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 Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 4:59 pm
This Quest is for Yaholo who is striving to become a Massif.
OOC
||. You may not control any NPCs or other characters; Yaholo must face his trials alone.
||. Respond to the prompts given as you would any other RP.
||. Your responses may be as long or short as you feel necessary.
IC
The Jauhar forest was full of the day’s hustle and bustle from the creatures. Sounds could be heard moving and cawing, clicking, and growling, making a soft ruckus that was the backdrop to Jauhar. It was midday, and while the forest floor was still mostly dim, the sun was in full effect in the canopy where most of the caws and trills were coming from.
The village was nowhere in sight at this point, leaving what could be considered all of civilization behind. Yaholo had been out for quite some time now and he was in what felt like the center of the entire forest. The trees seemed impossibly tall and the crystals impossibly large. Giant Nondwi and Kipepwi floated through the air above, trilling gently and hovering over flower buds before moving on.
It was a peaceful day, and a purposefulness could be felt pulsing through the air. What would today hold in store?
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Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 5:37 pm
 "Okay, where the hell am I?" Yaholo muttered, though not quite as angry as he had sounded. It wasn't often that he found an area of Jauhar that he hadn't traveled to or recognized, and once one of those places was found, he spent the rest of the day figuring out where he was in relation to where he wanted to go. However, today, he had absolutely no point to his wander. Nope. Nope. Not searching for a certain blue haired swordsman, why would he pondering such a rude idea? Nooo...
Okay, so he was, fine. He was wandering around like a complete idiot, looking for the one who held the key to his heart, so to speak and managed to get lost. He sighed and leaned against a tree as a Nondwa fluttered past, and decided to rest his chin upon the end of his hammer. Hm, well, he wasn't going to find who he was looking for today, was he? Mmm... Maybe tomorrow perhaps? Newly black eyes whimsically followed the other Nondwi and Kipepwi zig zag around the trees and a soft smile rose to his features.
These things were really freaking creepy, but also incredibly beautiful. Sort of like how he was. Maybe he'd sprout wings and be like them? He paused at the thought and shook his head at his own idiocy. He really needed to start to sleep more, his thoughts were becoming more and more ridiculous by the day!
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:30 am
The forest seemed to hum with movement, and it was continuing to close around Yaholo. It seemed like something was coming closer, and eventually voices could be heard floating through the air. It was difficult to tell which direction the voices were coming from, and even harder with Yaholo's newly antennae-free head. It was disorienting.
Footsteps pounded on the ground and up in the trees, and they were closing in on Yaholo's location, but from the sound of the voices they didn't know Yaholo was there. There were plenty of them, that was for sure, and the voices sounded distinctly feminine.
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 12:28 pm
Yaholo paused in his bug watching to tilt his head upwards, an odd humming catching his attention. What was going on? He pinned himself against a tree and stood up on the tips of his toes, focusing as hard as he could on the sound at hand. Were those... Voices? He blinked and took a step back to squint through the leaves, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone chattering in the trees. Hm, nothing but rustling...
He moved closer to the trees again as the voices drew closer and nodded to himself. The voices sounded feminine, so... Maybe a few of his fellow sisters had decided to take roost up there? He smiled and climbed up into the trees to greet whoever might be there.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" He called. "I heard voices and I just wanted to make sure everything was alright over here!"
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Posted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 1:37 pm
The voices abruptly stopped at the sound of Yaholo's voice and the sound of footsteps with it. Whoever it had been had stopped in their tracks.
After a long moment's pause, an Alkidike appeared from the branches above Yaholo. Peering down, she squinted at what or who it was before answering. "You don't belong here." was her only response while glaring at Yaholo.
Dozens more Sisters dropped from their positions in hiding, some from below on the forest floor, and most from above, looming close to the Sister who had spoken first. "Why did you come?"
The large group of Sisters started to whisper to each other in their native tongue, the language used when addressing Daughters of Aisha and Aisha herself, and something only known to Alkidikes. Their whispering was low, muffled by the surrounding area, and indiscernible to begin with. Only the one who had addressed Yaholo continued to keep silent.
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Posted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 1:50 pm
Yaholo paused, his face taking a rather solemn turn. Well, alright, that's fine. She could have said that it was a private meeting and he was interrupting, but nooo, she had to be rude about it. He offered her a slight smile and sighed.
"Why have I come? I've been out on a walk." He replied. "If it's any form of comfort, I have no need to be informed on why you're all gathered here and I will continue along my way. All that I was wondering was if you were all okay and if you needed me for anything, that's all."
He slid out from the tree and hopped forward.
"I apologize, I won't ask any further questions." He said, wandering a little ways down the path. If they didn't want him there, he wasn't going to bother them about it. He may want to be like his fellow sisters, but prying into private affairs wasn't the way he was going to accomplish that.
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Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 12:42 pm
The Sisters surrounding the one who had spoken jeered and whispered at Yaholo, mocking him as he left. They called him weak and pitiful and spineless, leaving the area just like that. One of the random Sisters called out, "What would we expect from Earthlings?" She hissed the last words and the others joined in in the chattering in the trees.
More calling came from the trees, "What would this boy be able to do for us even if we weren't ok?" and murmurs of 'pathetic' and 'imposter' followed behind it.
The Sister who had spoken to Yaholo first had kept quiet, not uttering a word, and one of the few who didn't. Those on the floor leered at Yaholo as he passed by them.
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Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 12:57 pm
Yaholo bit his tongue through most of what the Alkidikes were muttering about. He would take it, take their insults like a man, yeah, that's what he'd do.
Okay, no. NO. Imposter? IMPOSTER?! He turned his attention back towards them and leered. His markings said differently, his mother said differently, his EYES said differently. He took a defensive stance and growled.
"I've had enough!" He said, unsheathing his hammer. "YOU TALK SO BIG BUT YOU HAVE NO BITE! Are you really a tribe of warriors if all you can do is stand around and toss insults? IF THAT IS ALL YOU CAN DO, THEN YOU ARE AS PATHETIC AS YOU PAINT ME TO BE!" He hunkered down and braced himself as best as he could, before staring straight at the Alkidike who had first addressed him. "I challenge every single one of you, right here, RIGHT NOW! Prove to me that I am the weaker being, I ******** DARE YOU!"
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Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:21 pm
The dozens of Alkidike women unsheathed their own weapons; bows, spears, and swords all pointed Yaholo's way. They weren't ready to back down, not when a male would dare to talk so disrespectfully to them. They lived in these forests and they belonged to be here. This abomination didn't.
The forest Yaholo had stumbled into was one of the oldest spots in Jauhar, guarded by a fiercely purist Alkidike Sisterhood. They didn't approve of men, of hybrids, or of earthlings; and Yaholo happened to be all three.
The only one who hadn't unsheathed a weapon was the one who had first addressed Yaholo. She stood amongst the others, proud and serious. She looked as if the others all revolved around her, and it would be right to assume that, since she was the daughter of the two leaders of this purist group. She was older than Yaholo and held herself as if she were a ruler.
She addressed Yaholo once more. "You are nothing. You are not a true daughter of Aisha." She smirked as she prepared herself for the challenge she would shove onto Yaholo. "If you were an Alkidike... then it would be easy for you to prove it..." She trailed off, waiting to see if Yaholo would take the bait.
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Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:30 pm
Yaholo held his own and stepped closer to the Alkidike who had addressed him. He glared daggers at her, but his expression wasn't that of disdain or rage, it was riddled with pain. Black eyes were unshaken, but at the same time, disrupted by an inner disconnect, though this only shown for a moment, before he raised his hammer above his head.
"I accept this, I understand this. But you speak nothing but hypocrisy." He said, his focus remaining solely upon the sister in front of him. "My mother and father begged for me just as the thousands of parents and Alkidikes before them. I was wanted, I was wished for. And Aisha only gives to those who are worthy." He leaned forward and leered at her. "Or have all the teachings of my great mother been forgotten, dear sister? You cannot pick and choose the lessons you believe, you either believe everything Aisha teaches or you believe nothing."
Then, he flung the hammer forward, stopping just inches from the tops of their heads. "However, since I have been challenged, I suppose you have forgotten." He said, rather mockingly. "What a shame..."
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Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 8:38 am
The leader of the group seemed unscathed by Yaholo's display; she continued to look down at him from the branches with her eyes steady and narrowed. Her smirk widened. "Of course one who was not a true Daughter of Aisha would not understand." She nearly spat the words out, venom dripping from her voice.
The other Sisters surrounding her nodded their heads in one brisk movement before leaning over the branches they were perched on, hanging by the vines draping from the branches overhead. They hung there, leering, grimacing, and smirking down at Yaholo, taunting him with without words. It was their leader's turn to speak, and they, unlike this miscreant, knew their place.
"Have you even been to see our Mother?" She gestured with a sweep of her arms at the mention of 'our', disqualifying Yaholo from the group that was encompassed by the word. "Even those who don't believe in our ideals wouldn't let you onto Ekene to see her in all her glory."
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Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:09 am
As everyone else moved to drape themselves over the branches and peer at him, Yaholo lowered his hammer but kept his defensive stance. They listened to her, so in turn, he would wait just as patiently for the same signal. Once they moved an inch in his direction that seemed threatening, he would attack. Until then, he leaned against his hammer and feigned a calm, congenial pose.
"Oh, of course," He sighed, rolling his eyes towards her. "Only you would know everything because someone told you that you were the best of the breed. Sweetheart, I've been around, no body truly knows anything. Get over yourself."
Then, his eyes narrowed. Yes, he had been barred from seeing Aisha, but his mother had attempted to reason with the elders many times in order for him to visit with her. In fact, even his aunt had tried to reason with the elders when they refused to listen to his mother. Again, he rolled his eyes, and made a rather bored clicking sound with his tongue.
"My mother and aunt have tried many times to get me across to see OUR Mother," He replied. "But all of their hard work has been shot down by ignorance and old traditions that dictate what makes a living being a living being and why. Personally, from all of the stories I've heard, Aisha is an incredibly beautiful being that seems to love everyone she creates no matter what." He paused and smiled. "However, if she is so wonderful and powerful, why can't she speak for herself? If she abhors me so much, why did she create me? Why didn't she get rid of me or deny my mother and father their wish? It seems odd to me that she didn't simply kill me off when she had the chance, right? Wouldn't that solve this whole "problem?" Kill the half-breeds before they have to deal with such horrible, rude, and dishonest people. Wouldn't that be a simple way out?"
At the end of his sentence he blinked, and sighed. Man, okay, he'd lost track of his thoughts.
"Besides the suggestion of murdering innocent children for racial purity," He continued. "I believe my initial point still stands. If Aisha is our Mother and is therefore the ultimate form of judgement and decisions, why not allow her to decide what becomes of me and others like myself? After all, we are her children, we shouldn't get to make all of the decisions for our Mother. It's a backwards way of thought."
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Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 8:47 am
The leader of the group smirked with Yaholo's words. She had had just the effect she was looking for and couldn't have set it up more perfectly herself. "For once... this boy is right. She should be able to choose for herself. But I'm sure when our Mother made you, she didn't intend for you to turn traitor and use earthling weapons. How can you even begin to call yourself a Sister if you yourself refuse to honor 'your mother'? She scoffed.
It was plain that Yaholo took pride in his hammer, and it was all the more reason for them to hate him. Alkidike blood or not, he had chosen to disregard his fellow sisters and use earthling made tools and live with earthlings. It was disgraceful for him to think that his birth alone owed him any respect. Oh yes, they had heard of Yaholo, the boy who chose to live with the leaf tribe of his father. The boy who refused to use an Alkidike weapon. The boy who cut off his antennae and then tried to trick the rest of them with his change in eye color.
He wasn't fooling anyone.
The leader smirked again, spitting her words out. "If our mother Aisha truly wishes to take you in as a Child of Her Being, then she will tell you herself."
She paused, feigning a quizzical look. "Oh? You didn't know? Oh but you've been around, how could you not have heard?" She was blatantly mocking him, for this boy didn't know something so important and connected to the wonderful being that he dared to call Mother. "Our Mother Aisha will open her petals and gift her true Daughters a nectar if asked."
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Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 10:22 am
Yaholo leaned further upon his hammer and assumed a very dull expression. Either this leader thought he was born yesterday or she liked to talk a lot. Yes, yes, he liked to use a hammer. Yes, yes, he grew up in Tale. But if she truly had heard everything about him, she would have known why he chose the path he had chosen.
"I was abandoned, Sister, as a Youngling by a settlement I wasn't supposed to be in." He explained, feigning boredom. "I wandered a while, starved and nearly died, before I found Yera and my father. He raised me with pride and a never ending bounty of love. I find your argument pointless, in a way that you may not comprehend just yet, but this is okay. I will endure your ramblings." He shifted his positioning and tapped his hammer upon the ground. "As for this, well, my little sisters Tahigwa and Pahana, one of which is you Sister as well, were kidnapped by Shifters as Younglings. I killed one of them as he tried to murder Tahigwa, and fled to Andile where the rest of the battle ensued. In the end, I decided that I felt stronger and more capable with a hammer than I did with blades. I apologize for the inconvenience."
Once again, he shifted himself into another position and leaned forward, never once taking his eyes off of her. His feigning was actually becoming more and more like truth as the discussion wore on. Everything about him screamed "tell me something I don't know", even when she spoke of the nectar, something he hadn't known.
"I find yet another error in your judgements." He sighed. "I have never been to see Aisha, therefore I cannot ask her for this nectar. However, I am skeptical of your words thus far, and I do believe that Aisha should be the one to decide this matter. Perhaps if one of you were to guide me to her so that we may have this issue resolved, everything could go back to a peaceful norm."
Then, a smirk rose to his features, and he stood straight up again.
"How's about this for a deal, Sisters?" He said. "You take me to see our mother and whatever she decides is what it is. If she shuns me, I promise to leave you lot alone and never go across to Aisha ever again. But if she should accept me, you must drop your resentment and listen to what our Mother decrees. Does that sound fair to you?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 11:35 am
The women laughed at Yaholo's response. Something about what he had said, or maybe it was everything, struck some sort of funny cord with them.
"So for your convenience you threw away the teachings of our Mother? I'm sure she will be so happy to accept you into her arms now." The leader scoffed. She flipped her hair out of her face, and continued. "You dare call yourself a part of our culture when for your ease, you decided to pick an earthling weapon rather than work hard to hold an Alkidike's?"
She gave a small signal to the other Sisters surrounding her and they quickly jumped up into the trees and out of sight. Only the leader remained behind. "We don't have time to help the likes of you with something we already know will fail. Go see her yourself if you believe to be our equals."
And with that she also took to the forest and out of sight from Yaholo.
[Yaholo has been met with a challenge. Will he go visit Aisha? Solo out a response. It may be as long or as short as you feel necessary.]
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