[Priskil's Pond+] A Quick Dip (Private)

[Erato]

Spice… Erato’s thin brow furrowed slightly as she looked after Devmond, not having predicted his language nor his actions. Perhaps it was something in his odd golden eyes—well, of course, they certainly were an unnatural color among konti—but she was sure there was something more to them, a state of mind that was nothing akin to the Akalak. She could not decipher his intentions nearly as well as Nilkayn’s. In fact, she still hadn’t the slightest idea of where he had come from or how he had run into them. What had each of those words meant?

But there were more immediate problems at hand. She felt slight relief as she carefully withdrew her hands from Nilkayen's sturdy ones, kneeling down to collect the rest of her items. Everything was just as she had left them, ripple after ripple of reassuring touching the surface of her anxiousness as each familiar item was strapped back on. It was good to have her scales hidden by the broad cloak again, away from prying eyes and the irritating heat of the dry sun. She even took care to adjust her bangs, ruffling the wet strands to fall back into place in order to conceal the scales above her left eye.

“Well…” Erato’s smile had a shadow of confidence as she stood back up, appearing to have ignored the Symenesta’s departure entirely. “Now that this business of the pond is behind us, I shall be glad to continue on my pilgrimage. There is still good light to continue travel by… I do hope I have not lost too much time lingering…” The konti was not sure it was quite the right time to make a quick departure, but Nilkayn did not appear to be one with a dark mind. It was rather prideful, she realized, to believe that all men of all races would covet or harm a konti woman... how well were the gifts of her kind truly understood?

Erato took her first backward step from the green man, looking to the river ahead and pondering the trek she would walk. In her mind ran more thoughts of potential monsters and dangers, but that sparkling, ever fickle sight of the river gave her confidence. If she did not stray, that water would be her shelter and source of food just as the ocean had been all her life. The taste of fresh water still lingered on her lips, silvered scales feeling all the more smooth against her skin with the lingering moisture: it was only a matter of how long it would last in this strange wilderness.

What was further concerning was when Erato tried to remember more of the strange Devmond. She realized that while she had taken in the general appearance of his clothes, she had seen little else besides his eyes. If he had carried weapons, she did not remember. In fact, when she tried to recall any singular physical detail of the man, the only thing that came with clarity were those vibrant eyes framed by his dark, silky hair. It was almost enough for her to take a step in the departed man’s direction, curiosity and a slight sense of unease arising at the notion that so bizarre a man had suddenly appeared and she had no insight whatsoever into his motives or the potential danger that now existed.

It was difficult for the konti to weigh the possibilities in her mind, suddenly unsure if it was wise to leave her wild tree and wander about alone. On one hand, he seemed an honest and willing man, yet on the other, he could crush her frail frame in one clumsy sweep. Perhaps she simply needed more solitude to think…

[Nil'kayn]

The man seemed to be amused by something this caused Kayn to be confused and slightly wary. Kayn nodded at Devmond as he explained who and what he was, he had seen people like Dev before, but he had yet to learn much about them. The woman seemed unconformable, and Kayn emulated that feeling. But the silence was broke by the Symenstra, leaving quite suddenly. Kayn blinked confused, then suspicious, most people would covet travelling companions, especially in the wilderness as dangerous as this. The man punched his arm, he could barely feel it, the man obviously didn't have much strength. The man walked off and gave a farewell, Kayn followed him with his eyes. this day kept getting stranger and stranger, he shrugged mentally willing to go with Lhex on this. The woman tugged, and Kayn finally realized he had his hands clasped around hers blushing slightly he et her remove her hands. She kneeled down to pick up her items and Kayn watched slightly at a lost what to do, both Nil and Kayn where flabbergasted and attracted to this woman, but more so they had aroused there curiosity and confusion. As she she adjusted her bangs, Kayn smiled he found that small movement cute. She stood up and said something about continuing on her journey, a amounting panic entered his mind. She took a step forward before he could even speak, he almost stepped forward afraid she would run, but stopped himself. Pushing thoughts of that strange man aside he questioned her, "Where are you travelling to? Maybe I could accompany you, its the least I could do."

[Erato]

Erato sighed, at least having expecting the stubbornness this time. She did wonder how far she could push her leaving, if he would actually allow her to go on her own, and found herself questioning his motives. Was it truly only his concern that made him so adamant? Had he truly only been thinking of his life debt when pledging himself to a complete stranger? All Erato knew was his name, race, and home, but a thousand questions still remained.

“I… go wherever Avalis guides me with Her sight.” Her Erato once again considered refusal, but decided on a more subtle approach. “But… we may perhaps be headed in the same direction. It certainly would be safer to stay in the good company of one like yourself.” The konti offered a mild smile, looking to the pond once again as her thoughts wandered. Yes… this was the best way to go about things.

“Tell me to what location you are headed, and I shall accompany you until we journey out of this wilderness.”

[Nil'kayn]

Kayn smiled at her as she talked, he felt attracted, protective, curious, confused, and duty bound all at the same time. From her appearance he had guessed her to be Konti by now, and this caused all of his emotions to be heightened. "I am heading for Zeltiva, the port city. I surmise that is where you are going because it is the only other city besides Syliras, and you seem to have just come from that direction." As he talked, he started to walk back to his camp hoping the woman would follow, if she did not he would stop, if she did he would get back to the camp and start packing it up.

[Devmond Incarnata]

He reached for a thick branch ten feet ahead, the invisible grips of his fingers intertwined with the bark. A thrill went through the tiny hairs and up his arm. So, this was the old ancestral joy his people felt amongst the branches. Throwing his weight up like a gymnast, he landed on the branch by the tip of his toes. Peering through the shifting gaps in the windblown treetop, he watched the sun’s position. If he kept going southwest, he could reach a small village in only a couple weeks. It was full of quaint humans, surely one could be lured away with promises whispered from the dank depths of Kalinor.

The miles and months away it all was now. He turned his head and saw back towards the path where he had come. The pond’s distant reflection winked. As if the light hurt, he forced his gaze to turn back to his new destination but all that was ahead was in shadows.

Devmond gripped the branch tightly until he could feel the bark snap and split to his satisfaction. For too long he had played a game with his own dark demon of the Suvan Sea. Just having it cross his thoughts earlier had made him run into and out of a hole like a hunted rabbit. There was no excuse for him to be prey and not predator.

Leaning back, he slid off the branch head first. His feet were not the first thing to touch the ground. Shell armor fell in heavy pieces. A stone bowl bounced a couple times before spinning and coming to a stop by a knife that dug a point in its path.

Unsheathing the knife from the dirt, he pointed the blade at himself. The red line of blood was drawn by its point first on his left arm and then his right. Tilting his arms down, the drips collected into a small pool. Lifting the bowl to the sky, his voice was carried with it.

Although his voice continued to speak words of honor to Vitaras, Devmond’s heart was in Kalinor where what was left of the blessed race would disappear in a few generations.

There was still hope, but it would come by nightfall.

Either from Vitaras’ blessing or forced self-commitment, he quietly retraced his steps through the forest. Devmond found the two still together as the Akalak and the pond woman walked side by side. Staying in the shadows of the trees, he kept his distance. He watched as the two headed east, probably for Zeltiva. So, they had decided to travel together.

The woman seemed delicate and not very strong so it made sense that she would team up with a traveling partner. Perhaps she had some other more sinister motive? Or, maybe her trust in the Akalak had become attachment? She seemed weak and kind to a fault, but there was an underlying sense of a steel nerve in the way she talked. Usually, Devmond would have at least some inkling of her personality, but now he was clueless.

She fascinated him. This fascination was partly the reason that he was currently bleeding from several deep gashes covering his body. As blood dripped from his forehead and into his eyes, he rubbed it away with a bitter smile.

There were the only a few clues he could grasp at from the mysterious lady. She had seemed to drop her guard only when the green man could have been injured. Her voice was softer then. When the Akalak had been taken from danger, her voice became detached and closed. Devmond had also spied healing herbs poking out of her pack. Perhaps, her concern came from a life long career in the medicinal arts. If that was the case, then to get her guard down, Devmond would have to be injured.

So, if the Akalak could get her attention, he could make her fall in love.

After the ritual he had begun a rather awkward bout of self-infliction. Using the same knife that had begun the ritual to the gods, cut multiple gashes across his upper body especially his chest. This was done for two logical reasons. First, the dangerous predatory bird, Kriital, could be found in this area and its claws would give knife-like gashes. Second, to bandage him, the woman would have to take off his shirt. Good thing he had nice abs and shoulders.

Night was falling into place and so was his plan. He'd wait for the light of their bonfire to be his signal. Yes… this was the best way to go about things.

[Erato]

It was every bit long as Erato had predicted, and then some. The konti had not known so much ground could be covered in one afternoon, but then again, she had never had a reason to do so. She would be content to meander along the river’s edge, documenting plants and feeling the sun on her face. The temperature of the land here was a bit cooler than she was accustomed to, and her mind was already set on wondering how many different kinds of plants might happily live in a land quite different from her own.

Despite packing light, Erato was tired once the sun started to touch the horizon. With dusk settling in, the Akalak seemed it as wise as she did to set up camp and prepare for the next day. Erato was already content to sleep in the river and thus did not bother with tents nor blankets, instead finding a nice fallen log to settle on as she watched her travelling companion go about his own business. With relief, she slipped off the cloak, harp, and backpack, digging inside of the pack to retrieve some dried fruit and a water pouch.

I doubt Devmond would follow us this far… if that even is his real name. Yet that very person still lingered in her thoughts as she chewed on the cinnamon covered apple pieces, and had indeed been on her mind for the larger part of their hike through the Wildland. His appearance had simply been so strange and sudden, just after she had rescued Nilkayn from the pond. Did that mean he had been watching? But for how long, and for what purpose?

Erato did have some objects of great value. Her lyre was a fine work of art, her various herbs and healing supplies certainly worth something to the right person. She was rather embarrassed to see that some of her basil sprigs had come loose and poked out through the flap of the backpack, and was glad at least to not have lost anything. Simply dumping her things around would surely lead to carelessly lost things if she wasn’t more careful.

As the sun continued to sink, Erato casually set her lyre down upon her lap, resting the instrument lightly against her chest. Her fingers brushed gently against the strings as her thoughts turned back to home, wondering over the great distance she had travelled in so short a time and what other strangers awaited her in this land. The soft cords carried her thoughts further, and soon her light blue eyes were lost in a trance of her own making. Her lips slowly began to form the words stringing about in her mind, and soon a soft tune whispered itself from her lips.

"Soft is the falling of deepest night
Shadows that take all truth from sight
Even the stars are small, though bright
In the ebony sky, fading light
Where all is black, what is right?
Masked is danger in dark delight
Only the moon knows, casting pale white
The thin line between healing and blight
I pray then, Avalis, to guide with your sight
Take us in safety through the night"

[Nil'kayn]

Kayn was more than willing to let the woman set the pace, he followed her a few steps behind for most of the day. Keeping his head down he had trekked along, his mind occasionally wondered to the strange Symenestra. Who was he? What did he want? Would see him again? Would they see him again; and if so when? Where was he now? Why had he left so suddenly? All these thoughts passed through his head as he walked. They pace that the woman had set, was quite easy for his longer legs. So when they stopped for the night, was not that overly tired. Soon he had camp set up, he glanced over towards the woman who now sat leaning against a log. He raised a brow finding that odd, he was tempted to ask, but decided against it. He watched her get out her lyre, chewing on his travel rations. Sitting down he drew his sword, running his whetstone along the blade he gave the woman room. Soon he heard an angelic voice, pausing he put down his sword glancing at the woman. He tapped his foot to the beat of the music, humming under-his-breath. As the music trailed off, he smiled approaching her he slid down beside her. "That was very nice. You have a lovely voice." Sitting back he listened to her response or lack of. "So you are a Konti?" He heard of the all female race, so similar to the Akalaks in many ways. "I don't know much about your kind. What is your home like?"

[Devmond Incarnata]

Making sure to keep a far distance, he was unworried about being detected. Training in hunting and stealth paid off in the dense undergrowth that would crunch and snap by heavier feet.

Growing up in Kalinor, he was accustomed to the silence of its depths. There the quiet people of his race quietly toiled in the dark. In these woods, the sounds did not echo from the cave walls, but hung in the air and then were gone like smoke from a candle. The buzz and clicks of insects, the shuffling of small mammals, and the hollow cries of bigger, more dangerous things were all around him.

The first venture outside the carverns was when his father took him on a hunting expedition. Not only had his skin blistered at the unforgiving sun, but he was blinded by it for hours. In the dark of the bright light, with the hundred sounds of the unknown, his eight-year-old self had cried to his father. The pleading request to go home was answered by the hooting laughter of his uncles and cousins. The chuckle of his own father seemed unfamiliar carried on a breeze that seemed to be the breath of a huge monster.

As he listened to the particular noise of the moving party ahead of him, Devmond realized that it became quiet for some moments followed by the sound of something being pounded into the ground. They must be setting up camp. He itched one of the cuts on his cheek, the sooner he could see that healer, he’d feel a little better and not just by his wounds.

It was in the moment that his thoughts had wandered back to the beautiful women, he heard a sound that stood out from the surroundings. Drawing a dagger from the pouch on his hip, he crouched low in a fighting stance. He crept towards the sound hoping that it wasn’t some beast that had smelled his spilt blood. After a few bells, he realized it was the sound of an instrument. The strains went up and down, stopped and then hit the same note a dozen times. The sound of a lyre being tuned.

Now only about fifty feet away, he peered through the plant growth and saw a small opening that like a green frame encompassed the seated woman. As she held the instrument, Devmond noticed that she was relaxed and even smiling a bit. He had to smile a little too. Her face was rather pretty when not wearing a stoney expression.

Then the notes changed to become more organized into a certain pattern of scales. With the music, she began to sing.

"Soft is the falling of deepest night...”

He had expected a high, warbly voice from a delicate appearance. This tone was rich, low, and steady like jazz. It was kind of voice you wanted whispered in your ear on a warm evening just like this.

“Where all is black, what is right?
Masked is danger in dark delight
Only the moon knows...”

As he listened to the lyrics, Devmond was slightly taken back by both its questioning and subtly passionate nature. Where all is black, what is right? The song’s doubt reminded him of his own prayer. Did she search for Avalis as much as he pleaded for Vitaras’ guidance?

Although he held to that piece of hurt, the humiliation of that first day of the surface, the memory was forgotten for a moment. It seemed that even such a barren place could echo sweeter sounds like this.

[Erato]

Erato took a sharp breath through her nose, disturbed by the sudden proximity. Though unintentional, the Akalak’s movement towards her was something like a fallen pebble in a still puddle, warping the reflection of her thoughts as ripples ran across its surface. Her fragile string of a tune snapped, the subtle curve of her lips thinning into a line as her mind was forced back to the present. She regarded her newly found friend with eyes hardened like gems, sharp and bright.

“I am indeed a konti. My home is the pearl of the sea, an island of ivory in the midst of a fertile ocean. I do not know that a stranger could appreciate the true beauty of its forest and waters, the fine art of my sisters and the even greater work of the gods. It is a peaceful place, a place of healing, and those who journey to Konti Isle seek after those things.” Erato’s head turned involuntarily to the left as she spoke, her eyes moving away from Nilkayn to look at the forest. She could make nothing out in the shadows, but she could feel the scales above her left eye tingling.

It was an odd sensation, one that was not quite familiar to the konti. She knew some danger was present, but not of what kind it was, nor how near or far it may be. There wasn’t more of that sharper buzz on her skin, the kind she felt when physical danger was very nearby. In fact, the stranger tingling had been present ever since she had met even Nilkayn, but it had been so subtle that she did not take note of it. It was only now, now that her mind was finally drawn back to awareness when she realized the sense had picked up again, even stronger than before.

[Nil'kayn]

Kayn nodded, this woman...she made him feel so many emotions at the same time. Kayn nodded as she spoke, leaning back. By the time she was finished he looked over and she was looking off into the trees. He glanced back at the woman, "Something wrong?" If she didn't alarm him he would shrug, stand up and walk over to his things. "I'm going to go get some firewood." Grabbing his lakan, and bow but leaving everything else. He trudged off into the woods. He would walk a while west and start to gather firewood, once he was done he would soon return in the next 15 chimes or so. He would also go for a little walk, stroll if he felt like it.