Closed Balancing Relations (Ashar)

[Alyra]

53rd of Summer, 514 AV

Alyra was focused. Above her, the sun barely shone, poking sparse rays of light through the clouds. Below her, a precariously built chair wobbled.

The day before was another day full of wandering for the Eth. Most days, she would limit herself to one bell's worth of adventuring. This kept her time efficient at a high, and injuries to a minimum. The previous day, however, Alyra had let herself off of the leash. She spent the entire day submerged in Riverfall's culture, experiencing as much as she could on her one day learning spree. There was a carnival in town, and Alyra thought that was as good of an excuse as any to break her restraints.

While at the carnival, Alyra had seen a spectacular oddity: a chair balancer. He was a nimble man, and, at first glance, he appeared normal. This was not so, as he would vault himself to the top of a stack of chairs. It was only two chairs at first. But it only a chime before he added another, and then another, and another! Alyra watched as this man scaled a loose tower of haphazardly stacked chairs, listening to the wood creak and groan from the stress and their age. Alyra had asked--begged, even--that he share his secret. The Eth flung am army of questions at the balancer...where'd he learn to do that? What magic, if any, was He using? Was it an illusion? Were the chairs altered?

He never spoke a word. That didn't settle well with Alyra. She was always wary of those embodiment eagerly share their knowledge. There were too many questions buzzing around her mind to let the topic go. Unfortunately, it seemed that the only way she was going to get answers was to find out herself.

She decided what she was going to do: she would travel to one of the parks with two chairs, and master the tricks behind chair balancing. Acquiring the chairs would be a bit of a struggle, as she only had one chair in her small apartment. Alyra didn't have anyone she'd be comfortable borrowing furniture from, and her budget was tight as is. Start small, I guess...

Now, Alyra stood on top her chair on one of Semele Park's lawns. Occasionally, she would test her limits. Jumping, leaning, and stretching in different directions until she would lose her balance and topple to the ground. Her arms were outstretched beside her as she kept her balance this time. She attempted to control her breathing, taking long, deep breaths as she stepped onto the back of the chair. Slowly, Alyra pushed forward, and, ignoring the Akalak that was nearing, lifted the legs off the ground.

Words: 451

[Ashar]

Ashar 53rd of Summer, 514 AV Semele Park, First Tier Many were the things that Ashar found distasteful. Arrogance, bragging, cheese - these were all on his list of things to avoid. On the list, the admittedly low on said list, was spending his daily Kavran patrol sluggishly meandering around Riverfall and listlessly surveying the streets and parks for all signs of nonexistent crime. Outside the gates and beyond the harbor were two entire oceans of adventure, from the lurking creatures in the Suvan Sea to the myriad of monstrosities roaming the Sea of Grass. More often than not his patrols beyond the gates were uneventful, but there was always the chance of something fun. Here though? Here was just plain dull. Peaceful, boring, uneventful. Oh come now, protested Jek. Being peaceful does not lead directly to boredom or lack of action. That's simply because you've no mind for any peaceful activities. Ashar and Jek both let out a long sigh simultaneously, Ashar out loud and Jek only in their mind. If you hate this so much, then why don't you just let me take over? You can go to sleep safely tucked away in here, and I'll wake you up if something tries to kill us. You like that sort of thing, right? Pipe down, Ashar shot back. You're distracting me from my very important duty of watching bugger-all happen. And so the silence resumed as they wove their way deeper into Semele Park. Patrolling so close to the wall, Ashar felt almost taunted by the Sea of Grass just beyond and all its potential. He was so close to waves of reeds and plains, glassbeaks galore and maybe a caravan to raid or aid. Instead, he got a lot of pretty flowers. As his horse trotted steadily through the winding paths of the park, Ashar's gaze fell to the colorful vegetation fenced off from the trampling of those who cared not for flowers. The poor menitides don't look so good, Jek lamented sadly. This heat is taking its toll on everything, even the flowers. The gardeners must be trying their hardest to keep these things alive and blooming. Such a shame the weather's not cooperating. Wait, the whats? The menitides. They're pink flowers. Those ones. Both brothers remained quiet for a while, Jek expecting Ashar to say something, and Ashar not knowing how to respond. You know flowers? Yes, I read about them. Menitides. It's really not that hard to understand, Ash. Looks, see? Those pink flower bushes over there, the ones on your right. Those are menitides. You mean those bushes that look like a bunch of green porcupines decided to accessorize? Do you have no appreciation for beauty whatsoever? Is the entire world nothing to you but a bunch of things that need to either be punched or stitched up? There was another mental sigh, this one far more exasperated. Never mind, I already know the answer to that question. Can I please take control, if you're not going to even enjoy patrolling such a beautiful park? Shush, I think I've found something interesting. Ashar's interruption came just as he spotted a - to him - rather peculiar sight. A woman in the park, one of many enjoying the public space, who had a chair and was doing a bunch of stuff on it. Hopping, awkwardly flailing around, and falling into the grass were a few examples. It was amusing to say the least, and Semele Park was the last place Ashar expected to see someone do something so active. His attention captured, Ashar pulled at the reins of his horse and guided the mount across the grass toward the woman. He neared her just as she grabbed the edges of the chair and proceeded to lift her legs off. Impressed was not the right word to describe Ashar's reaction. Amused was much more apt. "Do you know what you're doing?" he asked, slowing his horse to as near a stop as he could on short notice.

[Alyra]

OOCPermission to slightly mod given by Ashar.

Alyra watched the ground intently. If she was going to fall forward, she would be ready for it. Off to her left, however, was a sound that threatened to steal away her attention. A horse? After her trip to The Sanctuary at the beginning of the season, Alyra had a newfound love and respect for the large creatures. They were patient and devoted, but still strong-willed. She held great reverence for anything that could both serve its purpose so willingly and also keep part of its independence at the same time.

Focus.

The Eth squinted at the grass below her, attempting to lift the chair's front legs even farther off the ground. A grin crept across her face. It felt as though she were flying (even though she was really only lifting the two legs off the ground by an inch or two). A successful feeling ran through her as she balanced the chair on two legs.

"Do you know what you're doing?" A voice questioned her in Tukant. It took a moment for Alyra to realize what the man was saying, but she deciphered it after a few ticks. She looked up, making eye contact with the horseback Akalak. Now that it was no longer holding her full attention, the chair began to fall to the ground. In her head, Alyra thought she looked smooth as she jumped off of the falling chair. In actuality, she had kind of tripped a little, and hadn't stuck the landing. But that's just semantics.

"Not yet, no." Alyra reached a hand out towards the creature and its rider. "May I please?" Her Tukant was rough, but she could hold a semi-intelligent conversation with it. She often forgot words, leaving long pauses in her sentences as she searched for them. Riverians sometimes ushered her to continue in Common, but that never pleased Alyra; the only way she was going to be a part of this city was if she put forth effort into learning its culture. There was no in between: either you are one with the city, or you aren't.

After the Akalak gave her permission, she eagerly stepped forward. Alyra tried to make small talk which, if she was being honest, was only to keep the horse there longer. "Are we out walking, and enjoying the..." Alyra paused for a moment, perusing her mental dictionary for the correct word. As she thought, the woman gently ran her hand over the horse's face and forehead. "weather?"

Words: 415

[Ashar]

Ashar Admittedly, Ashar was impressed when he saw the woman - while on the chair - tilt it on its front two legs and balance precariously on her hands, wobbling slightly but balancing nonetheless. She didn't respond to his question at first, not that Ashar was really expecting a prompt answer. This wasn't to satisfy his curiosity, this was to ease his boredom, and watching someone clearly inexperienced attempt such a maneuver was quite entertaining to watch. What was even more entertaining was how she seemed to wobble, fall forward as the chair landed on all fours, and trip over the rungs of the chair as she ungracefully made her landing. Stop laughing, Jek ordered his light brother, and don't say that you're not. You'd look no more graceful dismounting a balancing chair on your first try. I wouldn't, and I'd look no less funny when falling off. "Just so long as you don't go hurting yourself," is what Ashar said out loud. The woman's request wasn't nearly a surprise, and the rider shrugged his indifference. "Sure, don't see why not. Don't know what this one's name is, but he's been an obedient old sport so far." The horse in question saw Alyra approach and prepared by lowering its head within betting range. Clearly this had happened many times before. Her Tukant was a bit undeveloped, and there were some words missing that would complete the meaning behind the sentences, but it was serviceable. "The weather is terrible," Ashar replied, sticking to his native tongue. "Makes everything lazy and hotheaded." And it's bad for the menitides, chimed Jek, but Ashar didn't repeat the sentiment. "No, I'm out on patrol for the Kuvay'Nas, though this route through here wasn't my first choice..." The Kavran's voice trailed off as his dark brother piped up. Ashar, look at her head. Ashar did so, shifting from facing her general direction to intently looking at her head. Now that she was vertical her features were easier to make out: waves and knots of airy light brown hair, soft features with a lack of tension in her face, skin that seemed to gently glimmer, two solid blue eyes as dark as some lighter Akalak skin tones, and two ram horns curling out from her temples and keeping her hair out of the way. She had horns. "You have horns," he said plainly. It wasn't phrased as a question or a slight, it was a mere observation. He was still too busy doing a double take to put much nuance in his speech. Though Jek was incapable of actually doing so, he mentally slapped his light brother. It was followed with a shout that went something along the lines of, You could at least not be so blunt about it you oaf! Not to mention that her entire race probably has horns, so now you look like a massive idiot. Why again am I the repressed soul? The dark brother continued railing against Ashar's lack of tact, but he was too busy listening for the woman's answer.

[Alyra]

Alyra smiled, happy that this man didn't make her stop pursuing the answers she needed. She'd been told so many times before that it was wrong to be "weird." Alyra, however, thought it was weirder to deny the learning process and adventures that came with it to someone. In fact, she would go as far as saying that that was wrong.

"I agree!" Alyra smiled and nodded in excitement. Though she loved Syna, Alyra wasn't a big fan of what the goddess's affection brought. "I can never think straight with too much heat. It is distracting."

Kuvay'Nas? Alyra squinted at the man, partially because looking at him brought her the added comfort of looking at the sun, and partially because she was confused. "Kuvay'Nas?"

Alyra waited patiently for his answer, and listened to it intently. Then, she answered the Akalak's own query. "I am an Ethaefal, sent back here by Syna." Alyra turned, allowing the man a full view of her adornments. "All of the fallen--" Would he know that's what the Eth called themselves? It was better to over-explain than leave the man confused. "That is what we call ourselves, sometimes--we all have..." Alyra had no idea what the word for "horns" was in Tukant, despite the fact that this man had just said it. Alyra motioned to her horns to finish the thought. As she searched her recent memories for the word, Alyra absentmindedly waited for the rider's next question.

Words: 242
OOCAgh, baby post. : P Sorry!

[Ashar]

Ashar "I agree! I can never think straight with too much heat. It is distracting." The woman's agreement was loud an enthusiastic, to a degree that Ashar found unusual though not confusing in the least. Who wouldn't find all this heat distracting? Well, I'm sure there are some folks who don't mind it as much. The Ephyrians maybe? Her Tukant was pretty good this time around, with very few slips especially with the words pertaining to thought. Perhaps she'd studied those more clearly. "Kuvay'Nas?" she asked, and Ashar frowned. It was not in response to her question, though. It was because this was the time he noticed her horns, and made a statement, more or less, to that effect. "I am an Ethaefal, sent back here by Syna. All of the fallen - that is what we call ourselves, sometimes - we all have..." She gestured up toward her head, obviously meaning to point out her horns to Ashar. There was an awkward silence during which Ashar wasn't sure why the woman didn't just say horns, cocking his head at her curiously. Her Tukant isn't fluent, Jek reminded his light brother. Nodding in understanding, Ashar smiled and gestured to where the horns would be on his own head, not wanting to accidentally hit hers. "Horns," he repeated in a slew of Tukant, then switched to Common for the explanation. "Tukant is very... wordy. Lots of words for small thing." Finished, Ashar shook his head, perhaps a little too violently. The language switch was weird, having only spoken Common on occasion. We'll get better with practice, Jek assured him. We seem to be running into quite a lot of visitors lately, so I'm sure we'll get the chance. I'm okay, Ashar replied. The visitors can keep their Common to themselves. It doesn't feel right to say so little, it's almost as if they're scared of what they have to say. Though Ashar couldn't see it, he could feel his dark brother mentally shrug in response. Well, in the meantime, I believe she asked you a question. Don't worry, take your time to lavish the Kuvay'Nas with praise and all that. I'll just take a little break while you have fun with this oddity you've found. Ashar chuckled to his dark brother before turning down to face the woman once more. "The Kuvay'Nas are the militia of Riverfall," he said in Tukant. "We're a bit more than mere militia though, more like the general protectors. Most people enter as volunteer militia, and if they're dedicated enough to training and fighting they'll get asked to join the branch that best suits their skill set." Ashar reached down and ran his hand along his horse's neck, eliciting a short whinny from the mount. "I trained in riding, so I was asked to join the cavalry Kuvay'Nas. We police the streets of Riverfall and patrol outside the walls, making sure crime is stamped out and the general area is safe for citizens who want to wander a bit. Occasionally we'll run into some trouble out in the Sea of Grass, and that's when it gets really fun..." Ashar's gaze had slowly lifted up toward the wall while talking, as if trying to catch a glimpse of the grass beyond, but he snapped his attention back on the woman quickly. "So, what exactly is an Ethaefal? And why do you have horns?" OOCSorry, feeling a little sluggish lately.

[Alyra]

"Horns. Thank you." Alyra nodded as she repeated after the man. The phrase sounded familiar; she probably unconsciously heard it from other locals as she was walking around. Actually, now that she thought about it, Alyra felt silly for not knowing the Tukant equivalent of "horns", of all things.

To answer her question, the man went into a somewhat lengthy explanation. Alyra could tell the man felt strongly about the topic, and that made her happy. She had met many people since she fell that weren't dedicated to anything, or were just dedicated to things. Not just tangible things, but to processes as well. Alyra took herself as the main example of that: she devoted her new life to learning. She was dedicated to knowledge, but that dedication didn't lead to much. This man, on the other hand, was dedicated to an idea, not a thing. He was dedicated to peace, protection, and order. It was refreshing to see someone who put their dedication to work, instead of just obsessing about it.

He finds trouble fun? Alyra frowned internally. Perhaps she was wrong. Perhaps he was just a warrior dedicated to fighting, just as she was a student devoted to learning. Maybe she was looking for complexity where it was not. "Fun?"

Alyra quickly dropped the subject, choosing to explore his question instead. "It is what I looked like before falling." Alyra paused, perusing her vocabulary for the right words again. Being an Ethaefal, Alyra was graced with the gift of patience. As such, she found no problem with making the man wait for a few chimes for the rest of her answer. She just assumed he had the same patience within him.

Alyra reached up to the sky, stretching her hands towards the sun. "Once with the Syna, now I am here." She dropped her hands dramatically back to her sides, then looked up towards the man. She hoped the visuals were helping. If not, then at least this is getting my exercise in for the day. "It is the same with us all. We were there--" She pointed upwards. "--then we fall through a . . ." Alyra put her two fists together, then pulled them away to form a delicate looking explosion. She was aiming for something along the lines of "void" or "crack", or even "hole." All she could muster, however, was: "thing."

"We had hoes there," Alyra squinted, realizing that she hadn't quite said "horns"' correctly. Nobody's perfect. To amend the mistake, she gestured to her horns again before continuing. "So we have them here."

[Ashar]

Ashar "It is what I looked like before falling." Falling gives you horns? Ashar wondered. Clearly not, otherwise he'd probably have four or five for all the times he fell of his horse when he was first learning to ride. As awesome as that would be, she clearly wasn't referring to just any fall, so Ashar waited patiently for her more detailed explanation. Except that Ashar wasn't particularly patient. Such a trait was present in Jel's repertoire, but not that constantly-active and alert Ashar. When there was a lull in activity, he would often get fidgety. As he did just now with his naginata, suddenly taking a great interest in its blade as he brought it up closer to his face, inspecting its edge for any cut or dull section. Of course it wasn't dull, the Kuvay'Nas had it sharpened quite recently, but Ashar didn't want to ask for the impossible and push the woman for words that wouldn't come. You are such a child, Jek sighed. It was not the first time he had evidence of his light brother's immaturity, but for some reason his lack of patience stuck with him more particularly than any other trait. Perhaps it was out of resentment, for Jek had his patience developed from being an observer in his own body for most of his life. Ashar didn't even bother replying. He knew that Jek was right, at least on some level, but would deny his dark brother that satisfaction for now. "Once with the Syna, now I am here. It is the same with us all. We were there, then we fall through a... thing. We had hoes there, so we have them here." At long last, though in reality it was only a handful of chimes, the woman offered her answer. It was accompanied with a copious amount of gestures and hand-waving. First a gesture to the sky when she said Syna - sun, got it - to clear things up, then a miniature explosion-thing when she said 'thing' without much context. That was a bit harder to decipher, and Ashar scratched his head for a chime of his own. I think she means a hole, Jek offered, his earlier frustration with his light brother forgotten as he got wrapped up in the woman's explanation. She fell through a whole in the sky, or maybe the Ulkalas? It's hard to say. They have hoes in the Ulkalas? Damn it, you're doing this on purpose are you? Jek sighed, his frustration returning. You know very well she meant her horns. That is interesting though. If this is what the celestial form for Syna's chosen looks like, then I wonder what the chosen of the other gods look like. All teasing aside, Ashar found the woman's story fascinating as well. There was only one thing he was unsure of. Why is there a hole in the Ulkalas, and if she really did fall then how is she not dead? Or is she immortal? Hmm. Good questions. Though you should probably ask her, don't you think? She might not know either, but she's been rather open with us so far, so there's no reason she'd keep it secret if she did know. "So you fell through a hole in the Ulkalas?" Ashar asked aloud. "How did it get there, and how did you survive? Are there celestial followers of other gods wandering around as well, who also fell through this hole? Do you all have horns, or would a celestial of Wysar have something else? Like, I don't know, big ears?" You are such a child.

[Alyra]

Alyra was glad to see that she wasn't boring the man. Confusion she was fine with, but not boredom. She could teach a confused person, but not an uninterested one. "Valterrian." Alyra shrugged. She wasn't sure what kind of answer the man was looking for. There wasn't a tangible thing or person that put a hole in the Ulkalas. There wasn't a giant hammer sitting around, or some theif that stole her celestial life. It was just there. "I was a spirit," Alyra sat back down. She grasped the sides of the chair tightly, and pushed on the back of the chair. The front legs lifted, but Alyra still kept her own feet on the ground. "Like air. Hard to hurt--or kill--air. When I landed, I got a body." The woman wasn't sure if she was making any sense. It was difficult to maneuver through the Akalak's language; she didn't have the luxury of the fancy words she knew in Common. Alyra nodded at his last question. It was an interesting question. Alyra would have to look into it the next time she stopped at the library. For now, though, she would answer what she knew."Leth's followers fell, too. Leth, God of Moon. They look like me, just different colors in the horns." A bright, triumphant smile flashed across the eth's face as she successfully pronounced the Tukant word for "horns." "I do not know. Maybe." Alyra shrugged, then began drumming the side of the chair with her fingers. Patiently and happily, she waited for the Akalak's next round of questions. If there wasn't another round, then she would launch into her own inquiry.

[Ashar]

Ashar Valterrian. Isn't that the name for that thing that happened five hundred years ago? Where the gods all threw a hissyfit and destroyed the world, which is why we're now clinging to a cliff and almost sterile. There's a bit more to it than that, Jek sighed. But yes, that's the short version. The Ethaefal woman's explanations weren't quite fulfilling, but Ashar felt that pushing harder would only reward him with even more questions. It was clear that the woman was doing her best to maneuver through his language. As someone who knew some Common, he could say certainly that the transition wasn't easy. There were a lot of words cut out, as well as some others that there just weren't words for in Common. You've been interrogating the poor girl for long enough, Jek said. Why not give her the chance to ask some questions? I'm sure she has some. Good idea, I was running out of things to ask anyway. "Well, that's a lot to think about," Ashar said aloud, smiling. "I'll leave the thinking to Jek, that's what he's good at. He'll tell me when it's time to go to a library and look some of this stuff up, so I guess that's all I've got for now. Is there anything I can help you with?"