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K'nahli · **01-16-2014, 09:12 PM**

After what seemed like too short a time, the blue-haired huntress found herself outside of her destination, lingering within the long shadow cast by the tent of her elders' that loomed intimidatingly over her shrinking form. The group of curious tribekin whom had congregated outside earlier had since dispersed, probably having either lost interest with the lack of activity or, more likely, because they had been shooed off by the unimpressed occupants.

A bead of sweat formed over the girl's notably, anxious expression as she loitered for a moment in silence. Though the elders would likely not see her leave without sanction, it was not them that she feared most. The thought of seeing her father again made her feel incredibly uneasy, not to mention the fact that her sudden and unexplained disappearance will only have exacerbated the issue. Perhaps it would even have been seen as a voluntary act of defiance.

Swallowing hard, the girl slowly stepped forward and reluctantly passed through the tent flaps with a noiseless stride into the heavy atmosphere that awaited dogmatically within.

"Forgive me..." she whispered humbly while bowing her head in respect. She had chosen a moment where her entry would not interrupt any dialogue though it wouldn't surprise her if she was scolded for speaking out of place.

"A moment of weakness stole from me my sense of priority. I am entirely responsible.." she added coolly with a soft, despondent blink without lifting her head from the compounded sand that was carpeted beneath the tent.

Though she could not see her father, she could feel his dominating presence lingering further within. It made her so painfully uncomfortable. Like a parasite, it quickly leeched her already-weakened sense of control and collection away from her body. However, she was in the presence of her elders now. She could no longer shield her vulnerability and fear behind anger while she held them as audience. Her tiny existence before them was comparable to a thin sheet of glass that lay daringly in the path of an enraged primal. Fragile and weak - so very close to being broken.

Kailia · **01-17-2014, 12:18 AM**

K'ailia continued sitting with her face down, listening to the elders. She then thought on what K'deiki had said. Funny how the elder judged her based on her mothers behavior, without even knowing just what had actually happened. She seemed to think K'ailia thought of only herself, yet she never once stopped thinking of the tribe, or of ensuring the tribes safety.

K'ailia heard all the elders. She heard her father too. Yet all seemed to speak, with ears and minds closed. But she also knew her mother well. If her mother were here, the bowl never would of been placed over her head, and the powder would be thrown to the wind. Despite her faults, her mother was still the most important thing to her, and she knew she was still important to her mother.

K'deiki had said that she did not want K'ailia to watch her family crumble. That had already happened. K'piru had left the tribe. Most of the family was killed. Even her own favorite uncle was said to be dead. When she came back from Gridania, she saw her family suffering, and the elders at first rejecting the notion of leaving Sagolii. It took the young ones like herself, getting together and came up with the idea of a tribe meeting.

And she did her part, she delivered the message given her by Ventus, offering aid to the tribe. And K'ile's attitude earned him her ire that night. But now... Ventus was in a coma, and she was now Headmaster of Ul'dah Garden. She was now in a position to offer aid to her tribe. If they agreed to the move, she could help secure a safe passage for the tribe. Her own mother would no longer need to goto Ul'dah, and face the merchants that have hurt her in ways she had no idea on.

But in order to begin helping the tribe, the elders must allow her to speak her proposal.

But then her ears twitched, hearing her elder sister's arrival. She suspected her sister would be treated much like she was. Especially with speaking upon entering. The situation was already tense. But then she felt the tickling sensation in her chest.

The powder that had invaded her lungs. She had almost forgotten about it. Her body's aether had finished gathering it into one place. But unfortunately her body reacted on its own. She pulled the bowl off her head just has she felt herself take a deep breath and coughed up mucus filled with the powder.

A couple more coughs and she started breathing normally once more. Her body had rejected the powders invasiveness. She rested the bowl on the bones and the remaining powder, but kept her head bowed, not looking at her father, the elders, or even K'nahli. But she also readied herself in case her father decided to try subjecting her to more powder.

She went back to waiting, to staying silent, listening, all the while a shielding spell in her mind, readied in case she needed it.

Naunet · **01-20-2014, 12:59 PM**

For a very long time, the elders held the tent in silence. The weight of memory settled over the place, a sombering pressure heavy with grief and a longing for what once was. K'deiki continued to watch K'ailia, did not speak as the girl moved the bowl but remained cowed, did not move save for the occasional slow blink of her clouded eyes. K'jhanhi persisted in his refusal to acknowledge the girl and K'deiki understood.

The silence had permeated every corner of the tent until suddenly the small things, the unheard sounds of life like the slight shifting of sand in the wind outside and against the tent's walls, the movement of bone in flesh as lungs filled with oxygen and then released, the faint scratching of a beetle seeking purpose in some shadowed corner, and the wispy breaths of incense wafting from bowls about the tent.Â

When all of these sounds became louder even than her own thoughts, K'deiki finally spoke once more, "Now is not the right time, young one. Soon we will leave behind all we've known for generations, soon we will be uprooting ourselves to seek a new beginning. It is all we can bear to manage just that." The old woman, once one of the tribe's most esteemed huntresses, closed her eyes and turned her face away from K'ailia. "We cannot shoulder a reversal of what little we have left, not yet. You must leave, as you already have, as so many already have." Her words faded as she spoke, until they were little more than a breath, and her head bowed.

Nauta Lyehga · **01-20-2014, 11:53 PM**

K'yohko's mind was full of things his lips would never speak, his face would never show, and his body would never do. And all these things were forever masked behind an unchanged face of stone, cracked and chipped with the years of wearing, but still sturdy. The Nunh could stand the test of time until it swallowed him whole, but never would most of his thoughts leave that stone mask. They would die behind it and the wind would blow them away as if they were never there at all.

The older male waited with a patience tested for both his younger and elder daughters. For K'ailia, he waited for understanding. For K'nahli, he waited for tranquility. Waiting forever for things that may never come.

His burning violet eyes glanced up from K'ailia's form when the tent's flap opened. His elder daughter, she was supposed to be wiser. She was supposed to be so many things that she was not, and her deteriorating attitude after the Calamity brought only a word to his mind.

K'yohko stepped forward towards his elder daughter and looked down upon her in the way only a disappointed father could. His eyes were still burning dark beneath his stony face. With a swift motion many times practiced, his hand grabbed the back of K'nahli's shirt and he forced her down to bow to her Elders.

"You are not forgiven." The words were simple, blunt, but there was no hatred or anger in them. Only fact. "A moment is not five years. Now you will be silent and remain where I put you until you can be dealt with, K'nahli." Perhaps he had never spoken so many words at once to his elder daughter, as he was not a man for words, but there was a fire burning still in his chest that warranted for the release of some smoke.

His eyes turned swiftly to his younger daughter, whose lungs coughed and rejected her lessons. It was metaphoric, to say the least. K'yohko relinquished his grip on K'nahli and instead moved over to place a strong scarred hand upon her back. His eyes turned to K'deiki. To leave. And yet...

"I have proposal regarding K'ailia, but I would wish a moment in privacy with my wayward daughter first." This request was directed to K'deiki first, and then to his grandmother, and finally to K'ailia. All must agree to hear them before he would bother with the words for this.

Twinflame · **01-21-2014, 01:01 AM**

Her head bowed tiredly where she hung in the brown shadows of the tent, K'takka's ears twitched when she heard her grandson speak. "There are laws against speaking with those who have left the family," she said, out of hand, "These apply to the Nunh as well. You are equal to K'nahli who kneels before us, and to violate the law would put you next to her in the sand. However."

The thin neck lifted the elder's head, and her eyes cast through the silver veil of her bangs to K'yohko. "Unlike your children, you do not tremble at the thought of sand under your fingernails, do you? The sand is the desert; it is home. One cannot walk and never fall. You may have your moment in exchange for a moment spent at level with the sand, if it is worth it to you."

Naunet · **01-21-2014, 01:30 AM**

It was K'jhanhi who spoke, unexpectedly, his towering ancient form shaking with a dry snort of laughter. "A moment is more than those who abandon us deserve," he uttered but did not move to otherwise stop K'yohko from speaking with his daughter.

K'deiki only bowed lower, silently acknowledging both the former nunh's and her cousin's words. Her wrinkled features were unhappy.

Kailia · **01-21-2014, 01:36 AM**

K'ailia said nothing as K'deiki spoke, was she dismissed then? Would none hear what she had to say? Why then did she bother taking the invitation and coming back, if she's not going to be able to explain herself, and instead being forbidden to speak on her own behalf of her experiences, and be sent away?

But then her father moved fast towards K'nahli. She felt bad for her sister because it sounded like she was being forced down roughly. It took K'ailia time to understand they wanted her to pay attention and not speak. But she knew her sister was wiser at least. Or at least she hoped so.

"I have proposal regarding K'ailia, but I would wish a moment in privacy with my wayward daughter first."

Her father wished to speak with her privately? The one person she always wished she knew more of but knew almost nothing about, wanted to see her privately? Though she was still on edge with her father, if he was to be the one person willing to actually speak to her, and willing to actually hear her, of course she would agree.

Keeping her head lowered she nodded quickly, signally she would agree to meet with him. And perhaps, this trip would not of been a mistake after all.

"Unlike your children, you do not tremble at the thought of sand under your fingernails, do you? The sand is the desert; it is home. One cannot walk and never fall. You may have your moment in exchange for a moment spent at level with the sand, if it is worth it to you."

K'takka would punish her father for speaking to her? Would they punish her mother? Would they punish K'ile? A lot of people had left the tribe over the years. K'ailia was starting to realize, if this continued, soon none could ever talk to anyone again.

"A moment is more than those who abandon us deserve"

K'jhanhi spoke, as though she was some vile criminal. Words of one who judges but will hear the one they accuse, of their side. Mind set, ears closed. If her father wished to risk it, then she would also agree to see him privately. Not saying a word, she nodded her head for her father, to let him know she agreed. She would meet with him, even if it was the last time. He had her curious. He'd be risking much she was sure. But if he was willing to speak to her, then she would honor his sacrifice.

K'nahli · **01-21-2014, 08:20 PM**

K'nahli offered no resistance toward her father as he briskly forced her down low to the ground with a swift and rough motion, in total submission before the elders. She couldn't. After all, he was right and she was wrong. Denying such a thing would only be further deceiving herself, a sickening trait that the girl so badly wanted to abandon to the coming night before it poisoned her mind completely.

Her face, one painted with a neutral expression - a false facade - came into close contact with the cool ground causing the dry, grains of sands to gently kiss and tickle the tip of her nose. In spite of the humiliating treatment, the once proud archer made no sound all the while, for her thoughts were clouded entirely with heart-aching images of a disgusted K'yohko. A father whom had tolerated so much more than was ever warranted.

The girl relieved her dry throat as she swallowed again in a petty and discreet attempt to contain herself, to not make a fool of herself again, to not reveal her emotions and come bearing the truth of her hideous weakness; something that would only give further reason to earn herself contempt in the eyes of father.

Nauta Lyehga · **01-22-2014, 03:36 AM**

It would not be the first time K'yohko had bent the rules for his moral perception of the right thing, and he was sure it would not be the last. Though he was far removed from them, they were his daughters. If he had not cared for them, he would not force them to the sand in repentance nor would he bent the rules and face the same punishments. Regardless of their attitudes and behaviors and opinions of him, K'yohko believed in his daughters. He believed they could become great women and do whatever it was they aspired to do, even if such a thing was outside his scope of understanding. He strived to understand them and encourage them in ways that would not change their perceptions of life dramatically. Such was his life, a guiding shadow; never to be acknowledged or thanked, but to be there regardless and expect nothing in return. It was the role a father should play, or so K'yohko had always thought.

K'yohko looked to his Grandmother and he knew deeply in his very being, she would have done the same thing for him if their positions had been switched. His eyes carefully moved to study the former nunh.

'It is.' The answer came in his mind, a strange event for K'yohko rarely thought to himself in the form of tangible words. 'And yet she also deserves all the moments in the world, as do all my children.' But his lips stayed still and silent. His sharp eyes picked up on K'ailia's movement, a silent agreement and her most agreeable motion all day.

In K'yohko's usual way of answering, he moved between his two kneeling daughters and got to his own knees, calloused and rugged with his life upon the skin. He pressed his hands to the tops of his knees, strong arms elbowing out as he bent forward. K'yohko's forehead touched down to the sand, its simultaneous warmth and coolness a distant and familiar sensation. A moment at the level of sand was a price worth paying. There was a calmness in his body that the touch of sand upon his forehead could only evoke. He remained still, waiting for the sound of acknowledgement from K'takka before he would move again.

Twinflame · **01-23-2014, 03:22 AM**

Taking a deep breath and shivering inexplicably among her furs, K'takka waited. She turned her silver eyes on K'deiki, the woman who had always been a better hunt, more well-loved by the Nunh, more popular. But K'takka had thought she had at least managed to out-do the woman in progeny. K'takka's sons were a Nunh and fire-dancer, her grandson another Nunh, whereas the bloodline of K'deiki was tainted with troublemakers and exiles. She stared at the other Elder for several minutes, trying to imagine her thoughts, trying to pity her, because at least K'takka's children were present.

However.

K'takka lurched out of her furs once more, like a skeleton from a soft cairn. She still held the pillow to her chest like it was the only thing keeping her heart in. Weak steps took her past K'ailia as if the girl were unimportant, as if she were a stranger, as if she had left the tribe and the family of her own will and was adult enough to accept everything which that meant.

She paused in front of K'yohko and said, "Your blood is not strong enough, Nunh. Thicken it before you lay with any more huntresses. Would that there were more Tias with the courage to keep you sharp." She flicked her ears in agitation. "Take the outsider and have your moment. Do not be long."

Then K'takka moved on a few steps and stopped in front of K'nahli. She bent forward, then let her knees bend until she knelt in front of the young woman. K'takka lay the back of one hand upon the girl's head, between her ears, watching the blue hair shift under her touch. The old woman exhaled, watching the way that K'nahli's young muscles wrapped her bones, holding her in place, controlled and trained. So much like her father, but so different.

Turning her gaze away from K'yohko and K'ailia, K'takka moved her hand in a very slight motion. Almost imperceptibly, she pet K'nahli's head.

Nauta Lyehga · **01-23-2014, 03:57 AM**

The sands rolled and gave way in small waves beneath his grandmother's feet as she walked. The quiet roar of the grains filled K'yohko's mind. His body was still and steady. There was a humility to his posture, and a confidence. His long breaths evenly matched the movement of sand across the tent.

K'takka's words rolled smoothly down to his ears and ran along his spine. He understood her meaning, and the implication of asking this moment with his daughter. And yet he did not regret his choice or stutter in following through with them. There was no fear in him. Not of Tias with courage, nor of his thinning blood; K'takka's warning did not strike him with fear. He took them in stride, with a grace that only the Nunh K'yohko could, and the man stood.

It was a powerful and graceful movement as his spine unfurled and the sands fell away from his hair and face. His legs worked to bring him upright and his eyes fell to Grandmother in a short thankfulness of her cooperation.

Yohko's eyes turned to K'ailia, and he moved to her side and picked her up by the collar of her shirt and set her on her feet. Never would he carry his daughters when they had two working legs to use. Dragging however, was another matter entirely.

"Come." He ordered shortly to K'ailia before turning and striding across the tent. His feet glided smoothly across the ground, leaving barely an imprint.

Yohko ducked out of the tent and waited a short moment for his daughter to follow before leading on. He moved across the tent, purpose and power in his stride before pausing finally only a little ways from the camp at a large group of rocky boulders that broke the sand's vast landscape of nothingness.

He waited for K'ailia to stop in front of him before he inhaled and asked but a single thing from her.

"Explain yourself."

Kailia · **01-23-2014, 04:44 AM**

K'ailia felt herself being lifted up, then set on her feet. She was thankful at least her father would give her the dignity of walking out on her own feet with her head held high. She followed him through the camp.

"Explain yourself."

Her father had asked what she was hoping. She nodded, took a deep breath to steady herself before looking him in the eyes.

"It began when I was sent away from the camp to Gridania. Or rather, when I returned. The family I thought of every day since I left, avoided me. Looked upon me as though I was a stranger, an outsider." she began, her ears going into a neutral state, as her tail held limp, but slightly curled, indicating her relaxed state.

She motioned to the camp behind them, "I thought of nothing but the tribe, of the suffering of our people. And it took meeting with my sisters for us to come up with the idea of the tribe meeting."

She lowered her hand, her ears drooped, "And when I joined the scouting team to Ul'dah, I had thoughts of leaving the tribe, because I could not bear seeing the tribe destroy itself. And when I tried to tell my mother, it ended in a bad fight."

Taking a deep breath, to steady herself she continued, "But K'ile, the tia I did not much like, talked to me. I told him my feelings, and he got my mother and me back together. I put away my thoughts of leaving the tribe. He reassured me the tribe would not die. And... I expressed to him that I have no intentions of ever mating."

She clenched her fists at that last bit before calming herself once more, though her tail was still slightly bristling, "When we got to Eastern Thanalan though, that's when things started going bad. It was storming, and K'haali and I split off in Drybone to ask about the area, while mother and K'ile took refuge in the Inn. When we got back though mother had ran away for no explained reason, forcing us to go out into the rain to try and find her."

She looked back up at her father, "I was the one that found her, kneeling over a grave I knew nothing of, and we went and looked at a potential place for the tribe before returning to Drybone. We wen back to the spot, all four of us, and as we arrived, the rain stopped and Azeyma seemed to smile on us, as the sun shined on the land."

"But then K'ile and mother wanted to scout an Amalj'aa camp, and they wanted me and K'haali to look around as well together. But that didn't happen. Haali went off on her own, and I was stuck waiting on everyone to get back. So I took visits to the town while waiting.", she said, her ears perking up, and her tail returning to it's relaxed state.

She shook her head, "But then I got that letter from Gridania about K'tahjha. So I took it back to camp and found mother and K'ile hurt. K'haali said I should heal them since I was trained to do so. But neither wanted me to heal them. They wanted me to heal the other. So I used magic to mend both of them at the same time before speaking of the letter."

Again her fists clenched, ears flattened, and her tail began bristling up again, "K'ile was opposed to taking the girl. He said they couldn't even make me into a proper tribe-mate. I wanted desperately to fit in, so I had offered to give myself over to be molded as he put it, into a proper tribe mate. But then K'ile told me to think twice because he would force me to mate. Even knowing my feelings towards that, he used it as a weapon to discourage me from learning."

Her tail's tip began twitching, "Then came the day mother and I went to Ul'dah to meet Ventus. The meeting seemed to had gone well but then a few days later, I was called into the medical ward. Mother was hurt bad... she was going to die..."

She looked once more up at K'yohko, "And I used my magic again, to save her, but she wasn't supposed to move for a couple days at least. But she got up and ran away, using the Aetherway. I was furious with her, she'd been running away a lot since we got to Drybone. So I took a guard with me, given him special knock out darts to use on me if I did anything out of line and tracked her down."

Taking a deep breath she continued, "When I found her, K'ile immediately drew his spear and pointed it at my head. I was still quite furious, and I cast an earth spell that would of ended any chance of him ever becoming nuhn. But mother jumped in the way. I could tell... the two have a relationship, and I suspect it is on a mating level. K'ile had told me I was not welcomed and that I should leave. So I declared I was no longer part of the tribe."

Her ears returned to a neutral state, but her tail's tip continued twitching, "then a few days ago, K'ile showed up in Ul'dah, shortly after mother brought me my things. He said he wanted me to come back to the tribe camp as an outsider, to represent outsiders and establish relations with the tribe. He apologized for his actions, and I agreed to the invitation."

"He also told me, that mother's hip was broken. K'haz I thought had healed it. He was there when I found mother and K'ile. So I went to mother's inn room, and told her that K'ile met with me, and that I would be accompanying them back to this tribe camp, but I also knew about her hip and wanted to heal it, since I was the one that hurt her." she said, her tail finally ceasing it's twitching and returning to it's calmed state.

Shaking her head she sighed, "Instead, mother got violent, throwing things at the door I was behind. She seemed to did not want to see K'ile, or have anything to do with me again. I lost my temper and broke the door down to try and calm her down. Instead, she yelled at me, and said I was disrespectful because I said she was behaving childishly. She ran away soon after and that was the last I saw of her."

"So... then Ventus, went into a coma, and I became the new Headmaster of Ul'dah Garden. I thought of my family, and of the invitation that K'ile extended. I also remembered the ones who left the tribe, who ran away and never explain themselves. I did not want to be some coward who always runs away, never facing my past or my decisions. So I chose to return here, as an outsider, to offer the tribe Garden's aid in the move. And... to face whatever judgment the tribe would cast on me." she said. Her tail curled between her legs.

"And what I have said is the absolute truth from my perspective. I was treated as an outsider, and told I was no longer welcomed. But I wont turn my back on the tribe. I still want to help protect the tribe, even if it is on the outside." she declared.

She finally went silent. She had finally said, all she had wanted to say. And if her father now asked her to leave, she would do so with no argument. She held respect for the tribe, even after the burning powder. She felt now, her visit back, was no longer a waste of her time.

K'nahli · **01-23-2014, 11:17 AM**

K'nahli did not stir as those around her continued speaking as though her presence was no longer recognised. K'takka, the bitter woman's words toward her father, they were very harsh, insulting even... but sadly, they were also true. Perhaps it was too much coincidence indeed for so many of his daughters to be demonstrating some form of weakness, be it psychological of physical. Was there something wrong with K'yohko? With his parenting? With his blood? K'nahli exhaled a little more heavily at the thought, though it would be perceived as insignificant and fall unnoticed to all else.

No. K'yohko was fine. For the girl to accept such a convenient excuse like that... it would be unacceptable. He was not the reason for her flaws; only she could be held accountable for herself, as K'ailia could for her own.

Momentarily distracted by the thought and before K'nahli had realised it, K'yohko was bowing humbly alongside her, submitting his dignity and pride in exchange for some discreet counsel with his wayward daughter. The gesture tugged at K'nahli's heart a little as crimson irises concealed behind the veils of her eyelids peered past the corner of her eyes where the warmth of her father's presence resided next to her. She was unsure what the emotion was that leered over her in that moment. Could it have been a form of respect? Annoyance even? ...envy? The young girl herself could not be certain. It was a painful feeling when one could not understand their own feelings, yet K'nahli was a victim to such moments all too frequently.

K'nahli's ears twitched minutely as the silent patter of weightless feet carried themselves across the dry sand and in her direction. K'takka's approaching presence was unmistakable as she slowly and quietly drew nearer to K'nahli, the elder's attention clearly focused upon the young huntress now, at last. K'nahli strained hard against all natural instinct not to tense her muscles to brace herself for whatever would come next. Even for likes of the weary-eyed elders, she did not doubt their perception - and the last thing she wanted was to agitate neither them nor her father any further.

Despite her best efforts however, the moment her blue hair shifted under the very tender press of K'takka's leathery fingers the girl's muscles submitted defensively. Her ears collapsed in anticipation and her eyes tightened slightly for a few seconds. Though nothing happened.

("....?")

The total surprise in response to K'takka's unforeseen gesture nearly caused the girl to open her eyes in bewilderment. Was she trying to say that she understood K'nahli? Or that perhaps her actions were simply forgiven? The girl hesitated at the thought. No, that couldn't be right... as strange as it was, things were not that simple.

She remained silent and motionless despite her confusion. It was all she could do until she was formerly addressed. At the very least, her father had departed from their presence now. A significant amount of tension had been lifted from her weighted shoulders.

Twinflame · **01-23-2014, 04:35 PM**

Staring at K'nahli's head, ignoring K'yohko and K'ailia as they left, K'takka waited a time while she watched the strands of blue hair move against her wizened hand. Once the Nunh and his errant daughter were gone, K'takka withdrew her hand.Â
"There is no shame in humility," K'takka said, "Dignity is important, but pride is an illness. No person who is reluctant to lay their face in the sand has anything at all to take pride in. They have no beauty, strength, or respect. And yet..." She reached around K'nahli's head and pressed the sharp point of a fingernail beneath the girl's chin, applying a very slight, careful pressure to urge the girl to lift her face. ""Raise your head, K'nahli Yohko. But do not raise it past your shoulders. If the posture is uncomfortable, it is because that is not how you are meant to sit."

The expression on K'takka's face softened, much like it had for K'yohko earlier, and her voice grew smooth. "K'nahli, you are meant to stand tall, dignified and idolized by the tribe, and you desire that for yourself, don't you?Â But do not flee the consequences of your decisions. Learn from your father. He bent the lowest of all, face fast to the sand, the most humble man in the Sagolii. And because of that he is able to stand so much straighter than anyone else. When you have born deep humiliation into your heart, without hesitation or resentment, but with gratitude instead, then you can have pride which no one may question."

The Elder breathed deeply, and her old body shivered. "Do you understand this lesson, K'nahli?"

K'nahli · **01-23-2014, 07:02 PM**

K'nahli's eyes opened carefully once K'takka began speaking though they did not release themselves from the safety of the sand that lay beneath her remarkably larger shadow. To K'nahli, the tent seemed to fall into a dead silence all except for the steady, aged voice of the frail miqo'te who spoke her wisdom down to the lost child kneeling before her. The young archer clung to them as though they were a safety line extending out to her in the void; feeling that she had to try hard to understand what her elder had to say. K'takka was a being whom offered little comfort where it was without necessity, though she was not a fool whose words held little to no meaning.

A prickling sensation caused K'nahli's eyes to grow more wide and behold her great-grand mother as a feeble, bony finger poked beneath her chin and drew it upward to face ahead. Various layers of silk and cotton decorated with gold adornments enclosed the frail and once intimidating form of the hunched old woman whom revealed a notably different expression in comparison to the one K'nahli had seen before. It was a peculiar side of the woman that the girl was not familiar with, though it was distinguishably genuine; perhaps even the closest display of warmth she could provide to the girl, at least in these circumstances. K'nahli listened carefully as K'takka continued to speak, illustrating her father in a positive light and drawing out a lesson that K'nahli should take from him and his actions. The mention of his name still did not sit comfortably with her though she had to agree, for even she had felt something when K'yohko had submitted in the way that he did.

When her elder concluded with her teachings, K'nahli's lips parted to speak, though hesitation stole all sound from her throat. She wanted to tell K'takka that it was actually neither her nor the rest of the elders that she had fled from, nor was it the fear of consequence at their hands. However, the girl realised, that was besides the point. In the end she did run away from something; K'yohko. She ran from reality, from the consequences of her actions, even if it had already been administered. It did not matter in what manner she did so, the lesson was the same.

Aside from that, it was not a topic she wished to bring up recklessly.

The girl's eyes averted away to the side and back down to the ground as a thought crossed her mind. Perhaps the topic was too uncomfortable for her to speak while retaining her gaze within the depths of K'takka's clouded eyes or maybe it was just a natural reflex. Regardless, her gaze would not return as she offered her response.

"Do you believe I can be redeemed, elder.... even when I do not?" she began with an honest and inquisitive tone as her eyes softened into a melancholic appearance. Her words in fact referred to her behaviour as a whole over the past five years and not merely this evening's incident, though she felt assured that that much was obvious to the elderly miqo'te.

"You would ask me if I understand, and to it I could truthfully confirm that I do, but..."

She paused.

"...understanding is not enough. I cannot trust myself to follow true to your words for long even were I subjected to ceaseless sanction.." she admitted dangerously with an indifferent blink. The truth in her words simply poured out of her as though she failed to understand that they carried tremendous risk.

"It is not out of disrespect... nor is it because I am..... st-..ubborn.." the girl trailed off in reluctant admittance to her own nature as the weight of her own words was finally realised when it came to a self critical comment.

A soft sigh escaped past her lips before her eyes momentarily returned to meet with K'takka's before quickly fleeting away again.

"Mayhap I am a case that is unsalvagable.."

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A visit home [K Tribe RP]

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