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 Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 10:44 pm
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Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 2:24 am
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Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 5:27 pm
A Weapon in Name Only
Mano was sitting in the shade of a tree, starring down at the trident that was laying across his lap, a thoughtful sort of look on his face. It was kind of... odd, wasn't it? He'd been so eager to flee from Oba the moment that he could, wanting to get away from the Fire Tribe, and yet he'd still accepted what was a friendly duel from an Oban merchant. The two of them had been haggling over the price of something when the man offered him a chance to get the item for half off, all he had to do was beat the man in a duel. He didn't want to be conceited or anything but he had been certain that he'd excel. After all he'd been doing a lot of physical things of late, all the fishing, all the traveling, all the chasing tail, and the merchant had been, for lack of a better term, plush. He'd thought that it would be an easy win and yet he'd somehow lost the duel.
After it was all over the man cheerfully stated that Mano had done well but now he had to pay full price, something that the Water Tribesman had done since he didn't want to make his people look bad. Much to his surprise though the man had tossed in a bit of fruit, no charge, to his order. It seemed that he didn't want Mano to be down. It was... surprising, to see another Oban that wasn't cruel or unfriendly to Mano because Mano was of the Water Tribe. Adding the meeting with the merchant together with that meet with Klaas a while back actually had him putting a bit more stock in the tribe as a whole. Sure, there were bad ones, but after the tensions he'd seen with some of the Alkidike he'd learned that there were 'bad apples' among all the tribes.
One just had to find the 'good apples' and enjoy them was all, something that Mano quite enjoyed doing. He'd met with Klaas after all and that young man was quite amazing, one that he'd enjoyed spending time with. The merchant wasn't so bad either even if he had beat Mano in that duel of theirs. It had showed him that he couldn't judge people by their looks alone, the man had been quite the fighter. Especially when Mano took into account the weapon that the big man had wielded. He'd had some small knives against the trident that Mano carried and he'd won! It was impressive, he also moved a lot faster then one would expect of a man that size. It wasn't even something that he was upset about, seeing no real reason to be. Instead it was learning experience, one he'd take to heart... and would likely result in flirting were Mano to cross paths with the man again sometime. Why not? The merchant had been an attractive fellow after all.
Giving a bit of a grin he allowed himself to flop over onto his back, crossing his arms behind his head, eyes sinking closed. He should likely see about some more training he thought to himself in an idle manner, learning to use his trident for more then just fishing. There was always a chance that he was going to have to fight one day for something more then a discount on his purchases at a shop. He would need to fight to defend him or others, to protect those that he cared about, or even against a jealous husband... or wife. Not as though he refrained from flirting with someone that was married after all, not if it was fun and sad person was attractive. As such there was merit in learning to better handle himself and his weapon in a battle.
So how to go about it? He supposed just jumping into training. He'd taught himself how to use the weapon as a tool so now he had to learn to use it as a weapon. There was a moment where he thought back to the training that his master had given to him, simple as it had been, but it wouldn't apply here. He'd wanted Mano to learn to use small, easily concealed weapons akin to those that the merchant had used. He was supposed to be an assassin that worked under the man's command after all, something that he'd nearly been forced to do... but by some miracle he was saved from that fate. Instead of having to kill for a living he was sort of doing the exact opposite of that.
Mano had become a lover, not a fighter, which was how he preferred it, but at the same time he wanted to be able to protect those that he cared for. If something were to come up that called for him to protect someone he'd met and made friends with he wanted to be able to do that. He knew that in the past he hadn't been able to do that, not having been able to protect his baby brothers, and that was something that haunted him. He found himself often thinking about it, where they were and what had happened to them, not to mention what had happened to their parents. He prayed to all of the Gods and Goddesses that they were alright somewhere, but it was hard to say. While there were some good Obans like Klaas and the Merchant there were scary ones too, more so back before the war though.
Now that it was over maybe things were better? Maybe his family had returned home? His ear fins gave a twitch before he sat up again, "I should start training." He murmured to himself before he got up to his feet, his trident in hand. Stretching out all over Mano started to move through some motions with his weapon. It almost felt strange to use it for more then just fishing he thought to himself. Save for that recent duel he'd only used it for catching food for himself and others. That was how he wanted it to be, for it to be used more for food then fighting, but having the ability to use it for the latter could be useful. Until there was a day when peace reigned longer then a few years at a time at least. Once that happened then the trident that he carried would be a weapon in name only.
(( Word Count: 1075 ))
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2016 5:59 am
Growth Solo: Heading Home
Mano was dreaming, he knew that he was, because the reflection that he was starring at was so much younger then he knew himself to be. Still, it felt really real as he gazed down at the water, watching the fish that were swimming in the water below the dock that his father had so painstakingly build. He recalled trying to help but the best he could do was fetch and carry since he'd been so young at the time. As he starred into the water he found himself thinking on the day, one that he dreamed about often, the last day that his life had been what he'd of considered to be normal back then. It was his father that had appeared then, dragging him up to his feet by his arm and the dream world around him seemed to shift and swirl, the person before him changing from his father holding him by the upper arm to his ex-master. What had he done exactly to end up standing before the group of Obans?
Yes... that was right, his little brothers. His father had told him to hide, to wait until the Obans had gone before he came out of hiding, and then the man was off to find the rest of the family. Mano had waited in the hiding spot for but a moment before he too was scrambling, wanting nothing more then to find his baby brothers to make sure that they were safe. They were so cute and little, they didn't need to be subjected to the Obans. Mano was older, it was up to him to keep them safe, and in his rush to do so it got him noticed. It had been worth it though, in his mind at the time that was. There was another part of him that had started to wonder though, would his father have been able to protect the little ones himself? What would have happened if Mano stayed put like his father had told him to do? Would he still be with his family? Would he at least know where they were or if they were still alive? He'd been impulsive in his rush to find his little brothers, but he was starting to wonder if it was a bad call. It might have worked out.
His dream seemed to shift again, going through a couple flickering moments where he'd been in Oba with his master, his training, times that he met with others in the same rings as his master, and then there was the day that he was released. Everyone in the master's thrall hadn't really know what they should do at that point. There were some who had been with the man a lot longer then Mano had, those who didn't know what to do without the man leading them. Mano had wanted nothing more then to run away, to run home to where it was safe, to just return to the normal like that he'd had once upon a time ago. He'd wanted to just be a fisherman again... but when he got home the place was empty, the dust telling him that it had been empty for a while. What happened while he was away was anyone's guess, and Mano had been unable to figure it out despite his attempts at the time and after that... he ran. He hadn't wanted to face the idea that he was alone in the world, that his family was gone, that they could be dead, he wanted to do anything but think about it.
They were thoughts that were harder to keep at bay as time went on though, especially after meeting more and more people, and the last ones he'd met were Sauron and his family. As much as he enjoyed the time spent with them it made him feel rather... lonely. They were a nice family, a bit one, a happy couple with many children, something that was nice to watch even as he teasingly flirted with Sauron. Old habits died hard he supposed and flirting was fun, especially with Sauron since the man had such wonderful reactions to the flirting, as though he had no idea how to deal with it. Funny since the man was married with so many kids, one would think he'd be a master of flirting after all of that. Maybe he was though? Just with his wife, not random guys like Mano. He was glad though, it had made the visits fun... though he still found himself a little envious. Not that he wanted to admit to that sort of thing since it would make it seems as though he wasn't content with his life.
He was happy, there were just some things he missed, some he regretted, and some he longed for, something he was sure that everyone had felt at least once before? His dream seemed to flicker again, taking him away from where his mind was floating back to Sauti, there with Kyrian for a flickering moment, then to Aaron... from there he was in Tale Tale meeting Meri, and his dream continued to flicker through meetings as though they were pictures in a book, going through those he knew both as friends and in a more intimate manner, before he found himself once more in Ast.
*****
It was as his dream reached that point Mano's eyes opened up and he found himself starring up at the thick branches of the tree he was sleeping in. It took him a long, groggy moment for his mind to make sense of everything that he was feeling after the dream he'd had. It was the sort of dream that stuck with a person instead of fading away the moment they woke up, something that caused the normally less then serious Mano to sit up slowly before he set to rubbing at his temples.
It was odd to think that the meeting with Sauron and his family had effected him so much... though he knew deep down that it wasn't just the meeting with them. It was that desire to have deep connections with others himself, the problem being that he couldn't seem to sit still or lay down any sort of roots for himself. It was impossible for him to do so because he was still running. How long he'd be running seemed to be the question. Likely until he went home, until he faced the fact that his family might really, truly be gone... or maybe, somehow, he'd be lucky enough to find them again.
Even if it meant finding only one of them that would be enough for Mano because it would mean that he at least had some portion of his family left. To get home meant going through Oba again, which, while he'd mostly forgiven them, was still a rather intimidating thing for him to do. It was one thing to make friends with that merchant and flirt with Klaas but it was another thing to face the entire country that was filled to the brim with them. He just had to continue to remind himself that most of them were likely to be good people. Not all of them were his ex-master so he should be able to do it!
Besides, unless a Water Tribe beast master showed up magically in front of him with a yaotl then he'd have no choice but to walk through Oba since the only other way was riding a yaotl across the dangerous terrain that lay between Tale and Matori. There was a lot for him to deal with in going back home, but it was something he had to do.
After his visit home, after facing his fears, then maybe it would be easier to go back and visit with those he'd met during his travels? He'd spent so little time with them before he felt the urge to continue forward, unable to sit still for long, that he had been unable to make any real connections. He wanted real friends, lovers he was with more then once, maybe... maybe even a family someday? He wasn't sure about settling down in the same manner as Sauron but definitely some form of family would be nice. Even... possible... a child? Now that was a thought that he'd never even considered before meeting with the attractive Shifter. As chance would have it, despite him flirting with everyone he met, the lovers that he'd had since leaving Oba had both been male. As they were both men that meant no chance that he might have ended up with a little one.
Pushing to his feet Mano set to gathering up his things. He couldn't let his mind rush off in too many directions at once or allow himself to get too far off from his goal that was heading home. He'd go and talk to Sauron, let the man know he was leaving, and then he'd head back to Matori and in general his home town. It had been years since he'd been back, there might not be anyone or anything left of his family, but he had to at least try again. Surely someone had to know what had happened to the family after Mano was taken away, right? If there was he'd find that person, no matter what! For all Mano knew his family could be waiting for him somewhere... though as much as he hoped it were true he wasn't quite ready yet to get his hopes up. He supposed he'd have to see when he got there.
(( Word Count: 1598 ))
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Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2016 10:40 am
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Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2016 10:41 am
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 12:38 am
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 12:39 am
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Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 7:52 pm
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Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 12:32 pm
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Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2016 5:54 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 7:52 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 7:53 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 7:55 pm
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 2:09 am
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