'til Trees Swallow All [open]

[ansemaru]

 

The forest just outside of Gridania was not difficult to navigate. It wasn't heavily logged, gods forfend, like some wooded regions near towns or cities. The elementals wouldn't have stood for that- but at the same time, thanks to the respect afforded them, the trees of the Black Shroud were less dense there, as a respect paid to the Hearers and whoever would listen to them. It was somewhere where winding dirt roads still cut through the moss and fallen leaves, where the dappled sunlight easily counterbalanced the cool green shade and where the ground was unbroken by the Calamity.

It sent a tingle of worry down Ahlek'zi's spine, fluffing out the fur on his tail as though he was actually in physical danger. That wouldn't do at all. His path had led him out of Gridania's gates and quickly off the main road, through scrubby undergrowth and unruly saplings, and though he was fairly certain nobody could see him, he still felt a crawling guilt for showing outward signs of worry.

 

The fact that he was traveling through so much underbrush in a place where none could see him was just as worrisome, however. A few years ago, there was a path here. Now there was a faint track where the plants were younger than the surrounding ones, cutting through the undergrowth that made it nigh-impossible for even one as small as Ahlek'zi to navigate. He'd thought to carry a botanist's axe, but without proper clearance and understanding of the area's environment, it would be unwise to hack away at young shrubbery with wild abandon. This place was being reclaimed by the forest- that wasn't something to get upset over. It was the cycle of nature.

 

It made Ahlek'zi feel ill.

 

Up ahead, he could see an area where the plants didn't yet grow above head level, not quite a clearing but close enough to count. This was, by all accounts, his destination. Disregarding the tangle of branches and leaves between point a and point b, the boy rushed ahead, pushing foliage out of his way and stumbling over unseen obstacles in amongst the small shoots already carpeting the former path. Twigs snagged on his robe and broke off, but he no longer cared- nervous energy coursed through his veins, heating him up like a fever, and he finally burst through the bushes to the other side.

 

There was a tree here- not an impressive tree, not huge like the Guardian or imbued with magical significance like the hedgetrees. It was large and old, and very centrally located, but by all accounts it was an ordinary sort of tree. No markings or decorations, nothing at all to differentiate it from any other similar elm. The ground around it was unsurprisingly covered in leaf litter, fungus, and small plants, whichever could grow in the spotty sunlight that made it through the canopy above- and in the space of five years.

 

Ahlek'zi bent over to catch his breath, and looked around more thoroughly, not just at the plants. There were houses here. Small wooden houses, not unlike the ones being constructed in the Lavender Beds, but abandoned, faded and rotting. There were no overt signs of damage to any of them, nor old bloodstains. Not a single skeleton or cast-off weapon. No signs of Voidsent, Ixal, or even the greenwrath. Just a collection of six little houses, silent and empty, wearing moss and young plants like a funeral shroud. There was no sound, no movement here, save for the light summer breeze through the leaves above and the distant calls of birds- certainly nothing approaching a voice.

 

When the Calamity came, not all was destroyed with a bang, all fire and bloodshed and falling rock. This destruction was the gangrene that set in after the wound- families, businesses, and communities falling apart with deaths and loss of capacity to be self-sustaining. And certainly, some things that had started to fester deserved nothing worse than a merciful death, so that nature could reclaim what was hers in the end.

 

But the sight of the forest taking back this place only brought a dull ache to Ahlek'zi's chest, and he found himself sitting down amongst the ferns, staring at nothing in particular until the ache would leave him.

[Knight Kat]

“If I find him, I will shoot an arrow to his foot!” Raih'a Kaatah declared with a stern scowl as he held his bow in his hands almost as if he were preparing to fire it. “That would stop that boy from wandering for a while!” Raih'a concluded.

 

The whole clan was worried and irritated. Yabi'to Jakkya, the youngest member of the Shriekshroom Clan, was missing. He had fiercely declared that he was ready to come of age, and would wander the Black Shroud to find glory, and make a name for himself. The problem was; however, that he was only twelve years old.

 

Kiht Jakkya gave a fierce disapproving scowl to Raih'a Kaatah after his remark. She knew he wasn't serious, but she didn't find the situation to be humorous in the least. Yabi'to was Kiht's only surviving brother. He was one of the only two siblings Kiht had left.

 

Zana Jakkya, Kiht's older sister, noticed the fire in the expression of her feisty younger sister. Always being the more composed, graceful and wisest of the Jakkya siblings, Zana gently placed her left hand on Kiht's shoulder. “We WILL find him sister, be at ease” Zana assured in a gentle, comforting tone.

 

However, Kiht's emotional fires weren't so easily extinguished this day. She turned to her sister in an aggressive jerking motion causing Zana's hand to slide off of her shoulder. “He is likely going to become Diremite food! I will not be at ease!” Kiht retorted, her voice and tone being louder and harsher than she had intended. The clan members had begun to gather around in a circle; talking amongst themselves with everyone trying to speak at the same time. Their voices were overlapping each other, and nothing was getting properly planned or even understood. The voices quickly hushed as a robed figure stepped into the center of the encircling clan members. All attention was quickly drawn to the figure of an old woman. She was Raih Kaatah, eldest member of the clan, and the leading Matriarch.

 

The Matriarch composed herself as the clan hushed around her. They all looked to her; prepared to hear what she had planned. Raih looked to Kiht with a sympathetic expression. “Little Yabi'to most likely set off hours ago while we were all asleep” Raih explained while looking to Kiht and Zana; her tone sounding apologetic. The Matriarch then redirected her gaze to the rest of the clan; looking around at the 8 other individuals.

 

“What we should do is quite obvious. We will spread out in every direction, search every corner of the Shroud and refuse to stop until we find the Jakkya boy.” The Matriarch briefly paused then looked back to Kiht and Zana. “We will each set off alone. This will be very dangerous; however, we must do this if we are to cover as much ground as possible. I want you all to swallow your pride, and ask for assistance from anyone that seems willing. We will all meet back at this spot in one cycle. If we have not found the boy by then, we will set off again in another part of the Shroud”. After another brief pause, the Matriarch looked around at all the other clan members again. “No time to waste!” She ordered.

 

At the Matriarch's final words, the clan members scattered; arming themselves with their weapons and gearing up. Kiht grabbed her trusty feathered bone harpoon and strapped it to her back. “Nymeia, please help me find him!” Kiht whispered to the goddess of fate. She then set off into the Black Shroud with quick even strides.

 

 

Kiht wandered for quite awhile; putting all of her tracking skills to the test. She listened to the reactions of the birds, watched the patterns in the soil, smelled the air and examined the brush. The Shroud was Kiht's home, but there was no denying the elaborate nature of the place. There were countless changes in terrain to navigate. Rivers, rocks, hills, trees, and thanks to the Gridanians, settlements. The forest was complicated, and there were many places Yabi'to could be.

 

On the other hand, the main paths that were traveled by caravans and Gridanians were the places where Yabi'to was least likely to be. If he had been on those paths, he would have been discovered by Wood Wailers by now. The Matriarch was likely going to attempt to contact the Gridanian authorities to see if they had found Yabi'to. This meant that Kiht's best choice was to search away from the main roads. It was a daunting effort though. Navigating through brush was slow and physically demanding. However, Kiht soon found what she thought was a clue.

 

Kiht was brought to a pause near a seemingly random part of the Shroud. It was not the environment that immediately stopped her, but a scent. She lifted her head and started repeatedly sniffing the air. It was the feint scent of a male Miqo'te! It wasn't that male Miqo'te were particularly smelly, but Kiht could distinguish the pheromones of a male using her race's innately powerful sense of smell. The Summer breeze was quite helpful as it was perfect for carrying the various smells of the environment.

 

Kiht began thoroughly examining her surroundings. She took notice of some brush nearby that was oddly out of proportion in age and size to the brush surrounding it. The younger brush seemed to form a path. This wasn't really an unusual sight in the Twelveswood, but some of the branches and stems of the bushes and plants were broken in a few places. Kiht bent down near the vegetation. She sniffed the broken parts. They were fresh! Someone or something had recently stepped through the brush! Combining that with the feint scent of a male Miqo'te, and her hopes soared. She burst into what she had intended to be a run, but the brush was so thick that she ended up crashing awkwardly through it like a mad boar. She followed the nearly gone path at a hectic pace. Suddenly, the scent had become stronger! She was getting closer. The brush along the trail was showing more and more damage. The person or creature that went through before had started moving faster with more forcefulness. Was Yabi'to in danger? She wondered.

 

“Yabi'to! Sound off my brother!” Kiht yelled ahead; hoping that he was close by. She continued to crash recklessly through the brush as fast as she could. However, she would be stopped finally by a root that was stronger than her foot. She tripped and tumbled with a surprised “eeek” into a not-so-clear, clearing. Kiht quickly jumped to her feet and brushed herself off with her hands. She'd be blushing if she had thought someone had seen such a disgraceful display of agility and balance. She began to survey the area. An ancient-looking elm with some undergrowth, and six small wooden houses were the most prominent structures in the area. Kiht was suddenly hit with an eerie feeling of familiarity, but maybe her mind was simply playing tricks on her as a result of her fatigue. The place was obviously abandoned, but Kiht couldn't immediately figure out why. She didn't have time to think about it, for the scent she had been tracking was right there! She could not tell exactly where he was, but she could definitely tell that the male Miqo'te was very close by. She began to slowly assess the environment. However, now that the scent was stronger, she could tell it wasn't the scent of Yabi'to. She knew her brother too well, and this was not his scent.

 

But if it wasn't her brother she had found then who was it?

 

“Hello?” Kiht called out to the area.

[ansemaru]

Ahlek'zi heard a voice, and the unmistakable sound of something crashing through the underbrush. A person. A woman, from the timbre of the the call, though she was distant enough that he couldn't make out what she had shouted. He rose to his feet, looking around the clearing and through the surrounding trees to try and determine where exactly she was coming from- and what she wanted. All he could see was trunks and dense underbrush, however. He knew it wasn't safe, precisely- she could be a poacher or a bandit, or even a particularly fractious Wood Wailer who'd try to haul him in over some perceived crime. There wasn't time to think about which direction she was coming from or who she was. Ahlek'zi had to take cover.

 

A few of the small houses were built after the fashion of the East Shroud, raised off the ground with a gap underneath, separating the homey wooden planks of the building from ground that was all too willing to offer up rot and burrowing insects. Normally, they were walled off, but five years of neglect had left one of the houses with a gaping hole in this siding, opening up a makeshift shelter. Feeling a mild pang of disappointment at the home's state of disrepair, Ahlek'zi darted over to it, slipping inside the gap effortlessly thanks to his small frame. It didn't seem like the hole had opened up on its own, which would have been worrisome were it not for the more pressing concern at hand. Whatever miteling or tree slug had trundled through the rotting planks and made it would have to wait, if it was even still around.

 

Ahlek'zi watched as another Miqo'te crashed into the clearing, as clumsily and recklessly as a wild boar on a rampage. That... wasn't exactly expected.

 

 

Was she chased? That was awfully careless. 

 

The girl had recovered from her blunder quickly, though, and proceeded to give the area a look over. It wasn't immediately apparent what she was looking for, just that she was looking for something, rather than running from something.

 

 

Doesn't look like she's in immediate danger. But she still might be danger herself. 

 

He hunkered down in the damp soil and bits of scattered and rotten wood, ears flattened against his head and eyes narrowed as he observed. From the weapon she carried and her garb, the girl looked to be a nomad, from one of the Keeper of the Moon tribes that traditionally called the Black Shroud home. There was something familiar about her, but not familiar enough that Ahlek'zi could put a finger on it. Her face? Her tail? He had no mind for people, but he felt a growing suspicion that he'd seen this girl before. The feeling that she was of no harm grew along with it, but it wasn't until she called out again that he felt at all comfortable in leaving his hiding place.

 

Ahlek'zi crawled out of the hole in the building's side, paying no heed to the grime and leaf litter clinging to his clothes as he stood to face the other Miqo'te in the clearing. It took every onze of courage in his body to stand there, and a few more that he had to borrow from Nophica just to speak up and let her know he was there.

 

"O-over here. I'm not a threat," he called out, barely even a shout. His ears still remained pinned back and his tail hung low and threatened, twitching slowly back and forth in a tempo of anxiety as he balled up his fists and dug his nails into his palm.

 

I can do this. She's not going to hurt me.

[Knight Kat]

Miqo'te may have a strong sense of smell that can pick up on scents that the other races of Eorzea might not even notice, but their noses usually aren't as keen as a hound's. If Kiht could track a scent like a hound then she would have found Yabi'to by now. She knew a male Miqo'te was near, but couldn't have easily found his exact location if he hadn't revealed himself.

 

Kiht had expected the male to either continue hiding, or rise from a resting spot in the tall brush. She did not; however, expect him to seemingly appear out of nowhere. Despite the fact that she knew he was nearby, she was still taken by surprise when he spoke.

 

When she heard him, she took a startled step back with her ears mimicking his by flattening back against her head. His posture seemed threatening at first glance. His ears were back which was a sign of his fight or flight reflex in full preparedness. His fists were clenched and his tail was twitching.

 

However, what he said betrayed his true feelings, "O-over here. I'm not a threat”. His tone of voice revealed that he was possibly fearful, but certainly not enraged. And no wonder... He was one of the smallest males Kiht had ever seen; perhaps he was still an adolescent? Regardless, Kiht would not hold that against him as she was quite small herself; barely five fulms tall. However, he seemed like he was alone, and he didn't look like a warrior or hunter type. What was he doing out here?

 

She relaxed quickly after mentally processing his words. Her ears perked up, and her expression lightened from one of surprise to one of genuine curiosity. Instead of immediately responding to him, she briefly examined him. She started by looking into his eyes that were nearly shrouded by white-tipped grey locks, hanging down his forehead as long bangs. Red Keeper eyes... They were his only intimidating feature. Other than that, Kiht perceived him to be about as menacing as her kid brother.

 

Kiht opened her mouth, about to speak, but suddenly, the last thought of little Yabi'to combined with the familiar Keeper male against the backdrop of the small house sparked a surge of nostalgia. Memories from when Kiht was a kit surged through her mind like a flash of lightning.

 

She remembered a boy who was very quiet and shy. At first, she found him scary because of his red eyes. However, she would later be taught by her mother, Yabi Jakkya, to never judge any being by its outward appearance. Kiht eventually became one of the most outgoing children who had interacted with many of the other children from the various Keeper tribes and communities. So many kids, and so many memories of a forest paradise before the calamity. Nevertheless, she could not remember the forename of the shy boy with the red eyes. But one word came to mind.... Ghria. She silently mouthed the word. Was it a name, or a random word from the old, no longer commonly spoken, Keeper language? What did it have to do with this male in front of her? She wondered.

 

Kiht shook away her thoughts, and brought herself back to the present. The male had revealed himself and stated that he wasn't a threat. In the near silence of the forest with nothing but a gentle rustling of the trees in the breeze, and the distant chirping of birds, it was Kiht's turn to respond. Her easily distracted mind having delayed her response a few awkward seconds while she was lost in memory and examination of the male.

 

“Uh greetings, be at ease. I am no threat to you either.” Kiht assured as she held her hands open in front of her. She then gently placed her right hand on her chest over the position of her heart. She let her left hand hang at her side. It was a sort of customary gesture of greeting. “I am Kiht of the Jakkya family. I apologize if I disrupted your... Slumber?” She said, with hesitation at the last word. She raised an eyebrow noticing his robes were filthy because he had probably been recently laying in the dirt and/or vegetation. “Who are you? Do you perhaps, live here?” She continued, then started glancing around at the decaying houses.