Closed Asleep or Dead? [Asarni]

[Kaitanu]

10th Spring 516

Kaitanu’s first Spring in the Sea of Grass was already proving to be an exercise in adaptability. Not a week ago it had been raining, muddy and cold. Today the air around him was distorted as heat rose upward to a yellow sky. Not quite a Summer heat, as Yuki had told him during breakfast, but still warmer than the animals in their winter coats liked. The horses and goats kept to the scarce shade and rubbed their ragged flanks against tree trunks or posts, hoping to shed a little more thick fur. Dravite had said it was too early in the year to fully brush the winter coats away. Raven, of course, agreed; they had seen too many seasons to think Winter was truly gone. The animals would just have to do with their shade and a wallow downstream.

For that purpose, Kaitanu was sent in the late afternoon toward the river south of the city, leading the Blackwater pavilion’s herd of zibri toward a good drink and a chance to cool off. Usually, they were allowed to wander on their own in search of water and proper grazing. They never seemed to go too far, or to get into too much trouble. Only recently had the pavilion had to be more watchful of their stock. Recent thefts in the area had everyone on edge, and until that could be sorted everyone had to take their turn at guard duty. Goats stayed near the tents, and the horses were smart enough to keep out of trouble, but zibri could be easy pickings given the right circumstances. Knowing this, Kaitanu was on the alert for cattle thieves. He was also silently praying to no one in particular for a quiet shift. The pale kelvic was no fighter, notwithstanding his great physical strength. That was why Dravite’s coal-black imperial watcher had been sent along as well. Grim’s very appearance might be enough to make any robbers pause in their tracks. At least, Kaitanu hoped so. He would rather avoid trouble than try to get out of it.

So far, there had been no signs of anyone else heading toward the river, aside from an older Drykas with his own herd. As they drew a bit nearer one another the old man squinted suspiciously at the kelvic just a few yards from him. Kaitanu was used to such looks. Notwithstanding the generosity of the Blackwater pavilion he was not quite welcome everywhere else. After the pirate raid and the livestock-stealing outsiders seemed to stand out more than ever, and Kaitanu’s milk-white, scarred skin and pale hair weren’t easy to hide. At least the older man was too preoccupied to do anything more to him that scowl and drive his herd further off. Kaitanu would do whatever he could to defend the pavilion’s zibri, but he still had trouble with the concept of defending himself. For the moment it looked like he wouldn’t have to do either.

[Asarni Zelluni]

Today was hot, muggy in a way that suggested that there would be even more heat to come, and Asarni did not like it one bit. Neither did Lintanai, who had snorted and complained the whole way down the river, although as soon as Asarni had taken off the yvas, the Strider had been more than happy to plunge into the river, going so far as to actually lay down in it as a dog would, after splashing water up onto his belly for several minutes. The Drykas rolled her eyes at the horse's antics as she carefully spread her things out in the shade of one of the few trees dotting the riverside; with Lintanai standing watch - unless the stallion drifted off, which was likely - perhaps she would have a little bit of time to practice her Webbing.

Asarni had been initiated into Webbing the Summer before the Zith attacks, in 514AV. It had been an interesting experience, to say the least; her Ankhal had taken her djed and carefully introduced it to the extensive Web that covered all of the Cyphrus grasslands, drawing her into it as well and giving her a Web body that would allow her to travel the Web and receive information from it. Since then, all of her Pavilion had been too busy for her to get very much time to practice, and today Asarni was determined to do at least a little bit of exactly that.

She knew that it wasn't smart to practice Webbing on her own, especially not with how inexperienced she was, but she wasn't going to go far; she wasn't even really going to leave her body more than a few feet away. She just wanted to practice, wanted to feel the Web again, and maybe see if she could get some information of good hunting spots. If anyone saw her while she was traveling the Web, they would assume she was taking a nap along the riverbank, unless they watched her for more than a few chimes; then, they would see that her physical body was only pulling in very shallow breaths, enough to keep her body alive, but also little enough that she might appear almost dead.

Asarni glanced around one more time as she settled against the tree trunk, bow and arrow in her lap, held ready to be drawn in a moment should she need to, though her reaction would be delayed from the brief disorientation of having to fling her Web body back into her physical one. Large predators were rarely inclined to travel close to Endrykas, and the city of tents was only a few chimes away to the north. Hopefully Asarni would be able to get an undisturbed practice in.

Ignoring the phantom voice in her head that sounded an awful lot like her Ankhal scolding her for being so stupid in what she was about to do, Asarni let herself relax, eyes sliding shut as she carefully followed the instructions she had been given when she'd first been initiated into the Web. She evened her breathing as she envisioned herself sitting on the same plane as the Webs, carefully feeling through her body for the same detachment points as she'd felt when she had been initiated. One at each joint, Asarni remembered, gently beginning the process of detaching her Web body. It took a few chimes to do so; Asarni was much more careful with magic than she was with just about anything else in her life except maybe animals, and even that was just occasionally cautious around nervous or panicked animals.

When the body was detached, however, Asarni stood up, leaving her physical body slumbering under the tree. Smiling slightly to herself, Asarni looked out over the river and the plains; she could see the glowing lines of the Web now, brilliant whites and blues that crisscrossed the landscape. Careful to keep one eye on her physical body, Asarni set out along one line, bending down to touch it and draw information from it. Images and thoughts flickered past her own, and Asarni had to grit her teeth in concentration, trying to sort out the information. It was hard, and if she were in a corporeal body, she would most definitely have a headache, but after a couple of moments the Drykas had the information she was looking for: Good hunting spots for this part of the plains. Asarni got caught up in the information, too busy reading it to keep an eye on her body for the moment, and completely forgetting about her Ankhal's warnings about spending extended periods of time by one's self in the Web.

~*~

[Kaitanu]

Kaitanu was aware of Asarni’s presence as yet another detail in the wide expanse of grass and trees. She looked like one comfortably asleep and not of immediate concern. Had the zibri not veered too close to her he would have passed the woman by without any fuss. Kaitanu was always keen to escape undue notice or trouble. Unfortunately, for all his caution, the very thing he was trying to avoid happened anyway.

As the herd made its way toward the shimmering water they had to come over a small rise in the ground, then down again and past the tree under which the woman dozed. There should have been more than enough room, but other groups of zibri were hemming in Kaitanu and his bunch. And, as the day grew hotter still, the very scent of moisture on the heavy air was enough to make the animals anxious. Almost the moment they crested the small hill there was a palpable change in the herd. Kane and Dread, the oldest bulls without their own herd, had broken the line first, and that was all it took for the calm migration to turn half-chaotic. Some of the younger zibri increased their pace toward the river and relief from the heat. In spite of elders butting at them with their heavy heads, the youngsters had started to break up every which way, tantalized by the sun-sparkling water. A few of the new calves tried to follow, bleating eagerly, but were either knocked over or nipped back into line by their mothers. But even they had quickened their pace, and were less careful of where they put their hooves. Unfortunately for Asarni the herd was heading right for her, and she didn’t seem to notice.

Kaitanu, on the other hand, became suddenly aware of the danger. He could feel his stomach tighten as a few of the massive horned animals cantered directly at the sleeping figure, blind to anything but their goal. They were not at a stampede yet, but Zibri didn’t have to go fast to do damage; just a trip or an errant hoofstep. It was difficult not to imagine the possible outcomes; dead or wounded Drykas, the anger of her people toward his pavilion, shame and displeasure on Dravite’s part… These things troubled the kelvic as he trotted ahead to place himself between the herd and the tree, with Grim following at his heels, barking and shoving his weight around without any finesse. Kaitanu had little control over the dog, which was not his, and even less over the herd. All he could do was to guide the zibri away from the tree and the woman without spooking them into a panic.

Just before the frontrunners of the herd could reach the sleeping woman Kaitanu met them, not halting but running alongside to head the big males off. They could easily have turned their enormous horns to gore him, or have simply knocked the kelvic down and trampled him to death. Thankfully they were too intent on the river, and instead altered their course automatically to avoid the pale man. Three or four passed only a few feet from the tree, but the worst they did was kick up a few clods of earth on the sleeper’s legs. Most of the others followed further off in a great lowing pack. While they passed him Kaitanu stood like a pale guard over the woman. In the back of his mind he was surprised that she had not woken with the growing noise around her. Zibri were never quiet, and when they became excited, even less so. As the last of the herd lumbered by he turned to make certain she was alright and found that she still lay silent, her bow across her lap, apparently unaware of her danger.

Kaitanu gazed at the sleeping woman for a moment, but he wasn’t going to stay there and leave the herd on its own. Baffled as he was by her continued insensibility, Kaitanu had already turned back to the herd. Rarely did he allow his own curiosity to overrule other considerations, such as the commands of his ankal. At any rate, she didn’t look dead, and if there was anything Kaitanu recognized on sight it was death. The woman was probably just a deep sleeper, and he would just as soon leave her alone as have to deal with an irate Drykas short one nap.

Grim, on the other hand, saw no reason to put off finding out whatever he wanted to know. Before Kaitanu could stop him the imperial watcher had turned from the herd and was sniffing all around Asarni’s face as though she interested him. The first few whiffs were merely curious, but as Kaitanu moved in to try and pull him away, the dog began to whine a bit, and its pink tongue flicked out over Asarni’s skin. Perhaps there was a feeling of something off about her, or about a body without its consciousness, that the dog could sense. Kaitanu might have done so as well in his horse form, or yet he might not. All he knew now was that Grim was acting strangely, pawing at the woman’s arm and nudging her with his nose. The kelvic had never seen him do such a thing before, especially not with a stranger. Was there something wrong with this one? He could see her chest rise and fall, but she hadn’t woken up, even with all the commotion, and a face-full of dog-breath. There hadn’t been so much as the shiver of an eyelash, so far as he could tell.

A slight frown pulled at the kelvic’s lips, which on his usually impassive face was something. This un-waking seemed familiar, but how and when he didn’t know. Something about it- like death, but not like… Kaitanu wasn’t sure what it meant, or exactly what to do. In his fractured mind the kelvic was busy weighing new options. If he left the herd on its own now and one was stolen, or something else happened… He could not bear to see the ankal unhappy, or to fail him after he had been so kind. Perhaps, Kaitanu thought, he should leave the woman there and hope someone would find her.

But what if something happened to her? A deep kernel of his own true nature wouldn’t allow Kaitanu to put anyone in danger, not if he could help it. Should he try and wake the woman? And if he could not, should he go and get help from one of the other herders? Would they think he had killed her, or done something else? Outsiders were not well thought of at the best of times, and lately things had been worse for his kind. If he dithered too long the others might see him, and the woman, and the dog, and come to their own wrong conclusions.

“Mistress…are you alright?” Kaitanu leaned in and touched Asarni’s shoulder with his long, white fingers, nudging her far more gently than Grim had done. The dog kept licking her face, and Kaitanu didn’t try to stop him. It might bring her around. “Mistress, are you alright? Will you wake?”

A moment later, he remembered a Pavi word the children at the pavilion had said often enough. “Wake? Wake?”

[Asarni Zelluni]

Asarni was distantly aware of something rumbling across the ground; it sounded like hoofbeats, but for the moment they were far enough away that the young woman dismissed them, still too absorbed in learning all that she could from the strand of Web that she was standing on. When she felt as though something was rubbing over her face, however, Asarni frowned, finally looking back towards her physical body. She was shocked to realize how close a herd of zibri was to her, but even more shocked to realize that that rubbing sensation was actually a dog's tongue. Which was currently still licking her cheek.

There was a pale man kneeling next to her, a worried expression on his face, and Asarni's expression turned into something panicked. "Hey!" she shouted; she could see his mouth moving, but couldn't make out what he was saying. Remembering that others would not be able to sense her Web body, Asarni growled in frustration, darting back and all but throwing herself back into her body, taking time to make sure that she was properly anchored back into her body before she tried to move it.

Her first action was to jerk away with a yell, taking the bow and arrows with her. "Hey!" she yelped, floundering a bit on the ground; from the riverbank, Lintanai snorted, looking up from his nap - after deciding that Asarni was not actually in danger, he went back to it, blowing out a large sigh. "Stupid horse," Asarni muttered to herself before returning her attention to the man and the dog - an Imperial Watcher, and a good specimen, too. The man, on the other hand...

His... Well, his everything was pale, much too pale to be a Drykas. An outsider then, and unlikely to understand much, if any, Pavi. "Who are you?" Asarni demanded, hand tightening around her bow. "What are you doing here?"

~*~

[Kaitanu]

Almost the exact moment Asarni wrenched away from Kaitanu he pulled back as well, taking Grim along by the collar. Unlike the woman his posture of submissiveness; head down, eyes averted, almost as though he was prepared for a blow. However, he did not raise an arm in defense. It was a posture so automatic as to have become second nature. Kaitanu didn’t realize he had assumed the old position of a slave. Asarni’s waking was so abrupt it startled him into a default action. A moment later, as though he himself had come out of a daze, the kelvic’s still frame relaxed slightly, and he glanced up at the woman. Not quite enough to meet her eyes, but nearly.

“Pardon.” Kaitanu bobbed his head, a little less like a slave than before. “Pardon. You sleep. I wake.” The kelvic’s Pavi was poor at best. His fractured mind wouldn’t learn anything as quickly as he would like, though he understood Asarni well enough. If her words didn’t serve her suspicious looks said plenty.

Scooting back a little more, and with Grim still in hand, Kaitanu waited to see what the woman would do. He still felt himself at the disposal of any who wished to give commands, and she had not yet dismissed him. The imperial watcher at his side whined a bit in eagerness to get in a few more sniffs, but Kaitanu held him back, afraid to offend the woman further. Even a strong Drykas would have had trouble keeping hold of such a determined animal- and Grim was straining at his collar- but Kaitanu barely noticed. His attention was wholly fixed on the woman, gauging whether or not she was a threat, and how she was likely to behave. Her obvious beauty- golden hair, golden skin, slim figure- were noted only in passing. Kaitanu was far more interested in the way she held herself. Smaller women than Asarni had done grave damage, and he had the scars to prove as much.

Apology. He signed with his free hand. No harm. Apology.

In the very back of his mind, Kaitanu thought that her waking had been odd, abrupt even. A memory was triggered of seeing someone, he did not know who, pulled from the water nearly drowned. They had come up as if dead, then gasped back to life, choking out half a lake of water. Somehow, the way Asarni had woken reminded him of that. He didn't know why, exactly, and would not have dared to ask.

[Asarni Zelluni]

Now that she was no longer quite so concerned about immediate danger to her body, and she had put some distance between herself and the strange man, Asarni was able to calm down and actually get a good look at who had interrupted her Webbing practice. The first thing she noticed was that he was holding himself not unlike a wary or spooked horse or dog would - hunched in a bit, not quite able to look her in the eye. That posture relaxed slightly after a few ticks, but the reluctance to meet her gaze stayed, and Asarni blinked as she realized that the man looked like he was expecting her to lash out and hit him.

Glancing around and determining that they were alone, save for the animals, Asarni moved carefully, setting her bow to the side and settling herself into a more deliberately relaxed position in an effort to show that she was not going to attack. Her attention was drawn by a whine from the dog that the man was holding back, and she couldn't help a slight smile; the dog was gorgeous, and clearly friendly - but he was also a good size. And the way he was straining against the other's hold should have made the man show signs of strain, but he wasn't even sweating. He didn't even really seem to realize that he had a large, excited dog in his arms. He signed a word Asarni recognized - Apology. He was apologizing - for what? Waking her? Startling her?

Either way, Asarni nodded, acting in the same careful but calm manner that she would use around an uneasy animal; she was not certain why this man had reacted the way that he had, but Asarni figured that perhaps treating him as though he were a wary animal would help to put him at ease. She had no idea as to his true nature, of course, and the Drykas did not have the greatest track record with her interactions with other humans, but she was doing the best she could with her limited knowledge and experience; only time would tell if she was behaving in the right way to get the other man to relax even a little bit more around her. She did regret startling him so badly, yelling and flailing as she had when he had done nothing besides attempt to wake her. "It is... okay," the Drykas says, searching for the right words in Common; she could speak Common, but rarely had a cause to. "I am sorry for... scaring you. Thank you for waking me." Asarni attempted to give a reassuring smile; she was able to keep her posture loose and relaxed, hopefully inviting the same posture in the other human, but she was not sure how 'reassuring' her smile would be. Smiles were generally not required when soothing a spooked or startled animal.

~*~

[Kaitanu]

Now it was Kaitanu’s turn to be confused by an apology. In nearly every case he assumed he had been in the wrong, and now was no different. Why had she changed so suddenly? The way she now held herself seemed odd when compared with her previous, aggressive posture. And she was smiling at him in that placating way usually reserved for children hiding behind their mothers.

Kaitanu could think of nothing else to do at first except to try and smile back. Unfortunately, since he wasn’t used to making any sort of facial expression aside from passive blankness, his smile ended up looking more like a wince. The kelvic’s expression slid back into default almost immediately afterward. At the very least, he did visibly relax somewhat, which ought to have pleased Asarni.

“You are…welcome.” the kelvic murmured, hoping that was the proper response. She was speaking Common, but he couldn’t think of what to say beyond that, and lapsed into an awkward silence. He never quite knew what to do when others behaved as though he were a spooked animal. Not that it happened often, but Kaitanu couldn’t figure out the proper way to respond. Outside of the Blackwater pavilion, and a few others, he wasn’t used to anyone treating him like he mattered. Why this stranger should take the trouble was beyond him. Then again, many things in this world were beyond him. Kaitanu assumed almost at once that the woman had other reasons to try a gentle approach.

While his expression betrayed nothing but a blank passivity his brain considered the woman before him. Her grey eyes kept moving between himself and the dog he held. Was she afraid of Grim? Perhaps she was only trying to pacify a large, potentially dangerous dog, and by extension the hand that held him back. Grim had sort of given up trying to move and sat down, tongue lolling out to one side in the heat. Not exactly the picture of a killer, but Kaitanu could understand why the woman would be concerned. She didn’t know dog or kelvic, and so had no idea how little threat there was from either. Grim was almost as soft with humans as Kaitanu.

“I beg Mistress’ pardon, but he will not harm you.” The kelvic inclined his head respectfully. He still wondered about the strange sleep Asarni had been under, but didn't think to ask. At least, not at the moment, but his keen eyes were not just watching her for signs of further violence. Would she give other hints before passing into unconsciousness again? All he could determine was that it didn't seem normal.