Closed Sand, Sun and Sea(Uleru)

[Niraeya]

67th of Summer, 513 AV

It was hot. The summer was always hot and with heat radiating off the glistening beach as well, one wouldn't be found walking the hot sand barefoot. But there Niraeya was, flute held behind her back as her feet sank into the grains with every step. A squawk turned her attention to a flock of gulls perched on a cluster of rocks. One in particular cocked its head at her and squawked again.

She glanced behind her. Surely the bird wasn't talking to her. She turned back to the gull and pointed to herself as it to say "me?". It merely blinked and continued to stare at her. Without any further calls from the bird, Niraeya shrugged and continued her stroll. She didn't make it two feet before there was yet another cry from the seabird. She turned back around with her hands on her hips. "Well what is it then?" It cried once again and flapped its wings. "Would you like a song?"

Without waiting for an answering squak from the bird, she placed the wooden instrument to her lips. She only managed to sound one note before she was interrupted by the creature. She tried again and was interrupted once more. Was it...singing along? That must be it. To test her theory, she played a single note and indeed the gull did squawk. Niraeya laughed and played another. This went on for a whilst, the two of them going back and forth.

Eventually her new friend left in a flurry of feathers, presumably off to catch a snack. She didn't allow its departure to stop her though. Her fingers were back on the music maker and a tune was already being spun. It was a lively little tune; one of her favourites they used to play at the Masha. Niraeya twirled on her foot as her fingers lifted into different positions and her breaths allowed for sound.

[Uleru]

Barbarism! Scandal!

Uleru whole form flinches every time that gulls cry interrupted the young Benshira's song. Such beautiful sounds as she is making is being sullied by what must be the most musically challenged creature outside of Yukmen. It's a petching crime!

Now, she had been following this girl almost as soon as she stepped foot on the beach. Since Uleru met Sybel a few days ago she has been interested in these not-Sevfra people. The Benshira. The sea people that have no sea. The water people of the desert. So similar to Laviku's people physically and personality wise, yet not even distantly related.

But soon after she noticed the flute in her hands, and the Otani's interest was piqued even more. A musician! her favourite type of human. They tend to be more fun, and more lively, than any other type. And much more curious (or tolerant) of the Otani's company. This solidifies her interest in the tall young woman, and she has been following ever since.

Swimming along in the shallow's of the surf, Uleru holds no shape or colour. A useful stalking skill, as this makes her invisible to anyone except those marked by Laviku. But this trick is rather limited with range. She just hopes the girl keeps her interest in the beach a little longer. If only for that horrible bird!

Grumbling to herself, the moulding searches the sand below her for a suitable rock with which to lob at the offending creature. But with a flurry of feathers and a departing squawk the bird takes the initiative to leave without the persuasion of small projectiles.

Finally.

And with the bird gone Uleru coos with delight when the girl not only picks the song back up, she even starts to dance!

At this point the moulding feels an unconquerable desire to join in. If only to prove that there are such creatures in the world that can sing better than gulls. It would mean depriving herself of a prime vantage point with which to watch, alas. Or she might scare the poor girl away if she's not careful about it. But everyone knows that there are some monsters that are not dangerous, right?

She mulls this over as her form is gently rocked by the breaking waves. Here is a Benshira, a human creature she knows next to nothing about despite having swam around the entire circumference of Eyktol. But not only that, its a musical human of a tender young age. This is a recipe for fun and play if she's ever seen one, and well worth the risk.

She listens carefully to the song she plays on her little wooden instrument. It's a song she has heard before in a few different languages. Her memory for such things is flawless, and she could possibly sing the song in its original language. But she fears tripping over the complicated words she doesn't understand. Perhaps this girl knows common. If not, its impossible to mistake the song.

Making up her mind, the moulding pulls herself into her favourite near-human shape. A few meters out from shore she breaks the surface, her head and narrow shoulders materializing out of the water. Smile on her face, she opens her mouth and adds words to her song:

"The sistrums had the clanging sound
That their rods made as they were swaying,
And then with that strange music playing
The Benshira girls rose to the ground.

The tambourines would race along,
And stubborn hands that kept up with them
Gave their guitars a furious rhythm,
The same refrain, the same old song,
The same refrain, the same old song.", she begins. Her eyes sparking with delight and waiting for the second half of the music.

[Niraeya]

Eyes closed to the world and sun baring down on her form, Niraeya continued her one man show unaware of her mysterious spectator. The bottom of her tunic swirled with her movements, never once getting tangled in her swiftly moving feet. It was a grace she only had whilst engaging in the activity of singing with ones motions.

It was clear that the musical words had been sent forth long before Niraeya noticed but once she became aware of the fair voice, her grace deserted her. Her next steps faltered and with a twist of her foot she tumbled to the ground, a light sprinkling of sand flying up with the impact.

Her first thought was to check that she had not landed on the precious piece of wood. When she saw that the instrument was indeed unharmed she looked up.

Imagine her surprise when her gaze landed on the blue maiden. Now that shouldn't have been unusual and it wasn't; for she was in the city of blue warriors after all. But the woman bore no resemblance to the Akalak or the rare Akontak. Charoda perhaps? Yet that wasn't quite right either. From what she had heard the semi amphibious race did not have hair. So what is she? It was an innocent enough question and given she was on her rump in front of a half translucent woman that looked to be the manifestation of water - if water had a humanoid form - it was a rather practical one as well.

These thoughts had taken but only seconds to cross her mind and now as she looked once again, the woman seemed to be waiting for something. Her head tilted to the side, an extremely puzzled expression morphing her face before she picked up on something she had overlooked. She had been singing along! She knew of the song she had been playing. Was she perhaps waiting for her to continue then?

Still staring at the ethereal figure before her curiously, Niraeya shook her flute free of sand and placed it to her lips to continue where she left off.

[Uleru]

The Otani does nothing but continue to smile benignly when the girl's foot catches and she hits the beach with a dusting of sand. It surprises her that someone with such control of their body as a dancer can lose all their grace when not completely dedicated to the song, but who is she to judge? Get herself on land and she has all the stability of a foal, and just as much grace.
 
The girl rights herself and takes a moment to study her newly materialized audience, and the Otani fights the urge to make a face at her. Seems the human is just as new to her kind as she is to the human. Well, at least she knows plenty about the race. Its just the exotic breed of human that has her interest.
 
But as she is being studied, she studies in return. She's a pretty girl, darker than most, with the same bright eyes unique to Benshira and Sevfra. The mouldings liquid form ripples almost absently and she assumes the girls small, youthful features. And her hair, so much hair! Her fingers twitch as she imagines touching such luscious curly hair. But her emulation stops when she runs her tongue experimentally over her teeth and remembers that they are exactly the same as they were before. She's never been great with human teeth, for other than the occasional smile or sea-worn skull she's never actually seen all of a humans teeth. And since she has all the bite power of a jellyfish she hasn't bothered with developing her own unique teeth out of practicality.
 
An annoyed look briefly crosses the pseudo-Benshira's face before reverting back to her original features.
 
And then, finally, the puzzlement melts from the girls face and she starts up the song again! Uleru waits for the beat before starting the song as she left off, weaving the foreign words around the sound the wooden instrument makes. The words are festive but ungainly in the common language, the monster does her best to keep the same pronunciation and lets the human set the pace.
 
"The copper and the silver rings
On swarthy skins were bright and shining;
And skirts with red or orange lining
Would flutter in the wind like wings.
The dance was married to the song,
The dance was married to the song,
At first unsure and hesitating,
Then lively and accelerating…
It all kept rising, rising all along!

The men, with strength as if from hell,
Now beat their instruments to sound them,
And with that dazzling noise around them
The women fell under its spell.
And to the rhythm of the song,
And to the rhythm of the song,
All hot and crazy, fevered, sweating,
Intoxicated, they were letting
The whirlwind carry them along!"
 
She finishes the song with an artistic flourish and a childish laugh.
 
"Such a pretty girl. A lovely girl. You make lovely music, lovely girl", she sings gaily, pitched somewhere between a coo of admiration and the sparkle of of unsalted curiosity.
 
She crawls ashore then, to keep level with the girl who is still sitting on the ground, and sits cross-legged when she is close. The two stare at each other for a chime, and the moulding unconsciously borrows the remarkable blue of her eyes. The colour starts in her face, but spreads throughout her body like ink dropped into a pond. The sun hitting her back ripples through her body and hits the Benshira with the same saphire colour, and it looks for all the world like the colour is bleeding from the girls eyes and down her body.
 
There is another pause as the two continue to stare. The Otani is the first to break the silence. 
 
"Show me your teeth", she demands casually, like this is a reasonable demand for anyone to make. And she leans in as if to pry open her jaw herself.
 
 

OOC :

Song: Chanson Bohemienne (translated)
Artist: Unknown

[Niraeya]

It was no question that Niraeya was pleased with the arrival of her new musical companion, no matter how odd. It had been a whilst since she had had the fortune of playing with someone.

There were some words of the song she could not easily understand but being that she knew it well, it was not difficult to fill in the blanks. She would have liked it better had it been sung in her own language; there was something to the common language that took away from the songs grace and fluidity. Yet all the same, it was a joyous moment.

The song ended, quite prettily on the singers end, and Niraeya lowered her flute with a smile at the woman's joy. The next words the woman sung had a faint colour rising to her cheeks, unaccustomed to compliments as she was. "Your voice is... is... pleasing to the ears." She finally settled on. A frown adorned her face, dissatisfied with not being able to speak the words she wished to. It wasn't hard to catch that her common was not the best, if her struggle for remembering simple words was any indication.

The somewhat translucent form crawled to the beach and sat in front of her. Niraeya was struck with the need to ask her what exactly she was as she studied her. But with no way she could find to ask without sounding at least partly rude, she stayed silent.

She did it again! It was impossible for her to miss the shift of colour in her eyes. It was a blue she knew would be reflected in her own eyes. She had been amazed the first time she had seen her features borrowed. However it was a bit different this time. The blue did not keep to her eyes, it ran the course of her body turning the being into a living gem. The sun hit her then and Niraeya was awed to find that the colour was reflected on herself. She raised her arms curiously, turning them this way and that as the light allowed the sapphire colour shine and shimmer on her skin.

She looked back up, returning to her previous activity of staring, but this time there was a new light in her eyes. She was readying herself to speak, a giddy sort of fascination taking over when she was asked something of a rather odd nature.

"My teeth?" Her confusion was evident as she adopted a lost look. "Why would you possi - hold on! Here look!" She exclaimed baring her teeth for the odd creature to gaze upon at her hearts content. She had scrambled back slightly when it seemed she wasn't going to wait for Niraeya to open her mouth herself. And now with her teeth on display in an awkward pulling back of her lips, she felt silly. Though she was all the more curious, wondering why she had need to see her teeth.

[Uleru]

The Otani hums her contentment when the Benshira concedes and pulls back her lips from her teeth in a strange sort of snarl. But that is not quite what she wanted to see. So without permission, or even a warning, she slips a hand under the girls chin and presses gently on the hinge of her jaw. And in that way she forces her to open her mouth.

Out loud, the moulding counts every tooth she sees; totalling it at thirty two. Unlike Charoda (or any other type of sea-creature, actually) the human has teeth of varying shape and, she assumes, multiple uses. She runs her tongue over her own teeth again, noting the differences and memorizing the humans anatomy so that she can replicate it later.

Once she is satisfied, Uleru lets go of her mouth and goes back to the original upright sitting position she had been before her exotic companion scrambled back. The dry sand has stuck to her wet flesh, and now her legs and a good portion of her arms are covered with beach-sand turned mud. Its a manageable kind of discomfort that she deals with every day, but she will not wash herself off in the surf or even move to brush it with her hands lest she turns her attention away from her exotic curiosity only for it to leave. As if this girl is really a flighty bird. Which is aptly fitting, actually, given the lovely sounds she makes and her apparent affinity for the white gulls.

She herself shares the same kind of giddy fascination as Niraeya, and is posed with enough question and requests to drown the desert girl. But her nature cannot be denied and she cant help but voice one special question:

"Very interesting. Interesting teeth... Can I have one?"

She waits for a moment for the alarm to spark briefly in the humans eyes before laughing lightly.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding. Unless you want to", she adds almost as an afterthought, the greedy collection habit sparking briefly in her mind. But that is enough games, she berates herself. Stay focused!

"My name is Uleru, I'm Otani. What is your name Benshira? Do you come from the desert?"

[Niraeya]

Niraeya made a small sound when the odd woman opened her mouth to the desired position. She watched as her eyes flitted back in forth like one's orbs do when they are scanning the words of a page.

Any normal person, she supposed, would have perhaps been outraged or at least flustered to the point of clearing the woman from their personal space. She hardly thought they would have let her continue with her curious intrusions but the Benshira had no qualms with it. If anything she was amused. The figure before her seemed to be almost as inquisitive about her as she was about her. So she let her continue with her inspection.

It was safe to assume her aquatic companion had obtained what she wanted when she let her chin go and sat back. Niraeya brought her hand to her chin dusting off the sand that stuck there, only taking a moment to wonder if her new acquaintance was uncomfortable covered in the shore's grains before she was asked a very peculiar question.

Her eyes widened, almost comically so before she gathered that it was a joke. "I have many to spare of course but I would like to keep them. If you really want one you can come with me back home and we can embark on a never-ending journey to find my baby teeth. They should be just as well," she grinned widely at her. "Though I must warn you, it will be a very rough time finding anything in that sand."

The name fit her very well and what a pretty name it was! "I do indeed hail from the desert my watery friend. You may call me Niraeya. Might I ask what an Otani is?" She had never heard the name before and she was quite excited to learn just what it was that Uleru was. "Are you all so amusing?" Her excitement was easily perceivable; this may have been one of the largest group of sentences anyone had ever gotten out of her in such a short period of time.

[Uleru]

"Nir-ae-ya", the Otani sounds out carefully, aware of her heavy influenced accent now more than ever. Its a very pretty name, exotic even. But ungainly when not spoken with the fluid desert dialect. "Nir-ae-ya. Nir-ae? Nira!" Uleru announces rather pompously, sounding it out as near-ah, and thus dubbing her new friend with a nickname.
 
As to why they are so 'amusing' as the young human put it, Uleru actually has an answer. But telling her that humans forgot how to enjoy themselves around the time they started using pointy things to solve their differences doesn't seem very tactful.
 
Well, the young humans are alright. Its the old ones with the greying hair that forget how to play as they go around snatching children and playthings out of her reach like the Otani have been linked to the bubonic plauge. She's not entirely sure when it is that a grown human inserts the stick up his ass and starts being so dour. But Otani are friendly beast when the humans aren't being blasphemous sods. Sure, they play rough every now and then, enjoy their pranks and games a little too much, and many have sung and seduced young men and women into the water for nefarious things... But really.
 
As for her second question, another being might be annoyed that their species and their efforts are largely unknown. But the Otani don't hold the same kind of arrogance in themselves. They are the tools of a god. An instrument with which his will his carried out, nothing more. Sure, with help Laviku gifted them with intelligence and independence, but Uleru only plans to serve him better with these gifts.
 
"The Otani observe the ocean for Laviku, and collect his tributes. We are his... children. He carries his will through us and we act for him." Uleru's eyes glaze over and you can almost hear the pious, ranting speech bubbling away in her metaphorical heart to spew at the desert girl. "Do you know Laviku? I guess not. He is the king of all of this", she spreads her arms wide, indicating everything she Niraeya sees. "He is as dangerous and nurturing as the sea, and just as beautiful. Oh, there is so much more here compared to the sea of sand that you lived on. I'll teach you to swim, and prove it to you. Then you can sing for his glory instead" she says with total and oblivious confidence.

At this point she curbs her speech. Talking about her own stories is not as fun as learning new ones. "Tell me about the desert." she says, throwing a wide, vague net of a question. She really nows nothing about the Benshira's home land. How could she? "Tell me about the desert, then I will take you swimming", she declares.

[Niraeya]

At the act of being given a nickname, Niraeya's face brightened up just a bit more. Her family - with the exception of her brother who clung to her embarrassing childhood name - commonly used the nickname and although the reminder of home should have bestowed upon her just that bit of sadness, the thought of her family only made her happier.

The mention of Laviku had the makings of confusion etched on her face until Uleru explained the he was the God of the Sea. Which explained why she hadn't the faintest idea of who the God was; she knew little to nothing about anything pertaining to the sea. Even though Yahebah was on the coast she hadn't had the thought to learn anything of the blue mass.

She hadn't the need to say, for it seemed the Otani already knew she possibly would not know of Laviku. Niraeya hadn't had thoughts of interruping anyway. Her new friend looked as if she was readying for a especially long speech, one the Benshira had no qualms sitting through. She found the watery being to be interesting and she had quickly grown used to her outspoken ways. So much so that she only chuckled when she spoke of the prospect of Niraeya worshipping Laviku with such confidence. In truth she saw no reason why she could not give herself to both Yahal and Laviku.

The new knowledge she gained from Uleru arose many questions. They were new and fascinating, these children of the Sea King. Were there many? How did they observe such a vast area? She wondered if it was more than just seeing but feeling the ocean as well. What happened if one did not have tribute for the Otani to collect? Nothing pleasant she imagined. Most of all she wondered of their connection with their God; if Laviku knew all they did when they did it and things of the like. She would ask these and more at some point, if she didn't forget first.

"You must have seen a great many people," she said a bit awed. "And you, the Otani, you're a part of all this?" She made a wide gesture towards the water, her question sounding more like a statement. "It's such a...a vast world." The word 'vast' had been butchered a bit as it was a word she wasn't as familiar with. "You have to tell me more sometime, about everything! The things you've collected, the places you've been, the people you've met." She exclaimed, nearly grabbing Uleru's hand in her own; her words a subtle hint that she would love to meet her new friend once again.

Niraeya made a humming sound, learn to swim? It was a great idea because of course she had no clue how to. She looked out to the sea and nodded to herself. A perfect idea.

She made a faint clicking noise with her tongue, her thoughts on where to begin. "The desert is well, a sea of sand," she said using Uleru's previous words. "Nothing like the sea of course yet not entirely different. It can be unforgiving at times, yet there are moments when you see the beauty in the rolling plains of sand. You should see it for yourself really but I don't really think that's a good idea." She gestured to Uleru's body to signify what she meant. She wasn't completely sure but she had a feeling Otani didn't do so well on land after a whilst. "It's really not so bad as one might think. It rains slightly and winter can be cold at times. Even when it's hot there are plenty of ways to stay cool and the nights are always a relief from Syna." Niraeya paused for a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing. "When Syna takes her leave and Leth is in the sky, the desert really shines, to me at least. Everything is more... alive. It's like you're in your own little world with the sand below you and the sky above you. Of course that's not really safe since the Barals come out," she laughed. "It's plenty safe in Yahebah though."

[Uleru]

The whole time Nira talks about the desert, painting it with her limited common into a kind of majesty, all Uleru can think about is the sand. Hot, dry sand. She can imagine a no more hostile place than the desert she is describing. If she were unfortunate enough to see that sweeping, beautiful landscape the Benshira is describing she'd be wheezing out of dry gills in ten chimes, and be dead by half a bell.

Though her talking about the night and the light Leth leaves on the sand strike a cord with her. It sounds a lot like how it looks on the sea, when the cool nights calm the surface and the light reflects on the water like diamonds. You could imagine you are the only creature in the world at times like that. Until you sink below, of course. Where light shines from millions of phosphorescent plants and animals, making their own kind of beauty much different than above.

At least they don't have Barals in the sea. She doesn't know what they are, but they don't sound friendly.

Niraeya's description comes to a close and Uleru takes a moment to reflect on her words and absorb the information she will probably never hear again. It's a rare treat, being given insight into another land like that. She will have to make sure to see the Benshira again and hear more stories. And really, she quite enjoys the young woman's company.

"It sounds awful, the desert," the moulding says with a true and brutal honesty. "But you sound so fond of it. And I truly hope it is as beautiful as you say. I remember Yahebah, it wasn't very pretty, not like Riverfall or Ahnatep, but the people were friendly and very generous with their tributes. I don't think the ones I saw trusted me very much, to be honest, but if I could sneak up on them I'd hear some wonderful songs", she smiles at the memory. Though given the choice, she wouldn't go back. They are too steeped in the land and their own god to give much time to the sea or Laviku. Its not that she feels unwelcome, its just that she doesn't belong in such a place.

"But now, Nira, we teach you to swim", she smiles, punctuating by a single of her hands, flinging sandy grits and water drops onto both of them. She said she would take her after she tells her about the desert, Uleru is just holding up her end of the bargain. Though this will make for a very fun afternoon.

She rolls to her feet and marches back into the water, only turning back to shore when the waves lap up to the bottom of her ribs. She takes a second to wash away the stubborn sand that sits in the crevasse of her arms and face before looking back up to the Benshira.

Now fresh and new, rejuvenated by the water and rid of the sand, she raises her hand and commands in a ringing voice:

"Take off your clothes!"

Of course, she only means her outer layers. She just doesn't tell Nira that.