Closed Family Ties (Arandolya)

[Arandolya]

"Now, Ara, do you think that is any way to treat a bow?" Odd how easily his voice came back to her, chiding with his teasing grin, tousling her already mess of red hair as he patiently corrected her. Whether it be of how she was holding it, making sure the wood wasn't dragging on the ground, or a tip on how to ensure the edge of the bow didn't tangle in her hair, Kursha seemed to be an endless pool of knowledge. Even though Arandolya had become a successful apprentice under an established hunter within the Avora ranks, Kursha was quick to steal her away during free time and teach her additionally. In a way, she supposed she was sort of like Kursha's pupil, since he never took on a young Endal of his own to train. Not many apprentices could claim they spent time with an Endal, and Arandolya felt a mixture of pride and honor that Kursha had been so willing to help her mentor.

Arandolya smiled as Iosha mentioned her father being happy to see her hold it, unconsciously thinking of the many times he had chided her if he'd ever found a nick on her training bow. Funny, how even those moments were precious.

The young Konti seemed startled to learn she could have trained in Second Quiver, annoyed at Kovac for bringing her to the Yasis' archery range. Though she tried to stifle it, Arandolya burst into gentle laughter, nodding in agreement that Kovac should pay for such choice later. Was the archery teacher so used to using the range for training he decided it was best for Iosha to train there also? Though, if her shooting skill was as bad as she claimed, then perhaps Kovac didn't want her embarrassed in front of others in her caste? Arandolya couldn't even begin to fathom the reasoning behind Kovac's choice, but it brought amusement nonetheless.

As they drew closer to Arandolya's small home, Iosha posed a question on the appearance of her mother, causing the young Inarta to pause slightly in her step. Brow furrowing, Arandolya felt slightly pained her mother's image was not as clear as it used to be, fuzzy around the edges as time wore at its pristine clarity. "I, ah, do ... do not have pictures. Though, hmm, spitting image? I do not think ... I do not think I understand what you mean," she admitted after a moment, smiling meekly at the Konti. "Um, though, I look much like her," Arandolya added with a nod, hoping that was what Iosha had been inquiring about, though the odd Common threw her off. Spitting image ... image that spits? It must be one of those idioms.

Arandolya opened the door to her home, and gestured for Iosha to follow her inside, though a rustle within turned her head. Her father. Tamlin looked up as the ladies entered, nonchalant as he lay a piece of paper on her chest, smiling thinly. "What ... what are you doing here?" Arandolya asked, speaking Common for Iosha's benefit.
"Just delivering a message, as my job entails," was his only response, his Common much more flowing, though it still held the heavy chirping accent of Nari-speakers.
Arandolya frowned as he left, having nodded curtly to Iosha on his way out. The glint in his gaze was nothing short of malicious. Scooping up the letter, Arandolya examined the hand-writing, obviously Tamlin's.

Meet me in the Courtyard at dusk if you truly want to know the truth. About everything.

Short, but not sweet. Arandolya blew out a frustrated breath, scooping up her composite bow, and some arrows. "Do not pay him attention, foolish man," she muttered as she looked around briefly. "This, ah, is my home." It wasn't much, consisting of a bed with a chest at the foot of it. The chest was filled with her clothing and hunting equipment, and random items she had no where else to put. A chair settled by a table, appearing quite lonely now that Arandolya studied it, facing the wall as it was. "Not much, but, I makes do." She shrugged and gestured for Iosha to lead the way. "We go to yours now?" she inquired as she exited the small home, seemingly excited to see Iosha's living quarters.

Note: "Nari" or "Common"

[Iosha]

Iosha watched Arandolya as she struggled with Iosha's question about her looking like her mother and kind of wished. She didn't use the strange phrase when asking the question because it seemed to confuse the young hunter even more. When she said that she looked like her mother, Iosha smiled to herself, put a comforting webbed hand on her arm, and said with a smile, “Well, I guess beauty runs in the family, Arandolya. If I was full a Inarta, I would love to have hair as crimson as your hair. It looks truly wonderful on you.” Even though, Arandolya tried to hide it, the Inarta woman seemed sad since the argument with the older man, so she wanted to make her smile for a moment. When Arandolya opened the door, Iosha could tell the hunter led a simple life, but she wasn't expecting seeing the older man in her apartment. The konti nervously bit her bottom lip as she tried to figure out their relationship. When the man left the apartment, he gave Iosha a polite nod, but the look he gave Arandolya was nothing but hatred in his eyes. Iosha didn't understand what was going on between them, but it made her uncomfortable.

When the strange human left, Arandolya read the letter left for her and let out a frustrated sigh. Iosha figured the contents of the letter dealt with the argument both of them had in the shrine, but she didn't want to ask even though her curiosity bugged her to do so. It wasn't her business, but if the woman needed to talk about it, she would be there to listen to her. Iosha looked around the apartment and said with a smile, “It looks cozy, Arandolya.” Iosha could tell the apartment felt sort of incomplete like it was missing, something important. Iosha studied Arandolya's face when she said that she made do. It was modest, but there was a hint of sadness in her words. When Arandolya grabbed her bow and led her out, Iosha smiled at her and said as she walked towards her apartment, “Arandolya if you ever get lonely, you can come visit me at my apartment. It is just me for now, so I wouldn't mind the company.” It was a short trip since they both live in the Darnviva Common rooms. Iosha could tell the common rooms were crowded with Avora and Chiet going about there business of the day. Iosha always tended to get curious looks thrown in her directions because of her race. She did her best to look Inarta, but she would always stand out in the eyes of gingers. When they made it to her room, Iosha stopped, leaned her back on the door, and said with a smile, “I only been here for two seasons, so it is quite empty at the moment, and I haven't had time to buy furniture, or anything useful for my apartment yet.”

Iosha reached into her pocket, unlocked the door, and opened the door for Arandolya. Iosha would consider her apartment a cozy place to rest her head, but she didn't spend to much time here. When she walked into the room, she immediately noticed her book on spiritualism was wide open for all to see. She inwardly groaned at the strange texts on incantations and pictures of different spirits littered the two pages of mysterious lore. Iosha didn't know Arandolya stance on magic, but she would definitely notice if she was observant enough. Iosha noticed the most prominent feature of her apartment was her small collection of book borrowed from the Enclave strewn across the apartment . On the table next to the spiritualism book, she piled four books: one was on the Wind Reach history and culture, another book about common and rare garden pests, a book on the basics of hunting and tracking, and a book on the impact of reimancy on Wind Reaches society, culture, and architecture. Iosha eyes darted immediately to her collection of trashy romance novels from Wind Reach. The most scandalous title was the four part series Nights in the Arms of a Wind Eagle: Winter Heartbreak . It was a great read for a lonely konti in Wind Reach, but it was quite embarrassing for it to be out in the open for her new friend to see. Iosha hoped the hunter didn't think of her has a pervert, but she was Inarta, so she wondered if the woman would even care.

Iosha walked up to her long sword scabbard hanging on the wall and grabbed her quiver and strapped it to her back. Underneath the sword, Iosha grabbed the red stained yew short bow from it's pegs on the wall. The konti ran her webbed thumbs over the elaborate wood carvings etched into the wood for a chime and thought about the father she would never know. It was a warriors weapon, but also it was a work of art and a symbol of love Kursha had for N'eia. Wiping a tear from her eyes, She held it firmly in her hand and walked over to Arandolya and said softly, “Did you know that Kovac's father made the bow for my Dad? I found it out the first day when I started to train with Kovi. I was going to press him for information on my father, but we always seemed to get distracted, so it never comes up.” Iosha stuck out the bow for her to look closely, and she pointed a detail out for her friend, “If you look closely, you can see one hand prints in the stain. I asked a Fletcher in Mura, and she said the sweat from the hand tends to discolor the stain. You can see clearly by the discoloration the places he held the bow.” Iosha held the bow out for Arandolya and said with a bright smile, “He would want you to hold it, Arandolya. I am sure he thought of you like a daughter too.”

[Arandolya]

Arandolya seemed amused as Iosha noted it looked cozy, though the young hunter would have described it as more bare than anything. She nodded appreciatively all the same, not about to begin laying on troubles to the young Konti. As the pair left, Arandolya walked easily beside Iosha, her head tilting at the offer to spend some time in Iosha's small rooms. "Thank you ... I think, that be nice," she murmured with a demure nod, somehow imagining Iosha's home would be much more welcoming though the woman stated it was just as bare.

As the door swung open, Arandolya's passive gaze instinctively roamed the room as she walked in. The most obvious items of the place, apart from her sparse furnishings, were the books she had littered about. Not in a careless way, but in a fashion that seemed to suggest she read a lot. Walking towards one, Arandolya outstretched a hand to touch the page, looking down curiously. The page had a bit of a drawing of some sort, mixed with a few words that didn't make much sense even with the pictures as aide. Even so, its air seemed to tie into the other that was in the stack beside it - reimancy, if Arandolya read correctly. Raising an eyebrow slightly, the young woman said nothing, unaware the Konti was interested in such. Especially within Wind Reach. "Hm, I would, ah, never able to understand this," she said, motioning towards the two books on magic. She made a motion of her hand over her head to show the context would not be within her grasp. "This, something I know," she added, hefting the basics of hunting and tracking in her hand. "Most you learn, out side. In woods," Arandolya mused with a slight grin, tapping Iosha lightly on the head with the book. The other seemed to be in Wind Reach history, something Arandolya was not extremely interested in, and the other on ... garden ... garden pests? Definitely not a read Arandolya would look into.

Arandolya didn't mean to be intrusive as she perused the books that Iosha had out in the open, immediately assuming since they were out on display they were welcomed to eyes other than the blonde's. Such was the way Inarta were born and bred, open and passionate. A small smile quirked her lips as she strayed on the collection of romance novels, lightly moving the top ones so she could read the titles. "Mm, Winter Heartbreak," she muttered, squinting slightly at the author. "Not as good as the series Heat of An Eagle's Wings," she commented nonchalantly, throwing Iosha a subtle wink.

Iosha soon joined her as she grabbed her weaponry, speaking of the bow she held so tenderly. Arandolya watched her approach, though her gaze was mainly for the elaborate wood that held more beauty than many other things, at least for her. Leaning close, Arandolya smiled, nodding slightly, noting the discoloration. "It was ... like that, on my mother's," she murmured quietly, hand tightening on her new composite shortbow unconsciously. It felt odd, now, to not hold the bond that linked between mother and daughter. Swallowing, the redhead focused on the bow with the slight engraving to show more care than many other bows. "Beautiful," she said sincerely.

When Iosha offered the bow to Arandolya, the woman took an instinctive step back. The bow was nearly sacred to Kursha, and she immediately feared taking hold of such precious artifact. After a short pause, Arandolya looked to Iosha briefly, the woman's comforting presence slowing her heart. "Daughter," she echoed, slowly reaching out to take the worn wooden bow. "My father ... the man in my home. He says odd things. About my mother, and Kursha. I do not understand it, why, or what for. I think ... there is more a story to ... to their relationship," Arandolya said as her hand curled around the bow's curve, the wood smooth and warm from Iosha's hand. "He says .. meet him, um ... night, early night? I do not know Common word."

Arandolya fell silent as she took the bow from Iosha, running a hand tenderly over the wood. She would have sworn she felt Kursha's hands over hers, correctly her stance and hold, chiding her to improve if she ever wanted to apprentice under an archer.
"But why can't you be my mentor, Endal Kursha?"
"Oh, how would that look? Mentoring my second rider's daughter? People would doubt your innate skill, Ara, you must impress a hunter on your own." He always believed in her, kept her going when it seemed she would surpass apprenticing age and forced to become a Chiet. Was right with her mother to congratulate her when she managed to apprentice under the watchful eye of Avora hunter Rohin, and cheered along with Iridssa when she became a hunter in her own right. In some ways, Arandolya did consider him a father, the paternal figure she turned to over the stand-off man Tamlin was. After all those years with him by her side, since birth really up until last Spring, here she was. Holding the bow that was so dear to him, and so dear to the family that he had to leave as they moved back to Mura.

Arandolya choked back the blockage in her throat, turning her head slightly to give herself a chance to blink back the tears she found forming. Her hand strayed to the bowstring, running over it until where it rejoined the wood. "Thank you, for letting me, um, hold it," she managed as she offered the bow back, smiling at Iosha. Pausing, she asked hesitantly, "Would you ... mind? Mind coming with me ... to see my father ... afterwards." The woman didn't know why she felt to ask the kind blonde Avora to join her, but there was something that pitted in her stomach that wretched every time she thought of facing him alone. Facing any ... truth alone. Perhaps she was a coward, and a loser, but Arandolya knew she had to ask Iosha. There simply was no one else to, and no one else she could imagine accompanying. "I-" Arandolya cut off, looking down briefly as her brow wrinkled. "I ... do not wish to ... go alone."

Note: "Nari" or "Common"

[Iosha]

Iosha sat on her table as Arandolya held her father's bow. As she watched in silence, the konti started to feel slight jealously as she held the bow. It wasn't hard to noticed the woman had many more memories and emotions attached to the piece of wood than she will ever have, but in a way, she was happy the young Inarta woman cherished her father's memory as much as Iosha wished to have got a chance to know him. When Arandolya started to grip her new bow as she mentioned her late mother's bow. The konti could only watch in silence because to her understood the pain suffered over the loss of a parent since she lost her mother many years ago. Iosha just wished that she took a memento of her mother when she decided to strike out from her Grandmother's to live her own life.

Iosha just wished her own daughter remembered her the way Arandolya remembered her mother. The thought of her daughter forgetting her made her clench her pant leg in anger. When Arandolya the bow was beautiful, Iosha agreed with a nod and smile. Still gazing at the bow, Arandolya started to explain her relationship to the man in her apartment, and as she just listened to her, the man sounded like a poor excuse for a father, mean and bitter, and he took out his shortcoming out on the only person who he had in his life, his daughter. When she mentioned their might be more to Kursha's and Arandolya mother's relationship. Iosha raised an eyebrow contemplating all the possible scenarios between the two. In the end, she thought to herself, “I need to stop reading romance novels.”

Iosha saw the woman starting to choke up, and the konti immediately jumped off her table and put a arm around her shoulder to comfort her. The konti watched her trace her fingers along the bowstring, and she gave the woman a warm grin and said softly, “As I said before, he would want you to hold his bow if you ever need want to use it. Just let me know.” Suddenly, the woman asked her come along and confront her father. Iosha felt her heart start to race because she didn't want to be the middle of a confrontation, but the young human woman looked like she needed the moral support of a friend, so Iosha said with a squeeze to her shoulder, “Yes, I will be there for you, Arandolya...” The konti looked into her watery golden eyes and said seriously, “You will not have to face him alone.” Iosha didn't understand the reason why she wanted to help the young woman, but she felt a kindred towards the woman even if they weren't bond by blood.

Letting go of her shoulder, Iosha walked over to the wall with her long sword and grabbed her quiver. She strapped it to her back and said with a smile to Arandolya, “Arandolya lets not dwell on sad thoughts all day. We should be celebrating our parent's memories by doing something that they both enjoyed.” Iosha put a hand on the woman’s shoulder and said softly, “Maybe our parents planned for us to meet, so we wouldn't be alone anymore. Come on Arandolya. Lets go shooting.” Iosha motioned her with her head to the door and said softly, “Arandolya could you show me how to hunt one of these days, I am have been reading books on the subject, and they don't really tell me much about it, so it could be interesting to learn from someone with more experience?” Iosha opened the door for her, and she followed her to the Second Quiver while she filled every chime with her new friend with mindless chit-chat.