Open Chronicles A Traveling Huntress

[Jett Alistair]

After her father's death, Jett Alistair stayed at her childhood home for 4 years, when she was 17 she sold the property, bought a horse, and chose to travel the world on her own.

Now, A year later, she has met many people, and seen many things. But some days she wished she had someone she could confide in and trust, ever since her father died she hadnt had someone like that. Today was not of those days, Jett was camping through the night a days ride from Fal'Addas she sat at her toasty little fire, cooking a small rodent she had caught in a trap, her horse was tied securely to a tree and munching on grass.

Her life was a lonely one, but most of the time she didn't mind, such was the life of a traveler. Jett looked at the night sky, thinking of how when she was 6 years old she would sneak onto the roof of the house and talk to the moon, and smiled to herself.

''Hello, Mother Moon'' she whispered.

She quit daydreaming and started eating her dinner. Feeding small pieces of meat to her Deerfox, Clover, who yipped happily. After she finished eating she climbed into her bedroll and tried to sleep.​

 

[Nycto]

Jett

Little did the elf realize, was that she was being watched from the darkness of the night. Nycto was blending into the shadows, watching the woman, observing her. In fact, he had completely disappeared into the shadows, having slipped into the shadows whenever she had come and set up camp. He was completely one with the darkness, being a part of the shadows, thanks to his unique abilities and magic.

Nycto had been watching her for some time now. She had arrived and Nycto was forced to slip into the shadows. She had set up camp, and started cooking some sort of rodent. Nearby Nycto was a horse grazing on some grass. Nycto had been forced to stay in the shadows, or she would have seen him. So he had been trapped here for some time now. Nycto had decided to merely watch and observe her. Besides, she was out here on her own, and bandits were always prowling around. And, just being by herself, bandits and thieves would jump at the opportunity.

She was an odd one, from what Nycto observed. She seemed... sad, and lonely. Nycto could relate to that. He didn't have many people that were close to him. Most people tended to avoid Nycto, since he just seemed like something about him was off. And if they found out what he truly was... well, most people didn't stay long after that. They always thought he was a freak, a monster. Those that did grow close to him and stuck around were very few in number, only about 1 or 2 people actually enjoyed being around him. So, he was used to being alone, but he still wondered what it would be like to have friends or even family. He truly had no one, so he could sympathize with this woman.

Then, she seemed to be going to sleep, feeding the remaining pieces of the rodent to a small animal before crawling into her bedroll, seemingly trying to go to sleep. After a few minutes, Nycto finally made his move. He came out of the shadows, seemingly appearing out of thin air. He wore his standard attire: long-sleeved, black turtle-neck. Long, black pants. Gloves on his hands. Boots on his feet. And a mask on his face. Every single place where skin would show was covered, with the only identifying thing that was visible was his silver hair. This was both to protect Nycto, and to protect others. It protected Nycto by blocking out the sun, keeping him safe from its light and heat. It protected others by hiding what he truly was. By hiding every single place on his body from sight, it protected others from the truth. If they knew the truth about Nycto... and the monster that he truly was... No one would ever come near him again. So, to make sure that people weren't constantly in fear of his presence, he hide every point of skin on his body, to ensure that people near him could be happy and enjoy their lives.

As Nycto came out of the shadows, he flinched from the heat of the fire, still crackling. The two things that Nycto was afraid of, since it could hurt him, was the light and heat. And the sun and fire provided both of those things. He wore his long and covering clothes for this reason, to protect him from light and somewhat from heat, but he could still feel the heat seeping him, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Nycto concentrated on the fire, and the darkness on the edges of the fire's reach. Then, he drew in the dark, bringing it in towards the fire. Making a fist, the darkness would surround the fire, completely turning out the light, completely making the light disappear, throwing everything into darkness. Nycto released the shadows, letting them disperse again. The fire was now out, but still smoking.

As Nycto approached the camp cautiously, the horse tied to the tree noticed him, and started panicking. It started whinnying loudly, and started jumping and thrashing around wildly, making a great deal of noise. Nycto froze. Damn, animals could always seem to sense Nycto, and they could seemingly sense that there was something wrong about him, and that there was something unnatural about him.

No doubt the elf woman would wake up, and Nycto would be in a lot of trouble...

 

[Jett Alistair]

Jett woke up with a start at the sound of her horse's panic. She leapt up and pulled out a dagger, she noted the fire was out and the darkness would make it harder to see who or what had startled her horse. Clover was growling at something she couldn't see, that little deerfox had always thought she was bigger than she really was.

''Whos there?'' She called out, ''I don't have anything of value.''

She knew it was a lie, thinking of her locket. It was dwarven made, passed on to her from her father, it had been in the family from when the Alistair's had been nobility. So yeah, it was old. Jett scanned the darkness, trying to pinpoint where this intruder was, and wondering if she was surrounded.

''Show yourself, or pay the price.'' Of course, there wasn't much she could do if she couldn't see them, but that's besides the point.

 

[Nycto]

Jett

Nycto watched as the woman got up quickly, pulling out a dagger. The small animal was growling at Nycto. The elf woman called out, asking who was there, and saying that she didn't have anything of value. Nycto could practically smell her attempts at trying to dissuade him. She was trying to lie to him? Nycto had always been great at detecting lies. Of course, since he was an expert at speaking Shadon, lying and detecting lies was basically second nature to him. He could tell she was lying, but he didn't say anything about that or act with that information. After all, he wasn't here to steal from her, why would he need the information that she did have something of value?

Nycto watched as the woman scanned the darkness, trying to find Nycto, seeming unsure about her situation. Nycto knew that his senses were better than hers. He could easily see in the dark far better than her. She couldn't see him, but he could see her. In the darkness, she was quite beautiful. She seemed innocent, soft, and caring, and at the same time tough and self-made

Man, combined with her weak response, and her only having a knife and a small animal, if Nycto had been a bandit, he could have easily beaten. Luckily for her, Nycto found her before a bandit did.

The woman ordered him to show himself, or he would pay the price. Nycto doubted that she would actually be able to do anything to Nycto in her current state, blinded by the dark and severely under-armed. Still, Nycto wasn't here to fight her.

Nycto stepped forward where she would be able to see him. He raised his hands, showing her that he meant her no harm. Of course, his attire would probably freak her out. It isn't everyday a masked figure appears out of the darkness, even if they had their hands raised.

"I mean you no harm," Nycto told her. "It's just that, well, your camp is very close to my camp, so I was coming over to see what was happening over here."

 

[Jett Alistair]

She watched as the strange masked, silver haired figure stepped out of the shadows with its hands raised. She glared suspiciously and did not lower her dagger.

''What business of yours is it what's happening over here?'' She looked at them, wondering what the mask was hiding, and if they were the one who put her fire out. It had taken her a while to get it started because the wood was damp and she needed a new flint and steel. This person was probably a physco, she tightened her grip on her dagger. Clover growled again.

''Sit.'' Jett says, snapping her fingers, keeping her gaze trained on the stranger. Clover sat and whined in protest.

''What's with the mask?'' She didn't say this like she was judging, she was just curious.

 

[Jett Alistair]

Jett looked at the masked figure curiously, waiting for a response. She brushed a strand of red hair out of her face and started relighting her fire. Clover looked at the stranger, sensing something was off but not sure what. Jett got the fire started and a soft warm glow lit up the camp.

Athena was still distressed so Jett comforted her horse and fed it an apple from her pocket. While she did this she still watched the stranger warily out of the corner of her eye. The mask was a bit concerning, to say the least. She new from experience that people who hid their face where people who had something to hide. What if this strange silver haired shadow was a criminal... or worse. She shook the thoughts away, she would just ask him to leave if need be and if he refused she would use force.

Clover was slowly creeping towards them, her orange fur standing on end and glowing in the firelight, she knew something was up with this stranger.

''Come sit?'' She offered to the stranger and motioned to a spot by the crackling fire.

 

[Nycto]

Jett

Nycto watched as the woman watched him, glaring at him suspiciously. That was fair, he had creeped up on her in the middle of the night. No doubt she was incredibly wary of Nycto and the situation they were in; Nycto knew that if he was in her position he most likely would feel the same way.

'What business of yours is it what's happening over here?''

Nycto tilted his head at her. "What business do any of us have? Why do we do anything?" He asked her. "Well, as you no doubt understand, my business is, well, my business, correct?"

The small animal was still growling at him. Hmm, cute. This little thing thought it could scare him off? Funny. The woman snapped her fingers at the animal, ordering it to sit. The animal sat, though it didn't seem happy about that, and whined in protest.

''What's with the mask?''

Nycto froze at this question. Now that was a personal question, even more personal than what his business was. Jeez, did this woman really not know that you don't just start strangers incredibly personal questions?! And the mask was very personal to Nycto. Barely anyone knew the reason why he wore the mask, and now her asking about the mask made him extremely uncomfortable.

As Nycto stood there in silence, thinking about what to say, the woman started moving around. She got to work relighting her fire. As she did this, the small animal looked at Nycto, as if it was examining him.

When the woman re-lit her fire, this seemed to snap Nycto out of his daze. At the sight of the fire, he flinched slightly at the sight of the fire. One of the few things he was afraid of was fire, since it could hurt him more than anything else.

The woman then went to comfort her horse, still watching Nycto carefully.

''Come sit?''

Nycto seemed to hesitate for a second. The woman had offered him a seat near the fire. Sit down... near the fire? Nycto stood still for a couple of seconds, before nodding and slowly walking over to the fire. He sat down, uneasily and carefully, still wary of the fire that wasn't too far away from him. Nycto shifted uncomrfortably, still nervous about the fire.

"Erm- thanks." Nycto told her.

"You... um- you asked me about my mask? That's... that's kind of a touchy subject for me, if I'm telling the truth. It's... well, to put it simply, I physically need it. That's about all I can tell you." Nycto said to her. He was obviously uncomfortable talking about the mask. And in his voice was a hint of... sadness. Like talking about the mask reminded him of something that made him sad.

"So... erm... what's your name? My name is Nycto." He introduced himself.

 

[Jett Alistair]

She watched as he eyed the fire nervously, then sat down. Was he afraid? Of fire? She sat near the fire as well, and listened carefully as he finally answered her earlier question.

"You... um- you asked me about my mask? That's... that's kind of a touchy subject for me, if I'm telling the truth. It's... well, to put it simply, I physically need it. That's about all I can tell you."

She noted the sad tone of his voice, and could sense how uncomfortable he was. She nodded when he finished speaking.

''We all have things we wish to hide,'' She looked at her hands, which were playing with her dagger absently. Clover had settled down a bit, but was still watching him carefully. The stranger introduced himself.

"So... erm... what's your name? My name is Nycto."

''Jett Alistair, pleased to meet you.'' She set her dagger down and looked at him.

''So, where are you traveling to?'' She asked, making small talk.

She pulled Clover onto her lap and pet her, Clover had belonged to her father. The little deerfox's pack had been killed by a hunter, the poor thing was barely alive when Callum had found her. She had been shot with an arrow in the leg. She had chewed the shaft off but the arrowhead was lodged in Clovers leg, the wound was dangerously infected. Callum had taken the arrowhead out and taken care of her, but when the time came to release her Clover just wouldn't go. Clover still walked with a slight limp in her front left leg. This had happened when Jett was about 11 or 12, a few years before her father's death.

''I'm headed to Fal'Addas'' She looked back up at Nycto.

 

[Nycto]

Jett Alistair

Nycto looked over at the woman as she responded to him, stating that they all have things to hide. She was... surprisingly understanding. Nycto wasn't used to someone understanding how he felt, and yet... this woman could understand what he meant completely. It was... a nice change of pace.

When Nycto introduced himself, she looked at him and even set down her knife, introducing herself as Jett Alistair. So, she was finally warming up to him. Nycto guessed that she had decided that he truly did mean her no harm, and that he was somewhat trustworthy. "Nice to meet you, Jett," Nycto told her. "Truth be told, I haven't met someone as... understanding as you in a while."

'So, where are you traveling to?''

Nycto turned his head, looking into the fire. He shifted uncomfortably at the sight of the fireThe light shined on his mask, enhancing the features of the mask. Where was he traveling too? Nycto had been feeling a... pull, of some sort. Something was pulling him this way, drawing his attention to wherever the pull wanted him to go. Something was wanting him to find something, or someone. Whatever it was, Nycto knew that it was important.

Nycto looked back at Jett. She had the small animal on her lap, petting it. The animal seemingly trusted her completely, even though it seemed like a wild animal. She was no doubt affectionate for the animal, and the animal obviously felt the same about her. The entire image was very adorable.

Jett told Nycto that she was headed to Fal'Addas. Fal'Addas... Nycto knew that place. He had even been there, a while back. Was whatever was leading him bringing him to Fal'Addas? It might be the case.

Nycto nodded. "Yes... I guess I too am heading to Fal'Addas," He replied.

"So... what brings you out here towards Fal'Addas?" Nycto asked her.

Then, he froze. "Er- sorry. I didn't mean too... ask any personal questions. You've shown me respect and understanding for my privacy, so I can show you some in return." He apologized.

Thinking of a less personal question, Nycto said, "So, what made you set up camp here? You do know that these paths are dangerous too travel alone, with wild animals and bandits constantly on the prowl, searching for another victim?"

 

[Jett Alistair]

"Truth be told, I haven't met someone as... understanding as you in a while."

''Understanding people can be hard to come by. My father always told me to be as kind to others as I can, and if people did that then the world would be a better place. If only more people were like him.'' She was a bit sad to talk about her father.

It had been almost five years since his death, but it was still just as hard. That was why she had left, her childhood home had become harder and harder to stay in. She would go to find a piece of parchment in her father's old desk, and then spend the next few hours pouring over pages covered in his flowing script, trying not to leave smudges where her tears fell on the inked words.

"Yes... I guess I too am heading to Fal'Addas,"

"So... what brings you out here towards Fal'Addas?"

"Er- sorry. I didn't mean too... ask any personal questions. You've shown me respect and understanding for my privacy, so I can show you some in return."

''It's alright. I just wanted to see the city again I guess.'' She wasn't really sure why she was headed there, if she was being honest.

''And I don't mind questions, I enjoy talking to people.'' She shrugs and looks at Nyco, surprised at how polite he was being. Goes to show you, She thought, Can't judge a book by its cover.

 

[Jett Alistair]

"So, what made you set up camp here? You do know that these paths are dangerous too travel alone, with wild animals and bandits constantly on the prowl, searching for another victim?"

''I can take care of myself.'' She said, a bit bitterly. Jett had dealt with many people who expected that since she was just a young woman she couldn't do things on her own. Callum had been the only one who understood, he always let her do everything. He taught her to hunt at a young age and always trusted her to know her own limits. Sometimes she bit off more than she could chew when trying to prove herself, but that was just her nature.

 

[Nycto]

''Understanding people can be hard to come by. My father always told me to be as kind to others as I can, and if people did that then the world would be a better place. If only more people were like him.''

Nycto looked at her. She seemed... sad when talking about this. And she talked about her father in the past tense, too. Ah, that made sense. She had lost her father. "Your father... he sounds like a great man. Yes... if only more people were like him. Well, at least you're like him. He obviously taught you well." He told her.

''It's alright. I just wanted to see the city again I guess.''

Nycto nodded. "Are you from there?" He asked her. Guessing by the way that she talked, she was.

''And I don't mind questions, I enjoy talking to people.''

"Sorry... I'm just... not that good at talking with people, you see. I... don't have many friends." Nycto admitted to Jett.

''I can take care of myself.''

Nycto leaned back when she replied, bitterly. Ah, he had obviously touched a sore spot within her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just... why would you stay in these woods when the city is so close?" He asked her.