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Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)


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Ceit looked up at the snowy peak of Suilven as she readied herself for an early mornings hunt. Her father was busy with repairing the boat after the harsh winter and her mother was busy searching for herbs in the forest. The snow had finally melted and already the land turned green as the denizens of the forest began to stir.

There food was low after such a harsh winter though Ceit worried little as the bounty of the land was great. They took only what those things that were necessary for survival so that the spirits of great Suilven would protect them. Of course with the coming of spring came the threat of bandits and raiders from the forest.

She would take the high path along the shore so she could watch the sea, while she hunted. She was swift enough that she could return before any ship coming from the north. Perhaps it was simply restlessness after the winter but she feared uninvited guests on such an inviting day.
 

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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

Though the land was green, the chill of winter had not entirely left, and moving along the coast meant the biting wind coming in from the sea. Ceit was thankful for her leathers lined with wolf fur, even as her eyes bounced from the rolling waves of the sea that would soon crash upon the shore, and back to the path before her.

Her bow was held firmly in her left hand along with a single arrow ready to be let loose through the air. The warrior moved as quietly as she could, moving quickly but choosing each step carefully to not snap a twig or displace a loose stone that might give her away.

She stopped, and knelt down to one knee, reaching out with her free hand to carefully touch a pile of dung laying in her path. It was warm to the touch, fresh, and belonged to Red Deer. Lips curling into a smile, Ceit kept moving keeping ears and eyes open as she moved, the sword at her hip a comfort though she saw no sign of raiders, or bandits.
 
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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

Ceit ignored the biting wind from the sea as she cautiously moved forward her bow at the ready. Her keen sight soon found fresh deer tracks leading into the woods. She moved like a cat on the prowl through the trees never making a sound as she followed the tracks of her prey.

After several minutes of tracking and quiet stalking she spotted her quarry up ahead. A young buck stood rubbing the felt off it's new antlers on a tree oblivious to the silent death that stalked yards away. The woods grew quiet as Ceit focused on her bow.
 

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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

Nocking the arrow upon the bow, Ceit slowly drew back until she felt the brush of fletching against her ear. Slowly she let out a breath, careful to not make a sound, to be as a ghost. The young buck could feed her family for some time, and the skin was always useful.

Her fingers released, and let the arrow fly.
 
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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

The arrow flew threw the air striking the buck in the shoulder with a solid thunk. The deer staggered for a few steps more out of shock than anything before it dropped. The sounds of the forest returned as Ceit finally allowed herself to breath and began to move forward to collect the carcass.

She would need to work quickly in order to avoid the more deadly predators of the woods. They would be drawn by the scent of blood eventually and Ceit did not intend on sharing the meat with any but her family. Still she had to thank the spirits for giving her the deer and she bent to her work.
 

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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

She slung the bow across her shoulders and moved up to the deer. A decent sized buck it was. She didn't pause to listen, or else something would find her. So with a grunt, and a strain in her shoulders and legs, she draped the young deer across her shoulders, and lifted him upwards.

Heavy bastard that he was.

Cursing quietly, because she always hated this part, Ceit began to make her way back home, using the exact same path she had used to get here. It was quicker. And she'd see the sea.

And other predators.
 
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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

The deer was indeed heavy but nothing that Ceit wouldn't be able to handle. She wished she could stop and give thanks for the bounty but there were far too many predator and only one of her. She would appease the spirits once she returned home.

The trek back down the coast was slower than her trip outwards though she remained just as cautious as before. Watching the sea and the forest alike for predators of the human or animal variety. A black dot on the sea had her worried though it was too far to tell if it were a longship.

Stopping to cup a hand against one eye from the sun she stared towards the dot. She couldn't even tell if it was moving from her spot on the cliffs unfortunately and as Ceit picked up the buck once more she suddenly felt something small hit her on the head. It wasn't enough to hurt but it shocked her into looking around at nothing but the forest.
 

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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

"Mhic na galla," Ceit cursed as she dropped the deer the few inches she had managed to lift before being struck.

The curse was more from being startled. It wasn't often she was so startled. She pulled the bow from her shoulder and notched and arrow, drawing it back almost immediately as she looked about her.

"Who's out there?" she called into the forest.
 
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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

The cliff about her was empty as was the forest in front of her, the forest seemed to be alive with noise it was true but it was normal noise. Then out of the corner of her eye Ceit caught sight of another acorn flying through the trees to bonk her on the head once more.

A sound of mirthful laughter like a little child might make came to her over the noise of the forest. There was no one else around for miles so where could such a sound come from.
 

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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

Ceit kept her eyes open, looking towards the sound of the laughter. A chill crawled up her spine, and she pondered over the source. The Sidhe perhaps?

"I'm just taking the deer to feed my family. I mean no disrespect to the forest," Ceit called out in case it was the spirits of the woods, but kept her bow drawn. In case it was not.
 
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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

The forest grew silent as Ceit held her bow on the tree line where she had heard the child-like laughter. Did she even believe in the Sìth, she had never seen one before but then she had never seen a great number of things she truly believed in. If it was one of the fair folk she would need to be careful not to offend it in anyway for while typically only mischievous they could be quite cruel.

"Then lower your bow and come play with us, silly." Came the mirth-filled voice from a different section of the tree-line. A tiny red squirrel sat on a stone in this new section of forest chewing upon an acorn. There was nothing else to be seen except for the squirrel, which scampered back into the trees as soon as Ceit turned to look at it.
 

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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

Slowly, Ceit lowered her bow. Still unable to see anything except that single squirrel. The deer at her feet had to get back to the village soon and gutted so the meat wouldn't spoil, making it a waste. Flicking her head over her shoulder she looked towards the black dot out upon the waters, trying to make sense of it, before her gaze slid back to the forest, where the voices were coming from.

"I need to get the deer back to my home, lest its death becomes one in vane. Please, let me go."
 
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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

"But we want to play. Don't you want to play with us. Maybe the deer can come play too." The melodious voices almost seemed to come from everywhere around Ceit. It seemed like a dozen merry little children were calling to her but all with the same voice confusing her even more than she already was.

While Ceit tried to make heads or tails of where the voices may be coming from she suddenly stopped in her tracks. The deer she had just killed moved it's head to look at her awkwardly before standing and bounding off into the woods towards the voices. A trail of blood in it's wake as the happy voices cheered and moved off deeper into the forest with the deer.
 

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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

Ceit watched with wide eyes as the deer rose and ran off into the woods. Bow in hand she stared after the trail of blood, unsure of how to react to this turn of events. "Andraste, toyr neart," she whispered to herself.

Turning her head over her shoulder to look once more to the sea she began to move towards the sound of the voices, following the trail of the once dead deer. She needed it to feed her family.

With each footstep, her hand curled tighter around the bow, other hand drifting to the dagger sheathed across her lower back.
 
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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

The deer seemed to move as quickly as it ever had through the dense brush of the forest. On occasion it seemed to disappear from sight only to come bounding out from a different direction or from the branches above. All the while the musical little voices laughed and screamed happily.

Despite being well taught in the ways of the wood by her parents Ceit soon found herself hopelessly lost and turned around as the deer continued to cavort and caper about the forest. The voices of the fey seemed to be toying with her as she felt a growing sense of panic slip into her stout heart.
 

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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

"I thought games were supposed to be fun," Ceit shouted into the forest, not knowing what else to do. She knew every inch, every tree around her home. But this... it was all so similar yet so utterly different. Had they taken her to the fae world?

"What do you want with me?" she said looking upwards along the loomed trunks, leaves casting twisting shadows across her face as she watched a deer that should have been dead bounding from one branch to another when they should not have been able to support its weight.

Her hand never left the dagger, nor her bow, both fists only clutching harder, their presence the only comfort she had now. Her eyes moved, darting from one shrub to another, trying hard to ignore the deer, the oddity of it all.

"Focus on the sun, find your way home," she said in the barest of whispers, trying to peer through the overhang to find where it hung up in the sky. Looked for the growth of moss on the trees, listened for the crash of waves upon the stony shore.
 
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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

The sunlight filtering through the trees was muted and grey almost seeming to blend with the fog rising up from the ground. Her calls echoed back to her in an almost mocking fashion as they mixed with the voices of the fae. At least she thought they were fae, nothing else made much sense at the moment.

Now she had to figure out how to get out of this strange landscape and away from the creatures that had lured her there. She tried checking the trees for moss but each one she checked had moss growing on a different side. The sunlight was no help and the fog was muting any sounds she might here.

Suddenly though the voices seemed to stop taunting her as they said. "We just wanted you to play with us for a while. Don't you find this fun?"
 

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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

"No," Ceit said in earnest, turning this way and that, looking for any kind of path. But she had a sinking feeling that it didn't matter how skilled she was, or what direction she chose. Perhaps she simply wasn't in the same world.

"I have to get home. I have responsibilities," she said to the voices, wondering if they would even listen. She didn't have much choice though, it seemed her best chance to get home. She'd still have to explain why she was returning without food, and hide.

"And I need that deer."
 
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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

From behind one of the shadowy trees stepped a strange looking creature holding a blood red flower in it's outstretched hand. The creature would pass for a human child on quick examination but on closer study it was clearly an adult though the sex was hardly clear. The creature was strangely beautiful despite the odd squirrel like features on it's face and body.

Ceit knew she should be afraid for the sìth were not to be trifled with, she had heard stories of people taken to the fairylands never to be seen or heard from again. Then there were those who had returned, changed by their brush with the magic of the fae. Despite these stories she could find nothing frightening in this creature's smile or innocent gesture.

The creature smiled as it held out the flower and spoke with it's gleeful almost manic voice. " We don't want your deer silly. We just want to play for a little while. It's been so lonely around here lately. Won't you stay with us for just a little while?"
 

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Re: Furain an taoigh a thig, greas an taoigh tha falbh. (Ceit)

Ceit looked upon the creature, heart pounding even as her fingers relaxed from their white knuckle grip upon her weapons. She did not let them free though, and instead let her eyes slip from the sith creature before her, and the beautiful rose it held delicately in its hand.

"I can't," she said, almost remorsefully, eyes slipping to her surroundings to watch for the others she knew must be around, before her gaze returned to the figure before her.

"I have duties, responsibilities. To my family, my home," she pressed urgently, hoping that her need to leave was not for her own sake, but another's, would help set her free from this place she had never dared to imagine to be reality.
 
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