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"Gree-tings," he tried, painfully aware of how badly he must be mangling the accents; concentrating hard to sear the syllables into his mind so he wouldn't forget. "Greet-ings. Hell-o. Hel-lo. Greetings Drusilla. Hello Dru." His expression faltered into an uneasy smile, hoping that he wasn't making too bad a job of it.
The Nari on the other hand was at least a little more familiar to him, but that brought with it a small stab of uncomfortable realisation. He knew that more formal greeting because that was the one he'd heard Khara use; even in saying hello, she was treating him with the due deference his Avora status, and doing so completely without his comprehension. "Hello Dru," he said carefully. Hello Khara, he burned into his mind.
At least Drusilla's continued questions gave an escape from those kinds of thoughts. "I think they like it," Zhol answered, in reply to her question about braided manes. "I certainly hope they do. The mane on a Strider is longer than yours -" He hesitated for the briefest moment, struck by the strange linguistic oddity that in Pavi the words for hair and mane were interchangeable, yet in Common they were not. He wondered if Nari or Symenos had any oddities of their own. Did the Inarta think of their hair as feathers, to match their eagles? "- so it gets easily tangled in undergrowth, and in itself. There's definitely a decorative element to it, and braided patterns are everywhere in Drykas culture, in their clothing, metalworking, tattoos; but there's a practical side to it, as well."
As she asked about the Sea of Grass, he sucked in a breath between his teeth. "A lot," was the simple answer, though it wasn't all that enlightening. Everywhere you turned, there seemed to be something new waiting to kill you under each rock, or stampeding across every plain. "But the worst are probably the Glassbeaks. They are birds, far too big to fly, taller than the both of us, and utterly terrifying. Striders are incredibly swift on their feet, and yet a Glassbeak can outrun one with ease. They are ruthless, hunt in packs -"
He trailed off, suddenly regarding Drykas traditions differently now he had to explain them to an outsider. "- and we, for some foolish reason, raid their nests and steal their eggs, and then wonder why they are so relentless in their hunting of us."
He was glad when their arrival at the Dreaming Lady cut his explanation short, but as he looked around the unfamiliar space he suddenly found himself feeling uncomfortable and exposed, lacking the resolve and courage that he had planned to muster in the tunnels before entering. Drusilla's suggestion only added to that, though there was no way she could have known. Inarta culture had a different perspective on bodily display than he was used to: their fashion was loose and revealing, men frequently went shirtless when practicality allowed it, and at the communal Tisuma Baths the genders had no qualms about bathing together in total undress. It was something to which Zhol was a long way from becoming accustomed, and so he avoided it at every opportunity, waiting until unorthodox hours to take advantage of the Baths when they were mostly deserted. He didn't know if the spa pools shared the same practice but he had no reason not to; and the prospect of exposing himself physically in front of someone who had just found him emotionally exposed in the tunnels brought with it a sense of embarrassed reluctance.
"I am struggling to sleep," he explained quietly, with more than a little hesitance, "And am plagued by bad dreams. What would you suggest?"
The Nari on the other hand was at least a little more familiar to him, but that brought with it a small stab of uncomfortable realisation. He knew that more formal greeting because that was the one he'd heard Khara use; even in saying hello, she was treating him with the due deference his Avora status, and doing so completely without his comprehension. "Hello Dru," he said carefully. Hello Khara, he burned into his mind.
At least Drusilla's continued questions gave an escape from those kinds of thoughts. "I think they like it," Zhol answered, in reply to her question about braided manes. "I certainly hope they do. The mane on a Strider is longer than yours -" He hesitated for the briefest moment, struck by the strange linguistic oddity that in Pavi the words for hair and mane were interchangeable, yet in Common they were not. He wondered if Nari or Symenos had any oddities of their own. Did the Inarta think of their hair as feathers, to match their eagles? "- so it gets easily tangled in undergrowth, and in itself. There's definitely a decorative element to it, and braided patterns are everywhere in Drykas culture, in their clothing, metalworking, tattoos; but there's a practical side to it, as well."
As she asked about the Sea of Grass, he sucked in a breath between his teeth. "A lot," was the simple answer, though it wasn't all that enlightening. Everywhere you turned, there seemed to be something new waiting to kill you under each rock, or stampeding across every plain. "But the worst are probably the Glassbeaks. They are birds, far too big to fly, taller than the both of us, and utterly terrifying. Striders are incredibly swift on their feet, and yet a Glassbeak can outrun one with ease. They are ruthless, hunt in packs -"
He trailed off, suddenly regarding Drykas traditions differently now he had to explain them to an outsider. "- and we, for some foolish reason, raid their nests and steal their eggs, and then wonder why they are so relentless in their hunting of us."
He was glad when their arrival at the Dreaming Lady cut his explanation short, but as he looked around the unfamiliar space he suddenly found himself feeling uncomfortable and exposed, lacking the resolve and courage that he had planned to muster in the tunnels before entering. Drusilla's suggestion only added to that, though there was no way she could have known. Inarta culture had a different perspective on bodily display than he was used to: their fashion was loose and revealing, men frequently went shirtless when practicality allowed it, and at the communal Tisuma Baths the genders had no qualms about bathing together in total undress. It was something to which Zhol was a long way from becoming accustomed, and so he avoided it at every opportunity, waiting until unorthodox hours to take advantage of the Baths when they were mostly deserted. He didn't know if the spa pools shared the same practice but he had no reason not to; and the prospect of exposing himself physically in front of someone who had just found him emotionally exposed in the tunnels brought with it a sense of embarrassed reluctance.
"I am struggling to sleep," he explained quietly, with more than a little hesitance, "And am plagued by bad dreams. What would you suggest?"
"Pavi" | "Common" | "Nari" | "Symenos"
This template was made by Khara. She was bribed with coffee and jammy dodgers.
This template was made by Khara. She was bribed with coffee and jammy dodgers.
