Vhalar 29th, 709
The breaks dragged on in a way that made the half-breed think she was going to go insane long before she managed to actually get home. Every trill felt like it groaned past in bits. Every step felt like she was taking 10 through thickened honey. The sun was slowly starting to dip across the horizon and she felt as though she would fall asleep on her feet if she had to keep going for too terribly long. Her methods so far had been working rather well and the sunset where she thought it should. That being said she was still tired and annoyed and just wanted to be home already. Her pack felt heavy, she was out of drinking water, she was thirsty, her feet her, and many other problems dragged at her feet and her mind making it all that harder to keep moving forward.
At the very least she hadn't woken up with any ticks or fleas when she got up. If that had happened on top of barely being able to sleep thanks to that Immortal awful stomach she probably would have just sat where she'd woken up and cried until Icarus came to retrieve her and get rid of the unwanted pests. She wasn't entirely certain how the man avoided such things. Perhaps he knew about plants she didn't which could get rid of annoyances. Or maybe he just knew where and how to rest his head in order to avoid them. The half-breed had no such knowledge and the thought of a tick protruding from her flesh was just too terrifying of one to really come to terms with.
She shivered slightly at the thought as she continued to trudge forward. If the calculations were right, and that was a rather big if, then she was almost home. She was so close she could practically taste the wonderful stew that was Icarus' specialty. All the different wild forage they could find, thrown together with whatever complimentary berries and the meat of the day. The fruits were especially good when he used them to add just that little touch of extra flavor to the dish and help the meat shine. He did that with a lot of dishes, not just stew. Like blackberry pork or apple with duck. Her stomach gave a loud protest at the thoughts of food and she felt her pace liven up just a touch when tempted with the prospect of good food and a warm bed awaiting her arrival. So close and yet so far.
Okay, pay attention. She had to keep her head out of the clouds or else all of this was for naught! If she got lost now she was done for. Taking a slight moment of pause she glanced at a tree. There was a slight sheet of clouds covering the sky but not as bad as the night before. It left the land bathed in a gentle glow that allowed for just enough visibility to see. But she hadn't been paying attention, which could cause issues. So, she inspected the first tree in her line of sight for clues. When she looked at it she saw a thick sheet of moss. Perfect. This was exactly the way she should be heading. Moss tended not to grow in the direct influence of the sunlight. The sun during its journey across the sky tended to shed more light on one side of the tree than the other. The place where moss grew meant the sun was hitting it less. Which meant that if the moss was in a thick sheet on the side of the tree she'd caught sight of she was luckily still heading north.
Part of her wanted to be logical and stop for the night, but she was stubborn and decided it was best to keep going. If she was this close it was bright enough that she could risk is. Just as this thought cross her mind a strong wind came, almost carrying the small creature off of her feet. The girl glanced upwards as the sky grew even brighter. Perfect. The sky had the kindness of knocking away the clouds.
"Alright, Telva always rises from over there. It's still early in the night which is why it's still over there. Meaning that this way is still north," she muttered to herself as she confirmed her previous analysis. The moon could be just as useful as the sun when it came to navigating, even when it was cresented. Any of the moons or suns could really be valuable if you knew how to use them, where they rose from and how they rose were two very important details that could help a person if you knew the different details depending on the area you found yourself in. Sometimes the exact directions could change depending on the area of the world you happened to be in. Which could get annoying. But the half-breed had been raised in this area all her life and was staying here for quite a while, so the information was pretty much set in stone for her.
The stars were just as useful and easy to use if not more so. Her eyes gazed over the sky until she saw the brightest star among them all. That bright and glittering star. The north star. It was the most concrete and most talked about guide whenever people spoke about getting lost at night. The north star was always in the same place. The north star was always the brightest. And the north star would always lead you home if you knew how to use it. The half-breed heaved a tiny sigh of relief. The existence of the north star being dead ahead of her most the most solid piece of proof that she was heading in the proper direction. It helped her to release a breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding.
In addition to the north star, there were certain constellations she could follow. Of course, those were a bit trickier since they were bound to be different depending on the time of arc, which of course made it harder to effectively follow them unless someone actively memorized all the constellations with their various locations around the arc.
At least as the half-breed trudged through the darkness she knew that she was roughly on the right track give or take a little bit. So she continued to march forth with the utmost determination, a fire burning steadily in her heart at the idea of dinner! Of course, if Icarus was actually watching after her wouldn't that mean there would be no dinner when she arrived? Then again when she got close enough Icarus might have stopped watching her for a bit to go prepare dinner. It didn't matter. If there was no dinner she'd still be grateful just to have a bed to sleep on.
Moving a little bit faster her eyes darted around trying to take in her surroundings. She almost came to a complete stop. The familiar form of a tree split directly down the middle stopped her. She knew this tree, she knew this tree and the way a new tree was spouting out from its split remains. It was one of the first landmarks Icarus had ever shown her because it was just so identifiable. He'd told her the story about how it had split apart after getting hit by lightning during a storm thanks to how tall it was and how low the clouds had been that day. Excitement scorched her very being. She knew where she was now! She knew where she was and she wasn't at all far from home!
She broke into a run as she sped across the now familiar ground, heading in the direction that she knew her home was, her feet flying across the earth. Or at least flying by her definition. Her feet didn't make actual running all the easy so it was more so a brisk jog as she tried to lift her feet high enough to not trip over... again.
She came to a halt outside the familiar form of a log cabin. It's figure standing tall and proud against the moonlight. Never before had she recognized something so much as home. Because The Master she could never really recognize the place she grew up as an actual home. But this? This place stark and proud against the darkness? This was home. And standing right outside the door was, of course, Icarus.
"I would say I'm shocked but I'm really not. I knew you'd do wonderfully," the man said with the smallest hint of a smirk. "I am however impressed. You were technically only out there for two, but I'll go ahead and say that you pass both portions of the test. Though if I had to I'd dock you points for traveling at night without any kind of proper light source. Make a torch next time for goodness sake, my girl," the man said with a fond laugh as he shook his head. Despite knowing her for so little time he'd already taken to treating her like the daughter he'd never been given the chance to have. It was probably better that way. He could raise a teen but the girl didn't think he'd do all that well raising an infant.
"Yeah... Can I have some dinner though," she asked as a massive snarling of her stomach followed quickly after. She was almost reminded of when she'd first met Icarus. It wasn't like she'd been in much better shape back then. If she was actually trying to survive out in the woods instead of just rush home as quickly as possible she was certain she'd be in better shape though! Next time... next time she'd be a little smarter. She promised. And this time it wasn't the kind of promise where she'd break her compass directly after.
Icarus laughed. "Of course, I actually got some beef for tonight's stew since I knew you'd do so well," he said with a small shake of his head. That's why he'd disappeared for a couple trials before this little test. Beef was rare for the pair. Any domesticated animal was since neither had an income and they were more than well-off hunting and foraging for various food items. It wasn't like Icarus had a giant stock of jellied and pickled fruits and vegetables in a cellar larger than both their bedrooms combined, cough cough.
The scent of freshly cooked beef stew, roasted to perfection and laden with freshly picked vegetables, had her completely losing her train of thought. The troubles of the last two trials forgotten with the ideas of a hot meal and a warm bed. The lessons, however, deeply solidified in her mind.
