Heinous Omens [K-Tribe]

[Naunet]

The first breath K'deiki took after the fire lit was one of the clearest she'd taken in years, or so it felt to her mind. She kept her face upturned, feeling more than seeing the growing glow of flames before her. The burning wood smelled different in this place than anything they'd burned in the Sagolii, but that did not worry the elder. 

 

"Many things are different now," she spoke her thoughts slowly, her voice carrying easily through the respectful hush of the tribe. Unseen by her, K'jhanhi's yellow eyes turned her way, heavy and tired but dutiful. "Many things may continue to change. But we cannot be shackled by fear. The fire here burns just as our fires in the sands, and so will we as well. We will sleep under new stars, but they are still stars. We will hunt new prey, but their meat will still fill our bellies, shelter our heads, armor our skin. I have great hope that new lines will begin here soon, new eyes created that may have never seen our ancestral sands but will still know out tribe's heart. When we burn and bury the dead, their ash and bones will find great rest and welcome still in our Warden's arms." Milky eyes crinkled and she turned her gaze forward to the fire then. It appeared in her vision as a golden blur against shadow, but she saw it more as a gateway to new life.

 

The heavy wrinkles drawing her face creased further, pulling thin, old lips into a smile. "And when we dance with the fire, our spirits will still alight."

[Clover]

Nervous and embarrassed, K'mih accepted the flaming staff from K'ile's hand. She held it carefully, clearly wary of the flames. How could she dance with them when she feared them so much?

 

"I'm sorry, I'll do my best..." she said, as determined as she could sound. The only time K'mih ever had some sort of real responsibility over her shoulders, it'd been during her adulthood trial. Even that task couldn't compare to this, for the trial was something she had to do for herself, while this... this, she had to do for her whole family, both alive and dead. Failure wasn't an option now.

 

Her eyes fixed themselves on the Tia once more, as fragile as they were focused. When the melody of the elder's words reached her ears, K'mih fought the urge to lower her gaze. The weight of responsibility felt too heavy; as a firedancer... as a female.

[K'nahli]

The towering inferno consumed K'nahli's fiery eyes and blasted her face with a sweltering wave of heat that rekindled much of the receding day's, draining warmth. The weak breeze which rolled across the rocky lands that evening failed to hinder the fire's growth, allowing the light, black smoke to plume almost directly upwards until it slowly dissipated into the stronger winds some distance above. She could feel her gaze tilting upward as she stared deep into the heart of the flames. Her maroon eyes were glazed over with a trembling veil of amber as they remained fixated upon the flames, their unmoving watch, in truth, seeking nothing... though the flames would still gift her with flickering images that mimicked distant memories - some of which bore relevance to the present and others which did not. A tingling trance of melancholy descended upon the girl as slowly as the occasional flake of dried ash which danced before her vision for the short while she allowed herself to play audience to those once-lived tales which had been curiously drawn before her, though soon enough she found her eyes peering far past those images as she wilfully suppressed nostalgic thoughts with less afflicting ones; her new home being the prime winner.

 

As the seconds continued to pass, the bonfire reached higher into the darkening sky. The golden flames which formed into the apex of the flaming beast seemed to lick at the base of the newly-forming stars which shyly began to reveal themselves in the darker portion of the evening air directly above them; appearing as distant beings whose arrival was solely to behold the unfolding spectacle far below them, with their gently, lifting intensity revealing a perceivably growing interest as the ritual proceeded onward in pace with the rising flames. The thick scent of burning wood filled her nose and offered her a mild sense of placidity for a short while, as the flames hummed melodically in tone with the crackling of the wood which snapped and splintered under the fire's indomitable intensity. At that distance, it consumed most other scents but still did not overpower her senses enough that it would push beyond smelling pleasant. The girl breathed in deeply, allowing the sedating scents, sounds and the comforting warmth to embrace her wholly as she continued trying to pay heed to the few of the elders' words that seemed to be reaching her ears.

[Twinflame]

"Don't be afraid of the fire. It won't burn you if you respect it." K'ile repeated the words he'd been told more than once by the other firedancers, back when there were other firedancers. He stepped back and moved the unlit staff in his own fingers, turning it fast enough that the air hissed around it. "Don't worry about skill, or rhythm, or your body. Just move the fire. First comes heat. Skill comes later." He spun his staff several times, then stopped it, and pointed with one end towards the bonfire. "Between the fire and the tribe, in that open place there."

[Clover]

Her heart could have stopped at that moment, but it didn't. It pounded furiously against her chest, blurring her vision for a few seconds. It was alright, her mind tried to tell her; it should be easy, she just needed to move the fire, to make it glow against the wind. Their gazes would be on the flames, not on her.

 

K'mih tightened her grip on the staff and frowned slightly. Her eyes travelled to K'ile one last time, only to give him a nod. Then, to the indicated spot. She walked, not too fast and neither too slow. Around her, a collection of familiar eyes seemed to have been placed on her figure, waiting, expecting something for the first time. It was odd, but none of them looked as familiar now.

 

Time was scarce then. K'mih searched for her mother first, then K'nahli, albeit her gaze hardly lingered there for a full second. She shouldn't look at her sister at that moment, it'd only destroy her. A deep and brief inhalation made her lips part, and the unprepared dance started with the rhythm of the drums.

 

The young miqo'te danced for the first time, played with the fire like it was an enemy. She was fragile against the flames, against her own thoughts. Her father was watching her, she could feel it; yet, another miqo'te might be his choice that night. Did she even know about the things that happened in the darkness of closed tents? Did she even want to? As the drums echoed inside her chest, K'mih's dancing raised. It was imprecise, inexperienced, lingering between delicate and raw. And as her gaze finally found the figure of her father, she felt naked in front of everyone.

 

'Please choose me...' her eyes seemed to beg, even if she didn't know everything her own infantile desires might entail. 'Please choose me just once...'

[Naunet]

The harsh shadows across K'jhanhi's face shifted, deep set, yellow eyes warming with the flames from the bonfire and with pride. He kept the steady beat with his staff, the bones tinkling together like rain over the dull roar and crackle of flame. This was more than tradition; it was a sign that, though they had left the shifting sands, they had not left their home. He could almost feel the tribe's spirit bolstered by the fire, by the inexperienced but determined display of their newest firedancer. He smiled at K'mih, watching the slow turn of the staff she wielded.

 

"... may our hunt be pure and bountiful and bring honor to the land and our family..." K'deiki's voice droned in and out of the flames. Near her the white-painted face of K'takka lingered, and perhaps for a little bit the glow of the fire chased away the weariness that came with their age.

 

K'jhanhi hoped they could last long enough to guide their family back into a sense of place.

 

***

 

After a time, the voice of the elder faded until only the crack of burning wood and the unfamiliar sounds of their new home around them filled the space. A low murmur began amongst the tribe, the huntresses looking less anxious but more ready. Eager. Bolstered.

 

K'jhanhi's staff stilled against the ground, and he watched K'deiki's withered hands cast a handful of dust onto the fire. It sparked and flared and thus the ceremony was marked as over. He turned to begin the procession of the elders away from the flames, leaving the rest of the tribe to take strength from it and begin their tasks anew.

[K'nahli]

Unlike her more fragile, younger sister, K'nahli felt no discomfort for having met with the gaze of those deceptively, innocent gems. There was no reason to, after all; she had convinced herself of that much.

 

Like most of the events and that had transpired since the beginning of the ceremony, K'mih's performance, spontaneous and unexpected as it had been, failed to hold well against K'nahli's fleeting levels of interest. The huntress's maroon eyes had remained focused upon her younger sister, but her effect on K'nahli were as the fire that had been observed up until then, largely present within her vision but almost entirely transparent to her interests.

For that very reason, it was odd that K'nahli had even managed to notice it, but somehow she had certainly picked up on it. Those short but repetitive gazes that travelled to a particular place in the audience. Somehow distinct from the casual movement her eyes would make as they slowly ventured out over and across the entirety of her spectating family while the performance continued on, yet nothing plainly obvious to the common observer either.

 

With an initial flicker of hesitation, K'nahli then found her head involuntarily tilting toward the direction that K'mih's gaze had seemed to be travelling... and as it drew to a stop she could immediately recognise the destination of her young sister's interests, even from amidst the crowd of miqo'te.

 

K'yohko Nuhn... but of course.

 

Why was her gaze suddenly turning sour, the fiery-eyed huntress would ask herself in vain, though in spite of herself, she allowed little time to dwell upon that curious question and instead returned to her usual habits of allowing her petty frustrations and anger to consume her mind wholly, stealing her away from the outside world until all sound faded away to a monotonous and dulled roar... and all colour drained away to a lifeless, shade of grey. Her fierce eyes could no longer keep themselves on the enemy that was that pink-haired miqo'te for the remainder of the dance, and instead, remained fixed absently upon the base of the great bonfire whose ferocity seemed to be in competition with the girl's rotten thoughts as it spat and roared dangerously mere yalms before her.

 

 

***

 

 

The ceremony had ended; K'mih had moved out of immediate sight and the elders taken their leave. Indecipherable murmurs could be heard all about her as the hunters and huntresses of the tribe anxiously turned and made their way away from the fire in preparation to set out for the eagerly, anticipated hunt. K'nahli was not among them.

 

For a few short moments she had remained unmoving upon the same spot that she had been standing on up until now, eyes focused down toward the ground with a contemptuous glare corrupting her otherwise, youthful features. There was another presence that lingered nearby, a dark and hateful presence as K'nahli saw it, whom deliberately remained in the silence along with her merely to spite the young girl... though in truth, there really was little reason for the nuhn to be hurrying off anywhere in any case. He would not be participating in the hunt after all.

 

Her father, K'yohko, lay far outside of where her vision lay, but she had no doubt in her mind about who it was that remained nonetheless. His stench mocked her senses and slowly pushed her agitation to higher limits in those long and drawn out seconds of isolation where he arrogantly invaded her moment of solitude.

 

How ironic it was to have such feelings toward him when in truth it was her who was waiting to be alone with him.

 

 

With a slow blink, K'nahli raised her head once more, pulling her gaze away from the churning flames whose flickering light seemed to paint her expression with a weak, facade of calmness. Though much softer now, her deceptive expression could not be mistaken for anything other than what it truly was; anger.

 

"You should apologise to your daughter, K'yohko" she spoke suddenly with a cold tone. Her voice was loud enough for the man to hear her but luckily not so much that she would be overheard by their tribekin, not that she had deliberately tried against doing so. Her self-inflicted isolation the past few suns had not rendered her ignorant to most of the goings-on within the tribe and nor had she been ignorant to her father's task for the coming night. Likewise, it was safe to assume that K'mih hadn't been either, or so she figured.

 

 

 

"And maybe explain to her why, for once, you can't choose her" she added with venom as a deepening shadow was cast across her face, having now turn away from the towering flames to abandon her father to the meaning of those words.

[Clover]

The dance was over, it died with the flame of the staff. K'mih left the spotlight as soon as she could, albeit it weren't her insecurities pushing her away; she felt strangely fine, in fact, like floating on any sort of cloud. Performing had been scary at first, but that uncomfortable feeling didn't linger for too long. Starting was the hardest part, the rest flowed on its own. Now she was just eager to hear the words of the one whom had placed so much trust on her.

 

"Uncle!" She called as she approached K'ile, her smile innocent, her eyes full of shy excitement. It was the expression of someone who wasn't really expecting a bad answer. "D-did I do it well?"

 

[...]

 

Among the shadows projected by all the huntresses around the fire, a silent Tia did nothing but watch. K'mih Yohko, the closest person to K'nahli Yohko... She really was nothing like her elder sister, not even with the flames reflected in her eyes. After the traditional ritual, his own eyelids stretched slightly, his grip on his lance tightening. The hunt was starting; he could almost smell his prey. The path to Nunh might as well begin that night.

[Lyraciilee]

There was a mild surprise that flickered across the flames that reflected in K'yohko's violet orbs. Despite K'mih receiving the bead of a firedancer, he had not expected her to perform. But then again, the dance was an important part of the night, of the ritual. It was expected to her to dance with the flames. She was clumsy and unpracticed and her inexperience showed in every misstep and flare of the flames. But her effort was sincere. K'yohko found he could at least respect that much.

 

He let his eyes linger to respectfully watch K'mih's performance, but he felt the sour glare of his eldest daughter somewhere off sulking in the dark. He paid that sourness no mind. Her ire did not deserve his attention. He could feel K'mih's eyes as well, seeking his form out among the crowded gathering. Was it acceptance and praise she was looking for? It felt like something of that nature.

 

As the dance came to a halt and the fire died to embers, the huntresses eagerly collected their things and began their trip outward. K'yohko looked towards some of their slowly fleeting forms yearningly. To hunt this night would be the greatest honor... He could not understand why it was K'takka had ordered him to refrain. But he could not deny her wisdom. If it was his place to take a mate this night, then he would take a mate this night. He remained still, quietly watching a certain sun haired miq'ote from a distance. He needed to wait until she was alone before he could speak with her...

 

A sour voice called K'yohko's attention away. He turned his head faintly in K'nahli's direction. Anger dripped from her words like a thick poison. K'yohko's expression remained unchanging, her ire simply crashing into a rock and falling back where it had come. He was stone against her onslaught.

 

"I have no reason to apologize, daughter of mine. Should it not be you who apologizes? You cause your sister anguish because of your own selfishness." K'yohko's eyes glimmered dangerously behind a straight face, his tail sweeping gently out behind him and relaxing once more. "K'nahli. Do not walk away from me. Your sickness disturbs everyone. I would have you stay and speak your mind. Your cryptic nonsense helps no one." K'yohko straightened himself up to his full height, his tail flicking out more aggressively behind him. "You will listen to me now, or you will be shown sense by The Elders. Do you understand?"

 

*********************

 

K'iara eagerly grabbed hold of her axes, spinning the hilt across her fingers as she stepped away from the flames. The ceremony could not have been longer or more irritating to the woman. Tradition was important, but she was hungry and eager to stretch her legs. Her axe ached in her hand to sink into flesh. The elder huntress licked her lips and pushed her way past K'mih and K'ile, leading the way off to gather the Chocobos for the hunt. Hunting would do no good if they couldn't bring back their kills, after all.

 

 

**********************

 

K'luha hummed deeply in her throat, petting K'tahja's ears and back as the ceremony dragged on. Little K'mih seemed to have grown greatly since she last remembered such a ceremony. Somehow, she wasn't sure if K'mih would be able to do such a bold thing as fire dancing, but K'ile had been a good enough teacher it seemed. A small smile stretched over her features, relaxing her grip on K'tahja as the fire died down with the end of K'mih's dancing. K'luha leaned forward gently to kiss the top of her niece's head.

 

"It's over Tahj. The fire is gone." Her words were soft and comforting, and K'luha stepped back gently to look down in an effort to meet the girl's eyes. "Are you tired? Should we rest in the tent until the huntresses come back with food?"

[Izmina]

K'tahjha hears the fire lessening in intensity and she makes an effort to meet her aunt's gaze. Tahj's eyes are haunted, the fur behind her ears is slick with sweat. Those ears and her tail as low as they would go, feeling she has let her aunt down. Why must she still have nightmares and terrors, like a small child. She nods mutely as K'luha asks if she'd like to go rest in the tent. At least she could bring no more shame on her tribe hidden in her tent. "I'm sorry Aunt Luha", she mumbles as she turns to return to their tent.

[Xha'li Moui]

Xha'li lets out a slight gasp as the dance starts, eyes immediatly darting to the red gem on the pink-haird Miqo'te's wrist, reaching up to the stone at his throat Li whispers softly, "That couldn't be a soulstone...could it?"  Shaking his head to clear the thought for the time being he returns his attention to the ritual, and bows his head resepctfully as the Elders make their way away from the fire.  Looking around he spots K'ile and heads over to him, doing his best to stay downwind and behind the older Miqo'te before clapping his hand on the Tia's shoulder when he's close enough and saying with a chuckle, "You said to see you after the Ritual Unc'?"

[Twinflame]

K'ile was still concussed. He hadn't healed between the beggining of the ritual to the end. So when K'iara pushed between them, he stumbled back a bit. K'ile had managed to watch K'mih's dance even through the sting of the firelight, but the pressure of a headache had built behind his eyes during the ritual. K'iara's push broke whatever dam had been containing it and let it flood around his skull, down the back of his neck and up into the tips of his ears. Not that he'd expect any mercy from K'iara. No, that's just how she was, and he liked her that way, but damn it.

 

Still, the Tia only scowled at K'iara's receding tail for a moment before looking back at K'mih and trying to recover his smile. His ears wouldn't rise from where they'd retreated into his hair, but he managed to get his lips up at the corners. "Your energy was great, K'mih, and that's the most important thing. You and I need to start meeting up in the mornings before everyone else wakes up so I can teach you. Then once I get my stones back we an do some two-person dances. Ah, I really miss team-dances! They were so-"

 

Li slapped his shoulder. The headache roiled against his skull, and K'ile cringed against it. The pain stole his smile again and made his tail shiver. And how lucky that Zhuzhu's kid was sticking around to absorb K'ile's rising frustration. "Yeah, Xha'li. Me and you have some work to do tonight. But if you call me 'Unc' again, I'll beat you up a little bit. Or a lot. I'll just start small and keep going until I decide I'm done."

[Lyraciilee]

K'luha gently guided Tahj back to the tent, peering in and waiting for Tahj to seem settled down before she pulled away. Her eyes wandered the campsite. The Huntresses on the move, K'yohko's familiar form lingering in the shadows with K'nahli, and K'ile with K'mih and Xha'li. K'luha felt her chest ache, the two figures she wished to see most among the campsite invisible to her eyes.

 

The former huntress turned away, slipping gently past her tent and outwards of the circle of tents. Her feet carried her softly from the noise and sounds and familiarity of her family, a dark thread tugging at her chest that guided her. Not far away, but far enough, she sat herself down on small cliff side. Her hip ached distantly, but her mind wandered towards the moonlight. Faint memories stirred of the Sagolii, of how K'piru had run out to the sands and wailed and waited for her dead family to return.

 

K'luha looked to the grassy ground. Was this home now? It felt as empty as the night's sky when the stars still failed to shine bright. The strings around her chest seemed to pull her in so many directions that it simply tore her apart.

 

Lamenting, K'luha pressed her face to her knees and breathed deeply.

[K'nahli]

K'nahli was drawn to a gradual halt upon hearing that icy voice call out toward her. The mere sound of it in that moment was enough to cause her expression to wrinkle up with utter disdain. That miqo'te truly had a lot of nerve to suggest that she was in a position of wrongdoing. To apologise, even. How arrogant could he truly get? Her frustration quickly manifested itself through the subtle shaking that her clenched fists had commenced down, along by her sides; though the discreet yet irritating tremors that had suddenly possessed control of her body had quickly subsided as the girl stole a deep breath of the night air - causing them to vanish again almost as quickly as they had appeared.

 

"Mayhap then you are hoping that I do not stop walking...." she answered snidely without so much as looking back at the nuhn. He was not one to mince words and she had no reason to doubt that he truly would allow the elders to see to dealing with her, but in that moment it really did not matter to K'nahli. All that she knew was that she was angry. He made her angry. She made her angry. Precisely as to why either of them did oddly continued to elude her still. A further infuriating concept that only seemed to try and undermine her own right to be angry and  serve as yet another voice in her head that would tell her she was simply wrong.

 

 

"Do as you see fit, father, but my presence is required elsewhere right now.... as is yours..." K'nahli added after a couple of seconds delay, waiting nary a moment longer before continuing her pace forward - with only a trace of hesitation impeding her first step - as she recommenced her walk toward the outskirts of the camp.

[Lyraciilee]

The sick tone of the frail woman's voice was grating upon his ears. They twitched faintly with her poisoned words, his fingers digging lightly into his rough skin. His daughter would truly then, choose to walk away before she would admit her problem? This problem did not require the elders any further. It required force.

 

K'yohko's eyes narrowed dangerously at his daughter's fleeting form. This was the end of this behavior, or she would become the next exiled kin. K'yohko's stormy tail flicked agitatedly behind him, and the stone faced Nunh stepped silently through the grass after his daughter. As her form exited from the camp light, just out of the general sight for the camp, his opportunity arose.

 

Like lightning, he silently glided across the distance left between himself and K'nahli. His body came up sharply, aiming to smash into his daughter's and pin her much smaller form to the ground and stare down into her face with an unmatched intensity.

 

"K'nahli." His voice was low, angry, thick with subtle emotions his face could not portray. "This ends now. If I must force this from your tongue, then I will force it."

[K'nahli]

K'nahli let slip a startled gasp as she was suddenly thrown to the ground by an unseen force with great speed. She grunted sharply as she landed heavily on her back, sliding a short distance in the process as a result of the unanticipated attack - the force of which having left her momentarily dazed; though thanks to the brittle ground, not particularly hurt at least. Her eyes, having braced themselves for the impending impact with the ground before her, had still been sealed, tightly shut by the time she realised that whatever had knocked her down was in fact a person, a person whose perceivably, large form was still on top of her, deliberately pinning her down with a strength that she could not hope to rival. Though she struggled little at first, it was easy to tell then and there that she would be unable to move so long as she was restrained like this.

 

A blurred silhouette, burned against the night sky greeted her as her eyes slowly drew open once again, straining slightly against a faint but niggling pain that could be felt near the back of her head following the collision. It had all happened so fast that she hadn't even considered the possibility of whom or what it could have been...this person..... before her sharp gaze, now returning to focus, had finally revealed the answer to the girl.

 

Mere ilms away, locked fierce and relentlessly against her own fragile stare were those familiar, stony eyes of her father, piercing through that of her own at a highly, discomforting proximity.

 

 

"What..." her voice trailed off for a moment as she fell lost within his mysterious gaze. Her tone was neutral, almost as though her voice hadn't even decided what emotion it should emulate for this given scenario, something so sudden and unpredicted. Even as he spoke, K'nahli could only hesitate for a few seconds longer to let the whole matter sink in.

 

 

"....what in the seven hells is the matter with you?! Let go of me!" she finally hissed angrily while beginning to struggle in a vain attempt to free her arms from beneath her father's grasp, regardless of how hopeless it seemed to even K'nahli herself. In truth, had it been anyone else then she'd have not hesitated to deliver a strike with her knee to her captor's abdominin, though the girl was not completely without her wits. As much as she despised her father's actions in this moment, such a thing was impossible - even for her, whom was displaying an ever-increasing lack of due respect for those around her.

 

K'nahli continued fidgeting in an attempt to slip free or at least persuade him to release her, though she was quickly realising, however, that her father would not relent given the extent he had so unexpectedly taken this too.

It was not unlikely that she would have to tell him something, and soon.

[Lyraciilee]

"I should be asking that question to you, K'nahli." The words were spit back as fast as K'nahli could say them. Although his face refused to budge from it's constant neutral expression, his eyes shimmered violently like the crackling of a storm. His ears too, twitched and tilted ever so slightly forward, giving away his irritation with his daughter.

 

It went without saying K'yohko would not allow K'nahli to move without a fight.

 

"You will answer to me, daughter of mine, why it is that you so suddenly come to hate your sister. Why it is, that you consistently loathe and disrespect me. Tell me why it is that you have come to hate your family and turn yourself so aloof from the people that care about you." K'yohko's voice was firm and harsh, his deep tones digging into her mind and prying for some sort of sensible answer.

[K'nahli]

"Hah.." K'nahli scoffed mockingly as her eyes searched to her surroundings yet again for any excuse to avoid the persistent eye contact her father forced upon her with the situation.

 

"This sudden interest is a stranger to your usual ways, is it not? Should K'ile be playing spectator then I doubt this compares to the attributes he oh-so admired in K'thalen" she retorted, meeting his eyes again now.

 

"...If this is yet another weakly-conceived ruse of yours to quell the rivalry which he holds for you then you would be best seeking counsel with others before your next ploy" K'nahli added bitterly in an attempt to evade the full weight of the question he had posed upon her. Her nimble form was weak and powerless beneath his massive strength and so she had finally ceased struggling, though as she paused between sentences she found herself fidgeting slightly against his weight and grip upon her which had been growing increasingly, more uncomfortable; filling the short silence with the soft scrapings of cloth against brittle dirt.

 

K'nahli's eyes shifted away for a moment as Kyohko's words echoed in her head once more. Though her intent had been to stray as far as possible from the stage she could not let one detail go unacknowledged. The girl bit down tightly on the inside of her lip as she found herself unable to contain her thoughts and to refrain from continuing.

 

"...And.. I do not hate my sister. The very fact that you would even suggest such a thing is an insult" she answered firmly, looking him deep in the eye this time.

 

"I have done nothing to hurt K'mih... I would never...."

[Lyraciilee]

K'yohko fumed silently, snorting out hot air and fury onto K'nahli's face. He lowered himself, his sharpened fangs glimmering inches from her face.

 

"Keep your tongue in check or I will check it for you." The snarling words tumbled down hotly from his mouth, hitting K'nahli's face with an intense ferocity. His rocky face that twisted into an expression of anger, his eyes shimmering with the same rage he'd shown when Xha'li first entered the camp.

 

"I will not bare your attitude any further. If you will not answer why you wound your sibling, you will answer why you insist upon disrespecting me. K'ile is nothing to me. A buzzing insect without threat. Without purpose. If you will not answer me, I will chose you as my mate so you may feel the proper shame for your actions." The words slithered maliciously from his mouth as his sharped nails dug into her skin. "I have no more tolerance for your belligerence. Answer me K'nahli."

[K'nahli]

"Keep your tongue in check or I will check it for you."

 

The words sent a cold shiver down K'nahli's spine. Every snarled syllable oozed with a thick and potent venom that violently threatened the girl's mere well-being, a level of aggression unlike any that she had ever seen from the nuhn, something not even comparable to the outburst from their encounter previous. The girl's defiantly, fierce expression slowly slipped away as she gradually crumbled beneath his dominating anger, his words nearly falling on deaf ears as the mere toxicity of them together with his overwhelming aura had pushed her back into an offspring's realm of fear and anxiety. Her lips subtly parted in a failed attempt to speak through his anger, though whatever it was that she had tried to interrupt him with was lost forever beneath the nuhn's closing claim.

 

 

"......!?"

"If you will not answer me, I will chose you as my mate so you may feel the proper shame for your actions."

 

 

("Wh-What kind of threat is.... punishment or no, such a thing could never be permitted... could it? Could it really?").

 

Questions by the dozens raced through K'nahli's head as her father, K'yohko, had wittingly succeeded with his intimidation tactics, vulgar as his attempt perceivably would have been viewed.

As though the nuhn's anger wasn't an overwhelming aspect on it's own, now the girl was left doubting if such a horrendous punishment was even a possible outcome for her. Permitted or no, would he actually be capable of such a thing, for the sake of shaming her into behaving as a daughter to he... no, the Hipparion tribe should?

 

K'nahli turned her head away to break eye contact once again as she found herself no longer able to handle his perpetually, piercing stare. Even without looking at him she could feel those raw, amethyst eyes burning holes clear through the side of her head, causing her to resume fidgeting, her eyes unable to focus on any one spot for very long, though never straying too close back toward his. The girl's weak chest heaved a few more times with quickly-drawn breaths brought along by her swell of anxiety before finally, she eventually managed to reclaim some control of herself once again in tune with a long and deep breath taken to help soothe her restless nerves.

She had to just get it over with she thought to herself... to get out of this deplorable situation she just had to do something...

 

 

"K'mih.... she is..." the girl began, though her sentence fell far, short of completion. K'nahli halted again in her speech, her nerves and reluctance to speak clearly taking a toll on her ability to continue. Surely K'yohko was aware of that much. The girl blinked slowly a few times, gathering her thoughts together as she prepared herself for a torture far less bearable than any lashings would have proven. Despite the intensity of this moment, such a thing, her persistent state of angst, was actually not entirely bad it would seem, as a final thought crossed the girl's mind as she worked herself up, swallowing hard in a futile attempt to soothe her drying throat before continuing to speak.

 

 

"A number of moons ago.. I confided something in K'mih....something that I had her swear to secrecy..." K'nahli finally began speaking once again. Her sentences were a little, more composed now, but still saturated with hesitation, and now, a very new and strong emotion that for once, was not anger.

 

"..And, being that the matter somewhat involved you, I..." she trailed off, her eyes deliberately refraining from eye contact as she summoned up all of her remaining strength she had to continue speaking as her eyes searched in all directions as though they were through her memory.

 

 

"The last evening before we commenced our trip to Forgotten Springs... do you remember what happened after you had come back bloodied and injured?" she asked simply yet rhetorically. Her tone has changed slightly now as she seemed to be recalling something particularly hurtful, though it had a level of confidence that she lacked when beginning with discussing the events prior to the change of setting.

 

"I wanted to help you toward the tent and tend to your wounds... and in return, you.. willingly threw me aside and declared me an "idiot child"....and yet... not even ten minutes of light had been lost from the day before I then found you happily allowing K'mih tend to your injuries..." she reminded him while silently grating her teeth behind closed lips. Her anger had returned for a brief visit as she hesitantly recalled the events for her father, though it had been concealed for the most part.

 

"Mock me if you will but....I didn't..." she struggled to continue, changing the direction of her gaze once more as her expression contorted bitterly, the girl now feeling even more frustrated and vulnerable for having been forced to speak of her private thoughts to him like this.

 

"...It angered me to see you choosing her over me as though I had less worth...." she finally managed to explain with a different wording.

 

The girl fought against all urges to search her father's eyes for his reaction though the humiliation of having to admit such a thing was already overwhelming for the normally, solitary girl. Looking at him now could well and easily break her, and that could not happen. She needed to be strong for what came next.

 

 

"...but it is not so simple as that either..." she added with great and noticeable reluctance after what felt like an immensely, lengthy pause.

 

 

"That day prior, the day I was with K'mih.... she had brought up the topic of... coupling with a nuhn. I... lent her my ear and she told me of her feelings, that she were unready, far too nervous to even contemplate such a step in her life." K'nahli explained slowly as she recalled that day's details, now being oppressed with further guilt for having exposed her sister's feelings like this in the process of explaining herself.

 

"Though she feared that her mother would expect it of her sooner than she herself were willing to and so......" K'nahli trailed off again as her voice grew more fragile with anxiety. Her eyes glazed over with a thin, veil of moisture as she found herself choking even harder on her own words as they were forced out from her throat. She wanted to beg K'yohko to let her go and not have her continue any further with this charade... but she already knew that it would only be a futile effort to try and reason with him now, and pleading with the nuhn here would only make it harder for her to continue.

 

"...and so I told her something of myself that I thought might help ease her mind... though perhaps... no, I am certain that it was just so I no longer had to carry the burden alone to myself any longer...." she finally continued with a forced voice that so, very, nearly broke under her shattering nerves. The girl's eyes began to water even more noticeably now, holding just shy of forming actual tears as she was slowly losing the ability to completely contain herself any longer.

 

Though distorted, K'yohko was going to get the answer that he wanted.

 

 

"I told her that there was only one nuhn that I would consider for myself... and that I would never accept any other option... and so.. I told her that I would be happiest to never see our nuhn lose that position... even if it were not a path a daughter could take...regardless...." K'nahli blurted out with much hesitation, her eyes now turning as far away from K'yohko's unrelenting stare as she could possibly force them to.

 

 

"Un-..derstandably, K'mih was disturbed by my feelings... if you found that she had ever been behaving unusually then it were most likely on my behalf" K'nahli commenced with even more half-truths as she sought any possible means to cover the trail from K'mih's actions up until now. Though they were not lies that could easily be said in any circumstances, the situation as K'yohko had thrusted upon her had served well to help disguise her ulterior reluctance. Surely K'yohko would not know the difference... he had no reason to think otherwise.

 

 

 

"I.... I am not ignorant to the many wrongs that such feelings would suggest... in spite of telling her, I was and am not even hopeful that I could somehow be understood for it..." she continued with an intensifying stutter, but a subtly growing confidence for having overcome the biggest hurdle.

 

"...it's shameful, repulsive.... and not something that I had intended on sharing.... least of all with you...." she added with a shameful tone while very briefly managing to pass a short glance sidewards toward him before retracting it away once again.

 

 

 

 

"...And so, you are wrong father... I would not feel the shame that you think were you to choose me as you have threatened.." she added once more with a notably, greater reluctance this time. The girl deliberately shifted her body again, in part feigning an imaginary discomfort for feeling so very exposed to him now in this situation, though in a way emulating some of those insecurities that her own charade had now made her appear. The girl's face was flushed with an even brighter shade of red from the one previous. The act alone was so horrible to have to "admit" to, but it was self-catering in the sense that her embarrassment from the lie had actually made it more believable. It was a small consolation that she were grateful for. However, regardless of how well or badly K'yohko were to take this mock revelation, she would now have to carry the shame of it around for every encounter that she would have with him, small and large. Even in this moment where she could only feel anger and spite for her father, knowing that she had carved an even larger and permanent channel between them to further distance them was something discomfortingly unnerving to the young archer.

 

In the end, however, she was only trying to protect K'mih in the only way that she felt she could. It was a dangerous game that she were playing, but she needed to use everything that she possibly could to deter K'yohko from detecting K'mih's trail should he be in any way's suspicious.

 

 

So, now he knew. Now she could see for herself what would be made of such a situation without.

[Izmina]

K'tahjha curls up in bed in the tent she shares with her aunt, her mind swirling with violently unhappy thoughts. Why now? Things were going so well. She sits up and angrily wipes tears then cradles her head in her hands. She had worked so hard to improve her bow skills and to stalk the sands like her desert-born sisters. I'm not a huntress, I'm a coward. I've disappointed Luha. With a sigh she pushes herself off her cot, picks up her bow and heads out of the tent to look for her aunt.

 

She hesitates slightly and then heads away from the ceremonial fire, winding her way through the sea of tents. Her ears perked and scenting the air, she tries to trail K'luha through camp, slowly working her way towards the outer edge.

[Lyraciilee]

It felt as if the deepest nightmares in the far recesses of his mind had dredged forward into his daughter. Not only had she been jealous, thinking he favored one daughter over another, but she... lusted over him? The color drained from K'yohko's form, all semblance of fury gone and replaced with an unreadable wall. How could it have happened? The entire dismaying prospect baffled the Nuhn. How could it of happened like this?

 

Almost repulsed by the nightmare that was now swirling as an unfathomably reality, K'yohko pulled back from K'nahli, stepping almost clumsily away and in quick effort to put space between them. A single word repeated through his mind, feeding in on itself and working his insides to a panicked boil. How? His face showed nothing. His body showed nothing. As if in defense to this news, any sort of emotion he could normally display in any small capacity seemed to completely stop.

 

"We will never speak of this again. The words were quiet, giving away some of his dismay but nothing as compared to the turmoil twisting his gut. K'yohko kept his eyes firmly away from K'nahli, refusing to even look on her. There were no other words, no opportunity to say another word before K'yohko dismissed himself from her entirely. He turned his back and stepped briskly away, unwilling to listen to anything else she might of had to say, unwilling to even look into her eyes or at her face.

 

K'yohko's feelings were mixed up. Unable to pick apart any singular emotion, it was all he could do to simply walk away. He continued that walk, seeking some shelter, when his eyes picked up a familiar aura. An aura that felt as much in despair as his own. K'luha. The huntress was just in his view, and luckily it was quite a ways from where he'd left his daughter laying. As if K'luha might make some ward to hold K'nahli off if she wanted to chase him down, he walked briskly to her side before sitting down.

 

K'luha lifted her head slowly as a warm body sat down. Her face was drained, unhappy looking as the days after her son's death.

 

"K'yohko..." She muttered quietly before turning her head away from his form. K'yohko looked to her nervously, glancing back behind himself as if to make sure K'nahli was away and not following.

 

"K'luha." He replied quietly, his voice ever so faintly trembling.

 

"It's been a while K'yohko..."

[Izmina]

K'tahjha finally picks up the one scent she was searching for and begins to follow it through the maze of tents. As she comes around the last tent, she spots the silhouette of her aunt, but she isn't alone. Her ears fall, she really needs to talk to her. Crouching down  close to the tent she peers through the fading light to see who K'luha is with. 

 

Her lips curve into a reluctant smile as she notices it's her father. She watches a moment more before stepping carefully and quietly into the lengthening shadows. Working her way back towards her tent, she spots her sister. The huntress appears to be alone. Tahj bites her lower lip, does she dare approach the huntress? She takes a deep breath and forces a friendly smile on her face,"K'nahli? I thought you were out hunting?"

[Clover]

As K'ile spoke, K'mih's smile displayed more shyness than excitement. For some reason, her uncle didn't look like the same person he was the previous sun. He felt a bit closer, a bit warmer. He was no longer just the uncle who spoke venom of her father and warned her of the tribe laws-- laws, there were many laws; he knew them all. Now K'ile was someone she'd start sharing something other than blood with, meeting him every morning while everyone else's eyes were closed.

 

'K'ile will never be Nunh', she told herself, and that alone helped her to keep smiling. With a Tia, she could dance. So she nodded emphatically, her attitude in the right place, where her mind was not.

 

"Thank you, uncle!"

 

That was all she could say before Li gathered the man's attention, filling K'mih's eyes with innocent curiosity. They had work to do together, so K'ile said. She did too, actually; the hunt had started, hadn't it? The huntresses were leaving the camp and so should she. However, the plots K'ile had been weaving in the shadow against the Nunh had made K'mih more nervous than what she should, thus she couldn't help an apparently innocent and curious smile, followed by an equal question. "...Work?"

[Twinflame]

"Uh, yeah." K'ile rubbed at his head, trying to work out the headache like he mmight a cramp. The more it hurt now, the less it hurt later, right? Probably not. At least he'd gotten all his venom out with one quick, convenient bite at the outsider. Well, not all of his venom. He'd save some for K'yohko. He always saved some venom for K'yohko.

 

"I promised the tribe a feast, and I don't like breaking promises. Cha'li's gonna help me cook and salt things." He looked around the tribe for any sign of K'luha or K'tahja. "I was going to have Tahj help, too, but I guess she hasn't warmed up to the idea of fire yet."