Tourmaline smiled at Blue's eagerness. He could understand curiosity - it was, after all, what sent him on his own quest. And he was more than happy to answer the youth's questions. When Citrine barked at Blue for pestering, Tourmaline couldn't help but smile. He supposed he'd been much like the younger Kulshedra once, always asking questions, always yearning to know more, always looking beyond what was to see what could be.
"I've been traveling for many suns now," Tourmaline started, a smile still on his face. "I'm from a tribe far to the west, where the long sands and the sea meet. And I've been gone for... about two years. And yes, I'll have to go back."
His smile faded at that. Yes, he'd have to go back, and soon. If he didn't return at the appointed time, then he would be considered dead by his tribe and disowned, and he would be homeless, tribeless, and that wasn't a fate Tourmaline wanted. He'd promised himself that he would return home at the appointed time, whether he'd seen everything he'd wanted to see or not. He could live with the disappointment of not knowing everything the world had to offer, because he had already seen so much. But he knew he couldn't live with the idea of never seeing his family or his homeland again.
Tourmaline looked at Blue and gave him a smile, trying to hide the sudden melancholy that had come over him when he thought about home. "As for what I've seen, I've seen quite a bit. Large bodies of salty water, plains full of golden grass as high as your shoulders, men that are so in tune with their horses that they're practically one creature. I'll show you my collection and my journal. I have plenty of stories to tell."