[The Fringe Forests] Barking Up the Wrong Tree (Rhy/Serrif)

[Rhy]

Seriffs hushed command for stillness is met with a sort of non-comital murmur. Its hard to feel compelled or concerned in the face of the soft calming effect of his gift. The light of the gnosis glows through the contact between the palm of his hand and her face, but its not a harsh light, and she doesn't close her eyes. The new sensation of the healing pours into her and she can feel it sapping away the fresh pains and even small old injuries. The cavity of her chest seems to expand as the bruises and torn muscles on her ribs heal and relax; prompting a heavy sigh from the young Kelvic as her breath deepens. Her long legs gain some semblance of the sturdy control she is used to, shedding much of the weight her exhaustion held over them. Even the deep wounds on her nape and hip drown to a dull ache to be tucked away to the back of her mind. It doesn't heal everything, or cure her fatigue, but it certainly helped. Even when the contact dulls and finally disappears into the dark cave of the inside of his hand she doesn't move. The calm honey-feeling is still there and she is loathed to let it go. But now its Gianne's turn. The horse has come back, although the way its skittering and rolling its eyes gives off the impression that it won't stay long if it has the choice. At least the woman's soft voice and soothing gestures seem to have some sway over the beast. Rhy steps lightly out of the way to give her the space for her own healing session, but greedily takes one of Serrifs hands with her. As she waits for woman to be healed she takes a moment to think through the next step. Hopefully the horses will stop spooking each other long enough to take them back. Assuming Gill will even stomach a dog as a rider and take her back with the humans. Then what? Get some bandages, crawl under a bush and lick her wounds? As ridiculous as it sounds, its probably her best bet.

[Gianne Basete]

His words comforted her more than she thought possible. She closed her eyes tightly and held her breath, a little the opposite of what he'd requested. Not all the anxiety could be brushed away by nice words. As his fingers touched her spine she shivered. His hands were rough and warm and big. The breath she was holding came out as a sort of sigh, and her body relaxed. A wave of calm had washed over her like a gentle wave. It reminded Gianne of sticking her toes at the very edge of the ocean's reach where the wet sand bordered dry. The surf would crash down and climb as high as it could, then lap lightly over her feet. She loved that feeling. Suddenly she was in a forest. Or it seemed like it. How could that be when she'd just been standing at the edge of the plains? It was no longer hot, only mild, and fresh droplets of water pattered down from the trees into the foliage below. She shivered again, not daring to open her eyes. She didn't want to ruin this moment. And then the feeling heightened further. All pain was gone as quickly as one of the gusts of wind she was experiencing in this illusion. Gianne could feel different points on her body, scratches and bruises most likely, disappear. It seemed like ages since she'd felt so rejuvenated. He spoke again, but this wasn't an interruption like someone else's voice would have been. His voice flowed with everything perfectly, a lot like... honey. Her lips split in a small smile and her eyes fluttered open almost lazily. "I feel... much better," she said just as gently as him. It was amazing, that magic. She almost asked how he'd done it, but stopped herself. Some things were better left unsaid, at least for the time being. In a way she felt like it may ruin the wonder of it all.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

Rhy seemed to love his touch, even if he wasn’t healing her. Maybe he represented something much larger for her. Security? He understood that, especially since he was much larger than her…and because she was a Kelvic. Kelvics seemed to want human interaction. They seemed to want to belong to someone and be with someone. It was something he hadn’t studied in detail as of yet. Maybe he would have time to do such a thing later. But now…he was worried about other things. Such as Gianne’s health and wellbeing. He smiled to Rhy and then watched Gianne as his gnosis worked.

It was still miraculous to him how this gnosis gifted to him could do all the wonderful things that he knew it could do. It healed, rejuvenated…he could only imagine how Kavala felt about her gift. He saw her body relax, and her tension release visually, he could inly imagine what was going on inside her at this very moment. When she finally did speak to him again her voice was hushed. He was happy that she felt better.

“Good, let’s get you to The Sanctuary then.” He knew that they would all need to head back but he would let Gianne take the lead and he would take Rhy with him.

“I’ll take Rhy you lead the way so I can watch out behind us and make sure you make it ok.” It was a good plan to get everyone home. Because he knew that they needed to get back as soon as possible and start treatment on the worse wounds that his gnosis had purged but not healed.

Gianne needed some sleep, as did Rhy. And he needed to start concocting things to give to these two so that they could start the healing process as soon as possible. Sometimes the body just didn’t work fast enough for him. And there were plenty of ways to speed things up a little. But safety was always a precaution that he was watching for. If he couldn’t do it safely then it wasn’t worth doing at all. He would need to watch them closely and carefully.

[Rhy]

Rhy opens her mouth to protest, and nearly just as quick shuts it again. She was about to insist that she ride with Gianne. She feels responsible for the woman, protective even. She was almost angry that the Honey-man would assume she couldn't take care of the woman herself. But she can't take care of her. She has none of the skills or attributes that she needs right now. The Kelvic would probably be a burden, anyway. But she puzzles over this flash of possessiveness, and admonished herself for such a childish thought. She definitely does not see herself as a child anymore. But there is still enough child in her to pout as she eyes the massive white stallion. Hopefully its not the skittish kind. She addresses Serrif, "ok, but you better not let me fall." She steps closer to Gianne and gingerly takes her arm to inspect it, holding it as if it might shatter. It definitely looked better. The swelling has gone down, and the redness drained away, although she no idea what that means. "Hey, you look a lot better! Better thank the Honey-guy a lot for this. He might have saved our lives." She notices the way her eyes are glazed over and almost laughs. So his honey magic works on her too! But she looks again and notices the way her eyes glaze not just from the touch, theres something else too... She looks to Serrif and back at Gianne, and notices something interesting. Dilated eyes, similarly glazed smile, even the Honey-guy seems to be exceedingly gentle when handling her. "Huh, good. Its about time you were bred." With that she licks her forehead affectionately and walks away without explaining herself. Now to tackle this horse problem. If she were in any better condition she would demand that she run herself back. Her breed is fast on the grasslands, they were bred to hunt down deer for gods sake. But even the fastest of them couldn't hold a candle to a horse. At best they would ride ahead and she would follow half a bell behind. But that simply won't happen. She sidles up to Hasmere as she would a dominant or larger dog. All meek and mild with her head down and approaching from the side. And tentatively reaches out to pat his nose and nuzzle under his jaw. Other then a heavy snort and flared nostrils he's taking this very well. Must be a Sanctuary horse. They all seem to be good with dogs. Next she pats down his neck and moves closer to his back. Since she's not sure what to do about the saddle, she ignores it and tries to pull herself over the horses back in front of it. She has herself draped halfway over the animals back before she tries to throw her leg over. And other then a sporting bruise over her thigh from the saddle horn she manages fairly well. But instead of sitting up straight and well she's crouched over the horses neck and holding on with her hands wrapped in his mane. The horse is having none of this, so he drops his head and Rhy tumbles overtop like a sack of potatoes. She grunts something that might have been "helioc'" with a mouthful of grass and picks herself up. Getting ready for another try scaling the impossible mountain that is Hasmere.

[Gianne Basete]

There was no argument in her posture or expression toward Serrif's instructions. She merely nodded and mumbled her agreement. Imagining the Sanctuary made her think of a bed, and a bed made her think of the one thing she craved more than anything at the moment. Sleep. Gianne glanced over to Rhy to see how she was faring. A pout was pinching her face in a sour expression and she couldn't help but smile. It seemed the Kelvic didn't quite like the idea of going with Serrif, which made her feel quite nice about herself. In the short time she'd known the girl she'd grown very fond of her. Maybe being in a life or death situation did that to people. Rhy approached and gingerly took her newly treated arm. "It feels a lot better. You definitely don't look so haggard anymore either. I'm glad for that." She smiled affectionately at the scrawny girl and gave her an uncertain pat, not sure if all the pain in her body was gone or not. Then she glanced at Serrif over Rhy's shoulder and tried to covey the sum of her thanks in that one look. Her gratitude was too deep to put into proper words. How do thank someone for taking away your physical pain? Both of them were likely to not have made it back to the Sanctuary if not for him finding them through such luck. The Gods must have been looking after them today. This reminded her to send several prayers and thanks up to her main Goddesses, a sense of deep acceptance settling over her like a blanket as she did so. Rhy's next words surprised her like the cut of a blade. Breed? The Kelvic licked her forehead and walked away as if none of that was odd. Color rose in her dirty face and it burned like a cooking fire had been set inside her head. Gianne didn't think she'd ever been so embarrassed in her entire life. She looked wide eyed at Serrif then quickly away, turning back to Gill who had calmed down considerably. He was still twitchy so she would be leading him for a while until he calmed enough for her mount. She made a big display of tightening the ties that attached her saddlebags to the saddle behind the cantle. And odd sound and a thump made her look over her shoulder though and she saw Rhy peeling herself off the ground in front of Serrif's horse. Gianne turned back to her knotting to hide a smile, but as she'd looked at Rhy she'd also looked at Serrif again so the burning in her face spread to her ears. Mirth and embarrassment were an odd emotional combination and it made her uncomfortable and restless. She really wanted to get back to the Sanctuary so she could shut herself up inside a room and hide from this embarrassment for a while. Kelvics were definitely not ones for being subtle, apparently...

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

He wasn’t really all that stunned at what Rhy said, he had interactions with Kelvics before and they tended to speak exactly what they thought. They were more in tune with the natural world than most. As he had already experienced from the ferret Kelvic who said something much to the same extent that Rhy did. Did every kelvic think that mere attraction always led to intimate sexual experiences? If so he marked in his mind that he had better start being very cautious around RHy because she may misinterpret him. He didn’t want things to go sideways between them because she got mixed signals from him.

Serrif’s reaction was to simply brush the thought off with a mere smile and a laugh; that was the appropriate reaction for such brutal honesty. But Gianne reacted quite differently than he did; which was understandable because the comment was rather unexpected. While it did catch Serrif off guard completely he had only partially heard what she had said to Gianne. At first he had applied the normal rules of conversation to the conversation…he then remembered these rules did not apply when dealing with a Kelvic. Followed by the lick to GIanne’s rather exposed forehead…it was hilarious in a way. Something he would be sure to laugh about later; but for now hysterical laughter at her reaction would be…rude to say the least.

Gianne might also misunderstand the laughter for something else. So for now he withheld any massive laughter explosion so he could remain tasteful. Instead he just dismissed Rhy and looked to Gianne. “You can never fault her for not saying what she thinks can you?” As if that line could really help diffuse the situation any.

It obviously didn’t because Gianne turned quickly away and focused instead on her horse. She was obviously embarrassed by the statement Rhy made; which made him glad he had insisted on taking Rhy himself. He wasn’t sure if leaving her with Gianne would be a good idea right now. Women could be so…touchy at times; and he knew a thing or two about that having spent nearly a year in Mura surrounded by women. Truth was he knew how to generally read women and the last thing Gianne wanted to do right now was face him, so he let her be for now.

Turning around it seemed Rhy had made one failed attempt to mount Hasmere. He could tell by the way Hasmere was pitching his head up and down after spilling the woman on the ground. Comical as it was in a way he decided he best take charge before things got nasty or out of hand. Horses were indeed large powerful animals that needed to be kept under close watch at times.

“Let me help you there.” Gently he helped Rhy up onto her feet as he moved over to calm Hasmere down some. It was easy being that the second his hand met the beast his Konti gift would sooth him.

Within moments Serrif found his foot in a stirrup and kicked his other leg over the saddle and sat steady. That was really all he needed to do in order to allow the light and nimble Rhy to join him. He sat back in the saddle to allow her somewhere to sit somewhat comfortably. Offering her ha hand up if she wanted it Serrif nodded a little.

“Here now come on up and sit in front of me and we can be off.”

[Rhy]

Rhy accepts Serrif's hand and watches in awe as he swings himself overtop of the saddle like he has always belonged there. Granted, the man is a better match hight-wise for the massive stallion then her, but she could never imitate that kind of grace while mounting even if the horse was half its size. But now its her turn, so she tries her best. Even if her best is awkward and requires many wordless exclamations. Eventually, (with much help from Serrif's steady hand) she situates herself in front of him on the saddle. Lo and behold, it's surprisingly sturdy and large enough to accommodate them both. Maybe this won't be so difficult after all. Just as long as the man doesn't let go. Just to make sure, she gropes around behind her until she finds his arm, and wraps it around her waist. Although this makes her feel much more secure, as soon as he comes in contact with her skin she immediately starts to relax as his gift flows through her body. Making it just that much more difficult to keep her legs stiff and keep herself on the seat. As much as she enjoys the sensation, she does her best to block it out as she positions herself. She has stalked around Sanctuary long enough to at least hear tell of the proper way to ride a horse, or she imagines as such. And the Kelvic tries her hardest to bring them all to mind: back straight, hips relaxed, legs to be gripping for all they're worth. That sounds about right. But she also takes cues from the human behind her: even weight, heels down and gripping with his knees. She is about to ask for some more tips from Serrif, but turning in the saddle catches Gianne in her vision. And the woman is acting very, very strangely, In a determined and exaggerated sort of way. She's seen that look before, and she runs through her mind anything she or Serrif could have said to throw her in such a sate. All she did was comment on her health and congratulate her on- Shyke A dog (or any animal, really) doesn't flirt or flag without wanting a mate. Doing so with any other motive will most certainly have you dominated or have you run out by a more aggressive female. Humans, however, can be much more complicated. And have so many more rituals. And have so many more... taboos. You don't comment on someones relationship, especially sexual, ever. And she knows that. What a convenient time to loose sight of her people skills. All they did was look at each other! At least Serrif seems unfazed by the whole thing. He must have dealt with Kelvics before. But besides that she doubts there is much she could do to blow this mans aloof composure. And right on the heels of that thought comes the inevitable question: what would I have to do to get him to dance? And just like that a simple goal roots itself in her mind. Sometime, somehow, she's going to ask him to dance with her. Get him to laugh to his bones and maybe even pull back a layer of that self control. She would ask Gianne to dance with them too, if she ever looks them in the eye again. All this is weighing distractedly on her mind, so instead of commenting on the horse or the riding as she turns to Serrif, she blurts out, "I forgot you can't talk about-" Thats not what she meant. "I mean, I didn't mean to. I didn't realize-" a long, pregnant pause, "you are all just so strange." Thats not what she meant either. "I-I'm sorry." She clears her throat loudly. This is getting nowhere, and the hole is only getting bigger. "Lets go, ok? I'll keep my mouth shut."

[Gianne Basete]

Much of the reason her reaction to Rhy's words were so strong was stress. It rolled through her like a herd of stampeding horses. Of course Serrif's gnosis had worked splendidly, and she definitely felt much better, but it couldn't get rid of the roiling and dark thoughts that clouded her happiness like a storm cloud. Serrif's powers didn't work unless he was touching someone, and now that he was mounted up with Rhy the stress was starting to tighten her muscles right back up again. At least the pain was gone. She turned a little as Rhy spoke up and started to smile at the jumble of words. This was the first Kelvic she'd ever met, and she'd been taken by surprise at her bluntness. She obviously thought a whole lot different than they did. How could she hold that against her? Hoping to allay Rhy's worries she broke her silence, "It's alright. There was no harm done." Gianne offered up a smile. It wasn't a big one, but it was genuine. "Don't worry about it. Let's go get ourselves into a nice bed, yeah?" Sucking it up and pushing away the depressing thoughts that were trying to pull her into a pool of self pity, she walked ahead to take the lead of the little group. Gill had an anxious prance in his step so she checked him with a light tug of the reigns. He slowed down but still tried to step out, his neck arched against the pressure on his bit. She murmured gentle nonsense to him and stroked his neck. It was caked with drying sweat and foam dribbled from his lips. Poor dear. It took maybe a quarter mile for him to calm enough for her to feel comfortable mounting again. She held him still as she slid her foot in the stirrup and swung up into the seat. He threw his head back, feigning a rear, so she turned him in a few quick circles. She smiled back at Rhy and Serrif, and excited light in her eyes as Gill side passed in another circle. "He still wants to run." But she checked him again and forced him to walk. He chomped at the bit and flicked his tail grumpily, stomping the occasional hoof as he walked along at a fast clip. Being in the saddle always made her feel better and Gill's excitement was contagious, as if seeping up through the saddle and into her muscles. Too bad it wouldn't last forever. She feared that tonight would not be a good night for sleep. Her mind would race through the dark hours and not allow her any rest.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

Rhy was refreshing to Serrif, in fact all Kelvics were. They spoke the words that others dare not, they seemed to have little if no filter between brain and mouth. So they spoke what they were thinking. Serrif found it refreshing to know what kind of signals he was giving off and what his emotions were saying about him. And well Kelvics were perfect readers of these kinds of things; they were more primal and in tune with nature; as well as body language. As such they were observant and sometimes found no harm in commenting on someone’s sexual desires or wishes…even if it was inappropriate. And you could always rest assured that a Kelvics apology was sincere as well. They didn’t ever want to appear weak to anyone, at least most did not.

“I know Rhy we are strange, inhibited is more the word. Many of us get caught up in things when really things could be so much simpler.” He had experienced this first hand offering some advice to the Kelvic, but he was sure she already knew all this.

“I like listening to you talk, but if you want to remain silent that is your choice.” He nodded to GIanne’s comments and placed his hands where Rhy wanted them. He after all didn’t want the girl to fall out on the ground. He held her firmly against him, his very body seemed to adjust to having her against him.

His chest relaxed letting her back curl into him, his hands wrapped around her holding the reins loosely because Hasmere knew how to behave especially when following a lead horse. If she leaned her head back she would find that his body was all to willing to support it. She would likely be in a relaxed state of bliss by the time they made it back to the Sanctuary. But while he held her there he thought about other things as well.

GIanne…did he really want her like Rhy suggested? Things could be so simple if it was just a matter of wants. He did want her, she was beautiful how could he not? He loved her open face and expressive eyes; as well as how he was going to have plenty of hours reading her expressions and needlessly frustrating her along the way. But she had to have similar feelings, which was why RHy’s comment embarrassed her so much. But he better let her have her space for a little; he would see her when he went to checkup on her later.

[Gossamer]

. Character: Gianne Experience: Riding +3, Observation +4, Archery +2, Dagger +2, Leadership +1 Lore: Emergency dismounts, Dogs can be women, Being rendered speechless, Fighting Wolves with both Bow and Dagger, Shutting down during battle, Loosing a horse in a skirmish, Maybe the Drykas are right- restraining horses is a bad idea. Rhy: Thinks Her And Serrif Would Make A Good Match Character: Rhy Experience: Brawling +3, Leadership +2, Socialization +1, Logic +1, Tracking +3, Hunting +1, Acrobatics +1, Observation +3, Unarmed Combat +1, Riding +1 Lore: Giving Heads Up!, How to Properly Greet Horses, Tracking Coons, Fighting Wolves, Serrif’s name is Honey-Guy, Mounting A Horse Isn’t Easy, Saying Exactly what I think, Making apologies isn’t easy., Humans don’t think like Kelvics Character: Serrif Experience: Observation +3, Leadership +1, Riding +1 Lore: Rhy calls you Honey-Guy, Assessing Battlefield Wounds, Calming Down Women, Healing Strangers With Gnosis, Rhy: She says shocking things. Additional Note: Girls, great job on the hunting and fighting scenes. You did marvelously well, even if Gianne fell apart there at the end. Rhy, I gave you tons of leadership because I think Gianne would have been toast without you being there and taking charge. Each time you barked an order (all puns intended) I think you saved her life. This is unusual for a kelvic, but I’m glad you are playing Rhy this way. Serrif, I would have given you more ‘riding XP’ but you were just sitting on a horse describing your gear at ready, not really talking about actually ‘riding’. I gave you one point for the detailed mounting, but that was it. Rhy – you need to write in third person omnipresent. You should really practice this. For you write well, but your tenses change and your POV changes in your posts quite frequently. I've added this thread to the Exceptional Threads Examples in Behind the Waterfall for combat. .