Quiet Companions (Kailey)

[Naiya]

23rd Day of Spring, 515 AV
Morning

Shahar had awoken early, as he was wont to do, and with him Naiya woke, though she might have continued sleeping if his movement hadn't stirred her. She didn't begrudge him his habits, though, and in fact had come to count on his presence waking her in the mornings. Good morning she signed to him, a slow sign that marked her slow awakening.

He in turn greeted her before going about his morning business. Naiya too, had plans for the morning, donning her slightly worn tunic and breeches, as well as her well loved boots. This morning she would practice her combat skills, she had found, lately, that she was falling further and further out of practice.

Despite having accrued more than her share of bumps and scrapes in the city thus far, Naiya was not going to let the aching oh her muscles deter her from getting in some practice, even if only gentle work on her own.

She tucked a dagger into the sheath hidden below the top of her boot, and brought along her bow and quiver as well. Ducking outside of the shared tent, Naiya paused to tighten her belt and check the pouch of jerked meat there. Her companion, Banti, was sleeping, but Naiya imagined the cat would happily waken for the short trip out into the grasses.

Around her was the rest of the camp, Khida stirring as well as morning progressed, near by the Sanctuary was beginning to stir as well, and while they were not quite close enough to see the movements of people, the sounds were indication enough.

All the same, she would not venture far from camp alone, nor would she go unarmed. She crouched beside Banti, bestirring her with a gentle touch and an an offered morsel. The cat woke slowly, a small chirping sound an expression of happiness at Naiya's arrival.

The cat was happy enough to plod along after her Drykas, though she was far from doing so on command. Naiya paused briefly to enjoy the morning, before settling just far enough from the camp and her family to practice without waking or bothering anyone.

She settled into doing some stretches, knowing that otherwise she might pull a muscle, and began waking mentally as her body followed suit. Banti curled up near by, settling in to watch her human, her head resting gently on her paws.

After she was warmed and ready to begin, she began drills, making a careful fist, fingers curled into the palm and thumb closing over top, before following through with a round of jabs. Punches straight forward without much force behind them. Jabs were better for distracting, unless you were hitting somewhere soft. Like the throat, or the abdomen. Sometimes you could knock the wind out of someone with a jab in the gut.

She punched at the air until her arms became sore, then switched to kicks, pulling her knee up and in, then snapping her foot out as though her heel would connect with a target. She did bouts of six, two high, two low, and two of a middling height. More difficult than the kick was keeping her core tight and her balance up when she kicked at head height or higher.

She would continue this way, cycling through kicks and punches with varying degrees of intensity and correctness until she grew tired, taking a break to stretch once more and perhaps begin anew.

[Kailey]

The day was young, and this, Kailey found, was something she could appreciate, as it meant that there was still a great deal of time to complete some, if not all of the many things that she had wanted to do. The sun was shining, and it felt warm against her bare skin; whatever her white dress failed to cascade over. The air had a lightness to it, although, it felt moist with the morning's evaporated dew, and the sky itself seemed happy as its flocks of fluffy white, cloud sheep walked lazily across its length. Grazing on unseen grass in an endless expanse of soft blue. The Kelvic, having decided early that she wanted the opportunity to enjoy all of this to its fullest extent, chose to step out of the hustle and bustle of the city, and into the vast Sea of Grass. A place where she could forage, shift and graze without facing the watchful eye of the blue men, or encountering whatever comments they might of had about her appearance, behavior, and race. (At least those who knew her to be anything less than human). A place where she could find peace and quiet, and practice what she knew without being interrupted during the course of the process. So, the Kelvic skipped as the sun's light bathed her, a broad smile stretching across her lips as the skirt of her dress danced around her knees. Sliding back and forth over her thighs as she bounced, her arms swinging, and scarcely batting it back into place. Her long hair, left down, swaying between her shoulder blades as her eyes searched the earth. Her bare feet sinking against the grass. Pushing the blades down, while those besides tickled her bare legs as her heart began to beat a little faster, while her breathing edged away from that most even. The Kelvic's knees edged into her chest as she hopped ahead. Her body spinning as she thrust her arms out to her sides, and let her dress wind around her. Her hair whip against her cheeks as it moved with the rest of her; winding around her neck like a snake as she looked up at the sky. Her smile widening as she closed her eyes and giggled as she continued to amble along, moving farther and farther away from the city and into the grassy plains. As time passed, and her head began to spin at a rate that met the tune of her body, she hummed. Allowing the undulation of her vocal chords to play in time with her spin, as finally she came out of it. As she did; the world still kept on moving as she took several unsure, wobbling steps forward, and simply laughed. Pleasure bubbling to the surface from her core as she opened her eyes, and took in the sight of several aging dandelions before her. Laughing again, as unable to fight it, she began to sing a song. A lullaby she supposed, something she thought her mother had once said. Time and again. In the field where the dandelions grow, past the barn, where the horse's hay lay, there was a goat, and a bunny at play, running and jumping, in the sun all day. And in that field, where the dandelions did grow, there was a goat, dreaming of a boat, with a little painted blue horn, and a pile of corn, which he had nibbled, since the day he was born. And in that field, where the dandelions did grow, there was a cow, who had always wondered how, that little goat, with his painted blue horn, had always managed to eat, with his feet, and not get sick. Well, maybe that's not exactly how it had went. The song didn't make much sense, but Kailey wasn't sure how it went. Or how it had sounded originally in its entirety. And she had supposed that substituting some words for those she had forgotten would be better than stopping and trying to think it up. And those words wouldn't change the song, and it would be better and ok this way. Although, she wished she could get it just right. Like the way her mother had. Although, there was something about her voice that made it seem to soft most of the time, and to annoyingly cheery at others. But no matter, this she shrugged off as she continued to skip along, and continue her merry little song. Repeating it over and over, whenever she couldn't think of a natural flow for the words. Or at least, a relatively natural one.

[Naiya]

Naiya was just beginning to really sweat when she caught the breeze. She sighed, taking the cool air in with a fresh breath and a happy smile. Her pattern of breathing through the exercise broken with the breeze, it fell quiet around her. The only sound left was that of the wind still pressing against skin hot from exertion.

No, that wasn't quite true, Banti heard something. The feline had raised her head, awakened from her slumber by something Naiya couldn't hear. Finally the sound reached her, a voice perhaps, carried on Zulrav's wings. It rose and fell in odd intervals, the words hard to understand at a distance, and interrupted in patterns that made it sound all the more eerie. It was getting louder, and Banti was as aware of that fact as she was, her gaze focused towards the source. Naiya took the advanced warning given by the voice, using the time between the warning and the arrival to string her bow and ready an arrow, although she did not take aim, nor was her bow raised.


She had found enough trouble in carrying her weapon the last time, she did not want to cause trouble where it didn't exist. At the same time, however, she couldn't bear the thought of being stuck with an unstrung bow if it was trouble that came calling.

It became more clear that the voice was that of a girl, and that the odd sounds that had alerted both the cat and the Drykas to her presence was some sort of chant, how she kept at such a thing as she skipped along was a mystery.

Seeing the girl now, Naiya returned her arrow to her quiver and began unstringing her bow. She didn't need such things now, and letting them sit was not a good way to care for them.

Banti, all together less trusting of people pinned her ears and hissed, the unfriendly sound one the girl was sure to notice. wariness crept into her posture despite the disarming of her bow, strangers in this place had proved cruel and frightening more often than not, and Naiya had quickly adapted her mentality to deal with people as such.

[Kailey]

And in that field, where the dandelions did grow, there was a cow, who had always wondered how, that little goat, with his painted blue horn, had always managed- The Kelvic opened her eyes. Her song cut off as the sound of Banti's hissing reached her ears. To her, it sounded like a sword being sharpened, as it reverberated incessantly down the length of her ear canals. A shiver shot up the length of her spine as her muscles grew temporarily rigid, and her heart began to beat a little faster. Her eyes settling on the hissing beast as her breath caught in her throat, and she was forced to choke down a large clump of saliva that had gotten lost there. She forced herself, a moment later, to take a few steps forward, although the feline unnerved her and stare it straight in the eye, until hopefully, it looked away from her and somewhere else. If, it chose not to go hide behind its owner like a good boy. A woman, from what Kailey could tell, pulling the string off her bow, if not putting it on again. She looked warm, and smelled sweaty, and judging by how her pale skin glowed in the sunlight she had been sweating. Recently, maybe she had been working out in the sun; practicing? Kai tilted her head to the side as she studied the woman, who looked to be a tad shorter than her, as her long hair cascaded down the side of her body. The woman's own hair was a copper in tone, with a bit more body; wavier. Although, the top looked frizzy from fly-aways, and the rest looked a tad matted from moisture. More sweat, she supposed as her nose twitched. Nostrils flaring as she caught a good whiff of the cat. It smelled like piss. Kai looked at it for a moment, than the woman, who seemed slight yet well built as though she worked out. Perhaps, a bit like Kailey herself, who not only liked to jab, but run and jump all day. (After she had had a few good clovers). Kai smiled sweetly, her eyes sparkling in the light of the sun. "Oh hello," she said. "Didn't see you there," and I could have smelled you easily had I not been distracted, she thought to herself, because you stink! The Kelvic shifted her weight from one foot to the other, before straightening and tucking a few loose strands of hair behind her ears. "I'm Kailey," she began again, introducing herself. "And who are you?" she asked nicely, before adding, "and what are you doing out here?" She couldn't recall seeing humans out here very often. They seemed to prefer the safety of their cities. OOCSorry for the delay, my cousin got married last weekend, and I just didn't get around to it.

[Naiya]

The odd chant cut short, a collection of words that seemed beyond bizarre in the Drykas's ears. Oddly enough, the girl went on to question Naiya, as though she thought herself the one with the most sense.

She couldn't quite understand the girl, who sang her way along the grasses, calling to herself all sorts of attention, and then questioned her about what she was doing out in the sea.

She was odd, this person, and perhaps nervous; more pronounced for the tucking of her hair and the shifting of her weight, familiar to Naiya as ways to distract herself. Despite this she attempted to stare down Banti, who's reaction was perhaps more than the girl expected.

"Banti, no." Naiya countered the cat's ready posture, the feline was hunkered down and ready to pounce, but the other, this Kailey seemed to know nothing at all about animals, taking an aggressive movement forward towards the cat, the Drykas's words only just halting the pounce that might have very bad for all parties involved.

"I practice, I train, I find it is best to know how to stay safe." Despite her increasing grasp of the common tongue, Naiya could tell her speach was still rough, not at all the feeling of her native tongue, a far more appealing language, if you were to ask her.

"I am Naiya Dawnwhisper, of the... Drykas." It was strange, not having a clan to claim as her own, and she had to cover her misstep quickly to keep any semblance of authority.

"I would ask the same, what are you doing alone in the sea of grass? Does no one watch out for you?" She recalled a similar situation, or at least a similar question, the first time she had met Khida, having ridden out alone into the sea. Although, at least then Naiya had Wildfire to watch for her.

"It is not safe for children to be alone out here, you know." She cautioned, or at least she attempted to.

[Kailey]

Kailey nodded, that made sense well enough, although a part of her wondered why she wasn't learning to stay safe with other people, as people seemed to like doing that together. In fact, people seemed to like doing lots of things with other people- singing, dancing, eating, hunting, gathering, talking, drinking... among other things. "Nice to meet you!" Kailey said cheerily, "haven't seen a drykas for awhile. They like horses I think... they can be nice, although they smell kind of funny," she continued as she wrinkled her nose, "and they're too big sometimes, and they collect flies..." she added, on a sort of childlike stream of consciousness. Kailey blinked a few times, as though pulling out of a sort of trance, or a flow of memory. "Where's your horse Naiya?" she asked innocently as she took a look around, and noticed nothing more than the feline, the Drykas girl, and the grass itself. For she could smell horse on Naiya, but it seemed a bit stale. Kailey frowned. "Don't you ever go for walks by yourself?" she asked. "You're alone now, training, so why wouldn't you go for a walk by yourself? They're fun!" She wanted to hop around though. Kailey smiled broadly. "Especially when you go on your own and there's no one in the world to slow you down!" she finished as her smile widened, and then she thought over the last of the questions, and how peculiar they seemed to her, especially coming from a stranger. Because usually strangers weren't friendly, and didn't talk to each other much at all. "I go for as many as I can, whenever it's possible, because it's so much fun. No one has ever needed to come before... no one has ever offered either, and it's ok." She shrugged. "You don't need people to be with you all the time to be happy and have fun!" Kailey fell silent a moment. "Want to see?" she asked. "Or are you to busy training? Because that can be fun too... and maybe you need help?" OOCSheesh, Kailey really is one childish ball of energy.

[Naiya]

Naiya was overrun by the girl's youthful exuberance. She spoke quickly, and Naiya could barely keep up, but she nodded along anyway, watching the expressions of her face change from one emotion to another almost more quickly than she spoke the words that accompanied the changes.

"My horse is near, with my family," She paused only a moment to assess the risk of bringing a stranger to her home, but decided after a moment or two that the girl was too young to pose a true risk to her family. "We could go meet him? We have other animals too." She didn't really phrase the question correctly, but she did remember to add the lit of a question to the end of her words, the inflection that common so often used to signify an inquiry.

"I am also not too busy, if you want to train instead, I can try to teach." She could hardly keep up, did the girl want to go for a walk? Or meet Wildfire? Or did she want Naiya to teach her to fight? It was nearly impossible to tell from the quick chatter. Pavi was so much more clear in it's intentions.

She spread her hands in a sign that she was unsure, but willing to follow along with the girl's decision, the youth posed little danger, and Naiya couldn't help but to feel like she should be responsible for the child until her parents could be found. Wandering around alone was not safe for children, and children were too important to risk. She would follow the girl's will until she could figure out a solution.

"What is it that you would like to do?" She finally asked.

[Kailey]

Kailey listened, and then tilted her head to the side so that her hair ran off the length of her shoulders. She offered Naiya a funny expression. It wasn't as though her brow furrowed, or her forehead wrinkled, or even her eyes got a little wide, or anything quite so tell-tale. But it betrayed the sense that the Kelvic thought that the drykas had said and done something peculiar all of the same. "Didn't mention anything in particular, simply said all the things that one could be doing, and all the things that were left to be wondered about," she explained. "Now, what would you like to do, since nothing was mentioned before?' she asked before hopping up an down several times, and swinging her arms in a motion that made it appear as though she were missing her jump rope. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Never mind, I just came up with an idea of something I would really like to do. You can help. You can do it with me, and we can do it together," Kailey went on, practically tripping over her own words. "You see, you were already training it seems, so it wouldn't be so different for you to do it with someone. And I really like to train, and like to do it with other people when I can it's a lot more fun you see," she explained, before nodding vigorously several times. Smiling widely as her eyes sparkled happily. "We can train with our fists and our feet- it's good to train with them. They're the one weapon you'll never be without you know," she explained as her smile widened. "We can see what we can both do, and then you'll know why it's more than safe for me out here," she added, as she slid her right foot in front of the left until they were about a foot apart. She pointed the toes on her right foot ahead, toward the drykas, and those of the left toward the left. She bent her legs lightly at the knees, and leaned into her lead foot slightly, applying most of her weight onto it, although her feet were still fairly balanced. She then twisted her body to the left from the waist up, to present only her side, and thus, less of a target. She then raised both of her arms, and bent them at the elbows. She held them about six inches ahead of her, with her hands balled into tight fists. They were folded across her chest in a more defensive position. When everything was done, she rocked her weight forward and back, from one sole to the other, in a half hop. "Now put them up!" Kailey giggled like a child. "And get yourself ready!" she insisted, before waiting a moment to see if Naiya did, before making to jab at her nearest shoulder with her right hand.

[Naiya]

With surprising suddenness, the girl had decided what they would do, she fell into a fighting stance that Naiya unthinkingly mirrored, her reaction a response to the thread of the action.

She watched the woman bounce, her shoulders shifted so that her side was forward, that, Naiya thought, was odd, she would hold her shoulders and hips even, facing her opponent so she could better gauge her movements.

Without hesitation the girl jabbed towards Naiya's shoulder, a threat more than an attack, and Naiya simply leaned back out of the woman's reach, her back leg accommodating the extra weight. Rather than fists, Naiya's hands were open, the blade of her hand her weapon more so than her fist.

Naiya shifted, balancing her weight between both her legs once more, ready to move in or out of range as the case called. It did make slightly more sense that the girl was alone if she could fight, but Naiya was skeptical of her ability. How could she, a girl so young and naive be any good at combat?

If the girl continued to jab, the simple attack holding no real threat, she would push into the first move of the fight, an overhead blow of her left hand towards the girl's crown, the movement forcing her into the space of the girl, so her free hand would cut to the girl's other shoulder, hoping to prevent or at least lessen a coming attack with the impact of her hand to the girl's collarbone.

[Kailey]

Kailey swung her second arm out, almost in the same instant that Naiya swung her other arm out as well. She watched it sail toward her moving at a level, in a line similar to her own limbs. In the end, they wound up meeting in the middle- the flat of her own arms, coming beneath Naiya's own extension, and pushing it upward and aside. This forced her to end her own attack prematurely, and kept Naiya from hitting her in the same motion. From there, Kailey would return her hands to their starting position, and then jump forward. Kailey moved into a position where she was within striking distance of her opponent. From there, she would reach out with her left hand, and try to grab Naiya's right wrist with her left hand. With her right hand, she'd reach for the fabric of her attire- around the area of her pectoral muscles and her collarbone. She'd bunch it in her fist if she could, to be sure that she had a good grip, as she stepped forward again, so that she and Naiya would then be standing next to one another. When she got there, she would swing her right foot past the woman's body, as she tugged downward on both the woman's arm, and the piece of fabric she held. She would lean her body forward, so that she would seem like a ballerina moving into a leg extension, and with the momentum built up from the plunge, she would swing her right leg back. She would hold it straight and taut, as she pushed it up as far as it would go, while trying to take Naiya's closest leg with it, so that it was swept out from under her. As she did this, she would not only pull down as she tried to tighten her grip. She would pull down, and to the western portion of her body, so as to help the drykas onto her behind. If Naiya fell to her attack, Kailey would release her hold on the woman's wrist, while following her down. Hopefully, tightening her grip upon the fabric by the woman's collarbone. This would keep Naiya in place as she straddled her, and rained down single jabs to her shoulder area with her free fist. (As this meant she was being nicer, as there was something about practices in most cases, where you didn't go for the face or the erm... more private areas). If Kailey couldn't catch her, she would do her best to defend herself from anything that the drykas threw her way. She would struggle to regain her composure and think up a new plan of attack. If the attack failed in the middle- since the drykas wiggled out of it, or perhaps, Kailey hadn't executed it as well as she could of, Kailey would do her best to pull away a little, and make some room by which she could defend herself, before following up with an uppercut or two, just for good measure; to more or less help ensure that the drykas woman could not dog her. OOCPlease feel free to pm me if you think I misunderstood Naiya's attack, and replied poorly. Also this throw is known as osotogari.