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Post by JezusBagels on Sept 14, 2009 14:36:39 GMT -5
Monkuta sat on the porch of his cabin in the woods, enjoying the peaceful serenity of the mid-afternoon light. It had been quiet recently, so he'd been able to relax and work with Marina uninterrupted. He loved it when life got this way.
He'd sent Marina out on a tracking mission earlier. He'd released three rabbits into the woods and told her to catch all three by sunset or they wouldn't eat dinner. This, of course, had been a joke, but with Marina, he could never be sure what she was taking seriously. He shrugged off the worry, deciding that no harm could come of it if she failed. Dinner would certainly be a welcome surprise. He grinned at the thought.
So he sat, waiting, enjoying the silence of the forest.
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Post by ivory on Sept 14, 2009 14:47:59 GMT -5
Marina's face was a mask of sheer concentration as she applied all her skills to track the three rabbits. She'd learned much over the years and had enjoy almost every second of her - even the aftermath with the Lump. She never did though figure out exactly what it was...though she did have her suspicions...
She shook the birdwalking thoughts from her mind, forcing herself to concentrate on the path laid out for her. She wansn't so good enough to do it almost subconsciously like she'd some rangers do [there was no way she would ever compliment her own - still not forgiving him for getting her captured...she shoved the rest of those thoughts away too though not before a light lit her eyes]. An hour had passed already and though she'd found a few rabbits in clear aim of her bow, they hadn't been one of those three. Either they'd been off trail, a different color, larger, or something else. Not one of the thousands she'd seen matched either one of those three blasted rabits. Where the heck were they?
She scowled as she wiped the sweat off her brow, then froze as she thought she heard the crunch of some leaves. And there it was. Dared she hope?
Upon further inspection, she saw that indeed it was! It fit that second one down to the ears; she was sure of it! Concentrating, she kept to the edge of the small field and carefully drew her bow and took aim. She went through the steps within a split second, but before she had time to release, the rabbit was gone. It hadn't smelled her for she was downwind. No, a stupid hawk had flown in and grabbed it from her. Her face turned murderous as she dashed into the clearing and released her arrow after the trail of the hawk. She glared as it flew, daring it to not strike. Stupid arrow called her bluff and she watched in scorn as the hawk took her dinner. Scowling, she slung her bow around her chest and made her way back to her mentor. There wasn't any use tracking the other rabbits. He'd told her she had to bring in all of them. Dangit, she was hungry.
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Post by JezusBagels on Sept 14, 2009 14:54:52 GMT -5
Monkuta sat up from his reclined position, intrigue on his face as Marina entered the clearing in front of the cabin. He looked up at the sky. The sky was painted orange and pink with the pre-evening lights. Then he quickly glanced through the window. A segment of the deer he'd caught swiping at Jaeado's apples earlier was almost done roasting inside. He stood and walked to the middle of the clearing to meet her. No rabbits. She had that 'classic' scowl on her face. He'd expected that.
He gave her a light smile and put a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, well. Can't win 'em all, right? You can try again tomorrow. On the upside, dinner's almost ready and I can tell by the look on your face that your exhausted."
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Post by ivory on Sept 14, 2009 15:07:26 GMT -5
Her scowl only worsened. "I had the stupid thing in my sights and then that, that stupid bird..." she trailed off seething. "And I'm not hungry," she added as she walked past him and into the house, trying to ignore her growling stomach. In truth, she thought she was starving, but she hadn't completed the task so wasn't going to eat. She'd always had a 'weird' sense of morals, but now, they evolved a bit because of her training. She wasn't one to give up, but would readily accept defeat...until she won. But until then, she wouldn't allow herself the prize offered.
She unstrung her bow and removed the quiver of arrows off her shoulder to set beside her makeshift mat. She'd made it herself and was quite pleased with it. Her lessons as a Lady had paid off in this area - she had to say, it looked better than Monkuta's [at least, in her mind].
He was right about her being exhausted, but she had chores to do so didn't lay down to rest her sore body. The day's exercises had been exhaustive but quite fun. Still, she had her duties despite how tempting that 'mound of straw' looked...
With an inward sigh, she started for the door again, about to head out to brush down her horse for the night.
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Post by JezusBagels on Sept 14, 2009 15:28:31 GMT -5
Monkuta sat on the small steps leading up to the porch, head resting on his right knuckles as he watched Marina scrub down her pony. Her stubbornness would be the end of her, he knew. "You need to eat," he said. "You're a growing girl and you've been working all day. You can't be a Ranger if you die of starvation." His voice had a monotone of disinterest in it, a habit he'd developed early on in life when things didn't go as planned. Why did she always have to do this when she messed up?
And he thought he was going to have peace tonight.
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Post by ivory on Sept 23, 2009 15:24:47 GMT -5
"I'm not going to starve to death if I skip one meal," she skoffed, but headed over there all the same. Maybe just a single piece....and of course, that piece turned into a meal. She ate in silence for once, a slight guilt on her shoulders for not having a stronger will. Her thankful stomach made it a little hard for her to be more than slighty mad at herself.
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Post by JezusBagels on Sept 24, 2009 13:46:55 GMT -5
((Can't promise you they'll be greeted with much enthusiasm, but I'm fine with whatever))
Monkuta was relieved to see Marina eat. Sometimes he wondered if she was getting bigger or smaller; all the work she put herself through was taxing on her body. If nothing else, the brat had determination. How long had they been together? A year? He hid his smirk with a bite of dinner as he compared himself to her. He thought he'd matured rather quickly, though he was sure his mentor would disagree. He frowned. His mentor... Her father. He inhaled deeply. Marina did seem to be growing in an odd way recently. Could he be on her mind?
He leaned forward on his elbows and raised a curious brow. "Something on your mind, princess?"
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Post by ivory on Sept 26, 2009 17:12:32 GMT -5
Marina glared at him. She hated being called princess.
Finishing her swallow of food, she said, "Nothing's on my mind. " And nothing was if she didn't think about it. Damn him. She sharpened her glare as she bit off another bite, chewed, swallowed, and then exploded in irritation.
"My father, that's who's bloody on my mind. The nerve of him. You'd think that just one, just one bloody time, he'd-"
She cut herself off in the middle of the sentence as she savagly bit back into the meat, forcing herself to get a grip. She wouldn't lose it, ever. As a ranger, she was supposed to know control and patience. Control and patience, she reminded herself even as he subconscious laughed at her. Control and patience?, it seemed to say, Yeah, right. Good luck with that.
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Post by JezusBagels on Sept 28, 2009 21:19:13 GMT -5
Monkuta stood in silence and made two cups of coffee. So he was troubling her... It had been a long while since either of them had brought it up. Half a year, at least. He sat back down and passed one mug across the table to Marina. Better late than never.
"Talk, princess."
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Post by ivory on Oct 3, 2009 12:19:49 GMT -5
She glared at the use of the word 'princess' again. Why did people always have a tendency to not listen to her?
Grumbling, she played with her food for a while, though she didn't take a bite, before mumbling, "I just want to talk to him."
Stomach twisted in notes, she didn't feel like eating, but neither did she want to leave. Not exactly knowing what to do, she continued to play with her food. She learned to trust Monkuta over the time she'd spent with him, but still had trouble expressing herself. Her adopted parents were fine, she'd just...they'd never understood her and well...she just wasn't comfortable with it...She kept her eyes on her food as around and around it went.
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Post by JezusBagels on Oct 8, 2009 20:36:39 GMT -5
Monkuta frowned thoughtfully. He picked up his own dish and took it to the counter at the edge of the room where it would wait for several hours before he remembered to wash it. He sat back down again and scratched his chin. This was a delicate situation. He hoped that Badger was still alive. If he was, then the two would have a wonderful reunion one day; the kind you read about in books... Or a horrible reunion. Less seen in books, more so in real life.
"What would you say to him?"
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Post by ivory on Oct 9, 2009 17:35:34 GMT -5
Marina gave one of her signature half-shrugs, claiming not knowing and knowing. Of course, she didn't exactly know what she'd say to him, but she didn't want Monkuta to know that. Probably think her stupid. She picked again at her food before realizing that in itself was a dead give away, and moved to clasp her hands in her lap before lifting her chin to stare at him.
"Just ask him some questions...." she trailed off, not particularly wanting to wing such a delicate subject. She half wished that Monkuta would drop the topic, half wished that he didn't, so she gave another one of her half-shrugs. Man, why'd life have to get so complicated?
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Post by JezusBagels on Oct 9, 2009 22:22:49 GMT -5
Monkuta almost rolled his eyes at the girl, but no it wasn't the time or place. She was being stubborn for no good reason. "What questions?" he asked, simply. He would get her to talk eventually. She needed to, for her own good.
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Post by ivory on Oct 20, 2009 18:04:07 GMT -5
Marina gave another one of her half-shrugs, but her walls were weakening slightly in her want to get it off her shoulders. Unfortunately, or luckily, depending on one's outlook, there was a clamor of hooves coming up the lane before she could voice her thoughts. Quickly grabbing at the excuse, she rushed outside to find a lone man riding at hell's speed toward them. Her hand automaticaly touched her knives and didn't drop until she could see that he wasn't holding a weapon. He didn't look so well though...
"Please, you have to help him! My son, he fell in the ravine! He's stuck!"
Marina was pretty sure he was going to crash the horse into the house, but he managed to pull up at the last second and slide to a stop a few inches from her. She thought she was hiding her half-heart attack quite nicely as she took a gulp and gave a reassuring [or she hoped it was reassuring] nod.
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Post by JezusBagels on Nov 12, 2009 23:52:05 GMT -5
Monkuta rushed outside after Marina, passing her and the man and mounting Jaeado. He'd heard enough.
"Lead the way," he said, riding up beside the newcomer. The man looked panicked. He hoped that the man could remember his way back through the woods. "Marina. Come on. Duty calls. We'll have to finish our little talk later." He pulled back on Jaeado, changing directions, but turned back to Marina and finished with, "and we will talk later."
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