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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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 Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 1:22 pm
If his parents had any clue where Morain was, they'd probably grab him by the ponytail and drag him back to the inn they were staying at. But that, you see, was why he didn't tell them. In all his life, this was probably the closest he'd been to one of the Aishan settlements where he was old enough to just... go there. He couldn't even tell you why it was important to him, it just was... and so he'd decided to go.
The amount of alkidike in his blood was probably negligible at this point, and yet between him and his triplet siblings, he felt like the most... Other. Sure, they both had pigment differences, but his eyes were... the way they were, and it was... different.
Call it morbid curiosity, or just stupidity, but he'd not prepared himself for the sheer ire he'd get from stepping too close to Zinris. It wasn't like the extremists were actually ... y'know. Attacking anymore, en masse... but it ends up that they still didn't really like non residents just walking up to their settlement, especially one that looked like a shifter and was a GUY.
Sighing, he slumped a bit on the porous rock he'd decided to flop onto, dragging a hand through his hair. Well...that trip was a bust. And now, he was a handful of hours' walk away from the inn his parents and siblings were at, and by the time he got back it'd be dark. And who knew what freaky stuff there was on this godsforsaken island at night.
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 2:33 pm
There was an ever present fog that submersed the area in a veil of mysticism unlike any other. Kahukura used it's most powerful moments to hide her activities from others and ensure the least amount of contact possible. The questions that generally arose from her appearance weren't welcome ones, no matter if they were well meaning, and while some might revel in the attention she certainly didn't. If she were a more confident soul then perhaps Kura could have used the attention to her advantage, but she just...wasn't. She was awkward, introspective, and just plain odd.
So, whenever she needed to move about areas that others might be she just made as light a presence as possible. If they saw someone passing by her silhouette could have been a normal Elarian and at this point they were tolerated enough not to be shot on sight.
Still, when she saw another out in the area Kahukura didn't immediately retreat. She hid behind a tree of course, but...well...she'd heard some things. Things about a boy who'd come close, a hybrid at that, but this didn't look like a boy...
Of course she was only looking at them from behind, too. In an attempt to get a better look Kahukura made a half step around the tree and accidentally stepped on a branch, causing it to break underfoot. In a panic she quickly ducked back behind the tree.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 2:48 pm
It really was funny. He was sitting here, absolutely not walking, thinking about how much of a mess he was going to be if he didn't get home by dark. It was the very opposite of what he SHOULD be doing - but he was doing it anyway. Maybe it was just that he was disappointed. He didn't expect to be let in to see the tree, even he knew how closely guarded it was, but maybe he just... wanted to be close with Aishans. Just for a little bit.
He didn't even know why it was such a big deal, but it felt like it was ... monumental, in fact, and standing up to leave just felt like giving up somehow.
Still, he'd have to get going eventually, so just--
Before he could consider it further though, a snap broke through the misty fog, making him jolt upright, turning to stare. He couldn't see much, just trees and the fog - but he was reminded of horror stories his baba used to tell about Aishans and how they used to be, way back when. Man hunters - eaters, in some case, leaving shifter villages torn to pieces...
"Hello?" He called, slowly standing from his seat, heart thrumming in his ears. He may dress and present himself like a woman, but Morain had never regretted being a male - and he didn't attempt to shift his voice to sound more feminine. If anything, he was more focused on how stupid he felt to have come out all this way and brought little more than a knife for self defense.
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 2:52 pm
She should have taken that as a sign to leave. Kahukura was experienced enough with blending into her environment that it wouldn't be hard to slip away. The stranger might just think it was a figment of their imagination or a passing beast, but something about their stance made her think otherwise. There was a wariness there, something taught instead of a natural response. She knew the signs because she'd displayed them herself time and time again...
That voice...was certainly deeper than she'd expected. He was also much broader than most girls she'd seen no matter how he might dress himself. It was the strangest thing...And those eyes....As dark as the crystals on her skin and just as deep.
"You're the boy...the one the sisters are talking about..." Her voice was barely above a murmur to begin with, but she raised, albeit only slightly, toward the end. "The one who came too close to Zinris..."
She may have been keen on watching him, but Kahukura wasn't about to leave her hiding spot. Not yet.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 3:07 pm
For a long, painful moment Morain could almost imagine dozens of arrows coming out of that fog and skewering him to the rock he'd been sitting on. A morbid enough thought, but probably not too far off, right? But instead... a voice came out, soft enough that he almost thought he'd imagined it, until it continued talking.
At first he couldn't quite see who it was, what with the fog - but as he stepped a bit closer to that tree, he saw it. An Aishan woman. Only... she wasn't quite what he'd been expecting. She was a hybrid, same as him... though ah... definitely more Aishan than he was, with antennae and markings and the sheer size of her. But she was yaeli too, from her ears to her eyes which were the prettiest green, but unlike his own or the typical Aishan sclera.
He hesitated a moment, then huffed, folding his arms over his chest. "Well, good to know wherever I go I'm talked about." He said with a shake of his head.
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 3:16 pm
She couldn't help shrinking back with every step he made toward her. The last earthling boy she'd talked to had threatened her with a sword the moment he was close enough and Kura wasn't prepared for that. The only weapon she ever carried was a sling shot; one that she hadn't even thought to arm. What if he wasn't alone? What if there was a dagger hidden beneath his dress? Why else would he have that much fabric?!
Still, crouched and slipping back as she was, there was no denying her size. Kahukura had inherited her mother's great height, making her a sight even among her pureblooded sisters. At least with the steps she still took away from him until she was at a safe distance Kura didn't have to look down on him quite so severely.
"Why did you come here? You had to have known they would act like that..."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 3:30 pm
For some ridiculous reason, Morain wanted to laugh at the question, more at his own stupidity than the question itself. There was also a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Siel that wanted to waggle his eyebrows and say, 'Don't you know, I'm looking for a wife~', but he had a strong feeling that would get him stabbed for sure. He could ignore the question, sure - but maybe it was the relief at the fact that she wasn't attacking him, and was apparently just here to sate her own curiosity that made him answer honestly.
He pursed his lips, dropping his arms to instead settle a hand on one hip, the other drawing a thumb thoughtfully over his lip. "Wishful thinking, I guess?" He answered, the words drawn out to show he was still considering his answer. "... I heard you lot were more friendly now, and I suppose I thought... ah. Well, I left with my organs in tact so I suppose that's probably true enough. Do you come out to check out all the strangers, or am I special?"
He added a playfully flirtatious tone to his question, one that was more to be ridiculous than honestly to flirt.
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 3:50 pm
Kahukura found herself watching his posture with growing curiosity and envy. How was it that he had more control of his frame than she did, and in a way that was stereotypically feminine without losing himself? She found herself subtly standing a little straighter, shifting her hip to the side just a touch and feeling utterly foolish for it.
"I heard you lot were more friendly..."
Ah, that was key, wasn't it? The assumption that they accepted her, but not him?
"They're not as bad as they were; just...traditional? ...Adjusting?" Her mother was certainly more accepting, but would she have been as happy if her children had been male? She'd been about to say as much when his questions left her speechless with a thick, dark flush on her cheeks.
"N-No. I was on my way home when I saw you. No one else looks like you here so it wasn't hard to guess." Still, the same questions that had been flitting around her mind wouldn't go away so easily, despite her trip up. "...Why are you still here? Night will be here soon." Even as they talked it subtly grew around them. Her eyes shifted around them, her body shifting a little closer to the tree to provide some sort of cover. "Were you waiting on someone?"
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 4:05 pm
On her way home? From where, exactly? Morain relaxed a bit more as she continued talking with him, relief bleeding into the rest of his mannerisms. She seemed to be about his age, give or take a few years, and though she was much taller than he was she held herself in a way as if she was trying to shrink herself.
It made that blush that darkened her grey cheeks especially cute - or, it would, if she didn't look so uncomfortable on top of it. But...ah. The million gold question.
"Now, don't laugh." He said slowly, sighing despondently. "But me and the dark aren't exactly... friendly. Besides, this is a ... new place for me! And with the fog... mm. How should I say this..." He bit his lip, then helplessly shrugged with his hands. "I could probably make it back to the earthling settlement, sure, but not before dark. My family isn't the best at navigating, you see."
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 4:18 pm
He certainly had a flare, didn't he? His theatrics were enough to draw a soft, awkward little smile out of her. "You're lucky a spirit didn't get you. They prey on fear." Her tone may have been lighthearted and meant to be a sort of joke, but her humor was odd at best.
To a yaeli the threat of a supernatural occurrence taking them from the physical world was a very real thing. Still, Kura was much more worried about him falling into one of countless hidden crevasses and drowning in a subterranean river. "...I can take you back if you want, but if you really don't like the dark..." Her eyes went to the right where she a safe house resided, but there was a hesitancy there. She didn't even like her own sister being there, so what of a stranger?
"...I know somewhere you can stay until morning."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 4:47 pm
[6/10] A spirit? Morain's mouth dropped into an 'o' of surprise, a hand dropping over his heart as if to settle himself from the terror of it all. A spirit? Was she serious? "Wait, I thought those weren't-" He started, only for it to slam him like a brick that she was joking.
"Oh." He said, intelligently, a startled laugh bubbling out of him, petering out as she made her offer. "You could?"
That sounded amazing, honestly - being led back to his settlement, hopefully before his parents had a chance to realize what stupid stunt he'd tried to pull. If he was VERY lucky, Siel had done something even stupider to catch their attention, and they'd be none the wiser. But...
Looking around, he realized just how dark it was getting, and fast. "I'd love that, but ... then you'd be going home in the dark. Is that okay? What with the spirit that prey on fear and what not? Maybe this 'place to stay' is better?"
His dads would kill him come morning, but Morain would be more upset with himself for making her head home all alone - even if she was a local. Something about her hesitant demeanor made the idea especially abhorrent to him.
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:03 am
"I'm used to it." While it wasn't inherently safe, the amount of times that the teen had returned in the wee hours of the morning after being hidden away with her treasures was countless. She might not have known much more than the basics of defending herself, but Kahukura could run and hide so she'd never worried over safety.
Still, it would be closer to morning before she even made it back and that might cause them to worry...At least if she came back from her secret place she would be close enough to home that it wouldn't be so strange.
Turning on her heel, Kahukura motioned with a nod of her head toward the dimly lit woods around them. "It's this way. Watch for the roots..." Even as she said it, the teen was lifting her foot to step around an upturned root.
"There are rules to staying, though. If you can't follow them I'll have to ask you to leave."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:09 pm
[7/10]
Used to it huh? Morain wrinkled his nose, looking over the other hybrid with a look that was dangerously close to concern as they set off to walk. He was grateful for the help, but despite her offering it freely he strangely felt as if he was annoying her - maybe that was just how she held her face though?
Heeding her warning, the boy stepped carefully over the protruding roots, exhaling in quiet jubilation each time he avoided one that, surely, would've twisted ankles if not avoided. He glanced up at her again though when she spoke, angling his head curiously. "Obviously." He drawled with a bright smile. "Don't worry, I'm not the rule breaker of my family. What are they?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:20 pm
Kahukura made slightly exaggerated movements to illuminate obstacles that might have otherwise been hidden by the fog. A slower tilt of her head around a low hanging patch of moss, lifting her knee closer to her chest to step around a large puddle, and other such things. It wasn't so much that it would have been comical per se, but she just...didn't know how much he knew to look out for.
Not much if he's still out here.
"So it's common in your family to break away on your own to areas where you might be harmed?" She couldn't help quirking a brow, a sarcastic tone tinging her murmured voice. "There's only two rules. The first is that you never tell anyone where it is and the second is that you take nothing. Everything is to be just as it was when you arrived."
On that note, Kahukura pushed past a few knotted stones to reveal a thick tree with roots thicker than a Limbara. They crept along the ground like a spider's legs and the tree itself spiraled toward the sky as if it were possessed. Still, amid the solid, gnarly branches was a modest little tree house. Along the side of the tree was a vine with knots forged at enough intervals to help one climb.
"Do you need help or...?"
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:27 pm
[8/10]
"Yes." Morain said without missing a beat, laughing softly at way she quirked her brow at him. It really was... absurdly normal. If he caught on to her helpfully pointing out the dangers, he made no show of it, and simply followed her lead, grasping his skirts in his hands when he needed to tug them up to get a better footing. "Simple enough. Then again, I doubt I could find it again even if I wanted to." He remarked dryly.
The actual treehouse though was ... delightful, and his expression lit up upon seeing it. "Oh uh... no! But um. You should go ahead. First, I mean." The better to watch how she climbed this thing, after all.
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