Closed Threats on a Beach[Lessira]

[Clyde Sullins]

OOC: Warning, this thread includes a lot of Clyde's INCORRECT assumptions he has gathered about Ethaefal. They are by no means true. IC: 63 Fall 512 It was a night like many others. Nothing odd or abnormal to separate it from any other. Except for one small fact. Clyde had been restless, and had some trouble sleeping. The moon was not full, but was displaying a decent bit of light, so he had decided to go out for a walk, to perhaps help get himself to sleep. But were better to walk at night, than on the beach? They were not that far from the castle of Syliras, and personally he did not want to do so inside of the castle... It was just an unpleasant reminder to him, when he was in it... So he found himself walking in the sand of the beach just a short walk outside of Syliras, on the edge of the Suvan Sea, just him and his dog Rye, who was an exceptional guard dog to have at night with his special sight. Him and his dog, and his staff, tapping along as he walked, kicking up a small splash of sand at times as it hit the ground. He let out a sigh, enjoying the peacefulness of it... Of being alone, of being able to work through his thoughts... Of being able to spend some time in introspection and unwinding... Listening to the gentle sound of the waves hitting the beach... Watching the flow as it came in and out, crashing.

[Lessira]

Time... Time stood still for the girl who walked along the water's edger. Her eyes downcast, her hair the yellow of freshly fallen leaves, and horns upon her head as deep cold as the purest metal. Upon her shoulders rested a simple tunic of muted and faded colors, breeches match. In her eyes... those violet eyes there rested something more, some numbed pain that now threatened to rear once more as she felt the cool waves lapping against her bare toes.

"Oh Leth... Where have I come and... what am I to do?" Her eyes turned toward the heavens as she paused, taking in the brief rays of moonbeams that shown through the clouds, "Oh my Leth, my God... He who guides me, who calls my name... What have I been brought here for?" To this, of course, there was no answer.

A single hand, pale as moons light raised to brush a stray hair from before her eyes as those violet points searched upward, seeking any answer, any guidance from the god she knew to reside there. When no one spoke she sighed, eyes closing tight as she gripped her hand above her heart, "I don't know why I am here... My purpose has been taken from me, and yet... still you remain silent."

With some force of will the girl managed to choke back a sob, and with a shake of her head she brushed a hand across her dampened eyes, fighting back tears that threatened to rise. Kneeling down she would wrap her arns around her shins, resting her head upon her knees as she breathed slowly, eyes closed as she tried to calm the emotions that swelled up within her chest.

[Clyde Sullins]

It had seemed like such a nice night to be alone... Out on the beach, enjoying the experience... Something he did not often do. He was generally far to worked up about things and busy to do so... But in this case his bout of sleeplessness had pushed him, and made him decide to do so. Besides, if this did not help make him tired and sleepy, what would? You could not get much more peaceful than walking alone on a beach... That is until Rye let out a bark, and Clyde locked his eyes on a shape ahead of him on the beach, which he could not quite make out from her. "Good boy Rye, good boy." He said, petting the dog on the head, as he thanked him for doing a good job, and alerting him to the other person... Which he had not seen. Even know that he knew to look, and was following Rye's gaze, he had issues with picking out the shape. His eyesight was not the best. Though he could not recall exactly when it had been damaged, or how. Not that he could do anything about it now. So he decided to warily approach the form on the beach, which was proving to be rather small. Was it a child or something? But no, as he got closer, he realized the person was just crouched down small like. Odd thing to do on a beach, but to each their own. As he got closer, he could pick out her back, and realized he was coming up behind the person. Though he could not yet tell much of them, whether it was a man or woman, or what race even, though it appeared human to his eyes. Certainly not one of the weirder ones. "Hello there, sorry if I am interrupting. I was just walking along the beach, and my dog noticed you. Are you alright? What exactly are you doing?" He asked, his voice curious... But due to the way that she was crouching, and facing, he had not yet seen her face... Or what might lie upon her head.

[Lessira]

The girl started in surprise at the sudden noise, her head turning suddenly to see the man who had approached her. She blinked slowly, violet eyes wide with a few stray tears that clung to her cheek. Upon her head those horns of cold reflected the light of the moon, dazzling when paired with the shimmer upon her skin every time the moonbeams touched it. Quickly Lessira covered her face with an arm, wiping away the tears before standing slowly.

Did he see? Did he see my tears? She wondered, embarassment flooding her mind as she mentally shook herself, breathing deeply to calm her mind. She sent a brief prayer to Leth before slowly turning, using her right hand to push her hair behind her ear so that her features could be clearly seen by the man. Offering a weak smile Lessira would bow her head, her voice a quiet whisper, "I am alright good sir. I was just..." She paused. What exactly had she been doing? Praying to a god who did not answer? Weeping bitter tears for a fate she could not choose?

Shaking her head she continued, looking up at the man as she did, "I was just waiting to hear whispers from the moon..." Now her full features would be visible. The horns, the strange colored hair and eyes, and the mark of Leth that rested in the center of her chest, just above her sternum.

[Clyde Sullins]

"Ah petch..." Those were the words that slipped from Clyde mouth, upon seeing the horned woman. It took him a moment to piece it together, as she turned and her horns flared in the moonlight... That along with her casual reference to Leth, the same God that the last one of these things Clyde had run into. It was a while since he had seen one before, but he knew what was before him, how could he forget after what had happened? He had bits of his life force ripped away, had been chased down by the crazed horned lady, who had torn away more of his djed... And in defense he had lashed out and had inadvertently initiated her into reimancy, and had only just kept from killing her, just barely by will alone. His djed had been flowing through him nearly out of control that day, pushed to the limit... Almost beyond his humanity... He did not want that to happen again... Could not let that happen again... For he knew he would not be as strong this time, would not stand up to the force of the call of his djed, and keep it in line... He would lose it, and who knew how far he would go and the destruction he would make, before he stopped... At least he was not near Ravok this time... Jumping back from the girl, with fear and anger in his face, he shouted at her, stabbing out with his staff, trying to wave her off, to get her to go away. "Stay back moon beast! I won't fall for your kinds tricks again! I am no fool! You will have to find a fuel for your magic elsewhere! My djed is mine! Go find some other simpleton to feed off!" Jumping back another step, he glared at her, wary of her, jumping if she took a step closer. All it had taken was a touch last time, and the thing had sapped energy from him. And he knew the race was a magical one, with djed in their veins, apparently able to live without aging, or so he had heard. Clearly they did this by feeding upon others djed, and what better source of djed was there than a powerful mage! He was like a feast for one of them. She would try to suck him dry if he let her get close, and he was having none of that. "Go! Don't make me fight back! I may not look it, but I have powers of my own, more than enough to match yours moon beast!" Saying this, Clyde began to exude res as a gas out of his hands, a fine gaseous mist rising into the air, to form a ball of shining bright silver res in front of him, and a few feet over his head. He could feel the sweat taste of it running over his tongue, the taste of the djed and its expenditure... So sweat it was almost intoxicating... Even such a little usage reminded him of the taste. Luckily he still had it together enough to ignore the call of the djed within him, urging him to do more, letting it fall back to a dull background whisper as usually echoed in his skull.... Of course, he had no way of knowing that the last Ethaefal he had met had not been using a power of her race, but instead a different magical art of leeching. He had instead pieced the information together from what he knew, and came to a conclusion that was logical... But due to the information he was missing, completely wrong.

[Lessira]

Lessira gasped, stepping back and holding her hand before her, eyes widened with surprise and fear, "W-wait, please--" She stepped back once more, the sea's waters lapping at her ankle and hiding the stone that would catch her heal. A call would sould as she tumbled backwards, landing with a splash in the salty water as her clothing was soaked through, yet still that did not matter at the moment.

Her eyes were wide with terror as she inched back further, pulling her legs up to shield her chest and using one arm to shield her face as she gasped, tears beginning to stream from her eyes, "N-no please I-I mean you no harm!" She pleased, a sob chocking out at the look in the man's eyes, seeing his own fear, his own hatred, the fiery temper that was directed at her. She could feel it, taste it in the air. This loathing that consumed him, that would soon consume her.

The fear, the emotions welling within her then all burst forth as tears flowed freely from her eyes, a stricken expression washing over her features as she folded herself up into a ball, protecting herself from the power the man exuded. She trembled visibly, water soacked hair and cloathing clinging to her as she sobbed, eyes never leaving the man, pleading for her life, begging forgiveness for a crime she had no idea she had committed.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde was a bit surprised by the reaction from his shout, and his fear. He had been expecting a lot of things that could possibly happen. I mean, it is pretty hard to fear something, when it takes a step away, trips and stumbles thrashing into the waters of the sea... Especially when she curled up and started crying, in the fetal position, pleading for her life. He had expected her to come at him teeth bared, trying to wrest his djed from him. Or perhaps to run off cursing him, vowing to fight another day. Or some crazy moon person magic he did not have access to... But certainly not her reaction. He muttered vaknuit under his breath, and the outer layer of res on the ball of res transmuted into flame. Its warm light was very different from that of the moon, and helped make things a bit clearer, so Clyde could see what was going on. He was surprised to see she was not moving, and was staying there curled up crying. He was not that intimidating was he? "You? You are not going to try to steal my djed? But that is what you moon people do. I met one before. She chased me down and kept on trying to steal it..." A confused look came over Clyde's face... He slowly took a step closer... And the moon person did not suddenly leap at him when he did... Perhaps? But? Now he was just confused... "What is going on here? If you are not out here to hunt and steal people's essence, then what are you out here for?" Clyde stared at her... Trying to figure something out... Maybe she had taken to feeding off things besides humans? Maybe small animals? The whole thing seemed odd to him, but he supposed she could get by and stay young off of the djed of smaller living things, instead of one big one like a person. Though her powers did not seem to be waning to him. He looked over at her curled up, as the light from his small globe of fire spread its light, which would show a confused look on Clyde's face. "Then were have you been getting your power?"

[Lessira]

Lessira's eyes closed at the sudden change of light, slowly opening in amazement as she saw that he held flame in his hand. Her fear grew, the trembling continuing as she backed further into the lapping waves, chocking on sobs as she tried to escape from this man, though her legs would not obey her commands.

Am... Am I going to die? She thought, a sob catching in her throat, Oh Leth!

With a whimper she turned her head, letting her hair cover her face from view as the man approached. His words confused her. Was he talking in riddles? If so then what for? Lessira's mind fell back to her time in Sunberth, those awful days after Mok had left... She remembered the kind words from men that quickly turned to groping fingers and harsh treatment. Was this to be the same?

Lessira slowly shook her head, her head turning just enough to see Clyde's features. The look in her eyes was fear mixed with unease, nervousness and suspicion, "I-I do n-not know w-what you are talking about..." Her free arm moved to wrap around her chest, a protective mostion as if she were trying to defend herself from some pending assault. She shook her head, back farther, "I-I am sorry. P-please I... I d-don't know. What power? Please... please forgive me..." Her head fell, body language speaking of complete submission. Her thin form shook, her expression uncertain, fearful and confused. Innocent ignorance. She did not understand what the man spoke of, she just hoped he would not strike her, or worse...

[Clyde Sullins]

Of course, what might have looked to the Ethaefal like a hand full of fire, was actually a globe of fire floating before him. If Clyde had been holding a ball of fire, he would have been burned just like anyone else. Just because he could control the elements, and manipulate them, did not mean that he was immune to their effects. In fact, that fact was the downfall of many a mage with similar skills. As she replied to his words, Clyde's confusion grew... He had thought one thing, but this woman seemed almost in tears when he had claimed it... Either she was a very good actress and faking, to try and get an advantage... Or maybe she really did have no idea what he was talking about. Though if that was the case, then at some point he had learned something that was not right... Though he could not fathom what. Though one thing that did convince him was the pose she had taken... That of complete fear and surrender, to someone they feared... He had seen it in many slaves in Ravok. In people being attacked by bandits, who thought they were about to die, from some force they could not fight. That if nothing else made him consider more strongly that she was being truthful. "Alright, I am not going to attack you, just settle down, while I try and figure this out." He began his calming meditation exercise, taking in a deep breath, and picturing a flame flickering in his mind... UN-phased by anything around it, not casting any light, just burning in isolation in the darkness... After a moment, he began focusing on his auristics, flowing djed to his forehead, gathering it there. All the while holding his empty hand up as a gesture, to contain the fireball and keep it as it was. At his level, such a thing was as easy as breathing, and took nearly no direct concentration at all, leaving it for him to focus on his auristics. After the pool had built up enough, he was ready, and he shifted the djed to his eyes, opening up his aura vision. He focused on that of the woman, and saw the same grey aura he saw with every living person, with only a small deviation on size. After a moment it swirled into color, gold and white colors mixing and flowing as one big thing... However... As he looked closer, he noted a key difference from the other Ethaefal's aura... This one seemed more or less normal, thoguh admittedly it had a odd... Glow to it... Whereas the other one... Hey aura had a black frayed tint to the edge, like it had been worn down and eaten at by something... At the time he thought this had to do with her being what she was, a horned moon beast person... But maybe it did not? He lessened the flow to his eyes, done searching, and slowly her aura faded from sight... Though if anything he was more confused. Especially by the odd glowy nature to her aura... He was not sure if that had been there in the other Ethaefal, or not. He had been to distracted by the frayed aura... Though clearly she was not human. "Okay, so maybe you are different from the other moon beast I met. But she got her power by taking it from other people or things... So then... Were do you draw your energy from? In this... Whatever horned form. Were do you draw it from? I know that body is not mundane, it is... Different from a human form..." As he said this, the moon continued to shine down from above, as his small globe of flame continued to hover there giving off its light.

[Lessira]

Though his words were soft, almost gentle, Lessira could not release the tensions that squeezed her chest, binding her body to near motionlessness. She could not bring herself to uncurl, or even to look the man in the eyes, though she could feel his eyes upon her. She shivered, clenching her eyes shut as she imagined his eyes, the eyes of a man, looking over her with ravenous fury, lustful desires. Just how the men of Sunberth did...

Yet she did not feel his hand upon her. She did not feel his breath upon her neck, could not sense his intent any further, and this more than anything brought her gaze up once more. Yes he still stared at her, but her eyes were not those of a man who wished to take from her. They were eyes of a man who did not know what he was looking at. As if she were the strangest of creatures, and really Lessira had seen this gaze before as well.

What... What am I to earn such looks and insight such anger from those who do not even know me...? Lessira could not answer this question, and when the man spoke once more she was not sure she could answer his either.

Raising her head slowly, Lessira would tentatively move her hand to brush a wet strand of hair behind her ear, glancing up to meet Clyde's eyes from time to time, but always looking quickly away. Sitting up she would wrap her arms around her chest, pulling her knees up. Still protective, but she did not seem quite as frightened as before.

"I-I... I don't understand what you... What y-you are asking." Her eyes flicked upward, catching on the dancing flame that lit her horns and set off her too perfect features, "My... Energy? I do not know h-how to answer because... because I do not know myself." She bit her bottom lip, a troubled expression washing over her features as she glanced at Clyde's face, though she quickly looked down again. She raised a hand before her eyes, looking over each finger as she tried to come up with some explanation for what she was, "When... When Leth's light falls upon me I feel... I feel as if I have been given new life. I feel the worries of the day wash away, and what troubles me when dearest Syna reigns no longer matters." Her eyebrows knitted together as she moved her hand to touch upon the slightly glowing mark upon my chest. Struggling for a moment to find the words that sung so clearly in her mind, she whispered softly, "If I could I tell you what sings so clearly in my soul, this song that binds Leth and I eternally. I... I can hear him singing my name within my soul. It echoes and fills me, takes from me any fatigue or hurt I have experienced. It revives me, and gives me..." The word strength paused at the end of her tongue, and suddenly Lessira found she could not say anything else, and so she let her voice die and fell silent once more. Her eyes looked up at Clyde, still uncertain if he meant her harm.