Drykas Landing 5.W.509 [completed]

[Hex]

5th of Winter 509 AV
Mid Day

Location: Endrykas

I'm here were the thoughts that such an accomplishment triggered in Hex's mind. 28 long seasons had passed since she left the clawing confinements of her tribe and she had fought the current of the dangerous savanna to then be plunged into the life force of another way of being. Core values were established in the midst of a chaotic ecology and rewarded her with survival tools to be used as evidence of her worth. She had earned enough experience to advance life further, to finish the novice areas of her study and apply the techniques actively to her own actions.

Deliberately not reading her environment auristically, Hex avoided what she knew would far too much energetic information for her senses. As if gingerly approaching a fast moving stream of water, she outstretched her fingers that lay at her sides and raised them slightly in the way one would if warming their hands over a fire. A breeze of auras whipped over her face and body, each individual aura illuminating before her one by one in an array of combined colours, vibrations, sizes, and patterns.

Looking through her intense realization of being in Endrykas, the sounds and smells surfaced to the forefront of her mind as she adjusted to the chaotic marketplace of traders, craftspeople, farmers, military, and entertainers. The landscape unfolded before her as she stood amidst the bustle of bodies, doe eyed in wonder. Crowds were a difficult place for her to stay full aware, with so much stimulus she always needed to take extra time adjusting or she would be vulnerable to attacks and surprises. Instead of fighting the daze she always went along for the ride, seeing a new place for it's qualities of magic and cultural intricacy. For the first time in so long she heard the honey sweet sound of music from instruments. In the grasses singing was a homing beacon for predators and Hex had felt deprived of it since her departure from her highly musical culture.

A myriad of traders announced their deals and promotions all at the same time, the different voices blending together into an indiscernible stream of shouting. Chickens clucked along with the belly rippling laughter of horsemen as they walked in unison with their steeds. Endrykas was a gallery of art on the skins of its citizens where tattoo ink of twisted vines weaved evidence of a bond between the Drykas and his chosen strider. Hex touched her arms and wondered if she would ever have tattoos like them.

She pondered further as she let her eyes follow the different faces of the people passing her by. The few that came close enough to see her starred at her odd appearance. With the cloak around her shoulders falling to one side, she began to fiddle with the alignment of it on her body when suddenly...

[Kayiri]

Kayiri was in the center of Endrykas, his expression one of deep thought and concentration. He walked with his Stryder, Serenity, guiding her with his head affectionately placed on her strong neck. His cloak was pulled tightly around himself, despite the fact that it was not cold in the slightest.

"There's so many people. It's almost frightening. So many foreigners, people of other clans... what do you think, Serenity?" Kayiri spoke quietly. Serenity just gave a quiet "pff" noise through her lips, pulling the pair left down a path. Having no idea where he himself was going, he simply tagged along behind her without complaint.

It wasn't long before Kayiri entirely zoned out, leaving his guidance entirely to Serenity. She steered him like a rudder did a boat, navigating him through crowds of people, waves of noise, and swells of carts. That was, however, until she decided to lead him straight into a woman standing off to the side of the road.

Kayiri was instantly brought back to reality as he bumped into Hex. He brought his head up off of Serenity's neck, standing upright as he looked the woman he had bumped into over. "My apologies, miss," he said in Pavi. Then, wondering if she was foreign, he spoke the same sentence once more in common, tilting his head slightly to the right.

[Hex]

A remarkable number of people darted to and fro through the city centre like a dutiful swarm of insects in their hive but amidst the chaos, her senses pulled at her like a puppeteer on the strings of their puppet. A twisting motion faced her in the direction of a tall and blissfully distracted young man and his tenacious steed.

Hex often stared at people longer than was considered socially acceptable and it often got her into trouble but when after several moments he did not once look her way as he drew closer in proximity to her, she became utterly entranced in his relaxed demeanor and stood statue still. No movement was made from her, even when he drew unknowingly close to her. Eventually they collided and Hex had craned her neck to look up into the man's face as she stumbled backwards on her heels before flailing her arms to stabilize herself.

His apology seemed not to register as he spoke in Pavi, a language unknown to Hex. She nodded absently to him as her eyes were drawn to the strider at his side. The horse had locked her eyes now on Hex, her black round eye deep and cavernous with mystery. With a smile back at the tall stranger she stepped to the horse and stroked her mane and neck, adoring the beast with her fingers and whispering compliments about her beauty.

"What is her name?" Hex turned to the stranger then, her hands all the while stroking the strider's nose and neck. Being so small, all the Drykas striders were monstrous and towered over her and although she felt physically intimidated, she felt innately connected with the animals.

Before receiving an answer Hex dove her hand into the bag hanging at her side. She pulled out a small empty vial shaped like the tip of teardrop and presented it on the end of her outstretched arm.

"Have you seen anyone selling these? I want to buy more". The cork had been jammed in on an angle and a shimmering residual liquid lined the inside like glowing green blood...

[Kayiri]

Kayiri was indeed curious when the woman's first sentence was what Serenity's name was. He watched her play with Serenity's neck and mane, who simply sat there, bowing her head to the newcomer, but not before nudging her shoulder playfully. Kayiri's lips pulled into a smile.

"Her name is Serenity," he said in his slightly-accented Common. "I felt it was a fitting name. She is a very beautiful creature, no?" Kayiri then added, patting her side lovingly. She swished her tail gracefully

"We met in the oddest of ways... But I'm certain you don't want to hear me ramble," he cut himself off before he could bore this new person with all the facts of his past. He didn't really want to chase her off, after all. When she held out the vial, Kayiri looked at it curiously. He picked it up slightly, so as to get a better view of it.

"I do not know where you can find the contents, if that is what you are referring to. However, the glass-ware section of the trade post is somewhere," he motioned with his hand, "that way. I have never really had the time to explore here myself, so I am sorry I can not be of more help," Kayiri spoke, his common coming more easily now as he began to remember words.

[Hex]

"I am... separated from my traveling companion at this time, would you care to join me as I restock with supplies?" Her common was garbled slightly by the inflection of her Tawna tongue. She fought the embarrassment of her mispronunciations after hearing the Drykas struggle himself with the language. They seemed to be two individuals foreign to both the place and to each other.

As they walked towards the general direction of shops and traders, Hex counted the tiny vials she stored in her bag, assessing how much she would need to buy in order to be stocked for the Winter. Her Autumn collection had dwindled and she counted on filling the vials with a substance that healed even the deepest of flesh wounds. After living out in the wild for so long Hex had managed to survive and even through the times where she had escaped death with major wounds she was able to use the power filled vials to restore life.

She then noticed the watchful eye of her new found companion and raised her eyebrows to address him. "They're for healing" she communicated clearly with him while displaying the vial to him once more. "Magic" she smiled, a twinkle in her eye lit up her face as she folded her fingers around the vial.

An older woman stood on a small wooden crate, her arms held out long strings that had been knotted around the necks of tiny vials. Other glassware were scattered around the crate and flat pieces of bark displayed prices and promotional deals in charcoal writing. The woman herself had an complex array of knots and braids in her hair and for a moment Hex toed her way to the back of her just to look more closely.

"Are ye buyin eneh thing? The woman bent over to look Hex in the face who stepped back shyly, bumping into someone who was passing by and getting knocked back into the woman's direction.

She straightened up and touched the string of vials hanging from the woman's sleeve. "These" she thumbed the glass vial, "I want all of these".

Thumbing through a line of ten she continued to examine the vials closely as she pulled from her bag a small pouch of coins. A sum of 5 silver rimmed Mizas dropped into the woman's hand and Hex bowed in thanks before she returned to the side of her tall stranger.

Without saying a word she touched his wrist and pulled gently to motion him into following her. They walked with Serenity out of the bustling rush of the traders and were able to settle down into a seated position under a tree. Hex moved close to the stranger, looking into his face at all his features and smelling his scent.

"Who are you strange one? Tell me about you."

[Kayiri]

"I will happily accompany you as you stock up. Maybe I can help you find some things if you get lost," he said calmly. If the pair had been speaking Pavi, Kayiri would have taken the pause as her trying to come up with the nicest way to put the word. However, as she seemed to have as much trouble with the language as he did, he simply took it as her trying to grasp words and put together a coherent sentence.

He looked at her when she said they were magic, raising an intrigued eyebrow. "Magic? Like the Towers that mark the beginnings and ends of seasons? Or like the concoctions of herbs that the herbalists of our clan use?" he asked, tilting his head once more in confusion. "Can the latter even be counted as magic? It's more like a sly mix of attributes than an actual witch-spell."

It was obvious this new woman was very shy, by her behavior in the crowd. He chuckled quietly to himself, half at Hex and half at the Merchant Lady's Common, (which was even more broken than his), and then let her drag him behind her as she fastened her hand onto his wrist. When they reached the tree, he patted Serenity's side, and touched his head to hers. He then patted her neck one more time, said something quietly, and sat down next to the woman, taking off his cloak. The very top of his tattoo could be seen on his shoulder.

"Who am I?" he then repeated, taking in a deep breath and relaxing slightly. "My name is Kayiri. I'm the Heir Apparent to a pavilion in my clan..." he trailed off, trying to think of what else to say about his past to this stranger. "I haven't yet done anything that would give me a last name, hence why I only said one name," he then said quickly, thinking the foreigner might be bewildered by their culture.

"What of you? What is your name?" Kayiri then asked. "More importantly, where do you hail from? You do not look, or act, Drykas."

[Hex]

Folding her legs beneath her on the grass, Hex leaned on one wrist as she scanned the man's face, watching his lips curl around the common language.

"Kah-yiri", she pronounced carefully by mimicking his mouth movements to make out the name. A look to Serenity told her that she could most likely trust Kayiri, she had watched his gentle hand on his strider and knew he was sensitive to the needs of his bonded one.

"I had another name once", a blade of grass was woven in between her fingers as she reminisced, "I have a new name now since I left my tribe. I am Hex now. My people are from the deserts of Ekytol, but I could not fit in any longer where I was. It was time for me to leave and so I came here to learn about the Drykas." She paused, not accustomed to sharing much about herself but continued in order to establish herself with Kayiri. "My mother was Drykas. She once lived somewhere amongst these people", a hand gestured to the crowds off in the distance.

A long exhale escaped her lips as she leaned against the tree behind them. "I don't know where I'm going now. How long are you staying here? Could I... camp with you?" Her heart pounded then, nervous that the stranger might say no or feel she had overstepped her bounds. Hex was painfully straight forward at times and felt it was better to be honest in her intentions than to be sly...

[Kayiri]

Kayiri smiled cheerily as she pronounced his name, leaning his head back against the tree. "Oh, how I envy you. I've always wanted to travel, but I've found my self constricted to the Sea of Grass because of my status as an Heir Apparent. They don't exactly want the person who's going to watch over a Pavilion gone when the current Head dies. It'd be a nightmare to track them down, if they were still alive, that is."

He found it somewhat unnerving that he so readily shared everything with this woman, even though he had just learned her name. "Perhaps you could find her origin in a Pavilion's Web?" Kayiri suggested, tilting his head to the side as he thought. "They would still have her listed there, most likely, and they would love to add you and your father."

She furrowed his brow as she asked how long he was staying in the Tradepost. "Probably another few days, I would think. Not everyone is here yet," he finally spoke. When she flung her question about staying with him, he paused, entering one of his deep, thoughtful states.

"I don't see why not. You seem like a good person. I shall happily shelter you until either you or I must move on," Kayiri finally spoke. He rosed to his feet, with yet another of his warm, inviting smiles. He extended his hand, offering to help her to her feet. The very edge of his wind marks could be seen past the sleeve of his tunic. He then looked over at Serenity, who in turn looked at him, and then trotted her way back over to the pair.

"My clan is camping outside the trade post. We'll get there faster if we ride to them," Kayiri then explained. With a grace that one would think only a Drykas could show, he climbed into the saddle, extending his hand to help Hex into the seat. "They won't mind having an extra visitor if you stay with me," he then said reassuringly.

After she came up onto his horse, he set off at a gentle pace, making sure he didn't ride too fast. He didn't want to frighten his new guest. When they finally arrived at his clan's camp, he had a quick conversation with one of the members, who simply waved them on after the conversation. He then stopped outside the tent, taking Serenity's riding equipment off. He hung it on a wooden pole near his tent. He then opened the flap, walked inside, and dropping his cloak over three wooden beams, held by two other wooden beams.

"Well, this is my tent," he said, trying to sound as sarcastic as possible. "It's an amazing place to live, isn't it?" His question was rhetorical. He placed his sword and bow uniformly by his bedspread, and unfolded another for Hex. He set it as far away from his as possible, not wanting to seem invasive.

"Feel free to wander around the camp. I explained to that man you were my guest. Just don't enter people's tents or steal their things and they won't mind your presence," he then explained. "There's a lot of things to watch around here. I think you'll like it."

----

It is now 10.W.509, five days after Hex and Kayiri met in the Tradepost.

----

Kayiri opened the flap to the tent, letting Hex inside before shutting it himself. It was already getting dark outside, and Kayiri was obviously exhausted. He threw his cloak on the hanger-esque thing, as he had every day, and proceeded to collapse onto his bedspread, slowly unhooking his sword and bow before placing them off by his side.






continued in My Little Pony