Dogwoods and Daffodils (Roebak)

[Kavala]

Timestamp: 30th of Spring, 510 AV Time of Day: Daylight Reason: Copying a new book on Auristics - studying it - practicing the Arcana Kavala hadn't wandered far from home. In fact, she'd found herself a nice sloping hill out in the bright sunshine near a stand of dogwood trees. Daffodils bloomed in profusion leaving the hillside a riot of color backed by the pinks and deep oranges of the dogwoods. She was happy - a pale splash of colorlessness - in a riot of green and yellow. Laid out before her was a book, borrowed from the library in Riverfall, in which she copied text in careful neat handwriting onto the blank book open in her lap. There was no threat of foul weather bringing more of the notorious springtime Riverfall rains. Instead, the world had seemed to dry out and explode as if welcoming the warmer weather as eagerly as the people did. A buckskin stallion still wearing his yvas graced nearby. Kavala had weapons laid out, though she was loathed to use them - a blowgun with darts and two bolas just in case. The hills were safe enough - infinitely so - though one never took a chance even in what Kavala considered a meritime paradise. The Konti was dressed in her usual fashion in a set of boys trousers of white, a sleeveless tunic in the same colorless manor, and a belt bleached to match. Boots normally covered her feet though she'd kicked them off to enjoy stretching out her webbed toes which caused the sunlight to gleam off iridescent scales. A coiled winged serpent graced one ankle, glittering like a living jewel - a mark of Rak'keli's healers. The book she had open was one on Auristics - the study of auras. Studious by nature, Kavala was taking it seriously. "Just like fire creates smoke, everything creates an aura around itself. Regular items usually have a thin aura that extends around one inch around their outermost boundaries. Magical items have variable auras whose size depends on their power. Unintelligent animals have a few inches' worth of aura, whereas a Human or another sentient creature possesses auras that reach several feet around them. Gods have incredible auras that span dozens of meters, though they can suppress them at will as even a normal person would be able to perceive such energy. " She copied the text carefully, making her own sort of journal out of it. She'd read how Auristics was thought to be a gift of Avalis to normal mortals not so worthy of her gnosis... but Kavala suspected it was something more than that. Sentient creatures, not bound by the gods tended to find their own ways in the world. Auristics sounded like one such bypass. Kavala had a particular interest in learning aursitics. She wanted to be able to look at a creatures aura and know where it felt pain, if it was fevered, or stressed in a way the aura could expose. According to her text, that indeed was possible... but only with practice. Copying until her fingers grew tired, she set the new text down next to the original volume, shifted until she was on her stomach stretched out on the splash of her crimson cloak, and stared at a nearby daffodil. Kavala narrowed her world down, concentrated - trusting her horse to alert her if anything dangerous approached - and studied the flower. Seeing auras was a bit difficult for someone who hadn't exactly tried it. The book wasn't exactly specific on how it was done either. Kavala raised an eyebrow and studied the problem, thinking carefully on it. She reached forward, visualized her djed hanging about her like a pale glow, and almost touched the flower. She didn't physically touch it, but she did bring her hand close enough for the 'aura' she visualized around her own body to mingle with the 'aura' she imagined (yet still couldn't see) to be around the flower. Then she swirled her fingers, as if blending the two lights, and waited... concentrating. The book was specific. At lower levels, touch was important to learn the skill - well not exactly touch - but the mingingling of two auras. Once she taught herself how to see them, then less effort was required. Kavala sat, on her stomach, legs up stretched over her back and crossed at the ankles... and stared at the flower intently. She did so for most of the afternoon - with no result - until she slowly and surely relaxed her vision and grew bored with the whole thing, doubting it was possible. The very moment she gave up trying it was like there was a pop in her brain - as if someone had lit a glowstick and tossed it on the fire to light up the dry wood - because the daffodil began to glow. It's aura, predictably, was a brilliant yellow almost like a miniature sun. When she saw it the Konti tipped her head back and laughed in delight. She reached her fingers forward again to blend her aura with the flowers once more and saw that she too had a glow. Her glow wasn't, however, a brilliant yellow. It was a smoothly patterned shimmer of iridescence... much like her scales. And she stared at that as well, lost in the wonder of it all as she glanced around. All the other flowers were glowing as well, though not the trees nor the grass. Kavala didn't mind. She was patient. And although she had a slight headache from the concentration she pulled the new book back over to her, repositioned the first one, and began copying again. "Focus happens as the wizard consumes Djed to synchronize his mind with the aura he is trying to understand. There is no specific moment at which one is "done" focusing; the longer one keeps doing it, the more details surface, more and more subtle as one continues to concentrate. Getting the big picture about an aura is usually a matter of a few seconds, but truly understanding the shades and their meaning can require minutes or even hours of inspection." Ahhh. It made so much more sense to her now.

[Roebak As'karri]

Roebak was as well studying. He had his nose in a large book from the library, but rather than sitting, he was walking. He like to walk outside when it was nice, because he was inside so much, and the sunlight made his skin tingle in a delightful manner. He was out today with a book on Voiding, which he had begun studying a week or two previous.

He was just about to re-read the section on starting a portal. He had read it hundreds of times it felt like, and he half whispered the words in a meaningless drone as he walked. It was frustrating to him, how both simple and complex this could be. He wanted to use it as a defence, the ability to open a portal to nothing, and suck whatever he wanted into it.

In the latter parts of the book it even suggested that he could store things there, and retrieve them when he wanted them. His studies of other magics had led him to believe that he needed others to initiate him for thier use, but this was a concept he just needed to comprehend.

As he was walking, re-reading the section on how to open a portal;

Portals to the Void are, in theory, a natural occurrence. They are born when a point in the physical world becomes completely empty, even emptier than outer space. Voiding takes advantage of this fact, using the wizard's Djed to completely empty a tiny point near the caster and control the resulting Portal. Because the method is so specific to the Void, it cannot be used to reach any other place both in this reality or the Ukalas.

He nearly stumbled over a woman laying in the middle of the field he was tramping through. She was white, and quite beautiful, but the fact that he nearly stepped on her, and that she had broken his concentration urked him. He said, "You must be a very odd person to lay in the middle of nowhere like this."

His look was obviously disapproving, but it was not entirely for her, but also for himself, for not paying enough attention to his surroundings. His clipped accent was particularily heavy when he spoke to the woman, because he had startled himself and spoken the words very quickly.

[Kavala]

Kavala hadn't been paying attention. The Konti knew the dangers and was spooky when it came to strangers. But she was close to home - really close - and so her attention wasn't exactly as it should have been. So when she caught the shadow out of the corner of her eye of the man - a ruby colored one - walking not so carefully through the blooming flowers. She didn't see him until his shadow crossed hers and she acted on instinct. Concentration scattered, Kavala dropped the book and writing materials and instinctively grabbed for the darts laying on the crimson splash of cloak beside her. She wrapped a fist around one and rolled, not even remotely hearing what the man had said, and stabbed for his leg with the dart. She meant to hit him squarely with it, driving the silver syringe into his calf if she could. Her vision was still confused though, her mind focused on the aura of the flower and not on being attacked (or perceived to be) by a giant red Akalak wearing a disapproving scowl on his face. Whether the dart hit home or not, Kavala followed through with the roll - away from him - and was on her feet in an instant. Hatot's training, it seemed, was proving useful. Her body seemed to know how to move even without her mind being engaged - which was a good thing when someone was distracted. Once on her feet, she'd carefully back away, keeping her eyes on the stranger. "You can't see a white Konti laying on a crimson cloak in the middle of a green field of yellow flowers? Seriously?" She asked warily, watching his hands, his eyes, and most of all his body language. NoteI'll leave it up to you if you get stabbed with the dart or not. It just has a fast acting paralytic in it - not poison - designed to last 30 minutes.

[Roebak As'karri]

The woman rolled and jumped just as he was noticing her, but his attention was diverted from his book now, and her sudden flurry of movement made him jumpier than a jackrabbit.

It was a good thing too, since she tried to stab him with a little dart looking thing. No doubt it had some sort of serum on it. She tried to stab him in the leg, so as any intelligent creature would do, he took a quick step backwards. It was a simple enough solution to thier problem. There was now enough space that neither could strike the other without obviously provoking the other, and he didnt get stabbed, which is always a nice bonus.

Once the initial danger was past and she posed her query, he answered her with another. "You cant see a dark red Akalak walking through a collage of greenery?" His voice was less wary however, and more tinged with sarcasm. He then said, "I was reading. See?" He raised the book up by his head to show her, and waggled it a little in his hand.

OOC: I realize he is being a bit rude, I promise he wont be like that all the time.

[Kavala]

noteI'm really really sorry for the delay! I've been really looking forward to meeting your PC so I hope you forgive my extremely busy irl last week that spilled over through the weekend and onto monday (84 hrs at work!). It should be a lot better this one.

It was pure reaction on her part. She was totally emerged in studying the aura of the daffodil rather than paying attention to her surroundings. He scared her, though in retrospect Kavala couldn't have said it wasn't more the fact that she scared herself being so unaware of her surroundings. The darts laying out were there for a reason. She'd practiced the grab and roll move as well. And if she'd been faster and the Akalak less reactionary, she'd have gotten him and he'd have ended up flat on his back for about thirty minutes. As it was, the dart in her hand gave her comfort as she faced him barefoot and taken off balance emotionally.

Once on her feet she took a moment to really study him. There was no weapon in his hand. It was a book! He was walking around with his nose in a book not paying attention to his surroundings. Kavala felt silly and her pale almost colorless skin flushed with the pink of embarrassment. She started to say something, took a deep breath, and then relaxed standing up straight from her defensive crouch.

"I...My apologies. I... No of course I didn't see you there. I was relaxing in the flowers attending to my own studies." She said softly. There was still a tinge of fear in her eyes though. And those azure orbs darted about to make sure he was indeed alone. "I'm Kavala. I run the stable near here." He probably knew who she was though. Most of the Akalak did. It was rare that their slave raids yielded a konti gem that then became a Nakivak or a woman bound to Riverfall by a life debt. She would have to have a child to one of the Akalak to pay her debt. A life for a life. The Akalak of Riverfall had gifted hers back to her and so it was owed. They were not barbaric about it however. They gave the Nakivak time to settle in and did not make them wear anything to denote their status to others in the city - no collars or necklaces. They weren't even given wristbands or rings. Everyone just.. knew. The women stuck out, were normally alone, and all had the same slightly frightened haunted look that Kavala wore. Abused. Most likely raped repeatedly, certainly beaten, often broken. They wore scars on both the inside and out - and their paranoia ran deep.

It made sense she had a blowgun and darts with her and wasn't afraid to use them, even instinctively.

The Konti had more life in her than the usual rescued human fair. And that was a good thing, for sure, because it meant that she was strong enough to be what the Akalak needed her to be. The Konti made excellent mothers for Akalak sons. Humans normally died in birth paying their lifedebts - something about their blood and producing the strong Akalak boys often made birth difficult. Konti and even Kelvics, however, had no trouble.

Kavala studied the newcommer. She wasn't used to ruby skin. She was only familiar with the sapphire and cobalt that were so common among the Akalak warriors. Though she was still cautious, the fact that he had a book and not a weapon was promising. It was reassuring. Kavala blinked curiously, shook out her translucent white hair and offered a hesitant smile. "So, what are you reading that has you so distracted?"

[

[Roebak As'karri]

OOC: Just so that you know, the right side of your post is chopped short. Its not too bad though, so I understood most of it. I filled in the blanks with the rest of the post.

Roebak indeed knew of Kavala. He had heard the name before, and knew she owned the stables, he had just never met her, and so thus had not had a face to put with the name. He made the connection easily enough though once she said she owned the stables.

Her sudden jumpyness had also made sense, but he also had the good sense not to bring it up. That was not something that was lightly brought up, if it was EVER brought up. People knew, but they never spoke of it, especially with the person it concerned. Many of them were to mentally and emotionally scared to face it at all. Either way, he let her explain herself and shook her hand when she extended it, and he responded, "The fault is also with me. I was not paying attention to my surroundings either, this book vexes me."

His tone was one of slight irony, like he had finally found a challenge, but it had turned out that he couldnt yet defeat it. When she asked what he was studdying though, he visibly became cautious, and the hand with the book in it slipped behind his back. He said a bit quietly, "Its nothing really, just a book on some old theorys." He knew most people's oppinion on magic, and so he was very careful not to let anyone know he was studying it.

When he had been young and asked about it, he had very nearly had his hide tanned for it. By both his teacher and is uncle for that matter. They had been very adamant that he never think about magic or speak of it again. Now his uncle was gone though, and he couldnt resist himself. A skill so rare, and with so many applications, how could he not? Even if he couldn't make it work, he would have knowledge that hardly any other did.

[Kavala]

NoteI uncentered it so I hope that helps. If it keeps getting cut off on your screen I'll stop using the cs code in this thread.

Kavala met his eyes briefly, then glanced away as they shook hands. She was still shaken slightly by the suddenness of his appearance and the violence that erupted from her. She was a healer, a person of peace, and yet her mother had once told her the world would mold her as it liked. She had denied her mother's words, saying that she'd make of the world what she wanted it to be. How wrong she'd been wrong. Stupid. Unguarded. Even after her mother's death, the worlds still haunted her. Kavala often wondered if her mother could have seen what was going to become of her daughters for there were always little things she tried to do to make them pay attention and make them train. In the end though, you can't change fate. Ay’aka Denusk couldn't change hers, that was for sure. So Kavala swallowed, met Roebak's gaze, and then glanced away. There was knowledge in his eyes - he knew her and her circumstances. They all did. I was embarrassing and relieving all at once. No explanations necessary. She liked that, in a way, even though she wondered if they ever saw her as a person first. That's what she really wanted - in truth - to have her name mean Healer, Friend, Respect, Integrity... not 'broodmare'. She noted her question was met with a sidestep and the book was promptly slipped behind his back. She frowned at that, then grew curious, wondering if perhaps he was reading one of those silly glorious swashbuckling adventures that she'd seen in the library under action/adventure. She'd seen younger Akalak take them out of the library, but they always did so sandwiched between two serious texts. Kavala almost grinned, and even though she had no proof that was in fact what he was reading, the thought somehow made her relax a little. In a show of good faith, she retreated to her cloak and laid the dart down next to her blowgun and picked up her own book. Perhaps he'd open up a little if she shared with him what she was reading. "I was studying Auristics. It's a form of magic where you can read someone's aura. That was what I was doing when you almost stomped on me... trying to see the flower's aura." Kavala had no idea magic was taboo or frowned upon. There were a lot of aspects of Akalak culture she didn't completely understand, so she had no hesitation in telling him what she was up too. "I thought it might help me in my practice. If I can see the pain in an aura, maybe I can more quickly identify a location or where that pain is centered." She said softly, gently closing the book. She handled it like it was precious... which it was to her. "I was also copying passages from it.. into my own notebook, so when I turn it back into the library, I can have access immediately to the words the book had written in them." She added, glancing at how he hid his behind his back again. Then she resettled onto her cloak which was acting as a rather large blanket. "You can join me if you'd like... maybe walking and reading is too distracting and that's what's vexing you." She suggested gently.

[Roebak As'karri]

OOC: Sorry, but your posts are still cut short...

Roebak was probably one of the few who didn't see her as breeding stock. True, he recognized that she was a female of the appropriate age, and that knowledge was carefully logged away in the back of his mind, but he had no drive to mate with her. It was not that she was unattractive, or that he had differing tastes, he simply had no drive. He hadnt decided that he wanted to breed yet, and so it never occurred to him that he could with this woman. All he saw was another being.

Either way, he did not know that thoughts such as hers were going through her mind, although she may soon realize his personal state of thought should she stay near him long enough. His own thoughts were more analitical at this precise moment, as he quickly examined everything about her and her things. He noted that for a moment she seemed upset by something, but it must have been minimal, since the look in her eyes disappeared. Roe may not have been a very good lier, but he WAS good at knowing when another lied.

His examination was startled slightly at her wanton announcement of studying magic, and he became both very excited and very nervous. He looked about them both quickly and then came closer to her saying in a hushed voice, "You should be more careful! If others here of you using magic, it could be very bad. People don't understand magic, and what people dont understand, they fear."

He quickly grabbed her book long enough to read the cover, just to be sure she wasn't faking him out, and then pulled his own book out from behind his back and said, "You are lucky that I too study magic." His voice was barely more than a whisper just then, but it sounded excited, like a little boy who knew he was doing something he shouldnt. "I considered Auristics, but I found Voiding to be much more intriueging to start with."

[Kavala]

She snatched the book back with an angry look. "Hey, I don't take your things, do I? Ask next time." The Konti said firmly, a glare in her eyes. The books were not hers but trusted into her care from the library, and she didn't want some stranger threatening her about magic without any reason. "People in Riverfall understand magic perfectly. Why do you think the library is full of books on the topic? I've got one checked out. So do you. Of course they understand. Just because its use isn't a common practice doesn't mean the Akalak don't understand." She said a little annoyed.

So far he was clumsy, grabby, and now bossy. What was next? She added rude to the list as well since he hadn't yet introduced himself.

"I'm sure Voiding is intriguing... much more so than Auristics. But I'm not here to debate that fact. I'm just here to study it." She snapped, suddenly feeling ill tempered. What was wrong with him? Kavala took two steps back, keeping a firm grip on her book, and slowly gathered her things. It wouldn't be hard to stow it all back in her pack and pick up her crimson cloak she was using as a blanket and leave him to the field of flowers and blooming trees. There were other beautiful spots... not likely as lovely as this.. but still quiet enough to study.

"And if you are so worried about it, maybe you shouldn't be out here reading all exposed like this. Someone might see. Someone like me." She added, looking around as if she expected him to be followed immediately... and surrounded by someone who wanted to seize his book and arrest him for doing magic or even thinking about it. It was a silly notion. Everyone knew magic was real and important. Whole schools were founded around it.

[Roebak As'karri]

Roe was confused. He had only grabbed the book enough to turn the cover to an angle he could read, but she was angry with him now. Some days, he really just couldnt get the hang of talking to people. As for the idea of the books being checked out he said, "I checked my book out under a false cover! And besides that, you are not an Akalak, so of course no one would really bother you about a taboo subject."

He continued as she gathered her things, "And on another note, you are studying Auristics, which is a reletively harmless subject unlike Voiding or Reimancy, so why would they care? Even if you did figure out how to work it, which is statistically unlikely as most people are unable to use magic, what would you do?"

He could tell she was getting ready to leave, but he desperatly wanted someone he could share his secret with, and although he was not sure she would be the best person to do so, he made the leap and said, "Wait! Please... I did not mean to be offencive. My name is Roebak, Im a jewelry maker in Riverfall. I am sorry..."