Closed Seeking Shahar (Khida)

[Waisana]

10th Fall 514AV

The teen was in search of Shahar once more. The man was no easier to find this time around, although she could at least recognise him when she came across him. He wasn't confined to one general area, no clan colours that marked his pavilion out as belonging in one particular place or another. The Opal girl just had to ask around again, searching for the location of the man who had served as her guide out in the Sea of Grass the season before. It was faster going this time, the girl managing to talk to the right people, people who were likely to associate with the man, hunters and the like. They pointed her in the direction of his pavilion, which was once again on the outskirts of the city. The clanless man who kept himself somewhat apart from the rest. She wondered how he'd reached such a state but she didn't ask around about that. She'd talked to the man, rode with him and had found no fault in him. She'd go by her own judgement rather than the judgements of others.

She needed his guidance again, needing to venture into the Sea of Grass again despite its dangers and the man had proved himself to be useful. She hadn't succeeded in getting in his way either, it wasn't as if she had disrupted his day the previous season. Shahar had been glad to go with her and she could only hope that he would be willing to go with her again. If he wasn't she might be forced to accompany the hunters, something that turned her stomach--she didn't like the act of killing--or be forced to convince one of the Watch to go with her. She doubted that either option would work well and so she was desperately hoping that the clanless man would say yes t her request once more.

Reaching the pavilion, she walked around it to check that the man wasn't outside it first. "Hello?" The greeting was tentative, a question as she waited for the man she sought to make some sort of appearance. When he didn't, the healer hovered at the tent entrance. She didn't want to enter someone else's home without their permission but if she just peeped in and called again then where would be the harm. No if he was there, he'd hear her just as well from outside. She called again and waited. Only silence greeted her and the girl looked around her as if expecting the man to materialise from some other direction.

If he was not here, was nowhere near here perhaps, than what would she do? She'd thought that he would be here as it was still early enough in the day. Syna had risen above the tent city, was clear to see over the height of any of the pavilions yet it was still early enough. Had he gone out? Was he in the city at all, or was he out among the grasses? Her eyes drifted to the Sea of Grass, the Sea rippling in a light breeze but there was no sign of Shahar amongst the nearest grass strands. He could be far out at this stage, beyond her sight for all she knew. The teen bit her lip in thought, deciding on what course of action she could take. She should just leave, head to the Healing tents but indecision held her, or perhaps it was hope. She half expected someone to appear and make her mind up for her but the chances of that happening seemed fairly slim.

[Khida]

Rain had come with the last breath of summer, cooling the air and soothing the parched earth. It was too early now to say what shape the new season would take -- characterized by wet, dry, abundance, hunger -- but the winds blew with the unmistakable texture of autumn, what the Kelvic falcon considered a good sign. Not too dry, laced with the promise of coming cold, the air felt and tasted of a more normal Fall. They needed one; summer's drought had turned many of the grasses sere brown, an effect with repercussions for all that lived on the Sea.

She looked upon that Sea now from the vantage of a spiraling thermal, pointed wings spread wide to catch the rising air. Endrykas sprawled out across much of her view, tents and horses and men and zibri all scattered haphazardly upon the ground. The city was smaller now than it had been at other times, before the difficult Summer, but its inhabitants moved now with a purpose and energy which had seemed lacking just a moon-cycle before... including one which seemed headed directly for the hunter's camp.

Khida's attention caught and held on this one -- female, her braided hair nearly the hue of the dry grasses, who approached with purpose and knowing. The stranger stopped before his tent, her call of greeting uncertain, perhaps recognizing the emptiness of the camp. She hesitated, glanced about, her purpose seeming suddenly broken and bereft. The Kelvic looked on as the young woman hovered, leaving the comfortable rise of the thermal in order to fly more near to the camp. To her eyes, the stranger seemed none too threatening... Too, she clearly knew the hunter, even if she was unfamiliar to the Kelvic. If her errand involved him... it was something he should know about, even something Khida should try to address in his absence.

So was her course of action set; the peregrine banked about, then trimmed the spread of her wings, shedding altitude in a gentle but brisk descent. Landing in the midst of the camp, with the stranger between her and his tent, the Kelvic then shifted -- a flare of light reshaping falcon into human, entirely bare save for dark hair and her green-bronze Chevas mark.

"You look for?" Khida asked as she straightened, her Pavi distinctly accented. Her hands added help and maybe, though her manner remained cautious of the stranger.

Common | Pavi | someone else

[Waisana]

The teen was at a loss for what to do. There was no one about as far as she could tell, which meant that she had no business here. Yet she wondered if she might just miss the return of someone if she left now. Sure if someone came and Waisana wasn't here and didn't see them then she wouldn't actually know for certain but she would certainly wonder. She would wonder if an opportunity had been lost and it would drive her mad. If she went and then came back later in the day and still found the pavilion devoid of any presence then she'd be convinced that they'd only just popped out and that she'd missed them by the merest of ticks. And Waisana knew that she was thinking too much into this.

As her brain offered up scenario after scenario, a movement in the sky caught her eye. A bird. It held her attention, its movements offering some distraction from the indecision that her mind was locked in. Watch the bird for a chime or two and then if no one came the girl would leave. Much to her surprise it made its way down to where she stood, coming to land in the camp itself. The Opal girl stared at it as it descended, amazed by the fact that of all places that it could have chosen to land it had chosen here. What the teen did not expect was for it to change. One tick there was a bird--she had no idea of its type--and then a flash of light and the next tick it was a woman. A striking and very naked woman. Who was definitely not a bird. The young woman had heard of Kelvics but had never seen one and hadn't believed in their existence. She had assumed that they were part of some made up stories. She understood the body, she knew that people couldn't change into animals, especially not in a flash of light so she'd never put any stock in them.

The squeal that came from her lips was one of shock and horror as she regarded the shapeshifter, taking an unplanned step backwards. It hadn't happened, it wasn't possible, she hadn't seen it. Kelvics certainly seemed to be in the realm of possibility now though. The thing--woman--could speak as well! She could talk like a human rather than a bird and she spoke Pavi. The healer teetered on the spot, vision blurring and blackening around the edges. Her head spun and she knew what was must be coming. Too much of a shock, too much for her to handle. The girl wobbled over to the first thing that she could find to sit on and dropped onto it, placing her head between her knees to stop herself from fainting. It wasn't a feeling that went away straight away. Her vision gradually came back to full clarity, her head stopped trying to go sideways and stay still at the same time and after a few chimes the young woman was able to rise again.

There was apology in her posture as she went to address the woman. There was a sign of startled before the youth managed to choke any words out. "I was looking for Shahar. Not expecting... you." How she must appear to the bird woman!

[Khida]

The stranger yelped, wobbled, plopped herself down on a pole of the hunter's travois and just sat there for a few chimes. Clearly, Khida's shifting more than startled her, at which frustration seeped into the Kelvic woman's posture. Another Drykas who didn't know Kelvics, and they'd have to get through her shock and surprise and questions before actually addressing her purpose. She waited impatiently while the stranger came to her senses, remaining in place and making no move to console or support the unsteady woman as a human might do. It simply didn't occur to Khida.

Eventually, the stranger rose and approached again. To Khida's surprise and approval, the woman forwent questions about the Kelvic in favor of explaining her errand. The apology, she did not respond to; it was noticed, but considered irrelevant. The words, she largely understood, particularly as their sentiment was expected. "Yes," she replied, know it an unconscious complement in sign.

Khida paused, glancing out into the grasslands. Nothing could be seen on the horizon save the Sea itself, of course; only within lay the sense that her bondmate could be found in that direction. Yet... she did not know what this stranger wanted, nor whether it merited disturbing the hunter. First things first.

Want is? the Kelvic signed, returning an expectant gaze to the woman.

Common | Pavi | someone else

[Waisana]

Rationality was something that Waisana could cling to, that she had to cling to in fact if she wanted to stop herself from descending into that state of shock again. It was irrational, illogical and impossible and so the young woman would simply pretend that it hadn't taken place until some reasonable explanation presented itself. Although she tried to appear outwardly calm, inside she was feeling more than a little shaken internally. Waisana tried to quash it, focusing on the task at hand instead.

The woman seemed pleased with her although the healer couldn't imagine why. Maybe she'd expected her to fall to pieces completely or perhaps she'd been expecting an interrogation. It was strange and mysterious but then so was the woman herself. She'd caught the frustration in her manner before it had a chance to vanish though so perhaps it was common for the woman to terrify people in the manner that she with Waisana. Now that she'd regained some of her sense though the healer could see things that had previously escaped her notice, namely that the woman was standing there completely naked. Somehow this fact had previously escaped the young woman's notice. Her face flushed, eyes becoming noticeably fixed on the area above the Kelvic's shoulders. It wasn't that she was unfamiliar with the sight of the bare female body--she'd seen it often in her work--but rather that the woman stood there brazenly where anyone could come along and see her. There was no modesty and embarrassment that the Opal girl was used to seeing and so she was embarrassed for her instead.

Her plan to only look at the other's face was flawed however as the woman's hands were just as important in their communication and they were most definitely below the level of her shoulders. She doubted that she could have the same indifference about this as the Kelvic seemed to have but she could try to seem unbothered by it. Her eyes flickered down to the woman's gestures and if she hadn't she would have missed the silent question.

Guide, knowledge, the response came, the young woman gesturing in the direction of the Sea of Grass. "He knows where to find herbs. He knows the dangers." The Drykas was hopeful and imploring as she waited for what she hoped would be the woman's help. The young woman had a feeling that the Kelvic knew where Shahar was but maybe she did not want to disturb him unless it was important. Perhaps if she noted that the man already knew her. "He guided before. Knows me as Waisana."

[Khida]

oocSorry to keep you waiting for something short, but at least it gets us moving again!

The girl turned distinctly red beneath her tan. Probably the clothes thing again. But she forged ahead with her request despite it. Khida decided, then, that she liked this strange Drykas -- for with her hair all woven up like that, speaking in Pavi, she was certainly a Drykas. Approval, however, shaded into something much more diffident as the Kelvic struggled to tease meaning out of the stranger's fluid speech.

Knowing, finding, dangers. Those were things she could field, in principle.

Can find, she offered, both confidence and hesitance flavoring her sign. I, was added quickly after, in case the clarification were needed. But hesitant, because... "Herbs," Khida echoed, only it more closely resembled airrbs, the Kelvic testing the sounds of the unfamiliar word and committing them to memory. This is?

Herbs was -- were, Khida decided; the word sounded plural -- clearly something out in the Sea, but were they something that grew or ran or just existed? If she were to find the thing, she needed to know what to look for, first.

Common | Pavi | someone else

[Waisana]

The teen first grew hopeful at the Kelvic’s words although after a moment’s thought that was changed to uncertainty. Waisana had assumed that the woman meant that she would find Shahar for her but what if the woman had really been saying that she could find the herbs herself? A frown came to her face as she waited for something to confirm whether the other had meant the former or the latter. The echo of the word “herbs” was not a hopeful sign if this stranger intended to be her guide. The word seemed strange to her, the echo showing no knowledge of the word’s meaning. How could someone find herbs if they didn't even know what they were?

The Opal girl chewed her lip as she regarded her. There had been no mention of Shahar so presumably this woman was going to be her guide after all. If she needed to explain what herbs were then she didn’t like her chances of turning anything up today. The uncertainty in her posture clearly reflected her current state of mind as she tried to determine what to do. Did she tell her? Well, there’d be no harm in helping the woman fill gaps in her knowledge although it would be of absolutely no use to Waisana.

”Herbs are plants. Medicine,” she explained, trying to make it as simple and clear as possible.

Something occurred to her then that gave her a more optimistic view of a possible trip in the near future. The woman’s Pavi was accented so it probably wasn’t her first language. Perhaps she wasn’t completely proficient with the Drykas language and so the word was foreign to her. Maybe she knew what herbs were after all but under a different name in a different language. She decided to find out for certain who she should expect to bring her out into the Sea of Grass, just to clear up any confusion in her mind. ”Will Shahar bring me? You?” Again hope entered her demeanour but only in relation to Shahar. The word “you” was accompanied by a stance that betrayed doubt although the reason for the feeling might not be apparent to the other. There was still no confirmation that the woman actually knew of the plants that she was looking for.

Shahar’s knowledge of herbs was limited at best but at least Waisana knew that he possessed some knowledge. This woman she knew nothing about. She didn’t even know her name. ”Name?” the teen blurted out as soon as the gap in her knowledge presented itself. Yours was added to clarify her meaning, an open curiosity in her demeanour as she awaited the Kelvic’s more exotic seeming speech.

[Khida]

The girl's demeanor shaded from eager and anticipating into doubtful and uncertain, dubious written into every aspect of her manner from the set of her shoulders to the frown creasing her brow. Hesitating there, she did not seem to appreciate Khida's offer in the slightest, and the Kelvic's own attitude shuttered as the waiting silence stretched.

It's not like Khida had to help her, or would get anything from it.

Plants, the girl supplied at last, giving no answer regarding Khida's offer but explaining -- presumably -- the provenance of herbs. Plants. The falcon Kelvic could find plants, and easily; they did not hide away from her keen sight, spook at the passing of her shadow. Khida had complete confidence in her abilities there.

The girl also brightened, eliciting a curious look and an askance tilt of Khida's head. Did she realize the same? But she asked about him again, hope warring with doubt; the Kelvic recognized at a subliminal level that each had distinct association. The girl hoped only for the hunter, and thought nothing good of Khida's potential aid.

Her offer was clearly rebuffed.

Well. In the end, that wasn't really Khida's problem, now was it? What was this stranger and her plants to her -- or to him?

Khida's posture was straight as a rule, but her shoulders and jaw set in a way which spoke of irritation and even offense. At the last, the girl asked for her name, imposing human ritual politesse on their interaction. Now she asked for a name, after casting aspersions on Khida's ability to find plants -- silent aspersions, but ones still conveyed clearly by her expressive Drykas manner. No, Khida did not want to play this human game, this dance of ignorance, this conceit that a spoken word said everything there was to say about a person. Not with this one. She could discern enough of this girl; she did not need a word for her.

No,the Kelvic's hands flashed, no and not-approve and not-want. She did not want to speak with this girl anymore, to struggle with the constraints of words; she did not want to argue her own abilities for a thing that benefited her not, and she would not disturb the hunter in his tasks. There was clearly nothing else to be gained from this discussion.

Khida turned away from the girl, arms folding over her chest. Reflexively, she sought inward for the comfort of the bond, that constant glow tucked away in the depths of her soul, that person who had never been foreign to her even before they were connected so intimately. Alive, the bond's presence said, alive and well and -- much to her surprise -- also returning, a sense of proximity growing. The Kelvic hesitated a moment -- did she tell the girl as much?

Ah, let him deal with the nuisance. It was only fair. Besides, she was rightly his problem.

Wait.

Common | Pavi | someone else

[Waisana]

The Drykas girl had never thought anything of being bluntly honest, whether in words or in gestures and so she never assumed that anything she said aloud or with her body could be taken badly. It was the truth after all and honesty was a good thing for her to show in her work. Frankness made her appear more open, more trustworthy, the occasional lie needed to maintain good beside manner difficult for her to pull off. It hadn't occurred to her that her obvious preference for Shahar, who she knew and whose skills she had seen, could possibly upset the woman. The new rigidness of the Kelvic's posture, the hard set of her jaw and shoulders showed Waisana that she had made an honest but possibly terrible mistake.

The blonde teen floundered for some way to remedy the situation, the Opal girl's hands moving in gestures that were indecisive, changing to new ones before the previous ones were fully formed. Apology, no offend, not bad, misunderstanding, her hands flashed through, the signs jumbling together in her haste. She had no idea if she got her meaning across or if it was garbled but the woman had already made up her mind. She clearly conveyed that she didn't want anything to do with Waisana anymore, was quite vehement about it too. The girl's entire demeanour screamed her distress but it was too little too late. The woman had already turned away, arms crossed over her chest in a childish show of her displeasure.

The Opal girl stared at the woman's back, unsure how she could fix this situation or if it might already be too far broken for that. Her lip trembled and tears sprang to her eyes, her face seeming to grow younger while she was consumed with her frustration. She felt horribly like a child rather than what Drykas society considered a woman. In the healing tents she was almost always sure of herself. She knew how she was supposed to act, she could be confident that she knew how to fix every situation but outside it she was useless. Waisana hadn't even worked out how to mix work with pleasure, had no ways to amuse herself outside of helping others. Even a desired trip out into the Sea of Grass was something done for the sake of others and she couldn't even manage that much.

Better to slink away to the Healing Tents, go there and be useful rather than stumbling to obey normal social conventions like a new born foal. Waisana would come back another time and she would continue to do so until she could be sure that she could speak to Shahar and Shahar alone.

"Sorry. I'll leave now. Come again," the medic told her, retreating back a step or two when the woman's signal came. Wait. What was she to wait for? Had the woman changed her mind about talking to her? Had she seen Shahar? The girl looked eagerly for any signs of the man's approach but saw nothing that the other could be looking at. Wiping the threatened tears from her eyes she asked tentatively, "Why wait?"

[Khida]

The girl did not take her refusal well. Khida did not see the girl's reactions, but she could hear the fact in the retreat of her steps, in the quality of her voice -- the waver of timbre that might accompany tears, the muted stiffness of a withdrawal already well along on the internal level. But she stopped in her retreat, hesitated, on account of the Kelvic's own gesture.

Khida paused, glancing over her shoulder at the girl, who for her part was avidly studying the horizon toward which Khida had been turned. The Kelvic canted her head, posture suggesting a fleeting dry amusement at the expense of the girl's sudden and intense scrutiny.

He comes, she signed, for the girl's benefit. Not see. Soon. Wait. And a last few less-distinct signs tacked on at the end, which may have been less intentional in their expression: Trouble you his.

A Drykas woman, at that point, might have offered the girl refreshments, or at least the courtesy of a stool. Truly, a Drykas woman would likely have offered them much sooner. Khida did not think of these things; it did not occur to her that she might have any social obligation to entertain the uninvited visitor while she waited. Instead, satisfied with the directives she'd given, Khida nodded once as if to seal the matter, then walked past the girl and into the camp. Her skin, really, had long since started to complain of the autumnal chill -- especially her nose and fingers. Heading for the tent she shared with Shahar, Khida assembled her clothes and quickly put them on -- wrap-around shirt, trousers, socks and shoes, and the cloak.

Then she fetched out the current length of rope which was her material for snares, and the knife that served her for most purposes. Thus equipped, she made for one of the rocks by the firepit, settling down to sit and work: she needed to prepare more snares. Khida began by measuring lengths of the rope against her arm, cutting a series of pieces of about twice its length.

Common | Pavi | someone else