An Outsider's Arrival [Miharu]

[Siiri]

77th of Spring, 510 AV – The Barracks – Mid-afternoon

Siiri’s estimate had been close. At Kreesha’s insistence, they rode as hard and as fast as they could, their party reaching Taloba in just seven days. Everyone was tired and sore from the journey, moreso those who had no experience in riding. The two scouts, Onna and Kai, alighted the horses stiffly and walked to their quarters as if they were hamstrung. Miharu looked even worse.

Siiri herself felt like she’d been trampled by a herd of stampeding tskannas but she was too proud to show how sore her body was by limping. She stood at the edge of the training grounds, waiting for her muscles to still their twitching as she watched Garou and Amir lead the slavers’ horses to the army stables. She did not know their breed but most likely they would be trained and used the same way leopardbreds were.

Kreesha, still astride her tiger and looking as if she had not spent the last seven days rushing to Taloba, drew close to Siiri, her eyes not leaving the other warrior. Her own men had already left to deliver the prisoners to the temple.

“What do you intend to do with the deyhan?” she asked bluntly. “I do not understand why you bothered to take her with us. You should have left her where you found her.”

The woman was Siiri’s superior in both rank and martial prowess. She wielded her twin-headed battleaxe with great skill but more often than not she used her massive fists to destroy her enemies. She had been the one to wrestle and kill the saltwater crocodile served in last season’s Day of the Dead festival. Completely merciless, had Kreesha been the one to run across the slavers, there would not have been any prisoners to bring back to the city for sacrifice. No escaped slaves would have run out of Falyndar as well. Certainly no Kelvic would have accompanied them on the way back to Taloba. Siiri knew she had to present her case to the woman logically if she wanted her to see reason for bringing Miharu.

“She is Kelvic. She will have her uses,” Siiri began, laying her argument down in a format the other woman could understand. “Properly trained, she could serve as an effective scout in mapping out enemy camps, unlike the dogs we use. Some of our warriors who have bonded with others of her kind have successfully employed such tactics before. Nothing against the beasts we use, but we could not communicate with them as well as we could with a Kelvic.”

“Perhaps. But I do not need to know where the enemy goes to take a shit when I storm a place, warrior.”

Siiri nodded, not wanting to disagree. She knew it was easier to convince Kreesha if the woman thought she was on her side. “Of course not. But knowing the layout of an enemy camp means we reduce the risk of losing men from ambushes by having them explore areas we know nothing about. She can also help in sniffing out Dhani. She can play a part in setting up elaborate traps by acting as bait for the enemy. Or she can –”

Kreesha held up a hand, interrupting her recitation. “Very well, Siiri. You have obviously thought this out. I will leave the girl – Kelvic – as your responsibility. Any mischief from her and it’s your skin!” Without another word, the woman pounced off.

“As you will,” Siiri muttered. She turned to Miharu then, jerking her thumb at the retreating Kreesha, a faint half smile on her lips. “Wanted to know where I’d put you for the night,” she said in Common. “Follow me, let's find you a bed.”

[Miharu Mindi]

Miharu hated everything.

Every time they'd gotten of those damnable, wretched horses, she'd quietly begged Siiri - shamelessly begged with tears in his eyes - not to make her do it again. She couldn't eat, too sick from the horrible swaying and jerking of the beasts, sensitive ears deafened by the thunder of hooves. Upon dismounting, she usually stumbled over to a tree to curl up under it and whimper and silently consider slinking off into the woods to either run back north or just lay down and die.

On the third day she stopped asking, and just fell off the horse and crawled her way over to a tree to pull a blanket over herself. She drank whatever water was brought to her, and perhaps a bite or two of food, but mostly she just curled up in pain. Which didn't help her at all, since she might have been less sore if she'd moved around a while after dismounting. But once she'd missed one opportunity to stretch the pain simply trebled and made it impossible.

And poor Garou had spent the trip having his hair pulled and her nails dug into his back with every unexpected bump, and quiet tears shed into his shoulder. She was too terrified of shifting, afraid that if she moved to two legs instead of four, her back half would just crumple. She'd never been afraid to shift before, and it left her dumb and wide-eyed for the last few days.

For all that she'd been tortured, though, she didn't let anyone know except Siiri, and even she hadn't heard a word out of Miharu after the first few days. It wasn't pride that kept her from making a scene, it was simply not her way - she'd let the alpha know her discomfort, and it had been deemed unworthy of attention, and so she suffered silently. There was no hesitation each morning when she was told to mount, and she gave them no burden other than having to look at the pathetic expression on her face if they chose to glance her way.

When they finally reached Taloba, she was too foggy from exhaustion and terror and motion-sickness to even notice they were in a city. She'd tumbled off behind Garou, scrabbling at his shoulder to keep on her feet, and then simply stood where they'd left her, eyes closed and swaying a little from side to side.

Her eyes snapped open when she heard Siiri speaking Common, and she tried to focus on her, but the words reached her ears in a jumble. She couldn't seem to clear the haze from her eyes, and she took a shaky step towards her in an effort to hear what she was saying.

And then she just crumpled into a pile at Siiri's feet in a dead faint.

[Siiri]

Siiri blinked as Miharu fell to the ground. She tried to reach out a steadying hand to catch the girl but the twitching of her sore muscles prevented her from moving fast enough. So she just strode forward – limped, really – and peered down at the girl. She was unconscious.

The Myrian had actually thought it was just unfamiliarity with riding that made Miharu ask to be let off the horse during journey to the city but it seemed as if the trip took a lot more out of her. She had just collapsed from sheer exhaustion. It was yet another reminder that she was a deyhan. No matter how powerful or majestic her animal form was, Miharu was relatively still a child and simply did not possess the toughness and conditioning inherent to every Myrian. But this would change, Siiri swore, if she had anything to do about it.

Not after that recitation in front of Kreesha!

Stooping down, Siiri picked a limp arm up and swung it over her shoulder. She pulled the girl closer then lifted her up like a sack of potatoes. Her thighs complained at the weight; Miharu was heavier than she looked! Settling the Kelvic more comfortably on one shoulder, Siiri picked up both their packs before heading into the barracks, each step sending waves of agony on her already aching leg and back muscles.

None of the beds were occupied in the sleeping quarters but they would be filled eventually once their owners got off duty. With nowhere to put the unconscious Kelvic, Siiri laid Miharu in her own cot, spreading a blanket on the floor beside it for herself to sleep in. Sleep claimed her as soon as she rested her head on her arm.

-----------------o-----------------

Morning came soon enough, but Siiri was already up even before the sun’s first rays peeked over the eastern ramparts of the city walls. After a brief wash and a quick change of clothes, Siiri was already found in the middle of the training grounds, stretching to work out any remaining knots in her muscles before punishing a sand-filled dummy with punches and kicks.

It was one of the things she missed while out in the field, especially if she’s had a dull run. There was something satisfying in feeling a hard object crumple beneath her blows. It would be a light workout at least while she waited for Miharu to wake.

[Miharu Mindi]

Miharu wasn't quite conscious enough to argue her toughness or stamina, so she simply slept on. Well into mid-morning, only a few bells short of a full day of rest. When she finally awoke, she lay with her jaw clenched, trying to be as quiet as she could as her back spasmed and sent wave after wave of pain down her legs.

It took another half-bell for her to be able to move, that time spent carefully stretching her muscles an inch at a time and stubbornly refusing to cry out.

When she finally made it to her feet, she discovered the horrors of a week's worth of traveling on horse. The entirety of her thighs were splotched green and yellow from bruising, her ankles swollen from hanging over the horse's side, and she found where blisters had raised and burst and been rubbed bloody; panic struck as she worried suddenly about infected wounds.

She tilted her head and sniffed her way to whatever water she could find, uncaring the it was a bucket in the middle of the barracks, and just twisted her makeshift clothing off and began carefully bathing her wounds. She didn't much care about her clumped and tangled hair, the streaks of sweat and dirt across her skin, the unbearable stench of horse. No, she had seen what an infected wound could do when she studied medicine as a child. Had helped hold down a man as the healer sawed off his foot when an infection took it and threatened to kill him.

So she worked to get it clean, and then limped back to the bed. She climbed atop it, then shifted to her wolf's form in a flash of light and licked all the wounds she could reach. Another shift left her in bruised human skin, and she dug her healer's kit out of her bag and carefully smeared a salve over the raw, pink skin the blisters had revealed, massaged another cream into her bruises, and then just wrapped both her thighs from knee to hip in bandages.

When she tipped herself up to her feet again, she found it easier walk with the extra support - her legs didn't feel nearly so wobbly. But now hunger roared within her, so strongly that a whine actually echoed from her throat and bounced off the walls of the barracks. She hauled the linen sheet off the bed and wrapped it around her, clutching it over her breasts as she remembered Siiri's admonition that clothing would be necessary.

She took a moment to sniff at the blankets, identifying Siiri's scent, and then followed it out to the practice ring. She padded right up to the warrior, uncomprehending of protocol or manners and likely uncaring if she had known. Her hair was a messy blond aureole, and her face was pale and thinner than it had been, tight with pain, golden eyes unbearably wide and a little crazed. A child, yes, but more importantly an untamed predator, and worse in her current condition - she looked a bit like a child dragged out of the slave pits.

"Siiri," she said seriously, any chance of a good morning long gone. "I need food. I can't... think, I need meat. Lots of it. Soon, I need it..." She stared around the practice field, a little wild-eyed, as if she might actually be deciding which of the nearby warriors she had a chance of taking down.

[Siiri]

“You look like sh – a mess.”

The comment left Siiri's lips as soon as she caught sight of the Kelvic before her. She had been about to deliver a vicious kick on the practice dummy when Miharu came up, and she almost lost her footing as she did a double take on the girl. Miharu looked miserable, her blonde locks a tangled mess and her legs bruised and chafed. She hadn’t bothered to dress up, just wrapped a blanket around her. The expression in her eyes spoke volumes. Siiri glanced at the warriors practicing their various martial skills around training grounds then returned her gaze to Miharu.

“Right, food’s good to start the –” she paused to look up at the sky and noted Syna’s orb halfway to its apex, “- morning.” Beckoning for the girl to follow, Siiri made her way to the mess hall.

She had initially wanted to start training the girl and maybe find out what she could do but after one look at Miharu, Siiri decided to just take the day off and let the girl rest up fully from the past week’s grueling journey. Eena, her direct superior, wasn’t due to return with the rest of the fang until several days later anyway, so she had given that time off for those who came in with her. Meanwhile, she intended to use the short break to familiarize Miharu with the region. But only once the girl felt well enough for it.

Siiri pulled out a bench from one of the long tables and indicated for Miharu to sit down while she raided the larders. One of the cooks was there cleaning up, eyeing the Kelvic suspiciously as he wiped the counter that separated the kitchen from the dining area with an oily rag. Siiri waved him off. She returned moments later carrying in one hand a plate stacked with a freshly cut leg of lamb, its meat not completely drained of blood; several thick blood sausages; and a steaming sweet potato with a dollop of butter on the side. On the other hand she held two bone knives on the other, one of which she handed one to Miharu. “In case you want some of that,” she explained, pointing at the sweet potato.

“Eat,” she gestured as she speared a blood sausage for herself. “We go to the market after.”

[Miharu Mindi]

Miharu did her best to be patient, but she stuck herself to Siiri's heels so close that the blanket almost tripped them both a few times. She perched on the edge of the bench where she was pointed, and fidgeted herself nearly to pieces waiting for her to return.

When Siiri reappeared, the Kelvic's eyes went mad at the scent of the bloody meat. She didn't even wait until she'd sat down, just popped off the bench and grabbed a sausage to stuff in her face while she snatched the leg of lamb in the other hand.

The sausage was gone in half a blink, and then she tore into the lamb. There was nothing but the sound of ripping flesh and chewing for the first few minutes, blood dripping down her chin to spatter down the front of the blanket - well, that and the happy little growly noises she made as she tore into it.

The more food she got into her, the more human she started to look. The tempest in her eyes calmed itself first, and then the desperation of her hunger smoothed away from her face, and she was able to look over at Siiri and see a person instead of a walking piece of dinner. She'd worked her way down to the bone by then, and set it gingerly back down on the plate as she smeared the blood off her face with the back of her hand.

Golden eyes snuck up to Siiri's face and away again, then back as she carefully reached for another sausage. "I tried not to complain," she said defensively, as if suddenly worried about the alpha's approval. What did they do to Kelvics who couldn't hack it in the jungle? Were they collared? Roasted over a spit and eaten? "Um," she said around a mouthful of sausage, actually tasting this one and finding it quite good. "What do we need at market? Besides clothes for me," she said, trying on a tentative smile.

[Siiri]

While she thoroughly enjoyed watching the Kelvic wolf down half the contents of the plate (“She already eats like a Myrian. This is good.”), Siiri maintained a neutral façade before Miharu. She merely offered a nod at her first words since – how long had it been since the girl last spoke? Five, six days ago? Siiri could only remember pained looks and winces from her for the majority of the journey but she admired that the Kelvic kept up with them despite the hurried pace and, for her, the unfamiliar and uncomfortable mode of transportation. The girl was already beginning to adapt to her environment, even if she herself hadn’t realized it yet.

“Clothes mostly,” Siiri stated as she sliced off a portion of the sweet potato, covering it in butter before popping it in her mouth. “We'll see what else when we get there. Maybe I'll show you around the city. Consider it a tour. But first...” She held up a hand as if motioning for silence before going back into the kitchen. She returned with a tray holding two bamboo cups which she sat down on their table.

“These should not be so hot now. Drink,” she motioned. The contents of the cups looked as if it was tea but it gave off a distinct smell. Some would consider it aromatic, others pungent. As Siiri picked one cup up to take a sip from, her nose wrinkled, telling the Kelvic just how the Myrian perceived the drink's odor. The woman still downed it straight without pausing for air however.

“So tell me,” she continued, her tone conversational, a contrast against the intense look in her eyes. “What can Miharu do? I've seen you rip out a man's throat in your wolf form. What is your woman form capable of?”

Her gaze bored into Miharu as if eying her very being.

[Miharu Mindi]

Miharu picked up the mug, though she flinched away from the smell of it - stronger in her nostrils than it had been in Siiri's - but she dutifully swallowed it down as she'd been commanded. After all, she'd drunk worse tonics in her lifetime.

"In human form?" she said, blinking a little. She wasn't a human. She was a wolf, a hunter, she'd already explained that. Who cared what she did on two legs when what she did on four was so much better?

But she saw the determined look in Siiri's bright green eyes, caught suddenly by them, and she couldn't look away. A sharp frisson chased its way up her spine, not fear but excitement, and before she could really think about it she said "I'm a healer." Yes, that was true - she had trained, even if it was only in her youth, and that might be of value to the Myrians. "I will... um, I'll need time to learn about your medicines so I can use them once I've run out of my own, but wound treatment should be the same."

[Siiri]

“A healer!” Siiri suddenly burst into laughter, her voice echoing in the near empty mess hall. “But you are full of contradictions, Sister Wolf!”

She smiled at Mihara, raising a hand to signify peace. “Forgive me, I meant no offense. I just find it... interesting... that you are a savage beast in one form and a preserver of life in another. I would never have taken you for one had you not just said it to me!”

Her mirth receding into soft chuckles until those too were silenced, Siiri drew nearer the girl, her expression changing once more. This time it was earnest, almost hopeful. Her voice lowered, as if she was afraid to be overheard. “Are you... are you marked by the goddess?”

She drew back almost immediately and she cleared her throat, almost uncomfortable. Her eyes roamed around for a while before settling on their cups. She took hers, held it in her hands. “If you intend to learn Myrian medicine, you can start with this.” The cup was empty but she tapped the rim as if it still held some of the liquid. “Tea from guava leaves. Excellent for purging the body of toxins as well as relieving pain. I take it to stave off the cramps from my womanly cycle.”

Siiri paused, wondering if Kelvic females experienced something similar. She seemed almost about to ask Miharu but appeared to change her mind, shrugging instead.

“You can use it to clean your wounds as well, wrap the boiled leaves around cuts and scrapes as dressing. We always have a pot of it boiling at the back just for that,” she explained, nodding her head towards the kitchen. “Our warriors get injuries even in training. The best part? You can also use it to clear your face so you don’t get those, ah, small face mark things.” She said this awkwardly, gesturing at her cheeks and forehead, not aware of the word pimple in the trade tongue. “Very useful, guava. Many plants around here that do many things as well. I can bring you to someone more familiar with plants.”

Finally Siiri stood up, snatching the remaining portion of the sweet potato from the plate. She offered the last of the blood sausages to Miharu before she would return the plate to the kitchen.

“Take. For snack later, while we walk around. You have the appetite of a tiger.” She grinned at Miharu.

[Miharu Mindi]

Miharu didn't quite understand the amusement at her being a healer, but she liked the sound of Siiri's laughter so she smiled back. "It's a useful thing when you're out in the wilderness alone for months at a time. You have to know how to fix yourself if something should go wrong."

The question about the mark sounded important, but it confused her so thoroughly that she blushed. "Me?" she squeaked. "By a goddess? Why would I be marked?" she asked, bewildered. She didn't really even understand what the gods were - thought of them more as powerful magicians than anything else. Had no clue why they would take an interest in her.

The confusion kept her quiet throughout the rest of the conversation, though she nodded occasionally and tried to remember everything she was told. When the sausage was handed to her, she'd already shoved half of it in her mouth before Siiri said Later, and guilty held the rest of it. Which left her with one hand holding the sheet and the other holding a sausage.

"It's worse when I shift," she said finally, snapping her attention back to the conversation. "I was hungry now because I hadn't eaten in days. I likely would have been all right if I hadn't shifted to lick my wounds. The more I do, the more food I require. I once ate a whole deer in an afternoon," she giggled. "But I can hunt, if you'd rather I didn't burden your tribe," she added quickly, suddenly aware that her bottomless pit of a stomach might not be appreciated. "And of course I'll patch up any wounded you require. I don't expect to simply stay here on your hospitality," she said, a little of her pride and self-reliance shining through. It wasn't about being grateful, this feeling that had her chin lifting and her eyes growing serious. It was about not being a burden, about taking care of herself.