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[Khida]

While the people below talked, and resumed their own rightful business, the falcon continued through another considering circle. She finally came to a decision and dropped to land on the tent -- though she landed on a supporting pole, as was her habit, and the fish sat in a depression of canvas near the tent's edge. Khida tipped her head and studied the situation intently. She generally avoided those parts of a tent roof not directly supported by a pole; they were at best uncomfortable to walk on, and always felt like they'd give way beneath her. But she wanted that fish. The boy stepped back a bit, startled and only belatedly concerned as the horse spooked. "Oh! Sorry." Except he didn't sound particularly contrite; not when contrition had to compete with his own excited interest. His expression took on a distinctly disappointed cast as Viper denied any association with the falcon. "Oh. Okay. I'm Dari," he supplied when prompted, fidgeting a bit and turning to see the girl much closer to his own age hanging on the edge of their conversation. Dari smiled at her, and waved, then looked to the man on the horse. "Hey, mister, did you just come in out of the Sea of Grass? Were you with the Striders?" By the way he said it, it sounded like the boy means a specific group of Striders. "Did you hear the news?" he asked of Kai, turning back around to face her.

[Viper]

His smile turned more into a smirk at the seemingly endless questions from the youth. His apparent insatiable curiousity reminded Viper of himself when he was that age. Always wanting to know what was going on. Any knew news was like gold. "I did actually. However, I was alone." As he answered Dari's question, he turned the query over in his mind. Why would someone, even a young boy care about a group of Drykas and their striders coming in from the Sea of Grass? It was not an uncommon thing by any means, and in fact was quite ordinary.

His attention was grabbed by another young one, this time a girl who also appeared from the crowd intent on learning all the goings on in their small portion of the world. He gave a small bow from atop his strider along with a friendly smile. Dari's next question which he had directed to the new arrival piqued his own curiousity though. Seeing as how the conversation did not appear as though it would end quickly, he dismounted Aeyan and spoke to Dari again. "Dari, what news? Has something bad happened to some riders?" His smile faded from existance as he wondered what was up...

[Kai]

The conversation prior to the question had gone completely over Kai's head, for her attention was focused upon the beautiful horse beneath the rider. A part of her wanted to touch the horse, to stroke its soft neck. Kai had always been very close to nature and it was painfully obvious to any bystander, despite her increasing age.

But suddenly the most worrying of questions came from the boy whose name was Dari. And the direction of this exact question towards her own persona had snapped Kai out of her involuntary daze. Her eyes suddenly wide open, dark eyebrows razed. "What news?" she begged, as the worried expression on the rider's face alarmed her greatly.

He had also lifted himself from the back of he's mount, and stood beside her now. The question on his lips. "Dari, what news? Has something bad happened to some riders?"

[Khida]

The falcon, not the least interested in the concerns of the humans below -- for all that she could hear worry in at least two of the speakers' tones -- remained focused on her own quandary. Would the edge of the tent, closest as it was to the supporting poles, support her weight better? The span between would sag down into a pit, she knew, and Khida was somewhat afraid it would just keep going under the weight of both bird and fish. Bundled up in waxed canvas wasn't on her list of desired states of being. Why couldn't these humans have actual buildings like normal people? Khida edged out on the line of the tent's edge, testing her footing one cautious talon at a time. She thought there might be rope or wire underneath, from the feel of it -- something which added support and shape to the draped canvas, if only in a small way. That made her a little more confident, though she didn't move any faster for it. Meanwhile, beneath her preoccupation... "Oh! You don't know!" the boy exclaimed, all but jumping up and down, clearly excited at being able to share the gossip with someone uninformed. "It's all over the city. There were some Striders that came back in earlier. Four, I think. Maybe five. Thing is, they came back without their Drykas." Not uncommon news, given the hazards of the Sea of Grass, but never welcome to hear. The boy stepped closer to the girl and the dismounted rider. "We were thinking maybe glassbeaks got them," Dari added, his voice dropping to a hush as he shared that speculation, his tone of mingled dread and fascination. "Or a grass bear. Maybe two grass bears, since there were four of them..." Simple, standard explanations for why anyone might disappear in the Sea of Grass -- but eminently plausible nonetheless.

[Kai]

Family was very important to the Drykas, for there was no stronger bond in Mizahar than that created by blood. And though none of Kai's family was in that group, she felt the same worry for any other Drykas as she would for her own brothers. It was in her nature to care about her Kin.

She shot a concerned glance towards the rider before turning back to the boy and asking. "When did this happen? Is there a search party looking for them? Can you possibly give us any more information at all Dari? Please."

She felt bad for barraging the boy with questions, but she needed to know. Not that she could exactly do anything about it. Perhaps nothing more than passing the information onto the right people. But perhaps she could join a search party behind her father's back; for the strength and stamina of her own strider was unmatched and she wanted to do something. Anything!

There was desperation and unfathomable worry, creping over the girl like an ominous shadow.

[Viper]

When Viper had heard the news, he shoulders dropped some and he let out a sigh. He didn't answer immediately. Only looked out toward the Sea of Grass with a sadness in his eyes as the young girl concernedly asked more questions. He'd go look for them himself....but the simple fact of the matter was he and his strider were all but completely spent after the long ride in to Endrykas. They were in no condition to do go out in a search party.

Fortunately, he didn't have to answer any of the next questions he had on his mind. The concerned young Kai had already fired away with all he wanted known. Waiting for the answers, he turned back to Dari and simply waited patiently. He hoped something could be done. There people had already sustained to many deaths at the hands of the Djed storm, the small pox spreading everywhere, and a host of other crisis. He prayed that they didn't lose more Drkas needlessly this day.

[Khida]

The falcon could hear the conversation below get more tense, but a glance down proved that none of it was directed at her. Dismissing it from her thoughts, she continued over towards the fish. As she got farther away from her original perch -- where "far" wasn't very much at all -- the line began to dip rather alarmingly. The falcon dug her talons into the canvas on each step, to no particular avail; there simply wasn't any additional purchase to be had, because there was nothing else underneath her. Still, she kept going, bold or foolish though that might be. At least the line swayed less when she got closer to the fish, stabilized by their combined weight. The boy began to frown as Kai rattled off questions, serious questions, which weren't the kind of things he expected to hear from others around his own age. All business questions, like she was one of the Watch. Apparently these people didn't do gossip. "I just know what's been going 'round the market," he answered, with rather less enthusiasm now, one foot toeing at the dirt. Market gossip was only certain to be an exercise in how a message changes and gets elaborated as it's repeated. "Maybe this morning, maybe noon that the Striders came back; don't know how far out they came from, if anyone knows. I think some people went out on their trail, already." A pause. "But you should really ask the Watch those kinds of things, you know." Meanwhile, as the falcon above came within a few inches of the fish she wanted so badly, the fish moved. Not from any internal activity, but simple physics; the line dipped lower and lower, gravity pulled, and the fish flipped over the edge to plummet towards the dusty earth. Khida hadn't expected that at all; she squawked and tried to take to the air as it went over, only to forget her talons were still gripping the canvas. She batted at the air, vocalizing a series of shrill complaints, then finally let go, wings bearing her up above the tent. The boy jumped, startled, as the fish plopped to the dust behind him and the falcon shrieked. He ducked around the other side of Viper's horse, then peeked back, watching the bird with wide eyes.

[Kai]

Kai laughed as the boy ducked at the feet of the beautiful horse. But she had to admit, the lack of any real information worried her a little. Hell! Worried her a lot. In fact it was a long time since she'd been so worried.

The falcon was before them now, shrieking somewhat. And a silly wish came over her that perhaps she should go and ask the bird it self about the disappearance of those Drykas. How foolish indeed, though even an animal could provide them with more information than the boy. Sometimes Kai wished she lived in a book where the whereabouts and the happening of every character were scripted. That way everyone would always know everything. No man could hurt another without someone stepping in to protect the victim. No one could steal anything without someone catching him red handed.

out of the corner of her eye Kai suddenly saw the shape of her elder brother, signalling her to come with. A hard expression loomed on his face, as if he was very displeased with something. Was he angry at her? Or worse still, was father angry? For she would not lie, she had given him good reasons as of late. And with a quick goodbye to Viper and the boy, Kai hurried away to meet him and ask what was wrong.

OOC-I'm very sorry but I no longer have time to keep up with Mizahar because of my exams. So my exit is here. Enjoy

[Limey]

Khida Skill and Lore Rewards Skills Lore Observation 4 The Clamor Of Endrykas Planning 1 No Grief In Ignorance Observing But Not Feeling All That Work For Nothing... Target Fixation Despairing Of "Pavilions" You Win Again, Gravity! Elvyne Skill and Lore Rewards Skills Lore Observation 1 When Everyone Knows, There's Nowhere To Hide Forcing Politeness Kai Skill and Lore Rewards Skills Lore Observation 2 The Fun Of Aimless Wandering Investigation 1 Hungry Birdie If You Don't Ask, You'll Never Know Hey, A Free Meal Is A Free Meal Viper: Mysterious But Polite The Bonds Of Blood Viper Skill and Lore Rewards Skills Lore Negotiation 1 All My Fault Horsemanship 1 A Strange Scene Staying Your Hand Due To A Memory Random Act Of Kindness Good Kids Bearing Bad News -4GM Shared Lore: The Vanished Drykas Additional Notes : Again, a shame that this wasn't finished, it had a lot of potential. Hope you can come back to us, Kai... Any questions or queries, please PM me.