indentThe camp they had established in was comfortable enough to consider staying there for a longer wile. There were no mountains bothering them, except of couse the ones in the west, but that was the only thing that cut their sight in miles. And it felt a bit more like home. Just not enough to claim it as such.

indentThere was also a forest to the south. Thick and quite large, and Rakharo often patroled the flatland close to the treeline to make sure nothing came out of it to destroy his small Khalas. He had to be precautious still, knowing tat they were still vulnerable. So far it had all been okay, no one bothered them too much, and he felt tranquil to turn around north and gather with his Khalas. But the scent of fresh blood drifted to his nostrils, making his spine hairs rise.

indentHe followed the scent until he found a laying wolf not too deep inside the forest. She was vulnerable. Easy to get rid of. But something called the Khal's attention just before he darted to kill the female. She had just eaten a rabit. A large one. And by her looks Rakharo easily decifred that she wasn't a pack wolf. She had caught the rabbit alone, in a poor physical state. She had to be pretty fast to do such a thing.

indent"Svaust majaka wux batobot, aesthyr? the Khal asked, knowing that it had been her who had caught it. And then repeated, knowing that as she was asleep she wouldn't get the message the first time. "Wer achthend, svaust majaka coi ekess wux?"

indentLuckily for Kivi, Rakharo had no intentions of killing her. He had other intentions for the female, who so far seemed to be an avid hunter. He wasn't used to seeing such small and agile prey, and he would never think about trying to catch one so little himself. It must have been a great ability. He would find a good place for someone like that in his Khalas.


indent"Tira wux?" the Khal asked with a teasing smile. "Wux zklaen qe zi tonsal, ghergo Fonakeesi..." he said and sat down on his strong haunches to keep studying the female with his flaming orange eyes. "Wux re vi Dotharan." he concluded from her good use of the language and her demeanor. It was easy to spot a Dotharan in a crowd anyways. "Svanoa tiric vi upadoc Dotharan confn zyak karif de Rhaesh Dahaan loaw?" he finished, but a more important question would be "why?" and he planned to discover it further ahead.

indentThe female had guts. Rakharo liked that in his subordinates, which made Kivi a perfect candidate to join his small Khalas which would soon claim a territory of its own in this new lands. All he needed now was Bison herds, and so far the search hadn't given any results. He, and his Khalas would have to keep moving until a good place to establish was found.

indentRakharo, as it was no secret, didn't think greatly of female's abilities. He thought they were the weaker gender, made to bring the young to the world, which was their biggest strength. But he also recognized there were many exceptioins to his thinking, and whenever he found a female worth of his respect he would give it away without second thoughts. Kivi still hgad to earn that respect, and Rakharo still wasn't completely sure about her hunting skills, but she was worth a try.

indent"Si nurti said batobot. Si jahus filki torir tagoa coi vorqic hefoc wux tepoha coanwor tirir coi zi algbo." he said, recognizing the same to himself. He had come to a very different place, and he still didn't know how to behave in that strange place. "Svabol tir astahii relgr wux, Fonakeesi?"