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Post by Orfeo on Oct 8, 2016 2:11:35 GMT -5
( Decoii) Their life together ended up consisting of a series of rather average everyday events mixed in with a couple of strange moments. To begin with, communication between himself and the girl was an annoyance at best and nearly an impossibility at its worst. The fact that he'd manage to keep her alive and well for so long was nothing short of luck. The girl, Vaas had found, was unable to speak. Or, perhaps, she simply chose not to. It reminded him of how he is, and he wondered if she had picked that up from him from the get go or if this was something she had been doing before. Gestures and drawings had become a norm up until the moment in time where he found that he could go about his day and she would know what to do. Routine, it helped To him she had also seemed to have settled into his lifestyle rather well, pleasantly surprising him, even if he didn't admit to that out loud. It had largely to do with her stubborn determination, refusing to give up on doing something or learning a trick that she couldn't pull off on her first few tries. It did become natural to her, to the point that he no longer needed to keep a watchful eye over her as she started a fire or skinned a hare. It did take a load off his back, made it feel to him as if he was simply watching after himself rather than two people. Only recently had he allowed her to start hunting smaller prey, with weapons he crafted specifically for her, and it was only up until a few days ago that he let her wander off on her own to find their food. Though she was still a child, and definitely prone for accidents. He was never more on alert for any unnatural noise as he was whenever she went out to gather something for them. In the past four months the girl had quickly learned how to do many of the things that he could do. She could, somewhat, fend for herself. Vaas wasn't about to deny that fact. Which is why he had begun to allow her more and more freedom - more privacy away from his ever-observant eye. It didn't mean that he did not crack down if he had to, and some things he still would not let her do without him being there. He would make her give him back the weapons she was using whenever she returned; he'd inspect the animals she had skinned and what she had brought in before cooking; Vaas had even given the girl a curfew every night, which under no circumstances did he allow her to violate. All of it, of course, to make sure she was safe. Which in the end was a... rather strange feeling. He couldn't say that he felt affection for the girl whenever he looked at her, but at the same time he couldn't allow himself to turn a blind eye and ignore her whenever she needed help. And he couldn't just ignore the clear responsibility that he felt for her. After all, he was the one that brought her to live in an environment inhospitable to children like her. Vaas yawned as he stretched out his back. He rested at the edge of the river, laying parallel to it with his right foot dipped into the cool water. The sun beat down on him from high above, warming his skin to a comfortable temperature that had made him fall asleep for the past hour. He turned his head and looked toward where the two had been living for the past few months, and found that the girl was exactly where he had left her, also asleep, he remembered, but he couldn't quite tell from where he was if she was awake at the moment or not. He sat up as he pulled his foot out of the water, then stood and scratched at the back of his neck. The two of them were still in the middle of nowhere, although he had made them relocate to a different area upriver once he had found that undesirables had begun to encroach on his land. Wolves, which made him sigh. Dumb wolves that couldn't keep their distance. "Ava," he called out to the girl. It wasn't a name she'd told him to call her, but rather one that he had given her on a whim, for reasons that he didn't feel like explaining, even to himself. He wasn't sure how she felt about it, especially since the girl didn't even talk to him to begin with, yet at the same time he didn't really care if she liked it or not. It's what he'd taken to calling her; at the very least it beat calling her Itty, a name which he refused to even acknowledge. He dusted off his ripped up trousers and shook away some of the grass blades that stuck to his tattered shirt. Vaas made sure he had her attention before pointing at a hare he had hunted the day before, then nudged at the knife he had carved for her out of bone with his foot. He didn't need to say much more than that, the two had already been through that grind many times over. He turned around, moved a few paces, then sat down under a tree opposite of the one she was under. Quietly, he observed her.
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Post by Decoii on Oct 10, 2016 10:42:55 GMT -5
To say she was bored was an understatement. But, at the same time, she felt content with her current life to a point that she couldn't let the boredom she felt overwhelm her enough into making her wish that it wasn't this way. Vaas let her experience freedom. A place where she wasn't locked up, bullied, and reminded that she was a lowlife with no future. With Vaas, she finally felt some sort of power and that meant more to her than he could ever imagine.
He had fallen asleep sometime ago and without him and his guidance she realized that she didn't have the authority or capability to do what she wanted to do. He was strict but it was all for good reason and even if she couldn't see those reasons from the absolute beginning, with time and injury, she had learned to listen to him. Regardless of all of her internal childish complaints, she remained where she should and busied herself with her own hair. After the kids from the orphanage cut her hair, she had finished cutting it herself. The uneven length was a constant reminder of her hell and she no longer felt it possible to deal with it.
Her hair had grown to be a couple of inches past her shoulder. It felt short and unnatural for her and she no longer felt blanketed in it's comfort but it had been something to overcome. Things had seemed to change with Vaas. Her hair, he clothing, her sense of happiness and freedom. Even her name. She no longer was referred to as an 'It' but rather, her name was Ava now. The change had come suddenly after a month of silence from the two of them. Not that there was much choice in being verbal, she couldn't even speak. But Vaas refused to call her by what she had told him she was called and instead, named her on his own. IT was something, that with time, was overriding her memory and to her it was natural now to be called Ava.
So when he called out for her, she automatically came to attention, giving him a curious look as her hands worked on untangling the braid she'd been playing with for the last hour. For someone who was complaining about being bored, she definitely was surprised to see that time had passed (obvious by the change in the sun) and she hadn't even realized it.
She didn't need to question or think about what it was that he wished for her to do. She could tell by the way his eyes shifted and how he moved his body and his head. He played well with her silence and had never demanded any words nor had he mocked her muteness. For the time that they have been together, Ava felt attached to him. She wanted to learn and ease his burden so that she could thank him with her actions. She wanted to remain grateful.
Her heart sped up and she couldn't help grinning when she realized that she got to play with her knife. She was happily pleased when he taught her something new and she cherished his gifts too her. Sadly, she wasn't allowed to play with them all the time but she would never give up the opportunity. She seemed to have a liking to playing with sharp objects. So, without hesitation she grabbed the knife, in a way he had taught her was safe, and moved to the animal.
She paused when she knelt down on the floor and looked over at him, making sure that his eyes remained on her as she began to slowly work on the animal. Paying mind to details and remembering his criticism.
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Post by Orfeo on Oct 11, 2016 0:01:10 GMT -5
Despite him being strict, he wasn't about to nitpick every little thing that Ava did. It bothered him, however, to think that she had been awake the entire time that he slept. He could have sworn she had been asleep too, and wondered if she truly had just sat there the whole time playing with her hair, waiting for him to tell her what to do next. It was such thoughts that also played into him letting her have more freedom than he had allowed her before. She was, after all, still a child. Despite his lack of experience when it came to dealing with people, especially children, he did at least know that they had to do more of their own thing. She needed to learn some thing for herself, even if he disliked the thought of not being in control of the situation. All Vaas could really do was give her a safe environment in which she could be herself.
He watched, and nodded in approval at how little hesitation Ava showed when it came to handling a knife as sharp as the one he had made for her. More so, he was glad that the girl wasn't squeamish about cutting up an animal who, not that long ago, had been as alive as she was. He felt that it was her natural curiosity, really, and he played on that. Used that curiosity in order to get her more adjusted to the things she'd probably not be inclined to do had she been older. In a way, having to look after a child her age was much easier than dealing with an adult like him. Children didn't have their morals or habits set in stone. Their minds weren't made up on what was right or what was wrong. Ava would watch, learn, and assimilate what she had been taught into her everyday life. Vaas knew that, for the most part, she didn't know any better. Whatever was the alternative to hunting for your own meal, skinning an animal, and then washing off the blood in the river. Vaas had taught her that this was the norm for the two of them, even if the outside world wouldn't approve so much of what they were doing.
He mused, briefly, as he watched Ava work, and realized that if he really had wanted to, he could have turned her into a monster.
Which is why he was glad that he was in control of the situation - raising her to his own ideals and his own way of life. Of course, omitting the many aspects of being a shifter that a human like her would be unable to comprehend. Of course, Ava being her own person, she was very different from himself. In the end she would be the final judge on the choices and the decisions that she was going to make.
Vaas let out a hot breath of air he'd been holding in for the past few seconds as his eyes slowly drifted away from the carcass of the hare and moved to scan the horizon. He could see pretty much everything from where he sat, even better if he was atop of the tree. There was not a soul in sight that would be bothering the two of them. They were, he assumed, about a four day's walk north from the closest sign of civilization. If he wanted to find the closest actual town, for example the place where he had left Asumi and found Ava, well then they'd have to walk an extra two days south. Had he been alone, Vaas knew that he would've been even farther away from it all, yet once again his eyes settled on Ava, reminding him that he needed to stop thinking as if he wasn't with her. He could already feel a certain crispness to the air that caused him to worry, not for himself, but for her. It wouldn't be for another few months, sure, but time flew by faster than one expected it, especially out there, alone, in the middle of nowhere. Vaas knew he could survive the harsh winter conditions of the flatlands. He'd done it enough times to be sure of himself. Ava? She would die.
He closed his eyes, pushing off from the tree with his hands to get back up on his feet, groaning softly in a bothered irritation. He looked down at Ava and motioned for her to continue what she was doing as he slowly got started on setting up a small campfire for them to cook their meal. Yet another thing he had to get used to once more. Humans don't eat raw.
The setting up wasn't slow. He had previously gone and gathered firewood, which he kept stashed nearby, and not too long after he had started, Vaas had a small fire burning inside of a small hole he had dug on the ground. From nearby he gathered a few herbs he'd collected as well and placed them out next to where Ava was busying herself. Things she could use to add, even a little, flavor to their meal. For her. The bland taste of almost charred meat hadn't sat well with her on the first few nights, so he had done what little he could to, at the very least, add some slight spice to the food.
She knew what to do with that, so he sat back once more and watched her work as he stoked at the fire, keeping its flames flaring and active.
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Post by Decoii on Nov 4, 2016 17:14:47 GMT -5
Ava never questioned Vaas. There had been many times in which she feels that she should have questioned the silent man that watched her with little to no interest. When he showed up and took her from the orphanage, when he introduced her to the wildlife that was now to become her home. She felt like the normal thing to do was question him when he first skinned an animal and when he made his weapons as if he was some sort of master in creating nothing out of something. But she never felt the need to question him because some how, it was the least bizarre thing in her mind.
Looking over at Vaas, she gave a small smile as she finished working and out of routine prepped and sliced the animal to be cooked over the fire that he had created. He was giving her more freedom then before and she enjoyed being able to help him as he sheltered and protected her. She had been through a lot and had developed a natural fear for people that had driven her to become mute. She had no information to offer anyone on the two most wanted criminals that she had learned where her parents.
Vaas never cared about any of that and she found some comfort in knowing that for once she wasn't wanted simply out of the information that she didn't have in her mind. She'd seen pictures, shown to her by police as they screamed and tried bullying the information out of her but no matter how long she had looked at the couple in that picture she just couldn't remember them. They didn't exist. Vaas had never questioned her and for that she was forever happy. She never questioned him and it was a mutual understanding.
Moving closer to him, she waited until he was ready to take the pieces of meat and put them over the fire. She wasn't allowed to be near it after a small incident but she didn't seem to mind, sitting back, she started falling asleep as he worked on cooking the meat but found herself coming to attention once it was ready.
They ate in silence and once done, she helped him clean up before sitting down in her usual spot and playing with her hair, satisfied.
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Post by Orfeo on Nov 6, 2016 3:50:10 GMT -5
He appreciated not having to tell her what to do over and over again, actually enjoyed the fact that she paid attention enough and retained the information and skills he taught her. Mistakes did happen - she as human, after all - but it was nothing they couldn't correct in a few more attempts. In no time at all Ava had become proficient with a knife, especially when it came to cutting the throat of a dying animal or skinning one to eat. Her skill with the bow as well had become something even he'd be proud of if he was one to so easily express such emotions. She wasn't as good as him, that would take some time still, but wouldn't be surprised if in the next few years she reached close to his level.
Watching her work in silence proved to him that he was doing something right after all. He glanced quickly when she came closer and remembered when he first got her, and how hesitant she was to get even twenty feet near him, and how she'd flinch away whenever he reached out to give her something. Trust. Vaas didn't smile at the thought, but rather nodded to himself and looked back to the fire as he began to tend to the meat. It was slow cooking, careful as well. Not like using one of those stoves he'd never used in his life before, but had heard of. Burning the meal was much easier on an open fire, required more attention and care. This rabbit was the only thing they had, and if he messed it up then they'd starve for the rest of the day. Not a problem for him, but Vaas did not want to take such chances with the girl, Ava. Perhaps if she was older, but not now. Which was why he didn't always let her cook, at least not without his supervision as well.
Perhaps one day. Which also reminded him that he'd soon need to teach her how to make her own arrows from the forest a couple miles south of them. Ava, to him, didn't voice much displeasure at all, but sometimes Vaas could tell that the girl was beginning to get impatient; this was especially so whenever he forced her to drill something they'd been over a couple dozen times already. Shooting the same target over and over, not really going over any new skill until she had mastered the other. He wasn't ready to give her much of a big step yet, but at least fletching should keep her occupied for enough time.
Having found himself lost in his thoughts, Vaas blinked at the smell and quickly pulled away the meat before it burned up to charcoal. He felt stupid, turning it over to see its one side only slightly charred. It would have to do. He slowly nudged at Ava and gave her the better portion of the rabbit, the one best cooked, and a slightly bigger portion than his, and ate in silence alongside her as the fire crackled to death. Once done he snuffed out the flames and buried the embers, then laid down on the grass and stared at the sky in silence as she went back to doing her thing. Vaas closed his eyes, resting them, but listened attentively for what must have been around a half hour or so. Without a watch to keep track of time, he relied on his internal clock.
Instinct. It hadn't failed him in the past.
Vaas got up and immediately motioned at Ava once he had her attention. "Up, push," he said, extremely awkwardly, telling her to do the daily routine of push-ups he forced Ava to do. On the ground he drew the number of pushups he wanted her to do, drawing a 100 with a plus sign next to in in quotation marks, their way of saying that this was option - in this case, doing more than one hundred pushups was not required. "After. De... uh," he paused, trying to find the words despite having said them many times before, "up, sit,". Next to the 100 he drew another number, 150, again with the optional plus sign in quotations marks. One hundred pushups and a hundred and fifty situps, certainly something she'd be capable of doing by now, in his mind.
Trusting that she'd do that without his supervision, Vaas turned and began to walk off towards the south, stretching out his arms and his shoulders. He didn't glance back but instead quickened his pace a little, not wanting to be away for too long. Thing was, he hadn't shifted in about a week by now, and it was starting to bother him ever so slightly. And, not wishing to reveal this secret to Ava, Vaas went off somewhere far while keeping her busy back at camp, at least to do so for ten minutes before coming back. Who knows, maybe even bring in a meal for the following day if things panned out correctly.
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Post by Decoii on Dec 1, 2016 0:02:14 GMT -5
Ava was actually ready for a nap. After eating, cleaning up, and sitting back down to relax and let the food settle. Her new life was odd. She knew this is what people normally didn't do and although she had questions for Vaas about his lack of home, she never bothered to actually try and ask them. Vaas had proven to be a weird person,but if he had wanted her, why didn't he just legally adopt her? Was she the reason why he lived out there in the wild? In the end, she never bothered to question any of it.
This was better then what she previously had anyways. She was content with laying down in silence watching the birds fly around or the fish swim in circles. Other then that, she liked learning new things and even found herself subconsciously remembering the few Spanish words that Vaas had said to her. She didn't fight him when he gave her a new task because he had saved her- it was the least she could do in return. She liked playing with weapons though, that was her favorite thing to do. Exercise wasn't. Well, it was a hit or miss thing honestly.
So when he told her to busy herself with exercise, she wasn't happy. In fact, she sat there pouting up until he left. She couldn't tell him no, but she never said yes,either. She waited five minutes before standing up and cleaning off her dress. She wanted to play with the weapons he made her, especially her bow and arrow. He had allowed her to play with it twice, and when she fell on her face, doing horribly at the task, he kept it away from her. She understood why, but didn't like it at all.
Now that he was gone though, her eyes moved over to the item and temptation settled in deeply in her gut. Did she really want to exercise? She could do them later. Maybe she could surprise him, take the weapons and hunt down dinner like he always did. Have a fresh kill waiting for him when he got back. It didn't sound like a bad idea and she honestly couldn't see why he'd be upset with her if she was successful. Then again, she didn't know him that well, but he never seemed upset. ava, in temptation, decided to risk it.
Getting up, she grabbed the bow and arrow, struggling to hold them with one hand so that she could tuck the knife safely in the side pocket of her short pants. She struggled longer then she would like and her face turned red in frustration after she got the knife tucked in and held both items in separate hands. Taking three arrows with her. ava had to look around to assure herself that vaas hadn't been watching her as she struggled, or else, she really wouldn't have been helping her case whatsoever.
She quickly moved off into the forest, not knowing how much time she had. She knew she couldn't waste more time because trying to hunt was going to be hard enough. She found herself running until the camp was a good amount of distance in the past. She stopped once satisfied and wasted a couple of minutes catching her breath before she placed two arrows down on the ground and lifted her bow, holding the arrow up as she had been previously tough by vaas on how to do. She was going to aim for a tree and practice her accuracy for a couple of moments.
Even if she didn't catch anything, if she rushed back, she could put everything back in place and start her exercise before vaas returned,
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Post by Orfeo on Dec 14, 2016 0:31:26 GMT -5
Shifting had become more of a task now than it had been before. At least with Ellie, she learned of his secret early on enough for him not to hide it away. Ava being another story, the privilege of getting ten minutes to stretch out his legs and tune in to his senses was one he thoroughly came to appreciate. It was the one thing that truly bothered him about living with Ava: having his freedoms taken away from him. The reason why he lived away from civilization was because of all the rules, made him feel like he lived in a cage. Adding to that the experiences he suffered in his childhood, it's no surprise that it was his freedom that Vaas valued the most above all else.
With Ava around, he couldn't simply shift whenever he wanted and lay out in the sun all day. With her at his side Vaas couldn't hunt humans, for sport or otherwise. Vaas had to restrain himself and make some effort to seem somewhat human to the girl, even if she sometimes looked at him as if he were anything but that.
Of course, such restrictions were grounds to get rid of the girl in his book. But he couldn't bring himself to do so either. Already having placed too much time and effort on her it would seem like a waste to just throw it all away. Plus, he did admit to himself that she had grown on him a little; the presence of her silence and the small comfort that came from knowing that he had a little company that was like him, and more so the longer she remained with him. She was shaping up to be like him from some of his habits to his quirks.
Once shifted, Vaas immediately stretched out his front legs and yawned, dipping his head low to the ground as he arched his back inwards to pull in the final few bones in place. Everything felt natural and alive. He could hear small creatures dashing amongst the trees and flying overhead. All of the sudden he became a part of the massive chain of living beings and nature. Inwardly he could even have smiled. Having to hold back doing this, the few moments that he got the chance to do so felt better than ever before. Any frustrations he had were suddenly and in an instant washed away, his mind cleared of any thoughts that would keep him from enjoying the moment.
Vaas paced left and right, taking a good look at his surroundings, and after a few seconds he made his way up the nearest tree he could find, clawing upwards slowly, but with as much skill as he would have if he'd done it as a human. About twelve feet off the ground he finally made it to a branch thick enough to hold the weight of his body, on which he laid down with his front right leg supporting his chin as his left legs dangled off the side, swinging lazily back and forth like a pendulum before coming to a full stop.
For the few brief seconds after he closed his eyes Vaas found himself at peace, taking in deep breaths to catch all the scents around him. His one good eye quickly darted open as soon as he caught the scent that didn't belong, and began to scan left and right until finally he laid eyes on her.
And just like that, the bliss was gone.
Something that sounded almost like a groan rumbled in his throat, followed by a loud and quick huff of irritation as he watched her with his eye, not moving his body a single inch. From his perch above Vaas could just make her out, the bow, and the nocked arrow. Of course, he thought to himself, she'd go along and do something like this. Knowing very well he'd punish her if he caught her using the weapon without his supervision. Although he couldn't help but somewhat approve the girl's boldness, a trait he wanted to develop, not hinder.
But of course, looking at her stance he could see a dozen things she was doing wrong. It was moments like those that made him wish he could speak to her better, just to tell her that practicing alone only cements the mistakes. He huffed once more, feeling that he should do something, but instead kept his post and watched Ava silently, waiting to see what she'd do.
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