Okay: Kaalnia is a very typical Alkidike, even with her face paint. She wields a spear. Currently she also has a coat.
Votzhem is very obviously a male alkidike/ice hybrid. His hair is a dark blue and is thick, dreded, and cut short to his shoulders. He has the antennae and bug-black eyes of an alkidike, but is ice-tribe blue with green tips to his hands and antennae, with tealish markings. His gems are not visible under his thick Zena clothes, which are warm and cozy but are in the alkidike colors. He wields two blades. He looks like a grouch.
Kaalnia was an Alkidike, and her people were in Jahuar, but she couldn't stand by and watch as others struggled to bring their dead loved ones home. She'd carried a good many of the bodies to the sort of waystation of the field, and she was happy to carry them the rest of the way home when she'd seen that there was trouble there. She just felt... bad. They'd lost more than just the battle here - they'd lost lives. Some of the dead wouldn't be making it home, thanks to those stupid obans. She owed it to the dead they could... well, salvage wasn't the right word... recover, more like... to get them home.
She had met up with her friend Votzhem... Debatable friend, but not too bad... and had convinced him to go along with her. They'd gone with the caravan of mourners and injured, two blades protecting a motley group of earthlings on a funeral journey across tendaji. Bit by bit, their group split off as they and their lost passengers reached their desinations, and eventually they reached their last stop, in Zena. Votzhem helped to guide her as they delivered the final body to where it belonged.
She leaned against a fence, stretching her back and looking around the tundra town. "Well this is... very... white." she said. And cold, despite being the beginning of the warm season.
"Yup." said Votzhem. He could feel the stares of the villagers around him and he didn't care as he rested next to Kaalnia. He took out some meat jerky and gnawed at it, offering some to Kaalnia, his expression blank.
"Thanks." Kaalnia took it and gnawed at it, oblivious to the stares - let them stare anyway. She was awesome. And tired. But still awesome. "I'm glad thats done with. Was real depressing, you know?"
"Yup." said Votzhem. He'd be happy to be out of his homeland and back in warm, sunny Jahuar. Well, not sunny. Just warm.
And so it was that two very obviously Alkidike strangers came to rest in a town in Zena...
Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:40 pm
DraconicFeline
she is a bit self conscious about her looks.
Yelena was an Alkidike ice clan shifter girl and she was from Zena. She had lived there all her life and it was her home. Though most of the people here didn't like her since she wasn't a pure ice clan and she looked so different from all the others. But it was just something she was used to and didn't really care all that much about. After so long it just didn't faze her anymore. She had heard about the battle but hadn't been able to get down and help. She felt so bad about that and worried about those who had taken part in the battles. She had heard it hadn't ended well and prayed that no one she knew was dead or really badly injured that would make her freak out. She really wanted to see someone who had been part of the battles so she could hear what had happened and not just the gossip.
Gossip really didn't tell you much about what was really going on. She got out of the house and walked through the city. It was the same as always until she started to hear whispers about two Alkidike strangers. Yelena wanted to find these people it had been so long since she had seen another Alkidike and it would be nice to see another one. She quickened her steps as the whispers got more insistent about the strange new comers. There were rumors about why they were there but Yelena paid no mind to these. Better to see the people for herself and seeing why they were here and what they were up to. She finally saw the guy and the girl leaning against a fence and eating the jerky.
She watched them for a few minutes and then began to walk closer to them. She stopped again and watched then walked up to them. She accidentally bumped into the male. "Oh I'm so sorry." She had spaced out for a second there and had been daydreaming a little bit about meeting others that were at least a little bit like her. "Hi. I'm Yelena." Figured it was best to introduce herself.
Kaalnia was used to her companions' silence - he wasn't a talker. Just a jerk. But her friend, none the less. Kaalnia had been watching the snow fall when she noticed someone VERY colorful approaching. She nudged Votzhem and grinned. "Look at that." she said, whistling, "Now THAT is one gorgeous lady." she whispered, "Should I go for her, or let you try?" she asked, perfectly willing to be his wingman. Or not. Mm, mm. She loved Earthling hybrid ladies. There was something so exotic about her, though Kaalnia couldn't put her finger on any one thing? All of it. It had to be all of it.
Votzhem rolled his eyes and grunted. "Wahtever." he said, but there was no denying his eyes were on her as well. She was stunning, and seeing another obviously Ice/alkidike was a shock to him. Where'd she been when he'd felt all alone? Up in Zena, obviously. If he'd only gone a little ways out into the tundra, he'd have found another freak like him. That was... oddly not depressing. He tried to pretend he wasn't looking Yelena up and down and, instead, tried to stare away, blushing furiously. He glanced at her, his alkidike eyes making it difficult to tell where he was looking.
Since he hadn't responded, Kaalnia took initiative, waving vigorously to the girl. Aww, how cute. She seemed shy and demure and she'd introduced herself first. What a cutie, just her type. Well... Anything with breasts was kind of Kaalnia's type, to be honest. "Hey there Yelena!" said Kaalnia, posing against the fence for the best effect, "I'm Kaalnia, and this stick-in-the-mud..." she shoved Votzhem's shoulder teasingly, "Is Votzhem." she gave Yelena a wink. "Did it hurt when you fell out of the tree? Because you are the most perfect of Aisha's flowers." she grinned. She'd just made up that line, and she was pretty sure she'd nailed it. "Whats a gorgeous blossom like yourself doing in a cold place like this?"
Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:26 pm
DraconicFeline
oh wow I love that line it's so cute. Yelena has no idea what to do. It's so cute. I love Kaalnia.
Yelena felt so bad about bumping into the guy that was standing with the girl. She hoped she hadn't interrupted anything important or special. What if they were a couple and trying to have a moment? That would be so awkward. Her cheeks began to heat up as she thought this. She had seen the look that the girl had given her as she had been walking over and wasn't sure what it meant. It was a rather odd look but what it meant Yelena had no idea. And the guy had been giving her some kind of odd look too. Maybe they were trying to tell her to get lost. But if they didn't tell her to get lost then she would be really happy to stay around and talk to them. She had never met anyone like them before and it would be amazing to talk to someone who wasn't a pure ice clan person. She looked at the guy and tilted her head. Her yellow eyes made it hard to tell exactly where she was looking.
She turned her head to look at the woman when she saw the vigorous waving and smiled sweetly at her. She walked over to the woman and saw her leaning against the fence. This lady seemed so sweet and friendly. It put Yelena at ease and made her relax. It seemed she hadn't made them mad or interupted anything. That was good. "It's a pleasure to meet you Kaalnia." She turned to the guy and smiled. "Nice to meet you as well Votzhem. And I am really sorry for bumping into you before." She hoped he was ok with her having bumped into him. She didn't want to upset anyone. She looked back at Kaalnia in time to see that wink and giggled softly. But then the other woman spoke and Yelena blushed scarlet. She couldn't believe someone would say something like that to her. Others said things like that but they were always cruel about it. Only one other person hadn't been cruel about it. She knew her cheeks were blood red and she shifted her weight a bit as she was unsure of what to say in response. She bit her lip as she thought about what to say to that.
"That's really sweet of you to say. But I think you are the prettier one out of the two of us." She bowed her head a bit after that and blushed more as Kaalnia spoke. "I'm here because my mother left me here with my father. He is an once clan shifter which is why we love up here. He loves the cold. " she shrugged. "What are the two of you doing up here? I assume this is very far from where you two are from."
Remind me to address the 'what are you two doing around here' later. Both Kaa and I got distracted.
Votzhem had been determined to not look at the girl again, just out of pure embarrassment. But when she spoke, he had to look at her again, and the feeling - which he had been trying to suppress - came back. That feeling that sent tingles down his skin and made him feel like an idiot. He grunted and looked away, trying to hide the blush. "'s fine..." he said.
Aww! She was so cute! Kaalnia clapped her hands together, delighted that her comment had gone over so well. "Did you hear, Voshy?" she elbowed her friend again, "She called me pretty!" she smirked at him, oblivious to whatever emotions he was feeling. Better luck next time she thought sympathetically. This girl was her girl, or would be (she hoped). Next time it would be his turn.
And then the lovely yelena poured out her life story in a single sentence and Kaalnia frowned, mood downed. She reached out and pulled Yelena to her in a sympathetic, perhaps overly forceful and familiar one-armed hug. "I'm sorry." she said, "Why'd your ma do that? Did she have some sort of quest or something?" Hey, Kaalnia didn't want to jump to conclusions about anybody's mother. Maybe the lady had a perfectly good explanation for leaving such a pretty young lady all alone with her father... male parent, right? Right. "How long's it been, huh? Since you saw your mother?" she asked softly. Even Kaalnia knew it was personal, perhaps even insentitive, but she said it anywaly. It just had to be asked.
Votzhem grit his teeth. Somehow, he just knew the answer. Call it instinct, call it hybrid empathy, call it just knowing how crappy the world could be. But he, on some level, knew. He wanted to tell Kaalnia to shust up, but turning to her meant seeing... the girl... and every time he did, his jaw locked up and his throat went dry. He very pointedly looked away and braced for... whatever the girl might say.
Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 6:36 pm
DraconicFeline
Sorry it took me so long to reply. And I look forward to hearing why those two are there.
Yelena frowned as she saw Votzhem seemed to not want to look at her. But maybe she was wrong he did look at her for a moment. She smiled at him to try and show that she was nice. "Alright if you say so." She was hoping he wasn't mad at her for bumping into him but maybe he just wasn't a people person. She jumped at the sound of the hands clapping together. Her eyes went back over to Kaalnia and Yelena smiled. But then she blushed scarlet at what the woman had to say. "Well it's true you are very pretty." She shrugged and looked down at her feet. These two were very strange. She looked up and smiled softly not wanting either of these two to worry about her. She was used to it and this had been her life. Yelena let Kaalnie pull her close and relaxed against the woman. She hugged her back. "It's fine no need to be sorry. It's not your fault."
She shrugged and looked down. "Mom was in love thought she wanted me but then when I was born and she saw how others treated me and her she left. She didn't want to be associated with someone like me. I never knew her Dad's always been there for me and so it's not so bad." She laughed. "Been all my life I've never seen her before. Or if I did it was when I was too young to remember. But she did leave me this feather necklace. I have a very vague recollection of a mother but nothing concrete." She looked over at Votzhem he had an odd expression on his face. "Are you ok Votzhem?" She frowned and was worried what she had said had upset him. She didn't want to do that.
Kaalnia didn't really know what to say to Yelena's story. She'd had a rough time with her mothers, but they'd wanted her. The idea that someone could not want their child like that... it made her speechless.
Her. Kaalnia. Speechless. It was not a state she entered often. She hugged Yelena again, tightly and properly. "You poor thing." she said, a little quieter than usual.
Votzhem bit his lip. Somehow, he'd know that that sort of story was coming. He'd just known.
He was fortunate. His mother had kept him and loved him and cared for him even though she was very far from home. He didn't know what it would be like if his mama - if either of his mamas - had abandoned him like that. He didn't want to imagine that kind of life - never ever.
"Yeah. I'm... fine" he said, forcing himself to look at her. "Thats a real nice necklace she left you" he said, trying to smile. It came out as a grimace - he was not used to smiling. But he gave it a try anyway, because he didn't believe her when she said things were not so bad.
"Have you ever been to Sauti?" he asked, ignoring the fact that Kaalnia was holding her.
Posted: Thu May 01, 2014 5:23 pm
DraconicFeline
Yelena worried when Kaalnia didn't say anything to what she had said. Did she say something wrong? Or was there something else? She looked at the girl and waited hoping she hadn't offended anyone. Her weight shifted from foot to foot as she waited. There was just silence and nothing else really. It felt so strange. She made a soft surprised sound whens she was yanked into a hug. She hugged Kaalnia back and squeaked a tiny bit at how tight it was but she didn't mind it. She hugged her tightly. "Thank you but it's just what it is." She buried her head against Kaalnia's neck and just hugged her. It felt nice to be hugged and comforted.
She looked back over at Votzhem once she had calmed down and was back to normal. She frowned as she saw him bite his lip. She really hoped she hadn't offended him that would make her sad. She was used to this though since she had been like this all her life. Her mother just had never been there and that was all there was to it.
She didn't say anything about it really but it was her life. She nodded when he said he was fine and smiled as she saw him look at her. She bowed her head. "Thank you. It's very soft and I do love it." She touched the feathers on it and grinned at him then giggled as she watched him try to smile. It was really cute. And made her feel a lot better.
"No I've never been there. What's it like? I've only ever been here though I want to explore." She was still hugging Kaalnia and smiled at Votzhem.
Kaalnia felt so sorry for the girl. 'Just what it is?' her heart was melting. Absolutely melting. She was about to speak up, when Votzhem interrupted.
It did look soft. And very pretty. He'd never wanted pretty things, but, as he watched her show off the necklace, he wished he'd taken the trinkets his mothers had offered him when he'd set off for Jahuar. "Well. It ain't nothing special..." he said awkwardly, blushing again, "I just grew up there, is all..." He did not like his newfound shyness. Not one bit.
She rubbed Yelena's back gently as Votzhem spoke, in the hopes of giving as much comfort to the poor little exotic beauty as she possibly could. To heck with dating her! Kaalnia just wanted to make her life as awesome as a pretty girl like hers should be! She wanted Yelena to run in the trees and dance in the flowers and feast on fruit because she was such a poor unfortunate soul...
Perhaps Kaalnia was getting a little too into this. Maybe she just needed something to feel helpful towards. Carrying the dead was all well and good and a needed service, but there really wasn't anything she could do for the poor bastards aside from get them home.
"What he means to say is that its a miserable place but it has his mothers, who are awesome. And beautiful!" she grinned at Votzhem, "Tell her about your ma's!"
Votzhem didn't like to think of his mother's as beautiful, and he shifted uncomfortably when Kaalnia spoke. "Yeah. I guess." he grumbled, prickly. It just felt off when she talked about his mothers, that was all. "And it ain't miserable. It's right pretty." he retorted. "Especially in the sunset."
Kaalnia laughed, reverberating through the hug. "He can get soooo romantic at times, its hard to believe he's even the same person!" she teased.
Votzhem blushed and glared at the ground as if he could somehow ignite it with his dark gaze.
Kaalnia laughed again, good naturedly. She loved teasing him. He reacted so well!
"So. You've probably never seen Jahuar, huh." she said, thoughtfully, "Ever want to?"
Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 9:49 pm
DraconicFeline
Yelena looked back at Votzhem when he spoke again. She was still playing with one of the feathers on her necklace. She saw him looking at her necklace and grinned it was a really nice necklace. She loved it. She grinned when he blushed he seemed to do that a lot. Was that natural for him? Or did he usually not blush? "Well it sounds like it would be a nice place. I'm sure it is very special especially to you since it is where you grew up."
She smiled and relaxed more as Kaalnia was being so nice and rubbing her back. It felt good and was really sweet of the girl. "Thank you." It was nice being comforted no one but her father had really ever tried to comfort her. She looked back at Kaalnia and smiled she hugged her tight to thank her and grinned. These two were very strange but very nice. It was refreshing to have people who didn't judge based on appearance. She had now met three people who didn't care what she looked like. Two of them thought she was pretty. But one she wasn't sure what he thought.
She looked at him and smiled how nice it must be to have mothers. She watched his face and he didn't seem to like having his ma's talked about. She wondered why but didn't ask. It might be seen as rude. Seeing his shift like that made her smile and want to comfort and hug him. Her eyes lit up when he mentioned how it looked with the sunset. "Oh I love sunsets they are so magical and amazing."
Yelena giggled and smiled. "That sounds nice. Romances is always amazing." She loved to daydream about someone who would romance her and sweep her off her feet. He blushed again. It was just too cute. She looked back at Kaalnia. "Nope I've never been there either. But I would love to go there someday. I want to explore many places. Jahuar is at the top of my list."
Votzhem grunted. "Yeah. I guess so. It's my homeland after all..." he watched Kaalnia owlishly, "Prefer Jahuar." Not really, though. It was a bit too warm for his taste, and wet, but it was where he belonged. He complained about a lot of things, but he was grateful to be in the Alkidike tribe. So he kept his mouth shut.
"Yeah, they're pretty magical. And Amazing." said Kaalnia, smirking, "Not nearly as much as you, though!" she chuckled happily - she'd timed that nicely.
Votzhem groaned. That had been one of Kaalnia's worst. "Can't see sunsets in Jahuar." he remarked. "The trees block the way." he sighed, "There's little lights under the trees, though. Those are pretty too..."
Kaalnia stuck her tongue out at him briefly, then laughed. "Yeah, can't see much of the sky on the ground! But its pretty, all the same!" she said. An Idea hit her. "So. You like romance, huh." she moved to better embrace her, "How would you like to be whisked off your feet by two strong alkidikes such as ourselves?" she asked, purring flirtatiously, "And taken to Jahuar?".
Votzhem stared at Kaalnia. "What?" he asked, shocked.
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 12:46 pm
DraconicFeline
I'm so sorry this has taken me so long.
Yelena looked over at Votzhem as he grunted and spoke. "Why do you prefer Jahuar?" She was really curious and tilted her had as she watched him. She was starting to feel better around these two. Less cautious and more comfortable. They didn't seem like the other she had met and actually seemed to want to talk to her. It was a nice change and made her feel happy. Maybe they could be her friends? That would be nice. Having friends. She really wanted to have some friends and they seemed like they would make really good friends for her to have. She looked back at Kaalnia and smiled. "Yeah I love sitting and watching the sunsets and sunrises." She blushed scarlet as she heard that last bit. "You are much more amazing and magical than I am. But I am very flattered with the compliment." She blushed more.
She was curious about what Jahuar was like. It sounded so different from what she was used to. "That many trees? Really? That sounds amazing. I've never seen that many trees before. But it would be sad to not be able to see the sunsets anymore. I would miss them. But that many trees sounds amazing." She had heard the groan. "Are you ok Votzhem? Are you in pain?"
She giggled as Kaalnia stuck out her tongue. "Sounds pretty." She looked at Kaalnia and nodded. "Yeah I do. It always seems so nice and like something I would like." She smiled and hugged the girl back. It was nice being hugged. But then she was shocked by what she said. Had she heard right? Did Kaalnia just ask to whisk her away to Jahaur? Or had she just daydreamed that? Maybe she imagined it. She blushed more. She had heard the purr in the voice and tilted her head. "I don't think Votzhem likes that idea. He just reacted to what you said. But why would you want to whisk me away? I'm sure there are others here who you would rather travel with than me."
"What?" Kaalnia smirked at Votzhem, "Oh, don't worry about him. He doesn't like anything." she said.
Votzhem huffed angrily, but did not deny it. "I'm not in pain, I'm 'reacting'" he glared at them both, disgruntled. "Yer moving too fast, Kaa." he protested, grumblingly shifting position, "Way too fast. Ye don't even know her."
"I don't need to! She's gorgeous and she wants to go to Jahuar. What more do I need? I think its' pretty cut and dry..." she grinned down at Yelena, "Don't you?"
"Nope." she said dismissively at Yelena's comment, her face incredulous "Not likely to be anybody else who wants to go with us. They don't like us here." She tapped Yelena's chin playfully, "So they can all stay here in the cold... And that means no competition for you." She looked her over, "Not that you'd have much competition anyway!"
Votzhem rolled his eyes. "What, noticed that?" he grumped, hopping down from the fence and stretching, "Nobody likes..." he hesitated briefly, "Us." it was intentionally meaningful, a pointed jab at Kaalnia about how he and Yelena were both Hybrids and thus truly welcome nowhere. A reminder to Kaalnia, perhaps, of what the young hybrid she was cuddling would face in Jahuar, as well as here. Perhaps it was better for her to stay here, where she was home. he thought. Then again, he himself did not regret leaving Sauti for Jahuar.
Still... Kaalnia was pushing it a lot, and it bothered him.
Of course, such subtleties went over Kaalnia's head. And she shrugged. "Eh. Give them time." she said, "Its too cold here, though, so they might not have enough..." she shrugged, unperturbed. "My awesomeness just takes getting used to."
Or a clobber to the head Votzhem thought uncharitably, glowering at his friend.
"Anyway, We both prefer Jahuar because its warm and wet and it's home. And yeah, full of trees. Thats the wierdest thing about the Tale, you know? Barely any trees. And Sauti too." she shook her head, "Honestly. Gotta feel sorry for them. Trees are amazing. They give shade and you can, you know, climb on them, live on them..." Kaalnia began to list things off on her fingers, still encircling Yelena with her arms, "Live in them, rest on them, rest under them... Yeah." she concluded finally, "Trees are awesome. So is rain..." she looked around, "Do you even get rain here? Or is it always just, uh..."
"Snow." Votzhem provided helpfully.
"Yeah. That." said Kaalnia, nodding in agreement.
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 2:09 pm
DraconicFeline
Yelena frowned at Kaalnia as the woman talked about Votzhem. Did he really not like anything? Or was it just her he didn't like? Did he have a problem with her? She fidgeted and bit her lip. Her hand reached up and fiddled with the feathers of her necklace. She flinched as he looks at her with a disgruntled then straightened up. No she wouldn't flinch from a look like that. She had seen looks worse than that all her life and this one wouldn't make her cower at that look. "Reacting to what?" We voice was soft and inquisitive. She frowned ok that was nice being talked about as if she wasn't even here. What was this guy getting at? She'd get to Jahuar on her own if she had to. It was where she intended to go and she would go there. If they wanted to take her with them she would be very grateful for that. But if they didn't she would smile talk with them more then leave later.
She blushed scarlet at Kaalnia's words. This lady really liked to say things that made people blush. Her especially. "Yes I do want to go there. Do you always call people gorgeous?" She was curious. She sighed but nodded her head. Yeah that was probably right most of the ice proper here didn't seem inclined to Lear and if they were they most likely wouldn't leave with these people. Especially not Votzhem. She smiled. "You're right." Then she giggled as her chin was playfully tapped. And blushed more when she was looked over and heard the comment. "Um I don't really think I'd be competition to anyone who wants someone. I'm really not that special compared to others. I mean next to you I'm nothing much."
She looked over at Votzhem in shock did he just say that? "What do you mean by that?" She watched him hop down and stretch. She nodded yeah he was right no one seemed to like them they weren't fully anything. She wasn't welcome here would that change anywhere else? Would they treat her the some everywhere or would some where accept her? She didn't think anywhere would accept her. And that made her sad. It was hard to think of that. It jus hurt for her. But staying here was just not an option. She loved her father but there was no one else here that would care what happened to her. And Kiyelt was leaving too.
So she had made up her mind to leave. She laughed as the two talked. It was really cute they were like siblings. Maybe they were something more than that too. It wasn't really her business. "It's not really too cold here this time of yea isn't so bad." She had gotten used to the cold since she had lived here all her life. Treed sounded nice. She wanted to see more trees and get to see more of the world around here. It was a really good idea to get out of here as fast as she could. "That sounds really nice getting to climb trees and sleep in them or see the world from that vantage point. I'd love to get to do that." She really wanted to see the world like that. She stood there in Kaalnia's arms as she listened to that things that the lady listed off. "All of those sound like a lot of fun to get to experience. I would really love to get to experience all those things."
She laughed and shrugged. "It's usually snow here. Lots and lots of snow. Some days there is so much it blankets the world in white and gets so quiet. As if the entire world is holding its breath."
Votzhem shrugged and turned away. "Nothin. I didn't mean nothin." he mumbled, rolling his shoulders, "Kaa, I'm gonna... Go somewhere. Buy supplies and stuff."
"Huh?" Kaalnia frowned at him, "Oh, sure. Don't be long, 'kay?" she said.
"Yeh. Won't be long." he said, stalking off. Clearly, Kaalnia was set on bringing the girl along, and totally blind to any consequences. Hey, he didn't mind the company, but was it the right idea? Should she go to Jahuar?
Clearly, though, it wasn't his business or decision. "Don't either of ye go too far." he said, waving vaguely at them as he sought out some merchants that would deal with a hybrid like him.
"That leaves just you and me. Alone." Kaalnia said flirtatiously, "And yes, I do call a lot of people gorgeous. But I'm just being honest, you know? They are. So I tell them so, because they should know it too, you know?" she shifted her hold on Yelena to make it more comfortable. "I don't lie, you know? So it's true when I say you're definitely special. I mean, look at you. You've got, like, four colors in you. You're like a kinfa... er... Its this colorful Tale bird." she explained, "They're really pretty. And a bit scary. But anyway, you can go out and do all those things, you know." said Kaalnia, helpfully, "I've been offering to take you there this whole time, like, from the beginning of our talk. All you gotta do is say yes and pack up some stuff." she stroked Yelena's clothed arm. "I'm serious." she said, and she was... well, as serious as Kaalnia could be.
