Welcome to Gaia! ::

(1/7)

In all honesty, Hesperia was equal parts enthused and terrified to finally make the decision to visit Aisha. She hadn't been the first Vandrea to leave, but the decision still felt sizable, and in the recesses of her mind she feared her mothers and, most importantly, her sister would resent her for wanting to go. ... It was silly, in hindsight, she'd spoken as much to Wangui and her sweet sister had been supportive, if hesitant.

When the time came and Wangui actually agreed to come with her, she'd felt relief so palpable she'd actually cried, hugging her sister until it got awkward.

They'd gotten on the earthling airship, drawing attention if only because they were yet another form of Aishan that was still rare to see, but the novelty of towering over the earthlings, of not quite fitting the smaller rooms had worn off quickly.

What hadn't was the sheer wonder of seeing the world from so high up, or the beauty of Sauti when they landed in Tinerr. Their trip, so far, had taken them south, and there they found Kesris. Hesperia watched, fascinated, as farmhands with carts and baskets and scythes for reaping passed by on their way to the fields. "There's so many!" She wondered, aloud - still shocked by just how many earthlings there were compared to their still growing settlement back home. It was an observation that had made past Aishans scowl and grip their spears, defensive and careful, but to Hesperia it was startling and wondrous.

(2/7)

Practicality suggested they hurry along on their trip; there was a long way to go to get to Jauhar. But sheer curiosity made Hesperia want to linger. Her sister was silent beside her and when Hesperia turned to look at her she caught her smiling, and went dark with an embarrassed blush. "What! It's - I'm wondering what they grow! How do they feed so many people? It could-" Be helpful to them, sure, but she bit her tongue when she had to grudgingly admit that any farming knowledge Sauti had wouldn't be unique.

Surely, it was similar to how the Geians back home grew things.

(3/7)

Right. Right! Hesperia nodded helplessly, smiling a bit guiltily at her patient sister. With her sister's weapon put away, Hesperia followed along after the farmers. To their credit the Sauti locals didn't mind their tagalongs, and only shot them a few curious looks before continuing on their way. The trek was uphill, with handfuls of workers splintering off as they reached small fields painstakingly cultivated along the rocky faces of Sauti, but what captivated Hesperia was when a group moved not towards a field... but what looked to be a lake.

Farmers were wading, thigh deep, in places, carefully checking the bottoms of lilypads where they collected strange, bulbous looking things. Others used tightly woven sieves to scoop up ... berries?

"Are those for medicine? They... can't be food, can they?" She asked her sister, staring as farmers began to pile up handfuls of the tubers in baskets at the shoreline.

(4/7)

Hesperia noticed her sister eyeing the earthlings, and only barely resisted the playful urge to slap her arm. Instead she heaved her skirts up, not caring if it got too wet, but also not looking forward to being weighed down by pounds of water unnecessarily. The earthlings for the most part seemed not to mind their snooping; a few older earthlings kept their eyes on them, knowing to be wary of Aishans, while the younger ones seemed amused by their curiosity.

Hesperia felt a bit embarrassed, but she pushed it aside to instead shuffle closer to Wangui, blinking as she inspected the lilypad.

The 'fruit' looked strange up close, and when her sister plucked one she reached out to tap it, wrinkling her nose at the strange texture. But... well. She ought to at least pretend to be helping, so they could excuse their loitering, so she gathered her skirt up as a makeshift basket and began to search for more of the growths. "Earthlings are very resourceful, aren't they?" She said, brightly, instead.

(5/7)

Ah!! At the first tossed fruit Hesperia blanched, missing completely; though she did scramble to pluck up the fruit, which thankfully floated back to the surface of the water. Once she knew the game, her lips twisted into a delighted smile, and she surged through the water to catch them in her skirt, checking briefly to make sure they weren't delicate enough to bruise.

The fruits seemed to be hardy though, so she gave in to the game and soon was giggling like a youngling, soaking wet from splashing, but finding she didn't much mind it. The middle-aged wind earthlings who'd been watching them closely relaxed at their light hearted games, and even seemed amused, which helped Hesperia relax, not wanting to give them a bad impression of the Yandrea. Who knows? She and Wangui might have been the first ones they'd ever seen. As she go close to her sister again, she leaned conspiratorially closer and lowered her voice.

"Although - you know, I heard about maglardilla, but that earthling I went on a date with- she told me - they're insects! Our Alkidike sisters eat insects"

(6/7)

Just getting to travel like this with her sister made Hesperia's heart feel full and happy, and once they were close again she smiled, brightly, at her, hoping she could express without words just how much she loved her. It was a weirdly soppy, emotional moment to have, while soaking wet and talking about eating bugs. She blinked and tilted her head, identically to her sister without quite catching herself, and hummed. "The... one with wings...? Right?"" She guessed with a sheepish smile.

(7/7)

Hesperia snorted but smiled at her sister, shaking her head with amusement. At least, Wangui didn't seem frustrated that Hesperia had dragged her across the world, and it was said with good nature and humor. "Very well, sister, I'll be the scholar between the two of us." She said with a playfully indignant sniff, wading her way back to the 'shore' so they could turn in their first batch of 'harvest'. Well - at least until her sister joked about eating one, because then she shrieked and playfully hefted another fruit like she'd throw it again!