Scene: Zarina & Itomo Archery Lessons and Hi-jinks

Location: Oleg's Fort
Date: not quite sure, the day prior to the Fangberry Expedition departure.
Subject: Itomo attempts to teach Zarina to use a bow.

Zarina Ka'thar

"Yes, that's exactly who I'm looking for!" Zarina replies to Stevil with a smile. Turning towards the gate, she lifts a hand to shade her eyes, hiding the little squint that results from her peering intently in the direction he indicated. "He's near the catapult you say?" Her smile broadens, glad that the sleep-deprived man was specific with his information. "You've been such a help, Stevil. Thank you." she says with a grateful nod before heading for the ladder a few feet from the main gate that she knows is there.

Climbing the rungs, Zarina feels the edges of her numerous scarves whip about in the cold breeze. Thank Gozreh the sun is shining or this would be a bitterly cold day, she thinks to herself, finally spotting Itomo lazing in the sun. As the oracle approaches his sleeping form, she takes a moment to admire the cut of his new clothes, her small frame temporarily blocking his sun. The guard's mention of the drawing board reminds her to take a peek at the slate in his hands. Marveling at the way his lines capture the likeness of both horses, Zarina can't hold back an audible murmur of appreciation. The fact that he even drew comes as a surprise to her. She hadn't really noticed his drawing board before.
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Itomo

Itomo awakens slowly when Zarina momentarily casts a shadow over him, slowly opening first one eye then the other scrunching his face up at the glare of the sun in a comical manner. He pulls himself upright setting the drawing board down beside him. He is clearly disoriented. "ah....oh.....hi Zarina, I think I fell asleep. I came up here to sketch a bit in the sunlight but I got distracted listening to the wind rustling through the trees and the smell of spring. The sun felt so good I just couldn't stay awake, felt good though, nothing like a nice afternoon nap. Itomo has been having trouble sleeping since the return to the fort, something that Zarina may or may not be aware of. "Heh well I doubt very much that you came all the way up here to listen to me talking about the new spring and napping, what's on your mind." He pats the wooden platform beside her indicating she could sit.

Zarina Ka'thar

Zarina takes her time arranging her skirts and scarves, securing them neatly underneath her before carefully positioning herself beside Itomo. Her dancer's flexibility allows her to sit with both legs to one side and tucked close to her body. Leaning on her palm, she reaches over Itomo to retrieve his drawing board, flashing him an unapologetic smile for indulging her curiosity. Ignoring his question for the moment, she stares at his drawing, the edge of the board resting in her lap. "For a moment there, while you were asleep, you reminded me of my Papa. Oftentimes in the spring, he used to string a hammock between wagons and while away an afternoon napping. The only thing that would rouse him was the scent of my mother's cooking," she reveals with a grin.

Falling silent, the oracle is momentarily absorbed by her close perusal of Itomo's drawing. Zarina's eyes seem to trace every line and every curve. "I've never seen one of your drawings before. It's beautiful." Dusting off the palm she was resting on, she can't resist lifting a finger up to the drawing, almost reverently following the contours of both horses depicted in it. "To be able to depict what you see and distill it down to these few lines. That is a gift, Itomo."
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Itomo

Itomo colors slightly in response to Zarina's praise. "I don't know if they are really that good, it's just something I do to take my mind off other concerns, something I learned to do as a young child that has stuck with me. My mom used to paint, now she had talent. I don't know if you remember it but in the main room of the Blossoming Flower, where we went so you could speak with Lady Masjunea, there was a large painting of a flowering garden with a fountain and several attractive women a....um frolicking would be the right word I think. Anyway that was one of her works. I think I got some of her artistic talent, and as a child, well I always had the need for some distraction. Itomo is silent for a few moments as he remembers the often awkward and sometimes frightening occurrences a child would experience growing up in a brothel.

"I did a few yesterday, one from each catapult platform, just simple rough landscapes from the perspective of each corner of the fort. I still need to work on some of the details but I thought that they might make a good gift for Master Oleg and Svetlana. I know he is worried about the charter and the implications that growth might have on his quiet land. Itomo pulls back the sketch of the horses, beneath it are a dozen or so loose large sheets of paper all with various sketches, the first four are landscape perspectives of the land around the fort depicting his interpretation of the land from the fort to the horizon, the fifth is the beginnings of a sketch of an armor clad man in combat, the next few random images, trees around a pond, wildlife, etc, etc. The final sketch is a completed portrait of a sour faced man, full bearded with a bald head. One of his eyes is hidden behind a patch with a vertical scar above and below it.

Zarina Ka'thar

Zarina quietly pages through the sketches, considering Itomo's words. The painting in question was not easily forgettable considering she spent quite a bit of time trying to look elsewhere to hide her discomfort at the subject matter. "It was well painted from what I remember of it," she replies truthfully, gazing at the group of landscape sketches. "Had I known it was your mother's work, I would have examined it for longer than I did." That much was true as well, but she wasn't quite sure how long she would have lasted in her perusal, given the chance. "The blossoms were painted so delicately and she does show her knowledge of the female form in that painting," she adds with a hint of admiration for his mother's talent.

Setting the landscape pages down in front of her in a neat row, Zarina studies each one at length. She nods slowly, imagining the details Itomo would add in to finish the sketches. "I think the Levetons would appreciate such a gift, Oleg in particular." Lifting her eyes up to the land stretched out before them, she lets out a sigh full of longing. "I can't blame him for being worried, truth be told," she confides in a low voice. "There is a stark beauty in this land. I, for one, am glad that I had the chance to see it." The sidelong glance she gives him is accompanied by a self-conscious smile brought about by her strangely heartfelt admission. "I would be loathe to see it give way to progress, despite the charter that brought us here."

The last drawing causes Zarina to recoil slightly from the scowling face depicted on the page. Holding the board up to Itomo, she seems puzzled. "Well, this is unexpected." After the idyllic scenes the oracle paged through, the stark visage was the last thing she expected. Turning the board around to peer at the portrait once more, she muses, "This certainly isn't anyone I've seen at the post. Who is he?" Once again, Zarina's innate curiosity derails her from her original intent at seeking the Restovian.

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Itomo

"I....I had forgotten that was there." Itomo looks away towards the southwest struggling to find the words to explain the sketch. "I guess you could say that's a reminder." He says finally, still looking into the distance before continuing in a softer voice "I've not always made the right decisions, some of the things I have done as a younger man, as a boy really I am not proud of....... The drawing is of a man, or rather a monster in man's guise. A murder and a rapist, a thief and highwayman, a man who is not above any depravity. Lastly someone I once thought was a friend. This is Adsen Fox and the world will be a better place when I put him in the grave." Itomo's voice is calm but as cold as a blade with the final decree.

Silence follows broken by the cry of a hawk from high above and the distant murmur from within the fort.

Zarina Ka'thar

The coldness in Itomo's voice and the steeliness of his resolve in extinguishing the life of the man in the portrait sends a sharp shiver down Zarina's spine. At first she searches Itomo's face for answers. Her lips part but her throat couldn't form the questions. Staring down at the drawing instead, she forces herself to commit the man's harsh features to memory. She takes in the look of hatred in his eyes, and the jagged lines of his scars. "Adsen Fox," she murmurs. "A murderer..." the words are echoed in a broken whisper.

Zarina expected tears at the painful jumble of emotions inside her, but none came. What if this is him? she thought. A thief and a highwayman were the words Itomo used. This Adsen Fox would certainly fit the type of people who attacked their caravan many years ago. A sudden anger sweeps through Zarina, lending a tremor to her fingers as she clutches tightly at the drawing board. "Un blestem pe tine, Adsen Fox. Jur să tuturor zeilor, îi place de tine încetează de a călători aceste meleaguri. Şi voi avea răzbunare meu*," she whispers fiercely with barely restrained emotion.

Raising her eyes to the majestic flight of the hawk circling above them, takes a few deep breaths, trying to compose herself while discarding the drawing board beside her. It clatters hollowly against the wooden boards beneath them. The air surrounding them seems colder. Drawing her knees in, she hugs them to her chest, oblivious to the swirling edges of her scarves whipping around her. "I think there is much that we could talk about, Itomo." The hawk lets out another piercing cry. "I'm not sure that now is the right time. But I did come to see you for a reason." She lets out a drawn-out sigh, one that makes her shoulders sag and speaks of both weariness and the worries that she carries. "One reason is that I wish to thank you for...for being so kind...after..." Her voice trails away, still embarrassed at dissolving into a puddle of tears in his arms.

"And the other reason..." Zarina looks him straight in the eye. "Would you teach me how to fight? I am so tired of feeling useless."

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Itomo

Itomo is taken aback by the vehemence in Zarina's words, already unnerved by his upwelling feelings of wrath Zarina's shared response is anything but expected. Itomo watches while Zarina wrestles with the tides of emotion swelling across her face.

"răzbunare ..... răzbunare? Acest demon este cunoscut pentru tine?" something in a foreign language Itomo's face contorts into a visage of inccredulity.

Switching with her back to Taldan he replies to her request for aid. "I can teach you what I know, admittedly I am probably not the best suited for this task, perhaps Jaared or the elf have more to offer. I have no formal training...per se, but I do know how to avoid being struck and attacking when an opening presents itself. One of the first things you can do though, is to believe in yourself, you must be confident. I saw you in the caves, you fought capably, you are by no means useless.

Zarina Ka'thar

Zarina shakes her head regretfully. "In the caves? That was nothing more than luck. To be perfectly honest, I was hesitant about striking those creatures. Then when I did...well, it took me by surprise that I actually hit him. My...ah, well...my aim isn't very good." Shrugging her shoulders, she hugs her knees tighter. "I thought perhaps you might help me with that?"

Balled up the way she is, the oracle looks even tinier, almost child-like as she asks Itomo for his aid. "And as for Adsen Fox, I do not know him, but I would gladly rid this place of people like him," she says resolutely, her voice growing cold. "People like that do not deserve to live."
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