Fair Exchange

[Vega]

1st Cylus, 717

Arlo and she had met a few times now, and actually a few more than the young woman realised since she wasn't a dreamwalker, and they'd agreed to exchange Biqaj stories from her for signs with the hands which he used to communicate with his deaf grandmother. It was a fair trade and Vega was happy to make it. So, they'd arranged to meet and this time, rather than his tree it was at her camp. She had herself set up reasonably well, she thought, with her tent which was big enough for her and her belongings, nestled under a makeshift lean-to of a waterproof tarp which she'd bought. She'd got thick logs around the campfire and, when he wandered in with the nonchalance that only a seventeen arc old boy could muster, Vega was adding some wood to the fire, making sure that it kept going. "Hello. Right on time, I see, that's good. I like punctual." It would be hard not to be, in fairness, since they'd agreed that he'd call by at some point this morning.

This evening, there was a festival in Desnind, something about lights and an alaiwa snäyì. Vega had agreed to meet Ti'niva there and he was going to help her with learning more about Sev'ryn ways. But this morning, she was going to find out about talking with your hands. The trial before they had gone and collected wood and other things and, unexpectedly, they had been attacked by a rather large and unpleasant beast. Vega didn't admit it but she was a little bit relieved that this place wasn't just full of people who wanted to hug and share. It really wasn't her way and Arlo, at least, had the edgy teen give as good as he got vibe about him. He could almost be Biqaj, in fact. Almost.

"Pull up a log," she invited with a flourish of her hand as though it were a palace that she was inviting him to. She was wrapped up against the cold and smiled at him as she stoked the fire. There was a small cook pot on there with what could, at best, be described as a very basic stew. "You hungry? It's not good, but it's hot." There was no doubting either of those statements to Vega's mind. "There's a festival tonight. Festival of lights, or something like it. You going to make a showing? I'm meeting a friend called Ti'niva, who's going to teach me about Sev'ryn stuff. It's something to do with the beginning of Cylus and something called an iyọ. I don't know what that is, but I've heard it talked about a bit. Any clue?" If he wanted some of her stew, she'd share it with him. It was basic, but it was the only recipie she knew and that consisted of meat and vegetables in broth.

"So, what have you been up to since yestertrial? Oh, I found this." She handed him a vivid yellow feather with red tips. "It was here when I woke up this morning. My father would say that it's a feather from a passing wonder, left to remind you that life is full of them. I thought you'd like it?" She shot him a grin "If you happen to come across a pile of gold, just remember that I handed over the things that you like, alright? Same thing goes for stray bottles of whiskey, brandy and any of those other things you are too young to be doing."

[Arlo Creede]

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"The smell reminds me of home." It was the first thing Arlo said after he ducked into Vega's tent, straightened for a quick look around, and breathed in. Obviously she was cooking something, the pot was there over the fire. There was no telling whether she was good cook or whether she wasn't. But the aroma reminded him of his own mother's stew from his childhood. Though come to think of it, for all that it smelled alright, it hadn't been very good. His mother'd had an aversion to seasoning, or flavoring of most any kind.

"I like to be on time," he said, and took a seat before he was asked. The dream that she didn't remember, but he did in vivid detail, he'd recorded in his journal first thing, before any of the nuances or images had escaped him. As for being on time, he rarely had reason to be, less frequently thought about it being necessary, and didn't own a timepiece anyway. Grinning a little, he lifted his right hand, fingers straight and thumb tucked, and touched the tips of his fingers to his forehead just beneath the brim of his hat. Palm a little outward facing, it somewhat resembled a backwards salute.

"It's a greeting. Good trial," he explained. "You can spell the words too with symbols, but I'm not good enough with the letters to manage it with any grace." But he was hungry. He was a young man, still with a little filling out to do. Arlo was always hungry, and would accept whatever she handed him. "I don't know if I'll make a showing or not," he said, considering the question around a mouthful of stew. "But I know that iyọ is by happenstance. When I first came to Desnind I was following a hand drawn map I'd found, and I visited the library hoping for information."

"There were lamps lighting up the inside of the place but they weren't the usual kind. They had caterpillars in them," he explained, "They glowed, and were making the lamps glow with them." Arlo raised his hand to his mouth then, straight much like before but with the thumb lined up with the other fingers and palm in. He touched his lips, then swept his hand out a little as if he was blowing a kiss or something like it. "Thank you," he said with a grin. "For the stew. It isn't terrible."

As for what had happened since the last they'd met, at least awake, there was nothing to tell really. And it didn't seem right to tell her about a dream that she didn't remember. Especially since he'd learned things about her that she might rather he didn't. But a feather when she woke? Arlo's eyes lit with interest. He'd worn just such a thing in the dream, tucked into his hat. And it sparked a question that he'd be sure to make a note of in his book. He took it, slowly, looked it over and then grinned. As much for the thought that she'd offered it, as wondering. Well, just wondering. "Thank you, I've got just the place for that."

And he did. Instead of putting it inside his hat, the young man pulled it off his head and carefully tucked the feather into the band before putting it back on his head. "I think it adds just the right touch. Now, I've given you two signs. Where's my story?" he asked as he took another heaping spoonful of the stew.

[Vega]

His mother must have been a poor cook was all that Vega could think when he said the smell reminded him of home but she smiled and shook her head. "Punctual and gracious? Where's that irritating boy Arlo, and what have you done with his body you fiend?" She handed him a bowl and watched with interest as he gave a gesture. "Does it matter which hand? Or is it your dominant hand?" Vega wondered about things like that and then she copied the gesture, mirroring him as he did it. "Do you speak whilst you do it, normally? I mean, obviously not if you're doing it to be quiet. She made the gesture a few more times and nodded.

But he knew about the iyọ and Vega listened with interest. "Caterpillers? Huh, that would be handy on the ocean, you know. Fire is a scary thing. When I was a kid, maybe five or six arcs, I guess, we were caught in a storm and the boat next to ours got hit by lightening. Went up like nothing I've ever seen, before or since." Her eyes darkened to a deep violet, flecked with gold. "My father has scars all down one arm and his side, too. He got burnt pretty bad, trying to help the people there. Fool of a man, but he saved lives so he'll live with scars, he tells me."

Then, of all things, he blew her a kiss and Vega looked at him in total surprise. "Oh!" Her grin showed her relief at having misunderstood what he was doing. "That's another sign. Oh. I thought you'd taken to blowing kisses. That's a relief. " She laughed and copied the gesture, "so it is like you're blowing a kiss, but you're blowing a kiss of thanks. And the other one is like tipping your hat. I see. Oh they make sense." It did, to her mind and she scribbled down a few notes in her book, just to remind herself. "And whilst I appreciate the sentiment and agree it isn't terrible, exactly, it isn't good either. You cook? What could I have done to make it taste better? I considered adding in those mint leaves, but then I thought they'd be bad if you ate them."

But his story? Vega considered and she pulled her knees up to her chin as she watched him put the feather in his hat. "Very Arlo." Vega grinned as he took another spoonful of stew. "I'm figuring, you know, that I'm going to have to go stay in an Inn for Cylus and I don't want to be locked up in a room and get all fat on a bed. I'm going to ask Ti'niva, a Sev'ryn I know, if he wants to share resources, make one camp, share the hunting and stuff. You want in?" There was no issue either way for her, no matter what either of them said. "But a story. Well, you've given me two signs. I'll give you two stories. One is brief, the other longer." She considered and then spoke, "So they say, our blood runs silver because U'frek made us so, reflecting the starlight in the water where we would have perished. When the first land livers built the first ships, U'frek saw and in seeing, he kept attention on them. One trial, a ship was attacked, or ran into a storm or something. Either way, the ship crew would have perished, all would have been lost. But my father told me that U'frek made the Biqaj that trial, transforming what was into what we are now. So, we are his children and he watches over us all." Vega smiled and shrugged. "That's the story of how the Biqaj came to be, as my father told me."

Then, she looked at him with a smile and put the last of the stew into their bowls, half each. "So, my second story is a much longer and much more personal one. Last night I had the strangest dream and, when I woke, there was this feather and you were in my dream. Was that you, Arlo?" Apparently, it seemed, she remembered and the most important part? "I don't know who won, if it was."

[Arlo Creede]

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"Keep calling me a boy and I'll title you a crone," Arlo warned, though his grin revealed he was teasing her as he'd sat himself down. "I'm not sure," he told her when she asked about which hand was better for signing, or if it mattered at all.

"For some things you'd use both regardless. But for the simpler ones, my grandmother signed with her right hand, so it's how I learned." He guessed that speaking and signing to could go together, some who were deaf could read lips after all, he told her. But if the aim was to communicate in silence, then better not to.

The story she told him about the ship, the fire and and her father's side, now that was something that would come back to him later. Though he couldn't have known or predicted it then. "So he survived it then, except for the scars?" Arlo asked. He laughed though when she startled, thinking he'd flung some sort of romantic gesture at her, out of the blue.

"No kiss," he assured her. "I'm too young for you, as you've reminded me more than once. And you're too old for me I think." Not for friendship though.

There were some things she could do to make her stew better, he thought. "I tend not to cook in pots but over the fire. And just simple things, nothing fancy. But for this, if you were to season the meat first and sear it in the pan in some oil so it forms a crust, before you add in the vegetables or liquid, it would make it better." Or even, Arlo added, roll the meat in some flour and seasonings both before searing it.

As for her Sev'ryn friend, the colder weather on its way and an opportunity to band and share resources, he thought about that for just a trill before nodding his head. "A good idea, if he doesn't mind." So, U'frek had created her people out of others? Interesting, and it made him wonder then. "So all of your people worship U'frek then?"

Her next story however turned into a question and gave him a great deal of pause. Arlo frowned and fell silent, considering just how to respond. She remembered then, and he wanted to take care with his answer. This new talent, this blessing of his was proving to be tricky business. He smiled a little, nonetheless. "You went farther, but I did it better." But then his expression turned more serious as he set his bowl down.

"It was me, and I'm not sure exactly how it happened. I didn't mean to drop in on your dream uninvited, and I'm sorry if you wouldn't have wanted me to. I'm not able yet to search out others in their dreams. Maybe, I bumped up against yours and somehow stumbled through." It was a clumsy explanation and Arlo knew it. He just wasn't sure how else to say it.

[Vega]

"Crone? Old and wise, full of experience and someone to be respected. Go ahead, works for me." Vega grinned at him and nodded when he said which hand to use didn't matter with the signing. She told him about the time that she'd seen a ship burst into flame, which would slip into her subconscious that night and haunt her a little in her sleep. Yes, she confirmed, her father had survived and had rescued a number of people that trial.

"Too old for you? Way out of your league, I'm afraid. I have very exacting standards when it comes to relationships, I'll have you know." Vega grinned good naturedly at him, not at all put out by his suggestion that she was too old. "Which you meet precisely none of." It was true. He was younger, shorter and she actually quite liked him as a person. That made it a definite no go for her. "Thanks to you, in fact, I've added another criteria to my list. Never wears hats." She gave him a teasing grin and then added, in an uncharacteristically pleasant moment. "But you tick all the friend criteria, if that helps. Plus, you're able to cook, which is a double bonus." She nodded when he spoke about what to do with the meat and made a note to do so. "Next time I cook, I'll do that."

He was pleased to share resources and Vega grinned. "It might mean that we don't all have to end up in an Inn for Cylus is my thinking. I'm not staying here longer than that, but for that period it makes sense. Ti'niva has a camp set up and his will probably be hardest to move, he's got a hut thing going on there." Because he was a wuss, her expression said most clearly. "So, how'd you feel about us moving to him? If you want to go neutral ground, I don't mind."

As for U'frek, Vega shrugged slightly. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean all the Biqaj I ever met do. But it's not that they worship him in a temple or anything. Live our life the way we live our life, I suppose. Worship seems like a bit of a stupid idea, as land livers have it, to us anyhow. It's about, trying to embody the best version of yourself, I guess. It's hard to explain. But then, I'm a poor example." She looked at him and grinned, but there was a tinge of defensive as she did.

She was surprised when he seemed so put out, or concerned, when she asked about her dream. She listened to his answer, though, and Vega shook her head. "You stress too much. You're a dreamwalker, yes? You walk in dreams but you can understand them too. It was a memory from my childhood, I was dreaming about it. I don't care that you were there it's fine. Plus, I won. We weren't betting on who did it better, were we?" She gave him a grin and shook her head.

"Sometimes, I dream of things that I wouldn't want to talk about with you after so if you pop into one of those, pop straight back out, alright? But other than that, it's what you do, who you are and if it bothered me, I wouldn't have met up with you again after you told me, would I?" She looked at him with eyes the colour of the sea, putting her bowl into the now cool and empty pot so that she could wash it up later. "You stress this much at your age, you're going to have some kind of disease from worry by the time you're twenty. So now I don't need to tell you that my real name is Eva, though everyone except my father calls me Vega, and that I am the world's only seasick Biqaj." The irony of her situation wasn't lost on her but Vega had no qualms about saying it. She didn't look bothered by it. "I have the Biqaj wanderlust and the Sev'ryn need for my feet to walk the ground. It's a conundrum."

She wore a serious expression, though, when she reassured him. "It's fine, really. No worries on my part at all. Now, I can't go round saying hello and thank you to everyone I meet. Come on, teach me the alphabet?"

[Arlo Creede]

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"Out of my league? I don't think so," Arlo maintained when she said it. Then he shrugged, as if it hardly mattered. "But you don't need to worry, you don't meet any of mine either." Except as a friend though, he told her, they'd done fairly well on that account, the two of them.

But then there was the fact that if he had any standards about that sort of thing, he hadn't begun to bother working them out. Why would he, when he wasn't looking and hadn't given a thought to lasting romantic attachments either? Well, truth was he had, in an academic sort of way. Arlo was young and he was free, footloose. Had no one to answer to and he liked it that way.

"I don't mind moving to your friend's camp, if he's no objections," he said when the topic turned to making arrangements for the colder weather that was well on its way by now. "I'm used to setting up and breaking down camp, I can do it quickly, load it all in my cart and haul it over." And if her friend didn't object, it seemed a better arrangement for all of them together. Harsh weather consumed resources and the more they each had to share, the better.

"There's all sorts of worship, I guess," Arlo suggested, after considering her point about the practice. "And I haven't once workshiped in a temple. I follow Cassion for example. His domain is travel, adventure, stories and hunger. What better way to do it then, than to travel and seek adventure, collect stories and the like? I've left offerings of food or curious items along the road as offerings for other travelers to find. I've listened to their stories and told them mine, and I've shared what I've had with them. One of them might be Cassion himself. But at least he might appreciate the effort."

As for Jesine, well he did her work and what she'd have of him. And he figured it was the way to honor her best. "Twenty's a long way off though," he argued. To someone his age, arcs went slowly when for someone older they might spin by faster than was wanted. "So why are you called Vega, if it's Eva?" Whatever her answer, he'd honor her request best that he could. "If it's personal, and I can figure how to do it, I'll leave you to your dreams." Of course, he wasn't quite sure how he stumbled into them in the first place. But practice, he figured, ought to make more perfect.

Back to signing, however, he nodded, though it was with something of a frown. "I don't know all of it. Or at least don't remember. But I can spell my name, and I know a handful more letters than that." And it appeared that this was where two handed 'talking' came in.

With his right hand, palm facing towards her, he folded his four fingers down and left his thumb out, flush and pointing upwards. For the next, he straightened his first to fingers, crossed them, and held his other two fingers down with his thumb. The third letter required his left hand, and with three fingers folded he formed an L shape using his forefinger and thumb. and the last letter, signed with the right hand again, much like the first one but with the thumb folded over his other four, tucked fingers. "That's Arlo," he told her.

[Vega]

"Don't be ridiculous," she replied with a quick grin. "You're too young to have criteria. You're a seventeen arc old boy, criteria are in the far distance to you. Come see me when you're ancient, then we can talk." But she was pleased when he returned the sentiment of friendship, there was no doubting it although she didn't show it at all. When he agreed to stay at Ti'niva's camp, though, her face showed her pleasure much more clearly. "Excellent. Lets move over there then. Can I borrow you and your wagon?" Vega gave him a cheeky grin. "I've already asked Peg, she doesn't mind. Not one bit in fact."

His revelation about Cassion, though, surprised her and it showed. "You're a tricksy one. I thought you followed Jesine?" Vega looked at him and she spoke her mind as she usually did. "You don't seem the sort to follow a lot of Immortals. Or mortals or anyone really come to that." The words might be considered offensive, but she didn't consider them such and her explanation probably explained why. "They must be very important to you. I get that." She had no such loyalty herself, but she understood it on an intellectual level. Or maybe a heart rather than head one, she thought. His way of worship made good sense to her and she nodded. "We're like that but more water based. It's more honest, I think. Are there even temples to Cassion?"

Twenty was such a long way away? Vega grinned. "Aye, that it is. But you want to see what twenty five or even thirty looks like? You'll fret less. Why Vega?" The smile was genuine as she looked at him and her eyes shone a vivid purple with flecks of green. "I used to call myself Veva, when I was a very little person. Shorter even than you are now." Just in case, she had to get a slight dig in. "I don't know why Eva was hard, but it was. Veva was how I referred to myself. Somehow, it became Vega to everyone, except my father. " As for leaving her dreams, the young halfbreed shrugged. "You know what, Arlo, just don't show me you're there. We all dream of all sorts of weird stuff and I don't mind what you see or don't. If you can walk in other's dreams, which you obviously can, you're probably either used to seeing all sorts of weird stuff or you're about to be. It's all good. Just don't show me you're there and don't talk about alright?"

She watched, noted and copied his signs for the letters. Then she looked up from her notes and a sudden grin crossed her face. "So, I've just realised. You know four of the letters? So long as I want to spell out words consisting of the letters in your name, I'm good?" She shook her head and put her book down. "So, if we're hunting and we want to communicate, what other signs might we need?" She thought about it for a while and then looked at him, suddenly slightly confused. "I actually don't know. What sort of thing would you think?"

[Arlo Creede]

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"Of course you can. Assuming that you're right and Peg doesn't mind," Arlo agreed when she asked about his wagon. "I can pack up my camp and drop by yours, then we can move it all together to your friend's camp." That was his suggestion, assuming that she agreed.

But who did he follow? "I follow both, really," he told her with a shrug. "I've had an uncommon imagination since I was little. And vivid dreams that I always remembered in detail. I've kept a journal, recording them since I was old enough to spell. It's been said that Cassion has traveled all of Idalos in a number of guises. And that he's even traveled Emea and spent some time there. I'd like to know where he went and what he experienced while he was there," Arlo admitted.

"I've always figured I could serve Jesine's purpose, while also following him." And it appeared at least that the mortalborn had agreed somewhat, since she'd given him her blessing to do it.

He could do that at any rate, he agreed. Even if he wasn't sure how to duck out of her dreams, considering he still wasn't sure just how and why he'd been stumbling in. "I can only guess it's what Jesine wants." Maybe, because Vega was a friend and he believed he could trust her more than he could others, the mortalborn considered it a learning experience for him. Or maybe, Jesine believed that he might have something to offer his newfound friend. He didn't question it though. It just was.

As for signs, one more lesson wouldn't hurt, and she made a good point. "There are signs that communicate ideas, or you might consider them phrases, rather than signifying a single word," he considered. "I don't know many. But I know some that might be useful on the hunt. Or if you're needing to be quiet because you're hiding from someone or something...Like that beast we ran into," he added and grinned.

"Let's see." Thinking for a trill or two, he searched his memory before recalling a few good options. Putting both hands in front of him, open an and fingers curled slightly as he was resting them on a tabletop or other surface, he lifted them both at once and in the process curled his fingers into to form loose fists with both hands. "Abandon, leave, retreat," he explained before moving to another.

Next he put both hands up in front of his chest, open but fingers closed, crossed as if he was folding them on his lap. And then he dragged the fingertips of the top one over the bottom till there was open space between them again. "Cross, or across." One last one, he thought, and pondered it a moment more. With one hand, just his right one, and straight fingers, thumb extended but flush against his hand, he gestured forward, a little back and forward again. "Move, or advance," he told her.

[Avrae Kyric]

A Review by Summer Rain

Name: Vega

Knowledge: (20)
Arlo: Follows Cassion and Jesine Both
Arlo: Likes to be Punctual
Arlo: Tries to Respect the Privacy of Your Dreams
Cooking: A Basic Stew Consists of Meat and Vegetables in Broth
Cooking: Searing the Meat First
Cooking: Seasoning is Your Friend
Cooking: Some Things Should be Added in Later
Culture: The Festival of Lights is a Holiday in Desnind on the 1st of Cylus
Culture: The Story of How Biqaj Came to Be
Fauna: Iyo: Used as a light source in desnind
Immortals: Cassion: Domains are Travel, Adventure, Stories and Hunger
Immortals: U'frek: Created the Biqaj
Linguistics (Common Sign) : Individual Letters Sometimes Require Two Hands
Linguistics (Common Sign) : Thank You, like Blowing a Kiss
Linguistics (Common Sign) : The Sign for Good Trial Resembles a Backwards Salute
Linguistics (Common Sign) : Using Signs To Give Phrases or Commands
Personal: You Used to Call Yourself Veva, Which Turned into Vega
Religion: Leaving Offerings, Not Always in a Temple
Storytelling: Sharing Wisdom That Was Shared With You
Storytelling: Sharing Your Race's Culture in Stories

Loot: Some knowledge from Arlo's awesome teaching- otherwise nothing! <3
Injuries: N/A
Fame:
+2 Give a Gift (Food to Arlo)
+3 Timely Delivery of Needed Goods (Food to a Hungry Boy)
+1 General Good Deed (Told Stories to Arlo)
Total: +6
Devotion: N/A

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5
Magic: These points may NOT be used for Arcana
Name: Arlo Creede

Knowledge: (18)
Cooking: Food Tastes Better When Seasoned
Culture: The Festival of Lights is a Holiday in Desnind on the 1st of Cylus
Culture: The Story of How Biqaj Came to Be
Etiquette: Thanking People When They Give You Food
Fauna: Iyo: Used as a light source in desnind
Immortal: U'frek: Most Biqaj Worship Him
Linguistics (Common Sign) : How to Spell Your Name With Your Hands
Linguistics (Common Sign) : Individual Letters Sometimes Require Two Hands
Linguistics (Common Sign) : Thank You, like Blowing a Kiss
Linguistics (Common Sign) : The Sign for Good Trial Resembles a Backwards Salute
Linguistics (Common Sign) : Using Signs To Give Phrases or Commands
Religion: For Some People, Worship is Just Living Their Lives
Teaching: Explaining Something You Know, So Others Can Learn
Teaching: Teachers Keep Learning As They Go
Vega: Father Was Burned in a Fire
Vega: Real Name is Eva
Vega: Remembers Meeting in Her Dream
Vega: The World's Only Seasick Biqaj

Loot: Some stew in your belly. Not much else, though!
Injuries: N/A
Fame:
+2 Gave a Gift (Taught Common Sign to Vega Out of the Kindness of Your Heart)
Total: +1
Devotion: N/A

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5
Magic: These points may NOT be used for Arcana
Comment: Hello Vega, hello Arlo! This was a lovely thread to read, and I hope I did it justice. I couldn't find any devotion because they were talking about their respective immortals, not praying to them or doing acts in their name. However, I tried to give plenty of knowledges! This was a very teaching-rich thread so they were easy to find. I really enjoyed this thread. Vega and Arlo are both very unique characters, very fun to read! ^_^

If you have any questions or comments, don't be afraid to shoot me a PM. <3