Completed [The Silyran Fields] An Unique Shade

[Kirin]

50th Day
Spring 513AV

Syliras was a difficult place for Kirin. He had been grown and raised here, but he could not hold moderate animosity for it. To be unable to sell his own product, to essentially hold no right to be recognized for his efforts. It was this kind of a place that had brought Kirin's father down as well. Still, it was the only home he had ever known.

Today was one of the harder days, Kirin had left before sixth bell and had found himself outside the castle long before he truly realized it. Now, he rested, his precious staff acting like a sign post amidst the few travelling his path in the Syliran Fields. It was a nice place, calm enough that he could rest and think with few people to worry about having to run into. This particular spot bore and indent from his staff always enjoying the same resting place. In the four years now, it had become one of a half dozen thinking spots.

His choices were becoming fast limited. As much as he loved the art of weaponsmithing he couldn't live like this forever. He would either have to submit and become someone's lacky, petition the knights for a shop of his own and realize that all his work would never be attributed to him or give up the hammer, Syrilas or both, and try to find a new path.

None of these especially felt like a good option, even less so against the waning confidence he had these days. Was this what it felt like to start believing that maybe a smith was useless? Kirin did something he had not done for a long time, since he was a child, he silently prayed to Izurdin for some kind of guidance.

[Scarlet Evony]

The result of the hunt was satisfying. Holding the rabbit in her claws, Scarlet returned to her shifting ground. She called that the place wherever she chose to remove her clothes and turn into her eagle form. The Syliran fields were just perfect for this. Anywhere you chose to leave a set of clothes unattended was a good place, since nobody traversed the newly planted crops at this time of the year.

The eagle settled and started feasting on its prey. For Scarlet, the hunt was always better than the catch, making an obvious choice in nutrition as an eagle form. And what a hunt it was. The rabbit almost seemed to have made itself lost in the dense lush, but a lucky strike lifted him out of place. All in all, getting the most out of your lunch.

However, Scarlet found herself disturbed during her meal as a human decided it was a good idea to settle near her shifting ground. Leaving her food unfinished, Scarlet turned back into her human form and began dressing. She hoped not to draw too much attention from the nearby human.

Shortly after she put her undergarments on and was moving to the rest of her clothing, the man looked towards her. Damn it. Act it nicely and it's all going to be okay She stood up, almost fully naked while trying to slip her trousers on. "There's nothing much to see here. I'll make sure to be on my way shortly. Just pretend you didn't see me dressing up in the fields."

[Kirin]

Kirin's eyes once again opened, his silent prayer drawing to an end. He didn't know what he expected from it, even a Izurdin couldn't provide him with a path, he had learned that a long time ago. But, the calming feeling of putting his plea out there could not be denied either. What harm did it do anyway?

He returned his gaze to the land before him, an uneasiness rising deep inside him. For several moments Kirin tried to place the uneasiness. It felt, felt almost like being vaguely watched, but also a lot more familiar than that. It wasn't the hard and fast feeling of being judged he usually felt, the one that caused him to dislike everyone else so much. It was just...

His dulling eyes finally caught sight of his elusive source, a nearly naked woman feverishly working to replace articles of clothing. He registered, only slightly, her presence, staring for a few moments before the fact stuck in. He was looking at a nearly naked woman, this was hardly appropriate.

Grass, her legs, his own tattered boots, he tried to come upon a proper decision as to what was appropriate to stare at over woman as she worked up her trousers. The general consensus became to stare at his own staff, though even that was a failed attempt to veil the situation. Come to think of it, there hadn't been a naked woman around when he had begun his prayer. Had she run up, gotten naked, and then changed clothes all in the span of a prayer?

I asked for guidance, not a naked woman, Kirin chided himself, the gods, his own stupidity for praying to the gods and anything else he could. He was still short answers or a path and had only stumbled upon more problems than he had before.

"Don't worry," He started out, his voice cold in response to the situation. He dared sneak a peak away from his staff, hoping her changing to be done by now. No such luck awaited the poor smith. She was still working on her tunic and he felt all the worse for looking again, "I didn't see anything. I was just, thinking."

[Scarlet Evony]

Scarlet was slightly amused by the Silyran's display. She slipped on the last of her garments as she fixed her eyes on the human. He looked pretty amusing, the red tone of his face giving away what his voice never said. "Okay, I understand" She slowly approached him, hoping he didn't suspect her real nature. She wasn't really in the mood for explaining what he had just witnessed.

Instead, Scarlet circled the lanky, dim-eyed traveller. He didn't look like an adventurer: one would need strong legs to withstand much walking. Scarlet's best first bet was that he was some sort of innkeeper. All the better if he wanted to talk. He did seem cute as well. "So, did you like what you didn't see?" She maintained a distance of about ten feet from him, stopping in front. "Or were you thinking on ways to improve it?"

She tried to look at him, she tried to like him. However, there was no sign of the Kelvic bond between them. Well, at most the two could get a one night stand, if she played him right.

[Kirin]

Kirin didn't much like the feeling of being examined, graded. The shifting eyes on him, judging his worth. Yes, those had always been judging his skills, but the look always maintained the same existence. He shook it off, standing up with the help of his staff. It suited his style to let it take the form of a walking staff, no matter how much he didn't need it. It gave the smith an undeniable air of surprise should his attitude take a turn for the worst, which it always seemed to.

"Not especially," He stared her in the eyes, having to tilt his head upwards just slightly to do so. Long since used to looking up at people, Kirin could maintain indifference in any situation, especially like this. Her eyes, though, those exotic blue eyes. Kirin had to admit that they were rather spectacular, something his might have been like before they began dulling. Still, this distance was no problem for him, yet, "I don't improve on people. Not that you do."

He couldn't perfectly explain why he didn't go on about what he really did. Weaponsmithing was something to be proud of, yet he was purposefully leaving that part out now, his weight shifting to the staff in a preparedness. A fight was unlikely, but if there was one thing he knew, it was that he had a talent for rubbing people the wrong way.

"What about you," The words held perhaps less venom than he had intended. Perhaps he needed to get better with insults? Or, maybe it was just harder to insult someone you had seen almost naked, "Do you often pick the only occupied area in an open field to get naked?"

[Scarlet Evony]

The two had gone off on the wrong foot, Scarlet had been somewhat sure of it. She never expected the man to be as weak as he was in his legs. Besides, their conversation was not going to go anywhere friendly anytime soon. All she did was keep the distance, not wanting to upset the human's balance. However, she could not let his verbal assault unanswered. "Do you often pick the only occupied area in an open field to just 'not see anything'?"

By now, she was fully equipped, fixing him. She was curious enough to take a step closer, but cautious enough not to engage him more. "Besides, you never finished your first idea. Not that I do what? Not that I need to improve anything, or not that I would do the same about you? You're saying two different things without saying either."

His immovable glance was intriguing, to say the least. His patience and slow answers was another. Mostly, the way he relied on his walking stick was most peculiar. She had never seen such a large discrepancy between arms and legs. Another step brought her closer, bringing new details of his form into view.

[Kirin]

Kirin smiled, it was a bit of an arrogant smile, but it was probably better than the usually blank one he wore. He would never admit to not planning his words this way, but it was a perfect opportunity planned or not. At the very least she wasn't trying to hit him yet, that was a better position than he had hoped for, "Not that there is anything to improve on. From here."

When had he become the type for casual barbs in a field? Questions like that had no bearing, each encounter was supposed to be unique, but most tended to flow in only one direction. This could potentially all be attributed to his withholding of his chosen profession. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but Kirin maintained it just a little longer. There weren't many encounters with women, though, for a smith who kept himself locked up most days, especially not one like this.

"Besides, I would hardly consider myself a stranger to this spot," For the first time Kirin's gaze went beyond her eyes. There was a unique ferocity about this woman, one he wasn't used to seeing. Maybe it was just the imagination spurred by all the stories he loved to read, but she seemed almost primal, something unique in her appearance, "The ground even intimately knows the shape of my staff here."

He motioned lightly to the indent of his staff in the ground, one edged out by countless visits to this very spot. Perhaps there was a unique connection, how many times had he visited here since his father died not knowing it was a secret he shared with someone else? Not that it overly mattered, a secret was hardly a connection and a chance meeting was hardly a path of guidance, "Next time, perhaps you should pick someone who prays longer. Or, shorter, if you were hoping to be looked at with more lecherous eyes."

[Scarlet Evony]

Ouch. If words could hurt like that every day, I’d have long became a hermit. Scarlet lost a bit of her temper, looking obviously annoyed. She had never been to this specific place before. The Syliran fields were just fields, after all. A place to hunt, to fly, to be free. Nothing bore any specifics. It was all fields, animals and sky. And here she was, just in front of the man who used insults as a means of communication, right in front of her. This could either get fun for her, or bad for him. Not that the two were mutually exclusive. Another step, then another, as the circle tightened around the unsuspecting human.

“Is that a trace of frustration I detect in your voice? I bet you wish you were either of the ones you mentioned. Were you quicker, you’d probably had gotten lucky. Were you slower, well, you know what they say. Ignorance is bliss.” She let out a laughter, examining his staff. He had indeed shifted stances in the few steps she took around him. She couldn’t determine why, but it was most probable that he was feeling threatened by her approach. Scarlet was close to him, barely three feet away. In all fairness, only now could she observe the paradox of his form.

His upper side was muscular. Not exactly the mass of a wrestler, but he had been obviously working out his arms and torso. On the same body, a couple of frail, skinny legs were attached along with his enigmatic figure. The pale blue eyes covered him in a shroud of mystery, almost giving him the allure of a blind man. A blind man who could ‘not see’ as he claimed.

“Nice staff” Scarlet suddenly shifted perspective to the long stick he carried. Carvings were simple in design, yet carefully made. His staff probably eclipsed his height by half a foot, a totally ungraceful look for his form. “Are you trying to compensate for something, or do you just like holding onto long things?” Two of us can play this game, human. Scarlet maintained her elliptic around the human, coming closer and closer to his back and distancing lightly to his front. Well, I guess not all humans are made to be friends, right?

[Kirin]

The closeness was starting to get to Kirin. As much as he usually didn't like to be prodded, there was a slight pang of frustration. He wasn't good with words, that was probably the cause of his current predicament. In reality, it felt like a predator circling her prey, deciding which piece of flesh to tear off first. It was doubtful that she would actually tear into his flesh, at least, not in that way, but the analogy held true none the less.

"I'm not much for that type of thing," He bolstered, attempting to ascertain this woman's purpose. Each time she circled again she came dangerously close to his back, a mere breath separating the two. Kirin didn't bother trying to turn with her, he simply followed her as she moved in his vision and shifted his weight, preparing to counter with his staff should she attack him from behind, "I prefer a woman who would do it for me, not to see it because I happened to catch an inappropriate glance."

This was a bold lie, one he hoped would not blow up in his face. With no degree of luck on his part, Kirin had never truly thought about how he would like a woman to disrobe in front of him. He had always been too caught up in smithing to consider something so fruitless. Still, that was the sort of response that all his favourite story characters would have given. As if he was lucky enough to win over anything with just some bespoken story lines.

"As for my staff," A second hand unconsciously gripped the staff. It was hardly a required existence for him, but it was held like a treasured object. It was his crutch and his shield, it helped protect him from the opinions and barbs of others. It was his weapon when he fought and his backpack when he was carrying home his catch of the day. He didn't adequately know how to convey that to a predator of her level, "I suppose we all have something that's precious to us, even if it doesn't suit me."

[Scarlet Evony]

Scarlet laughed yet again. He was indeed a bold one. She decided fighting him was probably going to end up worse for the both of them. Wooden staffs had a tendency to hurt if wielded right, and she wasn’t really going to take that risk yet. Instead, intimidating him was starting to get slightly amusing. She brushed onto him lightly, not knowing what to expect of him except embarrassment. He didn’t seem very used to this kind of encounters. “Would you rather I do it for you?” she whispered in his ear. Before any reaction could be made she lightly brushed her hand on his shoulders.

They felt strong, well built, the result of probably countless hours of training. She had been with other men like him before, but nonetheless, having him in the fields would be a new experience. She continued pushing her luck, regardless of the outcome, massaging his shoulders lightly. “All you have to do is mention the word. But before we move on to something like that, I would like the two of us to know each other, at least for a bit. I don’t do it with strangers.”

Scarlet moved again in front of him, shifting from side to side seductively, expressly exposing as much of her waist as she can, not refusing the occasional look towards him, checking of she had had any impact on the human. “My name is Scarlet. Who might you be?” It was starting to get obvious her partner was not comfortable with the sudden change of attitude in her body language. One thing was fighting, and the other thing was… Well, fighting. No further ado, she started unbuttoning her tunic under his watchful gaze, smiling innocently at him.