Day 2 | Afternoon | Where The Wild Barra Grow

[Efren Lanville]

Efren took the least aggressive posture he could think of… mostly relaxing his muscles and only returning the gazing from the man.

There was something familiar about the sounds… and something deep within him seemed to well up.

“[Here to help].” He replied.

[Kannon]

Yar Zell contemplated this, but in the end harrumphed with a universal 'above my paygrade' eyeroll.

["I know things. Old Mother know better things."] He invited them closer to him with an arm wave. ["Need blind. Secret way."]

[Laila Bridger]

"Someone mind filling me in?"

[Efren Lanville]

“I believe they are inviting us to meet with a leader. They want to blindfold us to keep the way secret.” He replied.

“I suggest we comply and try our hand at talking to the village headwoman.”

[Kiran Alsahar]

"Yeah, that's right. I would also suggest we comply. The route is secret, but that's where Old Mother is, who apparently knows more than he dows."

[Laila Bridger]

"Fine by me, how do they want to handle our weapons? I need to teach anybody how to handle that gun safely?"

[Hadrian Martikova]

Hadrian, who had followed suit placing the weapon down, shrugged, "I'm fine being blindfolded. This is a game of trust after all. If you can explain that we wish to unload the weapons as a precaution, we'll surrender them and comply readily."

[Kiran Alsahar]

Yar Zell contemplated this, but in the end harrumphed with a universal 'above my paygrade' eyeroll.

["I know things. Old Mother know better things."] He invited them closer to him with an arm wave. ["Need blind. Secret way."]

Kiran nodded and turned back to Yar Zell. "[They agreed ti be blindfolded. They offered to unload their weapons as a precaution.]"

[Kannon]

Yar Zell nodded after a moment to parse the unknown vocabulary and stepped forth to check from up close on the unloading and the blindfolds they would improvise.

[Laila Bridger]

Laila disengaged the magazine, pointed the weapon at the ground, racked the bolt, then pulled the trigger on the empty chamber.

Then she set it on the ground again and stepped back- to fashion a blindfold out of her left sleeve.

"Did something like this on Grumman, for a parley- and I trust this guy a hell of a lot more than the Moritani troops we were talking to back then."

Back then, she'd been picked to go with the Captain because she was the most likely to be underestimated.

Didn't seem like the case here.

[Kannon]

Yar Zell squatted by the weapon and observed it with a mixture of curiosity, worry and distaste, as if he was looking at a pretty coloured snake that had the potential to venomously bite him. He trilled, and another of the Muadh emerged from the thicket with a fine net who reluctantly collected the dropped items into it but otherwise left it there for the strangers to throw more into and then carry, as if it didn't occur to him that this meant giving them the weapons back. This one also had the long edgy cord dangling from his side.

"[You name]" Yar Zell inquired Efren, looking up, his plumage dancing on a light wind.

[Hadrian Martikova]

No comment from Hadrian. This definitely wasn't his first time being blindfolded and led somewhere. But the statute of limitations had yet to be exceeded.

He unloaded his shotgun and placed it in the netting. "There you go." He was less pleased at the idea of ripping his shirt sleeve but here we are.

(Ready to transition when yall are)

[Efren Lanville]

Yar Zell squatted by the weapon and observed it with a mixture of curiosity, worry and distaste, as if he was looking at a pretty coloured snake that had the potential to venomously bite him. He trilled, and another of the Muadh emerged from the thicket with a fine net who reluctantly collected the dropped items into it but otherwise left it there for the strangers to throw more into and then carry, as if it didn't occur to him that this meant giving them the weapons back. This one also had the long edgy cord dangling from his side.

"[You name]" Yar Zell inquired Efren, looking up, his plumage dancing on a light wind.

“[Efren... Son of Diwata.]” He decided to reply with his mother’s name… probing to see if there was a response.

[Kannon]

"[Eph Ren. Young Mother Son.]" Yar Zell repeated, confirming it to himself, and added a fateful hum at the end of the statement, as if sealing the revelation for his own sake. He then leaned over and pressed his forehead against Efren's. "[You Back.]"

[Efren Lanville]

Efren gently pushed his head into the gesture.

“[I back.]” He replied.

So this was it… this was the place he was from. There was so much to take in for him. There was also his mission… Things swirled around in his head as it touched the other man’s.

This was sure to be a journey of significance for him. Much to observe…

[Kannon]

The man who brought the net repeated the gesture.

"[Tu Daq.]"

Three others, two women and one man, emerged from the jungle into the barra field to greet the prodigal son of Thy Wan. They all had fewer feathers than Yar Zell.

"[Yar An.]"

"[Yar Tham.]"

"[Thra U.]"

To Kiran, they showed reverent respect by crossing arms on their chests, which they knew meant something like 'be kind to me despite your great power' but no such familiarity.

Thra U and Yar An took out one feather each of their respective headpieces and put them in Layla and Hadrian's hair.

[Efren Lanville]

Efren, being unfamiliar with the greetings nodded his head in polite sincerity. It appeared that all of these people knew his mother.

An immediate feeling of closeness filled his heart as he looked each in the face intently.

[Hadrian Martikova]

Hadrian, completely oblivious to the wider revelations, simply held his tongue as the exchanges occurred. Though he did bend his head down instinctively to make it a bit easier for the placing of the feather. Giving an awkward, "Umm, I'm honored." After the fact.

He did privately hope a translation would be given eventually.

[Laila Bridger]

So soldier boy was apparently considered family, the night dancer was able to smooth things over... and she had a feather in her hair- as did Hadrian.

"It's a good look for you. Very... dashing."

[Hadrian Martikova]

"It's a good look for you. Very... dashing."

"Oh yeah?" He teased back, "Before long we'll be dressed in matching feathers everywhere we go."

He will look curiously to Kiran in the vain hope of an explanation of some sort before they proceed.