Freedom? Finally we can walk as equals.

[Aider Silander]

Fall, 89th 513 AV-

The birds sung their songs and the bees were busy, as Aider Silander walked among the plants that inhabited his dream world. It was warm, bright and peaceful in this jungle that filled his sleeping mind. He escaped from the normal and entered into a wonderful world of animals, and nature. Where he was truly at peace, though sometimes he missed the connection with other humans and the different races that inhabited the world of the living. But for now he would enjoy his time and walked down to the shore of a pond. He stripped of his clothing and jumped in, swimming among the fishes and frogs that lived in this pond. He thought about his day and everything that happened. Meeting Kaie again had really made his day brighter. He couldn't help but smile as he flooded among the tide of the pond.

[Kaie]

They were silent, murderous predators of the jungles of Falyndar. Their faces blackened with the charcoal of a far incinerating fire, feet caressing the ground quietly, the shadows seduced the humid wild in their malicious war path. Rapidly they were taking the small section of the world they roamed by storm. Axes, spears, bows, and swords drawn as they navigated the dense foliage. The fang of bronze and night skinned Myrians flitted between the trees. Behind their heels seemed to sprout dark clouds of the wailing demised and slain offenders of their dynasty. At their point was a single sun kissed savage. Her body was tattooed expansively. Tiger stripes raced along her biceps, claw marks along her shoulders, and wide varieties of symbols rippled across her flesh. Somewhere beneath the shadows of the towering canopy, a growl rumbled in the throat of her mount.

Suddenly the men and women prowling at her flank dissipated into the dark smoke and into oblivion. The fang leader whirled about, teeth grit in quiet fury and her spear held tightly in her hands. Amber hues glared murderously into the leaves, only to catch the glimpse of a tail. A scaled, reptilian tale making an escape. With a war whoop and animalistic snarl, the fang leader fearlessly tore through the jungle after the Dhani with a dauntlessness powerful enough to slay it alone. Though just before she caught up to it, spear hanging just above its turned back, the plants cleared and the Dhani puffed into black smoke. Before her laid the most calming sight of tranquility the glorious warrior had ever seen: a simple pond.

It was only when a body rushed up from the water did her soothing shatter like glass.

"Do not move, Heathen! Who are you, where do you come from, and what the petch do you want?" A furious snarl of Myrian brutality slipped from her lips, butchered by her own rage and hate for the soaking, naked figure. Her spear was raised to strike, prepared to make the water run red.




OOC:I didn't forget!

[Aider Silander]

The words tore the quite air. Aider's eyes looked up at the Myrian, she called him a heathen. He looked over her body, a familiar figure though somehow different. Her body marked with strange tattoos. Tiger stripes, claw marks and symbols that he didn't quite recognize. Yet she seemed so familiar, like he had met her before. He knew who she was, what she was but at the same time he couldn't remember. It was then that his eyes went to the spear that was held in the air, ready to pierce his bare body. "I am not a heathen, firstly. The name is Aider Silander. A child of Nyka, but not a worshiper of Uphis and I don't want anything but to be at peace. which is hard with a Myrian spear pointed at me. But if you are going to kill me then make it quick" he said with a sly smile. Of course he didn't want to die, but maybe the false bravery would help him here. Help him calm the fiery attitude of the Myrian Warleader. "I feel like I have met you before, but you were different. A bit more bare" he said, calmly gesturing towards her tattoos. "But I don't know if it is you I am remembering or just a dream. For a Myrian would never speak to someone born in Nyka, unless she could trust him. But then again, she would never fully trust him." he said, pausing to wipe the water that dripped from his hair away. "Or at least that's what I've come to accept from what little I know of your people" he added. She was as beautiful as the summers sun, or the way that Leth's light would reflect of the water, when he was in his fullest state. She was that of a dream, something unattainable yet just in reach. He could die right now, and to be honest he was fine with it. He was truly at peace for one moment in his life. It had been years since he felt like this, in truth, he hadn't even felt this good until he had seen Kaie. Her beauty enticed him so, made him hunger for a different life then the one he lead. She was the icon for a life that was so far out of reach for him, but yet he had it twice. If not for a moment, but it was there. He sighed, yet another dream that he couldn't achieve. Or so he thought as he stood in the water, that might be stained by his blood. He looked up at the Myrian again, his eyes locked with her passionate, fiery gaze.

[Kaie]

It seemed like eternity her weapon hovered over him, poised to strike him down with the righteous point of the spear. Her lips had curled into a rather vicious snarl and her teeth ground together in anticipation. Somehow the bare-fleshed man did not quiver beneath seemingly impending doom. Instead his eyes roved across her body in a way that might've made the warrior wary in another world. It only fueled her acquired hatred for his entire race. The tattoos upon her skin rippled like muscles beneath the pelt of a Myrian Tiger, and the scars seemed to burn for a tick as if they were fresh wounds again. And still he did not fear.

Burning amber within her eyes blazed alive in contempt at his bold reply. The Fang Leader was far too disciplined and proud to slay her for his words, though. Given the circumstances his response was so very peculiar that for a moment she seemed to hesitate in her resolve. Her face contorted in confusion for a tick before her jaw was set once more. Copper fingers clenched about the shaft of the weapon tighter, and a growl slipped through her teeth. However, when the man gestured toward her expensive ink and scarring, they too turned to black mist and wafted from her skin and into the canopy above.

What sorcery is this?!" The savage thought furiously, catching sight of the elaborate tiger bands that wrapped around her spear-wielding arm's bicep depart. Petching Nykan...the city of Ruros' bastard son. The spear was lowered from its throwing position but it did not leave its target. Instead she gripped it with both hands and leveled it against her hip, still pointing at his center.

"Of that much you're right. No one but Myri's chosen have a place within this jungle. And none that come from the bowels of Uphis' domain are welcome!" Kaie snarled and jerked the spear suddenly into the sculpted lines of his abdomen...but the man did not bleed. In fact his flesh was not even pierced by the shaped stone. As soon as the spear contacted the Nykan, it collapsed from the point and upwards into sand. All the while the Myrian female watched with wide eyes. She turned her fists over before her eyes and opened her fingers. Millions of grains of sand tumbled into the greenery at her bare feet. "How...? No, this isn't real. How can this be real? You're not real."

[Aider Silander]

The spear clashed with his body, falling into sand and sinking to the bottom of the pond. "Again with hostility, guess I shouldn't be surprised that you had forgotten me." he sighed. He waddled back over to the shore. He pulled himself out, the water dripping down his bare body. He turned back towards her as she said that. "Not real? I may not be to you, but I am very real. Is it because you don't want me to be real? Because of where I am from? Would it be better if I looked like you?" he asked. Tattoos formed on his body, bands of leather wrapped round his arms. Decorated with teeth and bones. A loin cloth around his waist. He lifted the bow now in his hands, and pointed a notched arrow pointed towards Kaie. He released it, the arrow flying through the air before disappearing, morphing into a cloud of mist. His body returned to his normal self. He walked towards her, his lower half now covered by the pants he wore earlier. "So do you just not remember me?" he asked, stopping before her just an arms length away. He smiled now, locking eyes with the beautiful Myrian. "Tell me now. Do you want me to leave? To just walk away? Would you just stand there like the first time we met?" he asked. He turned away from her, walking back to where his clothes laid on the ground. He sat down and looked over at her. "So tell me what is your decision?" he asked, a smile still on his face. "A child of Myri and a child of Nyka. Our culture tells us that we should be at each others throats. Trying to end the others life?" he said slowly, "But why should we? Is there a reason other then our gods" he said. "Though Uphis isn't my god. You worship your goddess with the up most respect. She guides you through everything you do? While I wander this world alone." he mumbled. He shook his head, it wouldn't matter anyway. She would turn and walk away without answering, or maybe she'd try and kill him. Ether way, soon he would have his answer.

[Kaie]

Forgotten? No. How could she forget someone she had never met? For well over a decade she had roamed the jungle like her ancestors before her, scouting and pillaging from Taloba to the sands that marked Falyndar's coast with her kin. The tropical continent was her home and she knew not what the dirts of foreign lands across the sea looked like. As far as she could remember, the fearsome Myrian female had never stepped foot on a ship or crossed a different border. The world had always been the smell of monsoon rain, the growl of her feral companions, the war hoots of her people, and the soothing sensation of moist earth under her bare feet. And yet the man kept harassing her. Remember me, remember me his eyes seemed to scream. The bewildered savage gave him nothing other than a crossing of her arms and a scowl.

And then he changed.

The pits of her eyes widened and her arms dropped back to her sides limply. With some dark magic he morphed before her. Ink wound about his body in elaborate designs, barbarian attire warped to far more familiar pieces of leather and cloth where they belonged, and trophies hung proudly across his frame. His hands rose and an arrow shot from the string just as maliciously as it might've from that from her clan's most skilled archer. Yet she was not harmed. It too had burst into innocent vapor and the Myrian image before he evaporated away. He was the foreigner once again.

For ever step he took toward her, her instincts willed her two back. Pride kept her rooted in place. Her features twisted into one of utter fearlessness. The Fang Leader eyed his suspiciously once again, roving over his frame to look for a hint he might break the space between. Eventually her sights found his and from that point on they did not wander. For a tick her brow furrowed as if in recollection to his accusation, but the memory of the man leaving her view was simply not there. Not even when he seemed to reenact the moment.

I do not know this man. I do not know this man. I do not know this man.

It was true. By all laws and philosophies she should have killed him by now. A spear had proven faulty but her hands would not, she was sure of that. Gifting Dira with the soul of a Nykan would be a beloved sacrifice by both deities and Myrians. Rejoice in death and victory. It would be a small victory, but the domain of the demi-god was seas away. She would take what she could...but this man's death would give her little pleasure. He had denounced Uphis. He did not defend Nyka. Strangely, he even made an effort to acknowledge the Goddess Queen. And he was left with nothing. Part of the savage wanted to pity him.

"This is true. My Mother follows me wherever I go, aids me in battle," She agreed and suddenly became more aware of her blessing after inadvertently mentioning it. "The Goddess Queen gives me purpose. Myrians are united by our collective purpose: to serve her as she commands. In return she loves us, watches over us. Sometimes she guides barbarians too if they prove themselves worthy."

[Aider Silander]

Worthy, a word he was all to familiar with. He was not worthy of any god, or man. He lived alone and would most likely die alone. This world was not his, he had not claimed it like many others. But how he wished he could. His heart ached for a life where he would be remembered, not as a man who had slept with many drunken women. But someone who lived and never regretted his choices. But no, he was not worth. He wasn't worthy of her goddess blessing or even this Myrians attention. "Very well" he mumbled. He turned his clothing that still lay on the ground and disintegrated into ash. "I'll leave you be. If you do see me again, don't hesitate to kill me. It will be for the better." he mumbled, but before he could walk away. The ground erupted, a loud rush of water could be heard in the distance.

The land morphed into the wooden land and swamps that surrounded his home lands. The pond had evaporated into a thick mist that engulfed them both. He turned back towards her, his body covered in dirt. "Have you ever felt.... alone? Truly alone in the world? Until this one person. This single person, that you should have never met, comes into your life. Showing you that even though, through the stories and tales you have heard, she should be evil. You should fear her kind and want her dead. But you cant, she's to beautiful and pure. You cant find any hatred inside of you, you cant feel the anger that you should." he said, pausing he dropped the bow. "She could have killed me. By all right she should have. But she didn't, she gave me a chance and now. Now I cant get her out of my head." he continued. "My heart aches to see her again, for my eyes to lay upon hers once again. To feel that sense of wild pride that she carries." He breathed deeply.

"Are the gods really to be praised? Or should they be blamed for our short comings? Or inability to understand what this feeling I feel is. This burning inside my chest when she's near and the pain when she's gone. Wondering if she even remembers you" he said. He lifted his foot, slamming it down onto the bow that lay before him. It shattered cracking in two right before them. He picked it back up, holding both pieces in his hand. "She should have killed me.... Why didn't she" his once happy face was now filled with pain and question he couldn't answer. He dropped the bow again, and the earth moved to swallow it. He walked towards her once again. He stopped when he stood next to her, shoulder to shoulder. "My dear Myrian, child of the jungle. We should have never met. But Im glad we did, you've changed my life and even though we may be separated soon. I shall find you again, and maybe then you will remember." He stood there, silent for a few ticks before speaking again. "Try not to shoot your eye out, Nykan" he said clearly in a warm friendly voice. "You said that to me before we parted the first time" he said. "I didn't want to leave you know. I wanted to stay and go with you. I wanted to be with you from that very moment I knew that I had fallen in l-" his voice was cut off by the loud eruption of water shooting from the earth. He turned towards her, his chest bare and his hands empty. He remained quite, just looking into her eyes.

[Kaie]

At first he seemed to have wholeheartedly given up. His entire mood seemed to dip and before she knew it, the man and their world had disintegrated.The earth moaned and shook, jungle leaves and chirping colored birds vanished and collapsed. Hard wood trees popped up in their place and a massive water source roared to life from a plain that did not belong in Falyndar. The thick mist that followed flooded the new scenery in a way that almost clouded the man from view. That did not last. Soon enough he had turned back and entered her field of vision. No longer was he the shadow against the vapor, but the very thing the mist surrounded. In fact the mist seemed to blanket the two together. She could see nothing else.

When the world settled the man did not. He began to speak quickly, urgently. The words came without pause. Oddly enough it was only when he verbally hurtled her way that she realized they had not been speaking her native language. When had she begun speaking Common? The Fang Leader felt just as shaken as the earth, and part of her wished to back away from him. The piece that wanted to sprint away and return to her jungle home where she belonged. An animal call burned at the base of her throat, but somehow she knew there would be no return call. Her hands balled up at her sides into tight fists of agitation.

Who is this woman he keeps going on about? Why doesn't he just run off and harass her and leave me the petch out of it? Goddess, she might not have killed him but I swear I might just kill him myself and save her the trouble. Why does he keep talking to me like that?

And then he said those words.

"Try not to shoot your eye out, Nykan"

Kaie blinked hard suddenly and the fists at her sides opened to harmless open palms. Her eyes seemed to stare somewhere into the mist, recalling some distant memory that had only just returned to her. All the while she listened to his words until the geyser hidden in the whiteout gushed with deafening potency. Amber sights glared into his eyes, searching for the truth that had been right before her the whole time. The Fang Leader was gone.

"Aider," Kaie breathed finally, relieved some part of the mess she was experiencing made sense. One of her hands dared to slowly reach out to touch his bare chest. There arose no black mist, no cruel vapor, but pure and honest flesh. She pressed her palm down upon his pectoral with finality as if to verify truth. "This is all very...bizarre," Kaie admitted with a shake of her head. She turned away then for but a moment, paced into the mist a few steps before returning. Her brow was knit again in concentration, a distress of confusion flooding her expression.


"This feels real. I think it's real. You said it was but this is impossible. It can't be. You're here but this isn't right. It's not."

[Aider Silander]

The Myrian stood before him, but not as the Fang Leader. No, she had returned to the Myrian he knew. The one he met inside the woods of his home, not once but twice. Her eyes glared into his, search for the truth behind his words. Then she said his name. She called out to him, and her hand touched his skin. The sensation of her touch sent a shock rippling through his body. A breath ripped into his lungs, a rugged gasp as the sensation rushed over him.

"This is all very...bizarre" she had said, he nodded in agreement. She removed her hand from his chest, though Aider longed for more. He stood there, watching her as she paced into the mist. Out of his sight and then returning. "It is real, and I am here. Where ever here actually is." he said, not concerned about their location. "I am here and so are you" he said. "Maybe the Gods are trying to tell us something" he said.

He looked around, and the mist slowly faded away. The pond reappeared but this time a small waterfall crashed down into it, off of a high ledge. A fire crackled behind them as the birds of his home chirped their nights song. He reached out his hand for her to take. "Come lets sit by the fire. We can talk there" he said with a smile. He took her hand and walked over to the fire, releasing it as they got closer. He sat next to the fire. The rushing pounding of the water shooting from the earth had disappeared. Their location had changed to one more familiar to the both of them. He looked up at her, longer for her touch be he made no move. "Are you okay?" he asked, ignore the fact that he went on his own little rampage. Maybe she wouldn't remember it, he had chosen to forget it. He hoped to move onto something more pleasing, something relaxing and enjoyable. He looked over to the clear water, maybe he would go back in soon. If he was lucky even the lovely Myrian might join him. "This is a strange evening indeed" he mumbled under his breath.

[Kaie]

He reasoned with her, he coaxed her from the tangles she had been working diligently with in her own mind, and still she struggled to believe and understand. The world did not operate the way it was. The ground did not shatter and quake to give rise to new life that did not belong. Mountains did not rise from level earth within ticks, and water did not burst through an ancient jungle to flood and burn it all away into something else. It wasn't right and yet it was doing exactly what she had come to know as impossible. How could Aider not seem so bothered by it?

Tentatively, Kaie took his hand and allowed him to lead him to the familiar blaze. At first she had the sense she should sit across from him on its opposite side, but the scene resembled too much of a memory. It felt wrong to fight it. She sat beside him and reached her copper hands toward the flames, feeling their warm burn as assurance it too was real. The mist had cleared and a waterfall had risen in place of the geyser, spitting its contents into a pond. To his question she gave no response. In fact she gave no hint she might've even heard him. She sat there on the ground, hugging her knees, and stared deeply into the fire. An eternity later, the savage suddenly got to her feet in haste and looked down at Aider with a curious expression.

"Come to the falls with me," She said evenly, backing away slowly before she turned around and broke into a run. She felt the moisture of the soft earth beneath her bare feet, the crackle of leaves that broke with each step. Then she was running. Everywhere she stepped the world changed. The broken leaves resurrected in vibrant greens upon tree limbs. Grass grew tall and healthy, whispering against one another as a breeze rushed through their tiny stalks. Syna peeked upon the crest of one of the nearby mountains, blanketing the scene in beautiful shades of orange and gold. And then the savage was gone, disappearing into the mist created by the thundering falls and beyond the pond toward the rocky base of the cascade's origin.

If imagination was the true reality she now dwelled in, she'd manipulate the images around them like Aider had.