Honoring the promise (Rista)

[Kikue]

The young girl shaking her head slowly already set the Avora off. She could guess what the young girl was going to ask, but it didn't dampen the effect of the question at all. Instead it actually enhanced the effect. The time slowed down for her as she waited for the moment the Yasi would start the question barrage. Maybe it had been a bad descision to tell this young girl her thoughts. But what was done was done. There was no turning back now. The moment the small girl started talking, Kikue's eyes went wide open in shock as the volume wasn't what she had expected. *No, not that loud please. I don't want the rest to find out.*, she begged inside of her mind. Kikue's eyes turned a bit desperate the moment the silence fell and she could feel the burning looks of the few people that were there. It was agonizing, painfull and unimaginable that the Yasi couldn't understand her. She should at least a small bit of the same feelings as she did, right? She was a half-blood, not even a full Inarta, so why? Why didn't the girl understand the woman. The small huntress froze on the spot as the Yasi's eyes locked on to her. The presence of her was keeping her from speaking, voicing her thoughts, or even moving at all. The girl's question hurt her, she who didn't have a family, that had always felt misplaced around the other Inarta. A position she didn't ask for. ”I... I... I can't......”, she stuttered, unable to keep herself from shaking. She wanted to explain, and most of all get them out of there. It wasn't as if she was needed there. There were enough hunters around, far better hunters that could get prey much easier then her, but that girl's questions shook Kikue far into her soul. The small woman slowly started to take a few steps back, unable to handle the strong gaze of the mongrel right now. *Please don't ask those questions. They hurt, they hurt alot.*, were her thoughts as she turned around and ran out of the hall. She didn't look back once as tears filled her eyes. This was the worst day she had, even though it started so well. Kikue was in deep shyke now those people knew. If she was going to make her move to leave, it would have to be soon, really soon, or she'd risk getting cought by the Endal and be forced to stay. It had to be either bad luck for Kikue or luck for Rista that just as Kikue got outside, she ran into a large Chiet, causing her to get knocked onto the road. She was even unluckier that she fell so that her ankle twisted painfully and felt as if something tore. *Shyke, shyke, shyke!*, she cursed herself as her tears bursted out even more from the pain. The Chiet wanted to help her, but Kikue pushed him away and bit to him: ”Leave me alone.”

[Rista]

Whatever it was that she had expected the Avora to do, it certainly hadn't involved running away. Surprise and ill concealed contempt over the weakness of the woman flashed over the girls angry visage. Her mouth twisted, wanted to call after the back of the disappearing person to stand and fight; then the silence of the room seemed to finally dawn on her, and Rista glanced around quickly, still wrapped within the shock and upset stirring of her emotions. Faces greeted her black gaze as she looked around the room, impassive next to frowning ones, shocked expressions mingling with thoughtful consideration as they rested upon her.

Pure reflex made the girl retrieve her eyes to herself, the shoulders tensing and pulling upwards under the pressure of those stares. What, what did they expect of her? It wasn't more than right that Kikue answered properly, not after dropping an announcement like that as if it had been a question of leaving for a ten-day trip or slightly longer. The thought of leaving the mountain behind and never return still made her stomach sink with a nauseating feeling, confusion over how someone could reach a conclusion like that made it hard to think. The yasi blinked as time slowly passed, staring down at her empty plate as the silence grew longer and weighed heavier on her shoulders. She couldn't understand it, didn't want to understand the desire to get away. It had never occurred to her, leaving had never been an option; what would there be to find in any other place, when all her goals and dreams circled around the society of the Inarta?

No, Rista couldn't understand. And it was only right that Kikue thought through her reasons for leaving properly, something she apparently hadn't been doing since a yasi could make her speechless. But perhaps the time and the way of questioning had been poorly chosen... Not that the little mongrel had been thinking about that in the slightest.

Feeling the expectant pressure of the stares at her back, the dark-skinned girl slowly began to move. She straightened her back, lifted the chin up and forced her gaze to wander towards the exit through which her supposed teacher had disappeared. It felt as if her feet moved on their own as they began to move her towards the hallway, crossing through the room and what felt like a sea of quiet stares. The scraping of a foot against the floor broke the silence, and the further Rista came towards the exit the more people started to whisper, speaking to one another with muffled voices; some returned to their previous subjects, but more than a few felt a need to comment on the event. What a thing to witness; a mere yasi questioning an Avora, and winning in strength of mind too at that! Unacceptable, fascinating, scandalous. The voices rose as discussions grew more intense, and soon the air buzzed with life and sound around the young woman.

It was a relief to leave. The impact of what she had done couldn't be clearly measurable, but Rista was sure there would be some kind of consequence waiting for her. And for Kikue. With this many witnesses it would be impossible to keep it quiet and to themselves, rumors would spread like they always did; in a community as small and tight knit as theirs there was little that remained a secret for very long. It took a lot to keep something hidden in Wind Reach...
Rista stopped for a moment and looked around as she came out into the broad stone corridor that led from the dining hall and off towards the other main spaces of the city. Not far from where she stood she could see the red-haired huntress lie on the ground, a broad-shouldered man leaning over her with a hand stretched out as an offer of aid. She waited, watching quietly as the woman rejected the attempt to help her up, and managed a faint smile towards the Chiet as he shrugged and passed by her; only after the sound of his steps had faded away did she continue forward, the face wrapped in opposing emotions as she kept the gaze on the short Avora.

"I didn't think you would run" she said honestly and stopped before the other, her arms folding over the chest in a gesture that could be either accusing or defensive; or perhaps a bit of both. "I didn't think you wouldn't be able to answer me either. Not many people get intimidated by a girl as short as me, not even when she has eyes like mine. Then again, I can almost look you in the eyes when talking, so perhaps the effect is greater with that." Hunching down before Kikue and wrapping her arms around the knees to help keep the balance, Rista gnawed a little on the lower lip while trying to decide what to do. The pain on the womans face suggested that the other had hurt herself when she tripped, and a part of her wanted to reach out and help her up, aid her in getting to the infirmary so the healers could have a look at what was wrong. A slightly more cynical part of her found this situation very pleasing however. Like this, running away was not an option anymore...

"Do you even have a way to answer my questions?" she asked, the voice low now even though there was no one else around to hear her speak. "I don't get how you even can think the thought of turning the back on us like that, but if you couldn't answer the first time, will you be able to if I ask again? Kikue, give me a reason why I shouldn't just leave you here to take care of yourself, like you're trying to do with Wind Reach." It wasn't a question, but more like a demand. Towards any other person of her caste, this kind of conversation would have been impossible, but from the very start the lines between their separate casts had been blurry. Kikue's refusal to be addressed as Avora, Rista's acceptance of that along with her sometimes brutal honesty... Paired with this unsuspected feeling of being betrayed, it made Rista push the limits like she had never done before. She didn't feel like a child, a yasi at that moment; she didn't look like one either where she sat, the face grim and eyes intense as she hunched before the older woman. Maybe it was a sign of just how much she really had been growing during the past summer...

[Kikue]

The Avora was grimacing from the pain. She could already feel her ankle swelling up and didn't hesitate to take off her boot. It was a big hassle for her as her ankle had swelled up and she replied to the pain by gritting her teeth. ”Shyke, shyke, shyke. It hurts like hell.”, she thought to herself as the tears from the pain sprung up in her eyes. It took her quite a bit of effort to get it off, but she managed in the end. Her eyes went wide open as she saw how swollen it had already gotten. ”Shyke, I can't use this as well. It's already much thicker then usual. Does it has to be like this each time I decide to stay a bit longer in Wind Reach?” The huntress hadn't heard the Yasi approach at all, just because she was so preoccupied with her ankle. Snapping hear head around as she heard her, she immediately turned her head away again as she noticed it was Rista. It wasn't that she was scared of the Yasi, but more that she didn't know how to face her. She felt that she had betrayed Rista by wanting to leave Wind Reach, but it wasn't something she wanted to do just on a whim. She wanted to leave with a good reason, but so far she only had her discomfort whenever she was around most other Inarta, that she didn't feel like one and on top of that, that she felt useless, even though she fulfilled her hunting quota each time again, but only barely. ”I know I'd betray Wind Reach if I'd leave, but.... I just feel seperated from everyone. I thought that you could understand that, that's why I told you. I'm not thinking lightly of this, so.... please keep this to yourself as much as possible. I haven't made up my mind yet.”, she said dejected. In the ears of the small woman they all sounded like cheap excuses. She didn't really want to accept the help from the girl, but she knew that it would be a big pain in the ass to get herself to the healers. Kikue looked at Rista from the corners of her eyes. She wanted to reject the offer, but...... this girl was about the only person in Wind Reach she could call something close to a friend. ”I've got no reason to tell you why you should help me. That depends on you...... And.... I'm sorry to bring that part up.”, she said with a sad undertone. ”I can't tell her that she's the only one I see as a friend in here. I've got no right to do so.”, she thought to herself.

[Rista]

Excuses. It was all Rista heard, and her face expressed faint disappointment as she looked down at the other. Her conviction, her reasons weren't greater than this? It seemed that her resolve in going through with what she said wasn't all that great either, since she could be swayed by so simple words. If only the woman had been firm and unshakable in her decision the yasi might have been able to at least respect it, while still not liking it... As it was though, understanding didn't exactly come easily. There was a hint of doubt spreading across the copper-toned features. She pushed herself up from the kneeling position, the hands falling to rest unmoving along her sides as she tried to decide what to do. A part of her wanted to be angry and childish and storm away, leaving Kikue to take care of herself. The feeling of being betrayed by someone she could come to like didn't want to relent, it was frustrating and annoying not to get a proper answer; because Rista still wasn't satisfied with the reply she had been given. 'Being left out' wasn't a good excuse for turning the back on the people that had clothed her, fed her and given her shelter from the fury of nature for so long, especially not when Kikue had avoided trying to do something about her own situation. It seemed to Rista as if she had escaped out into the wild to avoid confronting people, wallowing in her own despair and loneliness without any attempt at making a difference. In that way, the two of them were miles apart in mentality. Rista was all but out-casted in her own generation, her life would be filled with struggles no matter what position she ended up in and she had no family whatsoever to lean on. But rather than crawling into a corner and hiding in misery, she tried to do something with herself. She practiced archery until her fingers blistered and bled, she went out on short hunting excursions whenever she got some time to spare, she tried to track animals and birds around the Twin Lakes and on top of that she did her best in classes and bendi... She often fell asleep at the table in her room trying to decipher the notes from her Tawna classes, and woke with her back aching and the head spinning from exhaustion. There was nothing easy with her life, but the thought of running away had never even occurred to her. She had a goal, and that goal lay within Wind Reach and the fiery-tempered, red-headed people that lived there. Never had she desired anything else... And that was also the reason why she hesitated to even try and understand Kikue, even less forgive her. But even so, Rista wasn't really a cruel person. The pain on the womans face was obvious, and technically it had been her fault that the woman fell even if it had been unexpected of her to run away from the barrage of questions. Grudgingly, unsure of what she really felt about the whole situation the girl held out a calloused, square hand towards the older woman, quietly offering to help her up. She would help the other to the infirmary at least; when she had been checked up on Rista might have gathered herself enough to decide what she wanted to do. Would she actually be able to keep talking to this woman like before? She didn't hate Kikue, far from it, but she had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to actually trust her. She had already thought about leaving, there was nothing that kept her from going through with it all of a sudden. How could she ever count on her to always be around when she knew that the other longed to get away? "You apparently don't know me very well" she muttered and avoided looking at the red-head, supporting her weight as they began the slow walk down the warrens. "It seems you really don't know what it means to belong here either.. It's quite sad that you don't realize it, seeing as you're both older and of higher caste than me. I've only started to figure it out just recently, but it seems that you still need to open your eyes." Rista wasn't really one to preach; she had her own problems with fitting in, but most of them stemmed from inner insecurity, others racist tendencies and a misconception about what it meant to be Inarta. She was receiving help in sorting those out - rather, the Gatekeeper had forced it onto her at first - but the more she began to understand what he tried to say, the better she felt about herself. She still had a long way to go and there were many things she had a hard time understanding or accepting, but at the very least she wanted to stick around and make the best of it.

[Kikue]

The small Avora quietly took the hand of the Yasi and let herself be pulled up. She leaned on her left ankle as her right was hurting too bad and she didn't want to put any more weight on it right now. The avora felt humiliated, hurt and above all guilty because of this one Yasi. She had been the one to make the Avora doubt her reason to leave. She was the one that might've been called a friend and right now she actually wanted to say it and apologize. Letting out a sigh to gather her courage, Kikue started saying: "You're probably right. I don't feel as attached to this place..... Before I met you, I wasn't doubting my reasons to leave, but I hadn't mustered up the courage to leave yet. Meeting you made me start to doubt myself. I just hope you won't start to hate me right now." Her voice, her demeanor and her aura all exerted the feeling of Kikue's guilt. She lay her feelings out as much as she dared right now. She didn't want the Yasi to abandon her right now. If she did, the Avora wouldn't know what to do. Ever since she had met Rista, being out hunting alone didn't feel as good anymore. The loneliness hurt. Once she had her game, not being able to share it was horrible. The blue-eyed woman hinked as she leaned on the yasi. She dreaded the moment they'd arrive at the infirmary. She had guessed already that she should take at least a week rest, but sitting still for so long was something she couldn't possibly do. With each step the avora tensed up a little more. It went slowly, but gradually. "Oh, god...... I don't want to go there at all. But I've got no petching choice. I need to get this looked at and treated.", she thought a little dreadful.

[Rista]

"I don't hate you" the girl muttered and gave the woman a wry glance as they struggled down the corridors. "I don't think it's fair of you to push the responsibility of your actions onto me though. My liking or not liking you shouldn't have anything to do with your decisions, and the fact that those questions managed to sway you means that you really weren't as determined as you thought. Don't blame me for your lack of resolve." Rista wasn't sure what she should be doing once she had helped the huntress to the infirmary. She had offered up her room for the Avora and she'd stand by that, a promise was a promise, but did that also mean that she had to stick around and listen to more of these poor excuses? The thought made her gut wrench, gave her a claustrophobic sensation, almost like when she went too far under the mountain and felt the weight of the rock push down over her head. This... This wasn't her responsibility! Since when did the Avora expect a Yasi to sort out the problems they caused? No matter what her body said she was still little more than a kid, a girl that right now didn't have a clue as to what she should be doing. She was angry at the woman for wanting to bail on Wind Reach, on her and those she considered family, she was shocked over the revelation that someone actually longed to get away, and then there was the guilt over that one time when her thoughts had strayed in the same direction... The girl pressed her lips tightly together and kept going forward, looking ahead until she saw the door to the infirmary appear behind a bend in the long stone corridors. There wasn't much she could do anyway, right? She wasn't an Endal, she couldn't order the woman to stay even though she wanted to. And while she could go talk to one of the women she knew of that caste, ones who would be able to actually do something about it... Was it fair to do just that? It was like tattling on Kikue, and taking away the chance for her to make a decision on her own... What was she supposed to do now? Even as her hand reached out towards the door and rapped on it to make someone come and open, she couldn't come up with an answer.

[Kikue]

The Avora didn't speak at all untill they'd almost reached the door to the infirmary. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to blame you. I just never had a reason to stay. I was always alone.... You actually gave me a reason to stay.", she said as she smiled faintly. Her happiness shone through her voice. She really liked to have a reason to stay. Not having one would make anyone uncertain, frightened and angry as well. It took a little while, but eventually the door opened, showing an old man. "Can I help you?", he asked politely. He looked at the Yasi and Avora respectively, judging who was the injured one. It was clear that it had to be the Avora, since she was the one being supported here. "Come inside, then I'll look at what the problem is." He gestured inside. Kikue hadn't looked at the older man at all. She really wanted to get away. It was nothing, at least she wanted it to be nothing. The Avora had a gutfeeling that she was going to hate what that guy was gonna say after examining her foot. "I want to get out of here. I don't want to be examined...." Her reluctance showed on her face, her mouth was small and her eyes kept looking to the side to find a way out of this mess.

[Rista]

Kikue was given a quick sideway glance from the girl as they waited for a healer to open the door and let them in. The yasi didn't reply, but the look on her face as she helped the older woman into the room and down on a bed wasn't very impressed. After the death of her twin brother, Rista had been pretty much on her own the whole time, left to face both harassment and racism because of her different appearance. She had been beaten, bullied, teased and pushed every single day for as long as she could remember without ever even once thinking the thought of leaving the volcanic city. It had taken almost a full season of gentle prodding about the Chaktawe from Val and a harsh raking from an Eagle about her inner weaknesses to even make her consider the thought of journeying from this place, and then only with the purpose of visiting her fathers people before returning. And that thought had been so thoroughly suppressed that the idea was all but dead in her mind already. Rista didn't want to leave, she saw no reason for it, and she couldn't understand what Kikue was talking about when she mentioned the feeling of being out of reasons to stay. To her, no reason to leave would ever be good enough to forgive such a betrayal. The dark-haired yasi released the short Avora and stepped away, lingering by the door as the healer began to examine the twisted ankle. Folding her arms over the chest the girl leaned against the wall, her face absent and thoughtful as she waited, patiently trying to sort out her own feelings towards the matter. She didn't hate Kikue, and she didn't dislike her. They got along well enough even despite the gap between their ranks, and Rista still wanted to take lessons with the Talon. Even so.. Their relationship wasn't so close that she would be able to call the other a friend, not after only two meetings and a rather half-hearted chat. And she certainly couldn't see how their brief meeting during the summer could have made such a deep impression that the woman thought of changing her plans because of it. A quiet sigh passed from her and with a tired gesture the girl raised a hand to rub the eyes. This shouldn't have been placed on her. A yasi wasn't the right person to lay such heavy burdens on, what was Kikue thinking when she dumped the responsibility of affection in Rista's hands? She wasn't used to handling those kinds of things, let alone when it came in such a clingy way as this. So she was the sole reason why Kikue considered remaining in Wind Reach? It was no small burden to place on the shoulders of a barely grown girl, in Rista's eyes it meant that she now was obligated to keep up with that affection in order to keep the other in the city. It felt unfair, she didn't want to be responsible for someone else's decisions like that. Indignation and irritation mingled on her face as she bit back the desire to simply turn and walk away from the room, leaving Kikue to fend for herself. Keeping an ear open for the healer, the girl waited to hear what he would say about the others injury. Perhaps she would be able to come to a decision on what to do when she knew how badly injured the hunter was.

[Kikue]

The avora let herself be led to a chair in the waiting room. There doctor took a look at her ankle and said: "This might hurt a little, but in order for me to take a good look at it, I'll have to remove your boot." He didn't wait for a reply and took of Kikue's boot. It hurt like hell to her as the doctor pulled on her ankle to remove the boot, but she couldn't show it, so she just bit through the pain. As the boot got removed, the doctor then looked at her ankle again and let out a thoughtful 'Hmm'. "Well, it's mildly sprained from what I can see. I suggest that you keep at least fourteen days of rest. You can walk and do light work, but no running or anything else that might stress it." Kikue listened to the doctor, but she didn't like what he said at all. fourteen days locked up inside Wind Reach was what it said indirectly. She hated it, especially since she couldn't stress her ankle. It was straight hell for her and it clearly showed on her face. "I've got to take it easy for that long? How am I supposed to get through that?" The huntress then looked at the Yasi and saw the expression on her face. She immediately looked away again, realizing her own childish behavior. "I understand. I just have to stay in Wind Reach and avoid anything that might stress my ankle right?" The doctor nodded to her question and then walked back, replying: "If you've got any problems after this, come see me so we can take another look at it."

[Rista]

Rista waited until the healer had gone away until she moved. Her hands fell to the sides, and there was a serious look on her face as she went over to the Avora where she perched on the chair. The depressed look on her face was almost comical, but the girl didn't feel like laughing. Fourteen days... That was fourteen days when a hunter couldn't do her job, instead having to sit around in the city doing nothing until the foot healed. Then again. It was also fourteen days where Kikue wouldn't be able to leave. Perhaps there was something good about all of this. "What are you going to do now?" the yasi asked quietly and slipped up unto one of the nearby beds, her feet dangling over the edge as the hands came to rest in her lap. "You won't be able to walk much for a while... Not to mention leaving the city. I don't know about you, but at least to me this looks like a pretty good sign. You should stay, maybe try to get to know some of the others around the Reach. I really doubt that you're as alone as you say. Petch, even I have managed to get some friends lately, so it shouldn't be so hard for you." A faint smile passed over her lips as she looked across the room towards the red-haired hunter. She looked so defeated where she sat. Rista felt an inkling of guilt stir in her gut but tried to ignore it. This wasn't her fault. At least it shouldn't be, but she wouldn't really be able to deny it if Kikue chose to blame her for this forced time of rest. Her fingers fiddled the dark fabric of the bryda as she waited, restlessly trying to figure out a way to clean up this mess in a good way. She didn't want to keep discussing this subject, but she couldn't just leave the Avora here when she had promised to share her room. That realization suddenly made the small shoulders sink in a faint sigh. A stranger in her room, in her own bed, unable to move around... "Actually, what do you say about going to the Valintar soon? You could get a room of your own, and we could talk about that Talon lesson. Surely he knows someone that would be willing to teach us, it shouldn't be too hard to find." The words slipped unbidden from her lips, but in a way Rista couldn't say that she regretted uttering them. This was a strange scenario no matter how you looked at it, and even though Kikue refused to acknowledge it, she was still Avora. For someone of the higher caste to sleep in a yasi's room, that just wasn't appropriate. It couldn't be helped that the woman was reluctant... Really, it couldn't.