I'm Preparing for War Woman! [Edalene]

by **Eldon Sunkiss** on March 5th, 2011, 11:17 pm

Day 12th of Spring, AV 511

Healed, fully healed. Eldon felt great. No, more than great, amazing. It had been over forty days since he lost his father, forty days since he had been severely injured, forty days since his initial patching and stitching. Forty days since Eldon was first tormented by sorrow and weakness. Now, forty days later, he was healed, healthy, strong, vigorous, and pissed off. He wasn't far from Endrykas, Vanah could be seen several meters away from him as he remained there under the golden fibers of tall grass that had taken to concealing him rather well. He was doing simple push ups, up and down, up and down. His body rose and fell, his stomach, his back, it was all locked stiff, frozen solid, but ached with that fiery sensation given by the mere act of exercising. Denen had begged him not to do anything stupid until he was healed, and now that he had finally been given the 'go' to kill himself again, he was gung-ho about preparing. What was he preparing for? There was no question about it. Anyone that knew Eldon knew he was furious. There was a monster than had taken a hold of his heart and made the ability to breathe fire almost believable. Eldon hissed at himself as his body continued to rise and fall, pushing himself up, letting himself fall again onto to repeat the process. Eldon hated to admit it, but in forty days he had lost a lot of strength. Perhaps it wasn't very noticeable, but he noticed it. He was the one that felt his strength, he was the one who knew how heavy the barrels of water he delivered had become. Logic told him that there wasn't any reason that water would become heavier. It was him growing weaker.

And this was him combating that strange phenomenon. Weaker? No more, he was fueled to a raging passion to go and go. If a Zith were to show up right now, he was certain he could charge head on and tear its limbs apart and beat it to death with them. Eldon finally paused in his maniacal exercise, pushing himself up on his knees. His breathing was heavy, hard, deep, almost painful, but ever inch of pain coursing through his chest, his arms, felt wonderful. Eldon grunted, feeling the heat from his body growing, uncomfortably warm, and in response he peeled the shirt from his body and tossed it to the side. Already his skin was glistening with sweat, reflecting the rays of the sun on so many small beads of moisture. Sprinkling across his back, his forehead.

Sunkiss looked up at Vanah for a moment. He knew she was concerned. His closest friends were probably scared shykless that Eldon might disappear one night, unable to hold his devouring hunger to find and kill any longer. Well, Matasol would probably catch him if he did. "I'm alright Vanah, don't worry about me girl. I promise I'm not going to kill myself." Eldon grinned. He knew full well he couldn't make such a promise. It was difficult to promise anything, but still, making such promises made people breathe easier. If Sama'el ever found out that Eldon truly intended to hunt the Zith all on his own, Sam might, quite literally, beat Eldon with all his might.

And Eldon started again after giving his body a few chimes to cool off. He lowered himself to the ground. The feeling of prickly stiff grass reaching up to claw at his chest caused him to smirk lightly. Then his face solidified, seriousness taking over once more as he pushed himself upwards, fell down, pushed up and down. The arms were already sore from the last wave of exercising assault, making each next push up more and more difficult. There was still that subtle passion, that explicit anger inside him that pushed him to go more and more. Once his body gave out, he would find something else to prepare for, perhaps a jog, shadowfighting, something along those lines might work.

by **Edalene** on March 7th, 2011, 4:44 am

It was yet another morning that Eda was spending time with Ayira. This obsession to spend every moment with her, it was all consuming. Ayira and Eda had become even more closeknit, to the point where Eda could spend hours just riding her, or even just lying on her back in the long grass with Ayira standing over her. Ayira, a horse, was her best friend - Eda had never experienced that, had never expected to, had never planned on being a true Drykas. Now she was, and it was a freeing experience.

Eda was however confused when she saw a Strider just standing in the middle of the long grass of the Sea. It seemed strange to Eda that a horse, a noble Strider no less, would be alone in the Sea with no rider. She had heard there were wild Striders in the Sea of Grass, but she had never heard of a wild Strider so close to Endrykas. A murmur and a nudge to Ayira, she trotted over to the horse. She reached out a hand to the other Strider's neck and stroked it softly. "You alright? All alone?"

Eda kept stroking the Strider's neck when she looked down and saw, to her surprise, a man hidden by the long grass. His shirt was off and sweat was streaming down his back as he pressed his body up and down through a vigorous set of push ups. Eda cleared her throat, feeling awkward. The no shirt thing was bothering her. Her eyes were naturally drawn to the rippling back muscles, but she felt just a little voyeuristic if she sat there staring at them. Looking somewhere over the man's shoulder, she cleared her throat awkwardly, a slight cough. "Uh, hello. You have no shirt on and you're doing push ups in the Sea of Grass."

Eda nearly slapped herself on the forehead when she blurted that out. Of course the man knew that, he was the one doing it after all. Eda couldn't stop the next stream of words that ran out of her mouth and into the world around her. "Sorry! Of course you knew that, I just sometimes say things for no good reason. Um. Yes. I'm sorry." Eda blushed and looked down miserably at Ayira. The litte mare tossed her head and snorted, as if laughing at Eda's misfortune. Eda was so embarrassed that she hadn't even recognised the man.

by **Eldon Sunkiss** on March 7th, 2011, 5:14 am

Burning, burning. Eldon breathed hastily, his gasps becoming faster, yet shallower, less efficient, more pained, worthless. He tried to force himself to breathe slow, steady, deep and full as he continued to raise himself from the ground in various cycles. Eldon was surprised to hear a voice call out to him (or so he assumed it was to him), he bit down, his teeth against his teeth, clenching his jaw, losing focus, losing strength, but still fighting so damn hard. Eldon stopped for a moment, a quivering began to form in his arms as they fought and struggled to maintain his body. Slowly a knee came up, giving him a rest, perhaps only a brief one. "Of course I'm alright out here. I'm not a child." Eldon's tone wasn't particularly gentle. The last, and only, time Edalene and Eldon met, Eldon wasn't fatherless, Eldon wasn't scarred or plagued with the devouring hunger for revenge or hatred. Last time they met, Eldon wasn't the Eldon he is now.

Eldon pushed himself to his knees, his chest heaving up and down in rapid cadence. His hands moved to his thighs, his head hung low, allowing droplets of body moisture to fall onto the backs of his palms like a rainfall that was so rarely seen in these parts. "Are you scared of being out here alone?" Eldon still hadn't realized who was there. A single meeting (not a very notable one at that) wasn't enough to make her voice familiar, not when there had been so many days to separate the initial meeting, and the present time. "Yes, I did know that. I took my shirt off myself, threw it myself, and have been fixing my body, again by my own will." Eldon lifted his head, his dark brown eyes lifting to peer up at Edalene from behind that sweat sprinkled face. However, it did nothing for his attempt at recognizing her or finding an identity. The sun was resting right behind her body, her strider and all. Her own figure, despite the rather thin, slender, attractive shape, was little more than a shadowy profile of a young woman.

Over time, Eldon's panting would shift into a heavy, but controlled, breathing. His body would begin to cool slightly, and the early spring breeze would prove itself more chilled now that he was moist and cooling. "It's not winter anymore, shirts are only suggested now, no longer required. Besides, I'm out here alone, was out here alone, I could be naked if I felt the need to be." Eldon smirked as he rested there a moment, he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do next, but it wouldn't be stopped just because of a small presence of some stranger. He had work to do, and Zith don't often kill themselves.

by **Edalene** on March 8th, 2011, 3:00 am

Eda flinched at the man's choice of words - "I'm not a child". She knew he wasn't, hell, he was about four hundred million years older than you and triple that in maturity, but the way in which he said it hurt - as if he were insinuating she was the child. The word hit too close to home. She wasn't the most grown up sixteen year old she had ever met, but she was by no means incompetent. Though her father did not seem actively disdainful since she had acquired Ayira, there was still a tension and a crack in the relationship that would never be fixed. Eda would always be a "child" in his mind.

She averted her eyes when he pushed himself up, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. The bare chest was distracting - as were the rivulets of sweat that trailed down to the waistband of his pants. Sure, she had Kayiri now, and sure, she had kissed him and liked it - but it didn't make her eyes blind to all other men. She just chose to ignore them in case she said something stupid (which was likely) and it got back to Kayiri, which would be bad. Very, very bad. Eda, however, flinched when he spoke to her. He was harsh in his tone, and Eda hated it when people spoke to her like that. She would either get extremely rambly and apologetic - as she was now - but if he continued to be rude... she'd get angry. And angry Eda, despite being quite cute, was not something you really wanted to deal with. She got in the way a lot when she was angry.

Eda jumped off Ayira with the full intent of telling this guy that she was not scared, that she was fully sixteen and was capable of being out in the Sea of Grass alone - but then the naked comment threw her off. "Uh, well. Firstly, please keep your pants on." She blushed just having to say it. "And, I'm not scared?" Unfortunately for Eda, it came out as more of a question than a statement. The poor girl was already being swayed by the harsh man before her. The harsh man, whose shape she was starting to recognise, but whose voice threw her off entirely.

by **Eldon Sunkiss** on March 8th, 2011, 5:59 am

Eldon's eyes continued to look up at the mounted Drykas woman above him. His eyes wincing as the sunlight poured around her, giving her some radiant golden lining like some enchanted goddess. He smiled lightly, only wishing that were true, though he couldn't assume any goddess would visit him. He had lost hope for so many things, even his prayers to Makutsi were now more out of familiar habit rather than genuine faith. Eldon chuckled lightly as he stood up, his hand slid down his stomach towards his waist, where his fingers rested gently along his waistband, as if he was truly considering stripping right there. "You aren't scared? Then what are you?" After standing up, Eldon's perspective had changed, a smirk spread across his lips as he actually recalled something about this girl. The name Edalene popped into his head, though he was not certain enough that it was her, nor was he even sure of where he knew her from, or why he thought that was her name. "You don't sound like you want to see me like this, yet despite that possibility, you are still here." Eldon's thumb slid beneath his waistband of his pants, his grin grew, not in length or width, but in some level of wickedness.

Eldon's attitude seemed to shift very quickly. Initially he seemed almost hateful, perhaps because of the sudden interruption, but now that the interruption had occurred and he was finished, for now, he seemed almost cruel, sensual, as if trying to make her slip up. As if he knew she was seeing someone. As if he knew she was faithful, and wanted to stay that way. As if he knew, and didn't care.

Of course Eldon didn't know. He really couldn't have unless he heard through the grapevine or had been stalking her, which probably would have meant he would have recognized her immediately. Perhaps, just maybe, Eldon really had change dramatically since their last experience with each other. His hand, resting there, threatening to reveal himself, after she clearly asked him not to, finally moved. Away from the waistband, away from the threatening pose of exposing himself to her. He had no intention to do that. "So, you're not scared. I'm not scared. I'm out here recovering what I lost. What about you? You sightseeing or getting in a bit of travel time in?"

by **Edalene** on March 9th, 2011, 10:39 am

She gulped as he slowly stood up, chuckling darkly, hands trailing down his shining chest and dangling just about his waistband. Eda did not believe that the Gods were particularly interested in her boring little life, nor did she believe that they particularly cared about what was going on - but in her mind, she fervently prayed to whatever God was listening, Zulrav, Syna, Semele, Rhysol (Maybe not Rhysol, he'd probably do the opposite of what Eda was hoping), ANYONE, that the man would not pull down his pants. Eda had only ever seen Yartree's privates, and it was a horrifying experience. She didn't want to see this man's, when she had not even seen Kayiri's! A blush highlighted her cheeks as she thought of Kayiri's, the thought coming unbidden, though the man probably thought she was blushing at what the man was about to do. And that brought Eda back to being horrified over what may (or may not) be under those pants. Ah! Too many forbidden things!

Eda was about to protest, and indeed opened her mouth to do so, but any thoughts that were about to become word sputtered out of existance as the man, whose shape and attitude teased the edges of her mind and yet held no recollection, moved his hands away from his waistband. A heavy sigh whooshed out of her, which was embarrassing in and of itself, but the relief that she was not going to see anyone's naughties well before her time was extremely reassuring. "Um, thanks for not taking off your pants. Didn't really want to see that... not that I think you're ugly, or anything! You're quite attractive!" Once she got started, she couldn't be stopped. "You're attractive, but I have a bit of a thing going on with a Drykas man, perhaps you know him, his name is Kayiri? I probably shouldn't be telling you this, in fact, I'm not entirely sure why I am, but really I'm just glad I didn't have to see your pe--" She was saved by a neigh from Ayira. Thanks girl.

Her face still bright red, she took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself, her eyes shut, determined not to listen to the man - yet still listening intently to what the annoyingly familiar man was saying. She opened her eyes hesitantly when he had finished, and fixed her gaze on the tip of his chin - it was the closest she could look to his eyes without feeling young and stupid all over again. "What did you lose?" she asked, genuinely curious, forgetting her nervousness for a moment. "Maybe I can help look for it!" Anything she could do to help the intimidating man would be a bonus. Maybe then he would stop being so scary.

And because she did not want to deny the man anything, she submit herself further to her scrutiny - but it was not a topic she disliked talking about. "Well, I just bonded with a Strider!" Grinning, she tossed a hand backward to gesture towards the ever lovely Ayira. "It's addicting, I can't stop riding out with her and exploring. She's beautiful." She almost turned to hug the horse, but then realised that would be neglecting the man - which might be a very bad move.

by **Eldon Sunkiss** on March 12th, 2011, 8:03 am

Eldon was definitely getting a kick out of Edalene's reaction. It was always interesting to see someone that was so vocal about one thing, yet acted so weakly (if they act at all) for the same thing. Eldon could have very well stripped down into his birthday suit and he was quite confident that Edalene wouldn't even lift a finger to attempt and stop him. He assumed she would either stare in shock (rather than some perverted pleasure stare, girls tended to be more sensible about the staring thing) or turn her head and run like a maniac to get away, as if he was some rapist. Eldon, however, spared her the tough life-changing decisions by taking out the possibility of declothing himself further. Eldon half expected her to just sit there in silence as she gathered what had happened, and he was nearly surprised to hear her rattle off a chain of blabbering chatter. It was actually a little annoying, though far too entertaining to truly be angered by it. He heard, despite her probably even realizing she said them, several compliments that he had taken personally (in an arrogant way). "Listen, gorgeous, you don't need to ramble like this. I understand, you think I'm beautiful but you don't want to see any more."

Eldon nodded slowly, not sure if he was pleased or a little let down with the knowledge of Edalene being with Kayiri. He definitely knew the kid, held a grudge and everything actually. The tree, letting Raylin get so badly hurt. Eldon smirked lightly. "I know him. Went on a few hunts together. I know him pretty well I'd say." Eldon continued to look up at the mounted Drykas, even in the blinding silhouette she had, he could make out a deep red blush. She was so young, so innocent, perhaps even sheltered for a Drykas. Was it wrong of him to even think... Eldon lifted his hand to his head, placing the palm down on his scalp. Djed was being pulled from his skin like the sweat through the pores of skin, res formed, only a moment before it was water, cool, almost cold actually, and dripping down through the hair, down his face, falling down to the floor or the scarred body below. "You sound more scare of it that reluctant to see it really. Not any more intimidating that what you're packing." Eldon grinned as trails of water continued to fall down him, cooling him off. Reimancy, what a beautiful thing.

"It's a good looking Strider. Vanah seems very found of her." Eldon smiled as his own strider had taken to wandering near Ayira. He wasn't sure how they spoke to each other, if they did, but he assumed it was similar to how they spoke with their Drykas Riders, except perhaps even more fluently. Eldon shrugged his shoulders after a moment. She offered to help him look for what he lost, but she obviously didn't put two-and-two together. He hadn't lost something that was reclaimed by others. Hell, he hadn't even lost something that could be reclaimed at all. He lost his father, his self-confidence, and physical strength. The last he was trying to recover, the rest was gone, or still so far out of his reach. "What did I lose? Something everyone loses at some point. Everything." It was a grim statement, but one he believed in now. "My father is dead, my body nearly destroyed, I've grown weak in my recovery, slow in the movement of my hands, hesitant in water making. I've become scared of nothing, suspicious of everything. I can't sleep, either from fear or anxiety. I am gripped by both vengeance and hunger to reclaim what I need. I am out here, simply put, to get stronger. A Zith isn't going to tear his own head off after all."

Eldon sighed, realizing he had practically just exploded, not at Edalene, but to her. An angry ranting that wasn't directly towards her in spite, but as if she was there for the sole purpose of listening to him. He lifted his hand to his face, pressing lightly against his closed eyes. "Sorry about that. It's still fairly fresh to me. A new pain."

by **Edalene** on March 14th, 2011, 8:14 am

Edalene could not help but blush when he spoke straight after her little rant. She hadn't wanted to give the wrong impression, she hadn't wanted him to think she liked him or was attracted to him, she merely thought he was good looking. As she was sure many people thought too. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again, redfaced, when he called her gorgeous. Did he really think she was gorgeous? She wasn't, was she? She almost looked down at her torso to double check it, and for a moment she wished for a mirror, so she could assuage for herself whether or not she was pretty. She made a note to ask Kayiri if she was pretty the next time she saw him, then closely paid more attention to the man - who's name she thought was Eldon.

Edalene was confused at the somewhat arrogant smirk on his lips. He knew Kayiri? Why did he sound so disapproving then? There was nothing wrong with Kayiri, at least, nothing wrong that Eda could see. Unless there was something going on with Kayiri that every Drykas but her knew about, which she doubted. None the less, Eldon seemed bitter about something Kayiri had done, a hard tone underlacing his words. "Why does the thought of Kayiri make you angry like you are now?" She could be direct, blunt, when she wanted to be - and now, she certainly did.

Edalene would have freaked out when the water came pouring from his hands, if she had not seen Matasol do something similar not too long ago. "Reimancy!" she exclaimed excitedly. She couldn't help but feel pleased that finally she could talk about something she knew well. "Matasol knows how to do that. I know what it is. You some stuff in you, called dead? Dijed? Djed? Anyway, you push it out from your hands and it makes water! Or fire. Or earth or air." She beamed like a three year old, as if waiting for a congratulations and a hug from him for knowing something that involved such superior knowledge.

She smiled as he complimented Ayira. "Thank you. Vanah, your Strider, is very pretty, too." She smiled at the two Striders, and was once more filled with such utter joy at the sight of her own. She was almost beginning to like the man, as he told her Ayira was pretty. She turned back to him, as if to continue the pleasant small talk they were making, proud in herself that she had offered to help him find whatever it was that he had lost, but had jumped, terrified, as he began to yell at her. She cringed, sorry for him, that he had lost so much all in one go, but she could not be fully sympathetic because of how he told her. She hung her head low as he yelled at her, clasped her hands behind her back, her long hair hanging around her face - as she so often stood before her father and Yartree. She stood this way so that they, and Eldon, could not see the tears that brimmed in her eyes. It was not that she was immature, it was simply a reflex reaction that had become standard after many years of being yelled at by the pair of them. She sniffled slightly as he continued his tirade.

When he apologised, she couldn't look up. She was still very much upset by his ranting. "I... I'm sorry for your losses." She wanted to run away, to see Kayiri, to get his warm arms around her for comfort, but she could not get her feet to move. She was stuck there with tear-filled eyes and lead feet, standing before the angry young man.

by **Eldon Sunkiss** on March 14th, 2011, 10:54 am

Eldon paused to think carefully about his words. Edalene, despite seeming immature, had picked up on his strange stance of Kayiri. Typically he could rant about the man for a long while, but he wasn't going to do that this time, not to someone likely to relay the message word for word. Eldon grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't house a bitterness towards Kayiri. I respect him, trust him, look at him as a fine young warrior with a sound head on his shoulders. Strong hands that guide his bow. I find myself often at his side, hunts, occasionally practice, and we often just rub together. He is aggressive, arrogant, but strong. Reminds me of someone I know well." That someone was Eldon himself. Kayiri and Eldon were miles apart personality-wise to be honest, but there were similarities that Eldon picked up on, and was still unsure if he enjoyed it or not. However, despite describing his point of view, Eldon refused to tell why Kayiri truly pissed him off. For getting Raylin hurt (yes, Eldon still blamed Kayiri for that) and nearly killing himself in those tunnels. Even just knowing that Kayiri beat him in the precision training made him a little upset with himself. He had been practicing, devoted to not losing next time they had a rematch. "Don't get me wrong. I see Kayiri as a brother, but as any two brothers, they disagree on much, as agree on many things as well."

Eldon was shocked that she recognized Reimancy. He wasn't sure why. All Drykas should at least know of the Sapphire Clan's responsibility of providing water to all the other clans. Makutsi didn't rain water on them enough to survive off of the occasional pond. Magic was required to survive, almost as important as Webbing. "Matasol is my brother actually. He's also part of my clan, and even carries the Sunkiss name with him as well. It's Djed." Eldon decided against giving Edalene a lesson in Reimancy. She seemed a little scatter brained, a little easily distracted. Trying to explain the difference of Djed and Res might just confuse her more or destroy her confidence in what she already knows (which wasn't very much apparently). Eldon gave a nod, confirming what she said.

Eldon felt an old familiar pain slowly creeping into his stomach as his rant died away. The girl grew oddly quiet, her head began to hang low. Eldon, growing up alone with only a busy father and a guard dog, knew very little about women, how sensitive they could be. He met a few throughout his life he would truly call friends, one which he would never forget and would always regret not trying to be closer to. Eldon, despite being a grown young man at the age of twenty-four, he himself had some similarities to Edalene, a lingering childishness in him. Though, rather than maintaining the hyper sporadic behavior, he was just ignorant of how far was 'too far'. He knew that feeling in his stomach. Regret, guilt, genuine pain shared because pain dealt. A soft sigh left his lips as he slowly approached Edalene.

Eldon placed a hand on her shoulder, and the other moved under her chin to try and gently lift her gaze up to his. "You did nothing wrong. Don't be upset. I shouldn't have spoken like that towards you, towards anyone. I know that this burden I carry shouldn't be placed on your shoulders, yet I tried anyway without considering. Will you forgive me?" Assuming he managed to get a peek at the eyes, nearly crying, Eldon would feel a subtle rage, but this time for himself. He had suspected already that he was changing. In fact, he knew he had been, and it wasn't for the better. The reimancy, the dramatic change in his life, seeing his long lost cousin return, and doing so well, yet Eldon who had always been here, was starting to be revealed as a failure. He had no wife, he had no respect within Endrykas. Even Makutsi failed to show any appreciation for his devotion. Eldon felt his own head drop, much like Edalene did moments ago. "I'm sorry." Eldon could be sincere as well.

by **Edalene** on March 16th, 2011, 7:37 am

She glared suspiciously at the man, Eldon, for a moment. She wasn't sure whether or not he was being legitimate about his respect for Kayiri. She was not totally ignorant, she knew everyone had faults and did things that weren't nice and shiny, and she had no doubt Kayiri had done those things. She knew Kayiri, knew he was strong and rash and often impetuous, so it was not entirely unlikely that he had done something to make Eldon angry. But she would not have him disrespecting him, or disrespecting anyone. Eda was young and timid and nervous but she did care about people. She was glad Eldon maintained his respect for Kayiri, no matter what he might have done in the past and probably would do in the future. As long as he continued to do so, she would have no problem with him.

No problem, that is, until he completely let loose on her. She could not stop the tears that clouded her vision, could not stop her nose from sniffling, could not stop the automatic position of submission that her body went into. When you have been yelled at so many times as a child by people you think have a legitimate reason to be yelling, it becomes a unconscious reaction. Edalene heard the sigh, felt him approaching, but did not in any way expect him to then feel guilt over what he had done. He had not made Eda cry, he had not done anything on purpose. If Eda was being yelled at, it was because she had a legitimate reason to be yelled at ... right?

She could not help but cringe when he put his hand on her shoulder, and lifted her chin up. Her skittsh nature was assuaged though, when she felt how gently he did it. It was if he was soothing a five year old - which, Edalene supposed, she acted like a lot of the time. His apology was sincere, but what confused her the most was that he was apologising at all. She was used to men yelling at her and storming off, not men yelling at her then feeling guilty about it. She paused, swallowing, blinking away the tears. She looked up slowly, of her own accord, not through his gentle hand, and was surprised to find his head hung as low as hers was moments before. "I..." she paused, waiting to see if her saying something was wanted. If he did not interrupt her, she would continue. "I am not used to people apologising after yelling... My father-- Yartree--" she sighed, and shook her head, as if she were shaking away the thought of them. They had no place in a conversation with a man who she felt she liked, or could like in the future. "I'm glad you said sorry... I'm sorry if I made you upset, I didn't mean to."