Illumin0sity

Journey to the East

Aimee shrugged at Elann’s compliment, not necessarily feeling the same way. “I suppose,” she replied. “I would like to take down bigger things by myself though, deer and boars. Noah can even take down other birds, I think that’s rather amazing even if I do consider it cannibalism.” She laughed at that softly, remembering how her brother shrugged her off with a smile.

Aimee couldn’t hide the fact she was saddened that her brother and Elann wouldn’t be staying in the family house until they got settled themselves. She nodded nonetheless though, albeit solemnly. “Alright,” she went. “I doubt you’d want to be around for if any disagreements happen anyway. Wherever you guys settle, I just hope it’s a nice place for the both of you, honestly.”

They spoke on the dream and how Elann was unsure if it existed. “I wish it wasn’t so cloudy for you,” Aimee said. “It would be nice if it was there, just to say that you actually saw it in a dream, if for nothing else. I suppose to never really know what’ll happen at all. One moment you’re setting up for camp in the night and in the next bandits are attacking.”

She brought her free hand up and combed through her hair, tossing it to lay over the front of her shoulders to minimize the amount of wild flailing it was doing behind her as they walked. “Why do you think you’ll be a burden to my family?” she asked, curious.

Journey to the East

“Noah can fly,” she pointed out. “So can my mother and sister, plus they are some of the largest birds in the sky. If anything happens they can fly away or face anything that may come their way. For example, the first winter Noah was in Syliras, he wrote to us and told us he had fought off a dire lynx. That’s an amazing feat for him. I couldn’t do that at all. I don’t know if I could even outrun a lynx, let alone a dire lynx.

“My brothers and father are very capable animals as well, very strong, intimidating, capable. It’s unlikely anything will mess with them, especially my father. I don’t have the luxury, so I have to use everything I can to my advantage. I’ve learned from my family in order to survive when I’m not with them. That’s what it’s about in the end: surviving regardless of what happens, using whatever you can to do so.”

Aimee smiled at the Benshira pressuring her to cook again. “You’re persistent,” she said joyfully. “I’ll cook your second meal in Zeltiva, how’s that? No doubt my mother will be taking care of most things when we get there, including sleeping arrangements, unless you and Noah were thinking about checking into an room? There’s enough space in the house for you. If not, we’ll kick Ryon out. He can go to one of his friends’ house.”

Elann informed Aimee on what they were thinking pertaining to living once they began to settle into the city. The wolf nodded at her words, her worry slightly dashed but not completely erased. “Perhaps it’s selfish, but I would like you guys to be close, that’s all,” she said.

“Noah told me that you had a dream about an abandoned cottage?” she said, seeking confirmation. “He said he remembered seeing something like it. Do you think you’ll find it when you get to Zeltiva?”

Journey to the East

Aimee hummed to cement the little lesson about nature. “I have to be particularly careful, I'm not as safe as Noah, my other brothers, or my sister. Even my father and mother are safer than I am.”

Aimee was a tad of an outcast in comparison to the others in her family. She was agile and quick but nowhere near as powerful as the dire wolf her father was or the great eagles her mother, brother, and sister were.

Elann explained the trip and how she didn't feel all too bad about being on anotherone. It made Aimee feel a little bit better because she felt guilty for pressing Noah to change his mind about it. The guilt settled in later, but overall she was glad to have both Noah and his bondmate coming to Zeltiva. She hummed intriguingly when Elann expressed she was used to dark solitude though, it was interesting in Aimee’s mind.

“I'm sorry we haven't been doing a good job explaining it. It's better to experience it anyway; it's a large city. By that I mean, your experience may be different from ours and even I'm still finding new things to do.”

The topic switched back to the fish, Aimee smiling along with the mention of salt and how things spoiled. “Well, you'll be able to taste some fresher fish in Zeltiva. I'll make sure of it personally.”

She paused, considering what Elann said pertaining to possible living arrangements. “The country?” she asked, uncertainty in her voice. “Why'd you want to live so far away?”

Journey to the East

Aimee nodded in agreement. “It would make me easier to identify, but that can be a bad thing too. Depending on the color, I might stick out like a sore thumb. That'd be bad for hunting,” she informed kindly, almost in joking. She could imagine her camouflage being broken by a random out-of-the-ordinary patch of fur. Anything with half a brain would go running, birds would spot her easier too.

Elann’s compliment was nice, and Aimee showed her appreciation with a small smile. She didn't blush in embarrassment because she knew she was an elegant creature, Elann’s compliment had not been the first.

“Thank you,” she uttered in Fratava before slipping back in Common. “You can be elegant as well.”

Elann brought up the mountains, asking if they were impassable. Aimee nodded, taking a breath to reveal the secret.

“For the most part, it is. It is steep and dangerous to climb, but this road cuts through a narrow way that lets us get to the city. There aren't any gates like Syliras; the mountains are the gates and walls.” She smiled over to Elann, thinking it was rather neat the mountains acted as a natural defense.

“After we get to the mountains and to the passageway we'll be home free, only half a day’s travel,” she said. “Before we get to the passageway though, we'll pass an outpost. It's a hunting outpost, something small for the hunters who come out of the city to bring in the meat that we don't get from fishing and livestock.” She chuckled aloud. “Speaking of fish, I hope you like it. We'll be eating a lot of it.”

A pause came over the Kelvic. “It must be rather terrible to take another long trip when you were just on a boat last year, yeah?”

Journey to the East

Holding hands during conversation wasn’t uncommon in Zeltiva either, especially to those of close relation. The bodily contact and body language were important to the already romantic city and the few Kelvics who resided in it, for it was easier for them to communicate, words barred.

Aimee nodded in agreement, the children could be overwhelming, even for her. It amused Aimee that Elann’s skin prickled with goosebumps whenever the wind blew in its bursts. Everytime the wind blew Aimee was forced to readjust her hair, the wind throwing away any order she may have given her tresses between gusts.

Aimee continued to peer at Elann’s hair as the Benshira explained the dyeing process. “It looks fine, nice even.”

She brought up a strand of her own hair to observe it. “I remember when you offered to dye mine. Sorry that I declined, I just never considered it. I don’t think I will, I like my natural color too much.” She smiled mirthfully. “I’m not even sure how it would look if I shifted. I might have an oddly colored patch on my fur. Funny as it would be, I wouldn’t want that.”

She tucked the hair away again since the wind had let up for a moment. She knew it would come again and throw it out of whack once more but she didn’t mind readjusting her wild strands, it gave her an excuse to touch her hair.

“We’re nearly to Zeltiva by now,” she said, nodding to the peaking mountain range. “Are you looking forward to it?”

Journey to the East

“You’re welcome,” Aimee replied. She stopped walking backwards and came up alongside the Benshira, taking Elann’s hand.

Elann’s question came, to which Aimee shrugged at. “Whenever they want to play. They’re usually playing with each other, too busy to play with me anymore. Sometimes I don’t feel like playing either, but that’s more me than them. I think they understand that I’ve been really tired lately though. It’s nice.”

Aimee drew a hand through her hair, pushing aside her fringe and tucking it behind one of her ears to keep it out of her face temporarily. The sun was shining and there weren’t any clouds in the sky, any weather front that may have threatened them had moved on without gracing them with another downpour of rain. The wind, however, whipped up whenever it felt like in strong gusts and constant breezes.

“What made you want to color your hair?” she asked curiously, peering at Elann’s strands.

Journey to the East

Noah went through moments of wanting to speak with her and then not, mostly misguaging her own want to talk to him. The drawing of Yahal was another testing point for him. He was afraid to broach the subject of Yahal again, but knew it was something she enjoyed talking about regardless of if he agreed with the god’s ideals or not. To him, the god didn’t matter much, but she meant more than the moon and sun combined. He understood he misspoke some of his own opinions of Yahal, but it was why he was cautious in speaking by the river. It just turned into something more, which was also his fault because of how he took the answers to the questions he asked.

He didn’t like to generalize things, thus he didn’t ask what Yahal or Elann thought of him, he asked specifically what he wanted to know: if she or Yahal thought he was impure. She had said no, but he kept prodding anyway because he disagreed with her notion that purity and faithfulness took place in the wild. He conceded that in some places and in some species it seemed like the laws applied. His problem was that it wasn’t true in its entirety, yet spoken as such with confidence. He was particular and picky when it came to conversation, which explained why many didn’t engage in prolonged communication with them that weren’t already particular and specific in nature.

Outside, two of the children came up to Aimee and strode alongside her, one of the young boys taking her hand while the girl on her side held onto the fabric of the dress near her hip. Aimee loved children much like Noah did, because they were fun and innocent, naive but not to a fault because of their age. Children were awed by the Kelvics and gave positive attention instead of misunderstanding and scorn. That wasn’t to say the Kelvics hadn’t played the receiver in scorn from children, but they were easily forgivable. Adults, however, were not.

The children were called away by the others and a game of play ensued as they began to dart in out of the moving caravans. They asked Aimee to join in but she politely refused, instead choosing to fall back from the wagons. To her surprise she saw Elann though, and she had thought the Benshira would stay sleeping through the afternoon. Aimee stood off to the side of the road and let those who were walking behind her pass by while she waited for Elann to come to her. When the Benshira did, Aimee showed her a genuine smile, baring teeth and all.

“Hello, sister dear,” she said merrily. Calling Elann ‘sister’ was something she hadn’t done before until now in all seriousness. “I like your hair... it’s nice.”

Aimee was walking backwards in front of Elann, her hands tucked behind her back as her dress flowed freely this way and that.

“Sorry I didn’t answer you last night, I was so tired I barely heard you.”

Journey to the East

Noah was awake when Elann woke up, but he hadn’t moved from his spot in the bed. He had seen Elann sleeping with her back to him and took the sight harder than may have been intended. He lied on his back with his hands holding one another over his abdomen, looking up at the ceiling of the wagon. He was unsure how much time passed between him drawing the picture for her and sleeping himself; the flaps were closed and Aimee was gone. He wasn’t sure how much time passed before Elann stirred at his side either.

He looked over to her briefly, seeing that she was growing more awake before looking back at the ceiling. He looked at her when she rose to leave but that was brief too. He decided to roll over onto his side again and bring the blanket up over his head and take in his own heat, only the tufts of his curly hair visible to those who may have seen him.

Outside, Aimee walked idly alongside the wagons. She had occasionally talked to some of the drivers as she passed the wagons up to go to the lead car. She strode beside the lead car in relative quiet, keeping to herself now.

Journey to the East

By the time Elann returned back to the wagon Aimee was up and active. She actually wore her own clothes that afternoon instead of Noah’s, a sheer mutlilayered dress which was more a nightgown than anything. She liked the look of it, how the purple was deep when all the layers laid atop one another but were remarkably light when a single layer was held alone. Fair lavender and deep hues occupied her being as she sat on the edge of the wagon, both of the wagon flaps open since the growing day also meant growing temperatures. She sat on the edge with one of her books in hand, looking up briefly to look at Elann when the Benshira climbed back into the wagon. Noah still lie sleep on the pallet on the floor, curled up beneath the blankets but otherwise unmoving with his bond silent in his sleeping nature.

Seeing that Elann was going to sleep as well Aimee put her book down on the bench and closed the flaps, slipping from the wagon entirely to walk and enjoy the nice weather of the day. The sun was shining particularly strong against the ground since the trees were thinning out enough to allow meadows and hills to take over the landscape. It was a sight Aimee was glad to see since it meant she was approaching home, though there was still a ways to go. As much as she was used to cloudy weather, cloudless days were some of the best in her opinion.

Journey to the East

Noah knew he could shut her out relatively quickly and without a second thought until later. He would managed to keep her out for as long as he wanted, but he saw it was at the detriment of their relationship. Following their argument by the river he had attempted to open up to her again but the mood had been soured by his misunderstanding.

He survived by distancing himself from what he didn’t understand when they seemed to pose a threat to him and his personal lifestyle. He froze out what he didn’t understand and kept threats at bay if they were deemed as such. He was attempting to thaw for Elann so that this silent spell wouldn’t go on for as long as they had in the past, earlier in the trip.

The presentation of the drawing was a gift for peace, a professing of his unending love. He wanted to draw her a picture too, and he felt guilty. Any assumptions of the action were correct whether she knew it or not. It was rather simple in his mind; a gift to show his love for her to show that he was apologetic without speaking the words.

She spoke in genuine compliment but that was it, ending up gesturing for him to take the picture back. He looked between her and the drawing and closed his book. He didn’t want it back, he wanted her to keep it whether it would be safe in his book or not. It wasn’t about drawing an accurate depiction of Yahal, but showing her he still cared enough to even attempt to draw something she took an interest in. It was a grand gesture on his part, though it may have looked small in her eyes.

“I wanted you to keep it,” he said, taking it from her gently.

He set it atop the book in his lap and pulled himself and his legs into the wagon, grabbing his pencil as he went. He stood up and returned to the depths of the wagon - lest he was stopped - careful not to lose his balance as the floor jarred beneath him. The book and pencil were dropped back into the trunk and it was closed once again.

Noah took to the bed and slid beneath the blankets, figuring he would try to sleep the day away.