Welcome to Gaia! ::

A frown graced her lips as she watched the would be bandit in front of her. Dem understood that she didn't exactly blend in around Oba, but did others have to assume that she was out of her element simply because she was somewhere that wasn't her homeland? Already the man's friend was accosting her newly obtained Janarim. Something that she figured the poor thief would regret in moments. That wasn't what she was focused on. It was the what the bandit in front of her had in his hand. The two trinkets she'd gotten for her daughters.

V'demhe simply watched where the hand went and which pocket he stored them in. So far her weapons had been drawn. Why? Well, Dem didn't like to hurt others. Sure, she could but it wasn't like her to resort to violence right off the bat. When her familiar made a strange sound she turned her eyes toward it to see it react to being handled roughly. A tch was heard as she half shifted to address the man. "You don't have to be so rough. He knows basic commands." Not that the man believed her. When he pulled on the lead with more force she shook her head about to say something else when she caught the glimpse of a fist coming her way. V'demhe's antennae gave a twitch and she reacted quickly to avoid the blow that would have landed on her jaw. "That was underhanded and uncalled for. I've not drawn my weapons."

Stepping away from the bandit she watched both him and his partner. Dem sighed as she looked at the Janarim. Time spent with it in the desert had taught them both something. And ironically, that same shrill whistle she used on her radaku worked for the new familiar as well. Placing two fingers between her lips she forced air through them, creating a high pitched sound that instantly turned the stubborn mule of a Janarim into a violently bucking bronco. That would keep the thief busy for a while and she could tend to the bandit. He drew his weapon and the Alkidike shook her head. To avoid the temptation of actually hurting the man she drew her own weapons and then tossed them as far away from them as she could, watching as they landed in the sand with a solid thunk. Now she just needed to remember where she'd tossed them once the fight was over.

There was some words exchanged, yada yada, Dem didn't pay attention. Mostly it was empty threats to her person. The Alkidike wasn't worried too much about it all. However, when she noticed some movement to the side she gave her attention to Draven and his Janarim for only a second. Uh oh, Ascale isn't gonna like this... She thought to herself.

That moment of distraction is what the bandit needed to become brave enough to actually attack. He came at V'demhe fully intent on stabbing her in the gut and ending any resistance quickly. He was wrong to assume such. For you see, V'demhe had noticed that her blades, that she'd tossed away for the safety of the men trying to rob her, were on this new person. And it angered her just a little since she now assumed there was a third person in on this deal. That anger made her quicker. So when the man went after her she stepped to the side, brought one hand out to slap the weapon away and the other down to slam into the top of the bandit's head. So his small knife went flying and his face went into the dirt.

Her Janarim, who was busy giving the other guy first hand knowledge of what it was like to be in the rodeo, took notice of another beast near his new person and instantly stopped. With flaring nostrils the brown and silver Janarim leveled his manly gaze on Regale and started to strut. Flaunting all that was male and dominant about him he made a straight line to stand between Dem and the new comers. The poor thief that had been taken for a ride was now being drug along through the sands since his hand was caught in the lead line.

When Ascale stopped he stared Regale down and Dem, who could just see over the back of her beast, was staring at Draven. Silence ensued.

Seeing that this new person tossed her blades toward her she then understood that he was not one of the men intent on taking what was hers. V'demhe gave a nod toward him before she placed a hand on her Janarim. He might be new to being her familiar, but time spent with her had taught him to listen to her body language. Ascale took three steps back, moving out of Dem's way, then stopped so that he could lower his nose and sniff at the thief that was attached to him.

Dem moved forward to collect her blades from the ground, on instantly being put away. "Thank you." At least she was polite. For a moment more she seemed to stare, though with her eyes being a solid color it was hard to tell. Really, though, she was looking from Draven to his familiar and then back. "I take it your Janarim is a male?" She didn't really need confirmation, the bop to the head was enough of a sign that the boy was trying to ease the beasts dominance.

With her weapon in hand she made her way toward her own animal and barely touched the lead line with the sharp end. It severed and let the man's hand drop to the sand. V'demhe left him there for a moment as she approached the bandit she'd given a nice headache to. The woman went digging into his pocket and took out the trinkets she'd gotten for her daughters then left him be. "Are you traveling to a certain town?" Might as well find out what the boy was up to. She might need him for something.

With the boy and his familiar getting close to Dem, Ascale pranced on over and positioned himself between them once again. This time with his chest puffed out as best as he could. Clearly he was stating that he didn't share his person.

V'demhe looked at Regale then at her own and shook her head. "Really Ascale? I doubt Regale wants to take me from you." After all the other Janarim had his person. The Alkidike woman put her hand on the beast once more and he seemed to relax only a little.

With introductions made she nodded her head. "I'm V'demhe. This here is Ascale and he's.. well he's still quite young." As Draven mentioned a Keldari she had to blink a few times before she remembered what the creature actually was. "Ah, you have a familiar from Yael then." He must be skilled at taming. Or something there abouts. Her head gave another nod, this one more thoughtful. "Yael wasn't quite this sunny when I was there, so it's understandable that she'd want to be in the shade." The poor thing was likely wishing for some cool moss to slither in as well. Not that she had any. Though...

"If you've no where in particular that you are going then perhaps you should try Matori. Your Keldari may like the cool foliage." There were some reptilian familiars in that area.

A gift? So this boy had a caring father. It made her smile. She adored her daughters and she had intended to give them each a familiar as well, however, neither would be able to handle Ascale. So she was stuck with him as her own. With the boy pulling out a pack that held the Keldari in it she watched intently. The creature was beautiful. Truly she wished she'd been able to capture one for herself though her encounter with the Keldari had ended on a different note. One that had left poison in her system for a few days some time ago. "She's beautiful." Dem said as the familiar went back into her pack. The woman chuckled and shook her head at the antics of the Keldari.

When he mentioned Zena being the homeland of his mother she looked at him again. V'demhe hadn't ignored the fact that the boy before her was a hybrid, in fact she was rather fond of those with mixed heritage, but she'd not pointed it out. Now that it was an open subject she smiled. "You will need to dress more warmly if you are going there." She had never been herself but she knew enough about it to know that it was rather cold. Since she and her mate were from warmer climates they never ventured that way. "I am assuming your father was from the wind tribe?" While they might be in oba and he had mentioned that he was exploring places on his own from when his father was in the caravan, she didn't see anything of the Fire tribe in Draven. Unless her eyes were finally going bad on her.

Ascale, having seen the tail flick from Regale, tilted his head curiously at the other Janarim. While his person was engaged in conversation with the other he moved forward and put a large, clunky paw on Regale's tail once it was on the ground. In a way he was stepping on it. Mostly to get the other Janarim's attention. He didn't like being ignored.

Dem looked toward the men who had tried to rob her. "Mm, it's not easy to be an Alkidike these days." Her tone said she was joking. Though there was some truth to it all. Since the recent battle had caused a lot of tension between the Amazon women and the earthlings most were either afraid of Alkidikes or hated them more. "I am just glad I didn't lose the gifts to my daughters."

As he mentioned a bigger traveling place for the Keldari she looked toward Regale. While she had been about to mention using a travel pack that was larger and able to be carried by the Janarim she took notice of her own young familiar's actions. When Regale went to swipe at him she didn't say a word. It would serve Ascale right if he got knocked down a peg or two. He was enough of a hassle without having to keep him in line near other males.

Of course Ascale thought the other Janarim was finally giving him attention and playing. So naturally he moved closer to Regale and started to "play" bite at him and assault him with his thunder paws.

Dem turned her attention to Draven and gave a nod of her head. "Walking may be ideal. I think Ascale is about to learn a thing or two." And she was not going to interfere with that lesson. Her eyes were cast toward the two laying in a pile. Normally she would have checked to see if they would be alright on their own but if they didn't get moving soon this whole area would be a Janarim wrestling ring. "Either they have little self worth or they simply don't like my kind. Either way, they shouldn't resort to being thieves." Turning on heel she motioned for Draven to walk along with her.

"It's common for the Ice and Wind tribes to intermingle, isn't it?" V'demhe was genuinely curious about the relationships of the different tribes. She enjoyed knowing that others weren't so narrow minded and often found mates among territories not belonging to their own. "My mate is from Matori so naturally our daughters are hybrids." Dem shared her own relationship to show she wasn't being judgmental like some of her sisters would have been.

She nodded her head at him as he basically confirmed what she thought. Hybrids from the Wind and Ice tribes were pretty normal. It brought a smile to her face. At least there were mixed children out there that weren't shunned. "That's nice to hear. Especially after what happened a year ago." V'demhe gave a chuckle when Draven asked her about being with someone from the water tribe. "Yes. And a male at that. His name is Virain. I met him when we were both young." Dem figured that he would find it odd that an Alkidike would mate with a male. Most people did.

As things heated up between the two Janarim she nodded her head. "Yes, I fear it won't settle down until one of them wins." And in her mind she had no doubt that it would be Regale that would come out on top. She cleared her throat and muttered an "excuse me" to Draven before she stepped up in the middle of the beasts. "Ascale, that's enough." It was dangerous of her to do but it was how she handled her own familiars. It was how she had trained her two radaku and she intended to have that same relationship with this animal. "He's your elder, Ascale. Deal with it." And with that she slapped her own Janarim on the nose with the flat side of her blade.

Almost instantly Ascale stopped what he was doing. His person had tapped him on the nose! Bringing his gaze down to look at her he tilted his head in confusion. Why had she done such a thing!? And what's more was, why was she standing in the middle of them!? His protective instincts kicked in and he lowered himself to the ground in order to curl around her.

Dem smiled and put her hand on his head gently. "That's it. Now leave Regale alone." Her other hand finally sheathed her second blade before reaching up to push her dreads over her shoulder and out of the way. The beads in her hair clinked together, gaining his attention, and she motioned for him to walk with her by taking hold of the lead line. Giving her attention back to Draven she smiled. "There we go."

Abie. She didn't know that name. Then again if Draven had met them in Oba she likely wouldn't know who it was. Dem could barely claim that she knew many Matorians at all really. "I adore Virain. He's my mate in this life and all that follow." V'demhe smiled to herself, even feeling a bit of a blush to go along with it.

Giving her attention back to the Janarim she ran her hand along the brown scales of Ascale. "True enough. I think we should head down the road." When Draven walked she did as well. Of course since she was literally an Amazon she had to measure her steps to match his so that she didn't unintentionally leave him behind. Ascale walked on the other side of her, pouting since he'd gotten in trouble for being so unruly.

"I'm headed for Matori actually. Returning after a trip to Yael. In taming Ascale I veered off course." Not that she was upset about the idea. Yes, it took her longer to reach her family that way but she wasn't returning empty handed. "I had intended to capture a beast for my daughters but I think this one may be a bit too spirited for the younglings." Even if her girls were little energy balls.