[Riverside Isle Park] First Golden Season (Deltan)

[Seyena]

68 - Autumn - 514 AV
The path’s rough gravel scratched at Seyena’s bare feet. It was a relief to reach the lush, dewy grass. She watched her feet become enveloped in it, white skin and black nails standing out against the green. How soft. The grass smelled fresh. She stretched, arms in the air and toes spreading. She had reached her comfort zone.

The evening air was just as pure as she had anticipated. The openness was almost too much for the girl to handle. It was different. Different from the city’s claustrophobic streets. Or its paranoia. This was the place for her, with wide open spaces of natural growth. Here, she could just walk and keep walking until she wanted to stop. And that was what she did, until she reached a pool.

It was small and rectangular. Small lily pads clustered at its corners, some of the braver ones spreading into the middle. The water had a greenish sheen, and was shallow enough for her to be comfortable entering. Approaching the edge, her attention was immediately misdirected. The pool would have to wait. Something magical was at hand.

Not literally, of course. Magic was far too dangerous to do in a public area such as this. But it was clear that the workings of the Gods had taken place.

While green leaves were all well and good, such vibrant and vastly unique foliage as this was something of a different nature. Its ever-green counterparts were nothing in comparison. This is what happens when Caihya’s daughter Bala sets to work.

The tree was flaming. Fiery bursts of crimson and golden crisps engulfed its branches. Its stars were tumbling to the ground, Syna’s snowflakes, some branches already bare. At the base of the burnt charcoal trunk lay mountains of gilded russet.

It was something that you could never find in a cave.

In a few swift steps, Seyena was at its side. She tipped her head back. Sun dripped through the leaves. Her hand rested on the bark. The other followed. Soon, she had hands and feet on the trunk and was scaling the smooth surface like all pure Symenestra can. Up and up.

Once she reached the tree’s lowest limb, she wrapped her arms around it and rested, feet dangling. Surrounded by the tree’s shining blades, she was ready to investigate.

[Deltan Colari]

Deltan made his way to the park after a long day of frustrations and irritation. Work wasn't extraordinarily hard to come by, but most of those jobs required some sort of referral. Few people would pay much to a stranger to guard their goods. As far as these paranoid Sunberthans knew, he was as like to steal their wares as protect them. More likely, even. Apparently, personal honor was unknown to these people. That was why he was coming to the Isle. It had a bit of peace to it that the rest of the city lacked, though it still felt somewhat shady to him. This whole city seemed covered in some ethereal muck--or in actual muck, sometimes--that wouldn't wash off. He disliked it here, to say the least. Still, he breathed a little easier once he stepped onto the grass, worn leather boots leaving indents in the grass as he walked. Unlike Seyena, he certainly was not light on his feet. Speaking of Seyena, as Deltan approached the pond where he found he liked to relax (as much as one ever could in Sunberth), he noticed something pale and spindly climbing up the sheer trunk of a tree near the water. At first, Deltan did not know what to think. It defied logic, to see anything that big climbing something that fast. Then, he assumed it was some sort of creature these lawless Sunberthans had neglected to drive out. It turned out, that second assumption wasn't far from the mark. To Deltan's surprise, the form turned out to be a girl as she settled one of the lower limbs. Short and scrawny as she was, only the hair and garb made her out as female. Even then, Deltan had his doubts for a moment. She was just so thin. It reminded him of a few of the worse-off beggars, though she certainly wasn't starving. Nothing starving could move like that, from Deltan's limited experience. It was then that Deltan noticed two very important things. First, he had kept walking toward her without thought, making no attempts at subtlety or stealth. Second, the pale feet hanging down from the tree limb had black nails. Only one thing was pale, spindly, had black nails, and could climb like a spider. A spider in human form. "Symenestra!" He exclaimed without thinking, taking a step back and reaching for a sword that had been stolen days ago. Deltan really had to fix that soon. For now, he had to be very, very careful. He'd heard rumors about these monsters, that their bite was deadly and that they killed for fun. She certainly didn't seem that threatening--there had been a certain grace in the way she climbed the tree, to be sure--but he'd take no chances with an inhuman beast. If half the rumors he'd heard were true, she could kill him very quickly if she got close.

[Seyena]

Seyena reached up. Her fingers lightly brushed a nearby leaf and she cradled it in her hand. Its body was so frail that its veins were visible. She stroked its surface. Brittle. She was tempted to pluck it from its stem.

“Symenestra!”

She shrunk, startled. Her hand shrivelled to her chest, spine curled. The leaf flew back to its place on the branch. The girl’s wide eyes swooped across the picturesque view. They ran along the wood, down the trunk, across the grass, along the pond. They landed upon a young man and she relaxed. A handful of years older than her, he looked strong and sturdy, but lean, not bulky. He wore clothes of a nondescript shade, but made up for it in the vibrance of his features. His fixing blue eyes were quite a sight, certainly. But what stood out was his lively red hair. Should a leaf drop from the tree and land on his head, it wouldn’t be too easy to find. She almost wanted to try it.

But there was something about his tone of voice that made her uneasy. Or perhaps it was his expression. It hinted at something akin to fear or apprehension. She decided to ignore it. The people of Sunberth were odd. Distrust was to be expected in a place like this. She should just take it in her stride. He would probably relax if she spoke to him for a while. At least he recognised her race as what it was, and not the questionable nickname they had been gifted with — “Widows”.

“Yes. And you are a human, I believe.”

Deciding that it was safe, she reached for the leaf once more. This time, it came away in her hand with the lightest of tugs and rested in her palm, pointed tips tickling her fingertips. For a moment, the man’s presence melted away to the back of her mind as she gave the leaf a closer look. It looked as though it was formed of mismatched fractals that somehow assembled into a small masterpiece. She wondered absent-mindedly if the man could see it.

Taking it gently by its stalk, she held it out at arm’s length towards the man to give him a better view tilting it and turning it slowly to show him the leaf from all angles. She hoped that its sight would calm him.

“Do you think that this is beautiful?”

[Deltan Colari]

Deltan watched Seyena react not at all as he'd expected. Then again, what had he expected? Maybe for her to glare at him and hiss, or scuttle off like a spider. Instead, she...cringed away? It was odd. One moment, she'd been inspecting a leaf, the next her skeletal frame shrank in on itself and large eyes fixed upon him. He felt bad about scaring her for a moment, before recalling what she was. Wariness returned to his gaze, though it had faded for a moment. "Yes. And you are a human, I believe," The spider said matter-of-factly, her voice like the rustling of silk. It fit her spindly appearance, to be sure. The odd behavior made Deltan's blue eyes narrow. What was her game? Then, of all things, the girl plucked a leaf and presented it to him, slowly twisting it in her fingers so he could see it. "Do you think that this is beautiful?" Deltan stared at her more than at the leaf, dumbfounded. What was she going on about? The young man began to suspect she wasn't entirely right in the head, even for a Symenestra. "...Yes?" He said noncommittally, deciding it was safe enough to talk to her. Better than turning his back to leave; that was asking for a pair of fangs embedded in his neck. The way she'd climbed, Deltan suspected she could move a good deal faster than her gangling frame implied. The young man eyed the girl warily. Was she really a girl? She appeared at least a few years younger than he, though he didn't know how her kind aged. For that matter, did she qualify as a person? Their kind stole human women for breeding purposes. Rape, to be precise. It was only a rumor, so far as Deltan knew, but there was often a kernal of truth in such things. Still, she hardly looked dangerous. She was skinny, and had a fragility to her that made him thing she'd weigh even less than seemed likely. Even without Flux, he could very likely ensure she couldn't hurt him, if he got a good swing in. Would she attack, though? Despite what he'd heard of their race, the Symenestra girl didn't seem in a mood for a fight. If anything, she might just be as out of place as he was. She hardly seemed like a native here. Why would a culture so hateful of magic put up with a creature that was, by its very nature, evil? "Why are you up there, Symenestra?" Deltan asked, taking a couple steps closer so he'd not have to raise his voice so much. He kept far enough away that he'd have warning if she leaped at him, though. Enough time to bring a fist up and break a few bones, at least. The young man's wariness was palpable; he had one foot behind him, ready to dart in any direction should she decide to...Well, do anything. That did beg the question, though. What would she do? She likely wasn't here to kidnap human women. Most women he'd seen here were stout enough to club this little slip of a girl into the dust. Perhaps hunting for a victim? Maybe, but why not just come at him? He'd keep an eye on her; maybe she wanted him to let his guard down?

[Seyena]

Seyena didn’t miss the way his eyes tightened, the way they barely gave the leaf a second glance. His voice was guarded. He obviously wasn’t too interested in the leaf that she found so endearing. She wilted into the trunk. The man seemed much more interested in her than in the tree, and not in a good way. She was uncomfortable with the untrusting way that he looked at her. It was different from the usual mistrust she saw between the people of Sunberth. It was as though she wasn’t even a person. As though she was more likely to hiss than speak.

“Why are you up there, Symenestra?” he asked. He came closer. He was obviously suspicious of her. Alert. One foot lagged behind his body, as though on standby for action. Seyena considered retreating into the higher branches of the tree. It would only cause more dubiety. Instead, she withdrew the leaf to rest by her chest for comfort, still turning it in her hands. She looked down at its colour, its sprawling veins, its star-like shape.

This man was so tense. She didn’t know if he was angry or just high-strung. She had no idea how he would react. People like him were so unpredictable. It was clear that he would overpower her should he decide to attack. It didn’t look like there was anyone else around. If he got violent, there was a small chance that she would survive. Her breath caught in her throat, forcing her to swallow.

“I…” She didn’t want to misspeak. The man was on edge, and her unpolished Common could put her in a worse situation. She began to doubt herself. “The leaves are orange and red and yellow. I wanted to be closer to see them. I had not seen leaves like this before now.”

It was such a simplified version of how Seyena felt. She could speak to him for hours about how this specific shade filters the light in the most perfect way when hit from the right angle, how each leaf is connected through the tree while still being its own unique thing with minuscule details. She could talk about how she had never seen such a thing in the caves of Kalinor, but that it somehow reminded her of her home and of her family. She could explain to him the history of Symenestra living in trees and how climbing and navigating through them has become second nature to her people. But not in Common. He probably wouldn’t understand a word of Symenos. So instead, the leaves were different colours and she wanted to see them. She cringed at her loss of communication. She felt like a child.

OOCSorry for the delay!

[Deltan Colari]

Deltan kept a careful distance between himself and the creature clutched her leaf closer, seeming as wary as he was. It was fitting, somehow; two different races who didn't belong anywhere near each other ought to look at each other like this. The thought drew a smirk onto the young man's face. The Symenestra seemed almost scared. Wary might be a better word, though. She didn't seem terrified of him, that was sure. Still, she was right to be worried; Deltan wouldn't let her hurt him, if he could avoid it. The Symenestra's answer surprised Deltan. "The leaves are orange and red and yellow," she said in accented Common, "I wanted to be closer to see them. I had not seen leaves like this before now." The creature cringed at her words, as though they bothered her. That was strange, and not entirely believable. It did make a certain sense, though. Something that grew up in caves likely didn't get much color in her life. Deltan's eyes narrowed as he regarded the girl--the Symenestra, he reminded himself. "Not used to being out of your caves, Spider?" He asked, impulsively adopting the term. It fit, after all. The young man's voice wasn't hostile, exactly...But mocking? Definitely. Deltan didn't trust the Symenestra, or most of the other races that had bad reputations for that matter. That didn't mean he would go out of his way to be cruel to a girl who appeared weak, even if she wasn't helpless. The young man decided to take this opportunity to practice his hypnotism and see if he could make the creature do as he wished. "Get down from there," Deltan instructed, sending a pulse of hypnotic djed her way with a faint emotional imperative that might help her relax a little if she didn't fight it. "Having you up there makes me nervous." While his words were true, he had other motivations. It would make him more comfortable if she were on the same level as he was, but he'd also feel better if he had her doing as she was told. In his experience, obedience was a habit. If she obeyed him once, it made it easier for him to make her do so again. That way, he placed himself in a more secure position against a possibly-hostile beast.