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Post by Brandwyn on Sept 4, 2011 21:59:51 GMT -5
Tory had just gotten her notebook and was waiting for Dian to grab hers when she thought she heard her mentor’s name, “Tandar, wait up,” As she and Dian were leaving the camp to go look at the class listings she spotted Tandar hugging a pretty ranger that Tory had never met before. They appeared to be pretty friendly, but no more so than any of the other rangers around here were toward others.
The rangers as a whole seemed to be a band of brothers and sisters that looked out for each other and within that there were little groups of rangers that were closer friends. Tory suspected it may be because they were apprentices at the same time or shared some common adventure or danger. She knew she would likely be closer to Mylia than any other ranger through her own career in the future.
She shrugged off her curiosity over Tandar’s friend, even though the girl was very pretty and Tandar seemed to light up when he saw her, and just chalked it up to being an old friendship. Surely if it was anything more, he wouldn’t have gotten so involved with Brandwyn. She pushed thoughts of Tandar’s friends and girlfriend out of her mind and hurried off to see the class listings. She wanted to have time to see the new ranger horses before Bunt came back and they had lunch.
She quickly picked out the classes she wanted to take, having to agonize for a couple of minutes when certain ones were offered at the same time and then jotted down her choices in her journal.
Then they dashed over to Old Bob’s camp and took a look at the horses he had brought. There were a variety of colors and sizes, though most were fairly small and shaggy looking. A paint colt caught her eye and Tory lured him over with an apple. At least she tried to. The horse longed to take the apple, Tory could tell, but its training told it not to accept anything from a person that didn’t know the password. This was to keep the horse from being stolen from the ranger. In the end even Tory’s way with horses didn’t prevail and Tory tossed the apple into the center of the new horses and sighed. She was glad she had Chip which reminded her that she had wanted to go riding after lunch. With Ringulf’s class, though, it didn’t look like that was going to happen till after dinner – if then. Probably not then, since they were going to be getting ready for the bet and those silly games on the morrow.
“So Dian, you get to pick one of these lovely horses for your own later today right before dinner, apparently.” Tory observed. “Actually it is more like they choose you, really. Each has their own personality, you know. Have you ridden horses much?”
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dian
Apprentice Scribe
this status thing reminds me of Facebook
Posts: 100
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Post by dian on Sept 20, 2011 19:08:17 GMT -5
Dian wasn't paying much attention to what Tandar had been doing until she saw Tory being a bit distracted. She saw nothing wrong, just friends meeting up. Maybe it meant something different for Tory, she was his apprentice at one point, but she didn't bother that. The two continued to the listing where Dian tapped her chin trying to decide which courses she wanted. When she figured out a few that she did, she scrawled them down
Gilan’s knife fighting / throwing Class Ringulf’s Axes, Saxes and Pointy Sticks Class
Halt’s Alternative Persuasion Techniques Class Old Bob’s Talking to your Horse Class
Rick’s Covering your tracks Class Tory’s Mounted Archery Class
As a second thought she added the one by will treaty.
They were just a rough Idea, she might decide to cut one or another later, but Tori was already moving towards the horses Old Bob had brought. Dian dashed after her, and caught up with Tori just as she tried to get one of the Ranger ponies to come to her. An apple in her hand, but none came. They must have been trained very well if they won't go for an apple Dian thought looking through the horses. All of them were so... she didn't have a word to describe the horses. She just knew she liked them.
“So Dian, you get to pick one of these lovely horses for your own later today right before dinner, apparently.” Tory observed. “Actually it is more like they choose you, really. Each has their own personality, you know. Have you ridden horses much?”
"I've ridden horses a bit," Dian replied, "Though most were a bit bigger then these ones, but not even close to battle horse size. I use to ride when my father brought me along for 'boring appointments' or something like that." She looked through the horses, none caught her eye just yet, but then again, she wasn't very close to them. "So, if the horse picks you..." Dian tried to phrase what she was thinking, it made much more sense in her head then in words, "How exactly does that work out? They can't be anything like normal horses if they can choose their rider."
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Post by Brandwyn on Sept 22, 2011 14:36:19 GMT -5
Heather seemed to have a pensive look on her face, Rick noticed as she stared off in the direction Ben had gone. Rick wondered just what was on her mind, other than the pain he knew she was hiding. He poured some hot water into a mug and dumped in some herbs and handed it to her.
"Hey Heather! Sorry if we woke you, being so noisy out here. Nope. No idea. Didn't know he was here." Pip replied. Rab shook his head, and pulled the last camp stool over in a silent invitation for her to take a seat, if she wanted to. He'd said enough for now, he figured.
“That’s okay Rab, someone was supposed to wake me at lunch time.” Heather gave Rick a look and then gingerly sat on the pro-offered camp stool. She sniffed at the mug and set it aside, figuring Rick had put some more stuff in it to make her sleep. She gave him a warning with her eyes and he looked at her innocently, “What? It is just something for the pain, that’s all,” Rick said defensively, but she noticed that the corners of his mouth were twitching from the smile he was trying to hide. She got up and pulled out her own mug and a carefully wrapped packet of cocoa mixed with dried milk and poured some of it into her mug and filled it with hot water. Then she sat back down next to Rab and watched as Rick prepared reeds and fletches for his arrow making class that was due to start in a couple of hours. Her tummy was rumbling with hunger and she hoped Rab and Pippen couldn’t hear it as she sipped her hot chocolate.
Shortly after Bunt, Ringulf and another apprentice came striding into camp talking about some moldy old body they found in a pit. Heather only paid half attention to the conversation going on around her. She was still trying to sort out her feelings and being so close to them all made it even more difficult, as it was for every Gathering. She noticed Rick was also rather quiet and kept shooting her glances when he thought she wasn’t looking. She felt like she was back in the apprenticeship during her first year.
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Back at the pit, Bunt made sure Ivy was uninjured and then his curiosity got the better of him, especially when Al asked Ringulf, "So Ringulf," he began, "what's with the skeleton? That's a Skandian helmet; did they raid here at some point? I didn't think they usually came this far inland for raids." This skeleton had raised a lot of questions in the young apprentice's mind. He knew Skandian raids were generally along the coast, but the gear next to the skeleton was that of a Ranger. This posed another problem, however. Why would a Ranger be so easily trapped in a pit like this? Surely he must have seen it. He could only hope the older Rangers could figure out more about the mysterious skeleton.
If Ringulf had planted the body, he was doing a good job of hiding it and playing along, so Bunt decided to satisfy his curiosity. If it was a hoax, he could claim he knew all along and was just putting on a show for the youngsters. He tied off the end of the rope to a tree and descended into the hole. He looked around on the ground but didn’t find anything interesting besides the skeleton and the helmet. There was a spear tip and the rotting remains of a quiver and double knife scabbard that appeared Ivy had already made note of, but nothing else that Bunt could see. He had been hoping for a journal, but there didn’t seem to be much in the way of fabric or leather that had survived the damp ground and bugs.
Taking off his cloak, he spread it on the ground and carefully lay the deceased in it, helmet and all and wrapped it up. Gently tying the rope around the remains, he hollered for Ringulf and Al to hoist the body up. Then they threw the rope down and he climbed back out of the pit. He saw the silver leaf hanging around the bony neck of the body and looked it over. ‘Truth'… “now why does that sound familiar?” he muttered under his breath. Then he looked at Ringulf suspiciously, wondering if he might be playing a trick on him. No, more likely it was Crowley playing some sort of trick. Bunt just wished he could remember who ‘it was that had engraved that word on his silver leaf.
They left the body, wrapped in Bunt’s cloak and headed back to camp, after Bunt made a slight detour to wash his hands in the stream. The camp seemed to be crowded, Bunt noted and quickly scanned the area for his new apprentice. She wasn’t there and he scowled. He nodded to Rick, who seemed to attract people like honey attracted flies as he limped over to his camp and quickly prepared lunch for everyone, setting some aside for Tory and Dian. He could see them now, over by Ole Bob’s camp and the scowl erased from his face. Leave it to Tory to run off to the horses first chance she got. He didn’t know the girl real well, but he’d seen enough when she’d been in Caraway recovering to know that she was drawn to the horses and couldn’t help herself. Several times they had thought she had been safely tucked away in bed, resting, only to find her out in the pasture sitting on the ground with the horses crowded around her like they were all holding a natural conversation.
She and Dian were heading back to camp now, it appeared. Bunt didn’t say a word as they strode back, but just handed them a plate of sausage slices and some cheese with some bread slathered with honey and butter. Then he sat back in his own camp chair and ate his lunch, enjoying the camaraderie in the camp and trying to figure out who the ranger in the pit was and what had happened to the man.
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"I've ridden horses a bit," Dian replied, "Though most were a bit bigger then these ones, but not even close to battle horse size. I use to ride when my father brought me along for 'boring appointments' or something like that." She looked through the horses, none caught her eye just yet, but then again, she wasn't very close to them. "So, if the horse picks you..." Dian tried to phrase what she was thinking, it made much more sense in her head then in words, "How exactly does that work out? They can't be anything like normal horses if they can choose their rider."
Tory listened and then cocked her head at the question, “My father lets me ride old Dodger, his old battle horse. He is a handful, even at twenty something years old. I think he is a lot of fun though.” She was thinking back to the last time she had ridden him and that was when she had run away from Meric and followed the ranger that had become her first mentor, Patrick Palisade. She kept her mind on the present conversation with an effort and said, “Well, they are just regular horses, but they are very smart. I didn’t have much of a choice though, since Patrick actually picked up Chip and brought him to me. But I have heard stories from some of the other rangers and apprentices and it seems that the horses kind of check you out. Those that are interested stick around but the ones who are not go back to grazing or whatever.” Tory didn’t think she was doing a very good job answering Dian’s question.
“I think it is kind of like picking a puppy out of a litter. You play with the bunch of them, but there seems to be one that pays more attention to you than the others, know what I mean?” She asked Dian, “and you kind of start to build a relationship with that puppy just by playing with it and eventually that is the one you pick and that puppy has already picked you because it was already playing with you. It sounds like the horses kind of do the same thing. Almost a mutual attraction kind of thing from what I have heard.” Tory shrugged.
“Oh well, looks like Bunt got Ivy out of the hole. Guess we better get some lunch before we have to scoot off to class. Is it Ringulf’s class up first?” Tory consulted her notebook, “Nope, Gilan’s class is first. Cool! I hope he teaches us some new stuff besides just throwing knives at stationery targets. I can already do that from the back of Chip at a full gallop.” She grinned at Dian as they walked back toward camp.
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Post by Firehead on Sept 22, 2011 15:27:19 GMT -5
Mylia left Pepper to the task of talking Dustin into the Three-way War idea, and went to find Tory and Dian. She found the two of them looking at the herd old Bob had brought with him, and talking, predictably enough, about horses. The two appeared to be engrossed in their conversation, so she turned away after a smile and a wave and went to hunt up a fellow third year appreentice whom she hadn't seen yet.
She found Sammy at his camp braiding a horse bridle while his mentor, John Skate, made a late lunch over the fire. "Hullo, Sam." she greeted, taking a seat beside him. He gave her a low response than stopped what he was doing to glare at her. "I know what your thinking, now quit it!"
She gave him a grin and shook her head slowly.
"I know, I know--Believe me, I know--I am never going to live down my name. There are some days I wish that my parents never had a last name."
Her grin widened. "You could always change it, you know."
"It's my family name, and I feel a certain obligation to carry it and pass it on to the next generation of children, heaven help them. It's just I sometimes wish it was different, is all."
"Better than some." remarked his mentor. Mylia continued to grin at him. "He's right." She glanced around and decided it was time to present herself back to her own mentor for the day. "I hope you'll come to Ringulf's class."
"Wouldn't miss it." he mumbled, already focused back on his work. "I've always wanted to get my brains bashed in by a big Skandian hulk with an axe."
Mylia grinned at Sam's dry humor. "See you around...." she flashed him a wicked grin, and he rolled his eyes at her, knowing what was coming, "...Sam Bumpkin." ------------
Ben sat between Heather and Pippen, studying his flute. All at once he cracked a smile and gave a low, warm chuckle of ammusement. Lokking up at the others, who were all staring at him--a smile from him was rare, a laugh was even rarer--he asked, "What d'you think Gilan will do if he hears me playing this?"
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Post by Brandwyn on Oct 13, 2011 22:18:15 GMT -5
Heather was still sitting by the fire some time later after they had eaten lunch when Ben came walking up with Red and Tam. She smiled up at Ben and rubbed her shoulder absentmindedly. Had she just caught a strange look on Rick’s face as Ben sat down next to her?
“Hi Ben,” Heather greeted him and then went back to her brooding.
Ben sat between Heather and Pippen, studying his flute. All at once he cracked a smile and gave a low, warm chuckle of amusement. Looking up at the others, who were all staring at him--a smile from him was rare, a laugh was even rarer--he asked, "What d'you think Gilan will do if he hears me playing this?”
Heather looked up at Ben at his chuckle and then wondered what he meant by his question and what it was that had struck him as being funny. “I dunno.” Heather answered. “Tease you about playing a girlie flute?” She liked his playing, however. It was much better than Rick’s, though she had always been careful not to express that opinion out loud. She could play the pan pipes, which she had made out of reeds, but not with her shoulder like it was currently.
She liked to hear him play and she liked to play with Rick and Ben, but she didn’t feel up to it this day. “Play something, Ben. I love to listen to your music.” She smiled at him. “Then tell me what you have been up to lately. We haven’t talked much at all since the last Gathering.”
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Post by Firehead on Oct 14, 2011 9:27:35 GMT -5
“I dunno.” Heather answered. “Tease you about playing a girlie flute?”
Pippen gave a laugh. "He'll try to shoot you is what he'll do--he hates flutes. Ever since he and Halt and Will went out on the Solitary Plains after those Wargals. And what's more, I know you know that."
Ben gave Pip a shoulder shrug in reply, though the twinkle of mirth still sparkled in his eyes, and one corner of his mouth was still curled upwards in a half-smile.
Heather spoke up. “Play something, Ben. I love to listen to your music.” She smiled at him. “Then tell me what you have been up to lately. We haven’t talked much at all since the last Gathering.”
Ben debated saying 'How can I possibly refuse?' and decided against it. One, it sounded corny, and two, there were too many other people around for him to be comfortable in making that statement. Instead, he simply raised the flute to his lips and began playing "Green-trees", an old backwoods favorite...and one of Heather's as well. ------------------
Meanwhile, Tam sat away from the others, by himself, struggling to read his way through the strategy assignment given by Will. Reading this is an assignment by itself! he thought, as he finished working his way through the first assignment. Since he had a choice of assignments, he read the second one, chose to do it, and then labored to write his answer in a half-ways legible scrawl.
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Post by Firehead on Nov 7, 2011 15:30:00 GMT -5
Pippen had been thoroughly enjoying the flute playing, when she got called away by another Ranger. "Crowley's looking for you."
Wonderful.
And so, here she was, meeting with Crowley. "Hello. Looking for me?" He battered her eyes giving him her best I'm flattered expression.
Crowley rolled his eyes at her rediculousness, and said, "Yeah. I'm looking for you."
"Still? My, my. I'm better at this hidden movement stuff than I thought!"
"Listen, Pipsqueak!"
At the sound of that hated nickname, Pippen frowned. Crowley kept talking, knowing that he had her full attention now. "Sober up!"
"I am. I haven't had a drink all day!" She protested, teasing Crowley deliberately.
Crowley glowered at her, hands on hips. "You know what I meant, missy."
Pippen heaved a sighed and and dropped the silly expressions. "Alright." she said, giving him a mournful look.
"I have something for you to do."
Pippen immediately perked up. "Really?" she clasped both hands benieth her chin and gave him a hopeful, excited smile. "You want me to teach someone the Dead-Man Drag?"
Crowley winced, and shoke his head quickly, adding an emphatic "No!"
Pippen went back to the sad face. "Aw."
"I think it's time you had your own apprentice."
She beamed at him. "Really? Oh Crowley, I'm anything but flattered!"
He shot her a double take, then decided the best course was to ignore her teasing. "Halt's brought a nice young lad in with him, name of Gedric. You'll like him."
"I'm sure we'll get along fantastically."
"Oh, I'm sure you will."
Pippen dropped her pleasent smile. "You snake."
This time Crowley grinned broadly. "No I'm not--I'm a Crow."
"Ohh, good one. I'll be sure to pass that one onto Red--he's sre to think of something to enliven your day."
Crowley's smile dimmed at the mention of Red, but he merely responded, "I'm sure he will. In the menatime, you can go meet your new apprentice. He's right over there. Oh, and Pippen?"
Pippen, who had been about to walk over to where the...her...new apprentice stood, turned back. "Yes?"
"Try not to kill him."
Pippen beamed at him, a smile that said, I make no promises. Crowley turned away ureasured, and Pippen walked over to greet...her...new apprentice. "Hello. I'm Pippen--you can call me Pip if you want. You heard what Crowley said, yes? Yes. Well, then, you call me Pipsqueak, and you will die. I'm sure we'll get along famously. What's your full name? How long have you been with Halt? I need to know how many bad habits he's given to you, yes?"
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Post by Tandar on Nov 7, 2011 20:55:33 GMT -5
“Mylia!” Tandar called. He jogged after her following the axe throwing class that Ringulf had hosted. “I picked up a letter for you on my way to the Gathering Grounds.” Polaris lifted the flap on his satchel and rummaged around momentarily, finally pulling out a sealed envelope bearing the apprentice’s name on the front. “It’s from Aribjorn,” Tandar explained as he handed it to Mylia.
"By the way, excellent work with the axes, kiddo." He gave her a pat on the back before turning to leave.
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Post by shadowshutter on Nov 8, 2011 0:42:56 GMT -5
Gedric had heard all the conversation between Crowley an his new mentor Pippen- the mysterious girl Halt had talked about- I think the best mentor for you is Pipsqeak- I mean Pippen this will make you both good Halt had said Gedric could not see why they choosed her :she had said Crowley she didn't want an apprentice. Gedric hadn't seen Pippen until she came near to him and asked "Hello. I'm Pippen--you can call me Pip if you want. You heard what Crowley said, yes? Yes. Well, then, you call me Pipsqueak, and you will die. I'm sure we'll get along famously. What's your full name? How long have you been with Halt? I need to know how many bad habits he's given to you, yes?" The answer was easy : "Gedric son of Ulhart is my name, my lady" "And I have spent two years hosted by Halt until I reached the age of 15 ang be able of having mentor, my lady" "She was beautiful and her appearence had something exotic" he thought and waited patiently for her response
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Post by Ringulf on Nov 8, 2011 13:41:50 GMT -5
A horse and rider Galloped at breakneck speed. The dust behind them being kicked up was looking like a plume of smoke. A young man was urging the horse to move at top speed to get to the woody enclave that he knew to be the site of the Gathering. He past several young rangers who stood and shot whistling arrows at the camps message post. Crowley looked up at the quivering shaft after the high pitch whistle and thud caught his attention.
"What in Blazes is going on now?!" he said, as he looked down toward the turn in the road to see the sorrel and rider covered in foam and sweat.
The young man hauled up right in front of him and lept almost fell of the tired horse. He fell to his knees and Crowley grabbed him by the scruff of his hood and hauled him up.
"What is going on here Ranger?" he growled fearing the worse.
"I....I... Have a... a...message...from headquarters...Sir! He said and handed the sealed leather tube to the Commandant.
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Post by Firehead on Nov 9, 2011 7:56:45 GMT -5
Mylia was making her way back towrad the encampment, when she heard someone behind her call her name. “Mylia!”
She stopped and turned to see Tandar jogging towrad her. "Hullo, Tandar."
“I picked up a letter for you on my way to the Gathering Grounds.” Polaris lifted the flap on his satchel and rummaged around momentarily, finally pulling out a sealed envelope bearing the apprentice’s name on the front. “It’s from Aribjorn,” Tandar explained as he handed it to Mylia.
Mylia's face lit up, as she eagerly accepted the letter. "Oh, Thank you!"
"By the way, excellent work with the axes, kiddo." He gave her a pat on the back before turning to leave.
"Which part? The lousey showing at 'Siege', or the backstreet style?" ---------------------------------------------------------------
"Gedric son of Ulhart is my name, my lady" "And I have spent two years hosted by Halt until I reached the age of 15 ang be able of having mentor, my lady"
Pippen had drawn breath to ask Gedric if he had a last name, but at the mention of having been with Halt for two years, her previous question fled her mind. "Two years?!" She gave Gedric a look of shocked horror as she repeated herself. "Two years? You would have been thirteen--you could have started back then. Why didn't he want to keep you?"
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Post by shadowshutter on Nov 9, 2011 8:06:36 GMT -5
"Halt is getting old and can't handle an apprentice, my lady" Gedric said Halt had told him the same thing when he had asked him.
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Nov 9, 2011 18:50:41 GMT -5
Enya sat down on a rock staying quiet, She did not know anyone yet and she was kinda shy. looking around some she sighed To her it seemed that everyone at lest had one friend here. Enya on the other hand was shy around new people. With a soft sigh Enya looked up at the sky.
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Post by Brandwyn on Nov 9, 2011 20:27:41 GMT -5
Heather was listening to Ben play one of her favorites on his flute and looking around the grounds. She spotted a young girl with long black hair who was wearing a purple shirt and sitting all alone looking rather depressed and lost.
"Now who's apprentice is she and why did they leave her all alone like that?" Heather muttered under her breath. When Ben finished she said softly, "I'll be right back, save my seat!"
Heather flitted lightly over to the girl and then deliberately stepped on a stick while still 10 feet away so she wouldn't startle the poor thing out of her wits by sneaking up on her.
"Hi, I'm Heather, I take it this is your first Gathering?" She asked as she walked up with a smile on her face. She adjusted her elbow in the sling and rubbed her sore shoulder absent-mindedly. "We have three girls about your age in our camp, would you like to join us? Ben is playing the flute and Rick is getting ready to teach fletching arrows as soon as the axe throwing class is over. I think the girls will be back for that. I am afraid I don't know either of them all that well because I think it is their first Gathering too, though Tory is a little bit older than you from what I hear."
Heather gestured over to the group of rangers lounging around Rick's fire. "So what's your name and whose your mentor?"
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Enya
Apprentice Scribe
Posts: 109
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Post by Enya on Nov 9, 2011 20:35:57 GMT -5
Enya blinked and looked at her "uh, Hello."Enya said with a soft smile " My names Enya May.. And yeah its my first time.. And i don't have a mentor yet" She added with a sigh " I don't really get along well with others..most then to make fun of my scars" She said looking down her black hair hidding the scar running from the corner of her left eye to her chin.
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