[WC: 5,274]
Bright conversation drifted through the open wagon windows to pull Kdal out of her light doze. Muzzily she squinted at the small sundial placed on the windowsill before groaning and rolling back over. She lay on her pallet drifting a bit, before it registered that the voices she heard were strangers. She shot up and quickly scuttled to the window where she promptly leaned out. The first thing she noticed was that there were several of them, all armed but their stances were relaxed and each sported a worn traveling kit. The next was that their skin, gems and hair were so very similar to hers. The flavor of their speech drifted over to her and woke blurry, fragmented memories of her childhood. She could almost feel the phantom touch of a mother she didn’t remember and hear the laughter of a man who had died screaming.
She was too busy being lost in her own head that Kdal failed to notice the approach of one of the shifters, until he politely coughed, dragging her attention forcefully to him. There was a splash of color across his cheeks and his wide hand covered his eyes. “Ah, little sister, you might want to cover up a bit more.” He said, though there was humor in his voice and he had the gall to peek at her through his fingers, dark eyes darting down to the skin shown off by the wide neck of her sleeping shirt. Huffing Kdal pulled herself back into the wagon and made a point of leaving the window open as she changed into a set of day clothes. Honestly, the trouble she got into just because she didn’t care who saw her naked…
A low whistle reached her ears and she grit her teeth. She didn’t care who saw her naked but when they started to catcall and whistle, then things would get ugly. She looked over her shoulder at him, choice words ready to be cut loose when she realized that he was staring at the impressive, if faded, burn scars along her torso. “They don’t hurt if that’s what you’re thinking.” She said, feelings her spine relax without her consent. “They’re old and the scarring is supple so.” She shrugged and turned to face him, fingers pulling down the simple linen shirt so that it covered the scars. “What brings you out here?”
The shifter lit up, all traces of awkwardness vanishing. “Ah, right sorry. Dmin and Tokra asked that one of us come get you?” He replied, looking as puzzled at the request as she felt. Kdal made a noncommittal noise and moved to straddle the wagon window before squeezing herself out of it. She was still short enough that doing so wasn’t a problem, but if she grew another few inches like her parents thought she would, she’d have to start using the door like a civilized person. Which, according to some of her adopted wind tribesmen, she was not.
The two walked together, not bothering with introductions because Kdal had a feeling that her parents wanted to do that themselves and Kdal knew better by then to deny them their fun. At her side the shifter kept giving her side long looks whenever he didn’t think she was paying attention. How odd it must be, to him, to see someone from his tribe amongst the free spirited wind tribe. Kdal knew it was odd to see the group, 5 strong if she counted right, so far north.
She wondered if the war against the Alkidike’s hadn’t triggered a need to explore and see for themselves just how the world faired. They were certainly armed as though they were expecting trouble. She could feel her stomach clench as she thought back to how useless she’d been during the last conflict. How shaken she’d been and how much that tiny seed of doubt had grown because of it. She was no Shifter, no warrior, she wasn’t even a good trader. While she could track like the best of the wind tribe and was just as good at recalling the safe paths, she wasn’t wind. She would never be wind, no matter how much her parents loved her. Those in her age group and older made it clear with nearly every breath they took. To them blood was stronger than any bond forged through other means.
It hurt, more than the burns had, then getting stabbed and having to patch herself up again. Being rejected hurt, because she hadn’t done anything to deserve it. Her parents tried, they really did, and when she was with them the cruel words and actions never appeared. It was as if they were trying to drive her, and only her, out, and she was just stubborn enough to deny them their easy victory. She would leave when she was damned ready to and not a moment before! Huffing to herself she waved off the partially amused, partially concerned look the shifter was giving her. It would take too long to try to explain her thought patterns to someone who didn’t know her and it was easier to just let him imagine what it was that was bothering her.
Dmin seemed to be engaged in a staring contest with one of the shifters, arms folded across his chest. The shifter he was staring down was mirroring his stance, lips twisted into an irritated scowl. The other three were uneasily glancing between each other and the shifter who was most likely their leader. They’d seemed to be getting along well prior to Kdal’s arrival and she spared a thought as to what had changed. “Father, stand down. You look as if they’ve asked for all the secrets of the tribe.” Kdal said, stepping up to him and touching his elbow. Dmin snorted, “As if we have secrets.” He scoffed and Tokra snickered, “That’s because we’re a bunch of magpies.”
Tokra latched onto Kdal and started to fuss with her hair, pulling it out of the sloppy braid she’d worn to bed to finger comb it before rebraiding it. “Your father's got his smalls in a twist because our
guests-“ Tokra stressed the word, eyes flickering over to his partner in admonishment, “-have requested a few things of us. Maps or a guide and the ability to traverse our lands.”
Kdal raised an eyebrow at the lot. It wasn’t much that they were asking for, but the timing was suspicious. Were they hoping to catch any displaced Alkidikes running from their due? Or were they hunting down a bunch of extremist’s? The later wasn’t likely as they’d been banished and even small pockets of them, if they existed, would know something was up with the lack of communication. “Would any of the trackers be willing to guide them to where they want to go?” She asked, shifting her gaze to the shifter she’d tagged as their leader. “You do…have a destination in mind, right?” She added on, leaning her slight weight against her papa. Tokra wrapped and arm loosely around her waist and let her burrow against him, gleefully leeching his body heat.
The leader looked surprised then a bit abashed. “Well…we’re on a bit of a time limit really.” He said, finally breaking out of the strict poise he’d been holding onto. A splash of color spread across his cheeks as one hand rose to rub at the back of his neck. “We’re really just here to explore or to lend a hand if we see someone who needs the help. After the war well, we realized just how isolated we were. Our clan is reclusive for being Shifters and well…” He shrugged, “We decided that we didn’t want to go home for good yet. We gave ourselves two months to see the world a bit before we go back.”
“And afterwards?” Kdal asked, eyes glued onto the leader who raked a hand through his short white hair, “Well. It depends on what we see and if we feel the same as we did when we left.”
“We’re not glory seekers.” Another shifter piped up, this one had green feathers woven into the braids at his temples, “Saw firsthand what ‘Glory’ really was with all the fighting. Can’t speak for the rest but I lost any taste I had for it.” The shifters all grimaced and nodded, agreeing with green feathers. “I’m Danna by the way. Parents were hoping for a girl and got me instead, decided to stick with the name for some reason.” Green feathers- Danna said with a lopsided smile, clearly used to having to explain away his name. “That’s Tadarus,” Danna said, finally getting the introductions started as he pointed to the shifter clad in a light blue. His weapon was a bow while Danna had two short swords.
“I’m Izme,” The shortest of the lot pipped up, “I’m also the impromptu healer.” Izme waggled his fingers at her and grinned, “That’s Nando beside you and our ‘leader’ is Zastari.” Nando glanced at her and blushed, quickly looking away while Zastari inclined his head, hand finally falling away from his neck.
“I’m Kdal and my parents are Tokra and Dmin, though I’m sure they introduced themselves already.” Kdal replied, eyes narrowing at Nando before sliding over to Zastari again. “Where did you want to go?” It was easier to ask that then wonder why they were asking permission to travel their lands from the ones that lived there and not from their leader.
“Is there really an underground lake as big as Matori.” Izme asked, dark eyes wide as he leaned forward, weight held up by the staff in his hand. He looked like a strong breeze would blow him over, for all the magical prowess and training a magic wielder had to undergo. It didn't help that out of all of them he looked the youngest, not including Kdal of course. Dmin made a scoffing sound in the back of his throat and rolled his eyes skyward. “That old rumor?” He muttered before raising his voice, “There is an underground lake but it's nowhere near that large, and I would advise you not to go near it. Creatures have claimed it as their own and I would rather not have to hear of someone disturbing them.” Domain eyed the group and could tell that his words had been taken more as a note of challenge then warning. He bit back an irritated sigh and the urge to tell the whelps to just do what they willed. It wasn't as if he were their keeper nor their mother and ultimately he had no say in what they did.
Kdal let her gaze slide over each of the shifters, noting the differences between them all. From clothing and weapon choice, to crystal placement, accessories and hairstyle. They were unique and their personalities showed through via their decorations. Their excitement was nearly tangible and Kdal couldn't help but start to feel excited herself. “I'll go with them.” She said finally breaking up the soft murmurs of conversation that had started up between them when Dmin had refrained from speaking further. She didn't know why but just the thought of doing something exciting, something different for her normal routine, something that would be potentially disastrous with a group of skilled people, made her giddy. It was so far out of character for her that her parents both looked at her, Tokra going so far as to spin her around to peer into her eyes. She huffed and blushed at the close scrutiny from her father and pulled him out of earshot of the others. “Yes yes I know what you're going to ask and I'm certain. They need someone to keep them out of trouble and I need to get out of the caravan for a while. I know you've been worried about me, both of you, and I know I haven't been like myself since I came back from the-the war.” It didn't feel right calling the battle a war but she didn't have any other way to express the fight and how everything had gone down, no matter what insignificant part she’d played in it, or attempted to play in it.
Tokra just looked at her, eyes serious as he took her in for the first time since she’d settled back into her old routine. Finally he heaved a sigh and reached out to brush his fingertips down her cheek to cup her chin and pull her towards him. He brushed a whisper-soft kiss against her forehead, right over the blue crystal in the middle. “I had a feeling that you'd want to go with them.” He said softly, “We never could keep you to ourselves, even when you were little and suffering from those burns.” He looked sadder than she'd ever seen him look before. It was as if he'd figured out something about her long before she'd even had an inkling of it herself. She didn't like that look on him, it made him look his age and like he was swallowing back tears. “I'll be fine papa, really, and when I get back I'll have tons of stories to tell you. I can't see those guys going a candle mark without getting into some kind of trouble.” She offered him an uncertain smile, eyes worried. She didn't want him to think that she was just looking for an excuse to stay away from the clan. First it was training and looking for a mentor, then it was the war, now it was a bunch of shifters looking for the thrill of getting into trouble. Maybe she just wasn't cut out to be a merchant. She knew she wasn't meant to be wind else she would have been born wind. She knew that her fathers would argue against that, vehemently, but they couldn't change how she felt with just words. Oh she knew that not everyone felt that way about her, that she was an outsider that just couldn't fit in no matter how hard she tried, but the fact that there were people out there that felt that way hurt. Perhaps she was just being too sensitive about it but well, she couldn't change that part about her either.
“Just remember, you'll always be my little girl and that you'll always have a home here.” He said after a moment. Kdal saw him visibly restrain himself from pulling her closer and saying something from the way his muscles tensed and his lips parted. Instead he let out a small breath of air and nodded back towards the group that was trying to look uninterested in their private moment. Childishly Kdal stuck her tongue out at them and immediately felt stupid for doing so when Nando burst out laughing, face flushing a bright red at being caught. She rolled her eyes and pulled her father back to the group. Dmin gave them both a flat look but chose not to comment, instead choosing to ask what she'd finally decided to commit to. She told him that she was volunteering to be the shifters guide and that she'd do her best to keep the group out of as much trouble as possible. Silently she thought that it'd be an impossible task but it was better than just sitting around cooling her heels while waiting to see if any trainers would actually take her on, and not just drag their heels about the matter.
She really didn't know what it was that she'd done to be cast in the light of a pariah.
The group visibly brightened, not an ounce of hesitation dampened their elation at the good news. Zastari looked relieved for a moment before his expression smoothed over, “Thank you little sister. It means a lot to us that you're willing to humor a group of strangers in such a manner.” Kdal gave him an amused look, “Isn't that what people are supposed to do? Have faith in others until they prove to be untrustworthy?” She said, voice tilting towards questioning near the end of her words. “Besides you said that you all helped to drive the Alkidike's back. Just from that I know that you can be trusted, at least a little bit.” Her words had a teasing bite to them with a few of the group seemed to have caught, if the upward tilt of their lips was anything to go by. “Besides I have precious few encounters with my blood people. It'll be nice to interact with you on a more personal level.”
“That's right, your family are merchants and traders are they not?” Danna said, looking interested, “You must know a lot about the people of the world just by the types of business they conduct.”
“Sort of?” Kdal admitted, lips turning downwards, “I'm rubbish at the merchant business. I know enough to judge goods for quality and if the trader is trying to cheat me, but that's about it.” She shrugged. She never really liked selling things to others as she'd rather be the one that procured the goods. It always seemed more interesting to her to be the buyer. Though that was probably because she could only stand sitting around in one place for so long before she ended up getting fidgety and seeing a trader like that usually gave the potential buyers the wrong idea about her person. No one trusted a shifty looking merchant after all, even one that was only antsy. It was telling that her parents didn't bother to correct her. They'd had many a word over her feelings on the matter and knew that she'd never budge in her conviction.
“No matter, it’s decided. Kdal you’ll guide these boys for the duration of their stay and in return they will do their best to keep you safe.” Dmin said, his eyes glued to Zastari as he spoke, no doubt giving him a very evil eye if the rapid paling of his face was anything to go by. Dmin flinched as Kdal’s palm cracked against his bare stomach, the sound as sharp as the sting that swiftly followed. “Father, I’m not some wilting flower. I can take care of myself.” Kdal retorted, eyes narrowed. Seeing the point drive itself home Kdal nodded and took a few steps away from her father, attention focused on the group. Their expressions were mixed now, but there was still a wary acceptance there. “If you’re all up for it, we can leave as soon as I’ve packed and obtained some supplies. If not we can leave tomorrow at first light and spend the rest of today resting and going over the things we’ll need.”
Tadarus fingered the icon engraved on the gauntlets he wore, sweeping a practiced eye over his fellows. “We’re good to go, just need to restock some things and we can set out after lunch?” He turned his dark eyes back towards Kdal, noting that her parents had wandered off, most likely to help speed up the process. Kdal nodded, “My parents volunteered to get the supplies since the hunting is still good this time of year, we won't need to carry much in the way of food. Hardtack and journey bread if we can’t catch something.” Kdal thrummed her fingers against her arm and wondered how much the group needed to eat to keep their strength it. It was likely that they’d need more than what she’d need, but she’d also grown up on the bounty that the mountains grudgingly gave. Sighing she hoped that her parents would pack more food than the typical journey fair because she had a feeling that they were going to need it…
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He felt a little sluggish as he led the way down a narrow path in the mountains, bare feet sure in the each placement. Behind him he could hear the banter between the shifters come and go in sporadic spurts as they fought to keep from tumbling off the path. For a bunch of people who lived in trees most of their life they were quite unsteady on their feet. Thankfully the fall wouldn’t hurt them if they did tumble off, it was maybe a foot or so down and easily climbed.
The group had been traveling for about three days and spirits were still high amongst the shifters. It seemed to be tradition to swap stories when they settled down for the night, as the group settled down. Tonight was Kdals turn to tell them something and he wondered what they’d want to hear about. His life wasn’t that interesting, but to a bunch of strangers it probably was. Idly he scratched at a bug bite on his bare stomach, having switched back to the breast band and long pants that were most comfortable to him. While the dress and leggings were probably more practical, wearing them left him feeling uncomfortable and off kilter. He’d thought that there’d be questions, but other than a startled look, none of the shifters had really commented. He was waiting for them to cave.
He stifled a yawn against the back of his hand and glanced around, looking for the marker that would tell him just far much farther they had to go before reaching the camp spot. The path that they were on was one of the usual ones used by messengers to get from caravan to caravan in a timely manner. He hopped that the spot would be empty as he didn’t feel like explaining the shifters presence on what was supposed to be a ‘secret’ path. As if everyone and their familiar didn’t know of its existence. No marker caught his gaze but as the path leveled out and eventually widened Kdal caught sight of the camp ground, thankfully empty and not pilfered as he’d hoped. Nests lined the craggy mountains, some holding eggs within them. A tiny stream trickled down into a pool that was barely big enough to stick a waterskin into and bathing out of it was out of the question until everyone had been refilled and their thirst quenched.
After letting the group know that this is where they’d be spending the night Kdal unloaded the supplies he’d been carrying. A medium sized clay cookpot and a couple beaten metal pans. He started to set up dinner while the others took care of refilling their water and trying to catch some of the small avians to add meat to their pot. Nando was smart enough to pilfer some of the eggs while the others chased the birds around. He took only six eggs from the nests, one for each of them and Kdal took them from him. He filled a pan with water and started to make a sort of flatbread with the use of a large flat rock and the heat of the fire. Kdal ignored the commotion behind him as the boys did whatever it was that they were doing, his focus entirely on the kneading and mixing of dough and dried fruit and nuts. A rich smell hit his nose and he looked up just in time to see a bit of plucked bird go into the pot along with some unidentified meat and plant matter. Wrinkling his nose Kdal left Danna to his work as the man was a better cook than the rest of them. Supper took a few hours to make and the shifters took that time to scout the area and settle where everyone would be sleeping and in what rotations.
By the time the stew was ready to hand out everyone had had a chance to scrub down and tend to their weapons. It seemed to be more habit than anything, as the most they’d had reason to use them was when they’d gone hunting, and Kdal used that term loosely. He picked at his bowl as the flatbread was passed out, thick and filled with things they’d found or brought. It was a good meal but his attention wasn’t on it. He was more worried about the things they’d ask him to tell. Kdal didn’t have many secrets and the ones that he considered a secret weren’t really secrets, just things he didn’t want to tell anyone.
“Hey, hey Kdal,” Izme called, waving his hand at him from across the fire. The shifter looked a little nervous, “So you know it’s your turn to answer some questions and we’ve all talked about it so and have one we want to ask, but-” Izme looked a little panicked now, free hand gesturing wildly, “You don’t have to answer and we’ll respect it and wont press or anything but-”
“You want to know why I dress and act the way I do?” Kdal cut in, stirring the mess in his bowl with a bit of flatbread. He couldn’t help but relax his spine when the young healer nodded. “It’s not a problem, I’m used to explaining it.” Or rather, not really explaining it because he couldn’t really find the right words to describe how he felt. “I’ve always been this way.” He put a hand on his chest, fingers spread. “I’ve never felt very feminine. To be honest I don’t know what it even means to be a girl. At the same time, I never thought of myself as a boy or that I should be one.” He dropped his hand back to his bowl, which he then set aside. “I just know that I am who I am. I dress the way I do for myself, to try and put a finger on how I feel, to let others know that ‘Hey, this is me.’”
He folded his legs under him and sat up straight, pulled the tie from his hair and combed the long strands over his shoulders. He took a breath and tried to imagine himself in one of those lovely dresses the Oban women favored. His stomach gave a little flip and he could feel his hunger start to ebb, even though he hadn’t taken a bite of his food yet. He smiled lopsided at the shifters he was starting to think of as friends, “Right now, like this, I feel strange. All I did was let my hair down and sit differently, but it’s like I’m trying to shift myself into a different mentality.” He moved so that he was sitting in a more sprawled out manner, and pulled his hair back into it’s usual style. “I don’t know really what triggers it, just that I am a boy some weeks and a girl others.” He shrugged, “As I said, I am me.”
Before he could say anything more an exhausted runner stumbled into camp, sweating heavily and struggling for breath. Izme had jumped up and made it to the womans side, supporting her before the others could so much as get to their feet. He fed her sips of water and murmured to her as she gradually calmed down. Kdal offered up his bowl when it became clear that the woman was going to need something more than water and the blanket that had been draped over her shoulders. “Travelers.” She wheezed between bites, “Turn back.” She practically licked the bowl clean and drained the waterskin. “There’s a nasty storm coming in, it’ll be here in a day or two and these passes are going to flood.” She pointed off in a direction that was blocked by the jagged cliffs, and would be for another days worth of travel. The Wind member shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, “I won't hold you up for long, I just need a moment to rest before heading back out.” She said, stretching her feet as close as she dared to the fire in hopes of stretching out some protesting muscles. Izme looked ready to protest but Kdal caught his gaze and shook his head.
“Thank you sister, do you have supplies? I have some travel bread that you can take while you check the paths.” He began wrapping up a portion of the bread and some of the fresh jerky they’d made in a bit of oiled cloth before handing it over. “Thank you brother, no, all I have is my waterskin and that needs to be refilled.” The woman groaned and rubbed at her calves before slipping the blanket off her shoulders and folding it, “You should all head back with as much haste as possible.” She said standing a little unsteadily, “Mountain storms are nothing to sneeze at.” With that said she waved at them over her shoulder as she started out into the dark.
“Will she be okay going off in the dark like this?” Tadarus asked, concerned, as he stared at the spot where she’d last been.
“She’ll be fine. Trail runners like her have all the paths memorized and run them at least twice a week.” Kdal replied and started to pack away anything that needed to be.
“Kdal.” Zastari said quietly, moving to sit next to him, hands reaching out to help pack. “I’ll admit that when we first met you, I had been wondering why one of our little sisters was so far from home, but the more I watched you, listened to you, you’ve never really been our little sister have you?” He asked, dark eyes firmly fixed on what he was doing. “You aren’t even a little brother. At one point in time you might have been, but it’s been a long time since you were with Shifters.”
Kdal nodded, “I was very young when my birth parents died and it was only a week or so afterwards that my parents adopted me. I’ve been Wind ever since.” He rolled up the extra oiled cloth and put it back in the bag. “I can’t say I miss being Shifter, I simply don’t remember being so.”
“And if you were given the chance to relearn?” Zastari asked, finally raising his head to look at him. “You’re content with your family, anyone with eyes can see that, but you aren’t satisfied.”
Kdal stilled at his words, wondering just how long the older shifter had been watching him to figure that out. “I’m not. I feel-”
“Like you don’t belong?” Zastari cut in, “I know that feeling. I lived with another tribe for a while, and while we looked the same, spoke the same, it wasn’t the same at all.” He reached out to touch Kdals shoulder, “Give it some thought but, if you want to travel with us to our home you’d be welcome.” He offered the other a small rusty looking smile, “Alright little brother?”
“I-I’ll think about it.” Kdal replied and Zastari nodded, going back to his self-imposed task.
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They made the trip back in half the time it took them to make it to the camp spot, tired and pleased with their pace. The caravan had been moved in the time that they’d been gone, but it was easy to follow the tracks to safe spot where they’d taken shelter. Now in the open air it was easy to spy the swiftly moving storm and the heavy rains that looked more like a wall of darkness then something liquid. As the group was bundled up and divided between the caravans that had room Kdal couldn’t help but think back on the offer given to him.
Somehow he knew he couldn’t turn it down, because if he did, he’d be closing a door to a part of him that he might never get back.
OOC 
