It's a Playground! [The Swing]

by **Allister** on March 6th, 2019, 2:51 am

37th of Spring, 519 AV
10th Bell

OOC :

Allister pressed his face to the glass at the behest of Emma. In truth, it took very little for the kelvic to do weird things. Fog billowed and retreated on the window in twin plumes that made a hazy mustache on the window. The ghost giggled then flounced around the room in her raggedy dress. “Maddie says you’ll get sick if you go outside without your coat, Alli.” The young girl stopped and blinked across the room to sit on the sill next to the pale man. From outside, a casual observer might think they were both just pale people- or both ghosts.

The hyena snickered and peeled his flesh from the clammy pane. “But it’s so waaaarrmm!” The lanky man protested in a voice like a child. Black eyes adjusted down upon the scabs around the lips of his adopted little sister. He didn’t know what had caused them. Was it a ghost thing? Is this something that happened after the small child decided not to cross over to whatever came next? These thoughts bogged down the delicate mind. Fortunately, it didn’t take much for Allister to prepare for his day. Slipping into slacks, his bruise-colored duster and his boots was not a hard task. One thing that had changed since arriving in Lhavit was the state of the man’s bootlaces. Once a feature that flopped and languidly lounged about, these tiny tentacles’ purpose had been discovered. It was so much easier to climb the steep, narrow and winding paths of the mountaintop city when one’s shoes were tied. For this, the kelvic had to focus.

While the painful process was taking place, the ghost dropped down to a level where she could see Allister’s calloused hands at point blank range. “You’re doing it wrong.” She teased.

“I am not!” Allister protested. Unfortunately, the jumbled ball of cord between his fingertips proved otherwise. With a groan and a huff, the former slave tore away his failed attempt until both laces were laid out on their respective sides. “Fine!” The hyena spat through his frustrated lips. “What’s the right way?”

“Loop. Swoop. Pull.” The girl beamed. She wasn’t trying to be mean or belittle the kelvic. Emma was simply proud of this piece of knowledge. “Raj taught me that.” She chanted the mantra of instructions and Allister set back to his task and eventually found the rhythm which left him firmly tied into his boots.

The bonded performer jumped to his feet and splayed his body like he’d just finished a dance number with the Spinning Glimmers; a physical ta-da, one might say. Emma clapped and bounced around the room some more. “Don’t forget your coat and you should really buy yourself a hat.”

“Thanks, Emma. I may...but only if it smells like lilacs and has a place where you can sit.” He winked his black eyes at the ghost who giggled and threw her hands together upon her chest. She sank back into the windowsill and watched the lanky man dash across the bridge and head through the gate.

Allister wandered about in his way. The rain was warm so he didn’t mind its insistence to fall. His boots, pants and jacket were all of decent quality leather so he shed much more than he absorbed. Lhavit was strange and yet very logical for the former slave. Five peaks and a fishing village all seemed separate and yet they were as connected as the tiers of Riverfall and even moreso than the winding, conniving and misleading roads of Alvadas. They certainly were more welcoming than the sweltering swamps of Kenash’s highways of oppression. Still, the duality of each different area was a part of the city’s soul but the nuances of learning so much often overwhelmed Allister. So, he wandered.

Without knowing it, the kelvic had crossed a bridge and soon found himself standing upon another. This one, however, looked very far down into a gushing river that split the mighty mountains like a vein flayed open amidst a mass of muscle and bone. The mist that rose as the droplets fell from the heavens was an odd kind of joy for the seemingly simple character. The roar reminded him of the turbulent waves that beat against the sides of the ships he’d been on in recent years. With a wandering twist of his neck, Allister soon realized he was staring out over the vast ocean. Absentmindedly, hands rubbed hands as the callouses of a sailor’s work reminded him of the pains and pleasures that were associated with the memories.

Boots scuffed on the boards and the hyena was off again. He meandered through the farmer’s peak and past the place of his employment. Wistfully, the performer longed to get in some more practice but today was not such a day. He slouched in his own skin and shuffled onward down a path he didn’t recognize. The newness charged his steps and the stride caught a bit of a bounce. The tall, thin frame stretched out as the power of his physique revealed itself a bit more. Fog and foliage gave way to a winding trail that dug itself into an exposed piece of plain grass with a massive tree that overlooked the edge of the peak.

The ghastly face tilted forward and settled its bottomless gaze upon a set of ropes and a wooden plank fastened beneath. A swing. Allister remembered the Dynasty brats would often talk about such things and he had even seen one once upon a time. Slowly, he approached it and that’s when the board began to move back and forth on its own with tiny bubbles of laughter.

Having no real reason not to, Allister smiled a gruesome kind of smirk and allowed his feet to take him closer. When he reached for the ropes, a young voice snapped out at him which caused the bony fingers to withdraw. Obsidian eyes darted around but saw no one and still the ropes swung higher and farther out over the ledge.

“Don’t touch my swing!”

“S-ss-sorry?” The kelvic stumbled over the word. His grin grew wider and his eyes became more like slits as an idea came over him. “Who said that?” He crept over to a nearby bush only to discover he was still alone… and not alone. He turned to observe the steady rhythm of the swing once more and folded his arms over his bare chest as the rain continued to slick his skin and hair. “Madness is such a burden sometimes!” He said aloud to himself.

Thanks to Asterope for the Images

by **Lani Stranger** on April 8th, 2019, 3:07 am

The one thing she hadn’t yet done was go home. She had spent the day relishing in the power of money and no responsibilities, of returning to a city that welcomed her. Although her eyes and golden skin would never let her blend in, she was welcomed, at least. And yet she had been so caught up in the whirlwind that was her dear childhood friend, she had not yet quenched the thirst for nostalgia. The slight curiosity that told her if she returned to the little cottage on the Sharai peak that she once laid her head so many years ago… maybe she would glimpse her mother. Or maybe she would see something familiar to remind her of the last few loving moons with the Konti before the sickness took her. Maybe.

Relinquishing the foreign Inarta clothing, Lani had donned her linen shirt and human pants, topping her head with her straw hat for the sun, and nestling her gawdy foreign weapon to her hip beside her waterskin and coin purse. It followed her everywhere, not that she didn’t trust the Shinya, but because she was still haunted by the barbaric reaction to starvation in Wind Reach. It couldn’t hurt. The half breed had departed from the strange living house before the dawn rest, not wanting to meet any of the other inhabitants of the house just yet. She wasn’t entirely sure how Madeira had convinced her to take up a room, but the fish-eyed girl had a sneaky way with words, Lani supposed.

Spider glided above her head and slightly to the right, not straying too far as the strong altitude winds buffeted his wings and making his flight harder. They were higher here than on Mount Skyinarta, or at least it felt that way. And the young crow was nervous and insecure with his surroundings, it would not be long before she continuously lost the bird, and subsequently her mind.

By the time she arrived to the Sharai peak, bare Chaktawe feet taking her on an eerily familiar path towards her old cottage, Lani was getting nervous. Of course there would be no trace of their time in the cottage. Eight complete years had passed, and time was the strongest wind. It eroded sentient activity quicker than the waves on the beach. Don’t be a fool. She told herself, turning the last corner, her desolate black gaze falling on the all too familiar skyglass building. The stone foundation sprouted up from the ground, giving way to the beautiful shimmering glass of Zintila, and the rabbit knocker resting on the thick wooden door. She could see inside the greenhouse attached to it and saw that all traces of the shitty garden her mother and herself had attempted had been wiped away, replaced with someone else’s plants, with someone else’s skill, and someone else’s care.

Lani was jolted out of her souring mood as a trail of screaming children tore down the little dirt avenue between the cottages, playing some chasing game and not watching where they were going. One nearly ran into her, but Lani stepped aside just in time to get her bare foot smashed into the dirt. ”Ow, you little shyke’s.” She leaned to grab her screaming toes, glaring in the direction of the children who had not even seemed to notice her presence. The thick padding on her feet made shoes uncomfortable and unnecessary but times like these reminded her the tops were just as fragile and free to be abused without a protective leather covering. Her attempt to be gloomy and nostalgic was effectively interrupted, and Lani glanced at the cottage one more time. This time, although she recognized every detail she could see, it looked exactly as it was: Someone else’s dwelling. And she was the weirdo standing in the middle of the path staring at it.

Lani let out a sharp whistle to call for Spider, and then turned away from her childhood home, heading back out of the small neighborhood towards the trail that would lead her back to the more busier of peaks. Since the weather was no so terrible, overcast but still bright in an odd spring way, Lani glanced over the fields of the peak, admiring the view for a few ticks before she returned to the city. She should probably go find Tasa today, and then search for a job afterward, but freedom was fresh to her and so she took any distraction she could get. While glancing over the fields she noticed a figure, in a gawdy purple coat, strolling through the trails between the fields, as if he belonged in the rural setting. She was expecting the character of a man to walk into the clubhouse, but when he waltzed right past it, her curiosity found itself intrigued. And a small part of her craved the distraction.

Without trying to be stealthy, she began walking after the man, to see where he could be going, and what he could be up to. And although she didn’t try to be stealthy, she didn’t try to call out to him either. The heavy wind might have stolen any words she attempted, but she didn’t try. She found herself following him to the very edge of the massive peak, almost having lost him a few times. At some point rain began to fall, and the wind gave up on abusing her hat, but she found the rain slowed her progress more than his, as she had to pause to roll up her pant legs.Another reason to get shoes. By fate, the path only lead one direction, and she was able to see the tail of his purple coat every few chimes to know that she had not yet lost the oddity. She was starting to doubt he even knew where he was going, which was making her following nearly pointless. She had never been to this side of the peak before… or at least she didn’t think so.

It was when he disappeared behind a thick wall of foliage that she worried she had wasted her time. They were at the edge of the peak, there was no reason to be here… unless you wanted to jump. But when Lani ducked underneath the branch, seeing the small clearing before here, a wave of déjà vu came over her. It was as if she had been here before, although it was entirely new to her. As if she knew was she was looking for, her eyes fell on the swing and was not at all surprised to find the strange man walk up to them. She was sure he had noticed her by now, and so Lani didn’t hesitate to approach him, hands resting loosely in her pockets and rolling her shoulders back for a more relaxed posture. She tightened the strap that kept her hat on her as the wind threatened to take it off, and she glanced over her shoulder for the familiar hovering black shape of Spider.

She heard the man talking, and for a tick thought he was talking to her, but he was turned away from her, laughing to himself by the time she was finally within calling distance. Odd.

”Who are you talking to?” She asked, still assuming she had already been spotted and simply ignored. It was quite rude, but then again she had followed a stranger half way across the most secluded peak in the city, so then again she couldn’t really speak.

by **Allister** on April 26th, 2019, 9:12 pm

Allister whirled around in a flurry of leather tinged with purple. His arms extended out wide to create a means of balance for the man, this unplanned piroet was not a normal action and called for a bit of help to maintain his graceful stance. Black eyes were wide as they soaked in the delicate features, tanned skin, silky dark hair and lean curves of a woman with golden skin. The pointed bones in her cheeks brought his focus to all black eyes-- just like his own!

He was instantly attracted to the woman in ways he only normally registered to Madeira. Now, that was not to say such feelings that ran along his spine like electricity at the site of the woman with sunlight beneath her flesh compared in any way to the love and devotion that the kelvic held towards his bondmare. However, the primal urges and desires of the scavenger ignited like a bonfire of dry twigs and dead grass. Even his body temperature began to rise and blood coursed more rapidly through his veins making the pulse almost noticeable in some of the more vascular areas should they later be revealed.

The silly grin, wiley and broad, crept across his face like the sun as it stretched over the land on its way to the far side of the world. Allister survived the initial shock of this woman’s sudden appearance as well as the exotic hourderves of her figure withough saying or doing anything inappropriate. This was a victory in and of itself. Now that he had drawn her in his mind and etched pieces of her into the backs of his eyelids, the curious hyena moved from the spot where his boots had been anchored. With a carefree wave of his left arm towards the swing as his body closed the gap between them, the former slave answered the question she had directed.

“The kid on the swing...I think he’s a ghost but ghosts are people, too, ya know?” The voice was a bit deeper than normal but not intimidating. Allister’s stance shifted like his coat in the wind which made pinpointing his actual frame and size a bit tricky. It was alomst like his bones were liquid as shoulders rose and fell with each twist and step. He was fixated upon her eyes with his own and drifted on the rain’s soft impacts evercloser to the Stranger. “It’s strange to look at you.” He waved a calloused hand of bony fingers, pale as the hidden structure that supports them, at the woman. “I understand how people disappear in my eyes because you have swallowed me entirely…” He paused his words and his movements just an arm’s length directly to her left but he stared at her gaze even still. “But I am like mist under the moon’s light while you shine like gold left to warm in the sun.”

With a twirl of his body, he passed behind her in two long strides and appeared on the opposite side with nearly half the distance removed. Every action was a deliberate reduction of the air between their bodies. Allister’s skin poked out from under his sleeves and between the folds of the coat here and there- his skin fumed in steam when touched by the cool spring shower. The novice mage closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nostrils. He engaged the djed within his form to distinguish what made this woman so special. At first, it was nothing spectacular but then the distinctions rose above the dribble and drivel that floated about -which included the soulmist of a rather potent young ghost. The woman smelled like sand and rock but that only attributed to inform him that she was a vagabond like himself. The scent of feathers told of carrion and freedom- a scar of life unfit to touch her delicious form but carried amidst the memories and experieces nonetheless. Indeed, there were many layers to this dark-haired beauty.

Allister lingered no more and began to gently tap his boots along the ground in a box-like pattern which moved his body up and down in a dance with himself. The cheap tattoos and wretched drawings played peak-a-boo with the Stranger as the man lowered his voice to blend it with the wind that rushed along the steep face of the cliff. “As a fellow traveler, mayhaps you’d share a dance with me while we wait for that spoiled little shyke to finish playing on his swing…” The black eyes flirted with the small amounts of light and direct contact he could make with the inquiring woman. “Maybe he’ll share with us if he sees how much fun we can have when we play together.” The kelvic winked and extended a hand to the Stranger but he never stopped moving.

WC=810

Thanks to Asterope for the Images

by **Lani Stranger** on April 29th, 2019, 10:00 pm

Something about the man was a little too strange for Lani. Or, more accurately, everything about the man was strange. She was trying to find something that she could recognize in his behavior, some personality trait she could appeal too, but insanity? That was hard to reason with. As he invaded her space, so close that she could smell what he ate for breakfast, she felt a little too much like prey. Her body was reacting, telling her to shrink her shoulders, duck away, and run. Another part of her was tempting her to grab her sword, to straighten her back and lift her chin and make him run. But Lani was maintaining as neutral an expression as she could in the face of his oddly focused interest. Still, she found her shoulder's tightening and her hand crossing her hip to rest on the hilt of her weapon. When he leaned away, circling her in a slow odd dance, she rolled her shoulder’s back to try and relax them while watching the swing, not the predator, and digesting his remarks about it.

She took the chance to reach into her auristics, pushing the djed out to her fingertips and feeling for the motion of his aura in the air surrounding her. The actual sense of the speckles on her fingertips was being confused and stolen by the rain and wind, but the auristics let her clearly feel his aura. There was an odd familiary rhythm pulsing around her. Something familiar that she had felt before… an aura that she knew. It took her a few distracted ticks, ignoring his words, while she tried to search through her memory and place the signature of Madeira’s aura and figure out why it was warped but still familiar. It was the famed Kelvic bond. This was the Allister she had been told about. She could not give all of the credit of what she knew about this man to her auristics. It had been the connection she needed to remember him, but any details on him had been told straight from Madeira’s mouth… er, pen.

When he leaned in to sniff her, she full on grinned. How very animalistic of him.

”I would love to dance, Allister.” She remarked, her giggling grin disappearing into her usual passive expression, as she stepped into him to take his hand. So this was the notorious Allister? The bondmate, the father of Madeira’s lovely children, and the only person who could possibly love the mad Spiritist more than Lani herself. She recalled mention of the ship. Something had happened on the way to Lhavit which had made Madeira ‘fall into his arms’ as she had said. So what did this mad animal have to offer her beloved friend? What event triggered such a loving reaction from the sky-eyed girl? The half-blood knew very little of him other than his relations to Madeira, but she would spin it as best she could. She knew even less about dancing than she did about Allister, but in the moment she forgot that she was unfamiliar with the skill.

”I hardly expect a new father to call a child a 'little shyke'.” She teased, watching his black eyes carefully as she dropped bits of what she knew of him. Lani gripped his left hand in her right one, and smoothed her left hand over her hips as if she was pulling a skirt up in a mock curtsy, before standing and leveling her desolate gaze on him to watch for the reactions she wanted.

by **Allister** on June 13th, 2019, 2:04 am

Allister continued to dance in his roundabout pattern. When she used his name, he simply created more space and turned away to hide the surprise on his face. By the time he had turned back around -just in time to witness the grin as it disappeared from her countenance- he wore the same playful expression as before she had tipped her hand. Who are you, Stranger? He wondered in his mind. Her black eyes swallowed him enough to reveal a glimpse into how unsettling his own gaze must be- though perhaps not so immediate.

Tall for a woman, she was thin but sported more muscle than Madeira and her form-fitting attire didn’t shift in the wind like the large duster of dyed leather that covered the kelvic’s ashen silver skin. Suddenly, he was holding a hand of gold and being told more about himself like how one is odd for referring to a selfish child as a little shyke. Small potatoes, as they say. The woman didn’t know where she stood though the idea that Allister would be completely outmatched never occurred to him. Just ask the entire ship of sailors on the ship that carried them all from Alvadas to Riverfall.

With a grin that spread like a bright plague of mischief across his face, the former slave bowed his head to match the curtsy. Before the raven-haired lady could fully rise, she would feel a whip-like snap from the hand she had taken. The cords of muscle on his arm tensed in a wave that cascaded from shoulder down through his elbow and to his wrist. Counter to this, Allister stepped forward with his left leg while the right arm drew back as if he were some great archer. The subtle twist of his hips was designed to receive her smaller frame into his own and once they were connected then the control would be his to lead.

Allister’s free hand became a snake as it sought to bind the woman to his body by coiling around her waist. Only when he had these small positions of power would he delve into the mind, soul and intentions of this odd creature who knew him- accepted him in some small way and yet was as foreign as the the steep climb to Lhavit proper had been seasons ago. His black eyes stared into her own and that lack of anything upon which to focus made his imagination reel. Golden skin, a rocky aura, bottomless eyes and a flash of orneriness were all wrapped up in one very enticing package that was now in Allister’s arms. He debated many things while he waited for their motions to mirror one another- not least of these was how to unwrap this shiny new present.

In a voice like wind rattling dry leaves, he began the slow procession into a mental challenge unlike anything he’d ever undertaken before. “If you can’t keep up, Misssss…” He lingered on the ‘s’ in hopes that she would fill in her name as he resumed the shifting dance of his box steps. His head tilted down and the grin became less deranged and more pointed near his cheeks which gave the shadows greater depths to deepen on his face. “I’ll catch you when you fall.”

So focused was the kelvic on his newfound plaything that he had forgotten about the swing where a young lad had now materialized with a hand on each rope and his legs wrapped around one side in a very carefree kind of lean. The youthful face created from soulmist seemed to be studying his guests with great innocence and scrutiny.

Thanks to Asterope for the Images

by **Lani Stranger** on June 23rd, 2019, 5:18 am

The sudden movements which were not her own, should not have surprised Lani, but they did. She knew nothing of dancing in comparison to the smooth and intentional pulls and steps of the man she now clung to. Only barely was she able to remain upright and balanced, having always been fairly agile and only somewhat graceful. Still, she took the moment of unease and insecurity with her own feet as a moment of weakness, concern furrowing her eyebrows as she was suddenly just a little bit too close to the man. Madeira’s strange beloved dog, whose heat she could now feel on her own back, chest, and hand. Before she could properly regain control of herself, he began to step back and then to the side, smoothly, but quickly. The Hyena dragged the half breed across the grass in lithe and light movements, and it took her an extra tick to learn to follow the soundless rhythm he seemed to be following. She did not stumble, but she did not attempt to alter the deaf melody, instead she took the tick to listen and keep up.

”Lani.” She filled in the question that was not asked when the unsettling voice rattled from the curious man’s chest. Lani gripped his hand tighter, pressing the tips of her fingers into his knuckles, as if it would help her recollect the control he had so smoothly stolen. Her left hand fell just below his shoulder, lightly cupping behind his tricep, partially to keep herself in place with the twisting movements, and partially to match his odd ferocity. Constantly finding things to mimic in others, she leaned into him as he did to her, inhaling deeply after his offer to catch her. This action had unsettled her so, and black eyes bore into him to see if the same reaction would appeal. She did not understand his face well enough to mimic him completely, but her own heart had picked up which made the slightly breathless smile he seemed to wear so casually appear easier on her face. She let her brows relax and the corners of her mouth pick up as she offered the Kelvic more information dressed in the thick Kontinese accent of her old name. She wanted to gauge what he knew of her, and how much Madeira might have shared. ”Formerly, Leavou of Alvadas.”

His aura vibrated with thick waves of curiosity, accented by a slight arousal, an odd elation that she could not place. Had she not been hesitant about already knowing what the man meant to her most dearest friend, the trace of arousal would have piqued her own excitement and curiosity. The half-Eypharian had a hunger for the stranger lays, and those who were difficult to lure into her bed, of which she thought him the first rather than the latter. But it was the lack of caution in his aura that she focused on, dissecting and trying to understand. Most people were unsettled by random facts about them being spat out by a stranger, but he seemed too… not trusting exactly, but… open to it. More so than she would have been. What an odd man. No wonder Madeira likes him.

”And where do you hail from Allister? And where did Madeira find you? Before Riverfall, I am told.” Before the ship. Lani did not want to ask. Madeira had not told her of whatever events had transpired, and while curiosity was a powerful thing, the halfbreed was growing almost fond of the Hyena. As much as such a short few moments of introduction could produce. If this ship was a sensitive subject, she had no interest in alienating him now. The gilded woman returned her silent gaze to his, having inspected the man’s loosely slicked back hair, the ever so slight stubble of a man who shaved frequently. She had been in the Infinity Manor but a single night, but her short time reuniting with Madeira seemed to have branded the fish-eyed scent into her senses, of which she could smell similar accents on the man she danced with. Sweat and wind had carried away any traces of the distinct perfume Madeira wore, but Lani understood that people who lived in the same spaces often tended to smell similar. For some reason, this relaxed her slightly as she glided along the grass with a mad dog, not paying as much attention to the edge of the world or a dead child’s curious gaze.

by **Allister** on July 11th, 2019, 1:11 pm

It took a few series of steps for the woman to catch hold of the rhythm that played for the hyena and no one else. A stronger grasp, a more dangerous lean and then the gold-skinned beauty was casting about like the second wing of a butterfly to match its partner; Allister. The body of the insect was merely their intersection, a space of heat, friction and growing desire. The kelvic was more drawn to this woman as the contact was prolonged.

Her exposed middriff was warm and smooth. Lani, as she proclaimed herself, was agile enough which caused the black eyes to peer down to try and gauge the lengths of muscle that stretched along her legs beneath the waving black fabrics. More than each of these or even the sum of sensuality that her body had become to the former slave was the depth of nothing and everything in her eyes. The woman offered insights into her life and pulled more truths from his own but it was the way that her purely obsidian orbs took hold of him.

They swallowed his doubts and bolstered his fears. The stare made him feel safe and wholly unprotected all at once. Allister appreciated the shifting contradictions and it only served to drive him further along a road of malice and pain.

Whoever this woman was and whatever she knew made her a threat to Madeira. Allister, without betraying the languid smile or the tension in his breeches, sped up the tempo of their dance. The hand which interlaced her fingers tightened in a roll from the first knuckles to the last. His force was not bone breaking but it would be instantly noticeable and hard to break. The song was no longer a patient waltz for the tune had drastically melded into a robust trot. To keep time with this, the hyena’s hips flicked back and forth in an alternating fashion that created a figure eight. He drove his right thigh between those of his partner and bent his knees just a touch.

This new stance was not the end of the changes, however. Allister flexed his right arm so sternly that Lani would have to break the ruse to resist her back being drawn in until the apex of her legs was pressed against the granadile skin of the former slave’s breeches. Less of a dance between partners and more of a ride upon the taut muscles of the kelvic’s thigh, the hyena knew he was outmatched in wits. His only defense was to intensify the physical altercation that he played off as a friendly dance.

This Stranger spoke of the goddess, now, and her daring seemed to be emboldened by the chase. Like any dutiful soldier, Allister rose to the occasion. He leaned his face in near hers with the grin that was once carefree. The words that dripped from his maw twisted the innocent expression into a deadly line that held untold horrors just waiting to be unleashed. “Careful, my little golden doll..” The voice was barely a whisper as it crept towards her ear. “As much as I’d like to taste all that you have to offer,” A sentiment he emphasized with a flick of his tongue against her cheek. “If you insult the goddess, I will rip you into a dozen pieces and fling you from this cliff.” This time, he ground his body around hers. He flexed every muscle and contracted like a giant snake around Lani. He even hooked his chin over the tendons of her neck and bore down with his bony jaw.

Suddenly, a shout ripped through the quiet drizzle that had caused steam to rise from their bodies. The ghastly lad on the swing raised a protest to his play area being used as some kind of adult stage. Allister, the walking connundrum, forgot his threats and forgot his lust as his inner bondmate revealed its true nature. He released and spun the dark-haired beauty from his grasp all the while his feet rotated until he was squarely between the ghost and the girl. He held her hand still but it was gracious and no longer angry. The hyena narrowed his own black stare at the ghost. “What’s your problem, boy?” The kelvic was a ball of tension as he hunkered into the length of his duster. “And why won’t you let me play on your swing?”

Thanks to Asterope for the Images

by **Lani Stranger** on August 29th, 2019, 2:10 am

Just as she was able to catch the rhythm of the man in her arms, he changed it. He did not reply to her question with words, but with his body instead. With little more warning than the sudden increase in tempo, and then he was moving her again. The hyena stole her feet from underneath her, and Lani found herself uncomfortably perched upon his thigh, entrapped by his arms. No wind was strong enough to steal the hiss of words that leaked from his mouth, tearing into her ears and sending a chill down her spine. Gooseskin lit up her arms when something wet flicked across her cheek, and Lani squeezed her eyes shut, fear constricting her movements.

Slap him. Do something. She had to will herself to move again, remembering that she was no longer totally helpless. She had a sword, she had some semblance of a skill, she just had to remember to use it. But by the time all of Allister’s words had found her, he was moving again. She felt a pang in her neck where something dug into the tendons there, and the icy fear was quickly replaced by a spike of anger. She had enjoyed the game so far, but he had no agency over her here, and she could fight back.

Gasping, Lani pulled her left arm up in reaction, grabbing the man by wherever she could reach on his head, digging her fingers into the hair on the base of his neck and yanking back as hard as she could. The painful pressure of his jaw on her neck dispersed, and she leaned away from him. She was already far closer to the man than she would have liked, the confusion and thrill of the past few chimes creating warmth that dampened her uncomfortable perch on his thigh. Her right foot could barely touch the ground, but with the sudden movement, her weight fell onto it hard as she tried to catch herself. She felt her ankle roll in a way that it shouldn’t, but no burst of pain came to berate her for the movement. Her head was crisp with adrenaline and as she found her weight on the one foot she ended up releasing his head, although her right hand was still entrapped in his. Unsure if she had truly thrown him off of her, or that he had willingly turned around, she caught herself on his grip just long enough to stabilize her feet beneath her. The black eyed woman pulled the sword from her hip with her left hand, the blade pointing backwards at an awkward angle. Nimbly, Lani flipped her fingers so that the thick hilt was facing forward again, holding it out and behind her as Allister faced his back towards her.

But Allister was focused on something else, and as Lani’s black eyes found the object of his fixation, she adjusted her awkward left handed grip with her sword. Spider’s concerned caw sounded above her, and for the first time since he had spoken, Lani was able to digest his words. He thought her a threat to Madeira? What an absurd idea.

”It’s not safe.” A child’s wavering voice that seemed to belong to no one answered whatever Allister had said. Lani hadn’t been paying attention, but she was now. Lani took Allister’s distraction to loosen her hand and slip it from his grip, taking two long strides back and switching her sword to her right hand. She didn’t settle into a fighting stance, but she did ensure she had a better grip between both of her hands. Deciding the strange Kelvic was too volatile to be too close to, she glided back and around the edge of the small clearing so that she was a few feet away and to his right, just out of either of their reaches for one another.

”Who on all of Mizahar are you talking to, Allister?” She asked, a slight irritation at the whiplash the strange man was giving her. But before the Hyena could properly respond, her eyes landed on the wispy apparition of a child that sat atop the swing, although not pushing it with his legs as any joyous child would. He was solemnly staring at them, nearly as irritated as herself. ”Oh.”

”Do you own the swing?” She asked the boy, mildly sarcastically and flitting her gaze between Allister and the swing. Instead of answering her, the faint outline of the child dispersed into the air, leaving nothing but a wooden swing swaying in the light gusts of rainy wind. The half-breed took the chance to attempt to warn of Allister’s antics.

”If you touch me again, I will have your hand to hang on my wall. I’m sure Spider will pick it clean within three days.” Lani turned her gaze back to Allister, offering her detailed threat in a low voice. She loosened her stance, letting her talon sword lazily point towards the ground, but gripped in her dominant hand in case she had to raise it again. Spider was flitting uncomfortably on the branches, disturbed by the chaos, but unwilling to stray too far from Lani to escape it. She rose her left hand in a half-truce, eyeing him carefully. She had so many questions now.

"Allister, has she told you nothing of me?” She asked, relaxing the features on her face to appear as least intimidating as possible without releasing her sword. Carefully she pointed her toes as she took two dancing steps forward, trying to recapture the earlier grace they had held, despite the violent interruption. Her ankle's complaints caught up with her, and she found her right foot faltering ever so slightly as the nerves complained of use. the half-Eypharian held her sword down but just up enough not to drag as she circled back in on the man, a soft grin tugging at the corners of her lips as she thought of the humor of the situation.

”Oh dear, Allister. Relax.” The irritated gravel of her voice faded out as she spoke, digging at the brick of djed resting her abdomen and weaving it into her words. ”You are quite loyal, it comforts me to hear. But I’ve been her knight longer than you.” She stepped closer, as if approaching a green horse and trying not to spook it. She raised her hand, closing the space between them once again, against her earlier judgement. She moved slowly but with some grace, attempting to set the tone of the encounter and lower the heart-rate that the earlier adrenaline had raised. With fingers like feathers she snaked her left hand up his right bicep, across his collar bone. The actress had always found physical touch to help focus one's attention on herself, and was attempting to utilize that now. Her palms were slick with the nervous sweat of the perceived attack, but she ignored it as she raised her left hand up. With an uncanny gentleness in comparison to her earlier reaction, she let the gilded appendage cup the ghostly white skin that was his cheek, as if delivering heart-felt news. ”I would hurt my heart’s sister no more than you would dream of doing yourself. She is why I have returned to this city, after all.”

"Go away!" The boy's voice shouted, and Lani frowned, but didn't break the concentration she was trying to lure Allister into.

Lani was familiar with using body language to create physical moods when her words failed her. The kelvic moved between polar emotions so quickly, she hoped to calm and focus him long enough to get some semblance of a straight answer out of him, but the boy on the swing was not helping. "Do you believe me?"

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