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 Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 12:55 pm
Rambunctious Ramblings
[Solo] The Hatching
Words: 760 
A sweet soft voice lay on the other side of the shell. Sometimes it was joined by a loud one, but always the sweet soothing tone was there. Sometimes large sounds, scary sounds could be hear, surges of power that made the egg quake, but the voice would croon and the fear would leave. Soon the life that grew inside the egg began to notice other voices; nearby ones. She could feel the bump of another shell against hers, hear the peeping inside. These were... siblings? Family yes that was the word! One peeper was irritating though; shrill and very vocal. She preferred the softer chime to her left more; it was soothing like … like mothers! The soft soothing voice was Mother’s! Words, knowledge, came from that voice. The loud one also spoke and sometimes words and knowledge came from that voice. That was Father.
Soon the shell became too confining, too small and she wished to leave. She wanted to see this world those voices told her about, see what lay behind those voices. Finally the time came. Though it came to the soft peeper first; her sister. Her sister was writhing in her egg, thrashing about until she could finally get her small hardened snout to tap against the shell. At the sound of the tapping, the voices came, quickly, happily, murmuring words of encouragement. Hearing the words, the excitement she decided she had to do it too! Follow her sister, break free of the egg! She tried to break out, but her shell much too hard… for now anyways. She listened eagerly as she rested, heard voices and finally the sound of a shell breaking... not hers, but the others. With the shell down, her sisters soft voice came across much clearer and she knew she liked this one; just gently chirping, no loud screeches. The voices of her parents were joined by others, louder ones, strange ones. She rocked back and forth in her egg, knowing the shell was too hard but wanting out anyways! What were those new voices? What did they look like?
Her egg rocked violently, rolling out of the nest to bump into the tail of her father. He chuckled and nosed the egg, giving a croon.
“Come on little one. You can do it.”
She tried, oh how she tried! But she couldn’t get the shell to break. That voice called to her, she wanted to answer! But the shell that had always kept her safe and comfortable now was her cage.
She felt something tapping on the outside, her father’s claws gently tapping and weakening the shell to make it easier for her. She doubled her efforts, straining and butting against the weakened shell. Finally it broke and a chip fell away. She poked her nose out to get a smell of the air.
So many smells swarmed over her. While she waited, taking a small rest, she tried to make sense of the scents swarming over her. Her father was curled about her egg, while her mother finished cleaning off her sister. Then the oldest hatchling stumbled slowly towards her egg, giving a small quiet peep.
At her sister’s voice, she began her trials anew until late that evening, with a lot of help from her father, she rolled out onto the floor of the lair. She saw for the first time her parents, her sister, herself. Huge and looming, her father was dark brown almost black scales with thin red bands across his body. From him came that loud and boisterous voice, a scent of fire. Father, she thought and gave a happy chirp, her first sound since she’d started to hatch.
A smaller slimmer shape, but still large and looming to her, was a dark blue and green khehora, with wavy bands of dark blue across her scales. Mother! Her voice was much louder out here, but still soothing, still comforting. She wriggled about to lay on her stomach and looked at the sister who was sitting near her. A burnished red with dark blue waves, she smelled of fire like father did.
“What shall we call them?” The loud voice, father’s voice, asked her mother as she bent to nuzzle her newly hatched child.
“Thathani for the eldest, Skorga for the newest.” She said with a gentle smile as she moved to wrap both of them up in her tail.
Skorga?… that is… me! Yes! My name! She gave a happy wriggle and slid over to curl up against her sister. It’s a good name.
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Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2014 6:47 pm
Rambunctious Ramblings
[Solo] The Plotting Begins
Words: 725 Skorga grew slowly, her body always slightly smaller than her brother and sister. But her mind grew faster than both of theirs. While the brat (as she thought of her brother) Amehlo cried and was loud and demanded all the attention, she slunk around the edges, taking pleasure in sneaking up on him and making him squeal. She could also get her older sister Thathani to join in. Thathani remained the quiet one, the sweet one. She would share her food when Skorga got punished for scaring the brat, she’d always be there for a cuddle and a willing participant in Skorga’s plots.
Amehlo seemed to think that since he had hatched last and was the only boy that he was special... Skorga thought it her duty to disprove this! He also squealed so nicely! Though is she made him scream mother got mad... She was slightly disappointed by that actually. Her mother’s soft soothing voice that she’d heard in the egg was often growling at her now. Like this afternoon, when she’d pounced upon him and gotten a good bite in.
He’s squealed and screamed like she was killing him; the stupid drama queen! Mother had swatted her! Swatted her! Skorga growled and hissed to herself… it was just playing! Why did mother always take his side? She had sulkily left the lair to sit outside. Her bright eyes watched the land about the lair as she sought to think up ways to get back at the crybaby.
They lived in a burrow beneath an old and large tree. Its trunk was so big her father couldn’t wrap himself around it. She loved it. Her magic was of plants, and this tree practically radiated a sense of time and power. I’ll be just as strong one day! Other’s mocked the power of the Ysali, claimed it was the weakest. And yet all life depended upon the green life. Green life, over which her power lay, was intertwined within the earth; seeds buried deep, healthy energy that ran from plant to soil and earth to plant. The great forests that covered this land (and other’s her father had told her) was all plant magic; green life. And it was a Ysali who had cast that spell so long ago to create the Elkun. A Ysali. Not some Aeduan or Diabi. But Ysali. And that spell was weaved in a way Skorga could not beginning to understand.
She was but a child, newly hatched and couldn’t yet speak the tongue of her parents… but she could watch, she could listen. Things were beginning to make sense to her. She was not quite like the other Orakoi in her nest or the nests surrounding them. She thought. She sat and listened. She wanted to know more; why did this happen, what makes people do things, how did this happen, how was magic wielded? It was at this young age that she would watch and learn when other’s played. Her mind was far ahead of her body.. something she figured she needed to work on if she was ever going to be able to get back at the loud wimpy crybaby….
Which brought her back to today, sitting beneath the tree, dappled sunlight hitting the dark earth around her. She needed to… know more. Know how to move quieter if she was going to be able to lay traps and catch her stupid brother without her mother knowing. He was simple, stupid, and direct. He wanted food, the best sleeping spot, and to play and win at all those fake fights. Skorga wondered if there was a way to ruin those for him… take those away. That would be best! Perhaps cuddling up to father while her sister (who her mother did not suspect of any wrong doing) laid the traps. Yes, she thought with a pleased hiss as her eyes narrowed and gleamed eagerly. She would be where he could not blame her for anything. If she was the culprit.. then the best excuse… alibi… would be to not do it at all! And maybe… maybe later, when the other Orakoi grew older. She could pit them against her larger brother. If he wanted to be loud and arrogant and demand all the attention.. then she would just have to do her best to ruin his day!
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 12:16 pm
Rambunctious Ramblings
[Solo] Secrets of Hunting
Words 1635 Skorga was up to what was now her favorite hobby; spying. She’d always been on the lookout for ways to get at the stupid thing that was her brother, so it was only a short step from there to actively sneaking and spying just to find out information.
It had all started with whispers. As a young Orakoi people would often talk in her presence without bothering to hide anything: she was just a child after all! But then she began to notice that sometimes… they stopped talking or changed topics when she or another youngster approached. What were the adults whispering about? She would wonder as she stared down at them from her perches in the trees. An excellent spot to watch but, a she found out, she couldn’t hear very much! Now driven by curiosity more than trying to find ways to get back at her brother, Skorga began to try and sneak up on those whispered conversations.
At first they noticed her easily, since she still made noise as she moved, still had a scent about her. Her coloring was fine and helped her to camouflage... but was not enough. But the adults, to her surprise, encouraged this. Her father, noticing that she was now not using her little brother as a toy as much since she started trying to sneak up on others, decided that this was a very constructive new path. So he gave her a task, not only was she to keep up this, but if she could take an item from each of her older clutch siblings, he’d give her a reward. Now Skorga was very happy about this… though puzzled.
“Why?” She asked, her bright eyes looking up at him as her tail twitched. She could speak now, though only in small words… mostly: no, why, maybe, and mine. She could understand a great deal more. She was quite proud of her fast learning, her little brother was still in cheeping mode, as she thought of it. Her sister could speak more but that was fine.
Keleth, her father thought for a moment. This was an important talk he felt. And… technically he was asking her to steal which is something he and Dona had been trying very hard to teach not to do.
“Because this is practice for hunting. To hunt one must be quiet, quick, and be able to tell if you’ve been spotted or not. If you misjudge something in a hunt, it can mean you lose that prey, get hurt, or even die depending on how bad things get.” He looked at Skorga and raised an eye ridge. “Do you understand?”
She nodded then came up with another question. He was asking her to take stuff….
“Steal?”
“No. The items I want to you take are things I will give them to hold on to just for this purpose… so it’s not stealing.” He sighed; his bright green daughter had some bad habits that was for sure, but she wasn’t a bad girl, he was sure of it! “Do not take things from others Skorga. Especially not family or clan. We are all one group, and we need to be able to trust each other to work and live together peacefully. Stealing... breaks bonds, shatters trust.”
She gave another nod. That made sense. Mother didn’t trust her too much around her stupid brother; maybe I took too much from him when we were Orakoi? But, she thought with a small hiss, he’d taken her stuff too! Keleth watched as his daughter thought, worried about the hiss and the bright look in her eyes. She always got that look when thinking about Amehlo…. What was she plotting now?
“Fun.” She said, looking up at him with a happy grin before twining between his legs, wanting nuzzles. He chuckled and gave in. She was a good kid, despite what Dona said. Scheming or not, it was obvious she had a playful, sweet side!
The next week Skorga had fun pouncing on people’s tails, and teaching herself to move silently. She watched an older sister from one of her father’s earlier clutches, Sifiso. The Diabi female was built much like her; long and slim. She was someone Skorga liked; quiet, elegant, someone other’s respected. Sifiso was an excellent model, she thought, a smart person, not one of those silly bullies who think muscle is everything.
Skorga saw how she moved, with silence, with quick and efficient movements. No energy wasted, tail held slightly off the ground, slowly weaving, no fast movements. That, Skorga decided, was how she needed to walk; a beautiful stately pace where people could see her, and a silent stalk where they couldn’t.
As she taught herself, she kept an eye out for the items her father had mentioned; stones wrapped in a thong. Each one slightly different than the rest, and all held in a different place. Her father had three clutches before hers; two from the first clutch and one from the third still lived with the clan, the others had all left for other clans or to go exploring. From the first clutch, Sifiso had hers wrapped about the tail tip while Kosan, Sifiso’s older clutch brother, had his wrapped about a wing arm. Iftu, from the last clutch before Skorga’s, had hers worn as a necklace, draped elegantly among the other delicate pieces she bedecked herself with.
Skorga, after watching for a while, realized that she needed to do more than sneak and watch to get them. She had to get to know her older clutch sibs, had to know their styles, their schedules if she was ever to get the stones. Perhaps it is like this with hunting, she thought to herself. Just sneaking won’t get me food... I have to know what is edible, what is easier to catch, how to catch something….
With this in mind she approached her closest sibling; Iftu. Iftu, she knew from her stalking and listening, was much like her father… if she believed what others said. She knew her sister had a lot of lovers, though Father didn’t…. at least not now. She couldn’t call them mates; they never had any clutches so they were something else. She had females in her lair as well, not just males. From watching her, Skorga got a large education about romance, flirting, and all sorts of adult things. She’d been embarrassed the first few times she’d wandered in, but had gotten used to it and figured it was just natural; after all, that’s how eggs were made! Nothing to be embarrassed about.
Iftu was alone the day Skorga approached her openly. Lounging in a sensual way that was lost on the young Skorga, she gave a chuckled when she saw the green Khehora.
“Oh, so the small sneak has decided to come out openly. What can I do for you lil sis?” She crooned in a husky voice. She was, Skorga noticed, arrayed against white and gold pile of pillows and blankets, arranged to perfectly show off her unmarred blue and pale pink scales. This must be another way to present yourself; Sifiso went with haughty elegance, Iftu goes for sexy elegance.
I will have to remember this.
“Talk.” She said as she walked in and looked around. Her sister's lair was full of knickknacks; probably gifts from suitors, Skorga thought. Very comfortable and lavish it was.
“About what, lil darling?” Iftu said, as she shifted to make space on her comfortable perch for Skorga.
“Knowing.” Came the quiet answer as Skorag sat down and curled up against the warm side of her sister.
“Knowing of what?” Iftu asked curiously, she knew Skorga liked to watch, and had figured the girl was shy… until she’d so brazenly went about attacking tails and practicing pouncing on others. Shy people didn’t do that!
“You.” She looked up with sharp eyes. “I hunt!”
“You’re.. hunting me?” Iftu said with a deep throaty chuckle. “How cute!”
Skorga shook her head. “Important!” She said with a sniff as she batted at the tail that came over to wrap about her.
“Oh? Am I so important then?” Iftu teased.
Skorga gave the question a serious consideration; “Yes.” She said simply. This was her sister, family was important.. well… non irritating family at least. And learning was important too! Learning to hunt people, hunt their secrets was very important. Also learning how to present herself like Iftu would be useful in the future… she’d seen that romance or desire was a very useful power to have over others.
“So cute!” Iftu squealed and attacked Skorga with nuzzles.
Skorga spent the next few weeks with Iftu, learning how to keep oneself clean, looking her best, and how to present herself in such a way to set off her looks… which were not much right now, not as a young Orakoir with gangly limbs. But for the future. Skorga, during this time, waited until Iftu let down her guard, then stole the stone from around her neck one night while she slept. She handed it to her father how looked at her and raised an eyebrow in question.
“Patience. Very important.” She said to the unspoken question. He gave a grin and nuzzled her in approval.
“It is indeed Skorga.” Her sister and brother, having seen the tasks Skorga had gotten had wanted them as well.
Amehlo had failed miserably so far in Skorga’s opinion. He’d charged in without watching first, obvious, and loud. And he’d gone for Kosan of all people! The loudest brute of the clan!
Thathani had fared a bit better… but she was having difficulty approaching Sifiso. Skorga figured she’d help her sister, it was only right after all. You had partners and in a hunt you helped each other!
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 5:57 pm
Rambunctious Ramblings
[Solo] Secrets of Hunting part 2
Words 1034 She approached her sister Thathani the next afternoon, after her now daily chat with Iftu (who had been vastly amused that Skorga had waited so long to get the pendant).
“Wanna help?” She asked with a nuzzle. Thathani gave a sigh and slumped into Skorga.
“Scared.”
“Oh, Sifiso?”
She nodded. Skorga looked at her idol: the beautiful black and purple elegance sitting on a rock in the sun, staring out at the bubbling waters of the river.
“Why?” She asked.
“Scary…. Too far…” She said in her soft hesitant voice as she looked away. Skorga paused, too far? Oh! Too far from what? Then it occurred to her. Too far away as in it was too difficult to approach her! She nodded and gave a comforting croon. It would be difficult to approach her idol, but she’d do it!
“Come, we learn.”
“Learn?”
“About Sifiso. Learn to hunt.” Skorga said confidently. “Come Thani, is okay.”
Thathani crept along behind Skorga, a larger silent red shadow to Skorga’s slim dark green shape. Sifiso’s head turned and her bright red eyes pinned the girls in place. Skorga shook it off and walked forward slowly, doing her best to try and imitate Sifiso’s own stalk.
“Blatantly coming to get the pendant defeats the purpose of this task.” Her harsh deep voice hissed out. Skorga cocked her head as Thathani slunk closer and hid behind her.
“Not that. Come to talk. To learn.”
Sifiso looked at them and then turned back to her contemplation. “Why?”
Skorga sat down and gave her sister a smile. “No good stealing. Gotta hunt. To hunt… must learn about prey. Fail otherwise.”
“And I am your prey?”
“Yes.” Skorga said.
“Foolish.” Came the response.
Skorga thought she heard some amusement in that dry hissing voice, Thathani heard only scorn and quickly fled. Skorga sighed and shook her head before wriggling her hind quarters to leap up on the rock with Sifiso.
“Maybe.. but important.” She spent the rest of the afternoon either napping by Sifiso’s side or watching silently.
The next few days were the same: silence. Walking behind Sifiso trying to learn that walk (much to the amusement of those who saw her), sometimes talking, mostly listening, and then ending the day with a chat and play session with Iftu and her father.
Thathani eventually got over her fear of the silent adult but she didn’t quite understand what Skorga was doing. She asked why an evening after another day with only brusque comments and silence.
“To learn about her. Need to learn about prey. How else you know when and where to strike?” Was Skorga’s response. “Watch prey, stalk them... then pounce at right time!” Thathani nodded as she understood finally.
Skorga was doing more than just learning about Sifiso’s habits.. she was getting lessons! Those short terse sentences of Sifiso’s were puzzles to figure out; they had something pertaining to knowledge, mostly about hunting, sometimes about plants but mostly about magic or people. Sifiso was a quiet person, quite shy herself, though she held and aloof image she was quite lonely! Skorga had seen this and it raised her opinion of her elder half-sister. No one knew... which meant Sifiso had superb acting skills! And she had a lot of knowledge…. Though it was sad she couldn’t use those hints about shadow magic as her’s was plant magic. After a week of fun, Skorga told Thathani it was time to act. Sometimes you had to sneak, sometimes you had to do a frontal assault, Skorga decided. With Iftu, she could get her to lower the defenses… Sifiso was an impregnable fortress though! It was (as she and Thathani had discovered) simply impossible to sneak up on her anywhere at any time. So they hatched a plan…. They’d act just as normal… one would distract her while the other stole it from her tail.
Skorga felt she would be best as the decoy, as her sister just want up to keeping her thoughts hidden and not giving the game away. Everything was going to plan, Skorga held Sifiso’s attention with questions on magic while Thathani crept silently. Then their plans fell apart: Amehlo charged out and ran into Thathani, giving her a good hard shove before trying to bite Sifiso’s tail and the pendant. The tail came up out of the ay and the older Khehora turned like lightning to glare down at the large Orakoir.
“How dare you?!” Sifiso hissed. “You do not hurt your siblings when trying to hunt!” She had known Thani as well as the brother hiding in the bushes and had figured that they were going to have three people all at once to get the pendant. She hadn’t expected him to go for the sister then the tail.
Skorga was growling, her eyes narrowed as she advanced, tail lashing. Oh she was going to hurt that idiot! How dare he push Thani out of the way?! How dare he ruin her plan!
Sifiso put a claw gently on her tail. “Do not. I will deal with it. This way your mother can’t say it’s your fault.” With that she grabbed the trembling Amehlo in her jaws and stalked away after making sure Thathani was unhurt. Neither of the girls questioned how she knew that Skorga and her borther hadn't been getting along and that the mother was mostly blaming Skorga; she was Sifiso, she knew all.
“Idiot.” Skorga muttered. Thani looked at her with big eyes. “Not you. Him.”
She nodded. “Ma can’t blame you though…Is all his fault this time.” She said in her sweet soft voice. Skorga gave a growl.
“Won’t change. Momma prefer him. I’m sneaky. She no like sneaky.” Thathani gave her a comforting nuzzle.
“You fun. You smart. She come around. Da love you.” Skorga nodded, father did love her… he didn’t mind she liked to sneak around.
“Momma think it wrong to sneak and watch.”
“You be good hunter… I know. It all be okay and you show her one day.” Thani said with a smile. “Let’s go see Iftu.” She said, she had liked Iftu from the start, it was easy to approach the warm sensual Khehora female. Skorga nodded after a sigh. She figured she needed to do the next hunt properly; sneaky. Show that stupid brother she could get the pendant he couldn’t from Kosan. She’d leave Sifiso’s till last…. And then after this: she’d plot her revenge… Maybe Sifiso would have some good ideas for pranks and plotting….
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 6:03 pm
Rambunctious Ramblings
[Solo] Secrets of Hunting part 3
Words 1294 Skorga and Thathani were with Iftu telling her about that afternoon when Sifiso walked in. She looked around at the extravagant and very feminine lair ad sniffed.
“You two should head home now, your parent’s wish to speak with you.” She told the Orakoir. Iftu gave them a shooing motion.
“No sense in keeping them waiting I guess.” She said with a lazy smile. “I shall see if I can’t get our lovely Sifiso to unwind!”
“Ha…. Funny.” Came the dry comment. “I helped raised you twerp… your tricks don’t work on me.”
Skorga and Thani trotted off, wanting to stay behind and watch the two formidable women spar verbally but also wanting to see if their brother had been punished. Skorga was going to be very put out if he got off lightly. She’d got punished when she merely nipped the blighter, while he’d charged Thani!
Keleth, their father, sat at the opening between the roots of the great tree where their lair was located and looked very cross. He gave them a smile to let them know it wasn’t at them though. Dona, their mother looked upset, while Amehlo sat sulking in a corner.
“We need to talk.” Keleth said to all of the Orakoir. “The fighting was fine when you were Orakoi but now you are growing up and attacking each other will no longer be tolerated.”
Dona shifted and he gave a low rumble. “Don’t defend him Dona. He charged at Thathani to get at a prize. If they were adults and hunting this way it would not be tolerated, it would mean that the prey would escape leaving them all hungry, one or both could be hurt fighting like that and if they go too far they may end up maiming each other. This behavior needs to be nipped in the bud.” He looked at Skorga. “I know you don’t like your brother, I don’t know why and frankly I’m pass caring. But you need to not attack him anymore, understood?” Skorga nodded. She wouldn’t attack him… just make him miserable.
“Amehlo, you need to not bully your sisters, you may be bigger but that does not mean you are better.”
Amehlo looked over and sulkily hissed, “It’s her fault.”
Kelth looked at him and snorted. “You charged Thani, how is that Skorga’s fault? You need to grow up some son. Stop blaming all your problems on your sister.” Dona stirred and Keleth glared at her. “And you, dear, need to stop playing favorites. Playing favorites seeds distrust among the children, makes them fight for your attention. Makes them hate each other. One must love all your children, equally.”
She glared right back at him. “Skorga is obviously bullying---“
He sighed. Loudly. “What? Teasing him? Nibbling his tail? Pulling pranks? All the same things she does to Thani?”
“But it hurts him!”
“Oh really? You mean it makes him scream for you? Since he knows that’s a sure way to get your attention. Please dear; I’ve raised three clutches and I know bullying from pranking when I see it. She just likes to make him squeal is all. ” Keleth sighed and shook his head. “I know you love him… and that you don’t like how Skorga is always watching… But she’s just trying to learn! Do realize that while you pamper him and always find fault with her, you are driving her away. You’re making her not love you, not care about what you think, you hurt her every time you refuse to listen to her side.”
“You always side with her!”
“Because I have to.”
“What?”
“You never even listen to her, dear. Where is the love you showed when she first hatched? The care and kindness?”
Dona shifted and looked away. She had been favoring Amehlo, she knew it. But Skorga’s watching silently just unnerved her! She’d always been quiet, unnervingly so, always watching. It drove one mad!
“Momma hate me?” Came the quiet words from Skorga. She was hurting, this was more painful than she thought. She’d figured that mother hadn’t loved her, but to have it confirmed…
“No. I just...” Dona sighed and looked at Skorga. “It’s unnerving how fast you grew up, always watching, always quieter than normal. It’s like I don’t really know you anymore.” That and the too sharp eyes bugged her.
Thani pipped up for the first time.
“So you care for Amehlo cause he’s normal?” She watched all of this with wide eyes. “Me too? Skorga just different so you …. Not sure? Not know what to do?”
“Pretty much.” Came the muttered words. Dona did not like where this was going. Why was she the bad person now?
Thani nodded and walked over to Amehlo. “Skorga not like you cause momma love you more. And you squeak nicely. Why you not like her?”
Keleth watched all this with a smile. His eldest of this nest was shy and quiet but she was as smart as Skorga, and a lot more perceptive when it came to matters of the heart. Probably Iftu’s influence there, he thought.
Amehlo growled and muttered “She mean.. think she too smart. Think I dumb.”
“Cause it’s true.” Came Skorga’s retort. Thani glared at her.
“Hush you. He no dumb.. just think different is all!” Skorga stopped.
“Think different?”
“Him boy… what you expect?”
“Hmmmm….” Skorga thought on this. Was that why he was so different? Or was Thani trying to smooth things over? Thani turned back to the Amehlo.
“Skorga cunning, more than us. She watch and learn when we just play. But we all smart, we all equal, yes?”
Amhlo thought on this too: Skorga was cunning, he knew that from all the tricks she played. But.. cunning and smart? They were.. different?
“Make sense. We equal.”
Skorga thought about it and came to a conclusion. “We fine…. So long as momma not hate me. Could use someone bigger to help in plots.”
“Plots?” Amehlo asked.
“Yeah, hunting plots. Gotta get the last pendants.”
Amehlo looked slightly happier and finally uncurled from a ball.
“I help? You need my help?”
“Yeah.” No. But if it made him not pout and sulk and made momma love her she’d put up with him.
Dona watched all this with a strange expression. This was not how she thought this would go… all this was... odd.
“Children,” Keleth spoke up softly, “are far more aware and intelligent than you think Dona. They can understand stuff that we think is too difficult for them. They are also more willing to forgive and forget. Now, all of you, it’s time for bed. You can plot tomorrow.” He gave them all a nuzzle as he rolled them off to their small chamber where they slept.
Amehlo was muttering happily to himself, things about him being needed and wanted. Skorga realized that he’d been jealous; he’d wanted in. Just as other had played favorites, so had she. She’d only ever really plotted and played with Thathani, not him… No wonder he was so upset with her! Look at how upset and mean she’d been to him over mother….
This is useful, she thought, I can use this to get things done. He’s got more muscle than me… and people won’t think of us working together so we can get Kosan’s pendant easily. Having another’s claws there for her plans, one who had more strength, opened up more possibilities. Fascinating, I will have to include him more often, she thought, and keep more of my plots and thoughts quiet to not make momma nervous. You’d think she’d be happy her daughter was so cunning and smart!
She curled up and fell asleep plotting what to do to get the last pendants.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 8:54 am
Rambunctious Ramblings [Mara ORP] Soudulian Wars
Skorga leaves her family to go and see what all the fuss is about and ends up getting dragged into the final battle!
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Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 9:02 am
Rambunctious Ramblings [PRP] After the Battle with Merikh
Skorga talks with Merikh and discovers he thinks that not being on the front lines makes you a coward. Creating weapons to fight for you makes you a coward. She thinks him a fool. What an idiot! The Mara would have been perfect tools; kill your enemy and save your people from dying in the war. Brilliant! She decides to avoid him.. he'll probably go do something really foolish to prove his pride and courage and die in some stupid way. Igone she likes, he seems smart.
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Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 9:04 am
Rambunctious Ramblings [PRP] Intel with Natzathil
ONGOING
Skorga gets lost trying to find her way home and runs into another Oblivionite.
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Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 4:58 pm
Rambunctious Ramblings
[Teaching Solo] The First Lesson with the Shaman
Words: 944 Skorga sat with a bunch of other orakoir’s and watched the Shaman. Today was her first official time learning magic… not that she hadn’t spied on others and learned a bit from her sister Sifiso but it felt a bit more official and important learning from the Shaman directly. Even if it was a plan that her mother had devised to keep her out of trouble and away from the home while her clutch siblings recovered from a cold!
Skorga’s wandering out into the wilderness and running into the Oblivionite and Mara army had scared both her parents.. and now they wanted her to get her training underway. If she was to go out and explore, she need to have some way to protect herself! Which is smart and I should have done that earlier, she thought to herself as she coiled her long tail about her feet and watched through narrow eyes the others. She was by far the smallest here, slimmest too. I will have to watch out for bullies, she thought, they like picking on those that look weaker. She smirked to herself at that thought. Oh please, do let them try! I’ll enjoy tormenting them as payback. She gave a soft hiss in amusement and transferred her attention to the Shaman as the elder Ysali began to speak. She was old and withered, her horns gnarly and twisted; vine and moss grew along her scales, making her look like part of the forest.
The voice was deep and held a power in it belying the weakness of the body.
“Pay attention now children. We will be starting…. I spy a few new faces, you I will take aside after I set the older Orakoir to tasks. Nirven, I want you to practice manipulating vines, see if you can weave a blanket out of them. Mishna, you will be doing the same, but with shadow. This will help your control as you tend to get distracted too easily or use your power in short bursts. Cerlka and Lianstra, I want you to face off against each other, take turns defending and attacking. Go slowly for now, speed can come later. Your control is excellent, but now you need to think on how to use your magic to greater effect, think of ways to get through defenses and fend off attacks. I will keep and eye on you and gave advice and critiques as needed.” She turned here sharp pale blue eyes to Skorga and two other’s that were fidgeting nearby.
“You three come over here.” She said as she stood up slowly and ponderously stalked off to the side as the older orakoir went about their tasks.
Skorga followed, picking out a spot to keep and eye on the entire group… it was interesting watching others.
“Introduce yourselves, and tell me which clutch you belong to.”
“I’m Frida!” The pale blue peisio orakoi with black waves along her haunches piped up.
“And I’m Skjalg, we’re from Ashildr and Thorir’s third clutch.” The broader and longer diabi boy growled in a nice deep voice. He was rather attractive in black, blue with pale white smoky markings along his body.
“Skorga, Dona and Keleth’s clutch.” Skorga said with a soft purr. “My clutch sister and brother will be along next week. They’ve caught something.”
“And I am Kormakr, you will be spending the mornings or afternoons with me for the next few months. The rest of the day is yours, but while you are under my tutelage, you will behave yourselves and obey my rules.” She gave all three of them an equally long stare. “No mischief, no using your magic to prank others, no trying to cause trouble or make others fail. To do that will endanger those around you. You are all young and have no control, nor do you know what damage you can cause. Understood?”
Skorga nodded. It was fair, she’d already practiced some, but that was always by herself since (mostly) she didn’t want others to mock her… but also so she didn’t hurt anything. The other girl shifted and nodded though her expression held mischief. The boy merely gave a serious nod. Well, at least I am not the focus of all the disapproving glares; Skorga thought with amusement, Frida looks like she’s a troublemaker like me! Just not as sneaky.
“Good. Now, first off… how to access your magic…” Kormakr began to speak on how to reach within, how to reach outside to other sources of power. After all three had proven they already could use their power (Skjalg was much more adept at it, though Skorga wasn’t that far behind) she moved on to the basics. How to move things with their power, summon them, control them. It was easier to manipulate what was already there, all three had practice with that since Khehora were born with magic, but to control the plants, shadows, or water was more difficult. To hold them in certain positions took a lot more effort than making a vine drop on a mara Skorga found out.
None of them could summon anything yet, though Skjalg almost summoned a shadow.
Skorga noticed as the afternoon wore on that Kormakr was managing to pay attention to all of her students… she missed nothing! And she managed to always be there with words of advice, coaching her students to think in different ways, use their magic in ways that were simple and effective, ways that weren’t always apparent. This will be very fun! She thought as she watched Kormakr demonstrate a spell to an older student. I will learn much from her!
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Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 5:54 pm
Rambunctious Ramblings
[Solo] Girl Trouble
Words: 1170 It was a year after her first lesson, and Skorga was well on her way to becoming skilled with her magic. She found she was better with plants than healing while her brother was the opposite, much to his chagrin. Skorga and Amehlo were getting along a lot better these days; she no longer thought of him as a brat, and he didn’t think of her as a mean sneaky bully. As they grew up and matured, minds almost keeping up with their bodies, Amehlo stopped being bratty, and in fact became very protective of his sisters. Skorga, after those first bumpy years, had become fond of him, finding her brother sweeter and less arrogant as he grew, she also stopped picking on people, figuring there was not much purpose in harmful or mean pranks... those she could save for getting even! Se still loved to learn secrets, to sneak about, lurk in shadows and startle people. Thathani remained sweet and shy… though she was ending up the largest of the three! Her element gave her great attack power… but she hated to harm things. So if someone tried picking on her… they ended up dealing with her clutch siblings in stead, both of which were more likely to get even.. .or, in Skorga’s case, give more than was dealt!
The group of five orakoir who had started lessons at the same time, Skorga and her siblings plus Firda and Skjalg, had become fast friends. They tended to run together, cause mischief, practice on each other and attempt to go hunting.
Skjalg tended to be the calming influence of the group, always bringing up the problems with whatever scheme Skorga or Frida came up with. And Skorga, watching him and Thani from above in her favorite tree perch, noticed something that made her unhappy. Thani was… interested in him. She knew her sister well enough to recognize the signs. That and she’d been giving some of those same signs herself!
She gave a soft hiss and lashed her tail. Drat… why did her sister have to fall for the same guy? They were not adults, but they were almost there and the opposite gender were becoming …interesting for her age group, no longer just play mates but maybe a bit more. Skorga had found it pretty amusing to watch the others, having already had talks about mating, the difference, etc. Iftu, their sister from an earlier clutch, was a very willing teacher! Skorga sighed and growled again. She didn’t want to come between them… much as she liked Skjalg (and he was getting more attractive all the time… Nice deep voice, look at those muscles, shoulders were getting nice and broad.. and the way he walked! Mm mm!) she also knew her sister had issues with self-confidence. Would her stepping between them cause her sister to get hurt? Should she .. just pretend not to notice?
Well… I’ll just let things happen, not like I have to clear the field, I can always wait... And it’s up to Skjalg anyways… I’ll just… tune down my flirting… and stop going for those walks with him. Yeah. Well.. maybe not give them up, just… not go as much. No reason why I have to stop enjoying my time with him…
Buggers. She thought. I should go talk with mother… maybe she’ll know what to do. Or father…. What did you do when you and your sister (older but more shy, and your best friend?) liked the same guy?
She jumped down and walked towards home; mother was probably there taking a nap at this time hopefully. Noticing her as she emerged fro t her hiding spot in the canopy, Skjalg gave an inquiring whistle, asking where she was going. She flipped a wing in response, motioning that she had something she needed to do. Thani cast her a grateful look before turning back to him.
Double drat, she thought, now Thani thinks I'm helping her.... What if I introduce her to more guys, ones who already like her? After all there is that Nirven who’s a year older and fully grown who’s got a crush on her… or Misha who’s only a few months older and also likes her…. Is that a bad thing for me to do? Toss a few guys at her so that she see's others like her and maybe.. fall for one of them? She wondered as she spotted her father. Maybe father will know… he used to be a player after all…
“Hey baby girl.” He said as she sidled over and curled about him demanding cuddles. “What are you up to? Did you ditch your gaggle of friends today?” He said in an amused voice as he obliged with nuzzles.
“Mmmm… sort of. Had some questions about boys.”
He stopped and blinked. “Ah…”
She hissed softly, amused; “We’ve been chatting with Iftu for several years now Da. I know the difference and what mating is! Not what I’ve got questions about.”
“Oh.. um… Well... at least I don’t have to have that chat with you. Always found it awkward…”
“You’ll get to chat with Amehlo though... he didn’t get taught like Thani and I. But… not the point Da! What do you do when you and your sister like the same boy?”
“…” He looked at her and saw she was serious. “Hrm… somehow that’s a worse question.”
She waited patiently while he thought. Keleth sighed and lay down, causing Skorga to squeak and slither out of the way.
“Well… to be honest there isn’t a good thing. I now Thani is shy... but you just giving up is… wrong. That means that the boy’s feelings aren’t taken into account. What if he likes you and not her? You leaving does not mean he’ll like her!”
Skorga crawled onto his back and curled up among his wings. “I thought that…. But feel .. bad if I take him and she gets hurt… what if I hadn’t tried and he’d have ended up with Thani?”
“Hrmm… then that means that his feelings for you were more than for her. Again, not good solution… How would you feel if you found out that the guy was aiming for Thani but decided on you only after she made it clear she didn’t want him?” He sighed. “Family is forever; mates can come and go though. Think it through, if you really like him, approach Thani and talk with her. Let her know you also like him… and that you don’t want her to give up on him, but instead both of you just… be yourselves and let the guy choose. No reason you can’t both be with him. If you both don’t mind that is. I had a few … friends like that. You are both young. Your feelings will change over time. Don’t get too attached to anyone right now… you aren’t fully grown, you’re still changing… what you love today you may find you hate next year.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 7:07 am
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 3:37 pm
Rambunctious Ramblings [Hunt] Lyru Fail
Well.. despite the miserable failure of my attempting to catch some farm animals to eat... At least I got one thing done today... Maybe Nirven will approach Thani now!
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 9:56 am
Rambunctious Ramblings
[Solo] Magic Practice
Words: 1440 Skorga and Skjalg were spending a lot more time together, and Thani was enjoying being popular and not upset to find her sister with him, so all was right in Skorga’s world… well… mostly right. Her magic and it not responding the way she wanted was the main issue right now. She was attempting to practice her magic and think of ways to use it in battle. Vines were useful for tripping and ensnaring... but her attempts to summon up vines with thorns was ... not working too well. She glared at the vines climbing about the tree, vines blooming with small thorns and bright vivid red roses that darkened to a deep purple along the edges.
“Pretty, but useless.” She muttered to herself. Roses! They didn’t have the thorns she needed! Thorns were there, but too small. They couldn’t penetrate through scales! Briars, she thought, I tried to summon briars and got roses… Maybe I should just carry around a bag of seeds and throw it then grow the plants inside it… then at least I know I will get what is in the seed! Not that she wanted to fight… she much preferred to slink away and avoid danger.
She was out in a small glade a quick flight away from the clan’s lairs; an area that was healthy, rich in nutrients, and no vines about that she could use. She was here to practice her magic, trying to summon different types of plants, use the seeds she’d brought with her and see if she could get it to grow strong and healthy and make it last. To see if she could get a plant to fruit and grow and still remain healthy and to try to come up with different ways to use her green magic in battle. She couldn’t rely upon the shaman for every idea; she needed to figure things out on her own!
She sighed and reached down next to her to grab a seed from the pile she’d brought and flicked it over towards another tree. As it flew she reached out with her magic to encourage its growth in a direction she wanted. This one was not dangerous, but she was going to see if she could… encourage it to be.
The grasping vines of the hydrangea wrapped bout the tree and she sent another wave of magic out gentler this time, calling the roots down deep into the earth to insure it would live and survive when she was done with it. She walked over to sniff it, it smelled of green life, healthy, strong. Using the magic within the ground, she twisted and bent it to crawl through the plant, giving it more energy, more nutrient and then she poured a bit more of her power into it, mixing the land’s magic with her own as she sped its growth and thickened it’s vines and roots, enlarged it’s leaves and finally, called forth it’s blooms. The sweet scent of its white flowers filled the air as Skorga narrowed her eyes in concentration and reached with her magic towards the rose she’d grown before, reached out to grasp the part of the rose that was a thorn, the part of the rose that knew how to grow a thorn, be a thorn.. then she spun the remains of her magic within the hydrangea in a copy of the thorn’s essence, then melded it with the plant. She sat back and looked at the plant. Still looked normal, larger than usual, but still a hydrangea. Now for the next step, to see if it worked: she used the last of the magic within the plant to spur on the growth, hoping that the essence of thorns she’d placed within would grow as well. She purred happily when she saw small rose thorns all along the plant.
She could do that! If she couldn’t summon a briar, then she could just summon a simple ivy vine and then grow thorns from it! Now to see if she could do that… After all, thoughts were just thoughts, it may work in theory but in execution it could fail. She summoned an ivy vine from the earth, its tendrils curling and spreading with the speed of magical growth as Skorga poured in her power and tried to copy from memory the essence of the thorn. The vine wrapped about the hanging boughs of a willow and slowly stopped it’s growing and writhing as Skorga stopped pouring in magic and took a moment to insure that it’s roots where imbedded and it’ could survive. She walked over and gave a happy nod. There were thorns, small ones, but still there. With practice, she thought, I will make them bigger, trap a foe then kill them if I need to with long sharp thorns!
“Pretty.” A husky deep voice said from the side. “Making a bower already?”
She started and twisted to look at Skjalg. “Silly Jalg, if I wanted a bower I’d burrow beneath a tree and build one within it’s roots… then add the flowers.” She walked over and nuzzled him.
“I wondered about the placement of the plants... and the thorns….” He eyed the hydrangea. Already poisonous if eaten, now she’d added sharp spines to it, making it even worse. “Don’t toxic plants not need thorns since they have poison?”
“Practice. Not all plants in an area have thorns... so I am attempting to grow them. It is easier to use what is there than to summon.. And,” She looked at the rose bush; “I don’t always get what I want when I try to summon things. And yes, the thorns are to keep the plants from being eaten normally… poison works the same way.. but I can’t make someone eat the vines.. thorns are easier to use as weapons. I like hydrangea's, so I've just been using that, no other reason why I picked a poisonous plant.”
“Mm..” Jalg looked over at them then down at her and tilted his head questioningly. “Thinking of weapons for a reason?”
“Hunting…fighting, defending, that sort of thing.”
“You’re thinking of going dragon hunting?”
“Mmm..not sure.” Skorga sighed and curled up against his side, tail wrapping about her legs as she settled down. “Thinking of the future at least. I won’t always be in a safe area, and if I prepare now… I will be better prepared should anything happen. Not sure I want to go dragon hunting. No point in it really.”
“Oh?”Jalg asked as he shifted to a more comfortable position. “I know that Amehlo and a lot of the others are talking about going hunting in the next few days. They were very eager to try hunting dragons. You’re not interested?”
Skorga chuckled. “Not really. Why should I go court pain? You cannot eat a dragon… yes the dragon orbs are powerful…. But why should I go hunting them? Foolish pride is the only reason. Wanting to prove themselves, trying to see who’s strongest, that’s all the others are trying to do. Why bother? My strength lies in less confrontational situations.” Waste of energy, risk of injury or death, not a lot to gain: all in all, not worth it.
Jalg gave a noncommittal sound. Skorga turned her head to look at him. “… You were one of the ones wanting to go hunting?”
“Mm. Yeah…” He looked at her and grinned. “Foolish pride, eh?”
“Ah….”
“Don’t worry, Skorga, just teasing.”
“So why do you want to go hunting?” She asked, though she had a good idea of why.
“For foolish pride obviously.” He chuckled and continued on more seriously. “That and to test myself, get stronger. Practice is good and all, but having a target that fights back, one you can go all out on and have to do your best or risk death or injury is... different. It’s more real. I don’t know how I will deal with the pressure or risk until I’m in that situation.”
“Oh.” Skorga blinked in surprise. “I hadn’t thought of it that way! Putting it that way makes sense…But why dragons? Why not something we can eat? Something useful?”
Skjalg laughed. “Cause that’s my reason! The others are doing it for the reason you thought of first; pride. To prove their strength. Dragons are one of the strongest creatures around, and the orb's there to prove you actually defeated it so dragons are what they want! I just want to see how what I’ve learned translates to battle. See how I measure up. And,” he nuzzled her, “to show off if it goes well, of course!”
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Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 4:54 pm
Rambunctious Ramblings [Hunt] Chasing Moonbeams
Skjalg took me on a lovely date! I think I shall go and watch the Selala's with him for quite some time... wonder if I can find as nice a surprise as he did for me?
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Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 4:56 pm
I hate pain... and I hate the thought of dying even more. Maybe I am afraid of dying, but what sane person wouldn't be? So what if I don't want to fight? I would much rather strike from afar and not get close unless I could strike and kill quickly. Stupid Skjalg and his prying...
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