Closed [Knirin Gardens] Just a Bit of Fun [Gillie Dhu]

[Lynx]

Lynx~

Day 45, Summer, 514 AV
Just after Nightfall

It was night and Leth’s light shined gently through her open window and she stood within the opening of the window for a moment to bathe in the light. Her black hair was slightly illuminated by the soft grey light as she gently ran a hair through her locks. Her horns, were a deep green as they curved back from her temples, the tips angled slightly upwards. Her violet eyes looked up at the moon as she sent a silent pray out to her father within the sky and with that, she turned away from the window. The woman was dressed in her purple tunic, the light material that clung to her form, made for easier movements, as did her black breeches. She found that with puppies, they were a little more energetic and so she had taken to wearing these clothes. Sitting herself down upon the bed she pulled on her black boots, lacing them up as her gaze settled upon the young pups that were engaged in a playful tussle. A trait that she adored so much, for when she couldn’t take them with her, they at least had each other to keep themselves entertained with until she could return.

The black Silkena puppies were probably the best decision that she had ever made, they certainly kept her company for the most part, whenever she didn’t have to go to work. The librarian didn’t exactly like animals within the library and she couldn’t exactly blame him, for some of the books within the library’s wall were very fragile and were easily damaged if not handled with the proper care. One of the black pups nuzzled against her leg and a gentle smile fell upon her lips as she knelt to rub a hand over its head, rubbing its ears gently. She had named this one Snipe, for he had a white blaze running down along his nose, however he was a bit of an attention seeker. His brother, Shadow, a straight black, came along only to jump onto his brother with a playful growl and a giggle rose to her lips as she moved to straighten up. ”Alright, come on you two, it’s time to go for a walk.” She said with a simple snap of her fingers. She wanted to have the puppies used to such a sound, so then they would respond to the snap of her fingers being a signal to follow along without her having to verbally tell them to come. So far, she hadn’t been able to get them to do that, so she figured if she did both at the same time, they would eventually respond to just the snap of her fingers.

Shadow and Snipe were quick to her heels as she opened the door and made her way out, silently she kept the door open for the puppies to follow through before closing and locking it behind her. She then walked down the hallway and stairs, occasionally looking over her shoulder to make sure that the youngsters were still following her. They had a habit of straying off to go chase a new scent and so she was constantly having to call them back. Thankfully, they responded to their names fairly well now. After they exited the Inn, she made her way towards The Knirin Gardens, the young pups occasionally darting ahead, before stopping to wait for her. She had yet to visit this garden, perhaps the pups would find the experience just as enlightening as she would. There may be new smells for the youngsters to take interest in, to her, they were kind of like curious children, always trying to learn new things.

~I am, Leth's Daughter

Common | Kontinese | Thoughts

[Gillie Dhu]

Gillie appreciated the light of the moon on this dark night. Not because of the faint illumination it provided as its glow reflected off the Lake of Knirin, but rather because of what--in his mind, at least--it represented: an ever-watchful eye, piercing the shadows and observing everything below.

He wanted to be like the moon in that way; able to see and know everything going on at once. Maybe he was just overly nosey, but really, it was his primary means of survival. If he knew everything going on, then his enemies could never catch him off-guard. Of course, he didn't really have any enemies.

Yet.

The tousle-haired tactician leaned back with his arms behind his head to stare up at the starry host. He was perched atop one of the Gardens' many gazebos, gladius at his side. He'd been practicing a new sword-thrust (really it was more of a quick feint-swipe-thrust maneuver) in the stillness of twilight. But when it became too dark to see clearly, he retired his training for the day and climbed up to the gazebo roof for a break. Officially, he was unemployed, so he was free to train, slink around, and cause trouble most days.

He couldn't become a Kuvan citizen yet, because his skill with a weapon was not great enough to earn his place. So really, he had no real obligation to work hard. He simply performed odd-jobs here and there (mostly running errands for petty cash, but sometimes he obtained some shadier deals...information gathering, lock picking, thievery, and the like).

Still, he felt that something was missing. Surely there must be more to life than scrounging around for a meal.

His ears perked up at the sound of a soft bark. He listened closer. Two barks; two different dogs. Young ones. Puppies. Sitting up, he allowed his eyes to scan his surroundings for the dogs. He found not only what he was looking for, but something--someone--else as well. An Ethaefal woman.

Gillie watched as she snapped her fingers, trying (almost futilely) to recall her puppies to her side. He raised an eyebrow. Ethaefal were a rarity to him; he hadn't seen more than a dozen in his lifetime. The eighteen-year-old grinned. He knew that if he were going to excel at intelligence-gathering, he would have to remain unseen, but he just couldn't pass up a perfect opportunity to make an ally. Such relationships could be crucial down the road.

Shadows were lonely places.

He stood up, brushed himself off, and cast another glance in her direction. He was pretty sure she'd seen him by now. At least his silhouette against the moon. He stepped off the roof, grabbed ahold of a thin column, and swung himself from his perch. Landing nimbly in a roll, he sprung to his feet and approached the Ethaefal woman and her dogs, as if he'd simply walked off the roof.

"Good evening! Those are some nice pups you got there," Gillie said with a grin, stopping nearly three yards from the stranger.

[Lynx]

Lynx~

They had been following the path of the gardens for a few chimes, Shadow had occasionally wandered off to scent out a new smell and her violet hues viewed the black pup as Snipe darted off to also chase after this interesting scent. A simple smile fell upon her lips as she calmly watched them for a moment. What she had picked up of the two was that Shadow was the more dominant of the two, not that she minded for both personally had their perks. Silently she glanced upwards towards the moon, sending a silent thanks to Leth for the two bundles of joy, it was at this point, where she spotted movement upon the top of a gazebo. She angled her head as her violet hues spotted the figure that had stood up, then he appeared as if he simply stepped off the top, grabbing a hold of one of the columns to swing from his perch. Her gaze followed him all the way down, even as he landed in a roll upon the ground only to spring up. Shadow must have spotted the male’s approach as he quickly forgot about the scent that he was chasing to run just in front of Lynx, barking out a little growl of warning, Snipe quickly following pursuit.

This earned a laugh from the woman and she moved to kneel beside the pups, placing a hand upon their heads. ”Alright now, I think he gets the message.” Her eyes held humour within them as she calmed the pups, the young ones falling silent in order to appreciate the pats they were receiving from her. After they had fallen silent, she moved to stand up to answer the male's statement, ”Indeed they are, they are also keep me very well entertained. I believe that I have been blessed with their company by Leth himself.” Her gaze flickered over the male’s form as he stood before her, taking specific notes of his worn appearance. A couple of items didn’t look to be worn such as the cloak and the shirt, however his pants certainly did as well as his boots. What do you do in your free time? She briefly asked herself before her gaze drifted back up to view the male’s face. She believed, that you could tell a great deal by a man’s appearance and how they stood. This man seemed to carry an air of confidence about him, especially seeing as he had approached her without a moment of hesitation. Or had he hesitated? He could have hesitated to move from his position on top of the gazebo.

Lynx angled her head as she began to wonder why he was out and about during this time of night. Many people had their reasons, but not a great deal wandered the parks for they were mostly in their beds, or at the taverns spending their mizas upon liquid that tended to make them fall over. How that was appealing, she did not know, for she preferred to be centered and have full control of her body. You are very…” Her words drew off as she tried to think of the word that she needed, but couldn’t for the life of her, remember what that word was and so she decided to drop it. ”Well, that was impressive, the way you stepped off that gazebo only to land in a roll upon the ground. How did you do that?” Indeed, his brief show had caught her interest and she wanted to know a little bit more about it. The young pups on the other hand had lost interest in the conversation and Shadow jumped onto Snipe in a tussle of sorts. Playful little growls were heard as they rolled upon the ground, their little teeth gently nipping at each other.

~I am, Leth's Daughter

Common | Kontinese | Thoughts

[Gillie Dhu]

”Well, that was impressive, the way you stepped off that gazebo only to land in a roll upon the ground. How did you do that?”

Gillie raised an eyebrow. He'd been expecting the girl to introduce herself, although he supposed it would have been more customary for him to introduce himself to her, as he had taken the initiative. Running a hand through his tousled hair, the tactician said, "That? Simple acrobatics. The name's Gillie. Gillie Dhu."

He folded his arms over his chest and started circling the Ethaefal, studying her closely. From what he could perceive, she seemed lithe and strong enough to learn. And she had garbed herself in a tunic and breeches; loose enough for agile movements. She might even know a thing or two already.

He stopped pacing when he completed his circle, and looked at her once more. Thumbing back towards the gazebo, he inquired, "Wanna learn a thing or two? I've got nothin' else to do."

Gillie grinned. "Show me how you climb that gazebo."

[Lynx]

Lynx~

Lynx angled her head slightly to the right as her violet hues watched the strange male introduce himself as Gillie, an interesting name to say in the least. It sounded almost as if it belonged in the sea, not on land, but then again, who was she to judge? She named herself after a constellation in the sky. ”Lynx,” she said softly, her violet hues drifting over the male’s form once more. It was at this point that he started to circle her form and the puppies that were at her feet, stopped their play just to simply watch the man in curiousity. Indeed, Lynx herself was curious as to what the male was doing, but she figured that he may be making an observation, after-all if she was going to try and doing something to someone she would observe them first and make notes about their appearance. While her assumption was not entirely off, he asked her to show him how she would climb the gazebo. Climb? He wanted her to climb? However, he had said that what he did was acrobatics and she began to wonder if it was as difficult as it looked. Slowly, she walked towards the gazebo, the puppies quick to her heels as she angled her head upwards up to the roof. How was she even going to start to climb this thing? Was it even supposed to be climbed onto anyway?

She would glance down at the two puppies and she pointed a finger to the ground, ”Snipe, Shadow, sit.” Slowly, they obeyed, sitting back onto their haunches, their beady little eyes watching her with a curious intent. After she was sure that they would sit and obey her command for a few moments she would grasp the edge of the railing with one hand and the column with the other. Using these two points, she began to place weight upon them, attempting to pull herself up as she did so. The woman only just managed to do this and her feet left the ground as she twisted her form to seat herself on the railing and a breath of oxygen left her lungs as she managed a smile. It was a lot harder than she thought it was. It was physical exercise, something that she didn’t do very well, in fact Lynx had never done much physical activity other than walking ever since she had fallen back to Mizahar. Instead, she had focused her efforts on sharpening her mind, learning to use it as a tool to further her own agenda hoping that it may unlock the memories of her previous life.

The ethaefal angled her head back to view the lip of the roof and a frown furrowed her forehead, how on earth was she supposed to reach that without breaking her neck? Indeed, this would be no easy feat for herself and she glanced down to the ground, if she fell she might end up with bruising and maybe a few broken ribs. Well that might be a big maybe, she wasn’t exactly sure what kind of injury she would sustain should she fall but she was sure that it would hurt. Perhaps there may be a better way to go around this, she questioned herself, for if she jumped on this skinny railing a foot might slip and there she would go, straight down to the ground. What was even worse was that it was a simple struggle to get up onto this railing, how much effort would it be for her to even attempt to pull herself up onto that roof. She looked to the male and gave her a simple smile angling her head again. ”I am fairly certain that this is as high as I can go.”

~I am, Leth's Daughter

Common | Kontinese | Thoughts

[Gillie Dhu]

Gillie watched as his new acquaintance, Lynx, tried her hand at climbing the gazebo. She didn't make it far. Indeed, barely up the railing. But Gillie wasn't altogether surprised. After all, she'd probably never attempted basic acrobatics before. Still, he'd wanted a brief demonstration to assess her ability and potential.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and poked his bottom lip out, thinking. Finally, he said, "So you're strong. Strong enough to climb as far as you've got holds, anyhow. But the only way you're gonna get any higher is if you use your momentum to carry you."

The tousle-haired teen stepped back with a smirk. "It's all about a starting force, quick grip and swinging release. Watch closely."

And with that, Gillie dashed forward and leapt toward the railing. He caught the thin column which extended upward, meeting the roof above, and swung himself into a balanced squat on the railing. Then, not wasting any time, he sprung again, gripping the edge of the roof with both hands and swinging himself in an outward arc so that he landed nimbly on top of the gazebo.

He stuck his head out over the side and peered down at Lynx. Grinning, he said, "Simple, really, once you get the hang of it."

With that, he slid back down one of the columns and offered his hand to the Ethaefal female. "Try running at the rail and swinging yourself onto it first. I'll be here to catch you if you fall backwards."

[Lynx]

Lynx observed as the male spoke about momentum and then dashed forwards towards the railing, honestly she thought he was going to crash into her and knock her off the railing, but instead he didn’t and her gaze followed his movements once again. He leapt onto the railing beside her and swung himself into a balanced squat upon the rail before springing up to catch the lip of the rooftop. The male would then swing his form into an arch so then he would land upon the top of the roof. The ethaefal had to crane her head a little to watch him disappear over the lip of the roof til he stuck his head out over the top to look down at her. She listened as he called it simple before adding on the words, once you get used to it. Get used to it? It looked like a lot of physical movements and she could barely get up on the railing. It looked like a lot of hard work to her. Well, anything was hard work until you practised it, but her skill sets involved books, not jumping and climbing. Perhaps meeting this man was a sign for Leth that he wanted her to practise some more physical activities?

Her violet hues looked to the pups, making sure that they were behaving themselves and while they had been sitting when she last left them, they were now playing tug-o-war with a stick. Well, at least they had sat for a time being, they were improving, steadily. She guessed that being as they were puppies, they did tend to do their own little thing after a while. It was then that she caught sight of the male sliding down the column and offered a hand to her. He wanted her to run at the railing and swing onto it? She was probably the most uncoordinated person on Mizahar and he wanted her to run and swing at the railing? Oh dear Leth, what have I gotten myself into? she thought to herself as she placed her hand into his own and hopped off of the railing that she was seated upon. She would then let go of his hand and would walk away from the gazebo, finally she stopped and turned around eyeing off the railing as she did so, she just had a feeling that this would be some kind of disaster upon her account. Well, she just had to trust that if she did fall backwards, that he would catch her.

The ethaefal paused long enough to unlace and pull off her boots, hoping that this would help her in her endeavors to at least keep some kind of balance. She wriggled her toes for a moment before she slid one foot back, the pups stopped in their fun to watch as she prepared herself to run towards the railing. She just had a feeling that this was going to go sideways on her, or backwards, whatever worked. She took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself before she began to run towards the railing and she leapt just as she saw Gillie do it, grasping a hold of the thin column and swung herself onto the railing. However, as soon as her bare feet touched the railing and she let go of the column, this was where things began to go pear shaped. It seemed that her balance was not correct and she felt herself falling backwards as gravity began to take over and her arms flailed out to the sides to try and catch a hold of anything that would stop her fall.

[Gillie Dhu]

Gillie had a feeling she would fall on her first try. When he first started learning, he'd failed nearly every time. It was a wonder she even came close. As she slipped and plummeted, Gillie was there to catch her. Unfortunately, she did not weight much less than he did, and he was unable to brace himself in time.

They toppled to the ground together, both unsuccessful at their tasks.

"Urf. Sorry about that," Gillie muttered with a cringe from underneath Lynx.

With some awkward untangling, the two rose to their feet and brushed themselves off. "Hey, that was good. You should keep practicing. It takes a while for your muscles to learn how to do something like that, and even longer to make your brain believe you can do it. Takes practice, and lots of falling."

[Lynx]

Lynx felt her weight fall straight onto the male underneath and they both fell to the ground in a heap of tangled limbs. What was worse, was that the pups had decided that it seemed fun and had jumped on top of them with fast pink tongues and wagging tails. A laugh erupted from the woman as she shooed the puppies from off the top of the two and she slowly untangled their limbs, rolling off of him before she sat up and then slid her feet underneath her body so then she was in a crouch. Once she was successfully in this position, she planted her feet squarely upon and ground and stood up, brushing a hand over her outfit. Snipe ran up to her to stand back onto his hind legs and pressed his front paws onto her legs and she leaned down a little to rub a hand over his head, rubbing an ear as she did so. Finally the male began to speak again and she silently pushed the dog off of her and straightened up to her full height, brushing back her black locks. A gentle smile curved her lips then as she shook her head, ”I would have said that that was a complete disaster, I made it no-where near the top and I fell backwards onto you.” She giggled at this as a slight crimson blush rose up onto her cheeks.

The lethafal didn’t even consider the male to be someone of whom she might enter into a relationship with, but she knew that the words might have sounded a little… At this point she allowed that particular train of thought to disappear into mist and she angled her head as her violet hues watched the male for a moment. She couldn't help but briefly wondered as to whether he was trying to help her or kill her. The puppies had soon lost interest once again, seeing as the pair was just standing there and they galloped off to run around the gazebo. Their tongues sticking out the sides of their muzzles as they ran and she couldn’t help but laugh, ”Maybe they could do it better than I can at this… Acrobatics thing, they seem lively enough.” With a shake of her head, she swept an arm out to him, ”Perhaps, I should give up on this acrobatics thing until I am better balanced, otherwise I may end up breaking one of your limbs from you trying to catch me.

~OOCHey, sorry that this is late, I've been running low on inspiration.