Tsintah
Legacy Name: Tsintah

(Tsintah & Toh-Yah)

The warmth of her bed held her like glue; it would be a slow start to the morning. A cold breeze gently swept through their tee pee as she squinted and covered her eyes from the blinding sunrise. The hue of the room was a bronze warmth. She could hear the clatter of breakfast being made by her grandmother and Toh Yah to the right of her sleeping mat. The door to the tent was propped open by the binding stick, and the light beams were wrapped with floating dust and sand from outside. The desert slowly emerged in the light as it made it's way from dusk to dawn; waking up the warm color of the sand dunes.

Tsintah sat up and stretched, her patterned blanket laying down by her torso. She rustled her long, straight auburn hair and finally looked toward her brother and grandmother. Her sky-blue eyes were an odd match for her terracotta skin. Her entire complexation was a mashup of genetics from her Native mother and father.

Her grandmother stared long in her direction and signed a jolted signal for help. Senya was around the age of ninety with skin that looked like mud cracks in the road and a face that has seen many hard times. Her teeth were gone, which gave her mouth a caved-in look and her eyes were sunken into her head. Senya's hair was white and frayed into a long braid down her back. Her figure was plump and hunched over, and took little scoots with her feet as she walked from place to place.

Tsintah groaned and kicked her blanket off with an attitude, as it swung in the air. It wrapped itself around a piece of pottery near the door as it trickled it's way down. The pot circled in a dance, as a game waiting to fall as Toh Yah rushed to dive and save it from knocking down. The dirt and blankets beneath him skidded his underbelly, and dust flew in every direction, which caused Senya to cough in the back.

"Careful!" he shouted at her, "This is our last ration of herbs for the week. We need to make it last, and we don't need your attitude to cause us to loose this!"

Toh Yah got up and dusted his bare torso off and tan pants from any residue. He tossed the blanket in her direction. She tried to catch it, but her reaction time was too late. It engulfed her entire face and in her anger, she ripped it off and scowled at him with her fists clenched. His long black hair settled back into place, and quickly he turned around from the annoyance of his sister, back to help his grandmother.

Embarrassed, Tsintah made her ground-bed to her best ability, and by that, she threw the blanket messily on top. She scurried to stand up and make her way over to help. She was dressed in a light deer-skin gown.

"Too late." Senya hissed at her.

Tsintah looked over and saw that Toh Yah was already setting the floor with the mats. She sighed, and sat down. Senya placed herself in the middle of the both of them, with every bone in her body clicking on the way down. She grunted in pain and squinted toward the ceiling. Toh Yah grabbed her arm to ease any pain, as she planted her body with a thump on the ground. Toh Yah looked at Tsintah with his sky blue eyes as well as a question for not helping their grandmother as well.

The food was placed in the center of them on three ceramic plates. There was more than enough frybread to go around and a bowl of mutton stew to be placed on top. It was more so a dinner than a breakfast. The smell of onions, meat, and fresh bread fumed the room.

The silence was broken by the grandmother, "Well, I see we have a busy day ahead of us children. We have to make our way to the market in the neighboring town." her weathered voice creaked.

"Why?" questioned Toh Yah

"Well, we have to get more food. We are running low, and our market just does not have the supplies we need anymore. The Speak Raider's that stay here overnight take more rations then they need and leave the shopkeeper empty." she stared into her piece of bread before taking a bite.

"Those bastards! They are nothing but thieves that plunge and steal from the people! For the greater good, the greater good for what!" Tsintah slapped her legs after the last sentence exited her mouth.

"Easy child." Senya replied calmly, "The walls have ears and the hills have eyes, what you might find."

"Then let them come and find me! I'll fight them, I've been getting better with my water mage training." She blurted out.

"Ha! Seriously?" Toh Yah scoffed at her, "You're no better than a year ago, and I can still beat you." he placed one hand on his leg and hunched over in her direction, he smirked at her and ripped a piece of bread with his mouth without taking his eyes off Tsintah.

Tsintah laughed and threw a piece of her bread at him which he managed to catch with his mouth. "It's on then! I bet Ahiga and Gaajii are up for an adventure today too." she remembered that they will see them on their way to West Sedona.

Senya lifted an eyebrow and looked at Toh Yah, "So if you think you are so good, how's your shaman training then?" she replied with a bit of sarcasm.

"Hey, I'm working on it. I am working with True Sky tomorrow." he answered as he got up and carried his plate to the water tin near the back.

The heat began to enter to the room, and Toh Yah decided it was time to close to flap to the tent. The light became blocked, causing shade. Tsintah smiled, for she loved these mornings with her family. She vaguely remembered what it was like before her mother was taken away, it was similar but much more together. She sat in peace and then decided it was time for her to get ready.

***

Toh Yah and Tsintah gestured to their grandmother as they left the tent and made their way to West Sedona. The sky was blue with a few wisps of clouds painted in various spots. The sound of the rushing river in the middle of the Dirt Valley was their path to the town. Each side of the valley was casted by huge, rocky walls that were mounted with pillars stretching over ten stories high.

Tsintah looked back and saw her grandmother's tee pee, looking like it was placed on the side of the slanted wall. She was carrying two backpacks made of hide to be filled with the supplies. Her tall fitted boots were dyed dark brown with wrappings that made sure they would not fall. She wore tight pants under her deer-skin dress that was draped in frillings on the sleeves and hem. She adorned herself with a couple pieces of turquoise jewelry that belonged to her mother. A turquoise choker that hung a small dreamcatcher and large circle-turquoise earrings.

Toh Yah was in the same outfit he wore in the morning, but he carried weapons for the travel on his back. The clanking of the arrows was the rhythm as they trotted their way through the dirt path. The gravel under their feet scratched their boots and the sun beamed down upon them.

They heard birds squawking in the distance, as a warning sign strangers were approaching. The rocks were mixed with reds, browns, and orange pigment. There was few greenery in that area, but as they made their way close to West Sedona, it became more populated with various grasses, pine trees, and shrubbery. The large pillars began to cascade into mountains around them, and the long mountains became more coated with vegetation as the river stretched wider.

The walk to the town was not too long, as their shadow casted only a couple inches down, indicating it took no more than two hours. They made the trip about three times a week, to train and to also meet with friends. The speck of black became larger and larger, into a bustling area with people. The town was gorged out below as they stood upon the cliff that looked down to the city. The river rushed down into a waterfall, and cut it's way through to Sky City.

The adobe houses were evenly placed, creating a geometric pattern around the river. Some of the houses were multi-story, with shops in the bottom and the shop owners home in the top. The whole structure, which can contain dozens of units, was often home to an entire extended clan. The mountains behind Sky City were speckled with green and brown.

Sky City was a beautiful place, and Tsintah always dreamed of living here and wondered why they never decided to move. She grinned at the beautiful architecture and bustle of towns people below, busy doing whatever they were doing. She held onto her backpack behind her shoulder, and looked at Toh Yah.

He looked back in determination, "We have to do what we came to do, then we can go and see them." he tried to be the voice of reason between the two of them.

"Yeah, yeah. But if we get the supplies FIRST, we have to be more careful… if we get them last, we don't have to worry about them." She argued and placed her hand on her hip.

Toh Yah pondered, and decided in contrary, she was right and hated to admit it. "Fine, let's go find them." the child inside him came out a bit and he was gleeful to take a break.

They scurried down the cliff carefully, but in a timely manner and ventured off to find their friends, Ahiga and Gaajii.