Rodger's eyes snapped open as he heard movement from below. He'd been sitting in a tree for a while, at least an hour, as he waited for his next target to approach the river for a drink. He found that a timid fox had emerged from the brush, orange fur standing out against the greenery as the creature looked around before slowly approaching the water. Once it's guard was down, and its head bent to take a drink, Rodger let his arrow fly as it pierced the fox through the side. It wasn't enough to kill it, but it certainly hurt it enough to keep it from too fast. It was his third arrow that put it down for good. The hunter climbed down from his perch and went to collect his kill, though not with his usual amount of excitement. He'd been at this for a little while now, an idea he got from the internet as he researched hunting methods in the real world. His own hunting skills were still too weak to try stalking his prey through the brush, but he figured all animals had to drink and this river ran for miles so something would come along. It proved to be successful, but really he had a growing respect for the people who created this game. Having such an eye for detail to put such behavior into their creatures was a thing of beauty. Removing the arrows, Rodger placed the fox body into his bag and fastened it back into place. A low rumbling brought his attention upward, where dark clouds covered the late afternoon sky. It was already chilly out, but now it was amplified by a breeze that cut through his layers with all the skill of a master swordsman. He did not want to experience such a thing whiled soaked from head to toe. So he set out for two things, firewood and shelter. *** Lightning split the sky echoed by a large explosion that surely spooked every animal in the forest. The rain was falling in buckets, and the wind howled into the night with a savage cry. Rodger shuttered as he watched from the mouth of a cave, trying in vain to ignite a pile of firewood that he had so painstakingly gathered with a pair of rocks. They made it seem so easy on TV. For a moment, he thought about simply logging out and calling it a day, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't have anything to do today, and there was no one waiting for him for dinner. Besides, he liked storms. He was just used to watching them from the comfort of his home, not shivering in a cave with no fire like some sort of barbarian. Grabbing the rocks, he tried again to get the fire started, but still only managing to create sparks. @Comet
Detection slowly became an improved method of hunting and tracking all types of species in Terrasphere rather than only meager rats or large boss monsters. Surrounding seemed clearer than before and common wolves that roamed the wilderness had a multitude of weaknesses that Comet found herself learning to exploit. Investigation Mode had officially proved itself a pal with a helping hand for the hunter-in-training who felt as if her steps were nearly soundless - especially with the Rogue mastery on hand. Swift movements and combat re-positioning: both were certainly in her favor while traversing the lands of Astorea that never failed to intrigue. The caves and underground paths and simple terrain full of ever-looming danger presented Comet a challenge each and every time she decided to spent time among the wilderness of the large forestland. An uncommon pout replaced the comfortably settled grin of pride resting upon the archer's face. Strands of pink hair stuck to her crimson flushed cheeks, a heavy wet mop of hair dangling down her back, beads of rain dripping down silky skin; Comet found herself displeased with the way her attire turned into a restriction of unbearable security. Grass and mud squished beneath worn boots as her legs sped up to resist the onslaught of a sudden downpour. Mentally, she groaned, and cursed herself rather than spontaneous weather for the current situation. Soaked, miserable, and panting the pink-haired woman discovered a cave and took little to no time in dashing for the cover. Nature's havoc ended inside the cave as if the rain itself disappeared. However, a quick look outside would tell anyone that a storm had it's sight set upon Astorea. Blue eyes scanned the area only to widen when another player - hardly deep inside the potentially extensive location - was spotted within seconds. He seemed so intent on building a fire that Comet decided to approach, with near silent steps, and crouch beside the mysterious male's creation. Cold gnawed and nipped at the pink-haired woman's skin. A fire seemed a pleasant and desirable idea to the point where she wished Pyromancy had been a considered option. "Glad to see I'm not alone," she commented while imagining warmth and red-orange flames emitting from the messy pile of wood and rocks. "Maybe I can help? Two brains are better than one." with a shrug she waved in the other's direction and gave him as much as a friendly smile that could be mustered by someone who felt as if they were the epitome of crap. @Rodger Clemens
Rodger continued to struggle with lighting his fire with little progress. All the while, the cold was beginning to creep up on him as the temperature continued to drop. He was seriously getting frustrated, but he was also too stubborn to quit, so he kept at it. So intense was his focus that he didn't even hear the other person enter his proximity until they spoke, "GAHHHH!" He actually fell onto his backside in shock, something he didn't think people actually did outside of movies, but there it was. Not that it was a long fall, he was already crouched over. Peering at the person who startled him, Rodger was further surprised by vibrant red hair and blue eyes that greeted him, 'Two redheads in such a small amount of time. What are the odds?' "You uh, caught me off guard there, sorry about that." He couldn't help but notice that she seemed particularly wet, "Uh yeah, I'm not finding to much success on my own. Heh, guess it's been a while since I had to do this." He got back into a crouch before offering her the rocks he was using. "I didn't think to grab a flint or anything, but hopefully between the two of us we can get this fire going." He stole a glance at the bow she had with her, "Were you out hunting? That's what I was doing before this rain came about. Good thing this place has so many caves."
The stranger's reaction had Comet's heart nearly jump from her chest, but soon after gave reasoning for the few chuckles that escape her lips. She waved off the incident with a soft gesture of the hand. "It's fine. I didn't mean to spook you there, honestly," her eyes, even in the darkness, set themselves on the stranger's figure. Envy pointed out his dark skin, captivating; while caution warned her to keep an arm's length away from a possible foe, anxiety pursuing. "I guess I got excited knowing I wasn't alone." she shrugged without much worry about what her words could give off until after they'd filled the air. Still, she acted confident instead of allowing this inner insecurity to roll off her; it bunched up within and in return upset her stomach. "Astorea has just about everything. Not sure whether that's good or bad," a quiet chuckle that brought some of the life back to Comet's ghastly figure. Her eyes shifted to meet the stranger's and lips curled to answer his question. "More like stalking prey. I find patterns and learn to recognize similar behavior in similar animals before I go hunting them alone." she answered with a pleased hum in remembrance of her actions and ability; taking a second to push away how she'd ended up learning this method "the hard way". Staring at the pathetic excuse for a fire she sighed deeply, realizing the two were most likely going to be stuck freezing. She wouldn't be surprised if their temperature began to drop anytime soon but hardly could accept the fate of death by something as embarrassing as escapable weather. It would take quite a lot of friction and hand work, she knew, to get even a decent fire going. And they definitely weren't cavemen willing to do so. Logging out seemed the option too easy. Plus, she'd met someone to accompany her and proper manners wouldn't have her leaving someone behind without so much as a word. Hopefully he felt the same. "Well then," Comet hopped to her feet. Smoothing what little attire she adorned, placing both hands on her hips, the pink-haired woman flashed the stranger a sudden smile. A daring one with unknown intentions. "we should go try to find something, right? Even if we can't make a fire sitting around would be a waste of time," she paused before adding with a wink that, to her, felt out-of-place yet somewhat needed to relieve the atmosphere of any worries. "Not that getting acquainted is a waste of time, necessarily," Taking charge felt nice for a change - this need driven by the fuel of persistence. "My name's Comet." Still, the man's approval of her unofficial (and unimportant) leadership would allow her nerves to calm down. This anxiousness from many sources: wariness of the unknown location and player, fear for what the future held, and a possible impending failure that would lead to defensive shame.
Rodger nodded as the red head continued to speak, he wasn't aware of it until she pointed it out, but he was also glad he was no longer alone in this storm. His hunch about her being a hunter was accurate, but his idea of hunting was different than her own. Rodger had heard of a well accomplished hunter who could stalk and act on their prey before it was even aware, but his skills were nowhere close to that. It was humbling to meet someone who could. He'd finally gotten a bit of a spark, but while the flame fought to stay alive, it was not catching. The dread head fought down a sigh as a small silence fell over them. He couldn't help but feel that he'd failed some kind of test that men should always pass when a woman was present, but he passed it off as silly pride. He shivered none the less though. The archer didn't know how long the silence stretched on for, he was trying to think of something casual to talk about, but eventually she stood and addressed him with a grin. For a moment he was warm, well his face was from blushing, but that passed as his brain registered her words. She wanted to go get things for the fire. Rodger was more inclined to stay put, but she was right, there was no use just sitting here and freezing to death. He really did need to figure out that naturamancy stuff. She introduced herself as Comet while he stood. He brushed his palms against his pants before offering the woman his hand and a lopsided smile, "The names Rodger, nice to meet you. So, what do you have in mind?"
Not many had offered the young woman a handshake for as long as she'd been logging in to Terrasphere. Her lips, flushed with a pink now warmed up, curled into a small smile of satisfaction while returning the polite gesture. "The pleasure's all mine," Rodger admittedly had impressed her with his determination to get the fire started - even if it did fail in the end. His first impression was one that Comet would hold positively should they ever meet again after the rain ceased to be their obstacle; parting ways with different goals and friends and lives. In contrast to Zelrius the thought of separation hardly seemed enjoyable at the moment. Perhaps because she didn't want to be alone. On the other hand, Rodger was kind and welcoming to even a stranger with unknown intentions so she felt much more comfortable around him than the arrogant blonde. Having to meet expectations of her new companion Comet dug deep into her brain to create objectives for the two to reach that would be better than sitting around. That would take their mind off of their freezing, water-soaked bodies and the low temperatures. Slipping her hand out of his, it continuing to be pale and cold and trembling despite the warmth of another's grasp, the pink-haired woman crossed both arms over her chest to give off natural confidence when all she felt inside happened to be the burning of insecurity. "These caves are either cut off short, branch off into smaller ones, or go pretty far length-wise. Since this one is huge I say we take the time to explore. Moving around will dry us faster, anyways. Maybe there'll be used campfires from the past or the rain will end sooner if we're distracted. Last time I was in a cave I managed to find good loot from a treasure chest. Who knows what luck we could have! As long as you're willing I'm ready to head out. Just stick close to me and we'll be fine, okay?" a bit of greed laced her tone at the excitement of possibility of gold being around but concern overpowered this innate flaw. More so a worry for herself and being slightly in control rather than Rodger's safety or potential oppositions. Not that she didn't like him but... she felt much more better when focusing on herself rather than others most of the time.
"Huh, so you think we might find something useful down here?" Admittedly, Rodger had trouble remembering that this was a game. And in games, caves have treasures. 'Man, I should probably go back into the real world for a while.' Shrugging off his awkward thoughts, the archer gave a firm nod, "Let's do it. Like you said, getting active can get us warmer." He hoped his tone matched hers. Confidence was never something he took a firm stance in, no matter how much he practiced the art. "So, if there's treasure, then doesn't that mean we'll have to look out for traps?" It would make sense. Who would leave a treasure unguarded? The thought of adventuring deeper into the depths of such a dangerous territory was actually a bit thrilling. Especially since he had someone to rely on, 'Hmm, I wonder whatever became of Emerath?' Twice he'd be paired with a red-head on a whimsical adventure. "Well, if it is filled with traps, our senses as a hunter should help us slip through." He gave warm grin, "It'll be twice as easy, since it's the two of us together."
Would they find something? Hopefully, she thought with a quick shudder of worry, seeing as the situation wouldn't be as interesting of a story nor experience if the caves cut off without providing entertainment. Frankly Comet felt a strong desire to find some sort of warmth since the fire turned out to be utterly disappointing. Walking could provide this, and any sort of movement wouldn't hurt either of them at all with nothing else to do in the meantime. Fortunately Rodger complied with her plans. Not another plausible idea had formed in her head so a rejection would be both discouraging and a bit frightening. Sitting alone with only thoughts to occupy the atmosphere's silence hardly seemed enjoyable. In fact, it could be dangerous due to unwanted anxieties forming Comet's soul at unrest. "Let's think positively~" she nodded firmly with a raise of the brows. The pink-haired woman hadn't discovered traps yet or how powerful they could be. The Hunting Mastery should be of assistance but the reassurance wore thin. A pathetic, unexpected death wasn't one that Comet planned for while still a newbie in Terrasphere. That would be embarrassing. Plus, she enjoyed Rodger's company enough to not want to lose him so soon. "That's definitely more like it! Our combined skills should mean that nothing too bad will happen. If these caves have anything. I'm just hoping there's another entrance or something. I want to throw myself into an inn's cozy bed right about now," she complained with a huff at the end alongside a flip of the hair. Further into the cave light from the outside lost its ability to give the two a sense of comfortable sight. The darkness seemed to consume Comet who ran a hand along the wall closest to her in case they got lost. That, and detecting foot prints would likely aid greatly in tracking their way back to the unmade fire. "I wish I'd have taken up mining. You think you know everything about the wilderness." a deep chuckle echoed along the enclosed walls. Considering that the caves were much deeper than anticipated the pink-haired woman assumed there'd be loot. Or prey. Maybe even materials to build a proper fire back at the "base". She mocked herself subtlety for a lack of survival skills unpracticed in the outside world where she would be the fittest. Highest class. A beauty queen stuck in a cave would be laughable out there, she realized, and soon comfort flooded the young woman who's eyes adjusted to the pitch-black scenery.
