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 Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 6:33 pm
Rain misted down from the gray sky that day. It wasn't enough to soak instantly, though walking in it long enough had made Ravindra feel heavy from water. At least it wasn't cold, that was a small blessing. The weather had been slowly warming up, trickling into spring after a long winter. As a flutter, spring was Ravindra's favorite season. He loved to shrink into his smallest size and flit from flower to flower, drinking deeply of the nectar waiting there. That was nice... but enough time walking in the rain was starting to make him long for summer already.
Today was an unusual sort of day for him. He'd split off from the khalasar as they rested, knowing that there was a herd nearby with an angeni holding certain powers. It was said that she had the gift of knowledge, being able to tell what sort of being you were in a past life. It had seemed far-fetched the first time he heard it, but Ravindra had heard it so many times after that he had eventually took it to be truth. Now, he sought out her wisdom. Curiosity plucked at him. What would she be able to tell him about the history of his spirit?
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 6:41 pm
Lokesvara sheltered under a tree while the rain misted down around her. She hadn't been troubled about it at the start of her fly, but it eventually was uncomfortable enough to ground her. The water kept stinging her eyes when she flew too fast, and the added weight of the moisture in her mane and tail had put a strain on her wings. She would much rather be out cavorting in the clouds, but instead she was grounded, standing on the infirm ground and wondering if the weather was going to change anytime soon.
She wondered what the rest of the Padmapani herd was doing, then smiled a little. How quickly she had gotten used to thinking of them as her herd, of believing that she belonged. It was strange to think about how much her life had changed since descending from the angeni heavens. There were a few unpleasant things, like the clinging rain, but for the most part it had been a wonderful experience. She'd learned more than she thought possible in such a short time, though she knew there was much left to discover.
Thinking these joyful thoughts, she didn't immediately notice the sound of hooves. Only belatedly did she realize someone was coming, then blinking up to see a brightly-colored flutter moving down the path towards her.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 6:46 pm
From what Ravindra had heard, the herd was still a little ways off. Because of this, he was rather surprised to see an angeni that matched the description of the one he was searching for standing right alongside the path. Could she have somehow heard that he was coming and come to wait for him? Was something like that possible even for a powerful angeni?
Clearing his throat, feeling a little self-conscious about the sudden change in circumstances, he approached her. "Might you be the angeni Lokesvara?" he asked respectfully. "My name is Ravindra, and I've come looking for you."
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 6:48 pm
... He knew her name? That was unusual, given that she couldn't recall ever seeing this stallion in her life. Her smile was tinged with confusion as she regarded this new acquaintance. "I am Lokesvara, yes." She tried to remember if she had ever heard of some sort of distant Padmapani relative with this appearance. He was beautiful, but didn't really have the Padmapani look about him.
"What is it that I can help you with?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:57 pm
Now that it came down to it, Ravindra felt a little strange for coming all the way out here by himself. It was a strangely intimate thing that he wanted to ask the angeni for, and he wasn't certain that she would even fulfill his request. He cleared his throat, paused a moment, then tried to gather his thoughts again. He supposed there was really no choice but to come out and tell her, or else he'd have no explanation at all for seeking her out.
"I'm from a herd passing by," he said, with a nod in the general direction from which he'd come. "We heard that there was an angeni around these parts, and that you could..." He trailed off a little, mouth dry. It was strange, his nervousness around her. His own lifemate was a pure angeni, so the breed was not exactly foreign to him. Why was it that this one intimidated him so?
"I heard that you could tell people about their past lives, and I was wondering if you might do that to me," he finally finished.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:00 pm
Lokesvara blinked at this Ravindra character. This was something that had never happened before. She'd done some readings for Padmapani members and a couple other soquili that passed by, but she had never before had someone deliberately try to find her for that purpose. She hadn't even been aware that rumors of her had spread that far. She wondered whether she should celebrate this or not. Was it a good thing or a bad thing that there were now people who knew her name that she had never met before?
"I could try to look into your past," she offered, putting some warmth in her smile. It was a nice enough thought, though she would have preferred nicer weather for it. Reading someone's past lives took a lot of concentration and she imagined that the damp might distract her.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:03 pm
Ravindra's eyes lit up. This was his chance! He smiled broadly before calming himself down to a more restrained smile. "Thank you. I have some trinkets with me that I could offer in thanks for such a service if you wish." He had thought about this aspect of the plan carefully. He wasn't sure if the angeni would think that it cheapened her to accept payment for using her gifts like this, but Ravindra was master of coin for Daenerys and felt that it was his duty to offer.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:06 pm
Now that was even more unexpected. She hadn't ever had a stranger ask her to read their past, yes, but she hadn't even thought that anyone might ever offer to pay her for it. So startled was Lokesvara, that she let out a soft laugh. Her eyes crinkled with good cheer at the notion, and she was quick to shake her head.
"No. Thank you, Ravindra, but I don't need anything." She raised one of her front hooves and gave it a small shake. The golden bracelets there jingled softly and glinted in the hazy light. "As you can see, I have quite enough for myself." She had brought her adornments with her from the angeni heavens. Now that she was here on the lower world, she had sometimes gone so far as to consider simply giving it all away.
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 9:06 pm
He was relieved that the issue of payment seemed to have passed without overly much awkwardness. He wasn't surprised at the answer at any rate. He expected angeni to be beyond cares about material wealth... perhaps. She wore gold and gems, but she wore them effortlessly like she wasn't aware of their existence. That was rather different from Daenerys, who certainly decorated herself to project a more regal image.
"How does the process work?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound overly ignorant. Would there be some sort of ceremony? It seemed like one might be appropriate given the relative gravity of the questions he asked her to delve into.
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Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:44 am
"Well," said Lokesvara. "It takes a lot of focus." She was about to continue when she paused, looking around and flicking a strand of mane out of her eyes. "Which is why this may not be the ideal place for it, or time." She gave Ravindra an apologetic smile. "I could attempt it here and now, but I'm afraid that I would see little while I'm distracted by the weather." She had been trying to hone her focus lately, but she knew that this sort of external circumstance could pose a problem for her.
"If you don't mind, there are other more sheltered places where we might go to. They are not far, and I would be able to tell you much more if I am out of the rain."
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Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:47 am
"Oh, of course!" Ravindra was quick to agree to the angeni's request. He hadn't thought of that as a complicating factor, though he immediately realized that he should have. His own wings felt sodden and soggy from the misting rain and his mane hung heavily against his sides. He couldn't imagine what it would be like for her with her four glorious wings and her mane that trailed almost to the ground.
He followed close beside her when she turned and began walking to what was presumably shelter.Thinking that he ought to attempt to make conversation, he brought up something that had been on his mind about the process.
"I just hope that I don't discover that I was a skinwalker in a past life," he admitted. "I know that it's hardly something that one can control, but it would still feel as if I had to atone."
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Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:53 am
Lokesvara shook her head a little at the question, smiling like it was a familiar joke. "I find that very unlikely," she told the stallion. "I learned this in the angeni heavens, but skinwalkers are actually relatively recent plagues upon this land. It is possible that you could have a skinwalker as a previous life, but they are so rare and recent that I have never actually seen this occur."
Thoughtfully, she paused for a moment. "I have wondered sometimes whether skinwalkers are able to reincarnate." She paused for a moment more before elaborating. "Would the spirits truly wish to reward such an evil spirit by giving it another life? Or perhaps they would see reincarnation as a chance for the skinwalker to redeem itself in a pure form?" It was fascinating stuff to think about and she had never found anyone who had been able to give her a firm answer on the matter.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 11:52 am
"I do not know," admitted Ravindra. It was an interesting question. He had never put much thought into the intentions of the spirits, but it was obvious that it weighed heavily upon this angeni mare's mind. At least that removed one horrid possibility. Whatever he had been in a past life, it wasn't a skinwalker. That was a little relief.
He was forming another question in his mind when they came to what he assumed was the shelter. It was so close by, but he hadn't been able to see it at all with all the trees in the way. It was very obviously human-made and very obviously ancient. It had square walls made out of some hardened material and a pointed top that rose into what might have once been a tower. Now, it was just a crumbled spire.
Ravindra drew in a breath softly. "This place is beautiful." Though worn down, it was an amazing bit of human engineering.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 7:18 pm
"I've always thought so," agreed Lokesvara with a smile. Coming here, she was glad to have company. Even though the ruin was only a short ways away, she probably wouldn't have thought to go to it if not prompted by need of her companion. There was that, and she simply enjoyed the act of sharing beauty with another. There was something about having a shared experience that flavored it more deeply than simply doing things on ones own.
"Let's go inside," she suggested, making her way towards the open rectangle of the entrance. Once it must have held some sort of door, but any such structure had long since rotted away. It was taller than a human but not so tall as to admit a soquili without her ducking her head. At least... she had to duck her head. The much smaller flutter made it in just fine.
"When I come here, it makes me wish I could read the story of the stones," she said wistfully. "I can read souls, but things like this are a mystery to me."
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 7:25 pm
Ravindra blinked around him as he walked into the ruin. It looked bare and worn down from the outside, but the inside was a little more intact. He could see carvings etched into the walls and places where it looked like it had been painted before. He squinted at one of the figures. Was that a soquili? He thought he could make out four legs, but it might have been a deer instead.
"Do you know anything about the ones who made this place?" he asked. He loved a good bit of history and this was the sort of place that seemed like it would be rich with it. It was only too bad they couldn't speak with humans to discover more...
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