Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hargitt wasn't built for Jauhar.

He was a very large man with very sharp crystals and every time he walked on the rope bridges the points of his thighs would inevitably rub against them. Just the thought of it cutting through was enough to fill his stomach with dread, but he wouldn't show it; not in front of these shifters. Even their children ran across the bridges as if they were solid ground and not bits of horror dangling hundreds of feet above the ground.

Climbing up hadn't been the hard part. Growing up in the wilds of Sauti where cliffs were more prevalent than trees had prepared him for that, but this...this was madness.

Still, he'd heard rumors of a fellow windling in the same town they had settled in. The description alone wouldn't raise any mental flags, but the name had instantly caught Hargitt's attention.

Tivis was here. For whatever reason his baby brother was here and he intended on finding him.

"Tivis is here."

Hargitt wasn't one to share a lot about his family - neither one of them were, really - but he'd said enough about his baby brother. The boy would have been a teenager by now and Hargitt hadn't seen him in ages so he had to wonder if he would even recognize him. "The tanner said he talked to a boy who looked like me yesterday. Same crystals, hair color...said his name was Tivis." It was a longshot, but...Hargitt didn't really care. He hadn't been as close to any of his brothers as he was to Tivis and now he could actually spend time with the boy.

And a part of him wanted Rajani to meet him. To like him just as much as Hargitt did.

"He has a kinfa; big blue thing. He never goes anywhere without it so I'm starting with that." He knew there was an area where the riders would house their mounts so maybe if he found the avian he could find it's master?

While the majority of those in the village were shifters, there were enough of foreign blood that spotting one man from Sauti might be hard. Everytime Hargitt saw a shock of blonde hair in the crowd he would look that way, only to be disappointed when it was either a woman or not the right face.

Following the way she pointed, Hargitt almost felt hopeful...until she mentioned the bit about blue kinfa being common. He couldn't help the sigh that took him over. "Still worth a shot." As they made their way toward the landing area Hargitt could see more and more flying mounts, even some blue kinfa, but none with the same look as his brothers. They were still some ways away though so maybe....

Unbeknownst to him, if he'd simply turned to the left and back a bit he might have seen a younger windling speaking to a group of shifters. One that had crystals just as spiky as his brothers and hair the color of fresh sunshine.

Hargitt was a good clip away before he even noticed Rajani wasn't by his side and he only figured it out then because he had a thought. When he turned to share it his brows rose, a flutter of panic building in him until he picked her out from the crowd. It was harder here, with so many shifters around, but Rajani had a knack for sticking out. Maybe it was because he'd spent so much time with her or it could have been the general looks she tossed to anyone who got close.

He waited for her to catch up, and nodded with her question, "Yeah. Blonde hair, blue eyes; pretty much all of us boys look the same with a few exceptions." Those being that some of his brothers had their father's hair, but beyond that they were so typically Sauti that it hurt. At least, in his eyes. In reality the whole clan were tall men with abnormally large crystals, something that the other windling in the crowd most certainly possessed.

And something that he was only just then seeing. As he talked to Rajani, Hargitt's view had shifted and he saw Tivis. His brother was talking with someone, had turned to give a side profile and though he was years older than Hargitt remembered he'd know that boy anywhere. "That's him; over there. I don't...what should I say? I haven't seen him in ages."

Tivis may have been gaining the familial build, but he wasn't quite there yet. He still had a lankiness to him that was typical of a teenager and that was only exaggerated when he turned around, eyes wide with confusion and surprise to hear his name called out by a stranger.

Hargitt could have killed her. Rajani had half the shifter population turning their way and the back of his neck burned with heat. "What is wrong with you?" He groused under his breath. Now that she was moving, however, he had little choice but to follow her. A part of him might have been grateful, though; without the push would he have gone after Tivis? Perhaps, but not in a crowd like this and certainly not when his younger brother looked so happy.

Their home life wasn't the best and he never wanted to make light of moments like that.

Still, he also couldn't deny how his heart lifted to see recognition take over the boy's face. Tivis lit up in a way that reminded Hargitt of the small child he'd left back home. "BROTHER!" He said something quick to his friends in passing before all out running toward Hargitt. With a big, happy laugh he tossed his arms around Hargitt's neck and hugged him for all he was worth. Even despite the way Hargitt immediately tensed Tivis held on, as if he'd come to expect it, and soon enough the older windling was softening to return the embrace. "You're in Jauhar?! If I'd known I would have come to visit you sooner!" When he pulled back he gave Hargitt's arm a playful punch before turning his attention to Rajani.

"Hello! I'd introduce myself but it seems like you already know me."

"If that's your way of saying you're bossy then I agree," He murmured under his breath. In truth he might have said something far less flattering if his brother wasn't well within earshot by then. Grown or not Hargitt had no intention of exposing Tivis to that kind of talk.

Then he saw that look and his eyes widened with one of his own that clearly meant 'don't you dare' but oooooo she dared.

"My brother's one and only woman?" Tivis might have laughed at her choice of delivery, but his expression was outright confused. "I thought you were into me....You know what, doesn't matter! Old news, right?" Clearly he took his brother's mortified look as something else entirely and clapped his hands. "Pleasure to meet you, Rajani. How long have you two been in Jauhar?"

I swear to Chi if you don't stop right now I'm going to push you off the next rope bridge I find.

He'd almost wished Rajani was as standoffish as she was around most other strangers. Was this his fault for hoping they would get along? Probably. Maybe if he prayed more than once every twenty years then things like this atrocity wouldn't happen.

"That explains why I haven't seen you then. I've been in the village for a few weeks now with my boss. We're picking up some kinfa eggs before going back to Sauti." Tivis was seemingly settling into a groove and Hargitt hoped that the worst of it was over. So, he'd been perfectly content in not addressing it further until of course it wasn't over.

"...I'd say sleeping in a real bed is preferable, then, but I-" Tivis began, only to be cut off.

"Rajani." His deep voice was clear and sharp, his gaze as deadly as a sermals while his younger brother's eyebrows rose to the sky. If the boys skin could have deepened any further he'd look like a strawberry! With a deep breath, he turned to Tivis and exhaled. "She's my best friend; nothing more. I'm still only interested in men."

"Oh, wow, you two must be close."

Tivis' comment and subsequent chuckle broke through Hargitt's pinpoint glare. When he turned to look at his younger brother the blonde was grinning ear to ear as he leaned over to elbow the older windling. "I've been on the receiving end of that look a time or two. What was it dad called it? The 'little s**t' stare-"

"Shut it. Both of you." At that point Hargitt was no longer growling, but more huffing as if the whole thing was exhausting to him. Having two souls around to torment him was going to be rough. As she explained things to his younger brother Hargitt nodded at points, more so when she looked at him to make sure everything suited him.

"Yeah, actually. There's a breeder who lives close by who us an egg from their latest clutch. The sire is massive, bigger than any we've seen yet, and the dame isn't much smaller. We're hoping to add them to the flock to bolster numbers."

"Do they trade with the Alkidike? Would make sense to breed bigger kinfa if they used them for mounts." Hargitt commented, pondering the situation himself. Those monstrously giant women would need something truly massive to lift them into the skies.

"Maybe? Honestly, I don't know but it would make sense. Anyway, enough about business...I want to know more about the 'unwanted ones' Rajani has to keep fighting off of you. You mean there are actually women who look at your grumpy mug and still want to get close?"