Wandering Jewel (Akarn)

[Natane Skytears]

11th Fall 512 A.V

Natane knew she shouldn’t have been wandering around by herself but she had been restless, unable to sleep. Being so close to the great moving city and all it’s strangers was making her anxious. The thought of returning home was always at the forefront of her mind but this time she was determined not to let her shyness get the better of her.
She had been in Endrykas for two days but was yet to work up the courage to make contact with anyone in the city. Her goal was to develop her skills and prove to her father that she was a worthy member of the Opal Clan and that she belonged in the Skytears Pavilion.

She also knew that she shouldn’t be sleeping out in the open grasslands, almost totally unprotected. But that didn’t worry her too much for the city of tents was in sight, and she had her sword, though still clumsy with it, and the Strider who dozed peacefully beside her masters bedroll. Although the grasslands were deadly and stupidity out here meant death, this was where she had been raised. It was home. And despite the dangers, there was no doubt a sense of great beauty in the way the plains of grass spread out across the land. Every Drykas knew the risks of living here, but that was one thing they loved about it.

The first rays of sunlight could just be seen rising over the horizon, turning the long swaying grass on the plains a beautiful golden colour. Natane pulled her cloak tighter around herself as the autumn breeze blew through the grasslands, she glanced back at her tiny camp to make sure Niabi hadn’t woken but the mare slept soundly. It wasn’t often that the Strider lay down for the night but she had and was still curled up in the grass, hopefully she wasn’t sick.

The Drykas continued her aimless journey; the ground beneath her bare feet was cold but considerably more pleasant to walk on, during the day when the earth was scorched by the sun Natane would barely be able to take a step without burning herself.
She found a soft patch of grass and sat herself down. Natane drew in a deep breath, lay back in the grass and watched the sky as it turned from deep blue to yellowy pink, the morning light chasing away the midnight stars.
There was totally silence, not even the crickets song or the birds chimes could be heard. Natane thought that strange but dismissed it.

Closing her eyes, the young girl tried to get a few moments of peace before the day began.

[Akarn]

The young Drykas warrior looked out over the golden sea of grass, Endrykas was at his back and coming to life with this morning duties and activities. The darkness from the night before was now in full retreat from the presence of the morning, it was going to be a beautiful day. Akarn had awoken early and his bow was already strung. The young man knew that he would have to range out from the city because most of the game would have either been killed in the near proximity or been smart enough to move away if they were to survive.

Akarn could hear his companion come up behind him and give a nudge in the back with his nose. "We're going, we're going." The young man said with a hint of laughter as he turned around. Maverous loved to be out on the Sea of Grass in the open plain. So did Akarn for that matter, but the Drykas male knew the dangers and sought shelter when he could. Since their arrival at the tent city, the two could ease their guard a little and relax, but today they needed to hunt and hopefully they would get more than Akarn needed so they could sell the rest to a vendor.

Within the blink of an eye, the tanned Drykas warrior swung up on to his strider and they were moving away from the cantonment of free ranging Drykas visiting the city. The duo trotted through the tall stalks of grass looking for any presence of wild game. Akarn bent low in the yvas that was equipped on his mount seeking any signs or trails. With a sigh of disappointment he sat back up straight, they would have to go out a little further from Endrykas.

Maverous stopped with a light tap from Akarn, the young man could see someone sitting in the grass. It was definitely a girl or young woman really, but what was she doing out here just sitting? Akarn's emerald eyes searched the surrounding area and noticed a camp not too far off, but there was no real activity there either. Perhaps she was injured; Akarn nudged Maverous on with haste until they were near woman. A second later he slid off of his strider to put himself on equal ground as her, so she would view him less of a threat. "Is everything ok?" he asked with concern trying to see from where he stood even though she looked fine.

[Natane Skytears]

Natane's peace was short lived for the girl was soon woken by a voice and the hoof beats of an unfamiliar Strider, she opened her eyes and was startled to see a young Drykas standing along side a beautiful dappled stallion. The boy wouldn't have been much older than herself perhaps seventeen or eighteen, his skin had an almost golden tone that many of their kind shared due to extensive exposure to the harsh sun. There was a kind look in his eye, but it was a kindness that was hard to find unless one knew what to look for. The rough life of a hunter seemed to have the ability to chase away the soft, gentle, caring emotions, leaving only the emotions fit for killing and protecting.

She scrambled clumsily to her feet, took an awkward step back muttered, “I'm fine. Just resting before I start my day...” Her eyes scanned the Drykas, trying to decipher whether or not he was a threat. She noticed the strung bow and figured that he had been hunting but he wasn't going to find anything of worth here. Too close to the moving city, surely he must have known that. If you wanted food then you had to ride far into the grasslands, a place she had rarely seen, and compete with the feral beasts that owned the land. So Natane asked with a somewhat suspicious tone, “What are you doing out here?”

[Akarn]

Akarn nodded and was glad to see his concerns were not justified. Still it was not common place for a girl of her age to be so far out from the other pavilions camped by herself. Then again the boy knew that sometimes unwarranted circumstances created unusual situations. All he had to do was look at his own life to understand that. He ran his fingers through his dark hair as he contemplated the situation. He did intrude upon her so he did at least owe her an explanation.

He cast his eyes back out across the Sea of Grass. "I am headed out a little further to see if I cannot find some game trails." He said simply. He looked back towards the young, brown haired woman. "My name is Akarn." He stated out of courtesy with a slight nod.

Perhaps that is where he should have stopped but his curiosity got the best of him. "What of you? What brings you out on this morning?" He said his eyes catching hers. Akarn had wanted to add by yourself, but he thought it best not to.

[Natane Skytears]

Natane paused before answering the young man. Unsure. Although this man seemed kind enough, he had bothered stopping to see if she was alright, he was a stranger. And she still had a strong distrust of strangers. She looked up and momentarily met the man’s gaze; she watched him push his midnight coloured hair out of his face and was suddenly reminded of Hinun. The black stallion who protected the herds of her clan. Strangely, the thought put her at ease, if the young Drykas was anything like the Strider then he was of no threat to her.

“I’m Natane” she mumbled, reminding herself to stop comparing people to horses as many thought it weird. Though of the past sixteen years of her life, fifteen of those had been spent studying the Striders of the clan. Needless to say, she preferred the animals to their riders.

She thought of the best way to answer Akarn’s question without revealing too much to the stranger, but lying was something she had never done and never planned to do.
“I have been...” Natane paused trying to decide on the right word, “training” was the one she settled on. “You see...” she continued with a little more confidence, “I wish to learn how to handle weapons, no one ever bothered to teach me”

[Akarn]

The young Drykas man raised his brows and scratched the back of his head. He had heard what the young woman, Natane, had said. Still it did not really account for why she was out here away from Endrykas and alone, but he decided not to press the brown eyed maiden about it. He could not help but find a familiarity with it all.

Memories of Litha and her pleads with their mother on how she had wanted to learn to fight came flooding back to him. He smiled for an instant remembering her and the time they had spent together training, then he glanced back at the brown hair beauty that stood before him. He could see the distrust in her eyes so he fidgeted in place trying to decide if he should just ride on or not.

Then he realized he could not go, responsibility held his feet fast and he again turned his attention directly to Natane. "I am no weapon master by any means." He stumbled for a second and added, "m'lady." Which was not just a random after thought but a piece of his mother's wisdom. He could remember her telling him, as young boy, a man can never go wrong calling a woman m'lady.

He pushed the distant memory from his mind and continued. "Training is hard enough and is even harder on your own. If you like, perhaps we could train together? " He asked simply, because honestly he knew he could use the practice too. He watched her and waited for her response.

[Natane Skytears]

There was silence as Natane thought over the man's offer. Training with someone seemed a much better idea then trying to teach herself, and hopefully spending time with this stranger would help the young girl overcome her shyness and overall inability to communicate with those she didn't know. Natane nodded slowly, “If it's no trouble for you, I would like that”

She knew very little of Akarn and so she might be considered foolish for accepting, in truth Natane had never been a very rational girl and had gotten herself mixed up in all sorts of situations over the years. Not all of them good. Although shy, the Drykas had always been incredibly curious and that was the real reason she had accepted the boy's offer of training.

Natane wanted to know what had caused such beautiful kindness in his eyes to be so diminished, was it really just hard work or was it something else? And why had he not stated his family name along with his given name? Drykas were proud and failing to mention what pavilion you hailed from was rather disrespectful. Unless he too was at 'war' with the members of his pavilion...

The girl gestured to her sorry excuse of a camp, and muttered, “All my belongings are over there, and it is about time I woke Niabi...” without walking too close to Akarn and his Strider Natane began to make her way back through the grass, she made a motion for the boy to follow, “I hope you don't mind...”

[Akarn]

Akarn watched the girl he had just met walk towards her camp and mention something about someone named Niabi. The young male Drykas cast his gaze over towards the camp and could barely make out a black Strider laying near the tent. That must be who Natane was talking about, he realized. It seemed Maverous probably realized this at the same time as his companion, because the dapple-gray stallion took his nose and nudged Akarn in the small of the back pushing him towards the girl's camp. Akarn shot a glance over his shoulder at Maverous. "Alright," he said in a hushed tone so that only the horse could hear him.

With that Akarn set off towards the camp. He followed behind Natane, absently picking at one of his thumb nails. "No, that is fine," He said responding to her. The camp was just a short distance away and the two walked in silence on the way there. Akarn had noticed the hint of a small breeze and the slight sway of the tops of the grass near the camp. It was still on track to be a nice fall day.

Once they arrived at their destination, Akarn made sure he and Maverous stayed back a bit. He looked over at the girl and wanted to engage her in conversation but he did not dare. Anything he asked her could lead to a similar question coming back at himself. He did notice though, that she did not really answer why she was out here by herself? Why she was not with her Father, Family or Pavilion? Akarn doubted it was for the same reasons as him, but that did not mean she did not have a reason. It was not any of his business, really. Perhaps two people looking to being alone could actually become friends.

The boy shrugged in contemplation of himself and then turned his attention back to Natane. "So," he said, looking to her. "Do you at least own a weapon to train with?" He wondered, not trying to insult Natane but if no one had bothered to train her then perhaps she did not have a weapon to learn with.

[Natane Skytears]

Natane found herself smiling at the boys question. “Yes” she replied, “I have a sword and a bow” then under her breath muttered, “Wouldn't have survived this long without it...”
She turned her attention to the mare that was still sound asleep, curled up in the long grass. The Drykas crouched down by her Strider and poked the horses neck, “Niabi? Time to wake up”

Niabi lifted her head and nudged Natane in the shoulder causing the girl to fall back onto the grass. It took a moment for the mare to fully awaken and she seemed unaware of the two newcomers. Natane quickly got out of the way as the Strider stood and shook herself, trying dislodge the twigs and leaves that had stuck to her fur during the night. Niabi leant down and sniffed the girl that was sitting on the ground, Natane placed a hand against the mares nose, “Hm. Morning...” she looked back at Akarn, “This is Niabi. We have been together for about three years. It was around the same time she lost her foal... I would like for her to have another one so she stops trying to adopt me...”

It was at this point that the Strider noticed the young man and the stallion, her ears flattened and she snorted. She stepped closer to examine the two, wanting to know why they were here and what they wanted.

[Akarn]

The Drykas watched the scene unfold between Natane and her Strider Niabi. It was apparent that the two shared a unique bond. Akarn stood still as the black mare approached him and his own Cyphrus Strider. He laid a reassuring hand on Maverous's gray neck to make sure that the stallion did not react protectively during the encounter. The dapple-gray Strider shook his head in an up and down motion several times in a nodding fashion in acknowledgement of the mare. Then with a short snort through its nostrils his head came to rest on Akarn's shoulder.

Akarn met the mare's gaze with softened emerald eyes. "Life can be like a void without family." He said with a pang of longing, but one that he had learned to live without these past two years. He lifted his hand slowly towards her with his palm up, so the Strider could get a good sense of him. Then he blinked away the sentimentality and looked back towards Maverous. After Akarn was reassured that he was going to behave, he stepped out between the two horses and walked over by Natane. "Well you can definitely tell she cares for you." He said knowing that even though most Drykas had a bond with their mounts, some had more. Some had a bond like he and Maverous had, unbreakable no matter what dangers life through at them.

"So, Natane, Maiden of the Sea of Grass." He said looking to her before he continued, "When shall we begin out training?" He watched her for a brief moment wondering whether or not he could convince her to move closer to Endrykas for better security. The thought was perched upon his lips but Akarn was not sure how she would react to the suggestion having just met her so he just swallowed the notion for now and awaited her answer.