I spy with my biqaj eye

[Vega]

8th Trial of Saun during Arc 718

"I might die, you know, I'm that hot. Plus I'm jus' one big freckle with pointy ears, silver blood an' colour changin' eyes." Vega said and she smiled at him as he joined her on at the rail of the Wanderlust and she grinned as he slipped his arms around her waist. "You a'right?" It was cooler here, out on the water and the Saun heat was unbearable. So, they'd decided to take the boat out for a trip and she was glad they had. It had got to the point that short shorts and a crop top felt like a full suit of furs and a cloak. "Mr Creede seems happy, don't he?" Vega was very concerned that Jonas Creede was settled. He was Arlo's father in all the ways which mattered and that made him a very important person in Vega's eyes. She was pleased that he and her father were getting on so well too. Looking out to sea, Vega was more than content as she leaned against him.

"You remember, last Saun?" Vega grinned at the memory. "It was about now that I caught up with you on Scalvoris, you know." It had been, in fact, a whole arc since then and Vega had to admit what she suspected he already knew. "I'm sorry I left, Arlo. I were well wigged out, you know? But I couldn't admit it. An' then I missed you that much, I had to go chasin' off after you." That had caused some issues with her cousins, Vega thought and the grin on her face told just how much she cared about it, too. Things with them were much better now, though, for which she was glad. But equally, she was clear. Things were better because her cousins had stopped being idiots and had realised that Arlo Creede was her choice, and their relationship made her happy. He looked out for her, looked after her and walked with her in a way that Vega had never really thought anyone would or could. So her cousins had just needed to catch up.

"Oh, Treid's toenails, I forgot." Vega said and she turned around to look at him. "Flibberty an' Gibbet, the useless twins want to learn to fight an' Reese an' Shon have asked if you an' I'll teach them." Leaning forward, Vega touched her nose to his. "Apparently, the girls like you. So they'd like you to teach em." How things had changed from Vega being immediately and completely jealous of any woman within ten foot of him. "An' the boys are smart enough to know that, if I'm there too, you won't notice that their wives are fawnin' over you." A swift kiss and she grinned. "What is it with you an' biqaj women, Arlo Creede?"

She was quite happy to lean, nestled against him and look out at the water. It was rare that either of them were quiet or still, but a shared moment was an exception to that. The feeling of his arms around her bare waist promised to end their quiet moment in a much different way, but Vega frowned suddenly. "Arlo, is that land?" squirming out of his grasp she moved to get the spyglass and handed it to him once she'd looked. "That weren't on the map, was it?" Nudging him with her elbow, she couldn't keep the delight out of her voice. "Wanna go explore?"

[Arlo Creede]

It was cooler out on the water. But cool was just a relative term when you considered that Saun, front to back and top to bottom was just damned hot. But they managed it better out here on the open seas, especially during the night breaks when they could sleep under the stars rather than under a thick planked roof. But trial or night, Arlo had begun to opt for a pair of old trousers trimmed off just above the knees, and nothing else.

And Vega? Vega, or anyone else radiated heat just by standing close by. But in her case, Arlo wasn't about to complain. "They're thick as thieves," he said, referring to his father and hers. "Makes me wonder what they're up to sometimes." He was mostly joking. But partly, not. "I'm hot," Arlo quipped when she asked how he was, but then he pulled out a narrow, cloth tube of sorts that had been hanging half in and half out of his pocket, and draped it around Vega's neck. "Made you something." She'd notice straight away that the thing was cool to the touch and more importantly would help keep her cooler as she moved about. "Made myself one too, it's stuffed with sand."

"I remember," Arlo said when Vega talked about Saun the previous arc, and he turned his eyes away from the sea, focusing on her then. "I hated it you know. Before I took up with you, but after I'd left home, I used to spend trials at a time, even a ten trial out in the wilds with just the sound of my own voice to keep me company." And Lyova's in a sense, but that was a given, and it was different. "I thought then that I'd never like it any different. But then last Saun when I came to Scalvoris without you? The silence drove me mad." Even the lack of companionable silence had been difficult, because it was only that when you actually had a companion.

There was something that he hadn't told her though, Arlo admitted then. "All this time I didn't tell you...But when you decided you weren't going to go with me to Scalvoris, I was going to stay. I was just going to wait you out because I didn't want to go without you. My mother though pushed me. She said you needed room to think about things without me under your feet. And that maybe you'd decide you wanted me with me, or you'd decide you didn't. And it was for you and not for me to decide." He'd hated it. He'd argued with his mother and sworn she was wrong. But he'd gone and hoped that Vega would come along. And she had.

But the twin wives wanted to fight? "You sure they ought be trusted with a sword, either one of them? I'm not sure I'd trust 'em not to run with a pair of scissors," he said and grinned, snorted and shook his head. He was joking, but only partly. That pair, so far as he was concerned, were a danger to themselves and others. But maybe they could be taught out of it. Maybe. He'd do it, and maybe they'd learn something in the process. Either way, he leaned down, kissed Vega and then winked when he answered, "Must be my abundance of charm that snags 'em." Biqaj women, that was.

After a while though, views of open waters, dotted by the far off spray of a whale that occasionally passed by, or the sight of leaping dolphins, just became a view of more of the same. Especially when you had something else in mind. Which Arlo did, and would have suggested had Vega not cut him short. Land? "Shouldn't be. There's nothing of any substance charted out here," he said, just as she handed him the glass. And there it was. Not an enormous landmass. But enough that it should have appeared on one of their charts. Except maps were always being updated, while those just an arc or two old became obsolete.

"What do you think?" he asked, grinning as he lowered the spyglass and got to work. Of course he wanted to explore. And the winds were favorable ones, meaning it wouldn't take long to get there. As the island grew larger in their sights, it became apparent that in the scheme of things, it was quite large. In the center was what could be referred to as a small mountain or very, very large hill, and it was covered with forest except at it's craggy peak where a tall and narrow waterfall tumbled over the top.

The rest, the lowlands and small valleys were also thick with trees, all except for a band of white beach all the way around it. "Look there," Arlo said as they were preparing to climb into their small rowboat. He was referring to a carved wooden pillar of sorts at the top of the beach near the treeline and beside a narrow trail leading into the woods. "Looks like a totem." Which meant that charted or not, this island didn't appear to be a deserted one. Or if it was now, it hadn't always been that way.

[Vega]

8th Trial of Saun during Arc 718

"Oh, gods, Arlo, that's good." Vega leaned against him and smiled in unadulterated pleasure as he draped the cool cloth tube over her neck. "Yer a right good boyfriend, you know. I'll keep you if I'm havin' a clear out. I might have to dump a few of the others though. I just 'aven't got the time for you all." What their fathers were up to, as far as Vega was concerned, was probably to do with the pair of them getting married, having fat babies and all that rubbish. Being responsible, making commitments. That was the not-so-subtle messages Vega got from her father who had taken to wondering which of the three married nephews would be producing offspring first. It would almost be like being a grandfather he told her. Vega's response? It had better been damn close, because it was as close as he was getting.

Arlo had heard it, though, had been there while Joq'an had wondered about whether they might ever get married, have children. Vega was clear and told him plain and simple. She didn't want any of that. She wanted just what she had right now, thanks very much and that was her standing with the man she loved and who loved her, his arms wrapped around her and she was happy. Why her father had to go and try and complicate something simple, she did not know. But when she spoke to him, Arlo replied, speaking of last Saun and how he'd hated the silence, something which he thought he'd always like. She met his gaze, her eyes green flecked through with gold as she looked at him. "I missed you, an' I kept tellin' myself it was because we were like siblings. Best friends. But when I saw you there, wanderin' towards yer camp?" She shrugged slightly, not sure how else to put it other than to say, simply, "I knew I was home."

But he'd been going to stay? Vega looked at him in surprise at that, she'd had no idea. His mother had been right, though. She needed that time to understand some things - and not even really about him. No, she'd needed that time to learn about her. "I visited her, a couple of times." Vega had brought preserves and letters from home for him, so that wasn't a surprise. "She was always right nice, we jus' chatted about stuff. The last time, though, the basket with the jams an' stuff, an' the letter? That was all ready on the table when I got there." It was funny, Vega said, because she hadn't told Mrs Creede that she was making any kind of decision, hadn't mentioned even the possibility of moving on. She hadn't even told her that she was going to be calling by. Yet, there was that basket, filled with fresh made preserves and letters. "She was a remarkable woman," Vega said and her hand moved to his cheek. "Jus' like you're a remarkable man."

The way his arms tightened around her, his breath on her neck changing pace just slightly, Vega knew what was on Arlo's mind and she was in exactly the same place, except for that sudden sighting of land. He more or less leapt into action and Vega laughed, grabbing hold of his arm. "Hang on there, you. Lets pack some stuff, you crazy man." Weapons, of course, but a first aid kit and climbing stuff. She'd stopped wondering if they'd need food and just brought it. Arlo was like a plague of locusts all on his own.

They were getting into the rowboat, though, when Arlo spotted something. "There must 'ave been people livin' here at some point, you reckon?" She was watching forward, though and she frowned. There was no sign of anyone, not from this distance, but Vega didn't entirely trust it. As they rowed over to the island, she wondered about that, but then they got to the white beach and, while he secured the rowboat, Vega knelt and examined the ground. "Yeah," she said, frowning slightly. "There's been people walkin' on here. Barefood, but adults. Within the last.. I dunno, ten trials?" That didn't guarantee that they were still here, of course, but there was no consensus in where they were heading. Some were going up the beach, others down it and yet others were meandering across it.

Looking down at the sand, she considered. "It's well hard to judge, but there's at least thirty or forty folks here. An' no children." She grinned at him, then, a sudden and beaming smile. "If we've got to free them all, I'm sayin' no or not tellin' the parentals, Arlo. My Papa's eyebrows can't get any higher, his brain'll start leakin' out of his ears."

[Arlo Creede]

"It's what I live for," Arlo teased her when Vega praised his boyfriend skills. "But it's good you'll keep me around," he'd added before the both of them had spotted the small landmass. "I had ulterior motives after all. The heat makes you prickly." It did, she'd have to admit, just as it tended to do to him. "The cost of that bit of cloth and the sand, was nels well spent."

Lucky for Arlo, unlike Vega's father who was less subtle about his desire for grandchildren, he hadn't once heard Jonas mention it. At first he'd just assumed that the subject was never on his stepfather's mind. But then lately, Arlo had noticed the older man had taken up wood carving. Things that would seem more appealing to a young child than an adult. It made him suspicious, and rightfully so probably, that Jonas was thinking along those lines. Thus, Arlo blamed Jo'qan. He might just be a bad influence.

When Vega told him about her time with his mother after he'd left Rharne that last time, he didn't seem surprised. The basket, the letter, the preserves, that was. "She always knew and sensed things that I thought she couldn't have," he'd said. "I'd confront her and she'd say, oh, a little bird told me, or the breeze whispered it in my ear. I figure it's a mother thing," Arlo concluded and shrugged. "Or maybe a woman thing." Whichever the case, they had an uncharted island to explore and he was keen to row over to its shores, with or without sufficient supplies.

Vega was right though. Between the two of them, they never knew what might happen. At the very least they'd need food, weapons and even camping supplies. But the island must have had inhabitants at some point or other, he said when Vega asked. Who would have put the carved post there after all? Either that, or it had been put there by someone sailing past. Someone like them, but he didn't think so. "Maybe it's still inhabited," he'd said as they reached the shore, climbed out of the rowboat and pulled it up and onto the sand.

Once he made sure their boat wouldn't get washed out to sea when the tide rolled in, Arlo joined Vega and looked over the footprints she'd found. "Sailors don't usually wander around in their bare feet," he figured, and frowned at the nature of the prints. She was right. They were recent in the scheme of things. "It's weird though. That many people and no kids?" Good point though, he told her with a grin as he stood up and brushed the sand from his knees. If there were kids involved, they'd need a pact. No telling her father. Or for that matter, his own.

"You want to follow and see where they went?" Arlo asked, gesturing to the path leading into the forest. And he knew what the answer would be. Of course she'd want to. Besides, it was much cooler once they'd left the beach and entered the forest. Such a relief from the stifling heat of Saun that it would have been much too easy to treat the outing as a lark, and let their guards down as a result. But both Vega and Arlo knew better. After all, if they were to run into hostile savages, it wouldn't be the first time now would it?

They'd gone a couple stones' throw into the forest when Arlo paused, his bow in his hand but his eyes on something at the edge of the path. "Look there," he said to Vega, and pointed at a flat stone that had foreign looking symbols carved into it. "If we're looking for life I guess we're on the right path." The footprints they'd seen on the beach after all weren't nearly as noticeable there in the forest. But there were other signs. Broken off twigs, crushed leaves and so on.

But still, the path wound on, deeper and deeper into the forest until up ahead they could hear the trickle of water. And then they'd spot it. Movement up ahead through the trees. People, mostly dark haired ones moving around some sort of settlement. A strange sort all together. Dwellings that didn't seem to be crafted from wood or clay, but each one carved into the rock face of a high bluff that stretched from the forest floor for a hundred feet or more. "Should we?" Arlo whispered to Vega. Risk approaching the natives, he meant.

[Vega]

8th Trial of Saun during Arc 718

The heat made her prickly? Vega considered it for a moment and wondered whether she should get irritated at him for that obvious affront against her good character, but mostly she couldn't be bothered and besides, he was right. It was too hot for scrapping with Arlo, she was quite happy to be cooler than she had been and also to share a moment with him. Their fathers both were in this grandchild and picket fence idea and Vega resisted the urge to shudder at the very thought of it. Yet, the facts were clear to her; if it was what he wanted, she'd be happy. So long as they were together, she was content. Not that she was telling Arlo Creede that any arc soon. Besides, he already knew.

However, Vega's eyebrow shot up somewhat and she spoke with a very genuine tone of surprise, "a woman thing? You're a right pillock you are, you know that, yeah? The breeze has never whispered nothin' in my ear an' the only little bird is 'alf flunny an' caustic as that stuff I'm not supposed to clean yer pots an' pans with." And never would she do so again, she promised. His enthusiasm was such that he'd have thrown the pair of them over the side to swim if it was their only option and supplies were the last thing on his mind. As she was grabbing what they needed and putting it in the small rowboat, she observed a disconcerting fact. "You know, I've become the sensible one of the two of us. The planner, the one who gets us prepared an' stuff." As her hands paused in their movements, she turned a beaming smile to him and her eyes swirled blue in amusement. "We are so stuffed."

Once ashore, his comment on sailors not walking around barefoot provoked a nod from her, "an' there'd be more signs of boats an' stuff. I think there's people here, Arlo." People, but not small people - or maybe it was just that children weren't allowed on the beach or something, Vega wondered. Either way, it remained between them and they gave Jo'qan no more ammunition than he already had. With a slightly grim nod of her head, they went into the treeline. Arlo did a good job at asking, but Vega knew him too well ~ he was itching to explore and just making sure that she was too. She'd been worried about how much he'd changed since Cassion's mark and that she'd be left behind; she suspected that Arlo's checking with her was at least partly in order to reassure her, but there was no need to. Not any more, because she'd worked it out. She hadn't told him that, of course, but that was fine. He'd manage.

It would have been easy to think that this was a nice, quiet stroll but something about this whole thing seemed off to Vega from the get-go. Who walked barefoot on the beach without their children? Who lived in the butt-end of nowhere and yet stuck a big totem thingie up? No, she didn't quite feel like this was a stroll in the woods and so she was cautious. Glancing at him, though, she saw the glint in his eyes and she knew that he was feeling that rush, that excitement which they both felt but for him was so wound up and bound up in worship. As they walked and shared a glance, Vega felt a swell of love which she'd be hard pressed to explain to herself, let alone ever tell him. Which was also fine, because he knew. Or if he didn't, he should. "You a'right there, muscles?"

The stone on the path he found was interesting, though and Vega examined it. It had strange symbols on it, carved into it and that, coupled with all the signs of movement here were definite indicators of this island being inhabited. There were still no signs of children, though that was harder to spot here, but then they saw what was a truly odd settlement. Vega watched for a moment and nodded. There were people, adults all and she frowned. "There's still no children, Arlo," she whispered. As for whether they should go forward or not, Vega grinned at him and that was all the answer he was getting. "You do the talkin', though." To Vega's mind there was a simple truth. "We can both agree that I'm prob'ly not the best one to start contact with a group of folks. If I don't bamboozle them completely, then I'll end up irritatin' someone." Or getting irritated by someone, which was almost certainly worse.

As they approached, though, and whilst observing before, they could make out that there were a lot of men, they seemed to outnumber the women two to one at least. They also seemed to be more in charge, the women more subdued and quiet, the men more likely to be directing things. As soon as Arlo and Vega stepped out of the treeline, there was a whistle from the treeline along from them - a bird call to all intents and purposes, but the males turned and immediately bows were pulled, arrows notched and pointing towards them. The women who had been out there, in sight, scurried away except for a couple who also turned bows to the pair. Vega lifted her hands, a gesture of non-violence. One of the men, a large and muscular man with skin weathered from arcs of working outdoors stepped forward. He had no weapons, it seemed.

"Who are you? Who sent you?!" His accent was thick and broad and he spoke exclusively to Arlo.

[Arlo Creede]

"Yes, a woman thing," Arlo had insisted when Vega denied it. And he was holding fast to it, even though he'd been joking and no matter that it was, as his mother had liked to say sometimes, an old wives' tale. "Jonas always said that my mother knew things that no one else did, she heard what nobody did, eyes on the back of her head and on and on." Arlo had even asked her once, when he was very little, maybe three or four, because she always seemed to know the things he'd done, that he was sure she couldn't have known. "She confirmed it," Arlo said, bumping Vega's shoulder with a grin. "Little bird. Likely a woman."

Off on the beach though, there'd been few signs of civilization, except for that totem, which was carved with figures Arlo hadn't recognized...except that while the specifics of the symbols were unfamiliar, in style at least they reminded him of the ancient drawings he'd seen on the ruin walls back on Immortal's Tongue in Scalvoris. "I think it has something to do with worship maybe," he said as they'd passed the totem. Or it was placed there to warn trespassers off maybe.

At any rate it wasn't long after they'd entered the trees that Arlo had paused and pulled a small string of beads from his pocket. Leather strand, strung with shells, small stones, bits of metal and shine, and he draped the thing on a tree limb and left behind a silent prayer to Cassion. If they were, him and Vega, discovering a people who'd had little to no contact with the world outside their island? Then this was a discovery, an adventure in Cassion's name.

"Of course. You?" he asked curiously as Vega dropped down to study the carved stone along the path. He was more than alright. He was on an adventure with her, wasn't he? And when she stood back up and they considered whether or not to carry on ahead? And of course they would. "Don't you think it's strange there don't seem to be any children?" he asked. "I mean sure, they could just be very protective of them and don't let them wander about. But if they haven't got any and aren't having any...Well as a society they're not going to last very long."

As for who did the talking when they first made contact with the people here, well, that could go a number of ways and not all of them good. Who knew? He was as likely to inadvertently offend someone as Vega was, though he wasn't going to deny that she could be a little prickly at times. He liked her that way. But what neither of them wanted was for these people to take umbrage with them and fill them up with arrows as a not so agreeable welcoming gesture.

Still, it was what Vega wanted so Arlo took the lead. And it was interesting to say the least. From what he could see, lots more men than women. Sure, maybe the rest of the women were indoors or off somewhere. But if they weren't, and this was the usual, it would explain why there'd be fewer children that you'd ordinarily expect. But none at all? Hardly. He'd spent enough time in the wilds to recognize any number of animal calls, bird or otherwise. And enough time to know when any particular call was not a bird or other animal. It was a signal, and with a glance at Vega, he spread out his hands like her.

It wasn't to say that he didn't have weapons on him and at the ready. He did, and his pistol crossbow at least was loaded and ready to go. But the last thing he wanted to do, was give these people any funny ideas about him and Vega being a threat. "Nobody sent us," Arlo said, and turned his hands palms up, so the other man could see that he wasn't hiding anything. But while the man wasn't armed with any obvious weapons, that didn't mean that they should let their guards down. "We were sailing nearby and saw the island and we figured we'd stop off, explore a little."

"I'm Arlo, and this is Vega," he said, gesturing towards Vega herself. The man's eyes turned on Vega, studying her from head to toe before commenting, "Looks strong. This is your woman? She a good cook?" His woman? Arlo nearly snorted aloud, but did an admirable job of suppressing it, along with the grin. "Yes," he confirmed. "She is." After all, it appeared to be the way of these people and it wasn't the time to offend. He just hoped no one challenged him over her.

In either case, the man looked over Vega again, as if with a new eye and seemed to consider whether or not either of them should be trusted. Apparently he decided it was worth finding out, because he gestured towards a gathering spot in the clearing and indicated they ought to join them. A crowd was gathering after all, curious about the two visitors. Even some of the women were venturing out in the open. As for whether or not Vega could cook? Well, Arlo figured he'd let her field that question.

[Vega]

8th Trial of Saun during Arc 718

When he said of course he was alright and asked if she was, Vega looked up at him. "Never better, she said and meant entirely. Standing up, she glanced at the beads he'd hung and shot a sassy grin towards him. "Tell him I said hi," she said, softly, touching her hand to his just briefly. The glowing light around their arms intensified as their arms grew closer together, the armbands symbolising their bond, from her Qylios mark. It had surprised her, that mark. Xiur, she had spoken to all her life but Qylios had not been someone she'd been taught about, yet since the marking, she'd read some of Arlo's books and she had to admit, she was very pleased and proud of the acknowledgement of the Immortal. Either way, her fingers just touched his briefly and she smiled, saying no more than that.

But children, or the lack thereof was odd, she agreed. Unnerving, too. "It's not givin' me the wiggins or nothin', but it ain't right," But then, Vega considered and came to a conclusion. "Maybe they keep 'em in cages till they're not so squirmy an' stuff" Sounded sensible to her. She didn't like children and would prefer not to be anywhere near them, frankly. She didn't like children, they didn't like her, all was good. And whilst he was right, she said, that their society wouldn't last very long, didn't change the fact that, while it lasted it would be quieter and happier.

Of that, she was sure.

Arriving, though, there were a lot of people, pointing bows and such and, had they the time Vega would have been quick to point out that, whilst they were equally likely to inadvertently offend, she would be advertently offending too. So, she maintained it was best it was him. Which, as it turned out, suited the inhabits of the place just fine and Vega bristled next to him. The man looked down at the glowing armbands between the two of them and seemed to come to some conclusion. Judging by the slight grumble from the back of Vega's throat, it was not a conclusion she liked. However, she ignored it and addressed the question, "Well, I can cook, but..." The man nodded and turned back to Arlo.

"Your woman talks a lot. But you are not safe here alone, you will not be able to protect her." Vega made a strange choking sound, which she turned into a cough. "Sorry," she said, her eyes an unusual mix of bright blue and deep red. The man frowned. "Her eyes change colour. We have seen men with this, but do not trade with women." The very notion seemed ludicrous to him. Yet, for all that he spoke to Arlo, for all that he said that Vega talked a lot, he smiled at her and there was an air of respect. Vega was bristling, there was no doubt, but she held her tongue. "The Aer'kal, they have been raiding and they will not respect bonded mates." He motioned to the glowing armbands. "They are more than us, but we are stronger." He looked at Arlo and considered and then, he waved one hand in an almost-dismissive gesture and the people around him lowered their weapons. "You are welcome here, under our law. If you raise a hand against one of us, it is against us all and we will kill you and take your woman as our own," He stated it calmly and clearly and turned to Vega as he continued. "If that happens, she will be well treated, but must become a woman of our people."

Cooking was one thing, but that was too much for Vega and, no matter what Arlo said, she responded. "Right, well, just so's we're clear. Good luck with that, cos there won't be any bother on our part, but if there was bother, then bother for him is bother for me. An' that, Chuckles, is bother for you." The man looked at her in some amazement, and turned to speak to Arlo, but Vega could hold it no more. "An' don't go talkin' to him about me. He's not the boss of me. These mean, among our people, that we're equal. Mates, bonded an' all the rest of it. Whatever you want to call it, I'm with him an' he's with me. But there'll be no meek an' mild an' under my law, you raise a hand against him, an' I'll be the one doin' the killin'. An' don't look all shocked an' horrified, there's women warriors here, look, she's doin' her best not to grin." It was true, one of the few women with a weapon was having a hard time holding back a smile and the glance the man shot her was both exasperated and fond. "An' for the record, I can't cook I'm awful at it." He raised an eyebrow and Vega met his gaze.

"You should come, then, and be welcome. Arlo and Vega. I am Haverm, This," he motioned to the woman who had been biting back a smile as Vega harangued him, "is Men'la. My bondmate and mother of my children." The woman in question looked at Haverm and bowed her head, just slightly, then nodded to the pair of them before turning and walking back. They might notice that the women all made their way to one building. Haverm, however, gestured for the two of them to come with him. "I will show you around. You may stay here as many trials as you wish, but we ask you to contribute. The Aer'kal, they raid and attempt to take our women, our food. Any who are here, on our ground, they will be attacked by the Aer'kal. And they would seek an unusual looking and fierce woman such as yours." Vega snorted.

"Unusual lookin'," Vega grumbled as they walked and Haverm looked at her in some surprise. "Jus' what every girl wants to hear. Unusual lookin'." Haverm turned to Arlo and, just for a moment, he looked utterly confused.

"I will show you around," he said and moved to do just that.

[Arlo Creede]

"You mean like cribs?" Arlo had shot back with a grin, back in the forest where Vega had reasoned that maybe, just maybe, the mysterious people inhabiting this island were actually keeping their children in cages for the first little bit. Wasn't that the point of barred beds for babies after all? Stop them wriggling out and wandering off when you weren't looking? Put them there so they wouldn't follow their parents around and annoy them? He'd never wanted any of his own, but he figured if someone was going to subject themselves to young children on a trial by trial basis, a bed with bars was the way to go.

Now that they were confronted with the very people who they'd been tracking, belatedly Arlo realized that he probably should have been clearer when questioned. It would have been better to have said, yes, she's my woman. No, she cannot cook. But was the man looking at the glowing bands on their arms, those things that bound them, him to her, more surely than any wedding band could have done? Or was the man trying to decide whether or not Vega had good child bearing hips. Considering the imbalance of men to women, after all, it had already occurred to him that this could be the reason they hadn't seen any signs of children. Well he wasn't sharing, that was for sure.

You have no idea, he thought silently when the man said that Vega talked a lot. Arlo knew she was getting wound up however and resisting the temptation to grin, he merely shook his head. "I can protect her, and she's more than able to hold her own as well." But they didn't trade with women? And who wouldn't respect bonded mates? So far as that was concerned, Arlo opted to let this man assume that it was what the glowing bands signified. After all, in a sense they did.

The invitation to join them, in and of itself, was a welcome one. But the warning? Not so much. "We mean no harm, but anyone who looks twice or thinks of harming her, I'll make them regret it. That's only if she doesn't get to them first," he said, though his tone was friendly enough. He still meant it sincerely however. But then of course Vega said it better, and in much more colorful terms than him. "I'm the cook," was the only thing he said when Vega was done, and the poor man looked his way with raised eyebrows.

Eyeing the woman at Haverm's side, Arlo gave her a nod of respect and then asked a question that had been on his mind for some time. And Vega's as well. "The mother of your children...So there are children after all," he said. "We haven't seen any signs of them since we set foot on the island and we were wondering if there were any." Haverm frowned as if he wasn't sure how, or even if to answer. And then? "There are few women of a proper age, therefore few children. We keep them safe. Safe from sight, safe from harm." Presumably, Arlo thought with a glance at Vega, they might be in that building where all the woman had gone.

"It is the same for the Aer'kal, but worse. We would not take their children and make them ours. They would not respect the same ways in return." It didn't seem like much of a life for a kid, Arlo observed. And Haverm agreed, it seemed, except that they did what was needed to keep their children safe. At any rate, with the exception of that building where Arlo figured the children must be, it didn't take him and Vega long to be shown around the camp. And then? Well somehow he found himself volunteering to prepare a meal for them all, so long as they had the supplies available.

It appeared that in spite of living on a fairly small island, these people had access to a wide variety of goods. Including food. Obviously there was plenty of fish, and produce that would have been grown on the island. But there were things that they'd have had to have gotten through trade, like spices, oils and the like. Made his job easy and while he gathered up what he needed with a little help from the women, he called out to Havem..."It sounds like its something of a feud you've got going with these Aer'kai. It been going a while? What's it about?" he asked.

[Vega]

8th Trial of Saun during Arc 718

When Arlo had suggested cribs, Vega had replied, quite seriously, that the trouble with those was that they only worked until the small things started crawling or worse still, walking. She suggested that this was a design flaw and put forward the proposal that they should be redesigned to work until the child was at least ten or twelve. "Or, in the case of boys," she said, with a teasing expression, "until they've learned to stop swingin' their legs while sittin' on trees or maybe till they can do somethin' useful. Like cook or clean or that thing you do when... never mind." She blushed slightly, a rare thing for Vega but quite obviously her mind had wandered in entirely the wrong direction and, instead, she concentrated on where they were going and ignored him determinedly for the rest of the time finding this lot of folks.

But once they got there, she got out four words - about cooking, of all things - and then he turned away and spoke to Arlo. Vega was very aware of her own limitations as a mortal being and thus was incredibly proud of herself for not pounding this dweeb into the ground just on principle, but she showed massive, monumental restraint and said nothing for maybe three quarters of a bit.

It bordered on a miracle.

Once she'd told him, though, in no uncertain terms that her and Arlo were together he wasn't looking after her and she wasn't going to be simpering around after him, Haverm seemed to be completely bamboozled by her. He glanced at Vega as she spoke to his wife, "You a'right, Men'la? I hope this one's a hands on sort of father." Haverm raised an eyebrow but didn't ask because he was rather afraid she would answer and then Men'la turned and with a returned nod to Arlo and a smile, she too went into the building where Haverm confirmed, the children were. When Arlo spoke about what would happen if anyone harmed her, Vega muttered to him quietly. "Don't you bloody start." It was good natured, though, teasing him. Mostly. "And thanks for not agreein' with him when he said I talk a lot too," that she said in her usual tone and Haverm had the good sense, or good grace, to look a little uncomfortable. A few trill to pause and then Vega added. "Aloud, anyhow."

Once they'd looked around the area with him, Arlo's offer to cook the meal was something of a surprise to all concerned - except Vega of course. Haverm said, quite genuinely, "only women cook here. I have never tasted food cooked by a man." Vega rolled her eyes and then realised she had. One of the women approached her and touched her arm, causing Vega to turn. The young woman was looking at the redhead nervously. "Would you like to see the women's tent? You will sleep there tonight?" Vega smiled at her and answered "Sure, I'd love to see it. But knickers I'll be sleepin' there. Me an' him'll set up together." The young woman said nothing but gestured. Vega turned to Arlo, "I'm gonna leave you an' yer band of helpers to it. Try not to get too ... " she gestured around almost helplessly and then she shrugged. "Jus' behave yerself."

The women were friendly, helpful and there were some good cooks here, but none at his level. He would find that they did what he asked them to without question - like they were very used to being obedient and they had an air of that about them. Yet they also teased and joked, and included him in it. Their place in society was specific, but they were not mistreated and they were happy. They joked with him and Arlo would discover that there seemed to be no sense of any sort of notion of a personal question being out of bounds. "So she is your bondmate?" one of the younger ones asked, gesturing towards where Vega was. "How many others did you have to fight for her?" It transpired that the women here saw their own worth - and had a hierarchy - based on how many men had fought for them. To have a wife, here, was a sign of power and strength and a man had to to prove that he was able to protect and provide for his woman and their children. The number of children a woman had very much added to the prestige and station of both the man and the woman involved.

When Arlo asked about the feud, though, Haverm answered very seriously indeed. "They speak blasphemy over who created us. Our stories tell of the Eternal Ones, the Great Beings who created all the races. The Eternal Avant created us, and we know this. But the Aer'kal, they say it is the Eternal Vanthar. They speak blasphemy and we will not subscribe to their superstitions!" He sighed. "It is said that once we were one tribe. But it is long ago now and we have fought for too long." The women said nothing, but there was a sense of them almost not quite agreeing with Haverm.

Meanwhile, Vega was in hell. Or, so was the thought which went through her head as she entered the small building which housed the children. This lot weren't dying out, she thought to herself. There were at least a dozen of them, ranging in size and Vega resisted the urge, as small and hopeful eyes turned to her, to run for the door.

[Arlo Creede]

"In the case of boys?" Arlo had asked, a raised brow and an expression of mock offense on his face, when Vega had singled out males in particular for being the troublesome ones. "Now I distinctly remember overhearing a conversation my mother was having, when I was little," he'd told Vega. "She was talking to another woman who was in the family way, and she was saying it was better to raise a boy than a girl, since it was the girls that were the sneaky and contrary ones." Gospel, so far as Arlo was concerned, because it was his own mother who'd said it.

But there in the middle of this strange tribe of people, Arlo could relate to Haverm. So far as being bamboozled by Vega, that was. But he was also luckier in that sense, than the tribe's leader was. To love Vega was to be confounded by her, and the same was true in reverse. "What makes you think I don't agree?" Arlo whispered back, amused, snorting quietly. Talkativeness indeed. But teasing or no, it was understood between them in no uncertain terms. Was anyone to harm her, or even threaten to harm her, Arlo would end them.

Where he came from, anyone could cook, Arlo was quick to tell Haverm. In fact, there were some who said that it was men who were the better cooks by far. He couldn't swear by it of course, but he did alright. And in Cassion's name no less. It was a given in fact. Before he even began planning the menu. Before he began gathering up what he'd need, Arlo quietly devoted the process to the Immortal he worshiped. A feast for many, offered up in His name.

Of course he wasn't sure he was happy with the idea of Vega being out of his sight. But he'd have to trust that she'd be alright. Whether she'd be happy or not was another story, since presumably she'd be surrounded by small children. "Don't you worry about me behaving myself," he warned her. "You just don't come out of there with any funny ideas about starting a brood of our own, yeah?" Of course the chances of that happening, he knew, were slim to none.

According to the women, not only did they have plenty of vegetables, herbs, spices and even grains on hand due to trading, there was also a variety of meat available. The tribe's men were good hunters, and they'd rigged up accommodations in an underground cave for preserving and storing their meat. There was a good sized stag, already skinned, gutted and cleaned, that would do nicely cooked in a pit, like a hog, and accompanied by loaves of bread and root vegetables.

"She is," he'd remarked when the women asked about Vega, and was she his bondmate. And when one asked how many he'd fought for her? Arlo didn't give it a second thought when he said dryly, "At least a dozen by now. Maybe more." Of course he was only partly joking, and it wouldn't seem like it at all. True, there'd been no physical scuffles over Vega's honor. But there'd been plenty of men who'd looked her way, only to earn pointed looks from Arlo that would warn them away. It counted, he was sure, and little did he know that under the current circumstances, it might just be the best answer he could have given.

So...these hostilities between the group and a neighboring tribe, this feud, it was about religion? Well that figured, Arlo thought when Haverm explained. Jonas had once said that too many disagreements sprung from two topics more than any others. Politics and or religion. "You mean the originals?" he asked when Haverm referenced the eternal ones. "Or the Immortals?" But no, definitely not the Immortals. "So this split is based on a religious disagreement," he said, frowning as he noted the expressions of several of the women.

Seemed some of them might consider that such a feud as that was a little bit silly, but didn't want to say so explicitly. "Surely there's some way to sort it out?" he suggested as he worked at the fire. "Some way to find a meeting of minds. For instance, that totem on the beach. It's yours? Did your people place it there? How long ago? Are there any temples on the island...Yours, or theirs? How old are they? Did you put them there? Or are they older than that?"

Meanwhile, for Vega? If she'd been contemplating making a run for it, and turned around, she'd find that her escape route had been cut off by maybe the smallest of all the children in the room. Large, round eyes stared up at her. Pure innocence and curiousity, a tentative and shy smile. Vega was doomed. The woman who'd take her there, smiled as she herself picked up a young one to balance on her hip. "You have good hips," the woman said and smiled as she looked Vega over. "Good for lots of children, which will bring honor to your man. You haven't begun making them yet?"

And meanwhile, nearly a dozen small ones had begun to close in. Shy, tentative, but also eager. They reached out to touch Vega's flesh, which was paler than theirs and freckled. A few stared with fascination at her hair, her eyes. The oldest ones asked what the little ones also wanted to know, but couldn't say for themselves. "Why do your eyes change color? What are those spots all over you? Why do you have them? If we touch them will we have them too? Are they a pox? Your hair is like the sun...Is it hot? Can I touch it?"