Closed two birds, no stone

[Imala]

two birds, no stone / 25 winter 512 / Endrykas The ground was cold and hard. No amount of kicking at the dirt or trying to dig a hole with a stick could move the frozen earth. Of course, she wasn't really trying to dig up the dirt - she wasn't a mole. No, she was a glassbeak, standing as tall and as proud as you could in a city where everyone hated what you were. They didn't generally hate her as a person, they just hated what she could shift into. It didn't matter that she helped to put food on the table, no, they just didn't like glassbeaks, and she didn't blame them. Glassbeaks were terrifying creatures, and killed many Drykas every year. She didn't hold it against them. The ground was cold and hard, here on the outskirts of Endrykas. At least there wasn't any snow yet. Imala didn't like the snow, it was cold and wet and made her stand out. She liked blending in, even though it made little difference to how well she could hunt. She was still the fastest runner on the plains, so it didn't really matter how much she was hidden - she could catch up to them anyway. There was also a lack of Kelvic in Endrykas. Kelvic did weird things, animal things, and she liked it. It felt familiar. There was also the comfort in knowing that someone else, out there, cocked their head like a bird and preferred to sleep in a nest of blankets and furs than on a bed. She was sure there was at least one other bird Kelvic in the tent city, but she hadn't found them yet.

[Khida]

It was another cold, gray day in a cold, gray season. It was strange not to see the golden sands, the golden walls, the blue river; even in the colder months, the desert had more color than these frosty gray plains. More life, too; with the seeds mostly eaten and the temperatures dropping, the creatures which were the falcon's usual prey had started becoming more scarce. There were always corvids, of course, but she wasn't desperate enough to try after them. Not with determined intent, anyway. Khida and her partner were having to evolve new tactics, hunt prey they would never have tried for in warmer seasons; it was tiring, time-consuming, and far more prone to failure than their established methods. Today had not been one of the better days, and they had chosen to come back to the tent city when it appeared they would have no luck but bad luck. So the peregrine cruised back above the pavilions, gliding over them at a relatively lofty height with just enough wingbeats to maintain her level. He would have given her something, because failure no longer meant they had to go hungry, but she wasn't entirely happy with that. For the moment, she preferred to keep trying. Maybe there would be something in the city she could find to eat, instead; there were some small birds which attached themselves to the encampment every time it stopped. She might be able to get one of them, which would be something. Or there might be something, someone, loitering in the grasses at the outskirts of the encampment, away from humans and horses alike. Someone like her. That surprised Khida, because the only other Kelvic she had seen here was Ginchoeri -- and the blonde, though tall, was definitely not her. The peregrine banked her wings and curved her flight path around into a circle, the better to get a longer look at the woman below.

[Imala]

She only noticed the bird after it circled around her. The bird must have been looking for food, or looking for handouts - there was a noticeable lack of small prey like mice and rabbits during the winter. All of the bigger, badder predators took them because food was scarce. "Ho, bird! I have no food for you." Imala called out in Pavi. She didn't expect the bird to understand her, but she couldn't speak Avian in her human form. This bird seemed a bit...more than a bird. She couldn't identify the exact type, but it looked like a falcon, and it acted like a falcon, but something about it tipped her off. "Are you a Kelvic, dear falcon?" She spoke in Pavi again. She just naturally expected this bird, if it were a kelvic, to speak Pavi. How else would it be able to function normally in Endrykas? Either that, or a Drykan bondmate. Imala reached out to the falcon, her hand open and empty. She had no idea what she was doing, but it seemed right.

[Khida]

Said bird didn't understand Pavi, but the words were clearly directed at her -- and the outstretched hand was unmistakable. Khida continued on another circuit through the air, considering how cold it had been the last time she shifted -- but this one was another Kelvic, and she clearly had solid command of the Drykas language. The peregrine brought her wings in and dropped from the sky, aiming not for the woman's outstretched hand but for the earth a short distance away from her. Once on the ground, Khida shifted in a momentary gleam of light, dark-haired woman crouching in the falcon's place. She lifted her amber gaze to meet Imala's, head tilted slightly, blinking once as she considered the other woman. Then she rose to her feet, feeling the cold air much more acutely than she had while insulated by feathers. Khida weighed the chill for a moment, then nodded towards Imala. "Hello," she said in Common; it didn't occur to her that the other Kelvic might not be equally fluent in that language.

[Imala]

"Oh, not Pavi?" She spoke a bit slowly in Common. Imala was rusty in that language, and she rarely used it. There had been no surprise on her face when the falcon had shifted into a human. Instead, she took off her fur cloak and handed it to the girl, cold without her extra layer of fur, but not as cold as someone completely naked would be. "What is your name? I'm Imala Plainstrider." She walked up to the girl. Finally, she found another bird Kelvic. Without thinking, she hugged the girl. It was a weird, awkward gesture. She didn't often hug people, and it felt out of her nature. But, contrary to popular belief, glassbeaks could show affection, too. "How come you don't speak Pavi?"

[Khida]

Accepting the cloak from the other Kelvic, Khida settled it around her shoulders with some relief. It was no substitute for her feathers, but far better than standing entirely bare-skinned in the winter air. She started with surprise as the girl abruptly embraced her, a little stiff with surprise -- in other words, equally as awkward as the one doing the hugging. Clearly, neither of them made such gestures often. Khida looked up at Imala -- quite a ways up, really -- then shrugged her shoulders. "I'm learning." A few words at a time, anyway. "Khida," she offered in exchange for the other Kelvic's introduction. The last query, she thought about for a moment, then shrugged again. "Pavi is spoken in Endrykas. I'm not from Endrykas." Khida tipped her head, blinking over at Imala. "You are?"

[Imala]

"I was born here. Where are you from? What animal are you? I'm a glassbeak." Imala didn't notice how much she was looking down to speak to the other Kelvic - she was used to looking down to speak to people. Her common had a strong accent, and Khida also had an accent, to Imala at least. "Come to my pavilion? Maybe I have clothing for you. Do you want some? Are you hungry?" She thought about the girl's words for a second, fingering her collar. "I can help you learn Pavi."

[Khida]

"I was born in Ahnatep," Khida answered, replying to Imala's question in kind. She blinked as the other woman asked about her animal nature, mildly bemused -- Imala had seen her in falcon form, after all. "I am a falcon. The kind called peregrine," she added, on an impulse for specificity. The revelation of Imala's species didn't seem to faze her in the slightest. Khida turned towards the near edge of the encampment as Imala spoke of her pavilion, then nodded to her companion. "I will come," she affirmed. At the offer of clothing, she glanced down, considering the chill nipping at her feet. Then she shrugged. "I can wear this while we talk," the falcon Kelvic replied, tugging at the edge of the cloak to indicate it. Seeing as it was already lent to her, she didn't expect Imala to mind. Amber eyes flicked back to Imala at her final offer, and Khida dipped her head. "That would be good. I have a lot to learn."

[Imala]

"Of course." Imala walked along with Khida at her heels, keeping conversation to a minimum as they made their way to the Plainstrider pavilion. When they arrived, Imala didn't announce them - she just walked in and took her to the section she considered her room. In the corner was a pile of clothes, neatly folded. The pile hadn't really been touched since she grew out of the clothing a few seasons before, after a growth spurt, but Imala had been reluctant to dispose of them or give them to anyone else. But now, she picked up the pile and handed it to Khida. "This should fit. Too small for me. Go change." She handed her a pair of leather sandals as well, and grabbed a wool cloak, folding it on her lap to give to Khida when she came back. In the meantime, she brushed her hair, attempting to make the bits that stuck out not stick out so much.

[Khida]

Khida followed Imala into the city, and then into the pavilion which was her home. She blinked in surprise as the other Kelvic abruptly handed her a bunch of clothing, which she hadn't asked for, and directed Khida to go put it on. She looked around at the pavilion, then shrugged; if she was going to sit and be human for a while, then it was appropriate to wear human clothes. It also wasn't all that warm inside the tent. She didn't bother to go, however, having no compunctions regarding her own nakedness. Khida simply took the cloak off and put the undergarments, shirt, and trousers on. The sandals, she merely kept in hand; she didn't expect to need them -- although Imala seemed determined to surprise the falcon Kelvic with things she didn't expect. Afterwards, Khida picked the feather cloak back up and took it over to Imala. "Here is your cloak," she said as she held it out. She thought maybe that garment was the reason Imala had handed her the rest -- one could be possessive of far stranger things.