Completed [Bronze Woods] Survival of the Fittest (Fallon)

[Scarlet Evony]

23rd of Spring, 513AV

Scarlet was not one for sleeping inside the castle. In time, she would probably get used to it. But the apartment was quite new and the money she had saved for it was not exactly something she was proud of. Instead, nightly walks helped her cool off her mind and consider what she was going to do. She needed to find a job soon enough. But what would she do? She was not going to sell herself ever again, now that she had raised a considerable sum of money. Maybe she needed something she was good at... But what?

She stood, near a tree, thinking. I should probably get stuff done, somehow. I want to learn more, but what? For the past years I've had nothing to guide my path except myself and well... This. She took a look at the palm of her hand, where the glowing vortex had been placed more than six years ago. Since then, she knew she had been meant for some kind of grand purpose, but nothing exactly came to mind. Never mind, I'll figure it out later.

She lit up her hand , focusing on the dim spark emanating from it. It was enough to give her warmth and hope for the day. She tried to maintain it for as long as she could, a final gesture before the night was done. She enjoyed this little gift to its fullest. A beacon of light in darkness...

[Fallon]

It was not often that Fallon brought herself to rise up. Lost in a semi slumber the girl rose, fingers rubbing against her face as she did. It was the second time she had awoken in the middle of the night, strange urges beckoning and calling her forth. That same craving she experienced back at the stone gardens that time. But upon this instant it was different. How she was not sure, but it did not matter at that moment in time. Fallon pulled at her coat, having dressed herself and taken up arms. She would not sleep this night; she knew that better than anyone. When she did escape out into the open air, she let her feet guide her through the dull gloom with a lantern barely guiding her way as she walked.

It was useless trying to sneak through the undergrowth, inexperienced feet and uncertain steps in the gloom made it hard to walk. Besides her concentration was currently elsewhere. Fallon walked with her hands tucked into her pockets, securing her twitching left hand in place whilst the right made itself ready to draw a blade if need be. The lantern however was grasped by her left astral hand, a tight grip having placed itself upon the ring that it hung from. Fallon exhaled as she watched the light rotate above her. The removal of her astral had been gentle and calm, no rush behind it as she carefully unravelled the strings, leaving her left arm limp and lifeless. She gave a heavy sigh as she continued on her way through the thick growth of the Bronze woods.

She gave a whistle, a low droning tone that echoed out as her eyes peered ever on into the gloom around her. There was nothing to worry about as of yet, no immediate danger to cause her to break into a mad run and escape. Yet in the darkness around her did her eyes fall upon the distant glow of something.
A candle? she thought as she peered into the darkness. She brought the lantern down lower and so it just rested at her head height yet still a feet or so behind No… it’s too bright for a candle.
The human took a slow step forward, her form bending slightly as her hand slipped to the hilt of the Tulwar. Just in case.

[Scarlet Evony]

Scarlet kept looking at the light in her palm. Maintaining it was becoming hard and in all her honesty felt like she had been getting better. It felt funny, and yet somehow sad that her only comfort left in this world was a little light. Time for pondering this was enough and now there was no need in dwelling on such thoughts. Extinguishing her light, she raised her head to look around the zone she had settled to.

Her tribulations on what to do with her life came to an abrupt end as she saw, no, felt the flaring light come from her left side. Her animal instinct immediately told her to attack or flee. However, she did none of the above. She didn't feel the need to talk to the approaching figure either. If it had a source of light about it, it wouldn't care if the person would be spotted or not. Instead, she maintained her ground, doing only so much as to stand up. She enjoyed new company, just as long as that new company wasn't a Kelvic.

"Don't worry." She called out towards the void. "I have no intentions of harming anyone. I just like to spend the night here." She was sure the message had gotten through. Scarlet waited, waited for an answer. There was the way of the animal, and the way of the human. She chose to walk the path of kindness.

[Fallon]

Fallon pulled the lantern round to her front, her right hand reaching out and grabbing it as soon as the voice was heard. Her eyes narrowed at the shadow in the dark and winced slightly as she felt the astral arm slide back into place. She took her steps closer still, feeling it close shut and seal as she came into better view of the speaker. She changed hands on the lantern once more. She was not sure if this girl – she could not tell on age completely, it was too dark – had seen her light source hovering around or not, if she had lay witness to her moment of performing magic, but she was not about to find out by simply staring at her from a distance.

She returned her hand to the hilt, her guard up as she came into closer range but stopped short. She gave a questioning look to the woman, her eyes turning about the area for the light source that was there previously, before turning her attention once more. She would have liked Orvin with her currently, her companion that would follow her in the dark and to almost all locations. But he was not, so she was left to keeping her own guard up and herself safe.
“You like to spend the night in the woods,” Fallon rolled her eyes back to the woman “An… unusual hobby. Dangerous too… Well. Some might.” A shake of the head came from Fallon as she cast away the tiredness that began to hold on her once more. She may have craved and wanted sleep, but currently her body would not allow it. Not any time soon at least, “So… why do you spend the night out here in the woods, where deadly creatures wander and knights patrol?”

[Scarlet Evony]

It was indeed a good question, one which Scarlet had masterfully learned to avoid over the years. "You never know what you find in these woods, especially at this time of the night." She praised the skies that she had her clothes still on; most of the time she would have stripped to prepare for shifting into a Kelvic, but this time things had been different. A good thing too; Scarlet didn't know how many awkward encounters she could've handled before telling her closely guarded secret.

Besides, there were hundreds of ways she could twist the question away from her attention. "Why do you spend the night here out in the woods, where deadly creatures wander and knights patrol?" It was an amusing thing; using the exact same question with the same circumstances. She wondered if the woman would twist her words as well or respond up front to the question. It was risky; after all, she could've been a knight under cover for all Scarlet knew. But her appearance made her look quite harmless, and her instinct dictated she was not about to harm her.

However, the question posed some kind of relevance. Kelvics could be seen roaming the woods freely, but normal people were harder to find outside the city. Scarlet waited for an answer from the visitor.

[Fallon]

Fallon’s brow rose at the repeat of her question, a mimic to her own. She took a careful step around, a slow circling motion of feet as she looked upon the mysterious occupant. Her eyes came down to a focus in the gloom, her face dipping into darkness for mere ticks before emerging once more. The squire turned her head away, her ears twitching to the sounds beyond the light. The girl may of looked harmless, but Fallon was not about to think otherwise. She knew on how harmless things could look and how much damage they could cause. Experience in travelling over the years had taught her that much.
“Yes. You could find lots of things. Birds… Foxes… Wolves… Strange glowing lights… Monsters such as Yukmen.”
Fallon had only heard of the last creature, a name that was given to her with strange stories made to in still fear when she was younger. Still the girl had no wish to find herself coming face to face with one any time soon.

Her eyes traced the form once more before snapping away. She could have listed more, but she chose not to. After all, her curiosity was now set on this girl and an answer was required of her.
“Adventure, exploration,” she paused and let her lip curl, and she let herself mimic once more, “After all you never know what you will find in these woods.”
She pulled away, low steps creating a small distance once more, her back now stood to the girl, the lantern on her right whilst her face that glanced back was once more sent into darkness. Though more permanently this time. Her voice turned low into that of a whisper whilst she contemplated the girl “The question now is, what are you? Monster, beast or human? Or will this be a guessing game for I?”

[Scarlet Evony]

The question floated in the air, weighing heavily on Scarlet. Suddenly she felt attacked, her own predatory nature responding to the tone of the woman's voice. She began circling the woman, her steps tracing slowly around the light, trying to catch a clear glimpse of her face. There was no point lying, at least not to this one. She had a dangerous feel to the way she moved, the way she talked. Scarlet almost felt threatened by her. "I'm a kelvic. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be here. The woods have been like a second home to me. Besides, nobody really pays attention to animals unless they're hunting. And I doubt I could ever be in that category."

She smiled a bit, preparing her guard in case she was going to be attacked. She wanted to find out more about the woman in front of her before doing anything reckless, something which might have ended badly. "What about you? I can't sense any traces of the mimic inside you. And I can't see you simply walking around the woods at nighttime for pleasure. Who, or more exactly, what are you?" Scarlet expected a simple answer from the woman. "And what is your business here? Does it involve talking to strangers in the night?"

[Fallon]

Fallon gave her a regarding look, her eyes narrowing with thought. She had met a Kelvic before, once when she was younger and she had seen them in Avanthal also. But it was indeed a while since she had spoken to one properly. She looked guarded, worried. Perhaps it was no surprise, to suddenly have a human upon you asking questions in the manner Fallon was understandable. A prowling and hungry nature had caught the squire, and it was a state of mind that would not let go until sated. When the Kelvic moved however, and looked around to study upon her face the squire did not hesitate to meet her gaze. Her eyes stared out, unwavering and turning sharp. But her posture did not change. The lantern may have swayed slightly in the hold of her hand, but short of that she did not move.

She inhaled, nostrils flaring. Such a curious creature approached her, full of questions and seeking answers. Her lip curled her eyes following the movement, her ears twitching to the sounds around her.

“What am I? Who am I?” she gave a laugh, before falling silent. She exhaled, warm air filtering out into the cold, “A writer. A poet. A fool in love with the air. A weaver of tales. An explorer. A seeker. A creature with a lust for knowledge. A desire to learn. A curiosity. A experiment. A test subject. A piece of a puzzle from a distant Island. A walker. A traveller. A roamer of the of paths and the wayward lands of Mizahar. Whatever you desire,” Her voice had turned to that of a purr, her eyes glinting in the shadow of her face. It may have seemed vague, or far-fetched. How much so Fallon could not tell, but it was beside the point. Whatever this Kelvic wanted to make of it was for her to decide, not the squire, “Or, simply human if that is the answer you would prefer.”

[Scarlet Evony]

Scarlet paused for a bit, stopping dead in her tracks and closing her eyes. She recalled everything which the woman had said, calmly trying to find something amongst it. She was convinced a lot could be told about her personality from her words. Her form hadn't shifted since Scarlet started circling, and her daring look back as she fixed her eyes with the newcomer's. "It's an interesting way of putting it. The order in which you said those says volumes more than you might want to." It was now Scarlet's turn to try her wit against hers, guessing in the shadows. "Though you might have missed a few; allow me to complete. I see you as a warrior. A survivor. A victim. A victor. A possible leader. An unfulfilled lover. A desire for more. A beacon of hope. A little unsure. Alone. A protector. A daughter..." Here she paused, unknowing what to say. Her next words might have either shocked or drove in a feat of laughter. "A mother."

Scarlet paused as she filled the brief silence in between them. "I may not know exactly how much of these are right or wrong. But I know they define your other side more than you let it be shown. Such we all do; such I do when in between humans. I can never be myself, that's why I choose to pass by as a simple human. It's funny how this tag can make all the other things go unlooked." Scarlet chuckled a bit, afraid to talk. "Though I do appreciate the introduction, I doubt I can make one so thorough for myself."

[Fallon]

Fallon listened, for that was what she always did. Listened, analysed and learned. She watched the moment of hesitation matched the guesses of words and states. But her face remained calm, unmoving from its previously set expression. The words probed and explored, tentively feeling about the uneven and uncertain state. An attempt to get a reaction out of her. But as the list went on did the mind of Fallon begin to tick over, it picked at words looking for deeper and hidden set of meanings, for the slip up and a path that Fallon could exploit. This chance meeting in the dead of the night, between the trees of the bronze woods had turned into the survival of wits.

She said nothing upon the mention of a daughter, or even a mother. Instead she felt the muscles in her face tighten slightly, a faint reaction in that even the young Skylar could not help but do.
Yes, daughter to none yet many, she remembered the people that had taken her under their wing in the past, but for the most part such relationships ended up fruitless and in a state of tragedy. Her head turned away, eyes averting into the gloom. There was too much bad blood between those words and herself, and although in a normal situation it would have simply washed over her it currently did not. She surveyed the gloom once more, a momentary reprise from those eyes, before returning them to the Kelvic.

“You should not doubt yourself so,” Fallon stared out unwavering “To doubt oneself causes a multitude of foggy interpretations, and so you allow others to evaluate for you. Only the self ego can determine what one truly is. I could list a many a thing. For example, a Kelvic. A creature like a coin. It is the same object, but bares two very different sides,” the squire shook her head “A seeker of freedom and wanting of peace. A wader who exists confused without direction. But one who is so very curious. One who stares into the scene instead of moving within it. An outsider who wants so desperately to go in… Or will you now tell me otherwise?”

Her shoulders rolled as she felt the chill of the night upon her, but it did not stop her. Her words were made of guess work and analysis, a process of elimination ruling them. After all, she was a Kelvic -a creature that sort a bond- who wandered about the outside of Syliras in the dark of the night and without the watching eyes of others upon her. Where judgement could be escaped from all. What else was she to presume?