[Sweetwine Woods] Culminations

[Vega]

7th Trial of Zi'da during Arc 717
following this

It would be fair to say that Vega was not in the best of moods. When they'd got back to their camp the night before, she'd bathed, changed her clothes and then paced. Her temper, always bubbling just below the surface, was to the point that she'd had to stop herself snapping at him more than once. Not least because he'd done nothing wrong and, in fact, everything right. Still. As the evening had progressed she'd calmed down, practicing some of the strange, slow, martial art like movements her father had taught her. "Papa told me," Vega said, with a slightly embarrassed smile, "that my mother used to meditate like this. Focusin' on the breathin'." It seemed to help, in fairness. "I'll show you if you like, but no worries if you don't wanna." It was slow, graceful and calming and she felt better for doing it.

After awhile, she had finally sat down next to him, leaning against him. Once she'd calmed down sufficiently, she'd been much more inclined to maintaining physical contact with him. However, after another night of fitful dreams, she'd come to a couple of conclusions and, as she packed up her things for the trek out, she told him so. "If we don't find 'er today, I'm gonna set up the spare tent, Arlo. You need to sleep an' there's no point both of us not sleepin'." Lifting her head, she glared at him. "It wasn't a question, don't argue with me. We'll jus' 'ave to find her totrial, that's all there is to it." Neither of them wanted to sleep separately, she knew that, but there was no point to this. So, hands shoved deep into her pockets and what her father called her 'grumble-frown' on her face (not that she'd be telling Arlo that any time soon or ever), she declared that she was ready to go.

Considering the direction they'd gone yestertrial, it was the southern edges of Sweetwine where they were headed and, as they walked out, Vega slipped a hand into his. "I'm sorry I've been such a grouch," she said, looking at him with just a slight smile. "I felt right icky, an' I didn't like you seein' him do that. An' I want us to 'ave a new rule." She was entirely serious when she said that and she looked at him with a deep frown. "We never expect, or ask, the other one to run or leave. Don't ask me to do that again, Arlo, an' I won't ask you. Can we 'ave that as a rule?" Her lips lifted into a more genuine smile, then, as she considered. "'cos, yestertrial, you broke it, see. So now I know it's a rule. See 'ow that works?" She bumped her shoulder against his and grinned. It was a serious point, and one she'd been considering since he said it, but a little levity on the situation did not harm at all.

Still, they made their way and there were paths, here and there. As they made their way south though, something became increasingly obvious. Well aware that he'd already seen it, Vega turned to Arlo and raised an eyebrow. "Bees. There are bees, an' it's Zi'da. That's not right, is it?" At this point, there had only been a few bees, but that there had been any at all was unusual. Also, those bees were big. Bigger than a usual bee and Vega sighed. "Giant spiders, monster bees. An' look. Look!" The last was more or less accusatory. Pointing to a set of prints, heading further south into the woods, she knelt and examined it. Lifting her head back to gaze at him, her expression was somewhat ironic. "Bear prints." It appeared that hibernation wasn't fashionable in this part of the Sweetwine woods, Vega said. "Shall we try an' avoid 'em?" Whilst still, or course, going that way. Or, she wondered, did he want to just keep tromping in a forward direction and see what happened?

Off Topic

location

[Arlo Creede]

Arlo knew all about walking on eggshells, being seen but not heard, of resisting his lesser instincts when something would have otherwise gotten his back up. Had even practiced it a little as a young boy, when his mother and stepfather were scrapping about something or other. Or when his mother was put out with him about something he'd done. Vega though had all the reason in the world to be in a less than amiable mood, after what had happened. What had almost happened to her. Truth was, Arlo had been worried then and was worried now, and wanted to ease the way as much as was possible. So no matter if she snapped at him or huffed her impatience with him moving too slow, it hadn't been long before he'd gotten a tub warmed up for her. And when she was done soaking, he climbed in after her to wash up himself.

"I might like to try a little of that," he said when she mentioned the strange martial like movements he'd seen her doing more than once. At the least, a little practice with that might help to improve his balance and way of movement when it came to acrobatic movements, or even with handling a sword. This nonsense about putting up the second tent again was in his mind just that. Arlo didn't exactly put it that way though. Instead, as they sat side by side near the fire, he squeezed her hand and nodded. "You're not a grump Vega and if you were you'd have good reason to be. Nobody has a right to do what he did. And you're right, we'll just have to find your familiar this trial."

As for new rules that didn't exist, until they did? Arlo frowned, considering it at length and then shrugged. "I'm alright with it being a rule," he concluded. "But I can't promise to always abide by it." The truth was, there'd probably come a time, just like the trial before, that he wouldn't. There was one thing at least that he'd be able to agree with her about, wholeheartedly. Sweetvine woods was turning out to be a place where nothing was as it should be. Or at least not as expected. Sure, the flora was behaving as it should during winter. Dormant, brittle, bare.

But the bees were a different story. They shouldn't be out in the cold at all, they should be holed up wherever bees tended to go during winter. But there they were, large as life. Hopefully, still, there weren't very many. Same for the evidence of bears out in the ice and snow. Better if it was just one or two. Didn't matter though, there was reason they'd come and he wasn't interested in letting a few overgrown bees or silly bears stop them. "Forward," he insisted. "Your familiar's out there and we're going to find her."

[Vega]

When he squeezed her hand and told her that she hadn't been a grouch, that her feeling out of sorts was more than understandable, Vega smiled and kissed him. "You are a good man, Arlo. It's a'right. You can stop bein' careful round me. It's not like you." Nudging him in the ribs, she added what was obvious to her. "An' sayin' we'll jus' have to find it to'trial doesn't mean you agree. I'm keepin' you awake, an' I don't wanna do that. Jus' get a few breaks sleep, eh?" Her expression told the truth of her next words, "I jus' want to look after you a bit, is all. It's what we do, innit? Look after each other. Jus' get a few breaks sleep, an' then I'll join you. A'right?" And she had been a grouch, she said, and they both knew it. For the record, though? "An' for every bit of grouchy I've been, you've been the perfect boyfriend. Thanks." With a wicked glance at him she added, "I'll keep ahold of you, even if we're 'aving a clear out, you know."

As for the rule, she grinned at his response, albeit a rather serious expression. "That's fair. It's the best you'll get from me, cos I wanna tell you to run. It's part of lookin' after each other, an' I get that. But we're together now, an' I couldn't live with leavin' you to get hurt, Arlo. I jus' couldn't. So, if you wanna tell me to run, that's ok. I won't do it, an' I don't like it when you say it, but that's up to you." As he finished packing up, she bumped herself against him and added, for good measure, "You know, you're lollygaggin' more than you used to. I need to keep you on your toes more." Poor chap, she thought with a wry expression. If he was any more 'on his toes' he'd be a ballerina.

Had she been able to read his mind, Vega would have to agree with Arlo's assessment of this place, it's flora and fauna. As they walked, though, and they saw first one bee and then another, she nodded. "An' they're big, too. It might jus' be me, but they seem to be gettin' bigger." They were, there was no doubting it. "Iris said she was with the bees. Did she mean the really big bees d'ya think? Course she did." And then there was the bear track and Vega looked at Arlo and sighed. She didn't really need to find her familiar, she said, it was fine. Bees and bears. In the winter. But forward they went and within moments there was a low, deep and rather unpleasant sounding buzzing humming noise. "Knickers, Arlo, that don't sound good." Vega said, pulling her sword. In the woods, if it was what Vega thought it was, the trees were too thick for them to use their bows. As the sound grew closer, the sound of a number of angry wasps, or bees, Vega moved next to him, her sword held ready. "Back to back?"

As she said it, a swarm of a dozen or more bees flew into sight. What was unusual about these bees was, of course, that they were not hibernating and it was winter.

Oh, and each of them was about a foot and a half long. That was unusual too.

"U'frek's bum, that's a big bee!" Vega squeaked, but unlike the giant spider incident, she kept moving, ready to start slicing them into bee-parts.

[Arlo Creede]

She was on to him, regarding that second tent. He hadn't made it very difficult to sniff out his tactics anyway. Arlo didn't want Vega setting up a second tent, or retreating there alone without him. "I've got all those arcs when I'm old and gray to catch up on my sleep, nodding off by the fire and nothing better to do," he argued. But he also knew when he was beat and there was no reasoning with her. And if they were going to be doing any clearing out, he'd rather save it for another time. "You don't need to thank me," he'd insisted. "But you're welcome."

It appeared though that they had a new rule in place that, probably, neither of them would abide by if push came to shove. But so far as pacts went, agreeing to disagree was fair enough, he said, and having shouldered his pack he'd headed out of camp just in front of her. "Who's lollygagging now?" he shot over his shoulder at her, with a grin on his face. "Get a move on won't you?"

As for the bees, they weren't just insects out of season. He'd seen large bees before. But these? "It's unnatural," he said, eyeing one of the things that was bigger than his fist, or for that matter, larger around than his or Vega's head. Probably had the stinger to match. "Honey bees aren't usually very aggressive unless you were to shake up their nest. Think we could count on these to be docile?" This was Scalvoris though and one of the strangest woodlands he'd ever been in. So, probably not. "It's probably not supposed to be easy," he told Vega when she claimed it wasn't necessary to find her familiar.

In fact, he considered aloud, there was probably some notion of her not being worthy if she wasn't willing to endure some hardship to get there. And Vega was nothing if not worthy. She was one of the most worthy people he'd ever met in fact. "Bees," he muttered and abruptly stopped in his tracks when she pointed out the buzzing sound. Like a mass buzzing...A swarm. Not good, he figured and without a second thought reached for his sword rather than his bow. Back to back, absolutely, and he wondered if it was too much to hope for, that the bees might be more sluggish than usual this time of the arc.

As it happened, it had been. They weren't the least bit sluggish. In fact they were quick, fine aerial acrobats and what was worse was that they were organized with one goal in mind. Getting at him and Vega. Back to back with her, it made no sense to go running through the swarm swinging madly. Better to let them come to him, then take them on one at a time. And it wasn't as simple as batting them out of the air either, like hitting a ball with a stick. Balls tossed by friends didn't duck and weave as they came toward you.

Instead, after a couple misses where one bounced off his shoulder and the next took his hat off, Arlo began to pick up a pattern in the way the bees came at them. And it looked like there was a leader...which he pointed out to Vega. Meanwhile, having concluded that they weren't just flying and attacking in random patterns, he began to anticipate and increase his odds of hitting the things. As a result, his slices and blows came to prove more effective and before he knew it there four or five bee around his feet, several sliced in half and several others twitching and buzzing pitiful in the throes of dying.

[Vega]

The look Vega gave him at his 'when I'm old and grey' analogy told him that he'd said the wrong thing. Her mood had obviously improved dramatically, though, as she contented herself with punching him on the shoulder and pointing out what was, to her mind, obvious. "Don't matter to me 'ow old you are, Arlo Creede. I'll still be there tormentin' you, an' making sure that you get less sleep than you should." She grinned then, her gaze turning more wicked than before, "and I'm sure we can think of somethin' to do to keep us warm in front of that fire. Don't you reckon?" Stopping to consider that caused her to give him the moment where he stepped in front of her and told her to get a move on and Vega shook her head. "Sneaky and underhanded. That's you that is." Whilst that was usually his name for her, in this instance she'd have to say, it fit him just fine. But then, it also did what he was probably planning on it doing, too, and she felt more like herself than she had since the encounter yestertrial.

They carried on and, as was their way, they stopped tormenting each other and fell more into what she supposed were their "work" ways of being. When they relied on one another, literally, to keep themselves and each other alive it was important that they knew when it was acceptable and safe to mess about and when it very much was not. He might have a point, she said, about it not being easy, but when he spoke about the idea of her not being worthy, Vega rolled her eyes. "Well, I told 'er," she said, very genuinely."I'm not prepared to play that sort of game. If we're part of each other, then we're equal. If we're not equal, then we're not part of each other an' she can jog on." It was a big old power trip and maintenance of the status quo, Vega said, quite seriously. She was not prepared to mess about with that stuff and if the other familiars wanted to tell their Sev'ryn that and the Sev'ryn in question were stupid enough to fall for it? "Good for them."

With an entirely serious expression on her face, and a very genuine one, Vega told Arlo that when she'd said that? "Iris seemed dead surprised."

Shaking her head, despairing at the stupidity of the 'hey nonny nonny crew' as she called them, Vega was clear. "I'm me. Either I'm good enough or I'm not. An' if I'm not, then she should consider that she's the daft mare that attached 'erself to my soul. Wasn't me that did that, after all." No, power relationships weren't high on Vega's agenda of 'must comply with', it seemed. But that all went by the wayside at the buzzing.

"Bees," she agreed and they moved, back to back and ready to fight.

It was strange, she considered, as she sliced her sword through one of the creatures. They worked well together and always had, back to back, she could feel his movements, she knew what he was doing and him, her. Standing their ground and letting the bees come to them meant that they could protect each other and as one of the damn things suddenly dropped and moved for her, forcing Vega to slice through it's wing, sending it to the ground, she realised that they were also able to identify patterns, the way that the things moved. Her sword skill was vastly improved over the course of the arc they'd known each other and Vega was now a master of the sword, but here she found that her strength was useful too. Because they were standing still, because the bees were so very large, she utilised her strength, specifically that in her upper body, to make sure that one strike was all it took as she sliced through the creature.

Picking out the leader helped, and she was able to slice that one in two as it flew in towards her. Then, the others grew more random, less organised and that worked to their advantage. So, after a short space of time, there were a lot of halves of bees, sliced clean across, at her feet. Just the one, whose wings she had sliced off, who she finished off quickly while Arlo was finishing off his. "You a'right?" Vega asked, glancing at him. "I'm gonna suggest we try an' collect up the stingers. I reckon they'd be bloody useful. Wanna?" Either way, she looked down at the carnage at their feet and she sighed. "That's not a natural size, you know. You know what it is? It's beeeeeee-spoke." There was an expression Vega only ever wore when she made what she knew to be a truly awful joke

"So, collect the stingers or go on an' get attacked by marauding bears who are grumpy cos they're not 'ibernating?" Vega asked with a slight but definite grin.

[Arlo Creede]

He'd figured that it was implied, all self evident that she'd still be there when he was old and gray, that they'd be there together. She'd mend his socks, Arlo had teased her while they'd gotten ready to head out. She fuss at him about eating right, and he'd eat her cooking without complaining about it, no matter how bad it was. "Think you're cooking will have improved by then?" he'd shot over his shoulder while they were heading off into the trees. It was all, as suspected, a ploy to help improve Vega's mood. To get her mind off what had happened the trial before.

It didn't surprise him even a little though that she'd told her familiar what was what and in no uncertain terms. He didn't know the Vega that would've done anything else. It sounded, he quipped, as if they were made from the same mold. Perfect for each other, that was. The bees though when they happened across them were a particular challenge. It wasn't that they were small targets. They weren't, not in the scheme of things. It was more that it took a great deal of mental prowess to go along with the physical. Anticipation, improvisation.

But soon enough there was a swarm of bees, the lot of them, littering the ground around his and Vega's feet. Some in pieces, some whole, some already dead and some still twitching. It was those last ones that Arlo helped finish up before putting away his sword. "I'm fine," he told her. "You?" But then he snorted in response to a terrible, terrible pun and shook his head. She was getting back to her old self, apparently. But collecting some of those stingers was a good idea. And maybe, some of the wings as well. They might find something useful to do with them and digging out a scrap of leather from his sack, he used his dagger to harvest some of the things before wrapping them up.

"Both," he'd said. Collecting, then forge ahead. Hopefully without running across any of those bears. But that kind of luck wasn't their kind, and both of them knew it. He was ready anyway so turned himself in the direction they'd been going and walked on. The path was wide in some places, narrower in others and where it was narrow, Arlo pointed out places where small twigs were bent or broken, as if something large had passed through at some point. It must have snowed afterwards, or at least some loose snow had been blown over any tracks they might have been able to otherwise see. But eventually he'd point out a place where there several tracks. Bear, by the looks of them.

[Vega]

"Yeah, I'm fine." Vega replied with a smile when he checked back on her ~ it was a strange thing they did and always had, that verbal confirmation of what they both knew already because they kept an eye out for each other when they were in combat. Habit, Vega supposed, but one which spoke of their mutual concern, so certainly not a bad one. They were in agreement on collecting the stingers and wings and as they knelt to do so, she spoke to him. "When we're old, like you were talkin' about earlier," she'd only snorted derisively at the time, but obviously something had made her think. "Why will I be cookin'? Are you plannin' on going stupid in old age?" Her smile was teasing as she asked and it was her roundabout way of saying what she felt, as was her way. Holding up half a bee, she motioned to it, and him. "Feel that. I reckon I might take the pelts, too, you know. They feel nice. Furry an' soft. I bet you a bee-fur hat with flaps would be a sight to behold on top of my head." Chuckling, she thought about it as she took the time to take off the furry pelts and she added. "I might start wearin' bee-skin gloves an' hats an' scarves. Irresistible, that's what it'll be." She took the pelts, though and would admit to herself, and him if he really asked, that she was rather tempted at the thought of a hat. Maybe she should learn to sew, after all.

But eventually, they made their way and in doing so, they spotted traces of bears here and there. Vega nodded when he showed her those, shouldering her pack with a slightly more determined gaze on her face. Just in case, she had her bow drawn and an arrow knocked ready. Bears. Marvelous. They kept moving and then, in front of them as they followed the path, there was a lake, towering over which were enormous, sheer, golden cliffs. The smell was unmistakable, as they moved carefully. "Arlo, is that honey?" Vega asked and she glanced at him. It was quiet, there was what seemed to be honey pouring down in waterfalls (honeyfalls?) throughout the cliffs and then into the lake.

They didn't really have a chance to do more than look in some amazement, in fairness, as three large grizzly-bear looking bears attacked, each one from a different angle. They moved together, the three of them and they were... levitating off the ground. "Bears!" Vega warned him, entirely unnecessarily and then she moved. Back to back had worked well for them before and, in fact, since they were facing foes on three sides, she could only hope that it would again. "Floatin' bears!" She added, well aware that there was probably no need to tell him that bit. Vega shot, aiming for the throat, grateful that at least the bear was a big target and then she cursed as it bounced. "Armoured floatin' bears!" Come on, Xiur, she thought, this is silly, please lets not get to four words. At least she wasn't shouting 'indestructible armoured floating bears' she considered. Taking another shot, she got the eye of the one she'd bounced an arrow off.

It's roar reverberated around the woods and Vega let out a slight half-whimper. "I think I just naffed 'im off!"

Whilst that was undoubtedly true, the pair of them were in a very difficult situation. Two of these bears would be a major match for the young couple. However, the third bear, largest and with dark fur speckled with grey started to float up. Up towards the caves in the sides of the cliffs. Which seemed to suggest that not only were these bears, frankly, smarter than the average bear, they were working together and that floating one was probably getting reinforcements. Maybe bear. Maybe bee.

Maybe something new, but definitely bad news. So, the pair of them were on a tight timescale with the two bears running in at them.

[Arlo Creede]

"You never know. I might," Arlo had responded offhandedly, but with a half concealed grin when she asked would he be taking leave of his senses some trial, long into the future. "I might be so bad off I forget where I left my trousers, and I'll need you to remind me. If we're lucky though I won't forget how to cook." Implication was, Immortals forbid she'd need to do the cooking. They'd starve to death, Arlo figured.

She made a good point about the pelts, if they should take a few in addition to the wings and stingers. A hat though? "A bumblebee hat? It might be an improvement over the elephant eared one." Teasing. She could be certain of that. "Maybe you ought to attack a couple of those wings onto the top of it, so they'll spin round like a child's whirligig in a good stiff breeze." Making light was all well and good when they could afford it. But out in this strange place where danger seemed to lurk round every corner, they couldn't afford it for very long. And never completely. All the evidence pointed to more bees out there somewhere, and some very large bears that hadn't had the decency to hunker down and nap for the winter.

Still, until he finally saw it for himself, he'd figured that the honey flowing out of and over the stony ground was just another tall tale told by one of the drunken locals. He stopped short and stared when, turned out, it wasn't a myth at all. All that honey, there must be an endless supply of it to keep flowing that way. And apparently not slowed down by the frigid temperatures. "It's honey," he agreed. "And I wouldn't mind taking some of that away with us." But then it seemed that the darker part of the story was also true. Bears. Or as Vega put it, armored floating bears. His bow was always in easy reach, and he reached back, grabbed it and nocked an arrow.

Vega's first shot bounced off, her next pierced an eye. If there was anything to be grateful for, Arlo guessed it was that they seemed to have at least one vulnerable spot if not more. The trick would be locating those spots and testing them out, while trying to hold three off at once. Or more, probably, since one of them seemed to be heading off to rally more of his friends. From his perspective, it was critical to their survival that it didn't happen. "See if you can hold those two off," he said to Vega. "And I'll see if I can slow that one down." The one that was floating up and away he meant.

Either way they were outnumbered and outdone in physical strength. But still, three was better than half a dozen more, or more than that. Sticking close to Vega then, Arlo took aim and fired at the retreating bear, striking it just below its jaw. A place that would have dropped any other creature in one shot and ended them. It pierced the hide and stuck, letting loose a narrow trickle of blood. Eventually it might spell the end of the bear but judging by the way it howled in outrage and turned to roar in their direction, not soon enough.

Arlo was quick, and had gotten quicker lately at loading and firing. So without missing a beat, he loaded up another arrow, took aim and fired, watching as the arrow sailed straight into the bear's mouth, past it's razor sharp teeth and embedding itself in the back of the throat. Farther than that, apparently, since a strangled, gurgling sound interrupted the thing's vicious roar, and sent the floating bear into a tailspin, it's lifeless body finally reaching the ground in a heap. He reloaded again, turning immediately to Vega's progress with the other two, looking for something to fire at.

[Vega]

"So yer goin' soft in the head in the altogether?" Vega shot back with a chuckle. "I'll be the crazy old lady batterin' you with a broom an' askin' who you've been taking yer trousers off for in that scenario," she shook her head, mock disapproval all over her face. "You future old dog, you." But when he spoke about the future in terms of her bumblebee hat, Vega gave a snorting laugh. "Wot in the name of Moseke's gums is a whirligig?" He didn't need to be jealous, she told him in a very calm and soothing tone. She was going to make him some lovely bumblebee breeches. He'd like that, they'd keep him warm. Standing up, she added, "An' we can give you a gigiwhirl tail." She shot a grin at him, but like him she was half on alert all the time. After all, there were more bees and bears to meet, Vega thought with a half chuckle.

The only comment she could make, however, about the cliffs was, "well, that's a lot of 'oney, that is." But he wanted some? "A'right, well, we'll just collect some up, that's.... " whatever it was, Vega's voice trailed off and then started shouting bear-facts. But then, he left her with the two on the ground, within paw, claw and tooth range, and he went after the one that was floating away. "Flop yer mop, Arlo, 'urry up!" Vega said and dropped her sword as the first of the two bears approached. She determined, in that moment, that moving would be a bad thing, but equally she had to make sure that the two of them were paying attention to her not him.

However, one of the remaining two would be on them before the other one, so she decided that she'd just have to kill that one quickly so that she could protect him if needs be.This side by side, back to back rubbish was just that the redhead decided there and then. Rubbish. He could be sitting in a tree firing that bloody thing, like he had been when they met. The thoughts flew through her head even as she swung her sword in a very flashy, show-off manner which really wasn't like her, but the bears were watching it she spotted. That meant that she could use that and she swung the sword in a pattern which she timed. One flashy swing around, then another and the bear was watching the sword. It was also bright, as she figured it had to be. Anything that has two hold you here while their mate goes to get reinforcements was brighter than most bears.

So, she swung her sword, watched it watching the sword and timed it so that, just before the bear which would arrive first was within attacking distance she twisted the sword out of the routine it had been in and moved forward with a single lunge. It was a swift, graceful step forward and lunging attack, straight through the open mouth of the one she was fighting, just as Arlo did the same with an arrow against the one he was. She pulled the sword out with all her strength, knowing that she would have to as she turned the extraction of the blade from one bear into a face strike with the pommel of her sword. It didn't harm it, not really, but it irritated it enough that it focused on her, not Arlo's back and Vega ducked and spun to face it. However, it was moving quickly, and she was on the defensive, now, she knew. But that was fine because Arlo was also here. "Whenever yer ready!" she ducked under another sweeping slash, raising her sword to defend and wincing at the scraping sound. "in yer own time!" It was too big, too close to her and she couldn't get the angle she needed in order to skewer it.

[Arlo Creede]

Hadn't she had a whirligig toy when she was a kid, Arlo had wondered? Hadn't everybody? There'd been the ones that if you had nels, you could buy in the shops. And if you didn't, then you had the rough ones made of stiff paper left over from the butcher's shop. Those were the best ones, Arlo had told her. The ones that cost money were things to look at, but didn't work very good. A stick, capped off at the end with paper paddles shaped like the end of an oar, that caught the breeze and turned with it. If Vega had never had one of her own, Arlo resolved to make one for her later, back by the fire at their camp.

Toys were toys though and the predicament they'd managed to find themselves in with the bears, was more a matter of survival. He'd gotten off two shots in the span of a few trills, and she was telling him to hurry. Understandable, since she'd been left to contend with no fewer than two bears while he was at it. Still, bossy, and in usual fashion he shot back while turning back to the task and loading an arrow, "Yeah, that's me. Just faffing around with nonsense."

Any suggestion of humor however was just a mechanism he used to maintain focus, and to keep his heart racing out of control at the sight of two enormous bears closing in on them both. In particular on Vega. He wasn't at all sure what she was thinking, all those flashy maneuvers with the sword, but he had to assume there was method to the madness. It was a distraction for at least one of the bears if not both. And it bought them time. The distraction in fact turned out to be the undoing of one of the bears, which left just one more charging at Vega, looming over her with mouth open wide.

There'd been a time when he would have hesitated to fire on anything that was so close to her. But those trials, Arlo hadn't been as good with a bow as he was now. He hadn't been confident enough in his own skills, or maybe he'd known them too well to risk hitting her in the process. Those times had changed, and he knew both his strengths and his limits. And he knew the risk factors in either direction. Vega crouched, the bear loomed over and Arlo fired straight between the teeth that would have clamped down on her in just trill more...assuming it didn't impale itself on her sword first. His arrow flew true, a bulls eye into the thing's throat and it collapsed in a twitching heap.

Just in case other bears had heard the ruckus, without a thought Arlo loaded another arrow and spun round a full hundred eighty degrees before finally deciding there weren't any more to shoot at. Going to Vega then after lowering his bow, he reached out a hand to her. "Are you alright?" he asked. Assuming she was, well, they might want to consider some of those pelts. And teeth for that matter. And then of course, there was the honey he was after.