Flashback Secrets I Never Knew (Lydan)

[Mihiya Darkmane]

Timestamp: 20th Summer 510

Briseni had family in Riverfall, which was what had prompted the travel to Riverfall in Early Spring. The travel had been tedious and had taken a very long time, but they had finally arrived and Mihiya had set about exploring. She had encountered very few Akalaks (with the exception of Briseni's sister Mayla's infant son) and spent most of her time playing with Mayla's other child, her daughter Moeghen who had been born before Mayla had fallen in love with an Akalak warrior.

Today was different however. Today, she intended on exploring Riverfall, perhaps even encountering one of the blue giants. They fascinated her with their dark skin and their size, because in honesty she had never seen anyone so tall. Her people were not terribly large, but she hadn't imagined that her Ankal would be dwarfed by the Akalak. They frightened her nearly as much as they interested her.

In addition to that, they were considered prime examples of excellent warriors, dedicated to their training and fairly solemn. No doubt, their sheer size alone could overwhelm a man, adding in above and beyond fighing skills seemed like an unfair advantage.

Still,what Mihiya feared often tended to interest her. She had turned 13 on the road to Riverfall and she was nearly a woman now. Drykas women were as fearless as their men and she had no doubt that the Akalak would not harm a teenage girl. With that in mind, she set off, leaving her family's makeshift Pavilion and seeking a blue giant.

[Lydan Verdjak]

Lydan's slightly younger feet set upon the strong, bare stone of the streets as he walked along, it was slightly early in the day, but this did not stop Lydan from standing out in the crowd. Indeed he was a tall Akalak, something of a marvel to humans and perhaps some Akalak. It was something of a frustration in his practice of the stealth and agility, but it was something that he had to live with.

In the distance was a Pavilion of sorts, though it was constructed by that of "homemade material" as his father would ridicule, though what caught his attention was a feminine figure exiting from it. He was not the sorts to stand and stare at random people, knowing the potential for awkwardness in this situation, so he took no more thought and continued along.

But an impulse to stay was apparent in him, as his steps slowly and weakly made across the cobblestone.

[Mihiya Darkmane]

Dark eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of a full grown Akalak. He was heading in a direction somewhat near her, and she was tempted to run and meet him. How he would respond though? Striders sometimes shied when suddenly approached and people did too. But surely Akalak were fearless? They were so large, they would be hard pressed not to be.

This Akalak seemed inhumanely large. Even at a slight distance she could tell he would tower over her (obviously). Briseni had told her that Akalak's were large and that she should prepare herself, but oh, she had underestimated them indeed.

She started toward the man and the paused, thinking. What would she even say? She had no idea how to address the blue giant and she had even less of an idea as to whether she would say the right thing. He could step on her, she realized, and squash her. But Mihiya Darkmane was not a child that was so easily cowed.

"He-hello?" she called out in common, the unfamiliar language sounding harsh on her tongue. Hopefully he wasn't someone to talk to her in rapid-fire common. The language was fairly unfamiliar to her.

[Lydan Verdjak]

He stopped suddenly, turning to eye the mixed blood girl, tilting his head towards her in curiosity as he shrugged his shoulders weakly. "Hello." He called out in fluent common, albeit with a thick Akalak accent. He gazed down at the young girl, intrigued at her nervousness as his brow wiggled.

He decided it best to bow and show some form of nobility, as he knelt his head and torso, "Lydan Verdjak."

[Mihiya Darkmane]

The formality of the Akalak awed her. She watched him incline his head and torso in a bow of sorts. Even doing so, he was still taller than her.

"Lydan Verdjak," she murmured in Pavi, blushing as she realized how easily she had slipped into her native tongue. Pavi flowed, Common grated and it was so much harder to remember the Common words. Briseni was fluent in Common, but Mihiya had stubbornly refused to learn Common until she was nearly ten and the language had not bee easy to grasp.

"I am Mihiya," she replied haltingly, wondering if she, too, should bow to be polite, "Mihiya Darkmane." Her nervousness vanished as quickly as it had beset her. She examined the man with curiosity.

"You have--are tall," she informed him, gazing up at all seven and a half feet of the blue warrior, "Are Akalak," the word was very hard to say, "tall like you?"

[Lydan Verdjak]

He offered a smile to Mihiya, his gaze ever-so-friendly with even a simple stranger, not fading once but perhaps growing slightly bemused at her nervousness, and then a pent-up amusement.

"It is nice to meet you Mihiya, and probably not, I have not met any Akalak extending to my height fortunately."

[Mihiya Darkmane]

Mihiya felt relieved when Lydan informed her that he was tall for his race. She didn't think she would have felt very comfortable in Riverfall if all of the Akalak were as tall as he was. She furrowed her brow, searching for another question. Understand different races could be helpful, when she decided to travel and no doubt she'd be back in Riverfall again someday.

"You fight...good? Better than horseclans? And have no horses?" Akalak culture was very vague to her. She knew from Briseni that they were good fighters and didn't ride on Striders. Striders...she hoped Komali was okay. She wanted to curse her poor Common. Someday, perhaps, she would speak Common better, but for now she was stuck with broken sentences and incorrect word usages. She was frustrated.

"Can you tell more about Akalak to me?" she asked, stumbling over her words, "Want to learn."

[Lydan Verdjak]

"Well, that depends on what you want to learn I suppose." His brows perked with interest as he frowned, "I've never fought..horseclans, but I don't have a horse no." The Akalak sounded a bit shy, he was not the best for sharing information, accurately and or unbiased. He relaxed his arms as he moved to have a seat against the ground, plopping down calmly.

[Mihiya Darkmane]

"What--what weapon used?" she asked curiously, "I have sling and family have bows, what do Akalak use?" She was tempted to call the Akalak blue people as the words came easier to her in Common, but she didn't want to offend her new friend. She decided she rather liked the man who was actually humoring her questions and not just shooing her away as many of her family was prone to do when she began to annoy them.

As he sat, she sat beside him, careful to keep a respectful distance. She had just met the Akalak and she wasn't about to cross the line with him. "I have Akalak...family, mother's sister has Akalak child." She didn't know why she felt the need to share, but she felt as though she should verify her presence here.

[Lydan Verdjak]

In response, the Akalak nodded to her as he reached for his hilt, pulling out and unfolding the Lakan as the metal blade shined in the summer light. "A Lakan, every Akalak is supposed to craft one just before he is thirty."

He held it out to Mihiya, offering to allow her to hold it as he offered a kind smile. He nodded at the latter words she said, "I have a Konti mother, also some Akalak like to fight unarmed, dumb idea if you ask me."