Open A Night Upon The Rooftops

[Ai Shou]

Timestamp: Winter 76, 513AV, Early Morning The bitter cold wove through the city in soft breezes that pierced like daggers. The snow had come and gone, frozen into patches of ice in most places while the rest of it had been melted away in the light of the sun over the last few days. The absence of snowstorms in this cycle was relieving, since they normally happened quite frequently around Mizahar. Still, even with the opaque patches of ice and soft swirls of cold wind, Ai sat upon the ridge of the shingled one-story house, eyes set on the horizon where the sun would be peeking up in a an hour or two. Already, Ai could see the faint purpling of the dark blue sky. Behind her, the moon was beginning to shrink into the horizon, like a thief realizing his time was up. Below her, the streets were quiet. None of the common townsfolk were out this early in the morning, not even the beggars. Very few people would embrace the morning chills like Ai, but there were always a few people who chanced the cold. Ai brought her legs up to her chest, letting her bare feet rest on a pair of black-wood shingles as she sighed contentedly. Recently, she had practically faded from existence, refraining from going outside of her room at the dingy inn that she stayed at. She was rather depressed, and for obvious reasons. She had met a man, whose name she forgot weeks ago, who had brought up visions of her past, something that had not happened since her martial arts teacher left her to brave the city on her own while he went in search of some house relic of his. The whole ordeal of losing her parents as a child had left many scars, even physical ones from when one of her flashbacks caused her to topple off a rooftop. The mental ones scarred her the worst, though, and since the meeting the the name-lost man a while ago, she had begun to experience the flashbacks more regularly, and almost always at the worst possible times. She had no idea that the flashbacks had caused her to physically move about while she was caught up in them. She would always end up in a different spot than where she had been when the flashbacks started. But thanks to her reclusiveness, Ai had avoided hurting anyone or harming herself when they had popped up. Now that she had begun to suppress them again, she had thought it safe to go outside again. The rooftop had been her first thought, and so she ended up watching the skies, hoping that the sun would help her overcome her troubles. Sighing, she reached a hand up to brush away her long black bangs. Her hair had grown a lot over the last six months, and now stretched down her back, stoping at the lower end of her back; around the spot where her naval was on her stomach. She had lost weight as well, and her eyes had faded to a dull grey due to the constant fear she had of the flashbacks. The thought of the sunrise had brought a minute amount of red to her eyes and cheeks, but not enough to quelch the dull colors that they remained as. Her skin was pale and nearly blanch white, with small patches of pink upon her cheeks from the chill. It was a warm winter to Ai, much warmer in the city than what she had experienced at the foot of the mountains in her youth. Her eyes went skyward as she leaned back a bit, exhaling a cloud of white from her lungs. She was waiting... waiting... waiting...

[Spacing]

[Agnusha]

Shade of dull purple covered the eastern part of the horizon. New day was near, the moon already low among glimmering stream of stars. Yet, Leth's blessing did not wane, may be for a bell or two. Fastening her cloak, Agnusha trotted slowly on stony pavements. It had been an unproductive night. Her nocturnal trip was gone awful. Shrooms and fungus was her man objective, they live as parasite on dying fadeong trees. But many of them did not manage to survive the cold. She could only found few sample, yet she was unsure she had collect enough to avoid Tian's wrath. The Philterer had gone little bit moody for few days. Agnusha saved the thought for later and simply prayed to Leth to protect her.

Cold breeze swept her ticklishly, but in her celestial forme, and as long as Leth shone in the sky, much of the natural elements didn't harm her. She did not hate the cold. In the contrary it was the heat that always made her crazy. She enjoyed the wind that blew her hair, spinned around her pitch black horn - the left one slightly longer than other - and flew among the uprising current. She looked up at the sky, the stars always tell her interesting tales. The only thing that matter was, how to interpret it correctly.

The Bright Lantern and Egoistical Ape. Prosperity.

That was nice... except it also spelled Flood when being read backward.

Serpent and Dying Flare. Ambigous, she didn't dare to read it any further.

Horned Skull. Meeting? or might even be regroup or rebound.

It was an endless possibility, but Agnusha didn't find any omen that told her about fungi. She didn't realize that she had been stood stll for quite a while. But suddenly a random sigh drag her back to Mizahar. It wasn't any ordinary sigh, but rather of a thoughful one. She glanced towards many different direction befored her jet black eyes anchored to a single silhouette above. A girl satdown at a rooftop left to her. She seemed to be so absorbed to her inward conversation that she didn't realize Agnusha in a first place. Hesitated for a second, the Lethaefal spoke, intended to be audible but didn't meant to startle the girl.

"Nice late night isn't it?"

[Krisa]

"Maybe I should jump, maybe not” This was the first mumbling to come out of the lone inarten’s mouth as she stood precariously high up on the edge of a rooftop. The bout of depression had woken her from her sleep this morning. She had thought to put on her jacket before she went out in the early hours of the morning. It was passing though…slowly. And she hadn’t done anything too stupid… well nothing accept clamping over the rooftops without any ability to do so safely. She had to get down without risk of death. What the hell was she thinking. SHe hadn’t given up on her life when she was a perching dek, how could she do so now?

Krisa sat down on the edge of the building she was on and sighed deeply. She couldn’t even remember how she’d gotten up here in the first place. Maybe she could dangle herself over the edge and then drop the rest of the way? No, way to scary. She felt like a child who was stuck.

She could hear voices nearby. Behind her in fact. Krisa turned her head, and saw a girl on the roof. Her posture wasn’t dissimilar to her own. Shoulders slightly slumped, head tilted downwards. Krisa couldn’t see her face, but her hair was beautiful. She hesitated to disturb her. But she had a feeling she was gonna end up twisting an ankle if she tried to get down on her own. Maybe that girl know what she was doing. Slowly, she got up, and walked to the girl’s side of the building carefully. But as she approached another girl came into view.

A lethalfal spoke from below, her question obviously aimed for the other girl on the rooftop. Krisa shivered and moved into view “Cold night, maybe” She said with a tiny smile. And then to the girl on the roof she said “Mind if I sit here?" corrected

[Ai Shou]

Ai hadn't spotted the Ethaefal before she spoke, nor did she see Krisa or hear her as she moved near her until the girl spoke. But it did not surprise her. She kept her legs to her chest and lifted her head to look down at the Ethaefal, nodding to her."It's a bit crisp."Her voice was melodious and soft, like a gentle whisper of wind that might carry a song well. The girl's eyes instantly changed colors from a greyed reddish color to a sapphire blue, reflecting the night's grace that the Ethaefal gave off. The angular tilt of her eyes gave her a very feline look, the only sharp piece of her soft features. Even her lips, painted in a bold reddish color, were soft in contrast to the cat-like gaze she gave to the Ethaefal. Then came the other girl, an Inarta by race, that asked a question to her. The words where slightly dulled by the cold of the air and the din of Ai's mind, but she nodded to the girl, not bothering to look over to her."You can, if you don't mind me being here."She mumbled in reply, keeping her eyes rested on the Ethaefal a mere fifteen feet below her. Curiosity had abounded around the Ethaefal, since Ai had never seen one before. Her sheltered life on the streets didn't give her much of a chance to meet people like Agnusha. Let alone, the Inarta girl that stood beside her, but she hadn't noticed the girl's different race. "What kind of creature are you, if I might ask? And why are there horns coming from your head?"She asked the Ethaefal, eyebrows raising in curiosity.

[Agnusha]

"Cold night, may be" another voice flew from shady part of the rooftop preceded another person who had joined them hesitately.

Agnusha couldn't help but surprised when another girl comes out to view. She must came from the other side of the rooftop because she didn't see her before. Judging by the way she moved --little bit clumsy-- it was plain she wasn't designed to do that. Curiosity sprouted inside Agnusha's mind. What are you doing there?. The Eths incoincidentally held her breath as the girl tried not to falling down. The Ethaefal raised her eyebrows a bit when the new girl asked the long haired one if she may sat down there. Did that means they didnot know each other? . Beneath fading ray of Leth, she could only recognized little from both of the girls. The new one had blazing red hair, dominant feature that was the only sign of her Inartan race. She knew not any Inarta except one or two at merchant at Azure Market. The other one had lustrous long black hair, not dissimilar of her own in human form. She bought her feet in her chest, her cheek almost touched her knee. The moonlight shone behind the girls darken their facets, but Agnusha could still recognize a sharp look the long haired one gave her.

"Then it must be colder up there" She tilted her head gracefully and tried to smiled."The wind didn't blow that hard down here."

The long haired girl sent a confimation "It's a bit crisp"

In contrast with the Inartan, the long haired girl didn't let any concern loosed from her voice. She didn't even look bothered when two other girls interupted her moment of silence, or may be she waited for this certain of thing to happen? Agnusha failed to find any further confirmation. Her eye then rested to the Inartan, she managed to find her way through those shingle that in her imagination must be slippery and wet --that was relieving. If she could sit there then she would safe enough. Agnusha also didn't find any reason that made sense enough to explain why she forced her self to climb those rooftop.

"What kind of creature are you? If I might ask? And why are these horn coming from your head?"

Since all Lhavit-born would know the tale of Ethaefals --the founders of the city-- she could tell that the girl was no Lhavitian at all. She was confused how to answer the question. No one ever asked that question. How could her describe her self? She wasn't prepared at all. However she knitted a reply with threads of words and needle of her knowledge. She added a words or two that describe her best that was easy. The hard part was to cut it down in to a simple answer. But She didn't want it to became an ordinary answer. The whole process was quick but still leaving a pause that was uncomfortable.

"the horns are my crown, that should I wear when He ruled the Mizahar" She paused to gave slight impression. Decided to gave her a twist, but not a single lie, Agnusha replied her with wide smile "I am both night walker and star gazer from foreign land." She eyed both girl and added "What do you do up there? Both of you? If I might also ask?"

[Krisa]

Krisa’s mouth turned down at the corners into a slight frown at the girls mumbled response to her question. She looked so downtrodden. So lonely. Her knees were pressed up to her chest. Krisa sat down beside her and looked at her with her eyebrows knitted together in worry. Nevermind her own personal struggle, for her thoughts were consumed with concern for this young woman. “It’s nice to have company when spirits are low.” The comment was a gentle suggestion that she might be able to help with whatever was quelling her “My name is Krisa, What are your names?” She asked both of them, gaze shifting between the two stranger’s faces. She didn’t want to directly ask this stranger what was bothering her. Krisa knew, if she was asked at a time like this, she would immediately change the subject, maybe even become defensive. She certainly wouldn’t answer them truthfully. Krisa wasn’t what was important, anyway. No one needed to carry her burdens.

She let the Lethafal and the girl on the rooftops interact while being silent herself. The lady mustn’t know much about Lhavit for Ethaefals were everywhere here. Krisa speculated where she might be from, silently as the Lethaefal gave a cryptic answer to the human, instead of telling her outright. Then the most extraordinary thing happened. The girl next to her’s eyes changed colour. Krisa’s own eyes widened. She’d never seen anything like it. “Did your eyes just change colour?” Krisa blurted, surprise depicted in her raised eyebrows and slightly ajar mouth. She rubbed her own eyes. Was that even possible? Maybe she was seeing things. Then again, Krisa knew very little about the world. She knew of Lhavit, and of Wind reach, she knew of the Myrians, because she’d met a half blooded one. But she’d never heard of a human that could change their eye colour! Maybe she wasn’t human at all?

She shook her head, trying to clear it so she could answer the next question posed to her. “Oh, uh… up here? I…” What was she going to say? ‘I’m insane and I was thinking about finding someplace high to jump off of and selfishly waste my life?’. She sighed “I was being childish I suppose, I thought I could learn how to leap over rooftops without being taught. It’s lucky I haven’t fallen.” That story wasn’t true at all. She’d never had the desire to be that reckless. But it was better than telling her why she was really on the rooftops. That was shameful. How could she ruin the freedom that had been given to her? It would be like desecrating her loved one’s memory. Gods, she was such a mess.

Gods, maybe she wouldn’t even buy that hasty story? Well, whatever happened, that was all anyone was going to get out of her about it. Hopefully the lady of Leth wouldn’t wonder on it long enough to come up with the truth.

[Ai Shou]

The introduction that Krisa posed to Ai caused the girl's lips to turn down in a sad frown. She didn't wish to have this kind of knowledge. She had already had enough with new people. But, who was she to deny such a kind girl? Ai stood and turned to Krisa, giving her a solemn bow from the waist up, hands clasped in front of her and held in front of her midsection throughout the bow. "My name is Ai. Ai Shou."She muttered, keeping a passive visage through the whole greeting. It was around this time that the girl had a dawning expression as she realized she had faded out while talking to the Ethaefal and almost forgot all about the woman. Turning, Ai took her seat back, pulling her legs up to her chest again, but this time she rested her chin against her kneecaps, looking down at the Ethaefal. "What am I doing up here? I am sitting and I am waiting."The girl said simply, her eyes swirling now from the sapphire to a dull, sullen grey-silver. The aura she seemed to exude was one of confidence dwindling before defeat, yet it had an air of curiosity about it as well. "I am a child of the street, dancer of rooftops and one of the orphaned... the rooftops are my home, most of the time. So yes, that is what I am doing up here."

[Agnusha]

Her curiosity lifted when she heard the words Krisa mumbled in surprise. The only race known for the ability of changing eye color was Vantha, the Children of Aurora Borealis, and the faithful follower of Morwen as well. They live far away in the ever winter of Avanthal. Inarta and Vantha, both of the girls has tendencies that urge themselves to climb upon the rooftop, although she was unable to guess their problem -- neither she should know. Anything that bother those girls were their privacy, and she was wondering if she stepped too far with her blatant question.

"Good companion make you merry, indeed." She added her agreement at Krisa's words and turned her head to the Inartan. "It is pity that we, Ethaefal are no longer capable of speaking our name here in Mizahar... but under silver light of Leth, you can call me Agnusha." Slight bitterness tainted her voice as she remembered faint memory of the divine realm. Spelling her Lord with her tongue always fill her heart with longing and sadness. She added a graceful bow and kept her eyes down for a seconds. A sincere smile blossomed around her lips when she arose. She addressed the next words to the girls "And I apologize if I am indeed, disturbing your moment of silence in this early dawn."

[Halon]

OOCHope you don't mind if I jump on in, the thread does say open after all. The chill of winter fell upon Halon harshly, biting at any exposed flesh he might have possessed. His thick robe and cloak did stave off the majority of the chill but it only deadened the brunt of the cold. His mother's gift to him was both practical and sentimental, just like how his mother was. Hard to believe she was from a respectable Pitrius family, she certainly hadn't acted the part. Of course it wasn't just the chill that effected him, no it was the very fact he was where he was. Most of his life was spent beneath the surface of the world, gazing up towards high ceilings and articulate Isurian craftsmanship. Staring up at the star filled sky he often needed to remind himself that he wouldn't just fall into it, it looked so infinite and vast. No defined limits or ceilings to stop it from just plucking him up and sending him stumbling skyward. Of course he knew this was an irrational fear, but it still persisted in the back of his mind. He rather liked keeping his feet on the ground, flying off into the sky sounded positively terrifying. The young Isur made his way through the streets of Lhavit, having warmed ever so slightly to its ways. They were still very foreign to him of course but his job actually had a way of lessening the blow. If someone had told him back home that he'd feel comforted by the constant presence of a member of the Terras clan, he'd have probably subtly inquired after the person's sanity. The purple armed Isur were rather feminist in their ways, though none could deny their superior craftsmanship. Halon himself had used a few Terras crafts in his own craft, finding that they held Magecrafting enchantments well enough. Now he was working under such an Isur, he wasn't sure if he should be grateful or annoyed as of this point. A season was too little time to know such things for facts, what he did know was that she knew much more about mundane crafting that he did. So the Pitrius way dictated that he use her for as long as he could, to learn what she knew and take it for himself. Just because she was another Isur did not preclude her from the ways that had been beaten into him, the Pitrius way of life. Lhavit did have a certain aesthetic beauty about it that was brought out as the dawn approached, no replacement for his home but he figured that there were worse places to live. Though the cultural shock was something he had yet to overcome, as was his halting grasp of the common tongue that so shamed him. It was part of the reason he remained silent, shame at his own imperfection. Such was the way of things unfortunately, hopefully they would only get better. Halon's metallic Izurdin blessed arm was displayed boldly as he walked, the sleeves that would have concealed its upper half rolled up. The silver veins that worked their way down it stood out starkly from the black coloration, the color that identified him as a Pitrius Isur among his own kind. Among most of the people of Lhavit, he was simply an Isur and clan affiliation didn't matter over much. The man had his cowl pulled up over his head, the shadows of the new dawn casting a shadow over his handsome face. It also further darkened the stubble he had allowed to grow on his chin as off late. Green eyes surveyed the streets with caution, keen senses geared towards handling the dark making this as clear as a noon day sun. The short man halted as his attention was drawn to a rather curious sight a short distance away, a group of non-Isur gathered around a rooftop. Two were situated upon it while one stayed with their feet on the ground as proper. The Isur raised and eyebrow at the sight, the ways of the foreigners here were certainly strange indeed. Why sit upon a roof when chairs or benches existed for such a thing? Was it not better to remained grounded than to risk falling? Really it wasn't his business, however the Isur allowed his curiosity to draw him a bit closer to get a better look. The two on the rooftop looked vaguely human from what he could see, however it was the one on the ground that gained most of his attention. Horns crowned her head, and she possessed an almost unearthly look about her that drew the Isur in while at the same time pushed him away. He'd seen a number of such creatures here in Lhavit, though the name had yet to be acquired. The Isur hesitated where he was, deliberating going to investigate this creature. They had not invited him to join them, nor did he really wish to entertain outsiders from the Isur. One never knew how very dangerous they could be, irrational and unknown creatures that they were. They looked fragile and delicate but appearances were very deceiving. On the other hand he really was curious was to what the horned woman was, so there was that. Finally Halon sighed and made his way closer to the trio, lowering his cowl to not give anyone the wrong idea. Now how did one politely ask someone what their race was without sounding particularly offensive. It certainly didn't help that his command of common was so halting. "I am sorry for intruding. I have a... curiosity I would like to sate. You are not human, nor are you Isur. I know these two and little else. What then are you?" He asked, his words and inflection imperfect at best but they got the point across. His tone was deep and a little cold, his expression looking rather dour with its almost permanent scowl upon it. The small plates that traced his eyes over the bridge of his nose only added to the expression. Such was the appearance of an Isur.

[Agnusha]

Subject: The Doctor's Office (Design Studio)

OOCSorry to take a long time... I suppose it is my turn?

The girls did not have much time to answer when another voice declare his presence, slipping away like a cold breeze behind the Ethaefal. Agnusha turned her head, her dark iris flashes as she tried to caught the speaker appearance. The side of her mouth slightly inclined, forming somewhat stiff smile, but not an unfriendly one. She dedicated the smile for his thick accent that not dissimilar from... commanding tone? She wasn't quite capable at judging people, but from his accent alone, she could confidently stated he wasn't from around here. Not to mention he bore the same question from the girl on the rooftop.

She turned her body around in order to see the man better. The short haired was pretty much muscular in her opinion, though she was taller than him even in her mortal seeming. Pair of sharp eyes gazed upon her with unrecognizable curiosity above his constant frowning. Cloaked himself with thick mantle, but he rolled his left sleeve up to his shoulder, blatantly showing off solid colored sturdy arm.

"I'm neither human nor Isur, as you see." She bent her back slightly and gave him ceremonious Lhavitian greeting. Eyes down, both of the hand at the side. "What am I? I am nothing... but me. Myself."

As she didn't reply Ai Shou's question with direct answer, she thought it was fair not to giving this man the clear answer as well. But she gave the man her most sincere smile and leaving the man to react.

To be honest, she did not have any slightest idea about who was the man, or rather... what was the man? He was very much look like ordinary human except for his strange colored arm. And what was an Isur indeed? She knew Vantha, Inarta, and Benshira but Isur seemed to be an foreign word from foreign land. Mizahar is vast indeed. Sudden urge pushed her head toward the ending dawn to the grim stars lurking in the blankness of the sky, watching them silently. Series of constellation once again drawn her from the ground.

Horned Skull.

She let out a cheerful laugh out of nowhere. Her voice rang, pure as a bell, echoed in the lonely alleyway.

"They always tell an interesting tale, you know?" She didn't sure where she addressed her words. To herself, her other half, or the other three. All of them, perhaps. "Stars never lie. They always there to tell us... and warn us"