Izmina

K'zhumi approached the Nuhn's tent quietly. Her ears flickering actively. The new smells and sounds had her on edge, the place felt different. As she reached the tent opening, she saw K'yohko in meditation. She paused uncertainly outside the tent, unsure if she should interrupt. K'tahjha nods proudly as K'iara asks if she can lead the way back to where she left K'nahli. Weaving as silently as she can through the shrubs and thorns. Tahj backtracks to where she last saw her sister as swiftly as she can.

K'tahjha listens intently to her sister and as she turns to go back the way they came, she pauses to commit K'nahli's current location to memory. Then with a determined nod, more to herself than the huntress, she begins picking her way back towards where she last saw the hunting party as quickly as she dares. Winding in and out of the brush and brambles, paying attention to her foot placement, trying to make as little noise as possible while still making good time. She pauses to catch her breath and realizes she is scared and her heart thundering in her ears makes it hard to hear. Before she was relying completely on K'nahli to spot predators and keep her safe. Tahj takes a moment to reorient herself and scan for any potential predators, then heads off at speed. Just as she was certain she was lost and her heart started to sink, she picks up the scent of the hunting party. Sighing in relief, Tahj immediately seeks K'iara to relay K'nahli's message. Pausing a second to regain her breath and calm her heart rate that was skittering in her chest like a scared rabbit Tahj smiles proudly at the older huntress. "K'nahli says there's a herd of large, plant eating animals, a little shorter than than sandworms but with lots of meat traveling due east. She says some of them have horns."

K'tahjha immediately shakes her head, her mind quickly retracing the route they had taken. She is confident she can retrace their steps closely enough to be able to scent the hunting party. She speaks just above a whisper, afraid to spook what ever creatures waited below. "I was surprised is all. I can do it." The girl waits her sister's decision with baited breath, hoping to be trusted with this task no matter how easy it might seem to a more experienced huntress.

K'tahjha freezes in place at her sister's signal, crouched low to the ground. She was somewhat disappointed to not have the opportunity to see what was making the noisesome scent, but there was no thought of disobedience. Tahj waits patiently until K'nahli's sharp gaze settles on her once more. For the briefest of moments Tahj was sure her heart had forgotten how to beat, By herself? Can she actually back track to the hunting party? Then her chest expands almost painfully with pride, the huntress was entrusting her with this task. Many thoughts and emotions were colliding in the young girl's brain, but locking eyes confidently with the older girl she simply nods.

K'zhumi stands in the medical tent, checking and organizing her supplies. Attempting to recapture some sense of familiarity in this new land. She thinks back to the bonfire, a touch apprehensive. The hunt seemed to have started well, she hopes Menphina will bless them with a favorable result. Sniffing the air the shaman detected the faintest odor of cooking meat. Her ears flatten as she thinks of the feast. That damned tia was actually going to challenge the nunh. With a sigh she collects a few supplies and heads out in search of K'yohko. She wants to check on his arm. That tia wasn't becoming nunh because she was lax in her duties.

Scouting? K'tahjha's ears drooped, surely her sister would leave her with the group since she was assigned such an important duty. She was so convinced she would be left behind she almost missed the nearly inaudible whisper form the huntress to stick close. Tahj was impressed by the speed K'nahli managed to maintain in the dark through unfamiliar terrain, and it took all of the more inexperienced girl's concentration to keep up. The brambles and plants were not much different than dodging trees in the shroud at night. But the footing was trickier than both leaves and sand, so much of her attention was on avoiding crunching them underfoot and scaring her sister's prey. Tahj was fairly proud when K'nahli stopped and dropped to a crouch and she was not far behind and breathing easily despite the speed they had been making.

Well related to this but on a tangent, sorry. Does anyone have a translation of rogue speak? I can read it okay but my understanding is not good enough to attempt a rogue rp.

K'tahjha's ears droop ever so slightly then she smiles and hugs her aunt once more. "Thank you for letting me go." Her gaze lingers on her aunt for a time then she shakes herself out of the daze she was in. A baby! She grins happily as she back tracks her sister through the camp. Tahj had little trouble finding K'nahli, near the group of huntresses. She had some trouble dimming her obvious excitement so as to not annoy the girl any more than necessary, but she made every effort to appear calm. She attempts to catch the huntress' eye and smiles,"K'luha said it was okay."

K'tahjha grins excitedly at her aunt, immediately patting her boot to make sure her knife was there and checking her quiver. She freezes for a brief tick at K'luha's next words then her face light's up. "Really? Are we having a baby?" She glances back towards where she saw her sister last and then back to her aunt, now torn as to whether she wanted to stay or follow the hunt.

K'tahjha stands a moment looking after her sister, not sure if she should be happy or scared at K'nahli's partial acceptance of her proposal. Taking a deep breath Tahj backtracks to where she'd seen K'luha last, pleased to note she wouldn't have to interrupt her father to get permission. She approaches her aunt, slipping her arms around the woman in a hug, "Aunt Luha? K'nahli said I could watch her hunt if it's okay with you. May I go?" Tahj waits for her response, anxious to catch up with K'nahli before she became too hard to find.

K'tahjha's gaze sharpened on her sister, she could tell there was something bothering the huntress. But past encounters with the taciturn girl had warned her off attempting to get too familiar lest she get bitten. "K'nahli?" Tahj lifts her ears and tries to look friendly but not overly so. "I haven't had my trial so I can't participate in this hunt, but I'd like the chance to watch. Do you think it would be all right if I followed you? I won't get underfoot." Tahj waits patiently for K'nahli's answer, hoping her sister would accept.

K'tahjha finally picks up the one scent she was searching for and begins to follow it through the maze of tents. As she comes around the last tent, she spots the silhouette of her aunt, but she isn't alone. Her ears fall, she really needs to talk to her. Crouching down close to the tent she peers through the fading light to see who K'luha is with. Her lips curve into a reluctant smile as she notices it's her father. She watches a moment more before stepping carefully and quietly into the lengthening shadows. Working her way back towards her tent, she spots her sister. The huntress appears to be alone. Tahj bites her lower lip, does she dare approach the huntress? She takes a deep breath and forces a friendly smile on her face,"K'nahli? I thought you were out hunting?"

K'tahjha curls up in bed in the tent she shares with her aunt, her mind swirling with violently unhappy thoughts. Why now? Things were going so well. She sits up and angrily wipes tears then cradles her head in her hands. She had worked so hard to improve her bow skills and to stalk the sands like her desert-born sisters. I'm not a huntress, I'm a coward. I've disappointed Luha. With a sigh she pushes herself off her cot, picks up her bow and heads out of the tent to look for her aunt. She hesitates slightly and then heads away from the ceremonial fire, winding her way through the sea of tents. Her ears perked and scenting the air, she tries to trail K'luha through camp, slowly working her way towards the outer edge.

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.

I have a char/inspiration blog for my character Sanja. (many thanks for my friend Meyla for making it pretty.)

I'd be interested in the pencil drawing, sent pm

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.

Went through and Liked everyone's questions.

The excitement K'tahjha felt for the upcoming ceremony died as if someone had doused a fire with water. Spotting the elder stuffing ritual items in the massive pile of wood, Tahj's heart jumps jumped into her throat. Her ears flatten to her head and her tail tucks between her legs. Why now? Things had gone so long without anyone in the tribe learning of her fear of fire. Her feet felt like lead and refused to carry her any farther and she shoots an imploring look to her aunt.

Personal Profile [align=left] Character Name: Sanja Polaali Gender: Female Race: Miqo'te Domestic Profile Civil Status: Place of Residence: Lavender beds Occupation: Huntress Free Company: The Morbolvine clan Social Profile "a kid with a pointy stick" Actually she's passed her trials and is a full fledged huntress of the clan. But being age 13 she balances between a kid and way too old/wise for her years. Meta Profile Traditional keeper. Feel free to walk up if you see her out and about in the shroud. (most commonly found near the "boss tree." [/align]

K'tahjha's ears droop slightly in response to K'ile's question and she hesitates. Cooking? She opens her mouth to answer but snaps it shut abruptly as K'luha speaks up. Tahj puzzles at her aunt's tone of voice but smiles up at her gratefully. If there was one task she was sure to fail at it was cooking. She obediently moves ahead of Luha and continues toward the gathering of huntresses, eager to see the ceremony.

K'tahjha peers between her aunt and K'ile frowning lightly as she studies the man's face. He really didn't look well. Why was he still not in the healer's tent? She smiles at the large bird, thinking of her Rhiki. He had been her mother's, and she worried about the old bird and babied him the entire trip over, but he had made the trip better than her aunt appeared to have done. Tahj was shaken from her reverie as her aunt smiles down at her and pats her shoulder, beaming brightly back up at her Tahj is eager to join the huntresses and see the ceremony. As they head towards the center of camp, Tahj hears Li's question, and she smile back over her shoulder at him,"I don't see why not, so long as you're not underfoot."

Tahj peers between the adults frowning. Even she could feel the tension between them. She squeezes her aunt's hand lightly in support and to remind her they didn't want to be late. "Hey K'ile, you probably should be resting." She blinks in surprise as the large chocobo pushes into the group, and stifles a giggle at K'ile's reaction to it.

K'tahjha grins happily as she follows her aunt out of the tent. The heavy limp still worried her but she had no doubt that food and rest would fix K'luha up. Tahj peers up at Luha , eyes sparkling,"Fresh meat! I can't wait. What kind do you think they'll bring home?"

K'tahjha flashes a bright smile at her aunt, thrilled that she's agreed to go with her. Perhaps a walk outside would do the woman some good. Standing, Tahj reaches to help Luha to her feet, then waits patiently for her aunt to be ready to go. Her ears flicker as they faintly pick up voices on the wind, and she briefly wonders who's not gathered to watch the hunt begin.