Solo Garden Dance

[Ssezzkero]

22nd of Summer, 515AV

"I hardly think it is worth the horse." Kal shot Sezkero a glance as she watched the Akalak offer her the ride. The violent men who inhabited the city were very chivalrous until they realized she was of no use to them. It was a mistake she had run into a few times, fallen under the impression that this strange race had taken interest in her, even if she could not return it. Instinctually, the snake stepped closer to Kal, even the human dwarfed her, slipping a hand around his forearm nearly possessively. It was easier to be out in public alone, but today she was out for business. "We are only going to the Conservatory." He spoke for her, and Sezkero dropped her eyes from the Akalak, who seemed content with ignoring Kal, and nodded that she agreed with him. It wasn't more than a mile or two, not even a bell's walk, at this point.

"Ah, I should not intrude, then. Good day, ma'am." He still spoke only to her, and she still ignored him, remaining clutched to her Priest's side, eternally grateful that he was acting cool with it.

"Thank you." She huffed, releasing him when she heard the click of the hooves continuing down the alley behind them.

"I think you run into that a lot don't you?" He asked, the light tone of his usual voice returning.

"I try to avoid it." She sighed, adjusting the cloth over her ears, shielding her face from the sun. "It helpsss that I look like a child at a glanccce." She flashed the human and teasing grin and he laughed.

"A hundred-and-nine year old child!" His laughter was immediate as they continued their walk. She had entrusted Kal with her identity after the plague had ended. Both had been so shamed by their opposite personalities, that it brought them a little closer. And in her worry that she would be skinned for what she was, and what she had done, Sezkero confided in her Priest, begging his protection in case anything happened.

Of course, nothing had.

And she had come to relax with time, but she was glad she now had at least one friend in the strange violent city of the Akalaks. But for the day, she was a little nervous. Kal had been teaching her a new form of dance. Similar to Shi'ra, he performed more fluidly than she was used to. And with the recent lessons on a dance they were to perform together, practices which ended up with a lot of rainy afternoons, Sezkero was feeling anxious. The Conservatory had asked them to come down to perform a rain dance, because the crops were drying out more than they could handle in the summer. Although each individual took care of their own plots, the owners were worried about general irrigation throughout. Thus, Kal was called in to aide in their dilemma. Her Priest had invited her along as his dance partner, and so they had to spend a few afternoons learning to synchronize their activation, as she was still very new to dancing it groups or with partners.

And today was the day.

[Ssezzkero]

By the time they got to the Conservatory, the sun had risen to the middle of the sky. Sezkero dreaded this only a little. She didn't mind the heat, in fact, she loved it. Yet, the idea of huffing and puffing in front of Kal was not to appealling. Yes, she was stronger than she seemed, but any thorough dance, as raindancing required, would wear one out, not matter how fit they thought they were.

"Kal?" She asked, her stomach suddenly churning with the nerves.

"Sezkero?" He mirrored, waiting for her question.

"Nevermind." She sighed. She thought he might interpret her anxiety different than she intended. She was nervous… because she was afraid she would mess up the dance he had taught her, not because she knew the gardeners would be watching them prance like children between their gardens. She liked Kal, but wouldn't anyone interpret it that way? She raised her hand to hook a finger around her headscarf, pulling it down as they neared the entrance gates to the conservatory.

"Too late for nerves, hun. We are bringing in revenue for the temple now, so let us just do this. I'll come back with the others until the dry season lets up, you don't have to worry about being down here every five days." He grinned, as if trying to reassure her. Quietly, Sezkero only nodded, not quite sure she wanted to admit she was very likely to mess up their mission.

She glanced to her right at the sound of someone clearing their throat to find an Akalak throwing down a waterskin. She was almost ready to shoot him a glare, when she realized it was simply the sound and act of someone finished with their day, in no way aimed towards her. The viper quickly looked away, making sure the strange blue man did not meet her gaze as she passed.

As kind as ever, Kal opened the door to allow Sezkero to step through before following her in. She was dressed in a simply white tunic with embroidered flowers on the hem and her bright stocking, and she felt over-dressed when she walked into the lobby. It seemed little more than a shed itself, but the area surrounding the lobby as so beautiful, she couldn't really insult the building itself. After all, she doubted many spent much time within the walls rather than in the gardens.

[Ssezzkero]

"Ah, you two must be the raindancers?"

"Are we late?" Sezkero inquired, worried immediately. Kal lightly bumped her shoulder with his elbow, and she grimaced. Luckily, the Akalak did not see, as he had turned to a clock that rested on the desk to check the bell.

"Early actually, which is good. The best time for the plants is in an hour, as I believe you claimed you could do?"

"Without issue." Kal answered before Sezkero could protest. She had forgotten Kal was blessed many times more than herself. "And, we can promise residual rain tomorrow, so that you don't have to hire us twice." Sezkero suddenly felt a little more secure in her reason for coming. Of course that was why he would bring someone so lowly ranked. He would bring the first rain and she would bring the latter, it worked perfectly. A small cloud of confidence made her raise her chin and nod along with Kal.

"Well, let's not waste time then." The Akalak said. She would have thought he grumbled it, but he seemed utterly neutral on the fact. "Follow me please." He requested, limping away from them. The older man lead them down a winding path through the thick foliage that surrounded the conservatory. All sorts of plants were there and it wasn't until they came to a particular patch of the woods, that Sezkero realized how they were needed. Above them the branches of the trees parted so that the cloudy blue sky could be seen above. Although there were clouds, there was no trace of rain. Wispy, winding veils of misty snakes that moved quickly there wasn't enough water to slow them down, let alone fall. She only watched them for a few ticks but she could already see their progress across the sky, these were not rain clouds, not yet.

This excited her a little bit, because she was almost excited to watch the clouds change as a result of their dancing. She knew that while they danced, the clouds would thicken, slow, darken and eventually break to show the rain. When she danced, this took nearly a day, but she had seen Kal and the acolytes do it, and seen the quick progression of the sky in reaction.

[Ssezzkero]

When she looked back down, the ground below her was an empty field. There was evidence of the separation of plots past, and she didn't need an explanation to know that this was an area that was being prepped for gardens. The soil was dry and covered in patches of a light green plant that was more weed than grass, but otherwise was the dull dusty brown of acidic soil, something that wasn't good for the kind of growth around here. The Conservatory boasted of their wonderful growing soil, so it was no surprised this wasn't being used, they were likely still grooming it. To her interested though, the ground shows small sprouts in the soil. The snake didn’t know much about gardening or how to care for the soil, but she didn't think that growing plants in soil you were trying to fertilize would do it much good.

Instead of risking the chance to sound stupid, she rephrased the question she was going to ask. "Sshhould we danccce here, even with the plantsss?" She asked, speaking to the Akalak for the first time. The old man paused, turning around to look at her for a moment. There was wisdom in the old man's eyes that suddenly made her nervous and she wished she hadn't spoken.

"A Dhani who worships Makutsi?" He asked, not skirting around his deduction in any way

"Makutsi does not discriminate." Kal's defensive words were too fast, and she widened her eyes at Kal purposefully.

"I wasss not born under Myrian opressssion." She explained the common misconception, not trying to give further information.

"I didn't mean to offend," The Akalak raised a calming hand. "I just find it rare, that is all." He cooled the conversation easily, since Sezkero and Kal were ready to be peacemaking, Sezkero let out a breathy chuckle, quickly followed by Kal. They shared another glance, good friends who didn't need to speak to share a thought.

"You can imagine I get a lot of quesstionsss." She wrote it off, turning back towards him, and the Akalak revealed a shadow of a smile, motioning towards his limp.

"I understand." And the conversation was over, he was already moving on as they neared the center of the field, careful to tread on only dirt rather than the sprouts. "Would you be so kind as to center the rain here?" The Akalak continued, purely business once more.

[Ssezzkero]

"The rain won't exactly center, but a fair amount of it will come through here." Kal obliged, nodding. Sezkero didn't hold much with her, but she did adjust her scarf in preparation. The long walk to the conservatory had warmed up her muscles, but while Kal discussed prices with the Akalak, the snake bent forward for her knees.

Winter had been harsh on her flexibility and when she could once kiss her knees, she now cringed to near her nose to her thighs. Still, she welcomed the soft stretching pain and pushed her boundaries, wishing to return to the flexibility she once had. When her hamstrings and lower back felt better, the snake propped one heel in front of her, then leaned back, letting her calves feel the flexibility as well. She repeated this with the other leg and alternated a few times, giving a good few ticks for each.

When she straightened back up, throwing an arm behind her shoulder and tugging it down with the other arm, Kal had joined her, copying her movements.

"Good deal?" She asked to be polite. He knew she had little interest in the economic affairs of the Temple, and when she did, she only stressed about them. They were a charity, after all. Instead her Priest only nodded, switching his arms ahead of her count. Finishing her ticks she switched arms as well.

After she had stretched all her joints to the best of her skill, feeling warm and loose, Ixzo flashed a grin at Kal, skipping a few steps from him and then propelling herself sideways onto her arms. Like an over excited child, she cartwheeled away from him, before sticking her stand with a light jump.

[Ssezzkero]

"Maybe you do get mistaken for a child more often than I thought." Kal muttered, and she chuckled, spreading out her legs.

"Care to join me in my childisshh adventuresss then?" She extended one hand beside her, splaying her fingers to ask him over.

"I think that is an excellent idea." He came to stand beside her, shoulder to shoulder, albeit with a few feet between them. "Ready?" He asked, turning his head to the side to meet her eye.

"Ready."

Without a word, they had begun. Nature was their music, and synchronization was their dance. It was not a particularly hard dance, for Kal had kept in mind her limitations in skill and gnosis when they created it. Instead, it was a simply drizzle dance, not one to call damaging rainstorms or one that might invite Zulrav to join out of fun. Instead they would call a light and long drizzle, allowing the soil to soak up the moisture and not wash it away.

Gently, Sezkero spread both arms beside her, keeping the elbows generously bent and her palms up, cupping them for the sky. With practiced balance, her right leg came up, and she knew that Kal's left leg would rise at the same time. She did not rush, gently tucking her chin forward to pay respect to her Goddess. She took her time, counting her ticks, wobbling slightly on the bridge of her foot. Right now her focus remained on balance, mimicking the soft mist that signaled the beginning of an oncoming rain. Soon, momentum would carry her the rest of the song, but now she had to be patience.

[Ssezzkero]

"Now." The soft whisper flowed out of Kal's mouth, easily swept up with the wind and rustling of tree leaves around them, but she did not miss it. Instead she leaned towards him, bringing both arms his way. Kicking her right leg out now, she let it fall back towards the ground, extending both arms towards Kal, who had her move perfectly mirrored, if not with better balance. Their eyes connection, but the dance was sweeping to fast now for her to consider wiggling her extended fingers playfully at him and coax another smile out of his sad features.

Makutsi was her priority now.

With both feet on the ground, Sezkero lowered herself to her waist, letting the center of her balance take control as she made a wide swept back to facing her right side. Her chest rested a few inches above her thigh, and one arm splayed straight in front of her, with the other curved up behind her. Automatically, her fingers arched, although Kal's would not, to add a curve to the end of her limb. It was something her mother had taught her, and the Iyvess had yet to let it go.

One… Two…

She took a deep breath in before standing up straight. She remembered she had her shoes on when her toes dug into leather instead of dirt to steady herself. Still, it did not stop her. In a fluid movement she was up straight, arms to her side. Then she was taking another step away from Kal.

They were both going in opposite directions, and it could already be seen that they were creating a circle, but their steps were wide, and she knew it would not be a long dance before their circle was complete. This time, however, her torso remained straight. She let her head fall back, closing her eyes to the sky and opening her heart to it. This time her right arm, which was behind her, pointed to the ground with a fist. The other was generously curved up, her arm extended far above her head, where an open palm cupped the sky.

[Ssezzkero]

There was no break now, as Sezkero faced to be in line with the circle, shoulders parallel to Kal's now. Her two fists closed over her chests, and she stepped forward with a straight leg, letting her left leg bend behind to her allow the movement.

When her foot landed, she shoved power into it. This would be when the rain really hit. Large droplets hitting the ground, they would be spread out but impactful on the earth, showering their pattern into the loose dirt. With her right foot, the pattern was switched. She took a large step backwards, pulling her arms in front of her so her elbows connected at her belly-button and her hand cupped up towards the sky. She took a mili-tick to duck her head down before the dance was continuing.

When she glanced, it was clear Kal was measuring his movements to remain with her, as she mirrored his dance. This would workd best together, and it was clear he was slowing down for his less graceful partner, but Sezkero did not let that into her mind as she concentrated on opening her heart, and her gnosis to Makutsi. Swinging her left leg out, she faced into the circle again. She could feel the flow of energy from inside her chest and she knew it would already be showing on her leg, covered by her tights.
Both arms extended out to her side, her elbows curved so forearms were parallel with the ground, long tensed palms faced down. Her head turned forward to the circle she had yet to complete, and she felt her scarf swing around her neck in response to the sudden movement.

She swung her right foot out now, facing out of the circle, pulling her extended arms into her chest, gently clenching her fists, in a much slower motion than it took her to step. Feeling the transition in the dance, her head tucked in as well, a reaction to the Godly energy that grazed her dance. The large droplets would shrink in size now, but increase in frequency. It would be hard to see too far away for the silvery mist that bounced off the cobble from the suddenly change.

[Ssezzkero]

Slower now, she turned and hopped forward so that her left leg was leading once more. The circle was coming to a close, and when she threw her head back, curving her arms around her torso and bringing them up in a slow twisted fashion, there was already a noticable change in the sky. Fast wispy clouds had slowed and fattened, covering most of the bright blue now. She took a normal, although still large, step forward with her right leg, twisting her arms together so that when she faced forward she had her right arm extended up as straight as it would go. Underneath, her left arm followed, until her elbow where it curved sharply back towards her torso in a fist. She connected eyes with Kal who fluidly followed the movement as well. Now to close the gap.

Whereas his long and graceful stride took him to their meeting point smoothly, her smaller legs made his two steps into four, and she skipped and hopped, as felt most comfortable to her dancing style. This variation would show his showers to end gradual, while hers may skip and stop all of the sudden, but still it was not very important.

Once they reached each other, they stopped, twisted so that they were shoulder to shoulder once more, and faced out. In the same movement, both curved towards one another bringing their arms together over their heads to let their fingers graze together, connecting their dances and ending it all together.

After straightening back out, she faced her Priest, twisting agile-y on the toes of her feet. Grinning at him, they both gave a shallow bow at the same time, before she skipped back towards the center of their circle. Tracks clearly marked their circle around them, and Sezkero didn't hesitate to plop down on her rump, settling onto her back to lay down.

Kal knew she liked to watch the clouds and slowly lowered himself beside her, propping his head up on his arms crossed behind her head.

[Ssezzkero]

"Perhaps less jumping next time?" He suggested gently, as they watched the sluggish movements of clouds. She turned her head to him so he could see her nod, catching sight of the oncoming layer. A smile pulled the edges of her lips up a little more to see the oncoming grey, perhaps this dance would be quicker. They would feel the first drops on their way home rather than in a few bells.

After a few chimes of catching their breath and watching the oncoming storm, the Akalak limped up to them. His dark blue face darkly contrasted the light grey above him, and he let a coin purse fall beside Kal. The priest did not stand up, never having been particularly formal, and Sezkero nodded thanks as he spoke.

"Thank you, it was a pleasant dance."

"Quicker than I expected, although results are clearly showing. Quite a gift you two have." He nodded, then turned around and walked off.

Both waited another chime or two before finally standing up. Sezkero's breathe had long since returned to normal, although she did not particularly want to stop dancing. The walk home would have to satisfy her. After brushing off her clothing, Sezkero skipped past Kal, and eventually heard his slow tread follow.

"C'mon slow poke!" She goaded, turning back to him, as he admired the scenery. "Done already?"

"I've been dancing all day." He tilted his head, and she shrugged.

"And I haven't, let's get back so you can take a nap and I can get my groove on." She did a quick wiggle with her arms before twirling once more, knowing her friend and preist would follow behind. Today was a good day.

ooc3,625 words

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