Closed Hissing You So Much (Aka)

[Kalesserimamoru]

Timestamp - 26th of Fall 513 AV

It wasn't often that Mamoru had a heart to heart with his elder sibling, but things had occurred recently that they needed to discuss. Both had gotten noticed within the nest, their actions, combined and alone had gotten them positions of note, and reputations as well. Morgana had gained more of a reputation being a female and it was her that he wanted to talk about. The trickster had gotten good at keeping his deeds hidden from the eyes of most. Rumors were still spread, but no one had any proof of anything that might land him into trouble.


Between a unranked guard and a woman aspiring to be an adviser of the Queen's, Morgana was watched a lot closer than he was, and she also had more enemies. After the recent events with a certain self proclaimed consort of the Queen, Mamoru needed to speak with his sister about it. After a bit of searching, he found her in the training gallery and joined her for a spar of Naginatas. Working off steam was the current goal, and the trickster had a bit of his own to release.


The clashing of steel echoed throughout the gallery as both siblings pushed the other to their limits. With his hands separated near the neck and tail end of the pole, Mamoru slashed at his sister, a horizontal swing towards her body that she blocked, and in return he spun the tail end of the weapon around to jab it at her arm. She stepped back, turning the pole from left to right as Mamoru did. Narrowing her eyes, Morgana charged with a sweeping attack and the trickster reacted by thrusting his blade downward to connect
with hers.


"Not bad Morgana, why at thisss rate. You might be able to fend off a ssnakling."


Pulling his weapon free, Mamoru raised his arms, lifting the Naginata well above his head and brought it back down in a quick vertical slash. Morgana quickly recoiled herself, her slender frame pulling in, only to snap back out with a wicked swing towards her brother's head. "It'sss not the ssnakingsss I want. Jusst my ssmart mouthed little brother."

[Soshakuakamamushi]

It had only been barely over a day since Aka returned to Zinrah, after being lost in the Jungle and encountering an ancient temple of, most likely, Myrian origin. After the horrifying experience of meeting a giant white monster bird face-to-face, unwittingly discovering a ruined temple, witnessing a Dhani boneyard, found a cursed collar, forced to wear it, and brushed this close of being crushed inside the ruined temple; she was not eager to venture out of the Nest anytime soon.

Still, the experience brought a whole new experience for the Viper. So far, this Fall season had been a major life-changer for her, she was visited by the God of Volcanism, Ivak, and he marked her as one of his agents. Aka wasn't sure what he really meant with it, only that he would be watching her from that moment on. Did this mean she was not a child of Siku anymore? Aka didn't really mind, she never feel close to the Serpent Queen anyway and Siku herself seemed to not care for her, evident by her lack of birth gnosis from Siku that all Dhanis should rightfully have.

Aka was taking a leisurely stroll, taking a day off from her reimancy work. She explained what happened in the temple to Sister Aspia and the master reimancer gave her permission to rest for a couple of days. Aspia was curious about the purple scaly collar that clung to Aka's neck like glue, but made no mention to ask, it was the Viper's business to wear what she liked. In truth, it was not Aka wanted to wear it, she couldn't remove cursed thing, at least without destroying it. She wanted to burn it at first, but was curious about its effects, it could be beneficial, like granting her Constrictor strength as it was made from Constrictors. Ghastly, but it would be waste to just burn it to ashes.

In short, she was not eager to venture out of Zinrah anytime soon. So, there she was, in her simple black robe held by a red sash and waist-length ebony hair tied into twintails, walking around in human form, no particular goal in mind.

After a few moments, the Viper entered the Training Gallery, maybe she could practice her reimancy a bit. She was getting better at it, unlocking a mastery over a new element, Air. As expected of her, water would be the last she learned, scary, terrifying water. With master over fire and air, Aka could shoot lightnings from her fingertips, but she figured practicing that shocking element would be frowned upon in the cavern of Zinrah, much like fire and lava.

Her small frame made its way to find a particular spot for her to practice on, but she was stopped when her scarlet slits locked themselves to the familiar Dhani mug of Mamoru sparring with another Constrictor, a female. They seemed to be focused in the fight and didn't notice her yet, Aka's mischievous mind wanted to prank the male, to see him humiliated by a female Constrictor, realizing him on which the dominant gender was. Aka had no knowledge that Mamoru was practicing with his older sister.

Giggling sinisterly, the Viper exhumed a small amount of gaseous res from her right index fingertip. They swirled and gathered there while she pointed her finger to Mamoru and aimed carefully. She then launched the res at high speed as she transmuted them into air, creating a high-speed small wind bullet, aiming to hit Mamoru's face just below his eyes. It would not be fatal or harmful to the Trickster's strong scales, but it should be enough to flinch him at the sudden cool poking sensation.

She then waited, to see if her little trick worked out. If it did, Aka would turn around and continued on her way, acting none the wiser. If it didn't work, well, she would frown and... try again, obviously!

[Kalesserimamoru]

"But I'm right here ssissster, come and get me."

Mamoru laughed, ducking a wide arched swing made by Morgana's Naginata. The trickster leaned back, turning the pole arm a full circle before slamming it back into his sister's blade. There was another loud clash as both Dhani stared hard at the other, their pale yellow-green eyes focused and penetrating. A smile rose upon Mamoru's lips and Morgana smiled back. He was so full of himself and thought that he had her bested with the Naginata. It was time to show him how wrong he was.


Pushing back again, Morgana attacked with a flurry of swings, lashing out at her brother with both sides of her weapon. The trickster attempted the same, wide and wild swings were throw into the fight, his weapon clanking, and the blade end bouncing of that of Morgana's as their clash continued. Moving quickly, he spun himself around, his tail swinging along with him as an added attack while he gripped the Naginata almost like a baseball bat and took a long swing at his sister.


Morgana gasped, throwing up her weapon to block the attack tail and all. Mamoru swept forward, both hand holding his weapon firmly as he took charge. The Dhani attempted quick attacks, jabbing the weapon towards her hip and jerking the tail end around to smack her shoulder or head. Morgana wasn't a trained soldier but for the time, she held her guard against him. His attacks were met with her defiant blade and she matched him blow for blow. It would seem that she had been practicing as much as he had with the Naginata.


"Come on ssissster. You have to pussh yourssself. Don't tell me you've gone ssoft?"


Something happened then and Mamoru couldn't explain it. He lost focus and it would be his undoing. Morgana wasn't pleased with his taunting words, and the older sibling attacked faster and more forcefully. Mamoru was able to block most of her swings, his blade held firmly reacted with his movements faster than earlier days. But something tapped him and in that moment, he misjudged the swing, thinking it had hit when it was only meant as a fake.


Suddenly, Morgana smacked him in his face with the blunt end of her weapon. Mamoru's head shook from the smack and he was left unawares as she swung her weapon across his chest leaving a nic there. "You were ssaying little brother?"

[Soshakuakamamushi]

Aka watched in glee at Mamoru's visible reaction, he was faltering, losing focus at whatever move he was doing. She crossed her arms over her chest as a smug smirk curled up at the corner of her lips. "Sssehehehe~" She couldn't keep her voice down, whoever Mamoru's opponent was, she should be thankful for Aka's help. After fixing one of her twintails, the Viper was about to turn around when she heard the female spoke.

"You were ssaying little brother?"

"Eh?!" Did she hear that right? 'little brother'? The statement was so surprising, Aka couldn't help but face the duo back. That female was Mamoru's older sister?! Aka didn't know the Trickster had a sibling, he never told her. Her slitted eyes immediately examined the female Constrictor, she was big, strong, and beautiful, definitely fitting for a Queen consort. Aka wondered if Mamoru's older sister was actually a consort.

She was awestruck at the new knowledge for a couple of ticks, before her mind recollected itself and processed the information So... she's Master's older sister... if I can get close to her then... "Hehe... hehehe~" A sinister giggle, yes, a giggle caused by her realization that getting close to his older sister would mean she could assert some power of the Trickster. He had a female older sibling, as a proper Dhani, he should be the one obeying her.

Clearing her throat, Aka approached the duo, a small smile on her lips. Nervousness began creeping in as she mentally fumbled over her words. She needed to appear as dignified, elegant, and powerful as possible to impress Mamoru's older sister, though with her small frame and in human form nonetheless, it would be a daunting task. However, she had a new ace... Hypnotism, taught by Mamoru himself. It was not much but it was better than nothing.

Finally arriving, she eyed both Mamoru and Morgana before speaking her mind.

"Ehehe~ I've been watching you two." She looked up to gaze at Morgana's dhani face, her face showing no weaknesses whatsoever... or at least, that's what she thought. A keen observer could see the twitch and subtle signs on her expression indicating she was nervous. "Ssso, you are Mamoru's older sister? I'm Soshakuakamamushi, his uuh..." Dang, she couldn't say "slave", her whole plan would be jeopardized by that single word alone. "...apprentice, hehe~" Great job, Aka... great job... who would buy that? Against her better judgement, she continued, carefully flowing djed to her speech. "Can we be friendsss? Asss a fellow female Dhani? May I know your name, Sissster?"

She hoped her meager emotional suggestion could subtly sway Morgana's first impression on her for the better.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru coiled his tail under the weight of his body and shook off the dull ache in his jaw. Morgana was getting much better with their weapon of choice, maybe even faster than he was. He felt a light sting in his chest and after looking down he noticed the nix that his sister had just made.


She was really getting good. The trickster still wasn't sure how he had misread the mark. He felt the wind go by and the weapon as he smacked his cheek, but then, there it was again, coming so fast he didn't have the chance to react.


"Very good Morgana. You got me there. I ssee that you have learned from me after all."


Morgana arched a brow and shifted her weapon to aim at her brother again. It had been a while since they had spared and she was ready to show him just how much she had learned. The older sibling saw herself as the reason for her brother's climb through the ranks, and although he was the warrior between the two, she wouldn't be out done so easily.


"You may have aided me ssome, but you didn't teach me to usse it. I found other waysss for that. Here, let me sshow you."


Morgana stabbed at him again, before unleashing a flurry of attacks, both meant to stun or stab him any where that she could. Mamoru reacted, swinging his blade around to block her attacks either with the blade or the butt end. The staff itself was also used in the contact between the other. Both siblings held about the same level of skill in the Naginata which led them to block each other a lot more than anyone was able to get in a strike.


Mamoru swung his blade left, and Morgana right, once again locking the weapons and placing them into a stand still. The trickster stared at his sister and noticed the tremble in her arms, she was getting tired and it was affecting her movements. He too was just as tired and his own movements were being affected, giving him the idea to end it quickly.


"Getting tired? Sshall I end it now?"


Then there was a voice, a voice he knew from a viper he had plucked out of the jungle. It was Aka. Just as Mamoru turned to look at her, Morgana thrust her weapon forward hard, and quickly spun it to pull Mamoru's free of his hands. The eyes of the trickster widen as he looked back to his sister's smiling face.


"No, I'll end it for you...little brother."


She called him little brother on purpose to remind him of who he was, his place in the nest and above all, who she was. The older sibling lightly slapped him across his face before shoving her weapon into his arms as she turned to address the new-comer. Morgana was a tall, lanky Dhani and looking down at Aka, she was very much a small fry.


"Ssosshakuakamamusshi? You're Aka?"


A devious smile rose upon her lips then and she folded her arms under her breasts. She had heard a lot about Aka, it was hard not too. A viper coming into the nest and keeping up such fuss? It was unheard of. Mamoru stared at the two, Aka was a slippery viper and had snuck up on them without him knowing she was there.


"You're hisss apprentice?" she asked, slightly arching a brow. "I heard ssomething different. What wasss it they ssaid you called my little brother? Massster?"


Morgana had heard all about the two, but she decided not to say anything to her brother just yet. She imagined there was a reason he hadn't let her meet this Aka before, and wanted to give him the illusion that she didn't know. It was funny to think about, anyone calling Mamoru master of anything. To her, he would always be her little brother, and if he knew what was good for him, he'd continue to do what she said.


"You want to know my name?"


Morgana glanced at Mamoru quickly, knowing that he saw it too. It would be hard for one not to recognize the hypnotic suggestion with Mamoru of all people as her brother. She had to give them both credit, Aka for having the courage to attempt such a thing, and to her brother for being able to influence a female Dhani.


"You can all me Morgana. And from a fellow female Dhani? You should be more careful with who you try to manipulate. I might not be sso kind next time."

[Soshakuakamamushi]

Their battle had been interesting, Aka was confident that if she didn't subtly intervene, the older sister would lose. Mamoru was strong after all, she also noticed how his movements were more graceful, at least compared to most other constrictors. Nothing beats the lightning-fast strike of a Viper though.

Giving Mamoru a - worried - glance, afraid he might punish her for boosting her position to "apprentice" without his consent, Aka swallowed the fear and focused back to the towering female in front of her instead. The Viper actually had to significantly tilt her head upwards to look at Morgana in the eyes, to make matters worse, she was in Dhani form while Aka was in human form, the size difference was startling.

"Uh...yea, I'm Aka." The Viper wondered on why Morgana acted as if she heard of her before... well, it shouldn't be far-fetched, Aka was rather (in)famous for her deeds in and around Zinrah. She wondered if the Constrictors ever found out that the jungle fire at the beginning of Fall was her doing. Aka was so caught up in her thoughts that when Morgana mentioned about how she called Mamoru, she yelped in shock.

"Hi?! I... I uhm... I..." Aka looked down, she could feel blush creeping up to her features. Morgana's guess was spot-on, she couldn't deny it, doing so would only give Mamoru more chance to tighten his hold on her, if it wasn't tight enough already. Aka twiddled her fingers and slightly turned her head to the side, face full of embarrassment "Y-yesss... I call him.. t-that..." If Morgana decided to continue with 'Oh! You're his slave then?', she couldn't deny it anymore.

It was pathetic, Aka was so used to calling Mamoru 'Master' that she saw it as a normal thing. The fireproof Viper wasn't exactly a stranger to calling someone 'Master', she did that to Galbern, being his apprentice and all. But now, she was a slave... a very loose definition of one, but still technically a slave.

"O-okay, S-sissster Morgana..." The black-haired girl was about to smile, but it quickly faltered when she realized Morgana didn't take kindly to her attempt at hypnosis, how did she find out? A mere tick later, Aka mentally facepalmed herself. Of course Morgana would find out, she was the big sister of The Trickster! She had to be living in a cave to not recognize a beginner's attempt at Hypnotism... well, a proverbial cave.

"I... I'm sssorry..." Great, just great, Morgana would see her as a spineless female if she kept this up. Aka couldn't see a way to salvage the situation. Oh how could she feel Mamoru already planning some nasty remarks that would only cement her position as an underling. The Viper closed her eyes and winced, waiting for the inevitable... though a - really - small part of her mind hoped Mamoru would keep silent, but why would he?

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru watched with interest to see what would happen next. A lesson lived was a lesson learned, and Aka would see for herself that it wasn't a good idea to try to hypnotize just anyone.


It was best to pick those less suspecting and less wary. Even with his power, the trickster would have a hard time convincing a Myrian not to attack him if they knew he was a Dhani.


"Do you ssee what I mean Morgana? Thosse lessser Dhani, they're like animalsss. No tact whatsss sso ever. But Aka here hasss come a long way. You sshould have sseen her when I plucked her out of the jungle. Sshe wasss ssavage to ssay the leasst."


He glanced at Aka and offered the viper a sly smile and a wink. He wasn't sure if he should feel impressed or jealous that she was trying so hard to get on Morgana's good side.

She had never been that kind to him, at least not unless she wanted something. Suddenly Mamoru's eye twitched and he folded his arms across his chest.


What are you after thisss time Aka? What isss it that you want from my ssissster?


Morgana looked to her brother then back to Aka again. The viper had been called a lot of things in the past, but pleasant was never a word used to describe her.


But Morgana was the type to make her own judgements and as long as Aka didn't try to hypnotize her again she would pretend it never happened. Pretend...a proper woman never forgets.


"Sso Aka, iss there ssomething you wanted, ssissster?"

[Soshakuakamamushi]

Oh, Master finally decided to chime in. How rude, he basically mocked the entire Viper sub-race. "Hmmmph... M-massster, you brute..." Aka grumbled, his statement was completely nonsensical, Vipers were much more refined and classy compared to these brutish constrictors who only knew how to use their muscles. What the Viper didn't realize was that she was basically the same as Mamoru, prejudicing the Constrictors as stupid brutes despite quite a number of them were able to do magic, art, carving, and other activities requiring intelligence. Mamoru was obviously one of them, being a morpher and hypnotist.

She flinched when Mamoru winked at her, by that gesture alone, Aka made numerous assumptions, one of them was Mamoru already knew everything she was trying to do and that her actions were futile, and she would always belong to him until the day she died. It may or may not be an exaggeration.

Turning her attention back to Morgana, Aka rubbed her left arm with her right hand, her lips were slightly trembling. She started regretting her actions, she should have let these two practice... but, nothing would change if she kept on avoiding her issues, she learned that the hard way. Forcing a confident grin, Aka looked up to face Morgana in the eyes again, putting her right hand to her hips as she glanced at Mamoru in a mischievous manner for a tick.

"Hehe~ Sissster Morgana, maybe... we can help each other out you know~ anything that you have in mind that I can do to help, hmm? Hehe~ I can do lotsss of thingsss for you, I can build tunnelsss, teach you reimancy, acrobaticsss, anything!" Aka exaggerated, but she thought it was key in showing what she could do. "In return..." She whispered this time, her tone became devious "How about you tell Mamoru to lisssten to me? It'sss only fitting right? We are femalesss after all..." A wonderful plan indeed.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru watched the two and felt an eerie feeling growing inside his belly. As unlikely as it was, if Aka became friends with Morgana, that would put him in a very tight spot.


He would certainly lose any dominance that he had over her, and if Aka were to join Morgana's circle of friends he may have to go into hiding. He continued to watch the interaction with great interest and a wary eye.


Morgana studied the viper closely as they talked. The girl had a sharp mind, already considering how aligning herself with the right constrictors could make her life in the nest so much easier. She smiled, tickled at how eager Aka was to strike a relationship of benefits.


"It'sss good of you to assk, but I leave the magic to thosse like you and my brother. But if I do need ssomething...I know where to find you."


The trickster listened, as he had been the whole time and heard the whisper that Aka sent to Morgana. The plea that she have him listen to her, the exact expectation being left to the winds.


He didn't say anything at the moment and only waited to see what his sister's reply would be. However his mind had already began to work and before their time was up, he would have something to add.


"Oh goodnessss." Morgana said with a smirk. "Mamoru, are you not treating your guesst nicely? Even after sshe followed you all the way home? " She sighed and shook her head before continuing.


"Pleasse forgive my brother, he is cluesss when it comesss to women, especially the onesss that are taken with him." Morgana flashed Aka a look quickly then turned back to face her brother. "Be nice to her Mamoru, sshe is a woman you know, and sshe deservess respect."


Mamoru arched a brow at her words and glanced between her and Aka. He couldn't be sure exactly, but what his sister was saying sounded a lot like she was trying to...."Oh and by the way, there isss ssomething that I could usse your help with Mamoru, you too Aka."

[Soshakuakamamushi]

Aka smirked, her confident bubbling up inside her, evident with her now putting both of her hands to her hips. Sister Morgana looked interested in having a positive relasionship with her, it was only fitting, two female Dhanis each with different kind of expertise complimenting each other. The constrictor was not really interested in magic, but no matter, Aka would still get her partnership. "Yesss! I will tell you the location of my cavern-room later!"

"Hehe~" She changed her arrogant posture to crossing her arms over her non-existent breasts, slightly tilting her chin up as Morgana scolded Mamoru. Served him right, he may had save her, but in the end, a female would always triumph over a male, it was just how the world works.

"Ohoho~ It'sss fine, Sissster." Well, Aka was rather surprised in truth. Was Mamoru really clueless when it come to women? He looked like someone who could snatch a mate or two with his looks and voice alone, it was either Morgana mocking him or he really was clueless. She would find out later.

Oh, how she loved being called a "woman" instead of "child, girl, or sssmall fry". Her respect and fondness of Morgana grew with each praise she gave. "Hehe, Massster, be nice to me and I'll be nice to you as well, isssn't that ssswell?" She slightly cocked her waist, Aka figured he had no way out of this unless he wanted to disobey a female older sibling which would be greatly frowned upon in Dhani society.

"Oh and by the way, there isss ssomething that I could usse your help with Mamoru, you too Aka."

A favor, Aka didn't consider any hidden agendas or suspicions at all, she was all willing in helping Mamoru's older sister. The Viper nodded and a wide happy grin plastered itself on her face "Sure! What do you want help with?" So naive and clueless, Aka still didn't have what it takes to dabble in politics.