[Verlyna's Emerald Pond] Abrupt Awakening [Sesha]

[Dlight]

12th of Spring, 511 AV, Dlight awoke in his room at the Wolf's Cave startled and in a cold sweat, his mind having started playing tricks on him once again in his sleep. He was beginning to think that Nysel held special attention to those that inhabited Alvadas, his dreams seeming to rule his thoughts while he slept, making him awake and feel as if he hadn't rested at all. This particular dream roused him to consciousness around what must have been the 24th bell, leaving him with only 5, measly bells of sleep. His feet dragged as he left the Wolf's Cave, but his heart was set on going into the night and finding the pond he'd discovered just two days before. Leth would reflect beautifully against the waters, and Dlight discovered that water in combination with his God eased his mind. Perhaps he would eventually learn more of the water Goddess Makutsi and be able to thank her for the sea that caught him when he fell from the sky. The streets of Alvadas teased and taunted him as he traveled throughout the city, it's ground a stone damp with puddles, seeming to form arrows that pointed for him to go this and that way. The Ethaefel didn't listen to them, though, and simply wandered, searching for the outskirts of the city. His pale skin was bare aside from the loincloth made of black hair, Dlight no longer wearing his robe even during the night since the temperature had begun to warm. The hair that fell down past his hips was unusually tossed from his poor sleep, it's silver coloration from the Winter fading into a gray touched by lavender strands. He reached the pond in such a state, eyelids and mouth slack exhaustion. Dlight's senses were on high alert though, aware of the fact that Alvadas wasn't protected like Syliras.

[Sesha]

Sesha looked at the stars, brilliant as they were in the springtime, and wondered at the darkness between them. What secrets might hide in such a place? she mulled in the silence, envying the gods and their vast knowledge of things. It was not the first time such a thought had crossed her mind and she feared it would not be the last. Alvadas was a place of constantly changing beauty, but even its walls could feel constraining at times. Not least when they were nowhere to be found! She laid casually, arms crisscrossed behind her freely flowing dark hair, listening to the sound of the small waterfall and the faint whispers from the tormented depths of the pond. Sesha had come for some peace, a distraction from the drunkards and lonely men seeking companionship. They could keep their meagre coppers and insignificant sundries for one more night. She smiled mischievously. I’m on vacation. The sound of footfalls startled her. Why must I always lose focus in this place! Her thoughts returned to a much more unpleasant time. It was uncommon for people to wander the outskirts of the city so late, lest Ionu think to make an example of them. Sesha herself revered the God of Illusions, but never had harm come to her by his hand, and this was his kingdom. She remained motionless, turning her head only fractionally to get a better look at the new arrival. A brief con wouldn’t completely ruin her evening, and this one looked interesting. Leth shone beautifully on his chiselled figure, reflecting a pearlescent aura about the man. Intrigued by his unusual garb, Sesha’s eyes were drawn upwards, past the tattered white mane and to a pair of miraculous barbs – horns! He is Ethaefal! She knew almost nothing of these creatures save the legends. To her it seemed as though she watched a very rare thing, like an eclipse or a falling star. How fitting, she mused in wonderment, remaining silent so as not to scare him off. He’s not a bloody pidgeon! she decided firmly, making a discernable movement near the water. “A fine evening isn’t it?” she asked in an enchanting tone, her forearms resting gently upon her knees. Perhaps he has gold.

[Dlight]

Dlight became aware of another presence at the waters edge a moment before her hypnotic voice was heard. In the moon light, the colors that would have been bright under Syna were muted. Her arms were rested delicately on her knees, form bent despite the corset she wore. The contrasting shades along with her enchanting voice and burgundy hair told the Ethaefel that this creature belonged to Alvadas; whether it was illusion or not would eventually be found out.

He would have preferred for it to have been illusion, not exactly wanting company at the moment-- that pointed out something important, though: what woman would be out at such a bell in a secluded place like the Emerald Pond? Perhaps she was having sleeping troubles, too, or maybe there was a more shady explanation.

"As always," The Ethaefel spoke at a volume just loud enough for the woman to hear him from his position at the entrance of the clearing, not a pitch higher or lower. He'd been grudgingly working on using his voice since traveling to Syliras, finding the amount of citizens there staggering compared to the wild, and as much as Dlight tried to conserve his voice, the people there demanded conversation.

His arms stayed to his sides, posture straight and deep indigo eyes locked with hers, which were nearly the same shade. Instinctively, his gaze traveled to the crest of her head, searching for horns alike his own but finding none. His disappointment may have been apparent, although overall tiredness is what showed on his face. Nevermind, at least the woman appreciated the night.

[Sesha]

Sesha was mildly perturbed by the look of dissatisfaction crossing the fey man’s features. A soft pout found her lips and she looked to the pool, seeing swirling green lights mixed in with the reflected white ones. The evening was warm and her perch near the pond was soft. I will not be moved. Her bearing conveyed the message. Silence stretched between the two, marred only by the steady sound of falling water. Silence could be just as powerful as words, greater even. After a short time she turned her eyes back to his, bare exhaustion somehow unable to spoil the ethereal beauty. She offered a modest smile and patted the plush moss at her side. “I promise not to bite,” she whispered, as if the stars themselves might overhear her. It was evident that he needed the quiet as much as she. The woman’s ever present curiosity, which generally drove her into the homes and pockets of the City, now wondered what it would be like to have shared the sky with the divine. Absently she toyed with something inside her purse, setting a stylized pipe and small pouch of flavored tobacco on to her folded cloak. A flint joined them, and then she set about the task of lightly packing the bowl and expertly lighting it; a soft blue haze announced her success. She watched him as she lay back down, slowly so as to elicit her sinuous features, eyes lit by the embers of her pipe. She averted her gaze back to the heavens when she’d come to a rest, seemingly disinterested in any further exchange. Instead she chose to blow smoke rings and count as many stars as possible before the Ethaefal joined her. One. Two. Three…

[Dlight]

The woman seemed at home aside the Emerald Pond, her presence inviting and enchanting, while at the same time giving the impression that much laid beneath her vibrant and unique surface. As he was a creature born of Leth, she was a creature born of Alvadas, steadfast in her decision to remain at rest atop the moss. He wouldn't expect her to move from her rightful place.

The woman turned her indigo eyes to him once again, inviting him to sit beside her with a whisper that spoke of understanding. She had an intriguing quality to her that extended beyond the curves of her body, eyes distractedly trailing instead from the sight of her reclining back onto the ground to the smoke rising into the air from her pipe.

Perhaps it was the shining face of Leth and the vast sky of stars twinkling down at him, waiting to be admired, but Dlight felt at peace despite having the company of the woman. He closed the space between them with nimble steps, his bare feet making little sound against the dirt, toes curling into the moss idly as he stood next to the woman.

He peered down at her in curiosity before sitting beside her, kneading the moss with his palms. The hair of his loincloth splayed along his thighs, the Ethaefel ignorant to the meaning of modesty. He considered the sky before him and then leaned back, lying onto the soft ground. The scent of her unique and enchanting perfume mingled with his own that smelled of a night spent on the beach. The tobacco put it's final touch on the combination, and after a moment of consideration, Dlight decided he liked the exotic and deep mix of the three. "Are you a child of Ionu?"

[Sesha]

An ivory smile illuminated her features further, enigmatic if only because its source was wholly private. The long stem of her pipe remained in place as the Ethaefal took a seat, his preoccupation with moss disturbing her none in the least. It was charming really, their quiet little spot under the dazzling firmament above. His scent mingled well with the smoke, which curled lazily above them, seeming to caress the constellations. “Aren’t we all?” she answered mysteriously, allowing another long pause to stretch out between them before rolling to face him. The moss touched her cheek, smelling rich and earthy. “We all wear masks,” she continued, “some of us more skilfully than others.” She looked deeply into his eyes, haunted by the resemblance that lingered there. “What is a mask but the barest form of Illusion?” The words hung on the air for a time, like sweet smoke. Silence seemed to form a special bond between the two. “I wonder -” she thought aloud, reaching as if to touch one of his spun glass horns, hesitating for reasons of her own, and then returning to her back and the stars. “I wonder,” she repeated, taking a long drag from her pipe, “what masks might one of the sky children wear?” She exhaled leisurely, feeling the warmth growing inside her. Sesha handed her acquaintance the pipe, genuinely curious as to what he might think of Alvadan tobacco. Gentle whispers continued to flutter in their direction, barely audible over the falling water.

[Dlight]

In his peripheral vision, the woman rolled to face him with relaxation that Dlight hadn't shared with another since Quelen, the Charoda that taught him music. Yet his muscles fell limp to the ground surrounding the Pond's waters easily, eyes even falling shut for the barest moment. When she began speaking of masks and illusion, he looked towards her, finding her indigo eyes so similar to his own staring at him.

His eyes fell closed once again, the barest of sighs coming from his lips at the late time of the night, the horizon filled with stars and the scent he indulged himself in with deep breaths. The faint presence of heat approaching the crest of his head brought Dlight's eyes open only the slightest, revealing that the woman was bringing a hand closer to the protruding marks which claimed him as a being created by Leth.

The Ethaefel's first impulse was to raise a hand of his own and lazily bat her's away, however the woman resolved the situation by promptly retreating and turning to lay on her back once again. His vision was covered by blackness, mind roaming in circles over her words of masks and Ionu. "The sky children.." Dlight mumbled out, eyes finally opening fully.

This time, he rolled onto his side, legs drawing upwards and arms tucking beneath his head. Why he hadn't thought of lying in the green of the Pond before, Dlight didn't know. "The sky children wear no masks while in the sky." His words were slow, perhaps lazy sounding, however they held as much feeling as Dlight possessed towards his God. "Masks mean nothing in the sky, everything is revealed."

The pipe offered to him was stared at in silence, considered with a small, confused tension bringing his brows together. Dlight accepted the pipe, inhaling the scent of the smoke rising off of it but unsure what, exactly, to do; after all, he didn't want to waste or misuse the woman's property. "How?" He simply asked, examining it.

[Sesha]

Sesha considered the Ethaefal’s answer, slightly enamored by the significance of it. She’d intended to direct him towards explaining his other form, but had herself been distracted by the notion of an existence without illusion, without deception; a place of wondrous freedom. She longed secretly to go there someday, to be at one with the sky. She stifled a laugh when he asked her how to smoke, grinning earnestly instead as she looked to his curious face. “Inhale it,” she said simply, pointing to the stem. “Breathe it into you and then exhale. Not too much. Alvadan tobacco can be very strong.” Her words were true, but her companion would not necessarily know how strong. To Sesha the stars danced rhythmically with her breath, she felt almost weightless and unnaturally light spirited. Warmth spread through her entire body. The whispers soothed, as did the gentle embrace of the moss beneath them. The stars were their listeners, and in each other they had a grand depth and stillness from which to draw peace. Sesha had never felt this at ease with another in some time. Perhaps it was his divine connection, or maybe the sound of the falling water. It might even be the effect of the tobacco, or maybe the color in his eyes. All of it, she thought humorously to herself as she watched him draw on the pipe. She waited good-naturedly for his reaction.

[Dlight]

He'd seen his foster-father puff on a pipe every now and then as a child, the strange, ever-changing scent of tobacco from different lands an increasingly common presence throughout the cave Dlight grew up in. Although he'd witnessed Condemn smoke, the young Zith had never questioned how he'd done so, and the woman's explanation made Dlight curious enough to bring the pipe up to his lips.

Her charming and amused grin caused a weak but genuine smile in return, and then the stem of the pipe was lifted to his lips and Dlight did as she said. It took an instant for the Ethaefel to feel the warmth from the smoking tobacco, his inhaled breath carrying a foreign, and strong, taste that made his face twist into a confused expression. It reminded him of rich, delicious meat that was left cooking too long and charred.

The smoke was let out in deep, choking coughs, Dlight having left it linger too long. How his foster-father did it, he didn't know. It took only a moment of coughing and a few forced inhales of fresh air until the Ethaefel recovered from his coughing fit, slightly teary eyes looking up at the woman, hand that was still holding the pipe extending it out towards her.

"Not bad," He replied to her silent question, "rich, smokey; could get used to it." Dlight's pale cheeks that were slightly flushed from coughing recovered, a small grin flashing across his lips, "My father would say delicious." His eyes looked into her own, searching within them to see his reflection. What did she see in him? It was a simple thought that wasn't paid much attention to, focus instead transferring to the smoke that rose to the stars above them.

Could the shimmering Goddess of the stars, Zintila, smell the Alvadan tobacco as clearly as they could? The question was interrupted by a sidelong glance at the woman and a weak grin that would have been clearly wolfish had Dlight been in his Zith body, "...You may laugh, creature of Alvadas."

[Sesha]

She retrieved the pipe with a broad smile, refraining from laughter only out of consideration for her own smoke filled lungs. It would not do well to lose her mystique in the presence of an Ethaefal; they had their own by nature, and it was delightful to converse with one of them on an equal bearing. Part of her desired to learn more of this creature on a personal level, it had been such a long time since she’d called someone friend. Another part of her watched the horizon, eagerly anticipating Syna’s rays and the truth they would reveal; if the legends could be believed. “It tastes different for everyone,” she said after he’d spoken the clever moniker, enjoying the sound of it. “It is a part of Ionu’s enchantment. This whole city is formed of his will.” Sesha looked to him again, distracted by his pearlescent form. She noticed, as if for the first time, his unusual garb. Such things were not incredibly uncommon, nothing seemed thus to Sesha, but the fur did little to hide his nakedness. “Some say its inhabitants are formed of His will also.” This she added coyly, finding his eyes again and then returning her gaze skyward. Another long drag brought the taste of dried fruits to her mouth. She continued to blow rings, creating a larger ring to engulf them all. The talent was one the courtesans’ games, played to accentuate the lips while alluding to further talents. Sesha stopped abruptly when she realized what she was doing. Foolish girl, she thought sternly, then giggled to herself and her own silliness. “Where do you call home?” she asked to distract from her awkward mirth, the tobacco having addled her perception somewhat. “I mean… do you have a home?” The question had left her before she’d had time to consider its gravity.