A bit of spare time (Open)

[Rista]

87th of Summer, 511Av

It was a warm day. The sun glared down from the sky and the air seemed to stand still, without a breeze to ease the heat that covered the ground like an invisible blanket. The grass hummed with wasps and bumblebees, crickets and fluttering butterflies, but aside from the chirping of the birds in the bushes and small trees it was quiet. In the distance the sound of murmuring water could be heard, and vaguely the shrill cry of a hawk as he dived towards a spotted pray. There was plenty of wildlife in the slumbering volcano, and another time Rista would have been enthralled by it all. At this moment her focus was elsewhere though. She held back her breath and with intense concentration she slipped stealthily through the tall grasses, her movements slow and precise. The girl barely made a sound, her colors of copper skin and dark reddish hair blended in well in the landscape. Jet black eyes were fixed upon the shape of a slender young falcon that perched on the branch of a low, withered tree some ten feet up ahead; he hadn't spotted her yet, and she tried her best to keep it that way. While she moved she couldn't help but admire him. His feathers were still mostly brown and gray, the coat of a young bird that had just recently begun to separate himself from his parents. He could have been hunting until now, and rested a bit on the branch. At least he hadn't moved for the past half hour, and while Rista didn't have neither traps nor any equipment to catch him with, it was still an interesting game to see how close she could get to him before he spotted her and took to the sky. Or turned on her; it was a risk she had considered, a very real one, but it was pretty unusual for this young a bird to respond with violence rather than flight.

She paused for a moment and slowly placed down her hands on the ground to rest for a bit. This was one of the few times when she was glad over her short stature. Standing at a maximum of four feet and eight inches, she wasn't really the shortest of the Inarta, but she couldn't really be considered tall either. Normally it annoyed her, but right now it was a good thing. The knee-high grass served as a good hiding place, and it was tricky enough to move through it without being see, even without adding additional inches to legs and arms.
The young girl breathed out slowly and blinked a bead of sweat out of her eyes before she pushed herself forward again. She kept low on the ground and slithered through the slightly sparser patches to avoid making the grass move around her. She tried to keep an eye both on the ground in front of her to avoid dry branches, and on the falcon to make sure he didn't take off. It was refreshing, to be able to use her entire body, and it was definitely better than being cooped up inside when the weather was this amazing.

[Darren]

oocCare to change the date? Arrived here on the 83rd. 87th maybe? After another confusing day in Wind Reach and Darren was in the once again in the middle of the commotion. Only for a fleeting moment though. As he jogged through the busy halls of it's making he found himself in a completely unfamiliar section of the city. Sigh* "That's great..." he muttered low as he jogged in place. pumping each leg constantly was an integral part of the excercise, one that he would have to maintain for it's duration. Looking around, it didn't help that today was a hot summer day to the Vantha. Unfamiliar with the heat and the lack of a breeze to otherwise give him some relief he stopped his pacing mid jog. It didn't seem like today would be too good for him to train, especially with the blinding amount of sunlight raining down on him. His eyes save off a small illusion of varying degrees of red and blue from it's reflecting. All of it was slightly antagonizing, the warmth, the city's dizzying altitudes, and the damned sunlight pervading his eyes. They worked simultaneously to make his stay disorientating. Darren didn't realize that he was walking on a new surface as he fussed with his eyes. He didn't notice the other Inarta as he walked close nor did he notice the bird that she was watching. In fact the naive Vantha would just continue on until he was sheltered from the light. The thought of that the direction he was heading led to a small fall didn't occurred to him as he stepped near Rista.

[Ivellios Liryanda]

Ivellios slowly stepped through the undergrowth, moving slowly so that her feet would make little noise. She loved the way that the weather was in Wind Reach of late. She'd never liked the winter months, but during the summer, with the direct sunlight beating down on the ground and the plants, everything was vibrant, alive. Even the rocks seemed to take on a personality of their own, despite the fact that they only moved when they were kicked, or washed about by the flowing water, or otherwise acted upon.

She let her hand fall to the bush branch at her side as she spotted Rista and Darren in her path. She had very nearly run into them! "Sorry," she said as she realized her error. "I didn't notice you there." She laughed nervously, apologetically.

[Rista]

The bird noticed the intruders before she did. Rista froze in the middle of a movement when the young falcon suddenly stretched up a bit and began to look around, the brigtly colored eyes wild and startled. The girl felt pulsating vibrations from the dry soil and frowned, her gaze darted from the target to her hands and back again. Then suddenly she spotted the silhouette of a person come towards her, and at the same time the large bird gave off a shrill cry and threw itself up into the air with rapidly beating wings.
Rista straightened her back with a disappointed sigh and shifted to a slightly more comfortable position, resting her hands against the thighs while she looked after the bird. There went her fun, her eventual new friend and a good sum of money. And who's fault was it? Not hers, at least. The falcon hadn't even known that she was there, or it would have shown signs of it before.

She short little girl turned her head and glared at the jogging person that came towards her with jet-black eyes, scrutinized him from top to toe before she eventually pushed herself up on her feet in a smooth motion. Dark hair, dark eyes. Not an Inarta, which meant he was a foreigner. A faint grimace of discomfort flew over her face; Rista had never really talked to a foreigner before. She didn't trust them, didn't see any real reason why anyone who wasn't a trader would want to be in Wind Reach. And now he had gone and ruined her hunt. Annoyance boiled up within her, and without really thinking it over the short girl moved and placed herself directly in the path of the man, hands clasped into fists on her hips and the chin lifted high. It looked like she tried to stare him down; a difficult task, considering her short stature. In the corner of her eye she noticed yet another annoyance. A flare of red hair hinted that the other person was one of her own people though, so for now she focused her attention on the guy.

"You!" she demanded with a frown on her face and annoyance clearly noticeable in her voice. Rista had never been one to hide her emotions. "Watch where you're going, foreigner! Did you even notice that you interrupted my hunt? How are you going to make up for that?"
It never occurred to her that it could have been wiser to just ignore the guy and find something else to do. He had annoyed her, and thus he had to apologize; it didn't matter that he looke like he was a lot older than him, or that she didn't know anything of his status. Overall, thinking things through wasn't something Rista usually wasted time on, and so it was with an unwavering faith in herself that she stood, at least a full head shorter than the man and stared up at him with her dark red braids straggling around her head like the ruffled plumage of an angry bird. She spared only a short glance and a nod at the woman that came up to them with a greeting; she could be polite later, when her blood had stopped seething with heat.

[Darren]

The vantha slowed as he caught the visage of another person in his path. "Excuse me" he muttered indifferently, before he changed his course. Yet Darren would find himself still blocked by the Inarta's frame. When he finally realized what was happening the girl's started to speak. You. An all too familiar word to the foreigner, though the rest was lost in translation. Only the simple words of you, and foreigner. Moving his hand away, Darren looked forward to see the lack of a presence in front of him. Raising his eyebrows incredulously it took him another moment to notice the red braids that seemed to come from his aggressor. "Oh" The Vantha shrugged casually as he grinned widely at his 'fearsome adversary.' "Your even smaller then the Snowsongs, child. Makes me wonder how far I can throw you." Shrugging disinterested, he walked away from only to nearly bump shoulders with another resident of Wind Reach. His hand moved on instinct due to the sudden change in circumstances. His fingers moved towards him looking almost to grab or otherwise harm the other person. However, he managed to stop halfway as he tried to play it off as an apology. "Sorry, excuse me" This time Darren bowed his head slightly, curtsied even as he continued along his way. Wait... Darren turned around as he looked back at the pair. "Sorry... but do either of you know the way to the Commons?" It would help his situation to know where exactly he was but knowing how to get back home would suffice. Only then did he realize the not so subtle indications of Rista's mood. As if on cue the same bird cried out as it swung around the area. "That yours?" oocAgain please change the date to something 75+ please but not on a marketday. Italics is Vani, rest is common.

[Rista]

Rista felt her cheeks warm under the amused gaze of the taller man. He looked down in her, she hated that. And why was he speaking in... Common? Oh. She had been speaking Nari. No wonder he wasn't replying, he probably hadn't understood a word she said. She took a breath and tried to get back to the annoyed mood and was right about to repeat her demands in Common when the man spoke in a foreign language. The girl interrupted herself and frowned, wondering what he had said. It hadn't sounded very polite, but she had no way of knowing for sure... Her face changed expression as rapidly as her feelings flew by, from angry to embarrassed to annoyed and over to suspicion, all the time with those solid black eyes focused on the man. Her grasp on the situation disappeared rapidly, and Rista didn't like it.

Wait, what now? Was he leaving? He was actually leaving, while she just stood there frowning like a child with a stomach ache. It was humiliating, and her eyes quickly narrowed as she followed the guy with her gaze, about to tell him just what she thought - in Nari, and then he could understand or not. Just then the other person got too close, and Rista watched with widening eyes how the man automatically began to defend himself, suddenly realized what he was doing and stopped. It all happened so fast, just in the blink of an eye. One thing was certain though, and it filled the girl with a fluttering feeling of excitement; he could fight. She didn't know how good he was, but he could fight! Her face shifted to a thoughtful expression as she watched him carry on, and barely noticed when he turned around again and asked a question. She looked between the man and the Inarta woman, but as the other showed no signs of replying Rista shrugged and began to walk closer to the guy.

"No, not mine" she replied in Common, her accent heavy and with some pauses between the words; she could speak it, but not very well. Rista looked after the bird with regret - he was beautiful and would have been fun to handle - but soon returned her attention to the man. "I tried to catch it. To train, and sell. You interrupted. Clumsily ran straight forward, did not even see the fall." She pointed towards the drop a few feet further up ahead; it wasn't a very big one, but high enough to break a leg if you landed wrong. Rista shook her head. How did he manage not to see something like that? Even a foreigner should know to watch his steps, but perhaps her thought about them had been too high.

"You know how to fight?" she suddenly asked and changed the subject, so far ignoring the question about the way back to the Commons. She would tell him, but not until she had found out what she wanted to know. "I saw what you did when she nudged you. Can you teach me? And that language... What did you say?" The last question was asked with a slightly suspicious look. Rista was still pretty certain that it hadn't been very polite, but she still wanted to know. She would even consider not to get angry if it was insulting. The short little yasi loved learning new things, particularly when it came to fighting and if this man indeed knew how then he would hardly be left alone until he either turned out to be incompetent or agreed to teach her. She could be stubborn sometimes...
"I am yasi Rista" she offered as an afterthought and pushed back a couple of thin braids that had escaped from the knot she had tied them into.

oocSorry for the wait. I changed the date. Ivellios, if you're actually still here I'm sorry for skipping your turn.

[Darren]

Taking a look at where Rista had pointed Darren's eyes mildly acknowledged the fall that the path led. Comparing heights the drop wasn't too bad however it would still have been painfully had he fell on his arse or face first into the ground. However the Vantha was still somewhat grateful as his eyes focused back on the small Inarta. "Sorry, I did not know small Inarta hunt as well." Darren stood impassively as he waited for her to continue, he still needed his answer. Hmm? Darren raised his eyebrow at the question, that wasn't what he asked. Teaching? Teach what? I didn't do anything. "I said you were small" Darren grieved slightly at the introduction, he just wanted to rest and get out of the sun. "I'm Darren Chiet, I want to know where to go to sleep. Commons. Where?" He sighed a second time as he awaited Rista's response. He wasn't just going to humor a random child for no reason. What has she done for him? Erm besides help him avoid so minor pain.

[Rista]

She frowned slightly at the things he said and managed to remain quiet until he had finished. There was a word that appeared all too frequently among the decidedly short answers he gave her. Short. Small. It equaled perfectly to insignificant, and neither were things that the girl associated with herself. Oh, by all means she was short, and she was young, but those things were unimportant... Oh yes. She was contradicting herself. That was Rista in a nutshell, first stating that she didn't care about something just before she exploded over the matter anyway.

There would be no exploding this time though. She wasn't sure whether the man, Darren - she had to remember that - had misunderstood her or just ignored her immodest requests. Either way, the fact that he introduced himself as Chiet made her a little surprised. All people who lived in Wind Reach had to do their share of the work but she hadn't even though about where he might have been ranked. It felt a bit good that he wasn't that much higher than herself - at least he wasn't Endal, which would have been both annoying and strange; he was an outsider after all, more so than even she was - but it still demanded a change in attitude. The yasi was adaptable; if it was a more polite tone that was necessary...

"All yasi learn hunting early" she answered and tilted her head to the side, her black gaze lingering on the older man. "Very few that does not know how to, just Chiet and Avora do other things. Endal do the hunt for all." There was no mistaking the awe with which she mentioned the latter group, and a look at her face with the glittering eyes and slightly dreaming expression it was impossible not to notice what her opinion of the Eagle riders were. Perhaps it was fortunate; she didn't seem to fully perceive that he had teased her without her being able to respond to it. Either that, or she was in too good a mood to bother with getting annoyed. It was hard to say; her feelings flared past like leaves in a storm, changing so rapidly that it was hard to keep up.

Rista put up a face of mild surprise when he ignored her questions and shrugged her shoulders. An order was an order and she wouldn't disobey. The girl turned a bit and pointed in the direction he had to walk to get to the nearest opening that led from the bottom of the crater to the winding Warrens, that eventually led out into the Common rooms; it wasn't all that far, but the long corridors were like a maze. "That way" she said bluntly, her forward way of speaking ending up even harsher by the poor grasp of the Common language. "I can go along if want, will be no more hunt now." She paused a bit and looked at the other for a reaction, and quietly discussed with herself for a while. Then she opened her mouth to speak again. "I really do want to learn if have anything to teach. Apologizing if I were rude; not have much tact, people say often." It felt strange to apologize without having an angry adult hanging over her or being faced with sobbing kids that had received a slap in the face. Rista was surprised over herself, with how quickly she adapted to Darren's new status. There was a definite change in how she addressed him; now she at least tried to sound polite, even if the lions share of it became lost in translation.

[Darren]

Darren forced a smile at the explanation given, so the youth and the eagle riders are the hunters? Sounds odd... Manners indicated that nodding would be appreciated, as he went through the motions with a slight exasperation of boredom. It wasn't hard to notice the amount of reverence the child had for the Endals nor the amount of distain he showed in response to her worship. Soon after Darren caught himself as he cleared out any signs of irritation or annoyance in on his face. The Endal were the Windreach''s Icewatch, of course the young would want to be seen as strong defenders of their homeland. Granted he never really thought about such a fate for himself or even liked the respective guardsmen he met but he sort of understood the desire behind the whole thing. "Over there? Thank you" The Vantha glanced at the winding corridors slightly overwhelmed. What might have been simple navigation through the long corridors of Wind reach to Rista was a confusing and somewhat unsettling venture for the foreign Vantha. "If it is okay, yes you can come" It would be better to have someone help navigate the area for him and all she asked for was something he was going to practice anyways. "If you want but stay out of room, I do not want awkward scene again." Granted things were already somewhat odd with hanging out with a fourteen year old girl but the fact was that she was useful. At least for the moment. They would reach the general area of the commons before Darren had the pair stop. "First... you tell me what you know. Then you tell me what you want to know." Finding them a few cups to use alongside a jug of water, they sat just outside his door. Pouring a half full cup for himself then pouring unto Rista's he spoke in a harried tone. "Quick, tell me name and why you want to learn." His choice of words indicated little patience for the young Yasi and the underlying threat of abandoning her if she didn't reply fast enough.

[Rista]

The girl nodded and began to lead the way inside, patiently waiting for the man to answer her repeated question. She actually knew how to be patient sometimes, mostly when it was something she wanted. Darren seemed like a fairly reasonable person, foreigner or not, and since he had adapted to the social structures of Wind Reach she was going to treat him as any other of his caste. Though perhaps with a tad more caution, since she had no idea how he would react to certain things. Foreign people placed so much attention to certain things, and you never knew when they were going to react to something that was completely normal.

She raised a thin eyebrow at the comment about making a scene, and felt a faint tingle of curiosity at the thought. What had he been doing to attract attention in the Commons, where people moved in and out of all the homes without paying much attention to who lived where? She didn't ask though, she was too occupied with the widening smile that spread over her face at his next comment. He would actually teach her! Note to self, asking politely apparently made things way easier. Rista took a deep breath in order to calm down her beating heart, and as she sat down next to him and received the cup of water, her mind worked hard in translating the answers she wanted to give.

"I know nothing, really" she admitted frankly and rolled the cup between her hands. "Just.. what to say.. through trying and failing? I look strange, not like Inarta, so I had to fight much when child." She still had to fight a lot, but not in the same way. There weren't that many who challenged her physically anymore, just mentally with taunts and glaring eyes, but she still ended up in bad situations from time to time. Mostly because she didn't know how to deal with insults. A hand was raised and touched the piercing that sat between her eyes, a memory of a particularly harsh fight... She hadn't been victorious that time.

"I want to learn to use my hands to help myself" she said and glanced over towards the dark-haired man, not really sure why he wanted to know. "Perhaps to defend others too, if they are worth time. I don't know names of any fighting besides archery and sword, but I know that there are ways. You looked like you knew..." She shrugged faintly and tried to figure out what he was fishing for. She had no names for ways of fighting barehanded, but the thought of being able to take down an opponent without causing nosebleeds, break arms or use sharp objects was interesting and she wanted the knowledge so badly. When it came down to it Rista didn't want to hurt her people, just make them understand that they couldn't step on her as they pleased.

She grew quiet and sipped on the water while she waited for a response, hoping without being certain that he would agree. A faint tingle of excitement lingered in her belly, but she pushed it down and focused on the surroundings as she waited; people moved back and forth, entered and left rooms but none seemed to really pay any attention to the two that sat on the floor. Perhaps one or two looks of dislike at a yasi that wasn't working, but that was the extent of it.