Hawk Squad Training 41 A.U.

From FiranMUX

May 41 A.U. -- Sept 2007

Anarinuell: Palace District -- National Stables and Aviary Grounds

Marsalos is standing outside the Aviary with The Backpack. And we all know what The Backpack means. As people come up, he digs through the pack and starts handing out the party favors. "Alright then! I think some introductions are in order before we go up. We have two new squad members from last time we trained, so. Kindly state your names, ranks, and whatever else you care to say."

Marsalos gave you flask: Hawk Squad.

Faedrus comes to attention and salutes. "Sentry Faedrus of Clan Chimera"

Aervani is running up just behind a few others, it seems, but she's rather small in stature and it is, perhaps, easier for her to sort of slip in like she's been here the whole time they have. While she doesn't smile or anything, there is a definite sort of vague warmth in her eyes. Especially when there's some whiskey handed her way! "Centurion Aervani Verber, Bear Clan," is offered.

Eriden catches the flask he's tossed and bows to Marsalos, then salutes. "Sentry Eriden, Bear Clan and archer. Not neccesar'ly in that order."

Marsalos nods to everyone. "Lord Centurion Marsalos Iberik, archer. Only." Damn griffons. He raises up the flask. "A toast before we begin, I must insist. To Hawk Squad. For the win, of course."

Faedrus says "To Hawk Squad! For the win!"

Aervani makes a small 'oh' sound. "Pilot and archer myself," she tosses in and then tosses back a bit of the drink. "Kind of you to bring the refreshments," is remarked politely. She might not wear hairpins, but she manages some semblance of Bear etiquette.

Eriden echoes that toast and tosses back a drink. "Very kind of you, Lord Centurion."

Marsalos nods to all as they drink up. Excellent. He slides the flask away, the smell of the whiskey still rather strong. "Alright. Since we've got two who can fly and two who can't, we're good. Sentry Faedrus, have you tamed any of the division griffons yet for your use?"

Faedrus feels the warmth of the whiskey course down his throat. "Thank you, Lord Centurion!"

Faedrus says "Lord Centurion...no, I have not."

A small figure comes about the eastern way and slows upon hearing the voices. Teal eyes peer from beneath black drying locks. Eirian presses herself closer to some of the horses, lowering a bit as she starts to sneak closer. She pauses, tilting her head as she peers up at the towers in wonder, then back at the pilots.

Aervani caps the flask once she's done and hangs it along with her keyring. Convenient! "I've brought Sentry Eriden here to meet the griffons, Lord Centurion," the Bear Mes pipes in. "I can go with Centurion Faedrus to tame the ones in our squad if you'd like. I've done so myself already."

Faedrus anxiously looks at the aviary, wanting to get airborne.

Marsalos nods to Faedrus, then Aervani. "Centurion, that would be marvelous. Let's get the Sentry a griffon, then, and head out. We'll be going north and doing a little hunting, get our archery skills nice and sharp." He motions for the group to head inside the aviary.

Anarinuell: Palace District -- National Aviary -- Cage Grouping #3

Eriden loves the griffons, but doesn't control them, so stays back out of the way of the sharp beaks and claws as the pilots climb on.

Faedrus jumps on Mirage, the griffon and he thrashes around trying to throw his off! Eventually he manages to tame him. Faedrus grins excitedly and takes the reins, then invites Eriden to ride with him.

Aervani climbs onto Prowl, the griffon, taking the reins and inviting Marsalos to ride with her.

Faedrus looks back to make sure Eriden is strapped in and set. "Ready?"

Mateo trucks through with some guards carrying a lot of containers of poultry.

Eriden doesn't go 'wooohooo!' really. He's more mature than that. Barely.

North of Anarinuell: Forest

Flying Mirage, the griffon flies in with Faedrus and Eriden riding.

Phew! Marsalos should really learn to do this flying thing. One day. He sits on the back of Aervani's griffon, raising a thumbs up as he sees Faedrus come down. "How was the ride?"

Faedrus grins happily at the thought of being in the air.

Faedrus looks at Marsalos. "A little bumpy...but we got here." he turns and grins at Eriden.

Eriden is still beaming, and isn't going to get off the griffon until he has to. "That was great!-- I mean, it was fine, Lord Centurion."

Aervani should, too, learn to do this flying thing! Well, at least practice it a bit better perhaps. As Faedrus and Eriden land beside she and Marsalos, there's almost a grin at her lips. "Isn't it the best," is more said to everyone or maybe even herself. "Ah, Mirage probably just has to get used to you. He's a bit fickle."

Marsalos chuckles at Eriden. "We'll be doing it a lot at war, so glad you like it." He glances around the quiet forest area. Hundreds of animals just waiting to be skewered, oohhoo. "Maybe we should have a little contest..."

Faedrus looks at Aervani happily, "Aye...it'll take a bit." He reaches down and pats his mount's neck.

Faedrus says "Lord Centurion, would you like to put a little wager on this contest?" Faedrus grins at the thought of winning

Eriden gives Aervani a grin, "It is the best." He looks at Marsalos and Faedrus, "A wager? On what exactly and for what?"

Aervani gives a small rolls of her eyes. "Honestly, can men every do anything without a bet? Not that I mind, of course, but heaven's." She doesn't really sound all that put off by the idea, all told, and begins scanning the area around them a bit. "I've never hunted by the way, my Lord," is then mentioned before glancing at the other men. "Might wager a bit conservatively."

Faedrus looks at Aervani and the Lord Centurion, "how about the winner buys a round of drinks for the loser at the Glassworks?"

Aervani glances at Marsalos and awaits the nobleman's reply.

Marsalos smirks. "Tell you what. It's getting dark, and we need to sharpen up these night eyes of ours before we take the birds back." He motions to the north. "Head that way first and we'll get started."

North of Anarinuell: Forest

Flying Mirage, the griffon flies in with Faedrus and Eriden riding.

Flying Prowl, the griffon flies in with Marsalos and Aervani riding.

Eriden settles his bow more securely on his back, glad there will be more flying.

Dar is followed by Sarka, the large hound.

Aervani descends and lands Prowl, the griffon on the ground.

Hufimo walks to the forest and sees a Ticanee man and the corpse of a woman. Interesting but he was on his way to chop some trees until he glances up noticing the griffons, "Cover the body, griffons go for raw fresh!"

Faedrus grins and salutes Dar as Mirage lands.

"Ho!" Ianootz calls, raising a hand to the (low-flying, I'll assume) men on griffonback. He stands beside the Corpse of Laci. Aervani then lands Prowl and he is quick to call out to the man "Do you know anything about this?"

Faedrus descends and lands Mirage, the griffon on the ground.

Aervani, being a woman, shakes her head as Ianootz apparently questions her. "We were just out to do a bit of quick hunting before it was fully dark," she notes and keeps Prowl a good distance from the apparent dead body.

Eriden leans out a bird from where he's seating behind Faedrus. "Not another one."

A Republic squad is out training, two griffons in the air. Marsalos, on the back of Aervani's, blinks as they come up on a group. "The feck?" Under his breath, arching a brow. "We just got here. What's happened?"

Entering into the area with Sarka leading the way, Dar had heard a shout and comes wondering what is going on. Sarka moves quickly when the clearing comes and Dar yells out to her, whistling. Once she stops, he comes to see what is going on. He spots Ianootz and manages to get off a salute before... "Shit!" He calls out, looking around. He looks over everybody present and since Ianootz isn't saying anything to those landing. "Back up, everybody. This area needs to stay clear of tracks and such."

Faedrus reigns in the griffon as it catches the scent of the corpse.

"Get those griffons out of here, if you lose control of them they will be burnt to save her soul." Hufimo tells them as his hand gets ready to draw a weapon if any of the griffons decides to track the smell.

"Back on your griffons!" Ianootz calls at once, picking up on Dar's motives. He steps back carefully from the corpse and turns toward the pilots, who he waves away with one hand. "On your mounts and away; there is nothing left to see." Since he's a Centurion and a Guard, I suppose he can do that.

"We didn't leave our griffons," Aervani notes in an even tone and starts preparing the creature to depart. "Good luck with the investigation." She murmurs something quietly to Marsalos and then asks him, "Cleared, my Lord? We'll rise them from here?"

"Back up the birds," Marsalos calls to his squad, making a descriptive motion. "Let's get out of here."

Eriden clings to the saddle as the griffon bucks a little, looking to Marsalos for what he should do. Meanwhile he's not moving from where he is, firmly seating on griffonback.

With those departing, Dar orders Sarka to sit to the side and moves over now. "Sentry Hufimo, it is fine now, they are leaving. Please go ahead and we'll handle it from here." Dar sighs heavily, looking at the corpse and leans over to talk with Ianootz. "We need a healer and I'll start checking the tracks from here."

Faedrus looks at Aervani to takeoff, patiently waiting for his wingleader.

"They purposely destroyed the tracks.." Ianootz says in response to Dar, looking carefully as he surveys the ground. "A woman of the same size in various shoes walked back and forth. Whoever has done this was too small to be a man; perhaps the kidnapper who escaped. The prisoner stopped to defend her and I heard her voice; she was a woman."

Aervani spurs Prowl, the griffon who takes off and soars into the air with Marsalos and Aervani.

Faedrus looks back at Eriden. "Well, that was interesting!"

Eriden looks a little spooked because of the body. "Yeah.. interesting. Hopefully they'll catch who's ever doing that fast."

Faedrus spurs Mirage, the griffon who takes off and soars into the air with Faedrus and Eriden.

Northeast of Anarinuell: Property of the Republic

Marsalos motions for all to land

Faedrus descends and lands Mirage, the griffon on the ground.

Aervani descends and lands Prowl, the griffon on the ground.

Marsalos slides off Mirage, pulling his bow around. He glances back the way they'd come, just shaking his head and blowing air gently between his lips.

Faedrus climbs down off of Mirage, offering a helping hand to Eriden.

Eriden takes that hand, and jumps off. "Thanks--that was great, but I could've done without the dead body."

Faedrus proceeds to look at his "bird". Moving under Mirage, he looks at Mirage's legs for any injury. He moves to the side and inspects the wings for any damaged feather or sign of injury.

Marsalos makes a wry face. "The guard's got it under control." He pulls a stash of flint arrows from his backpack, dividing them into four piles and setting them down. "Flint for all, if you need it. Don't waste your iron arrows. Now, has anyone been looking for archery training?"

Aervani gives Prowl some rather affectionate little pets on the nose, which is perhaps the nicest she seems to have been the whole time. Turning around and moving to join the others, Aervani issues a small sigh. "Rude full-of-themselves guards, no less. I can't see how a guard who can't even tell I'm a woman can possibly investigate a crime with any credit," is an even toned quip. Then she simply nods to Marsalos. "I have been, my Lord. Also, I've an extra bow if anyone needs it."

Eriden unslings his bow, flexing his splinted hand slightly, testing it. "I have, Lord Centurion. I was doing pretty good with it, but then I busted my arm and haven't been able to keep up with practice for about a week."

Faedrus raises his hand. "I could stand to borrow a bow, thank you Aervani"

Aervani dips her head once toward Faedrus and tosses him her long bow. "Sure thing," she calls in reply and then gets herself situated with her own.

Aervani ohs and adds, "You know, Centurion Faedrus, I can make bows as well. Likely you've your own at home, but if you're looking for a new one or some flint arrows, let me know."

Marsalos nods to Aervani and Eriden. "We'll get some practice in first." He narrows his eyes slightly, glancing about the area, then raises a hand. Something's moving in the falling shadows, an elk. "Look there."

Faedrus looks at Aervani with wonder. "I might have a need for your services!"

Aervani aims her Winds and Wings Short Bow at elk!

Eriden aims his Proud Golden Bear Short Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Aervani.

Faedrus aims his Winds and Wings Long Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Aervani Eriden.

Marsalos doesn't aim his own weapon, keeping it in hand as he walks around them, checking their stances. "Centurion Aervani, you're gripping the back of the arrow way too tightly. Slide your thumb up a bit."

Aervani bobs her head just once to Marsalos and then almost seems relieved that the creature is an elk and not some poor bunny or other small furry creature of the forest. Or bird, likely, with her obvious Uffian devotion. She then concentrates at the task at hand. "Yes, my Lord," is a murmured reply as she inches her thumb up ever so slightly on the bow. "I suspect I am nervous; I don't care to hunt."

Eriden hasn't been hunting, but it feels a lot like target practicing and he aims at the animal, locking his gaze on where he wants to hit it.

Marsalos nods to Aervani, moving on and coming closer to Eriden. "Right shoulder, Sentry, relax. You'll miss where you're aiming right now. Relaaaax it. Your ear doesn't need warming in the middle of spring."

Faedrus tried to shoot the elk...then realizes he needs an arrow in the bow.

Faedrus aims his Winds and Wings Long Bow and penetrates elk with his flint arrow.

elk attacks Faedrus with her hooves and tramples Faedrus's right cheek!

Eriden nods, still focusing on the elk, and relaxes that shoulder, then pulls the string back and lets an arrow fly.

Eriden aims his Proud Golden Bear Short Bow and pokes elk with his flint arrow.

Winds and Wings Long Bow loaded with a flint arrows and ready!

elk tries to attack Eriden, but fails.

Aervani aims her Winds and Wings Short Bow and pokes elk with her flint arrow.

elk attacks Aervani with her hooves and smashes Aervani's belly!

Eriden aims his Proud Golden Bear Short Bow at elk!

Faedrus aims his Winds and Wings Long Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Eriden.

"Good!" Marsalos calls out, pleased with the arrow storm. "Aim up again. Remember, when you're in battle it comes down to seconds sometimes, how fast you can reload and get yourself ready again."

Aervani aims her Winds and Wings Short Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Faedrus Eriden.

Eriden flashes a glance over at Aervani, and calls out, "You okay?" even as he's moving closer to her and reloading.

Eriden aims his Proud Golden Bear Short Bow and pokes elk with his flint arrow.

elk tries to attack Eriden, but fails.

Faedrus aims his Winds and Wings Long Bow and thrusts elk with his flint arrow.

elk takes a hit to the right calf!

elk attacks Faedrus with her hooves and tramples Faedrus's upper back!

elk collapses on the ground, becoming motionless.

Unconscious elk twitches one last time, then is still.

So, right. Aervani makes a decent shot and gets the elk rather well. However, the elk decides to return the favor with a shot right in the bear woman's stomach. There's an outrush of air and she steps back to suck in some of the air that got shoved out. "Fine," is noted toward Eriden with a nod. "More of a surprise that really that painful. Thanks to the armor." And then the beast goes down. Aervani almost frowns. "Dammit. I wanted to get him back."

Faedrus grins at dealing the fatal blow...then looks down at his scratched and dented breastplate. "nuts...gonna have to polish that out."

Marsalos chuckles under his breath at Aervani. "Everyone tell me one thing you think you were doing wrong while you were shooting."

Faedrus looks down at his feet, embarrassed..."ummm...combat stance was off?"

"I didn't expect to be hit," Aervani ventures after a moment and then shakes her head. She lowers her arrow and looks over the corpse of the creature a minute. "I was a bit distracted and allowed that to break my concentration. And, likely, was too close."

Faedrus nods at Aervani's suggestion. "I think that we all were too close."

Marsalos nods to Faedrus and Aervani. "Good observations." He looks at Eriden.

Eriden is surprisingly uninjured, and flexes his hand, happy with how it's holding up. "I was startled when she got hit, I should've been expecting something like that."

Marsalos nods. "Being distracted will be the death of you. You've got to expect things, anything. Being hit is definitely one of them. So, with all this in mind..." He glances northward. "Let me see if I can find another elk. I'll be right back."

From somewhere nearby, you hear a male voice shout, "Come to the west!"

From somewhere nearby, you hear a male voice shout, "Er, east"

Marsalos points to their new target.

Aervani looks up (quite a bit at that) at Eriden and nearly manages a frown as they move to rejoin Marsalos. "Then it's good I got kicked. You can't let yourself get started in war or we're dead," she says almost matter of factly. But! Another elk and this one, it seems, will bear the brunt of Aervani's ire.

Aervani aims her Winds and Wings Short Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Eriden.

Faedrus aims his Winds and Wings Long Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Aervani Eriden.

Eriden follows the sound of Marsalos' voice and stops when he sees the elk, 'You sure are big fecking thing aren't you?" He takes aim... and shoots.

Eriden aims his Proud Golden Bear Short Bow and penetrates elk with his flint arrow.

elk takes a hit to the hips!

elk tries to attack Eriden, but fails.

Eriden aims his Proud Golden Bear Short Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Aervani Faedrus.

Aervani misses elk with her flint arrow.

elk attacks Aervani with her hooves and clocks Aervani's belly!

Marsalos nods at Eriden's shot. "Good, Sentry. Keep your arm still when you loose that arrow, I saw you jerk it back a bit. It's throwing off your aim."

Faedrus aims his Winds and Wings Long Bow and pokes elk with his flint arrow.

elk takes a hit to the left forearm!

elk tries to attack Faedrus, but fails.

Aervani aims her Winds and Wings Short Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Eriden.

Eriden backs away fast as the elk rears up, his arrow striking lower than he wanted but still hitting. "ahh, Thanks, Lord Centurion!" He aims again.

Eriden misses elk with his flint arrow.

Winds and Wings Long Bow loaded with a flint arrows and ready!

elk attacks Eriden with her hooves and thumps Eriden's right cheek!

Faedrus aims his Winds and Wings Long Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Aervani.

Eriden aims his Proud Golden Bear Short Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Aervani Faedrus.

"Sentry Faedrus, don't lean forward so much when you fire," Marsalos comments, walking around them still as they shoot.

Not only does she miss, but she gets clocked again in the same exact spot. "I /hate/ hunting animals," she mutters darkly while lining up another shot. Aervani is none too pleased, obviously. She makes sure to get a good sight on the beast this time.

Aervani misses elk with her flint arrow.

elk attacks Aervani with her hooves and thumps Aervani's butt!

Faedrus concentrates on his shot. "Yes, Lord Centurion"

Aervani aims her Winds and Wings Short Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Faedrus Eriden.

Faedrus misses elk with his flint arrow.

elk attacks Faedrus with her hooves and kicks Faedrus's left ear!

"Don't let yourself get frustrated, Centurion," Marsalos says as he nears Aervani. "Relax." Eriden obviously overcompensated, and misses completely. He curses as the elk's hoof catches him, then re-aims."

Eriden aims his Proud Golden Bear Short Bow and stabs elk with his flint arrow.

elk takes a hit to the chest!

elk attacks Eriden with her hooves and clocks Eriden's right thigh!

Eriden aims his Proud Golden Bear Short Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Aervani.

Faedrus recoils as he is hit in the side of the head and curses as he misses the elk.

Faedrus aims his Winds and Wings Long Bow at elk! elk is aimed at by: Aervani Eriden.

Aervani releases her Winds and Wings Short Bow and nails elk hard with her flint arrow!

elk takes a hit to the chest!

elk attacks Aervani with her hooves and thumps Aervani's left knee!

elk collapses on the ground, becoming motionless.

Unconscious elk twitches one last time, then is still.

Faedrus smiles at Aervani and thumps her on her back, grinning!

Aervani is exceptionally tense - and pissed off if her eyes betray anything. Her expression is lacking any emotion, though, and she seems to be having a difficult time speaking. "Yes, my Lord." And, indeed, she loosens up a bit. She gets beat up a few more times but, finally, has some vague revenge with a less than crappy shot. "I will have to remember to relax."

Eriden gets kicked in the chest and stumbles back, recovering and bringing up his bow--just in time to see the elf fall dead.

Marsalos has to grin faintly as the elk goes down finally. "Nice final shot though, Centurion. Keep yourselves relaxed, all of you. It's quite important. When you get tense, you start breathing up here." He raises a hand to chest level to demonstrate how the breaths end up moving his shoulders. "And it throws your shot right off."

"I suspect, my Lord," Aervani begins to say while rubbing a finger over the dent in her breastplate. "That I will have to breath from up here for a day or so." There's a flicker of humor in her eyes; maybe she was attempting a joke. "Though it's not so bad. My knee hurts a bit worse, but I suppose I'll live. If it might be alright, however, I think I will sit out any subsequent hunting this round."

Marsalos shakes his head. "I think we're done with archery for the evening. Good job, everyone."

Faedrus hands the bow to Aervani, looking at it longingly. "Thank you for the use of your bow. That is a wonderful weapon"

Eriden chuckles and flashes Aervani a grin. "You're pretty funny for someone who doesn't smile much, Centurion." He pokes at the dead elk. "What do we do with this? Feed it to the griffons?"

Aervani gives a quick dip of her head to everyone in turn and then looks to Marsalos. "Thank you for taking us, Lord Centurion," is offered first and then she turns to Eriden and Faedrus. "Great shots. I hope to see you both in the training center." She looks over her long bow a moment and then back at Faedrus. "Find me this week and we'll talk about a couple of bows for you."