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 Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2023 5:43 pm
Heike 1 Adjusting to life on Yael had been different, to say the least. Not just the different environment, but the way she was treated. Whereas the Alkidike had been friendly enough, some had been indifferent to her presence. Excited to see her as a bloom from a new Tree, but seeing the reactions of the Elaria made the Alkidike seem quite passive. Or maybe it was just the circle of certain Sisters who surrounded her aunt and grandmother making the experience feel so much more overwhelming than it had been in Emeka.
Such a strange thing to say. Aunt and grandmother. Sister was such a common word used by the Aishan. It was thrown around constantly. She had grown up using it herself when describing everyone around her. Except for her mother of course. Any other terms she had only heard in passing conversations when she'd go into Kiros to trade her spare meat and animal parts from her hunts. Or around Emeka. One of the twins had a young daughter, young enough to only be able to say the word mama. Heike had not remained long enough to hear her use other words, such as maybe aunt. She'd known for years she had other family. It was so strange to be able to put faces to them. Overwhelming. She had left her grandmother's home in Zinris to exlore the new land, maybe do a little bit of hunting. She'd studied some books and pelts belonging to the wildlife to get a good idea of what to look for. Now she just needed the experience. The mist was proving a bit difficult to get used to, however. Though Jauhar was darker, less open to the sky, she could still see the creatures in it clearly for a distance. Here she was struggling. Why, anything could sneak up on her while she stealthily moved around. She'd have to carefully watch her step so she didn't step on something. The last thing she needed was a keldari bite on her first outing by herself.
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Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2023 7:55 pm
Since she had washed ashore in Yael, Naia had decided to take some time to explore the foreign country. Her initial meeting with an Elaria youngling had went well so she didn't fear the Aishans living in the area, the hapuna ignorant of the past conflicts that made so many earthlings wary of the warrior women who lived in the area. If anything she was just missing the warmth of her ocean home, the waves around Yael slightly darker and cooler than what she was accustomed to while the rising mist was almost mystical and definitely disorienting for Naia as she wandered along. She had been warned about wirenth living in the area, the feral beasts eager to rip into any traveler with their sharp claws, but she also was the type to try and laugh in the face of danger. So she had proceeded with her adventuring, going further into Yael to explore the wilderness and gather more of the precious geodes that she hoped to add to her collection while trading others in town. And if she happened to stumble upon diascia on the way that was even better considering how the little creatures were easily accepted by local herbalists for trade, the healing properties of the slime apparently widely used by the superstitious Yaeli who despite their awkwardness around Naia would still trade with her for them.
However, she had never encountered an aracala before and in the mist it was hard enough to see so whenever Naia did hear rustling and see something with glowing eyes it was hard not to sprint in the opposite direction. Was that a wirenth or something worse?! She was not prepared to fight whatever it was though! Thankfully though she did have speed on her side, even when outside of water and so she darted forward until tumbling over a loose root and rolling into someone else. A gasp left her lips, Naia trying to scramble backwards as she held up a stick in defense before lowering it as she recognized an Aishan figure in the mists. "You're not a wirenth, thank goodness." She breathed after a moment, her cheeks flushed and her chest moving up and down as she caught her breath. Moving around on land was so much more dangerous than exploring underwater, that was for certain! "Sorry about that." Hopefully she hadn't hurt the stranger by bumping into her like that. Surely not, right?
[Naia 1]
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Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2023 5:48 pm
Heike 2 The bow slung over the Elidae's back was ready to go at a moments notice. She had been sure to pour over the books in her grandmother's home detailing the various wildlife and flora of Yael, studying each creature intensively before asking the older Elaria to help her recite the characteristics of each. She would not be caught unaware.
At least not by something, or someone, native to the large landmass.
The reaction was quick. She had trained for moments like this. As something came barreling into her, Heike started to lose her balance, caught off guard by the suddenness of it. She kept her body moving, though, putting out one foot to catch herself while flipping her body around, pulling out the dagger on her belt in the same motion. So that she was facing a very bright-looking woman who was holding a branch at her as if it were a threat. She raised an eyebrow in a question, not even lowering it as the branch was lowered. Or her own weapon. Though she did relax her shoulders, the Elidae was far too untrusting of others to let her guard down too easily.
Looking the other woman over thoroughly, she noted the red skin and hair. The markings. She was sure she'd seen them before, but not on an Earthling. "You seem far from home." Could say the same for herself, but at least Esena had come from here herself. What did a person of the water have with Yael?
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2024 11:00 pm
“Well, I think your weapon wins.” Breathed Naia, trying to be light-hearted despite the shakiness of her breath and the way her heart was thudding wildly in her chest. While she always dreamed of adventuring, the actual adventure itself so far had been nothing but a fight for survival! She was stubborn though so here she was wandering Yael despite everything else that had happened thus far. “Is it enough for a wirenth though? There was definitely something out there in that fog, I’m sure of it.” She added quickly, the Hapuna looking this and that way without even worrying about the dagger aimed towards her now. If it had perhaps been another native or even an Elaria she would have been more on edge, but she had heard about the Elidae while living back home and had never heard anything against them to make her think she was in danger for the moment. It was also reassuring to know that the dagger could have already been embedded in her neck before this moment, the Elidae opting to speak instead of cutting her on the spot.
If only they were closer to the ocean then perhaps she would feel a bit more confident about her skills. Not that even Naia felt completely safe in the nearby waters, the darker waters were a far cry from her crystal clear waters back in the colorful reefs and this weather did nothing to help matters either. Ah, the Elidae was speaking to her. Naia blinked, focusing in on the Elidea so that she could flash her a small grin. “Is that so? I wasn’t certain where I took a wrong turn at but here I am…” She began before giving a slight shrug. “You as well, right? Though there is another Aishan tree here. I already met some Elaria who helped me before I went out on my own again. I’m explorin’ hoping to see what I can and get some supplies before going on to the next country.” That was until she had become the prey of some dangerous beast which she had not expected to actually try to hunt her despite the warnings. But what could she do? She had lost a lot on her journey because of another mishap, so gathering for supplies and hoping to trade in some stuff was her best bet to getting decent lodgings at her next stop.
[Naia 2]
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2024 3:26 pm
Heike 3 If the small eyebrows on the Elidae's face could rise any further, they surely would be now. Enough for a wirenth? Probably not. She had failed to consider them when she had left the settlement to hunt, having left her spear behind her. All she had was this dagger still aimed at the red woman and a quiver of arrows, which would be even more useless than a dagger unless she could spot it from far away. A difficult thing to do in the fog. How did the Elaria ever feed themselves? Or could they see better than she could in this?
Seemed like a real foolish thing to do, to come out here on her own, didn't it? Not that she'd let those thoughts slip out. Not to anyone.
Heike grunted in response, lowering the blade. Not completely, but enough that it wasn't as focused on the Hapuna as before. She didn't want to admit it, but those words had worried her enough that her focus was now on the surrounding forest around them. A real predator was far more of a danger than a chatty girl.
"There is," she answered simply, still not sure what to make of this one. "Might want to be careful which direction you walk in. She's not safely away on an island like the others are."
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2024 9:09 am
Ah, well that wasn’t the most ideal of reactions. Naia tilted her head thoughtfully studying the Elidae, not daring to move until the blade was lowered. Even then she took a half-step back, the hapuna glancing around them at the fog and trying to piece together exactly where she was. “Really? I wonder why she grew here instead then. Islands always seem more ideal.” Not that Naia knew much about Aishans or their histories, including the Extremists who had started this particular settlement. All she knew was that the Elidae had appeared in Kahi at some point, but no one she knew had died from interacting with them and only mentioned that it was impossible to approach the island they settled on. Something about being super protective of their encampments and what not. Though from what Naia gathered they had mother trees and bloomed children? Strange, but interesting and probably why they didn’t want visitors getting too close. Talk about disaster if something happened to their tree!
Though she didn’t have much time to voice more questions because of the sound of a snapping twig in the distance. “You don’t happen to be on your way away from here, right?” Asked Naia after a stretch of silence as she had frozen with the noise, flashing a hopeful smile towards the Elidae now that she didn’t hear anything else. Despite her prickly attitude it was far more appealing to be with someone else than wandering back out into that fog alone. Maybe it could be a small and cute creature, but Naia wasn’t that confident in her fighting skills on land and with just a branch or even her hunter’s knife…well she wasn’t that optimistic and would rather take her chances with a stranger. Well she did lower the blade instead of using it on me. So that was a good start, right?
[Naia 3]
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Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2024 5:11 pm
Heike 4 Oh? Was she afraid? Heike's eyes flashed and widened, though she made no move to follow the strange woman forward. Or lower her blade anymore than she had already. Helped by Elaria before? Well, she'd find this Elidae far from friendly. The only thing keeping her from disappearing back into the fog was the fact this clearly wasn't an Earthling. Despite her hostility, part of her was curious about another from her homeland and the reasons that made them leave. Better than her own reasons for leaving, she was sure.
"I'd advise you to be careful who you ask that around," she answered, giving her blade a theatrical flip before gripping it tightly once more, the tip aimed a little more away from the Hapuna than it had been before. No matter how afraid or harmless someone else seemed to be, you never knew what to expect. She hadn't meant what she'd said as a threat, though with her usual facial expression and monotone tone of voice, it might be taken for one. "This Tree has more of a complicated past then the others."
The snap of the twig made her antenna twitch. Heike moved her head to look in the direction, but was unable to see anything through the fog. Who could live for long in a place like Yael was beyond her. Though she supposed it did help to strengthen the senses if the eyes were mostly useless. "Are you hoping to get away from me or the creatures in the forest?"
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Posted: Wed May 15, 2024 8:53 pm
Well, hmm. Naia’s gaze was thoughtful as she stayed still and simply watched the blade flip through the air. Was that necessary? Though she wasn’t about to question the knife flipping of someone who held one as long as it stayed away from her throat, especially not in a situation where they were both alone out here. “Advice received.” She had thought it was just a statement of interest considering she knew about the island settlement, not an attempt to offend anyone by questioning this tree’s placement. Though the extra information did make her relax slightly since the Elidae had opted to explain rather than leave that threatening impression, the hapuna nodding as she pondered that warning. So perhaps they hadn’t had much of a choice about where this tree grew then. It would make sense if some were bitter if they wanted the tree elsewhere. “Hopefully you can forgive a foreigner who is more accustomed to the islands and still learning a lot about this new area.” She added, a gleam of something like hope actually in her gaze before another noise from the direction of the forest had her nearly jumping once more.
Despite everything a short laugh did escape her lips at the question. A flush decorated her cheeks as Naia quickly raised a hand over her traitorous lips, as if that was a smart decision all things considered in the moment! She really had to work on holding back her reactions better. “Sorry, but I think the fact that you didn’t cut me on the spot gives me more hope with you than with the creatures. Especially since I doubt anything with fangs and claws would want to engage in casual conversation, when they could enjoy a fresh hapuna meal instead.” She looked around them, offering the Elidae a sheepish expression. “At least I hope you’re not interested in spilling my blood for sport, maybe? Would be a fairly messy thing and you look so nice and clean, lovely by the way, plus I don’t think the creatures around here would sit still long enough to let you enjoy such violence without wanting to play as well.”
[Naia 3]
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2024 3:21 pm
Heike 5 Heike merely blinked in response, her face as impassive as before. Yes, she could forgive a Hapuna for her ignorance, considering the tree nearest her wasn't one with such a past or the Elidae quite as dangerous. She wouldn't have been surprised if someone had told her the Kahi thought of all Aishans as like the ones from Esena. Quite a friendly bunch, Heike remembered, from her time in Kiros. Not that she spent as much time with her Sisters as she should have. Always off by herself in the wilderness. Like she was still doing today. Crowds had never been her thing. So, yes. She did completely understand. Not that she would let out that she did.
"I don't like blood sports." she answered truthfully, eyes flicking towards the trees along the edge of her vision, all her senses on alert since the Hapuna kept jumping. Heike wouldn't admit it, but it did make her feel a bit nervous, as well. She wasn't as accustomed to the creatures of Yael, yet, and didn't know how perceptive the other might be, though she couldn't imagine anyone being better than an Aishan at that. She raised her eyebrows at the "lovely" comment, hoping this Hapuna didn't think she would be softened by cheap compliments. "Especially against someone who seems to have so little training." She debated against sharing the fact she couldn't say the same about every other Sister here who might not care as much about the treaty, but decided against the warning. It wasn't really her concern.
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Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2024 11:53 am
Tough crowd. Naia couldn't help feeling skittish around the Elidae, the impassive expression keeping the hapuna on her toes. Maybe if she was back in the islands she would have felt more at home, wanting to play around with the stranger without any fears, but after the last couple of months the girl had learned to be slightly more cautious despite her playful words. If anything happened to her out here in the Yaeli wilderness then who would care? Perhaps the Elaria who had helped her, but even then they had only formed a quick bond over catching crabs before going their separate ways. And those wirenth that Naia had heard about probably would make quick work of anyone left out here to wither...the very thought making her shiver before the Elidae's acknowledgement brought her back to reality.
"Oh thank goodness. So you're not exactly like the boogeyman I was warned about when I arrived." Naia let out a breath of relief, her expression brightening with hope once more. "And I am a completely lackluster fighter, that's true. I can outswim anyone in the water and I'm told I'm slippery on land too, but fighting? I'm an explorer not a killer." She shook her head at the very thought of actually hurting another person. Tricks were one thing, but actually throwing a punch or using a weapon to harm another? No way! "Though speaking of little training..." Naia found herself taking a step closer to the Elidae as she heard howls in the distance, the fog still making it hard to truly see what was closing in on them. "If I'm not by the sacred tree then could I navigate through this fog with you? I can trade your time for pearls if you need payment for this." She had some rare ones that she had left before trading at the local market, the hapuna holding onto them to help fund her journey through the earthling lands.
[Naia 5]
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2025 6:36 pm
Heike 6 So talkative. That was about the only thoughts going through Heike's mind as she listened with half-interest to the strange Kahi. Violence, as always, far from her ideas. Even in the face of an Earthling, she never felt much like fighting. Maybe it was her Elidae blood making her naturally more passive, since her mother certainly had other thoughts. Not even towards that antagonistic hybrid.
"No. That would be the other ones." Had this one never met an Elidae before? She looked nothing like an Elaria or an Alkidike. Even in the fog, how could anyone be so mistaken? Were the Elidae not as friendly towards the Kahi as she always expected them to be? It wasn't as if they were Earthlings and thus deserving of hatred. Not that she cared enough to ask. Maybe when she returned.
"Pity we're not near a cliff, than." Heike's face didn't even twitch at the continued sounds of the forest, but she kept her dagger in her hand regardless. "Do as you please, but clearly neither of us should stay here." Turning away, Heike picked a random direction and started walking, picking her way carefully, caring little if the woman followed her or not.
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