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 Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:14 pm
The encounter with the Wind tribe woman had been a larger impression on Takoda than he was willing to admit. Perhaps the shfiter was tired, they had been trekking for awhile and his unusual amount of magic using had worn him down. All in all it was a bit overwhelming. Here he thought they only had to worry about alkidikes and the Leaf Tribe but now there was the Wind tribe?
Separating himself from the group, he had explained to his good friend Chalcedony that he just wanted to look around for a bit and he wouldn't go far. He was happy his friend was determined to look out for him, but he ...could manage on his own as well. He had been doing okay up until recently so he shouldn't rely so heavily on others to save him.
The landscape truly was beautiful even if it lacked the immense tree's that he was accustomed to. At least it was cooler here, better than the hot plains of Tale and the rock's were a pretty shade of purple. Kneeling he inspected some plants, holding the leave between forefinger and thumb rubbing it slightly noticing the slight fuzzy feel to them, it has small little white flowers on it that hung like bells. It certainly was tiny plant though.
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:24 pm
Sauti was only capable of supporting sparse settlements, forcing its people to take on a nomadic nature. Of course, that also meant that they knew the land exceptionally well.... and could often be found roaming across its great expanse.
Of course, these newcomers didn't know that....yet.
Ayo, a Prentice of the Wind Tribe, had noticed the Shifter from quite a distance away. His dark skin did a surprisingly satisfactory job of blending in with the craggy surroundings, but the woman was a hunter.... or training to be one, anyway... and the man's shape and movements were both unnatural. Or, unfamiliar to her, at least. He had been easy to track.
The woman crouched behind a purple rock only a few feet away from Takoda, her eyes, the color of the ocean, locked intently on the man as he tenderly inspected a plant. The mountainous region was nearly solid rock, so plants were as sparse as Sauti's settlements, being unable to sustain much vegetation. These plants were more of a rarity than the nomads would like and Ayo couldn't help but feel a twinge in her chest at the newcomer's threat to her livelihood.
Swift as the wind itself, Ayo leaped up on top of the boulder behind which she had been hiding."Hey, stranger." She called to the man, still only a few feet away, hands on her hips, a grin on her lips. "Whaddya think you're doing?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:33 pm
Takoda had been noting how the plant seemed to have just barely survived in this element, its roots a distinct tangle amongst the barely existent soil and rock face how it did survive, grow and even bloom seemed a marvel, his fingers so delicately stroking each petal before suddenly there was movement.
Caught if barely within his peripheral sight he felt himself already in the motion of back peddling, but afraid he may crush the plant he managed to merely fall back onto his butt and scuttle a few feet backwards. The surprise on his face evident even if the one before him with one of the Wind Tribe.
With that shock of blonde hair and fierce blue eyes it would be impossible to mistake her for anyone else. Blinking the words she spoke hung in the air a moment before he managed to figure out she meant no harm and he gave a rather small smile.
"H..hello." Came the shifter's timid reply, before he went to stand back up dusting himself off and checking to make sure that his satchel and book were in place. Once everything was safe and sound he fiddled with the strap. "I was looking at the plant here...there are so few in the region..I wanted t get a closer look..."
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:54 pm
An amused laugh broke from between the girl's lips as the man fell, scuttling backwards. She must have given him quite a scare. What? Just by jumping on top of a rock?
"Did I startle you?" She asked, the remnants of her chuckle coloring her words."Well, then you're in for a treat. There are much scarier things than me roaming around Sauti..."
Ayo returned the man's small smile with one of her own. As he stood, she took a seat on the boulder, putting them at about the same height. Those bright eyes inspected the man's satchel from her seat as he quickly checked through it. "That's a nice bag..." She offered vaguely. As travelers, most of the people of the Wind Tribe could be seen sporting various bags and satchels of different shapes and sizes, whatever they needed to carry everything that they owned, moving from place to place.
As the Shifter explained his reason for being there, another laugh bubbled forth from the girl. "What a coincidence." She cooed, stepping off of the boulder and closer to Takoda, her eyes sweeping across his body, so different and yet so similar to her peoples' own. "I was hoping to get a closer look too..."
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:05 pm
Takoda was..by nature a timid fellow, his gaze watched the girl as she chuckled at him stating the obvious that she had indeed startle him. A faint blush crept across his face, though he was use to being teased by his own people so why did it feel differently with others?
"Ah...s..scarier things? Are they bugs? Please tell metheyarn'tbugs." Takoda's eyes were wide with fright, he looked around and over his shoulder as if expecting a nondwa to have followed them all the way to this new land just to torment him.
Rubbing his arms as if it was a memory he was trying to shake off he looked back to the girl who had by now stepped off the rock, indicating that she too was looking for the plant. Was it that precious?
Completely missing the compliment on his satchel he instead tried follow the girl with his eyes to where the plant lay.
"It ...seems like its having a hard time surviving...are all the plants like this?" He...slowly inquired as it was she knew more about the native flora than he would and he desired to learn about them.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 5:12 pm
Ayo found herself giggling once more. He really was a timid one, wasn't he? She coudln't help but wonder if all of his people were this way, or if he was some sort of exception. If he was, she wondered what talents he possessed that would have convinced his people to send him on such a long journey. Surely there was something new and fascinating beneath that layer of fear.
"...Bugs? Well, I think you're just going to have to find out for yourself." She replied with a wink, finding herself far too amused by the range of expressions that this Shifter seemed to possess. Her gaze was firmly fixed on Takoda, but he seemed oblivious, much more interested in the plant than the girl.
Really? He thought a struggling plant was more interesting than a pretty girl from a strange, new tribe? Alrighty then. That certainly wasn't slowing Ayo down.
"They seem to manage well enough. They're still around, after all." But she wasn't looking at the plant. In fact, her eyes hadn't left Takoda's dark skin or his silvery hair. She reached out to touch his face, to feel the round jewel in the center of his forehead.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 5:42 pm
The fact the girl seemed to be deliberately avoiding his question, giving him only the vaguest of answers he couldn't help but wonder if maybe there were bigger bugs here. Scarier bugs. It seemed ironic that he didn't really seem frightened by anything else...just..bugs. With their faceted eyes and multiple limbs, pincers...
Takoda could write a book one why one should fear bugs. But he wasn't given a chance to think long on that when suddenly he found his gaze removed from the plant and directly on the girls face. A blush crept up on him as she poked the blue gem in his forehead.
"Ah..a....w..what ar..are you d..oing?" He managed to get out wondering if perhaps she found the gem strange, but she had gems on her body as well so it really wasn't that interesting! There were far more interesting people in his tribe she should...be..this..close to.
"So...um...I'm...Takoda..." The shifter managed as it felt weird to be so close to a person and not know their names, he had to wonder if personal boundaries were a foreign concept to the wind tribe people.
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 10:04 am
Ayo smiled as the blush crept onto Takoda's face, but it didn't deter her in any way. "I told you... I wanted to get a closer look." Now that she was satisfied that his crystals were just like hers, albeit a different color, she reached out to touch his arm. She'd never seen skin such a dark hue. It was beautiful, like the night sky. The light blue crystals reminded her of stars. She couldn't help but curiously investigate the crystals on his torso, wondering if they took the shape of any constellations.
"I'm Ayo." The woman responded. Her attention had finally found the man's hair, much silkier and straighter than her own, before she finally allowed herself to sit back on her heels, taking in the Shifter's face in its entirety so that they could have a proper conversation.
She smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you. You must tell me all about your people. Where do you come from? Why are you here, in Sauti?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 9:50 pm
Takoda felt the blush deepen as she spoke and then went to touch the skin on his arm, aaaahhh boundaries did she not believe in those sorts of things? It took Takoda a couple of mind scrambling moments to register her name before he took a small step backwards and looked to the ground.
"Ah...I am Takoda.." The shifter replied in a soft voice though he shivered when his hair was toyed with. So much personal contact... fidgeting as she finally sat back on her heels to look at him in his entirety.
"Uhhh...well...my..people? We l..live in the forest's of Jahaur....we crossed Tale to get here....I..think we came to ..discover if ther...e was anyone else to meet in the ..w..world." He managed fiddling with his own hair now, before he dared to make eye contact with Ayo. "Your..hai..air is like the sun after it rains..." noting how it was so pale though not silver.
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:27 am
The Prentice giggled as the man repeated himself. She really did make him uncomfortable, didn't she? That was, of course, not her goal. Yet, she had to admit, he was pretty adorable, being so very bashful. "Forests of Jauhar?" The words intrigued her. She had never heard of the place, Jauhar, and she had never seen a forest before. "Why did you decide to come with them? On such a far journey..." Although she had never crossed into the savanna, Ayo was familiar with the hot region of Tale. She imagined it would have been a very arduous journey. The girl was intrigued with the fact that such a timid-seeming man would decide to accompany his people on such a potentially perilous adventure. There had to be something more to him...
"Well, it looks like you found your people!" There she was, living, smiling proof that there were, in fact, other people in the world. "So what will you do, now that you know you're not alone in the world?"
Surprisingly, the young woman found that it was her turn to blush, the color, albeit slight, quite evident against her fair-toned cheeks. Her fingers moved subconsciously up to touch her hair, the wavy tresses thrown into a wispy up-do."I've never heard of it described like that..." She breathed, a gentle laugh catching the edges of her words. "I like it."She smiled at him, motioning vaguely to his skin. "I was thinking that your people are very reminiscent of the night sky..."
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:44 pm
Takoda was surprised by her words, the way she sounded rather curious about the idea of a forest. Granted that they ...didn't exactly have a bunch of a tree's to boast about so perhaps the idea of one...seemed foreign. Then again if one was to ask him about mountain ranges he probably would have a similar reaction.
"Well...uh I am a healer.." Takoda explained for his reason's for coming on this trip. "Ah...still ..in training of course." He quickly went on as if he couldn't fully accept his title despite earning it. As to her next question he wasn't exactly sure.
"Um...perhaps...make peace ties?" Takoda really hoped this would be the case as he didn't want to be here to wage war. Glad for once that the flush on his cheeks were mostly obscured by the darkness of his skin.
"Um...a..actually not at all...in the night our skin goes silver....I think its because we honor the moon." Takoda corrected the wind girl, after all he didn't want her to think that their skin was like the night sky...
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Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 6:35 am
”A healer… really?” The girl’s eyes were wide, obviously impressed with the idea. Maybe this was his special secret. In this world of nomadic peoples, every class was important. After all, you came into contact with people less frequently, not living in a close-knit tribe. It was important to know people who possessed all kind of abilities, so that when you came into contact with them, you could trade… survive.
Ayo nodded in understanding. “I’m training to be an Archer.” She closed one eye, hands mimicking the holding of a bow, the loosing of the arrow. After a moment, she returned her attention to the Shifter, a smile tugging at her lips. ”I bet your forest is filled with all sorts of interesting animals. I’d like to see it… maybe I’ll make the journey some day.”
The Wind Tribe member continued to nod as he explained their reasoning – to make peace ties. She was glad to hear that they weren’t here to start a war, but she had doubted that regardless. If they had been attempting to wage a war, they would have failed endlessly at being tacticians. Unless, of course, this was merely a scouting party, come to scope out the land for the incoming soldiers.
But Ayo was an optimist…
The woman’s eyes widened as Takoda described their skin at night. “It… changes?” She breathed, clearly impressed by the description. “Just like that?” She snapped her fingers to emphasize the word. She had seen skin change in hue… bright red if it were burned, slightly tanned in the sun, paler in the winter… but never so drastic as from this dark bluish-grey to silver. ”I have to see that…” And then, with a laugh, she added, ”That makes you even more like the night sky! Your entire body turns into the moon.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 2:41 pm
Takoda wasn't use to having people listen to him or take him seriously, not since he had become a healer...and started on this journey. People treated him with respect, despite his huge fear of insects. Luckily outside of the forest of Jahaur there didn't seem to be that many large bugs.
"Ah...well in the forest there are mostly insects...big ones.." He explained twisting a piece of hair before he smiled to Ayo. "You should travel with us...I thi..think you could learn a lot...I know I have." He offered before wondering just how...the leader's would feel about him just inviting people they just met into the journey.
Blinking he nodded at her astounded voice, the snapping finger made him chuckle. "Well..n..no it changers gradually with the setting and rising sun. Darkening for the day and lightening for the night." He explained as she then seemed really interested in seeing it. "W..well w..we could meet up in the evening...if..if you wanted?" He proposed wondering just where they could choose as a meeting place.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:13 am
”Maybe I will…” Ayo mused, mostly to herself, as Takoda invited her to accompany them on their journey. She seemed dazed for a few moments, lost in thought. After all, as nomads, wandering was in their blood, exploration of other lands was so enticing and yet, simultaneously so incredibly terrifying. Despite the fact that she had no permanent home, she knew Sauti like the back of her hand. She could survive anywhere in this harsh region without a problem. To go to other places… it was still a frightening thought. What kinds of food did they eat? And insects? Giant insects?
The woman’s attention snapped back to Takoda, an amused grin playing across her face. ”You really have a thing against bugs, huh?” She asked. After all, this was the second time he had mentioned insects with a rather distasteful tone. He was clearly scared of them, but he had just said that he lived in a place primarily inhabited by giant versions of the fearsome creatures. Two and two didn’t quite come together.
Her eyes widened in delight as he mentioned meeting when the sun went down, so that she could see, first hand, the changing of his skin. “That would be wonderful!” She gushed, laughing gently. ”Or, I could just follow you around until then. I have nothing else to do today.”
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 11:10 pm
Takoda blinked at her enthusiasm to just hand around him until the sun started to set, did she not have a family to return to? Granted ...it wasn't like he did so he was the last person to judge or jump to conclusions. At her question about the bugs and his fear of them, he looked to the ground looking a bit embarrassed.
"Y..es...I am...I won't lie..they terrify me to no end..." Shuddering as if to prove his point he looked to Ayo and then back to the ground. "Everyone I know is so strong, wanting to protect others...to travel...and learn...sometimes I wonder if I am holding others back.." He murmured looking back to Ayo a sad expression on his face which slowly bloomed a wilting smile.
"I am doing my best though...luckily since we left the forest there arn't any large insects to jump out at me and scare me...so...that is a plus."
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