Make a Living

[Kadina]

Kadina was slightly insulted.
"Hurt me?" She whispered with a scowl but then smiled. Yeah right..
She spun her dagger arrogantly in her palm before sheathing it and walking to the clearing where the strangers were alone. She remembered coming upon them during her travels the night before and eavesdropping on their conversation.

In the light of the day, Thell was more frightening than Kadina had thought. She looked as tough as she had sounded and had clearly been through a lot. It was easy for Kadina to understand the vengeance the poor girl sought. Feeling pity for the girl, she remembered the cooked sparrow in her left hand and the girl's seeming necessity to eat from the night before. "I kind of eavesdropped on you last night so... I figure I owe you this." She tossed the sparrow to Thell and smiled a friendly smile before placing her hands on her hips and looking around.

Blade... Blade looked like an assassin: The cloak and the weapons. Kadina never understood who assassins thought they were fooling. Anyone who's been around would know that a man in a cloak is generally up to no good. "I'm Kadina," She offered her hand to Blade, the smile never leaving her face and her other hand never leaving her hip. Every blink and subtle movement both Thell and Blade made was being assessed by Kadina's subconscious. Growing up as a warrior, her mind was automatically trained to sum up the ability of possible opponents, though she had no real intention of fighting them. Over the years, it became more than just their abilities. She had slowly incorporated their behavior to determine personality as well.

[Rii/Thell]

Thell hated to admit that Blade was right about how much energy keeping the wolf alive would require. She had been hoping that keeping him out longer would help him to develop speech faster, but he was right. Deserts wouldn't care if she was trying to raise a baby wooden wolf.

But before she could even grumble a retort, she smelled something. Something burning. Fire. She would never forget that smell. At first she thought it was a forest fire, but using whatever logic existed in his brain, Blade seemed to narrow it down to it being a specific person. He threatened whoever it was, though when the girl appeared it seemed she wasn't at all intimidated by the threat. She was around Thell's age, and seemed to dress in a similar way. Thell wouldn't say it was the same color or anything, but it definitely didn't fit the traveling standard. No leather breeches and boring tunics.

There wasn't much more time to assess the newcomer with her one eye, as the girl was tossing a cooked sparrow her way, saying it was for the fact that she had eavesdropped on them the night before. Briefly Thell stiffened, suspicious momentarily, but it seemed the girl was trying to make peace. She had just given Thell free food.

The girl then turned to Blade and introduced herself as Kadina. She offered him her hand, and Thell smiled. "She offers you a handshake, and me a dead bird... I think I got the better end of this deal, Blade," Thell observed with a broad grin, about to take a bite out of it.

"That could be poisoned, you know," Vandir pointed out. The wooden dragon made his way onto her knee to stare at the bird his creator held, glad he didn't have to worry about eating as a necessity.

"Yes well, I could also just have no energy, meaning you'll die and I'll pass out. It's pretty much the same thing," Thell shot back, taking the bite anyway. They both were talking softly to each other, neither verbally admitting that they were waiting to see if Blade was actually going to try and hurt Kadina or shake her hand.

[Faro/Blade]

"I prefer chicken." Blade remarked to Thell, smirking. Blade turned back and took her hand. "People call me Blade." He took his hand from her and placed it back on his dagger, letting his left hand do the talking. Never dropping the smirk. "I have to say, you did a good job of evading us. Until you started that cookfire." He snapped his fingers. "Someone like you must know Torak." He said, placing his thumb on his temple.

For all Blade's training, he found Kadina difficult to read. Mysterious even. Maybe it was the low lunar phase limiting his perception, but if she was a threat, she was very good at hiding it.

[Kadina]

Blade's remark about the chicken informed Kadina that he was a man who knew what he wanted, what he liked. Statements like that show a sort of focus and dedication in someone's personality, and that was certainly a desired trait in any assassin. His hand was rough and his grasp was firm. His unfailing smirk had Kadina convinced that he wasn't threatened by her, but she changed her mind when he rested his hand on his dagger. A sign of distrust... That or a habit. Still, he was wise for not letting down his guard. Even assassins can be assassinated. Oh the irony. Kadina thought as she quickly shifted her eyes from his dagger to his face before smiling and slightly bowing her head with her hands out in a courtesy as she stepped away to examine Vandir. "Torak is an old friend! It's been too long since I've seen him. Do you know of his whereabouts?" She crouched next to Thell while offering her friendliest smile and a look in her eyes that promised no harm before giving Vandir all of her attention. She observed him meticulously, her elbows propped on her knees with her chin resting on the palms of her hands. Fascination glinted in her large eyes.

[Faro/Blade]

"No idea, but that's not a surprise. That guy can disappear for months at a time." Blade said, recalling all the times his mentor had left without warning. "He always seems to come back just when I get used to running the guild."

[Rii/Thell]

Thell enjoyed her sparrow and the rush of energy it was giving her, though regrettably it was gone too soon. By the time Kadina was done asking about a man name Torak, Thell had managed to shove all the remaining meat into her mouth, which Vandir pretended was not the most disgusting thing he'd ever seen.While she chewed she noted that Blade had his hand on his weapon.

Goddesses, she hated mornings. She was a night owl most of the time. Morning person with the sense to keep a hand on her weapon? Apparently not.

As she tried to engrain it in her brain that keeping a hand on your weapon was always a good thing, Kadina appeared, offering a smile before crouching down to inspect Vandir. No one was ever used to seeing moving wooden objects held together by glowing green threads of energy. Blade didn't seem to know the answer to Kadina's question. "Another mysterious person who shows up and disappears just as fast? That's not surprising," Thell remarked as she glanced over in search of her battle-axe now that Kadina was closer than before. Right on the other side of her bedroll, which she was still sitting on anyway. She let her left hand run across the handle. Now that she knew, Thell returned her attention to the newcomer.

[Kadina]

Thell's statement reminded Kadina of the third man the night before who had declined their quest and disappeared. She chuckled. "So Torak was your mentor, huh? I never knew much about the guild, but I guess if I've any questions, I can ask you, right?" She stood up and looked at Blade, one of her eyebrows slightly cocked. "However, more about the guild later. I'm currently a little more interested in the healing zora you spoke of last night. What was the name?" She asked turning back to Thell.

[Rii/Thell]

Thell wasn't sure about this guild and this Torak guy. She was a part of a guild, but it was a woodcrafter's guild, all for the people who cut wood, who crafted wood, and who whittled wood. It gave her odd connections in unexpected places, but Thell was positive it wasn't anything like the guild the two of them were talking about.

Whatever the case, Kadina didn't seem too concerned about it at the moment. Instead, she was interested in the name of the Zora healer. Zora healer? Oh. Rii, the one who had healed Thell's burns. She gripped her axe more firmly. "Why is the healer's name important to you?" Thell asked warily, not wanting to risk Rii's safety. The healer could look after herself, but she was friendly and trusting and open to everyone. And Kadina... seemed friendly. Thell still wasn't sure.

[Kadina]

Kadina thought a moment on how she to explain.

"I was rescued from death by a zora not too long ago.. at least I think so. I woke up in Zora's Domain from some sort of a coma I think. I really haven't the foggiest idea. I'm just trying to see if I can find them, thank them, and maybe get rid of, or harness, this..."

She held her hand out infront of her with her fingers curled upward. After focusing a moment, little sparks spit form the tips and fizzled out. "The inner surge is kind of driving me crazy, but it's definitely been useful. Like that fire for instance." She put her hand down and rested it back on her own dagger after realizing both Thell and Blade were doing the same with their weapons. Anxiously, she pondered if they were about to attack. Was it possible they knew Luca? She would have to keep further details of her incident to herself just incase.

[Faro/Blade]

Blade saw Kadina's hand shift to her weapon, and realized they were all ready to slit each others throats. "Heh, this is getting a bit tense, isn't it?" He said, removing his hand from his own dagger, and pointing his palms toward the two women while flashing a toothy grin. "I think we could do without gutting each other."

[Rii/Thell]

Thell listened intently. Rescued from death and waking up in Zora's Domain. Sounded familiar to Thell. She would've died from blood loss and her burns if it weren't for Rii. Though the sparks flying out of her fingertips was new. Unless she had nearly died by electrocution, Thell wasn't sure Rii could've caused that. And it made her a bit uneasy that Kadina could start fires with them. But it seemed Kadina was the one who needed to be uneasy. Thell saw her place her hand on her weapon, and that's when Faro pointed out the situation.

Thell retracted her own hand from her precious axe. "Just wanted to make sure you wouldn't hurt the Zora who saved my life," she explained with a huff. "Her name is Rii. She's been known to save people from near death before, obviously." At this, Thell gestured to herself and the severe burns that she'd told Rii she didn't want to get rid of. Partly because she looked fierce, partly so she could remember the man she needed to kill. "I don't know if she was the one who saved you, but she's entirely capable of getting rid of that, I'm sure. Or knowing someone who can."

[Kadina]

Kadina narrowed her eyes a bit as Blade took his hand off his dagger. She kept hers in place until Thell removed hers as well. Seemed safe enough. She mimicked their removal and sat down as Thell talked.

She had tried not to be rude earlier by staring at Thell's scars, but now that she gestured to them, Kadina could finally get a better look. She winced a little as she examined them and instantly sympathized with her fear of fire.

"... she's entirely capable of getting rid of that, I'm sure. Or knowing someone who can."

"That's great!" Kadina exclaimed as she returned her attention to the conversation. She was anxious to be healed but decided that she would help Thell first. It was the least that she could do, and she knew from the night before that Thell was in search of assistance.

"How about I join you in finding this man you're after, and you can introduce me to Rii in return? I think that's fair, right?"

[Rii/Thell]

Thell grinned at the offer. Vandir knew what was going to happen. She was going to leap at the chance head first and deal with the consequences when they came, dodging the punches and delivering ten times the damage. Vandir knew he'd have to be watching just in case. Lucky for her he rather liked doing that. "You've got yourself a deal. Blade, you good with adding another girl?" Thell asked, glancing at her partner. If he said no she was planning on ignoring him anyway, but it couldn't hurt to ask. If anything there was always a chance that it could trigger a humorous response, though Blade didn't seem the humorous type.

[Faro/Blade]

"Fine by me." Blade agreed. "Now get packed, it's a long way to the desert."

[Kadina]

"Yes!" Kadina quietly and momentarily celebrated with an inconspicuous fist pump. Even if they had rejected her company, she at least had a name to go on. Rii
And who knew, maybe her electric feel could assist in their journey. Quite frankly, Kadina was just excited to be heading out on another adventure. It was time to pay Nadeana a visit anyway. She wondered what the Gerudos had been up to...

[Exit Kadina]
[[End thread]]
[[[Continuation in: "Memory is My Compass"]
[[[[Plot Development: "So Close and Still Not Dead"]]]]