Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had benefited Maia to remain in the area for a bit before continuing on her journey. She hadn't realized how exhausted she had been until she finally stopped and rested for a full day, being sure to not spend her time doing anything but lazing around. The most excitement she had was talking to the different people in the village. It was fun to hear what everyone had to say. Maybe get some leads on somewhere interesting to check out.

It had been a few days, now, and she was mindlessly roaming around the outskirts of it, thinking about the next direction she might want to take. She was beginning to feel the restlessness that always came from staying in one place for too long. A sound in the treetops of a creature drew her eye towards the sight of the young Shifter she had been talking to when she first came upon this village. It seemed she was harvesting the nuts from it. Part of Maia's restlessness was also due to the fact she had been idle for so many days. Maybe it was time she paid back some of that hospitality by helping out with something. It'd make her feel less guilty about doing nothing.

"Hello!" she called, approaching at a slight jog. "Esmeray, right? Did you want some help?"

Maia took that as a yes, help was needed. Or maybe just the companionship to break up a tedious, mundane task was what she was saving Esmeray from. Being so often completely on her own, even simple conversation was sometimes confusing when it wasn't straightforward and to the point.

So, deciding her presence was indeed appreciated, the Shifter put a smile on her face and nodded her head once, before taking up her spot on the other side and reaching for her first nut.

"I thought so, too. I usually move on quick. Guess I was really tired." She shrugged her shoulders, dropping a nut into the basket. "I was thinking of leaving tomorrow."

"I think I can understand what they mean," Maia commented, dropping another nut into the basket. Sometimes it was nice to stop and do a simple task. See the same now familiar surroundings before she moved on to the next thing. "If all you see is the ocean or hot springs, you start to miss a simpler life. At least I do." She tucked a loose blue strand of hair behind her ear, than reaching far up the tree for a particularly large nut that should be extra tasty. Maybe with a salad. A nice, cold salad. "I get tired if all I see is the same sights every day."

"No. Jauhar still seems to have a lot to see." Maia had easily heard the grumble in the other woman's voice, being so close to her currently, but choose not to say anything about it. It was something she had felt herself. A simple village life had been stifling to her before, with everyone knowing each other's business. There had been no peace in a village. Visiting others, however, as an outside was completely different. She could enjoy the peace of it. No one knew who she was. No one was going to go tell her father of the giant mess she had left in their backyard in her obsessive search for anything fun to do when she was a child that was different than the tedium of the every day.

Holding a nut over the basket, Maia considered the option. Go somewhere else? An idea she seemed to be entertaining more and more lately. It might be nice to see a different landscape for one. Maybe look at the stars in the sky without a single tree to cover any part of it.

"I haven't really thought about it. I guess one person can't explore their homeland only forever. But you'd never leave, right? Not the adventurous sort?"

Maia chuckled and shrugged her shoulders, feeling a bit embarrassed at the comment. "It wasn't that long ago," she countered, shyly pushing a strand of hair out of her face. She quickly recovered as the topic continued on.

"Yes. It is. So much needed. So much walking. Unless you fortunate enough to have a mount." Which she thought perhaps she could afford. But where would she put it? And the cost of feeding it and having to carry around said feed. A radaku might not be as hard to take care of, if it could do its own hunting. She certainly didn't know how to hunt. Forage, yes. Kill a creature on her own and than go through the task of skinning it, no. "The ground is hard for sleeping. I bet sand would be a soft bed."

A nut almost missed the basket as Maia's eyes were drawn towards her companion. Little mind-reading, huh?

"I was thinking about what it might be like, yes. It'd be easier to move around, for sure. But than having to carry around food for them as well as my own stuff." She shook her head at the idea. "I think I'd rather just walk."

Interesting suggestion. She could certainly do that, use one as a pack mount and walk beside it. That still left what the cost of feeding it might be. Not to mention all the other gear she might need to properly take care of one. She shook her head, thinking perhaps she was just someone who would always prefer to walk on her own. It was so much more easier to only have herself to consider during these travels.

One last nut fell into the basket, before Maia stretched her arms up to the sky in a long stretch. "I kind of like doing them. If you need more help, I'll be around."