Lady of Nyv

The hunt for food was immediate. The men dropped their bags, leaving the wounded to watch over them, and ran into the trees. They were armed and ready.

Ona turned to Kol, who was standing to the west of her. She studied his form, admiring his sharp jaw and limber build.

“Could you teach me?” Ona asked, gesturing to the bow on his back.

Kol chuckled, “You don’t know how to shoot?”

“No.” Ona confessed. “I was never taught.”

Kol strode toward her, removing his bow as he did so. He stood in front of her, arm outstretched. Ona took the bow and arrow that he offered her, and looked to him for instruction.

Kol took the bow from her grasp, sliding the arrow into place easily. Ona was fascinated by his exceptional skill.

Once again, the bow was in her grip. She met Kol’s eyes, and immediately regret her decision as her entire body melted under his focused gaze.

“Place it in your hands like this.” Kol instructed as he placed her hands in the correct positions.

“Aim and fire.” He continued.

Ona aimed at a tree, and fired. Her arrow followed the exact path she had mapped out in her head and stuck firmly into her desired target.

“You’re a natural!” Kol exclaimed.

Ona thanked Kol for his lesson and returned his bow to him. She needed to join her men in the hunt for food now.

As she walked away from Kol, she caught sight of her arrow in the tree. She climbed a few feet off of the ground and pried the tip of the arrow from the tough bark. She placed the arrow in the waistband of her pants with her dagger.

She jumped down from the tree and walked north from their encampment. She was desperate to find food. They would need it before they ascended into the mountains.

As she walked, her mind was drawn back to the small clearing she had seen on their way to this next encampment. She could taste the potent scent of the Winter Bush on the back of her throat. She desperately wanted to visit the clearing- if only to smell the Winter Bush one last time.

Ona thought about the potential danger in the clearing. She decided that it must be a hidden encampment for the thieves that inhabited the Middle Lands. She knew it would be safer to venture to the clearing at night. She may have a better chance of stealing food when she was sheltered by darkness.

Ona raised her eyes upward to the sky, searching for anything that could point her in the right direction for food. She didn’t see any movement. Not even the wind moved the branches on the tall trees above.

Her eyes wandered still, desperate to find something- anything. Every little amount of food helped, and judging by the lack of voices around her, Ona knew the men hadn’t found anything either.
She decided to climb the trees and search above the ground, maybe then she would be able to see something that the others could not.

Carefully, she gripped the rough bark of a tall tree and began to pull herself into its dense foliage.
Once her body was fully hidden within the trees branches, she felt immediately at ease. Ona inhaled deeply, relishing the deep, earthy scent that filled her nose. She smiled widely, allowing herself to relax a little- she had no one to impress now.

She climbed a little higher, poking her head through the thick branches around her. She surveyed the area. She hadn’t meant to climb so high, but she was glad she had. Ona could see everything from her vantage point.

She could see the clearing which she would explore this evening, and the trees and bushes surrounding it. Ona focused her eyes on the area around the clearing. If t’was a gathering place for thieves, as she had thought, then she knew there had to be people surrounding it. They would be cautious- knowing that Ona and her men were near, but she knew that they would make a mistake eventually.

The wind moved the branches on the trees below, and caused the tree in which she was perched to sway. However; this did not interfere with Ona’s balance. She had cat-like reflexes, and was able to adjust her position in the tree to prevent any issues.

She watched the ground below intently. Keeping an eye on her men, as well as keeping an eye out for food was essential.

Ona found a thick branch that overhung a large part of the branches on the tall tree. She lay down on her stomach on the branch, angling her head so she could see in front of her as well as below her. There, she waited.

Ona knew that if she was quiet and still enough, she would become part of the tree, and thus, invisible. She relaxed and slowed her breathing, allowing her body to sway in the gentle breeze that came off of the mountains.

It took a few moments, but just as Ona had suspected, the thieves wandered right under her tree. She knew that they were being careful, and must be watching her and her men. Had they not been watching, they wouldn’t have known that this area would be safe for them to venture through.
Ona watched them as they walked. They were seven in total, two women and four men. She knew that there were more of them in the clearing. She could see their shadows decorating the packed snow in the center of the Winter Bushes.

She was sure to memorize their route to their “secret” encampment. She needed to remember the direction in which they walked so she would have no chance of getting lost.

Despite how hard she tried, Ona could not make out anything that the thieves said as they walked. Her hearing was exceptional, but they were far too quiet and she was too far away.

As Ona continued to observe them, she did not happen to see any weaponry with them, nor did she see any form of armour. She found this awfully peculiar, but daren’t underestimate them. Simply because they weren’t armed now, did not mean that they wouldn’t be later.

Ona watched until the band of thieves reached their clearing. Once they had arrived, Ona gazed up at the sky. It was nearly nightfall.

She stood on the branch, leaning dangerously close to the tip, and whistled three times. This would summon her men to return, whether they had food, or not.

Ona descended from her mount carefully. Once she reached the ground, she could hear the crunching in the snow caused by the heavy treading of her men as they returned to their encampment.

Ona was first to return, as expected. She hadn’t had the chance to go as far as the others. She noticed that the injured men had started a fire whilst they stood guard. Ona smiled softly as she approached.

“Thank-you for readying our encampment, gentlemen.” Ona stated warmly to Cas, Ita, Nix and Tai, the injured men who had stayed behind.

“T’was our pleasure, m’Lady.” Tai responded with a gentle tip of his head.

The men who had gone out hunting returned slowly. Many of them had small birds or shrubs in their hands, which was promising to Ona. They gathered around the fire and immediately began plucking the birds and small creatures of their feathers and skinning those with fur.

Ona counted three small rabbits, four birds, five squirrels and two bagfuls of shrubbery. They cooked all of their meat rations immediately to prevent rotting, and stored the shrubs in the snow to keep them fresh.

Ona felt a presence behind her. She turned, and saw Dom standing there. She smiled at him softly.
“I found this for you, m’Lady.” Dom said softly, holding out a sprig of Winter Bush.

Ona grabbed the small stem greedily, inhaling its intoxicating scent until she could no longer smell anything else.

“I thought you may have wanted one last breath of it before we cross over.” He stated.
Ona smiled gratefully. “Thank-you.”

As portions of the rations were handed out, the men began to settle down for the night. The sun had set fast, and the darkness encompassed them.

They began to tell stories of their home life. Ona was glad that the men had become comfortable enough to reveal aspects of their lives to one-another. She smiled as the men took turns discussing their pasts and hopes for the future.

“I was a nomad before I met Kol.” Dar said tentatively.

“He allowed me to study under him, and we became very close.”

After all of the Members shared their thoughts, Kel addressed Lug.

“What is it you hope to gain from this mission, Lug?”

“I hope to return to my loving wife. We are expecting a child.”

The Members congratulated him and assured him that he would make it home to see his child.

As the Members finished eating and the conversation died down, Ona decided now was the time to make her escape.

“It is time to rest now, everyone.” Ona announced.

“Kel and Lug will be on night watch.”

After Ona’s message, the men settled down to sleep. Ona picked a tree far from the other men, so they wouldn’t notice when she disappeared.

She leaned against the rough bark of the sturdy tree, pretending to get comfortable to allow herself to fall into another dreamless sleep. She was thankful that neither Kol, nor Dom, had followed her. She needed to be alone tonight.