Out of their Time (Bruj pls)

[Malia]

Timestamp: 4th of Fall, 511 AV


The chattering and chirping of invisible birds stung in her ears. Reaching for the seams of the coat, she rolled her hands up into fists covered by black fabric. Akajia’s chill hadn’t yet left the air, coloring it crystal-clear and cool, although a first taste of humidity already invaded it, serving as Syna’s messenger.

The Nuit, cold like an iceberg in the Suvan Sea, halfheartedly tried to escape the endless noise of the rainforest. Of course, it was impossible. Her consciousness drifted away, wandered over land and water, hills and woods and lakes, until reaching Sylira. Which city it was, which place she would rather be in, she couldn’t tell. A shroud of darkness. Her heart didn’t crave for warmth or comfort, not anymore, but for something entirely different. The opposite even.

She walked around a corner and approached the next tree trunk. If she wrapped her arms around it twice, her fingers would probably connect at the other side. Steps were carved into its wood, klutzy forms, exposing the color of ivory under layers of bark. Even without following its course, she knew it led to the Inner Petals.

In the shadow of the staircase the cloak slipped from her shoulders and her body sank to the wooden floor. Made of wood and plants, the entire city seemed to breathe under and around her, hypnotizing her through its heartbeat. She didn’t particularly like it, yet managed to ignore it. The coat served as a layer of protection from the life pulsing under her body... or was it an illusion?

Closing her eyes, she lowered her head a bit. Her hands came to rest on her knees. The chill and beginning warmth of the day slipped from her mind like the silk blue color from the sky. The Nuit had found a place untouched by Syna’s fire.

Her mind sank deeper and deeper. A journey into her own depths. Even though she did the exact same thing before magical rituals, she still found it difficult to let everything go. There was so much... no. The flow of time and the pulsing of life all around her... it didn’t matter. Not anymore.

Because she was eternal and timeless and untouched by her environment. She existed without. Simply existed. And then time forgot her.

[Bruj]

Bruj sat in his homestead, which did not consist of much except a table and a chest at the foot of his large bed. He sat on the floor, leg crossed in beneath him in something that resembled the lotus position. He had been travelling the realms of his consciousness for hours now and had ridden the waves of memory that would submerge him beneath emotions. Bruj’s heart still beat along to the screams of his past. He did not regret his past, for he knew that every action was necessary to bring him to this point, every moment a domino that pushed over the next. But Bruj was still haunted by his past; it still came back during meditation to remind him of who he had been.

These were the moments that were most difficult in his meditations, when he had to fight through the pain and cruelty that still surrounded his psyche to find the beauty that lay deeply hidden in the small cracks of his heart. Some days he could and most, well, he couldn’t and when the anger welled up inside of him and almost took over, he had to rise from his deep meditation and take a walk through Caiyha’s realm. When he could not find beauty within himself then it was necessary that he found it outside of himself. Bruj slowly brought his mind back from deep consciousness and opened his eyes to the world once more.

Bruj walked out into the residential petals and couldn’t help but notice, for the umpteenth time, how his home city was crafted so intricately according to the details of nature. It stood as homage to Caiyha’s beauty and excellence, but still, it was a replica, not the real thing. So though the city was beautiful as compared to other cities, it could never surpass the beauty of the natural world, of the natural balance. That of pain and joy, beauty and horror, life and death. Yes, nature was the perfect example of how all called live in a dangerous harmony. Bruj thought all this while he absent-mindedly walked about in this civilization hidden in the treetops. He didn’t even notice where he had gone or how he had gotten there but what did get him out of his daze was so unexpected that he almost stumbled right across her.

There, crouched beneath a tree, was a pale, red-headed human female. How strange these humans were, Bruj thought to himself. This secretly amused Bruj, he didn’t want to interrupt whatever she was doing but at the same time, it wasn’t everyday that you came across such a bizarre sight. If anything, Bruj’s 500 hundred years of life had taught him was to enjoy the silly moments. So he sat down, legs crossed, once again and decided to watch this strange creature. A slight smirk cracked across his face as he watched her.

Bruj was a patient ape and so he found it surprising that he became far more uneasy the longer he stayed and stared at this individual. Suddenly he realized, he was appalled at how long it had taken him to figure it out and slightly embarrassed that he had found it amusing. She was meditating; it was only through meditation that one could affect their outside environment so readily. He could have left her in peace, left her in her trance but the negative energies that the girl was enticing worried him. What could he do, he had to interfere, if not for her good, then for the good of the forest.

“I think you might be doing it wrong”, he said in a deep, slow, deliberate voice that seemed to resonate through the very ground itself. Each word was carefully measured and weighed and put in its precise position for a precise purpose, “you do not meditate with or for anger, that only brings about more anger”. Bruj knew what he spoke of as he had been there too, not too long ago. Bruj’s brown eyes looked deeply at the figure, hoping he could see her eyes, eyes could tell one a lot about someone else, Bruj wanted to know why she was so angry. “Try finding beauty instead”, the words laboured out and seemed to crash into the earth, would this being respond?

[Malia]

In a place without motion or impression sudden noise seemed to ascend from the wooden floor she sat at. Every fiber of her body vibrated in its deep and slow melody. Only when it stopped did she realize that it had been the voice of a sentient being, not one of Caiyha’s exotic songs, and opened her eyes.

Black fur, bulky muscles and an aura of warmth. Of course, the Jamoura’s voices were as dark and heavy as the forest itself, blending into Caiyha’s domain with ease... but despite the length of her stay she hadn’t spoken with many yet. Business at Grath’s rest and bargaining around the shops and the general market, but never more than that. Finding herself faced with one who apparently spoke without prior invitation from her, Malia could only crane her neck and stare at him in confusion.

Then she narrowed her eyes. The last remnants of meditative trance left her gaze. Instead it was pitch-black save for a dark glow at the bottom of her irises. There was something unsettling about those eyes. Anger? More like hate, firmly entrenched like a disease.

“I wasn’t thinking about or feeling anger while meditating”, she eventually replied. Fingers closed, muscles tensed around pale flesh. The facade was smooth as a mirror’s surface though. Who was he that he intruded what she was doing and even offered advice? She hadn’t asked for anything like that. “What makes you think I did?”

Yet she wanted to know how he had seen what was inside her and what else he might know about it.

[Bruj]

Bruj watched the female as she slowly left her trance far behind and diverted her attention to him. Her movements were graceful, precise and measured. This was strange for a human; Bruj became even more concerned when he caught a glimpse of her eyes. He couldn’t say exactly what but something seemed unusual about this human. Her eyes held deep, black emotions and this worried Bruj. Not because he feared for her or the forest anymore but because he was sure that for a long time his eyes held the same deep, black emotions.

Bruj took a few brief moments to look the slender girl up and down. She was light in complexion, with shocking red hair. If not a human, his second guess would be that she was an Inartan but the Inartans rarely left Wind Reach. She appeared as though she had been burnt on her neck, perhaps from a previous accident. The young lady seemed to be the type who takes very good care of herself, her skin was almost flawless and it looked smooth. It was rare to find humans in Mizahar who took such good care of their bodies, the many that he knew only absent-mindedly took rushed baths and dirty lakes.

The girl’s response allowed for a hearty below that resonated as much as his voice did, to escape from Bruj’s lips. She put in so much effort in hiding her anger, in pretending that there was nothing wrong that it really did amuse Bruj. Bruj quickly regained his composure as he didn’t want to offend her. “You cannot conceal such powerful emotions when meditating”, Bruj explained, “the forest vibrates along to your frequency which allows your emotions to be amplified but at the risk of the forest taking in those emotions”. Bruj wasn’t sure if she would understand what he meant but he wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t.

Bruj got up and stretched himself to his full height, he know looked down on the girl with his full 8’ stature. “I was going for a drink at Grath’s, I wouldn’t mind some company”, Bruj didn’t wait for her response; instead he turned around and started walking towards Grath’s general direction. If he were to guess, the girl would not follow but if she did, he felt he had much to teach her. Not because he knew about the advantages of meditating with beauty but because he knew the disadvantages of holding onto hate. He looked back once more and asked in a deep, reassuring voice; “Coming”?

[Malia]

Another deep noise sent vibrations through the wood around them. Was it a sigh? No signs of aggression darkened the Jamoura’s features, so she took it for an expression of sadness or interest. Despite her general understanding for most known races, she didn’t know anything about the Jamoura beyond hearsay and prejudice.

She shifted and her eyes inspected the wooden staircase, the floor, the branches and leaves making for living walls and doorways. Their colors were still vivid and the fresh air hadn’t become stale. So what was he talking about?

However, the most important question was: Why should she care? It might be a thing of meditation, some sort of rule that she didn’t know because she hadn’t received any formal training. If so, it’d matter to her and the way she performed Animation. If it was a general thing, it was important too: Stomping around the forest with her emotions so evident could only result in disaster. The Nuit strived for a way to be inconspicuous.

When the Jamoura stood, she rose to her feet as well. When he went, she hesitated for a split second. Turning the pros and cons around in her head one last time. Then her long steps followed his massive ones.

“My name is Azola. I would be grateful if you explained to me in which way my emotions can influence my surroundings and how I can control it.” It sounded very layman, even to her, but asking didn’t hurt. And knowledge was the light leading her to the end of the road.