Closed After the Loss (Ivandra)

[Mihiya Darkmane]

Timestamp: 86 Summer AV 513

Nothing would ever be the same. This thought possessed Mihiya as she packed up her belongings. She had to leave, she had to leave NOW, forget about whatever roots she had put down here. She had to forget about the people she loved and the people she wanted to be with. She had to leave, and she couldn't stay another moment.

Briseni was dead. A sob caught in her throat. She hadn't known until Brinlin had tracked her down and told her the news. She'd been killed by a Zith while she was gathering food for hunting. There had been no body to recover. Mihiya had vomited when she heard the news and sobbed in Brinlin's arms as he comforted her. Briseni's death weighed heavily on her shoulders.

A Pavilion had been destroyed. The Zith had killed most of the members. It was sickening, it hurt to think about, hurt to know about. Everything about this situation was painful. She had to get out of Endrykas, out of Cyphrus. She needed to go to Eyktol, where she could meet her father. He would treat her well, no doubt, and he would be a kind man. Perhaps not, but if he wasn't, she could return to Cyphrus. There was room for her in the Darkmane Pavilion if she needed a place to live. Plenty of room.

It hurt to think about the Pavilion. Perhaps she would change her name. Perhaps she would be merely Mihiya from now on. Her associations with the Pavilion were painful.

"Komali!" she cried out, signaling that the mare should come to her immediately, "Komali, we have to leave!"

[Ivandra]

If there was one thing Ivandra was feeling, it was the soreness. The aching feeling running through her veins, dulling her movements.

She slowly moved through the Sea of Grass, the huge plain of seemingly endless hills and plain. When she first arrived in the Sea of Grass, her heart had dropped in her chest at the sight of it. It had scared her, to be quite honest. She hadn't known how she was going to get herself across it, since all sense of direction seemed lost when one was walking through it. But thankfully, she'd encountered several caravans and trading wagons along the way, who'd been able to offer her some spare water and resources, as well as point her in the right direction.

As she moved forward, she could spot a faint black dot on the horizon. The city? Feeling excited, Ivandra moved forward at a faster pace, ignoring the protest coming from her legs. Gradually, Endrykas came into view. She could see the tents and pavilions that made up the city.

"I'm here!" she whispered. She could hardly believe it herself. Her family had doubted her, telling her not to go, even begging her not to go. She had been uncertain of whether or not she would actually reach Endrykas herself, but her dreams and own personal ambition had been too much. But now there was no longer any room for doubt of herself. She had made it to her destination. A sense of pride and accomplishment welled up in her, and she couldn't help but allow a quick smile on her face. Her pace quickened, and before she knew it, she was approaching the entrance of the city.

[Mihiya Darkmane]

Komali's strides ate up the ground, even though the mare had protested when they set a course for leaving the city. The entrance drew nearer and nearer and near--

"Whoa, Komali!" she shouted in Pavi, her body indicating that the mare should stop. They had nearly trampled a woman, a woman who seemed quite weary. She seemed to have travelled quite a distance and Mihiya couldn't help but notice that the woman was not Drykas.

"My...sorries, Komali walk fast. I no--I did not see you," the woman flushed. She hated speaking Common, it was harsh on her tongue and limited her ability to communicate. Subconsciously, she was giving off the signs and body langauge of sorry in Pavi, just in case the woman spoke it.

"Name is Mihiya, what yours?"

[Ivandra]

As Ivandra moved into the city and turned at a block, she almost came head to head with a swiftly moving horse. Obviously taken by surprise, the Kelvic took several steps back. Whoa, Komali! Even though the words fell foreign on her ears and did not have any particular meaning to Ivandra, she could tell, from the sound, that the woman had spoken in the Pavi tongue.

Then came broken sentences in Common. My...sorries, Komali walk fast. I no--I did not see you. Not for the first time, Ivandra regretted that she wasn't able to speak more languages. The only two languages she could fluently speak were Common and the language of leopards, which she could transform herself into. Then, she was able to speak broken Nari and understand some basic words from Kontinese. If she could understand Pavi, they would be able to communicate in a much easier way. But even though the woman's Common fluent, Ivandra understood enough to be able to tell that she was trying to apologize. Having gotten over the initial fright, she waved her hand in the air. "No worries," she responded, using the Common tongue. "There was no harm done. It's nice to meet you, Mihiya. I'm Ivandra." After a pause, she added, "You seem... agitated. Is everything okay?"

[Mihiya Darkmane]

"Hello Ivandra." Names were often difficult for Mihiya to grasp. This woman, however, had a pretty name and Mihiya tried very hard to ensure she spoke it correctly. Her Common was not very good and speaking it made her tongue clumsy and it made it more likely that she would stumble over words that she should know.

"Agitated...?" she frowned. This was not a word she knew well. From the woman's voice, she inferred that it meant a feeling. Her brow furrowed deeper. "I am leaving," she tried to explain, "My...my mother is..." she broke off her eyes welling with tears. Her mother was dead. Briseni, the only mother she ever knew, had been murdered. She wanted to scream out at the unfairness of it all. Had Mihiya been a religious creature, she would have cursed the gods until they killed her. Briseni was dead, and she had to leave.

"What are you?" she asked suddenly, pulling her mind away from Briseni's death. The woman was not Drykas, and though the girl was not trying to be rude, both her lack of Common language and her blunt Drykas nature made the question come out as blunt and no doubt somewhat sudden. Knowing very little of a language made being subtle almost impossible.

The woman was human, at least from what Mihiya could tell, but what subrace was beyond the Drykas girl. She spoke Common which gave very little clue as to where she had come from. Mihiya frowned. She was a curious creature and she was very interested in what this woman was.

[Ivandra]

Ivandra couldn't help but feel frustration at not being able to properly communicate with Mihiya. Her response to her initial question had confused her. I'm leaving. My... my mother is... And then her eyes had welled up with tears. She quite obviously wasn't able to figure out the details of what had happened, but from that she could at least deduce that something unfortunate had happened to Mihiya's mother. Ivandra took a tentative step closer. "I'm sorry," she murmered.

But then, just moments later, it seemed that Mihiya had forgotten all about her previous sorrows. What are you?

The abrupt change of topic threw her for a loop before she realized the woman was asking her about her race. Unlike some other races, she wasn't easy to guess. Some had thought of her as human; after all, her height was reasonable, and her hair and eye color didn't look any different from a regular human's. The only thing different about her most humans wouldn't have had was the beautiful opal sigil etched on her forehead, a mark of her faith to the goddess Rak'keli which enabled her to heal others when it was necessary. But even then, that physical trait wouldn't have given away her true race.

"I'm a Kelvic," she responded, pride entering her voice. "I can also shift into the leopard form. And you?" Peering even closer at Mihiya, she found that she her physical traits didn't quite follow a specific race either. She waited, curious for her response.

[Mihiya Darkmane]

"Kelvic," Mihiya tried the strange word, grateful for Ivandra's explanation. She could shape shift, this thought caused Mihiya's brow to furrow. Shapeshifting? This was a new thing for her.

"Is shifting...magic? I not--am not knowing of magic." She was interested in learning of this magic or shapeshifting or whichever it was. The Drykas girl should have expected Ivandra's question. Of course she wanted to know what she was. But this could be a lead in. Her spirits picked up suddenly. Perhaps this woman would want to travel? She seemed to have come from some place other than Endrykas. Obviously, the girl thought to herself. If she came from Endrykas she would have been able to speak Pavi.

"I am..." it would have been so much easier to signal in Pavi than to explain it in Common "Of horseclan and desert people. Mother was Drykas...father was..." she stumbled as she thought of the word. What was it? Desert people...what were they called in Common? She racked her brain. "Live in desert, don't know word...sorry." She thought to herself for a moment.

"I am going...find father. Why...why you here? Endrykas not always...safe," she shuddered as she thought of the past few days and weeks. The Zith attack had greatly shattered the security that Mihiya had felt in her homeland. She wished to leave for that reason as well, perhaps Eyktol would be...safer. She almost snorted. How safe could a desert be? But still...they did not live near the Zith. There was a chance that it was safer there.

[Ivandra]

[I like your new posting template, avatar, and signature! ^^]

Ivandra nodded. "Kelvic,", she repeated. "As for the shifting, every member of the Kelvic race has an animal side and a human side. The shifting is not magic, necessarily, it's just an inherent ability we all have. It is knowledge the race is born with; it cannot be learned and it cannot be forgotten either." She wasn't sure how much of her explanation Mihiya understood, but she was rather surprised that Mihiya had not heard of Kelvics before. They were quite common, at least in Syliras, but apparently not here in Endrykas. The two cities are very different from each other then, she thought to herself. She had not imagined a place where even Common was not well spoken.

Ivandra listened to Mihiya as she explained where she was from. Ah, so she's at least part Drykas. That part made her comfortable; at least she had some idea what race she was. She'd known several Drykas people back in Syliras. Ivandra had never heard of Horseclan or the desert people, but it wasn't too important. They were probably different terms that the people in Endrykas used.

"And I'm just traveling. I wanted to see new cities and new sights; staying within the walls of the city one was born in can be dull at times. Where are you going?" Her question was merely out of curiosity; maybe she follow along too if the woman didn't seem to mind. Having a traveling companion would make her feel much more comfortable, and perhaps she would be able to pick up on some Pavi language along the way.

[Mihiya Darkmane]

((Thank you! Nakuli did them for me! She's very good.))

"Is skill, born with. Drykas ride horse, Kelvic shift." Mihiya nodded. It may not have been the best metaphor, but it was the closest she could get to comparing the Kelvic skill to something familiar. She examined the woman, wondering if it would be rude to ask her to shift in front of her. She banished the thought. The woman she had encountered seemed to be someone that would be quite helpful to her on her travels.

"Not quite sure," the girl murmured, "Desert Eyktol, place I want to go. Not sure of city. Perhaps to all cities," the girl shrugged. She knew very little of the Desert, but had heard of people in Riverfall who could possibly help her find the way that the caravans travelled. She had no desire to travel by caravan though, she preferred traveling with smaller groups.

"Is bad time for Endrykas," the dark girl murmured, "Much death, much damage. If not careful, Kelvic Ivandra find herself wed to Ankal." The girl gave a little chuckle. The Drykas men were looking for wives, and might very well find the Kelvic woman intriguing enough to take to wife. There were plenty of new Drykas being brought to Endrykas by the raiders anyway, she'd probably fit in.

"Leaving in two days for Akalak land. Wish to see Riverfall? You come if want?"

[Ivandra]

(Yeah, I can tell she is. I might go and ask her for some art myself. Were they for free?)

So she wanted to go to Eyktol. Ivandra's mind wandered back to one of the first lessons she'd ever learned - the cities and geography of Syliras. Eyktol was quite some distance away from Endrykas, and while she was wondering how Mihiya would make it there alone without a traveling companion, she also envied her at the same time for having such an ambitious traveling goal. "Ah, Eyktol," she murmered. "I've heard of it. A very interesting land, apparently, with hot desert and unforgivable climates, which make it all the more intriguing." By intriguing she was referring to the prospect of a challenge. I should plan to go there in the near future as well, if I find someone to go with me, she thought to herself.

But the next statement Mihiya made erased it all from her mind. "What? Ankal?Who's Ankal? And why would he want to make me wed to him?"

At the last part, however, Ivandra's mind was once again brought away from the topic of the mysterious Ankal. Travel to Riverfall? If she was going to be quite honest with herself, there was nothing else she would want more. She had just reached Endrykas, but even from her position in the city now, she could see that there wasn't much to it. It wasn't even a real city, just a mash pot of tents and caravans. Besides, after hearing what Mihiya had to say about the dangers in Endrykas, even if there were interesting things to say, she would reconsider before deciding to stay for too long. "Oh, you really mean it?" the Kelvic cried. "I'd be so glad to. You don't know how much this means to me. Yes, of course I'll come with you! Thank you so much!" Her voice was full of gratitude. "The only thing is that I've been traveling for awhile from Syliras to Endrykas already, so I might need a bit of rest before we start out."

As she gazed at Mihiya, another thought struck her. Maybe she could learn some Pavi along the way. If the female didn't seem to mind, she could ask her to teach her a few basic things. It would certainly help her in her adventures later on if she decided to return back to Endrykas for any reason.