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The first day the demon woman was away passed with an odd sort of silence in the air, despite the usual local bantering from other Ursari in the distance, tending their own wagons and socializing with one another. Beri'ah attempted to remain optimistic, encouraging herself with thoughts that there was no longer any distractions, no irrelevant flares, or any such useless happenings. She had gotten a lot of work done, returning home as tired as ever. Her family had tried to talk to her, verbalizing their concern, but she put on that smile of hers and reassured them otherwise.

The second day was the same, but it was suddenly mundane. The shining sun was now garish and bright, too cheerful, the nature not quite as green or beautiful as before. Beri'ah felt like the only thing keeping her spirits up were the gagan birds, who gripped her with invisible claws every time their wings painted the skies. She kept catching herself staring up without really thinking of anything in particular. Just watching the sky from afar, in her protective coocoon with her feet firmly planted on the ground. By the time she got home, she didn't even bother defending herself from her parent's questioning faces.

"You're like a walking zombie." Talon's voice broke through her reverie on the third day, and Beri'ah realized she had been staring off into nothing again.

"I'm always like this." She responded, waving it off as absurd.

He shook his head with a sigh, "Why don't you get out for a bit. Go buy me some more blank scrolls, would ya?"

The young Thetana gave a nod, turning and walking towards the main market buzz. It was then that she heard the locals in the early stages of causing a storm. Sharp blue eyes flashed towards the other wagons, the clang of hammers on metal in the distance being drowned out by the voices. By that voice.

It felt like a rock had just dropped to the pit of Beri'ah's stomach as she glided foward in a daze. Her mind was askew with emotions, which only confused her further. Anger, glee, sorrow, joy, which was she supposed to choose to use? Why couldn't these things get a passport and come in one at a time?

"Roz!" She called out, the emotions suddenly choosing themselves, hands on hips in a disciplinary fashion, a small smirk on her face, "What is this trouble you're causing?"

Before she was able to continue, Talon leaned out of the wagon, calling out to her, "And take her with you, it sounds like she knows how to haggle."

Beri'ah flushed, unable to form words. He wanted her to buy scrolls with this woman? She was about to call out a polite decline, but then clamped her mouth shut. There was a fear inside of her that clamped her words down, refusing to chase the warrior woman away again.

Beri'ah rolled her eyes, but at the moment she was too happy to be angry, "Still mature with the name calling I see. And don't threaten the poor man, he's just trying to make a living of his own, even if he is attempting to rip off little warriors who beat up little animals and enjoy retaliation."

She could tell her words only reaffirmed that Roz was a threat to the man, the result of which he seemed to withdraw to himself, though his temper was quite evident on his face.

Sending a coy glare to her shopping companion, Beri'ah began walking forward, pulling Roz alongside her. She couldn't find a witty reply to the secret meetings reference, mostly because she simply wasn't used to teasing. It was frustrating how the woman seemed to make her incapable of communication, though to hide her lack of knowledge she put up her mask.

"So aside from fixing your armor, what other mischief have you managed to get yourself into?" It was a polite topic, though really she wanted to ask about more personal things. What was her family like? How she grew up? What she liked and didn't like? Beri'ah would never ask such questions though, maintaining that it simply wasn't her business.

Then again, being neutral didn't necessarily mean Beri'ah would just give up on everything. With a small frown, she admitted to herself that she wanted to know more. Her frown fell back into a smirk, a strange combination of a shy smile and a determined grin. You didn't have to ask questions to learn more.

"I haven't had lunch yet." She began, "Let us see what food is up before we get the scrolls."

Beri'ah didn't answer right away, her blue eyes reflecting the sky with a smile, "I've been in this area before. It's been a long while, but I can feel the soil and rocks under my feet and I get a familiar sensation. I've always been able to feel it, though to be honest that's about it. I don't have the ability to manipulate it or move it, I just read its veins. I think, in a way, it makes me respect it more. Since I can't mold it, it feels like it's a life of its own."

She didn't know why she was saying this, knew she should stop because she felt which words she would say next, and it was something she really didn't want to say. Not to her, "It reminds me of you."

Darnit, it came out anyways. She glared angrily away, wondering how she had become such a mess. Fate had a cruel sense of humor, "I feel like I've known you for a long time, I get that deja vu sensation. But enough of that."

Her voice had turned short and clipped once again. The young Thetana wasn't one to dwell on emotional topics for very long, especially as it made her uncomfortable. She didn't know that she would be able to continue if they stayed on the topic much longer. It was just something she had to get off her chest, "Here we are."

Their hooved feet had come to the edge of the forest. It was further down as some of the caravan wagons had migrated forward a bit, but Beri'ah felt as if she knew the area by heart, even if she had only briefly been there before.

The trees were elegant and thin, white bark that arched upwards into gentle curves, large green leaves creating an everlasting horizon of its own. Butterflies were dancing in their full, spring time glory, their wings gentle as they flickered them, courting one flower after another. There was the occasional serenade of birds overhead, though for the most part the foliage hid them. The sun was filtered through the leaves, creating a softer light with the gentle spill through a gap of leaves here and there that shifted when the breeze caressed the trees.

All in all, Beri'ah considered it a decent place to eat. She settled down on a grassy plot, a frown masquerading across her face. "You know, you never apologized." She started, glaring up at the woman. It was a little irksome that the warrior was taller than her. Beri'ah was by no means short, so she was used to being at least at eye level, "For the bird, I mean."

"With you popping up all the time, it might just be good for the glare to get stuck." Beri'ah replied sardonically, though she didn't quite flinch away. She wasn't going to push the issue of the apology any further. The tone of voice and expression was enough for her to know that the warrioress was sincere, which is really all that counted.

Beri'ah wanted to find an excuse to be angry at Roz. No, not wanted, needed. She needed some reason to explain the whirwind of raw emotions that slaughtered her mind, that pushed her to the brink of some abyss in which she was too afraid to look down to see what awaited her. As she stood there on that brink, however, some part of her simply stopped fighting. It accepted some piece of herself that had previously been hiding in the shadows of a graveyard where she buried her emotions. Perhaps if she had bothered to look, she would have discovered that all of the coffins were empty.

They were never buried, they were just lurking, waiting for the right time to pounce, and it was this that she accepted of herself.

She began again, a deep, shaky breath, "So tell me what you do for a living."

And from there she let her companion talk. Beri'ah felt like a sponge, soaking up every word that danced from the woman's mouth, watching each movement her body might make as she elaborated some parts of her life, while artfully skimming over others that might not be something she wanted to talk about. Beri'ah was fine with others having secrets. She lived her life without prying too deep, and even with her newfound curiosity, she wasn't about to start now.

In exchange, Beri'ah illustrated a few clips of her own life. Her family, her master, the first time she tried this food or talked with that customer. It was all brief, mundane instances in her life, but they were close memories of hers that she wanted to share with Roz, even if she had never shared it with anyone before.

It was funny, now that Beri'ah thought about it. They had known each other for almost a week now, yet she felt as if they had a lifetime of memories. Shaking her head to herself, Beri'ah knew it was foolish. If anything, there was always the possibility of a lifetime of memories to come. It was something that she was beginning to look forward to.

Noting the position of the sun in the sky through the canopy above, Beri'ah stood upright and dusted herself off, "Lets go get those scrolls. It's much later than I had intended."

The duo walked back to the caravan once again, their pace leisurely and comfortable. After a few price comparisons, they settled at an elderly woman's shop with decent scrolls in bulk packaging. Beri'ah listened as Roz haggled, though she figured when the threats to shorten the old Ursari's life was made, Thetana called it good enough and paid the price right then while pushing Roz into a safer (and by safer, she means less populated) area.

"You really ought to learn respect one of these days. It's about time I get back, and I'm sure you have someplace you need to be." The exasperated sigh came, "Oh, and just to let you know, I don't give away lunches for free. You owe me."

At that, Beri'ah turned with a smirk and headed back to the post office with the stack of papers undertow.

Beri'ah spent the rest of the day with a pleasant sort of aura around her. Ignoring the inquiring looks from her master, Beri'ah was ready to go before dinner time. With things cleared away, the little Ursari made her way back to her own wagon.

Her family was gathered around a little fire, and she nestled a seat on a log by her mother, who had given the log a pat to indicate she required Beri'ah's presence. It wasn't that her mother never called her to attention, it just didn't happen all that often, so Beri'ah couldn't help but wonder a bit. Was it her recently poor performance under her master? She shook her head mentally. Even if she did slow up and space out a bit throughout the week, she still got her work done and had already reprimanded herself for it.

"Beri'ah," Her mother's voice began. It was silky smooth, though a hint of concern dabbled at the edges, "Today I saw you in the market heading off to the forest with another young woman."

Whoops.

"I believe I have seen you two together before." She continued, duly noting the deer-in-lamp-light look her daughter quickly hid, "I'm glad you're making new friends, but.."

Her mother hesitated then. She never hesitated, which flared all the warning signs in Beri'ah, "But I think these little lunch dates and goofing off during work is a bit much for a friend. You need to learn to balance your work with your social calls. I understand you don't socialize all that much, so I am glad for you, I really am, but I don't appreciate you slacking off. Particularly with that woman."

Beri'ah knew she should feel guilty and apologize, but in that brief moment she realized that she was feeling frustration, and the strange need to defend herself. Well trained in not speaking, however, Beri'ah remained silent.

"I don't know how far you expect to take your relationship, but do be wary. From what I've looked into, that woman is an assassin, she kills and double crosses for a living. She doesn't have friends, and people have noticed. There's a good chance she's just using you."

"Roz isn't using me." The heated reply came, though Beri'ah quickly bit her tongue to give herself a moment to fall into that neutral stance once again, "I apologize. I will attempt to better prioritize my work time with my free time."

It was all she could say, and she knew it wasn't enough for her mother. Both her parents were scholarly, knowledgable about a little bit of everything in the world, having been Thetanas long in the line, and she knew they had high expectations of all their children. She knew her mother was looking for her to say she would stop seeing the warrior again, but even knowing the disappointment she brought upon her mother, Beri'ah couldn't say it.

It occured to Beri'ah, as she watched her mother give a sad sigh and look back into the fire, that her parents never really learned how to yell at their children. They were all raised to be the epitome of proper Thetanas, well behaved with good work ethic. Of the bunch, it was Beri'ah who had been the one with the best mask, devoid of emotions, yet the most curious mind for knowledge.

Finally her mother spoke, a frown on her face, "Do as you will, then. I have not doubted you before, and I shall trust you on this as I have before."

Surprised, Beri'ah looked up at her mother's face. It was plain at first glance, but the more she would look at that face, the more it revealed it held a prettiness of its own. She deserved a better explanation, but Beri'ah didn't know what to tell her, "I don't want to disappoint you." Her voice wavered, "But I have never felt so strongly for someone before. I can't ignore it."

The older woman sighed, then a small smile was directed at her, "I'll be checking in with Master Talon about you at the end of the week, so make sure you keep up on your work."

Beri'ah could feel the wave of happiness bubble inside of her. This was her mother's way of accepting what she had done, had given her approval to continue. While her mother may frown upon it, she kept herself at a neutral pace, allowing Beri'ah to test the new waters. Beri'ah could ignore the pressures of society easily enough, she always had with her neutral stance, but it always felt nice to have her mother at her back. To Beri'ah, her mother was all of society.

"I won't let you down." Beri'ah promised, and it was all she could do to keep herself from hugging her mother. They weren't really a touch and feel type of family, so it was easy enough to settle for a beaming smile.

As the stars donned their glowing gowns for the ballet of the night, Beri'ah curled up by the fire with a blanket wrapped around her, watching the fire as it flickered down to its embers. She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, as it was suddenly morning with Ursari moving about once again. She ate a swift breakfast before prancing off to work, planning to ask her master for a change in hours. Nothing big, but maybe an hour lunch or some such adaptation. She could bring an hourglass with her so as not to lose track of time, allowing her to spend time guilt-free with her warrioress.

Beri'ah made sure to work hard that morning, her hopes high in that the annoying woman might stop by today.

Beaming at her good fortune, Beri'ah gave a return wave. Her face fell to concern, however, when she spotted the myriad of bruises, "What happened?" She asked her hand reaching out to trace the outline of a bruise, "This can't just be from practice, can it?"

With a shake of her head, she gave a warming, sympathetic smile, "My lunch break is soon. Master Talon permitted me to have an hour lunch, and seeing as you just happened to be here, I figure I can collect dues." Her face lost some of its shine as she watched her warrior's face, "Do they hurt?" She asked, looking over the scratches and blooming colors.

Turning, Beri'ah grabbed an hour glass, calling out to Talon about lunch as she took Roz by the wrist and pulled her aside. She didn't go into the forest this time, just a perch by a tree where they could watch the life of the caravan move by. It felt like they were in a timeline of their own, watching the world go by them without touching them with its influence. Shaking herself out of her reverie, Beri'ah turned back to her warrior, "Would you mind showing me how you practice? I mean aside from morning movements. Tomorrow, perhaps, I can get more time off. I want to see what it is you do for practice."

She knew her words might be intrusive, but Beri'ah wanted to learn everything about her. Not just the things she had learned yesterday, or the days before, but everything, including what dark shadows Roz's job might harbor.

Frowning to herself, Beri'ah looked over at a fallen log that had long been dead. To be honest, she didn't like the idea of what Roz did for a living. It wasn't in her nature to be judgemental, however, so she didn't want to critisize what moral or ethic opinions might come into play, but it did worry her that the little warrior would be putting herself in harms way. How often did she do these things? How often was her life on the line? Even though Beri'ah had lived all her life without the woman until just recently, she couldn't even begin to imagine it without her.

"Nothing hard, I don't want you straining yourself." Beri'ah spoke softly, "I guess it's more of what is it you feel when you put yourself out there."

Her voice had fallen too low to be heard, but she shook it off, "The log is fine. Again, nothing too strenuous, just show off a bit." She gave a grin of mischief, then straightened her back primly and gave a haughty bat of the eyes. She couldn't really tell when her face had started using expressions, but it had become an almost subconscious movement now. Not that one week of explosive emotions could wipe out an entire lifetime of training in neutrality, so her face still appeared fairly stone-like to others. For any who knew her, however, the change was substantial.