PM to join Secrets to Remember (Savacea)

[Loda]

Tokia’s, he had heard of the place. One of the few businesses besides paper-making on the island that actually had a purpose. He had intended to see what they sold inside and if he could inquire about learning herbalism from them. Though not sure if they would do such a thing for a stranger, he now was all the more pleased he had met Savacea. This wandering through the swamp perhaps could prove useful, as any information he could attain on herbalism would help him as he went for tokol.

“I see. I was wanting to learn herbalism while on Black Rock. I wasn’t sure exactly who might know something of it. Any kind of knowledge regarding the wildlife here would be useful for me, as the marsh is similar to that near Taloba.”

He nodded and watches as she hesitantly reeled back from his hand with her jaw, but then she righted herself and was brave. Charcoal seemed to be seen as something nearly gross in her eyes to put on her skin. At least he didn’t spit into the mixture like he normally did. She stopped his approaching fingers by asking him a question and he paused a brief moment.

“Yes...Some of us.” Reminding her that he was of a clan of many. “But it is good regardless. Charcoal cleans your skin. Many women in my tribe wash their face with it every day. You can even use it to brush your teeth with. It works better than any mixture the herbalists can make.”

With that he gave her a look like, ‘get ready’, and then placed a finger upon her skin. Despite the fact that it was previously burnt, the mixture was cold to the touch from the water it had been mixed in. The light breeze that shuffled about them idly had cooled it further as his finger was sitting up in the air. She could not tell the texture of his finger though, nor its roughness as only the gritty, slimy cool charcoal was what she felt.

Gently he brushed from her lower lip down to the tip of her chin. She may have thought he was done, so he showed her he wasn’t. He calmly brushed a line from his nose in a thick manner under his eye to the side. He then held up another finger to show her he was going to put more on. “Close your eyes”.

If she was calm and accepting, he would lightly touch the bridge of her nose and then sweep under her eyes. Eventually he would run out of mixture and he would have to turn back around and make some more.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Savacea Jovellana]

Loda mentioned wanting to learn some Herbalism. As she was not the best Herbalist, she would not mind teaching him what she did know, even though it was a vague understanding. She waited to tell him this though as she was interested in what he was doing.

Before he could put the black yuck on her face, he mentioned that it was, that the women used it to wash their faces and brush their teeth. To her this was disgusting, as it was undoubtedly a very unpleasant taste to have in one's mouth, but she did not say anything but nodded as he went to put the charcoal on her face. It was not hot but cool, she could not feel his skin upon her own, which was disappointing to her, but the texture of that paint like substance made her blanch slightly. It felt like sand but was slimy at the same time, she hoped that it dried and would not feel so gross upon her face.

She sighed thinking he was done, as he then took some of the mixture from his hand, then brushed a line from his nose and under his eye to the side thickly. She grimaced but closed her eyes so he could do the same to her. He lightly touched the bridge of her nose and swept under her eyes, when he was done with this she decided to tell him about the herbalism now, "I would not mind showing you what I know when we go into the marsh, I am not the best though." Savacea said with a grin, still holding her eyes closed afraid the mixture would get inside them and burn, "I will show you if you do something for me too." She supplied, a slight devious grin appearing on her face.

She was having fun messing with Loda, but nothing really went past him, he kept his features strong and fierce as well as serious most of the time. It was hard to read him at times, but she figured that joking around would help relax him a bit around her, he seemed to be tense still around her for what ever reason and she wanted to smooth that out. Although she herself was still wary of the man, as they were still getting to know one another, so she could understand it to a point.

[Loda]

Large fingers traced over her skin in calm sweeps. She may not realize it, but Loda was being delicate with her. As a woman in the tribe you would wipe straight across the eyes, wipe them clean of the muck, and then trust that they were cleaned and free from dirt; yet here Loda made sure not to get close to her tear ducts or her actual slits where her eyes were. He would not touch her whole lips with the mixture, only going from the chin to the edge of her bottom lip, so that she wouldn’t taste it.

“Alright...that is fine.” He didn’t need a master herbalist with him to know what was used for what in general. He already knew in the jungle and marsh what he could eat and what he couldn’t, so what she could teach him he wondered what use it would be. Yet he knew many women in the military who knew herbalism; many of which were Tokol.

She toyed a bit with him, the devious grin making it obvious to him. Part of him wanted to toy with her too, but something deep down inside again sounded off warning. It was a subconscious catch that kept telling him to stop, that “No she is your enemy”, yet he didn’t know it. Perhaps it was his ancestors dredging up from the depths of the dead here on this island, perhaps it was reincarnated with his soul from a warrior of the past. He didn’t know, but something just kept a spear’s length between him and her for the moment.

With a gruff voice she could tell even with her eyes closed that he answered back playfully suspicious. “What is it you want from me Savacea?”

She’d soon find out that it wasn’t just a few swipes, but a mural he painted upon her face. Dots on her cheeks, a half arrow under her eye, a diamond almost up to her hair, yet not touching it. Lastly he took the remaining mixture in his hands and lightly rubbed down the side of her ears. As soon as the mixture went on, the sun baked it, causing it to stain, and when he had finished she truly looked like a pale Myrian. If he was not attracted to her before, he was now. Blinking a bit at what he saw he backed away and moved over to the fire.

He made more mixture for himself and said, “You can open your eyes.” She’d find that it was safe to do so and she would see him swiftly slathering a new mixture upon his face. The roughness in how he did it was nothing like he did for her. A thick band of black went across his face and then he dipped his hands into the small puddle, soaking them. He proceeded to grab all the rest of what he had burned, even the light bits that were still slightly warm and crushed them into his hands. He then hit his chest with his hands, one on each of his breasts and then streaked downward in the shape of claw marks or fangs, it was hard to tell. Loda then moved to the puddle and began to rinse off his hands.

Savacea could see how easily the paste mixture came off in water and as he finished, Loda shook off his hands and returned to where the leaves had burned. He glanced again to Savacea and then back down to the fire, scraping with his foot a heap of dirt on top of it to conceal it.

“Come, I will show you what you look like.” he led her to where the bush was. Beyond it the swamp’s water began and in the murkiness she could see her reflection. The wide leafed vine bush was the same they used in the swamps, so as she went to look at herself, he fashioned a wreath of leaves for her and him. It took him just seconds to twist it into a the wreath, so by the time she was done looking, he moved to put it upon her. He wasn’t sure how she liked being treated like this, but to him it was an honor thing. She got to partake in his culture, one she seemed to be quite interested in. While his clan was different in some ways than others, it was still Myrian. The green of the bush upon her head would hide some of her white hair and some of his black, almost making him blend in all the more with his brown skin. If she were to look to him, she would see he nearly blended with the bush. While she may or may not have thought that blackening the skin or wearing a green wreath on the head would provide any use in the swamp, she could see that he almost looked like he belonged to the swamp. With a quick glance over him, you wouldn’t see him if he were in the middle or behind that bush. Now that he was ready, he looked to her to see what she thought of it all.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Savacea Jovellana]

His gruff voice in reply made her chuckle, she could not help teasing him, her name came out of his mouth and she found she liked the way it sounded coming from him, perhaps it was his strange accent that made it come out better she was unsure, but decided to continue to tease him, "I guess you will find out soon, Loda." She said still smirking with her eyes closed.

He continued his painting on her face, when he touched her ears she gasped a little his touch was light, What the petch, the ears too! she thought in her mind, as he finished with his job. She heard him move away from her, then told her she could open her eyes. She did so slowly, hoping that stuff would not hurt her. It did not though and she was glad, she did not want to ruin his work on her face, although she was immensely curious as to what she did look like. Hopefully not a hideous swamp creature, she did take a little pride in her appearance, though not overly so.

She glanced over at Loda as he was slathering on the mixture on his face, he did so with such roughness that it made her frown a bit. But he did it so softly on me.. She thought to herself, wondering if it was because she was a woman and he was being gently with her. She let the thought go though, as grabbed the rest of the burned material and hit his chest going down, she followed his hands as the did so then looked back up to see something that resembled claws to her, then he went and rinsed off his hands and Savacea sent a silent prayer up thanking that it came off with ease in the water.

He glanced to her not saying anything then back down again, now she was really curious what she looked like hoping it did not make her look too hideous. Loda seemed to read her mind when he told her to come and look at herself. He led her beyond the bush to the murky water of the swamp. She glanced down at the water and gasped at what she saw. Savacea was expecting to see black stuff smeared all over her face, but it was actually quite beautiful.

There was dots on her cheeks, a half arrow under her eye, then a diamond that reached up towards her hair line. It was actually quite beautiful, bringing out her red eyes and features of her face, making her look like a fierce warrior too. She smiled brightly at the image she saw, she leaned back up and looked at Loda. He blended in so well with his surroundings, looking more fierce and strong then he did before if that was possible. He placed a wreath of leaves upon her head and she smiled at him, "Now I look almost like a warrior." Savacea chuckled, "Thank you for this, I actually like it a lot. It looks good on me I think." She said, turning to look once more at her reflection. Then back again to Loda still holding her smile, he looked like he belonged there, as if he was apart of the swamp himself, it was intimidating.

"You have became one with the swamp it seems. This really suits you, it brings out your eyes." She said to Loda faintly, then turning towards the swamp with her back to him, "Do your people walk around like this all the time, or is it for hunting only?" She asked still peering across the swamp as she was in thought about the Myrian people and their culture, she was quite taken with his people, they seem like a wonderful race full of so many strong men and women. Though she did not agree with some things, there was a lot she could agree with and it slightly shocked her at first but now she was becoming more accepting of that, as well as more curious.

[Loda]

She toyed with him like a Myrian woman, trying to establish a wanting or waiting. He snickered to her comment and said excitedly. “Fine Fine..” He would be patient. For that he was almost glad when she gasped at him doing her ears. Inside it was a bit of payback relieved for her comment, though completely necessary to finish her look.

It was nice to get to touch her skin, something that was forbidden it seemed, yet to have a barrier of charcoal between his fingers it was as though he wasn’t actually touching her. It was an experience that he could tell she was all too nervous about, though as she was revealed, he brought out her fangs, making her smile brightly. He was proud of his work, and while not even close to as beautiful as the work that many did on their faces, she appreciated it.

She thanked him and looked back at herself. “No”, he said in a correcting tone, “You are a warrior now. You are one now with the swamp. Take pride in it. It is you and you are it now.” he looked about the swamp and picked up his pouch of things, then untied his loincloth, refit the loop, and then retied it. She commented on his eyes and it brought a playful smile to his mouth. She spoke faintly, something he was beginning to like about her, though at the same time he hated it. Strength was a very mighty thing in their culture and what better way to represent it than being a loud talker. He didn’t know what to say so he just left it with a playful smile.

She asked him if his people walked around like this all the time. “A traveler would say yes if they came to Taloba, but that is more because people are coming and going all the time hunting and doing various activities. Some people wear paint upon them at all times, some do not. Many in my tribe even tattoo their faces to make their appearance fearsome at all times. They force bones through their skin and cut on their face.” Loda shrugged, none of it bothered him at all. “It is not strange to see many of the women to have scars, tattoos, and bones on their faces.”

He was ready to go now and showed it. Their clothes were concealed from prying eyes and they were in an isolated spot. Grabbing his spear now from where it lay, he nodded to her. “Ready warrior?” He played at her urging her to come with him into the swamp. He nodded to her leggings, “Bring them up higher if you can.” She was short and would likely go into the mud deeper than him if they came across some.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Savacea Jovellana]

Loda said she was a warrior, not that she just looked like one, to take pride in it. She did in fact take pride in being called a warrior, although she knew that she could never be as strong as Loda, she had her own strengths about her. It may not be physical strengths, but perhaps she did have a heart of a warrior, with the body of glass. He could not help but make her smile constantly, her face was beginning to hurt from all of it. It was a good hurt though, one which she missed. There was a time she was better then she was now, she missed that part of her, and Loda brought some of it out. Savacea wondered if that was why she was more relaxed with him then most, more trusting, more..well more everything really. She brushed the thoughts aside, as he started explaining the face painting in his culture to her. She listened intently to what he had to say about it all.

Savacea gasped when he said they cut on their faces, she could not help it but she did not comment, only nodded her head as he spoke. "Wearing bones in their face.. Sounds.. Interesting." She tapped her finger on her chin, then brushed off some of the characoal residue on her black tights. It was indeed interesting, a little strange to her because she had never seen such, but it was still good to know. Loda took proud in his people, so she wanted to know more about it, hoping to know him better by doing so.

The warrior grabbed his spear, nodding over at her asking if she was ready calling her a warrior. She grinned at that and nodded, she was indeed ready to start this adventure. Hoping they did not run into anything too fierce, but figured Loda would be able to handle it if so. She did not really have any weapons except her spider throwing knifes. She thought for a moment if she should carry them, but figured it would not really help out if she did. Loda looked down at her tights, telling her to bring them up higher if she could, this of course made a playful smirk come on her lips and she winked at him, "Still trying to get me naked I see." She said laughing.

Savacea rolled up the tights higher up her thighs barring more skin then what she was used to. She felt naked, even if she wasn't naked. The armor on her torso clung to her skin, revealing her cleavage, then he instructed for her tights to go higher and it revealed most of her leg as she rolled it all the way up to her rear. Savacea was feeling slightly insecure about herself, her body language speaking so.

She followed Loda into the swamp, hoping they would not come across any of the mud. She heard that if you stepped in some, that a certain type would make you sink down until it swallowed you whole. Savacea was not ready to be swallowed by any mud, nor to be ate by some ferocious animal.

[Loda]

There was definitely something sexy about the woman before Loda, despite their ancestral hatred, their physical differences, and anything else that kept them a spear’s length from each other. He may not have found her attractive in many regards, some things were beginning to be admired and one was her sexiness. The way she winked and smirked to him, the laughter that was now coming so commonly from her, and even the sight of her hiking up her leggings delicately to become a strange form of shorts.

The man admired her figure in the tight silken armor, both inquiring mentally to the contents it hid, and at the same time the manner in which the armor was made; ever the warrior. The man just grinned at her comment but did not say anything, though mirth was on his face. He loved the way the green of the wreath looked upon her pale skin, and while she still somewhat stood out in the middle of the day in the marsh, she was more concealed now.

They really were disguising themselves for the journey ahead, and now that they were ready to enter the swamp, Loda’s spear led the way with them in tow. Near to the edge of the swamp it was dry, but as you got into it a little ways, there began to be much more water. He looked back to her and said.

“Keep an eye out for smoke in the sky or huts. We don’t want to go near anything or anyone here. Let me know if you see anything.” he looked around and while he did he observed there was no more dry land for at least another twenty feet. There were some trees at the edge of the water, so they could at least have a little break from the beating sun overhead. Glancing back, Loda gave her a look to show that they were going through and he went in first. His spear dipped into the water, showing it wasn’t too deep. It came up to his knees at the deepest part, which for her was just about an inch above her knees.

As they waded across, he could feel the dead plant matter squishing between his toes. It was almost slippery in touch, and thankfully as he would lift his foot, the water would wash it away until the next footfall. Little roots and twigs lined the water’s bottom under the mud and muck, so if he lingered too long at a certain spot, he’d begin to feel a light poking in his foot. Loda generally seemed to know what he was doing as he waded across, having survived in the marsh and jungles for a long time. His eyes could identify certain key things that could help them survive out here, and while going he figured he would teach her a bit of things.

Nearing a tree the man stopped in the water and reached up to one of the lower branches, pulling down something akin to old man's beard, dried in the sun to the point that it was great to start fires. Beyond that he didn’t know what it was used for and he held it in his hand. “This can be used to start fires when things are wet. As long as this is dry, you can get a fire started”. He wondered if she knew more about it, though would not pressure her to explain. He didn’t know how much she had learned at her job yet.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Savacea Jovellana]

They walked silently for a little ways, Loda seemed to be concentrating on where they were going, while her mind swirled around the man before her. She was unsure about a lot of things to do with him, though there were a lot of things that just struck her the right way. It was a conflicting feeling that started confusing her. She pushed it down and away from her, trying to focus on surviving in the marsh land, following exactly as Loda did, being his little shadow.

Loda told her to watch for smoke in the sky or huts, that they did not want to go near anyone or anything. She looked up in the sky instantly and saw nothing, peering around her she did not see anything either. She nodded as she kept her eyes searching around as well as up, that way she could be of some use to the man. Savacea did not want to run into anyone or anything either, especially in this place. Black Rock had a dark beauty about it, Black Marsh was just eerie there was not much to be said as of yet about beauty, she had yet to see anything that made her feel like it was in the slightest.

As they walked through the water, she kept getting the strangest feeling beneath her feet. It made her want to squeal like a girl at times, but she just kept her mind focusing on the area around them, looking out for signs of living things in the Marsh. Though the water was really starting to disturb her, there was no telling what manner of creatures lived in it. She shuddered slightly at the thought, inching closer to Loda.

As they neared a tree, the warrior stopped and reached up to a lower branch bringing down a herb that Savacea actually knew about, because it was so common in the Swamps. Loda told her that you could start fires with it as long as it was not wet. Savacea nodded placing her hand on the herb, brushing his hand with her soft one. His hands were hard and calloused and she actually found that attractive, she looked up at Loda "This can also be used for medicinal purposes. It is good for scrapes and gashes as it is antimicrobial." She said in a loud and excited voice, "Though you can also make a tea with it, and I do believe a alcoholic tincture. It will help with your respiratory." She gave Loda a smile, "You should keep some. Never know it may come in handy." Savacea removed her hand from his and the herb, looking around them to see if there was any other plants she could identify. Then glanced back at Loda to see what he thought of the herb he just found.

[Loda]

It was true that Loda’s eyes were about them. He had seen the mighty Dhani in battle and the speed of them. He heard reports that out here there were mostly water Iyvess and constrictors, which the fact they were walking through water did not make him feel safe. At least there weren’t and anything larger than small game really, or at least he thought so. As the eastern breeze swept between Falyndar and the Black Island, fog began to pick up. Even though it was a sunny day, the eerie properties of the island just was a breeding ground for the fog that crept over it.

As Loda moved he could see her inching closer to him. He now urged Savacea to be silent. “We should move quietly. If we cannot see, then whatever else may be out here can only hear us.” so he started to move a bit slower through the water. He rather liked her at his side where he could see her anyways. Constrictor Dhani strike fast and try to wrap you up with the strength of many men before you can do anything, so he would at least want to get a few strikes in before she was taken under the water. If he was taken, well then hopefully she could run away. He didn’t care so much about his death as he did hers.

As he stopped he took the herb in his hand, displaying it to Savacea. She seemed to know it, the herb was light and springy, causing the need for her to brush his hand to catch hold of it, yet he almost sensed that she wanted to secretly touch his hands, just to see how they felt. Perhaps she was curious about him too more than he had perhaps thought. She spoke about its medicinal purposes, how it was good for scrapes and gashes. He didn’t know the word antimicrobial as common was not super fluent for him with such specialized words.

“Antimicrobial?” he inquired. No doubt it was something she had heard in her job, but he had no idea. The man was impressed. These were the very kinds of things a Tokol needed to know. She seemed interested in teaching him and so he considered letting her more so as they went.

“What is tincture and respiratory? Is respiratory your breath?” He thought he knew that one at least, having heard it from a strange trader who he had asked the very same question long ago to. He was selling some kind of miracle juice, however Loda is not sure what happened to the man. He was asked to keep some and he looked down to his loincloth and back to her. It wasn’t as though it had pockets, and his sack was too small, but he shrugged and stuffed some between his skin on the side and the cord that held the loincloth together. It seemed to hold, but it didn’t look too secure.

He nodded her to move forward with him and she would find her feet quite stuck in a thick muck from standing still for a while. If she hadn’t have taken off her sandals, surely they would have been stuck there. With a bit of a tug he freed his own feet and moved silently to the other side of the water. As he climbed the bank, a black mud showed upon his legs, having coated them from centuries of dead bush matter. Once he was out of the water, he quietly said to her, trying to maintain his stealth, “Are you doing okay?” He knew the muck was hard to get through up to the shoreline so he offered her a hand. He had his spear to help him balance, but she didn’t have anything. The ground in front of them raised up onto a rock, something Savacea could climb much easier than him, but once on top they could traverse easily over this strange sandbar in the middle of the swamp. Perhaps it was a burial mound of some long lost civilization or just a rock having been pushed ashore by the Valterrain and then taken over by the swamp. He wasn't sure, but knew he and her should climb it to make travel easy for at least a few chimes.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Savacea Jovellana]

Loda did not understand some of the terms she used, she smiled and offered a more in depth explanation. though keeping it short and to the point, "Antimicrobial basically means that it kills germs and stops them from spreading." Savacea noted that she should refrain from such terms if they run across some other plants that she knew. Keeping the explanation to the point.

He then asked what a tincture and respiratory were, she moved closer to the herb grabbing some and stuffing it in her armor between her breasts as she spoke, "Tincture is an alcoholic medicine and respiratory is indeed breathing." Savacea replied in a normal tone not holding any emotion. She loved plants and learning about them, but she was no expert on such things and only knew about the most common of plants and herbs. Though she was learning about others through Tokia, especially the plants of poison.

They needed to move forwards and Savacea realized it was much more difficult then she thought to do so, Loda was getting further away then she had liked for him to, as she trudged through the thick gunk as well as she could, although it was at a snails pace. Loda freed his feet easily, moving silently to the other side he climbed the bank. Savacea was a bit behind him as she found it difficult to get out of the mud completely. Loda whispered if she was doing okay. She was afraid to speak too loud, as they were trying to be stealthy and she raised her hand indicating a little. His hand reached out and she was relieved as she was not sure she could get out of the muck with out some assistance. He grasped her soft, delicate hand with his warrior hand, pulling her small body easily from the muck, it made a loud slurping sound as her legs and feet came out of it.

The ground raised up onto a rock, it was not very tall but she was happy that it was something she could actually excel at instead of all this muck. She looked down at her legs and feet as they were black from the gods know what from the muck in the Marsh. She scrunched up her nose as she looked at it, twisting her leg this way and that, not very pleased by the fowl smelling mud. She shrugged her shoulders, thinking perhaps it would help against bug bites, or maybe it would help conceal her legs better and assist with the stealth.

She grabbed a hold of the rock, using her claws and microscopic hosts to easily lift herself up on the surface, she climbed a little ways keeping as silent as she could, too scared to talk to Loda if she did so a Dhani may appear and attack them. She waited on top of the rock's surface for her warrior friend, it was not a hard climb, so it did not take her long at all and it should not take him very long either as it was not too far up. She sighed softly to herself, the silence was not all that uncomfortable, but she really was hoping to as a few more questions. She observed her surroundings on top of the rock in the swampy marsh, looking for any other herbs or plants she could show to Loda.

There was moss of course, but also some Liverwort as well. She wondered if he knew about these and waited for him to join her on the rock's surface to ask him. She gathered some moss and some of the Liverwort from the moist rock's surface, slinging her silk pack from her and placing some of each into it, and retrieving the other herb from between her breasts and placing it there. She peered down at her feet happy that she left the sandals behind, or they would have been ate by the thick sucking muck of the marsh. She gave an exasperated exhale, being this quiet was disturbing her, as she brushed some of the dried muck off of her.