[Sanctuary Beach] Twas a Dark and Starry Night (Camden)

[Kavala]

Timestamp: Late Winter Location: The Beach Beneath The Sanctuary Purpose: Social Thread Status: Closed Sometimes one just needed to get away and the konti reflected on this as she walked away from her home and towards the beach. There had been big changes in Kavala's life for the winter. It had been a time of adjustment, a time of trials, and a time of learning new things, even if somewhat forcefully. She'd never thought of herself as a builder, but here the need for it had arose. Her back ached sometimes from pounding nails, and her hands now wore callouses where she'd had none before. But there was a sense of accomplishment that had slowly replaced the sense of being so utterly lost and alone. She truly wasn't alone now, not really, surrounded by the horses and the creatures that filled the Sanctuary. There was a one-eyed owl, an Ivaski that rarely showed himself other than to snag scraps, a half dozen birds that roosted in the stables, and a house cat or two that moved in to generously mouse for the girl. Next season, she'd look for pups to start working on the kennels, and later she'd expand out to whatever needed a home or some rehabilitation. She was happy here, Kavala realized, as she walked down the road that lead to the beach beneath where Sanctuary rested on Riverfalls lofty cliffs. She didn't often go out after dark by herself, but tonight was a special occasion. Tonight, Austin had assured her, was the night the sky would light up in a celestial show that was well worth the hike. So in order to celebrate it, for indeed she believed him, she had packed red apples in her bag and had brought along a heavy metal tube and a mesh bag for carrying clams. She'd dig while dusk was falling since it would be low tide, then stay to watch the show her stablehand assured her the sky would be putting on tonight. The Konti hadn't anticipated company. Her beach... for she thought of it as hers now... lay further down the shore quite a distance from the main harbor of Riverfall. It was a long walk straight down a road that was carved out of the very stone itself along the shore, which then spilled out onto the soft sand. She stashed her bag under a tree where the road met the sand and kicked off her boots. Barefoot she carried the clam tube out into the firmer sand, fastening the mesh bag to her belt. Then, slowly as the sun sank, the konti began to hunt for the telltale dimples that gave away the locations of the sands buried denizens and positioned the tube over it. She shoved it into the sand, covered a tiny hole near the handle with her thumb, and heaved the gun upwards, not uncovering the hole until it was free of the sand. When the tube had spilled its contents of wet sand and clam, she bent, snatched up the creature, and deposited it into her mesh bag. She smiled, getting into the hunt, though in truth the Konti was no sort of hunter. Dressed as a boy, someone from the distance wouldn't perhaps even notice that the figure so focused on her clam hunt was indeed a girl. Even barefoot, the boys trousers Kavala wore were rolled up at the pant legs matching the way the sleeves of her oversized shirt where likewise situated. She wore no coat, though one was left with the bag under the tree near the road. And her hair was bound into a thick braid that was tucked into the back of the shirt to keep the wind from setting it free. It was only upon closer inspection one would see the scales running up her feet from the webbing between her toes and the flash of shimmering color on her arms. She moved easily between the normal denizens of the shore, not seeming to bother the seagulls who only took a step or two out of her way. In the distance, several harbor seals basked, ignoring her completely. She seemed happy, a slight smile on her face, as she labored to make the small batch of clams in her mesh bag grow enough to fill out a soup for the next days lunch.

[Camden]

Camden tucked his hands behind his head and leaned back on the leeward side of the small outcropping of rocks where he'd set up "camp." It was a prize spot, he reflected. The lands of Cyphrus sat on the edge of winter, and near the ocean as he was, the last miles of his trek involved the unwelcome feeling of cold winds slicing through his clothes as though he wore nothing. Coming across a group of rocks big enough to shelter against on this beach was surely divine providence. He asked for so little, after all, he thought with a wry grin.

He looked at the trail of bootprints that led up the beach directly to his location, ending in a quarter-full wine bottle stuck in the sand at a precarious angle. It was all medicinal, of course - one had to keep warm in weather like this. Furthermore, given his proximity to Riverfall, he was unlikely to find a girl willing to assist in the endeavor. For the thousandth time since the winds began to tear at him, he wondered why he had made his way down here in the first place. Huddled against the rocks on a chilly night, the original desire to see the wondrous city before he died was serving as a thin cloak, indeed. Perhaps this was a good night to spend in fur huddled under his clothing.

The wine helped in more ways than one, however, and the sky opened before him in a dazzling array of stars. He reached down with one hand to pick up the bottle of wine and gestured expansively at them with it.

"What silv'rd legions man the ebon walls! The fires of such camps make earth's kingdoms tremble like fools!"

He took a pull from the bottle.

"That's Ellithras Yrik," he added meaningfully, gesturing with the bottle to emphasize his declaration. Just in case the stars did not know.

"The stars in her eyes, like jewels in the something, and the something else and so on and so on...." he sang.

For all his merriment, Camden knew this was not the sort of country where a man could let down his guard out in the open, especially as huddling against these rocks and the direction of the wind meant he would have a difficult time catching scents. With his metabolism, the alcohol would shortly lose its edge, and it would be time to plan how to best weather the night.

But for now, his world was all a sea of stars and the passionate strains of forgotten songs.

[Kavala]

The konti heard the exclamation that was slightly slurred at its end - or perhaps it was just the wind stealing away the rest of the words - and froze. It was loud, but not overly so, and resonated much like a bards voice would, though not nearly as projective. The konti swiveled her head, her eyesight not nearly as good now that almost full darkness had fallen, and glanced towards the sea. Strangely, still stalking the waterline she felt safe, for the oceans arms were always open to her kind, willing to offer shelter where no other races save perhaps the Charoda truly felt at home.

It emboldened her, perhaps foolishly, to approach the stone outcropping that seemed to hide whomever was on the other side. She circled it slowly, up on her toes, eyes wide and body tense. The clam tube was balanced in both hands now, weapon-like, though if she had to run she'd drop it in a heartbeat to give her legs wings. Slowly, she eased around the rocks that were thrust out of the sand reminding her strangely of fingers beneath silk pressing upwards. One step, then another... the Konti slowly eased herself around the stones, eyes and ears locked on the noise she'd heard.

A name was uttered. The man... for she was sure it was a male now... was talking to someone. Was he not alone? She forced herself to breath in four heartbeats, pause, and breath out six. It didn't stop her pounding heart or her inherent fear, for somewhere in the back of her mind she still felt hands on her shoulders pinning her down to the earth to rip the clothing from her body. But she didn't let it rule her. She couldn't. Her feet, acting of their own accord, crept further, silently, as she rounded the corner and caught sight of the shadow of a man. And as soon as she saw him she was close enough to catch an almost overpowering sense of the man's emotion.

That stunned her a moment. Kavala's gifts didn't run towards people. No, they ran in the sphere of animals. And yet, from him she got a clear impression of chilled fleshy discomfort, contentment otherwise brought on by a slight intoxication, and no malevolence whatsoever. That could change in a heartbeat, Kavala knew, but for the moment, the creature in front of her wearing an man's body was not dangerous to her.. at least not yet.

Kavala stopped trembling, and realized she was doing so about the moment her body relaxed. She took her first big deep breath, and while she didn't lower the clam tube, the Konti did relax slightly. Azure eyes bridged the distance between amber ones, and she spoke quietly, not wanting to frighten him.

"I didn't know the beach was already occupied. Aren't you cold out here?" She asked, moving closer. The beach wasn't shrouded in total darkness, truthfully. The stars lit up the sand and since both parties were without a light source to sour their night adjustment they could both see fairly well even in the dim light that was left. It woudn't last for Kavala though. As soon as full darkness fell, she'd be nearly blind. Had she realized he was a fox, Kavala would have known he could have seen as clearly as broad daylight. But she had no way of knowing. "I... I live above on the cliffs. My name is Kavala. Have you come to watch the skyshow tonight too?"

[Camden]

Camden's eyes narrowed slightly as Kavala rounded the edge of the outcropping. They did not appear menacing so much as it looked like he was trying to figure something out - a prelude to a knit brow if perhaps he'd only been in a condition more conducive to deep thought.

He held the wine bottle in front of his face and took stock of how empty it was. This seemed to solve some great mystery for him, and he smiled with satisfaction as he set the bottle down.

"Moon maidens of mystery," he said to no one in particular. "I shall dream splendid dreams, tonight. Maaaiden of the Seven Moooons. Do you WHULF!"

The inarticulate exclamation cut Camden's impromptu song short as soon as Kavala started to speak. There was a clattering of belongings and a light spray of sand as limbs flew about trying to adopt some kind of more defensive pose.

The game was swiftly given up, however, and in a swirl of tiny lights, Camden's clothing lay flat amidst his gear on the beach, and a fox - looking more than a little silver himself in under the night sky - shot up the side of the outcropping to the top and turned. His head faced her, low and wary, and his body was tensed to spring away.

But he was not quite ready to run, yet.

[Kavala]

Kavala had spent many years training horses. And had she gained an omnipresent perspective on the activities of the beach, she would have seen a trick older than time preformed. Whether it was deliberate or whether it was unintended never marred the outcome. For when a horse was afraid of something, there was a simple and easy way to teach it not to fear. Cruel trainers or those that had no knowledge of what it was to be a horse would perhaps tie the thing that caused terror onto the horses body somehow and make the horse drag it around until it went past the point of terror and into acceptance. It made the horse a weaker creature though, forcing it through its terror and dulling it to its own common sense. Kavala preferred another method. The most common problem was a high spirited horse afraid of brightly colored or noisy cloth. Whereas another trainer might force the horse to wear the cloth until its shaking stopped and it ignored its presence, Kavala liked to teach her charges courage. She'd place the horse on an incredibly long longe line and tie the cloth up with a short line.... then she'd set out on a hike, dragging the cloth behind her. The horse, not given a choice, was also invited to come on the same hike, but left on a line that placed the horse well behind the cloth some distance behind Kavala. As they walked, a cloth - even a noisy or brightly colored one - was far less threatening when it was running from you rather than chasing you in terms of a horse's perspective. And that was the appearance Kavala gave to the cloth, placing it on a shorter line and letting the horse follow it as the cloth 'retreated'. In next to no time she normally had them side by side, then the helpful horse was dragging the cloth for her.... because it had transformed in its mind from being something bright, noisy and scary to something that was more scared of said horse than said horse was of it. It worked on almost anything - cans, jars, old rusty shields - and evidently it worked equally well on Konti who were slightly afraid of strangers.

For as soon as he fled, even though it wasn't far, the dynamic changed. The prey animal realized the little predator wasn't after a meal tonight and was more interested in preserving his own skin.

Kavlala surveyed the chaotic scene of trash strewn across the beach. Okay, so it was just a few clothing items, a mostly empty bottle of alcohol, and some other odds and ends... but it still made her mad. "I ride down here every day. " She started out, marching over to where the glass bottle was resting on its side on the sand. She stooped, picked it up, sniffed at it, and then upended its contents onto the sand. The stuff smelled cheap anyhow. Cheap alcohol did nothing but leave one with a pounding headache the next day. "And every day I have to stop and pick up garbage. I don't know who's doing all the littering around here but it needs to stop. Do you know what would happen to a horse's hoof if they inadvertently stomped on this? It might not see the bottle if its buried in sand. It would probably mean the end of its life. I cannot tell you how painful it is to them to have their frogs sliced open and glass shards driven in. Agonizing. It would be like someone cutting off your tail." She said, then started picking up the rest of his things.

A shirt came into her hands and she sniffed at it wrinkling her nose. And a few seconds later she had most of the mess cleaned up, the clothing draped over her arm, the bottle tucked upside down into the clam tube, and whatever else he left laying on the beach hostage in her arms. "If your the one leaving all the messes down here, its about time you stopped. I've been wondering who it is and wanting to give them a piece of my mind." She said, tipping her head up to study him even as he perched on the stone outcropping.

So Amaya had been right when she'd told Kavala that some people could change themselves into animals. She'd also told Kavala that they were animals far more than people, and only borrowed the human form. It was astonishing really. Kavala had heard of Kelvics, but she hadn't met one first hand until she'd met Amaya... and even then, she'd never seen the girl turn into the wolf the girl claimed she'd been. All she'd done is ask Kavala to let her serve her, and the whole proposition had made the Konti just about as uncomfortable as possible.

Her attention drawn back to the fox, she lifted an eyebrow and tried to decide if he was truly red or was in fact as silvery as the starlight painted him. Night could be deceptive, especially to someone like Kavala that let it haunt her more than most. So she kept her senses honed on the fox, his things in her arms, and called up at him. "Last time I checked, there's not a whole lot to be afraid of in regards to us Konti. Most of us aren't known for cutthroat natures and superior fighting skills." She said, and left it at that. Studying the rock that the fox was now on, she half decided it would make an excellent perch to view the coming show. It was almost dark enough to start seeing them, though the advice had been given that it would be later in the night, near midnight, when the full skyshow would begin.

[Camden]

The fox lowered his head with ears flattened back, and not just due to the night wind. This woman had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and it turned out she was no hallucination sprung from a bottle of wine. Even the fuzzy edge of his intoxication began to fade - disrupted by the sharp spike of adrenaline as he performed the instinctual calculations to determine whether or not he should flee.

The woman before him was unlike any he'd seen. Her skin was pale as the moon itself, and in said moonlight, he could catch the play of faint sparkles and colors trailing up the back of her hands and along her neck, reminiscent of the sea, itself. Dressed for some kind of outdoor labor and with her hair pulled back as it was, she might have passed for a man, but her scent did not lie - a fact only confirmed by the sharpening focus of his vision in the darkness and the sound of her voice. In his mind, he sorted through a short stack of possible explanations ranging from "avatar of a Goddess" to "ocean spirit," but if there was one thing he had learned on his travels, it's that the lands were full of the strange and the beautiful and the terrible, and he opted for "mortal" until proven otherwise.

Camden had not intended on company, tonight, and he was vaguely aware that he was in a region of warriors. Anyone who approached him could potentially be more interested in acquiring his goods or his pelt than making conversation. Still, he smelt no aggression coming from her, even as she berated him for some littering misdeeds that were not his own work. His eyes flickered over his possessions as she began to gather them up. If he ran, he might not see them again. The clothes could be easily replaced, but some of those items could not be, and he was loathe to leave them behind unless absolutely necessary.

In a brief swirl of light, Camden returned to human form, still crouched low on top of the rock on all fours. His muscles were tensed as if he might spring from the outcropping and flee at the first sign of trouble, but when he spoke, his voice was even, if perhaps still tinged with suspicion.

"Pardons, milady. I had not expected this beach to be so popular. I would kiss your hand, but I am afraid you have me at a bit of a disadvantage."

There were times when Camden enjoyed being nude, but all told, it was more of a liability than an asset when meeting new people or assessing potential threats. Besides, the stone was a less than comfortable surface to rest his frame against.

"I also fear you have me mistaken for some other phantom vagabond. I only arrived at this beach for the first time, tonight, and I had no intention of leaving my bottle behind. Sturdy thing. One never knows when a bottle might come in handy.

"If you'll forgive my discourtesy a moment, would you mind... er...."

He extended his hand, palm upward, in the direction of his bundled clothing and curled and relaxed his fingers in a "come hither" gesture.

[Kavala]

The first time he had shifted, the beauty of it had been concealed for the most part within his clothing. But, enshrouded by the swiftly falling night, the fox's transformation was startling with its tiny pinpricks of light forming, dissolving and reforming again into the shape of a man. Kavala couldn't help but stare, taken by surprise because of the beauty of it. She looked on silently for a long time, not even blinking, as her mind digested and processed what she'd just seen.

Truthfully, the proper thing would have been to blush and advert her eyes. Kavala, however, had never been quite proper. She took the time to study him, even as he spoke to her, and carefully analyzed the situation. The Konti wasn't afraid of him, the situation, nor did she feel embarrassed because of his lack of clothing. She was, however, tongue tied for she wasn't quiet sure what to say to someone. Foxes were easy to talk too... they didn't talk back or demand anything of her. This one, however, appeared to be ready and able to enter into a dialog, and that made her acutely uneasy. Normally her charges didn't talk back. Not that he was a charge, but it was the same principle. She could ramble away at a horse all day long, running a brush over his body, working the mud out of his coat. During the course of such activities, the animal would undoubtably hear all about her life, what her day had been like, and what she was thinking or feeling. A living breathing human... or in this case a kelvic probably wouldn't have had such luck.

She always felt animals were more interested. In terms of people, she was rather quite uninteresting. She worked, slept, got up and worked again, that was just about all there was to her life. There was nothing really there worth talking about to a person.

Camden was no exception.

"I didn't put you up on that rock." She countered, shifting some of the burden of his things on her arm. What surprised her was the resonance and quality of his voice. For some reason, she always pictured foxes sounding hurried, busy, rife with mischief. But the voice from the man up top the rock sounded rich and articulate, as if he were well educated.

She started to smile, uncertain, trying to smooth over the situation after her verbal barrage. Even though he was a man, she could feel his emotion from where she stood. Stepping closer, the feeling got stronger. It relaxed her as she took a deep breath, closed her eyes a moment, and started speaking. He's not human. He's an animal with a human skin. Bathed in the mixture of surprise, slight discomfort, and a tinge of curiosity and annoyance, Kavala opened her eyes and finished the smile. There was still no hostility, no violence, only uncertainty.

"My apologies then." She said, and tossed him up his pants. "But I wouldn't be so quick in shedding your clothing net time if you are indeed wanting to keep them." Kavala was not uncomfortable with the fox's nudity either. It was something she'd grown accustomed too in her time as a captive. And she'd learned to treat it with a grain of salt, not looking away for it gave the one nude power over her, and not openly staring. That wasn't to say she didn't look. She did. And as she did so she told herself it was because she was interested in his health. In the fading light, even with him crouched, her eyes scanned his form looking for signs of injury or illness, physical weakness, or imperfection. There were the usual signs of a healthy life - scratches here and there. But all in all, he was a beautiful man. Tall, Kavala guessed, though for her any man seemed tall. She'd guess him about 5'11 or maybe even 6'0 when standing. His muscles were well defined, as if he was healthy and could move, but weren't prone to bulk. His skin was fair, because he showed up brightly in the starlight that was quickly filling the sky. And as her eyes moved lower, she could see the evidence of his masculinity and it too seemed well matched to the rest of him.

"I'll tell you what. I'll trade you another piece of your clothing for your name." She said, holding up a boot. If he gave her his name, she'd toss the article of clothing up to him and offer the second one as a reward for another question answered. The smile that played across her lips was mischievous, something unexpected from someone like her.

[Camden]

Now, this was interesting.

Camden had a dozen tricks for getting closer to the ladies, and a dozen more that he hadn't even tried. There was the "I Think There's Something Wrong with my Room" trick for lovely servers at inns. There was the "I'm the Stronger of Us, So I Should Hold the Ladder" trick. There was the "Here is a Poem I Wrote About You Just Now" trick. He found himself both befuddled and bemused to find himself on the receiving end of what was apparently the "I Have Your Clothes and You're on a Rock" trick. In truth, he had not expected the stranger to be so playful and mischievous under these circumstances, but her attitude showed a level of self-confidence that put Camden at ease, and as she adopted a more playful stance toward him, he became playful, himself.

"You should know that when I play games where nudity is involved, I typically play to lose. In this case, however, I truly have no more to lose, so I suppose I should be a bit more competitive.

"My name is Camden, and I... oh!"

He raised up onto his knees and, in a fumbling, graceless manner, snatched from the air the boot that was quickly filling his field of vision.

"That was quite a throw. Perhaps we should have started with a softer article of clothing.

"It occurs to me that the current rules of our game do not allow me to learn anything about you. That's hardly sporting, is it? How shall I learn your name, for example? Since you are only exchanging goods that are already mine for information, here is what I propose.

"Ask me your question, and I shall answer it. You must decide if my answer is true or false. If you are correct, all I earn is an article of clothing. That was, after all, the original deal - a bit of clothing in exchange for an answer. If you are wrong, however, you must additionally answer the same question you asked of me. And as a show of good faith, I think it would be most fitting if you would begin with your name."

[Kavala]

"A game? Well, one can look at life that way. I thought we were just having a conversation." Kavala added. She didn't know they were playing a game. Nor did she realize her aim was that good. But regardless, she rocked back on her bare heels and looked thoughtful, clutching the rest of his gear over her arm. "I already introduced myself to you. But I think you were lost in a poetic reverie and thought me a spirit. We Konti get that sometimes. It's an undeserved reputation." She added, lifting her chin and raising her voice a bit so that it carried to him where he perched.

She'd learned quickly, again working with horses, that they learned a lot more swiftly being rewarded for doing the right thing rather than being punished for doing the wrong thing. His reward, in this case, was a faint smile and a second boot for being so agreeable. Her second lesson, one that often worked far better on anything else that went on four legs was simple. Make the right thing to do the easiest thing to do. Make the wrong thing to do the hardest. It wasn't that animals were lazy. They just tended to conserve effort.

"It's Kavala." Just that. She held no pretentious last name or family heritage. The Konti didn't need them. And honestly, she liked that about him as well. He had a simple name that rolled nicely off her tongue. Camden. And he certainly was a good negotiator. There were no unreasonable demands. That was nice. As darkness fell further and a star winked into existence in the pink that began bathing the horizon, Kavala got the feeling of surrealism. It was almost as if the scene was from a tale, not from her own life, and just for a moment without over thinking things, she gave into her instincts to play.

With the man's expression, who could resist anyhow.

The Konti seemed to contemplate the game, then nodded. "And since there is no clear cut winner to this one, save perhaps that you'll earn your clothing back and perhaps we'll learn a little about each other... I have one more stipulation." She said, then gestured up to the sky, where a faint pale streak of light was already crossing the horizon. It was still dim and unimpressive, but as the darkness grew, so would the brilliance of the show. "There's a skyshow tonight. You have to stay and watch with me until the bell grows too late. I didn't realize it, but I'm loathe to enjoy solitude tonight, which usually isn't the case." She said.

"So, you get one more question since the first was already answered even though you missed it - as a show of my good faith. But later, when a good one comes to you." She added then drew silent to contemplate the situation for a moment. "I like your game... but truthfully I am no good at guessing people's intentions and the truth in their words." She would have a disadvantage unless she extended her senses, but she had no idea what 'the truth' felt like in terms of an animals emotions. All she could read from him was a playful excitement and a sense of interest as if he'd ran across something wholly unexpected but interesting nonetheless.

She sorted through the articles she had and withdrew what looked like a sturdy wool sock and dangled it like an offering. "Why are you here? Right here... tonight?"

Gods.

[Camden]

The silversheen of moonlight flowed over Camden as he shifted from his sprawled crouch into a far more comfortable seated position. The light shadows flowed around his thin muscles and the angles of his face like liquid seeking depressions in which to rest and collect.

"All conversation is a game, m'lady," he remarked with a tinge of seriousness to his voice that seemed incommensurate with his playful manner. "We may intend to obscure our meanings, or we may intend to speak plainly, but in either case, who knows what the other person has truly heard? In the end, it isn't much different than you throwing my boot up to me and I hoping I catch it."

He knotted his fingers together and cracked each knuckle individually.

"But this is not a night for such discussions. We are on the beach. The moon is out. The sea is lovely. You are a woman. I have consumed a decent share of wine. Philosophy would be such a waste. I accept your invitation."

As Kavala dangled his sock before him and asked her question, he began to suspect he might be there quite some time at such a rate. It occurred to him that the Konti might be enjoying the feeling of control the situation afforded. Perhaps she was a woman used to control, or perhaps she rarely felt in control and savored it when she did. But there would be enough time to ferret out those mysteries. Who cared about abstractions like that when she had his clothes and he needed them? Odd as such a thing might seem, Camden was focused simply on the retrieval of his sock, and he did has he was bid.

Scratching his chin, he responded, "I am here because this beach is between me and where I am going, and I have yet to master the knack of bypassing the between of a thing. I am actually bound to Riverfall. I have heard that everyone must see wondrous Riverfall before they die, and since I am not sure when the event of my passing is going to happen, I've tried to build my schedule around it."

He slid his foot up the rock to rest his arm on his bent knee.

"I admit, I had not expected my first meeting to be with a woman. The place is known for other things as well."