Open Morality and other lies

[Valko]

7th of Fall, 512 A.V.
Early Morning

Valko came out from between the tents, a cynic smile on his lips, as he pulled on his shirt and pulled back his dark hair into a stub of a ponytail at the base of his neck. The arrival of the Dustwither Pavilion and their... wares, so far unique in Endrykas, had certainly brightened him up lately, he learnt things he hadn't known before that a woman could do, but he couldn't dispel a feeling of acute guilt... it was a small mercy that he crossed nobody who might draw conclusions from his dishevelled state. He put a hand to his pocket and examined the damage that the night had cost his purse with a sigh. He could hardly believe that he'd become like this. He used to have such high moral principles. Well, he thought bitterly, that was before Lamia died.
At this memory, Valko conjured up the image of her in his mind. The way she laughed, her curly red hair, the way she would bite her lip uncertainly when she wanted to tease him... or was worried. Goddammit. He tried to hunt the image of her from his mind, but he couldn't get away from the apparition. Now she seemed reproachful. Why? She seemed to ask.

"Because." He muttered this through gritted teeth, aloud.

A minute later he reached Tundra, his palomino stallion. Even Tundra's dark eyes seemed to look at Valko with reproach.

"Not you too."

Swallowing, he jumped up onto Tundra's back, and Tundra started slowly walking. Valko checked to make sure he had his traps. After spending a night lecherously, he had to at least have done something productive for his family. He'd go to the usual spot and set the traps.

[Khida]

Early though it was, the Drykas and his horse weren't quite alone at the city's edge. Another pair of eyes watched his progress through the tents, bright and intent. But the owner of those eyes was not Drykas, nor even human; if she had a critical opinion regarding his disheveled state, she did not give it voice. The peregrine falcon had been a common sight around Endrykas in the past several days, though largely at some distance -- whether vertical, horizontal, or both at once. But the nature of the Sea of Grass was such that it presented few ventures she considered acceptable for her nightly roost. Granted, few was not none, and she had slept away on past nights -- but last night, Khida had instead chosen to rest at the edge of Endrykas itself. Thus, dawn had found the falcon perched upon the centerpole of a tent, as far on the fringe of the nomadic city as one could be without abandoning it altogether. She had been about her morning preening before the man brought distraction; when she left off to watch him walk past, her gray feathers remained slightly ruffled. Khida continued to watch as he greeted a horse, as he mounted, as they ambled their way out into the open grasses beyond. In the silence of her mind, Khida wondered at his purpose; he carried nothing she knew as a weapon, nor with obvious purpose for hunting. Perhaps he only went out to travel -- or even just to run the horse. In any case, she thought the horse's progress might flush out something she would find of interest: breakfast. That thought foremost in her mind, the falcon stretched her wings and leaped upwards into the air, clearly angling to follow the rider -- albeit with a comfortable vertical distance between them.

[Elvyne Shaakri]

Something lunging itself into the open air caught Elvyne’s attention. She turned swiftly towards it, drawing in a sharp breath. It was uncommon for her to have company this time of day, even in the shallows of grassy seas. Her early morning rides to the outskirts of Endrykas had become somewhat of a habit. Her sleeping had been one of the many aspects of her life dramatically altered since her husband's death. Shaakri had ridden into the Sea of Grass in the middle of spring to hunt, and not returned. The scouts that had adventured out in search of his body had returned only with his dagger, which Evelyne had not let out of her sight since. Now, as she sat atop her Strider, she traced the 'S' that was engraved into the blade's white handle. S for Shaakri. Elvyne had taken her husband's family name at their wedding, as was usual, but following his death, she felt that she could not remain Elvyne Clearstone due to their lack of children. Neither had she wanted to return to her own family name of Greenwell - to do so would make it appear she had never married. So Elvyne made her own name; taking her husband's first name has her new surname.

She was relieved to see the source of the movement was simply a falcon. ”We’re nervous wrecks…” she murmured softly to the black and white horse beneath her, smiling a little sadly. Majesty snorted empathetically, throwing her black mane upwards as Elvyne scratched the side of her neck. Despite the light joke, there was some truth in Elvyne’s statement. The death of Shaakri had dissolved her confidence in hunting in the Sea of Grass. Now, almost every time a twig snapped, Elvyne would spin around, quiver or dagger in hand.

Her attention was still on the falcon as she attempted to recall some of the secrets her husband had shared with her about hunting and tracking animals. The falcon certainly seemed to be following something - she remembered that he had mentioned something about the angle of wings, was that it? Nevertheless, she and Majesty turned towards the falcon, and began to trot in the same direction that the peregrine was flying in. If a falcon is tracking something, I should be able to hunt it as well, she decided, trying to stir that old familiar feeling of excitement about hunting.

[Valko]

Valko turned around, hearing the whistle of something above him. He noted with a small smile the presence of the falcon, then turned back to his horse. There seemed to be nobody else of any consequence, the morning air was still with the dew still lingering on blades of grass nestled with cuckoo spit and the ropes holding the tents together. They were approaching the edge of the group of gathered tents and in a minute, he'd be able to kick his horse into a gallop, instead of creeping past like a thief in the night.
Valko sighed with a smile of relief as he left the moving city, then indicated that Tundra pick up pace. It wasn't that he felt like anything particularly dreadful would happen if he was caught there, quite the opposite, but he was in no mood for the niceties of petty conversation and making his way out into the wide plains gave him a sense of freedom, which was not always replicated within the claustrophobic confinements of Endrykas.
The spot was not far away. Perfect for catching his prey and all but unknown to the other Drykas.

[Kai]

Out of the corner of her eye Kai noticed her half-brother galloping into the open plains. Almost impulsively she dropped the freshly woven blankets she was carrying and pulled her self onto Papus (her massive mare). She always felt closer to her horse when she was riding bare back, and this bond was so very precious to her. It was this very bond that made her dig her heels into the horse’s sides and whisper "After him!" as they started into a gallop. With the wind in their hair they fallowed Valko at a distance just enough so he was clearly in view, but he could not hear the muffled thundering of the mare's hard hooves against the soft soil. She had not yet spotted the hawk, but the bow was already in her hand and a holster full of arrows swung across her back. Perhaps this will prove to be a good hunt.

[Khida]

As the rider made his way towards the city edge, the falcon banked through an easy, unhurried circle broadly centered upon his track. Other motion in the generally quiescent city caught her notice -- first one horse, and then another, both carrying riders. Both riders female, a red-haired woman and a dark-haired girl; both converging upon the man on his golden horse. What Khida could not tell, from high above, was whether they had planned to meet up beyond the city; and still she wondered at the group's overall purpose. The man set his horse to run, and Khida watched him pull ahead; her first intentions, of hunting whatever he might flush out, were temporarily set back by her curiosity over the new arrivals. The girl passed near to the falcon first, and the raptor's keen eyes picked out both the bow in her hand and the arrows on her back. Those tools, she knew well, and would give all due caution -- but their presence suggested a hunting party, which suited Khida's own interests perfectly. Satisfied in her confirmation, the falcon did not wait for the red-haired rider to catch up. Instead, she traded a few feet of altitude for a bit more speed, following the galloping horses out over the Sea of Grass. She most closely watched the grasses around and ahead of them, searching for hints of avian life which might spook into flight as the horses thundered past. Of course, both riders were now beyond her, as the falcon chose not to even try and pace them; the odds of anything fleeing back into her current reach were slim. But they had to slow down sometime.

[Kai]

It was times like these that Kai felt the joy of freedom in her very lungs. Lately it seemed like her life was completely rid of all joy, as she worked tirelessly, day and night, perfecting her weaving skills with her siblings. For she was still young and her father, though proud, did not allow her to ride out into the Sea of Grass alone. Indeed, this was the first time in a while when she could feel real freedom, the wind in her hair.

Holding onto the mare's main with one hand and a bow, lowered by her side, she and Papus increased speed. The strider was known for an impressive gallop within her family. Some may call this reckless, for she was riding completely bare back, but being the most stubborn of children, Kai enjoyed a little bit of adrenaline. And finally the horse and her rider began catching up to Valko.

That was when Kai noticed the falcon. "What a beautiful bird." she whispered to Papus, holding her in a steady gallop. A grin on her face, from ear to ear. Most children would have grown out of their juvenile obsession with animals by this age, but Kai had always had a love for nature. She would admire even the simplest of things.

Evening up with Valko, she smiled at her brother. He had no choice but to notice her now.

[Elvyne Shaakri]

The falcon picked up speed, Elvyne noticed. She spurred Majesty into a canter, followed shortly by a gallop. A small smile pulled at Elvyne’s lips as she listened to the rhythm of hoof prints. 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4. Her mother had once told her that hoof prints were a type of music - one that Drykas appreciated more than any other humans. As such, when she was a little girl, Elvyne had been bought up to know the ‘music’ of horses, and would make up songs to the beat of a trot or the tempo of a canter.

Her attention from the falcon had waned, but still she followed the bird, somewhat unconsciously. She knew the Sea of Grass fairly well, but she was not familiar with the surrounding area. As of late, that would have caused her some concern, or at least made her a little nervous. Now, however, she was merely… interested. Maybe I’ll be alright after all. she thought hopefully, maybe life will return to normal.

Her optimism fizzled out, though, when she noticed two other Drykas ahead of her. One was a man - she assumed from the height and breadth of his shoulders. The rider next to him, however, was much smaller and of a slighter build. A child, or young teenager, she decided. The two were a fair distance from her, yet Elvyne thought she could see arrows sprouting from the younger one’s back. They were armed, yes, but as long as Elvyne was behind them, they posed no threat to her. Majesty was still on a gallop, but the stranger’s were as well, so Elvyne was gaining on them slowly - if at all. Regardless, she pulled Majesty to the left slightly, so Elvyne could still see the two of them, but if they happened to look directly behind themselves, they might not see her quite so easily.

[Valko]

Valko looked around with surprise, his narrowed eyes at the sight of Kai overshadowed by the warm smile in greeting of his favourite (it was a not-so-secret secret) half-sibling.

"Kai! What are you doing up at this time?"

Pleasure at seeing her swiftly turned a little, when he thought at what she might have seen. He wondered how long she had been following him and hoped it was purely since he was on horseback.

"How long have you been following me?"

No. Wrong question. She was far from stupid, Kai that is, and a question like that might raise her suspicion. He had to try and change the subject

"You look very pretty this morning. Keen to do some hunting?"

[Kai]

Kai burst out with twinkling laughter at her brother's muddle of questions. But she was not stupid indeed, nor was she blind and she noticed his nervousness. Why was he wondering how long she'd been fallowing him? Why was he so nervous and above all why was his state so rough? These questions were of course discarded the moment he mentioned hunting. With absolute pleasure she cried "Yes! Let's do it!"