The Dauntless

The elf shakes his head. "Avistani explorer comes through, says she rescues lion cub from smugglers, wants to bring her back 'home.' We all have good laugh, take lion, bring her to savannah where she belongs. Lion comes back. We take her to savannah again. She comes back again. So she lives here now."

Django involuntarily snorts with laughter. ”Okay, yeah, that checks out. Anyway, hi, I’m Django. My friends and I are guests of Nketiah, could you point me toward where she lives?”

The elf gives Django easy to follow directions, and soon enough he figures out where he is and where he's meant to be going. When he returns arrives back at Nketiah's home, the inside, much cooler if not less humid, is a refreshing change of pace from the jungle outside. Renali gives him a friendly wave hello.

Collapsing onto a cushion, Django flops backward onto the wooden floor, letting his breath out in one big rush. "Hey Renali, how's your Ekujae?" he asks the ceiling.

"Not great," Renali shakes her head. "I know Mwangi and a bit of Elven well enough that I can vaguely follow what people are saying, but the Ekujae are usually reclusive, and my people and they do not deal with each other. I count my lucky stars I thought to learn Taldane when I decided to travel, or we wouldn't have been able to speak at all. Why do you think I decided to stay here and relax?"

"Good point," he says, then sits back up. "Our lovely hostess was vibing pretty hard on Dorrak so I figured I'd let her work and not third-wheel them but gods, was it hard getting back here. I'd hoped Elvish would get me by, but there's so little overlap in the dialect..."

He trails off, lost in thought before letting out a huge yawn. "Frankly, I'd almost rather just hang out here and maybe get a nap in before the party tonight. That hike here from the portal really takes it out of you."

Renali stretches out on the futon serving as a couch. "Not a bad idea. It will take you some time to get used to the climate, so resting will be good. It took me a few days to get used to the dry chill in Isger."

As day draws to evening, the hunting party returns to Akrivel with their hogs in tow (including whistles of respect for the party for capturing more dangerous game, although it's more muted seeing the injuries sustained), Nketiah wraps up her tour of the elven city, and Django wakes from his nap in time for the feast, which between him and Renali's minimal understanding of the language they're able to find their way to.

The hogs are set over a blazing brazier to cook, casks of both water and palm wine are brought out, and the feast begins in earnest. Most of the Ekujae are content to nod a friendly greeting to the guests of honor, with Nketiah staying close to translate for those who actually speak to you, usually with a question about Isger, your unfamiliar clothing and armor, or your presence in the area. Up above, Harriet the lion can be seen prowling the boughs of the tree, drawn by the scent of cooking meat and the sounds of festivities.

Dorrak takes food appropriate for his size and muscle mass, amounting to more than most would eat, but drinks far more water than he does wine - always wary of how he reacts to drinking too much. When questions start coming, Dorrak fields them happily, discussing any part of Avistan he can with what he gathered from the melting pot of people that is Absalom, and getting more specific about the city at the center of the world and Isger, places he's lived. About their purpose, he's quite forthright about trouble with the gates and getting Renali home, though he avoids mentioning Dahak directly.

For her part Antoinette grabs enough food for herself and a bone for Fleur. She sits with Django and tries to just quietly enjoy the feast. She directs most questions to Dorrak as he seems to be doing a good job and she'd rather be left to relax for the most part.

As the questions come, Suki likewise redirects most of them towards Dorrak, given her own lack of actual experience with Isger, or Avistan in general really. She also goes to great pains to avoid most of the questions about herself and her own background. As far as questions about their reason for being there though, she's more than happy to contribute more technical details about the issues they'd found with the Gates... though she likewise declines to mention the extra details they learned while traversing the gate.

Looking over to Antoinette, Django asks, "Hey, you okay? You're pretty quiet for someone who usually enjoys a shindig."

"Oh I'm fine. I just don't want to talk to everyone here. I only have so much energy for that," Antoinette replies.

"That's fair," Django says with a reassuring smile. "Crazy place, huh? I've never been to an elf city before and even the pictures and memories my mom showed me of Kyonin when I was a kid were nothing like this."

”This is Mwangi, not Kyonin. Elves aren’t a monoculture,” Antoinette replies. ”Not that I really need to tell you that.”

Nketiah finds Dorrak munching down and fights down a snicker. "You know, if you'd told me you were hungry earlier, we could've stopped for a snack."

When it becomes clear that Suki is from the Mwangi the questions directed at her die down, but three elven children prove the exception, carrying five bundles between them. "You," one says in rough Taldane. "You look like tough person."

Dorrak’s cheeks darken a little at the teasing and he chuckles. ”Most days that I get nearly burned alive all I have to look forward to is dried rations. This is a nice change of pace.”

"Among the many talents the Ekujae cultivate," Nketiah nods. "If I'm honest, we don't usually have meat in the Leopard Clan, so we have little cause to hunt. Your friends made quite the impression on Akosa."

”I can’t say we hunt all that often either, but I’m glad to hear they impressed,” Dorrak laughs. ”And the wargs have a natural talent for it, but they’re young and exciteable still. Teaching morals is going better than teaching discipline.”

"Yeah, I suppose that's probably true," Django says a little sheepishly. "I feel bad, not knowing much about that side of my heritage, but other than occasional wistful days where she'd tell me how beautiful Kyonin was and how much she missed it there, Mom didn't talk about home much." Sighing, Django falls into contemplative silence.

"We all have things we wish we could have experienced. Shared memories from another are just a filtered form of that. I find it best not to dwell on such things. It's far better to focus on the here and now. Then you can see the good things right in front of you," Antoinette replies. Then, after a moment's hesitation, she places her hand on Django's.

A little surprised, Django looks up, then smiles and gives her fingers a little squeeze. "Merci, Annie."

"Tough enough," Suki replies to the youths, eyeing the bundles with curiosity and a bit of suspicion.

"Isn't that the way with all children," Nketiah chuckles. "Still, you've got them surprisingly well trained, considering..." she nods to Nova, currently curled up under Dorrak's legs, very much tuckered out from the hunt.

The children confer with each other briefly in Ekujae before unwrapping their packages. Each one contains a number of peppers, some dried and some not. The leader giggles and leans in conspiratorially. "We grew spiciest peppers ever," she says. "Northfolk couldn't take, too spicy. Bet you can't either."

Dorrak chuckles and glances down affectionately at Nova. ”Everyone deserves a chance to be more than they were born to be. And, after I slew her father, that responsibility fell on me.”