Don't you climb trees?

[Pyroth]

The dirt was soft, a slightly moist mess. It was smeared on Pyroth's face and torso not intentionally of course. He had just been working, as always. His fur coat was slung up against a tree stump mostly untouched to the dirt he was "Playing" in. Pyroth had just gotten done with a Run, mostly jumping over broken logs and practicing learning the terrain. Tears of sweat ran down his body, making the dirt stick more to him. He dropped down into a push-up form with his feet facing the tree. He used his feet to walk up the tree before placing his weight onto his forearms and biceps doing a few push-ups in a hand stand position. Pyroth's nose coming dangerously close to the ground. "Ugh..." He let out a small grunt as he continued feeling the burning sensation in his arms. "Ten... Eleven... Twelve..." He counted in his head continuing to press on. When he couldn't take it any more he let his body fall to the ground hitting it with a thud.

The dirt was soft... Pyroth laid there just looking up at the tree's broad branches and leafs, they seemed giant compared to him. He seemed to be getting lost in thought, slightly wondering if the trees had to try to prove themselves by being the tallest. A silly idea he decided shaking his head at himself as he laid on the ground. He gave a small smile tilting his head back so he could see the base of the tree upside down. "Morning." He said with a chuckle before tilting his head back down looking back to the leaf covered sky. 

[Sidonia]

Like every other day, Sidonia had gotten up with the sun intend of making the most of the hours the day had to give. Although she had been trained in combat like every other Grounder child, she was no warrior and she knew supplying their fighters, who defended the vilage with water and food was as important as the protection of their people. A bow was slung over one of her shoulders, a leather bag for collecting berries, nuts and herbs over the other and her faithful dagger hung by her waist inside its sheath as it always did.

She wasn't the only inhabitant of the village who got out of bed with the birds and other animals so it wasn't uncommon for her to meet someone while running errands, but she was still surprised to find Pyroth, one of the young men from her village, just lying there in the mud.
„Morning yourself!“, she replied to the greeting that she thought was meant for her and looked down at him with raised eyebrows.
„You know, if you have some sort of skin condition or something, there are better remedies than mud.“, she told him and held a hand in front of her mouth as she couldn't help the smirk that started to form on her face. She wasn't usually much of a joker, but he did seem quite silly laying down there on the ground as if he was taking a nap in the dirt.

Tag: Pyroth

[Pyroth]

Pyroth was slightly shocked that someone responded to him, "The tree?"  He questioned to himself at first before turning his head to the side to see a girl, "ummm..." He thought to himself, "What was her name again?" He questioned to himself with a bit of a smile just to not seem completely awkward.  "Oh, No. No skin condition." he said slowly, he did a kick-up to stand. Dirt packed onto his body in some places, "I just like the dirt. The trees too..." He said slowly unsure of how to continue. He turned his head to where he perviously laid, the mud pushed down to imprint his body. "Oh." he said quietly under his breath. That surly meant that he had some dirt on his back.

"Sidonia." The name hit him suddenly as he turned slightly, to face the tree. "What are you doing out here anyways?" He asked, normally it was only him around this spot. But, he was very sure she had a reason. He shook his head lightly seemingly out of context. As he reached to his back brushing off the dirt letting it fall back down to the ground. He looked back to her, he never really realized how pretty she was. Actually, he didn't really know all that much about her. She was one of the kids found out in the woods a few years back if he remembered correctly. Pyroth finished brushing the dirt off of himself as he turned to fully face her. Might as well socialize or at least... Try to.


Sidonia

[Sidonia]

'Show off!' Sidonia thought to herself as she watched him get back up with a jump. She knew each of the villager's faces, but she couldn't say that she was close to any of them. Although she'd lived with these people for most of her young years, it had been hard for her to find her way back into a normal village life. After going through the trauma of seeing her parents and everyone in her village be slaughtered by Azgeda warriors and after spending two years living in the woods with her brother, this ordinary life among new people had seemed unreal to the girl and she'd never been able to feel completely at home. So it was no wonder that Pyroth and her didn't know a lot about each other, despite growing up together.

Sidonia had always felt closer to animals after going back to living amongst other people. She'd always spoken to them, Kay being the only human she could talk to during their time in the forest. The other children of the village had often laughed at her and teased her for her weird behavior, especially when she'd first been taken in by the adults, but Sid had always ignored them. At least animals didn't slaughter each other over land or power, they only killed for nourishment, not out of greed.
„I like them too!“, she declared and smiled fondly, rubbing her hand over the bark of one of the trees. She leaned her head closer to the trunk and rested her cheek against it for a moment, closing her eyes as she did so. She had always considered the trees to be her friends, shielding her from the view of those who meant her harm and sheltering her from the rain and cold. Her gesture would probably seem weird to Pyroth, especially since a warrior like him would certainly not have the time to spare to appreciate mother nature.
„So you're bathing in mud because you like it?“, she asked with raised eyebrows, having to lift her head now since the young man was taller than her.

Tag: Pyroth

[Pyroth]

A small smile creeped across Pyroth's face as Sidonia rested her cheek onto the tree, "I guess," He didn't mean to, but a small laugh slipped from his lips. His smile was warm. "Well... No, I mean. I'm not bathing in it. I was just... Laying there... For a short while..." He said slightly awkwardly. It probably looked like he was, he knew that. His gaze looked down to her; his eyes were soft and kind. "Besides," He started but didn't finish his thought. He was lost in the color of her hair, it's beauty stealing away from his thought. It left him with a warm feeling. His eyes shifted to her raised brows and he wondered if she was questioning him, "I just got done with, uhhh...." He seemed to be lost again his thought getting ahead of him. "Working out." His brain told him, but he wasn't able to spit it out for some odd reason. He shook his head lightly again, seemingly out of context the small braid on the back of his head shaking lightly. 

"Never mind..." He said slowly as he just looked at her, bringing the conversation to an awkward silence before continuing, "What are you doing out here anyways? Anything that I could help with?" He asked slowly unsure if that would make the whole thing more awkward. But, he had a brief few hours of time... Well, at the very least he could take some time away from training... He did it every day, all day. Some social interaction wouldn't kill him, would it? He looked her up and down, she couldn't be that dangerous to him... Could she be? His smile faded into a ponder as he looked her over again, it could almost be mistaken as if he were checking her out. He looked back to her eyes and offered a small smile.

Sidonia

[Sidonia]

Sidonia's forehead creased into a frown when Pyroth started stammering away without actually giving her a sensible answer. He seemed so distracted and for a moment, Sid thought she caught him staring at her but she couldn't think of a reasonable excuse for him to do that. She might have blood or dirt on her face from scavenging through the woods, which would explain why his eyes seemed to be so fixed on her. Of course she had caught young men looking at her before, but it wasn't like she was a rare beauty or one of the prettiest girls in the village, at least she didn't consider herself as such. She wouldn't be too embarrassed to admit that he was a fine and strong looking young warrior if she was ever pressed for an answer, but she was never one to indulge in fantasies of romance like some of the other girls her age.

The young wman grew a little suspicious when the Grounder seemed to avoid given a real answer about what he'd been doing before she arrived, but it wasn't really any of her business anyway. He still wanted to hear about her reasons for being here though, however it was no secret that she went out here on most days so she was happy enough to tell him what she'd been doing. She lifted the leather bag in a gesture of drawing his attention to it. There were two small birds hanging from it, tied to it by their claws and a squirrel hanging next to them. The bag itself was filled with berries, nuts and herbs and she opened it for a brief moment to show Pyroth its content.
„I was just out doing a supply run. I needed some more herbs and found a few other things.“, she explained, some blood dripping from the small dead animals onto the ground. Sid kept adjusting the strap of her bag as it was getting quite heavy, being so full of everything she'd collected.

Tag: Pyroth

[Pyroth]

The warm smile began to fade when he realized she had begun to frown, he slightly worried he had upset her in some way shape or form. His experience with people seemed to be very lacking and even he could notice that. "Sorry," he started as he looked into the bag looking upon the batch of nuts and herbs. "Not too good with people..." he admitted unsure if his honesty in that matter would be a mistake.

He watched her ajust the bag seemingly to shift the weight of it. "I could carry that, if you'd like?" he offered a hand extended. He tried to smile but it almost seemed as if it were forced, his awkwardness bleeding from him like he was wounded animal. He felt slight vaunrable standing there in his awkward nature. He looked around feeling so out of place in a spot just moments ago he felt reasonably comfortable in. His gaze fell upon the animals their claws being what hung them there.

Pyroth didn't normally have conversations that lasted this long except with his sister, and even then those weren't so, real. He watched the blood trickle down, a smile creeping across his face. Blood was calming to him. Gave him a smooth feeling. Leaving some of that awkwardness behind he looked back up to Sidonia this time the smile clearly real. "I'm not too versed in plants. But, I'm strong." he offered a warm grin. "That is if you ever need any help."

His hand was still extended in offer to take the bag and help her. He was genuinely trying to make a good impression, though even he had his doubts it was working.

Sidonia

[Sidonia]

The young Grounder was surprised by Pyroth's honesty when he told her that he had problems with talking to people. She couldn't help but smile at that since she knew the feeling all too well and it made him seem even more likeable. Warriors were usually too proud to show any weaknesses so it came as quite the surprise to hear him admit his own.
„Don't worry! I prefer talking to animals myself.“, she admitted with a shy smile. It was usually not like her to be open or smile a lot, but she didn't want to make him feel even more uncomfortable. Sneaking her hand into the leather bag, she grabbed a handfull of berries and popped them into her mouth.
„Would you like some?“, she offered, holding out her hands, a couple of fruits resting in her palm.
She looked down at the strap of her pouch, which was already digging into her shoulder. She felt the weight of her gatherings tilt her down to one side and thought about his proposal to carry her load. She was usually to proud herself to accept such offers, but her arm was actually starting to ache a little and he was making an effort, so she didn't want to reject the young man.
„If it's no trouble for you.“, she replied and lifted the pack off her shoulder to hand it to him.
„I might get back to that some day.“, she added with a nod of her head at his second proposal and then she held the berries once more.

Tag: Pyroth

[Pyroth]

The weight of the bag was slightly impressive. So much collected in one morning? Had to have quite a bit of things collected in the bag. Pyroth swung the bag over his bear shoulder smiling lightly. He was happy to help and even more so happy he didn't manage to scare her away somehow. "Uh... I'm good." He responded to her offer. He didn't mean to sound rude, and he really hoped it didn't come off that way. Pyroth gave a warm smile. "Animals? I like them... They seem to understand me better than people." His words were true, their mindsets were like his own in many ways.

"So, I guess you come out here a lot?" he asked shifting the bag she had just handed him into a more comfortable positioning upon his shoulder. He looked up to the sky, the broad leafs still covering it away from sight. He looked to the branches thinking of how strong they were before before looking back down to Sidonia. "I think it's beautiful..." A light smirk crawling across his lips. The wind blew slightly running across his face that was still warm from working out. "Ahh..." he let out lightly under his breath.

He was happy that the wind blew on days like today, cooling him slightly after working. It was like a mistress, kissing her lover after he returned home from war. Well, maybe not that intense... His smile turned into a grin as he was lost in thought once more. So much for social skills. He snapped out of it withing a few moments of the awkward silence. "Oh, Have you ever been down by the river?" He asked slightly excited. He wasn't sure of how many people knew of it, it was only a brisk walk away.


Sidonia

[Sidonia]

Sidonia felt a slight ache pulsing in her shoulder when the weight was lifted off of it, making her feel as light as a fever without the extra pounds weighing her down and she rubbed it for a moment. She thought she caught a flicker of surprise on the young man's face as the bag must have been heavier than he'd suspected and it made her smirk a little. She shrugged as Pyroth refused the berries and she threw them in her own mouth, a little bit of juice dripping down her chin as she squelched them with her teeth and tongue. She gave a nod of approval when he said that animals seemed to understand him better than all those around him. She still remembered that shaggy dog she kept as a pet when she was still living with her parents in their old village. He'd always seemed to know when she was feeling sad or lonely and had tried to comfort her. Everyone around her, even her mother who'd been very loving, had always seemed to busy or distracted to find out what bothered her. The animal had even followed her and her brother into the woods after the slaughter of their village and he'd died protecting them from a mountain lion. She still considered him to be the best friend she'd ever had in her life.

She nodded at the boy's question and played with the handle of her dagger, hanging in a sheath on her belt. „I go out most mornings to hunt and collect, it's something like my daily routine.“, she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. It was true that she wanted to help the villagers by gathering food and herbs, but most days she was actually more interested in getting out of the village and enjoying the quiet of the surrounding woods away from everyone. The scavenging was necessary, but also a welcome cover so she wouldn't have to offend anyone by admitting that she didn't like to spend too much time with other people. Sid looked up at Pyroth when he asked her about the river. „Yeah, I go there to collect water or simply to bathe. Why do you ask?“, she asked, slightly surprised. She thought that surely everyone must know about the river since it wasn't too far away.

Tag: Pyroth