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[Sayana]

“The Star? It was seen from Syliras?” Sayana questioned with surprise. It was one thing to present a piece of new information, but quite another to agree or acknowledge some information that was already provided. Thus Sayana was no longer as protective about what she knew.

“The Star is the relic we’re after. ‘Relic’ might not have been the best word per se, but we are searching for it nevertheless. Are there other people from Syliras seeking it?”

Upon reaching the clearing where the fight against the fox and eagle, well Faradae, had occurred, Sayana began searching for her thrown dagger and also realized that one of her weapons had been buried deep into the fox. As she went about looking for and collecting her weaponry, wiping it clean in the process, she watched as the kelvic picked up the dead rabbit and began describing some hunting methods. Or at least a few things of note. It perked her interest that rabbits tended to be out in greater numbers at twilight. Frankly the rabbit in Faradae’s hand looked much more appetizing than the fox Sayana had killed, but she wasn’t about to judge the quality of the meat just yet.

“I’ve hunted with others before, but this party…” Her voice trailed and it was clear what she thought of the hunting ability of her fellows. It was almost impossible to imagine Clyde of all people hunting, even if he did find some way to fry a rabbit with lightning.

“If you really are headed towards the fallen star, we have some ‘means’ of locating it. But you would have to go at our pace. And I would greatly welcome a second hunter, and a bird’s eye view.”

The Eypharian again deliberately avoided delving out too much information, but it seemed as though the kelvic eagle was on her own and there were several ways in which she would be deemed an asset.

[Faradae]

Faradae Faradae nodded to verify what she had just said. Yes, the star must have been visible from Syliras; otherwise, the rumours would not have spread there so quickly. The movement of her head stopped when Sayana asked about other people looking for it. “I don’t know”, she admitted, “supposedly, some adventurers were planning an expedition, but I haven’t heard anything definitive, nor have I encountered them on my way here. Of course, they may have taken a different route. Perhaps they’ll arrive one day, but if they will, it will be long after you and me. I’m faster on wing than anyone could ever be on foot.” She thought about it for a moment, then added: “And who knows, if someone was coming at all, they may not even have survived until now. As you probably know, the wilds are hostile. Even in the sky, I’m at a constant risk.” She waited for Sayana to clean her weaponry, since she could do little else in the meantime. She had picked up her catch, and her distinct lack of equipment meant there was nothing for her to pack, collect or clean. The lack of weaponry was a disadvantage to her human form, but it benefited her dominantly avian nature. Sayana’s next words indicated that her party was ill equipped for extended stays in the wild. It send Faradae wondering who these people were. They had a single mediocre huntress, and relied on her alone to keep everyone fed? She could only guess that the rest of them had to be mercenaries, then. Nobody would be stupid enough to send someone completely unskilled on a mission like this. Still, it struck her as strange that nobody who specialised in surviving and hunting would be send along to retrieve a relic that was presumably hidden in the middle of a hostile forest. In other aspects, the group had an advantage over her, of course. They had seen the star, seen where it had fallen, so this was definitely more than a rumour. Additionally, Sayana had revealed that they knew how to find it, too, while Fara could only take a shot in the dark. That definitely made up for the speed she would lose if she went with them. “It’s a deal, then. You take me along, and I’ll help you hunt and navigate.” She could do with some company and the relative safety of a group of fighters more skilled than herself. It did not cross her mind to ask about rewards, much less negotiate any kind of payment for her services. She was here for exploration, not benefit. - - - It took them another bell of tracking though the undergrowth until they reached the group’s current camping spot. Apparently, Sayana had been hunting for a while before she encountered Faradae, and had covered some distance while she was at it. To her surprise, the six-armed woman showed no trouble finding her way back. She knew which turns she had taken and which trail or flatten grass to follow, something that Fara was certain she would not have been capable of, at least not on the forest floor. In a way, things were different above the treetops, where she could follow the sun and stars easier. Finding a spot that she had left before however, would be even harder. From a bird’s view, most parts of the forest looked the same, except for major landmarks that she found easier to notice. The camp was nestled into the dell next to a slight upward slope, presumably a hill or remnant of the last big rainfall. Faradae counted three tens, none of which were incredibly large. A fireplace had been prepared, and a few horses were trying to find grass around the tree they were pegged to, but from afar, she could not see anyone watching the provisions. How many people did this party even consist of? Judging from the number of mounts and tents, it could not be huge.

[Sayana]

To the avian kelvic, it would seem silly that a group would set out into the wilds with minimal hunting abilities. Conversely in Sayana’s mind, it would be equally naïve for anyone to venture into the forest without any supplies, equipment and travel rations. Not even a simple cloak. But such thoughts were not at the forefront of her mind. She was more than happy to have a hunting companion to help supplement their rations.

Upon arriving at the camping area, Faradae would notice the three tents. One was for the loner nuit, Aerius, who rarely seemed to be in the vicinity. Sayana was beginning to have serious doubts as to his usefulness and why he had come. Another was for not just Sayana or Clyde, but for them both. Sleeping together had become more natural than sleeping alone and their relationship was comfortable and intimate. The last tent was a spare, and had lately been used for storing other supplies, particularly related to the horses.

“We’re not a big group, but we’re capable. More people would have slowed us down.” The Eypharian stated in explanation.

They had cut their travel day to just the morning, so that Sayana could hunt in the afternoon and they could rest and restock. The next day would be a long day of travel, but they would be fresh and with food that was cooked and packed away.

“Clyde? I found more than just a fox and a rabbit.” Sayana called out, eyes searching for the mage. “Her name is Faradae and she’s a good huntress. She’s looking for the star too.”

Sayana didn’t think much of introducing the woman as a kelvic, partly because she had come to the conclusion so quickly on her own. Plus the nude form under the cloak was evidence enough to her. Unlike some, she didn’t feel uncomfortable by Faradae’s naked form and the cloak was more of an offer of warmth and protection from the woods more than anything else. The Eypharian’s younger and adolescent years were spent frequently in brothels which gave her a certain amount of ease around nude women and men alike.

So long as Clyde seemed friendly enough to the young kelvic, Sayana would add a few logs to the fire and start skinning the fox she carried. With careful cuts and a sharp blade, she separated the hide from the flesh and started to prepare the meat into smaller pieces to cook.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde opened his eyes when he heard the rustle of movement off to the side.

Before he'd been sitting a few paces back from the front of the fire upon a log, eyes closed and Cha across his lap as he concentrated on an aura that was nearby but far off. The visible aura of the fallen not a star. Not seeing any particular reason to face the not star to inspect its aura, Clyde instead had his eyes closed and was faced away from it and towards the fire.

Due to were he sat back from the fire and the treeline, he would not be visible to the approaching pair until they were almost upon the camp.

While Sayana had been gone Clyde had set up the tents, more in case of rain than any other direct environmental threat.

He'd also moved most of their things inside their respective tents, or at least the things meant to go there and to be out of the elements.

Last he'd checked the other member of his group was off collecting firewood, though he'd not been paying too close attention to the not nuit.

Not breaking his mental probe from the fallen not a star, Clyde opened his eyes and turned to check the source of the sound. More by instinct he willed another tendril out of Cha, a tendril of aura focus, reaching out for the source of the sound.

Roughly at the same time as his aura tendril reached Sayana he heard her speak, confirming who she was. Not that he needed to see or hear her, for at almost the first touch of her aura he Knew her, the familiar aura like a name written upon the air telling him of its owner.

Her words though were a bit confusing, as he wasn't clear on how she'd come back with another person when they'd been in the middle of nowhere. His natural suspicion came to the forefront, leaving him wondering how this person had "chanced" upon them. He didn't verbally or physically give away his mistrust or suspicion, instead keeping an even and calm almost uncaring tone. The odds that they on a trip to find the fallen not star would chance upon someone else on the same mission...

Perhaps as one speaking about the particular differences of one knot in a piece of wood from another knot in a tree might sound. Not quite bored, but not as if any great importance were to be placed on his words.

Pulling back the tendril of aura focus from Sayana, Clyde instead switched it to the new person. The basics of her aura swimming into his secondary non-sight vision Clyde inspected and dove deeper, pulling his main focus away from the not star and onto this new aura.

Her aura swam with a soft black shade, mixed in with a darker grey and silver, along with various other shades and hues to a lesser extent.

“Indeed. Well, what are the odds of that? Though, is your new friend not in the habit of wearing proper clothes?”

Letting out a sigh, Clyde turned for a moment to Sayana, before turning back to the fire, still yet to have physically looked at the new comer. Clyde, being a mage an aurist and a bit odd sometimes forgot simple things like eye contact in a conversation. Perhaps in part since he could see who he spoke better in his aura sight than he could with his mundane vision.

Mundanely he could see one person, from one angle. While pulled within his aura sight Clyde could see a person more or less all at once, from all angles at the same time, though like with physical eyesight he had to focus on details and points to get more than the overall whole of things.

“What are the odds we'd run into someone looking for the not a star way out here, not to mention someone who managed to get all the way out here almost naked.”

Clyde, unlike Sayana, had grown up in Syliras where people tended to be a bit more prudish about nudity and such things.

“And would you quite calling it a star, its not a star, a not star, stars after all don't normally fall from the sky. Its more accurate to define something by what its not than it is to define it by ones first assumption of what it is when first seen. Just because most thought it a star at first doesn't make it so. Or are first impressions all that matter?”

“If I stumbled upon a tree in the dark I might assume it to be a giant animal with waving arms. Would that make it so in the morning when the sun rose and I saw it properly?”

These last few bits would be said as a solid line of reasoning spoken to a student by an instructor, though it wouldn't be clear which of the two were meant to be on the receiving end of the question or indeed who was meant to answer it.

Perhaps nether, perhaps both. Perhaps it was meant as a test, or to make them think, or perhaps it was simply spoken as a means of appearing superior. Perhaps all three.

[Faradae]

Faradae Sayana’s friend did not trouble himself with fancy introductions, or any introductions at all. Not much of a social butterfly, then. Clyde, she had called him. At least Faradae had a name to work with. The man himself was facing away from Sayana and herself, and looked more human than the six-armed lady woman did, at least physically so. His behaviour, however, struck her as odd. He knew things he was not supposed to be able to know without looking at her, like her state of clothing, and did not address her at all. In fact, he spoke to Sayana as if Faradae were an object that she had picked up somewhere in the forest, not a living person standing right next to her and listening to what was being said. While Sayana had displayed a reasonable urge to turn her into food when first encountering her, then a bit of suspicion and finally, enough trust to take her back to the group, Clyde seemed almost paranoid. She understood that the chances of finding someone else in the middle of nowhere were slim, but Sayana had judged her a safe companion, and she wondered why the rest of the group would not trust her judgement. She pulled the edges of Sayana’s cloak a little firmer around her body and was ready to overlook the strangeness of this greeting, step closer, and introduce herself properly, but he was not done speaking and she stopped as she listened. Sayana had stridden off to tend to the fox she had killed, and Clyde proceeded to…lecture her on the nature of the object she had come to seek. If they were going to work together, he was right: First impressions would better not matter. Otherwise, this relationship was off to a rocky start. Faradae took a few steps towards the fire. The day was nearing its end, and the air was growing colder with each chime that passed, painfully perceptible under a single layer of clothing. She would ask Sayana if she had a spare set of shirt and pants later, but did not want to disturb her for now. Instead, she snuck a sideway glance at Clyde’s face; unscarred and perfectly human. “But it’s easier to call it a Star, even if that is not what it is. We call sunflower sunflowers because that's what they look like, after all, not because we think that's what they are. I'll call this a star beccause that's what people say it looked like”, she insisted, accepting the fact that the fallen object was not what she had believed it to be, without much thought. She hadn’t seen the phenomenon, herself, but relied on stories she had heard about it. This group, on the other hand, specialized on tracking the object, and would know more about it. “It simplifies things. If you didn’t know the tree was a tree, you’d have to call it non-animal then, and I’m not going to complicate my words with negations as long as everyone knows what I’m talking about. As soon as you find out what the star really is, I’ll call it that.”

[Sayana]

“A star Clyde, a star! We’re chasing after a star!” Sayana spoke loudly, even getting to her feet as she spoke about it in a romanticized way. “It’s not everyone who can say that they tracked down a blazing display of light that came from the skies.”

Where the kelvic tried to reason with the mage and use a degree of logic, Sayana simply relished in the choice of word. “And don’t you go all ‘not-star’ on me. I’ll say as I like, and clearly Faradae agrees with me. Call it a fallen star, call it a ‘not-star’, but that’s your choice. Otherwise you’ll find yourself having ‘not-fox’ and ‘not-rabbit’ for dinner.”

Her voice was light and almost teasing on the matter, but it was equally clear that she didn’t plan to change her choice of words, regardless of his argument. With the topic of food she went back to her preparations. She briefly stepped away to cut off some slim green branches of a sapling and returned to the fire to start whittling away at one of them. Once she got it to a point and with all the twigs removed, she began cutting the fox meat into small pieces to skewer upon the stick. With the first done, she used a low hand to hold it over the fire near the hot coals. Then she proceeded to whittle another stick with her free hands and prepare it with fox meat.

She had never cooked fox before, but she figured it would be like other animals. Periodically she would check for changes in texture or colour and make sure it wasn’t about to burn. The only consequence of doing so many things at once, was that her work area had become rather messy with half a skinned fox, some long sticks and a bunch of bloodied flesh.

[Clyde Sullins]

While Sayana's response was predictably boisterous and purposely grating, the new entrant appeared to at least take his question seriously in her response.

Clyde, silently noting to himself, assumed Sayana simply acted as such to exert her dominance in their relationship and to show what she could get away with. Perhaps to show she could annoy him and act as such without him lashing out, something not everyone could do. Of course even she had a limit in regards to his forced calm, though in his present meditative state that was no easy task, and he tended to react much more mutely and calmly.

Sayana had long been trying to get a rise out of him when he was in such a state, in fact had been doing so since the first time they'd met Clyde recalled, and had rarely been able to do so.

“Descriptions and names, the two are not the same. Describing it as a star, one that has fallen, that is what I have a problem with Say. A rabbit is a rabbit, a fox is a fox. But if we started calling them by their descriptors, which furry thing would we be speaking of?”

Finally turning to the new girl, Clyde stared her in the eyes, checking her mettle as only one skilled in intimidating, negotiating, and persuading would. Everything was a deal, every conversation a chance to get one above and firm ones place in the order of things, and to convince someone else of your rightness and to come to your side of things.

From her current responses Clyde could tell he'd already made some heady in such a path of convincing.

“Easier is not always better. It would be easier to eat these beasts raw, but it wouldn't be better. At least I prefer my food cooked, I can't speak for your own tastes.”

This offhand comment would perhaps hint to the kelvic that Clyde knew she was one, but in truth he still had no inkling of her nature.

“What the "star" really is? As one who saw it quite well and in detail, I can tell you it didn't look like a star falling from the sky. Though I suppose I'm not sure what an actual star looks like, seeing as I've never seen one. But this wasn't a star I'm fairly certain. It was a metal rock falling from the sky, cloaked in darkness while giving off a bright light. I doubt stars work that way, we'd have no way of seeing them as we do from so far away as they are, up so far off in the sky. Not considering how close this thing grew before we saw it and its light.”

“I'd be okay with the metal rock, or something else as its describer for their accuracy, but I'll not describe it as a star.”

Still unsure of the woman, Clyde continued to eye her in the eyes, looking for her reaction. Staring back, glaring back, looking away, shunning his vision, or something else entirely, all such reactions would tell him something of her, her place, and her self imposed position of importance in the world.

[Faradae]

Faradae Faradae settled down at the opposite end of the log Clyde was sitting on, keeping a fair distance between them. He was actually looking at her, now. It was more of a stare, really, unblinking and unsettling. Faradae stared back for a moment, wondering how eyes could be so blue. Blue like the sea and the sky, and a little more intense than she liked. She blinked a few times, then averted her gaze when another monologue followed, and looked back into the fire again. She did not feel particularly comfortable, there was something unsettling about him that she had not felt while she was alone with Sayana. He simply did not act normal, with the way he either neglected to look at who he was talking to or, on the contrary, stared her down. There was a comment about cooking food that she smiled at, despite herself. She had not explicitly told him she was a Kelvic, but he probably did not need telling to know. Earlier, he had known what she was wearing without looking at her, and guessing that a naked person in the woods was probably a Kelvic was not far-fetched, either. “Why, I like both. It’s fresher when it’s raw, but the taste is more refined when cooked.” That was an arguably off-putting comment from anyone who was not an animal or a barbarian, but she simply assumed that her nature was clear. “How did you see it clearer than anyone else?”, she wondered aloud, looking back at Clyde for a moment, who was still staring her way. Uncomfortable. She shifted a little on her chosen spot, but endured it. The fire was starting to warm her up, despite the overall temperature sinking, and she almost did not mind her lack of proper clothes anymore. She would have to learn how to make a proper fire, and utilize the skill when she was travelling on her own again. “Metal rock sounds less…wooden than not-star, but still more around-the-corner than star. I think I’ll just stick with the ignorant here and keep calling it a star. As long as I know that that’s not what it is, and you two know it as well, I don’t see any harm in it. This is an awfully long discussion about a bit of phrasing, if you ask me.” Properly warm, she stood up from the log and joined Sayana, who was expertly filleting the fox, her own rabbit still in hand. “I think I’ll need a hand with this later,” she announced, “and a knife. I haven’t skinned a rabbit before. I usually don’t need to.” For the time being, she set the small mammal down a safe distance from the fox carnage, and picked up a stick herself. She wanted to help Sayana, and it felt good to cook her own tantaliser over a campfire, too. Oh, how the tides could turn.

[Sayana]

The Eypharian whittled away at one of the green sticks. Each stroke with her dagger was away from her body and she first took off the thin bark of the sapling followed by small slivers of wood. Once she snapped the wood from applying too much pressure, but it was just the tip and she simply restarted.

Despite being a little off to the side compared to the others, she frequently glanced at the pair out of the corner of her eye and listened to their conversation. Clyde was being Clyde again, and she could tell from the kelvic’s uncomfortable shifting that Faradae wasn’t quite at ease.

Sayana turned the skewer in her left low hand, keeping it near the hot coals of the fire. When Faradae came over, the Eypharian wondered if the bird was seeking an escape or simply had enough of the mage’s tactics. More often than not, it was a game to Sayana. Just like she had good reason to bring Faradae into the group no matter how sudden the appearance.

“Clyde, don’t forget your manners.” She spoke brightly. “How about you get some water to heat up for some tea? The small stream we’ve been following isn’t too far.”

When she turned back to the meal preparation, she saw that Faradae had taken one of the sticks, clearly interested in helping. The Eypharian drew one of her small daggers and held it out to the bird. “Here, you can use this if you like. But careful, it’s sharp on both sides, especially near the point. Now, if you need a sharp point to skewer the meat, you can take off strips of wood near the end like this.”

Sayana demonstrated by working on the next stick and cutting thin bits of wood off as she repeated the motion several times, slicing away from herself. “Then chop up some pieces and put them on the stick to roast. Keep them small, and they’ll cook faster. You can always do more skewers with small pieces, but it’s hard to get the middle cooked if you start with a piece that’s too big.”

All the while she had held her first skewer out over the fire. “And if it starts to smoke, turn it so it doesn’t burn.”

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde watched as Faradae stared back at him, or at least tried to. Soon enough though she looked away, unable to meet his assessing gaze.

Her next comment, spoken to his ear somewhat flippantly, was a bit more puzzling. Clyde wasn't sure if she was joking, or being serious and truly liked raw meat.

At her question Clyde simply shrugged, his visual attention back on the fire for the moment.

“Because I didn't bother looking with my eyes. Such limited things they are.”

At her other comment about their conversation, Clyde shrugged once more, though a smile coming to his lips as he did.

“We are in the middle of nowhere, do you have something more important to be talking about? Besides, what better way to understand something than to discuss it? If we are seeking it out, surely we hope to understand it. And a name is an important first step in that.”

At Sayana'a urging, Clyde rose, heading off quickly to fill up a fresh waterskin to be used in cooking.

He vaguely knew where Sayana indicated, and it was a short enough trip there and back with a waterskin in one hand and Cha in the other. By the time he returned the two had progressed further in their preparations of cooking, and Clyde was beginning to grow hungry. Still though, another though nagged at his mind, a question he'd never had properly answered before.

“So, what was your name again? And why no clothes? How did you manage to get all the way out here without any? Or do they not have clothes wherever your from?”

As with his other questions they were stated matter of factly and seriously, perhaps making it clear that he was truly trying to find out and didn't know the answer.

And perhaps making it clear to both woman that Clyde still hadn't figured out the new member of their group was a kelvic.