[Flashback] Journey through the Grass (Closed)

[Aren]

Aren appreciated Patros' judgement of him, even if he did not necessarily agree with the assessment. Perhaps in time he would become this man that the drykas saw, but that time was not now. He still had years, perhaps decades, before that happened, and he was glad of it. The akalak simply did not feel ready let go of his hatred, or to share his burdens, as Patros had said. The perfume crack did make him laugh, however, as he considered the validity of the suggestion. "You think it would?" he asked, only half joking. In truth, he'd be willing to try just about anything if it had even the slightest chance of improving his luck with glassbeaks. "Cause I might just have to give that a shot," Aren continued, himself unsure if the statement was in jest or not. The akalak figured he had done worse things than lather on perfume in order to see if it would ward off a glassbeak attack. It would be a kick if he tried it and it actually worked, he thought, now giving the matter more serious consideration. Unfortunately, he didn't even know where to get perfume, or how expensive it might be. "Just as well," he thought, as if it didn't work, he'd rather not die smelling like a woman.

[Meera]

"Mm, it's worth a try, Aren." Patros stoked the fire, sending a beautiful dancing of sparks into the sky.

"So, what do you hope to find in Kenash, Aren? You have no child - are you searching for the mother? If you've killed your Zith - and thank you, by the way, for doing your best to scare Meerkat earlier by telling her a bit about the Zith, though I suspect her knowing that you've killed one won't help me scare her - if you've killed your Zith, surely you must be in want of your wife, now? Isn't that how it works for you Akalaks?" Patros rambled, making conversation while Meera slept. Patros had made his trips to Riverfall quite frequently over the last few years, becoming friendly with many of the Akalaks there. Of course, there was a number of things Patros did not know about his new acquaintance's heritage.

Having no right over Meera's future he certainly couldn't propose that Aren become friendly with the child. As an orphan without windmark Meera hadn't a hope in the world to gain any status in Endrykas, and with her brash behaviour become a steady habit she was not like to break, it was for the best that she find her future outside of their community. It wasn't up to Patros though, and in ten years the Ankal would determine the appropriate suitor for her and that would be that.

[Aren]

"Among my people, we are considered adults after our hunt, and we are expected to be fathering children shortly thereafter. Of course, if you're not in Riverfall, nobody cares," Aren explained, unable to muster up much emotion when it came to the topic. The akalak had spent so long away from home, that he didn't know exactly what his status there was. Perhaps, if he ever returned, he would be treated with a kind of mild neglect by those that felt he hadn't been doing his part for the race. If they ever directed their concerns at his person, however, he would be obliged to teach them some of the things he'd learned in foreign lands. These things would probably take the from of unseemly gestures, he suspected. "Honestly, I can't say I've ever cared about finding a wife. Maybe I'm just not a very good akalak," he suggested, wondering if this could, in fact, be the case. Of course, what else could he expect, having been raised by his mother? Sometimes he was just surprised that he hadn't turned out with six arms, despite the fact that it was technically impossible.

[Meera]

Patros blew air through pursed lips almost in a sigh, but more so in reaction to what he was hearing underneath Aren's words.

Not being a good Akalak, refusing to be home and do his racial duty and father a child...

"Aren, uhm," Patros started, unsure of how to approach the touchy subject. "You are um," He attempted, but found himself at a loss for the word.

"Oh, what's the word now... It's on the tip of my tongue." Patros made a few crude gestures across the fire at Aren.
"You know... homosexual? Is that why you don't want to father a child, to stay in Riverfall?" It was perfectly understandable why Aren would leave then, even if it did make Patros slightly uncomfortable. He had never met a homosexual before, well, not that he knew of.

[Aren]

Aren nearly fell face first into the fire, Patros' question taking him by complete surprise, "Uh, no! I'm inclined towards t- the women folk," he asserted rather awkwardly, still reeling from the shock. "I- if it's because of the, you know, the perfume.... I was totally joking about that," Aren tried to justify himself, but was making a rather poor showing of it. Finally, he just gave up with a shrug, sighing heavily at his own inadequacy. "It's just that the idea of my child's mother likely dying in the process of giving birth has never really appealed to me. I mean, how do I explain to my son that he killed his mother by being born?" he asked, looking like he had given the matter some thought, but not really expecting an answer. "Lets... let's talk about something else," the akalak suggested, seeking to find a topic of conversation that didn't involve questioning his masculinity, or his issues with fatherhood.

[Meera]

"I didn't mean to offend, Aren, I assure you of that!" Patros quickly retorted, eager to do damage control. As Aren tried to blame it on the joke about perfume, Patros had the decency to frown gently, but did not feel sad internally. He knew it would be difficult for an Akalak of that orientation. They were a dying race, after all. If they wouldn't produce sons, then why be allowed to live? It made sense, as inhumane as it was to think.

When Aren clarified, it seemed a more honest answer shone through his words, teaching Patros something new. He had not known they would destroy their mothers at birth, but judging the sheer size of the Akalaks, at birth he could easily imagine them quite large infants. The image gave him phantom pain in his groin, sympathizing with his other gender. He gave a wince, pitying the Akalaks. Surely others must know of this, and was likely a valid contributer to why the blue skinned men of Riverfall were a dying race.

"Ah, sure..." Patros said, but had difficulty coming up with a new topic. Patros found it quite nice of Aren to want to appreciate his wife, to love her, and would not want a child in fear of killing her. That was a view he had not expected. The other Akalaks he knew of where very set into their duties and their son's mothers' deaths were simply facts of life. Patros did not wish to say it, but the chances of Aren outliving his wife regardless of a child or not was still high.

"Are you sure Meera is not a bother to you? She's very exciteable and can be a bit of a handful for an old man like me. Can't say I don't want you here. Heh, at least now she's got two people to irritate instead of just me."

[Aren]

The akalak laughed, nodding his head at the notion that Patros' had offended him, "Don't worry, I don't think I've ever been offended by anything in my life," Aren assured the drykas. "Nah, she's no bother," he said, looking back at the little drykas knocked out in the tent. "She reminds me a lot of myself, when I was around that age. Hell, as much as I hate to admit it, she reminds me of myself now," Aren chuckled, admitting to the fact that he could still be rather childish, if the situation called for it. The akalak knew himself well enough to know to recognize his shortcomings, but he honestly wasn't sure if being kind of childish was one of them. Children were honest, and blunt. Sometimes their innocent eyes saw things other's missed. In Aren's mind, there were a lot worse things to be than childish. "Hopefully, she'll be a kid for a little while longer," the akalak mused, knowing that growing up was not necessarily a happy occasion.

[Meera]

"Not for much longer, I suspect," Patros said, his voice growing gruff.

"She's lucky to have been a child for this long, acting how she does. Girl has to grow up and get her windmark eventually, and the way her little life's been so far it's better she get it right quick," Patros relayed over the sound of the subject's rhythmic breathing. Meera couldn't be expecting favours like this anymore. If it truly hadn't been for Aren he would have pushed her farther to stay awake, to build her endurance. Patros sighed. It was easy enough for him to think that was what he would do if it weren't for Aren, but it was probably the exact opposite he'd do. Patros probably would have stopped a long time ago to make camp for Meera if it hadn't been for Aren.

Where as Patros' sons were given his special brand of tough love Aren had been so fond of, Meera was getting a smaller dosage. His sons were nearly left to defend themselves at the age of twelve sometimes. Patros was a patron of risky parenting. At least with Meera, his first female ward, he felt a natural urge to protect her, likely very similar to how Aren felt when he stepped in front of her arrow.

Patros realized he had been quiet for far too long, staring at the burning embers of the fire when he started to talk again.
"After all, she's probably going to want to be married one day. No one will marry her without a wind mark. Not a Drykas, anyways."

[Aren]

"I don't know what's so important about some mark, but I can't pretend to understand the drykas, either," Aren said, recognizing his ignorance of Patros' culture. "What I do know, though, is that one day she'll find someone who loves her enough not to care whether she has this mark or not," the akalak spoke his mind, knowing that her guardian might take that as an implication that he didn't really care for her. Aren looked at Patros, his eyes revealing that that was exactly what it was meant to be. The blue skinned giant wanted to know how he'd react, as that reaction would tell him whether he was willing to put Meera's welfare over status within the drykas. In truth, Aren did not expect the man to disappoint him, but if he did, the akalak didn't know if it was his place to do anything about it. He wasn't a drykas, after all, or the girl's guardian. Still, he wouldn't like the future the poor girl might have amongst people who wouldn't treat her right simply because her skin lacked some trivial decoration. Trivial to him, of course, who didn't know squat about what any of it meant.

[Meera]

"Ah," Patros said, a soft smile creasing his cheeks as though he understood.
"It's no small wonder why you and Meera seem to get along so well." Patros continued, nearly laughing. They were exactly the same from what Patros could tell, aside from most glaring differences such as age, gender, race. Meera always tried to find some loophole, just like Aren was now. Certainly she could find someone outside of Endrykas to love her, he thought. But why would a Drykas give her the time of day once they found out she wasn't good enough for a windmark? A windmark was nearly a staple in their lives. All Akalaks had killed a glassbeak, all Drykas had a windmark. It was as cut and dry as that. The fact that someone from outside Endrykas could love her was a possibility, he had to concede, but without her windmark, who would she meet? It was true Meera was now under his wing for conceivably the next decade, but Patros was not taking her from town to town to show her off like some prized steed for sale. Of course, there was the chance of foreigners finding Endrykas, but the chances of her being home were next to nothing.

"If she never got a windmark, I will not be impressed." Patros said with serious eyes and an almost wincing mouth.
"How could I have done a good job as her guardian, if not properly prepared her for her tests? I had to fight tooth and nail for Sana's permission to take her. Without a windmark, Aren, she's nothing to the clan. I'm not going to fight for nothing." The trouble with that was that Meera's windmark was largely dependent on her finding the right horse at the right time. She could be near death at 70 years old and finally find her Strider, but Patros was planning on it being sooner than that.

"I would rather see her inked up head to toe than see her married."