Welcome to Gaia! ::

When Niebet said she didn't need her sisters around her to feel safe she wondered what Niebet was doing still living with them then. After all it seemed as if she would be happier without them, and she just said herself she didn't need them. Briella watched Pacju move, almost daring to let her eyes widen at the sight. Although Pacju had never made a move to harm her she was still slightly afraid of the animal. She knew that she could harm if he wanted.

It was even more startling when Maya moved to put her hand on Niebet's shoulder. Things were turning out much different then what Briella had thought that morning. She watched as Niebet swatted Maya's hand away rudely and listened to what Maya was saying, not daring to speak up this time. Now that Maya said it Niebet did look like she could use a little sunlight. Maybe that would make her nicer, though Briella doubted it.

"You still came without me Maya! I hate that you spend so much time with them compared to the amount you spend with me." Her face reddening as Neibet spoke. Hurt seeped into her very being, every word she spoke. Refusing to glance over at her younger sisters.

"Don't be foolish Neibet. You're cold to them and they are sensitive. There is a heart that beats strong and sure in both of them. You have no need of downgrading them just because you feel I don't spend time with you. We all live together, and work together. It's no wonder they don't seek your company being so bitter."

Neibet swallowed her face still red as she turned her gaze to the canopy above. "I'll help you clear a spot. If you will rest on the rock with me." She pointed to a large round rock near the center of the current.

Nodding Maya turned towards Briella and Dyakida. "I'll be back down in a short moment. The sunlight will feel splendid. Just wait and see."

Niebet's vulnerability was not unexpected. It was simply surprising, as it was rarely seen, buried- as it was, deeply- by the 'pride' and 'stoicness' of a warrior.

Pride, the girl had in spades. It was pride and fear that made her lash out at Dyakida- She knew this.
If only Niebet would cool down a little... then Dyakida could work with her. Make her stronger, better, smarter.

She too felt a little sorry for her acerbic sister as Maya went with her to clear the vines.

"Perhaps you should lead the way, dear sister?" she quirked a smile. While water could be deceptive, it certainly helped to see it before you waded into it.

Sunlight would be a nice feeling, actually. Dyakida rarely had time to find sun to sit in- the best place to find that was the treetops and she had to be extraordinarily careful up there, using her antennae to their fullest extent, and sometimes her quarterstaff for more mundane poking and prodding at branches.

She decided not to talk about Niebet as Briella guided her and tested the water.

"Briella?" she asked quietly, very quietly. She had to think about this thing she was to say. It was a deep secret, one she had promised to lock away in the deepest wells of her being. She could not let Maya know she said this. It was a deep betrayal.
All the same, she owed her sister to test the waters...
"If I came out..." she hesitated, "and said that I liked... men... males..." Her light guiding touch on Briella's shoulder gained some pressure as Dyakida's expression became very intent, "How would you respond?"

Dyakida smiled lightly, pulling her feet up from the riverbottom to tread the water.
"That is... a good reaction." she said quietly, full of pride.
Maya would be safe, then. To some extent.
"I have not met them either, not in person. It is my understanding that they are not much different than women except in certain physical ways."
She shrugged, "Perhaps they are very different, though. I would not know."
"I'm glad that you would say so." she said, leaving the question of whether it was her or another who 'liked men'.
"I'm glad that you are keeping your mind open even when many around us have closed theirs." She touched Briella's shoulder "I'd like you to never lose that trait."

Dyakida laughed, surprised.
"Not real?" she chuckled a little, relaxing in the soft current.
"Well." she said, traces of laughter still rippling through her voice, "We shall have to see!"
"Yes." she said, agreeing, listening to her sister in the water before swimming a bit to follow her, not wanting to get separated, "A closed mind misses far more than a closed eye" it was very true, "One could be blindfolded and have their ears stuffed with moss, and have their antennae sheathed, and they would still percieve more about the world" Ah, perhaps- no... definitely- an exaggeration. But she was trying to make sure the point was hammered home.
She never would EVER want her antennae to be sheathed or impaired in any way. The very thought unnerved her, but this- unlike the laugh- she didn't show.

"Should we plan an adventure then? To find out for ourselves whether men are different or simply another form of women?" She asked, swimming slowly, "It is best to find these things out for oneself, don't you think?"
She had been wanting to go out into the jungle with Briella for some time. She used to travel with Maya, but when Maya had been away it had been difficult.

... Oh dear. Briella's night to cook. Dyakida would have wanted to wait for Maya, but she didn't want to let Briella try on her own. Dyakida knew that kitchen literally like the back of her hands, and she also knew that if Briella messed up someone who actually knew how to cook needed to be there.
And it looked like Maya wouldn't be back for a while.
"I think an adventure with all of us, like old times, would be a grand idea." she had to agree about Niebet, but... "Perhaps she would be willing to sheathe her temper for a short time..." A girl could dream.
"Well, we should head back soon, then." she commented, taking Briella's hand to help guide her as she began swimming to where she thought the shore was. As she touched river pebbles, silt, and edge vegetation, she lifted herself onto it.
It was good that Maya was back, and it was good that Briella seemed to have grown into a find young woman. She had high hopes for the days ahead.
She took another step from a standing position. Yes. High hopes.
"Now let us find that winding path..."

((FIN))