Was Feeling Fine [completed]

[Dhanya]

Endrykas was different. Pygmy couldn't think of any other way to describe it. She had never seen anything of the like, not the people or the dwellings or the intricate hair. It was a city that you could move. She found that difficult to understand, in her childhood austerity had meant towers built centures before, copper gone green, wrinkled faces and basically anything that was, well, old. Stuff that was old and didn't move.

Everything in Endrykas moved. Even the tent walls shifted a little with a strong wind. It was like the entire settlement was breathing, watching. She'd expected to feel invigorated but instead she couldn't fight the sinking feeling that she had walked in on something much bigger than her. This was not like her passing time in Syliras, which had a night life and dancing and buildings that were safe and dead around you.

Endrykas was very, very different.

Pygmy resolved to find Vanator. Perhaps she would feel better upon seeing a friendly face. Walking through the markets had seemed like a grand idea at first but the further she walked the more she realised that there didn't seem to be as many animals wandering around unattended as she'd hoped. She wasn't as inconspicuous here as she'd been in other markets or out on the plains.

Pygmy sniffed about, looking for anything that reminded her of Vanator or his horse, hoping that no one was paying too much attention to her. She still had her necklace on, perhaps she would be taken for a pet. She trotted forward, her four legs tapping out a quick and steady beat, paying no attention to what was behind her.

[Kayiri]

Another morning, same old chores. Kayiri awoke with a quiet groan, his eyes slowly opening. He slowly scanned the are surrounding his bed. It was, of course, the same as he had left it, but he found a strange solace in it. In an almost dead manner, Kayiri swung his legs over the side of the bed, rising to a sitting position, holding his head in his hands.

Another morning, more painful memories. Memories of his time alone in the Sea of Grass, memories of his childhood with his real parents...

Memories of Hex, Dachua, and Vanator. No matter how hard he tried, how much focus he put into ignoring them, they would always return to haunt him. They would surround his thoughts every damn morning, like an obsession, a drug. He shot to his feet. The only way to free himself from this was work, and that was what he planned on doing. He was soon on the floor, doing push ups, breathing simply, counting aloud in Pavi. switching to sit ups when he felt he had been sufficient. Finally, he rose to his feet again, leaving his tent. His sword was slung simply over his back, and his clothing was loose, revealing the tops of his wind marks.

Kayiri's walk was quiet and slow, but his eyes were alert, awake now from the heavily oxygenated blood pumped by his heart.

...What the hell was that? He stared at a small creature skittering by, unsure of it's origins. He watched it with his attentive gaze, but then turned back to his path, completing his morning chores. As he walked back, he sat down on the edge of a Pavillion, feet dangling over the edge, his eyes still scanning the area, his sword dangling off to the side. It was a good day, he guessed. The day after his birthday. A new year, new chances, new possibilities! Kayiri smiled slightly at the thought. Maybe he could drop his commitments here, see the world? Meet new people, see new places, come back with valuable knowledge for the people of Cyphrus. He soon lost himself in these vivid daydreams.

[Dhanya]

Horses, horses, lucerne, leather, dust, no, no, no, stew? Tasty but no. Metalwork, that was a big no. He didn't smell like the forge. The spices were a little closer but far too strong.

The wind changed and she caught it. Faint but definitely him. Actually, not quite him. Someone that had been near him, recently. Maybe not recently... but it was there, a hint of his scent. Pygmy turned on her heel and shifted into an awkward canter. As noble as goats were, they were not the most graceful runners.

She didn't want to lose the scent and already she could feel it pulling away from her. She dodged through the crowd, breathing heavily so she could get as much information as she could from the air. She spotted him. He was tall, tan and much younger than Vanator. She could ask him about the other man. She wanted Vanator to know that she had made it, all on her own.

She remembered that to talk to him, she would need to shift and if she shifted she would be naked. The Drykas didn't seem the sort to be pleased with that sort of freedom of expression.

Buggery.

Pygmy snorted and decided that if she couldn't speak to him now, maybe she could follow him and speak to him when he was alone. Better idea than none at all.

Thus it came to be that Kayiri gained a short, furry shadow. Not an entirely unnoticable one. Lookers on tended to notice when an animal was following someone around. Pygmy was not the world's most stealthy stalker.

[Kayiri]

Kayiri's eyes were to the sky as he sat there, absorbing the clouds and the bright blue of the sky. After another five good minutes, he kicked down from the side of the Pavillion, landing on his feet perfectly. His eyes once more analytically scanned the area around him...

and that small, furry creature was back, hiding in the shadows as if it was trying to stalk him. Was he imagining it? Did the thing know him? Was it coincidental? He slowly and gingerly walked over to the creature, bending down in front of it, tilting his head as he studied it's features. "What are you?" he muttered to the creature. After a good ten seconds, he clapped his hands, rose to his feet, and turned around, walking with a slight bounce in his step, oddly happy.

Finally, he made it to his tent, stopping multiple times to stare at the odd animal that was most certainly trying to hide from him. Eventually, he had just given up, consenting the creature to follow him. After all, it WAS kind of cute. It had a strange way of walking, sort of bobbling around. He wondered, personally, how such a creature had survived the harsh lands of Cyphrus. He pushed open the flaps, his hand trailing the stitched roof in a habitual move.

Quietly, he settled onto the bed at the edge of the room, unsure of what to do now that everything he had to do was done. He set about to shaving blind, a practice he commonly did, and ended up cleanly shaved a few minutes later, feeling for any uneven bits of hair. His eyes never left the flaps of the tent, as if he was expecting the creature to follow him into his home.

After another two minutes, he walked out, eventually reaching the Strider herd slightly out of Endrykas. Kayiri blew a sharp breath through his lips and fingers, and smiled as Serenity ran out to him. He hugged her neck affectionately, like the gentle giant he was, patting her flank. He entirely forgot about the creature at this point, too caught up with his beautiful mare. He whispered hushedly to her in Pavi, treating her like a family member, even. Peace was found here more often than anywhere else in the world.

[Dhanya]

Her stealthiness had failed. Turned out a man was prone to noticing when you kept ducking behind bushes so he wouldn't see you tailing him. She lived and learned. She had almost turned and run when he'd spoken to her, it had been a great relief when he stepped away instead of grabbing her or getting angry. She bleated in reply, annoyed that she couldn't speak so he'd understand her. She was a Kelvic, a proud and clever breed of person.

She could tell him later. She followed him openly, stomping along, though she was too small to make a satisfying sound. She walked around the back when he entered his tent, contemplating her next move. She wasn't sure she should just dive in, change and ask him. She was sure Jenon and her mother had told her that was a risky thing to do. She thought about it. She didn't come up with anything solid.

Kayiri walked outside and she saw her opening. She slipped under the bottom of the tent, changing into her human form and grabbing the first item of clothing she could find. It was a cloak, again. She wrapped it around her waist and tied it with the first thing that came to hand, which was a long, leather strap.

The system worked. She was decent by human standards, just about.

She ran outside, barefoot, ignoring anyone that was in her path, catching Kayiri as he reached out to hug his horse. She tapped his shoulder briskly.

"Where's Vanator? I can smell him on you." She said, now tired of all the waiting she had endured that day and impatient for an answer. "I'm looking for him, we're old friends."

A few days was old, wasn't it? Surely that would be good enough. She stared at Kayiri as if she were the one looking down, her goat-styled eyes fierce and her cheeks almost puffed. She stood with her shoulders rolled back and her chin jutting out, proud as if she had every right to be there.

[Kayiri]

"Where's Vanator? I can smell him on you," The words shook Kayiri from his trance, and he separated from his horse, taking a good two steps back as he looked at this new person. She was naked, minus... Was that his cloak? Where the hell did she find his cloak? He stared at her in a confused manner, still trying to piece together where and when she had found his cloak, and why in the hell it was her only form of clothing.

Finally, after he was stumped, he decided to respond. "You know, it's polite to introduce yourself before you go around asking for questions. Especially when you're asking them while naked, minus my cloak," he spoke in slightly accented Common, assuming she couldn't speak or understand Pavi. He continued to take in her features. She was a cute girl, attractive, even, but the latter could just be because of the promiscuous amount of skin visible in her bootlegged covering. He couldn't get over her goat-like eyes, though. They left him stumped, unable to deduce what this short-she was almost a full foot shorter than him- person was.

Could she be one of Hex's people? She had spoken of their amazing sense of smell, not to mention Hex had been able to feel vibrations in the ground. That could explain why she could smell the smell of Vanator on him. Finally, he spoke again, answering her probing question. "I do not know, miss. The last time I saw him was at least forty or fifty days ago. After that, he and I parted ways. I'm sorry I can not be of more help. Now, why don't you tell me how you knew I knew him?" The last bit was added in an accusatory fashion.

[Dhanya]

As was often her way, Pygmy honed in on the part of the conversation that affected her and ignored the rest. Her shoulders slumped and abruptly her bravado was gone, her moody expression replaced by a sad frown. She wasn't going to find Vanator here.

"Forty days ago? He might not even be here at all. I followed you for nothing." She sounded frustrated now and disappointed.

She slumped to the ground, her legs bending so she fell on her rump with them crossed. It was a controlled fall but also a dramatic one. She wore her emotions on her sleeve and everywhere else. She plucked a long piece of grass, topped with seeds, from the ground. She stuck it in her mouth. Like one of those pacifiers they gave to children, it made her feel better.

"You humans and your clothes. I'll give the cloak back, I only put it on so you wouldn't get all wowsy at me, build a bridge." She liked Vanator's better anyway.

Her petulance was reaching a peak, clearly. Even Pygmy was passingly aware of how rude she was being but in her annoyance, she hadn't begun to care yet. As with her childhood, she didn't take to being thwarted well. Kayiri could probably tell that she wasn't a very mature young woman, even if she was a thieving and adventurous one. Her behaviour was the sort that got most Drykas children whacked on the bottom and sent to bed with no dinner as well as extra chores.

"Vanator is my specialest friend, he let me ride his horse and everything."

She still hadn't said her name. At this point it wasn't entirely clear whether she was speaking to Kayiri, herself or just spitting at the wind because she hadn't gotten what she wanted. From her tone it wasn't easy to tell if she was lying or reassuring herself.

[Kayiri]

"How about you straighten up and show some respect?" Kayiri demanded, his glare oddly menacing. "I do not have time for your misbehavior or antics, so why not consider standing up straight, looking me in the eye, speaking clearly, and telling me who you are, what you are, and why in the hells you're here!" he smiled on the inside, happy with himself for being able to release his irritation like that. He folded his arms across his chest, continuing to glare in that intimidating, parental fashion.

After about five seconds of this, his annoyed posture slackened ever so slightly, his eyes losing the sharp edge of irritation and slight anger, returning to their common, gentle appearance. He sighed a resigning sigh, walking toward the woman, dropping to a knee to get to eye level. "I'm sorry I snapped like that. May you please get up and explain to me who you are and why you're here? I may be able to better help you if you do," his voice was warm and calm, inviting, even. He continued to kneel there, just staring at her in his special way. Now close enough to see that she was fairly dirty, he also resolved to wash his cloak thoroughly when he got it back from her.

"The last time I saw Vanator was near the Zith settlement of Din, in the middle of Cyphrus. He and I have not met since," he then explained. "Around the thirty-somethingith of Winter, maybe the fourty-somethingith, I can't remember the exact date," Kayiri's voice was honest, completely truthful, withholding no scrap of information from her.

[Dhanya]

Pygmy ignored him as he spoke firmly to her. He wasn't Vanator or her father. Her mother's warnings from her youth had made her feel as though she didn't have to listen when she did not want to. If she bonded with someone, she would listen to them, that was how she thought it worked for Kelvics. Natural, goat-like stubborness didn't help things. She kept chewing on the grass stalk, glaring at the ground, until Kayiri dropped down closer to her height.

He hadn't seen Vanator for ages. She stood up anyway, when requested. No point wallowing for too long.

"I'm Pygmy, I'm looking for Vanator. I told him I would, so I am." She replied. "Do you know where he lives?"

She wasn't sure she remembered what a Zith was but perhaps it didn't matter. Maybe it did. She'd have to ask Vanator, was he looking for trouble? She hadn't even asked this man who he was yet. You were supposed to do that.

"Who are you?" She asked, her tone lightening, though the inquiry remained more abrupt than it should have been.

[Kayiri]

Finally, the young woman was calming down, becoming ever so slightly more civil. A small, gentle smile crossed his features. "Kayiri of the Drykas. I live here, in the tent I'm assuming you took the cloak from. Always have. I haven't gone anywhere else, really," Kayiri explained simply, sitting down fully now. He motioned for her to do the same.

Serenity slowly strolled up beside the two, pfffing loudly, shaking her head in a wild fashion. Kayiri beamed from ear to ear. "This is Serenity the Strider," he then added, patting her flank again. "You can pet her, if you want. she's a very friendly animal," Kayiri then added. He shrugged in reply to asking where he lived. "He never mentioned what Pavillion he came from. I guess, if you really wanted, we could ask around, see what we find, find out if he's even in Endrykas right now," he suggested simply. "Pygmy..." he let the name roll over his tongue one or two times, trying to get acquainted with the foreign feel. "It's a very nice name. It fits you well," he then said with a friendly smile.

With a single movement, he removed the sword from his shoulder, letting it land on the ground with a quiet thump. He leaned back a bit, visually relaxing, enjoying that he had met a new person yet again. New people were fun, entertaining, and they most certainly helped to keep his mind off of more depressing matters.