Willow
Nomad
Posts: 15
Age: 27
Power: Stone Manipulation
Player: Admin Yoloswek
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Willow on Jun 5, 2016 17:38:43 GMT
There were nomads that traveled using motor-vehicles, but the Sienna tribe did not. Aside from a little bit of trade with townspeople they were entirely independent. They rode horses that vaguely resembled the horses from back before the Last War. These horses were skinny, without being emaciated, were almost always white, had teeth that could disembowel one in seconds, speeds that allowed them to outrun most creatures in the wastes and strong backs. Some of them were used to ride, others were used to pull the two carts that the tribe carried with them. Carts that had bottles of water from the oasis inside, dried meat, herbs, the tents, things like that. Willow sat on hers as if she was born on its back. Her long, blonde dreads were roughly tied together and most of her skin was covered by thing fabric, to shield her from the sun. The lower side of her face was covered as well, but still sand got literally everywhere. It was part of the life and not something that really bothered her.
They were cautious today. They weren't even that far away from the camp and tended to avoid getting close to the area the guards patrolled. If they had to they could defend themselves, but ammo was scarce and best not wasted on those men. So they kept their distance, scouring the environment for threats, food and irregularities in the weather. It would be a few more hours until the next oasis, but that did not mean they could relax. "Willow." A young man with short, red hair rode up beside her. "Cale senses something, he says." Willow nodded slowly. "Where?" "He claims it's coming from the East." Closer to the camp. Great. Cale was a teenager who's power seemed to be blossoming, but the problem was that it was often highly inaccurate. But when he was right, things often were about to go South, so ignoring him wasn't the best idea. "I'll check it out, with Ariel," Willow promised. She turned her horse around and rode up to Ariel. "Cale sense something. Let's have a look," she said. Her eyes scanned the wastes. As far as one could see there was sand, rocks, hills and the incidental cactus. But that did not guarantee anything. Behind each rock could be a threat.
|
|
Ariel Martel
Nomad
Posts: 13
Age: 22
Power: Cough Inducement
Player: vloer
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Ariel Martel on Jun 5, 2016 19:37:01 GMT
The sun was blazing hot, as it almost always was, and the few bits of exposed skin were black with sand, the stuff always sticking to sweat. She tried to wash it off as often as she could, but honestly, it was barely any use. Ariel shook her head, trying to move the fabric of her black shawl a bit so it didn't hang in her vision, and when it didn't work she took the reins into one hand to adjust it. It was slipping all of the time, her hair doing very little to stop it. Despite those things, however, Ariel loved this: the horse underneath her moving in a slow but steady pace, and the warmth of its skin seeping through Ariel's trousers into her calves, the wastelands around them stretching for what seemed to be endlessly. Sometimes she still thought back to her life before the nomads, the narrow streets and houses blocking most of the view, and it wasn't hard to remember why she had joined. She watched as one of the men rode up beside Willow, riding a few horses in front of her, curious about what he had to say to her. The day had been pretty easy going so far, especially considering they were close to the camp. She felt a sort of restless energy whenever she thought about it, something inside her telling her that it would be a really good idea to get far, far away from the camp. She had heard stories about it, back when she still lived inside the city, horror stories during sleepovers that had been meant to spook everyone. Ariel was completely sure of the fact that she never wanted to find out how much of those stories was true. She looked up from her thoughts when Willow appeared next to her, and she raised her eyebrows. "Cale senses something. Let's have a look," she said, and Ariel rolled her eyes. "Of course he does," she grumbled. It was a pain to have to check if his senses were right, but if Ariel was honest she was pretty glad for Cale's power. Without it, they'd probably been unpleasantly surprised a lot more by now. She steered her horse out of the group, looking to Willow in question afterwards. "Where to?"
|
|
Willow
Nomad
Posts: 15
Age: 27
Power: Stone Manipulation
Player: Admin Yoloswek
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Willow on Jun 5, 2016 19:54:34 GMT
Willow chuckled for a moment. Ariel more or less expressed how she felt about the situation. Then her face grew serious again. "Where to?" Ariel asked. "The East," Willow answered. She dug her heels into the flanks of her horse. The animal briefly reared a little, started trotting and then after a few paces broke into a quick canter, speeding up as it went. Another thing that made these animals great was just how well adjusted they were to the terrain. They didn't trip very often and knew instinctively what they could or couldn't do. The East was a bit of a vague description, true, but in Cale's defense; with the distances you could view here, a general direction could work pretty well when it came to seeing someone coming that wasn't deliberately trying to hide. The horses hooves thundered over the dusty desertground and Willow leant forward a bit, while still looking around. She steered her horse towards a hill, and over her shoulder she gestured Ariel to do the same. From a higher vantage point they could perhaps get a better view. The large camp grounds could very vaguely be seen in the distance. It was deceiving, in a way. Much like looking at a body of water, looking across the plains made things look closer than they really were. It would probably take at least an hour or two, if not even more, if they really wanted to reach the camp. And vice versa. On top of the hill she reined her horse in, and the animal obeyed, albeit reluctantly.
|
|
Ariel Martel
Nomad
Posts: 13
Age: 22
Power: Cough Inducement
Player: vloer
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Ariel Martel on Jun 5, 2016 20:13:41 GMT
"The East," Willow answered, and Ariel pulled a face. "Of course it's east," she said. "Damn it, Cale." She didn't really need to do much to get her horse to follow Willow, the animal already knowing what she expected it to do. Ariel sat back in the saddle a bit, adjusting to the quick canter. She kept an eye out, because though she didn't expect anyone to already have gotten so close to the tribe, you never knew. Understanding where Willow was planning to go, she steered her horse in the right direction, urging it on a little when it seemed slightly reluctant to climb the hill. When she could see the camp located in the distance, she could feel a chill running up her spine. She didn't like it being so close she could see it. Ariel did her best to pull her gaze away from the camp, however, and looked at the rest of the wastes, trying to spot something out of the ordinary. "Hate that place," she muttered, obviously talking about the camp. "Back there people are terrified of it, y'know?" She added. "Or, well, they're terrified of prison and stuff, but if this place was common knowledge they'd fear it too." She was grateful, not for the first time, that her power had been easy to hide. Her life would've been very different if someone had found out before she left. "Don't see what Cale could be sensing, though," she said, getting back to the reason why they were here.
|
|
Willow
Nomad
Posts: 15
Age: 27
Power: Stone Manipulation
Player: Admin Yoloswek
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Willow on Jun 6, 2016 16:24:18 GMT
"Hate that place,” Ariel said, once she had reached Willow, who looked at the former city-girl. "Back there people are terrified of it, y'know?" Willow could imagine that. She had heard her fair share of stories of the camp. Solely stories of death, sadism and cruelty. A fate worse than death. One time she’d seen a vehicle drive towards it, at a time where she’d been on the lookout, just like she was now. It had made her feel for whoever it was in the back of that thing. "Or, well, they're terrified of prison and stuff, but if this place was common knowledge they'd fear it too,” Ariel corrected herself. Willow snorted. “Them city-folks's scared of everything. They’ve forgotten how to be their own boss." She squinted and scanned the horizon. The camp seemed the only thing to stand out, really. Ariel commented that she didn’t see what Cale’s fuss was about and Willow nodded. She did not see anything either, but still took her time. Sometimes it took a while before you noticed anything. She frowned. “Over there - That narrow pass through the rocks,” she suddenly said, gesturing at the area she meant. “I think a saw something.” It had looked like something reflecting sunlight, but there was no water around here. It didn’t have to mean anything, but she was suddenly very on guard all the same.
|
|
Ariel Martel
Nomad
Posts: 13
Age: 22
Power: Cough Inducement
Player: vloer
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Ariel Martel on Jun 6, 2016 18:53:28 GMT
Willow snorted as Ariel pointed out that the people living in the city were terrified of the prison. "Them city-folks's scared of everything. They've forgotten how to be their own boss," she said, and Ariel pursed her lips a little. She wasn't sure if she completely agreed with Willow - she had definitely known some people that hadn't seemed scared in the slightest. She didn't say any of her doubts out loud, though. She didn't want to start a discussion. It wasn't like it mattered that much, anyway. They both lived on the wastes now. "Yes, well, they're right to fear that shit, though," was the only thing Ariel said about it, nodding towards the camp. "I definitely don't feel like ending up there." "Over there-," Willow started, and Ariel immediately shifted her eyes towards the area she was getting at. "That narrow pass through the rocks. I think I saw something." Ariel squinted, trying to focus on those rocks. She was about to tell Willow that she had no idea what she was talking about, when she saw it. A quick glint of sunlight, and then it was gone again. "Shit, seems Cale was right, then," she said. "Think it could be a sharpshooter or something? Or just someone checking themselves out in a handmirror?"
|
|
Willow
Nomad
Posts: 15
Age: 27
Power: Stone Manipulation
Player: Admin Yoloswek
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Willow on Jun 6, 2016 19:02:24 GMT
Willow grinned joylessly. "Could be someone sending a message as well. Given the area and distance my guess would be that they have plans with the camp, but let's not take any chances," she said, eyes still fixed on the rocks. For a while time seemed to stand still as she patiently waited, but then her patience was rewarded with another flash. Three times. That was enough for her to conclude this most certainly was not a coincidence of any kind. "C'mon, they gotta know," she said, turning her horse around and gently nudging the animal's flanks. She loosened the reins a bit and allowed the animal to carefully fine it's way down the hill again. Small rocks rolled away where the hooves landed and a few times the animal needed to slow down a lot in order to find solid footing. The rest of the group had gone on ahead, but at a slow pace, so once they had reached the bottom of the hill Willow spurred her horse into a brisk trot, so they'd catch up quickly. The animal shook it's head and clearly wanted to go faster but Willow didn't want to wear it down too much. They still had quite a bit to go, and there was no guarantee that whoever was signalling wasn't a threat to them. She kept looking around, cautious and hoping to see more to get a better idea of what was going on. She was as free as they came, but in situations like this she was also controlling. She did not like the idea of the tribe getting potentially ambushed.
|
|
Ariel Martel
Nomad
Posts: 13
Age: 22
Power: Cough Inducement
Player: vloer
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Ariel Martel on Jun 7, 2016 18:07:52 GMT
"Could be someone sending a message as well," Willow pointed out, and Ariel grimaced. "Given the area and distance my guess would be that they have plans with the camp, but let's not take any chances," she added, and Ariel nodded, taking in the reins of her horse a little. "Right. Big difference between the message being "oh, hi, we happen to have some leftovers from dinner last night, care to join us?" or "hello, we're going to murder your tribe","Ariel pointed out. She observed Willow for a few seconds before pointing her gaze back at the pass as well. Willow's eyes were definitely better trained than Ariel's, but the glints of light were hard to miss. "C'mon, they gotta know," Willow said, after it had appeared three more times, and Ariel nodded again, already turning her horse around. She waited a few paces before following Willow down, not wanting to kick down rocks that might inconvenience Willow's animal, but as soon as she hit flat ground she nudged her horse into a faster pace, catching up with Willow again. As they made their way back to the rest of the tribe, Ariel couldn't help but worry a little. It wasn't often that something like this happened - whatever this might be. The wastes weren't exactly welcoming terrain, and apart from spotting another tribe in the distance every now and then, they rarely saw any other people. It was something Ariel had become used to.
|
|
Willow
Nomad
Posts: 15
Age: 27
Power: Stone Manipulation
Player: Admin Yoloswek
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Willow on Jun 7, 2016 21:37:08 GMT
Ariel was most certainly right. That was a fairly important distinction. And it was precisely what worried Willow. You weren’t signalling near the camp if what you were up to had nothing to do with it, but it could be someone defending the camp against outsiders as well, and in that case they were at risk. Now, generally speaking the two groups always avoided one another but it always felt like it was courtesy of the camp. Willow was more likely to bite off her own tongue than admit it, but the men and their weapons there were enough to wipe the Sienna tribe flat off the map. She made her horse go a little faster Once the two young women had reached the rest she rode up to them, after which she reigned her horse in. “Cale’s right,” she exclaimed curtly. “Someone’s in the mountains, signaling. We need to stay on guard." A group of serious faces looked back at the two. “You sure?” Willow’s mother asked. Willow nodded. “We saw too many flashes for it to be a coincidence. And that close to the camp, too. Either someone is planning some’ing that has to do with the camp, or it’s folks from the camp, in which case we might wanna worry."
|
|
Ariel Martel
Nomad
Posts: 13
Age: 22
Power: Cough Inducement
Player: vloer
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Ariel Martel on Jun 8, 2016 19:41:53 GMT
As Ariel reigned her horse in, it protested for a few seconds, throwing up its head to let her know how it didn't like the constant change of pace, but it settled down before it became a real problem. "Cale's right," Willow said, loud enough for most of the tribe to hear. "Someone's in the mountains, signaling. We need to stay on guard." Ariel patted her horse on its neck, eyeing the serious faces looking back at them. It was clear she wasn't the only one to worry. What she really wanted was to just turn the tribe around, get as far away from the camp as possible so they could just ignore whatever was going on. She knew that wasn't an option though; they were too far on their way to make it to another oasis on time. "You sure?" Willow's mother asked, and Ariel nodded in time with Willow. "We saw too many flashes for it to be a coincidence. And that close to the camp, too. Either someone is planning something that has to do wtih the camp, or it's folks from the camp, in which case we might wanna worry." Ariel snorted. "We might want to worry either way. If it's some planned rebellion against the camp, chances are we get dragged into their shit anyway," she pointed out. "I don't think those camp folks ever play it small."
|
|
Willow
Nomad
Posts: 15
Age: 27
Power: Stone Manipulation
Player: Admin Yoloswek
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Willow on Jun 8, 2016 19:59:43 GMT
"If it's an attack on the camp, we'll be long gone before it can come to that," Willow assured Ariel. "They'll patrol the area eventually, but first they'll need everyone at the camp, I'd say." "So now what?" someone asked. Willow thought for a moment. "We ride on. There's nothing we can do right now, except stay on guard. And we keep a close eye on Cale. If that kid so much as farts nervously I want to hear about it." She took a very deep breath and rode to the front of the group, signalling Ariel with a brief nod that she wanted the girl to come with her. She trusted the city girl, who had turned out infinitely more capable than Willow could have thought. She liked having the girl by her side. She was reliable. And reliable was good. "We ride on," she repeated firmly. Though her hand was resting at the small gun on her hip. There was bigger artillery in the carts, but this would have to do for now if things took a turn for the ugly. Willow looked like a friendly hippie girl to some, people without a social antenna mostly, but she could pull a trigger if she had to.
|
|
Ariel Martel
Nomad
Posts: 13
Age: 22
Power: Cough Inducement
Player: vloer
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Ariel Martel on Jun 8, 2016 20:55:55 GMT
"If it's an attack on the camp, we'll be long gone before it can come to that," Willow assured her. "They'll patrol the area eventually, but first they'll need everyone at the camp, I'd say." Ariel wasn't convinced, but Willow's words at least helped to ease the anxiety a little. "So now what?" Someone asked, voicing Ariel's own thoughts. "We ride on," Willow said, sounding decisive. "There's nothing we can do right now, except stay on guard. And we keep a close eye on Cale. If that kid so much as farts nervously I want to hear about it." Ariel was glad for the fact that Willow always seemed to know what the best plan was in situations like this. Ariel could definitely get things done if it was needed, but she was no leader. She knew that. Ariel was about to nudge her horse in line with the group, when Willow gestured for her to join her at the front. "We ride on," Willow repeated, sounding more certain of this than Ariel did. She nodded, though, letting Willow know that whatever her own doubts were, she'd do what Willow decided was best. "How long until we hit the oasis, y'think?" She asked Willow, keeping one hand on the reigns and the other on the knife on her hip. It wasn't as useful in long distance as Willow's gun, but Ariel still wasn't completely used to a gun. Plus, if something happened, a knife was easier at short distance - and most of the time a coughing fit made sure that whoever she needed to attack was in short range. She looked over her shoulder to check how on edge the rest of the tribe seemed, when she could hear a distant bang, and a plume of black smoke shot into the air. It was hard to tell where exactly came from, but Ariel had a feeling that whoever had caused the glints of light in the pass of rocks was also the one that had shot the smoke gun. "What the-," she started, when a loud rumbling sound came from somewhere in front of them. Ariel squinted, and could see a cloud of smoke close the ground in the distance, the kind that could only be caused by a large group of animals moving in a fast pace. "-fuck," she finished.
|
|
Willow
Nomad
Posts: 15
Age: 27
Power: Stone Manipulation
Player: Admin Yoloswek
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Willow on Jun 8, 2016 21:12:18 GMT
The group started moving again. A horse whinnied and the carts creaked. The hooves made a soft, thudding sound on the dry ground and despite their calm pace, a small cloud of dust trailed behind them. "How long until we hit the oasis, y'think?" Ariel asked and Willow looked at the girl. "I'd say a few hours, two, maybe three," she estimated. She sat up a little straighter. "We'll reach it before sundown if everything goes right, though." If everything went right. That seemed like a sizable 'if' right now. She followed Ariel's gaze when the girl looked back. The bang startled Willow momentarily, but then she swore. The smoke rose high into the sky. The rumbling made Willow look back in front of them. More smoke, but this time it looked more natural. Avalanche? Not a natural one, that was for sure. Another bang, more smoke going up into the sky in front of them. Willow's mouth was dry, but she felt eerily calm. She partially turned her horse to face the rest. "We're going around those rocks!" she said, raising her voice. "Startin' here, we'll keep going around until it's safe to take a more d'rect approach." She looked to the side and swore harshly. An unknown vehicle was making it's way toward them. Slow, however, as any speed higher than what they were going at would wreck their tires. "RUN!" Willow shouted, digging her heels into the horse's flanks. On proper terrain horses were no match for cars. But this sure as fuck was no proper terrain.
|
|
Ariel Martel
Nomad
Posts: 13
Age: 22
Power: Cough Inducement
Player: vloer
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Ariel Martel on Jun 8, 2016 21:44:17 GMT
Ariel felt a bit of relief washing over here when Willow told her she didn't think it'd take much longer to reach the oasis. She was itching to get away from here. "We'll reach it before sundown if everything goes right," Willow added, and Ariel felt some of that relief leaving her again at hearing the slight doubt in Willow's voice. The rest of the relief left as soon as she saw the plume of smoke in the air, however. "We're going around those rocks!" Willow shouted towards the rest behind them. "Startin' here, we'll keep ging around until it's safe to take a more d'rect approach." Ariel looked to the side at the same moment Willow did, feeling dread settle in her gut as she spotted the vehicle coming their way. She was already digging her heels into her horse's flanks before Willow shouted for them to run, giving her horse all the reigns. She was glad it immediately knew what to do, and it sprinted forward. Ariel tried to divide her attention between making it as easy as possible for her horse to run on the rough terrain, and watching the vehicle on their side and the cloud of dust getting closer as well. She thought she could make out separate bodies within the cloud now. Horses? Or something else? Ariel swore as she noticed a similar cloud of dust coming towards them from the same direction the smoke gun had come from. "We're being closed in!" She shouted at Willow, trying to raise her voice above the thundering of hooves, just in case Willow hadn't spotted the cloud herself yet.
|
|
Willow
Nomad
Posts: 15
Age: 27
Power: Stone Manipulation
Player: Admin Yoloswek
Faction: Nomads
|
Post by Willow on May 2, 2017 22:06:38 GMT
"We're being closed in!" Ariel was right. Willow swore. Whatever it had started as, right now it was a direct attack on the tribe as far as she was concerned. There was still a chance they were just smack in the middle of a clash between groups, but somehow she doubted that. With one group of - presumably - riders coming from the front, another coming from the side and that vehicle from the other side they were indeed being herded like cattle. And Willow did not appreciate being herded like cattle. She looked around, trying to oversee the situation as quickly as possible, while her mind was in overdrive. Adrenaline was rushing through her veins and although years of experience helped her keep her cool in situations like these, she was still tense. This could very well mean annihilation of the tribe. "Listen up everybody!" she roared, over the noises surrounding them. "They're tryin' to surround us! And we ain't gon' let that happen! We'll try to move in b'tween the two groups of horses," she went on, gesturing at the two dust-clouds that were approaching. "Ready yer weapons. We will need them. Rear-guard! I want you lot to shoot out the tires once that vehicle is close enough!" She could now clearly make out the riders that were nearing them, as well as the vehicle which had at least two people in it. "Rocky, I want you in the cart with ammunition and I want you to pick the biggest, meanest gun we have." A man named Rocky immediately fell back until he was next to one of the carts. Someone else grabbed the reins of the horse he rode, and Rocky himself hopped over onto the cart with admirable ease. "The rest is with me. Let's do this!" She dug her heels into the horse's flanks and looked to the side, at Ariel. "Hang on, okay, we can take them," she said. Even though she sounded determined - it was kind of her default voice - she had her doubts. However, the riders in the rear of their convoy suddenly cheered. Willow looked over her shoulder. The vehicle was close, but one of it's front tires had been blown to bits and smoke came from the front. Willow permitted herself a grin, but they weren't there yet, not even close.
|
|