Fish-eyes and Sorrow [o]

[Makarov]

Khezur Kalu

He spent his days along the riverbank most of the time now. Heck, it had probably been a couple cycles of the moon since he had ventured from this particular stretch even. Time had been going by so slowly that the lone, rogue ferret was hardly noticing it inching by anymore, for it was only indicated by the slight budding on the trees and the scant amount of snow still lingering on the ground. Spring was hitting Mossflower full force and here the weaselish creature by the name of Khezer Kula, Khez to most, sat dipping just the tips of his paws into the flowing river. It was much warmer then would be expected, just from the look of it. But it was still refreshing on Khez's footpaws after all of the climbing he had done looking for early spring eggs. It had been a fruitless search, leaving him in a rather sour mood.

The only good option he could see now - urged by a gripping grumble in his gut - was to see if he could grab a couple of fish out of the river. The pandaesq ferret stood with a grunt. "Blimy," he spat and grabbed for the handle of his sickle, which he kept dangling from a loop on his belt.

The waters of the River Moss rushed by at a steady and resilient pace but he figured he was safe enough near the shallows. Khez peered into the semi-clear depths, concentrating deeply. The muscles in his face twitched and his whiskers would flick occasionally, his little, beady eyes and face a mask of utter concentration as he stood with his paw upraised, sickle poised, oh so ready to strike. To the casual passer-by the creature most likely would have cut a rather comical figure, somewhat out of place with his gaudy array of colorful clothing and a ragged bandanna placed askew on his head. As the mid-day breeze swept through the still somewhat naked tree-tops, he waited ever so patiently for the perfect moment to swipe a meal from the waters below. Khezur most certainly did not want to miss his chance.

[aurethius]

From down the river, Egger the stoat approaches openly. He has his paws out to the sides, knowing that his kin could be distrustful at times. The ferret's coloration was unique, and even Egger's faulty memory would recall the unusual spots.

"Oi! Ferrets ain't made for fishin, and neither is stoats." he calls out, looking to see if this Ferret would be hostile, or welcome to the company of a stranger.


[OOC]: Character Log here

[Makarov]

Needless to say he had not been expecting any sort of company here along the riverstretch. But Khez was no daft beast, and his senses were always about him. A feint rustle in the scant undergrowth off to the left of him, causing his ears to flick and his determined swing of his head. The ferret quickly lowered his upraised paw, his sickle falling to his side and fixed Egger with a suspicious gaze. Often times, coming across creatures similar of his kin, and those which the other beasts of Mossflower called vermin, the end of the situation was usually a sticky one. Often times they approached only for selfish gains. But as the stoat got closer, his beady little eyes made out that he was not presenting his weapons - though they were damned well enough of them in an ugly array about his body.

Khezur then turned fully to face his new company, reaching up and adjusting his bandanna a little more snuggly on his dome. "Oi! Ferrets ain't made for fishin, and neither is stoats."

Now, Khez was not one to wantonly seek out volatile situations, it just wasn't his style and usually he did not do much unless it benefited himself on a personal level. Yarr, one of those selfish types. He quickly looped his weapon back onto his belt however, placing his paws on his hips as he surveyed the other long, powerful creature. A hunter for sure.

"Well I was once told that me mudder was a mink and me fodder was an ermine.. That being said, fishing should be in me blood, eh?" Khez's lips slipped back to reveal a host of pointy, white teeth in a surely smirk. He paused and seemed to consider something. "If you're 'ere for a fight, mate. I ain't interested and I got nothin' o' worth."

[aurethius]

Egger looks behind him, wondering if the ferret was talking to someone else when he mentioned a fight. Not seeing anything other than his own tail, the stoat turns back around and chuckles deeply.

"Naw, no fights 'ere. Already ate."

The creature bumbles forward, his backpack rustling, and takes a seat next to the wary ferret. Egger couldn't see the mistrust in his more intelligent kin, and instead looks at his sickle. He takes a damp cloth and a coil of rope out of the bag and sets them down. The stoat then opens the cloth wad and pulls out a handfull of fresh critterguts, dropping them with an audible splatter on a nearby flat rock. The cloth discarded, Khezur could see that it appeared to be a tiny dress.

"Take a peek at this." the stoat chuckles as he begins tying the rope around the middle of the spear. "Ever gone stick-fishin?"

In a moment, the rope is tied securely, and the stoat offers it to his kin for him to look at it.

[Makarov]

The stoat looked about himself, over his shoulders as if Khez had in fact been addressing someone else. The movement put the ferret a little on edge but he stowed away the feelings of unease to be better used in case the whole situation turned upside down and Khez found himself fighting for his life. The bumbling newcomer offered him a disarmingly crooked smile before drawing closer and without ceremony, plopping himself down onto the riverbank next to the ferret's almost black-hued footpaws. The beast twitched the tip of his tail questioningly but didn't say a thing. Instead he took to watching what the brave stoat was trying to do, suddenly interested as the smell of fetid meat wafted up from a little, blood-stained cloth bundle he produced.

The fellow then quickly attached a thin length of rope to the end of his crudely constructed spear. Proud with his work, he handed it over to Khez to inspect, which he did, already feeling the natural balance of the weapon in his paws. A fishing rod then, how lovely. Khez had not seen one of these properly constructed in the longest of time. Understandably so, as he was not too well adapt as a fisherman of any sort.

"Take a peek at this.. Ever gone stick-fishin?"

Khez shook his head slowly, his attention diverted from the weapon thrust so casually into his paws by the oily mess of entrails now open to the world. They lay in the middle of what had once been a tiny, beautiful dress, perhaps off a young mousemaid. Like most of his kin though, the idea of it did not really phase him. Hunting and killing others was just in the nature of the predator, especially when it came down to feeding yourself.

"Nope," he grunted, still feeling a little edgy. He was not used to this kind of amiable friendliness from his kin. "But I know it works a helluva lot better then swiping sickles at the shallows."

The pandabear ferret paused as if suddenly remembering something. Oh yes, his manners. If only his dear old mudder could see him now. ]"Names Khezur, by the way mate. Khezur Kalu, but ye can call me Khez."

[aurethius]

At the mention of 'swiping sickles', Egger laughs heartily.

"Swipin sickles at the shallows! Hah! Poetry, that is."

As Khezur took the spear, Egger grabbed up a small amount of the guts, rapping it inside the dress and tying that to another section of rope. This became the bait, which he tossed into the river in front of them. He wasn't stupid enough to tie the baitrope to his foot, but he does step on it to keep it in place. The guts dangled in the bag in the rushing river, the smell of them filling the water.

"Now ye git that sticker in yer paws, and give it a toss once the scalies come up to sniff it." he says. After a short delay, he realized the ferret had given his name. "Ah, aye, 'Kay-zerr' be a good name." he comments, mispronouncing it horribly. He takes a second, mouthing the name again, and then shakes his head. "Good name, but I can't quite get my head round it. Mah name's Egger. Egger Stiffwind."

[Makarov]

Thestoat laughed heartily, commending Khez on his skills as a linguist and a poet. Something no one had ever said to him before and honestly it was rather tickling to the rough and tumble beast. He stuck his tongue into his cheek, choosing to watch rather then interrupt and stumble all over the presence of his newly found, well I suppose one could say friend, acquaintance maybe would have been a little more appropriate thought. Yeah acquaintance. Egger promptly tied his bag of gut trimmings in a tight wad to the rope and then cast it out casually onto the River. Khez watched keenly as the makeshift finish pole went to quick work and soon a bevy of small, early fish flitted like secretive quicksilvers beneath the slightly disturbed surface of the water. They would flit out of the reeds, reflecting the sun's glow off of their mirror scales to take a nibble before they darted off and disappeared again.

"Brilliant, mate, brilliant," he said, almost under his breath. Khez hunkered down at Egger's side, resting his forearms on the tops of his hind legs as he squatted as if to get a better look. They remained like that for a little while, not talking until the fella suddenly got his slow grasp around the ferret's name.

He wasn't the stupidest ferret in the bush, but he definitely was not the brightest. It brought him both great amusement with simultaneous tinges of irritation as the dumb lug started trying to pronounce his name and Khez could only loll his head back and roll his beady, black eyes in exasperation. "Good name, but I can't quite get my head round it. Mah name's Egger. Egger Stiffwind."

the ferret raised his paw and pointed at the little bag o' bait. "Well Khez is just fine, eh, and nice t'meetcha Egger, mate. But dontcha think you'd have a spot more luck if ya had something sharpish at the end? Maybe a 'ook or somethin'." He simply tilted his head to the side, and looked at Egger out of the corner of his eyes with a thick-headed but earnestly helpful smile. "That is unless your liddle technique there beholds secrets I don't know about and can magyk the fishies to it."

[aurethius]

Egger sticks a claw into his teeth, picking at something that was stuck on there tighter than a hungry tick.

"Somethin sharpish? Yeah, ye got that right in yer paws there." He says without criticism, tapping the rope-tied spear.

"They're all lined up for ye like peas in a pod. Give that sticker a hurl! I'll bet ye half of what ye catch that you get TWO in one shot."

The Stoat wiggles back and forth happily on the rock, anxious to see the ferret try out Egger's fishing 'technique'.

[Makarov]

Khez observed his stoat messmate with a mixture of bemusement and annoyance slathered on his face. It was mirrored tragically in his jet black eyes, with their darkened smudging rings around them giving him the appearance that he had not slept in weeks. This, however untrue, was sometimes a good line of defense for the ferret. Most creatures he faced off against in the line of battle tended to assume he was just sleepy and an easy target to pick off, and that was their mistake.

Despite a slightly bumbling attitude, Khez was quite the adept fighter. He may not have went looking for confrontation at all times, and did not harbor the usual levels of aggression most of his kinbeasts.Judging by Egger's tone of voice though, he had made a slight fool of himself. So Khez did what he always did, and he pursed his lips and chose to ignore his mistake, because if he didn't acknowledge it, technically it wasn't there. Either way, he was taken aback as the stoat thrust his fishing implement into his paws, almost knocking his delicately, hunkered balance over.

"They're all lined up for ye like peas in a pod. Give that sticker a hurl! I'll bet ye half of what ye catch that you get TWO in one shot."

Egger eyed him carefully now, a slight grin plastered stupidly on his muzzle. Again, the ferret was torn between whether he wanted to slap the stoat silly, or prove to him that he was not as dumb as he looked right about now. His scant ego was on the line now along with that dressful of slippery guts and he wasn't about to let it fall to the same fate, plunging in the river. "Awlright, awhlright!" snapped Khez, swiping the thing fully out of Egger's paws, giving it a slight shake to test it's natural balance.

Once satisfied he offered his sitting companion a withering glare before gazing back out upon the water. Sure enough a number of the flitting silver fish were back, lazily plucking at the chumbag with eager enthusiasm. Khez stood then and drew his arm back skillfully, waiting for the balance to set perfect in his paws. Concentration had set his bear-like face into a mask of stony resolve, even his tiny pink tongue poked out over the side of his lips. A fifth fish joined the fray, lining up perfectly with the rest and suddenly Khez was moving like an oiled lightning bolt. He threw the spear as hard as he could, aiming for the fish nearest to the middle and the weapon hit the water with a muted plop!

The ferret was quick to drop to his knees, reaching for the rope so as to tote the prize back to sure, and he was dismayed to find only a single fish flopping weakly at it's end. "Stupid wadder, bend the light so ya don't know exactly what yer aimin for." He slumped back onto his rump finally next to Egger, watching the fish slowly drown in oxygen.

"Blimey, she worked though, Egger. I'll give ya that much."

[aurethius]

Egger guffaws and slaps his knee, pleased that the ferret had done so well.

"Bah, it ain't two! Yer a durn failure ye are!" he teases.

With a long claw, he pokes at the little fish, watching it flip about and gasp wildly. He then draws his sword out of the scabbard, wiping off some residual blood on his tunic before handing it too over to Khezur.

"This oughta work better'n that curved thing maybe. I always hated pickin scales outta me teeth, so's up to yerself how much ye wanna clean it."

He looks up then, gazing dimly at the waters of the river before venturing a question.

"So what're ye doin out here? Winter jus' passed, an I never seen ye with the Savage Shadows boys. Ye by yerself?"

[Makarov]

The stoat teased Khez with little mercy, but there was hardly a negative bone in his body it seemed, the fella was just out for a chat and to have a spot 'o fun. Fine, good for him. Khezur would never admit it, but in the short time he had spent in the other's presence he felt oddly relaxed and at home, as if they had been best mates for life. Indeed, Egger had this quality about him that was intensely compelling despite his slightly annoying presence as a whole. He was a nuisance that most said they wished to get rid of, but knew their hearts did not share the same view.

"Ey, not good form to mock a beast then lend 'im your blade," he chuckled, allowing some of his formerly stony resolve to crumble a little, revealing glances of his simpler, happier side. Still he took the blade from the preferred end, the handle and did so graciously. "Thanks mate. Can't begin to fathom why you'd stop just to 'elp me git my grub on."

As the ferret spoke he plucked his prize off of the end of the sticker, tossing it back to Egger before he set about properly gutting, heading and filleting the fish. The further he got in the process, the more evident it became that the ferret was quite a skilled meat cutter, and he prided himself at being quite a cook. Yet the only animal he had ever had to feed was himself. As he worked on properly cleaning and skinning the rest he set about answering Egger's question, as to what exactly he was doing here.


"So what're ye doin out here? Winter jus' passed, an I never seen ye with the Savage Shadows boys. Ye by yerself?"

Savage Shadows, that was a new one. Must have been another conglomerate of vermin slowly swelling in the heart of Mossflower. But Khezur had been wrong before, so he decided to venture his own line of questioning in his response.

"Aint never heard o no Savage Shadders," he mused without looking up from the fish. However he drew up his free paw and stuck a long claw in his ear, giving it a wiggle and a pop to dislodge anything unwanted. "Bin alone since I was a little mite proberbly no bigger'n this fish. Don't really know what brought me here, though I suppose it's just me follerin' the winds and where the good vittles is."

He looked up suddenly. "I could ask you the same question actually. But since yer here, ya wanna go ahead and see if ya can get a cozy little fire started?"

[aurethius]

Egger searches through his bag in response, rustling around and occasionally jabbing his paw against something sharp.

"Alone, eh? Well yer pretty dang tough then. A vermin alone's gotta be to last." he says thoughtfully. The concept brought him back to his own kit-hood. Though he had numerous brothers and sisters, as soon as they were able they hunted alone.

"The Savage Shadows be a crew ah critters like me, pretty rough-an-tumble. Nothin more than a little band ah folks with pokey sticks an swords, and they ain't doin anythin now. 's why I'm out there. Gotta get grub on me own."

He withdraws his paw from his sack, defeated by his own inventory.

"An I ain't got nothin fer startin fires. Why'd ye want one anyway? It ain't too cold."