Solo Complexes

[Taurina]

Afternoon of the 1st of Spring 517

Taurina had tired of the heat and desired to feel the cold of snow. She wished for the sky to be heavy with flakes of crystal ice. For the world to turn into a tundra colored white and grey. She wanted for clouds of frozen breath to form each time she exhaled and for the chance to play with Melody in the white frozen powder. They have never been together in the snow before. Would the colorsplash enjoy it or hate it? It did not matter. Snow was not coming this year, if it even came to the grasslands in normal years. Taurina did not even know that much. What she did know is that winter was passed, spring had come, and the scorching heat that had filled the previous seasons continued to seep through everything.

The Ethaefal wiped her wrist over her brow with frustration, beads of sweat smearing the stains of charcoal that had already developed over her hands and upper forearms. Deep frown lines crinkled her face in an ugly twist over the discomfort she experienced. The heat made it hard to do anything properly anymore which did not help the already artist who still struggled with her sketches. She was frustrated, tired, and had yet to even really do anything for the day.

“You know.. you’re face is gonna freeze like that if you do not loosen up,” Jarorra chided with a soft chuckle.

Despite herself, a Taurina instantly reacted by glaring up at her mentor. The frown lines grew deeper for she was anything but amused.

“That would be an improvement over the current conditions,” her voice did not hold any of the humor the other woman had used in her statement.

To her credit, Jarorra’s smile did not fade as she shook her head.

“If it was eternally cold you would be upset with the cold, there is never any winning with this,” the mentor pointed out with perspective and a bit of hope, “heat has done damage to all, it does not do well to dwell on it. Besides, we have a client.” Smile.

“We do?” Taurina’s gaze snapped up to see a family coming in through the opening of the pavilion.

A quick look to Jarorra gained her another sign of smile before the Ethaefal sighed and did as told. She closed the journal in her lap and put it to the side before pushing up from her seat on ground. Once standing, she bent to gather up the journal and charcoal before moving it over to where it would not be in the way. With a smile full of fake pleasure and happiness stretched over her face, Taurina moved over to join Jarorra where the new client was greeted and a the process for another windmark session begun.

The group was large, but respectful. They all had smiles spread for miles. The true kind, that set sparkles in their eyes and made their cheeks rosy despite darker complexions. Taurina tried to mimic a little better what the real smile looked like. Raise her cheeks, widen her eyes just slightly to create an open and accepting look. It was not working for her. At least, it might have been to the outside eye, but inside she felt faker than she did when just giving her simple, customary, close lipped smile. So she wiped the false happiness from her face and just tried to look pleasant. Pleasant and welcoming.

She really hoped they were not paying attention to her. The go away her heart desired to sign was not far from her fingertips.

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

[Taurina]

The recipient of windmarks this day was a thirteen year old male who was bursting at the seams full with the excitement he had acquired just after bonding. His smile -while challenged by the others’ of his family- was the brightest of them all. He was also the loudest, going on and on about the tan and black colored strider that had chosen him to be its rider. On and on.

Jarorra was eating it up and sketching away. The Lilacwind female worked off of all his energy and hardly had to ask any questions for the male left little to the imagination. Taurina internally cringed away each time he spoke anything. His voice was like a dagger repeatedly being stabbed into her ears. It was high pitched, full of all the excitement that filled him, and broke semi-frequently for he must have been in that transition phase between boyhood and man. It would not have mattered if he had had the deepest voice any man had ever had, the Ethaefal still would not have enjoyed standing near and having to give another smile each time she caught someone looking at her.

It was his excitement, the Ethaefal realized upon reflection, that bothered her more than anything. It was not that he had it or that it filled him. No. It was because she was jealous. Pure and simple. He had been chosen by a strider at such a tender age before he had gotten the chance to do anything that might prove himself worthy and she was still left as nothing but a Drykas turned walahk.

That really was not fair of her. His age did not determine if he was worthy or not and the strider had chosen him regardless, so it decided how worthy he was. She was just bitter and she knew she needed to cut it out. If it was meant to be, a strider would chose her. She just needed to be patient.

Taurina sighed and ran her hand through her tangled mess of hair. She had knotted it all up earlier in the day, but constantly pushing it around and pulling hands through it had loosened the braids and resulted in the hair, in mass, to fall from her head and tumble over her right shoulder. It was frustrating for the hair only made her hotter and sweat caused it to stick aggravatingly to her skin. Nothing she could do about it at the moment though, it was looking as though the sketch part was almost over. The boy was finalizing his idea with Jarorra.

The Ethaefal looked down to her hands, picking at her nail beds as if they were the most interesting things in the world while she waited to get to the part where she was needed. Colors would need to be gathered, all the other supplies. Taurina awaited her instructions while focusing hard on not trying to clench or cringe each time the male youth spoke. If she did that while stretching his skin for Jarorra, he was bound to notice and maybe even question the action. He seemed like the type to draw attention to what the Eth did not want noticed. So control, that was the only option. Control herself into neutrality.

“-Taurina, can you gather the black, red, and white ink? Blue paint as well, please?” instructions were given, snapping the Eth from her focus to meet the expectant eyes of her boss.

“Yes, no problem,” Taurina said nervously after a pause.

Everyone was looking at her. Every person of the family, the boy, and her mentor. Was there something on her face? Taurina flushed rosy before she gave a tight smile and quickly walked away. How foolish they all caused her to feel.

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

[Taurina]

The Ethaefal’s hands were shaking and she was all too aware of it. She feared dropping the jars of ink and paint that were balanced so carefully within her grasp. Normally she would have never carried four full jars at a time, but she was feeling watched and judged. While she was normally very cautious and careful, going more trips rather than trying to expedite the process by going in a single trip with too much in her hands, most of Endrykas was not. The normal Drykas did this as efficiently as possible. Another difference on the seemingly endless list of them. Taurina tried now to be less different and it was not working out for her so great.

Somehow, Taurina made it to where Jarorra we setting up the boy for his session without spilling a single drop. Relief flooded her and stilled her hands. The Drykas group was no longer focused on her which helped. In fact, it seemed as though they were focused on everything but her. Some chatted amongst themselves, some with the annoying boy, and some with Jarorra. Taurina heard one tell told Jarorra of how it had been such a hard season for this pavilion and this bonding was a sign to them that things were finally taking a turn for the better.

Taurina bit back a retort about how winter had been hard on all of them and not everyone got a shiny new strider out of the rotten deal they’d all been dealt. The Ethaefal may not have said anything, but she caught herself thinking the unkind comments and reached up with a hand that pinched her nose and fell down over her face. It was a quick action of frustration with her own mind. ‘The heat,’ she told herself, ‘it is just the heat.’ It was not just that though. Many things were playing a part in her attitude today and the heat simply made it harder than usual to push her true thoughts away.

The Ethaefal turned away from the group and went to gather the remaining supplies needed. It was not as hard to gather the chisels, bowls for the ink, and pieces of clothe that would be used. Her hands had ceased their trembling and all that was left was the irritability she could not seem to rid herself of. She would eat if she thought that would help, but she did not believe these emotions stemmed from any sort of hunger. Maybe the hunger to become more fully Drykas herself, but that was not simply solved by food. No, this was unfortunately not so easily cured.

With supplies gathered and brought to Jarorra, Taurina stood over to the side while she waited to be needed. The youth had decided upon getting his windmarks on the right side of his back beneath the shoulder blade. This meant he was sitting reverse with his torso exposed so Jarorra could get to the proper place. The woman was painting out the design, getting the basics of what he wanted down so that it would be easier to get everything correct when it came to adding the ink.

Taurina watched from her place behind the pair, noticing not only how scrawny the boy was, but some nasty scarring that had formed along contours of the other side of his back. She did not know what it was from, but it looked like an attack had happened. Something wild had dug into the layers of his skin and left a mark there to remain for all of his life. Suddenly, the woman felt guilty for judging so harshly. Something had happened to him and from the looks of it, that something had come close to his the area where his heart dwelled. He was scrawny, if it had gone up more and just a little deeper… a chill went through her sweaty body.

Taurina had been premature in her judgement. He was worthy of the reward he had gotten and perhaps as the woman had insisted to Jarorra, this bonding meant a turn for the better for their pavilion.

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

[Taurina]

The paint was down and now it was time for the ink. Taurina had been brought over and now sat level with the boy’s form as she stretched out and made smooth the skin of his back. Despite his hardship, the boy had soft skin. It had not yet been marked and made rough by the struggle of life. While it held signs that a hard life was being lived, it also told of his youth and all the life he had yet to live. The ink being added was his hope. The mark of a life beginning as a full member of the Drykas people.

The youth still talked, but his voice was not nearly as grating anymore. Either that was because the Eth had sympathy for him now or because she had simply gotten used to the sound. Perhaps both. She did know that it was not because she had successfully controlled her emotions into neutrality. It seemed as hard as she might try, hiding emotions to the point of them not existing anymore was not something written in her genes.

The boy’s strider was named Nalia and though he had only known her a day, he was very proud of her. He said that she was still young, not yet ready to be ridden, but not quite a baby needing her mother. She was beautiful, he spoke of that most. Her coat was soft and gleamed in Syna’s light. He had taken to playing with her and teaching her various games. He told of how smart she was, how she had spent the morning following him around while he did his chores. She was his new best friend, he told them, and life was going to be so good for forever more.

It sounded like a dream. A story conjured up by the elders to distract everyone from the plight of the land they lived off of. Only, it was not. Somehow, for this boy, the dream was real. His best friend had been found and things would never be the same for him. Taurina desired that. A bond that gripped her so deeply nothing else compared. A friend to have in the face of adversity. One to trust when there was no one else. Someone who had her back and completed her so much that the future seemed bright and full of endless possibilities. She wanted what the boy had, but it was not something she could just go out and force. There was nothing she could do about this desire. All she got to do was wait, hope, and pray that one day it would be her. That she would be chosen.

Bells passed and while some were more quiet than others, the happiness of the event never faded. The boy was marked with the color of his clan, ruby, and an abstract version of the horse he had described to them all so many times. There was a starburst pattern around the horse, a symbol of hope and light. Highlighting with the white ink had really caused the burst of “light” to look like it was meant to. The whole tattoo really lifted off his skin and told the story that it was meant to.

The final details were completed and the remained drops of excess ink and blood were washed away. The boy was told that he would need to get it worked on as he grew and his skin changed, to keep it intact as best as it could be. Hopefully he would not grow too much from his current shape and height. He agreed happily to coming as needed before farewells began to be exchanged. Each member of the family had said their thanks followed by a goodbye before the whole group had cleared out.

Taurina sighed and then sagged with mild relief when they were all gone. She was glad that part of the day was over. Now all that was left was to clean up and go home in a couple bells. Probably dwell over all her emotions at some point, but that was not abnormal.

“Feeling any better?” Jarorra chided, Taurina was sure that the woman had noticed the array of emotions present during the whole of the session.

Taurina took a breath and then released. So many emotions, but feeling better?

“Yes,” she lied.

And with that, the Ethaefal began to clean up. Glad that the day was nearly over.

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

[Samuel Longwell]

Grading Complete Please edit your grade request thread so that it's obvious that it's been graded. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions/problems with your grade. Name: Rina XP Award: Philosophy 2 Acting 3 Observation 4 Endurance 1 Tattooing 1 Lore: Acting: Putting on a fake smile for customers. Self-discipline: Need to be patient. The pain of being non-Drykas Philosophy: Do not judge those you do not know. Notes: This was well-written. You captured Taurina's desire for a Strider very well in my opinion. Good job (thread)!