Closed [Smokey Waters] Whether to Weather the Weather(Alori)

[Lavira]

Now it was Vira's turn to snap back. Still shivering, the girl hissed back at Alori, "Yea, I'm petching serious. I'm petching cold; whatever magic you're running on I don't have and everything was wet when we came in. You honestly think any of it would have lit? Geez, Alori, don't be stupid." But she followed after her, single eye flicking between gear and wolf.

When they reached the tote, her hand on the wood, ready to dump the meat towards them (and Mohya hovering overhead in case she needed to intervene), Vira let Alori grab her sword first. She was still irritated with the Avora about her grumbling but blamed the fact that they were just cold, or at least SHE was just cold. One hand had hold of the basket, feet braced and arm tight as she pulled it closer.

Vira wasn't sure what to think of the other right now, her irritation too high, and her own critical nature making her wonder if this had not been a bad idea altogether. Alori didn't like her, or at least that's what it was seeming now. She muttered something under her breath when the wolf, previously content to shiver dejectedly against the wall shifted to look back at the girls and giant bird. Its ears had raised and its nose could be seen wiggling as it sniffed the air, those fierce eyes watching both of them closely.

Mohya gave another warning hiss to the animal, moving her body towards it a little (something that unfortunately put the girls up against the wall this time, the giant raptor taking up nearly all of the cave this time). The wolf hunkered down and snarled defensively to the bird before simply...disappearing!

"Holy shyke, Alori it's gone!" Vira had, when the eagle began to move, hurried out of the way so as not to get stepped on by mistake. She was partly up against the wall, hands under her arms and over breasts with teeth a-chatter. They could still hear it growling from where it had been seen, neither retreating nor attacking. It simply held its ground, unseen. "Have you ever seen a wolf do that before?"

[Alori Sai]

"Unbelievable.." The Avora grumbled to herself as she scurried across the floor. She was so tired of the Endals talking down to her as if she were a child. Lavira seemed like a good natured person, but maybe Endalship had gone to her head more than she realized. Everything from this point was a guess, and there was no way to tell if the wood would burn even now. It was freezing cold and heavy rains batted down upon them which kept everything from drying faster.

Alori put it aside for now, focusing on getting to her sword before the wolf could pounce on them. The animal hadn't moved an inch, but the little huntress wasn't about to take any chances. She moved back towards Lavira and placed a hand on the tote as well to pull it back with them. The teen didn't look to the woman, already assuming that the Endal was discounting the experience she had just because she didn't have a giant bird to hand pick it for her. Keeping her eyes on the wolf, Alori pulled back along with her companion until they had the tote with them.

"Maybe this was a bad idea. I should have just stayed home. Petch this bites." The teen sighed under her breath and frowned. She was frustrated, and suddenly things had grown awkward between her and Lavira. If she had known a ruined hunting trip would put them at odds, she would have just asked her to go shopping again, now it was hard to say what would happen.

But all wasn't lost, and a little argument wouldn't break up a budding friendship, at least she hoped. Alori would always want the teen to be honest with her, and true in what she was feeling, and Lavira could expect the same from the huntress. They owed each other that much. But before any of that could be discussed the wolf disappeared. Alori hadn't noticed at first with the shifting of the bird and trying not to get stepped on.

"Huh? The wolf? where did it go?" Alori looked around quickly, eyes wide as she searched the area where the wolf had been. Mohya moved forward and she scurried to the side and against the wall as the other had. Holding the sword out in front of her, Alori tried to keep her arms close to her body to calm her shivers. That's when she heard it, a snarling sound inside the cave. "No.. petchin... way. It' s still here." Turning to look at Lavira with a shocked expression, Alori whispered. "No..never."

x

[Lavira]

Vira hated the thought that things had gone awry between them, especially if she realized it was her own fault. People tended to be kept more at arms reach from the lean lass, her heart thrown more into her work than into relationships. Kovac...well, he was the exception. But how was she supposed to about this delicate situation? It had gone all weird and now with this wolf lurking unseen inside the cave...

The girl bit at the inside of her cheek until it bled, making her wince and spit to one side though she swallowed it when the wolf snarled a second time, making the girl jump. "Maybe it just wants to stay warm..." Alori needn't reply to that ignorant remark, though, Mohya turning her head down on the teen with that all too motherly 'seriously?' look. It was a wolf, alone, with meat and two little humans. Though there was a giant bird in the cave with them, desperate animals were dangerous animals. The chance of them being attacked and or eaten was high and the eagle was not going to let that happen.

Again, Mohya moved forward, using her size and sheer force of will to try and flush the animal out; it did work in the end, the wolf finally exposing itself (and revealing that it really hadn't moved!) and made a dash out of the cave and back into the rain and filling dark, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. The wind eagle shifted until the girls had room again, settling over her legs once more, and tucked her head in atop her body, shivering and wriggling her tail once more to break the ice off.

And in that moment, as Vira stood shivering with her arms shoved beneath her armpits, the young Endal laughed. It was a sharp sound in the otherwise quiet of the room, and came out funny and desperate from the seventeen year old, but...well...it was better than further awkward silence. She gave Alori a goofy grin and finally said, "I get it now. Tulaj, I'm naked. Haha, good one. I'll have to remember that one. Sorry, I'm not really that good at jokes; they tend to go over my head."

She hates me, Mohya.

~No she doesn't. You're just at odds, lass. Find something to talk about. She enjoyed the flight out, if you hadn't noticed.~

With the wolf gone now, and her blood pumping a little faster this time, she felt more encouraged to work and set about helping the little Avora break the wood up to build a fire. It would have to be built near the entrance, of course, but it made no sense exposing themselves to the cold more than necessary.

"So, er...Alori..."

This is silly. She must think me a fool and you moreso for picking the likes of me.

~Lavira, need I bite you for such a foolish notion? Stop acting like a chick.~

Fine...I still say she hates me.

It was Mohya who intervened, the normally quiet eagle having spoken more to Alori already than to others since bonding. "When last fly?"

~There. Buck up, lass. You just need to break the ice again. Like in the aeries, remember? Each winter, break the ice so the birds can fly. Once you have, the job's easy.~

....Show off.

[Alori Sai]

Alori hadn't expected things to go so wrong. A failed hunt, was just that, and she had dealt with it before. But this, like a few other times had gone from being a bad hunt to being a struggle for survival. However Alori was a fighter, and she wasn't about to give up her life to the wilderness or to this wolf that she couldn't see for the moment.

The teen Avora slowly moved closer to her Endal companion. Lavira didn't have any weapons to defend herself with, and even though the eagle was there blocking the way, she felt safer defending herself. It had been that way before, in the summer, through the fall, and into the icy winter. Alori had faced hunger, harsh weather, wolves, and even bears. But this was different, this wolf was different. Just the thought of what might have happened to her if the wolves in the forest had done what the wolf in the cave was doing.

It was frightening..

Staying close to Lavira, Alori held her sword tightly, it's blade flickering dimly in the light that flipped in and out because of her trembling hands. She flashed her eyes at the teen to see how she was doing, before turning back around. With Mohya in front, finally she scared the wolf enough to reveal itself to be in the same place it had been the whole time. She sighed in relief when the wolf finally left the cave and dropped her sword on the ground.

"Finally..."

Hearing Lavira sudden burst of laughter, Alori stared at the woman curiously. Had the wolf, and everything that happened been too much and pushed her over the edge? It didn't feel that way, and she didn't sense any strong emotions that she was about to break. The huntress shivered, hugging her chest and rubbing her arms up and down to create more warmth. A surprised expression grew into her features as she slowly realized what the teen was talking about.

"Lavira, you are a crazy chick, really."

Alori smiled back at her, but didn't keep eye contact, instead she looked back to the tote they had retook and leaned down to get the wood. She hoped more that Lavira had been right and that the wood was dry enough to burn. If not, they would be stuck freezing for a time longer.

"Yea?"

She looked to her companion after she called her, offering a weak smile as much as she had to give at the moment. Alori was a bit of a hot head, she been told so before, and as for their tiny argument, she was already passed it. But it wasn't Lavira who spoke, but Mohya who asked the question. The teen froze in place again, it was still so odd to her when an eagle spoke to her and she glanced up for a tick and turned back to the task of breaking up the wood.

"It was last summer. I was with the group that went to ThunderBay to check out the strange light and the crash early that morning. It wasn't much of a flight, at least not long like with you, but..I always enjoy flying. Don't you Lavira?"

x

[Lavira]

With the tension subsiding, Vira felt more confident. It was...different...interacting closely with the Endal and Avora now. Most of both castes still believed Mohya had gone insane after what had happened in the Djed Storm and Vira had done something to con her into a bond. Honestly, what sane eagle bonded a half blind girl? It was lunacy! Vira was far more accustomed to chatting it up with less capable Chiet and Dek, people she tended to work around every day before Mohya, as she had put it, broke the ice.

"Alori, it's so much more than love. I adore it. I've never felt right on land. I'm so awkward and clumsy-" She muttered something under her breath about wondering if half the people she bumped into sometimes didn't actually bump into her just to pick a fight. "I spent more time looking up than I did looking down. Flight is freedom; I bet if they could, the birds would stay in the sky forever."

As she talked, Vira took the meat and stashed it at the back of the cave in the event that the wolf would return. Then, she helped Alori start breaking the "basket" up into smaller, more managable pieces. "I, heh, I actually scared Kovac when he took me to the Inclement in Summer. I'm not a big fan of dancing, and having literally just come out of the infirmary, I wasn't too keen on going out, let alone to somewhere with only one exit installed. Needless to say, I, er, I kind of panicked and left him gawking in the dance hall. He scared the petch out of me when he yanked me off the railing; poor guy, he thought I was going to jump! I wasn't that depressed yet." She realized too late that she'd revealed the mysterious mans name now, the teen busying herself with the wood to get it setup instead.

"I didn't have time to go investigate with everyone, though I heard a little about it. Did they really find those Charoda there? I met one in Summer. She was...strange...Probably never see her again, of course, so I guess I don't have to keep her to her word."

[Alori Sai]

Alori glanced at the teen again, hoping she wasn't too pissed with her. No one could blame them from snapping at each other for the brief time. They were freezing, frustrated, hunted by a wolf that could turn invisible and hungry. In such a situation anyone would lose it for a bit. And these girls, they were Inartans.

The tiny Avora smiled as they started to talk again, and about one of her favor subjects no less. Alori had wanted to fly every since she was a small yasi and that dream still lived with her now. She agreed, flying was freedom, and she too had spent her life looking up rather than down. "That's pretty awesome. You are so lucky to have Mohya. It must be like a dream..only real." Alori giggled at the Endal's words and glanced towards the bird again. "Yea...life in the flies? I think I would love that."

Maybe it was because her body had numbed to the cold, or because she was moving around a lot more now, but Alori was starting to feel warmer. But it wasn't just that, it was something else also. Mohya continued to speak to her and it seemed that she and Lavira had moved passed their little tiff. Perhaps the hunt hadn't been such a bad idea.. "Wait..Kovac?" she asked slightly surprised. Alori didn't know him well, and hadn't spent any time with him besides that day at the club. "Boy, he sure does get around...." she thought to herself, deciding not to voice the comment. "That sounds intense Vira, so..are you two?"

Alori tried not to attack the teen with a bunch of questions at once. They were still getting to know each other, and she didn't want another blow up like before so soon after that one had calmed down. "yea..we did, and those Charoda? Talk about freaks, it was total craziness and some of the people were acting like dek-wads it was too crazy for one day." She signed again, snapping another piece of wood in to and laying it down. "Oh, you met one of those things, really? You didn't touch it and scream fish did you?"

x

[Lavira]

Her eyes narrowed a little when she thought she saw something in Alori's eyes, as if the young woman was about to comment on something she'd said after bringing up Kovac's name. Before Vira replied, however, the teen went to Mohya to fetch her flint, returning after and looking at their nice little pile. She bent over it and began striking, sparks spilling across the wood but not catching.

"Yes, we are an item, if that's what you want to call it. And whatever you may know of him, or think you may know, you should check at the door. Not everybody are what they appear, you know. Ahah!" She finally cried in delight, the sparks catching at last and a tiny, wan little flame tickled at the bottom of the kindling. "Ivak must be watching us, I for sure thought that wasn't going to catch. Once it get's going, we can eat a little, huh? But let's see if we can't get our clothes drier."

Vira went to fetch her bryda first, the billowy material slick and half-frozen over the rocks though mostly dry for the bells it had been let to drip dry. Another boom of thunder outside made her jump a tiny bit before gathering the garb in hand and returning to the slowly growing flames. As Alori talked of the Charoda in the classic Inarta mindset, Vira stopped and peered at her from across the way.

"Tell me something, Alori." She asked, her tone taking on a serious one.

"Is everything different from you a freak? Especially if they look or feel or act a little different?" It was an odd question for the Endal to ask, one that certainly didn't mimic the other minds of those in the caste. "No, I didn't do that. She was curious about some birds I was working with from the Aviaries and I took her up to see a couple of the Wind Eagles I take care of. Though, 'fish', was a common theme in their minds when they saw her too. She was different, I agree, but freak? Nah. They're not so bad as those pompous six-armed desert devils I've heard about. Never met one of those, of course." She shrugged, stretching the material over the growing flames to help break some of the ice up.

"Bet my katinu is ruined...I'll hafta go to market for a new one. With the weather, though, you think it'll be open on the 20th?"

[Alori Sai]

Alori broke the last of the sticks and huddled them all together for the fire they were about to make. Her hands were clammy, dirty and sticky from the wood that she had just handled. The teen rested on her knees, leaning down slightly as she hugged her chest and rubbed her shivering arms. Glancing up to Mohya, she wondered what the giant eagle might be thinking. She had spoken to the Avora few times now, and it wasn't in a rude way.

"Wow hold on. What's with the attitude? I was just asking." She had been ready to say something nice, and maybe tell the woman of how well Kovac could dance and play his lute. But the Endal was being difficult and defensive. Alori glanced up to the eagle again and whispered in a low tone. "What's up with her? Is she still mad?" Her head jerked back around when Lavira squealed in delight after the fire finally caught. Smiling, she thought over what the Endal said, and had to wonder for herself. "Yea....maybe he is."

At the mention of dried clothing, the Avora was all in, and she wobbled to her feet and fetched her bryda and Vinati. She was more concerned with getting as warm as possible first, and she could dry her undergarments later. Luckily most of the water had drained out and setting it closer to the fire should finish the job off. Taking her somewhat dried Katinu, the teen folded it up and sat down on it. It was a much better idea than resting her bare flesh on the ground while her skin was already moist and tender.

"What are you talking about now? Oh, the freak thing?" Alori sighed, reaching up and pealing the dried bangs from her cheeks. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean..they were strange, but you know...it was just craziness." She looked away then, rolling her eyes and smiled again. She hoped the woman wasn't going to judge her on everything she did and said, but she guessed it was the Endal in her now. "Six-armed desert devils? What is that supposed to mean? Wait..you're not talking about?" She paused, not even wanting to finish the sentence. It was something that she had heard about long ago, and didn't want to believe. However after meeting men with bat wings, and a woman with wings of a butterfly and the tail of a whale, not to mention the fish people -she couldn't discount anything.

"Ooh, I hope so, I'm sure all of my stuff is ruined now. But it'll be ok, you're good for the coin now right? I mean..Endal heh."

x

[Lavira]

Mohya looked back at Alori and one could almost swear the eagle raised an eyebrow. But of course, that was physically impossible. While her rider set about getting things set for drying, the eagle whispered into the others mind.

~You are young and naive, Alori. So is she. She is...protective and tries not to judge where others would. Some would believe I've lost my mind to choose such a chick as her but you do not see what I see in her, lass. She is far braver and smarter than she will give herself credit. Lavira has a nurturing spirit where others would have let what should have die.

You have met Tulaj, no? That silly harrier that hangs around her? The bird does not stay because she commands him to. Tulaj stays because he loves her like the mother he needed. She could not know his parents truly had threw him from the nest, yet he too survived, a bit...off in the head, but alive. They are good for one another, just as I am good for her, and she good for me. She has a knack for finding flaws in others and embracing them, loving the one who bares it even if they cannot.~

Here the eagle broke eye contact to look at her rider.

~Lavira accepts what others cannot. You should ask her sometime how she obtained that scar on her side. Not now, though. I do not think she would tell you yet. But its story, and subsequently hers to mine, is...interesting. It is not that she is mad, child. She is simply unsure of you; she does not yet know if you will judge for what is there or what is not, and if you judge her, what will you see? The deformity? The conflict? Or the sincerity and hidden strength she seems determined to keep submised. I would encourage a friendship with her, Alori. She makes a fine one, at least to me.~

The speech ended with the eagle shifting and tucking her head under her wing as if to take a nap, leaving the girls to talk on their own. It was the most Mohya had said yet and revealed quite a bit more than before. It was no wonder the two were so close; Mohya had a strong maternal instinct, and the dual nature of the pair seemed to fit well.

But Mohya's monologue with Alori had drowned out all of what Lavira was talking about, something regarding fire and clothes and how she wouldn't have money until the season change. So acquiring a wardrobe was impossible until she got her first seasons pay as Endal.

Vira had gone back to the meat at some point and was cutting out pieces that they could cook on a stone the teen had placed upon the fire to begin heating up. "So, Alori, who was your teacher, if I can ask. You can't be much older than me for a hunter; you had to have a mentor, right? So who were they?"

[Alori Sai]

It had been a gamble, a statement simply made and not expecting to be answered. But Mohya spoke to the tiny huntress again, and Alori was slowly getting more comfortable with the eagle speaking in her mind. From what the wise bird said, it would seem the two had more in common than not. Even when it came to wild falcons the two seemed to share a similar role.

"But I never judged her Mohya. When I met her in the market that day, I didn't care if she had a bad eye, or the fact that she was a chiet. None of that mattered to me, I just wanted to get to know her. She seemed like a good person. Believe me, I know all about being judged, and I wouldn't treat her that way."

Alori paused a moment and glanced towards Lavira, though she wasn't paying any attention to what she was saying. "And wow, she's way to high strung about Kovac. I mean really. I've met the guy, he's great, he really is. She doesn't have to flip out on me, I'm not going to talk bad about him." She truly didn't care about what people said about the guy, many people in the city enjoyed the company of many others, it wasn't a big deal. "You know, I think we're just tired, It's nothing to worry about."

The teen sighed, thinking now that she had made too much out of nothing. She was an emotional girl, and that was even before she was marked by Ivak. But one thing Mohya said that stuck with her, was to form a friendship, and she still planned to do that. The Avora didn't have many friends and she would like to keep the one's that she had gotten since her return to the city. "Huh? Oh..well. I didn't have a mentor, not like that. I met this huntress on my first try. I...couldn't get anyone to train me so. I just went on my own. She was kinda odd, but she did teach me the basics about hunting and a bit about trapping."

The teen smiled and shook her head as she thought back on those days. The woman really seemed pissed with her at the time, or at least she didn't want to be bothered. But it had been Alori's determination that won her out at the end. "What about you?"

x