Hydaelyn Role-Players

K'ailia awoke from her sleep and climbed out of her bed, giving a long stretch in feline fashion. She looked about her mother's tent, and all was quiet. K'ailia then closed her eyes and bid good morning to the elements of Sagolii.

Once her morning routine was done K'ailia emerged from the tent and looked about the camp. The elders still have not made any decisions on her proposal. She suspected that they hoped she'd forget the "nonsense" and get back to being a tribe member that would never question their traditions.

But looking about camp, anyone could tell at a glance, that of the people hit by the calamity, this tribe was one of the more heavily effected. Something must be done, but what she did not know. It was a problem she knew she could never solve alone. And with the older generation believing doing nothing but pushing forward on the current path being the only solution, K'ailia decided it is time to see what the other younglings like herself believe.

To that end, she had wrote up notes for each youngling in the camp for a meeting at The Sagolii Gate this evening. She made her way through the camp, slipping the note under each tent flap that a young adult tribe member lived. Each note read as follows:

Quote:To my Siblings

We've all seen it. The lack of meat present on prey. The extra aggressiveness of various prey creatures. The lack of resources. The starving and weak. I'd like to meet with you all tonight at the Sagolii Gate. We need to figure out what to do to help the tribe survive these times.

We need to figure out how to improve our tribes life. Some of us left for a while to learn new skills for the tribe. We need to discuss how best to put these new skills to use. We are the new generation of the tribe. If we don't survive, the tribe wont survive. We grew up in the tribe and I think we must step up to save it.

K'ailia Yohko

K'nahli reached her arms above her head, tipping herself on to her toes and extending her tail outwards performing a full body stretch. She smiled in contentment, as she turned to collect her bow that lay at the foot of her bed, carefully placed on a small, makeshift table. It was early in the morning, meaning that the tent was still comfortably cool from the night before.
Collecting her bow, she pulled it gently over her head, allowing it to rest comfortably across her body as she turned to leave the tent. As she reached the tent flaps, she heard something rustle beneath her feet. She lifted her foot to reveal a small piece of paper that had been lain at the entrance. Picking the paper up, K'nahli began inspecting it. It was a message. Her eyes immediately fell to the bottom, scanning for a mark to indicate the note's author.

"K'ailia..?"

K'nahli squinted her eyes as she scanned the contents of the message. Upon finishing she couldn't help but slip a small giggle.

"That girl is growing up..." she spoke quietly to herself in amusement.

Glancing the writing over one more time, she crumpled it up in her hand before tossing it back on to her bedding.

"Even if I chose not to, I guess K'mih would badger me regardless.." she sighed hopelessly as she was greeted with a warm front of of desert air and a beautiful gradient of amber and fading lilac that painted the sky above, reaching as far as the golden dunes on the horizon.

K'nahli closed her eyes as she drew in her first, deep breath of morning air before smiling once against and strutting off alone towards the exit of the camp to begin her ritual, morning training.

("We'll see, K'ailia...")

K'mana awoke early as normal, slipping silently from her tent and into the cool morning. The desert sky was just beginning to gain the pink tinge of sunrise. She silently moved through the camp until she was standing outside the small settlement with a unblocked view of the horizon. It was there she knelt and prayed, greeting the morning sun and Azeyma.

When she returned to her tent much of camp was beginning to rise, and she slowly lifted her tent flap to enter noticing a small note in the sand. She scooped it up and slipped inside. She looked across the tent and smiled, K'rei was still fast asleep. The two women had shared the tent since the time they met 4 years ago. K'mana looked up to the slightly older woman like a surrogate sister. K'rei was incredibly skilled with spear and lance, and K'mana remembered how that skill had saved her life all those years ago.

K'mana sat near the opening of their tent and quietly scanned the contents and smiled. She had 4 summers on K'ailia but already that young woman was sweeping through the camp like a breath of fresh air. K'mana set the note down and slowly picked up her worn tome, her fingers brushing over the leather. She opened it, and began to read. While it would be K'ailia's job to look to the future and take them there. It was K'mana's task to provide her with answers and wisdom taken from the annals of time. She smilied, the Elders were sticklers for tradition and as they grew older they found comfort in convention. But, they often lost sight of the fact that their own histories were filled with change.

"K'mih? What's that?"

K'mihgazu had caught her sixteen years old daughter reading a mysterious piece of paper. Her curiosity only worsened when the girl, startled, hid it quickly behind her back. K'mih was too much of an open book to keep secrets from her mother, really.

"I-it's... a letter from K'ailia..." The young one confessed, looking at her mother with an apologetic smile.

Suspicious, the woman extended her arm towards her. "Can I see it?" Was her request, but K'mih limited herself to lower her eyes to the ground, keeping the note behind her back.

"K-K'ailia wants it to be a surprise, I don't think I should betray her..."

"What kind of surprise?"

"If I tell you it's nothing bad, will you trust me...?"

"......"

K'mihgazu believed that K'mih had grown into a clumsy, naive girl, but she definitely was an honest Miqo'te. If she said it wasn't bad, her mother would have to believe it.

There was a long pause, before the woman finally sighed.

"Alright."

"T-thank you, mama!"

With that, K'mih hurried out of her tent, leaving a curious mother who wondered what the mischievous K'ailia was up to this time.

K'ailia rode her Unicorn along the road out of Sagolii towards the Sagolii Gate. Lily her Chocobo trotting right along side. There would be much to talk about. But first she had to think of what all she was going to say.

Even her own mother had secretly taken a job in Ul'dah. As for her, she had signed up for a school called Ul'dah Garden in hopes of refining her skills. She road for some time through the canyon until finally it opend up and led to the ramp out of the canyon and into the lands above. She passed the refugee area and within a few more strides, finally arrived at the Sagolii Gate. She dismissed the Unicorn and Lily so that they might go find some place to rest.

She in the mean time took the opportunity to climb to the top of the tower to keep an eye out for the other younglings.

Character: K'hirho Tia
Age:18

I awoke from my usual slumber with my dreams always ending at the good part. I was still half asleep at the time and decided in a lazy like motion to turn head around. Just the same old stuff with the basic design. A wooden table with one of the legs short, a wooden cup with some water and the floor. But it's not just any floor, its the floor that my face met in the tent when i stood up and with my lazy self tripped over the blanket with no warning to it. All you can hear was a second of a crash sound and me saying owww. As I was laying down a piece of paper landed on my head. I decide to take the paper off my head and start to read it. "hmmmm maybe there will be no same fate and something interesting can happen."

With what little ragged clothing i had on, i decided to sit in a criss cross way and decided to stare at the wall of the tent thinking of what to do next. I say to myself "just a couple more minutes." I fell backwards and dozed off.

K'mana finished her review in quick order, and looked up smiling. K'rei was still asleep, K'mana crossed the tent and roused the other woman to tell her she would be heading out of camp for a few bells.

K'mana exited the tent and began stretching, thinking she would need to earn a chocobo of her own soon. But she left that thought as she began her run out to the sagolii gate. She let her mind slip into the runners mindset, watching the placement of feet through the sand.

When she reached the gate, she was wet with the exertion of the run and the desert heat. She waved as she spoted K'ailia up the tower and began to climb the stairs herself.

K'ailia smiled waving back at K'mana. She perched herself on the edge of the tower's railing continuing her watch. She figured there would be about two or three more that would come.

"Nice ta see ya arrive!" said K'ailia with a measure of happiness.

Believing that her sister K’nahli might be there already, K’mih ran as fast as she could through the desert. No matter how vast that place was, it was still her home and she'd got to know it quite well; she wouldn’t get lost.
 
When the young Miqo'te finally arrived at the gate, she was also breathless from all the running.
 
“H-hello!” Was her exhausted, breathy greeting. A pang of surprise didn’t take long to be reflected in her eyes when she realized that K’nahli was nowhere to be seen. She’d arrived early, apparently.

K'ailia grinned and waved at K'mih, "Come on up! Good ta see you sis!"

K'ailia's tail wagged with excitement at seeing your sister. But the excitement was the fact also that she felt that together, they could figure out what to do for the tribe.

I have finally woken up and decided to go to the meeting point. I grab my wooden staff that I like to bring with me everywhere and a black cloak just to lessen the high temperature. When I arrived to the destination i see a couple of young miqo'te. I sigh and say to myself "looks like i am in the right destination" and continue forward.

((OOC Note: The first part is prior to most if not all of you arriving at the gate, so K'nahli isn't particularly late))



The cooling sun slowly began its gradual descent, sinking ever so slowly from its perch high in the sky to once again be consumed by the sea of sand below.



*klunk*

A semi-rusted can gave a low, clattering sound as it was struck from it's position atop a rock by one of K'nahli's arrows before being reunited with the other targets that had been felled moments before it on the arid desert floor. K'nahli let out a sigh in fatigue as she lowered her bow, satisfied that she had trained enough for one evening. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she turned to face the glowing, ball of fire that hung in the Thanalan sky as it slowly began succumbing to the cold and dark embrace of night. Honestly speaking, she didn't want to go to the supposed meeting. She was tired and had little patience for childish fantasies of saving the tribe on a whim.

K'nahli sighed once more, now turning her gaze in the direction of the Sagoli gate. However, she knew that she couldn't disrespect her sister by not even humouring her with her presence. She remained doubtful but striving to pull some optimism from the moment she resolved with the hope that maybe she could be proved wrong. Latching her bow around her nimble frame once more, K'nahli began her lengthy trek towards the gate

------------

K'nahli arrived at the destination shortly before nightfall completely engulfed Sagoli. A shimmering beam of light struggled to continue illuminating the shape-shifting terrain as it peeked out above the dunes behind them. A few people had turned up it appeared, K'mih included. K'nahli was likely the last to arrive but she didn't appear to be late, an assumption drawn from the fact that the young miqo'te females continued talking amongst themselves, some happily, unknown to the older one's arrival. Drawing closer, she confirmed the identities of everyone present.

"I hope the travel was worth it, K'ailia. The secrecy seems somewhat undue to me"

K'nahli's familiar, irritated tone announced her presence to the younglings as she exited the shadow of the sheltering dune she had descended from. The pale light collected mysteriously on her face, allowing her identity to be clearly revealed had it not been obvious already from her voice.

"The sands shift hastily this night.." she announced in a slightly hushed tone, her face turning to analyze the ever-changing sea around her briefly before glancing back towards her fellow sisters.

"Let us not waste too much time. What would you say to us?"

K'ailia nodded at K'nahli, "You are right. We should get down to business. First my brother and sisters, thanks for comin'."

She looked each in the face, "I want you all to give ideas of yer own. But I figured since I asked for this meeting, I may as well start."

She took a deep breath before sitting on the ground and collected herself before speaking, "The tribe is in trouble. Tribe mates are hungry. Animals in Sagolii are also starved. Water has become even more rare."

She closed her eyes, "An' if nothin' is done, and things continue to get worse? What becomes of the tribe? I've learned our history. We've faced similar problems in the past."

She again looks upon each, "In the past, when things got bad for our tribe, we adapted to the changes. When the Hipparion vanished, our people moved to Thanalan to find new prey. And we lived on. We continued our traditions of old, but adapted them to the new home."

She motioned about them, "Once, our tribe moved all around Thanalan, so my mother said. But when it became populated, we retreated to Sagolii. All of Eorzea suffered from the Calamity. But the people of each city state began working with the other city states to make things better."

K'ailia sighed, "I tried suggesting to the elders, that we move beyond Sagolii, expand into the rest of Thanalan. But they are so stuck on old traditions that they do not want to leave Sagolii. They seemed to of forgotten the very past they admire. I'm not saying we should move to Ul'dah. But finding a spot where we can feed ourselves and grow strong again is imperative to our survival I think. But... if my suggestion isn't doable. Maybe one of you would have a better idea?"

She now turned the floor over to whoever else would speak.

"I agree with K'ailia, it may not solve all our problems, but the very idea of NOMADIC tribe which does not follow the food, is unheard of." K'mana spoke up. "It may be wise to send out scouts of a sense to search for a better location. I am unsure of how to solve the water issues in the desert as it comes with the territory but even the simple task of moving east towards the ocean and fishing could ease our lack of food." K'mana looks thoughtful, but pauses to let someone else speak.



((Out of time *wink* gotta get back to work, try to post sometime soon.))

((OOC Note: Loooooooong... sorry))

K'nahli sighed in response to the two opinions put forth. Though it may have sounded condescending to the other girls(partially due to her initial irritation), rather it was because she wasn't as quick to undermine the elders, little though she felt the need to defend them.

"It's not as simple as either of you would imply" she voiced her thoughts, folding her arms snugly across her chest in attempts to combat the sudden drop in temperature as the remaining desert heat quickly dissipated with the fleeting sun.

"The elders may be stubborn but they are certainly anything but foolish" she continued, her eyes slowly hopping from girl to girl as she spoke earnestly.


"You cannot merely compare our current situation to times of our distant past. Our tribe migrated to Sagoli for just the reason you have mentioned. More of Thanalan became populated. It matters little how ordinary or harmless most outsiders may be in nature. All within the tribe know little of the dealings with any but tribekin and traders. Even were we all somehow prepared for such an adjustment there is no assurance that we wouldn't be further risking the tribe by making them more easily accessible to our enemies. I neglect to even think about how active the Amal’jaa are in the outer reaches of Thanalan".


She placed a hand over her temple, gripping it as though attempting to soothe a throbbing headache, as she thought deeply on her own words, voicing her concerns with a firm belief that Thanalan may not prove to be the ideal situation as was implied.


"Were we to be left with no choice... and resolved to see your ideas as the safer option in time, we still would lack sufficient food to permit such a journey. We could may well lose a third of the tribe during the migration alone... and that is with no heed paid to any disruptions that may ensue.

K'nahli paused for a moment as her glance fell to K'mana, reminding her biefly of the girl's alternative suggestion.

"Frankly speaking, moving eastwards towards the ocean seems the most befitting solution put forth. Little do our hunters know of fishing, but being that most are adept with either spears or bows they could well adapt and learn without much disrupt".

K'nahli shifted her posture, now resting her chin on her fist as she thought a little more deeply on the idea.

"With that said, I would still view it as a temporary solution at best. The little game that we still procure are more abundant in the deeper reaches of Sagoli whereas the coast would limit us to desert anglers and fishing... it could just as easily leave us worse off. I believe we have no knowledge of other tribes that have sought a similar lifestyle... which leads me to wonder how they also fare..."

K'nahli closed her eyes for a moment in deep thought before slowly raising her head to look upon her sisters once more.


"Your intentions are admirable K'ailia, but naught is as easy as you would think. I do not see the risks of your solution to be outweighed by the benefits. While I have no wish to watch my sisters slowly fall prey to the Sagoli sands I have no intention of sending them to sooner meet Azeyma with promises that I cannot guarantee".