Searching The Sagolii(Looking for the K tribe)

[Xha'li Moui]

Xha'li looked up towards the setting sun and sighed, he'd spent the better part of another day in the Sagolii, and he'd yet to see any sign of the K tribe.  Checking his map he kept walking, his two Chocobos following behind him, either the tribe had moved on or he was looking in the wrong spot.  Doing the math in his head he figured he had another day or two at the most before he'd have to head back to Ul'dah to get more supplies.

 

Stiffing a yawn the ginger Keeper led the two chocobos into the lee of one of the dunes for the night.

 

((OOC note about the birds, ones an adult ones a ~3-4 month old chick following Li around like its mom))

[Twinflame]

The fact that K'ile didn't know how to steer the chocobo very well and would never trust them did not mean that he also had the patience to watch them all day. The two chocobo pulling his carriage were left to themselves for minutes at a time as K'ile turned his attention to K'luha or even just dosed. Since the experience in the valley not long ago, K'ile had been worried about K'luha, worrying more about keeping his eyes on the woman and getting her home as soon as he could. He'd stopped taking breaks or letting the chocobo rest at all.

 

So it was that neither K'ile nor the chocobo were particularly paying attention during those minutes around sunset when K'ile might've smelled another person or an extra pair of chocobo otherwise. He didn't hear or smell much of anything, his gaze turned down and his ears hanging to either side, as the chocbo pulled the carriage along towards the desert traveler's back

[Xha'li Moui]

Xha'li turned around at the sound of something behind him, and upon seeing the chocobo pulled cart coming up on him grabbed the chick following him and rolled to the side.  Muttering under his breath he got up and dusted himself off, looking to see where Rin had gotten to only to chuckle as the daft bird had positioned himself right in front of the other chocobos with his wings spread out and was giving the impression he was about to charge them.

 

"Down Boy" Xha'li called to him followed by a sharp whistle before turning his attention towards the carts drivers and glaring at him, "And where in the seven hells did you learn to drive?  If I'd been much slower your birds might of trampled me."

[Twinflame]

"What!" K'ile flinched at the whistle, looking around, ears swiveling. His tired eyes didn't stay wide for long, though. The sun caught her face and he winked against it, one exhausted blue eye looking through his red bangs at the person who was shouting at him. K'ile half-suspected he was dreaming, for the apparent suddenness of the man's appearance and the way the chocobo were inexplicably multiplying.

 

"There's no good way to drive these birds," K'ile threw down the rains when he said that, noting the way the Chocobo pulling the carriage continued on unperturbed. He stood in the carriage as it continued, turning to retrieve a water skin and eyeing K'luha as he did so. The woman remained unresponsive, seemingly dazed.

[Xha'li Moui]

"No good way to drive the birds my tail." Xha'li muttered under his breath as he signaled to Rin to stop the cart's birds.  Coming up alongside the cart he called out "If you're to tired to drive them stop for the night, the desert can be dangerous at night and from your speed I don't think where ever you're going is worth risking your life."

[Twinflame]

"Don't boss me around, stranger." K'ile's ears lifted high as he turned his winking gaze back to the man in the sand. "Desert's actually better for traveling at night if you know what you're doing. Too many people die walking around in the heat all day like idiots." When the carriage jerked to a stop, K'ile looked forward to where the to chocobo pulling it appeared to be having a bit of a tiff with another chocobo that had gotten in their way. "And move your darn bird. Just being rude now."

[Xha'li Moui]

Xha'li rolled his eyes, "So the deserts safer at night even though you seem to be falling asleep at the reigns?"  With a grin Xha'li continued, "I'll give the heat of the day is brutal."

 

Shrugging Xha'li tilted his ear and continued, "Name's Xha'li Moui by the way, you wouldn't happen to know if K'zhuzu's old tribe is still in the area?"

[Twinflame]

The Tia scoffed, "Of all the names to bring up. What's it to a Keeper anyway?"

 

K'ile jumped from the carriage to collect the reins for his chocobo once move, moving out between them and the interfering bird to try and urge them past one another, but with no real idea how to do so. He said as he did, "The tribe's around. Just have to follow the markers and catch up to them."

[Xha'li Moui]

"Whats it to a Keeper?" Xha'li asked with a slight chuckle in his voice before closing his green eye and continuing, "Who says I'm a full-blood Keeper?  K'zhuzu Tia is my father."  Waving Rin over he continues, "If you're headed that way mind if I follow you?  I'm more of a mountain boy and these constantly shifting dunes make getting around a pain."

[Twinflame]

With the stink of the chocobo -- walls of avian stench eclipsing half the desert -- it was almost easy to miss the smell of the Keeper. The red-headed boy had an acrid, salty smell to him that K'ile couldn't quite place. His tired, sun-addled head shifted as he brushed the interloping chocobo aside to try and guide the two pulling his cart past them. He had to get K'luha home as soon as possible, rude travelers or no.

 

The hands of western traders, K'ile remember. It was the smell on the hands of the western traders, their skin splotched and dried from salt long before they'd arrived in the desert. They hauled seafood and ale from the coast to sell in Gridania and Ul'dah, rarely passing along the roads that circumnavigated the Sagolii like the water-line of a dried-up basin. More recently, K'ile had noted that scent while scouting locations for the tribe to migrate to, on the western coasts of Thanalan where ships from Limsa docked carrying food mined from the sea floor. The scent returned imagined visions to K'ile's mind, of a city in the ocean where a thousand ships docked, floating like a great vessel himself.

 

K'piru had said she lived in that city, and had said he might visit her there. But K'luha had said they could travel there, once, as well. She said she would take him across the ocean on a boat to see the city, her smile swelling her bronze cheeks. That offer had inspired dreams, images of a placid ocean like a mirror stretching from horizon to horizon, warm sun and humid air, a small vessel with K'luha sitting across from him. There would be amicable silence, like they kind they enjoyed after an argument but without any argument to get there: peace without conflict.

 

Even if K'piru lived there, Limsa might as well not exist if K'luha did not go there with him. All the more reason to get her home.

 

The Keeper was saying, "Who says I'm a full-blooded Keeper? K'zhuzu Tia is my father."

 

"If you can honestly say without shame that a Hipparion Tia is your father, then you've no business looking for the tribe." K'ile's response was thoughtless. There was not a moment of doubt that what the man said was true, for it made too much sense for K'zhuzu to breed with an outsider while wearing the name 'Tia'. Zhuzu had never been the brightest or the best-behaved.

 

K'airos' scent still lingered on the cart. But K'ile had ceased fearing that she no longer existed. His mind had grown tired of the fear and the worry, and it had simmered away until all that was left was a flat, sour aftertaste. K'airos might not exist. It didn't matter if he didn't get home. K'zhuzu might exist, and might have a son -- the Hipparion Tribe was isolated by blood flows beyond reason throughout the world -- but that didn't matter either. He just needed to get K'luha home.

 

Still.

 

"Listen," K'ile said, eyes, standing up, trying to look awake, "If you're better with the Chocobo than I am, jump up on there and steer us home. Tribe was here about a week ago but went east chasing water, or so the markers say. They won't be more than two days out be foot. We'll take the cart and be there by morning."

[Xha'li Moui]

Xha'li nodded with a grin, before jumping picking up the chick and getting in the cart, "Hope you don't mind sharing space with this little guy, hes only a few months old and has already been walking most of the day."  As if prompted the chick let out a tired wark before trying to curl up in Xha'li's arms.

 

Gingerly climbing into the carriage he set the chick underneath a bench where it succeeded in curling up and quickly fell asleep, with only the occasional wark or twitch while it dreamed, smiling fondly at it for a moment Xha'li went forward to take the reigns and got the carts chocobos into motion.

 

Turning towards the Seeker who had almost run him over Xha'li just gave a slight rueful grin, "I don't know what he went by back in my village, I always called him 'Pa' and he vanished when I was only 3."

[Twinflame]

"Well, that sounds like him. First thing he did to the tribe as soon as he was able was to get kicked out for being a lazy good-for-nothing." K'ile moved back in the carriage, frowning at the baby chocobo for a moment. But he couldn't really blame it for being what it was until it got old enough to know better, so he let it remain unmolested.

 

K'luha, on the other hand, was doused with water again. K'ile took a drink of water before stoppering the canteen again, looking back at X'hali and saying, "Hope it doesn't run in the blood. I'd be your uncle, but the way. K'ile Tia."

[Lyraciilee]

K'luha lifted her head a bit at the dousing, making a somewhat loud and incoherent noise. Her head remained lifted for a time, and she blinked some of the sleep and fever from her eyes while she tried to look around. She struggled vainly against her bindings and frowned.

 

"What...? Where... " she mumbled, words finally coherent if not confused.

[Twinflame]

One of K'ile's ears twitched, and then he looked down at K'luha, suddenly right awake. He crouched down next to her, his tail flipping back and forth behind him, "Almost home. You're dehydrated and I'm worried." He tried offering her the canteen.

[Lyraciilee]

Home...? Were they really? K'luha couldn't quite recall where she had spent the last few weeks doing what, but she recalled that home was good and she had long since been wanting to return to it. Luha vaguely made out K'ile's form, if only because of his bright red hair, and the motion he made. She weakly reached a hand out and took the canteen, her fingers having trouble grasping it firmly. But she managed to hold onto it and brought the canteen to her lips. Luha a few small sips, trying not to waste water but spilling more of it on her than she really was able to drink.

 

"I feel woozy still... lightheaded." Luha replied, still speaking with a somewhat slurred tongue and half-glassy eyes.

[Twinflame]

"Just take your time and drink some more," K'ile said. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, but didn't rest much weight there. Luha's skin felt dry and sticky under his hand, like she'd run out of sweat. "You were pretty out of it for awhile. First thing when we get back is you going to see the shaman. We'll be there tomorrow."

[Lyraciilee]

At K'ile's words of encouragement, K'luha lifted the canteen again and sipped at it clumsily. She still didn't feel like she could just drink, or more accurately, spill the entire thing on herself. So she only took a bit more before pausing again.

 

"I still feel... out.... of it..." Luha replied, shaking her head faintly. There were awkward pauses between her words that ought not to have been there. But there was a smolder of her usual fire at least in her tone of voice now. Thinking of returning home and seeing the shaman, more of her mind returned to her.

 

"We have to see the... elders... first. They... we're in trouble...." Luha shook her head a little again and frowned before trying to push the canteen back towards K'ile. "Do we have more water...? Or... is this... the last?"

[Xha'li Moui]

Xha'li's tail bristled at the implication that he could end up being a lazy good for nothing.  Seeing the chocobos were going well and Rin was following along fine Xha'li turned around to face K'ile and grinned, "Nice to meet you, you've got two other nephews back up in the Coerthas Foothills-my older twin brother Xha'to and our older brother Xha'a."

 

Turning back towards the birds he took a tighter hold of the reigns and adjusted their course slightly.  Hearing the question about water he turned his head around, "I've got a few full canteens stowed on Rin if you need some, though they are buried under my camping gear."

[Twinflame]

"We have water," K'ile answered both of the Miqo'te on the cart with him. "I've been conserving it." Sort of a lie, but sort of not. Every time he'd poured water of K'luha to keep her from overheating, he'd made the choice to compensate by abstaining from a sip or two himself. The Tia briefly mumbled toward the red-headed Keeper, "Leave it K'zhuzu to fail to both shack up with a Keeper and fail to give her any useful offspring. Bunch of boys and off he goes."

 

With only a very quick breath in pause, K'ile turned his eyes on K'luha and said more firmly, "I will go to Elders immediately after seeing you to the shaman. If I bring you to the Elders like this they'll just yell at me for not taking good care of you and then send you to the shaman themselves."

[Xha'li Moui]

Xha'li just shrugged, "Worked out well either way, we were the only boys in the village of our generation until the Calamity, poor little kit was born as hell rained down around Eorzea."

 

Looking towards K'luha his gaze softened and he briefly looked puzzled before shrugging it off, "Is she going to be ok to reach your shaman?  I am trained as a conjurer and could see if I could do anything to help if you wish."  As he turned back towards the chocobos and his eyes settled momentarily on his uncle, the puzzled look momentarily returning before vanishing as he turned fully back towards the way ahead of them.

[Lyraciilee]

K'luha heard a voice that wasn't K'ile's and blinked awkwardly. There was another person with them? She couldn't turn to see him, or it, but it sounded vaguely familiar. But the lack of assuring 'we have tons of water' was very concerning to her. They were already burnt out and if he had been pouring water on her...

 

Luha made an unhappy face and pushed the canteen back towards K'ile. She couldn't bring herself to drink any more of it, or rather spill it. Since she was doing far more spilling than drinking. K'ile was right about one thing though, the elders wouldn't be happy to see her in this shape. She was certain that being so physically injured now was going to get her in more trouble than K'ile was. She was going to be a burden, if she wasn't one already.

 

K'luha half-paid attention to the conversation, instead thinking to herself before looking back to K'ile.

 

"I'll be fine. I don't need more water. You should have the rest. And the elders can come to the shaman's tent then. I won't have you getting yourself in more trouble than you're already in with your big mouth." K'luha insisted, seeming to regain more of her natural self after some hydration.

[Twinflame]

"I don't need to drink any more until we get home," K'ile responded, putting the canteen down on the bottom of the cart near K'luha and standing away from it. He then reached up and stuck a finger in his mouth, pulling one his cheek and saying in garbled words, "An my mouf dosin even gep vereh big, thee?"

[Lyraciilee]

K'luha tried not to laugh at K'ile, which wasn't too hard since she was mift at him for refusing water when he also needed it. Was it a self-sacrifice competition or something? Apparently. If he wasn't going to drink it maybe she just might.

 

"It's huge." Luha snorted faintly before weakly reaching out towards the canteen. "And if you're going to be stubborn I'm going to drink it then. Give it here."

[Twinflame]

Nudging the water towards K'luha, making sure to allow her to frame it as a victory so that she didn't decide to keep being stubborn, K'ile pulled his finger from his mouth and shifted his jaw around, tasting the dirt. He wiped his hand off on the leg of his pants, tail whipping around behind him. "I know how to control it. The Elders have never been too hard on me in the past, and besides, it's not like they're going to be exiling me right before the tribe migrates anyway."

 

One ear twitching, he glanced over his shoulder at the young man, Xha'li, recalling something he'd said moments before. "We don't have use for conjury out here, so don't worry about it. You're more useful steering the Chocobo."

[Lyraciilee]

K'luha took the canteen with a small struggle and tried to settle back down into her prison. She was rather tired of being stuck where she was already and very much was looking forward to getting out of it.

 

She glanced back to K'ile as he addressed the other. Conjury? If she heard the damn word again... Luha narrowed her eyes towards the stranger before looking back towards K'ile.

 

"Hey, come here."