Strange Ways and New Directions (Erotekt)

[Kavala]

There was something to be said about being allowed to wander a new city freely. Riverfall was not like anywhere she'd truly ever known or visited. Kavala had been to Syliras and Zeltiva both on her trip north to Mura to spend a year with her mother's family. Riverfall wasn't even truly like Endrykas, which was the closest thing she could claim to know intimately as a city. Endrykas was a sea of pavilions lost in the grasslands - a city that formed and reformed as time passed and seasons changed. Everyone migrated and was completely mobile, so there was no mud, no trash, no waste. Not like there was in other cities Kavala had seen... and yet, if she had to compare, she'd say Riverfall was the closest to Endrykas in that way. It was... sparkingly clean. No one threw trash or human waste into the streets. There were no people sleeping under bridges and in quiet nooks in small oasis' of green in parks. Riverfall was truly a fortress city made of stone and water and arranged on so many levels that she had quite frankly lost track of where she was. It wasn't hard, truthfully. In Endrykas, one could almost see a hundred and eighty degrees of sky so if you lost your way, you looked for some of the tallest pavilions to guide you. In Mura, everything was so small - the konti being so few - that getting lost was impossible. But here... getting lost was probable. It had in fact happened, recently and presently, Kavala decided. And yet, she was loathe to stop and ask directions. It wasn't the fact that she was new here, and while everyone else's skin was dark while her's was white. It was the fact that they were all male. The residents of Riverfall consisted of other females of course, but none of them frequented the streets as often as the powerful warriors did. In fact, it was odd. She'd yet to see a smallish Akalak, one that looked more book-worthy than sword-worthy. So, she wrapped her cloak more tightly about her thankful for the white wool that guarded against the chill of the fall that was rapidly descending into winter. Of course, Riverfall wasn't truly cold. It probably never would be with the warm suvan sea winds blowing off the hot inland sea... but it was more chilled than usual. She took a seat, in view of one of the many waterfalls that edged over the cliffside - most likely a side branch or stream of the Bluevein River, and waited. The Konti didn't know what she was waiting for, though Kavala decided it could be many things. Courage. The right sort of person to come by to talk too... one that didn't look too male, too powerful, to capable. But one never did wander by. A boy did, one that made her blink because she hadn't truly realized how absent of children the city was until she actually saw one... but he was in a hurry, and when she started to rise to ask him for direction, he was already gone. Kavala told herself it didn't matter, that she would wait, but the light was growing dim and it would be dark soon... sooner than she liked. So unless she found someone to ask soon, she'd most likely need to go either up to the top of the cliff once more and start working her way back down trying to retrace her steps, or she'd need to go all the way back down, and try and find a way up to Godiva's. Or she could talk to one of the warriors. This was harder than it should have been. There were still wounds on her body from the last males she had encountered. Kavala still moved with a soreness of both body and spirit when she walked. Dark bruising on her face was slow to fade, and she was even slower in using her Gnosis to help it along because she wanted to remember and hold onto the anger of the capture, repeated torture, and repeated rape. Kavala might have had the peaceful looks of a Konti, but her father's Drykas blood - the fierce warriors of the Grasslands - also filled her veins. She had her windmarks, and she also knew 'forgetting things' didn't truthfully change them. So... convincing herself to talk to a man, especially one of these men.... was harder than she expected. It was just... everyone here knew. The Akalak knew where women came from when they came to Riverfall normally. Her arrival didn't go unnoticed. And truthfully the men whom she had to deal with had treated her with kid-gloves, like she was something fragile and easily broken... and that angered her too. She was still here wasn't she? She was still alive, still breathing, when so many women in that caravan hadn't managed to survive. Kavala was also acutely aware, for the first time in her life, the plight the Akalak were in. A dying breed, one that wasn't sustaining itself well... one sired by The Gods and Goddesses, but yet one that was inherently flawed in their existence. They were beautiful creatures. They were men to make other men seem somehow diminished in their light because of their power and grace... and yet, there wasn't something always 'right' about them. She swore, sometimes, that she could talk to one a specific day, and the very same man a different day would be a completely different man. It was the oddest most dangerous feeling. And though they'd showed her nothing but kindness, Kavala was still wary. There was something too perfect about their hospitality... something ill conceived about it. She knew why they were so generous with captured women. They needed them. Not as slaves, but indeed as wombs. And she knew the more sons a man had the more status he enjoyed, but their were so very few sons that she'd seen. It was as if a curse lay heavily over Riverfall, one that she could only half see. It truthfully was this mystery that made her decide to stay... she needed to stay. In the eyes of her father's people, she was disgraced - her body defiled and soiled. Going fully home to him would be a burden more than a blessing on her family there. And she didn't want to face Aleka, her sister, until more time had passed and she could control her feelings. Kavala blinked, forcing emotion back within herself. Tears would do no good here, and besides, she wouldn't be crying for anything but her plight. And that was useless and wasted energy... on the plains she'd say wasted water, but here the stuff was abundant. Here it was wasted effort. She'd survive. She'd move on. But first... she needed a guide or some directions. For she was someone used to wide open sky and land that stretched forever on the flat... not a city that kissed both the sky and the sea while being buried in the trees and a curtain of falling water.

[Erotekt Semnoe]

Erotekt often took time out of his day to wander the streets of his towering city, Riverfall, the city that clings to the cliff. The air had indeed started getting chilly, hinting at the inevitable winter weather that was not too far off. The hulk of a man was used to these winters, having lived through forty-six of them in his life, but that did not mean he enjoyed the harsh winter winds that came ripping threw. Hold your chin high and face it with your shoulders squared, that was the Akalak way; for what did not kill you, only made you stronger, and being stronger was the goal of all Akalak men, was it not? Surely that is why they built their city upon a cliff hugging an enormous waterfall, and why they lived in a region where the winters were harsh and the beasts cruel. If they survived, they became stronger.

Despite the growing chill, Erotekt wore a pair of simple cotton pants and a matching, open-chest shirt that exposed his formidable display of core muscles rippling and knotting as he walked. Erotekt, despite his impressive display of masculine strength, was not in fact considered to be very muscular by the Akalak, not that he was weak either. He was, in fact, quite average when it came to strength, neither exceeding his peers nor sinking beneath them. His body had less bulky muscles than his brothers, growing more lean muscle instead. Compared to another Akalak, Erotekt seemed lithe and slender, with his broad shoulders tapering elegantly into a narrow waist; compare him, however, to a human man and his muscles seemed to bulge. Big was, after all, a comparative term, not a defining term.

Like all Akalaks, Erotekt had skin so dark that it bordered on ebony and in the cover of night it turned black, but in the light of day, even the dim light of the evening, a dark cyan sheen could be seen in his skin: one feature that did set him apart from his brothers and their midnight-blue skin. Another were his eyes: the palest shade of pink with white irises; they were his most prominent feature because they seemed to glow when set in his dark features.

The cyan-skinned Akalak man was silent as he walked, his usual countenance. He was naturally a silent creature, preferring to be the observer and not the leader. So it was natural for him now to step away from his father and friends and take a bit of the day for himself. His feet led the way and his mind followed, pink eyes taking in the surroundings as silently as a wraith. Riverfall was as it always was, it seemed, full of the Akalak men going about their day with only the occasional non-Akalak, usually a human female. Nothing of particular interest to Erotekt, just another day in the great waterfall city.

But his the lack of variety was halted in all of its monotony at the sight of a lovely creature swathed in white: a Konti. Erotekt, like all Akalak men, knew who the Konti were and recognized them immediately; extremely talented seers and exceptionally beautiful, the all female race complimented the male race with their delicacy and natural grace. Yet, while he had seen them in his city before, they were still quite... rare. And to see one alone like this was a sight almost never seen. Any Akalak man would be proud to accompany this Konti to wherever she pleased, yet she was alone. Like an angel of purity and light, her delicate frame rested gently upon where she sat, hopelessly alluring to all males of all races, surely.

As he drew closer, his pale eyes beheld a sight that at once angered him greatly and then also, secretly within his heart of hearts, thrilled him: her face was darkened unnaturally; the white of her skin stained with dark bruises. His first thought screamed through his mind demanding rhetorically who could harm and mar such a creature like a Konti, as peaceful and quiet as they were. It was a sin and any man that did it deserved nothing less than death. But another thought, whispering between his ears, echoed another desire to know if she was a warrior, desperately wanting to know the tale to why she sported such marks. He mentally pushed this thought away, it was not appropriate, not the right reaction to a Konti hurt. All of these thoughts whirled behind impassive eyes and a solemn face; his self-control to the point where emotions rarely bubbled to the surface but not strong enough to suppress his emotions completely.

By now a bit of time had passed, no more than a few minutes, but he his unconscious progression through the city had ceased at the sight of the alluring Konti. Erotekt was still far away to not be obviously watching the woman in his silent ways, but close enough to be awkward if she were to notice him. Quickly, he threw his gaze in the other direction and walked as if he had not seen her, settling down close to her but not next to her. A simple coincidence, or so he hoped it to seem. He actually had no idea what he was doing or why he had sat down, and his mind was in torment; one half screamed to walk away, that this woman did not want to interact with him and she should be left alone. But the other half seemed to laugh at that notion, urging him to press forward, move closer, and ask her about her face.

Finally, without turning his head to look at her, he let out a soft whisper, "My name is Erotekt." Simple and straight forward, and no word wasted. In fact a few more words could have been useful, but that is where he stopped. And he said it quiet enough, that if she did not wish to speak to him, she could imply pretend that she had not heard. But oh, never had Erotekt felt so united in his desire for to answer him, for once the fracture in him agreed on one point.

[Kavala]

While Kavala, raised away from her white sisters, rarely thought of herself as Konti, she sometimes acted incredibly like one without knowing it. Resting calmly, waiting on the fates, she watched those that passed by patient in the knowledge that eventually someone would wander by with enough time and patience to help her. It was the way the world worked at times, even if her father's first teachings were help thyself. Normally determined, the konti would have traced and retraced her steps back and forth until she rediscovered the way to Godiva's. But her body was at its limits for today. There had been too many blows, too much soreness, and she was after several trips up and down, weak as a kitten. Kavala wasn't the type to give up, her donor blood being Drykas through and through - which made her stubborn and determined. So she waited and rested - fully the Konti without knowing it - as she rested and practiced turning away the damaging thoughts that had so recently filled her head.

She noticed the Akalak right away. Though they were all huge in her eyes, he wasn't one of the incredibly large specimens of his race. That didn't mean he was small though. His cyan skin, so dark as to almost be black, was strikingly beautiful. They were all beautiful men, Kavala thought, though each one gave her a slightly different feeling, some which bordered on outright dangerous. Some, like this one, felt safer. And he moved with a gentle purpose. His face was perfectly sculpted and his eyes were an unusual shade - almost a rose quartz. Kavala could not tell if he was young or old for so many of the Akalak looked perpetually young though they could have seen decades and even centuries. When he settled near enough to converse but not to be threatening, Kavala sighed softly, half in relief and half in annoyance. She slipped the hood of the cloak back off her features revealing even more of the damage to her face as she turned to look at him openly. Someone had struck her in the face repeatedly and had wrapped thick strong hands about her neck from behind... more than once. Most likely to force her to her knees, face into the ground... the bruising told the whole story. There could be no mistaking why. His darker half could almost picture the image of it, though he knew with a certainty if he'd have done it, her wrists would have been bound. Light eyes traveled downward and sure enough there were dark shadows around her wrists right above her palms, the skin broken but healing in small sections there.

Kavala let him look his fill, if he was open about it. In Endrykas there were no secrets. If something happened, everyone knew within a bell or a few chimes. It was better to endure, in her mind, a single lengthy examination than a hundred stolen glances. It was the same with questions. And after a moment of openly studying him herself, she would speak.

There was no timidness in her stare, no shame in the way she looked. In fact, she was beautiful but not in the classic way. Her beauty was in the paleness of her skin, the striking blue of her eyes, and the way she held herself. Pride. Most of the Konti were lovely in some way or another - often they appeared young as if still clinging to their teens. kavala looked to be in her twenties as humans marked their time, though as a Konti she was still a little more than a girl. Avalias had seen to that, partially to protect them and partially because she herself was lovely and her blood flowed through their veins. There was just a quiet resolve and an almost simmering anger just beneath the surface that seemed out of place on her delicate features. Though there was nothing to her slight form, he could see her arms were well sculpted, and coupled with her bold almost raptorish gaze, he knew she was a fighter - if not on practice, in spirit. Most of her wounds, the worst of them in fact, had come from the fact that she hadn't lain quietly beneath the slavers whenever they decided her body was free for their use. Perhaps that was why she was a popular choice until she'd learned to hide behind a veil of apathy since none of the cowards liked bedding a corpse.

When she spoke, her voice was soft and raspy, still suffering from its ill usage. When she was better, and the bruises healed, it would be light and feminine, almost delicate with a hint of laughter. But for now it rasped slightly. "Have they sent you to find me without being so obvious about it? I managed to make it topside and back to the beach twice today, but I still haven't managed to find my way back to Godivas. It's a whole lot different finding your way around such a large city when you are used to the Grasslands and being able to see exactly where you are going always." She said apologetically to the man. "Well met, Erotekt. I am Kavala. I haven't seen you before if you are indeed one of my watchers. Or is it on my second day here I get a new set of babysitters?" She said simply, her tone open and inviting dialog. Slavers then... she was a rescued slave. It was obvious to him then, for indeed they were given free run of the city, but often needed guides or escorts to come check on them when they got lost. The Godiva's comment would clue him in. All rescued women were taken there for a few days of pampering on the city government. It was a ruse really, to try and convince them to stay in the city - to be breeders for the Akalak - out of gratitude for their rescue. Though most of them were human and easy to persuade (if indeed some Akalak could manage to sire a child on them - such occurrences were growing rarer and rarer) finding themselves too ruined to go home if they even had a home to return too. But Konti were different. They were treated with the same respect other women were, but there was very little pressure for them to stay because the Akalak saw them more as equals than walking wombs for the Akalak's future potential sons. The Konti lived just as long as the Akalak and thus were easy for the men to get attached too, have some semblance of a real relationship with, and far easier to sire children on.

But the flip side of the coin was as dark as the Akalak's other soul. They almost always learned about the second person dwelling in the same skin. Brother Light. Brother Dark. For a konti to be truly comfortable, they'd eventually have to learn the darkest secrets the Akalak kept close to home, and accept both men as they were. It was a tall terrifying order. For rejection was common, especially if the darker half was particularly dark. And for an Akalak to truly be friends with a woman, let alone take a lover or decide she was an equal enough to live with, she had to know both his personalities - his two names - his two souls. And for there to be trust, there could be no judgment or condemnation. And as in Kavala's case (as they so often were), how could one ever hope to acquire a friend of a woman who had been repeatedly beaten and he assumed raped when one of the two souls within your body was already craving to reach out and touch the marred and broken flesh, and to admire its beauty, and think about how lovely she'd look with tears of pain and fear in her eyes.

The beast within wasn't always so easy to control.

The Konti spoke again, with her soft damaged voice. "Did they tell you why I was here? Your eyes are full of questions. I don't have many secrets... at least not until the bruises heal. My face speaks for me." She said gently, then spoke again. He could tell she was a bit... lonely. Sometimes the women that came in were like that. Often they didn't wish to see anyone or speak at all. But sometimes, the stronger ones, the ones still not quite certain of what had just happened to them needed to talk. "The healer warned me I wouldn't have as much strength as I thought for a few days. After being hungry, you think a small bowl of soup in the morning and at night would be a feast - but it is not. It gives you very little energy. Tomorrow, I can start eating real food again, in small portions, until I'm back up to a normal meal. Then my strength will come back. Until then, it's a bit much climbing the levels multiple times." She said, referring to the levels of the city as it clung to the enormous waterfall's cliff.