When K'yohko spun on him, the muscles in K'iles limbs snapped tight against his bones. His back straightened, eyes opened, tail shot out behind him and his chin lifted. Instinctively, he expected K'yohko to rush him, and he was ready to fight the Nunh if he was attacked. He was always read to fight K'yohko. The Nunh possessed a maddened heart, where reason only dwelt on the best of days. He was a cruel and powerful man, unbalanced. K'ile Tia's readiness to fight the man was as inextricable as his readiness to sleep at night, to awaken at morning, to close his eyes against sudden light. Before K'yohko could ever attack him, well before the time came, K'ile Tia would be read to fight back.
That time was not now. The bandanna in the sand was a familiar gesture, smelling of the girl that had foolishly gone ahead. It shifted in the wind and settled. The migrating sand tried to bury it, like a corpse. It reminded him of the trappings K'aijeen had left behind when she'd walked into the sands to die. Looking on the bandanna, listening to K'yohko's accusations, it felt familiar. It felt nostalgic. It felt...
Something turned inside the Tia's belly. Like a hibernating animal sloughing the mud from it emaciated body, something nauseous rolled over inside him. It made him sick.
It made him smile.
As K'yohko Nunh fled from confrontation with his own bitterness, K'ile's blue eyes slid in their sockets to watch him. From the shadowed veil beneath his red hair, as though from behind smoke and fire, K'ile peered at the monstrous man. His smile was small, and his head did not turn. His body remained still and his arms at his sides.
His tail flipping behind him twice, K'ile turned to K'deiki's back and spoke in a very small voice, like a hesitant breath, to keep his happiness out of his tone. The Tia instead sounded humble. "I have to the apologize to the Elders for being gone so long, and for mistakes I've made. I hope they can forgive me. We can make things right again if we all work together."
K'ile Tia's fingertips were numb. He felt like he had climbed a very great height up sheer rock -- so high that he had lost sight of the summit -- and just now found the utmost cliff, gripping it fast in shock. His hands curled into light fists. He smelt K'luha and K'tahjha on the wind, K'airos on the cart, but no sign of K'ailia or K'aijeen. It was like succulent blooms to his senses. It was like the morning air the instant before he began to dance.
That time was not now. The bandanna in the sand was a familiar gesture, smelling of the girl that had foolishly gone ahead. It shifted in the wind and settled. The migrating sand tried to bury it, like a corpse. It reminded him of the trappings K'aijeen had left behind when she'd walked into the sands to die. Looking on the bandanna, listening to K'yohko's accusations, it felt familiar. It felt nostalgic. It felt...
Something turned inside the Tia's belly. Like a hibernating animal sloughing the mud from it emaciated body, something nauseous rolled over inside him. It made him sick.
It made him smile.
As K'yohko Nunh fled from confrontation with his own bitterness, K'ile's blue eyes slid in their sockets to watch him. From the shadowed veil beneath his red hair, as though from behind smoke and fire, K'ile peered at the monstrous man. His smile was small, and his head did not turn. His body remained still and his arms at his sides.
His tail flipping behind him twice, K'ile turned to K'deiki's back and spoke in a very small voice, like a hesitant breath, to keep his happiness out of his tone. The Tia instead sounded humble. "I have to the apologize to the Elders for being gone so long, and for mistakes I've made. I hope they can forgive me. We can make things right again if we all work together."
K'ile Tia's fingertips were numb. He felt like he had climbed a very great height up sheer rock -- so high that he had lost sight of the summit -- and just now found the utmost cliff, gripping it fast in shock. His hands curled into light fists. He smelt K'luha and K'tahjha on the wind, K'airos on the cart, but no sign of K'ailia or K'aijeen. It was like succulent blooms to his senses. It was like the morning air the instant before he began to dance.
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