The Hunt of the Baobab
Despite the sun only just cracking its way up over the horizon, the immediate area had already been away for a couple of hours. In those waning hours of the early morning, the menagerie around them filled the air with their calls and noises. Birds chattered and began their rhythmic calls while everything from stray lions and yelping zebras added to the life of the early morning. The cool weather and lack of early rain breathed life into the surrounding area.
Their home for the next couple of weeks would be a tucked-away camp in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The raised bungalows kept them up in the canopy enough that animals passed through the camp all throughout the early morning. With the exhaustion of travel the previous day, Atlas had needed a long sleep. Even the distant territorial roaring of lions had not been enough to rouse her. However, when she finally did emerge, she was able to enjoy some absurdly sweet coffee while watching a number of young gazelles grazing just below their temporary home.
While it was common for her family or Ethen’s to invite them on small vacations, it had been a couple of years since either one of them had done some real traveling or adventure. So when Ethen’s family had invited her on their trip to Tanzania, Atlas immediately began packing and planning. Ethen’s parents were technically there for conservation work and research so they would likely be busy for much of the time but that wouldn’t keep her and Ethen from finding plenty of trouble around the caldera.
Her and Ethen had been given their own raised bungalow just beside the river so that they wouldn’t keep the others up with their odd evening games. Communicating across the bungalows in the pitch dark of night with flashlight morse code had unexpectedly proved amusing the first night before falling comatose. While there were some debates the previous night about what their first day would entail, there was one agreed-upon start. They couldn’t consider their summer vacation adventure truly starting until they tracked down a large baobab tree. It was mutually one of their favorite trees, almost always had animals around it, and had been a tradition to find when Atlas went with Ethen’s family.
Enjoying the animals she could see from their heightened vantage, Atlas quietly took in the cool breeze and fresh air as she sat on the raised balcony. She hadn’t wanted to wake Ethen, knowing that they would probably exhaust themselves throughout the day anyway. They weren’t in any rush as the weather looked to be holding and the wildlife would calm down in a few hours, making it easier for them to do a bit of safe exploration in the bush. Atlas’s mind was still waking, but already the coffee was helping to fuel a myriad of exciting ideas for their little adventure. She could see a breakfast getting laid out in the main raised bungalow at the center of the camp but she was happy to wait for Ethen. She knew as soon as the scent began to waft over, he would suddenly rise from even the deepest sleep to begin their adventure.
Stamina: 15 / Evasion: 18 / Strength: 4 / Wisdom: 10 / ArcPower: 7 / Accuracy: 22
Broom: Varapidos
The Hunt of the Baobab
Lost in a haze of preposterously random dreams, Ethen had no inclination to rise. Travel always turned him into a bit of a corpse and staying up late mimicking animals was hilarious but left him without a shred of energy. That was until his body noticed a certain note in the air. A magical aura was wafting through the untamed wilds that was potent enough to penetrate through the mask of sleep. It was slow at first. A few twitching digits and begrudging grumbles were the first signs of life.
The light that had already begun to trickle into the bungalow was an irritation that bit at Ethen’s soul. A pillow over the face would be the normal remedy if not for the automated rebellion in his mind. His primal need for food was more than enough to overpower his fledgling need for sleep. Sitting up in bed, Ethen was a bit surprised to find that he had been so rudely abandoned by his mate. Although he also had no idea what time it actually was. A smile was quick as he quickly located the familiar form of Atlas, quietly enjoying the African morning.
Hair a crazy mess and still groggy, Ethen forced himself up and out of bed. Waddling across the hardwood floor, he tried in vain to settle his rogue hair before giving up to wrap his arms around Atlas. “Morning, beautiful,” he said softly as his eyes continued to adjust to the light of the morning. “You were going to let me sleep forever… I see how it is,” he added with a sigh of playful disappointment. His eyes reflexively wandered toward the distant scene of a breakfast being laid out in all of its delicious glory.@Atlas Reid
Stamina: 7/ Evasion: 7 / Strength: 5/ Wisdom: 13 / ArcPower: 6 / Accuracy: 8
Broom: Silver Arrow
The Hunt of the Baobab
Devilishly grinning as she heard her boyfriend groggily rising from the bed, Atlas took another sip of coffee before scooping up the small device that she had set on one of the small tables. She couldn’t help the soft chuckles that tickled her lips at hearing his characteristic moans and huffs of waking, waiting until the first word of his greeting sounded out to click the top of the stopwatch in her hand.
Pressing into his warm hold around her, Atlas let out another soft giggle before cocking her head slightly to the side to see him, her bright eyes already alive with energy and adrenaline as she carefully leaned in a breath away from him. Atlas would have let him continue to rest as much as he needed. There was still a sleepiness to his expression, and she knew it would still probably be a little bit before he was fully conscious. Still, she wasn't about to complain that he was finally awake after his restless squirming.
“Seven minutes and thirty-two seconds…not too shabby, Tebo, but certainly not a new record…” She softly teased, holding up the stopwatch. They had filled their relationship with competitions ever since it started, and Atlas still found so much chaos and spontaneity in continuing their games. While she won the majority of them, she only found it fair that she would keep giving him chances to keep up. She couldn't even remember how their ceaseless competitions had begun, but it was so ingrained in everything that they did that she adored it.
Stamina: 15 / Evasion: 18 / Strength: 4 / Wisdom: 10 / ArcPower: 7 / Accuracy: 22
Broom: Varapidos