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 Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:00 pm
Fifteen year old Meri Phaedra Ece was hunting for a fish in her favorite river. It was this river that had the biggest variety of fish, plants and more things she could investigate at her leisure. It was unfortunate, however, that after ten years of 'rampaging' through its waters, the animals had learned to keep away. It was of no consequence, because, if anything, Meri was determined. And it was lunch hour. The Celph could not eat her lunch at any other time than this hour. It was just unacceptable.
Underneath the water, she darted through the water intent on catching a particularly fat trout. She swam closer and closer and closer until her prey was merely an arm's length away. Breaking out in a triumphant smile, her arm snapped forward and caught the trout by its tail. She quickly pulled the struggling fish towards her and snapped it's neck. Stomach growling in an anticipation, Meri swam towards the surface to enjoy her meal.
“Oh, fat little trout, be thankful. For if you hadn't eaten so much, and gotten so fat, you wouldn't have caught my eye. Now, you shall be honored with being my meal for lunch!” Meri announced to no one at all.
She scooped out the fish's eyes with her index finger. Bringing it up to her mouth, her tongue flicked out and swallowed it whole. Mmmm. The best part of the whole fish. Well, besides the brain, of course.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:25 pm
 Leif rummaged through the belongings he'd brought along with him on his journey. It'd been a long, boring day and he had finally decided that he just need to get away from the village and Jerrik. Sure, he loved Jerrik. He was his father, after all, but his fifteen year old self just wanted some alone time. That wasn't too much to ask for, was it? Finally, his fingers wrapped around the object he'd been digging for. He snagged a large piece of jerky from his bag and poped it into his mouth. His eyes closed as he continued to walk in whatever direction his feet would take him. "Mmm.." He mumbled as his sharp teeth tore through the jerky made from common meat.
Really, it was one of his favorite ways to eat a Common. To many Garrion's horror and wonderings, he much preferred his Common meat cooked. Something about the blood just set his nerves off. Shuddering at the thought he swallowed the chunk of meat in his mouth and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Thirsty. He needed water. He reached for his canteen and muttered as he shook the contents of the thing. Empty. He had forgotten to fill it up. Of all the stupid things. Grumbling, Leif looked around, wondering where exactly he was at the moment. In the distance, he could hear the flow of running water. A river, perhaps? He did hope so. And he hoped it was at least clean enough to gulp down a few swigs of refreshing water.
With that thought in his mind he set out in a direction he'd never traveled before. He shoved his way through some bushes and let out a relieved sigh when the river, he'd heard, finally came into sight. He took his canteen out of his pack and kneeled down to fill it up. At least it LOOKED clean. He only hope it tasted clean as well. Lifting the canteen up he took a large swig of the water. "Ahh.." So refreshing. Leif sat down and leaned back on his hands, casting his gaze to the sky and sighed. He really did feel out of sorts in a place that felt so calm while so much was going on outside of this small island. As he sat there, looking up at the sky, he became lost in thoughts and didn't hear the splashing of someone nearby.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:38 pm
Meri had gone through the brain, ripped off the tail, and was at last at the part of the body she hated dealing with most: the organs. Some fish organs tasted delectable while some were just...disgusting. Meri ripped open the fish's underside and began her search. Ah! The liver! She quickly ripped it out and devoured it. Small sighs of content escaped her lips as she chewed. She had learned somewhere that livers were especially healthy for the body. She had been underneath a dock examining snails when muffled shouts trickled down into the water. The voices belonged to a pair of fishermen arguing over the merits of fish guts. It had been a very barbaric conversation to be sure, but she had learned so much.
She swallowed and began searching once more. Yuck. The intestines. She scowled unraveled the fish's intestines from its lower body and gave it a shake. The things tasted like nothing and they were hard to chew as well! With a scoff, she threw it towards the shore. Some bird could have it for all she cared. She found the kidneys next and also threw it away. Kidneys were oddly shaped and it wouldn't do for Meri to consume such an ugly looking thing. She tossed the stomach, the lungs, and muscles as well.
Ohhh. The heart.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:54 pm
Leif daydreamed about nothing in particular. Little had been happening in his village and he knew no other life. It was rare that he would get so much time off. His father had gone off to hunt. Something he did at least once a month. Which left Leif to practice his training on his own and hunt small animals on his own as well. At least now a days he didn't require a minder. Gah, how he had hated those days. Glad to have them behind him now he laid down in the rough sand, letting all his thoughts flow out of him. He needed this. Relaxation was something he found little of because of his training.
Absently, he played with the handle of the small dagger sheathed at his waist. His body was almost always in constant movement of some sort. Usually playing with a weapon here or there. In the two years since the incident at the festival he had become very proficient in the use of small blades. His smirk widened at the memory of his father's face when Leif had hit each of his targets in a deadly show of precession. Like Leif had some how done Jerrik proud. His father had been reluctant, at first, to train him. He had seen it in the few months before his 13th birthday. Though Leif had studied each training session of Jerrik's he had never participated in them until after his birthday that year. The memories of the reason why still clung fresh in Leif's mind, as well as his dad's. The bruses that had marred his body had stuck with him for at least a week. Even to this day Leif still bore a scar on his upper left arm, where one of the punks had managed to reach him with a knife. If only he'd been trained before that day. None of those common boys would have walked away from that alley.
As his thoughts wandered on to more happy things, like his first animal kill, Leif pulled the dagger out of it's sheath and held it up in the air. The light reflected off of it's blade and blinded him momentarily. In that next instant something slimy and cold hit him square in the face. "Yuck.." Leif exclaimed as he shot up into a sitting position and pulled the slimy object off his face. "What the ******** is this..." He muttered loudly as he flung the intestines into the dirt. "Gah, where the hell'd that come from?" He asked of no one.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 6:13 pm
Meri had just begun deboning the fish. It was a tedious task and one she had gotten tired of years ago. It seemed that all fish bones were the same and she had yet to find a fish a different bone structure. The Celph had ordered Vianya to be on the lookout for weird bone arrangements before the Garrion left earlier that day. Of course, she expected some results today. Rather, she would not accept anything but success. Meri had ordered Vianya to look for bones for the Celph to snap apart for the past week but Vianya always came home shaking her head in failure. Failure! A disgusting and evil concept.
Her evil line of thought as interrupted when she realized that there were no longer anymore organs to pick at. Her mouth curved upward and she licked her lips. She was now at the truly messy part of her meal and it took all of her concentration to make sure all of the prickly bones were removed. Her fingers found the spine and began to carefully pry it away from the fish corpse when her ears pricked. Was that a voice? Garrion? Or...Common?
Her head looked towards the area she thought she heard the noise. Her eyes squinted and she slowly glided towards the shore. If it was Garrion, she wouldn't mind forcing him or her to remove the bones for her. They certainly had the nails for it. However, if the voice belonged to a Common...that was an entirely different story.
Vianya had warned Meri to avoid Common at all costs after that fiasco with the herb man. They didn't know her kind existed and there was no telling what would happen if she was discovered. It was better to be safe than sorry Vianya had advised. Nevertheless, Meri continued to observe the Common from beneath their docks and boats. She made sure to never be caught. If a Common person just happened to look her way, she merely flipped over and made it seem as if it was just an idiotic octopus.
“There's only one way to find out if this man is Garrion or Common,” Meri whispered to herself. She lifted the remains of the fish high above her head. She drew her arm backwards in preparation. Then she threw it straight towards the general direction the sound had come from.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 6:29 pm
Leif looked around, in search of whoever had thrown the guts at his face. Just as he was about to give up he spotted something a little ways down the river. Raising an eyebrow he wondered who in their right mind would be swimming in such cold water. Just as he was pushing himself up off the ground, to go investigate, he noticed the thing's arm rising above it's head and about to throw something in his direction. Instantly, his training took root and he crouched low, ready to attack if necessary. The grip on his dagger tightened as the person let go of whatever they intended to hit Leif with.
At the last instant, he realized that it wasn't a dagger or other such weapon headed for his face but a floppy, dead fish. It was as if the thing were flying at him in slow motion. With cat like reflexes he snatched the flailing fish out of the air and sunk his claws into it's scaly flesh, snapping some of the small bones still inside the body. Glaring at the fish he grumbled to himself. Who in the hell throws a FISH at someone? He asked himself.
Determined to discover what had done something so stupid he padded up the shore of the river. Inching closer to whatever it was that had lowered itself further down into the water. He stopped a bit of a distance away from it - her, he could tell now - careful to keep his eye on her. His training told him not to get too close. Distraction was every warrior's downfall. He'd do well to remember it. However, he was extremely curious as to why this girl was floating in the river and why HAD she flung a fish at him? She wasn't Garrion, that was rather obvious. She almost looked...Common. A shutter when through his body. The last thing he needed was to run into a Common. However, his brain couldn't really pinpoint it. At the same time, he just KNEW she wasn't a common. His eyes probed her face and then the area around her for any clues as to what she was exactly.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 6:44 pm
Carefully tucking her tentacles beneath the water and away from the surface, Meri proceeded to stare dumbly at what she now knew to be a Garrion boy. Judging by those reflexes and that posture, she guessed him to be what Vianya was, a warrior. Or perhaps a warrior in training. She made a mental note to ask.
Then her eyes traveled to the crushed trout in his hands. Bones were protruding from all parts of the fish. It was a disgusting mess! It was now inedible! It was her lunch! With a soft gasp, she suddenly realized that her lunch was crushed in his hands! Oh, no, no, no, no, no. That just would not do!
Her plan of action after she discovered the person's race was now ruined. If the person, now boy, had been a Garrion, she would have happily greeted him, asked for her lunch and gone on her merry way. If it had been a Common, well, her tentacles' suctions had grabbed onto medium size rocks to pelt at the stranger before he could realize who was there. Yes, he would have been a bloody pulp and she would have been fine. But not anymore. Oh, how she hated failure.
She rose above the water some more to get a better look at the Garrion. Tch, she thought. I'll show you what happens to people who mess with my lunch and my plans.
“Hey, you!” she cried with her hands hands crossed. “What do you think you're doing with my lunch in your hands! Where are your manners? Don't you know it's positively rude to crush a person's fish in your hands and then mess up the delicate fish deboning process?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:02 pm
Leif opened his mouth to berate the female floating in the water but stopped himself as she rose further out of the water. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Was he seeing things? It couldn't be. Tentacles? No way.. He thought to himself. He had to be seeing things. Deep in his mind, though, he knew he wasn't. A Celph. It had to be. But why was one so far inland? And why had it thrown a fish at him? A fish of all things to throw it had to be a disgusting fish.
His gaze rose from the fish to the Celph and he glared at her. Rude? Him? Hadn't he just had said fish flung at his head? Gah, this girl really needed a hit to the head. "Maybe you shouldn't go around throwing your ********' lunch at otha people." Leif spat out as he looked back down at the fish and picked out a few of the broken bones with his claws. Really, he didn't see how anyone could eat anything so annoyingly disgusting.
"Here's your precious lunch." Leif said as he tossed the fish back into the river and smiled as he watched it float towards the Celph female. He shoved the dagger he'd been gripping back into it's sheath but kept his hand close to it's handle. While he didn't feel threatened anymore (who could after having a fish flung at him?) he was still wary. Maybe this was a trap. Maybe the Celph would try to kill him. Try being the key word there.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:21 pm
<********? Oh, that was a new one. What on earth was that? Immediately a million questions ran through her head. She moved her hand up to her chin to think. Meri completely forgot about the fish. Well, she'd eaten most of what she liked already anyway, and she was only deboning the thing for the sake of making the much of it as she could. She didn't like wasting food. That didn't mean she ate all of her food, of course. Meri merely shoved the rest of the food towards Vianya. Well, Vianya didn't eat it all, either. She fed it to stray dogs and wolves.
Then she heard the Garrion say something. “I wasn't throwing my lunch, you know. It was an object I was using to discover your race. A most successful endeavor, if I do say so myself,” she mumbled absently. <********>. It seemed to be a swear word. She was surprised she hadn't come across it before at the docks. Those sailors knew how to dirty another's ears with their coarse conversations about liquor and women. And fish. Speaking of fish...
Something bump against her stomach. Shaken from her thinking she looked down in confusion. It was the trout. Or what was left of the trout. It certainly wasn't her lunch anymore! The thing looked pitiful. It didn't even look like food. It looked like a pile of pinkish flesh that was currently dirtying her shirt with its blood and stink. Oh, how it stank!
With her thumb and index finger, Meri gingerly picked it up. Her eyes flickered towards the Garrion standing at the shore. He looked too skinny to be healthy. Then again, all Garrion were thin as a stick. Skinnier than normal then, she decided. He could have the fish.
“Well, it isn't my lunch anymore,” she cackled with glee. “It's yours! And you are very welcome.” And with that, she flung the remains of her, no, his lunch right back at him. Never mind, she thought. I do believe I'll stick around. I never get to talk with Garrion close to my age. Or any other Garrion, for that matter. All Vianya does is play with her sword and sleep.
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:11 pm
Leif ruffled his wings as he watched the fish float towards the Celph. Honestly, the thing looked like someone had retched in the water. Yuck. Why would anyone eat something like that? Though he supposed it was just the Celph's diet. What she was use to eating. She would probably be just as grossed out about him eating a Common as he was about the fish.
With that train of thought he didn't notice her picking up the fish until it was almost too late. Gah. Again with the flinging? He barely had enough time to react. Quickly, he took a step back and to the side, avoiding the remains of the fish. Just as his foot touched ground, though, he slipped. Something slimy under foot. Probably from the fish, he thought. His footing out from under him he went down. He didn't fall backward onto the sandy shore. Instead, he fell face first into the ice cold water of the river. Gah. No good. Definetly no good.
While Leif knew how to swim, he tried avoiding it at all costs. Sputtering could be heard from his general direction as he struggled to gain control of his body back. The freezing cold water of the river seemed to paralyze his wings and he was soon shivering as he slowly made his way back to the shore. "******** ******** ********.." He grumbled in agitation as he crawled onto the sand and collapsed on the cold ground. His breathing was labored and his body shivered non-stop to try and gain it's lost heat back.
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:29 pm
Meri stared in fascination and horro as the scene before her happened in slow motion. She saw him step on the fish's lungs. Saw his feet slip on them. Saw his horrified expression as he fell face first into the water. As she watched him struggle back to shore, she almost went to help him back to shore with her tentacles. Almost. By the looks of it, he wouldn't appreciate being grabbed from behind.
She slapped at the water with her tentacles and chewed her lip in chagrin. Oh, she shouldn't have done that! Wasn't she old enough to know better by now? She should have predicted the consequences of her careless actions. Meri wracked her brains on how to apologize. Well, she couldn't actually out and out say sorry. It wasn't entirely her fault and she refused to act like it was. But...it was partly her fault and she needed to make up for that.
Meri watched him shiver on the shore. Ah, he was cold. She didn't know how to make that better, though. It wasn't as if she carried a blanket around all the time. Darn it all, she thought. She cast her head about in search of something that would give her an idea on what to do.
She yanked at her hair in frustration. Oh! I'll give him suggestions! That's what I'll do.
Meri cautiously swam closer to shore. She swam as far as she could and still leave room for her tentacles. "You should build a fire. Dry yourself off..." she suggested. "And I could help!"
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:55 pm
Leif took a deep breath and shuddered a few more times. Gods he was cold now. His wings fluttered a bit, happy to be out of the paralyzing cold of the river. He wrapped them around himself as he looked up and glared at the Celph that was now swimming over to him and shoving out suggestions as to what he should do. Damn it all. He knew what to do. He just couldn't move at the moment because of all his shivering.
"What the hell could you possibly do to help?" He nodded to her submerged tentacles. "Can you even come on land?" Leif asked as he finally tried to push himself up off the ground. His legs were weak from the cold but he leaned against a large boulder that was sitting near by. "I know what to do anyway. I'm not an idiot, you know." He mumbled as he looked around for good usable firewood.
With his shivering under control a bit he moved to grab a few branches nearby and sat back down beside the boulder he'd previously been leaning against. Really, this was all so bothersome. If only he had kept away from the river. None of this would have happened and he'd be back at home right now, enjoying whatever animal he had manged to catch while out and about. But nooo, he just HAD to be thirsty. Gah. This sucked.
Leif grabbed his bag up from where it had landed when he'd fallen into the river. Digging into the pockets he looked for his flint so he could start the fire. Curse it all. He couldn't find it. "Great, no way to start the fire." He mumbled as he kicked at some rocks in front of him.
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 9:32 pm
Meri pouted. He was very rude and it didn't help things one bit. Here she was, trying to help, and all he did was snap at her. Vulgar language repulsed her. Growing up near seaside settlements with foul mouthed sailors had only deepened her hatred. It seemed that she would have to be the proper one. She sighed dramatically at her plight.
"I'll have you know that I can most definitely go on land. I've done it before! I'd rather avoid it, though, if it's all the same to you. It's quite painful and it takes forever and a day to get anywhere. I have to crawl on my hands. Not a pleasant feeling," she informed him matter-of-factly. "Besides, I don't see how my helping you relates to my ability to function on land. An ability that I most definitely have, thank you very much!"
She watched the Garrion move towards his bag. He seemed to be looking for something. Meri strained her neck to see what was inside. She was nosy and she wasn't afraid to admit it. She risked moving closer to shore for a better view. What was he looking for? His next statement answered it for her.
"Oh, is flint all you're looking for? Well, why didn't you say so? We're at a river, for goodness' sake. There's bound to be some flint among the rocks around here somewhere." Meri cast her eyes about looking for the murky whiteness of flint rock.
Oh! Well, aren't we lucky! she exclaimed. The rocks the boy had kicked had unearthed a decent sized piece of flint. She picked it up in triumph.
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Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 3:35 pm
"Don't get snappy with me." Leif shoved his bag away and grumbled. "Not like I've ever met a Celph before." He watched as she searched along the river side for the flint he'd need to start the fire he so desperately craved. He was about to give up when she picked up a piece of flint and grinned wide. Letting out a frustrated breath he snatched the flint away from her and struggled to start a fire. Really, his father had taught him manners. He was usually a decent Garrion to be around but damn it if he didn't hate the cold. It made him grumpy and rather curt.
Finally, sparks flashed before his face and a fire started up. The glow of the flames cast shadows along Leif's face that made him look kind of deadly. His bright, blue eyes seemed to gleam with a calculation that seemed to come natural for the teenage Garrion. He studied his new...friend, if you could call her that, carefully. Only then did he realize that he didn't even know her name. He wondered if it was the sane thing to do, tell her his name. He chewed on his bottom lip gingerly, careful not to break the skin, as he thought about what to do.
Finally, throwing all common sense to the sidelines he introduced himself. "My name's Leif, by the way. Leif Rune Erich." The name rolled off his tongue smoothly. Never giving away the fact that Erich wasn't his real last name. Leif knew of his mother. Knew that Jerrik wasn't his real father. It didn't change anything. He wore the Erich name proudly and loved his father as any son would. He did ache for the mom he'd never gotten to know though. Oh how he ached. She was one of the reasons he was training to become a warrior. Never would he let anyone push him around like what had happened to his mother.
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Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 4:42 pm
The Celph was prepared to be indignant at being treated so harshly, but then he introduced himself. Meri cocked her head in surprise. Then she smiled, teeth and all, before launching into a well practiced introduction. "My name is Meri Phaedra Ece. It is not Mer, Ri, Phae or Ece. I would prefer to be called by my first or whole name. Very pleased to meet you, Leif Rune Erich!"
Then, a million questions marched around and around her mind. More questions joined the ranks every second. Normally, she refrained from asking questions of strangers because it would be rude to interrogate someone you barely knew. However, as far as she was concerned, the moment two people introduced one another Meri could interrogate, no, ask the other person as many questions as she wanted.
It hadn't been like that with Vianya. She had asked questions first because she had been so desperate for some semblence of a mother or a father. Her deceased parents had never failed to answer her many inquiries and it was this quality she had used to test Vianya. Her thoughts were suddenly shoved aside by the question that had nagged at her throughout the whole interaction.
She leaned forward on her elbows. "Say, Leif, what does '********' mean? I've never heard that word before. It sounds like an expletive, but it isn't one I've heard any of the other Garrion around me say. Even the ones who live on the docks!" Her eyes sparkled with anticipation at learning something new.
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