Closed [Katshika Falls] Not All Strings Cast Arrows (Euthisa)

[Kovac]

Timestamp: 34th Day of Fall, 512 AV The roar of the falls laid like a blanket over the the usual cacophony of wild bird calls and the frequent bellow or roar of Mount Skyinarta's diverse fauna. The persist rush of the plummeting water was not as pervasive from the bridge as it was down by the plunge pool, and Kovac found, contrary to what one might think, that the white noise provided a unique environment to work out new songs. The background noise also gave him an idea of how a tune may carry over the noise of the crowd in the Inclement Weather. The Avora sat perched on the stone rail of the bridge that spanned the river just pasted the sun-dazzled pool, where the water filtered through some rapids before plunging again down towards the Sanikas Valley. The half-blood had propped up one leg, the other dangling over the side wall. Kovac was clad only in a sturdy black bryda, a long knife dangling from a leather belt. Black ankle boots had been tossed to the bridge floor, his feet bare. He was bare chested, his olive-hued torso marked only by a few scars, the unusual Fall heat wave drawing a bead or two of sweat at his neck. A talon sword stood propped against the rail next to a small pack. A lute sat nestled in the mongrel's lap. The wind was light, barely enough to stir the man's dark hair, and the summer cascade of water that would frequently cast a spray across the bridge had subsided with the passing season, ensuring the instrument would not suffer damage from moisture. Balanced next to the archer was a bottle of wine, a squat dark brown vessel better suited for travel. The scene was quite serene, or it would have been, if Kovac were not cursing, trying to remove a broken string from his lute. "Petch, petch, petch..."

[Euthisa]

The day was unusually warm for Fall, though Euthisa could hardly complain about a prolonged break from the approaching winter weather. Not working in the Enclave today, the Chiet decided today was as good a day as any to be different. She'd grown weary of the same old routine and the same old out-of-work habits she was so accustomed to. She needed a spark to relight the fire she often buried in herself. Having slept in that morning, Euthisa awoke, got ready, grabbed her bag and her fiddle, and set off, headed to the Falls for some leisurely practice. She liked to think of it like a miniature vacation. She'd heard the Falls were quite a beauty to behold, but she'd never gone there herself. Today that changed. She excitedly marched out of the gates, officially leaving the city in her journey. Turning the pages in her mind, past her every day worries and schedules to a new blank page, Euthisa listened to the violin symphony in her head. No planning was involved, it was pure natural composition, and she added a bounce to her step as she walked, mildly dancing to the tune only she could hear. If anyone had been watching, she probably looked like a mental case. Not a care was given though as she made her way to the Falls. Her mouth gaped open when she arrived, truly stunned by the beauty of the Katshika Falls. The refreshing smell of the water mixing with the afternoon heat, the glitter and gleam of the sun on the water all around, and the meticulously built bridge overlooking the nearby scenery made the entire area as perfect as a dream. Deciding against venturing up and across the bridge, Euthisa made her way down by the plunge pool to work on her music. She set her bag down, pulling her fiddle and bow from it, and immediately began playing. Warming herself up, Euthisa played little common songs she grew up with as a child, nothing at all complex or challenging about them. She played harder than usual, projecting her sound over the crashing of the falls behind her, and was pleased to hear the sound carry the way she wanted it to. Satisfied she was warmed up and ready, she began playing by instinct, her notes seemingly random. She heard it all in her head though. In her mind played several instruments, and she followed along with them, paces ranging from quick and climactic to slow and melodic, even adding in a solo section. Her eyes were closed as she played, her body swaying with the tune erupting from her instrument. She was lost in the music, not paying attention to her surroundings or caring enough to even discover if anyone else was there with her today or not. The waterfall and river sounds around her made for a good backdrop noise, giving even her most gentle notes their own ferocity. Her music rang loud for she played harder and harder as her song went on. Not knowing that the entire time she was creating music, someone was within earshot, she drew her song to a close with a flurry of quickened notes followed by a long drawn out finale. Satisfied for a few minutes, Euthisa gently sat down near her bag, taking her waterskin out for a drink.

[Kovac]

Finally having freed the remains of the broken string from the lute, Kovac hunched over the instrument to run the new one in and up into the key. He cranked it as he plucked the string, hearing it climb from a low twang to a crisp higher pitch. He laid a calloused finger to the tuning fret of the next string up, hitting it and then the new string, adjusting the key until the two strings were identical in pitch. Once he finished the task, he was ready to continue his solitary serenade. But the amateur musician's attention was sidetracked by the sound of music that was not his own. The notes were faint, carried on the subtly shifting air, the tones of another stringed instrument. He finally looked up from his lute to see a woman sitting at the edge of the pool below, playing a fiddle. Even at the distance from the bridge, Kovac recognized her, or rather, her arm. Though the archer didn't know what the woman did for work, he had seen her at the archery ranges on the rare occasion, at first notable because she was one of the few that used a longbow. But her appearance was what always had grabbed his attention. Aside from just being attractive, her left arm, the one he could see now, was covered in art, inked into her flesh and covering her from wrist to shoulder. He remembered passing behind her several times in order to see the rest of her tattoos, or at least the visible ones. She had a lot of piercings too. Overall, the half-breed found her very interesting. He had not seen her around since he had returned from working Thunder Bay during the Spring and Summer. Kovac had no idea she could play, and the Avora could not resist the chance to meet the painted girl. Shoving the lute into an oilskin back and placing it in his pack, Kovac grabbed up his boots and sword and started to head off the bridge. He halted, spun around, and rushed back to grab the bottle of wine, then resumed his rush off of the bridge. The hunter picked his way, barefoot, through the rocks and hard ground towards the pool. He watched the fiddler as she played, obviously lost in her music as she swayed. As he drew near, her song became louder and Kovac could hear the intensity she was pouring into the crescendo, each note bearing its own strength to rival the noisy falls. Kovac had dropped everything to the ground. When the woman had finished, taking a well deserved drink of water, Kovac applauded, a grin on his face. "Well played! I thought the falls would be my only rival for the attention of whatever critter happened by this morning." He brushed some stray bangs out of his eyes. "The only bow I thought you knew how to use was the kind you killed things with."

[Euthisa]

Refreshed and relaxed from the cool drink of water, Euthisa was startled by a voice speaking to her from behind her. She let out a slight gasp as she turned to look into the face of a handsome man standing before her. He applauded and complimented her music, mentioning he hadn't thought she could use a bow of any kind besides the one all Inarta are trained to use to hunt with. A puzzled look crossed her face as she understood this man was saying he'd seen her before. She searched her memory for his face or his voice, but she came up empty. "Wow, thank you! I had no idea anyone else was out here. I've never come out here myself, but it seemed like a good place to come and unwind. Forgive me, but have we met before or something? I'm afraid I don't find you familiar. I'm Euthisa." She thrust a hand out to the man. "Pleased to meet you. Do you come here often?" Euthisa scanned the man while she awaited his response. He was toned and fit, bare chested like so many Inarta men were, with beautiful hair, neither short or excessively long. It was multi-tonal, an intentional uniqueness Euthisa could appreciate. His things lay on the ground near him, a sword, a pack, and his shoes, and Euthisa imagined he'd simply dropped them to the ground upon his arrival at the pool side. She couldn't be sure, but she assumed this man was an Avora. Most of the people she met were. It wasn't often she ran across someone of her own caste, but she neither complained of it or foresaw it as a bad thing. She herself dearly wished to rise among her peers, and so becoming friends with those above her could only prove to be a good thing. Like all people she met, she would see how things went with this man, and perhaps she could gain another friend or so from this encounter.

[Kovac]

The half-blood's heart sank just a bit when he realized the woman did not recognize him. But it wasn't like they had ever met. In fact, when he had seen the woman at the ranges, Kovac had never made a effort to be 'visible'. Nevertheless, the archer recovered quickly and gave Euthisa a sheepish grin. "Well, I have seen you at the archery ranges. I am a hunter and an instructor, so I spend a lot of time there. My name is Kovac." Interesting from afar, Euthisa was fascinating up close. Kovac could see now the extent of the tattoos on her left arm, colorful flowers and mythical beings covering her from wrist to shoulder like a sleeve. Visible too was the reptilian creature inked upon her lower back, just above her bryda, and the flowers that stretched up her right leg from foot to calf. He spent a long moment studying them, perhaps too long for a stranger to stare. Finally, Kovac lifted his gaze to the petite woman herself. She was as attractive up close as she was from afar, her hair deep in hue, much like the burgundy that streaked his own hair in the summer. A tasteful stud adorned her nose, and he was sure he saw a glint of metal on her tongue when she spoke. Kovac found her very intriguing. His smile took on a more disarming curve. "I come here on occasion, the falls makes me hear my music a little different. A different perspective is good now and then." The Avora took a few steps and sat down next to Euthisa. The people of Wind Reach seemed unfamiliar with personal space, and Kovac never thought to ask if it was alright to join her. "You play beautifully." He added, sincerely. Her tune was very simple, but Kovac understood that what was pleasing to a listener was not a matter of the complexity of the music, but the amount of self that went into the playing of it. "I could see you were...feeling the music." The small wine bottle still in his hand, Kovac held it up, offering it to Euthisa. "Sorry, I don't have any glasses."

[Euthisa]

Euthisa listened as the man introduced himself and explained how he knew her. "Oh! Alright. Talented I see. I need a lot of work in that area before I'm worthy of much with that kind of bow." She giggled and smiled. His accomplishments added to his beauty. She watched as he studied her, obviously intrigued by the ink dug into her skin and the jewelry embedded in her nose. She smiled wider as she took his pause as a chance to look him over as well. He wore an earring in one ear, something not uncommon for an Inarta but something Euthisa wasn't personally used to seeing, and it looked good on him. His eyes were neon against the olive hue of his skin and his dark hair. To Euthisa, it seemed like those eyes could tell many a story if one was lucky enough to hear. His bare chest and muscular body rested peacefully on strong legs, and Euthisa could tell he'd come here to relax by the fact that he'd removed his boots when he arrived. He explained about playing by the Falls for perspective, and Euthisa nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah I agree with you. A private audience of sorts. You get to throw it against the noise level without the actual crowd there in case it goes wrong. And a view from outside one's self let's you see through different eyes, hear through different ears, and interpret through a totally different mind." He complimented her playing, bringing not only a bright smile to her face, but cheeks flushed rosey pink. "Haha, thank you. I'm no musical genius though. I do this as a hobby, just messing around. Very few have ever heard me play. I do it for me." Taking the bottle from him, nodding her thanks, Euthisa took a couple swigs. "That's pretty good. So, Kovac, I have yet to hear your music. Care to grace me with your talent?"

[Kovac]

"Well, I am not a professional, I pretty much play just for myself too, I compose a little as well. I play some at the Inclement Weather, but not on stage, just in the side rooms to a few friends." Having made his disclaimer, the Avora suddenly hesitated. Playing alone for Euthisa, whom he had admired from afar, was suddenly more intimidating than a room full of drunken Inartans. But Kovac also found he could not tell the beautiful inked woman no. "Alright," he smiled, "I have something I have been working on." Kovac reached back to pull his lute out of the oilskin bag, tugging the plectrum from between the strings. The amateur musician set the instrument on his lap setting his fingers to the frets and laid the plectrum to the strings. He looked over at Euthisa, then shuffled a bit until he was facing her. Flashing a sheepish grin, he looked down at the lute and strummed a chord. After a pause, he began to play. The tune was a medium tempo, not rushing, but quick enough that the sound of the rushing water seemed to flow with it. The melody started sedate, but rose quickly to a lively staccato before descending to an even, almost driving run of notes. Kovac seemed to hunch over the lute, as if to become closer to it, his head lowered, eyes closed, his body rocking back and forth. The melody repeated before dropping to a bridge that turned minor, penisve. Then the melody kicked in again, rising until he was almost banging on the strings, the song rising above the roar of the falls into a climax that hung onto a few notes before flourishing to the end, just like the water above before it plummeted to the pool next to them. Kovac raised his head, sat up straight again, and lifted his gaze to Euthisa's green eyes, so similar to his own. He grinned again, shrugging slightly. "I am still working on it."

[Euthisa]

"I've only been to the Inclement Weather one time, but I enjoyed it. If you play there, I shall go more often." Euthisa smiled. It had been quite some time since she'd had someone intelligent to talk to. Kovac was smart, driven, and funny. Plus he was accomplished. He was astonishing to behold. He agreed to play for her, and then began. Euthisa wasn't traditionally accustomed to watching someone play a lute, but Kovac was impressive to her. She was a bit iffy at first, but as his song played on, Euthisa was drawn into his music, captivated by every note he strummed. She rise and fell as the melody did, as lost in his playing as she'd been in hers. The song rose higher and higher, climaxing at the peak, its notes demanding attention against the Falls. When he finally finished his song, Euthisa was almost out of breath with adoration. "Still working on it? Kovac it's stunning. And you say I play beautifully, haha. You blow me away my friend. You should play professionally. I know I'd always attend." Euthisa flashed him a playful smile as their eyes locked together for a few moments. His eyes were green like her own, but hers were soft. Kovac's eyes were a bright emerald green, piercing into her with every look. To some, this was probably intimidating. But to Euthisa, it was fascinating, bordering on erotic if she let her mind wander that way. He was definitely different from most of the Inartan men she knew, but she savored that fact about him and she was enjoying her time with him.

[Kovac]

The usually snarky mongrel felt a bit at a loss for words at Euthisa's generous praise, the fellow musician's compliments promoted a rare moment of shyness from the Avora. After averting his eyes to the heights of the waterfall above them, Kovac then allowed his gaze to lower to the gentle green eyes of the young woman, the grin only partially contained within his lips. "Thank you. But I am an archer and hunter, that is what I give to Wind Reach. My music is for me, and to share with a few select friends." The grin was now released into a disarming smile as the glance they shared lingered. There was intelligence behind her gaze. And passion. For music certainly, he had witnessed that for himself. Already had Kovac discerned that Euthisa was not only attractive to look upon, but she was well spoken, friendly and unselfish. Kovac now readily considered her one of those few friends for whom he would play his music. Finding his mouth suddenly dry, Kovac broke the tangible gaze between them and took a sip of wine from the bottle. He wanted to learn more about Euthisa, hoping she would linger with him at the pool's edge for a while. A measure of comfort seemed to offer him permission to ask her more questions, even though the undertow of tension that was often generated between a male and female was certainly at work within him. "Other than the ranges, and occasionally in the kitchens, I have never crossed your path. That is unfortunate. Where do you work?" Kovac asked, offering the bottle to Euthisa again.

[Euthisa]

Kovac gently declined her suggestion of playing professionally, and Euthisa understood why. He chose not to play professionally for the same reasons as she. Granted, she was no hunter, no Avora either, but she didn't have the mentality geared towards becoming a musician. She played for her own pleasure, as a hobby, and because her fiddle had once belonged to both her grandmother and her mother. It was sentimental. Part of Euthisa feared that if she ever went professional with her playing, something tragic could happen to her instrument. The thought terrified her.

Euthisa found with every passing moment spent with Kovac, that he was down to earth and wise. It wasn't uncommon for men to be those things, but it almost always came at a hard price. Humans aren't that great by nature. Humanity's wisdom and lessons learned come with painful price tags. Euthisa wondered what Kovac had been through that resulted in the man he's become, but she didn't ask. It was more than likely personal, and considering they'd just met and become friends, it would be out of line for her to ask such a thing right now. Either it would come out on it's own at some point, or she would ask when she felt they knew each other enough to do so.

He broke their gaze to drink some of his wine, offering her more of it as he prodded her with another question. Happily taking the bottle and another sip, Euthisa giggled as she answered him. "That is unfortunate indeed. I work in The Enclave. When I was a child, before getting sent away from my mother, she always had my nose buried in books. She herself loved them, often preferring the written word of travelers and scholars to the spoken word of those around her. I grew up loving books as well, so when I came of age, I started work in The Enclave. Working there isn't luxurious or anything, and it's doubtful that working there will allow me to rise my caste, but it's peaceful and I do enjoy it nonetheless." She paused a moment before she continued. "So Kovac, how did you come to be an archery instructor? I do have to say that's pretty impressive. At least to me."