[Bronze Wood] Staking Out A Territory (Open)

[Nya Winters]

Timestamp: 50th Day of Summer, 509 AV
Mood: Determined

She was newly born. That's what it felt like, thrown out, told not to come home until you've found yourself. What does 'finding yourself' mean anyhow? Her parents lived in the northern part of the Cobalt Mountains, hundreds of miles from where she was near Syliras. Their only advice was 'head south' and 'go find a city full of people'. Nya trembled at the thought. At home it was fine and safe to be herself, to be human, but out here it was frightening. She was stronger, faster, and had keener senses as a forest cat. No one bothered her, well perhaps only a bear or two that could be far more determined and cranky than she could ever be. Badgers gave her pause too. And sometimes a pair of determined crows could throw her off her kill and make her look for easier feasting if she happened to take something down in their territory. But otherwise, she felt a great and lasting peace in the Bronze Wood, one that allowed her time to contemplate the breezes, follow their teachings, and roam.

She missed people though, and longed for companionship. But most of the companionship she had known was the kind that was untrue, based on lies or falsehoods. She couldn't reveal her nature, couldn't be something she actually was or people were afraid. And she hated pretending to be human. It was painfully obvious after just a short time that she wasn't, not fully, and that left her lacking, and longing for a deeper understanding. If Nya had a choice, she'd stay a forest cat, stay wild, and retreat from the scattered remains of civilization altogether. But Marcus Kelvic had taken that choice from her. She was neither one nor the other of her natures... and in some ways she hated him for it.

It was in this confusion and hurt that she explored, stopping occasionally as a cat to scent mark a tree or scratch claws into the wood of a sentential conifer. And finally, tired of her cat shape, she took a human form near a wide stream to take a bath in the summer sun.

[Leo Varniak]

Leo Varniak loved indulging in his strange philosophies right in the middle of the forest. Pondering over the meaning of life was something that the young man always found relaxing.

Doing so in a place where everything could catch fire so easily, even more so.

Naturally, Leo had long since reached his own conclusions as to the meaning of life, and those were very bleak conclusions. This new era of progress was a failure. Those who nominally followed "Justice" were morons. The Knights could do nothing to prevent the human race from collapsing again and again, because they failed to understand that the real menace came from within. Unless they realized that one must eradicate evil from their own society before they turned to the world outside, they were nothing more than toy soldiers lined up on the beach.

Leo had compiled a list of about 250 people in Syliras that were better off dead. Some of them would beat their wives regularly, others had swindled honest men into bankruptcy, yet others were violent crooks and drunkards, social parasites who dozed their days away at the tavern. Leo lacked a regular job, but he saw things. He saw, pondered, and judged. This core list contained names that he believed were well past reforming. But of course, the Knights allowed them to live. One day, these people would lead the city to ruin.

He knelt by a familiar stream and watched the water flow by. He could not flow. Actually, he could not swim either. Deep down, water kind of frightened him, but he would not admit to that. He took some in his cupped hands and slapped it onto his face. It felt so very fresh on his feverish skin. The fever was something he'd carry for as long as he lived. He, too, had crossed the boundary of magic and that day he had paid the price. It could have been so much worse. He could have lost his sanity. But he hadn't. Right? He hadn't. Though maybe he had and couldn't see it. No, impossible. Leo was Leo, same as always.

Leo would never let go. Leo could never let go.

A splashing noise caught his attention, and he realized there was someone nearby. A man? A beast? A monster? Not that big a distinction in Leo's mind. The reaction was always the same.

Burn it. Burn it all. He bit on his lip and pushed the craving back, wishing to assess the situation before he went ahead and lit the woods ablaze. He peered from a large trunk and saw a very naked lady. At that time he was glad he had not conjured a firebolt. He sharply averted his gaze from the scene and called out to her. "I'm partial to bathtubs, myself. You new around here?"

He wasn't sure why he even addressed her - in such a ladies' man's way too - but it felt better than just sneaking away like a peeping tom, at any rate.

[Nya Winters]

Swimming relaxed her. It was hard to swim as a cat though. Nya could do so easily, for the cat often cooled off in the heat of the summer with a quick shallow dunk in the waters and paddled easily when it forded rivers and traversed streams.

But swimming as a woman was exotic. Long flowing limbs could slide through the water and not disturb the bright trout gathered below in the large pools that housed their secret treasures of colored stones and pebbles. Beneath was another world, just as the one above was different too. They lured her, but alienated her at the same time because she belonged truly to neither.

"Find yourself..." The haunting words of her mother filled her mind as she swam, and she repeated them until she felt the cool water wash them away from her like the wind plucked dandelion seeds from the flowers luring them far away with the gentlest of breath. She didn't hear the stranger approach, so focused was she on purging her mind of the disturbing words. She didn't want to be ordered, molded, sculpted, sold into some sort of bondage with someone who would fear her inherently anyhow. But his words broke through her floating reverie and she sat upright in the water from her long reclining drift in the big pool beneath twin cedar guardians.

She stared at him a few moments, feet kicking freely in the water, and wondered why he gazed off elsewhere yet addressed her specifically. Nya dipped her head beneath the surface for a moment to clear locks of hair gone heavy with water from her eyes and smooth it back along her scalp as it should be. She inhaled deeply, her green gaze studying the stranger. Physically, he was unimpressive. Threatening? No, but she'd learned long ago that appearances weren't critical to an indication of what would eat her and what wouldn't. He smelled slightly salty, as if his skin was slicked with sweat, and he looked overly warm, as if he'd been walking a long time or thinking angry thoughts.

But she couldn't read his expression. Humans had too many of them for her to pick and choose between them and be right more than wrong about what she thought it meant. His hands held no weapons, and his eyes wouldn't look at hers. But his voice addressed hers. He offered something of himself.. something he liked? He liked bathtubs? Baffled she puzzled over what he could mean by this for a few moments before she realized his second statement was a question.

"You cannot swim very well in a bathtub. Yes, I am new to this place. Is it yours?" She asked cautiously, wondering if the strip of land she'd explored around the cave was already claimed. A momentary thought crossed her mind - fight him for it - but then her true nature interwove itself and she feared having disturbed him in a place that was already his.

[Leo Varniak]

Even someone as inexperienced as Leo could tell that there was something unusual about this girl. For one, he had been expecting her to make a run for her clothes as soon as she realized someone was watching her. And yet, there she was, kicking water and talking back. Or at least, Leo could tell this much from the corner of his eye. Every once in a while he'd take a brief look to check if she had any intention of moving at all, and then look away from her once more.

He just didn't want to do the same thing he judged others for.

He leaned against a heavy trunk and pondered her question. She did not understand humor. She was wondering if this forest belonged to him. Leo in turn wondered if all girls were like this one; he did not have much contact with the opposite gender. He considered himself a man who was preparing for a mission that could very well claim his life. Besides, the memories of loss and violence were still too fresh and raw for him to get close to someone.

"Mine?" He repeated idly. Property, now property was an interesting concept. What defined property? Did you own something because a piece of paper said so, because everyone else recognized your possession, or because you claimed something for yourself? "This is no man's land," he shrugged, "if anything it belongs to the Dyres, but I doubt they even care." His was a strange voice, right now it sounded extremely calm and collected but deep down you could almost feel the heat, burning under the ashes.

A part of him wanted to take his leave, as he found the situation more than a little awkward. He had intruded on a private moment, after all, with no real reason for doing so. But there was a tiny voice in him that made him stay on, no matter how out of place he was feeling. This woman was utterly clueless and Leo believed it was just a matter of time before someone tried to take advantage of her.

About 250 names came to mind.

On the other hand, he did not want to sound like he had any ulterior motives with the girl. Leo had a hard time understanding that which was not ablaze, much less women. "Sorry to have disturbed you, do you want me to leave?" He finally opted to let her decide whether she wanted his company.

[Nya Winters]

She swam closer, curious, watching him lean against the tree. It was close enough, surely, for her to entice him to join her. Nya hadn't had anyone to talk to in a while and though her task for life was to simply figure out what she wanted, in that moment, she figured she wanted some company splashing around in the stream. The kelvic gave no thought to her nudity. She wouldn't go dashing back to her clothing because simply put she had none in the immediate area. Nya had worn fur to the stream and would most likely wear fur back away from it again, and if the truth be known, she probably couldn't easily remember where she'd stashed her things last time she'd needed to be human. In fact, for that very reason she'd went to town and picked up additional clothing and stashed quiet a few pockets of garb about the stretch of land she'd decided to claim as her own. There was just nothing near the swimming hole she'd picked out - though a thought crossed her mind or would later that she should perhaps fix that issue.

"No mans? Good. I think I'll claim it for mine then. Then it will be someone's land, no? A womans, in fact." She smiled then, something bright and fleeting as if the thought amused her. The truth was she wasn't thinking of herself as a woman, but as a cat. A cat's land... Nya slipped closer, surged up out of the water, and shook herself off. She wasn't a large woman, but her body was corded with muscle as she approached the stranger. Her hair dripped down her shoulders - in fact most of her dripped - concealing the most likely part of her that would embarrass him. It didn't quite conceal the small insignificant swirling mark of a storm on her shoulder.

His eyes drew her, if she was quiet enough and human enough in her mind to realize that. They had some nameless shapeless something in them that she couldn't quite recognize. It wasn't grief exactly. It wasn't anger exactly. It was some strange mixture of the two that produced something that looked akin to being lost. She held out her hand, smelling something of the warmth of him and perhaps a similar need for some companionship. A kitten-like playfulness filled her eyes. "As the new owner of this land, I invite you to come share the stream with me. It's cool, and you can touch the bottom everywhere but in the big pool under the cedars. I'll catch some of the fish that were ignoring me earlier if your hungry. But I've talked to no one here in a long long time, and I'd very much like someone to swim with and talk too." She said. There was nothing provocative about her offer, nothing seductive or deceptive. Her outstretched hand was like a child offering something innocent, something they considered fun, without conditions and without hidden meaning.

Her eyes met his for a moment and she drew upon her djed and the natural hypnotic stare of her kelvic form. The moss green eyes flared slightly, holding his gaze, beckoning him - tugging at him in a slight compulsion - trying to urge him that it was safe and natural to come with her to play in the water. She put no real force behind the request, wanting him to make up his own mind. But she wanted him to feel safe in doing so, if he would.

[Leo Varniak]

Leo squinted ever so slightly in surprise as she pulled herself out of the water and walked up to him instead of reaching for some form of clothing. Now, Leo was really oblivious when it came to women, but he had imagined it would be different. As if that wasn't enough, the girl claimed the area as hers. He could not tell if she was being serious, but the way she said it, he suspected she was... or as serious as she could ever be.

His gaze did not linger over her body for long, though he did notice the mark, if nothing else because he also carried a similar yet so different mark on his body. But Leo was no theologian, and he had no idea who that mark could belong to. He was fairly sure it wasn't Rhysol - one of the few gods he had bothered to research, just in case the god of evil had servants lurking in town.

He was glad she approached him, because he could just look at her in the eyes that way. He thought there was something unusual about her eyes, something alien to his world. Maybe it was the playfulness that poured out of them, something Leo just could not understand. She looked like she lived in the moment, unable to contain her feelings. To Leo, the moment didn't exist. Things only made sense when they were lined up in a sequence.

He gazed into her for a long moment, as if there was some sort of magic at play, then he blinked it away. His dark eyes had eaten up that light. He would agree that such radiance was wasted on him. He did not take the offered hand, but she had been naive to think safety was the concern holding him back. No, it was something so much deeper. "I will gladly talk, but I must decline the swimming," he said, his voice a bit softer than before, "I would only spoil your fun. To you, that stream is a source of joy, but to me, it is just some water. If you give it heat, it will turn into steam. If you take away heat, it will become ice. That's all I see in it."

Some people believed that Leo's childhood had ended too soon, but in truth, there had never been one to begin with. He wasn't wise beyond his years, he just was born without some of his years. A flame did not need to know what it burned. If this girl was ever to meet her polar opposite, that would be Leo Varniak. "Some people are born to swim, others are born to watch over them from a distance. That's the world we live in," he concluded, hoping she would understand.

[Nya Winters]

She felt silly, standing there dripping wet with her hand reaching out for his - trying to entice a stranger to come frolic in the water with her. Even the tiny bit of effort, the little expenditure of djed, had no effect on him. Disappointment filled her eyes, almost tangible, as he declined. The momentary joy and playfulness spilled out of her green gaze like sand spilling out of a loosely held fist. He was nothing to her, another full human, one that didn't understand how short and meaningless life was if one didn't find joy in the instant, in every breath and every step. Sure, he minced his rejection with what would go for human logic, but Nya wasn't the logical sort.

"Talk... yes. And no, you would not spoil my fun. To me, life is a source of joy. The world almost died, not so long ago, and so every day I celebrate that it did not. If the stream heated and turned to steam, I'd take joy in its warm breath. If the stream lost its heat and turned icy, I'd shiver in pleasure at its cool touch. It sounds like you see what things can be, not what they are. Right now, it is a stream that holds the fish we will eat for dinner. There is pleasure in that, absolute joy - in a meal shared. And I'm hungry." She said stubbornly, gesturing at the stream as if she could almost see it turn to steam, ice, or knew for certain that she'd catch fish for them both. Her disappointment and her effort was fleeting. She did not press him to swim again, nor did she protest overly much at his drastically different attitude.

Her childhood had been measured in months. Her kind never looked backwards, never looked forwards - they lived in the moment. Her life would never be remembered for anything other than a brief ripple in a very large pond. Leo would live far longer, see more, do more, be far more... but Nya didn't mind. Now was what was important. He was willing to talk, willing to stay and share space for a while. Pleasure replaced the emptiness that came after disappointment when her mind was resetting on the next thing - the next moment that needed living.

And in doing so, she turned suddenly and was back in the water before he knew what she was actually going to do. The dark-haired woman dove under the swirling waters, though he could still track her pale form in the darker depths. Suddenly, she rose up out of the water and gave a great heave towards the shore, sending a wave with her action that caused water to drench the ground just to Leo's right. For a moment it would seem as if she were trying to splash him, get him wet, or pursue a new task of fun. She came up again, in a different part of the pool, and another deluge of water headed his way. This time, if he didn't move fast, he'd get wet for certain. She was gone back into the water again, her laughter looking more frustrated this time... until she heaved a third time and then he might just understand what she was doing. The third wave brought a shiny fat trout high up on the bank, almost wiggling at his feet. It flopped madly, trying to escape back down into the stream again.

Nya went back under, leaving him for the bank capture if he was so inclined., presumably to toss a second or third one up and out of its underwater world. If he took the time to notice, he'd see the absolute joy of the hunt on her face and realize the disappointment of him not going swimming with her had faded completely. And for all her effort, yet another observation he could comfortably make was simply this: For all that she loved fishing, she wasn't very good at it. After near a dozen tries, there were only two fat wiggling trout on the bank, but it would be enough for each of them to have a good meal - that is, if he decided to capture and kill the wiggling creatures before they managed to flop back into their watery home.

[Leo Varniak]

She was disappointed, but Leo had never been good at pleasing people. He'd never been good at feeling sorry for it, either. This girl, though, she was... elusive, for want of a better term. She quickly asked for things, and just as quickly she all but forgot about them. It was as if the things around her were completely interchangeable - it could have been a different stream elsewhere, with another person, at another time, and nothing would have changed. Leo wondered what her memory was like. He doubted she'd even remember meeting him three days from now. He doubted she even knew about Syliras.

It didn't annoy him, though. This kind of young people, he knew, were usually harmless. They may indulge in some occasional petty crimes to display their bravado, but nothing nearly serious enough to make it into even the mildest of his lists. He had no interest in changing her, either, for he was no priest. He was simply an instrument of justice. He merely punished wrong-doers and could do so without so much as a blink; telling people what to do wasn't part of his job description. So... splash!

"If you're that hungry I could just buy..." he began, but his voice was submerged by the splashing, and he barely stepped aside just in time to avoid the worst of the resulting shower. He still caught some, and sighed. What was he even doing here? What had possessed him to stay and agree to talk? He might as well be talking to the breeze, anyways. "Just what are you..." Another shower came his way and he had to jump back to avoid getting totally drenched. Finally, the third attempt bore tangible results in the form of a nice trout tossed ungracefully on the bank.

"It seems to me you're wasting more energy than you'd gain from..." he began once more, and once more to no avail. He decided to shut his trap, as he too was wasting breath on her. She just did not understand the word "consequence". She was not even paying any heed to her own previous prey. Just a little longer and they'd be back into the river, and all her effort would be in vain.

Leo didn't even like fish.

He sighed and strode towards the glittering dinner-to-be. There was a naiveté to her that he decided to respect, so he would not let her go on an empty stomach. He frowned a little, finding the trouts a little gross and unappealing, but with a little goodwill he could probably make them edible. He grabbed one - easier said and done, they were so slippery! - and then the other by the rear end. They kept wiggling and slapping the air even in his hand, and he was looking quite ridiculous; this serious, stoic-looking young man with the messy hair and two live fishes in his hands.

"Got them. You can come out and eat now." Just one fish would be plenty for Leo, that much was for sure. "Were you planning on having it raw? It's dangerous to light a fire around here." One might have seen the shade of a grin there, or maybe it was just the imagination playing some trick. "Thankfully I am the right man for the job."

His eyes narrowed a little as he gently drove just a little Res inside the fish in his left hand and slowly ignited it from within. Soon, the trout stopped wiggling as a tiny spiral of smoke rose from its body that was rapidly changing colors. "Really uniform cooking," he explained slowly, not mentioning that it had been first tested on a human.

[Voreasos Alisier]

Voreasos just smiled softly as he watched what seemed like two humans playing. He was far in a tree near by watching an naked female swim and a stern man deal with her. Humans were so...fun he thought as he kept his eyes on them.

He was in a tree, standing on the trunk near the branches. His back was on it, has hands flat on it and feet that let him be fine and let him stay. He was no where near human nor was he playing human or trying to. He was an Symenestra or some would call him spider fold. He stood 5'9. white grey skin like worn stone, amethyst color eyes watching them.

Water scared him, water and his race never got along but he was no where near it. He was not in the mood to do anything but watch them from up in the trees to see what they would do. His silver hair shining in the sun, his scent being dragged around in the wind as it blew around him.

He had no where to go really, no one to see or deal with. He was at peace in a sense but he was bored. So bored waiting for things. Most races did not trust him nor cared for his kind but he was tired of playing with them. Tired of trying to make peace when peace would not come.

He wanted to join them but knew that was not the best of ideas. He knew how people reacted to him. So for now he would just wait and watch there fun.

[Nya Winters]

He was wrong if he thought she'd forget his troubled eyes, though it was true Nya lived in the moment. For her, the time that she spent for herself pleasing herself was fleeting, for soon she'd seek out someone to bond too and then she'd start living for them and their needs. At her age - one of discovery - she was doing exactly what most of her kind should. With time limited, she enjoyed it to the fullest even as her maturity made its transition with small steps into what she would become for the future: a servant. Even now, she watched him, judged him, and knew that he was on his own. Her play behavior was complex, a series of tests upon tests that she didn't even realize she was giving.

Patience. Intelligence. Responsibility. A higher calling.

That is what she was looking for, though she didn't know it. Not yet, at least. But as she saw he was tending to her hunting efforts and invited her out, she soon appeared at his side, dripping still, as he focused on the fish. He was doing something, focusing... heating them. She did, however, answer his last question promptly. "They aren't so bad raw." She said with a grin, standing beside him as she watched what appeared to be him cooking them without a fire. "The right man?" She asked, curiously, as she watched what he was doing. "Aren't you going to take the guts out?" Nya asked, even as the man cooked the fish neatly without a fire. Her eyes widened in amazement and she took a step back staring at him oddly while her senses drank in the odor of fish cooking. Huh. A grin broke out across her face one more and she crowded closer, wanting one, even if it was cooked without being cleaned. To Nya, it made little difference anyhow. He could hear her stomach growling even as she glanced around, found a nice spot to sit and settled down, patting the ground beside her. "They smell... really really good. Are you hungry? Do you like fish? This will be the best ever." She said, believing her words absolutely.

She was purring in anticipation.

Nya didn't see the intruder. The scent of fish concealed her ability to scent him. If Nya had, her protective instincts would have kicked in and she'd have shifted, growled, and defended her new friend.