[Riverfall Event] The Riverfall Kite Festival (Open)

[Laeli]

With Vor’s acceptance of her offer, Laeli nodded and her hands twisted the piece of cloth, gauging its give and its strength. As it wasn’t destined to be an integral part of the flight mechanics, she felt like she could do as she liked with the design of the tail. Her thoughts went to a series of knots she knew which were supposedly pleasing to Zulrav. For a moment, she considered trying to glyph some extra lift into the knots she would tie. But she wasn’t sure if that would be cheating. Besides, her magical skills were still in their infancy. Eben had been far too busy dealing with the storm and its aftermath and the effects it had wrought on their pavilion’s livelihood to give her any more lessons lately. The last thing she wanted to do was to do it badly and thus detract from the kite’s flight potential. So she settled on just tying the knots as they were and hoping Zulrav would be smiling on them anyway. Almost instinctively, her hands began to work, and she reached for some brightly hued bits and pieces of scraps. These she wove into the design as well. This might turn out to be the most intricate tail in the festival, simply because she did not have to worry about the real construction of a kite that could fly. Watching Vor as he spread out and assembled those much more important elements, Laeli saw the concentration in his face. He reminded her of her Father when he had his mind set on a task. But the resemblance stopped there, when Vor, in answer to her teasing question, whispered to the wind – and it answered him! As the silk fluttered into Vor’s waiting hand, Laeli’s mouth dropped open, literally. Like a landed fish, she could only stare, her round eyes even bigger now, her lips in an “O” of surprise. The newly forming knots between her own fingers were forgotten. Here indeed was magic, and though she wasn’t a complete stranger to such things – she was Drykas after all – she hadn’t seen a man who could command the wind. Well, ask politely for the wind to do him a favor and have the wind affably comply. She laughed, the merry, tinkling sound of a young woman but with the delight of a child. “I see. From now on when you tell me something, I won’t take it for just fancy words. I’m beginning to think you are the most unfancy person I’ve met. But still, quite … amazing – which is far better than fancy.” She smiled, and added, “I think your kite is bound to do quite well. You need only ask your friend to lift it and it might go right to Syna.” Her face turned to the now orange globe which was sinking steadily down into the sea. “It must be … fantastical, to be able to fly with the wind. To look down from so high up and see the ocean below, or the grasslands, or forests, mountains …” She turned back to Vor with a little grin. “Maybe your friend lets you ride on its back, hmm? Or does the acquaintance stop at fetching things for you?” That seemed far from impossible to believe of one who was truly on such cozy terms with the wind, the girl thought as her fingers began once again to wend and weave the materials in her deft hands.

[Kadrath Onktaka]

A huge dog and pup raced onto the beach, making a beeline to their master. Rock, the pup, got distracted at sight of the Silkena, Raj, and stopped to greet him. The Imperial Watcher/Falivan Elk Dog pup gave a friendly bark and a wag of his curly tail. They were about the same height and the half grown pup made a play bow, inviting Raj to a game of tag.

Rath turned at the sound of the bark and met Ishara's eyes calmly.
"Don't worry, Rock is a friendly puppy, he's just big for his age." He put a calm hand to Rock's sire, Fidens, who stood two full hands taller and much heavier than his pup.

His blue eyes scrutinized the other dog's confirmation and found it well bred. A bit over fed and less muscled than most, but good breeding none-the-less.

"Nice Silkena Miss----"

The enormous seven foot Akontak let the statement hang, giving her the opportunity to answer the unspoken question of her name. He gestured to Fidens to guard Raiha and turned to the Benshira woman.

"I'm sure we could always use more hands. Especially during a Festival Day." He answered politely with a nod of his head.

"I'm Kadrath, this is my dog Fidens, that's my woman over there, Raiha, and a fellow workmate, Serrif."

The two seasons old pup stood as still as his namesake for a brief chime and then ran swiftly by Raj, enticing the other dog to run and play. Although the Silkena was so much faster than him, he still bounced, stopped and raced back and forth. Rath finally signaled a release to Rock and as if he were freed from a leash, the pup practically soared through the air.

The brisk sea breeze was invigorating and the feel of clean beach sand between the toes was refreshing to people and dogs alike. Delicious smells from nearby vendors wafted tantalizing, in the flurry of wind. The tide was moving out and children raced along the breakers, squealing when the cool ocean water touched their feet. It was a promising outlook for a beautiful Festival day and the citizens were long overdue for a good, fun, rest time.

(When Rath speaks and when Uruk speaks.)

[Ishara Dossari]

Raj sidestepped the eager pup, his caramel gaze shifting to one side as though he were disinterested. His true feelings were betrayed by a whisk of his tail, however, and his slender limbs coiled and sprung in a rush of sand and fur. Ishara was shaking her head at his antics when the deep voice carried her attention to the dark-skinned Akalak. She looked up...way up. Good Yahal, he was tall...Blinking back her surprise, Ishara managed a grateful smile and a nod. "Ishara, I am called Ishara. And this," a gesture indicated the hound that was currently racing along the water's edge in a ground-eating lope, tongue lolling as his eyes rolled over his shoulder to track the pup's progress in the pursuit, "is Raj." The introductions to the rest of those gathered there passed quickly...Raiha was lovely, and as Ishara's eyes passed between Kadrath and his mate, she decided they were certainly well suited for one another. His canine was a formidable beast, and one that the Akalak handled quite well. She could well imagine the deceptively docile creature errupting in fury at whatever it perceived as a threat, and she watched admirably as it sidled closer to Raiha kneeling in the sand. Serrif she was familiar with, and her anxious smile softened slightly at the sight of him. "Greetings." Raj whirled in another curtain of sand and spray, bounding back towards the ecstatic puppy with a playful growl trilling deep in his chest. It was nothing compared to the giant pup's vocals, mere bird'schatter to the deep bellow he received in return, but Raj was not deterred. He bowed back to the pup, and darted away, his tail a banner that enticed the pup to follow. Watching them, Ishara realized what the Akalak had called him... "A Silkena? ...Forgive me, he was a gift. I am afraid that I am not well versed in breeds, I did not realize..." she frowned softly, lost in a brief recollection of her betrothed, his patient voice outlining the finer points of the young dog he'd gifted her with season's ago. "Silkena," she murmured softly, following Raj's shape as it flowed over the sands. It suited him well.

[Vor]

Taking a brief moment here and there in the midst of his layout of the kite's structure, Vor glanced over at Laeli as she worked on the kite's tail. Indeed she had some skill with knotwork; something that had escaped Vor during his time spent with his Drykas family. The girl's reaction to his calling upon the breeze for assistance brought a crooked half-grin to his face. While Vor had to think about each word as he spoke, the discomfort of the human form still lingering, Laeli seemed to speak without much thought given; her words coming out almost as quick as they were imagined. It was a phenomena that Vor never did quite understand even back when he spent more time around humans. It all seemed so complex; the whole act of speech. Vor was more simple in such things. He didn't often speak and when he did, he felt his words should be to the point. However, a part of him, perhaps the human part, sometimes wished for less thought and more words. Perhaps then he could fit in more and not feel so distanced from that part of his being. It was then that he realized that indeed he was giving more thought than normal. The fact that he was pondering the meaning of words and their relationship with thought meant that he was delving into more complex concepts. Could it be that easy? Vor's forced his thoughts back to the present and considered Laeli's comment about asking the wind to help with his kite. "Interesting you would mention asking for such help with the kite. I considered asking such a thing though that seems a bit dishonest. Zulrav and his children provide much to us but somethings are better left to our own skills. That way the balance is maintained and one doesn't become too reliant on others for their success in life." His words were not simply just that. Vor was raised to rely on his own abilities first and ask from Zulrav, the wind and breezes with reverence and respect. The God and his children were there to help, not be commanded to perform. Vor continued to piece together the skeleton of the kite. Using a bit of adhesive and bits of leather, he attached the different sized pieces of lightweight wood together. Slowly yet confidently, Vor put together the body of the kite which took on a definite resemblance to the main body of a large bird. Though the shape was obvious, the construction of the body was light; the lack of primary support provided a very lightweight frame. Next, Vor began working on one of the wings. He doubled up on the pieces of wood and used extra leather and silk to bind them together. The wing was shaping up to be much larger than the trunk of the body and would do well in capturing greater amounts of wind. What Laeli said next brought some pause to Vor's work as he turned to look at her as she spoke. After a moment of listening, he said, "My relationship with the wind is a friendship, a young one. Perhaps as it grows, more will be provided to me. As for flying with the wind though and watching over all from above...as I said, some things can be accomplished without the need to ask for assistance." Vor turned back to his kite building and continued on the wing. He did however finally comment on the fantastical perception Laeli had of flying after a few more moments had passed. ...Fantastical doesn't quite explain it. The feeling of weightlessness, moving through the air as easily as breathing it. Seeing everything beneath you as if you weren't a part of that reality but a part of a world all your own. You are the in charge; you are the rider, the watcher...the predator and all beneath you is yours. The feeling you get when you soar so high that everything beneath you looks like a bug followed by the rush of the dive and the thrill of the game..." Vor had to pull himself back from the edge as could feel the transformation bubbling just beneath the flesh. While he of course had full control over his change, he often got lost in the feelings and the experiences that the beast provided him. Blinking rapidly and clearing his throat, "Fantastical is indeed one way to put it."

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

Every now and then Serrif could tell when someone was pulling punches. It happened all the time and was most evident by body language. Something he had come to learn to read because unlike Mura people here didn’t always say what was on their mind. There were agendas to be fed and such. He had to result to more primitive ways of ‘hearing’ what a person really wanted to say. Kadrath for instance welcomed him but he could tell there was something else he wanted to say. Almost like his very presence here with Raiha angered him.

“You as well Kadrath.”

Was he really that territorial? Why wouldn’t he be, Akalak men did after all patrol their territory viciously hunting down men like beasts and slaughtering entire slaver parties to rescue and claim the women…an aspect he didn’t approve of but understood. A voice cut through his little mental distraction…Ishara. Was that beauty really here? He smiled a little as he cut his current task of mentally diving into nothingness while pretending to pay attention to the castle outline.

His emerald eyes found Ishara’s almost instantly. Ah yes, the desert flower. It was good to see her cascading black hair and wonderful glacial hues again; a welcome friend to him.

“Yes Ishara another hand would be most welcome. This is after all a contest.” As Rath spoke of her dogs breed something happened again.

Ishara’s body language spoke strongly. A soft frown followed by her body relaxing almost as if she was experiencing defeat. Something about that dog sparked very very strong feelings for her. It was a gift…but by whom. Who had given her the gift of that dog? He would try and distract her a little.

” I’ve spent many days around this man and his pack of dogs; I’m afraid I even still do not know all his breeds.” Maybe his words would pull her back gently and distract her from the pain attached to the marvelous dog she had.

[Dex]

John woke with a yawn, and checked his surroundings. Seeing what appeared to be a festival of some sort, plus the massed amount of kites in the air, he put two and two together and remembered that today was the kite festival. Normally he would be out there walking around the beach, making kites, finding shiny shells, and generally having a good time. He would have even maybe out there helping build that sand castle John watched start with one Analak woman sitting down drawing the design in the sand. Soon after, he watched a black haired human walk over and start talking to her. Even with his ferret hearing, he couldn't make out what was being said over the other loud noises around him. Then a large 7ft blue Analak man came at first charging over, looking ready to beat someone up, who ended up coming to a stop next to them. He was then followed up by a woman with a dog who joined the group. It was odd for John to interact with dogs. He was the son of two kelvic dogs, and yet dogs sometimes attacked and ate ferrets, which he currently was. Not a good mix. John turned his attention to group closer to where he was, where a human male stood with two females. He turned his head slightly to hear better, and listened in for a minute as one of the woman discussed tails, which John hoped was for a kite, and not referring to his own, especially when she spoke of knots and ribbons. He turned away from them and walked in a small circle and unceremoniously flopped over. To bad he was in a cage, on a leash, and stuck in ferret form. Out of those three things, he really only had a problem with two of them. That was being in a cage and on a leash. He still remembered the day that park official actually did his job and got around to capturing the pesky ferret that was always running loose. After that, he was suitably caged, leashed, vaccinated, which he really really hated, and then given to a pet store for sale. To bad that whoever bought him would get a little bit more then they bargained for, but at least he would meet someone new. Which brought him to what he was doing right now. Apparently the pet store thought they could get some excellent sales at the festival, and had set up a little stall in the psuedo-business area, next to where the registration stall was handing out kite kits. Sooo, with any luck, he might be able to get off leash and stretch his human muscles back out a little today. Feeling a little playful, especially since he hadn't been able to do much of anything inside the cage, John did what everyone called the ferret dance, running around hopping up and down smacking against the wall of the cage. In all honesty, he was just really excited to do something, anything.

[Syrah Steele]

Syrah was not a social bee, but she thought the Kite festival looked fun. She had also heard that wine and beer would be plentiful, and she couldn't wait to get her hands on some Riverfall wine. As she walked into the festival she looked around. People of all ages and colors were strewn about, talking laughing, drinking eating. She spotted the kegs of wine and joyfully poured herself a glass of thick purple liquid and cautiously took a sip.

The drink was amazing and the flavor filled her mouth, lingering even after she swallowed. Syrah was instantly in a a better mood and happily walked around the area. In the next minute she passed a pet stand, normally she would revolt away from the animals, scurrying little vermin, but today she stopped to take a look.

In a small cage on a leash and collar ran a small little ferret. She smiled at the thing and reached down to pet it.

The man behind the stand scolded her before she touched the animal, saying she had to buy it to hold it. It wasn't the animals cuteness that lead her to buy it, it was the man telling her what to do. She absolutely hated when someone told her what to do, and to show this man up she paid the small fee of 2gm and picked up the ferret.

The man thanked her and asked if she needed anything else. Never had she had a pet before she was unaware of the need for a cage or anything else. Totally forgetting that animals needed to eat too, so she didn't buy any supplies. She held the thing in her hands and watched as it squirmed and wriggled about.
John meet me here.

[Laeli]

Laeli continued to watch Vor’s nimble fingers as they attached this to that and soon had something that looked like a kite shaping up under his hands. He seemed quite sure in his destination, and she got the feeling that he knew what flight was all about. That made complete sense, for one who was befriended by the wind. She listened to his response to her teasing suggestion, and pondered it. Again, it seemed much like what her father would say, about the balance to strive for in life, and in all things. Sometimes, Laeli wondered if it might be interesting to be slightly off balance, for just a little while. She could recall a time when they had gone swimming in the Bluevein, at a spot where the river ran deep and the trees grew close and high up on a tall bank. The boys had set up a rope, tied to a very high branch, so they could swing out over the water and then drop down. She had been one of the first to try it out, and had found it terrifying and exhilarating all in one. The way the ground dropped from under her feet, and the world tilted sideways, the feeling in the pit of her stomach when she had let go and for a moment hung seemingly suspended in the air – would any of those feeling be at all similar to being out of balance and taking a daring risk? All of a sudden, on top of that memory, came a much more recent one, of complete and utter darkness, in the caverns below the surface of Endrykas, where they had gone to escape the storm. There had been a few times when the torches they had went out unexpectedly, and the mantle of blankness, nothingness, had settled around them. One time, she had, recklessly, been sitting apart from her family and she felt completely and utterly alone. It was a similar feeling, though very different too. Still, it had made her feel … unbalanced, not knowing up from down or left from right, totally disoriented. She shuddered at that memory. There was a purpose and a design for being in balance, she knew that, even in terms of not pushing too hard to impose upon the graces of the winds. As Vor spoke again, about her own conception of what flying must be like, Laeli tried to understand. She thought swinging from the rope and dropping to the river was the closest that she would ever come to such a mystical experience. Unless one counted the feeling she had when she raced over the ground astride Jin’s back, the mare’s hooves seeming to skim over the grass, barely touching the earth. “I suppose only the birds get to know such a thrill,” she sighed. “Or the Zith.” She looked at him with a grin. “You aren’t a Zith in disguise, are you?” her fingers told her that she had come to the end of the material, and she looked down at her product. It wasn’t spectacular, but it would suffice. Laeli stepped over to the table to stand right beside Vor, though trying not to be in his way. She laid the completed tail, coiled up neatly into a spiraling circle, on the table, for whenever he chose to reach for it. “But you can fly, can’t you?” she asked, softly and with some little wonder in her tone. “You are kelvic?” That last was half question, half statement, for how else could Vor know what it was like to ride the winds?

[Raiha]

Raiha looked up at Serrif’s arrival, nodding in greeting, one foot on the spade blade. “Certainly, the more hands the better. Go big or go home, or so they say,” she grinned wryly. In the sunlight, she seemed a little less malevolent. But maybe that was his paranoia talking. “Got some rough ideas over there,” she indicated the chickenscrawl drawing in the sand nearby. One could at least understand towers, walls, moats, and those couldn’t possibly be passages or bridges, but who knew with her? “But we’ll probably just end up winging it.”

It wasn’t too long before she knew her mate was coming along. Not only did the shadows say so, but she recognized Rock and Fidens. There was so much conversation going on between the people around them and the shadows that it reminded Raiha just how confusing being out with others was. She was hearing things from hundreds of sources at once, and it was a matter of sorting out what exactly she wanted to hear. She tilted her head slightly when Rath approached, one hip jutting out, her gold eyes dancing playfully and with another brightness at his very presence. She’d been waiting for him - she knew he’d be along when he found her note, after all. He’d made good time. “Thank you,” the colourful skirts were bundled up almost indecently to one side, but allowed her to dig without tangling the hem or getting caught up. “Grab a shovel. We have a castle to build,” she teased, hand on her hip before bumping him with it.

The Akontak female grinned at the Benshiran when Rath introduced her, nodding in greeting. She was a strange one, a female with blue skin amongst a city of men with them, but just as rare were human females without a bracelet on their wrists proclaiming them the property of Riverfall. When Fidens came over, she released the shovel, leaving it sunk into the sand to take the dog’s big head in her hands and massage his maw, looking at him. He was a beauty. She’d left her Deerstalkers back at Sanctuary for their guard capabilities. They may not have been as big as Rath’s hunting dogs, but the Deerstalkers made a nasty and formidable pack. She knew about Silkenas, though, having seen a few in Mura, and certainly remembering what happened to one when a fool tried to hunt a raccoon with him.

“The more hands the better. Grab a shovel. There’s rough plans and ideas over here, but there’s always room for improvisation and improvement,” she took up her shovel again, beginning to dig up one part of the moat. They were going to need sand for towers, after all. She looked at the sea for a long moment, lost in thought. How hard had it raged while they had stayed below?

And right about now, we should be making plans to sink and destabilize at least one or two others, Kanikra reminded. Start spreading and sinking res. Then we’ll really have some fun.

Shameless, aren’t you? Any Aurist would see it.

I just want to win. They’re so set about their honor that they would never see it coming.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

So they were to build a sand castle of some kind then, wonderful. He was sure between the four of them they could come up with something adequate enough to pass as sand art of some kind…although he didn’t know the first thing about constructing anything at all. Which would prove a hindrance but he could learn quickly; and he would likely leave the finer more intricate workings to Riaha and Rath. He was happy to see Ishara again, he was more than familiar with her by now. They had spent a good amount of their mornings together training; walking along the beach or just meditating.

He had seen her soak up the training he gave her; even if at times he had no clue what he was doing. But now…now they were going to build something together and he figured the sooner they started the better really. So he picked up a shovel and set to work putting sand within the drawing Raiha had marked out. He was sure they would find a better use of it all later but he tried to keep all the sand within what he thought were walls that Riaha had lined out. Although truth be told he really had no idea what the woman had outlined…nor if she had originally planned on doing this task alone.

He still wasn’t sure how they would pack all the sand together if they were to make vertical towers or tall walls of any kind. But with this group he was sure they would come up with something eventually. Between them all they could do something fantastic he was sure, all they needed was sand in the appropriate places and an attention to detail. And he could pay attention to the little things and along the way do some of the grunt work as well.

He shoveled away and all the while started to imagine everything coming together. The plans were vague but they could improve on them as they went along. Turning this fine sand into an artistic rendition of some kind…he wasn’t exactly sure what kind of rendition…but that was part of the fun. You never quite knew what you were going to get until you finished.

“I’d imagine we have a plan for sticking the sand together so we can make tall walls and intricate structures?” He said querying the group seeing who had the first bit of planning done in their head.