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 Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 11:18 am
Dyakida walked along the edge of Jahuar, where it met the Tale. She could hear the sounds of the coast nearby, shared between the two lands. The lapping of waves against the jagged rocks was a new sound, but welcome. It reminded her of her days playing on Chibale with her sisters. And now? She was grown.
She had been intending to just wander the edge of the jungle, looking for supplies. Wandering was easier now that she had Peyla, and she could dare to venture further away, without worrying that she was making a mistake. No longer would she have to be quite so worried about being reckless and foolish as she sometimes was.
With the beach nearby, though, she wondered what she could find for her craft. The ocean bore many gifts, and it had been a long time since she had trod it's beaches.
But she was hesitant to leave the protection of the canopy and venture into the roofless sands. Water or not, it felt too open, too sunlit. She didn't like the feeling of nothingness around her.
But the thought of the beach called to her. Interesting things would be there, she knew.
But... the trees...
She continued to hesitate on the edge of the treeline.
Peyla sniffed curiously the air smelled like salt and muck and other things and Peyla wasn't sure what her Alkidike was doing. Where were they going?
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Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:26 pm
Winta had spent several days traveling to Zena in hopes of finding out how they made their own spears. It had proved to be a silly endeavor as she never did find anyone who could tell her how to make them. Though, the guy she met there seemed to know enough about weapons, maybe he could turn out to be a valuable resource later on. The girl shrugged as she made her way through the desert with her coat laced up into her bundle. It was to hot for it here in the desert and useless against the cold of Zena. "At least I still have my fingers and toes." She smiled a little. Yes, it could have been much, much worse. Oh well. "Only question is where should I go now?" Winta said out loud, surveying the landscape. Maybe she could try traveling to the mountains to seek out the wind tribes. Seemed kind of silly to go back the way she came though. With a shrug Winta decided to continue heading into the desert, towards where the desert met the forest. With some luck she could find the Alkidike's and find out how they made their spears. That seemed like a good plan!
It took Winta a few more days to get from one end of the desert to the other but by the time she reached the tree line she was beaming from ear to ear. Of course this plan would work. Or at least that's what she had been convincing herself of the whole time she had walked here. She came to a halt and stretched her arms out over her head. "Never been in Jahuar before." Winta whispered to herself as she placed her arms back down at her sides. "Well, to late to turn back now." Winta said before she began to try and enter the forest. However, as soon as she began to take a step in she noticed that she wasn't the only one at the tree line. Unable to think of what else to do, Winta simply froze in place. Only thing that crossed her mind at that moment was the words "Uh oh."
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2013 7:01 am
Dyakida was not expecting to hear a voice this close to the edge of Jahuar. Wouldnt most Shifters and Alkidikes be deeper in? Wouldnt most of the leaf tribe be avoiding the dangerous jungle?
She couldn't feel any vibrations, but that had been a voice. She touched a tree to orient herself.
"Peyla?"
Peyla looked around. That was her job because her Alkidike couldn't! Oooo! Lots of trees! Where the tree place met the big empty always had interesting colors!
Ooo! The ocean! She could see it! Big water, Lots of water! All of it moving!
She didn't see the leaf tribe member, so distracted was Peyla.
"`````!"
Big water! Look at it!
Dyakida took a step along the treeline, her other hand resting passively at her belt, where her dagger was. A little bit of caution couldn't hurt.
"Is someone there?" she called, straining her senses.
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Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 2:06 pm
Immediately when Winta heard Dyakida's soft voice call out to her she perked up and listened harder. Winta wasn't made for tracking, she was made to make things so trying to listen to every sound the forest held was like her Grandmother being okay with her dream profession in life, impossible. "Yes, I am." She replied, taking a step forward into the brush. Winta knew that whoever was in here with her was close but she couldn't exactly tell just how close they were. There were so many tree's and bushes and other plants all packed together. Her green-blue eyes focused on what she thought was a flower. Was that in Tale? After she took a second to think it over she concluded it wasn't. Then again, anything that grew here probably couldn't be found in the harsh desert. In fact, Winta was surprised at how cool it felt. Sure it wasn't as cold as Zena but it felt like a nice medium to her home.
"I'm Winta. Who are you?" She asked, redirecting her attention to the person hiding just out of sight. Despite having just set foot into the tree line, Winta felt she was already lost. Jahuar had swallowed her up and maybe she'd never get out. Of course she would, but it sure didn't feel that way. "Are you lost?" She continued. It was unlikely they were, but it was worth it to ask anyways. Maybe they were trying to get to the desert? Again it was unlikely that this person would be lost. Winta stepped a little further into the brush, hoping to see whoever it was that was hiding in there.
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 10:35 pm
The voice was female, that much Dyakida could tell. She had a good sense of where they were. If they revealed themselves then that meant that they were not afraid, right? They might be a sister alkidike then.
"Dyakida" she said, trying to pinpoint where Winta was coming from. "No, I am not lost" she took her hand from her be, "I was heading to the beach... Do you live around here?" she asked, still trying to pinpoint the voice. It seemed a reasonable question- why else would she be asked if she was lost, unless the person was familiar with the area and knew that Dyakida did not come here often?
"It's a lovely day, isn't it?"
The moment she had heard the other voice, and had heard Dyakida talking, Peyla's attention was diverted from the big water. Person! There was a person! She had to make sure that that person was safe. That was part of her very important job.
"!!!!"
The sprite tried to find the person, but she couldn't see them. Were they hiding?
"!!!!" Well, hiding was rude. She would find them!
Peyla darted to where the voice was coming from and circled around for a while.
"!!!!! !!!!" where were they? Rude people! No hiding!
Dyakida felt the breeze of Peyla's departure from her side. She wished that the sprite wouldn't do this- Peyla only seemed to become more and more protective of her as time went on.
"I'm sorry about Peyla. She inspects anybody who talks to me" which at least confirmed that Dyakida didn't know this woman.
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:14 pm
A wave of relief flooded through Winta's body as she settled herself against a tree. "Nice to meet you Dyakida." She said happily while trying to figure out where exactly the girl was. Maybe if she climbed the tree she could see her? It wasn't good to be this short. "Actually, I live kind of faraway from here. I'm from Tale." Winta replied, not really concerned about the stranger anymore. Then again, it wasn't hard to not be afraid when you couldn't even see the person, nor could they see you.
Suddenly a breeze wafted through the bushes which she knew instantly was some kind of animal. No one could move that fast. "It is a lovely day. . . Oh. It's okay. She's bonded to you?" Winta asked, having not one of her own. In fact no one she knew did. "I'll climb this tree right here and find you. Kind of hard talking to someone you can't see." Winta couldn't help but laugh a little before she began her ascent into the tree tops. When she was about mid way up the trunk she looked down and noticed Peyla first. Wow, she was an amazing creature. Then she forced her eyes to peel off her and instead she focused on the girl whom she had been talking to through the brush. "Found you!" The excitement she had upon meeting her first Alkidike was beyond words. To her they seemed almost like a fairy tale. Then again, her grandmother refused to talk about them; didn't want her developing an urge to visit or live with them.
Winta tried to climb down as quickly as she could and when her feet touched the ground she followed up by walking briskly towards the girl. When she made it through the last of the brush she found her near a tree. "Well now we can actually see each other!"
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Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 10:16 am
From the Tale.
Likely not a sister then. "That is a ways away from here" she said, frowning. She wasn't going to comment on how difficult it was to talk to someone you couldn't see. It was difficult doing anything without sight, but she was doing it. There really wasn't any reason to comment on it, either. Either she noticed or not.
Peyla flew up to the leaf girl to inspect her thoroughly. No sharp objects? She had a spear, but it was a crappy one and wasn't drawn, which meant no threat. Shorter than her Alkidike, which was good. And... Peyla sniffed Winta's hair... she smelled all right.
"!!!!! !!!!!!!!" she chimed loudly. This earthling passed inspection!
Dyakida used the chiming to locate Winta.
"Yes..." she lied. She still, of course, couldn't see the girl. Peyla was being talkative, which was good because it helped her orient, that and the vibrations the Earthling was making. But how close was she?
"Are you leaf tribe? I've heard of them... never actually seen one." All true. She held out a hand to shake- but to also get an idea for where Winta actually was.
"It's good to meet you too."
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 10:14 am
Winta didn't notice that the girl that she was talking to actually still couldn't see her. Then again she'd never met anyone who was unable to see or an Alkidike so who was to say that Dyakida was a little off? Winta certainly wasn't going to be the one to do it. "It is. I just got back from visiting Zena not too long ago and that was a little further of a travel for me." Her eyes turned to the outstretched hand and she took it, returning the handshake in return. Winta wasn't all that used to handshaking, but at least she knew how to do it. That was a major plus for the day. "Leaf? Yep! As far back as my family can track actually. My grandmother is a very grumpy old lady who made sure I memorized it by the age of four." At this Winta couldn't help but sight. Her grandmother was the greatest-worst-person alive. Zoan really shouldn't be the one left alone with a child for more than a few minutes, but admittedly Winta had to be at least slightly thankful to have the old bat than no one. If Winta wasn't determined to be her own person, her and Zoan would probably get along really well.
"So why are you this close to the desert? I've never seen an Alkidike before so I think we're pretty even." Winta openly admitted to the girl. She looked absolutely amazing standing there. Her height was something to be desired, her body was a pretty perfect specimen overall and Winta could just coo over the thought of Dyakida holding a weapon. Whether Dyakida did or not was of no concern to this girl at the moment. All she wanted to do was see her with a weapon in her hand to see if it really did fit. "Dyakida, are you a fighter or?" Winta asked, completely unsure about the type of jobs Alkidikes had. In fact all she knew as that Alkidikes were women and if her grandmother ever saw her hanging around one she'd hit Winta over the head and ship her off to get an arranged marriage or something. What her grandmother didn't see wasn't going to hurt her, right? Of course!
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Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 5:55 pm
"Zena? That's very far away. My sister Maya was part of the expedition there."
The hand was firm, not particularly soft or rough. It felt sun-touched and decently strong. Dyakida squeezed gently before reluctantly releasing it. She liked having contact- touch kept her from feeling alone in a way that hearing could not.
"Pardon my ignorance, but what is a grandmother?" Grandmothers, generations, lineages... she had no idea what that meant.
"Me?" Well she didn't seem afraid. A lie would not work here, she thought. She wished she could read the woman's face (and see her eyes, her crystals, her expression), but she had a feeling that this lady would not be intimidated by a warrior. It was not any use trying.
"No. I am not a fighter." she wished she was, but that would never be.
"No. I craft weapons for my sisters. And I do have a dagger, should I need to use it."
There. That was warning enough.
"Or I hope to." She smiled, hoping that it was disarming. "What of you?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 12:06 pm
Oh, so she had a sister? Winta had to admit that it was pretty cool to find out when others had siblings since she lacked some herself. It was impossible for her to imagine a brother or sister living in her house with her grandmother. "A grandmother?" Winta looked a little confused by the question but shook it off. Alkidike's probably didn't call their grandmothers the same as the Tale Earthlings. "A grandmother is the mother of one of your parents." Of course that meant it could be a term used for either a mother or father's parents. Winta wasn't sure if she had explained it well.
When Dyakida continued to explain why she had a spear in her hand Winta's light eyes sparkled and grew large. Another weapons maker? Right here? In front of her? Winta let in a huge breath of air before hugging Dyakida and bouncing around in a circle with the girl in her arms before she realized what she had done, put her down and took a step back. "Umm. . . Sorry." Winta laughed, a grin unable to leave her mouth. "I've never met another weapons maker before! What's your favorite kind of weapon? What made you want to do it?" And with that a flood of questions escaped her. Usually Winta was pretty good about being a calm individual but with that one sentence Dyakida had become her idol.
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Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 12:31 pm
Grandmother.... such an interesting concept. She supposed... Aisha? But no. Aisha was the mother they all had in common. She was going to respond with a few questions, since she was on the subject when she was suddenly... Picked up and twirled!
Dyakida was not expecting that. How could she? Why would she?
Her normally mild features changed into a startled expression as she was twirled around and hugged. Just because it was useless didn't mean that she wasn't blinking in confusion before she regained her bearings.
"Oh... ah..." she took a deep breath and calmed herself. Shes obviously not attacking. she thought to herself, amused. She could understand how this leaf woman felt- she sort of felt the same. Most other Sisters made weapons as a secondary occupation or a hobby or even just to maintain their own weapons. There were few... none, probably, who were focusing as she did on just weapons crafting.
"It's all right." she said, managing to put her calm demeanor back on comfortably, "I have met few others devoted to the craft as I am... and you are as well...?" she smiled, "I do it because I love the crafting and, since I cannot fight alongside my sisters, I wish to help them in some way. And you?"
Her expression turned thoughtful. "As for favorite weapon..." did she have one... exactly? She had been expected to become a spearwielder or a broadsword wielder. She had liked the bow, but archery had never been her strong suit.
"The quarterstave." she said finally, "It can be wielded in so many ways, and can also be used as a walking stick. Very versatile, and simple to repair and modify..." It was not a traditional Alkidike weapon, but some did use it.
"And yourself? Do you have a favorite weapon?" She was calm, but she there was a definite ease and happiness. Peyla was not happy about the rough treatment of her Alkidike! Even as Dyakida calmed down, the sprite scolded unhappily from nearby. That was rude! So rude! Rude twoleg woman! Rude!
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Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 1:21 pm
After a few moments she was once again calm and but still felt the urge to just hug Dyakida. For a moment she contemplated pinching herself because there was just no way this Alkidike could have so much in common with her. It wasn't actually a lot but to Winta this one similarity might as well have been like finding a long lost twin. Of course that was impossible, for a multitude of reasons. However, when Dyakida admitted that it was her desire to help her sisters in some way that had caught her a little off guard. Not that she couldn't understand that as a reason but something about it seemed, off. "I got my passion for weapons from my parents. They were fighters and after they died I saw what it did to my grandma so I chose a safer path that would still allow me to be around the things I loved." She responded, deciding to let her curiosity about the girls statement go for the moment.
It took Winta a couple minutes to picture the weapon in her head but then she realized it was the one that was like a spear without the pointy end. "That's a good weapon. I think mine would have to be a spear." There were a lot of things you could do with a spear too, in terms of how it was used. Not only was it good in battles but it could be used for a more homely profession like hunting or something of that sort. Throwing weapons was awesome too. "Why would you use it for a walking stick?" Winta finally asked, not realizing that Dyakida was blind or putting two and two together.
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Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 5:58 pm
"We are very similar then. We want to do it both because we love the craft and because of family." Dyakida commented, "Though your reasons and mine have great differences. My mothers were not very keen on weapons or fighting. They preferred to not be very martial. However, many of my sisters are, so there is always a need for weapons."
She nodded, remembering the first weapon she had crafted effectively. "Spears are very good, yes. And favored by many of my tribe." she frowned, her forehead creasing. She didn't know that, because of Peyla's anger, she was actually looking sort of off to the side of Winta.
"Well, its sturdy and can take some abuse. A walking stick takes some of the strain off of the legs. And it helps you feel the ground in front of you..." She hesitated. She really hated admitting her blindness. "A spear works for that too, but the tip gets in the way at times." she smiled, hoping that the joke would get through.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 2:02 am
Winta was taken aback by Dyakida's response since she had never actually seen a same-sex couple in her life. Thankfully that was the only thing her grandmother didn't seem to have a problem with. Granted that future was off-limits for Winta considering she was the only one who could have children in their line that was still alive. Not at least until she had properly ensured their family tree would continue on. It was a good thing that she wasn't attracted to women. At least she wasn't interested in their lady parts. "You have two mothers?" Was all she could ask.
To Winta's credit she could be rather observant at times and unfortunately she had noticed that Dyakida was no longer looking at her, however, she chose to keep her mouth shut. Maybe there was something on her shoulder? A quick sideways glance revealed nothing on her shoulder or to her side. Then it sort of clicked in Winta's head that maybe she had poor eyesight. Not that she was blind, just was nearsighted. Winta bridged the gap between them once more and ignored Peyla. Deciding to leave her previous question behind she smiled. That was true to some extent.
Oh? Her sisters used spears? The idea occurred to Winta to come and visit the tribe of sisters at a later time since it was probably unlikely Dyakida would just lead her into the heart of her home. Winta had never known or heard of anyone in her area going into Jahuar and finding the women that resided there. In fact, Winta had no idea it was possible that some of them had, had children with outsiders. "Are there a lot of weaponmakers where you live?" Winta further questioned. One day when she did make it to the settlements she might find that there were many more like her. Was it possible? An excited shiver ran down Winta's spine. Only one way to find out, right?
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Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:30 pm
Well of course she did. Dyakida managed to keep the mixed confusion, intrigue, and exasperation out of her expression. It was ridiculous to feel this way when clearly the Earthlings had a different way of doing things. They weren't born from a lotus and didn't share a mother between them all. She wondered what held them together? Clearly something else, but what could be stronger than a mother's... than Aisha's... all-encompassing love?
But that was a question for another time.
For now, Dyakida was happy to enlighten this new aquaintence.
"Yes. Three, actually. All Alkidikes are born from our great mother, the goddess Aisha. She brings us into the world as lotuses. We are raised by the women" and men, she supposed. She had seen a few males at a distance a long time ago, and had even seen a male alkidike. Once. She had never properly met a male until after she had lost her sight. "... who wish for a child to raise."
It felt odd revealing this to a strange earthling, but it wasn't as though it was an enormous sacred secret. Sacred, yes. But Aisha was invoked as their mother in common speech. To earthlings, even. It was not something that could destroy them or even give this woman and her kind an edge over them. So why did it feel so strange and off?
Maybe it was because she was saying it so coolly and clinically? "Our mother is very beautiful. I hear you can see her from the coast of Jahuar." and in her presence it smells of warmth and flowers, and beneath her boughs I know I am safe and loved... she added silently, though it was a little much for her to actually say out loud. Of course, Winta would likely never witness Aisha's verdant blue boughs, nor did Dyakida want to encourage her to think such thoughts. But was it wrong to say that her mother was beautiful and that the Earthling should witness her from afar? No, of course not. It was bragging. And I have every right to brag. thought Dyakida, smirking inwardly. After all, bragging was a very alkidike hobby, one Dyakida was happy to be able to participate in.
"As for my mothers and my sisters, some do make weapons as a side craft, but they are first and foremost fierce warriors. I am one of the few who devote all of my time to making weapons, and probably the youngest of those." she added, holding back the strange mix of pride, sadness, and chagrin that her words invoked within her. Most of her fellow weapons crafters were probably old alkidikes, no longer able to grace the battlefield as often as they would like.
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