Re: A Time To Heal - Makshim, Shiezin 119 4A

[Kara Winters]

"I'm fine with bees, most breeds aren't aggressive," Hikaru replied, "And as far as I know I don't have any bad reactions to the venom..."

He found around here it was less likely anyone would though, it seemed to be more common in cities in Gaia.

[Nara-pyon]

"No one has been stung here," Wren grinned, "so you should be safe."

Since they were in there anyways, she headed towards the rows of plants that required tending and knelt down to check them out. It looked as though some of it was ready for harvesting, and she made a metal note to come back later, after she had shown Huron around.

[Kara Winters]

It was quite unique to have so much variety at their finger tips like this. Since the environment could be controlled, some of this was probably also growing faster than it normally would.

He especially took a look at the herbs and spices that were being grown while Wren was checking on the plants that could be harvested.

[Nara-pyon]

Wren brought him a bit more quickly through the next two gardens - temperate and dry, and tropical and rainy - but they were distracted in the final garden, the one with tropical warmth but not as much moisture, when they reached the now enormous tree that Lamruil and Mirania had been calling their home for quite some time.

"This tree was grown magically, at least to start with," Wren explained to Huron as they approached it. "I don't know if you've been to Quir at all, but the trees there are still larger than this one, and the people there make their homes up in the canopy. We've done the same for Mirania and Lamruil here."

She looked at Huron curiously. "Have you had a chance to meet them yet?"

[Kara Winters]

"No... I don't think so," Hikaru replied.

He had been to Quir, no one minded if he looked for plants over there. Though it had been a while and he couldn't quite remember what was the last place he had been to in Quir.

"So they have a large tree house then? To grow it that size is quite a feat."

[Nara-pyon]

"I think the people there care for the trees more than anything but their own people," Wren murmured with a smile. "I've certainly never seen anything like it."

She headed towards the bottom of the great tree, cupped her hands around her mouth, and called upwards, "Anybody home?"

There was the briefest of pauses before Mirania's voice came back: "Come on up!"

Wren grinned and gestured towards the narrow planks that formed the spiral stairway around the tree's trunk. "Up for it?" she asked him lightheartedly.

[Kara Winters]

"Always," Hikaru laughed as he made the trek up the stairs.

It was quite an impressive build, once at the top of the stairs he surveyed this place he was in.

[Nara-pyon]

It was a long trek indeed, and fairly steep, but it was a trek that Wren was accustomed to, so when they arrived at the top she felt as good as usual.

Mirania was on the lowest level of the tree home, sweeping the floor. She set the broom aside when Wren and Huron reached the level, though, and grinned at them. "Well, well, it's been a while since we've had visitors here. Care for something to drink? Or are you all right?"

"I wouldn't mind some water," Wren nodded, leaning against the railing that surrounded the flet. "Thanks."

Mirania nodded. "Of course. And you?" she added to Huron. "By the way, I'm Mirania."

[Kara Winters]

"I'm Huron," Hikaru introduced his character, "And water would be wonderful."

It wasn't so bad, but it was still quite a climb and water would always be a good thing no matter what.

It was impressive how much like the tree homes of Quir this place was. If he didn't know any better, and they were in a forest, he would have thought that they were there.

[Nara-pyon]

Mirania grinned. "Pleasure to meet you, Huron. And yes, I'll grab you both some. Feel free to take a seat."

She gestured towards the pile of cushions on the simple woven rug on the other side of the flet before turning to another ladder that brought her up to a higher level of the home.

With a nod, Wren led Huron to the cushions and adjusted a few of them to make a comfortable seat for herself.

"Sometimes I wonder if it isn't easier to simply climb the tree rather than use the steps," she confided to Huron as she settled in. "I'm still pretty new to it, Mirania just taught me earlier this year, but with the right equipment it's a lot of fun."

[Kara Winters]

Taking a cushion and sitting himself in a kneeling position, Hikaru thought about that comment.

"I suppose it would be far more direct," he admitted, "But at least you would never been out of shape climbing those steps. A bit different than just walking from point A to point B."

He had never climbed a tree this big. He had climbed trees before as sleeping in them (with a very tightly secure hammock) was safer than being on the ground.

[Nara-pyon]

"Very different," Wren grinned, recognizing the Gaian letters for what they were. She didn't comment on it, however, though she did add, "That's not to say that climbing wouldn't also keep you in shape, especially the way the Quirians go about it."

She tipped her head slightly and looked at him curiously. "Have you been to Quir? Seen the way they climb trees there?"

[Kara Winters]

"Hmmm... once or twice," Huron admitted, "It's not a place I go often because of the countries I would have to cut through. This country and it's allies is fine, there's a good long history. Especially with Earth Elves, and I can take a ship to Caras Galadhon. Going beyond that is a bit more difficult...."

He admitted this fully, he had to be really careful and keep his senses open for anyone who might be nearby. It was his curiousity that drove him the first two centuries he lived here that caused him to visit everywhere he could even if was a bad idea.

[Nara-pyon]

Wren nodded thoughtfully. "Yes ... I can see that. Valar know, we wouldn't have managed it safely on our own."

She paused, thinking, her brow furrowing slightly. How were all of the countries connected? She had looked at some of Kyrie's and Earendil's maps, but she wasn't sure she could remember it all correctly.

"If ... I'm not mistaken," she said slowly, "it ... should be possible to go from Shiezin to ... Wolsic to ... or is it closed off by Poleria?"

She chewed the inside of her cheek, trying to remember, but at last all she could do was shake her head. "Sorry. I'm afraid I don't remember."

[Kara Winters]

Hikaru closed his eyes as he tried to remember himself the route he would have to take to get to Quir safely.

"You could go to Wolsic, but that's not the best way. The best would go to Shiezin's trading ally Keliac, Keliac has a strong naval trading alliance with Illsbruic. Illsbruic is another country who has good relations with their neighbours, but probably because they can afford to. They are the only country that has a trading agreement with Quir, otherwise the country is closed to all others, and they don't have access to waterways to make a good navel trade. So if you want to enter Quir with little hassle, Illsbruic is the way to go."

It was clear that Hikaru took advantage of the trading routes and country alliances whenever he could. It took him decades to figure out who was on good terms with who, and where he could get safe passage without having to hide himself.

[Nara-pyon]

Wren was confused by his explanation as it was very different from her own experiences, and she had the feeling that she was forgetting several important somethings (but then again, they had taken a rather roundabout route), but unless there were a map of the continent in front of her, she wouldn't be certain of anything.

But then Mirania was back, two small flasks tied to her waist. She skipped the last several rungs of the ladder and hopped down to the flet where Wren and Huron were resting, then held the flasks out to them.

"So, Huron," she said once they each had a flask, leaning against the railing, "you're a friend of Kyrie?"

[Kara Winters]

Taking a sip of his flask, Hikaru nodded at this question.

"Yes, I met her a long time ago while passing through this now," he explained.

Which is also how he got to know her husband as well.

[Nara-pyon]

Mirania laughed softly. "So more or less how I met her, but in reverse," she grinned. "I met Kyrie when she was passing through Quir. Oh, centuries ago now, probably close to seven hundred years or so."

They had been friends for a very long time.

"So you must be the one who was helping out in the clinic yesterday," she added. "I'd heard that there was someone new helping out. I'm afraid I wasn't in there at all, my limitations as pertaining to helping out with such things is staying in the kitchen and washing and preparing things."

Well, she could do some very basic first aid for accidents, but poisonings and illnesses? Forget it.

[Kara Winters]

"Yes, I happened to have been in town the day that Kyrie contacted Ahkshi, in fact I was having dinner with him!" Hikaru laughed, "Imagine my surprise to hear something coming from the bathroom mirror. My specialty is medicine, which goes along with poisons so when Kyrie asked I agreed to help."

He was quite grateful for his timing, if he had arrived earlier he might have left town and be none the wiser.

[Nara-pyon]

Mirania smiled and shook her head incredulously. "I still don't know if I can quite believe that people can talk to each other over distances through pieces of glass," she laughed.

"I do it quite regularly with my father," Wren grinned. "Perhaps you should come with me sometime when I talk to him again. Then you'd believe it's possible."

"Oh, I know that it is," Mirania protested, "but knowing and believing are two different things. I mean, when you were in the mercenary camp, I watched you, too - but it's still incredible to me."

[Kara Winters]

"Says the person who lives in a tree, in a garden that is located in a tent," Hikaru replied with good humour.

It was hard to believe they were still in a tent, but they were. The whole tent was something that could easily make someone's brain hurt.

[Nara-pyon]

Both women laughed, and Mirania had to concede his point.

"It's so easy to forget!" she giggled. "But it feels so much like home. It will be very interesting when we finally reach my brother's home. I shan't know what to do."

"Oh, you'll adapt," Wren grinned. "You're pretty good at that."

Mirania laughed again. "Thanks. But it's still one of those things that I know but can't quite believe. I've never seen such magic."

"But your people are pretty limited in the Gifts they're born with," Wren pointed out.

[Kara Winters]

"And as Lancaeriel has mentioned, magic is not normally taught," Hikaru added.

It went without saying, that unlike Gaia, this was not the norm. This was not a bad thing seeing how some races treated each other, having other types of magic might be quite dangerous for everyone involved. It made him wonder how Gaia survived long enough to be accepting of each other (in most places) without destroying each other with magic alone.

"Though... from your words," he turned to Wren, "I take it Gifts work differently where you come from?"

She appeared to be a Light Elf herself, but looks could be deceiving.

[Nara-pyon]

"Very," Wren nodded. "In the Four Lands are the Firstborn, the first elven races created, whereas here in Arkandia are the Secondborn elven races. Here, if the races mix, they have no innate magic - at least, normally. We've a rare case here in our group. But for the Firstborn - of which there are only Light and Dark Elves, no others - we can mix and still have magic."

She grinned and gestured towards herself. "Take me, for example. My grandfather is Light Elven, my grandmother Dark Elven. My father is half and half, and I'm one-quarter Dark Elven - and yes, I'm aware that you can't tell by looking, that seems to be how it works for Light and Dark mixes. But for us, the Gifts we're born with can be absolutely anything, and they're no different by race. I've seen anything and everything from ... honesty, strength, healing ... to invisibility ... teleporting ... or, in my case, extreme speed."

Mirania blinked. "Is that how you took care of those dogs?"

Wren nodded, and laughed. "And was I ever glad of it!" Grinning, she turned to Huron and explained. "I was attacked by some dogs that had been sicced on me. All of a sudden it seemed like they were almost standing still, and I was able to defend myself without a scratch. I thought it must have taken at least a minute or two, what with ... well, all of it ... but according to the others, it took a total of about three seconds. It was the first time I'd ever experienced anything like that."

"You'd never find that among the Light Elves here," Mirania added.

[Kara Winters]

"Not a surprise, not only is that not a Gift you'd find among Light Elves, it's also not a Gift that can be easily categorized into an element or race," Hikaru replied with a nod.

He found Gifts very much depended on the type of elf one was, which was kind of interesting.

"And you had dogs set on you?"

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