[The Quill's Rest] Tea and Auras

by **Alija** on August 4th, 2015, 9:37 am

Talya spoke, and Alija struggled to follow. So many words, it seemed, to just explain something simple, or simple in the fact that what has to be said isn't a lot. It twisted her mind, and all signs of fidgeting stopped, all focus on the words the Ethaefal spoke and on interpreting them. "Do you understand?" she finally asked, as Alija was piecing it all together.

"Understand? I do not know. Is it that you remember more clearly, more distinctly, when your.. patron deity rules the sky? By which I assume you refer to Leth and Syna, the moon and the sun. So at night, things may come more clearly to you, but are still fragmented?" Alija thought back to what she had said, "And you spoke of an alternative form? Is this the form that I know of, a form with horns and beauty?"

Talya had also asked her why she was curious about the matter. Alija had little answer for that except that she was curious, "Curious about the Ethaefal, curious about the Chaktawe. Both are races unfamiliar, in their aspects to me. The Chaktawe more so than Ethaefal. But we were to practice auristics, and my curiousity, for the moment, has been supplied with things to think over. Shall we continue with the magic? I wish to know what it may look like through another's eyes? Perhaps you may speak to me a way to improve, to enhance, and I also to you."

Alija looked around, spotting a young waitress sitting at the bar, sipping tea of her own. It was most likely a small break for her, enough time for Alija to concentrate on what her aura had to say. "The waitress, there, with the short dark brown hair. What does your aura say about her? What does it look like?"

Alija rapidly fell into the familiar trance,picking up the aura in a matter of seconds. Heat wrapped around her immediately, a warm, pulsing feel. Fever, she thought, as the heat grew stronger. Her eyes blurred, letting information seep through. A small red sliver of colour kept spiking up, but Alija didn't understand it, not immediately, but on seeing it, felt a deep ache in her forehead. Pain, then, if that was what it made her feel?

One last thing, she decided, and then she would report what she had uncovered. Closing her eyes, she pictured herself sorting through the aura she had seen, diving deeper into it's misty depths. There was another aura peeping out through the clothes, a dull grey, with flecks of green. Alija opened her eyes, observing the shape and size. A necklace, but a special one. Something about it wasn't normal, as its aura was larger than what she would have expected. Not much more, but a little.

"She has a fever, which gives her pain, and a necklace, which stands out," she said simply, letting natural senses return, "What do you see?"

by **Talya** on August 8th, 2015, 2:54 pm

Talya nodded. Once, and then twice. "Yes," she replied before falling silent, and then nodding again. "Let us return to the auras. Let us practice; let us learn." She paused, "there is always something that can be gleaned from another. A lesson to be taught; a few words to be understood. Interpretations to be made," she finished, with a small, curious grin spreading across her lips as she followed Alija's gaze with her own eyes. That was, until they met with the waitress with dark brown hair. It was kept short, in a sort of bob, although it wasn't particularly well kempt. Several strands whizzing wildly about the woman's head, threatening to fly away. She watched as she ran her right hand through it, pulling apart some of the knots; turning to look over her shoulder, her pale hazel eyes darting frantically over the nearest tables, as though looking for someone she could serve something, just to take the edge off whatever she was feeling; distract herself. Her dress swishing as she moved over to the left, to refill someone's empty glass of water.

Talya allowed her eyes to settle on the woman's shoulders. Slight things, which curled into her chest, as though they bore a great weight. She breathed deeply in through her nose and out through her mouth, and didn't allow for her gaze or concentration to be broken no matter where the woman moved as she worked. After a few heartbeats, her eyes appeared all the more distant as she entered a trancelike state, and her magic went to work; making a person's aura visible to her. She noticed that the barmaid's aura was thin; that it hung closely to her body, and somehow appeared heavy to her, despite the airy nature of the magical bodies. It was a sickly sort of yellow to her. Or perhaps a sickly green; some sort of blend of the two that looked disgustingly of mucus, coupled with flickering flecks of black and a muddy brown. She sniffed the air, but couldn't come up with much of a scent radiating off of the woman- just the scent of the sea, the kelp nonsense they served at the establishment Talya found herself in, and a hint of mint that could have been mistaken for anything else; quite honestly.

Talya watched the aura as a whole again. It appeared to be flickering, as much as flowing outward, and then turning on itself, as though it were bread being kneaded; churning. The edges frayed, breaking off into small fragments that reminded her of a fall leaf, although if she squinted, she thought she could see them smoke. Next, the Ethaefal tried to sense a sort of taste coming off the aura, but she couldn't discern anything, and lastly, she tried to come up with some sort of sound for the aura. Her ears prickling as she waited for something to come to her and finally, she sensed the hiss of water. A sort of shrill, uncanny wail, which reminded her of boiling water. Specifically, the make of tea within a kettle. Maybe this woman liked tea? Tal wasn't sure as she let the aura fall, and her eyes began to burn, forcing her to shut them momentarily before opening them again. Rubbing them to ease away the soreness, although it didn't accomplish anything, and she was forced to keep them open although they had begun to redden a little and water, and she now saw Alija through glassy, fractured pieces.

When Alija was done sharing her own findings, Talya described what she saw to her. "It would seem that you are right, that this woman is not in the best of health; although I could not tell you as to why that is on my own." She paused, as she ran over what she had seen in her mind. "If I had to, I would guess that she is trying to treat herself with tea. Maybe mint? I thought I smelled some mint, although I could be entirely wrong." She smiled. "It seems the scent of the sea overpowers everything here, and makes the auras all the more difficult to read, for I cannot always tell if I am picking up something from it, or from those that rest around this table." She paused, as she wiped some moisture from the corner of her eye. "Do you think we should try someone else now?" she asked. "Perhaps I can try to make more of an effort to experience the aura in the way you do... see if it makes any sort of difference."

Talya glanced around the room before her eyes settled on a man sitting not to far away from their own table. He was seated across from a young girl, who looked as though she could have been his daughter. "What about him?" Talya asked, gesturing to the man with a tilt of her head, a swish of her hair. "The middle-aged one with the only child in the place?" she added, just in case Alija had missed anything. Her eyes glimmering as she surveyed the individual wearing the navy blue tunic and matching trousers. His dark brown beard, which seemed to cover ever corner of his face, and melt into his sideburns; his unruly mane of shaven hair. Kept to perhaps, an eighth of an inch. His sea foam green eyes; his beak of a nose. His sunburnt skin, and thin lip; quivering under his bushy facial hairs. "Will he do?"

by **Alija** on August 29th, 2015, 9:17 am

Talya agreed with what Alija had seen, noting on a smell of mint she had also come across, mixed with the smell of the sea. Alija listened curiously, realising that the smell might confuse strangers with auristics. For the native Zeltivan, the scent of the ocean was natural, and she barely ever picked up on it as unusual - only auras that belonged to sailors or Svefra had a noteworthy scent of the ocean.

"Will he do?" Talya asked about another, a man sitting with a child admist the others. Alija nodded and smiled gently.

"Anyone will do."

The man held a rough look, with unruly facial hair, and a large scruffy beard, his bony, sunburnt features hidde behind the hair. At a first look, he appeared to Alija as a sailor, recently returned from a long voyage, as his hair was shaven and he accomponied a child that had to be his daughter or relation. Some resemblance between was visible. But the sunburnt skin looked odd on a sailor. Most had been out on the decks since they were children, and their skin was bronze not red. Maybe he hadn't always been a sailor. Maybe he wasn't one.

Alija stopped her speculation, deciding that she would open her eyes to the aura which would hopefully reveal more. She sunk into it slowly, until the whole aura came into view.

It lapped at him, with movements and appearance of water not smoke, gently shifting around him with calm content. When he moved, and spoke, the water shifted to match his movements, bubbling and twisting. It appeared that he did have some connection with water after all. However, the aura seemed to slowly pick up, as if a stronger wind was blowing on it, as if a storm was brewing. Something was making him angry, or a similar, powerful emotion.

"Do you see the anger? I think there is some. The aura is like water, so I presume that he has something to do with it, but it is becoming more stormy. What do you see?"

by **Talya** on September 3rd, 2015, 3:32 pm

Talya breathed deeply, in through her nose, and then out through her mouth. She concentrated on the way her chest rose as she took another breath, and then fell when she let it out. She listened to her heart beating within her ears, the sound echoing out over their recesses. She breathed again, reversing the method, drawing in through the lips, before letting it out through her nostrils until they flared, as her eyes continued to survey the man they had both chosen to study. They seemed more distant now as she continued to breath, and within a minute or so, the man's aura finally came into view. She would describe it as a vibrant aura, much as she would describe it as an active one. Perhaps, one of the most fluidly moving auras she had ever seen to date. It was filled with a number of hot colors, but red ruled overall, and served as the majority of the aura's backdrop. There were flecks and lines of both orange, and a bright, canary yellow. The two colors seemed to spark and pop, as they flowed out of the center of the aura, which was to say, the portion closest to the man's body. It reminded Tal of a fire, bursting with energy as it continued to grow, and lick angrily at the air that fueled it.

Talya sniffed the air, but nothing wafted through the dense atmosphere of the Quill's Rest, toward her. Or at least, nothing she could discern as her heart's rate began to speed up again. She sniffed again, and then breathed deep, but there was still; nothing. She gave up, perhaps there really was nothing to be sensed with her olfactory nerves. She decided she would move on, and strained to listen to the sound of the aura. Strained to filter past all of the shouting within the establishment- people asking for more kelp tea, or some water if there was any to be had. People waving friends over and shouting their names, or even, quite simply put, just plain old boisterous conversation, as people fought to be heard over all the other patrons resting within the establishment, trying to find their peace. Yet, no matter how deeply she breathed and tried to relax, and no matter how hard she concentrated as she did her best to listen, she could not hear anything. Or rather, she could hear a bunch of things, but she was pretty certain that all of those things had nothing to do with the man, or the aura in question, so she let it fall. Convinced that there was nothing else to see. She gave herself a second to gather herself- both her breath, and her wits, and perhaps a few of her thoughts.

Talya's lips curled into a sheepish grin, as she turned to face Alija once more. Her eyes aching, as though she had strained them, by keeping herself up for too long a period of time. "He seems as though he is brewing," the Ethaefal commented carefully. "Like he is a passionate person- someone who finds that things often mean more to him than perhaps they should. A person, who takes a great interest in various things, so deeply, that it often cannot be matched by most of the rest of us, if not us all." She paused for a moment as she continued to consider what she had seen. Her brow furrowed as she remembered the intensity of the colors, did her best to recall the precise tones and hues. The depth within each- as that she felt, was a rather important thing to do, when reading auras. "He reminds me of fire, and yet, so much like a storm awaiting its chance to fully arrive." She smiled, her eyes sparkling a little as the words left her lips. "Did you see it too?" she asked. "Did you sense it? Or was the purity of his anger all you gleaned?" she inquired, truly curious as to if others drew the same depths, or if she simply painted them on herself. Fabricated things with her mind, more than she actually read what was to be seen; what was there.

by **Alija** on September 4th, 2015, 12:20 pm

Alija watched her companion concentrate on her breathing, wondering if this was what she looked like when she looked at auras. Somewhat lost, staring into the distance, and focusing on something that wasn't there. Perhaps even mad. She did see, feel, hear, smell and taste things people didn't. Of course, she wasn't mad. Everyone had to possibility to experience these things too.

"He seems as though he is brewing, like he is a passionate person- someone who finds that things often mean more to him than perhaps they should. A person, who takes a great interest in various things, so deeply, that it often cannot be matched by most of the rest of us, if not us all." Talya furrowed her brow, before smiling "He reminds me of fire, and yet, so much like a storm awaiting its chance to fully arrive. Did you see it too? Did you sense it? Or was the purity of his anger all you gleaned?"

"Passionate..." Alija said, thinking back to what she had seen. She had concentrated less on, the focus weaker, and less facts had come through. But she had never seen an aura act so fitting to what the person was doing. His movement and his speech were shown clearly - perhaps this showed how deeply he cared about various things. Perhaps it showed passion.

"The man, now you mention it, did seem passionate, perhaps, or at least strongly focused on his actions. I could see his words, bubbles in the aura," she explained, wondering if this was what she had seen.

Talya's words struck something. He reminded her of fire. But the man reminded Alija of water - his aura was water. The contrast between the two was extreme, showing just how differently auras could be perceived. It reminded her of herself too, fire for blacksmithing, and water for Zeltiva. "A storm was waiting. I saw it too," Alija spoke clearly, resting her chin on her hand, "And judging what you said about passionate, I wouldn't want to be caught in it."

Alija froze for a second, heart tightening as she tried to find the right words. "Do you know what auristics can be used for? Apart from this, which is often useless, just interesting."

by **Talya** on September 4th, 2015, 1:02 pm

Talya nodded, her eyes settling on the aurist before her. She blinked a few times; breathed deep. She was gathering herself, but for the other, perhaps it would seem as though she were stalling, or at least, taking a rather long time to think things through. She took deep breaths in through her nose, and then let them out through her mouth in slower partitions of three. She would let a little slip out past her lips; the warm air filtering into the heavy atmosphere around her. The rest would whirl around her mouth for a second, before she parted her lips ever so slightly once more, releasing a little more of her breath. Then again, she would seal her lip and wait another second, before breathing in while letting the rest out. She would hold in the new breath, allowing it to settle, and circle the confines of her lungs for several seconds, until her chest began to ache. Then she would wait for another two, and begin releasing the breath once again. She did this for perhaps five minutes, seemingly lost within herself. Distracted both by the meditative question, and how it made her feel after working so much with magic, and by Alija's question, which to her, had come out of no where.

"Isn't its purpose... simplistic, and yet, somewhat multifaceted?" Talya began, as she let another breath slip past her lips; she imagined it smoking. Coloring the air, which seemed as though it was stained heavily with fish, and the steaming scent of kelp, and the bay, intermingling with a little bit of sweat. "It does, of course, as you have alluded to, gather information from a person, which the eye simply cannot see." She paused as she thought over what to say, her gaze appearing distant. "Which can be used for practice, or for fun, or it could be used for something... else. To gain the upper hand in a conversation, or in an interaction in which you intend to try and acquire something. It can be used to spy, or incriminate, as I have heard it said that the magic has the power to find the truth within words, if only you know how to look, and where to look." She paused, and a most curious grin spread over the length of her lips. "Can't say that I am there just yet," she confided, as she leaned a little further back in her chair, allowing her spine to fall uncomfortably against the carved wood. "Is that what you meant Alija, or was it something... else?"

"Something perhaps, that has been forgotten," Talya continued. "Or perhaps, remains unseen," she finished, before falling silent, allowing her newfound companion time by which she could respond to everything that she had said. As this occurred, Talya continued her deep breathing exercises. Although, this time she simplified them a little, by allowing herself to partition the breath she withheld from expulsion for two partitions, as opposed to three partitions. The problem was, it didn't feel much simpler. At least not to her, which she supposed had more to do with the fact that she had gotten used to doing everything in groups of three, and not in groups of two. So after a few failed attempts, she sighed to herself, and went back to doing everything in groups of three, which for whatever reason, felt all the more natural to her, than perhaps, it should.

OOCSorry this post is on the awkward side.

by **Anuk** on February 22nd, 2018, 7:50 am

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