Closed Good For Business (Kavala)

[Riaris Dovukalis]

"So I'll take that to mean something good rather than the other way around. We Akalak don't like being judged and will bring our fist to those that try it." He chuckled after the short retort, but he was mostly joking. Riaris hoped that things would go well, and so far her family had been nothing but polite. He was already sure that his family would like Kavala. Konti were no strangers of theirs. "I trust you'll tell me if I'm over stepping my grounds?" Riaris chuckled at her comment. He did worry too much, Jonah had told him as much. It seemed that for a race that lived well beyond the years of others that the Akalak did a good amount of worrying over life and it's struggles. "If you keep talking like that I'll send her here to live with you instead. She has her konti flair, but sometimes she eats as much as I do." He thought for a moment, about how Johan seemed to eat more than her sister. It was strange to think one soul was more konti and the other Akalak, but at times it seemed to be true. "And this brother of yours. I take it he comes and leaves the city often?" To Riaris it sounded like a very Drykas thing to do. And going by what Kavala told him, it seemed that he was close to the right mind set. "I believe that my sisters wish to travel, but not much or even far away. I think they would miss the city too much and all of their friends." He frowned slightly after the comment thinking of all the young Akalak pining away over them. He wanted his sisters to be happy and get a family of their own, but as he saw it they were still too young for now. Riaris jogged on, keeping his pace the same and his breathing steady. It wasn't a race, and talking would surely be more difficult if he was. Judging by the way she moved and breathed, he could tell that she was a better runner, and could probably do both while he couldn't. "And they will be. In Riverfall we have care of each other, Akalak or not. For any of us, I would think my kind understand the need for brighter futures better than many." The Akalak ran, he jogged and whipped across the sands. He could feel it more now, the burning and aches that came from running. But to him it wasn't as much pain of ache as it was a familiar tightening of his body. Kavala looked amazing as she always did, so full of life and radiating it upon others the way Syna spread her light. She was the one for him, though he didn't know it yet. It was complicated given that he wasn't used to having such feelings are going about expressing them. "I have no children of my own, but for my sisters I intend to do the same." Suddenly, the conversation took a very different and dark turn, something the Akalak knew all about. She didn't want to talk about it much, and he wouldn't push her but there was something that he could do. "If you feel up to it at another time, feel free to speak of it. If there is any way that I could help, you know I don't mind." He gave her a knowing look then, one that spoke of doing for her something much bigger than a simple favor. They talked more about travel, Mura, and the safety that Kavala found boring. He could see it that way, but he could also see the better side of it. What better place for his young to be than away from danger. What better place to keep his sister's out of trouble than somewhere so structured? "I don't plan on staying for long, just to visit at some time in the future." He smirked suddenly and sped up his pace as he jumped over the same washed up seaweed clutter. "Where too?"

[Kavala]

The whole point in running, in being with Riaris, was to get to know him better, and he wasn't disappointing. Somehow he managed to find the breath to talk and the stride to keep up a ground eating pace. and here, with his mind occupied and his body in motion, he didn't mind speaking to her a bit about his life. Kavala felt she was getting to know him a bit better, at least a little, for more of his opinions came out when he responded to something she said.

To most of his comments, she just nodded. Some she smiled too. The thought of him bringing his sister to live with her excited her a bit, so too did the thought of traveling to Mura briefly with his family did a swell. Now that they were getting better at sailing, something like that was a possibility.

Kavala pushed her body, as always, finding the initial run something of a burn until she hit her stride, found the right rhythm and then ... something would usually magically happen with her body. She would use less energy, as if she got into her swing, and move less as a whole. That stride, once found, was something of a ground eating pace that made her feel strong, sure-footed, and well able to keep up or push through the long night and well into forever. Sure, Kavala knew they were only on a beach, out for a short morning run, but she also knew that sometimes her dreams took on a reality and someday she might need to run forever... and if so she could. The thought made her smile.

And today was even better than most. Instead of running with just four-legged companions, the healer had a two-legged companion that was along for the run as well. And she enjoyed his company enormously. Riaris was fit, well spoken, and ran with ease. His stride was easy to match, though she suspected he'd shortened it a little for her benefit. She felt he could probably out run her as well if he really tried, though there morning exercise wasn't a contest in speed. No... it was more like an exercise in patience and compatibility. She liked how they made twin trails down the firm damp sand, running together and even jumping the same debris. The dogs, as always all over the place, ranged with them, like a moving sea of black and white, leaving erratic light prints as well.

She nodded to his words, where her urged her to feel free to speak up about her goal... and glanced thoughtfully over at him. A gust of wind caught her hair and blew it back out behind her, then whipped it around and partially covered her face. Whether she would talk about her life or not, at least one aspect of it, all revolved around what Riaris thought about certain things.. and there was no better time than the present to ask him his opinion.

"Lets turn and head back. We've come about three miles... the city is around the next bend. If we make it back without stopping, that's about six miles." she said stretching her arms out suddenly, shaking them, and then straightening her back again and reajusting her stride as she wheeled a large circle at the big Akalak's side.

"Riaris, what do you think about past lives... about who we've been before who we are now and how much it influences us in our present lives if at all? Do you think any of those stories are real? About us having lives before these we have now.. and maybe lives before that and even before that?" She asked, watching his face curiously... wondering just how he was going to respond.

[Riaris Dovukalis]

Riaris started to enjoy the konti's company more and more as they spent time together. He didn't know exactly why, she gave him a good feeling. A connection was forming between them, and although they had just met, he wanted to see more of her and often. Kavala didn't ask a lot of him, not nearly as much as she had already given to him freely. He was opening up more as they talked. The Akalak saying more to her than he would anyone else that he had recently met. Kavala probably didn't realize what that meant, but Riaris was putting forth the effort more because he believed that there was something there that was special with her. Riaris wasn't a betting man, and he didn't want to make assumptions of what might be, but if he was right he would see this through with her for as long as she would have him. he felt a good burn in his muscles, a healthy steady heart beat, and the blood pumping through his body in equal measures. They didn't talk for the time, both running and enjoying the morning jog as if it were something they had done together many times before. It was a picturesque scene, the brawny Akalak running along side the slender and very sexy Konti, while their dogs ran with them. Anyone who saw them would likely think the two in love, or even married, and they wouldn't be far from the truth. Kavala had given him more in their first meeting than he would have expected to get within several. She had an open and loving heart, and Riaris was moved by it. There was the physical side of things, but there was more to it, and what they were doing now, how they had been that morning was the kind of thing he could get used to. "Did we run all this way? It didn't seem that long at all." He smiled wanting her to know how much he was enjoying their time together. "Let's head back then." Riaris smiled as she circled him, the woman was so full of life her mood was infectious and he quickly drew her in before letting go to restart their jog back home. The subject of passed lives wasn't something normal for him, but he was aware of the possibilities. "If it is so, I wouldn't have a clue of who I may have been before now. I would wonder, was it me or him who existed first?" By him, he was thinking of Recoomas. "It is a weighted subject, but I wouldn't discount it. What about you Kavala, do you remember who you were before now?"

[Kavala]

Kavala laughed as Riaris drew her in, not letting her head back before he caught a quick hug. She reached up and kissed him a moment, breathlessly, before they started back down the beach at a run. The dogs had sometime along the way lost a lot of their enthusiasm and were now just trailing along, more of a pack than a monstrous roving horde. Kavala felt good though. She was always a runner, taking advantage of The Sanctuary’s location on the beach to keep her body fit and well-muscled. Old habits die hard. And it was in that thinking and in that spirit that she had asked him about past lives.

For some reason, for all of Riaris’ silences, he was easy to talk to. Perhaps it was because he was far better at listening than he was at speaking, though not at fault at all for that. Most of the Akalak were like that… strong, stoic, not prone to overly converse unless prompted. They were men of action, not exactly men of words, though there were those among them who were great orators. Kavala listened to Riaris answer her question and had to weigh his question with her conscious. The fact that this man was virtually a stranger to her came into play in her answer, but ultimately she didn’t withhold like she thought she would.

“Yes, I believe in them. I know them to be true. The mark I have on me that you asked about, the spiral that I was somewhat evasive about, is from Nysel, the God of Dreams and Nightmares. It makes me a Dreamwalker, one able to travel the Chavi of all whom I have keys too. A key can be anything… a lock of hair, a favorite necklace, even an old Lakan who’s original forger has long passed into the Ukalas. If I have those sorts of things, I can walk through the past and see where people have lived and what they have done. I have walked my own as well. It’s just about the first thing ever Dreamwalker does when they get their first mark. I have a long Chavi, one that is unbroken, so I haven’t walked its full length. But I’ve walked enough of it.” Kavala said softly, thoughtfully, then she paused.

“I’m not sure if you know, but each of us has a Chavi. It’s like a woven thread of magic that connects our soul back to our origins, from when we were first created. I think they might go back even further than that, but I do not have the ability to see that far. The Chavi exist in the Chavena which is a space between the physical world were we are standing and the Ukalaks where the Gods dwell. It is also the place where people go when they dream. Many Dreamwalkers like me think dreams are just our ability to pass down our own chavi and experience things as our chavi touch other chavi. The Chavena, Riaris, is a beautiful place. It’s like infinite darkness filled up completely with luminous strands that tangle with one another and move apart. There are so many its like a great rug unraveled, a rug big enough to cover the world and all the worlds beyond this.” Kavala explained as she ran. She glanced at Riaris occasionally, meeting his gaze, trying to judge how this all affected him. Would he believe her? She hoped so.

Kavala caught her breath from talking and ran onward, letting the sand squish between her webbed toes as she let the dogs catch up with her and Riaris. “My last life, closest to this one, I was a born the only daughter of a very evil man. His sole purpose in life was to eliminate the Gods from Mizahar because he believed they ill influenced the world and abused mankind as a whole. I could hold a dagger before I could walk. He didn’t love me like a father should. Instead he raised me to be a killer and another tool in his arsenal of death. I killed many priests and priestesses for him. We were known as the Ruv’na. My name then was Crescent and was human. My father’s name was Eclipse. Even now I can see his face. He sent me to kill the head of a Dreamwalker faction called the Cytali. I did not succeed. They captured me when I was sixteen and did what most Dreamwalkers can do… they changed my chavi. They rewrote my history and changed my memories. I thought then I belonged to them and I became the head of security for them. It was a better life, one I lived fully and remember with much joy.” Kavala said, looking at Riaris. She hadn’t meant to vocalize the Cytali or Ruv’na’s names, but he was so easy to talk too. The truth just slipped out.

“Before that I was created by a man who worked directly under Markus Kelvic. I was a first generation kelvic … a horse. I believe it is why I am so attuned to them now and understand them so well. I fell in love with my creator and bonded to him. I carried him safely until the Valterrian. Our deaths happened then. It was a good twenty years, with lots of battles and lots of love. We were both old when the world died, and so we were not torn prematurely from it. There have been other lives as well, some I remember below ground while the Djed Storms raged above. Nothing so insightful though or impactual as being a first generation kelvic and being Cytali. I miss both those lives and the people in them sometimes. I often dream about them, which I think of as gifts from Nysel.” Kavala said, absolutely meaning everything she said.

Breathless, she pulled up. Laying a hand on her side, she kept walking briskly but needed a moment to catch her breath. Kavala was in shape, but running with Riaris had taught her that there was physically fit and then there was in incredible shape. She was fit. Riaris was in incredible shape. The Konti smiled sheepishly at him and waited for his response.

[Riaris Dovukalis]

They had been running for a while now, and Riaris had slowed to a jog only. He could finish up their run this way and Kavala had also slowed as well. It was easier to listen to her while they moved side by side and he didn't mind the slower pace as he was already whining down. They neared the end of a great run and by this time even the dogs had started to walk. It wasn't often a person could claimed to have tired out a dog in a run, much less a pack. Kavala told him an incredible story, but he didn't dismiss it. Kavala had her reasons to believe what she did, and it was very possible that she was telling him the truth. He believed her, though he didn't have any clue about his other lives if he had any. Perhaps it had been Recoomas who lived before and he was the new soul, or it could have been the other way around. He had no clue, but Kavala seemed to like the subject and that was good enough for him to go on. Kavala had stamina, in more ways than one, and he was just trailing along trying to stay with her. He hadn't given any thought to a past life, but now that she brought it up he started to wonder. Kavala had been different in her past dark, but Riaris had his own darkness in the present. What he was like in the past, he couldn't imagine. Had he been something like her, a killer of many, or was he more of the peace loving type. It would be hard for him to say, it was hard to say now because he couldn't see himself. "That is an amazing story I have to say, and your God Nysel allows you to see this? Maybe I should give you my lakan and you can tell me who I was and what I did during that time." He smiled as he spoke, but Riaris was very serious. If Kavala were willing, he would sit with her and allow her to explore his past lives and see who he used to be. "Tell me, how much do you remember? Is it flashes of some kind, or do you recall certain events, days?" Riaris slowed to a walk as she did and took a few good breaths for himself. They had done a good morning workout and they deserved the rest. "I suppose I should get the payment back to the shipyard sometime this afternoon. I'm sure they are eager to get started."

[Kavala]

The Konti was feeling all sorts of things which were confusing and strange to her. She’d never met someone she’d been so attracted to and held such a connection too that had happened so quickly. Pacing beside the big man, Kavala felt a pleasant burn that told her they’d both had a good workout in more ways than one. Kavala couldn’t believe she’d just met this man the day before and made such an intense connection with him. Not only had they had mind blowing sex in a very public club, but she’d dragged him home for more of the same and to share her morning routine with. And now, she was practically telling him her life story uninvited. She wondered if it would cause him to run because honestly, she should have shown more discretion.

But in another greedy way, The Konti had never felt more deliciously alive. Her mind and body felt well loved, well exercised, and had an incredibly engaging man to spend the morning with after a fantastic night. He was easy to talk to and if the truth be told she’d rather do anything than let him return to his work. But she knew he had obligations and responsibilities. She did too. There would be clients beginning to show up within the hour and she needed to be bathed and professional when they did solicit her services.

“When you walk a Chavi, you relive the life. Sometimes it takes hours, but its not like you are reading a book or a journal. It’s like it happened to you. It would be a very good way to learn skills because you not only know about what you are re-experiencing, but you also have gone through the motions before… even though you haven’t. You still have.. if that makes sense.” Kavala said, raising her hands in a gesture that seemed to indicate things were hard to explain.

“I would love to look for you but only with your permission. We can make time anytime in the evenings. I rarely have clients then.” Kavala said, knowing she’d do it in a heartbeat. “I don’t need to have your Lakan either.. a lock of hair or even a bit of your fingernail would be just as good. I know you Akalak hold your knives close.” The Konti said, nodding. “Maybe sometime in the next few days or whenever you have time.” Working for herself, it was far easier or the Konti to free up time than maybe someone who had a set schedule.

Kavala blinked at Riaris’ mention of payment. By that time they were walking back through the Sea gates and headed back up the ramp to the facility proper. “Oh, of course. I’ll get that for you so you can get it back to them. I shouldn’t have put it off, but I was distracted last night.” She said softly, ducking into one of the side rooms and returning with a chest for him to take his employments. She lead him into the Commons and sat down at the big table so she could count out the coins. Five hundred were a lot to keep track of so she was doubly careful and let him count as well. When she was done and the coins were tucked back into the chest, she looked up at him sheepishly.

“I’d like to be very candid. Are you seeing anyone formally? I know you have work to return to and other duties, but… this last twenty four bells have been very special to me. I’ve never brought someone back home here for a meal let alone for overnight . And well… there’s a deep connection here, at least on my part. I’d like to see more of you to explore it. I mean maybe to see you again… I… “ The Konti smiled, flushing slightly. “I am not seeing anyone. Nor am I ever this bold. I just kind of lost my head when it came to you. Do you know what I mean?” She leaned forward then, sitting close to him it was possible, and nuzzled his neck, planting a soft kiss on his jawline. Riaris was smart, incredibly fit, and gorgeous in all the ways she’d seen thus far. She wanted to try to keep him in her life if possible. And if he just wanted a recreational relationship she’d take it because time with him had been very healthy for her. And being up front about that was important too her. “I’d like to see you formally, but if that’s not possible, at least recreationally. I haven’t been comfortable with a male in a long time and it’s a feeling I don’t want to loose.’ She said shamelessly, asking him for formal time with him and if that wasn't possible, more physical time. Kavala wasn’t sure how Riaris would react to being asked out formally, but honestly the worst he could say would be no and she’d loose nothing anyhow.

The Konti offered him a smile then, a flush coloring her cheeks.

[Riaris Dovukalis]

This was out of the ordinary for Riaris, it was spontaneous and completely out of the way of his normal life. Normally the Akalak knew exactly what his day was going to be like and how long he would spend in a place before moving on to another spot. He could even tell exactly who he would encounter and what they would talk about. But this with the Konti was anything but the usual. Every since they started to chat in the ship yard his day was thrown off, and nothing was as it normally was. He didn't mind this however, in fact he was really enjoying it. Kavala was a free spirit who acted with her heart, and free-ness was very attractive to him. They had enjoyed each others company for a half day and night, and he wasn't ready to leave. It was his obligation and personal life that brought him back, and reminded him that he had things to do. Riaris hadn't been so free with his will in a very long time and the momentary lost of the structured life wasn't something that he regretted. He was also interested in her talk about the Chavi. He didn't know anything about it, but the possibility of learning new skills by tapping into it sounded even better. "Oh you have my permission, I would like to learn more about this. Maybe one day you can teach me how." Riaris followed her back through the gates and into her place of employment/ home. He didn't want to leave, but he knew that he had spent more than enough time away and that his employer must have been wondering where he was with the payment. Riaris waited as she ducked into the room and returned with a chest. The Aklaak followed her into the common room next and sat down beside her. "It's alright, we were both busy last night, and rightly so." he added with a chuckle of his own. Her last question made him smile, and Riaris leaned back on the couch and put am arm around her as she got closer to him. "No, I'm not seeing anyone else. I also haven't done anything this spontaneous in a very long time. It was good and I'd like to see more of you as well." He kissed her cheek first, then found her lips and tasted them. Kavala was warm, comforting and loving. Riaris wanted those things and he hoped that he could be as much to her. "I want to see you formally..recreationally." He smiled again. "I know it's possible, and as fast as this pace has gone, I like it, I like us as we are."

[Kavala]

She searched his gaze as he spoke, then leaned into him for the kiss. It was a near perfect end to a perfect two days. Just the day before he had been a stranger she'd approached to order a ship made. Today, he was far more familiar and she was certain there was a connection. Lex often wrapped his arms around moments like this and embraced them, making them good and whole and giving those involved in his embraces glimpses into the future.

In that moment, though she had no divination no Konti gifts lending her to the tasks, Kavala felt she was embracing her future locked on the big Akalaks' arms. She returned his kiss and wondered suddenly where they would be in a year, perhaps two, and if it would last. And in that fragile moment before they said goodbye and he returned to his employee with his funds, Kavala didn't care. She would enjoy everything about him that she could while she could. The future would reveal itself soon enough.

They parted then after saying a lingering goodbye on the couch. When he was gone, Kavala felt strange, almost effervescent. She felt, suddenly, like she was apart of something now.. something bigger than herself but at the same time something she'd been seeking for a long long time.

[Translucent]

Congratulations On Your Hard Work!

Riaris Dovukalis:
XP: +1 ship wright, +1 carpentry, +2 planning, +5 socialization, + 5 observation, +5 flirting, +1 dancing, +5 seduction, +3 running
Lores: Kavala: Of the Denusk Pavilion, Kavala: seeking to build a ship, Kavala: Interested in Archaeology, Kavala: Polite but Forward, Kavala; Novice Sailor, Coils Club: Loud, Kavala: Former Nakivak, The wonder of losing control, Cadra: Kavala’s Niece, Tasival/Sharyu: God touched son of Kavala, Sanctuary: Layout, Kavala: Dreamwalker, Everyone has Chavi

Kavala: +2 planning, +5 socialization, +2 negotiation, +5 flirting, +3 dancing, +5 seduction, +3 running
XP:
Lores: Riaris: A pretty shade of purple, Dreamcatcher: 30 ft Catamaran, Picalum: Head Shipwright, Safer with escort with large amounts of money. Riaris: Much better looking than the Denusk males. Riaris: Novice sailor but want’s to learn. Coils Club: Dark, loud, popular. The need to choose and not be chosen, Riaris: Volunteer at the Kuvay’Nas, The sweetness that comes from loss of control, Looking for a ship, but found a shipwright. Riaris: Her choice.


Notes:+1 for introducing Knife play into foreplay….just saying..

As always PM me if you have issues.