Hunting Is Far Preferable (Graded)

[Aidara]

"Home" It was the snarl, not the word, that got Aidara's attention. A sigh, and the smile dropped from her face quicker than the Endal could blink. The pale, lightly freckled face took up the look of a block of marble. That's right, now that the two wore identical expressions it was obvious that they were....identical. Well, it should have been obvious in the first place, but some people just didn't pay attention to the obvious until it was shoved under their stinkin' noses. Addy felt that way about her sister in this exact moment. Her green eyes were like ice chips, and her breath was a controlled exhale through her nose. There was no use for words anymore. Sai had her better-than-you pants on, and nothing was going to make her take them off, since they were growing into her like a second skin. Snorting with distaste, Addy focused her attention on the opposite side of the courtyard. To the gathered crowed, the two now looked to be giving the cold shoulder to the other. This was partially true, as there were practically ice crystals hovering in the air around the silent twins. However, their minds were anything but silent. Although they didn't have the ability to talk mind to mind, Addy was silently screaming at her sister. How DARE you treat me like some lowly Dek?! You know better than I that you could have ignored this situation, allowed the people of this city to run their lives with out your stupid nose getting stuck in EVERYTHING. You're not the mother eagle, Sairque! Thank petching god, since you'd smother them all to death, or beat them with their own food before puking it up all over them... The internal scream continued on for a matter of minutes, the womans entire concentration focused on shoving this feeling down the bond towards the rigid Endal on the other end. Sairque would feel the rush, the punch of hate, anger extreme disapproval and expiration. She would also feel the cold chill of regret slither in as, almost like an undertone or an after thought. The girls weren't perfect with their ability, and Addy had no idea that she was projecting her regret in her choice of words. It was necessary for her to have diffused the situation, yes, but she did it wrongly. Too casually. However, that didn't stop her from being pissed off. Sai would be ready and waiting for such an emotional attack, as they had been working on this for a while now. The two were able to finesse their emotions between them, subtle becoming a constant, where prior each feeling was a punch in the face. Aidara was aiming for not only that but a punch in the gut, kick in the knee and spit into her metaphorical face, just for effect. Realizing she wouldn't be able to see Sai's reaction if she was looking away, the healer spun and focused that familiar face with her hard gaze. But she had already started speaking to the poor boy about his food chips. Good peching god...which ever one wanted to respond, she didn't care. "I can't have a petching conversation with a damn cat, change already." Great. Provoke the animal twice the size of you. Brilliant idea, Sairque. Don't let me undermine you or anything. Go ahead, wave your Flight Leader flag and see how dead it gets you, and how quickly. Ungrateful little... It wasn't Addy's fault that Sai had taken her entire sense of humor and shoved it up her arse. And then the beast snapped its jaws at her sister. Artemis, who'd previously say beautifully quiet on her arm, heard the great teeth clash and squawked in panic. His wings snapped open and began winging wildly, stirring up bits of dust and debris from around the two women and the tiger. Now Addy was cursing the tiger up one side and then the other. "Use your damn head!" She snapped before thinking, turning away to shield the bird with her body. It looked like Artemis was turning out to be a spooker. She'd have to mention that to Val. Cooing resumed, as well as the gentle pets on his back feathers, hand darting nimbly out of the way of the deadly beak whenever he snapped blindly at her. When the falcon was back to fidgeting nervously on her arm, Addy turned slowly back around to see if her sister had been mauled to shreds yet. But ah, she was still standing there like a rod, watching the spot where the tiger was previously. A rather awkward looking woman stood there now, glaring hatefully around at those who stared openly at her nakedness. She smirked then, and Addy felt one of her own twist her lips. Once, she felt bad for her sisters interference with this unfortunate scene. Now, while extremely irritated, she was interested to see how this was going to play out.

[Sairque]

The eating habits of tigers weren't something that Sai had a great deal of interest in or knowledge of, so the weird glomping thing that the beast did with it's last steak wasn't thought much of. Nor was the way it met her eyes after changing into it's human form. Beasts didn't understand things like social structure, and with the risk of mauling negated there wasn't much reason to continue the staring contest. The thing with these Kelvics, Sai was quickly finding out, is that they thought they were above the caste order here in Skyinarta. Though, she still wasn't sure what Meat Girl's problem was, due to the fact that that Kelvic looked just like a regular Inarta.

If anything the Inarta were known for, it was their stupid bravery, and it took someone with the cunning and skill to back up that reckless streak to make it to flight leader. Sai was dedicated to her people; she paid her dues out on The Lookout, she paid her dues out scouring the frozen landscape during the winter months to find whatever scraps of food could help stave off the ever present starvation, and she spent the rest of her time getting her arse handed to her during training; why any single member of this community would want to disrespect or threaten her, was a mystery. And frankly, she was beginning to see that Kelvics needed a good long training period before let out to run amok in her city.

The tiger mumbled something incoherent before proceeding to lecture the flight leader about where she should and should not step in her city. Amazingly, Meat Girl stepped into her way, yet again, to introduce herself to the tiger-turned-woman. Meat Girl wasn't an Endal, nor an Avora, Sai would bet, but not a Dek either. Sooo...Chiet, commoner. And in the middle of this, an outpouring of indecipherable negative feelings flooded her mind, which, after one disorienting second, was something easily remedied.

Head twitching to the side, Sai slammed shut the emotional part of her mind. It wasn't a difficult task for the emotionally stunted woman; with no aptitude to properly handle anything aside from anger and happiness, over the years, any unruly emotions had been repeatedly shoved to the side of her conscious to make way for reason and logic. Addy's torrent tapered into a trickle, and the flight leader yet again thanked her lucky stars that she didn't always have to be at the mercy of her emotions like some people. It had been tempting to turn the tactic around on the healer, shove all the disappointment down her throat until she understood just how ashamed Sai had been. But that could be discussed later, after this situation had been diffused. For right now, the Endal was fine with Addy hanging around.

This Delicah woman, however, was in need of lesson on basic caste manners and the repercussions that ensued by ignoring them. As though they hadn't just been at one another's throats, Sai's calculating eyes shifted to Addy's and once she got her attention, a little nod of her head toward the offending woman was given. There was no doubt that Aidara would know what to do, and would probably assume that she was being asked because she thought she was better with people than Sai was. That wasn't the case, the flight leader just had a more permanent way of dealing with things like this.

Hands folded behind her back, Sai stepped around Delicah to face the tiger again, if only to continue the short bit of conversation that had been started. "You work for food, yet you refused to retrieve payment," the flight leader pointed out, pulling the woman's previous reasoning and warning to ribbons "Unless you're planning on surviving on alms for the winter," a significant glance given to Meat Girl, "you will ask for Food Chips if there are no pinions to be had," Sai held out the two food chips she had procured from the boy. "There are Dek to lug stones up hills, but if you insist on doing this work to earn your keep, so be it."

[Delicah]

Before the tiger women had said a word, the Endal came infront of her and spoke with the woman. Delicah glared at the back of her head before she realized that she must have offended the Endal, Kelvics are impulsive, afterall. She wasn't really good with social structures and hardly knew, or cared, about this one. All she knew were Endals were high on the chart, Deks were low. She chuckled softly. Someone thinks highly of themselves, she thought with a mental smirk and began to wonder what that Endal would feel if the tiger had bitten off her leg. She sighed inwardly, taking two steps back. Bird girl wasn't being so nice, I bet she was probably thinking I needed a lesson in respect. Isn't not biting off her head respect enough? It was to Delicah but she really wouldn't really know, she doesn't really associate with people that much.

[Aidara]

OocDelicah, you jumped the gun. Denali was supposed to go next. It's no problem, however, since we've split up into two different interactions, and Denali is more dealing with Sairque anyway. Denali, please post next and then we'll just keep this order as opposed to the original one, to avoid more confusion. The nod that was directed at her was not missed, nor did she react right away. Aidara knew what her sister expected her to do, but her anger made her resist the command. It was always this way, Addy struggling with wanting Sai all to herself, to act with the woman as if they were sisters- even in public. However, their society was wrought in such a way that Addy was expected to bow at the Flight leaders feet, just like everyone else. Anyone with younger siblings, even only a few minutes younger, would know how hard that is to actually follow said expectations. Bending a knee to family, following rules one doesn't agree with, takes more self control and personal courage than Addy currently held within her grasp. Hence the childish interference. Ever since they were little, Aidara and Sai had been inseparable. They had slept at the same times, undergone their educational instruction at the same rate (one or the other acting the fool if they started to progress faster than their twin). The girls even hit puberty at the same time. Sai had always been more naturally independent. She lead the late night kitchen raids, showed Addy how to walk through the halls without a sound. She made their decisions, chose where they went and their daily activities. Older by technicality only, Aidara grew into a firm dependence on her sister- the only stable thing in her life. However, their relationship wasn't one sided. Addy taught Sai how to love and accept, how to talk to people and even eek out what they were unwilling to give before a coy smile and fluttered lashes were unleashed. And then there was Catabasis. He was the rift between the sisters now, and they both knew it. Addy didn't want to share her sister with the bird, whose bond was obviously closer to the Endal than her own twinish bond. Not only that, but Addy had to share her sister with the entirety of Wind Reach. Before Sai's bonding experience, they were practically Siamese. Not only that, the ambitious younger twin left Addy in the dust, reaching and grasping her way up the social ladder to become the youngest Flight Leader in a long time. Just thinking about it made the resentment Addy felt thick enough she could almost taste it. According to Aidara, once Sai had reached such a high status in their society, their relationship shifted even more, splintering all around the edges and Addy felt each jab and poke. No longer did her sister cherish their relationship as she had. No longer were they two halves of one. Sai was Endal, Addy was Avora, and that was that. No more late night kitchen raids, no more poking fun between sisters. The loss still stung the small healer, and left her rather abandoned, clinging to what they had, and unable to force herself to behave as Sai thought was proper. Addy had felt the flow of emotions she shoved at her sister slow to a trickle, and then become damed up behind the wall Sai erected around her mind. With a sigh, she decided not to make the situation worse and cause an open brawl with her sister in the middle of...well, another situation also precariously tipping towards the "brawling" end of the spectrum. Readujsting her grip on the immature falcon on her wrist, Addy whirled (as best she could) alway from the tiger...well, Kelvic... towards the food woman at her chuckle. "Is something amusing to you? Because I can assure you, sweetheart, there is nothing funny about this situation. Wipe that smirk off your face, and show proper respect." Usually Addy played the good cop, letting Sai take care of the shanking. However, already riled by the situation with her twin, the small woman had no patience left. Pushing all those feelings of anger and disappointment through their bond had put Addy deeply in touch with the extent of her feelings. Having wished nothing else but to go and fly her bird, the ridiculouslessness of the whole thing made her vibrate with anger, hard to control now that she had let it wash over her so easily. Green eyes were riveted to the strange womans face, studying her despite the cloud of anger than hung heavy around her. The almost foot in height difference didn't phase Addy at all as she moved to stand directly in front of Delicah, glaring still. She didn't like the way she held herself, or the way her face was set into that all-knowing-better-than-you smirk. Red hair she had, yes, but she wasn't Inartian, Addy knew that for sure. No real Inartian would ever dare to show such obvious disrespect to a superior. Isn't that funny? Addy had done the same thing. It was different in the little womans mind, though. Addy didn't mean disrespect, her actions had been interpreted as disrespectful. Except for a few special cases, the caste system was very rigidly in place and respected. Delicah might as well have hung a "OUTSIDER!!!!!!!!!" sign above her head. Those of Mount Skyinarta didn't like outsiders, for this reason. Their inability to understand how things were supposed to be. Addy normally didn't mind said new people...to an extent. Always to an extent. The social butterfly that she was, the healer was able to disconcern a bit more from just a facial expression than most people. Despite her sisters taunts and friendly teases about spending all her time socializing, constant people watching and interactions taught the woman plenty of useful things. The set of Delicahs shoulders, the way her eyes tightened at the same time as she chuckled, the way her lips closed again in a smirk. Disdain, it was clear. How dare she act this way, a welcomed guest in their city? Aidara had noticed this unfriendly stare had been pinned to her sisters back. That set her off. "Respect! We let you into our city, as a welcomed guest and friend. We offer you our food, friendship and hospilality and you thank us with this kind of silent disrespect, sweetheart? I'm sorry to say, despite not saying a word you've said far too much for me to be okay with this. You will apologize to my sister, when shes done with...your friend. Understand?" Green eyes flashed, her normally bright and happy voice hard and cold with anger. Artemis began to flap his wings when Addy had started to talk, hopping on her wrist to try and get at the the source of his masters anger. Now two sets of sharp, deadly eyes were focused on the tall behemoth of a woman. One had a twin with a dagger and the right to use it, the other had a wickedly curved beak, restrained only be a few thin leathers straps. It would be best if she chose her next move wisely.

[Gossamer]

. Character: Denali Experience: +1 Sled Pulling, +1 Observation, Lore: Getting jilted out of pay. Eating food without suspicion, Challenging an Endal’s authority, Being confused as to ones own rights. Note: Kelvics can shift even when starving. If your tiger can’t hunt, shes a very poor kelvic indeed. Kelvics in wind reach should be fed almost as well as eagles because they feed themselves. If nothing else, miceing in the caves would gain you popularity and an often full belly. Character: Delicah Experience: +2 Observation Lore: Sharing Meat, Being Generous, Recognizing a clusterfuck, Being Oblivious to cultural issues, ignoring tension, ignoring authority. Note: Please post in third person! You really need to take the time for your PC to learn the culture of Wind Reach if you are going to dwell here. Character: Aidara Experience: +2 Observation, +4 Falconry, +1 Leadership Lore: Expecting the Unexpected, Adjusting to Surprises, Recognizing Sarique is ‘in charge’, Being Reasonable, Being Unreasonable, Understanding Sarique’s moods, Getting Pissed at one’s sister, being stubborn, thwarting one’s sister, Not ‘helping out’ a situation but adding to its confusion, appearing to turn off ones emotions, demanding apologies. Character: Sarique Experience: + 5 Leadership, +2 Observation Lore: Recognizing and correcting laziness, Situation assessment on the fly, Snap Judgments, Sorting out a clusterfuck almost instantaneously, Commanding attention, Controlling one’s temper, Dividing and conquering individual issues within a larger problem, turning off one’s emotions, dealing with challenges to her orders, taking charge. Additional Note: Nice thread. I wish it was finished. This was a great example of the class dynamics of Wind Reach. I gave Sarique an extra leadership point for taking charge of the situation. Too bad the kelvics didn’t stick around. .