The Redhead Stole My Ride! (Vala)

by **Ariel** on July 7th, 2011, 1:38 am

Summer 57, 511 AV

"We made it out Rafael! Thank Harameus!" Ariel cheered as she flicked his reins, and dug her heels into his sides in an attempt to make him move a little faster, away from the room she shared in the aeries. "It has been far too long since we were allowed to explore and enjoy the outside world... or erm... corridor just outside that horrid room... no, not room, prison!" the pycon went on as she gave Rafael's reins another flick. Why oh why was he so lazy? Why couldn't he just hurry the heck up when she wanted him to? Why couldn't the kitten simply be obedient?

"Oh come on Rafael! You know that place is as horrible as your mistress describes!" Ariel exclaimed, "it has been days since we have seen anything other than that place... and now our chance to escape has come, and you are moving at little more than a walk! What is wrong with you Rafael, you lazy little thing? Don't you wish to stretch your legs? To finally explore this place, and meet more of its people?" Ariel asked. Mrow. "Oh of course you'd say that," the pycon continued, her voice growing louder and louder as she spoke, the red pigmentation in her face growing all the more prominent. "You always say that..." Ariel groaned.

As the two continued down the hall, they met very few people. "What is this place, a ghost town?" Ariel asked. "Do you think they're all afraid of us since we are ever so intimidating?" Mrow. "Why thank you for your input Rafael," Ariel commented as a taller, male inarta ran down the hall. His hair was long, falling far past his shoulders. As he moved, it would sway wildly behind him, much like the movement of his muscles; as they coiled and uncoiled so that he may propel himself forward. By the time he had passed Ariel and her mount, the man was moving rather quickly, producing a small gust of wind that unnerved Ariel's kitten.

Rafael took several steps back, mewling unhappily. "Oh calm down you," Ariel commented as she pulled up on the reins, hoping it would get Rafael to stop moving, but it was to no avail. A second later, the kitten was darting down the hall at a pace Ariel had never seen coming from him before. "Slow down you!" Ariel screamed as she pulled up on the reins, and then fell, flat on her behind. "Ow," she muttered as she rubbed her aching backside, and watched her kitten dart down the hall without her.

OOCPM me if you need me to change the date.

by **Vala** on July 7th, 2011, 5:43 pm

They made eye contact. No one gave any ground for five seconds. Vala broke first; her right eye was starting to twitch. “Here’s your letter sir.” Vala managed to hand him the finished document with a steady hand, though her words gave away a bit of her anxiousness. This was one of her first blind commissions. Warden had warned her about the Endal, but it was still nerve wrecking with the man physically two heads taller.

Far from her comfort zone, Vala shuffled uncomfortably in a hall within the Eagle aeries. She could hear the Wind Eagle within the Endal’s room shuffling about, stretching his giant wings. It was much quieter here compared to the rest of the crowded city. For Vala it was absolutely stifling.

He opens the letter, it is still unsealed. He quickly skims the message, probably checking for spelling errors. There is no thank you or acknowledgement of a job well done. “Your payment.” He holds out his hand, Vala has too shoot out her open palm to catch the falling Pinions, the glass tinkles hollowly. Vala looks down to count only three.

Unable to hold back a snort, Vala looks back up to the frowning Endal. He had expected her to be gone by now. She flushes from embarrassment and anger. “We had agreed on six pinions, this is only half of my payment.” Her words were muffled as they wiggled their way out through gritted teeth. Her icy blue eyes alighted with righteous anger, as she tried to bore the man down before her. It was one thing to show a lack of respect for one of her caste, but it was all kinds of sin to try and go back on a deal. “I have your signature in my ledger agreeing to the terms. If my work is unsatisfactory then please, I would like to know in what ways I have not met your standards, specifically the standards we had signed upon.” Vala smiled with a feral intensity; she was shaking even harder now, but it was no longer from apprehension.

The man frowned, his shoulders hunched. Vala noted the minute physical markers that insinuated his loss of ground. She puffed up her shoulders, hoping to speed up the process. Her attempts to make herself appear larger or more intimidating probably didn’t have any effect compared to the written document she had referenced. It was times like these Vala applauded herself for her obsession on keeping a through record book. Take that Warden. The Endal continued to stall, but he knew she had him. It took another two chimes of tense, unbroken silence before he finally reached into the pocket of his byrda and pulled out another pinion. “Four.” He announced gruffly.

‘Six., sir.” Vala hissed back defiantly. The man grunted. She wasn’t worth it. He pulled out another two glinting glass Pinions and dumped all three into her outstretched palm. He slammed the door in her face. “Thanks for your business, sir.” Vala called out sarcastically, disdain dripping from her tongue.

Vala walked down the hall, excitedly pawing through her handful shiny new coin. She didn’t realize until it was too late.

“AEEEII!” Vala yelped, clutching on to her Pinions for dear life as she plummeted to the ground. “What in the…” Vala stopped her grumblings when she spotted the warm ball of fluff that had so easily knocked her down. She smiled. It was absolutely adorable. Vala reached out to scratch the cat behind its pointed ears. “What’s this silly thing strapped to your back, hmmm?” Her voice morphed, Vala’s words came out soft and cuddly, as if she was talking to a baby. “Are you wike a wind eagle all straddled up, weady to wide off intwo the sunswet?” Vala giggled, savoring the soft velvety fur between her calloused fingers. “I wonder who your mashter ish!” Ignoring any protests from the coppery cat, Vala picked him up, cradling him like a baby to her breast as she rubbed its belly. Poor Rafael was no match for Vala’s relentless tribulations as he gradually melted into a boneless, purring fur ball.

Vala pocketed her pinions, as she began to walk around with her new find. She was looking for its master; it had to have one since wild ones were never clad so oddly, but she was in no rush. And even if she didn’t get a reward for returning him (though she did expect one), it was enjoyable enough to huggle the kitty for as long as she could. Vala cooed happily. Vala never cooed

by **Ariel** on July 8th, 2011, 2:27 am

Ariel got to her feet as quickly as she could, ignoring the shooting pains that coursed through her legs, and her back. "Hey Rafael!" she called, as he began to get smaller and smaller, as he moved farther and farther away from her. "Come back! We're supposed to escape together! Don't you remember that? Don't you remember that you're supposed to obey your mistress, and not run from such trivial things?" the pycon continued as Rafael finally turned down a corner, and disappeared from her view. Ariel sighed heavily, kittens, they have minds of their own don't they? she thought, as she took a few steps forward, in the direction he had gone. They never want to do what they're told. They never want to move, they never want to work or explore. But they're more than content to run away when you need them most, or to disobey you simply because they want to piss you off, and know that by disobeying you they're pissing you off. Ariel sighed again. They're nothing like dogs, at least those mangy things are loyal to you, and won't leave you stranded quite like this. There was a slight pause, petching kitten. When he is found he will regret running, won't he? When he walks right into the talons of some petching over-sized bird, because Harameus forbid anyone here walk on their own two feet to get places... lazy petching redheads...

Ariel growled as the red pigmentation in her tiny clay cheeks grew more and more prominent. Her tiny hands balled into fists, and her back tensed as she walked down the corridor, passing the occasional red-headed giant. Why can't that petching cat ever listen? Now what is his mistress supposed to do? It's not like she knows where she is going or what she is doing, considering she just got here and is lost without a map! Of course... she could try asking one of the giants for directions, but we know how well that goes over. They always wonder where that tiny voice is coming from, and what the petch we need directions for. Or if we're even real... Ariel shuddered, she hated how no one ever seemed to think she was real; that she must be some sort of hallucination; or even a dream. But the best part is when they try to squish you, or place you in a jar as though you're some sort of petching bug. Do pycons look like bugs? No! We're petching made of petching clay... stupid unobservant giants. There's no use in asking them for anything...

Ariel was so distracted by her inner angry rant, that she hadn't even noticed a shadow forming over her head. "Petch!" she yelled, as she ran out of the way, just before a boot firmly planted itself on the ground. Instantly, the pycon whipped her body around, her tiny clay wings buzzing back and forth furiously. "Hey you petching red-headed giant! Watch where you're going, lest you step on someone important! How would you like to wipe clay off your boot you highly unobservant... person!" Ariel hollered as her cheeks puffed out and she grew all the more red in the face. Her entire body was trembling, and her eyes had turned into tiny clay daggers. She was about ready to kill. The inarta kept on walking away from her. "Hey, don't you ignore me! You're being spoken to mister! How would you like it if you were surrounded by people approximately twenty times your size, and you were constantly forced to avoid the bottom of their feet! Hmm, would you like that you evil giant?" Ariel hollered, as another shadow appeared over her head, and she was forced to run out of the way. "Do you see what I mean?" she screamed, before her face fell. You know, for such over-sized people, they really have useless ears. They're like four times the size of a pycon's at least... and yet, we can hear so much better. Petching giants, so petching pathetic... Ariel thought, as she turned back around and continued down the corridor in pursuit of her run-away kitten, avoiding all the more feet as she walked.

Can't bloody watch where they're going. Is that too bloody much to ask? Ariel wondered, thinking it a simple thing to do. After all, she always watched where she was going. But then again, there wasn't all that much that she could trample under her tiny clay feet. Ariel sighed, and to top all this nonsense off, that cat is no where to be found. "This is going to be a long day," Ariel whispered, an angry edge still lingering in her voice, "I can tell."

OOCSorry about writing another post in which our pcs don't actually meet. But I figured it'd take her a bit to catch up, especially if you were headed in the opposite direction she is.

by **Vala** on July 8th, 2011, 2:45 pm

Vala frowned as the kitty wormed its way out of her hold. She reluctantly set him down on the stone table as she sat on the bench. She had chosen a center platform, one closest to the raised dias at the very middle of the Courtyard of the Sky. It was not often Vala chose such a conspicuous spot; one with such a frail body type and a vulnerable caste tried to stay out of attention as oft as possible.

While a few people did stop to say hello to Vala, recognizing her from the library and the kitchens, few looked her way. Most of them who did look, were watching the adorable cat with a harness roll around on the table. No one came forward to claim the cat… yet.

Though the cat refused to stay holed up in a stranger’s arms, at least it stayed put as Vala stroked its back with gentle pats. Rafael purred happily. “I wonder who your owner is… It must be an Avora, or maybe, just maybe, an Endal. No chiet can afford such well crafted miniature gear as this…” Rafael rolled over to his back; Vala squealed in delight and began to rub his soft fluffy belly. “Well who ever owns you… I hope they’re nice - nice enough to let me borrow you sometimes.” Vala cooed at the cat. “I wish I had a kitty…” She pouted. She still felt empty inside: nothing could fill that void, but the soft creature before her was masking the hateful and desolate fog that filled her inside out, turning it into something bearable. “… I wish I had something like you…”

OOC Note :

by **Ariel** on July 10th, 2011, 12:07 am

"Rafael! Rafael!" Ariel called, as she walked along the corridor, dodging the feet of several giant red heads, and ignoring their amused and generally confused stares. "Oh where have you gotten to, you silly kitty?" Ariel called, sometimes cupping her hands around her mouth to get the sound of her voice to carry a little farther; hopefully over the sounds of the inarta shouting back and forth; and of their stomping on the ground. "Oh come on now Rafael, come out, come out, wherever you are!" she hollered. But it was to no avail, her kitten was no where to be found.

After nearly an hour of walking, Ariel found herself in the courtyard of the sky. She looked around the rows upon rows of stone terraces, and her jaw dropped. "This place is so not pycon friendly," she whispered, as she picked her jaw back up off the ground. "But it is somewhat picturesque, and rather well constructed," she went on before screaming, "Rafael!" and listening to her voice echo around the ampitheatre. She could hear it bounce off the stone; practically see it. If only she reached out her tiny clay hands, she could have trapped her own voice within them...

Oh Rafael, where have you gone? Ariel wondered, as she glanced around at the few inarta that were sitting within the confines of the courtyard. None of them looked familiar; yet they all looked the same. And why couldn't you have stayed by the side of your mistress, where you belong? Why did you have to make her first day of exploration so very difficult? Why did you have to cut it short? Force her to spend it in searching?

"Rafael?" Ariel called again, drawing the attention of a few of the inarta. "Are you here somewhere?" she asked, not trusting her eyes to allow her to find that which she sought.

OOCOh it's ok, my reply isn't very long either... but now, at least the pcs are in the same place.

by **Vala** on July 11th, 2011, 5:14 pm

Vala pawed at her ears, trying to silence the sudden ringing. Sudden ringing? It wasn’t ringing. It was higher, and in constant, like mouse squeaks, but much louder. No one else seemed to hear it. Am I really, truly, starting to go insane? Vala wondered; she pet the cat harder, trying to stifle the niggling fear.

Keeping her head still, Vala scanned the courtyard with darting eyes; she didn’t want anyone else to know if she really was starting to lose her mind. The sound was coming from everywhere. The higher pitch ricocheted the stone walls, ensconcing Vala in a cocoon of fear. Every muscle in her body tensed, like strings stretched to tight, ready to snap at any misguided strum. I really am starting to lose it.

If she had turned her head to the right, even the slightest, she might have been saved an ocean of worry, but Vala refused to show her weakness. It took several more chimes before Ariel finally walked into her line of sight The tiny Pycon, with her larger than life voice, was nearly lost to the endless shuffle of citizens through one of the most popular gathering place in the city. This couldn’t be true. Vala stopped petting te cat, her hands cramping into a rigid claw. Rafael hissed in anger when Vala’s nails began to dig past his protective fluff and into his soft flesh. Vala drew her hand back to rub her eyes. It just couldn’t, it couldn’t be true.

It was no more than 3 inches tall. It was so small. Vala was absolutely convinced the demons of her mind had finally succeeded in corrupting her mind; a painful spiral into obscurity was only inevitable. No. Vala would claw, bite, and shriek her way to sanity, even if she died in the process. WHAT WAS THAT THING? It reminded her of the clay dolls many of the yasi girls would carry. The gray skin, with its rich red, coppery undertones made it so much more real, so much more unreal, as its frail limbs moved, defying all laws of nature. Clay does not move! Clay is not alive. And wings? Really wings? Vala was a little disappointed that her insanity would create such trite visions. It was beautiful. She wanted it to go away, to leave her sight, to stop tormenting her. Vala sighed, letting her head drop into her hands. Why was she so cursed?

by **Ariel** on July 12th, 2011, 2:10 pm

Ariel kept on walking through the courtyard, doing her best to ignore the stares, and the over-sized eagles spreading their wings and shaking their bodies to loosen up. Such strange creatures, she thought, as she stared into a large one's golden eyes, and wondered what it would be like to look down on the world from up there. Was it like being a human and staring down at the pycon, and other small critters as though they were nothing? Tiny, incessant bugs that needed to be squashed under foot? Or do they look down on those smaller with a strange appreciation for the delicacy and frailty of their bodies? How easily their lives may be snuffed out?

Ariel shrugged, it was difficult to get into the mind of a bird. After all, what other than food, flying and sleeping could they be thinking about? How annoying it is to carry some lazy red heads all over the place, her mind whispered, as she came closer and closer to where Vala and Rafael were sitting together. She chuckled a little at the thought, and then stopped; hoping to appear a little less than crazy.

When she looked up at the red heads again, Ariel began to notice a stream of colors. There was a concentration of bright yellow and red surrounding a younger woman, little more than what Ariel guessed to be five feet tall. Her hair was a darker red; much like the rest of her race, and her eyes, a dark blue. The colors swirled around her like an over-sized whirlpool threatening to consume her delicate form. A mist shrouding someone in an impenetrable veil. The spaces between Ariel's eyes began to ache, that one thinks you are a figment of her imagination. An amused, yet slightly irritated smile crossed Ariel's lips as she strode forward, towards Vala.

When she was standing only a few feet in front of her, Ariel stopped and placed her hands on her hips. "You think you've gone mad, don't you?" Ariel asked. "After all, talking clay dolls couldn't exist, now could they? NOOOOOO!" she went on, her voice mocking and hinting at her rising level of irritation at the same time. "Well get it out of your system missy," Ariel went on, as the red and yellow wound itself around the inarta's chest. "Because the pycon are real, and you're not imagining things... just rub your eyes a few more times and you'll begin to realize that. Unless you really are losing your mind..." Ariel's voice trailed off as she finished with a wide smile. Her head was aching from her magic, but she didn't care. She loved gleaning information from this woman a little too much; without asking questions. She liked playing games with the giants from time to time.

by **Vala** on July 13th, 2011, 4:50 am

Vala frowned. Here she was, sitting smack dab in the center of the Courtyard of the Sky, during a beautiful summer day, with her mind slipping between her fingers. She had never imagined the herald of her demise would be so petty, so small, so insignificant and so easy to crush beneath her boot. Vala’s frown hardened to a thin line. She was too strong to allow a winged demon crush years of hard work without a fight.

Polite society is a lie.

People are not inherently good. People are born. People are molded by life. And then people die. Manners – please and thank you – were nothing but a thin veneer to cover the base instincts that her people were. Inartan society, so close to nature in their survivalist need to hunt and kill to fend off their inevitable death one day at a time, was more brutal, less polished then say the gilded brats of Anhatep, but like any collection of living breathing, thinking bodies, unspoken rules had been made – the Dek were dirt beneath the chiet, who are mindless fodder to the Avora, with even the Endals to bow to their companions the Wind Eagles. Vala, a worthless chiet, had learned her place quickly. She played her part to the letter. But unlike her companions, her ‘peers’ she had yet to break beneath the yoke of humility – she still fought her inner battle for self worth. She was still young.

Etiquette was near everything to Vala. To be shamed by something that was at best, a tacky knick knack to be left dusty and forgotten on a top shelf of a crazed crone’s hole in the wall… was too much.

Her mind shut off the resounding lies spouted by the abomination before her.

Vala stood up. She walked over to the clay beast. With her two fingers she picked it up by its two wings and dropped it into the pocket of her byrda. (pants) And that was that - out of sight, out of mind.

Vala walked back to the kitty, ready to wait no more than another bell for its master to claim it.

by **Ariel** on July 24th, 2011, 12:54 am

As soon as the woman began to bend over, Ariel was certain that she knew what was happening. That giant is going to pick us up and throw us around as if we were nothing more than an aggravating bug, the pycon thought, as she tried to make a break for it, and failed miserably. Soon enough, she could feel two rough fingertips pinching her two clay wings together. Instantly, Ariel grew angry, the red pigmentation in her cheeks growing all the more prominent as her eyes turned to daggers, and then back again. Her arms started punching the air, as she swung her legs around wildly, trying to get the giant to understand that it be best if she were put back down, on her own two feet.

"Hey, that's not very nice you know!" Ariel shouted as she balled her tiny clay hands into fists, and continued to punch at nothing more than air. "How would you like it if someone more than twenty times your size picked you up by those long red lockes of yours, hmmm? Would you like that you evil red-headed giant? Would you?" Ariel hollered, growing all the more aggravated the longer, and longer the woman ignored her. Why is it that giants never listen? Ariel wondered, and why do they always think it's ok to pick on us? After all, pycons have feelings too! Filthy giants... would never understand what it's like to be picked on quite like this... ignorant, petching, evil creatures...

"Oh! Would you trust your senses?" Ariel growled as the woman inched her closer and closer to her pant's pocket. "You see a tiny clay person, you hear a tiny clay person yelling at you for being such a petching idiot, don't you?" Ariel continued. "You know why that is inarta? Because you are holding a pycon! Also known as the tiny clay people of Mizahar, who were brought to life by the illustrious Harameus, god of alchemy and transformation! Now would you put her down already?" she screamed, as she was finally tossed into the woman's pocket.

Instantly, Ariel began to kick the fabric, grab clumps of it with her hands, and tug on it angrily. "You evil fiend, free me this instant... or may you be spared the wrath of Harameus!"

by **Vala** on July 26th, 2011, 7:49 pm

As the harbinger of her inevitable insanity, a figment of her imagination, it was… persistent. Well everything Vala did was fairly obstinate – why would her madness be any different. What was disturbing, was the power of her psychosis. Usually her demons would torment her with visions, horrible messages of her future as a bumbling cripple, slowly wasting away into nothingness, as a worthless piece of petch who achieved nothing in her fleeting life.

Never before had her imagination been able to manipulate the physical world. I am doomed. Vala stifled her screams. Her eyes began to water. With shaking hands Vala reached into her pocket, grabbing hold of Ariel, and then tossed her on the table as quick as she could. Vala drew back her hand, clutching it against her chest, afraid that touch exacerbated its power.

Vala glared at the creature, forcing her face into a stony visage. The only way Vala would get through this ordeal without a massive breakdown in public, would be the only way she knew how – lying. “What are you? And what do you want with me?” Vala hissed in common. Her lips drew back, just enough to reveal her jagged canines. She would not bow down easily; she would show her strength; fight fire with fire. Anger masking fear. Only now did Vala bother listening to the Pycon, but still she refused to hear, trying to throw up as many walls as she could to protect herself, filtering only what she wanted to hear.

Vala was genuinely afraid.