[Just outside the city] Hungry like the wolf (Amaya)

[Trista]

Winter, 509 AV

Trista was always looking for a new subject for her art. Konti and Eloab had both provided her with plenty of material -- her sketchbook was full of drafts that she planned on developing further -- but she was perpetually restless in her creativity.

Riverfall, she had been told, was a fascinating city with even more fascinating architecture. And, looking up at it from the outside, she had certainly been told the truth. The city occupied nearly the entire side of a massive cliff, bounded on one side by a roaring waterfall. It looked like something out of a dream, and Trista thought it would make an excellent drawing.

It was bitterly cold; snow covered the ground, and the wind was biting. Onboard the Zeltivan trading ship that had brought Trista here, the sailors had been bundled up against the elements until their eyes were very nearly the only thing showing. As an Akvatari, however, Trista was largely unaffected; perhaps as some kind of compensation for their lack of a history, they were better equipped than nearly any race in Mizahar to withstand extreme cold. Trista wasn't even wearing a jacket -- jackets in general were difficult things for a winged race -- opting instead for the simple black leather strip around her bust.

The girl opened her satchel and withdrew a pad and a pencil. Turning so that she was facing away from the wind, she fluttered her wings and gently settled to the ground, curling her tail in front of her -- she wanted a view from the bottom first before trying to capture the scene from any other angles. Then she arranged her art materials and began sketching the outlines of the buildings and rocks that were before her.

[Amaya]

On the outskirts of the city, Amaya wandered around playing in the snow with a few stray dogs she had become friends with along the way. She leaped over a fallen tree and chased a female stray down to the docks. She froze when she noticed a person sitting all alone in the snow. She got closer and noticed it was a beautiful Akvatari with what seemed like a sketchpad in her lap.

"Hey there, what are you doing out here all by yourself?" Amaya asked cautiously approaching the Akvatari on her hands and knees, making her seem more like an animal than a person. Being a wolf didn't help her cautiousness of strangers or her fearfulness of being betrayed. "Why are you not wearing a sweater? Aren't you cold being dressed like that?"

[Trista]

It wasn't entirely a surprise to be met by someone else this close to the city, but the manner in which the stranger approached gave Trista pause. Drawing a picture while sitting in the snow was admittedly unorthodox, but crawling through the snow was even weirder, at least to Trista's mind.

"I'm Akvatari." She shrugged, and gave a half-smile. "It has to be a lot colder than this for me to feel it." If one dove deep enough, especially in places where the current came down from the north, the chill that was present was enough to make the current situation seem positively balmy.

"And...I'm drawing." Trista was conscious that this sounded at least slightly crazy. She held up her sketchbook, which showed a drawing barely half-finished, but one that was recognizably of Riverfall. "I heard the outside of the city was a beautiful scene, and so I thought I'd come and sketch it."

"Anyway," she said, breaking away from that train of thought, "I'm Trista. Are you...looking for something?" It was the only reason Trista could fathom for the other girl's behavior, although even that was a longshot. There was a puzzled look on the Akvatari's face as she asked the question.

[Amaya]

Amaya gave a sigh of relief to know that this girl was not dangerous, at least, she didn't appeared to be. She crawled over to the girl and sat down in the snow beside her.
"I'm a wolf Kelvic." Amaya explained, replying to the confusion in Trista's eyes as she had made her way toward the Akvatari. "My master recently died last season and sent me out on my own. I was just playing with these stray dogs when I noticed you."
Amaya stroked one of the strays' backs and the dog wagged its tail happily.
"It's not everyday that we meet someone new who's beautiful and strange like you."

[Trista]

Kelvic? Trista had never met one of that race, but she was aware of their existence, as well as some of their more peculiar traits. If this one was a wolf in her other form, it went a long way toward explaining her more unusual behavior.

Something the other girl had said nagged at Trista though. "Your master is dead?" There was a moment's hesitation in the Akvatari's voice. "I...are any of these other canines Kelvic as well?" It didn't seem to be the case, but it couldn't hurt to ask. "I am sorry for your loss." The note of sadness in Trista's voice was genuine.

"Have you..." She tried to think of how to phrase the question. "Have you found another to bond with? I have never met one of your people; I only know what I have heard, but I have heard that you...are happier with a partner." These were alien concepts to Trista, and she didn't know how delicate she needed to be in discussing them. However, the Kelvic woman seemed to be fairly forward.

A blush came to Trista's face, which was an unusual sensation to her. "Strange maybe," she said, not really understanding the reason for the compliment. "But I don't imagine you meet very many people sitting out in the snow..."

[Amaya]

"No, these are just strays from the town." Amaya answered. She expected the question seeing as she hung out with them so much. "And no, I have not found anyone else to bond with... nobody seems to want to bond with a wolf Kelvic. They must think I'll turn on them when it suits me best or something. And yes, we are much happier when we have a partner."

Amaya got an idea in her head and smiled at Trista. "Would you possibly want to be my partner? I can be very helpful and do just about anything, though guarding and tracking are what I'm best at. I cook well and clean some."

[Trista]

Trista thought it odd that a Kelvic would have a lack of bonding opportunities, wolf or no -- after all, most of the stories she'd heard about the Kelvic concerned their fierce loyalty. Maybe they had a different reputation here in Riverfall.

She was still pondering that thought when the Kelvic asked her next question, which took Trista completely by surprise. Several different expressions crossed her face before she finally settled on a sort of combination puzzlement and curiosity.

"Erm...that's sort of a quick question, isn't it -- we've only just met, and I still don't know your name." But the remainder of her objections were stopped in her throat. There was something in the Kelvic's eyes, a certain hopefulness, that made Trista pause. What would it be like to be designed solely to serve and aid another person, only to have no one to serve? And, more to the point, what was going to happen to this girl alone here in Riverfall? If she hadn't found anyone to bond with by now, she was likely either to fall in with someone unscrupulous or get herself killed.

Trista briefly looked at the empty sky. "Avalis...is this a test?" she asked quietly. Without expecting an answer, she looked back at the Kelvic, and this time, she smiled back.

"Well, Akvatari don't cook, so you're free and clear there, but if you're interested in cleaning and guarding, I think we could probably arrange something."

[Amaya]

A smile appeared on Amaya's face and stretched from ear to ear. She resisted the urge to hug the Akvatari and simply said, "Thank you so much, Trista! And my name is Amaya. My father named me after the night rain that fell the night I was born."

Amaya was overjoyed at finally having another person whom she could bond with and become close friends with. She had been so lonely in Riverfall with only the stray dogs to play with and talk to about her troubles. Maybe now that things were starting to look up for the little wolf, she could finally begin to put the pieces of her past back together again and hopefully remember the face of her forgotten mother.

[Trista]

Trista wasn't used to this kind of effusive gratitude, and she turned slightly red. "You're...you're quite welcome, Amaya."

For a moment, she didn't say anything else. It occurred to her that they ought to have some plan about what they were going to do next. Trista had been wandering from place to place for the past year with little to guide her but her own whims; although there was some more traveling she wanted to do, it would perhaps be a good idea to do some planning right about now.

"Is there somewhere you've been staying in Riverfall? I wasn't planning on being here long -- was there anything you were wanting or needing to do here? And if not...is there somewhere you do want to go?"

Even as she said it, Trista realized that she wasn't acting very much like a "master." If that was really the role Amaya wanted her to play, it was going to take some getting used to for her. A bit sheepishly, she looked back at the Kelvic. "Erm...I'm kind of new at this, you know. What am I...erm...supposed to do as your...master? And is there anything particular I have to do to...bond?"

[Amaya]

Amaya leaned over and kissed Trista's cheek. "That's all I have to do to bond with someone." she explained. "There's never been a specific ritual or anything for us to bond with another race. As to where I want to go, there is no where I'd like to go. I'm a wanderer searching for clues about who my mother is, or was, and how I could find her. I am now bonded to you and must go where you go and do what you wish me to do."

Amaya's heart warmed as she bonded with the Akvatari and yet she still felt saddened at the fact she couldn't find anything to help her find her mother. It was all she could do to hold back tears of sadness and force a smile upon her face to her new master.