Setting Up House & Settling In(Open)

by **Derailey** on August 16th, 2011, 7:36 pm

Derailey couldn't help but notice how blue the skies were this morning. She walked down the long line of tents that housed several members of the Diamond Clan, her large white dog Solo padding along beside her, searching for the perfect spot to set up her tent so that when she returned to Endrykas, every so often, she would actually have a place to sleep instead of just shacking up somewhere in the War Storm Pavilion. Carrying the large bundle of covering in her arms, her eyes scanned the surrounding area, until finally she spotted a nice little clearing next to a large tree. There were a few other occupants there, but at least it wasn't crowded.

Walking over to the clearing, she let the bundle fall to the ground, covered in nicely cut grass, starting to lose it's dark green color from lack of rain. Solo settled down next to a large revealed root that came up out of the ground next to the tree, resting his gigantic head down on the surface, to watch his master try to pitch up a tent. Derailey, sent him an annoyed look, "Thanks for your help." Sighing, she turned her head to see who all was out and about at this hour. Not many, it appeared. Only a few other Drykas roamed.

Taking one more second to take in everything around her, she turned to the bundle on the ground and went to work setting up her new home. It wasn't that Derailey had never set up a tent before, no, she had helped her father and brother back when she was younger several times, it's just, she was never any good at it. It took three collapses, two knocked over by the winds, and one misshapenly set up attempts before she was finally satisfied with the work she had done, though, it still didn't look as magnificent as the surrounding tents, it was still stable, and that was good enough for her.

She took a few steps back, placing a hand over her eyes so she could see it passed the sun, while her other hand rested on her hip. She gave it a satisfied smirk, motioning toward Solo with her head. "How does it look?" The dog lifted it's head to look at the tent, but put his head right back down to continue sleeping. Derailey frowned at him, "Well I think it looks pretty good." She crossed her arms, letting the breeze ruffle her clothes and blow her hair. It felt nice against this heat wave they were having. Vaguely she wondered how Chel was being treated back at the stables she had left her in, but she wasn't too worried, Chel was smarter than your average horse, in Derailey's opinion and could take care of herself.

Walking forward, she lifted up the front flap of the tent, entering it. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was enough to call a home. She tossed her bag to the left corner of the 'room', already taking note that that was probably going to be it's new resting place from now on. She didn't have any blankets or a bed roll, so she would probably have to use her bag to rest her head on. She ran her fingers through her hair. Furniture could wait for a while. She didn't have the money to buy anything at the moment.

Derailey left the tent, going to sit next to Solo under the tree. Silently she plopped down next to him, reaching a hand over to scratch behind his ear. "This should do, for now," she said more to herself than anyone. Yawning, she shifted her position so that she was laying against the toned side of Solo, and shut her eyes. She hadn't slept well in a very long time. She had been so stressed with everything going on around her, and the increase of people that no matter how long she slept, she wakes up being more tired than she was when she passed out. Slowly, her consciousness seemed to slip away, as the comforting breeze and the pull of sleep took her in.

by **Akilah Windsong** on August 18th, 2011, 3:47 am

It was a lazy morning when Akilah dragged herself out of bed. Lazy in all sense of the word--though she knew she should be doing something, she couldn't quite bring up the effort. The morning was warm, just enough to make her sleepy, and nothing seemed worth the work.

Still, so her father wouldn't give her any errands, she went behind their pavilion and took care of Vespera. Brushing the puppy's coat, she then opened the pup's jaws and glanced at his teeth. Though she was no expert, she knew enough on her pup to at least know if there were any major problems. Running her fingers over the canines, she considered it a good sign that he didn't try to bite her. At least there were no major problems with his teeth.

Adámas whickered beside her and she looked up from where she was sitting, the ground cool beneath her. The sun hadn't warmed up the earth yet and she could still feel the soft drops of dew underneath her hands.

"Want to go for a ride?" She suggested half-heartedly. Her mount snorted and she took that as a no. "Me neither. How about a walk instead?"

Vespera barked happily at that, jumping in her lap at those words. "I know you're eager at least." Depositing the pup on the ground, she got up and dusted herself. He started to move, trotting ahead of her with his head held high. Following him, she commented to her horse, "Seems like he's the boss now."

As he led the way, Akilah watched the streets, noting that it wasn't just her that felt lazy today. Everything seemed lethargic, slower somehow. Reaching a particularly bare stretch on the street, she noticed there were only a few pavilions here. Not everyone had returned to the city yet, after all.

One tent in particular seemed flimsy in comparison with the rest. Approaching it, she realized it was still strong enough to stand, even if it could be better. No one seemed inside it, when she called out, and circling the tent she saw nothing.

A whicker to her right, and she looked up. There, in the shade of the tree, she saw a girl and her dog, having a light snooze.

"So it's not only me after all," she muttered, watching the wind blow in the leaves, the grass swaying lightly. "We'd better leave them--Vespera!"

She had forgotten the pup until this moment. Daringly, he approached the slumbering duo, sniffing lightly at the girl's shoes before lumbering to the older dog. Cocking his head, he curled up beside the white ball, his dark fur contrasting against the background.

"Vespera!" she whispered, hissing slightly. Biting her lip nervously, she quietly crept up to the trio, her face a mask of fury.

She should have know he'd do something like this.

by **Derailey** on February 9th, 2012, 5:10 am

Solo's ears perked at the sound of oncoming footsteps. The large white dog cracked open one of his eyes to scan the surrounding area, protectively in the presence of Derailey. His eyes locked onto an approaching woman, who's expression was etched into anger. He stared at her hard with his large blue eyes, determining wether or not she was going to be a danger, and wether or not he was going to attack. But then he felt a slight pressure at his side. He whipped his head to look down at the intruding feel, but what he was met with seemed nothing like a danger at all, in fact, a small puppy layed nestled at his side looking as innocent as a floating feather.

But of course, Solo had never been one to inconvienience himself with the presense of others. He moved to stand, taking a striking stance facing the woman, and towering over the small puppy like a mountain to a rock. The sudden shift of his massive body was enough to stir Derailey from her slumber. With sleepy eyes, she looked up at the dog who stood six inches taller than she did while she was sitting. "Why did you wake me up?" She questioned him, and as if he could understand her, he never took his eyes off the woman before him, and let out of low warning growl.

Derailey raised her hand to move the loose hair from in front of her eyes, keeping her body in place. She could feel the indentions of the tree bark in her skin under her clothes from where she had been leaning against it. She had only slept about thirty minutes, but she felt as if she had been awake for weeks. The lids of her eyes weighed heavy, and threatened to close, but there was something wrong. The way Solo was tensed up told her this instantly.

Her golden green eyes slowly came to rest upon the approaching woman. She stared for a long time, the fact that she was an intruder still not registering in her mind. Emotionlessly, she spoke, "Who are you?" She sat up a little straighter, waiting for an answer, but wether she got one or not, her hand lay at the ready on the hilt of her dagger.

by **Akilah Windsong** on February 13th, 2012, 3:54 am

She almost started back in surprise when the dog crouched, the rumbling of his chest enough to warn her to stay away. His white fur shifted in the wind and he looked massive, particularly with the small dark splotch of Vespera curled up beneath him.

Massive and dangerous.

Her lips formed a small 'oh' when she saw his sharp canines, slightly yellowed with age. His eyes were sharp and did not miss a single motion. He was a hunter, through and through, and she refused to be the prey. Stock-still, she contemplated whether it was worth the risk to walk backward and away. Surely that would comfort him, but she had known animals to attack over any move.

Behind her, she could hear hoofbeats, the small snort of her horse. Without looking she could picture the laid-back ears, the curled lips. Adámas was tense, ready for the brewing storm, and quickly she signaled for her strider to stay put.

If everyone was ready to pounce, the someone would get hurt. And considering how close she was to the bared fangs, it was liable to be her. Her sword was uselessly buckled to her hip and no matter how fast she could draw, it would never be fast enough.

The best she could do was block with her sheath.

Ah, there was movement in the corner of her eye and following it she could see the dog's owner stirring. Suppressing a grin, she tried to signal to the Drykas to call off her beast.

"You...." she stopped when the girl just stared at her, sleep still heavy in her eyes.

No, this girl would be of no help at the moment, not when she was half-dazed from sleep. Slowly, she shifted her weight, balancing it evenly between her feet. Her knees bent slightly, slowly, just enough to ease her mobility.

The dog didn't move. And Vespera, young and tired Vespera who started this whole mess, barely stirred at this. What was her mother thinking by giving her such a dog? He didn't even wake when the girl started to speak, only shifted slightly and gave a soft whine.

"Akilah," she responded, her voice a controlled calm. Her heart didn't feel all that calm, thudding in her chest, but if she couldn't handle this, what would she do when she faced real danger? Without breaking her gaze with the dog, she added a curt, "Call him off."

Realizing how much of an order that sounded like, she amended her statement. "Please."

Her left hand rested on the edge of her sheath, ready to spring into action should the dog move first.

by **Derailey** on February 17th, 2012, 12:14 am

Little by little things began to make more sense to Derailey, and she realized what she was doing. If the girl was a threat, she would have attacked long ago. Slowly, she moved her hand away from her blade and placed it palm down on her stomach, offering the girl a slight smile. She was no longer in the Sea of Grass, which meant, not everyone was a danger, especially one from her own clan by the looks of her.

Never taking her eyes off of the girl, she reach up her left hand and scratched behind Solo's ear attempting to calm him, which worked to an extent. His look remained attentive and dangerous, but he came to a sitting position next to her. He took notice of the puppy beside him again, his tails swayed a little, not happily but in an attempt to keep calm, bumping the other dog in the process.

Derailey moved some of the hair out of her face that was tickling her nose. "Sorry. Caught me a little off guard." Solo let out a low breath, sounding slightly annoyed, but Derailey only spared him a smirk and an amused glance, "Don't mind him, he just woke up." Adjusting herself, and placing one of her hands against the tree trunk for support, she came to a stand, rolling her shoulders to counteract the soreness she was having from sleeping in that uncomfortable position for so long.

Solo stood too, looking a little more relaxed knowing that Derailey was as well. Derailey gave the girl a look, "You are a sister? Of what clan do you hail?" She inwardly laughed at herself for sounding like a naive drykas child asking too many questions.

The wind began to pick up slightly, swaying the grass around them, and the leaves in the tree, bringing about a calming rustle. Derailey scanned over the girl, answering her earlier questions in her mind. "What is your name? Speak freelly, I am no threat to you." She rested her back against the tree.