All That Verifies

[Kyatii Siruto]

Kyatii sat in the branches of a sturdy beach tree. She was holding a thick book with the word “dictionary” printed on the cover. She had barely a month left until she would be taken from her home and forced to live with the “other kind.” She already knew how to speak the language, she just needed to expand her vocabulary. Most would find the crashing roar of the Nlier Falls disrupting and would not be able to concentrate, but Kyatii found the sound soothing. No one was around the area at this time in the morning. There was barely any light in the sky yet. Her eyesight was keen and she probably wouldn’t have any trouble reading the book even in so little light, but she didn’t. She just sat there listening to the falls, knowing that it was goodbye. She would of course visit any time that she was allowed, but it wasn’t the same. She took a deep breath, taking in the cool mist of the falls.

“I will miss you my friend,” she said, patting the bark of the beach tree. There was a moment of silence. Early birds flew into the sky and emitted lyrical chipping into the brightening sky.

I will miss you too, little one, but it is not for so long. Don’t be sad. The tree spoke with the echoing voices of the earth. It seemed so loud, but Kyatii knew that no one else could hear it. Would she be able to hear them in the world of chemical and stone? She had seen their land from a distance and she could not spot a single plant in sight. What was she to do without their guiding voices?

“It is too long for me,” she whispered to the tree. The trees didn’t understand time. If given the chance, they could all live forever. The tall trees that made up her home had been standing since the beginning of time, or so the stories told. What do they know of time except its unendingness?

Although the sun could not be seen, the sky was now bright enough to make out the silvery creatures swimming below the crystal clear water. The sky was a mixture of reds and oranges. Soon it would be blue. Kyatii opened the dictionary to a random page and read a word; forlorn. She almost laughed. What a perfect expression for the way she was feeling right now. Sometimes destiny worked that way.

She closed the book again and set it in the crook of one of the trees branches. She stood up and climbed higher in the branches. She looked down at the lands that she called home and breathed in the clean air. This was where she belonged.

[Togoro, Inukai]

Inukai jumps through the canopies, having woken up a few minutes ago, to take a last stroll through the forest before he must go back to Syleph. "I can't believe it's only little more than a week until summer's over. The vacations go by way to fast." Inukai says to himself while changing a bunch of leaves and a stick into a pencil and paper.

After a few minutes he arrives at the Falls. He leaps to the ground and takes in the scents of the Falls and surrounding forest. He stood there for a while taking in the sights and scents of the forest and Falls. When he finishes he looked for a rock formation that he enjoyed relaxing on, and laid down on it. He sets his pencil and paper in front of him and begins to draw the Falls.

Intoxicated by the sounds of the Falls, Inukai almost didn't notice Kyatii in one of the trees. It took him a while before he made out a shape in the trees as Kyatii. "Hey, Kyatii!" Inukai called up to her.

[Marionette Moargh]

"There you are." Yulie whispered under her breath. It was one week till school started and Marionette had told her to let her pack in peace. So, she did the next best thing.

She'd been following Inukai for a while now, and he'd finally stopped. Now all she needed was to make sure that he noticed that she was there. He had to notice, else his ears wouldn't twitch. She loved how they twitched, it was so funny. She almost couldn't tackle him when they did that, she was always so close to falling on the ground and laughing her guts out. But she didn't, if she did then he's learn how to stop her from pouncing. With a little control and perseverance she's enjoy herself more often.

"Hey, Kyatii!"

He was yelling at someone in the trees. Yulie followed his gaze, and saw another drezmo, dark-haired. She didn't say anything else, she knew Inukai would hear, but she wanted to know who this new person was, as it seemed Inukai knew her. So settling herself in some bushes nearby, and green eyes fixed intently on the two.

[Togoro, Inukai]

Inukai sighed and returned to his drawing wondering why Kyatii didn't respond. He was already having a hard time drawing the Falls, as he hadn't drawn anything in a while. He wasn't even started with the actual waterfall. He was sketching out the rocks and trees around the water. His mind was wandering to Syleph Academy and what would await him this year. While he drew with one hand, in the other he was toying with a dead leaf, changing it from a pile of dust to a small stone like thing, to a twig and back. "Why can't I draw today?" He asked himself, dropping the leaf and watching it flutteraway in a stray breeze. As he was drawing one of his ears began to twitch slightly. "Hmm..." He said as he lightly scanned the surroundings and braced himself for something bad.

[Marionette Moargh]

Yulie giggled, the poor guy he had it coming. anyway Marionette had ordered it, "Go bug someone else." Well not exactly, but after an amount of thought she decided to bug Inukai. And his ear had twitched...

I need a stick, a nice stick. His ears are so funny, I just need to poke them once, just once.

She was biting her lip at the thought of it. It was that hard to keep the laugh from escaping. Gazing around she tried to find a good stick. She found one, and got up to get it. Returning she sat herself back down into her little bush and continued watching. Glancing up she realised the girl in the tree hadn't looked down yet. "I'll have to wait it out." She grunted, she was hoping the girl would have gotten out of the blasted tree by now.

[Kyatii Siruto]

Kyatii tried not to look towards the face with the familiar voice. As long as she didn’t look, she could pretend she didn’t hear. This was not the morally sound thing to do, of course. She had heard him and you were always supposed to show respect to one of your fellow tribe members. She looked down at him from the corner of her eyes. He wasn’t leaving, but still, he didn’t call again. Perhaps she could just leave. No, she couldn’t do that without drawing suspicion. She sat frozen in place, thinking of what she could do.

There was a reason she didn’t want to talk to Inukai. It was a selfish reason, but a reason none the less. After a feud between the wolves, one of Inukai’s wolf friends died. Kyatti never really liked the wolves. They were dominant and jealous creatures, resorting to violence to solve even the simplest of problems, but Inukai loved them. It was sort of understandable that Kyatii couldn’t comprehend the impact the death had on her friend. To Kyatii it was just another wolf dead from a power struggle. Inukai had stopped talking after that and Kyatii got angry, thinking Inukai was just ignoring her. Then Inukai ran away to the city of poison. Ironically, Kyatii would be going to the very school that Inukai was staying. Kyatii couldn’t forgive him for “betraying the tribe.” There was a difference between Inukai staying at the school and Kyatii staying at the school. Inukai went there willingly without prompting. Kyatti was practically being forced. Obviously, Kyatii wasn’t planning on ever speaking to Inukai again.

Kyatii’s plans on how to avoid answering to Inukai’s cry, were broken by the echoing voice of the beach tree.

You should speak with him.

Kyatii jumped in surprise. Usually the trees didn’t say anything unless they were spoken to first. The never gave out advice like this. How would they know anything about animal relationships. Kyatii blushed. The trees could read her thoughts as clear as day. After all, thoughts are part of nature. They speak through thought. It didn’t seem right for the tree to barge in on such immoral ones, however.

“Why should I?!” Kyatii cried in embarrassed annoyance. Her blush immediately turned from bright pink to vibrant scarlet. She could have talked to the plants using her thoughts instead of saying things allowed, but she found that kind of communication too surreal, despite the fact that the plants had to invade her thoughts to understand her anyway. She just realized that she broke the silence with her yell and that Inukai most definitely heard it. She looked down at him, her cheeks the color of roses.

“Urrm... Good morning Inukai?”

[Togoro, Inukai]

Inukai looked up from his drawing at Kyatii. "Good morning to you too Kyatii." He said, smiling at the fact he got Kyatii's attention, as he placed his drawing down on the rock. He stood up and stretched. "Oh, and Yulie, you need to work on your sneaking." He told the bush Yulie was hidden. When he was done he walked over to the tree and looked up to where Kyatii was. "It took you long enough to respond." He said jokingly. He began to climb the tree and soon was on a branch perpendicular of Kyatii's. "So, the word around is you're going to be going to Syleph this year?"

[Marionette Moargh]

Yulie, who had heard her que, jumped out of the bush and landed on Inukai. He didn't fall over, but she knocked some wind out of him. "You actually think I was trying to sneak? You know me better than that." She poked his ears, and noticed Kyatii. "Hiya!" She sounded enthusiastically. She released her hold on Inukai and dropped to the ground. She dusted herself off, and searched her hair for branches. This girl had taken a while to respond to Inukai, what was her problem?

“Why should I?!”

Who she yelled at Yulie wasn't sure, it was either her, the tree, Inukai, or the dictionary. Kyatii did seem a tad nerved when yelling that, so Yulie made a mental note to try not to say something stupid.... What could she do? That was her. Yulie noticed the stick in her hand, quickly hiding it behind her back.

I guess I'll save that for another time, bahhh.

And dropped it.

[Togoro, Inukai]

Inukai, now dewinded from Yulie's attack, turned to Yulie. "Yulie! Did you have to poke my ears with that stick?" He said, rubbing his ears. He sighed at Yulie and retried climbing the tree. When he reached the branch almost directly above Kyatii's, he hung down from the branch. "Before I was attacked by a little Vermill." He said as he caught a falling leaf, made it bouncy and ricocheted it off of the rock to hit Yulie in the back. "I was going to ask why you took so long to reply, and ask you how you feel about going to Syleph." He said, softening the limb under his legs to feel more comfortable.

[Kyatii Siruto]

Kyatii looked down at the tiny creature that appeared in the clearing and attacked Inukai. It was obviously not Drezmo and by the look of her cloths, it was of the city. At first she was startled by the stranger’s sudden appearance and readied herself for defense. Her fear turned to bitterness as she saw the creature’s playfulness to Inukai. She pursed her lips and radiated a rather scathing expression. She wasn’t happy with Inukai to begin with. Now it turns out he brought a little monster back with him from the city.

As Inukai ascended the branches, Kyatii made a point of getting farther away from him. Of course he had heard of her going to Syleph. The tribe was big, but close knit. You couldn’t do anything without everyone in the tribe hearing about it. What made Kyatii even angrier at Inukai, if that was possible, was the fact that he didn’t seem to understand what was bothering her. She looked at him with a very sour expression. She wasn’t going to lie or pretend nothing was wrong. That wasn’t her style. She was just mad enough to really give it to him.

“You know why I didn’t answer you? It was because I didn’t want to. The only reason I did, is because of courtesy.” Now that she was fired up, she defiantly wasn’t going to be courteous.

“How do I feel about going to Syleph? Frankly, I feel terrible. Unlike some people I know, I don’t want to leave my friends and family to go to a place where forests are destroyed and animals killed for the brief happiness of its residents.” Her gaze briefly fell on the little girl below.

“Of course, you wouldn’t understand.” She smiled at Inukai. A dangerous smile with a piercing gaze. It was rude and definitely against the tribes moral code, but Kyatii didn’t care. Inukai had hurt her and now she was returning the favor.

[Togoro, Inukai]

Inukai, shocked at Kyatii's recent outburst falls off of his perch and lands on a branch perpendicular to hers. "What has got your twigs in a tangle? You don't leave behind all of your friends and family forever. There are still visiting days. You also meet so many new people. You really should give it at least one try before you judge. Besides, don't you want to learn how to better use your powers?" He said as he reached into a bag on his belt and pulled out a group of sticks. The twigs melded together into a log, then began to shrink in some places as they begin to form a sculpture. "Another thing, why didn't you want to talk to me? We used to be friends, but now you just ignore me."

[Kyatii Siruto]

Kyatii looked at him darkly. She was far from forgiving him. She listened to his remarks and made careful notes in her head. She would be battling them soon. Inukai seemed confused. He really didn’t know what was bothering her. She would be sure to cure that.

You should be kind to your brothers. The beach tree called. Kyatii was less startled this time and was able to regain composer before Inukai could notice.

You don’t know anything about the nature of animals. Kyatii told the tree in her head. We are not as connected to each other as you plants. We can hate... hold grudges.

The tree was silent for a moment. A breeze wafted through the branches.

Perhaps you are more connected than you think. Was the final reply. As the tree finished its lecture, Kyatii realized that Inukai was waiting for an answer. She was ready to give it to him.

“I know I don’t have to leave my friends and family forever, but if I have to visit, do I really belong here anymore? I can meet new people, but why would I ever want to meet the creatures that killed off and are still killing off the guardian trees? I don’t have to jump off a cliff to know that it will hurt. What better use of my powers is there besides helping my tribe?” She looked at him square in the eye, believing she had him beat.

“As for your last question, shouldn’t I be asking that of you? A few years before you left, you stopped talking to me. You wouldn’t talk to me, play with me, you didn’t even look at me! You just spent your time playing with your powers.” Her bitter look was replaced by sadness.

“Then you ran away. You didn’t even say goodbye! I thought you were dead. You don’t know how much that hurt me. I would cry for you!” Tears came to Kyatii’s eyes as she recounted her feelings. She tried to brush them away discretely. “Then you return and everything is supposed to be fine! Well, guess what! It isn’t! You can go and die for real now, because I’m done crying for you!”

Despite her cold words, Kyatii was crying. She climbed to higher branches farther away from Inukai and tried to stop. She was making a fool of herself. The tree didn’t speak, but hummed in her mind to let her know it was with her. Kyatii turned her back to Inukai and gazed over the treetops.

[Togoro, Inukai]

Inukai was stunned at what Kyatii had said. He honestly didn't know what to do. Inukai just laid there in the tree while he tried to regain his thoughts.

What... I... She should've known I would be upset... No... I should've known... That she would've been upset... I'm losing another friend... And it's still my fault... Should I accept it? Or should I try to... No, she wants me to be dead, I'll just treat her as if I were.

Inukai jumped down from the tree and silently sat down on the rock. He tried to recontinue his drawing, but found his mind wandering too much to what Kyatii had said. So, he gave up and made the paper into leaves again.
"How many times do I have to tell you, it wasn't your fault" A voice next to Inukai said to him. A ghostly figure of a wolf appeared on the rock, only visible/heard by Inukai. "Pakkar, don't try and make me feel better. We both know it was my fault."
"All you did was make a wolf feel better about himself."Rakkar laid down by Inukai's head.
"Yea, and that caused you to go and kill yourself. What a great friend I am..."
"You know what, Inukai, sometimes you're just too much for me. It's not like you to overreact like this. What's wrong?"
"... I don't want to talk about it." Inukai shifted over to his side.
"Fine, don't tell me. I don't honestly see how you can expect anything to happen if you don't tell anyone."
"You want to know what's wrong? I'll tell you, the fact that I've caused the loss of two close friends, that's what's wrong! And there's nothing I can do about it!" He yelled into the sky. "And there's nothing... I can do..."

[Kyatii Siruto]

Kyatii waited in the high branches of beach tree for some kind of answer from Inukai. She was waiting for an apology or perhaps an angry retort. Nothing came. Had Inukai said something, anything, Kyatii was sure that she would have forgiven him in the end. The silence was cold. Another tear ran down her face, but she didn’t bother to brush it away. She believed that Inukai had left. Was he angry? Did he never want to see her again?

Her sad uncertainty became anger. Why should she care? He had hurt her. Why should she ever want to see him again?... but, she did. Kyatii turned to where Inukai had been sitting. As she feared, he wasn’t there. He had left... again.

“I have done something bad.” Kyatii silently whispered to the beach tree.

There is no such thing as good and bad. Everything has a purpose, came the tree’s krytic reply.

“He hates my now.” Kyatii said, leaning back against the tree’s trunk.

Hmm... I believe you will be forgiven, that is, if you can forgive.

“I think I can.”

Kyatii stood up on the thin limb of the beach tree. She was going to find Inukai and apologize for acting so cruel. She really did like him and enjoyed being with him. Perhaps if he just told her what was wrong... A loud sound suddenly filled the seemingly empty area:

"You want to know what's wrong? I'll tell you, the fact that I've caused the loss of two close friends, that's what's wrong! And there's nothing I can do about it!"

The yell came from nowhere. Kyatii was definitely not prepared for it. She jumped in shock and lost her footing on the slender branch she was standing on. She reached out in panic, but her hands met empty air. She was pivoting twenty-six feet to the ground.

[Togoro, Inukai]

Inukai's ears began to twitch rapidly as he finished talking. He immediately looked around for a sign of danger. That's when he saw Kyatii falling from a beach tree. He jumped up off of the rock and ran, full speed towards the tree.
Come on Inukai, don't let another friend die. Can't you run any faster?!
He realized he couldn't get there fast enough to catch Kyatii.
Come on... What should I do? I can't get there in time... Wait... That's it!
He slowed his pace so he could concentrate better. He concentrated on making Kyatii's landing area as soft as he could. He succeded and now the ground was softer than goose down.