Flashback Trapped in the Lake [Delani Denusk]

[Jh'eon]

Season of Fall, Day 84, 499 AV

Jh'eon walked through the Sea of Grass, eyes growing weary. He stared fixedly ahead. He would get to the lake. He will! He must push himself. He had left behind everything, to go get some water. He felt his throat dry, like a desert. His eyes were heavier than ever, not having slept properly for over a year. He was weak. That was the simple truth. He was a weak Charoda, walking around on the strange lands of the earth, unlike the water. He had betrayed his brother and sister, and ran off in fear, lived in a hateful life, alone, on the edge of survival for a year. Now he was chasing them, convinced they would go to Riverfall, the ancient city of the Akalak, because of mere legends and the fact he could not think of any other city he would go. Crawling to them, for forgiveness. He did not deserve to be forgiven by them. He had betrayed them during the death of their father. He would end up too dry...he must reach the water. He would end up arriving there, on the floor. Come on! Push yourself. You have been through worse than this! He was a child, thrown into a dangerous world, quite different from that of Charbosi. He was probably foolish to go through the Sea of Grass, but he had to go to Riverfall. His heart told him that his brother and sister would be there. Tears filled his eyes. He had been brave as a child - now all his bravery had been shattered to smithereens. He saw it. Lari Lake. He started walking faster now. He tripped on a stone and fell. Damn it. It had been hours of walking. He started crawling to it and saw his reflection on the water. He crawled in and gulped in the water. He was alive. The water filled him, and it was wonderful to be back, free, back in the water. He swam underwater, enjoying the freedom that the lake brought him. Hope filled his heart. Then he screamed as he flew into an underwater net and got tangled in it. He screamed and was writhing through it. He saw the net getting tighter. His eyes widened. They must have been out to catch a fish - but he had seen no tent or belongings when he arrived. What if they didn't come back, whoever laid out this trap. Jh'eon tried calling and calling. "Anybody there? Help me! I am trapped!" He was being childish. He cursed when he realised that he had no knife. He was doomed for...

[Delani Denusk]

Her 20th birthday had come and passed. It had been an exciting day fueled by an exciting event! She still remembered the grass bear lumbering in among the group and how quickly they all had worked together to frighten it out.

The falx Eachann and Nadra had given her on the 51st was layed beside her as she leaned against her mares side, hands behind her head and staring up at the clouds high above, reflecting on that wonderful day. The Strider was chewing on sweet grass and flicking her tail as her rider relaxed, ears perked and listening to the wild grasses around them in case they needed to flee quickly. The only reason they were out here now was because Delani was supposed to be checking some nets in the lake that were secured not far from here. Fish wasn't a staple in the Drykas diet, but it wasn't an uneaten food; the migrant people of the horse ate what they could from the land, and when near water, sometimes that was fish!

But Dela' had plenty of time today to check and pull nets. The sled any catch they hauled was sitting nearby and once the twenty year old was ready to go, they would! But the day was just far too pretty to waste entirely on working; besides, the flow of the clouds over Syna was entrancing. She wondered how the winds could make the grass so still down here and yet cause them to flirt with the sunbeams so high above that their shadows played games upon the summer-dried grasses.

"It is as though chimes sing for her, Delani." She said to the strider who shared her name. "See how they play at her edges, trying to hide her light from us? But Syna just dances around them." The mare nickered and gave her mane a brief shake, brushing her riders face dotingly.

Dela held up her right hand, palm to the sky, and turned her wrist slowly while opening and closing her fingers, the sunlight that played through them casting their own beams upon her face. "I should see if any traders have shadow puppets some time. I could study it better then, I bet." She was about to go on when a shout broke the stillness of the air. Both horse and Drykas perked up, Delani sitting up from the mare to look in the direction of the shout while the Strider snorted uneasily.

"That didn't sound good...come on, ol' girl." Dela got to her feet and let the horse rise before climbing up quickly and bracing with her knees, fingers knit in the mare's mane before she took off at full gallop. The surge of the web pushing them towards the source made time fly and before long (mere moments it felt) they broke from the grass and into the sun again, just at the lakeshore and not far from where the nets were.

She saw something splashing; it looked a bit fishlike from here and Dela layed her hand on the handle of the falx as she urged Delani forwards. But this fish was calling for help! "Hey!" The woman called back, dismounting and running to where Jh'eon was tangled. "Stop struggling, you're going to make it worse!" She shouted out at him. He was a bit of a swim from shore, the lake currents having pulled part of the nets out like they were supposed to to enable maximum catch potential.

"Just try and float there, I'll get to you as quickly as I can!" She said, both hands on either side of her mouth. The woman looked around then, searching for something she might be able to use to secure to her Strider so the mare could pull them back in, but the best thing around was some half-rotten drift wood and some horse-high reeds. "Just hang on!" She called again and hurried to some of the reeds. Using the falx, she cut several handfuls at the base and lopped off the cat-tail heads. The reeds were strong enough, she thought, that they should be able to support herself and the slight one caught in the net. "Stay relaxed!"

Delani began to weave the reeds, laying alterating layers so that each four-reed braid would connect with each six-foot length with as much strength she thought they could withstand. By the time she was finished, the woman was sweat-soaked. Dela knew she wasn't the best swimmer already so this was the only logical improvisation she had for the situation. "Just a little longer; alright, I'm swimming out to you!"

Dela went to the strider and looped a braid around her head to act like the bridle she'd seen traders use on their horses. "Easy girl, I know it's not natural. I'll be sure to get you something special when we get back to the pavilion." Thankfully, they weren't too far, and there were scouts around always. Once they were out, she'd call for them, if they didn't already know what was going on. Her webbing ability was about as good as a baby's walking ability. "Once I get him loose, I need you to pull." She gave the mares broad cheek a gentle pat and rub on the nose afterwards before moving to the water.

She pulled the knotwork braided top off and wiggled out of the leather-like pants, both a deep blue and sky with the outer hem sporting more fanciful braids and knotwork stitching. She kept the falx in its sheath and secured around her hips. Delani waded into the water then in nothing but her underwear, got about waist deep, and then dove, swimming out as fast as she could with the falx bouncing at her hip.

Once the woman reached the Charoda, she treaded for a moment to give him a reassuring smile. "Just stay calm, okay? I'll get you out of there. I'm going to have to cut some of the net most likely, so you'll need to stay still when I do; I don't want to accidentally cut you. My falx wasn't exactly made to cut small things. Would you mind keeping an eye out for anything? Some scouts might come along shortly, but so could other things." Not waiting for him to answer, the woman took a deep breath and sunk beneath the surface to begin carefully cutting lines.

x

[Jh'eon]

Jh'eon stared in alarm as the woman started cutting all the lines with her falx, but he stayed still. He observed her carefully. She looked like...Drykas. Jh'eon floated still and continued observing her, curious. Jh'eon's heart started pounding. How long could she go, underwater, without breath? Jh'eon did not know much things about Drykas and what if she ended up dying? Stop being such an idiot, he told himself firmly. You have been through much worse things than this! Jh'eon saw a couple of fish swim by, and stared at him in alarm. To them, he was the strangest fish they had ever seen. Still they were hardly the most dangerous animals in the world. It felt like hours being trapped there, even though he knew in reality, it was minutes - maybe even seconds! Then Jh'eon saw a sight, above the rippling water. He saw a beautiful horse. A memory hit him. Drykas were horse lords. He tried to force out any more information he could remember about Drykas. His brain seemed to have melted. Then he turned and stared, puzzled, by another creature. It was definitely not a horse by any means. It had a strange looking beak, was red, and it looked strangely like it was made from glass. A Glassbeak. Jh'eon's heart pounded till he thought it would Jh'eon murmured. "Um...I don't mean to worry you but...there is a Glassbeak on the land..." Hopefully there would be no more monsters underwater...

[Delani Denusk]

Dela was far from any sort of expert in terms of swimming and holding her breath, but she could manage in a pinch. Surfacing midway through cutting the lines around his legs, she sucked a deep lungful of air down and pushed her hair from her face, parts of the braid having fallen loose.

The charoda said something to her, but Dela was more concerned with her mare and the wide, white eyes the horse was showing and the nervous flicks her tail gave. The big front hooves stomped the ground aggressively and her nostrils flared in unease. She sensed something, clearly, a threat, but did not wish to leave her rider and the one in the water she was wish. It wasn't just something, though...

"Delani, in the water!" She could see the glint of that transluscent beak through the grass behind the horse, the razor talons ready to grab and slice her precious strider to pieces! "NOW!" The fiendish predator was too close to evade except in the waterm those lethal claws not made for swimming.

The mare tossed her head and surged forward, bucking as she plunged into the lake before her, foam oozing from her mouth from the excitement and her sleek hide now soaked. The glassbeak which had charged stopped a few feet in while the mare swam deeper, its wicked beak opening and closing and barking shrieks given out to them. You're only hope against one of them was to outrun them...and that was not viable this time.

"Petch...We'll need to swim to somewhere safer, kid. Once I get you free, we can't return to there or anywhere near it...there's sure to be more nearby and they'll catch us before we could so much as set foot on land. If I remember right, there's a small island about half a mile from here. We can wait there for them to leave the shore area. The water's not too deep so Delani won't need to struggle so much." This was all said while treading and watching the screeching glassbeak from the shore. The mare had waded deeper, the water now just covering her back and her head kept high and clear, teeth clipping the surface every once in a while.

x

[Jh'eon]

Jh'eon floated to the surface once the ropes were cut and saw the Glassbeak shrieking. Jh'eon's heart pounded. "Let's go now!" He started swimming and swimming and then saw some Glassbeaks in the far distance. "Oh dear Makutsi..." he murmured under his breath. Then he continued swimming and swimming. He could not stop. Today must be the strangest day so far on his journey. He had been walking for hours on end, collapsed into a net, got saved by a Drykas, and now swimming away from a couple of Glassbeaks. What now? A Yukman? Or some other creature that should not be here but for some reason are? Well Glassbeaks did live in the Sea of Grass. So it was possible that they were out, hunting. He called out to the Drykas. "Where are you taking us? I must go to Riverfall! I have to go there." He murmured as he heard no relply "Looks more likely that we going to be Glassbeak dinner..." He looked underwater and saw no more monsters. Thank Dira that - what is up with him? Ever since he lost his family, he started praying to the gods that he would be safe, and his brother and sister. What WAS up with him lately? It was like he had lost all sanity. Well that wasn't hard to do considering today's "eventful" day. Jh'eon started seeing an island in the far distance. He looked up again and there were more Glassbeaks than ever, lurking on the land. He looked quickly behind him. The Drykas and her horse were keeping up. If he hadn't been trapped, he would have not lead them into this mess. If it wasn't for him screaming like an idiot, would the Glassbeaks even come? Maybe they heard him and decided that he was dinner. Jh'eon remembered his father's words though. Never be too quick to trust strangers. Face it, he had barely even met this Drykas, and he already trusted her cause she had saved him. What if she wanted him for a secret purpose? He saw the island grow larger and larger, the closer they came. Hopefully they will be safe soon.

[Delani Denusk]

As she cut the last rope, the whelp took off, his swimming ability far surpassing hers or her horses. "Hey!" Delani called after him, "Slow down, you're going to get off track!" She hoped he would listen as she turned towards the mare and slid onto her back carefully.

The woman whispered something into the horses ear as she clung to the multicolored mane. The Strider snorted out her nose and then began to wade after the Charoda. "Come on now, you're going to attract things I'd rather not have to try and run from. You need to calm down, kid. Here, climb on behind me; Delani will wade us through to the island." That and she figured the panicked ocean dweller needed a break. If obliged her offer and took a seat on the mares backside, Dela would resume guiding her towards the modest island. There was enough water between shore and island to keep the glassbeaks off, but she didn't know what other creatures might be on there.

It was better to be cautious now. Speaking as they swam, Dela asked, "You want to go to Riverfall? You've got a long walk to make if you're trying to get there from here. You really need to be careful out in the grass, too. It's not a safe place for travellers, especially when off the beaten path."

A few minutes later they reached the tree-dotted island, low grass covering the surface and the opposite side clearly visible through the trunks of the stunted trees. Delani clucked the Strider up onto shore, dismounting and encouraging the Charoda to do the same. "Just keep quiet, okay? We don't need to attract any lions or velispar. The lions might not swim, but the young veli's do. We'll wait a couple hours then go back to the main shoreline. There's a road I can lead you to from there. You have two options then: follow me back to Endrykas and get a ride with a trading caravan, or try to continue on the trade route alone; but like I said, it's a long trip for Lari lake. You'd really be better off just hooking up with some traders; they'll get you there faster."

Delani looked back to where they'd come from, marking the spot in her mind so she could return there and get her clothes and the carts for the netted fish. "The glassbeaks won't stay too long, I don't think, if the prey can't be more easily caught."

"Why are you going to Riverfall exactly? And why take this route? Did you come from Zindal Bay?

x

[Jh'eon]

Jh'eon glared at the Drykas. "I am going to Riverfall for many reasons, of which none need concern you. And no, I come from Charbosi. I went off track when I needed to get water - I was drying out. I was actually crawling when I reached the lake. What an odd day today has been - I am nearly dried out, I go into a lake, get trapped in a net, get saved by a Drykas, got chased by Glassbeaks, swam to some odd island in the middle of nowhere and now have to travel with some traders to Riverfall just because of my brother and -" He stopped, and bit his lip. What would she think if he told her why he was going? The whole story - he was so ashamed of himself. He had betrayed all of them. Every single one. He was an idiot. A blabbering idiot! Jh'eon sighed. "Well, at least the Glassbeaks have gone - for now, at least. Though I beg to the Rainbringer that there will be no lions or velispar here! I am quite tired after today, after nearly dying, after a long journey - oh can we just get going? Blabbering is getting us nowhere and I don't care if even Dira is at that shoreline or the road - I need to get to Riverfall soon! And I tell you - if my brother or sister are dead by the time I get there, I will curse your name everyday and beg to the gods to -" He paused and cursed inside. He had just mentioned his siblings yet another time! He hissed and started thinking. If there was a way to escape this Drykas, get a path to Riverfall, find his siblings, and live peacefully until their deaths, then he would take it. He started planning silently in his mind. And he sighed and spoke to the Drykas. "I betrayed them. I must find them." He picked a stone into the water, in frustration. "I am a coward! I am the most cowardly coward in the world! No - I am even more cowardly than that! I am! And the most idiotic idiot..." He paused and sighed and sat down. Jh'eon walked on after the Drykas, glad to escape the chilling shrieks of the Glassbeaks, seeking to hunt them down and to devour them. The thought of it made him feel so dark and so evil. Though had he deserved to be eaten away, by a group of hungry Glassbeaks? Did he deserve much worse than being eaten alive? Did he deserve worse than being tortured for all eternity itself? Did he? "Do I deserve it..." he whispered aloud, to himself.

[Delani Denusk]

Delani rolled her eyes at the kids heated response. "Begging your pardon, young man, but it is my business. You're wandering around rather foolishly in the Sea of Grass without a clue which way you're going and got yourself caught up in some fishermen's nets, nets which I was tasked at hauling in until I had to cut you free. If I were truly spiteful, I'd have you sent to the Watch for a guarded escort to the nearest city with the premise to stay out of our land henceforth."

"You really have no idea how dangerous it is out here do you?" The woman shook her head slightly and crossed her arms. "It really would have been faster and safer for you if you'd stuck to the coast and followed the rivers up. You obviously like water and the aquatic predators in the sea are not quite as dangerous as the terrestrial ones. At least during the day, that is." Turning her eyes towards the shoreline, the cries of the glassbeaks had begun to recede; she still wasn't ready to wade back to the main shoreline, though, lest they be lurking or had drawn something bigger in their raucous noisemaking.

When the lad began spouting more about his brothers and sisters possibly being dead, Delani frowned deeply. She had little reason to be in Riverfall, her duty more homebound than anything else. But she wondered if perhaps his stress originated from his concern over family. Cursing her would do him no good, of course. "Betrayal's a funny thing, see." She began offhandedly, moving to stroke at her mares side comfortingly. "You're really only betraying yourself by acting like this. If you'd stop talking and use your head for a moment, maybe you'd see that what I say is the truth. I'm not trying to slow you down, but you need to understand, the Sea isn't safe. If you think walking the roads between the cities outside of Cyphrus is rough, spend a night here. Glassbeaks are the least of your concern comparatively. We have velispars, night lions, grass bears, and that's just a few of the biggest meat eaters. There's even more herbivores that are just as dangerous and won't hesitate to trample a lost charoda that's too foolish to stick to the trails that have been clearly marked."

Giving a final pat to the Strider she faced Jh'eon once again. "Look, you've sort of made me responsible for you now, anyways. If I just let you go wander off you probably will be killed. If not by one of the beasts in the Grass, then by Zith, or the wilds themselves. And if you're not killed, then you will most assuredly be enslaved or remain lost forever. It's not a pleasant idea, now is it?" She shook her head to emphasize.

"So, you should just sit down and relax for a while. We're not leaving here until I am absolutely positive that pack is gone from yonder shoreline. We don't need to get jumped by them again." That said, Delani moved further into the little island to look for some drift wood. They could at least get a fire going to stay warm by if night came before she was certain of the birds departure.

x

[Jh'eon]

Jh'eon listened carefully to everything the Drykas said and once she was finished, and going to fetch some wood, the Charoda was speechless. Every last bit of his angry words had been easily swept aside by her. Jh'eon sighed and looked about the island. He spoke aloud. "I guess even the records and the legends do not speak enough of the peril in these lands..." He shivered. "I knew there would be danger but...wow." And it was like his childhood had come back, and he was exploring some old lost kingdom. He looked up at the trees, and the shining moon. As a child he had dreamed of what the land would look like. But it was obvious there was much he had to learn about the land. Even the books could not speak of the beauty and danger of this world. It was so very different from Charbosi. Then again he had always dreamed of going on the land - but he did not want to go because he was scared his brother or sister would be dead. Then it felt like the child just disappeared and then grave misery fell upon him once more. He spoke, "I am Jh'eon. I am a Charoda from Charbosi." He sighed. "I have already betrayed my family - I do not want to do it again! I will not!" And he started murmuring to himself, angrily in Char. It did not sound nearly as beautiful as it did in Charbosi, under the water, to Jh'eon's great dismay. "Jh'eon, you are the biggest idiot ever..." He started murmuring a bunch of insults at himself in Char when he realised that the Drykas was still there. He quickly changed back to Common. "Sorry. I just got - caught up in insulting myself." Jh'eon felt a cold wind coming, as night was approaching. The moon was already shining, but it was not completely night at the same time. The sun was down for a while of course. Jh'eon saw some wood and took it, and he piled it up, and bent down and tried to ignite a fire. Several times did he murmur to himself in Char. Fire was not seen in Charbosi, let alone created - the water extinguished it almost instantly. "Damn it, can you get this fire lit, Drykas." Jh'eon was contemplating deep within his mind. Should he explain more to the woman? Then again how could he trust her? She did offer to let him go with her and whatever other traders were with her to Riverfall - or at least she spoke like there were more traders. He was not sure himself. And would they all be as friendly as the woman? He did not think so. But he did know one thing - he wanted to see Ole'ah and Dey'eon more than ever before.

[Delani Denusk]

Delani returned with a good armload of wood, laying it down and heading back for more. However, when she returned to find the Charoda trying (and failing) to light the fire, and his frustration at his attempts rising, the woman couldn't help but shake her head and take over, fetching her flint from her horses "bags".

"Well, you shouldn't insult yourself. And if you do, don't do it outloud. It will make it harder on yourself in the end." She stacked the wood into a chimney formation and struck the flint against it. "I'm not sure where you may have come from before finding yourself in the Sea, but you can't think it's anything like here. The lands are treacherous, and not just the beasts. You have to be careful, watchful, okay?" The sparks caught finally and the drykas leaned back, smiling proudly at the work done.

"There we go, a nice fire to warm by. We'll only stay a bit longer, just to be safe. If any predators were drawn by the pack, we'll try and avoid them. I haven't skill with Webbing or I'd be able to alert those I was working with of the circumstances more clearly; however, I doubt it'll take them long to find out what happened. We're pretty well connected, even out here. At most, what they see will be fragmented, but the threat will be seen. If they figure out where we are, we may be able to just meet them in the middle and they can escort you back to Endrykas until the traders that're there depart."

Delani went to the waters edge and looked out across it, studying the opposite shore as best she could to see if any predators were visible. The reeds were high over there, but their movements always sung where something may be stalking, even the most sly of night lions. She remained thus for another full bell, the strider approaching from behind at one point to stand with her, nickering softly as the woman stroked her broad cheek and went on watching. As that first bell finally ended, Dela nodded to herself and turned back to the Charoda. "Alright, let's go."

She coaxed the strider further to the water and waved for Jh'eon to follow. "We'll wade across and then I'll have you sit in front of me. I need to grab my things from where I found you first, and then we'll meet with the rest."

x