Closed The Call of Freedom

[Taylani]

Time Stamp : 42 Fall 513

The day light is bright over the grassy plains, not a cloud mars that deep blue of the sky above. Though the sun rides high in the sky, the temperature is temperate and mild, a light breeze blowing causing the grasses to sway. There is little in the way of noise out here, which should be a clue that one has wandered a bit too far from the tent city Endrykas, and would have been had the wanderer been a Drykas and not the red haired ill-tempered captive Taylani.

The tall figure of the dancer moves through the grasses not with the grace of a hunter, but the lithe agility of a stage performer. Her dress beginning to show wear with the faded lines, and the stretched seams but it still was serviceable and was heavy enough to protect her from most of the flora that might otherwise scratch and irritate her fair skin. Her red hair is carefully swept up, instead of flying around her shoulders a tight knot laying against her head. If one were observant and cared they might notice crudely made pins, but crude or not they were Taylani's first solo attempt at a craft and they worked so that was all she really cared about.

Her movements might have been sedate and calm, but her eyes were anything but, and matches the dark expression on her face. She really isn't angry, well maybe a little but it really is mostly just frustration and annoyance, and self loathing that is manifesting more as anger then anything else. In her effort to contain and preserve herself as much as she is able she finds herself constantly swallowing down bitter emotion and annoyances to keep her blank mask in place. She acknowledges that by now its more just out of stubbornness and spite that she still holds herself back from he who bought her, trying to not allow him any insight into her mind. She fails miserably at times, but for the most part she is able to contain herself.

However that has lead to today. Trying to learn more Pavi, and trying to learn a preservation technique that is used by the Drykas for storing meat easily for their nomadic lifestyle has left Taylani frustrated and in need of solitude. She normally seeks a quiet spot around the Fallan's familial pavilion but today she found it far too active of a spot so she set out. Intending only to just get far enough to where she is not accosted by the sounds, smells, and sights of Drykas. She is just looking for a place to gather her thoughts, to rage maybe, to possibly go through her dance poses to calm her mind and thoughts.

[Oryani]

Oryani was more or less 'wandering' around Endrykas, slipping around the outskirts on patrol. She wasn't with her mentor today, since there was really no need to be, so instead kept an eye out on the grasses beyond, looking for any sign of trouble. It was times like these that she enjoyed her Chatakwe blood, as she kept a close 'eye' on the movements around her. At the moment in her range there was nothing but grass, grass, and more grass. And Khal, her strider, but she'd learnt to ignore his presence.

The woman sat comfortably on her friend's back, hands upturned on her knees to best sense the area around her. Her bow was slung comfortably over her back, and her quiver was attached to part of her Yvas, so she could easily reach the arrows. Though she wasn't the best rider, she was able to direct Khal with her knees, and their bond helped as well. This freed her hands up for sensing things, and using her bow when needed.

She thought for a moment, then decided a trot would be a little more entertaining than a walk. She grabbed the hand grip in front of her and nudged the stallion with both knees, the generic command to go faster. Her Strider complied, his gait changing into a faster, but bumpier ride. Oryani moved up and down on his back as she was taught, using her knees and legs to go in rhythm with her companion. She rode like this for a while, watching grass stream around them. Because of the fast speed and coverage over her palms, the Chatakwe barely noticed the woman until she was nearly on top of her.

Sitting up in surprise, the Drykas wheeled Khal sideways, so she wouldn't accidentally crush the woman. They'd gotten close, a meter or two more and they would have had to deal with squashed person. The stallion instinctively slowed into a walk, before stopping all-together, his head dipping down to nibble on some grass. Oryani winced at the close call, before apologizing to the red-headed woman. "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention... What are you doing so far away from Endrykas unarmed...?" She didn't mention the lack of Strider or Windmarks... her own were obvious, running down the back of her arms in tight black patterns. It was her duty to make sure no one killed themselves out of stupidity out here in the Sea, and she was going to do that... which included wondering why the woman was wandering around out here.

[Taylani]

There is really little excuse that even a city-bred woman such as Taylani did not hear the strider before she did other then perhaps because her mind is twisting around in her head going from one rant to another in less time then even she herself can really focus on. So it is not until there was almost no time to react before she turns her head over her shoulder to see the woman barreling towards her on her animal. Fortunately Taylani darts to the side opposite of the way the other turned her horse at the last second, the Dancer sidestepping wildly almost losing her balance but righting herself somehow at the last minute.

Once her equilibrium was back in balance, Taylani glares upward at the woman her hands on her narrow hips and her feet set in a stance that screams irate. The woman's words were lost to Taylani, who could make out maybe one or two words at most aside from Endrykas, but the fact that again out here where she was trying to avoid these people, she is about ran over. If she was a little less frustrated she might have tried to use her extremely basic Pavi to tell the woman she couldn't understand her. If she was a little less annoyed then she might have simply smiled and turned around back where she came. If she was a little less stubborn she might have stopped and looked at how far she really had wandered. Instead she glowered, not letting the woman's unusual eyes cause her to falter "I don't speak Pavi. I don't want to speak Pavi, and I won't speak Pavi!" She responds tightly in common, knowing that most of that was untrue in the long run but for now...

Waving her hand at the other, the new marks of a learning craftsman showing on her palms in callouses and tiny cuts, she starts to walk away but stops suddenly when she realizes that she can no longer see the tents in the distance. She thinks that she was walking east, but now especially with the twisting to avoid the strider and the disorientation of just endless grass and more grass Taylani has to stop. Now she is in a bit of a tight spot, she could either flounder and hope she guesses the right direction, or she could suck up her pride and ask the dark-eyed woman.

She takes a long moment to survey the land, trying to ignore the windmarked rider, knowing that if she just was able to calm her mind she would be able to easily remember which direction she had come from. Taylani understands its just her slight fear of the wide open that is causing the panic to make it seem even more unsure as to which way to move. The indecision plays on her face before she takes a deep breath, and visibly tries to calm herself down. Her lips thin as she compresses them tightly, before turning back toward the horse and woman her hands still on her hips.

She gestures hesitantly, dragging the few words she knew in Pavi with extreme reluctance "Endrykas.....Here?...No...Where?" Her lips twist lightly in distaste, not at the woman but simply at having to resort to asking.

[Oryani]

Oryani stared at the woman in confusion when she began speaking in Common. Was she not a Drykas? Maybe one of the recently sold women at the Auction maybe... it made sense, since the lady was of breeding age. Otherwise... she might have been lost. But if any non-Drykas had wandered this close to the city... the Watch would have known, right? The Webs around the city would have told them... On a curious whim, the Chatakwe concentrated on seeing the webs around her. She spotted the usual kind, but... yes... there was one attached to this woman. That would explain a few things then.

She'd barely been able to understand the woman's Common, she was better at Pavi and Tawna than that language. All she managed to glimmer from the statements were some negative stuff, wanting, and Pavi. She couldn't figure out what in the world the woman was trying to say, so gave up immediately. Instead, she nudged Khal to follow the figure as she began to walk away, the concern and annoyance obvious in her face. She didn't want to be ignored.

Oryani was about to say something more before her quarry turned, and began actually trying to speak in Pavi. It was broken to no end, seemingly the woman was as bad at Pavi as she was at Common. "Endrykas is over there..." she said, hoping she answered the woman's question. The Drykas had pointed in the direction of the tent city, probably invisible to the person on foot, but quite easy to see from horseback. She suddenly remembered to try speaking in simpler terms, and attempted to formulate her next statement a little more carefully.

"Why... You... Have no weapon?" She made the question obvious in her voice, and added hand motions in addition to the usual gesutres. She pointed simply at the woman when she said 'you', and patted her short bow at the word 'weapon'. As she trailed off, she let her hands resume their usual upturned positions, concentrating on the area around them as well. It would be annoying for anything to turn up then, though the bears and lions rarely came this near to the tent city. Still, the pair was far enough that there was a constant danger.

[Taylani]

The red head tilts her head toward the side, then looks toward the position the other had pointed. Nodding she turns toward Endrykas, but before she could begin walking the other woman begins speaking again. She recognizes the simple words, 'you' and 'no' and thanks to the other woman's pantomime she thinks she could ascertain that she was asking where her weapons where. Which confuses Taylani, not that much about her situation was clear. Fallan says she is his slave until she bears him two children, yet she is free to walk as she will, to work as she will with the exception that he expected her to share his bedroll. Now this Drykas was asking her about weapons, and it certainly seems to Taylani that the woman actually expected her to have a weapon. Which, again, contradicts what Fallan has been telling her because why would slaves be armed?

Yet, there is the fact that Taylani had no survival skills, no wilderness skills. So even if she did have a weapon, what would it gain her to fight free and kill any that would follow to force her back -not that she had the skills for that either- she would simply die out here in this...openness. So perhaps they did allow the captives, even those who openly refused to become Drykas such as herself, weaponry.

She purses her lips, and allows the confusion to invade her tones and while it would have been easier for her to speak in common, she takes this chance to try and reinforce her own Pavi. Even though just minutes before she was swearing off the language in a fit of frustration. She points to herself, "Not...Drykas." She says, again not quite getting the gestures quite right her hands hesitant. She has no Drykas word for what she was, for Fallan was always using the words like slave and Captive in common, not in Pavi. She is not even sure how to gesture generically what she was. So she does not elaborate, instead she shakes her head slowly emphatically then spreads her hands out carefully. "Not...know ...use..." She has rarely ever had reason to regret her decision to throw her learning into Dance and Song, it was a reasonable choice within the cities but out here. It did not seem as logical when she was home that she learn to use a weapon, she had the walls and the knights to protect her.

For a moment, it only lasted just a few seconds, Taylani wonders what the woman would do if she suddenly bolted, not toward the cities...but towards the open plains. Taylani knows that she will never do that, not as long as Fallan upholds his promise to free her and take her back to Syliras after she has met his bargain..but the thought did fly through her mind before she pushes it out.

It would be nice to be able to ask this woman all the questions that whirl in her mind, for example how she had became windmarked, she was not human, at least not fully. So was she a product of a Drykas and captive? Was she one of those captives who accept being Drykas for one reason or another? It was the curiosity that Taylani has always had, but prudently is usually able to withhold from asking awkward questions. Now she doesn't need to be prudent, the lack of commonality in language did that for her.

The distraction that this conversation has provided has done a lot towards easing the frustration and annoyance that Taylani was experiencing when she came storming out here. Her blue eyes scan the grasses, and though she knows that there are dangerous animals out there she has not seen any since being taken. "You...have..no" She stops herself, to correct her word, "Not have...you ..need..." She pantomimes shooting an arrow, then gestures out to the seemingly empty plains.

[Oryani]

At the woman's statement or 'not Drykas', Oryani nodded in understanding. So her suspicions had been right... the woman was one of those breeding slaves. Or she was some kind of intruder... except her connection to the Web didn't explain that. Her husband probably wanted to keep an eye on her, so attached a strand of the web to her. Nodding absently, she attempted to decipher the rest of the human's statements.

She had no... what? It had something to do with her bow, that was clear enough from the motions she was given. She gave the woman an utterly bewildered look, slightly annoyed at this communication barrier. Stupid people should learn Pavi. She should probably learn to speak Common better too, but... she never found the effort or time to do that. "I have... what?" She asked desperately, her expression a mixture of helplessness, confusion, and annoyance. Shaking her head to clear the irritation, she focused on the real reason for her being here.

"You should not be out in grass" She'd given up on the really simple statements, finding them annoying and slow. Instead, she went with a simpler sentence than what she would normally have used, and added a few more motions into this mix. She seriously hoped the woman wasn't trying to run away... though the chasing down was always entertaining, she didn't fancy having to tackle the woman to the ground. She certainly wasn't supposed to kill the human anyways.

Then something caught her attention. A movement.. just outside her range. It was something low to the ground, not a human, and coming from the other direction than Endrykas. There was no noise, just the sense of something moving... bigish, though not the size of a full sized lion. Oryani flicked her head in that direction, staring at the slowly waving grass intently. She ignored whatever her companion said next, instead, quickly nocking and arrow into her bow, and giving Khal the command to back up. As she drew it, she commanded sharply in Pavi, "Move back. Now." before continuing in one of the few words she knew in Common: "Back." Her tone was blunt and stern, all command, and she wanted no complaint. It wasn't to be mean or anything... but there was something she didn't like coming closer. Her range gave her little time to prepare, hence the backing up.

"Hello?" she called out of the grass, and received no answer. She caught the glimpse of something furry moving through the thickest part of the grass, stalking back and forth, but saw no obvious chance to shoot. Her left arm -the one she drew the string with- was beginning to ache with the strain of holding the bow taught for so long, and her fingers twinged. Still, all determination, she kept her eyes peeled for any sign of something that might be trying to eat them.

[Taylani]

When it becomes obvious the woman didn't know what she was asking, Taylani tries to find another way to ask if the other woman felt that they needed the weapon this close to the tents when the other woman barked an order. One brow lifts along with her chin, but the tone of voice she uses and her alertness causes Taylani to take several steps back. Since she was facing Endrykas, she is actually moving away from the city.

Her blue eyes sweeps in the direction the Drykas woman was looking, but she can not see anything out of the ordinary. Just the grass growing tall blowing in the breeze..except the grass around that area was blowing ..in the other direction. Her untrained eye took a moment to register, but when she does she inhales sharply, one hand raising to clench against her stomach. She can not see anything, but it certainly seems as if the other woman might, and the grass anomaly that Taylani can not find again seemed to suggest something was out there.

She edges further back, her body not crouching but lowering in preparation. "What do you see?" She asks, forgetting in her fear that she was speaking again in common, her voicing coming in a harsh whisper even as she continues to scan in the general direction where she thought she had seen the blades of grass move. Her body is prepared, her muscles tight, and all of her physical training in Dance means that she may not be well trained but she is strong, so when whatever it was showed itself, Taylani was ready to run.

[Oryani]

Oryani ignored the jibberish in Common, not wanting to waste the mental effort to decipher it. Instead, she focused all her attention on the coming thing... dangerous or not, she didn't trust it. She could sense it moving back and forth, maybe 20 feet away, before... it came in their direction. Out of the thick grass, and into their little clearing, came... a lion. A young one , obviously, and hungry, by it's thin scrawny frame. She could easily see the ribs under it's shaggy yellow coat. The Chatakwe almost pittied the thing, except that it's teeth were bared in an obvious plan to kill. However... that wasn't going to happen under her watch.

Focusing her attention on aiming, she tried to aim her arrow onto the feline's neck. Her arrows weren't strong enough to pierce the skull, nor did she have the skill to aim it into the heart or eyes. Instead, she focused on a middle area, nice and big, which would hopefully do some damage. Luckily the lion was focusing more on her unmounted companion than the Drykas herself, meaning she had a decent side view. Pausing for a moment, knowing the short range would help, she let go, letting the arrow fly straight, and hopefully into some important part of the cat's body.

Without looking at her arrow, she immediately grabbed and knocked another arrow in her string, drawing it to her ear. Then she gained a better look at her work. The shot had hit the lion's shoulder, rather than the neck, but seemed to have created a painful and annoying gash in the creatures limb. However, it had turned to her, focusing its attention on the more dangerous target. The feline began to move closer, and Oryani realized that she had to shoot it's head. She aimed for the middle, to give as big a berth for error as possible before letting the arrow loose. She'd released just in time, as it was barely 10 feet away. Khal reared before she could see the shot, causing her to grab onto the knob before her with her free hand. Hanging on as best possible, she waited out the stallions kicking, the deadly sharp hooves lashing out at the feline. When the pair settled back down on solid ground... the lion was lying prone on the ground, bleeding from several cuts.

Her second arrow had managed to hit it in the nose, a painful but not lethal shot. It had been her Strider's hooves that'd done the job, giving the cat a fatal blow to the throat that probably broke its neck and caused an instant death. The Chatakwe slid down from Khal's back, bow in one hand, and a spare arrow in the other. That was more just in case her prey was still alive, and wanted to retaliate. Approaching cautiously, she listened carefully for any sign of breathing. She pressed her hand to the lion's chest... no heartbeat. It was dead. Relaxing slightly, she straightened and found the other woman. "Are you alright?" she inquired in Pavi, forgetting the language issues.

[Taylani]

The moment the lion cub came into view Taylani is torn between utter fear and astonishment. She had heard of wild creatures of the plains, the lions and bears and the glassbeaks yet she has never encountered any in person. The most she has ever encountered was a feral cat or dog, this was not exactly the picture she always imagines but when the animal bears its teeth she skips back a few more steps.

Her eyes are wide, and when the arrow thumps into the thin shoulder her own body slumps to the ground, barely even registering that the lion takes another arrow and hooves of the strider to bring it down. Taylani had known, in her mind that these grasses were dangerous and full of creatures capable of killing. She had known but it was different then truly believing. Always there was the option in the back of her mind of taking off, of running. Of pitting her chances against the wilderness then with the Drykas. Always when things get so mentally difficult to bear, too emotionally heavy it was always a little relief to know that there was a ..possibility. A possibility that she might get lucky, and make it. A possibility that if it gets just a little worse then she can run.

Yet seeing the animal take two arrows and a strider to bring it down, dashes that possibility. She truly is trapped and at the mercy of these people who she didn't understand, with a man who cared nothing but of the children she might birth. She hasn't even mentioned the fear that she might be more like her mother who only bore but one child..and late in life. Who knew, but always with the possibility that if she didn't quicken with child soon she could...but no. She sees how a half starved cub is difficult for someone who knows how to use weaponry to bring down..what chance does a Dancer have?

When the woman comes back, Taylani is shaken, sitting in the grass her blue eyes wide but dry. She doesn't understand the words but she does understand the tones. Hasn't she been hearing those same tones in people's voices since she was taken, the concern that their captive was damaged. Damaged goods, shaking her head forgetting that this might be interpreted as an answer to the question, Taylani moves to rise.

"Dead?" she asks, again in common having no Pavi word for it, waving her hand toward the carcass. Her voice is resigned and soft, no longer does anger or frustration color her tones. "You? Ok?" Still in common but pointing to both she and her horse, Fallan had shown her how close these people were to their horses and then remembered the Pavi word, "Good?"

[Oryani]

Oryani scratched her head, using the one holding the arrow rather than her bow. "Yea... it's dead. And I'm fine." She shrugged, not really phased about the whole event. Actually, it had been quite entertaining. Near-death experiences were always great to think back on, despite the nearness to danger... but this hadn't really been a near-death experience. She'd had her bow, and Khal... she would've been fine. The problem was stopping the creature from attacking her human companion... the woman might have sustained some serious injuries if she hadn't gotten the thing's attention. And since she was for breeding... well, she didn't want to damage her. She also didn't like people getting hurt needlessly.

Shrugging her shoulders, she returned the arrow to its quiver, before hauling the lions body towards her Strider. "We need to take this to Endrykas... we can sell the corpse there." She doubted the woman would understand that complicated speech, but waved her over to the stallion anyways. She picked up the feline's bloody head, motioning for the human to do the same with the rear. They lifted the corpse onto Khal's back with ease, it would have been a pain just by herself, and Oryani fished a rope out of her Yvas bags. While the shoddily tied the lion onto her Yvas and Strider's back. While she did so, she attempted to start some basic conversation.

"So... I am Oryani, Oryani Darkeye. What is your name?" she asked, skipping some of the motions as her hands were busy. She glanced at her companion when done, hoping the woman understood her question and introduction. Without needing to lead Khal -he had no reins anyways- she began walking back to the tent city, waving over at the woman. She was going to have to bring the human back to the city anyways... it was easier to have a good excuse to do that though.