Closed And Yet Another Evening (Litani) (Complete)

[Lydan Verdjak]

10th of Summer
The night was young and the breeze was cool that evening, it was just no more than thirty minutes passed dusk as a muscular, massive Akalak figure begun his journey along the Bluevein River. He knew it wise to not wonder too far off and into the Sea of Grass, that would be an unforgiving death awaiting him.

His hands lay at his sides as he walked along, his tired gaze curling around the area as he spotted a familiar location, The Sanctuary it was, he shook his head as he decided to settle into a sea and stare into the blue tint of the river.

He dug in a pocket, finding his waterskin as he pulled the cap off and begun taking tiny sips from it.

[Litani]

The Bluevein. Litani smiled softly as she beheld the great river, walking slowly toward it in the cool of the evening. The Konti’s hair was tied loosely at the nape of her neck but breezes from the water pulled the strands at random, leaving her with the task of brushing them out of her eyes every so often. Still, the minor annoyance was nothing beside the beauty of the vista - its movement, its liquid sapphires dancing with ceaseless energy, the way it cascaded down the cliff-side and caressed the shore as it sojourned out to the sea... For the first time since coming here barely a week ago, she let herself entertain the notion of being ‘home’. As that thought was forming in her mind, Litani’s gaze came to rest on the other inhabitant of the river path. Lyden. He was a small distance off, but there was no avoiding his unusual stature. She blinked as soon as she saw him and stifled a small smile; And I thought I’d seen tall... A sudden burst of friendly boldness seized her and she raised one hand gracefully, calling in a low contralto, “Fine night for a walk...!” She left it there, saying naught else but instead lacing her hands together behind her back and casually sauntering down closer to the water. Seeing the eagerness in her face, even at a profile, she might well look to disappear beneath the waves but... no. Not now. With the same smile, she returned her eyes to Lyden and curiously 'reached' out. Just a little. Nothing he would be able to feel or sense, just an inward glance to give her a whisper of what sort of man he might be.

[Lydan Verdjak]

The Akalak gazed into the motions of the river quietly, his thoughts swimming around to that of his personal life, a philosophical debate raging between the personalities in his head before a perhaps two-sided relief came as the Konti's voice sounded. His thoughts still swarmed the rivers of his head, destructive and leading into a vast sea of his imagination, much alike The Bluevein.

He turned his head slowly, eyeing the Konti as he raised his palm in a wave, an equally friendly smile being offered to her as he spoke aloud. "It is indeed, but my legs will not carry me further, for I have ran the entirety of the day."

With nothing to hold back against her mind-reading technique, the typical disciplined, but mentally troubled Akalak was at the whims of her reading.

[Litani]

It wasn't a reading of the -mind-. Not... as such. Just a glance. Just a touch. Just enough to tell that he was tired... that wasn't a threat... and that she was safe in nearing. And, on a gracefully meandering step, she did just that. "Sit, then!" she laughed cordially. "The river can do the rest of the running for you." With this, the woman let her flowing steps take her down nearer to the edge, to where the water had begun to soften the ground that it creeped and rushed beside. She tapped the ground with her foot, seemingly feeling out where it might be safer to be without becoming drenched. Instinct told her to back off a few paces inland and, having done, she found herself a likely rock to settle beside. Rather than atop it, the Konti curled up next to it and, as if having planned to do so all along, angled her body to face the river. Her posture left open the possibility that he join her, but by no means insisted that he do so - should he so desire, he could easily pass by and leave her to her musings, staring out at the breathless beauty of the Bluevein River.

[Lydan Verdjak]

The Akalan smiled towards her, going to take a few steps over to her positioning and moving to have a seat aside her, he set his gaze upon the blue hue of the river as he sipped from a waterskin slowly.

His gaze set over the Konti, studying her with quite some interest, but his eyes reverted back to the river as he watched the waves curl along.

[Litani]

So... he's a quiet one. Well. Some of them are, I suppose. In silence, Litani leaned against her rock and draped one arm over it, bending that arm at the elbow and using the hand to support her head. She reflected on the river for just a moment but, all too aware of the strange silence that had settled upon them, she felt a thread of nervousness - ...from which one of us, I wonder... and decided to speak to fill the void. "It truly is a thing of wonder," she said quietly, gesturing toward the river with her free hand, "How fortunate you are to have grown up here. To always have this to return to, in times of trouble...?" She trailed off then, leaving him ample room to comment, continue the conversation, or simply nod and remain silent. Maybe he's shy. Who knows. Maybe he's used to having people shy away from him, because he's so big... Avalis' grace, I hope I'm not making a mistake. Another one. Oh well. In for a copper, in for a gold. "I'm Litani," she said then, turning a warm smile to him. "Who are you?"

[Lydan Verdjak]

Konti women, always seeming so lively, I should not tell father of my encounter here, I seriously dislike his mating pressure..

He rested against the rock as he drank from the waterskin, taking a handful of gulps from it quite audibly as his eyes ventured 'long the riverside, he was curious to it's movements and curious of the Konti's woman's... interest, or perhaps she was just making conversation? She did not seem one for meeting strangers. To be fair though, he wasn't exactly among your top ten social birds.

There was a pause before he spoke aloud, "It is something of wonder, yes." Another pause, "Times of trouble is a flexible phrase, I remember using this river during my Rite of Trial."

[Litani]

When he didn't answer her introduction, Litani found herself caught off-guard. Her request for a name fell flat and she shifted slightly, pressing her lips together with an uncertainty of what to say next. Then he started talking, and mentioned his Trial. Again, she felt surprise. Well... he's young. The memories are probably very fresh. Subtly, she nodded to herself at the assessment of the situation and let her eyes start to wander the rock beside her and the grass beyond. She spotted something that drew her interest but, to keep conversation, she murmured quietly, "And I do not envy you such a task as a Trial... though no doubt you come through it more sure of yourself." Having said that, the Konti curled from sitting to her feet, but still in a kneeling posture. She faced away from him so it might be difficult to discern what she was doing but, after a second, there came the sound of a leafy sort of 'snap!' and Litani's voice rang with a low chuckle, "Chadast!" She turned back, with a smile, clearly pleased at what she'd found and holding a tiny leafy plant in one hand, but perhaps the significance of what it might be was unclear. As if intuiting this in advance, she blushed a little at herself and mumbled an explanation: "...this was hard to come by, where I was before, but look, it's growing everywhere... My mentor said I'd be able to find more of it out here, since it's native and... Ah. Nevermind." With a chuckle, she shook her head and got up, moving some distance off and into a patch of similar-looking plants. She was still close enough to carry an easy conversation, but the Konti also set to gathering while the two were talking. Albeit hesitantly.

[Lydan Verdjak]

"Lydan." He finally spoke his name, his expression eyeing her with a rather unreadable look. The man usually had a very cool-headed expression, and yet in a way he still did, but now his gaze seemed to follow the Konti woman as she moved away from him and towards her movements to the herbs.

His expression turned into an amused smile, perhaps debatably a grin as she flushed and begun plucking into the plants scattered along the riverside. "You're an herbalist?"

[Litani]

"Ehm...in another life, maybe?" She softly chuckled the answer to his question, knowing herself not to be the gifted herbalist that her mentor was, but unwilling to admit weakness to a stranger. Much less an Akalak. Quietly, she gathered as many chadast plants as she felt comfortable doing, even aware as she was that she was probably breaking-past-use more than half of them. Still, the further she got with it, the more comfortable she felt that she understood the strengths and weaknesses of the plant and, towards the end of her gathering, the last few came into her hands as easily as if she'd been long practiced at the art. In all her movements, she was careful to keep herself cordially facing him - perhaps so as not to close down the conversation, perhaps out of modesty, or perhaps so she could keep him in her peripheral vision. Either way, the end result was the same - she glanced his direction after every few she took and, at one point, in an effort to keep the small talk alive, she said softly, "I suppose such things are boring, hm? What are herbs next to the power of Akalak steel." The comment was self-effacing but delivered with such a genial voice and comfortable smile that it was hard to believe she might actually be insulting her own skill. Rather, perhaps just seeking to even the playing field a bit, admitting their differences and entirely different worlds.