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Third Umbral Moon, 25nd Day
Her arrival in the small camp was met with little alarm.
The moment she'd drawn close, one of the five leapt out and threw her to the ground, then jerked her up with her arm wrenched behind her. The other, she knew, would be scouring the area around them for more of her kin.
She schooled her face to not show how much he was hurting her, forced her resisting pectorals and biceps to relax and simply waited. Her father had warned her that surface dwellers didn't like them, so she was prepared.
She had been following them for a week, initially keeping to the shadows since first hearing them, then slowly drawing closer out of sheer curiosity. The cadence of their words was different, intriguing; their pronunciations and where they focused their accents, fascinating...
The day she finally decided to draw close enough to actually see them, her heart was pounding so hard she was certain they could hear it. They were a team of Hyur, according to the description given to her by her father. Though they seemed very tall... of course, at age thirteen, she had yet to hit her growth spurt and everyone seemed tall.
"All clear."
Her gaze was clear as she looked at the three seated around the fire, then flickered up to the one now joining them with a faint smile. The one behind must have known it, for he jerked her painfully. "What're you doin' following us, Chigoe?"
Chiané grimaced, then wiped it from her face immediately. She angled her head slightly toward the speaker, though her eyes remained on the four at the fire.
"Why do you think?"
He grunted behind her, shoving her to the ground. "Stupid lurker... 'kind of idiot smear are you to come a-spyin' on us alone?"
She hunched herself slightly as she fell, protecting the treasure rolled up under her tunic. She rolled over, peering up at him as she supported herself on her elbows. Her eyes tightened slightly, followed by a smirk. "Solitary hunters fare better than noisy packs."
The massive Hyur flashed her an irregular, but surprisingly white smile. "And nosy little spies are quite tasty to noisy wolves."
She frowned. She wasn't exactly certain why she would want to spy on them, but clearly it was a fear... and that could be useful. "Hm. That's true."
She sat up slowly, flashing her empty hands with a somewhat annoyed look when he jerked. "Speaking of hunger..." She glanced over at the skinned creature impaled on the spit, then back at him.
"What makes you think we'd feed a little scab like you?"
She blinked. "Because it is considered polite when one is a guest at your campfire?"
The men at the fire laughed. "Guest?" one said.
Her tooth hurt where she'd hit the ground, and a slight probe told her it was a tad looser. She frowned, pressing it back into socket with her tongue.
She frowned. "Yes." Her stomach gave a rather unflattering growl.
"Look," she hefted a huge sigh, leaning onto her knees as she regarded the others. "If I wanted to not be seen by you, I would not have been. If I wanted to steal your food, it would be gone. If I wanted to slip away and notify..." for a moment, her mind blanked on exactly who she would notify, since it was pretty clear they thought her a spy. Her eyes flickered from one to the other as she recovered.
"Anyone... that a scouting party of .... of Garleans had ventured close to the Twelveswood, taking detailed notes of the area, and searching for... Cerulean..."
She hazarded a glance back at her former attacker, gauging his response- which was what she had hoped.
"I would have."
His scowl had grown with each word, especially getting a rise out of her mention of Cerulean. She had never heard her father speak of this substance, but there was a great deal he did not speak of regarding the surface dwellers and his time among them. Most of it had happened before her birth, the rest during the Exodus. The only thing she knew for certain was that her mother had died sometime during that time, from events unknown. But clearly... clearly this substance was important.
She smiled, her eyes narrowing as she moved in for the ultimate threat, her voice low. "And you wouldn't know any different. U-until the soldiers came and killed each and every one of you for trying to take it!"
There was muttering, then laughter, somewhat mocking, but amused from the men, then another spoke, warily amused. "Well then, my well-informed imp. What is it you want?"
She slowly looked at the speaker, a tall blond with sun-darkened skin. "Well... some food would be nice. After that... well," she looked toward the east. "Do any of you know the way to Ala Mhigo?"
The laughter stopped, as each stared at her in something close to confused astonishment.
"What?"
"Oh." She frowned, her mind spinning. "Did I say it incorrectly?"
The blonde stifled a laugh. "N-no... No. You said it just fine."
"So you know of it?"
"Yes, we know of it." He leaned forward, peering at her. "The question is: what does a little Duskie girl like you want with Ala Mhigo?"
She gave him a bland look. "Nothing. It is a city."
"Going to thieve 'em blind, hm? Or root out all their secrets, are ya?" the first one asked, smirking at her, his eyes strangely dark.
Chiané shot him a dark look, that turned thoughtful. "Well no, that wasn't the plan. But I suppose it could be quite profitable..." If she could bring home more relics, along with the fixed sundial, then her father would have to forgive her... And more relics meant more to disassemble...
She flashed him a grin.
He arched his eyebrow.
Her grin faded.
The blonde snickered, pulling her attention back to him. "So why do you want to go to Ala Mhigo, little one?"
"Oh," she rooted around in her tunic, finally pulling out the bundled sundial. She carefully unwrapped it, holding it towards them. "I need someone to help me fix this."
