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 Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2021 11:40 pm
Katori was setting up camp for the night when the first star fell across the horizon. "Hmm?" Furrowing her brow in confusion, Katori blinked several times before staring at the sky intently. Had she actually seen something or was it a trick of exhaustion? She had left Oba so that she could travel through Tale and hadn't stopped for much rest or anything really. It wasn't as if she were in some sort of emergency but more so a competition to see more of the landscape before her brother returned from Matori to meet her back in Oba. Perhaps I was a bit too engrossed in the competition. Despite her exhaustion a grin crossed her lips as she continued to set up her tent, a small blot on the mostly flat landscape full of slowly waving grasses, their crystalized sides chiming ever so quietly in the breeze. It was only faintly chilly and Katori was enjoying the feeling of the evening air against her skin. The heat of Oba had worn her down but this temperature was more akin to home and she loved every moment of it. If not for the threat of witu she would almost be tempted to avoid creating a fire but since it was for the best Katori settled for a small campfire just to the south of her tent. A few root vegetables and some nuts had been placed around the base of the firepit and she plopped on the ground while waiting on them to fully roast. She couldn't wait to peel the skin from the hot vegetables and sprinkle some of the Oban spices on the insides. A cheap camping trick but one that she thoroughly enjoyed and perhaps the only reason she actually had stopped to make camp for the night.
"Seriously though...was there actually something going on?" Katori let out a sigh as she leaned her head back onto her arms and stared at the evening sky. It was getting darker by the minute and she was starting to see even more stars as the final rays of sun disappeared from the horizon. Even the moon was barely there tonight as its waning face cast only a sliver of light across the landscape of glittering grasses. Katori pursed her lips thoughtfully before glancing back towards her quristine who was resting closer to the tent, his head bowed as he browsed through the fields for anything worth nibbling on. Content to see that nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary around him, Katori glanced back up towards the sky once more to study the stars as they continued to multiple above her.
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 3:40 am
Generally speaking, Morain wasn't the triplet voted most likely to run off somewhere. Siel was easily the people person among them, although Lutana wasn't far behind him albeit in her own style of being mysterious and captivating. Morain was... eccentric, perhaps, in the way he dressed, but more happy to flit about after his siblings (when he could find them), or sit at camp sewing pretty things or talking to people in their caravans than going on adventures.
As light began to fade into dusk, Morain had opted to seek out the telltale glimmer of campfires that dotted the horizon, showing where travelers had pitched tents for the night, in hopes to find that Siel was flirting with some bemused pretty person there, or Lutana was sifting through the grasses in search of something macabre to fawn over. Surprisingly, there were a number of makeshift camps popping up, since they followed a major road back north toward Jauhar.
He was rather out in the middle of nowhere, cast adrift between the strewn out map of campfires, when a star shot through the air above him. Morain paused and looked up, angling his head to try and peer around, wondering if the flash had been some sort of trick of the light. When the strange flash failed to duplicate itself, he shrugged and continued on, glad that he'd worn his boots and didn't have to worry about the crystals crunching underfoot.
As he neared the campfire that would, unfortunately, be his last one to search before giving up and trying to pick his way back to his parents', Morain raised an arm, weighed down with a sheer shawl embroidered with glittering silver stars and crescent moons, and smiled. "Hello! Is someone named Siel here? Or Lutana?" He asked, rather to the point as he drew closer - only to pause when he realized there was some sort of beast that he'd missed nearby - a sharp looking one, at that, if not as fearsome as a janarim.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 2:48 pm
Yawning, Katori found herself stretching her arms high above her head as the sound of flickering flames threatened to lull her to sleep. No, no can't do that just yet. She repeated as she pulled herself up into a sitting position and rubbed the palms of her hands against her eyes to fight off the tempting sensation. There was still the food roasting by the fire and she needed to eat first. If she fell asleep now then it would all be burned! Katori's gaze narrowed at the thought as she fought back against another yawn, the action escaping her before she could stop it. "Spirits, I'm tired!" She moaned before nearly jumping out of her skin as suddenly the 'spirits' spoke to her. She didn't actually mean for anyone to speak up! Maybe using the spirits name constantly was a bad idea after all!
"Wha-what?!" Katori moved swiftly, her body twisting as she swung into an upward stance and her surprise growing when she found herself staring at a stranger. "Siel or Lutana?" She repeated quietly with a frown as she tried to make out the features of the other earthling in the dim evening light, the flickering of the fire making it hard to distinguish much save for....black eyes? An Alkidike hybrid? There was something at the back of her mind but with the shock of another person actually appearing it was quickly shoved aside. Why would she know anyone out here in Tale? She was a stranger to this country and no where near her home in Zena. Her silver gaze was entranced as she noticed something glittering around the stranger's arms, the designs of the sheer material catching in the light of the crackling fire. "Pretty." She mused before blinking some more in surprise as she noticed another joining them. "Star, no!" Katori darted forward as she spotted her quristine reaching out to try and nibble lightly at the material in his quest for an evening snack.
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 4:48 pm
Oh. Morain paused in his approach, holding his hands up innocently as the pretty woman, a bit older than him, spun to look at him. He heard her murmuring something, but he couldn't quite make out the words, so he stepped a bit closer, hands still raised-
At least, until she called out towards him. Moments later, he felt the slight tug at his arm, and turned his head to look, breath catching. "Oh dear-" He lamented in a somber, but calm tone, shrugging his shoulder sharply to move the cloth out of the way before the beast could mouth at it too intently.
Thankfully, it took little effort to wind the shawl up so it was no longer as tempting, and the quristine's only sign of disdain was a stamp of one hoofed foot and a flick of its ears.
... Still, Morain couldn't say he was used to having such a large beast so close that he wasn't familiar with- Morrigan, his father's raptrix, had been given to Ygraine years ago, and Morain had stayed far off when Sol came with his raptrix...
"Is he, ah... always this friendly--" He hedged hopefully, only to become distracted by another bit of movement in the sky. He looked up, just in time to spot another shooting star. Oh-- if only he was here with Lutana, she'd know exactly what this omen meant--
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 6:00 pm
Thank goodness that Star was willing to relinquish his hold on the fine material. Katori still felt a twinge of guilt in her gut as the other earthling twisted their shawl together, her teeth biting into her bottom lip as she tried to think about what to do next. Thankfully it appeared that the stranger was quite willing to talk rather than yell at her familiar or herself for the gnawed on garment. "Friendly? A little bit, yeah." She managed with a soft chuckle. "He's very notorious for trying to eat almost anything that appears edible which is why I should have just called him chonkers from the get go." Katori reached out to Star while she spoke and ran her fingers lovingly across the quristine's cheeks, her silver gaze more amused than frustrated with the beast. His little snort of protest and the way he flicked his ears before was adorable though she hoped it wasn't too rude for him to try and nudge the stranger's shoulder with his nose. Immediately she pursed her lips again as the quristine seemed intent on bothering their visitor.
"I really am sorry. If you need me to compensate you for the shawl I can offer some coin..." Katori began before another shooting star caught her attention and she let out a delighted gasp of surprise. "Did you see that?!" She breathed, her hands leaving the quristine so that she could move forward as if trying to track the stars. Could there truly be a meteor shower tonight? If her eyes weren't playing tricks on her before then that meant a few stars had already fallen across the skies! "How lucky!" Katori smiled before glancing back towards the stranger with a bright smile. "They say that a celestial event is always a sign of a blessed meeting and good fortune."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 6:13 pm
[3/7] Only a little? Morain angled his head to peer at the beast again, though his own expression was carefully blank. It wasn't that he was angry at the creature, just... wary of it. And not for the reason the girl seemed to think - yes, he didn't want his shawl eaten, but he also didn't want to be gored by a wayward horn either! And he had plenty of pretty things at home to replace it, if it was somehow damaged...
"Chonkers?" Morain finally echoed, and finally a laugh broke from his disbelieving throat, shaking his head helplessly. Well... she was touching it without fear, and it seemed like an herbivore (not that Morain knew TOO much about beasts, admittedly--) so... he let his nervousness settle somewhat. At least, until the thing (Star, she had fittingly called it) ignored her and instead began to bump its massive head against him again.
This... at least, was more cute than threatening, even if he still felt a buzz of nervous energy in his stomach.
"The shawl? Oh-- oh, no, it's a hand me down, really, it's okay--" Morain began quickly, realizing his error in staying silent before.
But this time, both of them were distracted by the stars. Stars which, he realized with a rush of relief and excitement, she seemed able to decrypt. Lucky, she'd said, and when she looked at him he returned her smile with a bright one of his own, only for his dark eyes to widen slightly at her divination. "Celestial event? Your friend is 'Star', I had the fortune to wear this-" He laughed airily as he flipped the starry embedded shawl over his shoulder, further tucking it (he hoped) away from the nibbling beast stubbornly nosing at him. "And now the stars themselves- my sister, Lutana, said once that things happening in 'threes' is an omen, too."
An omen of 'what' though he couldn't say. Maybe he was just flirting with her, like Siel would have done, though much less successfully. He instead scooted a bit, as if trying to put her between her creature and himself again.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 8:16 pm
[4/7] Katori found herself smiling whenever she heard the stranger's laugh. It was a rather pleasant sound and she was hopefully considering that a sign that they weren't too bothered by Star after all. "I least I believe that's the right word in common for it." She replied almost sheepishly as she patted the quristine's neck and tried to gently shove him away from the other earthling. "He's a bit hefty though apparently male quristine are supposed to be bigger than the females." She totally wanted to blame Taaru for giving him so many snacks but even now that she had been without her twin for a couple of weeks it appeared that Star was no where near ready to become anything remotely scrawny. "I promise other than being nosey and greedy for food he's harmless." He was a gentle giant for certain. Once or twice she had seen him rear up against bandits when she encountered a fight but it was only after he saw them draw weapons that he became aggressive to protect her.
Katori pursed her lips and glanced back towards the other earthling, "Either way I should take responsibility if my familiar did any damage to your shawl. Hopefully it's alright but if not I can do my best to help clean it or buy you a new one." She nodded firmly as she studied the other earthling. They seemed younger than her but not by too much and so far had done nothing to make her feel threatened. Surely it was alright to keep speaking with them like this, especially since it was already so late in the evening. Did they even have a place to stay? Her thoughts were sidetracked by the appearance of the meteor shower and she found her smile growing as her companion talked about all of the coincidences of their encounter. "Is that so? What type of omen could it be, I wonder?" Katori tilted her head and made no comment as the stranger scooted closer to her side. Instead she gave Star a few final pats along his neck and thought to deter him from nibbling at her companion further by offering a treat from the pouch at her side. Once the quristine retrieved the long orangish vegetable from her palms he slowly drifted to the side to enjoy it by himself in the grass.
"Lutana...you mentioned looking for others earlier. Are you lost?" She asked quietly with a frown. "If there's anything I can do to help then feel free to let me know. Since the stars are shining on our meeting it's only right that I help you after all." She grinned almost playfully before glancing up as another star darted past. "My name is Katori and I have some food roasting by the fire if you're hungry as well." The girl offered as she kept an eye out for more falling stars. Should she suspect more from their meeting because of the celestial connections that they seemed to share tonight? It truly was strange but at the same time Katori wasn't certain exactly what to think. She believed that the spirits played tricks with others in the mountains of Zena but what about here in Tale? Could stars truly play a role in someone's fate?
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 7:00 pm
[4/7]
Quristine, she'd said. So that was what this strange looking beast was called. Well... Morain had little choice but to trust her when she said he was safe, and despite its size, Star hadn't made any sort of motion to trample him, so she was likely telling the truth. As for the shawl, he was slightly bemused that she was so determined to replace it. He huffed a soft chuckle, and decided to humor her by staying silent, even when he had absolutely no intention of holding her to any such thing.
Especially not when the stars were so much more interesting. "'Good things come in threes', apparently." Morain said matter of factly, nodding to himself. As for her friendly offer, Morain smiled warmly at the sweet girl, shifting so he could rest thumb against his chin in a thoughtful pose. "That's very nice, but my parents have a camp off that way." He said with a dismissive flick of his hand in the direction he'd come. "I'm Morain. Siel and Lutana... they are my siblings, and they've gone off to explore, is all. I... didn't want to spend dinner on my own, and was hoping to find them before... all this happened." He tilted his head back to show he was looking at the sky again, since his eyes made it difficult for others to keep track of just what he was looking at.
Generally, it seemed to unnerve people, but Katori... hadn't made any suggestion that it was unpleasant to her.
Katori. The name... tugged at his mind, insistently, but... he didn't know where he'd heard the name before...
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2021 12:21 pm
Scarlett Arbuckle ;-; I'm so sorry this took forever!
Katori reached forward with a stick so that she could grab the covered food from the fire. "Hot." She quickly placed them into a wooden bowl and shook her hands as if to free them from the heat. "I'm usually from Zena, my mother has an animal sanctuary up there where my cousin usually cooks for us so I'm not the best traveling cook but hopefully this is okay." As another star streaked across the sky the girl turned and offered the array of roasted nuts and spiced ground roots with other vegetables she had gathered towards her new companion.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 7:49 am
Sabra Knight don't be you're amazing ;3 [5/7] At least she found his words amusing, and not simply childish. Still... though she'd invited him to sit by her fire, when she began to move about and offer her food... and to let him stay at her camp for the night, his eyes widened and he half rose from his seat, hands raised to wave off the offers. "Oh- I mean, that's really nice of you, but my camp isn't far - I've got plenty of food--" Too late! She'd already fished the food from the fire, wincing sympathetically as she shook her fingers out.
"Thank you." He finished, lamely, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit in awkward embarrassment.
Thankfully, Katori offered a measure of distraction, and he was more than happy to jump at it eagerly. "It looks delicious." He responded, brightly, flashing a white toothed grin as he plucked a small handful of treats out. Enough to be polite, like his father taught him, but not so much as to be greedy. "An animal sanctuary? Is that where this fellow came from?" He nodded his head towards his previous assailant, smiling - then looked back towards the sky, watching the stars once more.
He really wished his siblings were here to enjoy it, but... it was nice to have company, at least. As for Katori, it shouldn't have been a surprise to him that she was from Zena, giving her tone, but somehow he was nonetheless. "My parents lived in Zena, for a while, with my older siblings. We travel now, more often than not, my dads got stir crazy - you too?" He gestured around, because clearly they were both a long ways from Zena.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2021 5:58 pm
Scarlett Arbuckle Stahp it. XD heart You're the awesome patient one.
Katori followed Morain's gaze back towards Star and nodded. "Sort of? I rescued him from a rather rough group and he's been stuck with me since then." Her lips pressed into a thoughtful line and she let out a sigh. She had wanted to take him back to Yael but the gentle beast was fairly stubborn about not leaving her at this point. As long as he was happy, she supposed. "Me? My mother stays home at the sanctuary though she once traveled in her younger years and my father travels often searching for tomes and the like. Like a traveling scholar sort of." Katori glanced up at the sky and caught sight of another star, a grin spreading across her lips as she pointed after it. "So many tonight! As for me?" She added after a thoughtful moment. "I don't know how I feel just yet. I'm traveling now because I'm trying to help rescue animals for the sanctuary and this is honestly my first time being away from Zena for so long."
"It's nice being able to see the world though my mother did warn against Oba. Apparently she didn't have the best experience because of a close friend getting into trouble...." A chuckle left her lips. "I'm not supposed to tell others about it but she may have set a building on fire. That I would have loved to see." Either way Katori hadn't let that deter her, but after being in the city for a bit she did understand that it did indeed come with several dangers.
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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 12:12 pm
Hmm. A fair enough point. He continued eating, shifting his attention between the stars (which were beginning to peter out), and his temporary companion. It felt nice to talk to someone - traveling as often as his family did, you learned to listen and enjoy someone's company in the brief interim they were there. It was... difficult when you enjoyed someone that eventually left, but it was what he was used to.
The thought of her family's animal sanctuary felt... nice to him. He found that he really wanted to see it - to see the fruits of her travels, and all the animals they'd taken in. He loved his parents, but much of their traveling seemed aimless.
When she continued though, he let out an unexpected laugh, setting his bowl down against his skirt-covered knee. "A building? That's-- wow. She sounds wild. My parents - they hate Oba too, but I don't think they've gone THAT far...! I suppose in their generation there was the war, right? But he says he was still a kid for that, too-" He trailed off, pursing his lips. "They love Matori though. But... I'd like to see other places, some day, maybe. ... Maybe I could come visit this 'sanctuary' at least once."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2022 5:51 pm
Katori chuckled. "She was apparently really feisty back then. Momma's always been super protective of her friends, especially Callum." She nodded slowly as she recalled her mother's old friend that she had mentioned a few times before in her stories. Apparently at one point they had been close in Zena before the family went traveling which was a shame considering how Katori would have liked having some more childhood friends while growing up at the sanctuary. Still, it was nice knowing that her mother had fun stories from her life before settling down in Zena with her Papa.
"But it would be great if you wanted to visit one day! I won't be home for another couple of months but if you are ever in Zena please feel free to stop by. It's along the southern border." Katori beamed at Morain happily before reaching forward to finish a bit of her fireside snack. "For now though I guess we'll settle for just enjoying the rest of the stars and sleeping soon. If you'd like to go back I can escort you or you can feel free to share my camp, totally up to you." The young mage smiled once more before tucking her legs back beneath her, her gaze going back towards the shooting stars.
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2022 6:50 pm
[7/7]
Morain nodded along, obligingly, only to pause, blinking at the name. No... surely not? It wasn't as if there was only one Callum in the world. And yet... both of their parents avoided Oba, both had lived in Zena, and--
No. Surely not! He nodded along, distracted now, a smile plastered on his face as he noted the location with interest. On the one hand, he could gasp out that his dad was named Callum, and they could excitedly talk about it - or... he could bring it up the next morning, when they could actually DO something about it.
Doing it now only invited the possibility of spending the night talking - which sounded nice, on paper, but would end up in both of them tired. Maybe... when the sun came up, he could entice her to escort him back and run into everyone and his parents could confirm it in person? ... And besides, if he brought the daughter of one of papa's childhood friends, maybe they'd overlook his absence tonight and not be so er... unhappy about it?
"I think I'll take advantage of your hospitality and lovely fire, actually." He decided, finally, allowing the comfortable silence to sweep over them as they turned their attention back to the stars. Or- she did, at least. Even while choosing to stay silent, his mind was racing with possibilities.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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