Feast and Firedancing [K-tribe]

[Clover]

Having warned every single huntress she could find, K'mih could no longer cast her own concern aside. Her heart was still beating fast when she rushed to the healer's tent. The Nunh seemed to have agreed to her request to pay a visit to the healer, so she was hoping to find him there.

 

Just like the previous time, K'rahto was still guarding the entrance. Perhaps she could get an answer without the need of intruding while K'zhumi was doing her job.

 

"K'rahto... is my father inside?"

 

"Yes..."

 

The Tia looked serious. He always did, but there was something a bit different this time. He looked more focused. More concerned, perhaps. At their feet, a trail of blood seemed to disappear behind the tent.

 

K'mih's eyes met the Tia's then, her expression fragile. It was the face of a girl who was doing her best to be strong, but who ultimately looked like a weak, almost trembling animal.

 

 

"M-may I take a look inside? I could... lend a hand to your sister..."

 

K'rahto stared at her with his usual piercing eyes, silent for a tortuous moment. Finally, he stepped aside.

 

"Ask her..." he said, frugal as always. The girl wasted no time to shift the cloth at the entrance and timidly stick her head in. It was dark, but she could still make their figures out.

 

"K'zhumi..." the shy miqo'te called her, barely raising her voice. "I-I was wondering if you needed help..."

 

It wasn't really for K'zhumi, nor was it for the new healer. Hadn't her father been involded, K'mih wouldn't have been so brave as to interrumpt them. But now her heart felt heavy and her thoughts wouldn't leave her alone; she wanted to be by his side. Just that, just by his side.

[Medipack]

Oh that struck a nerve. K'lyrhi abruptly extended an arm out to block K'ile's path, her fingers curled into claws. It helps that her own nails were sharp enough to count as them too. The miqote fixed her eyes on him a growl rumbling in her throat, her eyes cold and challenging.

 

"So you propose the Amal'jaa should be left alone to wander as they please?" She demanded, almost snarling it out in her anger, "And let them go back to their camps unscathed, knowing our defenses and perhaps let them make off with some poor sod while they were at it?" K'lyhri spat each accusation out, jabbing at K'ile with a finger. It would seem if there was anything else she inherited from K'yohko it would be his fierce temper.

 

"Coward." She says, completely ignoring the irony in her fury. "You weren't even there and yet you flap your gums about nonsense. A Nunh thinks of the tribe before himself."

 

"Don't you dare disturb my father." She warned, before she roughly pushed past K'ile to start heading to find the rest of the huntresses.

[Kailia]

K'hai looked at the stranger. From his looks he clearly did not belong in this camp. His hunch, which usually is accurate, told him he was brought here by K'ile. Another crime the tia has commited.

 

Then the rod was pressed into his hand and the question asked, so he responded, "I feel some light pressure, and it is only slightly warm. Now that I've answered your question, answer one of mine."

 

He looked li in the eyes, "Were you brought here by K'ile Tia?"

[Xha'li Moui]

"I was," Xha'li said with a slight hum as he removed the rod, "I was already looking for you to learn more about my father who was an exile of the tribe." Shifting tack he nodded to Kedah and moved to kneel by K'hai's arm.  "You're in luck, the nerves are fine so you're only need to work on strengthing your arm instead of also needing to re-learn how to use it."  With a sympathetic grin he moved the arm so it was folded at the elbow and lying across K'hai's stomach below his chest wounds.  Closing his eyes he held his hands over K'hai's arm as a blue-green glow gathered beneath them and seeped towards the muscle, stitching it back together.

[Twinflame]

K'ile's hand snapped forward, fast, gripping the woman by her wrist. "The Nunh's first duty is as Nunh. He is not a huntress. He is not a Tia. He is a father, and I know no man worse at that than K'yohko Nunh." He leaned forward and snarled, tail whipping back behind him, and spoke in a very low tone that he had not often heard himself use. "Someone who took five years to come home does not get to tell me what to do. I can smell the Nunh's blood all over you. You left a trail of blood leading right back to camp, didn't you?"

[Medipack]

"Someone who took five years to come home does not get to tell me what to do..."

 

The miqote flinched at that comment. That was definitely a sore spot for her...

 

K'lyrhi pulled against K'ile's grip, she turned back to look at the Tia, returning his glare. "And a father looks out for the family and does what he can to protect it, not sit back and hope for the best. Even white coeurl protect the pride." She snarled back, her tail bristling, "So don't you dare insult him further!"

 

The thought about the blood trail gave her pause, albeit briefly as she searched for words for a retort. There definitely wasn't a blood trail, that was the whole point of returning to the camp on foot...

 

"We made sure to cover our tracks, even sent Uncle ahead first and made our way back on foot." She retorts, gritting her teeth. She was loath to give the man more fodder to insult her with.

[Twinflame]

"I'll dare say whatever I want about him. He was an idiot to attack the Amal'jaa. Did they provoke him? Amal'jaa are not normally our enemies. And why alone instead of getting help? We're hunters. We surround and overpower. We think. Apparently he doesn't. He isn't a good hunter, and he isn't going to be Nunh much longer, either." He distanced himself from the woman, intending to move past her and back to the tent. "K'yohko doesn't need his daughters to protect him. Especially if they're going to do a bad job at it. And you're still just standing around, aren't you?"

[Medipack]

Tribe law says you can't commit violence against another tribe member. K'lyrhi has been struggling to hold back the urge to just sock K'ile in the face throughout the confrontation. Using her claws to solve her problems back in Ul'dah had worked out well enough for her...

 

"We think. Apparently he doesn't"

 

And K'ile was definitely trying to provoke her. She will not be provoked! She'll just need to walk away and--

 

"He isn't a good hunter..."

 

K'lyrhi clenched her fists as she tried to steer herself away and do what K'yohko had asked her to do...and not get provoked into doing something stupid.

 

"...and he isn't going to be Nunh much longer either"

 

She will not be provo--

 

K'lyrhi whirled around and literally lunged for K'ile before she could finish the thought. The fact the Tia had distanced himself from her gave her a bit of a running start.

[Twinflame]

A body struck K'ile Tia, and suddenly his senses were full of the woman's scent. He could smell on her the sweat that Azeyma had pulled from her skin, the spices of Ul'dah and the rotten stink of gil, her father's blood mixed with the stench of dead Amal'jaa. The whirl of smells was dizzying, and he closed his eyes against it. Disoriented, he hit the sand hard and limp, with his tail lashing crookedly beside him and his ears pinned down against his head. He stayed that way, though. He wasn't interested in fighting back. This wasn't the fight that he wanted.

[Lyraciilee]

K'yohko's ears twitched gently when K'zhumi turned to look at him. She was not well. And he should think not after such large healing ventures. Had he been wrong in his choice? Even K'hai had told him not to jump in so recklessly. Probably though, he had probably been wrong. But even in his wrongness, it did not matter. It was done, and no amount of regret or feelings would change it. Instead, K'yohko moved at Zhumi's whim and sat himself down, his head tilted downward as a sign of humility. His eyes did not dare look towards the outsider, for fear that anger would overtake his senses again.

 

He lifted his ears faintly and shifted his head ever so slightly to watch K'mih's flittering form slip into the tent. So she had come to help? A dutiful child. His head shifted away again, towards K'hai now. He looked towards his brother distantly, and with a far clearer head could see the rage that consumed K'hai. But he could not truly understand why it consumed the other so. Surely, he hated K'ile for influencing K'ailia to leave. But K'ile did not have the power to force her hand in the end. And in the end, it had been her own decision. When he was not boiling over with rage, it was easier to see how mixed the lines between fault could be. How he had judged an outsider too quickly perhaps, and in doing so could have potentially gotten his brother killed.

 

Yohko's lips pressed together in a thin line, his turning towards the dark sands again. How much anger had eaten away at their family now? How much had it eaten away at him? Perhaps the poison he saw too easily in his family, came from another source than originally he had thought. The nunh's ears flicked quickly, listening vaguely to the sounds of a loud and angry conversation outside. But surely this anger would not- Yohko frowned further, the look pressing thickly against his face. The sound of those shifting sands was a bad omen.

 

His eyes shifted wearily from the sands towards K'zhumi.

 

"I apologize, K'zhumi. I was reckless." K'yohko bowed his head lightly again. There was nothing to be done for those outside. Not yet at least.

[Xha'li Moui]

Humming softly as he worked Xha'li quickly finished stitching the muscle together, before working to cause a thin, soft layer of skin to grow over the exposed muscle.  Getting up he whistled at Kedah before nodding his head to K'hai's arm; in response Kedah moved to get under and support the arm above K'hai's body while Xha'li quickly moved to retrieve a roll of bandages.

 

Getting back to K'hai Xha'li began to quickly bandage over the fresh skin and wrapped the end around K'hai's back to support the arm and keep it in place.  Tieing in off he sat back on the ground and grinned at K'hai, "Well you're all set for now.  Keep the skin covered for at least 5 suns, and don't use the arm for at least 7 as the muscle is still week and could tear easily.  If your Shaman approves it you're free to go see your elders now."

[Medipack]

The miqote was breathing heavily, her heart beating rapidly as she practically seethed with anger. By the time the dust had settled K'lyrhi finally notices the Tia underneath her, a hand pinning him down and her fist raised to strike.

 

Much of what happened was a blur for K'lyrhi. She remembered her body moving, breaking into a run. Then there was the collision with K'ile, followed by the impact and tumble upon the sands and then a cloud of blinding dust.

 

No, wait. It was much simpler than that. There was no K'ile. There the threat. A target. And it needed to be taken down. 

 

Though now that she's got them pinned down, the miqote struggled to figure out a follow-through, the target wasn't moving. Nor was it making any effort to fight back. The Tia wasn't fighting back.

 

K'lyrhi had to find her words again. 

 

"Now I'm not standing around" she gave a retort, the first comeback off the top of her head. "I warned you not to insult my father any further. If you dare try to...usurp his position, you will have me to go through first."

[Izmina]

K'zhumi is gathering her materials when she hears a soft voice, turning she is surprised to see K'mih. She smiles at the timid girl and nods,"Yes you may help! I need to tend to these bites and stop the bleeding." She gestures to the nunh's left arm, "You can clean and put ointment on those burns until I have a chance to tend them." she hands the girl a small bowl of precious water, a cloth and some salve.

 

Turning again to K'yohko she places her hand upon his head like one might a cub,"It seems recklessness runs in the family." she sighs remembering her ill fated trip to gather herbs alone all too well.

[Lyraciilee]

K'iara huffed heavily, axe hanging heavily in her hand. The perimeter was secured for the time being, and huntresses were patrolling. There was not a hand to be spared now, between the packing and the panic. But they needed more hands, and the only unused hand she could think of lay with her brother K'rahto. Someone needed to go out there and erase the cart tracks, and he was just the Tia for the job. Or at least the flame haired huntress had come to think.

 

The woman's lithe form was drenched in sweat from the heat of the sun, and the sand slid gently without kicking up when she came to a stop just a little ways from the healer's tent. Her mouth opened to call for K'ile, but her words failed to come when the purple haired girl jumped him. Her ears raised sharply in anger, and she shoved her axe into its hanging spot on her hip before lunging forward.

 

It was a swift movement, in which her hand grabbed the back of K'lyhri's shirt and with a heave dragged the over off of K'ile and onto the floor. She threw her arm forward in an effort to toss K'lyhri back to the ground and growled at her.

 

"What the hell!? What the hell is going on here!?" K'iara hissed, her raspy voice breaking several times in her angry outburst. The huntress sharply pressed a hand to her throat before she gazed back both astonished and a bit angry towards K'ile. "K'ile what are you even doing here? We need everyone on alert. Quit messing around!" K'iara urged him in a much softer and more usual raspy voice. "Can you go help pack the sundrakes K'yohko brought back? Or go relieve another Huntress patrol so they can do it?" K'iara looked pleadingly towards her Uncle before turning back to look at the purple haired girl. "And I'll take you back to the Elders. This was not what we needed when we're trying to pack up camp." K'iara grumbled more sternly.

[Kailia]

K'hai's ears twitched, and he looked to K'yohko. Surely even the Nuhn could guess what was going on outside. He nodded to the outsider then rose to his feet slowly as not to re-damage himself.

 

"K'zhumi, I must see to the elders, but it would seem a firm hand is needed to end a childs foolishness outside. Allow me to leave now." he said, matter of factly.

[Lyraciilee]

K'yohko gave a faint smile to K'zhumi.

 

"So it would seem. How is that leg?" He questioned softly, his ears twitching back lightly at the commotion outside. A heavy sigh overtook him. Such anger, he knew it well and yet... He lightly pressed his burned hand to his leg and glanced to K'mih. It was strange to have K'mih aid him in this way but, not unwelcome. But the thoughts of kindness left him as he turned his gaze more firmly to K'hai.

 

"No." He barked strongly in K'hai's direction. "You are not the hand that deals judgment here. I am not the hand that deals judgment here. You will stay here and rest. The others are capable enough to deal with this themselves. We rest, we heal, and then we join the others. That is our duty." K'yohko frowned sternly at the other, his ears flicking lightly.

[Medipack]

K'lyrhi's ears rose up as she heard a shout behind her. Before she could even begin to pick herself off of K'ile she felt herself plucked up from behind and unceremoniously tossed off of the Tia.

 

The miqote picked herself back up, still covered in sand and dust, her ears drooping forward a little. Oh she's done screwed up now...

 

"I'm sorry, but he...he was insulting the Nunh." She tried to explain. Oh Azeyma, she felt like such a toddler again...

 

"...and going on about how he won't be Nunh much longer." she added, giving K'ile a dirty look, before looking back at K'iara "...I got angry."

 

K'lyrhi looked distressed when she was told she'd be brought in front of the elders, "But Fathe--K'yohko told me to help gather the huntresses, if he hadn't gone and stopped me..." she protests weakly. It seems much of her previous fire had suddenly gone out from her.

[Twinflame]

K'ile pulled himself up off the sand, sitting on his haunches and looking up on the women. "The tribe needs a new Nunh, and neither of the other Tias even know what the word means. If you really can't imagine a tribe in which K'yoko is not Nunh, then that's part of the problem." He stood and spun, his tail tracing a broad arc in the sand. Looking over his shoulder, he said, "In brighter years, the Nunh would be challenged every week, and still make time for his children. If he has gone soft and cannot defend his title, then he needs to be defeated. Otherwise our tribe has no Nunh."

 

He flicked his eyes towards K'iara. "I want to patrol. I'll see the Amal'jaa myself if they're there. I'll tell the huntresses I relieve to see to the drakes." As he began to walk away, he said, "My challenge will be delayed until we reach our new home in the north. The tribe will celebrate the success of the journey by watching me break K'yoko Nunh."

[Izmina]

K'zhumi wrinkles her nose and shrugs lightly,"It still gives out  from underneath me occaisionally. But is mostly healed." She grabs her tome and the other items she'll need and settles down on K'yohko's right side.

 

Hearing K'hai's question, Zhumi opens her mouth to answer, but abruptly shuts it as the nunh tells him to stay put. She instead turns her attention to cleaning the deep bites in the shoulder.

[Lyraciilee]

K'iara lowered her ears at the young K'lyhri, exasperated with her excuses. Good grief. If she couldn't handle a little bit of criticism, she was younger than she looked. The elder huntress ran a hand through her short ruffled hair and looked to K'ile. She couldn't tell who was the larger child in this situation anymore. K'lyrhi with her sudden outburst or K'ile claiming wildly that he was going to break K'yohko. But there was one thing that brought a smile to her lips. Her ears perked up a bit, and she shook her head a little as well.

 

"That's only what I've been asking you to do for the last hours Uncle. Celebrate our move with some tradition! But you're not supposed to break him you dork, you're just supposed to beat him." K'iara rolled her eyes at her Uncle before looking back to K'lyhri. "And as for you, how old do you think you are? Only kids beat other people up, especially family, for saying things they don't like. That's not how we deal with that kind of thing here. Don't blame K'ile for that nonsense. If you didn't like what he had to say, you should have ignored it and done the job you were tasked with." K'iara scolded with a stern frown. She was quite used to being tasked as an elder responsible sister. This kind of scolding came quite naturally to her, and with her usually intense expression and deeper raspy voice, she usually came off fitting to the part.

 

"Quit sulking and do something useful instead of standing around and jumping family. You can go help pack the meat and then we'll take you to the elders." K'iara jabbed her finger back in the direction of the foot preparation area and raised a brow to K'lyrhi, implying she ought to move herself there and quickly. K'iara eyed K'lyhri for a moment before turning to jog and catch up with her Uncle. When she got close enough, she pushed out her arm to punch his back lightly and frown at him.

 

"Really, K'ile. Aren't you a little old to be running around talking about breaking people? Especially your Nephew? But more seriously, thank you for holding off on your challenge. We're in a tough spot here, and I think we'll all enjoy your challenge match more if we're settled into the new place. Do I just need to throw some girls on top of you to get you to make some sense now?" K'iara snickered lightly and turned her head forward. She shifted to rest a hand on the handle of her axe, her tail swaying pleasantly behind her. "If that's the case, I guess you really do want to be the Nunh." The red head huntress snickered lightly again and glanced outward to the horizon. "Hey, before you go relieve the others of their duty, can you collect the blood in the sand around the camp? We don't need any bad omens showing up, or to leave any signs we were here. Your cart made huge tracks across the sand too, so if you could run out that way and erase some of it, we'd be in better shape." K'iara looked hopefully to her Uncle, although she wouldn't have been surprised to hear him reject the request.

[Clover]

"A-alright!" She replied, with a mix of hesitation and determination. It'd be the very first time she'd tend to anyone's injuries, and the fact they were her father's made her extra nervous.

 

Perhaps it wouldn't be too difficult, she thought in an attempt to relax. The girl sat beside her father, trying to control her own breathing the best she could, and took a look at his arm.

 

K'zhumi had told her that she had to clean the wounds first, so K'mih started by soaking the piece of cloth in the water. Then, as careful as she could, she placed it on the man's injured arm. Too soft; she was being too soft, but she was completely unsure of how to do it right without causing much pain to her father. Her eyes traveled to his for a moment, searching for either pain or approval. Not like she expected her father to pay any sort of attention to her or his arm at that moment. There were many things in his mind, many things around them that day. There wasn't much K'mih could do to relieve all those weights from his shoulders.

 

[...]

 

Outside the tent, minutes kept passing in silence for K'rahto Tia. Well, not really in silence, as there was a heated argument not too far from his position, impossible to ignore. His annoyed gaze turned slightly to the side, to the distant figures of K'ile and that new girl whose name he didn't care to remember. Just what the hell was their problem? Didn't they have better things to do than bother everyone with their bickering?

 

Something happened then, an occurrence that made the Tia's eyes open wide. The new girl gave up on words and proceeded to shamelessly beat K'ile, effectively making him fall into the ground. "What the..."

 

That fierceness, that lack of control was suddenly engraved in his retinas. Seeing another Tia humilliated by a stranger wasn't K'rahto's favourite sight, as he couldn't help but imagine himself in the same situation. His eyes narrowed and his teeth showed slightly, fists clenched. His gaze glued itself to her form, even when his sister appeared to push that girl away from K'ile.

 

(Damn huntress... ...)

[Kailia]

K'hai looked at Yohko, a bit of a frown appearing on his face, but that eventually faded. Especially hearing the huntress intervene.

 

"Fine. I will focus on healing. But I should still see the elders soon. Right now only you, the girl, and those in this tent know I am back." he said, walking to a corner, vacating the mat he was on and plopping down into a corner.

 

"To tell the truth I am surprised he's not joining his beloved exiles. The elders I remember would of stripped him of his gems and told him to leave camp.", K'hai said almost to himself, yet looking to K'yohko.

[Lyraciilee]

"K'hai!" Yohko snapped fiercely, narrowing his gaze at the other. "What do you accomplish by slandering your family's name? Like it or not, he is family. We will submit our complaints to the elders, and they will pass judgment, and then we must find forgiveness!" Yohko's ears bent forward irritably, his tail flicking with equal agitation. "K'ailia is gone. K'ile is still here. He chose his family over the exiles. Does that not speak for something of his values? You are blinded by your own hatred of him to see what merit he has! If this family is going to survive, we must abandoned our hatred. Or its poison will consume us all." K'yohko scowled seriously towards the ground. He could see the edge of his daughter's form, pressing a cloth far too lightly to his burned side. But her touch was so tender it did not hurt. In truth, he found some relief to her presence. She was such a soft and delicate flower, so unlike most of the tribe members. If only a few more people could strive to be so soft in their ways.

 

"K'hai, I am advising you now to give up your hatred of K'ile Tia. I advise this to you strongly. The elders have changed, indeed, but things are different now. The majority of our family was wiped out during the Calamity. When we returned from Carteneu, there was no joy. Only more suffering here and bodies to bury. I do not think the Elders would so easily spurn any family when we have so little left. So again I tell you, abandon your hatred. K'ile is here, and K'ailia has long since chosen of her own will to leave. I love my daughter, but I respect her choice to leave us. I would not taint that image of her choice with the idea that she fled from K'ile like a babe because he made a threat."

 

Yohko kept his gaze to the floor, although his body was paling quickly. He had lost quite a bit of blood now and it was starting to effect him more seriously. The nunh grunted slightly, his body leaning towards K'mih as he found it difficult to sit properly anymore. His head felt as if was swimming in a large body of water, and the idea and sensation confused him. Perhaps the vexation of unruly Tias was starting to get to him.

[Izmina]

Ears flattening on her head and tail twitching in irritation, K'zhumi listens to the arguement between the males. Her eyes widening in fear as K'yohko slumped, she finally snaps,"SILENCE! This is a place of healing and rest. I will not have any more foolishness in my tent affecting my patients." she takes a deep breath and eyes K'mih,"And you! You are not scrubbing a cub's rump. If those burns get infected your father will die. So scrub! Draw blood if you must."

[Twinflame]

K'ile walked purposefully towards a tent well off to the side of the shaman's tent. He did not himself have a tent to call home at the time, as he hadn't been present to set up his own tent when the Tribe last moved. Still, the supply tent was easy to pick out, always between the healers' and elders' tents, and stepping just inside K'ile claimed his spear.

 

Turning back to K'iara, he adjusted the strap on his chest and hung the spear over his back. "Eh, I guess I'm taking myself a bit seriously, aren't I? If you're going to start throwing girls at me, just throw yourself. At least I can talk to you, and we'd both know what was going on." Walking out towards the edge of the camp, which was only a few tents removed from them at this point, K'ile kept his gaze on the woman who looked so much like his dead brother. She snickered like K'thalen had once snickered, scolding with hard humor. "I didn't have any reason to hide the cart tracks. Nobody had provoked any Amal'jaa yet. But, yeah, I'll get it."