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There had become a certain routine to Zakia's life that her mother did her best to uphold.

Every Summer the two would head out of Jauhar for a quick little trip, just the two of them, and explore some of Tendaji before coming back to the sanctuary. Once there they would spend the entirety of the summer before going back to Chibale. It had been easy enough to coax Zakia into doing it when she was a child, but as she aged the teenager had fought back. Why would she leave friends who actually wanted her around just to be stuck with those idiots all summer? After a while Mnyiri hadn't pressured her and had given in. For three summers Zakia stayed in Jauhar while Mnyiri made her 'pilgrimage', but this year, oh this year, she'd all but drug her daughter along.

And boy was Zakia not having it.

They'd gotten started later in the season then usual, no doubt due to Zakia dragging her feet, and the entire trip she'd been a grumpy guss about it. Seeing Auntie Rho and the rest of the family would be fine, maybe even fun, but having to put up with those two was just dreadful.

She and her mother arrived late in the night, far beyond when most had gone to bed, so after quick pleasantries they went off to sleep. Now that a new day had begun, and her mother was visiting with the other adults Zakia was off on her own. She'd gone off to the stable to tend to Mvua, who had started to show his age after all these years. He still wasn't exactly happy to be so close to the other animals, but at least when she brushed his fur he no longer growled at her.

Covering a yawn, Kuno bent over to yank on his boots. While Zakia's return was a somewhat controversial subject between the pair; Kuno, for his part, was interested to catch up with their distant friend. After all, he and Azreal had both changed a lot since they had last met up, so it only stood to reason that Zakia was different, too. Was she as tall as other Alks like her mother was? Would she and Azreal still be at each other's throats?

Well, one side of that last question was pretty certain... "Just give me a min- wait! Dude!" His silver gaze rose to give his brother a withering glance as the slighter frame left the room. "You could at least try bein' decent," he muttered to the empty doorway, tying the final lace on his boot. Honestly! If Azreal wasn't careful, he was going to get an earful from their mother! She had already warned them about behaving once...

With a quick stretch of his arms over his head, he jumped up and headed to follow the trail his brother had left. However, he purposely dragged his heels at this point. Might as well let the lovebirds greet each other first! That was probably a bad idea, actually. He grinned to himself and hurried up again to meet with the other teens.

Azreal shot his brother a look as he noticed the way that his twin had conveniently slowed down. However, he wasn't given much of a chance to retreat before Zakia appeared and surprised him. Three years seemed to have been enough time for a lot to change for both of them. The smile almost made her look really pretty before her expression slipped after realizing that it was him and not someone else. Azreal took a moment to register her words before coughing to clear his throat, suddenly and oddly enough feeling almost shy if not awkward in that moment. "Thanks? It looks like you've not had much of anything cut...but as it is I'm sure that letters can't always cover everything." He replied as he studied her height and well everything. His father was taller than most earthlings but even that was not enough to make up for the foot difference in height. Azreal had felt tall but now he was reminded again of how tall Alkidikes could be. It looked like genetics hadn't skipped Zakia either. Thankfully their stables had been built to hold mammu as well so at least the doorway was tall enough to accommodate her with plenty of extra space.

Azreal had to ignore the strange twist of his heart as Zakia brightened at the sight of Kuno and waved him over. Traitor. The teen almost rolled his eyes as he attempted to collect himself from the surprise of actually seeing Zakia after a while. Perhaps it wasn't a locust after all and more of a butterfly....Azreal's lips pressed at the thought as he silently shoved any compliments out of his mind. His pride would simply not allow it, not when he knew how aggravating she was to deal with. "Aunt Tally gave us breakfast by the way." He finally commented when Kuno was closer. "Here if you want anything." Azreal held out the basket towards Zakia. "Other than that I don't know what you planned on doing today but Kuno and I are here to guide you around if necessary."

[3/10]

It was hard to ignore how much had changed between the three of them. Of course the most glaring difference was how much taller she'd grown. The last time Zakia had visited the sanctuary she'd been a little over the boys, but not by much. It was expected with her bloodline, but now...Well, when Kuno so bluntly pointed it out she couldn't help flushing. She shifted awkwardly on her feet, as if being around earthllings after such a prolonged period away was strange. "I don't know. Maybe? I'm more Alkidike then she is so I could be."

She couldn't really explain what it felt like seeing them again. Their letters kept up those old rivalries and half-hearted insults, but face to face...Zakia found herself far more awkward then she'd imagined. They really were growing up as handsome as her mom said...Not that she cared!

"Tally did? That was nice of her." Stepping forward, Zakia crouched a bit to look into the basket and picked up a sweet berry puff. My favorite; she remembered! She took an eager bite and gave a happy little hum, going so far as to picking up a few more before straightening completely.

Mvua leaned his head over towards Kuno and inspected the boy. He looked as unimpressed as always, but his head remained, as if giving the teenager permission to touch him should he choose.

"Actually, I was kind of hoping to talk to your Aunt this morning. Mom said I'm old enough to start mounted training, and she said I could use Mvua, but...I kind of want to try something with wings."

The nudge made Kuno's brow lift in an innocent expression. "What? Not that bein' tall's a bad thing." Giving Zakia an encouraging smile, his attention shifted to lightly reach out to rub a hand along Mvua's jaw. "'cept maybe on you, buddy. Aunt Mnyiri barely fits ya as it is!" It was always so curious to him that Mnyiri had chosen such a small mount, but Aunt Mnyiri did a lot of curious things.

"Oh, you would look awesome on a raptrix! ..but yeah. She won't be back until this evenin'," he confirmed. He supposed that meant they had plenty of time to talk about what she might enjoy, as dull as that would be. Still, thinking about Zakia riding around on a raptrix was an embarrassingly tantalizing image. He met his brother's glance and smirked. "Hey, we do know how to prepare the mounts. Why don't we show her how to do that?" If that led to a little ride, well..

"I would hope a kinfa could hold them." Replied Azreal with a small frown towards Zakia. It wasn't that he doubted the strength of the mount but just the thought of her in the air though made his stomach twist into knots. It would be much better if Aunt Tally was the one to deal with that sort of training. I didn't even think about the kinfa we have...I automatically thought of the raptrix and chiavi instead. There was always Yukiyo as well but Azreal simply trusted the raptrix more as a mount. Mostly because those were the ones he worked with the most and even knew how to prepare their gear whenever necessary. Something which Kuno eagerly pointed out and had Azreal glancing towards him with surprise. As he pondered the offer, Azreal raised a brow towards his brother. "I suppose..." He started before glancing back towards Zakia. Why did he have a feeling that this wouldn't go as smoothly as he hoped? Why had Kuno even suggested such a thing? All he knew was that they would both be maimed if something were to happen to Zakia because of them. Here's hoping we can live to see another day.

Zakia seemed pretty intent on things and if Kuno was already pushing for it then how could Azreal protest? He would just look like some sort of coward or grump at that point and he did not want to give Zakia or Kuno a reason to tease him later. "If you both are wanting to do it then sure." He nodded and gestured for Kuno to lead the way. "The raptrix are mostly towards the back barn since they have their own field and a cliff around that way that dips into forest." He just hoped that it was only Silva and Akemi near and not some of the other younger and more playful, less obedient raptrix that they kept around.

[5/10]

What was Azreal even stressing over? Their Aunt worked with animals everyday so surely whatever sort of beastie they ended up tending to would surely overlook a few mistakes. She gave him one last look before shaking her head and following after Kuno.

"You fell off a raptrix? Was it in the air?!" She stepped closer towards the boy and bent just so she could get a better look at his chin. How had she never noticed that before? Had it happened while she was away? And surely if he'd been in flight the damage would have been so much worse!

If the scar was meant to deter her it didn't; Zakia wasn't a stranger to life's harsher lessons. She looked about, hoping to catch a sight of the pair Kuno was calling when one happened to hear the call. "Is that one of them?"

Clearly it was a younger canine, just blossoming into adulthood and full of vigor. It's feathers glistened like ink in the sunlight; at first she thought they must be black, but then they changed from violet to blue. She didn't think it was as trained as some of the other mounts, but then again what did she know about it...

The raptrix itself padded over to the three and started to n** at the fur lining Azreal's coat.

Kuno's cheeks flushed as Zakia leaned in to inspect the scar, but he managed to laugh and waved the inspection off. "Only a little. Bubs had just taken off when he saw the hare that he suddenly needed to chase. Darned thing won't turn when I tell him to, but had no problem pullin' a sharp 90 for the hare." He rolled his eyes with amusement. Once he had been certain he was still alive, it had actually been rather funny~

He laughed again at the raptix's antics. "Midnight! This is actually Bubs' brother." Well, Midnight wasn't the calmest, but he would still work for their purposes! He hadn't expected Azreal to agree though, and he gave his brother a big grin. Was that a vote of confidence he had heard? "Hey, thanks!" He reached over to burrow his fingers into Midnight's scruff and gave a playful shake. "You ready ta get all suited up, boy?" Giddy as a boy, he quickly walked over to point out the various equipment needed for mounting a raptrix. Everything was on hooks and shelves lining the wall in an orderly fashion, making it an easy job of finding what was where.

Not too much later, he had the excited pup strapped in, making sure Zakia had been able to see every step. "An' then this strap goes 'round the chest here, and all set! Whadya think?"