[Sanctuary] Glyphs for the Road (Kavala)

[Leto Sunsinger]

Timestamp: Continued from here, that evening.

After having talked over dinner, Leto allowed the wine he had drank to settle a little bit, and found his way up to a work table within the living quarters above the clinic. Setting his bag down upon the ground, he took out some ink, and then some parchment that he had brought along for the journey. Rolling out the parchment upon the table, he looked down upon it, and began to think to himself about what Kavala had said. Glyphs for the road, eh? he thought as he looked towards the paper, and held the quill within his hand. I wonder if she'll join me to work on these together. The thoughts continued to roam through his mind as he sat there staring at the parchment before him, quill in hand ready to start forming glyphs on them, into a sigil.

Many thoughts roamed through his mind though before he started. Sama'el came up quite often in his thoughts, his mind always seemed to drift back to when he had his first experience summoning a memosite. The hug he had gifted Leto with in order to feel some comfort for what he was going through from a memory the memosite had taken from him. Leto still felt bad for what had happened, and that saddened him as he looked down towards the parchment he was planning on drawing a glyph upon. He hoped that Sama'el would understand that Leto truly meant no harm when he was trying to teach him the basics of Summoning. And he hoped it wouldn't have future affects upon their relationship as friends. But he also had grown to love the man, perhaps an immature love, but a love nonetheless.

On the outside he wouldn't show it, as he had to be strong for Sama'el in his journey to become Ankal of his own pavilion, but inside Leto was hurting deeply to tell Sama'el how he truly felt about him, and knew that rejection was a heavy possibility given Sama'el might not know about Leto's proclivities. He wanted to support Sama'el as much as he could, but felt like he would end up pushing the man away in the end. Hoping that wouldn't happen, Leto began to draw a focus upon the sheet of paper, his runes of the competent level. As he drew it, the varying arcs, and lines of the glyphs seemed to meld together to form the focus. Once that was completed, he looked at his work, and then began to draw the barrier glyphs in a circle around the focus, drawing them as best as he could, and taking his time in doing it. Wow, the wine had surely gotten to him, he thought, otherwise i wouldn't be thinking about Sama'el this much.

The thoughts of Sama'el's first experience in summoning a memosite came back to him once more, and he looked down towards the paper. "I'm sorry Sama'el..." he said aloud, and then continued to draw the barrier glyphs, trying to focus on them, and not let his mind drift to thinking about Sama'el. He was glad that Ronan had come with him on this journey, and to have met Kavala, whom would hopefully work on some glyphs with him, but in the end, he had truly done this journey for Sama'el, and he wondered if Sama'el would appreciate him for it. Finishing the barrier glyph, he then began to work on a trigger glyph. Thinking on it for a moment, he supposed this glyph would be for healing, so he made the glyph a vocal trigger, that one had to speak in pavi, the words 'Medicine Healing'. He figured that was obscure enough put together that one wouldn't activate it immediately by simply saying it, and most people they'd meet outside of their group probably wouldn't speak pavi...

[Kavala]

The Konti slipped into the upstairs chamber after she saw all the guests to places they could sleep comfortably. There were guest and servant chambers in the four corners of Sanctuary but the main living quarters constituted the upstairs above the clinic. It was one room that served as a common area with a work table, a sleeping chamber, dressing room, and lounge. The one solid wall was painted into the likeness of a coral reef complete with fish and anemones done by an Akvatari named Trista whom Kavala had contracted almost a year ago. Opposite of that was an almost full length balcony that overlooked the sea. It was obvious that Sanctuary was perched on a cliff almost two hundred feet above the beach. Not unlike Riverfall itself, the structure loomed up on the cliff that seemed to line the entire Cyphrus coastline. It looked like the Sea of Grass broke like a wave into a narrow line of timber at the edge of the Suvan and then fell off into the sea.

Kavala loved living here. She loved sleeping where she could hear the waves crashing and leave the windows open to circulate the salt air. She loved working where she was trained to relax. It made things easier.

And she loved company, even if the company was troubled.

Leto was a quiet person, but there was something about his eyes that made him almost feel sad or tragic to Kavala's way of thinking. In many ways, she wondered if it wasn't simply pain recognizing pain. The konti moved up the stairway and slipped into a seat across from him, a tray in her hands. She removed ink, pens, parchment, and a pitcher of winter ale that was both spiced and seasoned blood red with the berries it was made from.

She poured both of them ale, then pulled forth a piece of parchment and uncapped ink. Dipping a quill into the ink, she studied Leto and then looked thoughtful.

"Glyphs for the road...." Her voice trailed off then picked back up again. "I'll need to think of anything that you guys might run into between here and Avanthal. Let's see... Frostbite, Bruising, Wounds, Broken ribs and other bones, infections both minor and major, sprains, born ligaments and tendons - all this for either you and your mounts in double and triple." She said softly. It was a lot of glyphs.

Then abruptly she looked thoughtful, studied him, and asked carefully. "You seem so sad, as if you are worried, won't you tell me why? Is it the trip or something else..."

[Leto Sunsinger]

As Kavala came in, and sat down across from him, setting her tray down, Leto looked up from what he was currently working on. Seeing her he smiled, and said, "Thank you..." when she poured him some of the winter ale. Taking a drink of it, and savoring the flavor, he began to draw more of the trigger to the rune, but stopped again when she began to speak about what they might need for the road to Avanthal. "Have you ever been to Avanthal?" Leto asked, looking towards her, truthfully wondering if she had been there or not in her lifetime. "I mean, You seem more well traveled than myself, so I suspect you might have been there, or at least in the area we're going to... I don't mean to pry though," he said looking towards her, his eyes still having a sad look to them even though his mind had drifted slightly away from the thoughts on Sama'el to the glyphs he'd be working with, with Kavala.

"I've personally never been this far out of Endrykas, especially after the accident or incident, whichever you'd prefer to call it, that happened when I was younger..." he then said, looking back down to his glyph. She spoke of various types of wounds, and he looked back up towards her and asked, "Healing magic can heal any wounds, or does it have to be specified for different types of injuries? I don't know much about healing magic, or how it is utilized. Our friend Denen is good with medicine and herbology, but as for actual healing magic, i'm unsure of how it works in conjunctions with glyphs. I've created a basic glyph thus far to release a healing spell upon vocal command, though I haven't yet finished the trigger... so if it needs to be more specific as to the type of injury, let me know... I've only worked with Reimancers and Summoners in glyphing before..." He finished, but didn't specify that he himself was a summoner, as he was afraid of judgement considering Summoning could be a dangerous craft, and was banned from certain cities even, or so he had heard before.

As to what he was sad about, he didn't say at first, but finally decided as the winter ale seemed to be having a good effect on him, to allow some insight as to what he certainly was worried about. "You see, i'm pretty much Sama'el's teacher in the way of glyphs... and i've been working with him on learning to use a quill, and write the various glyphs that wizards create, having him work on his own to improve his skill set with the glyphs he's created. But... I want to be more than a teacher, as I consider myself such, or can be considered such... I want to be a friend, someone Sama'el can stand by, laugh with, and even learn to love... I don't know how much help i'll be with him on this journey, but I want to help him as much as possible. And your idea of creating healing glyphs for the road most certainly will assist the journey to Avanthal..." he finished, looking towards her, thankful that she had brought it up as an idea.

"But i've perhaps grown too close to Sama'el, whereas he has not grown as close to me as i've grown to him... if that makes any sense. I feel more than I should feel for him, and it pains me a bit to not see him growing that close to me, or even seeing it, I should say. I mean to say, that i'll stand by him no matter what. As a friend, as a teacher... but I am feeling emotions that perhaps I shouldn't feel towards him... An attraction of sorts. I've never felt this way about women, so my pavilion seems to be cursed that i'll be the last of it, as my uncle and aunt were unable to have children, and my uncle had never fallen in love with any women other than my one aunt... so it seems i'll be the end of my pavilion's line, even though one is supposed to take wives, I just have no attraction to them," he said, with a heavy sigh.

There, he had let it out to someone else. Up until then, only his aunt and uncle had known of his celibacy and unattraction to women, but now Kavala knew. Leto would be the end of his line, and it wasn't his fault, it was how he was born, his personality, and not something he really had any control over or could change. In Drykas society, he was an evolutionary dead end...

[Kavala]

NoteI'm incredibly sorry for the delay. Your wonderful post deserved next minute response.

Kavala offered him a soft sad smile. "No, I've never been to the City of Auroras. I've only traveled from the Sea of Grass to Mura and back. That trip didn't work out so well for me depending upon how you look at things. Every Konti feels a call to the White Isle if she was not born there. But I found it strange beyond measure and I felt like an outsider. The Sea of Grass was so much more comforting. Here is even better, tucked safely between it and the Suvan itself." Kavala said, sipping her own ale and glancing curiously at what Leto was doing. She studied him discretely without trying to be rude, curious of who he was and what he meant to the group he ran with.

She raised an eyebrow as he mentioned 'The Incident or Accident." She asked the question "What was that...?" with her eyes but did not vocalize her request. Kavala knew people had boundaries and she didn't want to cross one with Leto.

"You can charge them for blanket healing, but its better to create glyphs for all sorts of things that are specific. The divine magic just seems to work better if you are concentrating on wounds for wound healing, disease for disease healing, and that sort of thing. Blown tendons from slugging through snow for example won't heal very quickly if you are just unleashing healing in general on the horse or man. Concentrate on the tendon that hurts and it heals immediately. It might mean the difference between life or death." Kavala said, knowing Leto being from the Sea of Grass knew the ability to RUN was critical to survival.

"I'd make glyphs specific and just use the keyword for the injury ... such as 'frostbite' to release the glyph charge to heal frostbite. That way it won't trigger and get wasted unless they are using the right glyph. I've ran across a lot of people that can't read labels. I can sit here and charge as many as you can write up... or we can work together. Gnosis makes it nice not to overgive." Kavala said, grabbing parchment and making a list. She'd show it to Leto to add too it when she was done.

Broken Bones
Muscle Damage/Strain
Frostbite
Sprains
Wounds
Windburns
Bruising
Rash
Sterilization

"Sometimes I wish I'd never left Endrykas. I love the Sea of Grass for all its dangers. But you should enjoy the journey to Avanthal. It will be an eye opener and hopefully you can bring back something with you, if even just a contentment and reinforcement, that you are in the right place." Kavala said wistfully. She smiled at him then, and began pulling something else out of the basket. It was a hide skin that had a glyph design cut out of it, painstakingly, almost like a stencil. She laid it over a fresh parchment and then carefully opened a bottle of paint and took a brush and began 'stenciling' a basic glyph on the fresh parchment. It took her seconds before she was setting it aside and doing another.

She was self taught, so it might have been sacrilege to another mage, but Kavala knew the intent was there and if they were going to make simple charged glyphs like the children of old in the mage schools of the pre-valterrian did, she didn't want to make a production out of something that should have been childsplay.

Kavala was absolutely silent as she worked, her eyes on her stencil though Leto could tell her absolute attention was focused on him. She blinked and swallowed slowly and kept moving less and less efficiently as his words sank in.

"It seems to me Sama'el is a very lucky man. He's surrounded by loyalty and love, even if he doesn't see it or return it. I think friendship is one of the greatest gifts a person can give another. It's just really hard to deal with it when your heart wants to give more... so much more." The Drykas had no words for gays or lesbians though the Akalak did. "You are "Sevatal". It's a word in Tukant that is not meant to label but is meant to reflect one that has no status by choice and birth. The Sevatal are honored here. They do not perpetuate the race, but they do protect those that do so and that makes them equally important. Even better than that, they are trusted around women and especially the Nakivak such as myself. It is a shame the Drykas have no words in Pavi for such things. I love my people, Leto, but sometimes they are narrow minded. Some of the best teachers here are Sevatal." Kavala said softly, looking thoughtful.

"But do not worry for your bloodline. Thousands if not millions have died out in the course of history and your humans have still remained strong. Your legacy can be your wisdom and how you live your life, Leto. I think that is far more important than how many children you sire on women you do not find attractive, if such a thing is even possible." She said softly, suddenly laying aside her paint brush and touching his shoulder in a sign of respect.

In Drykas society, Leto was already dead to the Pavilions. But he didn't need to be.

"Leto, even if you love him and he has no feelings for you, you should not stop looking for someone who can love you the way you love. You deserve that inherently. And it is true that Sama'el will need little ones to populate his Pavilion, but that is not to say just because they don't spring from your loins you cannot contribute children. I've lived on the Sea of Grass. I know how it is. Take children in when you can for orphans are frequently made. Just because you sire none, doesn't mean you can't raise any. Children would help Sama'el grow a population for his Pavilion. Teach them skills. Pass on your knowledge. Show him love in this way if you cannot love him in another due to his own feelings." She said softly, her fingers still working on the wet glyphs she was stenciling.

Love was a painful thing in Kavala's experience. Every time someone took her contract they ended up breaking her heart. For her own sake she fell in love with them each and every time. A Nakivak almost had too to make what they did acceptable. But after Hatot and Radis had left she'd been broken. And now her relationship with Cugacon was so tentative at best. She wanted to love him too, and did, but wasn't sure he'd be at her side like she wanted.

"All I want in life is to be loved like you love Sama'el. I want it to be by someone who will always be around for me. He's very lucky, Leto. I just hope he knows it." Kavala said in her soft thoughtful voice.

[Leto Sunsinger]

OOCSorry for the lateness in this, School has been keeping my fairly busy, but i'll try to post more regularly >.<

When she explained to him how healing gnosis worked, a brief smile crossed his face, and he nodded as she passed the sheet of parchment over to him with the names of all of the ailments that they might very well run into on the road. Silently working as she spoke to him, his eyes drifting up towards her every so often in order to take in all that she was saying, as well as create the triggers needed for the various glyphs, starting out with the 'Broken Bones', he wrote in the trigger, making it a vocalized trigger so that one mearly had to hold the Glyph towards the broken bone and speak the words "Broken Bones", to activate the glyph, he heard what she said about the Sevatal. Perhaps it was good that he was learning a word from another language to describe himself. It made him feel happy inside that even though the Drykas didn't have a word for it, there was still a word in another language that could describe him, give him purpose it seemed.

As she touched his shoulder, his soft smile expanded a bit, happy to have her support in this. Her words were kind, and he was glad that she was able to comfort and let him know that he was not alone, that he could do so much more and was capable of so much more. He would not speak anymore about the 'Incident' or 'Accident' as that was something far too personal, that he had only accidentally allowed Sama'el to know about, given he had summoned the memosite and it gave Sama'el a memory that Leto had just previously given it. Tricky little stones, those things happened to be, and Leto knew it. Finally Kavala said words that just lit up Leto's heart, and he felt it was time to reply to her, to respond in kind.

"Love is a difficult thing..." he started off, as his obsidian hued eyes looked up from his work towards Kavala. "I know that I love Sama'el, and in loving him, I know it might never be returned... but you're right. I can still help his pavilion out with my wisdom and knowledge of glyphing, among other things, webbing as well. I can adopt, and raise children as you say, though I might not make the best parent, i'm sure it will take time to learn how to properly raise children... everyone makes mistakes, and that's how we learn and grow." As he spoke, his voice cracked a bit, remembering how his parents had raised him until their deaths, and then his Aunt and Uncle took over that responsibility. They had all made mistakes, but Leto had grown up to be a good soul eitherway. Perhaps it was just inherent within him. "I like that word you said, Sevatal," he then said, working to pronounce it correctly as Kavala had just pronounced it.

"It gives me purpose, and I will take that purpose and do what I should be doing with it. Teaching, instructing... these are things I enjoy doing, and will hopefully be able to be a good teacher to Sama'el's children when he has them... That will be how i'll show my love to him, and even if it isn't returned how I want it to be, that will be okay, because at least he'll know that I care enough to be a good person to him and his children and wives... It's all I can do, and i'll do it to the best of my ability," he stated firmly, affirming to himself that he'd do it, and that Kavala's idea was a good one, one that he'd certainly take to heart.

Continuing to work on the next glyph after creating about two to three broken bone ones, he would start on the glyphs for muscle damage and strains, simply labeling them as 'Strains' in the vocal trigger, so that the glyph would be activated when directed towards the muscles that were strained or injured. He was glad that Kavala could use her gnosis to put in healing magic without overgiving, and Leto had brought quite a bit of parchment with him on his journey, so he was sure he'd be able to make quite a few glyphs for their journey, along with the ones that Kavala was creating as well...

[Kavala]

Kavala watched Leto work, keeping her own hands busy as well. She crafted baseline glyphs after baseline glyphs laying them out for Leto to trigger how he wished in Pavi. She finally reached the end of what she thought was a decent amount and carefully washed her stenciling brush and returned her ink to its airtight container. Once that was done, she set aside the supplies and picked up the first of his glyphs, the ones that were well and dry, and slowly began to charge them, tapping into her gnosis and pouring power into the diagrams, locking it away for future use. Each trigger she read carefully before she tapped, pulling just the right variety of divine magic from her mark to fill he symbols, charging them with power.

She worked without speaking for a time, sensing Leto perhaps needed her to back off for a bit. After all he hadn't been forthcoming with the incident he'd mentioned. Its not that she needed to know, it was more that she was curious and strife tended to reveal character far better than pleasant discourse across a table dedicated to a mutual action. So Leto loved Sama'el. Is that why he rode with him? Is that why he fought beside him and sought to protect him? Leto was the sort that was invaluable to a Pavilion. But it was Kavala's experience that such weapons were crafted through life, not made. And something in her, perhaps the Crescent aspect of her personality, realized that Leto for all his mild manners and guarded ways, was as dangerous as they came.

She charged another glyph and then set it aside on the 'finished pile' having added her Rak'keli gnosis to the broken bone glyph. "Leto, tell me something. Besides all that you've planned and your glyphing, what else is it that you do? If you are like other Drykas, you most likley are absolutely multifaceted with your stengths. Surely glyphing isn't all your good at. Are there other interests you have?" She asked, curiously, pressing a little though not in way he'd most likely back down from.

.

[Leto Sunsinger]

As Kavala would pass the glyphs to him, he'd write the triggers in a written form of Pavi, one that anyone who knew how Pavi was written in common would be able to read. That would make it easier for them to be able to trigger the effects without having to guess which ones happened to be which. Once the few that he worked on triggering, the "strains" ones were done, Leto would move onto frostbite, triggering a few sheets of premade glyphs that Kavala had created, and then passing them to her once she had properly charged the next set with her gnosis.

As she finished asking the question, he nodded politely, and said, "I was initiated into the web when I was about ten years of age... My parents wished that I become proficient in it, so that I could work to help create webs around our pavillion. Aside from that, I also took up the art of summoning, mostly memosites from the lower world of Swalden... I learned it when I was about sixteen years old, from a wizard passing through Endrykas. He showed me the basics of summoning the memosites, and said that I could gather information by trading memories with them. They are just little white stones that come from the ring around Swalden. But they hold great potential to anyone whom summons them, and knows what memories to search for, whilst trading their own in return for the memosite's knowledge..."

Once he finished speaking, taking a brief pause to write a few more triggers out, going down the list that Kavala had given him, he then said, "You see, the Memosites have taken knowledge from wizards and passed that knowledge on to other wizards for countless years. So there's an immense amount of knowledge out there that one could merely grasp, so long as they have their own memories to trade for it. I feel that learning from the memosites about other worlds, not just our own, can help me expand my horizons a bit, and come out of my shell even more."

Continuing to finish the triggers for their glyphs while Kavala charged them with her gnosis, Leto was careful not to make many mistakes. He was able to draw glyphs at an average speed, just right for a competent glypher, so it was a few minutes between each trigger that he put down upon the glyphs. "I also have picked up learning how to utilize the glaive... a polearm type weapon. Figure it's time to teach myself how to defend myself, rather than let myself be weak for the remainder of my days, however long they might be," he finished, and then allowed Kavala a time to speak, so that she might continue the conversation they were having. It was good to learn how to socialize better, and Leto, only having come out of his shell to Sama'el and Denen, was happy there was someone else that he could speak with about things, someone who wouldn't judge him too harshly for his ineptness.

[Kavala]

She nodded, listening closely as she repeatedly tapped her gnosis mark and poured the healing power into the djed cage that held it steady until it was needed. Kavala's hair slipped forward, off her shoulder and ran through fresh ink on one of the glyphs. She had to take the time to redo the design carefully repairing the damage the impromptu hair brush had caused. Then she continued, glancing up at Leto periodically.

"I know nothing of Summoning. It seems so strange that creatures from so far from us know so much about us. And that they remember. That seems incredible. Do you send them back to their homes? I mean, being something like that, I would love to have new experiences but I would also be very sad to be pulled from all that I knew without the possibility of returning home." She added, looking thoughtful. Passing more glyphs to him, she picked up one of the last and charged it for fevers - reducing them - as she carefully concentrated trying to poor as much djed into one place as she could.

"Maybe I shouldn't assign them human traits. I should know better being a Konti among humans. But I cannot help it. Sentient creatures, I think, share universal concerns. I feel a little like I can relate to your memosites, though. I grew up out of place on the Grass. I was Drykas, but I was not. I won't ever truly be Drykas, no matter what my heart and mind says because so many of the Drykas can't see past the white of one's skin or scales and webbing where there should be none. I would not want to live away from my home and yet my home rejects me." She glanced at Leto and smiled slightly.

"I'm glad you have so many other skills, and ambitions for more. You'll be invaluable for Sama'el then." She said, studying him discretely... quietly. "I couldn't do it though. I couldn't love someone like you do and not have it returned. Even if it was returned, I mean not be able to be with them. It would break my heart. I couldn't quietly abide by it. I've given too much to too many to not at least demand something back. It sounds selfish, I know, but its the truth. I want to tell you not to be a martyr and not to quietly love from afar, but its your life. You are not me. And I admire you Leto... I really do. Because you have that kind of quiet courage where I have none at all." She said softly and handed him the last glyph. She looked around the table then, wondering what was next. Should she pack some medicines? Make some potions?

Kavala glanced at Leto and waited.

[Leto Sunsinger]

"Honestly... and don't quote me on this, as i'm not super knowledgeable about the memosites, I have only summoned them a few times with my former teacher, as well as with Sama'el. But, I wouldn't necessarily call them sentient... more just memory holders, or a storage area for a wizard's memories. They might be sentient in the fashion that if you withhold a memory from them, they do remember that, and won't give you any more memories as well as will inform other memosites not to do the same... so perhaps you could call them sentient in that way," stated Leto as he finished a few more glyph triggers sending them back towards Kavala to finish placing her gnosis mark within them. "And yes, I do send them back to their home in Swalden... you see, I think they take the simple pleasure of being given the memories, and that is enough for them... Memosites may be sentient in the fashion I previously explained, but they are also very very simple creatures," he said then, a slight smile crossed his face. Listening to the remainder of what Kavala had to say, about him and Sama'el, he nodded, a bit saddened by the revelation that Sama'el might never love him back the way that Leto loved him, but not allowing it to damper the night. Retaining his slight grin, he went on to say, "Well... I'm sure it will be hard, Kavala... but I just have to keep remembering that what I'm doing is good for the pavilion, teaching, even if I cannot reproduce, I can at least pass on my knowledge to those who desperately need it. I do what I can, and even if it is not enough, it is still something..." As she passed the last glyph towards him, Leto pilled them in a stack, and set them aside, finally finished with the glyphing they had completed. "So... what are some of your other skills? You say you have the heart and mind of a Drykas, and just from what i've seen of you, I can see that you're fairly talented in many different ways, and that makes you more drykas than anyone. Even if other Drykas can't see past the whiteness of your skin, I most certainly can. Is there anything else you might be able to help provide us on our journey north?" he then asked, wondering what else she could help with that he could possibly assist her in doing, so that they might further help themselves on the journey north with Sama'el...

[Kavala]

She could see that he thought she was talking about him and Sama'el, but she was not. She was talking about herself and Ronan. Kavala didn't correct him though. There was no use in bringing her problems into the conversation, even though there were so many parallels to his life and hers. Kavala would even call Leto a kindred spirit, though the Drykas might not recognize it.

"I'm glad you send them home." She said quietly, making mental notes about the creatures. "Everyone needs a home to return to, no matter how far they wander." Kavala said softly.

"My other talents?" She chuckled. "Medicine would be my best. I'll send other things with you. Balms for your lips against the cold, some things that will help against frostbite, and I'm a good hand at Earth Reimancy. I can cook a little so we can make some trail rations if you'd like. But in terms of things that would help you... I'm not sure. I'm good at finding things. I just need small things from someone living and I can find them... a strand of hair, a bit of blood. That sort of thing. I can see into the past, but then again most Konti can. Then I know most of the standard Drykas stuff... Webbing, a great deal about Horses and Animal Husbandry, weapons... things like that. Nothing that would stop me from being first wife material if I weren't Konti." Kavala said, looking thoughtful.

She shook her head again, almost as if to derail her own thoughts.

"Sorry... nothing really that I can do beyond this to help you on your journey if that's what your looking for. Food, medicine, healing glyphs for instant help." Was that not enough? She looked thoughtful for a moment, almost irritated. She knew Leto didn't mean it like that, that the help she offered already wasn't enough, but it was a typical thing for a Drykas male to say to a female. What more can you offer? What more do you have to give? What more indeed? The time was rapidly coming for Kavala, and she knew it, where she could honestly say she had nothing more to offer. And the time was coming terribly quickly where she was going to say that she had nothing more she WANTED to offer. The Grass had rejected her, well perhaps not the grass, but the men of it. And Riverfall, her home now, had been nothing but welcoming.

Kavala looked at Leto then, almost expectantly, wondering if he would elaborate on his request.