[SEASONAL EVENT] [OPEN] Full Bellies, Warm Hearts

If there was a long night coming, you had better believe that Vervain was out there hunting. The Woodlands might have been a better choice given the amount of game that was likely out there, but the crunch of frost on dry sticks would make her footsteps obnoxious at best. And she had been comparatively lucky so far - a few rabbits were already strung over one shoulder, and she had her bow in hand and an arrow cocked and ready. So when a flock of geeze honked their way overhead she was quick off the mark, Vai sweeping her arm up and following them in an arc, the huntress standing in deep snow with her dark hair wild about her face to keep her ears warm. The arrow left her bow singing, and one of the geese began to plummet from the rest of its flock. That should serve as a good meal to say the least. vervain I am always on your side

DEVRUM The beast lumbered, padding snow in explosive puffs of white. It's maw already stained with a deep crimson from the night's feast. Lips quivered as its green and hazel feral eyes scanned the grounds. Its nose twitched at the scent of familiarity as he picked the presence of Vervain The long, lumbering thumps against the snow grew quicker as it began to charge toward her. To anyone unacquainted with the pair, it appeared the large black bear was charging forward toward its next meal, but in truth the beast rolled before Vervain, cutting off her path to collect the goose she just knocked from of the flock. It stood, its back to the huntress as it shook off the snow in her direction with a kick of its rear legs before thumping toward the goose wear it circled around the fallen bird and appeared to look directly at Vervain. Its jaws slowly opening as it began to lower down slowly to take the goose up by its neck, as if taunting the huntress to tell him to do otherwise.

Vervain looked up at the blob of fuzzy black that had appeared on the bleak horizon, arching an eyebrow and tensing for a moment, before relaxing. Ah - it was just her husband. The black bear charged and Vai slowed her steps through the snow, resisting the urge to fold her arms across her chest. Of course, she wished she had done it anyway when Devrum decided to roll across her path and kick a flurry of snow in her direction, the huntress raising a hand to swat some of it away. "Hey!" She laughed, squinting after him and grinning broadly - up until she spotted him petulantly going after her kill. "OI!" she shouted at the beast, resting a hand on her hip and raising her eyebrows at him expectantly. "If you want one of those you can fly up there and get it yourself. I know you got wings - I've seen them!" Lazy bloody bear. vervain I am always on your side

DEVRUM The beast made a sound that appeared half-groan and half-roar toward Vervain before it slowly wrapped its teeth around the neck of the goose. Its wide shoulders sank and rose as it took slow deliberate steps toward Vai before it shifted into Devrum with a big shit-eating grin on his face, his teeth wrapped around the neck of the goose as he closed in on the huntress. When he was close enough Devrum would reach over to take the rabbits from her shoulder, had Vai allowed him to. All while keeping his eyes on hers before opening his mouth to drop the goose onto his hand where, had he taken the rabbits, would tie it together with them before slinging it over his shoulder. "Reminds me when I first saw you. Bloodied, kills resting on a bench as you gave me the gift of watching you rinse off." His tone low, with a natural growl. "A lot has changed since then..." Devrum spoke with a nod as he observed their surroundings. "Some for the better, some...still up for debate..." Ashe for certain was one still up for debate, though as parents they hoped for the best naturally. "Not you though. Just as beautiful as the first day, and will be just as beautiful in our last." Devrum coughed and cleared his throat, holding Vai's eyes only briefly as he turned to walk at her side to continue their hunt. His nose twitching against the down wind. "Bigger game up ahead..." He called out with a smirk, thick fingers raising to scratch against his beard. "Got Remi to help out with the house...moving quicker, thought it was time to take a chance to get to know the kid. Seems important to you, having him around. Suppose I owed it to myself, and to you to make that same effort. He ain't half bad with a hammer...not great but he'll learn." Devrum chuckled quietly before turning to Vervain. "You been doing ok?"

Vai's blue eyes narrowed at the sight of the bear so blatantly ignoring her warning, and even though her husband's grin - when he appeared - was hidden around a mass of goose feathers, she knew it was there. There was no resistance from her as he relieved her of the rabbits, though her eyes flicked skyward momentarily so she could check for more game. None yet - they had likely spooked the flock for a while. Still, there might be more rabbits, or even a pheasant around. No sooner had she returned her gaze to Devrum, he was waxing poetic about their first meeting in his wonderfully gruff way, and she matched his smile with one of her own. "And you made no mistake about your intentions. I still remember the look on those guards' faces," she remarked, reaching out to pull the arrow from the goose with a swift tug before he strung it up with the rabbits. A quick examination proved it was still workable, so she nocked it a second time and began to stroll through the snow with the bear. "Mm... you can say that again." Vai sighed softly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ears and frowning. "You spoke to her?" Yes, obviously. But she still wanted to hear it from him. At his compliment, so haltingly given and with no small amount of awkwardness, Vai shot him a grin, nudging him lightly as they walked (she had as much hope of moving him even an inch as she would a brick wall, but still). "You are a marked improvement to that first day," she said playfully. "Fewer guards, no bars. More scars, though." Briefly she glanced at the scar she knew lay across his throat, and her chest tightened before she forced herself to breathe through the tension. Bigger game up ahead would need all their concentration. "A deer, do you think?" The look she shot him at even the hint of a compliment to Remi was nothing short of disbelieving, though she was laughing too as Devrum explained. "He is important to me," she said simply. "He's only a kid, even if he acts grown up. You're a good father figure." As for how she was doing, Vervain shrugged. "I can't complain. I've not been sleeping well lately, and I wasn't well this morning but... winter." She shrugged. "Illness is common. How are you, though? Behaving?" vervain I am always on your side

DEVRUM 'Spoke to her?' Devrum only assumed Vervain meant Ashetta. He hesitated slightly as they walked, the snow crunching an oddly comfortable crunch beneath his thick, booted feet. "In a way...she's lost herself in a way she ain't looking to be saved. I know that look, I had that look before." Before Vervain had entered his life, Devrum was content with the knowledge that he would eventually die. Paying the price for the broken life that was forced upon him. There was nothing to lose, no one to mourn him...than everything changed the moment that brilliant, dimpled, freckled smile greeted him. Perhaps it wasn't her intention, but Vervain had plunged her hand into the chest of the beast and pulled the man that had been imprisoned within for so long, he forgot he was still someone worth saving. She saved his life, and Devrum would dedicate his own for her. "Smelled someone on her...stench of death...she ain't foolin' anyone. She's in trouble, whether she sees it or not. Trouble of losing herself to something or someone that'll bring down a path there ain't no coming back from." The less spoken of Devrum's encounter with Ashetta the better. It was her mother that spared her life that night, Devrum knew that much. "I'd say we do something, but it'll only push her further down. She's willing to lose everyone that loved her for a misguided purpose issued by a broken mind." The grit in his teeth, and growling huff of steam that puffed from his knows did little to mask Devrum's frustrations. "Just got to hope she sees it for herself before it's too late...tell you one thing...I find the source of that scent and I'll put an end to this. I can deal with her hating me if she's a live and well. Better than dying foolish and broken." His eyes fluttered into a more feral shape as his nose began to twitch again. When he next spoke, his voice wasn't his own, but more deep...gutteral...the beast was lured by the scent of fresh me. "Mmmm...yes...correct, Deer. Fresh. Aged...two years if that." Rolling his shoulders, his body mass filled out more. The hairs along his arms, beard and head became fuller, untamed as his steps grew heavier. "Scars tell a story...recent chapters written by you it seems." He teased in the beastly voice with a grin though he kept his eyes and nose forward. Vervain had a habit of scraping her nails along his body. It wasn't uncommon for one to bleed in one form or another during their lively escapades. His torso, among other scars, was painted by nail and teeth markings from the powerful huntress. Scars he proudly spoke of to any who listened...maybe Remi would enjoy a tale or two. "Keeping busy, keeps it busy...as long as its busy, we're behaving." Devrum mused with a turn and wink to Vai. Before looking her over at the mention of illness. His eyes squinting as he tilted his head, walking over to her as he placed a hand against Vai's forehead, than to the sides of her neck gently. "Ain't a fever...that's all I need to know. Best to see Isla maybe, get looked at." Fingers curled over Vai's cheek, thumb gently running against her smile lines at the corner of her lips. "Just for precaution...humor me." He growled softly with a smile. He had lost his father to a fever, he would not lose his wife to another sickness, that much was certain. His eyes swirled at the scent once again as he turned his head with a low rumbling growl heard building. "We're close..." As they rounded a clearing, Devrum gave a jagged toothed smile at the sight of the creature. One of the few pleasant tasting pieces of meat. "Make you a deal...claim that deer before I get to it, and I'll leave enough to salvage." A monstrous playful tone could be heard as he shifted into the large black bear as he lumbered toward the deer with its large paws creating puffs of snow launching from his feet. He was of course teasing...though he would feel infinitely more amused to know he outran the huntress' bow.

VAI The huntress Vervain didn't respond as Devrum explained about his meeting with her - their - daughter, not verbally at least. But her blue eyes were trained on the snow and the tracks, barely perceptible in them, and she clenched her jaw ever so slightly. "I feel as though she doesn't believe anyone could understand what she might be feeling," she murmured. "On the one hand, she's seen more than anyone should see at any age... and on the other, somehow, she's still just a stubborn little girl." Flicking her gaze up at the mention of the scent on Ashetta and what Devrum would do if he found the source of it, Vai couldn't help but smile. She brushed her shoulder against his gently. "You're a good man," she all but purred, the irony of such a statement not lost on her one bit, especially as the beast started to stir. "Two years... a good age," she agreed, already shrugging her bow back off her shoulder and reaching back to prepare an arrow. Holding both in one hand, her other reached out to trace the silver on his skin as he mentioned the scars, a wry smile on her lips. "I plan to be in all the future chapters," she remarked. "And I plan to keep you and it busy for years yet." She stopped in the snow as he turned to approach her, leaning instinctively into the touch of his hands and turning her head to catch his fingertips in a kiss as he drew back again. "I normally wouldn't bother, but for you anything," she murmured, nodding. Vai would go to the infirmary, for peace of mind if nothing else. Then the hunt was on and she zoned in on the deer, just as Devrum made his challenge. Vervain let out a peal of laughter, bringing her bow up at the same time and shaking her head. "You'll spook the poor thing before you even get close!" she called, tracking the deer and letting an arrow loose to race the bear.

DEVRUM His massive paws thundered against the snow in an explosion of white dust as the bear turned its head to see Vervain set up her shot. Rushing toward the deer the beast roared, startling the creature in a chance to botch the huntress' shot. Internally Devrum laughed, hearing the unspoken curses she was sure to weave ever so poetically. The dear, turned and began to sprint in a zig zag motion, the bear attempted to keep pace with its footing but its girthy frame buckled its feet on the slippery surface as a ball of black and brown fur could be seen in the distance skidding across and disappearing with an audible crash. Splintered wood and leaves shooting out from the hidden crash site. A staggered roar was given before its body rippled once more into that of the rough-legged buzzard where it screeched and zoomed after its prey. Soaring over the top the predator glided, its eyes scanning below. Its screeching cry alerting Vervain their prey was still in sight as it began to circle over the deer's location. Devrum thought to capitalize on the opportunity, plunge down and crush the animal where it stood just within the clearing. He would do well to damage such precious meat, which didn't come by often. So he remained, hovering over the dear, safe from alarming it but serving as a beacon for the huntress to take another uninterrupted shot.

VAI The huntress Devrum wouldn't be disappointed, and Vervain's curse was as colourful as he expected as he roared and botched her shot with the deer. Her arrow flew exactly where it was intended - the only problem was that the deer was no longer where it once had been. Still grumbling about her 'rat bastard husband', Vai readied another arrow and trekked off after him. She didn't jog, knowing better than to waste energy when it was needed most, and besides, the snow sapped it without tempting fate. "Watch ou-- oh! Oh." Vai winced on Dev's behalf, though she was grinning like a fool as she watched the furry ball of bear go skidding away across the snow, disappearing into a scattering of twigs and frost. When the buzzard appeared her keen blue eyes tracked it close in the cloudy sky, and she picked up her pace at last when it appeared the end was in sight. Falling to a halt upon a slate grey rock jutting out from the ground, Vai drew back her bow and zoned in on the deer. Her eyes narrowed. She let it fly, trusting Dev to finish the job if it didn't kill the creature the first time.