[META] Chapter 1: Intrigue [v. L]

[Suhuba]

Chapter 1: Intrigue
v. Leaf

|| OOC ||

||. Chapter 1 will close on Sunday, July 15
||. This Chapter will function primarily as a meet and greet between members of the Leaf Tribes before they begin their excursion.
||. All regular Forum Rules apply.
||. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to PM Suhuba or ask in the Main Thread.

|| IC ||

It was very early morning in Tendaji. The thick, downy sands covering the savannah were cool to the touch, made tolerable by the long night. Tale's fauna had come out from hiding, quietly exploring the nooks and crannies of their drought-ridden home.

Within the canopy of one particularly large cluster of small, twisted trees, small lights could be seen. Tiny, well-controlled fires had been made on the natural platforms created between the tiny forest's branches. Shadowed forms could be seen, entering this rare, tree-spotted place. A group of Leaf Tribes were gathering, Earthlings coming from places all across the savannah to meet in this particular place.

Many young adults of these tribes had been called upon, and many others had volunteered, to take part in a great, significant investigation of their world. They had been told that they would be leaving at daybreak, and so many people had arrived early, families wishing to give their fond (and often teary) farewells to their sons, daughters, friends, and family members, before they set out into the potentially dangerous unknown for an undeterminable amount of time.

Near the bases of the trees, not bothering to take part in the morning's festivities, was Enki. He sat with his back pressed against a trunk, offering a warm yet powerful nod to those were just arriving at the gathering. People showed obvious and immediate respect to the young man. After all, it was he whose lives their loved ones would be in the hands of.

During the days leading up to this expedition, Enki had shown nothing but pride at having been chosen as the leader of such an important excursion. However, now, seeing the lives and relationships that were truly at stake, his nerves had begun to kick in. He preferred to remain alone for now, contemplating his own thoughts and giving those upstairs a slightly more solid sense of peace, not having the man who might very well be leading these other young adults to their doom in their midst.

Those who were joining in on the adventure had been told to arrive before sunrise. They would be leaving soon.  

[kaname423]

Aminah rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she walked toward the clusters of people ahead of her. Her parents had forbid her to go along with the journey, but she still wanted to say her farewells to the lucky ones who were about to travel.

She eagerly waved to Enki, a member of the leaf tribe that she had admired since she was little. They weren't friends really, but everyone knew Enki. She closed in on the nearest cluster to her and started speaking to the others. "Hello everyone! It's so early, I'm almost glad that I don't have to go." She brushed off her mild irritation that she couldn't be a part of the group yet again. She leaned with one hand on her hip and circled the other hand in the air. "I still can't believe I'm missing out on all this though. It's going to be so exciting for you all!"  

[jayoku]

Keilana had forced herself to wake up earlier than she needed to, after all there was a gathering today and she intended to go, even if her brother thought she would be better off staying at home. But what did he know? Certianly NOT what was best for her. Rolling over her gaze suddenly locked on the spitorog that was only mere inches away from her face. They stared at each other a moment, Keilana blinked...the spitorog did not. In fact it only blew a few spit bubbles in her direction that showed the thing in fact was still alive.

Shivering Keilana sat up, she swore that thing was stalking her but tried to dispel the notion for it was absurd. It was just a stupid creature...but...still. Casting a glance back to it, which it hadn't moved...unless you counted it's eyes suddenly looking like it was trying to look two different ways. Shaking her head she quickly gathered her things, stuffing them in her satchel, there was some fruit still left she had brought a couple days earlier from the forest. There wasn't any meat but she hoped perhaps they would get to hunt on this journey and bring down bigger prey.

Looking back to her brother's sleeping form she quickly dashed out of the house and jogged a good distance looking over her shoulder as she went until she felt that she was a good distance away. After all once her brother woke up he would notice her absence immediately and come after her. But by that time she hoped to assert herself as a valuable member of the team.

Thankfull for the pre-dawn air she was able to jog a lot farther than usual without over-heating. She spotted the large cluster of tree's that was the meeting spot before she noticed Enki, and she felt herself smile. Not that she knew him but she was...her hero and seeing him here meant that he would be joining them...maybe even joining them! Slowing she tried not to betray her girlish excitement at his presence.
"Morning," Keilana greeted the other leaf tribe member trying to act casual and cool, though her attention was immediately brought to the voice of a young girl she wasn't familiar with. Her hair was white, and that was the biggest difference she noticed, blinking she moved slowly away from Enki wondering if this girl was for real. Keilana had a snarky comeback on the tip of her tongue but she swallowed it, she didn't want to seem like she wasn't a team player, even though this girl wasn't coming it seemed.  

[Orpheus Solon]

Jacinthus gave a little yawn, sitting up slowly, stretching out all over before he looked around, "Morning, already?" He murmured to himself, he'd been up a bit late filling his pack with things that he thought they might need while on such a journey. He was up late as well fretting just a bit over his sister and the fact that he knew, no matter what he said or did that she would be tagging along with him on this trip. He wasn't so lucky as to think that telling her stay home like a good girl and wait for him to get home would get him anything but a bloody nose. He would just have to take his new skills and use them to keep Keilana safe as well as keeping them fed.

Dragging himself out of bed he stretched out all over, "Come on, Kei, it's time to get going if we aren't wanting to be late." He said, turning only when the only response he got was a strange burbling sound. Blinking a couple times he starred at the brain dead frog that Keilana swore over and over that she hadn't brought home with her. Instead she accused the thing of stalking her. He didn't quite believe her though, how the thing could survive on its own was beyond him so he really didn't think it had the conscious thought to stalk someone. Giving a shake of his head he looked around the house that he shared with his sister before giving a sighing sound, "She left without me, didn't she? Such a brat." He muttered, wanting to chase her down and scold her until her ears were numb for running off without him.

Hurrying over to his bed he scooped up the pack that was sitting next to it, swept up his bow to sling it over his shoulder, strapped his quiver of arrows to his hip, and hurried onward. He would need to run if he wanted to catch up with his sister as well as keep himself from being any later then he might be already. The archer didn't bother to even give a single look back at the burbling frog as he hurried on his way to catch up with his wayward sister. Here he was planning on taking the girl with him this time around, having wanted to keep her safe since she was sure to tag along regardless, and then she went off and pulled this? How he missed the days of her being cute, tiny, and listening to what he said to her he thought to himself as he hurried along as quickly as his feet would take him to where the girl was waiting for him.

Sometime later he was reaching the gathering grounds, a touch winded but he was pretty sure that he'd gotten here more quickly then he might on a normal day. His eyes flickered from side to side, taking in all the teary goodbyes that were happening between families and he had a moment of envy, knowing that there would be nobody seeing Keilana and himself off. They had each other and that was that... though upon spotting his sister she didn't much look as if she only had him, instead she looked as though she might start drooling at any moment. Giving a sigh he walked over to her, leaning in close and whispered to her, "Careful there, sis. You don't want to mess up his pretty boots with your drool." He loved his sister, he really did, but he couldn't resist a bit of teasing after she ran off without him.  

[Suhuba]

Enki smiled, waving back to Aminah as she passed. She was such an enthusiastic and unique young lady; her hair in particular distinguished her as clearly not completely Leaf in blood. It probably would have benefited her to accompany them on this journey, but there was nothing to be done. Her parents had forbid her and that was that.

”Good morning.” Enki greeted Keilana in response, finally pulling himself onto his feet. The edges of the sky were beginning to take on a lighter blue hue, meaning that dawn and their departure were both quickly approaching. He had never been properly introduced to the Prentice girl, but he had seen her around, along with her brother. It was clear that she had a lot of spunk. He was very much looking forward to seeing what skills she would bring to their small team.

A smile found the Berserker’s lips as Keilana’s brother approached, whispering something into her ear. Perhaps a reprimand for having clearly left him behind? Enki’s amusement was obvious upon his face as he nodded towards the other Prentice. ”Good morning to you as well. It’s Keilana and Jacinthus, if I’m not mistaken?” He took in the duo for a moment before continuing. ”I’m Enki. I’ll be leading our group on this expedition.” A grin took hold of his lips, lighting up his face. ”It’s a pleasure to officially meet you both.”  

[jayoku]

Keilana had literally rolled her eyes and huffed as her brother approached and what he whispered in her ear caused her anger to smolder and it earned him a rather firm punch in the shoulder. Though she was about to say something snarky back to him she found herself cut short, Enki was moving and she didn't want him to think she was....a loose cannon.

Grumbling to mostly herself though a few choice words that she allowed her brother to hear she quieted as the older leaf tribe member began to speak. When both her and her brother was acknowledged she gave him a bright smile, though probably not quite as bright and enthusiastic as mix breed over there.

Sighing she fiddled with her plain brown hair as if annoyed that it was so bland. That was until they were addressed and her attention was riveted to him. Nodding her head as if that was enough to agree that she was indeed Keilana she sighed,
"Ah..pleasure is ours." with a non too obvious sigh of a girl crushing. It was as if she was poised to elbow her brother in the ribs if he made any smart a** remark.  

[Orpheus Solon]

Wrapping an arm lazily around his sister's shoulders he looked around to see who else was about, then back to Enki once more as the man greeted them one by one, even going so far as to guess their names which surprised him a little. He'd never of thought that an important looking guy like him might know who they were, what a pleasant surprise, "Good morning." He returned the greeting, listening as he man said that he would be leading the expedition and that it was a pleasure to meet them both. It was something that seemed to have pleased his sister given that she started to fiddle and preen over the fact that the guy was talking to her in such a friendly manner. Jacin felt the urge to gag.

When his sister was suddenly saying that the 'pleasure was theirs' he gave a chuckle a murmured, "Oh you wish, sis." He got an elbow in the ribs he felt that it was completely worth the pain and it wasn't as though he hadn't been toughened up by repeated beatings that he got from his temperamental sister in the past so what was one more bruise? Giving a grin he added, "Yes, it's a pleasure." He wouldn't admit it to anyone else but the guy was pretty impressive, wasn't he? The way he carried himself especially, he must be someone rather powerful and influential to be able to lead an expedition. It was this sort of man that he wanted to emulate, to get that strong and important in the future, surely then he would be a true assist to not only his sister and village but maybe even the Leaf Tribe in general? It was a nice thought but just sizing this man up he knew that he had a ways to go before he could stand on even footing with someone like Enki.

"Ahh, if I may, can I ask where we are going?" He actually sounded rather interested, he'd gone on a few adventures himself and was eager for another, but he was pretty curious as to where it was that they were heading. He wondered if they would be finding some interesting treasures out there, he sure hoped so.  

[Suhuba]

Enki was an observant man, especially when it came to the up-and-coming warriors within the tribe. Finding out who had signed up to join the excursion had become even more important to him once he had discovered that he would be leading them. He felt the need to know whose lives he would be guiding… and who would likewise be protecting him.

Enki folded his arms across his chest, a grin finding its way back onto his face. The brother and sister duo provided quite the show, albeit a subtle one. They were clearly competitive, but it wasn’t worrisome to the elder man. In fact, he had a feeling that both of the younger Leaf Tribe members would provide better with their sibling near at hand.

”Ah, yes, I’m glad you did!” Enki pulled a rolled up piece of vellum-like paper from his back pocket, the parchment made from the thin skin of a Witu. He crouched down, spreading the roll out on the sandy earth so that both Keilana and Jacinthus could see.

Thinly and precisely scrawled out on the vellum was a map of their world. Tendaji. The southern-most parts of the map, Jauhar, Tale, and Chibale Islands, were very clearly lined. The terrains were marked, as well as many of the most common dwelling areas. The further away from the border of Tale, however, the vaguer the map became. It was clear that the edges of the large continent may have simply been guessed at…

”Our mission is to fill out the rest of this map.” Enki said with a smile, studying the faces of his young comrades. ”Recently, we discovered the Shifters and Alkidikes who live in Jauhar.” As he spoke, he indicated the area south of them. ”Chances are, that means there are other people, other creatures, other things to the north as well.”  

[jayoku]

Keilana's elbow still smarted from jabbing her brother in the ribs, and when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder she wanted to deck him in the jaw, after all such brotherly companionship could make her look weak. Her older brother was there to 'look after' his little sister, the sheer thought of something that absurd made her seethe with anger yet she caught her tongue and managed to brush off her brother's arm.

When Enki went about explaining what they were about to do the first thing she wanted to blurt out was 'why?'. After all didn't they have enough to deal with, with the Alkidikes and the Shifter tribes? Both were adversaries for food and land so why would they want to go discovery one more enemy? She supposed after a moments of contemplation that it would be better to know what or who was out there so there were no surprise attacks.

"So...we go out..and what...make friends? Start war? We go to observe?" Keilana voiced her question for it wasn't like any of them were truly experienced in fighting...well beyond punching people who irritated her anyway.  

[Suhuba]

Enki smiled at the feisty woman. "Our goal is certainly to make friends more than to start war. We don't have enough resources or enough warriors to engage in a battle at this time; it would devastate us." The man's brow furrowed slightly. "But we need to prepare ourselves. We need to know what's out there. Although we have been on peaceful terms with the inhabitants of Jauhar, we don't know if they're plotting something. They could be intent on starting a war. Those Alkidike women especially; they seem to believe they are entitled to the land. That sort of mentality sparks the flames of battle; we live here, have always lived here, but if they believe this is their land, surely they will try to come and take it."

The man paused, shaking his head, releasing a deep breath. "Of course, I don't want to make assumptions or jump to conclusions. We know very little about either the Shifters or the Alkidikes, but these are the reasons we have been pushing for Prentices to follow through with their training more fervently. Should war fall upon us, we need more bodies capable of battle."

"Enki." A Youngling boy had approached, looking nervous, his toes digging into the sand. The Berserker smiled at the boy, diverting his attention from the group momentarily. "A-a letter.. from the Elders." The boy passed on a small note, written on the same sort of skin paper of the map, before bowing his head briefly and running off.

"It appears... Jauhar's inhabitants are on the move." Enki raised his head, squinting southward, into the distance. Sure enough, the silhouettes of a group of Alkidikes could be seen, standing still, clearly contemplating the group of Leaf travelers as well. "...hope for the best."

Chapter 1: Intrigue Has Ended