Lost One

[Ixzo]

33rd of Summer, 516AV

As she had expected, Tetez bound ahead as soon as they got off the scent of the main lane. Where it grew more distinctly to one family, although not his own, Tetez felt comfortable. His sister, Tlii, still held back, skirting Ixzo's feet as she approached the large Pavilion, keeping an eye on her surroundings… just in case. She rarely wandered to the Amethyst district, and even with a year among the Drykas, was still uncertain on the clan and its purpose. Yet, this was where the hunters at the Predators post had lead her, and they described the tent perfectly. Shahar Dawnwhisper, the best hunter they had. And if she could not find him, he had Kelvic and a red haired wives who would know his whereabouts. It was with that information she found herself glaring at her nosy kitten who was less cautious of this stranger territory than she was.

"Tsssk!" She hissed at Tetez when he begun sniffing the padded grass where some herbivores had come through. The Caracal glanced up shamefully and then abruptly bounded back to Ixzo. They followed her like magnets ever since she had convinced them to trust her. It wasn't hard, they were kittens, and so long as she kept feeding them they were loyal. Only now they wouldn't leave her alone, if she was going out, so were they. It was generally not an issue except for occasions where she did not know who she would be in company with. Occasions like this one.

"Hello?" Ixzo called as she neared the obvious entrance to the Pavilion. She had seen tow Drykas already mulling about, but both didn't even seem to look at the scarred woman. Most Drykas were not home in the middle of the day, she would give them that, but surely a wife or child would still be home? Unless there was more behind the Pavilion she was not seeing yet, wouldn’t they be in front?

Who knew. "Hello?" She called again, gripping the jar in her hands. It had taken her a few days to find the time to get down to the Pavilion, and while she had been warned that she would be taken care of if she was welcome, Ixzo couldn't let go of her home traditions. If she was going to inconvenience another's day, she was going to bring them goods. While it was tradition to bring a meal or a fresh kill, Ixzo instead held some of her favorite Chili peppers. With Rufio and the Stormbloods, Ixzo had very quickly learned that spices, especially of the hot variety, were not common or well known among Drykas. Thoroughly convinced the Drykas were missing out on a beautiful thing, Ixzo was purchased many of the expensive dried peppers from afar in an effort to share, what she thought to be, the best taste in all of Falyndar. So why wouldn't she bring it for this stranger who she was going to ask so much from? Surely if he didn't, his family might appreciate it. "Shahar Dawnwhisper? Hello? Oh!" Ixzo stopped too close to the door when someone finally answered her, and froze, suddenly forgetting how to speak Pavi.

Myrian | Pavi "Speech" Sign | Common | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Naiya]

The afternoon had grown only hotter than the morning, causing no end of trouble. First she had milked the zibri, then the goats, all of them producing less milk in the heat spell. She had filled only half as many casks as usual, and then taken those to the shop to be added to the water bath that kept the milk cool.

Her sample jars were a mess, the harder cheeses crusting in the heat, the softer ones melting into unappetizing blobs. Only the yogurt seemed to manage, and that only because it had a lid and stayed covered. She had decided they were a loss, except maybe the yogurt, and left them alone.

Instead she sat on a cushion on the floor, mixing and chopping herbs. She had three piles, one for uncut savory herbs, one for uncut sweet herbs, and one for herbs too dry or too old to be used in the cheese.

She was trying to decide which ones went with the other ones, mixing them properly was good, but putting the wrong ones together could make a food inedible.

"Hello?" A voice called, some distance away. She moved to stand, attempting to rise with the same struggles she faced every time she sat with her hips below her knees. Her stomach was in the way.

She wiggled and twisted until her feet were beneath her, pushing with her hands until she found her balance. She rose slowly, pressing straight up from the ground with her legs properly beneath her. It took a tick to catch her balance, and another to orient herself as she moved to the front of the store.

She put on her best smile, ready to greet a customer. The store was empty, as was the entry way. She peered our the front door as well, looking up and down the road between the clans. Nothing.

"Hello?" The same voice, coming from further away now that Naiya had moved. Home, perhaps? That was concerning, someone looking for them, and no one around to help.

Perhaps the babies were just a handful, there were a good number of them. More likely, even, the girls had come by again to watch the children while Seirei worked on something outside the pavilion. They wouldn't answer a stranger who sought a Dawnwhisper.

She continued forward, seeking the back entrance of the shop that was tied mostly shut. Her days of ducking out beneath the ties were over, at least until her child arrived. She reached up to untie the strings, the girls would surely be uncomfortable with a strange woman skulking about, and they weren't in any place to offer mulioym... Realization struck her, as it often did these days. The nagging feeling in the back of her mind of why she needed to hurry despite her thoughts. The raids, the girls had been lost when the pirates attacked.

It took perhaps a chime to move forward again, the aching hollow in her chest filled with new pain. Still she made these mistakes, her life continued when so many others had come to an end. She tried to chase the thoughts away as she stepped out of one pavilion and into the next. The back of her home was closer to the shop so that she could mind both during the day.

She moved quickly through the pavilion, her hand resting across the swell of her abdomen, back to wondering where Seirei or Taerin might be if not around to answer the visitor. She approached the entrance when a name sparked more hope and excitement than she had felt in seasons.

"Shahar Dawnwhisper?" The voice called, and driven forward by sheer force of excitement, Naiya threw open the tent flap, wide eyes passing over the tall exotic woman in her haste to locate the man that belonged to the name. It took only seconds for the woman's tone to sink in, the inflection that was a question, searching, not finding. Her heart dropped, but she recovered herself fairly quickly, immediate apology over taking her posture as she saw the woman's startled look.

The woman was tall, her hair in long twists piled atop her head in a wide mass. She had kittens dancing through the grass at her feet, tattoos and scars danced across her skin. A warrior perhaps, although the art that played across her skin seemed more decorative. Naiya's hand raised to trace along her own scars, four lines across her chest still new enough to be pink with continued healing.

"Greetings, I am Naiya, one of..." She hesitated over the name for only a tick, "Shahar's wives." Welcome She signed with grace, stepping back to offer the woman more room.

"Come, please, we'll have tea and speak about your visit." She gestured for the woman to make herself comfortable, whether it was outside in the shade of the pavilion, or inside out of the heat.

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Naiya space Pavi | Common | Tukant
other space Pavi | Common | Tukant

[Ixzo]

The cautious set to her brow did not leave as Ixzo followed the woman in, still clutching her jar. It was likely more preferable to clutch the chili peppers than the axe at her hip when entering a stranger's den anyway. She had no formal opinion on these particular Drykas, however the cat was never one to be without caution, especially when she did not meet who she was asking for. Nonetheless, Ixzo recognized the red hair that they hunters had told her would be of one of Shahar's wives, so she had not been lead wrong so far, and was satisfied.

Still she did not stop her eyes from wandering the large Pavilion interior. It was immediately evident she had interrupted Naiya during something, and that this place was home to many. But unlike her own excessively large tent which she shared with strangers who she promised loyalty to, something was distinctly different. Whereas her home was tossed together quite recently with each very much claiming their own possessions, which merely remained in the same place, this home was so obviously shared it made her a bit jealous. Perhaps she would have some questions for Shahar's friendly wife as well, once her hunting curiosities had be satiated from Naiya's Ankal.

"I am Ixzo." Greetings. She copied the sign, only a small variant from the Hello, that she was used to signing. She understood it well enough and enjoyed adding the nuance of variety to this new language she was learning. "Where is Shahar?" Curious, friendly. She tried to display her signs with only one hand and without rushing the woman past whatever foreign tradition a visitor may require. For while she wasn't used to this exchange, the easily distracted Kelvic wanted to fulfill her purpose, not waste her time. As if finally remembering the jar in her hand, she thrust it forward, perhaps too eagerly, before the woman turned to make the tea.

"I bring gift, Chili Peppers." She paused, realizing the foreign spice may be too foreign. She had only recently begun to acquire them after imploring many Drykas traders to find one who would specifically bring the spice back for her, they weren't very popular in the Sea of Grass, whereas Ixzo put them in anything she ate, enjoying the mild burn on her tongue much better than the foreign foods in the Sea of Grass. She truly missed her chickpeas and maze, but at least she had her chili peppers. And now the Dawnwhispers would get to enjoy them too, hopefully.

"Yum!" She grinned enthusiastically when the woman took them, speaking about the peppers. The Kelvic was immune to the concept of being awkward, she felt almost no shame in her life, and yet she suddenly worried about the language barrier. She frequently had this fear, although most times it was brought up, she had a simple solution: Give up and walk away. There were very few Drykas she wished to speak with enough to put effort into learning the language, and yet now was a situation she needed to be able to communicate. Overthinking things. The thought pinged in her head, prodding her to calm her nervous thoughts. She had spent too much time with humans, it was getting to her. She could sit and wait for Shahar with his wife and not drop into misery over something as simple as a word or sign, can't she?

Myrian | Pavi "Speech" Sign | Common | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Naiya]

The feeling of excitement began to fade as reality settled back into Naiya's mind. The heavy absence of her husband filling the spaces of the pavilion as the woman chose to move inside. Naiya's eyes fell immediately to the distraction of her hunting cat stretched out across the rear entrance to the pavilion. She had followed her from the store, keeping an ear out for the shop most likely. She waited a moment, unsure how the feline might react to the stranger and her own feline companions.

It was best to move, however, prevent her own nerves from affecting the feline in question. Her tea kettle sat beside the fire, empty after the morning brew. She pulled a wetskin from where it hung over the drying rack with wool, the slosh of water was a reminder that she needed to run to refill their supply of water soon. This woman sought her husband, not the only one to do so, but she had fooled herself into thinking that the pain of explaining the situation would fade over time.

"Well met, Ixzo" Naiya answered in return, glancing up at her as she spoke despite hands that held the kettle and poured water. She did not miss the clear seeking of the other woman's posture as she inquired once more about her husband, her hands shaping signs that promised a friendly visit, but it was the man in question that Naiya wished to avoid.

She pressed the lid of the kettle into place, gathering words and emotions like supplies to begin her explanation. She placed the iron into the coals of the fire, letting the heat warm their water. Ready now to speak, she was stopped by the woman, unintentional as it was.

A gift, for what purpose Naiya was unsure, but she shaped gratitude on her hands, thanks passing her lips as she lost all the bolstering she had managed while filling her kettle. "Chili peppers..." inquiry She reached out to take the jar, inspecting the contents. The simple answer of yum was the first answer she received, not descriptive, but perhaps simply in response to the perplexed look of her own features.

She shifted to put the jars beside the scant other supplies in the pavilion. She took another moment to consider what she might serve the woman to eat. It could be as simple as cheese and bread, a snack to tide them until the evening meal.

She turned back to the woman, realizing she had yet to offer her a seat. "Please, sit," offering, welcome. Banti padded over to sniff at their company, surprisingly lacking in her usual distaste for company. "That is Banti, she is particular about the company she keeps, but she isn't known to bite".

She gestured the woman to cushions, and sought mugs for tea. Her return was greeted by steam rising from the kettle, which she quickly removed the lid from to keep it from shrilling. She dropped sage and dried citrus peel in her own mug, adding the purple flowers of lavender as an after thought before offering the woman the basket of herbs to pick her own tea from.

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Naiya space Pavi | Common | Tukant
other space Pavi | Common | Tukant

[Ssezzkero]

Leadership +1, Socialization +2, Location: Amethyst District, Socialization: Bring a gift when visiting someone’s dwelling