[Theo's Farm] Dirt Beds (Open)

[Louie Wein]

Hiding in the shadows of the forest, Louie stood waiting and watching the woman to find out why she was acting suspicious. Why send those commands into his mind to force her words and why those telltale signs of magic in her aura. "I would have learned what she used instead of that pathetic defensive magic." Petch all of this. His auristics has helped him in more ways than one and he did not need this stupid voice in his head to play around with him. He could even feel like there was another accompanying him in the shadows but when he turned around to look, he saw nothing.

Really, enough of the tricks because a flicker of the campfire that the ethaefal was so protective about earlier showed that it was not its owner that was standing guard over it but another woman. He needed to learn how to act faster so he would not miss switches like this. She gave of a different sort of imposing quality than the one who relied on mental pressure. With her muscles showing Louie knew that he would be beaten into a pulp if he was found but he might have to risk it. By the looks of things, whatever that was going on must have been finished with one, no two of the participants abandoning the fire.

What were they up to really? Louie even in the dark was able to take a gaze to enlighten him of the situation. Keeping still and quiet there was nothing else to distract himself from focusing his djed to his eyes yet again as he stared straight at the woman. A lot of people shared the same kind of aura based on what he saw before so he did not feel that anything was off when he saw this woman's aura, only...why did she have the same sort of clumps at the eyes and mouth? He could have gotten to the simple explanation that they were one and the same but Louie was one of those who liked to over complicate things. Of course Ciel saying unnecessary things like "I see something..." in a cryptic fashion did not make things better.

Those magic users can never be trusted especially if they were capable of messing with your head! As soon as her back was turned, Louie left the protection of the tree and headed towards the fire. "Really now...what if the fire is not controlled?" he asked himself dumping a few handfuls of dirt over it to smother the flames before following his only lead through the forest. Hopefully he would not lose her in the dark among the trees, but he would not give up so easily just yet.

[Nashira]

Nashira's muscles rippled as her boots crashed against the ground, snapping fallen branches underfoot. Her hands brushed up against the twisted bodies of the trees. Barren; unclothed. Naked next to her. She could feel her fingers sinking into their rough skin. The diamond backs; their multitude of imperfections. It felt so cold, so relentless, against her. So unwilling to let her in. Incapable of being molded, like clay. As her fingers flicked away excess bits of bark. Dripping tendrils, flaking skin, she glided along again. She could feel them now, sinking beneath her nail beds. Biting the delicate finger flesh that lingered there. It felt like dirt. Clotting, dark. Dismal. She hated that feeling, knowing that she was in need of a bath, and simply, wished to tear everything away. It was too dark. Even with the eerie glow cast by the milky moon; the ominous glimmer of the trees bathed in light, their shadows crawling across the uneven terrain. It would simply have to wait. As she moved along, Nashira could feel the cold sinking in. Her ears prickled as she searched. She could feel the edge of Caleb's old sword tapping lightly against her side, drumming a beat for her to follow as she continued her descent into the darkness; feeling oddly at home despite the light of her patron goddess being kept at bay. She felt solace among the shadows. The unmistakable silence that had settled. As she rounded another bend, and looked back over her shoulder, she could see the lights of the city going out, as many slipped away into slumber. She smiled to herself, as she stared at the flickering light cast by candles in their holders. Yet, the darkness of where her fire had once stood, unsettled her. A chill shot up her spine as she considered whether or not it could have gone out. Or should have rather. It shouldn't have, she didn't think. Not when it seemed so strong, and vibrant before. The Ethaefal's brow furrowed, as her left hand settled on the gentle curve of a nearby tree's face. Her right hand, instinctually curled over the hilt of Caleb's old sword. Her fingers danced lightly against it, as a single thought came to mind: someone extinguished the light. She could feel her heart speeding up a little as she pulled her hand off the tree, and turned her head back around. She crept forward again, unable to hear anything save for herself, which made her wonder all the more, if she really was alone, or if whoever put the fire out had followed her into the forest's mouth. But that, in and of itself seemed doubtful to her, considering the only person she'd seen all day, who knew of her creation, was that strange man. Louie. The human deemed incapable of trust, and perhaps, a bit eccentric as well. Besides, she had hypnotized him, and sent him home for the night. What would he be doing back out in the cold, chasing after a woman, he'd likely be incapable of finding again, simply in the sense that she wouldn't appear the same again, until Syna overcame the sky? Unless her magic had simply worn off. Or not taken root as deeply as she had imagined. Or wished. At the thought, Nashira's heart beat a little faster, and yet, a part of her told herself there was no need to be afraid. Surely, the puny human wasn't that mad. Or capable of doing much damage besides. That thought alone, kept her pressing on, through the gathering pools of milky white.

[Louie Wein]

The way she moved through the forest although it made it easier to follow was to Louie as if she was trying to get a lay of the land for her nefarious purposes from what he misunderstood about her. Never would he suspect even if someone told him that she was actually trying to appreciate the beautiful winter in Denval and when she went back to the scene of the fire yet again, it confirmed to him more that the spot was very, very important for whatever it was that the women were up to.

Would she show it to him now? As Louie thought that, expectation made his heart race faster. The air exiting his lungs becoming a white cloud which dissipated almost immediately before him to show that the woman was still there. That she was not something conjured out of his paranoia just like his newfound advisor which any sane person would hope to go poof like the cold air. Also a sane person would have at least remembered to bring a coat or jacket when he had enough time to write one whole letter.

It was going to be a battle of endurance. Louie sat huddled in the bushes which shook the same way he was shivering as he continued to watch the woman. This was madness. Very mad and even Ciel would know it when she told him that "there are better ways to spend the night with other women" but this was Louie. It was the certain type of quality needed by a man who thought of himself as a patriot.

[Nashira]

Her muscles rippled all the more as they continued to flex. They ached a little with the cold, with the action Nashira was spurring them into. She had moved into a slow run through the forest. Away from where her fire had once stood, away from where Louie was, silently stalking her, his prey. Her arms swung with her steps, forcing her over the rise and falls. Into the pools of gathered light. It didn't feel the way Syna's did, whenever it bathed her. This felt cool. As though it didn't wish to be bothered with the world. Only that which illuminated its dark, cavernous features, the sun herself. It didn't seem to breath life into her soul, the way Syna's light did. It didn't seem to warm her; cast her in an unnatural radiance. Instead, an unearthly glow dripped from her caramel flesh. She felt as though she were a candy melting within the confines of someone's mouth. Saliva running off her skin in waves as she stood, silent and still. Her muscles tense as they coiled again, growing cold, as they waited for the time in which they'd be thrown back into the battlefield. Her ears prickled as she looked around, her hand hovering over the hilt of Caleb's old sword. She loathed the silky white blanket. Nashira thought she could hear something crack. A soft, nearly inaudible snap, carried to her by the breeze that trickled through the skeletons of trees. Her head whirled around, towards the source of the sound, off to her left. Her hand sank, instinctively curling around the hilt. Her thumb danced over it, taking in the feel of the cool metal. You're not alone, her mind whispered, as her eyes flashed. Within a heartbeat, she was treading along the path she had already beaten into the earth. Silver mist hung from her lips as her feet pounded the terrain over and over again. The end of her sword tapped against her side, as the fabric of her dress swirled all around her. She was repeating her steps, slowing, so as to listen a bit better. To the sounds of the forest, fading away now. Slowly, now that the moon's light was falling away, she tread, so as not to hurt herself, and stay hidden just in case whatever she was chasing turned out to be a threat. For chime after chime, Nashira searched for the source of the sound, until she came to a man huddled in the bushes. She drew her sword. Her heart hammering in her chest as her fingers wound around the hilt, twisting and turning the metal until it glimmered in the moonlight. Its tip resting against the back of the man's neck. "What are you doing out in the dark?" Nashira asked, her voice cold. "Looking for someone? Or merely trying to cover your tracks?"

[Louie Wein]

The cold air came gushing out faster and faster while the woman moved around with Louie following her with his eyes. Just what was she up to? What he saw was her looking at the fire and then without even relighting it she walked away from where she came from. Just what did this mean? Could he have been wrong with the fire being important? Louie's heart began beating faster while he adjusted his posture to try and get comfortable in the cold especially when she came dangerously close to him. Before Louie could get a better look at her features, she vanished into the shadows of the forest with only some strange tattoo on her thigh to remember her by as she passed.

At a lost Louie started to argue with himself whether or not he should follow her when a third voice told him to "go back to bed and take a rest" but it sounded too familiar with the earlier woman's attempts at manipulation. That could only mean one thing. She was back and at it again! Forgetting all about the formidable looking woman that he was stalking, Louie watched the remnants of the fire as hard as possible expecting one of them to reemerge there. To show that he was right with his suspicions. Not right behind him while he was distracted!

While he did not recognize the voice, he could tell that it was female. A fifty percent chance of it being the person he was tailing. With the tip of the sword poking his back he was more convinced it was the first. The horned one whose sword forced him to go back home to get his own. Slowly standing up with no sudden movements he asked "why don't you tell me?" eventually revealing that "if you do anything stupid" like killing him "there will be people looking for you" unless she did something sudden. Then he will be shrieking out that so called threat.

[Nashira]

The tip of her fingers sank, molding with the wiry hilt. It was far more lean than her frame; even though the bones shone through her caramel colored skin. Her toes wiggled in her boots, as her feet settled into the ground. Nesting. A single brow rose as her lips parted, "how should one know the desires of a simple human?" Nashira growled. There was a pause as she tilted her head slightly to the side, and awaited his word. Mist spreading to the edges of her curled lips. Her knowing grin. "Or for that matter, the desires of something else?" There was a pause as the Ethaefal slowly side stepped around Louie, never once lowering Caleb's old sword. After but a few heartbeats, she stood in front of him. Shoulders rolled back, head held high. Muscles coiled. Her green eyes had settled on his own. Searched their inner reaches; their darkest corners, the emotions held there, before moving onto everything else. A flicker of recognition shimmered within the depths of her eyes as her thumbs danced over the hilt. Well, well, well, what do we have here? her mind wondered as her smile widened just enough to expose her teeth. A match for the color of Leth's moon. If it isn't that sniveling, nosy idiot from before... bloody petcher can't seem to learn his lesson, now can he? Tsk tsk tsk. Surely, there's a way to see to that? A way to change how he views one he scarcely seems to recognize. "And whoever said anything about doing something one may consider rather... stupid?" Nashira asked, her tone playful. Like a cat lazily batting at a mouse she intended on having for dinner. "Surely you don't take me for a simpleton, do you stranger?" The Ethaefal shook her head a little, rustling her dark mane of hair. "No, no, I don't suppose you would. Or at least... you wouldn't admit to it. Not when you have a blade poised directly between your eyes. Windows really, into the pitiful world encompassed by your soul. Trampled. Beaten. Broken and mangled. Left without a shred of what once belonged to you. A shred of your mind. A simple shard of sense." The Ethaefal paused as her eyes grazed over him. "Go home boy. You're in way over your head, you know." There was a pause as she allowed her words to sink in, her lips to part all the more, exposing the jagged edges of shimmering white. Glowing like any oyster's prized pearl. You should be thankful I'm not hungry...

[Tabarnac]

XP Award! Nashira XP Award: Land Navigation +2; Observation +2; Wilderness Survival +2; Interrogation +1; Hypnotism +3; Tracking +1; Bastard Sword +1 Lore: Theo’s Farm Layout Louie XP Award: Interrogation +4; Teaching +2; Writing +1; Land Navigation +1; Stealth +1; Observation +3; Investigation +3; Tracking +1; Auristics +4 Lore: Ethaefal Recognition Additional Notes: Nashira, Denvali is just a dialect of Common, so you might want to swap that out as a language. I know the CS Liaisons have been sticklers about that and going over old CSs recently. Just a heads up to prevent headaches down the line. And with the hypnotism, I’m thinking it was a whole bunch of “suggestion” type stuff, and that it was an accumulation of suggestions working on him. Just let me know if I’m wrong there. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns. I am more than happy to alter awards if you make a good case for it. Keep writing!