Closed And A Wandering We Will Go (Tiorak)

[Asha]

OOCOff to find an adventure! Summer 4, 514 Asha meandered slowly through the streets and pavilions of Lhavit, taking in the sights of early morning activities. She watched Lhavitians who had recently woken and those on their way to rest streaming in and out of buildings and homes. The clouds shifted and the sun blazed down on the city setting the skyglass buildings to glitter and shine. Asha had to blink her eyes several times to adjust to the sudden light though the city dwellers around her hardly seemed to notice the change. She had gotten used to the dazzling architecture but the sun’s intense reflection off so many skyglass buildings was difficult to get accustomed to. Her feet stopped when the she caught sight of the tangle of trees of the Misty Peaks beyond the line of city structures and dwellings. She was still getting used to finding her way around Lhavit but she was fairly confident the peak she was wandering around was called Sharai. The bridge to the next peak was near where she was standing. Asha began to walk towards the trees she had glimpsed. Her previous forays into the Misty Peaks had not gone as she had expected but she was still drawn to their mystery. So much was still unexplored for her. All too soon she found herself standing a few yards from where the city ended and the Misty Peaks began. She sighed and stopped once more, staring into the spaces between trees and rocks sloping downward. She wanted to see what lay down the twisting and sloping trails but going alone was likely to be a poor option. She was new to the city and knew hardly anyone but she longed to go exploring with someone who might know their way around the Misty Peaks.

[Tiorak Tioravi]

It was relatively weird for one to even find business around Sharai peak. It was nothing but a full glance of intersecting levels that were famed for housing Okomo. The name caught a little spark in his mind, but he didn't expect to see them this close to the bridge. He still wasn't fully knowledgeable about the topic, but they were supposed to be housed at a particular location somewhere deeper in the peak. That was always strange to him somehow. You proclaim something to be holy and of great importance and then you keep it pretty much caged up to a small patch of grass. Well, there were probably smart reasons for it, of which he was completely unobservant.

As he dwelled around the bridge that leads to Shinyama, he could see an unknown, huge rock that dug itself into the ground firmly. Coming closer, he could first see that the rock was hairy. Then closer yet, it was slightly moving – almost as if breathing? Even closer, against his better judgment, he could see the whole thing for what it was – a humongous ape… or was it monkey? He never really knew the difference between those, but he had seen enough to think that apes were bigger. And this was as ape as the species could go…

He wasn't alone in his staring. Many people, mostly children, seemed mesmerized by the giant unmoving shape. All of them though were smart enough to keep their distance from the giant. Thoughts of poking it from a distance to make it turn around had occurred to him, but he just really didn't want to anger the beast. Still, seeing the giant form, people weren't panicking, so there was nothing to fear?
Coming closer unnaturally quickly, he’d tap the fur a couple of times hurriedly, and then jump back to where he was nervously. As if his nerves got the better of him, he started shifting weight from one leg to the other, almost as if attempting to dance with leaden limbs.

[Asha]

Small fingers tapped nervously on Asha’s shoulder. The tapping had brought her wandering mind back to the present and she turned to see who owned the tapping fingers. As she slowly spun her body around she first noticed the group of people who had stopped on the road to stare at her. Her brow crinkled in dismay and a frown pulled down the corners of her lips. “Oh, my…..” Asha mumbled and then looked down a few inches to find a human male who was the possessor of the fingers. Nervousness settled hotly in her chest at the idea of drawing an audience but she wished to give the people a good impression so she forced her frown into an artificial smile. The people of Lhavit’s notice of her seemed to sway between open staring and passing her by as just another oddity in a city brimming with wizards and scholars. She did not mind stopping to answer questions for the curious but found large groups made her feel like a cornered animal. As long as the groups stayed merely curious and did not see her as a threat. It was difficult to think of herself as threatening but these humans acted in strange ways when grouped together. “Hello, and good morning to you. May I help you with something? I was just daydreaming and thinking about what’s beyond all those trees, so I apologize if I got in the way without meaning too.” Asha words rapidly spilled out of her as she justified why she had been standing about. Oh Caiyha, perhaps this was some strange sacred spot or person’s personal space that she was stomping all over and this man had been sent to chase her away. She had been in the city several days but she still worried about making cultural mistakes or wandering into something she had no business in. She forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down. She made herself see that the people staring wore curious faces and not malevolent ones. “Sorry, crowds make me nervous. I’m new to the city and I’m trying very hard not to upset anyone.” Asha gave the man her best friendly smile and hoped she was not about to be chastised.

[Tiorak Tioravi]

When the mass of fur turned around, it was disappointingly smaller than it first seemed. The creature, Tiorak still unsure of gender, was just a few inches taller than him. This was still quite a stature compared to human standards, but underwhelming nonetheless. Even when the creature told him that humans made it nervous, Tiorak was still sure he was the more nervous one. Why in gods’ good graces did he ever think touching something that big would come out a good thing? Gulping, he tried his best to keep calm, but even that seemed hurried and awkward.

Then what was a flood of nervous words pushed past all mental brakes, and he couldn't stop himself. “You’re talking!” and quick shift to “Wow, I mean…. Yes beyond those trees. Was there once; more trees mostly. Few things worth seeing!” his words might’ve sounded a lot louder than he intended them to be, but they weren't aggressive in nature, merely frightened. The creature’s calm and soft approach hardly mended his own mind. “You’re talking!” he’d repeat to himself before continuing in the same broken speech structure “You must be the biggest one I've ever seen!” here he thought about the Kelvics, and he thought that should be obvious to both of them “How did you get your voice to work in that form?” some of the fear that got spent in the process was renewed when he thought he might’ve insulted the creature “Oh no! You don’t have to tell me, of course not! I’m sorry for pressuring…” even as the last of the flood got soaked up by ears and air, he mumbled to himself once more:

“…talking…”

[Asha]

Asha’s brows knitted together as the man’s hurried speech poured forth from his mouth. She had difficulty understanding his frightened words but eventually his meaning became apparent to her. She wanted to laugh a bit at the man’s discomfort but she took pity on him and held it back, instead continuing to smile softly. The man was clearly unsure of her and she didn’t want to discourage him. She was beginning to enjoy these kinds of encounters and the chance to teach others a little bit about her and the people she came from. “Yes, I do speak. In fact I say quite a bit. I’m not a Kelvic though, if that is what you think. This is the only form I hold. I’m a Jamoura and my name is Asha. I’m from the Spires, it’s up in Taldera.” Asha said and her smile widened to reveal a grin of large, white teeth. She shifted her weight from one thick leg to the other, choosing her next words carefully so that she wouldn’t upset the man. “And what might I call you? If you care to share your name that is.” Asha said, adding the second piece with rushed politeness. The man had mentioned that he had been out beyond the trees, perhaps Asha could utilize his experience if she could just get him to relax in her presence. She reminded herself to have patience and remain friendly. Sometimes these humans were just like the other animals, easily frightened and in need of a soft voice to calm them. She would never understand why they saw themselves in such a superior light, though perhaps that was merely their nature. Asha filed that thought away to dwell on another time, it would not do to get distracted in abstract thoughts when she needed to concentrate on this man and the knowledge he might hold. Asha glanced up at the crowd that had gathered to watch the human man confront the jamoura woman. The crowd had thinned out somewhat, perhaps they had hoped for a more physical confrontation and left when it became apparent that wasn’t going to happen. A few people remained, still curious about the large ape hanging out on the outskirts of the town. Asha just then realized that if she had been standing in a normal place around town instead of at the edge of the wilderness perhaps people wouldn’t have been so frightened by her appearance. She felt a tinge of guilt at possibly frightening these people into thinking a big monster had appeared from the Unforgiving.

[Tiorak Tioravi]

As the huge shape explained that it was indeed a Jamoura, he shuddered a bit at the thought. Somehow the world managed to hide something as grand as a whole species from his eyes, or ears even. What else of such magnitude hid just beyond his grasp? It was naive to think people in Zeltiva knew everything. It really was now that he thought about it. Yet he never had the reason to doubt it all these years.... they had the University after all. Doing his best not to look as agape as he was, he'd blurt out a lot at once. „I'm sorry for mistaking you for A Kelvic“ that quickly tail-ended into „I'm Tiorak Tioravi, and I have the pleasure of being the first in my family of meeting a Jamoura“ at this he'd extend his hand out by reflex and once it was out he'd stop it there, shaking a bit from the strain it took to keep it calm, but even more so because Asha could perceive it as an attack. There was no sure way to tell how animalistic her species really was.

The nervous mind knew no calm, so he pushed even far the greeting, avoiding the silence „Taldera? That's mighty far from here, but I guess when you're...“ he was about to call her big, and he wasn't entirely sure if it was a female, but he guessed towards it. And no female, of any species liked to be referred to as large. He led himself by experience on that one and gulped. „So, pardon my nosiness, but...“ a deep deep deep breath „Could you tell me some more about your people? Like do you have a language of your own? And are all of you that big? And how old are you, and...“ he'd get short for breath from all the questions he fired off, but he really was curious. Imagine everyone's face back home when he told this one over the dinner table. If he ever did get to go home, that is.

[Asha]

Asha was almost perplexed by how nervous Tiorak was, but then again she hadn’t exactly been greeted with hugs and smiles by the other inhabitants of the city. It was a little hard to get used to be the strange creature that everyone stared and wondered at. She told herself to stay calm and not take offense to it. If she wanted to be coddled and treated like a superior being she would have stayed in the Spires. Instead she had left to seek new knowledge and skills and she knew she had to accept that she would be the odd minority until her return home. Asha bit her tongue to focus as she carefully thought about how to help the man calm down and see that she wasn’t a threat. Maybe if he had something to help divert his attention he would calm down a bit. Maybe if she could enlist him to help her as an extra set of eyes in the forest. He had mentioned being out there before, so he had to know more about the place than she did, and she would be able to answer more of his questions without the audience of curious Lhavitians as well. With the formulated plan in mind Asha perked up and smiled again as she set to answering Tiorak’s questions. “It’s alright Tiorak, I understand how you might have confused me for a Kelvic. I’ve occasionally confused humans for Kelvics as well. And it is a pleasure to meet you.” Asha was quiet for a moment as she considered what words she wanted to use for what would come next. “I’d love to tell you more about my people. But I’m concerned that I’m upsetting those people behind you, I think they might think I’m a big bad monster or something. Tell you what, I was considering heading out to explore this section of the Misty Peaks. I could sure use a second pair of eyes to help watch out for dangers and sudden drops, if you come with me I would be happy to answer all of your questions about jamoura and the Spires. What do you say?” Asha spoke gently and continued smiling, hoping she looked friendly from the man’s perspective.

[Tiorak Tioravi]

Tiorak reddened for confusing her with a petchin' Kelvic of all things. Still, she was rather calm about it. Had someone called him a Kelvic, he'd be pretty rash about it. There was just some air inferiority when one talked about Kelvics in his family. In truth, they were far beyond human in certain aspects. Even their sometimes lacking intellect was a byproduct of their species being pushed into servitude often. So it was pretty easy to see, from his standpoint, why someone could take his misconception in a very harmful way. He was glad she remained calm and understanding. The cold shower came when she mentioned moving away from prying eyes. So she did want to harm him? There was no way to be sure about this, but he could imagine it, so it was possible.

"I'd love to hear more about your people." he was pretty truthful about it, even when a darker suspicion pressed upon whole of his being. He took a deep breath and ran aloud some random thoughts before he gutted up enough to ask what he really wanted to ask. "I wanted to explore some of the landscape as well, for a while now. However, proper help is expensive and willing company indeed too rare." then the biggest gulp he had made in his own lifetime "What do the Jamoura eat?" there lay all his doubts, but even when asked the question terrified him enough to forget waiting for an answer.

Worried about upseting the giant creature, he'd keep talking as if he'd already accepted accompanying her. "If we went this route" he'd point "I think you should take the front to scare off the brunt of the predators. It would also give me ample time for surprise action if we happened upon some trouble..." it'd also give him enough time to set her on fire should she turn against him. Those were dark thoughts. Dark, but needed. Only cautious minds survived the way he undertook. He'd keep talking of course. He'd keep talking until she interrupted him, but anything beyond that point was clear gibberish and banter lacking real substance.

[Asha]

“What we eat? Well, we eat most anything really. Good cooks are prized in the Spires. When skilled cooks come from other places and can introduce us to something new they get treated almost like a hero. But specifically, we eat animals and plants like most people. Even some insects too.” Asha chuckled, thinking her home and her people’s love of good food. The jamoura especially enjoyed sweets of any variety, Asha was fond of dishes with blackberries herself. “Excellent, I’m glad I stumbled upon someone who wants to do some exploring to! I know I sprung this on you kind of suddenly, is there anything you need before we head off?” Asha said, a big grin spread her lips almost ear to ear. She was pleased with herself and with the friendly citizens of Lhavit. She was an easily pleased young woman and an implied agreement to her request was all it took to fill her with happiness. She considered it good luck to have chanced across a man willing to assist her in exploration. She took Tiorak’s nervousness as a personal quality, some people were just nervous, and didn’t realize he was concerned about her intentions so she continued on blithely unaware. “I don’t mind taking the front either, if that is what you prefer. I hope we don’t run into much trouble though, I try not to attract much attention but I suppose some things can’t be avoided. Do you recommend a direction to start in?” Asha asked, still grinning and occasionally looking at the Misty Peaks with renewed interest and excitement. She had a feeling it was going to be an interesting day and she was eager to get underway. She remembered that Tiorak hadn’t had a chance to answer her first question yet and internally scolded herself for rushing things and not giving the man enough time to prepare.