Lyraciilee

K'luha watched her grandmother desperately, searching for a sign. A head nod, anything at all. If her hip was in better shape she would have gotten up and grabbed her grandmothers hand to beg further, but another figure caught her eye. K'jhanhi stood and lumbered towards her. K'luha held her breath, the anxiety making her dizzy. "Grandfather...?" She half whispered as he pressed his hands to her shoulders heavily. K'luha could barely meet his gaze, embarrassed and frantic and so many emotions pulling her in all directions. She wanted to run and scream and beat them all up and she wanted to hug her Grandmother and sob and she wanted to grab Tahj and K'ailia and tell them what they met to her and... Her mind quieted to listen to her Grandfather's words. Must... let go? 'No... no please... I let go of so many... must I let go of more?' K'luha thought, her mouth opening but the words refusing to come forth. Her brothers, her son, her daughter, her aunt, so many of her own family and now she was supposed to let go of K'ile as well? She couldn't... she didn't want to. K'luha wouldn't. She wouldn't let go of K'ailia or K'ile. They were too precious little of what family she held close. If she just kept letting of, soon there would be no one but herself standing in the middle of the desert with nothing but sorrow, and then she would be swallowed whole by it. But K'jhanhi spoke further and K'luha could have almost hugged him. But his stern words still sent chills down her spine. A nod of her head was all she could do at first, but after a moment she pressed her hands to her face and inhaled shakily. "Y-yes I... I will take responsibility for this... I'll... I-i'll find him. K'ile will c-come home. I'll... I bring back... I'll bring back both. K'ile and the trinket. He'll come with me. I can... he will." K'luha stumbled over her words, still feeling dizzy. The weight of her new responsibility was weighing heavily onto her shoulders. She had to... to lie down for a time. Before she could collect K'ailia's things and... and go back to Ul'dah. Maybe there would be some way to find him in Ul'dah. Maybe... She had to hope. She had to pray Azyema would bring K'ile to her. "I will bring both back with me." K'luha asserted a final more certain time, her head raising to look back at her Grandfather with defiant eyes.

K'takka's words sent ice down her spice. People she lost... K'luha visibly cringed, twisting her tail until it burned lightly to ease the anxiety and pain off. She couldn't... putting Tahj with someone else? Luha looked helplessly to her Grandmother. Who would take in Tahj? She could... understand the elders wanted to put Tahj with someone else when K'luha had failed to raise K'ailia properly but... at the same time. It was her sister's daughter. She had... Maka would have wanted K'luha to raise her, wouldn't she of? K'yohko going after K'ile? No, that wasn't... K'ile wouldn't survive. As much as K'luha had a certain grudged against the nunh, she respected his strength and unmoving nature. She somehow felt that K'ile wouldn't just... give back those trinkets... and she also felt K'yohko was not above ripping K'ile's arm off to retrieve them. "No,no,no,no!" K'luha insisted fervently, shaking her head. "It IS my fault he left. I can find him. Just... K-k'ailia wanted her things back. Let me just go to Ul'dah. I-i'll give her her things and then I'll find K'ile. Please. Please? Grandmother, please. K'ile won't just hand them over, especially not to K'yohko. They have bad blood, you know that. Grandmother please... just let me... I can find him. I can fix this." K'luha pleaded desperately towards K'deiki. K'takka wouldn't listen to her, she seemed to have already made her decision, but maybe... maybe her Grandmother would listen. "Let me go... and you can decide who... who would raise Tahj the best. I won't object that but just... l-let me fix this." K'yohko paused, his ears twitching lightly with the subtle shift of the wind. He watched Tahj enter the tent, and when she did not come out he peered inside. Alseep, so soon? She was rather young... not yet used to the heavy heat and stale air. He made a silent promise to himself. He would be the one to teach her to hunt this time. She was his daughter, and he would pass on his knowledge to her. Perhaps that meant that he favored her, but it was not so in his mind. Only that she seemed the proper person in need to teaching. And with that, he closed the tent's flap and walked back to the elder's tent. His ears picked up the sound of pleading and panic, but he crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood watch regardless. His eyes picked out the tracks of his family, K'zhumi and K'iara heading off to the desert. Perhaps to collect some much needed supplies. His eyes fell to the hunting females still in the process of skinning and smoking what meager meat they had for dinner. They would eat tonight. Perhaps not well, but food was food and K'yohko had seen worse.

"No." K'luha protested sharply, shaking her head. "No, we scouted that way. He didn't... " She seemed to have gone completely pale with the idea. "H-he probably... he just w-went to... " Luha trembled and grasped her arms, holding herself together like it might stop her from shaking. "H-he'll come back...I-it's my fault he... but H-he'll come back...." K'luha's feeble protest was more to convince herself than anyone else. She had to believe he would be okay. That she would see him again. He would come home. He would. K'yohko lead Tahj away through the quiet camp, ignoring the gaze of the other tribe members until he came to one of the outermost tents. He paused at it and carefully noted the chocobo who had moved to sit near the front. "This is K'luha's tent." He said briefly before moving to pet K'yori's head softly. Yohko looked back to examine his daughter for another moment. He had never known Maka had gotten pregnant... A surprise to find he had yet another daughter. "You may make yourself comfortable inside."

Clues...? K'luha felt herself sinking to the floor under K'takka's dark gaze. She felt like a child confessing her misdeeds once again. Such a pitiful feeling... K'luha tugged and twisted on her tail in her lap, feeling like boiling under the sun would only be a minor punishment for her crimes. "There were... he didn't say anything. He only left a message with the carriage driver that he would meet us in Drybone, and then didn't. I... but it's may fault he probably ran off." K'luha dropped her eyes to the floor, grasping her tail hard enough to bend it lightly and have it ache up her back. But the pain was a good distraction. "With K'aila's leaving I was... I wasn't totally right in my mind. We also ran into K'haz and I accepted aid from him, even though K'ile reminded me of our laws regarding deserters... not only that, but I... I forced K'ile to kiss me as well. If he had not been so true to our ways, I fear I may have done worse and shamed our people further. I think that he may have left to meditate and cleanse himself of my shameful acts." K'luha kept her head low and her ears flattened. It was a lie, most of it. She didn't force herself on K'ile. Even he had said she hadn't. And she hadn't actually ever gotten close to really seducing him. And K'ile hadn't told her not to accept help for K'haz, but this was the best lie she could come up with. It took the blame off of K'ile. Because if the elders had really known that he just walked off on his own with those gemstones... he might have his stupid hand cut off. Or worse. So there it was. Her lies and shame and half-truths on the table for the elders to question as they would.

"K'makanee..." Yohko repeated, looking at Tahj's eyes for a few moments of silence. Maka's daughter then... and then she had been... when she was exiled. A brief and small sadness flitted through his features before it was gone, replaced with the same stony appearance as before. "Then welcome home my daughter." He faintly smiled towards Tahj and pushed himself upright to show her towards K'luha's tent. "Come." He asked before walking off towards the outer ring of tents. K'luha on the other hand, felt a deep guilt biting into her chest. Had they looked for K'ile? She had looked. She had tried the best she could but... "I... I tried. To look. We went to Drybone. I asked around. I searched for him the few nights we were their but I couldn't look far... my hip..." K'luha looked back down at the floor, ears flattening. "I should have looked better... I haven't the slightest clue where he could have gone..."

K'luha waited until Tahj was out of the tent before looking back to K'deiki and the other elders. This part was... Luha looked to the ground nervously, her stomach turning nauseously. This was... she had to tell. She had to take the blame for this and.. Luha looked up when her grandmother called to her. She was trying to be comforting but... K'luha's ears dropped to flatten into her hair and she grasped at her tail to pull on it nervously. "I don't know where K'ile went. We were talking one night and then he just... walked away. He said he would meet us in Drybone but he wasn't there. There was no sign of him. And K'ailia she... she's abandoned us." K'luha hung her head low and tried not to cry. "I'm sorry... this is my fault." K'yohko glanced down as the child came out but K'luha did not. She seemed to have something to say, and so he listened. K'tahjha Yohko? So she was his child then. An Aunt K'luha...? The Nunh took a few moments to look her over before letting out a long breath of air. "Whom was your mother?" He questioned in a smooth deep voice that was rather monotone.

For a moment, all of her fears faded to a warm happy sensation. The elders were happy to have Tahj in their family. And so was K'luha. She was so happy they had no debate on it. That K'ile had been right about it. And Tahj was going to stay. Oh the things K'luha could teach her. Maka would have been happy to. In a way, it felt like regaining a part of Maka that she had lost so long ago. And finally, her worry over the others had faded for a happiness she hadn't known in the last few weeks. But then her grandmother addressed her. K'luha's happiness felt somewhat muted and she instead looked ashamedly to Tahj. She had so much to account for... to own up to. She was not looking forward to it. "Ah, yes. Tahj, you father is the man outside the tent on the left. His name is K'yohko. Go tell him you're Maka's daughter and have him show you to my tent." K'luha smiled warmly to Tahj, masking her mounting dread. "Maybe some of the others will come to greet you as well, though I suspect that it might take some time for them to warm up to you."

K'luha was just as nervous as Tahj, perhaps more so. Since it had all been her fault to begin with... she wanted desperately to make things right for Tahj. She should have been here all along with her family. Maka should have never had to die alone out in the burning forest. For a moment, K'luha looked to the floor with pain in her eyes. Maka... if only Maka had told the truth to the elders. If she had just admitted it was all Luha's fault then... then Tahj could have still had her mother. And K'ailia perhaps would have been raised better by Maka than K'luha seemed to have done. When K'luha looked back up it was because Tahj touched her hand. Luha took Tahj's hand in her own and gave her a reassuring squeeze. K'haali seemed to have vanished from the tent. It was just like her not to remain for longer than needed. Luha looked to her grandmother with pained and pleading eyes. They couldn't send Tahj back now. Not when K'luha had dragged her out here to the damn desert away from her home. Not when... K'luha tried not to think on it and instead looked at K'deiki again.

There was a long silence. K'iara was comfortable with that silence. She did not find it strange or nervous. It was nice. A quiet that she valued deeply. Her burning blue eyes scanned over her brother's angry form. She wondered how long it was possible to be angry in a life. Could one be angry forever? Maybe. K'rahto was surely working on it if it was possible. K'iara had to admit, she was slightly surprised with K'rahto's confession. He did not easily given in, so it ask for help... He must have been completely desperate. To become a archer? She wondered if it was to impress K'nahli. What was happening in four day however? K'iara strained her mind to think for it. Was there a festival? A celebration? Was she slacking in her daily hunts? Surely they would need a lot more food if there was something like that happening. Yes, she would have to redouble her efforts to bring in enough food for whatever it was they were planning. After a long silence in which K'iara face did not seem to change, she looked down at her shorter brother and nodded. "I will, however..." K'iara paused and leaned down a bit to put her face on an even level with K'rahto. "You will not be able to learn without food and sleep. You must eat your rations everyday and you must sleep at least four hours when you are tired. The rest will give your mind time to process and better understand what I teach you. And, you will hunt with me while I am teaching you. There is no better way to learn quickly than to put your lessons into a real life practice. When you can hit a rampaging Sun Drake in the few spots where an arrow can pierce through soft flesh, you can hit anything stationary from miles away." And with that K'iara straightened again and towered over her brother. She brought her hands to her hips and looked down seriously at him. "Do you agree to my terms?"

He was embarrassed. K'iara could smell it. It had a strange odor to it. Perhaps she was just imagining the smell, but she would have sworn he smelt differently when he was embarrassed. "Brother..." K'iara called again, stepping forward a moving to place a heavy hand on his small shoulder. It worried her that he was so small sometimes. K'iara was very tall. Perhaps the tallest woman in the tribe. Perhaps the tallest member of the tribe, women or man. While her figure was not what one would call, good for child bearing, she was strong with thick muscles and a sturdy build. Comparatively to her brother... "At least eat. Whatever you are doing will do no good without eating and sleeping." K'iara reminded him firmly, eyes a blazing blue looking to her brother's amber orbs.

K'iara watched his arrow fly pathetically off into the distance out of the corner of her eye. What was he doing out here, training like a man possessed? And with a bow no less. He reminded her of K'nahli's usual morning rituals. It was something K'iara had always noticed from the corner of her eye, but didn't usually take more than a passing thought to concern herself with. The elders sister's ears twitched lightly, watching her brother's eyes grow and take a small gasp. Only to turn and curse and question her presence. She lifted a single finger and pushed it towards his nose. "You did not eat. You did not sleep." K'iara offered as a simple explanation. "What are you doing?" A question. More of a demand, but K'iara's voice was incapable of showing a very large range of emotions anymore. But her eyes were even more fierce than her brother's, and they demanded an answer from him.

He hadn't come to eat and K'iara thought it strange for her brother to miss a meager meal. He hadn't come to bed when she finally retired in the even, though this was less strange since K'iara retired very early so she might rise equally early. When he was still not asleep next to her however, K'iara grew worried. Her thick red brows furrowed in concern as she examined the cold empty sheets next to her sleeping place. Where was that boy? Since their mother had died he had been so cold and angry. K'iara could both understand and fail to comprehend. She had been in the same tent as their mother after all. She had sustained similar injuries, and yet somehow pulled through. Sometimes she wondered if he would have been happier if their mother had lived and she had died. But the thoughts died in her head. K'iara did not care for them because they were useless thoughts. She was alive. Their mother was dead. So too, their father. Instead, she rose and scrubbed herself with soapweed and sand to keep clean. Fresh, she dressed in the clothing she wore the previous day and stepped out into the dusty morning sand. K'iara stretched out upon the sand for a time, her nose carefully picking up the morning scents of the desert. She could smell most of her family in their usual place, but the smell of K'rahto was further out. Not so far away she could not smell him, but far enough away it concerned her. Pulling her bow over her chest and her quiver on her back and her axe at her hip, K'iara set out with light feet across the sands. Her movements scarcely left a trace of where she had come or where she went, and the sand did not betray her with sound as she moved. Her brilliant blue eyes caught sight of her brother off in the distance, weary and yet determined. A determination set in his usual anger and introversion. K'iara carefully approached him, sure to not make a noise as she moved until she was just inches behind him and breathed a hot breath on his neck. "K'rahto..." K'iara called softly, her voice a raspy breathy noise as it had been for the last five years. It was almost as a whisper in the wind, but she was sure it would be enough to startle him. And she was prepared for him to flail and either accidentally or on purpose hit her. To that end, she was ready to catch his wrists if she needed to.

K'luha was glad to see both K'haali praised, and K'takka pleased. Out of all of them, K'haali really had done the most work. Not to mention she was completely uninvolved in all of the more dramatics of the adventure. Which left K'luha with only bad news to speak up, and terrible things to take credit for. For a brief moment, she wished she could be more useful like K'haali. K'luha folded her hands into her lap and nervously held them together. If the elders wanted to see Tahj, they should see her now that K'haali was mostly done speaking. "They would probably not respect our claim for gold. They are greedy in that way." K'luha frowned, speaking from experience. As she was the one who had the most interactions with the bottom feeding city scum, her words might mean something. "However, if we trade in small quantities over large areas, it won't attract as much attention. As I usually trade in Ul'dah, if I trade in several locations we could still profit from the gold, and this way we won't have a bunch of Ul'dahs at our throats." The suggestion, K'luha felt, was sufficient and she turned her head back around to look towards the tent entrance. "Tahj? Tahj, you can come in now." Luha called warmly. She didn't want to worry her niece, but she was rather terrified the elders were going to be harsh on her.

It was difficult to listen to her. The trauma was too great for young K'nahli. She simply couldn't accept the truth in his words. She couldn't accept the severity of his wounds and the brutality of his death. K'yohko could not let her near the body. It was cruel perhaps, but whatever she was seeing... it was not what was happening. How could he offer his daughter comfort? In what way could he make her see? There were no ways. There were no words. Only pain. "He is dead K'nahli. I am sorry." K'yohko breathed out quietly, the comforting tone he had so subtly tried to weave broken. Now there was no comfort he could give. All he could be was cruel to her, and cruel he would be. K'yohko could not indulge her delusions. There was too much to do. Too much at stake. Should he allow her to mourn and indulge that idea that K'yhaega was still alive, he feared she would turned into another K'piru. K'yohko could not handle yet another useless body, mourning and flailing in the sand while he ground his bones to dust keeping away Bloatflies and Sandworms and Jackals, and Sun Drakes. "K'nahli..." K'yohko spoke sternly, a once tender hug turning more into a stranglehold on his daughter. "You have disobeyed your mother and worried her greatly. There is much to do for those of us who remain. I am going to take you back to your mother, and I ask that you aide her in whatever way you can. Honor K'yhaega's memory by helping those who might still live." That was the only wisdom he might impart to his daughter. The only things he could say that might even try to patch the wounds. And so K'yohko moved to stand and hold his small daughter to his broad and broken chest, lifting her with him no matter what fight she may put up. He desired to walk her back to his treasured mate and hope that the woman could console K'nahli, when all he could do was be cruel.

How could he tell K'nahli? How could not tell her? K'yohko gripped her more firmly and inhaled deeply for a moment. He had to tell her. "He just passed away a few minutes ago from his burns." The answer was solemn, but steady. K'yohko knew from where she was, she had seen the body. "He's just behind us." K'yohko added after a moment's silence. He wasn't sure if he should have said that or not, but knowing his daughter, she would want to know. She would want proof, to see her mentor one last time. "I'm sorry K'nahli." Never had words felt so significant and meaningless at the same time. His apology could never make up for what she had lost. For what the tribe was losing. And yet without those words, he couldn't tell her what she had lost in the first place. It was all K'yohko could do to subdue his daughter in a strong embrace, and hope that some day time would heal all of their wounds. But he knew better than that. Time could never heal this wound. But it could soften it perhaps.

K'yohko followed his daughter's eyes, the small movements of her face and body. She gave up all her thoughts with small movements. Even though K'nahli was quiet, she was like an open book. K'yohko could see her fear, her anxiety, her frustration and grief. It was in the way her ears twitched, the way her tail movement, and the color of her eyes. And of course, the way she breathed in so sharply on seeing K'yhaega's maimed body. But he was beyond recognition. Had he not been able to talk before he died, they might have never been able to figure out who it was. The nunh felt his heart shatter a bit further with his daughter's plea. 'Please tell me...' The words echoed around numbly in his skull for a few moments before he realized it. What words could possible make this better? There were no words. They were useless things. Useless before such torrential grief and loss and horror. Instead, K'yohko did something he had never done before. He reached forward and took his daughter in his arms and pressed her against his chest in a firm hug. "I'm sorry K'nahli." He whispered quietly, closing his eyes and holding K'nahli still. He was prepared for her to struggle against him, but he was not going to let her run. She was going to stay with him until she calmed down. Until her mother came, or until K'nahli realized the man with such horrific wounds was K'yhaega.

K'luha looked to Haali as the other girl sat down. Where was the best place to begin? K'takka said it so simply. At the beginning, but where was the best beginning? So far, K'luha had not been the best judge of character... or action... or anything at all. Most of this discussion pained her to speak on, but there were things that had to be said. She glanced up to K'jhanhi and frowned. "I would not hide anything from you all. I will tell all, but some less related things I would ask a private audience for... In any case..." K'luha cleared her throat and began to speak. She spoke up arriving in Ul'dah earlier and meeting the head of the Ul'dah Garden, a Ventus Zeurel. She spoke of her mistrust for him. She spoke about K'ailia's threat to leave the tribe and K'ile's timely arrival and subsequent patching up of their relationship. Then she spoke in detail about their search. How they scouted Thanalan for a place to find home. She went through all of the areas with potential, but spoke at length about Eastern Thalan's bounty and beauty. About its vastness and close locations. K'luha spoke of the Amalj'aa encampment nearby and her short scouting tribe with K'ile, though she mostly just glossed over the actual travel and did not mention their failure at hunting. That wasn't really relevant. She spoke briefly about the Ul'dahn Garden itself and its slight potential, although she seemed to dismiss the potential when she spoke upon her challenge to Ventus. There was a long pause before K'luha spoke about almost dying to Ventus's hand and K'ailia's abandonment. It was clear in her face that K'ailia's abandonment pained her greatly, and she gripped at her chest in an effort to somehow make it all better. She spoke of meeting K'haz, a former tribe member as well and how he had aided her briefly when K'ailia injured her hip. Pushing forward she spoke of a letter K'ailia had received before she abandoned and about her sister Maka's daughter, Tahj. She said it had been her idea to retrieve Tahj from Gridania, and that the girl was waiting just outside the tent. "Tahj is a wonderful girl. It isn't her fault that Maka was exiled. She can't be asked to pay for her mother's crimes... And... Maka is dead now. She has no one to take care of her. She's still only fifteen. Tahj could be a huntress in no time. She will be an asset to the tribe, I am sure of it." K'luha spoke with conviction before slinking backwards lightly. "There are a few more things I have to confess but, I will let K'haali speak more in depth about her findings in Eastern Thalanen and such." And with that K'luha silenced herself and looked to K'haali to speak. K'yohko, on the other hand, turned his head faintly to examine Tahj outside. She looked very familiar... and her scent was familiar too. Someone from a long... long time ago. But he said nothing to Tahj and turned his head away from her to stare out at the horizon.

The burns were bad. He was among the worst injured. It was surprising he had held on as long as he had... K'yhaega. He was a good man. It pained K'yohko now to clean his burned face as much as possible. He was nearly unrecognizable now. Or perhaps it was just because K'yohko was so tired. His vision had been blurry the last few days, but it was only getting worse with each hour he remained awake. Someone had to do this. Someone had to bury them all. He was the only person who hadn't yet fallen to pieces it seemed either. K'yohko turned his head when he heard a small voice calling nervously for her father. He recognized her instantly as K'nahli. His face was worn and battered and dirty, but his eyes remained as still and stony as ever. Although he was sad and torn, he was for the most part, unchanged. K'nahli could see the tiredness and sadness in his eyes, but there was also a strength behind them. He had to be strong for everyone. It was something he had accepted. "K'nahli..." he called back her name softly and stood. He stepped towards his daughter before kneeling in front of her and moving to take her hands. "Your mother didn't want you in here. Do you need me? Or are you looking for someone?" K'yohko knew whom she was looking for. He was not so disengaged from his family that he did not know what they were up to. He had watched K'yhaega teach K'nahli to hunt. He had watched them become close, sometimes too close for his own liking. But never had K'yhaega done anything to earn K'yohko's dislike or mistrust, and so he allowed it to happen. But now... he was sure that K'nahli was here to find K'yhaega. How could he tell her that the brutally maimed body in front of her was him? How could he tell that to his thirteen year old daughter?

K'luha and K'yohko both recognized the hand which opened the tent's door. While K'luha felt a bit of dread seeing K'takka, K'yohko was glad for her appearance. If K'luha and K'yohko had something in common, it was that they both loved their parents and elders dearly. While K'yohko did not smile back at his grandmother, there was a small twinkle in his eye that she would recognize as his acknowledgement. For K'luha, all she could feel was the impending dread of confessing her crimes. That and telling them she had lost both her daughter, and K'ile during the scouting party. More failures racking up on more failures. Although she didn't want to rely on K'yohko, she gripped at his shoulder for a moment. After a moment's breath she turned back and called for K'haali. "K'haali. It's time. Come on. Tahj, I'll call you in, in just a moment." K'luha took another deep breath before allowing K'yohko to help her into the tent. It was dark yet still warm, a familiar and welcoming place to be. Even if the tent held dark memories, it also held bright ones. K'luha was trying so desperately hard to stay positive. It was easier here, now that she was home. As per instructed, K'yohko shifted K'luha down to sit on a few pillows. K'luha winced a bit but quietly thanked K'yohko for his aid. The nunh said nothing but turned and left the tent. It wasn't his place to remain with the meeting, but he took place standing just outside the tent should they need him. K'luha looked from K'takka to K'jhanhi, to her grandmother. At least K'deiki didn't look like she was going to murder her... yet. "It was... an... eventful trip." K'luha coughed awkwardly, glancing back and waiting for K'haali's entrance. "Should we start with the good... or the bad?" She offered a guilty and somewhat misplaced smile to the three elders, feeling like she wanted to sink through the floor a little bit.

K'luha was glad K'mih was so friendly. K'mih was a good girl, always had been. To have her accept Tahj right away meant a lot of Luha, as it probably did to Tahj as well. With a warm smile, Luha watched them interact for a few moments. At least, until K'mih spoke up about K'ailia. Again, she could feel a lump in her throat and a throbbing in her chest. Why did they all have to ask about K'ailia....? She didn't want to tell them. Instead, K'luha shakily stood up, leaning to the left to keep as much weight off her injured hip as possible. Maybe this was running away, but she was going to damn well run for a little while longer. "K'mih, could you please show Tahj around the camp? K'haali and I should go see the elders and give our reports, right away." Luha smiled again and started hobbling off towards the elder's tent. She always knew where they were as their tent was always the largest and sat near the center of camp. Much to K'luha's displeasure, K'yohko stepped forward as she approached the tent and wrapped a hand around her waist. He pulled one of her arms over his shoulder for support and helped her over to the tent. K'luha wriggled a bit to get out of his grip, but he didn't budge an inch. Not wanting to call attention to herself any further she simply let him help her and carefully cleared her voice in front of the tent. "Grandmother? It's K'luha. K'haali and I are back with news from our scouting party..." K'luha called out tentatively. Hopefully K'mih wouldn't pester her for more information on K'ailia. She would tell the elders and that was all. She didn't think she could tell anyone else for the time being. Not even K'yohko. A red hair huntress looked up faintly from her seat upon a heavy boulder that sat in-between tents. She was sharpening her axe for tomorrow's hunt, or perhaps tonight's hunt since so many returned home. K'iara clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, sharp blue eyes staring down Tahj, K'haali, and K'luha from a distance. Who was this new comer? K'iara caught her scent on the wind and frowned a bit. Like an outsider... The movement from the medical tent caught K'iara attention, and she watched her sister Zhumi look irked before returning to her tent. This slipped a small smirk on the elder sister's face, and K'iara stood from her spot. She swung her axe over and hooked it into place on her back before ducking into Zhumi's tent. "Zhu." K'iara called, her voice always a raspy breathy thing. She said no more for the time being but walked over to the center of the tent and peered at Zhumi's activities.

With her hip being the pain that it was, K'luha was going to need to sit again soon. Normally she wouldn't have pulled up so close to the camp but, walking was simply an issue now. And it wasn't about to get better anytime soon it seemed. K'luha motioned Tahj to help K'haali as the other red haired miq'ote tossed things at Tahj and started unpacking. K'luha couldn't help, but at least Tahj could. Well rather, would have if the cries of the younger children hadn't been swiftly followed by a small swam of younglings around them. They couldn't have possibly known about K'ile and K'ailia... and K'luha did a very good job of masking how it stung to hear such eager questions. Instead, K'luha carefully knelt down to take pressure off her hip and smiled at the young ones. "We did find things. We found some wonderful places with lots of food. K'ile went to do some very important things, okay? And he'll be back home in a few days." K'luha completely skipped over the question of K'ailia, hoping they would be distracted by Tahj instead. "And this is K'tahjha. She's my niece. She grew up a long way away from here. So you have to be nice to her, okay? She's going to be living with us from now on." K'luha smiled cheerfully and took over to Tahj. "Why don't you say hello?" Off some ways in the tribe, a dark skinned Miq'ote male sat in a quiet meditation. The desert air was even drier and hotter than usual, K'yohko noted briefly. The winds blew soft but recognizable scenes towards him. K'luha... K'haali... and someone else? He smelt them long before he saw them. His head turned briefly to look at the group, and he watched the children swarm around them with questions. Good questions. Some he would have liked answered as well. K'yohko Nunh pushed off the tent he was leaning on and stepped over towards the Elder's tent. It was best if they were given the news straight away. He respectfully pushed the flap open and stuck his head instead to look within. "The scouting party has returned." Was all his words before he stepped away and let the flap shut. He remained by the entrance, looking out and watching with vague interest.

K'luha could have said something about K'yohko helping them, but she didn't. She had choice words in any normal circumstance to K'yohko's helpfulness, but indeed these weren't any circumstances. K'luha was afraid though. She was afraid of how fixated K'ile seemed on K'piru. On just how shell-shocked K'piru seemed to be. Would K'piru make it? Would she be able to live on? What if K'ile just took her away and the two left? What would happen without their shaman and fire-dancer? K'luha was very afraid that it might happen, but she tried to push that fear away. Surely they were family. Surely they were upset but, they would think about the rest of their family before themselves... right? K'ile's response was anything but helpful in her attempt to stabilize her faith in her family. For a fire dancer... he really was frigid. Luha gathered up K'ailia in her arms and stood with some effort. Her ankle seemed to have pulled or something when she fell, because it hurt terribly to stand on it. But to say anything in front of K'ile and K'piru now... She was too afraid to linger any longer. She moved from the tent and paused at the flap to look back at them. "We're family too.... if... you wanted us to help you.. we would..." K'luha said this very quietly before skittering out of the tent. She wasn't wanted, and she certainly didn't want to linger there. Instead she tried to coo out comforts to K'ailia and pulled a strip of fabric from her clothing to cover her daughter's burnt head like a bandana.

K'luha sat nervously, her eyes darting around the tent. Why were they out here? Didn't they know that they were needed? Didn't they care? K'luha was too afraid to ask. K'yohko had asked them earlier to let the two of them have their privacy, but he never said why. She had heard K'thalen and K'piru's daughters died however, and that was enough for K'luha to give K'piru her space to mourn. But surely, K'piru would return when she was done mourning, right? She would do what K'luha had done and mourn before coming back, and that idea held Luha at bay from asking many questions about K'piru. As for K'ile... he seemed angry she was even here in the first place. She did not miss the aura that she was intruding upon something important, nor the aura that he could not care less for her or any of her worries... or really anything at all. She watched for a moment as he pulled an arm across the sand and dragged K'ailia into the light. K'luha's ears stood up tall and she immediately leaned forward to touch K'ailia's cheek. Again, K'luha didn't miss the faint undercurrent of impatience and what sounded almost like anger. It made her ears fall flat. Wasn't he family? Had she done something wrong? All she had tried to do was help but... "I-i'm sorry..." K'luha stumbled over her words again, reaching over to try and pull K'ailia into her arms so she might walk away with her daughter. Walk away from the people who didn't want them there for whatever reason. But it hurt just as much as everything else did that the two didn't seem to care about anyone else. "I-i'm no good w-with healing o-or bandages. S-so it's g-gotten w-worse and I-i... I-i'm sorry." The words were spilling out of her mouth like the tears had spilled from her eyes. "W-we're going." Luha finally finished, shifting to try and take K'ailia away from the tent and back to the tribe. Even cold K'yohko was not as frigid as the tent with K'ile and K'piru, and that was more frightening than the sky falling upon them to K'luha.

K'luha hit something rather hard that was most certainly not the ground, but a person. A tent so far away from the others wasn't something she had expected. All of the tents over where she was running were burnt or ripped or down in some way, so running face first into one in the first place, much less one with people, was surprising. Luha didn't quiet pick up her whereabouts as quickly as K'ile and was shoved somewhat roughly off of his back and onto the floor again. This was mostly due to her being somewhat limp at the shock of having fallen into... something and someone. After a moment or two, K'luha blinked and sort of squirmed against the floor to sit up and try and figure out what had happened. "K-k'ile?" She stammered, looking up through singed and frazzled hair at the red-haired tribe member. He didn't look much better than she did, but she looked much more tired than he did. Deep purple circles stained her face along with dried blood, tears, dirt, and ashes. "I-i'm sorry..." Kluha didn't notice it, but she was shaking. Her eyes darted around the scene, somewhat panicked as her mind quickly tried to refocus on its task. "I-i p-passed out w-watching over K-k'yhaega a-and now h-he's..." K'luha voice cracked as she tried to pronounced 'dead'. It cracked so high and brokenly that the word was barely intelligible and it was all Luha could do to pull up at her filthy shirt and wipe her eyes again."B-but I lost K-k'ailia... a-and sh-she's so hurt... h-her head... I don't k-know where she went... S-she shouldn't b-be in the s-sun with her head l-like that... where..?" K'luha lost her train of thought as her mind focused in intently on finding K'ailia again. Where could her daughter be? It would be just her luck that she was looking everywhere but towards the direction K'piru had started to flee in.

[align=center][/align] "Luha..." the voice was deep and hoarse, racked with pain and unbearable for K'luha to listen to. She slowly lifted her head. The exhaustion weighed so heavily on her shoulders, just lifting her head was a strain. An act of sheer will power. Her eyes looked blurrily down at the figure in front of her. Once pale perfect skin, burnt and singed into something almost unrecognizable. The burns were so bad even if K'piru had gone on treating him he... "Luha..." The dying male called to her, his burnt and bandaged hand lifting up from the padding on which he lay in the sand. "N-no Haega... don't... s-save your strength..." Luha whimpered softly, taking his hand desperately and pushing it down again. She could only faintly bare to look at his burnt and mangled face. The fireballs had hit so hard... and he couldn't run as fast anymore since... "It's time... I can... I can feel it..." Again K'luha's brother spoke and with every word K'luha felt as if she might crumble. She shook her head no, although she knew he was right. Ever since they had started treating him they knew, she knew, and even he knew he was going to die. The burns were too severe, in too many places to ever recover fully. "N-no. You're wrong! Y-you're... it's not..." K'luha sobbed desperately, like if she just kept denying it that he would live. If she could believe hard enough, he would stay a little longer with her. The once handsome face smiled at her and K'luha could barely make out the movement through the bandaged and burns. It shattered her heart to see him like this. "Brother..." she choked, grasping tightly at his hand and pressing it to her forehead. "This isn't... you can't leave me... it's all my fault... y-your leg... if I hadn't... all those years ago... then you could r-run and...!" The words came in broken pieces. She couldn't string them together properly, but he smiled again and K'luha knew that he understood her. "It's not your fault Luha... it's okay.... I forgive you..." K'yhaega called weakly, his once strong and deep voice fading as he spoke. K'luha cried harder as his hand began to weaken in her grip. She gripped at him harder and pulled at his arm like it would keep him alive. "No! K'yhaega! No! You can't leave me! You can't die! Stay with me! K'yhaega! Brother!" K'luha screeched the words with a terrible desperation that everyone in the tribe had been feeling since the Calamity. She pulled and shook at her brother's arm but he only smiled until he went completely limp and was gone. K'luha grasped at his face, shook him more and more violently and screeched for him to come back, but he did not stir. It was not until a strong arm grabbed her shoulder that K'luha looked back. K'yohko stood behind her, shaking his head. For all of her bitterness at K'yohko, she could not help but to stand shakily and hug him tightly. He stood as a rock for her when everything was falling to pieces. Even that emotionless face that drove her crazy, she was glad to see him unchanged in the aftermath. They stood for a few moments in an embrace before Luha pulled back, crying in small choked sobs. "I'll take care of his body." Was K'yohko's only words. K'luha could only nod and wipe her eyes, looking down at her brother's body again. If only she hadn't... his death was her fault. She could have saved him if she hadn't... K'yohko spoke again and broke her thoughts. "Find K'ailia." "K'ailia...?" Luha echoed back. It was then that she realized K'ailia had left her side while she was watching over K'yhaega and trying to tend to both of their wounds. She must have passed out from the exhaustion. "K'ailia!" Panic struck K'luha and she pushed past K'yohko, still crying. Sand kicked up behind her as she ran across the sands of the tribe still, looking every which way. Her burnt hands and feet and hair and face didn't matter. "K"ailia!?" K'luha screeched again, searching for her daughter. Where would she go? Why would she leave? K'luha wasn't good at medicine like K'piru and the others. She had tried to fix K'ailia's burnt head but she knew she hadn't done very much to help. She wasn't even looking where she was going. She opened her mouth to scream for K'ailia gain but instead tripped over a rock and skidded into K'ile and K'piru's tent. Luckily it was through the entrance, but she skidded in hard and fast, enough that she might have knocked into both of them if they weren't paying attention enough to avoid her. Then again, she hadn't been quiet in coming.