Heavenfall

"Yeah. It happens from time to time. Met a handful of different folks on the road over the years that weren't part of tribes," he says with a nod. "Mostly just wanderers like me. Just lucky like that I guess, meeting random folks."

"Luck? Or destiny? Not all destinies are kind, particularly at the start. Perhaps you had a great destiny ahead of you, and, sadly, if your tribe had survived, you would not have been where you needed to be to reach it."

"Maybe. Or maybe the tribes I met along my travels were right and I'm cursed. Maybe me being here will only bring trouble. Not for me to know that. I'll only figure it out by moving forward."

Kyosei nods. "A fair way to put it. So, as large as you are, are you getting enough here? Or are you needing to hunt to supplement it?"

"There's enough, but I still like to hunt to provide extra supplies. I eat a fair bit. Usually at the beginning and end of every meal, eating anything left in the bottom of the cook pot. Prevent wasting. I also have a bug or two when I see them out in the wild away from camp. Not ants though, something about them is... well, it's like the taste of metal almost."

"Bugs? Never tried them. Not many actually around when my tribe needs food worst."

"I've eaten plenty. Easy food. Not the best tasting, but they keep you going," he says with shrug. "Don't take too much effort to collect them if you know where to look."

"You would say you are a good hunter, true?" Kyosei's voice becomes a bit more serious.

"I would say that I'm a capable enough hunter. What I'm good at is surviving," he corrects. "I think if I was a good hunter I'd have had far more skins for trade."

"Mmm. My tribe, the Isawa, we are always looking for more food for the winters. If you were to start making your way north again, might be opportunities to trade. Especially food that stored well, or was from way down south here. Something we didn't have access to."

"I might head that way after this is over. But I also haven't traveled too far east or west. Stuff to see in those directions too, I would guess. But I might also join or visit clans. I really don't do long term planning very well. At least not in that way. Only long term survival planning really."

"Looking to each day as it comes keeps you alive. But does it create a fulfilling life? Does it allow you the chance at a good mate? Thinking ahead, planning, those lead to life's best results, I've found."

"It all depends on what you have available. Sometimes you want things you just can't have."

"Oh? Have you such wants?"

"I mean, nothing that's completely out of reach at this point. But when I was younger I wanted my family back. I wanted to not feel pain that season I was moving around on a broken foot. I want that foot to not have it's odd shape anymore, since it's a slight inconvenience. But that's not how things work. Just make due with what we got and try to make things better going forward. Learn from experiences and mistakes."

Kyosei nods. "Those sort of wants I understand. I want to have four children, not have lost the one, but, the past can't be changed. Only the future." His voice sinks as he says this. Then he shakes his head. "But, what future wants are you searching for?"

"Just the one, to find a place to belong. With the changes brought by the kami, that's far more likely now than it was before."

"Fair enough. Not for me, but I do understand. Hmm. How are you at hunting in the cold? You have been heading south all this time, heading to warmer areas. Do you prefer the warmth, or the cold?"

"Winter hunting is fine. One of the best times to get a bear if you can find where they sleep," he says. "I make my way fine during winter months, but I prefer not having to fight the cold."

"Sounds like you might want to look into the more southerly clans then. Hida was settled where we started out. And I know he is looking for big people like he is."