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[Tebridiar]

Year 511 AV, Summer.

The grass still had the familiar tickle, the familiar scent was in the air, the familiar hustle and bustle, the familiar rush of colours, the familiar nomadic feel.

It hit Tebridiar like a tonne of bricks and mortar, and she fell to the ground sobbing.

She could remember everyone... Trios, Kayiri, Edalene, Ariel, Khiara, Jarhal, Conrad, and most of Aleksi. She had vanished into thin air, just like the kelvic slumped on the ground.

To think, Tebridiar had barely seen a human or a hint of civilisation in months... What had it done to her? Now normal things seemed miraculous. Would she have to learn to act normally all over again? Learn proper ettiquette?

And then she remembered. Her friends. They would barely remember her. She would just be another little child, running off on adventures and getting lost. But she wasn't just a little baby. She knew that now. She didn't need Aleksi to take care of her. She could cope alone for months, and it felt good to know that.

But what did it matter if no one knew her anymore? She looked a bit different. Even more lean, her hair had grown far longer than she liked, and she had mainly stuck to her horse body for her entire time away. Being by herself had a far lesser impact on her then, and she could cope.

And that was pointless if right now she was bawling like a baby, with everyone staring at her, pointing, some even laughing.

Who was she? It really is sad when you can't even answer that question yourself anymore.

"Oh gods..." She snuffled to herself. "Why did I ever leave this place?"

[Kaja]

Summer, Day 10, Year 511 AV

Kaja had been in the moving city for five days now. She felt a bit better with good food in her belly, nice wine, and a clean body. It actually felt good to be in her human form more then her Dog form. As she had been wandering around it had been easier for her to defend herself when n dog form However, she saw the impact in hunting, resting, and getting around without having a pack, or even a friend to travel with. Wounds she had got along the way were still healing. There were several bruises that were various colors fron healing. Cuts, and scrapes were on her body from various encounters with individuals, other predators, and other things she had run into on her journey to the moving city of Endrykus.

She was hoping with all the people coming and going, and the many that lived in the city she could find someone to serve, or at the least a bond mate. Maybe? She walked down one of the branches of roads running down the pavilions. Her hair was brushed, washed, and untangled much different then the girl that had been found by the rider at the front of Endrykus who looked dirty, tired, and haggard. She was looking for something to do, something fun, she always liked playing. Whether it was tag, hide and seek, or even fetch she loved to play any games. However today she was not going to find fun or at least not at this moment. She was to find a weeping young woman.

Kaja walked up to her and bent down before her, pushing the other young woman's hair out of her face. "What's wrong, friend?" She asked in her soft and shy voice. She always called everyone a friend since in her opinion everyone was her friend until proven and shown that they were an enemy. That might have been a bad way to conduct herself in a world where everyone was after something. However she hadn't had too many really bad mishaps. Well the hardest time she had was getting to here. "Are you hurt?" She asked, not that she would have been able to help much since she had no talents in healing, or training. But she could help her to someone who could maybe.

[Tebridiar]

Tebridiar heard a quiet but friendly voice, and looked up to see what appeared to be a young girl looking concernedly at her. The girl looked around the same age physically as Tebridiar, but she was picking up something else aswell. Surprised by her acuteness, she was already aware the girl was a kelvic. She just didn’t want to say, she knew you could be looked down on for not being human in some places.

She seemed friendly, and automatically Tebridiar felt calmed. She stopped sniffing and looked into her eyes. “I am… I’m okay, I guess…” Tebridiar said quietly. She hadn’t really spoken in… months? Suddenly she felt her old personality flooding back, and as she rubbed the tears from her eyes she chanced a smile. It felt… nice.

“I’m sorry, sorry…” She apologised, shaking her head. “I’m not hurt, just… weary. I have been out in the wilds for a few months. I must look a mess…” Tebridiar realised this must be strange coming from the mouth of a kelvic, but she had been raised as a slave and treated kindly in Endrykas and had learned how to be civilised too.

“Well, I used to live here, in Endrykas. Months ago, I mean. I left because to be honest things were getting too much for me… my bondmate has disappeared.” She sighed. She didn’t know how it had happened but Aleksi had just… gone. Maybe she was too wild to be tied down, had to go off and fight other battles. She tried to stand up, shakily, and patted her hair.

“I’m Tebridiar. Thank you for checking up on me… who are you?”

[Kaja]

Smiling at the girl she too sensed the other was Kelvic it made her feel good just to know that she had found someone of her own kind even though it couldn’t be anymore then friendship. That was okay it was nice to just have someone to talk to, to even be around it had been so long since she had really been around anyone that she had forgot what it was like to be around people. She was soaking up the atmosphere, and energy that filled this moving tent city. She nodded her head in recognition that she was glad there wasn’t anything to wrong with her.

“No, need to say you’re sorry. I know how it is sometimes.” When the other young Kelvic tried to stand up and was a bit unsteady she held her hand out and let her if she wished steady herself. She still wore a warm smile on her features. She laughed softly at her saying she looked a mess. “You should have seen me a few days ago when I first arrived.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure I could be smelled before seen, and my hair was a matted mess. I was just lucky I didn’t have to take a knife to it.” That would have been awful for her because she prided herself on her hair and her fur.

Kaja’s eyes went wide as the other young woman told her of her bond mate being missing. She would be crazy if she had one and they had disappeared. It was a wonder that the poor thing wasn’t an even bigger mess, even though she didn’t really think she looked all that messy. Now that she knew why she had been crying or at least reduced to tears it didn’t seem all that unreasonable. She would be a bigger mess then that if the tables were turned. “Nice to meet you Tebridiar. I am Kaja of Syliras. I just got here a few days ago myself. I almost thought I wasn’t going to make it. It is a long and treacherous trek for one as young and inexperienced as me.” She bowed her head, if she was into some of the religious Gods of Mizahar she would have probably prayed, or gave thanks, but since she wasn’t that much she bowed her head only in respect for them keeping her safe.

[Akilah Windsong]

Akilah walked quickly (ever so quickly). Her body felt like a bag of bruises, lumpy and uneven. Even her bones ached, complaining with each jarring step she took. Luckily her clothes were still in one piece, even if there were dirt stains that would take hours to scrub out.

Practice had not gone well at all today and if Vespera would stop running in front of her, she'd glare at him. Glare at him darkly, even if he was a young pup who didn't know any better. Her hunting cats, even when they were young and curious, hadn't give her as much trouble as he had. Vespera still was wild and untamed and seemed to forget any training the next day.

Now he was a dark shadow, darting in and out of the crowd, snout raised slightly as if in challenge. She barely caught sight of him as he barreled through legs and around stalls. Most didn't notice him, his thick fur nothing more than a breeze as he brushed past others.

"Vespera!" He didn't respond. "Isra!"

At the nickname, he paused, head turned slightly to face her. His jaws relaxed, tongue wagging lightly out, and waved his tail briefly. Once, twice, and the moment her hand shot out to grab him, he was on the move once more.

Adámas trotted beside her, giving a soft whicker.

"Shut up. You're not much help."

The horse only snorted in response, gently nipping her hair in retaliation.

Akilah crouched, quickly, eyes flickering from place to place as she looked for a black leg, a waving tail. She searched, past the sea of legs. It was like hunting, only she was not allowed to eat this prey.

And....and...

There. She spotted him, but not before he made his way to two people, one crouched and crying. They both looked upset, and he looked like he wanted to play.

"Crap." Her strider followed her as she broke into a jog, still calling her dog's name.

[Kaja]

Kaja was consoling the other woman kneeling before her talking softly to her. She was starting to feel better again, and she was glad. They had just started to stand up again when suddenly something from behind her knocked her on her fanny as a young puppy came running through her. He almost took out Tebridiar too, but the young dog veered away from her. Kaja quickly removed her clothes shimmering into her dog form, and barked at him. “Hey, young friend! You must stop, you just knocked me over you know!” Vespera stopped blinked, and let his tongue loll out as he trotted back to the young Kelvic Dynakuva Painted Desert Dog. He barked back at her “Oh… Sorry… I was just running from my master. Playing a bit of a prank.” Kaja shook her shaggy head now. The insolence of some young beasts they didn’t know what they had. She would love to have a master. Someone to take care of, serve, be a companion too.

She nipped at him not hard enough to draw blood, just a warning shot that any elder dog would do to a pack member when they thought they were out of line. “That’s for knocking me over,” Her paw then lightly came down on his head batting him, as if she was clubbing him in the head for being an idiot if they had been in human form. “That is for being insolent toward your master. You shouldn’t be causing the people you serve any trouble. They care for you, feed you, and give you a place to stay. Some of us would love that.” She barked gruffly at him. The young male pup hung his head feeling bad.

The patch work coated white, black, dark brown, light brown, and blond furred dog turned watching as a frantic woman came running toward them, and she huffed shortly behind her that he would stay put, or their would be more repercussion. She stayed into her animal form until the woman was almost upon her yelling, and looking exasperated. She looked a little worse for wear. She hoped she hadn’t been attacked or something. She hadn’t seemed like this place was too violent, maybe she had got in a fight, or had been training. She had to still see about that. She stopped in front of them, and that was when she shimmered into her human form again. She stood at first naked not really minding much, until some people gave her strange looks and she sighed. She picked up her clothes she had discarded a moment ago and put them on covering what little they covered anyway.

“Is this your dog?” She asked, smiling. “He won’t give you problems, at least not today.” She looked back down at the young dog, and gave him a warning look. “I gave him a good rebuke and told him he shouldn’t be too much a handful for you.” She looked back at the other woman she had just been talking to who had remained quiet, and just watched. “Sorry, Tebridiar. I didn’t mean to ignore you.” She smiled at the Tebridiar. “I am Kaja, and this is Tebridiar.”

oocDark purple is Kaja communicating to other animals. The blue is that animal speaking back to her.

[Akilah Windsong]

As she ran, Akilah watched as one of the girls shed her clothes, transforming into a large...dog. Not quite like most dogs she's used to, with a fur spotted in blacks and browns, like the dry desert soil after scattered rains. She barked at the pup, approaching him.

For a moment, Akilah held her breath, watching as the larger canine moved closer. No matter how troublesome Vespera was, she didn't want her to get hurt.

(she didn't want her mother to give her that look, that frown)

Then she changed back after a quick nip, standing naked in the crowd. Her pale skin contrasted with the tanned skin of those walking past her, her hair a brown curtain and Akilah averted her eyes for a moment, blushing lightly.

A Kelvic. She had heard of them, before, in stories at night when her father tucked her in, the candle her only light. Her mother proclaimed of their strengths in her tales of battle, of the skirmishes at the borders. No one more loyal, no one more fierce than a Kelvic protecting her master. Any Akilah had seen have been at a distance.

It was out of this respect that she returned her eyes to the naked figure, firmly looking straight at her as she finished running.

Panting lightly, she doubled over, hands on her knees as she caught her breath, giving a dark glare at the young pup who sat on his hunches, staring up at her. His short dark coat rippled slightly in the breeze and his head hung lightly. He gave a soft whine and pressed against her.

When the other girl(woman? kelvics appearances didn't always match their age, she knew) spoke, she straightened once more.

"Yes, he's my dog. His name is Vespera," she sighed lightly as she said that, for he was just as likely to answer to his nickname as to his name. Blinking in surprise to the next statement, she grinned broadly. "Really? Thanks."

Behind her, Adámas trotted forward, butting her shoulder. Her white mane drifted down, tangling with her darker locks, and she reached up to scratch her ears. "This is Adámas, my strider, and I'm Akilah Windsong, of the Diamond Clan."

Looking at the Tebridiar, she asked worriedly, "Is she okay?"

[Kaja]

Kaja smiled back at the other young woman that came upon them with the misbehaving pup. “Yep, though he is young, so I don’t know how long that it will last.” She chuckled, looking down at him again. “Vespera, huh? Well, Vespera, I will be watching you my young puppy.” She nodded her head. “Do you live here too? Tebridiar was telling me she used to live here a few months back.” She smiled at her other new companion. “She’s okay, just tired, delighted to be back home, and a little emotional about other things.” She wouldn’t tell what since it wasn’t hers to tell. If Tebridiar wanted to mention her missing bond mate then she could, but she wouldn’t mention it.

She looked behind the woman and smiled at the large horse. She was getting used to the fact that these people practically lived with their horses. She was used to horses being kept away from the general populace, but it seemed here that the horse had a much more higher place then just something that served their master. That warmed her heart because sometimes she thought that the horses that she had been used to seeing in other places while not being treated poorly, could have been treated a bit better sometimes. These horses seemed to have a bigger part in their master’s lives. She thought that was as it should be. “What is your horse’s name?” She asked, reaching out to try to pet the beast.

[Akilah Windsong]

Tebridiar had remained silent so far, still looking pale and sickly to Akilah. Though, the paleness might just be because she was used to seeing tan skin, baked from hours in the sun. It worried her, and she shot a troubled glance at her before responding to Kaja.

"Well, even a little help is better than none." She chuckled at the rebuke, Kaja looking like a schoolmaster disciplining her pupil. "Yes, I was born here. I'm from the Diamond clan. Vespera, well, I'm not quite sure where he's from, but he was probably born in the plains, at least."

Glancing at the other woman again, she gave a small smile. "It's nice to meet you! There's no place like home, is there?" The way her shoulders shook before, it must have been from those 'other things'. But the woman was still silent, still unresponsive, and Akilah wasn't sure how to continue with that. Ask again, perhaps, but that hadn't quite worked the first time.

Before she finished her thought, from the slight shift in the winds, she could tell Adámas was right behind her now, glancing curiously at the newcomers.

Her head stretched further out, allowing the reaching hand to stroke her.

"She's Adámas," Akilah introduced "And she's Kaja and the other is Tebridiar." When she heard a soft whicker, she added, "And yes, they stopped him before he disappeared, especially Kaja."

A thought struck her. This had been something she wanted to know for a while now. "Say, if you can speak dog, does this mean you can speak horse too? Or any other animal? Is it a universal language?" She could feel, stirring within her, the tendrils of envy. "I'm jealous."

"And you're from outside, then, right? So where are you from? What's it like there? I don't get to go out of Endrykas much, only to Riverfall occasionally."

[Kaja]

Kaja smiled as Akilah spoke to the other girl who was behind her. She was being very quiet like the cat got her tongue, but what could she do maybe she was still very overwhelmed by it all? I mean she had found Tebridiar crying when she first met her so maybe she was just a bit fragile still? I mean the poor girl had lost her bond mate that was a big deal. Well, she had heard as much anyway. She herself had not even really been bonded to anyone so she didn’t know that experience, but she had heard that when something happened to the person that a Kelvic bonded too it was very divesting. She looked at the Drykas woman and smiled giving her a soft look as if to say give the other Kelvic a break for now.

When Alelah asked if she could talk to any kind of animal she shook her head and giggled slightly. “Oh no, I can only talk to other dogs, and only when I am in my animal form. When I am human I can understand what they say to me, but I can’t talk anymore to them because my vocal box is different.” Or something like that she thought to herself. She just knew for sure that not everything was the same when she was in human form to when she was in her natural animal form. She retained her fur color in her hair, the eye color, and her canine teeth were slightly more elongated then a normal humans were but other then that she look very much like a normal human. When she heard Akilah say she was jealous she started to wave her hand. “Oh, no really it isn’t that big a deal.” She smiled. “Its like being able to talk the same language as your cousins, but you can’t speak to other people’s cousins because you don’t know their language, but even worse those other people’s cousins have different ummmm…. Well… Body structures in their voice box so you can’t even learn that language if you want too.” She blinked that sounded pretty well actually. She smiled to herself looking quiet proud of herself for her explanation to Akilah about her ability to speak … dog? She started giggling, and then stopped. “I’m sorry I was just thinking to myself that I was proud of myself for I think explaining my ability. And then I had to stop to think what it was my ability to speak… dog?”

She hoped that Akilah would find it a funny thought too, and it would make her smile, and not be jealous anymore. That whole thing past and she seemed just as curious in personality as herself and she smiled as she asked about where she was from. However, as much as she liked that she was a curious person that asked questions it made her feel bad that she couldn’t remember much of Syliras. She sighed and looked down, “You know I don’t remember much about my homeland. The few things I do remember are that I worked for farmers with my pack in Syliras up until I was a year old. Then I left to be on my own carving my own notch in life so to say. However, somehow I fell into a river, and I haven’t really remembered too much about my past since. I know my name is Kaja I am Kelvic, I had a family, and a pack, I am from Syliras, my pack and brothers work for farmers, and I have nine brothers, but that’s about it. Things come back to me little by little at times, but I can’t really tell you much about Syliras.” She looked back up at her then.