<div class="floatleft">(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/HlySd/e74b6b77-008b-49a2-8c78-ce6bab7f6126_zps50f84067.jpg)</div><strong>Character name</strong>: Naegge' yaas Naat<br/><strong>Who:</strong>Dluuni & Dat'aek'i (NPCs), Open<br/><strong>Where:</strong>Kayax Outskirts just shy outside the village<br/><strong>When: </strong>W/e time it is<br/><hr/><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;">Blue eyes peeked from the far end of the pine at the Tikaan straddled upon the tree’s massive trunk. Hands braced in gauntlets of leather and fur were gripping the wooden ends of a large, flat knife. In rhythmic forward and back motions, the muscles of his back, thighs, abdomen and arms swelled against tanned skin as he stripped away the bark of the tree. The work was hard for the sap was like glue. If it wasn’t for him being a Tikaan, the task would not have been easy for a normal man. The blind wolf gnawed on the end of a reed pipe, the bowl swaying to and fro to his motions.<br/><br/>He was focused on his work, the boy thought as he dipped behind the tree. Creeping along the trunk, he stepped what he believed to be as light as any bobcat. His heart rapped within his chest and he curled his lips into his mouth until they were a fine line. He held his breath, spreading his arms to balance his careful prowl. He stopped a foot away from the Tikaan’s leg and watched him for a moment in case he changed his routine. After an honest ten seconds, the boy lunged.<br/><br/>Releasing one end of the draw blade, Nae’s hand swung back to tag the boy’s chest. His fingers gripped his tunic and with a startled yelp, the pup found himself yanked into the artisan’s lap where he became subjected to a tickle attack. The boy screamed with laughter, his face glowing as he kicked and squirmed to escape.<br/><br/>“Rah!” another pup screamed from Nae’s right as she sprang at him. He released the other end of the blade and when the pup met his side, his arm locked about her as she too began giggling. “Run Dluuni (Mouse)!”<br/><br/>“I can’t!” the boy cried.<br/><br/>Nae grinned as he listened to their joy. He may not have been able to see their smiling faces, but the emotions that surrounded him brought a warm sensation to his heart. He released them as they plopped across the snow to his left and right. Dluuni smiled as he caught his breath.<br/><br/>“How did you know? I was very quiet this time,” Dluuni questioned.<br/><br/>“The heart is never quiet,” Nae answered.<br/><br/>Dat’aek’i (Snow Goose) sat up and crossed her legs in the snow. She cast her brown eyes upon the artisan as his hands returned to the blade balanced upon the trunk. “Nae, tell us a story.”<br/><br/>“Yeah! A story!” Dluuni chorused.<br/><br/>As Nae began shaving the pine again, he asked, “What do you want to hear from a Tikaan that sees only darkness?”<br/><br/>“Have you ever been scared?” Dat’aek’i asked.<br/><br/>The Tikaan hesitated to answer, but he did. “Yes.”<br/><br/>Dluuni quickly sat up. “Really? Of what?”<br/><br/>“...I don’t know.”<br/><br/>“I’m afraid of bears,” Dluuni shared.<br/><br/>“I have a cloak of bear fur though I know nothing of bears.”<br/><br/>“They’re huge monsters that walk on four legs like a wolf, but can stand on two legs like an Atallan. They’re covered in thick fur, have long sharp nails, and are strong enough to kill a Tikaan in one swipe if you aren’t careful,” Dat’aek’i explained. “I’m not afraid of them. Mommy kills them all the time.”<br/><br/>The pup’s description brought a horrible memory to his mind. When Nae had been starving and scavenging for food, he feared that he may have ran into such a creature, and it had left its marks on his back. He hadn’t known what the creature was, and was disturbed to think that it could have been a bear.<br/><br/>“Yeah well, if you were caught alone with a bear, I bet you’d pee yourself,” Dluuni taunted.<br/><br/>“Nu uh. I’d be like Mommy and bite its big, ugly nose.”<br/><br/>“Yeah right. You’d run like a rabbit.”<br/><br/>“Nu uh!”<br/><br/>“Uh huh!”<br/><br/>The pups barked and growled at each other from across the log until Nae suddenly stood. The pups fell silent regarding the artisan as he brought his leg around to meet his other one. The dull end of the draw blade rested against his shoulder, its length extending three feet behind him. Grasping his tunic, Nae waved it about, fanning some cold air under it to cool his perspiring skin. The pipe bobbed in his mouth as he chewed on it a little; and then facing the trunk, he rested his boot against it and paused. “Move.”<br/><br/>The pups backed away from the log as Nae pushed it over onto a bark-covered side and took a seat. Without another word, the artisan returned to work.</span>