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 Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:04 pm
Ilsa never truly thought she would see Zinris.
Her home had always been Chibale and while half of her parentage was elarian she’d never really considered herself one of them. It was hard too when all she had were stories to go on. Her elarian mother’s family made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with the life she’d created so they remained in Chibale until Ilsa’s eighteenth year. She wasn’t sure what made her go. Maybe it was the influence of a friend who’d made the trip multiple times or of other Aishan’s who passed through Chibale on their travels, but Ilsa was here, all the same. Her mothers had warned her of a cool reception, and possibly worse, so she came with expectations that dragged the ground she walked.
Still, the journey was a pilgrimage all its own. At first her mothers had been against it, but in the end they were all here. The pair were back at camp, working on dinner, while Ilsa took to exploring the woods around her. Everything was so different here, so odd, but strangely like Jauhar in a way….
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:04 pm
[Scar via Discord]
Zivah generally wasn't the sort of kid to go gallumphing around like a hooligan in the woods. That was more her brother, Imri's, domain as far as she was concerned. Most of her time these days was spent training at the settlement, practicing life skills with older Sisters, or helping her mom Lucijah around their homestead. But, for once, she had free time, and since Mama Ai was still preparing her training swords she had little else to do than to explore.
Yaeli was dangerous at times, due to the heavy fog, the treacherous landscape, and some of the beasts that prowled it, but Zivah was clever, and she knew how to watch her step, and to scramble up a tree if something came her way, so she rationalized that it would be fine.
... You know, until she got bored of exploring and found a big stick and a rock and proceeded to try and make a spear, so she could stab things.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:06 pm
If not for the explicit directions given to Ilsa by her mother, the teen never would have gone this far. The fog that settled across the land made sight nearly impossible and what areas were clear were so inhospitable she couldn’t make anything out of it. She’d come this far on the woman’s detailed words, followed the stones as close as she could until…they changed.
Trees didn’t look the same, there were new stones and this…wasn’t the place she’d meant to go at all.
”If you get lost, just come back to Zinris.”
Well…where was Zinris?
“Are you kidding me?” Ilsa grumbled and reached a hand up to brush down her face. Turning about, she saw something moving and for a moment she stilled. Was it a creature or a person? When it didn’t outright attack her, Ilsa moved closer and chanced calling out, “Hello?”
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:10 pm
[Scar via Discord / 2]
Zivah wasn't the best at making things, but with a rock she was managing to chip down the end of the stick to a somewhat sharp, if pulpy, point. She wouldn't be able to really stab anything with it, but at least she wouldn't feel so silly going through her forms with a stick. She stood up, and started through the brush, seeking out level ground ... when the distant sound of a voice caught her ear. She froze, blinking, only to clutch her spear tighter when the voice called to her.
... Ai would probably be ashamed that her first feeling was a flash of uncertainty - but she quickly stamped it out, and instead drew herself up to her full (and quite informidable) height. "Who goes there?!" She called out, tiny voice pitched lower in what she imagined was an authoritative tone, but came off more as a child playing pretend.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:13 pm
“Ilsa, of Chibale.” She called out. Unlike the smaller sister she didn’t have to make her voice deep; it naturally was. Ilsa’s large, hulking frame made her far less traditionally feminine than some sisters, but it did nothing for the trepidation she felt. Should she continue? Well, did she really have a choice? If she didn’t she would be out here forever…
The closer Ilsa got to the figure the more surprised she became. With that shock of red hair she’d expected to see another sister, not a little hybrid. Her skin was definitely not Elarian, among other things, and she was…. Holding a weapon? That could get dangerous. What was a child doing this far out into the wilds by herself with a stick?
“And…you are?”
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:15 pm
(Scar via Discord 3/10)
Zivah knew it was foolish to call out - she was a child, after all, and her mothers would both be encouraging her to return home and reach out for an adult to defend her. But she still got startled when a voice called back - though that anxiety settled somewhat at the familiar name. Chibale - where the Aishans grew. Where her mother had been born. She padded closer, only to stop, confused, at the sight infront of her.
The woman looked... Elarian. Not Aishan, as she'd suggested from haling from Chibale. The grey of her skin, the pinks of her fingers and lips, the curl of her antennae... and yet her eyes were dark, not green, and her hair was unlike her own red, and Ai's black.
What was she? A hybrid? Zivah stared, only to come back to herself when the strong looking woman prodded her for HER introduction.
She'd never got to introduce herself to an adult before...! "I'm Zivah!" She said, proudly, only to pause, remembering the way the woman had done it. "Of Zinris! Why is your hair like that?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:17 pm
Doesn’t miss a beat, does she?
It was hard to ignore Ilsa’s differences. She may have been pure Aishan, but there were enough variants to make it obvious she didn’t belong solely to one goddess. In all honesty seeing this child in a similar predicament wouldn’t have been half as strange as seeing her crystals. She’d heard of Elaria having their own hybrids now, but Ilsa just assumed it was a tall tale. To actually see one…
Well, it was akin to seeing an albino radaku.
“My mother. Why is your skin like that?”
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:19 pm
[Scar rararararara via Discord ????/10]
Forgetting her mother's warning of always keeping her eyes peeled, Zivah moved even closer until the two were just a few feet apart, looking at one another. The woman was so big, and very pretty, if unique looking. Then, she returned the question, and Zivah pressed her lips together, glancing down to where her pale fingers were wrapped around her make shift spear. Unlike her mother, her pale skin didn't shift with the time of day - meaning she always stuck out like a sore thumb.
"From my mother." She answered, squinting her eyes up at the woman. Was that what happened when Elaria prayed to the Alkidike tree? She didn't even know that was a thing!
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:20 pm
Defensive posture, aversion to making full eye contact; Ilsa knew the signs well. She’d exhibited so many of the same patterns in her youth that it softened her even if the larger hybrid didn’t outwardly show it. “It’s very pretty; like the night sky.” She didn’t have to lie to her; the girl was a genuinely striking hybrid, one Ilsa hadn’t expected to see, but a lovely one nevertheless.
“Are you out here on your own?” She really shouldn’t have been, but Ilsa wouldn’t fault her for it. She’d done so many times before in her youth.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:21 pm
[Scar via Discord]
Really? Zivah blinked up at the older Aishan, her mouth dropping open in surprise. But then, remembering she was the daughter of Ai and Lucijah, she puffed herself up and beamed, toothily, propping her spear like a flag in the ground next to her. "I am! I'm old enough for blades, and I'm not that far from home." It was true - the other woman may not expect it, as Zinris was a good ways away, but her home was only ten or so minutes' walk.
"Anyway, my brother does it all the time, and if HE can do it so can I!" Once, she'd avoided referring to Imri as a 'he' entirely, opting instead for 'sibling' or 'that person', but Lucijah had managed to talk her out of it years ago.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:22 pm
Ilsa had no doubt that if she took that spear from this child she could snap it over her knee and run off with her. Were her mothers really okay with her running around like this? At least when Ilsa had been ‘alone’ there were others somewhat close by. Out here she could disappear into the mist, fall into a crevasse and drown in an underground river.
Goddess, the Elarians truly are bloomed different. Old enough for blades? Hardly.
“You have a brother?” There was just… a lot of information coming from this little one. “Since you’re…so knowledgeable about the area maybe you could help me. I need to get back to Zinris, but I got lost in the fog. Can you help me?”
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:24 pm
(Scar via Discord 6/10)
The answer to that unasked question was no. Very much no. Lucijah and Ai both knew how dangerous Yael could be; there was a reason, after all, the extremists and Yaeli ancestors had been banished here. But she also wasn't lying, she knew where she was and how to get home, and she was confident - at least, she had been until faced with the mystery of a stranger.
Now, she'd very thoroughly lowered her guard. After all, Zinris saw many new faces, and she'd not yet learned of the possibility of duplicity. People who didn't like her wore their disdain on their sleeves, generally.
And someone praising her couldn't be THAT bad, could they? No! Absolutely not! "You got lost?" She echoed, her tone falling into bratty territory. If this woman was her age, she'd probably sneer and start making fun of her, but she was still starry eyed over being as 'pretty as the night sky'.
"Yeah, I can show you there! Are you on a pilgrimage? There's a lot of you lately!" She turned and began walking away without any further explanations, watching her feet as she went. She did seem aware of the risk of falling, at any rate.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:25 pm
Ilsa felt a twinge in her antennae, but it passed quickly enough. “I did. This is my first time visiting Yael and I haven’t been here long.” If she’d stayed closer to Zinris would she have seen this little one at all? Was there a reason the feral little moondrop was running around the wilds on her own? Ilsa had seen enough shifter mixes back in Chibale, but they were still close enough to train.
Goddess, but Yael was going to give her heart a workout.
Oh, but now they were moving and quickly! Ilsa didn’t have to fight to keep up with her, though; the little one was spritely, moving with an ease she didn’t have, but Ilsa’s legs were much longer. Unless she chose to outright run she would be fine. “We’re here so my Elarian mother can visit with Elzira.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:26 pm
(Scar via Discord 7/10)
An Elarian mother? Zivah wanted to look up at her curiously, but knew that it was a risk. This was a pretty craggy area on its own, and while she didn't see any holes big enough to slip through, there were plenty of ankle breakers around, and little creatuers that could scurry out if she didn't pay attention.
For whatever reason, the suggestion that this older Aishan would still travel with her mother was reassuring. Zivah sometimes thought once she was old enough to properly hunt, Ai might not give her all the one-on-one training sessions anymore. But this woman didn't look like she was coddled, yet was still with her mothers!
"Oh. But you aren't?" She asked, pausing in her steps long enough to peek at her again. Did she not see Elzira as the mother tree? Oh... probably not, if she was born in Chibale. But she still had Elzira's blessing, through her mother.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:28 pm
While keeping up with the smaller hybrid was easy enough, navigating the terrain was not. There were many times where Ilsa had to reach out for a passing tree or large stone to balance herself, grit her teeth whenever they snagged in an unexpected hole and outright hiss whenever she knocked into a rock. Yael was as creepy as it was irritatingly dangerous. She knew why the Elaria were here, but this wasn’t exactly endearing her to stay.
But she would make this work. She just needed to get used to it, was all.
“I am, just not now. It’s…a little more complicated with me. One of my mothers is an Elarian and the other is an Alkidike. That’s why my hair looks like this.”
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