Cats and Dogs, Can They Really Get Along?[Nya]

[Jace]

21, Summer 518AV

Common
Makath

The heat and humidity was extraordinary here in Syka. As he walked from Randal's bungalow to the Guest Quarters he couldn't help but wish for another glass of that ice-cold water the man had offered him. He could feel the sweat dripping down his bare chest and back. It would take some time to get used to this.

It didn't take too long for Jace to find the Guest Quarters and and acquire a room for himself where he left most of his belongings before heading out again. There was somewhere else he had to go, someone else he had to meet. Nya, leader of the Rangers. Randal had said her bungalow was lofted atop Treasure Point to the south. Unfortunately, he was a lot further away from there now that he was in the core of the settlement. It would easily take him two or three bells to get to his destination now. Still, he had to go.

He was only in his temporary quarters for a few short moments before leaving again, just enough time for him to put away his things safely and head to Treasure Point. He took only his bow and quiver, his short sword, and the pants he was wearing. He made his way to the beach through the small portion of the greenery separating him from the sea and followed the coast south.

The light of the sun faded as he walked, and the air cooled; he could feel the warm, grainy sand beneath his feet, a sensation he was quickly becoming used to. Time went by, and the light of the sun was replaced by that of the moon and stars. Shadows danced along the beach, and darkness fell. It was already late in the day by the time Jace had reached Randal's bungalow, and now night had fallen before he had reached Nya's.

'Just what kind of person was she?' he thought to himself as he grew close. Treasure Point was beautiful. It really was no wonder she had chosen this particular spot as her claimed land. Even Jace could see the appeal, with it being so close to both the beach and the jungle. Not to mention the view. His train of thought was halted, however, when the scent of another Kelvic wafted into his nose from the direction he was headed. He had to suppress his instinct to growl this time, as it occurred to him that Nya was probably a feline of his race. Great. This should be fun. Trying his best to hide the sour look on his face, he continued to move forward until he found a path and a small pavilion at the base of it.

"Hello? Nya!? Are you home!?" he shouted, cupping his hands in front of his mouth to try and make his voice as loud as possible.

[Nya Winters]

Nya was indeed home. The problem was, she didn’t really feel like company. The Stormwarden was perched on the railing of her lofted bungalow’s eastern deck, overlooking the sea and watching a storm roll in that she was anticipating harvesting that night. Like most of the Kelvics in the settlement, Nya wore little in the way of clothing. A simple colorful scarf wrapped crossed around her breasts and tied behind her back. A similar patterned skirt wrapped around her waist as well. Her legs and feet were mostly bare and her torso and arms were exposed as well. The woman’s skin was burnished copper from the sun and her brindled hair in its shades of green, brown, black and orange was faded to an almost blond due to the constant exposure.

A wind tossed her hair almost independent of the lofted bungalows breezes and she made a swiping gesture at it as if she were shooing an insect away.

The Kelvic’s bungalow was much like Randals was, open to the world with a three hundred and sixty-five-degree view of the settlement, the sea, and the jungle behind. Because it was on Treasure Point, it had a stunning view of the beach below. And when the water was calm one could see all the way into the crystal waters to the ruins of buildings that lay submerged in the transparent blue-green water. The buildings had long been encrusted with The Suvan’s sealife, but Nya still liked watching them. A stair ran down from where Jace stood to the deck where Nya perched.

She turned her head, glanced down where he was, and offered a tentative smile. Nya had been perched where she could see the stair, it coming in from the northern side parallel to the cliff and beach below. They each felt the recognition of Kelvic flutter between the two and she made a beckoning gesture. “I’m Nya… come on up.” She said simply, no hostility in her wide green eyes as she waited for him to join her.

“You must be new to Syka. I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” She said simply, not offering him water or fruit like Randal had. There was a bowl of colorful fruits out on a table much like at the Founder’s place and barrels for storing water. She seemed to have some sort of workshop below her place where leather hung in various positions of drying. Nya seemed to have collected a lot of skins, either from what she hunted or fought out being a ranger. And it looked like she had the skill to do something with the skin after she had acquired it.

“What can I help you with?” She asked carefully. The woman wasn’t open or inviting, but she wasn’t unfriendly either. She simply seemed neutral.

[Jace]

Common
Makath

It was obvious that both Jace and Nya had recognized each other as Kelvics, the feeling they got when running into another of their kind was unmistakable. The scent each gave off surely helped too, though it was likely neither of them knew exactly what kind of Kelvic each other was. Jace definitely didn't know anything except that whatever Nya was, she was definitely a feline.

Her smile was welcoming, though Jace couldn't help but feel there was something a little off. Maybe it was his wolf instinct, or maybe it was nothing at all except his nerves. Though, it was probably the fact that Nya was indeed a woman. He should have known that; Randal had even said she was. Somehow that fact must have slipped his mind in all the excitement to get himself situated. Jace wasn't very good with talking to people in general, and women even less. Still, she would soon be his new boss and this needed to get done. So, he took a deep breath and walked up the stairs.

As he walked, he couldn't help but notice the similarities between Nya's bungalow and Randal's. Both were open on every side, both were lofted, and both had a type of workspace, though Nya's was below and covered with different leathers while Randal's consisted of a work desk with papers strewn about. Did he help her build this, or were all of the homes here of a similar design? Maybe he would find out. Hopefully he would find out. Jace hated leaving questions unanswered.

When he got to the top, he found Nya perched on a railing of her deck. She seemed to be looking out over the sea and enjoying the view. It was a stunning sight to behold, after all. "Uh, nice-to-meet-you-Jace. Er, I'm, Jace. You're not Jace. That's my name." The words spilled out like vomit he couldn't quite choke down anymore. Women. For some reason they always did this to him. Realizing he needed to actually start making sense, he brought both of his hands up and smacked the sides of his face in an attempt to get his shit together.

"Sorry about that. Just, a little anxious I guess. You're a Kelvic, like me. And a woman. I don't do well around women." It really was hopeless. He still couldn't get it together and his rambling continued. "Not that there's anything wrong with women. Or Kelvics. Or women Kelvics for that matter. Of course, you probably knew I'm fine with that since I am one. A Kelvic I mean, not a woman." This was going nowhere fast. If he didn't start making sense soon he'd probably just irritate Nya and get shooed away. "Ugh! Sorry, sorry. I know I'm not making any sense. Randal sent me. He said to talk to you about joining the Rangers. He was very friendly; very helpful."

Finally he managed to get some sort of coherent speech to come out of his mouth. "So, um, yea that's why I'm here. I'm Jace. I want to join the Rangers. Aaaaand I'm gonna stop talking now."

[Nya Winters]

Nya watched Jace approach curiously, wondering what he was thinking. She slipped off the railing and turned to face him. The main difference between her bungalow and Randals was that her stairs were a lot wider and reinforced and her doorways and roof was a bit raised in comparison. Even her deck was a bit wider and as Jace climbed he’d realize someone could have ridden a horse up the stairs and around the deck easily enough. It was as if things were … oversized on purpose.

That was probably what bothered him the most. The other thing was that her decidedly feline gaze was suspicious and untrusting though she hid it with a smile that never filled her eyes. Her gaze was haunted, shadowed, as if a storm was brewing behind her gaze. But still she came across friendly enough.

“I’m Nya.” She said simply, letting him trip all over his words without interrupting. She flinched when he struck himself and watched him even more curiously. Her neutral expression schooled itself into an outright frown of disapproval as he continued seemingly digging himself a proverbial hole. Nya grew tenser and tenser, studying him even more carefully as more and more words tumbled awkwardly out of his mouth.

“Randal sent you? You go back to Randal and you tell him I said no.” She said dismissively and turned, eyes gazing back out across the ocean, refocusing once more on the storm. It would be a big one and that was far more exciting than the whimpering pup behind her.

[Jace]

Common
Makath

"I, did you just, but...what?" Had he really heard her right? Did she just straight up deny his request to join the Syka Rangers without even any test or questions? On top of that, she had the nerve to just turn her back and dismiss him as if he were nothing but an insect or even a tree. "Listen, I, I, I might not be good at," he started to say, gesturing at pretty much all of Nya at this point, "this, but I did not, I did not come all the way here just to be told I can't join the Rangers."

His confidence with speaking to her was growing every second, the anger and determination he felt was starting to block out his awkwardness and anxiety. "Sure, I might not be good at speaking to beautiful women, but my father taught me all he knew about hunting, tracking, scouting, surviving in the wilderness." His fists were clenched, and his temper rising, but he did his best to keep his cool. Even so, it probably still showed in his words. His grandfather's last wish, his dying words, were for Jace to explore the world since he couldn't do it himself. Syka was the perfect place to start.

Akajia, Goddess of Secrets among other things, marked him for a reason too. The shadows around here had already started whispering of mysteries hidden within the jungle. There was a lot of reason for him to not take 'no' for an answer. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself before he spoke again. His hands no longer clenched, but hung loosely at his sides.

"Nya, please. I, I know I haven't seemed very confident so far, and you probably have better things to do than listen to a random guy's stammering, but I can defend myself and I know what I'm doing when it comes to the wilderness of the jungle. My father taught me well, and I have my instincts as a wolf Kelvic to help as well." His words were calmer now, his body language a lot less tense. There was a new determination in his eyes as he spoke, though. "I want to work with you, and I can learn anything I need to know that I don't already. Please, let me join the Rangers and work under you. I know I can help. Especially with the blessing of Akajia, the Goddess of Secrets, Shadows, and the Night."

If it wasn't clear already, by now Nya could probably tell Jace wasn't going to just back down so easily. Hopefully, his determination and stubbornness intrigued the feline and didn't make her angry. He wasn't sure why, but he had a gut feeling that making Nya angry would not end well for him.

[Nya Winters]

Nya disliked folks that lacked confidence or covered their fear with anger. Jace was doing both. She wasn’t threatening or imposing and he had no reason to stammer and stutter his way through this would-be interview Nya didn’t even really know she needed to conduct. Highly emotional people did stupid things. They weren’t even in a situation that called for any sort of emotion. And yet here he was, getting upset that she’d told him no. What was he, spoiled? Great. That’s all she needed was a coddled Kelvic that thought he could have the run of The Maw and survive without issues.

“You will do as you are told. Half of this….” Nya gestured, mimicking as Jace had, to reflect this interaction. “… is about interacting with people. Most of Syka is not use to the wilderness and needs The Rangers to guide them or clear trail for them to make it safer. If you can’t even talk to people without going through all that, what use are you going to be? What if there’s an emergency and you have to pass a message or get help or give clear instructions? And you can’t because you are too busy being afraid or intimidated by the situation? You’ll cause someone’s death. I won’t have that on my conscious. Maybe Randal can give you a job at The Mercantile or something.” She said helpfully, shaking her head at his growing anger. She could feel the white-hot heat of it from where she stood leaning against the railing watching the storm.

“And while you might know everything there is to know about the jungle and surviving out there, sitting here getting pissed at me and loosing your temper over something that shouldn’t have emotional investment doesn’t give me any more confidence in you. It tells me you are irrational and hot-headed, just exactly the type we don’t need in The Rangers. We need level headed people that can keep their cool and discuss things calmly and rationally, even under stress.” She added, giving him a quick glance and seeing he still hadn’t calmed down.

“And now you are begging? Seriously? And throwing around a blessing from The Night Mother? Jace, you aren’t anyone special around here until you prove yourself. We aren’t going to take your word for it nor some pretty little marks on your skin. It means nothing to us. Most of us are marked as well. Do you know a God or Goddess can get pissed at someone and mark them just as easily? It’s not always a reward, pup. Sometimes its just a way for them to find you anywhere and everywhere whenever they want.” Nya added, starting to get a little annoyed at the fact that he hadn’t left already.

The boy was doing a piss poor job of selling himself. He was doing all sorts of whining and bragging almost alternatively, but none of his actions so far had merited her attention. There were all sorts of things he could have done to convince her, but so far just standing there telling her how fantastic he was and how well trained he was really wasn’t impressing her.

Word Count: 560

[Jace]

Common
Makath

Jace couldn't help but flinch a little as he listened to Nya's words. They hurt him, and struck a nerve somewhere deep inside, but he could tell they were the truth. He had been unable to speak clearly, gotten angry too quick, and was all in all acting like a child. He wanted to follow his grandfather's dying wish, and the thought of becoming a Ranger had filled him with excitement and joy. Nya was right, and he knew that, but what was he supposed to do? Did he just...give up?

It was obvious by now that Jace had accepted the woman's words. His eyes were directed at the floor as he thought how best to answer, and what he was supposed to do next. After a long moment, he looked up, trying to catch Nya's eye. "You're right," he started, trying to take his time so he could speak clearly. It might not do much, but it might stop his stammering just enough to get out what he needed to. "I'm, I'm sorry. I was, I've been acting like a child, letting my emotions, letting my emotions get the better of me. You were right, but, but I know I can do this job." His words were slow, pointed. If Nya was as good at reading people as she seemed to be, she'd be able to tell that he was struggling to speak in clear sentences. His eyes found the floor again, ashamed of how he had acted.

"I, was raised in Riverfall. My parents, they kept me in solitude, my whole life. I'm not great at speaking with women," he continued, his words still exaggeratedly slow. He might be making sense, but it was taking much too long for him to get the words out still. "But, only alone. If, if there are others around, especially men or children, it, it isn't the same. I'm still young, only two years old. I've only just reached maturity, and, and I have, I have a lot to learn still." The words tasted sour in his mouth, but it felt good to get them out. A bittersweet admission in this new land.

The floor no longer caught the attention of his eyes. He wanted her to know he was serious about this, so he did his best to keep his eyes trained on hers as he spoke. "If, if you give me a chance, I'd be honored to work with you. You, you have a lot you can teach me. A lot, a lot that I can learn from you. I promise, I promise I won't disappoint you, and I will not get anyone killed." All that was left in his eyes was determination, a sort of fire behind those icy blue gems.

word count: 462