Yvonari's third vision quest for Jaguar

Yvonari

1. Growing tired of having to wait on other people who don't seem to have the time for it, Yvonari takes it upon herself to do her last guided vision quest for Jaguar alone, frustrated by what she sees as a hindrance to her own advancement.
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3. Sighing quietly Yvonari begins to build up a fire in the circles, starting with a small bit of kindling and a spark from her tinderbox. Tenderly she nurtures the flame into something merry, but still small, and when it is burning nicely, she nods to herself and gathers a pile of sticks, twigs, and a couple of thicker branches. Slowly she begins to disrobe, piling everything neatly outside the circles, and covering her valuables in folds of clothing. Softly bitten, her lip trembles lightly as she rummages through her pack and draws out a bowl and a packet of herbs, filling the former from the cool river water, and sprinkling the latter within, placing the bone bowl into the fire to steep.
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5. Fearless fingers reach into the flame, retrieving the bowl of simmering herbal broth, and for a moment only Yvonari sets it to the side to settle onto her knees before the fire. Resting her backside into the arches of her feet, she then picks up the bowl and slowly drinks the weak tea, setting the fragment of bone aside once done. Her eyes slip closed and a soft chanting begins, a quiet calm pervading the area with the fluid flow of what seems nonsense from her barely moving lips. When she finally opens her eyes once more, her gaze settles upon a frozen waste, icy tundra cast in a grey light from the blanket of clouds overhead, and teasing glimpses of deep blue, almost black ocean here and there amidst the ice.
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7. Naked and unarmed, Yvonari begins to shiver, her small frame battered by gusting winds which kick across the ice. Her bare feet are tinged blue, and her wings fold tightly to her back, resisting the temptation to shield herself from the wind, lest she become a tiny, helpless kite to be blown about. Teeth chattering and body trembling with its effort to stay warm, she begins to make her way slowly across the ice, towards the ocean, head swiveling constantly as she keeps a lookout for any hint of movement. With a quick flick of her wrists, she gathers her long hair at the nape of her neck, twisting it into a knot and tucking it into itself several times, tightly binding it with a loose tress to stop it from blowing about, bumbling along until she is jolted out of her almost daydreamy stance by a sudden, sharp crack, like thunder, but louder, more menacing. She glances up in worry, only to find that she is nearing the edge of the ice, where even her slight few pounds seem to shift her 'ground'.
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9. Maintaining a healthy distance from the water, not wishing an accident, or to make herself a target, Yvonari begins to walk along the ice, and soon she stumbles upon a large group of penguins, honking and waddling around her, upset with her intrusion. She keeps towards the outside of the flock, the safety of numbers close enough for her to make use of, but far enough away to keep the birds from harassing her overmuch, and she simply observes them for several minutes. Her walking is more of a waddle now too, less graceful as her limbs dull from the cold, frozen feet shuffling across the ice as she finally gives in and wraps her wings about her body in a tight, feathery embrace, and she is soon near the water's edge, watching penguins dive and surface with an awkward grace she studies carefully. She drops into a squat, huddling closer in on herself, and actually laughs as she begins to attempt to waddle around, and though she seems to make a fool of herself, she slowly warms somewhat.
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11. So engrossed is she in the penguins' antics, and in her own, that Yvonari doesn't notice the swift, rippling shadow beneath the water, and only when the penguins' milling becomes an uproar of waddling bodies, scurrying away from the water's edge as soon as they hop up onto the ice does she become concerned, but it is too late. The massive bulk of an orca breeches the surface, slamming down into ice unnervingly close, and she suddenly finds herself adrift on her lone chunk of ice, clinging to any cracks or ridges in the slick surface as her 'raft' tosses and turns in what were once calm seas. Further and further from the main floe she drifts, rapidly, as if being pushed, and indeed there is a very tall dorsal fin jutting from the water's surface that follows her berg out into more open, isolated waters.
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13. Yvonari huddles in the centre of her small raft as it slows, and then stops, the fin circling around before another appears. Both immense heads break the surface, and massive jaws lined with cone-shaped teeth open with clicking and whistles as they seem to communicate with one another. Suddenly one dives and his large black and white head surfaces under one side of the floe, tilting it and causing her to slide towards the open maw of the other, but with her slight weight she is able to catch herself on a tiny ridge, precariously clinging with one hand as the other seeks purchase elsewhere. The first begins to shake the ice, quickly knocking her loose, and she tumbles towards the waiting jaws, leaping at the last minute and miraculously managing a graceless, difficult flight as frozen wings pump her into the air.
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15. Yvonari cannot maintain this flight for long, though by the time she is too wearied by her exertions to continue, the ice has settled once more and the orcas gaze skyward upon her. She hurtles gracelessly towards the ice, crashing into it with no cushion to save her body, though she manages to make it to her feet, bruised and battered. One wing is crumpled in on itself as the other lies limp upon the ice, and she gazes into both sets of hungry eyes before stiffening and, in a braver voice than she certainly feels, calling out to both: "I seek one sent by Brother Jaguar, a representative of the Hunter! I have questions for which I seek answers. Would you be his servants?" Laughable as it may seem to an onlooker, her slight but sturdy frame stands tall, for her, and she shows no hint of fear, only apprehension and curiosity as she approaches, warily, the edge of the ice, one of the pair slowly moving to meet her.
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17. "Yes, little lunch. I am his servant." the large animal offers, pearly teeth bared in its open mouth in a lazy display of menace. The other, for the moment subdued, watches her every move. Yvonari crouches at the edge of the ice, readying herself for a backwards spring if she must, and she looks the cetacean in the one eye she can meet. A deep breath is drawn before she begins, studying her hunter, and he his prey. "Hunter. You are known for self-improvement, for adapting yourself to your hunt and learning to hunt more efficiently. Tell me, how do you improve and why?" Considering the small morsel for a moment or two the largest of dolphins finally slips away from the ice, displaying to the Faeling its massive, though sleek bulk, ensuring she sees every inch of streamlined muscle before his return.
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19. "Small one. I improve myself constantly. From the time I am a calf at my mother's teat until I am a grown hunter I am learning, adapting, growing. I see others and emulate them. I learn from experience, both my own and my pod's. I learn by doing, and in trying new things. To improve myself I watch my family, I watch my prey, and I plan. I am no mindless hunter to chase until I am worn out and still hungry. I am clever, and I can think." he answers slowly, and Yvonari only nods in response, watching the other whale more closely than the one with whom she speak, wary of how it silently slips away, only to return some time later. "As to why..." he begins, chuckling at her wary gaze, "I need to eat. I have a lot of -me- to feed, but more important than that is my pod. I hunt also to keep them strong and healthy. Even above my family is this ecosystem. There is a balance to be maintained, a balance between food and hunter, and by improving myself and better adapting myself to my hunt, I can maintain that balance so that the system is balanced and unbroken."
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21. Yvonari nods as she listens, no more questions as she digests the answer. She rights herself, stumbling back slightly in her stiffness, though she quickly catches herself. Steadying her stance she contemplates the answers given, another, slower nod as a light flickers in her eyes. "You improve yourself by learning, by constantly applying yourself to new problems, or old ones that need rethinking. You improve yourself to better sustain your life, your pod's, and your ecosystem, that the fragile balance be upheld." She is stating rather than asking, ensuring that she's the understanding of it before moving back to the middle of the floe. It is with a deep baritone laugh that the beast shakes his massive head, his body following the movement. "Little lunch, you are small and I am big. I need something more than you to keep me strong. Besides, I do not need the wrath of my master upon myself or my kin. My regards to your pod, and may you hunt well." With that both whales speed off back in the direction of the penguin colony, and she is left floating on her lone chunk of ice.
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23. With a last glance after the pair Yvonari turns and begins walking, and as soon as she's about to step off of the small raft of ice, she finds herself striding into the circles once more, and she collapses by the fire as her frozen limbs slowly begin to thaw, and her mangled wings as well, though the latter comes with a great deal of pain as the full extent of her injuries is realized. Fortunately experience has made her wiser, and she slathers a foul-smelling salve over both wings, not caring about the mess which follows as she slips into her gear and douses the flame with a reverent bow of her head.