Completed Settling In -- 29th of Fall

[Shadyn]

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Shadyn chose the extreme perimeter of Endrykas to make his camp. He had a distinct feeling that if he drew too much closer, he would make people uncomfortable. Or, more likely, Xarrt would. "Making camp" for him consisted of merely undoing Xarrt's saddle for the first time in weeks, eating the last of the meat he had for him and Xarrt cold, and then settling down under the warmth of his katinu for a good night's sleep.

Before he actually laid down, however, he knelt and said a prayer of thanks to Leth. "You have been faithful to me during this journey, and I give you my thanks. I have arrived safely at my furthest destination by your kindness. Now let my stay here be as blessed, and let me learn and grow in this time of my life. As I have said, so let it be."

When he lifted his eyes, he caught sight of a young woman, who was wandering out in the grasses with her horse, for some reason. He shifted over onto his side so that he was leaning on his elbow, and watched her for a moment. He furrowed his brow, intrigued. From what he could tell, despite the fact that she was dressed in the style of the Drykas, she looked like an Inarta. She turned her face in the moonlight slicing through the crisp air. This was not just a resemblance...this was an perfect likeness of an Inarta. He stood, and called out to her in Nari. "Do my eyes fool me, or are you Inarta?"
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[Ife]

Insomnia was a real pain to deal with. Fortunately, Ife only rarely suffered with poor sleep. But tonight had turned to be one of those nights where the redhead simply could not sleep. And, not wanting to distract or wake her family, Ife had decided that a brisk stroll through the grasses was the ideal way to tire herself out. Tizi, as well, had almost been awake, and had greeted his rider with a fond nicker and quiet snort.

She rode Tizi with a slow walk, taking care to make a minimal level of noise. Already the gentle movement of their ride, and the swaying of her body in time with Tizi's steps, was starting to make Ife yawn. Above the pair, Leth stared down at the sea of grass with his all-seeing milky eye. Strider and rider came to a slow stop, both admiring the quiet swishes of the grass and the endless number of stars above. Ife inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly. Her mind was beginning to clear; so much so in fact that she had already forgotten what it was that had been keeping her awake.

But then Tizi shifted under her, causing the Inarta to frown. Her beloved strider was the single calmest entity she knew. He kept her grounded and steady in a city that constantly shifted and changed. But now Ife could almost feel his unease and growing sense of anxiety. What could have possibly made him so nervous? They were still too close to Endrykas for there to be any real threat of predators. Frowning, Ife began to swing around on her yvas, searching apprehensively for any sign of trouble or worry.

A voice broke out across the darkness, coming not from Endrykas but from the edges of the city. It spoke in a language Ife had heard only once or twice before, but nonetheless she immediately recognised it. Her gut clenched and she inhaled sharply. Though she could not speak the language of her native redheads, Ife recognise that single crucial word: Inarta.

"Hello." She called out, trying her best to keep her voice confident and even despite the nerves that fluttered away in her stomach, "are you- are you out there?" The language she spoke was Pavi, fluent and liquid in a way that only a fluent speaker could achieve. Then, in fractured Common, she tried again: "I talk Pavi. No else. Common a bit."

[Shadyn]

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Shadyn heard her reply first in Pavi, then in Common. From what he could get of her Pavi, he realized that she could not see him in the tall grasses, Xarrt having already settled himself down with his head under his wing. He hailed her in Pavi.

"I know little Pavi. Good common. Wait."

He went over to his saddle beside Xarrt and untied the bag of Lunatite. He poured about half of them out carefully into a neat pile. Though they had been kept in the thick bag, their combined glow was equivalent to that of a small fire, and shed enough light on him that he was sure he was visible. Standing, he waved a hand, yelling in Pavi, "Here!"

Sleeping with his weapons on had become a habit to him, and he wondered if he should take them off now. Fortunately, the only one that would really be visible would be his bow and quiver on his back, since all of the others were concealed by his buttoned katinu.

Xarrt startled him by speaking, though he did not even take his head from under his wing. If you are going to invite someone over here, just make sure you keep things from being too loud. After flying you nearly three thousand miles, I think I deserve a bit of rest.

Shadyn nodded his assent, then realized that Xarrt could not see him. He spoke in hushed Nari. "Fine. I will do my best. But I don't want you interfering either."

Oh I don't plan to...I have better thing to do than manage all of your amorous adventures. Goodnight...

He looked back up and waved again, making sure that he stood behind the pile of Lunatite to keep his face illuminated.

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[Ife]

The unfamiliar voice twisted his language from that of the Inarta to Pavi, much to Ife's appreciation. Still, her stomach was in knots. The prospect of coming face to face with one of her redheaded brethren always distressed Ife. It wasn't that she was in denial about her heritage: her Drykas family had always been honest about her foreignness. But at they same time they had raised her like any other Drykas girl. She identified with their culture far more than she could imagine understanding the Inartan people.

And yet at times such as these, Ife felt awkward about her bloodline and cultural upbringing. When she was twelve years old, she met her first Inartan: a trader that was passing through Endrykas. Her pavilion encouraged her to introduce herself, in order to learn about her biological people. After awkwardly explaining in Pavi that she could not speak Nari, Ife was too embarrassed to talk with him. The trader had looked disappointed, and also a little annoyed, that his fellow Inartan had somehow been tainted by the Drykas culture.

She tapped Tizi's flanks gently with the heel of her feet, kicking the horse into a steady trot towards the source of the voice. Though her stomach was full of nerves, Ife was nevertheless intrigued by this unknown individual. She hoped that in the darkness of the night, some of her modesty would be salvaged and the redhead would not feel to... awkward about her lack of Inartan knowledge.

Only suddenly the darkness exploded into a strange, unnatural green light. Tizi pulled up sharply, throwing his head back with an anxious snort. Though Ife soothed him in a low and tender voice, the strange green glowing disturbed her as well. She had never seen anything like it before.

"What is that?" She asked as soon as Tizzi carried her to within talking distance of the Inarta male. Her eyes remained fixated on the glowing stones, until finally they slid to her companion for the first time. He was tall - impressively and intimidatingly so - and despite the glowing green stones, Ife recognised several facial features shared between herself and this stranger. "Name is Ife." She said, in more of her fractured common, her fingertips brushing the centre of her chest. "What you do here?" Finally, the sleeping monumentally-sized feathery heap caught her attention. Her eyes widened, her mouth became slack is a combination of shock and fear "What is that?" she demanded. It was quite obviously a bird of some type, but Ife had never seen anything so... terrifying.

[Shadyn]

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Shadyn chuckled to himself as the young woman asked two questions in rapid succession. Her name was Ife, apparently...clearly Inartan roots. With the glow of the Lunatite on her face, it was obvious that she shared his ancestry. He decided to answer he in Common, since that was how she chose to address him.

"These are Lunatite. I found an isolated paradise enchanted by the god Leth. These are only the most simple example of what is to be found there. That, my dear woman, is Xarrt, my Wind Eagle. I flew on him from Wind Reach. I have some food, if you would like to join me by the...fire, of sorts. It's not much, but will have to suffice. I am here merely to have an...adventure. I want to learn about the world beyond Wind Reach, where I have spent my whole life up until now."

He stepped forward to help her dismount, but noticed her horse's head whip around to eye him. Turning, he walked to within an arms reach of its sculpted head. Letting his hands fall down to his sides, he looked it in the eyes and spoke to it in subdued Nari. "Hush now, stallion. Listen to my voice, and know I mean no harm. Look into my eyes, as only a mount can do, and see the purity of my heart. Peace, beautiful creature, peace."

It had seemed to have an effect on the creatures he had met earlier in the day, so he hoped it would have the same calming effect on this horse. He had always been good with animals...perhaps it was because they could sense what individuals could not. He turned back to the Ife. This time, the horse did not shy away, a good sign, he felt. Unless it was waiting till he was within biting range...still, it didn't turn its head when he had stood there for another moment, so perhaps he had succeeded.

He looked back up at her, extending his hand. Smiling to himself, he noticed that she did not possess the shyness so characteristic of the Drykas he had met. Yes, indeed, this was one of his kindred, all this way from home. Not just visiting, but by all appearances, living here. Sitting with her, even with the language barrier, would be a fascinating way to pass the night.



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[Ife]

“Lunatite.” Ife repeated the word, slowly and carefully as if saying it aloud might somehow make her suddenly understand the origins and purpose of the strange, glowing substance. She tried to follow what the male was saying, but beyond recognising the name of the God Leth, Ife’s understanding of the mystery substance did not mature further.

Instead, her attention was caught yet again by the oversized eagle ”Xarrt.” She said now, staring yet again at the giant heap of feathers. The stranger had also said Wind Reach, confirming in Ife’s mind that she shared a biological heritage with him. There was that knotting in her stomach again; excitement, fear, anxiety. She wished to ask him questions about their shared people, the mountains, the birds – especially the birds, given the monumentally sized Xarrt that still appeared to be sleeping in the thin glow of the Lunatite.

But the questions died on Ife’s tongue as the stranger approached her beloved mount. She instinctively stepped forwards, standing at Tizi’s head to supervise what the redheaded male was doing and saying to her Strider. Her sharp green eyes did not leave his face until he had finished speaking to Tizi in his native tongue. To her surprise, the horse appeared to instantly calm. She reached out, touching his mane to seek some of the comfort Tizi apparently now felt. If he trusted this stranger, she should as well.

”Will join tonight.” She said eventually, giving a single nod to confirm her attendance to his late night gathering for two. After briefly licking her lips, she added. ”Wind Reach? Inarta?” Her hands moved through the air, gesturing in Grass Sign the words: like me. But then it dawned on Ife that this stranger would not understand her gestures, either. So she tried again, speaking more fractured and jolty Common. ”I am Inarta. I am Drykas too.”

Just for clarification, she tugged on her red hair and then pointed to his hair as well. ”Red. Like me.” With that, she gave a confident smirk. Anxiety aside, she was now intrigued by this stranger, even if his sudden appearance in the night time should bring with it questions and suspicion.

After all, who in the history of Endrykas had been harmed during a night time gathering with a stranger?

[Shadyn]

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Shadyn nodded slowly. “I thought as much. But…how are you here? Our records show only one Endal couple, and they left twenty years ago, never to return.”

He let one hand scratch under her horse’s chin idly as he spoke. This girl was a curiosity, that was for certain. After staring into her eyes – the window to the soul – for a moment, he walked stiffly over to his saddlebags and bend down slowly, sifting through what food he had left to extract the most tasty bits. This amounted to a good variety of berries and tree-fruit, some chunks of roasted rabbit meat smoked over hickory wood, and a few mushrooms. He sat down and motioned for her to take a seat beside him as he spread the goods out on a small piece of fabric. Finished, he rubbed his shoulder slowly, wincing slightly.

“I am sorry that I don’t have more…I have not done as much hunting of late as I would like. I will buy food in the morning, though, so eat all that you wish.”



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[Ife]

Endal.

She had heard that word before from her Drykas parents who, once she was deemed old enough, had told her all they knew about the Inarta people. If Ife remember correctly, the Endals were their equivalent to the Watch; the guardians and warriors of the redheaded folk. Her parents had speculated that perhaps Ife’s birth parents had been Endals, but she had failed to feel proud about this at the time.

In response to his question, Ife shrugged and glanced downwards to the earth. There had been many theories from many different Drykas that had attempted to explain how the then four-year old Ife had ended up wandering the Sea of Grass. Beyond being close to a miracle that she had survived, her arrival in Endrykas had also been something of a mystery. ”They think that...” Ife faltered and swallowed nervously. Her limited Common tongue meant that she could not describe in any true detail the most popular theory that tried to explain what might have happened to her Inartan family. Instead, she raised her left hand, slicing it slowly through the air to demonstrate some unnamed flying creature. ”Something from sky came down…” Now her left hand dropped downwards, hitting the palm of her right hand again and again in an act that was meant to portray a vicious attack. ”But I ran away. Then my father found me.” With that, her summary was completed and Ife concluded it with a final, if not slightly morose, nod. Though she could remember nothing of her Inarta family, she nevertheless felt regret about their gruesome death. There had been more than just two deaths day: a Drykas couple, three mercenaries, an Inartan couple (presumably her parents), and there had even been evidence that there had been more than one child with the travelling party.

Which meant that Ife had once had a brother or sister.

”Food looks good.” She said cheerfully, sitting down and starting to pick at the roasted rabbit meat. She was not really that hungry, having eaten with her Drykas family earlier that night, but Ife did not want to seem rude. ”So… why you leave Wind Reach?” She asked eventually, glancing up to the dark haired Inarta under her eyelashes.

[Shadyn]

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Two Endals…dead. Their Wind Eagles would have been heavily wounded, at least, as well. He doubted that the Wind Eagles had died…more Drykas would have known about that. Instead, the eagles must have lived long enough to try to hunt down whatever killed their riders…and then died. Which meant that there was some extraordinarily freakish monster dwelling in the Cyphrus region. From what she told him, he presumed that he had just found the answer to the missing Endal couple from Wind Reach records. The memory seemed to pain her…yet at the same time she harbored an obvious love for her heritage…largely thanks to the wisdom and forthrightness of her surrogate parents.

“I left because I have never been meant to stay. Wind Reach is my home, and always will be, but…I need to earn respect when it is not given. I am an orphan as well. My father left long before I was born, and my mother died because she gave birth to me on a glacier – a giant river of ice – outside of the city. The only person with whom I have any significant relationship is my adoptive father, and Xarrt. Xarrt was, in fact, my mother’s Wind Eagle as well…he has played a greater part in getting me to where I am in life than anyone else. I left to seek adventure, to find definition to my shapeless dreams, and to find where I fit in the world. I will return within the season, but I will always continue to wander.”

He shrugged. “It’s just who I am. Seeing the world and all that. How about you…what are your dreams?” Grinning, Shadyn added as an afterthought, “I’m sure someone as beautiful as yourself has their pick of men…for all I know, you could even have a family of your own…still, that doesn’t mean you don’t have dreams. What are they?”



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[Ife]

Ife listened intently as the stranger explained himself. Though she only understood parts of what he was saying, the redhead was entranced with his words; how they sounded, the way his lips moved. She followed enough of his story to know that he too, had lost his Inartan parents, and that the giant eagle behind him formed some hugely significant part of his life. "I have bird, too." She said, realising that she had not shared this piece of information with him yet. And now Ife gestured excitedly, shaping the words falcon fledging with her hands despite guessing that he would not understand them. Their shared ownership of birds - despite the momentous size differences - somehow built a bridge between Ife and this stranger that suddenly made her trust him more. "Like Inarta I raise, then train, my bird. His name is food. Thirty days old." Her lips cracked into a helpless smile as she thought of her the chick that she had raised since the start of the season.

Her smile only grew when Ife paid more attention to the Wind Eagle. With a hapless giggle, she added "bit smaller than... Xarrt." Her pronunciation of the eagle's name had been poor, but she paid no mind. Instead, she was quite obviously transfixed with the bird in question. Though her mind still struggled to accept a bird so large, her previous anxiety had gave way to keen excitement. She wanted to explore, to learn!

"My dreams?" She repeated carefully. Her grin faltered minutely, not out of nerves but out of thought. Had she understood his question correctly? She was wondering how best to describe her aspirations to him when the male bought up a follow-up comment. Without even realising it, Ife blushed and her gaze dropped to the grass earth. His compliment had been unexpected, and the fact it had come in the form of a language other than Pavi added to her surprise. Nevertheless, Ife found that her smile had changed from intrigued and excited to shy, perhaps even flirtatious. The darkness, the green light, the stranger... She was enjoying this rendezvous more than she dare admit. "No man. No family." She said quietly, wafting her hand to dismiss the very idea in a coquettish manner. "And you? You have... a woman?"