Chapter Text
In the late hours of the evening, Lorelei finds her rhythm in the rolling hills of Bahari Bay. Stars twinkle above her in the sky, and the wind blows through her hair. She raises her exquisite bow, eyes trained on the speckled Chapaa scampering in the grass. She's out of milk at home to make carrot soup. Her stomach rumbles loudly. Money has been tight due to her spending at Jel's shop, so she really needs to catch quality game today if she wants to have some of that creamy carrot goodness.
Of all the skills that she's cultivated since materializing into existence all those months ago, hunting has been her most favored. That isn't to say she neglects the others. Badruu agrees that she may have a thumb greener than his, and she isn't too shabby in the kitchen either even though Reth seems reluctant to admit it. Though in her opinion, nothing could beat the 'thwip' of an arrow released on her unsuspecting prey and the satisfaction of bringing in the useful and profitable trophies.
From her vantage point, she takes aim and lets her standard arrow fly, tearing across the field. The arrow meets its mark, but it isn't a clean kill. The speckled Chapaa begins to make its escape! She jumps from her vantage point and whips out her glider, hot on the tracks of the elusive Chapaa. Lorelei lands just a few meters shy of her target, taking her bow in hand the moment her feet hit the ground.
From the perspective of others, Lorelei has been working at a breakneck pace. With a little guidance from Caleri and Delilah, she came to realize that acts of service or thoughtful gifts would go a long with the Majiri around here. In about a season, she furnished and built herself a home, raised an impressive garden, and built something of a reputation for herself within the village of Kilima. She would even go so far as to say she’s ingratiated herself with most of the towns folk.
Well. Most of them.
A fine arrow whistles past her cheek, so close that she swore she felt the fletching feather across her skin. Her mark has met its demise.
"You nearly let it get away, have you forgotten all that you've learned?" She hears the accusing voice behind her.
Turning around she finds a disgruntled Hassian, eyes narrowed at her with disapproval. Where he came from or how long he was looking, she cannot tell.
Lorelei regards him, furiously gripping her bow. Ever since the first day she arrived, Hassian has had no problems letting her know just how much her presence in the village has put him out. She's heard from everyone, including his mother, that he's generally a difficult person to get to know and to not take it too personally.
And she has tried.
But for some unknown reason, he gets noticeably sour when Lorelei is around. She thought things between them might have improved now that she had earned herself a slot in the Hunters Guild His sharpness has increased two-fold in the past week, and at this point, she just wants to know what she did to earn his ire.
"Hassian, no matter how appalled you are by my skills, it is absolutely no reason to nearly shoot me for it!" Cries Lorelei.
"Hmph. Don't insult me. Your skill with a bow and mine are not comparable. I haven't injured someone in all my years of hunting." He says with disdain.
"I had it under control. I am quite literally a Guild member. You wouldn’t have let me join if you weren’t confident in my skills. All the bows I've ever had were made because you taught me how to make them. What is actually the problem today?" Lorelei questioned with protest hin her tone, and a finger pointed in his direction.
"Hold on a second, how did you know I was-- did you follow me?" She asked, eyes scanning for his four-legged companion. The two usually weren’t seen far from each other.
"Don't flatter yourself. I was returning to the Grove and I happened upon you. Tau is already there." He defended, with a hand on his hip. He turns to regard her with a complicated look on his face. He seems like he wants to say more, but instead, he hangs his head with a sigh. What is that about? He lifts his head and hands her the glowing satchel of meat and skins.
"Did you need some--" She spoke, raising the satchel in her hand before being cut off.
"No. Just... you should go home. All manner of creatures walk these woods at night." His words were spoken so quietly that for a moment Lorelei wonders if she imagined them. She tried to look into his eyes to see if she could glean any insight into his strange behavior, but the moment their gaze met his eyes darted away. Was he really so bothered that he couldn’t bear to look at her? She opened her mouth to speak but before she could find the right words, he turned away and left her there in the field.
She supposed that was as close to an apology as she was going to get from him. She heaved a long and tired sigh. Looking at her bags, she seems to have enough loot in there to buy herself 10 milks and then some! She turned to watch Hassian's retreating back, shaking her head at him. His hot and cold behavior is giving her whiplash.
Just the other day Auni had warned her that Hassian was pretty mad at her. When she went to confront him about it, Hassian denied that he was ever mad. What a liar! He was in fact, very mad about something. After proving that she could be more useful to him and the village, he confided that the source of his frustration was the Mayor and the Chapaa problem. It was the first and last time she ever heard an apology fall from Hassian's mouth, so she took it with grace and told him not to worry. Since then she has taken it upon herself to hunt fewer Sernuk and more Chapaa to help with the population issue.
Despite this, Hassian hasn't made any sign that would suggest he appreciates her efforts. If anything, he has been more harsh with her and her bowmanship. She knows she isn't perfect, but she's hunted and caught Proudhorns before and she carries an exquisite bow made with materials she made and harvested herself! She simply cannot be as bad as he's making her out to be. He caught her in an off moment.
The idea that Hassian finds her bowmanship lacking is rather insulting. For all the times she's helped him and others in the village with fur and meat requests, one would think that she has more than a good reputation in that regard. Lorelei must have done something that has bothered him that she just hasn’t caught on to yet. She can only think of a handful of reasons for Hassian doing something so petty as stealing her killing shot and berating her for it, and none of them are good.
Once she can no longer see Hassian through the clearing, she makes her way to the dirt road and begins her trek home, pouting all the way there.