Open Mischief in the Fields

[Solugh]

Solugh clapped excitedly for Sayana. The extra arms really did help! He couldn't remember the first time he went swimming, but he knew that the water was oftentimes more home to him than the land. The mysterious flows that seemed adjacent to time itself constantly called to him. Getting lost in his thoughts Solugh disappeared back under the water, the current overwhelming him in a summer embrace.

It was the otter that re-emerged, chirping playingfully next to Sayana and Noah, darting between the two of them. How nice a day to meet two new individuals who have no interest in capturing and experimenting on me! Solugh was absolutely delighted to forget his search for the moment and just bask in his new friendships. Then he heard the noise, like a laugh, bound out of the empty surroundings. He stopped and looked in the direction he thought he heard it, and saw no signs of any new arrivals. Trappers? His animal instincts boiled over and panic welled inside him, ready to burst.

His journey to Syliras wasn't exactly peaceful. He had to travel by night to avoid any wanderers, but the downside to that was that he was met with immediate suspicion. The last thing he wanted was to end up as some researcher's pet, or worse- experiment, and he had gone to great lengths to take the roads less, or not, traveled, even if it meant a more harsh environment to deal with. He thought about the many scrapes and bruises he got from throwing himself down at any sound that might have stemmed from intelligent life. He thought about running for so long that his feet eventually gave way beneath him. He thought about feeling incredibly alone.

With nary a splash he dived into the water and hid behind the crook of Sayana's neck. His beady eyes darted to and fro, searching for the unseen guest. If it isn't bad, why would it want to hide? He reasoned to himself, chittering lightly. He glanced to Noah to see if he also heard the noise, then quickly back to the other side of the bank, before clinging onto Sayana's shoulder. Why did you have to drop the shiny knife Sayana? Maybe your gut-punching skills will come in handy after all...

OOCNew Posting Order,
Noah
Sayana
Alexander
Solugh
-Anyone can jump in at any time, just know that where you jump in is going to be your spot.

[Noah Amuel]

The Kelvic smiled at the six-armed woman as she got the hang of floating. She called out in what appeared to be jubilation when she began to move her arms in conjunction with her feet. Sayana floated out in front of Noah as he kept to the shallows and he watched onward, sharing her glee. The woman shouted again beckoning the two Kelvic men to look at her before she submerged herself in the water. Panic apparently struck the woman as she she flailed about before finding her footing at the bottom of the murky water.

Noah smiled in amusement, taking to the water himself. He was slowly swallowed within the brown current, sinking until only his eyes and nose remained above the water. He kept his mouth closed tightly, lest something unseen slip between his lips. He drifted towards Sayana, aided by his long and lanky legs acting as stilts for him as he walked along the bottom.

He felt Sayana’s ripples in the water come up against his skin and realized that he was being followed into the deeps by the woman. Her question came as a surprise to the man. He rose a bit in order to free his mouth from the water. “I don’t swim much,” he answered. “I much prefer the air to the sea.” He chuckled now, and looked to Solugh who wandered off drifting much like the log his shifted form resembled before he disappeared into the water. “It doesn’t muck up my feathers though. It just makes me really heavy when they’re wet. It’s hard to fly when they are.”

Just then a splash caught the man’s attention. From that splash came Solugh, in his otter form. The creature made a noise that Noah had never heard but he figured it was one of joy, so he smiled. “How are you doing, Sayana?” he asked his female companion. He wandered closer to her as the otter darted around them. He showed a smile to the woman before standing, the water receding to his waistline.

The woman appeared to enjoying herself, or so he hoped. Her hair, a dark brown that Noah thought was pretty, lay drenched with the water they were surrounded by. The hair that occupied the nape of his neck and back of his head was soaked as well and led him to run a hand through his own brown locks of hair. He coursed the water from them and then shook his head much like a water-riddled dog.

That was when a laugh could be heard eerily in the distance. Solugh had reacted first, rushing to Sayana’s side and cowering behind her. This instinct seemingly took hold of Noah as well. He took several steps back towards the shore where he was more than ready to shift and flee the area. It was a selfish instinct but one nonetheless that he could not control. “What was that?” he asked cautiously, wading towards Sayana now but positioned behind her much like Solugh.

[Sayana]

Sayana followed along after Noah as she tried to get more comfortable in the water. Here and there she could swim for a couple feet without touching the ground. She kicked furiously and moved her arms through the water. Yet she was glad that she could find her footing once more. She had managed to get a little deeper than Noah, or at least it was more pronounced since she was shorter and the water now covered her chest.

She glanced over at Solugh who had now reverted to his river form. A little brown creature chattering away and splashing about. She smiled at Noah, half listening to him and half trying to figure out how best to push against the water to move through it. “Flying through the air sounds lovely,” she replied. As he moved closer she swam towards him to the shallower waters. “And I’m doing quite fine. I think I’m enjoying this.” With a glint in her eye, she found her footing and braced herself in the shallow water before springing upwards, aiming a multi-armed splash at Noah. “Gotcha!”

She stood with the water at her waist line grinning at the eagle kelvic, waiting to see if he’d respond in kind. But then she heard a laugh or a giggle. Both kelvics responded in a mix of caution and fear. “We know you’re out there,” Sayana called as she bent down into the water fishing for something, anything. Ah, a rock. She grabbed the fist-sized rock in her mid hand knowing that she was probably too far from her daggers to reach them quickly. While she had been bending down she felt Solugh scramble up to cling to her shoulder. Previously she might have tried to shake him off, but instead she reached a low hand around to hold him or at least brace him so he wouldn’t fall off as she stood.

The Eypharian’s eyes kept scanning the river scenery trying to find the source of the noise. “And don’t think we’re unarmed. Or at least I certainly am not.” She warned. True, she hardly had anything of use but she wasn’t going to let the stranger know that. Finally her eyes fell upon a hazy shape by the river bank. Was that really what had caused the laugh? Sometimes she had seen ghosts back home, but more often than not they were unfriendly and troublesome, much like the slaves they had been.

[Alexander Demarcus]

The creature in the water knew he was here. Alexander had read about evil ghosts that haunt buildings, should have a little fun and scare the poor souls? Yes! He thought and with a loud boom he shouted, "you are not welcome hete these are my fields" his voice echoed through the empty field and for good measure he lifted up a rock slowly with his soulmist, the rock dropped with a thump. He grinned to himself, he hadn't had this much fun in forever.

He watched them, hidden in the field. "Boo" he shouted loudly and blinked away. He had to give the three credit as they hadn't run screaming yet, thought the otter did look a little afraid. He tried not to burst out laughing at their misfortune. He'll probably wait a bit to stop the prank. This was going to be fun, though he best keep his distance the woman looked like she could pack a punch and he didn't want them to get hurt by his touch. He was just gonna scare them, then say sorry and introduce himself.

"Leave my domain and don't return" he shouted giggling silently to himself from his hiding spot. The woman thought she could fool him he knew she had a rock, better stop this before it gets out of hand and in an instant he rapidly blinked towards the three and shouted "boo" right in their faces before bursting out in a fit of laughter. "You should have seen your faces he laughed out loud, "hi i'm Alexander, Alex if you must" he said casually to the trio.

[Solugh]

How could things have gone from so good to so terrible, so quickly? Solugh curled further into Sayana, wet fur pushing into her skin. Sounds and smells raced through his senses as he clamped his eyes shut, losing himself in his instincts. A thump from the area of the previous sounds jolted him, and he almost bolted away, instead choosing to dig his claws into the many armed woman. Shivering, Solugh barely heard the intruder shouting, but just barely was all that was needed to overwhelm the small creature. Colors swam in his eyes as he passed out.

A towering woman with frazzled red hair towered over him. It was obvious she had attempted to braid it several times, but the latent humidity only worked against her. Her face was kind, but her eyes held worry. At the other end of the small cottage, there was a bang at the door and muffled shouting. Solugh felt tears of fear bubbling up. With a flash Solugh's tiny hands were replaced with tiny claws and the tears replaced with whimpering. Isandrie, wife of Vereth, scooped up the tiny otter and clutched him to her breast, providing the comfort and warmth only a mother could give in such circumstances.

Outside a gaunt man with slender, tight muscles from many years working a fishing rod, argued with indistinguishable shapes. They wanted to come in. They heard rumor that there was a specimen of interest nearby. Solugh was that rumor. He had just wanted to play outside, and the water was so very inviting. He didn't mean to be seen. It wasn't his fault. The scary men were going to get him now though.

As this thought bounced through his psyche, Solugh felt the figures outside grow larger and larger, threatening to swallow the fishing cottage whole. Despair welled inside of him and hope fled like a flame extinguished. Then he was falling.

Not quite falling, but being lowered. Isandrie, his mother, was placing him in a small compartment floorboard. She motioned for him to be silent and gently stroked behind his ears. Another bang at the door and she slid the cover back over the secret space.

"Hush baby, they will not have you today."

[Noah Amuel]

Noah wadded uncomfortably in the water, near Sayana and Solugh but near the bank of the river enough so that, if worse came to worse, he could be out of the water with only a couple wide strides. Terror gripped at the Kelvic’s being. The voice that called to them sent shivers up his spine everytime it spoke and made him wish that his newfound friends would just proceed to leave.

“You’re not welcome in my fields!” the voice said with a hideous echo that sent Noah creeping up the bank, head turned towards what he thought was the source of the voice. His eyes scanned the opposite bank and rummaged through the foliage in hopes of finding something he would recognize as humanoid. It was then that he saw a grayish figure midst the green of the trees, bushes, and grass. The Kelvic leaned into his view in an attempt to get a better look but as he did so the figure blinked away after a resounding shout of fright was emitted from it, leaving Noah without a clue as to what he saw. Was it a ghost?

“Leave my domain and don’t return,” the voice came again and again goosebumps followed, pelting Noah’s skin.

“Sayana, we should leave,” Noah suggested with a wavering voice. He looked to his companions. On Sayana’s back the otter, Solugh, held tightly and was stiff with fright. Noah could swear that some of the fellow Kelvic’s hair stood on end. Then, though, it appeared as if Solugh was losing his grip on his shelter and began the plummet into shallow water and shore. “Solugh,” Noah gasped before rushing through the shallow water towards the falling otter and alert woman.

When he arrived behind Sayana he scooped Solugh up from the water and into his arms where he held him like a babe. “Sayana we should go --”

Just then the producer of the shouter revealed himself in a fit of rapid blinks towards the three mortals. When Noah’s eyes adjusted to the rapid appearing and disappearing, the ghost was face to face with Sayana and shouted out another yell of fright. Noah’s body tensed and his face show fright only seconds before the ghost erupted into laughter.

Anger filled the void were fright had left. Still he was speechless and now there was an unconscious otter in his hands. He was scared half to death and quite ready to leave his friends behind if the will had allowed it, but he was glad he stayed for it was all a hoax and a game to this ghost -- this fiend. He tightened his grip on Solugh and kept a steady, angry eye on the ghost.

[Sayana]

Sayana kept the rock in her right mid hand ready to throw if necessary. “You are not welcome here, these are my fields.” Your fields indeed. Probably some lonely ghost with nothing better to do. Or just a bitter one. Her face hardened as she tried to keep her eyes on it. Off to the side, a rock thumped to the ground and for a moment she tore her gaze away to find the source. No, it was just playing with them. She felt Solugh’s claws tighten on her shoulder and she gritted her teeth as they dug into her skin. Again she was tempted to brush the otter off and into the water but she supposed he had a right to be afraid.

Noah was faring not much better. He wanted to leave. It annoyed her though, being ‘scared off’ by a ghost. ‘Leave my domain’. She was tempted to repeat the same words back to the ghost. But then she felt a loosening upon her shoulder and Noah rushed to catch the otter that had fallen off. Sayana raised the stone she held and began wading back to shore. It wouldn’t do her much good to be caught out in the water while trying to fend off a ghost. Perhaps she could simply hop on her horse and… But then the chill of the air against her skin reminded her that she still had to put her clothes back on.

At the sudden flicker of movement and the ‘boo’ that followed, the Eypharian threw the rock reflexively at the ghost. But whether it passed straight through the ghost or missed entirely, she wasn’t sure since it plopped into the water with a loud splash. She took several quick steps towards the shore and then the ghost burst out into laughter. With a disapproving frown she reached for her throwing daggers where she had left them and held them aloft in her high hands.

“You should see your face when I sink one of these into your misty form,” she threatened, still stark naked but now at the bank of the river. She wasn’t sure if it would impact the ethereal creature but her voice didn’t waver.

“Regardless, I don’t appreciate you scaring my friends half to death, even if they are simply kelvics,” Sayana continued as she kept an eye on the ghost. With her mid and low hands she began to redress, but should the ghost make any attempts on her or her friends, she’d carry out her earlier threat.

“But if you’re so intent on us leaving, then perhaps we shall.” Sayana added to the ghost and then turned to Noah. “Let me take Solugh. I can ride back with him to Syliras and you can either fly with us or go back to your home, wherever that is.” She extended her mid arms expectantly and waited for the Noah to pass the unconscious otter to her.

Sayana then untied her horse where she had left it and was quite glad it hadn’t been spooked. After mounting she called out to the ghost, “Perhaps next time we’ll meet on better terms Alexander.” With the otter cradled in her mid arms, she held the horn of the saddle and reins with her lows and still had her throwing daggers drawn in her highs. With a strong kick of her heels, she set off at a trot away from the river and back towards the great city of Syilras.

OOCHope you don’t mind me using my persuasion skill to let Sayana take Solugh. It also seemed to make the most sense. And this wraps up my part of the thread. Sorry that the thread was starting to wrap up by the time you arrived Alex.

[Alexander Demarcus]

The rock had passed right through Alex, now her fear had been turned to anger. She raised her daggers, "you should see your face when i sink one of these into your misty form" she threatened Alex looked on knowing the daggers posed no threat to him. He felt the mans glare and gave him a quick look, he saw the otter in his hands and Alex's face dropped. He looked down at the ground in shame.


“Regardless, I don’t appreciate you scaring my friends half to death, even if they are simply kelvics,” The woman said, and then she took the otter in her hands and untied her horse before riding off she turned to Alex. “Perhaps next time we’ll meet on better terms Alexander.”, "perhaps," he muttered under his breath" the ghost then turned to the bird man and said, " tell the otter i am sorry, and i am also sorry for scaring you." And with that he blinked away, back to his boring life.

[Noah Amuel]

The Kelvic loosened his grip on the unconscious otter and handed Solugh over to Sayana. If they were leaving now, which Noah wasn’t opposed to, Sayana would have an easier time transporting Solugh. She had a horse after all and all Noah had were the talons attached to his legs that couldn’t carry much in the weight of an otter. Noah passed Solugh over while keeping his eyes on the ethereal being. The way it floated there as a wisp of translucency made the Kelvic uncomfortable. He had never seen a ghost before and was very grateful that Sayana, the fearless six armed woman, was there to threaten the thing for him. He was sure that if she wasn’t there he’d be much more unnerved than he was now.

With goosebumps still on his skin he waded out of the water along with Sayana. Noah felt the bottoms of his feet trap loose blades of grass and the mud from the river’s bank. He followed Sayana to her horse and saw that she was able to mount it without further harassment from the ghost. While he was with Sayana and the horse he admired the animal. It was great, majestic in a way, and obviously powerful. Even with it standing, its muscles were taut as they kept the great thing upright. Noah watched in awe as its chest cavity expanded and retracted with each inhale and exhale from the beast’s nostrils. It was a sight to the Kelvic at least and it appeared that Sayana was more worried about leaving the area and being rid of the ghost than watching the spectacle that was an everyday animal in her eyes.

Sayana said another thing to the ghost that floated nearby and, with a kick of her heels, took off into a trot atop the back of the horse. Noah followed. The Kelvic was hungry still but decided that it would be right to escort his temporary guardian back to safety before heading off on his own. He took off in a jog after her before shifting mid stride. The pumping of his legs was replaced by the pumping of his wings as his legs and talons were drawn in close to his white feathered belly. He flew above Sayana, Solugh, and the horse but close enough so that she knew that he was there, watching but not bothering any longer.

[Ball]

I want to apologize for taking so long to grade this. Things have gotten terribly busy for me.

As usual, any questions please ask. Any concerns also please ask. PM me for both.

Sayana

Skills

Land Navigation	+1
Riding (Horse)	+1
Unarmed Combat	+1
Interrogation	+1
Swimming	+2
Intimidation	+1
Brawling	+1

Lores

• Navigation: Using Syna as a Guide
• Swimming: Floating on back like an otter
• Swimming: Floating on one's back
• Alex: Ghost Flickering Terror
• Brawling: Stones are not very effective against ghosts

Noah Amuel

Skills

Observation	+2
Socialization	+2
Running	+1

Lores

• Solugh: Naked Man… And Log Creature?
• Sayana: Six-Armed lady
• Ashamed to be around a naked Sayana
• Alex: Ghost Flickering Terror

Alexander Demarcus

Please list all starting package XP in your CS as SP, or RB in the case of the 10 from Materialization.
As you were active during the season of Summer 515, you must account for living expenses. Even though you are a ghost, you still must account for it in your ledger – this is as simple as marking the Seasonal Expenses for Summer 515 at 0.

Once this is fixed, please PM and I will grade this for you. Thank you

Solugh

As you were active during the season of Summer 515, you must account for living expenses.

Once this is fixed, please PM and I will grade this for you. Thank you