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 Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2017 5:22 pm
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With her goggles pulled down over her eyes, Sawenah trudged through the desert. She had spent a few days outside of the city of Sulburi collecting intriguing items she could make into jewelry. The last week has been hard on her, spending her remaining coin to purchase a used merchant cart off of a vendor may not have been the greatest investment. Especially when she found it to be incredibly disappointing; half rotted wood, chipping paint, broken decor, It was hardly presentable and in no way transportable.
Because of this poor decision, she has had to scrounge for food; not during "business hours" Of course! She may not know much about being a merchant part time, but she knows that the more pathetic you look the worse you'll do; people don't want to see weakness. She departed the city with great hopes this trip would bring in some new inspiration, and maybe some coin to fix up her cart, but again she finds herself disappointed, half starved, and severely dehydrated.
Collapsing out in the desert sand, Sawenah placed a hand over her eyes. Her head pounded and it was a mystery to her whether it was the dehydration or the agonizingly bright light, but she couldn't bring herself to go any farther until the sun went down. Squinting through the slits in her hand Sawenah noticed a flock of Zores circling overhead. They had been following her for about a mile or so now. It struck her as odd that they would follow her, they scavengers... What could they possibly want with her?
The flock dropped out of the sky a few paces away from her and remained huddled together. Sawenah removed her hand from her face and turned to look at the flock of birds. With a lack of energy and motivation, and seeing them keep their distance, She couldn't be bothered by their presence and closed her eyes to try to take her mind elsewhere.
Shutting her eyes for what seemed like minutes she managed to drift off for some much-needed rest... but the Zores had other plans~ The Flock inched closer until they were clustered around her. One brave zore stretched out its neck and gave her a quick peck, sending the rest of the flock to scatter. When she didn't move, they returned. It wasn't long before the creature's hunger got the better of them and they decided she was the meal.
Sawenah twitched at the poking, prodding, and when it reached stabbing her eyes flashed open and she struggled to sit up through the feathers, "Wha-" She choked, struggling to get her mouth to salivate. The flock parted as she sat up and over a dozen eyeballs scanned her up and down. Sawenah rubbed her bloodied legs and tipped her head, 'What did I-' She started then it dawned on her... They thought she was dying.
The Zores strutted and called to one another as they debated whether to give up on their meal or take it on. Ordinarily, they are only scavenger birds, but this particular flock must have been incredibly desperate. One of the larger males stretched out, making himself as big as possible and flapped his four wings. The other's cluttered up behind him and before sawenah could get to her spear, the flock was upon her. The Zores pecked and scratched their way through her clothing until they were able to get at her dried, sun-soaked skin.
Sawenah flailed and cried out for anyone who might hear her. She was still pretty far out from the capital, but hopefully someone would hear!
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Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 6:35 am
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Being back on the mainland was really nice. The wind female stretched her arms out above her head and just took a huge breath. Oba wasn't home, but it wasn't that far from it. She'd landed here so she could explore more of Tendaji despite actually being homesick. Ceredwyn would make her way back to Tale eventually, but for now she had to figure out what true Oban ladies were like.
The first order of business, however, was to find the nearest inn and get some sleep. She looked like she hadn't gotten much in the past few nights, and it was true. Her first few nights in Oba were almost unbearable with how warm it was. She didn't go out in her full gear due to the fact she knew she would roast alive in the thick Tale materials. Instead she opted for a simple tunic shirt, some light breeches, a simple belt around her waist showing the fact she basically had no curves to her lower half and a pair of flats. It breathed so much better.
With her pack on her back, Ceredwyn had started off from the inn by the docks and walked from this morning until just now. It was a very boring, hot walk still. It was too bright, she was alone, and how did the people of Oba deal with this kind of weather?
Just as she thought about just sitting down on the side of the road, she heard a faint cry. At least, that's what it sounded like. Her ears were trying to tune in, but they weren't as powerful as some. Instead of thinking it was nothing, Ceredwyn's heart raced and she tore from the path took to the sands.
"HELLO?" She called out once she had ran a ways. "Hello, can you hear me? Anyone out there?"
And that's when she saw a flock of huge birds attacking someone. And she heard a cry and realized that someone was alive. "H-hang on!"
She hadn't dealt with these birds before. Looking around desperately for anything to throw, she found a few stones and aimed them at the birds while walking closer still. "Get away from there! Shoo! Get back!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2017 1:28 pm
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The alpha zores stepped away from the feasting flock and flailed its wings at the intruder, but once the rocks started flying the flock decided to cut their losses and flee the scene; leaving a shivering, bloodied, Sawenah huddled in a ball.
Feeling that her attackers had fled she sprung to life and quickly grabbed her spear, "S-Stay away... y-you... f-f-feathered... fiends..." she spoke, voice trembling under the stress of the situation. It was so bazaar to think those feathered creatures would have the gall to attack! Ordinarily, you couldn't get within twenty paces of the flock without them taking off in a flurry of flapping.
Realizing her life was no longer in danger she noticed the young wind prentice standing before her, "W-Who're you...?" Sawenah asked cautiously while eyeing the objects clutched in her hand. Lowering her weapon to make herself seem less threatening, she leaned on the shaft for support, "I- Um- Thank you... for your timely rescue, I hope." she murmured, still a bit wary of the new earthling,
"I'm Sawenah," she added timidly, hoping this earthling wasn't looking to harass the hybrid. The earthlings around Sulburi had all known of Sawenah, known of her involvement in the war, and thus mostly kept to themselves. From her past experience in the mainlands of Tendaji... It was really hit or miss whether this Earthling would interact, or flee her company, 'Just... be friendly.' she told herself while adding an exhausted smile to her crumpled posture.
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Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 11:07 pm
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Sawenah reached to take her hand in greeting, but her legs gave out and she collapsed to the sand in a heap, "I'm sorry..." she breathed while laying her weapon down. "It's good you came when you did... I didn't think they would ever leave." Sawenah said while lifting her goggles off her eyes, wiping the tears as they ran down her cheek. Removing her cape from her shoulder she used it to mop up the mess the birds made of her, "I-I'll be fine," she spoke, a slight quiver in her voice as she applied pressure to the deeper gash in her calf, "I don't need to see a healer; Couldn't afford one anyway." This was not something she needed at this moment; dealing with these wounds would set her back months, not to mention what it would do to her appearance. She was supposed to look professional, not like a bloodied hobo... and considering her cart wasn't producing the right image her appearance had to sell it.
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Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:56 am
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Ceredwyn looked at the... very pretty hybrid woman and just frowned when she said she couldn't afford a healer. well, Ceredwyn could, and she wasn't going to let some woman suffer because of a trivial thing like coin. The other was wiping away tears and Ceredwyn just stepped forward and helped clean up that face as best as she could. Hopefully the other didn't mind.
"Hey, hey," she soothed softly, shaking her head. "Shhhh. It's okay! It's fine..." Ceredwyn sat down in front of the larger of the two and took a look at some of her wounds, trying to see how bad the gashes were. The one on her calf made Ceredwyn worried, so she ripped some of her own sleeve off. "I'll wrap that.. Tight and hopefully the bleeding stops. We'll get you to a healer. I'll pay, don't you worry about that. You shouldn't suffer over coin." She had plenty of coin, going by her clothing.
"I've got you. Lean on me." She wanted to ask why the hybrid didn't use her weapon, but right now she was more worried about the wounds.
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Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2017 8:19 am
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Sawenah nuzzled into the embrace as she limped along with Ceredwyn. It was familiar for her to have someone care for her, especially when she had been injured, starved, and broken down emotionally... This was nice... this was...Exactly what she had been struggling for the last few months to get away from! How was she supposed to be an adult if she was constantly relying on the assistance of others!
Breaking away from the embrace she hid her eyes as the tears began flowing down her face, "I can't! I can't take your charity! I have to do this. I have to be strong and do this on my own or I'm never going to!" She yelled as she backed away and eventually tripped over her own two feet. Curling into a ball she sobbed into her arms, "It's hard, being like this... But there's a lesson here, right? there always was in the stories."
She breathed through the sobs and eventually composed herself enough to let sense reassert itself, "I appreciate what you are trying to do Ceredwyn, but I can't just take help from you." Wiping the remaining tears from her cheek she continued, "I've relied on the kindness of others for too long. I need to do things myself, on my own... This will be a tough lesson, but maybe it's something I just have to do." her chin wrinkled a bit as she stared up at the wind earthling. She wanted to accept the help, wanted to be carried away by this wonderful lady, "I'm sorry~" she whispered while returning her face back to her arms to hide the tears that continued to fall.
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 7:41 am
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Ceredwyn didn't mind the nuzzling. She acted as if she didn't notice, in all honesty. The other woman was very tall but everyone needed help at some point.
And like that Sawenah had pulled away and started crying, startling the smaller wind woman into just blinking at the hybrid. "Hey, hey.." She was trying to soothe the other girl, but things weren't that simple with their height difference. Watching the other trip over words and her own feet was hard enough, but when there was a legitimate break down, Ceredwyn knew she needed to help the other snap back to the now.
Walking forward when the other was on the ground, she put her fingers under Sawenah's chin and leaned forward to kiss her. It was a salty kiss because of tears and probably the bitter feelings the other was trying to hold back.
If that got the hybrid into stunned silence, Ceredwyn spoke.
"Listen. Everyone needs help. I don't know a single person who's gone through life not relying on others. Trying to do things by yourself is hard and I mean. There's loads you can do alone, but it's always better to have help. I don't mind helping you. It's alright." She tried to dab at Sawenah's cheeks with the sleeve that she hadn't torn up and just gave a bit of a smile.
"We can talk more about why you think you need to do it alone later, but first, let's get you to a healer."
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Posted: Sun May 07, 2017 9:38 am
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Sawenah's eyes widened with surprise as the earthling's lips brushed hers. they were so soft, so warm... 'What was the meaning behind this?' she wondered while Ceredwyn proceeded to speak she lifted her fingers to her own lips and traced them gently. It took a moment for her words to process in Sawenah's confused mind, but somewhere along the line, she found herself agreeing, and accepting the gracious earthlings help.
"Can I ask you something?" Sawenah began, not waiting for her to answer before posing her question, "What makes you so eager to help me? Plenty of other people would have just scared off the Zores and left me to figure myself... Some wouldn't have even scared the birds... Why go through all this for someone you don't even know?" Throughout her life she had run into many people who passed her by when she needed them most... Claiming they had their own struggles, that they felt for her predicament, but couldn't afford, couldn't even try, to alleviate some of the pressure on this young orphaned girls shoulders. There were a rare few that took the time to aid her... and most of them died in the war.
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Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 6:13 pm
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Sawenah shifted uneasily at the sudden shift in the prentice's behavior... Clearly, her questions had struck a nerve. Tensing slightly, Sawenah flinched at the comment about her being unarmed, "I was exhausted from my trip through the desert, and lied down to try and rest a bit..." she murmured, doing her best to avoid the eyes of the perturbed earthling, "I dropped my weapon and bag and sprawled out on the sand to just catch a quick nap... never had I imagined being ambushed by such timid creatures like the Zores..." It was one of the first times she had seen the bird like creatures prey on a living creature, let alone a person; they were scavengers. Lately, food, in general, had been scarce, so it's a wonder they acted out as they did.
Her skin flushed from all the comments Ceredwyn had been making. Sawenah had never experienced anything quite like it. This was considered flirting, yes? Something one does to get the affection of another. The comments made her uneasy but not necessarily in a bad way. She didn't know how to reciprocate, nor process whether it was harmless fun or something more serious, which only made her worry more. "I-I'm um... Thank you for... the things you say, but um... If you have questions, ask away?" she giggled nervously while being led back to Sulburi.
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Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 11:39 am
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It wasn't really a nerve, per say. She just didn't understand why the other girl didn't try to defend herself, and so she'd asked. But the explanation came, and Ceredwyn nodded slowly in understanding. The wind girl pushed her hair out of her face and just looked at the tall hybrid before giving a little smile.
"Aaah, okay. Well, just so you know, just go for some kind of shelter. Make it yourself. It's easy! Just with some limbs, large leaves, and it's completely unharmful for animals or anything, but it does help." Her blond head bobbed in a nod before she took another deep breath.
"One of my questions is... You're very clearly a hybrid. What... was it like for you growing up? You look like you're part Alkidike. You're not dressed like one, though. So were you raised with your other parent?" Ceredwyn really wanted to ask about just why the weapon Sawenah's weapon looked fairly unused and almost new in a way. Not completely, but it didn't look used much. But that wasn't for right now. That might make her feel even worse, and that's not what she was going for.
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2017 7:12 pm
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Hiding her face, Sawenah felt a bit embarrassed she had never considered building a simple shelter… It would have been easy enough, but she hadn’t really anticipated on lounging as long as she had either. What seemed like minutes must have slid into hours, otherwise she just attracted the company of very brave, very hungry zores.
Her lineage as a mystery, especially to her. All she knew is what Lilah had told her; she was abandoned in a basket at the foot of a statue of Bergchi. “Well, I was abandoned in Kesris, Sauti...” Sawenah began while rubbing the back of her neck as she thought about what to say, “I spent most of my time as a youngling playing with the other children in the village and it was a good childhood… At night I would usually get taken in by someone; kind of like endless slumber parties, but things got much more difficult when we had a bad harvest.” her tone shifted, “My most consistent “Family” was Lilah and Braka.”
Letting free a heavy sigh she tried to carry more of her weight, “Growing up as a hybrid…Well, A lot of people are scared or intimidated by you, at first. It took a bit of convincing to get families to warm up to me. After I was left with the merchant caravan I realized just how much of a Taboo it was to be a hybrid. Most of the merchants wanted nothing to do with me, but not all people were so cruel.”
She smiled softly as she recalled her times of travel, “I met up with a group in Jauhar that were very kind. Took me along to the Resistance camp in the war with Oba. Arak was their leader, He had quite the crew. That’s how I got my armor and Spear… Well, part of how I got it.”
Her mood darkened as she recalled Corvik’s betrayal and the battle that ensued which inevitably led to her joining the the Loyalists. “I can’t go back...” she whispered as her gaze fixated on the sand. She had been placing her full weight on her injured leg and not even flinching… like the pain was bringing her some relief of the emotional pain she had been feeling from drudged up memories.
Shaking the memories away, Sawenah came to, “Wow… I-I’m so sorry for that… My mind took a bit of a turn there~” Shifting her weight again she chuckled, “It hasn’t been a bad life… It hasn’t been easy either… I have few regrets.” She concluded. “How about you? Wind, I assume?” she noted the blonde hair and blue eyes, “Did you live in Sauti?”
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Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2017 6:10 am
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Ceredwyn listened as the other girl talked and she couldn't help but smile a bit. Endless slumber parties didn't sound that bad to her. She had a fair few of her own growing up, especially around her birthday. Her parents would let her invite whoever she wanted but the only rule was the boys had to leave at the end of the party. She couldn't have boys sleeping over, that would be so strange!
Then the part about it being more difficult during a bad harvest and her heart went out to the other again. Ceredwyn shifted a bit more and rubbed a hand through her own hair before sighing. AT least they didn't blame her for the harvest. At least, it didn't sound like they did?
"Don't apologize. I asked and well.." She scooted ever closer, putting herself near the hybrid girl and reached out to take those hands in her own.
"Me? Oh yes. Wind. Sauti's where I grew up and I live! I'm off traveling though. I have vowed to rescue pretty girls in distress. I'll rescue guys too, but my focus is on those ladies." She squeezed Sawenah's hands and then toyed with the other's fingers as she talked. "Honestly, though, I'd love to become a swordsman to stick up for the weaker people, I think. There are those who don't want the life that comes with a weapon and we've gotta think about them. Like the merchants, or those fabric dyers. People just want simple and uncomplicated lives. I'll work so they can have them."
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