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 Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2016 9:29 am
Good Mother Aisha, they were ugly. Grey skin and pink limbs? Worms, popping from the dirt. With tentacles dripping from their ears? It looked like a disgusting deformity. What purpose could those actually even serve? They were small, untrained, and cursed by the poison of the Yaeli soil. Yet, as they'd grown, the whole lot of Elaria had become obnoxious, entitled, and spoiled. The older, wiser, surely more intelligent Alkidike chose for some reason, to insist to these little spits of girls that they were the future. They were better. Akacia could not even begin to understand, and chose to believe otherwise. The Elaria would know her feelings.
Crack!
The harsh sound of the pole of her wooden training spear hitting something equally as solid rang out in the practice clearing. The Elaria girl that served as her opponent let out a yelp and staggered backwards. Aka didn't care to remember her name. It might have started with a 'P.' Piyella? Peon? Pheony? Something like that. Regardless, P's insect-gut green eyes narrowed on her, and she readjusted her grip on her own weapon. "Don't be so rough. I'm still learning. You need to show, not just-"
Akacia lunged again, stepping in forward and close and jabbing with the dulled wooden 'blade' of her practice weapon. There was another yelp, a shuffle backward, a slew of uncoordinated attempts to deflect each rapid and unapologetic flurry of Aka's own attacks. "Wait. Stop, I- Hyurk!" The Alkidike woman slammed her spear flat against the younger girl's pole. She twisted as she did, catching her thumb around the Elaria's own weapon and wrenching it from her hands. She dipped as she did, kicking out out P's shin and shoving her back. When Aka snapped upright, her knee met the smaller female's abdomen, and with a strangled yelp of sound, the girl was on her back, whimpering.
It was very close to the most pitiful display Aka had ever seen.
"Disappointing," she hissed softly. "So, so disappointing." Not unexpected, of course, but someone needed to inform these brats that they weren't the 'saviors of the race.' They were trash. And they belonged on the ground. She huffed, spat her irritation somewhere near the Elaria's feet, turned, and moved out of the training clearing.
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Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2016 10:04 am
Ai had long since accepted the fact that her future daughters were going to be grey skinned freaks dipped in pink like spoiled flowers. While she didn't necessarily detest the Elaria anymore, the young warrior still wasn't a big supporter. Every time one of the little runts did something distasteful she thought about their weak willed Matron, and knew it was her fault. Aisha had given them so many gifts, but along the way these things had happened.
Raising her arms above her head, Ai leaned from side to side, and stretched. It had been a long night of patrols that deserved a nice nap. She had been away from the camp for long enough to have even missed it a little on her return trip. Her steps led Ai to the training grounds, and she might have passed it up entirely had it not been for the interesting display before her.
The 'trainer' didn't seem to be too far off from Ai's own age, and her ferocity...brought an instant grin to her face. Tired or not, she couldn't help getting a kick out of watching the little punk get what was coming to her.
When the runt was on her back in the dirt, Ai stepped forward to follow the alkidike. Her blades hung heavy at her sides, swaying and shifting with each movement her legs made. For a split second she stopped to look down at the child, curling her own lip in distaste before dismissing her all together. "There are better ways to waste your energy. Working on something productive, for instance, instead of training puffed up dolls to do a real woman's work."
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Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2016 11:01 am
Akacia was more than prepared to ignore anyone that approached her after her display. It felt like something the older Alkidike would find deserving of reprimand. Her duty was not to make Elaria taste mud, but to help them achieve greatness. Aka was more inclined to the mud-eating bit and didn't have the patience to repeatedly explain that these creatures were not sisters or daughters. They were a terrible mistake. No one listened, besides. It would just make everyone involved more angry than they already were.
So when another woman (definitely not old enough to be reprimanding her to begin with) approached her, Aka already had her sneer in place. She turned toward her sister Alkidike and opened her mouth to inform the female that she was not in the mood, and had hardly done anything foul to begin with-
But the other beat her to it. Or at least made it seem like sneering at her wasn't immediately necessary. Aka gave a roll of her shoulders to dismiss the expectant agitation and raked a hand back through her curly tendrils of dreads. "Believe me, I don't want to," she admitted. Perhaps that was just a touch of a lie. She did like flooring the smaller girls. With a shake of her head, she continued. "But if I don't, someone else will and they will pour unnecessary praise and encouragement upon these little brats. They don't deserve to be coddled and they don't deserve to think they're better than us. But everyone lets them. It's sickening."
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Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 9:14 am
If the sister had unleashed whatever foulness her sneer had promised onto Ai then this might have turned out far worse. She was tired, cranky, and more than a little on edge ever since landing on Yael to begin with. Ai went through her moods; some days were good, and others were not. Today could go either way, so thankfully the sister knew a like mind when she saw one.
"It's all a lose-lose situation with them." Already she had interactions with one particular elaria, and found that cocky, self-sure attitude one needing of a good lashing. Nothing so as to leave scars on her, not yet anyway; just something to get the little brats to shut up.
"They're desperate, and weak. A lot of the older sisters I've spoken with lost sisters and bond mates after that failed excuse for a war, leaving them vulnerable to promises of starting new. That same weakness encourages them to spoil their new 'daughters'." Ai had already long since resigned herself to the fact that her daughters would be Elaria, but she didn't have to like it. And she certainly wasn't planning on coddling them.
However, this same line of thinking had her concerned for her mentor, Miira; Ai knew enough about the older woman to know she left a mate and daughter behind. How much longer would it take before the woman cracked? Ai liked to believe it would never happen, but then again, she had also believed in the Matron at one point too.
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2016 10:28 am
It was a lose-lose situation all around. Akacia could see that. She didn't want to (and wouldn't for that matter) admit that there was so little for her to do to change that. She'd journeyed from the mainland with her guardian, and had a few friends alongside her that she knew well enough. She could make a 'home' wherever she stepped. The young woman had never intended to live her entire life on Chibale. So while she didn't feel much like she lost anything she'd currently had, besides Mother Aisha, the future seemed horrifically abysmal.
She could not and would not settle for less.
She passed her tongue across her lips. Aka never gave thought to what the Elaria could mean for someone else, someone who'd lost more than she had. But it didn't matter, and she said so. "I don't care what people need to keep pushing themselves forward," she admitted. "I am sorry for those that lost their lives to our cause and sorry still for those that didn't have the strength and courage to join us. But with them- the Elaria, it will always be settling, and it offends me to think that so many would give up our mother so easily."
"I followed our matron because I believed we deserved more. I still believe we deserve more. I won't pretend like this is the future Mother wanted for us. She would not subject us to being hand maidens to a bunch of spoiled brats." There had to be other things at play to, hat Akacia herself was not privy to.
A shake of her head, then she fixed wide, black eyes on her newest companion. "Akacia. That's my name."
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Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 12:44 pm
Ai certainly had an ability to find the sisters who seemed less than pleased with their Matron. It was a surprising gift, one she didn't plan on squandering. Although, she didn't necessarily agree with Akacia on everything. The Elaria made it so that the weaker sisters, the ones who had lost the meaning of their cause, could stand again. It was a crutch and a poor substitute for true 'family', but at least their numbers were growing.
"The Matron lost her way, and we ended up her, that much is painfully obvious. As far as Elzira is concerned...I think Mother wanted to give us a chance to change things, but she knew we wouldn't be able to go back to Chibale. So now we have the Elaria and our test now is to make the best of this mess." Ai knew her opinion was likely to get her some flack, but there it was. No point in hiding it. "I'm not going to coddle the little brats, but I'm not turning my back on them either. Better to let them know where their place is then ignore them and watch the little brats rise up."
She took a moment to look over her shoulder, just catching the barest glimpse of the training grounds before returning her gaze to Akacia. "You can call me Ai."
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 12:22 pm
Akacia's gaze riveted back to the other female. Her brows furrowed and her lips drew down into a tight, thin line. Her skin crawled at the assumption, the thought, the very notion that they 'wouldn't be able to go back to Chibale.' Who would stop her? The Matron? Crazy old witch couldn't stop them from being sent here, so her powers to stop anyone from doing anything where clearly not that great. Maybe the other sisters here on Yael? If they were as weakened as her companion, Ai suggested then it should be easy to win a few of them over and bowl by the ones she couldn't.
The Alkidike actually on Chibale were a different matter. Still, though, they were sisters. Once-family and -friends to the now disgraced extremists. Akacia was slightly more wary of them. Not enough to dissuade an attempt or two or eight at return. She would not be kept from her mother and her home.
"No one is stopping us from leaving this place. They couldn't if they wanted to," Aka snorted roughly. "Aisha would not send us off with no hope of seeing her again. We are Alkidike. The cause we fight for says that Alkidike are the most supreme beings. Why has that changed for so many just because another plant can produce blooms? The Elaria are a gross and unwelcome variant created from Mother's own spore, but that is all they are. A variant. They will never be like us. So many have taken so readily to praising them for doing nothing more than existing, when all they are are bodies capable of reclaiming Chibale. Once that is done, their usefulness will cease in its entirety."
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Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2016 10:37 am
"Would you listen to yourself? If you leave Yael on your own you'll die. Period. You'll never make it through the throngs of ignorant masses to reach Chibale, not on your own. I want to leave this place just as much as the next sister, but I'm not stupid enough to think I can do it on my own." Sure, Ai could sneak onto a trading vessel, risk the sea voyage once again, and land in Matori. Then what? Where would she be welcome? In the arms of earthlings and traitors? She would rather take her chances her than to go back to Sauti, and go through with a half-assed plan.
"Then use them to reclaim Chibale, and stop talking like you're going on a suicide mission." On one level she could understand Akacia's anger, but on the other she felt as if she were talking to a wall. "Train them, use them, show them who control their leashes; then when the time is right destroy them. We must use every advantage we have to make it back to Mother's side, and I refuse to think she allowed the Matron to bring Elzira to this place without a purpose."
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2016 1:12 pm
Akacia released a hiss of sound through clenched teeth, her lips drawing back in the same snarl threatened only moments prior. "I didn't say I would go alone," she asserted tersely. She'd thought it, sure, but she'd never said any such thing. Because she knew what a horrible idea sounded like when it crossed her mind. Of course, it also crossed her mind that she could survive. She was not weak like the Earthlings. But it was something to dwell on before making any choices. Going in blind would do her no favors. She sighed, and the rigidity in her posture relaxed a fraction. "I'm hard-pressed to believe anyone would stay here if they had any better options, though," Aka grunted, tone softening a bit.
It sounded a little too much like Ai was scolding her for something she hadn't even done yet. Intentions aside, there was nothing wrong with musing. She did want to leave Yael, and she did want to reclaim Chibale, and she might be alright with dying for it if she put forth her best and still failed. Unlikely, but perhaps not impossible.
She knew she needed help. Thinking of the Elaria sickened her. Looking at them more so, and she wished, again, fervently, that they'd never come into existence. Her dark gaze wandered back in the direction of the training ground. "I'm trying," Akacia admitted, "But it's easier said than done. They're bolder than many of the sisters here already. Convincing any of them they're on 'leashes,' as you say, is nigh-impossible task. Everyone else praises them for nothing."
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Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 11:01 am
Ai's teeth ground against one another to the point where she felt an ache stirring within her jaw. It was obvious that no matter what she said it was going to be met with a frigid resistance, so Ai felt her arguments slipping. She simply didn't have the patience, nor the energy, to get in a pissing match with one of her sisters. Not when she dealt with enough drama from the elaria already.
"Then keep trying." She didn't mean for her voice to sound quite so snippy, but it had bite to it all the same. Ai inhaled deeply, and let it out slowly, releasing some of her tension along with it. "They're special now because they're new, but once that wears off they'll be nothing more than untrained freaks. You just have to keep pushing on until then."
A sort of laughing caught her attention, and Ai tilted her head to look over her shoulder. Two more girls had joined their fallen sister, one very openly laughing at her mistakes as she lead the way back to what Ai could only assume to be home. The whole scene rubbed her raw, and before she could think better of it she barked out; "YOU! The one with the pigtails."
The leader slowed to a stop, a sort of wary, irritated look upon her face. "What do you want?"
"If you think you can do better than your sister then you'll meet me in the training grounds tomorrow before sunup. If you're late I'm cutting off your dreads."
She balked, soft green eyes widening with alarm. "Y-you can't do tha-"
In answer to the stammering rebuttal Ai unsheated one of her swords and held it levelly before her. The girl, despite already being a good distance away from the alkidike, took a few steps back, falling against one of her sisters. "Tomorrow. Don't be late."
It took little else to get the girls to scuttle along, and as Ai sheathed her sword she couldn't help wondering what kind of storm she would be entering tomorrow. Surely the girl's mother, or mothers, would be furious, but she was prepared.
"Walk with me? All of this talking has given me an appetite."
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 9:33 am
Akacia let out a stiff sigh. She was whining, and she knew it. Grumpy, rage-whining, but whining none the less. And that would surely annoy anyone, regardless of the topic at hand. The least she could do was settle and be pleased by the fact that Ai wasn't swooning and fawning over hideous poison children. They had that much in common, and that should be worth something. So Aka dipped her head ever so slightly, lashes slipping s**t, and muttered, "You're right." 'Keep pushing.'.
She still didn't like it, but she didn't have to. Her path would take her through many, many more years. She had time. Waiting was impossible and dreadful, but there was little other choice. For now, she had to live with them. She'd scoff at her sisters for calling them 'the next generation' and heralding Elaria as the only thing that would sustain Alkidike tradition, but other than that...
Her gaze snapped up, antenna twitching at the sound of laughter as she turned to fix her attention on the training grounds once more. Brats, all of them.
Immediately following that, causing Akacia to twitch in surprise, came Ai's shout. Aka's eyes widened. She didn't usually personally take the time to spit threats at the younger girls. Anything she wanted to do, she did without thinking, as soon as the thought crossed her mind.
But as she watched the Elaria girls scurry away, she couldn't help but think there was something more rewarding about this approach, and her lips edged up once more. "You've given her something to think about all day." Her voice came out a soft purr accented by a small rumble of amusement at the end. Joining Ai now seemed very acceptable. The woman was no pushover, so Aka walked with her. "Perhaps I'll poke by to watch the 'match' in the morning. It sounds like it might be interesting enough."
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 9:59 am
Ai's left antennae twitched a bit, standing a little straighter than the right as she gave a sort of lop sided grin. Nothing brought her more pleasure than tormenting the elaria when she could, especially when she didn't have to waste energy doing it. "All day and night. I doubt she'll get much sleep, so she's sure to fail tomorrow. That or surprise me, but that one's all talk." It looked as if tomorrow she would be bringing her dagger to shear some dreads, which would no doubt make the Matron ecstatic.
Her walk was a little easier now, and had a sort of relaxed sway to it. "I would like that." Akacia was turning out not to be decent company, which would inevitably spell trouble for the little brat tomorrow. "Do you stay in the main camp, or on your own? I think I would have remembered seeing your around." Then again, when she wasn't training with Miira Ai had taken to exploring Yael on her own. That left little time in the way of socializing, except when all of her sisters were called together.
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 10:54 am
An Elaria surprise her? Akacia chuckled. She didn't know Ai particularly well as of yet, but somehow she severely doubted any of those scrawny, untrained children would best her. Surely, surely not with an attitude as bold as Ai's was turning out to be. And if they could, it was nothing less than downright shameful. Since Aka planned to be there, silently 'cheering' the Alkidike woman on, she'd be sure to let Ai know if things turned out less than favorably. But again, she didn't suspect as much.
She couldn't say with any complete certainty where Ai was headed now, but Akacia assumed there would be food involved. After her own training session with the Elaria girls, that suddenly sounded not terrible. Perhaps she could stick around a while.
"To be honest, I try to spend as little time around the main camp as possible," she admitted. "I do live here and always return at night, but generally speaking, during the day I prefer time on my own, without-" 'Brats and their mothers.' "-disruption." In that regard, she couldn't say she was surprised Ai didn't recognize her. Akacia wasn't exactly familiar with much of anyone on the island, save for the people she'd known on Chibale. Even that felt like a lifetime ago. She'd distanced herself from those friends. Once she'd felt like a queen, a ring leader to them. Now nothing more than a spirited outcast.
She shook her head. "It is different here, isn't it? A life that feels completely separate from the ones we led previously..." Ai had admitted to wanting to leave, only a few minutes prior, and had mentioned many sisters finding solace in these new things, but still... "Do you like it here? Some people would appreciate the chance to be away from home I think."
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2016 8:07 am
"If you ever find yourself drifting towards camp in the day light, seek me out. A reprieve from the distractions would be nice now and then." To accompany her words she gave an actual, genuine smile which was almost as rare as a swimming kinfa.
Ai moved closer to the heart of Zinris, though she chose to remain on it's fringes for the most part. The further she walked the closer she became to the sisters and their conversations, which wasn't entirely unwelcome to her. In times like this she could almost believe she were home in Chibale instead of on an island where the very soil was toxic.
She led their way past the throng of sisters towards a less populated area, but one littered with dwellings. Some were build with stone while others had attempted to piece together a 'home' from what lumber they had managed cut down. The question as to whether or not she actually liked it here replaced her smile with a sort of far off, pained grimace. "Honestly...? I hate it here." She paused before one of the dwellings; a modest sized stone structure with a thatched roof and a cloth doorway. "I don't loath it like I did at first, but I miss being so close to our Mother. She gives me the strength to rise each morning, though I wish...I wish it wasn't so lonely."
Even among the alkidike she felt isolated. Ai had found to find solace for so long that at some point she felt as if she had 'settled' for what comfort she could hold onto. Miira was a good companion, but she only saw to Ai's basic needs. She was no mother to greet her after a long day, no friend to share funny stories with, and...Thinking about it just reminded Ai of how young she truly had been when everything fell away from her. The thoughts had the potential of consuming her, but she hadn't fallen into that pit just yet.
Pushing back both her sudden melancholy and the curtained doorway, Ai stepped into an open area that could only be described as a sitting-eating-cooking room. "Anyway, this is where I live with my mentor, Miira. Her room is on the left, mine is on the right." Ai removed her packs and sat them by the doorway of her personal space, as well as her swords. It never failed to surprise her just how naked she felt after removing them. As if someone had just stripped away her clothing, and thrust her into the middle of camp.
While she was busily setting her things to the side, a sort of rattling noise started up near the doorway. From within the rafters slithered out a dark, diamond shaped head with small orchid eyes, keenly watching Akacia. The keldari coiled it's body tight as if ready to strike at a moments notice.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 1:47 pm
Akacia blinked and eyed the other woman warily. Despite everything that had been said, heated or otherwise, about the Elaria and their living arrangements, she hadn't expected to be invited to be a 'reprieve' from anything. Certainly not invited and then smiled at. Was it unnecessarily rude to not smile back? She probably should to put the situation at peace- But the moment was gone as quickly as it had started, and instead of the planned expression, Aka gave a quick nod and a mutter of, "Perhaps I should. If I am with you, it might be less likely to be approached by others." Elaria and their sister-lovers alike. And while Ai's tongue was sharp, she hadn't said anything worth being frustrated over. Not like some people.
Yes, Aka decided at length. If she was in the area and it wasn't inconvenient, perhaps she could offer a bit of her time to Ai. She dwelled on the thought while they moved deeper into their encampment. To be fair, there probably were worse places to make a home. Neither Zena nor Oba sounded particularly thrilling. At least here, they still had the jungle. Still had trees and plenty of water, and the hunting wasn't awful.
It wasn't Chibale, but it wasn't impossible to exist here. Obviously the Elarian girls didn't hate it. They didn't know any better. Maybe at some point, the older Alkidike wouldn't hate it, either. Akacia could not even begin to imagine.She followed Ai toward a grouping of huts that served as residence for some.
She paused at Ai's side and felt immediately like she understood what the other young woman was saying. "We're certainly a smaller tribe now than we ever were before... Though I suppose there are many aiming to fix that with Elzira. There were always things on Chibale that upset me, but now I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be. I didn't even realize how great it was there." She'd taken her friends and Mother for granted then. If anything, she should know not to have the same attitude now. "It's harder now, but surely there is still something important to you here? Maybe just hang onto it and never let it go."
There was the temptation to reach out and pat the other female in some gesture of hopeful comfort, but Akacia tempered the need, and Ai stepped into her abode.
Briefly, Aka wondered if she was permitted to follow. She could see this being the end of the conversation- Ai wanted someone to talk to while she walked home, and now that she was here- But at the sound of Ai's description for the floor plan, Akacia stepped in immediately afterwards, not wanting to appear as lost and confused as she felt. She might have asked if Miira would mind the unexpected company, but a rattling caught her off guard, and Aka swiveled toward the sound. She fumbled for the pouch at her waist, curling her fingers around the hilt of a dagger stored there. "Your home has pests," she hissed in a soft, warning voice, not wanting to upset the keldari into striking.
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