Red-Eyed Ball of Energy! [Introduction]

[Roulette]

31st of Spring, 519 AV

The entire trip felt like an eternity! Sure there were days that there were filled with song and dance. But aside from the daily chores, there really wasn't much else to do other than swap stories. Not that she had many to tell, being barely two years of age and all. The ship moved with surprising speed. At least that is what Roulette thought anyway. Red eyes looked out in the direction they were heading. There, on the horizon, was the place she was going to. The settlement called Syka. Her grandfather, Leto, had mentioned it but only on vague terms. Not really knowing what to expect, that was only half the fun, right?

"Hey Roulette! Give me a hand here." Her head turned to look at one of the Svefra scrubbing the deck, quickly she skipped over to the man to scrub the deck, not having minded this at all. She grinned at him while talking, it was obvious she was excited. "I saw land on the horizon! Is that Syka? It looks huge!" The man merely laughed and nodded his head before he replied. "Yep, that's Syka, and its a jungle. So mind your step. Before you leave, make sure all your stuff is packed and ready. Including those awful chewed pairs of shoes. We don't need them!" They both chuckled as she nodded. "Don't worry I'll take them with me! Hehe.. I'm going to miss everyone's singing and dancing though. Promise to visit?"

The man chuckled. "We'll see." Roulette grinned at him happily before she continued to scrub the deck. It took them roughly a bell, but it got done. Minus having slipped here and there in the process. At least she was getting better at it! After the deck was finished being cleaned, the Kelvic slipped below to go and pack up her belongings. Roulette looked around briefly to ensure she was alone for a moment before she picked up the small marble carving of a bear. The one her grandfather had secretly slipped into her pack. Having turned over the small thing in her hands, she held onto the memory of the stories he used to tell her.

"Maybe someday I'll see you all again." She whispered softly to herself. The chances of her ever seeing her family again were slim. But even if she didn't, it was nice to know they were in her memory and heart. With the feeling of tears that threatened to well up, she pushed it back. It wouldn't do if someone came in and saw her crying. Nope! Instead, she inhaled deeply and exhaled the air slowly to steady her nerves. The small carving was placed securely into her backpack, it was her most prized possession. Most of the contents in her backpack were still largely packed up. Only a bedroll, a pair of shoes, her shirt and pants were really taken out. Though given the heat during the day, she only really wore the clothes as a means to prevent sunburn.

That didn't mean she wouldn't walk around nude though! Roulette stood at a height of a measly five foot even, almost scrawny frame with a small bust and rump to match. Dark, almost glossy ebony skin denoted her youth. Wild, untamed midnight curls fell to her shoulders. No amount of brushing was enough to tame the mess either. She tried a few times. And the result? Didn't make a damn bit of difference! As she grabbed one of the shoes, she looked around not seeing the other one right away. So when she backed up and turned to go look, her foot caught the second shoe and down she tumbled. Having tripped over the little thing and literally face planting against the wall. If anything, she was still clumsy!

"Ow.." She groaned softly and carefully detached herself from the wall where her face smacked right into. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, shook her head and looked down at the second shoe before having grabbed it quickly. "Alright, Mr. Shoe. You're coming with me." She muttered under her breath and smirked a little bit, then placed both shoes into her backpack and looked around. Her bedroll was still out, and it was the only thing left out by now. She walked over to it, leaned down and began to roll it up. She started at the closed end. Though she had to pause as a mouse scuttled out of the opening. The urge to give chase immediately had her hooked. Literally giving chase after it briefly on all fours while still in her human form! She was so focused on it though, her forehead smacked straight into the wall. Again.

"Ow!" She let out a low whimper and sat on her butt for a moment while both palms held her forehead. A chuckle sounded off close by though. "Maybe next time let the mouse run instead of running into the wall?" Roulette's response? She stuck out her tongue and grinned playfully. "The day I stop chasing mice is the day something is wrong with me. Ow.." She groaned softly and rubbed her forehead. The man merely chuckled again before he went over to fetch something that just happened to be down there. Roulette wrinkled her nose playfully at him before she got back to her feet. Clad in only a simple shirt and pants, she had no plans on keeping these on all day. But for the moment, she needed to get ready to leave the ship, which was her main priority. Once everything was ready, she lugged her backpack up onto the main deck to wait.

The ship took all of twenty chimes before it was fully docked. Getting onto the ground went relatively well minus her tripping a little. But at least she caught herself and didn't totally fall down this time! She walked up to the nearest person that greeted those on the ship and was quick to ask about where to settle down, or at least find someone to help her. When the woman recommended going to see a man named Rendal, Roulette was off after she was given a general idea where to look. To move around tree trunks, low-lying brush and other vegetation looked easy enough. Wrong! She got caught on just about anything and everything while she walked. Well, this would certainly take some getting used to!

But then she smelled the air, something nice was being cooked and thus she ended up distracted. Roulette followed her sense of smell and wound up at the communal kitchens where food was cooked. Wow did that smell amazing! Her mouth watered but she shook her head. 'I need to find Rendal.' She thought to herself. Something dawned on her though. What did this man even look like?! At that realization, she hung her head slightly and looked up toward the canopy overhead. Then she went up to the nearest person and started asking around. And this time with a description of what he looked like. Okay, so she was looking for a tall man with skills in carpentry, dark hair, matching color beard... Yeah there were quite a few people matching that exact description! That was a little frustrating, but Roulette was careful not to let this show. Just be calm, breathe and relax. Easy! No, not really...

As the negative feelings began to well up, it was shook off quickly. She then continued her hunt for Rendal. Managing to find Syka's communal forge. Apparently, she missed him there too. She grinned and bore it though as she asked where he went and was directed to the community water storage. So she wandered around long enough to find it. By this point, her feet were hurting due to being barefoot. Maybe she shouldn't have chewed on those pair of shoes so badly? Oh well, it couldn't be helped right now. Once at the community water storage, she asked around again. Though this time she was pointed toward the sawmill. Asking for directions to it was easy. Actually getting there? Not so much.

By the time she reached the sawmill, sweat utterly soaked her shirt and pants. Giving her deep ebony skin a very clear glossy appearance in places. There were twigs stuck to her untamed hair, and little nicks plus scratches could be seen. It was obvious the Kelvic hadn't been to a rainforest in her life before, yet here she was! Roulette hoped he was there, she entered the place and stopped the nearest worker there to ask for him. The result? He stepped out for a few chimes. Seemed she had missed him again! Nodding slowly, she started to giggle a little bit. "I'll um.. I'll just wait here until he comes back. Thank you." Unable to stop herself from grinning, Roulette went to a wall, out of the way and plopped down after her heavy backpack was taken off her shoulders. With her legs folded up, she placed her chin onto her knees and wiggled her toes. Despite being tired from trekking all over the place, she couldn't really sit still while she waited for Rendal to return. Hopefully, he would return shortly.

[Gossamer]

It was always a problem when the Saw Mill lost a major part. Randal Zor was the one most people turned to in order to fix things, even though he wasn’t much of an engineer. The Verusk Zedavor Dreghtan had helped Randal’s knowledge advance a lot more, however, and the Founder was gratefully able to attend most problems as they came up. However, as Zed had pointed out, one couldn’t change the climate and one couldn’t force square pegs in round holes. And that was truthfully half of what was wrong with Syka’s settlement.

The problem was, in the tropics, metals just didn’t do as well as other things unless they were kept well oiled. Because of the moisture and the heat, keeping things well-oiled was often a challenge. And so they broke chains, spokes, cogs, and often had to run to the forge and see if anyone there could cast new pieces or craft them as supplies depended. The Saw Mill was operated by Lars Waska, and he was doing an excellent job, but he was also in charge of a lot of other things and breakdowns just weren’t on his agenda.

So Randal took over, hence he was all over, doing what he could to get the sawmill operational again. It was more than twenty chimes later that Randal was back, a repaired cotter pin in hand, ready to reset the mill and get it back up and running again.

He passed the piece over to Lars to install, after a quiet exchange of nods and one moment of Lars nodding towards Roulette, where the girl not so quietly waited. Randal offered his thanks which Lars gave in return as well and headed over to the newcomer.

“Fresh off the boat are you?” Randal said, offering his hand and smiling at the new girl. “I’m Randal Zor, one of the Settlement Founders. Lars said you were looking for me. I suspect your interested in joining the settlement. Is that so?” He said, beckoning Roulette to come with him.

“I have about a million things to do today, but if you don’t mind we can talk as I work on them.” Randal murmured, giving Lars and the Saw Mill a final wave before he headed off at an angle on what looked like a well-worn path made wide by Ashta feet.

The Ashta were at the far end of the Saw Mill, loitering unneeded in the shade. The small friendly elephants were the heavy hitters of the colony, able to move lumber and set huge posts as needed. Lars cared for them for the whole of the settlement, and the result was that any feeding spot or watering hole around the Saw Mill enjoyed wide carved out pathways in the jungle from the Ashta passing.

Randal lead her on one of these pathways. “We’ve been here over a year now, but things are still fairly primitive. We need all kinds of help with things, but we don’t let people just settle here without some sort of skill they can offer the colony. We can offer you help building a place to live, or even putting up a business. I do most of the building here. We take the success of the Settlement first. So we want people that will contribute and not be a burden on the others. Can you tell me a little about yourself and what you have to offer? Where do you come from and what do you hope to accomplish here?” He asked, leading her deeper into the jungle briefly.

They came out on what looked like a wild grove of tall trees that were hung with heavy claws of long yellow fruit. Randal cut one down as they passed by, slung it over his shoulder, and kept walking the path which came out of the banana grove and headed deeper into the settlement, moving vaguely south and shoreward. “Those were bananas. We use them as food here, though they grow wild.” He explained, though the grove looked decidedly cultivated and not wild at all.

They dropped by the Commons and he left the bananas at the main cooking area. He continued walking, pointing out building or structures and what they were for as they passed by.

He would let her talk and add more questions once she answered the few he’d already asked.

[Roulette]

While she waited there on the floor, it was easy to lose track of time as she watched the comings and goings of the workers there in the Saw Mill. Toes curled and uncurled repeatedly. At some point, she had started to hum to herself, although they were from songs the Svefra she traveled with sang. Then the urge to simply roll around on her back washed over her like a light warm blanket. That seemed like a good idea right now! Grinning, she almost went through with it too! Except... A muscularly built man strolled in with a piece of metal in his hand. She didn't know it was called a cotter pin, nor of what it was used for. Being distracted for a chime or two, red eyes stayed on him while he seemed to chat with one of the workers within the Saw Mill.

Not really knowing the man's name was Lars, nor that Rendal was right there with him. However, soon as Lars nodded toward her, she wondered if the man in front of him was Rendal. Hey, it had to be a good guess! Right? As he strolled over to her, smiling and offered her his hand, the ebony Kelvic practically scrambled to her sore bare feet energetically after taking his hand. Had she been in animal form, her tail would be wagging profusely! "Yes, I just got off one of the Sevfra ship that got here earlier. I'm Roulette! It's good to meet you, Rendal." She smiled, and if it wasn't obvious she was Kelvic, then it showed a little more as her lips parted to reveal canine-like teeth.

"Yes. I'm looking for a place to be settled more permanently. People keep pointing me toward a Rendal Zor. You're Rendal Zor." She smiled happily and started to walk with him without hesitation. "I don't mind one bit!" Cheerful, she felt a renewed sense of energy flood up and down her near scrawny frame. Following him down a wide pathway, she did take notice of some Ashta. Though hadn't really seen them up close before. So when she saw them, she paid attention to their color, heights and if they had skin or hair. Or both. What their feet looked like, and if they had sharp tusks that were small or large. Whether their ears were small for the conditions for the jungle, or perhaps uniquely shaped. After having looked at them, and the carved pathway, she wondered if it was the Ashta that had made such a path. It was entirely feasible while she looked at them. She pondered for a moment what their temperment might be.

She nearly stopped to study them, but Rendal's voice cut through her train of thought, and like that was focused totally on him again. She noticed that he seemed to lead her deeper into the jungle, and of course, she tripped over several protruding roots, getting nicks and scratches upon her dark skin. Boy was it hot! This was certainly nothing like Riverfall whatesoever. And there were more twigs in her hair too... But at least she did answer him when he asked to know more about her after explaining a bit. "I grew up in the city of Riverfall with my parents and grandfather. My grandfather's name is Leto Wicker, he's human and both my parents are Kelvics who are bonded to him. But I call him grandfather because he treated me like his grandchild. That and.. Well I never learned to call him anything else, and he didn't seem to mind so it worked!" She paused a moment before continuing to answer his queries. "I can do a little bit of carving of small figurines, the Svefra I traveled with taught me how to fish. Um.. I can do a decent amount of foraging. I can do a little bit for wilderness survival, but I'm not very good at it. Not yet anyway!" She grinned brightly at that.

"Oh! Almost forgot stealth. Though I'm not entirely sure how that's going to help the settlement. I don't have much to offer, but I'm willing to do what it takes to learn in order to contribute. As far as what I hope to accomplish here, I'm searching for a bondmate. See.. My grandfather sent me here when I spoke to my parents about it. So maybe there's a chance I'll find someone here. Aside from that, I'm hoping maybe I could be apart of a community and push past my own limitations." After she finished, Roulette noted that he led them into what looked to be out of the thick part of the jungle and into some kind of grove. Seeing the long claw-looking fruit made her head tilt somewhat to the right and stare at them for a good chime or two. What were those things?! She had certainly not seen them. At least not like this. When he cut one down and easily slung it over one shoulder, she grinned and quickly hopped back into following him.

When he explained what the fruit was, and it's purpose, she couldn't help bit look around briefly at the grove in an attempt to take in the color of the grove's color, their height, and how much their tendril-like roots appeared to sink into the water's surface. They certainly looked cultivated despite the fact they were wild-growing. Must be how groves worked in jungles, right? "I've never seen bananas like these before. Usually when I see them, they are all cut up." As he led her back further into the settlement, it was easy for her to tell where she was mainly due to having been there already. It was easy to smell the communal kitchen as he dropped off the freshly picked bananas. She wondered to herself if they tasted any different due to growing in the jungle. She grinned at the thought of trying one later to find out. She didn't really have too much to say while they walked. Instead she was trying to commit everything to memory as he pointed out buildings and their structures. Explaining about their functions to the settlement and other important information.

By this point her clothes looked like they might need some mending sooner rather than later, yet she didn't appear to be bothered by the nicks and cuts in them. Truthfully, she could use them in a different style later. Right now, finding a place to be settled was more important than worrying about her clothing. "What would you recommend I learn first in order to start contributing? I don't want to be a burden on anyone."

[Gossamer]

“Randal.” He corrected her mispronunciation of his name. He nodded as she spoke, listening as she walked and talked. He noted she wasn’t that coordinated and had a hard time believing she was trained in stealth if she stumbled over simple roots across the path. But for the most part, he took what she said at face value.

He had to admire that she stated she had limitations and wanted to push past them. It was the type of spirit Randal admired, to be honest, for so many people lacked it that walked the world. They wanted simple lives, to be good at simple things, and never venture out of their comfort zones. Roulette it seemed had traveled quite a way to get to where she was going all on her own with little to no skillset. He gave her mad credit for trying, at least.

“Learn first? I’d recommend you decide what you want to do first. We don’t let people stay here just willy nilly. Its too hard to take care of them and take care of ourselves as well. We need craftspeople and those that can produce things that will assist the settlement in growing. Potters, weavers, seamstresses, even people that can hunt or grow food, healers, that sort of thing. The first thing you need to decide is how you are going to contribute to the settlement and where you want to stay here. Once that’s decided, you can work on getting better at whatever it is you want to do. I can’t decide that for you. You need to decide that for yourself.” He said thoughtfully.

“Do you have any ideas? You don’t seem to be particularly skilled at anything from what you said… just that you know a bit about a few things. That’s not atypical of a Kelvic since your kind live quickly. You are Kelvic aren’t you? With those eyes? I wouldn’t think you are more than a few years old… two maybe three at the most?” He guessed. “And from what you said, away from home for the first time so that means young, inexperienced, but willing to learn. We normally would have turned such as you away if you were human, but with Kelvics sometimes they more easily adapt to jungle living here in the wilds than average people do.” Randal said thoughtfully, being honest with her.

“So… as I asked before. How do you want to contribute? Don’t ask me… think hard on it and you tell me.” He said firmly, taking a dominant stance with her just based on the fact he thought she was kelvic whether or not she confirmed it with him or not.

[Roulette]

"Randal. Sorry! Sometimes I misspeak." She spoke his name again, this time with the corrected pronunciation. The Kelvic gave him an apologetic look for a brief moment. Walking around on the pathways that Riverfall sported was one thing. Traveling through unknown terrain was another. Though the longer she spent time here, the more used to Syka she would become. Which also meant less tripping over after a bit of time. As long as she traversed back and forth around the settlement, she would get used to where plants and their roots laid. For now, it was all still a new experience. And each new experience she became exposed to was soaked up like some kind of sponge.

It did not matter if she fell down. What mattered was the fact she got right back up to keep going. That or maybe she was just damned stubborn. While he spoke back, she listened intently to every word. When he seemed to pause after thoughtfully speaking though, she spoke up a little more seriously. "I could try to learn carpentry. I have a little bit of experience with carving small wooden figurines. Perhaps I can expand to learn to make furniture. Then work my way up to building homes, or repairing them. Or both if that'd be a viable option." As he spoke again, she merely smiled when he spoke of her possible age and asked Roulette about her race.

Oh, this man was an observant one too! But then again, her eyes were often a dead giveaway regardless. He was right though. His honesty was muchly appreciated as well. Roulette hated it whenever something was sugarcoated. Having the blunt truth was her preferred method. Besides, she felt no shame in admitting flaws when they were appeared or came up. So she expected nothing more than blunt honesty in turn. After he started speaking again, she did take notice of his firm words and dominant stance on what he said next. Its all he really needed to do though before she answered him. "Yes, I'm Kelvic, and I'm two years old. As for your queries, let me walk around the settlement for a bit and I'll answer them then. Deal?" Roulette grinned while holding his gaze steadily before she lowered them to the ground. Namely to watch where her feet were.

Despite this, she tripped a few more times anyway! Damn this was going to take a little bit longer than a day or two to get used to. But that did nothing to stop her either. Nope! Stubborn little thing. Roulette made it a point to walk around the settle. Poking her head into some of the businesses, watching some of the residents, and even seem to count heads. She watched the potters making pottery. Walked over to the forge and even watched the worker therein for a few chimes. She had glimpsed what the communal kitchen cooks did, but it didn't hurt to take another look. And that's exactly what she did.

After looking at the local kitchen area, she walked up toward the commons for a chime before looking toward Randal again. There was something of a serious look in her red eyes and how she stood with arms crossed over her small chest. "There aren't many people here. But enough that all of them would need housing. And if Syka were to grow bigger, then there would be a need for more houses. I would like to work my way up to making new homes as they become necessary. I don't expect to learn this overnight, nor quickly. Just know that I'll give it my best." Now she waited for his answer.