An Outsider's Arrival [Miharu]

[Siiri]

Siiri was disappointed to find out that Miharu was not marked by Rak’keli but showed no outward sign of it. She supposed it was too much to expect but her hope flared when the Kelvic mentioned herself to be a healer. Besides, she thought, a person with the power to repair her sister’s deformity would truly be rare indeed, else she doubted there would be anyone around with such a handicap in this world.

The girl’s antics amused her, eliciting another heartfelt laugh. “Or you could just finish it now,” she said at the ridiculous sight of Miharu holding the half eaten sausage. “Do not worry about food, there is plenty here. We do not often hunt now, except for snakes – those are always fair game. If we kept hunting, there would be no more creatures left in the jungle, don’t you think? No, we have domesticated beasts for meat. The jungle provides for everything else.”

Siiri nodded at the girl’s insistence at not being a burden. “A medic is always welcome in the field,” she agreed. “The other half of the fang will arrive in a few days. I intend to find out before then how I can fit you in among us. You are new to the city and, well, for now I think it’s best you do not leave my side.” While she did not want to repeat to Miharu what she and Kreesha talked about the previous day, Siiri's word were still reminiscent of that conversation. She did not want to risk the ire of the other Myrian nor did she want to unnecessarily endanger the Kelvic.

Siiri led Miharu northeast towards the markets, pointing out several important structures such as the Scout's Roost and the Tower of Bones. Myri's palace was obvious as was the temple. Had they been closer, they would have heard ritual chanting from the latter, accompanied by random bursts of panicked screams from the slavers they had captured. The men were due to be sacrificed today.

Many Myrians greeted Siiri along the way, passing a curious, and often suspicious, glance at the pale skinned girl walking beside her. She did not give them a chance to voice questions however, offering only a nod to each before continuing on her way. The warrior wanted to avoid having to constantly explain the presence of the Kelvic. Let everyone see what was obvious: that a deyhan stood beside her.

Eventually she stopped in front of a stall displaying various clothing, both for males and females, but mostly for the latter. An oddly plump woman with a friendly smile manned the booth, offering the pair usual spiel to make a sale as soon as they showed interest in her items.

“Dara,” Siiri began, addressing the woman with the Myrain word for 'aunt'. “A sarong for her. A long one.” She indicated Miharu, who she was pretty sure had been holding the blanket up to her chest all the while. The woman enthusiastically took out what seemed like bolts of different colored cloths, some earth tone, others brightly dyed with chromatic colors, and showcased them to her customers. “Take your pick, Miharu.”

[Miharu Mindi]

She'd finished the sausage almost immediately after Siiri told her it was all right, licking the last bits of grease from her fingers before gathering the blanket around her and skipping after her.

Any stares or glances her way were met directly; there was no cowering in this little girl, and though she wasn't so aggressive as perhaps the Myrian women were used to, her head remained high and her shoulders straight despite her bedraggled appearance.

"Of course I'll stay with you," she said as they walked, shooting Siiri an amused and somewhat dry glance. "Where else will I go? What, would I sniff out Garou and follow at his heels instead?" she giggled, an impish smile flashing for a moment. "No, I think you're the better end of that deal."

When they finally reached the clothing stall, her eyes drifted over the different fabrics, and she realized suddenly that she'd left her pack in the barrack - along with all her money. Well. Her currency might not even be any good here. Better to wait and just return the money to Siiri when they got back.

"The green one," she said immediately, pointing to the deep emerald cloth that almost exactly matched the leaves of the jungle plants. She picked it because she thought it would blend with her surroundings should she need to traipse through the jungle, and didn't realize how brilliantly it would set off her colors, honey-haired and golden eyed and skin the color of new cream. "And not too long," she said, looking over at Siiri, and there was something in her eyes that made it a request even though her words did not. "In case I need to run."

[Siiri]

“Take two,” Siiri insisted. "Pick another color."

Not waiting for a confirmation, Siiri turned to the merchant and said, “She'll take two.” She also asked for one herself, choosing a tie-dyed sarong with an orange and black stripes pattern. Taking the tube-like length of fabric, she spread the cloth out to show Miharu how large it was (“It’s big enough for the two of us with plenty of room to move inside!”) and demonstrated how it was worn, pulling it over her head and gathering the excess cloth in front of her. This she tied into a big knot to hold the whole thing up above her breasts. When she allowed the rest of the cloth to fall, it reached to mid-thigh, forming some sort of loose strapless dress.

Siiri started to tie the lower end as well, describing to Miharu how doing so could emphasize one’s curves but then she realized halfway that the whole idea of it might just be lost to the Kelvic. Switching tact, she finished instead on how tying it that way would prevent it from snagging on low lying plants when in the jungle. It was practical advise from someone trained to move quickly and quietly in the dense foliage.

“You can tie it in a way that when you shift, the knot will undo itself,” Siiri added once she's taken off the sarong. “All you have to do then is shed the cloth. You can wear yours now so you won't hold that blanket so much.”

[Miharu Mindi]

Miharu blinked to see such a dress - it was as if it were perfectly made for Kelvics! She'd been making due with much more difficult things than this, and had resigned herself to never being able to find something that worked for her.

Smiling again, brighter now, more easy than she had in the woods, for all that she was tired and dirty and crippled enough that she'd had to limp behind Siiri to get here. It didn't take much to make this girl happy, and nothing that gave her joy was ever overlooked or unappreciated - she was much like an eager pup in that regard.

"Another one?" she beamed, taking a closer look around. Siiri had chosen something outrageous, so it must be okay to get something that was less than camouflage-ready. She was never much one for fashion, so the patterns made her nervous. Did they have some meaning? What was considered pretty here? Amber eyes perused the table and stall, afraid to touch anything lest she get dirt or blood on it.

Finally, her eyes narrowed and she pointed. "That one, please," she said, pointing to a swatch of cloth hidden behind another pile. When the woman untangled it and shook it out, it revealed a beautiful length of amber cloth the same shade of Miharu's eyes. She smiled a little, pleased with herself.

She turned that smile on Siiri, golden eyes catching her verdant ones - and for just a moment, something resonated between them, like a stone dropped in a pond to ripple outward, the waves of it licking at Siiri's mind. "Thank you," Miharu murmured, and that echoed again in some unspoken way between them and then subsided. Her gratitude was more than a polite word or two; it was deep, and heartfelt, and it was the first emotion to travel across the tentative bond that was forming between them.

Miharu, not terribly aware of what it was she did, just turned to take the green sarong, letting the blanket fall away there in the middle of the market as she began hauling the cloth over her head.

[Siiri]

Siiri found that she enjoyed seeing Miharu smile. For some reason she could not explain, she felt that making the girl happy was...fulfilling. It was a strange and unique, to feel such a thing for someone that wasn't even part of her family, much less a Myrian. Outsiders have only ever evoked animosity and suspicion from her but such emotions never touched her heart when she regarded the Kelvic. Watching the girl's eyes light up as she showed her how the sarong was worn, Siiri found that she liked it that way.

“An excellent choice,” she said approvingly of the color Miharu had picked. It matched perfectly with the girl's eyes, hair color and skin tone. It would make her stand out in a crowd of Myrians, true, but then everything about her already did.

As the girl turned to thank her, Siiri felt something touch her mind. The sensation wasn't invasive in the slightest; it was warm and comforting. She did not know how she knew, but Siiri could tell without a doubt that the mental contact came from Miharu. For the briefest of moment, she could feel the girl's joy radiate through her.

The feeling ended as soon as Miharu got her hands on the green sarong. And then Siiri's eyes widened in sudden panic as her companion dropped the blanket covering her body. The Kelvic's pearlescent skin was like a radiant beacon amidst a sea made up of the copper-toned Myrians. Everyone turned to the naked girl, some with disapproval or shakes of the head. Most were appreciative though, especially from the men, who accompanied their stares with chuckles or lewd grins. One even when so far as to come near to get a better view. A threatening glare from Siiri had him slinking off into the crowd. The warrioress did her best to cover Miharu's front with her own sarong as she turned to the woman merchant.

“She's a little excited,” she said lamely in their tongue.

The woman laughed, moving behind Miharu to help pull down the swath of cloth. “Maybe I get more sales now as people wonder why a girl will strip just to wear my sarongs,” she chuckled.

With happy Miharu covered once more, Siiri handed the woman a Bikka and thanked her for her help. Taking the girl by the hand, she led her away to a different section of the market to avoid the eyes that followed them. As they passed by the stalls that sold food, both meat and otherwise, cooked and uncooked, Siiri turned to her and asked, “Tell me, what does Miharu like? I've never dealt with your kind before. I do not know where to take you. We have about two bells for ourselves before the midday meal, and I plan to take you out in the jungle once more when we are done with that. Tell me what you like to do.”

Ledger-1 Bikka for 3 sarong (recorded as Robes)

[Miharu Mindi]

Miharu didn't even seem to notice the attention she was getting, just tried to fumble her way into the sarong until the two of them helped her set it to rights. And then she was smiling again, and took the golden sarong to throw over her arm.

When Siiri took her hand, she laced her fingers comfortably with hers, almost instinctively. "What do I like?" she repeated, blinking a little - no one had ever asked her that. Never, in her entire life, had anyone actually had a getting-to-know-you sort of conversation with her. She scrunched up her brows as she considered it, ambling along beside Siiri as the sounds of the market became an overwhelming buzz around her. "Well. I like hunting," she said with a shrug. "I like... outsmarting my prey, that thrill in my blood just before I spring, when my vision sharpens and my heartbeat slows and I know this is the moment," she said quietly. The frown smoothed away as she spoke, became more comfortable talking about herself. "I like the scent in the air just before it snows, or just after it rains, as if you can actually smell the sky. I like..." She paused, and blushed pink, ducking her head a little. "I like hot baths, really hot baths, like so hot you almost can't stand it, and the way my skin feels when i finally climb out of it - kind of tight, you know? And my head feels lighter, and you can practically see steam rising from my body."

She laughed at such things, because they were enjoyable and even remembering them made her happy. They were visceral memories, all of them, things touched and smelled and felt, but those were the things that she understood.

Her gaze tilted up again, and locked on Siiri's face, all of her focus suddenly turned to her. "What about you?" she asked. "What kinds of things do you like?" Her question was a little breathless, the need to know somehow suddenly greater than the itch of dried sweat and dirt, greater than the throbbing pain in her thighs, or the faint rumble that still gnawed at her stomach, or the heat of approaching summer pressing her into the ground. No, she needed to know what would make Siiri happy.

[Siiri]

Siiri nodded at each item as Miharu enumerated the things she enjoyed, appreciating the now-candid way the girl spoke. Barriers had been broken, she sensed, and the girl only grew more and more comfortable around her.

Hunting: good. Who doesn't like the feel of the chase? She is truly one of Caiyha's children.

The scent of air before the coming rains... good. Makutsi would drive her insane next season...

Hot... baths?

The Myrian mentally scratched her head on that one. In the sweltering heat of Falyndar's jungles, one never willing took a “hot bath” save for therapeutic reasons or they were being boiled alive. She herself had only taken such baths for the few times she had been sick and ordered to soak in scalding water by the healers to inhale and absorb the medicine they had mixed in it. She had to admit though that the experience had been quite relaxing, as the temperature of the water opened her pores and made her feel completely clean from head to toe. She had tried taking such baths before in her adolescent years, discovering that hot water released the scent of jasmine much better than cold water did when the flowers or its oil extract were mixed in the water. The only thing she hated about it was the sticky feel afterwards, once she'd left the water, as the humid air instantly made her sweat.

“We could take such baths,” Siiri commented as she considered when the best time for such things were. “Perhaps just before bed, to keep warm for the night? There is a structure just for that beside the barracks showers; it is not used often. We could try for that tonight, perhaps.”

She was remembering how to heat the water when Miharu returned her own question back at her. She took her time in replying, wanting to give back as much of herself as the girl did when she had answered. What did she like doing?

“Well, I enjoy what I do for the army,” she began tentatively. “Keeping Myri's lands clear so that only Myrain feet touches the ground. No one will encroach on what the Goddess-Queen has given us.” She paused for a moment, thinking. “As much as possible, anyway. We cannot touch the snake people in their lair, but someday... someday... they will get theirs.”

For a moment Siiri's eyes flared with anger and hate but she shook her head, keeping herself grounded to the present. She did not want her enmity against the Dhani to color the mood of the conversation she was having with Miharu.

She continued: “Outside the army, I...have not really thought about it. It is strange. I asked you the question yet I do not know the answer to it myself.”

Siiri stopped to laugh, at herself perhaps, as she realized that, as she continued to talk with the Kelvic, she was discovering things about herself as much as her companion was. And she found that she would willingly and easily reveal to the girl things she would hesitate on with others. She smiled at Miharu.

“I like training my mind and body for combat, to be ready for anything. Most of what I do and what I know I have acquired because of duty. Some of these things I like; others I don't. These things seem to have been taught to me to prepare me for something very oriented in fighting, killing. I look at myself and see a warrior. I was not trained in arts or crafts like my siblings were, and I find this peculiar. It seems everything I do must have been ingrained to me at such a young age so as for me to actually like them, no? Only one other has asked my what I truly liked to do and she has encouraged me to pursue them and learn the skills necessary to enjoy them. She is gone now though.

“But to give you at least an answer that is related to the question, I like baths as well. Especially if the water is jasmine scented. I find that I relax more like that.

“And I know I like talking with you, Miharu.”

[Miharu Mindi]

"Hot baths are always best before bed," she said, laughing brightly, "and with clean sheets! It makes you feel as there isn't any dirt in the entire world, anywhere, and it's so much easier to fall asleep. Your muscles are all..." She couldn't find the word, so she mimed it with an exaggerated sigh and let her arms and shoulders go slack, her head bobbing with a contented smile. Then she straightened up with another laugh.

But then Siiri started sharing things with her, and she listened so carefully that the sounds of the marketplace around her faded and disappeared until every last shred of her attention was taken up by Siiri. It had likely not seemed like such a great thing when they were alone, for what else would she have looked at, listened to? But here, with hundreds of people around and a plethora of never-before-seen things to distract her, there was no wavering in her regard.

When Siiri spoke of the Dhani, and hatred flashed in her eyes, it also flared to Miharu - and low growl purred in her throat, teeth baring just a fraction as if the enemy were near and she would savage their throat for her pleasure. But when Siiri controlled herself, the growl faded away and she forced her shoulders to relax.

"What is this thing?" she asked, eyebrows rising in curiosity. "The one that isn't fighting, that you like to do?" She guessed that it was her aunt who'd encouraged her, but she would not say the name aloud if Siiri didn't, unwilling to cause her pain.

"That's what healing has been for me. It's smart, of course, to know healing when you spend as much time alone in the wilderness as I do. But it's also... soothing," she said with a self-deprecating laugh. "My father didn't like that I wasted time on it. We do not live so long as you," she said with a shrug, "and he didn't like that I would spend precious hours learning from the healer in Avanathal when I could have been serving his bondmate as I was supposed to. But she never seemed to mind. And it's kind of hard for a cat to tell a wolf what she will or won't do," she snickered, mischief sparkling in her eyes for perhaps the first time since they'd met.

Siiri's final statement, though, sent a shock of pleasure through her. Gods, if she'd had a tail she'd be wagging it. Instead she just grinned, and ducked her head to rub her face against the Myrian warrior's shoulder. There was something she needed to say, to put to words as she wouldn't have had to with another wolf. But wearing skin was different from wearing fur, so much harder in so many ways. She needed to say something, felt it resonating from that part within her that even she couldn't control: the raw, aching part of her that wanted to serve, wanted to please, needed to make sure Siiri was happy. The part of her that couldn't be excised even by all the rejection she'd suffered, wasn't silenced by the rime that Taldera left over her heart.

"I like talking with you, too, Siiri. And listening. I think you have a lot to say," she said quietly, her voice traveling no farther than Siiri's ear as she settled her chin over the smooth curve of her shoulder, "and no one to say it to. I'm glad you're sharing yourself with me, letting me know more about who you are. You're a good person - strong, and tough, and kind, and fair," she said, pausing a little between each as if to emphasize them. "Anyone would be blessed to call you friend."

[Siiri]

“It’s…well… I’m not very good at it,” Siiri stammered when Miharu asked about her hobby, as if suddenly abashed. “Perhaps I’ll show you one day.”

She smiled at the girl to let her know that she was not avoiding her question, merely putting it off until she was ready to reveal to her what it was. She nodded as Miharu spoke of learning the art of healing and then, as the girl leaned in close to whisper, tickling her ear with her soft breath, Siiri did something uncharacteristic, something she hadn’t done in a long time: she blushed.

The Kelvic's recitation of the qualities she perceived in her made the blood rush to Siiri's cheeks and ears. Her face burned and she thought she’d be glowing red if her skin weren’t the color of burnished bronze. The Myrian had never really stopped to consider what others thought of her, save for two persons, both of whom she'd known her whole life. She had never really allowed anyone else to truly get to know her besides those two. But one of them has been dead for a long time and the other, well, they weren't really on speaking terms at the moment.

And now this Kelvic girl arrived in her life barely seven days past and yet her words had the power to arouse such a reaction from her and instill in her a feeling of... of... of what? Being appreciated? Understood? Wanted without the pressure of giving something in return? Miharu evoked so many things in her all at once that Siiri wondered briefly if the girl had cast a spell upon her. But no, she realized, the girl was merely being herself and, in doing so, had created some sort of link between them. And she could not even pinpoint when it all began.

It was strange, she thought, that none had made her feel in such a way before until the arrival of this outsider. She did not know what the growing bond between them entailed, but after having a taste, Siiri suddenly wanted more.

“...want more,” she mouthed in a whisper, not realizing what passed from her lips. She shook her head before turning to Miharu, embarrassment evident in her face. “I'm sorry, I don't know what I was... I mean...” She cleared her throat, a final attempt at regaining her composure. “What I meant to say was, thank you for your words. I'm sorry for having been so insensitive. I had planned to take you out to the jungle later, get you used to the environment, and hunt maybe, but I worry now you might not be ready for such an activity yet.”

Siiri gestured at the Miharu's thighs, where she had seen bandages around them earlier when the girl dropped the blanket.

“Let us return to the barracks, I will help you wash and dress the wounds.”

[Miharu Mindi]

Miharu watched as Siiri blushed, and she lifted her chin from the woman's shoulder to better watch her face, afraid that she'd said something wrong, that she'd upset her. But as she watched her think through it, she saw something in Siiri's expression that was heart-wrenchingly familiar, echoed by those faintly mouthed words.

She is lonely too, she thought, the words falling through her mind like rain against a drum. She wants a companion. She needs me.

Her heart sped and pounded, and she had to struggle to get her lungs to work as Siiri stammered a little. Miharu barely heard her, had to go over the words again in her head before she blinked and nodded suddenly.

"Oh, um, I-I..." she stuttered, suddenly as flustered as Siiri had been, and she turned bright pink as well, though more from shame than pleasure. What a pair they made. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely, looking down at the ground between them. She didn't want to be hurt, didn't want to burden Siiri with her weakness and ruin her plans, and the blossoming bond between them was strong enough that even the thought of making Siiri unhappy was a lance through her heart. "I wish I could hunt but... my legs, I'm sorry. I'm not meant for riding. But I heal quickly," she assured her, glancing up again. "By tomorrow, we should be able to hunt together."

That thought brought a shy smile to her lips - they would hunt together. She had only once before hunted by the side of a human. And because of that, she knew just how much that could strengthen the bond.

Their bond.

"Siiri," she said softly, pulling them to a halt beside a stall of beads and thread, uncaring of the throngs of people that flowed around them and likely took a moment to stare at the brightly-clothed deyhan whose fingers were still twined with Siiri's. "If... I don't... you feel it, don't you?" she whispered, almost as if she were afraid that putting words to it might turn it to smoke. "This bond... it's something that I want," she confessed, golden eyes piercing Siiri's emerald gaze. "But it will change us. Both of us. And I don't... I don't want to trick you into it," she said, swallowing harshly. Let her leave now, she thought, if she is to reject me, let her do it now, before I can feel her thoughts crawling through my soul.

"It can be stopped now, if that is what you choose," she continued, though truth be told she wasn't sure how that would work. Would Miharu have to leave? Run into the forest, find some other city and try again? "I don't know all of the details - I have never had a bondmate before," she said, and the sorrow and shame and horrible self-doubt of that statement was strong enough to echo across to Siiri in unspoken words. "But perhaps you should... speak to someone here, someone who's had a Kelvic bondmate. I don't know how to explain how it will be for you. My father only told me my part, assuming I would bond to Lliani who already knew hers." The last thing she wanted was to bond to Siiri and have her regret it, and hate Miharu for the connection that they could not sever.

She dropped her eyes back to the ground between them, having talked more in the last bell than she could remember doing in her last season. Shoulders tensed, and she waited to hear what sentence Siiri would pass.