Heinous Omens [K-Tribe]

[Lyraciilee]

Arrow pelted the best, digging through flesh and fur to injure the raging billy. But a single beast was easy to best, the problem seemed to be the other billies turning about and flaring their nostrils, snorting and stamping their feet to the ground. K'iara's eyes focused in on them. If they sought one, they would have to fight more, and there inlaid the challenge. There had to be a way to frighten them off. To block the heard from their target.

 

And there was. Fire!

 

K'iara's eyes darted frantically through the chaos. A few of the heard had already come forward, charging at the huntresses and forcing them to halt their arrows and dodge. The loud crunching noise of horns ramming into a body caught K'iara's ears first. Who was the fool to get hit? It would be none but K'nahli. Her eyes narrowed, both of concern and irritation at the mewling cub, laying like a target on the floor. But what would have been her death, was avoided by a stray arrow. K'iara's eyes followed the arrow back to its source, the ever timid Tahja crouching atop of the hill. And it seemed the beast had followed the arrow back to its source as well as it turned and snorted to her.

 

With a rough irritated grunt, K'iara pushed forward with all of her speed and might. Her feet barely touched the ground as she ran with the speed of the wind's grace. With a snarling roar, she approached the beast from behind, grasping her axe and tackling into the billy, using her momentum to heave her axe into the billy's neck. The axe bit fast and hard into the tough hide, breaking through all its defenses to cripple it. K'iara yanked at her axe hard, pulling it free of the beast and kicking a leg out to push the crying billy over. It served no threat to the rest of them being so crippled. Her eyes turned back over to K'nahli, where the pink-haired K'mih now was trying to hold her.

 

Once more, K'iara darted across the scene of the fight to the girls. The Head Huntress grasped at K'mih's shoulder as soon as she was close enough and pointed out towards the line of beasts now looking towards them.

 

"Fire! You must set the brush on fire!" K'iara demanded. Her voice was almost painful to hear in the way it cracked and wheezed with effort to be so loud. "Do it now before we are overwhelmed!"

[Clover]

Fire...? The brush...? K'mih had barely managed to start lifting her sister when K'iara's voice commanded a very different course of action, her tone filled with urgency. For a brief moment, the girl became paralyzed, confused about what to do and how to do it. The stones the elders had trusted her with didn't take long to come to her mind.

 

"A-alright..." she whispered nervously, mostly to herself. Albeit quick, K'mih gave K'nahli an apologetic glance before she stood up and ran to the nearest brush. She'd only tried the stones once and was still unsure of how to use them properly, but hopefully she could still remember the movement. Grabbing a small branch she could use to imitate the fire ritual, K'mih barely gave herself some time to think about her own fear. She simply ignited the flame, so quickly that, for the second time, the shock made her let go of the stick abruptly. When she fell back onto the ground, her wide open eyes observed how the fire had indeed reached the brush. Like poison, it spread fast. Or perhaps it had simply found the right material, the right victim to nurture its flames.

 

"K'nahli!" K'mih called her again, standing up as fast as she could -almost tripping down again- to run beside her sister. Neither those aggressive beasts nor the consuming fire were enemies she was prepared to fight.

[Izmina]

K'tahjha breathes a sigh of relief as K'iara deals with the aggitated beast. Then she remembers her sister, she scrambles off the hill heading for K'mih and K'nahli, knowing the injured girl could be caught in the fire or trampled by another terrified beast. She arrives at the girls' side breathing heavily, eyes concerned. "Can I help?"

 

 

K'zhumi cleans herself up and puts on fresh robes as she arrives at her tent. She begins to put away her supplies, but pauses, her brow furrowed. She has a sense of uneaziness she can't shake and so takes her tome and her bag of supplies and heads down to where the ceremonial fire was held earlier to wait the hunting party.

[K'nahli]

The creature's wails of agony had only caused K'nahli to sink her head deeper into her arms, mistaking the cries for ones of anger rather than salvation. Her ears dipped low as every muscle in her body tensed in brace as she prepared for what she could only pray would be a quick end.

 

....

.......

..........

 

 

 

 

"......."

 

The thundering roar of those trampling of hooves, those which echoed forth the call of death as they crushed and destroyed the solid earth beneath them had suddenly and inexplicably subsided. It took a few moments before the girl would dare to remove herself from the safety of her arms, moments which should not have been loaned unto her, judging by the beast's impressive speed. When two anxious eyes finally peered over the stacked barrier both her arms had formed before her, the girl, despite her daze, managed to assess the situation. The creature had been distracted by something, wounded even. The long shaft of an arrow immediately caught her eye as it's fletchlings drew an unnatural silhouette through the starry horizon ahead while Menphina's ambient light struck a thin, powdery-blue outline beneath it's curvature. Protruding from a notably softer part of flesh near the billy's flank, whomever had fired this particular arrow, they had surely saved her life.

 

A soft sound rumbled in the girl's throat as she quickly yet painfully reattempted to pull herself back to her feet. She had more strength this time, but still not quite enough to compose herself. She staggered from a half-kneeling position while letting slip agitated grunts, eager to move far enough out of the way should the beast decide to finish her before dealing with whomever had interrupted it's rampage.

 

 

"K'nahli!"

 

 

".....?!" the girl quickly threw her glance sideward as a familiar voice suddenly reached out to her along with the aid of a comforting hand.

 

 

 

"K...K'mih..." K'nahli blurted out with surprise as her younger sister wasted no time with taking her arm over her own shoulder in order to carry her weight and help her to her feet. K'nahli stared deeply into her sister's eyes for the short moment she were able with complete surprise. It was incredibly unlikely that K'mih had been the one whom had fired the arrow and yet... here she was. The older huntress blinked uncertainly before taking her glance away to focus on more pressing matters that K'mih herself had already, and more wisely, set to mind. No further words were shared as K'mih began leading her older sister away from the distracted billy, though it didn't take long before another, more distinct, piercing cry filled the air around them. The billy, now the focus of both the girls' stares, had fallen; it's massive and once threatening form now nothing more than a lifeless heap that lay upon the barren floor.

K'nahli blinked a couple of times as her subtly-relieved gaze then shifted to focus upon an irritated-looking K'iara. Oddly, the maroon-eyed girl appeared more indifferent to her rescue than one might have expected. Perhaps it were that she had placed great confidence in the fact that her sisters, having simply arrived to aid the girl at all, had led her to almost, automatically assume that there was no longer a threat to her safety... or maybe it was simply the copious amounts of adrenaline that was no less than pumping through her veins after such an encounter.

 

 

Everything else seemed to happen too quickly for the girl to process, now that she could afford to lose some focus toward her surroundings. K'nahli staggered slightly as K'mih was forced to let go of her and commit to K'iara's order to attempt to deter the beasts. She quickly winced as her entire weight was suddenly thrust upon her injured side, forcing her to rest a relieving a hand across her wounded hip. Her eyes sought to travel to observe K'mih and ensure that she was safe, given that she had been entrusted with a worrisome order. Fire? Really? The girl hardly had a chance to properly learn of it's workings, let alone incorporate it into a battle situation. The energy required to endure the pain and remain standing unaided, however, was simply far, too distracting right now. The girl whimpered quietly again as she attempted to reaffirm her footing in the ground. Her daze was subsiding now, but returning herself to her feet had, in turn, only made her feel momentarily light-headed. Her one, free hand pressed up against her temple for a moment in some attempt to more quickly alleviate the feeling; naturally to no avail.

 

 

Before K'nahli had realised it, K'mih was calling out to her once again and promptly resumed her place by K'nahli's side to help support her weight so that she may walk more easily. K'nahli panted softly in half-breaths, breaths that sounded as though there were uncertain if a voice was to be carried along with them. The girl's eyes remained fixed on the ground as they took their first few steps, with K'mih quickly yet carefully leading K'nahli out of the immediate dangerzone.

It was then that another voice called, one that was unfamiliar at first though their scent would soon betray their identity as they drew a little closer.

 

"Can I help?" K'tahjha asked with a tone that hinted toward an unwelcomed concern.

 

 

Despite herself, K'nahli couldn't prevent sneering slightly in spite of her pained expression as her face remained mostly hidden now that it were momentarily gazing down, toward the ground. K'mih, her beloved sister was one thing, but having even the young K'tahjha offer to help carry off felt offensive somehow.

 

Nonetheless, K'mih would almost certainly accept her aid.

 

 

Still, the girl said nothing.

[Twinflame]

After leaving K'yohko and that very strange conversation behind, K'ile found his way back to the center of camp mostly by scent. His brow was furrowed and his eyes were on the ground in front of him as he walked, trying not to over-ponder the very strange but relatively unsurprising conversation he'd had with K'luha. The woman's desires made sense. She had been a mother for a very long time, after all. A new child would grow up without the turmoil of the Calamity. K'tahjha would be a positive influence, a close sister.

 

K'yohko would stay away from K'ile's children.

 

When the smell of cooking meat and salt became too much to think through, K'ile lifted his face and walked the last few meters toward the tent. He sniffed for the stink of charred meat or burning fur in case K'li had actually managed to set himself on fire. As K'ile pushed into the tent, he huffed, "Okay, that took longer than I thought. Hope you haven't been lazy in here."

[Lyraciilee]

To K'iara delight, K'mih was not as useless as the Huntress had originally assumed. The pink haired girl had the wits about her to listen, and she watched as the girl clambered up to the brush and, although clumsily, lit a great fire that caught upon the dried branches and dried grasses quickly. K'iara's panic subsided as she watched the beasts snarled and stamp, running back and away from the huntresses. A heavy sigh passed her lips as they backed off, beady eyes glaring angrily at their attackers.

 

They would be safe, for now.

 

K'iara glanced about at the battlefield as the chaos died down. Two beasts dead, several wounded as they ran. Perhaps prey for another night. But two tremendous beasts! It would be the greatest feast the tribe had seen in years! Excited and anxious to return home, K'iara turned her gaze sharply to Tahj. She had heard an offered voice of help, and cared not for who it was supposed to be for.

 

"Tahj, help the others gather the beasts." She ordered, stepping forward to pat the girl warmly on the shoulder. "We have made good hunt." With a nod she turned her eyes to the wounded K'nahli and K'mih. "K'nahli, we will get Sister Zhumi to see to your wounds. We cannot afford absent-mindedness on the hunt. It is a heinous omen for our new life. K'mih, leave your sister. Help the others gather the beasts." K'iara turned and whistled loudly, calling forth their chocobos to the site of the hunt. The yellow-feathered birds were quick, and K'iara was the first to make it, skipping over the rocky terrain and coming to a halt near the head huntress. "K'nahli, can you stand? I'll set you on my chocobo to ride you home to K'zhumi."

[Izmina]

K'tahjha stops immediately at K'iara's order. No thoughts of disobedience, she assumes K'iara will take care of her sister. She quickly trots over to where a few of the more experienced huntresses were attaching the massive beasts to the chocobos. She pauses to lovingly stroke Rhiki's beak, secretly glad that he was not needed to help drag the kills home. At his age she was afraid it would be too much strain on him. She is a quick study and is soon helping steady the birds and helping to securely fasten the harnesses.

[K'nahli]

K'nahli shamefully lowered her head into a semi-apologetic bow as K'iara condemned her unusual lack of focus. She was right. Not just about the cause, but also it's intolerable presence in this hunt, of all hunts.

 

"Forgive me, K'iara... I will not see such negligence repeated again.." she apologised with a reluctant sense of humility. She chose not to meet eyes with the head huntress as she spoke, though her words were as genuine as they came.

 

K'nahli glanced sidewards, sending her gaze over to meet with the approaching chocobo that loyally hurried toward their position upon K'iara's call. As much as K'nahli loved the creatures, seeing them now only made her subtly wince to herself with apprehension as she watched their awkwardly uneven, yet necessary movements across the native terrain.

 

"..I... can manage myself, thank... you" the girl replied to K'iara's question belligerently after a brief pause, shortly before the chocobo came to a halt nearby. Her hip was still in significant pain and she loathed the idea of having to pull herself up on to the chocobo's back, even less so the bumpy ride that would inevitably follow, but that pain would only come secondary to having to so shamelessly ask for actual help with the task.

 

Her attention was then drawn to K'mih's movement as the girl relieved herself of K'nahli's weight and made to quickly set to the task as ordered by K'iara.

 

("K'mih...") K'nahli found herself silently calling out inside her head. She had never even acknowledged her sister's efforts to help her and yet calling out to her now only to say "thank you" only went against the girl's more timid nature, considering the presence of both K'iara and K'tahjha. Instead, her eyes merely followed the small miq'ote apologetically as her mind painted reminiscent images of the cold behaviour she had been unfairly rewarding her younger sister with as of late.

[Clover]

K'mih's lips parted to give K'tahjha a reply, but any sound that was meant to come out of her throat was interrupted by K'iara's command. K'iara was a great woman, a great leader. K'mih, a submissive and weak miqo'te. She'd never contradict the leader's orders; she'd just look at her dear sister with worried and apologetic eyes -it was that look again-, and slowly and carefully remove K'nahli's arm from herself. K'iara was going to take care of her, right...? As much as K'mih wished she could do it, she was aware that K'iara would be much better and more helpful to her sister. So she left with the rest of the huntresses, willing to do as she was told to help them.

[Xha'li Moui]

Li looked up as K'ile returned and grinned as he moved the last of the meat on to cook, "Not been lazy, though I can't say how good it'll be-you've got nothing besides salt to season the meat."  Grinning wickedly he poked his tail up out of the front of his shirt and waved the tip slightly before tucking it back in, "And look no tail to burn easily!"

[Twinflame]

K'ile's brow dropped, and he frowned at K'li's gesture with his tail. "Very clever, keeping your tail away from the fire. Nobody else has ever thought of that." The Tia paced into the tent to look over the meat. "Why would you use salt to season the meat? The salt is for preserving some of it, because we aren't going to eat it all tonight. That's why I told you to only salt some of it. Salting all of it is wasteful."

[Xha'li Moui]

Li rolled his eyes at his uncle, "Well of course, but a tiny bit of salt with some other seasonings-some of which can be found growing wild in the area- can improve the taste of the meat."  Pointing to one of the urns Li continued, "Only that one is salted for preservation."

[Twinflame]

K'ile ignored the pot that K'li said was salted for preservation, if only to save himself from having to smell all that salt. He crouched instead over one of the other urns, looking in and sniffing the meat to check it. Sure enough, there was a powerful scent of salt in this one as well. K'ile brushed at his face and looked over his shoulder. "You never really lived with an honest shortage of resources, have you, K'li? The kind of famine where you begin to wonder how long a person can go on nothing but two or three grains of salt."

[Xha'li Moui]

Xha'li shook his head, "Not really, I'm a farm kid we kept herds of animals and only killed as needed; it was grains and other produce that I'm more familiar with reading for preservation other then jerky."  Bowing his head with his ears folded Xha'li continued, "If I've ruined it I humbly apologize and promise to help work to replace it."

[Twinflame]

Sighing and letting his shoulders drop, K'ile groaned. "You didn't ruin it. Don't be so dramatic." He curled his hands under the urn and stood with it, holding all of the meat it contained. "Just finish up that last batch and help me move it all out to the bonfire. I want the feast ready before the hunt is over. There's going to be some very hungry huntresses."

[Lyraciilee]

K'iara reached up, running her gloved fingers through her chocobo's feathers upon its neck. She watched for a moment as K'mih and K'tahjha skittered off to do as they were bid to. With a small nodd, she pat her Chocobo's head and had him kneel down. K'iara shifted, moving to help K'nahli into the saddle before she bit the chocobo to stand once more.

 

"Back to camp with you. Go to K'zhumi immediately. I will be there shortly." And with that she whistled to send her chocobo on its way. K'iara turned and strode over to the rest of the group, aiding in tying down the heavy beasts between two chocobos at a time. When everything was secured, they would move out back to the camp to bring the kills before the elders at the bonfire.

[K'nahli]

Though greatly relieved to have had a helping hand, the girl couldn't help but feel a sense of shame as K'iara helped her up into the saddle. Biting her lip, K'nahli said nothing further as the lead huntress offered some parting words and signalled for the bird to bring her home with a distinct whistle. Responding with a pleasing chirp, the chocobo quickly set on it's way in the direction of their new camp as commanded by the miqo'te, naturally oblivious to the fragile state it's current rider was now in. K'nahli huffed a subdued breath as the chocobo's movements quickly began to agitate the growing pain in her hip, as she had predicted. Regardless, the girl tried to push her discomfort as far as she could to the back of her mind, choosing to distract herself by taking some solace in the knowledge that the bird was both mature and intelligent enough to do most of the work with bringing her home, with very little guiding required on her part.

 

~~~

 

Arriving back at the camp, K'nahli coaxed the bird into a walk with a soft whisper as she drew nearer to the inner circle of tents. The campfire in the centre continued to burn brilliantly, creating an enticing, orange glow that illuminated much of the area around it. Gazing into it's depths for a few moments, the girl found herself hesitating before then choosing to guide the bird out of the direct light, deliberately lingering within the shadows behind the first set of tents to avoid as much attention as possible from those who yet remained to tend to the many other tasks while the hunt was in progress. She didn't need travel far before the welcoming sight of K'zhumi's tent greeted her weary eyes. Slowly, the girl slung herself down from the bird, hoisting a lot of her nimble weight around the base of it's neck as she awkwardly dismounted the yellow-feathered creature in the least painful way that she could manage for herself. Stopping only to breath a soft sigh of relief, the girl commenced to take a few steps forward, moving to offer a thankful pat against the bird's plushy cheek before gliding her fingers down along and across it's beak as she continued forward toward K'zhumi's tent.

 

With a slide of her arm, the girl drew the tent flaps aside, calling out the healer's name softly as she did so.

 

"K'zhumi...?"

 

Her voice echoed silently within the cool interior of the tent with a tone that attempted to hide the weakness that sought to permeate itself through her voice.

[Izmina]

K'zhumi hadn't gotten more than a few paces towards the fire circle, when she looked back and saw the chocobo in front of her tent. With a frowns, she stops dead in her track and turns and hurries back. Wondering if  K'yohko's youngest daughter had gotten in the way and been injured. Reaching her tent, she calls softly,"Out here." as she reaches for the flap.

[K'nahli]

K'nahli was a little surprised to find that the K'zhumi wasn't inside; not because the woman was normally confined to her tent or anything, but simply because, now that she had been caught by the surprise of not finding her there, she simply didn't know what to do. The thought crossed her mind that perhaps she were off tending to some other business and wouldn't be returning to her own tent any time soon... and the girl was in no mood to go limping around camp in search of her.

 

Before she even had the chance to lament the thought, the call of K'zhumi's voice from outside caught K'nahli's attention and bid her to turn around.

 

("Ah...") the girl thought with a sense of relief as he retreated back outside the tent until she was face to face with the woman.

 

"I....Apologies for disturbing you like this, K'zhumi, but I would have your healing hand if you have not other priorities..." the girl spoke clumsily as her eyes wandered anywhere but the healer's eyes. Normally she wasn't particularly awkward with dealing with her own family, but the disgrace of being wounded the way she had was affecting her state of mind.

[Izmina]

K'zhumi's brows furrow in worry,"Of course don't be silly." she waves the girl back into the tent, her eyes scanning for obvious injuries. She spots some small scrapes and cuts on the girl's arms, and a tiny amount of blood coming from under the hairline. What worries her most is the limp.

 

"Have a seat please and let me have a look. What happened?" She sets her satchel down , pulling out the items she'd likely need, while her ear focuses on K'nahli.

[K'nahli]

Hesitating a moment, the girl glanced out toward the entrance of the tent as K'zhumi rooted through her satchel. It wasn't as though she had never been injured or even made a mistake before while out hunting, but somehow K'iara's words had made her feel incredibly self-conscious of the fact - almost as though everyone would plainly see that she had made such a disgraceful blunder.

 

After a second or two of pause, she gave her response.

 

"We located some new quarry, animals nothing alike to those we have been hunting upon the sands... albeit they are quite strong...

 

..One... caught me from my flank and I was knocked to the ground" she explained reluctantly as her hand came to rest softly upon her hip, earning herself a pained wince in the process. Watching it in silence for a moment, the girl brought her fingers to glide over the affected area, anxiously, as she mentally prepared herself for whatever K'zhumi would inevitably have to do to ensure that the injury wasn't too severe.

 

After a moment, her gaze was brought back toward K'zhumi again, her eyes flickering in a moment's thought.

"Ah... with it's horns..." she suddenly added vaguely to her already, quite-lacking description.

It might be helpful for her healer to actually have a better response than "there were monsters... and I got hurt", after all.

"They had curved horns...".

[Izmina]

K'zhumi nods, a reassuring smile on her lips, not wanting to make the huntress feel uncomfortable or that she was being judged. "Do you mind if I take a look? " indicating that K'nahli should expose the hip.  She turns to firmly close the tent flap to preserve the girl's dignity.

 

Waiting for K'nahli to get settled, Zhumi sets out  her supplies, clean cloths and some cleaner for the smaller scraps and cuts, and various  ointments, plus stitching materials if needed. She has her grimoire close at hand as well.

[K'nahli]

K'nahli found herself growing solemn for a moment as K'zhumi continued to speak in a polite manner. She was quite nice, actually, K'zhumi. Perhaps it had been a while since she had been around her long enough to remember such a thing. It was a soothing thought to know that the woman seemed disinterested in the petty and shameful facts that had indeed weighed on K'nahli's mind since arriving home. Had she the ability to do so, then perhaps the girl might have even smiled to herself ever so softly.

 

 

Nodding once, K'nahli slowly turned to unfasten the clips on either side of her subligar before then carefully proceeding to remove her tall boots. The girl flinched in silent agony as she was forced to bend her legs far up toward herself in order to to do so, and despite her best efforts, was unable to conceal a weak cry now and then in the process. Though K'zhumi was no stranger to bearing witness to both pain and weakness, the healer remained in the corner of K'nahli's vision, the girl watching closely... for even the most subtle signs of disapproval or condemnation - though luckily, the woman had proven herself far above the results of such childish paranoia.

 

Next was the subligar itself, and, predictably, removing that was even worse. Being that the armour had been something which was secured tightly against the girl, even without the addition of the fasteners, it took some force to draw it down off of herself, but eventually she succeeded on her own without having to keep K'zhumi herself waiting.

Looking upon it for the first time herself, K'nahli was almost surprised that something so painful had creates such a discreet wound. Her narrowed eyes travelled over the large bruise which had begun across her side and then focused upon the rather light damage that had been done to her skin.

 

In a bizarre way, it was almost annoying that she didn't have something more visibly horrible to be in pain over as opposed to what appeared to be nothing. The girl sighed quietly enough to herself that even K'zhumi would not have managed to hear it. It would not be as though anyone would be seeing her hip in any case, she was thinking far too much - though perhaps that was intentional.

[Izmina]

Forcing her ears to stay in a neutral position, K'zhumi waits patiently for K'nahli to finish with her gear, wincing ever so slightly at her patient's cries of pain. Seeing K'nahli is ready, Zhumi turns fully towards the huntress bending over to get a closer look. She reaches to palpate the injury, pausing before she makes contact with the girl, "This might hurt a bit. If you need to yell at me go ahead. No one here to listen but me." She palpates the bruised area as gently as she can finally straightening with a smile. "You  have a nasty bruise there, but no major damage has been done." 

 

She pushes K'nahli's bangs back with a frown, then turns to her supplies. "I can give you an ointment to spread into that hip and side area, that will make it less painful and heal faster. Unless you'd like me to apply it?" I'd like to clean those scrapes on your arms, and take a couple stitches into your forehead." she smiles waiting for K'nahli's answer.

[K'nahli]

K'nahli clenched her teeth tightly together as K'zhumi proceeded to inspect the injury. Every slight touch offered by the healer managed to send a stinging pain deep into her flesh and begged for the girl to cry out to allow it's release... though luckily, this time she managed to keep her cries to herself.

 

 

"I can manage. If you feel you must tend to the rest then... I humbly accept" K'nahli responded more easily this time as the woman posed her question. It wasn't that the girl felt particularly uncomfortable with the idea, but she valued her independence and ability to take care of herself as much as possible.

 

That, and she simply wanted to return to her own world for a while, at nearest opportunity; where she could allow herself the peace of naught but her own company for some time - regrettably, the girl thought, to also take the time to gather the thoughts she would inevitably have to confront before the night would permit her to the sanctuary of her sleep.