[IC] Wanderers

[Carantathraiel]

Envy grinned softly. "It has all been a great help." He said, raising his chin slightly when she opened the bag and mentioned a treat for the children and a sweet tooth.
"They're candies." Ruli muttered to Envy, who nodded, and smiled more broadly.
"I do have a sweet tooth, but I tend to avoid, because I have little self control around sugar." He said with amusement. He set his giant hand on the bag when she placed it beside him, feeling the quantity. "I'll see that its shared between them. Aeron will enjoy it, I hope." He nodded. "However, I don't drink, but I'm sure there are many in Little Ziad who would enjoy such niceties."

When she asked about Ysaryn, Ruli snorted softly, his brow furrowing. Envy ignored him. "Yes. They came back again this morning. She and Bolym were not in the best moods and went out to hunt a few hours ago. If they're back, they're in Little Ziad."
"We need a new name." Ruli complained.
"Says who?"
"Says ... Ziad means abundance. What we have there is anything but."
"It will grow, Ruli." Envy argued softly. "Ziad wasn't always a busy city. It started small and grew. Give it time."

Ruli looked up to respond, his black eye gleaming, but he caught sight of someone over Kire's shoulder and dropped his head again. The figure approached, tossing a small satchel at him. It thumped heavily against Ruli's chest, and he snapped his hand up to catch it before it landed in his plate. "There. Don't ask me for anything else." The figure snapped. The knuckles on his right hand were bruised.

He was about Ruli's height, fit, and tanned. He had black hair that grew about as long as Ruli's, which was pulled back into a bunch at the back of his head. The ends of it curled lazily. His grey eyes were cold as he shifted his attention down to Kire, dislike etched into his features. He bore a vicious scar at the corner of his eye that was jagged and, despite months of time passing since the injury was received, the skin was still red and healing.
"I don't have to ask if you're the one." He said icily.
"Do try to be nice, she's been getting us supplies." Envy said indifferently, as if this man's attitude was nothing new.
"And what the fuck have the elf and I been doing all this time?" He turned back to Envy. "You force us to go to the city, and that bitch wants nothing but to cut my throat over the arrangement."
Envy looked up patiently. "You have Ruli now."
The man stiffened, curling his lip at the blond. Ruli didn't look up from his plate. "How about you send the two of them together." He snarled. "They can kill each other and we'd be rid of them both."
"Zekiel." Envy said firmly. "That is uncalled for."
"Its less than he deserves, Envy." The man, Zekiel, answered before storming away.

The chamber had grown quiet, watching the exchange. Envy sighed, looking disappointed, while Ruli looked very interested in the satchel the man had tossed at him. His cheeks were red, barely visible as he kept his head low.
"I'm ─" Ruli began, before realizing he had no obligation to explain. He set his half eaten plate on the ground between Envy and Kire and got up, heading outside.
The Kartaian sighed again. "I was hoping they would be less cold toward one another." He admitted quietly to Kire.

[Michellin]

Kire listened to the two talk, about to ask about Ziad some more when something, or someone, had caught Ruli’s eye and made him look away like he wanted the ground to swallow him up. Kire raised a brow and turned to look just as a man with a scarred eye and black hair tossed something their way. “Hm.” His hostility made Rulitus seem warm and accommodating by comparison. While she didn’t frown at him, she didn’t balk at the hatred in his eyes, either. She said nothing when he spoke about her, then looked back to Ruli when this man practically wished death upon him. Hm. Might explain why he looks like shit. She noted that Ruli offered no argument, had none of the stubbornness she had been accustomed to seeing. More guilt. Kire was starting to get an inkling on why; Rulitus not coming with them in exile here didn’t warrant such a venomous response. There was something else. Why did he think he and Envy were not on the best of terms?

She hummed a little in thought at the Kartaian’s comment. “It’s been half a year. And he’s only shown up today. Forgiveness takes time for us mere mortals, Envy,” Kire replied, a small smirk on her face. She had been on both sides of that kind of anger, she knew. “The wounds are still fresh. I’d have thought I’d find more of this Zekiel’s anger when I arrived here with Akuma’s face, to be frank.” She looked around at the people having their meal as they returned to their dinner, shaking off the awkward silence. “If he’s that angry, I suppose that meant he cared deeply. Hopefully deeply enough that he’d forgive whatever it was that Rulitus did.” She almost asked then and there what it was he did and confirm her vague hunches.

[Carantathraiel]

Envy inhaled and shook his head. "They were close enough once to call one another brothers. So I would guess you're correct. The pain is deep." He didn't elaborate, the fight between the two men not his story to tell. But he could explain something else to give her a better idea.
"I fled from my people a long time ago. A lifetime, compared to a mortal. I made it to Ziad and made my way underground for shelter. As you may know, my people do not tolerate sunlight." He gestured to the burns on his skin, and the useless eyes that were now irreparably damaged.

"I intended to move on somehow, make my way here to the mountains, and then on, but I discovered the cisterns there and stayed a while to recuperate and learn about the world. And one day a small child found his way into the cisterns; starving, broken, hopeless. In time, we trusted one another, and he brought another. And they brought more. And suddenly the cistern was an orphanage of sorts. I had somehow created my own underground city, the one above completely oblivious to our existence. Ruli and Zeke grew up together there. Helped me care for and train the children so that when they were old enough to leave, they had skills enough to secure jobs. But the two of them never left. Many didn't, deciding to remain and help those who came in. Sid is one of them. Aeron's mother another." he shook his head regretfully.

"One day, we'll settle and create our own paradise again. Those who dwell in here in the cavern are those who lived with me. Those in Little Ziad are the few from the surface city who survived. Only a handful go back and forth. Like Zeke. He got himself a job working for Ziad's late king to keep himself close to the seat of power, and became captain of the guard at a young age, thanks to an unfortunate circumstance. The people still trust him because he got them out, so they obey his orders not to retaliate against me because of what I am. Truthfully, I think he told them I'm a prisoner." He gave a grim smirk, which said he didn't mind pretending to be such a thing, but was bothered that it had to be said.

"More than his anger at what happened, Zeke suffered a grave injury. A Kartaian struck him in the head, and his helmet buckled into his skull, causing that scar on his face. In a way, he's lucky, as a hair more to the left and he'd have lost his eye." Envy admitted. "He fought despite it, taking near-fatal injuries, and it was days before we could cut the helmet off his head. There is a headache that won't recede, and his other injuries may limit him from ever being a proper soldier again. No amount of herbs we find relieve the agony he's in. It is no excuse, but I don't berate him for his harsh tongue because I understand."

Envy grinned at Kire again, the same grim expression. "Enough about us, though. I do not know much about you. Where are you from? You have family there, if I recall you mentioning?"

[Michellin]

Kire listened in quiet awe to Envy’s story about how he had found shelter in Ziad and grew it into a tight-knit community of orphans living in an underground city. That was astounding to her; that would have taken a lot of time, labor, and love. Having met Envy, she now understood just how deep a well of kindness he had. And why Ruli seemed like a son to him. So is this Zeke. Kire frowned when Envy told her what it took for the former residents of Ziad to trust the presence of a Kartaian here; like Envy, she understood the reasoning behind it, but was nevertheless bothered. What if a refugee decided that Zeke’s word on the matter wasn’t enough, and tried to take out their anger and frustration at him?

As he went on to tell her more about Zeke and what he had suffered during the fall of Ziad, Kire’s mind went elsewhere. Ed… She imagined this Zeke in his prime as captain, and thought of how Ed had been like an older brother to her and the cousins, too, even as the burden of keeping the crown and the Capital safe fell on his shoulders just as much as hers. And now I’ve lost him, and Earnest, too. What she would give to have Ed and his brother with them, alive, even if they hated her to the very depths of their soul. “At least you still have him,” she murmured.

Envy’s question, however. How much to say? Kire felt it was only fair that she let them into her confidence after they had allowed her into their refuge. But it wasn’t just a matter of trust. Would they even be able to believe her? “I’m not from anywhere near here. Or anywhere far from here, for that matter.” She hummed in thought again. “I come from a place called Amria. You can’t get to it by any means of travel you might have. Not even that other means where you walk in shadows. I don’t know if you’ve realized, but I’ve never seen an elf, any elf, before coming to Ziad, much less knew they existed. There are no elves in Amria. At the moment, the only people who are able to do so are myself and Ikegai.”

She rubbed her nape. “I have family back home, yes. Me and my cousins. We were orphaned by a cataclysm. And then, six months ago I lost two more when our city was overrun by our enemies and we were driven out. My oldest cousin, he had been Captain, too. In another life, maybe he and Zekiel would have gotten along.” She smiled a little at the thought, though it faded quickly.

[Carantathraiel]

Envy listened with a gentle expression, nodding along. He was deeply curious about her admission about her country. Country, or world? But he didn't ask yet, not in such a crowded place. People were finishing their rations and wandering around to stretch their legs, take brisk walks outside to take advantage of the weather before nightfall, but he didn't doubt they were listening.

"My sincerest condolences for the loss of your parents, and your cousins, more recently." Envy said. "Six months ago, does that mean your Ikegai is responsible for their deaths, as well? I certainly understand your determination to hunt him down, if that were the case."
Finished with his meal, he gathered the candied fruit and stood. Knowing someone would swoop in and eat Ruli's unfinished portion, he left that for whomever decided to take it, tucking his empty plate beneath it.

"I think, had things been different, Zeke would have found you infinitely charming, and would have likely tried to keep you by his side." Envy said with a teasing grin as he invited Kire along with him. He directed his feet toward his chamber, his steps slow and cautious. "Showing up in the dead of night, armoured, armed with a blade, and judging by Ruli's attitude towards you, a sharp tongue to boot. You have just the right amount of mystery that one finds alluring. You'd have been perfect in his little guard unit." Envy added with another grin.

When they stepped through the sound ward, the chatter of the others fading immediately, he turned to look in her direction. "Now that we're away from prying ears, I've questions, if you'll not mind?" Envy sat himself carefully on his pile of straw. "Amria? Where is it? And I'm curious about this magic you have." He smiled cryptically. "You wouldn't offend my wards if you didn't have something. Even Ysaryn triggers them, and she is rather weak compared to a few others, magically speaking."

[Michellin]

Kire snorted at the idea of being found charming by Zeke. As they headed towards Envy’s chamber, Kire paced slowly beside him, watching to see if he’d need help. “Hah. You’re probably the first person to say that those qualities of mine are alluring,” she remarked, though she did find the assessment amusing, especially the thought of her belonging to his guard unit. Ed had always teased her that she wouldn’t survive having to answer to somebody else as a soldier.

Now that they could converse in private, Kire waited for the inevitable questions. “Amria is my world,” she replied, hands clasped behind her. “Yes, Ikegai is responsible for what happened six months ago. Not solely, but in concert with our enemies. And while my eyes were on the hunt for him, he had already been planning his escape here, with their help. Together they divided our attention.” She shook her head a bit. “Rulitus would have seen most of what I can do back in Ziad. I was given the power to traverse worlds and distances through portals, though this takes up much more energy than what Rulitus and Kartaians could do. I can use that energy for my way of travel, or I could use it to augment my strength and healing. Something to do with having dragon-blood, it seems. You don’t have dragons here, do you? Do you know what a dragon is?” she asked. “Have to remind myself there are differences between here and Amria.”

As she spoke, she fingered the Ring on her finger for a brief moment. As much as she appreciated their honesty and trust, letting them know about the Ring outright was still risky. “I was entrusted with this power. One of the many things about me Ikegai thinks he is entitled to.”

[Carantathraiel]

Envy shook his head. "No. I mean yes, I know about dragons, but I doubt they are the same thing as what you're thinking of." He admitted. "I've never seen one, but in books they're described as rough skinned lizards, only ever as long as six feet, depending on species. Like crocodiles and lizards."

He took in the information about her magic, his clouded eyes shifting as he thought it over. It would explain why she was able to disappear for long periods and return here with armfuls of supplies. Much more adept than Ysaryn and Zeke. He earmarked his request about that for a later moment.
"A world traveler." Envy said in awe. "I never thought they'd exist. Or that I'd meet one. Or that one would be responsible for the destruction of my city. Frankly, I always thought it would be my bloodkin." He added bitterly. "The more I hear about this man, the more I want to hurt him, myself, which is not like me."

Entrusted. "So, you're not born with this power, like myself and Ruli? You were given to it?" He paused, thinking. "...Because of your dragon-blood?" He pictured for a moment lizard-bred people with forked tongues, and suddenly very much wished he could ask to see Kire's. "Ysaryn, she can do what we've come to call Shadow-Walking only because she had the genetic disposition to do so. She traveled to Ziad on foot with Bolym and a few others, and when she managed to get here, I was able to help her learn. I imagine this dragon-blood is treated much the same?"
His eyes went wide and he raised his head slightly. "Can dragons travel between worlds like this?" He wondered, suddenly both thrilled and terrified by the idea.

"Regardless," Envy shook his head and waved a hand. "I have a request of you that may make you uncomfortable. I know you've done plenty already, but." Envy inhaled. "Ysaryn goes to her home-city for supplies. However, they are incredibly racist towards elves there. Well, in Ziad, as well, but that isn't the point. So, she takes Zeke, because he is able to guarantee her safety. But, due to his injuries, he cannot carry much, and she cannot carry much because of her magic's strength. If you wouldn't mind, I would have Ruli accompany her one day to learn how to get there, and then if the two of you, you and Ruli I mean, wouldn't go to to give the duo a break. Their, erm, cover story infuriates Ysaryn, and I really do worry she'll kill him one day. You saw her reaction when I asked her to go." It went without saying that he didn't want to lose anymore people.
The plus side, getting Ruli away from Zeke, and away from the cavern might help his mood improve.

[Michellin]

Kire grimaced. She wished Daryll was here to explain better. “Dragons are—were like gods back home. Big as buildings, old as magic, with great leathery wings. In the stories we have of them, some are savage as beasts with nothing but bloodlust and their appetite on their minds, others cunning and wise. My family—we’re supposedly descended from them. Legends, tall tales, you know, until I was given the power. What it did was awaken the dragon-blood.” Akuma…was she…? “I don’t know if the portals were dragon magic. They’ve disappeared from Amria, or were hunted down to extinction, or both.” She paused. “I did find a dragon, once, when I had first gotten the power. Nearly bit me in two. Gave me huge scars on my back instead. But I fought it long enough to annoy it back to sleep before it could wreak destruction. It was enormous. I’ll tell you the tale another time.” She almost grinned then. Once, she would have told that story more grimly, a bittersweet memory that had given her painful reminders of her limits, and of the burden that had been put on her shoulders, the scars she was both proud and ashamed of. But there were things that she thought important and painful half a year ago that didn’t seem so now. Not when she’d lost and been humiliated so much.

As for his request, Kire sighed heavily and wondered what Rulitus thought of it. Did Envy already ask him? They weren't going at each other's throats, certainly, but they weren't exactly getting on too splendidly. “I can do it. Though I’m a stranger everywhere, I would need some instruction on that front, too. Don’t want to go offending a whole city out of ignorance.” Kire frowned; if it had only been herself she had to worry about, she’d have no compunctions with teaching the intolerant a lesson or two, but as someone sent on behalf of the refugees of Ziad, she knew she couldn’t disturb their arrangement. “When I’m able to do so, I’d gladly help. Rulitus and I are better suited for the task at least.”

[Carantathraiel]

Envy made a weird face. "Don't go saying that to Zeke." He requested about her and Ruli being better suited. Zeke still had pride, and hated to be considered useless. He'd have to think of something else for the man to do to keep him occupied. Preferably something that didn't involve Ysaryn.

"You should talk to Ysaryn about the city. Maybe she'll even take you. And Zeke would be able to give any further questions, if you feel like asking him. As far as I'm aware, the city isn't too different. Its a port city, lots of travelers. You'll have to ask Ysaryn where they're getting the supplies."
He had always wondered himself, but had always been hesitant to ask. There was something about the elf that made him wonder if it wasn't given freely. Not that he would judge, as the majority of their supplies in Ziad had been stolen until he found good connections. Even then, items had been introduced due to bribery.

He shoved the many, many questions about the dragon she fought down into the back of his mind. It nearly bit her in two! Rude as it was, he wanted to see such a thing. Not her being bitten, but a beast that large, and someone like this presumably average looking woman taking it on. Sparing its life either out of kindness or necessity, and letting it go into hibernation. He sat quietly, thinking on if for a time.
"I'll talk to Ruli tomorrow. Something tells me he won't come back inside for a while, or he's already asleep. If you care to, Ysaryn may answer you questions if you have any further ones." He raised the candied fruit pouch. "I also promise to give these to Aeron tomorrow. Thank you for them, and all you've brought."

[Michellin]

Kire knew not to say anything that bluntly to a man like Zeke. A lot of men disliked that back home, too, injured or not. Maybe best to avoid him altogether and ask Ysaryn instead about any questions she had regarding the city and how she sources their supplies. The Shadow Elf may find it distasteful, but hopefully with Kire volunteering herself for it the woman would accommodate her inquiries. Besides, I seem to be the only one she doesn’t mutter or snap angrily at. “You’re welcome, Envy. I’ll be sure to talk to her first thing tomorrow. Rest well.”

She went back outside, left alone now, and wandered back into the kitchen to have a peaceful meal. Kire ate her dinner slowly, sunk in thought. She hadn’t anticipated that her hunt to find Ikegai would lead to a whole different mission, as if rehabilitating a destroyed community was now a permanent part of her life. As if doing so for my own people had been so easy. “You can’t save everyone, Kire,” she murmured in between bites, both reminder and mantra to keep herself grounded. Because of course, she couldn’t help it. She would always try to, even if impossible. “Jan was right.” She shook her head, chuckling softly at her own foolishness. If she wasn’t going to die at the hands of Ikegai and Akuma, she might work herself to death shuttling between Amria and Little Ziad, trying to help build two cities from the ground up.

Though tired, Kire’s mind was still restless. She wandered outside the cave, taking in the night air and savoring the stillness around her. Tomorrow would be filled with more hard work, and Kire wanted to snatch these few moments’ worth of peace before going to bed and waking up to the new day’s challenges. From what she could see of it on top of the hill, the desert could be quite beautiful at night. She stood there, admiring the view for a while longer before going back inside to rest.

She wasn’t so lucky with her nightmares that night. Kire sat up with a grunt, her hand clamping over her scarred eye automatically, feeling the swipe of the blade that had almost cracked her skull open as if the wound was fresh. She breathed heavily, covering her face with her hands as she steadied her shaking body. You’re here. You’re safe. It took several minutes for her to fully calm down, and by then she was too awake to try going back to sleep, reluctant to go through another round of it. She took her sword and went outside. As she had guessed, the sun hadn’t yet risen, so she worked on sword drills and exercises, petulantly entertaining the thought of torturing Ikegai with sleeplessness for eternity until dawn. Afterwards she bathed quickly, the cold water and the chilly early morning invigorating her, before going back inside to look for Ysaryn.

[Carantathraiel]

The only one awake when she was was Ruli, who had taken himself to the kitchen to work on breakfast for a time, doing what he could with what little they had in order to begin preparations on a meal that would be tasteful and spread along the many mouths here. It was a constant reminder of her, and how he'd brought her into the city and she'd used him to destroy it. His home. Their home. Gone.
He refused to even consider the condition of his family. Those they'd lost. Those who had lived but he had lost, regardless.

When he did what he could, he went outside, desiring a workout or another hunt, but he stepped outside and noticed Kire training with herself, running drills and sweating under the barely rising sun. Out of curiosity to her form, he watched her for several minutes before he left her bed, going back inside.

The cavern woke, the traffic in the pathways thick as people went in and out of the kitchen cavern to grab a bit to eat, finding a place to eat when they had their plate. Ruli took two plates, and went into Envy's room, hiding until the elf woke.
Ysaryn, after a bit of a search, was out through the kitchen tunnel under the shade of the mountain. She had had the same idea as Kire, and was dressed in leathers as she sparred with Bolym. No weapons, only hand to hand, as too many people had complained about the noise of their swords or training batons this early in the morning.
Her pink hair was pulled up into a plait to keep it out of the way, sweat running along her skin and into her clothing. When Bolym spotted Kire, his eyes shifted, his expression turning into an unhappy -or an unhappier- one. Ysaryn pivoted on her feet to look over her shoulder, and her counterpart pounced, wrapping his arms around her, his arm hooking around her throat. With a snarl, Ysaryn grabbed him and threw him over her shoulder, staring down at him as he sprawled on his back at her feet.

He scolded her, judging by her tone, and she said something back that at the very least made him smirk. It was short lived, as Ysaryn stepped over him to join Kire. He sat up, scolding again. Apparently he had not decided they were done. But Ysaryn ignored him. Stepping up to Kire, she had more than a few dark bruises marring her already dark skin. "Well met, Chieftess." Ysaryn greeted as Bolym got up and stomped into the cave in annoyance.

[Michellin]

When Kire spotted the two elves, she was mildly amused at the fact that they were doing the same thing she had been earlier. Making a mental note to perhaps ask Ysaryn for sparring practice sometime, she watched them for a while until Bolym spotted her, with a face that said he wasn’t particularly happy about her presence. Ysaryn, though, was a different matter, and Kire grinned, clapping after she threw Bolym bodily to the ground. “Well-met. That was impressive,” she replied, smiling. “Does Bolym ever not frown, though?” Ysaryn reminded her of her more rambunctious friends back home. Had they met the elf, they would have invited her to join their crew by now. A woman who wasn’t afraid of getting a few bruises here and there was someone after her own heart, too.

“There’s something I’d like to talk to you about, if you don’t mind. It’s about those supply runs Envy would ask you to do with Zekiel. I agreed to step in, and was wondering if I could bother you with questions about it, so I’d know where to go and what to do. Or not to do,” she added, hoping the subject wouldn’t sour Ysaryn’s mood too much. “If Ruli agrees, we’ll be your relievers.”

[Carantathraiel]

Ysaryn smirked and shook her head, small tendrils of her hair waving as she did before they touched her neck and stuck. "Not really." She answered.
As Kire went on, her expression went neutral as the elf considered what this meant. She wouldn't be going home every few days, but, on the positive side, she wouldn't have to travel with the angry man. Instead, Kire would be going with the quiet blond one.
"You are to go to Cordon?" Ysaryn asked, tilting her head. She clicked her tongue and tilted her head, inviting Kire to follow as she strolled away from the cave and toward the stream.

"Ask away. I will answer. It will be be nice not to have to tolerate Zeck." She admitted. "Or the people of Cordon. They do not like us. Me." She said, pointing to her ears again.

[Michellin]

Kire nodded, walking beside Ysaryn. “The port city? Yes. ‘Cordon’, huh?” She stretched her arms as she walked. “I met him yesterday. I understand not wanting to be around that for long periods,” she said, gesturing vaguely behind them. “What are the people of Cordon like? Is it just elves they hate, or all outsiders? How big is the city? Do they have rulers, chiefs? Where do you go for supplies?” She stopped then, checking her rambling questioning before her mouth ran off away from her again. “Are your people expecting you back anytime soon? Rulitus and I could relay a message on your behalf, just so they don’t worry. Or that you don’t worry that they’d worry,” she added with a small smirk.

[Carantathraiel]

When she reached the stream, Ysaryn crouched at its edge and rinsed her face and neck. "No, just elves." She admitted. "Hard to be a trade city if you hate outsiders." She pointed out, drinking from her cupped hands to swish before she spat into the stream. "I have seen more with Zeck beside me, but not alot. I can't look, or I attract attention."

Retreating, she sat on the ground, looking at Kire. "Bigger than Ziad was, from what I saw when at the ruins. People are ... people. Ocean men. Drinkers. Cookers. Travelers. No king or chief, but." She blinking, thinking of the word. "Council? Many men. Rich. Dictators of the direction of the city."
Then she grinned wickedly. "We find supplies. Many abandoned houses. Many tossed things that are perfectly useful. A city of abundance wastes much. I take advantage."

When Kire offered to pass along messages to her family, Ysaryn chuckled. "No. Do not find my family. Men hate elves, my elves hate men back. They would not invite you near them." She shook her head. "I can go back whenever I choose to see them. Bolym, maybe, will go with me, and I can leave him." She grinned again at the thought of his angry face.
Tilting her head toward Kire, Ysaryn leaned back onto her hands. "You partner with the blond? He doesn't smell so bad anymore. You get along?"

[Michellin]

“Ah. A fair point,” Kire replied when Ysaryn described the port city. She sat near the elf, picking up a twig and absently playing with the water with it. She listened quietly to Ysaryn’s answers, though she did snort when the elf was finding the right word for what to call their leaders. “Council is right. A council of all men? Dictators, definitely,” she interjected, smirking, though she wasn’t sure if her companion would understand the joke behind it. To the elf’s answer about where she got her supplies, Kire grinned. Quite the ‘resourceful’ woman, this one. She would definitely fit in with her pirate friends.

Kire nodded, noting Ysaryn’s warning about her kin. An understandable hatred. She had to laugh, though, when the elf considered leaving her bodyguard behind. “He will not be happy at all about that.” Her question, however, made Kire frown. “Uh. Hmm.” She squinted at something in the distance, thinking it over. “Well we don’t want to kill each other just yet. Good place to start, I suppose?” She shrugged. “Right now, it’s in our best interest to cooperate with each other. For as long as our goals are aligned, I think we can tolerate each other. When you're Chieftess, you get used to putting on airs. Getting along without getting along." She smirked at Ysaryn.

[Carantathraiel]

Ysaryn grinned at her, her slightly longer canine's making her look fox-like. "As Chief-daughter, it is in the best interest for them to get along with me. I do not always play nice." She said with deep amusement. After a few minutes of thought, she stood up, brushing leaves and dirt from her backside as she turned to face Kire.
"To a non elf, the city will be nice. I think you will enjoy it. Much food, clothing, pretty things. If I were a woman and not an elf, I would have no money there." She grinned, then sobered. The fact that she was an elf who resided there made life far more difficult than it had to be. Her fingers brushed against the bruises on her neck with a frown. Getting a break from having to go back would be nice. She couldn't hide in the slums when they were on hunts for furniture and blankets.

"Be careful." Ysaryn said after a moment of quiet. "Both in the city, and with him."

[Michellin]

Kire chuckled at Ysaryn’s description of being the Chieftain’s daughter, then nodded at how she described the port city. She wondered what it would have been like to be shunned for one’s race the way Ysaryn had been used to. Even as an exile, Kire knew it wasn’t the same: she still had privilege, and she had at least known comfort in her life. She got up after the elf, brushed herself off, and nodded at her warning. “I know. Thank you.” She offered a smirk. “I can’t die too early. Not before I take some heads with me.” She turned toward the entrance that led into the kitchen. “Let’s find a bite to eat, shall we?”

Be careful of Rulitus, huh? Kire’s mind recalled that moment when she had just cut his bow and she had come close enough to sense his magic. She imagined him to be someone teetering on the edge of falling into an abyss; even now, after having reunited with some of his people, Rulitus was a man just going through the motions of life. Anger and emptiness were a dangerous combination. She had felt that, these past six months, and back then, as a young Empress bereft of her mother and father, fresh after the Black Storm. When it happened then, she did fall off that edge, and she was paying the price for the darkness she had let consume her.

She picked off some cured meat; by now, the breakfast Rulitus had cooked earlier was long gone, and she wondered, a little disappointed, who had cooked whatever was the now-absent source of the lingering aroma in the kitchen. “It’s a damn shame about Cordon, and your people’s experiences there. Maybe someday you could travel, see other coastal settlements. Living by the sea could be quite nice at times. Though I dislike being on a boat for too long.” She cringed at that. “I wonder if Envy’s talked to Rulitus about this—arrangement.”

[Carantathraiel]

Ysaryn chuckled. Despite her appearance, it was a pleasant, feminine lilt. Following Kire, she eyed the woman with amusement, her fuschia eyes roaming. They slipped into the caves, the aroma of the recently cooked breakfast ideed tantilizing. Even Ysaryn flared her nostrils to fill her lungs with it.
"Mmm. Yes. I do like the sea. Lots of fish." She agreed. Ysaryn shoved a bit of the meat in her mouth and spoke with her cheeks stuffed. "He was awake earlier. Rulitus." Ysaryn nodded informatively. "Don't know about Envy, he is grumpier than Bolym if woken, so he sleeps." Another flash of her wicked grin, accompanied by small bits of her breakfast.

"Where do you live?" Ysaryn asked. "Ocean? Mountain? Desert?" She turned around, looking for the teapot and finding it empty. She'd fill it shortly for tea. "It would be nice to find a place for my people. Far from people who hate us. But I would like ocean. So much fish. So much colour."
"I think Envy would prefer mountain. Caves. But it is all he knows, yes? I think─"

She fell quiet, instantly bristling as Zekiel strolled in from the outside, making his way to the main cavern. Their eyes met, and both glared, but Zeke paused, his grey eyes wandering to her neck.
"Sorry about that." He muttered in passing.
Ysaryn only hissed at him, never taking her eyes off of him until he was gone again. Quietly, she muttered a string of curses under her breath, and resumed eating.
"Caves do not get much fresh air." Ysaryn said darkly. "Much is needed."

[Michellin]

“He was, huh.” Kire ate lazily. “Guess this cave is full of shallow sleepers. Except perhaps Envy. I don’t like being woken too early, myself. Too bad you can’t exactly punch nightmares,” she added with a shrug of a shoulder. “Where I live? I used to live in a very big city, lowlands. There’s a mountain range not too far away. But lately, I have been moving from sea to mountains. The mountains where most of my remaining family are staying are very high up. Very cold. But it’s safest for them for now. I spend time at sea or seaside ports for important work, when we need things to buy or trade, or to gather information.” She smiled at Ysaryn’s enthusiasm for the sea, and her wish for her people. “You’ll find a new home for them someday, if that’s your wish. You seem very headstrong, I wager you have it in you to lead your people to somewhere nice. I might even help you with that, if I’m able to.” Kire, there you go again.

She paused, however, when Zekiel entered. Kire looked between the two of them, waiting to see if they’d spring into a fight. To her surprise, though, he apologized to the elf before stalking off. “Quite right,” she muttered back to Ysaryn. “It will be a long while before these caverns could be home.” She gestured at her elf companion, her eyes on the bruises. “What happened? I had thought you’d gotten that from training earlier.”