Open An Evening In The Grove

[Eilea]

Eilea listened intently. ‘Protection? Being looked after without asking?’ Well, that reminded her of Kane, but he had rescued her before. And didn’t Kitchi say that these cards told the future? Then the inartan girl started talking about the card with the woman on it. ‘Danger in beauty? Like how someone looks?’ The vantha girl looked down, thinking. Kitchi began talking about a strong male influence. ‘Kane!’ She definitely knew who that card was about. Eilea was caught up in her own thoughts when Kitchi suggested a donation. Well, of course she didn’t want to be rude, but Eilea wasn’t sure how much to give. ‘Didn’t Kitchi offer?’She reached into her bag and grabbed a few pinions; three to be exact and then held them out to the girl. “Thanks for the reading, will this do?” She asked. It wasn’t that Eilea was very stingy with her money, or that she didn’t think she needed to give her anything. She was just unsure what amount was acceptable or not. Once Kitchi had taken the pinions, Eilea stood up. Only the after light of the sun was visible in the air. Twilight colors of purple and blue reflected on the clouds, as well as the beautiful trees. Their scent was still as vivid as ever, and if she felt safer, Eilea probably would have spent the night in the grove, but it wouldn’t have been the best idea. She looked to Kitchi. “It’s getting dark, we should probably head back, if you’d like, would you like to walk back together?”

[Kitchi]

Kitchi nodded as she took the small glass coins and tucked them away, along with her cards. She smiled, at least Eilea thought she had done a good job. In the past she had heard of fortune tellers being paid thousands for a single reading, her talent was nowhere near that good and any scrap of coin she collected made her feel good about it. For a moment she concentrated on organising herself before looking to study the slowly fading light drawn with faint pinks and oranges. as opposed to the normal shades of blue.
“It’s getting dark, we should probably head back, if you’d like, would you like to walk back together?” Kitchi snapped her attention towards the other girl when she spoke.
"That'd be lovely" She smiled up at the other girl before standing up and donning her cloak, leaving the hood down. The next few moments were concentrated on her quiver and bow and anything else had she place placed by her side while she was practising. Should I pick her stuff up too? The thought flickered across her mind momentarily and she hesitated, uncertain about the true answer. She decided against it, some people were very wary of their belongings and she had no need for a fight now.

[Eilea]

Once Kitchi had gathered her belongings, Eilea followed suit. She knelt down, grabbed her stuff, threw them over her shoulder and began walking, looking back at the Inartan girl. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be inarta. Their lifestyle was so free, so open, so adventurous. They were a beautiful people. And this girl, Kitchi, was a wonderful example of this. As Eilea walked, Kitchi’s words echoed in her head; What she said about the cards: “Protection”, “Danger”, “Strong Male Influence”… It was as if, what Kitchi saw in the cards had mixed signals, meanings. It had to be about Kane. There was no other explanation. Realizing she was being rude, Eilea stopped in her tracks and looked back at the other girl, smiling kindly. She knew she’d have to visit the grove again, it was too welcoming not to. And she was happy she had met someone while stumbling upon the place. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what do you do for Wind Reach?” She asked, for she was curious. She also hoped that they could be friends, and any sort of small talk was a good way to initiate a friendship, or so she assumed. It wasn’t as if she’d outwardly ask, “Want to be my friend?” or anything silly like that. Even though it would get her intentions across, it wasn’t the best way to do such. So she continued walking, enjoying the company.

[Kitchi]

Kitchi and Eilea starting to walk about up to the castle, black and red hair sawying around them as they moved. The path was familiar to Kitchi, it certainly was not the first time she had been there, in fact she had often visited the little tree filled grove when she was younger. A silence seemed to settle over them for a moment but it was not particularly uncomfortable, at least not for Kitchi. It was hard to tell what the Vantha was thinking, even though typically the changing of eyes would give them away you had to learn which color symbolised what emotion. The peaceful padding of their feet against the ground was suffient to fill the gap.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what do you do for Wind Reach?” The Vantha broke the silence and Kitchi turned her blue eyes towards her.
"Oh, me? I'm just a hunter" Kitchi laughed, typically she was proud of her accomplishments to attain her job however standing next to the Vantha seemed to lessen it in her mind, she was not unique with in Wind Reach like the Vantha, and her job was nothing unusual, in fact it was something many many others had along side her. For a moment Kitchi wondered if Eilea would recognise Kitchi's caste, not all visitors or new residents were versed in the hieractical system which the Inarta followed strictly. "Are you a resident? or passing through?" Would this girl be staying for a while? Perhaps their paths would cross again.

[Eilea]

As they walked, she took great note on how they were traveling. She would definitely want to find this place again! "Just a hunter?" Eilea exclaimed with a bit excitement as Kitchi spoke. She smiled widely, showing her teeth. Considering the vantha enjoyed the hunt, and always wanted to be better at it, she was impressed to be walking with a hunter. And an inartan one at that! "You help provide food for Wind Reach, that is just wonderful!" One the question of residence, Eilea waited a couple seconds to respond. "I'll be staying here for a while. Well, depending how everything goes, I'd like to stay here for the rest of my life. See, my mother had great fondness for this place." She looked ahead of them as they continued on. "I actually help with carving signs and even door frames and the like around town." She added, realizing that she should at least reference how she was contributing to the inarta's home.

[Kitchi]

 "Just a hunter?" The excitement was obvious in the Vantha's voice and Kitchi silently questioned it, it did not seem particularly unusual to her, she had to do it for Wind Reach. It seemed no more special that any other job Avora's did. "You help provide food for Wind Reach, that is just wonderful!"  Another excited statement settling into the air around them. Kitchi felt a flicker of pride winding its way through her body. She decided she quite liked Eilea, it was hard not to like someone so impressed by your job. "I'll be staying here for a while. Well, depending how everything goes, I'd like to stay here for the rest of my life. See, my mother had great fondness for this place." Kitchi tossed a glance over to the dark haired woman, she was staring at the road ahead of them. Her mother was fond of the place? Kitchi had spent so long reading about different races she supposed she should not have been surprised that someone else loved another culture but part of her could not help the surprise. "I actually help with carving signs and even door frames and the like around town”
“Decoration? How strange, people around here do not tend to value more artistic pursuits” Kitchi's mind flickered back to an old friend, part of her wondered how he was doing, chasing him dream of being famous. She shook her head pushing the thoughts from her mind. It was a fact that the Inarta's value practical, food and defence and in some ways it was a shame the beautiful was often ignored.
“What was your old home like? I've never been out of Wind Reach. At least besides hunting.” She loved to hear about other places, things far away from her that she longed to see. The reality of it as that she probably never would, they would remain mere stories told by others and repeated in her head.

[Eilea]

“My old home...” Eilea began, “Avanthal.” She looked to the red haired girl again. “Avanthal was beautiful. IS beautiful. The whole city was surrounded by this wall. A stone that is somewhat transparent, it looks like ice.” She smiled inwardly at herself and remembered the places she enjoyed when she was younger. Her eyes turned to a dark blue as she reflected on the library, Stories in the Snow, where she used to spend a lot of time with her mother. Eilea thought briefly about her mother. A woman to married outside of her hold. The passion in her memories could be heard in her words. “There, there are different holds that people live in, they're born into them. And each hold has a different specialty. I grew up in the Snowsong hold, the one that deals most with music, but I was never very good with music so I learned most of what I know from spending time with my friends, who were all from different holds.” It was obvious that the Vantha missed Avanthal. The tone of her voice, the admiration she put into her words could only mean that. She continued, “There is this lake that is like a mirror, it reflects Morwen's lights so beautifully! If you ever get the chance, you have to visit! You have to see it.” Excitement flooded her eyes, and her voice. Her accent turned heavier as she spoke. “Oh, and there is this maze! In the middle a bonfire and sometimes prizes.” Then the realization of how much she had been talking hit her. The girl let out a sigh, and looked at Kitchi. Eilea bit her lip. Her eyes shifted to a dark green. She felt bad spending so much time talking about where she grew up. “Oh Kitchi, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to talk so much!” The truth was, she felt comfortable around the Inartan girl. Actually, she really liked Kitchi. Sure, she was rather quiet and a bit mysterious, but she seemed rather intelligent. Eilea wanted to learn more about her. “So, Kitchi, what was it like for you, growing up in Wind Reach? Have you ever thought of leaving and exploring the world?” she asked.

[Kitchi]

Date, Season, Year

“My old home...” Eilea began, “Avanthal.” Almost wishful eyes fell back onto Kitchi. “Avanthal was beautiful. IS beautiful. The whole city was surrounded by this wall. A stone that is somewhat transparent, it looks like ice.” The idea entranced Kitchi, transparent stone? Like ice? it was hard to imagine a solid wall made of such a fragile material but it must have been wonderful and beautiful. “There, there are different holds that people live in, they're born into them. And each hold has a different specialty. I grew up in the Snowsong hold, the one that deals most with music, but I was never very good with music so I learned most of what I know from spending time with my friends, who were all from different holds.” Although her mind still lingered on the ice like image forming in her mind she considered the music based society. Another thing that was hard  to imagine. Everything in Avanthal sounded so different, almost magical. Part of her wondered what other things these holds celebrated, art? literature? She opened her mouth to ask but closed it again, thinking better then to distract the enthralled Vantha in her imagination. Kitchi knew how annoying being forced from imagination could be." There is this lake that is like a mirror, it reflects Morwen's lights so beautifully! If you ever get the chance, you have to visit! You have to see it.” Excitement flooded her eyes, and her voice. Her accent turned heavier as she spoke. “Oh, and there is this maze! In the middle a bonfire and sometimes prizes.” The words started to tumble quickly from her lips and her step seemed to be
bounce more then before.
“Oh Kitchi, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to talk so much!” Eilea seemed to stop as she spoke, shock seemed to run through her as she stopped. The sudden void ness of emotion and excitement almost made Kitchi jump but a playful smile worked its way across her lips.
"Don't worry about it, I get caught in my imagination too" She almost giggled towards the Vantha.
“So, Kitchi, what was it like for you, growing up in Wind Reach? Have you ever thought of leaving and exploring the world?”
"It was nice, I mean we don't have such focus on the worlds beauty but we are well educations and trained in hunting and falconry, practical things. When I was little I lived with my mother but ,oved to the nursery and at 15 I was trained to be a hunter. And travelling....well, nobody travels from here, we are all important" Kitchi half smiled at her careful stepping around the question. Her history with travel was complex, although she had never travelled herself, and not something she was willing to spill to an almost stranger, although Eilea seemed nice and friendly.

[Eilea]

Eilea smiled as she noticed that Kitchi was so interested in the stories of Avanthal. This made the Vantha so happy. She was able to reminisce and tell of her home. Eilea decided then and there that Kitchi was going to be considered a friend. She was charming and entertaining, if not rather quiet and reserved at times. It was a whole circle of personality. She listened carefully to what Kitchi shared about herself, though it wasn't very much. The Vantha nodded, showing she was paying attention, but didn't say anything until the Inarta finished. "Well, I'd imagine you run into enough adventures here as it is. Probably no real need to traveling." She said and glanced around, making sure there wasn't anything near by. But something seemed odd. The girl didn't exactly answer the question. But, Eilea wouldn't push it. She knew when to overstep her boundaries and when not to. As the two approached the gates, Eilea shifted her things to the other shoulder. She glanced in the direction of the stables. Part of her really wanted to visit her horse, but considering that it was already dark, she decided against it. The Vantha knew that she would have to get up early. She needed to get back to her room and get a good night's rest. The work of the Avora was consistent and the jobs she need to get done were many. Once in the city, Eilea turned to Kitchi. "I'm glad I ran into you today, Kitchi!" She said, a genuine grin on her lips. "I must be getting to bed soon. I really hope you have a lovely night!" She said. "See you around?" With a wave, Eilea turned on her toes and began to head off towards the commons to find her room and get some sleep. Overall, it had been a great day. Work had been accomplished. A new place to enjoy had been discovered, as well as a new friend to think about. Once the girl reached her room, she entered and set her belonging to the side. As the pondered about the fortune that had been told, she changed clothes and crawled into bed. The whole time, hoping that she'd see the Inarta girl again. OOCFeel free to post your response, and then I was thinking that we could turn this in for grading. It seems like a suitable ending point.

[Kitchi]

Date, Season, Year

Kitchi was thankful when the other girl did not question her behaviour.The answered she gave ran through her mind, did the bluntness and shortness put her out? Kitchi loved Wind Reach, she always had but she found it hard to talk about it, knowing nothing else. To her Wind Reach just was, nothing more needed to be said. The pair found themselves back within Wind Reach, having passed the stable. Kitchi noticed the Vantha throwing a glance towards them and pondered over it, unable to decipher the action through overthinking. I did not really matter she decided.
"I'm glad I ran into you today, Kitchi!" A smile played across Eilea's lips as she turned back towards Kitchi, who returned the friendly smile in a moment "I must be getting to bed soon. I really hope you have a lovely night! See you around?" With a wave, Eilea turned on her toes and began to head off towards the commons.
"Have a nice night" Kitchi called after her, another glance at the usual dark hair moving slowly away from her. Kitchi lingered for a moment, allowing a seperation to form between them as she puzzled through the conversations. I must talk to her next time I see her Kitchi decided with a definitive nod before trotting off towards the common rooms herself.