Beneath the Stars, a Fateful Encounter (Rayage)

[Lessira]

34th of Spring, 512 AV The sound of waves filled the air, lapping up upon the shore of sand and shells. It was a quiet night, peaceful almost. So unlike what the days in Sunberth normally were. There was a slight chill in the salty breeze that sent tingles running across Lessira's skin as she strolled down the sandy beach just at the waters edge. Closing her eyes the girl felt the cold waters tickle her toes and pull at her ankles, almost as if they were beckoning her back to the place of her birth... Leth's glow was partially obscured by clouds, but even so the girl's skin shown out in an almost supernatural way, as if she has been bathed in moonbeams and they now burst forth from beneath her skin. Her arms were wrapped delicately around her waist, the sleeves of her tunic rolled up to expose flawless skin without a mark or blemish. The soft wind would, at times, blow a strand of her silvery blue hair before her violet eyes, and the girl would absently brush the thread behind one ear and continue her quiet observation of the sky above. Upon her head rested twin horns that sloped gently around her ears. In the light of the moon they almost seemed to glow, a crown of polished white marble that created a halo of light that shimmered whenever the light of the moon caught them. Lessira's clothing was of simple fabric this night, a cotton tunic and pair of pants that were a darker shade of purple. Her feet were bare and exposed to the elements, and she absently walked into the lapping waves up to her ankles. Those shimmering eyes were set upwards, filled with some strange thoughts and pondering that seemed to have encased all of the girl's attention. One hand absently ventured up to the part in her tunic, touching the exposed skin there and the lightly glowing mark that symbolized the girl's connection to something greater. As she walked, Lessira began to hum under her breath, soft and melodic. It carried no particular rhythm or tune, and it did not seem to follow a pattern of any kind. It was a sound of strange beauty and cacophonic passions, but never did it raise above a soft whispering breath. It was as if the girl wanted to say something, but despite all of her efforts never could she get the sound to obey her wishes. This only set the girl's eyes to drift farther from the world of mortals, and those violet eyes became misty with past thoughts and old emotions...

[Rayage]

The night wasnt so peaceful for the nuit. No, not at all. Nagging thoughts of his next experiment, where to go, what to do, thoughts of... uncertainly. Yes it was those kind of thoughts that bothered him the most. The feeling of being uncertain about something, any aspect of his life, or unlife, was unsettling for him. He had left Sahova. This decision was not one which he made lightly, and he still thought about the vacant lab of which he left behind with the magical facility. He had long thought he would never leave, but one thing always leads to another which leads to another. It was a change, and in that fact, the idea and the very concept that he was [i[changing[/i] that alone settled and stilled his thoughts as he looked out at the waters, in the direction of Sahova.

Most of the nuits features were obscure and hidden by the shadows, the moons faint light seeming only to add to the mystery. Giving those unaccustomed to the dark just enough to see that, yes, he was a human, or at least humanoid. The black armored clock which wrapped around his body made him even more of an enigma, altering his appearance in the dim light of the moon, shrouding and keeping secret his true nature. If a book is judged by its cover then this one would be hard to judge, that is until one got close enough to smell the embalming fluid, but even that was under wraps thanks to the cloak. Perched on his shoulder was a curious creature, one of his own creation, H1-A, the rabbit-lizard, or would it be better described as the lizard-rabbit? Questions like that sometimes crossed the nuits mind, but whatever the case may be it still was called H1-A, that is what the creature is and what it always will be, the one label which completely describes it. Why? Because Ray made it so.

He also made a habit of carrying around that sword which he had found in the mines. Over a season of contemplation and experimentation in the lab and he still had not found out the properties of this blade. It was a mystery and one which he would solve. The blade itself looked about as old as the nuit, in fact, it was just about as old as the nuit. Hanging from his side, slightly hidden by the robe, he still did not know how to use it properly. Then again, he was an Alchemist, not some dumb foolish barbarian. He had better things to do.

Yes, better things to do... With that thought he turned around and was about to leave the beach, but a slight melody caught his ear, a song, or was it just noise? Whatever it was the sound was so strange, so foreign that it stopped the Alchemist in his tracks. It interested him. It made him want to discover just what exactly was making that noise, yes it was noise, not a song, not a melody, but noise for it had no recognizable pattern. What could making such a noise this late at night, and why didnt he hear it before? Probably too self absorbed in his own world of thought.

Looking towards the soft melody, the soft winds whisper which had brought the sound to his attention, he saw someone else walking the beach, whereas he was just standing there. They however were not as dark as Ray, the figure in the distance, no, they, or rather he or she seemed to glow slightly in the moons light. Whoever or whatever it was seemed to come alive again whenever the moonlight reached from the clouds and touched their skin. Getting closer, the nuit not advancing just standing, he watched, observed as the horn halo was revealed in the light. incredible.

Then, out of nowhere, H1-A shifted and launched itself off Rays shoulder. With a small plop and scuttle in the sand it landed and started to make its way over to the person who was making that noise. "H1-A" the nuit called out walking after the creature who was making it full speed to the person with horns. He made a note to buy a leash for that thing. Yes, that would be ever helpful. Danged lizard doesnt know what is good for it.

[Lessira]

The peace of the night was... soothing to the girl as she strolled aimlessly, simply following wherever her feet may take her. Her eyes were cast upward, looking deep within the ever-expanding night, searching out the realm from whence she had come in hopes that she might obtain but a glimpse of her former home, but of course this could never be... Within her mind the girl's thoughts swirled in a maelstrom of random contemplations and purposeful pondering. For a moment, the briefest instances, the girl could hear it. That sound, the call that echoed deep within her, that vibrated her very soul. Somewhere, from some distant place, her lord, her god... Leth had called her name. The sound was that of ringing bells, so loud and strong that her entire being vibrated with the force if it. Just as the final echoes of those notes began to fade, they were followed by another, lighter form that reminded Lessira of the chimes of this mortal world. They whispered through her, sending tingles through her entire body and causing her hairs to stand on end. It was of such force and suddenness that the girl stopped and closed her eyes, leaning back her head and breathing deeply of the moons light. The mark on her chest glowed brightly for just one moment, but then it faded to its normal glow. Distantly, within that mind that still rang with her being, Lessira called out to her God, My dearest Leth, one who has all that I am, I do hear you... Her eyes fluttered open and she clasped her hands at her chest. A single tear made a path down her shimmering cheek, staining that flawless skin with a glimmering path formed from the deepest of sorrow, My Leth, Keeper of my Heart and Soul, I beg of you... Do not turn you gaze from me... A sudden intake of breath caused Lessira to bend over, pressing her hands against her glowing mark as she fought back the sobs that wished to flood her entire being. Her eyes closed shut, blocking the path of further tears, but some still managed to pass this barrier and fall to the salty waves below. Lessira allowed her form to rock backwards to sit in the sand, just far enough back that only her feet were still touched by the lapping waves. Her arms wrapped tightly about her waist, and her bowed head saw a curtain of hair pulled across her features so that none but Leth might see her despair. Quiet sobs shook her thin shoulders, but nothing more than a whisper escaped those shimmering lips. It was with great surprised that Lessira felt a weight pressing against her leg, and upon turning her eyes to look upon this mystery she caught sight of a creature that could only be described as unusual. It was a creature that seemed to be a mix of two very different existence. Tilting her head, Lessira wiped the tears from her eyes and leaned closer. A hand came out to touch the creature, who responded in kind and reached up its furry snout to brush against her hand. A small smile lit her face as she brushed her fallen hair behind one ear, revealing her face to any who might be coming near. The girl's hands found the creatures sides, and she lifted it up and set it upon her lap. "Who is this that has come to join me beneath Leth's glow? Have you been sent to keep me company?" H1-A made a strange snuffling should, burying its head beneath Lessira's hand and curling up so she could better pet its back. The girl's smile widened, brighting her entire visage, lightening the glow of her skin just as the moon was brought out into the world and its beams of light surrounded her and the creature. A giggle escaped Lessira's lips as she stroked the creatures fur, a sound like the tinkling of bells, wondering at its softness, "Where do you come from?" OOCShe was so caught up in her own musings that she did not even notice Rayage coming behind the creature. Have fun with it XD

[Rayage]

H1-A that infernal creature was not listening again. Not coming when it was called, not doing anything right… Just doing what it wanted, and that was all and good, but it was not what Ray wanted, which made what the lizard was doing wrong. Walking, rather slowly after it, because he knew that the creature would come back eventually it always did.

A little weary of the creature that H1-A just waltzed up to he stopped in his tracks when his first success was scooped up and began being petted. Like H1-A was a mere pet, the thought! No, H1-A was much more than that, yes, he was a product of his art and the lizard would be used as a stepping stone towards greater things, that was for sure. H1-A represented more than the nuit cared to recount at the time, only the fact that the alchemical being made him feel ‘happy’ that sullen and often swollen emotion in humans, all but nonexistent in the nuit. So, it was a strange feeling indeed. Taking care of the thing made him, dare he say? Feel alive again. Was it alive to feel the emotion of happiness? No, the nuit shook his head, it was not alive, but a human condition. A human condition. He repeated to himself glancing over at the other who picked up Subject H1-A, a human condition, but this person, thing, whatever it was surely was not human by looks of the horns. Interesting indeed. Was there another Alchemist around? He began to formulate exactly how that could be accomplished. The color was nice too, same with the unusual hair color.

Hands to his side he just stared at her, yes, it was a her from this close, ”Well” he started, just to get the creatures attention, ”It seems H1-A has found a new…” he paused to think of the word he was looking for, ”Friend.” he ended his sentence. The last word sounded more like a question than anything though and his voice dull and overly bored, dry, and almost crackly. He did not bother to think if he would scare her or not, nor did he really care. Ray was just following his creation, his property.

Upon hearing Rays voice H1-A perked its little head up, the creature definitely knew who he belonged to. ”And what are you?” he asked bluntly watching H1-A closely realizing that it was this woman who was making that noise. That noise which commanded such power for just being sound. The horns, the skin, the hair, no, not human at all. This was exciting. A new face, a new race. For now though, he would observe and collect as much info about this person as possible. Why was she out so late?

[Lessira]

The little creature nuzzled against her palm, making the most curious noises as the girl made long strokes down the fur of his back. Lessira smiled and giggled, "You are very friendly aren't you? Leth has surely smiled upon me this evening." For just a moment, the girl had forgotten about the world around her. Forgotten of her fate, of her tragedy and of her fate here in the mortal world, separated from her God. As Lessira's hand stroked along the fur of this strange and unusual creature, she felt the twisted not of anguish loosen ever so slight, just enough that she might enjoy the warm light of Leth's glow and the sound of lapping waves as they tickled her toes. Her smile almost seemed to light up her entire being, calling forth an inner peace that the girl had not experienced in some time. The girl's looked fondly at the creature, tilting her head giggling, a hand absently touching the shimmering mark on her chest. Thus, when the man spoke Lessira started in sudden surprise. Her violet eyes turned upward, taking in the form of the stranger who had approached. Some distant part of her being noted the shady look, the dark clothing and strange gate of this being, but the girl under the light of Leth paid little attention to the urgent whispers of a distant voice. If any could hear those workings of the girl's psyche, the may have just heard an exasperated sigh from deep within. As it was, the girl did not know, could not have known who, or even what, the being before her was, and as such she felt neither fear nor disgust. Simply, she looked upon Rayage with the eyes of a curious child, shinning brightly with violet light as she blinked and tilted her head, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. Looking down Lessira noticed how the creature had responded to his voice, and with a bit of a sinking feeling the girl knew that her time with her new friend was coming to a close. The smile faded ever so slightly as the girl turned to look at the creature curled in her lap. When she spoke, her voice was soft and tinkled like chimes in the wind, "My dearest Eva... Is this your master?" Lessira giggled at Rayage's curiosity at the name. Her eyes returned to the man before her, smiling as brightly as the stars as she spoke in such confidence, "Her name. It is Eva, short for Evalin."