Welcome to Gaia! ::

The youngling paced the waters edge. Her mind swimming about the meeting had recently had with a shifter that had seemed so much like her mothers stories. He had been able to use magic. What if she could use magic too? Her mother, Maya, had been insisting on her learning about the hammer. After seeing Takoda though, Teiluj wasn't so sure the hammer really was right for her. That maybe magic was more her speed.

Pouting she glanced back towards the water. She had been given permission to return to her mothers favorite swimming place as long as she took Pacju with her. Glancing at the Radaku at the edge of the treeline, the youngling dropped into a sitting position. Letting her legs dangle over the edge as her feet gently touched the water. Giving a kick here and there she watched the fish under the surface dart about. She still hadn't been able to perfect Rishima's trick at catching fish.

It was the only free day she had, since her mother was busy trying to prepare for something. Teiluj wasn't sure what it was, probably some makeshift home for them. Her old home tree had been burned down in order to protect her. Or so Maya had repeatedly told her.

Sucking in a deep breath of air Teiluj turned her shifter-like eyes towards the sky. She had met two shifters lately, Takoda, and Rishima, though Rishima looked more like her mother than shifter. Rolling a smooth rock in her hand Teiluj focused on the fish in the water again. So light made things bend in the water... and that's why fish weren't in the same place under the surface as a rock was on the ground.

Her mothers explanation still made her confused.

Teiluj startled at the sudden sound of someone talking. She hadn't heard them before now! Flushing with embarrassment at having been caught completely unaware, the youngling turned her head frantically towards the the source of the sound. Wanting to pull away from the strange girl as she approached. The girl looked like they were the same age, a shifter maybe?

Her mother was right, Shifters were prevalent in the forest. So much so that Teiluj hadn't met anyone that wasn't shift or part shifter. Shrugging her shoulders in response to the question, Teiluj turned her gaze towards the water again.

"I'm not doing anything." Teiluj reluctantly responded. Wanting to pull away so she wasn't so close to the other youngling. How dare she sneak up on her like that! "What are you doing?" She countered.

Teiluj giggled. There was no way she could be lost. This place was her home. She learned every inch of it that she could. "Well I promise you I'm not lost."

Tilting her head to the side as she looked at Mirin Teiluj wiggled her nose. Her mother had told her something like that too. Needed to know where the animals are. But Teiluj had only been interested in one animal. The radaku, like the companion her mother kept at her side. "Well I have an animal I'll bet you've never seen!" The hybrid youngling was purposefully dodging the waiting for someone question.

Teiluj gave the other girl a long hard look before shrugging her shoulders. "Well I guess if you've been outside of Jauhar alot then you've probably seen these birds. It's a kinfa. Mamma said it would be special one day. Right now it's just a fledgeling. It barely even knows how to fly."

The younglings eyes focused on the other girls feet as they touched the water. Wiggling the tips of her toes about Teiluj gave in. "C'mon I'll show you." Pushing up to her feet Teiluj wandered towards the treeline. A strange brightly colored bird rested in one of the lower branches. It gave a squawk from fright before whistling its recognition of Teiluj.

"I put her over here cause I didn't want her out in the open. To many strange creatures find Starline easy prey. But I hatched her all by myself." Teiluj puffed out her chest proudly. Looking over to the girl, just in case he had actually followed her.

Teiluj couldn't help the large beam that broke through to the surface. She was ecstatic to have found another girl her age who also liked animals. Nodding her head quickly Teiluj nearly tripped as she moved to pick up her companion. Turning around she held the kinfa out to the strange girl. "Sure! You can hold Starline. She doesn't bite, not hard anyway. Mamma says that socialization might be key to having an obedient pet." Pausing Teiluj's antennae twitched with thought. "You're going to be a beast tamer?"

The kinfa made a few loud squawking sounds of protest but didn't fight as she was transferred over to another stranger. She was becoming more accustomed to being handled by more than just Teiluj.

"I don't think I want to be a beast tamer." Teiluj shook her head. "Tracking creatures and caring for them all just seem to be a bit waste of time. I want to know more about the people around me. I want to know more about what makes everyone tick." Teiluj shuddered at the idea of having to be responsible for so many creatures. Starline was more than enough and having to feed and train the small bird was something her mother had to constantly remind her to do.

Teiluj watched the girl and Starline carefully. "I'm Teiluj by the way, daughter of Maya." Her eyes followed the girls hands reaching out with a warning as she drew closer to the kinfa's wings. "Be carefull. Starline doesn't like her wings to be..."

Wincing Teiluj could only stand and watch as Starline nipped Mirin to have her wing released. Starline fluffed her feathers and hissed but tolerated the rest of the handling.

"Touched..." Teiluj made a sad face as she looked at her bird. "She's just a baby, I still have to get her used to opening her wings for inspection." Taking a step to the side and shifting to look at some stones while the other girl spoke Teiluj glanced back through the corner of her eyes. She was listening. She wanted to know more, but she had never heard of Oba or Matori before. She only knew of Chibale and Jauhar and Sauti. Places her mother had spoke of.

"My mamma has a Radaku. She says if Pacju ever has babies I can have one. But I don't know, that's alot of food that I have to gather to feed two animals. Starline already eats alot. Maybe you can have one of the pups too? that would be less mouths to feed." Teiluj nodded at her idea. It was a stroke of genius.

Starline fluffed her feathers once more before attempting to fly off towards Teiluj. Flapping her wings quickly the kinfa only managed to get a foot away before she came crashing into the ground. Walking quickly towards Teiluj while whistling.

"Mamma says it would be good for me to have a loyal Radaku. She says people wont see me the same way she does. Or the way her friends might." Teiluj tugged at the ends of her hair with a pout. "But I don't know if bonded Radaku can even produce offspring. Mamma doesn't know either."

When the question of her mother came out Teiluj stood up strait and looked directly into the other girls eyes. This was not the first time she had been asked about her mother. She understood the question for what it was now. People did see her differently, just like her mother had said. "No, Mama is a pure daughter of Aisha.

Smiling down at her Kinfa Teiluj bent down to scoop up her bird. Giving a soft smile the mixed blooded girl looked at the shifter questions burning in her eyes. "What about you? Did you come from this Oba or Matori place?"

Smiling at the girl Teiluj giggled a little. She knew that the girl was a Shifter. She herself had shifter in her. Or at least that's what her mother had told her. But what she didn't know was that Shifters were only of the forest Alkidikes seemed to live in more than just the forest from the way her mother talked.

Curiosity perked the young hybrids attention. There were people called Obans? People tried to hurt Radaku? She wanted to know more! "Tell me! Tell me! what are Obans? why are they jerks? What happened with the Radaku?" She was eager to hear this story. She wanted to know more about the different people around.