Return to Endrykas 2

by **Lian Windrunner** on October 27th, 2015, 8:31 am

38th Day of Fall, 515 AV

Merevaika paid the guide, and he was on his way. That was to be expected. What wasn't expected was the smug, angry look in the woman's eyes as she glared back at Dravite. As if she was silently saying that she was better than Dravite was, and that she knew how to treat people better that his friend did. That rankled Lian. He didn't scowl, but that was only because he refused to go against his training, and let her know that she was getting to him. But it was a close thing. His lips did tighten as he schooled his expression, and his eyes darkened.

The woman's answers to Dravite's reasonable questions were...ludicrous at best. Staying with the zith? And that was the only one of the three that he new. Dhani was an unfamiliar race to him. As far as the Symnaestra people were concerned...weren't they just a story? Something to frighten children into behaving with? Lian vaguely remembered his friends retelling stories they had heard from their parents about spider people. In those stories, the brutal spider people that ate bad little Drykas children were called Symnaestra. At least that's what he thought they were called. But really...spider people? Lies. So much for the woman being willing to cooperate with the Watch.

Lian frowned. If the woman wanted to claim that she was staying with the zith, perhaps it would be better for her to do so in truth. Or at the least, return to Riverfall with her guide. Why was she being so difficult? Merevaika was a Drykas. Surely she understood the need for the Watch to be cautious. To protect the people. Dravite's questions had been perfectly reasonable. Lian could understand the woman's displeasure at having to wait until the next day to enter the city. But she had to know that it was a reasonable request.

And she did answer the question again, this time with a more reasonable answer. There was no one waiting for her in Endrykas. That made Lian feel some sympathy towards her. Before he had joined the Blackwater Pavilion, he had been the ankal of a pavilion of one. With only a captive for company. The twins he had sired on Seirei had filled a deep longing in his heart. They had given him a family that he had once feared had been lost forever. But even they couldn't fill his need for adult Drykas company. So before being invited to live among the Blackwaters, Lian had been like Merevaika was now. And he couldn't help but wonder how she had lost her family. But even that did not excuse her actions. Why hadn't she simply said as much in the beginning? Then again...even if it had been an obvious lie, the woman had already lied once. Could this be yet another lie? One designed to sound more believable in the aftermath of the first outrageous lie?

Lian was thinking about this when the woman sent her strider into a trot towards the city. Dravite was the first to react, but Lian wasn't far behind. He had frozen once, during his first mission. And a man had died. One that he knew, and respected. Looking back at it, Lian knew that he wasn't directly responsible for Trail's death. But he had frozen when Lace had been beheaded so suddenly in front of him. And the shock of seeing her die in that manner had affected his ability to think clearly, and react quickly. Would Trail still be alive if he hadn't had to come to his aid? Possibly. Lian would never know for sure. What he did know was that he was never going to hesitate again. No one else was going to die because of him.

Talise sprang into action with a gesture from Lian. Within a matter of ticks, Lian had her in a position not far from his friend. Lian remained on Talise's back, as he drew his bow, and readied an arrow. If there was to be any further threat, Lian knew that Dravite could handle it, and was in the perfect position to do so, with his spear. But he wanted to show a unified front. And in the unlikely event that the woman was able to elude the spear at her neck and attack, Lian would be ready. He would not hesitate again. He sat in tense silence, waiting to see if Merevaika would be reasonable, and back down.

Continued from this thread.
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by **Merevaika** on October 31st, 2015, 10:03 am

Her escape was quickly countered, the men moving behind her with rapid speed. The one in charge caught up with her, knocking her off her horse and pointing a spear towards her. Merevaika couldn't care less about it, turning towards Eryunt, who was struggling with another watch member who had gone to fetch him. He was never going to let that man go near him, not after his rider went down. "Eryunt, just stop," Stop, calm, no fight. The Strider kicked out one more time, before listening to her. Reluctantly, he stood still, grounded. If the man tried to move him, he would have a hard time doing it.

The nicer man of the Watch pointed a bow towards her, adding to the weapons trained on her. Did she really seem that much of a threat? A small laugh escaped her, but after it, her face turned sour. There was no point fighting. She was outnumbered and outmatched. All she could do was play along until they left her alone.

The man pulled her up by the scruff of her neck, walking her back towards her group. He spoke of her selfishness and how Endrykas had changed and on the dangers she already knew. It had been a foreigner who had so long ago tried to steal away with her pavilion's finest horses, after they had offered to guide him to the next city. It had been a foreigner who had brought the illness that killed her family. But they had been respectful and kind, still willing to welcome people into their arms. Strangers as well, people he didn't belong there. A fellow Drykas would have been treated even better.

She let her thoughts stay unknown, ignoring his little speech as she rolled her eyes. The woman was thrown to the floor, and he paced back and forth even more. He threatened to send her back to Riverfall. Let's see him try, she thought, smiling to herself. She would rather camp out here every day and night than venture across the Sea of Grass again.

Merevaika remained silent, watching the man with disgust, although she tried not to show it. So what if he had a family? At least he had one. There were too many people out there who had lost one, because of the Watch or rather, the lack of Watch. That's what she told herself.

Silent glares continued, mocking them by not saying a word. She wouldn't speak. She had nothing to say. Merevaika would keep her thoughts to herself, and let them try and interpret them if they wanted. If she spoke, it would only do harm. Staying silent was a lot better. Better to protect her, better to mock them.

by **Dravite** on November 5th, 2015, 8:54 pm

Merevaika was silent while Dravite stood alone with his rage. She was everything he hated about the younger generation of Drykas, like a lot of his old friends, who had grown up and decided the city of tents wasn't enough for them anymore; that there was something better to be found beyond the golden tide, only to sliver back when things weren't going their way. Arrogant, self-entitled, destructive, disrespectful, and all too happy to play the part of the victim. She couldn't tell him who she was staying with, what clan she belonged to, or her intended business in Endrykas, nor why the foreigners had followed her all the way from Riverfall; not only then did he find her incompetent but dangerous, to be traveling with people, strangers who she could not vouch for.

The young watchman was in half a mind to spit on tradition and send them all back to the garden city, but then, perhaps leaving them to their fates in the unforgiving city of tents was just what they deserved. Tomorrow he would be happy to see the back of them; tomorrow, he reminded himself, was not so far away.

Welcome to The Watch, he signed to Lian and shook his head, "we should be back home training, or out there," he pointed to the golden tide of tall grass, "instead, this," he raised his arms, hands turned skyward. When his arms fell at his sides again he slapped his thigh and pointed at Merevaika's horse and the watchman handling it, easy, he waved, "she should be in his sights at all times or he will get stressed out, but I don't want her taking off on him again, so the two are to remain separated," he gave the order; Merevaika was lucky he wasn't sending the Strider off to be housed for the night at her expense.

"Keep an eye on her," he said lowly to Lian, "and don't let her sweet talk you, not that I think she's capable," he said the second part in a whisper as he passed his comrade, "I'll be back in half a bell."

Coral stayed behind to speak with the second half of the traveling group while Lian was left to keep Merevaika in line, something Dravite believed the man to be capable of after all of their hunting trips together. He had seen the man shoot an arrow through the eye of a Grass Bear, that made him more than proficient for the task of standing guard, Dravite decided.

He returned to Cree, the large stallion still on high alert, nostrils flared and tail up, ready to go. As he jumped up onto the animal's back and threw a leg over he glanced back at the city and knew that he would need to send a message home, informing his family that he would be out overnight; something to do when he returned to the group. With a curt nudge to the stallion's side via the heel of his boot, he ordered the horse to head towards the Wind Knotted Gate and met up with one of the replacement watchmen there, informing the man of the current situation out on the grass.

After a lengthy exchange, the watchman agreed to go back to Aris and inform him on the matter, but not without sending water first. Dravite returned with a woman who rode a beautiful, black strider with four white socks and a long, narrow blaze down the front of its face. He thanked her for helping him bring back some water and set to work; watering the horses and making sure Merevaika's mount got his fill after the long journey he had been through. Cree too took a long drink from the bucket before putting his head down to sniff at the ground and walk off to find a suitable place to graze. Dravite let him go and sat away from the group, both for peace of mind and to reach out to someone at home.

Following the familiar paths in the web he had traced many times already this fall, Dravite weaved his way into Diamond territory and the campsite he called home. Roan was there and happy to listen as usual. They spoke for a spell and Dravite informed the young man that he might not be home until the following morning. Roan let him know about the status of the camp and the current mood before the two said their fair wells and Dravite returned to himself in the physical world.

He was conscious all of three ticks before he heard a familiar rumble of hooves, and in the distance he noticed a small group approaching, the head of which he recognised instantly as Aris. Strange, he thought, it was rare for Aris to venture out beyond the gates of Endrykas, especially for small matters such as this. Dravite got to his feet and dusted himself off before approaching the handful of riders who were slowly starting to rein their horses in. Aris stopped his Strider a few feet from Dravite and the two seemed to edge nearer to one another without saying anything. Aris glanced at Merevaika before admitting that he had been keeping an eye on the event in the web. Dravite thought back to his actions then against the woman but didn't think that he had been too untoward.
"You look unsettled," Aris told the man.
"Just aggravated," he admitted.
Aris smiled slowly, another rare sight, "don't worry I'm not here to tell you how to do your job, you've proved yourself more than capable in the season's we've worked together, but I do have a request."
"Yes?"
"I need you and one other to ride over to one of the outposts new the far end of the lake; they need a few supplies up there," Aris informed the man.
Dravite was just about to protest and say that a supply run was a job for a rookie when he realised that Aris was giving him a way out of his current task, and honestly, he would prefer to be anywhere but here dealing with foreigners, "I'll take Coral if you can do without her," he smiled, "she needs to learn the route."
"Perfect," Aris agreed, "report back tomorrow."

With that Dravite went after his horse and informed Coral that it was time for the two of them to depart. Aris left three of his men with Lian, making the total number of watchmen to guard to group double that of the people they needed to keep an eye on. Good luck, Dravite waved to his friend before shooting off towards the city to pick up supplies with Aris and the rest of his party.

NoteSorry for bowing out guys, I just have so much on with Tribal that I'm having to reduce threads for Drav asap. Give her hell, Lian. :finger:

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by **Lian Windrunner** on November 10th, 2015, 8:53 am

Lian frowned at the woman's stubborn silence. It felt like she was being defiant, and that didn't sit well with him. She was a Drykas, so she should understand that the Watch existed to protect the Drykas people. Since she had been gone for more than a full season, she couldn't possibly have known that they had lost good people to foreigners earlier this season, and were even more cautious of them as a result. But she should understand that if she and the others were being stopped at the gate by the Watch, then there was good reason for it. That much was considered to be common sense by the Drykas people. The Watch kept a close eye on the foreigners that they allowed into the city, but they didn't go around harassing them for no reason. Merevaika should know all of this...and yet she still refused to cooperate.

Dravite signed to him, and Lian nodded in agreement. He couldn't help but agree. When Lian had considered joining the Watch, he had thought he would be patrolling the city, and the surrounding wilderness to protect the city from danger. Zith attacks, bandits, even wild animals. Riding out to protect the pavilions living outside the city's protection had been expected as well. As had monitoring the Web and repairing any damaged places he found. But not having to guard the city against one of its own people. Still, Merevaika's behavior was suspect, and that added to the foreigners she had brought with her marked her as a potential threat. As such, she was to be watched closely, and not to be trusted in the slightest. Especially as she had already tried to get past them and into the city once.

The order to keep an eye on the woman was given, and Lian nodded again. He had already come to see the woman as a potential threat. So he would have kept a close eye on her with or without an order to do so. Lian adjusted his grip on his bow, but the weapon remained firmly trained on Merevaika.

Aris arrived after a while, and spoke to Dravite briefly, giving him another mission to deal with; a supply run. Dravite took Coral with him, signed "good luck" to Lian, and left. Lian couldn't help but think that Dravite and Coral had gotten the better mission. But a mission was a mission, and Lian wasn't going to let anyone down by giving his duty anything less than the full attention it required.

Aris left three of his men with Lian and the others remaining so that they wouldn't be left short handed by Dravite's and Coral's departure. Then he, too was gone. Lian had been left in charge, so he set two of the remaining men to patrolling the boundary of the camp that had been set up. He asked the others to stand watch in pairs, taking turns so that one pair would be on guard all night. For his part, Lian was taking his order to keep an eye on Merevaika very seriously. He would keep one eye out for danger, aiding the pair standing watch as he could. But most of his attention would be on the woman and her foreigner friends. While others kept alert for dangers coming from outside the camp, he would be keeping guard on the potential dangers within the camp. He would patrol the camp itself, weapon in hand to make sure that he would be ready if Merevaika and the foreigners tried anything. It was going to be a very long night.

Word Count4499 words

NoteI think I'm going to end Lian's part here. I have enough words for this to count as a work thread now, and I'm starting to get overwhelmed between work, and keeping up with all of my ongoing threads. Merevaika, feel free to add a final post if you want.

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by **Merevaika** on November 14th, 2015, 10:12 pm

He separated woman and strider. Eryunt sensed this, acting even more violent towards the man holding him. He was given water, and treated well, but he was wild in his blood, and only Merevaika could sooth him. The horse jumped and snorted and stomped, but didn't hurt the man holding him, simply trying to scare him. Eventually, after persistence, she got him to stand still.

People moved, men coming and going as they decided who was where. Eventually, two were set up to patrol the little camp set up, and the others watched in pairs. The man with the bow kept his eye on her, weapon in hand, trying to avoid any danger from within. Merevaika smiled. There wouldn't be, but he would have to stay alert all night. After all, with a woman like her, he would have to.

She played with her knife, spinning it between her fingers. She teased the dogs, laughing when they bared their teeth. She draw patterns in the dust with her arrows, large circles that seemed mystical with their strange symbols, twisting and turning around her feet. She stared at the man back, a mocking, teasing smile as she hinted she might be up to something.

If he wouldn't sleep, she wouldn't either. Eyes heavy, but still alert, she appeared to be monitoring everything, waiting to make her move.

But she wasn't. This was just fun. Every now and then, she would raise rapidly with her knife ready, before going to fetch some water or eat something. Every now and then she would try to make a darting movement. Every now and then, she would try to fool them, playing with them.

That night, she slept peacefully, even if she didn't mean it. Her eyelids closed, the world enveloped in black. With the warm furry bodies around her, protecting her, keeping her warm, and the thought of teasing the Watch, her sleep was deep and refreshing. Tomorrow would be the start of a new day. Tomorrow would be the true return home.

by **Nivel** on December 20th, 2015, 2:17 am

Lian Windrunner :

Merevaika :

Dravite :

Additional Comments: If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to message me.

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