Be careful, she bites (Open)

[Daeva Timandre]

68th Winter 510AV Open to all! Endrykas was bustling. Bustling, and loud. Perhaps not nearly as bad as Syliras had been, but nonetheless still very much active. The wolf that traveled beside the akontak found himself with overwhelming sensations and his tongue lolled out of his open mouth and his tail wagged almost excitedly. Daeva glanced at her feral companion and smirked, "You're not a dog. Act like it." Masou whined softly, but barked promptly in response. Look at all these people, commented Citlali, as they passed tent after tent with adult and child each seeming to find their place so effortlessly among all the chaos. Or perhaps the chaos was exactly as orderly and in line as the people meant for it to be. Daeva would probably never know. See, now, Daeva, you have plenty of people to practice your horrid social skills on. I'm not here to entertain you. I'm not sure why we're here at all. It already seems like a pain to just walk around and avoid someones fat ass. I trust you don't ruin this one-of-a-kind experience, Daeva. Who knows when we might return? Don't get us kicked out because of your stupidity. Petch you. Citlali didn't respond to her curse, and instead was content to stay silent and observant. Daeva walked on, suddenly feeling as if eyes were straying to her, lingering longer than they should. She stopped by what appeared to be a tent hoisted up to sell wares and glanced about. The akontak had to admit that it was a beautiful sight, seeing a city beyond the scope of the quiet and peaceful Mura, even if the language barrier would be a trifle, and the customs would go beyond her understanding. But that was the fun of treading in a new environment; starting fresh, with no one to truly judge you until you deserve it.

[Ariel]

Ariel was sitting up as straight as she could in Rafael's saddle. She was holding his leather reigns tightly in her tiny clay hands, and hugging his body tightly with her legs. The kitten was walking along, without a single care in the world, through a series of Drykas tents.

Ariel wasn't sure exactly which clan she was closest to, or if she was more towards the market. It didn't matter, she didn't have anywhere in particular to be, and was certain that someone as tiny as she could find an adventure anywhere she went.

Suddenly, Rafael stopped dead in his tracks. He crouched a little, lowering his body to the ground. His ears were twitching slightly, as though trying to pick up on something. His whiskers were twitching, along with his nose. It was obvious that her kitten was trying to discern a specific smell from all of the rest. Ariel patted Rafael's soft fur. "Something wrong?" she asked, as the kitten began to look wildly around it, and then back up in front of him.

Ariel followed Rafael's gaze. Standing in front of them was a tall blue-skinned woman with a grey wolf at her side. The wolf was growling, a low, guttural sound, that sent chills up Ariel's spine. The wolf's lips were parted, exposing his long, pearly white canine teeth, glistening in the sunlight, and dripping saliva. Every muscle in the wolf's body seemed tense, as did every muscle in Rafael's, as though each of them seemed just about ready to spring at each other, or perhaps in Rafael's case, to run away from impending danger.

As if to reassure her cat, Ariel whispered, "I see it too love." She stared, wide-eyed at the wolf, and the mysterious woman who seemed capable of taming it. Surely this was someone she had to be wary of, Ariel thought, before mumbling the word, "petch," and looking up at the woman who towered over her. Ariel gulped, the woman's face seemed as far away as the sky. She wondered if the woman would even see or hear her down on the ground.

"Hey... hey you!" Ariel called, somehow mustering the strength to speak, even if her voice was constantly wavering. "Hey, I'm down here!" Ariel called, knowing that the woman was probably struggling to find the source of the voice. "Erm... sorry to bother you miss, but your wolf seems to be frightening my poor cat, and um... I think we'd both appreciate it if you could get him to quit growling and baring his teeth at us.... it is not very nice to greet strangers that way you know," Ariel continued, gripping the reigns so tightly that the white pigmentation in her tiny clay hands became more and more prominent. Was it so obvious that Ariel was completely terrified? she wondered, as she searched for the woman's eyes. "Any time in the near future would be lovely." The wolf growled at her and Rafael again. Ariel practically jumped in the saddle, "yes... sooner than later would be lovely..." Ariel said, glancing nervously around.

OOCSorry I took temporary control of your wolf... yell at me if that's a problem and I can find a way to change my entrance.

[Daeva Timandre]

There wasn’t any real purpose of just standing still, but the sheer volume of moving bodies that traversed from tent to tent barred the abnormally tall blue woman from moving anywhere. So she stood, and stood well, beside the tent selling what appeared to be an array of finely crafted bows. She was at an utter loss of where to go or who to speak to to assure that she wasn’t sleeping out in a pile of dung during the night. In fact, her mind was so wrapped up in her whirling thoughts in conjunction to Citlali’s nagging advice that the akontak hadn’t noticed the presence nor the sound of a small person. An infinitely, incredibly small person. Made of clay. Daeva’s white eyes lingered on the creatures body, as if scrutinizing the abomination that sat atop a kitten that seemed to be deathly frightened of a wolf who stood guard. The akontak blinked twice, as if expecting to see the clay girl disappear, or at least to assure herself that she wasn’t going crazy. I think this reek is getting to my head. I’m seeing toys riding kittens. That’s no toy, and it’s not in your head. It’s real, and it’s speaking to you. Don’t just stand there, talk to her! Daeva mentally sighed but obliged, touching Masou’s head softly to signal his slack of guard. He sat quietly now beside his mistress, golden eyes trained on the small pycon just as the akontak kneeled to get a better look at the clay girl. “So you’re a talking toy. If I find out that someone here is playing a petching trick on me, I’m going to rend some manhoods. His name is Masou,” She said abruptly, motioning toward the wolf, “What exactly are you? And why are you riding a kitten in the middle of a very busy area?”

[Ariel]

"Hello Masou," Ariel called, taking one hands off the reigns to wave nervously at the wolf, as Rafael's muscles started to loosen up again, mimicking the wolf that stood across from it. Ariel's kitten still seemed to be rather alert, but not as much as before.

When Ariel looked away from Masou, she found herself staring into the woman's eyes instead. They were an eerie silvery white color, which instantly made Ariel think of the moon. They were alluring in their own, slightly unnerving sort of way, and Ariel found that she could not help but reply to the woman as she stared unblinkingly into her eyes.

Ariel cleared her throat, "actually, you are quite mistaken, I am not a toy, although it may appear that way to your kind. And no you are not imagining things, nor is anyone playing a trick on you. I am indeed, a talking clay being; a pycon. Surely you have heard of them?" Ariel paused for a moment, allowing the mysterious blue woman a moment to think before she pressed onwards, "we were created through alchemy, essentially... well that's the short version of the story, I'm not so sure I could give you the full version... even if I wanted to..." Ariel's voice trailed off for a minute as she caught her breath, all this speaking was making her tired, as was being face to face with a giant blue lady and her guard dog... er... wolf.

"And as for why I choose to ride on Rafael here," Ariel began, removing one hand from the reigns to gesture towards her kitten, "would more than likely be because I have spent more than enough time traveling on foot, and have thought it time for an upgrade. After all, it is difficult for my kind to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time, being as tiny as we are; which is never handy when you are in a hurry, let me tell you," Ariel began to ramble, "just imagine it taking you at least three times as long as it already does to get anywhere, even if you run... but never you mind that... I'm sure you don't want to listen to such things...." Ariel's voice trailed off.

Eventually, Ariel started up again with: "anyway, I'd imagine I am here in this market for much the same reason as you, simply passing through and perhaps browsing from time to time; for I have no real use for such things... bows, meats, fruits... when my kind eats only clay; I suppose such a thing is rather strange to one such as you... eating the very essence of what one was created from... but to tell you the truth, pycons just can't get enough of the stuff... not like we eat too too much, in fact, I only have to eat once a week or so and I'm alright... so it's not that bad..."

There was a short silence, as Ariel glanced away from the woman to her wolf, and then back to the woman again. "But dear me, rambling on again... surely you wish to speak and to introduce yourself. Not sure we got your name?" Ariel half-stated, half questioned the akontak, including Rafael in her question as though he could speak Common. "Or mentioned what you were doing here, since obviously, you are no Drykas... but then again, neither am I..."

[Kayiri]

Kayiri had been doing, Gods and Goddesses above forbid, something productive not minutes before. At the edge of Endrykas, where the many Pavilions and many twisting paths faded into the never-ending expanse of the plains, Kayiri had been standing with his precious, beautiful Serenity, his head on her back, scarred right hand running up and down her flawless flank. Okay, on second thought, maybe it wasn't all that productive to the rest of the world, but it was productive to him. Every moment he spent with his beautiful Strider, every breath he heard her heave out through her nose, he felt a little better about what he was doing, feeling just a little closer to her, feeling even more in love with her than he had been the day they had bonded. With no more sounds made than the rustling of his pants, he slowly backed away bending at the waist. A firm hand urged one of her legs back at the knees, so that his Strider's hoof was visible. Silent eyes inspected it for damage. Nothing. The hoof was clean, and the mare was safe, for now.

He let her bring her foot back down, and with a quiet shh, moved back towards her hind legs, lifting the one closest to him from the ground. Yet again, nothing. No rocks digging into the hoof, no abrasions, nothing. The same action was repeated for the final two legs, and then, from his yvas-bags, he produced a brush. His hands gently brought the hair of her mane over to one side of her neck, and then he went to work. The teeth of the brush dug into her hair, running through it, catching on the thicker knots for only of few brief seconds before continuing on with its path. Over and over, the proud warrior ran his brush through the mane of his beloved horse, bringing the dirt and grit that had sunk in between the fibers to the surface, expelling it, casting it back to the ground, where it belonged. Eventually, when the hair of her mane was made perfect by his loving attention and care, he moved back to her hind quarters, running the brush through her tail hair softly, to much the same effect it had on her mane. Serenity whinnied loudly in displeasure as a particularly hard knot, when broken, pulled on her tail, causing her pain at the roots of her hairs. A loving hand reassuringly patted her flank as he finished, and then rose to his feet.

Only a lot more to go. The teeth of the brush dug into the fine hairs that adorned her flank as the bitter wind bit through his cloak, chilling him to the bone. He would finish his work. He ran the brush up and down her powerful flank, bringing all of the things that had buried themselves in her coat up and to the surface, banishing them from her. Almost complete. He felt her muscles ripple under his hands as she shifted impatiently, blowing yet another pfft of hot air out between her lips. "Almost done," he said softly to her. Then, he actually was done, his brush covering the last of her fine furs. A step back let him examine his work, let him examine the way her buckskin coat now glittered in the sunlight. A smile played across his face as he walked back to her and slipped the brush into her yvas-bag. They had been through so much together, seen so much together. A sigh of content left his lips as he hefted a leg over her side. He cast a quick gaze at the ever present Aindreas, making sure he would follow the even though they were going to leave him in the dust. Then, squeezing her flanks tightly and abruptly, he urged her into a quick gallop.

The horse did just that, breaking into a sprint, shooting through the grass, gliding more so than running through the lands within which it had spent its life. Unknown to him, the beautiful mare beneath him leached energy from the very air, using it to fuel the insane speeds at which she sprinted, as if she were aiming to fling the rider from her back. Kayiri crouched low, eyes squinting against the freezing cold wind, tanned, scarred skin warding it off as it attempted to bite through to his very bones.

As Endrykas became smaller and smaller, he turned back, so that they were barreling towards it instead of away from it, watching the big white ball of fur that was Aindreas come towards them. He saw their course change, and adjusted with, sprinting towards Endrykas, hoping to beat them there. he would get no such glory. The horse and its rider made it to the city with a pleased "Haaooh!" from the lips of the man, Aindreas following in in their wake, tongue dangling from his lips.

Then, he saw something curious. Was that a blue woman? Could such a curiosity even exist? The white hair was not such a shock to him-- that was entirely natural, appearing on old women of all sorts... but the blue skin he saw. That was not normal. Quietly, silently, curiously, he urged the Strider beneath him onwards with a gentle squeeze of his legs, feeling her speed up to a slow walk, closing in on the frighteningly tall blue woman. It was a funny sight, a six foot two, one hundred ninety two pound man, mounted atop a seventeen hand horse, with a pure white, eighty five pound dog at his side, stalking along behind a six foot tall blue woman, with a shocking head of white hair, a dog, more like a wolf, at her side. He slowly dismounted, curious when she began to speak to what appeared to be a kitten, and when he saw what she really was talking to, he felt rage boil in his blood.

A pycon! A thief! A trapper! He couldn't help but feel he had seen this one before, too! Wait, why was she riding a kitten like one would ride a horse? Anger turned into confusion as he furrowed his brow, and that confusion remained until it was dismissed by a thought. He had to warn the blue woman.

"Don't trust her!" He whispered sharply, looking at her. "All of these clay-men and women are thieves and trappers. I am Kayiri Starweaver, of the Diamond Clan," he held up his hand, showing the small, circular scar. "This is what happens when you let your attention wane around these thieves!"

[Conrad]

Conrad was just on his way towards the war pavilion to get in another session of sparring or whatever kind of unarmed combat training he could get his hands on as he suddenly saw a bit of commotion in between the many tents, He slowly walked towards it to see what was wrong, his curiosity like always getting the best of him. His eyes widened in pure surprise when he saw the tall blue woman with white hair. His brain quickly started into overdrive at the image, they where as blue as the akalak he grew up with, but why was she female? And why in aquiliras name had she White hair like the konti? He just hurried up to get there, his previous goal of going to the war pavilion completely forgotten. "Wrong way!" The lively parrot on his shoulder shouted to get his attention. "Shush little buddy,I saw something interesting." Conrad just replied, the unmistakable giddiness of a child audible in his voice as he was still thinking about the puzzle that was the blue woman, he thought he had the answer, but he really should confirm that. "Hey!" Conrad yelled towards the woman as he was close enough to be noticed. "You are one of those akontak aren't you?" He continued walking until he was standing almost right in front of her, not being intimidated by her size at all. Though it temporally flashed trough his mind that ignoring the drykas would probably be rude he really didn't think much of it. "Its strange though, I never saw you before in riverfall and I lived there my entire life." His parrot nervously shuffled on his shoulder the entire time as he was talking, not trusting the wolf at his feet at all. Conrad just patted him on the head to calm him down a bit. "Don't worry little buddy the beast won't eat ya, he is trained." Conrad said in a soothing voice. He paused a bit before looking back towards the woman. "He is trained right?"His parrot just shook his feathers and wisely abandoned post, not liking both the strange woman or her furred friend. Conrad laughed as his parrot bailed and landed on the top of one of the many tents. "Oh come on you little coward, that beast is completely tame." As if to prove his point he gentilly reached out with his left hand and made motion to pet the wolf.

[Daeva Timandre]

The akontak stared at the pycon girl quizzically. Not only was she talkative, she seemed to go off on long tangents that had little relevance to the original question. Or it could just be that Daeva was barely paying attention, as she watched the procession of men bearing bows and hardened axes strapped to their backs pass through the ensemble of pavilions and tents. She glanced back as she heard the clay girl’s voice trail off, clearly apathetic. “Never heard of a Pycon, they must not be very important, I suppose.” She held out her hand toward the kitten, as if expecting it to lick a slender blue finger, “Must be a real pain in the ass to be one of you people. My condolences for your hardships.” There was a smirk on her lips, but her tone could be taken any which way. “My name is Daeva,” She said bluntly, “And apparently I’m just watching people walk by like a dumbass. Not much to do when I can’t understand more than half of these people.” And you wonder why we don’t make many friends? You expect me to be kind to everyone that walks up to me and introduces themselves? There has to be limits, or else we get nowhere. Having connections is the first step to getting somewhere, Citlali retorted, but Daeva, as usual, paid no heed. Instead her attention was drawn to a man who seemed to stumble in and proclaim, out of nowhere, not to trust the miniature clay girl that had so oddly spoken to her in the first place. The akontak stared at the man who bore many scars, a quirked brow belying her general curiosity. “Well Kayiri, you’re either on something or you’re telling the truth. From my short stay here I’m going to guess you’re on something, but that does explain the lack of information on pycons. Little demons riding kittens. Such a good disguise, little one.” But it seemed the influx of people had not yet ended, for yet another man approached her, and seemed to dismiss the rest as if they were simply pests to be ignored. This man had called her an Akontak, which obviously meant he was interested. “What gave it away? The fact that I’m blue and female? Or was it my luscious white hair?” She fluffed the pearly white locks for emphasis, “And if you haven’t ever seen me in Riverfall then I’ve obviously never been there. I’m from Mura, born and raised.” She said this with a level of contempt that plainly showed through her words. Meanwhile Masou simply growled at Conrad and his extended hand, but made no move to sink his claws into it unless Daeva bade it be so. The Akontak turned to the Drykas man and the pycon girl, “Go on, introduce yourselves like kind, civil individuals.” She grinned in a devious fashion then sent djed coursing through her eyes until they locked onto her pupils and revealed a beautiful vivid aura surrounding the little Pycon. Hey eyes prickled ever slightly from the concentration, but just from the reading alone she could determine that yes, the clay girl was not in fact just a trick played by some experienced prankster, that she was, in fact, sentient and real. Good enough. “I need to find a job, and a good horse. Not to mention somewhere to eat and sleep. Anyone have any inkling as to where I go about acquiring such needs?” She announced this to the party of three, and cared not who responded, as long as it was relevant information.

[Ariel]

Ariel placed her hands on her hips, as her eyes turned into little tiny daggers, she turned to face the Drykas man that had just joined them, as the red pigmentation in her cheeks grew to be more and more prominent. "I heard that Mr. Drykas," Ariel said, as she looked upon the familiar face. But although she remembered the face, she couldn't recall the name. Thinking little of it, she shrugged, and turned back to face Daeva, her eyes returned to normal, and she placed her hands back on Rafael's reigns.

"Ignore him," Ariel began, as she rolled her eyes. "It seems as though he allows one bad experience with pycons to cloud his judgment, and one bad experience seems to have caused him to hate and to mistrust us all... although I cannot imagine what that event could be, being that he has never bothered to tell me the story in full. Instead, he simply proceeds to call my kind names, and I remain incapable of knowing what actions have warranted such harsh words, especially when I have never so much as lifted a single finger to put the Drykas in harm's way," Ariel paused, and turned her head to glare at Kayiri again, "have I?" she finished, through gritted teeth, turning her head back to look at Daeva and her wolf as soon as she was done.

"And as for you blue one, I would suggest you don't simply judge one by their overall appearance..." Ariel's voice trailed off as she sat atop Rafael's saddle. His muscles had loosened up entirely since the beginning of his encounter with Daeva's wolf, and his tail was swishing silently back and forth through the crisp winter air. There was a short silence before Ariel began to speak once more, "and as for finding a job blue one... well that may be a little rough, considering how Drykas aren't likely to give jobs to one that isn't their kind; or at least, that is my understanding anyway.... and as for a horse; you're in Endrykas, they're everywhere, just about anywhere you walk, you can find one of their legendary striders!" Ariel laughed, as she looked up at Daeva, the Drykas were practically obsessed with horses, she was surprised the woman hadn't noticed that yet.

"Although, I am sure they are rather costly, the Drykas seem to be very protective of their well-bred steeds," Ariel continued. "But then again, I wonder what one of your kind would need of a horse, if she intends on finding a job here, and more than likely, at least attempting to make it her home?" There was a short pause, as Ariel sharply inhaled, "and as for a home for you, I'm sure you could find a tent, or simply set one up, personally, I tend to sleep under the stars... but then again, I am not so sure I feel the cold in the way you do... and there is always the central fire and Rafael here to keep me warm," Ariel finished, giving Rafael a loving pat on his back.

OOCAriel is alluding to the Stalk Meet when she says "central fire."

[Kayiri]

"There are many of them in the tunnels that spread beneath Endrykas, setting traps for those that they lure into their tunnels by stealing from them while they sleep. Think what you will, but I am being honest. Every last one of those clay-people wish nothing but harm on us in our sleep, even if they seem innocent. Do not trust it further than you can throw it," Kayiri spoke to her, his tone hushed and conspiratorial, his eyes squinted and shooting her a sideways glance. When Ariel began to speak about how his hatred of Pycon was entirely unfounded, his gaze flitted down to her, turning into one of anger and contempt, as he spoke out in an angered tone.

"Oh? Never bothered to tell you the story? So I've *met* you before, have I, clay midget? Tell me, where and when did I meet you, so that I can lament on how I did not strike you down and undoubtedly save the lives and prosperity of many Drykas who you've lured into the tunnels and slain?" Kayiri said sharply, his eyes burning holes into the soft clay that she was made of. He shifted, so that the ever-present sword on his hip became more apparent to the midget, his stance having this sort of: "I actually know how to use this, clay-woman," air about it.

"For a job, I do not know what you are good at, and as such, can not exactly suggest much that will aid you." Kayiri said, the anger slowly making it out of his voice as he struggled to reign his fiery temper back into the corral from whence it had emerged. It was the Clay Woman's next couple of words that threw him over the edge, as they were nothing short of sacrilege to the ears of any Drykas.

A STRIDER!? For COIN!? This... this DEMON was telling the newcomer they could purchase their ancestors for coin!! Kayiri went red with rage, using ever fiber of his being to resist the urge to fly at the creature and crush it, ending its pathetic life. Likewise, he resisted the screaming of the fibers of his body, the screaming that told him that he should draw his sword. No death was to be visited upon this Pycon, not while she was within Endrykas. While she was here, she was immune, as much as he might hate it. He was not a murderer. He would watch her, though, and just because he could not smite her where she stood... that didn't mean he couldn't yell at her a bit. By a bit, he meant a lot.

"You think you can purchase a Strider!? Purchase them for coin!?" he shouted, face going entirely red, his ears burning as his eyes glared hatefully at her. Every aspect of his appearance, from his head to his toe, to the fingers on his hands, to the voice that left his lips, was filled and coated with seething hatred, unthinkable rage. "How DARE you would say such a thing! Do you even know what a Strider is, Demon!? A Strider is not just a horse! A Strider is more than your pathetic clay-born brain will ever understand! A Strider is a Drykas, come to this world again in the form of a God-granted horse, given to us by Semele and Zulrav! Striders are not *SOLD*! You do not *SELL* a Strider! No one *SELLS* Striders! You do not *CHOOSE* a Strider! The Strider chooses you! To even *hear* you suggest that you can... that you can walk into a stable and purchase a Strider like any breed of lesser horse is the most incorrect and deep-seated offense any Drykas could hear!"

[Conrad]

Conrad just patted the wolf on the head and scratched it behind the ears, not really frightened by the growling and shrugged at the woman's words. "Both of them and the gills on your neck of course." He pointed towards the woman's neck. He looked at her with a surprised look in his eyes. "You mean your father didn't live in riverfall? That is kinda strange, though I can see why he would leave to mura, more choice for who bears his children." He shrugged and ignored the akontak's disgust when she mentioned mura,but it wasn't his business to find out why she hated Mura so much maybe she hated the coddling or the undue attention such a rare thing as her got. “Go on, introduce yourselves like kind, civil individuals.” Conrad just rolled his eyes at that statement and took a step back not really wanting to get his nose bitten of by the cranky woman. "Right that time of the month for you, better keep my distance then." He said in a cheery tone and with a grin on his face before looking at the other people standing around him. Both the drykas and,to his pleasant surprise, ariel riding a kitten where bickering about whether or not all pycons where thieves. Which was a rather stupid question when you asked him though. Pycons where just a race like any other and you didn't take one of them as an example for all of them. Just as he wanted to speak up that point and probably introduce himself to the drykas. Conrad blanched when the drykas suddenly exploded at ariel's comment about the striders. The memories of being shot at in the war pavilion still clear in his mind. "Hey calm down will you!" Conrad said as he stepped in between the raging drykas and ariel. "I know she said something stupid but she didn't know! Now calm down I don't have any intention of catching arrows because of somebody dragged me with them." He glared at the man, though he would probably not be very intimidating.