[Inclement Weather] A Fire Yet Unseen (Alori)

[Kovac]

Seeing how fervently Alori was getting into dancing, the teasing nature of their choreography a taunting temptation compared to the usual bump and grind, Kovac almost reneged on his offer. But they could spend the night sweating an inch away from each other, give in and torment each other with wanton friction, or slip out and enjoy some music and see what would happened. Kovac tailed Alori as she left the dance floor, and yes..he watched. Picking up the lute and the bottle of Kenash wine, Kovac gave the teen huntress a grin and lead them out of the sweltering club. It was still hot, Kalea gripped in a heat wave. There was little place inside Wind Reach for relief, so Kovac headed towards the exit of the warrens. The crater was still warm, but outside, perhaps they could catch a cool breeze that may find its way into Skyinarta. They could find solitude for their music, and whatever else.

The trek took a few chimes, illuminated by a clear night sky, stars and moon glowing, bless Leth and Zintilla. Kovac lead them towards the wall of the crater. The section before them was one hit particularly hard when Ivak was freed and djed blasted through the mountains. Above them, an orange glow could be seen in the rock face. The Crack in the Mountain. Kovac had no intention of going up to the crevice. It was too hot outside to tolerate the heat coming from the crack. Besides, it was a bit eerie, and it was said that a few of the Inartans who actual revered Ivak worshipped him there. But, in the darkness of night, the red glow it emitted was beautiful.

There was, however, a natural landing partway up to the Crack. a flat place that seemed right for a couple of wine-swilling musicians. "I hope the trip is not taxing you." Kovac shot Alori a glance, teasing her. She was a huntress, and he knew full well the girl could traverse the boulders to the rock shelf. Kovac lead the way, picking a path carefully, trying to hold onto his precious lute and the wine as he climbed.

x

[Alori Sai]

Tom and Tessa were surprised to see the fiery teen leaving the club with a guy, and with Kovac of all people. They had noticed the young Avora more so in the current days as she was there at least once a week. She had been noticed before for her care-free style of dancing, mostly because she looked a bit too young to know such moves, but she always arrived and left by herself. It was a surprise to see her suddenly leaving now with a male, and with Kovac's reputation they were sure that she was to become another notch on an otherwise busy belt.

The night's sky was beautiful on this night, and there was a soft breeze coming through that gave the two wanderers a cool touch before passing on. Alori followed the snarky Mongrel, unsure of where he intended to lead her until they moved towards the wall of the crater. It wasn't a place that Alori visited, though she was sure that she first came there in a dream. The Avora paused for a moment, her gaze lifted and stared upward towards the mountain top. This was where it happened, so many people's lives had been affected from the events of that spring, and for her those effects still lived on.

Alori paused in her tracks, her gaze lowered and the teen seemed to wander off in thought for a moment. Gods were tricky and hard to understand. She still wasn't sure if she was doing what Ivak wanted her to, and what his plans were for her. He wasn't easy to get in touch with and she hadn't started to pray to him yet, and he hadn't contacted her since the summer of 512. It felt strange to have that connection, but to never speak or communicate, almost as if it wasn't important. With the aid of Kovac, Alori came out of her inner thoughts and flashed him a grin. "Just try and keep up, don't let me leave you behind again." Biting her lower lip, the teen teasingly brushed against him and snatched the wine bottle before taking the lead for the climb. "If you want this back you better hurry!"

x

[Kovac]

"Leave me behind, again?" Kovac quipped quizzically as the girl breezed by him with a gentle contact, snagging up the wine and taunting him as she began to ascend the rocks. "Oh woman, you don't mess with a man's wine!" The hunter called after the mischievous young woman. The light was sufficient, but barely, and Kovac scrambled after Alori, given the advantage of having a free hand. He was careful not to bang the lute against the stones, but hastened as much as he could until he was right behind the girl. He barked teasingly at her, goading her on. "Come on, move that little ass!"

Once they clambered onto the small landing, the glow of the Crack above them, Kovac stood and looked out over the crater of Skyinarta and Wind Reach. It was his home, all he knew. The walls were pocked with openings, the upper once marked as eagle aeries by the faint light emitting from many of them. He looked over at Alori, smiling broadly. "Lets serenade the volcano."

Lowering himself into a cross-legged sit, Kovac set the lute on his lap, pulling a plectrum from his pocket. He strummed the strings, frowned at the discordant sound. He tweaked a couple of the string keys, plucking each string as he lowered or raised the pitch until it sounded accurate. Completing the tuning, the mongrel strummed again, the tones much more pleasant. He looked to Alori, waiting until she was ready to play.

x

[Alori Sai]

"Huh? What's that?" She asked, turning on her heels to look at him. The teen took simple steps backwards as she lifted the bottle and drank from it. A smile spread across her lips and she gave him a sly wink, before turning back around and hurrying off. Alori enjoyed taunting him, he was a fun guy and all too sure of himself which made it even more fun to tease him. Extending her arms outward, one hand held her guitar and the other, his bottle of wine, she balanced herself as best as she could and continued her trek upward.

Alori gave a light squeal when he barked at her to move faster and quickened her pace to try and keep him from catching her. The balancing act, while stepping between stones wasn't easy and the reckless girl paid little attention to the bottle that she almost slammed into the rocky cliff at least twice. But once they reached the landing, she stopped and looked out as he did. The city looked so different at night, though it held just as much beauty during the day. Alori returned the smile almost shyly, wondering what was going through the mind of the snarky Avora. "Yea? Alright."

Sitting down across from him, she bent her legs to sit with them crossed and rested her guitar in her lap. Glancing up, she watched him for the time, not bothering to re-tune her own instrument. It was easy to tell when a person enjoyed doing something, when they took pride in it and had love for it. Kovac had those things, and she could see it clearly because she felt the same way about her music. Smiling again, she flipped her hair from her eyes and started to pluck at her strings and find her mark. "So, you gonna sing, or should I?"

x

[Kovac]

The light of moon and stars was enough to illuminate Alori as they sat across from each other. Kovac grinned at her again, taking up the wine bottle and swallowing a swig, eyes fixed on the young musician hunter. She was sassy, and Kovac liked that about her, the confidence she exuded, to the point of prideful, only served to bring about the same in him. Why he had not initiated a meeting with her before, or even remember seeing her until recently, still a mystery to him. She was a hoot and certainly worth the companionship. Setting the bottle close by but out of the way But now, he wanted to see what they could accomplish together.

Alori's guitar fit comfortably in her small lap, though it appeared larger than the pear shaped instrument in Kovac's lap. She plucked a few of her instrument's strings, emitting a rich singular sound. Alori's guitar had six strings, whereas Kovac's lute had eight pairs. He plucked a few in turn, the sound fuller but not as deep as the guitar.

Kovac's brief comparison was interrupted by the teen's question. "Um, singing?" Singing had not been part of the deal, he thought. "Well, I think you should. I will pic the song." Kovac's smile brightened mischievously. He began to pluck at the strings with his fingers, a tune Alori certainly would know, a rather common song around Wind Reach, usually played while drinking, a bawdy drinking song, the lyrics of which could make a non-inartan blush.

x

[Alori Sai]

Alori paused, her fingers freezing in place as she stared at the handsome mongrel. He was still playing it cool, and as much as she wanted to protest, the look did work for him. He was wickedly cool in his approach, and while the teen tried to coax him out, he turned the game around on her. "Awe, come on. Don't tell me you're getting shy on me?" Pursing her lips, the girl listened as he started to play the tune, and her cheeks quickly grew flush once she realized what he wanted her to sing.

He was a bold one to pick such a raunchy song, but he would be wrong if he thought that she wouldn't sing it. The only problem was that she didn't know all the lyrics to the song, even though it was common. So instead, she would just sing what she knew, and if Kovac noticed a difference he was welcomed to sing his correction. "Hah, you sure you wanna hear this?" Smiling, Alori took a moment, to observe the sounds of the music he played and took to her own instrument to follow along.

She started off with a soft and light hum, her nimble fingers gently plucking the strings in her guitar in time with Kovac's tunes. Looking up, she caught his gaze in the dim lighting and started to sing in a soft tone.

"We drink like we're bruisers, we petch like the youth"

"We're going out for a drink"

"Why don't you join us in a booth?"

"We’re the children of Wind reach, and we petch all our lives"

"And when Cheva beckons, we'll squirt in her eyes!"

Alori collapsed in a fit of giggles, hugging her guitar against her chest. "Oh that is horrible, just horrible! Why did you want me to sing that?" The teen continued to laugh and covering her face in slight embarrassment.

x

[Kovac]

Kovac smiled wickedly as he began to play the tune, seeing the recognition in the girl's eyes even in the pale moonlight. The sound of her guitar joined his lute, resounding richly off of the stony face of the crater wall. Alori did not hesitate, much, finding the tune with her voice and beginning to sing the randy limerick. She met his gaze, the bawdy lass, and began to recite the lyrics. She did well, her voice matching the pitch of their instruments finely, until she broke down into a fit of giggles at a rather ornery section of the words. Kovac began to laugh too, surprised Alori made it that far. She showed signs of youthful embarrassment, the first he had seen from the bold girl, and the male Avora felt a little guilty for coercing her to croon such an inappropriate song. He had learned quickly that Alori was very competitive, and would not turn down the challenge.

Kovac reached out and gave her a firm pat on the knee. "Sorry, sorry! That wasn't fair. But I hand it to you Alori, you managed to do very well, in spite of the song choice. I admire a woman that picks up a challenge like that!" The huntress had been a good sport, and Kovac, rather enjoying the relaxing retreat from the city with his fellow Avora, submitted himself to the same task.

"Alright, don't let it be said that Kovac does not take as he dishes out. Now, I will sing the song of your choice, Huntress Alori." The mongrel bowed his head slightly in mock deference to the young woman.

x

[Alori Sai]

Still positioned between half way sitting up and half way laying on the rocky ground, Alori looked out at Kovac through the locks of red and blonde that had covered her face when she plopped over. This man understood a challenge, and that if one was going to issue one they'd better make it a good one. The snarky one didn't disappoint and he forced the teen to admit to knowing a song she would have pretended to never pay attention too.

The little huntress knew she had challenged him to a hunt, but now she was looking forward to it for more than that reason. He was a fun guy, clever, and wasn't pushing up on her as if to say that she had pledged some unspoken oath that her body belonged to him just because they had danced together. Smiling, Alori sat back up and repositioned her guitar in her lap and dusted it off. "It's fine. A dare is a dare, right? But..just so you know. Only boys sing that song." She laughed then and curled her legs under her to allow her rear a bit of relief from the hard rock beneath her.

It was her turn now to pick a song for him to sing. Pursing her lips, the teen cocked her head to the side in thought. He was smart, the snarky mongrel. The halfbreed had already picked the boldest song possible, and she didn't even want to try and think up something worse. But there was something else, something less bold, but would require as much heart. "Alright then, sing for me....Sing me a love song."

x

[Kovac]

Kovac laughed at Alori's good-natured acceptance of his song choice, watching as she shifted to a more comfortable sitting position. The half-vanthan felt an ease with the young blonde-streaked redhead, an almost kinship sort of thing. They shared much in common, both hunters, both lovers of music. There was attraction, but not the sort of tension where every word and action was directed with the sole intent on luring the other into bed. Not that Kovac would be opposed to such. Alori was pretty and had a casual sensuality, but neither seemed intent on pushing the evening one way or another, instead, just enjoying each others' company.

Reaching for the bottle, Kovac took a swig while Alori chose his song to sing. He was not much of a singer, but he would not back down, so waited with a hesitant smile as the huntress thought of her selection. Then she revealed her choice. A love song. Oh, she was good. Kovac would have gladly sung a raunchy song. But Alori cleverly chose a genre that would test him in particular, the randy Avora that no longer believed in love.

Kovac laughed lightly, looking up into the starlit sky, before dropping his gaze back to Alori. "Well, I already have an advantage. The atmosphere is rather romantic." He chuckled again as he adjusted his lute and set his fingers to the strings. The half-breed strummed idly as he thought about a tune. He nodded to himself, then sat up a bit straighter, looking into Alori's dark eyes. If he was going to do it, he would do it right.

The strumming became a rhythm of chords, and Kovac lifted his voice...

"As fair as the snow upon bold pristine mountains,
With eyes as gentle as the hart's spring foal,
She dances with the grace of a young hind's frolic,
And captures the heart of this simple man's soul.

With kisses that tingle his lips like a brandy,
Embraces as warm as a mountain goats fur,
She leaves her lover with ardent soft whispers
and nothing but longing sweet thoughts just of her."

Kovac finished with a few drawn out chords on his lute, then flashed Alori a wide grin. "How was that?"

[Alori Sai]

"So romance me, show me what you got." Alori replied to his claim of having the advantage of the atmosphere for his song. Songs were easy to sing when it was something from a person's mind or heart.Their range in emotion showed how they felt about the subject whether good or bad, or if they even cared at all. It wasn't that the teen thought Kovac didn't know about love, but it was rare to see a guy show that sort of thing. So she picked a genre that wouldn't be so easy, and she half expected it to turn into something dirty along the way.

However, Alori was very surprised by the song he sang, and the way he sang it. The Avora didn't have to have a wonderful voice, she knew first hand how songs sung from the heart were just as beautiful. Still, his voice did sound nice and it reminded her of the last time a guy had sang to her, and how much she missed it. It had been seasons ago, and now hearing Koavc's voice brought back some of those memories along with the emotions that were inspired by the snarky mongrel's song.

Maybe Kovac could see it through the darkness, or maybe it couldn't, but Alori's cheek had grown red by the end of his song, and her eyes had taken on that dreamy sparkle that girl's seem to get at times. Looking down, she combed her fingers through her hair before willing herself to look up again. "Wow..that was..really good. You surprised me."

Alori scooted closer to him so that she could better see his face and moved her guitar away.

"I've never heard a guy sing about love like that. You must be in love right? You have to be to sing like that."

x