Closed Night and Day (Ixzo)

[Evalin]

82nd of Fall, 515 AV
Location: Sea of Grass
Time: Night

"Perhaps I am growing old." Evailn's voice came softly in the night, barely stirring the stillness as she stared blankly into the blackness. She had been traveling for several days, without much direction or course but merely out of a curiosity of what could be beyond, just a little further from sight. It was the first time the Immortal had done something so... whimsical.

Be certain, you are indeed old. Tsenrika replied. That was the answer that Evalin expected, however. He was never one to speculate on a purely hypotethical or philosophical basis. Harsh, logical and cold to a fault. A boulder in time to which Evalin clung. How odd that a familiar, who hung now from her neck as a glowing blue gem, was the most familiar thing to her in the world.

"In years I am, of course, that cannot be denied." Evalin nodded. Adjusting herself on the rock on which she perched Evalin pulled her knees up closer to her bare chest, as if the soft breeze that stirred the grass chilled her decaying body yet that was certainly not the case, "But that is not of which I speak. No, be it my mind my dear Tsenrika... Have I aged in my mind to such an extent to be called 'old'?"

This response came slower, as the Familiar took the time to contemplate, By certain standards perhaps, though to be old on a mental scale perhaps it is not years but experience that should be considered.

"Experience..." The nuit repeated. Long black nails tapped a pale cheek as those red eyes stared in a contemplative expression into the night, "I am experienced." It was a statement of absolute fact, for in the more than 200 years she had existed in this world Evalin had faced countless trials, difficulties and struggles. She knew this was the accumulation for who she was, and what she had become... though that begged the question, what had she in fact become?

A question? It at times was quite awkward how well this otherworldly creature could read between the lines of her soul. Awkward and comforting all the same.

"What has it all been for? What have I accomplished doing what I have done, how I have gone about it?"

Again you ask this...?

"No, not as before." Shaking her head those striaght black locks shook lightly in response as Evalin delicately placed one finger on the gems smooth surface, "Somehow, now, it feels different. What I have done, and become. Looking back I begin to feel the gravity of it all, and the heaviness of the years and how much, and how little, can be done in that time."

Letting the silence fall around them once more Evalin rested her chin on her knees, both hands coming to wrap around her shins as she looked upward at the sky. It was vast, and endless. Like time no matter how hard she looked Evalin could not see its end, and perhaps that was exactly what made the Immortal wonder about the reasoning behind it all. Too much time to comprehend until an incomprehensible amount of it had passed.

Words: 526

A

[Ixzo]

Word Count: 723

Perhaps it was a foolish gesture. To attempt to stake out her territory. It had been a mere moon, but did she have the right? So far as she could smell, not one lion, night or otherwise, has traversed her hunting grounds since she begun. Even the human hunters steered clear where her kills were evident, likely not realizing she was living among them.

Silver eyes saw clearly through the night and Ixzo returned to teh stream that she so often favored to pick her prey. Perhaps three miles from the city, and even with her eyes, she couldn't quite see the glow of the campfires, nor did her gnosis extend to that length. She was not making herself scarce as usual. At this point, she knew it wouldn't work. The prey knew she favored this bank, and they knew she was out at night. Her easy kills were far away, and those who were strong enough not to worry about her lounged nearby.

Silver eyes watched the herd of Nabato cows that rested a few hundred feet away. The bulls on the end were watching her, but only lazily. If she had a partner she could take one down no problem. But Ixzo was on her own and there were easily thirty of them, she didn't dare give in to the temptation.

So the lion kept walking. Past her waterway, past what she may hope to call her territory, if she was strong enough to claim it. Occasonally, she would watch the moon, knowing if she went too far, she may not make it back, a fact that worried her a little more than it should.

So when the kelvic's nose was affronted with a horrid pugent smell of death, the lioness stopped short. It wasn't death that had just been killed and was being picked clean by the coyotes. It was death that had spent a few days in the sun and was no longer eadible. OR death from poisoning. Even though she was not above scavenging, this death was in no way appetizing. Insictevly, IXzo fell into a crouch, melting into the long grass with ease. This was what she was built for after all.

But Ixzo had been too confident, merely walking becuase she couldn't adjust to the daylight schedule of the humans she so adored. So the lioness was not in the position to start looking for the source of such a horrid smell. Yet, in the time it took her to seek a patch of rocks to revert back to, incase the strange smell brought bad news, she had found the source.

Silver eyes flicked over the figure. The wind was picking up, chilly with the coming of winter, and Ixzo, for only a moment, thought there was a creature in front of her. She couldn't tell if the thing was moving, or she simply was imagining it, but when Ixzo stepped forward, large paws carefully pressing into the dry ground, she realized that it had moved.

The thing seemed to curl up into itself, and Ixzo flattened her ears at the unnatural movement. Yet, the kelvic still slinked forward, curving her path to come to the side of the creature rather than the front. If it was paying attention, it might have already seen the glint of her eyes in the moon, or smelt her, since Zulrav seemed not to favor her completely this night.

"... the gravity of it all, and the heaviness of the years and how much, and how little, can be done in that time." The lilting tongue that she didn't understand, but assumed was the twang of common tongue, floated to her ears as she became closer. The lioness didn't understand muc of the words, and didn't care to. She only wished to know why a corpse was watching. Every hair on her coat was standing straight up, and after moment, Ixzo could no longer contain the small snarl that ripped through her lips, bearing her teeth.

No longer bearing hte curiosity, Ixzo stepped out of where she stood. A graceful leap taking her to stand upon a rock opposite of the corpse. She didn't have a particular plan, she wasn't known for those, she did however, want to see if the thing would react, or remain dead as it smelled.

[Evalin]

It is unlike you to think so deeply upon such things. Tsenrika remarked, Indeed it does sound like the musings of an old soul content to sit warm by the fire than that of my master.

At that Evalin smiled, and even laughed as she closed her eyes, "Yes, does it not though? Experience you said? Maybe that is it. Perhaps it is time to retire."

Not like my master at all. Tsenrika's tone grew somewhat colder.

"Think you not what you are Tsenrika, or I will cast you down just like before." She sighed a tired sigh, a weary sigh that was exhausted on many levels besides just physical. The sigh covered up the slight rustle in the grass, or perhaps the Immortal just contributed it to the wind.

"It is still there. The hatred, burning just as bright but now it feels different somehow." Shifting once more Evalin placed a hand on her chest, nails lightly brushing the flesh there as she looked down, "Smoldering, no less hot, but not so impatient. After all, Tsenrika, what have I but time? Time... Far far too much of it."

It was the snarl that finally made the Immortal grow silent, eyes narrowing as a finger of power brushed against her djed to call it to action. Then there was movement, a blurred smudge only slightly darker than the backdrop of night to set it apart from the surroundings as it bounded around and up to perch upon a stone a few arms away. In the darkness only the glitter of eye shine told Evalin that the beast looked toward her, but for the moment whether or not it saw her as prey or predator was unclear.

Evalins djed responded quickly to her light touch, racing in lines to follow a cord to her eyes and there to pluck the strings of her being, shifting the pupils until they began vertical slits. Her irises widened, mimicking those of the night hunter of the Jungle Wilds known as the Akila Hound. It was a form Evalin was well versed in, and took just a tick or two to complete, at which time the dim and blurred grey of night suddenly sharpened to crystal clarity as those slit pupils widened to allow in the little amount of light to flow in.

A black cat. Tsenrika said, a slightly bored tone edging his words.

Indeed. Perhaps we have wandered into her territory. Evalin did not move from her spot, but tilted her head curiously to look at the creature. It was smaller than many of the hunters of the Jungles in Falyndar, and even though it seemed fierce in its own right after facing the dangers there Evalin felt little need to concern for her own safety. Instead she took the time to examine its fur, its sleek body and fine muscles. A cat, but more beautiful than most she saw. Almost regal if Evalin were to put a word to it, but then what did the undead witch really know of such things?

Evalin raised a hand, offering a very slight shooing gesture as her eyes remained locked, and unblinking, upon the creature. She decided that it must have been hunting, and perhaps by no fault of anyone's they had crossed paths. Evalin had no reason to care what the beast did, and if it did not attack she had no reason to harm it. Still, Evalin had gotten here first so the creature could at least be courteous enough to leave her be.

Words: 589

A

[Ixzo]

Word Count: 342

Did she just shoo her? Ixzo raised her head slightly, offended by the action. She was not some tabby cat that the Myrians kept to rid their huts of rodents. She was a hunter, she was a child of the wild. She would not be shooed. She would have roared at the creature, perhaps defeaning the thing for a bell, if she chose, but Ixzo was too impatient for that. The lioness stepped forward, pulling for her human form in the process. Within only a few ticks, the cat was replaced with a woman, who looked just as wild as her other form.

"What are you?" She snarled thorugh clenched teeth. A thin finger extended towards the woman, accusingly. "You smell of death, yet you move? Explain to me." She demanded, a sharp swipe of her hand. Explain. She accompanied the Myrian tongue with Pavi signs, yet it didn't quite occur to the Kelvic that the strange mumbling was in fact common.

The cat threw a sharp hand towards the wilderness. The one place she though was sacred. "Why are you here? Who put you here?" She curved a finger back towards the creature.

Ixzo wanted to step forward. Growl more, perhaps force the thing into standing as well, but something held her back from teh unnatural lump of flesh. An instict she couldn't hope to have access to in either mentality, and Ixzo didn't dare step forward. Instead, she glanced behind her, leaping back onto the rock, preferring hte distance and higher ground. It would only be a few ticks for her to access her claws, but that would also cut any communication she hoped to have. "Caiyha has cursed you, hasen't she? Or Kihala? Something has ruined you, tell me what it was." She snarled, reverting back to Myrian. Slowly, to keep the instict to return to her lion form from taking over, Ixzo settled into a crouch, pressing her heels and fingertips into the rock beneath her to balance herself as she waited for the unnatural thing to speak.

[Evalin]

The cat stubbornly refused the well intended order, a polite wave to cast it away to be on about its business so that Evalin might be about her own. Typically that was all it took for most, for even the hungriest of hunters rarely found the Nuit to be an appetizing meal. Thus when instead of fleeing the creature stepped forward Evalin found her curiosity piqued. Then, just as she was about to stand herself the glitter of sparks signaled an all together less interesting truth.

"A Kelvic." Evalin sighed, resting her chin on her knees once more and closing her eyes, "I thought it would be something more..."

Unique? The Irylid offered.

"Yes, precisely." It wasn't that Evalin disliked kelvics. In fact quite the opposite, she enjoyed them just as much as the next she supposed. They were simply too common. In every city they seemed to appear, so often in fact that the shower of lights no longer healed the same amount of wonder that they perhaps did once.

It is still talking.

Evalin glanced up once more, only absently paying attention to the words as she watched the strange gestures. Each was accompanied by harsh words, accented with a growl perhaps? The act of watching this woman, naked and bare in the night, growling at her in a strange tongue made Evalin smile. In an attempt to humor the child she sifted so that her feet rested on the ground, elbows resting on knees as she propped her head now on one hand. Amusement lit her eyes the more she watched. She could not make out a word of what she was saying.

When the kelvic leapt back onto the rock Evalin actually did chuckle softly to herself, biting her lip to suppress the widening smile in difference to what she assumed was supposed to be a show of intimidation. It was then that a few of the words began to click into place, and in a sudden realization Evalin lifted her head to ask, "Is that Myrian you speak?"

Why would a Myrian speaker be out so far from the jungle?

Know I not. Evalin thought, sitting up straight now for the first time, Though I do wish to find out.

Pulling the corners of her lips up in what she hoped was an inviting smile, Evalin crooked a finger toward the Kelvic, "Come here, come closer child. Let me see you clearly." She kept her voice low, as non threatening as possible as she indicated with another wave her wish for the woman to come closer.

Words: 431

A

[Ixzo]

Word Count: 341

Ixzo paused when she heard the name of her language. Or possibly the name of her people, it was the same in Common, as far as she could tell. Although the Kelvic was too fired up at the abomination to catch the words, they took her attention. The thing seemed... amused by her presence. And she didn't like it. Getting commands was not her most favorite game, but the Kelvic managed to understand the request.

Ixzo stayed balancing on the balls of her feet for a few ticks longer. Silver eyes watched the woman warily for a moment. As far as she could tell the dead thing gave no form of aggression. Ixzo stood then, and stepped down. She didn't comply completely however, the unsettling aura that plagued its existance would not allow Ixzo to let herself relax. She held a finger up, a shallow warning of a halt to whatever the creature was about to do.

Instead of coming closer, Ixzo merely extended her hand. The opne palm was an invitation for the dead thing to take it. If it was truly interested in her, then perhaps it would be willing to take her hand. Ixzo wanted to know if this wretched feeling was. Was it part of this thing? Or was this creature simply affected by it?

Once Evalin did take her hand, Ixzo gripped the cold fingers tightly, not particularly careful about how sharp her fingernails were or were they dug. Silver eyes would flit up to the lifeless crimson ones, and palms would begin to glow. The lioness was waiting for some sort of reaction. She knew what being on the other end of the light felt like, even though perhaps her chance to feel it was far more intense than her single gnosis could provide. Only after a few ticks, or a particularly violent reaction, would Ixzo let go, springing back as quickly as she could.

[Evalin]

Remaining as still as possible while the woman approached Evalin would keep her smile affixed in place. She did not wish to scare her away too soon, not until she could have a better look, not until she could see what it was she was looking for. First she noticed the height. Well over a head taller than the witch this woman would make even a stout man fell rather short. Thin but not skinny, muscled but in a lithe way that did not imply overpowering strength but rather flexibility and grace. A trait which was shown in action as each step was made with such natural balance and coordination that she almost seemed to float across the ground, feet barely brushing the surface and the tall grass barely stirred.

Scares and tattoos, interesting but not so much in their design but in their meaning. Scars, Evalin found, told a story about a person far better than words ever could. The size and shape could describe the sort of weapons used to cause them, or the lifestyle lead by the person. Jagged edges could mean battle wounds or careless acts of youth, while thin lines and fine curves might indicate an intentional hand, either of another person or by their own fingers. The skin was a tapestry that told of a life lived and many meanings could be drawn from them. The darkened skin and style of braid seemed, to Evalin, to confirm her Myrian origins. She had seen others of the monkeys with tattoo designs similar, though somehow not quite the same as this woman's. Then again Evalin knew little to nothing about the Myrian culture, and what few she had encountered had been in the midst of battle with the serpents of Zinrah. Just thinking about it all again gave Evalin a sour taste in her mouth.

When the finger was raised the Immortal laughed, but shrugged and nodded as if she understood. Whatever it wanted Evalin would comply with, for at the moment curiosity was far more pressing than the hunger. Then the unexpected happened, it chose to extend its own hand toward her. Taken slightly aback Evalin simply stared at it for a tick before reaching forward, carefully wrapping her slim fingers around the woman's much larger hand. While the Kelvic paid no mind to where her nails pressed Evalin paid careful attention to hers, tilting the sharp point of her thumb nail down so that it very slightly broke the skin as the Myrian squeezed perhaps tighter than necessary.

Then came the light, and with it a rather unpleasant feeling that made the smile falter and her red eyes to flick down towards the hand that held her own. It made Evalin's skin crawl, and the heat it it gave off was too intense for her liking. The Kelvic, however, did not seem to mind it and so Evalin kept her grip firm, intent on ignoring it to focus on the moment at hand. Then, just as quickly as it began it was over and the Kelvic was retreating backwards once more.

A puzzled expression crossed Evailn's features as she raised her palm to her eyes, examining the unmarked flesh there. A thin line of read began to roll from her right thumbnail, a droplet of blood coursing down the pale flesh as a token from the handshake. Without much thought Evalin licked the blood clean, letting the taste linger on her tongue a tick or two before turning her eyes back on the woman.

"You don't taste like a Myrian." She said simply, her black tongue snacking out to continue licking where some of the blood had dried on her nail, "Though you are a Kelvic so perhaps that is not unusual."

That little taste was all it took to light the fire in her soul, and she felt a longing for more of that sweetness. Still she suppressed it somewhat, barely hiding her lust behind half closed lids as she licked away the last of the blood. Lowering her hand then Evalin stood, just as slowly so as not to startle the Kelvic, and extended her own hand once more, "What is your name? Can you understand me?"

Words: 705

A

[Ixzo]

Word Count: 383

Her face twisted in disgust as the thing seemed to enjoy the taste of her blood. Ixzo, herself sucked on her own wound, to merely stop it from bleeding, but the odd behavior made the Kelvic remove her hand from her mouth. She didn't particularly think that such an outward show of interest in a live person's blood was a very commong behavior. Watching the strange reaction set a new wave of gooseskin down her back. She was growning less and less fond of this thing, not that she had any posative emotions towards it to begin with. "I understand." She whispered in thickly accented common.

The truth was she didn't really understand. She grasped bits and peices of the dead thing's, words. But her lack of comprehension and her general dismissal of any word the thing said gave her very little to work with. Ixzo wasn't going to take that hand. Instead, the Kelvic, keeping her night eyes on the creature, stood. Deciding that staying above and out of the creature's immediate reach was her best choice at the moment. Once more, the cat slunk away from the woman, taking long strides across the rock formation. She circled around the woman, clinging to the rocks, while carefully moving back as she repositioned until she was just a bit further away than she had been. The Kelvic was ready to shift, either to return home or to rip this thing to shreds. But for some reason the Kelvic didn't doubt that this creature had something more up it's sleeves. Something her claws weren't going to do such a great job taking apart.

Ixzo squinted at the woman, trying to formulate her words. Listening to the Common tongue was much easier than speaking it. Jodoc had never listened to her much, so she simply never bothered to learn his language. "Tell me... what you... are." The thickly accented common came forth once again forming more of a statement than a question. "And maybe I'll leave you one limb when I rip you apart." She added in her mother's tongue, safe in the knowledge that the dead lump of flesh didn't understand it. She made sure not to snarl, although she was ready for action. Tensly talking to unfamiliar creatures was not the lion's favorite passtime.

[Evalin]

It seems you frightened it.

Her. Evalin corrected, And it seems you are right. The poor child seems fit to flee in terror at any moment.

A wise decision on her part. Came the Irylid's typical dry response

Now, we cannot have that. Evalin let her hand fall when it became obvious the kelvic would not be coming any closer, contenting herself with watching with amusement as the kelvic tried to keep her distance. It seemed that at the very least she had a simplistic understanding of the common tongue.

"What a straight forward question." Evalin laughed. As Ixzo moved Evalin would turn to follow her, slow motions, keeping herself small and making no moves to come any closer, "How should I answer...?"

For a few ticks Evalin pretended to think, all while raising her hands behind her neck and slowly undoing the clasp of the necklace so that it came free in her hands, "I am something different." She said this simply, now holding the necklace by its chain up to her eye. One finger tapped its surface, setting it to swing back and forth before she simply tossed it carelessly over her shoulder, letting it fall somewhere in the tall grass without looking back.

"Something old, and unending." Evalin continued, biting her lip as she raised her arms up at her side, palms spread, "Something curious. Right?"

Clapping her hands together Evalin bent at the waist, not quite a bow as she still clasped her hands at her chest, but more like an acknowledgement of something unseen right in front of her, "What would you call something that eats everything to live?" The Immortal intentionally drew out her sentences, adding questions and playing on the Kelvics lack of knowledge in the tongue to try and make her think more and more about what was said, "A hunter? Do you understand that?"

With a shrug Evalin let her hands fall to her sides once more, hanging there limply as her fingers worked liked she were pulling at threads, "A monster perhaps?" the finger motions stopped and Evalin raised one hand to tap just below her right eye. She smiled a big grin then, canines elongating ever so slightly as she plucked casually at her djed, "A God?"

Pausing for dramatic effect Evalin let it stretch on for a tick or two, after which and if Ixzo tried to answer she would proclaim simply and with a wide sweep of her arms, "I am simply Evalin, who I am and nothing more! The real question, my dear..." She let her voice trail off as she leaned toward the Kelvic now, raising a finger to point one black nail at the woman, "Who are you?"

Words: 453

A

[Ixzo]

Word Count: 296

Couldn't quite get rid of the grimace that took over her face while the thing talked. There seemed to be a bit of… play going on. She didn't understand all of what it said, but the dead lump of flesh was trying to evoke suspense from her, and suddenly Ixzo decided she simply didn't care. Something that chose to be mysterious seemed to lose that quality in Ixzo's eyes. The Kelvic only laughed when the word 'God' was tossed around lightly. This was no God.

Ixzo threw her head back in an amused bout of laughter when the creature was done with its… show. It was trying to play games and Ixzo simply didn't participate. "You are merely a corpse hanging on to life." She snorted in Myrian, standing once more. "You only fool others into thinking you have power, but you're scrambling for dignity." Ixzo chuckled once more. She didn't understand this thing and she no longer wished to. It was an indirect creature, that survived in the shadows and thrived in weighted games. But Ixzo sobered up and she leveled her gaze on the thing for a simple moment.

"Leave." She said simply. Perhaps Ixzo received no straight answer but she understood what she needed, and she wasn't keen on staying near this abomination longer than she needed to. Turning away, Ixzo took the few seconds of senselessness to return to her lion form. Once a cat, Ixzo didn't look back, simply stepping down from the boulder and back towards the grass. Once there, Ixzo did her best to melt back into the night, crouching low so that not ever her ears stood out in the waving weed. She could care less what that thing did, so long as it stayed away from her.