Closed An Unexpected Visitor

[Nya Winters]

Timestamp: 27th of Winter, 517 AV

There had been lights in the sky the night before. Nya had also heard a low hum that she was starting to associate with the lights. They made her distinctly uncomfortable, not because they were frightening themselves, but because they were a new unknown thing that Nya had never seen in Syka before. After such nights, the Kelvic was restless. This morning was no different. She was up early for a run down the beach. Nya took to checking Treasure Point often, jogging the flotsam to make sure nothing washed up overnight that was interesting. Sometimes things did - coins, boards, even once an empty scrollcase with disintegrating leather. Nya had gotten pattern ideas off of it, even though it was in rough shape. She'd also check Pulren's dwelling, making sure she could at least scent the man and that he was okay. Sometimes, he'd join her on the runs especially if she continued up the beach past his claim and onward before doubling back.

This time she just jogged far enough to check the beach, observe the weather, and greet a few of her favorite breezes. Then she turned, determined to head back to the settlement and see that all was well there too. Sometimes things came out of the jungle after the lights... as if flushed from the depths by some unknown thing.

One day soon Nya would follow the lights and sound and try to finally see for herself what was causing them. But to do so she had to work up the courage and that had not yet happened. So instead she patrolled the settlement in the guise of some impromptu snaking.

Keeping her nose alert and her senses sharp, Nya quartered off the settlement in her cat-like mind and began searching the grids, looking for anything off. She found nothing until she was further in, closer to the rented Bungalows. There, she caught a strange scent that was something she'd never smelled before. Snorting it out of her sinuses, the Kelvic switched directions and started looking for prints. Occasionally she found a depression or almost a whole track, but it looked nothing like anything she'd seen before. She noted, through the course of tracking it, that it had what looked like six different prints. Six?!?

Nya slowed her jog and found where it had scent marked a tree. She rubbed her own chin higher up on the tree, reinforcing the other scent didn't belong. Nya didn't care she was in her human form, scent was scent and she wanted to make sure to send a message to whatever the creature was.

It wasn't wandering... but rather seemingly following a steady trail. And thus Nya stalked it, not drawing too close until the path spilled out onto Swing Beach and she saw a six legged animal sitting down by the water, watching the waves roll in.

Nya crouched, staring at it, and slowly stalked forward, carefully unsheathing her Kukri and gripping it tightly in her hand. She also loosened the belt that held her colorful sarong on. If she had to shift into her Talderian Form, she was going to do so rapidly without the cloth getting in the way or being destroyed.

The Kelvic slipped as quietly as she could out onto the beach, pacing her footsteps in the animal's messy trail through the loose sand. As she neared it, the creature turned its head and watched her approach. It didn't look like anything she'd ever seen. It wasn't a dog, although dog was a good way to describe it if it had less legs and a smaller snout. This thing had a huge maw but when it seemed to smile a greeting and pant at her, it had flat blunt teeth much like a human would. Not a predator? Nya looked even closer. It had eyes on the front of its head, also like a human, not on the sides, like a predator. It kept its sitting position, as if the sight of a human didn't bother it.

Nya walked closer. She relaxed a little when it didn't look threatening, then noted around its neck it wore some sort of decoration. Its eyes, wide and large, held hers and made her think somehow that it was intelligent. The Kelvic moved closer until she was beside it, then carefully sat in the sand, legs folded under her.

"Hello." She said carefully to it. The creature wagged what looked like a large fluffy almost feathered tail and stared at her more, its face widening like it was actually grinning. She noted its feet splayed out and had the same feathery fluff between its toes as if it were used to walking on something slick or treacherous. Nya took the time to study the rest of the creature and found its smokey grey coat was spotted with dapples, almost like a grey horse was when it was young. It's eyes were bright blue with a layer of almost sunbursts around the pupil in a vivid lavender. The color was striking and its gaze held Nya still and contemplative for a long while.

[Nya Winters]

Nya should have felt threatened because this creature was nothing she’d ever seen or smelled before. But it was gentle, with a calming presence, and held her gaze fast with its strange intelligent gaze. The Kelvic couldn’t help but return the creature’s smile.

“I’m Nya.” The woman said, leaning closer to the creature to get a better smell. She should have felt stupid speaking to a strange creature like she did, but for some reason, it felt right. The creature inhaled, closed its eyes, and seemed to reach out to Nya with its mind. No… not with its mind… with her mind. It was female. The creature’s presence filled Nya’s mind momentarily. Her thoughts were a greeting all of its own, a welcome, and Nya saw the clear image of fog floating through the jungle, mist creeping across still waters.

It took the Kelvic a breath or two before she realized what the creature was doing. She was sharing her name with Nya. “You are… Fog?... No Mist?” The second word got a wave of affirmation sliding through Nya’s mind, as the kelvic tilted her head and contemplated the new being.

“Mist. It suites you.” The Feline said approvingly. She still didn’t know what Mist was. Dog? No it didn’t really fit. Nor was she feline. She looked vaguely like something in between, though the feathery fur threw Nya off further.

“I’ve never seen your kind before… I’m not sure what you are.” Nya said, her words more a question than anything else. More images slipped in Nya’s mind. Other creatures like Mist surrounding her. Buildings, strange and old, people like Nya but not like Nya wandering around. There were no words, no speech, and the images the creature sent Nya were jumbled, confused, and nothing she could understand. The creature was running under a violet sky with others of her kind and a sort of deep purple night under a glowing green set of moons. Wait? A set of moons?

Nya wasn’t sure what was going on. The creature was sending images so fast that Nya was confused, uncertain, and didn’t think wherever the creature had been that it had been anywhere near here. The moons didn’t look like Syna, and though the way Mist showed Nya the night – could be explained by the differences in their forms. Maybe she saw darkness as deep purple… but Nya didn’t think so.

“Wait… slow down…. I can’t follow what you are saying…” Nya started to stumble over the word ‘saying’ until she realized it was true. The creature was talking through images and quickly, as if excited. Nya got the impression the creature had been alone a long time and wandering.

The pictures slowed down, until they were of the jungles around Syka. Nya recognized them because some of the same features she’d seen where present in Mist’s images. Only she saw Mist tracking something, maybe a scent, because there was a glowing light through the jungle that the big animal was tracking. Nya got images of this, and they got faster as Mist grew excited again.

Nya held up a hand… “Slow down… I don’t understand the light…” And Mist trilled, frustration filling Nya’s mind. The creature suddenly turned her head, locked gazes with Nya, and absolutely captured the Kelvics eyes with her own. The Stormwarden saw the starbust in Mist’s gaze and it seemed to expand and glow, locking her gaze with Nya’s. Djed flooded Nya’s vision, locking the two creatures together, as the Kelvic tried to reach up and cover her eyes, protecting them from Mist’s gaze.

She couldn’t though. The creature held her under a power Nya had never seen before. The purple starburst in Mist’s gaze seemed to explode into Nya’s vision and she felt as if it were burning her. The creature trilled and Nya cried out… unable to blink, unable to look away, and completely unable to lift her hands to cover her eyes. And while it was forceful, it wasn’t violent or painful. Nya was scared, a newer sensation for her…. one she wasn’t sure how to deal with.

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

So far in the day, Anibesa hadn’t done much. Her day so far, of which she hadn’t seen much, had been spent digging out a pit in the sand near her tent, one that she could place a fire in and not worry about it blowing out in the wind, or drawing too much attention from the jungle, as well as protecting her items. If the fire was in a pit, she was less likely to risk her legs knocking things into it.

Now she was on the edge of the jungle, gathering small twigs for kindling and larger pieces of wood to keep a fire burning. She was seeking dead pieces of wood, ones that she knew would burn better. If she’d have properly equipped herself, she’d likely have headed further into the jungle, but for now she knew that traversing the border between rainforest and beach would be safer for her, and after everything that had happened so far in the season, Anibesa didn’t want to risk anything now.

The lights in the sky and the sounds from the rainforest unnerved her more than they had done when they first started, and she knew that they’d undoubtedly grow more and more unsettling to her the more that they happened. That or she would grow used to them. Her thoughts were undecided on that matter. As she thought, she walked, and as she walked she occasionally bent down to gather more kindling and logs, each piece of wood being dead and dry, ready to be stacked into a methodical pile and set on fire.

It was a fairly normal day for her, spending her time gathering the things that she needed, and exploring the beach for things that might interest her, or to see whether she could even find other people that would be able to help her in exchange for her help for them, though she usually had more success with that during the afternoon.

As she walked, she found herself able to see the Swing Beach quite clearly, and on it was a young and attractive woman, her eyes locked with those of an unusual creature, one that Anibesa had never seen before and could barely begin to compare with other animals.

She stopped walking at the sight, taking a few moments to try and comprehend what was happening, before feeling herself start to worry. What if the strange creature was dangerous? What if it was linked to everything that was happening? What if the young woman was being lured into a trap?

She dropped most of the wood she had gathered, opting to keep a few of the largest pieces so she should have some form of weapon on her, or even some sort of distraction. Then she started walking towards the woman and the creature. It was a fast paced walk as Anibesa remained cautious, part of her ready to leap into action while another part desperately hoping that everything was fine, and that the creature was doing no harm.

As she got closer and closer, she found herself growing calmer, as neither the woman nor creature seemed distressed, instead they were simply locked in eye contact, the woman speaking to the creature though Anibesa was too far away to hear what was being said or to even attempt to read the woman’s lips.
Finally as she drew even closer it seemed as though a glowing purple haze connected them together, flowing from the creatures eyes to the womans, the two completely unmoving and Anibesa found herself into two minds, half of her not wanting to get any closer while the other desperately wanted to be closer so she could help the woman if it was deemed that she needed help.
”Hey?” she called out to the woman. ”Are you alright?”
Finally making a decision as she finished speaking, Ani broke into a light jog that sped up into a slow run until she finally reached a distance of mere feet from the woman and creature, her body not used to running and leaving her legs feeling weak and her lungs desperate for air despite how little she’d ran and how slowly she’d ran.

Now she stood, watching the two closely a piece of wood in each hand just in case a weapon was needed, though she wasn’t entirely sure what was needed.
~

[Nya Winters]

The creature, Mist, heard Anibesa speak and broke off contact with Nya. She swung her violet eyes at the Eth and locked gazes with her. Anibesa felt Mist’s mind connect with hers. Immortal. Searching. Longing. The creature that was not of this world was as alien to Mizahar as Anibesa herself was. There was a mingling, a connection, a deep heartfelt lock that linked between the two. The Eth would see the pictures Nya had, but sharper, clearer, and almost as a voice in her head though there were no words. The creature spoke, pictures upon pictures, tumbling around in Anibesa’s head. There was joy, excitement, commitment, and a locking on of the gaze just like the creature had done with Nya. Ani would know Mist’s name just as Nya had guessed it. Nya hadn’t been a good fit. She was Kelvic, as short lived as a human, and Mist had seen so many of those come and go.

She wanted a companion, one as long lived as herself. Anibesa was definitely that. Mist had come here to give birth to her babies, escaping those that just used her for her abilities. And she thought Anibesa could protect her and her offspring just like a creature like her should be protected and coveted.

Besides, Mist appreciated how Anibesa wasn’t scared. She instead stood watching, protectively, weapons ready in case the other … the kelvic … needed protection. Mist approved. And as Anibesa’s mind was full of asking the question what was needed, Mist made it very clear that Anibesa was what was needed and what she was looking for.

The Zuka, for that’s what Mist was, locked gazes with Anibesa and poured Djed into the merger. She repeated what she’d done to Nya, only this time she was far more enthusiastic about it… she was a Pathfinder and she took her Iraso training carefully. She was the creation of an Iraso Master and powerful in her own right. She’d drawn the kelvic into her gaze because she’d wanted her to understand what she was. Everyone, after all, recognized Iraso Creatures, right?

Mist wouldn’t know that hundreds of years had passed since any of her kind had been on Mizahar and that her once affluent respectful and highly sought-after talents were lost to time. She also wouldn’t know that Zuka were long gone from Mizahar. They were neither canines nor felines, but predatory mammals that were highly intelligent and beautiful in their own rights. They bred only rarely and whelped even less frequently so Mist coming here, slipping through the world gate, to find shelter to her upcoming liter was a unique thing.

When the initiation was complete, Mist broke her gaze and circled around Anibesa protectively, her big body the size of a small pony or large imperial watcher, but far more sleek with a main and tail that looked more like a birds feathered plumes that shone with iridescence than true hair. Her body was indeed like a dappled grey horse, small rosettes blooming all over her slightly and subtly reflecting the iridescence in her mane and tail. She had a mouth full of blunt almost human like teeth that she displayed easily along with a tongue that reached out and licked at Ani’s face like a humming bird sipping nectar.

Nya was stunned. She’d been afraid then locked in Mist’s gaze which had stunned her somewhat. When Mist released her, seeing Anibesa standing there, Nya had reeled back, blinking rapidly as she stared around her, vision unsteady.

But Mist would interrupt, pulling Anibesa into her own world…. Demanding her, wanting her, trying to bond with her in a way that a Zuka could. It wasn’t quite a kelvic bond, but it was definitely a strong thing of mutual respect between two highly intelligent creatures.

Nya stumbled and tried to rise. She surged to her feet and reached out to grab onto him. He was a bright blinding color – the blue green of the tropical sea – and the color flooded her vision and overwhelmed it unexpectedly. She growled, low and mean, a growl of pure fear because she couldn’t see because the colors were flooding her. Anibesa was a color, and so too was the Zuka, and there were other colors trailing up the beach and down the beach, some bright and some faint. It made it hard to see, at least see the way she was used too, as she stumbled around still growling her confusion and fear.

Nya had no idea what was going on and was too scared to do much but look around. Her eyes had changed, though she wouldn't know it yet. The starbursts newly formed around her moss green eyes in brilliant deep violet. They’d flare and glow as she looked around, involuntarily flooding her vision with Djed like she would using hypnotism. It caused the same thing to happen that happened with Mist when the Zuka had caught gazes with her. Whimpering, almost crying out, the Kelvic scrubbed at her eyes and tried to refocus. There were colored trails all over the place, one even surrounding herself. She could see the direction in which the Zuka had come and she could also see Anibesa's unique light.

"What.... what in the world is going on?" Nya said, not sure at all what just happened to her.

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

Anibesa waited for a few moments, uncertain of what she should do quite yet. The woman didn’t seem too distressed, and neither did the creature, though she wasn’t sure what would be a sign of that distress in such a situation. It was completely alien to her.

Just before she decided on what she should do, she saw the creature release the woman from it’s gaze and instantly it turned to her, locking her into it’s gaze, though she wasn’t scared.
She felt images from the creature coming into her mind. Images of various different things that she was certain that the creature had experienced herself.

“Mist...” Anibesa whispered at one of the images, and now Anibesa was certain that the creature was a female, and that she was called Mist and Ani found herself smiling slightly at the creature, before more and more images flooded her thoughts. She became more and more certain that, like herself, Mist was not of this world and a twinge of both sadness and sympathy for the creature, knowing what it was like to find yourself in a place that wasn’t your own, though neither seemed too sad. Anibesa herself had long ago given up her sadness for being stuck on this world and made a promise to herself that she would make it worth it and do what she could on this world, while Mist had came here through choice, in order to escape and for another purpose that wasn’t quite clear yet.

She felt a great respect for the creature, Mist, and a kinship with the creature, wanting to protect her and keep her safe, and then came another image. The creature was a mother, or would be soon once the unborn creatures inside her were birthed, and Anibesa smiled more.
”You’re going to be a mother...” she whispered softly, an even more protective feeling surging through Anibesa as that thought stayed with her.

Then she felt something, a foreign energy being forced into her from Mist, a feeling almost like liquid being forced into her eyes and Anibesa felt herself drawn into the creature, not even wanting to break the eye contact. Soon a pain started, as though whatever was being forced into Anibesa was about to overflow. Then as quickly as the feeling started it stopped, and the creature broke it’s gaze releasing Anibesa from the eye contact.
Instantly glanced around to see a variety of colours that lay out patterns that almost looked like paths.

Anibesa was confused at first, slightly scared as she glanced around, seeing that Mist, Nya and Pulren all had their own colour, and that faint trails of other colours seemed to cross through the area.
One trail of colour was near her, at about her knee height and she bent down to reach out to the colour, only to to find that there was nothing solid there, nothing that she could teach and hold. Thoughts briefly swirled through her mind and she reached out only for her hand to pass through the coloured trail again.
Now she forced her eyes shut scared that she was losing her mind and hoping that when she opened them again that the colours will have vanished, proving to herself that she had imagined them, or that they would still be there which would prove them to be real.

She opened them to glance towards Mist, still seeing the colours and not really understanding what was happening, but now determined to see properly she concentrated, willing the colours away, though everything she tried didn’t seem to work and her vision was stuck with various colours overlaying different parts of her surroundings, though the colours were strongest over living beings. Despite her confusion and fear, Anibesa was also amazed and intrigued by it.

She kept her eyes on Mist for a few moments, reaching out a hand and gently stroked her snout, resting it lightly as she smiled at the creature.
”Well Mist... Are you staying with me?” she said calmly to the creature as she stood up fully, now taking in the creatures full appearance.

To her Mist was a beautiful creature, majestic and alien to this world, with it’s size and it’s mane and tail of iridescence of the plumage, and her dappled grey skin and it’s significant details.
Everything about Mist seemed completely alien, yet Anibesa felt as though she could relate to Mist more than anything or anyone else in the settlement, and something about that comforted Anibesa.

Sighing slightly, she glanced towards the other woman, unsure of what the woman was feeling, whether the other woman was seeing the same surreal colored trails that Anibesa could.

She heard the woman questioning what had happened and Anibesa found herself unable to answer properly. She was awestruck by everything that had happened, dumbfounded and unable to put anything into words yet.

”I-“ she started to speak, interrupting herself as she made sure she knew what she was going to say, before allowing herself to speak again. ”I’m not sure...”
~

[Nya Winters]

Nya snapped her eyes over to Anibesa and reached her hands up to rub at her gaze. She blinked once and her eyes were back to normal, but in a moment she could feel more djed pooling in her gaze fueling whatever it was that had happened a moment before. Magic. Nya could taste it in the air and even on her own skin. Her eyes met Anibesa’s and she noted that the woman’s eye color was now different – split – with a starburst of a contrasting color surrounding her pupils. They looked different than they had a moment before.

“Your eyes are different. Mist did something to us.” Nya said suddenly, abruptly, glancing down at Mist and blinking her gaze in and out of the suddenly new way of seeing. “A moment ago, before you came, she was talking to me in my mind, with pictures… not words. She said her name was mist. And there were glowing lights through the jungle and she was following them. I could see them too, after a few moments… I can still see them now if I push djed into my gaze and look around. She showed buildings all around, in the jungle deeper… like a city. But not like any city I’ve ever seen.” Nya repeated, not sure what was going on or what Mist was actually showing her.

The Kelvic looked cautiously at Anibesa hoping the other woman would have more answers.

Then she glanced around, her gaze shifting into that weird magical one again. “I can see a glow around you, her, even myself…. And where we’ve been trailing all over. Do you know what I mean? It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before….” Nya said softly, glancing down at Mist suddenly as something dawned on her.

The Kelvic knelt down and reached out carefully, ruffing up the feathery hair on the dog-like creature’s body. “What did she mean…. You’re going to be a mother?” The Forest Cat asked, running her hands down the odd creature’s body, noticing suddenly that she was huge in the middle, moreso than she probably would have been normally. “Are you having pups?.... Kittens? … soon?” The Forest Cat asked, concerned and amazed all at the same time.

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

Anibesa saw the other woman rub her eyes and in that moment she saw the ring of violet in her eyes, and Anibesa was drawn to it, unsure as to whether her eyes had always had the unusual color in them.

Them came the woman’s words and Anibesa blinked a few times, her vision now switching back to what she was used to seeing, and then back to colorful trails. It seemed to switch with every blink Anibesa made, now that she was focusing on her vision fully.
The mention of her eyes being a different color alerted her, and almost instantly she glanced around, checking to see if there was anything reflective that she could look into to check, but there was nothing.
”There’s violet in yours now too.” Anibesa nodded as she spoke. It was undeniable that Mist had something to do with what had happened, but Anibesa had no idea quite what, and she doubted that Mist would ever be able to explain what had happened in a way that Ani could understand.

Then there was the mention of the glowing lights that Mist had followed and the city deep in the jungle city. Anibesa glanced towards the jungle, now aware of just how mysterious the settlement was now. Obviously there had been a lot of things going on in the jungle at some point, and maybe there were still remnants of that out there. It seemed as though there was, and that idea intrigued Anibesa.

Then a word from Nya caught her attention and she looked back towards the dark haired woman with curiosity in her eyes.

”Djed? Is that what this feeling is? What Mist pushed into us?” she questioned, focusing on what she felt as she blinked it away to clear her vision, then blinked it back into her eyes, bringing up the trails again, before deciding to address the city. ”She showed me that too, and somewhere else? It didn’t look like anywhere here though. There were too many moons!” Anibesa recalled, wondering if Mist had shown Nya that too. ”I think she came here from somewhere else. And on her way from there to here, she passed that city?” she suggested, completely unsure as to whether the city was in the jungle or wherever Mist was from.

”Yeah, they’re weird! Maybe it’s peoples energy or something?” Anibesa thought for a few minutes, before glancing towards Mist, seeing the Zuka move in a circle, the glow of colour leaving trails where she had moved, as though it was showing her where the creature had been. Like Nya said, it was wherever they had been. ”It must be a trail. I can’t think of anything else? Can you see any others, where we haven’t been?” Anibesa was curious, wondering whether it was only her, Nya and Mist that gave off the glowing trails, or whether there was anything else that could leave trails that they could see.

She spent a few minutes looking around carefully, though she was able to see a few faint spots of glowing colour along the beach, though they were too faint and patchy to see if they went anywhere. She continued to watch them closely before looking back to Mist and Nya, in time to see the woman ruffing up the creatures hair, and Mist in turn leaning into Nya in a friendly manner, seemingly enjoying the the affection.
”I think that’s why she’s here. To have her babies somewhere peaceful?” she suggested, smiling softly as she reached out to pet Mist again, lightly stroking the creatures snout before allowing her hand to fall by her side. She glanced around, she felt her eyes drawn to the jungle again, wondering again about the city that Mist had shown them.

”Hey, you haven’t happened to go very far into the jungle have you? I’ve only ever been far enough to gather wood, but I’m wondering what’s actually in there. Do you think it’s worth exploring it? Risking the danger to see if that city is in there somewhere?” she said, taking a few steps closer to the jungle as though she was trying to spy the city from there, before she turned to look at Nya with a slight smile. She knew that she herself likely wouldn’t be trying to explore the jungle anytime soon, though she had only just met Nya. She wasn’t sure of whether Nya was comfortable in the jungle, or whether she was the curious type.

”I’m Anibesa, by the way. Most call me Ani though.” she said calmly, realising that she hadn’t yet introduced herself to the woman, before she held a hand out to the woman in a friendly gesture, greeting her.
~

[Nya Winters]

Nya blinked as Anibesa said her eyes had violet in them too. The Kelvic knew what the other woman meant because she could see how Anibesa’s eyes were now. It was the same ring Mist had around her steel grey gaze. When the lovely redhead asked if Nya thought it was djed, the Kelvic nodded. “I think so. I think she did something to us…. an initiation. It felt like my reimancy initiation.” The Forest Cat answered, looking thoughtfully at the creature who’s neck she was stroking.

“I think you are right. I saw some of that too. But where would she come from and how?” Nya asked, not certain where the proverbial where was because Mist looked so different than anything she’d seen anywhere else in terms of wild or domestic animals. And Nya considered herself well-traveled. She continued to stroke Mist’s neck just in time to feel the animal clench under her touch. The dog that wasn’t a dog arched her back and whimpered as her stomach rippled sharply. Nya wasn’t sure what to make of it. So she continued soothing the Zuka, who’s eyes were focused on Anibesa.

“It looks like a scent trail would look if it had a visual context.” Nya mused thoughtfully then looked around more carefully, concentrating with her vision. She pushed more djed into her eyes as the creature under her touch whimpered again. The Forest Cat turned her gaze on Mist and with her eyes so full of djed she whispered with her intense gaze locked on the female… “Be calm. Be calm…. You are safe here.” She reinforced the stare with her words and poured a bit of her Forest Cat Magic into her gaze. Mist started to instantly relax as the Kelvic used her natural ability to hypnotize to sooth the worried mother.

Nya glanced around again, responding to Anibesa’s question. “Yes… I can see others… lots… some whole and some fragments as if they are very old. Ours are very bright… very new. So too is Mists. This must be a sort of magic, Anibesa. That’s the only explanation. Maybe Mist can tell us more, but I don’t think we should ask her right now. I think she’s going to have her babies soon.” Nya said, a worry punctuating through her voice.

She’d never helped another living creature give birth. In fact, she knew very little about birth or pregnancy and she certainly didn’t know how to help this strange creature bring her offspring into the world. “I think we should…. Do something. Help her somehow. Do you know anything about birthing young? I don’t. We should probably find her a nice comfortable shady place that’s sheltered, get her some things to lay on, and I don’t know… heat water? Won’t we need to clean young?” Nya asked. She really didn’t know. A birthing class or an assisting in birthing classes from Jansen might be a very good idea.

Ani was asking about the jungle and Nya knew why. Many of the newer settlers to Syka hadn’t ventured far into it. They were a combination of scared and curious about the gloom and thick vegetation just off the beach. Sure, part of Syka was in the jungle, but it was thinner jungle, tamed by the beach. Deeper in it got dangerous.

“I’ve explored all over. I can take you and show you places if you’d like… not now though. Now… we have bigger problems.” Nya said as another ripple hit the Zuka in front of her and caused her to whimper in pain even through her hypnotized relaxation.

“Stay with her… I go for a blanket or two from the Mercantile. It’s closer than my home. Look around.. find somewhere for her to have them. Then if you can start a fire. I’ll bring a pot back and bandages if we need them… fresh water… to boil.” Nya said, not sure what else too do. Hopefully Anibesa would have some advice too.

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

The mention of Reimancy caught Anibesa’s attention. She’d never heard the word before, but from the conversation it seemed that it must have been some sort of magic, and Anibesa was interested in magic, especially now with whatever was causing the trails to appear in her eyes.

The came Nya’s question about where Mist could have come from, and how. Those were questions that Anibesa had very little insight into. All she could think was that Mist had come here in a way similar to how Anibesa had, though with the creature having memory of where she’d came from, she couldn’t quite put things together.
”I don’t know… She doesn’t seem distressed to be here, so she must have chosen to come here somehow.” she said, stopping what the creature arched her back. Anibesa felt her eyes widen slightly and she moved her hand to touch the creatures snout, the other side from Nya’s stroking, before she looked into the creatures eyes and smiled reassuringly, unsure of what else to do.

She heard Nya mention how the glowing looked like it could be a scent trail with an appearance, and Anibesa cocked her head slightly. She hadn’t the keen sense of smell to have ever experienced a scent trail, but she imagined how it could look and feel as she glanced around and nodded thoughtfully at those words.

The creature whimpered again, and Anibesa watched as the woman locked eyes with Mist, speaking to her calmly, causing Mist to relax and Anibesa was left in awe. She didn’t know how Nya had managed to calm the creature so easily, but she knew that she’d have to ask the woman at some point. Now was not that time though!

Mist was obviously in distress now, even if she hadn’t been earlier, and Anibesa wanted to look after the creature, to help her through what was likely to be happening. She heard Nya’s words as she mentioned that she could see lots of other trails, and Anibesa glanced around again, glad that Nya had confirmed the existence of the other trails and the likeliness of the new trails being due to a magic, and that Mist was close to delivering her babies.

She heard Nya speak of what they could do to help her, and Anibesa found thoughts swirling around her mind of what they could do, but none of them she knew for definite! She’d never had much to do with birth, whether from humanoids or animals, much less a creature that she’d never seen before! One thought stuck with her though. That it would be important to make Mist comfortable and keep her calm. Surely Mist would know something about the delivery of creatures like her, but if she wasn’t comfortable and calm that could affect things.

”We should make her comfortable and safe should we.” Anibesa nodded. The things Nya had said seemed to fit into the idea of making the female comfortable, though she imagined that Nya had no real idea how to deal with such a situation.

Anibesa gently stroked Mist, hushing the creature softly when Nya offered to take her into jungle, and Anibesa felt a smile escape her lips at the thought, though the Zuka’s whimper drew her back to the task at hand, as Nya gave instructions and said that she was going to get things.

”After this, that would be great! But yes, I’ll stay with her, you go get things.” she said, before adding something. ”Might we need something sharp? Aren’t pups and babies attached to their mother somehow? And what about some sort of basket? Keep the babies there so they don’t stray too far and get hurt? Would that be useful?” she said calmly, looking at Nya with a hand on the Zuka’s snout.

Once Nya left in the direction of the Mercantile Anibesa turned her full attention to the creature in labour then glanced around, spotting somewhere a bit more shaded by the trees that held the swings.

”Hey Mist girl. We’re going to move up into the shade where it’s a bit more shaded and sheltered, if that’s okay with you of course?” Anibesa said calmly, stroking the creatures snout and watching as the creature seemed to agree, before she started to move up to the shade and Anibesa moved with her, ready to support the Zuka should she need it.


Soon they made their way to the shade and Mist sat down, obviously tired and pained as she whimpered slightly, and Anibesa stroked the creature gently and affectionately as she tried to comfort her.

”Now that we’re here, I’m going to go get those sticks I dropped, and we’ll set up a fire, heat up some water too.” she said calmly, only going to pick up those sticks when she got the sense that the creature was comfortable with her leaving for a few moments.

She ran to the sticks as fast as she could in the sand, tripping a few times on her way as the sand moved under her feet though each time she had landed gently and picked herself up quickly. Soon she’d reached the sticks she’d dropped and she bundled them up in her arms and made her way back to Mist, this time opting to just walk quickly rather than running and risking falling and wasting time again.

Once she was back with Mist she started to set up the fire, piling the sticks into a pyramid like shape, with the smaller and thinner pieces filling the gaps in between the bigger pieces.
After she had put all the sticks, twigs, and chunks of wood into place, Anibesa checked her person, finding that she had left her flint and steel back at her time, not having expected to have to start a fire before she got back to her tent.

Sighing, she breathed deeply and moved to stroke Mist’s neck gently, reassuring the creature as she whimpered.
”It’s all going to be okay.” she said calmly with a light smile, before turning back to the fire, her face changing to show pure determination as she retrieved a stick and a chunk of wood from the fire and searching the sand around her until she found a rock. She just hoped that it would work.

She used the rock to hit the chunk of wood until a notch had been hit into the wood. Then she took the stick and used pushed it up and down the groove aggressively. It took a few attempts, but eventually she’d made enough heat and the pile of sticks were beginning to light.
Almost instantly she leant down and blew the small glowing embers, until the fire had taken properly, then she leant back and looked towards the Zuka, moving to stroke her gently.

”Nya will be back soon with everything.” she said calmly, unsure of whether she was trying to reassure Mist or herself more. As she looked at Mist with affection, Mist started whimpering more and more, her back arching and her whole body tensing up, then relaxing before tensing up again. It was obvious that the creature was in more and more pain with every chime, and Anibesa had no clue what to do until Nya got back with the supplies. Even then she wasn’t sure what to do!
~