[Open] A Moment's Serenity

[Nasilia]

Winter 46th of 510

Life had become difficult with the disappearance of her mother. She had to take the role of the woman of the home, caring for her younger brother Davion and making sure that the home was clean. When she wasn't doing this, she was off wandering the caverns of her home town Kalinor where she would seclude herself. She practiced her knife throwing and fighting, her balance, her poise, and her stealth in an attempt to gain the skills necessary to find her mother. Many thought her dead, but she had refused to give up on her.

Nasilia chose to spend her time today on her own and away from her people. She could feel the eyes of others upon her when she was in town; they spoke of pity for her plight, so much so that they were hopeless and distraught about her lost mother. She always tried to simply look ahead and keep walking, crimson ringed eyes focused on something entirely different. It was a matter of patience and discipline leading her into a path of misunderstanding and loss with the hope of retribution and love.

She was no quitter.

Sitting atop a large mushroom cap she looks over the mushroom field she discovered a year or so before her mother disappeared. The glowing violet mushrooms seemed to illuminate and dim as though they were talking with each other, conversing about the days' events. Their harmless spores created a semi-golden dust that sparkled beautifully overhead like a divine cloud. The echos of the city behind her signified that she was close yet aloof to the rest of the web. Few ropes led to this place though if someone really wanted to find her, he or she could.

Her gaze found its way to her favorite mushroom in the field; a wide capped mushroom that provided shade for several underneath it. Spotted white with a light blue tint in its frame, it stood out beautifully like the centerpiece to a dining room table. For a moment she would lose herself and let her troubles cease briefly, body slowly slumping down against her mushroom cap seat.

[Velenor Avenca]

I am not really sure, but I think no shrooms can be found around Kalinor, at least not glowing ones, I might be wrong tho. So let’s just leave it at that. I am glad I got the chance to write with you, let’s hope I live up to your expectations. Idiots! Velenor could find no other word to describe the people who he had to evade countless times in order to reach a somewhat lonesome place. They were everywhere, crowds, couples and single persons alike, as spread out as they were, one would think that the population of Kalinor is four times bigger than it was in reality. As he scaled the walls slowly, he could feel slight strain on his body, he had been clenched onto the walls far too long for his liking. Slowly looking down, as if he was stalking some large prey, he gazed upon a part of the cave that was unknown to him till that point. Everything was glowing; Now who the hell would serve such a sour picture upon his eyes? The Symenestra hissed as he was scaling down the wall on all four, one hand in front of the other, his feet following closely behind. Finally when he was about a dozen feet away from the ground floor, he quickly sprung off the wall and landed on all fours into the unknown. His landing was somewhat awkward on his ankle, he was sure of it, as he limped a bit while moving through the glowing field of mystery. It stirred a little of interest within the man, but it also made him think ill of himself; After all, how the hell did he fail to come to this place sooner? Well, at least he was here now, he thought as he shrugged to himself with an indifferent look plastered on his face. He wondered was this place really as solemn as it looked, but then he just nodded to himself significantly, after all, who other than him had enough supreme intellect in them to make such an important discovery. As he stopped somewhere in the glowing plain, he wondered does the field hold any secrets, and if it did, would it show it to a superior being like Velenor? His self content grin was quickly thrown out of the way, as he thought he had seen something about thirty feet to his left. Moving slowly towards the source of the disturbance, the closer he got, the more impressed he was by the giant mushroom that seemed to have grown enough to provide cover for a dozen men, but he quickly lost all interest in it, as cover was not really a sought after commodity in Kalinor. Even if he did not really think anyone would dare spy on him, he still made sure, as he turned to his auristics skills for help. He caught but an edge of a spherical aura that seemed to come from the other side of the huge thing in front of him. Not wanting to waste too much power by trying to look through the thing, he decided to go around and take a closer look, of course a slight usage of auristics would still be required. As he got around it, he gazed upon a young woman, seemingly lost in thought. He quickly tried to inspect her, but he was far too unskilled to accomplish such a thing so quickly. A chime or two later, he was already being the target of curious and suspecting gazes of the strange creature, but it was well worth the price, as his effort had shown him a couple of things; First and foremost, physically she was quite likely weaker than him, the second fact he could perceive would be that she was not a mage, not even in the slightest of ways. Third fact however, it unsettled him so, as hard as tried to look, there were no visible disturbances in the girl’s aura…. She was just calm….. just absent, but how could that be? Was she really that static? He could the fatigue gaining on him, and so he used the last of his time to soak in the aura a bit better. It was a simple black and blue net with double strands entwining on top of each other. The whole aura gave off a feeling of captivity, as if the person was caught in two fishing nets at once, but why did that image bother him so much, he could not tell. His legs were shaking a bit, so he crashed next to the girl, not really looking to be polite. His curiosity got the best of him though, as he eyed the girl for a second before asking her in a cold tone: “What is your purpose here?” he did not even expect an answer. He was no prince charming after all, but if it could at least get the girl off her butt and away from his forest of mushrooms, it was well worth the effort.

[Nasilia]

It would appear she would not get the solitude she desired for a strange Symenestra male had decided to enter HER area of solace and pretend that he had the authority to speak to her in such a manner. She remained unaffected by the man's abrasive manner, knowing that all he would succeed in spreading his peacock feathers would be to annoy her. Fine.

She continued to look out at the mushrooms without giving the man even the slightest bit of eye contact and simply replied, "Looking at mushrooms. What is your purpose here?" She appeared exposed, not wearing any armor or carrying any weapons. To her, this was a peaceful place, almost sacred to her as it was a part of the Webs of Kalinor where she was the most peaceful, the most undisturbed. Of course, it seemed as though the peaceful factor of the description would slowly fade away depending on if the man was to take things much further. She hoped he wasn't so foolish and barbaric.

The wiry female slowly arises like a vampire from its coffin, looking from her mushroom cap down at the solid blue-black stone beneath her. She quietly steps off and lands without a sound, her bare white feet meeting the stone with grace while the rest of her body bent with the fall, caressing the momentum like a child would a babe and stood back up with a striking poise and luscious stature.

She walked towards the large mushroom slowly, stopping at the edge of the grove to admire it some more, almost forgetting the male was there.

[Velenor Avenca]

Once again, I apologize for being so terribly late. Also, no such thing as a vampire in Mizahar, and I think you switched from past to the present with your writing in the middle of the post. This is by no means an attack aimed at you, but just a slight nudge to you if you are mistaken, or a slight nudge at me if I have misinterpreted something. Seemingly without too much thought, the woman glanced back at him, returning him the question with no viable answer. That made him a bit agitated as he looked back at the place she was sitting a moment ago, only to find it empty, as all of “his field” should be. Using his hands to help himself up, he wondered was this mystery worthy enough for some Symenestra blood to be spilled over it’s secret. Quickly waving his hand as if he was chasing off a fly, he banished the thought from his head. Even if it by some distant shot it was well worth the blood price to keep it lonesome, it was still a waste to further shrink an already diminishing population of the spider folk. The girl’s rude response made him angry, but being angry was a trivial thing to him; It was a mere rush of emotion led senseless pictures of no higher meaning, and if anything else, it was not worth the strain it would put on the rest of his thoughts that were kept in the “productive” part of the brain. Looking at mushrooms? He should kill her sorry butt for daring such a strong approach on one as graceful as… Alright, he was not really the most graceful guy in the world. He had quirks, but he was by no means as rude as this girl here was. He could not be, could he? Moving forward, thinking about reprimanding the girl on her terrible manners, he gave that idea some rest as he did not want to strain his tongue more than it was required for all of this to end quickly. He watched along the lines of her sleek figure, with lustful eyes; He would never even consider with people of such lover intelligence, petty sheep; But still, simple lust in his gaze could not be denied. He quickly got his dazed appearance back in check as he moved behind the girl, almost breathing down her neck: “Such a straightforward thing you are. So fragile…” his voice moved from bored to creepy as he continued: “for example, I could twist your neck right now, and end your existence. Or even better maybe I could cripple you, maim you and have you call for help. But no one would come, would they? ‘Cause no one would care, am I not right?” he ended his line with a deep sigh as he grinned to himself. He would never harm another one of his race unless provoked, he knew that, but she however did not. She did not move an inch, or he simply failed to grasp such simple apparitions as he was wrapped into notions of his own. Even now he was thinking of ways to change and better the lives of Symenestra, and if some other races suffer in the process, oh well…. They should actually think of it as a privilege. Returning his gaze from the ceiling of the cavern and back at the girl, he simply continued to speak in a rugged out manner, his wish to see her gone apparent in his conduct: “Still not fleeing, are you? Like lambs to the slaughter you sheepish forms of existence come, and I will gladly be the wolf that serves you your short end of things…” his voiced notion disappeared as quickly as it came as he raised a hand to his chin, thinking about the grammar he had used in the past sentence. Something kept telling him he made a mistake somewhere while speaking, but he could not locate the error.

[Nasilia]

There was no way his words held any merit in her mind. She knew he wasn't this stupid, or at the very least didn't believe he was. She supposed that if this one wanted to be a scary attention whore she could at the very least amuse him. She turns around and looks at him briefly and says, "I do not doubt you could, though I have to wonder if I am so weak why you would spare me so much attention. Wouldn't your prowess best be suited for something more your mettle?"

She leaps up onto a mushroom cap, kicking off gracefully onto the tall cap to look down at him, smirking a little as she says, "To be honest, you don't have to act all dark and powerful here. It's not a good first impression for most people." She lays back against the cap and looks up at the ceiling, saying, "I'm afraid I have to decline your offer to kill me as this isn't really a place I like to shed blood in."

Perhaps he was a brute that wanted to kill her and do unspeakable things to her, things that would not be mentionable in mixed company. But that hardly mattered to her not because she was apathetic to her own well being, but because the chances of it happening were so slim.

Another factor to consider was a light growl in her stomach: she was going to have to feed soon, which basically meant her poison would be increasingly potent. The pale skinned wonder kicks her legs over the mushroom cap slowly like a wispy curtain catching the wind and asks, "Do you have a name, or have I already offended past such a pleasantry?"

[Velenor Avenca]

Poise as she was, she was probably unaware of his usual bastard reputation with most common folk, this was.... surprising. Grinning a bit, he followed closely after her, thinking in what manner should he react. First came a leap that launched him on top of the mushroom, but even while landing somewhat safely, he reenacted her jump to the best of his abilities, still his body tired as it was, it took him a moment to stand up after pulling such a random stunt. It was needless and it was annoying and it was new, yes, new and somewhat amusing. She was not your everyday sheep; She still was one, but that hardly mattered to him as he followed, for what reason did he choose to do so was a mystery to him; Maybe it was just the thrill of the chase? Maybe it was something new to him, to see a female react as such that is. She spoke almost as if she was on the same level as him, that intrigued him. His thoughts swirling inside the very mind that had created them. Strange infatuation caused him to observe everything slowly, almost as if it all was happening in slow motion. Raising his eyes up to gaze upon her once again, he remained confused at the fact she was still here. As the awkward realization of silence had finally hit him, he opened his mouth slowly, whispers present in his voice: „I am commonly known as Velenor of the Avenca web“ he could surely add that Valendy was his father, or that Valydor and Venedan were his brothers, but that would hardly be proper. This girl wanted to know who he was, well she got what she wanted, no more, no less. Continuing to face the girl, he spoke, silent as ever: „Seems like you do not fear me fledgling, but like most sheep you will either evolve or cover in fear in not so distant future. I can promise you that much. What i can't however promise you is that your pain will be physical“ his voice trailed off as slowly as it came, but still it caused him to nudge a bit. The words might have sounded a bit more aggressive than it was really necessary, but still, he believed they had the desirable impact. Walking slowly towards the girl, he stopped right next to her, moving his hands slowly through the air. When he spoke again it was the pride that fueled him to do so: „Bad first impression? If such is the case, one could say i live for such moments. Although logic is obviously not a forte in this sentence“ he stopped talking slowly, before asking yet another question: „And what might your name be?“ he looked down on her a bit, but it was hard to do anything else, as she indeed was much shorter than him.

[Nasilia]

She kept the origins of her family secret for the time being as if he knew her father was a priest of the blood god, he'd be a little more hesitant in his remarks though something told her his ego really didn't care all that much for such things. Needless to say, he was getting on her nerves some, and after threatening her with non-physical pain? Well that's just not very nice of him, she thought sarcastically. Perhaps his mother should have...oh wait...perhaps his father should have raised him better.

She couldn't help but smirk a little as he attempted to jump up onto the mushroom cap, and part of her wondered if he was hitting on him. She found it cute how he tried though she was far from infatuated with him. There was very little that interested her about his family or name, simply because if one part of the web was weak, it folded up in the shadows and was blown away. It didn't matter how strong his family was, if he was weak even in mind, he would weaken the whole family a degree more.

The Symenestra female stretches again and says, "Nasilia," very briefly and to the point. She feels as though he's holding something back, something that might actually impress her, but for the time being, he was hardly that. It wasn't the first time she had come across men who were crass and pretended to be civilized. It felt like she was talking to a corrupt prince, but he was the fifth child in the family, which meant he was more of a figure head noble than any important leader. A shame indeed.

Sighing, she shakes her head and says, "You're still going to pretend you can hurt me aren't you? Again, why do you bother with me so much Velenor? Is it my charming looks that has you mesmerized?" It was quite possible he was hitting on her; she sadly recalls worse pickup lines.

[Velenor Avenca]

Did she just try to taunt him? Tease him? Test his guts? It was hard to comprehend what this slight girl named Nasilia had in her head, if she had anything at all. Now, more than ever, he wanted to look into her once more, just so he could be sure her whole dramatic act was not just a simple jest, and that there were actually valuable thoughts inside her brain; That she was an actually interesting subject, that she was worth observing, but still, it bore a risk, he could not handle too much exhaustion and therefore he needed to be a bit more conservative before he would turn to such drastic actions, at least that sounded right to him at that moment. Sighing slightly, he spoke yet again, in a slight whisper, his tone confident, no matter how small: “Pretend? I am afraid I can’t follow your twisted line of thought, as I already know that we are alone here, there is no one in the vicinity that could rush to your aid, and even if they were here, I doubt they would defy me; However there is one more crucial factor, from what my power harnessed of you, you are far weaker than me both physically and mentally, and you are either a magic user so strong that I cannot detect you or you are not a sorcerer at all… By the mere sight of you I would choose the second option. I also know you are scared, no, mortified… you are mortified of something… but that is as far as my power went…” most of what he had told her was a simple lie, but she did not know that, and if nothing else, that was an advantage unto itself. Turning his head towards her, he figured that there was one more answer, something more he needed to tell her. Even while she was only one of the cattle, a mere sheep or a cow at best, she still dared to talk back to him? Such impudence and arrogance, if it was not so obnoxious it would actually be attractive, or so he thought as he drew a smile across his face. It was a slight, self pleasing grin that he made more out of reflex than anything else as he was looking down her body; And it was quite a body indeed. His eyes half closed, almost as if he was smirking at her, he slowly took in her figure, wondering if he should take her measure any further. Finally raising his gaze back to her face, he slowly closed his eyes pulling a single finger past his face, pulling it upwards. As he opened his eyes, with his changed and undefined attitude towards her changing as it was he could see the aura twist and bind in order to transform into another picture. It was all happening in front of him, and he was happy to be able to witness it; the chords that existed before, the ones that seemed to have trapped her were now spinning so fast in all directions that the ending color of her aura – her shield was both black and blue and somewhere in between. The thing reeked of depression, but what was weird, he was not really sure how to put the smell into words, it was simply depressing. She was hiding something, she was scared of something, she was running away from something, she had some pain buried in her past sh….. he had a major headache, and that is where the magic stopped and the side effects kicked in. Quickly closing his eyes, he drew the hand that was in the air for some time now, past his face and sighed deeply in relief. Running his hand down her cheek, careful not to cause her harm with his claws, he caressed her cheek a bit, before moving away his hand, whispering: “I admit, your looks are an alluring force that is hardly challenged by any apparitions in my life lately, but it is not strong enough to be called an intoxication even, so no, I am hardly mesmerized by you, not yet at the very least. Also you were saying something earlier about me not being able to hurt you…” his voice stopped harshly as he slowly moved the claws on one of his hands across her throat, cutting her slightly with one of his fingers. Then he slowly repeated the reasons that resonated within his head: “You are afraid of something, you are running away from something, you have some issues buried in your past and you are hiding more than one thing from me….” His voice ended softly this time as he awaited.

[Nasilia]

She hardly showed much attention to his magic, simply because what was there to hide? She was merely staying quiet for the sole purpose that this man was just obnoxious and a disgusting bit of company. As he spoke, she sighed quietly without paying a lot of attention to him though she did catch his drift so to say. It wasn't like she was going to completely tune him out as he was still enough of a problem to shred the slightest bit of attention.

Then he goes and cuts her; wonderful. He was turning out to be a real gentleman, she thought sarcastically as the stripped stinging sensation started to arise over her throat. Still, she had a poker face made of pure porcelain, unchanging and revealing nothing that wasn't forcibly pulled out by the male. It wasn't his question that concerned her, but rather what she had told him earlier that he did not seem to heed very much indeed.

"I told you this isn't a place to shed blood, and now I'm going to tell you why. My father's a priest of Viratas...and since you're obviously uneducated enough to go and cut me, you might want to know that such a deity doesn't take kindly to unnecessary bloodshed. I wouldn't go earning his hatred, so I'm going to be nice and pretend you didn't just do that for your own sake."

With that little tidbit out in the open, she wondered if the man was truly arrogant enough to think she was bluffing. The irony in this case was everything she did and said was utterly true, that her father was a priest of Viratas.

The last thing she decided to throw out there was something too believable for him to consider a bluff. She said, "Also, I can tell you right now...Kalinor doesn't take kindly to unnecessary murder or torture...especially a valuable female who can produce an offspring. True that I would most likely perish upon giving birth, but it wouldn't really be good for you if you were to put me through any reckless harm. I came here without my weapons because I have all the protection I need from this city; by coming here with no armor, no weapons, and with no intent of fighting back, I've shown my trust in my people. Call it weakness if you want, but that's all you'll be getting out of me. Sorry to disappoint."