Live in the Waking World (Chemar)

[Sairque]

13 Fall, 507 AV The campfire flickered, so much brighter and warmer than the twinkling lights scattered across the night sky. A thin strip of mysterious diamonds rotated around between the steady interruption of thick canopy. The glade protecting their camp from prying eyes waited in a cautious hush for permission to come alive with all those creatures calling it home. All it would take was a cessation of birdlike conversation and an easing of physical awareness. Sai had no problems with allowing nature to resume its usual course around herself and companion, the day of travel had been long and morning would come early. Of course, the Endal still insisted on sharing whatever popped into her head until sleep claimed one of them. “Why did you want to come out with me?” Sai whispered, taking a hint from Mother Nature regarding volume. After four years of hunting with Catabasis without a single request to join her on a hunt, it seemed strange—welcome but strange—for Chemar to ask suddenly. So Sai had shifted her schedule around, sacrificing a market day for hunting on her own just in case they didn’t get anything on the morrow, to accommodate the dreamwalker’s own calendar. At Catabasis’ suggestion, no less. The Eagle had always been quiet regarding his feelings about the Tisserand, but had shown the woman more difference than ever another passenger. The Endal had been prepared to hoist her up, but the bird had fairly bowed to ease her ascension into the saddle. Sai hadn’t said anything, like she didn’t have to usually cajole her proud bonded into allowing another to ride him. She’d actually become quite comfortable with allowing him to cart people around in his talons. The only thing he’d be carting around like that this trip was their kill. She’d set camp up for two nights and one day here. Their gear dangled from a nearby tree, Catabasis’ tack waited in a neat pile just exterior of the circle of light cast by the fire, and both of them had their sleeping gear ready. The wiry Endal, still physically smaller than her companion if gradually expanding her force of personality to make up for the lack of stature, had already stretched out on her sleeping roll next to the small campfire. By dawn they would already be trekking in search of prey, letting the Eagle guide them. That had been another surprise, he’d insisted on remaining in the area during the entire excursion instead of going off on his own to fish on the coast. Even now he laid on the other side of the glade, eyes darting between creatures going about their business and ready to deter anything and everything from visiting the hunters. And she suspected that the two of them had conversations she wasn’t privy too. Did Chemar visit Catabasis in his dreams?

[Chemar Tisserand]

This was by far a more natural setting than what Chemar was accustomed to, but it felt so foreign. Unnatural. She had always felt like and intruder in the vastness of nature. Her sounds were like a dissonance, the spiced smell of her perfume an intrusion to the fresh air, despite her willingness to becomes part of the unexplored part of the world, to fit in there, she never would, if only because of her own discomfort. Though there was a casual similarity between the sparkling stars and the vast seeking body of the Chavina, it was a leap of faith for her to see it. If she blurred her vision, she could almost imagine the stars as the countless lives contained within her place of comfort, but they always returned to the celestial bodies that they really were. To place herself in a foreign atmosphere was part of the reason the dream walker had approached her friend with the request to join her on a hunt, but the lion's share of her reasoning was to understand Sai in her waking life. In the place where her friend felt her most comfortable. As the thought faded into her curious mind, she heard the question posed to her. Why did you want to come out with me? Her emerald gaze shifted to Sai, and for a brief flash, the rings of gold that surrounded her pupils glowed with an eerie warmth from the reflecting fire. She appreciated the monkey soldier's deference to the hushed quiet, and though she had never really noticed it about herself, Chemar's speaking voice rarely rose above a rich whisper. She began playing with the fiery beads threaded throughout her hair, slipping them across her knuckles as she began to speak. "I wasn't aware, that I needed a reason to wish to spend time with you." Long, pale fingers began to disappear within a coil of copper, and Chemar caught her lower lip in the bite of her teeth, considering her next words. "I thought you might like to spent some time in your world instead of mine." Chemar had become so familiar with the dreaming life of her friend, it was second nature to visit her within that life. They had spent as much time in that world as they had in waking life, forging a friendship that included things they had never spoken or demonstrated to anyone, even themselves. There were no limits to what they could access within each other. "Besides... A wry smile began to curl her lips. "I don't mind people thinking I am some sort of sheltered hot house flower, but I don't actually -want- to be one." She finally looked back at Sai and they shared a knowing smile. From experience, the Endal knew that truth of Chemar's illusion of frailty, an illusion, that outside of present company, she did little to dispute. The dream walker returned her gaze to the stars, folding her graceful hands across her bare stomach. She took long deep breath of the fresh air, noting how it almost seemed to scrub through her lungs, so different from the air in the Lady. The air in her home filled her, enveloping her senses with warmth and vision, she almost felt empty here in the world, a thought that sent a little chill through her nerves. As much as it was for Sai, this taste of reality was also for her. "Or perhaps I just wanted to be alone with you." Her eyes narrowed as she once more tried to return to her illusion of the Chavina."Does it really matter why I asked?"

[Sairque]

Shadows swirled, eddying through the unfathomed channels meeting between Endal and Dreamwalker. Little wisps of mystery extending from the inky backdrop of night tangoed with the vivacious illuminations of the fire. In the flickering honey light, Sai's profile contrasted sharply with the impenetrable depths cloistering the women in their haven. Her lips, sun chapped and plush in relaxation, pulled into an intimate smile as one eye cracked open to gauge the sincerity of the city slicker. That predatory yellow iris had no ethereal mystery; no, those eyes weren't ringed in golden omniesence the way Chemar's seemed to be, but they were sharp enough to catch the pertinent inflections on the woman's face as she spoke. They pieced each other together. Always. And with remarkable accuracy. Dreams, conversations, actions, the flutter of an eyelid, the quirk of a lip. They stood witness, watching, knowing, never exposing the little pieces of one another's soul to the rude, corrosive air from whence any witless ninny could pluck them. Chemar did want to be alone with Sairque. She wanted a safety net to coddle her while she faced her fears of the real world. The real world, where Chemar had no control over the dangers and unexpected twists. This was Sai's world she wanted to play in, it was Sai's help she needed to reenter the waking world. Crutches helped no one, and the Endal did her a favor by refusing to be one. She could leap over the fire and pummel her. It'd been a while since they'd got into a scrap. No, the mood was all wrong for that. She could abandon her, leave her the gear to fend for herself for several days. Take Catabasis and monitor the woman's progress. That could work. And so the wiry woman, making no move to hide her actions, rolled to her feet and stretched. Canopy-filtered moonlight highlighted bands of muscle as they flexed and slackened beneath inviting sheaths of white velvet skin. An ember popped, flames licked hungrily at the stars in a brief moment of greed, Sai's glance, hard and calculating slid away from Chemar, followed by the rest of her body. Bending for her boots, after a pause her unmarred hand instead clasped the handle of her bow. Flowing with the snap decision, the nimble Inarta knocked and drew the weapon even as she rotated and brought it to bear on her unfortunate companion. Chemar was a hot house flower out here. And there was no better time than the present to bring out her inner cactus. Chemar's eyes widened and Sai watched the cogs turn. The Endal's red head dipped in a singular nod. Go.

[Chemar Tisserand]

Trouble. Over the years, she had learned to recognize it as clearly as she could pick a Chevi out in the massive tangle of the Chevena. In response to the curt nod she caught the inside of her cheek between her teeth and took a moment to size up her new opponent. This is going to hurt. She lifted her back from the ground, keeping the controlled aggression of her best friend locked in her line of sight, with the same brevity of motion, she drew her knee to her chest and pushed into standing. Flee or be shot. The intent in the golden eyes that stared back across the glowing firelight was unmistakable. In the depths of her mind, Chemar imagined she deserved this payback after years of intrusion, albeit welcomed, into the Endal's most intimate dreams. But threats with an arrow point were seeming to have the opposite effect on her flight instinct. A quiet groan, audible only to her own ears, signaled the bad choices she was about to make, spurred on by her stubborn nature. Height and strength were on her side, but Sai wore her experience like a comfortable old coat, and her speed was sometimes shocking. Chemar took a step closer to her friend, always keeping that predatory gaze locked with her. A thin stream of sweat began to trickle down the center of her back, while adding a glistening sheen to any exposed skin. With her hands balled into fists, she closed the distance between them with three long strides, ending her movement with the tip of Sai's arrow poised over her heart. With a cock of her auburn head, she slowly lifted onto her tiptoes, carving a thin red line into her pale skin. If the mere touch stung this much, she could scarcely imagine how it would feel if the point were to bite into skin. Such bad choices. A wince, twisted her full lips and she drew in a sharp breath to hold until she finished. When the line was drawn her back curved just enough to pull away from the arrow's vicious point for a brief respite. Sai's expression had not changed in the least. If anything, her eyes grew more intense, she was ready to loose her lesson on Chemar and there would be no stopping her until she'd made her point..so to speak. With more hesitation Chemar met the arrow tip once more, completing the simplistic design she sought to etch into her skin. When she finished, a bold red 'x' marked her heart, thin trails of blood dripped down her chest like fine veining as she wagered a quick glance at her own handiwork. From behind a nervous, but satisfied curl of her lips, Chemar offered Sai a few words of advice. "Make sure your aim is true my friend." Without meeting the arrow's bite again, Chemar leaned as close as she could and lifted her balled hand as if to blow Sai a kiss, but rather than sweetness, she sought her own defense in the only way she could see. With a graceful opening of her hand, she puffed a handful of dirt she grasped as she rose into the eyes of her opponent, then without missing her opportunity, bolted past Sairque into the darkness outside the fire.

[Sairque]

They did it all the time, on these daily trips outside the safety of the mountain to secure food. They left with the intention of being the predator only to realize that bigger, badder creatures with better instincts saw them not as superior but as smooth and tasty as butter. Most predators this close to the mountain had been eaten long ago by starving and desperate Inarta, but Chemar resisted becoming prey when her friend assumed the dominant role. The Dreamwalker’s challenge excited the Endal, but only the subtle hints of apprehension in her mannerisms gave Sai the confidence to relish in the thrill of the hunt. Chemar’s faint signs of worry meant that she knew this wasn’t a game. Not that Sai had expected any less, the Dreamwalker would know best of all what her friend was thinking at any given moment. Sweat slickened the fingers holding the string, gathering like the sweet droplets on Chemar’s chest, and a sultry wave of heat swelled between the hunter’s shoulder blades. An animalistic grin was the only response to the advice, but already her body prepared to execute the next move. Shooting was clearly out of the question at this point, well, shooting at Chemar was. The arrow would have to be disposed of, but the bow could still be used. The Tisserand lifted her hand, Sai lifted the trajectory of the arrow, tilted it off to the side. Distracted with planning, her eyes widened a fraction right before fine dust and organic particles invaded the sensitive organs. Cursing, the lithe scrap of a woman spun away, redoubling and jerking the drawn bow to point at the ground. Tears streaming, Sai fought to open her eyes even enough to squint in the general direction of the fleeing footsteps. Well, bit of unnecessary excitement, but the objective was to get her moving. “Petch,” she grunted, doubled over with no hope of the dirt vacating her eyes on its own. Stuck in her stubborn mindset, it took a moment for her to realize that she didn’t have to shoot the bow to free her hands. Releasing the tension, the weapons thudded to the ground and hands flew to her eyes only to hover there uselessly. “Cheater. Patching cheater.” Stumbling about, first a foot kicked through the fire and then stepped on the discarded arrow, but jumping back landed her on someone’s bedroll. A second more of blind groping revealed a waterskin. Finally pursuit could commence. Water dripping off her chin, the young redhead packed up camp into neat bundles and strung everything extraneous high into a tall tree. Chemar would have the night to entertain herself...Sai scurried up the tree beside the gear and tied herself in to take a nap until dawn.

[Chemar Tisserand]

Cheater?! I'm not the one with my best friend in my sights. Chemar was tempted to respond to the fading accusations, but temptation did not outweigh self preservation and she had no intention of betraying her escape route. The brisk air chilled the crimson 'x' as she threaded through the trees but did not take away the burning sting of it. She regretted for a moment, that she had put the mark there. Hmmm...it had to be done. When the distance covered by her running feet succeeded in leaving the pale glow from the fire behind, eclipsed by the lacing together of the trees she passed, Chemar slowed to a stop. Several long draws of the crisp air helped to slow her heart and provide casual bearing, she looked around, eyes so accustomed to darkness responded quickly to the lack of light. As suspected, she had no idea where she was, an afterthought supplied the untimely information that she might have paid more mind to the route taken by Sai instead of assuming she would follow her out of this living maze. The pause in her retreat gave time to consider her options; Knowing Sai, the Endal would hole up until morning to start her pursuit. Tricky. Leaving Chemar the night to put as much distance between them.That weaselly monkey would be resting, recovering any strength she might have expended while the dreamwalker plodded through the trees and undergrowth like a clumsy bull. Petch. She did not speak out loud, but punctuated her thought with a wry smile devoted to her clever counterpart. In her less than subtle way, Sai seemed determined to school Chemar in the finer points of her wilderness. "Let's just hope I walk away from this.." She crossed her arms and continued to look around when her mind was invaded by a crystal clear picture. It snapped to attention in her mind's eye, the image of her bow safely lying next to her bed roll, carelessly left behind in her flight. An unfortunate oversight to be sure, marked by a growing knot of nerves in her stomach. Her bow skills, such as they were. could not match Sai's, so perhaps she was better off focusing her concentration on defense rather than offense. Still, it was unfortunate. As there was no point or purpose in mourning bad choices, Chemar began going over those things she could effect; Her first act was to secure her long fall of hair into a knot that would prevent the small glass tears from making any sound. After all, if she announced her every movement with the chiming of her hair, that would make it all the easier for Sai to hunt her. As if the deck was not already stacked against her... Looking back with squinted eyes, she was able to see the effects of her clumsy passages through the landscape. There had to be a way to move along so as to be less noticed. Sai would know how to do that.. A quiet groan rumbled in her throat. Contemplating her mistakes thus far was doing nothing to help the dreamer so she began thinking on future actions. Her eyes were better than most in the darkness, but she was lacking the knowledge needed to use it to her advantage. A glance at the star filled sky reminded her of those skills she did possess. The monkey had thrown the gauntlet of challenge to her unarmed prey, two could play that game. Chemar found a spot at the crux of two trees and settled herself into the safety of their trunks, her back protected and sheltered and a clear view of anything that might approach. There she sat, trying to make herself as much a part of her surroundings as she could. To mask the fire of her hair, she began to weave small strings of leaves through the auburn tresses. Replacing the warm glow with a cool green halo. Perhaps upon their return, she would commission some glass leaves to commemorate her victory, for both her and the hunter. The mere thought brought a wide smile to her face even while she continued to prepare for her night. Gathering limbs from around her seat, she constructed a rudimentary blind, a mesh of branches to seal her into the arms of the trees. It was not perfect, and would offer little protection if she were discovered, but her hope was to escape discovery long enough to reach out, in dream. When she was satisfied with the cocoon she'd fashioned, Chemar closed her eyes. If willing, there was one who could help her out of this predicament. Willingness was the key. It was not the first time, but the others had been after invitation had been extended, an invitation to which Sai was not privy. This time, the dreamwalker would seek the dreamer without welcome, and had no idea the outcome. Sitting within the tenuous safety of her nest, Chemar reached out. As she imagined the soft, veins of the feathers beneath her fingertips, she searched the Chavina for the familiar light. the dance through the strands of consciousness took away any chill from her body and filled her with familiar warmth. Catabasis. She did not speak aloud, but repeated the name as her fingers briefly encountered the life lines of the millions of souls in the Chavina. Where are you. In the next moment, she found a familiar strand, but it was not the eagle, it was the rider. The urge was so strong to wrap herself in Sai's essence, that she nearly betrayed her presence. Catabasis. She repeated the name once more, but could not leave things undone as they were, so before leaving the essence of her soulmate behind, she brushed a fingertip along the chavi, just to assert a nuance of herself onto the rider. Catabasis.

[Sairque]

In her little nest, the lithe little hunter’s eyelids fluttered. Moonlight slashed speckled illumination across the rough tree bark, the leaves dangling near her brow, and the flash of teeth visible through her sleep-parted lips. Behind those delicate lids, Sai soared high above the ridges and valleys of Inartan hunting grounds. Below them pranced enough elk to feed every Inartan man, woman, and child though the entire winter. A familiar breeze carried the scent of sultry tranquility. A hint of unconditional love wafted through the clouds and clung to her skin in a refreshing film. In the crook of the tree, with a blanket of moonlight, those perpetually chapped lips lifted into a serene smile. Some distance away, an inky shadowed sucked in the moonlight and didn’t let it out again. The surface stirred, betraying Catabasis’ presence as the Dreamwalker called out. It stilled again, but Chemar would feel the response to her beckoning. Like a placid lake the Wind Eagle stretched before her, a smooth, unruffled surface that hid the monster beneath. Cruel amusement rippled toward the brave redhead. Suddenly, Chemar found herself ripped in to the picturesque scene. One didn’t go knocking on the dreams of Wind Reach’s secret keepers. For a dizzying moment, she experienced the full, majestic, and divinely touched unconscious thoughts that resided at the center of these guardians. And then Catabasis woke, expelling the Dreamwalker and following her retreat with an assault. You overstep yourself, Droplet, the irritated Eagle chided, even as he uttered the nickname he’d fondly given her at their first meeting. Some dreams are not meant for humans. A rush of images flashed through her mind in a split second. They ended abruptly with the sensation of an Endal sliding down the Eagle’s throat. It was all the warning she would get, but he knew it was enough. Not all Endal could communicate crystal clearly with their Eagle’s, but the ones with great affinity for the skill had to be blocked out even while the Eagles slept. Sai was one such, so Chemar triggered all sorts of warnings seeking him out like that. When he’d previously invited the Dreamwalker in, he’d carefully prepared himself not to give out any secrets that shouldn’t be. I see Sai is taking full advantage of the one being in control this time. You should have known better.

[Phoenix]

Sairque

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	3
Weapon (Bow)	1
Wilderness Survival	1
Socialization	2

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Camping with Chemar
•	Chemar’s Safety Net
•	Giving Chemar a Head Start

Chemar

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Wilderness Survival	2
Stealth	3
Observation	1
Socialization	1
Land Navigation	2
Dream Manipulation	2

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	An Intruder to Nature
•	Spending some time in the Waking World
•	X Marks the Spot
•	Reaching for Catabasis’ dreams
•	Chastised by the Wind Eagle
•	Dreamwalking: Wind Eagle Dreams

The Order of the Phoenix

Great thread! I didn't know what was going on at first, but I wish this thread could have finished! What a great idea.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.