Mono no Aware (Kale)

[Noire]

Season of Winter: Day 1 - 511 AV

The caravan took off with a lurch, their numbers dwindled down to eight after the near mutiny that occurred when Halif had told the rest of his members where it was they were travelling to. No matter the price, there were more than enough men who had no desire to ever set foot in Alvadas, and they were quite happy telling Halif this little fact. A nuanced detail that had set the large man’s eyebrows to twitching in anger, a fair sign that something explosive was about to occur. It had not helped that they were getting low on supplies and everyone was a little hungry - enough so to irk even the most calm of the slavers, which was a trait none held in much strength to begin with. It seemed to Noire, that this whole debacle had really started the night before when it was announced that the ale was being rationed until they could get some more. No one had liked that, least of all the drunkards, who turned quarrelsome when they were not properly inebriated.

All of this would not have mattered on any other day, because Halif ran a tight ship and no one got away with annoying him let alone unleashing his true rage. But today, after having the double blow of a potential trip to Alvadas, which everyone knew to be crazy land, without the softener of alcohol, appeared to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. All those little complaints everyone had about their leader seemed to surface, that long ago fight where he broke Krim’s nose, or that time when he made them march for a week straight through the desert for a prize, or even that time when he had yelled particularly harshly at the youngest of them for something stupid… All of those reasons boiled up to the surface now, resulting in an angry parade of grievances.

Luckily for Halif, and likely all the “possessions” of the caravan as well, Hakim, an old hand at these sorts of trips and Halif’s older brother, proposed a deal that managed to calm everyone down. His cajoling voice and soft threats were hard to ignore, even for the most enraged layman, and eventually half of them agreed to split off and head for Sultros to hark their more mundane wears and fill up on supplies. It seemed an agreeable deal, because no one really wanted to get supplies in Alvadas, where they might get three miles away and suddenly have the rations turn to paper or some such trickery. They were heading in that direction anyway, and it was agreed that the second party would scout out the area for potential targets before they met up again in a few weeks.

Halif was red in the face, but he trusted his older brother to be ruthless in crushing any dissent, and thus the two groups fractured down the middle and wheeled off in opposite directions. Noire usually would have gone with Hakim to search for new targets, but Halif had set up a supposed deal on the black market in Alvadas – they had finally found the right price it seemed, and instead she was shuffled back into the one caravan holding all the merchandise going to Alvadas, and they set off at a fast pace, trying to make up for lost time spent arguing.

Feeling the rocking pressure of the caravan scraping over stone and scree, Noire leaned back against the wooden and canvas wall, trying to hold still so she would not jostle so much. The few other people inside cast the Konti varying looks of distaste, but Noire ignored them all and focused her mind inward, letting the calm rolling waves of an ocean envelope her thoughts as she meditated to pass the time. And for a moment, she was not hot or tired or thirsty, but instead centered and calm, one with the mental waters…

[Kale]

The dim sunlight fought and failed to break through the overhanging clouds. The Unforgiving was a mountain range that spanned a great length of western Mizahar. During the winter seasons many of the mountain passes became so packed with snow that it was impossible to pass through. The snowing during winter caused trade with the cities of western Mizahar to come to a near standstill. Fortunately the passes had not all been forced closed as of yet. There would be those few caravans that were racing against the clock in an attempt to make it through the passes before the snows sealed them for the coming months. By now the prices for everything would be increasing dramatically due to the coming need to stockpile for the coldest portions of the year. Kale pulled the cloak tighter in an attempt to keep at least some warmth in his body. The cool mountain air threatened to pull the cloak from his shoulders and leave him bare to the elements. The ground was not yet covered with snow but the temperature drop due to the time of the year was easily noticeable. Kale had not set foot outside the walls of Alvadas for some time now. A city such as that, with its walls keeping out the cold winds of winter, was a great dealer warmer than a mountain road exposed to the elements. The gladiator let a sigh escape his lips. The warm moisture from his lungs caused the air to come out in a plume of mist. He was becoming irritated. Kale let his gaze waver and move over to his companion. Almech, like Kale, had had the sense to at least don a cloak that would keep him warm and protected against the winter air. The shorter man had to remind himself once again exactly why he had let the canine kelvic bring him out into this god forsaken cold. Gradually the image came back to him. "Strength is not always judged in terms of your ability to vanquish foes", the giant of a man had said. He had continued on to tell Kale of how sometimes the ability to survive without the aid of others was in its self another form of strength. It was a form of power that you exercised, not over others, but over nature itself. Kale felt a scowl beginning to pull at his face and chose to look away rather than let it be so evident to his partner. The man, or animal as he liked to muse, was right. Survival skills were in a sense another form of power. Yet Kale could not help but find the whole task boring. All they had done all day were peer down at the ground searching for tracks and try to find, what would now be barren, berry bushes. The only sign of life they had glimpsed all day had amounted to a stray rabbit ducking back into its barrow to avoid the two legged monsters that it had caught the scent of. Outside of the wind and the two travelers it seemed as though the entire world had simply died. Without warning Almech's arm lifted into the air, his hand balled in a fist, indicating for quiet. There were more than a few people that might have been confused as to what that motion had meant. Kale however was a veteran of many bloody confrontations, many life and death situations. He was a warrior. He was trained to fight and kill. Part of his training had included the basics of sign language while in the field. Whether Almech had received similar training or it had just been a motion that made logical sense Kale did not know. It was years of training more than anything else that caused him to halt and shift defensively at the kelvic's behest. For a few moments the only thing Kale could hear was the thin shrill of the wind. Faintly he heard a sound. It was too low for him to make out what it was but nonetheless he knew what it meant. They were no longer alone on the road. Kale reached into his cloak and adjusted the platemail vambraces adorning each of his wrists. Travelers on the road were not always hostile. However they were not always friendly either. Almech and Kale both moved their hands along the outside of their cloaks unfastening most of the clasps holding the thick clothing closed. They would need them easy to remove if there was any kind of conflict. Gradually the sound grew in volume. It was not long before the sound grew in clarity to the point that Kale could make out the sound of multiple horse hooves and the grinding sound of wagon wheels as they were pulled along. He did not let his guard down as the caravan came into view. At first it looked as any other caravan would, even though it was a small one. There were only two wagons. Even from this distance he could make out the bars on the wagons. Kale began to relax a little bit. He was moving to tighten his cloak again when he noticed that Almech was bristling. It was a simple caravan with animals to sell in the markets. Why did he appear to be so angry? Kale shifted his eyes back to the caravan. He did not know much about Almech's past because he wasn't prone to digging into other people's business. What he did know what how much Almech hated having been a slave. It was that part of his past that justified his current attitude. Now Kale could see what had caused Almech to have such anger. The contents of the wagons were not animals. The wagons were filled with slaves. The caravan moved ever closer as the wind began to pick up. It brought the smell of unwashed and dirty bodies to Kale's nose. The wagons ground to a halt just inside shouting range. The guards of the caravan had rushed forward and were now brandishing weapons in their way menacingly. One of the men stepped forward. He seemed to have a different air about him then the rest. The man portrayed an arrogant attitude. If one had to guess who the leader of this small caravan was they would definitely put their money on him. The man's voice carried to the two warriors despite the wind trying to tear the words away. "Are you one of William's men?" the leader inquired. Kale lifted his hands and drew back the hood of his cloak. As he moved past Almech he put a hand on the larger man's shoulder. "Play along for now me friend. We will deal with them soon enough", he told the large kelvic in a whisper. "Yes we are William's men. He sent us here to guide ye into town", Kale yelled back to the man, lifting his hands so show that he was not armed. OOCI gave Almech permission to post after me since he is my kelvic bondmate and he is kind of the reason I would be out here in the first place. Sorry I meant to have you put his name in the title too but I forgot to mention it in the pm.

[Almech]

Almech was in his element, the wilderness, although he wasn't used to this kind of climate in his human form, he wanted to shift badly. His body was cold but his fur would have kept him warm, sometimes he wished that kale was also a dog, so that they could communicate whether Almech was human or not. The wind incesintly tried it's hardest to blow the hood from over his head, his ears were especially sensitive to the cold, he kept one hand up, gripping the top of the opening of his hood with his thumb and index finger. This he was taking Kale on a hunting trip, to show him that one did not need to purchase his nourishment from an inn or a market, that food was freely available anywhere. He also wanted to show Kale the harshness of the elements, one could withstand them could withstand the blows of any opponent who dared to challenge them. The falling snow made it difficult to look for tracks on the ground, the whistling winds made it difficult to pick up a scent.

He smelled a rabbit for a moment but the scent quickly disappeared, and was replaced by another scent, Almech haulted, sticking his fist into the air. He'd seen hunters do it before during his younger years, back when his clan was still alive, Kale stopped when he saw the signal. Almech could smell filthy bodies and ale, he could hear wagon wheels as they crunched the snow beneith them and the clip clop of horse, definitely, positivley, as he could faintly hear men speaking. It was a slave caravan, he heard their faint voices discussing the money they would make off this bath of 'new meat' as he heard one say. He could also faintly smell something even worse, a corpse, just on the verge of beginning to rot, it was a rank scent, with a bittersweet smell. It nearly made Almech sick, not because of the smell, but because of the fact that they didn't bother to dump the body to save the health of the others who were still worth something to them.

Perhaps they didn't notice, but that didn't matter, they were people, not animals, they deserved atleast a hint of care and respect. He curled his lip and let out a nearly silent growl, if his hood wasn't covering his face, he would have given himself away already, then Kale spoke to him. He calmed down, listening to Kale speak to the man, Almech said not a thing, if he tried, this man would end up Almech's next meal, even though Almech would never do something as cruel as eat a man alive. Such were his thoughts however, men like this deserved a slow and painful death, they treated their horses better than their own meal ticket, this did not fly at all in Almech's mind. Kale had shown the slaver's hands, Almech, his hands were already being shown, there was no reason for him to show he was unarmed, which, the man was lucky he wasn't. The snow would have quickly turned red if he had brought his scythe along with him, but for now Almech listened to his partner, and did nothing, he followed the gladiator obediantly.

[Noire]

The caravan rattled to a halt, and from her position against the back corner, Noire could hear nothing but the stamp of horse hooves and the swish of their tails. This was not an uncommon act, often the caravan halted in various places to pick up intelligence, or people as well, but it seemed rather sudden since their departure for them to have reached a settlement. Not that any of this concerned Noire, but it was hard to be apathetic about your fate when it was intertwined with that of the slavers who owned her.

Looking down at her hands, Noire tried to resume her meditation, an art she had perfected on the road. It was always best to ignore the looks of the other slaves, to be calm and inwardly strong. Once she had meditated, often the serenity and will could last for hours, leaving her awash in that sense of peace and tranquility. Otherwise, it was hard to look past the misery of the caravan. Noire was lucky enough herself, she was worth something and thus was treated a bit better than everyone else who was mere chattel. It helped that she had a marketable skill, and could ease Halif's workload by helping him to find appropriate people to steal. This did nothing good for her relationship with the other slaves though, as she was personably responsible for a least of third of them being taken from their homes or from the streets, due to unique abilities or skills.

No one ever understood that it was not a choice for her. Noire could no more say no to Halif than she could cut off her hand or will her power not to work. Lying never got her anywhere good, and to say that she could not find anyone was always a lie. Truly, Noire pitied the people she was forced to help capture, but their obvious hatred and unease towards her also served to make her aloof and uninvolved with their little groups and trials or tribulations. She was the only one who was always alone, the favorite of Halif and therefore the most hated amongst the slaves.

These thoughts and more were running through her head as she waited for the caravan to pick back up its progress. It seemed she was too preoccupied with her situation to truly meditate, no matter how hard Noire tried to clear her head of cluttering thoughts. Inhaling through her mouth so as to bypass the stench of unwashed bodies, something that would be remedied one they got to town, no one wanted to buy a dirty slave, Noire leaned her head back against the wooden spar and tried to rest her eyes.

[Kale]

Kale continued to keep his hands out in a friendly gesture as he moved in closer to the wagons and their guards. Now that he had gotten closer to the cages that held the prisoners he could smell them more clearly. The smell of a slave during transport was all too easy to pick out. Perhaps not all of the slaves smelled badly but there were enough that did to cause a rank odor to hang over the caravan. The smell was not exclusive to the prisoners though. Just passing near some of the guards was enough to show Kale just how much they too stunk. They probably refrained from bathing simply because it was cold outside and they did not want to catch a fever while on the road. "Did William not think we could make it into town on our own?" the leader of the troupe queried Kale. Kale tried to keep that winning grin on his face as he let his hands drop to his sides. "Have ye ever been to Alvadas?" the gladiator asked them. He had finally let his grin fade to a smirk. That would be well enough. A grin just felt too unnatural on his face. He would not be able to hold a grin when his mind got to concentrating on other things. A smirk on the other hand he was more than able to wear on his face without having to keep his mind on it. The cloaked warrior let his gaze drift around the guards of the caravan. They did not seem in any hurry to get back to their duties. He saw in each of their faces that none of them had. His dark eyes moved beyond the group around him and found the wagons containing the slaves. He averted his gaze back to the guards before he continued on. "Alvadas is the city of illusion", Kale said to the slavers. "Unless ye know how the city works yer caravan will get lost amongst all of the ever shifting streets and alleys." He was not used to telling lies to others. The only deceit that Kale normally practiced amounted to feinting during a fight, outright lying to others was something he was not used to. He could only hope to himself that he was being convincing. The slavers seemed to believe him. After a few moments of stunned silence the one that had yelled to him before began to shout orders and the caravan lurched forward slowly. The man giving the orders came back to stand near Kale as the caravan slowly moved past them. "Would you like to examine the stock?" the older man ask. Kale nodded to the man curtly. Acting out the part that he had lied his way into, Kale began to move towards the wagons before the slaver could lead him. Almech, who had been standing silently near Kale this entire time, did not move forward with the two of them. The others could not tell it but Kale had been around Almech long enough to know just how difficult it was for him not to simply kill these men. "Whats wrong with him?" the lead slaver asked as soon as he judged them to be out of ear shot. Kale knew better than that. It was all too likely that Almech could hear their conversation. Nevertheless he humored the man and answered. "He has a sensitive nose", the gladiator replied with a shrug. He paid the man no more heed as he began to look over the contents of the cages. Most of what he saw were second rate slaves. They were simply farmers or people that had been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. What he found in the second cage caught his eyes and held it. Among all of the other slaves laid a konti. Now that was worth a lot of money. She alone was worth more than the rest of the slaves combined. His eyes lingered on her for a few moments. She did not even notice him there at first. She had a look as though she lacked spirit. She looked as though she knew her life was over. He had seen that look before. On the streets, in the eyes of those that had lost faith in life and knew they were going to die. In the eyes of other gladiators that knew he was more skilled then they were. Kale moved closer to the cage. The other slaves scurried to the other side of the cage for fear of this new cloaked stranger. The konti did not move. He slid his hand into the cage and let his finger trail down the frail woman's face. "I take it this is the package that ye are bringing for William?" the gladiator asked the slaver. He did not turn to face the man. He kept his eyes locked on the woman. "Yes, this is the prize that he is paying a mountain in miza for", he heard the man reply. Kale reluctantly pulled his hand back from the cage and turned to face the leader of the caravan. "That is too bad", he said as he let his cloak drop to the ground. "Why is that?" the slaver's eyes darted down to the cloak and then back up to the warrior. "Because William will not be getting his prize", the gladiator said as he began to move towards the slavemaster. He did not have to fake the smile that spread across his lips as he advanced.

[Almech]

Almech followed a short distance behind Kale and listened as he conversed with the slavers. These, trash, these, monsters, that had no right to live their lives in Almech's opinion. He warmed up quite a bit, his body slowly burning with tension, no living thing should be kept or hauled around in a cage, he hated cages, as he'd lived in one for 6 months. Then the only time he got out of his cage was to kill other dogs, he bit his lip lightly, he'd gotten used to this gesture too, he no longer accidentally drew his own blood when he did it. He stopped a foot or two behind Kale, he trusted this man, but he was getting antsy, much more of this and he would be going ballistic, he listened to the humans as they had their little back and forth, Almech paid it no attention. The leader had the caravan going again now after a shout. Almech watched Kale inspect the slaves, so Almech did as well. He didn't pay any special attention, he merely looked at the cage as he stood there, so easily, Almech could've broken the slaver's neck right there. He would not act until Kale did though, apparently he had some kind off plan, Almech did not move, the caravan and the others moved forward.

Almech noticed that Kale had taken an interest in one of the slaves, he wondered what kind of gesture that was "Comfort?" he wondered to himself, he'd have to ask Kale about that later. The caravan rolled forward, crushing the dense snow underneith as it went, Almech stood still waiting for the caravan and the slavers to pass him, they had an alright team plan. Four in front and four in back, Almech would've done the same thing had he been in such an illreputable profession, selling people, using them, the more he thought of it the angrier he became. He could wait no longer, dashing forward in his bare feet, his first kill was easy, grabbing a man's head then twisting it violently to the side. There was a loud crack and the man's body went limp, falling to the ground, Almech ran for the next man, he had begun to draw his sword, but was stopped abruptly. Almech had pounced into the air, landing on the man and Almech sunk his teeth deep into the man's neck, the other's had their weapons drawn now, but they were shocked by what they saw, their 'friend' being mauled by what they thought was just another person like themselves.

Almech stood up, tearing a piece of the man's neck out in the processs and he chewed the flesh contently before swallowing, his hood flew back now and his bright, almost glowing eyes looked at the men with menacing intent. His upper lip curled as he began to snarl and seeing his dagger like teeth the men knew now that they were not dealing with any human, they both carried spears. Apparently Almech had gotten attention from two more of these creeps, brandishing some kind of wavy swords. It was all happening so quickly, and Almech was using the skills his father gave him to make sure it was quiet too, he didn't want to ruin things for Kale, but Almech was subdued by his own animal nature. A few stabs from these spears, a couple of quick swipes from the wavy swords, Almech evaded it all, swiping his claws at one of the sword wielders, he dug his claws in, further and further. He could touch the man's heart as it beat within his chest and with a quick shove, several holes were punctured in it now, apparently he'd also sliced his lungs. The man fought for breath but it simply would not come he jumped into the air avoiding another deadly attack, he threw a chopping kick downward, slamming into the top of the man's head, he heard the skill fracture.

The two spear wielders looked at Almech in terror as Almech's fourth victim fell to the ground, four men in only a few seconds, these men had already given up, their eyes told Almech this was so. They moved suddenly "Oh no" Almech thought as he raced forward, he spread his arms out wide, these two were about to yell for help, Almech swung his arms forward, bashing the two's heads together. They too were now gone, and a short distance away rolled the caravan, several slaves, staring at him, his blood covered mouth and jawline, the chunks of flesh stuck to his poorly kept nails. The look in their eyes were that of confusion, they didn't know if they were going to be saved, or if they were about to be eaten alive or simply killed for the fun of it all. Almech stared back at them, his eyes glinting now not of rage, but of content, and peace, his job was over, Kale could take care of an old man and his lackey, Almech was sure of that, he would've killed those men too, but he didn't want to hog all the fun, Kale afterall, was a gladiator, who fighted simply because of his love of battle. Almech started walking forward, and as he did he saw that Kale was going to start having his own fun as well.

[Noire]

Noire had finally settled her mind, slouching bonelessly against her corner of the caravan as her thoughts drifted calmly over the ocean of her attention. Each one was assessed and dismissed, leaving behind only a floating sensation. Here, within her own mind, the young Konti was at peace, was numb and patient and loved. Was everything she needed to be, and more. She could almost hear the familiar words of a long ago mother, Kontinese cascading like a waterfall through her ears. It was so much more fluid and softer than Common was. Noire missed it.

Her eyes had slipped closed as the wait went on, indeterminable minutes sliding by until suddenly the caravan door was wrenched open and Halif and another man entered the caravan. Noire could not look away from Halif, the older human had been a pinnacle in her life for years now, the closest thing to a father, and an unwavering authority – sometimes, when he was in a good mood, Noire almost appreciated his favor. It was those times, when she had forgotten for a moment what had happened to her mother, which the girl regretted the most later. Acidic bile would seem to float beneath her skin, as if she had betrayed her very body with such thoughts. At other times, it was hard to ignore her paternal feelings towards Halif. He was cruel and loud and mostly sinister, but he had rules and was logical, and kept everything going in her life. And, most of all, throughout the fear, he had been there forever it seemed. She could allow herself those momentary feelings of weakness then, could forgive her weak soul for its lapses in pride. After all, Noire was but a child, and sometimes, she did not know what else to do.

The moment the two walked into the caravan, her vision was doubled, as Noire caught a glimpse of something hazy and far away through the channels of her Sight. The same man, speaking with Halif and holding his arms out in the motions of peace, but there at his side lay a weapon. The cold searing sunlight seemed to glint on the metal, cast it in a pallor and halo, as if to say, keep watch, keep watch. And by the time her vision had cleared, the eighteen year old felt the soft caress of calloused fingers against her cheek, and her eyes fell to stare at the sword at the man’s hip, watching as he turned back to Halif, and spoke those inopportune words. Knowing without really knowing what was about to happen, Noire made some strangled noise in her throat, a half warning to Halif and could only sit there and watch as the carnage began.