A visit home [K Tribe RP]

[Naunet]

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]

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]

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.

[Lyraciilee]

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]

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.

[Lyraciilee]

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]

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]

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]

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. 

"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? 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]

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.."

[Twinflame]

"Idiot!" K'takka snapped her sharpened fingernail away from K'nahli's chin fast and harsh, so that it would hurt, her tone hardening suddenly, "You are not broken and you do not need to be salvaged! If you think I am wrong it is because you think are a better judge than I am, and that is pride."

 

The elder rose to her feet and stepped back from the girl, "You are speaking both from cowardice and selfishness. You are afraid, and you are focused on your own feelings, giving in to the fear and letting it guide you. Do not concern yourself with redemption; you have yet to collapse. You need to collapse."

[K'nahli]

The scratch mark left by K'takka stung fiercely as her nail sliced through the girl's delicate skin causing it to bleed lightly. Without a moment's delay, the young archer's expression quickly grew fierce with anger as K'takka's outburst summoned the burning, fighter within her. Defensive K'nahli had arrived.

 

"Your claim to being a better judge of someone you know nothing about is no better!" the girl spat with a vicious tone in response. In her mind, no matter how well she thought she knew K'nahli, it was nothing that would put her in a position to make such claims.

 

"Knowledge and experience can only make you so wise, elder. Treating your audience as though their opinions are of little value next to yours is obscenely arrogant" she continued with a decreasing resonance, though her anger still prevailed throughout the way she spoke.

 

The girl glanced away in disgruntlement, taking a second or two before speaking again.

 

"You are right in that I am selfish, but I do not seek redemption. I.. cannot change" K'nahli added more somberly, though her expression retained an irritated appearance as she eyed the weatherproof fabric of the tent that enclosed them with an absent stare.

 

 

"And I am not one who learns more effectively through fear or punishment..." were her final words spoken as a form of jab toward K'takka's unnecessary outburst. Ironic as it was for her to think such a thing.

[Twinflame]

"No," K'takka said, the statement straight and final, as though it contained an entire dialogue and closed out every thought. She turned away from K'nahli, her head and shoulders swaying tiredly. He sharp fingernails dug into the colored pillow at her chest. "You need to leave now. There is nothing else to say to you."

[Lyraciilee]

A long, but enlightening explanation. Through all of K'ailia's twists and turns and head nodding and sighs, K'yohko remained as stone as ever. His eyes closed and his ears stood up tall, taking in the words as they tumbled from her mouth and slipped into his ears. And yet, for all her explanations he could not make sense of her decisions. They were rash and thoughtless, like she had always been; like her mother. Especially from Drybone... He hadn't realized that they went to that place, to Eastern Thanalan.

 

It came as no surprise to K'yohko that K'luha was running away. Especially if she was away from the tribe and out anywhere near Eastern Thanalen. Keeping her away from that place and busy with K'ailia had really been the only reason she had been so sane for all those years after really. Or, it was what K'yohko reasoned and the reason he had finally given into K'luha in the first place. Which in turn, lead to his placement in the sand today with his wayward daughter.

 

However with all of her words done and said, things didn't add up to the Nunh. How could she have left in the first place when she still supposedly cared? He knew K'luha had told her the implications of leaving the tribe. But in truth, she was still a child and perhaps did not actually understand what leaving the tribe meant. She seemed to have said it rashly out of hurt feelings, more than an actual desire to leave. This, to K'yohko, seemed more reasonable. And more reason to propose his solution.

 

"A long time ago..." K'yohko began after a long silence, "Your mother went to Ul'dah. She was fascinated with the trinkets and people and city life. She expressed a deep desire to move to the city. She ran away. I brought her home and promised her never to tell that she had ever left. That is why when she first turned of age, she chose me as her mate. And her first child was not you. It was a boy. When he was only a few months old, he died. Her child was killed and she was beaten to a near death by a pack of Amaljaa in Eastern Thalanen. I brought her back, but she has never been the same since. Two months he died, she came to me demanding a second opportunity. In the void left by her dead son, she devoted every once of her being to keeping you safe and healthy."

 

There was a long moment of silence in which K'yohko caught his breath. His arms crossed slowly over his chest and he looked to the vast blue sky overhead.

 

"To see you leave, perhaps has reopened wounds that never healed properly. Returning to Drybone, probably also prompted her behavior. However, that is the case of your mother..."

 

His eyes turned and looked to K'ailia finally, casting judgement upon her, but not damnation. His ears twitched in a faint motion display only a mystery of emotions and his tail shifted tightly behind him.

 

"K'ailia, do you know what it means to leave the tribe?" The question was simple, and yet it stood with such a weight upon it may have crushed her.

[Kailia]

K'ailia's ears flattened, "It meant going out on ones own. To be away from family and make a life for themselves... I never wanted to leave home. But it felt like I was being forced away. K'ile telling me I was not welcomed around them..."

 

Her tail curled between her legs, "And when he said he'd force me to mate... mother and K'haali never spoke against it..."

[Lyraciilee]

"No." His answer was blunt. For her to not even understand what she had done... his supisious were correct. And thus, his solution felt equally correct. "To leave the tribe means to deny your family. To leave means to purposefully and knowingly, walk away forever and leave us to die. The tribe must not waste resources, for we have none to waste. Those whom we nuture and raise into adults, must take responsbility for the burdens placed during their childhood, and seek to repay the tribe with their talents. To leave the tribe, is to waste everything we have given to you and leave your family to die in the desert."

 

K'yohko's voice had grown hard and strict with his wordy explanation. There was not a way to stress this enough. It was completely beyond his understanding that K'ailia did not understand what she did when she left her family.

 

"K'ailia, do you care about your family and the survival of this tribe?"

[Kailia]

K'ailia listened to her father tell what it truly meant. And it finally dawned upon her, what she had done. That was never her intention. She never wanted her tribe to die.

 

"K'ailia, do you care about your family and the survival of this tribe?"

 

She looked up at her father, this time as his daughter, "I still love my family. I love my mother, and my sisters. I want to help the tribe. Even if I cannot return to the tribe, I want to help the tribe."

 

Her ears finally stood up, and her tail uncurled, "I'd do anything to help ensure the tribes safety. I am even willing to use Ul'dah Garden's resources, so mother wont have to deal with the bad merchants no more."

[K'nahli]

K'takka's reply was not one K'nahli had expected... nor one that she had wanted. The young girl's expression gradually softened though it still bared hint of her slowly fading agitation. Her crimson eyes narrowed in focus upon her weary elder's back that silently spoke of only the disappointment she held for K'nahli in that moment.

 

("You won't even try...?")

 

It was a strange realisation that had only occurred to her after the fact. Though her words were sincere, she did not want a K'takka to submit so easily.

 

"...do you yet see what you are dealing with?" the girl inquired after a short period of silence as her eyes fell to the ground shamefully. K'nahli had regrettably proved her initial point before even a minute had passed, but it was not something she could feel any form of satisfaction from. She sighed quietly to herself in lament.

 

"Though I do not deserve it, I pray you can forgive me..." she added downtroddenly before offering a modest bow in silence and turning to exit the tent.

[Lyraciilee]

K'yohko could see the realization upon K'ailia's visage, and it was indeed as he thought. The child did not know what she said when she said it. Was she then, really able to be held accountable for such a thing? Although she had been considered an adult and to have passed her trial, it was decided too hastily. She was still too much a child to be held accountable like an adult could. Yohko was not sure what was at fault for this slow maturing of her mind, but he did not fret himself with where to place blame.

 

Instead he slowly looked his daughter over. She was genuine enough, surely. He could see it in the way her body moved and the light in her eyes. She loved her family and she did not know leaving the tribe meant to condemn them to death.

 

Yohko breathed out a heavy breath of air. The Calamity had stunted growth in all peoples and left everyone burned and scarred and sick with a poison.

 

"How is it that you help the tribe by being in the city?" Yohko looked earnestly at his daughter. This was something K'ailia needed to realize. In what ways did she help her family survive by being so far away? She needed to bring forth tangible proof of how precisely she helped the tribe by working and living in the city.

[Kailia]

"How is it that you help the tribe by being in the city?"

 

K'yohko's big question to her. She looked her father in the eyes before answering.

 

"Father, our tribe is starving. In the time I was away, there was one less mouth to feed. I am not good at hunting. My strengths lie in healing. And then there are the ones who take trips to the city to get supplies. I've seen what Ul'dah has done to my mother." she said. For the first time since she came back, she refered to her K'yohko as father.

 

"Not all outsiders are good. But there are still many good outsiders. I've been given full control of Ul'dah Garden because of Ventus's condition. A condition, that had resulted in mother being almost killed..." she looked to her feet.

 

"I never want to see my mother hurt again. I am conflicted. I want to be here, home, but I also want to continue learning skills on the outside and try to change the world around us, so the tribe can survive. So... I guess in the end, I do not know. I don't know the first thing about running something like Garden..." she explained, before loooking back at her father with her bright green eyes.

 

"So what is your idea? K'ile when he gave me the invitation, suggested I be a representative between the tribe and outsiders. But I do not trust his judgments. Even now, I still remember him aiming his spear at me and telling me I was not welcomed and that I should leave. But... you... you genuinely care, or you would not be explaining and talking to me." she gave a weak smile.

[Lyraciilee]

Although K'ailia did not answer his question, it pleased K'yohko that she finally understood him just a little bit. He cared deeply about his people, about his girls. He had not been involved directly in their upbringing perhaps as much as he wanted to or should have been, but it did not mean he disregarded them or cared any less. His daughters were very precious people, and when they truly needed his help, he had long ago vowed to be there for them.

 

While K'yohko also was faintly tempted to foster K'ailia's dislike of K'ile, as he had mixed feelings about the red-head and his former brood, he would never have someone unjustly hate another family member. For even though K'ile had swung to new lows in his behavior, K'yohko felt he still had good intentions at heart.

 

"K'ailia, you did not answer my question." He sighed lightly, not frustrated with her or angry, but patient. She struggled to understand things, so he needed to spell things out clearly for the girl. "How do you help the tribe by being in the city? How do you help us on a daily basis gather food and water so we don't starve? How do you help up thrive in the desert, when you are not here? When someone is ill or injured, how do you help heal them when you are so far away? Give me proof. Give me tangible things. Tell me how it is you think you can do these things in the city away from us." K'yohko looked earnestly at his daughter, imploring her for the answers to these questions. Could he get more blunt than this? Perhaps not. He hoped she understood this time why no one believed she was helping the tribe in the city.

[Kailia]

K'ailia listened and closed her eyes, processing the questions. When next she opened them, it was with sadness, "I don't... I am useless being away..."

 

But then, what was she to do about Garden? But for now, she understood, she needs to put those matters away, and focus on the tribe, since she was here. But then... what was her father's plan?

[Lyraciilee]

She understood. The sadness on her face told him that she finally understood. It was a relief to him that he was able to explain it clearly. K'yohko finally understood a little more about K'ailia as well. His daughter was so unlike him in many ways and yet, she at least shared his deep caring for the tribe.

 

"This has been my point, our point, since you left. You said you wanted to help the tribe and only thought of us when you went to the city, however..." K'yohko faintly gestured towards K'ailia, his voice was softer than usual, as was his expression.

 

K'yohko dropped his arms and folded them under his chest again. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, ears flicking lightly as when a soft breeze blew by.

 

"You are still a child. And there is nothing wrong with that." His eyes opened and he looked to his daughter. "I do not think when you returned, that you passed your trial. Your behavior is not consistant with your magical prowess, and because of that, I believe your status as an adult should be revoked. I also do not think you should be held to your words of leaving the tribe, when you did not understand them as an adult. I will ask them for amnesty on your behalf, on the conditions that your status as an adult is revoked and that you will stay with the tribe. As the outside world is still so much of value however, I will ask that you stay with us until we move out of the Sagoli. There is much you can still learn from us K'ailia. As much to learn from us as there is from the outside world. Whence we are properly settled in Eastern Thalanen, I will ask for privilege for you. In which you may spend time in the city so long as you return for at least a week of each month." This was K'yohko's only solution other than to chain K'ailia down. He was unsure if the elders would agree, but to hold a child accoutable for things they did not understand did not settle well with K'yohko. He would speak on her behalf, but even that may not have enough weight to it. But it was worth a try.

 

"Is this agreeable to you? Or would you prefer to simply leave the tribe now that you know what it truly means?"

[Kailia]

K'ailia was to surprised at the suggestion. So his solution, would be to revoke her status as an adult. She'd be required to stay with the tribe, until the tribe moved. She would need to at least get those affairs in order.

 

"When... would I be able to retake my trials father? And... I still believe we can use Garden's resources to help the tribe during the move." she asked, "But I will agree to remain here till the tribe moved. I am assuming the move is soon?"

[Lyraciilee]

"You would have to make more than a simple hunting trial this time K'ailia. The matter of retaking a trial will have to be discussed at length with the elders until a suitable test can be found." K'yohko explained briefly before looking back towards the Elder's tent. They should head back soon if they were to make any progress at all. His eyes turned back towards K'ailia and he nodded affirmatively.

 

"As soon as we have enough food and K'luha and K'ile have returned, we will probably begin the move. I haven't yet discussed it at length with the elders, but I intend to do so shortly. Now come, my voice is growing hoarse with all of this talk." K'yohko turned and started his pace back to the elder's tent.