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When Chasca first crossed paths with Kinich, she only saw him as a courier from the Scions of the Canopy. Young, agile, but also small. She saw him handling packages practically his own size with little difficulty as he ran and practically flew across the landscape with his grappling hook. Last she remembered… he was only eleven at the time. A bit younger than herself and yet she wasn't allowed to do anything more beyond a few chores and training. Back then, she had wondered about that, but the chief simply told her Kinich was on his own.
The second time they had crossed paths, was a bit later. Another courier job, Chasca had finished settling a minor dispute as she just started as the tribe’s peacemaker. She saw the familiar grapple again as he landed nearby. He hasn't really grown much… while she practically hit a growth spurt, Kinich didn't look much taller than when she last saw him. She practically had a head on him in terms of height.
“My apologies, did I interrupt something?” Kinich asked, his voice neutral.
“Kinich! The shipment you gave me-!”
“If you think I tampered with it, I didn't. I have insurance on that remember? When I handed it to you, you confirmed it yourself that the seal hadn't been broken.” Kinich said sharply.
“Please don't bring a previous third party into this. He doesn't have anything to do with it now.” Chasca sighed as she stared at the two warriors glaring at each other. “And must I remind you that I found the answer already?”
The two looked at each other before grunting reluctantly.
“Fine…”
The two wandered off, grumbling as they held onto the parcel.
“So, what was that about?” Kinich asked.
“Just a small scuffle about the package. Supposedly one party stole something from the other’s package, but I found it hidden somewhere and was just trying to get the other in trouble.” Chasca said, “It's quite annoying.”
“Mhm.”
“What brings you back over here?” Chasca asked, “Do you have more deliveries to do?”
Kinich nodded and gestured to the bag on his shoulder. “I have some materials to deliver to the chief. It's my last commission for the day. I should get going.”
“Of course,” Chasca said, and the boy was off again.
The third time Chasca saw Kinich was after he returned from the Night Warden Wars. Looking confused, but now with a new Dendro vision in his possession. She has yet to win the Pilgrimage herself, but Kinich had been a victor and even was the last bearer to stand for the battle.
It was after that point that Kinich seemed… less cold. He was more open.
They'd cross paths more and more due to their work. Kinich also happened to watch her get violent more often than not with less than compliant individuals.
Kinich then started visiting the tribe more often due to doing deliveries to Ifa and Chuychu recommended Kinich go to Ifa for injuries due to his work with saurians. So they ended up meeting more and more.
And since then, they just kept on meeting by chance and chatting.
Chasca wouldn't consider herself good at making friends, but this casual bond with Kinich was nice. Not many words spoken besides Ajaw being his annoying self. It was… nice.
It was something small, really. All of it was small, with the work and repairs that still needed to be done, Chasca hadn’t paid much mind to it. Not until now, anyway.
“Acting like… Chuychu? What do you mean by that?” Chasca asked.
She had finished up some negotiations, and as many things ended up, had to take care of a scuffle and ended up battered herself. Before, Chuychu would tend to her wounds whether she liked it or not. Afterwards, Chasca would take care of them herself, but had finally made the effort to see Ifa as well. He was close to Chuychu and she trusted him. Still, what he said…
“Yeah, I noticed.” Ifa said, “I worked with her plenty of times before, we ended up pretty close. I know… it’s been a bit of time, but I do see it. You’re taking on some of her mannerisms.”
“Hehe, mom and dad say the same thing.” Chasca said, “Both of them, said that I was keeping a part of her with us, even if it’s only momentarily, I still… don’t really see how though.”
“Hehe, they probably saw what we were doing.” Ifa mused.
“Saw what?”
“Us dragging Kinich to the clinic after he got injured a short bit ago.” Ifa said, “it… reminded me of how Chuychu would drag you to the clinic after a particularly tough ‘negotiation’.”
“That… was different, I don’t yell like she did.” Chasca said.
Ifa chuckled, “Perhaps, but it still reminds me. No matter, you’re all fixed up now.”
Chasca pulled her arm away as she looked at the neat bandages around the small wound on her wrist. Honestly those gangs get way too cocky and reckless for her liking.
Still… what Ifa said… was she really acting like Chuychu? She did feel like Kinich reminded her of herself back then, but to be that similar is… she means… she knows Kinich better than either of them expected, same goes for what Kinich knows about her. He’s seen her many times before and knew her line of work better than anyone. As did she when they would regularly cross paths during his courier work.
She just doesn’t like how Kinich pushes himself. Ever since the invasion, it was hard to see him rest anywhere. Sure, all of them were still working hard to repair what the Abyss destroyed but still…
“Anyway, how's your mom mom doing? Does she need a check up or anything?” Ifa asked as he put his first aid kit away.
“Oh, no, she's in perfectly good health.” Chasca said, “She also wanted me to thank you for the services you provided.”
“Haha, glad to hear!” Ifa mused.
Chasca was doing a regular patrol around the Flower Feather Clan when she spotted a familiar burst of green. She heard a roar and promptly zoomed down.
She flew further and saw Kinich in a stalemate against an abyss corrupted qucusaur. When was there a commission posted about this? Usually those at the tribe would know when a qucusaur was corrupted by the Abyss. Their power and pride were nothing to scoff at, and their powers in combat were intense. For Kinich to be out here fighting one…
She moved faster as she saw a burst from Ajaw's larger form strike at the corrupted saurian. Damn it, why did they seem so far away?
She saw another burst of green as the qucusaur faltered for a moment, before shooting forward with its claws extended. Ajaw let out another angry blast. The qucusaur let out a roar.
“I'm sorry…” Chasca breathed before aiming her gun and sending a strong burst of Anemo into the saurian. It swirled with Ajaw's Dendro blast and the saurian soon fell, slowly dissolving into abyssal ash. As was the fate of all saurians corrupted by the Abyss.
“Huh?! When did you get here?!” Ajaw demanded.
Chasca ignored him before landing on the ground and running over near the trees. Kinich was leaning against one, holding his arm as blood seeped down a large gash on it, and another, thankfully much more shallow one, ran across the top of his chest. There was the tail end of a cut on his cheek as well.
“Kinich, are you okay?” Chasca asked as she kneeled in front of him.
“I'm okay… just a little wounded, nothing that serious.” Kinich grunted as he tried to stand up, bracing against the tree for support.
“That wound on your arm is not something to be casual about. Don't move, let me handle the wounds for now.” Chasca said as kept him down against the tree. “What are you doing out here? Did you get a commission?”
“Yeah, though I am surprised.” Kinich said as he reluctantly sat back down, “Fighting mutated qucusaurs is not something that I get commissioned for often. Much less one of that size. I just got the commission recently and was planning on just observing to see if the price they offered was sufficient. Wasn't expecting it to spot me and attack so suddenly.”
That was concerning, it still confused her how no one in the tribe warned anyone of a mutated qucusaur. Kinich was always around the perimeter of the Scions of the Canopy, it would have taken at least a day or two to get such information from here to him. That's not including the time it took for that qucusaur to be spotted or even be an issue. For him to be here…
“Hey! Just so you know, we ended up defeating the thing before proper assessment, so that measly amount of mora is what we're stuck with!” Ajaw scoffed as he returned to his smaller form and flew over.
“Maybe we wouldn't have been spotted if you had been more quiet.” Kinich scolded, but winced as Chasca wrapped a bandage around his arm.
“Who sent you that commission, Kinich?” Chasca asked.
“Huh? Why?” Kinich blinked at her, looking genuinely confused for a moment.
“I find it strange that you were sent out here for something like this. No one in the tribe had seen a mutated qucusaur. Considering how uncommon it is for qucusaurs to get corrupted like this, its… concerning.” Chasca said.
“I see… it is strange, I usually never get commissions this far out.” Kinich said, wincing a bit as Chasca tied off the bandage.
“Remove your shirt.” Chasca said, “I need to see the wound on your chest.”
Kinich blinked again, before shaking his head, “This one is more shallow, I can take care of it later.”
“No, Kinich, we need to tend to it now before it gets infected.”
Kinich hesitated for a moment but nodded his head and managed to lift up his shirt enough so Chasca could treat the wound there.
“So, the commissioner?” Chasca asked.
“His name was Ixol. He told me he was a traveling warrior from the Flower Feather Clan.” Kinich said, “I was trying to observe at first. All he asked was to take care of a mutated saurian in the area that supposedly was a potential threat.”
“Usually dealing with those guys falls into two categories. The saurian was actually a danger and the commission goes on like normal. Or they're poachers who want to kill the one saurian screwing up their plans.” Ajaw scoffed, “Imagine our surprise that he wasn't a poacher this time around.”
“You actually don’t need to worry.” Chasca said, “I know Ixol, sort of. We met a long time ago. How he knew about a mutated saurian here though is something I need to ask him. But that can wait.”
First things first, Kinich's arm was in bad enough shape, it wouldn't be safe for him to wander around the area with his dominant arm out of commission like this.
“Okay, up we go.” Chasca said, before Kinich could protest anything, she grabbed him and hoisted him into her arms.
“Chasca-! I, I can walk just fine.” Kinich said, though he made no point to struggle besides sounding confused and mildly alarmed.
Chasca honestly forgets how small he is at times.
“You shouldn't be out here with a busted arm like that. My parents are doctors, and there's Ifa too, they'll look you over and make sure you're good to go by the end of the day.” Chasca said as she called for her qucusaur. Ajaw only laughing at Kinich's current predicament as well.
Chasca took a breath as she sat outside Ifa’s clinic. Kinich was getting his wounds checked out by him since he knew Ifa well enough. She doesn’t even remember when or how the two ended up meeting. She thought it was when he brought Ajaw to get checked on, but according to Ifa, that wasn’t their first encounter. Supposedly Ifa met Kinich when commissioning him for something a long time ago.
Regardless, she had questions for Ixol. How can a mutated qucusaur remain unknown to the tribe long enough that he was able to find Kinich all the way out at the Scions of the Canopy to commission him? She’s been patrolling very frequently, she would have seen something… She knows he’s one of the most skilled flyers and adventurers in the tribe, but that really didn’t answer her question.
She didn't wait long before Kinich exited the clinic, bandages around his wounds and covering most of his arm. He flexed his fingers a bit, but winced in turn.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better, he got them all bandaged up, but… like you said, I can't really fight anything like this, not today at least.” Kinich said.
“That's what you get for rushing into things head first like that!” Ajaw hissed as he appeared around Kinich's head. “I told you to leave that puny insect to the Great K'uhul Ajaw! But nooooooo! You had to rush in and claim the glory!”
“If I recall, you were struggling just as much.” Kinich sighed as he crossed his arms. He turned to Chasca, “Were you waiting for me this whole time?”
“Yes, I wanted to make sure you were alright.” Chasca said, “I also wanted to ask where you will be meeting Ixol. With the commission done, I assume it's due time for your payment.”
“Oh, right… today was supposed to be recon, but since it ended up finishing early, we should go see him.” Kinich said, “He said he would be camping out just northeast of the Flower Feather Clan, so that's where I plan on looking.”
“Good, then let's go.” Chasca said as she started to move.
“Wait, you're going to see him too?” Kinich asked.
“I want to make sure things proceed without a hitch. Think of it as me just doing my job as a peacemaker. I want to make sure this whole process goes smoothly, especially since you're injured.” Chasca said.
“Ha! You see that Kinich? She thinks you might try fight it out, or better yet, thinks you're helpless like this and needs a babysitter!” Ajaw cackled, only for Kinich to bat him away into timeout with his hand.
“I still wonder how you put up with him.” Chasca mused, “Let's get going, I honestly have some questions for Ixol myself.”
Kinich wasn't sure what was going on with Chasca recently. Sure, they knew each other for awhile now, but she usually kept to herself. Part of him wondered if it had anything to do with Chuychu's passing. He felt like he should know the answer, yet it somehow felt inconclusive.
“Do you know Ixol?” Kinich asked as they flew across the skies.
“Mhm, he was the one who found me years ago and introduced me to my current family.” Chasca said, “Though it has been a long time since I last saw him.”
It wasn’t long before they found the camp, however he didn’t know why Chasca insist he ride on her giant gun with her when he could’ve just flown on Ajaw. Kinich spotted a Flower Feather Clan emblem and saw a man with dark hair and tanned skin. He waved over to them and walked over.
“Malipo Kinich! Over here!” The man called out as they landed, “Chasca? What are you doing here? Or… nevermind, I see.”
“Hello Ixol.” Chasca said as they landed. “It’s been awhile.”
“Indeed, so you are accompanying Kinich today, that makes things a little easier.” Ixol said, “Kinich, how did your recon go? Did you find the mutated Saurian?”
“...There was a mutated qucusaur, and well… we got spotted and managed to take it out.” Kinich said, wincing again at his arm.
“I see, so a mutated qucusaur did appear.” Ixol muttered.
“Ixol… did you know something about this?’ Chasca asked, “How did the tribe not know about a mutated qucusaur in the area? Going to find Kinich would've taken a few days. How did…?”
“There was a likely chance the mutated saurian didn't appear until today. I contacted Ororon from the Masters of the Night Wind.” Ixol said, “I wanted to see if any connection to the leylines could predict when a saurian might be mutated. Strong bursts of abyssal energy that suddenly vanish. There was a strong concentration of energy, so I commissioned Kinich to come out here, figuring that the time traveling here would be the lag time between the corruption and a mutated saurian appearing. However… I didn't expect it to injure you so badly, my apologies.”
“You contacted Ororon too? You've been busy.” Chasca said.
“We can discuss that back at the tribe. I plan on explaining this to the chief after all.” Ixol said, “Kinich, I have your payment, and here, I have some extra too in order to compensate for your injuries.”
Kinich blinked for a moment, “That's okay, I did the job you asked me to. That's all, getting injured is part of it.”
“Are you seriously turning down mora you dummy?” Ajaw asked as he appeared again.
“I’m not, just keeping the price equal to what was agreed. I see no need to change it.” Kinich said, “Besides, I already got my injuries taken care of, Ifa just asked me for a favor in return. I'm honestly surprised that isn't his main form of currency at this point.”
Ixol let out a chuckle, “That doesn't surprise me. Since you're here, let's have something to eat.”
“We really shouldn't-”
“It's on me, don't worry, I already planned on having a meal anyway. So sit, it's been awhile.” Ixol said as he walked back over to the campfire.
Kinich and Chasca looked at each other before walking over and taking a seat.
The rest of the evening went on discussing other matters, as well as Ixol’s experiences and travels to other parts of Natlan. The conversations themselves were nothing out of the ordinary. Kinich honestly couldn't help but wince as his arm still hurt. However, he couldn’t help but notice how Chasca seemed just a bit more at ease now. He noticed she was tense a bit earlier, more alert. Yet her guard here was lowered just a bit. So this was the man who found Chasca and introduced her to the tribe after she was raised by the qucusaurs…
Chasca felt a little relief, just a little. At first she was worried Ixol might be causing the mutated saurians for a complicated trap she couldn’t fathom. However, he hasn’t changed at all, he was just using an unusual method of detection she hasn’t considered before. Maybe she should ask Ifa about it since he’s close to Ororon.
Regardless, what mattered now with that business concluded, what to make sure Kinich got rest.
“I can head back home and rest up, you don’t need to go through the trouble.” Kinich said as they landed outside of Ifa'a clinic again.
“The Scions are far away, and I don't think it's wise to camp with your arm injured like it is.” Chasca said, “Just stay the night, and you can head out in the morning.”
Kinich looked at her for a moment, “Chasca, is something the matter?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… you've been paying a lot of attention to my health recently.” Kinich said, “Is there a reason for that?”
“Not particularly, I'm just looking out for you.” Chasca said, “I am worried, and I've gotten wounds like yours when I first started out. Chuychu would scold me for running off with them, I eventually found out the hard way what those wounds can do to you in battle.”
“You don’t need to worry, I’ve handled far worse on my own before, even before I made that contract with Ajaw.” Kinich said, “but… I’ll stay the night if it gives you some peace of mind, consider if repayment for tending to my wounds earlier.”
“You don’t need to keep track of payments with me, Kinich.” Chasca said, “I’m doing this because I want to make sure you’re okay. As a friend.”
Kinich looked at her, before smiling a little, “very well. As friends then, just so you know, I consider those things extremely precious. So don’t hesitate to ask me for anything if you need it.”
“All I ask for now is you rest tonight.” Chasca said, “and you let me escort you home tomorrow. As much good a good night sleep will do, those wounds will need more than a day to heal.”
“Very well, I accept.” Kinich said.
Chasca couldn’t help but smile a tiny bit herself. Kinich was a lot more cold before, especially when they first started crossing paths. It was nice to know he was warming up to her.
She didn't know much about Kinich's past, nor did he know much about hers, but it didn't matter right now. After all, they're companions now, friends. Just like with the other Six Heroes. Since Chuychu is no longer here, she has to make sure to take care of him, as well as everyone else.
Chasca watched as Kinich said goodnight and entered Ifa’s clinic, before turning away herself to head home.
“...You were right, Chuychu.” Chasca murmured, “I was indeed a handful. I now understand more on how you felt then, thank you.”