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 Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 7:14 am
Monsters With the recently discovered Yaeli, the land of Tendaji has been abuzz with talk and gossip about their new neighbors. They're odd, they're strange and skittish, their eyes glow - but that can't possibly be true most say - the word on the street is that they're starting to leave their island. Those that had met the Yaeli know that it's an odd thing to hear. They were terrified of the outsiders, why would they leave their safe villages... Rumors are filling the toxic island where the Alkidikes extremists were banished along with the Matron. Rumors of monsters clawing their way out of the earth with oil black skin and glowing evil eyes that are even weirder than the strange monsters that landed upon their shores just one year ago. The Yaeli say that their gaze can steal the soul of any person dumb enough to get too close and they're vicious beings trying to take their children. These rumors have reached the main land as well, mostly through the few Yaeli that have decided they would rather face the scary but similar earthling races than to have to find out what the terrifying monsters want with them and their land. Is there any truth to these rumors or are the Yaelians seeing things? [Yaeli characters can respond to the event with their own opinions on the rumors.]
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 11:42 am
Even with her dark skin, many didn't spare her a second glance as she danced in the waves and moved close to see what others had caught. Some day, she too would journey out into the water and become a true Matori. In the meantime, she was forced to sit content with watching and listening to those around her.
As she moved to sit on the dock, her toes unable to reach the water despite her swinging, she heard a few Matori to the side speak up about monsters.
Ondine's eyes grew wide as she snapped her gaze to the elder women, gossiping about black skinned creatures covered with oil and eyes glowing in the darkness. Moving to stand, Ondine took a step back, nearly stumbling as she moved away from the dock and the stories.
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 2:49 pm
Sriina huffed a sigh, shifting the weight of a basket to her side. Her mother had made her go to the market, looking for things to prepare so she could be taught how to impress her soon-to-be husband. A lot of good that would do her. She had only met him once now, but he didn't seem to be very interested in her either, as far as she could tell.
Her ears perked at the sound of the voices around her. Monsters? Black skin and glowing eyes... that didn't seem quite realistic. She tilted her head and watched as a little dark skinned girl stood and almost fell over herself. She stretched out an arm to help steady her. "Are you alright little one?"
She smirked. "Don't tell me these stories have you scared?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:58 pm
Ondine nearly jumped away as she felt a hand on her shoulder, before turning wide-eyes to the tall Matori above. The woman had such long hair and pretty skin, and Ondine was lost for a second in the appearance of Sriina. It was only after the long second that she realized she was asked a question, and she realized exactly what that question was.
Scared? Her?
Lifting her chin, Ondine narrowed her eyes slightly and jutted out a lip. She was not scared, simply startled, and there was a difference.
"Of course I'm not scared!" She said in a huff, going as far as to stomp her foot slightly to prove her point. There was no way she would appear scared, otherwise her mother might not let her journey to the market alone again.
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 6:51 pm
Sriina chuckled at the stomping of the young girl in front of her. How cute to have her adamantly trying to prove to Sriina that she was fine. Sriina waved a hand at the little girl in surrender. "My apologies. I can see now that you most definitely were not."
She raised an eyebrow. The women who had been gossiping eyed the pair of them before they moved off to where they couldn't be overheard. "Funny stories those are. Monsters and soul stealers lurking in the shadows of Yael." She shrugged her shoulders. "Hard to believe without any proof. Wouldn't you say?"
She tilted a hip, holding the basket half full of supplies still in place. "Or do you believe in such things as that?" She questioned. It was honest enough, Sriina knew that children tended to believe in the incredible, and it seemed many of the adults were buying into the story this time as well.
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 7:01 pm
Eyes still narrowed, Ondine took a long moment to evaluate if Sriina was mocking her. When it seemed as if the woman wasn't really too judgemental, Ondine nodded with satisfaction and relaxed her body a bit. She didn't notice when others around her moved away, but that was a typical thing. So used to ignoring the looks of her skin, Ondine really didn't notice much of anything unless she wanted to.
As Sriina continued to speak, Ondine began to play with her fingers, pushing them into funny shapes and grinning to herself, "Well I'm like a shadow, so I don't see why they couldn't have others like me over there..."
It was a simple statement, and Ondine believed it. If she could be a dark skinned Matori, sharing the markings of her mother but the colors of her father, maybe those Yael people saw some shifters and assumed the worst.
"...but all the monsters I've heard of are the beasts we've tamed in the sea. Any monster can be caught." Nodding to herself, she smiled again up at Sriina, "...don't worry, if you are scared, I'm sure we can take care of any monsters, or they will be swallowed in the sea!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 8:09 am
Sriina listened to the little girl's speculations comparing her skin to a shadow. It was true. The Yaeli had never seen anything other than their own so the stories go, so why would they not see a shifter as a monster? Especially with their dark skin during the day. It's not oily... but it is dark. Sriina shook her head. Rumors were always skewed and distorted. "I think you may be right." She answered.
She had to laugh out again when the little girl tried to insist that Sriina was scared. "I'm not afraid of monsters." She sat herself down at the edge of the dock. "I've faced my fair share of monsters and I haven't seen one yet that was close to the stories I'm hearing." She hadn't been to Yael, but she couldn't imagine something like that without seeing it for herself.
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 8:13 am
Taking a breath, Ondine watched as Sriina moved to settle herself on the dock, and slowly did the same. With her tiny legs swinging once more over the gentle tide, Ondine looked at their shadowy reflection and could see where some rumors would come from. Sriina had such pretty skin - it looked just like the ocean on a bright summer day. Herself, on the other hand, looked like the night sky, and changed to appear like the moon whenever it came out.
Beastly indeed.
"...what kind of monsters are there outside of the sea? There can't be anything that scary to fight against..." Ondine was genuinely curious about what the older matori would consider a monster, and she secretly hoped that she would be rewarded with an answer or even a tale.
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 10:24 am
Sriina rested the basket she carried on her lap, settling into her spot on the docks. The little girl was asking an incredible amount of questions, looking to Sriina with expectations in her eyes. She presumed that the little girl wanted more than just a list. She laughed inwardly though, Sriina knew she was a terrible story teller. Too much fluff for her, she was much more straight-to-the-point.
Sriina scooted where she sat to make room for the little girl. Monster was a funny term, Sriina thought to herself, the first image to come to her being her slavers. But that was a story from the past, not something to put on a girl who had no idea what she had just barely missed in her life. " Well, in Oba during the war, there were terrible war beasts that were over one hundred feet long, and could tear apart whole crowds with their horns and tails."
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 7:02 am
Her eyes widened and her mouth opened large as she pictured the beast. In her mind, she saw it towering high enough to block the sun in the sky, and it appeared much more human like with scales all over its body. Horns and tails, surly the tail would sweep across and destroy and entire village. It seemed so strange, and so monstrous.
"..but-but how did they feed it?" As soon as she asked, she let out a little squeak of a gasp, before her voice lowered into a whisper to hide her fear, "Did they feed it...Earthlings?"
Oh what a terrible thought indeed, to picture such a big beast scooping up little earthling children and chomping down as if they were the floating weeds in the sea.
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 8:44 am
Sriina watched the girl's reaction with a grin. She wasn't trying to scare her, but she seemed to be really good at scaring herself. She was already poking Sriina with questions about it, making assumptions of the worst kind.
She was still a slave then, she had no idea of what they had eaten, but she was nearly sure it wasn't earthlings. Though she wouldn't have put it past the Obans to use water earthlings for something like that back during the days when they weren't worth much more than animals. "I never saw one eat, so I don't have an answer for you." She pulled on one of her braids in thought.
"And what monsters have you seen?" Sriina asked the girl, not having much more in the way of monsters to tell her. The girl had mentioned sea monsters and while Sriina knew there was more to the sea that was dangerous than there was friendly, she was curious to see what the girl had learned so far at such a young age.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 9:53 am
Ondine kept herself deep in thought, using Sriina's dismissal of an answer as a reason to keep wondering. They probably didn't steal earthlings, but maybe they ate animals. Like the snapptrotters that swam in the waters, if it was that big it could easily eat smaller creatures. The thought made her sad and made her lip quiver, so she quickly focused on what Sriina asked her.
"I've seen our own war beast..." She admitted, although it had only been seen in passing, like an illusion. She was out near the beach, and saw a great animal swimming in the deep sea, like a shadow against the sunset.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 11:24 am
Sriina listened and nodded her head to the girl's answer, though short as it was. Sriina had only seen their own war beasts on two occasions: when they had been fighting the Obans and trying to take back their freedom, and then when they were used to carry the earthlings up the steep cliffs to Sauti to help the others not that long ago now. She wondered just how close the little one had been and how she had seen such a thing. "They are large and ferocious. How did you see one?" She chuckled to herself. "You look much too small to be fighting in any wars."
Sriina wasn't very good at making jokes but she tried to make do. Hopefully the little hybrid beside her understood.
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Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 5:55 am
"It was swimming in the sea!" Ondine all but hollered, her eyes set in complete belief of what she had saw, "It was a giant shadow swimming at the top of the waves...there wasn't a war so it must have been swimming for fun!"
Yes, that made perfect sense, and Ondine nodded her head before standing slowly on the dock and pointing out toward the sea, "Maybe if you are lucky, you will see one too. It's protecting us like my daddy does, checking to make sure no monsters are hiding in the sea..."
Yes, that made perfect sense, and Ondine gave a little grin at her logic as she looked at Sriina, who was practically her height and she was still sitting down.
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 7:01 am
Sriina nodded with the little girl. She was so wrapped up in her story, believing it one hundred percent. It filled Sriina with a light warmth. The little one was very cute, that was for sure.
Sriina grinned. "I hope some day I'm lucky enough to see one."
She stood from where she was sitting, balancing her basket on one hip again. "Speaking of your daddy, I think after so long he might be looking for you, don't you think?" She looked up toward the already lowering sun. "Ah, and I have to get home too."
She bent over toward the smaller girl and offered a hand for a shake. "It was nice to meet someone as knowledgeable as yourself. Maybe we'll see each other again sometime." After their goodbyes, Sriina waved once more to the little girl and made her way through the market crowd.
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