The girl hissed excitement in Khida's ear, her finger jabbing into her back; the Kelvic nearly jumped in surprise. She did stop and blink over her shoulder at the quiet girl, astonishment seeping into her posture as she turned more fully around. The Kelvic had never seen or heard such engagement from the girl, not in all the time Hope had been with them.
Maybe there was a chance to fix the girl yet.
...But then the moment was gone, her animation drained, her color faded. Despondence reigned again, or at least something appearing close enough that the difference seemed immaterial to Khida; its echo weighed down the Kelvic's shoulders in turn. It was like having a bird pop out of the brush only to dive in again, tucking itself away so deep she couldn't be sure it would ever reappear, never mind be possible to catch.
She didn't want it to be gone.
What could she do to bring the girl back?
Khida had no earthly idea. But the hesitance in the girl's voice... was it the hunting that closed her down? ...the girl was taking the rabbit thing altogether too far. Not to mention, she ate the fruits of their hunts every day -- so how could it bother her? The Kelvic huffed out a frustrated breath, baffled by the conundrum of the girl before her. But she could at least offer one thing. Trap not, Khida signed, in the moment's stress falling back on what had become her most reflexive mode of communication. Look. Go to.
Slowly, hesitantly, she turned away from the girl, a fitful transition not quite like Khida's normal decisive action. She made up for it a moment later, padding forward to the burrow and gesturing come, come to the girl behind her. Careful not to step on the trail leading out from the den, Khida crouched down and signaled for Hope to do the same. "There is the burrow, and the trail coming out. You see the line in the grass?" she prompted, pointing towards the rut worn between root clumps. "Trails go to places where they forage, or to water. Water and dens are good places to find ends of trails. Then you can try and follow them to feeding and resting places."
Khida paused then, glancing towards the girl to see if she had any investment in what the Kelvic was trying to teach. "The sun will go down soon. But maybe we can follow this to water and find tracks. We can look for other trails there, too."
Maybe there was a chance to fix the girl yet.
...But then the moment was gone, her animation drained, her color faded. Despondence reigned again, or at least something appearing close enough that the difference seemed immaterial to Khida; its echo weighed down the Kelvic's shoulders in turn. It was like having a bird pop out of the brush only to dive in again, tucking itself away so deep she couldn't be sure it would ever reappear, never mind be possible to catch.
She didn't want it to be gone.
What could she do to bring the girl back?
Khida had no earthly idea. But the hesitance in the girl's voice... was it the hunting that closed her down? ...the girl was taking the rabbit thing altogether too far. Not to mention, she ate the fruits of their hunts every day -- so how could it bother her? The Kelvic huffed out a frustrated breath, baffled by the conundrum of the girl before her. But she could at least offer one thing. Trap not, Khida signed, in the moment's stress falling back on what had become her most reflexive mode of communication. Look. Go to.
Slowly, hesitantly, she turned away from the girl, a fitful transition not quite like Khida's normal decisive action. She made up for it a moment later, padding forward to the burrow and gesturing come, come to the girl behind her. Careful not to step on the trail leading out from the den, Khida crouched down and signaled for Hope to do the same. "There is the burrow, and the trail coming out. You see the line in the grass?" she prompted, pointing towards the rut worn between root clumps. "Trails go to places where they forage, or to water. Water and dens are good places to find ends of trails. Then you can try and follow them to feeding and resting places."
Khida paused then, glancing towards the girl to see if she had any investment in what the Kelvic was trying to teach. "The sun will go down soon. But maybe we can follow this to water and find tracks. We can look for other trails there, too."
Khida space Common | Pavi
other space Common | Pavi
other space Common | Pavi
