Kellan usually traveled and hunted by day, spending his nights in a lean-to he'd built in the jungle near the edge of the beach. The volcanic eruption and subsequent ashfall had changed his tentative new routine, however, forcing him to take shelter in the Port and lending his meager talents to trying to help clean the air while he waited for the autumn (apparently it was autumn, though the weather was so warm and everything was so green he couldn't help but think of it as high summer still) rains to wash the jungle clean again.
It made for a restless young hunter, with too much pent energy to sleep well at night and too much wariness about the townsfolk to let his guard down enough to get much in the way of rest.
Tonight he had taken his bow and quiver and gone out to walk amidst the grey landscape, seeking a release of pent-up energy in spite of the dangers. His path had been meandering as the game trails he had previously followed had been hidden or destroyed, but eventually he found his way to the broad river and took his bearings, walking along the edge of the geyserfield to keep from losing his way again.
He might have missed the man sitting among the rocks if his hunter's eyes weren't so well-trained. He paused a moment in surprise at finding another out here at such an hour, but there was something strange about the man as he started to walk warily past, the flow of the water and shore forcing him to go closer than he would have wanted.
When he was a few feet away Kel realized what it was. There was no rise and fall of chest or shoulders, no sense of breath about the man, and he stopped, caught between concern for the stranger and caution for himself.
"Are you... alright?" he asked hesitantly, not sure if he really wanted an answer or not.
It made for a restless young hunter, with too much pent energy to sleep well at night and too much wariness about the townsfolk to let his guard down enough to get much in the way of rest.
Tonight he had taken his bow and quiver and gone out to walk amidst the grey landscape, seeking a release of pent-up energy in spite of the dangers. His path had been meandering as the game trails he had previously followed had been hidden or destroyed, but eventually he found his way to the broad river and took his bearings, walking along the edge of the geyserfield to keep from losing his way again.
He might have missed the man sitting among the rocks if his hunter's eyes weren't so well-trained. He paused a moment in surprise at finding another out here at such an hour, but there was something strange about the man as he started to walk warily past, the flow of the water and shore forcing him to go closer than he would have wanted.
When he was a few feet away Kel realized what it was. There was no rise and fall of chest or shoulders, no sense of breath about the man, and he stopped, caught between concern for the stranger and caution for himself.
"Are you... alright?" he asked hesitantly, not sure if he really wanted an answer or not.
