A Talk With Clay. (Ariel)

[Wystern]

Time Stamp: 20th of Winter, 510 AV.

Wystern walked out of the tent he lived in while staying with the Drykas. Their healers were impressive, after all, it was almost a miracle he walked. A few months ago, his legs were broken, almost crushed, but he was alive. He held a cane in his left hand, his left ankle was still sore from the break. He was back on his feet, for a few weeks now, and ready to resume his quest to find magic and return back to Syliras. Maybe it wasn't the brightest of all ideas to find Endrykas searching for this sort of thing, but it was better than Syliras. Wys looked like his former self now, armor-less but still carrying the more important tools of his trade. He was less recognized here, but the authority that his crest brought seemed to remain with him. He was one of the strongest orders in the world and as low as his rank may be, he still carried the responsibility on his shoulders. Fortunately, there was still guard duty, though the Drykas took care of that mostly themselves. He just helped the people, and the people helped him back. An open hand brings more information than a drawn sword; for the most part. He was just done talking to one of the chiefs from the Opal clan, mainly thanking him for the job the old man offered Wys, and the latter was just sent to rest. Rest is for people who aren't on a quest. He was slowly making his way to get some water when he heard a high-pitched squeal.

[Ariel]

"Ahhhhhh! Please don't step on me!" Ariel hollered as yet another shadow appeared over her tiny clay form, and yet another person made the mistake of nearly stepping on her. What was with people and being so darn unobservant? she wondered, as she quickly ran out of the shadow so she wouldn't be squashed. Quickly brushing herself off just to busy herself and help her calm down, as she stood, away from the shadow foot. Her heart was still pounding, and her eyes were daggers. Why can't people just watch where they're going? her head screamed, as she looked up, her quiet stroll through Endrykas having been ruined by this mysterious shadow foot.

When Ariel looked up, she saw a man, who was leaning on a cane for support. Immediately, Ariel began to wonder what had happened, why he was wielding a cane, and felt sorry for him. Wait, felt sorry for him? Ariel shook her head to get the stupid out. This cane-wielding human had nearly squished her, (ohh if she got a miza for every time that happened, especially of late, she'd be a very rich little pycon indeed).

When Ariel was as certain as she could ever be that she had indeed, shaken the stupid right out of her little clay ears, she looked back up at the man. He had dark brown hair and grey eyes. He had very pale skin. He almost seemed sickly, in a way. "You people really should watch where you're going, that's at least..." Ariel began to count on her fingers, but quickly ran out of fingers, "well I don't know how many times, but it's been a whole lot..." Ariel huffed, "that one of you unobservant giant folk have nearly stepped on me, and I'd appreciate it if you would all quit doing that!" Ariel huffed and puffed, looking into the man's aura, and only coming up with a grey fog, with little sparkles, they reminded Ariel of dragonflies. But grey usually had to do with depression or sorrow, was this man depressed, she wondered? And did the sparkles have anything to do with magic? Ariel had always found the sight of fireflies lighting up the night sky breath-taking and magical. Was this man a magician? Looking for some insight on magic? Ariel wondered as she tilted her head to the side and looked up at him.

[Wystern]

Wys stopped dead in his tracks and shifted the cane from one hand to the other, having no desire to draw the real weapon now. He looked around, searching for the source of the noise until he realized that what he dismissed as a pebble was actually a Pycon. He laughed, feeling like a menace to society. A miniature one, that can shape-shift. "I'm sorry but it's not like your presence is immediately standing out, your stature is," he said with a smile and paused for a bit, "a bit smaller than I usually came to expect from a Pycon."He paused again after he said that. Wys wasn't entirely sure if he was being offensive now, he only met a couple of Pycon his whole life. The girl was staring at him, more intently than one would expect, even when he almost crushed her to death. Can they actually die from being crushed? Clay can reform, can't it? He wasn't the person to find that out. Why can't they all just wear a bell or something. He sighed and got on his right knee to extend his hand, offering the Pycon to climb up. "My name's Wystern, Syl...just call me Wys."

[Ariel]

The man shifted his cane from one hand to the other. "I'm sorry but it's not like your presence is immediately standing out, your stature is," he said. Ariel folded her arms across her chest, and tapped her foot on the ground. "Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say," Ariel mumbled. There was a pause, "a bit smaller than I usually came to expect from a Pycon," the man said, before pausing again.

The red pigmentation in Ariel's cheeks grew more and more prominent. RUDE! Her brain screamed, as the man got on his right knee, and extended his hand, as if offering it to her so she could climb up. Ariel looked over at it warily as he said, "my name's Wystern, Syl...just call me Wys."

"Ariel," Ariel introduced herself, walking forward a few steps and shaking the man's pinky finger in her tiny hands, as if to say, hello, Ariel forgives you for being a stupid unobservant giant and nearly smushing her to death by flattening her out like a pancake, you know, because stuff like that happens everyday. But just know she has her eyes on you... *creepy smile*

Ariel smiled up at Wys, before gingerly hoisting herself up into the palm of his hand, and sitting cross legged. Surely this human wouldn't be foolish enough to do anything too stupid, Ariel thought.

[Wystern]

Wys laughed at the strange handshake.This was soaked in irony because his pinkie finger was almost as big as her entire arm. So would that actually be called finger shake? And then came the creepy smile. He could swear that kind of smile meant nothing pleasant for the person receiving it, he was on both ends of those frequently. He shuddered, the air starting to chill him, his throat was getting slightly dry. Still, the smile left a slight impact, just because she put down that stare earlier. The knight carefully placed her on his right shoulder, where plenty of leather straps were abound, to secure his cloak and bags. A winter breeze passed by, and Wys again shuddered slightly. He lost some weight in the time he was recovering, even when he got his muscle mass back for the most part and the cane was almost just for show, cold struck him harder than usual. His stay in Endrykas only seemed bad because he got messed up and and it was the winter time. Combination didn't add, it multiplied. He shifted the cane back to his left hand. "So, what was that stare for, Ariel?" He asked with an enthusiastic smirk."And where would you like to go?"

[Ariel]

Wys placed Ariel on his shoulder. She sat on it, even though it had a very pointy, sharp little knob pointing out of the top. Ariel could tell that it was the man's bone, but she didn't have a specific name for it.

Ariel sat on the edge of his shoulder, her legs dangling off the side, swinging back and forth. She looked up at the sky, the sun shining right into her eyes. She looked down again, just as the wind picked up, and Ariel had to hold on tightly to the cloth of Wystern's clothing so she wouldn't be knocked off.

Wys had started to shiver, presumably thanks to the wind, and Ariel had to hang on even tighter, until her knuckles started to throb, so she wouldn't go flying off his shoulder. "You mind?" Ariel said, as the man shivered again, "you're going to make me fall," Ariel mumbled.

But Wys didn't seem to hear her, or if he did, he was ignoring her. "So, what was that stare for, Ariel?" He asked with an enthusiastic smirk."And where would you like to go?"

"Pycon's don't blink," Ariel smiled back, a playful glimmer in her unblinking clay eyes. "And wherever you'd like. You're the mode of transportation for the day!" Ariel laughed, stopping abruptly when she realized that it wasn't very funny, and that Wys may find her comment degrading, or even offensive. "Sorry," she mumbled.

[Wystern]

"So that's what it feels like to be a mount?" He said, letting out a short laugh. Without a sense of humor, he would be dead now. "You don't have to apologize." It's not like everyone else didn't use me for something back in Syliras, he almost added. It was almost relieving to not be called for something left and right. To not carry any responsibilities for a little. To not have to run for the nearest sign of trouble...yep, Wystern was sick of it and couldn't wait to get back to Syliras. But not yet. He really wanted to ask her some questions about her race, but would come off as impudent and ignorant, like he did before. He was rarely the one to ask questions that would come off as stupid, but races were diverse, cultures were different, and nobody would ever think that Wys is actually from Sunberth. If anything, he passed off as a mercenary without armor, and armed with a fair-sized weapon. "I'm going to the watering hole first, and then look for some reimancers," he said and started walking, shaking slightly from the cane. A a thought made its way to his mind, and he quickly dismissed it. He looked at Ariel from the corner of his eye."Now, would you know anything about magic?"

[Ariel]

"So that's what it feels like to be a mount?" Wys said, there was a short pause, "you don't have to apologize."

"Well that's good, because I'm awful when it comes to apologizing," Ariel mumbled, her eyes becoming little wavy lines for an instant, before returning to their typical state of existence.

"I'm going to the watering hole first, and then look for some reimancers," Wys said as he started walking. Ariel's legs were swinging wildly back and forth as Wys walked along, passing a number of Drykas tents, whose door flaps were whipping about wildly in the wind. At times, it seemed as though they would blow away, but nails and long leather straps, as well as rope, tied them in place. Ariel looked at them, slightly amused by it all, shouldn't giants be building something slightly more impressive? she thought silently to herself; knowing that if she were a giant, she wouldn't be wasting her time living in a tent, out in the middle of no where. Actually, now that she thought about it, maybe she would... she did travel a lot... maybe she did have something in common with the Drykas giants after all. But still, they should be able to construct something more impressive than a tent, she thought.

Even though Ariel had heard Wystern's explanation as to where he was taking her and why, it took quite some time for Ariel to really start thinking about it, and reply. She wondered simply, why Wys wanted to go to the watering hole. Was he thirsty? In need of a bath?

Ariel sniffed the air, just to check, he smelled alright, for a human, she supposed, realizing that he must, indeed be thirsty. Whatever that meant. Ariel didn't truly understand thirst, hunger yes, but thirst, not so much, being that she only truly needed to munch on some clay a few times a week in order to survive.

But what about reimancy? Why had the man wanted to develop such a skill? And what sort of reimancy? Which of the elements was he hoping to gain control over? Ariel wondered, as she rode along silently on Wystern's shoulder for a few moments, deep in thought.

After a few moments, Wys broke the silence, "now, would you know anything about magic?" he asked her.

"Well... yes... some..." Ariel spoke, her voice trailing off. "I studied auristics in Zeltiva ages ago. But I never grew to be particularly gifted when it came to reading them. What about you, you know anything about magic, or were you simply hoping to learn something while you were here?"

[Wystern]

"Oh, I am willing to learn anything. It's the only thing binding me here," he said with a smile starting to spread across his face. She was not exactly what he was looking for, but it was definitely a start. He heard about Auristics, but never truly looked into that. Reimancy could have more function than the former, but gaining a knowledge in both...that was the definition of the human thirst for information and power. Maybe the use of Reimancy to advance in ranks could be counted as illegal, but Auristics was a whole different spectrum. And he could definitely get away with Auristics if he used it at the right time, right place, and with the right people. Wys wiped the ever-growing smile off his face, he was already creepy enough. He rubbed his neck, revealing a crest the Windoak left on him, and careful to not knock over Ariel. A smile was spreading again, signifying a change in the mood. Finally, something was going his way, and his face simply refused to mask that. He had to force himself to not run over to the bar the second they entered the tent. Crow calmly walked over to one of the reimancers, one of those that he already asked for an initiation. Everyone in here has already declined, so each time he politely thanked them for not kicking him out just for asking. Wys asked the magician for some water and a waterskin fill and thanked him for his serves after a few brief moments. It was difficult to deny their efficiency. After his throat could actually settle for a conversation, he found a small table and nimbly sat Ariel on the opposite end. "So what can you tell me about Auristics?"

[Ariel]

"Oh, I am willing to learn anything. It's the only thing binding me here," Wys said, as a smile crept across his face. Ariel nodded simply, she supposed she could understand that, although, she couldn't imagine wanting to stay in one place for very long, even if it did had a lot to offer, as far as learning and adventure went. Ariel really was the sort of person who always wanted to be on the go, discovering something new, each and every day of her life, if at all possible.

Wys eventually wiped the smile off his face, before rubbing the back of his neck; revealing some sort of mark, but Ariel didn't get a good look, and not wanting to seem rude, or invasive, she didn't simply lean back farther and peer behind his neck to satisfy her own curiosity. No, no, that would be too rude, Ariel thought, wondering if she should peek anyway, her curiosity was killing her. Ariel sighed, guess she wouldn't know what on earth it was that Wys had back there, she thought, slightly saddened.

Suddenly, Wys pushed the door flap of a pale grey tent aside, and walked in. Ariel closed her eyes, there was just too much going on in here, and she didn't want to look around right away. Just too many people, she thought, taking a few deep cleansing breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

When Ariel opened her eyes again, Wys had just handed his waterskin over to a strange looking man. He must want a refill, she thought, as the man returned a few moments later with Wystern's waterskin. Ariel smiled over at the man, wondering if he would even notice her; she didn't think he did.

Wysten turned, looking around the tent, before walking over to a small table, placing Ariel at the opposite end of himself. It felt cold, and hard beneath her. "So what can you tell me about Auristics?" Wystern asked.

Ariel laughed, "a few things, I suppose," Ariel began, as she sat down cross-legged on the table, shifting her weight this way and that way until she got comfortable.

"The study of auristics allows someone to see auras... when they get really good, some people can even interact with them," Ariel began, looking up at Wys, her head tilted slightly to the side. She looked into his eyes, wondering if he was smart enough to follow her without getting lost, shrugging, Ariel continued, "everything has an aura. You, that guy over there," Ariel pointed to another man who was sitting alone at a table a few feet away, "the rocks and the grass outside, everything..."

"Auras can show people's intentions, their feelings, whether a person possesses another form of magic..." her voice trailed off, "I guess you could say an aura is essentially an energy field that surrounds all things, and if one knows how to interpret them... their subtle differences in color and texture, they could learn a lot about a person... like how if one's aura is yellow, then they are probably happy and/or optimistic, if their aura is emerald green, they may be a healer."