#Cotota (OC)

[starryscale-art]

jai and khor's firstborn daughter when she's older...! cotota 'cota' of the kagon-bayaqud, she has her papa's khor's skill in magic, and her mama jai's giant aetherpool and temper, she loves her family fiercely, but just like her mother jai,loves tormenting those who piss her off.

there are rumors she may be the fabled 'avatar of destruction' the thaumaturgy guild speaks off... (she made up these rumors.)

thankyou so much to @snowlikeash for sponsoring this pic!! she asked to see an older cota :3

[bogwitch-art]

baby girl

khor and his daughter, cota!

[paintedscales]

>:)

Who is/are a must for your OC to have with them for their most special days?

For any and all of your crew!

good evening, ree! i hope that you had a good day! thank you so much for the ask! there's too many characters on nomin's end of things that i'd like to give some attention to, but i'll stick with nomin and her steppe light party.

an OC ask list 🪶 in the spirit of celebration

nomin -> she, for a long time, was fine just on her own. the first time she ever celebrated a nameday (which is arguably her most special day, as she declared her own name) was with her adoptive siblings. these days, she doesn't think about it that much. she's genuinely surprised when people remember her nameday, though. she doesn't talk about it much. but...she likes just little relaxing days where it's just her and estinien nowadays. she's not big on celebrations for her. as for what she would like, you can't go wrong with chocolates or orange candies for her.

arik -> for a special day, something that arik enjoys is airag. if there isn't airag, then arik would go for some vodka. to pair with either, he's not as much of a sweet tooth as nomin, and would prefer more savory dishes like chanasan makh or tsuivan.

jargal -> this girlie more enjoys being on her own. she doesn't have a lot of days that she considers special to her. i would actually say her special day is the start of the tsagaan sar -- another year lived is an achievement. celebrating with traditional drinks and foods like suutei tsai, buuz, tsagaala, and ul boov.

cotota -> the day that cotota celebrates is something she calls 'tiger day' -- and it's the anniversary of when she became recognized as an adult of the qerel tribe and got her limbal rings. cotota has a deel made of silk and tiger skin of the tiger she felled. if you see her wearing it, it means she is celebrating.

[amitherobot]

Cotota Kha AU Where Instead of being with the scions she just has a group of non-scion friends to chill out with.

Character names and jobs, left to right: Honey Bunny (Paladin)

Cotota Kha (Sage)

Mystica Tyata(Black Mage)

Kala Valentyne(Dragoon)

[haurchefants]

Udutai Ectorius and his children, Cotota and Oki.

[secret-engima]

Also wait: you are doing a title thing??? When did this happen???? Have one of mine; We Are the Ones (To Ignite the Darkened Skies). (Ooorr: Beware (the Light Is Fading))

Just now. I’ve already been swamped with like- forty title asks (most of them from @byakko4 but that’s okay). So it will … take me a while to get to everyone. Still! *rolls up sleeves*

We Are the Ones (To Ignite the Darkened Skies):

Feeling another crossover for this one. Hmmmmmmm.

FFXV/FFXIV crossover. Set in the Long Night, inspired by @sparklecryptid because I don’t know FFXIV that well yet but WoL is amazing. Anyway-

Flipping the table with this AU and saying that while a Young, Dumb teenager in Insomnia, Noctis … well. Pulled a Regis so to speak and never realized it bore fruit.

The Long Night has been going on for five years when Gladio stumbles on a trio of kids, no more than 9 or so years old, all triplets, all black haired and blue eyed and burning with magic that Gladiolus- Gladiolus knows.

Oh no.

Oh Noct what did you do.

He takes them to Lestallum and only tells a few who they are (Ignis cries as he very gently touches their hair and faces, is surprised when they let him since they’ve been so prickly and skittish around everyone else). Prompto, Ignis, Cor, Gladio, Iris, and Cid all put their heads together to try to figure out what to do.

But these kids aren’t any ordinary kids. They’ve played this game, they’ve waged this war, they’ve seen things like this all before.

Temulun shares a look with Arasen and Cotota and sees the same resolve in their eyes. They only “Woke Up” two years ago, when they lost their mother din the flight for safety from the encroaching night, but they are Awake now and they are not going to stand aside and let the world they died for once already wither to nothing in the shadows.

They are Warriors of Light.

And they will banish the darkness, even if they haven’t even hit puberty yet.

Ardyn is NOT expecting the survivors to suddenly start turning the war of attrition around. To step forward with hope, to increase their numbers of Kingsglaive as if they have an LC to give blessings while Ignis and Prompto and Gladio crack open old tombs and research and plan where before they were just existing and mourning and waiting for the tragic end they knew awaited Noctis.

He is not expecting to catch a glimpse of three fire-eyed children with so much light trapped under their skin he can almost taste it from here, does not dare get close because the daemons under his skin are all screaming that to come near is to be purified and destroyed.

Cotota’s head snaps around and even from the shadows, even from the distance, Ardyn can tell the girl is looking right at him. She bares her teeth in a smile and for the first time in a long time, the Immortal Accursed feels a shudder of fear slide down his spine.

[purbolart]

day 5: took a break from drawing stuff for my witch story to draw my au ra in ffxiv 🖤

[healersadjust]

I’ve been reminded that I need to make that character list… For now, I’ll share the names and affiliations of all my characters, i’ll probably make a Carrd or something with photos for everyone. Or maybe do like, an OC a day or something? Anyhow! Long post below. And it will probably get longer- I love my blorbos and keep making more :0

Warrior of Light- Aki

Scions:

Leonidas (Leo)

Kaine

Vivace (Vivi)

Celeste

Annis

Runa

Z’mora

S’mona

Mae

Luka*

Nyx

Akari

Ronan

Aki’s birth family:

Mother: Rhaya

Father: Cori’to

oldest to youngest:

Khit

Sami

Zana

Seda

Aki’s adoptive family:

Mother: Cevi

Aunts and uncles:

Lucien

Florian

Constianne

Cecelia

Amil

Kaine’s family:

Tani

Cotota

My fucked up lil guys:

Addison

Aisi

Vodjs

Dohv’a’s previous lives, oldest to most recent:

Skeltos

Solelle

Bloody Axe

Liyoyo Liyo

Bukidai

U’rhoyod Quohn

Cecerioux Dechamberre

Rael Kisna

Amelia Fulke

Bazj Rawbewesfv

Dohv’a

People from the first that are now on the source:

Kiriel

Valeria (Val)

Lilja

People from the first that are STILL on the first:

Eros

Ori

Theja

Ancients:

Urania- Aki

Alik- Kaine

Creon- Dohv’a

Aspasia- Creon’s partner

Unplaced/Adventurers:

Allura

Xeno

Arsene

Liana

Dahlia

Chimalli

Akamai

Antu

Commander Cosmo

Cedrik

Kohjin

Seraphina

Ivo

Vincent

K’ohen

[starryscale-art]

heres to another year of drawing my catlizard and his family~

(also known as 'how i learnt to stop caring about perfectly smooth connected lines in my art and embrace the wiggly brush and lasso tool.)

[paintedscales]

i offer you a new lizzer that is now in my ever expanding collection: Cotota Qerel

[paintedscales]

004. Qerel

Coming a little more out of her shell, Nomin starts to make more friends within the Sagahl Iloh, starting with a boy named Jajiradai and his younger brother, Odchigen. While having wandered off to play, their activities are interrupted by a fearsome roar. They soon discover that their migratory site is quite close to that of the Qerel.

Word Count: 5,685

Steppe by Steppe Chapter List

Nomin had been happy with the new games that were gifted to her, and she even made an effort to ask if she could play khorol with Bayarmaa and Esenaij whenever they were all available. True to her word, Bayarmaa started making a doll out of some leftover pine. Since Nomin came to the decision that she wanted a toy of a fierce baras, Bayarmaa worked on carving out the various body parts and getting them measured out to make sure everything was even.

Once Bayarmaa started painting her work, Nomin sat with her and painted along on some loose vellum. She showed diligence in starting to draw and paint the plants she had been taught about. So far, one of her favorites had been the golden safflowers that were shown to her and had even been used to make up some of the pigmentation of the paints that she was given the okay to use.

As soon as the toy baras was fastened together with some of the brass rings and declared finished, Nomin often kept it safe and out of harm's way with her other toys. She cherished it greatly, making sure that she always put it back up on the shelf when she was finished playing with it or before she was to sleep. After all, the baras was made specifically for her. It was special. It had also been a good ice breaker for getting to know the other children around the Sagahl Iloh when Nomin finally gathered up the courage to go out and mingle with others outside of Bayarmaa and Esenaij.

Nomin steadily got acquainted with the other children within the site. The first that approached her was a boy by the name of Jajiradai, and his younger brother, Odchigen, who was the same amount of summers as Nomin. They invited her to come with them to play some games a small ways outside the iloh.

As they walked, Jajiradai claimed that he wanted to get to know Nomin, ‘as was his duty as the eldest among the children.' Truth be told, Nomin was rather glad that he had taken the initiative. It was heartening, and did much in the way of assuaging her uncertainty of approaching the others right away. Not to mention that it had been more than reassuring in the sense that he paid no mind to the coloration of her scales.

“Miss Bayarmaa made that for you?” asked Jajiradai after Nomin had introduced her baras toy to him. He and Nomin had been working on making a stone outline for a pretend ger for them all to play in.

She nodded with a smile, looking down at the wooden figure. “Bayarmaa said she’d make me any kind of toy that I wanted when we went to Reunion. I watched her make it and paint it!”

“She always fixed up our broken toys and made some new ones for us if we lost any,” Jajiradai said, leaning down to pick up a stone for the circle they were making. Laying it down to fill a gap within the circle, he clapped his hands to rid them of any dirt and looked over at Nomin. "So are you gonna live with Miss Bayarmaa and Mister Esenaij for good, then?"

"I don’t know…" Nomin gazed up at the clear blue sky in thought, humming slowly as she did. "I do know that I want to learn what I can before I start wandering the Steppe on my own!"

"Whaaat? Without a tribe?" Jajiradai regarded Nomin with some disbelief and skepticism as he picked up and placed another rock. "I mean, I guess others have gone out on the Steppe all alone. But those are usually the Guardians of Chakha. Are you going to become a Guardian of Chakha?"

“No…I want to see and know the Steppe…” Nomin then grinned in Jajiradai's direction as she reaffirmed her initial desire regarding her decision. "I want to be a child of the Steppe! That's what I decided. And not like the Guardians of Chakha. I want to learn from all kinds of tribes out there. See what it's like since I didn't learn anything that wasn't 'useful' to the Tumet."

"Oh right…that's the tribe you're originally from… My parents mentioned something about that, but I didn’t remember what tribe they originally said," Jajiradai went around and fixed the circle so that it had no major gaps to it. He then waved to his younger brother, Odchigen, to come over. However, he continued to speak with Nomin; “do you at least like the Sagahl so far?”

“It's been really nice being here with everyone. I miss having meat, though…” Nomin admitted after a couple moments to think about it. “Bayarmaa and Esenaij told me that you eat vilekin since you don't eat beastkin.”

Nomin made a face after she had stated as much, and Jajiradai chortled to himself, bringing a hand up to hide his amusement. "They're really not that bad. I'm guessing Mister Esenaij hasn't brought any vilekin back so you could try something that's more of a Sagahli specialty?"

Nomin shook her head in response.

"Maybe you can warm up to vilekin by trying some that others like the most. My favorite kind of vilekin are shuvuukhai! They're the big vilekin with the green carapaces and glass-like wings. My mother makes paint out of their parts, and I know one of her friends makes jewelry from them!" Jajiradai said, looking in Nomin’s direction. He had been ready to expound upon his feelings toward vilekin until a loud, bestial roar cut through the air and made all three of them jump then look up and around for whatever had made the noise.

Jajiradai gripped the handle of his blade that had been tucked away at his belt, and drew it. He held it close and firm. While it had been nowhere near as impressive as a proper sword, the blade was large enough for him to wield comfortably.

Meanwhile, Nomin also pulled out her dagger, her heart thumping in her chest. She never once had the opportunity to fight other creatures that roamed the Steppe; she had instead always been relatively sheltered. Training to fight alongside the Tumeti warriors would have come after the naming ceremony, after all.

"Stay behind me," Jajiradai instructed, having placed himself protectively in front of both Odchigen and Nomin. His eyes were locked in the direction the roar had come from, though the hills obscured their vision of anything past them. Nevertheless, Jajiradai slowly started walking forward, keeping himself low to the ground as he started ascending the nearest hill to look at what was going on past it. Nomin followed suit -- mostly out of curiosity after seeing someone else take the lead.

Reaching the top of the hill, Nomin hunkered down next to Jajiradai and looked around briefly. There was nothing that caught her attention…not right away at any rate. Then, not too long after, a pained bellow rattled Nomin to her bones before her eyes desperately scanned the area for a trace of anything out of the ordinary visually. That was when she finally looked in the correct direction and saw a girl that looked no older than Jajiradai who was wielding a spear tipped with bloodied steel.

Before this unknown girl was a tiger, the orange of its coat streaked with brilliant scarlet from where it had been wounded. Behind the girl was a horse, alert and pacing back and forth in an unnerved trot.

The tiger was poised defensively, its ears pinned back as it snarled. As for the girl, she held her spear firm, and with a definitive thrust, skewered the tiger straight through its neck. The tiger seized and flailed with a desperate groan as it fell to the ground before it finally went limp.

The girl pushed her weight into her weapon before she then violently ripped it from the predator's visage. She tossed the spear to the ground and brought her fingers close to her mouth to whistle for her horse before pausing. Her attention went elsewhere as she became more attentive to her surroundings. She scanned the area before she looked directly in Nomin and Jajiradai's direction.

Nomin’s heart leapt into her throat at being discovered, and she shimmied down past the crest of the hill while Jajiradai remained looking out at the girl. Watching him, Nomin observed as he kept his attention on the girl and her kill. She then looked over to where Odchigen remained, a little further down the hill from them. Odchigen decided to keep to his brother's instruction and stay behind him.

“Enjoy the show?” Nomin heard the girl shout in their direction.

Edging back up in order to peer over the hill, Nomin looked at the tiger-slayer. She had her hands thrown out at either side of her, a wide grin upon her face, and a general cocky expression overall. It was clear that she was proud of her kill -- her trophy that laid lifeless now behind her.

"Let it be known that it was I, Cotota of Qerel, who slayed her first tiger and passed her coming of age trial today!" The girl laughed with a sense of triumph, her hands curling into loose fists before she placed them upon her hips. She reaffirmed her gaze upon Jajiradai and Nomin, her smirk remaining ever present before she barked at them: "well!? Don't just sit up there watching me! Help me get this thing taken care of!"

Cotota turned toward the tiger and reached for a hidden blade on her person. Kneeling by the tiger as she plucked the blade out, she plunged it deep into the tiger’s neck and started cutting away at it.

Nomin slowly got back up on her feet. She was curious about Cotota and what exactly would drive her to stand toe to toe with such a fearsome enemy; it would have been a feat that would make many warriors green with envy. She felt no malice nor animosity from Cotota when she spoke to them, which compelled Nomin to want to descend the hill to approach her. Before she could start walking down the hill to speak with Cotota, however, Nomin was stopped by Jajiradai who grabbed her arm. When she looked at him, she noticed his concerned expression.

“There’s no telling how dangerous she is…” Jajiradai warned. “She did just slay that tiger, after all… Such acts, unless made in self-defense, aren't the Sagahli way. We should go back to the iloh and just leave her to her own devices."

"But she's all by herself…" Nomin said, glancing back down at Cotota. She had been hacking away at the tiger's neck, severing its head from the rest of its body. When Nomin took another look around, she really saw no one else other than Cotota and her horse. "I guess if you get help, the adults would be better suited for helping her with taking care of the tiger, though…"

Jajiradai's mouth fell agape.

"There's no way other members of the Sagahl would help her with the tiger! Not unless it was to bury it and give its body back to the star…" Jajiradai let go of Nomin’s arm, feeling her no longer leaning into descending the hill.

"Oh… You're Sagahli kids, then?" Cotota loudly spoke up. It seemed Jajiradai's outburst had been loud enough for her to hear. "I guess you don't have to help. But if you could, that'd be really nice! The Qerel Iloh isn't too far away from here, so as long as I have my horse, I can probably manage!"

"Hm…do you know anything about the Qerel, Jajiradai?" Nomin asked, looking at him while putting her dagger away. It felt as if there were no immediate threat -- not with the tiger slain and all.

"Ah, well…" Jajiradai paused, pushing himself up onto his feet. He hesitated, glancing in Cotota's direction before sheathing his own blade. "I…I don't know that much about them… Qereli traders at Reunion usually trade leather and bone goods, though. That's why we usually don't trade with the Qerel. We make our tools, clothes, food, and all kinds of other stuff from plants, ore, rocks, and vilekin."

Nomin shrugged in response, mostly to display her ambivalence. She then turned back to look at Cotota and called down to her, "what do you need help with?"

"Need to bring it-" Cotota jabbed a finger at the tiger, "-back to my tribe! Show them I've overcome my coming of age trial!"

Nomin brought a finger to her chin in thought, consideration evident on her face. "Can't you just bring back a part of it as proof?"

Cotota paused, looking in mild bewilderment in Nomin's direction. She then threw her dagger down, blade sinking a couple ilms into the ground. "The whole tiger is my proof! I need it so that I can make my own warrior's armor from it! It's important that I kill and take it back to use every part of it as part of my trial!"

Trial…

There was that word again, and there was Cotota down the hill, reminding Nomin somewhat of herself. It was interesting to see someone else going through a trial of their own. The only difference was that Nomin felt a small ache in her chest, seeing how vastly different their two trials were to achieve what was basically the same thing: a place within their tribe. The confirmation of being 'worthy.'

"... Shouldn't there be other people with you to help bring it back? If this is the trial and you know you can't carry it on your own, why aren't there more people to at least help out?" Jajiradai asked. Odchigen had gotten up and climbed the hill to stand next to his older brother. All the while, Cotota fell silent, her attention returned to the tiger so that she might finish hacking off its head.

Silence hung thick in the air, Cotota hesitating on answering Jajiradai's question while she worked.

The question had been a valid one, the more Nomin thought about it. Tigers were large and had a lot of heavy meat on them -- it would only make sense to have more people overseeing the trial so that they could work to bring it back. Not only that, but it would have made even more sense to have had a wain or two horses whose saddles the tiger could have ropes attached to so that it could be dragged back at the very minimum.

So why did Cotota work alone…?

“It’s not like we can help her anyway…” Jajiradai said in a quieter tone, folding his arms over his chest with a huff. His voice had pulled Nomin from her thoughts as she then nodded in response; she had come to that very conclusion as well. “That tiger’s stink will draw other predators back here, though. I don’t want the other Sagahl to be placed in danger because she can’t get that thing out of here fast enough.”

“I can run and tell mama and papa…?” Odchigen spoke up, his voice uncertain.

"Yea, probably best to tell someone after all…" Jajiradai sighed after having more time to think about the situation. He then went over to Odchigen and continued, "I'll go back to the iloh with you, alright? At least so mother and father don't fret as to why you returned alone."

After Odchigen nodded and voiced his acknowledgement, Jajiradai turned his attention to Nomin. "You should come back with us. I don't feel comfortable leaving you out here on your own, too…"

"I'll stay and help with what I can… I don't think Cotota is dangerous. A-and if she is…!" Nomin brought her hand to the handle of her dagger, an air of confidence swelling around her. "I can fend for myself!"

"You're certain? You trust that Qereli girl?" Jajiradai pursed his lips, scrutinizing Nomin and gaging her bodily response as he awaited a verbal one.

"As much as she would trust in us to help her, sure!" Nomin replied.

At this claim, Jajiradai regarded Nomin with some level of incredulity before he looked around and then shrugged in slight defeat. Shaking his head, he relented, "alright. Probably good to have someone keeping an eye on this Cotota anyway. I doubt she'd even get far if she's serious about bringing the tiger back to her people, but making sure she isn’t up to no good would probably be for the best."

An uncontrollable grin spread across Nomin’s face as she skipped a little ways down the hill and waved to see both Jajiradai and Odchigen off. Once they had started on their way, Nomin made her way toward Cotota, keeping an eye on her to make sure that she was not going to attempt anything. The closer and closer that Nomin got, the more that she could see that Cotota had gotten the tiger’s severed head wrapped up in some cloth, its blood having soaked through to a blossom.

Hearing Nomin approach, Cotota turned toward her, wrapped head tucked under her arm. A smirk found itself upon her lips as she addressed Nomin: "well, well! At least one of you decided to come down here. I was wondering if I had to assure you that I wouldn't run you through with my horns or not."

Nomin looked at Cotota's horns a little more closely after her jestful quip. The horns that adorned her would have been poor skewers to have said the least -- what with them starting to take shape into more thick and bulky horns as she grew from adolescence to adulthood. Though, it was not as if Nomin’s puny horns would have fared any better, that was for sure.

On the same note, it seemed that Cotota was also looking Nomin over.

"So…where'd your friends wander off to?" Cotota asked.

"Back to the iloh. Maybe the adults can help you better…" Nomin leaned over and looked at what was left of the tiger while clutching her wooden baras toy close.

Seeing the tiger carcass up close and having a refresher on just how large a tiger was compared to her, or even just other auri people, had really solidified Jajriadai’s reasoning on questioning Cotota’s being out there on her own. Nomin was surprised that Cotota seemed to have no wounds to show for her efforts, all things considered. So, settling back on her feet, Nomin asked, “so why are you out here on your own? Are you supposed to take the tiger back yourself?”

“Well…no…” Cotota finally admitted after a moment of consideration. She whistled lowly to call her horse over before getting the tiger head secured onto her saddle. Shrugging after making sure it would not fall, Cotota then went on to say: “I just…needed to do this. So that my mother and father can be proud to have me as part of the tribe.”

“Is it really a trial that you have to do?”

“It is.” Cotota chewed on her lower lip before she returned to the rest of the tiger carcass.

Nomin grew pensive for a moment. She thought back to her own trial. Sure, she was meant to do it on her own -- as in free herself -- but she was far from alone for the most part. With that in mind, she then asked: “are you supposed to do it on your own?”

Cotota hesitated, frowning as she looked back at Nomin.

“... Yes and no…” Cotota knelt down on the ground. Her tone had come down from being self-assured and confident; instead it had become more grounded, and even sincere. “The slaying of the beast is done on my own. I would say I fair exceeded my own expectations. Surely, I would have fair exceeded my parents’ expectations as well were they here to have overseen my hunt.”

“Do people of your tribe normally watch over when others do their trial?” The idea was foreign to Nomin, though her trial expected children of age to be able to fend for themselves. Any that were unable to break free of their bonds would have just been a hindrance to the Tumet as a whole.

"Um…y-yeah…" Cotota's hesitant response made Nomin frown slightly as she held her baras toy close.

"So why are you all alone? Do you really pass your trial if no one's here to see it for themselves?" Nomin's questions bubbled forth, her curiosity getting the best of her at that moment.

"I…" Cotota furrowed her brow and then looked down at Nomin. Cotota had been taller by at least half a fulm, give or take. Placing her hands on her hips, a huff fell from her lips. "You sure do ask a lot of questions, don't you?"

“I guess.” Nomin shrugged.

Sighing and then falling to a sitting position, Cotota ran a hand through her hair, pushing her bangs from her face. Shaking her head, she let out another sigh, this one more resigned. Looking back over at Nomin, Cotota let out a scoff and finally went on to say: “... I didn’t pass my first trial. The tiger would have cut me down if my mother didn’t step in and strike it down before it mauled me.”

Walking forward, Nomin sat down next to Cotota, nestling her baras toy upon her lap. They sat in silence for a bit. For Nomin, she was not quite sure how to respond…not really. Though it seemed this silence allowed Cotota to feel a little more comfortable speaking at the very least, as she went on to talk more on her experience and feelings. “It was a couple summers ago, when I was ten and three summers that I attempted my first coming of age trial. I don’t think I’d ever seen my father look so disappointed with me after mother saved me."

Cotota's expression grew distant, a melancholic smile finding its way upon her lips. "I guess I get it. He taught me a lot in the way of combat alongside my mother.”

“... Your parents taught you how to fight?” Nomin asked, glancing over.

There was a brief pause before Cotota shifted and looked over at Nomin. Her expression had become refocused as it also twisted into a form of disbelief. “Yours didn’t?”

Nomin shook her head.

“Huh…” Cotota leaned back on one of her hands. “I would have thought maybe at least a bow, or something. Nothing? Really?”

Nomin shook her head again.

“Damn…do the Sagahl really just forage around for plants and the like? I mean…I know you all just eat grain, and fruits, and vegetables, or whatever, but not being taught to fight on the Steppe? That just seems…weird.” Cotota’s words were clumsy as she attempted wrapping her head around the answers she had received.

"Well…they do hunt. Esenaij knows how to use a bow…" Nomin replied, thinking about what she had been able to see for herself.

"Is that your brother?"

"Mm-mm…just someone I live with for now…"

Cotota's brow quirked at that before she let out another, albeit pensive, "huh…"

"I grew up with the Tumet," Nomin revealed for the second time that day. "They don't teach us how to fight -- not properly -- until after our trial."

"Oh…" Cotota hummed. Then, not long after, she went, "oh…"

Nomin tilted her head in response, her expression becoming inquisitive. Meanwhile, Cotota had placed a hand over her eyes with her realization. She then dropped her hand back down onto the ground after a moment and returned her gaze to Nomin.

"Sorry… I just feel silly complaining about my trial when…" Cotota trailed off for a moment as her gaze became distant once more. "I can't even imagine what you had to go through only to end up with a different tribe altogether."

"It's okay…" Nomin looked down at her baras toy, a slight shrug to accompany her words. She then smiled to herself. "I like it with the Sagahl at the moment. But once I’m a little older, I’m gonna travel all over the Steppe!”

“Yeah?” Cotota chuckled, looking out to the hills where Nomin and the others had been prior. “That actually sounds kind of fun. Maybe I should do the same thing… You know…once I’ve gotten back to my tribe and have shown them what I accomplished today.”

The two girls sat in silence for what felt like a long time, simply allowing the gentle breeze of the Steppe to be their additional company. Cotota's horse grazed nearby, occasionally sighing as it did. Idle banter was shared, and before long, Nomin perked up once she heard Jajiradai's voice from beyond the hill, directing others where he had been with her and Odchigen. The adults were seen first climbing over the hill, and then Jajiradai poked up soon after. Odchigen was nowhere to have been seen -- likely having stayed back with the rest of the Sagahl.

Nomin lifted her hand and waved excitedly once she recognized Esenaij’s figure next to who she guessed were Jajiradai's mother and father. She stood, bouncing on feet excitedly. Esenaij pulled his wain behind him, and when he looked in Nomin's direction, he seemed to have let out an exasperated sigh.

"That's Esenaij!" Nomin said, a hint of pride in her tone as she pointed him out to Cotota. A low 'oh…' came from her as she also got herself stood up.

The adults helped Cotota get the tiger in Esenaij’s wain with some difficulty, his expression holding some sense of disapproval at having the dead, headless beastkin in his wain. Of course, Cotota apologized profusely for the trouble, and thanked all the Sagahl that were there for their help. Though it was clear that it was not an ideal situation for the Sagahl to help in this endeavor, they did reluctantly agree it was for the best to get the corpse moved, as well as take this time to help as a show of good faith toward the Qerel -- especially if they were this close to one another for their respective migratory periods.

The trip to the Qerel Iloh felt short, though it was mostly because Nomin was able to speak with Jajiradai, Cotota, and Esenaij about a number of things as she and Jajiradai sat in the bed of the wain with the tiger, and Cotota’s horse pulled it. Nomin spoke of unimportant things, daily things, common questions that were just itching in her brain… All up until they arrived at the iloh and were greeted with some guarded tones from the Qereli warriors posted as watch to protect the rest of the tribe.

Thankfully, Cotota was quick to assuage any fears or aggression, explaining the situation briefly to her tribespeople. Though, Nomin noted more the way that Cotota’s earlier bravado had turned into sheepish meekness as the Qerel were quick to address and call her parents’ attention to her. Nomin watched as Cotota shrank once her parents arrived, her tail drooping and tucking closer to her body as she drew her hands together and looked down at the ground.

“I…um…” Cotota started, refusing to look up. She instead glanced back at the wain, toward Nomin and Jajiradai. “I, er… I came back from a hunt, and I…I…” she swallowed. “I felled a tiger on my own.”

Nomin felt compelled to look at Cotota’s parents, watching them as her father folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes, and how her mother turned her steeled gaze in the Sagahl’s direction. The incredulousness from both of Cotota's parents was palpable. Nomin could feel it deep down within the pits of her stomach; they did not believe her that she had slain the tiger on her own.

“You told us you were setting out to go spearfishing, yet you recklessly went out to chase a tiger on your own?” Cotota’s father asked, glaring down at her. “Not only that, but apparently petitioned the aid and watchful eye of the Sagahl besides. You've brought enough shame to our tribe, and yet you have the audacity to return to us like…like this?”

“She did it on her own!” Nomin piped up defensively, her little tail twitching with rising anger as she leaned forward on the wain's railing. Her brow was set, and she braced herself. “I saw her myself with Jajiradai! She cut the tiger down on her own! She was brave and fast and strong and she defeated the tiger all by herself!”

“Nomin…” Esenaij’s tone was terse. He had no desire to be embroiled in this family matter, though with how his own jaw had been set, he had more frustration with Cotota's parents' response toward her.

Esenaij cleared his throat after a brief moment, calling attention to himself. Walking next to the wain close to where Nomin perched herself, he hardened his gaze in Cotota's father's direction. “Forgive her, she was adopted into the Sagahl not long ago. I know not how true she speaks, for we were only notified of the tiger and its location after a couple of our own children came back to our site.”

Both of Cotota's parents looked at Esenaij. The mother's jaw was set in an effort to bite her tongue. However, the father furrowed his brow a little deeper. A frustrated sigh was expelled through his nostrils before he finally replied: "it may have been hasty for me to presume you foragers had a hand in helping her."

Nomin had picked up on the way Cotota's father had spat the word 'foragers' when addressing Esenaij. Her tail twitched again as she tightened her grip on the wain railing.

"Father, please…" Cotota spoke up. Her excitement of bringing back the tiger had faded away completely. It was more than clear that this was not the welcome she had been expecting. "The Sagahl had nothing to do with my decision to do this, nor did I petition for their aid. The…the hunt simply led me close to their site. I…I wasn't aware how close to them I had chased the tiger. I didn’t even know they were there. I would have never tried to chase it toward them on purpo--"

"What you did was more than reckless," Cotota's mother firmly said, cutting her off. "Not only did you decide to take on a hunt for a tiger, you did it without anyone's knowledge, and you endangered a neighboring tribe. What are we even to do with you, Cotota?"

"I just…I thought if I did this on my own, then maybe I--"

“There is a reason we oversee trials the way we do,” Cotota’s father interjected with a heavy sigh. He then looked over toward the wain and looked at the tiger’s corpse. He then instructed the nearby Qerel post to help take it off the Sagahl’s hands. While they filed away to do just that, Cotota’s father looked back at Esenaij and Jajiradai’s parents. “I do appreciate you seeing our daughter back safely. Thank you.”

He then reached out and firmly pushed Cotota forward. Stiffly, he said to her: “well, go on. Thank them, and apologize for the trouble you’ve caused.”

“That’s really not necess--” Jajiradai’s mother started, frowning.

“If she is to learn not to be a burden upon our family or tribe, she must learn humility. Maybe she’ll learn that she cannot deliberately and carelessly break rules that we have set in place.”

Slowly, Cotota walked a couple steps forward and bowed deeply before the rest of the Sagahl. She kept her eyes locked on anything but making eye contact with anyone else. Nomin watched with a frown, her attention going to Jajiradai, who seemed to share the same worried sentiments as she regarding this display.

“I…I’m sorry for all the trouble and for…for being a burden upon you…” Cotota said, fighting off the warble to her tone. “It was…it was wrong of me to have put any of you in potential danger. I hope that you can forgive me.”

There was silence for a long time, Cotota holding her bow all the while as her hands balled into nervous fists at hearing nothing in response. It was Jajiradai’s father who spoke up after some time, offering a sheepish and reassuring smile; “just do what you can to stay safer in the future. You're lucky our children came back and told us about what they saw.”

“R-Right…thank you as well, children of Sagahl…for informing those more responsible than I…” Cotota added to her statement.

After a few more tense moments, Cotota was instructed to go back to her family’s ger. She left all while keeping her face mostly hidden away from the others -- something that made Nomin silently sigh to herself with a sense of empathy. Little else was shared between the Sagahl and the Qerel aside from passing thanks and instruction to get the tiger carcass taken care of properly for the Qereli people. Once that had all been squared away, Esenaij got his wain situated with both Nomin and Jajiradai in the back, and the Sagahl made their way back to the location of their current site.

“Esenaij…?” Nomin started once they traveled a ways away from the Qerel Iloh.

Esenaij grunted in acknowledgement, prompting her to continue.

“Will Cotota be okay?”

For a moment, Esenaij slowly looked over his shoulder before reaffirming his gaze before himself.

“I don’t have an answer for you…” Esenaij replied. “She is not of our tribe, so it’s hard for me to even begin to tell you what may become of her.”

Frowning further, Nomin settled in the back of the wain next to Jajiradai. She looked down at the wooden baras toy in her possession, her thoughts going back to the tiger. Recalling how Cotota slayed the tiger filled her with a little hope. After all, if she were strong enough to take down a tiger like that, surely she would have been able to get back up on her own feet and walk ever onward. That was what Nomin chose to believe.

[paintedscales]

005. Oroq

Much is on the mind of Nomin as she recollects her time with Cotota. Her thoughts interfere with a lot of her studies as she attempts to learn what she can from Bayarmaa. After a pep talk and slowly getting back to her usual self, the Oroq show up on migration. Curious by the sleds of the Oroq, Nomin goes to investigate...much to the dismay of one of the Oroqi children.

Warnings: Bullying

Word Count: 5,260

Steppe by Steppe Chapter List

Days came and went, and Nomin still had Cotota on her mind. It was hard to not think about her. From Cotota’s show of strength taking down her tiger, to the humiliation that her parents made her endure in order to apologize to the Sagahl. Her worry bled into her studying anything that Bayarmaa attempted to teach her in regards to vegetation that was expected within the next season.

“I don’t think there’s really any point in fretting over her too much…” Jajiradai said one day as he and Nomin sat next to the riverbank of the Rai Khaal. Nomin revealed her worries and how she hoped Cotota really was fine. “I hate the idea just as much as you that she’d be in trouble, but what the Qerel do versus what we do… I mean, I’m sure she’ll be fine after whatever punishment is thrown her way. I hope…”

The conversation did little to assuage Nomin’s worries and doubts overall. It culminated to a point where Bayarmaa sat across the table from Nomin at one point and confronted her about it.

"What's been bothering you?" Bayarmaa started, placing the things they were studying aside to show that they were no longer the focus for the time being. "You've been so distracted ever since you and Esenaij came back from the impromptu visit with the Qerel. Is everything alright?"

Nomin gave a shrug of her shoulders.

"I don't know…" Nomin admitted. "I guess… Maybe I wonder if that's what my mother and father would have thought of me if I went back to the Tumet Iloh."

"How would that be?" Bayarmaa asked, wanting some elaboration since she had not been there to witness nor hear everything that happened. She folded her arms over the table, however, and gave Nomin her undivided attention.

There was brief hesitance, though Nomin opened up about what she saw and heard to Bayarmaa. She made mention how it upset her how Cotota's parents said that she was a disappointment to the tribe and her parents. The more she mentioned, the more Nomin’s gaze went down to the table, her eyes locking onto the grooves of the wood grain as if they were solvable mazes. Though they were meant to distract her, they did little in the way to occupy her mind enough to prevent her from how frustrated and worried she still felt.

"Nomin…" Bayarmaa said, a soft sigh coming for her as she stood up and walked over. She placed a gentle, reassuring hand on Nomin's shoulder. "You're far from a disappointment. I might be ignorant still on the methods and ways of the Tumet, but that won't stop me from telling you that you are not a disappointment. There are children who run free now thanks to you if the story you shared is true. I could never ever think of your act the day you were brought into mine and Esenaij’s lives makes you a disappointment. If your parents would have thought otherwise if you went back to them and we knew them then ourselves? Why, I-I'd simply scoop you right up and take you right back here."

A halfhearted smile tugged at the corner of Nomin's lips in response to Bayarmaa’s encouragement. Nomin had been more than happy at the time to share her tale about her journey from the site of the dawn pines to Reunion. Though, after what she did at her trial in the first place, going back would have meant being cast out as an exile should the adults have been told of her act. Nomin only hoped that if the Tumeti children she freed went back that no one spoke a word that they were freed by someone else.

"I guess it's kind of silly to think about what they would say or think of me anyway, huh?" Nomin said with a bit of a chuckle. The longer Bayarmaa’s words had to stew within her mind, the more that Nomin became more self-reassured that her place -- for now -- was with both Bayarmaa and Esenaij.

From that point, Nomin started to grow slowly less worried as the days went on, and resumed her diligence in studying whatever Bayarmaa had for her, or whatever Esenaij begrudgingly brought to the table on days he could. Nomin was more than happy to take in the information taught to her, and even drew pictures of the fruits and vegetables on sheets of vellum traded to them from merchants from beyond the Steppe that traded openly at the markets of Reunion.

Before Nomin, on a table, were several different bulbs one day. Bayarmaa had gathered them from some of what the other Sagahl brought back from their own excursions. This day, she was being taught about bulbs that grew within the area that could be identified.

“This one is a dusk onion. You can tell by how the flowers turn red or purple, much like when the lands start to embrace the night. When the flowers reach deep shades of purple or red, that is when you know the bulbs are best for harvest. That is when it shall bring out the most flavor for our food,” Bayarmaa explained, pointing out the flowers that were still on its stalk. “Though they are small, they, like everything else here, are valuable.”

Bayarmaa grabbed a knife from her belt and cut the stalk from the onion. “See how I leave this much of the onion on the stalk? We shall be taking this with us on our excursion today to replant it so that this may yet bless us further with its bounty.”

“And this is where bittergrass comes from!” Nomin said, pointing at a different bulb whose stalks were more grass-like and thin. She had already drawn the dusk onion on her papers as best as she could. Drawings would have to suffice since Bayarmaa had also been in the process of teaching her how to read and write. It turned out that Nomin would have only been afforded that opportunity had she returned to the site of the Tumet Iloh to show she overcame her trial to the rest of the tribe.

“That’s right! Bittergrass is a little harder to tell whenever it is ready…at least when you look at it. We smell for when it is ready instead. If they have no smell to them, they’re not ready, but if they smell fragrant and somewhat sweet with sour notes, they are perfect to collect. Normally, we wouldn't harvest the bulb for this one, but I wanted to show it to you before we plant this where it will grow new bittergrass.” Bayarmaa smiled at Nomin’s grasp of being able to recognize some of the plants already. It seemed that Nomin at least paid attention to some horticultural facts and observations with the Tumet whenever afforded.

“Bayarmaa~” a sing-song voice called out from outside the ger entrance. Nomin looked up, recognizing the voice as belonging to Turakina from the time they went to Reunion together. “The Oroq are passing by on migration~”

At those words, Nomin noticed how Bayarmaa’s tail flicked up in delight, and saw how she raised a hand to straighten out her hair. A different kind of smile spread across her face, and Nomin could only tilt her head quizzically. She looked at the various bulbs on the table and then looked back up at Bayarmaa.

Was the lesson over for the day?

“I’ll be out shortly! Thank you, Turakina!” Bayarmaa called back. She straightened out her robes, and huffed gently. She looked down at Nomin and offered a sheepish smile.

“My apologies, Nomin. When the Oroq come past our site on migration, they usually stop to trade goods with us.” Bayarmaa seemed to have been hiding something as she spoke with Nomin. Though, she neglected to say anything more and started putting the bulbs away into a basket woven from reeds for later planting. Pausing, she looked back at Nomin, who resumed drawing on her vellum, and then had a momentary consideration.

“Why don’t you come greet the Oroq with us? Now that you no longer don the colors of the Tumet and are essentially Sagahli yourself, you should meet one of our closest allies! Maybe you can even make some friends among them.”

Nomin looked up at Bayarmaa and put down her charcoal. Standing, she wiped her hands on a piece of cloth that was sitting next to her for smudging her drawings and making some extra detail if she wanted. Once her hands were cleaned, she joined Bayarmaa’s side and traveled outside of the ger to see the Oroqi Xaela coming by on their horses. Behind those horses, however, were sleds that were made of reeds.

Nomin seemed impressed, though her expression went back to confusion. How did they get the sleds to move so smoothly? The other thing she wanted to know was how the Sagahl and the Oroq were close allies when it seemed their tribal customs would have been somewhat of a conflict of interest. She really wanted to know more. Especially since the sleds looked to have had Xaela women and children as well as food, supplies, and materials for building their new iloh. However, before Nomin could ask Bayarmaa anything, Bayarmaa had already been gone, running up to one of the Xaela men that dismounted his horse.

Jogging to catch up, Nomin stopped when she saw Bayarmaa tiptoe to meet and rub her horns with this new mystery Oroqi man.

Nomin scrunched up her face and seemed disgusted by the act. After all, adult Xaela who loved each other had normally engaged in such acts -- but to do it so openly seemed very weird and gross!

When the man took notice of Nomin staring up at him, however, he stood up straighter and looked away, his cheeks growing flush. He seemed surprised and embarrassed both, leaving Bayarmaa confused until she looked down and saw Nomin standing there. Quickly exchanging glances from Nomin to the Oroqi man, Bayarmaa herself seemed flustered for a moment.

Clearing her throat, Bayarmaa soon collected herself and placed a gentle hand on Nomin’s shoulder, coaxing her forward. Smiling at the Oroqi man, Bayarmaa introduced the two: “Kuzhuk, this is Nomin. She’s new to mine and Esenaij’s life. And Nomin, this is Kuzhuk of Oroq.”

Kuzhuk’s look of embarrassment had not faded away entirely, though he looked at Nomin and offered her a smile as he lifted his hand in greeting. His eyes flicked toward Bayarmaa momentarily, though he regarded Nomin in a friendly manner, “‘tis good to meet you, Nomin.”

Nomin could really only gaze up at the man and the colors he wore, burning it into her memory. The members of the Oroq wore a deep, dusty purple. She considered it akin to a nighttime shade of violet. With a sense of satisfaction at committing his appearance and tribe color to memory, Nomin smiled back up at him.

“It’s good to meet you, too!” Nomin finally said after an unintentional staring contest and a long moment of silence. The sudden outburst made the man -- Kuzhuk -- give a slight start before he started laughing lightly.

“So then, little Nomin, what have the Sagahl to trade this day before the Naadam?” Kuzhuk asked, attempting to make light banter in order to get to know Nomin more. The smile of amusement remained on his face as he awaited the answer.

Nomin looked up at Bayarmaa. She learned much about the Steppe and what was available, though she could only hope that what she was about to say was right. Going back to staring Kuzhuk straight in the eye, Nomin replied with: “we have dawn plums and fava beans. Bayarmaa and Esenaij taught me that you must wait till the plums are fully pink. That’s when they’re the sweetest! And the fava beans can be enjoyed however you want as long as they are still good!”

Bayarmaa smiled, a soft scoff of satisfaction falling from her lips as she lifted her hand to stroke Nomin’s head before looking back at Kuzhuk.

“I have been teaching her about bulbs these past couple days, that she may be ready to harvest them in the spring proper,” Bayarmaa spoke up.

Nomin, however, kept staring at Kuzhuk, who certainly took notice. He broke eye contact to turn his attention to Bayarmaa. He was about to speak before Nomin opened her mouth again and asked, “are you and Bayarmaa betrothed?”

There was a pause. A pregnant one at that.

Bayarmaa cleared her throat once more, removing her hand from Nomin’s person. Kuzhuk, meanwhile, had this taken aback expression upon his face, his cheeks reddening further than they had been prior. Both of them looked more sheepish than anything after a time.

Considering what Bayarmaa told Nomin about the Oroq being one of the Sagahl's closest allies, Nomin was really just connecting dots based on what she remembered and saw. Intertribal relationships were not unheard of, after all. In fact, some of them were even beneficial to maintain positive relationships with other tribes at times.

“Something like that…” Bayarmaa finally said. She glanced at Kuzhuk, a somewhat apologetic look upon her face. Glancing past him, however, she noticed some of the other children that were visiting and already excitedly getting to talk or play with some of the Sagahli children. Pointing them out to Nomin in hopes that it would distract her, Bayarmaa said: “Nomin… why don’t you go and introduce yourself to the other Oroqi children?”

“What will you be doing?” Nomin turned her quizzical stare up at Bayarmaa.

“I’ll be trading the goods I have collected with Kuzhuk before they resume their migration,” Bayarmaa replied. “Once we have everything, I'll show you what we do with the goods we receive from the Oroq.”

“Alright…” Nomin replied, feeling like there was a bit more to Bayarmaa and Kuzhuk’s reunion than they were willing to divulge. Regardless, Nomin dropped it and started walking toward the other Oroqi reed sleds, and where the children were getting to play with one another.

Curiosity as to how the sleds worked in ferrying people and supplies over the grasslands, however, compelled Nomin to approach one of the vacant ones. Exercising caution when it came to the horse still attached to its harness, Nomin neared the sled it led. Making sure the sled was truly bereft of any passengers, owners, and otherwise living people, Nomin then observed the sled more closely. She noted the shiny substance on the reeds that made up the vehicle and hummed softly in thought.

When Nomin touched the sled’s outside reeds, her hand returned mildly slick. Tilting her head, she wondered if this was the reason the sleds were able to glide across the Steppe with little to no problem. Out of sheer curiosity, she brought her hand to her nose, taking a sniff. Surprisingly, whatever the substance was, it smelled…well, it smelled delicious.

“What are you doing?” asked the annoyed voice of another child behind Nomin, his voice somewhat shrill to her horns. It caused her to jump and wipe her hand frantically on her deel. Turning, she saw the other child, his scales were a brilliant black, unlike Nomin’s. Of course that had to be the first thing she noticed.

“S-Sorry…” Nomin started, not necessarily knowing what she was apologizing for. “I just want to know how you can pull the sleds across the Steppe. I thought I could learn by looking.”

“And touching?” the boy drawled, clearly unimpressed as he folded his arms over his chest.

“Well…yeah. Sometimes you can learn by touching. Bayarmaa taught me that you can tell when dawn plums are going bad if their skin gives way under your fingertips,” Nomin reasoned. A proud smile spread across her lips as she got to share some of the knowledge she retained.

“Our sleds aren’t plums!” the boy hotly retorted. Though the boy held her attention, Nomin’s eyes flicked to the side to look past him. A woman wearing the Oroqi colors was fast approaching.

“Yul! Do not yell at the Sagahli girl!” the woman scolded, coming over and giving Nomin an apologetic look.

“She was touching our sled, mother!” Yul protested. “You and papa said we shouldn’t touch the sleds after we’ve coated them in horse fat. So strangers definitely shouldn’t be touching it!”

“It’s horse fat!” Nomin exclaimed, making both Yul and his mother give the young girl shared looks of bemusement. Though Nomin had a big smile on her face when she looked between both Yul and the Oroqi woman, she quickly realized that their looks meant that maybe she should explain herself. And so she continued: “I was…I was wondering how you get the sleds to move across the land. I see now!”

“Is this all you were curious about, young one?” the mother gently asked, a weary smile growing on her face. It seemed she was a little more forgiving than her son. In response, however, Nomin nodded to the woman’s inquiry.

“I see that perhaps you have missed being able to meet the Oroq during our migrations,” the woman said, an amused sigh leaving her nose. “Yes, we Oroq travel with sleds to carry our possessions and children from one place to another. Should a mother be heavy with child, or need moments to feed a newborn, she will also ride in them. In order to have them move across the lands, we take the fat from the horses we consume in our meals, and melt it down before dipping and soaking the reeds we use to make our sleds in them.”

“Yeah, and you shouldn’t touch them!” Yul squeezed in with an angry pout. He folded his arms over his chest as he gave Nomin a disdainful look.

“Yul…” his mother started before looking back at Nomin. Her smile faded before she went on to say, “though my son is correct. Should any touch the sleds, our hands remove the horse fat’s beneficial application. Should it be wiped off, our sleds will not move as well across the inner grasslands where we travel.”

“Oh…” Nomin frowned, reflecting on her actions now that she was told how it negatively affected the Oroq. “I’m sorry, miss. I didn’t know that. Thank you for telling me.”

The mother looked surprised when Nomin apologized and then thanked her.

“What manners! Your parents must be very proud of you,” the Oroqi woman complimented with a big smile. She then looked to her son, “I know you can also be a good boy, Yul…but maybe you can also take some pointers from this Sagahli girl!”

For a moment, Nomin’s lips pursed into a tight smile. She had not the heart to state that she no longer lived with them. Not that she necessarily wanted to relive any of her final moments as being considered a child of Tumet, either.

“Mother!” Yul gasped, gawking at his mother momentarily then glowering at Nomin. Though he did this, Nomin only met his gaze with a giggle. She was more just amused that his mother seemed to have liked her in some capacity.

“Oh! While I’m here…do you perhaps know what I might use to help aid with stomach pains?” the Oroqi mother asked. She was met with a shake of the head from Nomin.

“No…I haven’t learned how to look for or make remedies, yet. Just fruits and vegetables,” Nomin replied. She thought about it, and then pointed a finger in Bayarmaa’s direction. “Bayarmaa can help, though! She’s been teaching me what the Steppe’s bounties are and how to look for them when they’re ready!”

Yul’s mother thanked Nomin and reminded her not to touch the sleds before she departed in the direction of Bayarmaa and Kuzhuk’s location. Yul, meanwhile, still seemed to have been glaring down at Nomin as he continued to stand there, arms still folded over his chest. When Nomin looked back at him, she quirked her brow and tilted her head. Before long, she shrugged her shoulders and looked over to where the other children were collected.

As Nomin walked, she noticed that Yul was tailing her, that look still on his face, and his arms still folded over his chest. Focusing back on walking toward the others, she decided it was best to ignore him for now as she approached the children that she recognized. Jajiradai and Odchigen were the first that Nomin lifted a hand in greeting to.

“Glad to see you could join us, Nomin! We were just getting ready to play ail ger!” Odchigen happily chirped, grinning. He was holding several stones and sticks in his hand, and when Nomin looked past him at the other children, they were already working on setting up their stones to mark their ‘ger’ to play in. It was a fun enough activity to pass the time with, though admittedly, Nomin was not particularly feeling like she wanted to play in a pretend ger with pretend furniture at that moment. Not when…

“Careful asking this one to play ‘ail ger’ with everyone else!” Yul drawled. With her back still turned to him, Nomin rolled her eyes. All the while, Yul marched past her, nosed turned up into the air. “She might just put her hands on everything and ruin the layout of the ger.”

Frowning, Nomin placed her hands on her hips.

“Bah, don't be a sore, Yul!” one of the other Oroqi kids piped up, lifting a hand to hide their snickering. Some of the Oroqi kids chuckled as well. It seemed that this was a constant, and not something that started with Nomin.

“I'm not being a sore! I'm just warning you that she's a menace! She already put her hands all over the sleds,” Yul heatedly replied, balling his hands into fists and thrusting them down at his sides. His tail flicked with annoyance and he pointed an angry look at the other Oroq children.

Nomin tutted, furrowing her brow.

For a brief moment, Jajiradai let out a soft chuckle before he composed himself. He then looked in Nomin’s direction. He seemed a bit incredulous at best, though he asked her, “did you touch their sleds at all?”

“Just a little,” Nomin replied. “I wanted to know how the sleds moved across the grass. Yul’s mother told me, and that was that. It was just a little bit; on my fingertips.”

Nomin looked down at her aforementioned fingertips and noted the slight sheen of horse fat that still lingered. She would need to wash her hands properly later.

“Oh no! Whatever will we do, Yul? A little touch is going to stop all the sleds from carrying us across the Steppe now!” one of the Oroqi children chortled, lightly tossing some pulled up grass in his direction. In response, Yul gasped in annoyance before huffing and sitting down on the ground. He pulled his arms back so that they were folded over his chest as he hunched over in defiance.

Sighing with some sense of annoyance herself, Nomin walked forward to the other children and started helping them out. She was grateful that none of them really pointed out her scale discolorations as she straightened out some aspects of the ‘ger’ that were set up. As time went on, Nomin noticed one of the other Sagahli girls decorating the collection of stones and sticks she had with dried flowers, a gentle smile on her face.

Expressing delight in this as she ran over, Nomin asked the girl about the flowers and what types they were. Though the girl was surprised and even shied away a bit, she soon settled and composed herself. The other Sagahli girl was gentle with her words -- the way she spoke had a kind of airy softness to it as she conversed with Nomin.

Introductions were shared, and Nomin learned that this Sagahli girl’s name was Chotan. The more that they played together, the more that it was revealed that Chotan liked pressing flowers and utilizing methods she learned from her mother to preserve them -- which had been evident in the flower hairpin she wore upon her head of dark auburn. Still, it was nice to have connected with another child of the Sagahl. It allowed Nomin to forget Yul and his overall sour demeanor when it concerned her for the most part.

However, with her thoughts having flickered back to him, Nomin settled on her haunches and then looked over to where Yul still sat. Instead of having his arms folded over his chest, he had since pulled his knees up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them as he watched the other kids play.

Alone.

Expelling a sigh as a part of her felt bad seeing him all by himself, Nomin pushed herself back up onto her feet. She looked down at Chotan and gave her a slightly wry smile. She then looked down at their ‘ger’ and tried to figure out what was what for the most part. With all the flowers that were scattered about, Nomin brought a hand to her chin before she leaned down and picked up a small wreath of white and orange flowers that Chotan wove together to make a kitchen decoration with.

“Do you mind if I have this for a bit?” Nomin asked, turning to look back at Chotan after she picked it up.

“Hm? I guess not…” Chotan brought a finger to her chin, eyes flicking from the wreath back up at Nomin. “What were you going to use it for?”

“An offering, I guess…”

“‘Offering’?” Chotan repeated the word, her expression growing contemplative.

“Mhm… Nothing bad, I promise.” Nomin did her best to sound reassuring, a smile growing on her lips as she looked at Chotan. Her annoyance had mostly faded, though part of her still did not want to approach Yul. Had she not seen how no one else asked him to play with them, though…well, she might not have had it in her mind to approach him.

“... Sure. Just bring it back. I’d like to use the flowers later.”

“I will!” Nomin chirped before she started walking back over to Yul. Her smile faded once she turned away from Chotan.

Swallowing back a sigh, Nomin neared Yul and looked down at him. She hesitated, but eventually offered the wreath of flowers with some caution. She hoped that Yul would not have taken the wreath and ripped it apart, or something of the like.

“What do you want?” Yul grumbled, furrowing his brow and looking away from Nomin.

The corner of Nomin’s lip tugged downward in a slight frown momentarily. Though Yul’s personality was certainly annoying, she felt no real animosity toward him. In fact, she felt more of the same kind of tug to him that she felt when she was compelled to help free the other Tumeti children that had no qualms to it.

“... I wanted to ask if you wanted to play with Chotan and I for ail ger…” Nomin said. She lifted the floral wreath to emphasize it. “Chotan’s been making a lot of neat little flower items for the ger we have. And, well, we have room for more people to play with us. Maybe you can tell us how you make sleds so that we have one for our ger!”

A moment of silence passed before Yul finally turned his head and looked up at Nomin. His brow was still slightly furrowed, and he still had an annoyed frown upon his face. Though, he let out a sigh and stood himself back up onto his feet. It was that moment that Nomin noticed that the two of them were relatively similar in height. Though she did not take time to think about it too long, she instead offered the wreath to Yul.

“Chotan would like to have this back…but you’re welcome to play with us…” Nomin said, inviting Yul along to their ‘ger.’

“... Fine…” Yul conceded, letting Nomin lead the way back. He did not take up the wreath, instead waving it off and making Nomin pull it back fully into her own possession. Regardless of the fact he did not want the wreath, Nomin turned and led the way back to Chotan and the ger layout she was cleaning up and rearranging flowers on.

Regarding Nomin kindly, Chotan smiled up at her, and then gave the same amount of consideration to Yul in turn.

“Welcome…” Chotan softly greeted.

“Yea, hello…” Yul stiffly said in response. He leaned forward and then side to side, looking at the layout. His face twisted into some manner of confusion all the while as he attempted to make heads or tails of what everything was meant to represent. When he voiced his questions finally, Nomin allowed Chotan to take the reins in gently explaining their ail ger.

As time went on, and Chotan was allowed to explain things in her own way, Nomin noticed how Yul’s disposition started to soften and become more amicable. The more that they played with some aspects of their ger, the more that Yul even regarded Nomin in an eager and nice fashion as they shared some of the play-chores and responsibilities of taking care of their play area.

Then, eventually, night started extending its grip upon the land as the skies went from blue to being bathed in a warm pink and orange. More than that, the Oroq parents had come to collect their children, telling them that while they were welcome within the Sagahl Iloh, they had to still adhere to their own chores and duties while they were there.

“I kind of wanted to keep playing…” Yul muttered, sighing to himself.

“There’s always tomorrow,” Chotan said. During the course of their activities with one another, she had made several more flower wreaths. She gave one to Nomin already, having woven one of orange and golden flowers that rested upon her head. Now, she was offering Yul his own flower wreath, made up of purple and red flowers. “In the meantime, you can have this. If you like it, I can make you some that won’t wilt.”

Yul looked at Chotan, a little dumbfounded before he carefully and gingerly took the wreath from her. There was a pause before he finally said, “thank you. I…wouldn’t mind some that didn’t wilt…”

Nomin offered a grin. She was pleased about how the events played out overall for the day. She got to learn about the Oroq and their sleds, and she got to make friends with Chotan and maybe even Yul! Even if neither of them really wanted to admit it at all.

“Can I get some that don’t wilt, too?” Nomin asked, skipping over to Chotan.

“Of course!” Chotan responded, giggling softly. “I love making them. I’ll be glad to have something made for all of us as friends.”

“‘Friends’...?” Yul cocked his head to the side, humming lowly to himself in thought. He then gave them a rueful smile. “You consider me a…a friend?”

“Why not?” Chotan started in response, looking toward Yul quizzically. “I had a lot of fun playing with you and Nomin today.”

Yul’s mouth fell open in wanting to say something, but he quickly closed it. He then looked down at the flower wreath in his hand. He nodded a couple of times, his gaze locked upon the wreath of flowers. “Y-yea…yea! I had fun, too. Let’s play more tomorrow!”

“Of course!” Nomin happily replied.

[amitherobot]

The Cotota G'raha ship is what keeps me alive

[secret-engima]

Can I ask for the Triplets reactions to meeting Ignis, Prompto, Gladio, and Luna in your ffxiv crossover? or are those covered by spoilers?

Ohhhh tricky because I don’t know the circumstances where they’ll be meeting up yet? Because I’m still working through Realm Reborn cutscenes and I don’t think they meet the bros till Heavensward. Buuttt I can do some reactions I suppose.

-The three know in an instant that Luna Is One Of Theirs Now just because of how Noctis reacts to meeting her. They glom onto her immediately and find she’s super sweet and nice and adorable. Now, the group isn’t always together because Missions and things and Noctis sometimes goes with Luna and sometimes sticks with them, but they always find ways to hang out because Pack and Family.

-Temulun LOVES having another lady Au Ra to discuss things with and is all too willing to teach Luna how to properly care for her scales and loves getting her pretty things to wear. Luna, for her part, likes having someone to teach her how to Au Ra and enjoys being able to pick her own clothes and wear things even if they’re silly looking or frilly or whatever.

-Cotota takes one look at this White Mage who is not a Murder Machine and is like- You No White Mage Properly. I Protecc You. I Teach You to Attacc. Luna ... has honestly no idea why someone as violence prone as Cotota is a White Mage, but her heart’s in the right place and Luna does enjoy knowing how to defend herself. Luna also teaches Cotota some cool new ways to use her White Mage magic. Nobody else is QUITE sure how to take Luna’s and Cotota’s friendship.

-Arasen gives Luna shiny things. There is no romantic intent behind it in the slightest, he just thinks she’s sad a lot of the time and needs more shiny things. He also wants this friend/lover of Noctis to be happy and safe, so he’ll help do that.

-All three are strongly convinced that Luna and Noctis are escaped slaves and that Luna was used for her strong White Mage skills.

-Moving on to the bros, Arasen is a little alarmed by how poorly Prompto Miqo’te’s. Like- dude, dude your tail is not your enemy calm down. Here lemme teach you the joys of the sunny patch, it will super help your stress levels trust me.

-Temulun thinks Prompto is the cutest thing? She wants to put a bow on his tail but she doubts he’d let her.

-Cotota thinks Prompto is small and weak and skittish.

-She Will Protecc This Cat Bby.

-Cue Cotota picking him up and carting him around like a very confused stuffed toy.

-Gladio ALMOST runs away the moment he spots Cotota because ANOTHER BUNNY LADY OH NO. But then Cotota doesn’t do more than blink at his ears and then hyper-fixate on PROMPTO instead and Gladio is confused now.

-Cotota has no idea how weird it is to see a male Viera. She’s probably never seen another Viera period? Or at least only one or two from a distance, so Gladio is interesting only in the fact that he too has bunny ears. Honestly she doesn’t care all that much except Gladio is clearly not taking care of his ears and he looks like he would make a good sparring partner. So, she offers to teach him Proper Ear Care in exchange for smacking each other around the training grounds and once Gladio is 120% sure that’s not some kind of bunny come-on he’s down for it. They get along pretty well actually. Gladio is chill with her Murder Persona and Cotota is chill with him having bunny ears so it works out.

-Arasen things Gladio is Weird. Bu that’s less cause of the bunny ears and more because he gets along with Cotota so well so fast. Most guys are intimidated by the White Mage that wants to break their spines over her knee but okay.

-Temulun wants to put a bow on his ears. So. Bad. But he’s already touchy about his ears so she does the mature thing and refrains. For Now. Also she wants to know why he’s so scared of Viera ladies, but whenever she asks he just shudders and mutters stuff too low for her to hear.

-Ignis ... gosh I don’t even know where to start with Ignis’s intro to the group. Probably comes swooping in to save Noctis in all his blind, Iggy glory and Cotota is just like-

-“Arasen I like that one.”

-“...What.”

-“That one. I like him. He’s blind but he’s fast and he stabs things. He’d make a good nest dad. What do I do.”

-Arasen honestly can’t tell if Cotota is serious or not, but he will admit that Ignis is EPIC.

-Also kinda sad. Because when Ignis and Noct reunite (this being BEFORE they find/meet the other bros), the two cry all over each other and some things are obliquely referenced that makes Arasen think they were separated as kids and thought the other dead.

-Temulun thinks Ignis definitely needs help in Au Ra-ing, for all that he’s doing okay at winging it, and is SO PROUD when her two students (Luna and Noct) step up to the plate so well in helping Ignis get a Proper Grooming going. She also likes that he lets her help pick out his new clothes and doesn’t mind a few frills as long as they don’t get in the way of his movement or perception.

-All three are convinced that this group were severely mistreated in their youth and separated and probably thought the others dead.

-It’s Arasen that goes very, very still one day when its just the three of them and then announces to his sisters that Garlean names are fancy and weird ...

-A lot like Noctis’s and his friends.

-Who all have a VERY notable hatred for magitek and other imperial things.

-Cotota and Temulun go very still, and its actually TEMULUN who sing-songs softly as she strokes the fur of one of her carbuncles, “I’m going to hurt some imperials today...”

-The three never bring up their theories to the Chocobros or Luna, because they don’t want to trigger anything but ... they watch, and they think about it.

[secret-engima]

talisward replied to your post

If you put Noctis with the Trouble Trips, then...

An eternal war with his horns and tail- He chased his tail, didn’t he. Does he have all those baby dragon instincts, as he never had a chance to know them and grow out of them? Occasionally pounces on twitchy things, chases things that run, hiding or curling up like a hatchling when startled or unnerved… if they hadn’t thought he was abused before, they’d definitely think it then. Finally semi-safe, and backsliding into behavior he never had a chance to experience.

 *slaps table* YES. THANK YOU. THIS. He just- can’t help himself? He’s usually so busy suppressing Crystal memories and trying to hide the fact that he knows LITERALLY NOTHING about this world at all that he just doesn’t have time to suppress these new instincts to chase-play-hide.

He also oscillates between being hyper aware and twitchy over his tail and horns and forgetting that his tail and horns EXIST so he keeps forgetting to compensate for them when closing doors or going around corners. Cue hissing as he accidentally pinches his own tail in the door or smacks horn first off a corner because hello yes these exist and need to be taken into account when moving.

Temulun and Arasen try their best to help him compensate for the tail and horns thing even if they don’t get why he keeps doing it (the instincts they get, the lack of control over his own tail and forgetfulness less so). Temulun also has endless reserves of patience to explain to a frazzled Noctis why he has the urge to hoard all the pillows and blankets in the inn room for a nest and why they aren’t mad at him for it and other such Instinct Incidents.

Don’t mind Cotota in the background. She’s just casually planning Murder for whoever did this to Noctis.

The three rapidly come to the conclusion that Noctis was a slave, but not of other Au Ra. His master must have been some race that didn’t have horns or a tail and that’s why Noctis doesn’t understand them, because he was the only Au Ra wherever he came from and had no one to learn from via observation.

They also have to get special cream to help him with his scale sores because he keeps picking at them (they itch and pinch and hurt and stick out of his skin and aren’t natural these aren’t his scales this isn’t his body get-it-off-getitoff-). Temulun teaches him proper scale grooming and tries not to cry when it becomes clear that Noctis is trying not to cry over the sheer relief of his scales no longer feeling like they’re going to itch right out of his skin (and how many years, Temulun wonders, has he gone without anyone to teach him proper grooming? Considering all his other bby dragon instincts, had anyone taught him at all? Has he gone his whole life up till this point hating his own scales because they hurt and itch and he never realized that they weren’t supposed to do that?).

Tagging @sparklecryptid

[secret-engima]

I just want to say your HCs are propbly the best things ive ever read, keep it up

hgfdgh thank you that’s very sweet.

Have another! *smashes cup*

-Temuge, is like- the Best Dad™ okay? He just is. Never failed to support the dreams of his bbys. The only thing that can be held against him is Cotota’s completely inappropriate White Mage job. This is because when Cotota was just a Wee Bunny Lass, toddling along behind Big Dragon Dad while Arasen napped on his shoulders and Temulun napped on his hip, Cotota saw a group of Adventurers trundling by to the teleport stone thing and asked him who they were. He told here they were adventurers, like him, brave people who went out and fought monsters and things to keep other people safe.

-She then pointed at the Big Burly Aggressive Warriors and Dark Knights and asked who they were.

-“Those are the tanks,” Temuge told her, “They make the enemy chase them around so that the other adventurers can hit them.”

-Cotota nodded with all the solemnity of her- like- three year old self and then pointed at the White Mage, “Who’re they?”

-“That’s a White Mage, he makes sure that none of his friends get hurt.” By which Temuge meant that the White Mage healed them in battle. Thing is, bby Cotota has had to deal with Aggressive Bby Dragon Cousins all her short life. Bby Cotota is a Bunny Girl Naturally On the Warpath.

-To Cotota’s brain, this information translated to “Tanks run around being big noisy distractions while the White Mages Wreak Destruction To Protect The Pack.” Because the only way to keep her Dragon Cousins from bullying poor Arasen was to Kick Them Really Hard, so obviously that must be what White Mages do too, right? RIGHT?

-Temuge had no idea what he had just unleashed as Cotota got a Glint in her eyes and announced with all the certainty of a three year old, “I’m gonna be a White Mage.”

-Temuge, poor fool, just chuckled, “You’ll have to train very hard for that.”

-And so she has. By aggressively kicking the ever-loving mud out of anything and everything willing to Throw Hands with her. Temuge has since tried to talk her into either Chilling Out or looking into a different Job, but nope. Cotota is gonna be a White Mage because in her mind They’re The Ones That Get Things Done. The fact she can heal her friends in between Kicking Whatever Hurt Them just makes her even more certain that White Mages are Best.

-It’s also because of that little speech that teeny 4′5″ Arasen became the tank of the group, because when he was thinking about what job to be as an Adventurer when he grew up, Cotota solemnly told him that he was really fast and noisy, so he would make a good Tank, because Tanks run around distracting the monsters.

-Everybody just ... politely ignore Temuge have a Meltdown in the corner over his tiny Cat Bby declaring he’s going to be a TANK.