"I'm headed off!"
Much like an ordinary human, beings of power were bound to the limitations of their own bowels. Haq wandered off as the others finished setting up a fire for the night. The star had nearly completely set, deepening the shadows and limiting visibility. He moved past earshot of the others, the freshly started fire appearing not as a gradient of the colors of heat, but as one flickering orange-yellow blob.
He rounded a corner and relieved himself. As he began to emerge from the hidden alcove he'd found and head back to the others, there was a distinguishable snap of a twig. His hand was instantly gripping the dagger in his possession. With each step, he slowly rested the individual parts of the foot, one at a time, until the bottom of his sandals rested against the dirt, his movements quiet as he continued forward warily. His body lowered as his eyes stayed wide, open and watching everything, waiting for something to catch his eye.
There was a sudden sound, of shoes scuffing against the ground, as if the owner of them hadn't bothered to lift their feet up properly due to exhaustion or habit. Undoubtedly, it was human, or at the very least, something human-like.
As soon as the sight of black boots, ones with scuff marks and damage due to activity and time, entered his sight, Haq moved. Before the stranger could utter a word, a dagger rested against their throat, threatening, but loose.
Though he was clearly shorter, height played no clear role when the opponents weren't evenly matched. To both of them, it was obvious which one of them had the upper hand.
"Who are you?" Haq demanded.
They jumped ever so slightly, their shoulders flinching at the sound of a voice. "Nomma?"
Taken aback by the sheer panic and honesty residing in the young man's voice, Haq laughed and pulled back his dagger, away from them. He flicked it skillfully into the sheath at his waist.
"Sorry to scare you!"
Slowly, they turned to Haq, face pale in stark contrast to the sheepish grin before them. The duality of threat and restrained coyness was startling to even those self-proclaimed as strong, that of which this person, Nomma, would never declare of themselves.
"Okay?"
"So, Nomma?" Haq said, putting his hands deftly on hips, a smile still on his face.
"What?"
"What brings you here? Alone?"
They stared at each other for a long quiet moment before Nomma's gaze fell to the ground, his shoulders lifting in a half-hearted shrug. It was done in a manner to say that either he didn't know how to answer the question or that his current residency in the Canyon was all too obvious.
Haq took a moment to observe him quietly in waiting for a response. Average height, but his clothes left a lot to be desired. Baggy and repaired by hand in several places, the tint a color that came with years of wear in various environments, all he had was a shirt and dark green pants. The knees on both legs were torn out, showing both individual threads and gaping holes. The shirt, as if even too baggy for Nomma's taste, was knotted on one side, the fit at his hips tighter than the rest because of it. And, with another look at his boots, Haq was surprised they were still holding together. They appeared ready to fall apart with any sort of strenuous movement or harsh landing. It didn't even seem as though they fit properly on his feet, a bit too big, his heel not quite rubbing the back of the inside.
His hair and eyes were both dark, likely a various shade of brown, the night darkening the color. A mole rested on his face, just in front of his left ear.
"Something was calling me… I suppose."
In Haq's eyes, this young man, living with little, surviving a day at a time, struck him as the epitome of a lost soul. Uncertain and alone. Scared and honest. Too thin and lacking comfort.
"Want to join us?" he asked rather spontaneously.
"Join?" Nomma frowned, his eyes searching the nearby landscape for any movement of people hidden in the shadows, his wariness rising. "Who?"
Haq grinned and beckoned for him to follow.
"Come with me."
Back at the campfire, Lyruk paused, turning to the direction in which Haq had left. He had a bit of magic, a spell working whenever the darker hours approached. Though he tended to volunteer for first watch so the others could rest first, it was when he slept that it truly aided him. Similar to a radar, it was able tell him when something grew near enough with a heartbeat. Instantly, he knew Haq wasn't alone on his return.
Elavale, tending to the fire, noticed his sharp tilt of his head, his focused gaze staring to the same place they last saw Haq.
"What is it?"
"Haqin found a friend."
Opting out of nicknames for preference purposes, Lyruk wasn't going to conform to anyone else's standards for greetings, whether friends or acquaintances. It was just something he'd always done, less like habit and more like instinct.
"Huh?"
"A friend?" Nadia asked, turning around where she sat, eyes wide and prepared to see them walking. She scanned the area before returning to the position she was in before, roasting some food beside the fire.
Abana, running a clean cloth across the sharp edge of her axe, glanced over into the darkness of the Canyon as well.
It was only when Elavale stood and placed her hands on her hips, seeing Haq returning in the distance, did they all look again, watching the approach with curiosity.
Haq's bright laughter was the prelude to their arrival. He amicably patted the stranger's shoulder. As much as they were taller than him, the slope of the shoulders, hesitation, and the tension all showed clearly. Quiet, worried, and wary, he spotted the fire and nearly stumbled over his own feet, gulping seeing four more people, perhaps like Haq, that is, quick with a blade and threat.
Lyruk stared at the newcomer, his jaw tensing. Grabbing a stick nearby, he shoved the end into the base of the campfire, jabbing at the hottest glowing areas, watching the sparks that jumped free with interest.
Introductions were made, with Nomma introduced to Abana and Elavale first, and then to Nadia, who stood and shook his hand, grateful for someone else that was human among them. As soon as he realized the same of her, some of the tension slipped away from him.
Elavale, suddenly handing out each of their names with added gestures to direct his attention as if it was her job, eventually greeted him herself, giving him a friendly wave of the hand. He lifted his own, copying her politely. She tilted her head, ever so slightly, noticing a little uniqueness to the way he used his hands. Both when he'd extended one to Nadia and lifted another to wave, his fingers were split. It wasn't in the sense of literal and of the skin. Rather, his thumb and first two fingers extended straight and flat while his last two angled themselves down, leaving them curved but not curled.
Elavale, gesturing to the last of them, next to her, she gave the final introduction, hoping something normal would come of out of him, just like when they'd met Nadia. Though, she supposed, recalling how he replied to her name, it wasn't entirely normal.
"This is Lyruk."
"To solve the same crisis in a new manner is testing fate," Lyruk stated carefully, his eyes lifting from the fire to the newcomer. "Do you suppose you desire to tempt destiny?"
Nomma, suddenly confronted with Lyruk's riddles, was entirely unprepared. His mouth opened and closed a few times, his eyes wide. Abana lifted her eyebrows and looked down at the ground, pursing her lips, not bothering to try and determine the meaning. Haq, on the other hand, tilted his head, lost in thought, eyes narrowing. Nadia seemed just as taken aback as Nomma.
Only one turned to Lyruk slowly, jutting her chin out as her mouth twisted in obvious distaste.
"You seriously–" Elavale managed before stopping herself. She inhaled deeply, fingers pressed against the bridge of her nose. Letting the breath out before turning to Nomma with a composed expression, she shook her head. "Ignore him. That's - he does that. And," she added with a pat on his shoulder. "Don't try to solve his riddles. I've known him for over a hundred years. I still don't know what he's saying half of the time."
Nomma took a seat next to Haq, his stomach suddenly rumbling. Light laughter and shared food filled the silence as Elavale resumed sitting next to Lyruk.
"You've got to just say hi, you know? You can save the questions for after a greeting," she chided quietly, just loud enough for him to hear.
"You already said my name. Wasn't addressing him greeting enough?"
"You didn't do that with Nadia," she pointed out, trying to stare a hold in his head, as if it could give insight into his thoughts.
He paused, taking a few seconds to look at both Nadia and Nomma before making a characteristic non-committal noise.
"Hm."
Throwing her hands on her knees, she shook her head with exasperation, expressively giving up any hope in Lyruk's ability to understand social politeness.
Before long, they were satiated with food and drink, Nomma finding a quiet place within their collective divergent group. Haq flopped down onto the ground, staring up at the stars again, out of both habit and interest. Putting his hands behind his head, he settled in, his mouth opening to ask a bold question.
"What do you suppose planets and stars do with their time?"
"What?"
"Do? It's a planet. It does nothing except travel around the star," Abana replied with a roll of her eyes.
"Well, we all know about the myth of stars and planets who take the forms of people, right?" Haq asked excitedly. "What do all of you believe?"
"Of course, that would be something you'd want to discuss."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's a myth, Haq. Myth," Abana reiterated with a shake of her head. "That's all it is."
"I think it's real."
She sighed.
"And again. Of course, you do."
"It's possible it's true," Elavale piped up, shrugging her shoulders as she leaned back to gaze up at the small colorful specks dotting the night sky.
"Nothing's impossible… Until you get rid of all possibilities," Lyruk added. "Proof for or against is identification of truth."
"Wouldn't we have come across some all-powerful being if we've walked every inch of the land on this planet?" Abana raised her hands, a gesture of frustration at the topic. She had no desire to go looking for proof on either side, finding the whole thing ridiculous.
"The God and Goddess don't count?" Haq questioned with a lifted brow.
"No."
"What about Mount Harper?"
"What about it?" Abana shot back, narrowing her eyes at him.
"The barrier," he said, sitting up. "Nobody can reach the top."
"It's invisible," Abana argued. "You can clearly see what's on the other side. Nothing except more rocks piled higher."
"I think you're wrong."
"Yeah, well, I think you are."
"I don't believe the myth is real," Nadia interjected, already becoming used to their constant bickering. "Wouldn't they have stopped the God and Goddess if they were destroying them, the planet?"
"Well, maybe they can't?" Haq supplied. "Maybe they've been prevented from interfering or they just don't care? It's possible they made a deal with them."
"I agree with Nadia," Nomma said, shaking his head. Something about the scenarios Haq was suggesting seemed implausible.
He hadn't really thought hard on the topic before, didn't quite know what to think so quickly. What made the most sense to him was a world where planets were simply masses of rock, dirt, and water spinning routinely around the star. It was one thing to believe they were real, it was another to think they could speak in mortal tongues.
"I don't think the planets are alive like that," he added slowly. Rather than ending it with that, he had to also take into consideration the fraction of doubt lingering in the back of his mind. He glanced over at Lyruk, still wary from the strange way he'd spoken, yet he couldn't ignore the last words the man had said. Ringing true, not just for the myths of planets and stars, but of ordinary questions as well. "But there's not really proof either way, as he said."
Lyruk met Nomma's gaze with what could be assumed as an appreciative crinkle of his eyes, the lower lids lifted. Though there wasn't quite a smile on his face, Lyruk also gave him a nod, a thanks for hearing and understanding his words.
A calm quiet overtook them all as they individually pondered the existence of the universe, of the planets and stars, whatever the truth may be.
"Does it not feel like the star is watching us all?"
The whispered comment filled the silence, Haq's words unsettling to hear. With the thought of being monitored by some unknown being far more powerful than themselves, a ruler of their existences, was a concept not one of them could bring themselves to confirm or refute.