[PRP Tale] Ancient buildings (Maya and Jacinthus) [FIN]

[Silver_tigress18]

The feel of the ground below her feet changed from the soft dirt to a hard stone like substance. Curling her toes against the strange feeling, Maya bent down to touch the cracked stone, worn with age and partially covered in weeds and vines. Maya couldn't tell exactly what it was, she had never seen this weird formation of the land before. Her gaze followed the strange formation her two long antenna's quivered with the approach of her Radoku as it bounded up to her, stopping at her side and staring out in the same direction. Straitening her body and shifting her satchel on her hip the Alkidike started off towards the strange formation, anything she could find out about it would eventually be taken back to her sisters where they could tell her more about it.

The strange formation looked cut out of the world in many places, though crumpled and swallowed by even stranger plants and gemstones she could see through into the building. She had to stand several paces back in order to see the top of the strange stone mountain. Walking up to it she touched the walls to test her ability to climb it but the wall seemed impossible to scale. Walking around the edge of the strange formation with her companion trailing behind her sniffing in various places Maya eventually found a hole about her size to climb through.

The area was dark upon her entrance into the formation, and she couldn't have been more grateful that Pacju her Radoku was following her. The creatures horns beamed with light casting odd shadows she had never seen in almost every direction. Which made it much easier to navigate the dark sunless area, at least that was what she thought. Her toe had caught on an out jutted stone causing her to stumble and Pacju to dash a few paces ahead.

"It's ok Pacju." Gathering her wits around her, and patting her companions head. Maya found a set of wood evenly placed like the stairs one could find in an Alkidikes tree. Confused about why there would be such a structure without a tree surrounding them confused her but she set off to climb up them anyway. The first few steps were easy and Pacju had no problem reaching the end of the flight of stairs. However the cracking noise and vibrations under her feet made the young woman nervous as she walked up the steps to stand at the top. Until the floor beneath her feet gave way.  

[Orpheus Solon]

Another day another journey away from the village and out into the distance, alien, forests of Jauhar. He had been here a short time ago and it had been when he both met Takoda as well learned of an interesting new source of meat, the latter of which had brought him here. He wanted to collect more of the large bugs that flew around in this area, to kill them, toss them into his pack, and then bring them home for cooking. They were going to be made into a rich and hearty stew along with some tubers, mice, and various other things that they might find to toss in. The two of them were fairly brave when it came to food, willing to try everything once or twice, maybe three times since one could easily experiment with cooking techniques and spices, "Let's see... where are some of those tasty things from the other day." He murmured to himself, rather enjoying the taste of them over open flame so he was sure with the right spices that they would be even more amazing!

Eyes flicking from side to side the excited hunter spotted his quarry and went racing after the bug that was moving in lazy circles, just begging for the leaf tribesman to catch and cook it. He would have done so too if it weren't for the fact that it suddenly went buzzing over a rather strange looking building, one that seemed as if it were covered in... jewels? Blinking his pretty green eyes he started to move toward the place, bugs forgotten, wanting nothing more then to get some of the jewels, "Kei would love those." He could make them into a pretty necklace for her, or a bracelet, whatever she wanted really. He was the sort that wanted to take care of his sister but he also wanted to spoil her with pretty things if at all possible. This was his chance to do just that. Trotting forward he drew his knife, moving to pry free one of those crystals. As he was working on it he suddenly heard something, a voice?

"Eh?" He looked around then back to the crystals, only happy when one of them broke free, "Score! She is going to love this!" He said, never happier then this moment when he was able to tuck the crystal away into his back. It was as he was tucking it away that he heard a rather loud sound, something that sounded as though a part of the dilapidated, crystal covered building was crumbling away... it was only by luck that he was walking passed an opening which gave him a rather decent view of a woman falling through the floor, "Oh shi..." Racing forward the Leaf boy slid to a stop at the hole on his hands and knees, looking down through it, "Hey! Hey, down there! Are you alright?" He called out, hoping that she was at least conscious. It was a bit dark down there, hard to see, so he would first check how she was doing before he set about making himself a light source.  

[Silver_tigress18]

The ground came up to meet her much faster and harder than she had anticipated, thankfully Pacja had not fallen through the same place she had and remained where they had been standing moments before. So the young creature would not be injured, Maya was thankful. She could feel her vision blur and her head felt fuzzy as she slipped between conscious and unconscious for a few moments. When she managed to come to her ears were filled with the sound of a hissing growl from the baby creature above her and the strange unfamiliar voice of a male. Or was the voice nothing more than a delusion she was conjuring up in a desperate attempt to survive?

Pacja stood where Alkidike had fallen from, her tail lashing back and forth in an attempt to scare the man before her. Quickly giving up and moving past him towards the stairs which she jumped down one at a time trying to reach her companion. Reaching a door way blocking the way to Maya she started scratching against the wood.

Attempting to sit up Maya winced as pain shot through her head, her hand clutched against it to attempt in reducing the thrumming pain. Shifting she stared up at the hole in the ceiling she had fallen through, squinting into the area that was now dark. Pacja must have moved either somewhere safe or in search of a way to get to her. Shifting as she attempted to look around the unlit area Maya winced, a few of the vials in her satchel had shattered with the fall releasing their contents into the the stones that pressed against her back. Thankfully none of them were toxic or dangerous in anyway, just highly sticky and most had a sweet smell about them.

Her leg was pinned below some sharp rocks, crying out into the darkness as she tried to move the Alkidike. Clenched her teeth as she struggled to move the rock to free her leg but ultimately failed. The sound of Pacja scratching not far off gave the young woman some hope.  

[Orpheus Solon]

Jacinthus gave the creature that was nearby only a momentary glance, it wasn't trying to attack at the moment and now wasn't the time to consider if it would taste good in a stew, and as such he had little use for the beast. Instead he was starring down into the hole intently for some sign of movement or a voice, anything that would tell him if the woman that had fallen down belong were dead or alive. As he squinted into the darkness the little beast wandered off, finding a set of stairs that Jacin hadn't even noticed, heading down them. It was only the sound of her scratching that alerted him that she had gone down the flight of stairs. He glanced in that direction, then back again, "Hrm." Did he dare follow the creature? If it were a pet then it might lead him to her, if it were a scavenger... well it would do the same, right? Either way it would lead him to the fallen woman.

From the darkness below he heard a cry of pain that echoed up through the hole that the woman had caused, "Damn." He muttered to himself, unaware of anything that might be below. He was going to be going in blindly... but better that he hurry instead of worry. The woman's life was on the life after all, right? Drawing his blade he moved over toward the stairs that the beast had used, realizing as he made his way down them that the creature was actually giving off a dull light from the horns that were on it's head. That would be rather useful. He wondered if the horns continued to glow after they were removed from the beast or if they had to stay attached to continue to do so. Questions for another time he reminded him as he got to the door that was between the beast and himself. He tried the handle before he drew back a foot, "Watch out." He told the critter before he kicked the door in.

Once the door was out of the way he tightened his hand on his knife before he started into the darkness, "I am on my way, if you can speak do so, so I know where you are!" He called out, not sure what the beast meant to do, but if it moved toward the woman he could at least use that light to figure out where she was at, if she were hurt, and how badly. He was no healer but he would do all that he could.  

[Silver_tigress18]

Wincing as the sense of vibrations echoed through the small appendages on her head Maya was sure whatever had called down to her was at this point no longer a figment of her imagination. Pausing when her companion stopped scratching at the door a new wave of fear pressed against her chest. The voice she had heard was certainly deep, and far deeper than that of any Alkidike she had met. With that in mind her eyes widened with fear as she clutched the rock tighter determined to free herself from the trap. Injured or not this was a bad situation and whatever the owner of the voice was, they were rarely friendly and always seemed to have the desire to kill her out of fear.

Pacja understood the command out and as reluctant as the young creature was it followed the command she did leave only long enough for an entrance to be made before dashing inside in search of her Alkidike mother. Maya sucked in a deep breath of air when the light spilled in around her, the Radoku had become a great comfort to the warrior since she had rescued it not long ago. Stretching one arm out to stroke one of the creature's now bright horns she stared back into the darkness behind Pacja. Completely unsure if she should speak out incase the current situation proved to be her death.

She groaned once again trying to move the large object that was currently pinning her leg to the floor. Either way luck was not on her side at the moment. Either she remained quite and chanced she would never be able to free herself and would die here painfully and slowly. Or, what she assumed was an earthling would kill her out of fear. There was the off chance that the earthling might not kill her and as such let the words fall from her. "I'm here." She spoke hesitation clear in her voice.  

[Orpheus Solon]

As he made his way into the darkness that was the bottom floor of the broken down old building he found a bit of comfort in the beast that raced by him, shedding light into a place he might otherwise need a torch. He glanced around, ears twitching, waiting for an attack... but for the moment there was nothing that seemed to be down here looking to eat him or the others that were down here with him. Regardless though he didn't loosen his tight hold on his blade, it might seem quiet but that didn't mean that there was nothing dangerous about. The woman was injured and injured people always seemed to draw in scavengers as well as predators that were looking for a quick, easy meal. It would be best if he could get her out of here and up a tree, at least a few less things could follow them up there.

The beast with the glowing horns led him right to what he was looking for and, much to his surprise, it would appear as though the beast weren't looking to eat the woman. If anything it looked rather concerned which was a new one on him. He was so used to being a kill or be killed relationship with beasts that the idea of keeping one as a pet was a little foreign to him. He wondered for a moment if something like that would be something that Kei would want... though all thought of such simple things seemed to vanish from his mind when he got close enough and realized what it was that he was dealing with.

"Alkidike..." He breathed, having heard about them before but never had he actually seen one of the strange, warrior women before with his own eyes. He held his ground for a moment, looking from side to side to make sure that it wasn't a trick and that there were no others that were about to ambush him. When it seemed as though he was in the clear and that the two of them were alone other then the beast, he started forward again, making a show of sheathing his knife, "I'm here to help, so no trying to stab me in the back while I do so. Either of you." He said, glancing between the woman and her pet. As he moved closer, his body tense as though he were less then trusting of the woman. He'd always heard them as being dangerous and warlike, heard that they were often in battle with the Shifters. He wasn't one of those but that didn't mean that he should trust her completely. Kneeling down slowly he set about inspecting the debris that were pinning her down, "I should be able to move this." He murmured to himself, he just needed something to aid him was all. Ah! Spotting a piece of wood, something he guessed had fallen along with her, he moved to grab it up, sticking it under the edge of the rock so that he could hoist it off her more quickly and easily then if he were attempt to do so by hand.  

[Silver_tigress18]

Maya froze when her eye's finally settled on the form of a leaf tribesman, she had never actually seen one of them before though they didn't seem to be much different than the Shifters of her forest they still didn't seem friendly. Looking him over her eyes settled on the knife in his hand, preparing to defend her life as she just stood there Maya's heart sank. Was he just trying to think over the best way to kill her? Though she was completely shocked when the knife was sheathed, relaxing slightly she watched him draw closer as Pacja started a hiss growling sound and darted to the opposite side of the Alkidike.

"I'm unarmed." she replied to the strange man before turning back to the large object pinning her leg down. "So unless I steal your blade I wont be doing any stabbing."

The shift in pressure once the large wood had been placed below the rock sent more waves of pain shooting up her leg and back. Letting out another scream as she pushed against the rock to free her self Maya was relieved when her leg was moved from below it. "Thank you." She muttered, shifting to search through her back for the fabric she carried with her. It had come in handy on more than one occasion and now was no exception. Grimacing as she pulled it out and leaned forward to inspect her leg the young woman was glad her leg wasn't completely crushed. She hadn't even broken a bone, though the lacerations on her calf's were covered in rocks and bits of glass.

Pacja let out a hissing whine as she nuzzled closer to her surrogate mother, crouching so her body was on the ground yet her side pressed up against Maya. Comforted by her companions affections she stroked the Radoku's head slowly with one hand and trying to pull out the pieces of glass and rocks so she could wrap it more easily.  

[Orpheus Solon]

That she said that she was unarmed caused Jacin to relax just a little when it came to his worry over being attacked by her, then it had him shaking his head, "You know this forest seems rather dangerous, walking around unarmed might not be the best idea." He told her, waiting until she was out from under the rubble before he began to scold her. Perhaps it was because she was a girl that he did so, so used to trying to keep his sister safe that he ended up acting in a somewhat similar manner to the Alkidike. It was an unconscious reaction and likely one that he should rein in, not wanting to insult the woman that he'd just helped... it was just difficult to change one's natural reactions to things was all.

Kneeling down Jacinthus took a closer look at the wounds, glad to see that they weren't life threatening but knew that they could become as such if any of the bits of wood and glass were to stay in the would since they would risk infection. She seemed to understand that though given that she was working on removing the various bits from her leg, "We should get you out of here. You are bleeding and the scent of blood will attract hungry animals." If it did so then he would deal with them, both because he didn't want her to be eaten just after he'd saved her and because they would be a source of various useful materials like meat, bone, and their skins. While it might seem a little morbid to take advantage he would do so, why waste an opportunity right? He only hoped that the blood didn't attract something too big and out of his league, "Here, I want you to put an arm around my shoulder, I will help you up the stairs and likely up a tree where you will be safer."

Turning to look at the beast that was nuzzling against her he found himself hoping it could climb as well, "Have you pet lead the way? It's horns can illuminate the path so that we don't get tripped up." Given that the ground had been very uneven under his feet as he walked along it and over to where she'd fallen he knew that it would be only that much more difficult to walk back across given her injuries. Once outside, where the lighting was better, they could see about cleaning her up. His pack was out there as well, one that had water in it, so they could flush the wound out as well.  

[Silver_tigress18]

A dark glare shot back towards Jacinthus as her eyes narrowed pride coursing through her veins at the mere thought to her stupidity. "My forest doesn't hurt me when I'm with Pacja." Flicking a piece of glass with her fingers the soft chck chch sound of it bouncing against the walls forced the creature to raise her head and stare out in the same direction. A soft warning hiss filling the air. "Besides." She continued, "I had vials that would have been what I needed to keep them away. As it is, they have been shattered with the fall." Shifting her gaze back to her leg not only to remove the glass but to nurse the sting to her pride Maya pursed her lips together.

When he came to kneel down beside her, the Alkidike watched him cautiously out of the corner of her eyes as she continued to clean her leg. It stung when the tiny grain like objects were removed but the pain subsided not long after and she wanted to finish cleaning before moving if it was possible. Her antennae twitched here and there in attempts to sense the movements around her, though nothing seemed to stand out. In fact it seemed to be dampened quite a bit. Perhaps the stone was some sort of dampener? She would have to learn to stay clear of such strange formations from now on.

"I don't sense anything else nearby but us, and if you have water I will use it and repay you by leading you to a lake nearby." She had to give payment for his help is some fashion right? She had heard stories that Leaf tribes had a hard time finding water. Stuffing the cloth she had pulled from her damp satchel she made a small gesture towards the stairs, waiting until the Radoku had moved clacking towards the doorway pausing to wait. Pulling herself up onto her feet in a very proud manner Maya struggled to stand upright, she desperately needed to clean the wound and wrap it soon.  

[Orpheus Solon]

When the woman said that her forest didn't hurt her when she was with Pacja, what he assumed was the beast's name, he gave a bit of a snort. That she said that when she was laying wounded was almost amusingly ironic, "Sure thing, the forest might not want to hurt you but there are beasts roaming here that would see you as a snack, as such we should get moving." He didn't want to be mean but the fact that she thought herself safe because she had a small animal with her made him wonder if she might have hit her head on the way down as well. Or maybe her kind were just that arrogant about where they stood on the food chain? He couldn't really be certain though since he'd never met one before, just heard some rumors.

It seemed that she wasn't as in a hurry to leave though, saying that she didn't sense anything nearby... he gave a slight groan. Were all women this stubborn about doing things when they felt like doing them? Between this woman and his sister he was starting to think that as a whole they must all be fairly hard headed. At the mention of water he gave a nod though, "Yeah, I have a flask of it in my pack, that's upstairs though." As well as outside, he'd dropped it in his haste to come in here and check on her... he could only hope that everything was still inside, not wanting to lose even the smallest of the treasures that he'd collected today. At the mention of a lake his eyes went a bit wide. A lake? Lake... from what he gathered it must be a water source, something that would be more then useful to his people so he was more then willing to trade his flask for a good source of water, "Sounds like a good trade." He agreed.

When the woman finally dragged herself to her feet he rose up with her, moving to stand beside her and put an arm around her waist, "This is just to support you and keep you upright, I am not trying anything." He told her, then wondered if she knew what he meant by 'not trying anything' given that, from what he'd heard at least, all of the Alkidike were women, weren't they? Oh well, so long as she knew he wasn't up to anything other then getting her out of here then it would suffice.  

[Silver_tigress18]

It was an instant reaction like being zapped by a lightning bug, the young Alkidike stiffened. Freezing as the strange earthling's hands rested on one side of her hip opposite from where she was standing. Tempted to steal his blade while he wasn't looking to make sure he wasn't trying to lull her into a sense of security Maya wavered and almost fell. Managing to just barely steady herself in time, quickly casting her eyes about. For strange sharp objects in case the stranger was planning to kill her. A strange sense of nausea was starting to creep into her senses as she started to walk forward, attempting to pretend that she wasn't being helped by the male earthling. Following the glow her Radaku was casting as she would dart ahead of them and wait a bit before darting ahead again.

Once at the stairs Maya paused swallowing as she looked up to where she had fallen from. It wasn't like she had fallen from tree's as a child, it was a rather common occurrence with her lack of grace when she moved and sometimes a couple of her sisters would play pranks by breaking the designated limb during a game. Though they were swiftly punished for it, her concern this time was that if it had given way up there. Was there a possibility the stairs would give way with the extra weight? Flaring her nostrils as she thought it over, she walked with Jacinthus up the stairs. The pain in her leg seared with each step, clenching her teeth until she reached the top.

The top of the stairs proved to have very little space for them to walk around. Maya's young Radaku walked the floors, her eyes solid upon the hole Maya had collapsed through before leaping back to her companions side with a nuzzle.

Gritting her teeth though the pain Maya eventually shifted away to sit down and pause for a moment. She could feel at least three objects digging their way into her leg and she wanted to remove them before they were lost deep below her skin. She didn't care if the strange earthling would complain, she wasn't going to get sick out of this. Besides she had promised him water in the end. As she reached forward wordlessly to remove the stinging objects Pacja darted back and forth about the building, almost as if she were testing the strength of the floor around them.  

[Orpheus Solon]

The trip up the stairs was slow going, due to the injuries that the Alkidike woman had, then there was the darkness that was all around them only broken up by the beast's horns, then add in the condition of the building they were in. He would be happy once they had gotten themselves upstairs and out of this place, already uncomfortable with the silence in this place. He could hear their breathing and the sounds of their footsteps too clearly, it was making his ears itch almost. What a painful silence, he'd give anything for his sister's chattering at the moment... it would fill the silence, even if it was her scolding him for running into danger, saving another woman, or even the fact that he was aiding someone from a tribe rumored to be dangerous.

Once they had made it up the stairs he gave a sighing sound, looking up at the taller woman, "You alright?" He asked of her, watching as she lowered herself down to sit and he opened his mouth to scold her, paused, drew in a deep breath to steady himself, then said, "You can take a little break but it's best if we keep going, waiting here risks falling in again." Which would just be unfair of this building if it tried to swallow the woman up into darkness a second time. It was something that he didn't mean to allow. If only he had rope or something in his pack, he could tie it around her waist and then tie the other end off to something outside. Since he didn't have something as convenient as that he would just have to test the floor for weak spots... though just as he thought of this plan he saw the beast doing just that. His eyes narrowed a little, seeming as though he were concentrating on each steps Pacju took, noticing here and there were the floor seemed to sink under the light weight of the beast.

"Hrm... I see a few places that we will need to avoid." He murmured to the Alkidike, slowly mapping out the path that they should take, "When you are ready to move again I want you to put your hands on my shoulders, and walk behind me, I will lead the way." He told her, hoping that he could trust her enough to do such a thing. Hopefully she wouldn't take advantage of him to stab him in the back, that would be unfortunate for them both since he knew if she killed him that Keilana would kill the Alkidike, something that would end up making the women going to war with the Leaf Tribe as well as the Shifters, which would make everything that much more messy then it already was.  

[Silver_tigress18]

Maya coughed as she raised her eyes to glance up at the earthling, without raising her head to look at him she pursed her lips pulling out another of the object's logged in her leg out. Had he hit his head somewhere, or was he blind to the wound in her leg? Perhaps it was a sense of denial that spread through earthlings which made them oblivious to the pain. Resisting the urge to give him a rather smart remark back she plucked the last of the painful sharpness from her stinging leg. Strange vibrations from the stones she was sitting on alerted the young Alkidike into moving. Though she didn't move far on her own.

Her gaze shifted towards the leaf male as she followed his gaze towards Pacja, pride for the intelligence of her beast Maya let a small smile play across her lips. Her hands stretching out placing them silently yet nervously on his shoulder. Surprised by what she felt, she was sure that the skin would be rough and dry. If it wasn't that then stone and cold much like the stone like parts on their skin. Curious she placed her other hand on his shoulder as well, though it felt odd to have someone no larger than a child of her kind helping her out of the strange building formation.

Brushing her hand curiously over the crystals on the earthlings shoulder, she wasn't as surprised to find they felt much like the crystal skin she had expected to feel. Stumbling slightly as she walked with Jacinthus towards the opening and out into the open air. Taking in a deep breath as she pulled herself up onto a higher branch just outside the window, she didn't seem the least bit concerned when Pacja disappeared back into the building. Figuring she should offer her thanks and name for his help, Maya bit her lip momentarily before looking up at the canopy of the trees.

"My name is Maya. That is my Radaku, Pacja."  

[Orpheus Solon]

The trip out of the building was even more harrowing then the one up the stairs, each step they took was a careful one, at times the floor creaking under their weight, and the leaf tribesman had his breath held the entire time as they went. He paused for a moment as he felt the hands that were moving over his shoulders, brushing against the gems on his shoulders. He turned for a moment to look over his shoulder at her but didn't comment, instead continuing onward. It was only after they stepped outside and onto solid ground that he let the breath out, "Wow... that was just a little scary." He muttered before he turned to took over at the girl, "Glad to be out of there, huh?" Though just as he said that the beast went wandering back in. He watched, one ear giving a twitch, but he refused to follow. If the animal wanted to get itself in trouble it could go right ahead. He would much rather stay out here. He didn't have enough compassion when it came to beasts to risk himself for a pet.

Turning to look over back to the woman he watched as she climbed up into the tree, "Good, it's likely safer for you up there with those wounds. I will grab my pack and we can see about cleaning the wounds." He said, hurrying off to where he dropped his pack not too long ago. He scooped it up, along with his walking stick, and tossed the pack over his shoulder. Trotting over to the tree that the woman went up he looked up at her, "It's nice to meet you Maya, though it would have been better if it were under better circumstances." Ones that didn't involve her falling through a floor and injuring her leg. Leaning his stick against the tree he started up it so that he could follow her up, "My name is Jacinthus by the way, though feel free to call me Jacin or Jac, either one is fine." He had a rather long name and he knew that nicknames were far preferred by those that he had met thus far.

Once he was settled onto a branch near to the ones that Maya was perched on he set about digging through the pack and brought out the flask of water, offering it up to her, "Here, you can have this. Just don't forget about the lake visit." He didn't know where it was, what it was exactly, or how to find it so he needed this woman to lead him. He could only hope that she kept her word and brought him to that place.  

[Silver_tigress18]

Maya glanced over her leg, and to her delight she couldn't see or feel any more objects lodged in the rather large wound. Shifting to pull the cloth once again out of her bag, the Alkidike watched as Jacinthus seemed to hurry away. Letting out a deep sigh she shifted to allow her back to rest against the trunk of the tree. Grateful for the strength of its limbs. Her eyes were watching the movements of the leaves, feeling a sense of pain rush about the open wound as a small breeze blew against it. Rushing her head back against the trunk of the tree, sniffing the air. This area seemed to have a different scent than the rest of the forest. Perhaps it had something to do with the strange formation she wasn't familiar with.

The hissing sound of Pacja returning and curling up at the base of the tree to sleep, brought Maya's head forward to double check that was her. Her eyes flipping over to look at the male leaf tribesman once he returned. "You are probably right." Maya admitted about better circumstances and this not being one of those. ON second thought there really wouldn't feasibly be one where the two would have met and not become defensive immediately. Nodding in a friendly manner when he introduced himself Maya started looking him over searching for the water he had promised.

Pacja raised her head with a small aru sound as she watched Jacinthus closely as he moved his way up to where Maya sat. The Alkidike also carefully watched him as he settled in a branch not far from her. Relieved when he produced the flask of water. Snatching it quickly from his hands the young woman slowly dribbled bits of it over her leg. Clenching her jaw tightly against the pain until she was satisfied her injury was clean, Maya proceeded to wrap the cloth over it. Then reaching into her back she swiftly pulled out the string like rope tying it around the cloth to hold it in place.

"I haven't forgotten about the lake. Alkidikes stick to their word." Maya reassured him putting the cap back on the flask and handing it off to Jacinthus. "I'll call you Jacinthus then." Maya's sisters that had come with her to the jungle all preferred their full names and not small nicknames others would come up with for them.