Welcome to Gaia! ::

Xilarn sighed, rubbing his temples as he leaned back in his chair. The days in Sauti had a way of feeling ridiculously long and arduous. It wasn't that he expressly minded the way things had to be done around here. It was just different- very, very different from what he was accustomed to. Kesris was not a booming city with great swatches of people all performing their various tasks. There were not huge buildings and large markets- or much of a market at all, to speak of. No one here was 'noble.' That was to say; most everyone hated most everyone else equally.

Being out in the streets actually almost made him miss home. Perhaps not 'home,' per se, as there were still a great many, many things that he did not miss. But every now and then, he found his mind wandering to times when he and his younger cousin had run amok in Oba's greatest city. If he looked back, it had really only been a few years, but, gods, it seemed like forever. So when he sat down, glared at a slip of parchment and tapped his quill against the desk, Xilarn could hardly do more than wonder where to begin.

'Hi,' sounded incredibly informal and chipper to the point that she likely wouldn't even believe it was him. Scrapping that idea, he settled on just her name:

'Ziari,

It's been too long since we've spoken, and for that, I apologize. Things have been hectic on my end (though I expect the same is true for you- it's interesting how life can never be calm, isn't it?). My family moved because my father thought we'd be of more use in the war the closer to the battlefield we were, but really it seems like such a ridiculous, self-centered thought now. So, I left them. It's been years. I haven't spoken to them either, as if that might be some consultation to you.

I moved to Juahar. The people are weary. Some of them jump to conclusions pretty quickly, but overall, I don't think they're an awful people. I met a boy there, you know. He's loud, rash, careless... But devoted, loyal, passionate. When I left Juahar, he followed me. Sometimes I really wish you were around. It's times like these that I could use your council. Because now I'm in Sauti with him.

I expected to live alone, learn what needed to be done to survive out here, have a boring, mundane life. As we expect of savages. But I don't know what to do with this boy. He's here. I'm here. I like him. He likes me. It shouldn't be complicated, but it is. It always is. And gods, do I wish you were here. You're so much better at this than I am.

I glanced over a few finer details, but that's what's happening here. I haven't been home in so long that I can't help but miss it. Are you still doing alright down there? What's it like, having a new monarch after the war? Did you mind it when those savages started walking our streets so freely? I do hope no one has tried to harm you in the aftermath... In my experience, the people of Tendaji can be quite reckless when overtaken by emotion.

If it suits you, I should like to speak with you again. I've considered returning home, but if it's too turbulent...

Anyway, I do hope all is well and expect to start hearing more from you now.

With Love,
Xilarn

P.S. The mutt will be expecting a treat.'

He whistled for Gadot. The beast had yet to be of any great use to him on the hunt, besides tearing through anything Xilarn managed to catch. Losing him for a several days would likely be a blessing more than a curse. After fixing the scroll case to his raptrix's neck, Gadot was off, flying over crags and desert to the capital city of Oba.

It was hinging on the two week mark since Xilarn had last seen Gadot. Two weeks. It was probably nothing in the grand scheme of things, but the Fire male felt uneasy all the same. He tried not be overly concerned with the amount of time it was taking the raptrix to return to him. The trip was across country lines, and he'd need to make it both ways... He probably stopped, ate, and goofed around at any chance he got. It wasn't as if Gadot was especially trained in efficiency. There really shouldn't have been any reason to fret. But Xilarn's highly rational mind suggested other things. He'd been captured, maimed or killed. He'd gotten lost and was tucked in a cave whimpering somewhere and was in dire need of food. Maybe he simply couldn't find Ziari, and was out circling some random Oban village. Maybe he found some other master that didn't send him out on peculiar errands.

Xilarn's expression puckered, as it had every time his thoughts wandered off to the raptrix in the waning days. "Stupid mutt," he scoffed, giving a particularly rough scrape with his knife to the gutted body of a fenk that had been caught in his net.

When thick and heavy paws landed behind him, accented by the rustling of feathers, ruffling of fur, and a low grunt, Xilarn scoffed unamusedly. It usually did take a certain level of annoyance to get Gadot to actually perform as desired. Still, by the time food had been prepared and eaten, and everyone was washed as well as could be hoped for, Xil found himself in a much more forgiving mood. He rested back against the raptrix's flank, flicking open the return letter he's been sent.

He skimmed it once, quickly, before going over it again more slowly. Ziari was only a couple years his junior. And Xil had already been out exploring these lands for a few years now. She couldn't be that much different in age than when he'd set out. And he was fine, so he could only expect, that despite the reservations of her parents and her friends, and whoever else tried to stop her, that Ziari would be just as successful, maybe even more so, on her own than he had been.

'My Dearest Little Cousin,

I think it is high time you out and explored the world. Borders are opening. People are changing (maybe not necessarily for the better, but they are changing), and it seems like the world is becoming a smaller place, somehow. There is much to explore, but having it all available just makes it... different. I can't explain it. I do know that I'm happier here than I was in Oba.

It's not easy when you first get started. Living on your own is tough, particularly in a strange new place, with strange new people who may or may not want to kill you, or at very least run you off of their lands. But if you've found someone to go with you, you should be fine. Safety in numbers. It helps to have a pet around too, and from what I know of kinfa, they make wonderful and loyal allies.'

He paused to give Gadot's stomach a scratch, to which the raptrix responded by letting out an appeased rumble, and stretching out welcomingly.

'You'll have to show her to me someday. If you're really intent on leaving, I can't imagine your travels wouldn't allow us to cross paths. So I hope it's not too selfish of me to want you to make your journey and not care so much what others think. Well, maybe it is a little selfish, but you sound passionate enough that I don't think my words would've swayed you, either way. Whatever you decide, I'm proud of you, and I support you.

Sending love from the rocky lakes of Sauti,
Xilarn'

He gave Gadot a few days of rest, let him eat so much that he'd likely be sick, gave him a firm talking to (that Xilarn could say without a doubt that the raptrix understood none of), then sent him on his way.