Open [The Blue Bull] Sometimes We Need Saved From Ourselves

Kavala decides to take a night off and look for some new company.

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Built into the cliffs overlooking the Suvan Sea, Riverfall resides on the edge of grasslands of Cyphrus where the Bluevein River plunges off the plain and cascades down to the inland sea below. Home of the Akalak, Riverfall is a self-supporting city populated by devoted warriors. [Riverfall Codex]

[The Blue Bull] Sometimes We Need Saved From Ourselves

Postby Kavala on November 24th, 2014, 2:07 am

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She watched him with eyes that missed little. Ice blue orbs darted to his hands, back to his lips, and watched the way he sat his chair, straight up or slouching… or even somewhere in between. He struck her as someone who needed a lap full of puppies or children to teach him about how some things didn’t matter as much as others. Because he truthfully seemed locked in the past and lost about the future and prey to anyone who came along willing to take a nibble of the bait he seemed to be dangling on a hook.

Kavala sipped her juice with much more enjoyment than Shane did his. Apples had a good harvest this season and that was the most frequently found liquid in the city. Hard Cider was next because everyone was gearing up for fall and that stored the best. She contemplated what else was available while Shane gathered his thoughts and began talking about his own experience with beverages. “You should expand out your experiences. There’s more out there than fruit juices. There’s wines, ports, whiskey, hard ciders, ales, a whole host of everything that if drank in moderation are extremely good for you. Wine is incredibly healthy, more so than that juice you just drank.” The Konti assured him, having known a great deal about nutrition in her medical practice.

When she asked him her question, Shane seemed to be taken aback a bit. That was, after all, something of the nature of the game wasn’t it? But he was right. She had assumed he wasn’t willing when evidently he hadn’t made up his mind to come home with her. Kavala puzzled over this a moment, ran her hand through her hair, and focused on his answer, curious in and of itself why he was letting her lead him into questions. The alcohol was going to her head, though the juice helped, and she was getting tired. Home was starting to sound better and better.

Games. Two could play them.

Kavala stretched and gained a softness in her eyes that was somewhere between the look of a woman in love and the look of a mother for her child. “My home runs along the sea for miles and miles…” Her voice took on the slight lilt of Common spoken by a native Pavi speaker and her hands lifted to include the grassland sign in her words, even though she kept her language one he could speak. One sign she kept repeating over and over out of habit. It was the grassland sign for “love” crafted in a way that meant all encompassing or like the way sunlight bathed everything. Kavala’s motions were unconscious to her, because like her eyes, her mind was lost in what she was trying to tell him.

“The cliffs divides two worlds. One is a vast sparkling inland sea that covers the aftermath of love destroyed and etched in death that happened so long ago people have begun to forgot. Those of us that swim remember it. We remember it because the world below the shimmering blue is fraught with wreckage and dreams gone twisted and now drowned. The cliff runs the whole of my world, my home, propping up a forest that stretches inland for a short while. It’s like a creature perched on the edge of the water, looking over, wanting to jump in. It’s thick and green and the trees grow impossibly large. It makes me happy to walk them, happier still if my skin is still coated in salt from the sea. But as you move east, the trees thin and grass rushes up to meet the sky. Then you can ride for a thousand miles east and never see another soul or another body of water. Eventually you’ll fall off the land and out onto the eastern sea. But until then, you won’t find much else but tall grass and cool blue sky. I love my home… her name is Cyphrus and she provides well her for children.” Kavala said softly, her accent thinning and the look in her eye becoming more focused, returning back to Shane.

“I feel the need to head home soon. I’m tired and there’s small ones and kelvics that do better when I am home than when I am naught. I cannot ask you the same question I have already asked, one you refused to answer. But I can promise you more than you have here, in the now, if you agree to come with me.”
She said suddenly, abruptly, as she rose to grab her cloak off the back of the chair.

“Do you want more, Shane Wallsly?” Kavala asked, reaching down to toss a few coins in tip on the table, thought the remaining whiskey would be a considerable tip in itself.

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The Sanctuary The Sanctuary Forum Riverfall The Cytali
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Please Note:
  • This pc is maxed out in Animal Husbandry, Medicine, Observation, Rhetoric, and Socialization.
  • Kavala a Master Teacher. Students she is teaching in thread can earn more than the maxium 5 XP per thread.
  • This pc has a Konti Gift of Animal Empathy. She has a superpower from a Riverfall city event that allows animals of all sorts and Kelvics (in kelvic form) to speak clear understandable Common around her.
  • Kavala is a Konti but was raised in the Drykas culture so her accent is entirely Pavi though she can speak Common, Pavi, and Tukant well. She's only conversational in Kontinese.
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Kavala
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[The Blue Bull] Sometimes We Need Saved From Ourselves

Postby Shane Wallsly on November 25th, 2014, 12:51 am

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You're right and I intend to.” Shane was willing and eager to try new things. Whiskey, ciders ales; why not? Knowledge was his creed, his power, and sometimes knowledge had to be more than absorbed. It had to be felt for the greatest impact. Food and drink were the best of examples. Shane had survived too long. If anything his days in Riverfall had taught him to stop surviving and start living. “Food, drink; so much I haven't smelled, touched, tasted. Now that I have the means there's nothing stopping me. I've never had a favourite food before. I wonder if I'll find it here in Riverfall. My cooking is terrible.

She had fond memories of her home and, for longer than he'd liked to admit, Shane believed that this magical place was her home. There was no logic to it; the emphasis of her words, the look in her eye, the strange yet kind of elegant hand gestures all added to a perfect suspension of disbelief. Until, of course, she announced with casual tones that she spoke of the entire continent. Shane wasn't even mad at her trick. He tilted his head in a kind of gesture of 'fair play'. After all they'd been playing more games that night than it would appear and her wit amused him.

Sounds beautiful.” He replied honestly. What he declined to add was 'I bet it's full of ravenous creatures and dark magics' which was more or less what Shane assumed of every mass of wilderness. It was an upbringing thing. Sylirans were taught to stay within the walls or, at the very least, under the protection of the Knights for everywhere else was incredibly dangerous. The scaremongering was such that Shane had never even attempted to venture out past the Syliran gates. If it hadn't been for boats Shane would've been trapped there for the rest of his life or until he became such a powerful reimancer he could throw lightning bolts at anything that disrupted him.

When she announced her plan to leave Shane felt a sudden chuckle run through him as she found a rather clever way to rephrase her other question. Shane didn't have to think so much this time. His mind was made up. He stood from the table. “You've convinced me. I can think of no finer way to spend the rest of the evening.” He replied “But I'm going to take one last shot of this anyway.” He added picking up his glass and knocking it back. It was much easier to take standing up but it's influence was much easier to feel. He felt heady and his vision was no longer as fully acute as it usually was. His cheeks also burned to a fine rose. He was not drunk; mayhap a touch tipsy however.

Shane didn't think about the tip. He would have thought about it. Perhaps tomorrow it would pop into his brain and he would regret not even thinking to ask if he should add to it but for tonight the small stuff, which he had been trying so hard to let go all night, were finally getting the hint.

Now that Shane was standing and already prepared to leave he felt a bit awkward so he decided to ask his next question not really caring much for if the game was over or not. “How many people live with you?” It was a simple question but he felt as if the answer might be unexpected. Maybe she ran an orphanage as well as healed animals. She had mentioned little ones and kelvics...
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[The Blue Bull] Sometimes We Need Saved From Ourselves

Postby Kavala on January 4th, 2015, 5:40 pm

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Kavala half smiled. She collected her cloak by the fire, hung as it was on a peg along with others, and nodded to the few people in the room she knew as she collected herself and started for the door. She waited for Shane to follow her out into the night before she spoke again.

“It changes, mainly because we host guests and patients. And if you are strictly speaking people, there’s a half dozen to a dozen at any given time. If you count the children, then the number perhaps doubles. My niece and nephew live with me. Cadra is something of a cook and Larik helps with the herd. My cousin Aweston is the head groom for the stables. My good friend Chalcedony minds the mews and the few birds of prey we have. We’ve a blacksmith, Asdar and his child Megan who also make their home with us. And we’ve a gardener and a couple more grooms. That’s eight. I have a set of twins and a slightly older son. Caelum lives there as well with a woman he saved from slavery and his daughter. There’s more than one kelvic roaming around as well, that work for us when they feel the need as kelvics are want to do.”
She added, laughing.

“And sometimes there’s a nanny or a cleaner or two about. Mostly they are strays. Some stay the night, but some decided never to leave. Yes… it’d be fair to say there’s mostly a dozen people. But if you count animals, the number could be tenfold.” She added, striding through the darkened streets of Riverfall like she had a purpose in mind. They didn’t head south to cross the bridge over the river or turn to head out the gates, instead she headed straight for the stables. They were adjacent to The Blue Bull which was one of the reasons she was drinking there.

Kavala let herself into the stableyard, opening the tall gate and looking around. A soft whistle brought a monstrous beast the color of snow to life where it had been dozing in the corner. The stallion was huge, built for war, and in the cold of the fall night its breath created a bit of steam around the pair. Kavala greeting him gently and moved to his side where a pad and girth sat comfortably around his middle. She tightened the yvas and smoothed down the pad. Then she sprang up, bellied on him, and had herself mounted in the blink of an eye. The stallion snorted, settled, and Kavala offered Shane a hand up. “This is Ghost. He’ll see us home safely.” She said, helping Shane settle behind her and gently placing his hands on her hips. Then she kneed the stallion over to the gate, bent low to open it, and backed the horse around the gate until they were outside and she could shut it soundly.

Then, with a soft word and a shift of her hips, the stallion broke into a trot that took him south, past the Bull again and then east out the gate. Then were on the road in short order headed north when Kavala twisted her head to look at him and smiled. “Sit close. It’s cold, Shane, and we’ve a bit of a ride.” She added, sitting the horse like a Drykas and assuming he didn’t know horses because of the fact he wasn’t Drykas. But she’d answered his question honestly… and had yet to think of one for him.

“It’s time for my next question now isn’t it?” She said, twisting again slightly so she could catch his eye. The trot of the warhorse was smooth, though Kavala reined him in – even with no bridle on – to a demure walk as they headed home. The alcohol in her system kept her warm enough. So too did the male at her back. She still hadn’t decided what she was going to do with him, though she had ideas. He was different than the usual Riverfall flavor and good company to boot. She wasn’t sure she wanted to ruin the opportunity to get to know him more by sleeping with him. But then again, the prospect did sound fun and he was more than handsome enough to make it worth taking a chance.

And it had been so long…

Kavala drew her attention back to the game where it needed to be. She paid attention to the road, of course, and took the coastal turnoff that lead to The Sanctuary when they came to it. Bu she was in no hurry truthfully to make it home. Had it been raining, bitterly cold, or otherwise sour weather, she’d would have made the trip in no time. But here, now… it was almost summertime pleasant to be out for a moonlight ride with an entertaining stranger. She shifted backwards, placing her back up against his chest, and fitting her pelvis against his. She ran a hand down and covered one of his as it rested on her hip, holding on. Then she wove her fingers of that hand with his, just one, wanting him to know she was enjoying herself and him being there without actually having to tell him so.

“My question… my question….” She thought out loud, wanting to ask him something that would get him thinking and perhaps even talking. Kavala wanted him to talk more, not just to answer her questions, but to reveal more of himself to her. They had danced a game around introductions at the bar, but here they were alone with just ghost to witness their exploits. And Kavala was certain he was no gossip.

“If you could be anywhere in the world right now… doing anything you wanted in a blink of an eye… what would that be?” She asked, revealing something of her whimsical nature. Kavala was as prone to flights of fancy as everyone else. She just usually disguised her dreamer attitude better.

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The Sanctuary The Sanctuary Forum Riverfall The Cytali
Reverie Isle Wolf Creek Training Course
Please Note:
  • This pc is maxed out in Animal Husbandry, Medicine, Observation, Rhetoric, and Socialization.
  • Kavala a Master Teacher. Students she is teaching in thread can earn more than the maxium 5 XP per thread.
  • This pc has a Konti Gift of Animal Empathy. She has a superpower from a Riverfall city event that allows animals of all sorts and Kelvics (in kelvic form) to speak clear understandable Common around her.
  • Kavala is a Konti but was raised in the Drykas culture so her accent is entirely Pavi though she can speak Common, Pavi, and Tukant well. She's only conversational in Kontinese.
User avatar
Kavala
I am more than the sum of my parts.
 
Posts: 3025
Words: 3295757
Joined roleplay: October 25th, 2009, 1:46 am
Location: Riverfall
Race: Konti
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Medals: 17
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[The Blue Bull] Sometimes We Need Saved From Ourselves

Postby Shane Wallsly on January 5th, 2015, 5:54 pm

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Shane hadn't brought his coat that night. The chilly cold of Syliras had ensured such silliness in the face of more tropic climates. When they stepped out of the vague heat of the pub Shane remembered his coat. He remembered that it was all snug and warm by his bed and he was quite jealous. It was chilly. It wasn't too chilly but it wasn't really one layer of clothing weather at any rate. He didn't complain or ask to go back for the coat though. He rather hoped it would be a short trip to Kavala's home.

They did not make the first leg of their trip in silence for Kavala chose then to answer his question confirming that the game was still afoot. She told him of this person and that person. She didn't gush on and on about them but gave a sentence or two to most. By the time she had finished Shane was starting to wonder if she were the head of some small village. Some of the larger farms outside of Syliras had been known to employ a decent amount but Kavala just about took the cake with her homestead. Shane couldn't help but think she must have a large heart. It was a good thing she was strong. It would keep that large heart in one piece.

Shane was moderately puzzled when he found that she was leading him to a stable. Of course she had before mentioned that she lived a little out of town. Shane hoped it wasn't too far. He wouldn't like to travel the wilderness by day never mind the dark of night. A whistle was all that was needed to bring their transport to full height and it was a mighty beast, white as snow. What else was he to expect from a woman whose life vocation was tending animals. Kavala suddenly leapt unto the beast in a series of movements Shane's eyes failed to catch. It looked effortless but Shane knew that he wouldn't get away with such an action. Kavala might have noticed his discomfort because she offered him a hand up as well as offering the name of the proud beast. He hesitated for a moment before taking his hand and, in the most awkward way possible, he climbed atop the beast.

He felt very unstable on top of the beast. He didn't like it. When Kavala put his hand on her hips he may have held tighter than he normally would have. When they started moving he was not happy. The continual shifting of the beast under him was like nothing he'd ever felt and he wasn't sure it was a good feeling. Again he said nothing not wishing to lose face in front of the woman. Of course she could probably tell he was uncomfortable. He'd even forgotten about the cold until she mentioned it. He shifted forward until they were almost touching which also made him feel a lot stabler.

So it was that when she looked back at him he didn't look like he was in extreme discomfort. As she slowed the horse down he even managed to regain some composure. He nodded his head with a smile at her question. It was indeed her turn. He paid some attention to the darkness around them as they rode in the moonlight. He hadn't noticed leaving the gates but they clearly had. There was not a house or soul to be seen. Instead of terrifying it actually seemed quite serene.

When her hand came down and clasped into his he misinterpreted her meaning for she reminded him that he was still gripping her quite hard. He relaxed his grip and his rigid posture allowing himself to even somewhat enjoy the feeling of riding. “It's such a beautiful night.” He sighed serenely in a way he pretty much never would have in any other occasion. Shane was not so often filled with emotion. He usually saw only what was relevant in accomplishing his task and did only what was necessary. However these last ten days in Riverfall he'd just been smelling the roses; learning how to simply just enjoy everything else. This night was the epitome of that. A beautiful night, a surprisingly pleasant horse ride and a beautiful woman so when she asked him her question he immediately replied “Ooooh, there aren't many things I'd rather be doing right now. I haven't had the best life but I worked to make it better. What's that expression? Smelling the roses. At first I didn’t have roses to smell, then I had them and didn't smell them. Now, I'm taking the time. Smells lovely so I'm happy with where I am and what I'm doing right now. I have dreams, of course, but they're for the future. What's your biggest dream?
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[The Blue Bull] Sometimes We Need Saved From Ourselves

Postby Kavala on January 6th, 2015, 12:36 am

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While Shane didn’t fill the night with endless chatter, he was also somewhat of a silent companion. It wouldn’t have been a bad thing had they been on a mission of stealth. But out in the real world on a beautiful night with the stars above and the silent wood around them, Kavala was starting to feel alone. She was somewhat comforted by Ghost’s presence. The stallion was curious as to why she’d came to town alone and was returning with a stranger, but he wisely left his comments to himself other than an occasional dip of his thickly muscled neck and a snort that sent a fresh aura of steam around them.

She nodded to Shane's comment, noting his voice was more of an inner musing released than a comment meant to start a conversation.

Feeling rather foolish, she released his hand and reached forward to take a handful of Ghost’s mane. She braided the lock absently, forming a war-knot with the long silky strands without even glancing at what she was doing. The stallion was at ease and would let them know if anything threatened, so she too was at ease. But it would be nice to have had a conversation of sorts instead of the silence that surrounded them. To the Konti who was used to surrounding herself with opinionated strong-willed persons, it felt awkward rather than comforting. So she fell back to the game, asking him his question and leaving his musings about the beautiful night just that. To Kavala, every night was beautiful. True some were more deadly than others, but each one was beautiful and special. She suspected Shane didn’t get out much into the world, perhaps not even into the wilderness, to enjoy it much.

Ghost lifted his head suddenly, snorted off to the right of the slowly dwindling road, and then eased up as a pair of deer stepped into view. They appeared as curious about him as he was about them. Ungulate and equine passed each other, minding their own business, each moving off in their own direction into the night.

Her question was almost a cop out, but his answer was just as vague. Smelling the roses? What did that even mean? All she smelled was leather, warhorse, and oil from the various weapons Ghost had tucked into his yvas bags. She could even smell a bit of the smoke from the Blue Bull on her skin, and that made her want a bath because the place had been crowded and the fireplace poorly drafting at best. But roses? Kavala furrowed her brow in confusion.

“I won’t pretend to understand your answer. We don’t have many roses around here so I don’t see the appeal of smelling them unless they are some sort of herb that heals or soothes. I always thought they were just used for perfume to stoke a woman’s vanity.” Kavala said softly, disappointed that she hadn’t learned of someplace far off and extraordinary or someplace close and physical that was meaningful to Shane. He was very different, for sure, maybe too human after all. She was still trying to decide what he meant when he asked her his question.

She thought about his question though…trying to decide to answer it or not. If she did not, he could demand a kiss. Kavala very much doubted he’d collect one so she had no trouble simply saying… “I keep my dreams, especially my biggest ones, close to my heart and unuttered. To someone outside of my mind, they might seem childish and out of place. We each have something that’s important to us. My dreams are very important, sacred almost, to me. I won’t be sharing them with you. At least not right now.” She said regretfully, knowing he’d say nothing and move on. After all, what was a dream to him? To her it was reality waiting to manifest, lingering on the edges of Nysel’s realm where it had taken shape and reality. It was like a pregnancy germinating, being carried to full term and waiting to be birthed into reality. She had many such lingering realities pushing at her, demanding entry into the world. And her biggest one was her most sacred of all. It was the one she wanted most in the world but suspected would be hardest if not impossible to birth. Some things were just to fragile, selfish, and fleeting to hope for in the world. No, she would not tell him. And she would be content with what she had and had earned, despite the inner longing and a heart that yearned for more.

The warhorse was practically prancing in place now, eager, because he knew home was close. The turned a corner in the bend, heading towards the sea, and the massive trees lining the slowly narrowing road opened up to what appeared to be rolling grasslands on the top of a cliff overlooking the sea. There, perched on its edge, like a monster ready to pounce on the beach far far below, was a fortress. It had massive twenty foot tall walls with turrets in the corners and ballista mounted there. A wrought iron gate was the only break in the fortress’ wall that Shane could see from his angle. It appeared to lead into a courtyard of stone that was flanked on two side by huge horse barns and ended abruptly with an arena further out. What appeared to be a smithy smoked on the right side, though its forge was quiet that time of night.

A form perched on the wall detatched itself from the night shadows and winged its way down to the courtyard next to the gate, transforming its shape from that of an eagle to that of a teenager. He had the gate unlocked and swung open for the horse bearing double before Kavala had a chance to call out a greeting. “That’s Larik, my nephew. He’s a kelvic.” Kavala said softly, raising her voice an greeting the youth with real affection. “You didn’t have to wait up. But thank you none-the- less, lad.” The Konti said in Pavi. Larik swung the gates close behind them, locked them, and shifted, taking wing again. “He’s shy around newcomers. His twin sister Cadra will be far more welcoming when she gets up.” Kavala said, pausing Ghost in the courtyard, kicking a leg over his neck, and sliding off him facing outward to land lightly on her feet. She waited for Shane to dismount before she pulled the yvas, its bags, and its blanket off his back. Still without any headgear, the Konti lead the horse into the stallion bar and into his big box stall where she hung up his tack and grabbed a brush to quickly brush him down. She was done quickly, and while she completed the chore.

“I’ll show you inside.” She said, bypassing the arena by taking a walkway of cobble around it and down to almost the clinic entrance. She stopped there, turned to a set of double doors that lead into the earth, and swung one open on silent hinges. She picked up a lantern hanging at the entrance, quickly lit it with flint and steel hanging for that purpose, and let the way beneath. “ This is The Within.” She said quietly, moving down what was in essence a ramp of sorts, far wide enough to lead two of Kavala’s horses side by side or a horse and cart. It was a cave and yet it was carefully crafted. The side of the ramp had intricate mosaic work that fused together as if it had been born of magic. It depicted undersea life. The deeper they traveled down, the darker the life got until the mammals and air breathers were all gone and there were only bazaar fish lighting up the night from their glowing spots on the walls.

Kavala took a turn then, the ramp turned to tunnel, nicely decorated like a garden trellis, and walked into a massive room that could have been mistaken for an Inn’s common room anywhere, though it was decorated a lot nicer and had no scatterings of tables. Instead, a long table filled one edge while couches littered the space in front of a massive mosaic fireplace that was blazing a welcome. A kitchen stood off to one side, fresh baked bread sitting on the counter along with cold storage fruit and some leftover cookies that hadn’t been put away yet. An orange house cat lay curled on the counter asleep. Kavala ignored it as if its presence there didn’t bother her, and turned to Shane.

“Can I get you something to drink? We’ve a variety here or maybe just some water to counter the alcohol so you don’t have such a pounding head in the morning?”
That was what she was off to get herself as she detoured around the fire, hung up her cloak, flung a belt pouch across one of the high stools on the kitchen counter, and opened what looked like a big steel box filled with a block of slowly melting ice. She looked over the selection, plucked out a couple of things, and laid them on a plate with some of the cookies. Then she stopped at a huge sink, pumped at the wellhead there, and brought forth fresh cold water from below, filling a carafe with it and setting two horn mugs on the tray as well. She brought the lot of it back by the fire place, setting it down on a low table in front of one of the couches.

“I owe you a question.” She said, looking thoughtful. She studied Shane a moment then asked her question. “Do you think morals are universal or relative to the beliefs, traditions, and practices of individuals or groups?” The Konti said, curious about what his answer would be.

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The Sanctuary The Sanctuary Forum Riverfall The Cytali
Reverie Isle Wolf Creek Training Course
Please Note:
  • This pc is maxed out in Animal Husbandry, Medicine, Observation, Rhetoric, and Socialization.
  • Kavala a Master Teacher. Students she is teaching in thread can earn more than the maxium 5 XP per thread.
  • This pc has a Konti Gift of Animal Empathy. She has a superpower from a Riverfall city event that allows animals of all sorts and Kelvics (in kelvic form) to speak clear understandable Common around her.
  • Kavala is a Konti but was raised in the Drykas culture so her accent is entirely Pavi though she can speak Common, Pavi, and Tukant well. She's only conversational in Kontinese.
User avatar
Kavala
I am more than the sum of my parts.
 
Posts: 3025
Words: 3295757
Joined roleplay: October 25th, 2009, 1:46 am
Location: Riverfall
Race: Konti
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 17
Featured Thread (1) Mizahar Grader (1)
Trailblazer (2) Overlored (1)
Master Merchant (1) Donor (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
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[The Blue Bull] Sometimes We Need Saved From Ourselves

Postby Shane Wallsly on January 6th, 2015, 11:15 pm

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It's a metaphor for stopping to appreciate what you've cultivated.” He explained simply and said nothing more about it. She didn't seem too interested in his answer. Perhaps he had copped out a little in it. He wondered what he might have said in other occasions. There weren't many things he wanted to do. There were things he wished to become, places he'd like to see and things he'd like to try but specifically his mind was blank.

Her answer to his question was fairly put. He'd overstepped his boundaries with that question. Would he tell her his dreams if she asked? He'd like to say he wouldn't but he had a hard time refusing this woman. He wondered if the sacred nature of her dreams had anything to do with her Nysel worship. She had said that dreams were his domain. It was an intriguing thought but it was quickly replaced with another intriguing though. She owed him a kiss. Of course they were both facing away from each other and he didn't want to stop the entire horse by demanding it so he kept the thought for later.

These thoughts were pushed from his mind as they rounded a bend and he caught his first glimpse of the Sanctuary. “Woooow.” He was not ashamed to let Kavala know he was impressed. His assumptions about Kavala's home had been wrong. This wasn't a village or a large farm; it was a fortress and it reminded him of home. It was the walls. Those large, stony walls that had circled the citadel all his life like the circling arms of a protective father. He wondered what Kavala and her friends needed protection from. These walls seemed to Shane to be more than simply to keep out malicious wildlife. He started to wonder what, and who, exactly he'd gotten himself involved in.

Shane was surprised for the second time in so many minutes as a bird flew down from the gate and suddenly became a person. A naked person. Shane's heard jerked away reflexively. He knew of and had spoken to a few Kelvics in his lifetime but he was not used to them and everyone else in the world would want you to look away if they were naked. When Kavala told him his name he awkwardly stated “Uh hi Larik.” while still trying his best not to look at him. After they were through the gates he shifted back into a bird and Shane could relax. “Twin sister?” Shane asked curiously as Kavala exited the horse. “Is she a bir-Ooof!” He had tried to dismount the horse without looking at what he was doing and ended up falling on his ass in the dirt. He picked himself up with a sigh and re-asked his question. “Is her animal form a bird too?” He asked as Kavala took the riding apparatus of her horse and brushed him down. When Kavala went to lead him inside he took a moment to pat the horse gently and say 'thanks' before following. An unruly horse could have made his first ride a lot worse.

She lead him to wide stone doors in the earth that lead to a place aptly named 'The Within'. Shane was more interested in the mosaic. He admired it as they walked. A lot of the creatures were unfamiliar to him. He had spent some time on the seas recently but not at all under it. He couldn't swim and the depths were surely filled with monsters. He could see some of them depicted in this mosaic. “Did you make all of this?” He asked incredulously. “It's quite beautiful and expertly crafted.

They soon came upon a living space much like the inside of a bar but certainly cosier. It was neat and orderly yet certainly lived in. It felt warm too like the gentle heat of a fireplace on a winter's eve that all the family gathered around in the distant corners of his memory. He could smell the tempting aroma of fresh bread. It was everything he wanted in a secret dream. A dream that he often pushed aside in favour of things he found more important. He couldn't help but crack a smile.

Water's great, thank you.” Shane replied gratefully as Kavala began to make herself comfortable. Shane felt suddenly awkward as if he were intruding. He decided to take a seat by the fireplace while she busied herself. He sat down in an exceptionally comfy couch by the fire. He sighed mightily as if he had, for the first time in his entire life, experienced real comfort. “Thanks.” He repeated as she put the plate down on the table. He poured the warer into the two mugs and took a long swig and a cookie to nibble on.

The moment she asked the question Rule #6 came to his mind; morality is an illusion. He had almost always operated under this assumption. Laws, codes, morality was a restriction imposed by those above you and regulated most often by yourself. Gods and men had this knack of thinking they knew better; of thinking that their morality was indeed the purest way to live. What was purity? What was good? These terms were so relative they almost meant nothing. Good and purity was only what you felt them to be and any standardised set of rules imposed by one thing to another could never work. However it did make excellent glue for holding together a community.

I don't think there are many universal truths. Everything I can touch and see and feel are real. I have to believe that. I cannot touch good or bad. I can think something is good or that something is bad but that doesn't make it so. I can think I'm a bird but that wouldn't let me fly. I do have a sense of right and wrong though. That's undeniable. It's inescapable. But I don't have the vanity to think that I'm right. What is right and wrong for me cannot be the same for others. It could be nearly identical between me and someone similar but not quite the same. Some things have no need for morality at all and I wouldn't put it upon them. Animals, for instance. If I am mauled by a giant tiger I wouldn't call it evil. Would I call it good? It's not good for me. It is good for the tiger. Well I'm a bit boney but you get the point. However, no, I would not say that the tiger is being a good tiger. He is simply being and sometimes you've got to envy the animals for that. I would like to talk to a Kelvic though. They must be very interesting... and very sad.” He paused for a moment as if heart struck by the notion. “So yes I think morality is relative if it exists at all.” Shane concluded suddenly. When Shane spoke of such things his eyes almost glazed over and his speech became slow and methodical. These were the things Shane thought about a lot. These were the things Shane was accustomed to saying only in his mind so when he spoke, he spoke clearly as if to an audience. An audience of himself.

He was quiet for a moment as he nibbled on a cookie then he lay his eyes on Kavala. “I can talk on and on but I end up in circles. I hope that made sense and wasn't too contradictory.” Shane knew he had a habit of speaking himself out and around his original viewpoint till every part of his argument didn't make much sense when it was put together. Sometimes he never really answered the question at all.

This game is somewhat infuriating, you know.” Shane told her wagging the cookie about as he talked. “If I can't ask the same question back it really stops a good debate. I could get creative and simply find a clever way to reword your question but I don't want to do that. Instead I shall ask what do you think about Riverfall but not as a place; what do you think about it's society, it's people?
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[The Blue Bull] Sometimes We Need Saved From Ourselves

Postby Kavala on January 10th, 2015, 6:09 am

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Kavala didn’t see The Sanctuary as anything but normal. To her it wasn’t an imposing place or a fortress really, it was home. Built stone by stone it wasn’t something that came upon her all at once. It was instead something that she’d nurtured over time. So she had no idea how Shane was viewing things. She did nod at his explanation for the roses, smiling slightly at how that sounded and the mental picture it gave her. She couldn’t imagine a man anywhere stopping to enjoy flowers and the quieter things in life. Was Shane that type of man? Kavala was now curious.

When he didn’t land on his feet for the dismount, the Konti winced. She was used to men who were used to horses and falling upon a dismount was something that was never done. The healer didn’t know whether to offer him assistance to his feet or just let him find his own way back to standing and dignity.

“Cadra’s a house cat. You’ll see her soon enough. She reigns supreme in the kitchen, but you won’t mind it because she cooks and bakes amazingly well. It’s her passion in life, I think, that and chasing the kids around.”
The Konti said, answering his first question.

To his second question, she nodded. “Yes. The old facility was destroyed in the djed storm we had in 512. Everything else had to be built from the ground up. Luckily we had Konti that came from Mura to warn the Akalak of the storm. By that time I had the Within done so we took shelter below. There are big caves at the sea level as well that can house most of the herd and livestock.” Kavala said, gesturing around. “Thank you for the compliment. We are still adding too it. Eventually the healer’s school will be done. Reimancy has its uses.” She said, grinning, and leading him on.

Awkward Shane disappeared and the man she found fascinating appeared when he launched into a small speech to answer her question. He had interesting things to say, for sure, and his thought process didn’t include what she would consider the mainstream thinking. He wanted tangibility to equate to proof. Many were like that, but many more took things on faith as well. He spoke of perspective and how it changed views of right and wrong. That was interesting, in Kavala’s mind, because it meant that Shane wasn’t self-centered in his viewpoints but was rather broad scaled and inclusive in his perceptions.

That made her smile.

When he mentioned the part of the kelvics, she shook her head. “They can be sad, but no moreso than others that have had rough lives. The twins –which I’m sure will gladly speak to you – are hardly ever sad. They find joy in things you would be surprised. I think they have a broader view of the world as well, not unlike your own.” The Konti said, shaking her head and offering Shane a smile. She took a drink of her water and rose once more. She seemed restless since they’d gotten to the inner workings of the facility.

“It made sense. I like this side of you… the thinker.”
Kavala said, setting down her cup of water, and glancing down a hall.

“I’ll answer your question in a moment. Would you excuse me for a chime or two? I want to check on the little ones and make sure they are sleeping safe and watched.”
Kavala said. If Shane made no protest, she’d slip down a hallway that appeared to lead into a library and then through a larger doorway. She was gone only about three or four chimes, but when she’d returned, there was a settled expression to her face with the restlessness gone.

She’d also changed. Gone were the fancy up town clothing and in their place was what looked like sleepwear. Kavala seemed unconcerned about what Shane might think, or at least was unwilling to try to impress him with clothing. In place of her fancy garb was a loose pair of cotton sleep shorts made of a silk that left her long scaled legs bare. Even the webbing between her toes was visible now that no footwear graced her feet. A large over sized men’s silk shirt in deep indigo covered the rest of her. It was casual, a button down affair, something someone would wear as late as it was with friends present. Perhaps she now considered Shane a friend or simply no longer needed to impress him now that she had him home?

She settled back on the couch beside him giving him a polite space. Kavala folded a leg under her and tucked another up onto the seat so she could lean an arm on it and perhaps prop her chin up top the folded limb before her. It was a relaxed environment she was creating, something that had no pressure and no expectations within it. Even her nightshirt was unbuttoned a button or two, lending to the air of casualness about the place.

“I’m sorry you are frustrated and find the game infuriating. But its even worse, I’d think, to have a well thought out question parroted back at you, no? It would feel a little like the game was one sided and the other was just a mocking bird or jay.”
Kavala promised, picking up her horn mug again and taking a deep drink.

“Riverfall’s society is two fold, Shane.”
Kavala said, wording her answer carefully and thoughtfully. “On the surface, it’s a polite well mannered almost crime free thing. It tries desperately hard to be perfect and fair, rarely falling short if all its neat rules are followed.” The Konti said, looking serious suddenly. "The second part of it is filled with quiet desperation and the chronic sense of loss. And as a result, its other side is suffering. The Akalak are dying off. They have no means truthfully, of stabilizing their numbers and reproducing normally so beneath the polite perfect society is another theme… a shame.” Kavala said. “They force women into what can only be called light slavery, sexual slavery, and hate themselves for it daily. They apologize and pamper them, especially the humans, even as they rape them for the sole purpose of procreation. Then they lavish them with affection and attention, knowing that what quickens in their wombs will most likely kill them. Akalaks were never meant to use humans to survive. But there are so few of my sisters and the Kelvics which seem their only other alternative.” Kavala said, wrapping an arm around her leg and lightly rubbing the scales as if the thought disturbed her more deeply than she let on.

“A life for a life. That’s the Akalak society’s underlying shame. They hate it, but they do it anyhow.” The Konti said, not really blaming them for it either. She, like everyone else, had no answers to their plight and wasn’t even sure how they’d happened to stumble into it.

“If you can take the Akalaks at face value and could eliminate that every one of them looks at you and thinks ‘Could I get her with child?” then they are a really long lived wise and very fair group. The humans and Konti here tend to be a delight. The Cerulean scare me. I think they scare the Akalak as well. And the small handful of others? I usually enjoy them.” Kavala said, offering Shane a smile then.

“It’s a good place. It’s just not a utopia like they would have it be if they could.”
Kavala whispered. Shaking her head slightly. She met Shane’s gaze then and wondered if that satisfied him enough. She was still thinking about the question she refused to answer about her dreams.

But now… now she needed one for Shane. Philosophical, straight forward, or something to lighten the mood? She liked the deep thinking Shane the best, especially since she didn’t think he knew how to flirt or he’d have tried it before now. So she skipped something to lighten the mood… something flirty. Well, now, maybe she could do both

“My turn to ask you a question. You seem elusive. What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?” She said, a hint of a smile playing across her lips. She thought it was a good question and it let him go many different directions. She refilled her water as she waited for the answer and plucked a cookie off the plate to try. It looked like a new recipe that Cadra had been playing with. Kavala smiled at the chewy lovely chocolate taste.
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Please Note:
  • This pc is maxed out in Animal Husbandry, Medicine, Observation, Rhetoric, and Socialization.
  • Kavala a Master Teacher. Students she is teaching in thread can earn more than the maxium 5 XP per thread.
  • This pc has a Konti Gift of Animal Empathy. She has a superpower from a Riverfall city event that allows animals of all sorts and Kelvics (in kelvic form) to speak clear understandable Common around her.
  • Kavala is a Konti but was raised in the Drykas culture so her accent is entirely Pavi though she can speak Common, Pavi, and Tukant well. She's only conversational in Kontinese.
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Kavala
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[The Blue Bull] Sometimes We Need Saved From Ourselves

Postby Shane Wallsly on January 13th, 2015, 2:21 am

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A broader view, ay?” Shane parroted thoughtfully. “I've got to say that interests me. I have heard many things about Kelvics but people cannot seem to look far past their own noses when it comes to them. I don't think some people would think more of them if one saved their lives. Though I have only experience of the people from the Citadel. I have often hoped that they were simply a terrible bunch and that the humans outside are walls are more open minded.” Shane had met more open minded humans and, strangely enough, they had mostly come from the port city of Zeltiva. Avira, to a point, had been open minded too but Shane suspected his open mindedness was simply a necessity for creative money making. That was all he had ever cared for.

When Kavala stood and asked for leave to check on the children Shane smiled and simply replied “Of course.” It was polite of her to ask and he was sure that was the only reason she had for Shane would never have refused such a request. Shane finished the cookie in his hand with a smile. It was delicious. Better than any cookie he had ever indulged on from a Syliran bakery. He took another cookie and looked over at the cat thoughtfully. Shane had a sneaky suspicion the cat was Larik's twin sister Cadra. Kavala had said she was a cook and that her animal form was a cat. Here was a cat lying in the kitchen.

He picked up another cookie from the plate and bit it thoughtfully. He had just decided that he would take a peek at the cat's aura when the sounds of footsteps made him turn his head to the hallway Kavala had disappeared down chimes before. Kavala had returned. She had changed into nightwear whilst she had been away; a long silk shirt and shorts that left her legs bare. This was still more of a woman than Shane had ever seen before despite the relative casualness of the attire. He restrained a blush but couldn't help a momentary peak at the scales upon her legs. He remembered the first time he had seen a scaled Konti and he had remembered thinking them weird, somewhat even creepy in their scaliness but Shane's opinion had certainly now changed. The way the light reflected off them was actually quite pretty.

Yes, indeed.” He replied with a nod as she spoke and allowed her opinion on the nature of the game to be revealed. He wondered if she had been thinking of the response since she had been away or if she had merely just remembered his comment. “It does keep things interesting.

Shane settled himself comfortably as Kavala started to answer his question. He knew from her very first sentence that this wasn't going to be any throwaway answer. Shane nodded along when she talked about Riverfall's finer qualities. These he had seen. These he knew well and would have sworn were the only part of Rverfall as he'd seen it. However Kavala had lived here much longer than him and when she delved into the darker side of the Akalak Shane could only feel that he had seen the very lightest aspects of this on the surface. The hints had been there but, contrary to his usual nature, he had neglected to see them.

What happened to all the female Akalak? I have seen only one and she looked quite different from the males. Is their lack of numbers what inspires such... such abuse?” Shane asked growing more and more horrified as Kavala explained the depths of the Akalak's struggle to survive. The female Akalak he referred to were of course, actually Akontak but Shane had no idea that they weren't simply female Akalak. “The Akalak do not seem like such a horrible people and I can't say I'm not disturbed by this. It's quite horrible. I... I had thought I'd known cruel treatment... But I was wrong.

Shane was now wondering about Kavala's kids. Things, snippets of conversation, were drifting back to him from the night. A man she'd almost married. There had been love and pain. Had he been an Akalak? She had said 'good things had come of it'. Did she mean her children? It was a sad thing to think about. Kavala seemed too strong to be hurt but he couldn't help but get the sense the world had been hurting her for a long time. Some said real strength came from pain – not the strength of a warrior but the strength of will – a strength of character.

Her question to him brought him out of his pensive reverie. “I am.” Shane agreed simply. “I usually keep people at a distance. A very long one. There's a lot of mistrust in Syliras. You always had to be careful what you said. Rumours can be a nasty business. There's a lot that you know already that I wouldn't have told anyone. You're one of three, maybe four, people alive that know a good deal about me.” Shane studied her from where he sat for a long moment as he tried to think of a reason, any reason at all, why he had divulged so much of himself to this utterly surprising woman; a Mistress of a Fortress, a Mother, a Warrior, a Strong Spirit, a Dreamwalker and so much more... Why was he so ready to answer her questions? Why didn't he want to disappoint her?

I follow a code.” Shane had blurted out before all reason could stop him. “It raised me in the worst time of my life. It took me to a higher place. Sometimes I am guilty of breaking those rules and I have broken them with such abandon tonight that I risk everything I am. The strangest part of all this is that I do not know why I am breaking my own rules. I don't know what about you causes me to risk so much. Perhaps I simply find you interesting or perhaps you are of such unique stock that I would risk everything simply to know you.” His gaze was softer now. He watched her with a certain curiousness as if she were a riddle he would like to solve but had mostly given up on not because it was too hard but in want the answer to remain a surprise. “Is your faith in Nysel a large part of your life? Does his teachings, whatever they may be, influence your choices?
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[The Blue Bull] Sometimes We Need Saved From Ourselves

Postby Kavala on January 13th, 2015, 4:05 am

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Kavala was more comfortable here, less on guard, and as such more relaxed far beyond what the alcohol at the Blue Bull did to her. She liked Shane’s company. He was bright – she could tell by the conversation and his magics – and easy on the eyes. Originally she’d picked him out of the crowd for a mindless tumble, someone to help relieve some of the stress and pressure and just remind her what it was like to be a woman and not a mother or a protector or a role model. But even now, she’d already forgotten all of that in favor of the game. She was enjoying herself, having fun, and speaking of things they probably shouldn’t, though in respectful ways to both of them.

“Much like the Konti like myself are an all female race, the Akalaks are all male. I don’t know if they had ever had any females. But now, there are only males. Some say that the Akalak and the Konti are designed for one another. Because much like my race, when an Akalak sires a child, it is always an Akalak male, no matter what race the mother is. And the same can be said for us Konti. We have only daughters who are Konti when we quicken with children, no matter what the race of the fathers. But when we combine with Akalak males, we can often have a Konti Daughter or an Akalak Son. Even rarer, and these are probably the women you’ve seen, Akontak’s are born which are hybrids between the two races. They come in all skin tones but have the scales and gills of their mothers. Rumor has it that the djed storm of 512 also changed ten male Akalak to female who were caught out in the powerful magical winds, but no one really ever sees them to know if this is true or not.” Kavala interjected, knowing she’d seen one at a Council Meeting once. “I saw one once, at a Council Meeting where the Kuvan can join in. She looked nothing like the Akontak’s I’ve seen. But there was a lot of anger in her eyes.” The Konti said, looking thoughtful. “So the rumor of the ten is most likely true. She was heavily pregnant at the meeting.” Kavala said, shaking her head.

“It’s not abuse, Shane. Not really. The women are treated really really well. And they are paid for their service to the Akalak. Some live, especially the non-humans. And some thrive. They also save women from slavery, bringing them here and giving them a measure of freedom which they ask a child for in payment. And they even raid slavers out on the Sea of Grass. Women saved there are brought here, and put into a program called The Nakivak’s …. Once in the program, they pay off a rescue debt.”
Kavala said softly, looking thoughtful, then meeting Shane’s eyes.

"When I was younger I was sent to Mura for a few years to learn healing at the Opal Temple there. I was raised here on the Sea of Grass among the Drykas. My mother was Konti and was called to the Sea where she met and married my father as a third wife. Konti can’t birth human boys, so she never gained first or second wife status because she could not give my father heirs. He was an Ankal of the Sapphire Clan which is a leadership position. She died when I was young, from a fall off a horse. Being Konti, though I am my father’s Drykas daughter – bonded to a strider and all – I had no value to the clan other than for my healing skills. Without a skill like healing, I wouldn’t even make a decent marriage match. Being Konti, all I could hope for was third wife, sharing with two other women, possibly more. So I went to become a healer so I would have value within the clans. When my studies were done, I returned home. When I was traveling from Syliras to find Endrykas, my horse was taken by a tripwire and I took a hard fall. Slavers captured me and I spent thirty days in a cage wagon traveling back towards Syliras to a place called Castle Xy. Akalak raiders rescued me. They killed the slavers and liberated the women, taking us back to Riverfall.” Kavala said, shifting slightly, and reaching down to rub her right wrist.

“You are given a silver bracelet to wear. It won’t come off. It advertises you are a debt holder… a Nakivak. Then men peruse you and when one finds you acceptable, they take your contract. They then get to use you as they see fit, often visiting you at your home several times a day…. Supporting you financially… that kind of thing. Then, once your belly swells with child, they trade the silver bracelet for gold – signifying you’ve conceived – and you wear that until the child is born.” Kavala explained.

“They keep track of your expenses. They give you money whenever you want it or housing or food or clothing… anything really. They keep track. And your debt grows. Then the amount of children you must have grows. They give you a two season rest between birth and when you are eligible to be up for a contract again. Women, poor and desperate, come here to voluntarily join the program. My involvement was not voluntary. But I did not wrack up debt. Instead I took two thousand gold mizas as seed money and started this place as a business. I had my debt paid off at one child, but my first son was born a hybrid, an Akontak… so they extended my contract time. Akontak’s are considered precious, clos to the Gods, and incredibly gifted. They wanted to rebreed me because in their experience, Konti who throw Akontaks usually do so again. I was forced through the process twice. My second child turned out to be twins. It was an unusual pregnancy that nearly killed me. So I have three children of this system now, but am wealthy and happy because of my involvement and survival. The Akalak are much admired by me, but they make terrible lovers and worse fathers. Both of my children’s fathers, as far as I know, are dead.” Kavala said, looking thoughtful, and hoping she wasn’t sharing too much of herself with Shane.

“I would rather lay under a rutting Akalak and be alive, Shane, than be a Zith’s next meal or be subjected to them as owners. At least the Akalak have rules. At least they are kind and need you. The Zith need nothing. I am thankful for my life.”
Kavala said, drawing her second leg up and wrapping her arms around her lower limbs. She looked young in that moment, and totally focused on Shane.

“Now… though… I am free. I take lovers when and where I want too, if at all, because The Gods know there’s no time running this place usually. I have been for a few years now.”
Kavala said with a laugh, her voice echoing slightly in the deserted commons. When she was silent, the only sound left was the crackling of the fire and the sputtering of the lamps lit by fatty whale oil.

Then she grew quiet and listened as Shane answered. She raised her eyebrows at the code, almost abandoning all pretense of the story as she asked…. “What is the code? Can you tell me it?” The Konti asked, curious now and willing to forgo the sacred game for a more informal conversation for the moment.

“Or wait… I’ll hold that question as your next question. I don’t want to cheat you out of asking me one.”
Kavala said, chuckling as she took another sip of water and then began to nibble on a cookie herself.

“I follow more than Nysel. I am twice marked by Rak’keli, the healer, and once by Eyris the Goddess of Wisdom. I follow them as well. However, Nysel is my biggest influence. He teaches us to walk between the light and dark, dipping into each as it suits us. Yes, it does impact me. I’ve let a lot of things go that I would not have before he came into my life in this incarnation. He’s made me stronger and more aware of things in so many ways. Eyris brings Wisdom, always, but Nysel was the one that opened my eyes. He allows me to understand the darker side of people more. Nysel governs more than dreams, Shane… he governs nightmares too. It’s a powerful thing, understanding what causes fear or uncertainty. You have to look for it and understand what you are seeing when you see it. And through him I can comb the memories of others, those who passed before us…. Scholars, artists, even mages. I can look back at the lives of powerful mages before the Valterrian. I can learn what they know. Nysel can make you giddy with the promise of discovery. But He’s also dark and knows your inner desires and needs.” Kavala said, reaching out to Shane and placing her hand on his closest leg, touching it as she faced him.

“It’s because I follow Nysel that I can go to town looking for company and imagining what will come of it. Because of Him, I can be at peace with my decisions. And sometimes in knowing the dark, both outside of us and what’s in our own hearts, it’s easier to fight. That might not make a lot of sense, but it is everything. You have to study what scares you in order to take the fright out of it.” Kavala said gently.

“For example, I know what I wanted tonight… company, companionship, someone to drink with, flirt with, even bed. I went to town looking for it. In a city of men, its not hard. But I find myself instead bringing a human home, one that has no clue what to do with me even as I sit half dressed next to him.”
She said, a smile on her face. “And I know if I want to truly want to follow through with that, I’m just going to half to ask you flat outright to come closer, snuggle with me, and let what happens happen because I doubt you’d do it on your own, would you Shane?” She asked, curious what his answer would be.

“And now… my turn… tell me of your code. What is it word for word just not in spirit.” She said, smiling slightly, wondering if he’d notice if she got two questions in there and that she was attempting to jumpstart the flirting once more.

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The Sanctuary The Sanctuary Forum Riverfall The Cytali
Reverie Isle Wolf Creek Training Course
Please Note:
  • This pc is maxed out in Animal Husbandry, Medicine, Observation, Rhetoric, and Socialization.
  • Kavala a Master Teacher. Students she is teaching in thread can earn more than the maxium 5 XP per thread.
  • This pc has a Konti Gift of Animal Empathy. She has a superpower from a Riverfall city event that allows animals of all sorts and Kelvics (in kelvic form) to speak clear understandable Common around her.
  • Kavala is a Konti but was raised in the Drykas culture so her accent is entirely Pavi though she can speak Common, Pavi, and Tukant well. She's only conversational in Kontinese.
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Kavala
I am more than the sum of my parts.
 
Posts: 3025
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Joined roleplay: October 25th, 2009, 1:46 am
Location: Riverfall
Race: Konti
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[The Blue Bull] Sometimes We Need Saved From Ourselves

Postby Shane Wallsly on January 13th, 2015, 6:07 am

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Shane had not known the Konti were an all female race and he had not know that the same, in opposite of gender, was the truth for Akalak. However so much about his time in Riverfall suddenly made a lot of sense to him. He had come up with so many excuses for never seeing any females just because such a thing was foreign to him. He had ruled out possibilities and allowed his mind to become close-minded just because it wasn't the norm.

When she spoke about the unfortunate Akalak that had been turned female in the Djed storm and how one was already with child it made Shane feel sick and he had to look away to hide the fury in his eyes. On one hand this almost seemed like just desserts but, on the other hand, it sounded wrong. He had no doubt that these unfortunate souls had been pressed into sexual slavery too and probably for the rest of their lives. The survival of the species had been no doubt hefted upon their now womanly shoulders.

When Shane heard about a lot of them being saved from slavers he didn't feel better. He couldn't look back at her. For the first time he almost felt like the Knights of Syliras were not evil, militaristic, fascist pieces of shyke. What did the Knights take in return for rescuing slaves? Nothing. The act of saving another was enough for them. Sure Syliras was nowhere nere as nice a place as Riverfall but it suddenly seemed a lot more civilised and upfront. It was a shykehole but all the shyke was right there in your face were you could smell it.

When Kavala explained the unusual role Konti had in Akalak breeding he suddenly found himself knowing, being absolutely sure, that this was where Kavala's children had come from. As she continued on to explain the Navikak system Shane was sure it was something she had gone through. She spoke with such insider knowledge she must have been a part of it and he certainly didn't see her in any other rule a part from the victim of it. He certainly couldn't see her pressing these poor woman into servitude.

Then she spoke again about her youth and much of the story was familiar to him. She had told him most of it earlier when he had asked why she had become a healer. There was more to the story though. She had been stolen, enslaved on her way back home. Shane's fury left him, replaced with worry, and he looked back at Kavala with soft eyes. The Akalak had saved her and the pieces fell into place. She was given a Navikak bracelet and made to pay off her debt. Her first child had been more than the Akalak could have hoped for so they had kept her on again, at the risk of her life, and she had birthed twins. Only then, after three children, had she been released. As smart, and as strong, as she was she had managed to build all this. She had managed to rescue herself from it all.

Shane wasn't angry any more as he watched her. She seemed so vulnerable but he knew she was strong. She had to be strong to wade through all of that shyke and find herself in a pool of crystal clear water. She had made so much of herself despite everything that had happened to her. At the beginning of the night she had reminded him of Aoren but, as powerful and wise as he was, he had nothing on her. She was something else entirely.

I cannot pretend that my opinion of what the Akalak do to women has changed. I... I have always hated what men so often do to woman. They think they are superior, they think that they know better. I see no difference between gender and I think no problem, no matter how great, can ever justify the use of woman in such a way as the Akalak do. I am happy, though, that you made it through their system and ended up with all of this.” Shane's voice was steady and strangely assertive. He spoke as if this was his final thought on the entire matter. He didn't want to talk about it any further. This was what he thought and that was that. “But I am sad that there are some woman out there that must lie with an Akalak tonight as I am sad that some poor woman are being abused by Zith and enslaved by people of my own kind and married off without choice to their father's business partners. I am saddened by the world. It is cruel.

Before Shane could refuse to answer her question she told him to wait for as he had been about to remind her it was her turn to answer his. So instead she did. He remembered now her earlier demonstrations of her blessings and mentally chastised himself for only remembering Nysel. It was probably because Nysel had been the most interesting to hear off and she'd sounded much more reverent when she had spoken of him than she had the other Gods that had blessed her. However she did admit that he was right in that Nysel was her biggest influence. Her explanation was not quite what he had expected. Nysel allowed her to explore the darkness that resided in all of them. The fears that kept them awake at night. He was an interesting God. He walked a razor's edge between light and dark that many Gods dared not tread.

Knowledge can be a shield.” Shane agreed boldly putting his hand over the hand she had on his leg. What he didn't add was that it could also be a weapon. He wondered the damage Kavala could do to an enemy she put all her heart and soul into destroying. He had a feeling she could destroy someone utterly. He still wondered, who were her enemies? He could not escape the feeling that they existed in some form.

Her explanation, however, went a completely different route. She spoke of how she had went out looking for a man and had brought home Shane. A man that was, and even he would admit, not exactly the best candidate for companionship of the sort she'd originally been seeking. Shane took a firmer grip of her hand when she asked if he would ever exactly take the initiative. He lifted her hand from his leg and put it next to her other hand. He scooted himself over on the couch, without letting go of her hand until they were sitting with almost no space between them. Then he put the hand back on his leg.

There is a woman who works at a brothel in Syliras.” He told her looking at the fireplace. “Her name is Atheara and she is very pretty. Now, I have never lain with a woman. It's not that it never came to mind I was just either busy or had nothing to offer anyone. One night I went to this brothel and I hired Atheara. We drank wine, which I wasn't a fan of, and we chatted. She asked if I anted to go upstairs. I declined. I asked for a story first. I don't know what possessed me to do this but I did. So she told me a very good story about her mother and father. When the story was over I paid for her to have the whole evening off and a nice dinner. Then I left.” Shane turned his head to look at Kavala and put a hand on her nearest knee. “So no, I probably wouldn't have initiated a snuggle or a kiss or read any signals because I am a very strange man. The kind who pays for sex but is happy with a story instead. Don't get me wrong, Kavala, I like women. I lust like any other man but...” He squeezed her knee and said no more on the subject.

When she asked her question, he smiled. “No.” The word wasn't said angrily or aggressively but it was resolute. It was a final answer. “The first rule, simply put, is not to tell anyone of the code or of it's contents. I've broken everything I believe in already. Although I think I've already answered a question since my last one, haven't I?” Shane replied playfully. “But I've just remembered something and now I have my question. Are you ever going to give me that kiss for not answering my question about your dreams?
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Shane Wallsly
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