Defiance (open)

[Asara Willow]

Sunset, Summer 11th, 511 AV

The shiny red apple lay but a few feet away, it's flesh unmarred but by the bite of a large horse as it was lifted and the sand it landed in. It shone in the light of the setting sun, it almost had the ephemeral glow of a halo surrounding it. Like it was holy.

Asara sighed almost wistfully at the sight of the full apple. She resisted the instinctive urge to swoop down on it like a serpent and sink her fangs into the irresistible flesh. But she couldn't stand looking on it, knowing it was there, and scowled darkly at the lapping waves of the Sudan Sea before her.

In the sunlight of the lowering orb, Asara's gold eyes gained a fiery colour, and her hair shone vibrantly. She was almost blonde in the light, and her skin tone looked much more natural. Here, at this time, Asara felt she could pretend to be Human and succeed.

Then, her stomach snarled an expletive in hunger-speech and ruined the 'magical' moment Asara had felt. Her stomach brought back thought of food, and the already thin Symenestra internally fought it down. She hadn't eaten in over a day, but she didn't care. She'd learn how to manage her hunger or fade away entirely. She was thin enough already that a few days without food would send her into the valley of death. Frankly, she didn't care, though. Death would be a more beneficial journey than living.

Running her tongue along the row of her teeth, Asara felt the sharp points of her extended canines against the appendage. She wondered, for a moment, what it would be like to watch a rodent's innards become mushy and edible before her eyes. Maybe Dhalvasha would find her observation interesting. She wasn't sure if he'd already done such an experiment. Maybe he'd join in.

With a soft sigh, Asara casually discarded the thought for when she had the time to properly peruse it. Her curiosity had been snatched by the idea, and maybe when she was in a better mood she'd investigate it.

And then, without bidding them, two small tears ran down Asara's cheeks from her golden eyes, wiped away by long fingered hands before more followed. Irrationally, Asara grew angry with the pathetic feeling that accompanied her tears. She had no reason to cry, none what so ever. The words, the actions, of a Human should have had no affect on her psyche. She had a right to exist, to persist in life. No Human had the right to make her feel so small. She was tiny enough already.

Asara forced a calming breath and reclined in the sand, flinching inwardly at the pain in her wrist and cheek.

She'll get her own, Asara. Ignore it. Eat. Zafkil wants the same.

[Taryn]

Summer, 511 AV, Day 11 at Sunset

Taryn trudged over sandy dunes, ambling awkwardly over the ripples that tended to stand as taller, or taller than, the Pycon. The beach was a difficulty to navigate, at best, and quite dangerous-- there were too many birds, too many aimlessly wandering beachgoers, and to much that could go wrong. It was why Taryns' ventures to the beach were few and far between-- not that it was too dangerous, for the danger was what kept bringing him back-- no, his rare trips to the beach kept the trips special, helped maintain that feeling of danger.

As he crested over one particularly tall dune, he saw a lady, partially reclined in the sand, staring intently at a red lump not too far off. Taryn paused, intrigued-- perhaps she was sunning herself, for she was an awfully pale woman. But why was she staring at that red thing? Taryn stared at it closer-- it was human food, he figured, a concept which was lost on him. Was it her human food? Or was it someone else's? And why was she just staring at it, and not retrieving it? This seemed like a job for Taryn!

The small Pycon pushed his scarf over his shoulders and took off running over the dunes, his little feet slipping in the hot, loose sand as he went. He stole over the sand, keeping a careful eye out for birds, until he finally reached the red, spherical thing. The girl had reclined in the sand, and seemed to have tears in her eyes, which wasn't a sight that Taryn's valorous heart could stand.

He began to push the apple through the sand, but found that the sand hindered his progress, making the apple feel much heavier. He looked over at the woman desperately, dug his feet into the sand, and maybe edged the apple an inch. This was going to take a while.

"Miss!" Taryn called out loudly, "Do not fret! I will fetch your-" he paused-- what was this thing, anyways? "-Food for you!" With renewed zeal, he tried again, managing to roll the apple over the hill before completely losing his footing and falling down after it. This was going to take a very long while.

[Asara Willow]

Movement near the apple cause Asara's gold eyes to focus. There was a small... Two legged rodent? She didn't know of rodents on two legs. Confusion grew in her eyes and only increased when she saw the small thing was wearing clothes. Focusing more, Asara beheld a small human form. Tinier than most other things she'd seen.

It started to push the apple and Asara hesitated. If it wanted the food, it could take it. But then... It asked for help? In the Symenestra rose a feeling she had never felt before. She felt pity for the little man was losing his battle with the apple and the sand. He stood no chance... Especially as an eager sea bird swept down with a screech.

Asara moved forward instinctively, baring sharp, extended fangs at the bird. A low hiss parted her clenched teeth. The bird immediately wheeled off, screaming about a predator creeping the sands.

Then Asara looked down at the small person. Slowly, she reached down to offer a hand so he could get to his feet again. She wondered what he was, who he was, and where he'd come from. Then she lifted the apple, looking at it hungrily before turning away.

"Did you want this apple?" The Symenestra asked in her graceful, elegant rendition of Common. She followed the protocol of etiquette, avoiding comments on his physical appearance in order to become acquainted with the small person. "I would have helped you with it if you asked in the first place..."

She smiled faintly at him as her head throbbed painfully.

[Taryn]

Taryn balked when the sea bird swooped down and angled itself towards him, and he reflexively tried to shelter himself by burrowing into the sand. However, the lady that had been lounging on the beach had taken notice to him and leaped to his defense at the sight of the bird, letting out a feral hiss, baring needle-like fangs. The bird redirected its flight path, veering off from its dive and abandoning the Pycon. Taryn reemerged hesitantly, dusting sand off of his small head. The woman gestured towards him, extending her hand in the fashion typical of taller folk.

"Did you want this apple?" the woman asked in a heavily-accented tone, "I would have helped you with it if you asked in the first place." And then she smiled, shyly yet uncomfortably. Taryn clambered into her hand, echoing the polite yet uncomfortable smile and arching his sculpted eyebrows.

"Is that what it's called?" he mused, touching the apple, "An apple?" It was smooth and solid, yet when Taryn poked it, his finger pierced the skin. The apple spat juice at him in protest, and Taryn withdrew in alarm, shaking his hand in distaste. Human food was so disgusting.

"I was retrieving it for you," Taryn admitted, beaming brightly, "I don't eat apples... I can't." He moved over to the other hand, balancing on the girls' fingers and making as though to push it towards her. The apple wobbled a bit, but didn't budge otherwise, "Wouldn't you like it?"

[Asara Willow]

Asara considered the small human-like figurine. That bird had wanted to eat him, and she was shocked she had actually jumped to his defense. She usually didn't resist the nature of natural selection, but the result of doing so this time was smiling at her uneasily.

When he spoke, it was in a curious little voice. She could have described it as 'cute', like she'd described the fangs of that half blood, Seven, a short while ago. For a little while she just observed the little person, wondering what magic animated him and made him so polite and caring.

She'd not met a human thing before that was even half as nice but for that desk-woman. Did he not know what she was? But, she didn't see why he'd have fear of her race. He wasn't suitable for food really, and he couldn't be a surrogate due to his sex.

When he mentioned the apple, her pale gold eyes flicked to it, and a mixture of hunger and revulsion flowed through her. He had pierced the fruit, adding another wound to it's supple flesh, and she chuckled slightly.

"I would love to eat it, but the way my kind eat is an abberation... I'd rather not eat when I've encountered people who find disgust in it... Why can't you eat it? And what is your name, little one? I am Asara." Her name came out in the graceful tone of Symenos, flowing past her lips in the fair, alarmingly enchanting tongue. She decided to ask him, then and there, what he was. "I've not encountered you before. What are you?"

She smiled at him, liking the polite trait he demonstrated. She really enjoyed following the rules of etiquette, although she occasionally crossed lines, and a little human who was so nice was perfectly fine in her opinion.

[Taryn]

"I would love to eat it, but the way my kind eat is an abberation-- I'd rather not eat when I've encountered people who find disgust in it."

Taryn peered at the lady with a queer face, cocking his head to the side as she explained to him that she'd rather not eat, for her fashion of eating tended to disgust other humans. Was she a messy eater? Or were her table manners rude? To be quite honest, Taryn was fascinated by watching humans eat, even if the food disgusted. Taste was a concept lost on a creature that ate clay all throughout its entire life-- sure, some clay had differnet consistencies, perhaps, with a trace of different flavoring, but he couldn't comprehend eating a certain kind of clay for just a certain purpose.

"I will not find disgust in it!" Taryn said indignantly. He wasn't sure if that was true, but it was his curiosity speaking for him, and not his common sense. He hopped down from the woman's hand and onto her knee, "If a woman is hungry, she should eat-- if it would make you comfortable, I shall turn around for you, and give you your privacy." He did so, to prove his point, leaving the pale, lank woman holding no more than this apple.

"Why can't you eat it? And what is your name, little one? I am Asara. I've not encountered you before. What are you?" the pale woman, Asara pressed on, her tongue smoothly sculpting the sounds of her name in a tongue unfamiliar to Taryn. Taryn turned back to face her, to see if she'd eaten any, and to answer her.

"My name is Taryn," Taryn recited, pointing to himself with a thumb. He'd gone over this too many times to keep track of. Sometimes, such as this, he did not mind the questions, and there were most certainly other times in which he wanted nothing to do with interrogations, "I am a Pycon, a clay man-- pycon don't eat human food, such as apples. We eat clay."

He glanced around, searching for an exposed patch of clay, so as to demonstrate, but there was no such clay around, only wet sand and hills of dry sand. He sat on the lady's knee, and conversationally gestured to her as he turned the question back on her.

"And what of you, my lady? I find your accent most unfamiliar and delightful-- where do you come from?" This question was a lot less direct than asking Asara what she was, as Taryn had assumed that she was just an unusual human. There were few Symenestra in the world, and this would be the first that he would meet.

[Asara Willow]

Asara found the indignant tone curious. She didn't understand how he had taken such offense to her words that he'd speak as such. He was a confusing creature.

When he turned away she looked at the apple, wanting greatly to bite it and inject it with her corrosive venom. Eating it's pulped insides would be heaven at this point... And since he was so insistent, she didn't want to disappoint.

Now you'll make us go through all this again, won't you? Snarked the inside voice in Asara's head as she bit into the apple with her long fangs, her heavy dose of venom flowing into the piece of sweet fruit.

She leaned back to consider the small creature as she waited for the apple to become truly edible to her. The little person had named himself as Taryn... An odd name Asara thought. Although hers could have been just as odd to him. And he was... A Pycon?

Asara was finding herself even more intrigued when the little guy mentioned eating clay. It was something she'd never do, for her stomach would reject most of the complex, unbreakable things. She'd end up vomiting clay if she ate it.

"I've never heard of Pycons before," the Symenestra said quietly. "You are a truly interesting race..."

When he'd asked where she came from, Asara frowned a bit. In truth, she didn't know. Dhalvasha said their kind inhabited the caverns of Kalinor, and so she must have at one point too. She was loathe to name the Wildlands as her home, for she had found survival there no easy feat.

"I was told I came from Kalinor. In Kalea." The Symenestra said loftily. She didn't know if the little Pycon knew of Kalinor, and the spider race that inhabited it, and she was nervous to see if he'd dislike her as most races that knew of her kind did.

[Taryn]

"I've never heard of Pycons before- you are a truly interesting race..."

"Many thanks," Taryn said, nodding his head to the side and smiling. Though he was easily offended, he was also easily flattered. He hadn't called the Pycon odd, or bizarre, or unusual... simply interesting, which made Taryn regard her with better favor.

"I was told I came from Kalinor," the woman said airily, "In Kalea."

"'Kalea'?!" Taryn echoed in excitement, getting to his feet, "You're a traveler?" That was his inborn sense of adventure talking, his excitement overriding one fact that Asara mentioned-- she was from Kalinor, and was obviously quite Symenestra. The young Pycon continued, "I've always wanted to got to Kalea, go to Wind Reach and see those gigantic eagles! And Kalinor-" He broke off, the little gears at work in his head. The woman had just said that she was from Kalinor, hadn't she? And the only people that could get in and out of Kalinor were Symenestra.

"Are you one of those Symenestra-type-people?" Taryn inquired, still wearing those wide, awe-filled eyes. He had no reason to dislike or fear her. Of course, he'd heard of their lifestyle from various merchants in the Bazaar, heard of how they fed and how they chose surrogates and such. Being a being made of clay, there wasn't the same danger-- they couldn't reproduce with him, and they couldn't eat him. He was, in that sense, untouchable-- of course, if they got pissed off with him, they could always step on him, but that was besides the point.

"I've always wanted to meet one, always wanted to... and now I have! Fantastic!"

Of course, now that Taryn had this epiphany, he was even more intrigued by how she would eat. He took his seat on her knee again, trying to settle himself down. He couldn't, of course, because he was in the pressence of a Symenestra traveler, and he had so many questions. Asara, little did she know, was now at the mercy of a Pycon with its curiosity piqued.

"And, you came all the way over to Syliras? That is simply amazing... you must tell me about it!" His curiosity took front seat in Taryn's mind, and his manners took passenger's seat, so he added on, "Please, Miss Asara?"

[Asara Willow]

"You are quite welcome, Taryn." The Symenestra said politely, meaning it. She always found considerate company refreshing. She was strange like that.

Asara was surprised at Taryn's obvious excitement, having met only the cool poise of her fellow Symenestra, Dhalvasha, and the calm, inquisitive interest of Seven. In retrospect, the Pycon was much more forward than either of them, even the surgeon who had touched her face.

The Pycon was so curious, that Asara allowed him to watch her eat the softening apple. Her venom had made it easy enough for her to digest, she figured. She probably wouldn't have been able to resist any longer anyway. Such fruit smelled utterly delicious.

While she ate, she was careful to not spill any of the organic mush on herself. She ate very elegantly and daintily, the spider that fed off the fly would find her style quite wonderful.

"You are very inquisitive, aren't you, Taryn?" Asara murmurred softly after her initial bite. She lowered her apple for him to see what it looked like after her venom had been at it. "I am indeed Symenestra. I suppose I am a traveler, but I do not exactly know of Wind Reach or anything.." She couldn't remember if she did was the correct wording, but it was unimportant.

She smiled at him and took another bite. Her headache was fading as food filled her stomach. His questions about Kalinor had her worried.

"I do not remember Kalinor, or how I even got to Syliras. I remember so little..." She fell silent briefly. She didn't want to recite what she remembered of waking up to the little man. She could describe the one location she did remember in Kalinor though. "I remember rose caverns, if you are interested in that."

"What of you? Where do you come from, and what's it like there?"

[Taryn]

Taryn watched, intrigued as she slipped her fangs into the apple and watched as it lost its previous, mostly-solid shape, seeming to liquify with the venom that now broke it down. She then drank the apple, which was peculiar, Taryn realized-- most people chewed on apples, rather than sippin on it like a drink. It wasn't as gross to him as it would have been to a human. In fact, he found it quite intriguing.

"You are very inquisitive, aren't you, Taryn? I am indeed Symenestra. I suppose I am a traveler, but I do not exactly know of Wind Reach or anything.." Taryn listened enrapt by the potential story that was about to unfold. But, when the Symenestra apologetically stated that she didn't know of Wind Reach, he deflated. Her stories of travels weren't all that they were cracked up to be.

"I do not remember Kalinor, or how I even got to Syliras. I remember so little," she confirmed, drifting into a pensive silence, "I remember rose caverns, if you are interested in that." Taryn bobbed his head as he got to his feet once again, still smiling. Any tidbit of information about other places in the world was of distinct value to him. But, where did a woman rank if she couldn't remember an ounce of where she'd been? Sure, she was a traveler, but she couldn't recall her travels-- that kind of cancelled out how established of a traveler you were.

"What of you? Where do you come from, and what's it like there?"

Taryn peered up at her as she once again turned the question back on him, tucking his hands behind his back. This was not a matter of which he was proud. Most Pycon left their Pyve the day they hit two seasons, yet here he was, well on his way to being two years old, and he still hadn't left Syliras.

"I come from here, Syliras," Taryn said simply, giving a small shrug, "It's an interesting place, with a lot of people from all over, but that's only the beginning-" he suddenly became charged with excitement, taking his proud 'I'm-going-to-be-an-adventurer" pose, as he declared, "I'm going to be a world-renowned traveller, and I'm going to see all sorts of things." He jumped off of Asara's knee, landing a tad clumsily in the sand and slipping as she grabbed for a small twig, brandishing it like a sword, "And I'll be an adventurer, and a knight, and a spy. I'll be the first ever Pycon to be all three."

He puffed his chest out and did a few phony swings of the twig. It was obvious that he had no real swordsmanship. He turned his gaze towards Asara, to see how she would react to this sudden outbrust from such a small creature.