Carantathraiel

Wanderers

"The choice is always before you." Ysaryn called after Kire. "I am only pointing it to you eyes."
But she frowned as Kire rushed away, running from the conversation, the ultimatum. Ysaryn wasn't familiar with the literal word, but she guessed enough from the tone what it meant. Chiefs and Cheiftesses did not like having choices thrust upon them. It was why her father had rarely made a move that was not his idea. Or so he thought, as the others whispered to Ysaryn's mother, and she, then, to the chief. While Ysaryn understood, she knew, too, that sometimes chief's had to stand taller than their pride.

Growling, and finally dressed, she stalked back toward the caves after Kire, only to be sidetracked by Zeke, who was still struggling to fill the kettle without stepping into the water. With a click of her tongue, Ysaryn wandered over to help him.

"What?" Ruli grunted when Kire nudged him. He raised his arm to glare at her, blinking the sleep from his eyes. "Shit." He dropped his arm again. "Its not morning already." He complained, knowing full well it was. He could smell the coffee on her. "A cup of coffee and I'll move." He bribed with a yawn.

Wanderers

Ysaryn considered her question about Ruli, lips pressed thin. "He has not decided yet." She answered, still watching Kire. "When he decides, my trust will decide, as well." She claimed, her eyes following Kire as she looked to the stream and back. "You, I know not to be enemy. And yet."
She grinned in a way that shadowed her dark eyes. "Some friends must be watched more hard. Bad deeds often made in good intention."

The elf stood, turning in the stream to face Kire, unbothered by her nakedness. Without rush, she bent to scoop up her clothing, pulling on her undergarments. "You make many promises, Kirai. Good intentions. But you also taunt monster who would destroy world to claim you." She folded her arms over her middle. "You are not enemy, but the enemy wants you."
Stepping out of the stream, Ysaryn approached Kire, her expression soft, but without her usual smile. "Make a choice on a side. You hunt, or you build. It is unsafe for both. These people, they are not you tribe, yes? You tribe still needs you. This tribe needs this tribe. Envy. The longer you sway, the less safe you are. For you, and for them."

Wanderers

Ysaryn was kneeling in the shallow stream, sitting on her heels. She wore nothing as she washed, her bare back turned toward Kire and the caves as she bathed. Her hair was unbound and damp, sticking to her skin as she turned her head to eye Kire upon her approach. For once, she didn't smile immediately.

"Men fear what they cannot control." Ysaryn said. "I threaten to poison him." She turned away again, squeezing a washing cloth in the water before rubbing it against her neck. "I hear you discuss last night. If I am enemy or friend. Is not that I do not understand the why. But surviving the enemy was enough. I do not want to survive ally, as well."

Setting the cloth on her thigh, Ysaryn gripped her hair and twisted it, coiling it at her nape and squeezing so it stays in place. She glanced over her wet shoulder to Kire again. "He says you know I am not enemy. Is this true?"

Wanderers

Ysaryn grinned in the dark again. "Speak for you self to rest." She answered to Kire. Ruli kept quiet after that, lying awake a lot longer, unable to sleep as easily as he wished.
Come morning, Ysaryn was awake and gone from the sleeping chamber, while Ruli was still sprawled on his back, one arm bent over his face -for comfort or protection- and he slept soundly.

Footsteps sounded behind Kire as she dried her hair, then they stopped suddenly. Zeke stood with the kettle, eyes bleary and red. He narrowed them at Kire, looking more as if he were trying to get her into focus than actually glaring. "Sorry." He blurted, turning to walk upstream from her, leaving her to bathe.
"Spot taken!" Came Ysaryn's sharp shout, and Zeke froze again, closing his eyes.
Muttering to himself, he turned and began walking downstream instead, his steps cautious on the uneven ground.

Wanderers

Ysaryn twisted into a dramatic bow, holding her arms outward as her braid swung. "You have my thanks, Kirai. Continue bringing me fresh fish, and I will continued to make you lovely meals." She flashed a toothy grin once she straightened. And once Kire vanished outside, the elf looked over to Ruli, her expression sobering.
"You're comparing me to that evil woman?" She demanded.
He sighed. "No. Kire. And how you're not like the other one."
Ysaryn sniffed, and began to stomp out, only to turn near the exit. Her eyes landed on him. "She told you what I remember? She said she'd discuss it with you, and then you speak about the woman who destroyed Ziad? You think they succeeded in making me one of the dolls?" Ysaryn asked.
Ruli shook his head. "I asked her if she thought you were one. She doesn't believe so, nor do I." He raised his hands. "We know you're on our side. You're not an enemy."
The elf twitched one eyebrow. "If I were, maybe you'll reconsider accepting a prepared dish from me without hesitation." She said with a wicked glint in her eye before she wandered off.

The conversation bothered him. He knew the elf teased about the meal, but the look in her eye when she thought they didn't trust her. He lay awake that night, resting on his back on his sleeping mat. He was exhausted, too little sleep, but unable to manage to claim more. His eyes burned behind his eyelids, when he heard Kire mutter to herself in the dark chamber. His eyes snapped open.
Ysaryn's low chuckle followed shortly. "Yes. You are." The elf confirmed with a teasing tone. It appeared none of them could sleep.
Ruli took his chance. "Ysaryn, I'm sorry about earlier." He whispered through the darkness.
Her silence answered him. Somehow, he could tell whatever smile she'd worn while teasing Kire had disappeared from her lips. "Not yet." She answered cryptically, and Ruli frowned.

Wanderers

"Gemini are from your world, correct?" He confirmed. "It would be a very strange coincidence that there are more than one of them here. If the man was a Gemini, it seems highly unlikely that he and Ikegai would cross paths, at all."

As she answered abut Ysaryn, he nodded along. "She appears to keep busy." Ruli pointed out. "People cope in different ways. The only times I have ever seen her sit still are when she's drinking that awful tea, or when she's sleeping." He offered. "Zeke is the same way. He can't sit still. Because if he does, it drowns him. If I had to put a bet down, I would bet she's genuine."

And then Kire asked if he ever suspected her to be a doll, and Ruli found himself staring at her. The real her, as her ring was still removed. "Strangely, no." He answered. "I hadn't been aware of them when you first wandered into Ziad. And when you told Envy and me about them, some things made sense, but, for some reason, I never suspected you." His pale blue eyes searched her face. "You're too ... imperfect. And I don't mean that to be insulting." Ruli reassured, raising a hand. "Your expressions are written on your face, you smirk at inappropriate times to give away you think something is funny, you swear. Akuma was collected. Always. It was as if she was scripted and following cues. Nothing caught her off guard."

Ruli's eyes unfocused, directed toward the floor as his memories took over. The expression on Akuma's face when she went from harmless beauty to lethal weapon. So calm. The smell of blood, the shrieking, nothing made her flinch. "Ysaryn's the same way as you, I guess."

"I am what? Who?"
Ysaryn strolled back in with an empty plate, looking between the two curiously. She caught Ruli glance at Kire before meeting his gaze, and she frowned at him. "What you say?"
"I said you're like Kire." Ruli repeated honestly.
She straightened, smirking proudly. "Well. A comparison I enjoy." She purred, tossing a wink at Kire as she went to rinse the plate.

Wanderers

Ruli's eyes narrowed when Kire's expression fell, not having to ask why as she explained what Ysaryn had told her. His gaze drifted past Kire to where the elf had vanished, wondering what she'd gone through. "Dolls out of the elves, too?" He asked. "Why? Their magic? Its dormant in most of them, they don't bother with it."
Still, dormant or not, he supposed it could still be useful if they needed it.

"Uh." Ruli scratched at his eyebrow as he thought of his answer. "Sort of. There was this man walking down the street, well guarded, talking about Itallo's wedding. Well dressed. Cold gaze. Some ugly brooch. Green eyes, I remember that. Don't see many green eyes here. Or, I mean, in Ziad."
Ruli glanced back up to Kire. "Do you know that she's .... I don't know. Not one?" He asked warily. "She seems .... I don't know if the word 'normal' is right, as we've only known her a few days, but, do you question her?"

Wanderers

Ysaryn smiled crookedly as she laughed, finishing off the last of her own meal before sucking the grease off her fingers. Her fuschia gaze flicked to Ruli and she shrugged. "Have to know how to catch them, first. This one is never near water."

Ruli pursed his lips, unable to argue with the fact. Being so far from the sea made it hard to master cooking fish. Instead, his attention shifted to Kire upon her question, watching her clean up. He hadn't been entirely aware he'd been volunteered to be her partner in investigation, but suppose he had set himself up for that. Not that he minded. He rather liked being away at the coastal town.
"Dunno." He answered. "Give it a day, see what else is needed. Otherwise, basics. Maybe pots. Utensils. Gardening urns."

"Rulitus."
Ysaryn met Ruli's gaze, and she rambled off in elvish to him, and he nodded. "Yeah, I'll look for that." He agreed, and, satisfied, Ysaryn turned to grin at Kire.
"Cooking supply!" She announced, before wandering off to check on Envy and bring back his plate.
Ruli, left alone with Kire, glanced warily at her, then back down. "When did you want to go back?" He asked her.

Wanderers

The two of them listened, Ruli's expression blank, while Ysaryn's betrayed her amusement. "In detted?" She repeated, not understanding. Ruli muttered to her in elvish to translate, and Ysaryn laughed. "That is not nice. Is like they say you alone not worth the mating. I see why you decide not to agree." She shook her head. "I would not. My mate will know my worth, and be grateful for the opportunity to sire my heirs."

Ruli glanced up again when Kire asked him a question, and he shrugged. "Wouldn't know. Been here." He pointed out indifferently.

"I see no reason he not like it." Ysaryn pointed out. "I am excellent with fish."
"It is very good." Ruli agreed, and Ysaryn grinned at him. "Will you teach me? I think I'd like any fish prepared this way."
"Mmmm. Maybe." She teased.

Wanderers

Ysaryn chuckled low over the octopus she'd claimed. "Very magic, yes." She confirmed with an eyebrow waggle. Her eyes watched Ruli as he chose one of the fish and sat quietly in the corner with it, offering no intrusion into their conversation. For a few moments, she observed him before grinning back to Kire.

"I am chief, after. Born of right." Ysaryn answered. "But, until I am prove ready, old chief holds control of warriors. My mate may challenge him for this position. I run whole tribe. Mate can run warriors. My father, born of right. Not mother. She is only mate. No control. Save for over father." She added with a mischievous grin.

She took a moment to enjoy her meal before looking back up, searching Kire's real face with interest. "You are chief, almost?" She remembered. "You do not want to marry or find a mate?" Ruli glanced up, curious over the word 'chief' to describe Kire, but lowered his head against shortly.