Closed [Valkallah's Tears] An Unlikely Band (Uleru,Theresa,Claire)

[Noha]

Fall, Day 70, 513 AV
12th Bell

Clouds swirled above Riverfall like gulls on the wing, fat and dark, promising rain but never following through on the threat. Although the grey sky hung over the city it didn't keep the citizens and travelers from going about their business. With Winter season so close, there was a lot to be done, so the streets and passages between tiers bustled with activity. A brisk wind whistled through the streets of the city off the bay, chilly but not overly so, whipping up fallen leaves and dust.

Noha started her journey to Valkalah's tears early, with a bounce in her step. A dark sky meant she wasn't at risk of drying out her skin and so gave her ample time to study the lava flow's mineral composition. Post-beautyfest traffic clogged the walkways from tier one to the second, where Noha was headed. She ran, dodging feet and ankles as best she could, climbing or jumping over obstacles like crates and smaller, slow-moving denizens along the way. One such citizen - a wizened old Akalak stacking melons - nearly crushed Noha under the produce as she scrambled over the heap to bypass a particularly dense bottleneck leading to the second tier. She escaped unscathed, but earned herself some nasty comments from the wrinkled blue giant.

Her quick pace slowed the closer she got to the lava flow that ran from the city's first and second tiers down onto the beach and out, stretching far into the ocean, where it disappeared beneath the waves. If she remembered correctly, the Tears were thought to be a marker for the old city where the Akalak race once resided, created when the Valterrian sundered the world. If that was the case, then the flow might house important mineral deposits.

Noha started at the middle of the flow on the second tier, careful of the water that ran down its surface over the precipice onto the beach. Over time, the water eroded the pillowy rock - a formation made by rapidly quenching slow moving magma - polishing its already glassy, black surface. She could nearly see her own reflection in the dark formations. While she carefully chipped at the rock with her spoon and studied the flakes of mineral basalt, she remembered the other rumor about the creation of the tears. Religious folk in the city claimed a god formed the flow, creating a dark, mysterious scar that pointed to the fallen city of Valkallah. She glanced out over the beach, following the flow with her eyes into the water.

The grey sky and winds off the Suvan made for choppy conditions. She would have to be careful to avoid being swept away into the dark water. If Valkallah did reside under those swells, encased in lava or just buried under years of ocean debris, she didn't want to find out by getting lost herself. Satisfied with her few specimens from this point in the flow, Noha packed away the bits of rock in her backpack and continued her careful descent onto the beach.

The wind howled off the top of the cliffs, but against their walls it was less brutal. Gulls and other fauna made their nests in the faults along the cliffside. They paid little attention to the Pycon as she made her way down the face - foothold by foothold - in a fashion similar to traditional bouldering. She worked without ropes or harnesses, using her naturally gritty textured clay body to keep a firm hold on the rock. The climb down the face of this cliff was not particularly hard because it was a rather short path to the beach, and she had scouted the face beforehand to figure out her way. That was the tricky part of climbing. You couldn't just jump into it in most cases, because if you ran out of footholds or handholds, you would be stuck on a sheer face of unforgiving rock.

Finally, Noha made it to the sand of the beach. The tiny granules stuck to her legs as she walked to the lower flow, intent on finding any interesting deposits of minerals. If she was lucky, perhaps she would find a geode or two for her collection.

[Uleru]

The sky promises rain, clouds grow fat and expectant, but the afternoon wears on without the sweet downpour that Uleru is waiting for.

"Why not a storm, Tess?" the Uleru whines to her companion, the Svefra walking along the sandy shore while the Otani walks in the knee-high surf. "A good, healthy storm. Lots of rain and three story waves. I used to play in storms like that in the Sebakem. With a good downpour you could probably get half a mile inland before you had to turn back. Even farther if there was flooding," she moans in longing, but abruptly stops when she catches Teresa's eye. "I always do my best to rescue the drowners", she says amends quickly, "but come on, there is something primal about a good storm."

The moulding kicks a high arc of seawater over her head, face tilted back like she's enjoying a ray of sunshine instead of a blast of chilly water. She's been in a bad mood all day, now that winter is almost here and fewer and fewer people have been coming down to the beach or setting sail on their ships. Everything is gearing down for the loneliest season. Of course the sea is still as fascinating as it ever was, but unless she heads north to the Flotilla or corners a Charoda that comes up from the south then she will spend the Winter talking to Kailani, the Orca Kuvan. And he's not much for conversation.

Blowing out her cheeks in frustration, she looks up from where she was studying the waves lapping around her legs. They are almost at the Tears now. It's a beautiful place, majestic really, when the Syna hits it just right. Her eyes sweep the formation, taking in the glassy texture and the almost ethereal quality it carries in the muted light. Until movement catches her eye.

Her eyes narrow suspiciously at the scampering creature, her mind working furiously to recall what it is. No, not creature, person. It's a Pycon. A little clay figure come to life. She's met Pycon before, she even gets along well with most of them, but she hasn't seen one in decades. And it's only a few feet from the water...

A smile splits her face, and a jolt of vibrant blue lingers in her body. Before Teresa can call her back Uleru throws herself into the impossibly shallow water and disappears.

But she doesn't stay under for long. With a speed she could never attain on land, she launches out of the surf and snatches the creature off the sand in one quick motion.

The Otani laughs genially and with obvious delight at having attained her tiny clay prize. With her hands on the creature she pulls herself the rest of the way ashore by the elbows, then rolls onto her back as if to admire the girl with Syna behind her.

"Oh what is this, what is this? You are beautiful!", she jabbers away in rapid Fratava, her eyes alight with curiosity. "My girl, my pretty girl! What can a restless Pycon like you be doing out here?" Apparently her mood has turned right around with the introduction of a new toy.

[Teresa Deepseeker]

The afternoon wears on with the endless threat of rain, the beach was deserted, or rather, mostly deserted save for the two figures walking across the chilled sand. The clouds sit heavy and dark with a cold wind coming up from the Suvan keeping most of the sane residents of Riverfall indoors or at least in the city proper where the massive wall can keep out the worst of the bitting winds. But The Svefra has been noticing a dour mood coloring Uleru’s normally mischievous and playful aura, but this is standard behavior coming into the cold season. The loss of companionship is always hard on the busy creatures and Teresa vowed to do her part to ease the transition for her oldest friend and bring back the bubbly creature she learned to love.   Mostly because she knows what the monster is capable of when she's 'bored'.    Another cold blast of chilly air works its way up the surf and Teresa hikes her jacket further up her shoulders.   "Why not a storm Tess?"   "Because Zulvra and Laviku are getting along. I believe we've been over this."   The only way she can seem to placate her companion with an explanation is to insert her god and tack the situation onto his will. The Otani tends to question a lot of things, but never their god, and as such Teresa has learned of some creative ways to insert the Sea King into the most obscure situations. As she continues to describe the ideal storm Teresa tries to take it to heart. She could understand the beauty of a storm, all the power the oceans could create has been the backdrop to many of the classic stories she heard as a girl. But the loss of life that usually comes with it has always left more of an uneasy reverence than a joyful longing. But nonetheless Teresa listens to joyful recounting. Until she mentions the flooding, and the Otani looks over to see the Svefra giving her a very dark look.   "I always do my best to rescue the drowners." Uleru was quick to point out. "but come on, there is something primal about a good storm"   "Suppose I can't argue with that, but still, I can survive as well in stormy waters as you can in the desert. What might be fun and games to you is also what will be the end of me once He deems me too weak. So if Laviku decides to unleash his wrath I’ll be the first one booking it to higher grounds.” The ominous prediction was followed by a light chuckle, because while Teresa did not fancy the thought of dying, she also knows this is usually how it ends. The Svefra never live to be old enough to pass away naturally, its always an outside force, and nine times out of ten, its the oceans that claim them. Therefore the thought was as natural to her as swimming is to a fish. But she had no more time to dwell on the thought before color shot through her friend and she looked over to see a her gaze fixed on something farther down the beach. But Teresa’s concentration was more focused on the sudden spark in her watery eyes. She had learned to fear that look. “Whoa, hold u-!” But the monster was already gone. She vaulted from her spot in the surf and disappeared under the surface of what could be aptly described as a puddle. The Svefra could do nothing but hold her breath and wait for something to happen. Oddly enough all she does is pop out of the water to snatch a figurine off the rocks. Probably a practice piece for an artist out trying to find his muse on the beach. A quick sprint is all that was needed to draw level with her in time to hear her babble excitedly in Fratava. "Oh what is this, what is this? You are beautiful!" But this figurine is moving. Sure enough, once Uleru crawled up the beach and flipped on her back Teresa could finally get a full unobstructed view of this fascinating oddity appropriately freaking out in the Otani’s grip. "My girl, my pretty girl! What can a restless Pycon like you be doing out here?" “Pycon?” It was no use, the word went right over her head. She had never seen a Pycon before, at the Flotilla or on her trips into the port cities. To her this was nothing short of magic, perhaps one of those toys that move when you wind them up? Whatever it was Teresa never imagined it could be sentient. But the perpetual wetness of Otani skin was causing the clay being to slip and Uleru had to compensate by griping harder. Her fingers began to create indents and Teresa felt the sudden need to save the poor creature. "Before you start smiting the thing, why don't we just take a look at it?" She swiped the Pycon out of Uleru’s hands, letting it slide up and into her own warm flesh and bone hands and immediantly started to poke and prod it. Rotating its arms and running a finger over the texture of its hair. It all just looked so real. A smile lit up Teresa's face, the joy of such a unique new discovery sent little sparks of energy through her chest. This one trumps all the other trinkets she managed to bring back to her pod. “This is facinating! How do you suppose you wind it up?”