Feast and Firedancing [K-tribe]

[Xha'li Moui]

Xha'li sighed theatrically then nodded towards the cart a few yalms away, "Nearly ran me over when I was trying to find the tribe by myself.  I can understand being in a hurry to get his passenger to medical attention but rushing could of only caused more delays."  Shaking his head again he started to reach down to pat Fubuki on the head as the chick tried to get his attention when he stopped something seeming to click in his head.

[Clover]

The boy's explanation made sense in K'mih's head. Like her father, K'ile didn't seem fond of strangers either. Being harsh to them wasn't a surprising behaviour in the Tia, especially when a member of his own tribe was in danger. It was something else what truly caught the girl's attention.

 

"Then... you were searching for us? Why?"

 

Her eyes remained curious, her tone innocent. At least it was clear that, so far, this female in particular didn't come with hostility. She looked at him with almost unblinking eyes, perhaps expecting to hear a story about how he was actually her long lost brother, like her sister K'tahjha. Ah, but he was a Moonkeeper, wasn't he? There was no way he could be her brother...

[Xha'li Moui]

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Standing up and leaning against Rin Xha'li nodded while his tail stroked Fubuki's head.  "I was indeed search for the tribe.  I came to try and find out more about my father,  a former member of this tribe who failed his coming of age ceremony named K'zhuzu."  Grinning slightly Xha'li continued, "And apparently K'ile is my uncle as well."

[K'nahli]

K'nahli's glance passed toward K'tahjha momentarily, allowing their eyes to meet in a brief exchange of mutual understanding. In truth, she hadn't even fully been aware of her presence up until now. It had been the sudden intrusion of her voice that had admitted her into their presence. Her blood sister's gratitude however, as simple as it was, was oddly appreciated by K'nahli, though her expression failed to express such thoughts. K'zhumi's voice followed soon after and interrupted their meeting of gazes, causing K'nahli to take her glance down toward the kneeling shaman's form as she gave her reply.

Nothing further was needed.

 

There was a short pause, a silence. Perhaps it were a mixture of the girl's surprise as well as her reluctance to speak the words that lingered timidly behind the safety of her shut lips. Reluctant? Was she truly that shy about offering words that expressed care or comfort to her family? She envied K'mih's prowess in moments like these. Ever since the calamity, even the most simple of interactions could often be...

 

 

"..Take... good care of her, K'zhumi" were the departing words finally breathed by the girl before dipping her head in the form of a small bow and turning away to exit the tent.

 

Swiftly she pushed out past the tent flaps and without so much as passing a glance toward her surroundings, she made her way back to where she had last seen the outsider. She was hasty in her movement, that much was clear. Her movement gave the impression of one whom were simply determined to fulfill a duty, her father's 'request' as it were; though in truth, such determination was not born out of the fear that the outsider would cause any trouble.

[Naunet]

"Who will dance for the feast?"

 

The former nunh maintained his heavy gaze on K'ile, the beads cupped in the palm of his weathered hand. "Perhaps that is a question you should have asked yourself before you made your decisions, tia." He stepped back away from K'ile, features somber, and let the shadows wrap about him once more. "They represent the soul of our faith, of our family. You must earn them back, for the pain you have brought us shames you in Azeyma's light."

 

As K'jhanhi turned away, moving further back into the tent until he had all but disappeared, the elder K'deiki turned her face towards the disgraced tia. The decision on punishment had been clearly made, and she could not bring herself to object; the former nunh had been more forgiving than K'ile's own mother was prepared to be. Her near sightless eyes blinked past a watery film before she sighed out, "What of K'airos? Why has she not come?"

[Lyraciilee]

K’luha felt a hand, warm and familiar grasp her own. She took it willingly, squeezing it and digging her nails into poor Tahj’s skin mercilessly. If Tahj wanted to reclaim her hand, she might find it difficult now that K’luha had taken hold of it. There was comfort in that hand and the hand upon her hair and face. Some part of her cruelly wished it wasn’t Tahj. It wished that K’ailia could be the one to do such a thing, or even K’ile. Why was it Tahj when the only thing K’luha had ever done for the child was ruin her life? But it was a question K’luha couldn’t bring herself to ask. And although she cruelly wished it could be someone else in the tent with her, she was immensely grateful that Tahj was the one there when no one else would be.

 

When Luha had wondered once if she would have been better off leaving with K’ailia, it was a moment like this one to remind her the warmth and care of her family. A thing that she would be lost and meaningless without. There was no home for her outside of her family, even if K’ailia could never understand that. The only home for K’luha was here. With her sisters and brothers and all she had ever known and cared for.

[Clover]

It didn't matter how she'd already toyed with the idea of such an outcome; K'mih's eyes widened all the same at the mention of Li being her half brother. She felt the urge to smile, but something prevented her from doing so. Something didn't feel right. Albeit K'ile had allowed him into the camp, her father had displayed a strong rejection towards him. In fact, the boy's father had been an exiled Tia, a miqo'te who'd lost his honour and his right to come back to his family. K'mih knew the laws of her tribe. She knew Li would never be welcome here.

 

After the initial surprise, her head turned to the chocobo, then lowered with disappointment in her eyes. She'd stopped stroking the animal, though her hand remained there.

 

"They won't accept you..." she said in a barely audible voice, just for him to hear.

 

[...]

 

Outside the medical tent, K'rahto had been standing silently with an unfocused gaze. His head only turned when a certain female miqo'te caught his attention. K'nahli emerged from the tent, apparently in a hurry. So much that she didn't even seem to acknowledge his presence, or simply chose not to. At least it made it easier for the Tia to stare at her as she walked away, his expression unfriendly and serious as ever. Nothing was said.

[Xha'li Moui]

Rin warked softly in protest as K'mih stopped stroking him, while leaning against him Xha'li sighed and shook his head softly, "It never hurts to try, and I've already been cut  off from my mom's side of the family just because I had the potential to become a mage."  Rubbing the pack of his head he continued with a slightly self-depreciating grin, "Guess that's why I got off so badly with that guy who rode off, he reminded me a bit to much of my villages matriarch-ready to cast judgement out of hand."

[Izmina]

K'zhumi took a deep breath, finally satisfied that all was in readiness. Going to the tent flap and sticking her head out she saw K'rahto,"Brother I need to concentrate. No one is to come in without good reason please." Withdrawing back inside Zhumi gave a stern warning to the youngster kneeling by K'luha's head not to move as the lines she was about to draw could not be disturbed.

 

Taking up a small knife, Zhumi began to draw an elaborate symbol in the sand around her patient, completely encircling her. Nearly a bell later Zhumi was finally satisfied by her work. Kneeling on Luha's injured side, she used the knife to cut free the dirty clothing, exposing the injured hip. Air sucked through the healer's teeth in a hiss as she saw the injury for the first time, and she gave a brief prayer to Thaliak for the wisdom to complete this healing. 

 

Picking up a small, soft bristled brush Zhumi dipped it in ceremonial paints and began drawing a second symbol on the injured hip. Wielding the brush lightly, barely making contact with the skin so as to not cause any more pain. Completing the symbols, Zhumi reached for a small vial,holding it to K'luha's lips, "Drink this, it is very strong medicine. Don't fight it and it will help you be outside the pain. It will feel like you are floating."

 

 

Picking up her tome, Zhumi concentrated and formed a link between the symbols on the pages, the hip, and lastly, the ground. Then, as she shaped her aether and became unaware of anything happening around her, the three symbols began to glow.

[Izmina]

K'tahjha didn't have long to contemplate K'nahli's response, as the pain spiked in her hand  and she returned her focus to her aunt. There was a small amount of blood trickling down her hand as the digging nails split the skin, but Tahj did not complain. She returned to murmuring comfortingly to the injured woman and using her free hand to stroke hair and ears, soothingly.

 

Tahj looked up from K'luha and paid close attention to the shaman as she gave instructions not to move, carefully tucking her tail under one leg so as not to break any of the carefully drawn lines. Tahj's eyes widened as Zhumi began to channel her aether into the symbols and a feeling of static flowed over Tahj making her fur stand on end.

[Twinflame]

"Piru found her before I did. Airos has joined the outside world and does not think she can leave it or her mother. She may come home when we move to Drybone, but I don't believe she will ever let go of Piru." K'ile was unsure now whom he was talking to. K'takka had mentioned exile, and K'deiki had echoed the suggestion, even if only in theory. He couldn't believe that either of them would have gone through with it; they were just angry. Rightfully so. But they were women and their anger would fade. K'jhanhi's fury had settled immediately where it would, and would not waver.

 

"I will earn the stones back after I defeat K'yohko and become Nunh," K'ile said this strongly, losing his ability to contain his own sense of will. "Before that, who will dance at the feast? I'll have to teach someone."

 

"Why would we let you challenge Yohko?" K'takka hissed. She shifted in the shadows like a worm beneath the sand. K'ile could almost feel the air shift in response as she leaned forward, her eyes turning to thin, glowing slits. "It would shame us to have such a disloyal creature mating with our women."

 

"I brought a feast and have a woman to vouch for me," K'ile responded, eyes on the dirt. "If K'yohko is better than I am, then I will lose."

[Naunet]

"Let him put his own face to the sand," K'deiki moaned, dropping her head forward, her knobby spine bending until it might snap. There was a certain sadness in her next words, "Of all he could have returned, he did not bring us back the one we would welcome most. K'yohko will put him in his place, if nothing else."

[Lyraciilee]

K’luha was quite unaware of the symbol that was drawn around her. In fact, she was almost completely unaware of what was happening around her. But she could feel Tahj and continued to hold the child’s hand as if it were her last lifeline. After making it so far, she felt almost as if she would be at peace if she passed now. She had made it home after all, but Tahj still needed her. And her family cared for her and would be saddened by her loss, wouldn’t they? She tried not to let her mind wander there in the painful waiting. She focused what she could of her mind on K’zhumi.

 

By that time, she could feel Zhumi ripping the light cotton cloth from her hip and exposing the injury. It was ugly. The skin looked as if it might be dying around her hip, raw and various colors that were certainly not her skintone and even more certainly, bad colors for skin to be. Her hip stuck out oddly. The exposure also brought visible a raw and red strip across her body were she had been tied down. The movement of the cart and the tightness of the bindings, which had been tight to ensure she would not get up or try anything else dumb, had rubbed the skin raw and it seemed to be in the beginning stages of an infection.

 

The cold paint across Luha’s hip made her squirm uncomfortably. Although the cool was a nice relief from the hot, it felt strange and she felt like she didn’t want to show her body in such a state to anyone. When at least the strangeness of the brush and paint left her, something else was pushed to her lips. Medicine? Luha frowned a bit, but drank it anyway. Don’t fight and it would be outside the pain? Floating? What could that really mean?

 

Luha tried to think deeply on what that meant. But she didn’t have to think long at all. In fact, in only a few moments it became very hard to think straight. Even harder than it had been when she could only feel pain. But now the pain seemed to be somewhere below her and she felt as if, indeed she were floating! The sudden energy that flowed beneath and through her made the hair on her ears and tail stand up, and sent K’luha into a giggling fit. It tickled! She wasn’t sure why it did, but she couldn’t quite recall why she was being tickled or when she had last felt so carelessly happy. Her death grip on Tahj released and instead she sort of limply left her hand with Tahj’s. Kluha body didn’t seem to really want to work the way she wanted to it anymore, which was also funny for some reason. Hilarious, actually. And K’luha continued to giggle uncontrollably.

[Clover]

Listening to Li's words, K'mih couldn't help but think about K'ailia and her passion for magic. That was what ultimately separated her from her family, wasn't it?

 

"Is magic that bad...? I haven't... seen much of it, so I guess..."

 

She looked back to the chocobo and started stroking his head again, her eyes and soft tone coloured with melancholy.

 

"...I know nothing..."

[Izmina]

Relief washed over K'tahjha from two directions. The most obvious was the release of the death grip of her hand by her aunt. Tahj wriggled it around to regain circulation but retained her hold on Luha's now relaxed hand. Secondly was the release from the blinding pain offered by the medicine K'zhumi gave to K'luha. Tahj grinned as her aunt began to giggle uncontrollably, the urge to laugh with the giddy woman was very strong, but sneaking a look at the shaman deep in a healing trance, Tahj bit her lower lip and remained silent.

 

 

On her part, K'zhumi was wholly unaware of the effect the medicine was having on her patient. Although she did feel the release of tension coming from Luha. She continued to concentrate on the aether, focused from the book to the hip. Where she attempted to flush the poisons and infections out of the area. Sending them down to the symbol on the ground.

[Twinflame]

"I did everything I could to bring home whatever I thought would help," K'ile answered in a mutter, knowing the words mean nothing. "I think K'tahjha should learn to dance. K'mih, too. They both smile very easily. I could teach them the basics quickly. We should hold the feast before we travel so that we're strong for the trip."

[Xha'li Moui]

Xha'li shook his head while still leaning against Rin, "Magic like any other tool or weapon isn't good or bad, it the person who wields it and how they wield it that determines weather it destroys or gives succor."  Standing up straight again Xha'li turned and pointed towards where his lance and crook rested leaning against his pack.  "Same thing with my lance, or any of the weapons your tribe-mates were pointing at me, they can be used to hunt game and defend the tribe from beastkin, or they can be turned on others out of fear and hatred ending or irrevocably changing lives.  Magic is no different really."

[Naunet]

"Preparing the ritual is wholly your concern," K'jhanhi rumbled. "Though know that becoming nunh would not be enough to earn back the gift of your ancestors."

 

Off to the side, K'deiki wheezed and coughed, gesturing through the fit towards the tent's door. "We are done here," she hacked out after several seconds. "Trouble us not with your presence."

[K'nahli]

"You've traveled a long way and risked much coming here, outsider" a voice of skepticism joined the conversation held between the half-breed and K'mih Yohko. The blue-haired huntress's approach was casual and subdued though the tone of her voice alone lent enough to convey her suspicions. K'nahli walked toward the pair, placing herself a little ahead of K'mih to stand between her and him with the purpose to command the male's attention as she spoke.

 

"...and yet your reason's merely to learn about those who walked before you?" she continued while crossing her arms over her chest and shifting her posture, her mannerisms, of course, only further emphasising the distrust she held toward his claim.

 

 

Her eyes narrowed minutely as she began analyzing the male carefully, though still attempting to retain some neutrality and keeping herself so that she remained absent of any obvious aggression.

 

 

"Is it expected of me to believe that?"

[Lyraciilee]

K’luha didn’t seem to notice that K’zhumi was performing medicine at all, much less the complexities of flushing out the numerous poisons and infections from her wounds. Even after a small time when she stopped giggle and simply lay rather awkwardly quietly on the floor, she didn’t seem to be aware of anything at all. But her infections were nothing if not numerous and severe in nature, and the infections bubbled and hissed as they were drawn out and collected upon the ground in the symbols around K’luha and her niece. K’luha’s hold of her niece turned limp as well as she seemingly fell asleep from the medicine. Or perhaps she was away and just day dreaming. It was really impossible to tell.

 

K’iara continued to haul the massive feast into the storage tent alone. Her eyes wandered as she moved crate after crate neatly into its new place. She watched K’mih interact with the strange, and how K’nahli seemed to listen to her father and go see to the stranger as well. Although, from where K’iara stood it seemed more like K’nahli went there to protect K’mih than listen to her father. The huntress hummed to herself and shook her head, hauling the last crate into the storage tent. She should let the Elders know about that… it was really a massive amount of food. The fiery red-hair trekked across the camp to the Elder’s tent and tentatively peered her head inside. She kept her head low in respect and coughed to announce her presence.

 

“The food is in storage. There’s… a lot of it. Like, I mean… a ton of it.” K’iara coughed awkwardly again. Her voice sounded similar to an elder’s in that it was always hoarse and raspy. “I’ll be outside if anyone needs me…” She murmured quietly, moving to recede from the tent.

[Izmina]

K'zhumi let the channel flicker and die out, her chin dropping to her chest, eyes closing in weariness. Heaving a deep sigh, she opened her eyes and inspected her work, well pleased with what she saw. The swelling had been greatly reduced and much of K'luha's skin was it's natural color. 

 

Her eyes fell on K'tahjha and she smiled. The youngster had sat curled in that tiny space by her aunt for a couple of bells without complaint. Zhumi gestured at Tahj,"Step carefully around to her head, mind the lines, and take hold under Luha's arms." As the child did as she was told, Zhumi carefully palpated the hip with a frown. The bone had been out of place for too long and was trying to knit there. She thought briefly at calling for her sister for the extra strength, but decided her patient's dignity had been offended enough.

 

 

Taking hold of the leg just above the knee, Zhumi began twisting slightly listening and feeling for the crunching noise that told her the minute connections were broken, then twisted out and forward viciously snapping the bones back into place.

[Izmina]

K'tahjha was startled out of her near doze by the shaman's voice. Puzzled but obedient, the girl moved slightly to the requested position. Discovering in the process her legs were partially numb and not very responsive from sitting so tightly curled for so long. 

 

Watching curiously, Tahj was caught completely off guard by the healer's violent twisting on her aunt's leg. At the audible and sickening snapping and crunching sound, Tahj's ears flattened and she turned slightly pale. Closing her eyes tightly Tahj fought to control the urge to be sick. She was not going to vomit in the shaman's tent.

[Xha'li Moui]

Xha'li inclined his head towards the new arrival "Nothing worth having is easily acquired, and ancestry is important, even the male line for Keepers."  Leaning against Rin's side once more Xha'li started to pet Fubuki's head with his tail while he turned his attention towards K'nahli, "Believe it or don't it won't change the fact that yes that was my reason for coming here."

[Clover]

K'mih listened to Li's words, but they didn't make full sense in her head. To her, the flow of aether and all the things it could do to people weren't like sharp weapons. Perhaps it was because she'd learned how to use the latter, while she knew nothing of the former. It just sounded more complicated, more dangerous for the mind as well as the body. Blades, albeit deadly, were more straightforward.

 

A familiar voice made the young miqo'te turn her head, just to find her sister approaching them. K'mih stepped timidly to the side, her eyes on the ground, and let K'nahli talk. For a moment, she'd feared to be scolded for talking to the stranger.

[Twinflame]

"We will have the feast tomorrow, then," K'ile Tia snapped in silent huff as he spun around and shot out of the tent in sudden haste. It was not that he was in a hurry to get anywhere, but more that he felt he needed to be distant from the Elders for both their sake and his own. His wrist felt strange and bear, as though some bone had been removed. There was a line of soft skin wrapping the base of his hand where the bracelet had protected it from the sunlight.

 

He slipped past K'iara in a flash, the leather flap of the Elder's tent snapping as he pushed it aside. The huntress was for a moment a shade of her father, or of K'ada; his mind wasn't sure which dead person it would suffer him to be reminded of. The Tia rebuked his wandering thoughts, though, and caught K'iara with his eyes. "Tomorrow there will be a feast and I will challenge K'yohko for his place as Nunh. The food will have to be cooked and the Nunh will have to be ready to defend himself. I need to teach K'mih and K'tahjha how to dance for the ritual."