To Fly, To Dance, To Fight

by **Sayana** on January 12th, 2016, 12:10 am

OOC :

Winter 52nd 515 AV

Her brilliant white horse nickered nervously even as she brushed its mane with the claw illusions of her hand. All instinct seemed to go against what she was trying to get it to do, but she kept a tight hold of the reins and made soft cooing noises to it. She had fed it numerous treats along the way from the Unstable Stables, which gave the mare a little reassurance, but still it was jittery and stepped uncertainly. But for this event Sayana wanted to show confidence and skill. She wanted to be a symbol that the people of the city could look to. And in this case, a symbol of stark black and white.

“That’s it. Almost there Stardust.” When she tried hard enough she could get her voice into the lower frequencies of the audible range. Even though the horse might not understand, at least the soothing tone was there.

At last Sayana arrived at the open plaza she had chosen for the event. She had spread the word that there would be a large training session for zith and any other being of the city wanting to learn and harness their skills. Sayana herself was willing to learn what she could of the zith way of fighting and she would also be leading most of the lessons too. Her dark illusioned wings flapped gently behind her and her red hair stood out. She was garbed in a black robe and boots as well as a black and red dress underneath.

Some zith had already made it to the plaza. It was an open space of cobblestones with buildings around the edges. She could see potential opportunity to use the rooftops as vantage points or attack areas and Sayana also hoped to try to coordinate some of the movements of the fighters she would lead. Something was coming to the city. Something that might already be here, and she planned to be prepared.

There was a loud whinny of surprise and a bit of fear as she leapt onto the back of her horse. The mare dashed forwards and Sayana gripped the horn of the saddle with her mid hands while clutching the reins with her highs. She hugged the horse with her knees and was glad of the long slit of in her dress to make riding more doable rather than an awkward sidesaddle. She pulled firmly on the reins and leaned forwards, knowing that if the horse reared she’d need the right balance point to stay on, for both her and the horse’s sake. There was a slight rearing but then Stardust’s hooves pounded back onto the ground.

“Welcome, welcome!” She called out. There were maybe twenty or so who had showed up thus far. “I have brought an assortment of weapons for those wishing to learn.” She dropped her saddle bag to the ground and within were several basic weapons. “But fighting is not just about swinging a blade. It’s about agility, knowing your enemy, blocking, dodging, using your environment, and putting your strengths against their weaknesses. When I go around, I’d like to see you make use of your surroundings. Fight for me, dance for me, fly.”

It was dramatic, but it was intended to be. And shortly after, she spurred her horse into a canter, then a gallop by digging her heels into its flanks. She rode in a wide circle about the plaza waving to any newcomers that she spotted. The horse probably wasn’t the happiest being surrounded by so many potential predators but she managed to keep it from bolting. Despite not being able to speak to it, her body language conveyed strength and security, even when the gentle hand looked like a claw and the smells were anything but soothing.

Note to Grader :

Sayana speaking Zithanese

by **Salinti Parsnip** on January 12th, 2016, 4:08 am

Cobblestone pavement underneath Salinti's feet felt a gritty sort of smooth, taking a moment to wiggle her toes and feel the cool surface against her skin. No boots today. After all, it's not like she planned on making her way out of the city gates. She tended to prefer bare feet when it came to simply wandering the ever changing streets, as if the novelty of pathways on the ground still hadn't quite worn off for her. Even now five years later, she seemed constantly amused that the way from building to building wasn't commonly scrambling across a well crafted system of ropes.

There she stood, not surrounded by her kind in the heart of Kalinor but rather a simple plaza in the impossible city of Alvadas dotted with several zith. Honestly, why had she bothered coming to check it out? The gathering had sounded so appealing at first, an opportunity to show off a bit and learn some useful skills. But now here she stood, surrounded by beings she couldn't understand and wasn't sure she wanted to, feeling oddly... inferior. For the first time in a long while she felt her honest lack of skill rearing its head, not even able to display her main talent in the air without a place to suspend her fabric from. The silken cloth now wrapped around her instead like a sort of mixture between between a scarf and a shall, draping lowly but she never let it once touch the ground.

Wasn't that the point of coming here? To properly train and refine her already existing skills? Not that she felt nearly as enthusiastic as all of the others who had gathered. At least most of them had been able to understand what was likely a rousing speech from the imposingly beautiful woman, but Salinti hadn't even been able to hear it in the first place. Maybe that was why she suddenly felt so half-hearted about this whole endeavor?

She let out a soft sigh, bony pale fingers skimming across her performance cloth to help keep herself grounded. At the very least she had to participate somehow, or else this whole thing would just have been a gigantic waste of time. The steps she took forward were tentative, slowly making her way towards the table of assorted weapons that had been provided. Maybe she could try her hand at the spear again, or at least fumble around with it for a while. Obviously she couldn't put on a show of her aerial dancing without a way to stay hanging in the air.

by **Yisanareysin** on January 12th, 2016, 4:31 am

The 52nd, the cobblestone plaza that disappears on rainy days. Combat training, for zith, and any other Alvad that wants to come. Look for the Red one.

Rey had heard this particular rumour around six times over the course of several days, and he was starting to see that there was something, well, unusual about it. Most rumour Rey heard, he could trace by the evolution of details. On the first day, it was "A zith said good day to me", on the second it was "a zith offered to escort me home", and by the fourth it was "a zith in a top hat and monocle kissed my hand and gave me a bag of mizas". Or "a zith tried to murder me when I looked at him", depending on who was telling the story.

This one was different. Oh yes, he'd heard variations of it, but they all died off quickly, leaving only one persistent message.

52nd. Cobblestone plaza. Red zith.

When Rey had noticed this, he had looked deeper, curious, and found something interesting. He couldn't trace this rumour to a single source. Instead, he'd found several threads of this rumour, all separate, all beginning around the same time.

Which meant this wasn't your run of the mill sensationalist bullshyke. Either someone was trying to gather people in one place with the most outrageous story they could concoct, or the zith really were planning a training session.

Both were hard to swallow, truthfully. Rey had never known zith to plan anything, let alone something this social, on this scale. And to offer their services to the city at large seemed unusual. Siku knew if it were his kind out there, they wouldn't offer to teach humans. But what was the alternative? That someone was trying to lure people into one place? Specifically, people who wanted to learn to fight? What possible reason could there be for that? And the zith had been acting rather unusually this season.

Either ways, Rey had already made up his mind to go. If there was some nefarious plot at hand, he wanted to watch it happen, to figure out just what was happening. And if it wasn't, well. He'd already learned the price of not being combat ready the hard way. Time he did something about it.

Which is how he found himself at the cobblestone plaza, tucked away into a dark corner, patiently waiting. He cleared his mind, evened out his breathing, prepared to act, or to sense anything suspicious at a moment's notice.

His eyes scanned the plaza, taking in as much as possible. The plaza was one of the smaller, persistent locations in Alvadas, although he didn't know if it actually did disappear when it rained. Gods knew he couldn't find it half the time, even on sunny days.

Already, there were some zith in the area, perched on the roofs or in the streets. And others too, Alvads who had apparently heard the same rumours that he had. A few humans, or humanoid looking figures, were scattered around the plaza, mixed in with the zith. Nothing else stood out to him immediately, but he kept an eye out, just in case.

The clatter of something on cobblestone drew his attention. Was that.. a zith? Riding a horse? Now that wasn't something he'd ever seen before. Red hair. The red zith. Rey drew deeper into the shadows, watching carefully. The zith cut a striking figure, black and red on a snowy white steed, as she, or he, rode around the plaza.

After what sounded like screeching to Rey, the zith spilled a bag of weapons onto the ground. So, it seemed like a serious offer, at least. Still Rey had not come out of his last encounter with a zith, or maybe-zith, very well, and he was wary.

He stayed in his shadowy spot, and watched. He could act at any moment, but once he had, he wouldn't be able to melt back into the shadows. Why take that risk?

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic

by **Sava** on January 12th, 2016, 5:50 am

Sava pitched her body around the few stragglers, too afraid to go in she could her them swallow. Her own skin tingled in anticipation of each step right up until she ended up in the cobblestone plaza with the few Zith and strange humans. Unlike the rest Sava held no reason for being there, she’d followed fellow Zith after overhearing the words ‘fight’, ‘weapons’, ‘plaza’. Strange within the city her supposedly more volatile cousins waited patiently within the area, if there had been a smile on her face it was wiped off at the lack of anything happening.

Clop.

The Ziths hair rose and there it was.

A Zith.

On a horse.

By the end of the speech Sava was up in the air, lips pulled back in a half sneer. Her own found no offense in the horse and inspected the weapons. One even eyed her, spurred by her crackling tension when she hissed, “Human weapons, human horse.”

The Zith pushed herself higher away from anyone who might get over eager with their weapons. Not once did she allow her eyes to leave the other red haired Zith. Her claws twitched and she dove. No thought behind he action, feeling only the rush of the wind when she tightened her wings to her body and lurch of her sudden stop when her wings flung out. One spear sailed through the air too close, behind her the clang of metal startled her out of any other thoughts, Sava blinked in the strange sight of Zith with swords, bows, spears. Some wore armor, some wore clothes, some even wore shoes with holes for their claws! Stranger still was when the young Zith man that then picked up his spear and apologized.

Again her hair stood on end. Nothing told her he shared her desire for a fight, it set her teeth on edge, blood pulsing so hard it blocked out almost any sound. Her eyes roved wild until the settled on the perpetrator of this strangeness. This time there was thought to the action, Sava dove with the same speed and slowed only when she was able to stay at pace with the rider.

“Fly for you? I don’t see you fly. What fight? I don’t see you fight.” Again her claws begun to twitch, eager to pick a fight but just as curious as to what Zith rode a horse. What need could she have for it? They had wings! Broken Zith, Sava thought, a smile parting her face when words came back to her ‘strengths against their weakness’.

by **Sayana** on January 12th, 2016, 11:11 pm

As she rode about the plaza on the stark white horse, Sayana found herself gaining confidence as more people began to show up. This was good, there was interest. She noticed a couple of zith take to the air and start swooping and diving, clearly engaged in some form of combat. Some were obviously too anxious to wait for further direction. A little chaos wouldn’t hurt, so long as no one got severely injured during the practice spars.

Then a young female swooped in, matching the speed of her horse. With wild eyes and perhaps wilder hair the creature, the being spoke. Sayana smiled. Clearly they weren’t all convinced at her skill nor her position of leadership. She fought to keep the horse’s reins straight so her mount wouldn’t veer off in fright at the predator flapping alongside them.

“To fly, to fight? There’s more than what meets the eye.” Sayana responded to the challenge and swiftly donned her leather gloves. This would be a moment of truth where she’d have to trust herself not to break her neck. She rose in the stirrups of the horse, still keeping pace with the zith who challenged her. It was either a fast canter or a gallop. Then, careful not to get her feet caught in the stirrups she bent her knees and lunged for the zith. Her intent was only to aim a good slap or hit at the girl who challenged her, or perhaps give a good yank at her legs. One moment Sayana was soaring through the air, the next she was falling and… Ooff! …landing.

Her hands braced her fall and the leather protected them as she turned it into a roll to redirect the momentum of the tumble. Her horse would have continued its gallop until gradually slowing as it realized it had no rider any more. Her hands hand shoulder had taken the brunt of the fall, but she had avoided breaking her neck in the process and quickly got to a stand.

A pale figure suddenly attracted her attention though. Long limbs, pale white, a fragile look and… Sayana sucked in a breath at the sharp black claws. Was it her? Had she really come? But when she glanced into the woman’s face, Sayana realized that it was not the Seamstress. Perhaps one of her kin but not the torturous woman herself. Instead, this spider was adorned with a beautiful silk shawl. It reminded Sayana fiercely of her old dancing days. With a rather passionate regard, she spun several times on the spot, her illusioned wings flaring out with the momentum. To finish the act she lunged into a cartwheel followed by a dive roll.

As she stood up, dagger in hand she beckoned to the spider. Then with a circling gesture, including the symenestra and the zith, she pointed to one of the rooftops. She chose that particular rooftop since her horse, who had finally slowed, happened to be about halfway in between. With an obvious motion she held out one finger. Two fingers. Three fingers. Then took off in the direction of the roof.

“It’s a race to the roof, my darling!” She called out to zith who had approached her. “Watch me fly.” She sprinted towards Stardust and the horse looked up warily, and began trotting in another direction. Yet it didn’t get very far before she closed the gap and reached for its reins. Springing up onto the saddle she gave a firm kick to get into a trot then a canter. By that point the wall ahead was looming and she hastily applied some climbing resin to her gloves.

Just before the horse veered away at the last moment, she leapt and… whoosh! The wind was knocked out of her as she made impact with the wall. The resin stuck though, and she clung to the surface for several ticks before beginning her slow climb the last several feet to the top.

OOCFeel free to taunt or beat her to the top. And sorry Rey, you're hiding. Didn't see you there

Sayana speaking Zithanese

by **Salinti Parsnip** on January 13th, 2016, 10:40 pm

Perhaps it was just the fact that she'd never personally met a Zith before, but those in the plaza seemed different from what she'd imagined. More organized, very passionate but with their own sort of grace laying beneath flapping of wings. Not that she'd ever been the type to judge a person based on appearances, probably to a fault. There were certainly rude enough things muttered about the Symenestra when they thought she couldn't hear, not that most accusations weren't true enough. Just because of the Harvest, it didn't mean she couldn't be a people person if she desired. Maybe it was the same for these Zith, their sparring turning into their own sort of dance.

But that Zith, the other one with red hair and an aggressive air, probably wasn't much of a people person even when making an effort. Without the ability to understand Salinti had taken to tuning out the screeching around herself as simple background noise, but it was that young woman who called her attention forward once again. So much anger written into her posture, a smile full of righteous challenge and blood-thirsty sport. Of course she could just be reading the other wrong, it was hard to know when they 'spoke' their own language. Flying next to imposing beauty on the horse like that, it was hard to imagine as anything other than the issuing of a challenge.

When the Zith on the horse, having seemed so very imposing and elegant, fell to the ground Salinti didn't bother to hide the amused twitch of her lips. Her hand had already stalled where it hovered over one of the provided spears, distracted from her thoughts of practice by the quickly unfolding spectacle. It was funny what could be interesting even without words, but her smile slowly slid away as a pair of eyes landed on her. The woman rising from the ground, her expression flashing surprised and then searching. Whatever she was looking for however, Salinti was she that she hadn't found it. Either way, with the smooth gesture of the Zith's hand she knew that now she was being addressed as well.

The intentions on the other hand were...confusing. The roof? Was she to meet the other two there? Was she simply watching? Now actually included in conversation, the langue barrier suddenly seemed like so much more of a problem. Hesitating for a single moment, she began to walk forward towards the indicated building with long strides. Was she supposed to hurry? Was she even supposed to follow? What a hassle. At least she hadn't chosen wear shoes after all, they would have just gotten in the way for climbing such a height.

by **Yisanareysin** on January 14th, 2016, 3:09 am

To Rey's surprise, the Zith seemed fairly tame, or as tame as a Zith could be. They were fighting yes, but the careful clash of weapons, the slight pauses after each strike, made it clear they were only sparring. There were even some Zith who looked like they were talking to the non-Zith who had come.

Was that zith on horseback the cause of this? Was she commanding the zith? Another zith swooped down to speak to the one on horseback, but he couldn't tell what they were talking about. Hai, he could barely hear their language, nevermind understand it.

But he could understand them. Narrowing his eyes, Rey took a deep breath, and sensed them. Information flooded through his nose, but he ignored it. He didn't need to know what they looked like, he could see them just fine. Instead, he focused on what he could taste, his tongue prickling with the flavors of their ever shifting emotions.

The one on horseback, the leader, had smooth, muted feelings. A deep, broad sense of confidence, not intense enough to call arrogance, a twinge of what seemed like pleasure, and an undercurrent of something a little sour he couldn't quite identify.

Then, focusing intently, he turned his attention to the other zith, careful not to lose track of the leader's scent. The smells and tastes of the both of them mingled in his mind, but did not quite mix. He could separate them, and identify which belonged to each zith.

Not that it was hard to tell. The flying zith prickled with hot spice, her anger almost tangible on his tongue. There were other flavors too, but they were fleeting, and all overwhelmed by the spice of rage.

A dispute, then. He released his sense, in time to see the leader lunge from her horse at the challenger. For a single moment, both zith were airborne, before the leader tumbled to the ground.

She didn't fly?

Now, that was an oddity. The leader rolled when she fell, and then launched into a series of tumbles and rolls. She was elegant on the ground, to be sure, but the lack of aerial movement puzzled him. Perhaps she was crippled? That would certainly explain the horse, and the anger of the other zith.

Her acrobatics finished, the leader gestured to... was that a spider? Hard to tell from a distance, but the figure seemed to be a symenestra. Then, she pointed in Rey's direction.

For a moment, he thought she had seen him, but no. She was pointing upwards, towards... the roof? What? What was on the roof that... Were they racing? All three of them were headed towards him now.

This wasn't good. Well, it wasn't exactly bad either, since he wasn't doing anything wrong, but Rey disliked being revealed before he wished to. How to keep himself hidden? He drew back as stealthily as he could, and padded to the other side of the building.

Hmm. He couldn't really see the roof from here, nor would he be able to hear anything. And he'd need to be closer to sense them. He wanted to know what was wrong with the leader's wing.

So, up it was. Fortunately, it would be a far easier task for him than it would be for them. Their side of the building was more or less a sheer surface. His side had windows. And an obscene amount of stone decorations.

Slowly, he began to clamber up the building, bracing himself on whatever window ledge, door frame or ugly stone gargoyle he could find. It wasn't fun, but he was determined. Finally, he made it to the top, having only slipped and nearly died twice, but didn't haul himself over the edge. Instead, he clung on to the window ledge, flattening himself against the wall.

From here, anyone on the roof would have to peer right over the edge to see him, although it did mean he was smushing his face against a brick wall. Gods, he hoped he wouldn't have to stay in this position long.

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic

by **Sava** on January 15th, 2016, 4:23 pm

Swoosh.

Instinctively her wings pulled away, but not fast enough. The hit landed smoothly. Up then down. All the way until her knees hit the ground, claws raked the cobble. Sava looked every bit the animal people proclaimed Zith to be, on all fours, glaring at the Zith that playfully ran away. If her eyes could darken, they would have. Sava breathed like she’d run a marathon, her wings lifted her and her eyes told her that woman was on her horse. As fast as it ran is was flying. On land. Teeth barred, half laugh, half snarl she propelled herself foreword. Each beat of her wings in time with the pumping of her singing blood. Faster. Faster.

The other Zith jumped.

She landed.

Sava paused. This time there was true laughter. She was right! “I will win.” Taunting, already gloating. Harder she pushed herself, the heat on her body making her fur stick to her. A short race, a fast race, she couldn’t lose!

Distraction, bellow her. A thin figure, like paper walking so fast it was if she chased after them. “You race from the ground, you will not win either!”

Face wide with a smile all the anger was gone. Eyes on the prize, Sava pushed herself closer, pulling herself up higher, higher, until the height felt right. She pulled her wings in and dove at the roof. It was like falling, her lips parted in a shriek of joy. The other Zith was tedious climbing up the wall and was that the other pale one? So close to the roof already? Sava glanced behind. No. Still there. Another one?

Sava turned in time to see she was too close. Much too close. Her wings exploded out, pulled her back so hard her shoulders whined. A new burning spread through her that was all adrenaline. She spread her hands and feet out directly in front of her. Again Sava was on all fours with her hands, knees and feet bloodied from the impact. The Zith looked behind her to see her competitor crawl over the side. She’d won! Barely.

“Ha! I won!” Then she pulled her lips down, “You fly strange! Like my brother, on the ground and scared of the skies. That was not flying, you are broken.”

Mystery solved the fire that burned in her blood dwindled. Idly she thought of trying to push the Zith from the roof, just to see if she’d fall and as punishment for earlier. Visibly Sava relaxed and watched the roof with gloating eyes for the running one and the one that laid on the wall. They went slow, Sava clicked her tongue and focused on the other Zith, assessing. Savas eyes could see no damage in the wings, then why not fly? Truly broken, Sava thought, full of pity and glee.

by **Sayana** on January 16th, 2016, 5:16 pm

While she had been running, a rather familiar mop of hair caught her eye even before she had jumped onto her horse. Was that…? But when she looked again, the figure was scurrying into the shadows. Still, he was not forgotten.

As Sayana pulled herself over the ledge of the roof, she found herself at the feet of the other zith. She hadn’t quite come out on top for the race, but she had managed to attract the girl’s attention and curiosity. “My wings are still healing from a fight with a god,” she replied with a teasing smile. It was clearly too grand of a story to be true, but it also seemed to suggest that she wasn’t really broken and that her inability to use her wings were but a temporary constraint. It might also appeal to the curiosity of the zith.

She rolled over and got to her feet, standing on the somewhat slanted rooftop. By that point she could see the pale spider. “Got a weapon? Are you any good with…” Sayana began but then remembered her voice would only produce the language of the zith. She was about to turn to the female with the red hair but then she caught sight of a familiar child zith doing playful tricks in the air.

“Hey Fury, mind doing me a favor? Tell that spider lady that I want to spar, teach her to fight. But say it in Common.” The little girl zith grinned gleefully at being included in the training session, even for simple translation purposes. “You fight Saya. She teach.” Came the broken Common of the child zith with a finger pointed at the symenestra.

As the translation was occurring, Sayana stepped around the rooftop feeling out the terrain and checking for anything she might trip upon. Then she remembered the snake and started peering around, squinting to try to find him on the ground or… His streak of blond hair swiftly made itself known as she leaned over the edge of the roof and gleefully she bent down and ruffled his hair with her hand before bounding back to the spider.

With her throwing dagger in one hand, she beckoned encouragingly to the spider so that she might make the first move. Sayana wasn’t sure of the girl’s skill but she was likely only going to use the handle of her dagger for blows, unless she found that she truly needed to defend herself. Turning her head to the zith with the red hair she posed a question, “Two against one? You want to see if I’m really broken?”

“Can I fight too?” Came the voice of the child zith as she landed on the rooftop to join them.

OOC Note :

Sayana speaking Zithanese

by **Yisanareysin** on January 30th, 2016, 6:44 pm

Rey could hear... well he couldn't hear shyke, quite frankly. Turned out the side of the building wasn't a good place to listen from. He'd have to keep that in mind for next time.

He could make out a few screeching noises, and then...

Rey yelped, nearly loosing his grip as a clawed hand dropped down on his head and mussed up his hair. He glanced up, and caught a glimpse of wings retreating. So much for hiding. Reaching up and grabbing on to the edge of the roof, Rey hauled himself over the edge.

It was the leader, the flightless one, as it turned out, who had spotted him. Rey inclined his head, acknowledging her, and smoothed his hair out. This was an odd group, to be sure. Two.. no, three zith, and a symenestra. He hadn't spotted the third zith before, but she was a tiny one, hardly more than a youngling.

The other grown zith, seemed just as angry up close as she did from afar. The leader... it was hard to tell without understanding the language, but between the ruffling and her posture, she seemed almost playful.

The three adults seemed to be facing off, preparing to spar on the roof. Rey raised an eyebrow, but drew a little closer, sticking to the sidelines for now. His hand came to rest on the cutlass at his hip, his recent purchase. He did need to practice with it sometimes. No time like the present. He wasn't any good with it, not yet, but his dagger hung beside it, and that, he did know how to use.

He'd watch them fight for a bit first, he decided. Then perhaps he'd join them.

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic

Open To Fly, To Dance, To Fight