~The next day~
"Hey! Come back! I'm not gunna hurt you! I just wanna talk!"Â
A tall elezen, dark skin, dark hair, and wearing the crest that denoted him to be a Sergeant in the Twin Adder - was running after Ja'ren as fast as he could go. The man had seen Ja'ren in the forest the past few days, and was continually impressed with the boy's archery. He had yet to see the kid miss, and noticed he seemed to have some sort of sixth sense about where things were. Nothing caught him off guard, at least, as far as he had seen. The boy was perfect, and could be a great asset to the Adders, if only he could catch him to convince him of this.
Sadly, the boy was getting away, Ja'ren had climbed straight up a large tree well before the Sergeant had even gotten within earshot, and was leaping from branch-to-branch tree-to-tree with little effort. He was being led by a large red squirrel, the two seemed to be working together to escape the man pursuing them. "I said wait! Please! I'm not-"
The boy was gone. Vanished into the greenery that made up the canopy of the Shroud's forest. Why had the kid run off like that? He hadn't draw a weapon, nor had he made any sort of threat. Was the kid just jumpy? Or was there another reason? The elezen rubbed his forehead, trying to think of how to find the boy, when it hit him. The Alchemist - he would know where the kid was, or at least be able to help find him. That old coot always knew everything of interest about the goings-on in the forest, so he set out for the man's hut at a brisk pace.
It took a few minutes, longer than the Sergeant had anticipated, the path to the Alchemist's hut was overgrown with various plants, and the man didn't think it was wise to cut them down to make his path easier. The old man loved his plants, and quickly got into a bad mood if anyone disturbed them. He marched up to the doorway, and was just about to knock when he could hear voices from inside, along with the occasional squeek.
"He came right at me! He -chased- me, old man! What did you do?! Tell them to come get me?!
From the voice, he assumed the one speaking was the boy from earlier, seeing as he knew the Alchemist was much older, unless he had somehow discovered a potion to restore youth. Without knocking, the Sergeant burst through the door, and scanned the room for the mi'qote child, quickly moving towards him upon spotting him.
The minute the door flew open, Ja'ren had his bow up, an arrow knocked, and was aiming it at whoever stepped over the threshold, he hesitated for a moment upon seeing who it was, but once the man started coming for him, his arm locked in place and he snarled. "Stay the hell away from me. I -will- shoot if you take another step, pointy-ears." The Alchemist merely raised an eyebrow at the scene before him. Content to let it play out without interfering.
The Sergeant froze, raising his hands in the air, "I'm not gunna hurt you, kid. I just wanted to convince you to join the Adders. I've seen your skill with that bow, and how you somehow know when things are coming. Hell. You knew I was coming without even -seeing- me. We could use someone like that. Someone who could keep our other recruits out of unnecessary danger."
The boy didn't lower his bow, and gave the man a confused look, his eyes narrowing into slits with suspicion. Convince him to join the Adders? That was wildly convenient given the conversation Ja' had been having with the Alchemist the day prior. He glanced over to the old elezen, who was merely smiling, shaking his head. "Ah' didn't send for 'im, lad. Though it is well timed. I just finished the final touches on that enchantment, as well as made the cloth into an eyepatch for ye', so ye' have no excuse now."
Ja'ren huffed, lowering his bow and placing the arrow back into his quiver. He gave the Sergeant one last glare before marching over to the desk and gathering up the eyepatch for inspection. The Sergeant straightened, suddenly very glad he hadn't snuck up on the boy earlier. "Why the heck do you need an eyepatch? You seem to see well enough."
Ja'ren grumbled, "None of your business," before turning around to stare directly at the man, intending to see how he reacted to the color of the eyes staring him down. The Sergeant took a half step back as the boy's strong gaze bored into him. It felt like the boy wasn't quite looking at him, but at something around the edge of the man's profile. Appearing satisfied, the kid stared directly at the man, giving him a fierce smile. "Just like everyone else. -This- is why I wanted an eyepatch. So people like you would stop staring and freaking out about the color of my eye."
The man shook his head, as if trying to shake the boy's gaze off of him. "I don't care what color your eyes are. What matters to me is how you seem to have some sort of sense when potential danger is coming. We've lost too many good men and women to dangers that could have been avoided."
Ja'ren crossed his arms, after putting the eyepatch over his red eye. "I cannot promise anything."Â
"I don't expect you to. I only expect you to put those skills to use, assuming you join."
Ja' looked over to the Alchemist, who nodded, appearing to give approval for whatever was being asked of him. The catboy looked back over to the Sergeant, then to the squirrel on the windowsill, who also nodded, before sighing, relaxing his shoulders slightly. "Fine. I assume I need to follow you back to the nest to enlist?"
The Sergeant smiled, a wide happy smile, "Yes. Then there's a small form to fill out, a uniform to make.."
"Hey! Come back! I'm not gunna hurt you! I just wanna talk!"Â
A tall elezen, dark skin, dark hair, and wearing the crest that denoted him to be a Sergeant in the Twin Adder - was running after Ja'ren as fast as he could go. The man had seen Ja'ren in the forest the past few days, and was continually impressed with the boy's archery. He had yet to see the kid miss, and noticed he seemed to have some sort of sixth sense about where things were. Nothing caught him off guard, at least, as far as he had seen. The boy was perfect, and could be a great asset to the Adders, if only he could catch him to convince him of this.
Sadly, the boy was getting away, Ja'ren had climbed straight up a large tree well before the Sergeant had even gotten within earshot, and was leaping from branch-to-branch tree-to-tree with little effort. He was being led by a large red squirrel, the two seemed to be working together to escape the man pursuing them. "I said wait! Please! I'm not-"
The boy was gone. Vanished into the greenery that made up the canopy of the Shroud's forest. Why had the kid run off like that? He hadn't draw a weapon, nor had he made any sort of threat. Was the kid just jumpy? Or was there another reason? The elezen rubbed his forehead, trying to think of how to find the boy, when it hit him. The Alchemist - he would know where the kid was, or at least be able to help find him. That old coot always knew everything of interest about the goings-on in the forest, so he set out for the man's hut at a brisk pace.
It took a few minutes, longer than the Sergeant had anticipated, the path to the Alchemist's hut was overgrown with various plants, and the man didn't think it was wise to cut them down to make his path easier. The old man loved his plants, and quickly got into a bad mood if anyone disturbed them. He marched up to the doorway, and was just about to knock when he could hear voices from inside, along with the occasional squeek.
"He came right at me! He -chased- me, old man! What did you do?! Tell them to come get me?!
From the voice, he assumed the one speaking was the boy from earlier, seeing as he knew the Alchemist was much older, unless he had somehow discovered a potion to restore youth. Without knocking, the Sergeant burst through the door, and scanned the room for the mi'qote child, quickly moving towards him upon spotting him.
The minute the door flew open, Ja'ren had his bow up, an arrow knocked, and was aiming it at whoever stepped over the threshold, he hesitated for a moment upon seeing who it was, but once the man started coming for him, his arm locked in place and he snarled. "Stay the hell away from me. I -will- shoot if you take another step, pointy-ears." The Alchemist merely raised an eyebrow at the scene before him. Content to let it play out without interfering.
The Sergeant froze, raising his hands in the air, "I'm not gunna hurt you, kid. I just wanted to convince you to join the Adders. I've seen your skill with that bow, and how you somehow know when things are coming. Hell. You knew I was coming without even -seeing- me. We could use someone like that. Someone who could keep our other recruits out of unnecessary danger."
The boy didn't lower his bow, and gave the man a confused look, his eyes narrowing into slits with suspicion. Convince him to join the Adders? That was wildly convenient given the conversation Ja' had been having with the Alchemist the day prior. He glanced over to the old elezen, who was merely smiling, shaking his head. "Ah' didn't send for 'im, lad. Though it is well timed. I just finished the final touches on that enchantment, as well as made the cloth into an eyepatch for ye', so ye' have no excuse now."
Ja'ren huffed, lowering his bow and placing the arrow back into his quiver. He gave the Sergeant one last glare before marching over to the desk and gathering up the eyepatch for inspection. The Sergeant straightened, suddenly very glad he hadn't snuck up on the boy earlier. "Why the heck do you need an eyepatch? You seem to see well enough."
Ja'ren grumbled, "None of your business," before turning around to stare directly at the man, intending to see how he reacted to the color of the eyes staring him down. The Sergeant took a half step back as the boy's strong gaze bored into him. It felt like the boy wasn't quite looking at him, but at something around the edge of the man's profile. Appearing satisfied, the kid stared directly at the man, giving him a fierce smile. "Just like everyone else. -This- is why I wanted an eyepatch. So people like you would stop staring and freaking out about the color of my eye."
The man shook his head, as if trying to shake the boy's gaze off of him. "I don't care what color your eyes are. What matters to me is how you seem to have some sort of sense when potential danger is coming. We've lost too many good men and women to dangers that could have been avoided."
Ja'ren crossed his arms, after putting the eyepatch over his red eye. "I cannot promise anything."Â
"I don't expect you to. I only expect you to put those skills to use, assuming you join."
Ja' looked over to the Alchemist, who nodded, appearing to give approval for whatever was being asked of him. The catboy looked back over to the Sergeant, then to the squirrel on the windowsill, who also nodded, before sighing, relaxing his shoulders slightly. "Fine. I assume I need to follow you back to the nest to enlist?"
The Sergeant smiled, a wide happy smile, "Yes. Then there's a small form to fill out, a uniform to make.."
