Joined Hand in Hand... in Hand?

by **Naiya** on April 17th, 2015, 2:35 am

2nd Day of Spring, 515 AV

Note on Dates :

Days upon days had passed since Rue had made her purchase, she had brought the gift just after the turning of summer to autumn, and yet, this morning she had found it tucked among her belongings at home. It was a situation that she was more than happy to rectify.

It didn't take long to gather her things, tuck the gift into her belt, and set off towards the Dawnwhisper camp. Getting ready to leave her home was never a task that took long, for it was often practiced, and more frequently imagined.

The route between her home and the Dawnwhisper pavilion was a short one, or rather, it was one that moved quickly. The path through the city was lined with merchants, offering wares or services. It wasn't usually a draw to Rue, for she was often in a hurry to her destination. Today, though, she had a gift, and though it was for a man, he had a wife. Not a startling fact, but one that changed the dynamic of gift giving, especially with their intent for Rue to marry into the family as well. It made her linger over the wares of the craftsmen, seeking a second gift, one suited to the first wife of a man she wished to marry in the near future.

With that in mind, she browsed the wares as she passed them, though it didn't seem as though anything was quite right. Khida was simple, she didn't need or want frivolous things. So many of the items Rue saw, she knew, were not right for the woman.

"Ribbon for your hair, Miss?" The man called to Rue, offering her choice of colors and materials. Rue dismissed him, she had things for her hair already. She was halfway past his pavilion before she realized that perhaps ribbon would make a good gift for Khida. She could braid it into her hair, or just use it to tie her hair back.

It would be perfect.

Her purchase was made quickly, it was easy enough to pick a color to match Khida, and from there she departed once more towards the Dawnwhisper pavilion. The anticipation of arriving seemed to speed her feet as much at it occupied her mind. So it was what seemed like only a chime or two later that she arrived, appearing from behind the travois to find both Shahar and Khida busied with the tasks of maintaining the camp.

Greetings Rue signed, moving forward into the semicircle of tents. Her appearance drew the attention of one of the hunting cats, perhaps the one called Kabek? No, this one was smaller, and on closer inspection obviously a girl. Banti, or Tuka. Those were the females of the group. She signed a similar greeting to the cat, a sign she seemed not to recognize, she padded over anyway, and Rue was happy to spare her some attention.

"Good Afternoon," She raised her voice to the others, approaching the central fire, still blazing warmly, perhaps from the afternoon meal, or less likely in preparation for the meal. It didn't matter, there was just an appeal in fire as such, despite the gently warming weather.

"I hope it is alright that I came to visit, I just remembered a gift I had purchased for last season, I thought to bring it today. I have something for Khida as well." She informed them, beckoning to them both in hopes that they would join her.

ledger :

by **Colt** on April 20th, 2015, 12:24 am

If one were to ask Shahar what his favorite midday activity was, cat-wrestling would certainly not be it. Cats were stubborn, determined and inconveniently clever, which certainly made his current task less than attractive.

Shahar often told Tuka that her outgoing curiosity would get her into trouble, but the creature had ignored him time after time and had once again found suffering, leaving Shahar completely unsurprised. He knew that porcupines were not animals that should be bothered, and had done his utmost to encourage her away from the bracken-tangle, but all his signs had given him were a fruitless hunt and a very out-of-sorts hunting cat.

Upon returning to camp from the morning outing, Tuka had immediately made her way to the waterskins, apparently under the belief that water would help her affronted paw, sat down and begun to chuff plaintively. And so Shahar slipped off his quiver, set down his axe and made his way over, scooping Tuka into a tight embrace.

Not at all approving of the action, Tuka hissed and struggled, almost escaping before Shahar managed to readjust and wrap one arm around her chest. Even with the new grip, it was no easy task to immobilise the cat, and it took far longer than he liked to sit down and keep her still.

Once she was there, of course, then came the task of physically removing the thorns from her paw.

It was only through sheer strength that he managed to keep his grip and bring her paw to the fore in the same moment that the camp saw a new addition.

“Good afternoon.”

Shahar paused and looked up. A surprised happy greeting was all he could say around the cat in his arms, along with a please wait a moment.

Tuke let out a snarl as the thorns were yanked free from her paw, and she snatched the offended limb away from his hands. He loosened his grip, and Tuka fled to the far side of the camp with an affronted hiss, her speed restored with all four paws on the ground. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Shahar turned his attention back to Rue; Tuka would return when she was ready.

Apologies retry, formal greeting happy welcome. Gift curiosity surprise what is? He stood and carved happy to see, curiosity into his step as he made his way towards her.

by **Khida** on April 20th, 2015, 3:40 pm

Afternoon found Khida sitting out in the sunlight, a pile of brown fabric in her lap, a glint of bronze metal caught fast in her grip. She had finally started on the second of the robe's sleeves, after letting the project lie fallow for several days. Waiting didn't seem to have helped; the task remained just as frustrating now as it had been before.

She had smoothed out the sleeve and folded back the cuff to where she wanted it; that part was simple. She'd even managed to thread the needle on only the fifth try -- and she hadn't dropped the bit of metal yet. The thread itself trailed off to one side, where she wouldn't catch it on anything or wind up looping a knot into it... not immediately, at any rate. But the stitching... that was still a nuisance.

The lines of her stitches were anything but even, though Khida didn't really mind that part. She wanted the new hem to stay firmly put more than she cared about the aesthetics. The third time she got the needle caught between the two pieces of cloth, however -- with no idea how it had happened, when she meant for the point to go straight through -- the Kelvic dropped the whole thing in frustration. It was simple! ...except when it wasn't.

The fact that she had been half-watching Shahar's tribulations with Tuka, instead of concentrating entirely on her monotonous task, didn't help one bit.

Wrapping the items up into a bundle and setting it aside for later, Khida looked towards the new arrival, finding in her presence a welcome diversion. The red-haired Drykas announced herself with a bunch of words -- most of which floated right past Khida, as much because she wasn't really paying attention to the content as for the language they were spoken in. It was all some elaboration on hello, most likely, conveyed with an odd combination of earnestness and diffidence that she understood to be characteristic of the woman. She herself offered greeting in return, and considered that sufficient.

Curiously, though the Drykas woman spoke mostly to the hunter, Khida's own name came up -- she would recognize that word in any spate of speech -- which caused the Kelvic to focus in more closely on their exchange. He replied with curious interest as well as the simple happiness that was usual, which piqued Khida's own curiosity in turn. Was there something different in the red-hair's visit today?

Khida space Common | Pavi
other space Common | Pavi

by **Naiya** on April 23rd, 2015, 6:25 pm

Shahar was busy. The cat in his arms must have been Tuka, the feline that had adopted him as fully he had adopted her. Which meant the cat accompanying her must have been the other, Banti. It made sense, on reflection, Banti was much less likely to wander off hunting.

He greeted her, the signing that followed spoke of surprise.

Once he had finished removing what looked like the spines of a porcupine from the cat's foot, or paw as it was, he greeted her again. Curious to see what she had.

"Khida, too," come, see, gift. She signed towards the woman, but then lifted from where she had tucked it in her belt, the knife she had bought Shahar. Khida would still be able to see it, when she came closer.

"I was shopping, and I saw this. I thought it would be good for hunting, maybe." She was unsure her knowledge of knives and daggers was limited to 'Point the sharp part away from yourself ' so picking a good knife out of a selection was not something she knew how to do. "The shopkeeper said it would hold an edge, the blade is made by folding? He called it something special, I cannot remember... The handle is cut of tooth, some kind... that is why it is blue, and it is sealed with some type of resin." She had bought the gift long enough ago that she couldn't remember the specifics.

She shrugged, not familiar with the topic, "It was pretty, and I thought of you." Having turned the object over in her hands as she spoke to him, she held the knife out to him, finally presenting the gift to him fully. For you, please have she signed carefully around the gift.

Shahar's Knife :

by **Colt** on April 25th, 2015, 7:11 pm

Rue spoke to Khida as well, and Shahar cast a quick, curious glance towards his bondmate.

"I was shopping,” said Rue, “and I saw this. I thought it would be good for hunting, maybe. The shopkeeper said it would hold an edge, the blade is made by folding? He called it something special, I cannot remember…” There was a vague unsurety on her hands as she held out the item. “The handle is cut of tooth, some kind... that is why it is blue, and it is sealed with some type of resin."

Shahar’s eyes widened at the knife she displayed. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. The shape of the knife was familiar, but the pattern… it was an endless stream of lines and shades, circling and weaving around each other and teasing his eyes this way and that. It was almost as if the metal was made of water, only… not. Shahar reached out in wonder to touch the blade, just to be certain that it was, indeed, solid.

The handle was another matter altogether. It was tooth, she had said? Carved and dyed in brilliant stripes and bursts the color of the noon sky, it was a maze of brilliance that rivalled the blade. Shahar had never been lost in a tool before, but the knife Rue offered him was dazzling, and his posture said so.

“It was pretty, and I thought of you.”

Amazed, beautiful, vast gratitude. Shahar took the blade carefully, almost afraid of damaging it in any way; it seemed more like a work of art than a knife. Looking back and forth between Rue and the gift, Shahar’s shoulders flickered somewhere between deep thank you and stunned pleasure.

by **Khida** on May 7th, 2015, 10:09 pm

The Drykas woman beckoned her over, signing gift -- gift? That was indeed a little different. Khida rose to her feet and padded over; as she did so, the other lifted something from her belt, presented it to the hunter. A gift, to be true; a gift of a knife, which she proceeded to describe for its recipient's benefit, even though it was there right in front of him. As she witnessed its bestowal, Khida remained bemused. It was a knife. True, some knives were better than others, but -- it didn't strike her as something which merited particularly special notice.

The hunter, clearly, felt otherwise; his amazement distinctly permeated their bond, causing the Kelvic to lean in and examine the gift more closely. She tapped a fingertip against the strangely blue handle, which was indeed an odd material... It was still just a knife. Straightening, Khida pushed a ripple of affectionate bemusement towards her bondmate; she didn't get the importance of the exchange, but he was pleased with the thing, and that was all that really mattered.

She didn't need an explanation either. As long as it did what a knife was supposed to do.

Khida space Common | Pavi
other space Common | Pavi

by **Naiya** on May 11th, 2015, 4:40 am

You are welcome she told him gently, happy to give, pleased, by his response, he was grateful, and seemed to appreciate the beauty of the knife. A relief, she hadn't been sure he would. Just because Rue herself was fond of pretty things, didn't mean that her companions were also. Which reminded her that she would need to present the purpose of her gift for Khida, rather than leaving them to be, or else the woman might not understand how her pretty gift could be practical too.

"I hope it will serve you well, Shahar." She finished with a small smile and an unconscious curtsy to complete the exchange. By then, Khida had arrived, bemused by the situation. Not entirely surprising, she was always so much more practical than Rue, and this was a ritual that was far from practical.

"Khida," She turned to the woman, growing mildly more serious in her manner. Her gift came with a gentle push towards propriety for Khida. "You are family to Shahar, wife, and so you are Drykas. Drykas though, have long hair." She spoke at a medium pace, signing and explaining as best she could through her speech. "I know you do not like things to be in your way, sleeves, pants, hair, but I also think you might grow hair more, to be more like Drykas."

She gauged the woman's understanding, believing that Khida knew enough Pavi for this conversation, or at least for what she had said so far. "Look on outside like you are on inside, like a Drykas. It is important to other Drykas, clans, colors, looks. It is why we have long hair and windmarks."

She paused again, but her intent was different now, timid in her manner. Khida was more foreign to her than Shahar. With him, everything seemed to fall neatly into place. Khida was an enigma. Every time Rue felt she was prepared, that she had finally figured out the right way with her, she fell short of the goal. Khida was more than kind, not once had she been upset by Rue's shortcomings. Often she didn't even understand Rue's upset at the situations, but Rue saw them, and her upbringing among the Drykas would not allow her to shake them off.

Similar to now, to worrying people would mistake Khida for a slave with her hair so short. Although the concern was more that they would think she had been a slave in the past. Still, it was not right. Khida was no slave, and it would not do to have the risk of a misunderstanding.

So she had bought the woman ribbons. She could braid back her hair, and tie it with the ribbon. Then there would be no mistake, Khida could grow her hair, and still be happy. The braids and ribbons would keep the hair from her face. It was a solution.

If only Khida saw it that way as well.

She pulled the ribbons free, draping them across her hand unsure, offering, gift. "These ribbons, they can tie back your hair, so it is not in your face, not in your way. I can teach you to braid your hair too, it is quick enough, and holds better." Rue waited for Khida to react, unsure of whether the woman would take kindly to her words, her gift, and her offer. The ribbons themselves would suit the woman, one the soft red of lips, another the burnished gleam of amber, and the final one the color of the Shahar's eyes, a hopeful reminder of the man she loved. Whether or not Khida saw them that way was another story.

by **Colt** on May 13th, 2015, 11:26 pm

Khida made her way over to observe the presentation of the knife, examining the thing more closely in reaction to Shahar’s impressions of it. She was not so impressed with it, but resolved that she didn’t need to be; sending him a warmth tinted with bemusement, she let it be.

Rue bestowed the knife with a smile and a curtsey, and the most natural thing he could think of to do was smile and dip his head in excited gratitude, turning the tool over in his hands to look at it. He paused, however, when Rue turned to Khida next; she had come with gifts for them both.

Rue began to talk about Khida and Drykas and hair, and Shahar unconsciously thumbed at his own hair; while his hair wasn’t short, neither was it as impressively long as many warriors liked to keep it. He hadn’t cut it in a very long time, but it did not grow particularly fast.

Rue’s posture retreated into itself, bordering on unsure. Shahar tilted his head curiously as she paused; clearly she was not done.

Indeed, within a few moments Rue had pulled three ribbons into existence, presenting them to the Kelvic. For hair, she had said. Red and gold and green; three colors, three ribbons for Khida to braid and use to keep her hair out of her way. It was thoughtful, and thought up for Khida specifically.

by **Khida** on May 28th, 2015, 3:15 pm

The two humans were happy for their exchange, and Khida was pleased for that. It mattered, that they were happy. The red-haired Drykas went on to turn her attention to the Kelvic, more serious and... not exactly displeased, Khida thought, but there was the faint echo of a chide in her tone. Or not chide precisely... but a patient remonstrance that reminded its target of nothing so much as her sire, half-imaged memories welling up from seasons nearly a lifetime past. The red-haired woman spoke of being Drykas... and the import of long hair.

In the face of her statements, Khida was... utterly baffled. It was hair. She knew humans did things with their hair -- Rue herself was a visible and present case in point -- but Khida had never seen that her hair mattered except for sake of being part of her body. She kept it clean because it needed to be, and brushed because tangles were annoying, and... otherwise just let it be what it was.

The woman spoke of looking like a Drykas. Not, Khida signed, because that too was part of her identity; she had no Strider, she was not human, she was not Drykas. She was Kelvic, and she did not care what any nebulous and critical they thought of her, so long as she had the sky and the Sea and her bondmate about her.

They simply did not matter.

Unless...

The woman went on to turn diffident, even as she extended her hand with, evidently, a gift for Khida herself. Ribbons, warm red and sun-gold and soft green, lay draped across that hand. Things humans considered pretty, and indeed, Khida had seen them used to good effect -- but she had never thought to do so herself.

The Kelvic reached out and scooped the lengths of shiny cloth into her own grasp, considering their limp lengths across her skin, their ends fluttering in the gentle breeze. She blinked her attention up, not to Rue, but to the man who looked on in silence, his echo in her soul seeming pensively curious and suggesting nothing Khida could interpret as direction or desire. Both outwardly and against that inward silence, she projected query, seeking guidance from the human half of their bond.

Did he want this? Did he want her to be as they the Drykas?

She did not mind, as such, if it were so -- only that she was what he needed her to be.

Khida space Common | Pavi
other space Common | Pavi

by **Naiya** on June 9th, 2015, 12:08 am

Khida appeared confused at first, her subtle pleasure at the exchange departing in favor of bewildered denial. Rue quickly reaffirmed her claim you are Drykas she signed, the message shaped with wholehearted belief. It appeared not to sway the woman, though she took the proffered ribbon in her hands then.

She seemed not to really consider the ribbon, rather the pretense in which they were offered. The situation seemed to hold little appeal to the Kelvic, her gaze steady on the cloth for a fleeting moment before they shifted back up. They did not settle on Rue, though. Shahar was the focus of her gaze, loaded with the silence of questioning. Rue couldn't help the stiffening of her shoulders at the slight.

It was a rejection, clear as day. Khida did not want them, did not see the significance of the gift, nor the burden Rue wished to remove with their use. Khida's gaze lingered on Shahar, awaiting something Rue couldn't fathom.

What was more upsetting than the seeming dislike of the gift was the offer of companionship and bonding that was left hung out to dry. Teaching to braid, and braiding one another's hair held significance among the Drykas. To refuse that to someone who was a wife in all but words was no small discourtesy.

All these things ran through her mind, as quickly as the actions occurred, and hurt shadowed its way into her posture, small and burred beneath an outward offering, but there all the same. Even so, she reminded herself, Khida likely did not know, could not be held to understand the weight of actions that surely seemed small from an outside perspective.

Khida was simultaneously a Drykas, and far from being Drykas.