Open Mischief in the Fields

[Solugh]

The 2nd of Summer, 515 AV

So much green... Solugh's thoughts bounced around as much as he was physically. Weaving in and out of the growing stalks of corn, his eyes darted to and fro, constantly searching for the next curiosity. His pockets already overflowed with small pebbles and rocks that he found interesting on his journey thus far, so with every addition absent-mindedly stuffed in, two more fell out. The pebbles were only a distraction to the greater longing in his soul. His search for his bond mate had taken him this far, how much farther would it take him? Again lost in his thoughts he very nearly fell head first into the river snaking its way through the fields.

The sun had just hit it's apex and its rays beat down on Solugh's shoulders. A twinkle grew in his eyes as he began stripping off the simple brown garments he wore, running towards the inviting water. As his last boot hit the ground it was not the short young man that splashed into the stream, but a red-brown otter, gleefully barking and slipping through the muddy banks. How long had it been since he had shifted into his smaller, hairier form? Too long indeed. After a good five minutes of frolicking the hunger of the change began to pull at him.

It took very little time for him to exit the water again with a small minnow in his tiny claws. Attacking the fish and devouring it with a happy snort every few bites, Solugh the Otter lost all sight on anything but his meal.

[Solugh]

Solugh had found himself overwhelmed from his first day in Syliras. There were so many things going on at once that he found himself struggling to do anything at all. For the better part of the past three years he had been cooped up in a small apartment, forbidden to go outside for fear of being taken away to be researched and experimented upon. The otter's brow furrowed as if in deep thought, a third of the fish still hanging limp out of his mouth.

The longing was ever present now, and it compelled him forward. He wouldn't be able to stay away from others forever if he was ever going to find his bond mate. He fell backwards into the water, lazily kicking himself around and gnawing on the near gone fish. What will happen when I find them... His parents hadn't been so clear on that, seeing as he must have been the first Kelvic in the bloodline in several generations. With an exasperated sigh and a scurrying of several startled tadpoles, Solugh the Human sat stark naked on the edge of the water.

Leaning back, he closed his eyes and willed himself to get up to no avail. Opening his eyes again he found himself lost in the intermittent clouds passing above him. Soon he would find who he was looking for, with any luck, but first a nap...

[Solugh]

It was a short nap, but it seemed to help calm Solugh's nerves. He had not slept more than a few hours at a time since leaving Ravok in the late Spring. There was an urgency in his leaving, discussed quietly and in earnest by his parents. They had waited until a new moon darkened the sky, and it had helped that a fine mist lay about the lake, obscuring any nosy neighbors or wander guards' view. It was a dangerous thing they did, sneaking the young Kelvic out of the city, but it was more dangerous to stay.

He hadn't run into anyone through his traveling south, and even with his quick pace he didn't quiet reach Syliras in the amount of time he had hoped. He had a habit of stopping at every swim-deep body of water he came across and diving in without a thought. Though until today he had not shifted, not for fear of being seen by some wanderer and captured. The whole thing was quiet drab, the running and the hiding, and all Solugh wanted to do was swim, eat fish, and collect objects that interest him. A simple life, for a simple otter, he mused to himself, wiggling his toes in the banks, sending the small tadpoles, who had just deemed it safe to return, shifting back to their distance.

Making friends in a city was proving difficult, granted he had only spent a full day here. Most people in Syliras had seemed so busy in their chores that they didn't have time for him, or anyone for that matter. In truth he hadn't tried too hard to meet anyone, preferring to wander around and see what new things there were to behold. More than once he absentmindedly bumped into a squire or towns person about their business, and got sharp words for it before he bounded off in the opposite direction. He sighed heavily and leaned back, his elbows digging into the muddy bank. People are hard.

[Solugh]

Shifting back into his smaller, more aquatically inclined form, Solugh glided through the water, snatching at another minnow. It dodged and darted away by more than a few hairs, and a frustrated otter broke back through the surface of the Avitar river with a bark. Resigning himself to not getting a snack, he flipped backwards, slightly submerging himself before his body realigned to float along the river. Maybe, he thought, I can just float down until I meet whoever it is I am supposed to.

The idea wasn't at all displeasing, if not feasible. There was something appealing about his wilder shape that he did not get in his human form. He had decided that everything looked better from a lower vantage point, and that it was easier to find the good things that people missed if they were too tall. The best stones tended to be those that hid under the bland.

Startling him, a frog mistook him for a floating piece of debris, and hopped squarely on his chest. After a few seconds to realize what had occurred, the legs of the frog twitched outside of the otter's mouth. Relishing in the taste of the thing, Solugh closed his eyes and just drifted. Maybe it is not so far fetched to think they will come to me. The frog legs gave one last twitch before disappearing behind the wet whiskers, and the otter floated on, carried aimlessly by the waters of the Avitar.

[Sayana]

The slow clop of hooves could be heard as Sayana winded along the game trail in the forest. She had turned off the East Kabrin road almost half a bell ago and was headed for the Avitar river. With the twisting and turning, it was tricky to know if she was traveling in a straight path but the Eypharian kept glancing at Syna’s morning path to ensure she was angled in the right direction. Even if she couldn’t quite see Syna, the shadows of the trees would suggest where she was placed in the sky.

Sayana hadn’t left Syliras since the terrifying events at the Sanea Labyrinth, but she now forced herself to strike out even if she was not ideal shape. She had promised herself to leave the city more often to explore the nearby land and conquer her fears of the creatures that invested the area. Today she intended to conquer a slightly different fear. The Avitar river. She had nearly drowned in the river during the flooding of early spring but she knew if she wanted to continue to appease the goddess Makutsi, she would have to get over it.

A smile brightened across her face as the dense forest opened into lush fields. Perhaps the horse she had rented from the stables that morning felt her excitement too, and it only took a couple of kicks with her heels to burst into a quick trot through the tall grasses. The wind in her face felt incredible and she gave the stallion a soft pat on the neck with her high hand while gripping the horn of the saddle tightly with her mids. Rocking gently in the saddle she tried to match the gait of the horse as they trotted along thin trails in the fields.

As Syna blazed almost directly above her, Sayana managed to spot the looming river ahead. It was beautiful yet still gave her the chills. With a tug of the reins, the Eypharian slowed the horse into a walk and at last dismounted near the banks of the river. She wore beige pants and a red blouse with simple straps that allowed her arms to move freely and easily. Her long brown hair tumbled behind her in gentle curls. At her hip were a couple of daggers in her belt, one a lakan and another with a golden cobra hilt. Adorning three of her hands were rings. One with a diamond, another a deep blue stone, and the third with a dark red stone. While it was mostly fields around here, Sayana managed to spot a couple of trees and approached one to tie her horse up.

She took off her boots to walk along the river bank and watched the water flow almost lazily along. Sayana could have sworn it was moving far faster during her last encounter, and maybe it had. She put a tentative foot into the water and immediately took it out from the chill. Instead, she sat down on a rock and took out her waterskin from the backpack she wore and filled it with the refreshingly cool water. There were splashes of some animal off to one side but for now she was happy just to enjoy Makutsi’s fresh clear water and quench her thirst.

Receipt :

Horse rental for one day: 10gm

[Solugh]

Solugh paid no attention to the first splish, but the gentle blub, blub, blub of water rushing to fill a small space jerked him back to attention. He swiveled around, submerging himself in the water as best he could, his eyes just poking out of the slow current. Before him lay a sight previously unviewed by the young Kelvic- a multi-armed, dark skinned woman filling a pouch with water. It had been quite a while since Solugh was alone with another being aside from animals.

After a moment he decided that she was quite pretty in her garb and many arms. For a moment he imagined how easy it would be to swim with such appendages. A shiver of excitement ran through his spine. Now only mere strokes away from being spotted, Solugh began to panic. What if she were to capture him and perform the terrifying experiments his mother warned him of? Conversely, what if she was the one he had been looking for? He needed to make a decision, and quick. As if to answer his unasked question, something caught his eyes.

Her fingers shone with stones he had not yet seen. The light danced in his eyes as a yearning entered his very claws. Of the three stones adorning her, the blue one seemed to pull at him the most, reminding him of the very water he floated in. The yearning quickly subsided when the daggers on her person became apparent. If she hadn't been distracted by the water skin, she would have seen him by now. Could people tell he was not an ordinary otter at first glance? He seemed to have more questions than answers and time was growing short, a decision needed to be made.

A large rock brushed his back and made the decision for him. With a startled splash, he darted towards the woman. The world around him became a blur of colors, feelings, and smells as he reached the shore. Weaving his way around feet and up ankles, clambering up pant legs and onto blouse, and finally rolling his way past arms and breast, Solugh the Otter came eye to eye, forehead to forehead, and nose to nose with the woman. As he clutched her cheeks with his little claws, the last thought he had before she reacted was: Are you the one?

[Sayana]

Sayana sipped at the cool water. After a long morning of riding it was delicious upon her lips. As much as Syna brought life, Makutsi did too. She put another tentative toe into the water and didn’t flinch back quite so much this time. She leaned back with her low arms propping her up as she gazed at the river and the sky above. Despite loving the busyness of the city and all the people it contained, there was something beautiful about being out in the countryside. She thought back to the idea of raising her baby in Mithryn Outpost but then rejected the thought once more. Some place too quiet wasn’t the life of an Akalak, and she placed a fond hand upon her subtly larger stomach.

There was another splash and Sayana managed to catch sight of the reddish brown creature. That is, before it clambered up onto the shore and went straight at her. So surprised she was that it managed to get all the way up to her face and scratch at her cheeks before she started batting it away with high and mid hands. “Get the petch off me!” She shouted at the thing and tried to aim a punch at its stomach with one of her mid hands. She scrambled to her feet as she continued to swat away the water creature and in the next tick she had drawn her cobra hilted dagger.

Looking down at the furry critter, the wet furry critter, she was still quite shocked at how it had come at her like that. Usually animals that were smaller than herself tended to keep away and were terribly skittish. Was she near its ‘nest’ or home? Or was Makutsi playing games with her by sending her little river creatures after her? With that thought Sayana slowly sheathed her dagger. What harm could the little thing actually do? She still brought her high hands up to check that its little claws hadn’t actually drawn blood on her cheeks.

“What do you want? Or are you some creature of Makutsi?” She spoke aloud but then felt a little strange talking to some wild animal. At least with horses they seemed to be comforted by the sound of someone’s voice.

[Solugh]

The first punch met its mark and it took less than a breath to send the otter spiraling back into the water with a splash. Lights danced before his eyes and his thoughts swam through thick soup. She isn't the one. His own voice chided him back towards awareness. I didn't feel anything, she can't be. This time it was the longing that pulled at him to come alive. Though faster, his thoughts were still paddling through a rush of feelings, rapids of pain and shock shooting up through his gut. Maybe I went about it wrong...

A rock caught him under the water and finally jarred him to his senses. Brilliant, untouched stones surrounded him like an ornately crafted mosaic, but his distraction was momentary. He needed air in a bad way and shot to the surface, bursting out of the river with a bark and a loud, deep inhale. With both an bruised gut and ego he glided to the shore, staying out of arms', all 6 of them, reach. Bark, Wheeze, Cough, Bark, Wheeze, Cough. Solugh had been taken by surprise, and after regaining his breath, realized that he wasn't as hurt as he thought he had been. However, he plopped to the ground with a grunt and just stared at the brute of a woman. What had seemed like minutes must have been seconds, because she was speaking to him- her accent strange. She had sheathed the dagger, but he was weary.

Maka-who-now? Solugh mused, and tilted his head to the side reflexively. Suddenly feeling quite embarrassed for just rushing the woman, who he suddenly realized was looking just as shocked as he felt at her reaction, the otter squeaked. Oh, what to do! How to fix... His own thoughts trailed off as the idea occurred to him. A sign of peace. His father had once given fish freely to a neighbor on the wrong end of Solugh's curiosity, and it seemed to placate the individual's anger. It was possible the same could work here, but what could calm a giant woman with more arms than Solugh thought necessary. He stared at her arms for a moment before the stones on her hand flashed again. Recognition dawned in his tiny eyes and he dove back into the water.

The small basin of pretty stones had been created by a combination of the current and time. Like a small temple to an unnamed, old god, light reflected around the area, detailing the shimmer of the stones. Selecting a decent sized stone, maybe three paws long and wide, Solugh dragged it from its place in the set. He felt an odd need to thank the river for the stone, but dismissed the thought quickly as time was running short. He resurfaced and carried the stone back to the shore, rolling it on the bank towards the woman. He stopped a few feet away, for safety, and nudged the things towards her, then loped back a foot or so. He repeated the process a few times to get the message across to her, then bounced back towards the water, waiting to see her reaction- ready to flee if she became violent again.

[Noah Amuel]

Noah flew with Zulrav’s winds beneath his wings and waved back and forth in the sky. Syna’s rays beamed down on him and the forest below him as she peaked from the clouds that came here and there. The early summer’s day had proved to be fruitful. Noah’s belly was full, having had served himself a helping of hare with a side of squirrel before taking flight once more. He enjoyed days like this immensely and his own thoughts swelled with joy as he soared higher, coaxing himself to reach Syna and grace his back and wings with her rays.

Sadly though, he could not fly above the clouds and dared not risk angering the goddess. He trailed downward in the sky, Zulrav aiding his descent with a calm air. A playfulness edged at his mood as he flew. He had awaken on the right side of the bed, as some would say, and was eager to live it out without falter. Down he dove and around he played in Zulrav’s calm winds, praising the Storm God for his graciousness.

Below him he spied a herd of deer, near them he spied a hare, and near that he spied a fallen tree. Mentally, he shrugged and teetered back and forth in the sky. His cares weren’t of the world and his happiness could not be brought down. However, the presence of curiosity seemed to remain ever present.

The forest turned to tall grass fields and, carving a path in those fields, was a river. This part of the Woods Noah was unfamiliar with. He had ventured here, unguided by landmarks he knew, and instead hoped he would be able to find his way back to Syliras if need be. He descended further without thinking and watched the river and fields get closer as he came further down. A speckling could be seen in the river. Upon further inspection it appeared to be an aquatic animal, one he had never seen before.

It was different from the everyday fish and frog and bear Noah had seen swimming or trotting around the rivers here in the Woods. It was long, hairy, and resembled a floating log if one wasn’t paying too much attention. In fact, that’s what Noah had mistaken it for before he had drifted further down from the sky. The Kelvic circled in the sky above the creature slowly descending. Can I eat it? Noah wondered, as it came into view. Not that he wanted to eat the creature, it was a simple curiosity.

Noah hovered above the ground, close enough to fully see the creature and probably close enough for it to see him. He flapped his wings to gain altitude, however, as a galloping could be heard coming from the road nearby. The avian was startled and thus began its search for shelter, though he doubted whomever was coming from the rode could harm him due to his immense size, it wouldn’t be the first time a hunter tried to harm the Kelvic and so he didn’t want to take the chance.

The galloping dampened in sound as the horse became visible on the field. Its rider drew even more curiosity from the Kelvic as he focused his eyes on her. She possessed several arms and held the reins of the horse with the two in the middle. Noah ascended, using the sky as a way to hide in plain sight. He kept his movement restricted, only moving to keep his altitude. Below he watched a scene unfold between the log-like-creature and the six armed woman. He found it amusing and thus descended again.

Noah came down to the tall grass where his huge, open wingspan, collapsed in on him as he landed. He doubted his landing went unnoticed yet still proceeded with moving midst the tall grass. He came to a scene where the log-like-creature was seemingly attempting to appease the flustered six armed, dark skinned, woman with pretty stones and watched with a musing curiosity.

OOCNever have I ever laughed out loud on this site and Solugh's writing for his otter form made me do that. I hope you don't mine me joining and I apologize for the large entry post. Also, I don't mean to disrupt posting order. After this post, I can continue to post after Sayana to reestablish the order.

[Sayana]

She felt relief as it splashed into the water. What had it been trying to do by climbing up on her like that? She might have been a little too forceful but at least she had scared it away now. Curiously she watched to see if the river creature would surface and when it did, it shot out of the water. It was a strange sort of thing. She didn’t recall seeing such an animal in Ahnatep. Probably some northern creature. And then it was back on the shore making huffing noises and barks. By now she was standing and looking at it suspiciously.

It seemed to bob and tilt its head in a funny manner before splashing into the water once more. There. It’s probably gone for good now. Now that it knows she didn’t have any food. However, the thought reminded her that she had actually brought something for a light snack or lunch. And by now it was probably noon with Syna almost directly above. She quickly went over to where her horse was tied up and took out her simple meal of bread and cheese. The rock where she had been sitting was as good a place as any, and she returned to it while taking out some bread. But the river creature was back and seemed to have brought a sparkling rock. As she sat down it pushed the rock towards her and shuffled away, the repeated the process. It was truly some odd behaviour and she frowned first at the rock and then at the animal.

And then it occurred to her that the river creature might not be quite as it seemed. She recalled a certain type of slave race back in Ahnatep that was particularly sought after due to their ability to become animals. Plus Orin had told her all about his woes with a certain cat who then wasn’t exactly a cat. Perhaps this creature was one of them?

Tentatively Sayana took the sparkling rock from the ground and examined it. It was rather pretty but it was probably just some river stone. Still she fixed up a piece of bread, put cheese on it and held it out to the creature. “You can share my lunch with me,” she offered. “But only if you’re willing to talk to me.” She hoped she wasn’t speaking to some dumb animal, but at least if she was, she wouldn’t be making a fool of herself in front of anyone.

Suddenly there was a rustle in the grasses behind her. Oh petch, so much for that thought. Warily she got to her feet to look behind her. Yet there was no sign of a horse or rider. Something else? She fought to keep the memories of Cyphrus monsters at bay, particularly those who seemed to lurk within the grasses. A low hand strayed towards the ornate dagger at her hip, though there were a couple she could choose from snugly fit within her belt.