Destined for Calamity [open]

[Evarette Karmine]

"What?" Evarette sat back, and right on cue Ivar dug his hind legs into the pebbled road, his powerful haunches bringing him to a skidding to a halt. The sudden stop threw the hood of her cloak back, and dark curls tumbled down her shoulder, glinting golden red where the sun kissed them. "What do you mean, trouble?" Ivar side-stepped beneath her, and Evarette swiveled round to comb Kotoki with her eyes, a frown creasing her brow.

Her attention strayed to the myriads of color splashed up ahead...Merchants, booths, caravans and folk. The array of people and associated activity drew her eye, as did the shouts from up above. Evarette canted her head to glimpse the soldiers scurrying across the walls, cries of alarm shared between them. What was this about? She glanced back the way they had come, half expecting to see a band of villains traipsing up the road after them. But there was nothing. A few crescents of torn earth where Ivar's shod hooves had struck...but nothing else drew the eye.

"Kotoki, whats going on?" Evarette swung back to pin the strange man beneath her indigo scrutiny.

[kotoki]

Standing still, with not even a broken sweat on his brow, kotoki glared up at the walls, He didn't care that the looming walls themselves couldn't feel the heat of his gaze. Feeling a confused angry gaze on him made him shift his attention to the rider and the horse. Her gaze on him made him cringe slightly, for he knew he was at fault for setting the pace as he had did. He hadn't thought at the time. But it was done now, it would now just have to be resolved. Turning his gaze off the rider, kotoki shrugged his head toward the guards who were now making forcing themselves through the crowd.

Deeming it would be slightly rude if he didn't respond back, he opened his mouth, closed it again. Thought for a second, then opened it once again " Well, if you would think about it. The guards see a man running, and the horse after the man. They would come to the conclusion that you were chasing me, while i was attempting to reach the gates. That would be what they would see from their perceptive. Alas it would come to this. But no worries for i will tell them myself the truth of the matter"


With a graceful ease that bespoke of certainty, kotoki eased his great sword off his shoulder and placed it gentle on the ground. He had to remove the pack that was carrying and placed that alongside on the ground in the mushy snow. Taking careful thought's and procedure's he took off his cloak and folded it, then folded his shirt on the cloak. The last thing he took off was his boots, making it easier for him to change form if needed. The cold snow pressed between his toes, sending a chill upwards toward his spine. It was something on a feeling onto itself. His chest was that of a gladiator, not a ounce of fat, but many scars crisscrossed along his torso added along with his barbed straps gave him the nickname of King of tigers back in the arena. "Just in case though, it doesn't hurt to be careful, Oh you might want to get off the horse, your're not much of a threat, but the mighty companion you have is, and they might be a little jumpy"

OoC: I was wondering, if you wanted to added a story teller in this, to add some dept to the soldier's or to some sort of villain, it would be up 2 you.

[Evarette Karmine]

((OOC: That would be find with me...Some depth to the soldiers would be nice to play off of. Of course, anyone else is free to join in having been among the 'onlookers' at the gate, too. ))


"Oh." Evarette blinked, auburn brows darting skyward in evident surprise. So the soldiers thought she had been attempting to run him down before he reached the safety of the gates? The absurdity of it struck her as almost comical, and Evarette shook her head wonderingly as a corner of her mouth was teased into half a smile. How ridiculous! Of all the things...

But the expressions on the soldiers elbowing their way through the throng of people ahead was not so ridiculous. Evarette's expression sobered instantly, and she swung her leg over Ivar's back, her hands still clutched in his mane as she slid to the ground. The top of her head came just shy of the top of the great Nightwalker's shoulder, so slight she was. Evarette braced her willowy frame against Ivar's side, disengaging her hands from the pleats of ebony mane. She watched as Kotoki unpacked his arsenal of weaponry, a frown creasing her brow as she pondered the reason behind this...His reassurances fell upon her ears, but they did not do much to soothe the rising wave of anxiety coursing through her. Just my luck, she thought to herself exasperatingly, to plunge myself into trouble before I even get a chance to step through the gates!

[kotoki]

The chill was getting to kotoki's body. For his body heat could only last so long out in this weather. But the sun wasn't coming up, so it was a face paced race to see which event would occur first. Wither it be him freezing to the point of him not being able to defend himself, or the sun warming up his body. The thought raced through kotoki's mind, in which itself made another shudder through his spine. Feeling dull sharpness under his feet, kotoki shifted them marginally in different direction's to ease the feeling's. It was pain, but a inconvenience for him, for he had stepped on deadlier items and been just fine with it.

Taking a quick glance around. He noted a blurred image coming from along the wall. The distance it was act was great, for even kotoki's enhance vision couldn't make out the details. Being to far away to be of any concern, kotoki once again lighted his vision on the more pressing issues at hand. The guards with weapons. All a misunderstanding. But at the moment, it could cause problems if done wrong. For people were adapt to having caution drilled in their bones. Can't blame them myself, for it is truly a curious world we live in, kotoki thought to himself while watching the guards come closer. They had finally made it through the press of merchants and farmers. Their blurred uniforms becoming more distinct the closer they got. "Should be soon" speaking to no one in particlar

OoC:Im getting kinda confused on the matter, but she did agree to a villian. But she mentioned something about someone else being the soldier's, she suppose to post after me, so i guess we wait

[Kavala]

Kavala shifted her weight backwards slightly bringing the buckskin stallion she rode bareback and tackless to an abrupt halt near the gate. The stallion, light on his feet, danced and snorted his displeasure at their exercise coming to an abrupt end. He arched his neck tossing his overabundance of brindled dark mane vainly as the konti spoke softly to him. "None of that. You know this place.. though I know the walls bother you as much as they do me, lad." Kavala said in softly accented common. The stallion was well-mannered but disliked the crowd they rode into, which seemed to be a surprise both to Kavala and the beast himself. He stopped, pawed slightly, and turned his head to watch the shirtless and bootless man charge up towards the massive causeway that lead into the city itself past its gates.

Kavala couldn't help but turn to stare as well.

She wasn't looking at the half-naked man though. His oddness wasn't nearly as fascinating to her as the black horse the slight figure rode. The konti couldn't decide if it was a youthful boy or a girl because the riders thick cloak concealed its features. Kavala automatically evaluated the riders seat, its hands on the creature, and how it controlled the beast. Then she moved to the horse itself, watching how the big animal moved, which was surprisingly graceful for its heavier build. Sure it was no mountain horse, and it probably couldn't move fast for long distances, but it certainly could move. And as far as looks went, the great horse had an incredible beauty. And it was minding its manners, which impressed the girl even as the crowd closed in, and there was some sort of scuttle from above.

Kavala kneed Windsong gently over to the other stallion, who dwarfed her little buckskin companion, and smiled at the rider even as she identified her as female. The abrupt halt had thrown the hood back and made her features clear. Kavala kept a close eye on the two animals, making sure they minded their manners with each other, even as she smiled at the woman.

"You' be bringing the guards down on you." She said in a soft brogue. "They are a wee bit overprotective of females around this part, so I suspect they think your traveling companion yonder is some sort of criminal to be chased down by the likes of you and your companion." Kavala said gently, offering the woman a smile. "Is all well?" She asked, her azure eyes turning to study the man closely.

It was about then that a pair of guards, ones assigned to the lower battlements above the gates, hit the open courtyard of Riverfalls' entrance, and made their way towards kotoki and Evarette. They bowed to the black stallions rider, then turned to glare at Kotoki sternly. "Is all well here Miss?" The pair of dark-skinned Akalak males said politely. "It looked as if you were pursuing this man. Has he harmed you?" One asked, his skin distinguishing him from his companion by having a tinge of deep violet to his partner's cyan coloring.

Kavala was interested to know as well and watched with absolutely no sign of trying to busy herself elsewhere. Her hard eyes turned towards kototi, as if trying to decide if he was indeed guilty of some crime or another. She took in his bare feet, his shirtless form, and frowned as if it didn't quite make sense. The crowd too, was driving the two stallions closer together, and while Windsong was minding his own business, he was indeed snorting his displeasure as he kept swinging his rear around to point it towards the most offensive of the noisy crowd.

It was market day... the one day in ten that Riverfall opened its gates to traveling merchants and those who lived outside the city's protection but traveled to the waterfall city to sell their goods. The crowd was mainly male, blatantly so... and while Kavala was used to it, the strangers might have indeed found it odd.

She waited for Evarette's report to the soldiers, whom she knew wouldn't lay a hand on the woman, with open curiosity. The shirtless man, though, she suspected would get arrested or at least detained for questioning if the woman even remotely hinted that the man was bothering her.

[Evarette Karmine]

Evarette was first astounded by the sight of the two guards approaching. They were...well, blue! Her expression softened into genuine curiosity for a fleeting span of moments, but she shoved aside the questions struggling to rise to her lips. This was no time for questions...at least, not from her end of things, anyway. Evarette glanced from Kotoki to the approaching guards, trying to draw on what to say, when a pale motion caught her eye.

Sapphire eyes widened slightly in surprise as they landed upon the pale woman astride a buckskin mount. Her bewilderment was torn between the horseflesh--for, naturally a Drykas will study an individual's mount so to learn more of the one that rides it--and the woman astride it. With her pale, moonbeam skin and hair, the woman appeared ethereal and almost..seraphic. The strange woman's sweet voice filtered between them, and so thick was Evarette's daze that she pulled herself from it with a physical shake of her head, calculating the woman's question perhaps a moment or two longer than she would have liked.

"Oh..Kotoki?" Evarette's brows furrowed, and she glanced reflexively at the stripped-down man presenting himself to the guards. "I...well, no, not at all. I hardly know him, to be honest--" her weak explanation was cut short by the arrival of the guards. Ivar's dark ears sank back, and he raised his head sharply. Evarette's hand crept up to be placed steadily on his foreleg, and he gave a lash of his plaited tail and fell still. His dark, liquid eyes flitted towards the stallion approaching, and his nostrils fluttered as he drank in his scent...but that was all.

The guard's line of questioning nearly matched the woman's, word for word. With an almost exasperated shake of her head, Evarette raised her voice to be heard over the milling throng. "No, he's fine...really. We were just trying to reach the gates, honest...I just now met him on the road, and then he took off running..." she trailed off, gesturing in Kotoki's direction. What more was there to be said? She blinked between guards, auburn brows raised hopefully as she sucked in a deep breath. While she didn't trust Kotoki any further than she could throw him, she wasn't keen on the idea of seeing him in shackles. He'd done no wrong...at least, not yet.

[kotoki]

With level eyes, he watch the rider get closer. Taking note of her features, kotoki dismissed them at a glance with he took a looked at the horse. It was a nice beast, kotoki wasn't sure what was it that made him meet with woman that had horses. Shrugging a little on the inside at the thought kotoki saw the gaze directed upon him from the other chick. Tilting his head to get a better vision of the guards coming, kotoki overheard the woman's question. Kotoki was starting to feel a little unease at the present situation. And he wasn't going to like it.

He had guess it would be like,and the usually ending means of him being arrested. Locking his gaze once more on the two woman, and Everette at least defending him. Not as strongly as he had hope, which kinda scared him, for it could any number of reason's for it not being a strong opinion. Like, her not saying it wasn't like it was, and saying he had stolen from her. It was a possibility. Not thinking on that. For he didn't know her that well and could be a evil streak within her to cause some harm.

The guards were finally here, and voiced the same doubt's about kotoki to the Everette's as the other woman with the horse had. Their blue skin didn't make up for rudeness at all. Balancing on the balls of his feet, kotoki sensitive ear's heard the reply to the guards. He wasn't sure of the outcome. But for one thing, he wasn't gonna be chained or restrained in anyway. He been like enslaved most of his life so far, and it wasn't going to be repeated. Giving a feral glare of his own to all three of the newcomer's. He spoke in a low growl "Don't judge on appearance, from the place i grew up at" Thinking on the past made kotoki gaze burn brighter "For woman there were more often the one's stabbing people in the back to win"

[Kavala]

The strange man without a shirt might have been alright if he hadn't uttered the last offensive bit of a comment about back stabbing and females. The guards frowned and pressed closer to Kotoki. They were well armed, though they didn't draw their lakan nor did they touch him. They simply crowded his space in a way that made it known they considered him something of a threat. One spoke out, sharply, his deep voice confident yet not cruel. "Sir, you will respect people, male or female, while you are here in Riverfall. And though I do not know where you are from, it is unwise to speak in generalizations of people - no matter what their gender." Both guards were polite, soft spoken even, though they were very firm. They kept the shirtless man crowded, as if looking for an excuse to take him into custody, something beyond his pithy comment. The crowd had parted for them, and oddly enough more of the dark-skinned warriors had put in an appearance, casually lurking, as if wondering if there was going to be trouble momentarily.

There was a strange hush over the area, as if everyone were waiting for violence to explode or someone to loose their temper. It could happen in a heartbeat, especially with the stranger being a non-Akalak.

Kavala was waiting too, though she slid off the stallion's back and moved to the other woman's side. Her buckskin snorted, but without being restrained, stood impatiently in place. The horse was a typical Drykas mount, trained to stand when dismounted, even in crowds. "Are you from here? You said you met him on the road, does that mean you were traveling? I haven't seen either of you before, and I suspect I'd remember your horse. He's a fine lad." Kavala said softly, wanting to be off her horse and out of the way in case violence broke out. Riverfall was a particularly peaceful city with all the warriors living there, but that didn't mean violence didn't break out. It did, and when the battles began, they were sometimes interesting to watch.

She didn't want to pry and said so. "I do not mean to nose into your business, but I thought I'd recommend a place for you to stay if your new here and are planing to stay for more than just the market day. Tis why the crowd is so thick at the gates today." She added, glancing around. "I'm Kavala... been here a while myself, thought not of here."

[Evarette Karmine]

Rvarette found it difficult to tear her eyes away from the scene at hand. Quite frankly she was incensed that Kotoki slipped in that last remark about the women from his corner of the world. Didn't he know better? He was nose to nose with the potential of imprisonment, clearly...Evarette started to think that perhaps she was not the only one out there with difficulty for holding her tongue.

When the woman dismounted and approached, Evarette shifted her sapphire eyes her way. Her mount was standing quiet, which ignited Evarette's intrigue. Such diligent training usually originated in the the rippling grasses of her homeland. At he woman's inquiry, Evarette tossed a glance to Kotoki, lowering her voice so that only those within their circle could detect her words..."No, I'm from the grasslands of Cyphrus. I...Well, I'm here in search of my brother," her heart wilted a little, as Kavala pointed out she would have remembered the sight of Ivar. Did this mean her brother never reached Riverfall? ...Perhaps Kavala just missed him. Clinging to that scrap of hope, Evarette offered a warm smile to the pale woman as she offered her a place to stay...

"That would be...wonderful. I've never been any place like this before. I'm Evarette. This is Ivar," a hand fell lightly upon Ivar's withers. The horse seemed to be preoccupied with the soldiers crowding around Kotoki for the moment, but he flicked an ear in recognition of his name.

[kotoki]

With a certain smugness about him at the guards words, kotoki smirked at the guards in a confident sort of way. He knew he shouldn't press them. But he was looking forward toward it. Its what he craved, the blood streaming through him, and causing the adrenaline to run its course through his body. This might be the thing he was looking for, for the sole reason of coming this far was to find something that was missing from him. And in battle kotoki didn't feel the emptiness that much, or it was pushed all the way to the side to be ignored. Still, he was suicidal, and taking on guards this close to a town was climbing up that tree.

Spying more warrior's, a slight movement in a different direction caught his eye, and kotoki tracked the movements of the other horse woman. Overhearing the conversation close by between the two horse woman. hearing most of the detail's, kotoki wandered about the first one had with the brother. Not sure about the plot that now seemed to be growing around him, he sense that this might turn out badly for him and no one else, except a few unlucky people around him that take the raw edge of his anger.

Titling his head to the sky, he sighed loudly to himself then deemed it worthy time to talk. For all eyes were on him, filling him with power of the different kind, of the power to change the mood of the crowd and such as they were. " Not once do i recall myself not respecting the woman. I just pointed out the fact that woman stabbed you in the back more often, since they weren't as strong as the males when i lived in the pits. They usually got away with it too" he spoke in a low throaty growl directed to the two man. But loud enough for the rest of the front of the crowd to hear. Taking a quick glance to see if anyone had step on it, and glad that he was still in the place that he left it.