All In A Day's Work

[Alekay]

Alekay was on duty for hunting today. He didn't mind it in the slightest. It allowed him to be out there in the woods and come back with something to benefit his people. All in a day's work for a warrior and member of the Trikru. He was not to go alone though. Hunting was more efficient with at least one partner . . . and today, that partner just happened to be Yvette. It was hardly a coincidence since he and Yvette were friends and he quite enjoyed her company. He had known her since he had started training to be a warrior, and with most of his immediate family living in another village, she was part of her family of heart that he had found among the other warriors and village people. He was situated in Tondc right now, which was why he was ready to set out with her.

Seeing her standing there near the exit of the small village, he armed himself with a couple daggers, a bow and arrow and of course a spear which he gripped in his hand. He then approached her once he was prepared for the hunting journey. "Ready?" He asked her, a smile playing on his lips. "You're not going to stab me are you?" He asked teasingly, referring to an incident where she had tried to stab a man who was interested in her. Alekay found it to be highly amusing and spared no opportunity to bring it up in a teasing manner.

Tag Yvette

[Yvette]

Yvette had been more than pleased to be put on duty for hunting. While it hadn't exactly been a long time since she'd been out in the forest, she always enjoyed hunting. Her father had taught her that even thought the Trikru were a warrior people, it wasn't about the killing, but about the benefit to the village. She hadn't understood at first - killing an animal was the entire purpose of hunting - but later, she'd realized the meaning in his words, that if you only focused on the killing part of the expedition you were behaving like the Reapers. Which was bitterly ironic, considering that her brother was most likely a Reaper himself, if he wasn't dead. As usual, she was hunting with a partner, and fortunately that partner was someone she got along with well. Since they were friends, it was hardly coincidence that they'd been assigned to work together. They hadn't known each other before they started warrior training, since he came from a distant village, but he lived in Tondc now and they'd gotten to know each other fairly well.

She spotted Alekay coming from halfway down the village street and waved to him. She liked working with the young man. Unlike most other males of his age, he had no interest in trying to get into her bed, and unlike most other members of the village, he seemed to always have a smile on his face. "Yes, ready," she replied, double-checking that she had the necessary weapons. For this outing she had two knives, her bow, and a short sword. Although a spear was typically used, she preferred her sword to it, especially when she knew Alekay would be bringing one himself. "That was one time!" Yvette protested at his question. "And no, I'm not planning to stab you, Alek." Alekay never got tired of teasing her about the time she'd stabbed an overly interested suitor. She rolled her eyes and huffed, but they both knew she didn't mind. "Do you know where the game is running?" Usually they knew where their prey could be found, but occasionally they simply struck out into the forest and hoped to find something edible. Yvette didn't mind either one, but she preferred to know in advance.

[Alekay]

Alekay smirked with amusement upon her insistance of it being one time. "That's plenty," he said back. The entire idea had entertained him more than anything else. It had been hysterical, and Alekay recalled actually laughing when he had found out. "Good thing you didn't cause permanent damage," he further teased. It was really going to be a long time before he fully let this go. And until then . . . he was enjoying taunting and teasing her about it. Especially considering the reason she had stabbed him.

"Well that's reassuring," he said with playful sarcasm when she told him she wouldn't stab him. "I'll try to restrain my urges," he further joked. She was his friend more than anything else, but teasing her about something that she often had to deal with from the male villages was just too tempting to resist. Her next question was made on a more serious note, and he could reply in kind. "A few of the hunters are going East. We'll go in the opposite direction." Since that ground would not yet be covered. With that, he waited for her to be fully ready before they began to venture out into the woods.

Tag Yvette

[Yvette]

"I can see that," Yvette grumbled. Even though the elders of the tribe had been nearly catatonic at her actions, some of the younger warriors had been quite amused. Alekay, in particular, had laughed out loud upon hearing the story. When he kept teasing her she smacked halfheartedly at him, a grin slipping across her face despite her purposed crankiness. She really wasn't going to stop hearing about this for months, or maybe even years. And since there were still occasional new suitors despite her reputation, each time someone announced their intentions to try to court her, it only added fuel to the fire.

"Very reassuring," Yvette agreed wryly. "As long as you behave yourself we'll have no problems." The concept of 'behaving' was very ambiguous, since Alekay undeniably had the biggest playful streak out of the entire tribe and she had a particular talent for getting into trouble. They'd always gotten along well, however, and even though some people had thought their continued closeness risky, considering Yvette had no intention to marry anyone, neither of them had particularly cared. Yvette suspected most of the protest came because the other males hoped she would give in to one of them if they pestered her long enough. She nodded as Alekay told her where they were going. He waited for her to double-check her weapons before they started out, and she kept pace with him easily even though every little movement caught her attention.

[Alekay]

Alekay grinned proudly at his success in drawing such a reaction from her as she playfully hit him. Within their culture, particularly those that were warriors, displaying such jovial -- or some may call it juvenile in Alekay's case -- actions or emotions. It never stopped him from provoking others, but he found it especially enjoyable when poking at those he was close to. Yvette being a prime example. "At least I made you smile," he said teasingly, purposely pointing out the emotion despite how brief it may have been.

"I'm going to count that as a win on my part." He did pride himself in such things. And he wasn't about to minimize it -- hence the reason he had displayed such attention onto it. She then teased him about behaving himself, and that they then wouldn't have a problem. "I will, if you will." The tease continued. "I said I would resist my urges, but you better resist yours too. I know the temptation is there, but try to fight it." He was of course just making fun over the whole notion of it. It would make this hunt so much less boring setting out with a friend rather than one of the overly serious Grounders who offered one or two words every hour.

Tag Yvette

[Yvette]

"I smile all on my own," Yvette protested, a little grin crossing her face for a moment. That definitely didn't count as a win on Alekay's part, even though she had smiled because of his teasing. Alekay had enough pride in his immaturity and teasing without her encouragement, although she had been a pivotal part of several incidents in the past. Occasionally she got into some trouble herself, apart from the whole stabbing thing, and it was almost always Alekay's fault. She was sure that he was proud of that. Few Grounders would be as proud of their joking ability as they were of their combat skills, but Alekay was one of them. Probably the only one old enough to be a warrior.

"The temptation is very hard to fight," Yvette agreed with a roll of her eyes. She would hardly have let anyone else tease her about the whole thing, much less trade banter with them. Alekay had always been different from the other Grounders she knew, and not just because he teased people with almost every breath he took. They'd always gotten along pretty well, even though they squabbled at times like all friends did.