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 Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 7:38 am
Kiunyki
Kiunyki committed the instructions - and the movements of the older Alkidike - to memory and began to pick from the plant. Curiously, she tried one - they were indeed sour, but mixed with bland and bitter greens, they would be good... or along with something meaty and rich, where they would cut the fatty, mealy feeling in the mouth. Cooking, though, would probably be too much for a flower.
Pluck. Pluck. Pluck.
They were small, and she could see the tips of her fingers staining blue as she plucked a good many - not all. She moved on to the next bush, continuing. It was sad to see them so denuded, but it made sense not to take them all. Just as the other plants were using their roots, so too must this plant have use for it's flowers. Let it use its flowers and survive, right? Just as they would?
Finally, her bags were full - fluffy dark flowers atop reedy leaves and pieces of starchy root. "All right." she said, standing back, "I have all I can carry."
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 7:39 am
Zandala would not watch Kiunyki work, she was not a babysitter and she new the other Alkidike was quite capable by herself. So instead she focused on her own task at hand. She worked effortlessly and with ease as her fingers moved across one flower to another. No time was wasted, both hands worked in union to make everything as streamlined as possible. Zandala had been out doing these things for a while now so she was used to the work and how to handle the flowers. It didn’t take long for her bags to fill out, and she closed the top gently and strapped it down loose but tight enough so the flowers wouldn’t squish but wouldn’t fall out either.
She left the other Alkidike work at her own pace and moved off a little bit to look at the surrounding area, perhaps there were other treasures to be found within the forest. Her eyes scanned up to the trees, but they were empty of anything resembling fruits or something edible. When finally Kiki called out to her she moved back to her side and nodded as she approved the size of her load and the work she’d done. The bushes still had flowers and would survive.
“Alright let’s start to head back now.” Zandala plucked a flower from a bush nearby and plucked it into her mouth. “We may have to stop a lot more with these loads, but we should be back before nightfall.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 7:39 am
Kiunyki
Kiunyki nodded, pleased at the other Alkidike's approval. "All right - sounds good." Kiki trusted Zandala's judgement - she had no desire to be out in the wild swamps after sundown. It was so much darker here - in Jauhar, there were no lightless spaces. Even in the deep jungles of the mainland, where sunlight never reached, there was at least the constant glow of the fungi, trees, and insects. Here, though, all light was muted and murky, and between that and the fog, even daytime was dark. And nighttime...
No, she had no desire to be lost in such an endless dark. At least in the Tale and Oba the land had been flat and the stars bright and comforting. In Matori, aquatic shapes had lent their scales and luminescence to the night. But here, sometimes not even the stars could break through. Best to return to the camp and the embers of flame.
She focused on the travel, quiet as her mind drifted slightly. "They're too delicate to cook..." She mused idly, not realizing that it was also out loud, "But maybe if I kept them raw and mixed it with that gamy, stringy meat and those tough boiled fruits and wrapped it in a tortilla..." she realized that she was hearing her own voice and blushed slightly - sometimes she talked to herself, an old habit brought on by lonely travel. She'd nearly forgotten it. "Sorry." she apologized, "Sometimes, I get ideas." her voice was dismissive - she knew better than to share her ideas with the others. No one, it seemed, really wanted them. No one besides herself.
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 7:40 am
Zandala had expected a quite run back, the other sisters liked to simply focus on getting home and nothing else. She didn’t mind the silence of the talk, she and Lumikani usually exchanged words when they were on runs together. Either way, when Kiki spoke up about food, Zan was a little surprised, she hadn’t taken her sister for a cook.
“Perhaps you should try and get some cooking duties?” Zandala said glancing and the other Alkidike. “You seem to have a knack for it.”
It was sad to see a potential sister be ruined by what the others said to her, Zandala would try very hard to speak good words to the others about Kiunyki.
They made it back to camp when darkness had already settled in. Zandala had hurried as best as she could so they could avoid being out so late. The light of the flames at camp had to guide them the rest of the way though. Finally at camp, Zandala slowed down her pace and headed for the supply tent. She dropped off her bags there and stretched out.
“Ah that feels much better.” She said before cracking her neck. “Well, thank you for your help Kiunyki. If you ever need anything from me. Just let me know.” She clapped the girl's shoulder before heading off to get something to eat.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2016 4:47 pm
"You think so?" Kiki supposed he did. She made edible things, anyway... when she was allowed to. "I'll..." she hesitated, "I'll see what I can do. On that front!" That Zandala seemed willing to have faith in her was a good sign - a good word from her might change everything.
She grinned. Her face hurt with the effort of it - it had been too long since she'd smiled so broadly. "I will, thank you. Let me know if I can help you again, too!" She hoped so - favors and a sister looking out for her aside, it was nice to have someone she possibly, maybe, could call a friend. Or, even, just an ally.
"I'll see you around, Sister!"
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