Every Stone Turned[Ki'toka]

by **Clyde Sullins** on May 21st, 2013, 9:43 pm

3 Spring 513(Morning)

Only yesterday, Clyde had been healed, here on Mura. His eyes, his ears, and the unsightly scars he had born for so very long, were now all gone... Gone... It was a bit odd really, and everything he saw and heard seemed crisper, more real. He had not even realized that these senses had been damaged, until the injuries had been lifted.

He had risen at sunset this morning, to watch the sunrise. It seemed... Similar... And yet, different. Like he had been missing a bit of it, for a long time. He could hardly remember back to the time before the incident.

As the sun slowly rose in the distance, Clyde sat on a beach, feeling the sand on his fingers, watching the odd sheen of the light off the waters.

Rye sat a few paces away, resting in the sands. He was not used to his master rising so early, except perhaps when they were traveling.

He had a few days still till he left Mura... He might as well fill them with something productive. Why not work on his skills in engraving, he had thought to himself as he saw a rounded beach stone. It had been shaped by the water moving over it, day after day, till it was smooth and round, about the size of the palm of his hand. Which on a man his size, was decently big.

Holding the stone in his palm, he rooted around in his pack, and took out his engraving kit. But... He did not feel like opening it up. So much of a hassle.

That was when an idea struck him. Why not engrave, with Reimancy? He could control a stone, lift it, shape it, throw it. Why not engrave it, using the knowledge he had of stones, Reimancy, and engraving?

Putting the tip of one finger on the center of the stone, Clyde began to exude a small amount of res, out of his finger, and collected it on the tip of it. It was quite easy, and only took a moment for such a small amount.

Concentrating on the res, and the stone before him, Clyde began to draw on the stone with his finger, as if it was the tip of a quill. As he did, he traced a thin line of res behind him, until he had circle around the middle of the stone.

He focused his attention to the thin line he had made, and on grinding into the stone, pulling it out, cutting into it. Simple enough. He traced his finger around a few times, focusing on his work. At first nothing happened, but then he figured out the right way of doing it, and suddenly a fine spray of sand and rock particles came off of the stone after his finger had moved over it.

This, in fact, was easier and less work than using an engraving kit to engrave! Though it would only work on earth. He continued to trace the circle with his finger, until a visible line could be seen, cut into the surface of the rock. How interesting. What one found out, when they messed about, and experimented alone. Perhaps it would be a day well spent after all, Clyde thought.

by **Ki'toka** on May 23rd, 2013, 1:52 am

3rd of Spring, 513 AV
Somewhere Along the Beach

Ki'toka moved along the waters edge, her feet slipping through the water silently while her toes sunk into the wet sand with each step. With it still being so early in the new spring season, the water was still a little cool and her legs had goosebumps traveling up to her knees. She didn't care though, the water felt good to be in and she was eagerly looking forward to when she could swim comfortably under the surface again.

With each step she took, her eyes swept back and forth as the water pulled out away from her only to come crashing back against her calves. Pretty colored shells where what she was hunting today. Draped over her should rested her backpack that contained her drawing supplies. She took them pretty much everywhere she went on the off chance inspiration struck her, which it usually did. In one of the side pockets this time rested a new growing collection of shells both large and small. Some of the shells she'd use in drawing, but the majority of them she was gathering for Nel'fi. The older Konti that Ki'toka lived with wanted them but she'd been busy with Order duties recently so she'd asked Ki'toka for some help.

With her gaze lowered down to the sifting sand, Ki'toka didn't realize anyone else was on the beach with her until she heard the growling. The sound was so unfamiliar to her at first that she stopped in her tracks, frozen as she processed the sound. After a moment, her eyes lifted to lock on the dog, her heart seeming to lodge itself in her throat. She was about twenty feet from the canine. Keeping her eyes on the dog, she moved backwards slowly, stepping deeper and deeper into the water until she was up to about her knees. She didn't care that the goosebumps rose up higher along her body, she honestly couldn't feel them now. All she was thinking about was that if the dog decided to attack, she could just jump backwards, dive under the surface and be gone. As far as she knew, dogs couldn't breath underwater.

When the water was about to her mid thigh, she pulled her eyes away from the dog, quickly searching the length of the beach to find out where the canine had come from or who he might be with. It was then that she noticed for the first time the man sitting in the sand, a rock in his hands. "Excuse me..." She called out in her native tongue, her voice little more than a whisper. After a moment, she cleared her throat and called out a little louder in common. "Excuse me... Is he yours?"

by **Clyde Sullins** on June 11th, 2013, 1:51 am

His work was disturbed, as Rye let out a deep growl. Clyde tensed for a moment hearing it, and then looked about to spot the Konti, still a fair way off. Apparently she had not noticed him yet.

He quickly set down the stone beside him, and reabsorbed the small remnants of unused res leftover from his work. Its bright silvery glow would be obvious should she see it close up. Luckily she was still farther away. And also luckily the sun was not yet to high, or else it might have glinted off his res making it all the more easily visible. Once he was done, he picked the stone back up, and looked it over. It appeared simple enough a engraving, that it could be done by hand. Just a circle cut into the surface.

Done, Clyde simply waited till the girl grew close enough to hear Rye's growling, and noticed him. Luckily she had not been paying attention to her surroundings, so had not seen his res. It was a konti by the looks of it, but he could not be certain till she got closer and if he saw scales.

As she called out in some unknown tongue, Clyde just stared at her. Thankfully she spoke again in a few moments, this time in common, which he could understand.

"Excuse me... Is he yours?" She said this, a bit tentatively.

He looked her over once, and nodded, before responding.

"Yes, he is mine. His name is Rye. Don't worry, he is trained, he won't attack or anything, unless told to. You can come closer if you wish to, unless you were about to go for a swim."

He said the last bit, in reference to her being out in the water, as he could not think of any other reason for her to be out there. He did not consider she might be doing so in response to his dog.

"Rye, sit." He spoke this quietly, barely loud enough for the girl in the water to hear. As he did, the dogs growling cut off, though it still glared at the girl, unflinchingly.

by **Ki'toka** on July 28th, 2013, 3:57 pm

3rd of Spring, 513 AV
Somewhere Along the Beach

Ki'toka felt herself starting to shiver as the lower half of her body became numb from the chilled water. There really weren't that many dogs on the Konti Isle, there were a few that she'd seen, but they were all nice and never growled like this one had. Sure, it hadn't been in a 'I'm going to rip your face off now' kinda growl, but it was still a warning and she understood it. But even with the few friendly dogs on the Isle, Ki'toka kept her distance from them.

"Rye..." She stayed in common now as she took a few slow steps closer toward the shore after he cleared her to come closer. Her bright green eyes flicked from dog to master then back to dog again. As the canine fell silent and sat, the Konti relaxed a little, but she was still clearly on edge as she made her way to the other side of the male before coming fully onto the beach again. Not that having him between her and the canine would help at all if he gave the command to attack, the dog could easily jump over him to get to her.

"Huh... Swim?" confusion flooded her as she recalled the last bit of his words and her eyes flicked back out toward the water as a cool morning breeze blew against her now water soaked clothes causing her her shiver all over again. "No... Its too cold still for my comfort." Her eyes went back to the young male, though the sight of the glaring canine was not ignored. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you, I didn't think anyone else would be out here this far from town."

As the dog shifted behind its master, its eyes still openly glaring at her, Ki'toka felt herself tense. This dog didn't look anything like the one from back then, but growling still meant danger, both then and now. "Are... Are you sure it... I mean, Rye... Won't attack unless you say so...?" Her shivering became more apparent as her hands lifted to rub against her exposed arms. She wasn't dressed in anything all that warm, it had been a beautiful morning and even though the sun didn't put off the heat it would later in the year, it still felt good against the bare skin of her arms. "Why is he looking at me like that... I didn't do anything to him..."

by **Clyde Sullins** on July 31st, 2013, 4:22 pm

It was quickly clear that the girl was cold, after all, it was a cold day, and she was soaking wet. He could not fathom why she would go into the water knowing this already. It just did not seem... Logical.

She came back onto the beach in a round about fashion, marking a clean line of distance between herself and? Rye, he puzzled to himself. Was she really so afraid of a dog, to act as such? Apparently so. He fought a grin forming on his mouth, why would someone be so afraid of a little dog? Well, not little, he was of decent size, but neither was he of the largest variety or breed of canines.

"If it is to cold, then why did you go into the water? That does not really make sense, does it?"

He was unsure if she was simply being evasive, or lying, or meant something non-literally, but hadn't she clearly gone into the water? So why would she say it was to cold to go in, if she had done just that?

"It is fine, it is not like I own the beach. And for the very same reason as you did not expect to meet anyone, is the reason why I am out here. Solitude on occasion can be nice. It leaves my mind to wander, and my hands to tinker."

Clyde looked at Rye as she mentioned him, a small smile coming over his face, before he turned to look back at the woman.

"No, he is well trained, you need not worry of that. He is simply protective, that is all, he is wary of new people. I am sure he would warm up to you eventually."

"Speaking of which, you really should warm up, you look quite cold. Would you like to borrow my robes for a time, they are not the warmest, but at least they are dry. I suppose we could also make a fire, but I don't see much wood around here, it is a beach after all."

Clyde would look about, checking to see if any fallen would was in visible range. If the Konti accepted his offer of borrowing his robes, he would take them off, and lend them to her.