Destined for Calamity [open]

[Evarette Karmine]

Winter, Day 4, 509 AV - Just beyond the city limits, within sight of Riverfall.


The pink blush of morning spread across the sky, shedding light upon the pale and frosted world below. In the pallid sea of washed-out hues tread a smudge of ebony, picking it's way patiently towards the great city that loomed ahead. It was a horse. A Nightwalker. Upon it, a cloaked and hooded figure, slight beneath the folds of fur-lined leather. So rode Evarette, astride Ivar, her dark sapphire eyes trained on the city that unfolded itself beneath the brilliant, morning sky.

"Is a little anticipation too much to ask for?" Eva muttered, her voice carrying easily to her mount. Ivar's dark ears swiveled back to catch her words as he expelled a noncommittal huff, his warm breath feathering into the air. Evarette rolled her eyes, glancing down between the stallion's tilted ears..."Why do I get the feeling you've been through all this before?"

It was true. The stallion had carried her brother to this very city a little over two years ago...she was sure of it. It was old news to Ivar...in fact, whatever corners of the world Ivar had accompanied her brother through the past two years could also be considered old news to the stoic Nightwalker...though something told Evarette that if this had been the stallion's first visit to the city of Riverfall, he would have been just as unflappable as ever.

A sigh clouded the air before her, and Evarette swallowed thickly as her eyes returned to the nearing city. It seemed to grow larger with every stride Ivar committed to the journey...and though Eva's resolve to locate her brother was an unshakable thing, a small, cold doubt was forming in the pit of her stomach. She'd never so much as poked her neck out of the great grasslands before this. The most she'd seen or heard from the outside world was through the lips of drifters, or her own father...who had not proven to be very descriptive, as he was reluctant to speak in general. Therefore, the mass of buildings and people that lay imminent before her was more than a little daunting.

A few miles still stretched between them and their destination. Evarette sat back on her mount, signaling him to halt...which he did. Her auburn brows were drawn together as she studied the pale ribbon of road ahead...Where on earth was she going to begin once she got there? Assuming they let her in. Were there rules about that sort of thing? Ivar stomped impatiently, bowing his broad head in a flurry of mane and forelock. Evarette glanced down at her hands, both clutching great fistfuls of his ebony mane. She did not ride with a bridle, and Ivar had never tasted the bit. Though her level of communication with the great, black stallion did not resonate as deep as it did with Dorian, Ivar did her bidding...and likely at Dorian's insistence.

At that moment the sun peeked over the horizon, gilding the frosted world that stretched out beneath her. Evarette looked up, drinking it all in...despite the hunger knawing at her belly, despite the winter chill stropping it's icy teeth against the bare flesh of her cheeks, despite the hopeless plight she'd plunged herself into, she could still appreciate the beauty...

[kotoki]

OoC: Just in case, Im already somewhere between the first ten days of winter

The receding darkness of the of the night was being gentle but forcefully swallowed by the arriving sun's daylight. The gentle king of the sky once again was claiming to claim his throne, thought the man jogging through the snow. His breath, which was coming in even intervals became steam right before his eyes, which was again replace by yet another cloud of steam. The cloak that he was wearing was uneven on one side, to show the dull gleam of a end of handle poking over his head. The handle swayed with him, and every two or three steps, would show the end of the sword behind his feet. The color's of the surrounding scenery blurring past him. But the color's only flash by him after he had seen what was the cause, for his eyes were that of a cat's, and this time of day, when night and day clashed, was the time for his sight to be the best.

A little while later, still jogging with barely a sweat, kotoki started a tuneless hum, just for the noise, for everything was quiet at the moment. The sun was now over the crest, and was almost fully in the sky. Sniffing the air for anyone that could pose a problem, and receieving nothing of the sort, besides a few fauna and such that would always be part of the world, least he hope it would, but that would be something different for another day. Noticing a fallen tree in front of him, kotoki bunched his legs slightly, and gave a lurch forward that had him easily clear the tree. Right in the middle of the dead tree that seemed to have been there for awhile, due to the amount of smoothness it had required. He changed into his other formed. There was a slight shimmer in the air, and the air around the shimmer smelling of some sort of exotic spice that smelt of some foreign land.

What landed was on four leg's, and gliding gracefully through the snow not making a sound. The fur that it was sporting would make any hunter drool. For it was a Dark white, with black barbs covering it from head to tail. It was slightly over 2 meters in length, but it was graceful, which belied the power the it held. Covering ground at a even faster pace now that he wasn't just running on two legs, kotoki soon made up for lost time. Titling his head toward the sky, kotoki saw the distant pinnacles of what would be the city that he was aiming for. He turning at a angle toward the city. He was getting closer when he smelt something else. Perking his curiosity slightly, he once again veered, but away from the city, to the source. Changing in a second from going behind a tree to appearing in front of it. Kotoki angled his walk to coming out ahead of what seemed a rider and a horse.

His eyes looking a distinct difference, while his noise confirming what the eyes had already confirmed. If it was a man, the smelled would have been more disgruntled for his noise. Strolling along between tree's, he finally made it to the road ahead of the rider. Sliding his hand through his hair to brush it back, leaned against a tree and called out in a lithe voice that bespoke of bestial pride suppressed deep inside of him.

" Excuse me, but that is a very interesting companion you have there"

[Evarette Karmine]

Evarette had finally nudged Ivar ahead, and the horse complied...his walk slightly more urgent than before, as though he were attempting to make up for lost time. The great stallion blew out a great, gusty sigh, a single lash of his tail the final indication of his previous impatience. There was no indecision where he was concerned...It was do or don't. Fight or flight. Evarette's hesitation was only human...

Silence prevailed. Evarette let herself sink into the steady rhythm of the horse moving beneath her, her eyes directed ahead without really seeing...she was consumed by her thoughts, struggling to consider anything else apart from the city looming ahead. She'd not yet allowed herself to think back on the home she'd so recently abandoned...but she did, now. It was her home, the only home she'd ever known...any normal individual would surely feel a great void of remorse, leaving it so suddenly for the finality of the vast world. But not Evarette. Oh, there were faces and places she would miss, dearly. Of that she was certain. At the same time, she'd grown apart from the community since the disappearance of her brother and father...The village had always held them in such high suspicion, and Evarette had only recently grown aware of this. As a result, her heart was torn in two, for the love of her family, and the love of her people. She'd felt like a human bridge, stretched to connect the gap between the two sides who were slowly sliding further apart...but Evarette could only stretch so far. Sooner or later, she would have to choose a side...

And so she had.

A voice snapped her out of her reverie, about the same time Ivar rocked to a halt, snorting. She felt him tense and coil beneath her, his ears flattening against that broad skull. She reached down to lay a hand on his withers, murmuring reassurances...Her sapphire eyes growing darker with suspicion as she eyed the figure reclining against a tree ahead. He looked...different. The contrast of his bright red hair and dark garb was so astounding given the present surroundings...Evarette wondered for a moment if she could be dreaming.

"Uhm, hello."

Her hands tightened on Ivar's mane reflexively, and he danced a step or two beneath her, his velveteen nostrils flaring as they filled with the man's scent. "Are you from Riverfall?" ...It was an innocent enough question...too innocent, at that. It inadvertently revealed a bit too much about the vulnerable position she was in.

[kotoki]

With the keen eyes of a tigers, he watched her jolted upward in surprise at his words. Taking quick glances around, wondering on how she had missed him standing right there in the open. Giving himself a mental shrug at the thought, for not everyone had lived like he had, where you always had to be weary of people around you, and the surrounding's. Red eyes tracking the movements of the horse, for it seemed to be a fighter for sure, and that would cause some problems. For he had fought horses, rider's on horses, and chariot's also. And the horse was a animal that kotoki respected, but not fear.

With graceful ease, kotoki leaned off tree, and walked slightly closer to the horse, but two steps closer, he changed the direction of his feet slightly making his place in the middle of the road. Keeping his hands free to the sides so that he wouldn't give cause of alarm to the rider that had perked his interest at the moment.

Titling his head slightly at words that was were directed toward him, made him ponder on them. His eyes taking note of every movement of the rider on their own, with no conscious effort on kotoki's part at all. With a feline shrug of his shoulder's he paused for a second to think of a answer and replied, taking care of his tongue around his teeth, which were always a nuisance to him when he tried to speak. He was getting better, but he stilled had to work on it now and then

"Hello there" he responded to the question that was voiced to him first, then speaking once again to the rider "Alas, but no lass, I'm new here myself, wanting to see to the sights of this town. I have heard of them at several other towns, and i was finally curious enough to see for myself the splendor's. So what brings you here yourself"

[Evarette Karmine]

Evarette's hopes fell, and her suspicions arose...She watched the red and black clad figure stride out onto the road, noting the way he blocked her path. He moved so...fluidly. As though he were stalking something. Her sapphire eyes grew hard, tightening at the corners as an icy trickle of unease ran it's way down her spine. It was not all intuition. Evarette was feeding off of Ivar's disquiet, a rumbling whicker thrumming in the stallions throat as he lifted his head higher, striking a forefoot against the frozen earth with a hint of finality, as though to say: You've come far enough.

"I...well, I'm meeting my brother," Evarette declared, hoping she sounded more convincing than she felt. She dipped her chin in a nod of confirmation, her indigo eyes flitting beyond the man standing between her and the city that had suddenly become so inviting. She thought of the dagger resting inside the cuff of her boot...but something in the back of her mind told her it would be useless against this man, should he chose to take any action against her. There was something...feral, in his eyes. She could almost feel it. No, if he chose to attack her, all Evarette had to rely on was the swift action of the trained war horse upon which she sat. In a sense, she was at both their mercies...

"He's waiting, you see..." she suggested, hoping to convey a sense of urgency. Ivar stilled, switching his tail, waiting for the man to make the next move.

[kotoki]

With amusement bubbling up within his being at the horse kotoki watched it stomped it hoof, warning him. It was a worthy animal indeed, for it sough to protect her from a predator it seemed. Only kotoki wasn't a predator, but with full knowledge of what he was on the inside. Kotoki could forgive the animal for its methods on protecting this girl in its custody. For the majestic animal did cause kotoki some anxiety, for he wasn't planning on some sort of plan with the girl, but if the horse went on a offensive, kotoki would deplorable have to attack back with all he had within him to defend himself. He would regret it, but he wouldn't hesitate at the time.

With his discerning hearing and smell, kotoki could tell partially something was wrong with the tone that she was using. There a something in her voice that was giving away. Most humans didn't realize it, but animals lived by the tones and postures that they gave off, so humans were like a open book to people who had the extraordinary senses that were needed for it. Shaking his head at the statement she had just made, made him wonder what she had to hide. At the end of that thought, he cringed on himself inwardly, for who was he to question every person that he meet. If he kept that up, he would be paranoid to the point that he wouldn't trust a leaf near him.

Slowly outstretching his arm's toward the sky, he took a bow that could have been envied by the finest nobleman in the highest courts in the country. While coming halfway out of the bow, he gestured with a dexterous wave of his arm toward the city, he waved toward the city then with one hand. During his wave of the arm, kotoki slid slightly off to the left, more out of the road so that he wouldn't impede on her journey. Lowering his arm with and straightening his back, kotoki glanced to the sky, trying to figure out how much time had pass. No more then mere minutes it seem.

Training his eyes on the rider "Would you mind if i walked with you. At a distance of course" He glanced at the horse as he spoke the next words "For it seems i disturb the animal, and i wouldn't want to inconvenience you in that sort of way"

[Evarette Karmine]

Evarette frowned in consideration, canting her head to one side and causing a few more dark locks to spill out onto her shoulder. Though he seemed sincere, his disarming bow only aroused more suspicion. She chewed on her lower lip, glancing down to the space between Ivar's pinned ears. His thoughts on the matter were all too clear.

At the man's last words, Evarette brought her chin up, her gaze hardening on him forthe fraction of a second. "His name is Ivar." ...Referring to a Drykas horse as a mere animal was insulting, degrading the bond that they shared. Though, Ivar was nor hers, not in the way he'd been Dorian's...No, she'd never yet been chosen by her own mount. It was something that had begun to set her apart from the others her age among the village. It wasn't that she'd never given it the opportunity to happen...she had cared for the community herds diligently, it was a chore she cherished, and she drank in the lore and skills associated with everything from breaking a horse to ride to stitching lacerations. Her time among them was almost equal to that she'd spent with her family...but no mount had ever chosen her. After a time, Evarette refused to fret over it. All things in their season, after all...Now, with Ivar beneath her, and her brother missing...well, not having a chosen mount was among the least of her concerns.

Shortly after administering her correction, Evarette regretted it. She wouldn't take it back, but perhaps she could placate him by accepting his offer. "I s'pose its alright...at a distance," she clarified, hesitating. Ivar snorted, clearly uncomfortable with the matter...But Evarette pressed her legs into his sides, and obediently Ivar stepped forward, giving the man a wide berth, and rolling his eyes in passing.

[kotoki]

Giving a curt nod toward the rider and the horse his face broke into a gleaming smile. Kotoki tactfully stepped a few more paces away from the rider to ensure that the bargain was kept. It wasn't really a bargain he thought to himself, but it would have to do for now. For he wasn't sure about the horse and that was what kept his curiosity attached to the pair. Bringing up the moment that only took place a few heartbeat's ago. The word animal referring to the horse, which he now knew the name of, Ivar. Not sure what to make of the name or the rider, kotoki shrugged to himself mentally. It was a inconsistent thought that didn't deemed another moment to comprehend it.

Taking cautious strides away from the horse, kotoki strolled toward the side of the road. The road itself wasn't wide enough to where it would be a hindrance if they decided to have a conversation, but it would give them enough space to comfort the horse. Least kotoki hoped it would, for he wasn't going to walk in between the tree's giving him grievances. Straightening the few possessions that he had on him, he twisted his head to look at the rider. Watching its movements of the horse, kotoki shook his head slightly at the thought of fighting the horse. It would cause unwarranted problems on kotoki, and the guard might get in involved.

Speaking words out loud for the rider to heard, kotoki spoke "I want to get there before a line might build up in front of the city, so we going to have to go at a fast pace" Bending slightly to tug at the end of one his boots fastening it in place a little, for it had become slightly loose in the time he had been just standing there. Without a word, kotoki burst forward spraying snow that became white mist behind him. He decided the pace he wanted to use a moment before he started, a fleeting sprint that he could hold on to for days if he wanted. But the thing that he liked about the spring was the way it quickly ate ground at he made his way forward.

Running, kotoki brought back his head, shouting words in between even breaths "My names kotoki"

[Evarette Karmine]

A line? Why would a line build up in front of the city? ...Evarette's auburn brows knitted together, but before her lips could form around the question, the mysterious stranger bolted off, kicking up a spray of frosty debris in his wake. Ivar flinched, but maintained his stable gait. Blinking after the swiftly retreating form, Evarette sat back weighing her options. She could easily allow the man to lope ahead, which would in turn permit her to settle into the solitude of her journey once again...

But, his advance would put him in a prime position to ambush her, if he so wished. Evarette sighed, nudging her heels into the Nightwalker's flanks. He must have been hoping for it, even anticipating it, for the rate at which he dove forward into a ground-eating lope nearly unseated her. She clutched his mane reflexively, her eyes narrowing on the mischievous shift of equine eyes rolled her way as Ivar tossed her a glimpse over one powerful shoulder. "Very funny," she muttered, leaning over his neck as he lengthened his gait to bring them up behind the man in time to hear him call out his name.

Kotoki? ...A strange name for such a strange individual. She rolled the name over her tongue, mulled over it, and the purpose behind it's offering. Was this some sign of kinship? Did brigands often offer their names before rendering harm to their victims? Perhaps. Evarette relented, grudgingly..."Evarette." The word was offered with a flash of sapphire blue eyes and a short nod, before her eyes returned to the road...It had begun to slant up, winding no doubt towards the mighty gates of the city ahead.

[kotoki]

The run relaxed kotoki in the steady beat of just placing one foot in front of the other. At this pace, the beat was a high pitch theme that could, and would boil his blood. For it was this kind of pace that he used before strolling on to a enemies in a arena, and dispatching the person that he was sent to fight. The pace that he was setting would always remind of those year's of pretty much slavery that he had been force to endure. But he had come out on top, and had gained his freedom with it. Kotoki eyebrows rose a margin catching a scent in the air. Wondering if he could get a better one, Kotoki inched his head back a couple of inches and sniffed the air.

Eyes widening slowly in astonishment, kotoki didn't slow down, but he could smell the people. And the smells assailed his sensitive nostrils bringing a tome of knowledge on what laid ahead of him. Catching her words on the wind, kotoki stored it away. Ivar and Evarette. The rider and horse were now both identify to kotoki. The names them selves or any meaning they had were equivalent. But just knowing them gave kotoki something to think about at the moment. For watching the horse gallop was a thing of beauty for kotoki. Who having been enslaved for most of his life, always appreciated the simpler things in life which everyone else seem to past by to him.

With a curious note in his voice, he voice out loud a thought that had struck him "So how long have you been a companion with Ivar"

He almost said a different line, but he remember seeing her getting offended at the slight he had done to Ivar by calling him a animal. Truth was he was a animal. But still, some people needed the slight distinction with when it came to cherished ones. It was all that matter. But it was something that kotoki never understood, for he never had a loved one, that was something that he longed for, not sure what it would entail though, either the problems or the bless that would be caused. He had heard from other of his kind, when they were brought into the pits, about a bonds mate. Not sure what that meant, or how to do such a thing.

Slowing down his run, kotoki glanced to the walls seeing the sentries on the walls. Seeing some scramble off and hearing faint shouting he got the gesture, and gave himself a loud sigh that could be heard from a distance. The guards had spyglasses that made their vision almost as good as his in daylight. He hadn't thought about what other people would think about the scene, a rider running along a man, or the rider running down the man, trying to prevent him from getting to the gates. Shaking his head in despair at the thought, he steeled himself for a coming confrontation that was bound to happen.

"I'm sorry, Everette, but i might have gotten you in trouble. Easily dispelled, but troubling nonetheless." speaking in a apologetic tone,

Catching a movement up ahead shifted kotoki's thought's. The blurring of color's of people up ahead in a crowd trying to enter the city. For the city had the gates they were closed at night and open in the morning. The people gathered in front looked like farmers and merchants here to sell there goods. The back of their wagons had bright color's mish mashed together created a blending of color's that were not natural at all.