A Reunion Too Long Delayed [Kashik, Kavala, Akela]

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Built into the cliffs overlooking the Suvan Sea, Riverfall resides on the edge of grasslands of Cyphrus where the Bluevein River plunges off the plain and cascades down to the inland sea below. Home of the Akalak, Riverfall is a self-supporting city populated by devoted warriors. [Riverfall Codex]

A Reunion Too Long Delayed [Kashik, Kavala, Akela]

Postby Vanator on June 21st, 2010, 1:31 pm

Timestamp 14th Day of Summer, 510 AV
Location: Riverfall- Sanctuary
Purpose: Reunion with Kavala
Status: Private, Tag Kashik ,Kavala and Akela


Vanator had let Kashik take a slight lead as they moved through the Akalak city, their Striders trailing faithfully behind. Van's head spun constantly, finding himself immersed in a place totally foreign to him. Buildings and streets and alien residents all caught his attention, and he gawked at it all like it was a folktale come to life.

Passing by giant halls and temples, Vanator followed Kashik out of the city by a back gate. The he could see Sanctuary's low buildings perched on the cliff overlooking the sea. The Drykas' heart soared, the sight was so amazing, as if the grasslands just fell off of the face of the world. A stiff breeze swept in from the sea, stirring the Drykas' sweat-soaked manes and twisting Van's banded braids. He had only been near the sea once, and it wasn't anything like this.

Van's eyes set on the compound ahead, knowing Kavala was there. A slight flutter arose in his stomach. Over two years had passed since she had left. Over the seasons, so much had happened, to both of them it seems. And here he was, showing up on her doorstep with a new wife. What had been excitement for so long turned to anxiety. What was Kav like now? Had she changed? What would she think of him? He reflected on what Kashik had told him of her encounter with his sister. The brother's anxiousness grew.

As the Drykas couple drew closer, Van could see a large open gate. This was it. His heart pounded and his gut churned. He wanted to see his sisters so badly. But he hesitated for a moment. The Drykas looked to Kashik, took comfort from her understanding gaze. "So....this is it?"
Last edited by Vanator on June 22nd, 2010, 6:17 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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A Reunion Too Long Delayed [Kashik, Kavala]

Postby Kashik on June 22nd, 2010, 1:36 pm

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Kashik watched her husband staring around him in wonder, and remembered how she'd reacted her first time in Riverfall. And so she simply pointed out some of the structures and named them, leading them through the upper tier of the city and towards the cliffs that housed Kavala's home.

She sensed his hesitation, though, and knew why he felt it. "Yes," she said softly, stepping up beside him to stare over at the sprawling little compound. "This is Sanctuary. The living quarters are there," she said, pointing the way, "but I think she's usually outside."

She tilted her head back to meet his gaze, her eyes full of sympathy. "I can take the horses in if you'd like a few chimes to yourselves," she offered, "or I can stay with you. Whatever's best for you, my love."
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A Reunion Too Long Delayed [Kashik, Kavala, Akela]

Postby Vanator on June 22nd, 2010, 6:57 pm

Vanator met Kashik's gaze, his face softening with a smile. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go in by myself first." He leaned over to kiss her, touched her shoulder in reassurance.

He stripped the armor from his torso and the sweaty tunic underneath, stashing them with his gear and donning a clean, sleeveless tunic. Then the Drykas nodded to Backlash to follow Kashik. Van noted that he would have to introduce his sisters to his new Strider.

Sucking in a lungfull of sea air, Van strode through Sanctuary's horse gate into the large interior holding the arena and riding pen. His eyes scanned the area for signs of anyone. He grinned at the aroma of horse and manure, the smell of home to the horseclans. As he surveyed Sanctuary, he felt a tug of pride in Kavala. It seemed she had done alright for herself. Still...the flutter in his gut remained.
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A Reunion Too Long Delayed [Kashik, Kavala, Akela]

Postby Kavala on June 22nd, 2010, 7:37 pm

ImageKavala sighed. Trying to reason with Akela was like trying to reason with a brick wall. Her sisters stubbornness washed over her like the heat wave that was currently locking Riverfall into a sweltering slow cooker. The fact that Akela had dragged out her Katana and was sharpening it in plain view didn't help. "No! Just no, Akela! You are starting to sound as bloodthirsty as Mao. We aren't putting him down. I know you haven't killed anything for at least five minutes, but by all that's holy, its a foal!" Sure, it was a late summer foal, and one that was born with horrible constricted front tendons - but it was one of Sivak's get and if the condition proved to be one that straightened itself out with time, the animal would be beyond valuable. And the problem was that Akela, being older, constantly had her sister guessing whenever she was teasing or serious. Kavala simply didn't know. Nor did the "I want....." seem to work with her sister's Ranuri. The older sister, her slave, seemed to simply pick and choose willy nilly what she wanted to mirror in terms of Kavala's wishes. Akela was frustrating. Incredibly so... and Kavala knew Akela enjoyed every minute of it.

"If we were on the grass, I'd understand it. But we're here. He has time to straighten out." The konti argued, apparently with another Konti that looked almost identical to herself. The foal in question was a beautiful dark rich chocolate palomino with bright spiky whiteblond mane and a tiny brushmop of whiteblond tail. He looked perfect in every way except one - he was standing on the tips of his front hooves, as if his little hooves couldn't flatten out and hold his weight. It was a lot like a dancer wearing sheepskin stuffed toe shoes balancing on point. It looked uncomfortable and terribly painful.

And Kavala looked terribly frustrated. She never won arguments with her sister, and she hated that. Akela's wit beat her reason almost every time.

She was hard at work in the smaller round pen where she had the foals' mother cinched up tightly to a rail under the cover of a makeshift awning that provided some shade from the brutal heat. Dressed in her usual boyish garb - leather pants, soft boots, sleeveless tunic, the black coloring of the clothing looked severe on Kavala, though her hair caught up in a sloppy ponytail did a great deal to soften the look. She was also slightly sunburnt - a condition an evening swim with Dyrid or one of the others would cure.

A portable table was in place filled with a mixing bowl, a mortar and pestle, and several bunches of herbs and jars of cream. The healer was mixing something up on the large bowl - something that had a tangy salve scent to it that reminded one of peppermint and an herb called musclefree that looseness tough stiff muscles. Once mixed, Kavala was slathering the substance on the colts tendons liberally, massaging the mixture deep into the tissue in hopes of aiding the deconstriction of the long ligaments and tendons there. Once done with that, she began to wrap them, first with cloth that would not soak up the salve because it had been treated in oil then dried over many many days. Then, a second layer of flexible cotton was applied over the top of that, securely holding the oilcloth in place.

Kavala heard the gate open and the visitors arrive, but she was absorbed in her task. A cursory glance caused her to note the horses, and no glint of steel, so she gave them no more attention than that. Akela could make herself useful and greet the visitors if she wanted too properly. Otherwise, Kavala simply called out. "Just a moment... let us finish up here and we'll be right there to help you." She said without looking up.



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  • Kavala a Master Teacher. Students she is teaching in thread can earn more than the maxium 5 XP per thread.
  • This pc has a Konti Gift of Animal Empathy. She has a superpower from a Riverfall city event that allows animals of all sorts and Kelvics (in kelvic form) to speak clear understandable Common around her.
  • Kavala is a Konti but was raised in the Drykas culture so her accent is entirely Pavi though she can speak Common, Pavi, and Tukant well. She's only conversational in Kontinese.
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A Reunion Too Long Delayed [Kashik, Kavala, Akela]

Postby Akela on June 23rd, 2010, 9:01 pm

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Akela just shook her head and kept sharpening the blade. There was something religious about the way an artist of the blade took care of their instrument. While sister light poured every effort in saving a foal's life, sister dark was making sure she was ready to take lives within a moment's notice. That did not prevent the Konti from reiterating her side of the argument.

"But we are still on the Grass, Kav," she countered, "you should know that better than anyone. Don't take your standing here for granted. Not while we live on the land of blue guys who think we're only good for popping out more blue guys and making them sammiches." She gave Kavala a thoughtful look and adjusted her aim. "And sammiches are out of the question for you." The girl shrugged, actually about as frustrated as her sister. Akela felt a burning desire to protect Kavala, but sometimes it seemed like Kavala herself was the one who didn't want to be safe. she didn't take precautions that would make her life easier, and exposed herself to risks she could have avoided. The foal was just a minor but enlightening example.

"Suppose your deal doesn't turn out the way they want, cause you know, it's not exactly something you can bake on demand. Suppose it's a little white Kavala instead of a big blue Hatot. Then all you've left is your reputation as a breeder. Elders come and go, and if you don't..." she stopped and made a wide gesture indicating she was done arguing. It took a single male seeing this foal and the rumor might spread around Riverfall that the Konti was breeding cripples. And it wouldn't even matter if it was true or not. Obviously her sister was ready to take the risk. Petchtastic.

She mumbled something unintelligible and was off to greet the visitors. Awful timing, too. They couldn't even hide the beast somewhere to keep it from being seen. "just a moment!" she called out, "I will be there in a second. I  was busy pretending to be useful."

She looked at the figure standing by the gates and frowned at how familiar it looked. Then it hit her. "Whoa," she said, and tapped her sister on the shoulder. "Good news and bad news. Bad news, it's not a paying customer. Good news, it's our brother." She had to wonder, though, if it was really good news to have Vanator here. She approached him, katana still in hand, and sized him up slowly. He looked older, truth told. His humanity showed in the way his appearance and theirs were starting to diverge.

She stayed silent, struggling for words and letting Kavala make the first move. Many things had changed, but Akela was definitely the one who'd changed the most. When all was said and done, the man in front of her looked like an afterimage from a blurry past.

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A Reunion Too Long Delayed [Kashik, Kavala, Akela]

Postby Kashik on June 24th, 2010, 2:52 am

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Kashik nodded and leaned forward a little as Van kissed her, taking one last moment's strength from him. It was enough - it'd have to be enough. She'd make it enough. He had a fight ahead of him, one that (hopefully) wouldn't involve fists or blades, and she had to let him do what he would. He was the head of her family, new though it was, and she would do him no favors by trying to help him make these decisions. No, she could simply comfort him when he was done, and reassure him that she would be by his side no matter what happened.

So she simply patted Hiloha's nose and smiled to Backlash, bowing a little in respect to the gift of Vanator trusting her with the Strider's care. And then she carefully slipped the lot of them through the gate and left Vanator to deal with them, heading over to the enclosed area where she'd last set Hiloha to rest when she was here.

"I'm fairly sure his sister despises me," she whispered to Backlash, sighing a little. Perhaps another race would have thought it strange to talk to a horse like a person, but it was the way of the Drykas - for they were family, and could be trusted as surely. "If they try to stab me, I might run behind you for safety. I don't think they'd raise a blade against a Strider," she chuckled, scratching the mare under her chin as she made her way over to a quiet corner.

She could see as Akela turned and recognized Vanator, but couldn't hear what was said, but she made a point not to stare. She could at least try to give him a bit of privacy, no matter how much she itched to know what was going on. So instead she went about pulling off each horse's yvas and blanket and laying them out to air, piling the saddlebags beside them. Then she wasn't sure what else to do, so she pulled one of her brushes out of the bag and began brushing out Hiloha's coat - and the stallion was more than happy to let her, grunting happily as little clouds of hair puffed away and caught on the sea breeze.
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A Reunion Too Long Delayed [Kashik, Kavala, Akela]

Postby Vanator on June 24th, 2010, 2:51 pm

Vanator caught sight of his sisters at the round pen, the pale Konti skin and silvery-white hair unmistakable. Kavala was tending to a foal while Akela, as always, was fondling her blade. The horseman's heart jumped at the sight of Ay'aka's daughters. He recognized Akela's voice calling out, heard for the first time in almost two years.

The older sister approached, still possessing her confident swagger, maybe now with a little more hip sway, the ever-present katana still in her hand. Vanator moved to close the distance, his gold-flecked brown eyes examining her even as her blue gaze studied him. Akela always moved with a graceful purpose, seeming casual, while at the same time giving one the impression that at any moment the keen edge of the katana would come down in a deadly arc across your mid-section.

The Drykas brother thought Akela looked a bit thinner, though no less fit, and her hair had grown long. Of course she had not aged in appearance. His sisters would still appear young and beautiful when he was gray. But as the two drew closer, Vanator saw something very different in Akela's features. She was almost...sultry, which Van found unnerving. Her ivory skinned face carried the traces of experiences he could not imagine. It was almost as if seeing a stranger in her familiar delicate but strong visage. He noted the hint of an image on the skin of her chest, revealed only when her movement revealed it beneath the edge of her shirt. A new tattoo?

He stopped not far from Akela, his eyes darting over to Kavala before settling again on the swordswoman's steely gaze. The air had stopped moving, and the summer heat coaxed a sheen of sweat over his skin. Vanator's hand rested unconsciously on the hand ax thrust through his belt as he stood facing Akela.

Akela and Vanator shared a relationship that more closely resembled brothers. They had argued and fought like brothers, wrestled and carried on like brothers. And they did not hug. Of course there was sibling love between them, but these two Drykas displayed that affection more readily with slugs to the arm, or thigh, or gut, or jaw. So there would be no reunion embrace with the warrior sister.

"Akela, my dear sister... " Vanantor finally offered with a sly grin. "I see you still have that thing permanently clutched in your fist." His head turned towards the animal healer again. He did want to embrace Kavala, part of him wanted to vault the pen's fence and pick her up off her feet. But the strange mood that lingered over the siblings discouraged it. And Akela's posture could almost be construed as defensive... defending Kavala. "Hello Kavala." He finally spoke, somewhat wary of a strange difference in both of his half-sisters.
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A Reunion Too Long Delayed [Kashik, Kavala, Akela]

Postby Kavala on June 24th, 2010, 6:03 pm

ImageKavala turned and looked sharply at Akela before her words truly struck her. Vanator? Here? Kavala turned to look to see where Akela was heading. Sure enough, the blond hair struck out and their handsome brother was decidedly standing in the Courtyard. Kavala bent down once more and finished tying off the bindings that now held the salve and the colt's tendons steady. If he didn't relax them in a day or two, she'd let Akela put him down. But the Konti had hopes, so she stepped over to the mare, released her to go nuzzle up to the newborn, and slipped between the rails of the round pen to pick up a cloth off the portable table and wipe the salve off her hands. She did so to give herself time. The Konti wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want him to see her, not like this, not with her skin etched with innumerable razor thin scars. She routinely wore her tunics sleeveless, revealing scale lined shoulders and firm underarms, but she reached up as if to grab non-existent sleeves and tug them down over her arms.

Could she hug him? No... she decided that instantly. He was male. Human - too much like them. Some of them had been handsome too. One had even been blond. Her mind knew there was a difference, but Kavala knew her body wouldn't care. So she filled her arms with something - anything - the overly large mixing bowl of salve and wandered forward to greet him shyly. She probably wouldn't have been able to move forward at all - to face him - if it wasn't for Akela standing there. Her sister seemed to have momentarily lost her barbed tongue and that meant she was struggling with the reunion just as much as Kavala was. So the healer came forward, putting herself in the spotlight to spare Akela the scrutiny. Kavala wasn't sure she wanted Van to know about Akela - and what had happened. She wasn't sure it would be good for her sister or her brother both.

And so she came forward, holding the bowl between them like a shield, and smiled warmly. Her face, however, didn't light up like it normally did. Vanator would see it instantly. The momentary terror - the soul deep fear - the humiliation of him seeing them both still healing from the aftermath of the total destruction in both their lives. And then as clear as day her face lost all expression. There was simply just nothing there. It was as if Kavala drew a protective mask down across her features so no one could even remotely understand her emotions and thus use them against her. It was a new habit that was slowly becoming old hand. The smile remained, though, still warm on a dead face and empty eyes.

"Fair winds and tall grasses, Vanator. You're here in Riverfall? Welcome to Sanctuary. How have you been? I see you brought company..." Kavala said in perfect Pavi and then turned, noted the horses being lead away - recognizing the rump of one of them. Kashik. Perfect. "Did you have a good ride? Come in be welcome. We can sit on the Veranda and have some tea... what do you think Akela? Shall i send Awston to town for some treats?" She said, turning to gesture up at the Veranda.

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Please Note:
  • This pc is maxed out in Animal Husbandry, Medicine, Observation, Rhetoric, and Socialization.
  • Kavala a Master Teacher. Students she is teaching in thread can earn more than the maxium 5 XP per thread.
  • This pc has a Konti Gift of Animal Empathy. She has a superpower from a Riverfall city event that allows animals of all sorts and Kelvics (in kelvic form) to speak clear understandable Common around her.
  • Kavala is a Konti but was raised in the Drykas culture so her accent is entirely Pavi though she can speak Common, Pavi, and Tukant well. She's only conversational in Kontinese.
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A Reunion Too Long Delayed [Kashik, Kavala, Akela]

Postby Akela on June 26th, 2010, 10:28 am

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The girl felt so very dumb, just standing there with a blade in her hand, clutched so tight it made her knucklebones stand out even on her already pale skin. A quick look revealed that he hadn't come alone, but in the company of a young Drykas woman. Suddenly the more intuitive part of her caught a glimpse of things to come, and and if possible it made Akela even more nervous.

The key to understanding Akela was her need for simplicity. She just didn't like complication in her life, and if presented with it her first instinct would be to either remove it or bypass its source. She may be able to handle it, but she didn't want to have to. She wasn't made to worry about more than one thing at a time. That stuff was for Kavala, who was complicated enough to serve two or three people. With Kavala, there were needs that covered other needs and dressed up yet different needs that were mostly of her own making. With Akela, hardly anything was a big deal. Lose your Strider? No big deal. Sex slave to a Zith settlement? No big deal. She could get over those things quickly enough. But the twisted game of things left unsaid, expectations broken, and hearts growing farther apart, it was all uncomfortable to her. Unnecessarily complicated.

"Oh," she murmured, staring into her own reflection in the blade and finally sheathing the weapon in its scabbard. She wanted to say something about kicking his ass like the good old times but the words just didn't come out. They would've been insincere, which she didn't want to be, not to Vanator. The truth had the potential to do more harm than any lie, though. "it just needs to be oiled a lot or it'll lose its edge," she fidgeted, just to fill the silence with words. "It's been a long time, brother." She nodded, and was about to add some more meaningless things, when Kavala stepped into the conversation. And it was then that Akela felt a cold shiver down her spine.

This wasn't her sister. While Akela had only ever heard of them in the occasional campfire story, she had no doubt that Kavala was sounding like those golems made by wizards. A mechanism grafted onto an expressionless face. This was very, very bad. Kavala was still healing, and Van's visit could help her recovery, but also set her back by months or years, or even compromise her stability forever. Akela wished she could do something about this, but it was entirely outside her control. Fights, whether physical or verbal, were the simplest interaction there could be between two people, so she liked them best. She was just ill-equipped for dynamics of family attrition. Sometimes she hated being the older sister, as it placed a burden of expectations on her that she wasn't ready to meet. She was supposed to protect the part of Kavala that had survived her past. And she couldn't begin to figure out how.

"That sounds like a good idea," she agreed with her sister's judgment. Whatever happened, it was best to keep the staff out of it. Akela wasn't even sure if it was a good thing to flaunt their heritage in front of Riverfall. In her mind it was a matter of time before the Akalak and the Drykas set their sights on each other over this pocket of Cyphrus. Ironically, the girl had no idea what side she'd be on if that were to happen. "I see you've brought company, brother." She just couldn't bear this pantomime any longer. It was like the elephant in the living room everyone pretended not to see. The very fact he'd gone ahead to test the waters alone meant that he expected to find them rough.

Fact was, Akela plainly didn't care who Vanator took to his bedroll. It was his life, it wouldn't be overly long, might as well spend it with whoever he liked - nor could she ever judge another on the basis of their bedfellows. She hadn't been close to Tamar, she hadn't sulked upon her death, and all the talk about Akela not being there to protect her from the attack had jaded the girl's memories of Vanator's first wife. That said, Kavala did care, a lot. Her sister had shared the tale of a Drykas woman called Kashik visiting her earlier that year. She couldn't have known if this was the same person, but Kavala's reaction was a heavy hint in that direction. Akela anticipated a tough session of damage containment coming up. And there was no telling where her Ranuri would drive her if Kavala's wishes got out of hand in the middle of this.

It would be fine, she thought. As long as nobody brought up the curse. Don't bring up the curse. Don't bring up the curse. Don't let your temper flare. Don't talk too much. And don't bring up the curse.

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A Reunion Too Long Delayed [Kashik, Kavala, Akela]

Postby Vanator on June 28th, 2010, 11:49 am

Even as he was greeting Akela, Vanator could see Kavala coming from the pen, her arms wrapped around a large bowl. The Drykas turned a tentative smile in her direction, looking the younger sister over as she approached. Kavala had leaned out, sporting some muscle definition. Even in her work garb and platinum hair pulled into a messy pony tail, she was beautiful. Her pale skin glowed with a slight sunburn, her scales visible for a moment in a shimmer across her neck and exposed shoulders.

But what struck the brother was his sister's coutnenance. Kavala's smile was welcoming, but little else about the Konti reflected it. The bowl remained protectively in place, discouraging even a clasping of hands. But the large container could not hide the curiously ordered array of thin scars adorning her upper arms. The sight startled Vanator.

His closest sister's eyes held little warmth, no pleasant surprise at her brother's sudden appearance, nothing. Kavala was never gregarious or overly outgoing, but this behavior was....unexpected. Perhaps the most disconcerting thing about her was the formal tone of her greeting. Quite courteous, but more fitting a visiting acquaintance than one's own brother.

The lack of enthusiasm in this awkward reunion caused Vanator's heart to sink. Confusion replaced excitement. While Kavala appeared distant, Akela seemed uncharacteristically anxious. Van's katana comment evoked no snarky retort, only some off hand excuse and an unceremonious sheathing of the blade. A fear rose within the Drykas. Something had changed. The two Konti women standing before him were not quite the sisters he remembered, or expected.

"I am doing well Kavala, thank you." Vna replied, nodding as she suggested tea on the veranda. It was not that she wasn't being polite, it was just very....formal. Then Akela echoed Kavala's comment about his companion. His eyes darted towards Kashik as she tended to the Striders, before settling again on his sisters.

Sooner or later they would find out, would see the Chevas mark at any moment. "Yes, I brought someone with me." Vanator casually brushed back the hair at his neck to reveal the Love Goddess' mark on the tanned skin, as if to removed any doubt about his next words. The image depicted a crossed spear and battle ax lashed together with a strong vine. "She is my wife."
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