*--Basic Training--*
~Level 1~
Silence, roaring in its oddly muted way, wound through my ears as I trekked to the site of my newest adventure- hunting for curios in a deep, lush green valley. Littered with trees and filled with deep ruts, I knew this was the perfect place to find discarded odds and ends- maybe some jewels if I got lucky. Not for myself, of course. I was Karza, a tomboy through and through, and my happiness did not, unlike most girls, rely on a few shoddy gemstones. Immediately I headed towards the thickest patch of trees, knowing that treasures stashed in the branches long ago could possibly have dropped to the ground. Moving cautiously as leaves crunched underneath my feet, I raised my head to my surroundings, remembering to hold my steadfast body on the tips of my toes should I have need to run. Soon, however, I began to relax, dropping down into a low-stooped crouch to root through a layer of leaf mould for the glint of jewels or coins. I searched for about half an hour before finding my first treasure- a small azure sapphire bit, hardly larger than a dime- when I heard a faint rumbling sound. At first it was quite muffled and unclear, and I had no way of knowing what it was. But somehow, now, I felt piercing eyes watching me, the sensation crawling along my spine of my every move being tracked through the gloom.
"Come out!" I shouted to apparently nothing, frustrated. Then I tried again. "Don't hide from me, please!"
Evidently, whatever it was did not take to hiding well. Out from the trees burst a bernikesaur, and I fought back panic as I wracked my brain for any bit of information about these agile animals. All I remembered was that bernikesaurs were fast and dangerous, but could be rebuked if one was firm enough. So I tried exactly that. This bernikesaur was female, a dark burgundy red with crimson slashes ribboning along her sides. At first I feared that it was blood, but thankfully this was not the case. "Hyah!" I shouted furioysly, inching closer to her with determination in every step. But then I softened a bit. Relaxing, I stretched one large, callused hand forwards, towards the dinosaur's muzzle. Her deep periwinkle eyes crossed as she stared down, confused, but despite her initial roughness she did not object to the placement of my hand upon her delicate nose. Pleased with myself, in favt beaming from ear to ear, I gently stroked down the length of the bernikesaur's face, then I stepped back to study her. Her markings looked a lot like a poison dart frog's, I noticed. And that was when I remembered a bit of a word from my studies- Kinzal, meaning none other than 'spear'- like the cutting-edge stone tip of a spear poisoned by a dart frog.
