15 Searing, Year 118
[Memory]
[Closed]
Right now, for Hilana’s pack, it was a waiting game. The group had gotten there at first light, and all there was to do was relax and wait. They were waiting for the designated oasis for the nomadic tribe, who were due within the next day or so. Vorenus expected them that night, and he was usually quite on with the times. But as it was, Hilana was taking the time to explore the string of oases that were within eyesight of the one where they were meeting. While she was out of eyesight, she wasn’t out of earshot. She wasn’t too far off of her chosen family, but the budding botanist was able to sort through plants and look for signs of animals and life.
They were within a day’s ride from the eastern coast of Solunarium. Close enough to get to the shores if they ever had to, and yet, far enough away that the transport crew could easily disappear into the sands if they ever had to. Not much came around that way, not with the Praeventores patrolling along the coasts from the sky on their wyverns. Very little ever made it past them; the denizens of the sand had trifling few concerns in that regard. She may have waved at them when she saw them, but they rarely ever stopped to land and have a conversation. Sometimes she wished they would, she wouldn’t have minded a closer look at the beautiful creatures that they rode.
The Vastiana had left Sakima with her calf with the rest of the crew to enjoy the shade and rest of the meeting place, but she brought her spare camel along just in case she found something big enough to merit hauling back, or in case Hilana needed to get back within a hurry. She could run it, but as she kept moving along the chain, she would get further and further from her friends. If something happened, it was better that she could get back to them in a hurry with Juttia. For now, the camel was helping herself to some browse, as Hilana was on her knees in the cool sand of the shade, working with one of the knives and trowels to harvest some oasis mallow. She wouldn’t take all of it; but she wanted some of the whole plant - roots, stems, and flowers. It was just a matter of taking enough without taking too much, lest she upset the spirits and the ecosystem. Better to leave some so that the next time she visited, there would be more, and she could replenish her supplies once again.
The teenager looked younger than her 17 years, with her big eyes and colourful skirt. Her long, onyx hair was piled up in a messy bun and tied with brightly coloured ribbons, and coppery rings lined her ears. The mallow was tucked into a thin cloth bag and put inside the backpack before she got up. Hilana dusted sand from her blue and green skirt that was slitted at her thighs, exposing her toned legs and giving her freedom of movement as she moved on along the coppice. Her arms were similarly exposed, as she wore a far less colourful linen halter top that exposed her shoulders and most of her abdomen, though her chest was mostly covered. She was pretty sure she had seen prickly pear in the distance, and while she would work her way there, for now, she had lots to check out here.
Once she had filled the little bag with the oasis mallow that she wanted, Hilana carefully repositioned the earth and rose up, the sand falling from her skirt as she made her way around the edge of the water, her fingers touching reeds and plant life as she made her way to Juttia with her tools and swapped the bag of plants for another empty bag, and went back to gathering. She was utterly tickled to find the wild garlic, though, planted close to the water. While it looked identical to a poisonous plant, Hilana knew how to tell the difference between it and Lily of the valley. Scent was a big one: the lily didn’t have the traditional scent of an onion. The appearances of the leaves were different too: the colours were different, the structure of the foliage was different, and the stems were different. There were no flowers, not at this time of the season, but they would have been another point of contrast, too. She set about to harvesting some of it, but considering how much there was, she didn’t fill the bag. She thought she had seen some green onions near the outside, too, so the edibles could go together. Her pack would enjoy that in their meals, after all.
The girl clicked her tongue when she saw Juttia’s head go up, and she started for the camel. Hilana grabbed her trailing reins and used an angled palm tree trunk to give herself some extra height to get up with. She wasn’t marked with a Rune, therefore her senses were those of the Mundane… but she was smart enough to rely on her camel when she needed to. Theirs were so much stronger than hers, and that had been a lesson drilled into her since she had first gone out to her pack. Pay attention to the animals, they know what is going on before you do. The livestock dogs, the birds, the cattle, goats, camels, sheep… well, maybe not the sheep. Sheep could be awfully stupid…
Now that Hilana was safe in the saddle and stuffing her tools and bags in Juttia’s saddlebags, the girl turned her around and started her off at a trot back in the direction she had come from. As she got closer, she heard a call, and it dawned on her that that was what the camel had perhaps heard. Her pack wanted her back, so that meant it was time to return to the group. Her little exploration wasn’t a wash; she’d gotten some goodies and everyone would enjoy them. “On, let’s go,” she encouraged the spicy cow, who snorted but obeyed, moving up to a trot, her head high. Hilana’s seat wasn’t the normal way of being comfortable in her travel saddle, but with the trot that Juttia was moving at, it was easier.
She made her way back along the sands the way that she had come, and it didn’t take long to come back to her pack. By then Hilana slowed to a walk, and she could see why they’d called her back. That was a decidedly ugly, oversized scorpion. Hilana made a face to see it. Normal scorpions, she was happy with. They were good eating. This one? Didn’t look like it would be. “Stay nearby,” Vorenus told her. “I don’t like this. Someone doused it with something to make it this big. We don’t know if it’s the only one or if there’s more, but stay close, Hilana. There’s no more wandering tonight. I’ll ward the camp once the others get here if they choose to stay.” The caravan’s leader decided.
“Understood, Vorenus,” Hilana nodded. “I saw prickly pear a ways back, though.”
“Tomorrow,” he shook his head. “We are fine for tonight.” He looked her over. She’d grown up well. There wasn’t anyone who could say that she had the classic arrogance and ostentation of the average member of Populous Equestris. She fit right in with everyone else here, and she worked hard. She didn’t argue with them like she might have with her family, because she understood that the pack hierarchy and she was far more interested in being out here than being stuck in the city. “Go see to Sakima and your little bull calf,” he said after a while, seeing how she was studying the enormous scorpion. “Don’t worry about this for now, there’s nothing that you can do with it. Then you can start with the cooking. There’s the antelope to be butchered, if you want to help with that, too. You can use the practice on skinning and butchering.”
“Gratias, Vorenus,” she beamed at her head wolf, swinging off of Juttia to land in the sands, and taking her reins over to where her little tent was, the teenager’s skirts flouncing around her legs, the slits to her thighs on either side allowing for plenty of movement. Hilana removed Juttia’s saddle and secured her to the hitch across from where Sakima had her own little lean-to under the trees at the oasis to help keep the sun off of her and her newborn calf, who was standing and thumping his head against his mother’s bag as he nursed, his little tail swinging wildly. She wouldn’t interrupt him, instead taking the brushes to Juttia to get her cleaned down and allowed to relax before she would of course roll in the sand again, but she was the epitome of obstinacy… But by the time Hilana had finished with that, she felt a nose pushing against her side, and she looked over her shoulder.
“Hello, baby,” Hilana lifted her arm and began to stroke and pet the calf. “Hayima’el, aren’t you beautiful?” Her fingers gently stroked his muzzle, and she dropped a kiss on his nose. She felt that long tongue on her fingers and laughed, letting him while she scratched gently behind his ear. Sakima stood over him, starting to lick and groom her baby, perfectly content with how he was with Hilana.
One team, one dream, after all. And Hilana was putting her hopes on this one.
[Memory]
[Closed]
Right now, for Hilana’s pack, it was a waiting game. The group had gotten there at first light, and all there was to do was relax and wait. They were waiting for the designated oasis for the nomadic tribe, who were due within the next day or so. Vorenus expected them that night, and he was usually quite on with the times. But as it was, Hilana was taking the time to explore the string of oases that were within eyesight of the one where they were meeting. While she was out of eyesight, she wasn’t out of earshot. She wasn’t too far off of her chosen family, but the budding botanist was able to sort through plants and look for signs of animals and life.
They were within a day’s ride from the eastern coast of Solunarium. Close enough to get to the shores if they ever had to, and yet, far enough away that the transport crew could easily disappear into the sands if they ever had to. Not much came around that way, not with the Praeventores patrolling along the coasts from the sky on their wyverns. Very little ever made it past them; the denizens of the sand had trifling few concerns in that regard. She may have waved at them when she saw them, but they rarely ever stopped to land and have a conversation. Sometimes she wished they would, she wouldn’t have minded a closer look at the beautiful creatures that they rode.
The Vastiana had left Sakima with her calf with the rest of the crew to enjoy the shade and rest of the meeting place, but she brought her spare camel along just in case she found something big enough to merit hauling back, or in case Hilana needed to get back within a hurry. She could run it, but as she kept moving along the chain, she would get further and further from her friends. If something happened, it was better that she could get back to them in a hurry with Juttia. For now, the camel was helping herself to some browse, as Hilana was on her knees in the cool sand of the shade, working with one of the knives and trowels to harvest some oasis mallow. She wouldn’t take all of it; but she wanted some of the whole plant - roots, stems, and flowers. It was just a matter of taking enough without taking too much, lest she upset the spirits and the ecosystem. Better to leave some so that the next time she visited, there would be more, and she could replenish her supplies once again.
The teenager looked younger than her 17 years, with her big eyes and colourful skirt. Her long, onyx hair was piled up in a messy bun and tied with brightly coloured ribbons, and coppery rings lined her ears. The mallow was tucked into a thin cloth bag and put inside the backpack before she got up. Hilana dusted sand from her blue and green skirt that was slitted at her thighs, exposing her toned legs and giving her freedom of movement as she moved on along the coppice. Her arms were similarly exposed, as she wore a far less colourful linen halter top that exposed her shoulders and most of her abdomen, though her chest was mostly covered. She was pretty sure she had seen prickly pear in the distance, and while she would work her way there, for now, she had lots to check out here.
Once she had filled the little bag with the oasis mallow that she wanted, Hilana carefully repositioned the earth and rose up, the sand falling from her skirt as she made her way around the edge of the water, her fingers touching reeds and plant life as she made her way to Juttia with her tools and swapped the bag of plants for another empty bag, and went back to gathering. She was utterly tickled to find the wild garlic, though, planted close to the water. While it looked identical to a poisonous plant, Hilana knew how to tell the difference between it and Lily of the valley. Scent was a big one: the lily didn’t have the traditional scent of an onion. The appearances of the leaves were different too: the colours were different, the structure of the foliage was different, and the stems were different. There were no flowers, not at this time of the season, but they would have been another point of contrast, too. She set about to harvesting some of it, but considering how much there was, she didn’t fill the bag. She thought she had seen some green onions near the outside, too, so the edibles could go together. Her pack would enjoy that in their meals, after all.
The girl clicked her tongue when she saw Juttia’s head go up, and she started for the camel. Hilana grabbed her trailing reins and used an angled palm tree trunk to give herself some extra height to get up with. She wasn’t marked with a Rune, therefore her senses were those of the Mundane… but she was smart enough to rely on her camel when she needed to. Theirs were so much stronger than hers, and that had been a lesson drilled into her since she had first gone out to her pack. Pay attention to the animals, they know what is going on before you do. The livestock dogs, the birds, the cattle, goats, camels, sheep… well, maybe not the sheep. Sheep could be awfully stupid…
Now that Hilana was safe in the saddle and stuffing her tools and bags in Juttia’s saddlebags, the girl turned her around and started her off at a trot back in the direction she had come from. As she got closer, she heard a call, and it dawned on her that that was what the camel had perhaps heard. Her pack wanted her back, so that meant it was time to return to the group. Her little exploration wasn’t a wash; she’d gotten some goodies and everyone would enjoy them. “On, let’s go,” she encouraged the spicy cow, who snorted but obeyed, moving up to a trot, her head high. Hilana’s seat wasn’t the normal way of being comfortable in her travel saddle, but with the trot that Juttia was moving at, it was easier.
She made her way back along the sands the way that she had come, and it didn’t take long to come back to her pack. By then Hilana slowed to a walk, and she could see why they’d called her back. That was a decidedly ugly, oversized scorpion. Hilana made a face to see it. Normal scorpions, she was happy with. They were good eating. This one? Didn’t look like it would be. “Stay nearby,” Vorenus told her. “I don’t like this. Someone doused it with something to make it this big. We don’t know if it’s the only one or if there’s more, but stay close, Hilana. There’s no more wandering tonight. I’ll ward the camp once the others get here if they choose to stay.” The caravan’s leader decided.
“Understood, Vorenus,” Hilana nodded. “I saw prickly pear a ways back, though.”
“Tomorrow,” he shook his head. “We are fine for tonight.” He looked her over. She’d grown up well. There wasn’t anyone who could say that she had the classic arrogance and ostentation of the average member of Populous Equestris. She fit right in with everyone else here, and she worked hard. She didn’t argue with them like she might have with her family, because she understood that the pack hierarchy and she was far more interested in being out here than being stuck in the city. “Go see to Sakima and your little bull calf,” he said after a while, seeing how she was studying the enormous scorpion. “Don’t worry about this for now, there’s nothing that you can do with it. Then you can start with the cooking. There’s the antelope to be butchered, if you want to help with that, too. You can use the practice on skinning and butchering.”
“Gratias, Vorenus,” she beamed at her head wolf, swinging off of Juttia to land in the sands, and taking her reins over to where her little tent was, the teenager’s skirts flouncing around her legs, the slits to her thighs on either side allowing for plenty of movement. Hilana removed Juttia’s saddle and secured her to the hitch across from where Sakima had her own little lean-to under the trees at the oasis to help keep the sun off of her and her newborn calf, who was standing and thumping his head against his mother’s bag as he nursed, his little tail swinging wildly. She wouldn’t interrupt him, instead taking the brushes to Juttia to get her cleaned down and allowed to relax before she would of course roll in the sand again, but she was the epitome of obstinacy… But by the time Hilana had finished with that, she felt a nose pushing against her side, and she looked over her shoulder.
“Hello, baby,” Hilana lifted her arm and began to stroke and pet the calf. “Hayima’el, aren’t you beautiful?” Her fingers gently stroked his muzzle, and she dropped a kiss on his nose. She felt that long tongue on her fingers and laughed, letting him while she scratched gently behind his ear. Sakima stood over him, starting to lick and groom her baby, perfectly content with how he was with Hilana.
One team, one dream, after all. And Hilana was putting her hopes on this one.