Up the Mountain We Go (Azira)

by **Syveris** on November 3rd, 2013, 2:10 pm

Syveris noticed Azira's face turn completely red, and wondered why she was blushing so much. She decided not to ask, but was pleased that Azira offered an explanation on her own. However, said explanation made the Avora frown, and bit her lip. When they had first met, Turrin had seemed to be a little sensitive about his accent. If Azira had said something about it, then she could imagine that the fight had been... unpleasant. But as the huntress kept taking, it was Syveris who turned crimson, although for a different reason.

"An Endal that wanted what?" she screamed, her hands turning into fists. Technically, an Endal could do whatever he or she pleased, and mostly, Syveris was OK with that. Life in Wind Reach worked because of the castes. Benefits were offered to those who contributed most for the society, to keep their wish to contribute, allowing life in the harsh enviroment. However, there were some things one didn't just decide. It was just plainly wrong. If he had wanted someone to bed, then why not go to a Dek? The thought was a little repulsive for her, but she supposed there were beautiful Deks around and the Endal could do what he pleased with them. But to an Avora hunter? "He can't just decide he will bed you! You're not some petching Dek!"

Syveris tried to calm down, focusing on the other part of what Azira had said. She was still scowling when she spoke again, but at least this time she wasn't screaming. "I hope Turrin gave him a very, very good lesson." she growled. Endals were supposed to be incredible, wonderful people. But there were some that made Syveris think that Wind Eagles could commit serious mistakes. "I hope his Wind Eagle drops him." then, a thought occured to her, and it was so horrifying that she hoped with all her forces that it was wrong. She had liked Turrin a lot, and enjoyed his company. She couldn't picture him doing it. "Azira, when you say Turrin started a fight over it, you don't mean... He wasn't starting a fight over who would... bed you, was he? He was just defending you, right?" the Avora question sounded more like a pleading. She couldn't have been so mistaken in her judgment, right?

Lavira was a more calming subject, and so, Syveris focused on the woman. "Yes, I learned a lot. As I said, she is really a wonderful teacher. But why would she hate you? She seemed very nice to me." yes, the Endal was annoyed at her, but Syveris didn't think she hated her. Thinking back, Lavira had probably been on edge, like most hunters, due to the scarce game the season had offered.

Syveris saw Azira slip for the first time, but thankfully the girl didn't fall. Her attention was back to what the huntress was saying when she showed interest for the egg. Syveris smiled, excitement hushing over her again.

"You're always welcome to come and see it!" Syveris exclaimed, slipping again for not paying attention to the ground. She barely paid attention to it, though. "I'm not actually sure when it will hatch, but from what I've read, it can hatch from 88th of Fall to 1st of Winter."

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by **Azira** on November 4th, 2013, 2:54 pm

The one thing that Azira had hoped that her companion would not notice if she spoke fast enough was the fact that an Endal had gotten it into his head that he could forcibly take her to bed. However, the girl was out of luck, as that was the only thing that Syveris noticed. The huntress cringed when the glassworker screamed, the fury at such an idea obvious in her voice.

”Shh, do not scream that! I do not want that bouncing off the mountain even if there isn’t anybody around to hear it! You heard me right, that’s what he wanted, that’s what he thought he could have,” she hissed back at her. ”I know that I’m not a Dek, okay? He was some friend of Turrin’s and when he realised that I’d offended him this guy, Samen decided to stop me while I was trying to run away. He also seemed to get it into his head while he was blocking my way that I was attractive and that I should be grateful for his attention.” The disgust in the Avora’s voice was clear.

The huntress laughed a humourless laugh at the idea of the man’s Wind Eagle dropping him. It would definitely be doing Wind Reach a favour anyway that was for sure. She had to admit to herself however that Turrin had certainly done a good job of beating up the man. She didn’t particularly like the idea of what would have happened if the half-Myrian had decided that it wasn’t worth intervening.

Something was obviously bothering Syveris because she saw the young woman’s face contort into an expression of horror. When she voiced her question, the girl understood her reaction at the horrible possibility that had come into her head. The huntress stared back at her in horror. She had been worried about that at the time but her fears had turned out to be completely unfounded. Syveris seemed to be pleading with her to tell her that her own fears were unfounded. Her fellow Avora clearly respected Turrin but she wondered if there was something more to the way she regarded the Endal. Could she like him? Azira didn’t know.

”No, he wasn’t fighting for that. He was defending my honour. He’s half Myrian, you know. I looked it up afterwards, they really respect women so he never would have fought for...that reason,” she mumbled. She was glad when the subject changed to Lavira. While the way she had treated the woman was shameful, she would sooner discuss that then the incident involving Samen in the kitchens.

”I’m glad that Lavira could help you and I’ll try to pop in to see your egg sometime soon especially if it’s close to hatching. As for what happened with her, well let’s just say it was a very big misunderstanding where I let my temper get the better of me. I do that an awful lot. It isn’t the first time I’ve done it this season but I hope it’s the last,” the teen sighed, glancing around for the first time since they’d started hiking. She was shocked to find that they were more than half way up the mountain. Well things were going much faster than she would have expected.

”Basically I found her in the Enclave and I saw her face. I assumed...I assumed that she was a Dek because of that and...I’m sure you remember how self-righteous I can be. I wasn’t exactly quiet in the way I went about ordering the “Dek” out of the library,” she told her, grimacing. Her foot slipped again on the uneven ground and she fell. Instinctively, she threw out her hands to break her fall, sharp stones slicing into her palms. Wincing, she removed them gingerly from the ground and assessed the damage.

”Aw shyke,” she muttered. Her hands were sliced in such a way that would make holding a bow agonising. She wiped her hands on her bryda, wincing as she did so. ”Well that’ll make shooting a pain,” she explained, showing the woman her hands. Well at least now, they were on par with each other, at least in terms of falls. There was no way that she would catch up on the girl’s slips.

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by **Syveris** on November 4th, 2013, 9:33 pm

The huntress' reprimand made her blush, ashamed by her lack of control. Syveris was immensely grateful that they had not been talking in the city, since she doubted she would have controlled her yell no mater where they were. She would try to be less explosive. The huntress obviously didn't want it announced to the world, and although they were alone in the mountain, it didn't gave her the right to scream. Taking a deep breath, she kept her mouth shut even as Azira explained what had happened, although she just wanted to go and hit this Samen guy straight in the face. The name gave her the impression she had met the man before, but she couldn't really remember where and when. Well, she would take note of it, so if she ever met the guy again, she would...

Would what? There was nothing she could do. Samen was an Endal, and it didn't matter how much Syveris wanted to hurt the man for being such a shyke, she would get into real trouble if she did. So she just scowled and crossed her arms, the sudden movement making her lose balance once more. She didn't fall again, but she was sure the slip made her look ridiculous.

"Oh, that's alright, then." it was the only comment she made when Azira told her Turrin hadn't been trying to bed her. She was happy for it, as the training they had with the Talon Sword had been fun, and Syveris was looking forward to repeating the friendly fight again. She would be incapable of doing so if the half-Myrian had done something so offending.

When the subject changed to Lavira, the Avora noticed that Azira was much more at easy, so she tried to focus on it. Her own face changed to an horrified expression when Azira told her what had happened between her and the Endal. She had called the woman a Dek? Really? It was a wonder that the huntress was in one piece. Lavira must be much nicer than the Avora had thought, because she wasn't sure what she would do if it was her being called a Dek.

No, that wasn't true. Syveris knew what she would do. She would have punched the offender just like she had done to Azira, in the Kitchens. Only then she had been angry at the simply possibility of becoming a Dek. If someone actually called her that...

"Really? You called her a Dek?" she couldn't hold back the question, but she regretted it as soon as it got out of her mouth. "Sorry. Stupid question. But... Well, I don't really know what to say. Guess I'm glad you are alright after that." her surprise made her slip once again, and she stopped, glancing angrily at the ground, as if it was something alive that had purposefully making her slip all the time. Syveris kicked a loose stone and then stomped on the mountain. "What is wrong about this stupid mountain? It's making me slip, I'm sure of it! I mean, how can one slip so much on a single day?" it was probably because she was not paying the slight attention to where she was putting her foot, or because she had been walking fast once again. Probably both. The Avora grumbled, before slowing down once more, her eyes glued to the ground, decided not to slip anymore.

Her concentration was broken when Azira fell, and she hurried to her side. The huntress showed her hands, and Syveris winced. It wasn't that bad, but it was worse than the scratches on her own hands. When the other mentioned shooting, Syveris frowned.

"How long do you think it'll take to heal?" she was worried that it would get in the way of Azira's job. Her own hands would probably ache a little when she did her own work, but she didn't have to hold the tools with a strong grip, and even if she did, the pain wouldn't be too terrible to make her have to stop working. She wasn't sure about Azira, though.

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by **Azira** on November 4th, 2013, 10:36 pm

Their conversation had turned kind of awkward quickly. In hindsight she shouldn't have brought up the incident with Turrin or she could have at least given Syveris a revised account minus the whole Samen thing. The woman didn't seem to have anything more to say on that little tidbit of information for which she was glad but she was clearly shocked by the huntress's mistake.

She sighed. "Yeah I called her a Dek. If I'd actually stopped and really thought about it I would have realised that a Dek wouldn't be sitting in plain view, reading in the Enclave. That was a mistake on my part," Azira explained. "She was seriously furious but she seemed more disgusted that I'd be so...shallow. Plus I might have said something about her not contributing to society but I thought I was talking to a Dek so yeah she invited me to come and see her contribute. So yeah I'm still in one peace."

Azira looked suitably ashamed of herself, which she was but her eyes took on the haunted look that always appeared when she thought of the time after that. That wasn't something that she was going to discuss with the glassworker. What had happened with the Dek woman, Insurq, was something that was not up for discussion and if the woman asked then she'd refuse to answer.

The woman's attempt at rebuking the mountain was laughable but Azira's own fall seemed to draw her concern because she came rushing over to check that she was all right. The teen wanted to know how long it would take for her palms to heal but the huntress had no idea herself.

"Well I can't exactly take time off so I honestly don't know. I'll have to bandage them and just use them like that. My only hope is that the wounds don't go bad," she explained, grimacing.

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by **Syveris** on November 4th, 2013, 11:02 pm

"Well, I'm glad that Lavira is so nice. The punishment don't seem to have been too bad, so..." Syveris stopped talking when she saw the look on the huntress' face. Something was clearly bothering her, but it was the same kind of look she had when Syveris had brought up the sensitive subject of her being troubled by something, so she chose not to comment on it. She would pay attention to these sighs, so she wouldn't touch a sensitive subject again. The Avora only hoped she wouldn't miss something. She also felt like commenting on the shallow thing, but Syveris doubted that Azira needed any comment after her talk with Lavira, and so, she stayed quiet about that too.

Syveris sighed. She couldn't deny that it was fun to talk with the huntress, specially when the subject was something that Azira talked about without restrictions. Or at least, without too much restrictions. But Syveris had to be careful about what she said, and that demanded her to think hard about what she could or couldn't say. It wasn't something she liked to do, and she didn't do it often, but she was willing to try this time.

The wounds in the huntress' hands seemed to be neutral enough to talk, so she took Azira's hands and looked at them closely. Syveris wasn't a doctor, nor did she knew anything about healing and all that doctor-stuff that she actually found quite boring. Useful, but boring. But she had fallen and scratched herself quite enough, mainly from climbing the Edge of the World, to know at least a little about wounds.

"They don't seem to be too bad." she said, releasing the hands. "Since you will be shooting, I doubt they will heal very quickly, but I think that as long as you don't get them dirty, they won't get any worse than that."

Syveris began to walk again, this time decided to focus on the ground more, so she wouldn't slip anymore. She wouldn't allow herself to do so. The Avora sent a quick glance on her surroundings, and frowned at how far they had already come.

"We are pretty far already. Are we going to climb until the top?" she asked the other, curious.

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by **Azira** on November 5th, 2013, 1:07 am

The way Syveris trailed off her sentence spoke volumes. She'd seen Azira's face and the clear torment that was visible on it. The huntress braced herself for the torrent of questions but they never came; her companion remained silent. It seemed that the glassworker now knew better than to pry into what bothered her fellow Avora. The outburst she'd had would have driven that point home sufficiently. She was glad that something beneficial had come out of her temper for once.

The teen was startled when Syveris grabbed her wrists so as to examine her wounds more closely. She hadn't been expecting the woman to be so...up close and personal about this. A sympathetic word was the most that she would have expected from the near stranger but instead she was actually examining the cuts and explaining what to do about them. She knew better than to get them dirty; she wasn't that stupid. Even so, she kept silent.

The question about continuing took Azira by surprise. They were nearly at the top but the girl was entirely fed up with the idea. She knew that her legs would ache in the morning meaning that there was no reason not to hike less to reduce that foreseeable pain. Also she'd sliced her hands open and so would much sooner go home and deal with her hands.

"I'd sooner not go on but if you really want to then I will. I'd like to get back and see to my hands and I'm sure that you're tired of slipping. So are you ready to go then?" she replied, her tone neutral.

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by **Syveris** on November 5th, 2013, 10:09 pm

"Let's head back, then. I really am tired of slipping. It was a nice day, but I'll think twice about hiking again." Syveris meant it. Even with the huntress outburst, the day had been fun. They managed to talk, and Azira didn't seem to have minded telling her some personal stuff. So the Avora could say that they had made a real progress this day. She was sure it wasn't enough for them to become friends, but it was enough for her to think that this possibility existed, and she was happy with that.

As they made their way back, Syveris tried to focus on the good things that had happened. Azira's words still were in her mind somewhere, and she knew they would get back to haunt her someday, but she hoped that at least this would be a very far away day. She woulld keep them shoved deep down on her mind meanwhile.

She managed to slip one last time before they left the mountain, and it took a lot of control for her not to curse the mountain. Hiking was fun, in some way or another, even if it was only because she had managed to talk and have a nice conversation with someone, but it required her whole attention so she wouldn't slip, and it was way more tiring than she would have thought. Maybe if someone invited her she would accept, but she certainly wouldn't be going all by herself.

With a sigh, Syveris stretched her body, feeling it a little sore. It would probably hurt by tomorrow, but she wasn't really worried. The day after climbing wasn't that different, and she was already used to it.

The Avora smiled, though, despite some of the frustration from hiking. She was satisfied enough with the day, and so, she focused her attention once more on her surroundings, following Azira back to Wind Reach.

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by **Azira** on November 6th, 2013, 12:48 am

Azira would be lying if she said she wasn't glad that Syveris wanted to go back. Hiking was not the huntress's thing and although she had found the glassworker to be surprisingly good company, she was all too happy to cut their excursion short.

As they returned to the city, the girl found herself recapping the day, in particular the words that had passed between the pair. While her outburst had most likely shaken the other teen, she hoped that the girl would not take the words too much to heart. She was also hoping that their rather open conversation had begun to forge a friendship between them but she could not be certain.

But the most important thing of the day though was that she had opened up to someone. She just didn't do that normally, didn't share her thoughts and feelings but it was surprisingly nice to have things off her chest, well at least some things. It was a step, one tiny movement in the right direction but it was a good sign. Maybe she could finally get rid of the pain, could finally be happy.

By the end of the day, Azira could not stop smiling.

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Scrapbook · by **Harrier** on December 8th, 2013, 5:47 pm

Syveris

Mountaineering	5
Interrogation	5
Observation	3
Socialization	5

Lores :

Azira

Planning	2
Mountaineering	5
Observation	4
Socialization	5

Lores :

Uh Oh! Azira has cut her hands! If she did not see a healer and self-treated, expect some scarring on the palms. 25 days to heal.

Notes

Ok, just one thing guys, and it's a doozy. The mountains of Kalea are enormous. Think bigger than the Himalayas. Short treks to neighboring mountains aren't really going to happen, especially without some kind of climbing and mountaineering gear. What terrain is navigable near Mt. Skyinarta is going to be nearer the base, and even that is going to be a challenge.

Other than that, a really great social-adventure. Syv is kind of silly with the amount of questions she has and Azira is just...Azira. One day, she will be tolerant! Enjoy your rewards!

Completed Up the Mountain We Go (Azira)