"Keep your arms straight,†Khadai said.
The Au Ra placed his gloved hand beneath an Elezen youth’s elbow, leveraging his arm. The teen's hand was visibly shaking from the tautness of the bowstring, but his thin face held an expression of steady determination.
"Release." The Elezen groaned slightly as his fingers snapped away from the string, the distinct twang sending the arrow sailing away from the wall. The target at the end of the rampart remained untouched. Despite this lackluster result, the Xaela warrior nodded sagely. "That was an arm's length closer to your target. With proper practise your strength and aim will improve.â€
A Midlander boy, barely a few years younger than the Elezen teenager, frowned. "An' when are we be usin' swords?"
Khadai raised an eyebrow. "Knowledge of the bow will serve you well in the long run. Try again."
There was a group of five boys--two Elezen and three Hyur--who all groaned aloud but nonetheless picked up a series of recurve bows. They were an unkempt bunch, quivers loosely tied to their waists.
"Practice drawing from the quiver and nocking. Repeat this motion." In one smooth motion, the Au Ra withdrew the mahogany bow mounted on his back and in three smooth motions, drew, nocked, and fired three arrows in quick succession into a crude wooden target mounted at the end of the rampart. He repeated the gesture several times, refraining from firing the arrows in order to demonstrate the motion of properly nocking an arrow.
"Swords are not necessary for hunting; a sword is a weapon designed specifically to combat other individuals, not animals or dragons. If you intend to enter the armed forces, you must learn other skills of value. Doubtless they will invest in teaching swordsmanship."
It was this exchange that Roen watched in silence, standing a few fulms away with her arms crossed. Her initial surprise had given way to curiosity, for the awkward aloofness no longer seemed to plague the Xaela as he continued to give instructions to what seemed to be young denizens from the Brume. She had been looking around the city for Khadai, her belt pouch weighed with an object she had obtained for him earlier. She had hoped to make amends after their last discourse, and share the news of her newest (and first) investment in a business venture. It would serve others, likely the kind of people that the Xaela was teaching now.
"The bow, the hatchet, the spear, and the dagger. I will teach these four, and thus you will be sufficiently equipped to learn realistic combat.†Khadai answered succinctly.
The boys groaned again, one muttering about swords, but despite their protests, they dutifully returned to their practice. They were a clumsy bunch, fumbling the arrows--one boy had a prominent bruise on his face where the top of the bow had recoiled into his face--but amidst their disorganized appearance they stuck their tongues out of their lips and furrowed their brows in concentration.
"Ser, I want to try the target again." The Elezen that had sent the arrow flying off of the battlements ceased his practice.
Khadai stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Show the steps."
The boy entered into a firing stance, the Au Ra stepping around the teen, occasionally tapping the youth's heels with his own. "Closer. You lack stability. Relax your arms, keeping the top parallel with your line of sight." He nodded once more in approval. "Ready an arrow."
The boy reached his right hand around to the quiver hanging against his waist, pulling an iron-tipped arrow. He placed the fletching against the bowstring, leaving the bow itself pointed down.
"Raise."
The boy raised his arms, pointedly keeping his left arm as straight as he could.
"Do not be rigid. The energy from the bowstring will snap back into your limbs. Firm, but not tense. Draw. Eye the target. Release."
With a twang the arrow let loose and pierced the flimsy wooden target with a satisfying thunk. Nowhere near the red circle that had been painted on it… but it hit.
Khadai nodded. "It will become easier as your strength increases."
Roen strode up behind them, the corner of her eyes crinkling slightly as she watched the arrow hit the edge of the target. "Lessons. I had not expected such things from you."
The Au Ra glanced out of the corner of his eye. "You are the last student to arrive, though your lesson is considerably different." It was odd, the way he spoke--while the Au Ra's statements mostly held true to his habit of speaking straightforwardly, the way he addressed her implied an increased understanding of the language. He had been reserved mostly to simple sentences and direct queries, but there was an unprecedented quality of… not quite eloquence, but a greater degree of sophistication in what he appeared to express.
Roen arched a brow. "Am I late?" There was a hint of amusement in her tone. "I was not aware. My apologies."
"Take note. You are to learn the steps needed to fix your disjointed society.†He said nothing more as he turned back around, returning to instructing the boys in their archery.
The lighter mood washed away from the paladin’s countenance. She stared at his back for a moment, before realizing that she was already frowning. She inhaled and composed her expression again, reminding herself why she had sought him out. To tell him she did heed his last counsel and to offer a Starlight gift in thanks. But the first words from him seemed to be another lecture. Her folded arms curled tighter as she watched him.
Khadai was quick to offer praise where he noticed improvement and equally quick to give criticism--none of it scathing or abusive, but matter-of-fact and observing. Aside from the bows and arrows, the boys also wore archery gloves of a standard design that guarded the index and middle finger from the sharp edges of the bowstring. Their clothing was still somewhat tattered but had been mended with loose patches that at least kept the biting wind away from direct contact with their skin.
The paladin canted her head, eyeing the equipment that could not possibly have been the youths’ to begin with. "And where did all these training supplies come from?"
"I provided the weapons and ammunition with my coin. The cloth used to mend their clothing I salvaged." He clapped his gloved hands together once. "That is enough for today. Do not be eager to strain your muscles. Return and rest. Maintain your practice."
One of the boys turned, an eager expression on his face. "You are goin' to be teachin' us swords, yeah? You carry that huge one with you all the time."
Khadai shook his head. "Such a skillset is impractical for now. Improve your proficiency and I will consider it."
The boys groaned again but were just as quick to run off, playfully hitting and teasing each other with their weapons as they went skipping down the cobbled stone streets.
Roen watched the boys depart the ramparts back down to the Brume, renewed energy and spirit lightening their steps. "You... bought them," she murmured and shook her head. "Why are you helping them, of all people?"
"Because none are willing. That includes you." Those intense green eyes seem to want to bore straight through her. "This is not my problem to fix. I am certain my own people would disapprove of my actions. It is a waste of my time and effort, better suited to one who understands these lands and their circumstances. I am but a foreigner. I cannot provide them with all they require." He exhaled, his voice a steady rumble. "But they have advanced. It is only a single step, but I do not leave them in the same place where they have been found. Add enough steps together and one travels far."
The paladin wrinkled her nose, her forehead creasing with a frown. He was lecturing her again, voicing his disapproval of her inaction. Why did it bother her so? She cared not for derisive comments from many others when she had first come to Ishgard, they were quick to judge and dismiss an outsider. And yet his words, not even spoken with any true disdain still caused her to prickle with unease. "So why are you doing so? Even when your own people would disapprove?"
Khadai glanced off to the distance. His expression and body language were the same, but one might have stretched to call it sheepish. "Perhaps it is pride."
She flicked a glance at the Au Ra. "Pride?"
He did not answer immediately. "What does it say about your people that none are willing to help your own, and yet a foreigner is required to help them advance? I was told that your people are backwards and arrogant. To be careful not to project my expectations of how a society should be for as long as the duration of my assignment persisted."
When Roen just stared at him, he continued. "I believed the person in question to be biased. But I see now that what they told me of the Western continent is not without merit."
A sharp exhale punctuated her growing scowl. "And yet here you are, trying to prove your views and advance the backward and the arrogant." She rolled her eyes. "How charitable of you."
Khadai’s voice dipped slightly. "As I said. Perhaps it is pride. Yet that does not change the fact that some, even one of your peoples is better off because of my pride. Not despite it.†He stood straighter, gazing down. “I said you were a student. This is your lesson. Perhaps you believe these things futile."
Her look upon him had turned into a glare, her arms coiling tighter. She recognized her own ire, it was the same one that made her walk away when they last spoke. She had regretted it then, had she not?
"There are six of them. Three wish to join the military, the 'Knights', in order to slay dragons. One wishes to explore the world. Another wishes to impress a female. The last wishes to hunt to provide for their familial unit." The Au Ra glanced back down the rampart to the poorer streets below. "At the least, they have advanced one step. They are not in the same place they were in the last sun."
Roen exhaled again, trying to focus her thoughts and mood back to the reason she had come to find him.
"Your event of charity.†The Xaela continued evenly. “That is what it should have been dedicated to. Advancing. Teach them skills. Provide them tools to learn, a structure for their role to be determined. Not to provide perfunctory amounts of food that will be but forgotten before the next moon, replaced by the return of hunger." He glanced back at her, and his voice took on a more pensive tone. “Perhaps there was some merit to providing food. I will not deny such. That gesture itself… it is not meaningless. But there should have been more. You possess an obligation to provide more to others. That woman who hired us. She possessed resources, and skills I do not know of. She should have provided more."
Perfunctory… The paladin ignored the weight at her belt, the pouch that hung there with the gift within. "If you want me to say that you have helped them more than that one night of bringing them something warm to drink, I will not deny it. If you want to say you are a better person than I, then I will not deny that either." Her voice was rising. "If you want me say that you hold more hopes for the people you call mine than I do, then I will certainly not deny that!"
This was not why she had sought him out. She did not come to him to give voice to her own bitterness. And yet, his frankness, always seemed to dig up what she thought she buried safely beneath the surface. He was the only one who challenged her so candidly about her detachment. A foreigner, of all people. She did not like it one bit.
"What do you want from me, Khadai?†She blurted out, her thoughts retreating. “Was our agreement not for me to guide you where needed? Nowhere in that contract was I to improve what ails this world."
He glanced at her. "I have not desired anything from you, nor are you currently beholden to the terms of our agreement. Your involvement has been one of your own choice. Whether you take responsibility for that, too, is your choice. I determine nothing for you." He took a breath, as if to pause their volley. “What is it that you wish? Where do you wish to advance? Is there even one thing that you believe is worth taking a step forward for?"
Roen stared at him long and hard. Her lips twitched at his question, and she had no ready answers for him. "I..." she began, then paused. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she leaned against the stone fortifications. "I used to know. So... so clearly. Now... I look back at those things I used to hold so dear... and wonder if it was even possible. Or maybe they were lifted so high that it was just a fantasy." Her grey eyes stared absently at the target at the end of the rampart. "An impossible of a goal."
"All mountains appear impossible while you stare from the base." Khadai said quietly. "They can be scaled nonetheless."
When the paladin fell silent, the Xaela came to stand next to her. "There were some who claimed that defeating the black ones on our own was impossible. My people's first exposure to the Western continent was to seek a solution to their excursion. An answer was found, and we have adopted the appropriate tactics. It will take time, but the area we reside in, our hunting grounds, and the neighbours we engage in trade with will be free from their influence. With time."
He glanced away again, off to the distance. Even on the lowest level of Ishgard, the view of the battlements was a formidable vista of the cliffs of Coerthas and the bridges that connected the levels of the city. "Eventually, I will return home. I will consult with the Aljai and the Tsenkhai as to the happenings of my korum. If the black ones are not defeated by then, I will contribute as Khadai, as I had before I left. The Erdegai seek to improve their craft. To make their weapons but a bit sharper, their tools but a bit lighter. Their furs and leathers more resilient and comfortable. The Yerenai seek to care for the sick, to raise our offspring with greater care than before, to eradicate ailments that appear. The Jungsai ever seek the thrill of the hunt. To provide more food for more people, and to do so with greater speed...and to collect greater trophies attesting to their skill. All have a goal. Something to seek."
She peered up at him as he looked away. He looked austere as ever, but there was a hint of longing that rose in his face when he spoke of home. "We will continue to scale the mountain here,†she brooded. “For many more years to come. Perhaps... forever.†She bowed her head again.
"Whether you believe it to take one sun or one thousand suns is irrelevant." His eyes turned back toward her. "What matters is that one step is taken forward, at the least. That you not remain in the same place you were before. That you do not let others remain in the same place they were before."
The paladin shook her head slightly, her auburn forelocks swaying in the wind. "To listen to you, it is... easy to believe." She sighed. "The idea of changing this world for the better is not foreign to me, Khadai. Do not mistake my indifference, for ignorance." Her admission was a muted thing.
"And..." she said as she pushed off from the stone guard. "I argue... against your pride. Not necessarily your ideals." She looked away. "One single step. Those are not impossible, I know."
Khadai stared at her for a time before speaking. "Your problems are not my problems to fix, regardless. Perhaps I should not have made the effort." He turned slightly, glancing at the target in the distance. "I will continue instructing the children until their skills are sufficient. After that, what they wish to do will be up to them and your society."
Roen too followed his gaze. One hand fell near her belt pouch, brushing up against the round contour there. “If you asked me on that first sun when we met, if you should try and help with this world's problems... I would have told you not to bother. But now..." she murmured. "I am not so sure my answer would be the same."
"That is not for me to decide." He said flatly, glancing back over his shoulder toward her. "Condemn my pride as you wish. Perhaps it is justified. I will decide at a later time if fixing your problems is worth devoting my effort to. It is already inefficient and...needless of me, but if I believe it to be futile, I will cease. That is all. Perhaps your indifference is the correct choice of action."
Roen narrowed her eyes at him. "My problem? Not my people's problem." She canted her head, surprise clear in her voice. "Why are you trying to help me?"
The Au Ra glanced away, off towards the edge of the rampart. "I am not currently engaged in any other activity."
The paladin stared at him dubiously, at a lost for words. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms again, her belt pouch all but forgotten. "Well, I do not need fixing. And if I wanted to change how things were... it certainly would not be because of your pride." She looked away again, knowing that her words were not entirely true. It was her own pride talking.
"As you say."
As silence fell between them, Roen glowered. Once again, all her words came out wrong. Things were not so stiff between them when they had talked while trapped by a storm. But since Starlight, she had been on the edge. She let out a sigh, at least wanting to clear up one misconception. "The Elezen woman, Lady Dufresne. You are wrong about her. She uses her business to hire commoners in the Brume. From what I understand, she tries to hire those that are willing to work and need the work to feed themselves. An unpopular decision amongst the society she needs to socialize with but..." She shrugged. “It is her way."
“As you say,†Khadai reiterated, this time more quietly. “Perhaps not all of you are hopeless, then." He straightened. "Regardless, I hope you have learned something from this. I will attend to my hunts."
Roen watched him stride the length of the rampart toward the main city gates. She exhaled sharply and kicked an errant pebble off the edge of the parapet as she walked away in the opposite direction.
The Au Ra placed his gloved hand beneath an Elezen youth’s elbow, leveraging his arm. The teen's hand was visibly shaking from the tautness of the bowstring, but his thin face held an expression of steady determination.
"Release." The Elezen groaned slightly as his fingers snapped away from the string, the distinct twang sending the arrow sailing away from the wall. The target at the end of the rampart remained untouched. Despite this lackluster result, the Xaela warrior nodded sagely. "That was an arm's length closer to your target. With proper practise your strength and aim will improve.â€
A Midlander boy, barely a few years younger than the Elezen teenager, frowned. "An' when are we be usin' swords?"
Khadai raised an eyebrow. "Knowledge of the bow will serve you well in the long run. Try again."
There was a group of five boys--two Elezen and three Hyur--who all groaned aloud but nonetheless picked up a series of recurve bows. They were an unkempt bunch, quivers loosely tied to their waists.
"Practice drawing from the quiver and nocking. Repeat this motion." In one smooth motion, the Au Ra withdrew the mahogany bow mounted on his back and in three smooth motions, drew, nocked, and fired three arrows in quick succession into a crude wooden target mounted at the end of the rampart. He repeated the gesture several times, refraining from firing the arrows in order to demonstrate the motion of properly nocking an arrow.
"Swords are not necessary for hunting; a sword is a weapon designed specifically to combat other individuals, not animals or dragons. If you intend to enter the armed forces, you must learn other skills of value. Doubtless they will invest in teaching swordsmanship."
It was this exchange that Roen watched in silence, standing a few fulms away with her arms crossed. Her initial surprise had given way to curiosity, for the awkward aloofness no longer seemed to plague the Xaela as he continued to give instructions to what seemed to be young denizens from the Brume. She had been looking around the city for Khadai, her belt pouch weighed with an object she had obtained for him earlier. She had hoped to make amends after their last discourse, and share the news of her newest (and first) investment in a business venture. It would serve others, likely the kind of people that the Xaela was teaching now.
"The bow, the hatchet, the spear, and the dagger. I will teach these four, and thus you will be sufficiently equipped to learn realistic combat.†Khadai answered succinctly.
The boys groaned again, one muttering about swords, but despite their protests, they dutifully returned to their practice. They were a clumsy bunch, fumbling the arrows--one boy had a prominent bruise on his face where the top of the bow had recoiled into his face--but amidst their disorganized appearance they stuck their tongues out of their lips and furrowed their brows in concentration.
"Ser, I want to try the target again." The Elezen that had sent the arrow flying off of the battlements ceased his practice.
Khadai stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Show the steps."
The boy entered into a firing stance, the Au Ra stepping around the teen, occasionally tapping the youth's heels with his own. "Closer. You lack stability. Relax your arms, keeping the top parallel with your line of sight." He nodded once more in approval. "Ready an arrow."
The boy reached his right hand around to the quiver hanging against his waist, pulling an iron-tipped arrow. He placed the fletching against the bowstring, leaving the bow itself pointed down.
"Raise."
The boy raised his arms, pointedly keeping his left arm as straight as he could.
"Do not be rigid. The energy from the bowstring will snap back into your limbs. Firm, but not tense. Draw. Eye the target. Release."
With a twang the arrow let loose and pierced the flimsy wooden target with a satisfying thunk. Nowhere near the red circle that had been painted on it… but it hit.
Khadai nodded. "It will become easier as your strength increases."
Roen strode up behind them, the corner of her eyes crinkling slightly as she watched the arrow hit the edge of the target. "Lessons. I had not expected such things from you."
The Au Ra glanced out of the corner of his eye. "You are the last student to arrive, though your lesson is considerably different." It was odd, the way he spoke--while the Au Ra's statements mostly held true to his habit of speaking straightforwardly, the way he addressed her implied an increased understanding of the language. He had been reserved mostly to simple sentences and direct queries, but there was an unprecedented quality of… not quite eloquence, but a greater degree of sophistication in what he appeared to express.
Roen arched a brow. "Am I late?" There was a hint of amusement in her tone. "I was not aware. My apologies."
"Take note. You are to learn the steps needed to fix your disjointed society.†He said nothing more as he turned back around, returning to instructing the boys in their archery.
The lighter mood washed away from the paladin’s countenance. She stared at his back for a moment, before realizing that she was already frowning. She inhaled and composed her expression again, reminding herself why she had sought him out. To tell him she did heed his last counsel and to offer a Starlight gift in thanks. But the first words from him seemed to be another lecture. Her folded arms curled tighter as she watched him.
Khadai was quick to offer praise where he noticed improvement and equally quick to give criticism--none of it scathing or abusive, but matter-of-fact and observing. Aside from the bows and arrows, the boys also wore archery gloves of a standard design that guarded the index and middle finger from the sharp edges of the bowstring. Their clothing was still somewhat tattered but had been mended with loose patches that at least kept the biting wind away from direct contact with their skin.
The paladin canted her head, eyeing the equipment that could not possibly have been the youths’ to begin with. "And where did all these training supplies come from?"
"I provided the weapons and ammunition with my coin. The cloth used to mend their clothing I salvaged." He clapped his gloved hands together once. "That is enough for today. Do not be eager to strain your muscles. Return and rest. Maintain your practice."
One of the boys turned, an eager expression on his face. "You are goin' to be teachin' us swords, yeah? You carry that huge one with you all the time."
Khadai shook his head. "Such a skillset is impractical for now. Improve your proficiency and I will consider it."
The boys groaned again but were just as quick to run off, playfully hitting and teasing each other with their weapons as they went skipping down the cobbled stone streets.
Roen watched the boys depart the ramparts back down to the Brume, renewed energy and spirit lightening their steps. "You... bought them," she murmured and shook her head. "Why are you helping them, of all people?"
"Because none are willing. That includes you." Those intense green eyes seem to want to bore straight through her. "This is not my problem to fix. I am certain my own people would disapprove of my actions. It is a waste of my time and effort, better suited to one who understands these lands and their circumstances. I am but a foreigner. I cannot provide them with all they require." He exhaled, his voice a steady rumble. "But they have advanced. It is only a single step, but I do not leave them in the same place where they have been found. Add enough steps together and one travels far."
The paladin wrinkled her nose, her forehead creasing with a frown. He was lecturing her again, voicing his disapproval of her inaction. Why did it bother her so? She cared not for derisive comments from many others when she had first come to Ishgard, they were quick to judge and dismiss an outsider. And yet his words, not even spoken with any true disdain still caused her to prickle with unease. "So why are you doing so? Even when your own people would disapprove?"
Khadai glanced off to the distance. His expression and body language were the same, but one might have stretched to call it sheepish. "Perhaps it is pride."
She flicked a glance at the Au Ra. "Pride?"
He did not answer immediately. "What does it say about your people that none are willing to help your own, and yet a foreigner is required to help them advance? I was told that your people are backwards and arrogant. To be careful not to project my expectations of how a society should be for as long as the duration of my assignment persisted."
When Roen just stared at him, he continued. "I believed the person in question to be biased. But I see now that what they told me of the Western continent is not without merit."
A sharp exhale punctuated her growing scowl. "And yet here you are, trying to prove your views and advance the backward and the arrogant." She rolled her eyes. "How charitable of you."
Khadai’s voice dipped slightly. "As I said. Perhaps it is pride. Yet that does not change the fact that some, even one of your peoples is better off because of my pride. Not despite it.†He stood straighter, gazing down. “I said you were a student. This is your lesson. Perhaps you believe these things futile."
Her look upon him had turned into a glare, her arms coiling tighter. She recognized her own ire, it was the same one that made her walk away when they last spoke. She had regretted it then, had she not?
"There are six of them. Three wish to join the military, the 'Knights', in order to slay dragons. One wishes to explore the world. Another wishes to impress a female. The last wishes to hunt to provide for their familial unit." The Au Ra glanced back down the rampart to the poorer streets below. "At the least, they have advanced one step. They are not in the same place they were in the last sun."
Roen exhaled again, trying to focus her thoughts and mood back to the reason she had come to find him.
"Your event of charity.†The Xaela continued evenly. “That is what it should have been dedicated to. Advancing. Teach them skills. Provide them tools to learn, a structure for their role to be determined. Not to provide perfunctory amounts of food that will be but forgotten before the next moon, replaced by the return of hunger." He glanced back at her, and his voice took on a more pensive tone. “Perhaps there was some merit to providing food. I will not deny such. That gesture itself… it is not meaningless. But there should have been more. You possess an obligation to provide more to others. That woman who hired us. She possessed resources, and skills I do not know of. She should have provided more."
Perfunctory… The paladin ignored the weight at her belt, the pouch that hung there with the gift within. "If you want me to say that you have helped them more than that one night of bringing them something warm to drink, I will not deny it. If you want to say you are a better person than I, then I will not deny that either." Her voice was rising. "If you want me say that you hold more hopes for the people you call mine than I do, then I will certainly not deny that!"
This was not why she had sought him out. She did not come to him to give voice to her own bitterness. And yet, his frankness, always seemed to dig up what she thought she buried safely beneath the surface. He was the only one who challenged her so candidly about her detachment. A foreigner, of all people. She did not like it one bit.
"What do you want from me, Khadai?†She blurted out, her thoughts retreating. “Was our agreement not for me to guide you where needed? Nowhere in that contract was I to improve what ails this world."
He glanced at her. "I have not desired anything from you, nor are you currently beholden to the terms of our agreement. Your involvement has been one of your own choice. Whether you take responsibility for that, too, is your choice. I determine nothing for you." He took a breath, as if to pause their volley. “What is it that you wish? Where do you wish to advance? Is there even one thing that you believe is worth taking a step forward for?"
Roen stared at him long and hard. Her lips twitched at his question, and she had no ready answers for him. "I..." she began, then paused. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she leaned against the stone fortifications. "I used to know. So... so clearly. Now... I look back at those things I used to hold so dear... and wonder if it was even possible. Or maybe they were lifted so high that it was just a fantasy." Her grey eyes stared absently at the target at the end of the rampart. "An impossible of a goal."
"All mountains appear impossible while you stare from the base." Khadai said quietly. "They can be scaled nonetheless."
When the paladin fell silent, the Xaela came to stand next to her. "There were some who claimed that defeating the black ones on our own was impossible. My people's first exposure to the Western continent was to seek a solution to their excursion. An answer was found, and we have adopted the appropriate tactics. It will take time, but the area we reside in, our hunting grounds, and the neighbours we engage in trade with will be free from their influence. With time."
He glanced away again, off to the distance. Even on the lowest level of Ishgard, the view of the battlements was a formidable vista of the cliffs of Coerthas and the bridges that connected the levels of the city. "Eventually, I will return home. I will consult with the Aljai and the Tsenkhai as to the happenings of my korum. If the black ones are not defeated by then, I will contribute as Khadai, as I had before I left. The Erdegai seek to improve their craft. To make their weapons but a bit sharper, their tools but a bit lighter. Their furs and leathers more resilient and comfortable. The Yerenai seek to care for the sick, to raise our offspring with greater care than before, to eradicate ailments that appear. The Jungsai ever seek the thrill of the hunt. To provide more food for more people, and to do so with greater speed...and to collect greater trophies attesting to their skill. All have a goal. Something to seek."
She peered up at him as he looked away. He looked austere as ever, but there was a hint of longing that rose in his face when he spoke of home. "We will continue to scale the mountain here,†she brooded. “For many more years to come. Perhaps... forever.†She bowed her head again.
"Whether you believe it to take one sun or one thousand suns is irrelevant." His eyes turned back toward her. "What matters is that one step is taken forward, at the least. That you not remain in the same place you were before. That you do not let others remain in the same place they were before."
The paladin shook her head slightly, her auburn forelocks swaying in the wind. "To listen to you, it is... easy to believe." She sighed. "The idea of changing this world for the better is not foreign to me, Khadai. Do not mistake my indifference, for ignorance." Her admission was a muted thing.
"And..." she said as she pushed off from the stone guard. "I argue... against your pride. Not necessarily your ideals." She looked away. "One single step. Those are not impossible, I know."
Khadai stared at her for a time before speaking. "Your problems are not my problems to fix, regardless. Perhaps I should not have made the effort." He turned slightly, glancing at the target in the distance. "I will continue instructing the children until their skills are sufficient. After that, what they wish to do will be up to them and your society."
Roen too followed his gaze. One hand fell near her belt pouch, brushing up against the round contour there. “If you asked me on that first sun when we met, if you should try and help with this world's problems... I would have told you not to bother. But now..." she murmured. "I am not so sure my answer would be the same."
"That is not for me to decide." He said flatly, glancing back over his shoulder toward her. "Condemn my pride as you wish. Perhaps it is justified. I will decide at a later time if fixing your problems is worth devoting my effort to. It is already inefficient and...needless of me, but if I believe it to be futile, I will cease. That is all. Perhaps your indifference is the correct choice of action."
Roen narrowed her eyes at him. "My problem? Not my people's problem." She canted her head, surprise clear in her voice. "Why are you trying to help me?"
The Au Ra glanced away, off towards the edge of the rampart. "I am not currently engaged in any other activity."
The paladin stared at him dubiously, at a lost for words. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms again, her belt pouch all but forgotten. "Well, I do not need fixing. And if I wanted to change how things were... it certainly would not be because of your pride." She looked away again, knowing that her words were not entirely true. It was her own pride talking.
"As you say."
As silence fell between them, Roen glowered. Once again, all her words came out wrong. Things were not so stiff between them when they had talked while trapped by a storm. But since Starlight, she had been on the edge. She let out a sigh, at least wanting to clear up one misconception. "The Elezen woman, Lady Dufresne. You are wrong about her. She uses her business to hire commoners in the Brume. From what I understand, she tries to hire those that are willing to work and need the work to feed themselves. An unpopular decision amongst the society she needs to socialize with but..." She shrugged. “It is her way."
“As you say,†Khadai reiterated, this time more quietly. “Perhaps not all of you are hopeless, then." He straightened. "Regardless, I hope you have learned something from this. I will attend to my hunts."
Roen watched him stride the length of the rampart toward the main city gates. She exhaled sharply and kicked an errant pebble off the edge of the parapet as she walked away in the opposite direction.