Welcome to Gaia! ::

She was kind of happy that he was surprised to see her. That means she snuck up on him, even if she wasn't being as quiet as she could have been. However it was her who was taken by surprise when she realized that the two of them had already met!

When Dya frowned so did Briella. She had meant to tell her! Really she had. "I meant to tell you the day that we met but I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as I got home. Every time I've meant to bring it up something happens. I was going to tell you at the ruins but I got distracted by everything." she said apologetically to her sister.

When Dya asked her to help her find her cup she nodded looking into the bag till she found not one but three. "Maya and I must have left them in here the last time we went to the river together." she said nodding. When Dya asked about the girl she nodded, knowing that Dya would feel the vibrations. "Yes there is one girl here." and when Dya called out another girl came into view. "Two girls now." she chuckled. Poor Biroki.

She wasn't a shifter, well not fully. She also noticed that the girl with Biroki wasn't either. "So far to me it seems all shifters but you are female." she said with a small laugh.

He jumped a bit again as Aminah revealed herself. She was probably the least threatening person in the clearing (aside from himself) and he was surrounded by friends. Still, her sudden appearance didn't help his nerves.
"h-hi..." he said, shaking as he poured tea into Briella's cups.
It was beginning to feel a bit... crowded. He didn't mind Zuri at all. He didn't mind Briella and Dyakida that much either. He knew them.
But with the introduction of a stranger... he was all nerves.
Didn't help that she was pretty.
He handed Briella the cups- he was shaking now and he didn't want to spill any on Dyakida if he handed it to her!
"h-here..." he said, offering one of the cups to Aminah. He looked at her a bit curiously. She looked like a shifter, but her skin was pale, even in the daytime, and a few shades too tan. Her eyes were an entrancing shade of green... he looked away shyly and blushed.
"I... I'm not... P-popular..."
Oh! Oh he had forgotten.
"Oh, uh, I-I'm Biroki... And this is Z-zuri..." he said, moving back towards Zuri, gesturing. His rabbity mind told him that was one of the less scary places to be.
"A-and..." He looked at Briella and stopped. She should introduce herself... He was far to nervous. He bet he would stammer out their names in an incredibly unintelligable way...
"S-some friends of m-mine..." he finished lamely.
He really hadn't been expecting guests. Zuri was one thing, but...
"If... Uh..." he wanted to ask her if she was half shifter, like Zuri... but shrunk back a bit at the thought. It wasn't a very polite question to ask.

When Aminah said she was half shifter Zuri's eyes got a little brighter. A half shifter! She had guessed as much about the girl, but she wasn't sure. It made her like the girl more, as well as feel more comfortable. "I'm half shifter as well! It is nice to meet you Aminah." she said happily. She looked over at Biroki and laughed when Dyakida teased him about being popular with the females, even if she felt a pang of jealous at the words.

"So what brings you three here?" Zuri was friendly for the most part, and wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to learn more about people she didn't know. She was especially interested in Aminah now that she knew they had something big in common. "I was looking for our ladies man actually." she teased Biroki while laying a hand on his leg with a smile to show that she was just teasing.

"Really."
Dyakida had never met someone from the leaf tribe before, let alone a hybrid of two races. Hybrids were very interesting to her, at least from an observers perspective. She couldn't really observe as much now, but still. Now. What questions to ask...
"I have never been to the Tale. I hear that the grasses are rough there?"
Not entirely true, she had stepped out into it, briefly, during her meeting with Biroki.
She turned in surprise to Zuri's comment. Two half shifters?!
Now she had never met a female shifter, but the fact that she couldn't tell the difference from their voices was interesting in its self.
"Two of you... My goodness." she rested her tea on the rock that served as her seat- It was too hot to drink and a bit too hot to hold comfortably yet- and leaned in a ways.
"I have an unusual question to ask, not entirely related to the discussion at hand, but... what weapons do you use in the Tale?" She knew Briella would understand the significance of that question. It was Dyakida's own way of putting her own sordid little secret out there.
She didn't think it would be too different, but she had heard that the earthlings practiced a more varied array of warfare then her own kind...

She had guessed as much about Zuri’s origins, though her apparent lineage surprised Aminah. She looked like her other half was ice, and Aminah couldn’t begin to fathom how Zuri’s parents had met.

There were so many questions in the air Aminah could barely contain her excitement. These people were interested in her. They wanted to know more about her and where she was from. This was a first.

“Well, I’ve just come back with the others on the trip east and I was feeling frisky for adventure,” she laughed. “We traveled so long that it’s hard to stay in one spot now.”

Dyakida’s questions caught Aminah’s attention. This Alkidike truly was interesting. Her eyes, her demeanor, her inquisitive conversation, all of this drew Aminah into wondering about her background. “The sands are powder soft, but the grasses can be crisp and rough on the feet. I had the pleasure of falling into some pretty harsh brush in my childhood.” Aminah smiled wide. She pondered the weapons question for a little while before answering. From what she had heard, Alkidike were pretty limited in their weapon choice. “Well, I know there are a wide variety of weapons, but from personal experience I use a staff and friends of mine have been known to use bows and gauntlets.” She thought back to Keilana, Jacinthus, and Enki, the only ones she really knew in her village to have weapons. She wondered if this satisfied her questions and if Dyakida had anything else she wanted to know. Quick, keep the conversation going. “What kind of weapons do the Alkidike use?”

She noticed Biroki rummaging through his bag and couldn’t help but be intrigued. She took a sip from her still scorching tea and made a face. She should probably wait before trying again, though she wasn’t sure if her tongue could taste anything anymore.

Although she didn't fully answer her question, saying she was from Tale did make it as if she was from the Leaf Tribe? Or at least that was what Briella thought, she wasn't really sure. When Dyakida asked about the weapons she smiled. Ah, always trying to make better and more interesting weapons. Though from what Aminah said they had a lot more weapons then her sisters did! It would be interesting to have a weapon that no one else did... Hum, Niebet would have a heart attack.

When she talked abut the trip east Briella got excited. She wanted to travel, but at the same time she didn't. She liked their home tree, liked being with Maya and Dya. Though maybe the three of them could travel, if only for a little. That was what Maya had done. It would be fun for her to do also, but she would want to go with her sisters.

When Aminah asked what kind of weapons the Alkidike used she wasn't sure if she should answer or let Dya. After all it was more Dya's specialty and Briella thought the question was more for her sister then her. Taking a sip from her tea she figured she should just let her sister answer this one. Plus this was good tea and she was content to just listen. Though out of the corner of her eye she spotted Biroki looking for something. Raising an eyebrow she wondered if she should say something or not.

"What are you looking for?" She asked Biroki after watching him search for a little. Curiosity made her speak.

"A S-staff? Really?"
Biroki looked up from his searching in surprise.
"I use one t-too... thought I just... use a training one..."
He fumbled a bit more. Where was it?! He knew he'd put it in here!
"Are y-you a mage, Aminah?" he asked, somewhat shyly and very curious... though this talk of weapons was making him slightly uncomfortable. Dyakida's manner of speaking and enthusiasm on the subject was disconcerting... and of course her sightless eyes were just generally unnerving. He wanted to go back to the conversation about the Tale. She had described it really well, and he wanted to hear more. He hadn't gone very far out into the Tale.
He flushed a bit. He felt very under-travelled among Zuri and Aminah. A bit guilty, actually.
Aha! He found it. He removed the old, wooden box-like object triumphantly. It was closed on it's wooden hinges, and he set it on the rock and opened it, revealing sixteen depressions and a collection of small, brightly colored and polished pebbles.
He smiled sheepishly at Briella.
"M... My Mancala board..." he said, shyly, "I've been p-practicing against my mentor and have been c-carrying it around in case I ran into y-you again..." He fidgeted, "Y-you... were interested in learning how to play it, r...right?"
His shyness was getting to him. He turned to Zuri and Aminah.
"D-do you... know how to play Mancala?"

When Aminah asked what she planned on being she smiled. "I plan on becoming a rider eventually." she said nodding. She had always had a way with animals, and being higher up would give her an advantage over those who walked on the ground. She became a little uneasy, Aminah and Biroki had something big in common. Something she didn't share with him. She shook her head a little, no she would not be jealous. She had no reason to be jealous of Aminah and Biroki, plus it wasn't like he was hers.

Zuri watched as Biroki brought out the game, unsure of what it was until he opened it and called it Mancala. She smiled. "Yes, I've played it before. Only once though, when I was much smaller. I would love to watch you guys play and then maybe I will remember how to play." she said as she looked at the pretty pebbles. She didn't remember if she was good at the game or not, but maybe she could watch Biroki play with Briella and remember a little more.