Exercise & Porcupines

[Chani {♥}]

If it hadn't been for the wind rustling the grass and leaves on the trees, it would have appeared that time was standing still. Kokomai was motionlessly positioned. Her right arm was stretched horizontally before her, holding the sword so that it stuck out to Kokomai's right horizontally. Her eyes pierced the sky in front of her, focused. Her left leg was forward, bent at the knee, and her right leg had its toes dug into the ground. She was barefoot, in one of her favorite kimonos, concealing the shirt and trousers beneath. It was white on the top half, becoming dark purple as it flowed down, on which there were white flowers embroidered. A light purple obi was tied just beneath her chest, as obis often are when worn by women. A matching sash tied her hair behind her head, out of her face, and her lips were painted white.

Kokomai could feel her nails digging into her palm from gripping the sword so tightly, and she could feel her muscles aching from being held stiff for so long, but she didn't want to give just yet. She felt the wind whip about her, molding around her body. She slowly closed her eyes, then, with even more sluggishness, lowered her chin till it touched her neck. She held that pose for a couple moments, enduring the ache, and then her arm moved suddenly. It would have surprised anyone who'd been watching for the past ten minutes. She had very swiftly moved the blade to her chest and swung it outwards. She slowed her swing as her arm stuck out, pointing the sword to the right, but it kept going. She slowly, very slowly, twirled with the sword. It cut in a downward spiral... She stooped with it until she was kneeling on the ground and spiraled back up, still very slowly, until she held the pose that she had first been in. Then she quickly tossed the hilt of the blade, her left arm swooped up and snatched it from the air. Whipping it first to the right, doing a figure-eight, and then pointing it straight up, but her eyes never diverted. Then she started moving her legs. She did slow spirals, twirls, stoops, interrupted by the occasional strikes of speed. That was, until a distant yelp reached her ears.

"Gedeon," she whispered, dropping her arms to her sides and looking in the direction it had came from. It was getting closer.

Finally, the huge black wolf jumped into the clearing, yipping. The reason was obvious; several spikes stuck from his nose, one from his ear. He was leaping about and shaking his head frantically.

"Calm yourself," Kokomai said quietly, but sternly. Gedeon stopped all movement, except for the shivers of pain. "You and your accursed curiosity, Gedeon." She leaned forward, staring at them for a second. Then, with a quick reach, snatch, and pull, she ripped one free. He howled, but ceased movement again. She ripped all the spikes out in the same unexpected yanks, always followed by a howl or yip.

"Better?" she finally asked. He looked up at her sadly. "No, I suppose not. Alright then." She placed her hands on his nose gently, closed her eyes, and her palms went aglow with a white light. It spread to her fingertips. She did the same thing to his ear until he was healed. He licked her arm thankfully afterwards, feeling no more pain. Then, he sung her a song. He was aware that she loved the sound of a wolf's howl. He raised his nose to the sky and let out a long, beautiful note. She smiled, sitting cross-legged before the mountain and listening.

[FLICK]

ooc;; Hope you don't mind me popping in here, Chani.
=D

ic;;
It was the wolf-song that called her to the clearing. The long, enchanting note was irrestible temptation to Elai, and her single-minded concentration on her prey disappeared as the clear tone soared above her. When the note ended and the young woman returned to the present, the rodent had vanished into the undergrowth, but she didn't mind. The wolf-song soothed her frayed nerves, calmed her head and allowed her, subconsciously, to relax the muscles that were sore from frustrated tension. She hadn't realised how taut her muscles had been till they relaxed, and a wave of relief washed over her.

She had lost her target - in the big scheme of things, what did it matter? Although dried meat was not as delectable as anything freshly caught and roasted or stewed over a fire, it was nourishing, and she had enough to last her another few days. There was plenty of green food around, too, and Elai, after a broken conversation with a herbalist of the region, had a record of what to eat and what to avoid. She'd make do, and there would always be more animals.

That wolf, though, and that beautiful song... Without knowing quite why, Elai realised she had to find it. Shifting her pack a little more on her shoulders, the woman moved off silently through the verdant undergrowth. It was a skill that took a long time to develop, but once mastered it came naturally, and Elai had known it for as long as she could remember. Maybe it was an inborn talent, or maybe it was something she had learned in toddler-hood, just as she had learned to walk. Not even she knew.

After a short walk - made a little longer, as she had to move around certain blockages in the thick green that she couldn't move through - Elai reached the clearing. She saw the wolf first, howling again, his nose raised to the blue sky above them. He was enormous, with a beautiful black pelt. An unconscious smile softened Elai's features. The woman was a secondary observation. She had been sitting so still in her cross legged position that the forest-girl's eyes had roamed straight over her. Elai realised the wolf was hers - and possibly the clearing, too. A glint of light from a long, smooth blade caught her eye, and she dropped her head respectfully. The woman was a warrior, and probably did not want to be disturbed in her meditation.

Still in the shadow of the wood, not realising how hard it would be for one untrained to see her, Elai spoke softly. "Forgive me for the... intrusion," she said slowly, trying to find the right words. "The wolf... The wolf called, I come."

[Chani {♥}]

Kokomai turned in the direction the voice had come from. She saw no one, not even as she squinted. While this put her on edge a bit, she knew that if someone was going to attack her, they would have already done so and would not have risked their position by speaking. Her exercises had relaxed her, too.

"It is no intrusion," she replied, still looking for the source of the words. She picked her sword off of the ground and sheathed it; most did not like to approach an armed person. Gedeon scared off enough company as it was, not that Kokomai minded solitude. "Would you mind stepping forward? I cannot see you."

[FLICK]

Elai watched interestedly as the woman turned towards her, trying to see what she could deduce from her appearance. Her face was pale, her lips very red, and her hair short and black. Elai wasn't sure, but she suspected that the cheeks and lips were made up. The hair, though, and the shape of her face, were typical to the Hagakarinese, and Elai decided she was native to the region, with a trace of something else... The ears, she realised with a jolt. They had the characteristic points she saw occasionally when they made contact with the Elves. Could the woman have Elven blood? But as for what she did for a living, the sword was the only hint. The kimono she was wearing obscured her body shape, and the sword could have only been ceremonial... As for Kokomai's career, Elai was left in the dark.

Then the woman spoke, and Elai's mind was distracted as she hastily translated the words in her mind and concocted a response. "I am sorry," she said, in a voice touched with uncertainty. "I... I did not mean to be... not-seen?" The inflection at the end made it sound almost like a question, but it was an unconscious display of Elai's lack of faith in her linguistic skills. She was sure that there was a better word for unseen in common, but she could not find it.

As she spoke, Elai stepped forward, and the indistinct shape of her body became visible as she moved out of the underbrush with the barest whisper of noise. Her tunic was a shade of dull green with an artistic sash of brighter colour, and her leggings leather that had been stained with crushed leaves for a slight green tinge. Her hair was pulled back, but she brushed a few loose wisps casually from her eyes with the back of her hand as she bowed her head in acknowledgement of the stranger. Her bow was strapped to her back, along with a decorated quiver full of blue-feathered arrows and a loosely framed pack, and a long knife was sheathed at her belt.

[Chani {♥}]

Kokomai's eyes found movement and focused. She observed Elai for a moment, looking thoughtful. She was not one to judge quickly and she wasn't sure if she could come up with a judgment, anyway. Her hair was light. Kokomai, of course, had seen light hair before, though mainly in travelers or tourists. This young woman's hair, however, was not just light; it was gray, but her face and body appeared young. Her eyes were light, too, light brown. She did not speak Common very well, that only added to Kokomai's suspicion that she wasn't local. Of course, not being able to speak a language other than your own native one wasn't to be mistaken for idiocy. There was something intelligent, maybe even inquisitive, in Elai's eyes, Kokomai examined.

When she bowed her head, Kokomai returned the favor, as was customary of the Hagakarinese. Neither knew the other's social status, so neither was expected to bow anything more than their head and there was no hand gestures involved. Kokomai was thankful for that much, her arms were a bit tired.

"It is fine," Kokomai replied, enunciating her words a little better and speaking a bit louder so that the girl would understand her with much more ease. "Thank you."

Gedeon, who seemed to always take an instant liking in people, was running toward Elai with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and his tail wagging furiously. He stopped abruptly just a yard from her, lowered his head, and flattened his ears against his scalp. He was panting and his tail was still wagging, but he had learned that most people did not like to be jumped on (especially when the thing jumping them was an abnormally large wolf) and so was restraining himself from pouncing and licking her face until Kokomai yelled at him.

Kokomai sighed, preparing to reprimand him and call him back, but Elai didn't appear to Kokomai to fear the wolf as many people did when first meeting him, so she held her tongue. Now she was curious.

[FLICK]

Elai noticed the quick, decisive movements of Kokomai's eyes, and realised that the other woman was examining her in the same way Elai had moments before. With a slight stab of guilt Elai remembered that amongst her tribe, such examinations were discouraged and classed as rude, and she hastily dropped her eyes, a faint flush colouring her cheeks. She hoped the woman didn't have similar customs. By the inquisitive looks she was subtly giving, Elai decided she probably didn't.

The words began to tumble from Kokomai's mouth and Elai's brain clicked into gear to decipher them. She was grateful for the way the woman had changed they way she spoke, making the words clearer, but felt a little guilty and embarrassed. She should have studied Common harder, Elai told herself firmly; people shouldn't have to make allowances for her. Luckily, the phrases didn't require a response. Elai let out a silent exhalation of relief.

Her eyes twinkled and a smile crept to her lips as the wolf, big as he was, bounded forward with such an expression on his canine face that Elai couldn't resist a small chuckle. She immediately sobered her looks, again dropping her eyes. In the tribe, it wasn't polite to be so laid back with somebody one had never met - at least some acquaintance was required before laughter, even in small doses, was appropriate. But when the wolf stopped short so abruptly, the smile slid back, and Elai couldn't bring herself to wipe it away, even as she looked up to Kokomai and grappled for the right words.

"May I?" she asked, holding one hand out towards the wolf with a questioning expression on her face. She tried not to look to eager, but the happy twinkle in her eyes and the smile she still held on to gave her away. To keep it from showing any more than it had to, Elai turned her laughing eyes to the large wolf, still sitting a yard or so away.

His fur was a charcoal black and long, with a natural shine that showed his health. His eyes were a bright green. His tongue was hanging out, and from what Elai could tell from her limited experience with wolves, his teeth were healthy. His body was well muscled, and she was almost sure that he was well fed underneath his dark coat. But on top of all that, his whole body radiated happiness and excitment to see her - something Elai hadn't been expecting. She itched to scratch him.

[Chani {♥}]

Kokomai smiled, realizing that the woman hadn't found it rude or frightening of Gedeon to bound forth like he had.

"Yes," she said, nodding her head to confirm. While her native language was different, body language seemed to be similar in most races. Though, this woman was of no origin that Kokomai was familiar with. She hadn't meant to be rude in her staring. Tact wasn't something unknown to her, it was just something that she didn't pay much mind to. Some found her cold and standoffish for it, but she didn't care what others thought. Maybe that only made it worse... "He is called Gedeon," Kokomai said, making the sentence short as possible and walking forth to join her wolf and Elai. "I am Koko." She found that her nickname would be easiest for Elai to pronounce and so left it at that.

[FLICK]

A brilliant smile broke out on Elai's face as she saw Kokomai nod, and she sprung forward towards the wolf, dropping to her knees in the soft, wavy grass of the clearing. The wolf's rough, wet tongue rasped at her face and she laughed, forgetting entirely about the correct propriety in the pleasure of the moment. She rubbed his neck in delight, dragging her fingers through his shaggy hair. He was a beautiful creature.

Taking a breath, Elai let a low rumble of greeting form in the back of her throat and spill out her lips. Humanoid creatures didn't possess the body parts and muscular control required to communicate fully with animals as their methods of communication were rife with subtle nuances of posture and expression. Despite that, with practice, one could learn enough to speak on a basic level with any animals, though it was a communication of ideas. Although Elai couldn't say 'Hello, how are you?' to the wolf, she could offer a growl of respectful greeting.

"Ge... de... on," Elai repeated slowly, trying to get her mouth around the unfamiliar sounds. It was a name, Elai realised. There had been a moment of confusion in which Elai thought Kokomai was offering another word for 'wolf'. She hadn't realised that the woman knew the wolf well enough for it to give it a name. There must be a deep bond of companionship between the two. "Koko?" she said, more confidently this time, pointing at Kokomai. It, too, was an unfamiliar name. Common didn't have the short pauses and airy leaps of her tribal language, and Elai still had trouble getting the syllables to flow together smoothly.

"E'relai," she said, tapping her chest. That word flowed easily from her lips, and she felt guilty when she realised that the woman had been slowing down and simplifying her speech. She shook her head, then spoke again. "Elai, I am Elai," she said. That was easier to say in Common, and it lacked the break dictated by the apostrophe that was so hard to fit into speech for one who hadn't grown up with the tribal tongue.

[Chani {♥}]

Kokomai was almost sure that this woman was not from around here now. Her name was definitely different and not like any language she had heard of. When Gedeon let out a soft growl similar to hers in reply, it only confirmed Kokomai's suspicions. She wondered what had brought Elia here.

"Yes," she said in reply to the questioning tone in which Elai had said her name. She would have said that it was nice to meet Elai as a greeting, but she figured that Elai would appreciate silence more, so that she wouldn't have to decipher. And it seemed that she felt guilt for the way Kokomai was talking to her, too, from her expressions. Kokomai knelt next to Gedeon, who was lapping up all the attention he was getting.

[FLICK]

"Do you..." Elai paused, wishing she didn't find the language so difficult. "Wolf - Gedeon... You go together?" Travel was the word she was after, but it didn't come to her, despite her wishes. "Companions?" she asked, grateful that at least one slightly more sophisticated word had found its way to her lips. She smiled nervously at Kokomai with apologetic eyes. Elai hoped the older woman didn't think she was stupid. I just have trouble with the language, Elai thought in frustration, though she knew Kokomai wouldn't hear.

Her hands slipped lower, and before she knew it Elai was scratching Gedeon's stomach. He seemed pleased by her attention, and it only made her want to pamper him more. A quiet, unconscious crooning slipped from her lips as she rythmically rubbed his stomach. "Where do you... ah, come? From?" Elai asked. She wasn't sure if 'from' was the right word, but she knew that something had to be added to the end.

[Chani {♥}]

"Yes, we travel together," Kokomai replied, sitting, cross-legged, and stroking Gedeon's side. Kokomai thought hard about the second question. She didn't come from anywhere, but "nowhere" would probably confuse Elai. An explanation would be long, and that might confuse her, too. "Nomads," she said, pointing from Gedeon to herself. "We live nowhere. Just travel."

[FLICK]

ooc;; Wow, you're fast! I keep finding that you posted ten minutes ago and I didn't notice.

ic;;
Elai paused in her methodical scratching of Gedeon's furry body to contemplate Kokomai's words. They lived nowhere? Everybody lived somewhere, surely! She, too, was travelling, but it didn't mean she didn't have a home... She had the village, and the forest, and the people who loved her. That was home. She was born there, she was raised there, she lived there - that was definitely home. So what could Kokomai have meant? She had been born somewhere... Did she not have people who loved her, a warm place to go back to eventually, when her travels came to an end?

"What happen to Koko's home?" Elai asked in her broken Common. "Not everyone have home? How nowhere?" If only she could convey her thoughts more accurately. She hadn't really asked everything she wanted to know - there were so many concepts she'd never considered before, and didn't know how to express.

[Chani {♥}]

"My family has died," Kokomai replied, not wanting to tell her much more, but still wanting to answer her question. "My home was destroyed." She didn't like it when others looked at her with sympathy, though she found that Elai would only be returning what she had been given, as Kokomai had looked at her with sympathy at not knowing Common very well. She felt a tinge of guilt for it, but, as always, no emotions crossed her face. She didn't mind answering questions, but she didn't like sympathy, either.

Gedeon lied down, tongue still hanging out of his mouth, an rolling onto his back so that his stomach could be reached easier. Kokomai smiled at his, and patted his warm stomach.

[FLICK]

ooc;; GOD! I did it again!
D:

ic;;
Elai lowered her eyes deferentially, letting a few loose strands of hair fall over her face in the action. She had never known loss to that extent. Only once had she known someone to die unnaturally, when she was a few years younger. A member of the tribe she had been travelling with on the forest floor had been gored by one of the ferocious beasts that stalked the darkness of the understory. He died in the night that followed, in her arms. They had not been able to get back to the healers of the tribe quickly enough to prevent the onset of infection, and he had lost a lot of blood from the initial wound. She had grieved for him, but he was one man out of the whole tribe. Kokomai had lost her whole family.

"They go to... go to..." The tribe, being innately religious (or was it just superstition?), had their own distinctive version of an afterlife. Being so deeply connected with the forest, their afterlife was an extension of their home, and was called the Sacred Grove. Certain shamans had been said to reach the Grove, but were unable to explain the wonders they had seen. The Sacred Grove was home to the spirits of the tribe's dead. But how could she convey the idea in Common? "In tribe," she began slowly, "we have... We have good place for dead people. Dead go to special forest. Koko's family in good place." It was clunky and ineloquent, but it was the best Elai could do.

It was not sympathy per se; more a respect for all that Kokomai had lost and her powerful ability to endure the worst of experiences. Elai wondered how she would cope if she lost everything she knew, but the imagining was too horrible. She quailed at the thought of the reality.

[Chani {♥}]

Kokomai nodded, feeling grateful that this woman had not looked at her in pity. It must have been a version of Heaven, she decided. She wished to know more about where Elai was from, but she didn't want to trouble her with questions. "Where is your home?" she asked, deciding it was the easiest inquisition to comprehend.