[IC] The Two Sides

[Hawksnest565]

@Azereiah

Aya, taking a break from tidying up the medicine tent by warming up by the fire, noticed the new arrival. It had been a while since the last member of the group had joined and for a moment she thought they might be under attack, but his stance showed confidence and by his greeting she assumed that he seemed welcome among them. As a healer she felt it important that she knew every Rabin, so she quickly headed over to meet him.
"Hello!" she smiled, feeling a little nervous about the sheer height difference between them. He seemed a lot older than her.

[Fionraella]

@xiaomiau
Destin nods. "Don't hold your breath on that one. Last time I asked him to tell people to do something helpful he almost bit my head off! Going on about being more assertive and stuff...so I just did it myself." He sighs heavily.

[xiaomiau]

@Fionraella She sighed with an air of sarcasm. "Youch. Well, maybe I'll go yell directly at him to get off his own ass and help me. I'm not so big and strong. I can swing an axe but like - not fast."

[Azereiah]

@Hawksnest565

As Aya approached, Brick unshouldered his wooden sword and slung it point first into the ground, burying the tip several inches into the dirt. The sword, standing on its own, was easily as long as the girl was tall. He stepped away from his weapon to show that he was no threat. She seemed very young - not the sort of person who had any business in a warzone.

Brick's voice was a smooth, almost musical baritone. "Hello there. I'm Brick. New arrival, trying to get to know everyone I'll be working with."

He offered a handshake.

[Fionraella]

@xiaomiau

Destin grins at that idea. "I'd enjoy seeing that." He laughs. "Do you know if anyone in camp has a video recorder? This would definitely be video worthy don't you think??" He chuckles. "I wonder who in camp would be most helpful with this."

[Hawksnest565]

@Azereiah
Aya eyed the sword as she approached, impressed by its stature. She vaguely recalled a conversation she had with Destin, the healer from the Broms she'd met recently, and how he'd said that the Rabins we weak. At least this new member seemed contrary to that statement. At first she tentatively took his hand but then reminded herself that she had nothing to fear and ensured her grip was as firm as it could be.
"Pleased to meet you, Brick!" she smiled welcomingly. "It's always great to see a new face."

[xiaomiau]

@Fionraella Misha stroked her chin in contemplation. "Hm. I don't know." She scratched her head with a look of defeat. "We live with a bunch of useless chumps, huh?" She laughed. "Me included."

[Azereiah]

@Hawksnest565

Brick opted not to give his usual bone-crushing handshake this time, and merely returned the same strength Aya showed. She almost reminded him of one of his cousins - perhaps a bit too good natured and trusting, which wasn't inherently a bad thing. He smiled down at her.

"Aye. Good to meet you as well... Er. What should I call you?"

His first order of business would be getting his own gear set up - perhaps working on fire-hardening the sword a bit more. Unless he was needed for something.

[Hawksnest565]

@Azereiah

"Oh, of course!" Aya shook her head, a bit embarrassed that she'd forgotten to introduce herself. "My name's Aya. I'm the healer, so if you ever get hurt or sick you know who to call!" She gestured to a tent not far from them. "There's a spare tent over there for you to stay in. If you haven't any questions, don't hesitate to ask me." She curiously looked over him, wondering if she should ask about his animal form. She was always curious to know.

[Fionraella]

@xiaomiau
Destin laughs. "Come on now! Some of us aren't useless...like..." he frowns a bit. "Evelyns slightly not useless....and you're good....at hunting? " he sighs. "Maybe some of the newer group mates then. They'll be eager to impress Fabine and won't be so quick to let their uselessness be known right??"

[Azereiah]

@Hawksnest565

He nodded in acknowledgement when she introduced herself. As she spoke, his eyes followed her gestures, and he took note of the layout of the camp. The tent she pointed to was a bit small - maybe he could fix up something of his own later. For now, it'd be sufficient.

"Ah, thanks. I was about to ask if you could help me get my bearings around here. And I do have a few questions. What sort of injuries have you had to treat around here? And what's this 'Shifter' stuff? Sacha and that creepy Fabine guy said something about how I might be one."

[xiaomiau]

@xiaomiau
Destin laughs. "Come on now! Some of us aren't useless...like..." he frowns a bit. "Evelyns slightly not useless....and you're good....at hunting? " he sighs. "Maybe some of the newer group mates then. They'll be eager to impress Fabine and won't be so quick to let their uselessness be known right??"

@Fionraella

Misha shrugs. "True. Maybe I'll find one of those new kids, then. That's genius!" She smirked. "Absolutely. Gotta do that."

[Hawksnest565]

@Azereiah

Aya shrugged. "Anything from a cold to whatever the Broms do to us..." she quickly thought of an example. "I mean, the other day Sacha took a throwing knife to the shoulder. To be honest, it wasn't really that bad a wound." She looked at him with a hopeful smile. "Maybe you'll be lucky enough not to get hurt." She was slightly surprised by his second question. "Oh! You don't know, yet? How cool!" She took a step back and shifted into her hawk form, swooping up into the air. She wasn't usually much of a show-off, but there was something exciting about presenting the ability to shift to someone who'd never seen it before.

[Fionraella]

@xiaomiau

Destin giggles, nodding. "They should have to work for their keep. I might take one to help me get some more herbs... I wonder if there's anything east....since west is where that mud pit is..." he was partially talking to himself at this point.

[Azereiah]

He raised an eyebrow at the mention of throwing knives. Not a lot of people could use them properly, and even a square hit would have to be perfectly aimed to hit anything important. Still, Aya being able to patch that kind of injury up made him worry a little bit less. She probably also knew, if only in theory, how to heal up much more serious wounds.

He smiled at her hopefulness. "Hm, maybe. Let's hope everyone lucks out like that, eh?"

When she shifted into her animal form, he took a step back, somewhat surprised. He'd seen Sacha shift into a cheetah momentarily, but he still hadn't quite accepted that it was really possible. He hadn't ever seen a well groomed hawk without its wings clipped, either, so that added to the surprise. Now he wanted to see more peoples' alternate forms.

"How... do you do that?"

[xiaomiau]

@Fionraella Misha nodded absently and crossed her arms against the cold. Might as well make use of all of these new people.. wandering in like they own the place. She rubbed her neck and faced Destin. "Do you think this winter is gonna get bad? We already got all this mud.. and it's cold.. and no one is really getting along, seems like."

[Hawksnest565]

@Azereiah Aya swooped back down to the ground, and shifted back grinning at his surprise.
"Hmm..." she thought about his question. "You know, I can't really describe it. It's like... It's like if someone asked you how to sing. You just know how to change your voice from talking to singing. And usually the first time just happens. One day when I was a little girl I was running along and the next second I was flying." She searches him, wishing that she could be more helpful. "It's weird though, people find out that they can shift at all different ages. It just takes the right environment to make it happen."

[Fionraella]

@xiaomiau

Destin sighs softly. "I think it's going to be the worst one yet." He looks up at the sky and nods solemnly. "I'm counting on half the group getting sick the next...3 months...and we lose at least 3 members." He looks at Misha sadly. "I hope I'm wrong." He spots the camp up ahead. "Let's get you that blanket or jacket."

[Azereiah]

@Hawksnest565

Brick nodded in acknowledgement. He wasn't entirely sure what it would feel like, but neither Aya nor Sacha seemed to be remotely bothered by it, so it couldn't possibly be unpleasant. He was more mystified by the fact that clothing seemed to shift with the body than anything else.

"Makes sense. Guess I'll find out eventually, eh?"

With that, he pulled his sword out of the ground and walked to the spare tent, where he unloaded his camping gear and provisions. He still wasn't quite settled, he felt, as he didn't yet have much of a job.

"Mind showing me around the area? Or would that be someone else's business? I don't know any landmarks or anything yet - and if someone gets in trouble away from the camp, I'll need to know how to get to them."

[xiaomiau]

@Fionraella She gasped in slightly mock horror and hurries after him. "You don't think I'm going to kick the bucket, do you? I've been doing this for years!" She rubbed her arms. "Way before I came here, for sure."

[tragic backstory theme music plays]