Heather
*Aha! A victory that Brackard cherished as the jackal closed in to him and accepted the offered food. A victory that shall be capitalized on. Obviously this creature needs sustenance, and Brackard had eaten breakfast before leaving this morning so he wasn't particularly peckish. As such, Brackard removed another piece from his pack and held it in his hand, palm up to show Jace where the food was. Notably, he did not place it on the ground. If the Jackal wanted more food, he would need to come up to the kindly orc's hand.*

"Ain't nothing wrong with sharing food with a friendly soul, is there? You're a cute little guy, that's for sure."

*The side of Brackard's head twitched slightly as he heard the soft sounds of hurried movement through the trees, but he did not yet move into action. He was sure that the animal had heard it far before him, and Jace did not seem concerned by the new noises. If the incoming noises heralded a friend, then all the better for Jace and the orc. If they didn't? Brackard was reasonably confident that he could handle any threat that didn't scare a wounded Jackal.*
Michelle
*A huff came from the Jackal, whether it was from annoyance or a simple sign of peace, it was hard to tell from him. He leaned his head forward a bit as if he were going to take the jerky before quickly retracting it back with a grumble deep in his throat. Jace seemed rather reluctant, less from distrust and more from pride upon demand. His tail was low, his shoulders lax as his lifted his head up and barked at the Orc.

Juna's ears shot up, the sound of Jace's barks echoing in her head in heightened sounds.*

"I'm coming Jace-" *She breathed. Juna caught of flash of his brown fur, easily made for the camouflage in the lower ends of the forest. Upon the sight of him she quickly caught a glimpse of Brackard, not enough to see him clearly but good enough to know her target. She quickly turned herself so that she could be positioned behind a tree out of view of the two.*

"Just draw and shoot, draw and shoot..." *She panted to herself as she pulled the string of the bow back with clear protest from the muscles throughout her arms. A single bit of sweat fell down the side of her face as she hesitated.*

"Just shoot, just shoot, just..." *Her grip tightened on her bow, her words being countered with the thoughts of her accidentally hitting an innocent person or animal. Jace was the one to get worked up over nothing, but no, she can't think of this now.

Juna turned, bringing herself out from behind the tree in view of the two of them. Her bow string drawn fully back and aimed directly at Brackard's head.*

"Get away from my Jackal!" *She quickly blurted out with so much effort in her words, it seemed like she expelled whatever breath she had left from that simple demand. Her arms shook ever so lightly from holding the string back for just that long and her tail fur spiked up on end. Her breathing was rapid, though she didn't let the clear showing of exhaustion allow her to take her sights of Brackard for a second.*
Heather
"C'mon, little buddy. I'm not gonna hurt you, just making sure you're fed and wantin' a look at those scrapes you've got. Can't rightly do that if you're hiding from me, right?"

*The calming voice continued while he put the little strip of meat down on the ground a slight bit closer than arm's length. He patted the dirt beside it as he finished his piece of food, his other hand briefly massaging the back of his neck as he looked to the left.*

*When Brackard looked, he was quite surprised to find a short Canifor huntress pointing a bow at him, her words of shock and fear carrying easily to him. His eyes widened and he instinctively pushed himself off the ground into a roll behind one of the many trees surrounding the three of them. If he managed to reach cover before she fired, he staggered to his feet and stuck a hand out of cover in a brief wave.*

"Heya, miss! Sorry for startlin' you! I'm just checking up on your Jackal, makin' sure he's got himself a little snack!" *He shouted, before pulling his hand back into cover. His breathing was fair and calm as he looked down towards Jace, his chest rising and falling slowly while he tilted his head back and forth to listen for any sounds indicative of further attack.*

*The woman he saw was surely the owner of this animal, then. It sounded like she cared quite a bit for him, with the vehement force with which she called him away. Did he detect a tinge of fear in her voice? A desperation towards a wounded friend and companion, compounded by stress and hardship? The stress, her light equipment, and the bow combined with the knowledge of her injured canine companion made Brackard furrow his brow as he quickly worked through potential scenarios. A patrol is unlikely, too few people. Travellers also unlikely, not well equipped enough for lengthy trips. A hunting trip gone wrong? That sounds plausible, and if so then perhaps this situation could be calmed down.*

*Brackard's bow was across the clearing a few steps, against a tree currently opposite him. Unfortunate that he didn't have a ranged weapon, but he didn't believe he needed one. Not when his voice would do just fine.*

"Miss, you can put that bow down, okay? I'm not hurting anyone, your boy just needed some loving while you were hunting for some food. How's about you come over here and we can chat on less intense grounds?"
Michelle
*The aim of her bow followed Brackard's hasty retreat with such quiver in her movements it almost seemed like the bow would snap from the harshness of it. Her quick breathing didn't stir, her mind processing the large orc before he vanished behind the safety of the tree with a small wave of peace. Juna grunted, her teeth clenching in effort as her strength ebbed away and with it the arrow. It shot out from the sharply drawn bow, firing out towards the tree Brackard was hiding behind.

The arrow had hit the tree with such force that it had penetrated through the semi-thick trunk of it, just enough for the head of the arrow to reveal itself on the other side though not enough to fully make it through.

Small chips of wood fell from tree while Juna stood motionless, her eyes widened as the shock went through her. She fired, she most definitely fired. Juna had been aiming at his head, Juna could have killed him, no Juna couldn't have killed him, she didn't fire, she hesitated, she didn't want to kill him and yet she was aiming to.

Juna crumbled to the ground, falling to her knees under the weight of tiredness with the adrenaline leaving her all at once. The Jackal turned his head, the interest of food vanishing at once at the sight of his huntress that he quickly hobbled over to her. 

His ears were drawn back with concerned once he came close enough to sniff at her. Jace's tail swung back and forth, not in excitement but instead as a more nervous action.*

Juna's bow sat discarded at her side while she remained slumped over, saying in a quiet tone:*

"I'm sorry... I couldn't I... I thought..." *She let out an exhale of air only to be met by the reassuring licks of her Jackal to make her aware that he was still okay. Juna weakly lifted an arm to come to rest on the Jackal's shoulders before she could eventually lift her head to look towards where the orc had hidden.*

*I'm so sorry..." She whispered. Juna had never wanted to shoot the man even more so lethally as the thought of such injury always sickened her internally. It was one thing when it was animals of the hunt, but of another person? Juna swallowed, coating her dry throat in the burning shame of the thought of the act. The rush of adrenaline, the feeling of fear that the worst had come over her Jackal had sent her nearly flying out through the trees and with her the arrow that could have taken claim of the person's life.

Juna lifted her free hand up to meet her face as she gently covered it. He just wanted to help out her Jackal? Was she so in the wrong for jumping the conclusions over the risk of coming back to find a fallen companion that had stuck to her side through even the hardest of times? Juna couldn't answer that. She cared too much to have to live with the thought of losing her Jace to her carelessness in the moment.*
Heather
*Brackard continued to hide behind the tree, listening to the breathing of the woman aiming at him. Finally, he heard the twang of the bow and, moments later, the crash of the arrow against the tree he used as cover. After it collided, the tip poked out through the surface of the bark not a few centimeters from where he was against the tree. He scrunched his face up as he jerked backwards in surprise, a small shout of alarm leaving his lips.*

"Hey! Hey! What'd I say to you?! I'm not here for a fight!" 

*He stopped moving after calling out to her, waiting for the signs of another arrow to strike. A few moments passed while Juna fell to the ground, her rampant exhaustion preventing a second attempt at assaulting the much larger orc. Brackard contented himself with watching as her Jackal left the food behind to return to his Master. Once the creature had reached Juna and began to tend to her with comforting licks and noises Brackard stepped out from behind the tree. He glanced towards her to ensure she was not preparing another attack, and when he was satisfied that she was harmless he wrapped a brutish hand around the arrow and yanked it from the tree, sending more slivers of bark across the ground as the metal tip dragged its way out.*

*The poor girl, something had to have just happened to her and her pet. In such a case, who would blame a little rash behavior? He was fine, she was fine, nobody was hurt. Everything's good. She just needed a little help.*

*Brackard stepped towards her slowly, briefly pointing the tip of her arrow at her before bringing it back to his side. As he closed in on the girl, his external brutish appearance softened. He wasn't a brute, he wasn't a danger. The strong, stoic orc was a friend, a help. He smiled around his tusks as he crouched down in front of Juna and stuck a hand out, offering her arrow back to her.* 

"Ain't nothing wrong, little lady. You're seeming a little tired to be defending your friend, but it's real admirable all the same."