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 Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 12:39 pm
This Quest is for Hijil and Bhima who are striving to become a Massif and a Warrior.
 OOC
||. The quest prompt must be answered with a 15 post reply from each character.
||. Respond to the prompt given with an adventure of your own creation as long as it meets the requirements of the specific tasks.
||. NPCs may be used as long as they advance the quest in an interesting manner.
||. You cannot include any playable characters other than the quest taker.
||. Your responses will be graded with a Pass or Fail. Those who fail will have to continue with assistance from the staff.
||. Questions about quests can be asked here.
IC
Small things seemed to be happening in the Alkidike village. Small... irritating things. First some familiars were somehow let loose in the night to the aggravation of the Alkidike, then things like small accidents with the children: an Alkidike girl would trip while playing with a hybrid or an earthling. Though it was no fault of the child, the Alkidike mother and those around her blamed the outsiders. Little annoyances popped up here or there, and it was always the outsiders to blame, whether they did it or not. So it was no surprise that when word got out that Aisha's lotuses were growing slower that those in mixes relationships would be blamed.
Phrases like "It's all those hybrids being born" and "Earthlings shouldn't be let into Alkidike territory" floated around, while things just happened to go wrong for the outsiders of the village. One morning, Hijil and Bhima would awaken to all their belongings thrown about the front of their home and in the trees "where shifters belonged"...
Quest Tasks
||. This quest should start with Hijil and Bhima reflecting on the recent news that Aisha was "ill".
||. After their things are thrown about, there should be a confrontation between the Alkidike in the village demanding that the couple leave.
||. Bhima and Hijil need to somehow prove that they are not an issue to the village.
||. The quest should end with them either choosing to leave the village, or demanding proof that they are making Aisha sick and standing up for themselves that they cannot be the cause of Aisha's supposed illness.
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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:38 pm
Hijil was easily spooked by large numbers of people at the best of times. Tensions, though, were higher than usual and there were odd looks cast towards her by the Alkidikes of the settlement, looks she was very sensitive to. So, reacting in typical Hijil style, she had become increasingly elusive.
Not to Bhima, of course. Hijil would never – never again – hide from Bhima. They lived in the same house, Hijil was completely comfortable around her, and by this point Bhima knew her – the current her – well enough to find her even if she did hide.
It was the other Alkidikes she made herself scarce for. Her sleeping schedule, always flexible, had shifted so that she was awake during less populated hours, and what interactions she did have were and limited to people she and Bhima knew well - people she could halfway trust. Even with them, she played it safe, and it didn't take much to send the big woman into safety: she would rather avoid a fight, if possible
The whispers about mixed couples, hybrids, and sick trees and the blame being thrown about the settlement made her more nervous still, and her stress was very noticeable to Bhima. So, together, they decided to take a brief break from it all – only brief, since they had kinfa to care for and grown-up errands to run, but such a respite – some unfettered time together - was all that either resilient woman needed.
That night, they left their squalling, feathery charges to their own devices and went out into the jungle to a private place. There, they watched the stars as they whirled in the heavens through a break in the thick canopy. There, they cuddled. There, too, they spent the night, sleeping warm and safe in each others arms.
Hijil snuggled Bhima lazily, half awake in the diluted light of day. She didn't want this to end. She didn't ever want this to end.
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Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 10:35 am
This sense of racism was not so new to Bhima. She had grown up hearing about the hybrid Sisters and the Shifters and the other Earthlings in biting tones. It was a fact of life living out here with the Alkidike, whether she agreed with it or not. There was something new now, though. Rumors were spreading about Aisha growing ill, as if the Goddess could grow ill, about slow lotuses and the hybrids. For a while it was easier to ignore, but soon it grew unfettered. Sisters she barely knew would glare as she and Hijil walked through the city. Reasonably enough, she glared back. She had been expecting this. She had been prepared. Hijil, though... it truly seemed to bother her.
For this reason, Bhima didn't fight when Hijil didn't want to come into the village, and would make her trips more brief. Even alone the others were glaring, although she couldn't say why. It was Mama Chike who explained it to her. The lotuses were blooming more slowly. Sisters were blaming the birth of so many hybrids, saying that they had corrupted the great tree. Even as she spoke she had a sort of uneasiness in her tone. Did she believe it to?
So for just one night, the women had decided to escape. They picked their way through the forest and found a good spot to settle in and spent the night. They had fallen asleep in each other's arms, and all seemed right in the world.
Come morning, Bhima woke and simply sat and enjoyed the close contact of her love. She stroked Hijil's back softly, and eventually the Shifter stirred. Before her eyes could open, she would receive a sort kiss to the forehead. Yes, this had been what they needed, just to take the edge off. Everything would be fine.
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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:52 pm
“Mmm...” Hijil smiled as she was brought fully into wakefulness. Being woken by a kiss, in the arms of your love, was by far not the worst way to wake up. She looked at Bhima adoringly and kissed her on her muscular neck. “Good morning...” she murmured, enjoying the feel of their closeness. It was good to be here. She cuddled in silence for a moment more. This had been such a good idea: she was glad for Bhima and for this chance to get away and think. Here, all the troubles and the rumors seemed so distant and irrelevant as to be laughable. In fact, Hijil wondered why she had been so bothered in the first place. The rumors and suspicion was so far away – worlds apart - from where she was right now that she could almost laugh at how nervous she had become about it. Almost. “I wish we could stay here forever...” she murmured, regretting it immediately. She knew how much the Alkidike community meant to Bhima, especially her mother. “I... don't mean it that way.” she said quickly, levering herself closer to Bhima's face with her arms and resting her lips on her cheek in a gentle kiss.
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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 5:37 pm
Bhima smiled and reached up to stroke Hijil's hair affectionately while the Shifter woke. The silence was not uncomfortable or tense as it might have been with others. It was just silence; an absence of sound in lieu of emotion.
When Hijil spoke there were no hard feelings. She thought she knew what the woman meant. Out here there was nothing to bother them, nobody to glare at them from the side streets. As it was they lived whole minutes from the border of the nearest city. They didn't have neighbors, they didn't have the urban sprawl. It was just them. Lately, though, the other Alkidike had been almost stifling.
She didn't have a chance to voice any of this, though. Hijil seemed embarrassed and wanting to stifle her with a kiss, so the Alkidike just laughed and then settled in to return the gesture. Her thumb softly stroked Hijil's cheek, and when the kiss broke she smiled again.
"I know what you mean." At least she was pretty sure she did. "We should head home. The kinfa will be angry with us." It was well worth it, though.
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2015 3:35 am
Ah, yes, the kinfa. The adorable little fluffy ever-growing baby birdie beasts that they were raising. Hijil adored them, and they were a responsibility that could not be put aside. Even if she had wanted to (which she didn't, for she loved the kinfa), they were insistent and persistent in reminding their earthlings about the duties they were owed. Hijil could personally attest to their vibrant energy, healthy lungs, strong muscles, and very sharp beaks. Hijil could also attest to their intelligence, loyalty, and affectionate manner, though she hoped that they did calm down when they were older. Hijil lingered, her face close enough to still savor Bhima's warmth before, reluctantly, drawing away and stretching languidly, “Mmm... They will be hungry. And very upset with us.” she said almost coyly, smiling at Bhima. Almost. Hijil couldn't try to be coy, especially about this amusing subject, without giggling a little, that shy little sound that was Bhima's exclusive privilege to hear. “We'll hear their scolding long before we're home.” Particularly since she intended to take her time walking with Bhima.
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2015 7:15 am
Every smile, every laugh was an absolute delight. Bhima smiled broadly and stroked Hijil's hair one more time before stretching out. Her muscles ached just a bit from their night out in the open, but it wasn't unpleasant. It just reminded her of a pleasant evening with her love.
"They're certainly not starving," she said, and it was true. The little bumbling beasts were chubby and fluffy and absolute dears when they didn't want something. That was how it went, though, right? They were like children without the use of proper words.
She waited for Hijil to rise before standing herself and giving a proper stretched-and-twist. Ah, it was true. The kinfa were going to screech their little hearts out when they saw Mommies returning with the promise of food. She rubbed Hijil's back once and then took her hand to begin the walk back.
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 12:26 pm
I love you
Hijil did not need to say it, but in a sense, she did. As she walked, she positively overflowed with the emotion, her every movement suffused with it as she gently held Bhima's hand. In a sense, the warmth of the morning had not dissipated – it remained, light and soothing, in her heart throughout her walk, and Hijil knew it would sustain her for a long while.
Regret had no real place, and her hesitation of before was looked at – with her joyful mind – as silly. Just because they were no longer in the star-graced meadow together did not mean that it was over. Every day and every night, Bhima would be there and their love, this feeling, would remain.
Suffice to say, Hijil was feeling extraordinarily, uncommonly, spectacularly good.
Soon, the shrieking of kinfa could be heard through the trees, and Hijil laughed. ”Ah!” she said, listening, ”There they are.” If she had a sense that something was wrong, it was lost amid the light of her good mood...
A mood that did not last as they came into the usually pleasant grove that they called home. Hijil, initially, could not comprehend what she was seeing, caught teetering in the confusion between the high of before and the low she was heading towards. ”What...?!” she said, stunned, as she looked at the mess of their things, scattered in the trees...
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 1:04 pm
Life had been beautiful since Hijil had returned to it. Bhima found herself less angry, less jaded with the world when the Shifter walked by her side. Things could be hard, sure. They had been and would continue to be, but it was just fine. They would make it through together.
When they came near enough to hear the shrieks of their kinfa, the Alkidike winced. That really was one heck of a sound. At least they'd stopped waking up every hour for food. It had been especially difficult in those first few weeks, but things were calming down. Something didn't sound right, though. This didn't sound like hunger, not quite, or at least not only. Maybe they really were angry that their guardians had gone for the night. Had they already gone through the seed they'd left?
Two steps into the grove more properly explained the situation. Folds of fabric lay in the trees like hovering spirits. She could see tools and belongings strewn between branches, and what hadn't stuck in the trees was laying on the grass at the front of their home. Who--?! What--?! Anger began to bubble in Bhima's chest and she let Hijil's hand go to investigate. She went inside, found most things missing, and returned outside to try and take inventory. It didn't really seem as if anything had been stolen, it was just... thrown all over. The kinfa could not have made this kind of mess themselves.
She found Atipi in a bush, crying out for help. Bhima's heart ached. The poor little thing. Their first night alone, and this... She went to approached the door creature and felt an uncomfortable hardness under her feet. She looked down to see her strings of beads, some loosened now and out of their proper place mingling in the grass. Her lower jaw thrust out just slightly and she crouched to reach for Atipi. Frightened, the bird pecked at her hands. It was just a little pain, though. A little blood. She hefted the feathery creature from the underbrush, fighting her wild flailing and shrieking to hold her close to her chest. When Atipi realized who it was, when she felt the comfort of Bhima's bosom, she ceased her shrieking. Her little chest was heaving, though. Clearly something had gone wrong.
"It's alright, it's alright," she cooed, and then turned to Hijil, glaring, shaking her head. Someone had done this to them, but who?
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 2:05 pm
It was not the kinfa. That much Hijil could tell as she stared at the mess. She wished it was the kinfa, but the little ones were growing, but they were not big or strong enough to push anything out of a window, let alone into the trees. The mess would have been inside, a mess Hijil could have handled. And they could not have levered themselves from the home, and certainly could not fly into the trees.
But what was it?
What had done this?
Shrieking from the trees caught her attention and she broke out of her stunned stupor just in time to catch a squalling, falling, wildly flapping Ath. The little bird made her displeasure with the situation and the world known, struggling and clawing angrily with her talons. It was more a tantrum than an aggression, and Hijil was able to stroke the bird's head. Ath calmed a little at her touch, muttering cheepily as she was tucked to Hijil's chest in a vain attempt to hold the warmth of that morning back.
Hollow cold soon replaced it as she looked around forlornly at the mess of her belongings. ”What could have done this...” she asked, confused. A storm? A hurricane had once destroyed her coastal house, strewing bits of roof and belongings in the trees, but that had been different. There had, also, been no storm of the kind last night. It had been clear and star-speckled and wonderful... Not the sort of night that should cause this.
An animal, then? But then the kinfa would not be in the trees, unharmed, and the mess would be smaller. There was no animal that Hijil knew of that could do this much damage...
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 2:39 pm
No, animals didn't enter homes without breaking a door or scaling an open window, and they wouldn't return outside to throw their bounty around. Animals didn't make long, thin prints in the grass. No. Those were Earthling feet... or Alkidike.
It was hard for Bhima to fathom that any Sister might have done this, but they were far enough away from the nearest Shifter settlement that she didn't imagine they'd have come. With all of this talk of Aisha growing ill, of hybrids and Shifters, though. It seemed the most likely explanation, and that made her angry. Very, very angry. Her brow furrowed and her jaw set.
"I'm going into the city," she rumbled. She was going to find who did this and... well. She wasn't sure what she was going to do to them, but it definitely wasn't going to be nice. The sun had not been up long yet, the culprit or culprits couldn't have gotten far.
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2015 6:18 am
The look on Bhima's face was as chilling to Hijil as the rising thought that someone could have done this to them. She hugged Ath a little tighter, giving the kinfa more to complain about, and nodded.
”I'll go with you.” she said quietly. She didn't want to be alone, and she didn't want Bhima to go there alone. What if she ended up in a tree too? However unlikely and ridiculous that was, the fear it represented was there and real.
Hijil took Atipi into her arms and, wrangling both struggling chicks, tucked the two kinfa away in a 'nest' made of the remains of their clothen posessions, trying to fix things so that the little ones would be safe for the time being and not find their way outside again. She fed them, hoping to sooth both herself and the kinfa with the action. It worked for them. It did not work for her.
So then, little ones taken care of and heart in turmoil, she followed behind Bhima as they took a very different sort of walk from the one before...
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:17 am
Bhima just nodded in response. She wasn't sure she wanted Hijil to come, but it was her prerogative. The Shifter undoubtedly realized that it wouldn't be a pleasant trek into the city and probably rather upsetting. Se wasn't stupid. So they would go together.
She let Atipi go, relinquishing her to someone more even-tempered at the moment. She didn't want to have to wait to have the birds fed and comfortable but of course that was the most kind option. Hijil evened her out a bit. She checked her temper. In minutes they were out again, Bhima footsteps heavier and more determined than their casual walk home. When they reached the city she entered the boundaries and shouted into the groups of Sisters:
"Who is brave enough to admit to what they've done?! Who of you would dare to do such a thing?!" Some sisters looked to her curiously, as if they had no idea, but someone knew. She knew someone knew.
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 8:49 am
Hijil was not far behind. She stood just behind Bhima, watching the others with wariness as Bhima asked – demanded – her question of the group.Finally, one sister – a new warrior - threw her head up, glaring at them proudly. “I would.” she said, and a few others, emboldened to action by her courage, moved to stand with her, their eyes all impetuously fixed on Bhima. “You don't belong here, and your perversion...” almost in unison the group – though only one had spoken – glanced sneeringly at Hijil. Some of the rest of the crowd looked as well, watching the bulky shifter thoughtfully as the group turned their focus back on their sister. “Have caused our mother to sicken. It's your fault she's slowing.” “No sister who hurts our mother belongs with us.” One of the others, an older one by the scars she bore – a veteran of war and many skirmishes in the jungles. “So we showed you where you belonged. In the trees.” There were some protests from the other citizens – from sisters who knew hybrids, who were kin to hybrids, from sisters who did not like the tension in the air. Not everyone, it seemed, agreed with the sisters. But there were some that nodded their heads, and none were upset enough to do more than voice small protests. Another alkidike – this one with bandages on her hands and arms that spoke of claws, teeth, or (possibly) angry beaks – spoke up. “We'd have moved it further away, but we didn't want to do your work for you.” she made an ugly face and rubbed her bandages. Hijil hurt. Every word felt like a dagger and she looked away from the Alkidikes – the culprits – biting her lip to keep from crying right there in the square. Her desperate eyes scoured the faces of the other Alkidikes to find women she knew were their friends, seeking some kind of approval, some denial that what these Alkidikes were saying were untrue. She found neutrality, she found curiousity, she found surprise, she found head shaking dismay, but – directed at Bhima – she also found disapproval and disgust. She looked at the ground, fighting back tears. She didn't want it to get worse.
She put her hand on Bhima's shoulder gently, needing the contact to stabilize herself anyway. ”Bhima...” she warned...
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Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 11:11 am
At least one of them had the bravery to stand up. The anger in her chest boiled. What right did these people have to judge her life, and then to blame her?!
"In what way do you think I've made Aisha ill, hm?!" she barked, gesturing to the crowd. The scratches on her arms from Atipi's frightened tantrum were beginning to sting and it only served to reassure her rage. "What almighty wisdom has she imparted upon you, oh great Sister, to say who belongs where?!" She understood the logic. Shifters lived in the trees. Yes, very clever. Too bad it was so stereotypically bigoted.
It was Hijil's touch that brought her back down, that reminded her she was not alone here. She turned to her lover and her face melted from a posture of rage to concern. Hijil did not look well. The woman wasn't prone to any sort of fits of emotion, but this all as clearly bothering her. Forgetting about the sisters for a moment, she took the Shifter's hand. "What is it?" Her voice was a gentle breeze against her shouting moments before.
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