Flashback [Bronze Woods] Fluid Cunning (Uleru)

[Kaie]

Third Day of Fall, 511 AV

There was something far more inviting about the wilderness than the city in the eyes of the Myrian. She had grown tired of the heavily fortified walls that felt more like a cage than a structure for her own protection. The crowds were always bustling about, their voices drowning out one another, making conversation in the streets sometimes near impossible. And for a woman who hailed from a world where Caiyha's predators were more commonly encountered than people, excursions into the wild were necessary for her own peace of mind.

Syna shone brightly from above, her light filtering in softly through the leaves in a light green glow. All was relatively quiet besides the gentle rustle of foliage in the new fall wind and the gentle gurgle of the Avitar River. That's of course all before Kaie made her appearance.

With several hours to kill and some coveted time to herself, the Myrian had decided to do some training of her own. Behind her she dragged a strange, homemade-looking piece of equipment. A heavy sack that appeared to be filled with sand and attached to a rope trailed behind her. The woman herself wore nothing more than a simple loincloth, leather vest, and cloak upon her body. A gladius with an elaborately decorated sheath hung loosely at her side.

I suppose this spot will do as good as any. And this branch looks solid enough. Guess I'll have to see for myself.

With a dull thud, her gladius was tossed gently off to the side a few feet from the river. There was little reason for her to be concerned. There was no one around to take it. Besides, having something like that dangling on her hip would only get in her way anyhow. So without much forethought, Kaie went right to work. Rope in hand, she pulled the sack right up to the base of the tree trunk. From there, she slowly began her ascent into the branches.

"Goddess, this is heavier than I thought," She growled to herself up in the tree, straddling the branch as she struggled to keep the sack below levitated. It was risen about knee high above the ground, but it was not enough."Just a little higher...And...Yes!"

Kaie quickly tied the rope around the strong branch while she could still hold the weight, and then swiftly dropped from her perch. Upon impact, her body tucked down into a roll before she sprung up to her feet again. With the set up finally complete, it was time for the actual training to begin. Already was the hanging punching bag becoming personified in her calculating mind. After a shrug of her shoulders, the Myrian lunged in, the rhythmic thudding of fists upon contained sand permeating the otherwise quiet surroundings.

[Uleru]

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Syliria is quite a dull place, really. Oh she has heard that it is a thriving metropolis, but all she has ever seen of it is it's ugly grey shell. It's just a great, sooty monster crouched on the shore smelling vaguely of petrichor and the sour scent of perspiring humans. It has a busy dock though, but even so nobody will stop and talk to an Otani, even if she's singing about a coming storm or asking for tribute.

Uleru wouldn't have come to Syliria if she'd had a choice, but she was compelled to follow a trading vessel from the Flotilla. And you learn not to avoid your compulsions when your will is also tangentially tied to the whims of a god. But now that she's arrived she has decided to flee the ugly city and visit one of the few sights she enjoys in the area; the Sunset Falls. A lengthy journey to be sure (especially swimming upstream) but there are interesting sights to see along the way.

Like Myrians with punchbags.

Uleru's eyes rise above the sparkling water just enough to confirm the strange sight. And the moulding finds herself watching the exotic woman pummel the sack in an almost hypnotic trance. She's a beautiful creature, very powerful, and a rarity to see outside the jungles of Falyndar!

The branch groaning under the enforced weight of sand, the calmly rushing river and the visceral sounds of knuckles against sackcloth provide the only sound for the Myrian's unknown audience. And the soft afternoon light ignites the- wait, whats that?

Shining innocently on the bank is the first few inches of a naked blade, shaken free of it's leather sheath. The woman's, perhaps? The monster slides her way upstream a few meters to get a closer look. It's a very well cared for possession, she can see. But her mind is less focused on the nuances of one of the many exotic killing devices in the world, instead her wheels are turning in a very different direction.

If you can catch a Myrian they make for great, spirited playmates, she finds. But catching them can be tricky. They cannot be asked or persuaded, and even their children will usually attack her on sight. And while getting into a scrap with the vicious jungle people can be fun in it's own way, baiting them can be infinitely more rewarding, and ropes them into the game tighter. It's all about the tricks and the cunning with Myrians, which the skilled race is quick to match. And Uleru can think of just the way to get the exotic woman to play with her...

Fingers spidering along the ground, Uleru tries to both keep out of sight and reach the unguarded weapon. Finally her fingers grasp the smooth handle and she carefully guides out of the sheath and back to the river, only to sigh with relief as it slides underwater without the woman noticing. The jungle people are hardly ever caught unawares, so she's rightfully impressed that she managed to both get the weapon and keep all of her fingers.

Next she kicks against the current and heads to the bottom of the river with the gladius snug against her chest. The moulding then takes the blade and sticks it down into the silt as far as it will go, leaving only it's handle sicking out like a strange river weed.

Now stage has been set, the bait has been cast, and she can rope the Myrian into a game!

When pulling herself ashore seconds later Uleru makes no effort to be quiet about it, knowing she isn't sneaky enough to fool the Myrian. And instead settles down cross-legged in full, unguarded view where the sword had been only moments before. The greenish light from the trees does strange things to her body, lighting her up and filtering through her back to make a puddle of light around her. Her liquid smile is both excited and and impish, even though she knows exacly what kind of shyke storm will be coming her way. But thats all just part of the fun.

Then, rocking back and forth on her hips, the monster starts to sing:

"It shines and it glimmers
though it's not made of gold

It's sharp and it runs
with the blood of the bold

It's a weapon so brave
with rival most foul

And here this poor weapon was used as a trowel!

But fear not, my love
Your possession is quite ok

It shall come back, my love
At the conclusion of our play

It's a game, you see
A game you'll most enjoy

And if you win the game I'll come back with your toy!"

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[Kaie]

One..Two..Three..Four..One

The beatings upon the bag continued, each satisfying strike sending the Myrian deeper and deeper into her own center of bliss. She began slow and gradually built to a far quicker pace. No punch was ever quite the same. Jabs, hooks, hammer fists, even elbows wrecked havoc upon the makeshift dummy. Kaie was in her own little world, and nothing would break her rhythm...

What in the petch...?"

The sound of a melody shattered her focus. Her punches were brought to a halt and the Myrian spun around, one hand shooting down to her side. It grasped nothing but empty air.

Shyke! I left it by the...River...

The creature before her was like nothing she'd ever seen. It was impossible. The feminine shape of some sort of water being sat cross-legged before her in the very spot her gladius once sat. It was so strange, the floating water with a life of its own, its body glowing with the brightness of the environment. Kaie had never seen a thing like her. She had a smug smile on her fluid lips like she knew something the Myrian didn't. And that music...What was it she was singing to her?

A game I'll most enjoy and if I win she'll give me back my toy? What toy...? Son of a bitch, my father's gladius!

"Hey, give it back!" She snarled in Common, lip curling in fury as she strode forward with obvious aggression. The Svefra that brought her to Riverfall told her stories of strange people of the sea that serenaded sailors, and sometimes led ships astray. This thing certainly fit the description. Yet Kaie knew nothing of the thing other than that brief tale. Then again, since when did that stop her from going after what she wanted? "Please don't make this hard for the two of us."

[Uleru]

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Uleru stiffens reflexively when the Myrian makes for her with obvious malicious intent, expecting the woman to relocate her teeth. Her lips are curled back in a snarl that could rival a tigers, and her stride is that of a predator. But miraculously the woman stops short of reconstructive Otani dentistry. Saying something about... making it hard for both of them? 
 
"If I was easy for us it wouldn’t be much of a game" the Otani rolls her eyes. "Besides, you don't even know the rules. Sit down" she smiles, patting the soft grass in front of her. Though she's almost certain the Myrian will refuse.
 
Deciding that she'd rather defend herself on even ground, the moulding changes her mind and gets to her feet instead. This isn't a simple baiting, she isn't dealing with a wimpy human or an Akvatari. But at the same time she cant help pulling the tail of this beautiful tiger. Otani are not known for making good choices, she supposes.   
 
"Of course, you could go get the sword yourself. It's right over there", she says with infuriating smugness, pointing over her shoulder at the the wide, gently flowing river. She doesn't expect anyone besides a Charoda or a very capable, marked Svefra would be able to go that deep. "But if you don't want to get your feet wet you can always convince me to get it. A good tribute will do, I expect. Not a tribute to Laviku (though one wouldn't go amiss), but one for me. How about a tooth? Oh, I know, a kiss! A kiss and I'll go get your sword." 
 
Uleru leans forward expectantly and taps her lip. Oh yes, pull the tigers tail... She imagines Laviku is watching through her eyes at this moment, shaking his seaweed beard in exasperation. 

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[Kaie]

The Myrian looked at the water creature with a clearly bewildered expression. First she had appeared from no where (well obviously from the river but you get the point), and then she was demanding she take a seat and play some sort of game? Kaie knew men who frequented places to gamble like the Spinning Coin, but something told her that wasn't the sort of fun the fluid woman was interested in. For several moments, the savage could do nothing but stand there with palms opened toward the thing questioningly. She wasn't really going to start obeying a fleshless entity was she? But did she even have a choice? Luckily for Kaie, the moulding found her feet to converse instead.

Amber eyes lit up at the spoken option, head snapping in the direction the woman pointed. Unfortunately after leaning a bit to see around the vibrant, watery being, it was very obvious retrieving the gladius herself wasn't an option at all. Her sights immediately narrowed to furious slits. A bestial growl bubbled at the base of her throat. The smug expression her new opponent wore didn't help her already fragile self control. Bronzed fingers curled into tight fists. There was no denying the moulding was the one in charge. They both knew it. And Kaie hated her for it.

"What? No! You will not get a kiss. Just go get it back!" She snarled irritably, extending her finger back toward the river like she was sending an unruly child to their room. She stood there like that for several ticks before she realized the water woman wouldn't be swayed so easily. So with groan Kaie turned and stomped back toward the tree. She leaped up and wrapped her fingers around a low branch, letting it snap under the weight of her body and gravity. The Myrian grumbled as her feet made contact with the earth again, dragging the wood behind her.

Kaie paused at the riverbank and chucked the wood blindly toward he river, one hand holding the end. It hit the water with a splash no where near its target. She tried again but the result was the same. Always just out of reach. In a last ditch effort she reached the branch out from the very edge of the bank. Gradually she began lean closer, closer, until...

"Petch!"

Splash!

Kaie hit the water like a stone, having lost her balance, and tumbled head first into the river. She emerged immediately with a gasp. Bronzed hands clawed at the bank for a solid hold before she finally dragged herself out, spitting out water. Loin cloth and leather vest soaked, she was a sopping mess. The Myrian snapped her head up to glare at the fluid creature to blame for her woes, soaked hair flipping back behind her. Kaie ran a hand down her face to rid the droplets freckling her skin before standing again. Her chest heaved with new found fury and a deep, budding distaste for the trickster. It seemed she had no choice but to play her game.

"What. Do you want from me?"


OOC:Sorry for the wait! Thanks for understanding.

[Uleru]

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Uleru opens her mouth to dissuade the woman from reaching into the water with the branch, only to snap it shut a moment later. She sees no reason not to park her butt down and watch. The Myrian needs to be able to try all means to reach the weapon herself before she's going to listen to the Otani. So she waits.

When the woman inevitable falls in with a splash and a heroic curse, the moulding just nods knowingly, a tiny frown on her lips. The Otani version of looking sympathetic.

The woman's climbs back ashore a moment later and her head snaps back to the moulding, flicking drops of water, and glares at her with the full power of her burning eyes. She speaks then, resigned but full of a blossoming loathing. And Uleru knows instinctively that this woman is not for a second backing down. "What. What do you want from me?"

"Great! I knew you'd come around", she smiles benignly. "Lets have a competition. You'll like a friendly competition wouldn't you? It's simple: I'll choose a task first, either it be a race or hide-n'-seek or a test of wit. Then whoever wins the task gets a point, and it'll be your turn to choose. The first to five points gets to keep the sword."

Partly a lie, Uleru has no intention of keeping the gladius. What could she possibly do with a weapon like that? But again, it works as an incentive. And keeping it out of the way prevents the Myrian from nailing her to a tree with it.

"My turn first", she begins, fingers laced in a crown over her head and face craned skyward as she thinks of an appropriate game to start them off. A game she would have an advantage with, of course. But her mind draws a blank as she considers options that will skew the task in favor of the jelly-like creature versus the goddess of warrior physic in front of her. It cant be a physical task, then. Endurance perhaps? She can take a javilin to the face like a champ, and has more dijed than your average land-dweller. But she shakes that thought off too. It'll have to be a test of wit then. A game she has a lot of practise in... Aha!

"How about a riddle?" the moulding suddenly speaks, an excited smile lit on her face. Without waiting for an answer, she launches into a well known riddle told among sailors and her kin:

"I live in the sky, the sea and the Svefra’s eyes. I can be either royal or dull, can sparkle but will not shine. Delicate on a robins egg and bold in the roaring flame. What is my name?"

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[Kaie]

Okay. A game. We play games back in Falyndar and this one's probably no different. How hard could it be?

Apparently pretty damn challenging, because next thing she knew, the strange little water creature was rattling off some cryptic response that left the Myrian wide eyed and dumbfounded. The jelly-woman had chosen a riddle and a challenging one at that. For a foreigner who hadn't even mastered the Common language, Kaie wasn't so sure she even had a chance. She was practically racing after the zealous speech that launched so exuberantly from fluid lips. Luckily she managed to catch most of it. Still Kaie was a woman of belligerence. Her culture was one that prided itself of battle prowess and superb tactic. Verbal puzzles were never incorporated into her training.

Focus! Lives in the sky, sea, and Svefra eyes. Royal or dull and can sparkle. Robin's egg and roaring flame. Goddess...

The young woman pushed her soaking mane from her face with both bronzed hands. Immediately she bit her lip, and the amber spheres upon her face narrowed in strained thought. She had met Svefra before. It was one of their vessels that brought her to the new world she was in. Yet much time had passed since then and specifics like eye color were lost in time. Her memory was failing her in a way that made want to scream out in frustration. She couldn't lose. She couldn't!

Just think! Figure it out!

"It lives in the sky and the sea, but also on robin egg? And in flame?" She questioned rhetorically, tone almost doubtful something of that description could exist. After all how did an egg relate to anything else in the riddle? How could something on and egg be found anywhere else? Unless...

"Unless it is color! Ocean sparkle in sun. Sky, sea, Svefra eye, Robin egg, and flame! All color, you call....Blue?" She tried hesitantly, practically blurting out her thoughts in an excited ramble. Suddenly it all had made sense! The ocean glittered like a thousand diamonds that bright morning they crossed to Riverfall. Once when she trained Molly, the little girl had found a little nest of light blue eggs. And only in the strangest flames did she find the fuel burn away in tongues of blue. Now a more important question had arose.

Was she right?

[Uleru]

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Uleru's hips swing like a pendulum in a little self-satisfied dance. Completely sure in the fact that her riddle is both deceptively simple and yet unsolvable for the barbarian woman. Because when the she speaks, she does so in an accent as thick as honey. Common is their shared language, sure, but it cant be the Myrian's mother tongue.
 
Besides, she could never figure out what fire and eggs have in common! This game is hers for sure.
 
But as she listens to the Myrian rattle off her thinking processes, her face screwed up in concentration, the mouldings swinging gets less and less ebullient. And finally her cocky smile falls from her face altogether when the Myrian suddenly exclaims; "Unless it's a colour!"  
 
No! No it's not a colour! she whines internally. She cant believe it. The thick-tongued barbarian woman has solved her riddle! The woman searches her vocabulary and blurts out "blue" in a rather hesitant way. As if rolling it off her tongue to see how it tastes.
 
The Otani scowls but reluctantly nods. "Yes, thats it. But I was just testing you, It wont be so easy next time!" she promises, becoming slightly more animated as she recovers from the blow to her wit. "One point to the caramel-colored barbarian. Your turn my love", she teases, her eyes bright with the will to prove herself. She wont be bested again.

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[Kaie]

At first there was hesitation, the Myrian's brow knitting hopefully as she stared at the strange woman, all the while silently praying to Myri for an intellectual victory. The moment the jovial smirk was replaced with a distasteful scowl defeat, Kaie's own satisfied grin spread like wildfire across her features. She had beaten the moulding at her own game. The first point was hers. Yet it was only the first challenge of many to conquer, and even she knew the tides could turn out of her favor quickly. Then again it was indeed her turn, and as much as Laviku's servant tried to hide it with her playful gestures and terms of endearment, Kaie knew she had earned herself a bit of an edge. Now to find a way to keep her on heels.

"Fine. I go," The Myrian chimed evenly, arms folding as she thought. Amber eyes danced around the forest, hoping to find some way to hinder the woman from success. The answer came only when her gaze once more fell upon the Otani herself. Then her smile turned wicked. "Have idea. We see who can climb to the top of that tree first." A bronzed hand extended back to the tree that still wore her makeshift punching bag. It was a formidable tree, one whose skin was deeply crackled with age with branches thick and sturdy. Anyone could see the wooden behemoth would be no challenge to scramble into at first, but advancing skyward would gradually prove more perilous. It wasn't the climb that the Myrian had truly chosen. It was a test of the Otani's meddle outside her watery home.

Let's see what your strange kind is truly made of...

"If you can handle it."

[Uleru]

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No, I cant handle it, she wants to say, but pride has her keeping her mouth shut. Though her eyes betray her foreboding.
 
Because, of course, the one thing she cant do is climb. Pulling herself over a ships hull is one thing, but without bones or fingernails her strength is greatly reduced. Coupled with texture-less, permanently wet 'skin', her ability to climb is downright laughable.
 
But what can she do? Admit defeat now and suffer the Myrian's taunting smugness? Or try and risk being laughed at?
 
An easy dilemma, she decides quickly, after that riddle disaster she doubts she would survive any more of the woman's self-satisfied preening. She can feel a piece of her soul running for cover every time she smirks like that.
 
"Fine." she nods curtly.
 
Then without waiting for a starting count, or even a confirmation, the Otani dashes for the tree across the brittle grass. The bark is dry and feathered like some sort of horrible rash. But, really, all trees look like this. She has no idea why some people insist on calling them 'beautiful'. She does a weak little hop and fastens her arms around one of the thick low branches, and tries to pull her whole body up like she would over the railing of a Palivar.
 
It takes an embarrassing amount of effort.
 
But she's not willing to give up so easily. with a grunt she kicks her foot out and plants it on the thick trunk. A soft, pearly glow starts in the sole of her foot and quickly bleeds onto the tree. Within moments the entire trunk from five to seven feet from the ground is glowing white. Then, with a mental force of effort, the Otani turns the res into a thin sheet of fresh new ice.
 
"Ha!" she barks in a rather smug way, still struggling onto the first branch. 
 

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