There was a knock on the door of the cabin, causing Raiha, dogs, Chain, and birds to look up. The door opened, then, and the sailor informed her that they were pulling up to the dock. “Thank you,” Raiha smiled at him, calm and at ease. Once they finished their merchandising, they’d help unload Raiha and her animals. That was not a problem. Raiha was patient. This gave her time to organize again, and get the smaller hawks back in their travel carriers. A bell later and Raiha and the sailors were unloading crates and travel carriers formed of broken fencing onto wagons. Yakini came last.
Raiha stared.
Never in her life had she seen anything as bleak as she was looking at now. And yet, here, there were glimmers of hope. Small bits of green competed with the black, and while fog and mist covered a good bit... it was stark and forbidding and the shadows were everywhere. Besides, she told her sister soul, it’s a temporary layover.
Feels good, doesn’t it? Kanikra said dryly. Wait until we find a way to get to where I really want t go. Something new, something different. A place few really knew about. But for now, let’s figure things out... like where we’re going to put everything. Still, early days. Hey... Kanikra commented as the Akontak with her traveling zoo headed down the dock, I’d bet you -she- would know. They sized up the Myrian presiding over some of the ground near the dock. She was easily the most colourful thing they’d laid eyes on yet, not counting her stall of goods. The wheels of the wagon squealed, not much used to being pulled, as the dogs sniffed around. Raiha quietly called Dynm back to her. Fidens, too, sniffed about, but stayed much closer. Just when she was debating how to speak to the fierce-looking female, the Myrian trader solved it for her.
“Nice cat,” the tattooed woman grinned at her when she approached. “For sale?”
“No,” Raiha shook her head as Chain chirped, tail low. “She belonged to a good friend of mine. I look after her in their stead,” the woman nodded, continuing to work on a driftwood log she was carving with ease. “You... you’re from the Myrian city, aren’t you? In the jungle?”
The woman ignored the hunting cat, which, as Raiha knew from experience, was a good way to get her attention. “I am. It is called Taloba. I am Salakel of the Crimson Sun. Who asks?”
“Raiha. Raiha of none.” She was never in the habit of identifying herself as Raiha Sarasarri, and certainly not as Raiha Shadowplayer.
“Why do you ask about Taloba, Raiha of none?” Salakel soon had Chain investigating her colourful dress.
“I ask because I want to go there. I want to go there... to stay, live, and learn,” she wasn’t entirely surprised as the trader laughed outright.
“Are you sure about that?” the laughter was suddenly gone. “We don’t like outsiders, but there -are- a few blue men like yourself, there. But black hair. I’ve never seen a female Akalak before. Didn’t know they existed.” She was sizing Raiha up, now. She was a bit shorter than the Akontak, but not by much, and the two of them looked to be near the same weight.
“I am sure,” Raiha held her ground. “It’s a place where the strong survive, is it not?”
“Sink or swim, Raiha of none,” Salakel agreed, grinning once again.
“I plan on swimming.” They looked at each other for a while as Salakel went by feel on the carving she was working on. “I can pay,” Raiha added.
“That’s all yours?” the trader nodded at the wagons and animals. The girl nodded. “It’ll have to be in the fall. Rainy season now. Floods. Travel with that much is not practical. Next season, when the waters have gone down. That will give you time to think about it. Really think about it, Raiha of none. I can get you there for a price. But staying alive... that’s the harder part. Why would we have use for you in our city?”
“Everyone can use healers, no?” Neither sister mistook the new interest from the Myrian.
“You heal?”
“I’ve been marked by Rak’keli, and I know some herbalism--” Raiha began. This was a bit like a job interview, she realized.
“You heal?” the Myrian repeated.
Raiha peeled back her sleeveless shirt, exposing the Rak’keli’s mark on her left shoulder. The Myrian looked at it. That was not a tattoo. No one was bold enough to tattoo a god’s gnosis mark on themselves. That was the real thing. “You heal.” Salakel confirmed for herself. “What else?”
“I’m know some herbalism, some medicine. I train and hunt with birds of all sizes. I’m good with them.”
Salakel nodded at this. “If you decide to, Raiha of none, maybe you’ll last in the city. Maybe you won’t. But most of the ghosts here are friendly. They’ll get you where you need to go here. Since you’ll want to stay a while... and have so many animals... I’d go to the Administration Office and see about renting a place for the rest of the season. When you’ve done that... come back, and we’ll talk. You look like you could use some fruit...”
