Fresh Air, Open Spaces (open)

[Nari]

87th day of Fall, 510 AV ---------------------------- Nari shifted, her weight transferring from one foot to the other. Patience was not her particular virtue, not today. She was waiting: waiting for her flowers to boil down to a workable paste; waiting for her oil and berry mixture to cool enough to touch; waiting for her pale bark to soak. The waiting chafed her composure, grated against her hard-won serenity. It didn’t help that her tiny cottage was sweltering, the fire burning high; and sweat trickled between the slight Konti’s shoulder blades. The days may be slowly stretching toward winter, but even winter in Mura rarely meant the same as winter in most parts of Mizahar. Her door had been propped open for hours, yet it seemed cooling breezes were few and not aimed toward her vicinity. The scent of Ashwada blooms and Saskatan bark permeated through the room’s heat and humidity, stifling what little freshness the air possessed and pressing it’s heavy essence against the perfumer’s skin. Nari stretched, wiggling in an attempt to ease her body’s discomfort, to no avail. Her shirt and pants were sticky, clinging to her pale, moist skin. All the wiggling in the world wouldn’t detach them today. But why should she be forced to spend yet another day in confinement, all her time attending to her livelihood? The worries of living on one’s own had been consuming the poor Konti, haunting her dreams and tingeing her days with a fear of failure. She had been working nonstop on her perfumes, poultices, lotions, and dyes. She could certainly afford a few chimes of peace, of freedom. It was a lovely day, just past the heat of noon, and Nari missed the feel of water on her skin, in her gills. It was a sensation like no other, and one she had disdained recently in favor of loose dirt and abrading rock, enclosed heat and stringy fibers. The thought of swimming sent thrills though her body, a longing deeper than she thought she’d feel. Nari huffed out an exasperated breath of air, lifting the hair off the back of her neck and wiping at the sweat that lingered. She was not going to become a prisoner in her own home, working day and night. This was Mura, her home city where she could find her favorite places with her eyes closed, and she was going to enjoy it. A decision made, Nari doused the fire to the best of her ability and carefully pulled her bucket away from dying flames, the simmering concoction within threatening to spill over the sides in a surge of liquid and bubbles. She placed it on the floor, just a few paces from the fireplace. After it cooled, she could reheat it with just a bit more water- the scent may not be as strong, but subtle and delicate could be sold just as easily as heady and pungent. The rest of her work was merely a trial of patience, and waiting was a trial in which she could partake anywhere. She dropped her breeches and pulled her shirt over her head, sighing in relief at the liberation of pressure from her skin. Kicking the offending clothes to the corner of the room, Nari fanned her overheated body, wiping it down with a towel. She then plucked her green dress from where it hung over a chair and slid into its material folds, promising herself she would enjoy her time away from home. She refused to worry, instead rebraiding her lank hair and slipping into her sandals. As she left, she shut her door, relying on the shade and windows to cool the place while she was gone. Her whole body was trembling with anticipation as Nari headed down the path toward the sea, opening her arms wide to take in the day (and most likely looking a complete fool).

[Keyta]

87th Day of Fall, 510 AV (nearly 5:00am) Cool air in my lungs, wind across my face, new smells fill my nose; I nearly forgot how wonderful it was to fly. Not flying for any reason other than to just stretch and enjoy myself, I look down at the trees and dare myself to fly between the thick forest. I dive directly into the trees and dodge every branch, evade ever tree and push myself to go faster. Racing about, doing what I could never have hoped to have ever done in Ravok, I even managed to pull enough courage to transform in the middle of flying and back again while falling. Enjoying myself maybe a little too much, I slow down and rise up out of the trees to find where I had left my bag. Back tracking to the area near the harbor, I fly down as slow as I can and find the tree I had placed my bag behind and grab hold of one of its branches. Feeling the exhaustion from flying for such a long period of time, my eyes start to close and I begin to sleep hanging from the branch of this tree. While I sleep, I begin to dream, and in this dream, I seem to be returning home to visit my parents…

[Nari]

Nari paid little heed to the strange looks she received as she walked toward the sea, her head tilted back and arms extended as if she could soak up the sunlight like one of the many plants she gathered from across the Isle. Not that there was much sun today, but it was still lovely for so late in the season. She was, as well, used to the peculiar glances. She wasn’t composed and reeking of self-possession like most of her race, so she tended to behave a little differently than many. Behavior that, in turn, entitled her to her fair share of stares. Peculiar glances, however, were one matter. Becoming the town oddity was quite another idea, and it was one that Nari did not relish. No one wanted to be mocked. With that thought to sober her mood, she dropped her arms and began walking in a more sedate fashion. She was still sticky and unkempt, of course, but her stride was graceful and her chin held high. As she turned a corner, she even deigned to nod at the tourists she met, a small smile flickering at the corners of her mouth. Nari would need all the practice at being normal she could get, especially if she was actually going to try to start her own perfume shop like she wished. People were much more inclined to trust a normal shopkeeper to an odd one. It wasn’t until she was nearing the actual water that she noticed the small, dark spot on what should have been a completely white tree. It wasn’t a normal fruit, she knew, since she was well-versed in the fruit that grew on the island. This mystery, then, piqued her curiosity enough that she left her chosen path to stroll nearer the tree. It wasn’t too far away from where Nari was headed anyway, so a minor diversion was deemed appropriate. It was certainly a shock to find, not just an overripe fruit or burnt branch still attached to the tree, but an actual living creature. The animal was, surprisingly, hanging from its feet and, for all intents and purposes, sleeping. Nari froze in place, overwhelmed by a sense of shock and dawning comprehension. She, of course, knew what a bat was. She had seen them before, but never during the middle of the day and never sleeping so close to people. There was something peculiar about this particular bat too, especially since it was alone. Did bats usually travel alone? She wasn’t exactly a specialist in animals, but the idea seemed strange. "Aren't you a trusting little one?" she whispered, hopefully soft enough not to disturb the creature. "And so tired, too. Hardly any shade and you're still sound asleep." So intent was she in staring at the bat that Nari didn’t even notice the other stranger in her vicinity.

[Dicae]

87th Day of Fall, 510 AV

The sky had cleared up quite marvelously by the time Dicae had lost sight of the harbor, he had taken the opportunity to strip down to just his breeches and boots. Jumping off of Ako and stripping off the saddlebags so he could carry them himself Dicae finally felt the rush of exercise once again, that boat ride had been horrendous.He knew it was no easy task to haul around such a large Akalak, so he liked to give Ako constant breaks, and a fresh horse is the best horse. Erhar himself seemingly been enjoying himself and had quite a nose for water on this Konti Island, as he had remained drenched ever since they had jumped off the ferry.

The mood among the three was rather cheerful, a welcome respite from the harsh travels they had endured over the past few months. Dicae was already having daydreams about the rare and exotic food that he would get to sample, not to mention the wine. He was told in Riverfall that Mura was a beautiful city, but had a small population. Dicae at first realized this when for the past hour their walking had led to zero encounters with other humanoids, but if Dicae had any sense of direction he would realize they had apparently been going in circles. 'We need directions' Dicae suddenly spurted to Ako and Erhar, who had the audacity to not even respond back."We're alone buddy and you're making it tough," Dicae patted the powerful war dogs head, but it seemed Erhar thought differently and had suddenly began to give off a low growl, barely audible even for Dicae to hear, but that was the dogs job. Ako was the next to sense something, tapping his front left hoof twice; the trained sign for potential danger.

Dicae slowed his pace and put his ear to wind to listen to any sign of anything... Nothing.

"Err" It sounded like nothing but a soft mumble, but Dicae had said it loud enough for Erhar to hear, and with three clicks of the Akalaks tongue the war dog had vanished into the underbrush. "Come Ako, lets go see what our uncanny canine can cook up". Dicae had smiled at his own word play, he wasn't that clever, but as the saying goes; "Simple things for simple minds". And although an outsider might view Dicae's current demeanor as relaxed an distracted, he was in fact acutely aware of every sound, scent, and movement that was transpiring before him.

But, it was seemingly all for naught as Erhar had came back with his tail wagging, it seemed he had already assessed the situation as friendly. Dicae smiled to himself, he would finally have the chance to get some directions to an inn, or even a local pub. As the final bend had been past the new view brought with it the best scenery since arriving on the island.

Not usually an Akalak to surprise easy Dicae was a tad shocked when he realized his pale golden eyes had grown to enormous lengths, and his jaw had seemingly found its way to the ground.

"Aren't you a trusting little one?"

'even her voice is magical...' Dicae's thought. His own thoughts had indeed wandered off to rather impolite places, and it took an unusual amount of effort to get himself focused again. He was a gentleman after all, not some rapscallion. He would treat this lady with dignity and respect, it never hurt to get cozy with the locals anyway...

"And so tired, too. Hardly any shade and you're still sound asleep."
It suddenly occurred to the giant Akalak that this beautiful woman was talking to someone... no, something. Like a child his train of thought was quickly, and fully absorbed in this new find. Maybe he ran into a crazy forest lady?

Taking his chances anyway Dicae and his animals moved forward at a slow and cautious pace, he didn't want to startle the girl, crazy or not.

"I've never been to a land were the women are more beautiful than the scenery that encompasses them. Or maybe you're just the exception?"

A thousand thoughts rushed into Dicae's after he was finished talking. 'Did that sound pompous, too aggressive, overbearing'?. Oh he was handsome enough, he knew this, but for some odd reason he had an iron tongue that could send even a mud covered hog running in the other direction. But, even the mass flood of thoughts was halted the moment he saw the tiny little bat came into view.

"Oh hey lil' fella, aren't you just the cutest little thing!'". An ear to ear grin suddenly split across Dicae's visage as he put his head closer to the little creature. Ako and Erhar themselves had become disintrested some time ago and were off watering the plants.

Dicae sighed, 'stay classy guys, hopefully the lady didn't see that'. Reality came back and slapped Dicae in the face as he realized that the girl was now looking at him, that signature ear to ear grin found its way back to his face.

[Keyta]

After a nice rest through the day, the little bat found itself feeling much better than it ever had when it tried sleeping like a human. With a big yawn and stretching her wings as far out as she could the bat places a smirk on her face and opens her eyes to find two strangers observing her as she awoken. The smile quickly fades as she stares back at the strangers and she wonders what she is going to do next. The Kelvic can’t disobey her father, and she can’t leave her stuff with these strangers so close to it. Thinking on the go, the bat drops from her branch using the cover of a bush that lay between her and the other two; she flies low to the ground and around to the back of the tree where her bag resides. Changing into her human form, Keyta grabs her bag and crawls back toward the harbor she had recently left and finds another location to hide for a moment. As quickly as she could, the rather small girl redresses herself and puts the bag back on her back; she peeks up for a moment to see the strangers looking into the forest for the bat that just flew away. Keyta quietly runs back out onto the pathway and walks to the location the other two are, allowing herself to make a little noise, she drags the souls of her boots across the leaves and walks up to the strangers. With a quick jerk of his body, the dark skinned man turns to see the rather tiny girl walking up to them. Trying to not start another odd staring contest, Keyta quickly grabs her bag and reaches inside looking for her orange from the night before. Finding it at the bottom of her bag she quickly pulls it out being sure to have the scribbles facing the man and smiles to him, accidentally showing her long, vampire-like teeth to the couple and revealing that she is a Kelvic. Unaware of the mistake, the Kelvic girl places her orange back into her bag and puts the bag back on her back to await the responses of her morning observers.

[Nari]

Nari startled, every muscle from her calves to her shoulders tensing. While no part of the Isle was isolated, she had honestly believed that she was alone when she left her usual path and headed toward the solitary stand of trees that grew near the waterline a short ways from the harbor and the busy goings on there. Hearing a voice when she thought she was alone, especially a voice with a male timbre, gave her a shock. She whirled to face the stranger, her expression stricken as if she had been caught in a misdeed. "I've never been to a land where the women are more beautiful than the scenery that encompasses them. Or maybe you're just the exception?" Beautiful? Was he talking about the bat? The bat was female? How could he tell? It was rather adorable for a bat, to be sure, but ‘beautiful’ seemed a bit of an embellishment. These ideas flashed through Nari’s mind, each one trying to squeeze its way past her esophagus and through her lips to form words. Instead, she just stared at the hulking Akalak, her breathing shallow and body preparing to flee if he made any threatening gesture. Akalaks were known for their ferocity and skill in fighting, both qualities Nari lacked in their entirety. She, at least, knew the layout of the island, so she would be able to lose him in a matter of moments if he made a wrong move. “Oh hey lil' fella, aren't you just the cutest little thing!” Fella? Another man? Where? Nari’s gaze, never focused on one particular target for too long, scanned the surrounding area with trepidation. Her pent breath rushed from her lungs in relief when all she found was a rather large dog and horse, though those findings were odd in themselves. Not that horses and dogs were never found on the island, but they were rare, especially since the town was relatively safe, small enough to walk everywhere, and there was little to draw tourists outside of the city walls. The man’s smile was charming enough, though Nari couldn’t bring herself to trust him. Her sidelong glance was full of wary judgment, but it was soon disrupted by a sudden rustling. The bat, so peaceful in sleep, must have been distressed by the noise the man and his animals had made. As it flew away, making its way through the trees, Nari made a quiet cry of dejection. Her day had just started to make a turn for the better before this oaf and his pack had arrived, and now it was back to being ordinary. Acting like the child that she hadn’t been for years, Nari cast an accusatory frown toward the Akalak. “You scared it,” she pouted, placing her hands on her hips and sighing. Soon after, however, a young girl scuffed her way into the clearing from a different direction. Nari opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again, but no words came out. If she was careful, she could go days without running into a single person, even one she knew, but in the span of a few minutes, she had been cornered by two entire strangers. The only bright side of the situation was that one of them, at least, seemed harmless- almost a child. But then the young girl did the strangest thing. She dug through a bag and pulled out a fruit- not just any fruit, either, one with writing on it. While Nari wasn’t exactly the most literate person in Mura, she could read the letters. K-e-y-t-a. Keeeee. Tuh. Her mouth moved, silently making out the syllables. “Keyta. Is that your name?” Nari asked, feeling foolish and very much wanting to extricate herself from the situation. She cast a fearful glance toward the Akalak, wondering if this child was his slave. It wasn't unheard of in Mizahar to have slaves, though the idea was repulsive. While considering this idea, however, Nari missed seeing the girl’s elongated teeth. “Are you lost, child?”

[Keyta]

After placing the fruit back into her bag, the tiny Kelvic girl looks up to the two strangers in time for the pale girl to ask “Keyta, is that your name?” The small Kelvic smirks and nods at the new female she had encountered. “Are you lost child?” Keyta not sure herself, she is not needed in any one area at a time, however she does not know the roads of Konti Island, so with thoughts as these, she simply shrugs. Suddenly the little girl feels a nudge on the back of her knees sending her falling backwards landing onto the back of a rather large dog. This dog was extremely scary looking, but yet it seemed rather playful as it looked up at her. Keyta begins to giggle as the hound carries her around running through the forest making a difficult pattern in and out of the collection of trees. She and the dog ran around with her on his back for a while until the large man whistled for the return of his hound, the obedient dog stopped in its tracks sending the girl on its back flying over top of it. The dog returned to his owner and Keyta stood up and ran back to the new people she had just met and was excited to learn about them.

[Dicae]

Dicae didn't know how to respond when the woman had simply stared back at him, it was certainly an awkward feeling. Then it finally dawned on Dicae that a giant, half naked blue man staggering out of the woods might be an intimidating sight. All he could do was chuckle, and scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.

After a few moments of inspection Dicae had noticed the bat was waking up, and as he would later recall in life, he had never seen a bats eyes open so wide. Upon noticing the giant Akalak staring at it the bat made a seemingly quit getaway into the forest.

“You scared it,”

Dicae turned around, the beautiful woman had placed her hands on her hips and gone from gone from scared to angry, yet remained just as beautiful. He chuckled and was about to apologize when some rustling in the bush gave way to a small girl who bore some resemblance to the bat that had just left them. Positive that things were getting weird, Dicae decided to just roll with the punches and see what happened.

The little girl soon pulled out a fruit and showed it to the tall people, and although Dicae could read he had a hard time with the girls writing. Luckily the Konti who he had run into seemed more adept at this kind of thing and saved Dicae a ton of embarrassment. However the big man did notice a set of fang on the girl, which could only mean one thing...

Dicae's inside deamner changed immediatly, 'was someone else around?'. He turned to find Erhar and make the dog scan the perimeter only to find the dog had snuck around so he was behind the Kelvic, 'what odd behavior', thought Dicae. The Giant war dog it seemed was revealing his true nature to the girls, one of playful optimism. With a little nudge Erhar had somehow managed to get the small bat-girl onto his back. And away he went.

It had been years since Erhar ever put someone on his back, Dicae was far too big at this age, and he rarely ever travelled with people. So he smiled and stared for a moment, 'this must bring back memories not only to me, but to you too my friend'. The large Akalak couldn't help but swell up with happiness, but he knew the small girl might not feel the same way, so he gave a sharp whistle so the dog could return.

Like a thousand times before the dog obeyed perfectly, if rather abruptly. Erhar moved so he was now beside Ako and Dicae, his nonchalant demeanor now becoming evident by his, well, um, 'cleaning' of himself. Dicae himself had decided to be quiet and gather information by listening, his master always taught him that a fool can be discovered when he opens his mouth, so a wise man knows when to shut his.

[Nari]

Nari watched the girl closely, innate maternal instincts surfacing for an instant. For some reason, protecting this little girl seemed important. It was, perhaps, a latent guilt for all the Konti she couldn’t save when they left the Isle. Despite that, the child didn’t seem to be in any trouble, smiling as she was. Her shrug, though, was less encouraging. If only Nari could get the girl away from the large Akalak, maybe she could figure out some answers. The very same Akalak who did nothing but grin and laugh at Nari as if she was no threat whatsoever. She wasn’t a threat to him, of course, but the man certainly did not know that. She could very well be a master in the art of suvai for all he knew. Which reminded her that she was quite a bit rusty with the weapon. Fully intending to practice the suvai at her next opportunity, Nari bit back a retort. She wasn’t one to encourage confrontation at any given time, and her attention was, at that moment, stolen. The dog, the one that seemed so fully interested in the clearing before, had stolen the child away from sight with no warning whatsoever. Nari panicked, stumbling past knee-high brush to try to catch a glimpse of the child and beast. “Keyta!” she called, her voice breaking on a high note. She couldn’t see either one of them, though she could hear rustling in the distance. When the Akalak whistled and the dog reappeared alone, Nari’s heart nearly stopped in her chest. The breath hissed from her lungs as she faced the man again. “What did he do with her?” she asked, unsure if she wanted to flail at him or run away in terror. The girl returned unscathed, however, which calmed the Konti substantially. Even so, she wasn’t in any mood to stay in the isolated clearing where anything could happen. This was the first time she’d been frightened since she struck out on her own, and she didn’t like it. “I’m going back into town,” she declared, straightening her shoulders and attempting to make her tone as authoritative as possible. “Keyta, I think you should come with me until we figure out where you want to go. Sir Akalak, if there is nothing else I can do for you, please accept my sincerest wish that you find what you’re looking for on the Isle.” She nodded toward the male and held out her hand toward Keyta as if the kelvic were a little child. It looked, for all intents and purposes, that she was going to leave the man and his animals alone here in the clearing unless he said or did something to change her mind.

[Keyta]

Keyta managed to return to the location the two new strangers were standing and noticed the large dog standing at the large man’s side. The large dark skinned man seemed to be listening for something and the extremely pale girl almost looked frightened. Keyta stood there still smirking to the new people but when things stayed quiet, she got a little uncomfortable with awkward silence within the clearing. The Kelvic now feeling hungry, starts to trail off in a thought of all the new fruits this island might have and how wonderful they must taste, the sure thought of putting her lips on a soft fruit made her mouth water. She takes a moment to smell the air for all the new smells on this island, so many it floods her nose, so overwhelming that is actually causes her nose to begin bleeding. Unaware the tiny girl runs her arm across her nose instinctively and when it comes back, she notices blood stretched across her arm. Keyta’s eyes widen for this is the first time the little girl had ever begun bleeding for no reason other than a simple sniffing of the air. Keyta wipes her nose with the bottom of her under-shirt, revealing her tiny body and stomach that lay underneath. Satisfied that the bleeding had stopped, she put her shirt and tunic back down looking back up at the dark man and pale girl. Just as she did, the other small girl turned and said “I’m going back into town,” the suddenness of this was surprising, but even more was when she said “Keyta, I think you come with me until we figure out where you want to go. Sir Akalak, if there is nothing else I can do for you, please accept my sincerest wish that you find what you’re looking for on this Isle.” She nodded to the tall man whose name must be Akalak, and then she turned to Keyta holding her hand out waiting for a reply from her. Keyta’s smile was lost after this, she didn’t know what to do; should she accept the hand and go with this person she doesn’t know? And what is to become of the dark skinned man? The Kelvic stood there, staring at the hand, and slowly, she turned her head to Akalak and looked up at him, confused and thinking about what might become of him. She turned back to this girl and looked at her face, as serious as possible from appearance, so Keyta slowly lifted her hand, and carefully placed it into hers. Her hand felt so soft, and it was only then that she noticed this girl had an interesting smell, a smell that reminded her of her mother, but she couldn’t remember the name this smell was given. A smile filled the Kelvic girl’s face, showing her teeth and her eyes slowly closed, taking in the smell and filling her mind with memories of the family she had left a time before.