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Syka is a new settlement of primarily humans on the east coast of Falyndar opposite of Riverfall on The Suvan Sea. [Syka Codex]

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An Uncharted Path (Nya)

Postby Tailyn on March 31st, 2018, 7:46 pm

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The Outskirts of the Maw
Spring 20, 518
12th Bell

Tai stood at the edge of the wild jungle, just where the thin undergrowth became denser, giving way to the true jungle of Syka. Tai had been in Syka for near a full season now, but this was the first time the woman had actually stood on the edges of the wildlands, and now she found herself grounding herself lest she lose her nerve.

“Syka means jungle,” Tai said aloud to steady herself. “You’ll have to go in there eventually.”

Tai had taken pains to equip herself to the best of her abilities and equipment. The woman had found that her simple leather vinati brought from Wind Reach worked extremely well as a top in the heat of Syka. The garment was styled as a halter top that exposed her midriff, and had limited embellishments to discourage curious parrot beaks. Attached to the shoulders of the top was a pair of leather shoulder pads, ideal for a perching parrot, and where Blue now relaxed.

Tai’s legs were covered by a simple green bryda, a pair of pants that were long, flowy, skirt-like in nature, and did an excellent job in keeping the inarta cool. Her feet were covered by simple leather boots; ideal for trekking in the wilderness.

Tai had strapped her short bow to her back, and her quiver of arrows were on her back and within easy reach. Her backpack was settled over her free-shoulder and contained all her remaining important items: climbing gloves, flint and steel, a filled waterskin, and her grappling hook. Finally, attached to her waist was an ever useful hatchet.

Tai wasn’t a novice when it came to survival. She had spent many long nights of her youth camped in the mountains with hunting companions, tending fires and keeping a watchful eye out for hungry mountain lions. And it wasn’t as if she had no practical experience in the jungle as well. But still, Tai hesitated. Some hindbrain reflex screamed DANGER at the Inarta, reminding her furiously of how unknown these strange wildlands were to her.

What was she? A child?

Tai scoffed at her inner reflex and pushed forward into the thick underbrush, crushing ferns underfoot which sprang back into position the moment her weight was off of them.

This would just be a few hour trek to scout out the area, Tai reminded herself, to get the lay of the land. The better the woman knew the area, the easier it would be to look for parrots. Besides, there was a quiet voice in the back of Tai’s mind that had been gradually growing louder in the past season.

She had quieted it as she had settled into her routine of caring for her parrots and setting up her new home, but it had grown in strength in the calm and now it was impossible to ignore. ‘Go find an adventure!‘ the voice yelled. Tai was an inarta. She couldn’t very well ignore it, could she? Abanath could keep an eye of her parrots while she was gone; the day’s adventure was hers.
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Tailyn
Crazy Parrot Lady
 
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An Uncharted Path (Nya)

Postby Nya Winters on May 13th, 2018, 6:10 pm



Since Randal had assigned her as part of the Rangers and had basically left her in charge, Nya had felt a sense of urgency to get things done. The problem was there was so much to do that it often left her head spinning. But it was the type of distraction she needed because Nya's head was busy most days and sometimes those thoughts lead down dark pathways and opened up loneliness.

Even in the life filled jungle, she missed Abashai and his ever steady presence. He would have loved life here, she thought, and would have rose to become a leader perhaps even a priest of Yahal. Instead, he had departed and left her in the wilds and she was completely uncertain why. Maybe his son in far away Eyktol had more of a pull than staying with a broken woman that was just a former bondmate and a former wife. Nya carried many burdens and many secrets, most of which she was incredibly tight lipped about. Aressa Tallshade and her wrongs to the world haunted the Kelvic as well and sometimes she heard echos of who she used to be in her voice as she spoke. Such things were getting worse, not better, and maybe that was because without Abashai's balance there was no fetterment in her life. She spoke with a freedom, acted as she willed, and roamed where she wanted too.

And she'd found power here too. It wasn't the might of magic or the strength of swinging a sword. It was the inner power of conviction and having found a place. The Rangers needed her. The Settlement needed the Rangers. She was cutting pathways, exploring, making things safer for everyone. It was important work, like keeping the commons free of snakes and big cats. And it was here that her kelvic shape, the Talderian Forest Cat, could move and breathe in a way that city life had never suited her.

So if asked, despite the loneliness and isolation, Nya would say she was happy. She had a job, a purpose, and it wasn't searching the world for artifacts she'd made in another life and hidden away because they were too powerful to be discovered. It was something simpler, more grassroots, more important to her heart and mind than what she had been doing. And best of all, Rhysol wasn't here in this place of Kihala and Caiyha, where Zulrav and Laviku ruled. Nya loved it. The two gnosis marks of Zulrav making her a Stormwarden thrived in the coastal wilds. And the marks gave her companionship of a sorts. For she wasn't alone in the world despite her loneliness. A pair of breezes darted about her form as she hiked and marked trail, chattering in voices that only Stormwardens could hear.

It was the breezes that alerted her to the other woman. One caught her attention by tugging at Nya's loosely woven braid and whispering about a stranger up ahead... a birdwoman. The other breeze agreed, carrying Tailyn's scent to Nya's nose. The Kelvic inhaled deeply, noted that it wasn't a strange scent but one familiar around the settlement, and picked up her pace.

Nya wasn't exactly social and tended not to talk to people unless they addressed her, but a woman alone in the jungle could spell trouble and Nya wondered if the woman needed an escort. It was, after all, her duty as a Ranger.

She paused, hung a strip of blue worn fabric, and then broke into a light-footed jog that ate up the ground and pulled her quietly beside Tailyn. "Hello.... I'm Nya Winters... one of the Rangers. Do you need an escort out here? I'm marking trail to be cut to a lake near here that's full of jelly fish. I could break off from doing that and go with you if you want company." Nya said, looking at the woman.

What the woman would find beside her was a lean muscled woman with multicolored brindled hair and bright moss green eyes. Her eyes were ringed with violet that looked bled into the green. She was dressed in leathers, a decent pair of snake repelling boots, a tight green tank top and carried a leather backpack of supplies. At her hips was a hand axe and a kukri. A knife was strapped to her left ankle and another was strapped to her right forearm. She was striking but had a feral grace that was almost feline.

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Nya Winters
Let the winds in my heart blow...
 
Posts: 750
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Joined roleplay: June 7th, 2009, 6:53 am
Location: Syka
Race: Kelvic
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Medals: 5
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2017 Top NaNo Word Count (1)

An Uncharted Path (Nya)

Postby Tailyn on May 13th, 2018, 6:52 pm

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Tai had just about relaxed herself into a place of comfortable confidence when a woman stepped out from the thick of the jungle like a ghost. She might have well emerged from a sheet of rock for all that Tai expected it, and the inarta flinched back for a moment, startled, wincing as Blue let out a squawk of protest in her ear. She felt a bit abashed by her instinctive reaction, especially considering the stranger’s calm and friendly greeting. She supposed it revealed how high strung she was. Well at least her reflexes weren’t lacking. That was good right?

Fighting her embarrassment, Tai smiled at the woman. “Hi, I’m Tailyn. Tai if you like. This is Blue.” Tai nodded briefly at her parrot, then turned her attention back onto the woman.

Tai was intrigued by the woman’s striking appearance. It wasn’t just her oddly colored hair or her brilliant green and violet eyes. She had an intensity that radiated from her, like the hum of electricity just before a lightning strike. It was a sensation that threatened to set Tai’s arm hairs on end. It was a tad intimidating, but to Tai, also vastly interesting.

The name the woman provided gave Tai a moment of pause. She was sure she had heard it before…

“Nya… I think Randal mentioned you. You’re a kelvic right?”

That certainly explained the intensity of the woman as well as her unusual appearance. Tai hadn't had a lot of interactions with kelvics, but in their human form they often looked a bit different than your usual human.

At the woman’s offer to lead Tai the inarta broke into a smile.

“Truth be told I’m doing a bit of trailblazing myself. I know a little about surviving out here. Not a lot, but enough to get by. I was planning on looking around a bit. Getting the lay of the land. You know. Company would be appreciated. I’m not totally confident yet.”

Tai glanced over at her parrot. Blue was shifting nervously on her shoulder, eyeing Nya suspiciously. Tai could feel the tension in the bird’s wings. Blue had every intention of fleeing if the kelvic got too far. Predator kelvic… right. Better clarify that. Didn’t want any of her companions to become lunch.

“I’m a parrot trainer, breeder and catcher, ” Tai told Nya. “I’m planning on selling them and making a living here in Syka through that. I figured a bit of scouting would help me figure out nesting places better.”

The woman’s words made Tai blink. “Wait wait.. a lake with jellyfish?” Tai couldn’t keep the curiosity and fascination from her voice.
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Tailyn
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An Uncharted Path (Nya)

Postby Nya Winters on May 13th, 2018, 9:39 pm



Nya smiled at Tailyn as she introduced herself. Friendly. Nya was glad. She was so tired of meeting closed off people that were tight lipped and suspicious. Tailyn seemed to take her for who and what she was without question. Though the fact that she mentioned Randal explained a lot. When Nya had first come to the Settlement the Founder had taken her under his wing and taught her a great deal about Wilderness Survival in the Jungle and had talked about the other settlers to her. She wasn’t surprised that Randal had perhaps talked about her as well. It would only make sense.

Nya grinned. “Randal is my friend. He has been a very good teacher to me.” She added. “Yes, a Kelvic Talderian Forest Cat. The jungle is a good place for me… even alone.” She said companionably, glancing at Blue. “So how smart is he? He’s not a kelvic or I would have sensed it. But I have heard stories… and Randal once had scratches on his face he refused to talk about.” Nya said, her eyes flickering over Blue curiously.

“Tell him I won’t eat him. The feathers are much too much to bother with and the meat is no payoff. All parrots are scrawny under all that fluff.” Nya said reassuringly, her eyes still on the parrot. She was mindful of his sharp beak and claws, but if he started something, she was certainly not opposed to finishing it.

“Sounds like you had adventure planned today. I don’t know anything about parrots, where they live or nest, but if you can tell me a bit about it, I might know good places since I’ve been all over the Maw. I’m not sure the way to the lake has good places, but it might. The lake itself is interesting too. It’s not salt water and its not fresh water but a weird in between brackish sort of thing. And there are these creatures that look like swimming clouds that inhabit it. They are a golden color so sometimes when they are all near the top of the lake the lake looks golden. It’s on the coast, not very far inland and I suspect its connected somehow to the sea, though last time I walked all the way around it all I found were little ruins, not any sort of outlet. It might be something underground.” Either way, it was interesting to Nya and was something that needed to be linked to the Settlement eventually.

“I’m to blaze a trail there and back, making it safe for anyone to visit. That’s part of the job duties Randal outlined for the Rangers.” She said, glancing at the bird and then towards where the lake was, trying to remember if she had seen any parrots there.

“I don’t remember seeing parrots there. But then again, I wasn’t looking for them and mostly ignore them.” Nya added, tilting her head and looking thoughtful. “You are welcome to join me if you don’t have anything better to do. If you do, I’ll gladly escort you if you want company in the jungle.” Nya added, throwing out that offer because she felt obligated and would indeed like to get to know Tailyn better. She wanted to know everyone in the Settlement. The more she knew about them the better she could do her job.

“If you’ve never seen jellyfish, they are quite lovely and calming to watch.” Nya said, laughing slightly suddenly. “They are hard to catch though and dissolve into nothing in your mouth while stinging the heck out of you.” She said, rubbing her jaw as if remembering a particularly nasty memory.


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Nya Winters
Let the winds in my heart blow...
 
Posts: 750
Words: 784686
Joined roleplay: June 7th, 2009, 6:53 am
Location: Syka
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Trailblazer (1) Never Say Die (1)
Donor (1) 2017 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)
2017 Top NaNo Word Count (1)

An Uncharted Path (Nya)

Postby Tailyn on June 14th, 2018, 8:10 pm

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Tai felt herself smiling a little as Nya so boldly claimed Randal as her friend. The inarta felt like maybe just about everyone in this settlement was Randal's friend. He had that way about him, like he was the most approachable person anyone could meet. If someone could make friends with a massive talderian cat kelvic, it’d be him.

As Nya drew attention to Blue, Tai glanced at her shoulder. The bird was fluffed to about twice her size. “Pretty smart,” Tai told the kelvic. “But sometimes stupidly stubborn. Settle down Blue. Nay says she won’t hurt you.” Tai parted her bird’s head, and she snapped at her finger irritably, but with no real menace. After a moment, her fluffiness seemed to decrease exponentially. If there was one thing Tai could rely on, it was the trust between herself and her bird companion. If Tai wasn’t concerned, than Blue wouldn’t be either.

Tai listened with fascination as Nya described the location of the lake. Although she did need to find parrot nests, it would be hard to locate exact areas they would be nesting. Tai chewed her lips for a moment in thought.

“Parrots usually nest in hollows in trees. Sometimes they have colonies. It depends a lot on the type of parrot. I’d hate to keep you from your job. Maybe I could just go with you, and we can look for some along the way?”

Tai could already feel her heart setting on that lake. It sounded positively magical, parrots or no.

“I’ll be sure not to try to eat any,” Tai added with a chuckle and a grin.
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Tailyn
Crazy Parrot Lady
 
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Joined roleplay: January 22nd, 2018, 10:28 pm
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