[PRP Tale] It's not too bad out there. FIN

[Reoakee]

Mella sighed contentedly raising an arm and watching as the water wound it’s way down her arm in patterns. It felt so good to take a nice bath after the drama and pain of the fighting. At least this time she had a reason to smile. The obans while now living on the boarder were not going to come and fight anytime soon. Peace at a price, but peace. She would have liked to have the obans driven back, but realistically she doubted they would have been gone for long. There were simply too many with too much ambition. This did not mean she was favorable to the idea of speaking to many obans or even one, but for now she would head up to Year and stock up on lots of colorful berries and nuts before making a trip back to Sauti. She had made it fairly far up the Tale boarder and was proud of herself for being able to travel alone at the moment. In truth she had done a lot of hiding in leaves and sand and was no taking a well deserved break to clean all the wretched sand off. She didn’t know where Telwren was but figured he was close by after all he never strayed from her for too long.

Telwren in the meantime was hunting for bugs and the like. It was a warm enough day and he was feeling quite good. He noticed another food giver camp in his travels and there was food there beside the fire. The white maned food giver was nearby but not next to it. Quickly Telwren dived down and scooped up the food. There was a loud shout but it was too late. Telwren had the food and was winging his way back to his trained food giver.  

[Reoakee]

Ta’ruk was more than a bit disgruntled when he watched his lunch get snagged off the flat rock he was using to cool it. The lizard creature was flying off like it had a place to be. Bounding after it Ta’ruk didn’t even think of the fact he might well be running to danger all he wanted was his hard earned food back and maybe a little side dish of cooked lizard. He whipped through the brush when he suddenly found himself before a small water source the lizard was laying near a stack of supplies but that wasn’t where his eyes were. In front of him was a wind tribe woman who was.. rather unclothed. It wasn’t surprising since she was bathing. Still not being used to seeing a naked woman he was both surprised and embarrassed. Considering she was looking right at him with wide eyes it wasn’t like he could simply turn around and pretend not to have seen. It was then that there was a shriek emanating from her throat. Spinning around he covered his very red face. There was a series of splashes and a few curses as well. He hadn’t imagined the woman being able to swear seeing as she seemed rather slight looking. He could still see her form when he closed his eyes so he kept them open staring into his hands facing away from the water trying to stammer an apology. The food that had been stolen was the last thing on his mind in fact he had rather forgotten about the lizard creature all together in the face of this incident.  

[Reoakee]

Mella had seen Telwren wing his way back though thought nothing of it as she couldn’t see what he had caught and didn’t really want to look to close in case it was still alive. Continuing with her bath she heard some more noises in the underbrush. She stood straight up to get a better view when suddenly a shifter came into view. He was a dirty looking boy with a sash and pair of yellow pants. Surprised and knowing she was naked she quickly covered herself and sat back down being too far from her clothes to use them to hide herself. She shouted mortified with the situation. She didn’t even know what had brought all this about. He was looking at her still and there was a well of panic in Mella’s chest but that subsided when he seemed to come around to himself and spun away from her and hid his face in his hands. Telwren started to screech himself at Mella’s clear distress. He abandoned his food and began to flit about in severe agitation around Mella looking for a source of trouble. Not finding one around her he must have decided the stranger was the source of the trouble. Mella cursed a few times trying to catch Telwren in his flight even standing up and moving about trying to snag him. Still he eluded her grasp and flew toward the stranger. Eyes wide she started to call out to him but slipped and fell forward into the water. Telwren in the meantime had his target and began his assault. Mella heard the strangers cry mixed with Telwren’s harsh hisses and angry calls.  

[Reoakee]

Having his back turned he was woefully unprepared for when the first assault came. Claws raked his back making Ta’ruk twist and kept his hands up. The attacks just kept coming. Ta’ruk was face to face to a flurry of wings and angry scales. The lizard was attacking him and Ta’ruk not having a stick or anything was forced to step back quickly batting at the creature with his arms. Tripping over his own feet he tumbled back. The apologies he had been stumbling over repeatedly had stopped and it was now shouts of panic and distress himself. All he wanted to do he was get this demandable beast off of him. Swinging wildly he wasn’t certain what was worse. The fact there was something the size of his chest attacking him or something of this size was beating him. Rolling and kicking out he heard a few surprised squawk and hopped he had gotten the beast. The flail paused only for a moment but then resumed with more fury than ever. The hissing was perhaps even worse than the assault herself. It was constant and vile. He writhed and tried to get up but only succeeded to give the monster and opening to attack his stomach. It’s claws were tangled up with his sash and at this point it would have been impossible to tell who was more upset by this. The shifter who was trying to get the beast away from him or the sail scale who was now desperately flailing about trying to simultaneously get away and attack the stranger. Ta’ruk was still shouting for help all the while the hissing went on.  

[Reoakee]

Mella had gotten up from her fall and instead of helping the stranger dashed back to her clothes and got dressed mostly in a much more haphazard manner. Then still dripping wet she moved to the tangle of limbs and scales that was flailing about on the ground. Yelling at them to stop she grabbed Telwren firmly and holding his wings pinned with one arm she untwisted the sash from his claw. The stranger was bleeding in several places but Mella was in enough of a huff that the sight of the blood didn’t make her have flash backs to the horrors of the camp for once. Right now she was concerned if Telwren was hurt and who this shifter was. “Enough.” She bopped Telwren on the head and he finally settled down after glaring at her. She herself was glaring at the shifter on the ground who was staring up at her with wide eyes looking at the lizard and then back to her. His unspoken question was clear, was she with Telwren. Rather than answer she sighed. “You might want to stand up. I have Telwren in a pretty secure hold so you should be alright.” As the shifter stood up Telwren started to wriggle so Mella held him tight with both hands and started to speak soothingly to him. Needless to say once the shifter was up he was standing well away from her and her sail scale. Once she had gotten Telwren settled down again she looked at the shifter. “Well now perhaps you could explain who you are?” Her tone was a bit dry and she was keeping an eye on Telwren for any more signs of aggression.  

[Reoakee]

Ta’ruk’s pulse was still running high and he was still very panicked about the creature the woman was holding. Looking at her though he realized a few things. First she had not taken time to dry off and secondly the clothes were put on in such haste that they were a bit askew in parts. Even with her covered he was having trouble looking right at her. Instead he tried to keep his eyes on the lizard but with it being cradled by the woman who’s cloths were sticking on her due to her dampness Ta’ruk lowed his red gaze the beast still was hissing at him but the woman was trying to quite it down. He cleared his throat and tried to answer while he was pressing his hand to a few of his scratches to stop them from bleeding. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to look I just.. there was my food and the flying lizard and .. um. I’m T-Ta’ruk. I grew up in Neued but there was trouble there with things and the obans came.” Ta’ruk shivered but looked at the woman. Her face a wash of compassion and a bit of perhaps pity but there was also no surprise and a great deal of understanding. She knew! She knew of Neued and its troubles. He hadn’t returned home and wasn’t certain if he ever would but she knew of his home and she might know what happened. He opened his mouth to ask but the words themselves would simply not come out. The vile beast she held tilted his head and let out a noise. It wasn’t angry this time. Just seemingly more annoyed. The woman gazed at the beast and let it go. Stepping back in horror and covering his face Ta’ruk expected to be attacked again! He held the pose for a few moments before looking up in surprise to see the beast flying away from them toward the woman’s supplies. It seemed the creature was headed back to finish up its pilfered meal and not attack again.  

[Reoakee]

At first when the shifter was stumbling over his apology she winced. It was embracing enough to be seen bathing but the way he was stumbling was just humiliating to them both. It was only when she made a gesture with her hands that he got around to saying his name and started to talk. It was more than what she had asked for but it did help to explain who he was and why he was out here. When he spoke of Neued his face was somber. She wracked her brain but didn’t remember him from the camps. Still she had been rather distracted as soon as Uquin had appeared. Even just thinking about him now was enough to pull her mind and she had to catch it before she ended up in a day dream with her leaning on the sweet healer’s arm. Still with the fighting over she wondered why the boy hadn’t headed home yet. “The lizard’s name is Telwren and he is a sail scale from Sauti. As me, I suppose I should introduce myself as well just to be fair. I’m Mella.” She gave him a soft kind smile. “I’m sorry I can’t help but wonder why you aren’t back home. Forgive me for saying this but you look like you’ve been out in the wilds for some time.” She gave him a glance over and deciding he looked more like a lost kid than a threat waved him back to her little camp. Her items were a bit askew after her haste to get dressed and that was something she wanted to fix. As it was she also wanted to fix her clothes. She gathered her things up first having to shake out a few skinned hides free of sand. It was more important to her that her art supplies were free from dust than herself.  

[Reoakee]

Mella. It was a short but sweet sounding name. He followed her keeping his eyes on her heels rather than the rest of her figure. As he approached the little camp that attention shifted to the sail scale which seemed to take no more interest in him than if he were a grain of sand. Confused by the sudden change of its attitude he placed that to back of his mind in his hunger for information. “Then the obans didn’t take Neued we won?” There was hope in Ta’ruk’s voice. The girl looked up at him a bit confused and that fledgling hope was crushed. Quickly he told his story to her hoping to see a change of some sort. He started out talking about his family growing up in neued and then the illness that came then the impending attack on them by the obans. How he fled and encountered an archer while he was lost in Tale, then back in Jauhar how he had been saved from an oban with armor by another shifter. He even made sure to specify Ouen’s name remembering how important Ouen clearly wanted that to be. Now he was to head to Isd and see if he couldn’t find the archer or find a safe place and news. At this Mella shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment. He wondered what he had said wrong and had to ask. “What’s wrong why do you look like.. please. I really need to know what happened. Please.” He might have looked like a lost kid before but right now he looked even more pathetic than that he was certain, and didn’t care one bit.  

[Reoakee]

Mella wasn’t even certain where to start. He had been gone so long that he really knew nothing and had been nearly alone that whole time? It must have been horrible. “I’m so sorry. I just don’t even know where to begin.” Before she had been gathering the remainder of her clothes so she could change out of sight in the grasses while he stayed put here with Telwren, but there was no way she was going to just abandon the boy when what she had to say could well scar him. No she would just have to live with sand being in places it didn’t belong and still dripping wet clothes clinging to her skin. She nibbled her bottom lip trying to figure out a way to put it. “Neued wasn’t.. it originally wasn’t saved. In fact a lot of others were taken to the oban camp.” Mella’s voice was soft trying to break the news as gently as possible. “There was then a camp where everyone who was resisting them came together and there was a scouting mission to free the others who were lost at Neued. A battle had begun in the meantime and it was called to a halt when it was discovered several oban nobles had been captured and brought to our camp. The fighting had been subsiding and it was clear that no matter who won there were going to be a lot of losses. .. A truce was reached. The obans they have some settlements on the southern border now, but no more slaves here and Neued.. It’s being rebuilt and there are even members of the water tribe who are now free ..” She stopped when it was clear from the look on his face that Ta’ruk was having some trouble with all this.  

[Reoakee]

It hadn’t been saved. Neued had been destroyed. There had been even more fighting and for what? Nothing the obans were staying and there were going to be oban settlements. Shivering Ta’ruk felt his legs give out and he sat down on the spot. He could hear Mella ask if he was well. He nodded dumbly. There was so much to take in. Still he wasn’t as sad as he thought he would be at the news. In a way he supposed that he had expected Neued to fall. In fact he had expected for worse. Taking a few deep breaths he calmed down. He figured if Ouen was there he would tell him happy stories or something insane to make any sorrow he felt disappear while BarAmal would have yelled at him for being stupid. He looked up to see Mella was sitting as well with a soft smile just waiting for him to be ok. It was clear she would hug him if he needed it from the look in her eyes, but he didn’t need that. No he was going to be alright. “I’m alright.” He assured her. “It’s just a lot to take in at once. Neued is being rebuilt and what’s a water tribe person look like?” He watched as the worry started to dim in her eyes. That was good he really didn’t want to worry anyone else. He glanced at the lizard who was now done with it’s meal and wriggling though the sand over to Mella’s side. Her hand instinctively reached down to stroke it’s head but her eyes never left his. Ta’ruk wasn’t even certain if she realized she was doing that. “You also said our camp before. .. I’m sorry but you don’t really seem like the type to fight. No offence of course.” He held up his hands to forefend any insult or sharp retort.  

[Reoakee]

Well at least he wasn’t breaking out in tears. That was a good thing wasn’t it? She wasn’t a healer so she didn’t quite know for certain. All she could do was smile and nod her head. “I can understand that. Yes Neued is being rebuilt even as we speak. And the water tribe is a people who apparently have been subjugated by the obans for a long time. They have no crystals and finned ears.” She held her fingers up to the sides of her head with her fingers splayed behind her in mimicry of the fins she had seen before. “They are now free and helping to rebuild as well. Neued seems like it will be the hotspot of travel and commerce soon. Obans, shifters, and water tribe all living there together.” The boys brows furrowed at this and so she diceded to change topics quickly before she heard about how he hated the thought of obans in his home, after all she would feel betrayed had it happened to Mez in such a manner. “As for me not being a fighter.” She continued quickly to change the topic glad he had given her an out. “It’s simple. I’m not. In fact I’m not a healer or fighter or anything at all like that. I’m a painter. I make pictures for others and use them in trade. I can also do some halfway decent sketches. Of course in a camp that’s pretty much useless, but what I could do there is be a spare pair of hands so that a healer or warrior was free for other tasks. I also helped to mix potions and balms like I did the first time in the camp before when the first incursion of the obans came along.” She left out the horrors she had seen that still scared her sometimes in her dreams, this boy had enough to deal with.  

[Reoakee]

Looking down shame flooded Ta’ruk as he listened to her speak. This woman not even a fighter or healer had gone to not one but two fights against the obans while he had fled while his own home was destroyed. Yet Mella was facing capture, slavery and death for strangers like him. “Thank you for what you did.” He wanted her to know that it was appreciated what she had done. He didn’t think he was so brave. Ouen was crazy but had bravery in spades, BarAmal was angry and spoke of duty, but Mella didn’t seem like either of those. She went just to be there and help where she could. The idea of obans in Neued did chill him to his core. “Neued was the oldest shifter settlement. It was far from the other races and so many were leaving to go and see the world rather than stagnate in our culture when there were so many others out there to see. I find it so hard to believe.” He shook his head and ran a hand along the side of his head. It was odd to think of all the history that had been lost and all the people swept away by what would become another tale to be told around the fire someday. He felt like a mess. He was glad the fighting was over, but to think of his home and the obans. He didn’t want to go home yet. He also didn’t want to go to isd and hear about it again from BarAmal. Feeling small he sighed and decided to keep going with the topic of the stranger in front of him rather than focus on the depressing things. “Well you certainly seem to do well with animals as well. Your… sail scale?” At her nod he continued. “It attacked me when you were upset didn’t it? Why did you become a painter and not a tamer?”  

[Reoakee]

Mella laughed at his question and had to shrug. “Well the thought of being a tamer never really crossed my mind. I had always been drawing all over things even as a child and my parents always let me get away with it. Then when I decided to pick a path to follow there was only one option in my mind. I never tried to get an animal until Telwren and that was after I had been doing painting so long that there was no way I was going to give it up.” She smiled warmly looking down at Telwren. “Of course he’s a pain and grumpy a lot, he even made me bleed on more than one occasion but he’s always been a source of comfort for me and companionship.” She looked up at Ta’ruk’s face and laughed. “That’s the same face Uquin made when I said as much to him. I promise you, you only get to see Telwren at his worst. Normally he is very sweet. He just is a bit spoiled but really very good for me.” From the look on his face Ta’ruk didn’t believe it like Uquin hadn’t. Rolling her eyes she reached back and suffled through her bag for some food. Telwren’s eyes watched her but he made no move to even get up. Finding what she was looking for she held it out in front of her to Ta’ruk. “Here just hold this with your fingers out and open like this.” She showed him with her other hand. “Then wait and don’t move.” She was tempted to laugh at Ta’ruk’s clear hesitation as he glanced at Telwren, but still he was brave enough to take the food from her and do as she asked so perhaps he wasn’t as scared as he had seemed. It was pretty brave to do such a thing after being attacked by Telwren just a short time ago after all.  

[Reoakee]

His hands shook just a little bit and it took all his will to steady them while the sail scale lumbered forward and snatched the food from his palm like it was a normal every day occurrence. Then it retreated to Mella’s side once more and began to eat. Ta’ruk looked at his palm wondering if it was really as unharmed as it seemed to be. Flexing his fingers he looked up at Mella. He had never once thought of what he would really want to be. It was generally understood that with his memory he would follow and do what his father did. Still if he could do anything he would want to protect others around him. He supposed he would want to be a guard of sorts. Leaning back he wondered over it for a bit. He wasn’t to strong but perhaps he could train and learn to be come stronger. If this girl could be a painter, brave and useful then he could surely learn to be stronger so he could help others. “I see.” He sighed and gave her a weak smile. “Thank you again. I appreciate your words. For a while now I’ve been lost.” In more ways than one, he thought to himself. “Your words they help quite a bit.” Sitting straight once more he looked at her feeling bad for again interrupting her bath and the resulting confusion that had been brought forward from it. “Ah Mella. I know I .. interrupted you before. If you want to finish I can leave so that you have privacy again. I lost a meal but I think in this case I got more than I bargained for.” He watched as she grinned at him and looked at his scratches. “That and taking things from your lizard is clearly a mistake. One I’d rather not risk.”  

[Reoakee]

Well he certainly had gotten far more than he had bargained for when it came it Telwren. “Actually you should really wash out those scratches first. If you don’t they could get infected. I’m not a healer so I don’t know which leaves to put on them, but I do have a scrap of cloth somewhere we can use to help wash them out.” She stood back up and rummaged around her pack and found the cloth tossing it at him. She pulled another out and soaked it. “As for myself I can take a bath in a bit until then I’ll just rub off the worst of the sand. It’s fine and tends to get everywhere.” She watched as he got the rag wet to wipe himself down. Really he needed a bath but this would do for now she supposed with a sigh. “The first time I came to Tale I could hardly walk on the shifting sands and kept falling down. Of course the second time wasn’t as bad.” Of course then she had ridden most of the way in a wagon back. Quickly she wiped down the worst of the sand that was on the exposed parts of her skin. She would definitely have to wash all her cloths later. “So where are the rest of your supplies?” She glanced at Ta’ruk curiously. “You appeared chasing Telwren and I didn’t see anything with you.” Surely he wouldn’t be foolish enough to wander the wilderness without some method of survival. At his blank look she was surprised. “You must have some supplies right? I mean just running about the wilds with no supplies is a good way to get yourself killed. Even if you avoid the predators there is gathering food and shelter.” Growing up knowing how to travel was common in Sauti, what did the other tribes do?