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 Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 3:19 pm
The hot, humid land of Matori had proven to be very beautiful but the stunning sights the land had to offer rarely graced Istanell's thoughts. Mostly he was focused on keeping the overwhelming feeling of loss that had sunk deep into his bones from consuming him entirely. That, and he was sick of the sand. It was everywhere… not only on the land but it felt like the harder he tried to keep it off of him the more he felt it itching against his skin and against his scalp. Traveling close to the water had been something of a mistake, though he'd been unable to help it after hearing about the beautiful ocean from many inhabitants. Sticking close to the boarders would have been the smarter move, which he'd heard were less sandy. And the trees! How disappointing it was to travel into all of these lands and find such disappointing trees… the lands seemed to contain more arboreta than actual forests.
Istanell sighed deeply as he hung back from the earthlings moving through the village area, his stomach giving an irritable rumble. The constant feeling of never being full was not a new one since he'd been forced on this journey and with every new day came more will power to ignore it. The food in these lands was also weird and since he'd split away from V'Rin he'd been less reluctant to just eat any of the random found flora that at least seemed editable. It didn't matter so much here, he'd found. It rained even more often than his homelands, which was a blessing. His bright eyes shifted up to the sky, scanning it until he spotted some dark clouds in the distance. It wouldn't rain for a while yet, he thought.
He reached up and over his shoulder to run his thumb along a portion of his bow string, the bow resting comfortably across his chest. Well, as comfortably as he could manage. Some days it was especially irritating to his newest scar, but that was life. He would have to restring it soon… the problem with not having food and needing to restring your weapon, of course, was money. Istanell had very little of it, he didn't want to spend it without planning ahead. He chewed on his bottom lip and his hands dropped to his side, brushing against the sheathed sword at his side. Old, hadn't been sharpened in a while… either weapon could probably fetch him some currency to work with…
He began to push his way through the other earthlings, pleased it wasn't as heavy foot traffic here as it was in some of the other places he'd been. He was getting close to the Oba boarders… he needed to make some decisions soon because somewhere across those borders was where Incanthis had been last... and if Serin was finally smiling on his family again his younger brother would be there still. It felt like a very long time since he'd felt the blessing of Serin's smile.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 3:30 pm
A little Oban child was seen wandering around. She had a bag of goodies with her but seemed to be bending down and looking at the ground. What was she looking for? "Amastad. Oh Amastad?" Kalliope called. Apparently there was a creature she was looking for and it was among the feet of others. Taking a piece of the food out of her bag she held it out and waited to see if she got an answer from the beastie she was searching for. Every so often the youngling would look up and make sure there was no one that was going to run her over from not paying attention. During one of those times she noticed someone that stood out quite a bit. His skin was very dark. Standing up she'd watch the person as he seemed to shoulder his way through some of the people. Kalli gave a smile and decided to go over and say hi. He was different just like her. With a bounce she'd land in front of him and give a giggling grin. "Hi!" Kalliope cooed at him happily.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 4:19 pm
Istanell had been scanning the crowd diligently, making sure not to stare even when some scenes still caught him unaware. Anything from the finned ears of the Matori, which he still hadn't grown accustomed to, to the odd things he saw them eating. His gaze had just been sweeping back towards the crowd in front of him when he had to stop short, even going so far as to taking a step back. The scowl that graced his features was formidable paired with the ragged clothes and the scarred body. The only thing that might have countered his look was his long hair, intricately braided with ribbons running through, though even that had started to grow messy.
His hand tightened on the hilt of his blade, the offending party as small... younger than his Issaly by a handful of years. The reminder of his brother sent a sad slump to his shoulders, though the scowl remained. This little earthling girl had the bright red hair and eyes that marked her Oba, which filled Istanell with an immense hatred despite her youth. His gaze snapped away from her and over the surrounding crowd, though he did not see any adults of her kind. He released the weapon his father had given him long ago, resting his hand on his hip instead.
His eyes lingered on the food in her hand and his stomach gave another irritable grumble, demanding attention. "Tcht." The irritated sound passed his lips, mostly from his own thoughts of stealing from this child. He should have devoted some of his time to hunting, to gathering... he'd been so focused on his goal of reaching the Oban boarders though... and if he could not even deal with this small child? What would happen when he entered into the thick of these vile earthlings? Maybe he could refuse to speak to any of them.
"You shouldn't talk to strangers." He finally stated, though with an air of reluctance about his words. He knew there were some in this world that wouldn't hesitate to take her away.... some who might gut her right then and there, consequences be damned. Mostly her own people were coming to mind, but still.
He moved to go around her.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 4:30 pm
The scowl that was on the male's face made her wonder if something was wrong. Maybe he'd had a bad day? She wouldn't doubt it. Kalliope had noticed that a lot of people were having bad days today. Of course some of those bad days may have been caused by them finding Amastad in their food. She gave a childish grimace at the memory of it. Still when the dark man told her not to talk to strangers she looked slightly ashamed. He was right, of course. It wasn't like she was going to find someone here that would be friendly. Kalli had learned that with Azure. While he was still stiff around her she hoped to get him to actually be her friend in the future. Which was one reason she had wandered back into Matori. She was looking for him but also searching for something to get him. When the boy went to walk around her she moved to be back in his way. "Wait.." She said before she dug around in her bag and pulled out a simple apple. "Here. Your tummy growled. You're hungry, right? I can share." The little girl had to give a darling smile as she spoke to make the offer a bit sweeter.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 4:50 pm
When the small one told him to wait he'd automatically complied to the wish, half turning to watch her. At the very sight of the apple being offered to him he felt his mouth starting to salivate and his stomach twist uncomfortably. When he watched others eat he was usually much better at killing off this natural reaction... he felt his hand twitch at his side and had to school himself not to reach out and snatch it from her. Children... were amazing. It wasn't that kindness was void from his travels... it was more so that he and V'Rin had spent most of their time avoiding crowds unless it was absolutely imperative that they did otherwise. He tried to remind himself that even though she was Oban... she was still just a youngling, still had the blessing of naivety. Not true of all youths, who learned quickly of their elders' habits. Unfortunately that usually included bigotry, something Istanell was well versed in.
He should be ashamed of himself, wanting nothing to do with this child. He'd been raised a warrior, true, but he'd also been raised as a care taker... as a protecter of his younger brothers.
When it came down to it, it would be stupid to refuse free food of any sort. The grimace slid away from his face and he sighed deeply again before crouching down, holding out his hand for her to place the apple. He could learn something from this little girl, about offering to help when so many had so little, but likely he'd forget that lesson. "I am." He answered her, unsure of what to say really. He was still fighting with himself, still having thoughts of taking the fruit and being on his way. "Who is looking after you?" He knew that it was good to give some freedom to the little ones, but usually it was a false pretense. Usually neighbors and family members were around to keep a tactful eye out. He wasn't sure even why he was asking, why he cared.
He took a large bite of the apple while he waited for her response, his jaw hurting as he chewed. It was an odd sensation, after going such a long time without eating. Before he had even swallowed the first bite he was already taking a second, wondering if it would have been better to have rejected the offer after all. Certainly this small snack would only make him that much hungrier.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 5:02 pm
The little red head was happy to see that he'd stopped and even looked at what she was offering him. Her glee seemed to grow when he knelt down to her level and held his hand out for the apple. Kalliope wouldn't keep it from him, so she placed it right on his palm. His question about who was watching her made her look away from him in a very innocent manner. "Well.. no one is with me right now if that is what you mean." There was a small amount of fidgeting on her end, her toes rubbing together as she did her best to look anywhere but at the dark man in front of her. The crunch of the fruit made her look back and she giggled as he took another bite before he'd finished the one. He must have been hungrier than he had let on. That gave her an idea. Going once more into her little bag she pulled out what she wanted then handed the bag to him. "Here." There was enough in it to fill his stomach for one meal at least. Kalli did the slight twisting of her body as she waited for him to take the offered bag, her other hand bringing her fruit to her mouth. "It has dried meat and bread too." It would have held cheese but she'd eaten that already.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 5:26 pm
Istanell paused as he went to bite into the 'core' of the apple, never having understood why some would throw this part of the apple away. It certainly was a little less pleasant than the rest of the juicy fruit, but edible no less. Well, wasn't she good at avoiding a proper answer? He bit down on his bottom lip to keep the smile that wanted so desperately to come out away from his face. Little kids were funny when they thought they were being slick... but there was also some discomfort at the back of his mind. Her answer either meant she was very naughty child, or a very lonely one. He wasn't going to pry though, he had to draw the line somewhere. "Well, make sure you don't stay away for too long. Someone will worry." He honestly hoped the little girl did have someone worrying for her. He wondered how much worry he was causing his brothers.
He pulled the stem from his mouth and flicked it away, wiping his hands on his pants. Oh for the love of Serin! Dried meat! His hand had moved so he could take the bag from her almost automatically. He cleared his throat and instead moved to pat her on the head. "I can't take that from you." He said simply, feeling ashamed he'd had such negative thoughts of this child. It was clear she was very kind, despite being Oban.
"I can hunt my own food." He added, remembering it was good to reassure the young minds. He tapped his bow, glancing over his shoulder to his quiver. He'd have to pay extra attention to where he shot, if he even bothered wasting time with hunting. It consumed a lot of it, and he couldn't really afford it. But he couldn't afford to starve, either. Meat. How long had it been since he'd tasted meat? Dried or otherwise... "If you really want to part with that," He tapped the side of the bag, "You should ask for something in return." Istanell was very aware that he had little to offer, of course. "Favors count, when bartering. Kindness is... good, but too much and people will take advantage of you."
Did he really have to be so hard wired to teach life lessons? He should pull himself away, stand up and leave!
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 5:41 pm
When he mentioned making someone worry she shook her head. "I won't be gone too long." She again did the body twist but this time she had a sneaky smile on her face. "I am out looking for a gift. I want to get my friend, Azure, something for when I see him again." Kalliope grinned at the declaration she'd made. The child was still really excited about having made a friend that wasn't one of her siblings. When the boy made a move to take the bag but decided to avert his hand to her head instead she went half cross eyed trying to watch where the limb went. Blinking her eyes clear she could only stare at him. "You're not taking it, I'm giving it." Clearly she was making a play on words a lot. Which meant she'd likely had to deal with someone that was clever a lot. She fell into a silence as he told her that she could ask for something in return for the bag of food. It didn't take her long before she took advantage of that. With the boy still being at her level she moved to wrap her arms around his neck and hug him. "You can be my friend then!" The child appeared to be kind and affectionate. "I'm Kalli." The youngling offered.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 7:02 pm
He was fairly still in contrast to the little girl, twisting about like it might have pained her to stand still and have a 'conversation' like this. A gift? How long had it been since he'd been able to afford such an extravagant thing as a gift for someone... of course, you didn't always have to buy gifts. "Ah-huh." Issaly had been around this age when... well, when it had all gone down hill. He was surprised at the little girl's independence... but he supposed war did things like that. "What sort of gift?"
He snorted, his mouth twisting in amused annoyance. Someone had to take something if you wanted to give something successfully, right? "Semantics." He mumbled, unable to hide the slight quirk of his lips this time around.
He had to steady himself when the little girl was suddenly hugging him, eyes going wide and hands moving outwards to keep his balance. What in the name of Serin?! Istanell stayed squatted like that, frozen, for what felt like a very long time. It'd been almost as long as he'd seen any of his brothers since he'd had such an affectionate gesture thrust upon him.
Maybe being Oban didn't count for children... maybe. He cleared his throat and after a moment hugged the child back, eyes shutting as he squeezed. Sure it was weird to just hug some random child you met, but he... well, he missed hugs. He missed his brothers, especially Issaly. He'd been about this young and... how many years had Istanell missed of his youngest sibling's life now? His throat felt tight, and he coughed as he unwrapped his arms from her, hands loosely on her shoulders.
"Your friend, huh? Well alright Kalli. My name is Istanell." Friends with an Oban... what was he thinking? Well, maybe it didn't matter so much. He'd be on his way soon enough, it was unlikely he'd see this little girl again. He took the bag of food from her, though this time he restrained himself from stuffing his face. "Well, since you're my new friend Kalli, how about I help you find a gift for this mysterious Azure?" Because seriously, he should do something kind in return. His mother had taught them kindness, even if their father hadn't. And if he couldn't be kind on a day to day basis... at least he could be kind in the face of kindness, right?
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 7:21 pm
Getting a hug in return was like gold to her. Kalli couldn't help the grin. "Yay! I have another friend!" The girl practically bounced up and down at the thought. When he stopped hugging and took the bag from her the little red headed Oban giggled. "Istanell. I like it." As he offered to help her find a gift for her friend she nodded her head. "I'd like that." Almost instantly she took his hand in her own but paused for a moment. Giving a thoughtful look her dark eyes would go from his face to the bag and then back. "Oh, you should eat first. Mama says if you don't eat your body gets weak." The thought of her new friend being weak made her draw her brows together and look genuinely worried about him. "I don't want you to get weak." Her tiny hand went from his large hand to his cheek. Her other hand soon joined in and she was cupping his face gently. "Make sure you eat the vegetables too. They don't taste the best but they are important." She gave a firm nod of her head even though she was only repeating what her mother always told her.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 7:49 pm
He'd forgotten how joyful children were, how innocent. Maybe it was good this little Oban girl had come up to him in the street... yes, a good reminder. He could spare some time to help her, especially since he received something so precious as the food.
When she took his hand he almost pulled it away, but reminded himself children were like this. A lot of children, anyways. Istanell had liked to cuddle with his family, though that was the extent of his affections. Really the only other interaction he got with other children was mainly sparring, usually older ones at that. Still, he'd be grateful to finally stand up. He could probably squat like this no problem for hours but he'd really been over doing it where his body was concerned. He didn't want to cramp his muscles, not when he was planning to keep traveling so soon. He started to rise up when she turned to look at him and he crouched back down as she started to talk again.
Well, at least she'd confirmed she did have parents. You know who else gets weak? Earthlings attacked by the Oban. He kept that thought to himself, though, and was happy for the years it'd taken him to learn to hold his tongue. "That's a very good point but–" Her tiny little hands were cupping his face and he just sort of cut off because really? He seriously had forgotten about how great kids were.
When she commented on the vegetables he found himself grinning, the first full smile he'd given Kalli. For Istanell it was probably the equivalent to laughter, these days. "Pfft, what are you talking about? The vegetables are the best part." Fruit was better, but you had to encourage youth to eat vegetables, since they were important. He pulled his face away so he could dig around in the bag, pulling out some bread. He hadn't had bread in ages, since you couldn't hunt bread and he didn't really think it was a good idea to spend what little money he managed to scrape together on it. "How about I eat this while we walk, fair?" He started to stand up, encouraging her to say yes to his 'request'.
He did lean down though. "I'll eat the vegetables later." He stage whispered, before ripping a bit of the bread off and holding it out to her. "Meals are better shared, you know." He missed having his meals with V'Rin, honestly. Even if the idiot did chew with his mouth open.
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Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 4:21 am
Her nose would give a small wrinkle when he said the vegetables were the best. Kalli would even go so far as to shake her head. "I don't like the taste." She preferred sweeter tasting foods which wasn't always a good thing. As Istanell stood up she took hold of his pants instead of his hand so that he could eat while they walked. Her other hand took the offered bread and she giggled. "Thank you." Almost instantly she took a bite. As all little kids did, Kalli soon started to gush about her friend. "I don't know what to get Azure. He's a matori and he's as big as you." The little girl didn't even stop to think that Istanell might assume Azure was a former slave to her family. "I want to get him something nice. He saved me from a snapptrotter and helped me to get home." She continued to ramble about her friend, excited to tell someone about him. "I promised him that when I got bigger I would dance for him. Oh I can dance for you too!" Kalliope had her face turned up so that she could grin widely at Istanell.
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 6:30 am
Not many older children liked the taste, as far as he could tell. It was a strange thing, especially when you saw the even younger children eating whatever was given to them happily. Istanell was of the mindset that disliking all vegetables was a learned thing. He thought some vegetables were definitely sweet... it would be petty to argue this point with a child though.
He eyed her hand for a moment and was glad it wasn't the side his sword hung from. That wouldn't have done at all. He found himself smiling very slightly as she took a bite of the bread, again thinking about memories of his brothers.
"Matorian huh?" Well, that certainly was a Radaku of a different color. He eyed the young Oban again, frowning slightly. His general idea of the Matorian were that they liked the Oban less than even his people, having been under their enslavement for many, many years. Again he was reminded that perhaps not everyone of the same race shared the same mindset. "Snaptrotter?" He mumbled, more to himself. He had heard the name in passing but had yet to see one for himself. The general idea he'd gotten was large water lizard, though. "Well. That was very kind of him. I've seen that they like shells a lot." At least, he'd seen many with bits and baubles and shells seemed a popular choice.
He blinked as he looked down at her wide smile, head tilting a little. When she was bigger it was unlikely they would meet again... the world was a big place and Istanell had no intention of staying in this parts. He smiled anyways, though not as enthusiastically as the child. "Well that would be nice. Dancing seems really interesting." Istanell had only ever watched some dances being performed, he'd never attempted to dance himself. If he was being really honest, which he wouldn't with such a young earthling, most dancing looked exactly the same anyways.
When he finished his bread he brushed his hands together before offering on to Kalli.
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 6:53 am
She took the offered hand and got just a little bit closer to him, happy to be walking with him. "Oh, what if I got him a shell necklace?" Yes, Kalli thought, a necklace would be nice. Azure was sure to wear it. The youngling bounced slightly. Once more she would look up at Istanell. "Really? I promise to get really good at dancing this way you and Azure can see." Without warning she latching onto him and wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug. "I love you. And Azure too."
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 7:31 am
The shifter gave off the impression of actually thinking about this. It wasn't uncommon for males to wear jewelry, though Istanell would probably never don himself with such impractical baubles. His father had been adamant about gender roles, even where the rest of his tribe and the world were not. The day his father had presented Issaly with a necklace in remembrance of their late mother had been a shock, both for the kindness it entailed as well as the fact that it was a necklace. Even with his father gone he thought perhaps all of his scars would present some discomfort if anything like that rubbed against them. "That seems like a good idea." Really Istanell couldn't properly say, he knew nothing about this Azure other than the fact that he was Matorian.
Istanell supposed it was good to have goals when one was young. His goal had always been to be a better fighter... though how much of it was his goald and how much of it was his father's goal was debatable. He was about to offer some words of encouragement when suddenly the little girl was latching onto him, causing him to half step forward awkwardly. He was glad she wasn't much bigger, he probably would have tripped from the sudden stopping of forward movement.
His eyes went wide and he stood very still. He probably looked very funny, again his arms raised awkwardly as if he was unsure what to do with them. Kids were wild, weren't they? So easy to decide such weighted decisions. Istanell would never make such an admission to someone he'd just met, regardless of if he felt a connection to them or not. After a moment he ran a hand gently over the top of her head. "Thank you." His voice was soft, with a hint of confusion lacing it. He would not return her sentiments, that was the sort of lie you never told anyone. He found her to be quite charming, quite adorable... but he did not love this little child. In all reality she was a stranger still... the innocence of children was amazing.
"Kalli, look." Again his voice was gentle, trying to break her away from the moment as he pointed at a vendor's booth not far from where they were standing. It held all sorts of charms and bracelets, as well as necklaces. "It seems we are in luck, it looks like they could have something for your friend Azure."
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