Closed To Catch a Glimpse (Kel'Ashun)

[Nasrin]

29th of Fall, 512 AV Glancing into the wide, shallow bowl of water on the small table by her bed, Nasrin smiled, applying her cosmetics with a practiced hand. She had yet to acquire anything resembling a mirror, but that didn't matter. This was her new home, something she had done with her own hands, and it felt good. Today was one of the first work-free days she'd had in some time; there was no more building to do, no more carving, no more smoothing or staining. Things were all moved from her room at the inn, and all tucked into their places. Now used to the level of activity that building a home required, Nasrin felt restless. She'd been shaking her legs and tapping her fingers on every surface, to the point that Ayana had demanded that she leave the house and expend some of the excess energy before the both of them were driven insane. It was a brilliant day for it, the sunlight crisp and bright upon the green city, and in tribute to Syna's little blessing Nasrin painted her eyes with brilliant sunny colors, yellow and green to reflect the light shining on the leaves surrounding her home. Then there was the matter of her scent. Of course she was never one to leave her home unadorned with an appropriate aroma. To match the sunlight dappling her eyes she rubbed into her wrists and neck the oils of lemon, frangipani blossom, and violet. The uplifting citrus invigorated her further, swirling after her as she burst from her doorway out onto the petal. She was past the next house in moments, a slight breeze seeming to playfully push her along, until she caught an intriguing flash of red at the corner of her eye. Red was an unusual color to see in The Spires, so full of cool, calm greens. It was a favored color of Nasrin's, one that she often painted upon her lips and wore in her dark hair. As quick as she'd caught a glimpse of the color it was lost to her, and she craned her neck in an attempt to capture it again.

[Kel'Ashun]

So long...The trees of the Spires were beautiful.. sunlight streaming through their branches, their golden flowers in full bloom, scents and sounds more beautiful and enticing than any that they had ever experienced... Kel... can we stay? The question startled him, nearly sending him from his precarious seat... A home.. they had a home again after so many years... They had started to take a liking to this Xi, a friend and training partner.. and this house.. As Kel looked around he could see it... each moment that he had spent helping to build this place... each little addition an accomplishment.. a satisfaction not felt in sooo long.. I.. I think we might... I like it here.. there is a... freedom to the place. Kel grinned slightly in agreement. There truly was something about the spires.. something that made him able to let go of the past.. Not forget it mind you... but come to terms.... And gods did it feel sweet. A mere breeze was all it took, the comfortably warm air stirring something within both their souls... tangling them and merging purpose for one of their rare moments of union... Movement... Life... Vigor... Something was calling to their souls this day... and they would deign to answer it... Kel'Ashun smiled, the gesture warm, unimaginably so, his hands running across the high frame of the door, affection in every movement... Yes well stay.. If allowed... He slid easily from the house, moving with an uncanny grace, not the strong, sure stride of Kel, nor the languid stalk of Ash... but the perfect blend of the two.. right now his eyes were bright, their silver sheen seeming to glow with new life... for now they had a home.. The Spires.... The beauty Aye Each step that he took seemed deliberate, light as a feather, the weight of years.. possibly.. finally.. lifting.. Kel'Ashun nearly whooped with joy, as it was he moved through the trees at a jog, leaping from branch to branch where he felt it safe, merely for the sensation of freedom it could give... Yet this was no idle walk, no mere bit of fun... He was searching.. And I think ive found it.. Before him stood a clearing, breathtakingly beautiful, filled with the fragrance of new life and the sweet tang of the forest.. its edges cast in shadow by bush, tree and vine... A nearly perfect circle of peace in a world of riotous disquiet... This is where he would find his center... where, for one moment in time he would make the world disappear.. Place.... And their feet took them to the center of the clearing.. Freedom... Their hands roamed across their body, the strings of their cloak falling away, the heavy garment soon following suit... The hem of his shirt lifting.. slow and deliberate, revealing lithe muscle.. the body of a swift fighter, lean and sleek... The boots fell by the wayside, leaving their toes to curl at the delicious touch of the grasses under foot.. And then came the pants, sliding down inch, by inch, to reveal muscled thighs... a runners legs, long and sleek and strong... Ritual each and every article of clothing gathered once more, folded and placed upon the ground reverently, neat stacks beside well maintained boots. His hands slid slowly down his torso, gripping the only thing still upon his person... the Lakan... the last missing piece.. drawing it with slow grace. Each movement was exaggerated, used to stretch the muscles to the fullest before the truly strenuous work to come.... Move! And so they began. The knife lifted before his face slowly,the tip tapping his forehead in a salute to an invisible foe, his stance shifting becoming light as a feather, he went through the motions.. Parry, guard, punch, slice... Each move made so slowly as to not look like useful for fighting at all... more of a dance, elegant yet not showy... But somehow it would seem far harder than any normal training, the muscles across his large body tightening, constricting, under the massive strain of muscle fighting muscle.. Sweat gleamed across his every surface, sparkling in the filtered sunlight... And with each pass of his knife the maneuvers became faster.. more in depth.. more opponents... faster and faster until he seemed to truly dance across the clearing , his long raven hair a dark halo as he moved..... Finally free!

[Nasrin]

Nasrin darted back and forth, peeking through the houses and branches that continued to obscure her view. She caught peeks of red here and there through the gaps, but never enough to know who or what it was that she was following. Foolishly, perhaps, she let her curiosity take her away from the loose structure of the neighborhood to the wilder edges of the petal, the thick tail of her braided hair trailing behind her. She felt like a child, following a mirage amidst the sand in Ahnatep, heedless of her mother's warnings that she would be lured out to the desert and become lost. Her sandals seemed to barely touch the surface below her as she sped up, suddenly desperate to keep up with the splash of vibrant color that kept winking just out of her reach. Though she had been fresh and clean upon leaving the house, a thin sheen of perspiration beaded upon her gilded skin, curling the fine hairs at her temple and the nape of her neck, deepening the fresh scent she'd applied into something bolder, more oceanic and wild with the tang of sweat. There was a sense of urgency, somehow, the sense that if she did not catch this fleeting red bird, something would be lost to her. Leaves kissed along the exposed skin of her arms and belly as she waded through bush and branch, both thickening until she had to push at them with all four arms to make her way. The atmosphere darkened for a short time as the thick foliage blocked the light of the sun, until suddenly, There! Grey eyes peeked cautiously into a small clearing, lighting upon the figure of a man. No, that is no mere man. her mind supplied. He was tall, much taller than any human she had ever seen, with skin that Ayana would kill to somehow distill dye from. Corded with muscle, he was a fearsome sight, even to the proud Eypharian. It seemed his legs were near twice as long as Nasrin's, and it was no wonder she'd had trouble keeping up. So, this is my red bird. An Akalak. There was only the briefest of moments in which he was still and she watched him before he began to take action, loosing the strings of his clothing and removing them piece by piece, to the widening of her eyes. An eyebrow quirked, amused at this odd turn of events. No stranger to the male form, she did not avert her gaze, but rather drank in the sight as any conoisseur would. A fine specimen, if lacking the proper amount of appendages. She let her attention roam, from the broad shoulders down to lean, long arms, over a strong back and an especially fine backside, if she did say so herself. For several long minutes she took in his strange, rhythmic movements; not quite a dance and not quite the strict forms of combat she'd been taught. The act intrigued her, with its long deliberate motions, and she fingered her own double sided blade in contemplation. With all the stealth she could muster she slid from her hiding place, moving several body lengths behind the stranger, instinctual falling into his silent, imagined tempo, swaying as a snake before it strikes, her dagger in hand. A smirk pulled up the corners of her painted lips, and she reached out a foot to step on a nearby twig, the resulting 'snap' echoing through the clearing.

[Kel'Ashun]

The glory of movement... The tempo of the heart.... Beauty... His body flowed, slicing and arching through the air, a blade in and of itself, every piece in perfect harmony... The world around seemed to fall away, leaving nothing but the moment, the sheer joy of two souls in trilling unison.. Dancing crane... His arm slid along close to his body in an a block of an imaginary blade, a sudden dodge and full body lunge, skewering the imagined opponent... Slithering snake... His feet moved in a near blur, lifting in quick zigzagging steps as though dodging swing after swing... Cunning wolf... A feinted attack, the blade sliding forward as if for a simple lung.. then arcing up to take the throat of the enemy... Perfect harmony. Balance. An unimaginably difficult workout, mixed with the hope of muscle memorization for use in true battles.. this is what the forms are for... to make mind and body.. *Crack* The sudden sound blasted through Kel'Ashun's shared consciousness. His senses returning in a blinding flash, unimaginably intense... and he smelled it... a scent that somehow reminded him of home.. beautiful.. fragrant... the tang of the sea barely felt upon ones lips... And somehow, undeniably feminine. He let his eyes slide open, hoping to catch a glimpse of this.. visitor. Yet still his body flowed through the forms, for anything that might get close would find, the forms are far more than any dance... He could switch from imagined enemies to real in an instant, the moves, if done correctly, worked on either.... And he saw her.. One of the most hauntingly beautiful women he had ever seen, her face a golden halo, her raven black hair pulled back into an impossibly long braid that flowed around her in a silken arc, her small body extremely well proportioned... and 4 delicate hands, all following along with his own movements... He smiled, his shockingly white teeth a pleasant contrast to his dark red skin," Little jewel... you must let the form flow naturally." His voice was deep and rumbling, barely out of breath even with the rigors of his current workout... For a moment he slowed his swings again, to show the difference in their movements," Harmony is the key... your body... blade.. and spirit. Each combination is different... so too should be your dance. Let it flow into you." With that he flowed back and into his own forms once more, one eye trained on his new partner to check her reaction...

[Nasrin]

The edges of her lips curled upwards; he turned to her, not frantically like a startled deer, but with the leisurely grace of a large feline that was in no rush to pay its owner any attention. His face no longer obscured to her, she drank in those features as eagerly as she had his body; his jawline spoke of discipline and strength, but was softened by a playful mouth, tilting roguishly to flash a smile at her. Where her eyes were the still, calm blue-grey of a stone in the riverbed, his were sharp and dangerous, a shining steel blade coated in frost. "Little jewel... you must let the form flow naturally." His voice was deeper than she'd expected, and hearing it in the stillness of the clearing when before the only sounds had been the chatter of birds and his own breathing startled her. She could nearly feel the vibrations of it, as if she were herself laying a hand on his throat or chest. It was harsher, less refined than any Eypharian's voice would be, lacking the contrasting tones of Arumenic. She wondered what it would sound like, how that mouth would move when forming words from his own native tongue. "Harmony is the key... your body... blade.. and spirit. Each combination is different... so too should be your dance. Let it flow into you." So, he seeks to instruct me? My people are no strangers to dance. "Aywa, Hejdw." She mockingly spoke to him in her own native language, the simple phrase she had spoken so often to her teacher, yes Master. Arrogant as she was, and with a firm belief that her style was superior, she bade his instructions, breathing deeply and letting her eyes lull half closed. An unheard rhythm moved through her limbs and she traced his movements, one beat behind as she echoed him. Soon she began incorporating her own learned forms into her dance, beginning with the most basic movement, the first and most fundamental that all the students learned. Her body dipped low, knees bent deeply and upper shoulders pulled high, protecting her delicate neck from unseen foes. Outstretching the hand that held her dagger, she stepped one foot backwards, quickly and smoothly shifting to repeat the movement with the other. As her back leg bent, her dagger switched hands, torso sweeping near perpendicular to the ground. This was the most important of lessons, the sway, constant flowing movement, always ready to spring forward or back, rolling away from strikes; a proper display for her red bird, as long ago her people had developed this style from his. The movements were much more exaggerated, slower than in a true practice, and they strained her muscles in an unfamiliar but thrilling fashion. Through it all she kept her heavy lidded eyes locked on his, perhaps imagining that he was her opponent.

[Kel'Ashun]

And so she danced, a mischievous grin playing across her pert lips. It was nearly enough to mesmerize him... hell both of them. And her voice... her voice nearly knocked the breath from him.. in her own language she sounded as though she were singing, a melody pure and wonderful. Kel could do nothing but stare unabashedly at her sudden shift, her movements became as fluid as the flow of water down stream, bending as a stand of wheat before a strong wind, floating like a... ah there it is... His grin widened into an appreciating smile, as she found her true rhythm. "So that is your dance?" He took a moment to scrutinize her new form... The basics are similar no? For a moment he allowed his body to flow forwards, deliberately stepping in an exact counterpoint of her own movements, he was able to with a grace nearly the match of her own, though each step was punctuated with far more force," Kin'iro no hane no warutsu." His grin spread to positively sunny proportions as he gave the translation in common," Waltz of the gilded feather... You glide, little jewel... right through the air." Kel began to sway, low to the ground, perpendicular to the woman before him each time so that they seemed to be truly dancing, his arms moving in intricate defensive circles as if fending off blows from many opponents... or many arms... As if they were the ones fighting each other, rather than mere imaginary assailants.. Their eyes seemed deadlocked, her cool breeze to his molten silver... and he couldnt have been happier, This place.. These people.. Kel'Ashun merely grinned, warm and inviting.

[Nasrin]

"Waltz of the gilded feather... You glide, little jewel... right through the air." Nasrin listened raptly as he spoke to her in what she had to assume was his language, which was fascinating to hear ears; it was smooth and yet punctuated by strong inflection. As he presumably translated for her, she lamented for once that her Common was not better; she could communicate perfectly well, but her speech lacked the poetry that she was capable of in Arumenic, and that he was clearly capable of in Common. It occurred to her that she had not yet spoken to him besides her mocking quip in Arumenic, but now did not seem the time for introductions. She watched with amusement crinkling the corners of her eyes as he slid into a rhythm closely imitating her own sweeping, low movements, circling his arms to match her slow strikes as if fending them off. It was abundantly clear that his strength far outmatched hers, as evidenced by his more powerful movements. Ah, so he wishes to play at a match, then? Her laugh rang out brightly in the clearing, made the slightest bit sharp by her rising competitive streak. Nasrin was always driven to be better than others, if not the absolute best at everything she put her hands on. This was no different. The smile on her face grew feistier, taking on a rough edge, perhaps communicating her intent to him if he was paying attention. The strength of her style was in fluidity, and she used it; on her next downard sweep, instead of coming up and dipping again, she snaked out the hand holding her dagger, brushing it near to his closest leg, though slow enough that even a blind man could have dodged it. This was no true fight and there was no intent to harm in her strike. At the same time, her right hands also struck forward, higher, lightly batting in the direction of his chest and face, a distraction technique. "Careful, red bird. Some jewel, they have sharp edge!"

[Kel'Ashun]

She may have some sharp edges.. but all I see are curves~ Oh gods, that was bad. Even for you Ash Ash's childish laughter rang through Kel's head, happy and free. Yes, but you must admit you were thinking it to. I would know~ Oh shut up ash.. Kel grinned mischievously his eyes twinkling with challenge. Her laughter had been absolutely musical, though sharply edged with something... competitive. At the sound Ash began to stir, his excitement just below the surface. This is fun! Yes, yes it is. He kept his eyes trained on her face, searching for any sign of movement, a flicker of the eyes, a twitch, anything.. Then she smiled, roguish, surprisingly charming on her high boned face... Oooh Dangerous. I like it. Shes planing something. Ash snickered inside their collective head.Yep~ That's why it's great right? And Kel laughed a bit as well, his rumbling voice sending peals across the clearing. He smiled as she began her offensive move, her body slipping back and forth, her hand snaking out for a strike, though the move was slow and deliberate it was still a good one. Kel grinned At least if you were fighting someone else. With that in mind he performed a slow drop, barely falling below the others swinging arms, his main hand coming down in a punching motion, aiming to knock his opponents blade straight into the ground. You know we couldn't do that with most weapons. Hey, our Lakan is a mixed knuckle duster too. No shame in that. Kel smiled," And the same to you little jewel. Some birds have their talon's."

[Nasrin]

His laughter was infectious, making her own bubble up from her stomach to spill past her lips, almost out of her own control. It was the kind of deep seated laugh, straight from his belly, that would cause other people to laugh as well, even if they had no idea what they were laughing at. Of course he easily dodged her excruciatingly slow strikes, making a move that would have knocked her dagger neatly from her hand had it connected in true combat. In the interest of continuing the game, she quickly sheathed the weapon and removed it from her person, tossing it to land on the soft grass some feet away. "Oh, you have disarmed me. What will poor Eypharian woman do now, no weapon to protect her?" She teased, easing her feet back in lilting motions. The pulled the barest hint of her djed into her eyes, catching his silver gaze and whispering the thought into his aura like a light breeze. This was a very basic technique of Hypnotism, just a hint of suggestion, that she was weak and helpless without her dagger in her hand. She compounded the suggestion with a slight opening of her stance, as if to indicate that she was lost without her weapon, unsure of what to do. That had a ring of truth to it, as she was untrained in unarmed combat, but there was always something to be said about having double the number of arms as you opponent, who was naked besides.

[Kel'Ashun]

Kel grinned, his face splitting from side to side at the beautiful woman's theatrics, and also at her apparent joy in their little dance. His attack would have disarmed most in a real fight, and, true to form, she had sheathed her weapon and tossed it away, a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "Oh, you have disarmed me. What will poor Eypharian woman do now, no weapon to protect her?" Her voice was pleasant, teasing, full of a playfulness one would not expect from so serious looking a person. And yet here they were dancing back and forth in mock battle, a private game all their own. He let the smile play upon his lips for a while more, her voice and stance slowly sinking in. She looked lost, truly vulnerable. Even if her tone seemed joking, there was a certain ring of truth to it, augmented by her fairly unprepared stance. But still that flash of mischief in her eyes had been interesting. Better not to underestimate her. Especially when she has more arms than you... I wonder what it would be like if she decided to spa... Shut up Ash! Kel shook his head slightly, forcing the thought from his head. It wouldn't do to be caught unawares. His body slid forward, low to the ground. All the slow deliberation of a hunter stalking his prey. This time his smile was slightly predatory as he circled around her, shifting back and fourth, left and right, on the balls of his feet. Hoping to make it hard to guess his next move...