Carantathraiel

Wanderers

Ysaryn, seeing the finger Kire put to her lips, when still with a frown. She listened, with cautious curiosity as Kire explained to Envy. He frowned as well, flexing one of his hand as if remembering what it was like to cut lumber, and what injuries came from the task.
"Well." He said. "Put something on it if you have splinters. Infections aren't ideal. Enjoy yourselves. I'll let you know about tonight."

Ysaryn moved when they were excused, falling into step beside Kire as they walked to the kitchen. "Rulitus." The elf answered when they were out of earshot. "He saw you hand, and asked of me to make. Is not hard to see, we all sleep in same area." She pointed out, holding out the small container again. "For next late night."

As they skipped into the kitchen, which was empty. Remnants of a breakfast of venison, and herbed potatoes were still warming on the skillet. Ysaryn swept aside to let Kire help herself. "What did you do? There is much more wood out. And you left very fast during our explore." She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, watching Kire carefully. "You are upset? Angry mind?"

Wanderers

"I should like to go out and take a look with you and Ysaryn." Envy said. "When the sun isn't out, of course." He added. He only grinned at her comments on the princess, knowing Kire had reason to suggest such a thing. Risa, fortunately, was not a problem, but if she did decide to take over as reigning power, it wouldn't meld well with the system they currently had going.
For now, she was content to let everyone else do the heavy lifting.

"He did, yes." Envy grinned again. "He shared them with a few others, sparingly, as they would have gobbled them up." He mused. "The amount you brought us is perfect, really, anything you help with or deliver is more than we could have asked for, so even if you'd only brought a half dozen, we'd have been grateful." Envy smiled warmly.
"Kirai." Ysaryn's voice came, her tongue far too heavy to properly pronounce the blonde's name. She held up a tiny container of poultice, which was really hardly larger than an acorn cap. "I have this for you hands. Oh." She tilted her head, peering at Kire's knuckles.
"Whats the matter with your hands?" Envy asked, looking concerned.

Wanderers

Zeke only glanced toward Kire in passing, otherwise ignoring her presence completely. Envy grinned when he heard her voice, nodding slowly. "Yes, its morning. Late, but still an hour or so until noon." It was always hard to tell underground. "Judging by the aroma of Ruli and Sid's cooking, they've finished breakfast an hour ago."

When she mentioned the cigarette, he grinned wider. "I am. Sparingly, and challenging my self control, but I appreciate it greatly. Thank you. And for the coffee, though I have left that to those who need that more." He inhaled through his cigarette, visibly enjoying himself. "Zeke and I were just discussing the supplies. Ruli mentioned you were scouting for land yesterday, as well. Did you find anything of interest?"

And then she mentioned the princess, and Envy's grin withered slightly. "Mm, I'm afraid not. Which I feel is a good thing. Risa is, uh. She was never properly prepped for the task of leading. She had been leaning on the guidance of Zeke, who has been leaning on his instincts and mine." He shook his head. 'Leaning' was a strong word.
"Why do you ask?"

Wanderers

Ysaryn and Ruli stopped when she said she'd return to the caves, both glancing at her in matching curiosity. "Right." Ruli said in response to her thanks, watching her walk away.
"What did you do to her!?" Ysaryn hissed at him.
He whirled to leer at her. "Me? I didn't do a damn thing Don't assume." He snapped back, and Ysaryn growled at him and turned to keep walking. He jogged after her, kicking a pinecone with his bare toe, hissing. "Don't accuse me of something and walk away." He chased after her, ignoring the argument she slung toward him as they made their way along the foot of the mountains.

They were gone for the majority of the afternoon, returning after dinner. They ate their portion of dinner in a treaty-like silence, before retiring to their own sleeping pads without a word.

In the morning, Ruli spotted Kire's injured hands and frowned, crouching beside her. Did she not mention she could use her energy to speed up healing? He leaned, inspecting her hands the best he could without touching her. It looked painful. A familiar scent of the pink-haired elf found him. "Think you could make a poultice?" Ruli asked without looking over his shoulder.
Ysaryn only hummed in response as she sauntered out, and Ruli tore his eyes away from the unconscious woman on the ground to watch her walk away.

As Ysaryn went to work on the poultice, and Ruli helped Sid in the 'kitchen' to make breakfast, Envy woke and roamed the caves, enjoying the first cigarette he'd had in months. It would be the only one he'd have this week, if he could control himself, to keep the need to restock them minimal. Zeke found him in the main chamber, asking about the massive amount of lumber outside. "We'll be building." Envy declared happily. "Real beds and furniture. And, as soon as we're able, we're going to look for a place to build outward. Real buildings."
"So, we're not going back to Ziad?" Zeke asked. A few heads turned, curious.
"I don't intend to." Envy explained honestly. "But that doesn't mean we will abandon it. But I think building a home here could be good. At least for me."
Zeke frowned at him, but decided not to argue at the moment. Instea,d he went back outside to inspect the supplies. Envy exhaled, glad for his silence.

Wanderers

They both turned to look at her when she said she'd follow, each looking mildly surprised, though for different reasons. While Ruli sighed and rose to deliver the tobacco, Ysaryn grinned at Kire, swaggering after her as they left. "Someone stinks less, I think?" The elf purred teasingly.

Ruli joined them at the entrance, leaving his keffiyeh bunched around his neck as they stepped out into the open air. He glanced upward, inspecting the sky to see if there were any dark clouds here. Ysaryn smiled sweetly. "I like to stuff and grill them." She declared, willingly accepting the conversation about choice food. "Mince crab, root vegetables, mmm." She hummed, smiling wistfully. Ruli was quiet, looking at the areas that Kire indicated to as potential plots for farming. He glanced up, looking to see how much sunlight would get through, and how much rain, when it came, would wash down to water the land.

Ysaryn asked if they'd found seeds, and when they mentioned they had not, she wandered and pointed here and there, gesturing to areas that would help in the growing of certain plants she knew. Ruli chimed in now and then with plants that they were able to grew in Ziad. Then they moved on to trees that would provide good lumber if cut. The trees here were straight and tall, ideal for use in building.

Falling behind, Ruli looked across to the west, to the stretch of desert sand that spread out to his right. Somewhere out there was Ziad, the home he'd claimed and grown in. Beyond it, the mountains in which others hid. The other race of elves, victimized by the Kartaiains. They had had no word from them after Ziad fell. Ysaryn's people had heard, and a small amount had come to aid, but no one else. It should be easy to presume them wiped out, as well.

Wanderers

Ysaryn shook her head, going to make boil some water in order to make tea for them. "I know of Heart Festival, yes. Every end of winter. Sometimes good food. Mostly grabby drunks." She stated indifferently. "Next time, you bring squid back, yes?"

The mention of Lord Itallo's name, however, made the elf nearly drop the kettle into the flames. Ruli jolted, as he would have been caught in the ember's spattering, and looked up curiously. Ysaryn hissed, her expression dark. "I know of Lord Itallo." The elf answered. "He is a man with two faces. Neither is your friend, but one pretends to be."

Ruli turned his head to glance curiously at Kire, then cleared his throat. "I was thinking of exploring the edges of the mountains for water. Fish. A place to build."
Ysaryn turned her head and glared at him. She knew he was saying something to get her to unclench, pulling the conversation away from Itallo. But, after consideration, she took the bait. "I will go!" She declared. "Look for a place for my people, too."

Wanderers

Yep. He didn't like the rain.

Ruli hunched over as it fell like ice on him, seeping in through his head cover and clothing. It was meant to keep the sun off of him, and keep him cool in the desert. It had nothing against cold rain and weather. Mood soiling, he kept quiet, following Kire back to the edge of the slums where they hid behind the wall and took themselves back to the mountains.

It was warmer, at least, but he was damp and annoyed. He didn't answer her question about Envy, figuring the woman knew he'd be happy. What giant, hermit elf with dozens of adopted orphans didn't like receiving a box of tobacco to smoke in a cave?
"That was my first experience." Ruli answered her. "I'm not a fan."

"You are back!" Ysaryn's voice sounded as she glided in, her fuschia gaze moving quickly to the coffee and tobacco. Her countenance lit up. "Oooh! Looks like you had fun!"
Ruli only grunted at her, suddenly very much wishing that he had extra, dry clothing to change into. Instead, he slipped his feet from the boots and sat by the hearth for warmth.
Ysaryn tilted her head, studying them both. "Storm?" She grinned wickedly. "I miss storm. It rained here one moon ago. Very loud." She purred, before crouching next to Ruli. She held out her hand, and he fished into his tunic and handed her the small satchel of coins. She weighed it before tucking it away and rising again.

Wanderers

Haughty noblewoman. That only got an arched eyebrow out of him as he ate. Just you wait. He thought to himself.

He considered he question about returning home, his attention shifting to eye the incoming clouds that would no doubt rain on the festivities here. His blue eyes darkened in response to the storm, reflecting its attitude. Like a part of her longed to remain here, so did a part of him, if only to get a chance to see the weather unfold. "If it rains, it'll put an end to the festival." He presumed. Indeed, people had begun to close their stalls at the first sound of the thunder. "Do you think that would make it more or less difficult to find a botanist willing to sell us seeds and chit chat with us about mountainous climate?" He wondered. In a hurry to finish his soup, he bent over the table, the crate creaking beneath him.

"We could come back tomorrow." He added in suggestion. It wasn't as if this was their only chance. Hell, they could return as many times as they needed, even after Kire left, he could bring others.

Wanderers

He raised an eyebrow, looking even more horrified at the idea of this thing having eggs inside of it. He pictured the kind with the hard shell and had no intention of biting into that unaware. Turning the skewer, he inspected it. "No." He said shortly. "It may not be my favourite but I'm not about to pass on food."

When his skewer was nothing but, he set it aside and went to work on his soup, stirring the broth to look for traces of eggs and, now, ink. Ruli only raised his gaze when she asked about the his princess complex, thinking it over. "You ask that like Ziad has a parade of them." He commented idly instead of answering directly. "You'll understand my annoyance when you meet her. She's ..." He sighed. "I preferred her brother."

"I've never heard of Amria, so it must be far." Ruli assumed, finding a chunk of squid in his soup and eating it. It did taste a little better in the broth, the mix of the different ingredients making it far more interesting. He went quiet, thinking not about her talk of her homeland and her own refugees, but of the mountains in which Envy's group had hidden. Maybe he could travel up and down the edge of the desert, looking for a body of water. Rain fell all the time on the edge of the desert, though never made it into the arid terrain. There had to be something along the ridge.

Rain. Ruli looked up suddenly, squinting at the cloudy horizon. Would it rain? He was cold enough already, experiencing rain for the first time, and likely freezing under it, would be the cherry on the pie that was today. Pursing his lips, he went back to eating.

Wanderers

He continued to eye her warily between nervous glances over the crowd. He didn't ask the question he wanted to ask, though it danced on his tongue in an aftertaste of plums and ash. Akuma. He even thought the name with a heavy weight of dread in in abdomen. As she made a joke about being hungry, he grunted at her in response.
"That, or you're just looking for h-him." He almost said her. A projection, as he looked from face to face looking for that that face. He was glad when she jet off to order food for them, and he asked for the same that she'd ordered and went to join her at their table, turning the skewer in his hand to inspect it. It smelled far better than the fish in Ziad, at least.

He pulled his keffieh down and opened his mouth to grip a chunk of meat, revealing his teeth. While Envy's were all pointed like fangs, and Ysaryn had a canine-like smile, Ruli's teeth appeared normal until he exposed his molars. The outer edges were ever so slightly longer and sharper, and they curved back slightly, in a way that violently suggested that if he bit down, he wasn't letting go. Chewing, he made a face, but shrugged. "Texture is strange, but the taste is, well. Grease. It tastes like grease." He commented, moving on to the fish, which, in his opinion, was much better.

As Kire burnt her tongue, he glanced at her, expression nearly lightening in amusement as he let his cool a minute more. "Idealy," Ruli said absently. "I think a lake would be ideal. Or river, so we could set up turbines." He stared outward into the crowd, thinking. "The issue is, while we're trying to find a home for Envy and those who resided with him, the rest of Ziad is looking for a home, too, and I doubt they'd easily coexist. Plus we have the throne-less princess among them, who is no doubt expecting her desert kingdom back." He curled his lip at the mere thought of her as he took another bite of his skewer. "You've had to have been all over hunting this mage, anywhere you travel been close enough to that that we could get to? I'm sure Envy's asked already, but wouldn't hurt." He glanced around again. "I'm supposed to ask sailors, but its not an easy topic to approach."