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 Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 5:50 pm
 (Art by Scarlett Arbuckle)
Inventory
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Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 6:38 pm
 Name: Ikkio [E-Kyo]Race: 1/4 Ice, 3/4 ShifterGender: FemaleBase Traits:
Diplomatic
Ikkio hates fighting. She would prefer to get what she wants without resorting to it, and fortunately she is clever enough to do it. She is calm in the face of aggravating circumstances and able to use her words to get her wherever and whatever she wishes. She feels violence itself is so messy, and prefers not to resort to it as a way to get what she wants, especially since it's so easy to just manipulate others instead. This isn't to say she's peaceful, just... practical, in a way.
Cold-Hearted
Though she is social and loves talking to people, Ikkio doesn't truly care about anybody or anything but herself and, maybe, her sister. She can seem chipper and perfectly friendly on the outside, but inside, she's looking for something to benefit her own goals, and she won't care about your goals or reasons.
Diabolical
Ikkio is manipulative and mean. She is looking out for herself and doesn't mind if others get hurt in the process. In fact, its amusing to her. Though she is only a youngling, she has discovered the wonders of manipulating others into frustration and aggravation. She would certainly put hot peppers in your face cream, or sabotage your relationship with an animal she likes. Usually, she has a goal in mind, like petty revenge or making said animal prefer her. Sometimes, though, she is spiteful just for fun, without regard to consequences to herself or others.
Class: Prentice - ScholarPersonality:
Ikkio is a selfish and cruel person:. Nobody matters to her but herself, and she will do anything to get what she wants. People, to her, are only tools to that end.
She may have friends and enemies, allies and acquaintances, family and strangers, but they are not people to her. All life's a game, and she thinks she knows how to get out ahead.
She is impulsive, catering to her immediate and personal needs and desires. Though she can plan in the long term, she often cares more about the short-term and rarely thinks about the negative consequences – to herself – that result from her actions.
She has no qualms about lying to everybody, and she does so frequently, even when she doesn't outwardly need to. She is a decent enough actor, though she doesn't put that much thought into her lies and can be caught at it fairly easily. She feels like she's been pretending to be whatever she pleased since the moment she and her sister were born. She has always known she was different from everybody around her, operating under different rules than she, and she sees no reason why she should not pretend – after all, they are fooled.
She is a sociopath, born without a concience, and the people around her are emotional, conciousness-based creatures. 'Right' and 'Wrong' mean little to her other than governing what activities she should and should not hide. She does not feel guilt. While she can't always understand people's motives, she likes to think that it is because she herself is fundiamentally superior: after all, does the Earthling understand the motivations of the ant. She considers herself unfettered by silly things like morality, and has, in her teenage years, developed a sort of confident and cruel ego.
This is not helped by the cooperation of her body; she developed early and is already starting to get her interesting attention from males and females. It is proving to be an excellent weapon in the cause of manipulation, and she is becoming increasingly aware of her physical qualities and how she can use them against others.
At times, though, she feels empty, hollow, even. The dance of deceit and selfish manipulation leaves her feeling very alone, and it hasn't been helped by her parent's marital troubles. Though as a result she has become very close to her sibling, it does not fill the void inside her. So, she attempts to fill this space with the one thing left to her: animals.
If she could be compassionate about anything, she could be called an animal lover. She takes very good care of the ones in her care, indeed, and even dotes on them, but it is not out of a sense of right or wrong, or out of compassion. She likes the power she has over an animal, she likes to be able to make them like her, to have them come to her of their own will. They are not people, either, but possessions, and she wants to posses them in some way
Letting her play with a pet will get her on your good side, especially if the pet is attentive to her – then she feels as though she is the 'real' owner. But if she feels jealous, she is not above using dirty tricks, including sabotage and theivery, to make that animal – if not officially – than mentally 'hers'. Aside from the ability to make animals like her and the power she has over them, she enjoys the feel of their fur and scales, their natural weapons, the sounds they make... everything about them. Truly, an animal lover without the ability to really love.
She's had to essentially learn what love is from scratch, but she is very good at faking warmth and emotions. She can have friends, allies, family, and lovers, and can make them all feel like she is the real thing. But should they find themselves in trouble, and she doesn't feel like going out of her way to help them, she won't. If someone dies, either by accident of fate or because of her actions, she won't mind much beyond the inconvenience and probably will move on before the body has cooled.
Actually killing someone would be a big step for her, but she would feel no remorse. She can't feel remorse.
In short, Ikkio is a cold, cruel person who intends to live a lie for herself. And win.
Post color: Ocean Blue [color=#223F8F] [/color]
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Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 6:42 pm
History:When Biroki and Zuri courted, their romance was full of passion... awkward passion, but passion none the less. Their love soon drove them to be lovers, then fiances, and then finally marriage. During the tournament, Zuri learned she was pregnant. Months later, she gave birth to two beautiful girls, despite Biroki's fear.
And so the twins Ikkio and Ikuri were brought into the world, named for their parents. Ikuri was what you would expect from two kind, good, and passionate parents: a sweet little angel intending to follow in her father's footsteps. She was a delight to behold and the light of their lives.
And then there was Ikkio. It wasn't hard to tell that the other, yellow-eyed girl was different. As she got older, that difference seemed to vanish. She was a cold-hearted child, with a keen mind and a cunning delight in manipulation, but that was associated with the blood of her grandfather, Zuri's father the politician. This resemblance in spirit (and in body, to an extent) made her somewhat of a favorite of her mother's. Her father, though, suspected that her differences from her sister went far deeper than that, though he had no idea how or what they were.
He was right. Ikkio was different. Where her sister was warm and kind, she was cold and cruel. Evil lurked in the child's heart, though not even she understood it... after all, she had no real concept of right or wrong. She learned quickly, from her sister and parents, how to blend in with the other children and not get in trouble, but she knew that she was different. No... that she was better.
She grew, learning how to tweak other people to get what she wanted. Often, she would become bored with her schooling and her peers (and especially her sister) and would wander off into the nearby wilderness to play. One such day, she happened upon an alkidike. Once she learned the woman was blind, Ikkio tried to steal her beautiful sprite, who she coveted. She had failed, and, outsmarted and overpowered, she had run home. She didn't run into the woman again in the wilds.
At some point, her sister was given a pygmy Mammu by their father, and she became jealous, especially since she couldn't seem to trick the Mammu into liking her more. She wanted a pet of her own.
At some point, she stumbled onto a radaku den and began to covet one of the pups. She knew that her parents would not tame a radaku for her, claiming she was too young for such a dangerous creature, but she felt she knew better... she wanted one now. So, one day, she found an ice tribe man on the road and manipulated him into catching a radaku pup for her. To her dismay, he did kill a few radaku in the process. Upset, and holding her wiggling prize, she tried to escape, only to be stopped by the angry ice tribe man who demanded to be shown to a beast tamer. She tried to mislead him, not liking him very much, when they were attacked by the resident radaku pack. He saved her life, carrying her out of danger.
While that itself was interesting, she was more intrigued by the feeling of adrenaline and fear. It was a rush, one that she wanted again. Although she was grounded from that incident, she felt like she had won. After all, she had her own pet Radaku. She called him Zumurundi, after his emerald coloration, and set about feeding and taming him until he liked her. She soon became bored again, as she was assigned punishment duties assisting her uncle, and was not allowed out of her parents – or at least her better-behaved sister's – sight.
When her parents prepared for war, she and Ikkio went with Biroki to the battlegrounds, mostly because she was curious and bored... but also because Biroki wanted to make sure she was where he could keep an eye on her.
Of course, things did not work out as he had planned. Once the war started happening and injured started coming in, Biroki found himself very busy, and the twins were left to their own devices.
In an oddly fortuitous turn of events, however, Ikkio did not get herself in trouble or hurt anybody. Instead, she helped out a Shifter named Senja as she worked in the healer's tents.
Ikkio had never given any real thought to what she wanted to be when she grew up. With her radaku, she thought – vaguely – that she would be a rider like her mother, or a beast tamer, but she hadn't settled on anything at all. As she helped to bandage up an injured man, however, she realized exactly what she wanted to be, and it came out of nowhere.
She learned that day the power that healers have over their patients, literally holding life and death, pain and relief, and hope itself in their hands. Young Ikkio hungered for that power.
Her decision and training was delayed, however, by the sudden instability between her parents. After witnessing, with her sister a huge fight between Biroki and Zuri, about how he 'abandoned' them during the fight, Ikkio felt uneasy and unbalanced. In the chaos and tension, she became very attached to her sister, who had formerly been a goody-two-shoes nuisance.
It was, indeed, from Ikuri that Ikkio learned her first spells of magic, though she soon moved on to her uncle Reshel. Although the man often assigned picayune and tedious tasks to the young girl, including taking care of their newly awakened grandmother, Ikkio – for once – sucked it up and paid attention.
Ikkio grew up fast, her confidence growing along with her generously proportioned body. She soon became aware (more aware) of the effect she could have on others, and abused it fully.
It was in this way that she started her adolescence and began to come into her own abilities, right when the situation between her parents took a turn for the worse...
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Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 6:55 pm
Useful People:
Zuri: (Shifter/Ice hybrid Spearman, Female Mother) Ikkio may not be able to manipulate her father, but she is pretty good at messing with her mother. It helps that she greatly resembles Zuri's dead father, even down to small mannerisms. Ikkio doesn't quite understand this, but it makes things a bit easier when she wants something.
Ikuri: (¾ Shifter/Ice youngling, Female My Twin) Ikkio's sister is a darling little angel. Sometimes Ikkio resents her ability to never be in trouble, other times she uses it to her advantage. She likes to hang out with her sister more than before but, despite how (troublingly) close she has become to her, she still likes her space....
Ruelash: (Ice Swordsman, Male Ugly Mean Man) Ruelash annoyed her when she met him, the big dumb oaf, but he was easy to trick and manipulate, and he did get her her radaku. So, if she meets him again, she may play with him a bit... Neutral:Biroki: (Shifter Sage, Male Father) Biroki is Ikkio's father, a shifter sage that has a kind and pleasant demeanor. Normally, he would be an easy mark for Ikkio, even as young as she is, but he is aware that she is a pretty little liar and is very wary of his daughter. Ikkio tends to also be wary around him too – she doesn't like that he can see right through her.
Enemies:Dyakida: (Alkidike Artisan, Female That Mean woman with the Pretty Sprite) Ikkio met Dyakida by accident. She saved Dyakida's sprite and felt that she was obliged to the creature, but the Alkdike woman had other thoughts and took offence to Ikkio trying to steal her sprite. She taught the girl a lesson in why Alkidikes are feared, but Ikkio is likely to try to steal her sprite again, should they meet.
Reshel: (Shifter Healer NPC, Male Uncle) Reshel sees through all of Ikkio's tricks, and is uncannily able to keep her from escaping his notice when shes assigned to do punishment chores with him. Ikkio dislikes him intensely. Other:
Aysun: (Shifter/Leaf hybrid youngling, Male ???)
Chandra: (Shifter/Leaf hybrid youngling, Male ???)
Samoset: (Alkidike/Leaf hybrid youngling, Male ???)
Kennet: (Alkidike/Leaf hybrid youngling, Male ???)
Sen'oda: (Shifter Knight NPC, Female Grandma) Ikkio doesn't know much about her, or particularly care. She's annoying, though, and prefers Ikuri... Animals:Peyla: (Sprite, Belongs to Dyakida Gorgeous Sprite) Ikkio rescued the beautiful blue sprite from under a log, but the Alkidike woman took her away. She still covets the sprite, though she has since mostly forgotten about the incident.
Zumurundi: (Radaku, Belongs to Ikkio My Radaku) Ever since that ice tribe man caught it for her, Ikkio has been raising this Radaku with 'love' and care. She thinks that her radaku is the best.
Direk: (Aldabuk, Belongs to Ruelash Pretty Mean Aldabuk) The Ice tribesman's Aldabuk, Ikkio thought she was beautiful and really neat looking, but the creature tried to bite her! Ikkio was not happy about this, since she believes all animals should like her. Obviously. She is better than their masters, anyway.
Belle: (Raoti, Belongs to Zuri Mama's Raoti) Belle is a nice Raoti, and Ikkio doesn't mind that she's her mother's. Belle is sweet to everybody, so Ikkio feels very little jealousy. Besides, she knows where Belle likes to be rubbed, and Ikuri doesn't. She does not plan to share.
Loxodonta: (Pygmy Mammu, Belongs to Ikuri Should be Mine) Loxy is Ikuri's mammu. Ikkio wanted a mammu for a while, and is still jealous of how Loxy is immune to her charms, but she currently believes that Zumurundi is better.
Nem'ker: (Spitorog, Belongs to Biroki ???)
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Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 6:58 pm
Home:Inventory:
Ikkio always has her prentice-grade spellbook on her these days, as well as a few healing items and the occasional poison: for experiments, of course. She doesn't carry much else with her, aside from the occasional snack for herself or for Zumurundi
 Skills and Abilities:
Ikkio is, currently, only able to chill the air around her and to accelerate healing slightly with her magic.
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Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:03 pm
In Progress:
Abandoned:X Just like you ✠ Ikkio and Ikuri
X Heart of Ice ✠ Ikkio, Ikuri, Zuri
X Oh, beast charmer, you say ✠ Ikkio and KiyeltComplete:XX The Plotter and the Pup ✠ Ikkio and Dyakida, Response is 287 words
XX Red in Tooth and Claw ✠ Ikkio and Ruelash , Response is 489 words
XX Sister Act: Paws and Claws ✠ Ikkio and Ikuri, Response is 123 words
X Meta Ch. 5: Invasion, Camp ✠
X Meta Ch. 5: Invasion, Preparing for the worst ✠
X Meta Ch 5: Response 199 words, The Power of a Healer ✠
XX A Private Battle: Mage and the Mother ✠ Ikkio, Ikuri, Biroki, Zuri, Response is 238 words
XX Random Encounter ✠ Ikkio, Aysun, Response is 147 words
X Unappreciation of Movement ✠ Solo, 1182 words
X The Wounded Man ✠ Solo, Class Affinity, 2000 words
X Sister, Mine ✠ Solo 1261 words
X Appreciation of Return ✠ Solo, 805
X Meta ch 6: The Final Battle, Tale Camp ✠
X Meta Ch 6: Final Battle, The Beast Pen ✠
X Meta Ch 6: The Final Battle, Battle ✠
X Meta Ch 6: The Final Battle, Out of Battle ✠
X Meta Ch 6: Response 229 words, War Scavenger ✠
X Winter is Coming ✠ Versatile Point Solo, 1113 words
X ✠ Jauhar's Festival of Lights || Prayers to Serin
Growth Progress:
25/25 rp points
Class affinity: DONE
Class Quest: Needed
Physicians Bane (Meta): A dark Aura surrounding her/her hands
Yaotl's Companion (Meta): A collar for Zumurundi, with crystal studding/spikes that go well with his coloring
Resistance Token (Meta): A shell (either the token or some other matori-esque thing) strung onto her necklace.
Familiar Cloth (Event): A radaku's pawprint/motif stitched in green on her shorts
??? (RP credit): Concealed Dagger in a sheath at her waist
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Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:20 pm
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Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:22 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 4:09 am
✠ The Plotter and the Pup ✠
Dyakida and Ikkio, 287 Words Ikkio had made it back home, but she was in trouble. Mama and Daddy hadn't liked her running off into the jungle alone, even though it was fun, and so they had punished her: Tomorrow she would have to help uncle Reshel with all of his chores, and if she tried to skip out, she would have to keep helping him. Uncle Reshel wasn't a stupid man. She couldn't lose him like Mama and Ikuri. She'd have to do the chores, and he'd always make sure they were the most annoying ones because he was annoying.
She poked at dinner unhappily, as if it was its fault. So that was her day. She'd run off into the woods to have fun alone, found a pretty creature, and then had to come home without the pretty because a mean tall not-seeing lady had stolen her pretty. She didn't like that lady. That lady, that Dukuda or whatever, was too smart. And mean.
Ikkio listened to the sounds of eating and of Belle stomping about outside with Ikuri's new friend. It was so unfair. She should have had a pet too by now. But thanks to that mean lady, she didn't. She scowled at her food, then ate it.
Fine. The woman won this time. Ikkio would win some other time. And she knew she would, because - to her great delight - she had seen the sprite wave back.
See, lady? The pretty was hers. But you can keep her for now thought Ikkio, cheering a little at the thought. She'd have to do stupid chores tomorrow, but maybe she could get away from them. Maybe she could find the pretty again tomorrow.
And then pretty was hers.
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Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 2:33 pm
✠ The Power of a Healer ✠
Meta Ch 5: Invasion Response 199 Words
Ikkio hadn't realized it before the day of the battle, but healing magic was POWERFUL. She'd always thought healercraft was boring. Helping Uncle Reshel was boring - it was always full of tedious chores and dullness. She hated it. That was why it was a punishment.
But... Ikkio knew now... it was because he wasn't a very good healer. He was a bad healer. She'd seen better healers in the camp, and they had done amazing things.
They had saved lives. Lives. That was amazing and incredible in itself. But they had also taken the lives of those that could not have been saved and who were in terrible pain. She had seen it, though she wasn't supposed to.
The healers had held life and death in their hands. They'd had such power. Ikkio wanted that power. She thought about what it would be like to be a healer and what it would be like to have that power. She almost let out a greedy little giggle before catching herself. She would get in trouble for giggling here, while everybody else was upset. Not that she cared about them, but trouble was annoying.
She wanted that power very badly.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 5:35 pm
✠ Red of Tooth and Claw ✠
Response: 489 Words
Ikkio had gotten in trouble - BIG trouble - after her little adventure into the woods of Jahuar. She'd said she was sorry for making mommy and Ikuri worry, and she'd made a fuss about how scared she had been and how dangerous the man had been and how close he'd come to hurting her. She'd cried and put on her best innocently cute face, but it hadn't done much. She was still in trouble, and now she wasn't allowed away from her sister. They had to stick together. Ikkio hated it.
It was Daddy's fault that she had to be tethered to her sister and her stupid mammu. Not that she was sorry: she wasn't. She had no regrets about upsetting her mother, or qualms about the lies she had told. Mommy wouldn't have seen that: a few tears and cute faces and Mommy was all hers. If it had been just Mommy, she'd have been maybe punished a little, but she'd really only get a little punishment. Mommy would have hugged her a lot.
But Daddy... Daddy was a problem. Daddy was punishing her - he'd pushed for the whole stick-with-your-sister thing. She'd have to be very cautious around him. He knew too much. He saw too much. He saw through her, and Ikkio didn't like that. Daddy was supposed to be stupid. They were all supposed to be stupid: it wasn't fair of Daddy to suddenly get too smart.
She'd managed to wheedle some time to take care of her new Radaku. She was going to name him Zumurundi - emerald - because of his pretty green eyes - and she was going to tame him and make him hers. And he'd only be hers. Hers and hers alone. Ikkio supposed he was worth having to stay with her sister. He would get big and strong and deadly, and she was very pleased with him. She fed him another piece of meat, cooing to him softly. Yes. He would recognize her as his master and be her pet.
She heard her name called from the house and checked his tether before going inside to have dinner, smiling as, in the soft twilight, her skin changed from black to white. She kept that smile on at the dinner table, as if there were no hard feelings about her punishment or anything of that nature. She gave each member of her family a smile, making it as personal and personable as possible.
Mommy had been good - Mommy was in the clear - she'd give her a nice present to make sure she was still a good Mommy in the future. But she would have to think of something for Daddy and Ikuri too; Something unpleasant that couldn't be traced to her. Her smile was positively angelic, but her eyes were sharp and cruel.
Yes.
Daddy and Ikuri would pay for punishing her. She would see to it.
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Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 4:28 pm
✠ A Private Battle: Mage and Mother ✠
Ikkio, Ikuri, Biroki, Zuri, 238 Words Ikkio cuddled closer to her sister that night. It was warm.
Of course, it was always warm in Jahuar, and her sister made it warmer. Loxy and Zuzu made it warmer still as they snuggled, too, in the tent. It was actually uncomfortably warm, but Ikkio was not kept up by the heat.
She was still thinking about the events of that day and how alien they were. How wrong they were. How completely and utterly wrong it had been to see her parents fight.
She'd thought she'd understood how the world worked, how to play the game of life, how to win. But it seemed like the very rules of the game were changing and she wasn't sure if she was even playing the same game anymore.
If her parents were fighting, would they leave each other? She knew of other children whos parents had separated.
She didn't want that. It would be inconvenient. Both parents were useful in their own ways, and apart... what could she do if they were apart?
Her, mommy, daddy, and ikuri, all under her control and dancing as puppets to her whims. That was how it was supposed to be. Anything else was not right.
Her sister, at least, hadn't changed. She was still Ikuri. A constant in this now topsy-turvey world.
She had to make sure Ikuri didn't get wrong too... And, already, she had a plan to do it.
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Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 10:01 am
✠ Sister Act: Paws and Claws ✠
Ikkio, Ikurii, 123 Words Ikkio knew she was in trouble. She didn't see why she was in trouble - they'd only been trying to give the woman a bath and it was her own fault if she was too dumb to swim right. Being grounded to chores was annoying and Ikkio did not like it.
However.
Ikuri got in trouble too! Ikkio was pleased with that outcome. Little miss perfect. In trouble. Served her right.
So she pouted and whined and complained acted contrite, as she was supposed to, and did the stupid boring work that her uncle gave her - including changing grandmother's disgusting bedsheets. And she hated it.
But the fact that Ikuri was in trouble too? That made it worth it. Gloatingly worth it.
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Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2014 9:31 am
✠ War Scavenger✠
Meta Ch 6: The Final Battle Response, 229 Words Ikkio looked over her finds. They were mostly assorted small items, easily hidden from people who opposed her methods of finding them. What use did the dead have for their things? Why should anybody care?
Either way, these were good things, definitely worth plucking from the corpses. She wasn't going to sell them – they were hers: hers to find.
She closed her bag, pleased: these were very suitable. The battle itself had been suitable in many ways, and she knew that her magic had made all of the difference. Maybe not between victory and defeat, but definitely between victory and an absolute rout.
They had crushed the Obans, completely: she'd had to laugh at how easily they fell and died, how they screamed beneath the might of sword and blade. Death was so easy to inflict – she had done a little killing herself on the battlefield. Merciful killing, she told herself, it wasn't as if they'd been able to go on. She had been doing them a favor, and then she had taken their stuff to repay it.
Either way, there were a lot of dead obans, dead creatures too, and she only felt gleeful: she wanted it to happen again.
But alas, it was not – some nonsense about a treaty... Well... She smirked, her mischievious grin very dangerous indeed.
We'll see how long that lasts
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Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 8:07 pm
✠ Unappreciation of Movement.✠
Solo, 1182 Words Ikkio could understand, now, why her father never traveled. The open skies of the Tale beat down upon her, driving her mad with the void above. She knew it was stupid, but the endless sky seemed to just be waiting to crush her.
She would be glad to reach Sauti and its mountains, where at least pillars of stone kept the sky at bay.
It was cool at night, in the Tale, and the double experience of bright dry sunny days and cool dark nights was disconcerting. She had grown up in a place of endless twilight, where the canopy held the only true day and water dripped from the very air. It was a massive change, and she did not like it.
Of course, Ikuri – stupid, pure, perfect ikuri – loved it. The adventure of it all was wonderful to her twin, but Ikkio saw the truth. Their mother was running away from her problems like a coward, and dragging her children with her. This was no adventure, Ikuri knew, this was an inconvenience.
It was a massive, frustrating, festering inconvenience.
Since her mother could teach her nothing about her chosen craft, Ikkio's magic training was now relegated to practice and whatever tidbits she could glean from her sister. She didn't even have a book of her own yet to read and learn from.
In addition, nothing had happened since they'd left. No monsters attacked, no rainstorms hit: there was nothing but the dreary monotony of walking. Ikkio was bored.
She was so bored.
“I'm bored.” she announced to Zumurundi, her radaku. Her mother and sister were asleep, comfortable and innocent in their stupidity, which left her awake with nothing to do. The boredom was unacceptable, almost painful. So, to combat it, she decided to make something to do.
“Let's go for a walk, Zuzu.” she said, patting his pale green head sweetly, “I'm sure we can find something to do.”
Zumurundi, who had, himself, been comfortable, stirred unhappily and looked up at her with an annoyed, green, eye, his other eye half shut.
“Come on.” she demanded, standing up. She would have no disobedience from her companion.
Zumurundi stretched reluctantly and followed her, doing as his mistress ordered, though he would rather be resting. Pleased, Ikkio stroked him delicately between his horns. “Good boy.” she said, as they left the encampment behind.
She wasn't worried about finding her mother and sister again: it was hard to lose sight of anything in this flat, horrid, grassy land. It was about as hard to gain sight of anything – everything apparently hid in its vastness, including the mountains of Sauti, Ikkio's only hope of salvation from the cruel openness of the sky. She wondered, as she looked in what she assumed was the correct direction, how long it would take to find those mountains. When would they loom out of the endless horizon to greet her?
And conversely... Ikkio turned in the opposite direction, staring back towards where her dark homeland lurked, a line of trees somewhere beyond the horizon. When would the familiar purple trees rise from the flat golden dullness to welcome her home? She realized, then, that her mother hadn't said when they were coming back. Or, she realized with a pang of anxiety, whether they were coming back at all.
If her mother was really running away, that could be never. She might never see Jahuar again. Ikkio growled, glowering back towards the East. She would not let that happen.
Zumurundi whimpered at her sound, pawing at her to find out what was wrong.
“Nothing.” she murmured, “We shall see.” she amended. Nothing was wrong – yet. She could try to go back on her own - her mother and sister were not awake enough to stop her – but she knew that was a terrible idea. Ikkio did not want to be alone, nor did she think she could make it home alive.
Plus, she wanted to stay with Ikuri. She knew her sister wouldn't want to stay in the mysterious other-place of Zena. Ikuri loved their father after all, and wouldn't want to leave him all alone.
Surely, it would be easy to convince her twin to come home with her after some reasonable amount of time. And, with her twin on her side, it wouldn't be difficult to coax their mother to let them: Two against one made for very good odds. For convincing, of course. But if mother tried to keep them by force, two against one made for good odds there too. Not that her mother would force them to stay. Mother didn't have the guts to try.
Ikkio laughed, a laugh cut short as she spied something on the ground – something fleshy and humanoid. “Hello?” she called, switching back to a facade of innocence as she approached. Zumurundi growled, bounding forward to meet it. He batted it with a paw.
As Ikkio came closer, she saw that it was a person, and that it – a leaf male, she assumed, from what she could see in the dark – did not respond to Zumurundi's attack. She investigated, her hand about to reach for a pulse when, in the light of the moon, she realized that the man was obviously dead, his face pale and cold in the night.
She shrugged to herself, bringing her hand back. “Oh well.” she said, amused, as she looked over his injuries. All of them were the marks of beasts, and he looked to be half-eaten. “Zuzu?” she said, “Do keep an eye out for predators.”
Zumurundi complied, his body quivering with readiness as he peered out into the darkness.
She inspected the body further, rifling through his clothes and the pack – still attached – for his belongings. He didn't have much: some stone trinkets, some food – most of which was still good despite the predators attempts to get at it, and, to her delight, a half-full canteen.
Ikkio guzzled the dead man's water greedily – she'd had to skimp on her own water in the dry savannahland, and she was so thirsty. Not suffering, but thirsty. It didn't occur to her – not one bit – that she should bring the canteen over to share it, or that she shouldn't touch the belongings of the dead.
She didn't care.
Canteen empty, she tossed it aside, pocketing his other belongings. She'd have taken the dead man's clothes too, but they weren't particularly interesting and were scratched and bloodied besides. She wiped her hands on a clean part of them and stood up.
“Well. That was, at least, minorly interesting.” she murmured, walking away from the body. There was not a care in her for the man it had been, just a satisfied feeling as her thirst, for now, was sated. She wasn't tired either, and she could feel boredom at the fringes of her mind yet again. “Lets find something else.” she said, the stone trinkets jingling in her pockets and travel pouches as she moved.
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