#oc: yesui noykin

[paintedscales]

021.1 Arik

Born to the Dotharl, but having the soul of a Noykin welcomed into the tribe, Arik has often questioned himself and where he belonged. After all, it never felt as if he belonged among the Dotharl themselves. With his mother's blessing, he travels to the Noykin Iloh, where he hopes to find out more about his past life.

Word Count: 3,006

Steppe by Steppe Chapter List

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“Today’s the day, mother. I’ll be traveling from the Dotharl Khaa to meet with the Noykin,” said a teen boy. He had a traveling pack slung over his shoulder, and a small smile on his face as he addressed the now smaller woman before him. They both donned a deep blue color to their garments -- the color of Dotharl.

“‘Tis only right, my son. There are only so many stories I could tell you about the Arik that came before, and little more you could learn from the others around…” the woman replied.

There was a sad smile on his mother’s face. Arik knew it all too well; it was the look she wore when she could not well tell him stories befitting the Arik of Noykin to help nurture him into the Arik he was meant to be. He could barely fault her for the lack of stories that she had. Had his father not passed away only a couple summers after Arik’s birth, he was sure that there would have been more stories that could have been shared.

Before Arik could leave the ger, his mother walked forward and straightened out his deel, smoothing out wrinkles and looking him over. A sigh left her nose, and she hesitated before looking back up at him and reaffirming a smile upon her face. Reaching up, she gently took his cheek in her hand, having to tiptoe to do so.

“To think that only a few summers ago, you barely came up to my shoulders…” Arik’s mother said, her tone laced with sentimentality before she went flat on her feet and withdrew her hand. “Travel the lands in safety, my son. Even if we may not fear death because we are yet born again, I would wish you to make it to the Noykin Iloh without hazard. And should you meet your current iteration’s end, know that I shall be ever ready to meet you again.”

The corner of Arik’s mouth twitched upward somewhat. His mother had always shown a level of kindness toward him when others of the Dotharl had not. It was surprising given what he had been told of his mother and her past lives. How fearless of a warrior she was that met her enemies head on, spear in hand. To think that she was such a considerate and gentle mother to him…well, it had always been appreciated.

“Don’t worry too much, mother…” Arik adjusted his pack, letting it rest on his shoulder before he walked over and plucked his spear from where it leaned against the wall of the ger. Motioning slightly to it, he continued: “I have father with me, after all.”

Arik’s father had been an unfortunate soul that had not returned to the Dotharl. With frequent combat that saw their tribe numbers dwindling, his father’s soul had no vessel to return to the year that he died. It was a loss that they had to grieve in their own way before continuing life and moving ever onward.

“Of course… I shall see you whenever the sun rises.”

“Whenever the sun rises, then.”

It had been a term of endearment. ‘When the sun rises.’ To say as such meant that the world was dark until they were to see each other once again. Arik kept the meaning in his heart.

“Oh!” Arik’s mother remembered something, and it halted him from exiting the ger. She approached him again, pulling out a leather cord from a pouch at her hip, a copper shard affixed to it. The shard had been dulled and slightly oxidized in time, tint in some patches upon it that bore a slight green tint to them. “You asked me to make it into a necklace. Did you want to wear it on your journey?”

Looking down at the pendant, Arik nodded and leaned down. His mother walked forward and carefully slipped the cord around him. Once the pendant hung around his neck, Arik stood back up, glancing down for a moment before looking back at his mother.

“Thank you, mother…” Arik looked down, seeing the copper piece hanging there before taking it and slipping it underneath his clothing. “I’ll keep it safe.”

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The journey to the Noykin Iloh had taken nearly a moon to learn where they were and actually make it to them. His arrival was met with some trepidation from the other members of the tribe, and understandably so. However, Arik had done his best to explain to them that he was not there to incite violence and express that he wanted to learn the ways of the Noykin.

It was only the fact that Arik had come to the iloh alone that allowed the other Noykin to breathe more easily around him. However, many of them were still reluctant to approach him as he ventured through their current home. Even as he attempted friendly conversation, there were those that had shied or recoiled from him, much to his disappointment.

“If you’re truly here to learn, I suppose I can help you…” eventually said a woman who approached him without that same hesitance or trepidation. Her hair reminded Arik of the color of butter, and her eyes, he noticed, were black and gold. She must have been no older than Arik himself.

“Nhaama blesses me, then. My thanks,” Arik replied, breathing that sigh of relief that had nestled within his chest.

“I would advise against thanking me yet,” the woman said. “Our ways are not so easily obtained. If you have a mind to learn, then you must have a mind to endure.”

She looked over Arik, scrutinizing him momentarily.

“Being of Dotharl, I expect that the latter should be no obstacle?”

Arik’s mouth pursed into a line. He looked out toward the corrals that were abundant around the Noykin Iloh before looking back at the woman. Slowly, he nodded and gave her his response: “the Dotharl and their ways certainly make tests of endurance less of a daunting task. Whatever you might have for me to do, I shall do my best to meet it head on.”

“Very well. My name is Mide,” the woman introduced herself with a slight bow. “I know not of the journey you had to get here, so I shall not make you work right away. Come. We shall make for my ger. I imagine we can discuss your goal there.”

“A-Arik…” Arik quickly said to introduce himself, as Mide had already turned heel to start her stride toward the aforementioned ger. He adjusted his pack and fell into step behind her after jogging to catch up. He cast his gaze about the rest of the iloh while he followed after her, taking in the sights and sounds. Horses whinnying in the background, the sounds of hoofbeats and whistles, the occasional snort…the way the Noykin lived must have been on par with the Goro from what he knew.

The smell, too…the air was thick with the fresh smells of cut grass, and even the dry scents of hay and alfalfa. They mixed in tandem with the repugnance of manure; something he would have to grow to tolerate for the time being if he were to learn anything from them. At least it had not been too terrible, all things considered.

They approached a ger that had been on the far side of the iloh from where Arik had arrived. There were two others there that waved at Mide, though had reason to pause when they saw that Arik was with her. Though Mide had halfheartedly waved in response, she glanced over at Arik before opening the door to the ger and allowing him to enter -- though not before she motioned for his spear to be put aside.

Obliging to this, Arik removed his spear from his person, allowing it to rest against some nearby fencing. Soon, he stepped over the threshold into the ger and mustered up a “hold the dogs…” request. A customary thing even if there were no dogs around. Looking for a seat, Arik had sat down where one was available, and waited patiently.

Mide soon entered and closed the door behind her, walking past Arik and preparing something to drink. All the while, she asked, “I trust that you are here because the Dotharl believe one of our own is reincarnated into you.”

“Mm…” Arik gave a slight nod, though quickly gave a verbal response since Mide’s back was turned to him. “That would be the way of it, yes. Sadu khan, he…before we have the Sadu khatun we have today, I was proclaimed a babe that had an unknown soul. As I grew up, my father before he was felled in combat spoke of his friend. A member of the Noykin named, well, Arik. How he had given his life to save my father’s at the time.”

“So you believe that coming here would reveal something? Give you insight as to who you are?” Mide pressed, bringing back a cup of fresh mare’s milk for him to drink.

Accepting it with zero hesitation whilst nodding in response, Arik had taken a sip out of respect at first. He had not realized how thirsty he had been till he had been drinking it down greedily. Holding the cup in his lap, he tapped a finger against it in thought. Sighing, he finally replied, “I suppose that would be accurate, yes. I don’t imagine there would be anyone around that could share the Arik of Noykin’s stories with me, are there?”

Mide brought a hand to her chin, cupping it in thought.

“I couldn’t say… If you are here to learn our ways, I can teach you that. If you want to meet someone that may have known your…previous life…” Mide paused. It was common enough when speaking with those that were outside of the Dotharl’s customs and beliefs that Arik merely only noticed, though neglected to comment. “It may behoove you to speak with the elders. My mother or father might be able to answer any inquiries that you have if they’ve ever known Arik.”

"Anything would be great!" Arik said, not realizing how eager he sounded.

“Right…” Mide drew her hands together and closed her eyes. “My parents are away in Reunion for some time, unfortunately. But…I could direct you toward our khatun, Yesui. She has led the Noykin for well over forty summers, and has guided us well in that time. If anyone would have known about your past life, it would be her.”

“I would very much like to meet her… I-If that is alright…”

“I shall see if I can request an audience with her. In the meantime, we shall see if you can make yourself useful here.” Mide got up from her seat and went to a woven basket to withdraw some rope. Making her way back toward Arik she handed it off to him. “First things first… I have horses to quarantine so that they can be fed medicinal feed. During this time, we shall also brush them down to get more used to being around us and handled.”

Taking up the rope, Arik slowly stood and nodded to show that he acknowledged what she had to say.

“Err…very well. The Dotharl don’t really have much in the way of caring for horses…” Arik mentioned. “So I am grateful for you going out of your way to hear me out and teach me. And I do apologize for anything I might accidentally mess up.”

“You will be granted my patience. To an extent.”

“Noted. I will do my best.”

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Nearly a week had passed, and Arik had done everything that he could to adhere to Mide’s instruction. He fed horses, led them to new corrals, cleaned and filled their troughs with fresh water, he even began to learn riding them and the basics of. What the best part of all of it was, was the fact that it all just felt so natural. Like he had made a routine of all of these things and more even before he had actually gotten a chance to first do them.

In the time he had been familiarizing himself with the Noykin and their customs, he had learned a myriad of things about them. How they migrated, how they came across their horses, where they migrated in order to harvest the best feed, and much more. It had all been fascinating enough to keep his attention.

And then finally, Arik was granted his audience with Yesui khatun.

Accepting the invitation into the ger where Yesui resided, Arik had done his best to be as respectful as he could manage. He had prepared a gift in the interim -- a wood carving that he had worked on whittling away between tasks seen to with Mide. As he approached her with a bow, he offered to her the carving of a horse.

“Such craftsmanship! You have my thanks for this gift,” Yesui said, a smile spreading on her face. Her eyes crinkled with genuine warmth as she beheld the gift and got up to set it upon a dresser within the abode. She then took a seat once more and looked over Arik.

“Now…” Yesui straightened her posture and then relaxed into the back of her seat. “I have heard that you have questions regarding one of our own that passed some time ago. Come closer, child.”

Arik hesitated momentarily, but eventually approached Yesui once she motioned for him to come to her.

“Closer.”

Leaning in, Arik found himself feeling nervous, though allowed for the khatun to look deeply into his eyes. He saw her searching him for something -- anything. Almost as if…

“Bah…” Yesui breathed, waving Arik away. He backed off, hiding his relief before the khatun continued. “I know not how the Dotharl are able to see the souls of those who have come back. But…if you say that you are the incarnation of the Arik from ten and seven summers ago, I have only some stories that may be of worth to your journey.”

Perking up with an uncontrollable smile, Arik’s tail reflected his elation at this news as it curled up slightly. Tempering himself, he took a breath and huffed silently before collecting himself.

“Any stories you have to share would be beyond wonderful and appreciated, Yesui khatun,” Arik replied, offering her a small bow of gratitude. “My mother was never able to tell me much, and my father passed before he could regale me with too many tales. All I know of the Arik of Noykin was his impressive ability to break a horse within the span of three days and his friendship forged with my father. Beyond that…nothing.”

Nodding and humming in thought, Yesui closed her eyes and grew pensive. Drawing her hands together, she laced her fingers and rested them in her lap.

“He had taught the children of the Noykin happily in our ways to prepare them to tame horses that we might have our own and have them to trade,” Yesui started. She opened her eyes, smiling with a distant look in her eye as she recalled what she could. “Though it was rather often he would venture out on his own -- a lust to see more, he would claim.”

Arik subconsciously leaned in, wanting to drink more of the information that was being given to him. He could feel some sort of connection with those words. There were times he had ventured away from the Dotharl Khaa, if only because he wanted time away from the others…but discovering new things had always been something that made him feel…fulfilled in a way.

“While it is true his claim to have broken horses within mere days, he had always been gentle with them. A rare kind of ‘Whisperer’ is what others would often call him. Among our tribe, a Whisperer of such would only show up once every few generations,” Yesui went on. She had a knowing smile on her face. Perhaps she spoke from experience? What even was the requirement for becoming khan or khatun among the Noykin?

“I…did feel a kind of sense of tranquility when getting to handle and take care of the horses. I thought perhaps it was because Mide had done such a good job at showing me what to do, not to mention showed me kindness that it felt like others would not…” Arik admitted, thinking about some of the shying away that the other Noykin did when he first arrived. “Would…I be able to live up to that, I wonder?”

“Only one way to find out, child.”

“I suppose that is true…” Arik folded his arms over his chest, thinking. “Is there…a kind of trial I could take?”

Yesui laughed lightly. “I’m glad you are thinking ahead, child. I was going to task you with something of the sort. It would be best for Mide to go with you, but I shall be sending two others with you for this. You see, there is this beautiful horse that has been roaming the Ceol Aen as of late -- coat white with dapples of orange. Wild Sun is what we have come to call him with his unruly nature. If you can catch and tame him, he will not only be yours, but you will have earned your place among the Noykin.”

Those last words struck Arik deeply -- more than he realized they would. Looking at Yesui with a sense of curious wonderment, he pursed his lips and nodded before finding a smile spread on his face. Breathing in deeply, he reaffirmed his stance and replied, “then I shall go out and see to this trial you would give me. I…I thank you for what you have been able to share with me -- a-and I would be elated to hear more if you have more to share!”

Yesui chuckled, tilting her head in Arik’s direction.

“See to the trial, child. Should you succeed in the task before you, I will tell you more.”