Kopesha took the journey slowly and cautiously, heading north. She sustained herself on small game, hares, rats, snakes and the like, and found the foraging to be excellent. Plenty of berries and strange fruits hiding in these grasses for the taking. It was practically an oasis compared to the desert. Still, not all of the berries had exactly been friendly. Digestion issues had been plenty, forcing her to make constant stops so as to not soil herself, and the horse. Still, there was more than enough food and water to keep her going.
And when she reached the Sonomos river, many days into the journey, she stared in awe. Back home, Makutsi was prayed to for rain, for oases, for springs and water in general. But she was also the River Goddess, and this was the first time Kopesha had ever encountered a river. And to her, it was perfect, so much better than she could've imagined. She slid off the horse, grateful to be able to walk again, even though that now meant she could feel the soreness from riding more intensely. Reins in hand, she walked into the shallowest portions of the river, feeling the cool water run over her feet. The horse followed nervously, but entered enough to begin drinking.
Kopesha looked to the sun, knowing she still had much of her day ahead of her. But this was a sign from the Rain Mother. She was going the right way, doing the right thing. She would camp here for today, and honor her goddess. Kopesha stripped her clothes off, storing them in the saddle bags as she waded into the water, up to her waist. She went a bit further, the water coming up to her breasts, realizing she wasn't even a tenth of the way across. The water here was calm and soothing, but Kopesha also knew she couldn't swim. And she hadn't thought to ask if horses could swim either. There was no going across this river. She would have to go around it. But that was fine with her, that meant more time in presence of its splendor. Kopesha cleansed herself in the river, using a rock to scrape the grime from her skin.
Once out of the water again, she walked along the banks toward the west, listening to the thunder as the water plummeted off the cliff and into the sea. It was so high up! Far higher than Kopesha had ever been before. Everything looked so small as the water misted into the ocean. A place where Makutsi and Laviku came together and danced. To Kopesha, this was a sacred place. And so she honored it by dancing. She still remembered the dance that Makutsi had taught her perfectly, and she stepped into the shallows to begin. She spun, she kicked, she flung her arms about, she hooted and hollered as her people oft do when dancing around bonfires, and she cried, reliving the story of her life as she danced. Water sprayed around her as she moved, and many times she slipped and tripped upon stones, but she cared not, keeping it going. As she neared the end, she added in some improvisation of her own, trying to get and give off a feel of this magnificent river through her dance. She threw in some gestures of her desire to swim, some of her belief that this is where Laviku and Makutsi unite.
And when she was done, she felt a swell in her chest, and she knew that she had called the rain. She looked to the skies, seeing no clouds yet, but she knew the rains would come. It was as much of a fact as everything else. She spent the rest of the day caring for her horse, feeding them both, resting in the touch of the river, and praying to her goddess, thanking her for watching over her, thanking her for this bounty.
The next day, she was on her way, following the river eastward. She felt rejuvenated after the day prior. She remembered waking up as the raindrops fell, pattering against her tent, and she smiled, quickly drifting back off again. A few days of travel along the river, when suddenly, she could hear a strange noise coming from the grasses lining the banks. Some creature was there, and was far too close for her liking. Kopesha gripped the horse tightly with her knees, scrambling for her bow and an arrow to nock it with. She watched the striped, great beast rear up on two legs, swiping in her direction, a challenge. It crashed back down, and while not near as big as a Tsana, it was still terribly intimidating. It was the first time Kopesha had ever seen a bear.
She finally managed to get her arrow onto the string when her and bear both heard the strange noise that was approaching. It wasn't a noise she was familiar with, and then the bear fled, leaving her to deal with whatever this thundering noise was. She saw the twelve riders heading directly toward her, and she readied her bow, arrow pulled back on their approach, though she didn't loose it. Some went past her, and others surrounded her. She watched as they communicated with each other, and she eased the string of her bow, her arm tiring from holding it. They didn't have weapons out, so maybe they weren't a threat. Or didn't deem her a threat.
The entire group was all men, though they didn't seem to be of the same origins. She'd never seen so many people of differing skin and hair colors. Even the Benshira that her people traded with, or stole from, looked somewhat similar to themselves. But these people must be from all over the world, lands she'd only heard about in stories. The one with hair like the red clays spoke first. His Common wasn't very good, but she caught the gist, as she was roughly as good, or as bad, as he was speaking the ugly language.
They didn't come off as threatening, though there was the typical jesting of men. No matter the culture, it seemed they were all the same. Kopesha kept her posture tall, not showing fear or confusion to these men, and when she spoke, she only spoke truths. "Well met, grass folk. I am Raindancer," at this she gestured to the obvious mark of a single rain drop upon her chest, "I am on journey for Rain Mother, to serve her. Many apologizes, I know not this land sacred and not mean trespass."
In response to the loogie hocking man, she smiled at him, giving him a good, long stare with her black eyes, "I give gift of many thanks, and stories for share." The words again were genuine, though there was a hint of poison in her voice, a tone she would use on her husband when he expected praise or rewards for doing things a husband should do regardless.
Soon they were all discussing fast and amongst each other, and indicated they wanted her horse. They also mentioned Riverfall, her destination. Time to seize upon the opportunity. She looked at the red clay haired man, clearly the leader. She did not challenge him in her gaze, but she also did not show fear nor subservience. She looked him in the eyes as she spoke, "She is friend and guide. She bringed me to sea of grass from ocean of sand. She return home now. I am journey to River's Fall." She considered making an offer to them for safe passage, but she had already done that, in a way, with her offer of thanks and stories. She just hoped it would be enough. She was not willing to part with her horse. They may have only recently come together, but she'd promised to take care of it to the best of her ability, and she was not about to break her promise.
Not to a man, not to a horse.
