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Who: Vanyel Ashkevron
What: Hunting practise
When: Saturday morning
Where: Woods
Rating: Hardly higher than PG-13

Following his conversation with Vanyel he had decided to tag along and learn some hunting skills. He was severely lacking in that area. The most experience he had was finding traps in the woods back home. Normally he would probably not care to learn but the last nine months had taught him that everything could happen around here and so he better be prepared for anything. So he had decided to do this. Not knowing what to take along he had dressed in clothes he didn't mind getting dirty, put Clyde on a leash and head outside to wait for Vanyel to come by and teach him. he didn't know if more people would join and he had assumed it was today. All he could do was wait. To make time go by he had sat down next to Clyde and petted the German Shepard. Clyde enjoyed it and made happy noises as he strokes through its fur.

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Vanyel had risen earlier than Aaron, going down the stables to saddle Yfandes and pick one of his favorite docile mares for people he didn't think had good riding skills. She was a pretty palomino, a bit on in years and a bit wider for it, but the quiet nature of her suited things just fine for today.

He trotted up to the steps of the Castle with the mare hitched to Yfandes' saddle, smiling when he saw Aaron and his dog.

"Good morning," he greeted, dressed in comfortable doe-skin trousers, knee-length riding boots, and a loose tunic synched by a neat belt, dark hair pulled back in a neat tail. "This is Marigold. She'll be your mount today," he motioned to the palomino.

Aaron stood up as the man approached him. He gave the horses an unwary looks and pushed his hands into the pockets of his black trackie bottoms. He worse a grey hoodie with those. He nodded over at his German Shepard whom sat down next to him.

"Alright? That's Clyde, my dog," he greeted and stepped closer, Clyde tagging along next to him. "I can't ride," he then admitted and looked at Marigold. Clyde greeted the horse like atypical dog would, with a short bar and some sniffing along the horse's leg.

"Well, nows a good time to learn," Vanyel smiled and dismounted Yfandes to come to Marigold's side with Aaron. "Don't worry. She's quiet and I'll keep her tied to Yfandes so she won't run off. We'll walk for a ways and if you feel comfortable we can move to a trot. Just keep hold of reins, cantle, or mane - whatever makes you comfortable."

He smiled reassuringly at him as Marigold snorted at the dog, not in the least disturbed by him. She seemed fully prepared to ignore any antics, as did Yfandes.

Aaron walked up to the horse and gave it a look. He wasn't too sure about this. But his bravado urged him on so with clenched jaws he clumsily climbed onto the horse. He adjusted himself on the seat not feeling too comfortable. Last time he rod a horse it was a pony and he was just a little kid. He then grabbed the rein and pulled them towards him.

"Like this?" he asked and looked over at the other man.

Vanyel watched, ready to catch the other if need be. Yfandes, for her part, had moved to flank Marigold so that even if Aaron had started going over the other side, he'd be able to catch himself on horseflesh.

Seeing him seated, he nodded. "Hold them like this though, thumbs up," he advised, displaying with his own hands before he went to Yfandes and mounted with an expert'a grace.

"Now, just move with her. I promise we'll only walk until you're comfortable," he smiled at him as Marigold kept a pace with Yfandes.

"So, do you know anything of tracking or trapping at all?" Vanyel asked, wanting to gauge what he could skip or if he needed to start from bare basics.

Aaron gave the other man a look and imitated how he was holding. He still felt uncomfortable but he hid it behind a tough façade. His grip was tight on the reins though. It was quite the experience to have all that muscle moving under him. It wasn't all that comfortable.

"No I haven't got any. My uncle did hunt but I never followed him out," he answered. His dad had never been much of a dad.

Vanyel had been uncomfortable his first time too as a boy, even though his family raised, bred, and sold horses for the majority of their money. But he thought it a good skill to learn now. You never knew when a horse might be the only reliable means of transport - quick transport, anyways.

"That's fine then. We'll start with learning some tracks today and I can show you one of the basic traps I learned to make," he said. "We won't be tracking anything, just pointing out what we can find so you can at least identify types of animals."

"Alright. I know a little about tracks from school but that was some time ago. But what kind of animals is there around 'ere? I haven't seen any," Aaron responded as he rode next to Vanyel. He got a feeling his bum be a bit sore later. Because he didn't really know how to get into a comfortable pace with the horse.

"Small ones, that I have seen - rabbits, foxes, mice. The usual. There are some larger ones, but I think we should avoid those, but if we find deer tracks I will point them out," he said. "Traps will only be good for the smaller animals such as rabbit and squirrel, though."

It came, eventually. Even Vanyel still got sore from time to time and Herald saddles were made to be somewhat cushioned. One could even sleep in them with the aid of specially designed straps.

"Alright. I'm not too used to being in the woods as I grew up in the city," Aaron shrugs and losses his balance for a second. He quickly drags himself up again to a decent sitting position. He pretends as if it never happened.

"My uncle Zak uses traps to catch rabbits. But he never taught me how to use those," Aaron comments and looks off into the distance. "Wasn't really interested," he then adds and glances back at the man riding beside him.

"I wasn't either, growing up," Vanyel admitted, not commenting on the near loss of balance. He was close enough to reach out and catch him if it did seem to be more than Aaron could handle, at least. "But then, I wasn't into much besides singing," he chuckled. "My father made me learn to use the sword and I helped with the horses, but my true passion was playing the lute and singing and composing. Hunting I left to my brothers." Brutes, one and all, and all younger than him and twice as big.

"Singing?" Aaron makes a face and snorts. "I can tell you that I never was into that stuff. I don't sing no matter how good my voice supposedly is. It's just not my thing innit. Nah I preferred cars and toy soldiers when I was a kid. Oh and watching the other kids play basketball," he told the other man. He then sighs a little.

"But yeah my dad wasn't the best one," he added.

There is a quiet moment, and then Vanyel reached out and touched Aaron's shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze.

"I understand," he said. "My father was not the best one either, as you say. I was nothing that he wanted me to be, and yet I am so much more. I was always more my mother's child," he gave a bit of a grin at that. "Perhaps some time you can teach me this "basketball."

"Yeah. I guess I wasn't what my dad wanted either. But he was all I had as my mother left when I was a kid," Aaron replied with a shrug. He still blamed his dad for everything and as his old man hadn't gotten into touch with him he didn't care about him the slightest. He had a much better dad in Paddy. "I said I liked to watch. I never played it," Aaron then adds.

"Well, perhaps it is something we can both learn then, as beginners," he smiled as they headed past the town and towards the forest itself, still at a walk. Vanyel turned slightly and reached into saddle bags, drawing out two small wrapped bars. He handed one to Aaron.

"I was not sure if you had time to eat this morning, so I thought I would pack some extra items," he said, holding it out to him. Instead was a baked hard bread with berries worked into it. A healthy snack and good too. Vanyel also had things for lunch, but that would come later. "When we reach the edge of the woods, we'll dismount and tie the horses. We won't go to far in, but if we go off trail it will be hard on them and I would rather avoid that if we can."

Aaron frowned slightly but didn't comment. He wasn't interested in playing basketball. Maybe he could pick up boxing again though, just to have something to do now that he couldn't work on cars.

As the other man extend the package he gave it a suspicious look. But he accepted it and unwrapped it. "I drank some coffee and had a butty with jam for breakfast," he answered and took a tentative bite of the bread. It tasted alright.

"Sure. I wouldn't want to ride into the woods and get a branch in my mug either," Aaron commented.

"Butty with jam?" Vanyel parroted, looking over at him and both eyebrows up. Those were words he had never heard before, and he couldn't fathom what they meant.

But he shook his head as the town grew smaller and the woods loomed larger ahead of them, not quite so intimidating as the Dead Zone, but at the right times they could look just as scary. He had been through forests that felt that way, though today this one did not give him a sense of foreboding.

"A nice day for this," he mentioned, changing the subject some. "We won't sweat to much wandering about in the woods." Yfandes tossed her head and Vanyel smacked her neck lightly. "Don't be smart," he chided her, the Yfandes let out something very close to a laugh.

"Yeah. It's bread with jam on," Aaron responded and gave Vanyel a "are you dumb" look.

As they went deeper into the woods, Aaron let his gaze wander. He was feeling more comfortable on horseback. He did strain his muscles a bit to clench to the horseback. But as he grew more confident he loosened up some. The woods was a strange view. It looked old, without any sign of modern lumber business, but at the same time they were strangely clean-cut.

"Alright," he huffed and glanced over. It was a bit odd to hear their conversation as if the horse were more than an animal.

What? He had never heard the term before, and he gives the teen an equally bland look in return.

Vanyel made a sound and tapped at Yfandes' neck again, the mare letting something that sounded suspiciously like a laugh from a horse's throat.

"I think this is far enough," he nodded, Yfandes stopping without an cues from Vanyel and the man dismounted easily, leaving Yfandes as she was and coming around to Aaron. He gripped Aaron's mare's reins. "Come on down. I'll hitch her and we can go in. While I do that, though, why don't you take a look around and tell me what you see?"

He just wanted a small test of Aaron's initial observation skills, but he hardly expected anything. Not thinking Aaron was stupid, but thinking Aaron was a bit like him when he had started - not a hunter, not trained to look for such things. But some people had natural aptitudes and he thought it a good idea to get a sense of that.

Aaron huffed and threw a look around. It didn't look much different from anywhere else. He had built knowledge of the forest back home but this was all new to him. He wouldn't let that show though.

As he climbed off the horse though, he lost his footing and fell down onto the floor. He got a mouth full of dirt and his body ached from the sudden impact. He groaned and got back up. He glared at the saddle and cursed under his breath. Regaining his composure and putting his temper at bay he dusted himself off, trying to seem unaffected even though he felt stupid.

"Try and lower yourself more with your arms, keep ahold of the saddle," Vanyel suggested, and otherwise did not comment on his fall. It was an acquired skill, and he was not one to make fun of someone for trying and learning.

He took Yfandes and led her aside, the golden mare following. He took the mare's reins and worked off the bridle and put her halter on, securing her with a pitch. That done, he took out a small pack fro Yfandes' saddled bags and came back to Aaron.

"Right, let's go," he clapped his shoulder and headed further into the woods, sticking to what could loosely be defined as a trail.

Aaron glared back at the other man. But he was thankful that he didn't laugh or did anything else. His temper didn't get a chance to flare up.

He followed Vanyel into the woods and kept his gaze straight ahead. He tried to walk slow and quietly. He didn't want to disturb the animals or anything.

"All right, here," he said, stopping them and kneeling down, pointing out faint tracks in the earth. They were dry and old, but they were visible, which is what he needed more than anything.

He pointed out pads and the toes, small next to slightly larger.

"A rabbit," he told him. "An adult, from the size of them. Do you see the difference between hind and fore?"

Aaron hunches down next to Vanyel and looks down at the paw prints. He's frowning slightly. The trail looked old but at least he learned something. He remembered that Zak used traps to catch rabbits. It seemed easier than following a trail. He then points at the first set of prints.

"Those should be the fore right?" he asked and squinted at Vanyel. He hopes he was right because honestly he had no clue.

Vanyel smiled, giving him credit for at least trying. It was not an easy thing to learn, to be honest, and tracks could easily get mixed between one another in similar size animals. "Correct. The back are slightly larger than the front," he pointed between them. "When they come together like this - smaller and slightly bigger, it is safe to bet it is something like a squirrel or a rabbit. Either make for a fine enough meal to catch with a snare, and if you are careful, you could sell the rabbit pelt for extra if you needed money."

"My uncle Zak used to catch rabbits for food when they were low on cash," Aaron comments and inspects the prints. He would have to try to remember those. "He used some kind of trap tho," he adds and looks up at the other man.

He nodded. "Those are common, and snares. Snares are easier to set up and travel with than traps, but traps have less chance of ruining a belt if that's what you're after." He stood and brought around one of the packs he had brought with him, pulling out a bit of thick wire. "This can be used to make a snare, along with some sticks. They're harder to bait though, so it's not as easy to draw something into them. You usually have to find their trail and set it up there."

"Alright," Aaron responds and watches what Vanyel picks out. He's not familiar with those but he does get the general gist of things. "I've heard of ant trails but I didn't know rabbits went along certain paths," he then admits.

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