[Ashalynn Noel]

An expanse of blue sky was visible against a layer of dense gold. Gentle winds swayed the field of wild barley, though its rustling didn’t reach the ears of the small sleeping figure hidden by the grain’s height. Initially, the blonde girl hadn’t intended on taking a nap, but the warmth of the sunlight was too good to pass up, and the area offered up the perfect amount of shade, warmth, and quiet.

She exhaled a muted sigh in her sleep, adjusting her position so that she lay on her back instead of her side, causing the leather-sheathed tip of her katzbalger to lightly thud against the mixture of earth and bits of barley, which now covered the majority of her clothing as well. Though, at the moment the girl, lost in dreamland, didn’t seem to care much about appearances, a small sliver of drool seeping out of the corner of her just barely smiling lips. Quite the contrast from her usual pensive appearance, and her cat-self would have cringed at the dirt and grain trapped in her long hair.

This peaceful sleep appeared to be rather short lived, however, as brittle barley rarely makes for a comfortable mattress for long periods of time, and of course the light flutter of wings and the very slight weight on her chest might have had something to do with it as well. Groggily the small woman opened her eyes, trying to find what had quite literally stared her awake. When her eyes focused on the bird-creature (for in her half-awakened state, she was unable to identify the type), who was staring at her curiously, as if to ask ”What are you doing in my field?”

Needless to say, both were startled by each other’s reactions. The girl sat up and gave a surprised squeak, and the bird, irritated at being displaced, squawked in her face and flew off. Fully conscious now, she took note of her appearance and heaved an emphatic sigh, as she stood up (although only her upper body was visible over the tall barley) to brush the evidence of her nap-time from her denim jeans and light knit sweater, while thoughts of how in the hell to get all the spikes of barely out of her long hair floated around her mind, grumbling all the while and completely unaware of her surroundings outside of this.

[Zozeko]

“Malik, for the sake of His Magnificent the Lord Ciro's sanity, would you stop running around the caravan and tormenting the taroch before I use my quartestaff for purposes it was not entirely designed for?” Zozeko's voice strained over the Zanaryan words through gritted teeth. His son had been acting far younger than his sixty-four years for the entirety of the journey down from Corantha and his patience had long since been worn down by incessant chatter — in Elysian slang, no less! — and a multitude of inconveniences that had delayed their journey back to Alexandria for more than a week.

What should have been a simple, if time-consuming, job of transporting the Artega's new mizzenmast had become a logistical nightmare: First, the barge they hired was sunk when a young Nyad got a "bit overzealous" with a wave. Then, one of the dashiri they had hired to pull the replacement barge turned out to be a young male who burst free of his reigns when he spotted a breedable female going the other way. The damage had been considerable, shutting down the entire river port for clean-up. When asked how long they would have to wait for replacement replacements, the portmaster had hemmed and hawed for almost an hour before finally admitting there were no more barges to be had and that repairs of the ones in port would take over a week.

Zozeko supposed he should have been sympathetic to what was amounting to be an economical disaster for the town. Instead, he spent a good thirty minutes questioning his luck and the incompetence of all Elysians before finally deigning to negotiate with a stabler willing to rent them a driver, a pair of carts and four landstriders — at an exorbitant fee, of course. Nevertheless, the Artega was in dire need of this mast, so Zozeko had agreed. They had tethered the carts together one behind the other and tied the mast to the length of them and set off for the tiring journey back to the portal city.

Alexandria was finally in view but as he grew weary, Malik's energy brimmed over. Zozeko assumed his chores as a cabin boy kept him too busy aboard ship, but being cooped up for so long had made him giddy and he would not. Sit. Down. Finally, as they stopped in the quiet hamlet of Little Eden to rest the taroch and stretch their legs (at the driver's insistence; Zozeko would have preferred not to stop until they were back aboard the Artega), Malik came within arm's length. Zozeko clipped him around the ear.

“Papa!” The youth slapped a hand to his ear to cover the reddening spot, a look of betrayal in his eyes.

“I warned you, did I not? Now, go relieve yourself in the field somewhere. I want to be back on the road in five minutes.” That was the first thing Zozeko had done when they dismounted, so he was confident he could make it to Alexandria before he needed to go.

Malik pouted and shot him a look of loathing over his shoulder as he shuffled into the field, almost disappearing into the barley. Zozeko shouted, “Five minutes, boy!” And then repeated it in Elysian to be sure his son would listen: “Five minutes!”

Ransie ∴ Piper's Boutique ∴ Wallpaper Abyss ∴ Celestial Star ↵

[Ashalynn Noel]

Ashalynn hummed quietly as she endeavored the task of removing the brittle barley needles from her clothing and hair. Once she got started on a task, it was usually difficult to pull her away until it was finished, and nearly impossible once she started humming. This time she was humming along loosely to the tune of ‘daisy bell,’ something she picked up from time spent with her adoptive father, back when he had been alive and healthy. However, the song didn’t stir any bitter-sweet twinge in her chest like one would expect; to be honest, it wasn’t even something she really had memory of, just the barest recollection of the tune from the first few years she spent with the kind man.

The humming faded away to quiet breathing and the sounds of wind among the field of golden grain. Taking the time to empty out the cuffs of her jeans and rolling them back up methodically, the girl stood once again, moderately satisfied with her work, considering the slight breeze kept stirring up dirt and grain against her ankles, as well as the lack of a mirror. With her attention no longer pre-occupied with her appearance, she became aware of the presence of others, her curiosity piqued by what she could see.

A pair of rigged carts holding some long indiscernible object. Four equine-like taroch were visible from where she stood, clearly the team meant to be pulling the now motionless carts. Ashalynn chewed thoughtfully at her lower lip as she slowly glanced around, noting the irritated looking older man and the exchange between the boy who appeared to be around her age, who then ran off into the sea of gold.

She was unsure if she had been sighted, though the girl guessed it really wouldn’t matter if she had. Still, she fought the urge to sink back into the full coverage of the barley where she could hide and observe the traveling party, weighing the options of being hidden versus getting dirty(-er). It was during this mental conversation with herself that she lost track of where the younger male had disappeared to. Realizing this, she tried to listen for footsteps (and of course the wind had to pick that moment to start up again, making it impossible), taking a step backward in an attempt to widen her view.

Although it was just Ashalynn’s luck that there was a decent sized rock nearby, actually, it was right under her foot. And with that, all her effort to be silent and sneaky went to waste as she tripped and landed on her backside, releasing a small puff of barley needles into the air (and all over herself) along with a small squeak of surprise mixed with pain.

[Zozeko]

OOC: Sorry for the delay, Caity!

Malik stopped dead when he heard a muted puff and a squeak, tilting his head so his short black horns tinted gold under the reflection of sunlight and barley. When he spotted the dust floating into the air, he took a careful step back. “Papa!” he called in Zanaryan, glancing toward the road where he could just see Zozeko's long white braid over the top of the barley. “Papa, there's something here.”

“Well, then, get back here, boy.” Two of the 'striders snorted at one another and Zozeko's boots thrashed through the growth at the edge of the track.

Despite his in-grained caution (he had lived in Elysia almost all his life), Malik's curiosity got the better of him and he ignored his father's command to push through the barley, the crops beaten aside by the edges of his wings. He stopped again when he found the culprit, adolescent hormones and unZanaryan friendliness brightening his expression. He bent down and lowered a hand to help the girl up, greeting her in Elysian. “Hi there! Don't be afraid, we're not bandits or anything.”

Hearing his son's voice, Zeko shoved impatiently through the field, turning his head this way and that to find the boy amid the greenery. “Malik. Malik! Get back here!”

Malik straightened and waved his father over, winking at the girl he'd found. “At the very least, I am not a bandit!”

Ransie ∴ Piper's Boutique ∴ Wallpaper Abyss ∴ Celestial Star ↵

[Ashalynn Noel]

Ashalynn stopped muttering about the fresh layer of dirt she was covered in when she heard the exchange between the younger male and who appeared to be his father, though she wasn’t very familiar with Zanaryan. From where she had landed on the ground, the girl was unable to see anything besides dirt, barley and sky, but she could hear the crunch of dead barley beneath the strangers feet, and the rustle of barley being separated by his wings - a distinctly different sound from the wind.
And then, he finally came into view, or more accurately, he overtook her view, with his wingspan and height that would have towered over her small frame even if she had been standing. He offered her his hand, ”Hi there! Don't be afraid, we're not bandits or anything,” he reassured.
She wavered for a minute before giving the stranger her hand, which was considerably smaller than his, and let him help her up. Ashalynn flashed him an apprehensive (and what she hoped came across as appreciative) smile and quickly glanced around. She wasn’t used to being approached in such a friendly manner, and the fact that she let herself be found in such an embarrassing situation (and being not particularly clean at the moment) made it more awkward.
”Malik. Malik!” she could hear the older Zanaryan commanding something, while the younger Zanaryan - Malik, she assumed - nonchalantly waved him over. ”Uhm...Thanks...” she mumbled, her voice quiet, trying to force her eyes to find his own. Timidly she lowered her gaze down to her shoes and the dirt surrounding them, tucking her long red-tinged hair behind her ear before returning her gaze to Malik’s face as he joked at his father’s expense, winking at her. She flushed slightly, finally beginning to relax with the young man’s warm nature. ”Oh, uhm, my name is Ashalynn…” her voice trailed, glancing at where she thought the older Zanaryan was making his way through the grain, ”I-I’m guessing it’s Malik, right?” A slight smile played on her lips, as she subtly attempted to remove the fresh dirt clinging to her sleeves and jeans, though chances were she was failing. ”Uwah...how did I manage to get so dirty?” she muttered under her breath, scowling at the rock she had tripped on, nudging it out of her path, to avoid the addition of even more dirt on her clothing.

[Zozeko]

Malik grinned. “Djan Malik ibn Zozeko,” he introduced with a minute dip that, in his father's world, qualified as an informal bow. “You okay? Looks like you took a tumble there.”

Zozeko appeared, spread wings thrashing stalks out of his way. He looked like a dashiri on the rampage, but Malik was used to it so he just sent a reassuring smile to the girl. His tone changed completely from the friendly youth to the respectful son as he introduced them — though the smile was still in his eyes. “Father, this is Ashalynn. My apologies, I did not catch your name, Miss Ashalynn. This is my father, Azat'Djinn Zozeko ibn Nirim. May we assist you? We were on our way to Alexandria.”

Ransie ∴ Piper's Boutique ∴ Wallpaper Abyss ∴ Celestial Star ↵

[Ashalynn Noel]

Ashalynn felt her cheeks heat up as soon as Malik mentioned her tumble. She gave him an embarrassed smile and nodded slightly, tucking a strand of long hair behind her ear as she answered, "Oh, I'm fine, she laughed quietly, "just a bit of dirt, I suppose."
A heavy rustling noise caused the girl to turn her head, looking for the source of the sound in the wild barley. What she saw caused her eyes to widen and she shifted to the side, just barely, so that part of Malik's body shielded her from the older man, whose appearance had made her wary. Unaccustomed to people being so loud and particularly demanding, Ashalynn's quiet nature caused her to shrink back when approached in such a way. In a way, she resembled a skittish kitten, curious and unsure at the same time. Though she relaxed slightly with the boy's smile of reassurance, returning it with a meek smile of her own.
When the older man reached them she noticed a subtle change in Malik, as he introduced his father to her, but she didn't dwell on it, as she'd come to realize that not all families were like how her's had been. Feeling self-concious, she dipped her head and gave her full name, "Noel...Ashalynn Noel." "May we assist you?" He had asked...she wasn't sure what to say, as she was neither good at accepting other's offers, nor asking for help. Particularly not after her adoptive father's death, when she decided that she would do everything in her power to take care of herself. But then, it wasn't like going with them back to Alexandria would be much of a hassle, and would actually allow her to make up time lost to napping...she weighed her options and her words as quickly as she could and responded in what she hoped was a steady voice (for she was still a little unsettled by the elder's appearance).
"W-Well, if you don't mind having me along...I'm actually headed in the same direction..." She drifted off and glanced at both of the men, nervously tugging at the hem of her sweater while waiting for response.

((OOC: I'm so sorry that this took forever, but I should be able to post more regularly now that i'm more used to how much time i have))

[Zozeko]

“Ciro's teeth, boy, what have you done?” Confident the girl could not speak Zanaryan, Zozeko grumbled to his son over the extended invitation even as his lips twitched into a polite, if not quite friendly, smile. Said smile remained in place as he pinned his son with a promising stare and gritted out, “As if the delays were not bad enough in themselves, now you want to escort this young madam —” What else could a girl her age be if she lolled about in a stranger's field like this? “— on top? Are you mad?”

Malik, however, had learned enough (from his uncle; Zozeko rarely had "time" to teach him anything) about Zanaryan politics and manners to extort his own father. “Father, please, how can we leave her alone? There are bandits and such. If not in Little Eden itself, then she may encounter them on the road. Manners dictate —”

“Pish. You have no more manners than that cook we call a healer. Fine. You be responsible for her.” All the while, Zozeko had maintained his smile, and upped the wattage as he switched to Elysian. “Indeed, you are most welcome, Miss Noel. Might I enquire as to the whereabouts of your family? Escorts? Bodyguards? The like? It is...” He paused to choose his words wisely. One never knew when strangers might be of use in the future, so he was attempting not to offend her. “...unusual to find one such as yourself alone out here.”

(OOC: No worries. I've been a bit slow in this thread myself. ^^)

Ransie ∴ Piper's Boutique ∴ Wallpaper Abyss ∴ Celestial Star ↵