[Rookery Park] Silk Gull Adventures(Shijara)

[Palla Frostfawn]

When Shijara ordered the fruit plate, Palla felt like a pig for ordering such a lavish plate. Oh, well. I'll share some of my food with her, I shouldn't eat all of it by myself. "H-Have you had fruit before?" Can she read? Maybe I can teach her later, if she wants. How do I bring up a polite way to tell her that, though?

Palla thought for a moment, then answered Shijara's question. "M-Morwen doesn't exacptly walk among my people, s-she lives in this beautiful castle made purely of ice. H-Her castle is, however, open to visitors, so people visit frequently. S-She will see almost anyone, b-be it a parent who wants their baby blessed-all Vantha are marked by Morwen, o-or just people who want to say hello or goodbye. M-Morwen loves her people, and she s-shows it by sharing her castle with us."

"T-That's only what I've heard from my mother, though. I-I never actually went to visit her, I didn't want to bother her." Palla said regretfully. "I-I worship her, but I haven't been a very devoted follower lately. I-I need to make some sort of shrine."

"A-Anyways, do you worship a god or goddess?" Palla said, trying to draw the attention away from herself, as she felt she had talked for too long about Morwen. Shijara said her god only revealed himself rarely. [i] He might reveal himself to her

The food soon came, and Palla asked for an extra plate. She was given an odd look, but a waitress brought her another plate, anyways. Palla split up her food, putting a little less than half of her meat and bread on the large extra plate. "F-Fruit may taste good and be good for you, b-but it won't satisfy your hunger very well." Palla explained as she pushed the plate torwards Shijara.

Palla dug into her fine meat, careful to appear polite in front of Shijara. She ate slowly and deliberately, unlike how she would if she was alone. Palla looked at Shijara's plate and then hers, and some of her guilt subsided. Their portions were similar now, and Palla decided to also share her dessert, when it came.

[Shijara]

Castle?

Shijara had never seen one, at least she didn't think she had. In fact, she wasn't familiar with the word in common. She didn't let that detail hold her back. She was still swept up in the idea of conversing with a goddess. Did they look different? And how nice it must have been to talk to one. It seemed like a special form of magic. "Wow."

This girl could have gone with her mother. It would have been a good trip if she had done so. Maybe Palla was not as interested in religion as her. That was perfectly fine. Shijara listened closely when she was asked about her worship. "Oh, yes. Eywaat and Makutsi. The god of birds and the goddess of river and rains. Eywaat is a rather young god," The thought amused her. Shijara had a hard time wrapping her mind around just how long they had been around, "When my people tell stories, we sometimes set out a spot for him to join us. Rumor has it he enjoys the attention."

Shi chuckled, "And Makutsi brings the rain. Those with her marking dance and water will fall from the sky." The Chaktawe's face looked up when their food was brought. The fruit had a tangy smell, and contrasted with Palla's own hot plate. Her mouth began to water. Reaching for the bowl, Shi's mouth dropped in surprise, and she smiled at Palla when the extra food was offered to her.

"You are very kind," Shi looked at the new food with interest and hunger, "A very good quality to have. Did you come with anyone on your way to Riverfall?" Shi lifted up a piece of the sliced orange and tentaively took a bite. Her lips puckered in shock. It was both sour and sweet. "This is delicious!"

[Palla Frostfawn]

"Y-Yeah." Palla sighed. "I-It is amazing, I wish I had worked up the courage to go see her castle."

The god of birds? I do enjoy birds, the looks of them and carving them, but I've never heard that there was a god of birds. Everyone worships diferent deities, and that's fine, though. "I-I've never heard of either." Palla admitted. "I-I'm rather ignorant when it comes to deities. I-It is a bit funny that Eywaat may enjoy the attention, b-but he probably has a young mind if he is a younger god."

If they live in the desert, Shijara's race, it makes sense that they worship a goddess that can bring them rain. Water is essential for life, after all. Although, I wonder. Maybe they've adapted to the desert, so the Chaktawe don't need as much water. "T-They must be important, people who have her marking." Palla said, trying to see if her inferences were correct. "People need a lot of water, after all.[/i]

"Both your gods sound very interesting." Palla stated, kicking herself mentally after using such a bland word. When Shijara called her kind, Palla changed the subject. "N-No, it's nothing." Palla said. "Y-You only ordered fruit, and I-I couldn't have possibly finished all of the food by myself."

"O-On my way to Riverfall, I traveled on a caravan with merchants. I paid them, and they seemed pretty kind to me." Palla explained. "H-How did you get to Riverfall?"

When Shijara said that the fruit was delicious, Palla smiled and said "Glad you like it." Palla liked to be generous, and would do almost anything for a complete stranger. She was naive by nature, surprising for a girl who stammered. Some would expect that since she was so worried around people, Palla may be distrusting of people, expecting the worst from them.

When they were done eating, their dessert would come, and again Palla inquired about getting another plate. Palla split it in half and put it on the plate. She handed it torwards Shijara and gave her a nervous smile "Enjoy."

Palla couldn't think of anything else to say, as she wasn't a great conversationalist, so relied on Shijara to keep the two in conversation.

[Shijara]

Shijara was thankful for the meal. It was fresh and delicious, and soon her hands were sticky from the orange juice, and she smelled of fresh fruit. When she moved on to the meat, she sighed in delight. It had been awhile since she had a hot meal. For the most part, she nibbled on meat and cheese, and the change of pace was nice for the young Chaktawe.

"My uncle and I made our way through the desert, then in Yahebah, I found others to travel with until we were close to Riverfall." Shijara continued eating, "I'll be leaving before the season is up, though. I'm not sure how, but I have to keep travelling. That's why I have my art. To capture what I see and bring it back home for my family."

Shijara stopped talking to continue eating, and was soon wiping her mouth off when the dessert came. Already she was beginning to feel full, but thought it would be rude to stop. She let out a deep breath, a hand resting on her stomach. She eyed the new dish with interest. How much could she eat?

Life's no fun without a challenge. Shijara happily took the second plate from Palla, "This might be a strange question, but do you want to see who can finish their dessert first?"

"Like a little game?"

[Palla Frostfawn]

Palla didn't want to seem like a pig in front of Shijara, so she declined the dessert eating contest as politely as she could. "N-No, thank you." She then quickly changed the subject.

“S-So, how are you, Shijara?” Palla stammered. “I-I don’t know much about you yet. W-What do you like to do?” If Shijara mentioned a skill that Palla was interested in, Palla would smile and ask "M-Maybe you can teach me, and I can show you how to do something else?" Palla was always game for learning a new skill, especially one which seemed appealing.

If Shijara asked about Palla’s interests, she would respond with “I-I really like animals, but I don’t seem to have a way with them like some of the other members in my hold. I-I'm a woodcarver, though, and I love to try to capture things in wood."

If Shijara inquired about what a hold was, Palla would explain to her. "A-A hold is a group from which Vantha belong to. Different holds are associated with different things. F-For example, the Frostfawn, members of the hold that I belong to, excel in skills such as animal husbandry. T-The Skyglow, members of another hold, they have found their affinity in visual arts."

Palla would continue talking. "There are the Frostfawn and The Skyglow, which I've already mentioned, and then there are the Snowsong, the ones that are known for their music, and the Winterflame, the ones that are best at culimary arts. There are aleo the Iceglaze which are good at skills such as carpentry and construction, and the Whitevine and Coolwater. You would go to the Whitevine hold of you were hurt, and the coolwater hold for anything to do with, well, water.

OOCThere are a lot of 'ifs' in this post. Sorry, but I couldn't think of anything else to write.

[Shijara]

"Well, I like to do a lot of things. I might have mentioned this already, but I'm an artist." Shijara took a bite of the newest food put in front of her and licked her lips. It was delicious, "I draw. In fact, I'm travelling and going to..." Shijara searched for the word in common. Remember? No... it was something similar. "Well, what I see I see on paper for my memory." In retrospect, the word she was looking for was record, but the word slipped her vocabulary. "I should draw you sometime." It was a friendly offer, one that Shijara meant, but wouldn't push.

"What about you? What do you like?"

Shijara continued eating, marveling at the new tastes as she listened to Palla. She was an artist in her own way. "You use wood? From the trees." A nod. The desert didn't have much wood itself, not anything that wasn't used for buildings or utensils in the bigger cities. To have art made from it, that would most likely be a bit more... expensive? Shijara pondered the thought.

"You said your... hold?" The word felt funny, only having used it in context to having something in her grasp. Had she been using it right? "You said your hold is good with animals? What is that? A hold?"

Palla politely explained. The Vantha was so very patient, and for someone with budding curiosity like the Chaktawe, it was a refreshing, vitalizing friendship. She began to lean forward when Palla began describing what each was good for. There were so many, and so many skills. "Wow. That's like the Chaktawe. My people, we have groups. Holds." She grinned, trying to use the word herself, "We paint color across our eyes to show which one we belong to. My tribe... oops, hold, use red. They're are called the Tatsuwaat. But there is also Kalanue and Suli.

Shijara was about to look down from her plate, and realized her meal was almost gone. Had she eaten so much already? Smiling, she mentally poked fun at herself. Their lunch was almost over. Soon, Shijara wouldn't be surprised if they said their good-byes.