PM to join Droplets [Davarin]

[Ari'Ellin]

As the man spoke and said what he’d been told was the name of the plant, a grin spread across Ari’Ellin’s face and a chuckle escaped her lips as she shook her head.

“Go-bite-a-stone tree?” she repeated shaking her head still. “I think someone mess you.” she chuckled, listening to his attempted correction and his description of the plant nodding and listening. “I think I hear of it... Apple possible?” she mused, trying to work out what it was called. “They taste good. When they ready will be nice.” she nodded as she spoke.

“Yes, eat fish. Thankful for fish.” she said, never having really thought of whether fish had thoughts or feelings before. At his explanation of what it was his people did that caused people to hate them, Ari went quiet for a few moments, just thinking over what he’d said. “Understand. Can be scary,” she said somewhat quieter than she had been earlier. “So to make more of you, people die?” she asked, trying to commit things to her memory so she could remember why the rest of
Lhavit would treat the man differently.

The sudden change and the sight of him spitting shocked Ari slightly, and she blinked in silence for a moment, before she saw him move to cover his mouth with his hand. A slight smile spread across her face and she nodded.

“Then that what counts. You no want to, you no intend to, so you need to find a way to show people that.” she hummed for a moment as they kept walking, the hot springs now visible causing her to grin widely as she pointed at the waters. “Look! You swim? I can teach if no.” she asked and offered, tilting her head to keep looking at him as she approached the water, crouching down to unlace her boots and slide them off her feet before letting her feet dangle into the warm waters as she grinned.

Thinking again for a few moments she kept looking at him as an idea came to mind. ”What animal do you think easy to trust? If you had an animal help you, what animal you think best?” she questioned, before turning her eyes back to the water and humming softly, looking into the beautiful, blue pool and watching the steam rise from it.

As she did so, she listened to the area around them, hearing the birdsong at the loudest that the sole bird could be. Soon she found herself glancing around until her eyes landed on a bird perched in a tree. It was staying still as the song continued and a wide grin spread across Ari’s face as she realized that it must have been the bird that was creating such a pretty song. As she watched it wasn’t too long until a second bird joined the first on its branch and a second avian voice joined in with the song.

Word Count489 Words

[Davarin Zuharik]

He nodded in grim fashion. People died, and yet it was not quite a fair exchange for their own. If every Symenestra born was female, and the males were a true rarity, maybe their population would be growing. But as it were, he rather expected his kind to be extinct within a few generations. Kalinor housed a few hundred of his people, and there were less outside of it. Maybe some day they would find a cure or antivenin to prevent the death of a Symenestra mother, but It would take work, and Davarin wasn't skilled enough to figure it out alone.

An easy task to say out loud, but difficult to do, showing the world he was different. There wasn't time in the day to show every Lhavitian he encountered that he wasn't here to spirit their daughters away to a horrible death. His ears perked as she spoke of his intent being the heart of the matter, not the concept. Realistically he did agree with her, he had no ill intent for others, and he didn't fancy himself a monster. But one could not deny, by birth and by training, he had been created to behave like one. There was little evil in the world committed by his hand, and he would do his damnedest to keep it that way. He might even help others along the way.

His own face betrayed significant relief as the hot spring lurched into view and the subject changed. Truly, any other subject than this. It was not that he hadn't discussed it before, but never with a stranger, much less one who seemed so willing to remain in his presence. The more they spoke of it, the more he worried she would come to her senses and flee off down the trail. It was so much worse when one considered the process, and that he wasn't being interrogated on the exact intricacies of it calmed his nerves immensely.

"Swim? No water in Kalinor. Well, safe to swim in at least. Only aqueducts from surface. I will try to learn from you."

As he approached the water, he smiled despite himself. It really was pretty here, and he only paused to roll the cuffs of his trousers higher as he stepped into a shallower portion of the pond. His feet immediately clung to the rough bottom of the spring, and he flexed his toes against the stone with a sigh as the heat crept into them. This was nice, and well worth the comfort. Her voice almost startled him as he was brought back from his reverie to consider something seemingly mundane, though based on their conversation to date would likely turn out to be profound. She was interesting that way.

"From the standpoint of humans and the like? I believe dog would be the common one, loyal and useful, good to train. Myself, I trust wilder things, birds of the hunt, snakes. Not that I feel safe around them, but rather I feel most things know where they stand when confronted with a hunter. The animal will always do what it need, tamed things can misbehave at the wrong time and hurt someone that trusted. Why do you ask?"

The birds were certainly boisterous today, flitting about and singing. Davarin closed his eyes, crossing his palms behind his back, and listened. The warm steam of the spring rose around him, filling his nose with its mineral smell. He abruptly turned, stepped close to the edge, and removed his backpack. As he did he pulled the apple out of the pocket, put it to his mouth, and tensed. With a strange slurping noise, the fruit seemed to deflate, and after a moment or two he pitched the remains into the woods with a hard overhand. His eyes flickered to where she was staring, alighting on the birds, and he watched them raptly. He had always been fascinated by them, flying creatures as a whole, for having so much sky at their command.

"That is freedom."

[Ari'Ellin]

Silence wasn’t something that Ari’Ellin was normally comfortable with, but the walk along the trail and the pretty sights to see was something she didn't mind doing with some moments of silence, giving her the time to appreciate everything around her. It gave her the chance to just enjoy her surroundings and take it all in without having to worry about how to say what was in her mind in such a way that people would be able to understand, despite her less than ideal grasp on the common language.

Sighing softly to herself, she listened to the man as he said that there was no water to swim in where he was from, and she hummed slightly as he agreed to try to learn from her. She watched him roll up his pants and make his way to the shallower points of the hot springs, and a wide grin spread across her face.

“Lots of swim where I from. Lots to see underwater. The prettiest underwater.” Ali smiled as she spoke, still watching him. Since she’d come to Lhavit, she found that she missed being somewhere that everywhere could explore what lay beneath the waves. She missed having her mother nearby, as well as her aunts and their children. Granted, coming to the hot springs seemed to be beginning to satiate her urge to explore more.

Then she heard him speaking about trustworthy animals, nodding every so often to show that she was listening and paying attention.

“I don’t dogs trust. They’re too… too… sneaky?” she said calmly as she tried to think of the word. She knew that sneaky wasn’t correct, although the words that she wanted weren’t coming to her. All she knew for definite was that she’d never found a dog that she liked or trusted. Most of the dogs she’d encountered had terrified her for reasons that she couldn’t understand or explain.

Davarin’s explanation as to why he trusted predators more made some sense to Ari. It was true that you usually knew where you stood with them. They rarely ever lied about what they were and it was clear that they were dangerous. Then came his question and Ari thought for a moment.

“I like to make things. Animals are influence.” she said, not fully wanting to say exactly what she liked to try to make. Her father had warned her enough times about the negative reactions people tended to have when they’d found out that he spent his time maledicting the remains of once living creatures to make talismans that most people didn’t believe in.

As the man spoke and watched the birds, Ari made the decision to take off her shirt and pants, folding them neatly into a pile so that she wouldn’t get them wet and have to deal with the uncomfortable feeling as they walked back to the city proper later. Soon in just her undergarments, the pale woman slipped into the water, instantly swimming to the centre of the hot spring and humming softly, watching the birds.

“Freedom? They’re free but not safe. Too many predators in sky. I prefer fish, sharks, whales!” Ali grinned widely, turning to the man and chuckling as she treaded water. “The water good. Nice heat. Pleasant.” she hummed as she spoke, watching the man still and swimming slightly closer, quickly getting to the point where her feet touched the rocky bottom of the spring again.

“Come try? I teach you stay above?” she grinned widely as she extended a hand to the man, feeling fully at home in the water again.

Word Count598 Words

[Davarin Zuharik]

Silence was a big part of Davarin's life to date. He'd been raised to appreciate it, embrace it, and search through it for the many subtle things that could be learned from it. He noticed, for example, that when he was quiet she often hummed, sighed, or spoke questions to fill that gap. He noticed that nature tended to hush until they were still for some time. In Kalinor, there was always a lull over the city, especially when everyone was resting. Not that there was a alck of wildlife, but most of it was some form of ambush predator that hunted by staying still. Such as his kind.

Davarin tried to imagine it as she described her home. Not that she gave much to work with, but he imagined deep green waters, strange fish, brightly colored under-water plants, and Konti swimming around doing... He didn't know much about their kind in retrospect.

"Where I am from, there is some water, but for drinking. We have no lake, no river, no sky." He gestured above him, a light cloud passing by catching his eye. "We see stone, and silk, and Krova, but our roads are made by silk, and our homes hang from above, and it is dark and close, and quiet. Here, sky so big, world so loud. Many of my kind dislike it."

When he had first seen the sky, maybe a decade ago, he had cried and hid. His father had been so disappointed. His introspection was lost in the moment, and he turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. It wasn't common to meet someone who mistrusted a dog, but here they were, and for being sneaky no less. He was sure that was a hitch in her common, especially considering how loud some dogs could be.

His claw stroked his chin as she spoke of why. He'd met many artisans who drew inspiration from nature, one way or another. His entire species was a nod of respect towards the spider realistically. Though the thoughts were pleasant to him, his ear caught the sound of rustling fabric behind him, and he tensed slightly, turning his head expecting a threat and instead finding her busily removing her clothes. Though the Symenestran put on a show of being mature, one did have to keep in mind he was still a teenager. He managed to swallow without his throat audibly clicking as he turned to face away, his cheeks darkening into a grey hue briefly.

Though he couldn't be sure of their customs, he assumed no Konti would be comfortable with a stranger observing them while they disrobed. He waited until he heard a bodily splash before he too began removing his garments, back to her, though he paused to reflect on the birds. As he finished, revealing little more than a silk breechcloth, he turned to face the birds.

"Better free in a world of predators, than caged in a world of prey."

He turned to face the spring and casually as possible strolled towards her. To look at him was interesting. His body was thin, eerily so, and his arms seemed slightly too long while his legs were just slightly too short with elongated feet. He had a wiry cast to him, a product of rigorous conditioning exercise, youth, and a diet that was essentially dissolved proteins and fats. Most notable were the scars, not an excessive amount, but definitely present. Davarin seemed surefooted as he entered the spring, he still took her offered hand as gently as possible, careful to keep his claws back.

"Alright... Is this where you tell me Konti eat by drowning people?"

He smiled slightly to indicate a joke, though considering his nerves and poor common it might not have come across entirely well. That he was uncomfortable in the water became apparent quickly, he moved slowly and cautiously, and his grip adhered to hers much more assertively as their hands met. He paused to feel the warmth of it invade his limbs, and firmly grounded himself on a large stone for a moment to steel his will.

[Ari'Ellin]

As the man spoke of how there was no water where he was from, other than the drinking water, Ari’Ellin felt herself blinking in stunned silence. She’d never considered that there could be somewhere without large bodies of water nearby, whether that be the sea, a river, or a lake. The thought of such a place seemed like a work of fiction to, though she listened to him carefully as he spoke of their being no sky, though he details of everything hanging from above made her blink again.

“Hang from above? Not scared of fall?” she questioned, the idea of staying up high making her slightly uncomfortable. She wasn’t scared of heights, but being high up for extended periods of time concerned her. She knew that her balance wasn’t the best, and the higher up she got, the worse it seemed to be. “I can’t imagine no sky...” she mused out loud. “Always have sky, always have water. Never been where none.” she explained to the best of her ability.

She saw him stroke his chin as he listened and she couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at him. As she’d started to disrobe she was aware of him turning slightly before seemingly realising what she was doing and turning his head again and she couldn’t stifle her laugh as she shook her head. She wasn’t intending on fully stripping, and to her it hadn’t particularly mattered as to what he would see, though she appreciated the gesture.

She realised that it was possible that in his culture, it was considered rude or inappropriate, and she hummed softly. She’d never realised exactly how different peoples upbringings and cultures could be. After all she’d never really met many beings other than humans, Konti, and a slight handful of other beings that she’d never really had much time to speak with.

As she enjoyed the water she noticed him starting to remove his clothes, and in order to be respectful she chose to mirror his earlier actions, dipping under the water and facing the other direction as she enjoyed the heat and the feeling of being fully submerged in the water again. She would always love water and swimming. That was something she was certain of.

Guessing the amount of time that had past, she allowed herself to resurface and spent a few moments using her fingers to comb her pale hair out of her face before she turned to see him watching the birds, just in time to hear his words as he spoke about freedom and cages, and predators and prey.

“Free good, but also stress. Some things not clever to know that they caged. Like pets.” she said before frowning at herself and shaking her head. “Sorry my common not so good. Grammar bad.” she shrugged slightly as she spoke, enjoying the heat from the hot spring as she watched the young man approach and enter the hot spring, taking note of how thing he appeared to be and the overall pallor of his skin. “How you find Lhavit? Feel free or feel caged? If they no treat you good, no be a nice feeling?” she asked, curious to know exactly how he felt about having come to somewhere filled with people that judged him and chose not to trust him whilst knowing nothing about him.

She kept her eyes on him as he moved into the water, noting how steady he seemed but also knowing that the rocks could possibly get slippery at any point, and although his hands seemed to stick to things easily, she wasn’t certain of his feet, or how it would work when surrounded by water.

Ari’Ellin couldn’t help but chuckle at the mans question, and for a moment she thought about the answer she could give to him as she made her way close to him.

“Who knows, maybe we do...” she smirked for a few moments before laughing again and shaking her head. “Maybe could, but don’t. Would be strange.” she said calmly and she watched him as his grip tightened. “Don’t be scared. It okay. Easy out here.” she hummed softly, moving her legs beneath the surface of the water to keep herself afloat.

Word Count703 Words