The morning was quite chilly as it was not long since the sun rose; but this didn't prevent Akhira from washing her face in cold water. She actually enjoyed in that because it woke her completelly. It also helped her to calm down; she was a bit nervous since today was the day when she would finally join the Deep Water tribe. Not quite by her liking, but if she wanted to learn how to be a proper witch, joining the tribe was necessary. And from all the tribes she liked Deep Water the most.

The island was peaceful at this time. No noise, no people, maybe just few of them. Walking all the way to the camp was much better now than the first time when she was lost and confused.

When she saw blue coloured flags, she knew she was in the right camp. Without looking around, she headed straight to the Heilia's kint. Remembering well where it was it didn't take her long to find it. When she did find it, she stopped few steps away from it and waited as she didn't intend to search for Heilia. If she was in the kint, she would come out. But if she was somewhere else, well, Ahira didn't possesed super scent detector to find her. So waiting for her was, in Akhira's mind, the best choice.

Heilia wasn't in her kint, in fact. As Akhira waited, the blue dressed motherly woman appeared around the side of the wooden caravan. She'd been supervising the last of the clearing up. Walking to the front of the dark blue kint, she checked the fastenings on the two kensers tied there, patting there mottled muzzles affectionately as she went. Turning to the fire, she spotted Akhira and smiled at the girl.

"Welcome back young one. Have you made your decision?"

Akhira nodded to the witch's question, but her lips stayed sealed in tight line. The decision was more out of her character than hard as she normally wouldn't seek for companyof the people.

Standing completely still, with her eyes fixed somewhere between the witch and the kint, Akhira spoke: "Where my place?"

Although her question sounded more like where was her place in the hierarchy, she actually wanted to know if she should travel together with them, or just follow them, far behind. The second statement was more by her liking; folowing them alone, having her peace, and at night staying somewhere near.

Heilia walked over to the fire and picked up a small wooden bowl sitting beside it. Scooping up dirt, she threw it on to smother the flames. Straightening, she smiled at Akhira.

"Your welcome to travel with us or you can just follow at your own pace. We don't move fast as there are a few kints and pack kensers. If you have your own traveling roll, you can sleep where you like. You will share my fire, as my charge." She walked to the kint and threw the bowl inside the door, shutting it firmly and latching it. Turning back to Akhira, she spoke carefully.

"We are going to travel northeast, passing around Braunhald, then take the road up to Knowles. It passes over Talarma River and quite close to hatcher territory. Once we reach the river, it would be advisable you ride up front in our kint. Hatcher territory is very dangerous." The elder look around for a moment, mumbling to herself.

"Where is that man?" As if on cue, Durg Ja appeared, wandering away from the rest of the tribe kints. He glanced at Akhira with old wise eyes, full of knowledge and commanding respect. His stance and pace suggested Alpha, more than anything. The man knew his role and he wore it with pride. Pausing, he continued to look at the girl thoughtfully, before nodding once. Passing Heilia and touching her hand lightly, he moved to the front seat of the kint, taking up the reigns. Heilia smiled encouragingly at Akhira and walked over to her, stopping just an arms length away.

"You are recognized as traveling with the Deep Water. Once we settle in Knowles, the womens council and Durg Ja will discuss your adoption." Her old blue eyes warmed visibly.

"I have spoken for you. Are you ready to leave?"

Motionlessly, Akhira listened what Heilia had to say to her. She nodded approvingly after the witch advised her to stay with them, as they would travel near the hatcher territory. Being so near them all by herself would be extremely foolish.

the completely irrelevant question made her raise her head a bit higher, wondering whom Heilia had in mind.
However, she found that out soon – the leader. As he glanced at her, she felt goose bumps on her back, immediately looking down at her feet. If he came any closer, she would definitely crouch.

When he moved to the kint and Heilia approached her, Akhira dared to look up again.

“Yes, ready,” she answered to the question. “I follow you close.”

Heilia smiled warmly and nodded once, turning around. She climbed the kint beside her husband, and on some silent cue, the kints began to roll out, wooden wheels creaking as they began. It was a sedate pace, Akhira could easily keep up.

They rode out of the Isle and down to the river, picking their way through a man made rocky land bridge. It was bumpy and rough going, but eventually they reached the mainland. Traveling on, they moved like a pack, Alpha's in the lead and fringe members at the back. Every few miles, Heilia would look over and check on Akhira's progress, not wanting to loose the girl on the way. It was approaching dusk when Durg Ja called for a full stop. As the kint's slowed, Heilia stepped down and walked over to Akhira.

"We are going to camp here tonight and continue on at first light. How are you faring?"

Akhira didn't have troubles keeping up with the travelling tribe. Moreover, they were moving to slowly for her taste, se she kept quite a distance between them and her. However, she was close enough for Heilia to see her.

Paying more interest to everything else around her than to the wicks, once she almost lost the track of them. To tell the truth, this drove the adrenaline through her body. Despite her feelings, she had no intention of leaving them now. As a part of the 'pack' it was her duty to stick to them.

"I fine," Akhira nodded as they stopped and Heilia approached her with the news that they would be camping here. "I used to walking and not tired," maybe just a little bit hungry. But she wouldn't tell that out loud; she would wait until they have invited her to the meal.

((Oh, I'm so out of practise :S. Please, point out every mistake you find, because I'm unable to see my own mistakes -__-''.))

((your doing fine. ))

Heilia nodded to the girl, glancing back at the wicks setting up camp. They had already begun to make the central hearth, lighting it with Matches and feeding in some of the bigger logs.

"We will be setting up some supper shortly. A left over stew. If you would like, we can sit down and talk a little before. Is there anything you would like to know about? I know your interested in the magic." Her smile was kind and nonthreatening. Heilia knew the girl was different, special. She had instructed others to leave the girl alone unless she approached them first, giving Akhira space.

Akhira slowly shook her head. There was nothing she would ask.

"No, no questions. I just want to learn," she answered.

This was her main goal; to learn. To just have someone who would tell her how to do and nothing else.

"I already know some. I can hide well," she then said with brither tone. "And I can walk on very thin and high paths, and I don't fall. Forest teach much."

However, if it wasn't for the society's sake, she wouldn't care much about magic. Actually, if she had stayed in the woods, she would care even less. She would be happy with er survival skills. But seeing others of her kind doing something she couldn't, made her kin of jealous; she was sure she could do better. And she wanted to be better than those who thought they were alpha (with that she meant galdori of course).

"I have question," she carefully began. "My parents said my mother not my real mother and that my mother probably ... galdor. She left me, they say. Mother shouldn't leave her pups or they die. My mother wanted me die then, yes? Why are your mothers like that?"

Not that she cared about her real parents, it was just her curiosity.

Heilia smiled gently at the girl, it was in fact, a rather common question among young wicks. How could a parent abandon a child to die? It was half their fault the child existed. Beckoning to Akhira, the older witch led her to their kint, where a thick leather ground cover had been thrown to protect them from the wet ground. Sitting with a subtle grace, she looked at the girl.

"My mother was not a galdori, neither was her mother. Wicks don't abandon their pups. We are like a pack, each member cares for the young as though they are their own. Children are the future of our tribe, without them, we would wither up and die." Pausing, she looked around, lifting a finger to point out a woman to Akhira. She was in her twenties, with reddish hair, cut short into a spiky style, bandanna around her forehead and dressed in a simple brown dress. Her face was a little more aristocratic than the others around her, but she was definitely a wick.

"You see that girl there? Her father was a galdor and her mother was a human. When a galdor and a human mate, the result is usually a wick. Galdori are deathly ashamed of this, and they will deny the child as their own. Instead they will abandon them, either to death or to the kindly stranger. In that girls case, the mother pleaded with one of our own to take her, for fear that her life would be one of pain and disgrace in her hometown. We took her in and we cared for her, because she was one of us, and every child is an innocent. They aren't responsible for their parents actions." Looking back at Akhira, she shook her head slightly.

"Our mothers aren't like that, Akhira. Galdori are a proud and noble race, and they will go to great lengths to keep their titles clean. Even if it means abandoning a baby."

Akhira listened closely to what Heilia had to say. However, thinking about the galdori and their wick children again... In some way, it made sense as only the dominant pair was allowed to have children. And although wick children were healthy, weren't they actually runts to their superior parent?

She looked at the girl Heilia pointed at, and at the others of the tribe. They've been far from runts, but who knew what was in the mind of the galdori. Well, one thing was for sure: a superiority complex.

"You right; children future. But they probably not see wick children as future," akhira said, still gazing at the camp, or more likely, somewhere in the distance.

"But, I think they rather allow their tribe decrease than have.." she made a pause, choosing right words, "'weak' offsprings."

She was complitely confident in her own thinking as she saw it realize in every abandoned wick and passive.

((Me not active again -___-. Sorry. Should we quit this thread since it's already way past the allowed date ?))

((up to you? if you want to, i am more than happy to continue, its not past any due date. but if you want to scrap it, thats ok. ))

((Actually, I'm just fine with continuing that thread . I was just a little worried .))

((Bump?))

Heilia nodded quietly, happy the girl had found her own way to interpret the whole situation. Moving to the now established fire, the durg's wife sat gracefully, leaving enough room for the girl to sit with her if she chose to.

"Galdori see us as the weakest of the litter, and they are unwilling to protect us. But we can do more than they realize. There is power in us, and deep down inside, it frightens a lot of galdori." Lifting her hand, the elder spoke quietly in an almost musical tone. Akhira would feel a gentle pulse against her, like the push of an invisible wave, and as she watched, a small orb of glowing pale blue light gathered in Heilia's hand. It hovered, shimmering happily. The older woman looked over at Akhira and smiled warmly.

Even though the witch left enough room to sit, Akhira remained where she was, not even flinching. However, as she felt the pulse, so known and in the same time so alien to her, her expression changed; from apathetic to stunned, even slightly scared. She wasn’t much in contact with other wicks, even less with galdori, and feeling someone else’s field was each time almost a new experience to her.

She made a step back, prepared to flee, but as she watched the small orb form in Heilia’s hands, flickering in the colour she liked so much, she hushed her initial fear and stepped forward.

Akhira slowly went on her knees and sat on her heels, occupying the place next to Heilia; closer than she would ever allowed herself. Her eyes were focused on the small, glittery orb and for the first time after more than a decade, her facial features softened and a gentle smile outlined her lips. As a child, she loved shiny, mysterious things; they had some special influence on her. Whether those were only memories or something else, she didn’t know.

“Teach me make light like that,” she soon demanded.

Heilia smiled softly, gently easing off the spell till the orb faded away. Closing her hand, the old witch nodded.

"I can teach you Akhira, all in good time. You'll have to wait till we get to Knowles before I can really show you how, but in the meantime, we can look at the Spokes Almanac. I can teach you how to read the monite inside." Looking up, she waved at one of the young wicks passing by the fire. The stocky youth came over immediately, putting down a bundle of firewood he'd gathered.

"Yes Daoa Heilia?" He asked in a pleasant and respectful voice. The blue dressed woman rested a hand on his forearm.

"Jairen, bochi, can you get my almanac from the kint? Just tell Ja I sent you." Nodding, the blonde haired youth dashed off, almost excited to run the errand for the durgs wife.

It is needless to say that with fading orb, Akhira’s zeal and mild the part of her personality faded as well. She changed her sitting position too, moving slightly farther from the witch; she was her old apathetic self again, sitting straight as a young, strong birch, her hands firmly put on her knees, eyes almost glued at the spot near Heilia.

Moreover, she was rather disappointed with Heilia’s answer, one could read that in her eyes, but she could be patient, although her sudden passion for magic didn’t exactly show that.

Jairen returned with the almanac, throwing Akhira a little smile as he took up his firewood and scampered off again. Heilia chuckled as she handed the book to Ahkira.

"This has been passed down from generation to generation in my family. It is very old, more than 150 years from what I can gather. Some of the spells are written in olden style monite, but the phrase stays the same." She waited for the girl to have a look, wondering if anything would look familiar to her.

With respect, almost as if afraid, Akhira accepted the book. She stared at the cover for a few moments and then opened it. It was indeed very old, just as Heilia had said and before turning a page, she glanced at the witch to see whether this was all right.

Scanning through the pages, she noticed her heartbeat was stronger. Not that she knew how to read it; the only spells she knew by heart were Balance and Shroud, the two she had used frequently in the forest and in Dorhaven. The reason, why she was so thrilled to see monite was that she knew this was the language closest to the nature and it brought back the memories and feelings of living in the forest.

“I like the signs,” she commented. “More than those people read.”

Heilia nodded, smiling.

"I do to, they speak to me. You keep that book, and we will read through it together tomorrow. I have to go start the dinner for the camp, but your welcome to stay here and look at the book for a while. Tomorrow, join me on my kint if you want, and we will learn some of the symbols."

"Yes, I want that," Akhira's voice was filled with excitement. "I return tomorrow."

She stood up and before leaving she quickly muttered something that sounded much like 'thank you'. After that she found herself a nice place under a tree, nearest to the camp and opened the book again. Even though she couldn't see much due to the lack of light, she still found her happiness in just holding an object that will help her expand her knowledge.

(i shall make us a new thread tomorrow. rejoice. your going to be the first player to RP in knowles. )

((A late 'yay' .))