Preventing the Shattered Spirit[Closed]

[Kavala]

. Kavala was glad she had no empathy for people. After her relaxing swim, Hatot's sorrow and shame would have been too much to bear. It was hard enough seeing it on his blank face and feeling it in the tones of his voice. For in her mind it was undeserved. His words, also, surprised her. She had anticipated a rejection there as well in regards to the healing. So as he continued to speak, telling her his Rite of Manhood approached, she nodded and leaned forward until her right hand lay over the broken and bruised flesh of his knuckles on his own right hand as her left one did the same to his left hand. She didn't like touching people, truth be told, but healing was something different. It was almost a release of sorts as the gnosis mark on the back of her neck warmed and released its potent energy. Warmth flooded through him as she carefully closed the abrasions, healed the bruising both within his flesh and the deeper bone contusions. It wasn't flawless, for the healing itself hurt slightly as she repaired the damage, but in the span of a single breath or two the new pain was gone and so too was the ache. His leg would be harder. Gnosis would probably not cover the extent of the damage. She twisted slightly and ran her hands down the limb to get a closer look at the deep cut in his calf muscle. She probed the edges of it, not worrying about hurting him for he'd already demonstrated that pain of this sort wasn't necessarily as hard for an Akalak to bear as another would be. Kavala shifted, stretching across the sand until she touched her bag, then grasped it to pull it back over to her. Out came her healers kit, a bottle of home made antiseptic, and an additional bundle that looked a lot like a combat pack. She pulled free a set of sheers, and carefully trimmed the material on his pants away from the wound so she could clean it with both a tincture of antiseptic and stitch the wound. It was filthy, and she frowned as she found she had to take tweezers and pull bits of debris out of it before rinsing it twice. "I'm sorry this hurts you." She said softly after having him shift so she could easily sew it up. Her manner was different now, more subdued, less feisty than the Konti Radris had seen. She'd be hard pressed to confess which was the real person, for both seemed to her to be fluxuations in the extreme on both parts. Kavala remained quiet as she made two layers of stitches... one in his muscle and one across the skin. The skin sutures were left gapped at the bottom, though she knew it would leave a bigger scar. She wanted a space still open to the air so if the dirt within it did cause infection, the pus could drain. Then, after the last stitch was made, she coated the whole wound with a thin cream that seemed to numb it considerably before she wrapped his whole calf in a bandage to secure the absorbent material she layered over the top of the cream directly above the stitches. "So you are not an adult either? What is a Rite of Manhood among the Akalak consist of if its something you can speak of? The Konti are considered mature in our twenties, like I am now, but we are not technically adults until age thirty. I'm twenty seven. And you?" She asked, having the vague notion that their two races lived about the same amount of time. Kavala moved back from him then, brushing her hands together as if she'd like to wash them (for indeed there was a little blood from his wound on them)... and looked up to meet his gaze. The compulsion was gone, and that in itself was a relief. Being close to him, touching him... it wasn't like touching an animal. It was a whole lot harder than she'd guessed it would be. And so she busied herself repacking her bag and wiping her tweezers and suture needles with the antiseptic. And then she glanced up. "I saved your cloak. I'm glad you did not take it back yet. It is covered with blood. I was going to take it home and get the blood out of the fabric for you. I know a special way that will leave no stains." Healers were good at that... laundering blood out of fabric. But that's not the real reason she hung onto his cloak. No, she wanted to do something special for him with it. Konti never wore plain clothing. And his white cloak was too plain by far for her tastes. While she had it home, she was going to alter it slightly for him, if she could, and then return it. She wasn't sure why other than... she really felt grateful that he had extended a friendship even when he was locked in such an internal struggle. .

[Hatot]

Hatot winced slightly as the sting of his cuts and injuries made themselves known. He then released a slow breath as soon laid along his front in the sand, allowing Kavala full access to the wound along his calf muscle. His eyes closed as the from cleaning the wound came first, and he pictured once again the great waterfall that the city was named for. The stitches came next as he grit his teeth each time the needle was passed through flesh. It wasn't a fierce pain, and Hatot knew that he wouldn't have to hide from this pain. When the stitching was done, and the pain slowly faded into a simple numbness after Kavala had applied the cream, Hatot let out a final exhale of relief before his hands slowly pressed along the ground, pushing himself off it and into a seated position once again. His hands then gradually worked over his front, brushing off the sand that had clung to his clothing. He then looked over to Kavala, listening to her explanation of both her age and the maturity of her race. Hatot slowly looked up towards the sky as the stars began to become visable, sparkling like diamonds that caught light just at the right angle. "I'll be seeing my 40th summer this year," Hatot explained as his arms crossed over his knees. "The Rite of Manhood will involve me going out on a hunt, much like the the Rite we faced as younglings. Only this time, it will be by myself, and not with a group of my peers. Only one observer will be along for the hunt, and an observer alone he will be, no matter what the result is or what I hunt." Hatot then looked to Kavala, remaining silent for a long moment before finally saying, "My Rite of Trial is when Radris first appeared. I was careless and in focusing on a large Glassbeak, one of it's pack mates dragged it's talon down my back. Radris came out then, and proceeded to pummel the bird with his bare fists. It's body, beak and talons were left broken and bloody. None of the others I traveled with that day realized right away that my darker half had come out, and when one of them stepped up to both stop his further needless assault upon the bird's corpse and congratulate me, Radris' rage was turned on him."

[Kavala]

. So he was older. Kavala supposed living with someone like Radris would also cause a person like Hatot to age faster perhaps than normal. She noted many similarities between Hatot/Radris and Sorian/Navis. Their lives weren't easy, that much was certain, and she didn't envy them their struggles. If today was no different than any other day trying to work out the differences between the two personalities, Kavala wondered of Hatot truthfully found any peace in his life. "The Rite of Manhood sounds dangerous. The grass isn't safe for a man alone on foot. But, then again, that is the whole point isn't it?" She said thoughtfully and then nodded. By then she was done packing up her kits and placing them back in her backpack, as well as prodding an errant crab who was busy trying to get away from the mesh bag. "You don't let him free much do you? Do you think he'd be calmer if he had more time in control? Sorian was like that, but he gave up and let Navis have his life for a while so he could hide within himself. Now they have more of a balance. It seems healthier. You make me think you're keeping him on a tight leash with never any outside time. Is that wise? Sometimes if I have a horse that is mean spirited, he just needs a job to keep him busy. A task to preform that tires him out and stimulates his mind and works his body. " It seemed obvious to her, but then again she wasn't living in Hatot's skin. She looked patient, thoughtful, then finally spoke again. "What about your family? What do the other men say? I mean, how do they handle themselves? Did you get equal time between both your father's souls? Or did you just know one of them?" Kavala wasn't sure how it worked. She didn't even know how the Akalak married. Did each one have a different wife or did the two men share and the woman agree to marry both? She longed to ask Hatot more about his family, their dynamics, and what worked and what didn't. But she didn't want to press him. It was simply that Kavala was curious about the Akalak culture and what was really going on in Riverfall. .

[Hatot]

Hatot gave a slow shake of his head as he rested his chin along the top of his knees, curling his toes along the sand for a moment. "I've always tried to keep him buried," Hatot claimed as he recollected. "It seems every time he comes out he kills or comes close to killing. I agree that violence can not be avoided sometimes, but I personally don't think that killing is a necessity, save for food. In the end, I just fear that if I willingly give him control, he'll not give it back." Hatot then tried to remember his time with his father, his face growing somewhat blank as his eyes almost seemed to begin counting the grains of sand that surrounded them. "I, in all honesty, could not tell the difference," Hatot then said as he raised his head slightly. "My father was always a quiet man, even more so after Radris' first appearance. One of those, how would human's describe them, 'Strong Silent Types?' He would often be gone, out either guarding caravans to and from Riverfall. Or he would be out on a hunt. When he was home, he wouldn't say much. I would try and ask him for guidance and he would tell me that finding balance was not something that could be taught, only learned. Radris would become confrontational with him, and he would then just simply tell him that he was only half of a whole and to exercise more paitience." Hatot's fingers then extended as his hand went diving into he sand as his strike sent grains up into the air about half a foot. "I saw him battle in the Arena once, no armor and a simple spear in hand. His face was totally calm, and his movements fluid like ocean waves, but there was a fierceness in his eyes that I couldn't deny. He defeated his opponent in less time than it would take to lace up my boots."

[Kavala]

. Kavala looked thoughtful. She reached her hand out and laid it on his shoulder for a moment, briefly squeezing it, and then withdrawing. The Konti had spent the afternoon with Radris, and although he had been rude, sultry, and stubborn and so she knew what Hatot meant. "He said he didn't blame you for your tight leash. But truthfully, when I was with him this afternoon, I do not think he was... he doesn't strike me as a killer, Hatot. Even though I saw him kill this morning. He strikes me as someone who has no air to breath and no room to move. You said that in your father, you couldn't tell the difference. I wonder if striking the balance is easier when one doesn't have to fight so hard to keep the other suppressed. Maybe I could spend some time with Radris, give him something to do... something to direct his energy on and give you a bit of a break yourself. Akela would work out his body with her katana and shes more than able to defend herself against him. I think that would be very good for Radris. I do not know what I could do, but there has to be something he'd enjoy. And I've been working with my blowgun and philtering, so I can make sure hes not a danger if I bring along the right poisons... ones that won't harm either of you but will disable him long enough to get you back if necessary. You just seem... so worn out sometimes Hatot. I do not think its fair that your people feel that their internal battles need to always be fought alone. It doesn't have to be so." She said gently, reaching off to the side abruptly to retrieve a wayward crab that had worked free of her mesh net. "I think Radris cares about what you think. He also fears you taking your life in order to stop him. Do you ever talk to him inside your head? Have you even tried to get to know him?" Kavala asked quietly. Her azure eyes were darker than normal, thoughtful, like a scientist puzzling over a problem. "I might be wholly out of line here, Hatot, but he says hes with you and he hears what you hear, tastes what you taste, knows what you think. I imagine you would as well if your with him long enough and open enough. Why must it always be one or the other in control? Why can there never be any togetherness?" She asked, leaning back and shifting so her legs were folded up under her body. He could see the patterning of scales along her ankles, weaving down to encase the whole of her foot. They shimmered to match the webbing between her toes. Even dressed as a boy in the overlong tunic, no one would ever mistake her for anything but a konti. Her race was designed to help others, support them, guide them into the ways of wisdom. And even if she fought it, she couldn't have helped trying with him as she'd tried with Sorian. "Hatot, I know almost no one here. I would like to be friends with you. I would like to be friends with Radris too. Will you ask him and then let me know what you both think about that?" It was an odd request and certainly her speech was longer than any she'd made to him yet. She reached up, ran her hair through her tangled wet white hair, and suddenly looked uncomfortable. Rising to her feet, she brushed the sand from her skin and moved to gather up her things, including Hatot's white cloak. Finally, standing there awkwardly, she said something more. "If I had such a fierceness in me... which I don't... I would have harnessed it, befriended it, and embraced it. If I had such a spirit within, no one would ever hurt me again. No one would steal my freedom, bind my hands, and make free use of what is not theirs to toy with. You are lucky, both of you... to have wisdom, temperance, and fierceness all in one. All the Akalak are, even if most are too busy suffering to see it." Maybe it was time to leave. Kavala wasn't sure. It had been a long day - one of practice and death - and the Gods knew the Konti was stressed enough by that. She had food to take home, to cook, and blinking suddenly she turned her gaze down the beach, then back to Hatot. "I need to get these home." She said, lifting the mesh bag of crabs and various sea denizens. "Radris wolfed down some bread, but I had really nothing to eat. Would you like to join me for dinner at Sanctuary?" .

[Hatot]

Hatot contemplated on all Kavala had said to him as his eyes slowly gazed up towards the stars in the sky. "I had never really considered it, to be honest. Every time he got out, he was a bundle of rage," Hatot replied as his brow fell into the palm of his hand, "one that was released all at once and all on the source of that rage and any who came between. We're so totally different that I once never even fathomed we could work together." Hatot then slowly looked over towards Kavala, a hint of a smile crossing his lips as he gave a nod. "I would cherish a friendship." He then said, those golden hues of his iris' reflecting her image. "So few in this city are willing. The only one's who are my friends really are my own students and the Grandmaster of the Tuvya Sasaran. Everyone else, I feel, mainly just stops at a level of tolerance." He then gave a slow nod before looking back to the sand, wriggling his toes in it once again as his horse suddenly appeared, nudging his back with it's muzzle. "And you too of course, Tulok," Hatot said as he slowly reached up, patting the horse along the side of it's face lightly. Hatot then slowly stood up with Kavala, brushing the sand off himself lightly as well. "I'll contemplate on what you've said, and seek wisdom from it, perhaps such an accord can be struck with Radris, but I will rely heavily on you and your sister to help keep him in check if he grows to out of control," Hatot then said, a conviction in his eyes before giving another slow now. "I would as well be honored to dine with you, but unfortunately it should wait for another night. It's been a trying day, for both of us, and I feel I should let you get your rest as much as I should get mine. So until tomorrow, I'll bid you a peaceful night."

[Charon]

Thread Experience Awards Hatot XP: +1 in Meditation, +2 in Teaching, +3 in Unarmed Combat Lore: Rak'kelli’s Gnosis – Healing, The Nature of a Nakivak Mod Notes: I really enjoyed seeing the development of Hatot/Radris and the violence with which he emerges. I can't wait to see what sort of effect the Rite of Manhood has on the two of them. From the cut on the outside of your left calf, expect it to cause minor pain/be a nuisance through about mid-Spring. The scar will last through about mid-Summer. Kavala XP: +1 in Plant Identification, +1 in Unarmed Combat, +2 in Medicine, +1 in Swimming, +1 in Fishing Lore: Pressure Points of Humanoid Anatomy, The Cerulean Cult, The Akalak Rites of Trial and Manhood Mod Notes: I love how Kavala seems to almost become more brave and more forward when dealing with Radris and Navis. It's an interesting blend of rough love and stubbornness and I'm just as interested in the reaction from the men as Kavala is!