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 Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 9:50 am
The large group of orphans and adults had reached the fringes of Jauhar bordering Tale, everyone was tired and they’d stopped to camp out for the day to let everyone rest before they moved on. A few of the orphans had been dropped off in various locations to their villages, some had been returned to their families while others were taken in by villagers who took pity on them. However, one good look around at the remainder and it was easy to tell they still had much travelling to do ahead of them before everyone was back home and the adults could move on with their lives once more.
While the others were busy with setting up camp, Aseara had left them and made her way into the forest. Chores weren’t for her; she wanted to explore the world around her. She glanced back once to make sure she didn’t stray too far from the camp but continued on, only pausing when something caught her attention and she paused to observe it. She really wanted to return home, even if her parents had not come for her yet, she simply wanted a place to call home. It would be a long journey yet though.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 10:42 am
Hijil would soon leave for her home. The war had cooled to a simmer for the time being, and her work as a scout was no longer as necessary as it had been.
Today, she had buried the Radaku, its master, and the others that had died with them in that meadow - others had offered to help her, but, in her usual word-economical way, she had turned them down.
Burying them was symbolic, almost. She had buried both them, and her own past. Or, rather, the apprehensions and pain of her past. Not all of her past needed to be buried. Soon, she would be home, and she would stop procrastinating and seek those parts out.
But before she did, she wanted to see the Tale. She stood at the edge, looking out at the vast, grassy expanse, and felt a vague horror at the lack of trees. She knew the Tale had forests, but there was so much open sky... she could only wonder what lurked in that sky, ready to dive down on the unsuspecting.
It was a silly thought. Her coast-side home was, also, open to the sky, ad to the ocean. She had gotten used to that not too long after she had moved there. She didn't know why it was effecting her now.
A sound drew her attention to something moving through the trees - a child? A child that did not belong in Jahuar, being neither Shifter nor Alkidike. Children that were where they shouldn't be bothered her in this dangerous land, especially, also, in this dangerous time, so she started over.
"Hello!" she hailed, waving her hand to show she was not a threat, "What brings you here, little one?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 11:05 am
Aseara whirled in surprise at the voice hand going up to her chest to cover her heart. She took a deep breath when she spotted the woman, It wasn’t one of her care takers at least who had come to punish her for leaving the camp. She’d seen other children with the same skin as hers; they called themselves Shifters if she remembered correctly. Though Aseara did narrow her eyes slightly at her, she wasn’t sure as to why she was being approached and she took a step back while eyeing the girl. No trust, especially for someone that was not from the same tribe.
“Hello…” She said quietly still eyeing the woman up and down. Did she tell her why she was here? Maybe it was better to warn her that their cam wasn’t too far away and people would be worried about her if she went missing. Well, perhaps more relieved than missing that they had one less mouth to feed at this point. “I’m adventuring from camp. It’s close by.” She also didn’t want to reveal the location of her camp to this woman until she knew her true intentions. Granted she would have no idea if the other was lying or not.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 11:46 am
"Oh." so the little girl wasn't lost. "Good." she continued to approach, holding her hands out in the universal gesture of harmlessness. Lost or not, she was - apparently - still alone in this strange halfway-land between jungle and plain, and Hijil did not like children to be without an adult. Too much of that these days, and she had seen enough of it with herself.
Not that holding her arms out was a harmless gesture for her, being that she fought with her fists, but it was a gesture nonetheless. She didn't want the girl to fear her, and clearly she did - Hijil could recognize suspicion when she saw it.
Speaking of, what was she? Her hair was pale - not pale enough to be a shifter but paler than leaf. Her skin was light, almost golden, and her crystals were spiked and pink. Wind Tribe? she thought, unsure. She had no idea - her experience with people outside of her homeland was sparse.
"Are you from Sauti, little one?" she asked, curious, hoping that it was not so. She did not want to know the force that would leave a child so far from home.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 12:05 pm
Aseara nodded when the other responded. She wouldn’t allow herself to be lost otherwise she would have no way of returning home at all. She didn’t enjoy the caretakers or the other children but they were still for now the key to her goals and she would deal with them until she reached her final destination. Even if no one took her in, she figured she’d still leave the band of orphans behind. She still had a home after all and she could just live on her own until her parents returned. The faster she could get rid of the orphan party the better!
Not knowing if she should answer her or not, Aseara decided it couldn’t hurt to tell+ 6her+ where she was from. “Yes. Do you know of it?” Maybe if she’d been there she could tell her how far her village was and Aseara could count down the days that she’d be home and free of these shackles! Maybe she could take her? But that would be unwise, better to know the distance she needed to travel with the orphans than to run out and about with a stranger.
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 12:41 pm
"I've heard of it." said Hijil, "Its a tall, mountainous land. Across the Tale. Where sailscales come from." she shook her head, "I have never been there."
She was closer now, and she kneeled down, bringing her massive mass to the child's level. She was a pretty child, such lovely eyes. "You are very far away from home..." she rumbled softly, sympathetically. "What happened to you, little one?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 12:58 pm
“What are sailscales?” She couldn’t help herself; her parents had never allowed her much out of their sight so her view of the world had been terribly small until recently. Aseara was disappointed to learn that the woman had never been there, it meant she could not tell her if they were close and how far away it was. She actually looked disappointed at the woman’s answer, she had hoped… She had to remind herself that hope was for the weak as was trust. She had to thank her parents for teaching her that lesson.
Watching the woman bend down, asear could finally see her eye to eye and not have to look up. “I am…” And again she could not stop the tears from flowing freely from her eyes; she wanted to be back home so badly and see her parents and have them take care of her. “My dad left for war and my mother went after him. She gave me to these people who are supposed to take care of me.” Aseara rubbed her eyes to try and stop the tears, she sniffed and forced herself to stop crying so much.
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Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 9:12 pm
Hijil had never left Jahuar - It was big enough for her, honestly - but she did know what a sailscale was. She'd even touched one and held it and even fed it. She was about to explain, when the girl began to cry.
She began to cry.
Hijil's heart felt like it was melting, her eyes widening as she took in the picture of overwhelming emotion.
If she had been in proper society, perhaps she would not have done what she did next. She would have had inhibitions, or something of the sort, that would hold her back.
But as she saw the girl cry for her parents who - if they had gone to war and not returned - might well never return, likely killed in battle or, arguably worse, prisoner, Hijil felt answering emotions rise up in her.
"Oh... baby..." she murmured, her own eyes tearing up, "You poor little girl..." she dragged the girl into an inescapable bear hug, hugging her tight with strong, but gentle arms, as if she could protect her from the harsh life that surely lay ahead of her with her bulk.
She too had parents, one she had never met, and one who she had known too much of, who were gone, and would never return. She, too, had been on her own for so long, too long.
"I'm so sorry..." she could hear tears choking her voice. She'd been alone for so long, a terrified preteen dealing with her sins in a shrieking forest. All alone. Afraid. In pain. She would not let another little girl go through that. She would do anything to make the small crying child better. Anything at all. And she didn't even know her name.
She loosened her hug and looked down at the girl. "My name is Hijil..." she smiled - not a happy smile so much as a sympathetic, comforting smile - "What can I do to help you, little one?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2014 10:56 am
The hug came as a surprise and while she wanted to push the stranger away the woman was huge and it just wasn’t doable. Was this the kind of thing that her people did? She felt uncomfortable and probably a little ridged from the whole encounter, bad enough she didn’t trust the people who fed her, here was a complete stranger. Though, Aseara didn’t push her away but it was a very stiff hug on her part. She was wishing more and more that she’d be home instead of in some unknown world with od people and customs, her anger grew for her parents.
What could she do? Nothing. Nothing that would get her back home either. Aseara didn’t want to travel with a stranger, she knew the adults taking care of her and that would be good enough. Though, she did offer her name since the other had done the same. It was the polite thing to do. “I’m Aseara.” She wasn’t too sure what to tell the other; again she couldn’t do anything for her. “No, I’m fine. I have what I need with these people.” She motioned with her head behind her, Hijil couldn’t give her happiness.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 10:22 am
As Hijil released her hug, she knew she'd done something wrong, and she had a good idea what it was.
Strangers did not just hug other strangers. She didn't think she could have helped it, though... the poor baby was just so sad and alone and had been crying...
Hijil drew back a bit apologetically, awkwardly giving her space. "Are you sure?" Hijil said quietly, "I'd love to help you. In any way I could." she offered again, but her heart was already falling away. What could Hijil do to help a little girl like this, whose parents were gone and who was so impossibly far from any family or home she might yet have?
Nothing: That was what.
"Food, perhaps?" she offered, deciding to be hopeful, "I can help with that, little one..." Yes! That was something she could do. She could bring food to the... people?
"Er." Hijil hesitated, "Who IS taking care of you?" she asked, overcome by a strange and concerned worry. Who was taking care of the child, and why was she alone?
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Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 7:00 am
“Don’t worry.” Really, the older woman was worrying for no reason at all. The caravan provided her with more than enough so called help. Plus, she couldn’t trust this stranger, especially from another race. Though when food was brought up, Aseara could help but look at her with eyes like an animal that had been caught. Yes food, food would be good right about now. But that would leave her indebt to this woman and that was not something she wanted or could afford to do. “Food would be nice.” And yet, she couldn’t help herself, she was quite hungry.
“Uhm…” All the strangers she had met so far had had a bad reaction when she’d told them it was a caravan of orphans who were going around. Still, she couldn’t lie if she did find out who was taking care of her… “I was dropped off with some guardians before my mom left. They are returning the children to their homes. Once they reach my village I will be dropped off back home to my people.” Though whether or not those people would take care of her was a whole different story, Aseara still didn’t know her fate in that department.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 3:58 pm
”Oh...” Hijil frowned. The whole thing seemed very uncertain – some guardians, before her mom left, to her people... Nothing specifically referenced, no person directly mentioned save for her mother. Hijil hadn't known that kind of uncertainty. Her mother had been... flawed... but she'd been there, always there, with her tempers and tantrums and rages and mutterings. And then, she had not been.
”Lets get you some food, then.” said Hijil softly, looking around. There was nothing immediately here, but in the trees... ”Ahh!” she said, smiling, as she recognized a fruit tree. Forgetting to give her young companion a warning, she scaled the tree swiftly, reaching a laden branch with ease. Carefully, she plucked the rich, red, shielded bunches and, as quickly, climbed back down.
She held up her prize to the child. ”Here.” she said.
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Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 9:54 am
It was odd to watch her go right up into the tree and fetch some of the fruits up there, Aseara noticed a few dropped down as the tree shook a bit and smiled. She would be able to bring some back to everyone back at camp with the good fruits that were on the ground. That had been her original plan anyways; gather what she cold from the ground so that she could bring it back. She had not exactly thought she would run into someone who could just… Climb trees like that It was an impressive feat but they could have simply gathered what was on the ground. “Ah thank you.” She took the fruit and quickly took a bit. Maybe she would help her gather from fruits and some other things to bring back to the other orphans. She had said she wanted to help Aseara, well this is what would help her in more ways than one. “You said you wanted to help,” she managed between large mouthfuls. “If you help me gather some food I could bring it back to the other orphans back at camp.” It was a good way of helping her out and was not too much trouble.
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Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 12:20 pm
Hijil was happy that the girl liked her offering of food – she hadn't been sure, as she had heard somewhere that different earthlings had different tastes in foods, and that some couldn't digest them properly. She was happy, too, that the girl finally seemed to want her help, but...
Orphans... Hijil frowned. How many orphans? How many poor little children had found themselves alone because of the war? Stars...
”Yes, of course!” said Hijil. Anything to make these children's lives, children she hadn't met or known, a little better. She found a big leaf and folded it into a makeshift simple basket. ”Hmm...” there wasn't more on that tree, but there would be some elswhere...
”They were in that direction?” Hijil asked, gesturing in that direction, even as she moved in a completely different direction...
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Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 12:41 pm
“Yea around there.” Aseara did not want to give an exact location, her guardians would be furious if she brought home a stranger after all. “Where are you going?” Aseara picked up a few of the fruits on the ground to give them a look over, all rotten. The little girl made a face and then ran after Hijil until she had caught up to her. “Where are we going?” She couldn’t wander too far off and what if they got lost? “What are we doing?” If Aseara got caught too far she would be in trouble… But then again, they did need food.
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