Closed Whispers From The Past

[Kamilla]

5th of Winter, 519AV

It was early morning when Kamilla arrived at the agreed upon meeting spot, dressed in dark dyed Isuas Pants and a short along with her trademark thigh high boots. The sun had not quite appeared over the jungle yet, though judging by the faint glow it wouldn't be much longer till it did. She was wearing her human form today, tan skin barely exposed by her protective jungle attire, her mass of thick dark waves tied into a tight ponytail to keep it out of the way as dark brown eyes searched for the person who'd requested her assistance.

Currently, Jehu was nowhere to be seen, though she knew he was somewhere as she hadn't seen any sign of him while padding his tent. The two of them lived rather near to eachother in comparison to the rest of the settlement, both their homes located far south, near Treasure Point. The Chaktawe had specifically requested her expertise on some peculiar symbols located in the jungle nearby the settlement, at least that was what she'd been told. Of course, there was no guarantee that Kamilla would be able to decipher whatever the symbols were, but knowledge on both glyphing and Nader-Canoch at least gave her a better chance at understanding them than the average person.

If she was being honest, she wasn't sure if Jehu had asked her to come along on behalf of Syka, being a ranger, or if it was a personal favor between friends. Regardless, she was happy to oblige, Jehu's place in her life had slowly grown more important over the two seasons since they'd met and the settlement had been too quiet for a place that had proven itself to be prone to highly unusual happenings. If there was a chance that she could stop one such happening before it happened, Kamilla was willing to take it.

She found it odd, the sense of belonging that had developed in Syka, she felt as if she eere truly a part of its community and by extention, she found herself wanting to assist where she could. Perhaps it was simply the fact that she'd made a home for herself, literally, or perhaps it was something more. Kamilla was uncertain, but she knew she didn't feel the need, or even want, to leave the settlement any time soon.

A small yawn escaped her red painted lips, the only hint of makeup upon Kamilla's face, yet one she couldn't bring herself to leave without. Since she was still waiting, she decided to do a quick check of her belongings, pulling her pack from her back and looking into it.

Some food, glyphing supplies like ink and paper. Her grimoire. Opaque Spectacles. Her raven feather fan hung from her hip, light and the feathers it resembled. A waterskin. Her spidersilk wand. Beneath her shirt, around her left upper arm, was the ethereal looking ghostly armband, just incase their problem was ghost related.

Kamilla may not have been an expert at surviving in the jungle, even after several seasons of living at its edge as well as numerous near death experiences whilst venturing into it, but she couldn't think of anything else she might have needed. In fact, Jehu hadn't actually mentioned how far they'd be traveling, she'd just assumed it would be nearby. Hopefully, they wouldn't be staying overnight as she hadn't brought anything comfortable enough to sleep on, nor did she like the idea of sleeping in yhe perilous jungle.

594

[Jehu]

Jehu

Jehu had not really seen the strange ruins rumored to lay in the jungle near Syka. Anything he knew of their existence wsa from Buraga or overhearing conversations around the settlement. The one glimpse he had seen was from a distance, mostly hidden by the deep jungle as he and Indigo had hunted. the sight gave him an eerie feeling and he drew no closer. He was still a man of the desert inside, where rare, sun-dried ruins were cloaked in dark folklore and superstition. It was not easy to overcome those deep-seated notions. Still, the longer he lived in Syka, the ome lost civilization through the jungle, seeds of curiosity sprouted within the Chaktawe.

It had only been a few days since he and Indigo came across the stone while hunting. Jehu had almost overlooked it as they passed, until he noted the precise, moss-covered angles of the mostly buried rock. Indigo had grumbled when Jehu paused to investigate. But after pulling away some of the foliage covering the rocks, he saw curious writing carved into them. Jehu felt the hair on his arms and the back of his neck raise as his fingers traced the etched characters. They were not near the Maw, where most of the ruins were know to be. Seeing the strange symbols stirred a curiosity in the Chaktawe, having never taken the time to study anything as old as the writing stones appeared to be.

Indigo grew impatient, urging Jehu to leave the dead writing to the dead and get on with the hunt. But the Chaktawe remained intrigued, remembering the strange feeling when he touched the old stone. When they returned to the settlement, Jehu tracked down Kamilla to tell her about them. He swore there was something unusual about the writing, remembering the sensation he felt when he touched the ancient stone. Perhaps he was imagining things, having his awareness of the nature of magic enlightened after meeting Kam.

He insisted she see them. Jehu didn't mention it to anyone else. The old stone may have been nothing, there were certainly more interesting ruins said to haunt the jungles around them, who would think anything of his stone? Also, he knew Kam did not make it common knowledge that she was a mage. He thought it best that she be the one to look at the writing to see if it was significant. His friend agreed to go.

Jehu was becoming more adept at jungle travel, but decided not to take a chance and bribed Indigo into letting them tag along when she went to forage, convincing her to do so near the old stone. The Chaktawe was not sure he could find it again anyway, while he knew the Dhani half-breed could. It would cost him not only sharpening a dozen of Indigo's arrowheads, but washing up a load of her laundry. He threatened to go to Nya as a guide, the kelvic hunting cat was rumored to be the best. Indigo laughed in derision and ensured Jehu the feral woman would eat him before she did anything for him.

So, that morning, the small party would go find the stone again. Jehu found Kam waiting. He had his pack ready with his typical gear for a day. The large kopis knife was strapped to the side of the pack, while his short hunting spear was in his hand, much like a walking stick. High boots, Isuas pants and a long sleeve shirt completed his gear. Indigo seemed to suddenly appear in the dim light of dawn, as if she had been there the whole time and waited to make herself known only after the others had arrived.

Her gaze slid over Kamilla with little indication of her thoughts on the woman. She then held Jehu's eyes for a long moment before turning towards the deeper jungle. "Come on." She intoned with little emotion.

Assuming his practiced 'jungle' behavior, Jehu used the butt of the spear to prod his path ahead of him and push aside foliage in the way. He kept an eye on where he was going, as well as swinging his gaze around frequently. He followed behind Kam.

"These might not mean anything." Jehu commented. Now that he had made a big deal about the writing on the stone and dragged his friend out into the jungle, he wondered if they really were special. He found them interesting, and he swore there was something when he touched them. "Either way, I want to know more about the ruins they say lie in the jungle. I want to ask Randall or Mathias what they know. She doesn't know anything, or even cares." He pointed his spear towards Indigo.

"I heard that, desert man." She tossed back over her shoulder.

[Kamilla]

Upon arriving, Kamilla did not have to wait very long at all before Jehu showed up, dressed very similarly to herself. As usual when laying eyes upon the handsome desert man that she’d grown quite fond of over the past few seasons, an involuntary but not insincere smile spread across her face. It was the first time she’d seen her friend in more clothes rather than less and all she could think to herself was that clothing suited him just as much as his usual state of undress.

Opening her mouth to utter a greeting, her words were quickly cut short by the casual emergence of another person from the jungle border right beside her, somewhat startling the young mage though she felt as if she’d done a good job at hiding it. The wild looking woman must have been their guide, though Kamilla wondered just how long she’d been lurking about, not that it mattered.

Kamilla offered the woman a subtle nod as a greeting.

”Come on.”

Unsurprised to find that the wild looking woman, Indigo if she recalled correctly, was not one for words, Kamilla made to follow her into the shade of the jungle canopy and away from safety, Jehu taking up the rear in what the young mage saw as a protective gesture, she supposed she was the least suited to jungle travel so it made sense. After her past few stints in the jungle, Kamilla would not complain.

She heard Jehu’s voice but did not turn to face him, currently too absorbed in the act of trying not to trip over some protruding foliage. Jungle travel was not easy.

A small huff of amusement escaped her lips at Indigo’s response to his comment. ”I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t very interested in them too. Especially after the large amount of magical items… and mysterious occurrences, I’ve seen since arriving here. There’s a lot of power and knowledge to be found here and I’d rather we found it before someone else does.” She had multiple questions about this mysterious rock they were headed toward, but she figured she’d be able to answer most of them herself upon seeing it.

A few chimes in and Kamilla was already covered in a layer of sweat, the jungle humidity proving as unbearable as ever, even in what should have been winter. She found herself grateful for choosing her human form for the day, by now her Konti form would have felt dried up several times over.

”I suppose this must seem like quite an inconvenience in comparison to flying around above. How are you handling being back in your actual body? Does it feel odd, or like something’s missing?” she felt as if she were asking questions that would better have been avoided, but she was genuinely curious, Since the season change, people hadn’t seemed quite themselves, how could they, they’d all spent and entire season in the skin of something else and now they were back in their own as if nothing had happened at all. Having kept both forms, Kamilla couldn’t relate.

524

[Jehu]

Jehu

Smirking at the half-Dhani's reply to his comment, Jehu focused for a moment on Indigo's fluid gait as they trekked through the jungle. At first, the strange woman seemed critical of his presence in Syka, as if a man from the desert had no business in her jungle. He figured Indigo had assumed he would die from stupidity his first season, and was a bit salty that he had survived. But her criticism eventually became more sarcastic teasing as they worked together over time. Meanwhile, Jehu had lost the need to gain the approval of Skya's long-time citizens as he became one himself. His time as a Zith seemed to have altered his attitude on others opinion as well, in ways he was just learning.

It was just that subject that Kamilla chose to bring up. Jehu didn't mind. He had learned that Kam was direct with her thoughts and opinions, and her questions. The Chaktawe risked a glance back at her, for reference as much as anything. He was glad to see the form he knew well, the one that resembled a Chaktawe. The Konti was lovely and exotic, but it was the dark-haired woman was the one he had fallen for.

Jehu paused briefly as he used the butt of his spear to gently redirect a small python dangling over a branch across the path. Indigo had obviously ducked and left the serpent for Jehu to deal with. The creature slithered along the limb with little more than a flick of its tongue. Then Jehu resumed walking.

"I will never forget what it felt like to fly. And, yeah, I will miss it." He shrugged. "But the rest, it wasn't me. Fur, fangs, claws. I learned a lot about myself, got to see things differently." He added optimistically. "But I am Chaktawe, was even then. It was unnerving to be one inside, and not one outside." He then considered Kamilla's changes.

"What have you learned from your Konti?" He tended to refer to Kamilla and the Konti separately. Not that he didn't consider Kamilla to be her self when she was in her new body. He saw the Konti form almost like an outfit that she would wear. Kamilla was still Kamilla when she chose to wear the Konti body. He was still trying to wrap his head around what she could do, as usual.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla eyed the small snake intensely as she watched Jehu casually move it aside with the blunt end of his weapon, following close behind and rushing past the serpent, heart beating slightly faster than necasarry. She'd had more than one bad experience with the limbless reptiles and, if she was being honest with herself, had developed a bit of a phobia towards them.

The heat of the jungle was torture, the humidity unbearable, but Kamilla found she barely had enough focus to think about it between the concentration on foot placement, keeping an eye out for anything dangerous above, trying to keep pace and the conversation between herself and the handsome Chaktawe. "I understand what you mean. Even though my Konti form wasn't as drastic a change as yours was, it still felt unnaturally uncomfortable to look in the mirror and see something foreign to me…" she trailed off for a moment, using her forearm to wipe several beads of sweat from her forehead.

What had she learned?

"...I'm not quite sure actually. Besides, a love and appreciation for the sea, nothing really comes to mind. Perhaps I haven't given it as much thought because I still possess that form." She paused for a moment, letting thr thought hang in the air as she searched her own for a more substantial answer. "Before I knew I'd be keeping it, I was forced to make peace with thr possibility that I could wither never be my true self again, or that I would be losing my Konti self… both were unsettling. If I've learned anything, it's that even just being a Konti for a single season, didn't stop it from becoming a part of me as well." She was truly grateful to have retained both forms.

Stopping for a few ticks, hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath before resuming her following, Kamilla's eyes wandered to Indigo. "Not very talkative is she…" she trailed off, a simple assumption. Indigo seemed like the type that would have done well in Sahova, her mentality at least.

"How much father? I'm not as adept at jungle traversal as you too are." Nearly out of breath, Kamilla pulled her waterskin from her hip and gulped down what remained, quickly filling it back up with icy cool water. "Need a refill?" She asked in a more hushed voice so that only Jehu would hear her. She was unsure of how Indigo would react to magic.

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