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Zhol took a single step forward, his long strides bringing him comfortably alongside Khara. A hand gently settled on her shoulder, in part to reassure her, in part to waylay her anxious attempt at excusing their delay. He had seen the anxiety bubbling beneath the surface of Khara's demeanour with every passing chime, slowly rising to the boil the closer they got, and the later they became. Khara and he avoided the upper castes for the most part, and it had been so long since Khara paid any real mind to his caste that it was easy to forget how cripplingly anxious she could become in their presence; but Zhol hadn't forgotten, and refused to let himself forget. There were few times when he could do anything to help in these situations, but now was one; now he could twist the Inarta castes, and use them to his advantage.
"We are late because of me," he interjected, offering a respectful bow of his head towards the Endal, and carefully avoiding Azira's gaze to spare himself from the glare that she always seemed to have on standby waiting for him. "I should have realised that Brandon might have trouble making his way to the Gates on his own. He has only been in the city for a fraction of a season, and he has been staying with Drusilla in your Aeries - she found him injured in his kelvic form, and has been nursing him back to health. Had I thought, I would have fetched him from your rooms myself, and we could have avoided this delay."
He shuffled slightly; it came off as hesitant and regretful, but in truth there was the faintest hint of annoyance underneath. "I did not want to risk anyone else -" foolishly, his mind silently added, "- striding off down the Sanikas Road alone; too many lives have been lost to this beast already to risk tempting fate in such a way. There is strength in numbers; and clearly others are inclined to agree, else they would not have intended for so many of us to work together."
Zhol paused a moment, considering the group that had been assembled. While one could certainly argue that three outsiders, an antisocial huntress, and a chronically anxious game scout sounded like a fairly expendable group of people in the eyes of the Inarta, there was more to it than that. Khara was slowly earning herself a reputation as one of the more resourceful and reliable game scouts. Zhol knew first hand just how formidable Brandon's unarmed fighting skills were, and his ability to shift forms was as useful as it was frustrating. Azira was ruthless; and she, he, and Khara had faced monstrous creatures before. True, it was a shame that Sira wasn't here with them, but Turrin had quite a formidable reputation of his own. Whether by intent or accident, their quintet of skills sets was not one to be dismissed or taken lightly.
"In any case, I consider myself responsible for these two Chiet. Any fault or blame for our tardiness belongs with me; and for it you have my sincerest apologies."
Zhol took a single step forward, his long strides bringing him comfortably alongside Khara. A hand gently settled on her shoulder, in part to reassure her, in part to waylay her anxious attempt at excusing their delay. He had seen the anxiety bubbling beneath the surface of Khara's demeanour with every passing chime, slowly rising to the boil the closer they got, and the later they became. Khara and he avoided the upper castes for the most part, and it had been so long since Khara paid any real mind to his caste that it was easy to forget how cripplingly anxious she could become in their presence; but Zhol hadn't forgotten, and refused to let himself forget. There were few times when he could do anything to help in these situations, but now was one; now he could twist the Inarta castes, and use them to his advantage.
"We are late because of me," he interjected, offering a respectful bow of his head towards the Endal, and carefully avoiding Azira's gaze to spare himself from the glare that she always seemed to have on standby waiting for him. "I should have realised that Brandon might have trouble making his way to the Gates on his own. He has only been in the city for a fraction of a season, and he has been staying with Drusilla in your Aeries - she found him injured in his kelvic form, and has been nursing him back to health. Had I thought, I would have fetched him from your rooms myself, and we could have avoided this delay."
He shuffled slightly; it came off as hesitant and regretful, but in truth there was the faintest hint of annoyance underneath. "I did not want to risk anyone else -" foolishly, his mind silently added, "- striding off down the Sanikas Road alone; too many lives have been lost to this beast already to risk tempting fate in such a way. There is strength in numbers; and clearly others are inclined to agree, else they would not have intended for so many of us to work together."
Zhol paused a moment, considering the group that had been assembled. While one could certainly argue that three outsiders, an antisocial huntress, and a chronically anxious game scout sounded like a fairly expendable group of people in the eyes of the Inarta, there was more to it than that. Khara was slowly earning herself a reputation as one of the more resourceful and reliable game scouts. Zhol knew first hand just how formidable Brandon's unarmed fighting skills were, and his ability to shift forms was as useful as it was frustrating. Azira was ruthless; and she, he, and Khara had faced monstrous creatures before. True, it was a shame that Sira wasn't here with them, but Turrin had quite a formidable reputation of his own. Whether by intent or accident, their quintet of skills sets was not one to be dismissed or taken lightly.
"In any case, I consider myself responsible for these two Chiet. Any fault or blame for our tardiness belongs with me; and for it you have my sincerest apologies."
"Pavi" | "Common" | "Nari" | "Symenos"
Dad Thoughts | Dinah Thoughts | Khara Thoughts
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This template was made by Khara, the letter Q, and the numbers 87 and 13.