Feast and Firedancing [K-tribe]

[Izmina]

Dancing? K'tahjha probably looked as puzzled as she felt. "Sure, sometime. I need to stay with aunt luha now though." She peered at her sister with a curious smile. "Who's giving dance lessons out here?"

[Clover]

"K'ile..." She replied, doing herself to keep her smile. This one ended up diminishing a bit as her eyes lowered slowly. To her sister's fear of fire, it was added her worry for K'luha. Really, the more K'mih heard, the worse the idea of having K'tahjha dance sounded.

 

"He would like us to dance at tomorrow's festival..."

[Izmina]

K'tahjha's smile faded and her ears drooped, she knew what kind of dancing K'ile taught. Her eyes drifted closed, brief images of burning trees passing over the closed lids. The air around Tahj seemed to get hotter stifling even. Taking a deep steadying breath she pushed away the rising sense of fear and opened her eyes, seeking her sister's gaze. "I- I can't" her voice barely a whisper.

[Clover]

The moment felt like a deflating balloon. K'mih's smile faded slightly, ears and tail falling down. That look in her sister's face... it was exactly the look she'd feared to see. K'ile certainly wasn't lying when he mentioned her fear of fire.

 

"D-don't you think it'll be fun?" She tried again, just a bit more. She did as cheerfully as she could, albeit it was clear that she was nervous. "I-I think it'll be fine... K'ile will take good care of us... Besides, I'll be with you, so you won't dance alone!"

 

As she spoke, she tried to figure out just how convincing her voice was sounding. Maybe not much? Would that be enough? All she actually wanted was for K'tahjha to cheer up.

[Izmina]

K'tahjha's ears slammed flat to her skull, there was a roaring and popping sound of a large fire bouncing around in her skull. The more she thought about the idea the higher the fear rose, Tahj could feel it in the back of her throat and it became hard to swallow. Shaking her head forcefully to clear it, Tahj stared at her sister, surely K'mih had no idea what she was asking her to do.

 

Tahj opened her mouth to speak and nothing came out, running a shaking hand through her hair she tried again,"I-I'm sorry."

[Clover]

Still forcing herself to maintain the same smile, even if this one had become small and apologetic, K'mih's eyes lowered for a moment. A silent nod from her head was her initial reply. When she looked at K'tahjha again, her smile was much more sincere.

 

"It's alright, you don't have to do it Tahjha, don't worry. Will you watch me dance at the feast and tell me if I did right? It'll be the first time for me and I don't know if I'll be good, ehehe..."

[Izmina]

Making fists to steady her shaking hands, Tahj involuntarily took a few steps backwards away from her sister, eyeing her like she might produce flames out of then air. After an uncomfortably long period of silence to collect herself, Tahj gave K'mih a shaky smile, "I'll try. You'll be awesome at it."

[Clover]

K'mih's lips parted slightly, her smile gone for good. Has she hurt K'tahjha that much? Would her sister start relating her to something scary and hateful? Perhaps she might not even want to attend the feast, knowing there'd be fire in it. Even after hearing that K'tahjha was afraid, K'mih didn't imagine her phobia would be this strong.

 

Guilty bicolour eyes moved to the ground again. The girl offered her sister a respectful bow, before she started walking away, dejected. She still had to dance and shouldn't think much. She had to dance for father.

[Izmina]

As K'mih walked away Tahj spun around to escape to the safety of the tent and her aunt. Her mind whirling furiously, Why? She was sure out here where there were no trees to burn, that the nightmares wouldn't follow her. Tears beginning to stream down her face, Tahj lowered her self to curl up carefully next to her aunt, letting her tears dry against Luha's shirt.

[Lyraciilee]

K'luha stirred faintly when she felt something wet on her chest. There was a soft groan, followed by a very clumsily maneuvering of her tail that lightly hit Tahj's leg. Luha turned her head towards Tahj. She could make out a hazy outline of the girl next to her, but even without sight she knew who it was. She was unsure as to why she was crying, but she knew it was Tahj. A clumsy hand followed her tail and placed itself softly on Tahj's shoulder.

 

"Hey..." Luha murmured wearily. She experimented with lightly rubbing Tahj's shoulder to comfort her. The small movement was kind of awkward for her to try at first, but the feeling was very slowly coming back to her hand. "Tahj, it's okay..." Luha muttered again. It seemed impossible to raise her voice above a whisper. "Everything's... gonna be okay now.... okay?" K'luha tried to move her face into a smile, which proved exceedingly difficult. But she managed an awkward soft smile for Tahj however.

 

K'iara took a deep breath. She sat down cross legged in her tent, frowning at the ground. Why was it that her Uncle was so stubborn about these things? Why was it that after all these years he suddenly wanted to be a Nunh!? That kind of came from nowhere. K'ile was so random...

 

Grumping to herself, K'iara pulled off her sweaty hunting clothing. It was similar to the subligar but was made of extremely lightweight leather that helped keep the sun off her. Luckily, her skin was dark enough that she could probably go naked and only get a 1st degree burn. It would be cold soon as the sun set, and it was getting to be close to that time.

 

K'iara scrubbed herself with some soap weed to get the smell of the failed hunt off before she pulled on a lightweight robe. She shook the sand from her hair as well and tried to brush through it with her hands. It lay somewhat tamed for the moment. Mildly satisfied, K'iara stood from her tent and exited. Her axe sat on the sand outside her tent, and K'iara leaned down to pick it up and hang it off her hip again. Her throat was still hurting terribly. Talking would be hard... K'iara let out a silent sigh. She would have to go bother Zhumi...

[Izmina]

K'tahjha blinked as she felt a light touch on her leg followed by her shoulder. She wiped at her eyes, red and swollen from crying, but managed a bright smile for K'luha, happy to see her aunt waking up and  looking much better. Tahj caught the seeking hand in her own and squeezed it lightly. "Yes, I'm ok now. Do you think you can drink a little water? I should run by our tent and get you something to wear also." Should any of the males walk in the tent Tahj felt sure her aunt would not want to be naked.

[Twinflame]

Evening brought with it preparations for cold weather. The reasonable members of the tribe were donning heavier garments; K'ile was not one of those people. He dressed the same in heat and in cold, in the desert or at an oasis. But he would at least draw close to the fires once they were lit. In addition to cooking meals, the fires were all bu prerequisite for making it through the night without becoming ill. The tents were situated in small groups of three or four around small bonfires, and once they'd burned out, the coals would be gathered in clay bowls so that the heat could be carried into the tents and ward away the cold.

 

K'ile didn't know where K'iara's tent was settled now; every time the tribe migrated, things tended to move a bit. Luckily, he didn't have to look far. The woman -- like a thin, female version of his dead brother -- cast a long evening shadow in the red light as she trudged through the sand in his direction. Feeling a moment of anxiety, K'ile bit it away. He was just going to apologize. How could he mess that up? Knowing him, he'd find a way.

 

"K'iara!" K'ile waved over his head to beckon her. "Two minutes? I just need two minutes."

[Lyraciilee]

K'luha smiled herself, numbly feeling a hand around her own. Tahj was such a good girl. She shouldn't cry. She deserved not to have to cry anymore. Luha grumbled a little at the mention of water. Yeah, she could probably do for some water. And as the evening wore on, it was bound to get cold. She could already feel a faint draft on her exposed skin.

 

"Yeah..." Luha murmured. "Maybe a blanket or something.... I could... drink too..." Luha nodded lazily, her eyes closing again. "Still awake, just... drowzy..." she hummed softly, her voice trailing off like she forgot what she was saying.

 

K'iara paused in her stride, looking to the source of the voice. K'ile? She hadn't really thought he would... then again he was a mystery to her. Both her father and uncle were mysteries she would probably never unravel. Her ears half turned down and she put her hands on her hips, but stopped walking.

 

She looked up at him somewhat expectantly, but not angrily. K'iara might have spoke if her throat did not hurt so badly. But K'ile would know that much, wouldn't he? He... did remember that she had problems talking after the Calamity... right?

[Twinflame]

"K'iara," K'ile said her name as he approached her again, smiled, then decided smiling was inappropriate and averted his eyes while making a very straight face. "Uhm." Something about trying to make a straight face made it very difficult to do so, and he ended up smiling again, though his brow dipped in vexation. Pain in his ear let him know that he was pulling on his ear, so he stopped, and then noticed his tail was shivering behind him as well so he swung it a few times to make it stop.

 

"Uhm, sorry," He finally said, dipping his head a bit, looking up through the veil of red hair at the woman. She was hard to look at because she looked so much like his brother. It made him nervous, so he smiled a bit more. "Really. I didn't mean to make you angry. I'm just doing the best I can to do the... best I can!"

[Izmina]

K'tahjha smiled happily at her aunt, gently placing the hand she was holding down, and scrambling off to their tent. Sorting through the few clothes K'luha had left behind, Tahj found a comfortable looking robe and grabbed a blanket. She then headed past the supply tent to fill a water skin and grab a small piece of dried meat, knowing her aunt needed a bit of food to regain her strength and finish healing.

 

Returning to the medical tent, Tahj peeked over and noted K'zhumi still sleeping heavily. Knowing the shaman must be exhausted Tahj tip toed quietly to K'luha's side and sat down her bundle of stuff. Reaching out to smooth a few stray locks of her aunt's hair, Tahj murmured quietly,"Awake? I brought you a few things."

[Lyraciilee]

K'iara looked plainly at K'ile. It was almost painful to watch him fidget like that. It seemed to her that he was trying to crawl out of his own skin to avoid looking at her. She tried to remember if it had always been like this between them, but she couldn't really recall anything with much clarity from beyond the last five years.

 

The taller huntress sighed at his apology. She glanced away. She couldn't watch him be so painfully awkward towards her. She wished she had more of her father in her. Maybe she might understand him more then. Maybe she could use humor to deflate the situation. But she was a miserable failure at joking around and her jokes just made things more awkward and it hurt her throat to tell them anymore.

 

"I know..." Her voice was very small and hoarse sounding. K'iara put a hand to her throat to try and soothe the pain. She glanced back to K'ile like she wanted to say more, but looked to the floor instead with a hand still on her throat.

 

K'luha half fell asleep while Tahj was off. Only to wake up again briefly with the girl returned. She blinked herself awake and grumbled a little.

 

"Kind of. What... did you bring?"

[Izmina]

In response to her aunt's question, Tahj held up the blanket and the warm robe she'd found,"This looks comfortable and might not be too hard to slip into?" She carefully set them down at Luha's side and offered the waterskin,"I brought a small bit of dried meat, it would help you get your strength back if you can nibble on it." She then settled back and waited patiently to assist her aunt with which ever she wanted first.

[Twinflame]

"I'm sorry. You don't need to say anything." This apology came easier because K'ile actually knew what he was apologizing for. He shifted to one side, turning away from K'iara to meander around her. "I'm going to get some huntresses to start preparing for the feast. You had a good idea to use the food on the trip. We'll set some aside. It'll just be a little feast tomorrow, and then we'll have a great big one when we get to Drybone. Does that sound better?"

[Xha'li Moui]

Xha'li nodded respectfully "Of course, what ever makes you feel more comfortable."  Reaching up to stroke Rin over his eyebrow Xha'li glanced skyward at the rapidly descending sun.  Shrugging his shoulders before stretching them out he reached out to a small piece of bone in both chocobo's bridles situated at the back of the head and touched them causing a small change in his aetheric flow as if a spell had been terminated.

 

Turning back towards K'nahli he spoke softly, "Are you going to be warm enough in that once the sun fully sets?"

[K'nahli]

A gentle smirk cracked across the girl's expression in response to the male's simple question - finding herself somewhat entertained by it's innocence - before she, in turn, gave her answer.

 

"I'd save all concerns for yourself were I you, outsider" she replied cutely without so much as looking back toward Li as she continued to walk away. Raising her right arm up a little past her shouder, she presented the back of her hand to Li in a gesture of farewell as she proceeded away quietly, leaving the male alone to his own preoccupations.

[Lyraciilee]

K'iara brightened faintly, her ears perking up at K'ile's acknowledgement. It wasn't what she had hoped but, it was something. It mostly proved to her that he had listened, and that of itself seemed like a blessing from Azyema.

 

"It does." K'iara croaked back towards K'ile, a hand coming up to grasp her throat faintly. It hurt terribly to talk, but K'ile was facing the opposite direction and she didn't feel like running around in front of him to nod. K'iara turned herself, facing towards the Zhumi's tent. She needed some herbs for her throat and K'ile no doubt seemed busy now with his insane preparations. But at least, she was satisfied knowing there would be food for awhile.

 

Luha examined the robe and blanket distantly. They looked warm, and she was starting to feel rather cold. When Tahj placed the blanket down, Luha lazily reached out and grasped at it, pulling it over her body and settling under its warmth. That was better. She could put the robe on later, but the blanket was good for now. The smell of food from home perked her sense immediately and she also grasped out at the small bit of food from Tahj to nibble on.

 

"Thank you Tahj... " Luha smiled warmly at her niece, moving to nibble on the food with a much clearer head.

[Izmina]

K'tahjha beamed at her aunt, very happy to see her alert and eating a bit. Tahj fussed with the blanket making sure it covered K'kuha's feet and tucking it around snugly. After making sure the water was close enough to reach without moving, she snuggled down against her aunt's uninjured side, yawning sleepily. "I missed you."

 

 

Waking from her deep sleep, K'zhumi looked over to her patient and smiled. Tahj makes a good assistant, she thought. Careful not to disturb the pair she carefully reached under the blanket to check on the hip, nodding in satisfaction. Then returned to her table to restock and sort herbs and medicines for the next use.

[Clover]

Unable to shake the memory of K'tahjha's hurt expression from her head, K'mih walked to the elders' tent with ears and tail down. Her first mission, albeit unsuccessful, had been completed. The next task was by no means easier; she'd have to approach the elders in such a tense moment, with a stranger in the camp and a severely injured huntress. Perhaps tomorrow's feast would be the least of their concerns right now, and she certainly wouldn't want to bother them at such a time if it depended on her. But it didn't.

 

Her steps stopped at the entrance of the elders' tent. She stared at it for a moment, inhaling deeply and nervously. Then, she got the courage to lift the courtain slightly and let her voice be heard.

 

"V-venerable elders... I'm K'mih Yohko, I come in K'ile's name," she announced her presence without daring as much as to even peek inside until she was told to. "May I speak to you for a moment...?"

[Xha'li Moui]

"I'm used to the cold" Xha'li said softly as K'nahli walked away before shrugging and making sure his chocobo's were properly secured.  Patting Rin and Fubuki softly he retrieved a small bowl from his packs along with one of his water skins and brought it over to the birds setting it down he filled it from the sac before taking a sip himself before wandering to the nearest fire and sitting down as he idly began to hum a soft tune.

[Naunet]

K'ile Tia had left a palpable silence in his wake when he left the elders' tent. It weighed down their fragile bones, dragged on their flesh like weights to draw out and deepen the cracked folds of wrinkled skin. With the tia gone, K'jhanhi seemed to fold over himself, spine buckling until he looked like a shadow creature crouched in the sand, his wiry limbs circled about him. Yellow eyes watched forward, towards the thin lines of light where the skin of the tent broke.

 

"This could bring hope to our family," K'deiki's weary voice floated from another shadow. "Remind them of the ways of things, that our path is not lost."

 

"Or it could do nothing but waste our precious resources and energy." The former nunh's eyes became nearly lost in his frown.

 

More silence followed. The debate was over with, for now.

 

***

 

The three remaining elders of the Sagolii tribe had just begun the preparations for their evening rites when a soft voice intruded upon their lair. Three pairs of eyes turned towards the sliver of light at the entrance, bodies leaning in suspended action before all three returned to their work.

 

It was K'deiki who spoke, after a time, she being closest to the doorway. "Come in, dear," she almost smiled at the young K'mih's voice as her gnarled hands worked drawing symbols in the sand. "And watch your step."