Completed Counting Blessings II

Thread 3 of the Gratitude Challenge

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Syka is a new settlement of primarily humans on the east coast of Falyndar opposite of Riverfall on The Suvan Sea. [Syka Codex]

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Counting Blessings II

Postby Ines on November 29th, 2019, 4:46 am


continued from Counting Blessings
Fall 34th 519AV


"Are we going to cook the fish directly on the fire, or what?" asked Ines, genuinely curious. Fish was cooked a lot of ways, but she wasn't much of a chef and she had no idea what Indigo wanted to do. Indigo took a moment to respond, looking over the leftover sticks and picking out a thick one.

"We'll roast them on sticks angled over the fire. I'm going to put a pot on it, too, so that I can boil the water I collected from the stream earlier." With her machete, she sharpened the end to a point and speared the prepared fish through the middle. She did the same with two of the other fish and then handed Ines her own stick. "Sharpen that and you can have the rest of the fish."

"I almost thought you were going to do it for me!" the bat joked, using the same smaller knife she had borrowed from Indigo to sharpen the stick. The half-breed took her fish spear and dug the end into the dirt to keep it sturdy while it cooked over the fire.

"The whole reason you came out here is to learn. I need to be careful not to baby you," she replied, sticking her tongue out while she poured the marked waterskin into a small metal pot. Ines stuck the stick through her fish, somehow making it look as ungainly as Indigo made it look easy, and stamped the end in the dirt near to hers, forcing it deep enough that it wouldn't fall over from the weight of the fish. The air around them was humid and warm, but there was nothing like a fire to soothe the spirits. Syna was setting, too, and she was amazed at how quickly the day had gone by.

"That's true. I've already learned a lot. she smiled broadly. "I can't believe I didn't know how to collect firewood. I guess I just never needed to before." The water was heating up quickly, already simmering from where the pan was placed in the middle of the flames. Ines sat near to Indigo on the ground, watching the fish sizzle. The ranger pulled out the insect balm again, reapplying it as the sun fell and the bugs became more active. She passed it to Ines. The witch had noticed that Caiyha's mark seemed to protect her from random bug bites - mosquitos had landed on her, but they didn't try and feed as they usually would. They seemed more curious than hungry for blood.
Last edited by Ines on December 2nd, 2019, 3:38 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Counting Blessings II

Postby Ines on November 29th, 2019, 4:48 am

wc: 635


"Were the circumstances of getting that mark so gruesome and devastating as you told me? Or was there more to the story that you left out?" She asked, gesturing to the mark that climbed up the witch's forearm, the colorful mark living and breathing in a similar night-time scene as they were in.

"It wasn't just gruesome and devastating... it was beautiful, too. And so joyful. Tskannas do not give birth often. There was a great feast, right there in the graveyard, between the bones. And meeting Caiyha herself was something I'll never be able to forget. No one else in my clan met her, or even saw her, and they were more than just a little confused when I had returned to the camp with her mark on my arm." She held up her marked arm to the firelight, pointing with her other to the two Tskanna that always featured themselves, a triskelion in the mother's wrinkles. "These are the same as the ones I watched when I was marked. It's like a portal, a mirror to them. I am so thankful that I get to know they're safe."

"Counting my blessings has gotten me through many difficult times." Indigo leaned over to flip over the cooking fish. "The fish will be done soon. Petch, I should've collected some banana leaves to hold the food." Ines laughed. "I think we can use our hands just fine. We'll just have to eat one thing at a time. But what do you mean about counting your blessings?"

"Thinking of all that I have, rather than what I'm missing out on. Thinking about how wonderful it is to have Syka, where I was mostly alone before. How wonderful it is to be able to spend time with the people I love, how wonderful it is to live in the jungle and to be able to feel Caiyha's children at their fullest, and to be able to experience all that it has to offer." She waved a wide arch with her arms, the additional limbs adding a dramatic effect. "When I think about what I have, I don't have to worry about what I don't. I'm still alive, aren't I? I'm here, I'm breathing, and I get to live in the most beautiful place in all of Mizahar." Ines couldn't dispute that Falyndar was the most beautiful place, though it wasn't like she had been anywhere else. The water had been boiling for a while and Indigo moved the pot off of the flames to cool down. "Leave it at a full, bubbling boil for at least ten chimes and that'll kill anything that wants to make you sick."

"I have many blessings." Ines looked up at the stars. Leth's face had not yet graced the sky, but the multitudes of them covered the sky like a spilled pot of glitter. "Sometimes it's hard to see all of them." The fish were browned nicely, and Indigo took the skewers away from the fire to cool. "How did you end up in Syka?"

Indigo sighed. "I was never accepted, neither in Zinrah or in Taloba. My birth was a disaster the second I opened my eyes and they saw my pupils. The eyes of the people they hate. My mother was a Myrian. Dhani females can't give birth, they just lay eggs. But the men can make half-breeds. My mother left Taloba and raised me here until I was old enough to live on my own. She didn't want to kill me, but she resented me, too. As soon as she could, she left. That was maybe six years ago. I have not seen her since, nor have I ventured so close to Taloba to try. It's better that I don't come back to remind her of her mistake."
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Counting Blessings II

Postby Ines on November 29th, 2019, 4:51 am

wc: 575


"There aren't any Myrians that live in Syka. I don't think you count because you're a Kelvic, and you were pushed out in the same way I was. My Common gets used much more than my Myrian, but I was still happy that someone else came and I can speak it again. They may not accept me there, but they are a part of me, and that is something I can not change." She leaned back to look at the stars, propping herself back on four of her arms.

"I wouldn't trade my life for anything. I don't want to be someone else, and everything that's happened to me, good and bad, is why I am me. I hope you feel the same way about yourself - you're a great person, and it's not your fault that your clan couldn't see past the way you look." Ines reached a hand over and rested it on one of Indigo's. "I hope you feel the same about yourself. I like you just the way you are." Indigo grabbed Ines's hand at the end of her words.

"I am happy with myself, too. I am the best at being me. You are the best at being you. I shudder to think of anyone attempting to be you - they'd make a fool of themselves. Can you imagine?" They both laughed, the night feeling just a bit cozier. "I'm glad we have this fire, mosquitos hate the smoke and we're right next to their spawning grounds." Indigo leaned over and grabbed their fish skewers and Ines brought two mangoes from the fruit pile back to their spot. The bat pulled her first fish from the skewer. It smelled delicious and tasted better. The skin was crispy and charred in some places, and the flesh inside was soft and flaky.

"When I was younger I really liked it when I got to eat fish head soup. We didn't have fish a lot, so it was always a treat. I think I've had more fish in my two seasons in Syka than I have had the entire rest of my life." Ines devoured the first fish in a matter of chimes. It helped she hadn't eaten a lot for most of the day, and her current size made her a lot hungrier than usual. Most of what she had eaten the past few days was dried jerky and water - they hadn't hunted at all.

"We had fish a bit more often since we lived so close to the beach. A lot of pork, too. Those pigs have been there for as long as I can remember, and they're easy to kill. They were the first things I ever hunted, if that even counts." Indigo had already finished her first fish, too. She lifted up the first mango, brought it to perfection, and used her knife to cut off a large slice. She handed it to Ines. "Lots of fruit, too. There is such a large concentration of edible plants around Syka. It's because of all the ruins of Pavena. People used to live here before the Valterrian. With the World Gate here, they must've done incredible things. But it went away just like that." She snapped. "Whatever was going on here, however long it was going on, anything and everything they knew... It's gone now. Or maybe it's just in hiding. Not that it makes a difference, because it'll never be the same."
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Counting Blessings II

Postby Ines on November 29th, 2019, 4:54 am

wc: 436


The flavor of the slightly salty fish combined with the sweet flesh of the mango was incredible, and the slice of mango disappeared. "That's why it's more important to be thankful for what you have, right? It can go away so quickly. There's no pity out here." Ines started working on her second fish, having finished off the fleshy bits of the head. "There were a ton of jungle fowl around Taloba, though. Boars, too, not easy to hunt like those pigs, though. Capybaras. Tapirs. Everything is abundant."

"That's why I love the jungle. It has everything you could need. There's no pity, but you always get what you deserve. If you respect the land, the plants, and the animals, then they will provide for you. If you don't, well, there's no shortage of things that can kill a person with a swipe of its claw or a snap of its jaws. Only the strongest deserve to live here," Indigo punched a fist upwards to punctuate the word strongest, "just like you deserved that mark, more than anyone else in your clan."

"And just like you deserve your place of respect in Syka and your skill in the land. I heard you're the one who taught Randal and James and Matthias how to survive here. That's incredible. We're all so lucky to have you here with us. You've lived here on your own for longer than I've been alive. I wouldn't hesitate to say that the jungle loves you, too."

"Yeah, maybe." The two of them ate in silence for a while, finishing off the rest of the fish and finishing with swigs of the waterskin. They refilled it with the freshly boiled water. Indigo grabbed some of the leftover branches and added them to the fire. Behind the fire was the lake, and it glittered from the combined light of the flames, the stars, and Leth, who finally decided to show his face.

"Do you know any constellations?" asked Ines. She was lying back on the rock they had watched the clouds on. Indigo was cleaning her knives in the lake nearby.

"I know a couple..." She leaned over to get a look from the same angle as the bat and then pointed out a particularly bright star. "That's the Tiger Eye." She moved her finger down in a line, stopping to point at other bright stars. "And that is his body. My mother taught me to look for the Tiger Eye if I'm lost and I can see the stars. It's always south."

"I wonder how he got up there."

"Who, the tiger?"

"Yes."
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Counting Blessings II

Postby Ines on November 29th, 2019, 4:59 am

wc: 422


"Well, they say that when Navre first gifted the Myrians with their tigers, Myri's was the fiercest, with the sharpest claws and biggest fangs. On one day of battle, he was caught by a poisoned spear. Since he was so big, they had to get two Tskannas to carry him back to Taloba. For three days and nights, they tried to heal him of the poison, but it caught hold, and on the fourth day he died. Caiyha saw how Myri treated Navre's gift and put him into the sky so that she could always find him." She kept her voice quiet as she told the story, making it feel even more solemn.

"Do you think that's what really happened?" Ines said after a while, tracing the form of the tiger in the sky with her finger, too.

"Yes. Anything can happen. I once heard that there was a vampire bat raising elephants!" Ines looked at Indigo and stuck out her tongue in response. "That's crazy. That could never happen."

"It's totally true. See? You never know what can happen." Indigo stood back up, collecting her small knives so she could put them back into oiled leather sheathes. "We lazed around today, but we'll be moving a lot in the morning. It took about a day and a half to get here from Syka, but I'm hoping we can make the trip back in one."

"So we're heading back tomorrow?" She asked, sad that they'd have to leave Bala's Bowl, but excited to see the Ashta again. It was rare she took time away from them for longer than a day or two, and she was worried that she was causing undue chaos for Lars. Then again, he had gotten along without her for a long time. She still missed them, though. She had a lot to share with them.

"Yes, this season has had a lot going on. I want to make sure nothing interesting has come up while we were gone."

"Then we should get to sleep." The bat pulled herself into her hammock. "Night, Indigo." The hammocks were close enough to the fire to feel cozy, and it flickered, casting long, dancing shadows behind the trees. Adeliz had been mostly absent today. Ines could feel her, but she seemed to have been giving her some space. Figures she would feel embarrassed about the things Ines thought - she didn't like women the way she did.

"Good night, Ines. Sleep well." Called the woman in question's voice from the other hammock.

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Counting Blessings II

Postby Ines on December 3rd, 2019, 8:57 am

Ines
Experience
Skill XP Earned
Astronomy 1
Cooking 2
Land Navigation 1
Observation 4
Philosophy 2
Rhetoric 2
Socialization 3
Wilderness Survival 5


Lores
  • Cooking: Roasting fish over a fire
  • Wilderness Survival: Boiling water to sterilize it
  • Wilderness Survival: Smoke keeps mosquitos away
  • Wilderness Survival: Using the Tiger's Eye star to find your way
  • Philosophy: Counting blessings to cope with hardship
  • Astronomy: Myrian Tiger Constellation Myth
  • Astronomy: Myrian Tiger Constellation Identification
  • Indigo: Childhood in the Maw
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