. He was a guide all over the continent before going through the howling and joining the wolfkin. Lets do a little bit of get to know you before we start your training.

 

FIRION

 

Firion almost spoke withought thinking then composed himself and started using the storytelling voice he had learned so long ago. "I was born in Deven Ride in the Two Rivers. My mother was Domani and my father Shienaran. They died before I learned who they were. A man named Kel al'Thorin raised me in the mountains of mist until he died in a blizzard when I was seven. The following spring I began travelling with a gleeman who had had a blind father. Ten years later we returned to Deven Ride and we seperated. I headed to my childhod home. Then the howling began and I met Cloud Hunter here." He indicated the large albino wolf next to him. he had appeared at the stedding early that morning. "A few months later Wall came to me and brought me here. From there you come in." Firion smiled he thought it was a rather good telling.

 

Firion had finished story and started to focus his senses on the things around him. Eyota was wearing leather, at least it smelled like it. He stored Eyota's scent in his memory then he realised the was a second scent old yet constant, but it was muted. This smell he himself hade made many times since thinking of his dead family. Grief, or sorrow, they stilled smelled much alike to him. Firion wondered how he muted the smells of emotions.

 

Firion grew impatient. "What training do I start with first, Eyota?... And by the way how do you keep others from smelling your emotions, at least fully?"

 

 

OOC: Because of my character's lack of sight he has even more highly developed senses of hearing and smell than most wolfkin. If you think my character is advancing to quickly on his own PM me and I'll edit my post.

 

AURIN

 

“Well Firion, by now you have realized that your senses have begun the change. And I suspect because of your lack of sight that your other seneses have compensated. Your sense of smell is much more advanced than any one I have ever met. You’ll learn how to keep your emotions concealed later in your training.†Eyota made a mental note to keep a tighter control over himself than usual around this perculiar boy. “The wolfkin are blessed with the gifts of enhanced smell, hearing, and eye sight, as well as the ability to enter the Wolfdream. Today we would usually be working on the first three things I mentioned, sight, hearing, and smell. However we’ll be working highly with smell and sound. As for the Wolfdream there are a many dangers there and you are still expressly forbidden from entering the dream on your own until we have finished your training in it. Randon or I will be watching your dreams to make sure you don’t accidentally enter the dream; and please remember Randon will not hurt you.†Eyota remembered when he had first gone through the howling and his accidental discovery of the dream, there were many times as of late he wished he could forget those first few nights in the dream, he had been thankful that Janna and Wind had kept him safely from that place until he could deal with it’s problems on his own; and Eyota hoped in time the young man would feel the same.

 

“Now to begin I’d like you to me what you hear and smell around you, reach out and see what you find.â€

 

OOC: Remember you’re new to your gifts so it will be a little difficult at first. Even with your senses compensating for your lack of sight. But don’t be afraid to use your imagination, please be detailed, it will make your RPing experience much more rewarding. And away we go!

 

FIRION

 

Firion smiled, hearing and smell were his eyes. he spread the focus of his senses. "There is a tree, an oak, about a hundred-fifty paces due north of here. There are two... no three eggs. The third is rotten though. The mother is landing it sounds like a lark." Firion once again let his senses go to work. "Someone is practicing battle. The locations are varied the closest being about three hundred paces to the southwest." Suddenly a loud chirping filled his ears. "Blasted, cricket!" Cloud laughed in Firion's mind. "My senses are picking up so many little things I never noticed before. It's overwhelming, Eyota."

 

Firion was astonished at the infinitesimal things he heard. The beating of butterfly wings, ants moving about underground. Firion excitedly described all this to Eyota. "What I find even more amazing," said Firion after regaining some composure, "is that I can hear your heart beating." Firion heard that same item quicken its pace just ever so slightly.

 

Firion was now able to envision the world as never before. "Eyota, I can envision this world so completely now I believe I was truly blind until today. I hear feathers falling, smell foods and herbs that are believe to have little or no scent. I truly thank you for showing me this."

 

 

EYOTA

 

Eyota listened as his mentee told him the things he could hear and smell. Eyota noted that it was the basic things that you could hear or smell; he was not surprised, learning to focus your senses was rather difficult when they become heightened so fast.

 

“That was a good attempt Firion, but there is more out there. The deer crashing through the field past the trees, the mouse scurrying through the grass to your right, even some ones heart beat.†Eyota grinned as Firion raised an eyebrow and Eyota remembered his first time hunting after the howling had taken him. He could sense the deer’s fear and heartbeat as it ran for it’s life, he hadn’t known it the moment it happened; however once they had finished Janna had explained it to him and asked him to remember more.

 

“I want you to think back on your walk from the infirmary to this cave, it should have taken you about 20 minutes if you didn’t get lost. Think of the things you noticed, the scent of the people you passed, the smells of the stedding.†Eyota had not commented on why his emotions were muddled to Firion yet; and hoped that young man would let it pass for now. Most of the kin didn’t mask their scent unless they had need of it, so remembering what people were feeling as he walked shouldn’t cause him too many problems.

 

OOC: Ok, I know it’s basically the same thing, but I want a little more detail, don’t be afraid to get a little creative.

 

FIRION

 

Firion focused back on the hike to this spot. "There was quite a smell of excitement coming from the younger wolfkin, and impatience from some of the more experienced ones having to teach classes. There was a rotten creature... a rabbit I believe, on the path to the cave. There were also smells of lust emanating from the wolfkin,a few from the younger women seemed to be directed at me. There were squirrels gathering acorns, one of them had a limp on his left front leg. There was a smell of sulfur as I approached the cave." Firion paused. "This bring me to you, Eyota. The only emotion I can get from you is grief, and that's only because it has saturated itself into your natural smell. All your other smells are muted to me."

 

Firion tried to remember what else he had heard. "There were frogs and fish swimming in a lake. Some of the algae is rotting. That's all I can remember, Eyota." Firion focused his mind on Cloud Hunter, He still mourns the loss of his mate, doesn't he? The albino wolf's thought came back, Just as you still mourn your father and the parents you never knew. A new wave of grief swept over Firion. No matter what he wanted to believe he was alone in this world. unlike the other wolfkin he looked the same as he always had. Tall, handsome, blonde, and these Light forsaken white eyes. He wasn't a Two Rivers farmbboy anymore. He's a wolfkin.

 

Firion's body was itching for motion. "What other training do I have to do, Eyota?"

 

EYOTA

 

IC: Eyota listened as Firion gained more confidence as he remembered the things he smelled and heard on his walk to the cabin. He was doing very well for a new wolfkin, and his senses would only improve. “You can stop now, you’re doing well, it takes time to adjust to your senses and be able to catalog what you take in. But it is something you will have to practice often. For the next two weeks I want you to keep a journal, every night before you go to sleep you need to find someplace in the stedding to sit and listen for a half hour, then you need to move somewhere else and do the same thing with scent.â€

 

Eyota could tell Firion wasn’t looking forward to the homework, “At the end of the two weeks when you look back at your first entries you’ll be amazed how much more you notice. Now it looks to be about noon, so we are going to have some lunch.†Firion grinned, Eyota had noticed his stomach growling for awhile. Firion’s grin suddenly disappeared as he realized his mentor had something in store for him, “Normally I would have you wear a blindfold but since you can’t see….well you’ll be able to do it anyways.†He hadn’t had to do this until his second lesson, but becoming accustomed to it before he had to move through dense woods would be good for him. “Stay on the porch. Before we truly began I want you to know something†Eyota Slowly masked his scent and moved away from his young student. Talking the enter time, but with each step making his voice softer and softer until he was finally about 20 feet from Firion. “Ok you can’t see me, but I’m about 20 feet from you and still whispering.†Eyota whispered in a voice no louder than a leaf falling to the ground.

 

Firions eye’s widened as he realized he had heard his mentor from that far away. Still whispering Eyota continued, “The more you focus the more attuned you’ll become to what’s around you, eventually it will be second nature to focus on each sense all at once and take it in, but for now we need to train each one.â€

 

“Follow me inside the cave, I have food stored in the throughout, please prepare us a meal with what you find, and be careful Randon will be moving around and occasionally under your feet.†Eyota grinned as Randon poked his head from outside the cave and Firion caught the wolf’s sent. “With your impairment you might be able to use your companion to help you out. I’ve never tried it but perhaps you can still see through his eyes.†Randon had never met Firion so went through his formal introduction; the two had never actually been introduced since Eyota had not wanted to overload Firion on his first few days within the kin. The image of a wolf standing between a bear and a pack of cubs fighting with it’s life, it meant Randon; Wolfs Shield. Eyota could see Firion was having a hard time taking all of it in. “He’s a little long winded, you may call him Randon, and you’ll get used to listening to him later on, tell me what if anything you understood from Randon, as well as how you knew what it was while you find and prepare our food.â€

 

OOC: Alright, for this one it’s pretty simple first part is all reaction stuff, then explain what you “heard†from Randon, then find the food around the house, you’ll have to move around and Randon will try to get under your feet now and again.

 

FIRION

 

Firion's mind was reeling. He had often used leaves crackling to determine his footing, but this man's voice was a featherfall at 20 paces. Firionhad heard him clear as a bell. He sent his own wolf name image to Randon. Complete unchanging darkness with two points of perfectly white light just above the horizon: Ever Night. "Eyota, he's excited. He thinks it will be easy to trip me up, but he uses far to many thought to get his point across." Randon growled at him, I think you to be overly brief in your thoughts, Ever Night. "Brevity has its virtues, brother."

 

Firion now focused on smelling for the food. As he started, Randon had so silently gotten in front of him Firion fell forward. He quickly Put his hands to the ground and sprang off of them to land on his feet. "Being trained by a gleeman has its advantages," said Firion slyly. Firion then focused his mind through Randon's. The surrounding area became quite clear in his minds eye. Randon tried several more time to trip him, but seeing as Firion could see through his eyes it was to little avail.

 

Firion easily found the rabbits, vegetables, and spices that eyota had spread throughout the cave. He deftly started a fire. He deboned the rabbits and gutted them. Then he stuffed them with honey, vegetables, and a heavy amount of spices. He began cooking them on a makeshift spit, and basted them in a honey and spice mixture. He made sure Eyota wasn't looking and stuffed the remaining peppers into Eyota's rabbit. "Eyota, lunch is ready. I hope you like it." Firion was very careful in not letting his voice betray him. Firion got out the flute he always carried and began to play "The Return from Tarwin's Gap."

 

IC:Firion didn't particularly like small spaces, such as caves. The sounds bouncing off the walls usually became quite the annoyance. Firion continued to play his flute, and he remenisced his travels. He had told the tales of of the wolfkin to countless people and now he was one of them. Firion put down his flute.

 

"I've been thinking," Firion queried, "you told me to keep what I hear and smell in a journal, right?" Eyota nodded. Firion continued, "One little problem is I can't read or write due to my lack of eyesight. How do you propose we remedy this problem." Firion began eating his rabbit waiting for a reply.

 

EYOTA

 

The rabbit that Firion was preparing smelled wonderful; however it smelled like Firion was planning on trying to play a joke. It wasn’t the first time a wanderer had tried to get even for a little of the training they would be put threw. “As far as the journal goes…that’s a good point. I still want you to sit and focus; don’t worry about writing it down. Each morning we’ll talk about your observations and I’ll keep notes for you. Sound like a plan?†Eyota quietly and discretly pulled the peppers out of the rabbit and took a big bite. “Your rabbit is wonderful by the way.â€

 

“Now, as far as speaking to the wolves go; the scent is important; however the wolfkin share the ability to communicate with the wolves. We don’t’ really speak to them in words as much as in pictures, which is why it often takes time to learn to communicate; it may take time for you to hear them speaking to you though, so we will continue with that later.â€

 

Eyota was impressed with his students improvement. In a matter of hours the man had become more confident with himself and was working very well with what Eyota had given him. The rabbit that the boy made tasted better than anything Eyota ever cooked, having been a guide for so many years he had learned to eat what was on hand quick and easy. He very rarely cooked if he didn’t have to; but having a hot rabbit in front of him was a wonderful surprise.

 

They ate their meal and cleaned up. Firion only stumbled a little as they cleaned the dish’s. Randon was still taking his job of tripping Firion up seriously. Eyota managed a small grin from the images that Randon kept sending to him of the young wanderer.

 

“I’m curious Firion; have you ever been hunting? I realize without your eyes it could be difficult. We’re going to go hunting; mostly you will be following me and I want to see if you can use the sound of the wind as well as my foot falls to move quietly through the forrest.â€

 

Firion nodded to Eyotas request, he had assumed as much but wasn’t worried.

 

“When we find our quarry I will give take the first shot, remember to use your senses.†They had a few hours of sunlight left though he doubted it would make much difference for Firion. “Once the kill is made I would like for you to tell me everything that you noticed. If you heard the prey how it moved how far from us it was; and everything that you noticed along the path.

 

OOC: Alright just talk about the hunting trip, and talk about your enhanced senses. You get the first shot, you can choose what to do with it.

 

FIRION

 

Firion had never hunted using a bow before. He had always previously used snares. Eyota's steps in front of him were feather falls. Firion's were only slightly louder. Firion was sad that his pepper ploy had failed. He was rank with anticipation as he approached the quarry.

 

He heard something on for hooves quickly move. He point the arrow just in front of the beast, an elk he now realized by smell. A moment later he heard a thunk then the shattering of bone.

 

Firion spoke on the verge of tears, "It was afraid. I didn't think I'd hit him. The smell of panic, the rush of his footfalls, they all shouted his fear." Firion swallowed. "Smaller animals ran away from us as we came to the quarry. They were all afraid. They elk didn't know that his running let me know exactly where he was. I shouldn't have fired." Tears were streaming down his cheeks at this point.

[Aurin]

The sun had set and a full moon stood in the sea of stars the twinkled above them. Eyota could smell the deer before the snap of a twig gave away it’s location. He’d had his bow out long before the first scent of the deer had reached his nose. Eyota had planned to take the first shot; and under estimated Firion’s ability to use the bow with his lose of sight. “I hadn’t thought you would take the shot, and it probably was afraid, most prey is when the moment of death is upon it. But it points out a valuable lesson. We are normally the prey in the real world; people don’t trust us. You must remember to control your fear so that you don’t run when the time comes that the arrow is pointed at you.†Eyota released the tension on his bow and put away his arrow before strapping the bow across his back. Eyota had no desire to smell fresh blood anywhere near his cabin, so Eyota dressed the deer where they were leaving it’s innards for the birds.

 

“Why don’t you carry that carcass back, just throw it up over your shoulders. You’ll need the strength when we get to your weapons training.†Eyota grinned as Firion hefted the deer carcass over his shoulders. They returned to Eyota’s cave where he hung the deer up to drain the excess blood from it in a small tightly sealed shed; much like the one he had once had beside his cabin.

 

“You’ve done well today, go get washed up and get some sleep, tomorrow we will start your lesson on common herbs.â€

 

OOC: Nice job your first round of senses training is done, but don’t worry you’ll have another round in a few weeks. I’ll work on getting your herb post up.