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[Sami]

The Drykas approached and crouched before her. But she did not turn up her gaze to meet him; instead her eyes were set upon looking at her hands. Her eyes darted to his clenched one when he spoke, that soothing voice dragging out her attention. Her eyes laid upon his green res, the wisps of it swirling before the tiny flame sparked into life, and her once worried expression turned into one of surprise, followed by amazement.
“So you are one too?” her voice sounded demanding with the question, the curiosity of wanting to know more. Her hands came apart and slowly she turned the palms to face him, those slender slits upon them being exposed. She gave a blink, and swallowed, her fingers curling inwards and hiding what existed there.

“Well… yes… that’s what I did,” she rubbed briefly at her neck before snapping her hand away “And that’s how I broke free,” Her lips pursed together with thought, and her eyes looked upon Vanator expectantly. She was torn between revealing more, to help piece together a puzzle that he was trying to solve. The other side however wanted her to fall into silence, to refuse to help. For telling him may put her into greater danger. And although this Drykas has so far been relatively calm and considerate so far, lowering her defences may result in her return to the slavers. Her throat cleared for a moment, her back straightening as she returned an element of stubbornness to her ego. Her head turned to the stew pot watching it gradually bubbled away, with the crackle of fire beneath it. The girl clapped her hands together and gave a firm nod to the man, a confirmation not only for him but for herself “Of course… it was a lot bigger than a tiny flame. Obviously so. I mean, sure it started off small but it quickly grew big… and out of control.”

She gave a frown, followed by a heavy sigh. She did indeed lose control, it was why she was in the situation she was in now. Her loss of control had caused her to weaken; the same weakening that prevented her from doing anything remotely useful after escaping. Arms folding her form hunched in before she spoke in a sulking tone “This is the bit where you give me a hard time, right? Lecture me like some old man or something?”

[Vanator]

Allowing the small flame to consume the res and burn out over his open hand, Vanator presented both of his palms to Sami, showing her the incision scars in the center of each. The Drykas listened to the girl as she reluctantly offered information piecemeal, withholding any response, not wanting to interrupt and deter the Inartan from saying whatever she felt ready to share. He watched her darting, bloodshot blue eyes, set in a pretty face marred by bruises, framed by a tangled, dirty mop of brilliant red. Whatever had happened to her, this child certainly could not have deserved it. When the youth finally resumed her demeanor of sulking angst, Vanator paused only a moment before speaking.

"Yes, I am one too," referring to his Reimancy, "I received it last Fall. It is not something to be ashamed of. And no, I am not going to lecture you. You did what you had to in order to escape. You pushed the magic too far, and that is why you were so weak afterwards, you overgave. But look, you are alive. I am not going to give you a hard time, besides you are not my child nor my student."

Vanator looked on the girl, a new slew of questions surrounding the redhead. How did she get inducted with res so young? She mentioned gaining her freedom, but from who? He wanted to ask, but Sami had already begun to erect her wall again, so Vanator purposed to gain her trust first. He stood to his feet, looked again at the reddened bite mark on his arm, rubbed it a bit, and returned to the fire. Again using the hand ax, Van lifted the pot from the fire and set it on the ground. He prepared a bowl of stew for Sami, using the steel cap.

"I have a daughter. She is actually only a couple years old, but she is a Kelvic, so, in reality, she is like a human just a little older than you." The Drykas wished to demonstrate that he was not malevolent, but a family man. "We live outside of Riverfall, that is where I am headed."

Picking up the helmet bowl, he carried it back and offered it to Sami with the wooden spoon. "Careful, its hot." The man noted the irony of the comment. He looked down at Sami for a silent moment. "They were slavers, weren't they?"

[Sami]

Sami looked surprised on the knowledge that she was not about to receive a lecture. But then came his reasoning and his words promptly made sense. He had no right or responsibility over her, nor was he a teacher. His help so far was his to dictate, meaning her could take it away whenever he wanted. But, his words however were correct. There was nothing for her to be ashamed of, and her necessary evils had resulted in both her freedom and her safety. It did however result in her still feeling uncomfortable to the point that she felt almost unclean.

“Got that right,” she gave a snort and turned her head away, holding it high in an attempt to give the illusion of superiority. Not to him however, but to herself. Yet as he moved about and tended to the soup did he continue talking, mentioning of a family and his home in the direction of Riverfall. Her brow rose, but she did not dally on the thought, it had a tendency to make her feel bitter and twisted “Good for you. Bet you have lots of happy times together.”

Being a child of a no-one and separated from that vital person barely after taking her first breath had left the concept largely alien to this girl. She knew the theory of it, she knew how it worked, but it was something she could not practice. And it was because of this lacking that had turned her potentially venomous on the subject. Not that she could say it was far from her own fault, the majority of people after all were too busy for a violent and aggressive child.

The bowl was presented to her, or more over a helmet she realised when she took it and looked at its base “Fire is hotter… Is this a helmet?” Sami could not ask as she pushed the spoon about in the liquid. She shot a suspicious glance at the Drykas, hunching over it before turning so her back faced him. She did not waste any time after that. Even if it was near scalding the soup was promptly wolfed down and his question was largely ignored. Except for the defensive toned, “Yes. Why? What about it? What’s it to you?”

Food was a priority, answering the questions of the Drykas came second. More so as it felt like the best mean she had received in a while- then again, anything was better than what the slavers had previously fed her on. She gave a heavy sigh half way through, a look of content having plastered itself across her features and the wall that once hovered around her opened just for a little while. She cleared her throat, and peered back at the Drykas from over her shoulder, “So, what you want to know?”

[Vanator]

Sami seemed receptive to Vanator's vindication of any guilt she may have bore over her means of escape. But the redheaded child did not allow the man more than a moment of civility before again donning her standoffish snarkiness. Vanator let the girl be, but when he mentioned his daughter, there was a distict sourness that tainted her sardonic comment. The Drykas considered the fact that maybe family was not the topic to bring up with a girl who was separated from her family and, given her bitter response, may not even have one.

She let it drop, and so did Vanator as he served her her meal. "No, its not a helmet, its a bowl shaped like a helmet." He quipped with a smile. Van took up the pot and a small wooden cup and the water skin and sat across from Sami, again, not too close. He scooped out the soup with the cup, sipping at the broth. Watching the youth devour the stew, Vanator ate in silence until Sami paused, the easing of her angst visible in her tired eyes. She offered to talk.

Vanator left the topic of the slavers alone, for the moment. He knew all too well the horrors and traumas of that experience, and he was not willing to make her revisit it so soon after her escape. He could hardly contain the rage he felt when he thought of such a young girl in the hands of those bastards. But Vanator did need to know some things about her. At the moment, he had no idea what to do with Sami.

"Well, I suppose the first thing I want to know is where you are from, so I know what to do with you. After that, you may tell me whatever you feel comfortable with." Vanator uncorked the skin and took a deep drink of the cold water.

[Sami]

Sami let out a yawn, before continuing devouring the rest of the broth. She only cocked an eyebrow at his comment however, and left his question unanswered whilst she finished. Once done the bowl was lowered down, she stretched herself out and looked at the Drykas. But silence still remained and lasted, as those memories of home came to her.
“I am from Wind Reach,” she answered after a moment of thought “I… I do not…” The Inarta shook her head as she shook away a bitter look that begun to form there “I do not… which way...” she rubbed at her eyes as she thought back to her departure all that time ago, the madness and chaos that ensured all that time ago. Home was indeed a journey away, a place that seemed like a different dream or a life that was long forgotten. A place that had been replaced by a life locked in servitude.

The girl held out a hand and gestured to the water skin, fingers making a grabbing motion as if to say she wanted it passed to her. She kept it there until it was passed to her, whilst her face was fixed into a definite scowl. It was far than directed at Vanator, more so it was directed at herself as she went through those distant times filled with her own deep rage and confusion.

“I remember when it began, that storm. So vicious and violent…” she shook her head “It would make myself look docile. It was horrible, no control, nothing. Fire would not behave, it would not be tamed… but…” a sense of alarm covered her face, her eyes quickly turning sharp “What is the date?” her voice turned demanding “What is today’s date? Tell me! I must know!” It was clear she was not about to budge until her question was answered, and seeing as the Drykas was the only about to answer he would have to do.

[Vanator]

Word fell silent as the sound of slurping and chewing supplanted them. Vanator speared a chunk of cooked tuber in the pot with his dagger, popping it into his mouth whole and sucking in a long breath to cool the bite. As he chewed, his eyes lifted from the pot to settle for a moment upon Sami, the young teen finishing up her meal and setting aside the helmet-bowl and reclining. The Drykas saw a distance grow in her gaze, eyes no longer seeing him or the grassland, certainly the girl was searching a place far from there in her mind.

Finally, Sami spoke, answering his question. Wind Reach. Van knew very little of the distant place, only that it is where Inarta come from, of which he had met a few, and that it was where Ivak was released, unleashing the horrible djed storm. But the redhead's response faltered after that, and Van was unsure if she was wrestling with an inner turmoil, or that the stew was not agreeing with her. When she motioned for the water skin, he put down the pot and handed the water to the girl.

Sami continued, speaking of the djed storm itself. Vanator's own spirit fell at the subject, sharply experiencing again his feelings of loss and guilt at his missing family, and the fact that he survived. The Drykas' gaze drifted from Sami's own intense eyes for a moment as he dealt with his own ghosts. HIs attention was drawn back to Sami when the girl's tone turned on a miza, making a sudden, emphatic inquiry.

"Oh, well, I suppose..." Vanator pondered for a moment, counting from the last date he knew, " its around the 20th or 21st of Spring." The man's tone was quizzical, his brow knitted, perplexed at Sami's strange question and the urgency with which she seemed to want it answered. "Why?"

[Sami]

He answered her, and just as he did her back straightened. Her jaw tightened, her eyes wincing slightly as the dates rolled about in her head. She went backwards, searching and seeking the answer as alarm began to creep into her features. The girl swallowed, her recent thirst having vanished, whilst her own stomach proceeded to knot itself. Her skin turned pale, the eyes widening as she came to realisation on what the date meant. She shook her head, trying to deny the thought as she counted again, as she tried to work out how long it had indeed been since she had last laid eyes on home. She tried to calm herself, but even as she extended each digit to count back the days, arms shaking as she came to terms with her own personal horrors.

“Oh… Gods,” she sighed, her shoulder slumping inwards as she did. Her hand rose to her face, pressing itself there and remaining fixed in place. She inhaled deeply and sharply, eyes clenching shut as she fought her own composure. She could not allow herself to show a weaker side. Not in front of this Drykas, this stranger. Her head snapped away, focusing off on something in the distance, anything that was away from his line of sight. But then came the question of why, and the young girl felt the flimsy composure she had built was snapped in an instant.

Silence once more ruled, but only for a moment whilst she once more turned her growing, tormented gaze to him. Nostrils flared, and her hands were brought down into tiny quivering fists.
“Why?” she released a bitter laugh, before snapping shut. Her lip twitched as she found the difficulty to communicate once more. “It means…” she managed to let out a croak “That I have been gone from home for a year and no doubt dead to them all.” Cold, hard logic. It was something that the girl could not shake off, and it grew more defined and routed within her as she thought about it. And in turn became harder to accept “Petch. Petch it all. What do I do now…?”

[Vanator]

For the life of him, Vanator could not discern why the date struck Sami as it did. The girl seemed to proceed from shock to a frenzied calculation to profound despair, as if some train of thought was systematically dismantling the girl's sanity. Even through whatever horrific revelation had come upon the teenager, the effort to remain resolute and unemotional was a visible struggle, one her emotions were losing. Sami seemed to teeter on the ragged edge of composure, quaking, refusing to look upon her savior, as if the slightest stimuli would shove her over the edge to total breakdown.

But compose herself she did, for a moment at least, daring to swing her reddened sapphire gaze back at Vanator. The Drykas' wore a perlexed scowl, sharpened by the derisive opening Sami offered in response. But, as the Inartan girl spoke, the grasslander's visage softened a moment in understanding, then resumed a harder countenance, also realizing what the child felt, and the unpleasant answer he was going to give her.

Van leaned forward, his dark, gold-flecked gaze fixing on Sami's, until he knew he had her attention. "You do what I did, you live and move on."

The Drykas stood to his feet, walking over to the fire, stoking it with a stick.

[Sami]

It took a few chimes for what the Drykas said to truly sink in. At first she wanted to scream and shout at him, to call him mean and a bully along with other similar names. Then she wanted to simply disregard him and his words, to believe them to be those that belonged to a man who had not lived. Of course the quick realisation of her own naivety put that thought to the far reaches of her mind. And so she came to her final state, one that had accepted his words but still left her staring at him in a dumfound manner. He had spoken so simply, and perhaps that was the problem. It was a simple, inconvenient truth that the teenager would have to face, whether she liked it or not. All she had to do now was think of her own survival and be able to do as Vanator said.

“Live,” the girl looked down at her hands. They were her tools, they allowed her to live before, to escape and survive. To give her a second chance at living, “It is that easy?” Her eyes dulled as she followed the man around to tend at the fire, though that was only for a moment as she once more returned her attention to her hands. Her fingers curled inwards, her brow turning into a set frown as she tried to contemplate what to do next. The next few days of course would be vital; they would be the days that would start to define her as a person and the way she would live.

Sami swallowed, the turned her eyes to the Drykas once more. Part of her wanted to ask how, for guidance, for at least a point in the right direction. But the Inarta felt reluctance in her, if not because of her own misguided pride, then for the fact she could not ask any more of him. Her eyes slid to her bow, and then away again, a brief moment of inner turmoil as she tried to figure out her next course of action.

“So…” she finally began talking once more “Riverfall right? What is it like there?” That was the first issue to content with, even if it was just a name “I mean… I guess it is a city, no?” Her lips pursed together as she tried to fix down some form of personal resolve. When she got there, she had to be ready to work, to fix herself down in order to survive there “Guess it is a big place. And the people, what they like?”

[Vanator]

"Easy? No." Vanator replied, his demeanor losing some of its former compassion. Unfortunately, the child had been thrust into a world no one her age should have to face. But Sami had, and to manage the damage that that life inflicted on the human psyche, she would have to be strong. There was time for compassion and a time for a reality check.

"It is hard, at first." His eyes darted up at the redhead, her own cast down again towards her hands. Van continued to poke at the fire. "You go day by day. You take care of yourself for that day, you wake up deciding what your purpose is for that day, and at the end of it you take time to thank the gods, even if its for the cup of water you had to drink that day." The Drykas gaze lifted again towards the youth. "And you make friends, you find family. You need people, Sami. And sometimes, we don't get to pick who they are."

Vanator saw the uncertainty in Sami's eyes, about herself, her future, even how much she was going to invest in the man by the fire. It didn't matter, he had already invested in her, and the father and Ankal in the Drykas would offer guidance and advice, whether the girl asked for it or not.

The air shifted, tugging at the red locks of the girl and the tawny mane of the man with a light breeze. The conversation shifted as well, and Sami's questions about Riverfall were encouraging, she was accepting her fate.

"It is a city, built into a cliff overlooking the sea. It is beautiful, as far as cities go. I don't really know, its the only city I have seen." Vanator took up the water skin and drank deeply from it before continuing. "It is the city of the Akalaks. Do you know about the Akalaks?"