Iofiel was down by the water again. He was looking to see if anything he had planted had taken. Gardening was still new to him, trading had always been the go to option where he had been born. So he really wasn't all that surprised to see that some of his plants hadn't taken to the transplant and were withering.

"Thank you for the sacrifice that you are about to make. It is appreciated and valued greatly." Standard prayer was spoken before he pulled the dying plants from the ground. He might not be able to keep them as live plants but he could always dry them out and save them for later use instead.

@Onyxia

The Oasis was a refreshing change from the Brook. It was quieter, smaller. Its scent was left half-wild, and not so entangled with the crisscrossing patrols of others. There were no distant conversations in the wind, rather a blissful silence but for when the spring winds whipped through the palm trees. It was admittedly much hotter here than the northern Brook, but Onyxia would adjust, and the shade of the overhanging palm fronds offered relief even during the day's hottest peak.

As she was doing that now, she could hear the soft prayer in the not-so-far-off distance. An ear perked, a voice too far to quite familiarize but still novel nonetheless. Curiosity eventually drove the woman out of her spot in the shade, and stalking forward did she find @Iofiel there, carefully tending to the small plants of a garden. In those moments before he noticed her, she watched him work, amazed by his dutifulness and dedication to such an undervalued skill. Strangely, however, it appeared some of his plants were withering away... Onyxia did not want to spy, however, and eventually she stalked forward from between the palm trees. “What is this one?” she wondered curiously, quietly, her paw pointing toward whichever plant was closest to his paw. Onyxia had very little knowledge of flora and medicinal herbs, having always left such things up to Nymeria and Tullia, but she was always curious to learn.

Iofiel looked away from his work when he was asked a question. "It is called buchu. Used for coughs, inflammation, and an appetite stimulant. I had thought it might be good to have on hand. Sadly it didn't take. Never really did much with gardening before." But then places of permanence hadn't been something that he was used to. "Trade is something I am more used to. Nomadity made it hard to try to keep anything going." And then Iofiel suddenly realized what he was doing. It was something that happened when he got on the topic of plants and healing.

"I apologize. I have said too much." And with that the pale male shut his trap. She had only wanted to know what the plant was and not some lesson on it. And why should she care about where he was from and the typical method that was employed to gain new plants?

@Onyxia

He reminded her of Tullia, who always worked so diligently maintaining the vast herbal stores of the Brook. For so long had the Vermedan medics passed down their ancient secrets and gardens to whoever came after them, and never had they needed to worry about how things would grow and where; unless there was a great drought or natural disaster, there'd never been any reason to worry about their stock. To see withered plants between @Iofiel's paws was an aching sight, but one Onyxia was certain the man could rectify with time.

“Do you think it's the soil here?” she pondered, even after he apologized for his explanation. She rather enjoyed the knowledge she could learn, for she'd always left gardening and herbology up to Tullia and the other medics. Thus, she quickly accepted Iofiel's apology and implored him to tell her more in one fell swoop. “Is it too dry?” She wondered if even he knew. At the very least, if he didn't, she could suggest finding an additional medic to teach them how. Like Iofiel, however, Onyxia was much more skilled in trade and diplomacy.

+5 Preach your beliefs to someone

Rather than admonishing him for his oversharing further questions were asked instead. "Perhaps..." The word was spoken slowly, thoughtfully. The large lion stared down at the ground as if it might offer up its own opinion and give him some answers. And to Iofiel that wasn't as silly as it sounded. To him even the soil had a soul. It might speak in its own way and offer up hints at its secrets. But sadly, that didn't happen.

"It could be any number of things. Soil, sun, water. Perhaps it was never destined to take at all because the climate is entirely wrong." There were many factors to consider. But it all boiled down to one really important thing for Iofiel. "Perhaps it was me. Maybe I didn't pray hard enough or give the proper amount of respect. I gave thanks and showed appreciation but perhaps that was never enough. Different Rwh want different things. Daario desires new life. I can continue to pray but I can't grant new life. Perhaps the buchu also desired something that I am unable to give." And then he realized his next faux pas. No one around here understood what Rwh were and he didn't have the Common Tongue word to be able to give it context.

"Rwh is like Daario, what remains after the physical confines are gone. Rwh can be anything. Sand, wind, water, lizard; they all have rwh. Rwh are vengeful when not properly respected and can curse entire generations. They can bestow blessings as well but it doesn't happen often, few rwh feel respected to that extent. Unlike Daario, rwh can be anywhere." Iofiel headed off the questions with a lesson on rwh. And the way he spoke it was clear he had offered up this explanation a few times as he didn't stumble over his words or have to hesitate.

And then another thought occurred to him. "I suppose it is only just that we exchange names now that you have been forced to listen to me speak at length on things you may only have a passing interest in. I am Iofiel Nimri." And passing interest was only him being kind. It was just as likely that she didn't care at all, that she had no sort of belief system herself.

@Onyxia

Onyxia had not thought of her father for a long time. The mention of his name gave her pause.

Perhaps an obvious shock was etched in her features: the way her lips parted slightly, the flutter of her eyelashes as she blinked once or twice. His explanation fell only half-understood, more and more intrigued in his knowledge of her father rather than of the strange and ethereal concepts he compared the former Valour Patriarch to. Yet, she held onto the importance of this Rwh; a being far unlike Maua and yet similar in many ways, their similarities also struck in the spectre of her father. When he shock began to edge away halfway through his explanation, she quickly recaptured the gravity of his words, understanding the deeper context of what he meant. Onyxia quickly looked between her paws, at the sand that collected between her toes and tickled the thin and soft skin there. She peered around toward the palm trees, and beyond them the gnarled mangroves of the oasis, desperately seeking the ever-blue waters.

It is only when @Iofiel introduces himself does Onyxia finally refocus her attention on his red gaze. Even though the news of Daario had caught her off guard, Onyxia had been otherwise increasingly intrigued by the way Iofiel viewed the world around him. Although the Noble was not so soon to discount the existence of Maua as compared to this Rwh, she undoubtedly wondered if it were possible for such things to coexist. Such a thing was beyond her understanding. Onyxia only knew truly those who walked the earth corporeally; she had even been particularly bad at visiting her spectral father herself. To Onyxia, death had to have some form of permanence. She had also done a less-than-stellar job of respecting the life around her as much as Iofiel did. She thanked Maua before and after every hunt, and prayed for their protection in the most tenuous of moments, but she'd never cared for her world as deeply as Iofiel did for his.

“Onyxia Valour,” she responded kindly, allowing a small smile so slip onto her once-stoic face, “I am very interested to hear more of this Rwh you speak of...I am also interested to learn how you came to know my father.”

Another Valour. That was something that Iofiel hadn't expected. Sure, he knew Daario to have a large family but he expected them to be mainly in the Brook. He hadn't expected to run across one here in the Oasis. Aquila was a Valour but he wasn't Daario's son so it hadn't shocked the pale male as much to find Aquila away from the Brook, even if it was still his family home as far as Iofiel could tell.

"I do not have the Common Tongue word for rwh. Rwh is simply what lives on after death. That is why it is important to give respect in life because in death there are no longer constraints." The large male figured he better explain why he kept using the one term only. He had no other words for it. Common Tongue wasn't his native tongue, Arabic was. Common Tongue was best known to be able to speak with traders though and so Iofiel had studied it but still he lacked complete knowledge of it. Some things never came up during trade talk, rwh being among them.

So he had managed to meet another daughter out of the multitude that Daario had. Of course it had Iofiel planning another visit to the Spectre to be able to tell him where his family could be found. Daario was always interested in hearing about his family. "It had been entirely by accident, I assure you. I had simply been exploring, looking for new plants that I might test. He just happened to be in the Grotto and we got to speaking. He is lonely there and misses his family. I go when I can to inform him about thing that have been happening and pass along messages that he may have to give."

@Onyxia