Getting to Know the Family

[Irea Rasar]

OOCSorry for the slow reply. Had a busy week. "Oh, now? I thought you were cooking? We can go later..." Zynya replied, her face tinging in a faint blush. The woman was certainly very odd. In a good way, though. The healer found her sister to be intriguing in a strange sort of way; outsiders had such unusual habits. But no, Zynya was no longer an outsider. She was Drykas, as surely as Irea herself was. "Do you want me to help you with dinner? I'll try not to ruin it." The healer blinked once in surprise; she had been cooking, hadn't she? Irea once more diced the vegetables, finishing up the last few before wiping her small blade and putting it away. She gave the other woman a warm smile and a nod, "Yes. Stir little. When bubble, stop." The healer selected a wooden spoon and offered it to Zynya before moving back to let her sister take over. It would be good to have help around the tent; there were many chores to do even when one lived alone. As Zynya spoke of the dangers of running away, Irea noticed that she didn't even pretend to want to stay. That was good; dishonesty was a disgraceful trait, especially in a woman. Few men would consider courting Zynya if she were known as a liar. At least, few of the ones Irea or the rest of her family would approve of. The woman once more offered Zynya a friendly smile, "You love Endrykas soon," she promised without a trace of doubt.

[Zynya]

Zynya ~.~ Zynya took the spoon she was offered and stirred slowly, being sure not to let anything stick to the sides or bottom so that once it began to boil it would cook evenly. She wondered what some of the ingredients were, some of them were common vegetables but there were a few Zynya didn't recognize. If Zynya had been able to read thoughts at that moment, she might have braved the dangers of the Sea of Grass. She had decidedly prevented herself from thinking about what would have happened if she had been bought by a man, what would be expected of her. But if anything, she was honest, she didn't see a point to lying. Lying simply gave one headaches and lost friends. At Irea's encouragement she tried to give a small smile but failed and turned back to the pot she was stirring, maybe she would love Endrykas in time, but at the moment she was trying not to miss home too much. At this hour she would be setting the table and helping her mother finish preparing the meal, after dinner her Father would talk about his day, and then she would sleep for a few hours before going on her almost nightly run. Her lip trembled as she realized she wouldn't be able to go free running for a while. It was the only thing that grounded her, made her feel like herself. She took a few deep breaths and briefly glanced at Irea, hoping she hadn't noticed. The vegetables began to boil, she tapped the spoon on the edge to shake off the excess water and looked around for somewhere to set it down. Her Mother had always had a dish towel set out for that specific reason. OOC : No problem, I go through times like that too. Especially on the weekends.

[Irea Rasar]

Irea busied herself while Zynya stirred with selecting a pair of bowls from a wicker basket on the far side of the tent. They were gaudy things, perhaps the most heavily decorated items the healer kept in the tent. The bowls depicted the traditional Drykas knotwork, though the shapes of the knots seemed to me reminiscent of horses running about the sides. The healer had been given them as a type of going-away present by her family. A small smile brightened her face as she considered them, before it faded slightly. No doubt in the hope that I would impress some man by offering him one filled with my cooking, Irea thought in annoyance. She was far too busy treating the sick to bother with courting, now. As she returned to the fire, the healer caught a glimpse of Zynya's features; she seemed saddened by something. Her lost family, of course. Irea felt a small pang of sympathy for her sister. The woman had lost everyone she had ever known, and been thrown into the Sea of Grass. She couldn't even speak Pavi. The healer pushed the feelings down forcefully; Zynya had new family, and she would learn Pavi in due time. Irea crossed the small distance to Zynya and took the spoon from her hands, placing it down in the grass between the fire and the rug that made up the interior of the tent. It would be washed before the night was out. That done, Irea seated herself down beside Zynya. She placed the two bowls off to the side for later use and attempted to wrap an arm around Zynya's shoulder. "Zynya. No sad," She attempted to comfort her sister, "I family, now. No miss old, love new." With that, the healer squeezed Zynya reassuringly.

[Zynya]

Zynya ~.~ Zynya looked at Irea, and upon seeing the kindness in her eyes, she promptly burst into tears. Even her sobs were quiet, just like her normal demeanor. She threw her arms around Irea, in thanks that the woman was in fact kind. Her sobs quickly turned to sniffling, "I'm sorry." She said wiping her face with her sleeve. "I guess these last couple of weeks have been stressful. I'll try not to be so sad." Zynya dried the last bit of moisture from her cheeks. She gestured to Irea's hair, "Can you teach me how to do that while we wait on the meal?" She figured if she could keep herself busy her thoughts wouldn't wander toward home so much.

[Irea Rasar]

The woman's tears surprised Irea; she hadn't been expecting Zynya to be so open with her so soon. She seemed so reserved. Perhaps that was merely because of all she had been through on her way to Endrykas? It made no difference to Irea; she held Zynya for as long as she needed, rubbing her back in gentle, soothing circles. "I'm sorry," her sister said once she had regained her composure, "I guess these last couple of weeks have been stressful. I'll try not to be so sad." Irea kept her arm firmly about Zynya's shoulders, understanding written in her features. "Cry if need," she said with a sympathetic smile, "Cry help, sometime. I know is hard." The healer was grateful for one thing; Zynya would surely grow to trust her in time. She had been worried that her sister would blame the Drykas for her situation. Many did that, and they were not entirely to blame for it. Drykas life was better, of course, but few people would willingly go through such great changes. When Zynya asked about the healer's hair, the healer's eyes lit up once more. Her sister was more willing to adopt Drykas customs than she could have hoped! With an eager smile, Irea released Zynya from her grip and scooted over behind Zynya. "I show, first. I show, then you learn." she said with a hefty sprinkling of Pavi words, setting to work on Zynya's hair. It was straight; good, it was much easier to braid straight hair. She carefully separated three strands of her sister's hair and began twining them about each other. It would be a simple braid, one Zynya would be able to do without too much practice.

[Zynya]

Zynya ~.~ Zynya let Irea hold her, it felt nice, she remembered that her Grandmother had held her like this when she had been small. The sadness was like a knot in her belly, it didn't go away entirely, but it did loosen a bit when Irea's face lit up. Who knew that tasks Zynya requested to keep herself busy would make the woman, her new Sister, so happy. Zynya nodded her understanding, repeating the word and gesture for 'show' to herself a few times. She remembered the word 'learn' from earlier, 'you' was new as well. Irea's quick fingers had her plain braid out of her hair so quickly Zynya hardly realized what she was doing. She focused on the feeling of Irea's fingers, trying to see the new Drykas braid in her mind's eye. "I noticed that most women here have a lot of braids in their hair. Do they mean anything?"

[Irea Rasar]

As the healer twisted the locks of hair into a braid, she hummed softly to herself. Irea had always enjoyed helping others with their hair; she had often done the same for many of the younger girls who had somehow gotten their braids tangled during the day and did not have the practice to fix it on their own. It was calming work, so much less stressful than the path she had chosen. It had always been a point of curiosity for Irea; what would have happened, had she chosen a different profession? Tending others was often a difficult task, and unforgiving more often than not. A mistake could mean death, and would have had Irea not had more experienced healers watching over her patients. For the thousandth time, the woman considered the direction her life was going. And for the thousandth time, she decided that it was good enough for her. "I noticed that most women here have a lot of braids in their hair. Do they mean anything?" Her sister's words drew Irea out of her reverie. She noticed that her hands had tangled Zynya's hair in her thoughtless motions, and she quickly disengaged them with a few painful tugs. The healer sighed as she realized she would need to begin again, her cheeks heating with embarrassment at such a novice mistake. Irea had been plaiting braids into her hair for most of her life, and rarely made such mistakes so simple. So foolish of her, to let her thoughts wander that way. While trying a second time, Irea answered her sister's question. "Is mean..." The woman's hands paused for a moment as she considered what it did mean. Rather, as she considered how to explain it. The meaning of a woman's braids was common knowledge to all Drykas, though women in particular. If Zynya had grown up among the Drykas, she would have been able to tell where any woman stood in society by a simple glance at her hair. She had not grown up among them, Irea reminded herself, and would need to learn all of these things herself. "Is mean how important. How strong." The healer grimaced at the inadequacy of her words. It meant something far more complicated than simple 'rank', and had nothing to do with physical strength. A woman's braids were an indicator of status. A skilled worker or a well-married woman would have complicated braids, while someone such as herself, who had merely basic knowledge in her chosen career, would have a simple braid or two in her hair. Similarly, Zynya would have just enough of a braid for it to be considered a braid at all; she had no skills that Irea knew of, and she certainly had not married into power. Yet, at least. There was no point in worrying over her sister's status, however. She would eventually find her place, one way or the other.

[Zynya]

Zynya ~.~ Zynya liked the feeling of Irea braiding her hair. One of the girls in her free-running group, Lyvi, had liked to play with Zynya's hair. She would marvel at the length, many working class in the city had medium length hair, so that it wouldn't be such a hassle to care for. Lyvi herself had cut her hair at jaw length, she had thought it made her look tougher, Zynya had always been a bit jealous at the gold color of it. She scrunched her eyebrows at the tugs on her scalp but didn't flinch, she'd had many more bumps that were more painful while running. Irea struggled to answer her question, Zynya understood the gist of it. "Oh..." She pondered for a moment, trying to figure out what Irea meant by strong, surely it couldn't have anything to do with physical strength, many of the warrior's had less braids than some of the women she'd seen. "You mean it has something to do with ability?" That was the only thing she could think of if one mixed the ideas of strength and importance. Zynya's stomach grumbled, the smell of whatever Irea had in the pot on the fire was beginning to get to her.