Worldly Travels (Pygmy)

[Khiara]

2nd day of spring.

Khiara stood beside Vsenri, watching the sky as it slowly changed in hue. The sun wasn't up yet, but it was about to be, and she was beginning to feel the need to move on. In her hand was the smooth whale bone carving she'd brought with her from Avanthal, and gently her thumb caressed the familair curves as dull violet eyes watched the dark blue sky. The grassland had been good to her. It had brought a change of scenery, and she'd had the fortune of meeting Pygmy, the kelvic goat who she couldn't have disliked even if she'd tried. Smiling to herself, the vanthian wondered what the adventurous little soul was upto. There wasn't too much of a warning when Pygmy left. One moment, she'd been here and human in form, the next moment she was a goat and she was gone. Pon seemed used to her comings and goings, and so Khiara hadn't worried to much. Pygmy wouldn't just leave the tidal pony behind.

Leaning gently on the grazing frostmarch, she relished in the cool morning air, enjoying the feel of it on her skin and savoring it for the day ahead. No doubt it would be hot again. How anyone could survive here without dying of heatstroke was almost infathomable to the iceborn woman. It was like living in a hotpool! Gazing up at the now purple sky, she recalled her time with the caravan. There had been Pygmy. And then there had been Vanator.

The golden drykas. She'd found herself thinking of him when her mind wasn't occupied, remembering his gaze and his voice, her iris' a rich violet. He was unlike anyone she'd met before, traveled and confident, born in the heart of a dangerous country. His mare, Backlash, moved like a moutain stream, fast and unstoppable. And they rode as though they were one, bound both in mind, body and spirit. Her thumb stroked absently over the carved face of Eliac, and with a sickening turn of her stomach, her eyes turned a muted gold. What was wrong with her?! Looking down at the carving, she felt tears sting her eyes and a lump in her throat. I should be ashamed at myself, she thought angrily, clutching the carving tightly. It wasn't that she was in love with Vanator, or even that she had feelings for him. She just...something about him fascinated her, and she was drawn by his eyes. He felt like someone she should have known all her life, but had never met.

Plus, he was attractive and exotic. When it boiled down to it, she could not help but admit that.

Her eyes faded back into a soft violet as she moved to put the carving away in her backpack with a tender care, closing it up and looking at the now pink and orange sky. It was time to move on. The Sea of Grass was not the place for her, or for Vsenri. Her feet grew restless and so did her mind. Perhaps it was for the best. Tighting the strap on the saddle, she glanced around for any sign of the kelvic...unsure if she wanted to leave alone...but not sure how long she wanted to wait. Contemplating, she decided to at least wait till the sun actually rose.

[Dhanya]

It had been an eventful night. Singing and dancing and ale'ing. Pygmy couldn't even remember all of it and she wasn't sure if that was because it had gone too fast or if she'd underestimated the content of her drinks. She still felt warm from all of it. Endrykas was a pretty good town, all things considered. She'd decided she was going to move there.

Khiara would of course be coming too, she concluded, as she stumbled along through the grass. She was in such a good mood that she kept jumping over ridiculously small obstacles. Sticks had proved popular as had stones, slow mammals and one very surprised traveling Drykas.

Pygmy rolled into camp, bleating loudly to announce her arrival, the changing back into her two-legged form. Pon whickered at her, before returning to his morning meal of grass. Her comings and goings did not bother him, nor did seeing her change. It had at first but she had slowly accustomed him to it. Now it would have taken a giant snake to scare him.

"KHIARAAA!" Pygmy shouted, naked as the day she had been born, ruffling around through her things for a shirt. "KHIARRRAAAA! I found that horse people city and I wanna go there, you have to come with me!"

This was Pygmy's sub-conscious revealing that she did not wish to go on her own because she would miss Khiara and feel sad without her. It was also her conscious mind's way of reflecting that she wasn't great at understanding that her needs were not necessarily correlated with the needs of others.

Still, at least she had remembered to come back for her horse and her clothes. She was growing up.

[Khiara]

Khiara had absent mindedly begun braiding her hair as she waited for the kelvic, humming softly to herself as she worked along from her temple to the ends. The right side was already done and she had almost finished the left when her name, called in a load almost bleeting voice, broke though her daze. Jumping in suprize, she focused her quickly brightening violet eyes on the goat.

"Pygmy! I was just thinking about you." finishing the braid, she moved towards the girl, Vsenri in tow.

"The horse people city? Is there where you've..whew!" waving a hand in front of her face, the vantha shook her head.

"What did you drink?!" She exclaimed with a laugh, wondering just what her friend had gotten upto. It smelt like she'd swum in an ale vat. Smiling as Pygmy rummaged for a shirt, she nodded.

"Its time for me to move on anyway. I've seen enough grass to last me a while. I need a good meal and maybe a little wine."

[Dhanya]

Pygmy was having trouble finding her clothes. She did eventually find her dress and managed to get it half on as Khiara spoke to her.

"I drank eeeverything." Pygmy replied, her arms in the air, one poking from the neck of the dress, the other elbow first through a sleeve.

Pygmy had indeed chosen to imbibe the night before, long into the night and way past when she should have stopped. One might have said she had even continued into the morning, although it would have been difficult for one to say that, since all the ones with her had been matching her for drinks.

There were a great many sore heads in Endrykas that morn. Pygmy would have been proud of it, had she not been so consummed with the realisation that she had fallen over.

"Khiara..." Pygmy called out, "I think I'm stuck."

The saddest part was that this was not the most pathetic moment out of Pygmy's life that Khiara had been witness to. At least Pygmy wasn't embarrassed about it.

[Khiara]

Khiara had to bite back the bubbling laughter that ticked her throat as the kelvic faced her with arms askew and dress half on. It was obvious that Pygmy had certainly had a good time last night. The vantha loved that about the kelvic...no matter where she went, she seemed to have fun!

"Everything?! Good Goddess Pygmy! You really shouldn't drink everything, I know I can't drink much else apart from wine, otherwise I become well..." She moved to to help the kelvic up, pulling the dress up and rearranging it so it slipped over her arms and around her small shoulders.

"I become a mess." The vantha finished with a grin. Shaking her head, the woman could only speculate and what Pygmy got up to when she wasn't there. Like an overprotective older sister, she impulsivly gave the kelvic a hug and pushed her hair out of her eyes.

"I really need to cut your hair." She muttered, flicking the girls fringe this way and that till her goat eyes stared back out at her. Disconserning things if Pygmy put her mind to staring you down. Placing her hands on her hips, she raised an eyebrow.

"You sure you can ride Pon back to the city like this? Maybe you should ride on Vsenri with me and we'll tow him."

[Dhanya]

Pygmy leaned into Khiara's hand, feeling contentment well as the older woman played with her hair. She blinked up at her blearily, no longer wanting to get going right away. She decided she would much prefer to lean against Khiara and be told a story.

"I have to show us the way thoughhh." She whined, even though she did know there was no way in the world she'd be able to ride while still residually drunk from the night before.

She wasn't even sure she'd be able to get on her horse.

"Khiara... Can you help me pack?" Pygmy asked.

If there had been more plaintive requests in the past, this one at least rivalled them. Pygmy probably wasn't in a great state to do so herself. Khiara would have been well within rights to tell Pygmy to sleep off the alcohol and pack herself in a few hours, then show them both back to Endrykas.

[Khiara]

Patting Pygmy lightly on the head, Khiara nodded and held the kelvic at arms length. She couldn't understand why people did this to themselves...but obviously it was worth it. Well...it HAD been worth it.

"You can ride in front, that way I can make sure you don't fall off." Moving the girl to the fire - not to close - she gently sat her down and pushed the hair out of her eyes again.

"Of course I can help you pack. Just sit here and I'll be done in no time." Standing back, she looked around the camp with a small sigh. Travel roll, rope....how and why the kelvic's rope was on the ground was a mystery in itself...tent, clothes, backpack and other various odds and ends. There wasn't much, but it wasn't all in one neat spot. Moving around the campsite, she picked up Pygmy's stuff bit by bit, singing a low working song in Vani. It was only about cleaning and tanning hides, but in the lyrical language, it came across as a lilting pick-me-up sort of tune. Rolling up the rope, Khiara tied it to Pon's saddle, before lifting it up and putting it over the tidal ponies back. Tying the straps, she looked back at Pygmy.

"Is there anything I've missed?"

[Dhanya]

Pygmy had attempted to help Khiara pack all their worldly possessions. Unforunately trying was not the same as succeeding and she had ended up spending the better part of an hour vomiting into a tussock of grass and wishing she was dead. Pygmy's hangovers always seemed to go that way. She was fine until she got home, at which point her body would let go and she'd feel the physical repercussions of whatever it was she'd drunk the night before.

In this case the answer was simply too much. There was no absinthe in the tavern but there was cheap beer and friendly people who were willing to buy amusing goat-people a drink. Altruism was such a vicious circle, to be sure.

"Khiara?" Pygmy called out plaintively, "Could you pat my head, then we'll go."

Pygmy was currently slumped on the ground, her forehead against the cool earth and her bottom sticking up in the air, covered by her leggings.

"I want my mum..." Pygmy muttered softly to herself.

[Khiara]

Khiara laughed a little, shaking her head. The kelvic reminded her of some of the children from the Snowsong hold that she'd spent many a night telling stories to infront of the crackling fire, an excited ball of energy that went on and on and on, till suddenly they crashed exactly where they were.

Moving over to the head-down-rump-up girl, she reached out to stroke her soft brown hair with an empathetic expression.

"You poor thing." She said softly, eyes a light violet. Pushing the hair behind Pygmy's ears, Khiara tilted her head.

"Come on, you can rest on me with Vsenri." The vantha said, moving to try and help the kelvic get up. Perhaps being a little goat would be easier for the girl, but Khiara wasn't sure how to ask. Hey, turn into a goat, coz its probably easier on your stomach, it just didn't sound right. Leading Pygmy to the quietly grazing frostmarch, she gently helped her onto the tall stallion before leaping up herself, reaching over to take Pon's reigns and tying him to Vsenri's saddle. Making a soft click of the tounge, she nudged the white horse into a gentle walk, keeping one hand around Pygmy's torso to keep her steady.

"Just let me know when you need to stop." She said with a little smile. It was hard not to be slightly amused by self-inflicted sickness.