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 Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 8:24 pm
  Days had passed since the fateful day where she had met Zulfiqar in front of Dragnid, each more anxious than the last as they led up to their meeting day. But none of it really set in until the finally day of travel, the purple naga nervously glancing from in front of her to beside her at one very quiet midnight fae. Niday had insisted on coming along to get a look her new acquaintance, but her presence only served to make the teen even more nervous. The whole trip, not one word had been spoken to her.
She was in deep, deep trouble. She couldn't even argue against it.Coming home she had been so nervous, ringing out her hands as her parents dug at what she had seen and gone. "I went to Dragnid and met a boy." She had blurted out, much to her mothers shock. "Dragnid? Twilight, why?" Niday's face steeled with cold anger, her eyes narrowing. "It was your intent all along to go there, wasn't it." How did she know? Niday always seemed to know. She felt so ashamed. Her head hung low as she nodded. "I had to know. And if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met Zulfiqar." "The boy? Twilight, a boy from there is so dangerous, what were you thinking? You could've been killed and we'd never know!" Dayht's pale eyes were wide in worry, distress on her face in stark contrast to Niday's disapproving glare. "Well, actually, about him. I may have...invited him to live here...with us." "...What."The teen shivered remembering that one cold word. The last word Niday had spoken to her since. She glanced over at her guardian, the fae never looking at her as they walked in silence."Dragnid is evil, I felt it. And he needs to get out of there. It was the only way." "We can't take a complete stranger into our home! Especially someone from Dragnid." Dayht took control of the voice of reason, as her sister had decided to stare in silence. "He's barely older than me, he needs a place to go. Besides mom...he looks like me. I can ask him so many things, we can learn so many things from him." As Dayhts expression faultered, Twilight took a deep breath as she beat in the final nail in the coffin. "Haven't you ever felt like you didn't belong? And what if you got the chance to finally feel like you did?" Her expression softened to sadness, a harsh blow given to the gentle hearted fae. She looked over at her sister. "Nigh nigh, I..." As soon as Dayht looked at her with her big puppy dog eyes, Niday abruptly stood to walk out of the room. She had heard enough of this. "...I'll talk to her sweetie. But I hope you realize what you've done."And that was that. The next day Niday woke her up by throwing a pack of supplies on her bed, and they headed out. She got what she wanted, a chance to know about herself through Zulfiqar. But Dayht's words bounced in her head combined with Niday's cold demeanor. At what cost?
"This is it." Twilight squeaked, coming to a stop in front of the dark foreboding forest. She looked up at her mother. "Mom, I'm so sorry..."Cool golden eyes looked down at whom she had come to accept as her daughter. Somepae she had grown to love and care for. It was hard to be angry, but trust had been broken. Twilight needed to learn it wasn't right. "Let me do the talking when he shows." She spoke quietly before looking away, disregarding the silver haired teens apology. Opposed to Twilight, there was no softness in her stance. Her war bracers gleamed in the sunlight as she stood ready to do battle with anything that may jump out from Dragnids depths. She had gone into Dragnid once before, a long time ago back before the island dropped from the sky. It was not pleasant then, and it seemed far worse now.
Somewhere in it was her sister Amara. I wonder if she's still alive.
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 9:08 am
 Some amount of time passed before they would hear rustling in the distant forest, almost ominously, as no creature was easily visible. Zulfiquar made an effort to retain his camouflaged form until he was nearly out of the Dragnid, for the beasts within could sense the weak.
For now, with his cut on his cheek barely closed and some number of bruises about his side and tail fresh, that included him.
Before he revealed himself, however, he took a moment to reflect on the scene before him. So... this was the head of 'Clan Tartara'? Not a naga, to be sure, Twilight hadn't lied in that respect. Still, to see it manifest so clearly before him, to see her calling such vermin mom...
It was disgusting.
But if he was to woo her over, to carefully shape her into the perfect mate, he'd have to pretend (quite hard) that there was nothing unusual or vulgar about the scene before him. He could do that. He could put up with this until he could teach her of their - well, his - tradition and legacy as two of the great naga of the land. Clanless, they were, but they only meant they had to create their own clan from scratch. It wouldn't be such a terrible thing to partake in.
Taking a deep breath to present a neutral face, he removed the camouflage from his scales and took a few, 'hesitant' motions closer.
"Twilight...? And...?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 9:23 am
She tried not to wince at her mothers cold demeanor, hoping it was more so because of where they were rather than her actually being mad. She was so tough looking, so strong. Twilight tried to emulate it when she first came to Dragnid, and quickly tried to recreate it now as the meeting time grew near.
It was exceptionally hard when the other naga suddenly appeared, her golden eyes flickering to his numerous wounds. She opened her mouth to question them, but instantly closed it again with a soft click of her teeth. Niday told her not to talk, so she wasn't going to. Even if she was concerned with why the male was suddenly battered.The fae had felt eyes on them long before she was able to spot the naga. And when she did finally, he seemed to just materialize out of thin air. Had he just shown up, or had he been spying on them? She didn't much care for the latter, but carefully didn't show the distrust she felt on her face. "Niday. I came to see for myself if you were fit to join us." Her tone was devoid of inflection, leaving it cold and biting. He was young, still a child. But a child of Dragnid was not one to be trifled with.
That and her empty headed daughter went and told him they were a clan, so now she had to play the part of leader. "But I see you've been injured." The last was more for Twilight, already knowing she'd be concerned with the bruises. Ended up developing her sister Dayht's soft heart.
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 9:36 am
Zulfiqar never let one hint of his displeasure to meet her become visible and tried to keep from permeating malicious intent. He was somehow capable of that, at least for now, in this setting. Instead, he bowed his head slightly, 'respectfully,' as she presented herself. "One of the clan leaders, I see. Excuse me for not sensing so immediately." He smiled as he raised his head. As well as a tainted beast from the Dragnid could, in any case. Surely it was a little unnerving. Maybe it was best if he didn't do so from now on. "How honored I am to be met by one of your status personally."
Glancing down to his battered side and wiping a faintly-wet trickle of blood from his cheek, he crossed his arms, shrugged, and sighed. "The Angwi clan heads were not pleased to hear I was to join another." He looked back to her, unflinching. "They thought for a disgrace of a child as I, it was better to send a dead son than one of good health. Much to their displeasure, these were the only injuries I sustained."
Never mind that it was his sister that hurt him so...
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Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 7:44 am
Her eyes flicked from her mother to Zulf and back again as they talked. We'll...need to work on his smiling. She thought to herself as the action seemed foreign, as if a smile had no place on his features. It came off as cold and dark.
So far, so good it seemed though. Both were playing nice for the most part. No one had attacked anyone yet, which was the worst outcome she had thought of. But when Niday asked about his injuries, she paid even sharper attention as it was something she wanted to know.
Oh...oh no. How cruel. Was that what it meant to be in a clan, or was it because of Dragnid? He looked so tough despite it. But he was so young, was he just putting on a brave front? The thought was so sad. She was even more determined to get him away from such a horrible place.As she was 'the higher status' she acknowledged the head bow with the tiniest of head movements. He...really should not smile. The male was a creepy fellow, not the kind she exactly wanted hanging around her daughter. He seemed polite enough, but there was something she simply did not like. A feeling about him. It showed quite clearly in his attempt at a smile. Like a wolf in sheeps clothing.
She'd have to put aside her misgivings however, as a quick glance at Twilight confirmed the teens doe eyes. Twilight obviously believed Zulfiqars tale, but whether or not she herself chose to believe it was irrelevant. She wouldn't trust a single word from his mouth until he proved otherwise. "Either they must not really have wanted you dead, or you're a strong fighter. Else you wouldn't be here at all with just a few bruises." As though she was sizing him up for letting him join her 'clan'. After all, they'd obviously would want only the strongest joining their ranks. So she'd pretend to be interested in his strength for their little charade as she continued to evaluate if he'd be safe to bring back home. "I trust you were sure to not be followed?" If the Angwi Clan was as vicious as he made them out to be, she wouldn't want a retaliation.
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Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 8:56 am
Zulfiqar made notice of how Twilight seemed to eat his each and every word, a true pleasure to behold. Yes, his words were true in verbalization, if deceptive in meaning. He could see it now, as if already in his grasp: how easy it would be to manipulate and craft her into his perfect mistress. Those with extreme empathy were so much more useful than those without.
He'd have to thank the 'clan heads' personally some day.
"That I am, and a skilled one at that. I left as the entire clan engaged in fighting to re-establish the hierarchy of those of us coming of age: the preferential right to food and the like. They became distracted by another fight, and I made my leave." Whatever remnant of his smile had remained was gone as he finished his sentence. "If I may quote my mother, I am dead to the clan henceforth."
"There is no benefit to their following, not with the more prevalent issue of re-establishing the hierarchy between actual members."
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Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 10:23 am
Zulfiqar wouldn't actually be followed, would he? It was a thought she hadn't considered before. Her plan was quite simple, go over, take Zulf home, continue life as normal knowing they had helped another pae.
But his prior life sounded so fascinating. Completely horrific and awful, but fascinating in the way how it was so different from hers. The right to food? She never once had to go hungry, unless she smart mouthed too much and was sent to bed early. And fighting each other for some kind of ranking was beyond her comprehension. No one in a family was supposed to hit each other.She tilted her head slightly at his response. "I'll have to see how skilled later. What a tumultuous time for you to leave them." Her golden eyes flicked to the forest though, just precautionary in case she glanced something peering back at them. "Still, we should get moving. We can talk during our long walk back." It was a quick change of mind to get walking right then and there instead of waiting it out. But being so close to Dragnid was not comfortable for the fae.
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Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 10:35 am
He was almost surprised that the fey made no mention of the timing being a disgraceful one to leave. Surely a real clan head would have done so; but he'd understood from the beginning that this was no proper clan. Just a poor, poor female who'd had the awful luck of being raised in the most improper of ways.
At least she had access to resources and a lack of competition, it appeared.
He could fix everything else with time and some simple manipulation. She was kind-hearted it seemed, a concept he couldn't even truly fathom, and conflicted. Surely he could use that to his advantage. He just had to put up with this farce for however long it took until he could begin to 'teach' her the proper ways of a naga. He could handle this fake submission for that long.
Bowing his head once more, he again addressed Niday. "It is as you say. If you might lead the way..." he moved forward, out of the forest's protection and closer to Twilight. He glanced over to her and gave her that smile again, though perhaps there was less of an edge this time.
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Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2015 8:37 am
A bit of excitement and nervousness tickled her stomach and her mother stated for them to begin their way home. Of course at any point of time, the fae could decide to make Zulf leave should she find some kind of fault. But they were closer to getting him home than they were five minutes ago. The purple female nodded in agreement to fall in behind Niday, her golden eyes flicking to Zulfiqar to catch his smile. Still rather unnerving, she smiled back with a touch of warmth. She could just feel that this was the start of something big. She just knew it.She didn't like him. Anything that came from Dragnid was automatically not to be trusted, and he oozed bad decisions. He was polite, direct and made no outright signs of malicious intent. But all of that could easily be a facade. She hid her dislike, he could hide his own. Wordlessly the midnight fae took lead through the marsh.
It would be a few minutes before she decided to speak again, not seeming to notice or care of the awkwardness of walking in silence. When she finally did it was sudden, giving no visual hints beforehand. "You're taking a great risk, leaving your home to join strangers. Why?" Direct, and to the point. She didn't like to waste her breath on pointless chatter.
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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2015 10:22 am
Big, it indeed would likely be. Zulf had great plans for this next step in his life. Having forsaken everything he'd learned up to now, even his ability (damned be that Eris), there was really no way to go but forward. He'd played all his cards on this gamble, and by the skin of his teeth he'd be sure it profited him in the end.
He didn't mind the silence; probably preferred it over idle chitchat. Was easier to keep up this front he had going that way.
Zulfiqar hardly hesitated in giving his reply to her question, one carefully crafted out in advance. The snake supposed something along such lines would arise (rightfully so). "Before meeting Twilight, I had no conception that there was any possible life for me beyond the Dragnid and my clan; it's dangers was all I had ever known. But... She appeared and spoke of a life on the outside, offered me refuge in her clan, with your grace of course. Given the fighting that was soon to happen with my own, I thought perhaps this was more than simply coincidence."
"Fate might be too strong a word for such an encounter, but perhaps that is was it was."
Oh, he could imagine how much the pretty little purple Twilight must be eating this up, given what he'd learned of her mannerisms so far. Subtle praises for now would inflate her esteem both in herself and him; a perfect position to break her down from.
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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2015 11:53 am
She was being a good girl and wasn't saying a word. Not one peep. Her mother was already mad at her for the situation, she wasn't about to make it worse. So until Niday gave the go ahead for her to converse, she slid quietly beside Zulf but just behind her mother. But she could listen, and of course she hung on every word.
She really did all that? It was hard not to feel a bit of pride blooming in her chest. Her lips twitched in a smile before she quickly hid it away, trying not to appear too pleased with herself. The purple pae really had hoped beyond hope that she was doing the right thing.A pretty little answer. Calling this encounter 'fate', a very fanciful idea. One that naive teenagers would dream up of. It seemed the more Zulfiqar talked, the more enraptured Twilight became. Like quicksand or a slow acting poison. Perhaps this was his honest thoughts, or maybe he was trying to woo her daughter. She wasn't blind to reality, they were opposite genders and males from all walks of life loved to woo females.
She would be watching him. Very, very closely. "If you are to reside with us, you are to know the way we lead our lives is quite different than what you are accustomed to. Though you no doubt already guessed that." Considering that Twilight didn't radiate viciousness and she was a fae, 'different' didn't quite cover it. "We base hierarchy on responsibility, actions and respect rather than fighting. We do not physically strike any pae unless danger is imminent to ourselves or someone in the clan. We all carry our weight in aiding to daily life, and we all look after one another. If Twilight has misled you in any of those ways and you feel that you cannot abide by my and Dayhts rules, I give my apologies and you can part ways in Loka nei. It's a safe forest." She was quite blunt about this, but it was better to lay the cards out now rather than Zulf find out later.
A golden eye now shifted to look at the male, quite curious about his reaction. This would be very important to see.
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Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2015 3:33 pm
Zulfiqar looked to Twilight with such a subtlety that one might have questioned if he'd even shifted his gaze at all. Her reaction was perfectly aligned with what he'd expected.
Perfect.
He internalized the eye-roll he might have instinctively been inclined to do as the dark fae began to talk, his expression showing no notice of the exasperation he felt of it. In fact, he appeared to be listening quite attentively, nodding when appropriate and the like. He'd have to be a harpy to have not understood by now that this 'clan' was different than his own. His own words were delayed only slightly after she finished, which allowed him time to determine the most desirable way to continue. "If I may have the time to adjust, I do not think it will be a problem. I just ask if you would be patient for me to acclimate to it all. It... sounds as though your clan hosts a culture quite different from what I have experienced since I first hatched, after all." He hoped he hesitated in just the right locations to give a sense of hesitation and sincerity.
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2016 10:13 am
Of course she watched Zulfiqar for his answer, as it was the moment of truth. This was a concern that had been weighing on her mind for a while now.
But the male answered so perfectly. So eloquently. He was hardened from Dragnid, she could see that. But he didn't seem like a bad pae, just one that was dealt a bad hand.Niday listened closely, noting the subtle hesitations and his sincere tone of voice. Perhaps she was being too hard on a young boy. But may her soul be cursed if she fell into a trap with being too kind because he was a teenager.
He was from Dragnid after all. And Dragnid, was something she'd seen change with her very eyes. From something dangerous to something near suicidal to enter.
She'd have to compromise. The fae would ask more questions of him, but at a later time. She'd give him the kindness of not interrogating him right away. "You will have it. And I'm certain Twilight will personally help you adjust." She was the one who brought him in, he was her responsibility now. At the mention of her daughter, she looked over to the purple pae. Her eyes had been focused on the newcomer, but instantly looked down in sullen acceptance when she noticed Niday looking. Like a kicked puppy.
She repressed a sigh before giving the girl a nod. She could talk now.
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2016 7:54 am
"You have my most sincere gratitude," he replied, his own head bowing lightly, subserviently, to his supposed new clan head. For his part, it seemed as though, at last, this interrogation was over. That was good; it was such an unbearable pain keeping up such a front. If this was to become his persona for the foreseeable future, he'd revel in his times of personal self-reflection. Looking again to Twilight, he offered her a smile and a nod, a confirmation at how things appeared to be going.
'Her' plan had worked out quite nicely after all it seemed.
Looking forward, he remained silent for the moment, allowing her to be the first to speak if she so chose to do so. Otherwise, he'd be content to quietly observe the changing scenery for most of the way to his new 'home'.Tartara Seabreeze Left it in a way that we can end the rp now or continue on with more conversation
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 10:37 am
~ TIIIIMMEEE SKIIIIPPPPP ~ The journey from Dragnid to their home in Loka Nei was a few days, and she was more than content with spending them in silence. She had said what she had wanted, and was alright with returning to solitude. It seemed as though Zulfiqar was equally willing to enjoy the silence. The only time the quiet was broken was with Twilight every now and then commenting on something or asking some mundane question of the new teen.
Could she really not contain her excitement for her new... 'friend'? She mostly tried to ignore them.
Finally they came upon their modest home, not far off from the Star Grove village. Far enough for privacy, but close enough for a quick walk to family.
It was well built, made herself years ago when Dayht left the empty lighthouse she once shared with Apollo. Made primarily of wood, with a stone pathway. Flowers bloomed in the front from Dayht's gardening. The fae reached out, her bracers glistening in the sun as she opened up the door. "Day-!"
A gray flash darted through her legs, bounding outside into the sunshine. "Trill! Get back...ah. Never mind." She continued inside their humble abode. "Dayht! The cat got out."Busying herself in the kitchen, washing dishes in their 'sink' which was a basin with a tube running outside using a bucket of water, the day Fae froze when she heard her sisters voice. "Niday!" She sung happily, quickly setting the plate down to rush towards the entrance. It had been so lonely without the girls. "Oh she'll come back when she gets hungry. Is he here? The boy?" In stark contrast to her sibling, Dayht peered through the doorway, practically beaming with excitement. Of course her pale eyes fastened immediately on the neon green male. "Welcome home!" Oh he's handsome. That explained Twilight wanting to bring him home.During their journey she was growing more comfortable, slowly talking more and more to their new addition. But when they started in on their front yard, reality set back in. He got to meet mom. Well, her other mom. The one so far removed from darkness she seemed straight out of a fairy tale. Dayht would accept Zulf instantly, she knew it. But there wasn't exactly anything she could do or say to prepare Zulf for Day.
As the door swung open, she wasn't too surprised by the feline rushing outside. This was a common occurrence obviously. She'd be back that evening. "Hi mom." Twilight spoke nervously. "We're all...here."Daisicle And now for something completely different
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