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 Posted: Thu May 12, 2022 11:25 am
Weeks of travel brought the two closer and closer to the Alkidike settlements. Doesina watched as her cousin grew more and more visibly nervous and so she tried her best to talk about things she thought might help Heike to relax. Things like the previous hunting adventure or how that vine hanging down dangerously close to them seemed to be moving. Or how her training with the spear was going. All things that worked for the first few days of walking. Heike always engaged back with Doesina, adding her own thoughts and opinions to the various topics.
But as soon as she spied an Alkidike up in the trees, presumably watching them, Heike grew quieter. That seemed to have brought her crashing back down to reality and where they were headed. She wasn't sure why Heike was feeling this way towards their Cousins of the rainforest. She felt fine. It wasn't like they were heading here to ask to see Aisha. Aishans were protective over their given Mother Trees. She understood that. She longed to return to Yael to see her own once more. Elzira didn't have the protection of being on a small island like the other trees did. Doesina always worried when she was away from her. Did Heike worry about her own tree? She never did mention anything about her home and she was afraid to ask. Memories could be very painful. She might not be ready to talk about it and shut Doesina out when the Elaria really felt like she was bonding with her cousin.
Thus, when the question came to her, she didn't quite hear it.
"What was that?" she asked, turning to Heike. She had said something, right?
1/10
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2022 12:17 pm
Inside Heike's mind was a mess. There was nothing to suggest that Alkidike in the trees had been actually watching their approach, though there was nothing to say it wasn't intentional. She knew Aishans were very protective over their Tribes, especially the closer one got to the trees. She felt there was something wrong with her that she didn't seem to share this sentiment. And that was the other reason why she was constantly debating turning around and going back. A part of her just wanted to see. She couldn't go see the Elidae's and she'd agreed to see Doesina's home. But since they were here in Jauhar, she thought they may as well meet some Alkidike, too. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to get from the encounter. Maybe some understanding of what it was like to be Aishan, by seeing the Tribe that made the rest of them?
Beside her, Doesina walked silently, having gone quiet a hour ago when Heike had stopped answering. Shutting her cousin up hadn't been her goal. Despite herself, she was a bit fond of the younger girl. There was an innocence to her that was sweet. She hadn't yet discovered firsthand how awful the world could be.
Thinking about that made the Elidae think about her Elaria family. She looked at Doesina out of the corner of her eye, seeing she was a bit distracted looking up. Perhaps for more signs of them being watched. Maybe that had just been a coincidence. A hunting Alkidike.
"What is yo--our family like?" Heike repeated patiently.
1/10
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 5:23 pm
Doesina was so shocked by the question that she stopped walking and blinked a few times into the distance.
"You want....To know about our family?" she repeated, stunned. But she recovered quickly. Before Heike had the chance to say anything, the Elaria let out a high pitched sound from her throat and bounced forward to give the other girl a big hug. "Oh, of course I'll tell you! I'm so excited that you asked!"
2/10
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 5:33 pm
Was this maybe such a good idea? Doesina could get so excited about things that it made Heike feel uncomfortable. She wasn't used to such energy, or any kind of energy, for that matter. She'd been by herself for so long. Though that was why she'd agreed to travel with the other girl to begin with, to try and help herself with her confidence around others.
The Elidae didn't return the hug, just stood awkward with her hands by her sides until she was released. "Yes. If we are to go there, I want to know about them beforehand."
2/10
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 5:47 pm
"I'm sorry..." The Elaria spoke softly, untangling her limbs from that of her now very embarrassed cousin. Her grandmother had always told her to think before she acted. Some people weren't comfortable with her level of affection. Something that she managed to handle well when around strangers. Sometimes she lost herself in the moment with family.
"They're very nice. Not as, um....Strict as most Elaria you meet are. Though they can be in their own way. Especially Grandma. Her mother was an Alkidike, so she's had more of a firm hand in her upbringing. I hear Great-Grandma was not as much of a fan of peace as Grandma learned to be."
3/10
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 5:55 pm
Not a fan of peace? Heike was aware how Doesina felt about it. When she said it like that, that meant their Great-Grandmother was probably an extrememist thinker and traveled to the new tree location to help raise the next Tribe in her ideals. Much like what her own mother had done with her, only in a Tribe that wouldn't have been as accepting of those ways as the fresh Elaria tribe would have been.
Why didn't Kioko just stay with the Elaria and raise one of them in an environment more fitting for her believes? Than at least she'd have had the chance to know she had a family, before everything in her life got turned upside down and inside out.
Heike nodded her head for Doesina to continue.
3/10
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 6:02 pm
"Mom's much nicer," Doesina continued, oblivious of the thoughts that had been going through Heike's head. "Early in her childhood, Grandma decided she didn't like how the Elaria were and wanted to try to change it. Great-Grandma had an accident and was no longer around to try and change her mind in how she wanted to raise her own daughter."
"And that brings us to me, the most black sheep of the whole family." The Elaria put on a broad smile. She knew how she felt about a lot of things was very controversial, but in the ways of the youth, she didn't care. Maybe it would cause her problems later on down the line in her life. She wasn't thinking about that. She was enjoying life as it came at her.
4/10
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 7:17 pm
Unsure of what to say to the unloading of more information, Heike just nodded her head. It was clear that her mother didn't get along with her family. That was probably why she'd left. She wasn't sure how to feel about it. You should love and respect your parents for who they were, not wish things had been different. Kioko hadn't done her daughter any favors by keeping her so far from everyone else. But she hoped to fix all that. Once she made herself worthy of her own Tribe.
Looking over at Doesina, who was staring at her with a look of anticipation, she tried to offer a small smile, the corner of one side of her mouth curling up in more of a parody of one. "Thanks. For telling me." Feeling uncomfortable once more, Heike stretched her arms above her head, glancing up at the canopy above them.
4/10
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 10:28 am
Doesina let the subject drop. Once she got started, she could, and would, talk about her family for hours. She didn't think Heike would want her to unload all the information, all at once. After being with her this long, it was obvious she had a lot of issues when it came to other people. Doesina didn't want to scare her away from ever visiting. Her cousin would probably feel like she needed to remember everything she was told about anyone and that would only result in making her feel more nervous about meeting anyone.
So instead, she looked up at the trees. "Do you think she's still up there?" she whispered.
5/10
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 11:16 am
With the question out there, Heike scanned the canopy, her eyes roaming up and down each trunk for signs of anyone hanging off it. Though she didn't see anyone, that meant nothing. Someone who grew up under these trees, hunting the animals that also called them home, would know how to hide when they wanted to.
Thinking of herself on the same level as prey wasn't a comforting thought, as much as she knew she was in no danger coming closer to Alkidike settlements.
Heike lowered her head, shifting the bag on her back so it was more comfortable.
"If she is, we might never know."
5/10
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 2:54 pm
Doesina didn't much like that thought, either. The feeling of being watched increased and she forced her head down, brushing a bit of dirt off a shoulder. She already felt like everyone was watching her when she was back home, waiting for her to show an affinity for the Yaeli and hybrids who shared their home, so close to their own settlements. It had been rather relaxing out here, feeling like she didn't have to live up to anyone's expectations.
"Must be fun to climb those trees, though," she commented.
6/10
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 3:04 pm
"Mm," was all Heike gave in response to that, unsure what exactly to say. Seemed like an odd thing to comment on, to her. Climbing trees wasn't fun nor boring to her, just what you did in order to gather food or resources. Simply being out in the wilderness was enough for her. She loved to forage and hunt for her own food. She even dabbled in trying to make her own clothing and tools, though it never seemed to go over very well. She usually ended up trading with locals anyway.
Which was also part of the reason she wanted to visit the Alkidike. She had all these spare weapons on hand, surely they above the Earthlings could use them. What did an Earthling have to protect that was as important as a Mother Tree?
6/10
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 4:36 pm
Quiet descended once more as the two walked. Doesina didn't mind. By now, she'd grown very used to Heike's more quiet nature and tried to replicate it so as not to overwhelm her cousin with her own chatty nature. It was very difficult. She had to fiddle with the edge of her clothing in order to distract herself enough not to keep talking.
Fortunately for her, this time there was another distraction. A child, younger than 10, came running out from behind a tree, nearly colliding with the two of them. Before he could, the two women had darted out of the way at the same time the child stopped, skidding to a halt before the Elaria. It looked like a little boy. But that couldn't be correct, seeing as he also looked very much like an Alkidike. Except for the fact he also had no antennae or pointed ears.
Doesina instantly dropped down to a couch, elbows resting casually on her knees. "Aren't you adorable!" she cooed at him, making him blush and kick a foot. "Do you live out in the forest?"
7/10
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 4:43 pm
Heike was just as surprised by the appearance of the child. At first, it was mostly over the fact it was a child. Adults were hard enough to deal with. Children were worse. She didn't know how to behave around one without upsetting it, as she countless times had done in the past. So when it appeared before her, she stiffened up, letting Doesina do all the talking.
But than she looked closer. Wasn't this a little boy? He looked so much like an Alkidike, there was no mistaking what he really was. A mutt. A half-breed, one who decided to look more like the side of his family he didn't have any rights to. Not only as a hybrid, but as a male. Why was he out here? Weren't they nearing the pure Alkidike villages?
7/10
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 4:52 pm
"No...." the shy child responded, looking at Doesina with wonder in his eyes. He's probably never seen someone from the other Aishan Tribes, she decided. Not in his short life. And being a hybrid. Poor thing. Even though Aisha was okay with creating him for his parents, he was off to a bad start in life straight from the very moment his bloom would have started forming. Did he even realize it yet? She hoped he didn't.
"I live in the nearby village with my mommas," the kid continued.
Oh uh. Doesina instantly realized what this meant. They had been heading towards Andile. Or thought they had been. Even worse, as she went quiet, the kid turned his attention onto Heike.
8/10
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