Twinflame

The old Duskwight hummed at the unearthed man, and after a moment he bent down to the man's level, which was a laborious task for his old spine. Looking into the holes of the mask, at those eyes, he said, "You intrigue me, stranger. Oschon guided me to... this monument," he hefted the thing in his hands. "It was warded, I think to protect you from the Woodwrath. A young Miqo'te girl erected it, and buried you, and left you, and then you unburied yourself. Do you know, Thal, why you have come to Eorzea is such a vessel, and why your acolyte left you in such a state?" After asking his question, the Duskwight rose again, still staring down at the much shorter man. His old ears listened to the woods, for any hint of Woodwrath. He could sense spirits stirring, searching for something they had lost, but unable to find it. To the Shroud, both the Duskwight and the unearthed man were invisible.

Morning had a different tone to it. The beasts couldn't hide their forms in the dark. They could not menace from the shadows, waiting to spring upon the unsuspecting. The thunder no longer rolled without its lightning, and no one screamed in the distance. At the monument, the Duskwight stood, looking at the pit that the unearthed man had crawled out of. The inscribed stone and whatever enchantment had been upon it were broken, shattered perhaps by an animal, and thick roots held its broken fragments. With a swift motion, the Duskwight severed all of those roots. He could hear the silent wail of the forest in response to this action, but he ignored it. In one thin, ancient arm, he hefted the bundle of stone and roots. Would Conjurers come to investigate this place soon? This was obviously something the Shroud and its spirits felt very strongly about. Well. He would not be here. The unearthed man would not be here. The monument would not be here. Hopefully the Gridanians enjoyed their inexplicable hole in the ground. The pit he'd left the unearthed man in the night before was some ways distance, and he arrived with unlikely speed. His weathered, weary body bent over the hole and looked in, casting a long shadow. He caught a glimpse of angry eyes, and before anything could be said, he extended one old hand and dropped a plain wooden mask into the pit. It was the same kind of mask many Conjurers wore for their rituals. How had it been obtained? Surely the breath that might tell would never be drawn. Vanishing from over the pit for the slightest moment, the ancient body swung back and threw down a rope. "Put on the mask, and climb."

K'ile Tia did not permit K'yohko to speak. Not on purpose. At the very first insult, K'ile committed to silencing the man. Never in his life had he sought to harm another member of the tribe; it was not something he would ever do. But, in his mind, K'yohko was no longer a member of the tribe. No member of Thalen's tribe thought or spoke this way. To him, K'yohko had exiled himself. He did not feel his arms, and could not sense his breath. When he hit K'yohko, he could almost feel the blood-vessels burst in the man's eye. And with another hit, he could feel the man's teeth giving way under the pressure of his fist. He felt the man's nose crack, made his skull clatter about at the end of his spine, and yet the senseless Nunh spoke on. "Kin-killer!" The man accused, and K'ile broke the man further. "Murderer!" The Nunh shouted, and K'ile lay cracks into his skull. "You murdered them! You let them die!" K'ile took hold of the man by the hair on the back of his head, and held him. And still the man frothed, as though all sense of sanity had fled him. If it had, K'ile might show pity, but no. "If Thalen and your daughters are the only thing that ever matter, go join them in death!" Finally, K'ile tore the man down by his head and lay a hard fist against he throat. There was an audible crack when his fist hit, and it was satisfying. If he died, so be it. In the least he would be silent. K'ile threw the man backwards, at the corpse of Yohko's own mother. The Tia shouted, "Every word you say is a lie! If the Nunh can only deal with death by abusing the women of the tribe, then he isn't worthy to stand as beast, much less a man! I would challenge you for the right of Nunh, but you... No, you don't deserve a challenge." He pointed at the man, "Stay there. Do not stand, or you will be dead before you have both feet beneath you!"

For a grain of sand, K'ile was hard to ignore. In a flicker of movement almost quicker than the spark of a new flame, the Tia's fist crashed against K'yohko's skull with all the force of muscle and bone too numb to know pain or restraint. His jaw opened wide, like a barking maw, when he shouted, "Coward! Don't bring this here!" His teeth clicked with every word, breath shuttering. "You didn't save Thalen! You didn't save anyone! You protected no one! Useless!" His movement had outpaced the sand he'd stirred up, his accusations faster than grains that were still clattering around him. The fire-red hair on his head shook, unsettled, his soft face creased deeply with fury that broke as suddenly as the surface of Dalamud. There was calamity in his blue eyes. Sweat and blood shone on his skin, marred by dirt that he'd carried with him all the way from that nightmare-scape called Cartenau. On both wrists, bracelets of shells and flickering red stones clattered. "Do not dare speak against her again," K'ile spoke in an unmistakable, bestial growl. "Or I'll take your place as Nunh and leave you in the sand right beside your mother!"

Gridania was not their immediate destination. They would reach there in time, but to the Duskwight, the Woodwailers and Conjurers of the Gridanians were no different than the beasts that he slew. A diremite spat bile and gore, its exoskeleton cracking loudly as the Duskwights knife broke through its shell from several different angles and then returned to his pocket. A Woodwailer would break as easily, and utter far less pleasant sounds as they frothed and twitched. This, he knew from experience. The unearthed man was following well, considering that it was unlikely he had much experience in fleeing the woods, or unburying himself. He would most likely not appreciate the next part. "Here!" He led the unearthed man to a patch of death, where brittle roots crossed over one another and the canopy pulled away. Silver moonlight filled the place and for a moment the unearthed man was a wiry figure, patches of black earth on his dirty skin. His eyes caught the light to shine, though, and the Duskwight stood before him like a specter half on the wrong side of death. Then the ground cover broke, and the Duskwight cast the unearthed man into a fresh pit. The ancient voice echoed down after him, "Do not panic. Do not struggle. This hole will protect you, but it will not contain you. Do you understand? Remain until daylight! I will return!"

Night was merciful. Azeyma hid her face in shame, unable to face the failure of the Twelve. K'ile Tia did not hide. He had not been able to bring home K'thalen and his daughters, and that was something he had to bear. It needed to be acknowledged. He would wait however long it took for K'piru to acknowledge that. He wilted in the sand and stared at her back. It was as though he was tethered to her, and she had dragged him out here without noticing. There was nothing like sleep to calm his mind, not now. He did not have to sleep to experience nightmares, though, and he had spent the day assailed by phantasmal echoes of the battlefield. K'piru was little comfort to him in her current state, though the presence of her breath helped him to continue breathing himself. For a long time, he stared at her, and she stared away. Then he was beside her, and his legs were foled at his side, as though he'd fallen in the sand. He touched her numbly. K'ile said, "It was sudden. The fire that took them. It was so fast, and there was nothing I could do. I saw. And after, Yohko and I found them. I don't know about K'airi, but Thalen and K'airos, we found them, and lost them. We know. They aren't coming home." He felt himself pull at her arm, "K'piru, come back to camp. Come back."

Holding K'piru against him, K'ile lay over her weakly. It was rest. It was the very first moment he'd taken since long before the battle had begun, to rest. The only thing that enabled that was K'piru, still beneath him, even though he could almost feel her crumbling. If she just rested like this, stayed still and calm so he could hold her together, she would be fine. He could take care of her. He was sure. There was nothing else, in the entire world, that he cared about. K'leeka Fidar, mother of K'yohko Nunh, was dying. K'ile Tia couldn't bring himself to care. How terrible was that? Even his brother's other women, K'nirha and K'eyrah, were not worth his attention. All he cared about was K'piru, alone in the entire world. K'ile Tia pulled K'piru against him, squeezed her, and glanced up at the woman who had come to seek K'piru's aid, and said, "I don't think she can." If K'piru hadn't moved yet, she wouldn't. Maybe K'piru was like K'ile, and couldn't manage to care. Maybe K'piru was like Azeyma, and could neither care nor speak, just hanging there over the sands to be sought but not attained.

"I'm here. I'll be here. I'm sorry. I tried. But I'll be here." His words became a disconnected string of statements, of promises and apologies. That was all he had left, and each of them was infinitely weak. There was nothing he could think or say, and not a thing he could do to change what was still happening around him. She stopped crying, went limp, and he took the chance to pull her close. He felt like she was something he had to protect, or maybe something broken he had to mend, but she was also the one thing left of any value to him. K'piru, the tribe, these charred people and toppled tents. K'piru was limp in his arms, and he wondered if she had fainted. It would be merciful if she had, but her tail betrayed her wakefulness. He couldn't guess what was going on in her mind or her heart. Those were things he could touch or sense, had never been able to, even though K'thalen seemed to manage. K'ile held her body, uttered his apologies and promises, but there was nothing he could do for her. He was helpless under the shadow of the smoke, through which burned the pitiless eye of Azeyma, reticent and unyielding. Maybe she had broken. Maybe he had broken too. Maybe they would just stay there in the sand, unmoving, as the dunes blew in to cover them up. Just like the bodies vaguely shrouded just outside of camp.

He was there. She was alive. They were both broken but alive. So much had been destroyed, and the massive world had suddenly become so small, but they were alive. He held K'piru, felt her body and her fear and her sadness, and her suffering, and he tried to hold her together. She felt like she was about to fall apart and he was just trying to hold her together even though he had no idea how. It was the only way to keep himself together. It was the only way to make sure that the world, everything that had ever been real to him at all, did not crumble around him. K'ile's mind turned around to a memory of the battle, of an otherworldly landscape littered with bodies and weapons. It had been something so far beyond any stories he had ever been told as a child, something far more terrible than anything he could've dreamed. The memory of the nightmare rolled in his mind, and he could remember his brother laying down in the midst of it. No laying down, no, but thrown down. Smashed against the ground. Burned and broken. Shaking as he held K'piru, K'ile said, "I'm going to take care of you. I promised that." The words felt weak coming out of his own throat. He wished he could say stronger words, but there was no language for that either. All sense of language failed him. He just couldn't speak what needed to be spoken. "I'm going to be here. I'll do what I have to. I'm sorry, but, I'll be here."

When she fell, he did too. She was the gravity that pulled him down. He leaned forward so that his knee hit the ground next to her and he put his other arm around her. He could feel the bones that her thin muscle wrapped, and the way they shivered under the immense weight of the things he had no words to say. "I'm sorry," was all he had. "I tried. I did everything I could! I couldn't." He coughed the words with feverish disregard. He vomited them from his lungs and gut. They rushed out of him like blood. "I'm sorry. I couldn't bring them home." He could hear mingling in the camp. He didn't listen. Those coming home from Cartenau, like him, bearing news of death like he did. Those very same people, who had gone to fight, being told that those they'd tried to protect weren't here waiting for them. They exchanged the news of death, taking turns handing off terror and despair, and each new hand and breath magnified it. It was a hideous process. K'ile didn't listen. He squeezed K'piru as though she might slip away into the sand. She might have died. What would he have done, if he had returned and she was dead? Or dying? What would he have done? Someone howled in the tent nearby. Someone who smelled familiar writhed inside their charred flesh, and their breath rattled and seized. What would K'ile Tia done if he had come all the way home just to watch K'piru die, slowly, in grief and pain? He shook his head viciously. She was alive. k'piru was alive.

The strength and suddenness of K'piru's reaction caught K'ile off guard, and in his own disorientation he couldn't be sure if she was pushing him back or if something else was pulling him away. As though with a rush of wind that threw him back, the brightness and heat of the desert flickered around him, and the smell of the woman he'd anchored himself too was stirred up and mixed into the smell of death and fire. For a half a second, K'ile was lost in a maelstrom of senses that confused and stung every bit as much as the sandstorms of the Sagolii, but when he came out of it he still stood. One arm was stretched out, holding K'piru at the elbow, as she struggled to run away from him. His hand, paralyzed in its desperation, had not let go of her. K'ile couldn't let go of her. He'd run all this way here from Cartenau, feverish in his need to reach K'piru. And she was trying to get away from him. His hand felt as though it had fused into a rigid fist and would never uncoil. K'piru seemed to dangle sideways against her own weight. "Please," he said. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry! They aren't..." he could feel the grief and guilt churning within him like an illness. He hadn't expected the guilt. It had waited until now. "I tried! I'm sorry! Please, don't...!" He didn't have the words for this. He didn't know the language for this.

His brother, K'thalen. K'ile could recall the man's silhouette cast against an otherworldly horizon made of fire and smoke. He could see it when he closed his eyes and glanced upward; it was etched upon the roof of his skull. There his brother, the tribe's greatest Nunh, stood dying beside a collage of other such images. Some he had names for, many he did not, and while he felt his head overflowing with images of death still there was a mad artist scrabbling along the cracks that battle had left in his mind, and each time K'ile looked the devilish mural had expanded. He didn't even look for the words to answer K'piru's question. K'ile had gone to war with K'piru's Nunh, and he daughters, and he had come back without them. Couldn't she read what the battle had written into his wounds? Couldn't she feel the way he held her, now, so different than he'd ever touched anyone before? The way she had leaned into him at first, shook freely beneath him, had made him think that she did, but now, maybe not. Swallowing the air the hung about Antimony, one as much of death as it was of the only hope and connection he had left, K'ile said, "They aren't here." It was the simplest observation he'd ever uttered, but the only thing he could have said.

His red hair lay flat against this skin, held there by the sweat that pulled about his eyes and on his cheeks. He should be covering himself, conserving his energy, trying to keep from sweating too much. But he didn't have the mind or the care for it. The fire of the battlefield didn't claim him, so what hope did this desert have? If Dalamud had spared him, what hope did Azeyma have? How could he ever again see the Warden as having any power to protect or hinder him, after this? There was no way to describe what parts of his mind and spirit had been burned away by the Calamity. It had left him with his body, burned and battered and cut, on the verge of crumbling, but it would heal. The spirit would not. Time did not mend all wounds, especially when those wounds were infected. K'ile Tia could smell K'piru before he saw her, and to him, it was like the scent of a medicinal salve, or a wave of oncoming sleep to sate exhaustion. This had a strange impact upon him. The world which had begun to shrink so quickly as Dalamud fell, suddenly focused to a pinprick, to just that woman. In the mix of scents that described the shaman, he could pick out the lingering smell of K'thalen Nunh, his brother, her mate. He could smell the wounds of others on her hands, of herbs and poultices, sweat and blood and desperation. For a moment, in the heat and the dry air, K'ile wavered on his feet. Weakness washed over him, and the pain from slow-healing wounds that dappled his flesh in great number clamored at his senses. He cursed them, and turned his gaze on K'piru as she exitted the tent. K'ile could barely see her. So bright was the light, and his vision so vexed by pain, sweat in his eyes. He didn't need to; it was her, his brother's woman. The hearts of K'ile's brother, Thalen's children, and K'piru, all pumped the same familial blood as surely as they were attached in their veins. K'ile approached the woman quickly. He might have run. He couldn't sense his own limbs. But he couldn't say anything either. What could he say? Where in the world was there a language that had words for times like this? Some cursed place, with a cursed tongue. Whatever realm it was that had birthed words such as Dalamud and Garlemald. Surely that place would have words for this moment. Without pause, as soon as he could, K'ile blindly let himself rush over K'piru and wrap his arms around her, clutching at her in desperation. The smell of her,as he did this, chased out all other sense. Even in this there was the stench of fire and fear, though, for they wrapped her as sure as anything else. He took her in his arms without word or preamble. He could not have done anything else.

K'ile Tia was ten malms from camp when the smell of burnt flesh first overwhelmed the stink of ash and cinders. Small trails of smoke were mingling together, weaving themselves into a great pillar of shadow cast skywards from the camp. The Sagolii Hipparion Tribe, isolated in the deep deserts of Southern Thanalan, should have been safe. They had left it safe, secure, prosperous, plentiful. Their goal had been to protect it. But the moon, the dragon, the fire: it had reached so far. How could they ever had thought to fight that? How could they ever have understood? It seemed that not even a single piece of cloth had escaped the fire. Every tent looked as though it had been burnt down, and only a small handful had been rebuilt. Great, tattered sheets had been lain on the outskirts of the camp; K'ile did not have to see beneath them to smell the charred corpses they concealed. Had there been no time to bury them yet, even now, a week since the Calamity? The dunes blowing in, would bury them on its own before much longer. The light of the Warden did not show mercy to hem this day. It was hot, an echo of the fire. Melted sand shimmered in the distance. Great swaths of the cliffs had been turned black. The camp was silent, and still, oppressed by the heat. K'ile heard hushed voices. He heard the howl of someone in pain, voice choked by audible injury, and did not listen. He could pick out the smell of family members, mingling with fire and ash and pain. The smell of terror lingered in the ruins like rot over a bog. Even the shadows of the tens were unmercifully bright; the light reflecting off the sands burnt his eyes. He lifted a hand to shade his face; the flesh of his fingers was tattered and bound in bandages. K'ile swayed in the stinging hot wind of the desert. The pain in his body recalled the battle at Cartenau. He ignored it. His body was a small thing. K'ile Tia's eyes flicked about the camp. He couldn't have known the mad look in his eyes, the desperate pose of his features and limbs, like a ravenous man in search of food. His emptiness was complete, and yet in the pit that remained of his heart, that darkness somehow boiled. The absence, the strange insanity of loss, frothed against the back of his eyes, clearly visible to those around him. "They're back!" Someone called, a woman who smelled to K'ile like fire and sweat and terror. "They're back from Cartenau!" She ran up to him, slowed at the look in his eyes, and looked past him. "There's so few of you. Where is everyone else?" Had anyone followed him. Maybe Yohko and some of the others who had survived the battle. Most had not. There wouldn't be any others. But he didn't say this. He reached out and grabbed the woman by the arm, perhaps accidentally hard. She didn't make any sound or seem offended. She appeared to be sleep-walking. Maybe she already knew where the others were: in the ground. Everyone who hadn't come home was in the ground. "Where's K'piru?" he said, and he couldn't hear his voice. He felt his jaw shivering like a dead limb. The woman averted her eyes, breathed, and didn't answer at first. "So many are hurt," she muttered, finally, and then, "K'piru... She is..."

Of course it's all in the delivery. This is actually kind of my point. And by 'kind of' I mean 'exactly'. But you shouldn't RP that the story elements of that patch are complete and finished until the next patch is released to continue the story, which is when SE completes and finishes them. Otherwise you're disallowing other people you come in contact with to make those events a plot point in their own RP, because to you, they are in the past.

The only place where this is really awkward is at the beginning of the game, before the first patch hits. It's best, until we start getting numerous patches, that we RP where 'most' RPers are, which I believe has been pre-50. Since none of our characters are the ones who fought the primals or really took part in any of the main story-line, this pretty much divides the times up into pre-Archon and post-Archon. We've been RPing in pre-Archon. (obviously if you've been RPing post-Archon, you're the exception, which is okay cause you RP how you want, but you likely will ahve come off as supernaturally prophetic to most folk on the server) With 2.1 hitting, we're going into post-Archon timeframe. I don't know what kind of in-world changes we can expect with patch 2.1. In WoW, content patches always changed the RP landscape in obvious ways. When they introduced the Coliseum in Northrend, for instance, people wanted to take part in the coliseum combat, so of course we RP'd that as current. When the Lich King was introduced, that patch was RP'd as current, and the Lich King wasn't defeated until the next patch was introduced (and yes, we did spend the entire patch laying siege to the Citadel), because the next patch moved on to other things and had NPCs acknowledging him as dead. That was our queue. In the current world in ARR, none of the NPCs are acknowledging that operation Archon has happened (at least, outside of the Waking Sands, which is phased specifically to you and doesn't count). In this coming patch, not only will we be running around a post-Archon world, but we'll be reacting to new events that did not exist pre-Archon. These new events will be current, and they will remain current until the next content patch lands. As long as Squee continues to advance content at the pace it looks like they're going to, it should be easy to keep everyone on the same page. This was an issue in TERA because we sat on the Argon War patch for an entire year, and eventually people wanted to RP the Argon Queen as having died even though the game's story hadn't progressed. The reverse is true for Rift, where patches hit so fast and hard they often out-strip RP (or so I imagine. I never RP'd being involved with the main plot there, but a content patch every single month!). I doubt we'll have either problem with ARR. EDIT: As far as where to draw the line, I've personally been drawing it just prior to operation Archon. This was easy because nobody would have much idea of the struggles between the Scions and the Primals. Those were all private. I guess it would be fair for people to be RPing preparations for Archon and battles against the Garleans. I don't think anyone would be surprised to find an RP playing that out.

K'luha Haaz: The night had settled cold on the... wherever they were. K'luha was sure as she had been staring up at the top of the carriage for too long. They had stopped for the night still, and a small fire was still crackling and snuffing itself out where they had cooked. Tahj was already asleep, but the pain in Luha's hip was making too difficult to sleep. That among with the fact that she hadn't been able to really bathe since they left, or clean up, and using the bathroom was... she didn't want to think about it or how long she was holding it. Finally when she was certain Tahj was asleep she glanced around, narrowing her eyes as she wondered where K'ile had gotten off to. "K'ile..." she called quietly, not wanting to wake Tahj. She decided quickly if he didn't answer she would... just have to suck it up and deal with it herself. "K'ile where are you?" * Twinflame: He could smell the Sagolii from here, and to him, that was as good as seeing it. The window was blowing north, and it was a long, long way away, but there was the slightest hint of those dry sands and the many desert plants the he knew grew there. Eyes closed, body still, ears turned back away from the fire, he could just scarcely pick it out. It had taken him an hour of searching, but he'd found that smell among the others, and it beckoned him. It reminded him to never stay too long from home, as once he had done years ago, and the reminder heated his heart like sunlight. K'luha's call was at the very fringes of his focused senses. For her, he reluctantly let the concentration slips away. His ears perked up and his tail slid on the dust behind him. He stood and rolled his arms, his shoulders, letting the weight of them return. He let the dark knight and the crackling fire, the stars and brushlands return. He answered back, silently, for he knew K'luha could hear him well, "I'm over here, staring at the fire and fantasizing of one day growing up and becoming Nunh." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha repressed a snort. Staring at the fire and fantasizing about becoming a nunh one day? Cute. Very cute. Although... something in the long silence it took to answer made K'luha wonder... just what was it he was really thinking about? She wanted to know... and yet. When she remembered the last time she asked... Luha's ears swiveled down to press against her head. She hadn't know that was what he was thinking. She hadn't realized that's what he was doing and she had rejected him so fiercely too. Was there even a chance he would open up to her like that again? No. She didn't think so. K'luha tried to shake the thoughts from her head. The nagging thoughts that she really didn't know K'ile like she thought she had and the other thought that wondered what the hell she even thought she was doing. She would have to suppress her pride, just for a little bit. Just for now. "K'ile I..." she paused, as if the words were coming out with a great difficulty. "I need your help." she finally finished quietly. And if he didn't hear them fuck it. She wasn't saying it a second time. * Twinflame: In the night, K'ile's footsteps were dramatically audible. They shuffed and crushed the soil as he moved, without hesitation, but also without hurry, away from the fire. Appearing at the end of the carriage a moment later, he leaned on the end of K'luha's bench and said, "What's up?" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha listened quietly, his footsteps somehow sounding more like an Auroch's thundering steps. When they went silent and his head popped over the top, K'luha looked up and somehow shrieked back into her bench. "Bathroom." She answered somewhat awkwardly, avoiding eye contact for a moment. "And maybe something to scrub off the layer of filth I feel on me..." * Twinflame: Blinking, K'ile said, "I don't think I've got any soapweed or anything, so I don't know what to do about that. Anyway, it's going to hurt you to move, isn't it?" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha moaned faintly in protest. There had to be SOMETHING she could at least wipe some of the grime off with. Sand, some sort of plant, anything would do at this point. As for moving, she grimaced at him and nodded. "Why do you think I finally gave up on moving around?" Luha grumbled, rubbing lightly at her hip. Curious as it its state, she pulled down on her skirt to check the skin's color for a moment. Needless to say it looked far worse than it had before with a disgusting sallow tone to the bruised and cracked flesh. * Twinflame: Positioning himself just outside the carriage, K'ile gestured beckoningly, "Well, I can't help the pain at this point. Scoot down and I'll help you out a ways. That's what you're hoping for, right?" * K'luha Haaz: "Yeah.... yeah that will be fine..." K'luha answered distantly. She inhaled deeply, preparing for the pain. But only for a moment before she forced herself to sit up. Luha bit down hard on her lip, teeth breaking the soft flesh as she grimaced through it. With a less than careful movement, she managed to pushed herself down to the edge of the carriage and breath out raggedly. * Twinflame: K'ile reached out and took K'luha's hand, saying, "I'll carry you. It'll be easiest. I think you're still going to hurt a lot, so just make this as easy on yourself as you can." * K'luha Haaz: She nodded slowly, looking to K'ile when he took her head for a moment. "Yeah that's... that's fine." * Twinflame: Turning his back to her, K'ile pulled Luha onto his back in the same motoin he'd used back in Gridania, though it was quite a bit gentler this time. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha hissed and bit into her lip against as K'ile pulled her gently onto his back. It hurt. It hurt more than eve giving birth had hurt her. When she was finally on his back however, she pressed her head to K'ile's shoulders and muffled her own soft cry. * Twinflame: Accepting the he can't really do anything about the pain, K'ile secures his grip on K'luha and begins to walk away from the carriage, angling off into the darkness. "I think Tahj can probably get over her fear of fire with some help," he said. "What do you think, Luha?" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha nodded against K'ile's back. She already had faith that Tahj could overcome her fears. Tahj was a good girl, and while she had thought originally Tahj would leave after a few years, she was beginning to think otherwise. * Twinflame: "Yeah. She's smart. It's good for her to be afraid when she's young. She'll learn how to overcome that and won't have to worry about it when she's old like us... Okay, this should be fine, right?" * Twinflame: K'ile paused, not too far from the fire and the carriag,e but well outside of the firelight. * K'luha Haaz: Maybe it was good... As long as Tahj didn't turned into K'aijeen K'luha would be fairly happy. She was happy as it stood that Maka's daughter was alive and well and coming home with them. It felt a little like after all those years, she could atone for what she had done, even if it was only a little. Luha glanced around before nodding again. "Yeah, this is fine. Thanks..." * Twinflame: Letting Luha down, K'ile eased away from her slowly to make sure that she had control of her own weight. "I don't think I have anything to clean you up with. Well... No. We aren't conserving water, are we?" Using water to clean oneself during a trip was an odd thought to K'ile, who had, after all, only bathed recently because K'luha had literally forced him to. "Well. We'll see. Just call if you need me. I won't be far." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha clumsily managed to stand on her feet as K'ile set her down. It didn't hurt as much when she wasn't moving her hip but walking and sitting? The movement of it felt like grinding bone into muscle. "Ah... alright." Luha finally sighed and set about the task of using the bathroom with a broken hip in the dead of night. Which was to say, not terribly easy. * Twinflame: K'ile busied himself scouring the carriage for cleaining whatsits. * K'luha Haaz: Luha was quiet for a few minutes while she did what she needed. Without anything at hand however, she went instead for ripping off part of her shorts and using the fabric for hygiene's sake. Finished, she painfully stood and limped over back to the edge of the campfire. "Find anything...?" * Twinflame: "Hey!" K'iles ears popped up and he snapped his gaze up quickly, "Don't be walking around! You could've called!" He stood quickly and half-ran over to her, putting his hands on her right away. "Come on over by the fire. Figure we'll just use a bit of water and cloth like city-fok do. There's plenty of water in the carriage anyway." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha's ears flattened into her hairline and she looked towards the ground. "It's embarrassing enough as it is K'ile..." she mumbled towards him, her hands clenching into weak fists. "You... were right. I should have seen a Conjurer..." Luha admitted, her eyes fixed firmly on the ground in self-loathing. * Twinflame: Taking K'luha under one arm and pulling on her weight, the action forceful but not mean, K'ile said firmly, "No you shouldn't have. You were right." He tried to guid her towards the fire. * K'luha Haaz: Luha went along with the movement, to angry with herself and upset with the pain to really go about fighting him over where she was being moved. Besides, the fire was comfortably warm in the chilly night air. Although, K'luha turn head head to K'ile, confused. "I... what?" * Twinflame: "You were right about the conjury," K'ile repeated. "I didn't just give up on that because you were stubborn. You were right. Everything you said about it. Here, sit down," he stopped her in front of the fire and eased off her agian. * K'luha Haaz: Still confused, Luha looked to the male miq'ote with a face that showed her feelings in equal parts. Carefully however, she sat through the pain, only to look up at K'ile again, as if to request further explanation. * Twinflame: Noting her expression, K'ile quirked his own, and he just shrugged. "I'm just saying. I don't really like conjury either. Or white magic or whatever." He turned and went back to the carriage long enough to retrieve his bag, from which he pulled his canteen and, oddly enough, a woven shirt. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha's confusion at his agreement with her paled in comparison the moment she saw him holding a shirt. "YOU OWN A SHIRT!?" Luha blurted out very loudly before blushing and putting a hand over her mouth. * Twinflame: Chuckling, K'ile shook the shirt, out beside him. It was dyed red with withleather ties about the collar and sleeves. "I own a whole wardrobe, but what I wear is nobody's business but my own." * K'luha Haaz: "A-ah.... o-of course..." K'luha replied, still embarrassed at her outburst. Somehow, it made her a little sad when he said that. She wasn't entirely sure but, it reminded her that she had shut him out when he finally opened up to talk to her. Ears fallen and feeling both sad and angry at herself for being that way, K'luha stared awkwardly at the floor. * Twinflame: Still wearing his smile, K'ile further interrupted the silence of the night by loudly ripping great shreds from his shirt as he walked over to K'luha. * K'luha Haaz: "So much for you owning a shirt..." K'luha managed enough sarcasm for one remark at least. * Twinflame: "I've got more." K'ile threw a number of the pieces of cloth at K'luha, letting them drape over her. Anyway. Water and cloth. Do you want me to scrub you clean?" * K'luha Haaz: "Oooh, good. More shirts to use as sponge." K'luha called back, mustering a bit more sarcasm for the night. She lightly blew air up at a cloth stripe that landed on her face, letting it fall off down onto her lap. "Well that depends. Do I have to tell the elders about it?" Maybe in her depression, sarcasm just felt the most fitting way to avoid thinking on it, but she was unusually full of it tonight. * Twinflame: "I'm not actually going to do it," K'ile answered, a bit disappointed she'd chosen the tone she had. "I was just going to tease you about it and then let you clean yourself. You don't really want me doting over you, do you?" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha was silent for a long moment before shaking her head. "Maybe I did, but that's not something I can ask for. The things I want are things I cannot have, nor things I can ask for." Was her solemn answer before looked at K'ile with a heavy sigh. She held her hand out for K'ile to give her the canteen. "I will try not to waste much." * Twinflame: Ignoring K'luha's hand and walking over in front of her, K'ile dropped down before her and frowned into face. "What are you so down for? I know your hip is broken and that's annoying, but we've got Tahj. She's pretty and smart and fun. You should be happy." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha blinked, not quite expecting the confrontation but not shying away from it either. She frowned a but and dropped her hands into her lap. "She makes me think so much of Maka. She makes me remember what happened and just how much of a disappointment I am. And she makes me think of K'ailia, and how even in exile my sister raised a girl who would make her proud. And then I think of you, and I am ashamed that I have burdened you with my stupid advances and put at risk something precious for us both." K'luha paused, looking at her hands which were lightly shaking. "I am a fool... but even a fool like me can do something for the tribe. I shouldn't... try to be something I'm not capable of. I should just do what I know how to do and not think of such things...." K'luha trailed off like she had more to say, but was reluctant to say anything else. * Twinflame: Quiet and thoughtful, K'ile reached out and put his hand in K'luha's hands to still them. "Hey, if you're going to come up with a bunch of lies about yourself, they should be good ones, not bad ones. I don't know of a single person who's disappointed in you, and you don't burden me at all, so shut up about that." * K'luha Haaz: Lies? They weren't... Luha looked up to K'ile and shook her head, her face blushing in shame. It was kind of him to say so but, how could he not remember it? "K'deiki, my mother... even K'yohko... I know they are all disappointed in me. And you, K'ile I asked you to do something forbidden in the tribe law. I asked you to kiss me for Azeyma's sake! I might as well have tried to shove you into being a nunh when I have always known that isn't what you wanted! There's... there's no excuse for that behavior. There's no excuse for doing that to you... and I am ashamed of myself and my selfishness..." K'luha looked down again, feeling like she might cry if she actually looked at K'ile. * Twinflame: Inhaling and closing his eyes, K'ile exhaled with a huff. "Don't do that. You don't know what I want and, honestly, you can't make me do anything I don't want to. Nobody can. I kissed you because I wanted to. Don't take credit for that." *K'luha Haaz: "But... you always said that wasn't what you wanted..." K'luha tried to defend herself very meekly. "Weren't you serious when you said that...?" * Twinflame: "Yeah," K'ile said, and shrugged. "Changed my mind. I can always change it back. Luha, everything that everyone does is only their own business. If anyone's disappointed in you, they need to just get over it, because it's not their business." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha quieted down, looking for something in her head that she might have missed. It did matter to her when people were disappointed in her. She didn't want to let down people's expectations of her. But it still made her feel better to hear the encouragement from K'ile. "I know... that back at the Amaljaa camp I... I didn't mean... I know I messed things up but... do you think... you would be willing to let me know what's on your mind? Even though I already fucked it up once... do you think... you could give me another chance?" K'luha asked after a long time of silence. * Twinflame: "What?" K'ile blinked, his ears perking up, as if something he'd been watching had suddenly changed its shape. "What... You mean, me? Luha, you've got as many chances as you want." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha blinked and looked up to K'ile, her eyes slightly wet but not crying. Again the confusion on her face read clearly and asked for an explanation without saying a word. * Twinflame: Watching her face for a moment, K'ile looked away from her and said. "What, you want to know what's on my mind again? You still think I'm hiding something?" * K'luha Haaz: "I...why? Why do I get as many chances as I want...? I don't... understand it..." K'luha furrowed her brow a little, trying to think hard about why that would be. * Twinflame: "I don't know," K'ile shrugged. "It's not like anybody else is asking." * K'luha Haaz: "Would you give it to others if they asked...?" * Twinflame: "Hm." It was a strange question, and he pulled at his ear while he considered it. "What's the point of asking that? I might, but it's not going to happen, so it doesn't matter." * K'luha Haaz: "It could happen." Luha interjected. "K'rei likes you. She might want to know." * Twinflame: "Argh," K'ile's tail shivered and his ears lay down. He tried to pull them back up, but the agitation pulled them back as though there were weights on their tips. "How did this get about me? Luha, just cheer up, okay? There's nothing on my mind to ask about anyway." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha was torn between laughing at his reaction and wincing at it. She ended up doing something in-between, letting out a small giggle and at the same time recoiling a bit. "It's hard to cheer up when I have so much time just to think." K'luha explained, her tail wrapping around her hips as she shivered lightly in the chilly night's air. "Too much time to think. Too many dreams about the past." * Twinflame: Crossing his arms over his knees, K'ile muttered, "So why bother thinking and dreaming? That's where your problem his." He flinched suddenly, when his idle tail swept intot eh fire's dwindling coals. He grunted and stood, spinning and kicking the fire forcefully. He threw ash and cinders, pieces of wood flickering off into the dark, "I hate fire! Damn it!" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha was about to reply when K'ile so suddenly stood an lashed out. She flinched visibly and stared, in awe of the sudden declaration and the rather uncharistically violent reaction. * Twinflame: Pulling at both of his ears in frustration, K'ile managed to look over his shoulder at K'luha, though his gaze was probably angry when he'd rather it not be. "Just wash yourself up, and stop making things about me. I shouldn't have to come up with some personal sob story just to get you to stop being all mopey." He shook himself and turned off to the dark, suddenly walking away. "I'm gonna go... hunt some breakfast." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha couldn't do much at first. What had him so frustrated all of a sudden? Was it really her? "No I... K'ile..." K'luha sighed, trying to get his attention as he started storming off. "Wait K'ile don't forgot.. K'ile!" Momentarily forgetting about her hip, K'luha moved to stand sharply and grasp for his shoulder as he left. "K'ile I didn't!" * Twinflame: Still moving away, knowing she couldn't keep up with him, K'ile answered simply, "I know you didn't," as he slipped over into the night. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha indeed could not keep up with him. Not even remotely and as he pulled away and vanished off into the night she tripped and fell hard on the ground. Luha winced as she hit the floor and sucked in a breathful of cold air to stop the pain. Her eyes opened briefly in the direction he left, though she couldn't seem him through the darkness. "Then why....?" she called softly, laying on the ground for a few minutes before she would get up to wash, limp back to the carriage and sleep once more.

Twinflame: The Shroud had thinned out into shrub brush and dark dirt, the beginnings of Thanalan. Already the air was dry and becoming warmer, and shadows were difficult to pick out. Already, K'ile ws feeling more at home, as the world around him started smell more and more like the regions he knew near the Sagolii. Partly because of this, he had slept better that night (he hadn't slept well the night before? Luha kept him up!) and was up walking behind the carriage. He watched Luha sleeping on her own bench for a time, and then sought out Tahj. "Hey, how's Rhiki doing?" * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj frowned slightly,"I think he's getting tired. Will we stop soon?" * Twinflame: "We can stop now," K'ile said, trotting around side of the carriage. "Have Rhiki hop up into the carriage for a nap. There's no other shade around here, really." K'ile exchanged words with the carriage driver and the chocobos pulling it eased to a stop a fe wmoments later. * K'tahjha Yohko: As the carriage stopped Tahj called to the large bird and coaxed him into the carriage. She cringed slighlty as his head swung over K'luha as she slept, but she appeared undisturbed. "Whew that was close." * Twinflame: "Careful," K'ile said, having arrived just in time to see the Chocobo almost hitting Luha. "Her sleeping is probably the only break I'll get from keeping an eye on that hip of hers." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj stifled a giggle,"I'm not sure it's made made for chocobos to ride in, he's supposed to be pulling it." * Twinflame: "Ah, he'll do fine. As long as he doesn't bother K'luha. Then he might not make it." K'ile reached into the carriage and pulled out his bag, opening it to take out some water. "Is the air getting to you yet? I guess compared to the Shroud it's getting kind of dry." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj shrugged and wrinkled her nose slightly,"It's getting warmer and I'm thirsty. But not so bad. Will it be much farther? I'm kind of tired of sitting in this carriage." * Twinflame: "A few days." K'ile walked over to Thaj and offer her the waterr. "And it's going to get a lot hotter and a lot dryer. Until you think you're going to just dry up. And then even more. Until you'll swear Azeyma herself is staring right at you!" He leaned forward so his face was in Tahj's face. "Just like this! This close!" * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj blinks in surprise just staring back at K'ile for a couple seconds then begins to giggle,"Silly." * Twinflame: "Anyway," K'ile said, and thrust the water at Tahj. "One thing to learn is to drink lots of water in the desert, long as lots is available." * K'tahjha Yohko: Taking several large gulps of the water, Tahj passes it back to K'ile,"Thanks." She pulls an arrow from her quiver and begins spinning it idly. * Twinflame: "Getting better at that?" K'ile said, stowing the water in his back and setting it down by the carriage. He reaches then for his spear, which he stabs head-first into the ground, and crouches to begin working a mechanism on the weapons head. * K'luha Haaz: The noise from K'ille and Tahj's chatter along with the carriage's stop eventually awoke K'luha from her slumber. She hadn't meant to fall asleep in the first place, but something had made her sleepy and thus... She carefully opened her eyes and looked around hazily without moving her head. The walking... had not helped her hip. Now that she could feel it again, it was almost as if it was protesting the fact she didn't listen to K'ile. Maybe she ought to have listened. But she wasn't about to let her pride go just yet. Luha remained stilly on the carriage and sort of hazily looked out towards the other two miq'ote. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj grins,"Sort of, sometimes it just seems to get stuck and I can't spin it." * Twinflame: K'ile shows her his fingers and sort of flicks them around, a mostly meaningless gesture. "Oncce you get the hang of it, you can spin heavier things a bit faster, and the momentum will help you out. It gets easier." He returns his attention to the head of his spear, and after a moment, pulls hard on the shaft. The entire thing pops free of the blade, leaving the metal head of the spear in the ground. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj peers back into the carriage noting Rhiki curled up sound asleep on the floor,"Poor old man he was tired."Contiuning to toy with the arrow, she began wandering around looking at the scenery. * Twinflame: Holding his spear-shaft to one side, K'ile watches Tahj wander around. Specifically, he's watching ehr fingers, and he's smile. Whether she knew it or not, Tahj was already learning fire-dancing! After a moment, K'ile began to turn the shaft in his hand, slowly, but the thing was long enough that it still breathed an audible, rhytmic huff as it turned. * K'tahjha Yohko: Seeing a slight movment is a bit of brush Tahj froze, ears rotating to catch the direction of the sound. As she homes in on it she reached over the side of the carriage for her bow, silently knocking an arrow. Back straight Tahj draws back the bow string and lets the arrow fly, with a high pitched sqeal aa fat rabbit burts upward out of the brush, Tahj's arrow imbedded just behind it's front leg. Frowning that she hadn't killed it with the first shot, she kept her cool and quick knoed a second arrow loosing it almost immediately. Tahj grins with triumph as the small animal drops. * K'luha Haaz: Luha couldn't quite see what was happening from where she was in the carriage, but her nose and ears at least could pick up the sound of prey being killed. Tahj was quite good with a bow... unlike K'ailia. K'luha let out a little sigh thinking about her wayward daughter. Maka had been right about K'ailia.... not only that but Tahj was... Luha stopped thinking about it. She shouldn't think things like that. * Twinflame: "Nice!" K'ile said, somewhat passively, continuing to turn the long, heavy shaft in his hand. He stood a ways off from Tahj, staring at her kill. "Now, do you know how to skin and cook it?" * K'tahjha Yohko: "I was never allowed to skin them myself, mama's knife was too sharp."She hesitates, ears drooping,"I- I used to be able to cook them." she whispers. * Twinflame: "It's an easy thing to learn," K'ile said cheerfully. "Go grab it and Ill show you how to do stuff that'll make city-cats sick." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj wanders over and grabbing the rabbit carcass by the ears, retrieves her arrows before taking it back to K'ile. * Twinflame: Spinning the heavy pole a few more times, K'ile pauses long enough to grab his bag with one end of the pol and drag it towards Tahj. "Skinning knife's in there. I'm guessing you know which end the sharp one is." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj rummages through the bag, and emerges with it carefully gripped by the handle. She then turns it around and offers it to kile handle first. * Twinflame: K'ile shakes his head, "Nah, I'll talk you through it. This is one of those things that you can't really do wrong, so there's no reason not to just do it. Long as you know enough to cure away from yourself." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj nods and keeps the knife,"Mama said never point the sharp end at someone unless you intend to hurt 'em with it." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha perked up her ears a bit to listen in to them. Seemed K'ile was going to teach Tahj how to skin. Interesting. He did enough hunting he ought to know well how to teach it, but she was curious as to how he would do. * Twinflame: Does proficient instructy stuff that likely ends up advising Tahj along a path that will have her peeling the skin off in one big, solid, useable mass. Or something. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj listens carefully and peels the hide off the rabbit in mostly one piece. Not flinching from the blood, she holds the skin aloft triumphantly. * Twinflame: K'ile doesn't ICly find this disgusting but OOCly eeewwww * K'luha Haaz: Luha was impressed with Tahj's performance, and with K'ile's instructions. He would make a good dad, or at least a teacher. Now, she thought, would be a good time to get up. However... when she tried to move her leg to stand it protested with a great searing pain. Luha winced from it and stopped trying to move again. Well shit. * Twinflame: K'ile popped his head up over the side of the carriage, below which K'luha lay on a bench. "Hey there, lazy. You're missing all the fun." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha blinked at K'ile for a moment, only for a moment before giving him a wry smile. "Hm. Missing out on all my sleep thanks to you Mr. Noisy." she teased back before looking towards the bench. She wanted to look at Tahj, but it was kind of impossible. "And tell Tahj I'm impressed. I'm impressed with you too K'ile, but Tahj firstly." * K'tahjha Yohko: Hearing the adults talking, Tahj wanders back to the carriage, hands still bloody,"How are you feeling aunt Luha?" * Twinflame: Crossing his arms over the edge of the carriage and lay his shin on them, K'ile smiles down and Luha and say nothing. Tahj's question was apt. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha continued to smile and lightly reached forward to push K'iles head away from her. "Just fine Tahj." She called out, lying through her teeth but doing a convincing job at it. "You two gonna cook for me or what?" K'luha was quick to change the subject, but not to sit up. * K'tahjha Yohko: Ears flattening, Tahj pales slightly but nods as she wanders off to gather wood. * Twinflame: "Uh, hey..." K'ile let's his head be pushed back, but hsi vague protest is directed at Tahj. He frowns as he watches Tahj wander away, and turns back to Luha. "She's worried she's going to mess it up. Why don't you cook it instead of lounging around like some kind of desert princess?" * K'luha Haaz: "Because..." K'luha frowned back, her voice low. Sitting up was proving to be challenging with crying. "I will." she quickly revised her sentence, finally managing to sit up. Although, she was breathing a bit heavily for simply sitting up and her hand clenched into the side of the carriage. * K'tahjha Yohko: Meanwhile Tahj had managed to gather wood and stones and was building a small fire pit. * Twinflame: "Luha," K'ile said warningly. "Forget it. Stay put. We've got it." * K'luha Haaz: Luha looked to K'ile and frowned. Shit. Why was he always right? And why did he have to notice? "I can't lay here forever..." she mumbled back at him. "K'ile..." K'luha called softly, trying to keep it out of ear shot from Tahj. She paused, as if she had more to say before simply going quiet and looking away. * Twinflame: Sighing, K'ile said, "It's just until we get back to the tribe. Just sit tight. I need to help Tahj get the rabbit cooked up." * Twinflame: He stepped away from the carriage and turned to where Tahj was working on the fire, heading over and saying, "Want some help?" * K'luha Haaz: "I..." K'luha called after him so softly she was sure he wouldn't hear it. After a moment she shook her head again and laid back down with a significant amount of pain. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj's hands were shakingand her ears were tight against her head but she managed a small smile,"It's ready to light I think." * Twinflame: K'ile crouched by the fire pit, "And how're you feeling about that?" * K'luha Haaz: 'It would be good,' K'luha told herself. 'It would be good for Tahj and K'ile to get some time together. For K'ile to be there for Tahj. Although, part of her couldn't help but feeling that same helplessness in not being there. Like she was missing something very important that could never be replaced... and all because she was too stubborn or stupid or both to just let the conjurers take care of her hip in Gridania. And because she was too stubborn to let K'ailia take care of her in the first place. 'I really am a failure of a mother...' K'luha thought to herself, closing her eyes and pressing her hand to her eyes. She didn't think she wanted to listen to what was happening anymore. * K'tahjha Yohko: Fists clenched tightly, ears flat Tahj's eyes focused on the unlit fire pit, and she took an involuntary step back. * Twinflame: "Tahj," K'ile said, and reached out to touch her shoulder. "Don't worry about this right now. I'll cook the rabbit. You go spend some time with K'luha. Give her something to smile about. You're cooking tomorrow, though, alright?" * K'tahjha Yohko: Not needing much prodding Tahj broke and ran to the carriage, slowing only to make sure she didn't step on the sleeping chocobo. * Twinflame: Pulling on one ear, K'ile sighed and leaned down over the fire pit, flicking a piece of wood and, with that simple motion, causing the fire to light. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha opened her eyes, feeling the carriage shift as Tahj ran over to it. She turn head had and tried to give her best warm smile. She was at least, good at giving warm smiles even when she felt like dying inside. "Hey Tahj. Not going to cook tonight? Well, that's okay. You can hang out with me." * K'tahjha Yohko: Flinching violently at the sound of the fire crackling to life tears began to fall silently down Tahj's face,"I'm sorry, I wanted to make dinner for you."She knelt by K'luha's bench and gently laid her head on the woman's shoulder. * K'luha Haaz: "Oh... Tahj... it's okay..." K'luha cooed softly, reaching her arm up to stroke the back of her neice's head. "You'll get there. Okay? We'll help you. Me and K'ile will be right here for you." * K'tahjha Yohko: Sniffling and wiping her eyes, Tahj refocused on her aunt, noticing she hadn't moved off the bench,"Are you thirsty?" Retrieving the water skin and holding it out for K'luha. * K'luha Haaz: "Yes... thank you." K'luha smiled quietly again and took the waterskin. She managed to sit up enough to drink from mitt without much problem and handed it back to Tahj with the cap on it tight. "How are you feeling being out of the orphanage now?' * K'tahjha Yohko: "It feels kind of strange, but I like it. It reminds me of living in the woods with mama." Tahj pauses scanning the woman's face,"Does it hurt much?" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha paused, her lips turning in a thin line. She wanted to lie. That was her first instinct... and yet. "It does..." K'luha admitted quietly. "But, I'm glad it's better than the orphanage." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj frowns scanning around the carriage for something, then spies a small folded tarp, she grabs it with a grind and turns to Kluha."I'll try not to hurt you, but leveling it will help." Carefully reaching under the knee she elevated the leg far enough to slip the tarp under it. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha quirked her head a bit. Leveling... it? "Erm... okay...?" she mumbled, letting Tahj do... whatever it was she was doing. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahh nodded happily as the tarp under her aunt's knee hopefully took pressure off the injured hip,"I didn't hurt it too much did I?" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha winced a bit. Moving her hip at all was... very painful but. "A little... but not terribly.' She admitted before looking to her niece again. "But... yes... some of the pressure is gone so... thank you." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj smiles and leans over to Kiss K'luha on the cheek,"Want an apple while we wait for the apple? Or would you be more confortable with your shoes off?" Tahj smiles brightly, attempting to take her aunt's mind off the pain. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha cracked a smaller more genuine smile at Tahj's actions. She was such a sweet girl, very unlike Maka. In that regard at least. "Yeah, both of those would be nice. Thank you. You shouldn't spoil your aunt so much." Luha chuckled faintly and rubbed at her temple with her free hand. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj fetched an apple from the basket and handed it to her aunt, then went to the end of the bench to remove K'luha's shoes, wincing as she pulled the shoe off the injured leg as carefully as possible. "There!" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha bit down on the apple while Tahj pulled off her boot. Biting down on the apple helped her stay quiet and deal with the pain. She bit down finally when it was off and munched on a bit of the apple. "Mmm, it's fine. Thank you." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj was quiet for a minute or two, then looked to her aunt with a serious expression,"Will K'ailia be able to visit us? I liked talking to her in Gridania, it's nice to have a sister." * K'luha Haaz: "No... she won't be able to come back to the tribe. When... when you abandon your family, they abandon you as well." K'luha informed her sadly, looking at her apple like she had suddenly lost her appetite again. "I guess her freedom was more important to her than.... well, it's no matter. You can come with me to Ul'dah to visit her sometimes." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj sighs and lightly strokes her aunt's arm,"People are family no matter how far away they are. You and mama had a fight and she was far away but you were still her family and she loved you. K'ailia is our family no matter how far away she is. No law can make that not so." she said fiercely. * K'luha Haaz: For some reason, Luha felt Tahj's words very deeply. They resonated harshly with her, and it took all her self restraint to pull herself back from tears. Instead, she cleared her throat a little and took a moment to calm herself. "Maka... didn't leave because she wanted to. We will always be family but... it is different with K'ailia, Tahj. She wanted to leave. She left because we were not important enough for her to stay. I... I was not important enough to her for her to stay." K'luha went quiet for a moment and pressed a hand to her mouth. "No law can make her not my daughter... but no words can ease my pain that my own daughter would forsake me for others. K'ailia... does not love me like I love her. She doesn't not appreciate what I went through to raise her. Above all else, she wants to be her own person. She no longer cares who she hurts in fulfilling her own selfish wishes. I have... raised a selfish daughter who cares not for me or her for her family. I am... a failure of a mother... I can only be happy K'aila did not cause as much trouble as K'piru's daughter..." K'luha went very quiet. She hadn't meant to say all of that to Tahj and yet... No, it was out of place for her to say that. "I am sorry Tahj. Please, forget my ramblings. It was out of line for me to say that to you. Your sister is a wonderful girl. We will visit her in Ul'dah when we can, okay?" * K'tahjha Yohko: Silent for a long moment, Tahj reached out to gently brush the bangs out of her aunt's eyes, she knew her aunt was in pain but didn't know what to say to make it better, so she offered the onyl thing she knew,"I love you, and I'm glad you adopted me to be my new mama." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha smiled back at Tahj and nodded slowly. "Yeah... me too."

K'luha Haaz: Luha awoke with a start, sitting up abrupting from wherever she was in the carriage. She had been asleep since she fell asleep on K'ile hours ago. It was still dark, or perhaps it had already turned dark again. With a soft grumble, she felt her forehead and looked around. "A dream..." she mumbled to herself, thinking about it. "No... a memory..." K'luha corrected after a moment's pause. Such a long forgotten memory. She hadn't thought of those days since... a very long time. Coming out of her daze was a sharp pain and Luha recognized it as her hip aching terrible. She reached into her pocket on her leg and pulled out a small mint leaf. She set the leaf beneath her tongue and let the soothing tingling sensation wash over her slowly while she tried to figure out night from day and her precise location. * Twinflame: Oddly awake in the middle of the night, K'ile was sitting on the back of the carriage. Either still sitting there or sitting there again. His ears twitch, but he doesn't look at K'luha, and he says, "Dreams are weird." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj's ears twitched and she stirrd from her sleep. Momentarily confusedby her strange surroundings it takes her a second or two to get her bearings. "Where are we?" she asked sleepily rubbing her eyes. * Twinflame: Quick to put of blame, K'ile muttered, "Uh oh, Luha. You woke up Tahj. Still in teh Shroud, Tahj." * K'luha Haaz: "Sorry Tahj..." K'luha mumbled lightly, hoisting herself to her feet and glancring around. Indeed they were still in the shroud but it was beginning to thin out and turn into more of a plains sort of area. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj yawned again and combed through her hair with her fingers, peering anxiously out the back of the carriage, she gave a short whistle and smiled when she saw Rhiki still trailing behind."Do you think he's tired yet? He's kinda old." * Twinflame: "I'm sure he'll rest when the chocobo pulling the cart rest." K'ile said, and flicked his tail at Rhiki to get the bird's attention. "Hey, you're fine, aren't you? Old but doing just fine!" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha mumbled something incoherent before streching out her arms and standing firmly. The tingling sensationw as enough to dull out the pain in her hip, so walking and moving was easy. Luah stepped up on the edge of the carraige before hopping off the edge and starting to walk alongside it. It was going slow enough that it wasn't a problem to walk with it. "Gonna walk for awhile." she called out to the other two. * Twinflame: Before K'luha even got off the carriage, K'ile grabbed her tail to keep her on. "Do you have brain damage?" * K'luha Haaz: "Yes. My legs are cramped." Luha retorted, reaching behind her to bat at K'ile's hand so he would let go. She couldn't so much feel the pain of it being pulled on due to the tingling minty sensation. * Twinflame: Unyielding, K'ile snapped, "So sit back down and learn to do some stretches." He looked over to Tahj and said, "Help me out here." * K'tahjha Yohko: Grinning at K'ile, Tahj shrugged,"I'm tired of sitting too." Coaxing the large bird closer she sprang easily from the carriage onto his bare back. * K'luha Haaz: "See?" K'luha smirked faintly at K'ile and smacked his hand lightly again. "Unless I'm riding you like a chocobo, I am going to walk for a minute. Letgo." * Twinflame: "Tahj doesn't have a broken hip," K'ile said, "I'm too tired to carry you around, but I'm not too tired to break your legs and let this cart drag you all the way to the tribe by your tail." * K'luha Haaz: "Well maybe you should sleep then." K'luha sighed back at him, moving to sit down on the bench again if only to please K'ile at this point. "And goodness knows I will be dragged around or set to boil in the sun when we talk to the elder's anyway. K'ailia abandoning us, taking a week longer than we were supposed to, bringing back Tahj, and that other thing? I don't know if they'll have you broil, but I know I will be broiling under the sun again." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj frowns at the adults from her perch on the chocobo''s back,"Why would they be angry with you? Is it because of me?" * Twinflame: "They're not gonna be mad about Tahj," K'ile said, waving it off. "And they're not going to be mad about us running off for a few days. They'll get it." When he was done, he did turn to Tahj and say, "Luha's worried because nobody in the tribe knows we're bringing you back. But I think they'll be happy." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha stood again, frustrated at K'ile insistence that she was not allowed to move. "I have to walk." She pressed again, looking to K'ile this time. "Let me walk." * Twinflame: K'ile rolled his eys and said, "Fine. Hobble. Teach your new daughter that injury is an excuse to reject those who worry about you and insist on having things your way." * K'luha Haaz: "K'ile..." K'luha said quietly as if to keep it from Tahj's ears. "Shut your mouth." Came the quiet angry snap before K'luha pulled another leaf from her pouch and tucked it under her mouth. With that she silently paced the length of the carriage, getting some of her nervousness and aggression among other things as she walked. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj slipped off the bird's back to relive him of her weight, keeping up with the carriage easily."I'm thirsy, do we have any water?" * Twinflame: "Course," K'ile said, grabbing his back and pulling it over to pull out what like a canteen or something I'unno. "Can't go anywhere around Thanalan without water, much less the Sagoli. Chronic dehydration and you are going to be good friends!" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha continued to pace along the carriage, ignoring the other two for the time being. She shifted the leaves from under her tongue to chew on them instead. * K'tahjha Yohko: Taking a long swig from the canteen, Tahj closed it and tossed it back to K'ile,"Thanks." Hopping back up in the carriage she rummaged and found the apples taking one for herself and one for Rhiki. Holding one up she looked at the adults,"Want one?" * Twinflame: "I'm okay. Long as everyone else is up and about I'm taking one of the benches so maybe I don't fall out of the carriage again." K'ile said, standing and moving back into the carriage. "Rhiki can take over watching Luha!" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha muttered something that Tahj probably wouldn't hear, but sounded something along the lines of Rhiki not being a tease all the time. But the muttering was quickly covered up by K'luha clearing her throat loudly and moving to sit on the floor again. She looked to Tahj and nodded. "I would love an apple Tahj." * K'tahjha Yohko: Bringing the apples with her Tahj settled close to K'luha,careful not to bang into her leg, and handed her an apple. She began sharing the other two with the bird. * Twinflame: K'ile, despite his animated speech, was pretty damned tired. Maybe he really had fallen off the carriage at some point that night. He lay down on one of the empty benches and rolled to face the wall of the carriage, wrapping his tail up around his legs. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha's gaze softened somewhat towards K'ile. Just why was he so tired all the time now anyway? She felt tired herself, despite having slept so much. Perhaps it was because of her dreams of past events. Or maybe she was getting sick because of all the travel. Still, Luha took the apple and muted on it quietly. "Tahj, do you want me to show you more about archery when we stop?" * K'tahjha Yohko: Giggling at the bird who was grabbing apple slices from her fingers, Tahj smiled at K'luha."I'd like that." * K'luha Haaz: Luha smiled and nodded. "Alright. Next time we stop, I'll show you a thing or two and we can practice hitting some targets."

The beasts frothed in their confusion, and Antelope were the least among them. Claws and teeth gnashed and tore at the earth, drool matting coarse fur on the chins of a half dozen beasts that on any other day would have no common cause. Obscured, the features of the Duskwight and the unearthed Miqo'te were like a shadow slipping inside shadows. The Shroud's quarry was maddeningly invisible to the forest, and the beasts who knew only the instruction to seek and kill, saw nothing but anonymous passersby. And the beasts, dull and agitated as they were, attacked. The forest, in its callousness and blindness, attacked without thought. The Duskwight was not kind to the forest in return. Two beasts were torn from the ground, bones snapping, caught up in strange snares that placed their weight on branches that could only hold their writhing forms for a moment before they crashed down. The silent forest shivered with bestial death throes and snapping limbs, groaning trees in anger, and even the earth shuffled as the roots beneath writhed in desperate wish to find the invisible quarry. In all of this, the Duskwight was a rickety black form, slipping through the shadows like an orobon through muck. His ancient steps and bent spine were oddly unable to snare him, his aged limbs somehow carrying him though they moved weakly and slow. Darkness and thunder, no lightning, the screeches and coughs of dying animals and the groan of wood, a distant scream without source, and the voice of the Duskwight in the dark, "Follow me. Do not slow. Follow."

The old man's hands fell away and he rose like a rickety wisp of smoke, sliding backwards away from the man. "That's good enough. You shouldn't linger in the wild." One limb extended forward, the tin fingers curled back towards him, "Follow me. We must leave the forest before it discerns how I've obscured you." The shadows of the Shroud consumed the old Duskwight hungrily as he moved off into the trees, where the sounds of the animals had turned confused and agitated. "Follow me," the man repeated, "Quickly. And touch nothing that has life, for it will betray you."

Let me know if you want to do another Couple/Friend Shot for around 155k-ish. I meant to snipe Nahue's bit but got distracted by video games. Dx /em fails at ebay.

K'luha Haaz: Luha awoke some time late in the night when Tahj had already gone to sleep in the carraige. It was relatively spacious of a carriage, so there was plenty of room for them all the sleep. She sat up carefully and rubbed her eyes groggily, the mint tingling sensation having run out hours ago and the bumpiness from the carriage making her hip agitated and painful. * Twinflame: K'ile was awake. He'd giving his bench to Tahj to sleep on and lain himself sideways between the benches, his back leaning against K'luha's bench with his head just past her feet. One leg and his tail hung off the back of the carriage. His attention was on Rhiki, who followed along obediently and watched the shadows with some interest, likely seeing something the Tia could not. * K'luha Haaz: Luha hadn't seen K'ile beneath her and when she sat up accidently put her feet on his chest. She pulled them back up on the bench quickly and winced at her hip's pain before looking down. "Ah, sorry K'ile..." she whispered carefully, not wanting to wake Tahj. * Twinflame: Looking vaguely confused -- though not scared because those were, after all, Luha's feet, which as a rule aren't very terrifying -- K'ile looked up to K'luha with a flick of moonlight in his blue eyes. "That's fine. I'm not asleep or anything." His voice was smooth and low, a sort of whispered melodic baritone. * K'luha Haaz: Luha scooted over to the edge of the bench closer to his head and looked down at him. Not asleep? It was rather late for him to be awake. Hell, it was rather late for HER to be awake. Still, she reached into the pouch on her leg and pulled out a mint leaf to chew on again. The taste sent chills down her spine and for a moment her tail bottlebrushed before cooling down and laying on the bench, falling off and dangling over K'ile's head. "Why not asleep? Have a lot to think about?" * Twinflame: When he felt her tail against his features, he reached up and took it in his hand, just holding it idly. "No. I don't think about things. I'm just sort of being here." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha blinked as he held her tail, but looked down and allowed him to do so anyway. "Really? Well... that's probably a good thing. You already know what I do when I think..." she smiled a little and shook her head. * Twinflame: He smiled at her. "Yeah, I've seen it once or twice. You should try and be like me and just... Well. I'm nto sure what it is I do. I don't think about it." * K'luha Haaz: "Hmm... not sure you would prefer that either." K'luha teased lightly, wigglign her tail to free it from K'ile's grip. * Twinflame: Stubbornly holding onto her tail, K'ile let a chuckle slip, "Hey, it's been working out great for me, hasn't it?" He pondered that for a moment, despite the irony that he was pondering the effictiveness of his claim to never ponder. This was distracting enoguh that he didn't almost not think that people had low opinions of K'ile Tia for reasons that he was also not almost thinking about mostly. "Anyway. It works for me." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha puffed her cheek out as he insisted on hanging onto her tail. Not thinking worked for him? Really? "Well if I wasn't thinking..." she began, shifting from her seat on the bench to sit carefully on K'ile and the floor. "I would certainly do more of this." K'luha smirked faintly and leaned over to kiss at the corner of K'ile's lips. Of course she couldn't move to fast, so it would have been relatively easy for him to swat her away. * Twinflame: Great. He'd carried K'luha all day and now he was going to have to carry her weight some more. Well, this was different. It was easier. The weight settled more comfortably, more intimately, and wasn't forced to hold her by her bum. He moved his arms so one lay over her legs and the other wrapped around behind her, to keep her from falling out of the carriage. When she moved to kiss him, he just turned his head and leaned it so her lips hit his cheekbone instead. "Come on, Luha. You do that whether you're thinking or not." * K'luha Haaz: "I'm just saying I would do it more." She replied casually, resting her head against his shoulder and getting comfortable. Laying on K'ile was far more comfortable than on the bench. Of course it wasn't like she could stay like this. It wasn't good to give that impression to Tahj but... while Tahj was asleep it was fine. * Twinflame: "Ah. Well, that's..." he paused, then said, "It is what it is, I guess." He did his best to make himself comfortable, but he prioritized Luha's comfort on him. Not just because of her hip, but patially. * K'luha Haaz: After a few moments of silence K'luha lifted her head to look at K'ile again. She was a mix of happy and confused and concerned. "Why did you suddenly kiss me?" she asked softly. "I'm not upset, I was just curious why all of a sudden..." * Twinflame: "Oh, that's easy." Looking back out at the night, K'ile smirked, "When I lost that bet and you told me to kiss you, I was just making fun of you with that kiss on the forehead. I was always going to kiss you full on. Just didn't want you to see it coming." * K'luha Haaz: "You jerk." K'luha smiled, hitting K'ile lightly with her tail. "And you made me think you actually wanted to do that." she chuckled half-heartedly before slowly starting to stand up again. "I'm sorry I've been such a bother to you. I'll try to stop doing that." * Twinflame: "I didn't not want to, but it's not something I would've done on my own," K'ile said, and pulled on K'luha's tail to keep her from getting up. He'd decided he liked her where she was, at least for a few more minutes. "And you're not a bother. You're still helping me provide the feast, and you're going to vouch for me with the elders, right?" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha whined that her tail was pulled on and somewhat quickly laid back down on K'ile. She looked at his eyes for another few moments before sighing. "I don't' know what you want me to vouch for but you know I will. What am I vouching for again? That you provided the feast?" * Twinflame: With a grimace, K'ile said, "We talked about this, remember? Before a Tia can become a Nunh, he has to have a woman pledged to him or else the challenge can't take place. That and provide a feast for the tribe." * K'luha Haaz: "I..." K'luha opened her mouth and closed it again. Really? He was really going to do it? She had completely forgotten about that feast thing. She couldn't even remember if K'yohko had gone about that or K'raqi. So that's what the feast was about? He really deduced to do it. "You said you weren't planning on it..." she finally was able to cough out quietly. "Something changed your mind?" * Twinflame: "I'unno," K'ile shrugged. "I haven't taken the time to think about it. Just a thing I might end up doing. I still might not." * K'luha Haaz: Still... he was still sitting there at maybe. But he had taken the time to get the feast together so... maybe it was more on his mind. Or maybe he just hated K'yohko so much he wanted the chance to fight him. Reguardless, K'luha smile a bit and shook her head. "I'll vouch for you when you decide." she answered finally. * Twinflame: "Thanks. Without that it isn't even a maybe. Not because I couldn't get one of the other women to vouch for me, but... you know." He shrugged, closed his eyes and leaned his head back. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha wasn't sure she really knew but she also wasn't sure she cared that much. With a smile she shifted her head to lean forward and attempted to kiss his lips again. * Twinflame: Well, this time K'ile wasn't looking, so... He only flinched a little bit, mostly keeping his composure. Damned women. Did K'thalen have to put up with this? * K'luha Haaz: K'luha enjoyed stealing her kiss from K'ile and lingered there for a few moments before pulling away smugly. "I am going to have fun with you if you do it." she chuckled, lightly prodding his side. * Twinflame: Keeping himself under control, K'ile didn't move too much while she kissed him, and succeeded in not kissing her back. He even ignored her poke and chuckle, replying with a rather cynical, "I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean." * K'luha Haaz: "It means you'll have to find out. Also that I have first dibs on you." K'luha chuckled again, prodding at his side again and nuzzling his neck. "Don't be so stiff unless you're trying to act like K'yohko you dork." * Twinflame: He was being stiff, and when she said that, he laughed. He tried to keep the laugh quiet, though, so he didn't wake K'tahjha, btu K'luha was right. His body loosened and her wrapped his hands around K'luha, leaning forward to press his forehead against the side of her own head, "Alright, but no more breaking the rules. I'm gonna have to confess all that to the elders." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha grinned, glad to see him loosen up and smile. That was her favorite part about K'ile. His stupid happy smile. His smiley face was contagious. Really, it was. But she had to pout a little when he made her promise not to break any more rules. "Awhh, what? We have to get ourselves in trouble? Shit." K'luha stuck her tongue out at K'ile. "Grandmother's gonna kill me." she whined quietly. * Twinflame: "Ah, we'll be fine." K'ile said. "The elders aren't that scary. Besides, we're bringing food. How mad can they get?" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha huffed a bit but didn't say. K'deiki was absolutely going to kill her. She would be... well she had no idea what kind of punishment awaited her but it wasn't going to be fun and she was pretty sure it was going to suck. A lot. The lack of talking made her sleepy again however, and it was within a minute or two that she fell back asleep on K'ile.

Twinflame: K'luha was not a light person, and she was mostly dense, but K'ile wasn't having any luck with keeping her restricted to bed. He wansn't about to let up on his insistence that she take care of her hip, either, so what was he to do? Apparently he was to carry her through Gridania. It was a doable task. He had carried heavier things farther. In order to move her without hurting her hip, he had sher slung across his back with her arms over his shoulders, and he was leaning forward so most of her weight was on his back. What weight he did have to support with his arms, he did by holding her... Well, not her legs. Occasionally the base of her tail brushed his knuckles. Essentailly he was holding her by her ass, but as long as she didn't say anything to make it awkward, it would be fine. If it was anyone except Luha, it wouldn't have been a thing. But he still thought she was trying to seduce him, so he had been trying to be careful. He took her to the orphanage to collected K'tahjha. The matron gave him a strange look when he kicked the door open, and he likely was an odd sight with a full-grown woman on his back. Embracing the oddness of the situation, K'ile gave the matron a smile and said, "Where's Tahj? Tell her mom and dad are here!" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha felt a little odd being carried around by K'ile. She wasn't so hurt she couldn't walk. Really. This was silly. But he was insistent and when that stubborn cat decided he was going to have his way she simply couldn't argue with them sometimes. So she was being carried. But maybe it wasn't all bad. It was kind of amusing. Mostly because she could tell he felt awkward with his hands placed where they were and K'luha was enjoying the fact that he was aware of it, and aware that it would become awkward if K'luha spoke up about it. Alas, she said nothing about the matter. She chose instead to revel in the awkward tension it gave K'ile that she didn't bring it up... yet. "K'ile, don't kick open the door. That's rude." K'luha scolded, reaching a hand up to tug on his ear. The elderly Matron of the orphanage whom they had arranged things with the other day looked at them a bit concerned before coughing. "Y-yes. Miss Tahj went to her archery lesson. She'll be back soon or you can find her over at the archer's guild. It's not far from here. Just down the road and make a left up the hill." The woman gave a kindly smile and K'luha looked down at K'ile. "You wanna just let me walk then? Or are you going to carry me over there too?" she hummed, continuing to tug on his ear passively. * Twinflame: Letting his head tilt to one side as K'luha pulls on his head, K'ile turned round to walk out of the orphanage. "I'm carrying you. And stop pulling on my ear! And we should've unenrolled K'tahjha from the Archer's Guild yesterday! She won't be able to take lessons from them starting around tomorrow anyway." He trudged away from the orphanage, carting K'luha the whole way. The uphill walk wasn't significantly more difficult, and didn't take overly long. They were soon at the Archer's guild and K'ile was repeating his entry, minus kicking the door but only because the door was already open. Looking at the lady behind the desk, K'ile said, "Where are the archery lessons? Thaj's dad is here to get her!" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha smirked a bit and only moved her other than to tug on his second ear. If she had to be carried around, she was going to have some fun with it at least! As she was carted around to the Archer's guild she hummed the same song she had sung in the desert during their trip to the Amaljaa's encampment. Luckily everything was fairly close together in Gridania and they were there in no time. K'luha finally released his ears and peered at the woman at the desk, who was somewhat startled to say the least at their appearance. "We're looking for our daughter K'tahjha." K'luha smiled politely, tapping K'ile's shoulder as a signal she wanted down. She didn't always have to be on his back. She could lean on him too. "She's taking lessons now?" * Twinflame: "No walking around," K'ile muttered to Luha, letting her slide off her bck but still keeping a supporting hand around her waist. * K'tahjha Yohko: The woman behind the desk directed them into the archery room; a long room with targets set up on the far end. K'tahjha Yohko: The instructor was giving directions to Tahj,"I want you to shoot four arrows quickly, don't stop to refocus." Nodding TahjPulls back on the longbow taking careful aim at the targets at the far end of the room. Letting the arrows fly one after another with her instructor complaining loudly that she was taking too much time. The first arrow hit dead center of the target, the second just outside with the last two being very wide. "You lost docus after the first two arrows, and you let your right elbow drop too much. You need much more practise!" Tahj nods her ears drooping and goes to put her things away. * Twinflame: K'ile points at a bench nd looks at K'luha, "Chill. I'll go get her." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha raised a brow at K'ile. Really? Chill? On a bench? She opened her mouth to protest but shut it again. Better to sit on a bench then be dropped on the floor. Which she was pretty sure K'ile would do. With a grumble she limped over to the bench and sat down, eyes darting around while she waited. Another Miq'ote sitting nearby seemed to be chewing something? Smelled.. minty... * Twinflame: Freed of K'luha's weight, K'ile trotted over to the room where the training took place. He noticed K'tahjha almost immediately, the girls very blond hair standing out to him, and waved at her to get her attention. "Hey, Tahj! Dad's here!' * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj's ears twitch towards K'ile and she wanders over to him, ears and tail drooping,obviously unhappy. * Twinflame: Watching Tahj's down-turned body-language, K'ile's tail swished one way and then other, and he made sure to continue smiling at her. "Hey, kid. They got you shooting flies at fifty yalms in here?" * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj sighs,"I'm not fast enough and my form is lousy. I'll never shoot like mama did." * Twinflame: "So you can actually get an arrow out of that thing? I can barely get one out of my quiver. But I still managed to kill a sand worm with a bunch of arrows the other day!" He didn't really know what to do with upset women. Kids depressed about their skills usually got over it. Maybe she just needed some food or something. He gestured over his shoulder, "Come on. K'luha's waiting for us. We'll do some shopping and get htings set up to take you home." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj forces a smile and falls into step with K'ile,"are we going to leave soon?" * Twinflame: K'ile leads K'tahjha back towards where he left K'luha, answering, "Sort of! I want to try and find a way to get some food shipped back to the tribe. As long as K'luha has enough gil for it." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj thinks a second,"We should get antelope and I like Faerie apples. Do they have them in the desert?" * Twinflame: "No. The fruit you get in the desert is nothing like the fruit you get here. Hey, Luha!" K'ile greeted the woman he'd left behind, "Tahj says we shoudl get antelope and faerie apples. How do we get that back to the desert?" * K'luha Haaz: Luha was sitting on a different bench than she had been left at. Previously there had been a girl sitting there as well, but now she was also gone. K'ile's very sensitive nose would probably notice Luha smelled, or rather her breath did, minty fresh. Not quite like normal mint though. The scent had a small tingly feeling that went with it somehow. K'luha waved to the two lightly before standing easily. She was chewing on something as well. "Teleport it and hire a carrier to move it to the tribe for us. Or just hunt a lot of antelope and trade pelts for apples. Or we can gather them from around here." she replied, casually walking to meet the duo. * K'tahjha Yohko: K'tahjha perks up and smiles at K'luha,"Hello!"and quickly approaches to hug her aunt. * Twinflame: Intercepting K'luha's walk with crossed arms and a frown, K'ile said, "No walking." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha huffed a bit at K'ile and reached forward to flick his chest. "The girl that was here gave me a few mint leaves. She told me it helped with the chronic pain she had in her arms so that she could still use a bow. I can't even feel the pain in my hip. I'm fine to walk, ok?" Luha grinned a bit like she had found a loophole and turned to Tahj instead to hug her. "Hey Tahj. Ready to come home with us?" Luha asked excitedly. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj frowns,"Pain? Why shouldn't you walk? Is everything ok?" * Twinflame: "Her hip is broken and Luha is too stubborn to take care of it," K'ile said. "Apparently it's been broken for awhile andgetting worse every day. So now she doesn't get to walk. So now I've got to carry her everywhere.There's a lesson in that." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha huffed a bit at K'ile so quickly spilling it all out. She lightly elbowed him, as he shouldn't be making Tahj worried about her and should have instead thought about easing the girl into their lifestyle. "It's not... broken... maybe. It's fine. Really. It'll heal on its own and now that I have some painkillers I can function while it heals. And he doesn't need to carry me. He's being stubborn." she tried to explain to Tahj, hoping the girl would listen to her first. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj peers anxiously from one adult to the other,"If it's broken you should have it healed before we travel. A lot of healers here." * Twinflame: "She doesn't like magic," K'lie said. He took K'luha by one arm, turned his back to her, and pulled her against him as he ducked forward. More or less just throwing her over his back while trying not to hurt her hip. "We have ways of healing her in the tribe. Let's go shopping!" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha frowned. She... really? It would be easier but she- "Ack!" Luha yelped as she was tossed over K'ile's back to go 'shopping'. She huffed a little, but settled herself down by tugging at K'ile's ears again. "Oh, alright. Let's go then." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj flinches then frowns at the cry of pain,"But you said we were far from the desert, and carriage rides are bumpy. I don't want you to be in pain all that time." * Twinflame: Grabbing K'luha's ass, he pulled her up onto his shoulders. "We don't have time to hunt, so hopefully this counts as me 'providing a feast for the tribe' just like I'm supposed to. Do you have enough gil for it, Luha?" He looked over to Tahj and said, "If you can talk her into getting healed before we leave, be my guest, but she has good reason and it's up to her. Pain isn't the end of the world." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha looked kindly to Tahj before making a small squeak at the less than subtle and less then gentle grab. She prompltly used her tail to smack K'ile's side before shifting a bit to get comfortable. "I won't be in pain. These mint leaves work a little like numbing agents. Makes my hip more tingly than painful. So we'll be able to make it back and let it start healing on its own." K'luha smiled, shifting her hands from tugging K'ile's ears to instead lightly pet the soft back side of the fur. "So shopping then, eh? I'm sure we can get some things that ought to be preserved enough. I should have enough gil, and if not we're going hunting to sell some pelts and meat." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj nods and suddenly giggles,"You look silly up there. Can he really carry you that far?" * Twinflame: "I'm not going to carry her all the way to the desert," K'ile said. "Just to the market so we can buy our food and get it sent. But we all agree to say this counts as K'ile aquiring a feast for the tribe, right? You two are just helping because you believe in me!" * K'luha Haaz: "Hey, I'm paying. Don't I get credit for this too K'ile?" Luha huffed down at him, resting her chin on the top of his head now. "Well, whatever. Let's go find the stuff first, okay?" * K'tahjha Yohko: "The butcher should seel fresh meat, bit not sure how expensive it is." Tahj thinks a minute then grins,"Apples grow in the south shroud,if we pick them ourselves it will save money." * Twinflame: Moving his head as though to look at K'luha -- really just straining against her chin -- K'ile said, "If you take too much of a credit the elders will say I didn't have enough of a hand in it." And then, to Tahj, "Wouldn't it also take time to go there and get them, and then bring them back? I'm not against working for this, but we were expected back at the tribe days ago." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha frowned and reached forward to pull on K'ile's cheeks lightly. "That's... erk, true. They probably think we died or something." She sighed heavily and pinched K'ile's cheeks again. "So let's just buy it all from the market and have them send it to the U tribe's Aetheryte. We can pick it up there and make it back in a day and a half or so if you're not too slow. Maybe even only a day by carriage ride. Or... that migth be a bit optomistic of a timeline." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj takes the lead seemingly eager to get moving,"It's not going to get bought standing here. The faster we get home, the faster Aunt K'luha can get healed."she calls over her shoulder. * Twinflame: "Ugh. Hey, I can only move so fast with Luha pulling on my damn cheeks!" K'ile pursued the girl. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha chuckled and relinquished his cheeks, moving her hands back to rest around his neck. "Alright, I'm stopping." * Twinflame: "I like optimistic timelines," K'ile said. "Getting back to the tribe sooner means we can get everything set and moving sooner. And eat this feast we're providing." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj sets a fairly brisk pace through the twists and turns of Gridania, finally stopping in front of the butcher, "I think you can get bunches of meat here." * Twinflame: K'ile carts K'luha right up to the meat stand and proclaims, "The person on my back will do the talking because where I come from there is no gil." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha blushed faintly and hit K'ile's shoulder so he would let her down at least while she picked out meat. "A-ahem. Yes. We're looking for a few pounds of meat, mostly Antelope that can be transported fresh and remain fresh for several days...." K'luha proceeded to haggle with the butcher for about thirty minutes, at one point the two were screaming at one another but by the time K'luha signeled she was done they were both rather happy with their deal. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj, having watched her mother haggle with people many times watches quietly and grins smugly after the deal was struck,"Good job." * Twinflame: K'ile had wandered off and found a stick, which was now on fire and spinning idly in one hand. "Good to go?" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha nodded to both of them and crossed her arms beneath her chest. "Yeah. I got him to put a special aether enhanced packing around it that will keep the meat fresh for a week. Best part is the package is reuseable. And he'll shipping it off the the U tribe where it'll be held for us for another week or two. All that's left is to pick up the apples from another vendor." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj spots K'ile approaching with the burning stick and freezes, eyes widening in fear. * Twinflame: K'ile fails to note Tahj's reaction, his attention completely on K'luha. To him, the flaming stick is the most casual thin in the world, as long as the fire stays away from his hands, which it does as long as he continues to turn it. "We aren't going to need weeks, just a few days. Hopefully. Are you going to have to cuss out the apple guy, too?" * K'luha Haaz: "Well of course, but..." K'luha paused, her motherly instincts kicking in hard when she saw Tahj's face. "K'ile put the fire out. Now." She barked sharply, disreguarding her supposed ban on walking and walking over to take Tahj's hand. "Tahj? Are you okay? Are you afraid of fire?" she cooed softly. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj's wide eyes reflect the fire's light, not noticing K'luha at all and upon feelingthe grip on her hand instinct kicks in and she bagan to fight to get free whispering under her breath,"fire, everything's on fire... mama run!" * Twinflame: K'ile flicked the stick and it went out in a fast moment, the heat of it blowing away quickly in the Gridania breeze. For good measure, he also threw the stick off to one side, before moving over to Tahj as well. The girl was old enough that she could easily hurt K'luha's hops by struggling like that, and he wasn't going to let that happen. He put firm hands on both of the girl's shulders to hold her in place. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha grunted a bit as Tahj fought against her, but she squeezed the girl's hands tighter and refused to let go. "Tahj, tahj, it's okay!" she called reassuringly. "It's not gonna, nothing's on fire anymore. It's gone!" K'luha shifted her hands to grasp Tahj's face and forced the girl to look at her directly. "Tahj, it's me! K'luha! Nothing's on fire. You're okay." * K'tahjha Yohko: The wild look slowly left Tahj's eyes and they begin to focus on the present she mumbles,"I'm sorry aunt K'luha.' and collapses in her aunt's arms weeping brokenly. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha looked worriedly to Tahj and hugged her close as the young miq'ote broke down into limb broken tears. "Tahj..." she whispered softly before looking to K'ile with concern. But she let Tahj cry and pet her hand soothingly. * Twinflame: His hands still on Tahj's shoulder, K'ile couldn't really connect with the strength of the emotion pouring out of the girl, so he was thankful she was pouring it onto K'luha. The two could connect in that, though he did worry that their sadness would mingle and magnify and they'd just end up making eachother feel worse. The best he could do for now was to pat Tahj's shoulders and say, "There's nothing to be sorry for. We can take a break. It's alright." * K'tahjha Yohko: Eventually the sobs racking the young miqo'te's body begin to taper off and she releases her grip on K'luha looking up at her aunt through red, swollen eyes,"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha continued to stroke the back of Tahj's head while she cried. This kind of break down... she still missed her mother so much didn't she? K'luha could only try her best to make up for what she had deprived Tahj of. When Tahj finally calmed down Luha shook her head no and smiled warmly. "No. I'm fine. Are you feeling better Tahj?" * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj Nods and swipes at her eyes, drawing a deep shuddering breath,"I am sorry." she says again. * K'luha Haaz: "It's okay... it's fine. Are you afraid of fire? Does that always happen when you see fire?" K'luha cooed softly, petting her still for comfort. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj pins her ears to her head,"The woods were on fire... I- I still have nightmares." * K'luha Haaz: "It's alright Tahj... We're gonna be here for you, okay? Me and K'ile and your family. You don't have to be scared by yourself." K'luha smiled warmly and hugged Tahj again. "You can always come to me when you have bad dreams or when you're scared." * Twinflame: Squeezing Tahj firmly to remind her of his presence. Even if he didn't know what to do with her emotions, K'ile was a bit hurt by Tahj's inexplicably singular focus on K'luha. As if he wasn't present. "And I can..." he thought. "I can teach you how to control the fire and make something beautiful out of it. So it doesn't have to scare you anymore." * [12/4/2013 9:48:52 PM] K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj smiled shakily at K'ile and shook her head,"I don't want fire lessons. But we should find those apples." Shaking her head to clear it tahj rediorects her focus to the task at hand. * [12/4/2013 9:53:16 PM] K'luha Haaz: "Tahj..." K'luha frowned quietly and looked to K'ile. He was offering something of himself. She didn't like to see him get rejected but... the girl was still terrified. She had seen a far worse Calamity then the desert had. All of these tress on fire? It would have been an inferno of death. No doubt Maka had... burned to death in it. Still, K'luha continued to pet Tahj's head. "Tahj you can't be afraid of the fire forever. I think you should take K'ile's offer. But not yet. Maybe when you've settled in with us and are feeling better, okay? If you're afraid of the fire forever Tahj... you won't be able to survive in the Sagoli." she warned softly. This brought her great concern for Tahj's wellfare in the Sagoli. If Tahj could not look at the fire or use it, how would she learn to cook? How would she stay warm during the freezing nights? How could she see at night when she was skinning? So many uses the fire had, and yet K'luha still understood her fear. If worse came to worse... she would have to entrust Tahj to K'ailia and Ventus in Ul'dah. She did not want that, but she couldn't let Tahj starve or freeze to death in the Sagoli either. With another sight she patted Tahj's back. "Here, come on. We can get the apples and talk about this later. Okay?" * Twinflame: Silenced and sombered, K'ile once again grabbed K'luha and put her on his back. The action was smoother and less sudden this time, but still forceful. * K'tahjha Yohko: Emotionally drained from her outburst, Tahj nodded quietly and fell in step behind the adults. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha blinked as she was hoisted up again. The group suddenly had a very... downcast heaviness to it. Really... She let her hand quietly rub the back of K'ile's neck to comfort him as they walked. There was nothing she could say to make this better. Nothing she could think of at least, so she let them walk in silence for now. * Twinflame: He appreciated K'luha's touch, even if it was odd. He couldn't exactly hug her while he was walking around with his hands on her ass. Well, he could, but it would send the wrong image. The fire-dancing was more than just something that was his. It was something that belonged to the tribe. It represented the consistent presence of Azeyma, her warmth and light. It was the Warden, a representation of protection. It wasn't supposed to evoke fear. And K'ile wasn't meant to be the only person in the tribe that could dance with it, but somehow, he was. He couldn't remember ever having offered to teach anyone before. He also couldn't remember ever pretending to be someone's father before. His breath felt heavy and difficult to manage, and K'luha felt a bit heavier too. The silence didn't sit well with him, and he wanted to break it, but he couldn't find any words in himself that seemed appropriate. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj trails behind the adults all the way to the fruit stall, very aware of the silence and she assumes it is her fault. Ears and tail low she keeps silent. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha knew how much the fire dancing meant to K'ile. And she also knew he had never offered to teach someone before. There was no way Tahj could know how it hurt to be rejected for such a special offer. There was no way she could know what it meant to be offered such a thing either. The air between the them as they walked to the fruit stall was... ugh. K'luha couldn't stand it. As they finally made it there K'luha tapped K'ile so she could be put down and waited for herself to be put down before she decided. With a quickly she leaned over and kissed K'ile's cheek before leaning over to Tahj and kissing the young girl's cheek as well. "Alright you two stop acting like we all died. You want to mourn? Mourn my broken hip. You two cheer up already!" K'luha huffed, puffing out her cheeks. "Or I'll make you play tag me with." * Twinflame: K'ile was still trying to come up with some way to clear the air when he put K'luha down, taking advantage of the whole ass-grabbing pose to give her tail a squeeze as he did so. He didn't expect the kiss on the cheek, but in retrospect he was sure he shouldn't be too surprised. Of course he was surprised anyway. He recoiled away from it violently and stumbled a bit, his first instinct being the she was coming at him fora bit more than a peck. She moved on to Tahj quickly enough that he realized he'd misjudged the situation, and ended up wiping at his cheek with a frown. "I'm not mourning. And you said your hip wasn't broken! And if you try running off I'm breaking your legs and dragging you to the conjurers!" * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj grinned at K'luha's taunt,"The matron that runs the orphanage runs faster than you right now! * K'luha Haaz: "Pft! With those moping faces, I bet even with both my legs broke I would run faster." She grinned back at both of them, taking a step backwards. K'ile might actually get mad at her for this, but it was indeed a good way to clear the air. "So what do you say? Happy faces or am I running for it?" K'luha taunted, her grin turning devious as she looked them both over. * Twinflame: K'ile crossed his arms and walked back over to K'luha. He frowned at her for a moment, and then looked down at K'tahjha, "Hey, did you learn anything from watching K'luha bartar?" * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj appeared to give the question serious thought then grinned,"Aye, I learned I don't want aunt K'luha mad at me. " * K'luha Haaz: K'luha chuckled and stood up straight, crossing her arms beneath her chest. "Good, you learn quick. But what's that about K'ile? Going to leave me here in Gridania and take Tahj back alone?" * Twinflame: "Nah." K'ile waved that off, "I don't want to have to raise the kid. I just want to play with her and teach her fun stuff." Rather without warning, K'ile tossed his arms over K'luha's shoulders and pulled hr over to him. "I was just wondering if she was paying attention. I've got a theory that the kid's smart." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj raised an eyebrow at K'ile with a grin,"I know all my letters and I write really well. But not sure how smart I am."she shrugged. * K'luha Haaz: Luha squeaked as she was suddenly pulled to K'ile. What was that now? She blushed a bit and cleared her throat to glance back at Tahj for a moment. "Well, she's already smarter than me. It took forever for me to figure out how to read letters and such." * Twinflame: "Letters? I can read letters. Five of them." K'ile said with a chuckle, and nudged K'luha's head with his forehead. "But can she haggle?" * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj shrugged,"Not yet, because I can't say some of the words Aunt K'luha used." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha blushed again and not because of K'ile weird affection. She wasn't sure if it was affection. Maybe just him being weird. Also because she was pretty sure Tahj didn't know all the cuss words she used. "Ahem. Well. We shouldn't teach you everything all at once now." * Twinflame: K'ile finally smiled, Tahj's cuteness drawing it out of him. "Right," he said, releasing K'luha. He felt like he'd pulled warmth out of her body to suppliment his own, but he really wasn't sure why he'd done that. He did feel a bit less down, though, now that he had. "Anyway, let's get those apples ordered so we can all head home together!" * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj perked up and a smile lit her face at the mention of apples,"They're really good this time of year, still kind of tart. Besides we should get this done so Aunt K'luha can sit and rest." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha took a deep breath as K'ile finally released her. Well then. That was... she didn't have a distinct word or emotion for it so she simply let it go. "Right then. So, let me go barter." she smiled at them before limping over to the stall and starting the relatively long process of bartering for a lot of freaking apples. * Twinflame: "Yeah, alright, we'll just be over here. Hey, Tahj." K'ile took a few quick steps to one side and picked up a stick, which were in plentiful supply around these streets. Holding it one hand, he began to spin it quickly between his fingers. "Bet nobody ever taught you to do this." * K'tahjha Yohko: Flinching back suddenly at the sight of the twirling stick, Tahj began to relax as it didn't light.Watching intently she shook her head,"I'm not sure I can." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha proceeded to continue arguing with the stall vendor. * Twinflame: "The movements aren't that different than grabbing arrows from a quiver, actually. At least, finger-wise," he said, and raised his hand to eye-level as he continued to spin it, working his digits forward and back as the stick moved. "I mean, it takes practice. But I can do this and I can not nock an arrow, so it'd prolly come easy to you." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj frowned in concentration studying K'ile's fingers before reaching out,"Can I try?" * Twinflame: The stick stopped suddenly, falling into a natural and light grip in his hand. He extended it to Tahj, "Sure! There's no wrong way to do it. Your fingers will figure it out if you give it time." * K'tahjha Yohko: She simply held the stick lightly for a second trying to feel the weight and balance of it, then moved it out to her fingers to attempt K'ile's maneuver. Concentrating heavily she managed to get the stick almost all the way around once before her fingers got tangled and she dropped it with a frown. * K'luha Haaz: It was about this point K'luha screamed something at the stall vendor very loudly and the man gruffly slamned his hand on the table. There was dead silence before he gave in and began writing up the order slip. * Twinflame: K'ile tossed a smile over in K'luha's direction. If he was surprised, it was only that she let the man live. When he looked back at Tahj, he saw the stick on the ground and said, "So you moved it, right? It takes a lot of dropping to sticks to get one to work with you." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj stared in K'luha's direction for a second with a grin before leaning down to pick up the stick and try again. * Twinflame: Retrieving another stick, K'ile held it in front of him and just turned it very slowly, smoothly, without saying anything. He was half-watching K'luha's ears while she yelled at the vendor. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha argued another few minutes with the vendor over the wording of the contract before the man simply gave into every demand she had. If only to get her away from him at this point. * K'tahjha Yohko: After picking the stick back up several times Tahj finally got the stick to spin in her fingers, albeit painfully slowly, but moving. * Twinflame: "There you go!" K'ile said when he noticed, pausing the spinning of his own stick and giving Tahj a couple of quick claps. "And that's honestly most of what goes into it. No bad or good form or losing or keeping concentration. Just get better at spinning the stick however it works for you. Then just start moving around while you do it and it'll look awesome." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha finally seemed mostly settled with her buisness and with a small basket of apples she limped back to K'ile and offered him an apple from the basket. "What are you teaching her?" Luha questioned, having been too busy arguging to pay much attention. * K'tahjha Yohko: Keeping one eye on her stick, Tahj reaches slowly and carefully for the bascket to retrieve an apple, looking quite pleased with herself. * Twinflame: "Uhm," K'ile said, not really sure what to call this most simple of technique's. He didn't want to say that it was fire-dancing, because he didn't want Tahj to think about the stick being on fire or really anything being on fire and definitely not everything being on fire. So he just pointed and said, "Oh, that. You know!" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha raised a brow at K'ile. "That, huh?" But she quickly relent and chuckled, pulling an apple from the basket to push at K'ile's mouth. "Well everything will be in the Forgotten Springs by the time we get there and it will last for about another week fresh after that." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj stopped her stick, taking a large bite of her apple, eyes half closing, savoring the flavor,"Is it time to leave?" * Twinflame: K'ile bit into the apple K'luha had thrust at him, tossing his stick over his shoulder and speaking around the fruit, "Hiy himahi eh eou ih ie a ahiaeah?" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha looked to K'ile and reached over to flick his head. "Don't speak with your mouth full. It's rude." * K'tahjha Yohko: Staring in puzzlement Tahj frowns,"What did you say?" * Twinflame: Cracking off a loud bite, he repeated, "Right. Don't we have to find and pay for a carriage, too? Or can Tahj use Aetherytes? * K'luha Haaz: "We'll get a carriage." K'luha answered quickly. "But I know where to get one. The only real quest is, do we leave now? Or later?" * K'tahjha Yohko: "You can rest in the carriage, if we give you a bench to yourself, you can even lie down!" Tahj pleads, seemingly eager to get moving. * K'luha Haaz: "Oooh, someone's ready to go. Then are you ready K'ile? Or do we have something else you want to get?" * Twinflame: "That was it," K'ile said. "Just needed the feast as soon as possible. I don't really like this forest that much anyway. Smells weird." * K'luha Haaz: "Well, then, let's go. I have enough mint leaves for the ride home." K'luha nodded finally and started forward. "Follow me~" * K'tahjha Yohko: "Oh, I need to get my bag, it's all packed. Meet you at the gate!"she called over her shoulder as she raced off through the city. * Twinflame: K'ile waved to Tahj, "Okay, we'll see you there!" And then ran over and put a hand on K'luha's shoulder. "Hey." * K'luha Haaz: "Hey yourself." K'luha retorted, looking back at K'ile while Tahj ran off. "She's certainly energetic. I think she'll come around quickly." * Twinflame: "Mm hm." K'ile said, only half hearing K'luha as he turned her around, grabbed her face with one hand and her waist with the other, and pulled her into a sudden but firm kiss that completely claimed both of her lips. * K'luha Haaz: "Don't you think-" K'luha was about to continue before K'ile suddenly grabbed her. And she would have asked what that was all about before he... Wat? That was about all K'luha's break could think of. * Twinflame: Holding the kiss for almost two seconds, K'ile broke, spun, and smoothly pulled K'luha onto his back. "No walking allowed, remember!" He gave her very little waring before grabbing her ass to lift her and begin to trot off through town. * K'luha Haaz: Somehow K'luha had completely lost the strength to fight him at all and simply allowed herself to be carted around. That was... really? Did that seriously happen? She was still in shock from the abrupt action. Somehow she never thought K'ile could do that. Like seriously. What? When did he decide he was going to do that? Did that mean he was going to be the nunh? Or where they just going to break the rules? Both prospects were kind of exciting however. Still, K'luha was red-faced for awhile and she remained quiet as K'ile carted her over to the gates. * K'tahjha Yohko: Meanwhile Tahj had retrieved her bag from her bunk and raced to the gates at full speed, arriving slightly out of breath. * Twinflame: Showing up a bit after Thaj (because let's face it, the kiss didn't take more than two seconds no matter how you slice it), K'ile greeted Tahj energetically with a, "Hey Tahj!" as soon as he caught sight of her. He was moving it a quick jog, even with K'luha's weight on him, desperate to get to the gate and be around people again before K'luha got it in her head to ask abut what he'd just done. * K'luha Haaz: Luckily for K'ile, K'luha wasn't going to ask. She was still processing the whole event and hoping she wasn't just delusional and had imagined it or something. Not to mention she had to pull herself together for Tahj. She quickly cleared her throat and gave a small wave to Tahj as well, forcing the blush on her face to dissappate. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj grinned and waved at the pair as they approached, but suddenly her eyes widened,"OH no! I forgot Rhiki! Can he come? I can't leave without him." she pleaded. * Twinflame: "Uh..." K'ile slowed down as he approached K'tahjha, looking like a startled animal. His mind emptied of thoughts of kisses and asses and began to wonder who this Rhiki person was. Some adopted brother? An orphan minion? If Rhiki was her boyfriend K'ile was going to kick his ass! "What?" * K'luha Haaz: "Who is... Rhiki?" K'luha blurted out, a bit confused. "Is he... your chocobo perhaps?" Somehow the name just struck her as the name of a pet of somesort. Did she even have a chocobo? * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj nods and puts her fingers to her lips blowing a piercing whistle; shortly amid the loud rustling of brush a large chocobo approached from the stables. The large bird stopped in front of Tahj and lowered his beak to tap on the top of her head gently. She grinned and reached up to caress the bird,"How are you old man?" Then turning to the adults she pleaded,"He was mama's and I did odd jobs to feed him. I can't leave him." * Twinflame: "Oh!" Yeah, that was far better than some non-Miqo'te man touching his new daughter. "That's fine. We actually have chocobos back in the tribe, so he'll have family, too. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha smiled. She knew it. Somehow the name Rhiki sounded familar. And it sounded like a chocobo's name. She chuckled light and put her head on top of K'ile's again. "Of course. He can walk alongside the carriage and when he gets tired we can see if we can't put him inside it." * K'tahjha Yohko: With a smile that lit up her face, Tahj threw her arms around the bird's neck then turning around and hugging both K'ile and K'luha in quick succession. "Thank you! He won't be any trouble, you'll see. Except.." she winced,"I don't have a rope for him." * Twinflame: "He comes when he's called, right? Does he really need a rope?" * K'luha Haaz: "I'm sure the carriage will have rope on it or we can buy some before we go either way." * K'tahjha Yohko: At the mention of the carriage Tahj peered down the road,"Is it coming soon?" * K'luha Haaz: "We still have to order one, but there's usually a lot of them at the gate ready for order you know." K'luha smiled, tapping's K'ile's shoulder again. "Down. Come on. I want to limp to the gate myself." * Twinflame: "Fine, fine," K'ile said, once again grabbing her tail when he let her down. Little things like that seemed to be coming easier. "But Tahj has to help you limp around so you don't put weight on your hip." Which he knew completely invalidated her request, but whatever. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha glanced back at the touch to her tail, but limped over to Tahj anyway. "Oh fine. You know I can walk around myself but if you'll be quiet about it I'll lean on Tahj." * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj smiles at her aunt and slips an arm around the woman's waist to help steady her. Glancing back she clucked her tongue for Rhiki just as he helped himself to an apple from the basket. "Hey!" she fussed, then sighed,"Sorry, he likes apples." * K'luha Haaz: K'luha chuckled at the Chocobo's antics and gave a little shrug. "No worries. The apples were for everyone and we have more coming to the Forgotten Springs." * Twinflame: Not having anything better to do, K'ile followed along, having nothing to say at the moment. He actually, on a whim, did a little K'yohko impersonation and tried to look as distant and uncaring as possible for a few seconds, but he couldn't hold it. Unlike K'yohko, he actually had thoughts and feelings, so he ended up smriking and chuckling at himself. * K'tahjha Yohko: Continuing to walk slowly out the gates, Tahj carefully tried to match her speed with K'luha's although she had her suspicions that her aunt wasn't leaning on her very heavily. But said nothing. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha was hardly leaning at all and mostly lead Tahj over to the stables where several cart drivers were hanging around. She picked out what seemed the most normal and of a decent size before going to once again barter with the Elezen. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj pulled an arrow out of her quiver and practiced twirling it while watching the negotiations carefully. * Twinflame: "Never thought of practicing with arrows," K'ile observed, "THat's smart. They're pretty balanced and smooth, right?" He was sort of just hanging out off to one side and letting K'luha worry about the money. There was no money in the tribe, and gil had no use to him. He had no concept of its scarcity, but he did understand its importance. All he really knew was that it was needed, that K'luha possessed it, and that he did not. * K'luha Haaz: After a few minutes of arguging, much less angry arguging for some reason, K'luha handed over a good portion of her gil and motioned for the rest to get into the carriage. "We've got our ride. It'll take about four days according to the carriage driver, but he'll get us to the Forgotten Springs and then we walk. Or rather, we use our chocobos and K'ile will have to hang on to me for dear life or run to keep up with them." Luha smirked, hopping in the carriage herself and taking a seat. * K'tahjha Yohko: Tahj giggles at the thought of K'ile running through the desert chasing the large bird and vaults easily into the back of the carriage. She wsistles to Rhiki so that he knew he was to follow her. * Twinflame: K'ile climbed into the carriage in a quick, subdued motion, already easing into a relaxed frame of mind for the liesurely ride. Or he's just tired from carrying K'luha around all morning. "I could just let you guys go ahead once we get to Forgotten Springs. Or I could catch a ride with the food. That's probabyl more what I'll do. Ride it back into the tribe heroically. K'ile the feast-bringer!" * K'luha Haaz: K'luha snorted at the idea of K'ile the feast-bringer. "Bringing feasts that I bargained and paid for are we?" she sighed and gave up on the idea of convincing him otherwise. He never got much glory. Sure, he could have it this time around. "I'll probably have to collect K'ailia's things soon after I get home and return them to her." she sighed a bit solemnly. "She'll want them as soon as possible..." * K'tahjha Yohko: Glancing sharply at her aunt's change of tone, Tahj sat down and carefully pulled her into a hug. Snuggling her head into K'luha's shoulder she smiled gently. * Twinflame: Smirking at Tahj's display of affection, K'ile reclined and put his hands behind his head, "Just make sure you don't miss the feast. You'd hate yourself if you did." * K'luha Haaz: "I'll do my best." K'luha shot back with a small smile, petting Tahj's head at her display of affection. "But for now, I think I'll sleep. Do you want the bench to yourself Tahj or are you gonna sit with K'ile?" Luha asked kindly. She didn't mind cramping K'ile's personal space if Tahj wanted to sit by herself. * K'tahjha Yohko: Grinning Tahj slipped off the bench, "You can take the bench I'm not sleepy yet." sitting carefully on the back of the carriage with her legs dangling, she talked cheerfully to the trailing bird. * K'luha Haaz: "Alright then." K'luha smiled and scooted herself up on the bech so she could lay down comfortable. Or at least as comfortably as one could on an uncomfortable bench. Once she was comfortable she glanced over at K'ile, wondering faintly about that kiss. * Twinflame: Reclining and looking rather content, K'ile crossed his legs in front of him. He caught K'luha's gaze and held it, but didn't say anything to her. Did she have something to say to him or what? * K'tahjha Yohko: Not paying any attention to the adults behind her, Tahj was biting off bits of apple and holding them out to Rhiki, giggling as he put on bursts of speed to snatch them from her fingers. * K'luha Haaz: K'luha didn't say anything either, though the look on her face was clear she wanted to say or do something. But instead she simply closed her eyes and tried to get comfortable again. * Twinflame: Well, okay, guess she didn't want to say anything anyway. K'ile shrugged and closed his eyes too, feeling safe and relaxed and finally on his way home.

My character, K'ile Tia, and Naunet's character, K'thalen Nunh.