Announcements: Cutting Costs (2024) » January 2024 Copyfraud Attack » Finding Universes to Join (and making yours more visible!) » Guide To Universes On RPG » Member Shoutout Thread » Starter Locations & Prompts for Newcomers » RPG Chat — the official app » Frequently Asked Questions » Suggestions & Requests: THE MASTER THREAD »

Latest Discussions: Adapa Adapa's for adapa » To the Rich Men North of Richmond » Shake Senora » Good Morning RPG! » Ramblings of a Madman: American History Unkempt » Site Revitalization » Map Making Resources » Lost Poetry » Wishes » Ring of Invisibility » Seeking Roleplayer for Rumple/Mr. Gold from Once Upon a Time » Some political parody for these trying times » What dinosaur are you? » So, I have an Etsy » Train Poetry I » Joker » D&D Alignment Chart: How To Get A Theorem Named After You » Dungeon23 : Creative Challenge » Returning User - Is it dead? » Twelve Days of Christmas »

Players Wanted: Serious Anime Crossover Roleplay (semi-literate) » Looking for a long term partner! » JoJo or Mha roleplay » Seeking long-term rp partners for MxM » [MxF] Ruining Beauty / Beauty x Bastard » Minecraft Rp Help Wanted » CALL FOR WITNESSES: The Public v Zosimos » Social Immortal: A Vampire Only Soiree [The Multiverse] » XENOMORPH EDM TOUR Feat. Synthe Gridd: Get Your Tickets! » Aishna: Tower of Desire » Looking for fellow RPGers/Characters » looking for a RP partner (ABO/BL) » Looking for a long term roleplay partner » Explore the World of Boruto with Our Roleplaying Group on FB » More Jedi, Sith, and Imperials needed! » Role-player's Wanted » OSR Armchair Warrior looking for Kin » Friday the 13th Fun, Anyone? » Writers Wanted! » Long term partner to play an older male wanted »

Mateja: Revolution » Places

Places in Mateja: Revolution

This is a list of locations that can be found in Mateja: Revolution.


All Places

Blakestown

20 posts · 7 characters present · last post 2013-01-02 21:39:25 »

         
Blakestown
November 11th, Night


Tonight wasn't a night for altercations. Tonight, people were celebrating being healthy, happy and whole. Even if there were those who were still suspicious of the Vanduo's presence in Blakestown, those who had accepted the tribals into their fold far outnumbered the rest.

So when the small group of young people approached the gate leading to the outside, they were permitted to pass, including Adrien, after the guards had given them a fair word of warning. Ellie was on Xander's arm, and Aja walked with her hand loosely gripping Adrien's forearm. Behind them, the gates closed with an iron clang, and above, the twin moons were beginning to split with the approach of the winter solstice.

Aja glanced upward, her brow furrowed in thought, while Ellie described in vivid detail how much she adored the evening.

"I mean, I wasn't entirely sure about how everything would turn out, but once Ajani saw me and I started feeling better, my hopes were immediately restored." She chirped, her cheeks flushed from the chill. Xander, at her side, merely looked on in amusement.

"Did you enjoy yourself Ajani? You and Adrien seemed to dance pretty well, and Adrien doesn't dance!"

"He hobbles like a cripple." Xander said with a grin. "With two left feet."

"I had fun." Ajani supplemented, glancing to Adrien. "I think his feet are fine."

"Y'll be hobbling like a cripple once I make you one, Sandy," he warned, though dully and humorously. He, too, looked up to the twin moons, before glancing between the group, and smiling toward Xander and Elleanore.

"I'm glad you're better, Ell. I really am. And..." Adrien glanced toward Xander, and his smile seemed to fall more than it rose, at that point. Suddenly, he looked toward Ajani, almost as if attempting to move onto something else.

"Thanks for helping Radimus, Aja. Even though he's a right prick."

Ajani smiled back, but it wasn't as enthusiastic as she would have originally expressed. "He's your father." she told him, lightly shrugging her shoulders. "I would have wanted the same done for my own."

The wall disappeared as the four walked further into the woods. There didn't seem to be any anxiety out here now, not since the colonists had obviously taken in the tribals and accepted their presence. Coming to a small clearing in the midst of a copse of trees, Ajani stepped away from Adrien, releasing his arm and walking to the center of that small patch of snow-laden ground. Her brow furrowed as she concentrated, her arms held close to her chest as she looked around her for a moment, then, with a sudden sweep of her arms, frigid gusts of wind came swooping in, dusting the snow away until nothing but cold earth remained.

Xander, who looked a bit disheveled after the small demonstration, glanced to Ellie, who could do little more than stare about herself in confusion. She didn't seem to be making the connection.

"Adrien can you help me find some branches?" Aja called, waving him towards her. Xander stepped forward, as if meaning to help, but the woman stopped him.

"We'll be back. Stay here with Ellie."

"For a fire?" Adrien unceremoniously replied, as if the association of tribals and magic hadn't really come as new news to him now. His feet carried him toward Ajani, though when he'd reached her, he gave a smile back to Xander. "Y'can't carry lumber anyway, Xander. Only us brawny men can. A log'd crush your lanky bones!"

Then, he looked to the girl he'd followed. "Though maybe just Xander and I should've gone?" he added, almost teasingly.

Aja glanced away momentarily. "If that's how you would prefer it." She seemed to miss the joke, gazing at Adrien curiously, as if she didn't understand why he was saying as much. She shook her head, lifting a hand to her brow.

"Or I can just go on my own."

Adrien's smile faltered, and he set a flat hand on Ajani's shoulder. "I was kidding, Aja. We best leave those two together alone anyway." he said, and nodded toward the deeper forest. His hand fell to his side. "Y'seem edgey, if any. Something messing with you?" he asked.

She nodded, seeing no need for any kind of pretense. "Just, earlier..." she began, walking ahead of him and coming to the base of a tree. Stepping close to the trunk, she lay her hand against the bark, turning her eyes away and pausing for a moment.

A 'crack' resonated above them, and a thicker branch came crashing down, landing softly in the snow not a few feet from where Aja was standing.

"Cain threatened you. He said if I came back..." she hesitated, shaking her head before she looked back to Adrien.

"We need to tell Ellie what's going on."

"If'e threatened me, don't worry about me, because I can damn well take care of myself." Adrien started, rather suddenly and defensively. Then, his brow softened, and his lips pulled into a thin white line. He glanced backwards - to where Xander and Elleanore were waiting for them both. "About the threat he made against her?" he asked. "Or everything?"

Almost hesitantly, he'd hauled the thicker branch over his shoulder, and looked to Ajani for an answer. He thought, that perhaps if she hadn't known, there would be less things to worry about. He could only imagine it peculiar why they would've come out so far anyhow, and the Vanduo leader certainly supplied an answer.

"Everything."

She walked over to stand near him, glancing to his face before looking away. "She deserves to know. If Cain plans on holding on to any of his threats, then she isn't going to be safe." Her eyes went past him, towards the distant woods, and the town that lay beyond that wall. "Where we're at, right now, is good. But I don't know how long it's going to last, or what forces are at work to destroy what we've tried to build."

With a sigh, and a short laugh, she smiled at Adrien, but it was reserved. "I just want all of us to be prepared for the worst, should it happen."

"My father still thinks ill of the tribes. Like helping us was a ploy, so you could be closer. The man is going senile, and he isn't even old enough yet. He's still yet to tell me about the red-haired man." he said, with an expression that starkly contrasted the girl's. "What good would come of telling her if we're not doing anything about it?"

With a long sigh, he glanced toward where she had. He wondered, if he could overlook the tops of the trees, if their wall would still be in view. "I know where he lives - but I'm not killing a man if I can help it. So what are we to do?"

"I won't come back after tonight." she said. "I need to make sure the tribe is doing well, and then there's the matter of Junea..." her voice trailed off, expression suddenly falling to one of worry. "He's yet to come back, and I may have to go out to look for him myself."

So much worry. It was weighing her down at the shoulders. "I've been so distracted that I've nearly forgotten everything else that's been happening."

"Junea?" Adrien asked, his eyebrows pulling tight at the name. He hadn't heard it before. "Is that a good idea? Looking for him yourself? And what about the Vanduo? They depend on you. I know that much, and I've not been there but twice."

He bore the same look as Ajani. "Don't take on what you can't handle. We wouldn't be... heartbroken if you hadn't come back or tried to help us repair the relations between mine and your people. That can wait as long as Illiam can make it. If you need to take care of your tribe, then..." His stomach churned as he spoke, and he hadn't particularly believed the words that he was saying to the girl.

She looked unsure, her lips pursing tight as she crossed her arms over her chest. Continue to come back? Or leave? Which would cause fewer problems for her friends, the people she'd come to care about?

Gritting her teeth, she stared at the ground as the wind stirred powerfully, shaking the snow from the branches around them. "I don't know what I should do anymore. That man frightens me, and I know you can take care of yourself, but I don't know that I could forgive myself if something happened to you...or Ellie or the others."

She searched his eyes. "I want to keep my distance, but leaving wouldn't work either. Not when we're making so much progress."

He pivoted to look at her, and furrowed a brow. "What if... we were to bring Elleanore to the Vanduo? She'd be safe there, if Cain kept on his promise about me getting in the way of things. I wouldn't, still, but I don't need a babysitter. If anything, I could stay somewhere else and that hound wouldn't be able to catch a whiff of me. Blakestown is big; bigger than you've seen. Our walls go on for miles."

"I don't want to abandon this - what we're doing. Not entirely. If it comes down to it, we can just move the people he's threatening, Elleanore and I."

She looked away with a sigh.

"It could work." she murmured. "It's definitely a better choice than just...leaving." She didn't know why she'd even suggested it in the first place. Closing her eyes, she ran her hand over her face before letting her arm drop to her side. Her eyes rolled skyward.

"I'm sorry." she said finally. "I'm letting fear drive my decision-making. I think I'm more tired than I originally thought."

Embarrassed at herself, she started to walk back towards the others. Adrien started off with her, and like he'd promised to Xander and Elleanore, his hands reached for sticks along the way, while his shoulder ached with the heavy wood that Ajani had disjointed from the tree.

They made it back to camp - it wasn't so far away. And, when they had, Adrien happily dropped the lumber into a pile. He moved stones around it, to keep the flames, then looked to his tribal partner as his stomach twisted again, a little afraid of relaying the news to Elleanore, which the three other kids had already known about. Before she could reply to his look, however, he sat himself by the pile of lumber and spoke.

"Can I do the honors? I've been practicing."

Ajani smiled, coming down to sit next to him. Adrien and Ellie crowded around curiously. "Please do." she encouraged, propping her chin in her hand so she could watch.

Adrien had eagerly thrusted both hands forward, palms out, toward the pile of broken sticks and lumber. For a moment, he closed his eyes, and his forehead kneaded with concentration. After a few moments of silence, he opened his eyes again, and looked embarrasedly toward xander and Ellie, then Ajani.

He drew a breath in again, and without closing his eyes, raised his hand to face the firewood again. the boy stared at the pile of wood, and if only for a moment, his vision begun to vignette.

But before that could happen, a spark suddenly rose from the middle of the pit, and caught the fire alight. It was a small fire, and certainly not as impressive as Ajani's magical charades, but the grin on his face that he happily showed to everyone gave the impression that he was rather impressed with himself.

Aja was pleased, just as pleased as Adrien was. She reached to grip his shoulder, squeezing it encouragingly as a soft laugh left her. Ellie and Xander were both staring with widened eyes.

"You can do magic too, Dree?" the young man asked. Ellie, who was standing close to Xander, came to kneel down next to Ajani, her blue eyes wide with wonder as she watched the small flame grow.

"I thought only the tribals could do that." she said, looking past Ajani towards Adrien. Aja, to say the least, looked more than a little proud.

"We all have it in us. This power." she explained, reaching for Adrien's hand and drawing it closer to herself so she could study the veins in the back of his hand. "It's only a matter of learning how to reach it."

She glanced up to Adrien's eyes, unable to help her smile. "How does it feel?"

"Warm." Adrien said, with a grin far wider than Ajani's. It was obvious. He was proud. He'd taken on the same skill that the tribals had, and at the very least, he was coming to a nice start. After trying to turn the corners of his mouth down for a little while, he glanced to Ajani, and the reason why they were here became evident to him again. His proud smile dropped as quickly as it fell, and he gave another wistful sigh.

"S'pose y'two don't know why we came out here to talk?" he asked.

Ellie's eyes widened in curiosity, and Xander came down to sit on her other side. He looked at Adrien with slightly narrowed eyes, as if he suspected what the other might start saying. Aja let go of Adrien's hand and turned to look at the other young woman.

"What do you know about the first time we tried to have our peace treaty signed?" she asked.

"Now, wait a minute," Xander said quickly. "I thought we agreed we weren't gunna talk too much abou' this..."

Ajani looked to Adrien quickly, her brow furrowed.

"It's fine, Xander. Sh'needs to know if she's involved. And she is." Adrien retorted, and gave a quick nod to Ajani before Xander could say anything more.

So, Aja launched into a synopsis of everything that had happened that day, including how she met Adrien, how they'd continued to meet, how she'd come to the town and encountered the man who was responsible for killing her father.

And how that same man had threatened her life in order to keep Adrien from going to see Ajani.

Ellie' eyes were wide, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. Xander looked as if he'd swallowed a lemon. "I don't understand." the young woman said. "What...why doesn't he want you to see her? What does he have against the tribals?"

"What did any of us have against 'em, except stories and some shitty religious reasons." Xander offered. Aja looked from one to the next.

"All we want, Ellie, is to coexist peacefully." she said gently. "We need to learn to rely on one another, and come together as one group of people, and not two." She reached for Ellie's hand and grasped it firmly.

"But that might mean that I'll need to take you to my home to keep you safe, at some point in the future. The last thing any of us wants is for someone to get hurt."

"Sometime soon, Ellie." Adrien corrected. "Do you remember, if any, the man with red hair who helped you carry your things? That was him. His name is Cain. He's a dangerous man, and I don't know if you could stay in Blakestown while we carry on trying to help us coexist without something happening t'you. It sounds selfish to put it that way, but something needs t'happen," he said. "He threatened me. I'm going to move, too."

"What's the urgency?" Ellie's eyes couldn't get any wider.

"Something else is coming." Ajani said, her tone low, and her eyes dark with foreboding. "I don't know what, but I do know that if we can't work together, it's going to destroy both Blakestown and my tribe." She shook her head slowly. "I can't let that happen, to either of us. My father might have suspected it before he di-"

Her throat got thick, but she cleared it quickly, taking a moment to compose herself.

"I think he knew what was coming, and for whatever reason, Radimus, Cain, and a few others are convinced that our cooperation cannot happen."

Even Xander was surprised.

"So, it's like...some big bad is comin' teh get us?"

Aja's throat was thick when she spoke again.

"It's already gotten some of us." she said, her voice quavering. "My people...who live in the homesteads out in the plains...they've gone missing, and I sent a team to go find them, weeks ago. They've yet to return."

Adrien looked to Ajani suddenly, as if the information that she relayed had come as some surprise to him. To him, they felt familiar. His brow unfurrowed soon enough, though, and he gave a deep sigh. He had hoped the dreams he had - the evil she'd spoken of - was just gut feelings and nightmarish dreams. But, their people disappearing? "We don't wander out that far," he said, as if rooting out the possibility that his own could've done it.

Then, he looked to Elleanore again.

"Would you be willing t'go with the Vanduo? They'll keep you safe - from Cain. And... Xander can come to the tribe as well, if he wants to visit you, but I don't think he's in any danger. He's got the mark."

He looked to the faint symbol on his hand. He'd noticed it on Xander before.

"Now?" Ellie tensed, leaning closer to Xander as the other put his arm around her shoulders.

"Soon." Ajani clarified, her lips pursing as she took in a deep breath through her nose. "We'll tell your father, so he won't worry. We just need to keep you and Adrien away from Cain and the others."

Ellie's breathing was faster, but she nodded. "I trust you, all of you. I wish there was more I could do to help."

To the surprise of everyone, Ajani smiled, leaning to cup Ellie behind the head and alighting a kiss on her brow. She rose quickly.

"Best if I went back home," she told the other three. "The rest will come soon, but there are things I need to see to."

Adrien nodded, and gave a light smile toward the two girls. "You be off, then." he said, though suddenly stopped, and lightly took Ajani by the wrist. "But, don't be afraid to come back. I'll move, and I'll take care of myself. Cain won't get to me. I promise."

Then, he let go, and looked to Xander and Elleanore. "I'll be moving from Radimus' house, anyway. I don't know to where yet - and he can't know either. You're going to have to go without an extra farmhand for some time, Sandy."

"I'll come back." she reassured him, before turning and walking into the woods. She glanced one last time back towards the three as they gathered around the fire, smiling tiredly before disappearing into the trees.

Xander watched her go, his brow knit with concern before Adrien's words caught his attention. "Where yeh gunna be, Dree? Or will Ajani be the only one t'know."

Ellie held tight to Xander's hand, watching Adrien quietly.

"Ajani's gone." Adrien noted, dully. He looked to the ground for a moment. The fire he'd made was rasping and dying. Briefly, he shook his head.

"I don't know... I've not explored the city enough t'know. But, I'll tell you when I find out. So, if Ajani comes, you can tell her. I don't think I'm going to stay around the square, though."

He brought a hand to the back of his head and itched at it, seemingly distraught at the lack of an idea.

"I don't know."

"We'll help you figure something out." Xander said. "I mean y'can always stick close to my place if y'need."

"We have a cellar, too." Ellie offered. "It's warm, even during this time of year." Her lips pursed slightly. "It's an idea, anyway. In case you can't find any other options. Father wouldn't mind. I know he wouldn't."

"He'll want to help." Xander seconded, offering a half-smile. He looked back towards the woods.

"So, what's goin' on with Aja? Girl's usually smilin. She just seems...down."

"She's worried about'er tribe. And us; me and Ellie. She's got a lot to take care of; her entire people, and then she's got t'manage relations with us while trying not to get anyone killed." he said, giving a worried look in the direction that the girl had ran off to.

"I don't know about staying with you folk. I mean... Cain knows y'two the best as who I'd go to. Happen I get found, I don't want something t'happen to Cavis, or you, Xander, or your mom."

Seemingly troubled, he put his face in his hands, and rubbed at his temples.

Xander hesitated a moment.

"So...why not go follow her now?" he suggested.

Adrien furrowed his brow for a moment, before standing up abruptly. "That's... something I hadn't considered, I guess. Y'take Ellie to town safe, hear? And you know where th'tribe is, if something happens. If something happens, you tell me."

He looked upon the two that were left with concern, before pivoting and abruptly disappearing into the trees that Ajani had stalked into beforehand.

Xander and Elleanore watched as he disappeared, before Xander went and stomped out the fire. He gave Ellie one last look before reaching for her hand and tugging her along back to the village.

Ajani, in the meantime, had let her succumb somewhat to the emotional pressure that had been weighing her down for the last few days. Sure, she'd rested well enough and she had done some good things for the colonists. Her father would have been proud, and certainly Motina would be pleased...

...but what of her people? What of Junea and the search team? What of those she had left behind at Tribe Vanduo? Could she possibly take on the mantle of caring for all of these people? Spear-heading the effort to make sure that the colonists and the tribals got along? How could she do all of that when she couldn't find out what had happened to her own brothers?

She didn't feel like a leader, just then. She felt woefully inadequate, frightened like a child, and terribly lonely.

So she walked until the tears blurred her vision, and she was forced to stop. Wiping her eyes did little to help, since more tears came, so she turned and sat herself down at the base of a tree, curling up and resting her forehead, briefly, on her knees.

She didn't know how long she sat there. Time seemed to be of no consequence.

Adrien followed suit, though aimlessly. He'd been to the Vanduo village enough to know where it was, but suddenly, wandering haphazardly through the woods hadn't seemed like such a bright idea after all. Not if he couldn't find Ajani. So, he pushed past bushes and dodged trees, until he'd seen the upset path that another had taken just before him.

He tracked it, until he'd come across Ajani again, whose start was not so far from his. It was only when he'd realized that she was on the floor and against a tree that he stopped, and approached cautiously. At first, he was concerned to her health, but then, it was evident he'd caught the girl in emotional turmoil.

The boy almost recoiled.

"Sorry," he said, immediately. "I thought I'd stay at the village - too - for now. Didn't know..."

She spun around, flying to her feet and nearly stumbling in the process as she struggled to right herself. She stared at him, taking a few deep breaths before planting a hand on her hip and using the other to push her hair back away from her face. Still flushed, but obviously startled out of her emotional breakdown, she merely shook her head, muttering something in abrupt Vanduo and then nodding.

"Yes, yes of course. I don't know why I didn't think to invite you back."

"I can just... go back to Blakes, if it'll help. I didn't know it was that bad. 'M'sorry, Aja," he said again, lowering his eyes, and taking no heed to her words. He pivoted to return to the trees again.

"Adrien!" she called suddenly, perhaps a little more desperately than she intended. She was mid-step, as if she intended to follow after him.

He'd been startled by her call, though, and abruptly turned back to face her. His face bore that of guilt and his shoulders tenseness. Part of him didn't want to turn back to her, and part of him had. Still, he waited wordlessly for her to speak.

"I need your help." she said, her eyes flooding. Angrily, she wiped them away with the sleeve of her dress. "I just... need you with me. I need your friendship, your presence is a comfort to me, and whenever you're around I feel like, on some small scale, that I'm capable of accomplishing what I've set out to do." She gripped her hands tightly in front of her.

"My motivations are purely selfish, but it's the honest truth. I won't make you come if you don't want to."

"I want to. I think I'd be safer there; Cain doesn't know where the tribe is, and I wouldn't have to stay at Xander's or Cavis' and endanger them. And..." he drew a breath in, and held it, for an amount of time. "I guess I feel the same way. When Radimus had kept me behind the walls, and Xander and Elleanore hadn't been talking to me," He hesitated, and then gave a forced shrug. "I was ready to give up everything I worked for."

Then, he smiled coyly, and took toward the girl, still cautious in his pursuits. "I'll come. I want to. As long as you stop crying. I don't feel too welcome when you do that."

Ajani rolled her eyes, turning and scooping up a wad of snow before lobbing it at his face.

"Whatever you say, Dree." she said with a small smile.

He was lucky enough to duck it, and then stuff his hands in his pockets and walk tribe-ward. He jutted out a tongue.

"Well, lets go, then? I'm sure your tribe misses me."

Plato Blakestown Owner: RolePlayGateway

The main colony of Mateja, largest in population, and greatest in financial diversity.

Skye Island

1 posts · 1 characters present · last post 2012-12-12 06:04:53 »

         
Skye Island
September 15, Early morning


It seemed as though they'd flown for hours. They rode in gentle, steady circles, rising on a tower of warm air that pushed the wyverns steadily higher and higher. The ground fell away, landmarks becoming miniscule until they disappeared from sight altogether, curtains of clouds obstructing their view.

Kysa remained quiet for the majority of the ride, her figure tucked against Trystan's chest as he held her securely in the saddle. As they continued to rise, they became enveloped in walls of grey and white, the moisture so thick on the air that it began to gather on their skin, dampening their hair and condensing on the scales of the wyverns they rode. The air was thicker here, making it difficult to breathe for a short time as they moved to break through the surface.

And when they did...

Glorious sunrise bathed them as they broke through the base of the clouds, opening up to them an ocean of white cotton that extended from horizon to horizon. The sky was blue up here, the air crisp and cold. Kysa shivered, and Trystan seemed to smile at her response.

"There it is!" he hollared, pointing towards what could have been a massive cumulonimbus cloud. Instead, upon closer inspection, the rivvulets and ridges turned out to be the edges of cut stone, as bleached white as the clouds surrounding it.

Skye Island.

Kysa managed to open her eyes long enough to get a good view of the floating island. She stirred, nearly smiling as they began to close in. It really was beautiful.

The island was shaped like a large beehive, open in many areas to let the sun in. Large glassed in windows made it possible for things to grow on the inside, providing food for the Oro tribe that lived there. Kysa remembered vaguely that the island was a network of passages and cavernous rooms, with people living closer to the center of the large structure.

The riders closed in, moving towards a long, narrow outcropping of stone that served as a landing pad for the draconic creatures. Kysa's landed first, followed closely by the one Junea rode on. Almost as soon as they landed, Trystan hopped off the monster, holding his arms out for Kysa to dismount.

Waiting at the end of the runway was a group of tribals dressed all in white, the visage nearly blinding in the light of the morning sun.

"Greetings!" A tall, elegant woman called to them. She patiently waited for them to make their way closer.

"And what brings these unexpected visitors? Vanduo tribe? Where is your leader?" Her sharp, blue eyes flickered to Junea, white-blonde hair reminiscent of Ajani's fair locks.

Junea had dismounted the animal, though slowly and carefully. It was only until he'd gotten off the animal, and leaned in the beast with an arm, that he turned his eyes to the fair-haired Oro woman. He had given a curt half-nod. "I am Junea Vrass, and my partner is Kysa. We are both of the Vanduo tribe, initially a part of a rescue and relay team composed to warn the other tribes of what was happening on the homesteads."

He took a sharp breath in, and stepped away from the beast with a blatant stagger. The man was unkempt, and at the very least, looked injured. A purple ring had laid around his neck where he'd been strangled, and his leg had still remained untreated.

"The Ugnis killed the rest of the team. I am afraid to say that they have left Motina's grace. We had not expected to come to Skye Island so early, but your youth had picked us up in a time of injury and need, after being attacked by the Ugnis."

The tribals who stood looked distinctly uncomfortable by his accusations. The woman at the head came forward then, her gaze flickering over Kysa, as Trystan carried her in his arms.

"Your accusations are grave." she noted, her eyes finding Junea's. "This is not the place to discuss such things. Come with us, allow us to help you heal and then we can talk in more detail about the atrocities of which you speak."

"We haven't much time." Kysa suddenly spoke, her voice stronger than she'd intended. "We can't rest for long!"

The Oro woman regarded her with a nearly patronizing smile. "Give us one night then, and we'll decide what to do once the two of you have rested."

She turned, gesturing for the rest of them to follow, and the procession was lead into the heart of the island, where stone walls rose high on either side, lit by mirrors that reflected light all around them. It was glorious, really. Beautiful in its own right, but for whatever reason, Kysa felt uncomfortable, like she was too far removed from the place she called home.

"I can walk." she told Trystan, insisting that he help her down.

He obliged, and she steadied herself on his arm before moving back to walk alongside Junea. She wasn't ready for much besides walking, but the Oro didn't seem to be pressed for a fast pace anyway.

"How are you holding up?" she asked him quietly, offering an arm if he wanted it.

Junea had taken her offer, and walked with the aide of Kysa. He quieted his voice when he'd spoken to the girl, though made no attempt to keep his words hushed from the Oro around them. "Tired. Don't be so impatient. We'll not make much of ourselves if we try to rush the things around us. I cannot imagine the Oro are any too pleased with our appearence, and by the looks of it, they are just as suspicious of us as we were of the Ugnis. It's best we don't push them, rest as much as possible, relay what we need to, and leave."

His eyes seemed to keep away from the woman he walked with, and rather, to the woman that led them both deeper into Skye Island. "Even if the matters seem urgent." He added, though quieter that time.

But the man was bluffing, to say the least. He'd wanted nothing more than to barge in to see the tribe leader, relay what had happened, and leave. For his own and Kysa's sake, however, Junea had insisted that they both rest in lieu to their injuries.

"Thank you for the hospitality," he suddenly added, raising his voice to those around him. "There isn't anything we need more."

The hallway they went into opened up into a cavern, several hundreds of feet high. The structure was filled with the gentle hum of activity, and all around, mirrors reflected light in hundreds of directions. Plants grew in the stones as well, trees filled with blossoms, bushes and flowers of all kinds reaching into the lip of the cavern.

Kysa looked up and around, even as they were lead towards higher levels, towards the outside.

A woman approached Kysa, holding out a hand.

"We'll take you to where you can be taken care of properly." she said, glancing to Junea once before meeting Kysa's eyes. Kysa seemed hesitant to leave Junea's side, and, as a result, looked to him for any kind of a hint.

He looked almost alarmed.

"After what had happened, I suspect you can understand why I wouldn't want to leave Kysa's side. I am sure you can offer us care in the same place, can't you?"

The woman looked at him in surprise. "Is she your wife?"

"Last time we seperated from members of our tribe, they were savagely burned alive. I don't believe this woman has to be my wife for seperating to be of concern, unless for some reason, you protest to otherwise." he retorted.

Kysa cut in. "Please, separating us would cause more harm than good. It would be wonderful if you could accommodate us."

The woman's surprised look melted to one of horror. "That's...dreadful. Goodness, the two of you have been through a plight. Of course you can stay together..." She shook her head, indicating for the pair to follow her. They were lead into an open area, warm from the sun, with pools of heated rain-water gathered and ready for the pair to be cleansed. There were women everywhere, all dressed in white. Healers.

"Come here," one woman took Kysa by the arm, leading her behind a rice-paper screen, to the pool closest to the edge. Junea, in turn, was lead to a pool further back, where he was instructed to undress.

"The water has healing properties. The woman who had guided them said. "Meant to re-energize. You can stay here as long as you deem necessary, and we'll be just outside if you need us for anything." With that, the room cleared, leaving Kysa and Junea alone behind their respective screens.

The woman sighed, sitting down at the edge of the pool, but hesitant to undress.

"I hate being so wary," she said, her voice echoing even though she was speaking just barely above a whisper.

"You shouldn't. Not here. Skye Island is a sanctuary, and they seem to not be under the same influence that the Ugnis were, and given its place, it's doubtful they ever will be touched by the darkness that was on land."

Once the women had all left the area, he had given a wistful sigh. The man was less hesitant to step into the waters, as the pain that'd come from having been attacked hadn't come off his mind since he stepped off the beast that took them there.

"Though I can understand. I'm weary as well. If I could simply go back to Vanduo, I would. I wonder what is of Ajani, and the tribe..."

There was a silence.

"I don't know if I could forgive myself, happen something have happened to them as well."

"Ajani will keep them safe." Kysa replied, finally shying out of her clothing and slipping beneath the surface of the warm water. She tried, and failed, not to audibly sigh in relief.

"Motina walks with her every day. I don't know that I've met someone so closely knit. She's still a child, to be sure, but she has that hope... a hope we all need."

The water sucked the ache out of her limbs, lulling her into a sense of calm as she gazed at the polished ceiling. "You've been so good to her." she finally managed, her eyes drifting closed. "You're part of the reason why she is the leader she is."

"And you?" Junea asked, turning his head to glance sideways at the curtain that seperated them. "You speak kindly of her. For some in the tribe, even though they may follow her judgement, they don't trust it. But, she's maturing."

"I believe Motina has helped her further than I did. I can't expect any more. As you said, she walks with her, every day." he continued.

The water seemed to capture him further, and deeper did he sink, letting it flow just below his chin and over the purpled ring on his neck. He cupped the water in his hands and brought it to his facem and just as well, rubbed his palms into his eyes. They begged for rest, and the Oro woman's suggestion of a night's rest had seemed all the more appealing, once he'd settled down.

She washed her skin, leaning back to dip her long hair into the water, before running her fingers through to wash it of the dirt and grime that clung to her. When she had finished, she glanced around for the clothing she was meant to put on, since her other clothes were dirty from travel. A white robe, much like what the Healers wore, waited for her.

Still damp, she stepped out of the water and slipped on the light cloth, before walking away from the edge of the pool and standing, looking out over the ocean of clouds.

"If I'd been born here, I can't imagine ever wanting to leave this place." she said quietly. "I miss home, though."

"I do too."

Upon hearing the woman step out of the water, he had dipped himself under and stepped out, though hesitantly. He'd donned the garb that the healers had left behind for him, as well as wrapped his leg with the bandages they'd left. Still yet, he had grabbed the weapons he still had with him, and took the coarse shawl that he'd worn there. The rest he left behind, and finally took to Kysa's side. "We should go, then, if you are ready to. To speak to the leader, if they let us."

Kysa's brow knit.

"I wonder if they are ready to hear what we have to say." she contemplated, running her fingers through her long, dark hair. She turned to gaze at Junea, reaching to gently touch the bruised skin of his neck. "Would you rather I keep my peace?" she asked. She wasn't up for doing too much talking anyway.

Before he could answer, however, one of the women appeared at the head of the room, smiling when she saw them standing together.

"Auris is ready to have an audience if you two would be so kind." she said, her radiance nearly causing Kysa to look away. She glanced to Junea.

"Come along then!" the woman encouraged, turning about and beginning to lead them from the room.

"I cannot stop you from speaking, but if you've something rash to say, it is best to bite your tongue for when they aren't questioning what we're trying to tell them." Junea said, making no effort to keep the Oro woman from hearing them.

He took a step forward, and found that the pain of his leg had been stifled. Without requesting the assistance of the other Vanduo, he followed the woman.

For whatever reason, Kysa's face flushed, but she kept her head down and nodded stiffly, stepping after the other woman with Junea walking at her side.

Once again, they were lead through the cavernouse hall, across the marble floors where people mingled about in much the same was as the Ugnis tribe had. Here, though, there was light, and warmth, and beauty, and women and children and families.

Kysa was comforted, but only for a short time. The pair were brought into a magnificent room, open to the air, where mirrors and polished glass and stone glittered all around them. A woman was seated on a chair of stone, flanked by two men, and all of them wore white. Her hair was dark as night, eyes equally dark, but her smile was warm as she gestured for the pair to come forward.

"Brother, sister," she rose to greet them, embracing Kysa before turning to do the same to Junea.

"You bring ill tidings, I've been warned. Come sit, look out over the world and tell me what you have seen."

Junea breathed out, almost shakily, as he embraced the woman. She had been the first in quite a while that hadn't turned an aggressive or wan eye to them both, past the healers, who had only quickly fled the room when they'd entered. He sat where she'd gestured to, and gave a slight, hopeful smile to Kysa.

"Auris," he said. "Thank you for seeing us."

For a moment, the man gazed out into the clouds that surrounded them. He wondered what it may have been like if he'd been born here. Would he like to stay?

But that wasn't anything he could think about, then. Almost immediately, he looked back to Auris, his eyebrows pulling inward.

"I've told it enough times that I'm tired of the details. Homesteads of our tribes have gone missing. When we had gone to the Ugnis to warn them, we had found that they'd abandoned Motina and her grace. They took the lives of the rest of our team, and they had taken the lives of all their own women as well."

Silence fell after he'd delivered his statement. The woman watched them, sitting back on her throne and gazing at the pair. Kysa was watching the other, her face pinched in the same concerned manner that Junea's was.

"What of the tunnel?" she asked. "There's a great, cavernous rift that leads for miles back to the mountains. Something collapsed it. Who? Do you know?"

Then, and only then, did Kysa look away to gaze out over the clouds.

"Is it of more concern than the events that had transpired with the Ugnis?" Junea asked, his head tilting and his eyes narrowing. For a moment, he glanced at Kysa, as if he'd expected her to speak then, but had only seen that she'd turned her head. He looked back to the woman who sat upon the throne.

"I have questions about that myself, though I'm not one who can answer you yours."

"The tunnel ties in with the events of Ugnis tribe. Where it was leading to, perhaps, or the purpose behind it. I only wanted to make sure it wasn't Ugnis themselves who destroyed it before we could figure out its true purpose." She was watching Kysa carefully.

"Have you nothing to say?"

Kysa glanced back with a soft smile. "Respectfully, no. Junea has stated our case quite plainly."

Auris nodded thoughtfully. "So, Ugnis has abandoned Motina, and they've slain their women and children." her nose wrinkled as she shook her head. "At least we know they will not survive very long."

"Ignio claimed they have unnaturally long lives." Kysa said, "According to this spirit they claim to serve, one called Mama."

A murmur ran through those who had gathered, but Kysa pressed on, "I don't know if his claims are true, but if they are..." she sighed, looking away. "We may have a severe problem on our hands."

Junea watched Kysa as she had spoken, and though he hadn't shown it on his face, he was a little less trepid when he'd found the words she'd spoken weren't irrational in the least. It was then that he had taken off where she'd left, not allowing Auris to get a word in between them.

"A problem that, if we were to address it, we would need more than the strength of the Vanduo." he added. "If there is a chance that we could save them from the darkness they're introducing to themselves, and keep them from setting to accomplish what they'd planned to, it would be best not to let them sit and hope they'll die over time."

He swallowed, and tilted his head to Auris, finally going silent then.

"What is it they plan?" Auris asked, standing and coming around to sit on Kysa's other side. She seemed to be observing her rather earnestly. Kysa turned to watch Auris with a somewhat wary intensity.

"I believe they wish to destroy the colonists." she said quietly. "I believe that's what the tunnel was for."

Auris nodded, then breathed, "So you destroyed it."

Kysa's jaw clenched, but she nodded. Auris seemed fascinated. "So, a water tribal can move massive amounts of earth? When do we ever see that happening?"

The other woman seemed uncomfortable, but she kept her back straight, and her shoulders squared. "Junea's said that it isn't important to speculate on such things." she reitterated. "We simply wanted to inform you so that we can all be prepared should it come down to a more violent conclusion."

She glanced sideways to Junea.

"Is that everything then?"

"We hadn't planned to come to Skye Island so early, but it was in your kindness and the Ugnis' hostility that we had to." he said, turning his eyes downward. "There's nothing more we can tell you."

"Well, we will take all of this into consideration." Auris said solemnly, before reaching to take Kysa by the hand and hoist her to her feet. "How is the young Ajani? Ive not seen her since her coming into womanhood, and now she's leading Vanduo on her own?" she looked between Junea and Kysa. "There must be much faith in her if it was so easy to leave her on her own."

"She's more than capable." Kysa said defensively. "She's young, but her heart is in the right place."

"With Motina." Auris said with a smile. "She's talented too, the only other that I've heard of who can manipulate all of the elements. She must have had a teacher, certainly." She gave Kysa a questioning look.

And again, Kysa was stubbornly silent.

"It was only tradition that Ajani had come into leadership, with the fall of her father, and she the next in line." Junea added, almost defensively, when he'd seen the discomfort that Auris' questions had put Kysa through. He couldn't help but wonder the same about the woman, but it was her decision to tell, not Auris'. "But, as Kysa said, I cannot think of a more capable leader of the Vanduo. No doubt will she amount to great achievements."

He gave a weary sigh, suddenly, and brought his hand to his neck, where he vacantly rubbed. "It will be nice to have a bed to sleep on, after the travel and plight we've been through."

Auris' eyes flickered towards Junea, and she smiled again.

"Of course. You two will be welcomed as honored guests. The ladies will take you back to where you can rest, and you have free reign to move about the island if you so choose."

Kysa glanced to Junea, her expression unreadable before they were encouraged to follow the women out. Kysa seemed content, more relaxed now that she wasn't under Auris' prying eyes. "I could sleep for days." she noted mildly, to no one in particular, before glancing to Junea.

"I know what you were doing, too." she said under her breath. No one seemed to notice. "Thank you."

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious myself, but it's not their decision for you to talk about it." Junea said, at just the same volume as she. Then, he looked to the ladies that were supposed to escort the two of them to their quarters. He nodded, and began to walk toward them, looking back to see if the other Vanduo had been following as such.

She did, smiling the whole while. It was no effort for them to make their way back to where their chambers would be. In reality, it was very close to where they had bathed. Taking their previous considerations to heart, the women lead them to a single room, with two mats for sleeping. Kysa nodded her thanks to their escorts, before walking over to the mat she'd effectively claimed for herself. Lying down, she let her body sink into the soft sheets, her eyes on the glossy ceiling once again.

"No one's thought to ask, you know." she told him after the door had been closed behind them.

"Nobody seemed to think that I was more than the medicine woman."

"I hadn't thought you were more than a medicine woman." he admitted, and made his way to the unclaimed mat. He made no effort to gracefully lay down, and happily collapsed onto the bed beneath him.

"My opinion has changed. You're, perhaps, a better fighter than I am. About your influence with magic..." he seemed to hesitate. "I'll leave you to telling me about that, if and when the time comes."

With his hands crossed over his stomach, the tiredness that had overtaken him beforehand took a firm grip on him then, and he steadily but surely began to drift to sleep.

"In the morning, though," he murmured, and fell victim to the late night.

Plato Skye Island Owner: RolePlayGateway

The City in the Clouds, accessed only by riding wyvern-like reptiles. It is a towering land mass floating on a giant cumulonimbus cloud. The settlement is a giant spiral. The people have carved their homes from stone, even as it floats in the sky.

Seirras Mountain Range

2 posts · 0 characters present · last post 2012-12-01 20:09:06 »

         
Seirras Mountain Range
September 14, Late evening


Night had begun to settle, the last tendrils of sunlight disappearing behind the mountains. All around them, the grass stalks bent and swayed in the gentle breeze that carried from the north. While it was cool, the cold didn't cause Kysa any kind of discomfort as she moved through the grass, her eyes on the ground, making sure she didn't move so fast that she might tug at the rope that bound her and Junea at the waist. It was so easy to get lost here. You absolutely had to keep close to a companion if you had one, lest you lose one another in the dizzyingly large dry ocean.

She felt weary, emotionally spent, all to the point that she felt she was too tired to continue. She said nothing of it though. She did not wish to burden Junea with her complaints. While she was hurting, she knew that he certainly was too. Perhaps more so.

It wasn't until she stumbled that she realized she probably just needed to quit and rest. Straightening, she glanced back to Junea, as if for further instruction. They'd walked for days now, with few rest periods, all the more eager to make it back home to inform the tribe of what had happened. Now, though, she was simply too tired to continue.

Junea's eyes kept forward, and he kept his legs moving as long as he possibly could. It was very rarely that he actually looked to Kysa. Perhaps his feelings were in shame. He had certainly blamed himself for the incident. When Kysa stumbled, though, Junea looked to her, as if for further instruction, before he'd quickly nodded and came close enough to her for the both of them to be able to sit down and see eachother, and for the rope between them to loosen. On his person, he looked for anything that could serve as a blanket or something of the sort, but all of his possessions had been burned along with his brothers.

"We need not go out past the Vanduo village." He said, almost breathed. He didn't show his weariness through his stance, but it certainly came through his voice. "We will send others in our place to bear the news, and tell them to tread away from the Ugnis tribe."

"What will Ajani say?" Kysa wondered, taking in a shuddering breath before lying down on the ground. It was cold. She was cold. And it showed in the delicate tremor of her shoulders as she curled her arms towards her chest, pillowing the side of her head with her hands. She was gazing at Junea through the stalks of tall grass, watching as he disappeared, then reappeared.

"What could we do? Why haven't we heard of this before?"

They were questions she did not expect an answer to. Another gust of wind blew harder than before, suddenly frigid. She guarded herself, drawing her knees up and lying still. When had the nights become so cold?

"I am not sure what she'll say." Junea admitted. "We did not know of the Ugnis tribe because they were seclusive. It was never a necessity to visit them, and it was always a hassle. I cannot remember much of my last trip there, although I do remember one thing." Junea's shoulders heaved in a sigh. "There were women. And we should have visited them more often. Perhaps then this would not've happened."

Then, he fell backwards, into the unforgiving grasses of the dry desert. His eyes met the sky, and his shoulders spasmed when the bitter wind had come over them. His fingers laced together, before he'd ultimately opened his mouth to speak. "We will need to sleep close. Conserve body heat. Sierras is unforgivingly cold near the solstice times." he said, from the ground. "A fire would only burn the bush around us, or attract attention."

She regarded him a moment, weighing her options, before she shifted to a crouch, shuffling over to where he lay, and lay down next to him. Their skin didn't quite touch, and at the moment, she was content with that, up until the moment another strong gust barreled over them, causing her to shy up against his chest, her eyes wide as she stiffly curled against his side.

"I don't know that I could sleep." she said softly.

"After such exhausting days, I can't imagine that I will have any trouble." Junea replied. He'd resisted the urge to roll over, grab some of that unforgiving dry sea grass and try to get the heat off of it. Both of their bodies radiated heat, though, and it was surely sufficient enough. His breaths, before drifting into slumber, were long and exaggerated. They raised his chest, before it caved in again.

Those breaths seemed to grow shorter and shorter, before returning to a normal pace. That was when the eyes underneath Junea's lids began to flicker and he, himself, fell asleep.

For a little while, Kysa lay next to him, shivering from the cold that licked at her skin. Envying for a few moments the ease with which he'd fallen to sleep, she closed her eyes, forcing herself to think on other things, even as images of fire, of figures burning, danced across her mind's eye.

When she opened them again, the moon had shifted, and the wind had died down, leaving the grass standing tall, bending only slightly to accomodate the two figures who lay together. Junea was still sleeping soundly, his features relaxed in his rest. She sat up on her elbow, her shoulders stiff from lying in her curled position, and took a look around.

A steady glow had begun to reach out to her through the grass stalks. She sat up more fully, her brow knitting together as she squinted her eyes, attempting to gaze past the foliage in order to find the source behind it. It didn't take long to figure out that Motina was beckoning to her.

Fumbling with the ropes at her waist, she untied them quickly, quietly rising to her feet and stepping away from Junea, keeping a note of where he was, and what direction she was walking away from him. North-northeast, she thought, taking slow steps, and parting the grass with her hands.

Motina lead her further and further away, the paces growing longer, time extending, until she found a place where, oddly enough, the grass had begun to wither and die.

It reminded her of the blackened earth they'd found at the homesteads. She knelt, running her hand over the surface of the ground, and grimacing when it felt dry and grainy, not at all like the softer, sandier dirt that rooted the grasses.

Rising, she stepped out a few paces into the dead patch, looking around for Motina's aura. It was nowhere to be found.

That was when the ground shifted. Like wood breaking beneath her wait, the ground suddenly crumbled away, elliciting a sharp cry of surprise as the earth swallowed her up, and plunged her into darkness.

Kysa's scream elicited the heavy eyes of Junea to open, and drearily regard his surroundings. They were bathed in moonlight still, even though the moon had shifted it's position. When those dreary eyes had come to eralization that he was not in a dream, not back home with Ajani or Scout or Nanuk, they'd snapped open, and looked to the sound of her voice. Where grass seemed treaded upon is where she'd gone, and the rope that was tied between them had been either severed or untied, and he wasn't one who could tell, as the other end laid concealed amongn the high grasses.

He rushed to his feet, the ground underneath him making an audible crunch as he'd done so, and whipped toward the sound of her screaming. It had mattered not if he yelled back to her, as if there had been anyone around, their cover certainly had already been blown. "Kysa!" He yelled, and his feet carried him so. "Where are you? Where have you gone?" He yelled again, into the night.

The man's eyes stayed upward while his feet carried him forward, and his hand clasped around his mouth to yell. "Kys-" He started again, before the same darkness that engulfed Kysa had engulfed him too. He only uttered a sharp breath in of anticipation, and braced himself to hit the ground.

The rope came with him.

The impact was surprisingly soft, the loamy earth having the feel of well-tilled soil. There was no way to tell how far he had fallen, or how large the space was that he'd fallen into. It was black as night, with only a thin shaft of moonlight igniting the immediate area with its silver glow.

"Junea!" Kysa gasped from the darkness, and her voice seemed to echo into distant places. She came to him, her pale skin lighting white in the moon's beams, and her brow was furrowed with worry. "Are you alright?!"

Junea quickly rolled onto his back, the moonlight illuminating his face as he'd rolled into the thin shaft that penetrated the barren ground above. For a moment, he groaned, and his other hand met the shoulder that'd taken the impact, before he'd crawled to his feet and grasped Kysa's arm. He held it up to the light, as if there were a perverse fear that it wasn't actually her.

"Are you?" He finally asked.

She nodded weakly, her eyes flickering to his hand before turning away from him.

Then, he looked to the beam of light that illuminated such a small portion of the tunnel. "What is this?"

"I don't know," she responded in a murmur, gently removing her arm from his grip and taking a few steps away, into the darkness. Suddenly, a tongue of orange flame bloomed in her palm, lighting up the area around her, and revealing a massive earthen tunnel that extended to darkness behind them, and on to a solid dirt wall ahead. Her eyes were wide, the flame suspended over her palm flickering strange shadows against the walls.

"There isn't a creature in all of Mateja that can make a hovel this size..." she breathed.

Junea's eyes had snapped to the fire that Kysa formed in her hands. For a moment, his brow twitched, in confusion. There weren't many of the water tribe who could conjure such a thing. Regardless, though, he pried his eyes away from the flame, and set them on the vastness of the tunnel of which they'd fallen. Then, he looked up.

"It is best that we get back to ground. Finish our rest. We will send our replacements to this location when we get back to the tribe."

The suggestion was immediate, and encroached upon the lines of 'suggestion' and 'demand'.

"How will we reach it?"

The flame extinguished, and she walked back over to where Junea stood.

"Can you lift me?" she asked, looking to him. "Let me take the rope and I can help pull you up." When she put her hand on his shoulder, it was pleasantly warm. Her eyes glanced towards the hole.

"I'd just need to stand on your shoulders for a moment." she said.

Junea's lips pulled into a tight line, but he nodded nonetheless. It would certainly be easier than her lifting he. Almost immediately, the man bent to a knee. When Kysa was to step upon them, he lifted his body and his shoulders, though one of them seemed weaker, and slacked a little bit. If she didn't have a good grip, she may have slipped, if not for that he put his hands over her ankles when she'd boarded.

Her balance was relatively precise. She wasted little time reaching for the lip of the hole, grabbing at stalks of grass before bodily pulling herself up. The rope she held tight in her hand, her legs swinging briefly before she managed to drag herself up and onto high ground. Then, she turned about, digging in her heels and wrapping the rope around her forearm a few times.

"Come on Junea!" she called down.

"I've got you, try to jump!"

Junea glanced upwards, to the rope, before he'd crouched and jumped to grab it. Both his hands had a firm grip on the dangling object, and since Kysa's forearms were strong enough, he quickly pulled himself to the lip of the hole they'd fallen through. Thankfully, the lip hadn't caved under his weight. For a moment, his hands grasped for stalks of grass to lighten the pressure on his companion's forearms, before they seemed to backtack.

A hiss came from his mouth, and his eyes widened. For a moment, he'd glanced down as if he'd been bitten by something. He'd know in a moment, though, when he had swung his leg over the edge.

But his leg didn't meet the lip of the hole. Instead, his hip went to swing it over and abruptly was pulled back, as if someone were holding his foot. When it'd jerked in such a fashion, he released a yelp of pain. One hand impulsively went down to meet his leg, while the other struggled to hang on.

A yell from beneath had signified what was to come. It wasn't a yell from Junea, or Kysa, but another person. Gravely, he looked into her eyes, and she returned his gaze with a fearful look of her own.

"Run. Back to the place where we slept, and hide."

Just after, Junea's other hand slipped, and he fell again into the same darkness that they'd met beforehand. When he'd met the ground, his cries ceased as if they were being stifled.

Kysa, try as she might, was unable to keep him up. Fighting against whatever was pulling him in, she ended up loosening the earth that kept her from falling into the hole, and as a result, she once again felt the ground open up beneath her.

This time, however, arms were there to catch her when she fell. And those arms weren't the welcoming ones of Junea. No, in the darkness, she couldn't see, but the rancid breath of the one who'd welcomed her into the darkness. Soon enough, he shoved her to the ground and unlatched something from his pocket. From the darkness that covered the tunnel, though, it couldn't be said what.

Suddenly, a voice from the same man rang out. "Kill him!" It said. "Take her back to Ignio and Mama!"

The silhouetted face tipped it's chin sideways, before it'd stepped back into the moonlight. Dark gray, almost charcoal-like skin had graced the face of the man, and his eyes sheened with a film of blindness.

Another two had appeared to restrain Kysa, while the one who'd hit the moonlight suddenly dipped his head to the right and melded with the darkness. A pained yell echoed through the tunnel, though it couldn't be adamant who'd it belonged to.

"Junea!" Kysa managed a stifled cry. Her hands had braced some of the fall as the first man shoved her to the ground, but the other two were quickly approaching. If she was restrained, she wouldn't have a chance.

So as soon as one drew close, she pivoted onto her side, swinging a kick out for the nearest one's leg, her hand igniting into flame, briefly illuminating the scene as she grabbed for the man who restrained her, attempting to burn his face.

"Get away!" she cried.

The man's utterances of pain seemed so animalistic that it was a surprise they had even belonged to a human being. He stumbled backward onto the ground, holding his face. They had all dealt with fire, the Ugnis, and their skin was like leather, but leather burned. The rank smell of flesh seemed to waft into the area. The other man seemed bothered not by the anguish his companion had been in, and quickly went to sweep an arrow-pointed shaft with a rope toward Kysa. In the split second it'd come at her, she might've noticed that it had already been tinted by deep scarlet blood.

And the same colored blood seemed to seep at Kysa's feet, the trail still coming from the darkness that her flame hadn't reached. Finally, Junea's voice had come from the darkness. It was hoarse, and even difficult to understand. "Kysa!" He yelled. "Get up, run, and get help." He breathed, weakly.

Still yet, the sounds of motion and fighting came from the darkness.

"Don't be a fool!" she shouted back, rolling quickly to one side and grimacing as the spearhead drove into the dirt where her shoulder had been. She landed a kick for the nearest Ugnis' chest, before she pushed herself to her feet and took a good step back, both of her hands ignited into flame.

"Junea!" she cried. "To me!"

She was ready when they came for her, fighting them the way an expert warrior might. With the flames encircling her palms, it made her attacks that much more deadly. They were going to survive this. They absolutely had to.

The survival of their own tribe depended on it.

The Ugnis had jabbed so fiercely that when his weapon hadn't stuck into Kysa, it jammed into the wall behind her. He struggled to pull it out, and when his chest had sent a crack through the dimly lit hovel, he stumbled backward and fell into the dirt behind him. He laid next to his companion, who steadily breathed, but nurtured a newly blind face. He grasped his fellow tribe member, and began to drag him off into the darkness, ever slowly.

The dense sound of a palm against skin had resounded through the dirt walls on the other Vanduo's side, however. Junea had shot away from his aggressor, and into the visible light of Kysa's flames. His leg gave out from underneath him and he stumbled, sending him to the floor. The flickering light of the flames had extended to show the bleeding body of the Ugnis that Junea had managed to fight off before stumbling toward his fellow tribe member.

The only other Ugnis left standing had been the one who'd come behind Junea, but calls of other tribesmen echoed in the near distance.

Kysa was breathing hard, the flames extinguishing as she shifted sideways to grab Junea's arm and pull him close. "Don't leave my side," she instructed, pulling them back againts the wall of dirt. She still held tightly to him, leaning back against the earthen surface and closing her eyes in concentration.

The ground began to tremble faintly, vibrations increasing in intensity as dirt clods and stone fell from the ceiling. In the distance, surprised, frightened shouting could be heard.

Junea had clutched the fabric of Kysa's shirt in the near-darkness. His head dug into the wall behind her, and his other hand rubbed the bruise that laid around his throat. Surely enough, he was on knee, for the other leg's flesh had been ripped from it's place.

The man that had remained, the Ugnis who fought toward Kysa and Junea, gave a surprised yell before a large rock had fallen to nearly crush his foot. He staggered back with a yelp, before drawing backwards into the cavern.

The dull roar signified the collapse of the tunnel, the gust of air and dirt rushing towards the pair. Kysa changed positions, pinning Junea to the wall and doing her best to surround him, to guard him as the dirt came barreling closer.

The sound filled her ears, causing her to grimace before suddenly, in a breathless moment, all noise stopped. Behind them, a gentle ledge sloped upwards towards the pre-dawn sky.

Kysa glanced to Junea, smiling weakly, before her knees gave out and she found herself collapsing sideways.

Junea's arms reached out to Kysa, catching her before she could hit the rough of the ground. His hands then reached above him, to the dirt wall. They met metal. Metal attached to rope. In good measure, he pulled the Ugnis weapon out and it jerked him backwards, but he'd soon meet Kysa again. "Almost day." He breathed. "Only a little further. Come. Can you come?"

His eyes paranoidly shifted between Kysa and the darkness, and the hand he wasn't using to shepherd his companion white-knuckled around the weapon.

Her breathing was ragged, as if she'd run for miles without stopping. Gritting her teeth, the woman got her hands beneath her, easing herself to a standing position, and closing her eyes as a rush of dizziness suddenly overcame her.

"Go ahead." she managed, taking slow, deep breaths. "I'll catch up. That took more energy than I thought it would..."

He looked at the collapsed tunnel behind them. If Ugnis were to come, they'd have a very hard time. But what was the point of him leaving her there? Would Motina save them this time? Did they need help?

Junea cautiously climbed up to surface-level via the ramp that Kysa had made, but he was no more able to run than she was. When he'd gotten up there, the dirt and grime that'd gotten into the wound on his leg caused him to stop. He looked to the skies, that of which hung in a teal-purple twilight, and threatened to peek a morning sun over soon.

But it didn't look like help was around.

"I can help you up," Junea finally rasped. He slid down again, half-way, and lurched a hand toward his companion. "We must leave eventually."

Kysa looked about ready to reply, before a high, keening bugle interrupted her. Her eyes widened as she angled her face skyward. "Junea," she managed. "Go back, quickly! Oro comes!"

She pointed, just in time, as a massive, transparent mass flew over the mouth of the hole, dangerously close to the ground. The faint rumble indicated that it had landed not far away, but out of sight due to the lip of earth that stood high over their heads.

Junea turned quickly. He was not a stranger to that bugling sound, and mostly, the beasts who bore it did not fly alone. His hands grasped broken stalks and burned dirt as he haphazardly pulled his way to the top of the lip. Speaking anything had caused him a surmountable amount of pain, but that didn't keep the man from rasping the tribe's name.

"Oro! Mums reikia pagalbos!"

"I can see that!" Came the returned cry. The man dismounted from the large, physical mass that seemed to move and shift like a thunderhead. As the creature elongated, wings unfolding from its torso, the transparent wyvern began to slowly move closer to Junea, a gentle rumble moving through it as it lowered its serpentine head, eyes blinking like black coals in its massive face. At full height, it could easily outstand two men, and the length was easily twice that much. The man who rode it bore similar appearance to Junea, except his clothing was light, close-fitting, and a pair of glass-framed goggles sat fixed to his forehead, to block out the wind as he flew.

"That cut in the land extends for miles back to the mountains!" he explained as he came closer, breaking into a jog. "Caiphus and I were patrolling close by when we heard the noise. Are you alone?"

He searched the area in disbelief, as if he didn't understand why Junea would be on his own.

"No," He started. He was on his side, due to the rather prominent wound on his leg. Quickly, he gestured to the lip and cave-in that was to the side of him. "One other woman survived. She is down there. The rest of our team was murdered by the Ugnis."

"I will explain further when we are both safe." He added, a certain urgency to his voice.

The man regarded Junea with a look of disbelief written all over his face. He seemed to be in a small state of shock. "Ugnis, but..."

The sounds of Kysa struggling to get to the lip of the cave-in caught his attention, and he immediately jogged over to the edge, glancing down before jumping in to offer Kysa a hand. As he vanished from sight, a second, massive wyvern went flying overhead, landing in the same spot that the first had touched down.

It wasn't long before the first figure emerged with Kysa held delicately in his arms. And the woman, who looked too tired to keep her head up, was resting her cheek against his chest, eyes closed in her exhaustion.

"Name's Trystan." he called to Junea, as Caiphus came forward with his hands planted on his hips. The pair looked very similar, as though related. Brothers, perhaps. Caiphus, whose eyes and hair were darker than Trystan's, glanced over Kysa before looking to Junea.

"Traveling alone?" he querried. "Foolish, in these parts. Did you know of the tunnel that caved in?"

"We were fighting to get back to our tribe, after the rest of our team had been murdered. Do not call us foolish." Junea said, an amount of serpentry to his voice. "... Murdered by the Ugnis. The Ugnis, who are building a tunnel toward the colonist's settlement. They tried to kill us as well. Motina's grace saved us both, but the others were not so lucky. The Ugnis no longer heed Motina."

He reached up and grasped Trystan's garment, to pull himself up. Uneasily, he looked between Kysa and Trystan. The tunnel had caved in, and it was of Kysa's doing, but...

"We were lucky that it had collapsed."

"But how?" Wondered Caiphus. "It's a massive structure, and anyone with a mastery of the elements would not have dug so shallow that the surface would collapse. He looked from Junea to Trystan, who had begun to carry Kysa away from the others, towards a wyvern that stood ready for flight.

Caiphus watched them go, and looked back to Junea with a brow raised.

"Was it you?"

Junea's eyes narrowed toward Caiphus.

"No."

At that moment, he rubbed his neck and bore a feigned expression of pain. Where he rubbed, there was a ring of bruised purple. Then, he looked to Caiphus' wyvern.

"May we go?"

Trystan had already stepped onto his wyvern's back, with Kysa still tucked close to his torso. Her dark hair had come undone , spilling about her shoulders, and giving the illusion that it was a child that Trystan carried with him, and not a grown woman. Caiphus turned to watch as the wyvern spread its massive, transparent wings, before glancing back to Junea and offering out an arm.

"Yes. Daylight comes." he said, seeming to ponder something as he guided the man towards his own mount.

"The woman was weakened severely. Could it be that she was the one responsible for the tunnel collapse?" he asked of the other.

Relentless and curious, a folly of youth, it seemed.

"Ask her yourself, when you see to it that we are both better. I am sure she will be able to supply you with an answer better than I will." Junea hissed again. He clasped Caiphus' arm, and pulled himself onto the wyvern with the other Oro tribesman. "Let us be off. You can ask your questions later. We both have had enough for the matter of a few days. A sanctuary is what we both need."

There was no argument after that. Once the pair had mounted the wyvern, the massive creature extended its leathery wings, clawing at empty air with the membranous extensions as it pulled its body and the passengers into the air. Caiphus adjusted his goggles over his eyes, before turning back to instruct Junea to be careful. Random particles of dust and dirt could blind a man at the speeds they traveled.

As they aimed into the sunrise, the land opened up before them, a sprawling myriad of color. Sanctuary waited for them. Answers, perhaps.

Or more questions.

Plato Seirras Mountain Range Owner: RolePlayGateway

Extending all along the southern border, the Seirras peaks divide the land between the grasslands to the north and the desert to the south. The Capron Desert eventually dissolves into the sea, and it is beneath these mountains that the Ugnis Tribe resides

The Forest of Whispers

9 posts · 0 characters present · last post 2012-11-27 02:45:04 »

         
Forest of Whispers
October 15, Night


She was lying on her side in the snow, her arm pillowing her head. More snow fell in soft drifts from the darkened sky, but the ethereal glow of Motina's presence gave the clearing a faint blue hue. Aja gazed across at the big cat, her brow knit together as she idly traced patterns in the snow between them. Motina was lying on her belly, gazing back at Aja with an intense, focussed look to her eyes.

Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?

"I think so." Aja replied, her lips pursed. It had been a warning, one she'd been receiving for a long time. This time, though, it seemed as if Motina was more serious than she had been before. Licking her lips she sat up, dusting snow from her cloak before she began to idly scoop snowballs into her palms.

You're doing well, you know. I'm very proud of you.

Aja smiled, glancing to Motina before looking back down at the snowballs. "I'm doing what you asked. That's all."

The big cat stood, padding forward to drag a warm, rough tongue over Aja's cheek. It's more than that. But no need to discuss it now, your trainees are arriving.

Aja's brow perked. "Trainees?"

She looked towards the entrance to the clearing, hearing the faint sound of hoof steps coming from within the darkened treeline. With a grin, she scooped up her snowballs and raced across the clearing, the sprites tossing their bodies her way as she came to a skidding stop on her knees, launching snowballs towards the horse as it finally came into view.

The horse was white as the snow beneath them, and it raced and skidded to a stop the moment that a snowball had hit it. It gave a defying whinny, before laying down. One of the riders on top of the beast huffed and stood up, only to be met with a snowball to the neck. He haphazardly threw himself off the horse, before gloved hands reached to pack snow up and send it at the assaultee; Aja. Snowy figures danced around her; something that'd surely raise a brow to his riding partner.

But, first, he raised his hand and waved to the girl. Then, he reached back to tug Xander along.

"C'mon, Sandy. Don't wet yourself, eh? We're here. Ajani'll explain it t'you."

"Yeh don't have teh pull me like tha'!" Xander hollared, flailing as he went sliding sideways into the snow. Aja threw another snow-ball, crying out with laughter when Adrien's projectile smacked her full in the face.

Overhead, stars and faraway planets dotted the vast, black ceiling above them. Their moon hovered close to them. It was a lumbering, celestial giant. Never in Blakestown were the stars as bright as they were out there. The contrast between them was the contrast of light and dark.

Adrien raised a hand, then, to block another incoming snowball.

"Come on then!" she called to the pair, sitting back on her heels and waiting for them to show their faces. "Xander! Welcome to the Forest of Whispers!"

"I'm feelin' welcome!" he called back, shaking the snow out of his hair. He looked around a bit nervously, but he didn't seem to be too bothered. After all, Adrien trusted the girl, and no real harm had come to him, had it? He looked out behind her, at the figures who were much more easy to see due to the steadily falling snow. Transparent visages, people dancing. They were all over the clearing.

His eyes widened.

"They're sprites! Forest spirits. Come on, they won't harm you." Aja said, standing and turning around to jog back to the horse.

Xander looked to Adrien.

"What kind of trick is this?" he breathed. The scene was ethereal, with the winter sprites dancing, and the girl who was just as mysteriously beautiful walking among them like she somehow belonged there. "I feel like I'm dreaming."

"Y'aren't dreaming. This is what y'get when y'wonder past the walls. I guess y'never really get used to it, 'cause I feel like I'm dreaming too." He said, with a chuckle. He opened his arms and walked backwards from Xander, as if introducing the clearing to the boy. "'Ey though, watch out, will y'? They won't hurt you, but they'll certainly knock y'down!"

As he'd said so, one of the forest spirits came to throw itself at Xander.

"EY STOP!"

The soft 'pft' of snow slapping against skin echoed towards Adrien. Xander lay on the ground, a deep frown on his face, before the boy scrambled to his feet and dusted the snow off. "What was that for? I'm jes sittin here mindin my own--"

Another sprite threw itself at him, but he deftly smacked it with the back of his hand, and it dissolved with the faintest sound of laughter.

Xander scrambled back, running for Adrien while he looked all around the pair. Aja was standing off at a distance, laying out a few long staffs that were evidently meant for sparring purposes. Xander watched her a second, his brow knitting.

"She really is teachin' yeh t'fight. A girl." He looked pointedly at Adrien.

Adrien scoffed at Xander. Then, he grabbed the back of his jacket and playfully pushed the boy in the direction of Aja. "Y'spar with'er. Then y'ask me why a girl is teaching me t'fight. Go on!" He pushed Xander again, before running ahead to Ajani and picking up one of the staffs. When Xander would approach him, he's toss the weapon to the man, but not before tapping Ajani on the shoulder.

"I just want t'see how he fairs. Don't kill'm."

Aja glanced back at Adrien, smiling secretively before looking to Xander and lifting her hand in a wave. "Good to see you again, Xander!" she said, taking up her own staff and letting her cloak fall from her shoulders. She wore a kind of cotton tunic, tucked into the top hem of her brown slacks. Soft-leather boots barely made a sound as she stepped towards him.

Xander fumbled with the staff a moment, confused as to what to do with it. "Yeh fight with sticks?"

"A staff." Aja calmly corrected. "And yes. We're using a handful of different tools, but today's is the staff."

Xander looked unsure. "Dunno how I feel about hitting a gi--"

Aja had passed the staff around behind her, before lowering into a crouch and swinging the staff out to catch Xander in the heels. With a yelp, the young man fell flat on his back, knocking the breath clean from his lungs.

"I insist!" Aja said cheerfully. Xander scrambled back to his feet, a bit out of breath, but looking more determined than before. He swung for Aja's shoulder, but she brought that staff up, ducking sideways and knocking his staff away from herself.

"Don't throw your weight around." she told him. Xander didn't seem to listen. He began a series of unorganized blows, ones that were easy for Aja to block or dodge. Finally, she spun the staff in both hands, pivoting closer to Xander before smacking the hand that held his staff. He yelped, dropping it into the snow, and staggering a step back when the end of the staff Aja held came up under his chin.

She smiled again.

"Not a bad start."

"D'y'wanna ask me about why I'm being trained by a lady now, Sandy?" Adrien asked loudly, before jogging over to their position and grinning madly. In his hand, he held a staff as well. He used it to lower Ajani's. "The way you're fighting, y'might get a bit bloody n'bruised before y'actually start learning anything. Hope y'don't mind explaining t'the townspeople why 've got that nice purple round, aye?" He teased, and poked the boy in the chest himself.

"Y'might want t'start with the snowmen, though. Y'think, Aja?" He asked. Behind them still, figures frolicked and danced in the form of the snow underneath them. "Or me."

"Let him dance," Aja said, taking her staff and running it down the length of his. "I'd like to spar with you, if that's alright."

Xander was eyeing the both of them, and he looked like he was ready to say something inappropriate. Just as his mouth opened, though, a sprite slammed into him, nearly knocking him sideways. Aja laughed.

"Just hit them with the staff! They'll dissipate, I promise. Try not to use so much energy when you swing it around."

"Y'don't have to hit'm hard, Xander. Just keep swinging at'm. Y'think y'd think to turn around, by now!" Adrien said, with a laugh himself. Then, he looked to Ajani, and a slight smirk had come upon his face. "Well, if y'promise not to beat my ass."

His staff met the floor, and he'd waited for Ajani to make the first move. His eyes trailed to Xander, if only for a moment.

"Look at me."

And the moment he did, she was stepping forward, aiming the staff in an abrupt thrust forward for his chest. Xander, in the meantime, had taken to swinging at the sprites, letting out a sharp cry when one of them dissolved just as they said it would. They regrouped, attacking him at once, leaving him to flail about before he finally threw the staff off to the side and just started throwing his arms around.

Adrien's staff rotated as he looked back and stepped back. He knocked the staff away from his chest, and it laid across his arm, as if it were an extension. Then, he released and swung it around, aiming to hit Ajani in the side with the staff.

Xander, however, was on his own. With the two of them enthralled in their sparring, various srites still attacked the man, though the ones he'd hit dissolved into piles of harmless snow.

She parried the blow, pushing the staff away before swinging in close for his opposite side.

"You're getting faster," she told him, nodding with approval. "Learning quickly!"

Adrien yelped as the staff had hit his side, and staggered before catching himself. Meanwhile, his staff swept under Aja's and brought it in an arc motion over his head, before it landed on his other side. Then, he made a Jab for Aja's own stomach, similar to the one she'd given him when they'd first started.

While he fought, he yelled, "Xander! Not dying over there, yeah?"

That time, Adrien didn't look.

She caught the blow in her abdomen, huffing a breath before lowering into a crouch and spinning the staff out for Adrien's ankles. Xander, in the meantime, was getting a better handle on his form. He was street-brawling, but it was definitely working for him.

"These powder beasties don't know what's commin to them!" he called back, grinning like mad.

Adrien's foot lifted, but he hadn't lifted the other one in time enough for the staff not to catch it. It was swept under his foot, and soon, his entire body came along with him. His arm spread out to catch his head, before he'd collapsed into the packed snow. For a moment, he grumbled in pain.

"He's doing better than I am." Adrien said, dully. For a moment, he relaxed, as if giving up the fight. Whether she'd pointed her stick at him or not, though, he'd clutched onto the pole with a firm grip and swept it at her feet as well.

She was nearly gloating in her victory, up until the point where his pole suddenly snaked out, catching her ankles and sending her collapsing to her back. Her breath left her in a rush, and she stared at the sky, breathing a bit labored from the impact.

Then she laughed, tapping his abdomen with the end of her staff.

"You got in a hit and knocked me to the floor." she told him, turning her head sideways to look at him. "I'd say it was a pretty good session."

"Getting good, am I? S'pose I may have t'beat you, next time?" Adrien asked. Then, he rolled to his stomach and pushed himself up to his feet. He left the pole on the ground, and looked to Xander, then went to help the boy. He'd come up to the group that seemed to still be throwing themselves at Xander, before swatting a palm through one of the snow spirits and reaching in to tug Xander away.

"Hey! Almost good enough t'rough me up!" He yelled, and pulled the boy into a headlock. Then, he tumbled backward, intending on bringing his friend to the ground.

Xander made a sound like a choked snarl, flailing his arms as both of the boys tumbled to the ground. Aja bit her lip, watching the pair in amusement as Xander rolled, trying to sit on Adrien's chest. "Aha!" he cried as he attempted to pin Adrien's arms.

"Yer a wee pancake beneath my arse." he stated proudly.

Adrien's wrists pivoted enough to grasp Xander's, and he'd shoved a knee straight between Xander's unmentionables, before his arm shot up to the boy's pit and shoved him sideways. They rolled like a barrel, and the tables turned. Instead of trying to pin Xander's arms, though, he began to shovel the snow underneath onto his face.

"What y'say about pancakes? I'm more like a cinderblock on a stick now, innit?" He teased.

Xander was unable to speak. His face had turned bright red, his body rigid with Adrien's strike. As they rolled, he could barely get a breath in before Adrien was burying him in snow. Aja watched in amusement, before lifting a hand, turning it in closer to herself, and making a flicking motion.

A wave of snow suddenly surged, rolling over the boys and burying them fully.

The sounds of Adrien spitting out snow and flailing arms was heard beneath the snow before a dirty mop of brown-blonde hair peaked from above it and scrambled out from underneath it. He'd made no attempt to grab Xander, and forced back the attempt to bring Ajani into the snow with them.

Instead, he dusted himself off.

"Sorry for the dirty shot, Sandy. You alive under there?"

Xander's fist rocketed out of the snow and connected with Adrien's jaw.

"Jes fine, Dree!" he crooned as he scrambled to the surface.

Aja meandered closer, before plopping down into the snow next to wear Adrien was sprawled.

Adrien's jaw let out a loud smack, before he sorely rubbed it. Instead of taking his place next to Aja, he'd slid over and flopped his body onto Xander's, perhaps in a last-ditch attempt to subdue his brawling friend.

"Don't mind us, Ajani!" He said, perhaps a bit louder than necessary. "When I was a little smaller, Xander'd found he'd owed me 20 bucks for taking care of a horse'e'd forgotten. I just wail on'm every day that he doesn't pay it back. Like a mob serta thing!"

"You both look ridiculous." Aja noted mildly, kicking snow in their direction as she watched Xander simply go limp. Aja stood, taking up her staff and meandering over to the sprites, who had started to toss themselves one way and another.

She paused, before swinging her arm out and taking one sprite in the torso. In that same motion, she brought her leg up as she spun, taking out two in one kick before completing the turn. It was almost like a dance, the way she moved so easily.

"So what do you think?" she asked, referring to Xander. The man said nothing, just lay there.

"I hadn't killed him there, had I?" Adrien asked, his head turning to look to Xander. "Just knocked the breath out ofh him. He thinks it's fantastic." The boy was sitting on the other boy's stomach. He pivoted his torso, and gave a light smack to Xander's face.

"Can tell by the stoic, dead-like expression on his face."

Aja laughed, before she sprung from her position, wrapping an arm around Adrien's neck and another around his waist before she pulled him back, her chin at his shoulder as they leaned.

"The way you fight is different." she noted with a soft grunt. "The way I see animals play..."

"Don't need to hold me back! I wasn't intent on killing him! Playing possum isn't going to get you very far, Xander, y'tried it with me too many times." said Adrien, as he staggered back with Aja's grip.

"Yeah, well... We don't train or anything. Not with staffs or knives. We're not in the military."

She managed to switch their positions, getting him into the snow while she half-leaned over his body. Xander had lifted his head, and was looking on in amusement. Aja's brow furrowed as she looked at Adrien, her hair hanging over her shoulders and brushing against his chest.

"No, that isn't it. This kind of play reminds me of coupling."

Xander choked on his own breath.

Adrien blushed mildly. The red hue that hinted his cheeks because of the snow had hid it.

"It isn't!" He cried, defensively as ever. He rolled into her arm, and if it gave leeway, out from under her, before climbing to his feet. "Couples don't wrestle, anyway. Ladies aren't supposed to fight."

He faltered.

"In Blakestown, I mean."

She aimed a kick for his ankles.

"They should! Those dresses are so cumbersome! Women were not made to simply be dressed up so they're nice to look at."

"Sure is a benefit though," Xander muttered, before getting a snowball to the face.

A yelp came from Adrien, as he'd struggled to keep his footing. Ultimately, he ended up in the snow again. The hitting he'd gotten from Xander began to bruise his jaw, which he idley sat in the snow once he'd come upon it. "Ladies aren't even supposed to show their ankles, Ajani. Teaching them t'fight would be a leap."

A thought came to his mind, and he suddenly chuckled. Ellie, wielding a weapon, fighting. And without cause to the others, he rolled on his back and began to chuckle some more. His eyes met the moon above, whose position hung dangerous.

"Dree allays giggles when he thinks of the couplings." Xander said knowingly.

Ajani was watching the other young man for a moment, before she pulled in a deep breath and turned to look at the sky. It was beautiful tonight. In her eyes, every night had its own unique kind of loveliness. Tonight was special though, because she could enjoy it with others whom she considered to be friends.

"It's good to see you smile." She noted absent-mindedly. Xander, quick as ever, laughed aloud.

"I'm always smilin', miss."

Adrien threw his arms forward, and in turn, put himself into a sitting position. He looked up to Xander, an expression on his face that almost seemed dumb with curiosity. "So then, you'll be joining us - me n'Ajani - from now on? Maybe learn to fight like you're not a first-year school student." He said, a grin encroaching on the lower part of his face.

"Thinking mayhaps it's about time to get back. Want to do it before the sun rises, y'know, and cleaning up horse dung isn't going to be so easy if you're tired as all getout, Sandy."

Xander chuckled. "Aye mate, this is more fun than sitting mopin' around in town all day." He got to his feet, dusting the snow from his breeches before stretching his arms over his head. "I'll get you yet, Miss Aja. Just you wait."

Ajani was smiling, but something had changed about her expression. She was a bit more somber than she had been before, for seemingly no reason at all. She glanced to Adrien briefly.

"Can I speak to you alone for a moment?"

"Xander, go kick up the horse. Be over in a mite."

Adrien nodded to Ajani then, before waiting for Xander to leave.

"What's what, then?"

"I was talking to Motina, before you and Xander came." she said, keeping her voice low as she gently wrapped her arms around her waist. She seemed troubled. "She's giving me the impression that something awful has happened, but I can't get any kind of direction as to where the danger is coming from, or how soon we can expect it. She's only encouraging us to be ready."

She looked away from him for a moment. "I thought the immediate threat was towards us, the Vanduo tribesmen...but she insists that those who are truly in danger...are you. The colonists." Her lips were pursed, brow furrowed with concern.

"And the walls won't keep you safe."

Adrien furrowed his brow. His eyes slightly shifted to Xander, before they came to rest on the snow in front of his boots. Those boots shifted and sideswept the snow as the boy in them considered Ajani's warning. "I can't do anything about that, Ajani." He suddenly said, and his eyes met hers.

"I'm not Illiam. Or Radimus. People don't listen t'me anymore. I guess what's coming's just going t'come, whether we like it or not, unless Motina suggests some sort of alternative."

"She'll provide a way." Ajani said it firmly, fully convinced. "She won't just allow us to sit and wait for danger. Something will happen."

There was something else she wasn't saying, like she didn't know how to say it in the first place. But she wasn't looking at Adrien, and her hands were pressing tightly into her forearms.

"Something like what?" Adrien asked. "The way you're speaking tells me you're convinced, but the way you're looking down tells me you're not." He said, an unsureness still tinting his face.

"I know we will be given a reason to trust each other, our groups of people, but the fear that I have, the feeling that I'm getting...is that the threat is familiar. It concerns me."

She met his eyes. "Just be watchful. I think, whatever happens, this is going to come from someone we trust."

Adrien gave a reassuring smile, and his hand met Ajani's shoulder. "Always am. If it'll set your mind right, I'll keep a club by my bed."

It was supposed to be reassuring, but perhaps it wasn't. Regardless of whether Ajani felt comforted, distraught, or otherwise, the boy turned and looked to Xander, to whom of which he raised a hand. Not before he turned his head, though, and nodded at Ajani.

"We'll be fine."

was the last thing he said, before departing for Xander and the horse.

Plato The Forest of Whispers Owner: RolePlayGateway

A quiet wood, filled with towering oaks and evergreen trees. Many a creature live here, as well as the Vanduo tribe, who frequent the tedious border between the colony's Wall and the rest of the wilderness.

Plato

5 posts · 0 characters present · last post 2012-11-19 20:39:24 »

         
Blakestown
October 14th, Evening


It had been roughly a week since Adrien had started his escapades out beyond the wall. Xander and Ellie had taken care not only to avoid him, but to avoid each other. For Xander, it was possibly the worst couple of weeks that he'd ever experienced. Both of his closest friends wanted nothing to do with him, and if he were perfectly honest with himself, he wasn't sure that he'd know what to do or say if the time came. He spent most of his time these days in the stables when Adrien wasn't there, doing what needed to be done and then leaving as soon as he could. He couldn't even enjoy it anymore, which was totally ridiculous.

He'd come out the night before, unable to sleep, and deciding that the best thing to do would be to just walk around until he was too cold or too tired to do anything else. After coming upon the stables, he noticed something rather odd.

Someone had been climbing down the wall.

He'd ducked behind bales of frosted hay, watching as Adrien came across the snow-laden ground, looking every which way before disappearing into his house.

So, tonight, Xander sat and waited for Adrien to show up. He knew that he would. It was only a matter of time.

As he'd done other times, Adrien scaled down the wall. He ravelled the rope, and then threw it back over the wall. A strange tactic, if he'd been going alone. When his feet touched snow-laden ground, he placed his palms on the wall, looked about, and then backed away from the wall. As per usual, he'd looked about, before starting off.

But he stopped by the lumbering old tree, this time. The one that, in the springs and summers, provided a cool shade, in a contrast to the humid, warm air. It was bare, now, and in the moonlight, it had no shadow. It's thick bark bore the dimensionality of thin paper.

Adrien moved passed it, after running his hand over the rough bark. He took slowly toward his home, but it would be quite a walk from the graveyard.

He came into sight as soon as Adrien drew close enough to hear him. Xander's arms were crossed, his brow furrowed in concern as he looked from Adrien to the wall and back.

"Dree..." he started, coming to that awful moment where he didn't really have any idea of what to say. "It's a bit late."

"Yeah. T'is. Shan't you be sleeping, Xander?" Adrien asked, his brows furrowing to Xander's sudden appearence. He'd quickly moved past the other boy, seemingly intent on retiring, and seemingly intent on certainly not speaking to Xander. Not out of spite; their relationship had slowly repaired itself over time, though it certainly wasn't what it usually was.

"That's what I plan on doing." He said, as he passed.

Xander reached out to snag Adrien by the arm, his grip gentle, but firm. He didn't look at him as he spoke.

"Ye've been goin over the wall." It wasn't a question, but a statement. He looked back over his shoulder to the other. "Not gunna rat you out, if that's watcher thinkin. I think what Radimus is doin' to yah is downright shit." He let go of Adrien's arm, letting his own fall to his side. "What're you doin' over there?"

Adrien spun around when Xander gripped his arm, and withdrew his sleeve.

"I know y'know I've been going over th'wall. 'Else y'wouldn'ta camped out n'popped out at me like that. I figure y'wouldn't tell." The boy raised his arms, in a half-shrug. "M'not allowed beyond th'wall, and I miss th'fresh air."

"Mhm, and is the fresh air gunna throw that rope back to yah when you go over again tomorrow night?" Xander said, lifting a brow.

Adrien stared at Xander for a moment, before crossing his own arms.

"N'why y'wanna know, you said?"

"Is it that girl? Aja?" Xander asked, his expression softening. "Yer goin' to visit her?" He hesitated a moment.

"Y'know that Radimus'll sooner kill her if he finds out."

"Radimus won't be seeing'er. It's not like she's hoisting over t'Blakestown with me. N'Radimus' threatened t'break m'legs if I don't stop being rowdy, but I'd sooner break his than he break mine."

It was an answer enough, though Adrien opened his mouth again. "I'm hoisting over t'see th'tribe. N'the area. N'everything, really. Kind of opens your eyes, when y'move past th'forest." He smiled as he spoke. "N'I know I seem like a lunatic for doing it, but it's better than being cooped up in this chicken pen of a shyte town."

Xander considered that, quietly thinking over what Adrien had said.

"Y'know, I saw the tribe. I saw how worried they were for Ajani...and they didn't seem teh mind me too much. I knew I believed yah before all the shyte happened a few weeks back...but after seeing them...I could understand them too. Aja made sure I could..." He looked back to his friend.

"I want teh help. However I can. If you'll let me."

"Nay. No, Xander. I already put Ellie in danger. I can't put you in danger, too. N'..." Adrien swallowed, and raised his scarf. He looked down to the floor, then up to Xander's eyes. "Y'should stop avoiding Elleanore like y'do. Just'ave it normal, will you?"

His hand raised, and patted Xander on the shoulder. He began to turn away. "Don't think I could stand y'getting hurt, no matter how much I don't like y'right now."

A slight smirk came to his lips, before it disappeared again.

"I'm a big boy," Xander said with a broad smile. "Can handle m'self. Besides, ye've got me all curious about the tribals now. Yer hoggin them all for yerself."

He hooked his arm around Adrien's throat and dragged him into the snow. "I still like yeh Dree. Missed talkin to yah." he grunted, putting his knee on the other boy's chest. "And like it or not, I'm sick to death of the way things are goin' around here. I'd like teh change it."

"Only thing y'missed is trying t'toss me around!" Adrien shouted, though for once in a long while, it wasn't out of anger. His hands wrapped around Xander's knee, andhe pushed himself forward, intent on dropping the other boy into the snow. For a moment, things settled.

"S'pose y'did conk assassin-man over th'head, but that was just luck, innit? But, hell, Xander. Y'don't wanna risk your life over this shyte. Wasn't it you who was hollering about leaving Ellie here all alone?" he teased.

Xander's cheeks flamed, but he flopped into the snow amiably, and laid there. "S'pose I did. But I know yah didn' do those things on purpose. Didn' do anything, in fact." He sighed heavily.

"M'done silent treating yah, Dree. Dun need a girl of any kind to break us up y'know? Hell maybe we could get Ellie to go with us too." His lips were pressed into a thin line. "Couldn't hurt to get her away from all of this too."

Sitting back on his knees, he reached to brush the snow out of his hair. After a second, he fixed Adrien with a firm stare. "Another thing, too. M'parents are shit, majority of this town and the way they act towards people like Ajani is horrid. Why not try to risk my safety if it means bringin' about ... peace. At least a state of business where people aren't sittin' around hatin' each other?"

"If anything, I'd like t'get her - Ellie - out of this place, if assman's threatening'er like he is. He's not done anything yet, but..." Adrien looked toward Xander, his brow furrowing. "I know who he is. 'E carried Ellie's bags home, looked straight at me. 'E's th'one who tipped off Radimus about Ajani being in town."

For a long while, he drew in a breath. His eyes met Xander's, then drew away from them. He looked toward the bare tree in the distance.

"I s'pose y'have a point." He said. He leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees, and his head on his hands. "Could use someone who actually has a voice around'ere."

Then, he shook his head and looked to Xander again.

"Y'sure?"

"Nah. I'm gunna flake on yah righ' when things get tough." He winked, stretching his arms over his head before emitting a heavy sigh. "I think yeh have more supporters than y'think though, Dree. Nobody'll say anything to you, but I know you at least have a friend in Cavis, and in Patsy."

He gave a slight smirk at the mention of the old nurse. "But, at any rate, I'll be with yeh through the thick of it, mate. S'wat friends are for."

"Alright, but..." Adrien sighed. "Tap out when things get too tough for y', aye? Don't want y'breaking your wee bones." He smiled again, then swatted Xander on the shoulder. "I been sneaking out to practice, y'know. Notice any change?" He flexed. "Y'won't have t'sneak out, but I don't think Ajani would mind th'support. Hell, th'tribe."

"I'm going back t'morrow, then. You up for it?"

Xander squeezed his bicep, before emitting a terribly effeminate giggle.

"Gods, Dree. You know I am. Anythin' specific I should bring with me?" He looked back towards the wall. "Perhaps a pair of wings?"

He frowned.

"Well, y'ain't th'one barred from leaving, but I s'pose it'd still look suspicious."

He paused, then looked to Xander, a big grin ever-present in his face.

"Nay, but y'ever climb a rope? Hope y've not got sweaty hands. S'a big fall."

"I'll pull you with me." Xander said, giving the young man a look. He moved to stand, offering out a hand to help the other up. "So ye've been training then? Aja fights? Is she any good?"

"Well, y'wanna see? I'm sure she'd happily oblige. Loves sparring about, that one." Adrien said, grinning.

"Then, tomorrow. Night. Y'might want t'just say y'threw your ring ball over th'wall t'get over, this time. We'll start using th'rope before things get suspicious. Right now, I think Radimus may be getting a little suspicious, if'e gives a damn."

He looked behind him, to the road that'd lead him home.

"Say we retire?"

"Sure thing." the young man replied, stretching languidly before beginning to make his way back to the stables.

"Sleep well, Dree. I'll kick your arse in front of Aja. So prepare yourself."

Plato Owner: FizzGig

The planet on which Mateja resides.

Sausas Vandenynas

Plato Sausas Vandenynas Owner: RolePlayGateway

The Dry Ocean: A sea of tall, sun-withered grass that seems to stretch on for miles. It continues south, towards the Seirras Mountain Range, where rolling foothills meld into the treacherous peaks.