Raiha was focused. Kanikra wasn’t even interested in bothering her right then. If anything, the events of some days prior had been enough to give Raiha a good kick in the posterior, and it was certainly, certainly needed, if you asked Kanikra. Of course, very few ever did, if only because unless you wanted what she actually felt about it, it was wiser not to ask in the first place. There had been a definite improvement in Raiha’s sister-soul’s temperament since the first time Kavala had met her, but one never knew if you caught Kanikra on the wrong side of the bed or if she was just playing at being nice, snake-souled bitch that she was.
She focused on the Djed, and in turned, focused on making it into Res. The tricky part, Raiha found, was working on getting the exact amount she wanted, nothing more, nothing less. After that, it was usually a downhill battle… usually. As a novice, her control was, for want of a better word, wild. And with the Djed stores thatAkontaks had, well, that was what produced the bursts, or so Raiha theorized. With the bowl on her lap, she rested her forearms on the smooth edge, her fingers interlaced and her hands held straight, Raiha drew the Res out of her body, pulling it out through her hands. It was a thick gel as it seemed through her skin, white, translucent, and she concentrated on thinning it as it dripped off of her hands and into the bowl. Keeping it thick worked for her purposes, but she needed it to be a looser sort, more like the consistency of water. If she did that, then perhaps it wouldn’t explode on her when she transmuted it. Big if, but it was worth a shot.
Her breathing was even and steady, matching the Res that dripped steadily, rhythmically, into the bowl below. It was an exercise in concentration. When you didn’t concentrate, it could get a trifle out of hand. In time, it would come naturally, but for now, this took practice. Through Auristics, it was strangely odd to watch her own Djed seep out of her pores, from her hands to her elbows as a gas, guiding it towards the rest of it as she forced it closer to her hands, clinging, accumulating in the gelatinous substance, and guiding it off of her skin, gathering in the thin fluid in the bowl. Once it was half-full, Raiha exhaled, looking down at it, rocking the wooden vessel just a bit to watch the Res move with the motion, swirling, getting it moving, and finally transmuted it as it moved, starting at the bottom of the bowl and working its way up. The spray that came up was less forceful than usual, but soon she was looking at water in the bowl as she let it rest once more, watching as the Djed-water continued to swirl and glow in the wooden bowl.
Kavala had guessed well. At this time of day, if Raiha wasn’t out flying Uzima over the pastures and the area around Sanctuary, then the next best place to look was in the mews. Sure enough, through the open door, Kavala could see the Akontak sitting on the floor by her bed, Diallo gnawing on a gigantic bone that he had unearthed somewhere, while Uzima preened on a perch. It wasn’t often that the goshawk was in her flight, even though the one closest to Raiha’s bed was definitely Uzima’s. We have company, she heard Kanikra comment. Footsteps. Diallo and Uzima hear them. Raiha, it seemed, was working with the wooden bowl again in her redoubled attempts at Reimancy. Both animals perked up, Diallo’s tail thumping on the ground, and Uzima’s head bobbed, her wings spreading slightly as she eyed the goslings.
Raiha looked up, setting the bowl aside before getting up and setting the bowl on the table, her eyes getting enormous at the yellow fluffballs. Uzima, though, opened her beak, and looked like she was prepared to launch off of her portable perch and go right for them, regardless of whether or not Kavala was carrying them. It was a delightful little snack that the Konti was bringing her, and Uzima was so appreciative of—hey! Raiha shook the perch a little bit to distract her hawk. “No. No. They are –not- for you to eat,” she told the bird, who understood ‘no’ and was going to sulk over it. “Good afternoon, Kavala, Tasival,” she greeted both of them once Uzima was content to remain on the perch. “Have you been to town today?” She certainly hadn’t seen geese like that anywhere around Sanctuary before, and it was showing in her face. Inasmuch as Raiha was usually plenty mature for her age, some things brought about a childlike wonder to her, and these goslings were no exception. Her eyes were enormous. “Aren’t they beautiful? Sit,” she patted the neatly made bed. The only differences in the furniture that Kavala could see that Raiha had added since they had built the mews was the perch that Uzima was sitting on – and while there were two chairs and a little table, the bed was definitely more comfortable.
