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 Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 2:49 pm
 "Ah, Saturdays. How I love thee. No classes, no responsibilities and freedom to do whatever I want," the young one-winged squire thought to herself as she stepped away from the landing-pad-turned-City-teleporter. It was the only way she could leave the castle now that she couldn't fly anymore.
The teleporter put her right outside of the construction zone for the new trading port. It was curious activity, and Alethea wanted to see history in the making. Apparently it was a big deal that the HQ Lighthouse was destroyed. Pity, because she wanted to see what a magical building with everything was like.
The little construction fairies, same as the ones that built the castle she heard, zipped around everywhere. It was like watching swarming insects build their hive in high-speed. Fascinating as it was, it wasn't interesting enough to keep her attention for long. She started wandering the area, hoping to find some magical remnant of the lighthouse. Something useful she could take home with her, maybe.
Most of the lighthouse debris was cleaned up and sorted into piles to use as construction material, but the adventurer inside kept pushing her to look further out. Maybe in the water?
"What ... is that?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 2:58 pm
 Kelebek swims toward the land as fast as she can. She'd left the safety of the palace as soon as the waters had calmed enough for her to do so. Queen Tariel had tried to reassure her that Sadron was the best survivalist in the waters, and that surely all three would return soon.
But when it comes to her children, Kelebek will leave nothing to chance.
Thinking that perhaps the storm would have washed them ashore, her first stop is the beach. Though the waves bring her onto the sand, she must drag herself from the water in order for the unsettling change to take place. Wincing and groaning as her thin arms ache from pulling the full weight of her across the sand, she finally flops over on her back once he magnificent tail splits into two awkward legs.
Kelebek pants and puts her arm over her eyes against the bright sunlight. "I'll never get used to that," she grumbles.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 3:27 pm
Alethea watched, rather horrified, as she witnessed for the first time ever, a Naiad growing legs. Legs. That was never taught in general studies that the fish Pae could grow legs. She wondered if that was permenant or something they could all do. Guardians help them if the fish-beasts had this ability. No telling what else they could do, or what else they could infiltrate while looking like a wingless pae.
Wingless.... the thought made her rumble with bitterness.
Cautiously, she approached the beached freak of nature, picking up a stray twig along the way. She heard it mumble about getting used to something. What, I wonder... Did it eat another Pae to gain the legs and power? Wouldn't surprise me one bit. They are crafty and evil enough to do just that.
With a little trepidation, Alethea reached her hand towards the Naiad and poked her side with the extended twig.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 3:46 pm
Kelebek had almost gotten the gumption up to stand up and continue her search up and down the beach when she'd been stuck with something.
"Ow!" she yelps, jumping up to her feet, thinking she'd been pinched by a crab or something. Instead she finds a curious-looking angel holding a stick. What in the waters had she done that for?
"I wasn't dead," grumbles Kelebek, peeling her wet hair away from her skin and face. "You didn't have to poke me with a stick."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 3:57 pm
Startled, Alethea stumbled backwards, losing balance and hitting the sand with her butt. She stared wide-eyed at the talking monster. She didn't have sharp fangs or claws, and she spoke civilly. Well, as civilly as one could when poked by a stick.
"Who are you?" she demanded as she rose to her feet, and dusted the sand off her rump. "Who did you consume to gain the power to walk on land? There are punishments for that sort of thing you know."
Moving to a defensive stance and mentally chastising herself for not following protocol and leaving the castle prepared -- ie armed -- Aletha braced herself as she let her eyes take in the appearance of her first ever sea monster. They are not nearly as frightening as she was taught. She was pretty sure she could take this one, weapon or not.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:06 pm
Kelebek tries futilely to also brush the sand from her chest and arms. It sticks to her still-wet skin ruthlessly. Giving up, she lets her arms drop to her sides with a sigh and considers what this strange youth was babbling about.
"Who did I....?" asks Kelebek, completely confused. "I...what in the waters are you talking about? I'm a Naiad. When we come out of the water our tail splits rather unsettlingly into legs and we can walk. Sort of." She takes a wobbly step, looking down the beach as far as she can. She shades her eyes with her hand.
"Now if you'll excuse me, dear, I've lost my son in the storm, and I really must find him."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:23 pm
Alethea held the stick up as if wielding a sword. "Don't move, serpent-" she started to say before the pink naiad spoke of all naiads undergoing this transformation.
Her hand fell slightly as her thoughts raced while her mind tried to wrap itself around this information. "All of you serpents can do that? You all have legs in that tail?" Alethea's stance relaxed as she moved to look more at those legs. Interesting.
At the naiad's wobbly step, Alethea pulled the stick back up, pointing it at Kelebek. She spoke not as a barbaric savage, but as a ... normal Pae. This did not compute in her inexperienced mind. "If you lost offspring, why are you on land?"
This creature was clearly playing mind games, Alethae surmised. Baby naiads couldn't live out of the water, could they?
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:03 pm
Kelebek stops and turns on her heel, whirling on the young girl for using such an epithet. Trying to emulate Queen Tariel in her regal manner, she looks down her nose at the rose-colored girl. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but that's quite an unflattering word you've just called me," she says, keeping her voice calm.
Why am I still here? Kelebek asks herself. I should be looking for Toli, not dealing with this nonsense. She begins to turn away from the girl and continue her search.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:59 pm
Alethea was affronted by this creature not recognizing her obvious superiority. She quickly moved to stand in front of her again, holding her stick-sword out. "Unflattering? But isn't that what you are? half Pae, half serpent?" And all beast, she thought to herself.
It was the way in which this now-legged naiad acted that was starting to hit Alethea's buttons. She decided it was time to school this savage. "I am Alethea, Angel, Chosen One, and of the superior race of this island. I am practically royalty here. What business do you have here, and I don't mean to look for your baby. Why are ... naiads ... here at all?" she spoke with as much authority as a teenager usually thinks they possess, and her inflection on the word naiad was one of obvious distaste, as if the word itself was foul to her.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:10 pm
Kelebek stops suddenly as the girl steps out in front of her. She windmills her arms, trying to keep her balance, but ultimately falls backward onto her bum. "Ugh," she says, standing up and trying again to brush the sand from her skin.
"Look," she says, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm not sure why you're insisting on bothering me." Kelebek isn't sure what's going on with her--normally she's a sweet woman, and shy even. "But I've swam quite a long way to look for my son, and I don't have long before I'll dry out and I'll have to go home." Maybe it was because the girl thought an appropriate greeting was to poke her with a stick.
"So if I answer all your questions will you leave me in peace?" she looks tired, mostly tired of dealing with this teenager and her arrogance. She'd had experience with teenagers before--three of them at once, even--and she knows that the only way to really get rid of them was to give into the madness.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:26 pm
Dry out? A sinister little curl appeared at the corner of Alethea's lips upon hearing this delightful tidbit of information regarding naiads.
"Yes," she agrees to placate the naiad. "You don't live in the water on this island? Where did you come from then?"
She moved casually, making sure to keep her back away from the naiad, but also putting herself between Kelebek and the sea. She chose to ignore the comment about bothering her, because it was just too difficult to grasp that perhaps naiads were pae too, with thoughts, feelings and emotions just the same as true Pae'il.
"How did you lose your baby?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:16 pm
Kelebek feels as if she's being circled, which she definitely doesn't like. She turns with the strange young woman, keeping her face-to-face. "I gather that you saw me come out of the ocean," she says, suddenly sorry she'd agreed to answer the questions. Also sorry that she's not very good at lying. She makes a mental note to tell Queen Tariel about this strange youth. Perhaps it wasn't the Fauns they had to worry about after all...
"He isn't a baby," she answers, hands on her hips. "And he was...." she hesitates, not wanting to exactly let on that he'd been training with the Hunters. She sighs sadly. "He was doing some exercises when the hurricane struck. I thought perhaps he'd washed ashore." She begins to walk again. If she was to be questioned, at least she could maybe do it while looking for Toli. And perhaps Sadron and the other woman as well. Sadron actually might be useful in her present situation, come to think of it...
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 7:59 pm
Alethea took calculated and slow steps towards Kelebek as the Naiad began to move again. "If you are from the sea, do you know of the Naiads that live in the lake?" she asked. She didn't know about Naiads living in the sea so the thought was unnerving. The sea is big and if there's hundreds of Naiads, they might be in trouble.
So there's some lost Naiads at sea, hmm? That's a good place for them, Alethea thought. "I will help you look for him." she offered, and not for the reasons of being charitable either. "What does he look like?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:26 pm
"He's about my height, perhaps a bit taller. His hair is the color of wet sand in the sunlight, and his body is mostly deep orange, like a sunset, with little flecks of pink." Kelebek speaks fondly, with a little wistful smile. She hopes she finds him soon. Not that this brat of a girl would be any help at all. If anything she'd be a deliberate hindrance.
"I don't know much about the lake," says Kelebek with a shrug. It isn't really a lie--she doesn't know much about the lake. Other than that there's a temple in the bottom, and it's where all her Aernyn brethren now live. But this obnoxious youth hadn't asked about that. And she could definitely do without knowing it. "Why d'you ask?" she asks casually, continuing to comb the beach for signs of Naiad presence.
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 12:11 am
Alethea continued her slow, deliberate steps towards Kelebek, with the waves of the water at her back. "I am interested in learning about the lake Naiads. I did not know your kind lived in the sea as well." Her words were chosen specifically. She did not consider Naiads to be Pae'il at all.
She thought for a moment about Kelebek's description. She'd never actually seen a Naiad in person before today. "That description sounds familiar. Could I have seen him in the lake?" She was interested to see what happens to a Naiad when they dry out, as Kelebek had mentioned, so she was trying to stall her and not let her near the water, or have a clear getaway to it. But she was also wanting to learn more about the Lake, and maybe discover useful information she could take back with her. Make this break from school actually productive for once.
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