PM to join [The Bronze Wood] A Strong Branch Here, a Rock Over There

[Terag]

43rd of Spring, 515 AV - Midday Terag did his best to try to hum a pleasant tune to himself as he walked between the trees and kept time by hitting the butt spike of his spear into the soft earth beneath him, though the music was really nothing more than repeating a few simple rhythms at the best and at worst it was just a long continuous hum. With music he didn't have a lot of experience but he at least was able to keep the rhythm, years of hitting metal on an anvil had taught him that much. After all, the rhythm of the process made it much more relaxing. He hadn't ventured too far north from the city of Syrliras, but as he turned back to try to see the walls of the city his vision was blocked by the tall trees of the forest. This realization was accompanied with his soft smile turning into a slight frown. It took Terag a couple of minutes to back track enough to see the city again, though the sight was welcomed. "Now how will I make it back if I go farther out? I almost got lost just now. I haven't been here long enough to be okay with going out farther without some sort of guide," he mumbled to himself in Isurian. Looking around at the trees around him, he still was at a loss. To him the trees all basically looked the same except for an extra branch here and there, it didn't help either that he had never really seen trees either until he had left his home for Syliras. After a few moments of using his onyx-colored left hand to stroke the goatee on his face, he had an idea while looking at a few palm sized stones at his feet. "That might just work!" Using his free left hand, Terag leaned down and picked up four rocks and pocketed all but one of them. The spear was set with the butt of the weapon in the ground and the tip leaning against the closest tree so he could use both of his hands for his work. Before he could even feel the stone begin to give way to the power in his left arm he felt a calm come over him. Even something as small of this brought peace to Terag, it felt as right as anything in the world could be. Slowly the stone was pushed and pulled using his left hand, his right hand holding the stone in place as the rock's form was manipulated this way and that. One end of the rock became a crude arrow tip, the rest of the rock elongating until it vaguely resembled an arrow tip and shaft. It wasn't beautiful by any stretch of imagination, but it worked. The shaping was repeated with the other rocks in his pockets, the process going faster as he figured out the movements to make a shape vaguely similar to the first. "Now I have markers!", he nearly laughed as he spoke to himself this time. Again he turned towards the wood and walked forward, picking up his spear with his right hand as he walked by. As soon as he lost sight of the city behind him he set his first marker atop a small cluster of roots with the tip of the rock pointing towards the walls of his new home, trying to make sure the color of the rock stood out against the brown bark of the tree. He repeated the action three more times as he walked deeper into the wood. After the last one he looked around, this spot would be as good as any to start. He had come into the woods in an attempt to find some longer pieces of wood while he was on a stroll, his hopes weren't particularly high but it would be nice to have something to learn to carve with or even make a pole-arm out of. Again he began to hum, a little louder now. It wasn't great, in fact it sounded terrible compared to the other songs he had heard as a child. Regardless his song grew louder and louder, believing he was alone in the forest he stopped humming and finally began to let the music out in full. The song was wordless as it was nothing more than someone attempting his best to follow a rhythm he had heard as a child, and attempting to put everything he had into it. Music and song were just as much a creation as the shields and swords he had made in the forge, and thus deserved as much effort as swinging a hammer and hitting the metal to be shaped into the perfect shape. In the moment he forgot about the wood as the joy of the music overtook him, it was a song he had heard when he first started smithing and it was a song he often hummed to himself as he worked or trained. Picking up on the feeling and heavy rhythm of the music, Terag dropped the tip of his spear and adjusted his grip so he was holding it as if deep in a fight. He put himself through practiced motions to the beat of the song. He imagined a shield on his left arm as he thrust his spear forward and raised his arm up to protect himself from an imagined strike. One step forward, he followed the thrust with pulling back and tucking the pole of the spear into the crook of his arm before making a backwards 'c' in the air into a slash across his pretend-assailant's chest. At the peak of the song he pushed himself harder through the movements, this time trying to alternate between cuts and thrusts with his spear and doing his best to cover whatever opening he could with his left arm. To him the movements felt like perfection, though if he had seen him from the outside he'd be able to tell he still had a long way to go. His form was sloppy, and while his movements had power they lacked finesse. Even his foot placement could have been better as he stepped forward, as he caused himself to nearly trip and fall forward. Another thing to work on for Terag, another thing to work until he brought it to perfection.

[Tanna]

Tanna had spent her morning bathing and freshening up in the shallows of the Avitar River. She had been in dire need of a wash and, oh, how her clothes had needed a good soak, as well, with each piece feeling like they carried a season's-worth of dirt and dust. Still stuck in the old patterns she was used to, it seemed natural to her to seek out the Avitar and she enjoyed the freeness of splashing about. Once fresh and clean, she had spent the next bell relaxing in the warm glow of Syna's light, giving her clothes and hair a chance to dry. Lounging happily upon the bank of the river, she had enjoyed the warmth of Syna's touch as she worked her fingers through her thick mass of hip-length hair, eventually working it into sections to braid.

Starting from the back of her crown, her fingers separated out two medium-sized sections of hair – one slightly higher on her crown than the other and thicker due to not being able to see – as she stared off ahead of her, focusing on the movements of her fingers rather than whatever lay before her. From there, she wove one strand over the other and then began drawing other bits of hair into the plait as she wove her way down to the nape of her neck, intentionally drawing more from the left side of her head than the right which caused the braid to pull more towards her left shoulder. Unintentionally, it also resulted in the right side being considerably looser than the left and she ignored a wayward tendril as it threatened to fall loose and tickled the bare, freckled skin of her right shoulder.

The process was considerably easier from here on out since she was able to observe what her fingers and her hair were doing and her fingers worked the strands with relative ease, hardly bothered by the uneven thickness of certain sections. She focused on keeping her fingers close to the plait in a bid to keep it nice and tight, even going so far as to give the two ends a sufficient tug now and again, yet her habit of braiding too loosely seemed hard to break. Finally finishing it off with a leather tie, it was far from the nicest braid she had done for herself but it successfully did what she wanted which was keep her sunny locks from her face. If she were anyone else, she might have bothered to redo the whole thing but, as it were, Tanna chose to wear the messy plait unselfconsciously, fingers even moving along the edges to pull and loosen it some to further muss it up and keep it uniform.

If she were to be honest with herself, it had been nice to spend that extra bit of time in the sun while she had played with her hair. The sound of the Avitar River paired with the the serenity that the lush Bronze Wood offered was something she wholly savoured and it made her realise how glorious it was outside the walls. She was by far no city dweller but she had adapted well enough yet in her heart she'd always long for the beautiful openness that the world outside city walls provided her. It was because of this that she was slow in readying herself for the trip back, feeling a sudden reluctance to leave. Pulling on her shirt and pants, there was no urgency in the way she rolled the sleeves of her loose shirt up and past her elbows or the fastening of her broadbelt around her waist; she even took her time packing the rest of her things away into Coosa's pack, too interested in savouring every bit of the fresh air and loamy, woody smell the forest provided her and the feel of her now light and airy clothing.

She had kept to the road for easier riding but had slowed Coosa from a canter to a trot before veering off once she was around seven kilometres from the main cross-section where the East-West Road she was on met the Kabrin Road. Shifting her left leg slightly forward, she pressed into Coosa with both calf and knee, urging the Strider right and into the low brush of grass and foliage and the horse complied whilst slowing to a walk. The pair hadn't had much experience navigating the woods and Tanna felt like making the most of it – something her mare seemed equally warm to.

Keeping an eye out for anything that might obstruct Coosa's way, she worked her figners more into the mare's mane, bettering her gentle hold on it as Coosa picked her way over brambles and brush, content enough to wander as she pleased until Tanna gave her the necessary cues to do otherwise. The Drykas was equally content and, although conscious of her seat in the yvas, happily allowed the horse to carry onward, allowing her the odd moment to look around and take in the woody surroundings.

She was enjoying the calls of the birds overhead when a different sound caught her attention. It was far off and faint, rising in times to a point where she could nearly make out actual words yet remained indistinguishable as a whole which piqued the woman's curiosity. Pressing her calf and knee once more against the side of her horse, she steered Coosa in the direction she felt the sound originated from, pressing her heels back to urge the horse forward.

Carefully weaving through the trees, the pair slowly closed the gap between themselves and the deep monotonous melody. Reaching a section of the woods where the trees began to thin, Tanna spotted a form moving to and fro in the clearing before her and pressed her knees forward and into Coosa's ribs to bring the mare to a halt. Freezing like a rabbit, she didn't even dare breath as the form moved in practiced motions, spear in hand. She desperately hoped she and Coosa hadn't been loud enough on their approach to attract the solid man's attention.

She stayed still for close on a chime, watching, trying to figure out if this man might pose a threat yet his merry tune made him seem pleasant enough. Wary, she gently kicked her heels back and put pressure on the mare's right side to steer her wide of the spear-wielding stranger until, at last, she finally rode Coosa through the tree line and into view. Tanna had no intention of dismounting until she knew she was not in any immediate danger, having nothing to fall back on but flight and the speed of her horse if it came to that.

Despite this, she appeared relatively open enough, head tilting as she regarded him, her curiosity evident in her words, “I hear you in the woods, stranger. Is that a song you sing?” Although the answer might be obvious, it was a stretch to call the noises he was making 'singing', not to mention the words were nothing like anything she had heard before. As a matter of fact, he was nothing like anything she had seen before now that she gave him a good once-over. One of his arms was nearly black as pitch and seem to shine when Syna's light hit it just so and it puzzled the Drykas enough that she stared at it for far longer than was polite.

Pavi • Grass-sign • Common • Tukant • Others

[Terag]

There had been movement that Terag had thought he saw from the corner of his mind, though he paid it no mind. The song went on and he kept his body going through the motions. Each movement was paired with a new note from the song. Until he could feel the song get caught in his throat as a rider and her mount made its way into his view. At first he was stunned and he begun to stand up, very confused, before he realized what was really going on. From there he jumped back and dropped low again, raising the spear point defensibly with his left arm coming up in an attempt to cover his torso and part of his face. “I hear you in the woods, stranger. Is that a song you sing?” It took a moment for him to actually understood what had been said to him, and as soon as he did he blushed deeply. The red stood out against his skin, though he made a half-hearted attempt to cover his face but there was no way he could cover his entire face and hide the blush. "Yes, I was singing. Sorry for that I know I'm n-," he stopped himself midsentence when he realized he was responding in isurian. First a deep breath to collet his thoughts before he tried again, in common this time. "Uhm, yes. I was singing, it was a song I learned when I was young." Terag loosened his stance a bit and stood up a bit straighter. He let his left hand drop until it was level with his chest, and while the blush had faded it was still obvious on his face. At least now he could get a better look at the rider now, and it was a woman - that much he knew for certain. "Miss, if you don't mind me asking, why are you in the woods today? You will have to forgive me for asking, but you caught me off guard coming through the trees like that. I thought I was the only one in this area of the woods after all." His stance no longer seemed to be threatening except for the spear point still aimed at the woman, which was left there to hopefully ensure the other wouldn't try anything. As he waited for a response he finally took the time to truly look the woman over, his dark green eyes starting from the top and working his way down - which was still up for him regardless. Her hair was blonde, and that in itself was strange to Terag. Blonde wasn't a color that was common, if even present, among the Isur. It was braided too, and impossibly long. Across her face were speckles of some sort. Dirt maybe? He vaguely remembered something called 'freckles' being a thing for some races, perhaps 'furckles'? The thought was quickly cast aside as he did his best to take in any sort of information he could from her. The only other things he could see from this distance were that she had dark colored eyes and that she might be taller than him. Though in all fairness, almost all of the other races were taller than the Isur, and even with him being taller than mot of his kinda Terag was still shorter than most others.

[Tanna]

She watched as the man ducked back, his form shrinking as he crouched but she did not yet advance and understood his need for caution. The Drykas had spent little time in the Bronze Wood, having opted to keep to the area she knew along the Kabrin Road that stretched from Mithryn to Evantide, but she had heard plenty of the dangers the forest housed. In a show of good faith, she nudged Coosa's sides lightly, causing the horse to take a few slow steps towards him, looking in no rush to close the near ten meter space of fairly open ground that separated them as she spoke, “Please, I mean no harm.” Her hands move instinctively, signing in a more urgent and less gracefully manner than usual as they waved over her thighs and then motioning around her midsection before lifting high, palms forward, Unarmed, no threat.

His words were strange at first and she regarded him with a tilt of her chin, voice wary yet still holding the usual warmth with which she tended to speak, “It was in strange word..” With that said, her Drykas bluntness came through, “What are you, stranger? What word you speak?” As forward as her questions were, they we formed only due to her deep curiosity. “Is it some story of your kind?” There was an obvious shift in her tone as her curious excitement grew.

The horse plodded on, drawing the pair closer until they were just five meters away, “Sorry for question – and for surprise. Was riding back to Syliras and cut through woods to give horse a good ride. I hear song and fol-” Without warning, Coosa threw her head as she rolled her eyes, effectively freeing the bulk of her mutlicoloured mane from the playful running braid that had been woven into it earlier in the morning and Tanna twisted in the yvas to avoid the spray of hair in her face. The mare flattened her ears as she backed up, head dropping as she heaved a loud, nervous squeal and the birds in the canopy above returned the call.

Eyes wide as she felt her horse tense and jerk beneath her, she looked briefly in the man's direction, noting how he had straightened and how he held his spear. Desperate to soothe the horse, Tanna slipped into Pavi as she stroked a hand over the horse's neck, “Easy, Coosa, easy girl..” She knew her horse had a far better danger sense than she ever would – something Tanna had relied on heavily since leaving the grasslands – but she did not think this man was truly a threat. Unfortunately, Coosa did not share her sentiment.

In an instant, the mare sprang off a forehoof and swung around to the side as she made another nervous bellow in protest to the threat, the sound piercing the stillness of the woods and causing birds to lift and scatter. An 'Oooff!' flew from Tanna's lips, eyes growing wide as she swung backwards and then hard to the side along with the motions of the horse, body feeling like a ragdoll as she was tossed about. Without thinking, she threw her upperhalf forward to grab the horse's mane out of sheer need to have something to hold. Unfortunately, her mare mistook her positioning and sprang forward, kicking off into a run and there was nothing else Tanna could do but clutch the horse's mane while she engaged every inch of muscle in her stomach, back and thighs to try and keep her seat.

Instead, she slid and flew, dropping hard to the earth with an audible thud.

Striking the ground with her shoulder, another deep 'Oooff!' left her along with whatever air had been in her lungs. Her body lurched and rolled due to the momentum of her landing before, eventually, it slumped in a heap on one side and remained there, still, until the dust kicked up by the commotion finally settled.

Groaning, the Drykas reached a hand forward tentatively, fingers stretching towards a tuft of bright green grass before her. Grasping it, her fingers flexed, seeking better purchase before clutching it, clinging to it as if it might hold her in place as her head continued to spin and she shut her eyes tightly. There was a cough, a sputter as she tried to suck in some air and she managed to rise to her hands and knees in a rather ungainly manner, one hand moving to her chest as her lungs simply refused to take in the oxygen she was desperately trying to breath.

Pavi • Grass-sign • Common • Tukant • Others

[Terag]

He simply watched as the female spoke, her common sounded broken to him. Understandable, but it was obviously not her first language. She said that she meant him no harm and her movements conveyed this as well. Slowly she and her mount approached as her hands moved with her speech, to him the movements meant nothing and he thought it nothing more than she was the sort of person who ‘spoke with her hands’. As she inquired about his mix-up earlier, asking about the strange speech he had used, he couldn’t help but smile. It was a question he got quite often when he was caught either singing or speaking in his native language but it was still amusing to have it happen yet again, by someone who likely spoke another language as well. While Terag had relaxed more, his stance did not change. The rider and her mount did not mean him any harm it seemed, and for now he decided to trust her. For a moment he thought he had judged them wrong, as the horse began to whinney and buck before he had a chance to respond to the female’s questions. At first he took it as a sign of attack, and thus he dropped low into his stance again and made sure he was ready to jump to the side if the horse charged. The strange spoke a language that Terag had yet to hear before, and this he assumed was her native tongue since it seemed to flow from her lips much smoother than common. It seemed she was trying to soothe her horse, or perhaps she was trying to make it listen to her again? Had the mount gone against its master’s wishes and become dismayed? The ideas were briefly wiped from his mind as he watched the horse begin to buck harder, whiny louder, and then send its rider flying. At first, he stood frozen. Unsure of what to do as he wathed. Was this perhaps a trick? Was the women doing this to lull him into getting close for means to strike? Back home there had been stories of stranger things that those of the Pitrius clan had done to get what they wanted, so the idea didn’t seem so strange to him. Though as he watched her struggle to even grasp the earth in front of her, he felt doubt creep into his mind. The pain on her face seemed so real – he was reminded him of the face of a warrior who had taken a hard blow to the chest and was sent flying backwards only to collide again with the ground. He grit his teeth as he felt the desire to help kick in, the tighter knit community of the Isur made it so that more often then not when something happened there would be someone there to help. ”Oh I do hope she doesn’t remind me of my clan…” Terag moved forward quickly, dropping his spear in the process so he’d have both hands free, and moved around to her front. Once there he dropped to his knees and tried to look her over for something he could help with, though he tried to keep the mare in his sights should it prove to continue to be upset and cause more trouble. As he looked her over he found nothing he could even begin to help with, he was not trained to help others deal with pain. ”Focus here. Do not let yourself think of anything else. Just breathe, in and out.” Unsure of what to do with his hands he set them on the ground, his left hand unconciously gripping into the earth and it gave way easily to his grip until his black fingers were deep into the ground. ”Where does it hurt? Is anything broken? Is there something I can do, perhaps…” He took a pause as he tried to remember the correct words. ”Soften the earth? How is it said, weaken? No, make the ground softer?” The worry in his voice would be evident as the thoughts of possible harm were wiped from his mind. Up closer the pain even seemed more real and he just wished he could help and he had no idea what he could do that would improve her situation other than sit and wait, and try to protect her if her mount were to get too close now. If worse came to worse he would at least be able to raise up his left arm and try to block anything incoming with it.

[Tanna]

Gasping, she shook her head vigorously from one side to the other, hair falling from her loosened braid and into her face. Fear was visible on her features as she attempted to speak, lips moving but no words came, only one long thin yet audibly strained noise. Gasping once more, she thrust a hand out towards him as if trying to keep him back. No. Wait. Her brown eyes flashed him a grateful look, fleeting as it was, before she turned her head to try and visually locate her Strider, her body slumping to a seat as she did, legs curled up at her side.

She did not notice the ground being manipulated beneath his grip - in fact, she hardly noticed the pulsing throb than came from her shoulder, her entire focus being on sighting and calming her horse. It was then the air slowly started to make its way back into her lungs and the feeling was euphoric if not short lived for there was a sudden thunder of hooves as Coosa came barreling towards them both. Head bowed and ears pinned, the mare heaved a piercing squeal as she charged towards the man, only viewing him as a threat to her rider.

Fearing this would happen, Tanna tried to rise to her feet, body swaying. Ignoring the pain that radiated from her left shoulder, she extended that arm to shield the man, her right hand moving towards the horse as she cried out, “No!” Again her words failed her, no more than a strained whisper, and she immediately tried again despite the burn in her lungs, “Coosa, no.” Struggling to find her footing, she only managed to scoot herself along the ground.

The horse pulled up a few meters from the pair, head tossing as she whinnied in protest, tail thrashing as her hooves pawed at the ground below, stirring up a cloud of dust in her angst. Tanna wobbled, her hand still outstretched towards the horse, and she moved her opposite hand to the ground to steady herself before she managed to get both feet beneath her, “Easy girl. It's ok. Everything is ok. Shhh.” Standing slowly, her upperhalf swaying, she managed to find her balance as she cooed soft, soothing words before sending the stranger a plaintive look. Stay. Be still.

Moving towards her horse, she drew her left arm against her body, pushing away thoughts of the pain radiating from it to calm her own mind so she could best stay her horse. Reaching her good hand forward, Coosa raised her head further, still unsure, and Tanna cooed softly once more, “It's okay, my friend.” Her good hand fumbled as she signed, Safe now. The horse remained still save for a muscle along the her withers that twitched, the movement coursing down and along the the mare's chest before she blew hard from her nose yet accepted the hand that sought her muzzle.

Tanna's spirits instantly lifted as she practically fell into the horse, her body easing forward until it felt the steadfast support of the animal against it, and she looped her good arm around the horses neck while she nuzzled her head against the horse's cheek. Whispering a few more words to the horse, she then turned her sights back on the man, grinning, relieved. Giving the horse's neck a solid pat, she turned to fully regard him still using Coosa for support, “Come, say hi so Coosa know you are good.. mean no threat.”

Shooting the horse one last look as the fingers of her good hand brushed over the underside of the mare's neck, she offered another silly half-smirk, as if trying to diffuse the situation, “And, to be true, it hurt everywhere. Shoulder most.” She motioned with her chin to her left shoulder, that arm still curled against her middle. “I don't think broken.” Her words were shaky as she calmed, the shock of it all slowly hitting her as she reached her good arm around Coosa's neck, fingers seeking purchase in the mare's mane as her legs grew weak. Issuing a quiet chuckle, she closed her eyes as a furrow formed between her brows, “Make ground softer?” When her eyes opened once more, they were full of question.

Pavi • Grass-sign • Common • Tukant • Others

[Terag]

He looked up to see the horse coming towards him and the fallen woman again, butthere was little more he could do than sit and wait. He wasn’t going to abdon her to whatever may happen. His left armor, shining in the sun, was brought up as a last wall of defense, the first was going to be a wall of earth – or rather some sort of small pillar. His skill in reimancy made it so that he could do little more than that after all. He even began to channel the djed in his body and was about to release it through his hands when he heard the woman speak. Again, it was in a language he didn’t understand but it was barely more than a whisper. Even Terag had only barely heard it, that and the second time she spoke it was barely more audible. Within him the djed sat a bit uneasily, as he had already begun to move it, but he withheld from letting any go from his body as he watched the woman stand up and nearly fall down again. It was almost painful for him as well as he watched how hard she was trying to get to the horse, and the amount of pain she was likely in and able to ignore. More alien words were spoken as she got closer and closer, and Terag just waited. He dared not move, though his body felt tightened like that of a spring ready to let loose. Moments before this animal had been ready to charge him down and kill him and now it seemed to calm at her touch. There was sense of beauty to it, the way that she seemed to be able to communicate to the strider again. Granted, he did feel it was great as crafting itself but it was interesting none-the-less. Finally the woman made contact with the animal after what seemed like bells had passed. The strider let her touch its muzzle and Terag felt almost all of the tension in his body easy away. So this woman at least had a way with this sort of beast, perhaps not the best but it was more than Terag ever hoped to have. The djed in his body returned to its normal flow through his form as he finally released his hold on it, the feeling making him naseous for just a moment. “Come, say hi so Coosa know you are good.. mean no threat.” He stared at the woman for a long moment after she spoke, disbelief written plain on his face. He felt his body tense up again, more from fear of the strider than anything else, as he stood up slowly. He kept both hands open, as his spear was still far away on the ground, and facing the mount as he approached to show that he had nothing to hurt them with and hopefully meant them no harm. If Coosa permitted, he would try to reach his onyx-colored hand forward and gently pat the animal on the snout. ”Err… Hello Coosa. Your rider is right, I mean no harm.” In all honesty it felt a bit strange talking to the animal like this. He had never had a pet before nor any sort of animal to take care of. He couldn’t help but just feel embarrassed, but at least the animal seemed to understand the woman so hopefully it understood him as well? Perhaps his ideas of animals had been misguided as his ideas of humans were slowly proving to be as well. As the woman spoke again about her arm, his green eyes turned from admiring Coosa’s mane back to her. First her face and then down to her arm. That had been the side she had landed on wasn’t it? He looked a bit more but he couldn’t personally tell anything was wrong with it other than the fact she was holding it gingerly against her form. ”If it hurts then perhaps we should put it in a… I forget the word. Wrapping? I have cloth in my bag that you can borrow to hang it with, so it does’t move too much?” He frowned a bit, feeling partially responsible for her injury. He pulled his pack from his shoulders and set it on the ground so he could crouch and rummage through it. It didn’t take long to find his cloak as he had brought little else with him so he could set sticks and the like inside the pack to bring back. After he pulled it out she asked her other question, about him softening the ground. He probably should have attempted to be a bit wiser in his response. But, in Pitrius city there were so many that praticed different forms of magic that talking about it was commonplace, and the assumption was that almost all of the clan could use some sort of magic. ”Yes, make it easier to lay on? It is not too hard using magic. I do not know the name for it in common, but in my language it is Reimancy. You use djed to manipulate the elements. I can move the ground as easily as I can make a new weapon.” He smiled a bit at this, trying to seem as confident as possible. He wasn't really all that good at reimancy regardless, but he would at least pretend to be.

[Tanna]

The Drykas made sure to keep her good arm around the horse - both for support and to continue to calm the creature - and spoke more soft nonsensicals to the mare as the man approached. She watched him curiously as she worked to keep her breathing even despite the discomfort she felt due to her injury and noticed that he was about a hand shorter than she was; despite this, he was well muscled and she had little doubt he was more than capable of handling himself. Added to this was the fact that his hair held a blue tint to it, something most obvious when he passed through the patches of sunlight that trickled through the trees.

She offered him the warmest smile she could muster as he moved that strange arm of his towards Coosa and, shooting the horse a quick look, she reached her good hand towards his outstretched one, meaning to take hold of it so she could steer that hand towards the horse's neck. "It's better here" she explained, trying to keep her words warm despite the audible strain. The mare, however, remained where she stood and regarded the man warily, blowing through her nose as the man's hand grew near. Tanna's warm smile only grew as she saw the horse accept the man's touch, visible relief evident in her features.

Shifting her brown gaze between his limb and his face, she piqued a brow, "Is it.. is something wrong with arm? Is meant to be black like that?" Her blunt words didn't flow as well as the previous ones, catching as her shoulder throbbed, but she felt the need to speak them, to talk about anything in order to try and keep her mind off her shoulder.

She welcomed his advice about the strapping with a nod of her head but regretted the movement instantly, the muscles along her neck tensing. Shutting her eyes, she kept the ghost of the smile she had worn on her face, equally for her benefit as it was for his own. The fingers of her good hand remained laced tightly within Coosa's mane as the wave passed and she reopened her eyes to watch him rummaged through his pack.

Her smile twitched wider as he began to speak once more, absorbing what he said and making a horrible attempt at repeating the first strange word he spoke, "Ree-ma-cee."

She knew little of magic outside of a basic understanding of the web and its role in Drykas culture but his words helped her recall a story she once heard. Shutting her eyes once more, her lips pulled wide before parting, "You can change ground? Use.. soil? Are you are blessed by Semele, then?"

Tentatively, her lids lifted and her brown eyes sought his face, looking as acquisitive as a child. Being a deeply spiritual being, she had had little interaction with magic and mistakenly counted such abilities as gifts from the deities. "I do not know word, but I heard tale of a Stormwarden so blessed by Zulrav he could use the wind as he wished. It was said he ride faster than any other, carried by wind." Her words were emphatic yet she lacked her usual gusto in speaking, body unusually still, "And he could strike blow from meters away, without even having to touch his enemy with own hands." Whether said person was just a Stormwarden or an actual air reimancer was unknown but she seemed to think they were one in the same.

Pavi • Grass-sign • Common • Tukant • Poor Isurian

[Noah Amuel]

The day was turning out to be a calm one for Noah. He had risen that morning with a pep in his step, much unlike the days where tossing and turning had afflicted his sleep in the night prior. He slept soundly last night and awoke feeling refreshed, if not more. When he left his rented room the Wood was the first thing on his mind and how he yearned to fly in the calm winds with Zulrav as his guide being his motivation.

He ventured there now, eyes alert and ears open to the sounds of nature. He walked along the trade road searching for an unoccupied flank of the Wood to lose himself in so that he could strip his clothing and shift into his flying form without witness. To his right he noticed an opening in the Wood where none seemed to have traveled anytime soon, as far as his eye could tell anyway. His head whipped from side to side gazing down the road in search of any approaching bodies. When none were found he took ginger steps from the beaten road to the lush grass growing off to the side.

With a soft tread he wandered further from the road, confident in his sense of direction. He had grown accustom to becoming lost and his sense of direction from the road was sharpening. Noah blamed it on his shifted form's migration instinct and getting lost quite a bit as a child. The further from the road he got the more anxious he became. His belly fluttered with butterflies as the need to shift became more prevalent. The skies were so near and Zulrav's breeze was encouraging, blending with Noah's own mood.

The Kelvic stumbled upon a sturdy tree that had been split by natural forces, a force he assumed to be lightning. The blanched wood was charred and blackened down the middle and the tree's once mighty trunk now hung at either side, stiff and free of bark. Around the roots of the tree was ash and the remains of the tree's wooden armor. Perfect Noah thought as he reached to tug off his thin cotton shirt.

Just then a panicked cry could be heard through the Wood. Noah froze, unsure whether to continue unclothing himself or not. The cry was heard again seconds later. Noah's ears twitched at the cry and his skin was plagued by goosebumps. Whatever was happening, it was dire, or so he thought. His shirt slid back down his scrawny torso as he determined the direction of the shrill cry. His head swiveled, listening for a sign of struggle. There the cry was again. This time Noah moved, his steps hard and determined. Around the trees he maneuvered himself and through the foliage he went.

It seemed like half a bell had passed before he came across a clearing in the Wood. His stepped slowed considerably before he came to a crouch meters from the perimeter of the clearing. Noah observed an unheard exchange between a short, blue skinned man and a blonde haired woman of average height. There was also a golden brown colored mare with a dark mane, tail, and ears. The woman had an arm around the mare and appeared to be holding her other arm close to her body.

Was the horse the cause of the sound I was hearing? Noah wondered, keeping low to the ground. The Kelvic hid in the shadows of the trees, his dark shorts and brown shirt hopefully keeping him concealed. The canopy above him was thin however and, unbeknownst to Noah, dappled his form with sunlight. Noah was unsure to reveal himself or not. The people in the clearing had yet to reveal their own motivations for being there and he couldn't tell if the woman possessed a weapon in her hidden arm due to his poor vantage point. He remained still, breathing shallow.

[Terag]

He stayed silent as the woman asked him a few questions and tried to repeat the isurian word for reimancy. It was then also that he remembered something his father had told him long ago: Many of the other clans and non-isurians were not well versed in the ways of magic. Sometimes they didn’t even know what magic was let alone know the finer details of the names of them. There he assumed that the female had no real idea what he was talking about, and her story about the Stormwarden. She didn’t seem afraid of it at least, and from what Terag could tell from the story she at least had a working idea of what the magic was. Terag tentatively patted the side of her mount’s neck, where she had earlier indicated, before setting to work on using his cloak to strap her arm into place. He took the cloak in both hands and set his left hand on her right shoulder, then as gently as he could he wrapped his right arm around her until he had her in a loose embrace and he could grab both ends of the cloak with his left hand. He tried his best to not let too much of his body come in contact with her, but due to the height difference it changed little as his body still came into contact with her with his chest and his right arm; if only so he could actually reach around. Terag took a slow step back and to the left after pulling his hand back around her and to her right shoulder to tie the cloak in place. When he was done he would do is best to make sure he arm was supported well enough but this was the first time he had tried such a thing, and using his cloak rather than a strip of cloth didn’t make it any easier. Much of the cloak hung down around her waist and off her back in the end, and it looks more like a decorative piece than a make-shift sling. He frowned slightly as he took a step back to try to better admire his work, crude but it might work. ”I hope that works. If not, please adjust until you are at least comfortable enough for the time being. ” His left hand came up to stroke his goatee, running from his moustache down to his beard in one fluid motion before talking again. ”Now you asked many questions so let me try to answer them all, hopefully in order. ” He raised his left arm in front of him and used his right hand to push back the sleeve so she could get a better look at it. It was the same color as onyx, and had a slight gleam in the sunlight. The veins on it were silver, just like the rest of his body, and other than its coloring it seemed the same as his other arm. At the shoulder was what seemed to be a tribal tattoo, a grey that was light enough to be perceived against the black skin. That was his mark of Inzentor, and its size showed that he had only gotten it through birth and had yet to go farther with it as he had seen on a few smiths over the years. ”It is supposed to be black, it shows that I am an Isurian. It represents both my clan and my connection to Izurdin, the god of my people. His is the only blessing I have received, I am sorry to say I do not even know this ‘Semele’ you speak of, or ‘Zulrav’. I assume both are gods of your people?” He arched an eyebrow after the question and dropped his arm. He gave her some time to respond before he continued, ”As for being able to change the ground, yes. I was taught by my father. I am not very good at it but I can do a little bit.” He extended his right hand, palm downwards, between the two of them. After a long moment of focusing, he was able to slowly expel his res from his hand. It took the form of a translucent, white mist as it floated down to the ground, where it condensed. After a short moment the earth around it seemed to be pulled together and rose up as a very thin pillar up about a foot before descending down. He pulled his res up again as he turned his palm up, and condensed all of the expelled res into a palm sized, stone sphere in his hand. This small amount of work was already starting to become taxing on him, and he could feel himself weaken slightly. There was where he decided to leave the demonstration. ”You will have to excuse me, but I think that is all I can do for now to show you. It takes a lot for me to do more than that.” He gave her a slight pained smile, it was a skill he had neglected for a long time and he knew that he had a lot of work still for it. ”If I had to guess I would assume the Stormwarden would be able to do the same with air. Do you perhaps have some tricks you can do?” His interest was piqued, as he realized how little she had yet to really share so far. It was her turn to share after all. It was also here that he took a bit more time to look her over. Her hair was blonde, a color he often did not see among his dark-haired people. There was a soft glint off the ring in her nose as well, a strange place to have metal as far as Terag was concerned. The final thing he took the time to look at were her windmarks, which Terag took for just tattoos without deeper meaning. The ones on the visible part of her arm were interesting, though the one of her neck caught his attention and he couldn’t help but stare a bit longer than was normal. All the while, Terag was completely unaware and oblivious to the newcomer that had happened upon the two of them and was watching from the woods. Inventory{Simple Cloak, Black} given to Tanna OOCSorry for the length! I got a bit too into it while I was typing it up.