Closed Fallen Snow [Tailyn]

[Anibesa]

Afternoon, 50th Winter, 517
"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

The sun had risen and now it was closer to noon as Anibesa walked along the shoreline in the falling snow. It was beautiful and she couldn’t help but marvel at it in awe, but it wasn’t natural and she knew that it didn’t feel right for such a place as Syka. She couldn’t imagine that such a tropical area would have ever really seen snow, or at least not in a long time and not without underlying reasons.
She just couldn’t work out what the reasons for the snow here were. Maybe it was because of Morwen’s disappearance? Or maybe it was to do with the lights in the sky? Both were things she was unsure of!

Sighing, she glanced out to see and pulled her cloak tighter around herself, her mortal seeming being more prone to mortal discomforts than her preferred form when Leth was high in the sky.

Groaning slightly, she glanced towards the outskirts of the jungle, knowing that if she wanted to retire to her tent and not freeze in the chill breeze, she’d need to collect some more wood for her fire, and with the snow falling to the ground she wondered whether she’d be able to find any dry wood! Though burning damp wood to make smoke had its uses, dry wood burned cleaner and in her mind she felt as though it was hotter, and that was her preference for the day.

She moved closer to the outskirts of the jungle, noting that snow there was settling on raised patches of ground and she groaned again, realizing that all of the dead wood must have been touched by the snow, and she’d have to find a way to try to dry it all out before burning it if she didn’t want to risk smoking out the settlement. At least that was what she thought.

Frowning she walked over to some of the snowy patches and brushed the snow away, grabbing the piece of wood underneath it. For now it just felt cold, with a very slight dampness to it. Obviously it hadn’t been snowing long enough to have settled into the wood, and hurriedly she continued on, brushing snow away and grabbing more and more pieces of slightly damp wood. Some were twigs, some were pieces of branches, but she intended on burning all of them.

Slightly disappointed that she hadn’t found any wood that would have been ideal, Anibesa make her way back onto the beach, glancing around to see if anyone else was out in the snow she she could ask them about the weather.

[Tailyn]

Tailyn. Was. Furious. She had woken that morning in her tent, cheerful but oddly chilly. A single step outside had slapped every ounce of cheer from her body. The entire landscape was covered in snow. Syka! Covered in snow! And her poor parrots stood huddled together on their perches just outside the tent, feathers fluffed against the cold and trembling from the effort to keep warm.

Tai might have shrieked at the scene. A little. Hadn’t she come here to escape the cold so her parrots could be comfortable and thrive?! And there was snow! Actual, real, godsdamned snow in a jungle!

Tai had waded through the snow with the fury of a windstorm, seized her parrots, and taken them inside her tent. It wasn’t a good solution, but it was all she had right now. At least she could keep them out of the wind.

Afterwards she had beat the snow from the top of her tent then made sure the snow wasn’t so tightly packed around her tent that the birds would suffocate from lack of air. Soon after, still trembling from barely comprehensible rage, Tai made her way to the beach. She would start a fire for them to keep them warm. That was all she had at the moment, all she could do to help her poor birds. Smoke wasn’t good for them, but neither was godsdamned freezing to death.

Tai’s walk to the beach gave her some time for the snow to cool her temper. As her anger evaporated, she realized suddenly that it actually wasn’t really that cold out. Perhaps it was a bit cooler than normal, but for a mountain bred Inarta it might as well be the equivalent of a warm summer day. Unexpectedly unsettled, Tai leaned down to examine the snow. It looked like normal snow. It was dense, fluffy, the sort you might find on Wind Reach’s peaks.

Uneasily, Tai turned and quickly walked further down the beach. Regardless of the supernatural quality of the snow, her parrots were still shivering and she needed to do something about it.

Tai paused as she reached the shore. A solitary figure was picking her way along the beach, picking up and casting away bits of driftwood and leaving a trail of footprints in her wake. The woman wasn’t familiar to Tai, nor did she seem to match the description of any of the people Tai had been told about by Randal. Smiling, Tai approached her.

“You looking for firewood to beat this unnatural snow? Please tell me this isn’t normal for Syka, I’ve only been here for less than a tenday. I wasn’t expecting having to build a bonfire to keep my birds warm.”

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

Anibesa noticed the red haired woman approach with a smile, and Anibesa couldn’t help but smile back at the woman, her eyes glancing over her briefly to take in the womans appearance. She couldn’t recall having seen the woman before, and she assumed that the woman must have come over on the Veronica when it returned from Riverfall last.

She heard the woman speak, and her suspicions of the woman being a newcomer were confirmed.
”Aye, snow was one of the last things I’d expected here, so I hadn’t gathered any firewood to store it. And you’re very new then, now wonder I didn’t recognise you. I’m Ani, I work at the Tidepool Bar. You should come get a drink some time!” she said holding her hand out to the woman as a friendly gesture, somewhat cheerily despite her annoyance at the weather, and then the woman mentioned building a fire to keep her birds warm and Anibesa raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t met many people that owned birds before. Most of the people she’d met were more likely to just complain about the wild birds getting too close for comfort, so a woman that owned birds was a rarity for Anibesa and now she was very curious about the woman and her birds.

”You have birds? Like jungle birds? I guess they don’t do so well in the cold? Need any help with that bonfire? After all we all have to work together here to survive.” she offered, tilting her head as she looked at the woman, the small bundle of sticks and branch pieces held in her arms. ”Unfortunately most of the wood is a bit, so it might smoke a bit? Will smoke affect your birds, or would we be best trying to find wood that isn’t as damp and get rid of the chance of smoke completely?”

Anibesa had set her mind on helping the other woman to build a fire to try to help her and her birds. In her mind it was a good way to start trying to befriend the woman. Friends and allies were important to Anibesa, she realised it would likely make her life in Syka easier knowing that there were people she could talk to and possibly help and then get help from in return.

”Other than the snow though, what do you think of Syka so far then? I mean, there’s been a few unusual occurrences, if you’ve seen them, but not including those, what do you make of the place?” Anibesa said, aware that she was starting to ramble on with her question to the woman. Once she stopped speaking, she smiled sheepishly at the red haired woman.

[Tailyn]

“Oh, the Tidepool bar? I’ll have to check it out sometime. Nice to meet you Ani. I’m Tailyn, you can call me Tai if you want.” Tai shook the woman’s hand heartily, catching her in a firm but friendly grip before releasing her and took in her appearance at a glance. Ani’s eyes were a striking, vibrant blue that gave Tai no illusions on her background. Tai had met the occasional svefra in Riverfall, and recognized those striking eyes when she saw them.

She grinned, warm and carefree at Ani’s question. “I keep parrots,” Tai told her. “The plan is to have a catching, taming, breeding and selling business here in Syka. I’m only just getting started, but I plan on having a cozy shop before long.” The grin turned to a frown and Tai turned her gaze towards the snowy shoreline. “I mean, assuming all the parrots don’t freeze to death first.” Tai sighed and swallowed her fast rising temper.

“Help with a fire would be fantastic. I’ll be happy to help you get one started too. The less wet the wood the better I think. Parrots don’t do well with smoke. Maybe we’d be best off looking further inland?” Without waiting to see if Ani would follow, Tai waded through the snow and towards the jungle. As she walked, she talked over her shoulder.

“Aside from the snow? I love Syka. It’s perfect, exactly what I was hoping for when I left home.” Tai hesitated. “Although...I wasn’t exactly anticipating mysteriously dead animals, or lights in the sky, let alone snow.” Tai shook her head and resumed walking. “I’m still new here. What sort of things have you seen Ani?”

[Tailyn]

Grades are here!

Anibesa

XP Award:

• +2 Observation
• +2 Socialization

Lore:

• Syka: It Snowed Here
• Burning Damp Wood Makes Smoke
• Tailyn: Keeps Parrots

Tailyn

XP Award:

• +1 Birdkeeping
• +2 Observation
• +2 Socialization

Lore:

• Syka: It Snowed Here
• Anibesa: Works at the Tidepool Bar