[The Rearing Stallion] Twists and turns {Qist Tiere}

[Allison]

"You're right. Forget I said anything." Allison replied to Qist with a reassuring smile. She took another sip of ale before resting her elbows on the table. She pushed a stray strand of sandy coloured hair behind her ear and, in an effort to distract Qist from the last topic, asked "So, how long have you lived in Syliras?". ooc : Sorry it's so short, I'm not feeling great today.

[Qist Tiere]

Qist hummed skeptically. It was only a quick wave of skepticality, though, as she realized that it really wasn't any of her business. Sticking your nose in others' affairs wasn't a good habit to keep, as far as she was concerned. Qist wasn't used to lounging around for this long. At least, not while sober. Her legs had become stiff, begging to be moved. Feeling obligated, she pulled her legs up onto the seat, folding them neatly. She peered down at her legs, tracing the seams on her boots. "I've had the pleasure of living here my entire life." Qist responded with a grunt and an extra layer of sarcasm. She hated it in the castle. It was always warmer inside it, always full of people, who were almost alway annoyingly human. Warmth, crowds, humans...all things she did not hold in high regard.

[Allison]

Allison let a knowing smile creep onto her pale face. "You don't like it here then?" she asked, although she already knew the answer. This woman obviously longed for more freedom, Allison could tell from Qist's constant shifting and fidgeting that she was restless. It looked like the little redhead would greatly benefit from a change of scene, some room to run. Allison couldn't imagine staying in one place for her entire life, especially not in this place. It was crowded and stuffy and the knights always smelled of blood and sweat. But Allison couldn't imagine Qist living as she did, out in the forest. And it was not Qist's size that gave Allison this idea, but having lived the sheltered life in Syliras under constant protection from knights would have left her soft. However, Allison did not know Qist well enough to make assumptions. "Do you think living elsewhere would be more enjoyable?" Allison asked. She was intrigued by this girl and wanted to figure her out.

[Qist Tiere]

Dropping her left leg off of the stool, Qist rose both eyebrows. A small grin accompanied the previous action. "Ha, no." Shaking her head lighlty, the femme let a loose grunt escape her indignant features. "My heart is in the forest, not in this filthy hut." Hut? By far, dear. By far. Qist shooed away the voice inside her head. Honestly, she was surpised it had finally decided to show at all. This should not be confused with joy, as she would of much preferred this nagging little pest to stay deep within the confines of her mind. The last thing she needed, or, rather, wanted, now was someone commenting sarcastically on her every word. Fine, ignore me. You aren't the best conversationist anyhow. Qist would gladly accede, pushing the voice back as Allison spoke again. Where would she rather be? Her original response would have been 'anywhere but here', but Qi knew that wasn't true. Eyktol would drive her up the wall. "As I said, I love the woods. Maybe a nice little cottage or something. But that isn't realistic, is it? No. Try again. "You're right, that would never work. No source of income."Or alcohol. "Right. More realistically, though, I think Wind Reach would be nice. Meet some other Inarta, perhaps find my own falcon. It's much cooler there, too. Much, much cooler." Qist let her voice trail off, her face showing that the thought continued. True, she would love Wind Reach. But how would she get there? She was far from educated when it came to travelling outside of the Bronze Woods and Cobalt Mountains, let alone outside Sylira. She would surely be skinned alive the moment she attempted it.

[Allison]

Allison found the way Qist answered her a little strange, almost as if she were talking to herself. Allison didn't mention anything though, and did not let her features betray her confusion. When Qist went on to suggest Wind Reach and the Inarta, Allison had to voice her lack of knowledge. "Sorry, what are Inarta?" she asked. She knew little of Wind Reach, and had no knowledge of the Inarta.

[Qist Tiere]

If Qist had a drink, now would be when she'd spit it out. What are Inarta? She had to be joking. "Honestly?" She did say it didn't she? "Ah, well, I mean," Her voice trailed off as she looked at Allison. After a brief realization that she was, in fact, not kidding, Qist nodded. "They're a race of people." Inside, Qist felt the answer to be lacking. It surely left the newcomer with no more knowledge than when she had asked the question. But Qist had no idea where else to begin. There was so much culture and life within the Inarta lifestyle, so many stories that could be told of them. Their traditions were numerous just as their quirks were. There would be no way Qist could give Allison a crash course on such a vast cukture. Qi glanced around the room. She wasn't quite sure why, perhaps she was waiting for the words she was looking for to just appear. Sighing, her gaze returned back to the table. Useless... The voice sang. It, along with the strange feeling of sobriety, had began to give the redhead a headache. She rose her arm to her forehead, lightly massaging it with her dainty hands. Where to start, Her thoughts were frustrated, mirroring her mood. Where to begin? Qist lowered her arm to the table. As she did so, though, her sleeve tugged upwards, revealing one of her tattoos. It was of five birds flying. Smiling, Qist suddenly realized where to begin. "They're falconers." Her head rose, looking at Allison happily as she spoke. "And they ride giant eagles. In fact, they love all sorts of birds--worship them even." Qist ran her hands through her hair, gathering it together. It was all pulled loosely, tied into a low bun of sorts. "Their hair is always red, their eyes always one of three colors: gold, blue or green. Generally, the Inarta are shorter, too." She paused, realizing she was spewing out information. A chime or two passed before Qist spoke once more, this time letting her words come out slower than before. "Amazing glassworkers, too. Best in the land." Wow, way to overwhelm the poor thing. Poke her, make sure she did drown. Qist rolled her eyes, knowing there was much more she could have bogged down the girl with. Besides, she was fairly content with this updated answer. It had just, metaphorically speaking, gotten Allison's feet wet. One had to learn to walk before they could swim.

[Allison]

Allison listened to the description carefully, taking in everything and storing it away for future use. As she listened, she began to compare this apparently short, red-haired race to Qist. "Are you an Inarta?" she asked. She assumed that Wind Reach was the home of the Inarta, like Riverfall was home to the Akalaks. A place filled with birds, sounds lovely Allison thought to herself.

[Qist Tiere]

"For all intents and purposes, yes." Qist slowly rose both her arms above her head, letting her shoulders emit a low crack each time they move. Grabbing her own hand, she arched her back. It, too, cracked. Qi released her grip on her hand, and both fell to her lap. It felt good to stretch, especially after sitting around for so long. Normally, the femme would be long gone by now, either far into the depths of the forest or far into the depths of drunken joy. "How about you?" She nodded towards the pale-faced girl. She looked a bit like a Konti. At least, from the limited knowledge Qist had gathered about the species. They were small, pale women that had scales. Or something to that effect; Qist couldn't quite remember. Anyhow, Qist could hardly see her being anything other than that race. Perhaps a human, but trully nothing else. She just looked too...normal.

[Allison]

"I'm Kelvic," she told Qist with the hint of a grin on her face. She didn't know whether Qist suspected that or not, but it didn't really matter. "I'm a little jungle cat," she added, with a wider grin that showed the pointed tips of her elongated canine teeth. She would be more specific about what kind of cat she was, but to tell the truth she had no idea herself. Her voice had taken on a playful, singsong-like quality. Allison leaned back in her chair and then directed the conversation back to Qist. "You are definitely proud to be 'for all intents and purposes' Inarta," she thought aloud. "I think I'd like to visit Wind Reach sometime." she added afterwards.

[Qist Tiere]

Qist laughed a broken, surprised laugh. Kelvic wasn't a race she would have expected from the taller woman. Even more so, she wouldn't have guessed her to be a jungle cat. After all, besides the oddly shaped teeth, there was really nothing to suggest such. Wouldn't a lighlty colored feline stand out amongst the jungle's crowd? "Well," She shook her head while a half-grin rose to her features. "That certainly wasn't what I was thinking." Her smile grew slightly. "I am." Most times, she introduced herself as just an Inarta, ignoring the portion of her bloodline that was human. It, like her drinking and hunting, was a sort of addiction. And though it would be easier to blame Trion and her parents for this habit, Qist chalked it up to her own devices; she'd always favored the Inarta over the 'true' Humans, and Trion just solidified these thoughts. "Perhaps we could venture there someday?" Her eyes shone with excitement. The prospect of visiting Wind Reach sent waves of giddy feelings throughout Qist; she felt like a child inside the largest candy shoppe possible.