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+--- Thread: Flycatcher Downs the veldt (/showthread.php?tid=65107)
the veldt - Skukä - March 07, 2025
around her was spring, and only spring. the grass was tall and fluffed with seeds ready to fly at the smallest gasp of the wind, or brush of a body through their multitudes. she had to wait for summer if she wished to be hidden within the grass, truthfully—her toasted coat, blonde and buff and whatever else, did not fit agains the backdrop of silver-green, between the snow that persisted in the lower patches and the fresh growths of this transitional season.
from her vantage point skukä could see little else beyond the undulating fields, the open and pale sky, and various smudges upon the horizon which could've been anything. she could tell that mountains rose in to the north and skukä was not sure if that was where the wind would push her; further west looked the same, but farther afield.
unable to make up her mind, she sits in place and carefully begins to pick through her coat and was soon focused on her self image, seemingly unaware of whatever else happened within the downs.
RE: the veldt - Teygan - March 08, 2025
tey’gan moved through the open fields with purpose, though the weight in his chest was not so easily shaken. the land here was vast, unfamiliar—stretching beyond what his eyes could see, golden grasses swaying in the wind like an ocean caught in a storm.
his siblings were not here.
his ears flicked, scanning the horizon, eyes sharp as they cut across the rolling plains. he had tracked them this far, but the trail had grown weak, scattered like dust in the breeze. frustration gnawed at him, though he did not let it show—he was made of patience, of discipline, of strength. if they were here, he would find them.
his path took him closer to a figure seated in the grass. tey’gan slowed, nostrils flaring as he took in her scent—unfamiliar. not one of his.
still, she did not seem a threat.
he studied her for a moment, the way she idly groomed herself, absorbed in the task. it was a casual thing, unconcerned, like she had all the time in the world. he did not.
stepping closer, his voice was low, steady.
have you seen others like me?his accent curled through the words, his tone edged with quiet intensity.
three of them. my blood.
RE: the veldt - Skukä - March 08, 2025
as she plucked free a briar from the fur of her haunch, the wind gave rise to stories. it told her she was not alone; but she knew that always, and trusted that it was the scent of feral man which thrilled her spine. she did not stop her tidying. there were bits of grass to pull free, and seeds scattered, and dandelion fluff—besides which, the stranger made his own approach.
why bother going on the defensive when she had seen no danger? skuka trusted herself. she knew how fast she could run, how powerful her bite. as they came closer there was a focus to the way they moved. it was as if skuka was a beacon and the man—a shadow, she glimpsed with a flick of her gaze—he had some mission in mind.
she regarded him wholly as he spoke, rising to her full height to make it known she was not to be trifled with. idle a moment, but that was all. her brow creased.
i see no blood on you,skuka countered—not understanding any of the words he spoke until the end.
it struck her with an odd fondness that they shared a language, even if it was only a little.
RE: the veldt - Teygan - March 08, 2025
tey'gan's ears flicked forward, his entire face brightening with unrestrained joy. she spoke his tongue! a rush of excitement coursed through him, momentarily pushing aside the gnawing worry that had been weighing his heart since his arrival.
you speak my words!he beamed, stepping closer, tail waving behind him.
what clan are you from?his voice was rich with curiosity, eager to know more. there were so few outside his own who knew the ways of his people, and here she was, standing before him, speaking the language of his soul.
but just as quickly as his enthusiasm had flared, it dulled. the reality returned, the weight of his search settling once more upon his shoulders. he glanced past her, scanning the open land, the wind carrying no familiar scents.
his voice lowered, the light dimming slightly in his eyes.
my siblings… i do not know where they went.the confession was raw, almost vulnerable. he had been searching, hoping, but each step he took only led to more questions.
RE: the veldt - Skukä - March 08, 2025
she determined then that this was not a man at all, but closer to a boy. something between. he was like a boy of the village being greeted by a pretty girl; at the same time, skuka could see he was merely happy to have found someone like him. how alike, she wondered?
skuka of ukyomrai, daughter of aymang—and here her voice hitched, because she wanted to say 'the tsahik of my people'; but she could not be sure of that yet. her mother had been intended for that role, and skuka had not been there to see it happen. she had not spoken these words to anyone in weeks, and it felt strange to do so now.
it was not as if aymang was far from her mind.
we are far from the People here.she went on to say, wishing it could be of comfort to the stranger; however it was clear by the pain in his face, this was not what he wanted. they were different for that reason alone: skuka seeking her own path, this man seeking reunion.
i am taronyu—we can look together?
RE: the veldt - Teygan - March 08, 2025
tey’gan lifted his head proudly, shoulders rolling back as he squared himself before her. even in his distress, he held himself with the poise of a warrior, of a leader born.
i am tey’gan of the vaymoru,he introduced himself, voice firm despite the turmoil in his chest.
first son of kxemtu. my people are sea hunters, and i am a zolup.the word fell naturally from his tongue, carrying the weight of his identity, his purpose. he would be a chief first, but that was an uncertainy he didn't bear beneath the tides— what would make him worthy of it now?
his tail flicked once behind him, a thoughtful gesture, before his expression softened, shadowed by the concern still clinging to him.
my siblings… they are my ilk to protect, but they are harder to command than my own soldiers.a dry huff left him, part amusement, part exasperation.
it was a truth he had come to learn young—warriors followed orders, they understood duty. but siblings? siblings had minds of their own, wild and free. even now, tey’gan did not know if they were lost, or simply choosing to remain unfound.
his golden eyes found skuka’s again, searching.
no...People, here, ey? it is just us, then?hope, desperate and restrained, laced his words. he was a warrior, but he was a brother first.
RE: the veldt - Skukä - March 08, 2025
his introduction was paused by her nod, given for his benefit. the lower the bow the more esteem, but she did not know this tribe and she did not know these names. there were many tribes—her own was so small and reclusive, she wondered what his was like. evidently larger, better-off in some regard, as it could support larger litters.
he called himself a warrior. was his home a dangerous place? she wondered, but did not ask. it was not important right now to learn such details; but she accepted all that he offered with a thin smile, and a listening ear.
she takes a deep breath, in part to relish in the presence of the man and also to steady her resolve.
i have not seen any of our kind, here. it has not been long. i was...she thought of the caribou and the man who had interrupted her there.
hunting. learning of the herds here, helping their health,which was a custom that could have been pervasive across their culture, or maybe it was indicative of the ukyomrai, she was not yet well traveled enough to know.
how many siblings?
her head gives a slight tilt.
what is that like? having brothers and sisters. i... do not.
RE: the veldt - Teygan - March 08, 2025
she had not seen their kind here—he had expected as much. still, the confirmation made his shoulders sag, if only slightly. his siblings were out there, somewhere, but the vastness of the land made them seem more lost than ever.
eywa prospers.his voice was warm, a reassurance rather than a mere statement. the great balance remained, even if his own world felt unsettled.
he exhaled slowly, thoughtful, before answering her question.
three,he said. his gaze turned distant for a moment, scanning the horizon as if they might materialize from the tall grass.
they are...he trailed off, lips curving into something caught between exasperation and deep-seated affection.
well, i never get a dull moment. and when i do...he shook his head, a quiet chuckle escaping him.
i worry.
it was the truth. the absence of their noise, their bickering, their endless energy—he had thought he might enjoy the quiet, but instead, it gnawed at him. made his thoughts restless.
it is... different,he admitted, flicking his tail as he considered her words.
having them. they are part of me, the same way my hands or my feet are. even if they are stubborn.he cast her a sidelong look, as if she might understand.
it is not always easy, but it is never lonely.
he let the words settle between them before his gaze softened.
and you? how is it to be only one?
RE: the veldt - Skukä - March 08, 2025
it sounded like a lot.
to skuka, who had at one time been surrounded by the affection of cousins, or the attention of visitors of other tribes, she could only compare the man's idea of family to the constant hum of activity that such chaos might bring. she could not imagine trying to wrangle people the way a hunter might corral a herd.
when he turns the question back upon her she feels a stabbing in her heart; for as long as she has existed, it has always been in the company of her family. was she ever really alone? but she knew what he meant. there was no strong connection like the one he spoke of. except now that she had fled from her parents—her singular existence felt all the more isolating.
i have not thought about it.she begins to walk, inviting him with one look to join her, so they can talk and travel together. if he chooses to redirect their path, she will easily flow alongside.
i have many aunts and uncles, and they have children. i do not think i have ever been lonely... but my time has always been at my mother's side.which is what made her dispersal so painful. to go was hard, but to go without a word—! that was such a betrayal and she did not deserve to see her mother or father again, not after doing that to them. or so she told herself, often.
where will you go to look?she asked this plainly, swallowing a strange sort of guilt.
RE: the veldt - Teygan - March 08, 2025
it surprises me to see a young huntress disperse,he admitted, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.
it is us males who my father wanted to see go.
his tail flicked, ears angling back slightly as his lips quirked, an expression caught between amusement and something heavier.
except for me.
the weight of those words hung between them, unsaid but understood. he was the exception. the one who was meant to stay. who was meant to lead. and yet, here he was, far from the sea, from his father’s shadow, from the warriors and hunters of his people. he could still hear the way kxemtu had spoken to his brothers, the expectation thick in his voice, the unspoken order to go, make a life, bring honor back home.
but tey’gan? he was to be the anchor. the one who remained. the one who carried their people’s future on his back.
and yet, he had left, hadn’t he?
his brows furrowed slightly, scanning the open land as if it might provide the answer.
i do not know.honesty, plain and simple.
they are wild things, my kin. restless, headstrong. like water, flowing where they please. no trail is ever easy to follow.
he exhaled, rolling his shoulders.
the ocean is what calls them, i hope. but i will find them. i must.
then, more gently, he looked back at her, curiosity flickering beneath his steadfast determination.
and you? you say it was hard to go, but still, you did. why?
RE: the veldt - Skukä - March 08, 2025
it was the same way for the ukyomrai. common everywhere, she would suspect. the women knew the land where they were born, were tied to it in a way that the men were not; especially as tsahik, as the voice of eywah. as tey'gan spoke of the short leash of his responsibilities, skuka understood and empathized.
my mother is next in line as tsahik. that makes me next to her, should something happen.she shared this now, not to flaunt it or to make herself seem somehow greater, but to explain her dispersal. perhaps their stories were not so different. skuka chose to withhold the deeper reason for her leaving—it truly did not matter, she thought to herself. let him think it was merely the weight of expectation that sent her off.
i have learned to be tsahik, and hunter, and... it is the hunting i enjoy more. i do not want to think of the day i might become the voice; that would mean my mother is gone, and...she shakes her head, as if that might terminate the idea or send it drifting in to the aether of the world, rather than roost it in place.
that thin smile appears again, trying to distract.
we are people of the forest. i have seen rivers, but i have not seen the sea. there have been tales of the sea brought to us—that it is the widest of the waters. a great lake, the size of the sky! is that true?maybe he would tell her, and the conversation could pivot away from her and her fears.
RE: the veldt - Teygan - March 08, 2025
they were more alike than he had anticipated, bound by the weight of duty, yet both seeking something beyond it. he did not press her on the responsibilities she wished to ignore, just as he often tried to ignore his own.
we have something in common, then,he mused, his voice softer, a glint of knowing in his golden gaze. tsahik, future leader—whether they wanted it or not, it was their birthright. their burden.
but he did not dwell. instead, he followed where she led the conversation, where she wanted it to go. the ocean. his home.
the ocean,he repeated, and his gaze flickered toward the horizon, as if he could see it from here, as if he could call it to him.
it is vast, as big as the sky itself. when you look upon it, you cannot see its end. you could travel for days upon the water, and still, it would stretch beyond your sight.
a small, nostalgic smile played at the corners of his mouth.
it is always moving, always singing. its voice is deep, powerful. you can feel it in your bones, in your blood. it is never still, never silent.
he glanced at her now, eyes bright, eager to share something so deeply ingrained in him.
you must see it one day.a promise, or an invitation—he did not know yet.
his gaze flicked to the towering trees around them, his head tilting in quiet reverence.
i have never seen so many great trees before,he admitted, reaching out to brush his nose along the rough bark of one as they passed.
they feel old, wise. i wonder how many stories they have whispered to those who listen.
his tail flicked, thoughtful, before he turned his attention back to skuka.
and what of your forest? does it whisper to you?
RE: the veldt - Skukä - March 08, 2025
his love of the sea was obvious, reminding her of her father's fascination with their home forest, the animals within it, and the constant sussuration of the wind in the trees; it was the same in many places, thought skuka, but naytengli was adamant the voice was clearer there. being away from it made skuka realize there was some truth to his belief.
maybe i will go that way, then. i will go to the sea and learn its voice, and you can hunt for your brothers and sisters through the green!she gave a small chuffing laugh, imagining herself trying to swim in a place that was all current and salt, while he contested the chiaroscuro of the deepwood. but, to his question—
i do not know if the forest ever spoke to me that way. i always thought... maybe eywah liked my mother more? or i did not listen well. maybe that, yes.
naytengli had always cautioned her, or grew tense around her uncles, for all the work she put in to hunting and learning of the forest. it was not a bad thing outright, and even her mother had claimed it would make her a better tsahik—but her interest was so divided.
but i am away from it, now. eywah persists, even in this place without the People.
maybe that was how things were meant to be?
to listen now, with no distraction at all.
RE: the veldt - Teygan - March 08, 2025
his smile was bright, his golden eyes warm with mirth at the thought of their roles reversed. her in the sea, chasing fish through the currents, and him stalking prey through the tangled embrace of the forest.
perhaps, skuka,he mused, tilting his head as if considering.
but you would have to learn to hold your breath first. fish are clever, and the greatest prizes lurk in the deep.he mimicked the movement of a darting fish with a flick of his paw.
i could teach you.
his voice was light, teasing, but there was truth in it. there was nothing quite like the hunt beneath the waves, the thrill of chasing something that was so unlike their kind—fast, fluid, at home in a world tey’gan could only borrow for a time. but he had mastered it, as he had been meant to. as his father had before him.
her words, though, brought something softer to his expression. he studied her, the way she searched for meaning, for signs of eywa's will, for something she felt she had never quite heard. he had been born knowing—he had never doubted. the great mother had spoken to him upon his uniltaron, shaped him, told him who he was meant to be. golden child, destined boy. he had followed her word ever since.
i do not believe that,he told her gently.
she speaks through us all, when the time comes.
a breath, steady.
i am People, no?he spread his arms slightly, as if to gesture to the world around them.
and yet eywa has led me here. to you.
there was meaning in it. purpose. he did not know what yet, but she was meant to be in his path. just as he was meant to be in hers.
RE: the veldt - Skukä - March 08, 2025
her smile widened but not out of glee, more out of tension. she had not meant to ignore his presence here, and he was right to assert that he was one of the People; it went further than that, though. they were two, while the People were many. if eywah's desire was to awaken the people of these woods, this sea, to what tey'gan and skuka knew as truth—that felt like too much, to skuka. that was more weight placed upon them both.
you are right. perhaps you hear her better—she laughs again, trying to ease the tension she feels inside.
we could trade titles, then. you be tsahik, i to be chieftain.but it was only a jest. her tail gives a twist.
i think.. north. do you see the dark there, on the horizon?she motions to the smudges in the far-distance, and squints emphatically.
mountains, maybe? i would rather go to a river. something familiar...maybe he would travel with her?
RE: the veldt - Teygan - March 08, 2025
he threw his head back, laughing heartily at her jest, the sound rolling through his chest like waves crashing against the shore.
i will be the wisest tsahik, this i know!he declared, grinning.
i will heal all wounds with the power of fish and saltwater!
as if to demonstrate his great knowledge, he mimed plucking something from the air and presenting it to her with mock reverence.
this here? this is a most powerful remedy. only the greatest tsahiks know its properties.he smirked, utterly clueless as to what he was pretending to hold.
but when she spoke of the dark smudge on the horizon, his gaze followed her gesture, eyes narrowing slightly. she was right. mountains, most likely. a place unfamiliar to him. tey'gan had spent his life in open water, where the world stretched endlessly and the sky touched the sea. even here, surrounded by trees, he felt a little...caged. but the river—yes, that he could understand.
he turned his gaze back to her, nodding once.
i could use a bath.his grin softened, playful but genuine.
if we find a river, then you must learn to fish. it is only fair, skuka.
his tail flicked behind him, considering. the mountains could wait—let them find the water first.
if you go north, then we might find sea.there was no hesitation, only certainty.
perhaps eywa means for me to follow you a little longer.
RE: the veldt - Skukä - March 08, 2025
how fortunate she was that they were so similar! that he seemed kind, and forthright, and even able to laugh over things that she might say. this was rare for skuka, whose mother and father always seemed so serious, and her aunts and uncles who were busy with children, or lessons; perhaps being an only child was a bigger detriment than she realized? tey'gan appeared to be the more enigmatic type; he spoke openly of the future, while skuka continued to think, to plot, to worry.
his laughter carried an infectious feeling, and she smiled as his voice boomed and cracked; more demure than the seaborn, vastly. it appeared as though eywah had brought them together in their loneliness—and while the man mimed his jokes, skuka breathed and looked to the grassland, reciting a small, silent prayer to thank the wind.
north, then. we can find a river, a bath for you—some food. perhaps the sea after that, and if we are lucky—she flashed him a look, sparking with hope and warmth,
perhaps those you hunt for will be there.
they would cross the veldt together, then.
RE: the veldt - Teygan - March 08, 2025
he grinned, warmth radiating from his golden eyes.
lead the way, chieftain.
his voice carried easy humor, but beneath it, there was truth. she was the one who had wandered here first, the one who knew this land better than he. he would follow, as he had followed the ocean’s pull, as he had followed eywa’s whispers.
tey’gan fell into step beside her, his long stride effortlessly matching hers. the veldt stretched before them, golden and endless, the wind weaving through the tall grasses like unseen hands guiding their path.
his gaze flicked to her as she spoke of the sea, of the ones he sought. hope stirred in his chest, coiling tight. perhaps.
but for now, the river. a bath. food. the journey ahead.
with a final glance toward the horizon, tey’gan pressed forward, walking alongside her as the sun began its slow descent behind them.