Closed A Long Awaited Meeting

[Jez Firetongue]

Jez Firetongue 12th of Spring 517 AV Pavi/Grassland Sign , Common, Nari ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Jez rubbed at the scab beneath his right eye as he stood within his tent, his prayers to Caiyha complete. It wouldn’t take long to heal, and didn’t hurt anymore, but was an obvious reminder to him that he was still awful at using his shortbow. Adon’s help yesterday had been much appreciated, the tips for improvement something he could apply over time to get better, but it couldn’t make him immediately good at archery. There was a lot of training to be done in the future if he wanted to use the weapon for horseback hunting in the Sea. The training had been in preparation for the Triathlon, but he wasn’t sure he could take another day of failing to hit a target. Therefore he’d decided to train with Wind, his Strider stallion, today to improve how they worked together. Of course he could just go and do it alone, but there was no fun in that. If he was having a day off from the Healing Hoof to train, then he wanted to go and find a friend to train with him. Jez knew just the person; Merevaika. His childhood friend excelled more so at horse riding than he, so he’d be able to train by learning from her at the same time as catching up. Grinning, he grabbed his yvas and its pad from beside his bedroll, and left the tent. It had been more than four seasons since he’d seen Mere, both having been busy and comfortable enough that their friendship would withstand the time apart that they didn’t force themselves to find each other. Now that there was a reason to see her though, he couldn’t wait. He couldn’t help but think back on the many adventures of their childhood, and hopefully those to come. Jez had been introduced to Mere just days after her birth. Born to another Pavilion within the Amethyst Clan, their families had been supportive of their friendship. Though Jez was the oldest of the pair, Mere had always been much more adventurous and pulled him along when she wanted to go exploring. He hadn’t always been on board with her actions, especially when she pranked others, but their friendship had remained strong through it all. The Drykas wondered how much his friend had changed over the past year. He didn’t look much different; his hair was still long and he wore the dog fang necklace gifted to him in his childhood. However, he’d recently upgraded all his clothing from the basic beige shirt and trousers he always used to wear. His shirt was made of a nicer material than before, buttoned from his neck to sternum and covered in purple embroidery around the buttons and hems. His trousers had a purple sash wrapped around them at the waist, a symbol of their Clan, with rope work and other ornaments hanging over it. His hair was now braided with leathers and ribbons, each symbolising something different, with the most prominent piece holding a bright green Glassbeak feather. Overall he was pretty pleased with the new look, his status within his Pavilion and as an Amethyst Clan Drykas now clearly advertised. The yvas he held had also had knot work and embroidered leathers added, tied to the metal rings. He admired it for a moment as he placed it and the purple pad over his stallion, pleased with its look. “We’re off to see old friends today, Wind,” he told the Strider, “Mere and Eryunt.” The stallion turned his head to look at him, ears perked at the names. “Let’s hope they’re around.” The stallion grabbed at his rider’s shirt gently between his teeth and tugged, causing Jez to laugh. “Okay, I get the message, let’s get going.” He mounted the horse and rode out, waving to his younger brother Salva as they passed. For once the young man was well enough to be out and helping with a few simple chores. It made Jez smile, hopeful for his brother’s future despite the odds against him. Wind flicked his ears back, snapping him teeth, and picked up from a trot to canter. “Woah!” Jez gripped Wind’s mane to balance himself, “Alright, we’re going.” The stallion didn’t care much for waiting around, especially when they had somewhere exciting to go. He was feisty by nature, always ready to move, and didn’t care for the only member of the Pavilion who never left the Pavilion’s camping sites. It didn’t take long to arrive at Merevaika’s camp. He dismounted Wind and called out, “Mere, are you here? There’s an old friend come to see you!” ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ || Jez Firetongue || 25 years || Drykas || Amethyst Clan || Firetongue Pavilion || Strider-Wind || The Heart of Nature Soothes the Heart of Man More Than Any Woman Can

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

Merevaika pulled another deep breath in and wipe the build up of sweat from her forehead, forcing herself to continue. Another ten, she told herself. Another ten and then she'd let herself take a proper break from the workout she was trying to do. She wasn't certain if her muscles would let her complete another ten push ups, but she was willing to force them, knowing that in the long run, it would all be worth it. Right?

She returned to the dirt, face facing wear the grass had been worn down but was still long enough to brush her nose when she lowered herself. With a large inhale, she pushed herself down, feeling her arms wobble with the movement. Slowly, she moved into the lower position, before struggling with the push up, bringing her arms straight again. And another. Her breathing was all over the place, held in all the wrong moments and panting like a dog in the others. Focusing on her breathing she tried her third, then fourth, counting out loud as she did.

Then a call came out as she lowered herself for the fifth push-up, asking for her. Rising sharply, she let her words ring out more clearly than the puffed mumbles before. "Three hundred and five..." came the lie, then she rolled to her side, before slowly picking herself up. Her face was red and flustered; her arms felt weak and trembling after the push ups. Determined to hide that, she found her way towards the arrival, curious what old friend would come visit her, after all this time.

Her face almost lit up when she saw him, but she held herself back, not wanting to show complete joy after all this time. For all she knew, he might have some ulterior motive to just showing up after so long. That's what she would have done.

Then again, Jez - and it had to be Jez, she'd recognise him anywhere - was not her, and like anyone else in Endrykas, a better person. So the corners of her lips twitched up, the woman approaching with curiosity in her eyes as she sauntered up to him, taking him in. He was the same, the same as all those years ago. His hair was still that long, messy nest, his eyes were still green and gentle, he still wore that necklace, the one with the dog fang on it. There were differences, of course - his clothing was finer, embroidered proudly as amethyst - but he was still Jez, she could feel it.

And who would he see? A woman changed, changed so much yet still the same inside. Her hair, previously long and littered with wraps, was gone - it was now short, cut roughly above her shoulders and empty, freeing. There were scars, too, fresh ones and older ones, marking her as having experienced plenty. But it was her eyes that had changed the most. As they watched him, they caught the light, the familiar green shining brightly as they ran up and down his body. The blood red streaks around the middle telling of things few knew about.

Finally, she spoke, the wild animal inside her satisfied with her observations. "Jez..." she rolled off her tongue, realising she had nothing to say. She had no idea why he was here. Was this a friendly meeting? Did he need help with something? What was he expecting? "Jez, how are you?" she finally decided on, her voice still a little uncertain as she spoke, "It's been so long, I wasn't expecting you. How are you?"

"Pavi"
Grassland sign
"Common"

[Jez Firetongue]

Jez Firetongue
12th of Spring 517 AV
Pavi/Grassland Sign , Common, Nari

Jez didn’t have to wait long before the woman he sought appeared, red faced from what he assumed was a recent workout. It took him a moment to realise who she was. Her long hair, the pride of many Drykas, had been cut short, and she had gained multiple scars since their last meeting. Most curious of all were her eyes, their familiar green streaked now with bright reds in a star-like pattern. He wondered what could have happened to change something as permanent as eye colour. There were peculiar forces at work in their world, things which many had no hope of understanding, but he had never heard of something that could change one’s eyes in such a way.

It didn’t take Wind so long to realise who was before them. The sandy dun stallion took a step forward, nickering softly in greeting. Jez had been seventeen when he’d bonded with Wind, giving the stallion multiple chances to be around Merevaika and her mount as they grew into adulthood. His horse may easily not put up with any rider but Jez, but he was still affectionate towards certain Drykas and other horses. It was obvious that Merevaika was one of the people Wind liked.

Jez was all grins, not taken aback in the slightest by the less enthused greeting of his old friend. He had been excited to see her before, but with how long it had been some small part of him assumed that she wouldn’t be around when he called, that it would be even longer before he would see her again. Now, with her in front of him, he there was no helping the joyful expression on his face.

“It’s been too long, no?” he smiled, signing much change, “Have you got any time to spare? I’m assuming you know about the Triathlon coming up. I’m taking part alongside a few friends. There’s a race on horseback that I want to get some training done for. You’ve always been a better rider than I, and it’s been so long since we last met, so I thought perhaps we could ride together and catch up at the same time. I want to know how you are, and knowing you you’ve been up to plenty since we last spoke!” Anyone who knew Jez would know that his proposal was honest, that he truly did want to both train and catch up with his old friend, and that his best solution to that was to combine the two nice activities into one great one.

Jez patted Wind’s shoulder and tilted his head, grinning, “What do you say? Up for a ride? Perhaps we could ride out to Moresta River, maybe find some sort of mischief like when we were kids?”

| Jez Firetongue || 25 years || Drykas || Amethyst Clan || Firetongue Pavilion || Bond to Wind |

The Heart of Nature Soothes the Heart of Man More Than Any Woman Can