[center][h1][color=orange][b]K A L M A R[/b][/color][/h1][/center][center][h1][color=DE33FF][b]M E L A N T H A[/b][/color][/h1][/center][hr][hr][color=orange]“First thing’s first,”[/color] Kalmar began aloud. What he said next, however, came directly from within Melantha’s mind. [color=orange]“It will be easier if we speak telepathically.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“Whoa,”[/color] Melantha yelped, barely managing to retain her balance and almost tripping due to the suddenness with which Kalmar switched from vocal to telepathic speech. [color=DE33FF]“You can do that?!”[/color] The bewilderment on her face was evident.

[color=orange]“Yes. Just think of me, and think your next thoughts as if you’re saying it directly to me, but don’t speak it out loud.”[/color] Kalmar’s voice continued. As he ‘spoke’, he looked back to see if she was alright, but his mouth remained closed the entire time. 

This time around she was somewhat prepared for it and thus was not as taken aback by the telepathy. Melantha fiddled with her ear in annoyance and thought about what he said. [i]Think about him…”[/i] 

She looked at Kalmar’s face as he was turned around and her eyes instantly homed in on his moustache. Dominant as it was on his face, it had more or less become a defining feature of Kalmar in her mind, and she found herself instantly remembering his face whenever she thought about his moustache, a nice little trick she had found in order to make sure she would never forget how he looked.

As she focused on holding the picture in her mind, she thought the words she wanted to say instead of saying them out loud. [color=DE33FF]“Hello hello. One-two-three, anybody there?”[/color]

[color=orange]“You did it,”[/color] Kalmar informed her with a slight smile. [color=orange]”Well done.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“It seems really tiring though, to be honest. Why do we need to communicate like this, anyway?[/color]

[color=orange]“When hunting, silence is key. If we are speaking, the animals will hear us and flee the area. It will also be helpful if we ever end up too far away from each other to hear through normal means…”[/color] he paused. [color=orange]“Why were you staring at my moustache?”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“No particular reason…”[/color] Melantha said, brushing his question off and quickly changing the topic. [color=DE33FF]“So what are we going to hunt? Have you decided?”[/color] She asked and moved to walk next to him as they traversed the forested areas at the foot of the mountain.

[color=orange]“Depends on what we find,”[/color] Kalmar answered. [color=orange]“We start by looking for tracks. If you look behind you, you will see that you leave footprints. Animals do too. They also kick aside leaves and snap branches. Look for any minor disturbances on the ground.”[/color]

Melantha peered behind them and located their footprints, letting out an exclamation, roughly understanding what Kalmar meant by saying ‘tracks’. She then looked around them for anything remotely similar to what he had described. [color=DE33FF]“Yeah, I don’t see how you can differentiate between leaves blown away by the wind and random fallen branches, and leaves and branches displaced by animals moving over or around them. It all looks the same to me…”[/color] she said with a furrow in her brow.

[color=orange]“When leaves are blown by the wind, they rest lightly against whatever surface they land on, and are easily blown again. When leaves are stepped on by animals, they are flattened and pressed against whatever surface they were on. As for branches… if multiple branches in a row have all been snapped in a similar way, then that’s a sign. Branches don’t usually snap unless stepped on anyway.”[/color] Kalmar informed her.

[color=DE33FF]“Right…”[/color] Melantha said in an absent manner, more concentrated on discovering tracks like the ones Kalmar spoke of. They walked for a couple of minutes more, Melantha scanning the area all the while before her eyes finally locking onto a particular section of the ground behind a nearby tree. She quickly ran behind that tree, coming to kneel on the wet soil beside the spot. Some leaves were covering it, but Melantha had noticed that there was a particular groove that had formed in the ground. She picked up the leaves, revealing a strange duo of marks under. [color=DE33FF]“Something like this?”[/color]

[color=orange]“No,”[/color] Kalmar said as he stepped beside her and knelt. He cleared away some more leaves. [color=orange]“A branch or a rock fell here,”[/color] he concluded, rising to his feet, [color=orange]“from a height tall enough to cause an indentation in the ground. No animal did this.”[/color] Kalmar raised his eyebrows, and then suddenly he turned, to begin clearing twigs and branches away with his foot. [color=orange]“But this…”[/color] beneath was a large paw print with four toes. [color=orange]“Now we found something.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“Oh I see,”[/color] Melantha said and shuffled closer to where Kalmar pointed at. She observed the footprint, its curves and contours, memorizing it in her mind for future reference. [color=DE33FF]“What kind of animal leaves such a print?”[/color]

[color=orange]“A wolf,”[/color] Kalmar revealed. [color=orange]“Like Fenris, but smaller.”[/color]

[i]A wolf…[/i] She looked a little further up to find another, very similar footprint. While the previous one generally leant towards the left, this new one leant towards the right, so Melantha reasoned that the previous one must have been a footprint of the wolf’s right paw and this one was from the left one,  an observation she voiced for Kalmar to confirm. Seeing him nodding his head in assent encouraged her to continue looking for those footprints, and soon enough she found herself following a trail of footprints through bushes and scrubs.

Kalmar followed her in silence, a silence he only occasionally broke to help her out or correct her if she made a mistake. Then, suddenly, he grabbed her arm to stop her from moving any further. [color=orange]”Wait,”[/color] he said. 

[color=DE33FF]“What?”[/color] She asked, the abruptness of his act surprising her somewhat.

[color=orange]“A pack of them isn’t far. Listen. Concentrate, and try to sense them.”[/color] Melantha perked her ears as his words registered in her mind. [i]A pack?[/i] She stayed quiet, limiting her movements in order to have as clear of sound quality as possible. Her breathing slowed down, and that’s when she heard them. Faint whimpers and yells, strange sounds coming from unfamiliar, to her, creatures coming from some distance to the west of them. [color=DE33FF]“I hear them![/color] she proclaimed happily. [color=DE33FF]“Maybe six? Seven tops. What do you reckon we do?”[/color]

[color=orange]“They are coming closer,”[/color] Kalmar realized. [color=orange]“Which means we must prepare.”[/color] He pulled out a fistful of arrows and pressed them into the dirt next to Melantha, so she would have ready access to them. Then, a metal knife appeared in his hand. [color=orange]“Get ready.”[/color]

Grabbing Kalmar’s bow she had put over her shoulder as well as one of the arrows, the fledgeling archer braced herself. She nocked the arrow and assumed a relatively relaxed position that allowed her a good amount of maneuverability. Should multiple wolves attack her from more than one direction, she would be ready.

The wolves appeared within sight, in their black, brown, and grey furs. They moved slowly, silently, and menacingly. There were seven of them in total, and they began to spread out, no doubt hoping to circle what they thought would be their prey.

[color=orange]”Shoot,”[/color] Kalmar urged Melantha. And shoot she did. The first arrow took them by surprise, evidently, it was their first time encountering beings that used weapons, and Melantha did not waste her chance. Finding its target in one of the eye sockets of one of the larger canines among the pack, the arrow dug deep into its skull, penetrating its brain and killing it immediately. The wolf’s body fell down with a thud, eliciting a few yelps from its packmates.

When they realized their prey was fighting back, the wolves broke into a charge, clearly intending to close the distance and thus render Melantha’s bow useless. With knife in hand, Kalmar dashed forward, swinging the blade and cutting through the side of the lead creature with a deep, efficient, and brutal slash. The other wolves circled around to surround him, ignoring Melantha for the time being.

Unfortunately, that kind of strategy would cost them. Melantha swiftly grabbed another arrow and nocked it, aimed, and shot again in almost mechanical motion. This time the arrow struck one of the wolves in the midsection. The wolf let out a pained whine upon feeling its organs being pierced by the projectile and was launched a few meters sideways following the momentum of the arrow before falling down.

The remaining wolves lunged at Kalmar from all sides. Kalmar sidestepped one, grabbed it, and then swung it into the path of two more, sending the three beasts to the ground. 

The one wolf that still stood came crashing into him from the side. He fell to the ground, the wolf on top of him, but with his godly strength, it was a simple enough matter for him to grab the beast and throw it off.

Having lost three of their own, and been so easily overpowered, the four remaining wolves rose to their feet and scrambled away. Kalmar allowed them to leave, and he turned to Melantha. Both his knife and the hand that held it were stained with blood. [color=orange]“You did well,”[/color] he said to her calmly.

[color=DE33FF]“Huh?”[/color] Kalmar’s words broke the trance-like state she had unknowingly put herself under. With clear eyes now, she stood, leaving the bow on the ground behind her, and looked at Kalmar’s blood-covered visage, the knife he held, as well as the dead wolves on the ground. A shiver ran down her spine as the realization that she had just killed not one, but two beings. Melantha hung her head low and walked silently towards the body of one of the wolves, kneeling down beside it.

She saw the fletching of the arrow peeking above the insertion point in its eye. [i]“Instant death…”[/i] Melantha put her hand on its head and closed her eyes, offering a small prayer to the departing soul. She then stood up and moved towards the other wolf she had shot down.

There was a whine which was swiftly cut off by a slashing sound as Kalmar finished off the wolf he himself had cut during the fight. He looked toward Melantha, watching her actions.

She was suddenly stopped in her tracks, however, as the wolf with the arrow sticking out of it slowly rose its head to look at her. Melantha’s eyes immediately opened wide; the image of the wolf laying there and watching her every move superimposing itself over the image of a wounded Fenris, lying by the lake and watching her all the same. Melantha froze in place as a tide of emotions washed over her. However, just as she felt her eyes start to blur up, an arrow whizzed past and struck the wolf directly in the eye.

Behind her, Kalmar had picked up the bow and was already returning the remaining arrows to his quiver. Melantha turned her head around and glared at him, her face saying more about what she thought than anything she could vocalize at that point.

Kalmar met her gaze as he rose to his feet, his expression one of confusion. [color=orange]“What’s wrong?”[/color] he asked, as he shouldered the bow.

[color=DE33FF]“Do you feel no remorse about killing it like that?”[/color] Melantha replied with a question of her own, trying to understand how Kalmar could so calmly sentence a creature to its death, without any second thoughts or hesitation.

[color=orange]“It was going to die anyway,”[/color] Kalmar told her. [color=orange]“That arrow pierced one of its vital organs. In a few minutes, or maybe even a few hours, it would have been dead, and it would have suffered needlessly. I would have felt remorse if I hadn’t killed it. As for the others…”[/color] he waved a hand to indicate the other two wolves, [color=orange]“...they do not feel remorse about the lives they take. They attacked us, they failed, and we killed him. So long as we make sure their bodies are used in some way, I don’t see what there is to regret.”[/color]

Upon hearing what Kalmar had to say, Melantha’s expression changed from one of budding anger to one of thoughtfulness. His last few words especially rang true when she considered the cloak he had given her to wear. The fur on it closely resembled that of the fur of a wolf from what she had observed and so she reasoned he had done this at least once before. That, coupled with the fact that he had introduced himself as the ‘God of the Hunt’ further supported his arguments, making Melantha look at Kalmar in a new light.

She refrained from saying anything else, finding herself a little overwhelmed by so many realisations coming at her at once. She found herself moving again, having regained control of her legs. Walking beside the, now dead, wolf, she knelt on one knee and repeated the same prayer she had given to the other wolf before standing back up again. [color=DE33FF]“What now?”[/color] she said aloud for Kalmar to hear.

Kalmar was about to speak, but then he looked again at the corpses of the wolves, and then back to her, as if unsure of something. [color=orange]”Are you alright?”[/color] he finally asked, after a while.

With a sigh, Melantha turned around and approached him. [color=DE33FF]“Yes, I am fine, Kalmar. Are these wolves enough to make clothes for me?”[/color]

Kalmar nodded. [color=orange]”Yes.”[/color] He knelt down, picked up one of the large wolves - it was even larger than he - and raised it onto his shoulder. Then he did the same with another. [color=orange]”Can you carry that one?”[/color] he asked, indicating the one he had shot through the eye.

Melantha stared at Kalmar straight in the eyes for a good long minute before she sighed and walked over to pick up the wolf’s body from the ground. [i]Oho, it is surprisingly light for how large it seems[/i] she thought in her mind.

Kalmar was not sure what to make of her judgemental gaze. He knew he was right, that she was being irrational - likely brought on from her lack of experience. Yet nonetheless, he somehow felt bad. He wanted her to trust him, to like him, and he felt like he had failed. But there was no undoing his actions.

Wordlessly, the two continued on toward the mountains.[hr][hr]It had taken some time, but eventually, Kalmar located a suitable cave. Most of the ones they found had been small, barely suitable for one person. The two of them and the three wolf carcasses took up quite some space. Even with their divine senses, the search for a sizable cave was still somewhat difficult.

But eventually they found one, and it was quite spacious - an open hole in the side of the cliff, descending into a larger chamber that had enough room for them to move around with relative comfort. [color=orange]”Will this serve?”[/color] Kalmar asked as they stood at the entrance. [color=orange]“I don’t think we will find a better one.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“About time,”[/color] Melantha said with an exasperated look on her face. Beads of sweat were running down her forehead, the intense rays of the midday sun making it especially suffocating for her to walk outside without anything covering her face. She entered the cave first before even Kalmar had any chance of scouting for anything dangerous that might be already inside, and deposed the body of the wolf on the ground before plopping down a few meters away from it.

Kalmar placed his wolf carcasses on top of hers, and then sat down next to her in silence. [color=orange]”I’m sorry,”[/color] he finally said, after more than a minute had passed.

She turned her head to look at him with a quizzical look. [color=DE33FF]“For what?[/color]

[color=orange]“I asked you to come hunting, without telling you what that meant,”[/color] Kalmar explained. [color=orange]“Would you have gone if you understood? I should have explained it better…”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“Ah, that…’[/color] she looked at the ground in front of her as she thought about her next words. [color=DE33FF]“Probably not, no. I also had told you that I wasn’t really that fond of the idea of clothes in the first place…[/color]

Kalmar nodded but maintained a thoughtful silence.

[color=DE33FF]“...but what is done is done now. I became complicit to this the moment I shot that first arrow that killed one of them. I have blood now on my hands as well, just like you, so I don’t particularly feel like chastising you over not informing me beforehand.[/color]

[color=orange]“Communication is my weakness,”[/color] Kalmar found himself admitting. [color=orange] “I almost fought another god because he threatened to kill one of my creations, but he only did that because he thought my words were too blunt. He was in the wrong, but with a few held back words I could have avoided it.”[/color] He sighed wearily. [color=orange]”I angered someone I had taught and cared for because I did not tell her everything she wanted to know. I created a mortal, and now he resents me because he felt I was too hard on him… maybe he was right. I don’t know. Before I was brought to this world, my only concern was my next meal. But when I arrived here, that changed, and I’m still adapting…”[/color] his voice trailed off.

This sudden outpour of emotions was, honestly, one of the last things Melantha expected to come out of Kalmar’s mouth. From what he had shown her thus far, he seemed to be cold and unapproachable at best, a man that operated on principle alone. Yet here he was now, displaying feelings that she never expected him to have. Using a stern front to cover his inexperience when it comes to interacting with others, it was inevitable then that his intentions would eventually be misunderstood.

But wasn’t she the same? The first thing she did when they first came face to face was to use the wolf as a threatening tool to scare him off. She was caught off guard at the time, hurt and honestly quite afraid. She had acted on instinct, but Kalmar did not seem to have felt offended by her actions. On the contrary, he took his time to explain himself, and of the world, to her, going as far as to create a completely new being out of nothing right in front of her in order to prove his point. His explanation of his intentions for helping her back when they were flying on top of Shynir came out very sincere and wholehearted, even though he might not have realized it did at the time. [i]And at the end of the day…[/i]

Melantha’s hand slowly wormed under the cloak to find Kalmar’s. [color=DE33FF]“...you’re not the only that is still adapting to this strange, new world.[/color] Warm and comforting emotions suffused her words as she spoke them inside Kalmar’s mind.

Once again, Kalmar tensed at Melantha’s touch but soon began to relax. He looked up at her, into her eyes. A few moments passed, and then a thin smile appeared on his face as he looked away. [color=orange]“Asceal was wrong about you,”[/color] he commented.

[color=DE33FF]“Asceal… is she the Goddess of Light? You mentioned her name earlier but didn’t really expand upon it further.[/color] Tucking her hair behind her ear, she continued. [color=DE33FF]“What did she say about me?[/color]

[color=orange]“She told me…”[/color] Kalmar paused, carefully thinking about his words. [color=orange] “She told me that you were mad, that you were dangerous. She made it sound like you were a threat. She said you attacked Aelius in his own sphere. I don’t know if that’s true, and I decided to reserve judgement until I met you in person. Now that I have… I think she must be mistaken.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“Well, I can’t claim to know of my previous self’s actions and whether I was truly the person she told you I was, but I feel like I should not be held accountable for the actions of someone I never met or knew.[/color] Then a frown appeared on her face as Melantha thought more about Kalmar’s words. [color=DE33FF]“But in case her words are actually true… I… I will try to be better,[/color] she added with some hesitation.

[color=orange]“Good,”[/color] Kalmar said, the small smile returning. [color=orange]“And whether she was telling the truth or not, I will do what I can to make her see reason.”[/color] More silence, and then he added, [color=orange]“I should also say that you’ve shown impressive survival instincts.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“Oh? Well, I can’t really be blamed now, can I? I woke up in a strange new place with no memories. Then a random stranger appears out of nowhere and starts feeding me with information for all I know could be lies. I assume anyone in my situation would go into survival mode immediately.[/color]

[color=orange]“The first thing you did was seek protection, so you turned to Fenris. You then tried to use his size and the state he was in to scare me off. After that, you were slow to trust me, because as you say I could have been lying to you. True, most would react the same way… but you knew to do all this without any memories or experience. That is what was impressive.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“Well… I will gladly take that compliment then. Thank you,[/color] she replied with a smile.

Kalmar nodded back, and reluctantly let go of her hand. Then he rose to his feet. [color=orange]“On our way here I sensed the presence of another god,”[/color] he said to her, changing the subject. [color=orange] “I’m going to go see if they are still in the area. I need to know their intentions. Do you want to come?”[/color]

Melantha peered to the direction of the cave’s opening and frowned. The sun was something that she did not particularly like much and seeing as it was still day outside, she felt little motivation in leaving the comfort the cave provided and going to meet some random deity. [color=DE33FF]“Ugh, no. I’d rather prefer to stay here. Just don’t take too long…"[/color]

A flash of disappointment crossed Kalmar’s face, but it quickly faded. [color=orange] “I’ll try not to,”[/color] he said with a nod, and then he turned to leave, only to stop himself. He removed the bow and the quiver that went along with it, then turned back to Melantha. [color=orange]“Here,”[/color] he said, as he propped the quiver against the wall and held the bow out to her. [color=orange]“Take good care of them.”[/color]

Confused by his actions, Melantha nevertheless stood up and received the bow. [color=DE33FF]“I will,[/color] she said and continued, [color=DE33FF]“but why are you leaving your weapon with me? Won’t you need it where you are going?[/color] she questioned.

Kalmar shook his head. [color=orange]“I have this knife,”[/color] he said and pointed to the holster on his hip. [color=orange]“And my power on its own is stronger than both weapons combined. You still haven’t figured out to access most of your power, so it will be of more use to you.”[/color] Then he shrugged. [color=orange]“And it proves that I will be coming back.”[/color]

With those words, the Hunter turned around and walked towards the cave’s entrance, Melantha watching him as he left.[hr][hr][hider=SUMMARY]Kalmar and Melantha go hunting. He teaches her how to track. Then a pack of wolves discovers them and attacks. They successfully fend them off, but Melantha is horrified by the lives they took. Kalmar then proceeds to justify the deaths of the wolves, giving Melantha a new perspective.

After that, they pick up the dead wolves and go to search for a cave, so Melantha can get out of the sun. After a while, they manage to find one. Once inside, Kalmar apologizes to Melantha for not telling her what a hunt was supposed to be about. In an unusual outburst, he then admits that communication is his weakness, and lists a few key incidents that were brought about by his failure to do so. This confession brings the two closer together.

He then tells her what Asceal said about her, and concludes that Asceal must have misjudged her. Melantha promises that even if Asceal’s words were true, she will try to better herself. Kalmar also compliments her survival instincts.

That done, Kalmar then reveals that he detected the presence of another god in the area, and decides to investigate. Melantha chooses to remain in the cave. Before he goes, he leaves her his bow and arrows, both for her protection as well as a reminder that he will be returning to her.

No Might or FP was spent in this post.[/hider]