Welcome to Gaia! ::

Keline wrinkled her nose up at the mention of how hot Oba was. It might not be her ideal place but she still wished to at least visit it and she said as much. “I probably wouldn’t stay for long. Just long enough to get a feel for it. Jauhar is nice but...when you feel chained to a place, getting away seems like such a good idea.” She sighed and shook her head, almost explaining about her aunt — and sister — but decided against it. This girl was a stranger. And as such, she was sure Rajani wasn’t interested in her family life.

When Rajani’s stomach growled and she spoke up, Keline blinked. She glanced back the way she had come — back towards her home — and frowned. Kel had basically forgotten the whole reason she’d come out this way. When she glanced back towards the direction the clearing was in she huffed and decided that she was definitely not taking Rajani back to her home. Her sister, in the mood she was in, would likely through a huge hissy fit at having and earthling visiting. “You can join my friend Naji and I at our clubhouse We always bring food with us when we meet up to hang out. I’m sure we can work it out to split it between three people.”

Keline grinned and nodded enthusiastically. “No problem. I’m sure Naji will understand.” She adjusted the pack, containing her part of the food rations, and ducked into the brush at the side of the trail. “C’mon, this way. There isn’t a path there, so stay close, yeah?” Kel kept her pace relatively steady, not going too fast but not going slow either. She really didn’t want to lose her new friend in the thick brush. It didn’t take long before they were stepping out into a clearing. And, off in the distance (next to the small shack of a clubhouse), stood Naji with his arms crossed and not looking too pleased. He probably thought she had stood him up.

“Naji!” Kel yelled as she took off into a run to meet up with her best friend. “I’m so sorry I’m late. My mother and sister got into a fight and then I tripped and fell on the way here. And,” she paused as she took a deep breath and continued. “And I met a new friend.” Kel turned and pointed towards Rajani and grinned. “That’s Ranjani. She made sure I was alright and she’s hungry.”

Naji’s annoyed expression melted away the instant Kel mentioned her mother and sister. He grunted at the fast paced introduction to Kel’s new friend. “Are you sure she’s safe? You just met her?”

“Yes, yes. You worry too much Naji.” Keline wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue to her hybrid friend. “Oh and she doesn’t like to be touched. So don’t, ok?”

Naji tsked and shook his head. “Wait, she doesn’t like to be touched? What on earth is wrong with her?”

“Shuddup and be nice,” Kel said before Naji had anymore chance to voice an opinion on the subject. She grabbed hold of his hand and dragged Naji over to introduce him properly. “Rajani, this is Naji. Naji, Rajani.” Naji only nodded and said his hellos, not making a move to extend his hand per Keline’s instructions.

Keline froze at the words that came out of Rajani’s mouth. She had been...beaten? Frowning, Kel glanced towards Naji and noticed the slight pink tinge to his cheeks as he glanced away from the shifter girl. Keline opened her mouth to speak but was still too shocked to form any coherent words. It was Naji that finally broke the silence between the three of them.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” he said as he rolled his shoulders.

Kel tutted at the next words out of Rajani’s mouth and shook her head. “Nonsense. Nothing is ruined.” She moved to reach for Rajani, to guide her closer to their clubhouse, but caught herself and pulled her hand back away. “C’mon, let’s go eat. I’m sure Naji brought something delicious. He always does. His mom’s a really good cook and usually packs up some very good treats.”

Naji grunted and took this as his cue to turn and gather his things. He started to set up a small picnic area, leaving Kel and Rajani to wait until he was finished.

With the small amount of time left, Kel moved closer to Rajani, but not close enough that they would touch. “I am sorry about what happened to you. I...I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. You’re...not with that person anymore, are you?”

Keline laughed and shook her head. “He’ll survive without us for a couple of minutes.” Even though she said this, Kel still headed off towards the simple setup of a blanket and food. “I’m not sure about you but I know I’m starving,” Kel said as she plopped down onto the blanket and reached for a half of a sandwich she had brought.

“Here,” Naji said as he held out a canteen of water to Rajani before joining Keline on the blanket.

Once Kel had swallowed her first bite, she glanced towards Rajani and tilted her head. “Do you have a certain town you’re wanting to settling in? I live in Andile and Naji lives in Ast. Andile is mostly Alkidikes but Ast is a shifter settlement. Not many there but they’re pretty welcoming. I’m sure between the two of us we could help you find something.” She paused for a moment and shrugged her shoulders. “Unless you’d rather find another town.”

“Oh…” Keline’s words trailed off as her antennae drooped a bit. Though she had only just met the girl, Kel had been hoping that she would settle somewhere near by — so that maybe they could see each other again. Kel chewed on her bottom lip as Naji gave her a look, as if to say ‘drop it’. Kel rolled her eyes at her friend and turned towards Rajani. “That sounds like a good plan. Better to maybe settle down somewhere in the inbetween than a big, known settlement. Where were you headed today, then? This is a little far out to be for if you were gonna look for somewhere between Ast and Sol.”