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 Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 7:46 am
ready The first thing he ever heard was music. No, that wasn't entirely true. He had heard many things since he had grown up enough to care to listen. Yelling and cursing. Happiness. Water. His own muffled voice in the dark, just loud enough to make sure he was still there. But this music was the first thing that made him want to break out of his comfortable egg and see where it was coming from. So, he decided to do just that. It helped that his egg wasn't all that comfortable anymore.
He began to push at his prison soon after the sounds began. Those initial taps were far too hesitant. The shell was stronger than he'd thought, though to be honest, he hadn't actually thought much about how strong it would be at all. It was his first quandary. An obstacle to overcome. He liked obstacles, all of a sudden. He pushed harder, he chomped and he kicked, and eventually something moved and he felt a lot less cramped. He opened his eyes, but they remained at a squint. Too bright. The music stopped.
There were voices. Her voice and the other one, the deeper one that laughed more than she did. He pushed against the crack he had made, taking his first breath of the outside as his nose met the open air. It was cold. He flicked his tongue, dragging it across something salty and warm. There was a burst of glee, mirth, joy in response. The drakein felt it too, though he couldn't have said how or why. Out. He wanted out. Now. He jerked sharply upward, the top of his head finding another warm, grasping thing. What! He cried out and kicked once, as hard as he could, against the inside of his shell. Nothing happened.
He took a deep breath of that cold air and kicked again and again and again. So many kicks. He could have sworn he shouted again, but this time no one replied. It was just him and his egg. For such a long time it had kept him warm and secure, but now it was his mortal enemy.
The boy spoke again and he calmed the barest fraction, enough to gather his thoughts and strength and push away from his broken egg, towards her. Yes, he still liked obstacles, but they were very, very tiring. He needed to get to her now. Not a drakein, but the one who would protect him. He had never been able to smell her before, but he did now. He took a couple of huffs of her long, unbound hair and dug his claws into the hem of her shirt, committing her scent to his memory as he began to drift away. He saw flashes of a world he could have never imagined in the egg, a place full of people with wings and bright, curving horns, and skin as dark as hers. He saw a war brewing underneath all of the false courtesy and politeness. He knew which side he was on. Thren fell asleep to the feel of her fingers running over his skin and the sound of her voice murmuring his name.eanah's pov
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Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 10:58 pm
stifling boredomtaming | kugel | fail
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2013 7:12 am
distractions "I honestly don't know why you're so keen on getting my help," Leyn said, stretching his pale cloak over a large rock at the edge of camp. While washing-quality water was easy enough to replicate once they had some to start with, neither Leyn nor Eanah had the patience or wished to expend the energy to dry their clothing using magical means. This rock had seen plenty of use since they'd arrived, and it would continue to do so well into the future.
Once his cloak was laid out to his unspoken specifications, Leyn finally looked up at his companion, pulling at the strip of cloth that held back his hair before hastily gathering and retying it. "You're a Kiandri. Lightning should come as naturally to you as breathing. I doubt there's a thing I could teach you that you haven't already figured out."
"There is always more to learn from two-legged weaklings," Thren replied, chuckling gruffly at Leyn's dry glare. "I don't know much anyway. Biting and scratching are still easier than..." The khehora concentrated, sending a wave of electricity arcing over his skin. "Close magic is useless anyway. I am too small to win against dragons who get that near."
"You did all right against those Gaili. You know... when we..."
"That was lucky. I was surrounded by idiots."
Leyn didn't comment, knowing that two of those idiots Thren was referring to were himself and Eanah. He couldn't pretend to understand why things in that cave had gone the way they had, and although he tried not to think about it, it was all he could think about. At least this time she was still talking to him. She was friendly, even. He would give her time to work through her feelings. He wouldn't pry. He would...
The mage was shocked out of his thoughts by the sharp thwap of Thren's tail against his back.
"Soudana's puckered—"
The khehora clicked his tongue. "Teach me something, moonbrain. It will help you have an empty head too."
Normally, Leyn wouldn't have let Thren get away with saying such things without a scathing retort, but in this instance, the lizard's words provoked more thought than any desire to mock. What Thren said was true. They could both use the distraction.
"All right. Here. Sit down." The Oblivionite quickly pressed his palms into the muscles of Thren's neck and shoulders as he sat, forcing the khehora to straighten up and earning a surprised honk from the beast.
"If you magic is anything like mine... like Eanah's... then it's not some obvious source you tap that lets you fire off an infinite number of electric projectiles. It runs throughout you, like it did when you made it course across your skin just now. You need to learn to focus, and that's where meditation comes in. Once you understand focus, I'll teach you all about projectiles."
Thren thought on this, and as he did, he forgot his surroundings and began to slouch.
"Sit up straight. Lesson one. It will help, believe me."
With a grunt and a sigh, the khehora did as he was told.
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Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2013 7:23 am
literate "Thren."
The khehora kept his head lowered close to the book on the ground in front of him. He had been successfully ignoring the giddy Oblivionite standing at his side as best as he could, but it was rather difficult to continue doing so once Leyn began calling his name.
"Thren."
"What?"
"Eanah is having a baby."
"Yes." He had learned of the existence of the child the moment she had. He'd experienced her fear and doubt through their bond, and although one might have assumed he would have been rendered jealous or upset by the news, the khehora was quite possibly even more ecstatic than the baby's father. But there was a time and a place for celebrations and silliness, and that time was not when he was trying to read. To be honest, that was probably the only time he didn't embrace such behavior. Thren tilted his head, orange eyes narrowed to slits. "Just the one?"
Leyn deflated slightly, the sting of confusion pricking his safe, warm bubble of endorphins. "Yes... I believe so? Although..." He grinned and prodded Thren amiably in the ribs. "I suppose it could be twins!"
The khehora sighed. Normally the man was so... intelligent. They remained silent for a blissful moment, the Sanctuary courtyard bustling around them. Thren lowered his head once more, returning to his book.
"You were making fun of me, weren't you."
"A little."
"Well, I..."
"I'm trying to read." His tone might have been a bit harsher than he'd intended. "Sorry." Thren raised a claw to flip the book shut. "I am also excited, but we have the rest of our lives to be excited. I only have until the baby arrives to learn how to read."
Leyn folded his arms, unfolding them restlessly before he spoke. "Why?"
Thren shook his head. The entire notion was idiotic. He was not going to share.
"You... want to read to him, don't you?" What a time for him to regain his reasoning skills. The Oblivionite's voice was caught somewhere between amusement, delight, and wonder, but all Thren heard was mockery. His wings billowed as he shifted and resettled, thwapping Leyn's smaller ones.
"Now you're making fun of me."
"I was doing no such thing. I happen to think you're being very practical."
"And... cute."
"Adorable."
Thren snorted in derision, a thin burst of lightning arcing toward the book and setting the edge of its cover alight. Leyn shuffled closer to the fire, lifting his robes up around his shins and stomping out the tiny blaze. Once it was safe from being reduced to smoldering ash, the Oblivionite's third eye squinted down at the tome's cover.
"I can tell you very definitively that although... The Invocation of Andalwyn's Tesseract: A Study in Parallel Magicks might put the baby to sleep at night, it is probably not the simplest book for a novice to decipher."
The kiandri nodded shallowly. He knew that. But it was more difficult than he had anticipated for a mostly grown khehora to sneak into a library.
"Do you have a better one?" He wasn't going to ask for help, so it was a good thing Leyn seemed inclined to give it, even if he was entirely too pleased about it all.
"As a matter of fact, my friend, I do."
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Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2013 1:04 pm
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