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-Sabra Knight via Discord-

It had been a few years since Quynh had been to Zinris. For the most part Quynh had been raised in Chibale, her mothers opting to keep her near Aisha as their mother tree while they occasionally spent summers in Zinris with Quynh’s Elarian cousins. When she had grown to become a warrior in her own right the hybrid had missed out on a few trips, her own summer pilgrimages to Yael slowing down as she opted to explore Jahaur and the surrounding countries instead. Now though Quynh found herself returning to Yael so that she could visit her cousins with her mothers, mostly leaving them to catch up with relatives while she explored the island. Before she had earned her blades the hybrid had been protected by her mothers who tried to keep her in their sight at all times, their wariness showing in Yael where the extremists had once been exiled because of their hatred for earthlings and hybrids. Even though Quynh wasn’t an earthling hybrid she was still a strange mixture of both Alkidike and Elaria which was startling to those who had never imagined such a thing before.

Now though?

Well now Quynh was confidently wiping her blades clean on her skirt after tracking down a lone wirenth. “Thanks for the pelt.” She murmured with a small smile before tucking the fur into the leather satchel that she had brought along. Originally she had just been interested in finding some keldari but the wirenth had provided a welcome challenge after a long day of boring meetings and tense interactions with Elaria who still didn’t quite understand Quynh’s existence.

-Sabra-

Quynh's antenna twitched as someone else approached. Rather than being defensive though the hybrid seemed almost casual as she recognized another Aishan, one who seemed more interested in her catch than fighting at that. "Yeah." Quynh offered as she finished wrapping up the pelt she had skinned from the creature. "Maybe it wasn't that impressive since it was a loner and looked half-starved. Probably just desperate so I was fortunate." Even though it was very tempting to brag, something she probably would do with her cousins later if they pushed her, the hybrid was mostly focused on figuring out the stranger.

"Or maybe you were the fortunate one since I came along and found it first?" Quynh teased lightly as she sheathed her blades and approached the Elaria. "What's a lone apprentice doing out here?"

A quiet chuckle left Quynh. "Good to know." She acknowledged the other girl's confidence with a grin. "Do you know how to look for tracks? Tintural are the wandering turtles with plants...I think I remember how strange their marks looked." She pursed her lips thoughtfully. It had been a few years since she had actively been in the area but spending so many summers in Yael had taught her a thing or two about the fauna of the area.

Her gaze softened though as she studied the Elaria. "Is your Oma sick or do they just work with medicines?" Quynh knew that tintural could have some of the rarer healing plants growing on their backs so she couldn't help some concern. Even if she was a bit more distant from her Elarian relatives the young warrior still considered them her Sisters. "I could always help...if you'd like."

"I see. So you have a start at least." Quynh commented as she pondered the situation. "It's close to the season for laying eggs and I think there's a valley where they like to gather." Maybe they could find a few of the older tintural wandering about there. If Quynh could recall it was a place that had a stream cutting through ages ago, sometimes a trickle would show up during the heavier seasons of rain but for the most part it was just a dried out area of rocks and dirt.

"Ah, I see." Quynh smiled though her expression was thoughtful. Poisons? Should she be worried? "Does that help with hunting?" She found herself asking with curiosity before shaking her head. Maybe it was best if she didn't know. She just hoped the treaty stayed true so that any studies of poisons would stay studies and not be put into practice unless someone needed an antidote.

"I don't mind, Luleta." Quynh finished gathering her supplies and twisted her arms above her head to stretch out her weary body. The various beads and bangles she wore gleamed in the sunlight before she lowered her arms again and faced the Elaria. "I'm Quynh. My mothers are visiting Elarian relatives so I should have plenty of time to help track down a tintural or two. The valley should be towards the southern shores if you're ready."

"Oh good." Quynh beamed as the Elaria seemed to know which valley she was referencing. "Honestly I'm a bit rusty with this area so I'm glad you know. I'm sure we'll figure out the path." She knew it was south since she could usually hear the ocean in the distance, the hybrid often visiting the beaches whenever she wanted a break from everyone else. The valley was nice and quiet during those times when it wasn't busy with tintural and even then the tintural were normally such gentle creatures that they didn't bother Quynh.

"I see. I'm glad I can help you with a surprise. It's not often that I hunt down tintural either." Teased Quynh before nodding about the poisons. That would be handy indeed especially if they were only trying to capture prey rather than kill it. "That's fair enough. I rarely dabble with such things so I did not think about their applications. Let's hope there's no need for battle poisons as personally that would be a tricky situation for me indeed." How would she pick a side? Would she be expected to do so? Though Quynh already knew she was softer towards earthlings even if she did feel like they weren't exactly on the Aishan level of strength.

"She is." Quynh confirmed as she started moving along, her gaze focused as she navigated the rockier path that they would need to take towards the valley. If she remembered correctly then it would dip soon before opening up into the wider area that the tinturals gathered in. Unless you climbed or could fly into the valley there were only a couple of routes leading inside. "My Alkidike mother took my Elarian mother there to ask for a bloom. They are focused on the hunt so they rarely stay in one place but we traveled Jahaur the most with a few summers spent in Yael. Why do my traits make my heritage that obvious?" Quynh didn't look at her companion as she talked, focusing mostly on the path before her but there was a slight curve to her lips at the last teasing statement.

Quynh gave a thoughtful nod. "Everything happens for a reason, right? We learn from the past actions of our ancestors, whether victories or mistakes." She quipped wisely even though it was just repeating what others had said whenever they skirted around talking about the past conflicts. "But don't worry. I think we're safe to say that despite some little squabbles here and there no war will happen anytime soon. Even if it does disappoint some Aishans who would love to fight a worthy opponent in such a tense situation." Too much had occurred for such a thing even though her mothers would love it. Quynh shook her head at the thought. As much as she adored her mothers they were very much into the hunt and any type of battle would delight them, especially against other Aishans who they considered worthy opponents.

She did stumble at the compliment, a slight laugh escaping her lips as she took a moment to glance over Luleta. "Thanks." She managed with a grin as some pebbles rolled down the path ahead of them from where she had accidentally kicked them. "I don't hear it often from others but I think so as well." She winked towards Luleta. "Though I think all Aishans are lovely to look at, regardless of which tree they came from."

"Oh look." Quynh motioned to the path as it twisted below them, the valley showing if they glanced over the ridge of rocks to their left. "I think I see a couple of tinturals. Ready to grab some herbs?"

"Fair enough." Qunyh stated softly after a thoughtful moment. "I think I may prefer that actually." She smiled towards Luleta before glancing around the area as if looking for something.

"Damn. I was hoping to taste some new things today." Teased Qunyh before nodding at the warning. "Avoid tasting strange plants, no matter how tempting. Got it." Then after a moment she finally found a fallen log that was hollowed out. A mischievous expression crossed the young warrior's face as she dragged it over towards Luleta. "Now we could walk down slowly or we could take this." The area she was facing consisted of mostly loose dirt, sand and a few rocks. If they took the hollowed out log, the top already missing, then they could just skate down the incline together and have some fun getting to the valley below!

Concern flickered across Quynh's face for a moment as she thought about the implications of the Elaria's statement. As a child did she ever eat something...well at least she was still here today. It wasn't as if Quynh's own mothers hadn't accidentally dragged her into more dangerous areas while hunting rare beasts and the like themselves. Different dangers, that was all. So who was she to judge?

"I like your cousin already." Quipped Quynh with a grin before slipping in behind Luleta, wrapping her arms tightly around the Elaria's waist "It's a bit snug, but hopefully that's okay with you. Just make sure to lean with me. One, two and go!" She pushed off with a foot before placing it quickly back into their makeshift sled, the momentum starting them on the path down into the valley. The sled tried to spin out of control a few times which Quynh found exciting but she quickly leaned to correct their direction so that they were still on the right path. A few times she tugged her companion tightly against her to help steer and keep her safe from any flying pebbles or the like but before they knew it the ride was over. The sled spun around though in circles as it connected with more solid ground, the motion almost making Quynh dizzy as she tried to regain her bearings so that she could stand again.