[Riverfall Location] The Sanctuary

[Kavala]

Daeva

Kavala smiled, and slung a yvas over her shoulder. She walked up to Liva, fairly certain the Strider had found herself a rider at last. The Akontak were unusual, moody, and a great deal like the strider she fastened the Yvas around. "I've never met anyone who would pick a mixed blooded horse over a purebred strider if anything simply for the fact that a pureblood Strider moves like a dream and has a gait that can get upwards of sixty miles an hour though it feels like your sitting in a rocking chair. Liva is slightly smaller than Dana, but you aren't heavy so three inches isn't a big deal. They both cost the same, but Liva is lighter of bone and more agile than Dana. Dana has nightwalker blood in her, so I don't think shes done growing even though she's considered an adult. " Kavala said, tightening the Yvas and then gesturing for Daeva.

"Grip the top, jump, and pull yourself over her back and sit on her. I'll send her out at a walk and a trot and let you try her out." Kavala said, looking confident nothing bad would happen. "Then you can try Dana out as well. She'll be a bit more of a jump up onto her back, and she moves slower due to her bigger buik, but that might be what you want."

While Kavala waited for Daeva to mount up, she smiled.

"Yes, we are hiring. I need grooms and assistant healers... all kinds of help here. I've got this child on the way soon, and once that happens I'll need even more help. What can you do?" She asked, curious about Daeva's skills. They could talk while Daeva worked on deciding which horse she wanted to buy.

[Iredeth]

Iredeth’s gaze scanned the available horses, stopping briefly on the sungold before wandering on. The horse was beautiful, and she wouldn’t mind having a body guard by her side, but there was something about the mare that just didn’t feel right. Her confident strength and grace wouldn’t fit in with Iredeth’s demeanor. Riding a horse like that, she would draw an unwanted amount of attention to herself. How would a strange, pale woman with haunted, purple eyes look atop such an expensive horse? Iredeth didn’t even want to consider the possibility.

Her gaze swept on to rest on Mirrow the frostmarch. The mare’s ample mane and bushy tail looked exquisite, and Iredeth had the urge to brush her fingers through the frosty, white mane. She could more or less picture herself owning such a horse, especially with their match in coloring. True, the two pale creatures may look strange together, but it was a different kind of strangeness than Iredeth would experience were she to ride a sungold. Mirrow looked calm and grounded, exuding a quite strength and dependability that Iredeth felt she would be able to rely on.

At Kavala’s gesture, Iredeth ventured forward a little hesitantly, stopping a few feet away from the frostmarch. She tilted her head to the side, examining Mirrow from hooves to head. She took a few more steps forward and haltingly reached out a hand to pet the mare’s nose. Iredeth’s pale fingers seemed to blend into the mare’s white coat. Her black fingernails stood out in sharp contrast against the horse’s nose as she gently stroked it. After a few chimes of contented silence, Iredeth turned to Kavala and said, “I like this one. May I get a lift to try her out?”

[Mizuriel]

OOCI hope i did well. Also if i did something wrong, i would like to be nudged about it . 87th of Winter, 510 AV It was yet to be seen where the weather would take the day, as the small group made their way towards The Sanctuary. The sunrise was about three bells past, and the path they took was mostly solitary, but still an occasional Akalak would pass by every now and then. Mizuriel was hardly impressed by the tall blue men by now, but he would still take a closer look at individuals that deviated from the norm. It was his first time in Riverfall, and while he was still somewhat excited, he had managed to cloak his impressions fairly well; Samantha on the other hand, was a whole different story. He could feel her dragging her feet, as he held her hand in his own, he did not notice it immediately, as Beldred (the pony) too walked slower than usual. He could not blame them, they were not used to getting up early, neither of them. It wasn’t even a full hundred yards until the gate of the establishment when he felt the girl pulling on his arm. Stopping briefly, he sighed, crouching down next to her, whispering slowly: “I know it’s boring, but bear with it for a while more. I promise we will play once it’s done. How does that sound?” he waited for a brief moment, before she nodded her head slowly, smiling barely. If not for the nod, he would not be sure if she had heard him at all. Maybe he shouldn’t have woken her up this early in the morning? Shrugging to himself, he whispered again: “Come here, I’ll carry you, and you can sleep through the whole thing if it suits you. Deal?” the girl smiled a bit more this time, lack of sleep apparent on her face. Not waiting for her to nod, he picked her up slowly, embracing her with his free arm, holding her petite body in front of his almost as if she was an infant. He knew the whole parenting job could have been done better on his part, but it hardly mattered, he could not be strict with her anyway. At the end of the day, all that mattered was that she was smiling, and then he could smile too. Making his way to the door, he pushed them to the side slowly and as quietly as he could. Sam was already sound asleep, it would only make her cranky and drowsy to wake her up again so early. Pulling Beldred’s reins gently, he progressed through the yard of The Sanctuary. Stopping a dozen feet away from what seemed to be the entrance to the building, he let go of the horse, using his other hand to cover the girl’s ear. Before calling out, he made sure that the other ear was pressed against him as well, so that it would lessen the noise a bit. When he called out, he did so in a voice barely louder than normal: “Anyone around here? I came looking for a job.” He did not want to raise his voice any higher, as waiting a bit longer until someone showed up was not a problem. However, waking the girl up was a big one indeed.

[Daeva Timandre]

“There’s nothing wrong with adding a little spice to the mixture,” Daeva replied, “Though I’ve been told striders were a Drykas’ ancestors. You can buy them?” In truth, Daeva could only tell apart several horse breeds. Striders were a mystery and hard for her to discern from a group of other equines, despite the fact that Endrykas was full of them. But she took into account what Kavala said about the two choices she decided on. They were both beautiful horses, the hard part is just choosing one over the other. When the konti fastened the Yvas around Liva, Daeva did as she was told and gripped the only leverage she had, pushed herself off the ground and swung a leg over the back of the strider. She positioned herself comfortably on Liva’s back, nearly losing her balance once or twice. She trailed a blue hand along Liva’s graceful neck, patting her lightly. “I’m a suvai fighter.” She said, “I dabble in auristics and shielding too, if it’s worth anything.” She paused then, as the horse began her walk, “Anything I don’t know I’m willing to learn.” She said this with an uncharacteristic level of sincerity that even shocked the lighter twin. Yet after this, she remained silent.

[Kavala]

Iredeth

Kavala nodded and bade the woman to wait a moment. She half jogged back to the stable, cutting through one of the loose boxes that made up a stall until she could get to the tack she needed. The Konti returned in just a moment with a long loop of leather with toughened handles halfway between one end and the other. Kavala looped tossed a colorful crimson blanket over the mare's back and then looped the Yvas across her withers. She pulled it tight then linked her fingers together and bent low forming a step for Iredeth. Any one of the kelvics in Sanctuary would have cried foul seeing her doing it as far along as she was, but Kavala knew she was safe enough.

"Step in and I'll give you a boost to Mirrows back." Giving Iredeth a leg up took less time and effort than one might have thought.

Kavala let her get settled, then she gave her the rundown of commands. "Grip her lightly with your legs. You do not need a headstall or any sort of bridle with her. She's drykas trained. We only ride with the yvas and its mainly to hold on to during battle or to secure our things too. Lift up your hips and sit forward if you want her to start walking. Kiss at her if you want her to move up a gait... say move from a walk to a trot or from a trot to a gallop. Then sit back, or deeply, onto your rump to bring her to a stop. If you want to steer her... say right. Close your left leg and open your right one so there's space between her side and your leg. She'll move automatically into that space, keeping herself square beneath you. To move left, grip your right leg against her and open space to the left. As you get to know her more, all you'll need to do is gently shove her over towards the direction you want her to go with the opposite leg. She's very responsive." Kavala said, then stepped back to let Iredeth take her first test ride.

She was fairly confident Iredeth wouldn't be sorry. The mare was truly lovely.

[Riki Stormheart]

Timestamp: 2nd of Spring, 511 AV As Riki looked at the Sanctuary he thought back to Endrykas. Riverfall was very different from his home. For one thing, there were no large spans of grasses. He felt a little confined in this new city. He shook his head and looked down at Sadie, his loyal canine companion. "Don't worry Sade, from what I've heard there are horses here and I'm sure there will be other dogs." Sadie let out a small hmph and moved closer to Riki's leg. He bent down and looked Sadie in her big brown eyes. "Don't worry baby. We are here together. We will be fine." He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead and looked forward. "Here we go. Rak'keli protect me." Riki walked into the Sancuary with Sadie close at his heels. Inside he looked around hoping to see someone who would know about the workings of the Sanctuary. He had traveled through the Sea of Grass just to get to this very place. He hoped that he could get a job here. If not, it was a long road back to Endrykas. He did not want to travel back to soon anyway. Sadie had gotten injured a couple times and even though he could heal her he still hated to see her get hurt. She was everything to him and he loved her almost like a niece. Her mother Flower, had been the dog that he saved the day he received his gnosis mark from Rak'keli and she had become like a sister to Riki. She had been his closest companion in the absence of his brother. Although he missed Flower greatly he still was able to be with her through her daughter Sadie. It seemed as though the dog still saw her mother at times. She was a Ghost Dog, maybe her mother still watched over her and Riki. "Hello, is anyone here?" Riki's green eyes looked around the Sanctuary hoping to find someone to answer his call. He wanted to just call out his want for a job. He found it a bit premature. He wanted to let the owner get to know him a bit before requesting a job.

[Kavala]

Mizuriel

Kavala was busy working yearlings. It was about the only thing she could do currently that didn't chance her getting dumped off randomly and possibly harming her child. She had the main arena filled with half a dozen weanlings that were boarder line yearlings. The routine was easy enough. She'd catch one, which wasn't hard, lead it into the round pen, and spend a good twenty minutes working with the animal. All four feet were picked up. The mouth was messed with - teeth checked, and then she'd groom the baby. Once groomed, she'd urge the young horse to follow her voice command and work a bit in the round pen before being turned back loose into the arena. Then the next animal was brought in. She'd start all over again. Kavala wouldn't stop working them until they were all handled and schooled for the day. Sometimes, on particularly nice days, she'd do them twice, giving them extra training.

But she was about ready for a break when the small party wandered through the gate, a pony with them. She assumed they were looking for boarding for the animal before she heard the gentleman speak.

"Hello there. Just a moment!" She called as she brought the yearling she was working in the round pen to a halt. She caught the little zavian, stroked her head, and clipped on a lead to take her back to the main arena. Once she was let loose with the others of her kind, Kavala turned and walked up to the man carrying the child. The girl looked a little big to be carried, but Kavala said nothing about it. A lone man and a child were a strange occurrence. She wasn't sure if they were alone or meeting a woman here as well. But she smiled anyhow and introduced herself.

"My name is Kavala. I'm the owner here. You say you're looking for a job?" She asked curiously, glancing at the child and the pony. "What sort of job?" She said, wondering if they were indeed alone and if they had a place to stay. It looked like everything they owned was on the pony and that they were indeed together and alone. Kavala knew the world was rough. It could easily have been that the girl's mother was dead. She knew enough not to ask questions though, patient in her own way.

"I'm indeed hiring, but I need to know what sort of skills you have." She said softly, not wanting to wake up the child. "If shes tired, you can let her relax on the Veranda while we talk. I can put the pony up in a stall for now." Kavala said, offering to take the pony and unburden the creature while she talked to its owner.

[Mizuriel]

Once the woman finally showed up, Mizuriel was able to resist the urge of running, barely though. She was a Konti, it had been a while since he had a chance to see one. The woman talked reasonably enough, so he understood her predicament. Even with that in mind, he was reluctant about leaving the girl alone in a strange place like this one. Considering his position briefly, he understood he really had no actual reason to turn down the woman. While a little untrusting, it was still fair to say that he liked the woman already. Smiling briefly before his face turned to absent again, he patted Samantha's head while finally answering:"Hello Kavala, it is nice to meet you, i am Mizuriel, this is Samantha, and the pony was named Beldred." even while he was not asked for his name, the way he was raised dictated such manners. He could feel that Kavala was favored by the goddess, which made him wonder if it was more to her than it seemed at first glance. Speaking quietly again, he moved towards the pony, patting him and whispering: "It's alright, you need some rest anyway". He stopped briefly before looking around, more out of curiosity than caution. When the power of speech came back to him, he turned to the Konti again: "I accept your kind offers, if they are still valid." he sighed to himself as he stopped again. Truly, he needed to learn proper antics when facing regular people. "I can sense the marks upon you, so i will take it as granted that you can feel the same, while lesser power, coming from me. What i came here for are healer duties, and even while i did work mostly with humans in the past, animal husbandry is not completely foreign to me. I can sew well enough for my own needs, and i practice a bit of surgery and herbalism when i get the chance. Medicine of course is the background for all of this." he spoke in an awkward tone, alomst as if it was all previously reversed in his head. It would have probably been better to leave the talking for later, but nervous as he was, he could not stop himself. And while he felt awkward for it, he was still confident that what he said was true.

[Lakara]

Lakara looked round when she heard footsteps approaching. She smiled at the sight of another Konti walking her way. She gave a few nods as the stranger spoke to her, relieved that she was being met so openly after such a long journey. She didn't think she had the energy to face someone with a cold demeanor, so she beamed at Kavala.

"I'm Lakara, it's wonderful to meet you." She reached out and grasped the konti's hand to shake it. "Don't worry about the smell." She shrugged lightly. "If it's something that will benefit the horses, then it's something that must be put up with." She gave a light laugh. "And I am well, though rather tired. I wasn't expecting to be traveling for as long as I was." She paused, surprised that she was talking so easily to this woman. "Anyway, my reason for coming here is relatively simple. I was curious as to wether you had work going. I am in need of a job, and this place is just wonderful." She smiled again.

[Ixal]

6th Day of Spring, 511 AV If Ixal was in bad shape when he walked through the city gates, his present state as he entered The Sanctuary was nothing short of dreadful. His wrists were scabbed and bleeding periodically from being bound, his torso torn and scratched, and he looked like he hadn't bathed in better than a week. None of this mattered to him in the least. One of two beings he had ever been unselfish toward rested in his arms, whimpering gently. This was all he was focused on. "See, Aurora. We have arrived, and I will pay whatever I must to see you better again," he said in his Vani tongue, ignoring the shaking in his arms. The sled dog was terribly heavy for him, about eighty pounds was being carried by his 5'7 frame, and it was a wonder he hadn't stopped to rest or dropped her in his endeavor. He would never allow that to happen. He sank to his knees upon reaching the entrance, gently setting Aurora upon the ground. She had a long, nasty gash on her right side that stretched from her right fore-shoulder nearly to her tail. It bled through the tunic Ixal had tied around it, turning the dull green into a deep ruby. His eyes flashed deep blue with concern and sadness as he saw the look of pain and defeat in the dog's eyes. "You will be healed soon," he promised his guard and companion. He patted her gently upon the head and stood on shaky legs, looking around. "Hello?" he called, now in common tongue. It wasn't very good, and was generally spoken in a musical, Vani manner, but he'd gotten better throughout his travels. "I need an animal healer, with quickness!"