Morning Shards (Liel)

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

5th of Summer 511AV Serrif’s mind was finally coming around. He was hardly speaking to anyone. The only person who had gotten him to speak at all was Lym…After his run in with Ildin he purposely hadn’t sought her out in days…And the only reason he had talked with Lym at all was because he knew he was likely needed at the temple to assist her. He kept himself busy there. Working from sunup until sundown. He didn’t want to sleep…and hadn’t slept right in days now. He was actually fearful to close his eyes and lay down…He didn’t know where he would end up now. And here was where he wanted to be. He spent his nights after working at the temple sitting in the sands on the beach. He watched the night, heard the waves and knew for the time being he was indeed here. He watched the sun rise and knew it was another morning…and this time he was here in Mura. Away from the slavers; and he had escaped the poisons one more day. But he knew he could only keep this up so long. Eventually he would indeed have to sleep. He could feel himself getting lax as the days moved on. And he fought everything to keep himself awake. And so far he had been successful. This morning he had walked to the Suvai Pavilion and gotten himself a bow and some arrows to practice. Something he hadn’t done in a little while now. Maybe this would bring him some peace…Or maybe not. But he always felt a little more peaceful when he was out practicing with the bow. He felt the sand beneath him as he sat on the beach…looking out to the ocean. It was calm; no storms on the horizon. None that he could see. But they had a funny way of just showing up and really twisting things about. That much he knew was more than the truth. He watched the sun slowly and lazily come up over the horizon. He had been awake for some time now waiting for it to come up and greet him. “Morning to you as well.” He said as he smiled looking out to the sun His body was tired and his muscles ached, his eyes were becoming sensitive to just about everything. Light especially. They felt bruised; and were a little bloodshot. Sleep deprivation was a beast to deal with. Your mind dulled because of it, played tricks on you. A person could only deal with so much at once before the effects became obvious. Darks bags formed below the eyes; muscles and movements became lax and slow. And if it got bad enough you started having hallucinations. They would start small at first, maybe things would appear hazy or limbs would feel distant. But then it would gradually get worse. Maybe even daydreams would start to become imposed on the reality. He looked out over the seas and watched the waves crash and toil over the sands.

[Liel]

She surfaced from the water, fresh sunlight lacing along wet curls. Liel knew she’d always be a morning person – there was something about each day’s birth that she loved. In her hand were two branches of Gorgonian Whips. She planned to dry them and turn them into a paste. Occasionally, nature had its uses for beauty and not for medicine, and also occasionally, Liel indulged in this. As she walked on, she spotted a tall form on the shore. In his hand, he held a bow. She’d always had an affinity for strangers, and her curiosity perked, especially due to the graceful weapon he held. Also, she’d appreciate it if he didn’t shoot at her. But he didn’t look dangerous, merely tired, and as she grew closer, she stopped. She was unsure if he was friend or foe. The waves lapped at her feet and silver skirts. And so she stood, gazing at the unexpected figure on the sands of Mura.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

Serrif remained sitting at first. His mind reeling and then finally beginning to calm down some with the sounds of the ocean. He wasn’t sure but he was pretty sure he was being watched…or in the very least approached. He knew here on the Isle he had nothing to fear…while he was awake. When he slept…that was an entirely different situation. But he had been working on trying to release himself from this anxiety. But to no avail. He wasn’t sure how or why he couldn’t do so. But he found it impossible to do so. He listened and swore he could hear footsteps in the sand. Someone was coming closer to him. Or in the least he believed someone was coming closer to him. He stood and then looked in Liel’s direction. She was right in her first observation…He was tall. Very much so. She may even feel slightly dwarfed by him and his six foot stature. But he was even taller than that, he had a handful of inches on him above that six feet as well. His build would also become evident when he stood. He was thin; like her. Only the kind of thin was different. Hers was because of activity level; his was something else. If she was observant enough she would see interesting scars that he was indeed unable to hide with his long cloak. They peeked out around his wrists and again around his neck. There was far more to this man then what simply met the eyes. No there was something much deeper at work here. He spoke his works calm and collected, it was apparent just from his speech that he was no enemy. No his words were kind; flattering almost yet there was nothing flattering about them. “Morning, I am glad to see that I am not the only morning person around here witnessing the start of a new day.”

[Liel]

A smile. He was friendly. And a human too, she noted, as she continued up the shore. As she drew closer, she noted that he indeed was human, but a different one -- scars littered his skin, yet his voice was kindly. As she observed further, she noted that the scars really were there -- they ran along his wrists and neck. As a student of Medicine, her mind flipped through every possible scenario, wondering. She returned the smile and nodded. "It's my favourite time of day," she said, moving to stand before him, her plants still in hand. "You are here to practice with your bow and arrow?"

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

He saw plants in her hand. He didn’t know the name of the plants she held but he did see that they were indeed beautiful looking. He supposed it was possible for her to be a herbalist or some kind. Here to collect these plants to make a medicine of some kind or another. Most Konti women seemed to be healers. He had only met a few that were fortune tellers, or could see into the past and future. The plants she held didn’t give her away; but they did help him gather clues. Most Konti women were puzzles for him. He gathered little bits here and there to help him finally piece together who each woman was. He had pieces every now and then but in the end he figured he could find out just who each person was. He had only a few clues to piece together for her right now. They weren’t large, but they did help him. “Yes, indeed I am here to practice. But I find greeting the sun is an appropriate way to start the day. And it seems you are here to gather either décor or ingredients; which is it?” He posed as he smiled a little then gauging her reaction. He was getting decent at this reading people thing. Konti women still puzzled him some though.

[Liel]

Her large eyes twinkled. "Ingredients for decor, you could say." She fiddled with the whips, a playfully obnoxious pout on her features. "We Konti use them to be gorgeous." With a giggle, she set them out on a flat rock to catch Syna's rays. "I need to dry these," she explained. "And then turn them into a paste." The paste would be for cosmetic purposes -- blemishes, to be more exact. Perhaps someday, she would sell everything she made, but for now, she enjoyed harvesting for her own interests. Sitting on the rock beside them, she looked up at the human. She motioned to his bow and quiver, silver-webbed fingers and a pleasant lilt to her voice. "If you would, let me watch you train. I've an affinity for the foreigners that find their way to our shores, Human."

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

So she was a herbalist of some kind, by need rather than by trade maybe? It seemed she may have come here to gather these things for her own use in a small amount. That opposed to gathering a large amount to sell to locals. But he supposed that when the task was simple it would be a hard sell; especially since she seemed to hint that what she would do with them was common knowledge. But it wasn’t to him. No he hadn’t started the cosmetic side of herbalism. He on the other hand was focused more on the medicinal. Interested in curing poison especially…more for his own reasons than anything else; that and illness. He was fascinated with illness and how to cure it without the use of gnosis. Something that seemed to be a little lost here on this isle where healers were abundant. Human…Well yes he was. The way she addressed him bothered him a tick. And he really wasn’t sure why. Was she saying that to remind herself what he was? Or was it just how she wanted to go about things? He hadn’t since the slave camp been addressed as plainly ‘human’. But even there in the camp he was addressed only by a number. Nothing more and nothing less. But her addressing him by race reinforced something he already knew; he would likely never be a part of this isle. These people would likely never be his people. Further driving the divide between any hope of home he really ever had. But he was likely looking to far into this…Yes she said she had an affinity for foreigners. So by addressing him as ‘human’ she was likely stating that she found him interesting because he was different than her. That he could deal with. Yes he was reading to far into it. He dismissed the prior and accepted that he found her interesting; it was a far easier reality for him to deal with. “You will have to walk me through creation of this paste. I would like to know more beautifying mixtures; right now I am focused on the healing.” He admitted as he then nodded and looked off down the beach. Seemed if he wanted to practice he would be firing parallel down the beach. Allowing plenty of time for the winds to have odd effects on his shots. He had never loosed arrows across the winds before, only against or with them. He figured this would be a good test for his skills because you never knew what your circumstances would be before you met them. It helped to prepare your mind and skill set for all kinds of activities and alternatives. Especially when you never knew what you could face out there. “If you wish to watch I will not interfere.” He then looked back down the beach; he had a clear view of where his arrows would land. And to tell the truth he could see farther than he believed was possible for his arrows to travel, especially in the wind. He took his stance, the same stance Ildin had taught him a good deal ago. One he had indeed become quite comfortable with. His feet were planted in the ground; firm and steady, squared off with his hips. His bodies left side facing down the beach as he then let his left arm go lax at his side. His left hand held the longbow that he was to use; his right was gently touching the shaft of the first arrow he was to let loose. He focused closing his eyes for a few seconds while he gauged the winds. He could feel how they moved across the ocean, churning up the waves. Every slight change in wind was noticed as he slowly centered himself. His breathing slowed as his focus heightened. Each of his senses slowly sharpened with every calm drawn breath. When he was ready his eyes slowly opened and he turned looking left down the beach. Liel was only a few feet off to his right on her flat rock. She would be able to see every moment in its glory, every one of his measured movements wouldn’t be lost to her. Last minute checks were made, watching the sand of the beach at different estimated distances to gauge wind. Where the sand was being pounded and lifted the wind was greater. Yet where the sand was still on the ground there was less wind. Also the direction of the small dry sand plumes told him the direction of the wind as well. Something he had picked up and noticed when he sat on the beach waiting for the sun to rise. When he was ready he nodded a little then knocked an arrow. He wouldn’t draw taunt the bow string. No, instead he would leave it pointed down at the ground, his left hand holding the bow and his right holding the arrow to the string. Again watching the wind, it was indeed forever changing and didn’t stay constant for long. He then almost gracefully pulled up the bow and took aim. Again mentally making note of how the winds were behaving. This would be critical in him landing this arrow somewhere safe and then consistently matching the other arrows to its landing. He made some adjustments and then when he was ready he pulled back slowly and evenly. He held for a few seconds making sure in his head that everything matched up. It did and with that his fingers loosed together and the string drew taunt propelling the arrow forward. It darted out of the bow and sailed gracefully down the beach line. He wasn’t aiming to fire the arrow out of sight. No he was aiming more for about sixty feet or so. He had to offset for wind though, something he still wasn’t sure about. The arrow sailed down the beach and toppled a little because of the wind, making the arrow trim a little more to the right than first expected; cutting into the beach. It landed just short of where Serrif had originally planned. A good fifty feet or so and a little more to the right than he would have liked. But that was the first arrow; almost always used as a test especially in a situation he had never found himself in before.

[Archelon]

oocWith approval from goss to help grade serrif's threads Thread Award "A flying turtle is here to help." And the Results!!!!: Serrif : SkillName 1-5 How/why? Longbow 2 Observation 1 Lores: Meeting Liel Liel : SkillName 1-5 How/why? Observation 1 Swimming 1 Lore: Would you like some extra turtle sauce ? : Wasn't much to work with here, but I did my best