By the water's edge (Vyxenne)

[Nex Paciscor]

3rd of Summer, 511 AV

The water rippled at the touch of his fingers, the cool water clinging to his skin as he withdrew his hand and let the droplets fall back into the lake. It was rather cool for a summer day, a stiff breeze rolling over Ravok's waters and blowing easily through his short cropped hair. It was a fine day to be out and about in the forest, and even more enjoyable still to taste a bit of peace and quiet. Nex's golden eyes once more flashed over wavy waters farther from shore, and this small pool he stooped over, his eyes focusing on nothing in particular. It hadn't been long since his encounter with Alenias, and his mind still felt confusion over what had exactly transpired between them. Was there to be something more, something less, what did the kiss bode for their future? It all seemed so crazy to him, but few things since he left Lhavit really made sense to him anyways, and his mind strained to become more open to new ideas. He hadn't ever had much experience in the way of relationships, and the kiss the kelvic had planted on his lips had been the first he had ever experienced, and now that he thought about it, it felt quite nice. Nex would never tell her this of course after his spontaneous rebuke, but it was nice to look back on, and if he tried hard he could almost feel the warm brush of her lips once again against his.

Looking out over the waves once more with dreamy eyes, he closed them slowly before standing up. Enough time wasted at the lake, it was time to go running, and off he ran, his strides carrying him easily through the underbrush, and soon he had established a good pace. His eyes sparkled with a inner fire, it was always good to be running again.

[Vyxenne]

Vyxenne easily scaled the tree, higher and higher into the sky. She reached the top of the treeline, and looked around. Surrounding her were the beautiful, lush, green treetops, and in the distance she could see the lake shimmering in the sunlight, with Ravok glittering in the center of it all. 'Bird kelvics are so lucky! They can fly while I'm stuck on the ground.' she thought, watching birds fly around. It was beautiful...

After admiring the beautiful scenery, Vyxenne decided she should climb down. She easily hopped down from the branches, and she was sitting on one closest to the ground when she heard running. It wasn't clumsy, slow, human running; it was running at a good pace, not making much noise running. Running for the sheer joy of it. She peered through the leaves and branches to see who it was. The underbrush was obscuring his figure though, so she couldn't see him. But she could smell him. Wolf and human, definitely a Kelvic. He was getting closer now, and Vyxenne naturally wanted to surprise him. She surprised everyone, by talking without giving notice to her presence and such.

Before he got close enough for him to see her, Vyxenne pulled her hood over her head and did a backflip off of the branch, and landed right in his path, but not close enough for him to run into her. She still had her hood on, obscuring her facial features. "Fancy seeing a Kelvic here. And a wolf one at that. My natural enemy, if I'm right. So what brings you to this beautiful forest?" She smiled. She always loved surprising people.

[Nex Paciscor]

A flash of limbs and there was a figure blocking his path, and his enjoyable run for now. His eyes widened in surprise as he dug his heels into the ground, coming to a halt scarcely feet from the young girl, and his bottom jaw dropped slightly in shock, before he closed his mouth, and maintained a tight jawed stare at the girl. " Odd seeing a kelvic I'll admit " he responded his stare still level with the woman, his muscular chest heaving with the deep breaths he was taking to keep his blood oxygenated. " A know nothing of any natural enemy, but I take it you have sort of problem with me since you halted my run, otherwise please step aside as I continue my workout, or feel free to fall in step, your pick " he said, not really paying any mind to the beauty of the forest with the shock still settling tension on his shoulders.

Still the girl looked hungry and underfed, and scarcely worthy of his scorn, and feeling a little bad for snapping on her, he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand before bending his knees slightly to look eye level with her. " I suppose the wood is rather beautiful, how’d you find yourself here anyways? " he asked, keeping his tone lighter this time, and summoning a friendly glint to his eyes. It was better to make friends than enemies after all, and he didn't want to be such the bad guy to this young girl. Offering a friendly hand, his golden eyes latched onto hers, " I'm referred to as Nex "

[Vyxenne]

"I'm Vyxenne. You can call me Vyx, and I have nothing wrong with you. You just happened to be running at the time I decided to climb down from this tree," She leaned against the tree trunk, "and I like surprising people. You could say it's a...hobby of mine. As for what I was doing here, I'm always here. I like to climb the trees, to the very top, and look around. It's quite beautiful. Can you climb trees? If you can't that's ok. I can describe what it looks like," Just talking about climbing trees and the view from up there filled her eyes with wonder. She could picture it in her mind's eye, and she started describing the beauty whether or not her new friend, Nex, wanted to hear it or not.

"Well, imagine a field of rolling hills, bright green and shimmering in the sunlight. And then imagine every type of bird you can think of, from blue jays to falcons, crows to robins. There's chickadees and cardinals, too. Imagine that each bird is flying about, singing their seperate songs over the giant field of lush green. There's a shining lake too, of all the colours you would expect in a lake, blue and green and indigo. There's a light, glittering city too, that's Ravok. Just imagine it all together, along with a sky as blue as the lake. The sun is shining off the birds, too, making them shimmer as if they were magic. The birds' singing fills the sweet air, and even the crows sound wonderful. Oh, and there's butterflies too. Their rainbow-coloured wings are just so pretty. I caught one, once. And the air smells so sweet, like..." She broke off, mid-sentence. She had been so caught up with finally describing her secret wonder to someone. He was probably annoyed with her.

"Oh, I'm sorry Nex, I didn't mean to ramble. But do you want to see? If you find me too annoying I can leave. I'm sorry for stopping your run, I'll go back in my tree, I suppose," She stood there and waited for his answer.

[Nex Paciscor]

Her words spewed out quickly and unpredictably, and his mind spun to comprehend her. She hardly gave him a chance to speak himself, her words coming so fast after one another, and he thought the girl might suffocate herself by expending so much air. Still she continued on though, uninterrupted, and still very much alive, and his brain worked hard just too keep up with her. When she finally stopped speaking it took him a moment to soak it all in before looking back at her, his eyes still a little bit glassy from the daze she set him in, and with a brief shake of his head, he dismissed the nausea, and thickness that had settled in his head, and looked into her eyes once more.

" Do not be sorry, your words where well heard " he said after he managed to process all of it, or at least most of it. " I have never tried to climb trees however so I do not know, but you gave a great description " he said, his eyes wandering the lofty heights of the tree tops, before gazing back down at the trunk of a thick, old elm tree. " Perhaps if you demonstrated I could try my hand at it " he said his eyes now intent on her movements. He was never too old to learn a new trick after all.

[Vyxenne]

She was glad to finally be able to show someone the world above the treetops. "Do just as I do, but beware, it's not as easy as it looks," she said, grabbing the branch nearest to her. "First you grab a branch and pull yourself up, like this, " she easily pulled herself to a sitting position on the branch. "It's basically like this over and over, but when you get to the smaller branches at the top it's harder. But you won't be sorry! And if you're afraid of heights, don't look down. Most of us ground-dwellers are, but not I, so don't get scared!" She grabbed the next branch up and easily climbed up, and stood there looking down at Nex. "Cmon! What are you waiting for?"

He was obviously not as good at climbing trees as she was, but then again, she doubted he climbed trees on a regular basis like her. It was hard to keep herself from climbing ahead, but she managed to stay only a few branches above him at all times.

[Nex Paciscor]

There was silence as he watched her pick her hand holds carefully, and her hands carefully gripping the limbs and carrying her far upwards. He scratched his chin thoughtfully as he looked to the branch just above him, and reaching a arm above him, he gripped the side, and lifting his other hand, clasped the branch. He tested it to make sure his grip was secure, and the branch could take his weight before he pulled himself up, walking along the tree's rough trunk with his legs, until he could loop his right leg around the limb he held, sitting atop it proudly, and looking up to see the girl even higher up now. Good climber for a fox that one.

He smirked, and pushed himself up to his feet, making sure to keep his balance as he reached for the next branch over, and rose atop it as well, picking his way carefully from their until he was just a branch below the girl. A look to the thinner branches that now marked progress higher up the tree made his stomach sink, he wasn't so sure they would be able to bear his weight, and he didn't dare look down. He didn't know if he had this fear of heights she had spoke of after all, and the sight might dizzy him or make him lose his balance, and he didn't fancy falling all the way to the ground at this elevation. Another look up at the girl, he smiled, and leaning against the trunk of the tree made himself comfortable. " Not sure if I can go any further, but the view sure is great even from this height "

[Vyxenne]

She leaned backwards, and using her legs to stay on the branch, she hung upside-down facing Nex. "Of course they can hold you. Why wouldn't they be able to?" She got a good look at his face then. Handsome, she could give him that. "You take a while to climb. You should work on that." She winked and pulled herself onto her branch, into a sitting position. She climbed down onto the branch Nex was on.

Picking a leaf, she studied and then let it blow away in the wind. Nex reminded her of someone she used to know, but she didn't know who. She grabbed a nearby branch and sat on it. She thought of a poem she once heard, somewhere.

The world a blur to most
Most see a tree as a tree
The day you actually see
When the world is not the same world


The wind picked up, but Vyx didn't mind it. She looked at the swirling patterns in the bark of the branch she was sitting on.

A tree is something beautiful
Even in the harshest winds
A tree stands its ground
A tree with leaves of magestic green
No longer just a tree
But a tree that is a work of art

She looked up at the branches and leave above her, a leaf swirling down between the branches from being pulled off by the wind.

That is the day you see the world
That is the day the world comes into focus
That is the day you truly see the tree

[Nex Paciscor]

A smile found his face, and he softly chuckled in response. " Well there’s the whole matter about me being new to climbing, and not having the know how to distribute my weight wisely on the weaker branches up top " he replied, and watched carefully the young girl now sitting beside, and then glanced down at the forest floor below.

Instinct told him it wasn't good to be this high, that it wasn't safe. He agreed with his senses, but he didn't want to be rude to the girl so he kept his mouth shut, and was content to let his legs dangle free in the air as he stared across the dense foliage that surrounded them.

Running his fingers through his fingers through his hair, he looked over again at the girl who seemed to be watching a leaf flowing upwards in a whimsical sort of way. " So what’s your story? " he said breaking the silence with conversation.