Closed Starry Eyes, Open Heart

[Fallan Windchaser]

He wasn't consciously aware that he'd avoided the question that she had posed the first time around and so he considered the question as though it were new. It was something of an unexpected question in his mind for he rarely attempted to keep in contact with his family when he was separated from them, but it also brought to mind a degree of guilt for his actions were not those that were expected of a Drykas. Even he knew that family was all important but he tended to realise that he'd fallen short only in retrospect and even when he kept it in mind and made an effort, still he'd only come to realise some time later that he'd failed and not noticed at the time that he'd failed.

To a degree it was the way of things in a land where physical messages were not so easy to pass but he had little excuse for that whilst he was in this land, even if it was something he avoided discussing with Tay since he could easily enough tap into the web when they camped, especially if they did so close to an anchor point.

"Left message with father," he commented, "told him where we are going and when we should return. Good practice when in the Wilderness as allows chance that someone will come and look for you if you have trouble." If he didn't answer the question he still wasn't fully aware of it. "Speak father. Leave route of journey. Send help if needed." He cocked an eyebrow at her and smiled a little. "Tay understand more?"

[Taylani]

Taylani rode in silence as he speaks, her blue eyes shifting to his hands often trying to commit the movement to memory. Pavi was difficult to learn because it was so much more then a simple spoken language, but Taylani was determined to do so. He had answered her question, even if he hadn't outright said the words out loud. He had spoken to his family but not about anything other then that they were leaving Endrykas for a spell.

Taylani frowned, not at his words but at the situation. Being separated from her own family had given her an insight on how important that connection was, and it upset her that Fallan and his family had somehow lost that connection. In Pavi she struggled to answer, "I ...know?" Her voice raised in a question only because she did not really think that word was the word she was searching for. "I understand, Yes." she continued in common, shifting on her horse not out of discomfort but to stretch muscles not being used. "Do you remember when you told me you would send word to my parents?" She asked with a little too much casualness. She was half afraid that he would tell her he had either forgot, or hadn't really sent any message that he had only promised her to keep her calm. It didn't sound like something Fallan would do, but she couldn't help the niggle of worry. "That was the last I was able to send word, would you be willing to do so again?"

[Fallan Windchaser]

Whilst his concious mind had not registered the intent that Tay might have had in questioning him about his family, it had still triggered a thought in his mind which was not unrelated and he mused upon it as he rode.

For the Drykas, family and community were everything, for without them nothing worked and the Drykas would not survive. It was something that he'd not really been aware of as a child and had perhaps been his biggest shock exploring Sylira. There nearly everyone lived in cities and their lives were very, very different. Aside from a few hardy farmers who were based mostly close to the cities habitations in the lands between the cities were few and far between. At first the shock had been a revelation and a welcome one for it fitted well with the irritations that he'd suffered with his family which had led to him choosing the more independent roles of scouting and foraging and which in turn had led him to his time in Sylira attempting to make his own way.

Drawn back by duty, his responsibilities to his people finally overwhelming his desires to break free from the web of need which was at the very heart of being part of a society where every person needed to step forward to assist. That his dreams had proven harder to fulfil was not something he recognised and on his return had fallen into his old patterns, which was not unexpected given his understanding of his relationship with his people had not changed.

It was this contrast that her words had triggered the reflection in his mind. The Fall hunts were a perfect example of how the Drykas could not survive as a group of individuals, not in the way that a city could. Here everyone participated, not just those who were normally the hunters, and even those who remained in camp put aside their normal duties and helped out with processing that which had been harvested.

Never before had he been truly responsible for others, always there had been someone he could turn to, but now he faced the prospect of being Ankal, even if only for a small family, and here he was, with a partner who was still finding her way and lacked the survival skills necessary for life here. This trip had boundaries set upon it, a time limit before they needed to flee back to the tented city. Being a child in his family there had always been leeway and whilst the words had been harsh regarding his lack of giving back always they had covered for him.

Still though he did not see his faults for all that his unconscious mind was tapping away and trying to bring them to his attention.

He smiled at her words, nodding as her translation in Common completed his understanding of what she had said for he understood more of that than he could bring to mind to speak. Her question though was one that made him pause and forget about the minor correction that he'd intended on her words in Pavi.

"I remember," he answered nodding his head. He made no comment regarding the previous message but concentrated instead on what he considered more important which was the next message.

"Yes, we can send a new message," he said relaxing his face into a smile and erasing the slight frown the consideration of how it might be done had caused.

"Not so easy now. We will need traders who are going to Syliras and there are none here. I think we might need to wait until we reach Riverfall." Sending message was no mean feat across such a distance at least by mundane means and traders were restricted to the marked caravan routes. None from Syliras would battle the weather and hope to guess that they might find Endrykas, a feat virtually impossible without Drykas aid.

But to reveal more about this was again impossible and he found himself caught in a web of conflicting obligations, the end result of which was that someone would be unhappy with him when the truth was made clear. In this case the choice was clear and it was not one that he was happy with. He attempted to cover the irritation it caused by addressing the mundane side.

"No traders from her to Syliras now. It's too far and the weather is too bad to get wagons across that distance." He summarised in common, "Yes, we send message. But need someone give it to. Not Syliras now, no traders in Winter, too far now. Wait Riverfall Fallan, I, think." He stumbled over the way to describe himself and shrugged apologetically.

[Taylani]

Taylani continued to move along at the pace Fallan and Stormdancer dictated, the ride was far easier then it would have been just a season ago for her. She had come quite a long ways, and not just in terms of skills though those seemed to be going at a snails pace. No, her entire philosophy on life had seemed to change, to expand. She was still strong willed and stubborn to a fault but she found herself putting those traits toward issues that she had fought against. She no longer saw the world in such a narrow focus, and while that was the death of one side of her it wasn't the end of her as she had feared. Instead she was uncovering new sides, new passions.

When he speaks about how far Syliras is she nodded. She didn't know how he had sent a message the last time, but she was grateful that he had sent it. "I.. know.." she tapped her head speaking using only the relatively few words in Pavi that she knew was more difficult then she thought. It was slow, and and it was difficult trying to weight each word and choosing which wrong word was closest to the meaning she wanted. "I know .. Fallan right. Wait Riverfall." Her hands moved as hesitantly as her words, perhaps even slower.

Moving back to common, "I think your right. It was good to let them know that I was alive. Now I think it would only be fair if we let them know, not about how I came to be in Endrykas.. but that I am here. That I am making a life here." Her blue eyes continued to scan the grasses, not really certain of what she should be looking for only that survival depends on watching for dangers.


"Wait for Riverfall." She corrects his stumble with a smile, shifting once more to release tight muscles. "I have heard of Riverfall, have heard of its Amphitheater. Will we be able to go? I know that Sharika Nightsong told me that there will be a time that Endrykas is very close and she trades with a place called The Sanctuary for medicinal herbs."

[Khida]

Fallan Windchaser

Skill	Points
Land Navigation	+1
Philosophy	+2
Planning	+1
Rhetoric	+1
Riding	+1
Socialization	+5
Teaching	+1

• Common: personal pronouns
• Navigation: orienting by sun and moon
• Riding: sharing space with loaded gear
• Taylani: adjusting well to Drykas life

Taylani

Should you return, PM me and I'll grade your posts.

Notes

I really enjoyed reading this thread and its wide-ranging subjects of conversation. It's too bad it didn't get finished, I would've liked to see more about their time away from Endrykas.

I didn't award a lot of skill points here because most of the posts focused on their conversation. I gave Philosophy and Rhetoric for the discussion of Drykas lifestyle and different 'freedoms'; the rest of the award should be pretty transparent. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade.