Closed Fitting In

[Khida]

Fall 34, 513 AV late morning All Khida had to show for her hunting that morning was a pigeon. A plump pigeon, granted, well-fed on the seeds of late summer and early fall; if she had set out only to hunt in her 'normal' way, it would have been a nice prize and a good meal. But falcon form had been her method of last resort today, when all of her snares had proven entirely empty. She had spent time in finding other tracks and resetting the snares -- truth told, she was fortunate to have made any kill at all, given the time that took up. But frustration lingered all the same. The limp bird dangling from her grip, Khida now set off into the tent city -- the slow way, walking on human feet. She wore the brown robe that was the only piece of clothing she owned; slightly overlarge, it hung loose on her frame, bound at the waist with a red sash. Sandaled feet padded through the grass between tents, weaving along a route she knew better from above. She wasn't used to navigating the city this way, not alone, not away from major routes, and it showed when she came around a tent and found herself at the end of a blind alley. The falcon Kelvic retraced her steps with an annoyed huff. It took a lot of winding to get back out to where there was another intersection with an avenue aimed in the right direction. A lot of winding. If she hadn't known the position of her destination, Khida suspected she would have become hopelessly lost... yet the Drykas never seemed to be so, and they didn't have the advantage of an aerial view. She hadn't thought of that before. How did the earthbound Drykas find their way around this ever-changing city? Khida paused then, slowly turning in place, studying the tents around her. She stepped aside to allow a Drykas woman past, her arms laden with a lidded basket. The faint scent of fish lingered in her wake, and the Kelvic hesitated, looking after her pensively. Then she returned to her study of the tents and the intersection. There were no signs she could see, no symbols which seemed to indicate identity or direction or ultimate destination. Colored banners, yes, the ones that seemed to divide the city into regions -- but not much else. Except... a familiar face, or Khida thought it was, glimpsed beneath the shelter of a nearby tent. Not quite what she had been looking for just now, but perhaps the girl with the lazy horse would explain what the Kelvic couldn't discern. Since it seemed like Khida might need to know...

[Naiya]

The days at work were getting slower, with the traders come and gone and the new danger of being out alone, shoppers had done their shopping or decided it wasn't worth the risk. It left Rue plenty of time to fuss over her embroidery.

It was a slow process, matching the stitch sizes, feeling through the cloth with a finger to find where the needle point was at when coming up through the bottom, following the intricate designs of knotted vines or ribbons of cloth. She was lining the outside of a pattern of knotting along the opening of a drop sleeve when someone moved into the entrance of the pavilion. She glanced up from her work to find the rather familiar form of Khida, the Kelvic woman she had run into a couple times before, dressed this time in an ill-fitting robe that was more an unusual sight than it really should have been.

Lack of attention on her hands brought her a pricked finger, the needle peaking through the fabric on her lap before she had really meant it to. She pulled the needle back through the cloth and stuck it through the sleeve so that both ends of the needle were visible, a holding point that would keep her from losing work.

Greetings, welcome. Her hands moved after she set aside her work, standing to welcome the other woman. "It is nice to see a familiar face in here. Is there something I can help you with?" She gestured to the clothing in the shop, a sort of vague invitation to look around, but from the way the other moved in her clothing she had the feeling that it was not to her liking more a burden than a comfort. Something more suited to her would maybe change that, but at the same time, Rue wondered if such things were important to someone who had a form that did not require clothing.

[Khida]

The girl seemed to be doing something fussy with a shirt, as Khida stepped in closer and could make out more details. Something with thread and a needle and the crossing, curling, knotted patterns so favored by the Drykas. Khida didn't understand that fascination in the slightest, and gave the partly-finished embroidery no more than a passing glance, uninterested in it. Rue's wave at the clothing was met with similar disinterest, a glance to acknowledge its existence, but not the interest of a customer -- though when she offered help, context bringing to mind a merchant's solicitous aid, Khida gave the tent's interior another, sharper regard. "You selling?" she asked in Pavi, the simple words stilted and surprised. The Kelvic shouldn't have been surprised, but she had not thought much past her own errand, or to the greater context of the girl's presence. Just that she was here in timely fashion and could be asked questions. In which light, Khida shook her head a moment later. "How do Drykas like you find places in the city?" she asked, changing topics and languages alike, her query direct and to the point. "There are no signs that I can see. It's easy when I fly over, but this is too heavy to carry for long," she concluded, hefting the plump bird at her side. That was downright easy in human form; almost frustratingly so, when compared with how much less the falcon could lift.

[Naiya]

Rue nodded, hands signing the humor that echoed in her voice, as she watched the woman take another look around the shop, this time with an only slightly more interested air. "If you are buying, I am selling."

Some of the humor dropped from her face as the other spoke again, this time in common, and Rue had to think for a moment to make the words make sense. Even then some of the words elluded her, but she managed to make sense of the questions anyway.

"How to find places? Is like how to find big animal for hunt, follow where more big things grow, yes?" She paused as if hoping for some indication of whether or not the other understood her words, but with the story only part finished she knew it could only make so much sense. So she continued, "Big plants mean big water, for animal drink. Find big water then follow feet in dirt of animal, find animal home and hunt is good." Her common left her wondering if the words she spoke made sense to the other as they did to her, but she knew another way to communicate with this woman.

"Drykas make patterns, to make their work easier. Just like patterns in searching for prey. Like here." She gestured around the room falling more comfortably into the explanation when it was in her own language. "We need fabric for making clothes, so we place our shop near shops for making cloth. Others do the same, all close to the things they need. Start with clans, you need the emerald clan if you want to sell your bird, they make leather too, and leather is used for many businesses, so they will be near the center of Endrykas."

She stopped then, peering at Kidha and wondering if her answer was not more confusing than the question itself.

"I find things this way, others use the web to find what they need. I have not practiced magic like others, I do not know how to find things with the web."

[Akilah Windsong]

Akilah wandered through the shops, her empty eyes gazing at nothing as she walked. Around her, though much diminished, she could hear the squabble of families, of sellers and buyers bartering prices. Around her she could hear life, in all its forms.

And all she could think about was death.

It wasn't healthy, to be obsessed like this. She knew death. Had faced it before, in the sick, in the old, in those lost in hunts. She knew death.

But until this year, she really only knew of death. At a cool, impersonal distance, where she could see its effects and still maintain sense of self.

Now she knew it personally, intimately. The dying rattle on a bed, the squelch of a blade running through a still warm body. Blood, cooling on her skin. Akilah stood stock still, the past summer's events playing out in her head, and shivered.

No, this wasn't healthy at all. Shaking herself out of her stupor, Akilah looked for the first item she could find. She was here on a mission, to bring herself out of this depression she was in. She had no right to feel like this--she had at least survived, unlike the others.

Nearby, there were two women and displays of embroidery. Approaching the pair, Akilah eyed the colourful threads, intricately weaved through the tanned skins and cloth. She never had that skill. The needles would always prick her fingers and it took too long to get the result. Her patience never lasted.

"Impressive," she murmured, picking up a piece. Maybe it wasn't too late to try again.

[Khida]

If you are buying, the girl said, which raised a question in the Kelvic's mind. Was she buying? One would think, walking into a shop, a person would know one way or the other -- but that hadn't been Khida's purpose in coming, and it wasn't a thought which even occurred to her. But before she could pursue it further, the girl went on to address her question, and Khida turned her attention to that answer. She spoke of hunting, tracking, following water; in Khida's mind, these things had nothing to do with human city places, and a frown began to gather at her brow. But she waited, and the girl switched to sign, saying something completely different. The Kelvic could hardly follow it, there were so many gestures she didn't know. Drykas, search, clothes, shop. The frown deepened; the answers, if answers they were, still didn't come together for her. At the last, the girl spoke aloud in Pavi, which oddly enough Khida found easier to parse -- clans, Emerald, leather, center, Endrykas. But what she understood didn't solve her problem. Khida knew where she was going -- she just didn't know which twisty groundside route in this city would get her there. With the way the girl peered at her, even she seemed to realize that answer wasn't. She finished with mention of the web, a phrase which initially made no sense to Khida, as incongruous to city navigation as water and prey and growing things. Then it sparked a memory, a conversation with another woman of the Drykas. "The Web... ties things," Khida said slowly, in Common because her Pavi did not extend so far as that concept she didn't understand. If that had something to do with how the Drykas navigated their city... well, it made sense why things didn't make sense. Yet another woman stepped into the tent then, a rustle of cloth announcing her arrival. Khida pivoted in surprise, blinking at the unfamiliar person, watching as she stepped in to study the embroidery. The Kelvic withdrew in unthinking reflex, conceding the field to the strange woman and the clothes-seller and the peculiar mysteries of the Drykas. She didn't leave, however; dead bird still hanging limply from one hand, she moved idly around the edges of the tent's interior, looking at the garments on display, touching only rarely; her demeanor pensive, contemplative. Dresses which pulled over the head, or bound up with a series of ties or buttons: a hassle to put on, a hassle to take off. Shirts, tunics, blouses -- things which covered shoulders and arms; whether they tied or buttoned or not, they would take that extra bit of time to remove. She still liked the robe best; easy to slide on, easy to slide off, it presented no obstacle to the change of forms. But Khida had found it less than well-suited to hunting in human skin, with the way its hem caught on brush or bramble, at times dragged in water and mud. She hadn't tripped over it yet, but that day would surely come in time. The garment suited in every context but that one. Maybe she should get something else, should be buying. But... there was still nothing she saw which Khida truly wanted. "These are all you have?" she asked of the red-haired girl at the last, heedless of whether her query interrupted conversation between the two Drykas.

[Naiya]

Rue nodded in response to Khida, glad that at least something seemed to make sense to her. She was trying to work her way through a better explanation when Khida stepped away, off towards the inside of the shop. Rue's brow furrowed as she tried to puzzle why, and all too quickly she figured it out.

Behind her a woman spoke, and Rue started at the sound having missed the rustle of cloth at her entrance lost as she was in attempting a translation.

"Welcome, and thank you." She spoke as she turned, her eyes lighting on the newcomer. She faltered a moment in her welcoming spiel as she took in the appearance of the other woman. She looked rather haggard, as though something weighed on her more heavily than the idea of captives in the city
weighed on others.

"My name is Rue, and I am here to help. Please take a look around and call if you need anything." She had her smile back in place almost before it was gone. It was not her business to bother the girl about what caused her to look so, and letting it change the way she treated the woman would only cause problems.

She surveyed the shop, looking to make sure she hadn't missed anything else happening while she struggled with Common. All looked well, and she was glad to see that Khida seemed to be taking a real look at the clothing in the shop. If nothing else she needed clothing that fit. Draped as she was in all that fabric, it was only a matter of time before it caused a problem.

Rue turned to straighten a display, lifting and refolding as needed when Khida spoke to her.

"These all, yes." Khida sounded... frustrated, maybe disappointed. Was she looking for something specific? She hadn't even come in with the intent to shop, but maybe that was the case. "No find what want, huh? What need? I help." She smiled, her hands signing after she finished speaking "We can make something if there is need."

[Akilah Windsong]

"I'm Akilah Windsong--" Akilah froze. She hadn't paid much attention to the two figures when she approached the stall. Only now, face to face, did she notice Rue's red hair.

Such a bright red--the girl's hair had been red, her eyes green. A mixture of fear and strength beyond the tears. Another was coming, one more frightening, and she had to hurry. She had to get out. She had to--

Akilah gasped, pulling herself to the present. No, no. The shade was different. The girl was gone. This was the present. This was reality.

Fortunately, Rue wasn't paying attention to her and Akilah took the moment to compose herself. This was stupid.

She shouldn't be reacting like this. She shouldn't.

And yet, here she was. The other girl in the shop spoke now, and Akilah turned to face her. Rue and the other spoke in Common, in short and halting sentences. Neither had much of a grip on it. Not that she was much better herself but at least she had Kaja. Her Kelvic friend could only speak in Common and that had helped her awkward words gain a more fluid spin.

Where had the other girl come from? What was her native tongue? Akilah recognized the curiosity growing in her and nursed it. It was a better feeling than what she had the past few months. She felt a little more alive with each question.

Was she another captured? Akilah paused at that thought, then erased it. No, that was not a trail that had to be followed.

Instead she focused on the stranger, her appearance somewhat sharp. There was something predatory in her features, but why Akilah couldn't quite place. Maybe she was a hunter. The dead bird in her hands said as much.

"Can I help?" she asked in Common. "What do you need?"

[Khida]

AkilahI'm not really sure what language she's speaking when -- it's not important here, but you might clarify more going forward? The interaction of the people behing her was curiously one-sided -- Rue speaking, the stranger saying little and suddenly falling quiet. Khida paid it little heed until her own question required she return her regard to them. The red-haired girl offered help, asked what she needed... signed something more. Khida turned more towards Rue, her profile to the stranger; her hair shifted with her motion, revealing part of the Chevas mark she bore, all unregarded by the Kelvic. Her thoughts were on the signs, reviewing them, picking apart the meanings: able to, need... Able to? Khida echoed, the arc of her fingers making the gesture into a query. Able to what? The other word was not in her vocabulary... yet. The stranger also offered help, echoing the question of need. Khida shrugged slightly, a nonchalant air about the motion; she thought need an overstatement. She looked at the garments draped about the tables, leaning over one to pick up a shirt. Simple, sturdy, it was distinguished only by the varying shades woven into its fabric -- but it more than sufficed as a demonstration piece, as Khida held it up against herself. It wouldn't have fit the slender woman, but that was also immaterial. "This would be warm," she began, a mark in its favor. "Human skin gets cold --" She remembered last winter, and snow, plenty well. "-- so that is good. But it is... confining," Khida continued, moving her hands out to ensure the shoulders and long sleeves were emphasized. "It would be slower to take off, and I would not be able to see when it was over my head." The shirt was a pullover, after all. That moment needed to disrobe might not be critical -- but if they were out hunting, it might well be, too. Dropping the shirt back onto the table, Khida gestured towards another which hung from one of the tent supports. "Others have buttons down the front, but that is not better. Buttons take even longer to undo, unless you break them, and then what good are they after?" ...Not much. Khida could wear these clothes, if she had to... but after going so long without, it just seemed like a nuisance to take on. And she wasn't yet resigned to having to.

[Naiya]

oocI am so sorry for the exceedingly long wait. My genetics class started kicking my butt so I had to buckle down to finish off the semester with a passing grade. I hadn't even realized that I had completely abandoned Mizahar until I thought about it today. Sorry again, and I hope we can still complete this (and other) threads that I've left sitting)

Rue smiled thankfully at the other woman, understanding that she was offering to try and help Khida as well, but she wasn't sure Khida would accept the aid from a stranger. Already she had withdrawn upon Akilah's entrance to the pavilion, and Rue wondered if that could bode well for the offer of help.

But that wasn't the matter for the moment, so instead of followinf those thoughts further, she focused on what it was that Khida was trying to communicate. Long sleeves, tight through the shoulders maybe, and no buttons? Because they break? "Want warm but..." She fell out of common, unsure of the word she was looking for, instead she signed Simple Her hands moving with the lit of a question.

It took a few moments before Rue managed to put it together. Khida was a bird, and birds did not wear clothing, but when she was a human, she must wear clothing. Her current dress made more sense, covered and easily removed.

She was quickly forming an idea in her mind, but Khida would have to be a willing participant.

"Have time, Khida? Can try dress for parts, and take piece Khida like and make one."

It would be a hassle for the other to try on all the clothing, but Rue already had a thought on a dress that would work, and already knew which dresses Khida would have to try on. She would just have to make sure Khida would like the fit before she made the dress. It would be easy.

If Khida was willing.