Closed Spying for Love[Litani]

[Rykanis Dakshata]

13 Summer 513 Rykanis was minding his own business, resting in his room, when he heard a knock upon the door. He opened it to find a young Akalak, most likely just beyond his rite of passage, waiting at the door. He was young, with blue skin, a shoulder length black braid, and a single lakan at his waist. Hey had pale pink eyes. "Are you... Rykanis?" The man asked quietly, in hushed tones. Already suspicious of his odd behavior, from a man Rykanis did not know, he answered indirectly. "Maybe I am. If I was, what need of Rykanis would you have?" The young Akalak stood there, awkwardly holding his own hands, and looking about the street, as if he thought someone might pop out from around the corner, and say "Gotcha!" This clearly said this barely adult Akalak was doing something he should not be... Or did not want others to know of... "I heard that you were a... That you... Took on cases, and helped people... Find information..." Rykanis motioned for the Akalak to come in, and motioned for him to sit on the couch, as he shut the door, and took his seat in a wooden chair opposite him. He paused for a moment, conferring with his other side. They both agreed that there was more to the story, and that this person was being evasive. "You have heard right. I have been known to discretely obtain information... For the right price... But first I need to know what is going on, what this is about, or who. " Slowly the Akalak began to speak to Rykanis, awkward at first, but slowly with more vigor. "It... It is about a girl... A woman... A... Konti. She is... So beautiful... She is small of stature, with pale hair, and blue eyes. And she has one of those healers marks, on her left hand... I saw her in the park, playing a harp... Heard her music... She... She rides a golden horse that shimmers. And I saw her wearing a cloak, a black one, with a silver and blue T on the collar..." Rykanis looked at him expectantly, letting him get it out, but not pushing. But at the same time trying to make it clear he would not sit there forever as he looked off in the distance, lost in his own mind. "But I am afraid to talk to her. I don't know her name even! What does she like? What does she not like? What does she do? I want you to find out everything about her! Then... Then I can introduce myself, and win her over. Please, will you do this?" Rykanis took a few moments to think things over, before nodding to the Akalak. He got his name, were he lived, and told him he would find him once he had the information he needed. And of course he told him his terms and conditions, and his price. And thus began a very odd mission for Rykanis.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

15 Summer 513 So far Rykanis had been unlucky in his endeavors in finding this Akalaks beloved Konti. He had found Konti's, quite a few, but none of them had been the right one. Wrong eye color, wrong position of healing mark, wrong horse. Those were the easy ones to tell. The cloak and horse details he could not rule out, but also could not completely count on. What if she borrowed a horse? Or walked? What if she did not wear a cloak that day? And he had seen few if any Konti that played the harp. He had been narrowing it down, but had just had his last lead prove wrong. She had the wrong eye color. After following her for 3 bells, having to duck her, re-finding her, and following for another 2 bells. Even if Riverfall was full of Akalak, Rykanis had to be careful not to be noticed, and not to be obvious. Now he found himself in front of the Pearl House, were many Konti lived, in hopes of finding the Konti he was looking for. But he could not be to obvious, and neither could he simply loiter outside. So he had to keep moving, making passing, making excuses to stop and ask questions or directions. His search was not looking good. When would he find her?

[Litani]

At last, after almost two weeks, mornings were starting to come without the shocking wonder of where on Mizahar she was, sleeping in a strange room in a city she'd never been. At last, the strange was becoming familiar and the wonder was turning into acceptance. For a few moments when consciousness came to her, Litani lay quietly enjoying the warmth and solace of the sheets, briefly unwilling to rouse from their comforting embrace. Her mind was awake, however, and once that happened, there was no stilling it again until it had exhausted itself. She forced herself to rest while she pondered over the events of the previous few days but, in relatively short order, her thoughts had her sufficiently awake that restlessness began to set in. She was up. Some time later, she found herself extending her customary greetings and wishes of a fair day to the proprietor, thanking her for her hospitality and promising to be back by dusk so as not to miss the evening meal. The Mistress always seemed to appreciate Litani's smile and cheerfulness first thing in the morning; the two had not known what to make of each other at first - when Litani arrived soaking wet from a rainstorm on her first night in Riverfall - but conversation had quickly revealed them as kindred souls who seemed to enjoy each other's company regardless of the exchange of coin. Chuckling lightly to herself, Litani made her way out into the day. Early as it was, the possibility of chill yet lingered and the tall, willowy Konti had a cloak draped about her shoulders that fell almost to the ground. It's darkness sheltered a form dressed in simple, modest linen. The blouse she wore was loose and light, its fabric tucked into a belted split skirt - a garment both feminine in appearance and practical in its usefulness. Across one shoulder was her leather satchel and at the neck of her cloak, laying over her right collarbone, a tiny silver and blue "T" was embroidered. She paused in the doorway of The Pearl House just for a moment to allow her eyes to adjust. Shielding them against the rising sun, she greeted the day with a gentle smile that seemed to linger like fine silk on her features, hovering just beyond the edge of full expression at any moment. Peaceful as she appeared, however, she clearly had a destination in mind - she hopped off The Pearl House porch with an energy to her step and a definitive purpose to her long strides. As she walked, the Konti was greeted with the occasional nod or smile of acknowledgement. Her tenure in Riverfall thus far was short, true, but she had made herself known with friendly conversation and an open manner since the day she'd gotten here. Unknown faces passed her in the street without comment, but if she passed by a shop she'd frequented or happened upon another resident of The Pearl House, a brief and pleasant greeting would be easy to exchange. The short journey she intended took her to the top Tier of the city and she found herself faint of breath for a short while once she'd ascended the steps; her body was lean and strong enough, but the muscle tone of her heart was still catching up with the up-and-down staircases that were the reality of city travel in Riverfall. With a sigh to recollect her breath, she renewed her subtle smile and started towards the stables. There was a friend to whom she owed a visit.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

It was while a kind Akalak was explaining to Rykanis directions for a lesser known leather shop in Riverfall, that the Konti walked out of the building. The Pearl House did home a lot of Konti, so it had been a logical place to look. As she walked out, Rykanis did not look directly at her, that would be bad observation, no he simply passed his view over her, as he looked about for a moment listening to the Akalaks words, pretending he was making the motion to look at a explanation he had previously been told. She seemed at cursory examination not wrong. Though that did not mean she was right either. It would take a lot more investigation, to know that. But he felt he was a good enough spy to gather the intelligence on her, without being found out. She was as most Konti short of stature, and on the thin side. She also had light hair. He was not close enough to see the eyes, or her gnosis mark, wherever it might be. What caught his other sides eyes was her cloak, which unless his eyes deceived him, was the right color, with the right symbol sown into it in thread near the collar. A good sign, and another sign that she was so far not the wrong Konti. Rykanis quickly thanked the Akalak for his help, and headed off after the Konti a ways behind her, keeping her in sight, but not getting to close. He did not keep a constant distance from her, and rarely if ever paused and looked directly at her with his gaze, instead inspecting her as his vision passed over her. However keeping any distance was a bit tricky, do to her size. She was walking fast for her height, and surely it seemed like a punishing pace for her, but with Rykanis having almost a foot and a half on her, he had to keep slowing down, pausing to fix his boot, or to look into the front window of a building. However she also kept pausing to greet people. It was one such of these occasions when he nearly ran right into her. His stealth would be blown, so would his mission, Rykanis could not have himself being seen so early. So instead of any of that, he changed direction at a corner and quickly ducked down a side street. He waited around the corner, hoping he had not been seen, watching his breath and trying to be as silent and stealthy as he could... Breathing in shallow breaths, letting it out slowly through his nose... Hoping beyond hope she would not walk down this side street. He hoped it would be enough. It did however give him a chance occurrence, as he heard her speaking to a person she knew, a shop owner, and the owner calling her by name and greeting her in turn... Litani. That was her name. However he heard her walking off, and peaked around the corner to see her back, as she headed along on the same route. He could follow her directly, but that seemed a bad idea. What if she had noticed him turn off, and had noted him as gone? How would he explain being behind her again? Instead of following along behind her, he hoped she would continue to follow the same route, directly as she had been, and ran down the alley he was on to the next side street over. He ran along behind a building, keeping his pace at a fast jog, not running all out as it would tire him, and would be hard to explain why he was so out of breath. He popped around behind the building, around the other side, and came back out on the main street were she would hopefully be walking if she had not changed direction. Hopefully a bit further behind her now, and the time it had taken to do this would have put some distance between them.

[Litani]

The Konti was not hard to follow. Her path was a direct one, evenly paced, not meandering but not darting either. And once at the top Tier, she paused to take in the breadth and length of the sky above her. Tilting her face into the day's first rays of the sun, she inadvertently created tiny reflections of iridescence as the light played across the scales on her body - they were barely visible around her face, just framing the lines of it, but more apt to be seen along her neck and collarbone, shimmering down the lengths of her bare arms. She rested for a few moments in the warming sunrise, caught the breath stolen by the stairs below, and then resumed her walk. The stables of Riverfall were well appointed and meticulously cared for. She could not have asked for a better lodging for the Gildling that had brought her here; the horses were groomed daily, fed well, and exercised as a regular matter of course. Today, however, she had a mind to see to the creature herself and she was vaguely entertaining ideas of taking Ansem out for a ride as well. And why not? She lived here now. It would do well to explore the terrain. But before any of that, she meant to see her loyal friend and converse with the good people that were caring for him. Her approach to the building was met with a similar pattern as the social exchanges that had occurred on her way here. She raised a hand to greet the stablemaster from afar and, laughing a pleasant greeting, she paused to shake his hand and banter with him for a few moments before being lead within. The building was constructed in a manner similar to all stables - open at both ends, stalls within, wide open spaces and the noises of animals in abundance. Once disappeared into the dark shadows of the stable, she might perhaps be difficult to spot and track, but the stable's owner re-emerged after a time, alone. And no other riders had left from either door. She must still be within. For her part, entirely unaware of being tracked here, Litani took the stablemaster's leaving as evidence of her solitude with Ansem and she unshouldered her pack, lowering it to a small chair within his stall. On the walls, she found the combs and brushes needed to give him a proper grooming and she set to work - not expertly, not perfectly, but lovingly and with a certain attention to the animal that spoke of genuine affection. She started to sing then, low and in a smooth contralto tone, but her song quickly left her with a laugh and she started to talk. Softly. Openly. Alone with a creature who could not betray her confidence. "Have they been feeding you well, dear one...? You look strong and healthy. Would you like a ride today?" She continued like this for a short time, the kind of small talk that one gives when reconnecting with a fondly felt link, rider to horse. He'd been her mount all the way here from Syliras and even before - in truth, they'd been together for years, as evidenced by the way her one-sided conversation started to turn. "...I miss him, Ansem." She laid her cheek briefly against the side of the horse as she spoke, draping an arm over him whilst brushing lightly at his coat with the other. "We're here now, where he used to be but... he's not here." A light, bitter chuckle escaped her. "Of course he's not here. He's dead, right?" She sighed. The sound was as heavy as the finality of mortality, but somehow light, as if she were consciously struggling with acceptance. "I knew I wasn't going to find him, I just... I don't know. I hoped to find pieces, I guess." For a short while, she stood silently, combing the same spot on the horse's flank as her mind left the task. Her eyes lost focus and she stared sightlessly for long seconds. Wherever her mind was, it wasn't here, and it took only a shifting of the breeze to pull her hair aside from her face, showing the unnatural light of glittering tears unshed in her eyes. And just then, a horse in the next stall over whickered randomly and she snapped out of it. And just like that, the smile was back, even though there was no one to see it. Quick, covering, shielding. And her manner returned to the gently laughing, murmured words she'd been exchanging with the horse moments before. "I saw Dasreide again, the other day... I still don't know what to make of him." She chuckled softly, shaking her head, sighing in exasperation and maybe interest but also that sort of what-now?? kind of sigh. "He's a great deal older than me, I think, and I know he sees me as a child... But what I felt of him that day! ...ah. It was intense and I'm an idiot, right?" Her fingers strayed to her throat then and brushed at a spot where a scratch was healed over. "I'm an idiot for reading him that way. I'm too young for him. And we barely know each other anyway... all I know is how sharp his Lakan is. That's no way to start a friendship..." She sighed, resigned. "It just struck me. How strong it was. The... dichotomy. One side of him calm, thoughtful... the other passionate and raw." Another pause, a click of tongue, then a darker-sounding chuckle. "I wonder if they're all like that... Maybe, hm? Maybe. Maybe one who doesn't see me as a little girl." She paused then and returned to her song, just humming now, contentedly mulling over the mixture of thoughts and feelings that runs through a woman's mind when she thinks herself alone. The brush in her hand had made its way down half of one side of the horse and, for his part, he stood there happily soaking in her attentions, content to let her work.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

Luckily for Rykanis, the konti he had learned was named Litani, was not one for indirect routes, and went straight as the crow flew across Riverfall. He was not very good at tracking though, and was still likely to lose her if she strayed at all. He came out from around a corner, and saw that she was leaving the core of Riverfall, heading out of it to somewhere else. This would make his job much harder. It was one thing to track someone in the streets of Riverfall, and go unnoticed in the masses of blue faces. But outside the city? There were far fewer people, fewer places to hide. Which meant he was going to have to let her get even further away, or he would easily be spotted. Stealth was not so easy on the expanse of grassy plains. As he neared the edge of the city, he stopped, allowing her to get a ways ahead of him. He watched her from a distance, till he finally figured out which way she was headed. North. Rykanis dug through his memories, trying to think of what was outside of Riverfall, to the north, were she might be going... But he was drawing a blank. Once she was a good quarter a mile ahead of him, he began to set out, trying to walk at the same pace as her, at a slow even pace. Attempting to blend in and look like he was supposed to be there, like he was not following anyone... Like he was not doing exactly what he was doing, and actually had a legitimate reason for being out here. It was only as they neared Sanctuary, a place he had been to before, and he saw her enter a stable, did he realize that was were she was headed. A horse? The man had mentioned seeing her riding a horse. A golden shimmering horse. Surely not to common. He could cut his losses and follow her another day, but what if he could verify the horse? That would be a good step in his information gathering. He did not walk directly at Sanctuary, once he saw her enter. Instead, he began to angle westward so that he would cross the edge of it a good eight of a mile wide. It would be close enough he could make her out should she exit the stable, and some details of her horse, but not so close either of their face could be made out. If she took that long to exit. But he also slowed his pace, to a near meander, pausing every so often to look about, up at the sky and clouds, like he was examining the scenery and was in no great hurry. Not looking directly at the stable door, only letting his gaze occasionally pass over it. He did not see anyone else enter the stable. Slowly walking along, waiting for her to come out.

[Litani]

Some time later, perhaps 20 chimes or so, a figure on a pale palimino Gildling emerged from the stable doors and began to make its way out into the day. The Konti had saddled the steed and lashed her satchel behind her, leaving her hands free to guide the reins with a gentle touch. Together, the pair made a smooth and willowy team as they moved across the small distance between the stables and Lapis Park; the five acre area boasted of walking trails that she hoped would be suitable for a leisurely ride. Surely it was a beautiful day for it. She had neither bags nor provisions with her, leading one to think perhaps this was meant as a short endeavor, which indeed it was. Only two Suvai lay nestled in her pack... as yet untouched. There were a handful of kata from which she could chose to indulge in today... The forms and paces ran through her mind as she guided her steed through the easy paths of Lapis Park, searching for a secluded and yet open area with which to practice. Five acres seemed like a good allotment of land, and so it was, but some length of searching lead her to believe that she would have to be content with practicing in a field that would be at least somewhat open to observing eyes. So be it. After another 20 chimes or so of contemplative riding, she turned Ansem off at a small path and lead him towards a tree that could serve to shelter them both from the warm sun while she worked. A fluid dismount easily proved her familiarity with the beast and she paused for a moment by Ansem's head to whisper something to him - whatever it was, it apparently took the place of a hobbling or tying off, for she did neither to ensure that her steed would not leave her. Instead, she rubbed his nose affectionately and gave a faint gesture towards a patch of appetizing clover, then moved to retrieve her Suvai from her satchel, chuckling to herself slightly. Evidently, the pair enjoyed a companionship... Ansem, for his part, appeared to cooperate - in no time flat, his head was bowed to the munching task of clover-eating and all thought of abandonment of his mistress seemed far from the horse's intention. Litani herself started to take a series of deep breaths as she moved off some paces from her horse. The pair of curved horn-blades fit easily into her hand, made for her as they were. The way she moved with them - as she took them from her pack, turned them over in her hands whilst walking toward the center of a small glade - might give one the impression that she had some small note of skill or training with the racial weapons. Her mind worked furiously to calm itself, a task at odds with the accomplishment, as she took her stance and closed her eyes. "I saw you today."The memory came unbidden. "Shut up, you saw nothing." "I saw you, you were beautiful." Don't. Swallowing tensely, she pushed the memory away, forcing it back down to where it belonged. In the darkness. Unseen. With a breath, the motionless Konti opened her eyes and began. Her movements were unsteady, uncertain... she had not worked this kata in some small measure of time, and she was rusty. She paused, in places, and retraced her steps sometimes... She worked as if she had no audience, raw, open, free of guile and pretense. When she made a mistake, she whispered a curse at herself and backed up, re-did the move, tried again. And again. Again. Until it was perfect. Only when it was perfect, only then did she continue. Graceful arcs, halting steps, slashes, dodges, piercing thrusts. All blended together in an artful dance that was nothing short of beautiful... even when she stumbled. This was a rare moment in which, unguarded, a person let themselves just... be. Her hair was wild in half-curls against the breeze, stuck to her shoulders in places but free in others, and her breath came in ragged, uneven measures. She concentrated fiercely and she was sweating by the time she was done but, suddenly, a smile broke through the stormy look of focus and she closed her eyes again, performing a delicate bow to an unseen judge or mentor. Something in her thoughts caused her to feel reverence, that much was clear. She lingered in that moment for a short time and then, sighing, let her eyes open again. Scanning the tree-line as if for hidden observers, she felt a slight tinge of paranoia... if she had been seen, she might be mocked for her lack of technique, especially in this city of warriors... but she simply pressed her lips together and internally steeled herself against any potential teasing. In all truth, she was harder on herself than anyone else could ever be and, with the criticisms already building in her thoughts, she reflected on her kata as she returned to her horse. "That could've been better," she told Ansem, "it'll be better next time." She sighed a deep breath and put the Suvai back in her satchel, careful not to let their poison scratch the Gildling in any way. She was tired, shimmering from sweat and scales, and she paused for a moment to catch her breath before moving to mount up once more.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

Rykanis could not help his gaze faltering, and slipping to the Konti as he saw her emerging on horseback. He noted its color, which more or less looked golden, which seemed to hint this might be the right horse. He did not know for certain, but the facts seemed to be adding up to the fact that this might, just might, be who he was looking for. The Konti, who was named Litani, who rode a golden horse from Sanctuary... And lived in the Pearl House. All were details about her. Things he had picked up from observation. But what else could he gather from so passive a encounter? Perhaps next was to set up a meeting, face to face, try to ingrain himself into the situation and push for more active interaction and information gathering. It would be more risky, but perhaps with more reward. He would not risk it were this a mission with more danger involved, but he doubted messing this up would get him killed, or even ruin the chances of the younger Akalak so long as he kept his own mouth shut. As he knew he would. Rykanis waited till she was a decent ways towards the city, before heading back himself, looping around to follow her. He was a bit surprised to find her heading with the horse for one of the parks, he had expected her to just ride with it amongst the open grass outside of town. He followed along much more easily now, after all a horse was a easier object to follow than a tiny person, and it also forced one to be more careful while moving through a city than going by foot. However, the horse was faster than he was, and he soon fell even further behind, and was forced to speed up to a light jog to keep from losing sight of her. It took him a few chimes to track her down once inside the park, and he only managed to catch the second half of her practicing with the suvai, another fact he tucked away, as he headed closer through the trees. It was then that he neared, just as she was about to mount, close enough that if he wanted to he could make himself known... So he did. He let out a light clap for a few ticks, making his presence known. "Not bad, though I do not think I am wrong in saying you are still new to the weapon or... Rough with it." A grin would be on his face, not one of mocking, but simply of enjoyment, or fulfillment, as Rykanis in this moment was happy and satisfied. His curiosity was being sated, and he was truly in his element, learning of this woman, seeing her in secret and of her secrets.

[Litani]

She was half-way through the motion of sliding up into Ansem's saddle when she heard the sound. Someone was clapping. Someone was there. Someone had seen her. In a fluid movement, she mounted and turned Ansem towards the sound at the same time, giving her observer an easy way to tell that she and the steed had been familiar with each other for quite some time now. They knew how the other moved and could respond to it - the Gildling, for his part, apparently felt the sudden tension of his rider for he started to stamp his feet impatiently as Litani snapped her eyes onto Rykanis. Those eyes were crystal blue, as pure and deep as the sky, and now they were narrowed in contemplative scrutiny. She searched his face openly for a silent moment, perhaps trying to divine whether or not she had knowledge of him, but she came up empty. Her gaze then swept down the length of him and back up again, taking full measure of his body and whatever he happened to carry with him. And then, just like that, a small smile of calm seemed to appear... like the sun breaking through the clouds of a storm. Ansem was nudged closer to Rykanis by the tap of her heels. He took a few steps, walked near enough for the Konti and the Akalak to more easily regard each other, then stopped. Litani laced her hands atop the pommel of her saddle and a tiny smirk pulled at the left corner of her lips. If she'd been shy at having been caught in secret, if she held a measure of embarrassment from having been seen, and if she held a brief look of accusation while she'd eyed Rykanis initially... well, there was none of that to be found in her eyes now. "Not all of us were born to the blade, Warrior," she called down quietly, her voice replying in a smoothly contralto note of the most delicate challenge. There, in her tone, was the self-consciously defensive note that her eyes lacked. Then, the smirk melted into a grin and the lilt of her voice changed to the subtle chuckle of a playful tease. "I'd like to see how graceful you are with the harp..." Having said, Litani fell silent. She didn't introduce herself, didn't follow the niceties of convention and protocol. Not just yet. Her gaze was curious and centered on him, wondering just who he was and what he might want with her. Before she gave anything else of herself away, she wanted to see him. Once before in this beautiful paradise, she'd trusted too openly and too quickly... there was no rush to repeat such a misstep.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

Rykanis watched as the Konti moved about, quite smoothly interacting with her horse and leading him were she wanted. Using a simple movement of the feet, some pressure, almost making it act by magic to his untrained eyes. At least in regards to horses. "Perhaps not, but it seems you have grace enough with a horse, perhaps you were born to the saddle, if not to the blade." He continued to smile, looking at the woman, to a degree up, but not that much. After all, he was a Akalak, a decently tall one even by his races standards. But even a Akalak had to look up when speaking to a person on horseback. "Perhaps you could show me a thing or to with them, to be honest I know little of the intricacies of riding a horse. Perhaps I would, if I had spent a few days less with blade in hand. But what can I say, I was born to it." Rykanis cocked his head a bit, glancing at the weapon she had been using, a Suvai. He had seen them used before, mainly though he had seen konti use the practice versions made of wood, which did not have the same essence as its real instance. Much like a practice lakan did not convey the truth of a real lakan, like the two sheathed on his belt. "I am Rykanis, and you are?"