Winter Wargames (Any) [1164.07.12]

[kendrall]

M'riel barely afforded a peek around the base of an ash tree, then with a half-step out, he raised his bow and drew back the string before letting the arrow fly. It made a slight whistling sound as it zipped through the cold winter air, then with a dull *sploosh* it hit M'riel's intended target. The guard feigned dropping to his knees and keeling over, a bright green spot on his chest, the arrow shaft already on the ground. Yet M'riel was already on the move, though, as he quickly dashed behind another tree, just a few feet from his original starting point before taking aim at another target.

He hadn't been on the island for very long, and the latest Hatching - Authanth's last clutch - was already a fading memory. M'riel wasn't present for the event, nor was he present for the feast that followed. He merely shrugged when he was chided for his failure to attend the festivities, but explained that he wasn't there to 'impress' anybody. What was more important to him, he had said, was that it was another successful Hatching; and while thankful there was another class of Weyrlings to go through the training, he didn't think it was necessary for him to imbue wine and gorge himself on food, therefore making a fool of himself. He didn't say anything about his latest project he had been working on, but he needed a break from the politics of the Weyr. Practicing his marksmanship in the cold wintry air was a perfect means for him to do so, but it also served three other purposes: It allowed him to relieve his stress, it allowed him to build camaraderie with the Guards, and it got him away from Shayna.

Oreath reminded his bonded to dress warmly, and M'riel did so, thanking his faithful companion as the giant Bronze waited for him in a nearby clearing. Wearing nearly dark colors allowed him to easily blend in with the barren trees, long stripped of their leaves. It was a part of him, the need to keep up on his archery and survival skills. So far, M'riel hadn't missed a single target, always aiming for center-of-mass. He knew headshots were very difficult, even with live targets. Another arrow flew through the air, making a dull *sploosh* as it hit the target, leaving a bright green spot on a guard's chest.

He had to duck out of the way as a few arrows were fired in his direction, one of them impacting the tree he was using for shelter. M'riel didn't have time to look at the color of the ink used in the small hide pouch tied to the arrow. Instead, he slowly dropped to the ground, peered around the opposite side of the tree, then rolled over in the snow to find another firing position.

[sorra]

Rask walked through the woods, her goggles making it a bit hard to see, but at least she could be out a bit earlier then dark. She heard noises that she didn't recognize and headed that way. Mine, strange noises.

Randy hurried after her wher. Something certainly had Rask's attention. As they got closer Randy heard the sounds of arrows and practicing and drew up short. She wasn't sure where the person was with the bow and she certainly didn't want to get hit by a flying arrow or have Rask get hit. She was glad now that Leyran was helping Caid. "Hello?" she called, wanting to make her presence known to whomever was out there.

Rask on the other hand put her nose to the ground and sniffed. She soon found M'riel's hiding place and looked at the man that she didn't know well. Who you? she demanded of the man.

[kendrall]

M'riel turned around just in time to see a green Wher come up to him, looking him over. He wasn't sure why a Wher was out here without its handler, but as soon as he heard a woman's voice call out with a greeting, the Bronzerider slowly got to his feet. He kept his bow pointed to the ground, never taking his eyes off the Wher in front of him. Oreath, mind helping me out here? There's a Green Wher in front of me that I've never recognized before...

A smaller cousin? the Bronze asked, curious. Of course, Mine. One moment. Shifting his attention, Oreath called out to the Wher. Cousin, Mine means you no harm. He is M'riel, but I would ask Yours to avoid the colors that are being flung around. Mine refers to them as 'wargames', and while they are fun, he also takes them very seriously.

The familiar sound of a hide bag impacting against the side of a tree meant that someone had drawn a bead on the Bronzerider while he was distracted, but missed. M'riel instinctively ducked and scurried behind a nearby bush, cursing under his breath.

[sorra]

Rask backed off and looked around for the source of the voice. No harm he stay, the green said. She just didn't want any trouble in her Weyr. The green looked for her handler. Big cousin say watch for colors. They war games. The wher didn't understand it, but she passed it on anyway.

Randy stayed where she was in plain view so that whomever was out there would know that she was there and not accidentally aim at her. Wargames didn't sound like something she wanted to get in the middle of. Especially when she didn't know who was actually out there. Rask was bad at names and the green hadn't even tried to give her handler a name. "Sorry I interrupted!" she called to the rider that was in the woods somewhere.

[Mik]

Swift heard the talking of Randy the wherhandler and of M'riel, the one to devise this game. Just by listening alone, he found out where one of his prey were hiding and slipped around to find a view of him. Grinning, the former Raider let loose an arrow fore warning that he had spotted one of the more elusive opponents of the game. After he glimpsed the arrow splashing ink on the tree nearby the other bronzerider, he ducked and rolled to his next hiding place, wild green eyes just as bright as the ink he had chosen for his shots in this game.

[kendrall]

M'riel silently muttered under his breath. Leave it to a no-good Green Wher and her Handler to nearly give him away, to distract him just long enough to be tagged by one of his opponents. Oreath, tell that Handler to get out here if he or she isn't playing!

Cousin, Mine strongly suggests you and Yours take shelter elsewhere, if Yours wishes not to play. Oreath cautioned the Green Wher. The Bronze knew that his own Rider didn't want to see the Handler hurt, but at the same time was rather annoyed that he'd nearly been picked off by someone else...something which Oreath found amusing. It would serve M'riel right to be taken down a notch or two, to relax just a little when it came to a simple game.

M'riel tried to peer through the bush he was hiding behind, trying not to make himself too noticeable. He could barely make out the arrow shaft on the ground, and its angle suggested to him which direction it had came from. M'riel also knew that his opponent would have likely sought cover, making him or her all the more difficult to spot. He rolled to his left a few feet, resting behind a snowbank, then cautiously crept up to the crest to take a look.

A bright green spot had impacted the tree he was last hiding behind. M'riel knew at least one other opponent used that same exact shade of green he himself was using. His gut was telling him it was most likely Swift who had taken the shot at him, but missed. The Bronzerider smirked. Swift was much younger than he was, and in some ways reminded M'riel of himself in his younger days. Younger, and far less experienced than he.

M'riel narrowed his eyes to look for the telltale signs of snow and brush that had been recently disturbed. It took him a few moments, but he finally found what he was looking for. Time to flush him out, M'riel thought as he notched the arrow, rose up and pulled back on the string. Aiming carefully, the Bronzerider let it fly, attempting to impact the snow just to either side of Swift, intent on splashing the ground with bright green ink to spook the younger man into fleeing in the opposite direction.

No sooner than he let the arrow loose, M'riel drew another shot and waited.

[sorra]

Rask snorted and turned from the bronze rider. She didn't like him. And she liked him even less after Oreath's words. Mine, let's go, the wher said, walking past her handler. Randy was confused, but quickly followed her green. Apparently she had walked into the middle of some sort of game and she hadn't meant to. Well, oops and that rider would just have to deal with it. She hadn't known what was going on, or else she would have stayed away.

Ekaterina watched Randy walk away from her hiding spot. She felt bad for the handler for getting caught up in the middle of the game, but she also smirked. She had been trailing M'riel for a bit now. She just hadn't wanted to give her position away, but now she knew where two of them were. Or at least a good guess.

The green rider crept through the brush, being careful not to make a sound. She had grown up as a Trader and knew how to keep silent when she wanted to. Not to mention she had enjoyed surprising R'en like that a few times. She grinned and stayed behind some brush as she notched an arrow to her bow. She waited silently, biding her time. The green rider let her arrow loose as soon as she saw another arrow head off in a different direction. She watched to see if the blue tipped arrow would hit M'riel or not then she would see how close he had gotten to Swift's position and go from there in figuring out her next move. Ekaterina slipped back into the bushes and belly crawled to a tree while she watched her arrow's impact.

[Mik]

Swift had his wild eyes set on M'riel for his next move, watching as the other bronzerider raised his bow to let loose an arrow in his direction. He started his crouched movements backwards as the ink started his way, having already spotted his next hiding spot to get another angle on his opponents. The ink splashed the snow a mere arm's length from where he had just been and he smirked as he caught a glimpse of the other arrow honing in on M'riel's position. He would probably be watching for his dive in the other direction, but the other arrow would give him a berth to shimmy several trees and bushes and logs away to his south. There was his second target, too. He made a leaping roll toward a large downed tree a mere moment after the other ink exploded outward near M'riel, letting fly an arrow toward the bronzerider's position. He would get the other one as soon as he laid sight on him or her.

[kendrall]

The familiar noise of an arrow whistling through the trees alerted him, and M'riel dropped to the ground and rolled away at a perpendicular angle. A splotch of blue ink appeared in the spot where he had just been hiding, followed by a splotch of bright green. M'riel shook his head as he grinned to himself. Now was not the time for Swift to get smart, nor was it time for a certain Greenrider - Ekaterina, most likely - to get the drop on the Bronzerider and former Guardsman. He thought he heard some bushes rustle not too far from where he lay, but M'riel opted to lay still for a moment longer, listening intently. Slowly but surely, M'riel elbow-crawled towards a group of several trees just to his west, well out of sight from mostly everyone, and stood up behind one of them, maintaining his cover.

It didn't take him too long to climb up into the tree, coming to rest on a sturdy branch roughly thirty to forty feet in the air. His own outfit would help to conceal his presence amidst the numerous branches, but M'riel kept his own bow at the ready, silently waiting and watching for one of his opponents to make a tactical error.

[sorra]

Ekaterina shook her head as she watched where her arrow hit. She wasn't surprised that M'riel had moved. She would have been disappointed if he had been caught that easily. Although she wasn't about to be deterred. She raised a brow as she watched the angle of where the other arrow had come from. Hmm, now to get in a better position without giving herself away. This was when having red hair wasn't a good thing. Although she had found a dark hat of sorts and tried to hide her red mane so it wouldn't give her away.

The green rider slipped under the brush and watched for any movement. She wasn't quite sure which direction M'riel had gone and she also wasn't sure who the other one was yet. Although she was hoping to figure it out soon. She watched for the slight movement, not wanting to get caught herself.

[Mik]

Swift searched the barren woods for his targets, knowing that two were in close vicinity to his own position, his bow at the ready for a quick and easy swing in any direction needed as he scouted the landscape with his wild green eyes. M’riel had been by that tree and so he checked the perimeter from his current position, not catching any glimpse of his fellow bronzerider. Figuring on a hunt again for the Future-Timer, he turned his eyes to the origins of the blue splotched arrow and smiled as he caught a glimpse of her disappearing into some brush. Taking one more quick glance about with the goofy smile on his face, he raised his bow and let fly an arrow into the brush, then moved quickly northward again, somewhat away from Ekaterina’s location and hopefully toward M’riel’s, his wild eyes scanning the foliage for several paces as he ducked beneath a thick, dead tree limb, shimmying far enough under it to be able to roll out quickly, but also to cover himself from above the best he could until he could locate M’riel again.

[kendrall]

M'riel watched in near-total silence as he heard the familiar sound of someone taking cover in a nearby brush, followed by the slicing of an arrow through the cold air and another rustling sound. His eyes quickly turned in the direction of the sounds, and he watched in near-total silence as the arrow penetrated the bush. The Bronzerider had a pretty good idea who fired that arrow, and who the intended target was. His long Turns of specialized training as a sniper and marksman gave him a distinct advantage over most of his opponents; only those who'd come with him could give him a serious challenge if he wasn't careful. M'riel had insisted that each of his Riders work on their skills with the bow even before this whole trip started, but he shook his head as he realized Ekaterina's red hair could easily give her away if she didn't take the necessary precautions. He vowed to remind the Greenrider to invest in a dark-colored hood after this exercise was over.

Swift, on the other hand, was proving to be an interesting foe. From atop his perch, M'riel could easily spot the younger man move closer to his own position and duck under a tree limb, trying to take refuge. A simple tactic, but far too easy for the former Guardsman. Raising his bow and taking careful aim, M'riel let the arrow fly on a sharp downward trajectory. His arrow was intending to splash bright green ink just at Swift's head; it would most likely impact within a hairsbreadth of where the younger man was attempting to hide. It also would serve as a silent warning, one M'riel was known to send to an opponent: Move, and his next arrow would find its mark.

[sorra]

Ekaterina nearly let a squeal escape her lips when the arrow skimmed over her head, just missing splotching her totally. She had a feeling she got a bit of ink on her shoulder and she frowned. Shard it! She was going to have to be more careful. She shifted enough to try to pull the make shift hood she had grabbed down. It wasn't working real well though and she was going to have to find something else to use. It was times like this that she really didn't like have such fiery red hair.

The green rider knew she was going to have to move fast since it appeared that Swift knew where she was. She silently growled and slid out from under the brush, darting for a tree and cursing her red hair. She just hoped that M'riel and Swift were after each other and hadn't noticed her move yet. Not that she knew where her wingleader was yet, but she would find him if she had enough time.

[Mik]

Swift heard the whistle of a nearby arrow, looking quickly about him to find its location, finally seeing it splosh into snow and dead leaves nearby his right shoulder. He caught its angle before it fell over and smiled. M’riel was above him. Perfect. Now he had to watch above much closer. Wild eyes quickly scanning for Ekaterina again, the bronze rider saw her and smirked, rolling from his hiding place to shoot an arrow in her direction. After he let that arrow fly, he scanned above him as he rolled to his feet and slipped behind a tree, figuring that he could look for the foe above a little easier and stay out of shot sight while he did so. This was working on a rather fun game in his opinion.