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 Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:37 pm
"Oh." There was genuine surprise that and a tinge of concern. Even if he had her late night outings her family still had some idea of where she was, at least the general area. If Kahukura heard them then she would appear from her hidey holes, but to just wander off...He really was going to end up dead one day.
"...I wouldn't...look." Her eyes dipped down to his skirt before looking back at his face, but just as quickly her skin was warming and she was adjusting her satchel. "Right, anyway..." Kura grasped the rope, brached her bare foot against the trunk of the tree and started to 'walk' up. For the lower branches one could have simply pulled themselves up, but as the tree grew so did the spacing between branches. It didn't take her long to reach the upper landing, though she was fairly used to it.
The treehouse was even more simplistic inside. It was mostly filled with shelves, hooks for bags and baskets of varying sizes holding a variety of things. There were some books, candles, maps...But the majority were skulls, bones, strange rocks, a basket of ribbon clippings, useless parchment...
A truly organized hoarders nest.
Kahukura took out a bit of flint from her bag, struck it on one of her many stones and started to light some candles.
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:47 pm
[9/10]
She wouldn't... l-- oh. Morain tinged pink, stumbling mentally over how to respond. To wave it off? To make a joke out of it? His brother would've flirted at her probably, but he didn't want to agitate the person giving him a place to stay for the night. Thankfully, she was turning away from him before he could puzzle out a response, gripping the vine... and, with all the grace and assurance of a true Alkidike, she was climbing up the tree like it was nothing!
Morain watched, suddenly regretting not asking for help. He gnawed on his lip, gripping the vine for a moment, but with a defeated sigh, he started to climb. He lacked any true upper arm strength, and a few times his foot slipped and he had to scramble onto the nearest branch with an undignified squeal. But - finally, he reached the top, panting and red-faced and with his silver hair all a mess.
At first he was too focused on breathing to notice anything - but then he looked, and realized why she'd said not to 'take anything'. It was... a lot of junk, really, but COOL junk - skulls, rocks his baba would drool over, various knick knacks that he wanted to sort through and peer at. But, remembering his promise, he instead sat in the pool of his skirts, looking at the candles she'd managed to light while he was struggling his way up the tree.
"This is... wow. Where'd you even get half this stuff... ? " He wondered out loud.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2021 11:46 am
After a while Kura debated looking out over the edge to see if her guest was alright, but that seemed...rude? Condescending? She didn't want to think him any less capable than she, especially since he seemed to be doing fine. Still, the longer she meandered in the tree house and the squeals...
By the time he surfaced she had an armload of blankets and simply stared. "...Would you like some water?" He was...oh my, well he was certainly worn, wasn't he?
She crouched near the back of the tree house where there was less chance of exposure from the outside and started to set up a palette. It wouldn't be much, but at least it was clean and warm. Occasionally the hybrid would look over her shoulder to see him looking over her things and her heart would tighten. She didn't like it; not a bit. If he said something it was going to be bad, she just knew it, or he would take something and-
-just like that, he was making himself cozy.
"They're memories." Kura mused, fingers gliding over the bedding to make the handstitched quilts lay flat. "Everything in my collection has a memory attached to it. Like..." Her eyes went over the shelves until it landed on a broken vase. She pointed to it with a fond smile. "My mother used to keep that on a table when I was younger and my father would always fill it with fresh flowers. One day I got into an argument with my sister over something and I broke it...I never wanted them to find it so I hid it away." The shame, the fear...nothing could have been as strong as the good memories that came from that vase.
"Not everything here is bad, but they just...have meaning even if they aren't perfect, you know?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2021 11:54 am
[10/10]
Morain didn't respond to her question, and instead tried to innocently look as put together as he could, humming a 'no' in response as he dragged his fingers through his hair and retied it. As he looked, she prepped up a bed for him which... was a surprise. He'd expected, at best, to have a warm hole to sleep in - not... a proper bed. Of course, he'd still worry about crazy creatures creeping out of the mess of items while he slept to bite him, but... it was really nice. Comfy, even.
"Memories?" He echoed, curiously, blinking at her as she surveyed her things for an example. The memory she chose was... a bit bittersweet, if he was honest, certainly not exciting, but... in a way it made the collection of bits and bobs make a bit more sense.
"Thus why you'd rather I not take a souvenir." Morain concluded, nodding to show he understood it. He was, also, learning just a bit more about her family from it - not that it would amount to much. She'd be heading home, as would he the next morning, and... odds were they'd never meet again.
"You letting me stay here...? With all your memories - I appreciate it. Really." He said, soberly, offering a smile in hopes she might relax, if only a little bit.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2021 12:03 pm
Kahukura simply 'hmmed' and nodded her head. It was why she would be returning as soon as morning light struck the ground. She would need to inspect the space just to make sure he was true to his word, even though she honestly wanted to trust him. He...had been particularly kind to her and she didn't want to think ill of him. Still, others had been that way as well and she...just didn't have it in her to be that vulnerable.
"For what it's worth, I wish you could have seen Elzira." She rose from her crouch then and looked at him - really looked at him - with a smile of her own. "She's never blessed us with a son before, but I think she would have liked to see one of Aisha's kin."
The Elaria were changing, but it wasn't perfect. Kahukura sometimes fell under their scrutiny, but mostly from older generations. Maybe one day things would change...
She made her way back to the doorway, gave Morain one last look with a murmured 'sleep well' and disappeared back into the fog.
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