[22th of Fall] Let it burn (Aria + Open)

[Aria]

Pet? Beast? Kitten? The insults lobbed at Mathieu and herself had left Aria fuming. It was all she could do not to gut the flight leader where she stood. How dare she insult Aria's first bondmate since her previous master's massacre? Aria could smell the anger in the air, the intent to kill. And there was the stench of something else... Fear. The flight leader's sister was afraid, and she had every right to be. All Mathieu had to do was give the order. Surely he couldn't just ignore the insults, she could smell his fury. "We. Are. Going."The command dropped on Aria like the proverbial piano out of a window. He wasn't going to fight? After her attitude, after what she said? This man was unbelievable. Nevertheless, Aria couldn't bring herself to disobey. She would probably follow him to the death. The hair on Aria's back slowly relaxed, and she lowered her head. In a flash of light she had morphed back into a human form. She was kneeling on the ground, naked, head bowed and fists in the dirt. She took a deep breath and slowly stood. "Your pride will be the death of you someday."Aria stated coldly. "But today I walk away. Mathieu does not wish for bloodshed, so I will step down" She turned around amidst a jeering crowd and began walking away, glancing briefly at Mathieu as she turned. She could still smell his anger. He wanted to take action, she could feel it, but something had stopped him. That problem would have to be solved.

[Mathieu]

If Aria did sense his anger, she was probably misinterpreting it - he sure was enraged by the whole situation, but he was more furious with Aria than with anyone else. And unknown to him was that much of his ire was born from fear that Aria might actually meet her end here - or worse, turned into some mindless pet at the end of a leash after getting beaten by the flight leader. Mathieu knew almost nothing about the Inarta's culture - and although he thought the bond they shared with eagles made them more likely to avoid owning Kelvic slaves, this very notion had been shaken by Sai's harsh insults. They were probably no better than any others. Nobles are nobles, and aristocrats are aristocrats, no matter which race and what religion they all are so petty and pedant and seem to think no better that the world owes them everything. And Aria was playing right into their hands. Wild as she was, she would stand no chance if she kept behaving like this. Civilization might look all butterflies and candy, but on no account would the Fire Weaver think that it is anything less dangerous than the untamed wilderness. The dangers were harsher here, for they were less direct and more treacherous. The young Kelvic might fear no blade in battle, but she had nothing to prevent a knife in the back or a sentence to jail. Every steps that carried him further away from the courtyard did little to fan his temper, and soon he was heading for the small rocky cave where Aria and him shared a meal the day before. She was not going to like what was coming.

[Sira]

Sira remained silent as she watched and listened to all that transpired, everything happening so fast. She was not at all surprised by Sairque's harsh words. She was, after all, a flight leader, and had every right to talk any way she desired to those beneath her. Sira might have said some nasty things herself if she were the offended one, but this was not her fight. She would jump to Sairque's defense should she need it, but it was not her place to try to join in the argument. The dancer looked like fire would shoot from his eyes and he would burst at any moment, but in an act of self control that might have impressed Sira in any other situation the performer kept his cool.

We. Are. Going

The dancer's words came as a surprise to Sira, and she let out a long sigh as the tension from her body relaxed and the adrenaline stopped flowing. Slowly she sheathed her sword, a feeling of mild disappointment coming over her as she straightened and watched as the pair made their way towards the back of the crowd. She could not deny herself the fact that a part of hoped she would get to use the blade. With the conflict over and the situation apparently dissolved, Sira looked to Sairque to see what her reaction to all this might be. Was it over, or would the fiery flight leader push the matter further?

[Sairque]

Her hand stung where it had struck the man's bony face, finger tips tingling painfully and the skin turning pink even while the extremity was still in the air. Armsreach for the flight leader was quite close indeed, more so because she had to reach up to breach the eleven inch difference between their heights. He towered over her and physically unresponsive or not, the unchecked fury, matching the heat of his chosen trade, that sparked from his eyes where they bore into her own was quite the spectacle. Anger was nothing. She stood her ground with no thought to retreating from beneath that gaze and let the silence drag out. She had said her piece and made her move, satisfying her own temper. Her hand, still stinging, dropped to her side.

Aria very well could have made a move at this point, so engrossed in the man standing before her was the Endal. He made not a move, yet his eyes told her everything he wanted to do. This was the kind of anger that toppled nations. The man quick to anger and quick to satiate it wasn't the man to be watched. The man that let his anger eat away at the inside of him with no intention of dispersing it through his environment could be the kind of man to let his fury dictate cool and calculated machinations that devastated far more than a temper tantrum ever could and for far less gain than the ploy was worth. Her own yellow gaze calmed on his, no longer returning the emotion pouring from him, but shrewdly deliberated on everything he was allowing her to see of him.

It was too late to take it all back, he'd already let it out for the world to observe and keep for itself. His disappointment and disillusionment tainted the breeze and congregated in the clouds, drizzled onto the earth and mixed with the ocean, never to be recovered by Mathieu again. But locally, he gave this piece of himself to Sairque, the black spot on his lofty dreams of Eagle Riders. And she knew it. A sneer no longer twisted her features, instead they hardened into a look of concentrated calculation.

"We. Are. Going." he informed everyone tightly before ripping his eyes off her and turning to leave the courtyard.

Yet again, the healer's presence failed to make an immediate dent in her assessment of the situation. After a second or two, Sai finally realized the woman next to the man she was still staring at was indeed her twin. Addy could talk to the man, she was good at that and it might repair his equilibrium enough to have him put on another show for the people. Sairque almost turned away herself when a fly buzzed around the edge of her awareness. Yellow eyes skipped right over the naked Kelvic until, in retrospect, she realized that it was her lips that were moving in time with the nonsensical ramblings accosting her ears.

"My pride, girl, is the product of fighting my way out of the midsts of people like you. Anytime you want to test the source of it, let me know," Sairque dismissed her from her scope of attention; yellow eyes, betraying the methodical turn her brain had taken, settled on Sira before she had even finished speaking to the Kelvic panther. Something akin to disappointment might have flashed briefly on her face before the short woman turned on a heel to leave the courtyard herself.

[Sira]

Sira remained silent as Sairque managed to get in her final words before the pair departed, wondering if perhaps the man would put on another show at a later date. The issue had not been with him, after all, as it was the foolish kelvic who had started it all. Perhaps outsiders needed more education on the ways of the Inarta before they were allowed to roam freely in the city. From what Sira could tell, most of the other races did not understand the complexities of Inarta culture. The fact that Sira herself was not a true Inarta never crossed her mind as she mused over the idea. As far as she was concerned she was Inarta through and through, though some of the others might argue the point now and then.

Sira did not miss the look she was given by the flight leader either and wondered if it was for the same reason Sira felt disappointed, or if it was somehow directed toward her. Either way, her own pride would not allow her to linger behind when all the others had left the scene as well. After a quick glance at the now dissipating crowd, Sira departed in the same direction as the flight leader.

[Dreamcatcher]

Character: Mathieu Experience: +1 Acting, +1 Fire Breathing, +2 Twin Scythe Lore: Trying to get the Attention of a Crowd, Pulling Someone’s Butt out of the Flames Character: Aidara Experience: +3 Socializing Lore: Being Short and Cute, Finding Family in a Crowd, Flinging Insults Character: Sairque Experience: +2 Socializing, +1 Brawling Lore: The Taste and Passion of Bread , Sucker Punching with a Hilt Character: Sira Experience: +2 Socializing Lore: Character: Aria Experience: Lore: Provoking a Flight Leader Additional Note: If you feel that I missed something please PM me with the details on what I missed and I will review it.