Editing Koi Prompt 5: Barbarous

{{DISPLAYTITLE: Prompt #5: Barbarous}}
[[Category:Koi's Attempts at FFXIVWrite2023]]

Whistling winds slid across the open the open plains. Huddled and braced against the wind the Eschava people clutched tightly to their coats. Their hoods pulled tightly over their faces as they trudged rhythmically through the snow. Usually, traveling would be a time for song. Singing the ancient tales of those who came before them as they carted the yak to their new location for the winter. They would opt to travel south, seeking the warmth. However, this time the south was not an option and this was not a happy affair. Today was a time for survival. To outlast an incomprehensibly stronger enemy.

Amongst the crowd, was Naja. Naja considered herself to be strong enough for most things. Strong enough in her body to assist her father in hunting. Strong enough in skill to assist her mother in the many tasks needed to raise her family. Strong enough in kindness to assist her fellow tribe members. Naja knew she was not the strongest, but it little mattered in the day to day life of things. Naja's strength protected her from fear. She maintained a good mentality, and kept the negativity at bay. This balance was what she prided herself in. Her soul balance was rarely shaken. There was almost never a chance for it to be challenged to such an unwitting extent except today. The leader of her tribe had suddenly called to pack up; throwing off the usual ceremony of clearing up and giving back to a place. This was only done in emergencies. Naja did not yet know of what the emergency was, but she feared it. Whatever sort of great fear that could strike into the heart of their leader. That was a fear that struck everyone else in turn.

As the sky was dark, they were ordered to silently prepare the most basic of a tent structure. Told to forgo any extra tents or fortifications for supplies, or constructing any means of cattle-keeping other than a simple stick to stop from the wilder ones running away. Nighttime was an eerily silent affair. No stories were told that night. Even the barest whispering was snuffed out like a candle born to a harsh climate. Fear overwhelmed Naja, preventing her from sleeping. She had not had these problems with controlling her mentality before. It was strange to her, foreign even, to be so anxious that she could not will herself to sleep. She took over the watch of the west side of the camp from her brother. Peering into the black, she willed it to the earth and sky herself that the night would pass without issue. Come morning, she was thankful that it did.