81 Frost, Year 122
[Closed]
[Solo]
After a busy night intertwined with a couple that she likely wouldn’t see again for another year, Hilana cleaned herself up and headed over to her grandmother’s tent in order to start helping with breakfast. She was up early, as she usually was, and Tiaz lazed on her shoulders while Lydia wrapped around her wrist. Some part of her wished that Raithen was here and had been able to partake in the fun. He would have liked it, and she would have liked to have shown him off.
She greeted those of her kin that were already out and awake, accepting the cup of tea from one of her aunts and sipping it. “Gratias. What can we help with?” the girl wanted to know, all too happy to get into the middle of helping with the food preparations. She had supplies that she could add, depending on what was made, and once she got the rundown on the menu, Hilana could help with putting things together. She was soon set to work on mixing the dough for pitas, and as such, Fiya had to be transferred from her wrist to her bun. Her bun was messier than it usually was, courtesy of that night’s activities, but the Vastiana was well used to it, and all she had to do later once breakfast was ready was just adjust it. Otherwise, she would simply claim that the air spirits were playing with it... Which was sort of true even now, really, as she mixed the flour, yeast, salt, water, and oil.
This felt good and natural to her. This...this could have been her life, she knew, if she wanted it now. There was enough contacts and connections that she could travel the Expanse if it suited her, and yet... there was the unmistakable feeling that she had more to do. She had the Horn to find. She had a derby to win. She had her goals and commitments, that she had made before His Divine Radiance and Her Argent Luminescence, that could not be ignored. And inasmuch as she loved this life... it was not going to be conducive to fulfilling her goals. Not right now. Maybe one day, but not right now.
With every ingredient, the dough came together more and more. While she would have liked for Arvaelyn and Finn to have stayed longer, even enjoyed the party as the dancing and celebrations went long into the night, she knew it wasn't going to happen. But what had happened had gone about as well as she could have expected it to. This might be a good start to repairing the stressed friendship. Either which way, she had to remember Asher's advice and let it take its time. Make herself useful and otherwise not fret over it. She just hated the idea of losing him as a friend. She had liked him, adored him even, before she had known who he was; his status hadn't ever entered into that equation for her.
With the dough made, she had covered the bowl with the faded cloth to let it rest, moving Fiya back up to her hair from where she had wanted to go. "They are a good sign, Hilana," Amina rested on a cushion with her tea. "Your snakes. But we have much to talk about, you and I. We'll go for a ride after breakfast," she held out a hand towards Fiya, and Hilana gently detangled the smaller python from her ebon tresses and transferred her to her grandmother. "This is how she is? Without Mesmer?"
"Just so. Finn has done some Mesmer to calm the symphonies of some of the spicier snakes that I keep in my apartment, but not my pythons. She's just more outgoing than Tiaz... and far more active. She can be so lazy inside of her terrarium, she doesn't much care to explore that much inside of it... but once she's outside? She generally likes to see what's going on. I think it is because I am raising her in the city, while Tiaz was raised outside of it. But he's always been on this side of relaxed," she smiled at that and rested her cheek against her older snake. Tiaz flickered his tongue, lifting his head a bit.
"How many do you have now?" Amina wanted to know. She didn't dare guess, not with how she knew her to be. Hilana, having tasted freedom, could very well have gone and gotten a hundred snakes and kept them in baskets stacked on every surface, in every corner. The girl was plenty resourceful, and she didn't necessarily have to go to the market to go acquire more. Not when she had the whole of the desert to pull them from.
"About two dozen now, many different species," she admitted. "I've made contacts and Great-Aunt Eliana has many more, too." Amina only sighed.
"You know what happens when you play with poison," she was not harsh in her rebuke. "But there is enough in the world that would kill casually and without a second thought. Why would you import more? I could understand our local species, to make antivenin like the ones you brought us. And we are grateful for them, Hilana, but species from outside our lands..."
The girl was quiet. In some ways, it was hard to explain her interest in poison. There were many who didn't understand her fascination with it, and those who did, well... were already acquainted to it. "It's a way to protect those I love and in the cities... it's a way of power. Even with pesticyte... the poison stone... if you do it right, or combine it with alchemy... then the pesticyte won't make a difference. To heal poison, you have to know what is in them, too. Not everyone is going to fight with honour, and expecting them to is a fatal mistake."
She wanted to tell her what the Foudners had said, but that she could do later, in private, when they went for their ride. She would tell her about it then, too. Finn and Arvaelyn had already revealed the presence of the divine, so Hilana knew she wasn't revealing that much more. But in many ways, it was best for her to stay hidden. Where her friends had powerful protections, Hilana had her pendant and some veil of anonymity. She was not a public figure. She was one Vastii among millions, and a nomad to boot. She didn't think anyone followed her in the city, but what did she know?
Amina sighed. "Does this also have to do with your father?" she carefully adjusted Fiya, moving her hands to support the snake's belly as she stretched out, her tongue tasting the air around them. But as she did so, she looked at her granddaughter. She didn't need Semblance when Hilana sat across from her: she had lived a long time, and she had seen many a duplicitous person come and go. She had learned what to watch for, what to listen to. It wasn't just what was being said, but what wasn't. And when Hilana didn't immediately protest, the elder looked at her around the python. She was patient all the same. Rushing would get her no where.
"It started that way," she admitted finally. "I wanted to come back here to learn herbalism, and he refused. He said it would be Great-Aunt Eliana or nothing... and while she knows her herbalism and plants inside and out... but she likes poisons more. To know how to heal the victim, one has to know what goes into them first," she knew she was repeating herself, but it was a good point. She took a sip of the strong tea in her hands. "But I find it interesting. She may not have much by the way of visible power... but she can trade in favours with many people who do. I've learned that it's not necessarily what you know, but who you know." She looked at the golden Rune in her palm.
She had benefited considerably from her relationships with her pack, as fragmented as it had become. Still, her lessons with Sentinel Ævril had continued. There wasn't much of a discernible change in the atmosphere of the Praetorium towards her, not that she could tell, and life more or less went on. She couldn't have dreamed that the young Re'hyaean with the foreign accent that she had approached in the Forum a year ago to try to prevent him from being taken advantage of would have been who he was. That further, a query of idle wonder during the Equinox after sacrifices had been rendered to Domina Divina would have led to what it had.
And while she did wish that Finn and Khyan had not been injured, she would not have changed much else that had happened over the last few months. She had had some freedom and was able to put her Wildness to good use. She'd made new friends and gotten new stomping grounds. What was to come would be challenging, but Hilana wasn't one to shy away from a challenge. Never had been, never would be. But Amina could tell there was more that Hilana wanted to say, but seemed to think that this wasn't the time to say it. She let it go - pushing too hard would cause something later. "Why don't you tell me about how you met with His Exalted Highness and Magnatus Finn?" she suggested. And with that, Hilana was off to the races, all too happy to inform her grandmother about the time in the market and the day in the sands...
[Closed]
[Solo]
After a busy night intertwined with a couple that she likely wouldn’t see again for another year, Hilana cleaned herself up and headed over to her grandmother’s tent in order to start helping with breakfast. She was up early, as she usually was, and Tiaz lazed on her shoulders while Lydia wrapped around her wrist. Some part of her wished that Raithen was here and had been able to partake in the fun. He would have liked it, and she would have liked to have shown him off.
She greeted those of her kin that were already out and awake, accepting the cup of tea from one of her aunts and sipping it. “Gratias. What can we help with?” the girl wanted to know, all too happy to get into the middle of helping with the food preparations. She had supplies that she could add, depending on what was made, and once she got the rundown on the menu, Hilana could help with putting things together. She was soon set to work on mixing the dough for pitas, and as such, Fiya had to be transferred from her wrist to her bun. Her bun was messier than it usually was, courtesy of that night’s activities, but the Vastiana was well used to it, and all she had to do later once breakfast was ready was just adjust it. Otherwise, she would simply claim that the air spirits were playing with it... Which was sort of true even now, really, as she mixed the flour, yeast, salt, water, and oil.
This felt good and natural to her. This...this could have been her life, she knew, if she wanted it now. There was enough contacts and connections that she could travel the Expanse if it suited her, and yet... there was the unmistakable feeling that she had more to do. She had the Horn to find. She had a derby to win. She had her goals and commitments, that she had made before His Divine Radiance and Her Argent Luminescence, that could not be ignored. And inasmuch as she loved this life... it was not going to be conducive to fulfilling her goals. Not right now. Maybe one day, but not right now.
With every ingredient, the dough came together more and more. While she would have liked for Arvaelyn and Finn to have stayed longer, even enjoyed the party as the dancing and celebrations went long into the night, she knew it wasn't going to happen. But what had happened had gone about as well as she could have expected it to. This might be a good start to repairing the stressed friendship. Either which way, she had to remember Asher's advice and let it take its time. Make herself useful and otherwise not fret over it. She just hated the idea of losing him as a friend. She had liked him, adored him even, before she had known who he was; his status hadn't ever entered into that equation for her.
With the dough made, she had covered the bowl with the faded cloth to let it rest, moving Fiya back up to her hair from where she had wanted to go. "They are a good sign, Hilana," Amina rested on a cushion with her tea. "Your snakes. But we have much to talk about, you and I. We'll go for a ride after breakfast," she held out a hand towards Fiya, and Hilana gently detangled the smaller python from her ebon tresses and transferred her to her grandmother. "This is how she is? Without Mesmer?"
"Just so. Finn has done some Mesmer to calm the symphonies of some of the spicier snakes that I keep in my apartment, but not my pythons. She's just more outgoing than Tiaz... and far more active. She can be so lazy inside of her terrarium, she doesn't much care to explore that much inside of it... but once she's outside? She generally likes to see what's going on. I think it is because I am raising her in the city, while Tiaz was raised outside of it. But he's always been on this side of relaxed," she smiled at that and rested her cheek against her older snake. Tiaz flickered his tongue, lifting his head a bit.
"How many do you have now?" Amina wanted to know. She didn't dare guess, not with how she knew her to be. Hilana, having tasted freedom, could very well have gone and gotten a hundred snakes and kept them in baskets stacked on every surface, in every corner. The girl was plenty resourceful, and she didn't necessarily have to go to the market to go acquire more. Not when she had the whole of the desert to pull them from.
"About two dozen now, many different species," she admitted. "I've made contacts and Great-Aunt Eliana has many more, too." Amina only sighed.
"You know what happens when you play with poison," she was not harsh in her rebuke. "But there is enough in the world that would kill casually and without a second thought. Why would you import more? I could understand our local species, to make antivenin like the ones you brought us. And we are grateful for them, Hilana, but species from outside our lands..."
The girl was quiet. In some ways, it was hard to explain her interest in poison. There were many who didn't understand her fascination with it, and those who did, well... were already acquainted to it. "It's a way to protect those I love and in the cities... it's a way of power. Even with pesticyte... the poison stone... if you do it right, or combine it with alchemy... then the pesticyte won't make a difference. To heal poison, you have to know what is in them, too. Not everyone is going to fight with honour, and expecting them to is a fatal mistake."
She wanted to tell her what the Foudners had said, but that she could do later, in private, when they went for their ride. She would tell her about it then, too. Finn and Arvaelyn had already revealed the presence of the divine, so Hilana knew she wasn't revealing that much more. But in many ways, it was best for her to stay hidden. Where her friends had powerful protections, Hilana had her pendant and some veil of anonymity. She was not a public figure. She was one Vastii among millions, and a nomad to boot. She didn't think anyone followed her in the city, but what did she know?
Amina sighed. "Does this also have to do with your father?" she carefully adjusted Fiya, moving her hands to support the snake's belly as she stretched out, her tongue tasting the air around them. But as she did so, she looked at her granddaughter. She didn't need Semblance when Hilana sat across from her: she had lived a long time, and she had seen many a duplicitous person come and go. She had learned what to watch for, what to listen to. It wasn't just what was being said, but what wasn't. And when Hilana didn't immediately protest, the elder looked at her around the python. She was patient all the same. Rushing would get her no where.
"It started that way," she admitted finally. "I wanted to come back here to learn herbalism, and he refused. He said it would be Great-Aunt Eliana or nothing... and while she knows her herbalism and plants inside and out... but she likes poisons more. To know how to heal the victim, one has to know what goes into them first," she knew she was repeating herself, but it was a good point. She took a sip of the strong tea in her hands. "But I find it interesting. She may not have much by the way of visible power... but she can trade in favours with many people who do. I've learned that it's not necessarily what you know, but who you know." She looked at the golden Rune in her palm.
She had benefited considerably from her relationships with her pack, as fragmented as it had become. Still, her lessons with Sentinel Ævril had continued. There wasn't much of a discernible change in the atmosphere of the Praetorium towards her, not that she could tell, and life more or less went on. She couldn't have dreamed that the young Re'hyaean with the foreign accent that she had approached in the Forum a year ago to try to prevent him from being taken advantage of would have been who he was. That further, a query of idle wonder during the Equinox after sacrifices had been rendered to Domina Divina would have led to what it had.
And while she did wish that Finn and Khyan had not been injured, she would not have changed much else that had happened over the last few months. She had had some freedom and was able to put her Wildness to good use. She'd made new friends and gotten new stomping grounds. What was to come would be challenging, but Hilana wasn't one to shy away from a challenge. Never had been, never would be. But Amina could tell there was more that Hilana wanted to say, but seemed to think that this wasn't the time to say it. She let it go - pushing too hard would cause something later. "Why don't you tell me about how you met with His Exalted Highness and Magnatus Finn?" she suggested. And with that, Hilana was off to the races, all too happy to inform her grandmother about the time in the market and the day in the sands...
