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 Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 5:45 am
Teslaron glowered warily at the sky overhead, and not for the first time, he reminded himself how very little business he had near Oba's beaches. Which was true enough, considering that he'd been near the desert's edge perhaps twice in the entirety of his life. The first time, he'd been eight and delightfully in awe of the great expanse of water before him. Not that he'd been allowed to play in it, or anything. Slave boys were not permitted to enjoy such things.
But gods he'd wanted to.
So when the first distant rumblings started, followed by great swathes of dark clouds and tempestuous winds, his family packed up their beach gear and prepared to head off. In a stroke of boldness, Tes decided he wasn't ready to leave. He wasn't afraid of wind or clouds or water and why should he be? They'd never hurt him before.
At the time, he'd thought it a kindness when his master let him stay on the beach. Tied to a tree like an animal, but still there with the sound of rumbling thunder, cutting winds, and crashing waves. It was beautiful and amazing and so unlike anything he could remember seeing up until that point.
Until it wasn't.
In the span of half an hour, rain was coming down so hard he could barely see, let alone breathe. The wind would've been enough of a pain on its own without adding thousands of grains of sands whipping this way and that like razor blades over his skin. And the waves just crept closer and closer. It wasn't until he felt in very genuine danger that young Tes started fumbling blindly and frantically at the knot that kept him tied to the tree.
When lightning struck a tree not ten yards away, causing the world to light up in a bright flash of white, heat to roll forth as if out of the depths of the underworld, and all his hair to stand on end, he'd nearly strangled himself in desperation. And then he'd promptly fainted. He didn't know how long the storm went on after that, but he was with his masters when he awake. And they'd been angry at him for reasons he still didn't understand.
And then if that wasn't enough, he'd gotten sick.
So he hated the beach. He hated clouds and wind and water. And the sound of that far-off rumbling made a stone of anxiety drop heavy in his gut. More than a decade later, he knew how irrational it was to be afraid of just the thought of lightning, but that didn't make it any less.
And today, while he lingered away from the same family he'd been with that first time, the sky was dark. Clouds rolled in, and the distant warning of thunder echoed out over the ocean.
Teslaron hated the beach.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 8:36 pm
Days like today always bright a huge smile to Xewai's face. The sky was so dark and the waves were beginning to roll in with so much power that the young Matorian was simply enamored. Storms coming in from the sea were such huge displays of his mother goddess's power, and always left him breathless. It was truly one of the things in the world that he had never been afraid of, and goddess knew he was afraid of a great many things.
This day he found himself standing right on the water's age, laughing loudly as the water crept closer and closer and closer with each crashing wave. It was the very same kinds of waves that brought the staff in his hands to him. What an exciting day that was, where he found himself capable of wielding Ubeli'ae's strength through communicating with her spirits that swam through the ocean.
Honestly, he had only seen a spirit twice. Once when he was a child, terrified and drifting in the ocean on a stormy sea, and once when Ubeli'ae came to test him. He thought of those times fondly even if fear laced them while the occurred. But even now, with the sea raging and the sky slowly dripping onto him, he felt the spirits all around. And they warned him, this storm was strong and fierce and it was not safe. Not this time. And that was fine.
It wasn't the first time he had been out in such weather, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Most others had fled the beach, but there he still stood, slowly but surely becoming soaked as the rain began to fall in sheets. Above him thunder boomed, shaking the ground beneath his feet. He knew what that meant and looked quickly for cover. The closest safe place was Sea Cave nearby, one that he had been in many, many times before. Plenty of room for anyone else who needed to find refuge from Ubeli'ae's wrath.
In moments he found himself safely within the cave, shaking off any accumulated moisture and laughing.
"Wow! That's one heck of a downpour!"
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 8:19 am
Unfortunately, Tes had a bad habit of getting himself separated from his Oban family. He didn't want to point any fingers, or blame anyone, but they should honestly know better than to flee immediately into a large crowd while he was busy scoping for danger from beneath the rickety wooden boards of a beach stall. Most people might've called it 'cowering,' but then most people were idiots, and their opinions didn't matter.
Instead of braving the storm, his gaze scraped out over the sands from his current perch. Rain came down fast, hard and in sheets, making anything more than a handful of paces in front of him hazy and difficult to make out. At least he'd been here when it was sunny, and was familiar enough with the terrain.
Briefly, he wondered if he couldn't just tough it out here. The storm was unpleasant and the temperature dropping and again with the sand in the wind, but at least here he had some vague form of overhead shelter and- A resounding crash! that shook the very earth sent him scurrying from beneath the now abandoned shack in search of something a little more solid. Great towers of rocks lined the beach's edge, far sturdier than a tree or wooden planks, and though Tes had his reservations about what lightning would do with heavier, questionably stable structures, that was where he headed.
He wasn't familiar enough with this are to know where to go from there, but thankfully a slip of movement from the corner of his eye made him glance nearer to the water's edge in time to see a decidedly person-looking entity slip beyond the rocks and out of sight.
It was either a very good idea to follow, or a very bad one.
A crack of lightning out over the sent was enough reason to follow, good idea or not, and he slipped into the entrance of the sea cave looking only moderately terrified and on edge. The same couldn't be said for the cavern's other occupant, and Tes sent the young male a glower that contained some cross between alarm, confusion, and annoyance.
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 8:54 am
One moment Xewai was in the cave alone, giggling to himself over the raging storm that seemed to roll in out of no where, the next he found himself in the company of another who seemed to glare at him like a poor wet fluffy animal. Of course the glare was met with a sheepish smile as he felt only a little bad for the man. They were fish, weren't they destined to love the water?
"Are you alright? I didn't expect anyone else to end up trapped in here." Despite being pretty happy being covered in water, the cold damp air of the cave along with the breeze that came in from the outside caused more than a little shiver to travel down the young Matorian's spine. Luckily for him, he had been practicing his magic for a small while now, and was able to pull the water off of things into a hovering orb in his hands. And one of the things he had tested this on before was himself! With a quick tap of his staff in one hand, he pointed the end towards his other hand's palm, slowly drawing all the water on his skin into a floating water sphere. It was by no means perfect, he still felt a bit of dampness in the roots of his hair, but it was much better than he had been before.
"You're a little soaked too. Would you like me to help dry you off with my magic?" To emphasis on the word 'magic' Xewai decided to walk past the man, tossing the floating orb of water he had in his hand out beyond the cave's entrance into the torrent that was coming down. With a final brush of the dry sand from the front of his wet suit, he was good to go! "I'd be happy to help if you'd like!"
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Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2016 1:02 pm
Another Matorian. Well, that was better than some options, anyway, and certainly better than who Tes expected might be out here on Oban sand. Not that the knowledge improved his mood by any noticeable degree. And who could blame him? Wet, cold, terrified, alone- Or he was before this guy, anyway. Teslaron's attempts at appearing unaffected were far from fruitful, particularly when a flash from the outside made him wince and shrink farther into the recesses of the cavern.
"I-" He swallowed, shook his head, paused, then nodded. "Yes," Tes amended, voice low and gaze trained on the ground. "Yes, I'm fine." He was anything but, though since it hadn't yet translated to his physical well-being, he supposed it was nothing to worry about.
Unharmed, just shaking and quiet and desperately anxious and on the verge of being sick if his stomach continued to refuse to stop rolling- This was an extremely unsavory feeling, and it had no business affecting his mood as it was doing so well. He could not encourage himself to look at the other man, and despite his usual demeanor, couldn't convince himself to smile, either. Teslaron pressed himself to the cave wall and slid into a sit, knees tucked to his chest, arms folded across them, and head down.
He sucked in a slow breath and tried to drown out the sounds from the outside.
It did help (marginally) that the other Matorian wasn't a mute. Tes raised his head enough to glare assessingly at his cave companion, before giving another short nod. "If you are able, yes, that would be... very nice of you."
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 7:10 am
Aww... It really seemed like this other Matorian in the cave with him just wasn't having a good time! Not that he could really blame him. The man's clothes didn't really look like they were made for the water, unlike his own, so it probably felt much worse to him than he had felt. And that wince when the lightning crashed across the sky tickled the idea of maybe, just maybe, this man was scared. And that was fine! Xewai wouldn't judge anyone on their fears; he only hoped he'd be able to somehow bring the man some comfort.
"Okay, just one moment..." In the same manner as he had before, Xewai pointed his staff at his palm, but instead of drawing the water directly to his hand, he first knelt down before his companion and gently placed his finger tips against his kneecap. With a deep breath, he slowly pulled his hand away, a mass of water following his hand and drawing out of the man's clothing. Performing magic on someone else always seemed to take more energy than it did on himself. Perhaps it was a little bit of that, and a deeper concentration of drawing out ALL of the non-normal amount of water out of his companion's clothing and hair. Since the other had been out in the rain after it had gotten heavier he was much more thoroughly soaked, and the mass in Xewai's hand seemed nearly twice as big as his own had been.
"Aww... Friend, it looks like you were real soaked. But you should be all good now! Sorry about your hair though, it turned out floofier than I had expected it to be. Unless you're hair is naturally that fluffy, then I think it looks nice!" the way it was standing up now that it was no longer sopping wet kinda reminded him of a really fluffy blanket, like a few of the ones that rested upon his cot at home. The though of home made his smile waiver just a moment before he rose to his feet to toss the ball of water out into the storm just like before.
Quick summer storms were a thing that was pretty common when on the shores of Matori, but in Oba they seemed to come few and far between, and when they did come, they seemed to linger for some time. If they didn't wish to be whipped about by sand and rain, the two would have to take up residence in the cave for a few hours. Xewai certainly didn't mind, but the other...
Once his hands were free from the wetness, Xewai made his way back over to Tes, sitting on the wall across from him, laying his staff out infront of him.
"I'm Xewai by the way. What's your name? How'd you get caught out here in this storm?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 9:35 am
It was sort of a peculiar sensation having magic worked on him, and an unfamiliar one, at that. As far as Tes knew, no one in his immediate family- or rather, no one he knew on any basic level, could do any magic at all, whether it was water-plucking or fire-starting or grass-growing. It suited him well enough, since he had no talent for it either, and it didn't often seem like it made anything terribly more convenient.
Except in this case, where he admittedly felt better after having all the heavy, cold wetness pulled from his clothes. It did leave the fabric sticking to him dryly, though, and with a soft mutter of thanks, he stretched out his arms, flicked at the front of his shirt, and tugged at his leggings until he felt mostly normal.
When he carded a hand through his hair, his golden gaze snapped over to the other Matorian. 'Floofy...?' That... didn't seem accurate, but- Tes smoothed his palm down the back of his hair. Maybe it was. And besides, the more important part of the statement, 'friend,' was substantially more off-putting. Teslaron Elendel was not friends with cave strangers. Especially not during storms. He glowered at a spot on the ground before the other man, sighed, and shook his head.
"Name's Teslaron," he uttered. "Just 'Tes' will do, as well."
As for how he got out here in the first place, well... He shrugged. "Unfortunate happenstance, I suppose. I was separated from my group, and since we don't live in this town, I'm not familiar enough with the streets to make it back to the inn on my own, and I didn't want to be stuck in town with nowhere to go..." Not that being stuck on a beach with nowhere to go was much better, and it was only pure luck that let him spot the other boy- Xewai as he made his way here.
But that was enough of that. For now, he was here, relatively safe, better off than he would've been if he hadn't seen this guy. Despite his still-churning gut, it was probably time to try and make the best of it. "But that's enough about me, eh, Water Lily? Where you from? Why bother coming here?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 10:02 pm
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tes, though It would have been even better if we would have met under better circumstances!" Even then he laughed softly, unable to stop it, but not wanting his laugh to be overly obnoxious in the echoing cave. Even after he had the water removed felt a chill moving through him just from the wind still traveling though the cave. It was far too unpleasant but he didn't think they would have anything to start a fire with yet.
"Ah... That's unfortunate... Atleast you found this place, better than being out there still." From where he sat he could see the trees bending and moaning under heavy beating from the wind. It would have been terrible to be stuck in the wind and rain so he again silently thanked Ubeli'ae for providing him with a cave to hide in.
A warm blush formed on Xewai's cheeks as the man called him such a sweet name. Honestly, the young magic user NEVER got compliments; though from behind he looked decent, with long mossy hair and a figure that betrayed his actual lankiness, he truly though he looked rather homely. Still, he smiled fondly at the other and stood, moving to sit next to him this time, rather than across.
"Your compliments are wasted on me, Tes. I am not lovely enough to be a water lily, but I do appreciate it! Here, let me warm us up some." His hands fiddled around a little, concentrating enough to create a small fire in his hands. The more he thought of the sweet words the brighter the fire grew, matching the own warmth he felt in his chest.
"I'm actually from the southern Matorian Island, from a village there. Why I'm here... Just traveling around a bit, I think. I have a friend that lives by, and I wanted to make sure she was okay. An old lady, you know? I wonder if she's nice and cozy in her home right now.."
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:04 am
Tes blinked, then squinted, golden eyes narrowing sharply on the other Matorian as he shifted in closer to sit at Tes' side. Should he tell him the commentary was more derogative than complimentary? Nicknames were only there when he didn't care enough about the other person to remember their actual name. And despite this guy's very open friendliness, Teslaron couldn't say he cared much about him beyond that.
Still... His gaze shifted outside, where waves still battered against the rocks and wind whipped against the trees and that rumble- He shuddered and turned his focus back to his new companion.
They might be together for some time, so probably best not to antagonize him any more than absolutely necessary. It was obvious the other Matorian was trying his best to be helpful, anyway, if the spark of flames erupting from his fingers was any indication. With a sigh, Tes eased back, tried to make himself more comfortable against the rocks, and eventually decided it was impossible.
He focused instead of the other's words. "I've never been to Matori, myself," he admitted with a careless shrug. "I know many were on about their heritage and wanting to return to their homeland once the slaves were free, but I don't really understand why. Oba's been my only home for as long as I can remember, and even though I wouldn't mind seeing Matori one day, I don't feel any special connection to it. I don't really like the beach, either, and I hear it's mostly beach."
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 4:07 pm
"You know, that's not the first time I've heard that... And It makes sense, really." Xewai shifted slightly to sit with his legs crossed and gently rolled the flames between his hands. They were very warm, almost burning, but didn't cause any pain to the young magic user. They almost seemed to grow brighter and dimmer in the same pattern as his breath moved. He always though of it as being the doing of an elemental, rather than the flames being attuned with his own breaths.
"I think it's just dreams of being free and being able to see a world they only remember hearing in stories. It's like a fantasy to many, that such a peaceful place exists. And some go to see it and are disappointed, you know? They think it will be a paradise, but it's not, in reality. Sure, it's beautiful, and pristine and there's so much more space than the crowded Oba, but there is so little that some can do. Money is hard to come by, and not everyone loves to make a living off of sea and sand." As adamant as the waterling was about how much he adored and loved his homeland, he wasn't blind to the suffering some people endured. The Buhawi always provided a stable environment for those who were newly friend but fishing and the ocean just weren't always enough.
"If you feel at home on Oba, then that's wonderful. And you know what they say, home is where there are people who love and care for you. And if that is no where, then you just gotta make your own and find your happiness elsewhere." He paused for a moment, smiling at that small thought. He thought more about his own little home on the water, and how well it fared in stormy conditions even though it stood right in the water. Ahh... How he missed it deeply at times like this.
"Oh, so what do you do? Like, work wise?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2016 8:21 am
Right. It probably made sense to a lot of people that their home should be the land taken from them. Teslaron himself was a fairly spiteful man, and if heading back to Matori would've seemed like the best way to get back at his masters, he would've done so in a heartbeat. And then there were, of course, those that had suffered far worse than he had at Oban hands. Those people would probably be happy to return to Matori regardless of how close it came to paradise. Different reasons for different folks, he supposed.
And they would never know what it was like while Obans came and abducted most of their people, anyway. It was probably more populated now than ever before, so a job and space probably were hard to come by. But maybe parents were happier not fearing their children being taken away.
Teslaron shrugged. He couldn't say it mattered much to him, either way. And if he was being honest, he felt nearly as much spite for Matori for allowing him to be taken as he did toward Oba for doing so.
Not that he had a real clear vision of 'home,' himself.
"Ah, well, I'm still doing what I've always done," he admitted. "My masters weren't the worst people in this country, though I imagine there will always be tension between us. But I always had food to eat and shelter to keep me safe, which is more than I'd have if I went anywhere else, so..." Tes rolled his shoulders and dropped his head to rest back against the stone behind him. "It's easier that way, I think."
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 1:49 pm
"Oh." That seemed a little more lackluster than Xewai would have imagined. When he ran into people during his adventures people tended to say more fancy things. Things like 'I am a teacher or blah' or 'I am an adventurer and treasure collector' were recieved much more frequently, but just... The same thing as always... It almost seemed kinda disappointing.
"Do you plan on always doing what you've always done? Or did you want to go further out and see what you can do on your own? I know alot of people who wanted to do that, and I even know a few organizations who would be happy to help budding adventurers to get on their feet. Um, I mean if that's the sorta thing you want to do. If you happy where you are, there's no stopping you."
After having performed his first rescue, Xewai had been alot more hesitant to reveal his status as a Buhawi member. Especially not to someone who was content enough to stay with their masters. Not that the waterling had anything against it, he just... There was an extra bit of wariness there just in case word got back to any old 'masters' had may have scorned recently.
"Sometimes, though... I think sometimes a little bit of adventure is fun. New things, new people. Heck, even right what we're doing right now is an adventure too!"
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2016 8:31 am
There was a great and probably unfair wash of offense at the other man's very disappointing-sounding, 'Oh.' Teslaron's brows knit, and his eyes narrowed on his companon. What had Xewai expected him to say? Did he expect everyone to have a life full of adventure and excitement that took them to many places and had them wrapped up in many troubles? Did he expect everyone to want that life?
Admittedly, there had been a time when Tes thought he'd do just a bit more, and he had seen enough of Jauhar, Tale, Sauti, and even Zena that he likely wouldn't especially feel the need to ever again, but...
'More' wasn't in the cards, at present. Maybe one day it would be again, but not now.
He shrugged and tried not to sound as clipped as he felt. "I don't really make plans for adventure. I don't really make plans for change. It'll happen on its own when the stars are in alignment and the world spins just so, and... Well, you know what I mean. And let me tell yo this: even if I did plan, I would not ask for help from any of your 'organizations.' If I were to go out on my own, I would be on my own. I am not unhappy-" Well, he certainly wasn't thrilled about this particular instant, but it would pass.
And when it did, Tes still couldn't imagine being expressly happy either, but it seemed like a goal few people could obtain, anyway. "Either way, I will keep doing what I'm doing until I have reason not to, and right now... I just don't."
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 12:36 pm
Most of what Tes said was understood, and he could see why his voice would have been so snappish. After all, Xewai HAD sounded rather disappointed about his situation but that was really only a personal opinion. One he really should have learned to reel in by now. But when he emphasised a distained for his Organization, his eyes narrowed just a bit, smile faltering for a moment before going back to how it was.
"I apologize if my words were upsetting. My organization has deep roots in the freeing and escorting of slaves back when it was still a huge thing. It's just a little upsetting when you find that someone would rather stay in a place that did harm to many people because it 'wasn't that bad' for them. Totally understandable but it just... Feels like lost opportunities. And even now, there are people stuck in underground slave rings who see other Matorians walk around freely, but they know they are stuck until someone can help.... His voice trailed off, contemplating momentarily about why exactly he was in Oba this time around. Missions always brought him back into Oba, but were he given the chance, he'd never set foot here again. People were always going to need help, though, and he would not ignore the call.
"I am not here to pass judgement or anything like that at all, so you do you, I'm sure you don't need to be told that twice." Having had enough of the closeness of the stranger, Xewai stood, walking a few feet away where there seemed to be scraps of dried driftwood. He gathered enough pieces where it would be sufficient for a small fire, and dumped them all at a reasonable distance from Tes. After surrounding the small pile with stones to keep it from spreading, Xewai lit it with a quick flame thrown from his fingertip, and watched as it went from a tiny spark to a nicely crackling flame.
"I am sure you tire of my company. Feel free to enjoy the fire, if you'd like If you deem it more pleasant, I can take my leave. I'm not too worried about the wind, rain, and thunder, I've faced worse."
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