Closed Explorations Pt II [Tazrae]

[Alric Lysane]

After such a subdued mood, accompanied by seemingly dark predictions, it was music to hear her laughter. In truth it was largely why he had tried to prompt it, no one should go to sleep with shadowed thoughts if possible, not that he denied he enjoyed the closeness. It amused him that she tried not to make too much noise, he doubted Bree would mind too much if she awoke to it, but it spoke well of her she thought of her friend even when caught by surprise. He didn’t say anything at first, as she pulled him this time, into the bedroom where there would be a temporary cocoon to shield them from the world. "I'm not sure you understand your worth," he said, sifling a yawn, "but who am I to argue with a lady of...future legend?" As she busied herself with her evening ritual of attempting to tame her wild locks, he took off his belt and frowned at the pouches, frayed thread in places signalling that his rough life had taken its toll upon their quality. He would have to try to repair them, he noted, though he was no leatherworker. Sewing he could so, so he hoped it was just a simple re-thread as he placed the whole thing over the back of a chair, followed by his shirt. Kicking off his boots he cast a glance around the room, not for the first time noticing how it seemed to have transformed from a largely empty room into a half-cluttered and lived in home. He had thought about it often, though they usually spent most of their time together either trying to delve into magical skills or related matters. Sometimes there were moments where they tried their hand at side tasks, usually separate in nature as a break from their studies. He smiled at the memory of her trying her hand at knots – she lit up delightfully when successful, but he had tried, and failed at, not laughing at her thrown failures. Still, he had his own personality quirks he was sure – he got frustrated easily when it came to the failed wood carving attempts that ended up as little more than kindling after he ruined them. He found himself alone there often, she had her business and other commitments, but he’d have been lying to himself had he said he didn’t wish there were more times he was not by himself. He loved the fact that they shared an enjoyment of reading, he had fond memories of Bells spent sharing discoveries as they relaxed and lounged. “Hmm,” he said, broken from his thoughts and turning to see what she meant, chuckling at her enthusiasm despite the lethargy seeping into him, “are you sure? Temptations aren’t always a bad thing, you may stumble upon the secret to eternal youth scribbled in the margin of the next page” he said, left only in his small clothes and nodding tiredly in agreement, slipping under the covers. “Sleep well, oh Bard of Syka” he said softly, once she had settled, his own sleep coming later than hers as usual, time spent contemplating in the darkness, turning things around in his mind before finally given up on finding anything revelatory and sleep finding him, much more relaxed than usual. When he woke, he was alone, which wasn’t unusual given that Taz woke early and was used to getting many things done before others roused from their slumber. It wasn’t often that they woke together, though the times they did were quite enjoyable. He blinked a few times and rubbed his face, pressing his eyes slightly as he found that there was still some tiredness there. He had, upon reflection, been pushing himself quite a lot of late and he sighed, ruffling his hair into some semblance of control as he wished he could promise himself that that would change some time soon. “Given the visions I doubt it…” he muttered as he pushed himself up and set about dressing himself. As he found his awareness growing and his senses flourish, he sniffed a few times before smiling, she was already cooking. He chuckled and shook his head, wondering if there would ever come a time that she would let him look after her. He doubted it, she loved doing it too much, not that he was going to complain. He left his boots off for now, grabbing the book upon meditation she had been wanting to read the night before and bringing it with him, placing it upon the table as he found her at work, slipping behind her to see what she had besides the bacon that was giving off such a delicious odour. “Eggs too? And the rest too, you are delightful. You got all of this from the market at this hour?” he asked, stepping aside to Bree and scratching her head a little by way of morning greeting, “need me to do anything? And did you sleep well Bree, we tried to make sure the fire was going all night, hope you weren’t too cold” “What’s in the big basket?” he asked, spying it finally and finding himself curious as to what she had managed to get accomplished before he had even risen.

[Tazrae]

“Yes, eggs too. What breakfast isn’t complete without eggs?” She said, glancing over her shoulder at him. She picked up a serrated knife and handed it to him. “Will you slice some of the bread for toast?” Taz asked, offering him the knife hilt first. “I brought a ton of things from Syka… pork belly for bacon, eggs from my chickens, bread from my ovens – thank you for the baking soda – she added, smiling at him. “I even brought butter and a bit of mango jam.” She said, then glanced over at him. “How do you want your eggs cooked?” Taz asked. She always asked everyone, even though she generally knew people’s likes and dislikes once she’d cooked for them once or twice. Sometimes changing things up wasn’t a bad thing.

“I also brought you a surprise… for the apartment.” Taz said, taking the slices of bread Alric cut and laying them out on a baking sheet and sliding them into her oven to begin to toast. Then she started on his eggs, since the bacon was done. She added the crispy slices to a plate next to a pile of cut fruit. There was also fresh yogurt flavored with vanilla bean pods. When the eggs were done, she slid them onto a plate – fixed the way he wanted them – and went to find the young Mussurana who was loose in the apartment. She found him in the washroom and returned carrying the iridescent black snake in her arms.

“This is a young male… about five years old. He’s more than willing to stay in our building and not slip away. He knows he needs to hunt the rodents, and I’ll bring him food if he needs it in between times. All we need to do to care for him is to leave shallow pans of water in each room and clean up his discharges because I’ve yet to find a snake that can be housebroken. You are here more than I am, but I’ll try to keep it up and minimize your need to clean things.” She added.

“He’s poisonous, but his fangs are in the rear of his mouth and if he was able to bite you by some accident of perhaps one of your fingers down his throat, he won’t hurt you and the poison while still in the viper family will not kill you… just make you extremely sick for a short time. You can handle him as much as you like. It’s good for him. But be careful when he is shedding. They can often get shed scales caught over their eyes and are quite blind when the skin is shedding. That makes them edgy and understandably grouchy.” Taz instructed. “If he’s overlay edgy pay attention to it. Snakes have a way of knowing something is around and dangerous. Pay attention to him. His senses might save your life.” Taz said, then thought of something else. “He has no name. I thought you might enjoy giving him a name.” Tazrae said softly, setting the five-foot snake down where Alric could see it, but where she could dish herself up a plate for breakfast – her stomach finally growling.

“Watch for him in bed on cold nights too… he’ll seek warmth and that’s a good place to get it. If you make him a nest by the fire… use that basket with the lid off perhaps, it will be warmer and he’ll tend to stick around there.” She said, as a scratch came at the door.

Taz walked over, plate still in hand, and let Bree in from where she had been outside sunbathing in the courtyard. “He finally up?” Bree asked, then sniffed the air expectantly. “Any bacon left?” She asked hopefully.

Taz walked back to the oven, propped the door open, and took out not only the tray of toast, but took out an entire plate of bacon that was heaped up. She set the plate down at Bree’s feet, laughing slightly. Bree trotted over and began to munch the bacon, causing Taz to laugh as she carried her plate to the small table, sat it down and herself with it, and began to eat. There was butter, mango jam, and little dishes of salt and pepper as well.

“After I clean up here… do you want to work on more magic? I was thinking flux unless you had a better idea? I think personal magic needs to be brought into play as heavily as world magic. World magic is more self-defensive whereas personal magic is more offensive. If this comes to a fight, Alric, we are going to be on the defensive… meaning we won’t be able to help each other much with it. We need to be able to do damage and take lives. I know that sounds… thuggish, but its true.” Taz said, shaking her head.

“You need Reimancy too. I should be about ready on the first of spring to induct you.” She said simply, glancing up from where she stood to where Alric stood. “Would that be something you would want to do?” She asked, wondering if he was going to think her forward for suggesting it. “It needs to be done somewhere safe, here most likely… and it should be done in ritual form.” Taz added softly, wondering what he would think of that.

Then she tucked into her breakfast, eating her scrambled eggs and giving him a chance to process everything she’d just said.

Words: 916

[Alric Lysane]

“You do know how to spoil me,” he said as he took the knife and set about slicing out a half-dozen pieces about a finger’s width in depth, piling them together and passing them to her, “and I like them cooked on both sides, but between you and me I’ve never really managed much more than a scramble myself. I get them so rarely I’ll just be grateful they aren’t wasted on my terrible skills” “A snake?” he said when she returned with her surprise, his fingers taking a moment to scratch at its head gently, watching as it’s tongue flicked out and it regarded him with beady eyes before butting his finger a few times and curling away, “I am sure that he will find the bed as comfortable as I do. Let us hope he doesn’t size me up to be one of his meals one day” he said with a chuckle at her comments about sharing body heat at night. “I’ll make sure I take care of him. A name though…I will think about it, it feels important to properly name him. But I’ll be sure not to stick my fingers down his throat and not get bitten. I’m no snake whisperer but I’m sure after a while I’ll get used to how he acts. Is there anything else I need to know?” he asked, hearing the door pushed open and turning to see another reptile enter, sniffing and speaking before he could get a word in, her words causing him to snort in amusement. “Good morning to you too Bree, did you enjoy the night by the fire? Is everyone in Syka an early riser then, even the Ixam?” he said with an amused tone, wondering idly if at least in that way he were the lazy one. He settled into his chair with his plate of food, waiting for Taz to join him before truly beginning to tuck in. It seemed only fair considering she had done the work cooking it. The wait proved worth it as he ploughed his way, messily in some cases, through probably the nicest breakfast he had had in some time, since their last meeting he noted. It was curious how such a small thing could be made more by a skilled artist and their good company, he mused as he listened. “Flux practise sounds good, perhaps I’ll learn to use it without crashing over. The best defence is a good offense…sounds almost street speak. But I suspect you’re right, it is better to be able to get one hit in that ends the conflict than get drawn into a long fight of attrition. Assuming things eventually come to a head…I don’t really see any way of avoiding the need to kill, let alone damage and harm. I’d rather you be thuggish and live than delicate and die…though delicacy has its place” he noted, watching the Ixam munch away at her bacon thoughtfully. He didn’t like the idea of killing, though this season had seen him do so more than other seasons already. He could count on one hand the seasons of his life he remembered serious conflict in, already this season had eclipsed those times. There was a small wedge of guilt about that, even if he saw now other way things could have worked out without them being worse. He continued to munch away, enjoying the tastes to drown out the darker thoughts and looking at her, wondering how she felt about such things. He was in the middle of swallowing when the subject of Reimancy was broached. He wasn’t expecting it, instead musing upon what Flux might be learned, in their morning together, and so not expecting it he half-choked before managing to swallow properly. “That…is unexpected,” he said, flashing a small smile and wondering whether this was a practical conclusion made that morning or something she had thought about for a while, he remembered how her Res had seemed to want it, “I know I already said I’d rather it be you than anyone else, but I had expected it to be…further away I suppose. But…it would be an honour, of course. Tell me what I have to get, or do, when the time is right, and I’ll do it. I trust you” he said simply, his mind already planning ahead – he’d have to be in a reasonably happy place with his other magic by the season’s end. That way he could concentrate on the gift she was offering him after.

[Tazrae]

“I enjoy seeing to your happiness.” She said simply in a way that indicated he didn’t make it hard. “You are ridiculously easy to take care of. For an Innkeeper like me, you’d be a dream guest. You take care of yourself and are thankful and grateful for a good meal and a person that enjoys seeing to others’ comfort.” Taz explained, offering him a smile.

She enjoyed making breakfast then sitting with him and starting the morning with a decent meal cooked just a moment before. “Take your time naming him, but don’t be afraid to handle him. In fact, it might be better for him if he’s handled every day. He will keep the vermin away. And no, he won’t try and eat you. But he will eat other snakes, large rats, and small animals… maybe even a cat so make sure he stays clear of cats. This place seems to put a higher importance on them and I don’t think a snake caught eating one would live long. I’ll bring plenty of meat for him though. Snakes don’t eat every day. They may grab a meal once every few days, but they can actually go far longer without eating.” Taz told Alric, watching him with soft contented eyes.

“I can’t think of anything else, though the fresh water is important.” Taz confessed. She’d watch over the young rear-fanged viper. Hopefully he’d clean out the vermin and enjoy living in the apartment. If he did not, it was just a short trip through the dovecote to get the youngster home. “I just think they are the most interesting of snakes. There are a few kinds of snakes in the world, but in the jungle, there are primarily constrictors or vipers… he’s both… and to me that makes him special.” Taz said, smiling softly at the snake. The young male was exploring the domain he found himself in, slithering across the floor, apparently not upset or suspicious. Taz was glad of that. He’d get other vermin as well, snacking on bugs and any sort of crawling intruder he could find. That would be a benefit to whomever lived here for certain.

Bree showed up from where she’d been wandering outside. Taz had no doubt that she would. Bacon was involved and the only thing Bree liked better than chasing a live pig was eating fried pig belly. “Morning son of Sunberth.” Bree said with a toothy reptilian grin. Then she nosed up and got down and dirty with her bacon. The young Innkeeper couldn’t imagine life without Bree, and had an easy smile on her face all for the jungle Ixam. It was probably pushing things, arranging an apartment in The Outpost to be big enough for something someone could ride to just wander around, but Taz didn’t actually care. Her redesign of her own home accommodated Bree as well. Just because she had four clawed legs and not two didn’t mean she wasn’t welcome inside with the rest of the humans. She glanced at Alric then, grateful the man never treated Bree like a beast. He always included Bree and treated her on his level, which was where she was intellectually. Taz was thankful for that. Bree had feelings and it was hard for her being what Taz and her decided was probably one of the only sentient Ixam around.

“I’ve been thinking about Flux and the use of djed. I think I know a way to train ourselves in it so it can be useful, helpful, and controllable. Or at least that’s the plan.” She added, tilting her head at him and gathering up the dishes. Taz proceeded in a quick wash up from their breakfast doings, as Alric smiled and seemingly stumbled over her suggestion about Reimancy.

“We can always wait.” She added, not wanting to pressure him on Reimancy. “I just feel this sense of time running out. I can’t explain it and its probably just good old-fashioned paranoia. But these… these trainings are almost stolen time. We don’t know where our enemies are or if they have eyes on us. I feel like a lot is happening in a short amount of time. You’ve just have had the experience of meeting me, the Dreamwalker, and the tea. And a few other things. But… it’s different for me. I feel like I’ve been on this path longer.” She said softly, not sure how to explain. The Innkeeper reached down and twisted the tourmaline ring on her hand, her brow furrowed in concentration.

Alric had been a fugitive all his life, and not by any criminal activity he might or might not have done.

He’d been wanted by her Grandfather the moment he was born into power, the right sex, and to the right bloodline with a huge amount of potential that Florentine could use. Florentine Aradicus had daughters. No sons. Until the monster was dead, Alric would never be safe nor would he be free… not really. And the thing that scared Tazrae the most was that Alric hadn’t known. He hadn’t had a clue until these last two seasons. She paused what she was doing – drying a plate – and studied him with that thought on her mind.

How in the world was he holding up and staying strong in the face of all of this? How did he just seemingly shrug and move through life pretending everything was alright when things were far from fair or just? It softly enraged her as well because if she would have met Alric under any other circumstance, she would have fought like a wild thing to make a life with him and settle. They could never have normal. They could never be lovers. If they made that mistake, they’d be playing right into Florentin Arcadius’s plans. Alric had no more value to her family than as some sort of Nymkarta stud to the Aradicus mares. Taz’ hand shook with anger. Even Syka, so far from everything, wouldn’t be far enough because if someone was in hiding somewhere, they’d be at the ends of the earth out in the wilds of Mizahar.

The truth was, Alric was probably in the safest place he could be in… anonymous in a den of vipers where no self-respecting mage would look for a Nymkarta. She could love him, but Tazrae could never have him.

“It’s so hard to explain…” Tazrae took a deep breath. “The Guardian Statues made it seem so real to me. Why would the Goddess of Life descend on Syka and give them tools to defend themselves if something wasn’t coming? If there wasn’t a very clear danger present that we just can’t see yet but the Divine can?” Taz swallowed, set the dry clean dish aside, and let the water out of the sink where she was washing up.

“The other truth is that I’m that person…. “ She swallowed, ready to admit to something that she considered a huge personality flaw. “I always have to be doing something, pushing something, chasing something, pleasing someone… it’s like it’s a built-in thing with me. I often wonder, now that I know the connection if that’s not a bloodline trait. When I abandoned Riverfall and admittedly fled to Syka for a new life, I was constantly planning. I decided on what I wanted and kept my eyes on the prize… The Inn. I helped build it and am running it… I love it. I bought and paid for it with the work of my own hands. Its stable, functional, and is working in its environment. Once that was accomplished, I had nothing else to focus that drive on.” Taz said softly, hating to admit this…

But she continued, wanting him to understand. “But now… now there’s this, and you. I feel… incredibly protective of you, Alric. It’s borderline possessive if I am honest with myself. You aren’t enough yet to stand up to him..yet. I see that you can be though. From what we’ve learned, he’s coveting you and afraid of you which tells me you can be enough to destroy him. I don’t care how experienced he is, how old he is, how many tools he has at his disposal… you can be what the world needs to rid itself of this blight that man is. You and indeed your whole family have resisted him and, in many ways, thwarted him for a long time. And the debt he owes your family is growing larger and larger as time passes. He ruined your parents’ life. You owe him a bad death for that alone, but I suspect his crimes stretch longer back than that. I want to do all I can to see you succeed in destroying him. Not just for yourself, not just for your parents, but for everyone else he will continue to victimize throughout his life. So maybe I’m pushing this too much, but even as much as I’m pushing it… it feels like a drop in the bucket and like it won’t be enough unless we work hard, hurry, and even the odds.” She added softly.

“So… I’ll be ready by the change of season. I know it's unexpected. And I’m flattered that you trust me enough to let me do it. The truth is, I love you Alric. I won’t be a lonely mage taking advantage of an inexperienced girl that’s going to be feeling things for the first time and mistaking them for love just because her body is feeling good. I know the difference now. I’ll do what needs to be done and I’ll be ready to do it in a way that won’t jeopardize your life or play into Florentin Arcadius’ hands. He doesn’t know I’m a Reinmancer, I suspect, and he won’t think you’ll be one either. It’s a rare thing these days, and even if he finds you in Sunberth… he won’t be expecting to find you as a mage and certainly not as a well-trained one. You deserve this and you are responsible enough to have this power in your hands and utilize it appropriately.” Taz said thoughtfully, studying him.

“I can’t fight this fight for you. And you can’t go it alone. But I can stand by your side and fight with you. With just one of us, we don’t stand a chance, but I suspect if an Arcadius and a Nymkarta work together… we’re going to be something he can’t take by force or bend to his will.” Taz said thoughtfully, then shook her head.

“Enough of this… Flux.” She said, walking back to the middle of the room where Bree lay sprawled against the cool far wall.

The Outpost was going to be hot today and the window screens were thrown wide to catch the cool morning air. The young Mussurana was investigating Bree’s long tail and the Ixam was eyeing it like it might be a delicious snack. Bree refrained though, and Taz turned a full circle. She stood tall, exhaling, then inhaling, and gesturing to her form. “Flux is about concentrating and focusing djed in one part of your body in order to enhance that body part momentarily… be it strength, or the force behind a punch… that kind of thing. I think we both need to practice moving djed around our body at will, practicing and practicing until we can instantaneously manifest it wherever we want. But that isn’t going to come easy, so we should practice moving it around our bodies energetically until we can bend it to our will." Tazrae explained.

She continued "I also think we need to practice the amount of djed, increasing and decreasing it, as we need to. There’s a form of movement, stretching…. It helps fighters and those trying to meditate. Stu, a bartender of all people, told me about it. He’s really good at meditation and he said it would help consentration as a mage and as someone who fights without weapons… those using their bodies as weapons. He said it was called Yoga. And he suggested it could be utilized to increase flexibility and concentration… if we pair it with flux and work on our muscles, flexibility, and moving Djed around… I think we can get a better grasp on flux.” She added, walking over to her backpack and opening the top.

“I picked this up… in the bazaar early this morning. A bookseller that’s open all day and night had a copy. The writing isn’t truly clear and it's rather worn and written on cheap parchment…. but it has poses we can stretch into. And I thought we could move djed around to match the poses and start teaching our bodies how to handle djed and utilize energy movements and flows within us. This yoga tends to talk about flow and energy in the body. You know far more about unarmed combat than I do… but I suspect it's along similar lines.” Taz said, offering him the book and waiting to see what his thoughts were on all of that.

Words: 2178

[Alric Lysane]

“Your high opinion of me is forever a comfort. Though definitely I appreciate your skills as a cook, who wouldn’t? Perhaps you should refrain from treating those who don’t for a while, let them realise what they’re missing” he said with a wink and a grin. She had a way of making him feel better than he thought he was. Sometimes he wondered whether he was too hard on himself but he also knew that she was seeing the better sides of him, as he grew and was removed from the difficult darkness of Sunberth. Still, he listened dutifully as he watched the snake slither away to find places hidden to explore. In some ways he thought he must know what the snake felt, to be picked up out if his usual environment and exploring new horizons, there to probe and discover. “I’ll make sure that he remains safe, you have my word. Honestly, I’ll be glad for the company, even if he can’t talk like Bree. I never really thought about such things before, but knowing what having people around you that you care about…well I can see why you love Syka so much these days” As the conversation turned more serious, their food finished and bellies satisfied, clearly venturing into territory that she had thought upon and found uncomfortable in some ways, he listened and turned her words around in his mind. There was a sense that words should be chosen carefully, though he wasn’t that experienced at such things. He tended to say what he thought, felt and turn most things into some form of amusement. He had found it was easier to deal with the daily darkness of Sunberth that way, to choose humour instead of sorrow – not that he always succeeded, of course. Still, he knew Taz was different, she worried and took things far more seriously than he did. Perhaps, in some ways, that was how they complimented each other, as Bree had suggested. His gaze flicked to her for a few moments, watching as the Ixam stared at him, as if mentally nudging him, before returning to her mound of food. I have no answers for anything, I wish I did. I’d rather rest easy your mind than not, but the truth is that I’m making most things up as I go. I knew hardly anything about magic before diving in, or the sword, or anything…that’s my life. One risk after another. It always has been, it seems he thought to himself, watching her for a few more moments before pushing himself out of his chair and coming to put his hands upon her shoulders gently. “I wish you would stop comparing yourself to bad parts of blood. You aren’t being fair to yourself,” he said, looking at her for a few moments before pushing himself up and coming to stand before her, “you told me that my blood doesn’t make me inherently bad, despite what they did in the past. Why should yours be more defining? Your choices define you, not your blood. You could have built anything, but you chose a place of comfort and merriment. You sing and play music for the enjoyment of others, and you help people when you don’t have to. That is what makes you who you are, your true value is you” “I can’t speak for the Gods, their plans or whatever time does – or does not – remain. I can tell you that, as far as I’m concerned, you are perfect. And worth whatever flaws you might have. It’s not as if I’m the best example of purity and righteousness. I love you for your character, Taz, that is all that matters” he said simply, meeting her eyes. It didn’t seem fair to him, that things had to be this way, that they had been brought together simply for some nebulous fight against an evil man. He found solace in the fact that he would seemingly end up in Syka one day, even if it was for the end of the thing. It would be good to survive and see whether they could build something together. But he knew it wasn’t fair to expect more, even if he wanted it. So, with a small kiss to her forehead, he left it at that and, as she moved on to the Flux and discussion of a book she had found as if wanting to move on quickly, he supressed a sigh and instead gazed upon the book with curiosity. It looked to be a series of poses, stretches and movements. “I’ve done some of these before, I think,” he said thoughtfully as he flicked a few pages through for them to look upon, “Itzel the Swift had us stretching a little during sword classes, at least at the beginning before expecting us to know better and do them before turning up. A couple you seem to have known already yesterday too. Interesting…something tells me I’d enjoy talking through many things with your Sykans” he continued as the pages flicked by slowly in front of them, studying it side by side. “I’ve actually never properly stretched before unarmed, I’ve…uh…never had the opportunity really. It’s not something I get to practise too often outside of it being necessary. At which point I’m more concerned about winning,” he snorted as he scratched at the back of his head, his cheeks darkening slightly, “but I can see how this Yoga would be useful for more than just Flux. I’ve tried to keep a regular physical and flexibility routine, but it has been difficult what with learning magic…perhaps it is time to blend them together after all, no?” “Let’s see…basic routine…there was one back a bit…wait…there we go. Simple routine for beginners, seems easy enough. What do you say, fancy watching me fall over with some of these? Got to be worth a giggle for you” he said with a small smile.

[Tazrae]

The young Sykan gave Alric a return grin to match his own when he told her that her words were a comfort to him and complimented her cooking. In fact, she twirled a spatula she was drying with a tea towel, adding in a flourish before sliding it back into its home in the little crock pot of utensils next to the still-warm stove. “I would refuse to treat those who couldn’t cook, but I honestly don’t have the heart for that kind of torture.” She said with a shocked tone that called him monstrous without actually voicing the words. She lost the stern judgmental look on her face when he winked, dissolving her act into laughter.

“Bree talks too much.” Taz assured Alric, glancing at the Ixam who flashed her a half-hearted vicious snarl which turned into a yawn. “Quiet would be more than welcome at times.” The Innkeeper said, folding up her tea towel and dabbing at the stove, erasing any dirt off the counter.

“Monkey see monkey do.” Bree replied and yawned again. “And I for one can say assuredly that I don’t talk to myself when no one is around. You do. And we all know it.” The Jungle Ixam said with the tone that said she was exercising extreme patience in explaining something to a child.

Tazrae decided immediately that Alric was a bad influence on Bree. She had far more sass around him than she did with Tazrae when they were one on one. The Innkeeper glanced sideways at Alric and grinned, shaking her head. Alric would watch the little snake and make sure he was safe. Of that, she was sure. ‘Thank you. I feel better leaving him here with you under your watchful eyes.” She added, glancing at the snake that was currently investigating the kitchen area. “We’ll see how he likes it in the days to come.” She added.

She felt the weight of their words as the conversation moved forward, but as usual the ideas passed between them and the tension peaked and ebbed. Alric was not a person that laughed off fears and concerns. He joked when it was appropriate and took hard truths with stoic acceptance. Tazrae thought it was one of his strongest traits. He was a rock when the conversation dropped to depths that leached the joy out of a room, but was skillful enough to bring the mood back up when a rescue was needed.

When Alric caught Bree staring at him, something passed between the pair. Bree’s eyes softened - almost in sympathy – as if the reptile could read his thoughts. She couldn’t, of course, but Bree was very good at body language. And Alric’s tells were obvious to the Ixam. He was trying like crazy but he was just as lost as the rest of them as to what the next steps were and how they were all going to survive this situation. Bree was glad, in that moment, that Alric didn’t have all the answers nor did he pretend too. Humans had too much confidence or too much fear. Alric had neither in any really measurable amounts, which made him realistic and in a small way braver than most. Tazrae put a lot of faith in Alric, but Alric himself was smart enough to know he didn’t have all the answers and thus didn’t pretend too. For that alone, he had Bree’s support. Males, regardless of their species, were dangerous with arrogance and overconfidence. Alric had neither of those traits. Bree had seen it enough in humans to spot it a mile away. Those were the kind of people who got themselves – and often their mounts – killed in thoughtless reckless activity. So she gave him an approving nod, and then flicked her inner protective eyelids closed, yawned, and stretched out in the sun with her big head on her outstretched forepaws.

Tazrae’s attention snapped back to Alric from where her gaze was resting on Bree. Her expression hardened from the half smile she had on her face for her scaled friend. She met his gaze and her blue eyes turned cold a moment. “My blood feels poisonous, especially the more I hear about my family.” She said as a way of explanation. “I know I’m not them. But it doesn’t stop me from analyzing any feeling… any action… and wondering why… why I’m reacting the way I am at this or that. Why I feel so driven all the time…” She said, not holding onto that coldness and letting it leech out of her. Her curls danced around her head as she gave herself a little shake. Her hands rose to where his hands rested on her shoulders, her gaze meeting his, and she nodded.

Unable to speak a moment, she nodded. Alric was right. She should take her own advice and cut herself some slack. She squeezed his hands at his words, nodded, then released her grip on his hands where they rested on her shoulders. “Thank you. I’ll take that in a heartbeat… my character means so much more to me than blood or looks or wealth… more than anything. Thank you.” She repeated again, knowing he wouldn’t lie – at least not to her.

She lunged at the conversation on Flux like a drowning man grabbed a life preserver. And she listened when he didn’t laugh at the suggestion of poses and the movement of energy around them. He had a lot to say on the subject, in fact, and she nodded intently at what he said. It made sense. “Yes, the poses… of course. But there was more here, Alric. Just listen…” Taz said, taking the book from him and flipping to the front where there was careful printing instead of where there were pictures of poses. “We’ll start with the beginner poses… but keep this in mind too.” She explained and then began to read.

Taz had a lyrical rich voice that lent itself to reading. “There are four foundations to yoga which is sometimes called Mindfulness. One works through them sequentially. The first is mindfulness of the body. This is an awareness of the body… that it is actually a group of many parts working together. Skin, bones, teeth, nails, heart, lungs, mind… and that each of them is a smaller system located within a larger entity. So knowing that, we observe the body part by part, rather than observe the body as a whole. When we do this – associating the body with its parts – we see the body as a simple physical tool. And as a simple physical tool, it is impermanent, subject to injury, illness, and death. With body mindfulness we learn to be in tune with our physical form.” She finished, flipped the page, and stroked it a moment with her hand as if soothing a wild skittish thing.

A page flipped and Tazrae traced her finger down it’s pages. “The second Mindfulness is the Mindfullness of Feelings. These are bodily sensations and emotions. Whether they are pleasant, unpleasant or neutral, we should learn to observe and acknowledge our feelings.” Taz glanced at Alric. “This is just exactly what you have said before, Alric. Its about teaching yourself to simply observe feelings, not identify with them or attach judgement to them. They don’t define us or who we are. If you don’t acknowledge the ‘my” part of feelings, they become an observable emotion or sensation rather than something owned as personal. ‘the’ feelings… is so much better.” Taz said, paraphrasing much of the book instead of reading it verbatim.

Taz took another breath, flipped the pages, and found the next section. “The third mindfulness is of the mind. It’s not referring to thinking but more of acknowledging the consciousness and awareness in all of us. This foundation teaches us that consciousness or awareness arises from moment to moment based on the information that comes from our senses… and our minds.” Taz said, flipping the book pages again, this time flipping until the end of the beginning section. “The last Mindfulness is the mindfulness of natural law. Everything around us exists for us as mental objects and they are what they are because that’s how we recognize them. This teaches an inter-existence of all things and an awareness that these gifts are termporary, without self-essence, and conditioned by everything else.” Taz said… reciting the four foundation principles.

“It seems like paired with flux, we can add the mindfulness of energy. And if we practice all of this… be aware of it… we can more easily control it.” Taz added, then turned to one last section. “This work claims that we can gain a deep sense of awareness, less reactivity, more acceptance of self, non-judgement for self and others, increased sense of compassion, and finally a deeper awareness of our personal energy.” She added, looking thoughtful. “That’s just a short sweet wrap up. I’ll let you read more about it on your own time. But first… let’s try one of the first poses.” She added, setting the book aside, after opening it to a specific location that listed four beginner positions.”

“The first one is called Mountain Pose… and it’s a foundation for all poses that involve standing up. You stand up straight and tall with your arms at your sides. Press all four corners of your feet into the ground, balance your weight evenly between both feet. Imagine your pelvis as a bowl with its rim level, both side to side and front to back. Elongate your spine, keeping your lower ribs from jutting out, gently lifting your chest and opening your heart. Relax your shoulders down your back, keep your chin parallel to the floor and your ears centered over your shoulders. Then open yourself to how you feel… and talk about it… what you sense… and what your energy is doing.” Taz coached carefully, arranging her body in the way she described and then taking a silent five chimes to think about how she felt and how her body reacted and what her energy did.

She waited for Alric to speak first… to share what the pose did for him.

Words: 1697

[Alric Lysane]

“A philosophy then, as much as a physical activity,” he mused as she explained the art that was Yoga, “I wonder if it is a remnant from Suvan, that was used to compliment their training” As she read and he listened it did start to feel more like what he might think of as a religious experience, rather than a physical one. It was interesting to him, how knowledge seemed to branch out and fragment, before coming around once more in differing forms. Perhaps that was what Eyris had meant when she spoke of such concepts, timeless and neutral in nature, but picked up and retained in part by those who had uses for certain things but not others. Or, he reasoned, perhaps the Flux was actually the end result of the development of Yoga? Did someone in the distant past somehow realise one day that their peaceful artform, used for knowledge of self, could be used for destructive purpose? “It would seem that this is, perhaps, a source for things that are now separate but were once joined, perhaps. I’ve heard some of these things said by others, but not connected together into one singular practise. It does make me wonder if whether this was how it started, not just meditation and physical activities involving balance and flexibility…but the Flux itself,” he shared his thoughts with her when she mentioned his comments upon feelings and processing them, “either that or this feels like an attempt to marry things together that are complimentary in nature. It is intriguing, to say the least” he continued, settling once more into listening as she spoke. Taz had an easy voice to listen to, likely a product of her skills as a bard, but also possessed of its own richness when she was interested and engaged in the topic at hand. The corners of his lips curled up as she seemed to shake off the shadowed conversation and instead step boldly into something new, probing and exploring it, synthesizing into an easier form to understand. That was another thing he had noticed, she was better at distilling information than he was, and he had no doubt there were many more words he would have to read through later than the ones she was speaking. Once finished, the book teased and stroked into place to keep the pose in question on display, he watched as she began to slip into the pose. He followed suit, the flowery language intriguing him even if it didn’t captivate him in the same way that puzzles, or riddles might do. Truthfully, he had never really given much thought to such things beyond the practical. Stretching and easing flexibility in order to perform physical activity he understood well enough, after all if you failed on the street of Sunberth you weren’t guaranteed a repeat attempt if the victor felt particularly vindictive. He owed Taz the effort, though, and so settled into what was called the Mountain Pose as best as he could. It wasn’t too difficult in the physical respect, it felt mostly like standing normally, though granted the tilt of the hips and chest were slightly different. Tilting his head in consideration for a few moments he did notice that he wasn’t used to the distribution of weight across his feet, nor the neutral angle of his hips. As for keeping his ribs and lifting his chest, he did his best but wasn’t sure how successful he was, unable to keep looking at the book every few seconds to check without ruining the whole thing – he settled for what felt as correct as he might get for now. “I just hope I don’t open my heart enough that it empties itself, I think I might need it,” he said with some small amusement, looking at her before returning to the attempt, “ I know, I know…Mountain Pose” he sighed, closing his eyes and trying to feel out what he was supposed to feel. His Djed was there, hanging in the background…or deep within perhaps, and he touched it, letting it trickle into him slightly, to see where it would go and how it might shift with this enterprise of posing. “I don’t know what I feel, I suppose I don’t really think about emotion beyond not letting it consume…most of the time. Cold and calculating works in Sunberth, though I find that difficult sometimes. So…I would go with strange, possibly self-conscious…for some reason,” he mused aloud, moving on from the emotions and into the physical, “my feet are different than usual. Usually I move on the balls of my feet, so this feels strange, more balanced but somehow…vulnerable. Can’t move into action quickly. Same with the hips, neutral and somehow foreign in feeling, probably because I never really stand like this. Wonder what that says about me?” he asked himself rhetorically, he felt it said something, even if it was somewhat elusive for now. “The Djed though…that’s easier to feel out. It’s moving still, though not like it was yesterday. It isn’t moving with big muscles of limb movements but more…more…hmmmm…pulsing? Like…moving around in the network…thing…but at a rhythm. With breathing…or pulse maybe…like it’s gone passive….but not passive? I don’t know, I’ve never been good with how things feel really, you probably know better how to describe things. The closest I can come is that it still moves, without much effort, if I let it move, I suppose. Like it seeks out whatever thing is moving, even if it’s just my ribs as my lungs expand” He took some time to feel it out further, but he found that that was the best he could do in terms of description. In terms of centering himself, relaxing and generally feeling the physical benefits that the book spokes of he was making more progress. He could feel the tension that seemed to always be there in the background ease from his muscles. He could feel how his spine, extended thoughtfully, felt more solid and yet relaxed. His shoulders were lowered rather than half-shrugged against potential attack and the need to react. His feet felt numbed slightly, clearly not used to being sued the way they were, his heels in particular seemed to throb a little with the weight no longer shifting off of them quickly. After a while he opened his eyes, looking at the opposite page of the book and seeing another pose. “High Lunge pose, you say?” he raised and eyebrow at the book before settling into it in as good a mirror as he could in a few moments, “stack your knee over your front ankle, stay high on the ball of your back foot, keeping your back knee lifted. Engage your core to lift your torso and raise your arms over your head, your palms facing center. Repeat this one both sides for ten breaths each” he read out as he shifted pose somewhat awkwardly. “Are you feeling the same, Taz, or different? You’re still with me yes, no organs falling out?” Words: 1175

[Tazrae]

“Yes… I can see that.” She replied to his statement about a philosophy. “It’s almost … no I won’t say religious. That doesn’t quite fit. I’ll say spiritual practice, I suspect. And you could very well be correct. There are so many fragmented bits and pieces from both empires. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is one of them. They valued the body in the Suvan Empire, from what I have read about their military. It was as much a weapon as the mind was for Alahea.” Taz responded, glancing at the book, then back at Alric as she paid attention to her body and its movements.

Taz nodded again. She felt graceful doing this, though the motions weren’t familiar to her nor natural feeling. “You could be right. Flux used to be far more common I suspect. And if it was more common, it was far safer. A body trained to act and not just react energetically would be less likely to overreact.” She added, knowing that instincts weren’t always good in mental combat, though muscle memory was valued highly in physical combat. They could be, but in magic, they could get you killed easily enough too.

Alric had his thinking visage on. It was written all over his face with the tiny frown lines between his brows and the distant look in his warm blue eyes. He was lost in the past as his body struggled in the present. She suspected he was trying to justify what they were doing and make it mesh with his own philosophy and his own general routines. At length, he spoke again.

Taz had been right. He was connecting dots and drawing conclusions. He did that a great deal, more so than most people she knew. “No… not the second thing, the blending of things. It feels right that flux came off something like this… feeling one’s body and discovering the movement of djed and the natural inclinations of bodily systems. I bet it was honed into a weapon the moment it was discovered and whomever first observed its natural happening decided to train it to happen as the user willed it to produce more prominent dangerous results… like unnaturally strong punches.” Taz added, catching his eye a moment.

A soft smile played over her face as she stretched into the first pose. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but this feels like an art form that one should be practicing outside, under the sun, with the sand being licked by the ocean. Doing this makes my clothing feel confining. It even makes my skin feel confining. I could morph like this, stretching longer, taller, even growing wings or yet another pair of arms to use to reach out to caress Syna with.” Taz said, her eyes softening into something more bard-like. She was ever the dreamer, even though she’d confessed moments ago about how driven she usually was. Bloodline and spirit weren’t often in synch in people, not when they were made of such different things. But maybe through this practice, she could meld the two.

She didn’t struggle into the mountain pose. Instead, she flowed into it, lengthening her spine and letting her arms drop as if they weighed nothing at all. Feeling the fire-warmed stone of the floor with her feet, she rolled her hips like the imaginary bowl was in place and swinging gently as if from some tripod only she could feel. She lifted her chest as if she were going to sing, and felt her heart open up automatically. Her shoulders dropped and her chin stayed level but not overly proud. Then, when she felt she’d achieved what the book had described, she listened to herself.

Her energy was rising. That was evident. Her lips curved upwards into a smile at Alric’s joke, but she knew he was just covering for his uncertainty and his uncomfortableness with trying something that was completely out of his wheelhouse. She wouldn’t make him feel more vulnerable for it though. She was not judgmental in that way and never truly had been. She wanted to see what he did with it, both the pose and the feelings. Taz suspected Alric was not used to sharing feelings, let alone analyzing what his own senses were experiencing. How could he? Survival wasn’t a feeling… it was a react-or-die scenario. He was safe here though, in the quietness of The Outpost, in a place he had claimed as his own. And so, he was thinking, linking history with the present, and she wondered if he wasn’t meeting some of his body for the first time.

Taz certainly was. She’d never been so aware of her feet and how they supported her legs, up through her thighs and the curve of the small of her back as it supported her tall frame lofting itself higher. It wasn’t painful, only stretched and flowed upwards in a way she wasn’t used to. Out of the corner of her eye, while she was still studying Alric, she saw Bree rise and do on four legs what they were doing on two. The Jungle Ixam, not surprising to Tazrae, was actually fairly good at it and lofted her tail up and over her body, in the same way, Taz arched her spine and dropped her shoulders. The big reptile looked beautiful in the light streaming through the window, her emerald and sapphire scales gleaming with good health.

It was in that moment that Tazrae realized both her companions were stunning. Stretched upwards, yet relaxed, showing the promise of their body’s potential… she could feel the djed moving through her, and in a way, she could almost feel the flow in them. Alric was all corded muscle wrapped over lean form. He wasn’t overly big, but he was strong in ways that large men would never be. Bree was lean and viciously built, able to climb and leap all while carrying a rider. Tazrae loved seeing them like this, proud and strong, at the height of their youth and power. What they did was almost like an art form. She thought she’d feel silly doing this in front of Alric, but instead, she felt calmer, more tied to the ground… stronger.

And it made her think of something else too. She was terribly awkward in front of him practicing the unarmed combat. He’d tried to show her some moves and she’d clammed up and withheld any sort of ability to retain anything from him because she didn’t want to hit him or be hit by him. But if she could learn to move through this… this yoga… through learning her body… maybe someday soon she could learn to fight with him and ultimately by his side. Bree could do it already. The Ixam was vicious and bloodthirsty behind all her good humor. She loved nothing but a good kill and a satisfying fight to win a meal up in the trees or beneath the waves. Taz hoped she could be like both of them someday – as strong as they were – and was glad she had them here with her as role models. She hadn’t seen either of them in that role before, but somehow, with the bending and flexing in front of her, revealing their strengths, that was what they’d become.

Alric called out the next pose and Taz slide into it, stacking her right knee over her left front ankle first, holding the pose on the ball of her back foot, and keeping her body lofted. It took a chime to actually get into the pose and the aim she had to flow into it failed miserably as she wasn’t able to hold it longer than a tinkle or two, let alone a chime. But she eventually managed to twist into it, hold it, then concentrated on sliding out of it, changing sides, and holding it again. She did better the second time when she visualized all her energy rolling upwards, lifting her body for her… and that made it easier.

When that hold was done, she called the next one.

“Tree pose. This is the classical balancing posture where you focus your mind on finding balance on one standing leg. It’s supposed to be easy, but we’ll see.” Taz said with a laugh, checking the book really quickly while still holding the pose Alric had putt them in. “I think it’s a relative of your pose, Alric. Stand tall, arms at your sides, and shift your weight onto your right foot. Inhale while lifting your opposite leg, rotating it externally. Use your left hand to guide the sole of your left foot onto your inner right thigh. Bring your hands to your chest and press them together as if in prayer. Your left foot should be pressing firmly into your right thigh… and let’s see… that your right thigh should be pressing firmly into your left foot. Hold the pose for ten seconds while breathing in and out calmly. Then reverse….” Tazrae thought she got it all straight in her mind, slide her body into the pose, and held it then turned her head carefully – as to not throw off her balance – to watch the other two achieve it.

Bree was almost comical, first doing the pose with the front half of her body, then the back half of her body, discovering she couldn’t do it with both at the same time without falling over.

Taz concentrated on breathing and felt her djed slide into places in her body she didn’t know she had. “This actually feels really good…” She affirmed, studying Alric to see what he thought. Taz has the build to do this kind of thing and other things like it – dancing, singing – acrobatics – she just had to actually teach her muscles how to move and stretch in different ways. “I feel like I need to learn to stretch as I learn to do this as well.” She added, mindfully moving djed around now, relocating it from her hips to her shoulders, then back down her spine to her knees, strengthening the one supporting her whole body. “But I feel channels inside of me I didn’t know were there opening up… clearing out, allowing djed movement.” She said softly, with a slight bit of wonder in her voice.

Words: 1722

[Alric Lysane]

“I’ll settle for the beach and waves, leave the melting in the sun for you to contend with, though I’d of course strenuously counsel against such a thing…and possibly lose the battle of stubbornness,” he said with a wry smile, “but then again that scenario on the beach does sound appealing” He said nothing else as they began to explore the new activity, both achieving different results at different rates. He could feel his Djed moving even as he let a little more trickle into his body to make the internal pathways light up just a little more brightly. It was strange, feeling his energies shift and move but without much effort. Before, when they had been trying something more physical, it had taken conscious effort – or at least he had been using conscious effort to manipulate the Djed. As he relaxed into the poses, one by one as they were called out, he could feel his mental efforts ease as he relaxed, yet the Djed continued to move about so long as he was moving himself. As the poses changed, he could also feel his muscles complain in ways he had never experienced before. He had stretched countless times, warmed up a handful and fought or ran at a moment’s notice more times than he’d care to admit to anyone. Yet only now, easing into positions unfamiliar, and feeling somewhat foolish, could he truly feel his body in its entirety. At least, it felt deeper than he remembered it feeling before. Djed shifted and crackled and he experimentally batted a small section mentally, moving it from his legs and into his upper body, feeling it almost immediately begin to return to his legs where it had been initially. He hummed to himself thoughtfully, feeling out why that might be as he positioned himself into the High Lunge Pose. “I’m liking the enthusiasm Bree, part of the pack indeed” he said, noticing her copying movements and the corners of his lips turning up warmly. His amusement, sincere rather than mocking, rippled through him and made him realise that he couldn’t really remember a time where he felt part of something larger than himself. His fragmented memories of his parents provided him with snapshots of love and bonds deeper than those he had felt up until they had been revealed. Yet even those were somewhat hollowed by their fragmented nature, whereas the growing one he felt with Taz – and now Bree – provided him with something beyond scraping by on the packed dirt streets of Sunberth. He had met a few others who might be in the same category, in time, but he could only really count upon the two he was going through poses with. It was a thoughtful revelation and he wondered whether the Yoga were bringing things out that were felt internally more than voiced externally. He focused once more upon his body, sensing it out and feeling how things pulled and tugged before easing and then seeming to unravel. Yet he could feel his Djed moving within, seeking out the opposites of the relaxation. That was a small acknowledgement in and of itself, that it seemed as if when some parts relaxed others became more tense…and that that required energy to crackle and focus there. He would never have thought about his body deeply enough to discern that before this practise. He had assumed that the Flux was a martial tradition exclusively, it was calming to know that perhaps there were other aspects to it that he could explore, less violent ones. He didn’t morally disagree with violence, but he did like to solve things without it if possible. Perhaps in understanding himself he’d glean better insights into other matters, a thought that made him feel satisfied within. “Channels indeed, like so many branches of some weirdly shaped tree within…or that’s how it feels like to me,” he said shifting into the Tree pose and taking a few chimes tog et the balancing act correct before he could start consciously directing and shifting his Djed, “have you felt how when some parts relax others tense up a bit, like my standing leg right now, trying to hold me in place? It’s something I’d not have notice before…though being fair most balancing I’ve done has been on beam and moving along them” he conceded, watching Bree continue her mimic of what they were doing with interest. “I can feel how my spine stretches and it’s almost as if I’ve never truly known my body at all, unfolding and folding consciously instead of just doing it without thinking. My joints feel…stiff…and I can feel the Djed pathways there are narrowed…as if constricted and in need of opening up. Perhaps some sand and sun would help with that after all” he mused aloud as he concentrated upon batting his Djed internally, feeling it crackling through him, pathways that were clogged completely being forced slightly open as he tried to focus upon them doing so, though with difficulty as if trying to force a rusted door. Words: 844

[Tazrae]

Her turquoise eyes turned to meet his deeper blue as he mentioned settling for the beach and the waves, but leaving the sun to her. She could picture him there, in Syka, with his feet bare and his torso exposed to the heat of the day. He’d have on Isuas pants rolled up at the ankles that the wind would tease lightly. The fabric was weightless and strong, gripping his hips and providing a comfortable easy garment. His long hair – grown longer still since she’d known him – wouldn’t hold still in Syka’s breezes. But he’d come to welcome them, for they provided comfort from the heat and humidity and gave the denizens relief.

Would she ever see him there? Did she deserve to? He was a creature of a half-ruined city that dwelled in the darkness, insidious and unwelcoming. But his personality wasn’t reflective of Sunberth. It shone with an inner light. Maybe that’s what her Grandfather wanted… maybe that’s what it meant to be a Nymkarta.

Alric had power, true power, and Taz could feel it as she stood beside him working through the body poses… the stretches that at first made her feel silly but had somehow transformed in his presence and with his acceptance to something more… a deeper stronger connection with her body. And now the practice didn’t seem silly at all. She could feel its interconnectedness with the magic they both strove to master.

Taz could feel lines of power stretching between the two of them as if djed had cast free of its physical bindings and was weaving together between the two of them. She wanted to melt into the connection. It was something she craved and only half understood.

Alric had been a stranger she met in a shop of games and now he was as essential to her as breathing was. She lived for those stolen moments when she could curl up beside him dreamless, comforted, and use his chest as a pillow and sleep in time to his heartbeat. It never failed that the exact moment their breath began to match each other in rhythm was the exact moment sleep would claim her.

She didn’t stay here enough. Taz knew it. There were too many obligations to Syka and too many ties that bound her away from him. Had she still been that prisoner in Riverfall with the Akalaks circling and all of them waving contracts… had she met him then she would not have boarded that ship with James and ran headlong into a new life. She would have ridden north on a trade caravan and visited Syliras then Zeltiva and finally taken a ship to Sunberth.

She’d studied the map Mathias had in his home a dozen or more times.

Tazrae often wondered what her life would have been like then, had she known and had that kind of courage. But always, in staring at that map on his wall, she could feel the pull of the jungle and its song in her heart. And whether she had bare feet or boots on, the mud welcomed her light footsteps and the damp moist dark interior of paradise held her soul firmly in its grasp.

The man beside her held her heart though. And she suspected he always would. Rainmere had told her that when a woman first fell in love, that love lingered forever within her. Regardless of where her path took her or how her life progressed after that event, there would always be an impact crater on her beating heart much like the craters on Leth glowing so high above among the stars.

Taz wasn’t a dreamer.

She wanted to be and was naturally inclined to it, but life was hard and sometimes squeezed the life out of that kind of weakness. Razor-edged line of knowledge in her mind made her stronger and stole those dreams, which always slide into nightmares regardless of how lovely they started. Too many things were hunting them. Too much of their bloodlines was haunted. Even as she stretched her arms high, feeling her spine elongate and her back arch she felt the coming of something unspeakably dark in the near future.

They shifted poses, moving back and forth between one he suggested and one she would transition them into. Bree joined in, liking the concept of yoga and enjoying the challenge of getting new motions out of her body. She called encouragement to the male and female human, sad that they didn’t have the four legs and incredible tail that always kept Bree balanced. Occasionally she approached one or the other, lending a limb or reaching out with her long snout to hook under an ankle and help stretch a limb higher than the humans could otherwise achieve.

Ixam were good at such things and before the yoga session was done, Bree was convinced it was the Ixam that had taught yoga to the humans. She was puffed up and proud about it, seeing the movement of reptiles in the motions the humans tried to mimic. And she felt a deep kinship with both people, something that went beyond a rider and mount. Tazrae and Alric could have easily been shellmates. They could have nested together and broken shell in the same season to grow strong and mature together. To Bree, it didn’t matter that a pair of them had only two legs instead of four. It didn’t matter to her that their skin was smooth and tan, not warm scaled with emerald and sapphire like she was. They were together and she could feel their energies all tangling around one another until they were something new as a trio and not three things doing one in the same action.

She whispered it then, to Tazrae and Alric, at the same time. “Can you feel it? Can you feel all the djed combing in us, accepting, forming something new? We are a pack, more than that… far more.” Bree whispered, then arched her beautiful neck and blinked her inner eyelids that made her look blind the moment their milky covering slipped across her sapphire gaze.

Taz reached out then, bringing arms slowly down and out from where they’d been lofted and arched over her head. She touched Bree’s shoulders with one hand and Alric’s shoulders with the other and simply stood there for a moment, letting the feeling wash over her. “The Gods have blessed us.” It was all she said, not disagreeing or agreeing with the Ixam. Instead, she simply smiled. Sometimes, statements like that had no requirements for answers.

“You both are my family,” Taz said instead. “Whether you like it or not… we are something special together.” She added, then released her hold on their shoulders to reach her hands forward, shift her feet, and reposition her hips. She held the pose like a diver on the verge of fleeing the land for the water. She held it until her back rippled with the forward strain and she had to straighten to ease its stretch.

When Alric showed his amusement with a smile and a quip, Taz had to nod in agreement. “I suspect this will give you more flexibility in your fighting.” She said softly, though she’d never seen him fight. Taz studied the man beside her, knowing his lean form was corded with muscle and his wide shoulders were made far stronger by the mind that they supported. “You balanced on a beam? Were you lofted in the air walking across roofs?” She asked, not having heard of beams or training in such a way.

“I understand what you mean about never having truly known your body. I feel the same way. I feel like things are waking up and making themselves known that I didn’t know where there. I feel like there are motions I can do that I had no idea I could before today.” She frowned at his explanation of djed pathways narrowing, but Tazrae had an open mind. And once she thought about her own body and what he was describing, she realized he was actually making a lot of sense.

“So that’s what that feels like… and these motions… it's like taking an invisible shovel and clearing out the culverts and complicated structures that block streams and keep the water backing up.” She said, only instead of water she was feeling djed. Would she have ever learned this on her own? Would this be something she could have figured out? Tazrae didn’t think so. She was surer than ever that Alric brought out something in her that was extra and beyond her own capabilities alone.

“You make it easy to try new things. You make the space around us feel safe enough to experiment in.” She said, suddenly falling lightly out of the last pose she was in. Taz slipped into the bathing chamber and picked up two hand towels. She returned to the main room and offered one to Alric. The one she kept she used to mop up her neck and arms, where she found herself sweating without realizing it. She offered him a smile and walked back into the kitchen hearth area. There, she poured them two fruit juices that she wished she had the ability to chill. Sometimes, away from Syka, she missed her icebox. “Thank you for that. Thank you for this place. It brings me a lot more comfort than I think you can ever imagine.” She said, knowing when she got home, she was going to take a nice long shower and miss him all over again.

“I left some fresh food on the counter… things that wouldn’t spoil. Muffins for breakfast, some cooked bacon that’s been salted enough it should stay crisp even at room temperature. There’s a small basket of eggs from the chickens you can make for yourself in the morning if you stay over tonight. If you don’t, they will keep a few days on the counter. I have a ton of guests coming tomorrow, enough that I’m moving back out to the tent on the beach tonight and doing a ton of baking into the wee bells of the morning. I want to be ready for them come sunrise. I have to make some yogurt and gather fruit and berries for a proper Syka welcome breakfast.” She said, telling him all that so he knew she wouldn’t be staying.

But she did something she normally didn’t do. Instead of winding down with him or lounging around visiting and telling stories before the fire, she simply strode up to him. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly with an unashamed affection that radiated from her and into him. He might not have noticed before, but they’d been working with energy and with sensing such things. And it rolled off her like heat rolled off the slag pile, straight into him. She tucked herself into his chest like she had every right to do so and hugged him tightly. “I mean it. You make everything easy. You make growing and changing and learning new things easy.” She said, pushing back from him, but not before she ran a hand boldly up his spine, tracing the line of his back. It wasn’t provocative or suggestive. Instead, it was as if she wanted to see a part of him she loved but was hidden from her view. Her hands were looking at him, memorizing the line of his spine, before she pulled away and sighed.

“I don’t like all these goodbyes. I despise them more than anything. But it also means I will get to see you again, Alric. I’ll come back when I can, but I suspect it will be a day or two.” She said, deepening the hug one last time before she pulled away. She took a moment to brush his long hair out of his eyes and trace the line of his jaw as if memorizing his features. She leaned forward, rising up on her toes, and planted a kiss on his forehead much like he often did to her.

She had no inkling she wouldn’t see him for over sixty days… until the turn of the next season. Had she known, she would have refused to return home… she would have refused to get emersed in her Innkeeping. She wouldn’t have taken that ride on the 70th that made her miss the tenday. She would have never left him at all. But she did, taking Bree with her. Bree hadn't reacted. She hadn't known either. Instead, she had simply stared at Alric with wide knowing eyes and a sadness lining them that saw something it didn’t like seeing.

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