|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 3:42 pm
Ever since her daughters had left Yael Taijana found herself in a slump. She tried to keep a brave face for her remaining family, but more often than not she was prone to spending long days in her room expelling her sorrows with tears. Xenia's departure had been so abrupt that it tore a hole in Tai's already fragile heart, one that only seemed to fester now that Kitya was gone. Was she such a bad mother that one daughter would become a criminal and the other felt the need to leave? Am I cursed? What if our happiness was only an illusion?
When she started to believe that all of her wrong doings and misfortunes as a child had come back ten fold to haunt her children Taijana's family had pulled her back. For a while she was never allowed to be by herself. Things like 'work' and 'hunting' were benched for a while until she felt more like herself. Even then she was only allowed out in spurts; like today. Being out in nature was helping her mood, but knowing that she was being trailed by her brother, albeit some distance away, just made her feel...less than herself. Like she wasn't trying hard enough.
Still, Taijana ended up at the mouth of a large, open cave. It's large gaping jaw spanned several hundred feet making it one of the largest structures she'd seen yet, and just inside was a small natural spring. She'd come here a few times when her girls were still small and now...Tai shook her head. Just go in for a dip and relax.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:58 am
This time around Alizeh had been out playing with Yava, her mother's beast companion, rather than sneaking away. Of course that didn't mean she didn't end up farther away from her village than intended! She was having too much fun running around with the large insect that she hadn't paid attention to the boundaries and where she was going. So when Taijana made it to the cave she was just outside it on the other side, not quite visible. But she could be heard. Her giggles would likely reach the woman's ears as she ran around tress and ducked under low hanging branches. Alizeh was playing tag with Yava and the beast was It! Squeals of girly laughter left her as she narrowly dodged a lunge from the overgrown bug and continued to run around.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 4:13 pm
Even if Taijana hadn't been a trained huntress she wouldn't have been able to mistake the giggling of a child. Instead of being pleased to hear it, however, her ears flickered with apprehension. What child would be this far away from the city? Even the more rural homes were a ways behind her now, and Taijana had made sure this area was off local Yaeli charters so that her work wouldn't disturb anyone. She wasn't armed today, of course, but now she was starting to miss the weight of her crossbow on her arm...
Her skin practically vibrated as every little hair stood on end. What was out there? Was it a spirit? Or some malformed child, abandoned by it's mother for sins only the Gods could judge? Calm your mind, Taijana, it's fine. Still, no matter how much she tried to calm herself the fact she was still hearing laughter made the huntress bite her lower lip.
Steeling her nerves, Taijana pressed forward towards the noise, and peered around a tree at a sight that stole her breath. Elarian!...but a small one? But what if she wasn't alone? The beast with her was enough to keep Taijana on edge, but her legs were frozen still otherwise she might have run!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:16 pm
The laughter continued as she ran around dodging Yava. To anyone looking it was obvious to see that the large insect was missing on purpose, playing the game to make the child happy. Alizeh either hadn't noticed or didn't care. She was oblivious to someone watching as she weaved in and out of the trees. The little Elarian looked completely innocent with no weapons, no vicious look, no adult nearby, and playing a cute kids game. Ali got so far then turned and started to make her way back toward the cave, again weaving in and out of the trees. She was headed right for Taijana and had not a clue that the woman was even there yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:39 am
Taijana knew it would be easy to escape; a part of her absolutely knew that to be fact, so then why were her legs stuck to the ground? Her heart was practically beating so loud that it drowned out all other sounds in her ears. If she left now this...this thing could come after her siblings and if it got to them how long would it before it came after her children? She needed to run! To find someone and tell them!....or to take care of it now.
It's a child, Taijana.
She tried her best to keep an eye on the child and eventually her feet began to work once more. Taijana took a half step back, followed by another and another....Unfortunately she was slow and soon enough the child was coming straight for her - "Stop! Don't come any closer!" She called out, holding her hands in front of her as if it were enough to defend herself. The yaeli's voice, while clear and loud, was anything but sturdy. Her entire posture reeked of unchecked fear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 12:15 pm
She still had no idea there was anyone there, so when the voice rang out telling her to stop she did. Instantly and with some shock in her expression. Alizeh all at once stopped moving, stood still, made no sound, and stared at the Yaeli with wide eyes. Yava caught up to her and stayed by her side, though the bug seemed to crouch lower to the ground if possible. After a minute or two of looking at Taijana, the little Elaria took a step forward, her hand reaching out curiously. "Are you okay? Did I scare you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 12:32 pm
For that split moment the air between them hung heavy with an electric silence. Taijana was, without a doubt, ready to run, but caught in the crosshairs. What should I do? What am I supposed to do? If this were a wild animal she could do one of two things; either kill it where it stood or take it back for her husband to tame. Problem was this wasn't an animal, but rather a child and she didn't trust her parents not to be close by.
"D-don't do that. Don't move." Taijana tried to swallow back her nerves, but her throat was completely dry. The familiar ringing in her ears was starting to consume her, no matter how much she fought to control it. No, you can't faint now! If you do you won't wake up. And still she felt her knees buckling beneath her and Taijana into a crouch, still conscious by some miracle of the Gods.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 12:43 pm
The little girl stopped again, and looked at the woman with some concern. She didn't look so good. She seemed scared. Alizeh then remembered that her Oma had told her that the earthlings were like rabbits and easily startled. So she crouched down along with the woman, her hand still outstretched toward Taijana. "Shh, its okay bunny." Maybe speaking to her would help soothe her some? Very slowly she moved closer, keeping herself low to the ground and talking as softly as possible. "You're safe bunny, no one is going to hurt you." Ali was trying to be reassuring.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:20 pm
"B-b-bunny?" The absurdity of it was enough to catch Taijana's attention. Her brows furrowed and despite the frantic way she was breathing the sheer strangeness of the situation kept her grounded.
She didn't like having the elarian so close, and it showed with the way she tensed, despite the child's calm body language. For every inch she moved closer Taijana leaned back until eventually she fell back on her butt and the jarring was enough to elicit a scared squeak from the huntress. Why wasn't she attacking? Was she buying time until the bigger elarians came? Tai couldn't help darting her eyes around her, as if a hoard would descend on her at any moment and -
"If you're going to kill me...p-p-please do it fast."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:39 pm
She took her time in getting closer to the woman so she didn't spook her too much. By the time Taijana fell back onto her butt Ali was a mere seven feet away. It made the little girl pause for a second to make sure that the earthling was OK. Then came the looking around, that was normal since the other earthling had done that, and the plea to make it fast. That made Alizeh stand up so that she was no longer crouched down. "Kill you?" She giggled and shook her head as she closed the distance between them. "Silly bunny. I'm not gonna do that. Are you okay? You fell on your butt and you seem scared. Are you lost?" Ali didn't know her way around the earthling villages but she knew which direction they were in. "I know which direction you should go if you're lost." Alizeh couldn't take her back personally since it might get her into trouble or scare the other Yaeli.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 1:32 pm
Why did the child look as confused as Taijana was? It was enough to take away some of her fear, but it was just as quickly replaced with a brain fog. "I-I-I said to stop." She tried to sound intimidating, really she did, but Tai's voice came out as a squeak. When it came to interactions with animals and beasts she was as strong a huntress as any, but something like this...she just couldn't keep her composure.
"...I'm not lost, I was going to the cave. My brother's going to meet me there." It was only partially a lie. She wasn't about to say if she was okay or not because that much was obvious, and at the very least her brother was close, even if he wasn't exactly coming this way. Maybe the promise of more earthlings would scare her away?
"...Why aren't you trying to kill me?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2021 6:21 am
Knowing that the woman wasn't lost was a relief. Of course hearing that her brother was coming made Alizeh nod her head. "Okay, that's good. I was worried for a second." She crouched down next to Taijana and reached out to pat her on the head gently with a smile. "I'll wait with you until he gets here just in case." That was the responsible thing to do right? Alizeh didn't want to be irresponsible. Yava made a noise that caused her to look over at the bug. She shook her head and shooed him away with her hand. It was then that she also heard the question about why she wasn't trying to kill the lady. This made the little girl blink with a confused look again. "I don't want to hurt you." Alizeh shook her head with a worried look. "What's your name? I don't think you want me to call you little bunny. Mine is Alizeh." She pointed at her chest when she said her own name.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 10:57 am
Why is she okay with that? Shouldn't she be scared? Having Tyrios coming wasn't supposed to be a good thing and that just...It was making Taijana feel as if she was over-reacting, yet again, but that wasn't it! This was an elarian! This was normal behavior, right?
She couldn't help closing her eyes when the child reached out to touch her head, preparing for the worst, and when it didn't come Taijana slowly opened them. "...You're an elarian. I'm a yaeli..." Taijana spoke slowly, much more for her own understanding than the child's. Than Alizeh's. Having a name put to the fact made her seem all the more like a normal little girl and that was messing with her.
She acts just like your daughters.
"...My name's Taijana." Swallowing down a fearful breath, she straightened, just a little. "You...shouldn't be here when he comes. He won't be happy to see you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 7:16 pm
"Taijana is such a pretty name." She squatted back down in front of the lady and put her elbows on her knees so that her hands could hold her chin up. Alizeh smiled at her again. "No?" Did he not like kids? She knew there were some old grumpy Alkidikes in her village that didn't like kids much either. Always complained when they were around. "How about when I hear him coming I'll go hide?" That way he wouldn't be grumpy. She giggled and reached out again to pat the lady on the head. "I'm usually the shy one but that's you today. I was just really worried when you fell over." She closed her eyes as she smiled widely at Taijana. "I didn't expect to see anyone. I didn't know I came this far out." It made her wonder if her mother was looking for her now. Would she get in trouble for playing around? Would she be grounded again?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2021 4:17 pm
"That...would be best." Taijana answered softly, her wide doe like eyes softening just a bit. It was hard not to be pulled in by the child. No matter how much Taijana wanted to be fearful this was a child after all. Regardless of what kind of person she grew to become there was an air of innocence about her that reminded Taijana too much of her own offspring.
She felt her cheeks flush a little when Alizeh patted her. In any other situation the act might have been taken condescendingly, but Taijana was too much of a mess to concentrate on it. "...You shouldn't stay out here for long. Your family will worry about you, especially if you get lost." Wouldn't it be for the best if she never went home? It would be one less to threaten your hom- Taijana stilled her mind and let out a calming exhale. Now wasn't the time to give into her paranoia.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
