PM to join A Song of Youth (Drusilla)

[Alori Sai]

Time stamp: 3rd of Fall 513 AV

It was high noon in on this day, Syna's light shined brightly upon Mount Skyinarta and all who dwelled inside the mountain. On the grassy shore some pacing away from Katshika Falls, a lone Avora laid in the grass unmoving. Long fiery read hair spayed out, the thin streaks of blonde woven in, turning the ripples of hot red into a spiraling weave around her head.

Bright, Hazel eyes stared up towards the sky and rosy cheeks gently burned into other side pale cheeks. It was her off day from hunting and Alori had decided to go out for a while and enjoy the day outside the city. It had been sometime since she had visited this place, though her memory seemed clipped. She remembered years ago, being outside and running around in circles with her arms stretched out, pretending that she was an eagle taking flight.

The girl dreamed day in and day out about becoming an Endal and riding one of the Giant Wind Eagles that lived in the mountains. Those were the days long gone, back when she thoughts dreams came true, and she truly believed that she had a chance. But that time was no more, and she had finally expected it. Sitting up, she reached over and pulled her guitar from the ground next to her and lightly pulled the strings to get her note ready to play.

x

[Drusilla]

The sun was bright and oh so welcomed after Drusilla's trip to Kalinor. Sun-dwellers, that's what Dovinya had called them... Ha! He didn't know what he was missing hiding in that dank cave of a city. Sunshine, wind, rain, and the feel of soft grass under foot. She had removed her shoes as she drew near the lakes. The grass was soft and thick here. As she focused off into the distance, strands of red rode on the gentle winds. A smile crossed her face, this place was where she had met some of her closest friends. Drusilla tried to decide if this Inarta was male or female. Her questions were answered as the figure got up and moved to an item. As she watched the female figure, she realized it was an instrument. A lone melody rung out. Drusilla slipped closer to the woman and sat behind a tree not far from the girl. The song she played was beautiful. Drusilla couldn't help herself and a soft Symenos melody escaped her lips. She knew the words would be lost to the Inarta, but that was fine. Deep down Dru loved singing although she rarely did sing. It had slipped her mind that this woman might find a woman of Symenestra race, pale faced, white haired, normally dangerous sitting so close singing to her music. Although most had come to realize that Dru posed no true harm to the Inarta.

[Alori Sai]

Alori sat with her legs cross to better hold the string instrument in her lap as she played. It normally took her a moment to get started and find the right keys to play. Another reason for this was because she didn't really know any songs, none expect the one's she had learned at the dance club, or the one's she tried to write herself.

"Okay..hold on.."

The tiny Avora took a moment to think it over and tried to remember the notes to the song that she wanted to play. Of course it was just her luck that she had left her song book at home, and now she was stuck trying to recall from memory. A suddenly smile rose upon her lips as the notes returned to her, and as they did Alori started to push her fingers closer to the write cords and pluck them one after the other.

It was another simple melody, something ranging on the edges of a harps tune or something close to a violin. Once she was warmed up, the teen pinched the upper cords and lightly flicked her fingers against the lower halves to pick up a faster tune. She hadn't noticed the other woman appear and was surprised by the somewhat haunting song that she heard.

"Hey, who's there?" the girl asked looking towards the direction of the sound.

x

[Drusilla]

"You're very good with that instrument. I'm sorry to have spooked you. I just wanted to listen and I guess listening turned into singing." Drusilla had been singing in Symenos, but she flawlessly switched to Nari to speak to the girl. She shyly peeked her head out from behind a tree. "I'm Drusilla Aster. Resident Symenestra of Wind Reach. I work as a seamstress, it runs in my blood, sewing and weaving." She was taking this time to assess this young girl. She was younger than Drusilla had expected. Her hair was a beautiful red and it seemed she had woven blonde bits in here and there. Her eyes were hazel and full of life. Drusilla mentally smiled thinking that the boys must find this girl very attractive. "You're quite younger than I thought you would be, Bitta." The girl may have been a little old for the title 'bitta'... But she didn't know that and Enda seemed too mature of a title. Drusilla scooted closer to the woman,"I take it you're here for the views too. It's nice here. Calm and quiet. I missed it here, Kalinor is such a horrid place. No sun, no wind, no grass...." Drusilla trailed off staring into the distance.

[Alori Sai]

Alori was used to speaking Nari, even though her common had progressed a lot in the passed season. Foreigners were becoming more common in the city, but from day to day she just spoke Nari unless she knew it was a foreigner. But the voice from behind the tree spoke Nari so she assumed they were Inartan.

She was wrong..

The woman that appeared from behind the tree was as white as snow with long hair of the same shade. There was something very exotic about her appearance though the tiny Avora had never met a Symenestra before, and to her, this was the palest Konti that she had ever seen. "Symenestra?" A seamstress she had learned, and one thing Alori enjoyed was getting new clothing and shoes, but for the moment her gaze was fixated on the woman's unique features.

"Bitta? My name's Alori...not Bitta."

She wasn't sure if she could comment about her youthful looks. The teen had just turned 18 last Spring, but her encounter with Kelwyn had left her looking even younger than she was before. A secret she was sworn never to tell. "Well yea, I'm just out enjoying the day is all. Nothing special. Hey what was that you were singing?"

x

[Drusilla]

Drusilla smiled, "I was sing in Symenos. It's my home tongue, like yours in Nari. I could teach you some of it... If you want, I taught a Dek once... It's nice to meet you, Alori. Bitta is not a name, it's a title much like the title of Yasi and such. But now seeing you up close Enda is much more accurate to you." She rested her chin on her hand, "You've never seen a Symenestra before have you? Don't worry I'm not dangerous like the rest of them. Kinda sad when you can't even stand your own people. I love you Inarta though..." Drusilla stretched, "So Miss Alori, what is it you do here in Wind Reach? Besides playing that guitar." Drusilla had taking a liking to this girl. She seemed much younger than the Inarta she normally met and Dru found herself more upbeat and talkative with her. Alori did give off an energy that was catching and very upbeat energy. Although she didn't know Alori's age, she imaged it to be around what her sister was. Not that Drusilla knew much about her younger sister. She had been 12 when she left for wind reach... Yet this girl most certainly had to be what her sister was like.

[Alori Sai]

"Symenos? Ah ok..Well it sounded great. I've never heard anything like that before." It was surely different than anything she had sang, or heard from anyone inside the city. Whoever these Symenestra people were, there was something very mysterious about them. Alori stayed quiet for a tick, adding the names the woman had just told her into her memory. "Well sure, I don't think I could sing like that, but I could try."

The young woman said something odd, something that arched the brow of the Avora and gave her cause to be wary. "Um..dangerous? your people are dangerous?" It was more a curious reaction than anything fearful, the teen knew first hand just how dangerous and unforgiving the Inartan could be, she had no reason to think different of any other race. "I'm a hunter now, used to be a glass blower, but..it wasn't for me. I'm a lot more satisfied with my job now...I mean ALOT more. " She left off her wayward and troubling ambition on purpose. As it was, the events weren't supposed to have taken place, or rather not to her anyway.

"What about you, what do you do around here? I've never seen you before and I'm sure I would remember if I did." Alori smile and looked away, there was a huanting beauty to this woman, and although she did remind her of the Konti, this woman wasn't anything like any that she had met before.

x

[Drusilla]

Drusilla smiled at the girl, "If I could learn Nari, anybody can learn Symenos! It's been said it's nearly impossible for a non-Inarta to learn. But I'm speaking it now." Drusilla looked into Alori's eyes, perhaps deeper than her eyes. This girl could handle knowing everything without fearing for her safety around Dru. Alori had seen things, felt things, understood things. While Drusilla wasn't sure what these 'things' had been, they had changed her from a wayward youth to something more. Yes, this Inarta was special. So much so that Drusilla realized she couldn't even understand. "First off, know that I don't approve of much of what my people do. I ran away from there when I was twelve, as for why that's a whole different story." She shifted and sighed," I'm sure you've heard stories of strange men coming to towns and cities speaking of something called 'The Harvest.' Just as strangely as they appeared, they leave just like that. In the midst of this some people notice a few young women are missing. Most write it off as they eloped or something like that. But, that's so far from the truth." Symenestra live deep underground in a city called Kalinor, it's north of here. We see well in the dark and our bodies are covered in these little hairs. The hairs work like little hooks allowing us to defy gravity by climbing walls and such. Here." Drusilla extended an arm to Alori letting her see the hairs and feel them if she wanted to. "I'm sure you've noticed my arms are longer than a human's and then there's my nails. They're not painted Symenestra nails are black and hard as steel. They're more claws than nails, I suppose. But, what are claws without," Drusilla opened her mouth and forced her fangs out as if she were about to eat. She allowed Alori to get a good look at them. She closed her mouth, she felt her fangs slowly retracting. "Alongth withh myhh fangths," Dru lisped finally raising a finger asking for a moment. She moved her mouth in a chewing motion. Fully retracted she started to speak again, "Sorry about that, they retract very slowly and they're poisonous. It's a horrid flesh eating poison because Symenestra can't digest many complex foods. Our diets consist of liquefied tissue and overly ripe fruit. We do make soups with vegetables but it's quite bland to non-Symenestra." "Back to my story earlier, Symenestra are poisonous even before birth. When a Symenestra is being born the baby releases it's venom into the mother and kills her as it's first meal. I... lost...my mother.. this way... Because of this Symenestra have a 'harvest' where they take women to be surrogates for the Symenestra women. They are treated as queens if the behave, given whatever they want. But I've heard stories of those who refused to eat or tried to escape having their legs cut off." "Well, they go into labor the have the baby and die, they are then thrown to the bottom of the cave discarded as trash. If you ever meet a male Symenestra and he says the harvest is just for information. Listen to me. Kill him." Drusilla took a breath,"That's why Symenestra are dangerous." She looked over to Alori, "I just mainly work in the gallery, I don't get out much. Let me know if you ever need anything made be it pretty or functional, I'll make it for you."

[Alori Sai]

Alori smiled, gently turning her head to whip her bangs from her eyes. This woman was extremely kind offering to teach her another language when she didn't know her. The teen could be a fast learner in many things, but other times it didn't come so easily. Still, for anyone, learning another language took time, and the woman would need the patience to see it through. "Well sure, if you really have the time."

The subject became very serious now, as the woman spoke of the stories of the Harvest. Alori hadn't heard it as much as many others had, and she wasn't all too sure that it was real. She would learn now just how real they were. Alori listened intently as Drusilla told the tale that so many others already knew about.

The tiny Avora looked on at the woman's pale, long arm and the tiny hook-like hairs on them. "Oh wow...that's..frea.." she cut off her words before she finished and gently poked a finger at the woman's arm instead. This made her wonder how often Drusilla found herself stuck to clothing, or against the bed or walls, but she didn't ask. The conversation was interesting and Alori had the chance to learn something about a race by someone from it.

"Yea, I did notice you have long arms, like..really long."

It was odd, she felt, but the the huntress had felt comfortable until the woman opened her mouth and produced sharp fangs. "Wow..." she said, her voice almost a gasp. Alori felt her shoulders twitch and she slowly drew her legs closer to her body. It was one of the freakiest things she'd ever seen, right along side the naked, winged man, and the woman with butterfly wings and the tail of a fish. By the end of the story, Alori was sitting with wide eyes and her mouth hung open.

It was like something out of a nightmare, but it was all true. Luckily she had never met a male before, and now she make sure that she didn't. "That's....that's crazy. There's no one like that around here but still..." It took her a bit to get out of the trance and back onto the new subject. "Oh yea, that would be great. So um..do you swim?"

x

[Drusilla]

"I'm sorry to have had to tell such a morbid tale, but the more who know the better... There are a few Symenestra women like me. We are consider radical in thinking and action. Believing there is a better way to fix our problem such as healers or early induced birth." Drusilla laughed, "Yes, I do swim. Quite well too. In Kalinor in a cave deep inside the city there's a place called The Blue Grotto. It's only accessible to Symenestra and in pitch blackness to any non-Symenestra. It's used as a park of sorts, with pools of water for swimming," Drusilla smiled to herself, "Up above in the cave ceiling are all sorts of gems and minerals that glisten, much like stars I found out once I left the caves and came to the surface...Ooops there I go rambling again. Drusilla looked away embarrassed. While looking away Drusilla gave a statement intended to make Alori laugh, "And yeah, my arms and their hook hairs ARE pretty weird." She glanced over with a smile, "About the fangs, the only thing they bite are overly ripe peaches and other fruit."