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 Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 11:15 pm
Maya shifted where she lay, her head propped up against her Radaku companion who slept curled up with the Alkidike woman. Her head against the beasts stomach while her shoulder started to slide off as she turned, her dreaming seemed peaceful and calm as there was little movement evident on the young woman's face. Beside the sleeping pair were leaves and a strange paste ground up in a wooden bowl, some had been smeared on her arm and some more on her companion. They had only barely made it to the edges of the forest before collapsing from exhaustion and pain. Sleep had welcomed them that night with open arms and they had gone forward lovingly.
A few Nondwa fluttered above them testing the edges of the forest before returning back to the fruit in the higher branches of the trees. Breaking some of the rays of the early morning sunlight as it started to peak through the canopy of the trees above. In the distance the smell of water filled the air mixed with the trees and ripe fruit.
Shivering against the early morning air Maya slowly found herself waking up, with the sun shining brightly on her face. Pacju waking up when Maya pulled her head off her body, sniffed the air. There was something in the distance that scared the Radaku though she didn't feel the need to act on the emotions directly. Maya struggled to blink the sleep from her eyes as she pulled herself up into a kneeling position, giggling when Pacju pressed her muzzle into the Alkidikes side.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 8:47 am
Xolani had been charged with the task of going and finding food for him and his father. And by charged, it meant his father was going to continue to lie around all mopey like while Xolani made sure he didn't starve. Sure, Xolani could understand that the death of his mother was hard, but it's been awhile and he was cheering up again. The least he could do would be to get the food every now and then.
Still, it had to be done, so Xolani set off with an empty basket and a bag full of rocks. The other shifters wouldn't trust him with a weapon of any sort, so if he came across a crystal spider or something like that he'd need something to at least daze it while he caught up, though he was pretty sure that the meal tonight would be mostly vegetation, such as fruit and tubers.
He had found a tree loaded with ripe fruit in the higher branches and had happily collected several in his basket. Several Nondwa came and visited, munching on the fruit that was a bit too ripe, and Xolani watched them for a while, observing how they moved and what they looked like. It was a very pretty sight, and he was glad he had came here. He did love seeing different fauna and how they worked.
While he was in the thicker part of the leaves, he could see the daylight starting to seep through. And then, from below him, he was certain he had heard someone giggle of all things. Curious, he lowered himself with his basket of fruit to the lower branches of the tree, both putting himself, and the two below him, in full view.
An Alkidike? How interesting! He had met a few in his wandering days, and he knew they made their home in the trunks of the trees, but this was the first time he himself had seen one in the forest. She seemed interesting, if anything because she had a Radaku companion and they seemed to get along well, and Xolani was a firm believer that animals were great senses of character. So he decided to make the first move.
"Good morning!" he called from his tree branch, a bright and cheerful grin plastered upon this mixed blooded's face. If she remained friendly he would descend from his perch, but if she became hostile he had rocks if anything.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:25 am
Petting the top of the beasts head as Pacju nudged against her again, giggling softly Maya placed her head against the Radaku's. There was a slight pain in her temples and a strange crick in her neck, probably from the way she was sleeping against her companion. Tilting her neck side to side she was eventually able to click it freeing up the strange pressure that had built up inside before resting her head against her companion. Bringing up her hand to rub her neck Maya pulled herself away from Pacjus head sniffing the air.
The smell of the fresh water made her head pulse a little more, so Maya had come to the conclusion she was thirsty. Pulling herself to her feet, just before Pacju did her bug like eyes focused in the distance before her companions whimpering hiss alerted her to the weapons she had cast off before they had fallen asleep. On the ground by the weapons were the traveling gear Pacju carried on her back. Picking them up and placing them on the Radaku's back Maya tightened the straps before picking up her weapons. "C'mon Pacju, I bet you are thirsty too."
The answering hiss made the Alkidike giggle again as she placed her hand on the Radaku's neck. Smelling the air and letting the fresh moist sent fill her lungs. Maya closed her eyes peacefully letting go of her familiar, and her weapons, as she reached forward to pull a water skin from the traveling gear. The sound of something in the distance stalled the Alkidike but she found no immediate danger in the moments so ignored it.
Walking back to the water Maya dipped her feet in one at a time before she wandered into the cool mild rushing depths. Pacju stayed nearby drinking the water though her mind was focused on the sounds behind them for sign of trouble.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 11:01 am
Xolani was offended. Here he was, offering a greeting, a kind one at that, and the Alkidike just walked away from him without so much as a twitch. He was most certain that he had said it loud enough, but perhaps not loud enough to be heard. Or perhaps she was deaf and relied on her animal companion to let her know when things were coming closer. But then shouldn't it have reacted to his greeting? Xolani shrugged, finally coming to the conclusion that he wasn't as loud as the thought and would try again, this time on her level.
He went in the same direction as her through the trees, and once he was at a decent distance away lowered himself and his basket to the forest floor. The earth was cool and moist, and he stopped for a brief moment just to enjoy the feeling before setting down his basket near his feet. He cupped his hands around his mouth, to make sure that this time there was no way he couldn't be heard.
"I said GOOD MORNING!!" His voice boomed and was almost sickeningly chipper, sending nearby creatures fleeing at the bellow.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 11:29 am
Maya practically lept from her skin when Xolani's booming voice startled her, the Radaku and even the forest animals in the vicinity. Her first reaction was to reach for her weapon and fire, but they were laying on the shore and she was waist deep in the water. Her second was to dive under the water to hide, she hadn't even glimpsed who had spoken but it certainly wasn't her alkidike sisters. They would have come to join her in the water, or at least stood on the edge. Pacju on the other hand didn't seem quite as phased as her Alkidike companion and merely turned her head to watch the boys moments.
It had taken several more moments before Maya surfaced again with her nerves in tact and wandered over to the shore in search of the intrusion. Taking in a deep breath with a slight shiver Maya did nothing to shake the water from her form as her dark bug like eyes fell upon the shifter half breed. Wind, she guessed though she could have easily been wrong. She wasn't good at telling stone formations on the earthlings to know if it was wind or leaf. At least she knew the stones didn't match that of the shifters at any rate.
With that conclusion Maya blinked stepping to stand beside her Radaku on the shore, perhaps he wasn't as ingrained as the shifters and was less likely to hurt her. Even after the strange travels and tenuous pact between Alkidikes and shifters she still had a great deal of distrust towards them. "Good morning." She finally responded though keeping a close eye on him, feeling around with her feet for her weapon. She wasn't going to be caught off guard after just returning from Zena after all. "What brings you out here."
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 12:43 pm
Xolani couldn't help but laugh as the woman plunked herself into the water at his greeting. That was a bit too loud that time, but at least he got her attention this time. Her body expression when she did come back out was one of slight distrust, something he could understand completely. He was part shifter after all, and the two races never got along all that much. Xonlani himself couldn't care less. He was born from taking down those prejudices and learning about the person on the inside, and it was a belief he held close to his heart. It's when you find out that the inner person is a jackass that you run or stab them.
"Sorry about that, didn't mean to startle you," he said with a chuckle. "But you didn't hear me the first time so I wanted to make sure to catch your attention this time," he said, his grin wide and bright. He picked up a fruit from his basket to act as an aide. "I was out picking fruit and saw you and your Radaku in the clearing back there," he explained, empty hand thumbing in the direction they had both come from.
It was then he finally made full noticed that she was injured, at least somewhat. Perhaps he would be nice and offer her some food. He knew he wouldn't want to go clambering about for something to eat while injured. "Would you like some?" he asked, pointing to the fruit in his hand. "I collected more than enough for me and my father."
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 1:45 pm
Maya shook her head slightly determined to loosen the water stuck in her heavy dread locks. Reaching up she shifted a few of them behind her ear satisfied when it remained where she had moved it, she wasn't going to be drying off anytime soon. At least here the weather was normal, unlike Zena where it had been far colder than she had liked and with so little protection to boot. Eying the new coming carefully Maya stroked the side of her companion before taking another step forward, if he was going to attack he would have by now. Relaxing when he started an apology.
"It's fine." Maya muttered feeling rather ashamed she hadn't noticed anyone speaking before let alone the proximity. Lowering her head she patted Pacju firmly her other hand hanging loose against her side. "I wasn't aware you were there-" Her eyes grew wide as they snapped up at Xolani when he mentioned watching her. Face growing deeply into a blush, she had the urge to yell creeper at him but held back incase she had jumped to the wrong conclusion. She was starting to rethink her 'harmless guy' analogy of the strange half shifter.
Gripping a tuft of hair on the base of Pacju's neck in reaction to the strange and unsettling emotions she wondered just how much he had seen and for how long he had been watching her. Taking a deep breath as she watched the fruit in his hands and basket she felt a swell of water in her mouth, she hadn't been home long enough to enjoy the fruit she had been denied for so long. Her stomach even cried out with the hunger and longing for the fruit.
"Please." She said nodding her head a little as she stared down at the fruit in his hand. Her lips suddenly felt dry, it wasn't as if she was unable to find the food for herself it was just convenient right now. As long as it wasn't poisoned or anything.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 2:14 pm
Xolani laughed again. "It's fine, it happens!" he said reassuringly. He pondered at her body language as she began to blush. What did he say to make her do that? He pondered a moment, and then realized, coughing at the realization.
"Oh! Please don't think I am some crazy stalker or something!" he said apologetically. "I just barely saw you in the clearing back there, you were walking away when I got down from where I was gathering food. I just like to talk to people, that's all..." Oh Moon and Earth he was sounding more creepy by trying to explain it. His free hand was slapped to his face as he tried to recover, but it wasn't really working "J-just never mind. I honestly and truthfully mean no harm."
Not wanting to perhaps make her pick up that bow of hers after that lovely display, he squatted down and rolled the fruit in her direction. No need to cause any more damage by coming closer. He then sat down, feeling really stupid, and leaned up against the tree, taking a piece out of his basket and biting into it, if anything to show that the fruit was fine, that and to take his mind off of that little display of moron-ness. It was sweet and still a bit warm from the sun. Juice seeped out from one of the corners of his mouth as he chewed, and after a few moments he wiped it away with his hand.
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Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2012 8:58 pm
"It's fine." Maya repeated slightly exhausted her eyes still focused on the fruit, she wasn't really paying attention to him as he tried to explain himself. Finding her eyes had wandered back up to his face when he blushed Maya blinked twice. If he was that embarrassed by the words he had said perhaps he really was slightly harmless after all. Though it was hard to top the strange shifter, Takoda when it came to harmless. Her eyes narrowed as she looked him over for any signs of weapons but was distracted when he shifted to roll a fruit towards her.
Almost immediately her defensive posture changed watching the fruit roll towards her with wide and grateful eyes. Pausing as it bumped against her toes she glanced back up to Xolani before plopping herself onto the ground. Reaching out she picked up the bright fleshy fruit biting into it without a second look at it. Bite after bite Maya seemed to inhale the fruit offered until there was nothing left. Licking her fingers her eyes left the strange shifter boy to stare back at the fruit again. He had offered hadn't he?
Pulling her bow closer to her body and scooping it up Maya stood up about as quickly as she had planted herself on the ground. Walking towards the earthling with slow precise movements until she was until she was a foot away from him. Blinking as she crouched in front of him she didn't look away from his face before reaching out to take another fruit. Leaping back before he could do anything she settled back down to eat it again.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 4:32 pm
Xolani was surprised at just how hungry she was, and the thought of how he had blathered on before quickly had faded from his memory as he watched her, not with malice, contempt, or anything. He looked as though he was just observing, as if he was gathering information, generally curious about what this poor woman had gone through to become this hungry. Where had she gone that was so devoid of food? Tale perhaps? If you knew what to look for it was easy to survive there, but perhaps she didn't really know. There were also whispers of other lands even farther away. Could she have come from there, perhaps from a journey of some sort? Xolani shrugged to himself. The woman didn't seem to be in much of a talkative mood right now, but he stored it away as a possible question for later.
He would have offered more fruit to her, but she seemed intent on helping herself. The trees had plenty more, and like hell he was going to tell a lady no, especially since this said lady could probably shoot him dead without thinking twice. Instead he just ate his own piece silently, and much slower than her of course, still on his first one.
"Take as much as you like. I can always find more," he said after the long moments of silent eating between the two of them. "I'm in no hurry to get home anyway. Any excuse to stay out longer is welcome for me" he commented with a chuckle before looking at the Radaku, then to the Alkidike, wondering if it was half as hungry as the woman was..
"Would your companion like some? I'd offer something a bit more substantial but it's hard to hunt when all you have are rocks," he laughed again as he patted his satchel. "Hopefully that won't be true for much longer though..."
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 5:03 pm
Maya's chewing slowed into more of an actual chewing motion than a bite and inhale. She had been carefully watching the boys every movement while she ate to see if he would pull anything funny. Taking a second fruit from him didn't seem to goad him into any fighting so she blinked and looked away towards the canopy of the forest. A comforting sight compared to the open sky of Zena and Sauti. If he did have weapons on him he body posture didn't seem to come off as hostile. Swallowing the chewed bits before taking another bite, the Alkidikes dark bug like eyes drifted back down towards the strange shifter boy. She could feel his eyes on her and it made her blush. It felt slightly awkward being watched and realized she had done the same.
"Thank you." Maya said after swallowing another fully chewed mouthful of the sweet fruit. Looking him up and down before looking around the forest. "Why would you not want to return home? Everyone wants to be home especially your kind. You never stay apart long." Her tone was questioning as she watched him glance towards Pacju.
"Pacju? No, she doesn't eat fruit. She eats meat and if she has to the mushrooms. I don't worry about feeding her, she ate not long before we came back." Her antenna's twitched as she focused on the beast, who rose as if knowing she was being talked about.
Swishing her tail the Radaku seemed to bound out of sight bringing the Alkidikes attention back to Xolani. "What brings you this way? Shifter's rarely come this far to the edge of Jahaur." Not that Alkidikes were any different, certainly not her sisters. They lived in one of the largest tree's around. And large trees were only found deep within the heart of the forest itself.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2012 4:04 pm
Xolani determined that he wasn't very hungry himself so when he finally finished his fruit he didn't bother with getting himself any more. He just sat there, making sure that the woman was all right and that she didn't show any signs of randomly snapping and murdering him as he just sat there. She seemed all right though, more hungry then anything else.
Xolani laughed, though it wasn't all a jovial laugh. There was bitterness in it, and it was obvious. "Oh, my father and I get along just fine," he began before scoffing a bit. "But I am a horrid little half blood and hardly anyone else wants anything to do with me. If it wasn't for my father needing to be around his own kind again, I would have hoped he and I could have just kept wandering after mother passed," he said, and then shrugged. "But father was unwell so we did what we needed to do." He then looked at the woman's companion.
"I just wanted to be sure is all. I've seen a few eat fruit if there was absoulutly nothing else to eat." he commented, looking at his basket again as she asked more questions of him.
"Like I mentioned before, I'm the horrible half blood everyone seems to hate, so I go father out in hopes of not running into anyone. I mean, most Prentinces can get a knife or something, but until I can prove myself to the elders and gain rank, all I have are rocks, and usually knife beats rock in a fight. That, and I like to wander around, observe the wildlife, reminds me of how things used to be before mom died..." He then looked at the woman.
"What about you? I don't see many of your clan out here either. Not unless they're going somewhere, or coming back."
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2012 11:47 pm
Half breed, well that certainly explained the strangeness about the shifter she wasn't familiar with. Now that he had mentioned it the stones did look a lot like those of the strange earthlings that lived in Tale. She mused the details over in her head before casting it off. What did she care if he was a halfbreed, Maya was sure they had their own issues. Tipping the fruit back and forth in her hand while staring at it her antenna would twitch now and again.
"Wind or leaf." She wasn't really listening to anything he was saying about his father. She wasn't interested in the rest of his tribe currently. Shifting at a quick speed into a standing position her trinkets and beads clacking as she made the sudden movement. Maya strode over to Xolani with a determined stare. Leaving her weapons on the ground where she had previously been sitting. Moving to touch his shoulder while peering around behind him to get a better look at his shoulders. To her that was the only way to differentiate the earthling tribes. Then again the shifter stones could have changed the stones to be more confusing.
"Me?" Jerking back from the shifter she took a step back. Her beads clacking louder than before. "No we don't live around here. I have recently returned from Zena." Shivering at the memory of the chill air
"Even if we came and went it would be rare to see us. We often travel in the opposite direction from here." Remembering Aisha, Maya sighed inwardly at the thoughts of home.
Pacju returned with a partially mangled remains of a Kinfa before settling down to eat.
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:35 pm
Xolani blinked as he was 'inspected' but otherwise wasn't really put off by it. He was weird, so he was used to weird things. He couldn't even begin to count how many times he was poked and prodded by a more curious type, though his mother and father were usually around, so the question was a newer one.
"Eh? Oh, leaf" he said, wiggling his ears just a bit. "The gems can mess you up, but I have mom's ears. Shifters don't get this big and wind are really small" He laughed. He had met a few from the wind tribe before. He recalled liking the ones he had met. They were nomadic for the most part, and had such wonderfully interesting stories to tell. His face seemed to light up at the mention of Zena though.
"Oh! You got to travel there? Never been myself, Sauti's rough terrain and all. Heard lots of stories from traveling Winds though. It'd be interesting to travel there someday. I hear there's another tribe up there..." he paused, thinking. What where they called again? "Ice? Water? Something along those lines," he said, more prattling to himself then to the woman at this point, though his attention was brought back to her.
"Must have been some trip," he commented, recalling her hunger and her wounds. "You traveled a long way, both coming and going."
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:15 pm
Sniffing and running her finger under her nose Maya smiled. "Yeah, I went to Zena. I tried to stay as much in the shadows as I could. Didn't work out to well when a giant lizard thing popped out of the earth and forced our hands to kill it." The Alkidike shivered painfully at the memories brought on by the events, she remembered the corpses of the wind tribe as they blocked a hole that lead into Zena. "It's far to cold there. And I never wish to repeat the experience again." Her face growing serious as she spoke.
"It was covered in this thing called snow, and its freezing. My skin hurt just being in the same air as it. Some say protection is needed but still..." She trailed off looking away. "Oh yes there was this tribe called Ice, seemed like a cold people to me. Then again you probably have to be cold people to live in such harsh places."
Looking back at Xolani Maya tilted her head in curiosity. "Do you never travel away from Jahaur?"
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