Illumin0sity

Journey to the East

There was a pit in the Kelvic’s stomach as he sat there and listened to Elann describe Yahal. The question was asked with all his willpower and it took even more to sit there and listen to her explanation. He felt significantly lesser than Yahal in all ways, shapes, and forms, regardless of how regal Elann thought he appeared when he was an eagle, or how she complimented him, Yahal was better in all ways. It didn’t make him feel good. He didn’t think of Elann in the same light and put her above his own god in terms of loyalty and admiration. Through any fights her position on the pedestal had not wavered, even if he went to Zulrav for some sort of comfort and escape from her. She knew it though, he had told her.

The pit remained in his gut as he turned the paper lengthwise and horizontal, deciding to begin the framework of Yahal from a torso shot, disregarding the lower portions in favor for the god’s facial features and wings. Noah looked up when she drew his attention to the necklace, the flap coming down in order to hide the vibrancy of the light emitted from his gift to her. It was put away and Noah looked back down at his drawing, continuing on as he sculpted shoulders only to drape them behind the beginnings of what would become a layered robe.

The skeleton was mostly complete a moment after Elann stopped explaining but Noah paused in the detailing of the robes in order to start the work of the wings, establishing their boundaries on the paper before going to the god’s face. She didn’t establish any major features so he was forced to think of his image of a strong and capable man. He decided to use an image of his father, cleanly shaven, mixed with a few other men he had observed in his time around. It was in black and white, all he had at his disposal was the pencil, but he felt he could increase the detail enough to feign dark and light colors of shadows, goldens, and reddish hues.

He attempted to recall himself in the mirror in order to start on the hair. He didn’t understand her when she said it wasn’t as curly as a woman’s. He thought his own hair, and many other men’s, could rival that of even a woman’s curls. It didn’t matter though, he didn’t let the thought slow down his drawing. Noah worked on the spear next, having Yahal hold it off to the side as he gazed off in the opposite direction, only the profile of his face seen with his high cheek bones and solidly structured jaw. Noah attached a sprawling ribbon from the head of the spear as he knew he would want a ribbon there once he retook practicing himself.

He drew a weighted breath when he was complete. His unease growing to a taut point up until the drawing was finished. He set his pencil off to the side then went to carefully tear the drawing out of the book, revealing the other unfinished works. Noah handed it over to Elann if she would take it.

Journey to the East

Elann laid down and some chimes passed before he stood up again and went back into the trunk, disturbing Aimee’s peace once more but not as much as the wagon’s jolting forward did. The loud sounds continued again to refresh all of their memories in just how jarring the caravan could be to the natural world around them. Eventually it settled into the back of their minds, buzzing even though the source was right below them, above them, surrounding them.

From inside the trunk he retrieved his journal and pencil again, closing it to sit back down in front of it. He turned to the page with Elann’s unfinished face but turned to a new page anyway, going over his basic exercises of small things as the time passed still. He was entranced by his own drawing, sucked into his mind as he sorted through memories to figure out what he wanted to draw. He settled on a tree and a squirrel, letting them take up the bottom and top halves of one page as he worked on them in turn.

Elann rose from the bench and caught his attention once more as she moved to the edge of the wagon. He saw her wave to the driver behind their car before settling again. It took a long moment of consideration before he stood up again and moved towards the edge of the wagon as well. There was nervousness and fear fluttering in him but he chose to sit down beside her anyway, adjusting his drawing book on his lap and the pencil in his hand. He didn’t look at her, turning to a new page and going over the residual crispness of an old book kept in like-new condition.

“Can you tell me what Yahal looks like when you see him?” he asked.

The question was a lot harder to ask than he realized when he thought it up. He licked his lips and rose his head up to look at her, wondering if she would take the time to describe the god so he could draw it.

“Please,” he added.

Journey to the East

Noah got a confirmation, though it was little more than a hum and admittance that she did color it. She brought her hand to it, approached him, and held it out for him to touch as well. He took the invitation, feeling the strands between his forefingers and thumb. The touch was brief, him retracting his hand from her before she slid away like she wanted to do before he pointed out the differences.

“Okay,” he said, watching her walk away towards the kids.

His gaze was maintained until she reached them and he took a renewed interest, feeling the fluttering joy coming from her as she played with the children of the caravan. The sight was displeasing and caused him to draw a breath in consideration. He slid from the back of the wagon and rounded it, heading towards the cook anyway. When it was his turn in the queue he requested small portions of what was being served and moved out of line with his plate, eating right then and there so he was able to give the plate back as soon as he was done. Though he joined the queue relatively late, he was finished eating soon after the line was dispersed and people were returning to their tents to eat their breakfast.

Noah gave the plate back to the cook and went back towards the wagon, his stomach not quite full but satisfied for the moment. He went back to the wagon and went inside, trying to be quiet for his sister but knew she would stir again once the trunks in the back started sounding. He was right but she only stirred enough to see what he was doing before drifting off again. Noah retrieved his necklace from the trunk, the smoothed out grey stone tied tightly with hemp, and the ornate dagger gifted to him by Elann the day of their wedding.

He didn’t show much interest in it aside from the day it was gifted to him, mostly because he didn’t see the need for it other than a display of Elann’s affection. He set it back down and draped his necklace over his head, twirling the impossibly smooth stones in his fingers. Noah closed the trunk again and slid down to the floor, facing the entrance of the wagon as he played with the charm until the call to move out came later. Eventually Elann showed in the wagon with a flower in her hair, of which drew his attention to her. His gaze followed her around the wagon until she settled on the bench opposite from Aimee’s.

Journey to the East

Noah sat on the edge until the sun started peaking about the horizon and lighting up the sky. He watched the sunrise with half a mind, not minding the chill over his exposed skin as his body fought to keep him warm for the most part. He didn’t pay Elann any mind, not knowing she was near him until she spoke. He brought his attention to her then, bringing a hand up to wave to her in reply, a simple gesture in greeting. He scooted over to the edge of the wagon and leaned against it, resting his head on the frame, so she could get into the open part of the wagon without him being in the way.

Inside, Aimee was flitting between moments of consciousness and not. Elann came in during one such moment and Aimee did the same wave as Noah in hello, though it was much lazier and less focused, her hand coming down with weight over her bust as she slid away again.

Noah looked off into the road and away from the tent village until he heard Elann drop down from the wagon and onto the ground. He looked at her then, taking notice of the change in her hair. His face was placid but his eyes spoke of apparent interest. The strands were no longer brown like the hull of the ships he had seen in Zeltiva’s docks. They were reddishly tinged and dark at that.

Like Elann, he could smell the food being cooked but his appetite wasn’t brought on the cooking smell of flesh. Nothing to him was fresher than a kill, so he didn’t share her sentiment.

“I’m not hungry,” he said, not taking his eyes off of her tresses. “You colored your hair.”

Journey to the East

Noah shifted minorly to Elann’s coming into the tent, his lids cracking enough to see the lantern’s light fade from the interior. Any shadows that were cast about were silenced and the night took the interior of the tent as well. Nearby, Elann shifted into the blankets with little more than a word. He went back to sleep, figuring that if she did not come until the tent until he was already asleep she did not wish to speak to him.

After a dreamless sleep Noah woke up with the chirping birds long before the call to break fast came. His body screamed at him in soreness from yesterday’s event, his arms ached and his wounds had a new flare to him. He worked muscles that lay dormant for a long time. The pain was able to be disregarded for the happiness in knowing he was working his flying muscles, he was allowed to be in the air and sky again. He sat up and looked at Elann to his side, letting out a morning’s breath, yawn, and stretch. His hands came up through the matted down parts of his hair, breathing new life into the curls.

Noah collected his pencils and other utensils and gathered them along the side of his still open journal. He looked over his work from last night, brushing aside some of the loose charcoal dust to clear up the picture. It was still unfinished and he didn’t recall falling asleep while doing it. He decided it would remain that way, incomplete and unsatisfactory. He didn’t have the will or heart to finish it, so he closed the book and gathered his shirt, putting it on over his head before standing up with his utensils and book in tow. He left the tent and passed through the darkness of early morning to the wagons and rapped on the wood of one of the frames.

Aimee poked her head out sleepily, parting the flaps to help her brother in. She watched her brother through barely cracked eyes as he went to the front of the wagon and put away his things. He came to sit beside her, leaning to rest his head on her shoulder for a few moments before rising again. He moved to sit on the edge of the wagon, the side with an open flap and waited for the caravan to wake up.

Journey to the East

Noah waited idly in the tent for a bell’s time, a few chimes more or less. He left the tent, stepping out to shift and then sail over to the wagon. He went into it and saw his sister’s trunk open, though she was still gone. He figured she was still bathing and didn’t question it himself, instead moving to him and Elann’s shared trunk in order to retrieve his own journal book and a few charcoal pencils. Deeper in the chest were utensils of various uses. He made sure to grab a few of them to delve readily into rekindling his artistic flame. Setting them aside he put on the clothes Aimee stored away for him and then retook up the drawing utensils and his journal before struggling his way out of the wagon again. He passed back to the tent rather quietly, not stopping to talk to anyone and no one went to stop him either.

Inside, he resettled onto the pallet on the ground and strew out his supplies before opening the book up. He started with meaningless sketches of vague treetops, his sights from earlier that day when he was hunting. He drew a hare in growing detail but that too was abandoned in favor for another memory of the day that came through his mind. Nothing was concrete or finished, each drawing taking up a little portion of one page before he moved over to a clean part. He was simply passing the time but he knew it took him a while to get into the flow of drawing in the vivid detail he sought to attain after he warmed up. In that time, Elann didn’t show in the tent. Any time the flaps moved it was the wind drawing his attention from the drawings to the tent’s entrance.

Noah let his mind be filled with her face since he longed to see it and turned to a new and clean page of the journal. He laid down onto ver his stomach, resting his head down on one hand as the other drew the startings of Elann’s face from a sideways glance. Aside from other close people in his life, Elann’s face was probably one he knew the best, having felt it with his hands and kissed it with his lips. The tiny facets from the curve of her eyelid and the shape of the bridge of her nose seen from multiple angles. He was starting on a vivid piece, something detailed and encouraged by his still remaining enchantment with the interesting aspects of her face; the eyes most of all, of which he spent the most time on.

The bells ticked by still and night was drawing on and on. Eventually he fell asleep in the middle of his unfinished drawing, only the top portions of Elann’s hair were finished and her eyes shone out with as much detail as he could put into them. The pencil was limp in his lax hand. He lay face down on the pallet, still dressed in his pants, the shirt cast off to his side careless as he acted as a bed for his various other tools. His lax hand obscured the framework of the rest of her face and the unfinished nub of a nose peeked through his spread fingers that once clutched the pencil.

Journey to the East

Noah and Aimee were in the field the entire time, playing their parts in the hunting party as spotters and leaders, occasionally nabbing morsels for themselves and small catches of small rodents. Noah didn’t try his wounds heavily, cautious in how much he pressed between being sent off in order to pursue or scout. Taking off was the hardest part, staying airborne was made significantly easier with the aid of his gnosis mark, able to produce gusts and drafts that kept wind under his wings fluidly. A part of him was sour that he didn’t share the moment with Elann, but he didn’t dwell on the thoughts, simply taking joy in the fact that he could hunt again.

Evening began to fall by the time the bulk of the party returned to the camp, Noah and Aimee in tow. The two didn’t partake in dinner, Aimee returning to the wagon in order to shift and procure a change of clothes. She said an idle hello to Elann if she could, otherwise she went for the river in order to bathe and change into something fresher, exhausted after what was nearly two days of being awake.

Noah swooped down from the treetops after Aimee went away and landed outside of Elann’s tent and shifted before moving inside. He stretched out his sore arms and back but laid around for the most part. He didn’t know when Elann would come back to the tent but he waited up for her nonetheless, idly sitting cross-leggedly with his hands in his lap.

Journey to the East

Noah settled into watching Elann from afar, something that wasn’t foreign whether he was in his human form or not. He watched her hammer away at the stakes in the ground, saw her give Aimee a smile, of which the wolf returned in kind, warmer and genuine. The tent took shape as the chimes passed and he moved very little. It took a great deal of convincing on Aimee’s part to get him to take shape as a eagle, and even after he did take shape he wasn’t happy to be in it. It took hours for him to get over his discomfort in his otherwise true form. Once he got over it he was glad to be feathered once again.

Elann caught his attention again when she went away from the tents to bathe, his eyes followed her as she found the river again but lost her when she was well away from him. Like Aimee inside the wagon, Noah settled for a nap in the branch since he had not slept since yesterday’s afternoon and early evening. The nap was short lived, interrupted by the laughter of the children as they took to playing around the camp. They didn’t disturb anything more than his rest, of which he found again in an even shallower form than before.

Another bell passed before Aimee returned out of the wagon, dropping down in her four legged form. She gave the playing children pause as she strode on the outskirts of their game. She didn’t seek to interrupt but it hard to miss a large stilted wolf walking in the clear of day. She continued on without missing a beat, giving a soft bark out as she passed the tree Noah was perched in to wake him before turning in her spot to sit on her haunches. The few guards and men who were making up the hunting party for that day came to the tree as well.

One of the men raised his guarded wrist up to the branch and took Noah from it. The Kelvic passed from the branch to the man’s forearm before climbing up to his shoulder, resting there as the men went off through the thicket again, the two Kelvics with them.

Journey to the East

Aimee was the cause for the hares captured that night, striking up a deal with the night guards like she had done once before. She just caught enough to sate the caravan in the morning before a full party would be formed in order to hunt for the day. She did so when she came back late that night, seeing that the caravan had went to sleep for the evening. She came into the wagon after she did her hunting for the caravan with plans to sleep, but after seeing her brother in an unsettled mood she found that she would be trekking through the night on fumes.

Turned out, she was still going into the morning. The two Kelvics weren’t far from the caravan, a quarter mile from the clearing minding their own business before they started to return, figuring that the people would be up by now. Aimee came walking through the thicket dressed in Noah’s clothes. Her forearm was wrapped in her dress and perched there was the eagle Kelvic, clicking his beak idly and shifting his eyes through those gathered.

Aimee held Noah close to her center, the feathery beast of an eagle resting there with an ever twitching and swiveling head. She ran a hand over his head down his back then brought it back to the crown, scratching gently with her fingers. She said something under her breath, her lips only seemingly moving to those who looked on from afar. Afterwards she approached one of the trees positioned closer to the bulk of the tents and raised up her arm, letting the eagle transfer from her wrapped arm to low branch with ease.

She then went to the wagon, leaving Noah in the tree as he watched over the collection of tents, children, and people. Aimee drew some attention when she came into the clearing from the thicket, perhaps suspiciously, and eyes remained on Noah once she parted. The attention wasn’t as fleeting as before, people keeping their eyes on him longer than usual since they hadn’t seen his true form in quite some time. As it were, it didn’t last and they went back to their conversations and actions.

Journey to the East

Noah didn’t say anything to Elann, seeing her lying and facing away from him on their pallet on the floor. He didn’t have anything to say to her, nothing in attempts to repair whatever fallout happened and nothing to explain himself to her either, so he left it alone. He took his shoes off again, set them on the floor near their trunk, and moved to take off his shirt and strip off his pants, laying them over the closed trunk without folding them. Only his underwear remained and he let it stay, moving to sit on the bench on the opposite side of the wagon.

The night ticked on with him residing away from her and awake, unable to sleep himself, though he wasn’t restless. He stirred when the flaps parted again, Aimee’s four paws thumping on the wagon floor as she leaped in. She shook out her coat and then shifted, eyes looking to Noah as she noticed him sitting up with his back resting carefully on the frame of the wagon. Her eyes went to Elann then she sought out detecting the tacit mood of her brother as it went through the air. She didn’t ask any questions pertaining to the evening, making an assumption of her own.

She moved to her own trunk and opened it to find clothing to wear, figuring she was in for a long night as well. Still no questions were asked as she went about putting on one of her heavier dresses. It was created for cooler spring nights, but it was layers thinner than someone who didn’t have a high temperature like the two Kelvics. They were able to tolerate some crisp cold, though they couldn’t do it bareskinned for long. Noah rose from the bench and went to put his clothes back on before the two of them left the wagon without uttering any words.

The night continued to wane on until dawn began to break, the birds chirping before the sun peaked over the horizon and broke into the cloud covered sky. Time passed still, the sun rising higher and the temperature rising with it until the caravan guards began to go through a morning's preparation to restore the caravan's food rations. A small breakfast was to be served, a helping of collected hares from the night acting as the meat for a morning stew.