Eight Intertwined

30 - H'aanit

The trees of S'warkii swayed gently as H'aanit made her way to the entrance of the town. Her honey blonde braid shifted with her every move the same way that the fur covering her body did. H'aanit's eternal companion, a snow leopard by the name of Linde remained ever at her side as she began her journey. There was a whisper in the wind that brought with it the promise of something new and beautiful with the coming dawn. H'aanit could sense that this was a sign of the world itself offering its blessing in the name of what was to come. 

When H'aanit arrived at her destination, she was met with the figure of a taller man wearing the same fur that she did. His hair was gray and sharp, moving slightly with the breeze as he rustled the ears of his companion, a wolf who went by the name of Hägen. H'aanit found herself inwardly sighing with relief at the sight of him. "Good. Thou hast yet to depart," she said as she approached him, Linde's tail flicking as she followed in the footsteps of her partner. 

"Waylaid by sentiment, my girl," the man responded. The man, Z'aanta, was H'aanit's mentor and master in life and its many challenges. He stopped scratching at Hägen's ears to turn and face his student. "It'd ill behooven me to leave without bidding my favorite prentice a fare-thee-well."

H'aanit's eyes narrowed in his direction. "A joke, as always," she drawled in reply. This was hardly out of the ordinary for Z'aanta; even though H'aanit was the student and he the master, it seemed as if their roles were reversed on many occasions. Z'aanta was a free spirit who followed his whims with a smile on his face while H'aanit was much more stoic. Some had called her emotionless in the past, though in H'aanit's eyes, it was simply a matter of her understanding what it meant to be oriented in business. It was due to this comprehension that she let go of her dry thoughts to focus on Z'aanta once more a moment later. "Will thy journey be long, Master?"

"Ah... A good question, that," Z'aanta answered softly. "The request cometh from none other than the Knights Ardante. The hunt will taken us to distant lands, and the beast we pursuen is a fearsome one."

"I see," H'aanit murmured simply. She had heard whispers of her master's coming journey, though the details remained elusive. It seemed as if not even Z'aanta fully understood what it was that he was set to be doing, not that this particularly surprised H'aanit. If anything, it was simply par for the course with him. Z'aanta lived life like a dandelion on the breeze, flowing with whatever life handed him for better or worse. 

Z'aanta exploded in jubilant laughter when he saw how solemn H'aanit's expression had become. "Looken not so glum, girl! I'm no tyro with green arrows and bruises on his bow arm," he assured her even though she was already fully aware of such a truth. He took a step toward H'aanit and placed one hand on her shoulder. "I'll doe the deed and be back before two moons have passed." When H'aanit once again responded with silence, Z'aanta pulled away. "Still no smile? What is it, my girl?"

H'aanit crossed her arms over her chest as she examined Z'aanta from head to toe. "'Tis not the hunt that concerneth me. Thou intendest to stoppen off somewhere along the way," he told her even though this was something that he already knew was part of the plan. Once again, evidence of H'aanit being the adult in the dynamic surfaced with renewed vigor. 

It wasn't until after H'aanit had been staring at Z'aanta with a critical glare for a few seconds that he yielded to her words. "Here and there, mayhap. Why dost thou ask?" he questioned as innocently as he could manage despite knowing that was bound to come next. 

H'aanit sighed under her breath. "Thou forgetst or feignst ignorance, so I will reminde thee. On the last hunt, thou gambledst away thy purse and came back a poorer man than thou left," she told him, her eyes practically pinning him in place with their intensity.