I Need Your Help

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

The cups smelled nice, of ginger and peppermint. Of homemade medicine, something she couldn't remember having for so long. The smell filled the cave as Merevaika huddled under the warm, watching Amnet work. Turnips, carrots, onion and garlic were all added to the pot, in between blue and gold eyes watching red and green. Her eyes seemed so peaceful, the colours merging nicely. Merevaika's looked violent, unnatural and wild. Just like her nature, she supposed.

A tea was brought to her, and Merevaika took it and sipped it, feeling so much warmer with the warm liquid inside her. It tasted good and didn't want to make her throw up. Of course, maybe her stomach would reject it later, but having something warm inside her soothed her.

It was the 91st. When had she left it was the 87th. She had entered the cave the next day? Was it three days in the cave? Two? She couldn't figure it out. Such a short time, but it wasn't. It had been eternity, waiting for something to happen. Endrykas had moved on, it was almost Spring. She was lost, without a plan, without any idea of what to do. But she was still alive. That meant something.

The eyes stared at it, speaking gently but intelligence in her eyes. Merevaika thought about it. She couldn't remember why she had joined the race. It was so long ago, so unimportant. She wanted to win, but she was competitive. There was a prize, but she wanted the honour and pride of coming first. "I don't know." Another question. "I don't know. One second I was racing, the next, my nephew, little Vaikar was in the way. I didn't see him. He was there and... and..." She didn't say anything else, looking away. There was no emotion in her eyes, no feeling of guilt or sorrow or even pleasure. Just nothingness.

Then the answer to her previous question clicked. Merevaika spoke rapidly, almost excited, although her face was still. "Some in this world are meant to hunt, others, like you, are made to heal. I am made to ride. I am meant to ride, on Eryunt, against the wind, chasing the storms as they move across the land. I am meant to be with Eryunt. Eryunt, Eryunt..."

She felt a sudden urge to see him, rising quickly. She dropped the tea, spilling the scent of ginger and peppermint across the ground as she stepped forward. Then she sunk to the ground, clutching her head. It had got worse, now piercing yet also dull. She blinked, looking up, and everything was wavy lights at once, paths twisting. Her vision went blurry and Merevaika fell to the ground, clutching her eyes.

When she opened them, it was gone. Merevaika closed them again, counting her breaths slowly. She couldn't do this. She couldn't... Yet Amunet could. "How do you... control it?"

"Pavi"
Grassland sign
"Common"

[Amunet]

Amunet nodded. “I believe you. I did see the whole thing.” The girl said with a firm directness that may speak of an inner strength along with the peace she had. The people at the race were so angry and no one would listen to a wayward red head with no pavilion and no windmarks. The spoon lightly stirred the vegetable stew. It was restorative and nourishing despite it not having any meat. Meat was something her body rejected at the moment so the lightness of this might be easier on her stomach. The dark haired woman might show nothing on the outside, but the numbness was a tight cover one kept deep seated issues behind.

The Healer nodded to her words of needing to ride. The need to feel the wind in your hair at speeds as fast as you and your strider could go. “There is a time for riding. There is a time for work. There is a time for hunting. There is a time for nurturing. The Gods teach us that all things are in its own time. I do not fully understand this, but I do know that our purpose reaches out to us in different ways. Yes mine is to Heal, to take care of the people of Endrykas and who my Goddess calls me to heal.” Her hand motioned towards Merevaikia. “I trust the time to deal with your own issues will come to pass as the Gods’ deem fit.” There was no judgement in her eyes at all and found the woman not what others have made her to be. Drykas prejudice and intolerances are heavy upon the shoulders of those who do not fit in and quick to make judgement. She wore such burdens of gossip and prejudice despite her being a Healer.

When the woman rose a bit too quickly, Amunet went to her side. “Easy there,” Her words soft and gentle. How did you control it? Great question. “Im still learning how to do that. Calmness, quiet and a lot of deep breathing seem to help focus it. It requires focus but I am still figuring it out myself.” It was the truth. “It was how I found you. In through the nose and out through the mouth slowly. Slow it down.”

The girl was no expert in meditation but she could get her to slow her breathing down and refocus. Amunet was a natural focused person considering her profession. “I have had little time to explore the magic fully. I don’t even know what it’s called. “

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

Amunet believed her. Of course, the girl was there. But she didn't know it all. There was so much against her. It wasn't like Merevaika was just a saint and this little accident had become something so much bigger. Or perhaps it was like that, but Merevaika didn't see it clearly. The events haunted her and she tried not to think about it. All she knew that was returning wouldn't go well.

She spoke of the gods and Merevaika twitched, angry at them. They tortured her like this, subjecting her to danger and pain and loss, but they didn't kill her. Once, she had believed they watched out for her and looked after her, but now, she saw it through different eyes. They only kept her alive to put her through more pain. She moved her gaze up, meeting Amunet's eyes and trying to see if she truly believed what she said. The woman looked upon her without judgement and Merevaika was relieved. That was the one thing she needed.

It turned out Amunet didn't know how to control the magic either. Merevaika didn't know whether she should have expected this. Calmness and quiet and focus all seemed to work, but Merevaika didn't know how to reach that. Amunet tried to get her to slow her breathing and Merevaika tried, only somewhat successfully. In though the nose, then she slowly breathed out through her mouth. But she couldn't. This slow pace wasn't for her and she stopped it quickly, just trying to focus on the magic. The glowing paths came in sight with a headache, the trail of Amunet twisting across the cave as the main one. It looped and knotted, making her headache even worse.

Merevaika tried to do the mediation again, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. With enough focus, she managed to drive the vision away, returning to normality. "What do you know about it?" Merevaika asked, staring into the distance as she thought about it. This was a strange magic, obviously rare if neither knew anything about it. But if it was rare, who knew anything at all? Finding out would simply be a matter of trying things, not asking an elder. She assumed so, anyway.

[Amunet]

Amunet’s hand was on Merevaika’s shoulder as she was cradling the ache in her head. “you just got the stars didn’t you.” It wasn’t exactly a question. It had been only a few days since the incident at Stardown. The stars were fresh. It didn’t seem to be blinding pain like hers or the compulsion would be stronger. “Don’t push at it. You need to let it settle before trying to focus again. For a couple of days at least” The Healer had done what she could for her, but could make her a tea for pain. “I can make a different tea for pain but it will make you sleepy. “ Amunet would leave that up to Merevaika if she wanted that tea or not. Medically, the woman needed to rest more with the wounds she had still healing even if assisted with the Healer’s touch.

“Rest is what you need. Not more action. “ The young lady said softly and seriously. “The body and flesh can only take so much I noticed. It will tell you when enough is enough. “ This was with anything that was done such as over exerting the muscles. The young lady theorized that if you push the magic it had to be similar though she didn’t know the full ramifications or what it is called. Amunet watched her as she breathed through it and nodded as it was much the same she did to relax and let the ribbons go away. The pain seemed to ease as she was less tense. She added another piece of wood to the fire.

She asked what the young red head knew about it . “I know its magic. Father was a glypher and webber, so the way it feels seem to describe a little of how this ribbon magic feels. The colors of the stars and ribbons don’t seem to have a meaning or pattern or sometimes it’s just random pieces that meander and don't go anywhere. I know focus straightens these pieces out and show you a direction of who you are thinking. That’s all I know. I am still trying to figure it out, whatever it is. “ She said softly as she sighed. Amunet wished she knew more of this mysterious magic she shared with yet a third person.

“All that Endrykas knows is that I went to Heal someone in need.” She relayed to her discreetly. “They don’t question when I go and come back. I do need to head back to get my brother and our things to spring grounds. “ She would need to pack up but the woman obviously would need something to keep her going till she made some kind of decision of what she wanted to do. She took her second water skin and tossed it to the woman. “Here. “ Why she did this? There was something more to this woman. Amunet was already of a mind that this woman had something more within than the thief and killer people were saying. The dog at her side was proof enough as well as the Strider she bonded with. “You are Drykas. Do not forget that. “

With that she slowly started cleaning her things and packing them up very neatly and tightly in her pack and yvas bag. The way she packed was in small bundled kits that went into her bag like a jigsaw puzzle only she knew. Once she was packed her animals were called to her side. “You take care of yourself. “ She said with that bright cheery smile.

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

"They saved me," Merevaika murmured, trying to stop with the pain. She said let them settle, not push at it, but Merevaika couldn't do that. She was bursting with something that almost forced her to use it - the whole experience was both addictive and painful. Just seeing the swirling paths before her was something so strangely beautiful. Amunet had to understand that, right?

The healer offered to make her more tea, telling her that she needed rest. Merevaika thought about it. Asleep and resting, she was vulnerable, unable to hunt, unable to protect herself. But Beast would protect her. And she couldn't do either anyway. "I'll have the tea. And it's definitely magic," Merevaika agreed, nodding. Her hands moved out to sign something, then stopped, listening closer. Just like tracks. Everything was like tracks. "They must be patchy, because they're old. The differences must be between people. I wonder. Are they similar for the same animals?" If Amunet didn't know the answer, she would find out herself, eventually. There was just so much about this magic to discover.

Amunet then made mention of her brother, but no one else. As far as she knew, Amunet had no other family, but she was a young woman, and obviously lacking some of Merevaika's skills. How did she cope? Many had lost their families this season. Merevaika felt a tiny bit of empathy inside her. Strange. She shrugged it away, deciding not to dwell on it. Knowing Amunet's situation would do nothing. It wasn't like Merevaika could help anyway, even if she wanted too. Amunet seemed like she was coping. That was enough for Merevaika.

Despite that, as Amunet began to pack to leave, she felt a tinge of pain as she realised she was going to be left alone. She could do this. She had lived so long alone. Besides, she had Eryunt, and she had Beast. Merevaika could do this. Merevaika could. But she still wanted Amunet to stay. Shrugging the feeling away, she nodded. "Goodbye."

[Dove Brown]

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Merevaika

Skills

• Acrobatics 1
• Endurance 3
• Pathfinding 2
• Climbing 1
• Observation 2
• Animal husbandry 1
• Interrogation 1
• Meditation 1

Lores

• Acrobatics: balancing on a narrow ledge
• Striders: loyal beyond reason
• Food after starvation triggers vomiting
• Peppermint and ginger to settle a stomach
• It hurts to see the paths
• Healed by Amunet

 

Amunet

Skills

• Planning 1
• Investigation 1
• Animal husbandry 3
• Bodybuilding 1
• Pathfinding 1
• Logic 1
• Persuasion 1
• Wilderness survival 1
• Singing 1
• Cooking 1

Lores

• Pathfinding: locating someone by only a name
• Peppermint: good for upset stomachs
• Soup stays down better than meat
• Even outcasts need healing

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Comments:Nice read, both of you. Enjoy your grades