The Waters of Indecision [Open]

[Kavala]

eace was not something Kavala thought she'd find after the days of captivity. Still wary, Kavala roamed Riverfall familiarizing herself with the lay of the land, and was startled by what she was actually seeing. Though she was somewhat in a daze, she didn't hide in her room in Godivas. She was a grasslander and the Drykas needed fresh air, lots of blue sky, and the wind in their hair to be happy. Kavala knew she had some time. The Akalak had made it clear to her that there was no debt and that she was free to do as she wanted now. In fact, she had ten days she could stay in the woman's shelter which was truthfully more of a resort, until she decided what to do with her life. It had been made clear that she was free. It seemed such a strange word after the trauma of the last month. Kavala looked around, her bare feet carefully padding along a clean swept stone path that meandered around a water fall and swimming pool that only had a few people wandering by. Kavala thought she would shy away from the men here, but the truth was the midnight-skinned warriors looked so little like her tormentors that it hadn't bothered her much to speak to them. What bothered her was her debt. She owed them. Though they said she didn't, Kavala was a woman of honor from a people that would never take charity. So she felt the debt acutely. And she had no coin to pay them with. She was lucky she had anything at all. If her horse hadn't survived the fall somehow, she wouldn't have even a piece of clothing to her name. Kavala sat down on the edge of the pool and slipped her feet into the water, knowing that winter would soon bring cold weather and storms, even though the day was still somewhat warm. She waited quietly, a bit lost in thought, trying not to remember the immediate past, and trying to decide - though she still felt lost - what she was going to do with the future. She knew nothing about the Akalak. Truthfully, she barely knew much about the Konti even though she'd just been living with them for the last year studying medicine. So repaying a debt was hard if one didn't know anything about the people one owed. Kavala sighed, stretched, and ran a hand through her hair sighing softly. Kavala wanted to feel better... truthfully she did... but sitting around relaxing wasn't exactly going to get the job done. NoteFeel free to jump in ... I'm open to just about any sort of interaction.

[Amaya]

Amaya slowly entered the pool, her long black hair tied up in a loose twist. She noticed the shy Konti sitting alone with her feet in the water and swam her way.

"Hi there..." Amaya said shyly, resting her hands on the side of the pool near the Konti. "...why do you look so troubled?"

[Kavala]

The Konti looked up and saw the woman gracefully enter the pool. She was lovely in a way that almost made her a free spirit, with her dark hair and deep amber eyes. But she seemed at home in the water, and far braver than Kavala would be to boldly approach a stranger. Everyone here was a stranger to the Konti. But the girl was female, held no threat in her bronze face, and so Kavala smiled.

"I did not mean to disturb you if this is your place. I just found it lovely and thought I'd rest here for a while. I've been a bit... tired lately. Everything in this city is indeed beautiful. It's startling to think there's such a place on the edge of the sea of grass. If I heard stories, I wouldn't have thought it real. My name is Kavala, and this is only my first day in Riverfall. I am finding it... a bit overwhelming. That's all. The Akalak have been generous here, to a stranger such as me, and I feel indebted. I'm not certain though, how to repay such a debt. They tend not to speak of it. I find it quietly... disturbing." She said softly, then reached out and brushed a tendril of Amaya's hair out of her eyes. Kavala wasn't sure why she did it, but it just seemed proper to do so.

"Do you have a name? It's ... very nice to see a friendly face." The konti said softly, thoughtfully.

[Amaya]

Amaya smiled up at Kavala and held out a friendly hand. "My name is Amaya, and I'm new to Riverfall as well, though this is my second day." She understood how Kavala felt about the abundant generosity, but being a Kelvic, thought nothing of it at the time. She was happy she had found a new friend and wanted to make sure she helped Kavala out whenever she needed it.
"So how's your stay in Riverfall been so far, Kavala?" she asked politely.

[Kavala]

When the woman give Kavala her name, the konti felt overjoyed. Among the horseclans, names could be sacred and were not given out to just anyone. Kavala made a mental note that perhaps here, they shared lightly between strangers. She didn't regret telling the amber-eyed woman her own, for she wanted to make a friend, and to know someone to trust.

"I like the city. It is about the most pleasant place I've seen in a while. I've been to Endrykas, through Syliras, and lived in Mura for a while. But this is my first visit, and it has been pleasant." Was it a visit? Kavala didn't know. She wasn't sure she could return now to her father's people. At the very least, she was going to wait a month or two to make sure there was no ill effects from the capture, for if there was, she certainly couldn't return home carrying a child. Kavala wasn't certain she could return home at all. She thought of Akela, and wondered what her sister would think now too?

"If it is not too personal of a question, can I ask why you are here? Did something bring you to the city?" She said gently, not wanting to overstep her bounds yet again.

[Amaya]

((OOC: Amaya actually did introduce herself))

"Oh... I'm here because my master sent me here. He said he was going to die, so he sent me away." Amaya said softly, not wanting to remember the pain of leaving her master behind to die alone.

[Kavala]

Whoops!I posted really late for me when I wasn't awake. I'm soo sorry. I altered my post.

"I'm sorry to hear about your Master." Kavala was unsure if Amaya meant she was a slave, or if she was someone's apprentice. Kavala wanted to ask more questions, but she didn't want to pry into the woman's life. Death could be a painful thing, and Kavala understood people being private.

"At least he sent you into beauty." She said softly, almost thoughtfully. "So what are you going to do now, that you are here alone?" The Konti asked, wondering if that too was asking too much.

[Amaya]

"Well, there's not much I can do on my own. I've always had a master... my whole life... living as a servant for whomever my master may be..." Amaya explained openly. "Being different from others of my race has made me almost invaluable as a servant..." a tear escaped from her amber eyes and slid down her cheek.

[Kavala]

Kavala watched the girl with careful consideration. She did seem different, but the konti couldn't quite put a finger on what that difference was. Kavala studied the girls features, looking for clues, but she really couldn't see anything different. The konti shifted, reached up and brushed her hair out of her eyes. She shifted her position, and dipped her hands into the pool. Amaya kept speaking, and the konti seemed content to listen.

"You can do anything you'd like on your own." Kavala countered Amaya's statement. She couldn't imagine anyone thinking they had to be owned or that they needed a master in order to be happy. "You can be a servant to yourself. Do what makes you happy or what you need doing." The white haired woman said, sighing thoughtfully.

"Being different from others of your race? What do you mean? Aren't you simply human? You look almost Vantha, though your eyes aren't exactly the right color." Kavala said, half as a question, half as a statement.

[Amaya]

Amaya considered Kavala's advice on being a servant to herself, but knew that was impossible. Being a Kelvic, she felt obligated to serve a master loyally and faithfully to the best of her ability. She looked up at Kavala and a faint smile broke on her face. "I'm not human, though sometimes I wish I was. I'm a Kelvic... a wolf, to be more precise. I hunt and scavenge... but I can't help the feeling I have when I cook. I just love to cook... but it's strange for a wolf to like cooking rather than hunting." she explained openly.