Unexpected Meeting (Rista)

[Kikue]

6th day, Summer 511 AV It had been a while for Kikue since she last set out to camp in the valley. She had her tent set up near a small water stream, just to have fresh water for whatever broth she could cook up. Her pony was grazing a little away from the tent peacefully. It's saddle, bit and bridle lay next to the tent. Kikue herself lay on the edge of the water on a large flat rock, bathing in the sun. She never expected a stranger to come around that place and thus she was sunbasking in only her undergarment. She made sure she always had her talon sword within reach for if anyone would have the bad idea of trying to take advantage of her slim posture. *God I love basking in the sun like this. There isn't anything that feels better.*, she thought as she sighed in pleasure. Kikue's other camp items were scattered a little around the dead campfire, she wasn't really someone to clean up as long as she stayed on that spot. Her small woodcutter's axe still stuck out of a wooden log she had chopped off a tree. She had her bow still in the tent as she hadn't needed it so far.

[Rista]

She had taken a break from people. It wasn't the first time Rista decided to ditch anything that had to do with classes, bendi and the judgmental yasi she was forced to spend her days with; she had been gone before, and aside from a few sharp comments from her teachers, it didn't seem like anyone payed any attention to what she did. At times, being unwanted could be a good thing.

She made her way through the forest with slow, peaceful steps; not a care in the world, no times to keep and nothing to do except exist. In the bag that was slung over her right shoulder she had food for another weak, a blanket to sleep on, hunting knife and a kit she had bought to make small traps with; her shortbow was stringed with an arrow at the ready in her hand in case she came across some small game while she was moving. As she followed along a small stream, the short, dark-haired girl peered into the stream to see if there were any fish lingering by the damp rocks. That she couldn't spot any didn't mean that there weren't any to find; they had probably been startled away by her steps, since she wasn't trying to move very carefully.

For once, the short little mongrel wore a smile on her face, rather than the usual frown. With no humans around, there was no one to give her wry glances for her black eyes and coppery skin, no one that would judge her for something she couldn't do anything about. Here, out in the wild where nothing could see her except the trees and the animals, she could be herself. She was free to think and act as she pleased, and best of all; she could be in the sun, something she absolutely loved.

Being too focused on the water that flowed beside her, the yasi didn't notice that the trees opened up around her until she suddenly found herself standing in the middle of a campsite. Confused, she blinked and looked around, black eyes taking in the pony and the tent, the prepared fireplace... then she noticed the woman, and immediately tensed up with a surprised "Petch!" She hadn't seen her at first, even though a camp suggested that there should be people around.

Disappointment over how soon her solitude had been disrupted, the half-breed girl frowned and looked over the person on the ground once again. Her lack of clothes didn't bother Rista in the slightest; she was only wearing bryda and a plain vinati herself, and being born and raised in Wind Reach as she was, she was used to sharing bath with both men and women. No, it was the simple fact that she was a human that bothered the girl; Rista turned on her heels, planning on making an immediate retreat as not to disturb the person. Or herself. Mostly herself, actually, because she really had no interest in talking right now...

[Kikue]

Kikue was still enjoying the sun as someone entered her camp. At first she hadn't noticed the person, but as she cursed, Kikue shot up and grabbed her falcon sword. "Who there?", she immediately shouted out in her broken common, "Don't think you sneak me up on and take my possessions." Kikue usually didn't draw her conclusions fast, but the sudden appearance of this person just unsettled her. It wasn't a first that Kikue met someone out in the wilderness, but it was a first to have someone just walk into her campsite like that. And besides that, Kikue was really afraid that her camouflage armor might get taken away. It was her precious gift from her master and she didn't want to lose it, no matter the cost. "Stop, turn show me you face." Her voice emanated with anger and had only a slight hint of fear in it. Though to others it would seem like fear for them instead of fear of having her gift taken away. *Ow, shit. It's a little girl....... wait.... I'm not too big either.*, she thought as she had noticed that the person was a girl, just a bit smaller then herself. She couldn't help but stare at that person's back, unmoving. Kikue was used to meeting bigger folk then herself. Her eyes were opened quite wide in astonishment and she wasn't able to say anything anymore. She hadn't noticed it yet, but her sudden movement had caused one of the straps of her bra to slide loose, giving Kikue the image of a someone not really too concerned by decency.

[Rista]

She hadn't made it very far when a voice called out to her; the girl sighed and only reluctantly did as she had been told, holding her hands up a bit as she turned so there would be no mistakes made. She had no intentions on touching her bow in a menacing way, nor was she the slightest bit fond of the thought of having to stick around for much longer.

"I'm not a thief" the short girl said with a slight edge to her voice, "and I'm not the least bit interested in you or your possessions. I just want to..." Her eyes widened as she turned around completely and found herself staring, not at the womans breasts as she was used to, but rather her eyes. She was short! Of course the mongrel was short too, but she was still only around fourteen years old, she might still grow a few inches if she was lucky. This was apparently a grown woman, and yet she wasn't even five feet. It was enough to make Rista stare, just as she was stared at by the other.

It didn't last for long though. She soon forced herself to look away, the gaze instead moving to take in the Talon sword in the others hand. Faint interest flickered over her face; she had always wanted to learn the use of one, but never had a good opportunity. Then again, this was probably neither the right time nor place for such practice...

"I didn't mean to startle you" she eventually said, and returned her eyes to the red-headed woman's, again focusing on the fact that she had no real interest in chatting. "If you don't mind, I'd rather continue on my way.." The girl tried a tense smile and briefly pushed a strand of dark red-streaked hair away from her face. She had let it remain loose this morning, but was already beginning to wish it was tied back into her usual thin braids, bundled up at the neck. It was beginning to get annoying.

[Kikue]

Kikue listened to the girl. She wasn't convinced yet that the girl didn't have any intention of taking her stuff. But as she had turned around, Kikue couldn't help but drop her jaw. The girls eyes were black. That wasn't normal, that wasn't normal at all. There had to be some mistake. Rubbing her eye with her free left hand, Kikue took another close look at the girl, but the black eyes hadn't gone away in the slightest. She noticed the girls gaze at her falcon sword and couldn't help but smile slightly. It was normal for youngsters to want to learn the falcon sword. It had been the same with her. Ever since she had layed her eyes on it, Kikue wanted to master it. "Well, I want to talk to you. I want to know why you have those black eyes, it seems...... off to me. And you seem to have an interest in the falcon sword as well." Kikue's voice wasn't angry or anything anymore. She had calmed down after she saw the girl's interesting glance on her sword. Though she was a bit bugged that that girl had gazed at her like that. Ofcourse Kikue knew she was short, but it wasn't a reason to gaze at her like that. Kikue had started to pick up her clothes and was walking back to her tent. She got one of the saddle bags and got a strip of dried meat out of it. *I might let her try my blade out, but I've got to read her intentions first. I can't believe she just stumbled upon my camp like that. She has to have a reason for coming here. And that edge in her voice is annoying, I hope she won't continue at that tone. Because I won't be responsible for the consequences then.* Kikue's red eyes had a slight hint of annoyance. It wasn't a first to her that people reacted to her with an edge in the voice, but it was a first for her to get it from someone smaller.

[Rista]

The girl bit back a sigh at the reply. No chances of slipping away again, eh? So much for being alone, it seemed that the entire mountain was crawling with people to bump into. The girl tried to ignore the stare at her face and pressed the lips together, allowing the backpack to slip from her shoulders; it took a bit of juggling to get it off onto the ground without letting go of the bow, but she managed somehow and folded her legs afterwards. Not waiting for offers or commands as she probably should have when faced with someone older, the dark-eyed yasi sat down on the ground, placed the weapon over her knees and shrugged a bit.

"There's not much to say about that, is there?" she said, voice sounding a bit grumpy even though she tried to contain herself. "I'm a halfbreed, supposedly my father was from a different kind of people.. There, that's all I know about the matter." All she wanted to know at least, and that was still too much. In her heart Rista wanted to be nothing but Inarta, and her strange looks wasn't doing her any good in that.

"Sure, I'm interested in the sword" she continued, eager to get all of this over with so that she could continue. "The Talon is a good weapon, as far as I can see it has plenty of uses, and I've never been able to hold it before.. What about it? Most yasi dream of flying on eagles and wielding the Talon, surely you know that."

This woman must have been yasi herself at some point; her height made it difficult to judge how old she was, but it couldn't be a lot. Her caste was equally hard to determine, which might be the reason why Rista was being so liberate with her choice of words and tone of voice. Has she been an Endal, the girl was more likely to have been torn between idolizing awe and nervous fear, all too eager to please to even remember that she wanted to be alone...

[Kikue]

Kikue saw how the girl pressed her lips together. She didn't think too much about it, or at least she tried to. Something about this girl was just getting to her. It didn't help much that the girl just sat down. She could've asked at least. *Sheesh, doesn't she have any manners?, she thought. After hearing the girl's grumpy voice, Kikue's face twitched. That girl was pressing her luck. She ducked into the tent for a bit, clothed herself in her bryda and vinata. She couldn't be bothered to put on more right now. She heard why the girl had her black eyes at least. *A halfbreed... no wonder she doesn't have any manners. Maybe I should..... No, that would make me as bad as the rest.* Kikue came back out of the tent and her face was showing that she'd gotten quite angry. "You know... I don't give a shyke about you being a half-breed, but I do expect some manners, Yasi.", she said angry. She spat out the caste of the other girl. She had to be a Yasi in her eyes. There weren't many Inarta woman that were smaller then her. Kikue completely snapped that the girl expected her to want to fly as well. This was just too much. How did that girl dare to think what Kikue wanted when she was a Yasi. "You know, I NEVER even had the slightest dream of flying myself.", Kikue spat out, emphasising 'never', "And here I was thinking I might've let you try the falcon sword out. But sorry missy, you've ruined your chance." There was no stopping Kikue now and she kept on going: "You should know your place, Yasi. I'm an Avora and you're supposed to at least show SOME form of respect." Kikue then took a deep breath to calm herself down a little. It had felt good letting out her frustration again. It hadn't been all from that girl, but she did cause most of it. She didn't regret it, but she did wish she had held it in at least a little. *She deserved it, but maybe I should've held back a little. Just like my master said before: 'You're a great kid, but your temper might be a little too hot.'* Those were words that had stayed with her. Ever since she had heard them.

[Rista]

The girl blinked where she sat, slightly surprised by the sudden change in temper with the woman. She felt like snorting about her words; she she didn't care about the yasi's heritage? That would make her a first, seriously. There weren't a lot of people that remained calm and composed for a long time when they looked at her face; something with her eyes unsettled them, made them nervous and caused the calmest of Inarta to flare up and lash out.

Still, the predictability and the familiar way she was spoken to made a small smile creep up on her lips. The day someone spoke to her with a smile would be the day the sky turned green and eagles crawled over the ground. So she was Avora? Probably a hunter then, seeing as she was so comfortable in the wild. Rista wasn't very intimidated by the snappy voice or the anger; even if the comment about letting her touch the sword was unexpected, the retraction of the offer before it had even been issued wasn't. This woman, she was just like all the others...

"I apologize for my rudeness, avora" she offered automatically, as was the proper thing to do. Rista didn't really feel sorry though; she hadn't chosen to stay in the camp, nor had she done anything to really earn the ire of the other. She moved the bow away from her lap, placed it beside her on the ground and sat up a bit more straight, but aside from that she didn't seem to care all that much. Disappointment and annoyance gnawed within her as her peaceful state of mind steadily disappeared, and it made her stingy.

What did the woman mean, she never wanted to fly? It seemed to be the dream of every Inarta, to bond with an eagle and bring food back to the city. If this person had never.. No, Rista couldn't understand it. She herself wanted nothing more than to be an Endal, to be undoubtedly connected to her home and be seen as a worthy member of the people. She saw now better way to do it, and paired with her love of animals and the outdoors life.. What better could she get? The copper-skinned girl felt like sighing and shifting from a desire to leave; if it hadn't been for the sharp eyes of the woman and a risk of bumping into her again in the Reach, she might have tried to slip away. As it was, the yasi made herself wait, hoping to be dismissed so that she could return to her own doings. The meeting had already spoiled the mood somewhat though, it was sure to bug her even if she could spend the rest of the day alone...

[Kikue]

Hearing the apology of the little girl, Kikue sighed. *Well done, Kikue, you've just let yourself go completely out of control again.* Her thoughts were slightly colored by guilt and she looked away from the little girl. She had to apologize. It wasn't like her to snap out like that and use her caste. Kikue felt her cheeks warm up slightly as she got a very slight blush on her face. It wasn't a first for her to snap out like this. But this girl, even though she did deserve to be put in her place, didn't deserve it to be that harsh. "Listen.... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap out at you like that. I guess it's because I'm tired.", she said as she scratched the back of her head. Kikue suddenly felt a little awkward. What was wrong with her that she just snapped out at that girl like that. There had to be something malfunctioning in her to cause those reactions. She slowly sat down across the girl and said: "Just sit comfortable... and just ignore me being an Avora. I don't usually use my caste like that." Her voice was sincere and her anger had subsided. "Ugh.... I'm just like my master said: I'm a great kid, but my temper is too hot." Kikue then slowly lay on her back, folding her arms behind her head as she looked up at the sky. "You know.. It's not like I don't like the sky or anything, but more....... how shall I put it.... I've got nothing with birds. I can't communicate with them like everyone else can. I assume you're shooting for Endal. I'll give you some advice for if you do; become good at hunting, archery and trampling other people's hope into the ground.", she said. She kept a few seconds silence and then blurted out: "Why in Priskill's name am I telling this to a girl I just met... Aargh." Kikue had blurted out almost everything. She felt embarrassed and angry at herself. Her anger was shown on her face. She felt embarrassed for not being a 'true' Inarta. As if trying to cover up for her embarrassment, she held out her talon sword. "Here, try it out. But be careful, it's sharp and will just rip through your flesh if you don't watch out.", she warned the youngster so she wouldn't make the same mistake as she did years ago.

[Rista]

The girl shifted uncomfortably, unsure whether it would be wise to just go up and leave. This situation was difficult, she wanted to go back to her own business and keep exploring the area, but here was now an Avora that without any trouble at all would be perfectly capable of brining the yasi back to Wind Reach... To be perfectly honest, Rista didn't have a legitimate reason to be where she were. She hadn't asked permission from anyone to leave the city, she hadn't even told anyone that she was going or when she might come back. The old man Val at the Gate was probably the only one that knew she had left in the first place, but not even he had been told anything; there had been this strange knowing glance in his eyes, but the girl hadn't thought too much about it, just given him a wave of a hand before she hurried off...

She only listened to the ranting woman with half an ear, feeling more than just a little detached from the things she spoke about. Rista would never want to be anywhere except Wind Reach, she was indeed one of those that dreamed of flying, and she held an almost worshiping admiration for the Endal for their skills and supremacy. The 'advice' made her give the woman a short but wry glance, hurt herself by the negative way she spoke of the highest caste.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, a defending tone slipping over the voice. "Endals don't do that, why would they? Maybe they have high expectations of people, but that's just normal, right? They're at the top after all, and the more people that reach to their level, the better it will be for the city. I'd want nothing more than to live up to their standards..." Above all, she wanted to gain the approval of existing in the city in the first place. As a half-breed, her place was anything but set in stone, and being a yasi on her last year now, she had to prove herself worthy of their trust, or she could as well have wasted all these years of study and struggle... She would not fall to become a drudge, if she so had to wipe children's buts at a nursery for the rest of her life, struggling by as Chiet... Preferably though the girl wanted to bond. But hey, that wasn't up to her, but rather the young eagle fledglings.

She glanced hesitantly at the red-haired woman when she held out the sword for her to take; was she serious? This person was incredibly fickle it seemed, first saying that she had planned to say yes but chose not to, only to offer it after all, as if to make up for something. Rista shook her head slightly in disbelief, but then reached her hands out and took the sword in both hands, handling it clumsily as if it was the first time she held a sword at all. So she might have had lessons before, but she was far from skilled and it had been ages since she held a Talon; she didn't have one of her own, of course, it was far too expensive for her savings. Adding to that, she felt that it would be insolent of her to own one, when it was most often seen at the side of Endal or Avora...

"I don't know how to handle this thing at all" she mumbled and looked at the weapon, admiring the elegant curve of the blade and the decorated handle. The weight felt good but foreign in her hands, and she kept the fingers far away from the blade as not to cut herself. It felt awkward to handle someone else's weapon, especially since she couldn't do anything with it; the girl weighed it in her hands a bit, but then held it out for the woman to take back. "Thanks, but can't really.. do anything with it, so. Better take it back."