A Pair of Purple People (Xalet)

[Saib]

18th Day of Fall, sometime around the 13th bell Saib paced in his small room as Fluffy sat on the bed playing with some loose threads. Saib laughed and smiled when he saw him. He leaned against the desk and said, "I'm going to go out to the arena nearby. Akalaks are warriors like Myrians so surely I'll be able to learn something there..." He ran his fingers through his hair and picked Fluffy up. "But since I won't leave you behind, I should at least comb your fur." Fluffy squirmed a bit as Saib gently combed the tangles from his pet ball of fur then set him on his shoulder. Saib walked the short distance to the arena and stood outside, unsure what to do, when he spotted someone training. His eyes locked onto him and he blushed a little as he stared at the Akalak. His skin was purplish, like his own, and he seemed to be around the same age. Saib practically drooled as his eyes went down the man's body, seeing that he was very muscular. He walked up to him, blushing even more, and blurted out in common before he lost the courage to do so, "Excuse me sir but you are very petching handsome!"

[Xalet]

Some young Akalak, much younger than the young adult Xuphim had managed to annoy him into disclosing a few short blade techniques. Knights weren't exactly plentiful as far West as Xuphim was now, and it seemed a curious Akalak could be easily compelled into asking about how the teachings of Syliran combat differed from the teachings of Akalak combat. "C'mon kid, when you thrust, keep that elbow down, not out. Just like throwin' a punch. You don't want that elbow to collapse when it hits somethin' hard. Sylirans are taught to fight against heavy armor, as well as skin and bone. You hit somethin' hard like plate with your elbow tucked to the side the whole thrust will go to shyke when the elbow joint gives way. So tuck it down, step, thrust, and let the wrist guide the blade. The wrist will get that sword the little bit it needs to be on target. If you're off target more than that, then you just suck an' need to work on accuracy. Now get on out of here, I'm busy. I gotta figure out how this whole arena thing works so I can start whipping ass so I don't get rusty." Although Xuphim had his weapon out just prior to demonstrate a few primitive examples, the moment the youth nodded respectfully and headed his own way the armored Syliran slid his weapon into its sheath and prepared to enter the building. His steps halted suddenly, not even having gotten two steps from where he had begun when he heard something. Twisting his head and torso slightly, he looked back and found Saib. "Eh?" he responded. Immediately Xuphim's assumptions moved toward there being SOMEONE else in the immediate vicinity that this Akalak was talking to. The youngster was gone by now, however. Spinning around he looked to the left, nope, just folks doing there own thing. To the right, no one there. Looking straight ahead Xuphim could clearly see this man looking at him. There wasn't one time in Xuphim's life where those words came from a man's mouth. "Yeah...I know..." the words were a bit halted, unlike the standard quick and abrasive responses he normally had prepared for people. The preparedness he had for responding to this exact type of situation was very low. Was this some sort of normal custom in Riverfall? Xuphim's previous experience with the place leading up to this day didn't seem to point in that direction. "Wait, you're talkin' to me, right?" he finally had to confirm, "You some Konti playin' tricks on me? One of those magic users screwing with my mind or bending your own appearance or somethin'?"

[Saib]

Saib sighed and hung his head as the Akalak started looking around as though he didn't understand that he was talking to him. When the Akalak asked him whether it was a joke, Saib sighed again and shook his head, completely discouraged from what he had set out to do. "Nevermind. Forget it." he muttered and turned to leave, feeling like a stupid kid.

[Xalet]

"Eh?" Xuphim scratched his head. There was no two ways about it, Xuphim was thick. If ever there was a scholar and philosopher Akalak, it was definitely not he. The portions of his training he focused on the most were all martial, and while Xalet may have relied on logic and personal experience, Xuphim went completely by instinct and the feeling within his gut. Still, as he watched the man turn around to walk away he was faced with a problem...had he just demoralized someone? "Ah son of a bitch..." he grumbled to himself. Yeah, Priskil was really going to love that. Never had Xuphim crushed a persons energy so quickly. That wasn't exactly what the Goddess of Hope was all about. "Hey! Was that all you've got? You gonna give up just like that? C'mon now. An Akalak works hard to get what he wants, and if something gets in the way you don't just let it get you down, damn it!" and that was Xuphim. Not exactly the most eloquent inspirational speaker, but the only way he could describe 'hope' to others was the way he himself understood it. With that said, Xuphim had to make something clear. Taking a gauntlet covered thumb he clanged it against his chest before twisting his wrist and pointing to Saib, "Now me an' you...ain't 'gon work. Not in a million seasons. But that's just the way I am, see? I love two things in life more than anything..." If ever there was an honest but unbelievably meat-head comment, it was about to be spoken. Raising one finger up to indicate the number 'one', Xuphim continued, "Whipping ass..." a second finger then joined the first, "...and hot women with big boobs. Yup." He started to nod, the various vulgar images filling his mind, his hands reaching out in front of him to indicate the motion of said 'boobs', "Big bouncy boobs. The kind that flutter all about on a woman when she runs all dainty like. That's me. That's being honest and knowing what you want."

[Saib]

Secret : Ok first of all, sorry for the short post before this. It was much longer but I had to take a lot of it out. Second of all, epic post! Saib turned around at the man's words and smiled a bit. It may not be what he intended to do, but he had just learned something that he wanted, no needed to learn from an Akalak. He nodded and started to open his mouth to say thank you when he started talking again. He frowned a bit at his words and started to sigh again when he heard the second part of the man's statement. Saib looked at him for a second, as though processing the words. Then the man motioned with his hands and Saib lost it. He started giggling, an almost girlish sound, a little bit and as the man kept talking, he laughed harder and harder until he was squatting down with his hands on the ground, tears running down his cheeks. It wasn't just what he said, but how he said it and the way he was moving his hands. He couldn't help it. Fluffy seemed very confused and made confused trilling noises as he licked Saib's cheek.

[Xalet]

Looking down at Saib, it wasn't exactly the response Xuphim was looking for, but he assumed it would be an acceptable turn of demeanor as far as Priskil was concerned. "How's that for you, eh? Pretty inspiring, am I right? Points for Xuphim, no? Makin' widows and sad Akalak's alike find the light." he nodded to himself as the various thoughts of self-righteous greatness flowed judiciously through his head. Still though, that was a basic thing any Akalak should know, was this man not a native to Riverfall? And what about the tattoos, they didn't appear to be any God oriented markings, at least none so far as Xuphim could sense with his own. "Now, what you need to think of is what you need to work on in order to get what you want. When in doubt, I would suggest more body building." in fact, the response was well rehearsed as inwardly Xuphim believed 'more body building' could very well be the answer to most of life's obstacles. "It's worked well enough for me, women like it when you can make your pectorals dance on command. Anyway, I need to figure out just how the rules of this Arena work. We didn't really have such a thing in Syliras, and if there's another thing women love it's a kick-ass winner. I figure if I can score some points in the arena, I'll be able to score some points with the women folk around these parts. See what I'm saying? Catch my drift there?" It wasn't often Xuphim got heavy in philosophical conversations, if what he was saying could even be considered such a thing. Still, one could tell he felt passionately about the subject of overcoming difficulties the best way he knew how, the blunt force trauma way. If a problem could be beaten, then you beat the stuffing out of it. If a problem appeared to require a more intellectual approach, then you used what intellectual powers you possessed to find a way to rationalize beating the stuffing out of it.

[Saib]

Saib stood back up and wiped his cheeks, nodding at what the man said. "Sorry for laughing. The way you said that sounded funny." he said with a sheepish smile. He quieted as the man started speaking again and nodded again. "I do understand what you're saying. I've just...never liked women like that before..." he shrugged. As awkward silence settled in, Saib shifted from one foot to the other then asked, "Umm, you're an Akalak. I didn't grow up here and I was wondering if you know where I should go." He paused and tried to get what he wanted to say into a coherent sentance."I...shyke I'm not sure how to explain it...I want to learn more about Akalaks. I want to learn what I would've if I had been brought up here." Saib tilted his head and watched the man, hoping he would have the answers he had traveled so far to get. The way he spoke made him think that he didn't grow up here either but he had to try. Even if he didn't know where to go or what to do, maybe he knew someone that did. "I wonder who he grew up with and where if he's such a strong man and such a good fighter. He mentioned Syliras but wouldn't that mean he's a knight? That would explain the armour but don't knights travel in groups?" Saib thought to himself but, for now, kept those questions to himself. Before the man answered, Saib realized he didn't know his name. " Oh, I guess if I'm going to ask you a bunch of questions I should probably introduce myself. I'm Saib of the Lost Grove." He traced one of his fingers down his full-body side tattoo as he said his name, as though to show that the two were related.

[Xalet]

"Where to go..." Xuphim gave himself the signature head scratch, he was still quite often confused by the questions some folks had to offer. To him answers were often rather direct affairs, either typically involving the most direct route or some type of violence. "...you're in the right place. I didn't grow up round these parts either, but I know the general idea behind our people. Patron was Konti, see. Kontis and Akalak have something of a history together. I'm learning enough just hanging around, even if I got my duties with the Knights to fulfill making sure the Kabrin Road stays in one piece. You, on the other hand, need to figure something else out damn quick..." Xuphim wasn't the most 'sensitive' when it came to explaining the realities of life. It wasn't always that he intentionally wanted to dismiss the feelings of others, even if they weren't often a primary concern, he simply figured there was more to be gained by discribing the situation as it was. "As an Akalak you've got something of a...uh, duty as well. See, our people are on the decline, get me? We're a race of all males, and Mizahar ain't too welcoming a place. In this society here, Akalaks are expect to father children. What I'm sayin' is, you don't got to like women, but you gotta figure out how to stand petching one." and there it was, the circle of life as described by the dark half of an Akalak Syliran Knight. "I'm pretty sure that's what you would have learned if you were around. Name's Xuphim of the Syliran Knights. Been stationed over at the keep at the end of the Kabrin road round to the west here. That damn road spans thousands of miles, all the way up to Syliras. Then there's another damn road that goes to Zeltiva. We Sylirans love our roads. What we don't like is people petching um up, so's why there's a company of Knights at the end of this one. Keeps Knights moving to and from the beginning to the end of the road. Keeps things nice and stable." Xuphim explained, though there were more important things to be discussed, "So I suggest to better stand a girl you pick a hot one, this way if nothing else you'll have something nice to look at and you'll keep our races lookin' good? It was actually difficult to determine if Xuphim was joking or not, although the man didn't seem like the type to beat around the bush with rhetoric. He knew well enough he too would be expected to father some children one day, and it was lucky that Akalaks lived as long as they did, since it gave him the proper amount of time to live life enough without them. The race would be well served as a whole if he worked toward persuading outsider Akalaks like himself how to properly embrace the reproductive responsibilities of their culture.

[Saib]

Saib listened closely to what Xuphim said, shifting from one foot to the other every now and then. When he finished speaking he smiled a little bit and nodded. "Nice to meet you Xuphim..." he said, absentlymindedly petting Fluffy."It's not that I don't like touching females, I just don't feel anything when I do so. Maybe...I don't think I do." He frowned and pondered it for a moment then realized that what he said might not have made much sense to the charming man who, obviously, had experience with women. "I'm not sure because I haven't have any intimate, or much other contact to be honest, with females. I'm not really your typical looking Myrian guy so I was kinda shunned. I'm just lucky Mom wanted to keep me or else...well I don't know what they do with unwanted babies..." he trailed off for a bit, lost in thought, then shook his head and continued speaking. "Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that maybe my eyes lust for men but my body lusts for women. I don't know yet." he shrugged and stood there in silence before adressing the one specific thing he knew he had to learn about. "But there's still one thing I need to learn about, to understand." he paused, as if hesitant to speak about it. "My...darker brother. I've pushed him back and tried to keep him from taking over but I fear what will happen if he does. I...I don't understand him. I don't understand the two sides of myself..."

[Xalet]

"Myrian, shyke man, I thought I had an unusual upbringing. You're way out of your element. Well hang on tight, cause it's gonna be a big fricken change." Xuphim shoved on the man's shoulder, trying to keep him focused on the conversation. Man to man that was how you did things after all, with force. The lusting portion had the Syliran completely lost. On the opposite side of the coin, the only people he ever cared to think about intimately were women, so he had no possible commentary any other way. He knew well enough how more Akalaks were made however, and that involved a guy and a girl. Lucky he found women hot enough to deal with their craziness. The latter half of his statement clearly caused something in Xuphim to snap, however. A feral snarl appeared on his lips, his brows flexing downward, his eyes narrowing tightly. "Push him back?! You son of a...that darker brother is a part of you. I'll tell you about what a darker half is. Everything you ain't, he is. Your weaknesses are his strengths. Without him, you're only half a man." Xuphim had some serious emotional stake in this conversation, precisely because it was the very existence he had led at the hands of Xalet for decades. A meager existence in the darkness. An imprisonment. A denial of half of what made an Akalak an Akalak. "Darker Brother? You're talking to one, motherpetcher. Yeah, we ain't all peaches and cream, but all that instinct, all that passion, all that vigor, we got it all." the loud clang of metal on metal resounded as Xuphim brought his gauntleted fist against his cuirass. "Without half it's...like using your arms but not your legs. They do different things, but without them working together you ain't nothing. He ain't you, and you ain't him, but you damn well better let him have his time in the sun. Being a nobody, losing your identity, being locked away...that kind of stuff can drive a person mad. You don't want that."