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+--- Thread: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] (/showthread.php?tid=8162)
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - K'nahli - 10-01-2014
Alone, but not isolated, K'nahli stood amidst the other hunters and huntresses as each watched the elders speak with an eager anticipation. The maroon-eyed girl looked no different to any of the other miqo'te there - save for perhaps her expression which remained stoic and untelling toward her inner thoughts. She should be excited by such a monumental occasion; that much she knew, but even after having convinced herself that she was better, "fine" even, she couldn't bring herself to even emulate such a feeling. As that thought crossed her mind, the girl could feel her eyes instinctively, edging sidewards in search of something, only to have them quickly drawn forward once more as she defiantly fought against that urge.
Though it was hard to distance herself from the insistent yet unconsciously formulated knowledge of where K'mih was at any given moment, she failed to notice her departure upon K'ile's request and continued to assume that she lingered somewhere nearby, not that she would have been served any comfort from knowing the fact.
And so the girl continued to quietly stand and wait, her thoughts no less than completely scattered with embers of a dimming hope - the now, seemingly, naively-conceived idea that perhaps the upcoming ritual would finally steal her from useless thoughts, and more.
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - Twinflame - 10-01-2014
K'ile tried to catch the short staff, but quick movement made his head hurt and his arm just dropped weakly. Afterward, however, he followed and plucked it off the ground, stomping out the sizzling weeds among which it had fallen. "I said it was going to catch on fire. You really need to get used to that, firedancer." He turned back towards K'mih, spun the burning staff in his fingers once, and held it out to her again. "Come on."
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - Twinflame - 10-01-2014
Having positioned the bones, K'takka stepped back from the fire. She grinned at it, the wood honest and dry. Real wood that would crackle and shout, roaring in the voice of a lion to the sun in the same way a wolf howls to the moon. The old, dark woman stood like burnt wood in tanned leather, silver eyes gleaming from beneath the wiry brambles of her hair, and her claws shifted. She shook her wrist and the red stones clicked, flickering. Their power was not diminished from having given one of the stones to K'mih. They were still many, still powerful, the soulstones of the firedancers of the past.
Her next part in this ritual was simple. Normally she would light the fire with a spark, but not today. Today, she shook her wrist, and the firedancing stones lit up.
Shapes illuminated in the pile of wood, tracing the lines of bones she lain. The bones resting along the wood immolated, red heat lifting from them and tracing the shapes, giving them definition, taking shape. Plumes of fire lit on the two dozen shapes as they stirred, small birds with bodies of flame perched on the wood. Their heads turned about, looking at the Miqo'te gathered around them. Then they spread their wings, and spread their bodies, and flattened across the wood.
They became the bonfire, sinking into the fiber of the wood and crackling across it. The flame dropped fast into the kindling, growing hot an instant later, and reaching high above the gathering. It crackled and spat, howling with the rush of eat. K'takka took a far step back, smiling up at it, chuckling at the ferocity of the fire she'd lit.
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - Nauta Lyehga - 10-02-2014
Fire. K'luha had almost forgotten Tahj's deathly fear of flame. Almost. She felt the young girl stiffen in front of her and caught her terrifed glances. K'luha tried to offer a reassuring smile, pressing her hands to Tahj's shoulders and squeezing there firmly. Her eyes were firmly fixed upon the bonfire and the ceremony at the center. It was tradion. It was important. And it was important that K'tahja not fear the flames of Azyema. Even though fire had taken her mother, it also gave life.
The sound of K'jhanhi's staff was soothing. For a moment, the sound felt as if it could envelop K'luha and hold away the despair. But it was only for a moment before the sound seemed to turn back to sound.
K'luha's eyes lifted to the shimmering beads along K'takka's wrist. They would light the fire now. Roughly and abruptly, K'luha took Tahj's shoulders and pulled her around, pressing the girl's face to her chest to shield her.
"Just hold onto me, okay? It'll be okay." K'luha whispered softly, hugging her niece tightly.
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - Izmina - 10-03-2014
K'tahjha felt her aunt's hands spin her around so she couldn't see the fire being lit. She buries her face into her aunt's shoulder desperately trying to block out what was going on behind her. The girl's whole body goes rigid as she hears the massive fire roar to life, crackling and popping, consuming the large tower of dry wood. Unbidden, visions of flames licking up tree trunks and roaring through their small camp, flash through Tahj's mind, she whimpers faintly and buries herself more tightly into her aunt.
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - Naunet - 10-04-2014
The first breath K'deiki took after the fire lit was one of the clearest she'd taken in years, or so it felt to her mind. She kept her face upturned, feeling more than seeing the growing glow of flames before her. The burning wood smelled different in this place than anything they'd burned in the Sagolii, but that did not worry the elder.Â
"Many things are different now," she spoke her thoughts slowly, her voice carrying easily through the respectful hush of the tribe. Unseen by her, K'jhanhi's yellow eyes turned her way, heavy and tired but dutiful. "Many things may continue to change. But we cannot be shackled by fear. The fire here burns just as our fires in the sands, and so will we as well. We will sleep under new stars, but they are still stars. We will hunt new prey, but their meat will still fill our bellies, shelter our heads, armor our skin. I have great hope that new lines will begin here soon, new eyes created that may have never seen our ancestral sands but will still know out tribe's heart. When we burn and bury the dead, their ash and bones will find great rest and welcome still in our Warden's arms." Milky eyes crinkled and she turned her gaze forward to the fire then. It appeared in her vision as a golden blur against shadow, but she saw it more as a gateway to new life.
The heavy wrinkles drawing her face creased further, pulling thin, old lips into a smile. "And when we dance with the fire, our spirits will still alight."
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - Clover - 10-04-2014
Nervous and embarrassed, K'mih accepted the flaming staff from K'ile's hand. She held it carefully, clearly wary of the flames. How could she dance with them when she feared them so much?
"I'm sorry, I'll do my best..." she said, as determined as she could sound. The only time K'mih ever had some sort of real responsibility over her shoulders, it'd been during her adulthood trial. Even that task couldn't compare to this, for the trial was something she had to do for herself, while this... this, she had to do for her whole family, both alive and dead. Failure wasn't an option now.
Her eyes fixed themselves on the Tia once more, as fragile as they were focused. When the melody of the elder's words reached her ears, K'mih fought the urge to lower her gaze. The weight of responsibility felt too heavy; as a firedancer... as a female.
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - K'nahli - 10-05-2014
The towering inferno consumed K'nahli's fiery eyes and blasted her face with a sweltering wave of heat that rekindled much of the receding day's, draining warmth. The weak breeze which rolled across the rocky lands that evening failed to hinder the fire's growth, allowing the light, black smoke to plume almost directly upwards until it slowly dissipated into the stronger winds some distance above. She could feel her gaze tilting upward as she stared deep into the heart of the flames. Her maroon eyes were glazed over with a trembling veil of amber as they remained fixated upon the flames, their unmoving watch, in truth, seeking nothing... though the flames would still gift her with flickering images that mimicked distant memories - some of which bore relevance to the present and others which did not. A tingling trance of melancholy descended upon the girl as slowly as the occasional flake of dried ash which danced before her vision for the short while she allowed herself to play audience to those once-lived tales which had been curiously drawn before her, though soon enough she found her eyes peering far past those images as she wilfully suppressed nostalgic thoughts with less afflicting ones; her new home being the prime winner.
As the seconds continued to pass, the bonfire reached higher into the darkening sky. The golden flames which formed into the apex of the flaming beast seemed to lick at the base of the newly-forming stars which shyly began to reveal themselves in the darker portion of the evening air directly above them; appearing as distant beings whose arrival was solely to behold the unfolding spectacle far below them, with their gently, lifting intensity revealing a perceivably growing interest as the ritual proceeded onward in pace with the rising flames. The thick scent of burning wood filled her nose and offered her a mild sense of placidity for a short while, as the flames hummed melodically in tone with the crackling of the wood which snapped and splintered under the fire's indomitable intensity. At that distance, it consumed most other scents but still did not overpower her senses enough that it would push beyond smelling pleasant. The girl breathed in deeply, allowing the sedating scents, sounds and the comforting warmth to embrace her wholly as she continued trying to pay heed to the few of the elders' words that seemed to be reaching her ears.
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - Twinflame - 10-11-2014
"Don't be afraid of the fire. It won't burn you if you respect it." K'ile repeated the words he'd been told more than once by the other firedancers, back when there were other firedancers. He stepped back and moved the unlit staff in his own fingers, turning it fast enough that the air hissed around it. "Don't worry about skill, or rhythm, or your body. Just move the fire. First comes heat. Skill comes later." He spun his staff several times, then stopped it, and pointed with one end towards the bonfire. "Between the fire and the tribe, in that open place there."
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - Clover - 10-14-2014
Her heart could have stopped at that moment, but it didn't. It pounded furiously against her chest, blurring her vision for a few seconds. It was alright, her mind tried to tell her; it should be easy, she just needed to move the fire, to make it glow against the wind. Their gazes would be on the flames, not on her.
K'mih tightened her grip on the staff and frowned slightly. Her eyes travelled to K'ile one last time, only to give him a nod. Then, to the indicated spot. She walked, not too fast and neither too slow. Around her, a collection of familiar eyes seemed to have been placed on her figure, waiting, expecting something for the first time. It was odd, but none of them looked as familiar now.
Time was scarce then. K'mih searched for her mother first, then K'nahli, albeit her gaze hardly lingered there for a full second. She shouldn't look at her sister at that moment, it'd only destroy her. A deep and brief inhalation made her lips part, and the unprepared dance started with the rhythm of the drums.
The young miqo'te danced for the first time, played with the fire like it was an enemy. She was fragile against the flames, against her own thoughts. Her father was watching her, she could feel it; yet, another miqo'te might be his choice that night. Did she even know about the things that happened in the darkness of closed tents? Did she even want to? As the drums echoed inside her chest, K'mih's dancing raised. It was imprecise, inexperienced, lingering between delicate and raw. And as her gaze finally found the figure of her father, she felt naked in front of everyone.
'Please choose me...' her eyes seemed to beg, even if she didn't know everything her own infantile desires might entail. 'Please choose me just once...'
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - Naunet - 10-19-2014
The harsh shadows across K'jhanhi's face shifted, deep set, yellow eyes warming with the flames from the bonfire and with pride. He kept the steady beat with his staff, the bones tinkling together like rain over the dull roar and crackle of flame. This was more than tradition; it was a sign that, though they had left the shifting sands, they had not left their home. He could almost feel the tribe's spirit bolstered by the fire, by the inexperienced but determined display of their newest firedancer. He smiled at K'mih, watching the slow turn of the staff she wielded.
"... may our hunt be pure and bountiful and bring honor to the land and our family..." K'deiki's voice droned in and out of the flames. Near her the white-painted face of K'takka lingered, and perhaps for a little bit the glow of the fire chased away the weariness that came with their age.
K'jhanhi hoped they could last long enough to guide their family back into a sense of place.
***
After a time, the voice of the elder faded until only the crack of burning wood and the unfamiliar sounds of their new home around them filled the space. A low murmur began amongst the tribe, the huntresses looking less anxious but more ready. Eager. Bolstered.
K'jhanhi's staff stilled against the ground, and he watched K'deiki's withered hands cast a handful of dust onto the fire. It sparked and flared and thus the ceremony was marked as over. He turned to begin the procession of the elders away from the flames, leaving the rest of the tribe to take strength from it and begin their tasks anew.
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - K'nahli - 10-21-2014
Unlike her more fragile, younger sister, K'nahli felt no discomfort for having met with the gaze of those deceptively, innocent gems. There was no reason to, after all; she had convinced herself of that much.
Like most of the events and that had transpired since the beginning of the ceremony, K'mih's performance, spontaneous and unexpected as it had been, failed to hold well against K'nahli's fleeting levels of interest. The huntress's maroon eyes had remained focused upon her younger sister, but her effect on K'nahli were as the fire that had been observed up until then, largely present within her vision but almost entirely transparent to her interests.
For that very reason, it was odd that K'nahli had even managed to notice it, but somehow she had certainly picked up on it. Those short but repetitive gazes that travelled to a particular place in the audience. Somehow distinct from the casual movement her eyes would make as they slowly ventured out over and across the entirety of her spectating family while the performance continued on, yet nothing plainly obvious to the common observer either.
With an initial flicker of hesitation, K'nahli then found her head involuntarily tilting toward the direction that K'mih's gaze had seemed to be travelling... and as it drew to a stop she could immediately recognise the destination of her young sister's interests, even from amidst the crowd of miqo'te.
K'yohko Nuhn... but of course.
Why was her gaze suddenly turning sour, the fiery-eyed huntress would ask herself in vain, though in spite of herself, she allowed little time to dwell upon that curious question and instead returned to her usual habits of allowing her petty frustrations and anger to consume her mind wholly, stealing her away from the outside world until all sound faded away to a monotonous and dulled roar... and all colour drained away to a lifeless, shade of grey. Her fierce eyes could no longer keep themselves on the enemy that was that pink-haired miqo'te for the remainder of the dance, and instead, remained fixed absently upon the base of the great bonfire whose ferocity seemed to be in competition with the girl's rotten thoughts as it spat and roared dangerously mere yalms before her.
***
The ceremony had ended; K'mih had moved out of immediate sight and the elders taken their leave. Indecipherable murmurs could be heard all about her as the hunters and huntresses of the tribe anxiously turned and made their way away from the fire in preparation to set out for the eagerly, anticipated hunt. K'nahli was not among them.
For a few short moments she had remained unmoving upon the same spot that she had been standing on up until now, eyes focused down toward the ground with a contemptuous glare corrupting her otherwise, youthful features. There was another presence that lingered nearby, a dark and hateful presence as K'nahli saw it, whom deliberately remained in the silence along with her merely to spite the young girl... though in truth, there really was little reason for the nuhn to be hurrying off anywhere in any case. He would not be participating in the hunt after all.
Her father, K'yohko, lay far outside of where her vision lay, but she had no doubt in her mind about who it was that remained nonetheless. His stench mocked her senses and slowly pushed her agitation to higher limits in those long and drawn out seconds of isolation where he arrogantly invaded her moment of solitude.
How ironic it was to have such feelings toward him when in truth it was her who was waiting to be alone with him.
With a slow blink, K'nahli raised her head once more, pulling her gaze away from the churning flames whose flickering light seemed to paint her expression with a weak, facade of calmness. Though much softer now, her deceptive expression could not be mistaken for anything other than what it truly was; anger.
"You should apologise to your daughter, K'yohko" she spoke suddenly with a cold tone. Her voice was loud enough for the man to hear her but luckily not so much that she would be overheard by their tribekin, not that she had deliberately tried against doing so. Her self-inflicted isolation the past few suns had not rendered her ignorant to most of the goings-on within the tribe and nor had she been ignorant to her father's task for the coming night. Likewise, it was safe to assume that K'mih hadn't been either, or so she figured.
"And maybe explain to her why, for once, you can't choose her" she added with venom as a deepening shadow was cast across her face, having now turn away from the towering flames to abandon her father to the meaning of those words.
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - Clover - 10-27-2014
The dance was over, it died with the flame of the staff. K'mih left the spotlight as soon as she could, albeit it weren't her insecurities pushing her away; she felt strangely fine, in fact, like floating on any sort of cloud. Performing had been scary at first, but that uncomfortable feeling didn't linger for too long. Starting was the hardest part, the rest flowed on its own. Now she was just eager to hear the words of the one whom had placed so much trust on her.
"Uncle!" She called as she approached K'ile, her smile innocent, her eyes full of shy excitement. It was the expression of someone who wasn't really expecting a bad answer. "D-did I do it well?"
[...]
Among the shadows projected by all the huntresses around the fire, a silent Tia did nothing but watch. K'mih Yohko, the closest person to K'nahli Yohko... She really was nothing like her elder sister, not even with the flames reflected in her eyes. After the traditional ritual, his own eyelids stretched slightly, his grip on his lance tightening. The hunt was starting; he could almost smell his prey. The path to Nunh might as well begin that night.
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - Nauta Lyehga - 10-28-2014
There was a mild surprise that flickered across the flames that reflected in K'yohko's violet orbs. Despite K'mih receiving the bead of a firedancer, he had not expected her to perform. But then again, the dance was an important part of the night, of the ritual. It was expected to her to dance with the flames. She was clumsy and unpracticed and her inexperience showed in every misstep and flare of the flames. But her effort was sincere. K'yohko found he could at least respect that much.
He let his eyes linger to respectfully watch K'mih's performance, but he felt the sour glare of his eldest daughter somewhere off sulking in the dark. He paid that sourness no mind. Her ire did not deserve his attention. He could feel K'mih's eyes as well, seeking his form out among the crowded gathering. Was it acceptance and praise she was looking for? It felt like something of that nature.
As the dance came to a halt and the fire died to embers, the huntresses eagerly collected their things and began their trip outward. K'yohko looked towards some of their slowly fleeting forms yearningly. To hunt this night would be the greatest honor... He could not understand why it was K'takka had ordered him to refrain. But he could not deny her wisdom. If it was his place to take a mate this night, then he would take a mate this night. He remained still, quietly watching a certain sun haired miq'ote from a distance. He needed to wait until she was alone before he could speak with her...
A sour voice called K'yohko's attention away. He turned his head faintly in K'nahli's direction. Anger dripped from her words like a thick poison. K'yohko's expression remained unchanging, her ire simply crashing into a rock and falling back where it had come. He was stone against her onslaught.
"I have no reason to apologize, daughter of mine. Should it not be you who apologizes? You cause your sister anguish because of your own selfishness." K'yohko's eyes glimmered dangerously behind a straight face, his tail sweeping gently out behind him and relaxing once more. "K'nahli. Do not walk away from me. Your sickness disturbs everyone. I would have you stay and speak your mind. Your cryptic nonsense helps no one." K'yohko straightened himself up to his full height, his tail flicking out more aggressively behind him. "You will listen to me now, or you will be shown sense by The Elders. Do you understand?"
*********************
K'iara eagerly grabbed hold of her axes, spinning the hilt across her fingers as she stepped away from the flames. The ceremony could not have been longer or more irritating to the woman. Tradition was important, but she was hungry and eager to stretch her legs. Her axe ached in her hand to sink into flesh. The elder huntress licked her lips and pushed her way past K'mih and K'ile, leading the way off to gather the Chocobos for the hunt. Hunting would do no good if they couldn't bring back their kills, after all.
**********************
K'luha hummed deeply in her throat, petting K'tahja's ears and back as the ceremony dragged on. Little K'mih seemed to have grown greatly since she last remembered such a ceremony. Somehow, she wasn't sure if K'mih would be able to do such a bold thing as fire dancing, but K'ile had been a good enough teacher it seemed. A small smile stretched over her features, relaxing her grip on K'tahja as the fire died down with the end of K'mih's dancing. K'luha leaned forward gently to kiss the top of her niece's head.
"It's over Tahj. The fire is gone." Her words were soft and comforting, and K'luha stepped back gently to look down in an effort to meet the girl's eyes. "Are you tired? Should we rest in the tent until the huntresses come back with food?"
RE: Heinous Omens [K-Tribe] - Izmina - 10-28-2014
K'tahjha hears the fire lessening in intensity and she makes an effort to meet her aunt's gaze. Tahj's eyes are haunted, the fur behind her ears is slick with sweat. Those ears and her tail as low as they would go, feeling she has let her aunt down. Why must she still have nightmares and terrors, like a small child. She nods mutely as K'luha asks if she'd like to go rest in the tent. At least she could bring no more shame on her tribe hidden in her tent. "I'm sorry Aunt Luha", she mumbles as she turns to return to their tent.