Our "Riding Practice" [LE, Ra'Shari Caravan, Expecting]

[Rufus Belgica]

Rufus rolls over, skin slick with sweat. It had been a long day, and he had chosen to add more physical activity.

Not that I'm complaining mind you

[Kezia]

The caravan was actually less cluttered than usual- a side effect of certain athletic efforts by the two of them that had called for some clear space.

Kezia stretched, sighed, and then got up from the relatively simple bed to have a bit of a snack- thanks to Raya's efforts at the buffet earlier in the day, she had some decidedly tasty options.

And heaven knew, she'd worked up a bit of an appetite.

Come for the exotic good looks... keep coming because holy CRAP he's in great shape...

She didn't feel compelled to say anything. There'd been a few religious exclamations from both of them, so that was sort of like developing a deeper understanding, right?

[Rufus Belgica]

"So, are you unusual for the Ra'Shari?" Rufus finally asks, pulling himself up, the sheets sliding off his body. "Because I'd like to think that we'd have heard of gorgeous warrior women who fight as well as they...well.."

Rufus has no qualms getting an eyeful as Kezia gets up. It's nothing he hasn't seen already, but he certainly isn't tiring of the sight anytime soon.

[Kezia]

"Well, now, you've hardly seen me fight, have you?"

She sounded amused.

"So far as it goes, the things about me that are... atypical have less to do with the physical than otherwise..."

[Rufus Belgica]

"I felt the callouses on your hands Kezia. You don't get those without some practice." The words have a nonchalonce to them. "But you're right I hope to see you in action. "

Rufus offers a genuine smile. " I don't know, what I'm seeing now is certainly impressive. So... What is it then that makes you unusual? Is it unbridled powers of seduction? I could buy that"

[Kezia]

"Bah, flattery has already gotten you back in here... but don't stop trying."

Oooo, feta!

"Call it a... personal edge. A little... well. I'm not trying to be too coy, but it's... difficult to explain. Anyway. Are you unusual for a... Yodotai, was it?"

[Rufus Belgica]

Rufus feels his own stomach gurgle and kicks off the sheets to join her.

"Kind of? I guess I need to go over the Yodotai. When the Habif expand, they've managed to keep new territories under control because they let people keep most of their customs. You follow their rules, you are Yodotai. The Gallim are the most recent, and that's where I am from. This" Rufus runs a hand through coppery hair. " Doesn't look anything like most Yodotai. Even my name, that was given at the orphanage. It means "reddish". I was taught to be a Yodotai surrounded by people who looked like me but remembered the old ways, and when I went to the heart of the Empire I knew their ways but looked nothing like any of them"

[Kezia]

"Wait, they let people keep their customs, but you also talk about old ways... which is it?"

[Rufus Belgica]

Rufus thinks about his answer. "Their religion. The Yodotai require that their conquests take on the Yodotai gods. Nearly everything else is permitted, and all the rights and building and technology that the Yodotai have become theirs, so long as they forsake that one thing"

[Kezia]

"Hm, but... religion's one of the most personal things... I mean, that is to say, how can they figure out what you really believe?"