Solo or RP Format Counts as 5 RP growth Points Solo word minimum is 750, RP post minimum is 7
Prompt It was bound to be sighted. The curious travelers by air and sea noticed something strange on the island to the north. Movement, cultivation, fires and camps. Something was settling there, and it wasn't them. As explorers set out in the name of science, they found themselves run off by the large bug-tribe known as the Alkidikes.
Were they expanding? It was strange considering how they spoke of peace and protection. But it was clear that no one outside of them was allowed on the island. As explorers watched and observed, they soon discovered why.
A tree...a small tree was growing every day deep in the heart of the island.
Rumors have spread about the Alkidike's expansion. What are your thoughts? Are you excited or nervous of your new neighbors? Do you think they come in peace, or are they a danger to the future of the island?
I hear that the Alkidikes will rip out your eyes to nourish their children and that they water the tree with blood.
Cyril let out a soft 'pfft' at the thought. It had been amusing at the time to see the nosy younglings scatter like the wind at the thought of the Alkidikes terrorizing the land. Did he regret creating a deep fear in the children? Not really considering how much they were pestering him earlier about his appearance. Turning the topic to the Alkidikes invading a nearby island had seemed to best choice when they simply would not leave him alone. It was an even better idea when he portrayed the Alkidikes with nightmarish images that even he didn't truly believe in. Of course his mother had not agreed too kindly with the idea and so now Cyril found himself staring down a bin of potatoes with his twin brother at his side.
It wasn't their first rendezvous with the pile of root vegetables and Cyril twisted the peeling knife like an expert in his hands, "So do you want first pick?" He asked with a look towards his older twin. Honestly he was rather content to be back here away from the crowds. If he could spend an hour peeling potatoes in the sanctity of the troupe's kitchens then he would be happy enough. It was far better than trying to appease a swarming group of younglings who had no filters, especially when it came to pointing out physical appearances.
Posted: Fri May 22, 2020 1:55 pm
Sabra Knight
Not for the first time in his life Selim was paying for something his twin had gotten him into. He'd been peacefully working on costumes when his mother had drug him from his tent by the ear and given them both a verbal lashing. Of course the kids Cyril terrorized couldn't remember exactly what the 'scary boy' looked like other than base colors, which meant it could have been either of them, and their mother wanted to be thorough.
"You're supposed to keep each other out of trouble! Even the innocent one is at fault here."
"No," Selim groused. To spite himself he picked up the first potato he could and started peeling. He'd only been privy to bits and pieces before his mother started in on her 'being better than the bullies' speech. She meant well, really she did, but he'd heard it so many times that he could recite her speeches in his sleep.
Selim situated himself atop his seat and slipped one leg underneath himself for balance.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2020 6:18 pm
Painted Moose
"Mmhmm." Cyril only quirked a brow before picking up a potato himself. He would be more tempted to apologize for dragging his twin brother into this mess had Selim not gotten them into many similar situations before. It was the blessings of being twins. Not that Cyril minded since he preferred his twin brother's company to most. The only annoyance would be perhaps missing out on time to practice something other than potato peeling. Still even potato peeling had its merits...somehow.
"If we're fortunate perhaps they will come for some of them." Commented Cyril lightly as he perched in his own seat with a potato in hand. Honestly he wasn't afraid of the bug women at all. How could he be when he understood already what it was like to be judged by appearances? He also didn't know much about them from the other continent. If they truly had caused so much trouble he would have assumed that there would have already been some massacres or something reported. Wouldn't the security sector have pushed them out of the lands already? It was strange really. They hadn't even seen an Alkidike before so most of what he went on was based on descriptions from other members of the troupe who had either sworn that they had interacted with one before or had heard about them from other foreigners.
Posted: Fri May 29, 2020 9:27 am
Sabra Knight
"Are they really that vicious? The Alkidike?" Selim had peeled enough potatoes to feel confident in slicing off a sliver here and there for a quick snack. It was something to munch on while mewling it over. "I've heard they're at least two feet taller than the tallest man and that a big group of them usually means a new tree. Is it really that hard to plant trees where they're from? Seems like a lot of women for one shovel and a couple seeds."
It wasn't so much their appearnaces that gave Selim concern so much as their numbers. If they were a normal traveling group it would have been expected, but from what others had told him the Alkidike weren't normally so nomadic. The last time they moved in mass was to Yael where they'd planted a tree that turned them grey and that just...sounded like a lot of crap.
How can a tree turn anyone grey?
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2020 11:40 am
Painted Moose
Cyril shifted and gave a small shrug, "Apparently some believe so." He replied as he tossed another freshly peeled potato into other bin. If potato peeling ever became a sport then both of the boys probably would receive gold medals for their efforts. He was already twirling another potato in hand and dragging the knife across its surface, "Maybe the trees are big like them. They would need plenty of space for a hundred foot tree that's almost as wide. That and they are apparently over zealous when it comes to their sacred trees. I've heard rumors that they'll kill others just for trying to look at it."
Pausing he flicked a piece of peel across the floor, almost as if trying to see exactly how far it would fly, before pondering out loud. "Don't they need like a permit? Seems strange that they can just invade our lands like that without talking to someone first. Do you think someone was bribed?" Even their troupe had to have clearance when they set up a tent. Was the island so far out of the way that no one even cared to worry about it? Or were these Alkidike so threatening that no one dared to protest?
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 10:09 am
Sabra Knight
[3/7]
"Do you know where they've gone with it? I know they're here, but no one's ever really said where, exactly." Or maybe they had and he just hadn't paid close enough attention? At this point Selim could dice potatoes blindfolded if he needed to. He wasn't paying attention in the least as to where his knife was going and still, each potato he tossed into the bin was perfectly peeled. Curiously, he watched where his brother flung one bit of potato and slice off his own, shooting it just a fraction further.
"Probably the airship Captain. Seems like they should have said something if that many Alkidike were on his ship, you know? But here they are with their tree." Selim popped another slice into his mouth,"I'll wager they paid him off so he wouldn't say no. Now that they're here he can just pretend that he didn't know what they wanted."
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 3:54 pm
Painted Moose
"I think some island to the west apparently. Not a place that was really settled but close enough to our mainland." Replied Cyril as he tossed a potato up in the air only to catch it again. It wouldn't be his first time turning one potato in the air into two and then three....juggling perhaps wasn't an effective way to peel the things but at least it was slightly entertaining before he resumed peeling. His lips pursed into a frown as he watched Selim tossing a potato and the juggling stopped so that he could once again peel and toss a slice a little bit further than his twin brother's attempt.
"Fair enough. Idiot probably thought the coin was worth it." Cyril shook his head with a sigh of disdain, "Unless they took their own ships across the ocean? I've heard that a lot more ships are traveling by ocean again these days." He wondered what would be preferable - the rocking of a ship on the waters or something floating through the air. Perhaps the water considering he could try to swim rather than just falling with a splat to the ground?
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:56 pm
Sabra Knight
An island? Wasn't that like where they were from, anyway? Selim furrowed his brow. Why would they come all this way for another island? Wasn't theirs any good? Almost unconsciously he saw the threat to his potato flinging abilities, and sliced off another bit on instinct, then gave it a harder flick, going just past his twin's.
"I don't know, they don't exactly seem like like the sea faring type." Selim thought about it and leaned back with a shrug, "Then again they don't really seem like the flying type, either, so who knows." Selim just wanted to know if they were the good kind of Alkidike or the bad kind, since he'd heard enough stories about both. One would likely, at some point, at least prove beneficial to Belrea by taking up space on an unoccupied island while the other would infest the land like in Yael.
At some point Selim had started snacking on more potatoes than he was actually peeling and had lost all inspiration for the punishment. Honestly, how many did they even need anyway? It wasn't like the troupe couldn't eat literally anything else. "Do you think they're cute? Some of them have to be, right? They all can't look like actual monsters." Maybe a few of the younger ones would be up for talking the next time their troupe came close, and maybe a little more if he was sweet enough. If they were the nice kind of Alkidike, of course.
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Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 2:18 pm
Painted Moose
Cyril's gaze narrowed thoughtfully before he attempted to continue the potato flinging, pulling back his pointing finger until the muscle was taut and then releasing it for an even harder flick, "Agreed. I doubt they would trust one of our ships....it's really a mystery." Watching the potato peel flop skid lightly across the most recent attempt, Cyril frowned. The Alkidikes were definitely a strange race and he truly had to wonder what was reality and what was just fantasy at this point. He was confident that if this group caused trouble that the security sector would react. It just didn't make sense that they had been allowed to settle quietly on some island offshore. Was it far enough away that Belrea didn't fear them or had someone really been bribed?
His peeled potato pile growing even more Cyril almost nicked himself with the knife at Selim's question, "Cute?" He glanced towards his brother, his brilliant green of his gaze burning like an emerald flame against the dark sclera, "Why? Would you want to try dating one?" His lips curled at the thought before Cyril finally let out a quiet chuckle, "I guess they could be cute when they're not trying to murder people. Else why would there be rumors of them having mixed bloods on their islands back across the ocean?"
Glancing down at the potato in his hands, Cyril quickly began to carve at the actual potato itself until a small face was made, "They say they have black eyes and antenna while they stand over most earthlings." He turned the potato thoughtfully in his hands before adding a few more minor details based on the traveler's descriptions of the bug women, "I suppose then they could be cute if you like taller women?" He shrugged before tossing the potato towards his brother, "There."
Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 9:53 am
Sabra Knight
[5/7]
Selim paused long enough to shrug his shoulders with a flipping toss of his free hand. "What? Some of them have to be." Of course he didn't exactly think 'bugs with hips' were attractive, but in passing he'd seen a few travelers with some off putting traits that he thought were alkidike. That meant that a few were pretty enough to bed, right? Or, go to a tree for, however they did that.
"So you're going to sit there and tell me that if a pretty, nice Alkidike with huge-" Selim cupped his pecs and shoved them up, mimicing breasts, "-came by asking you for a date you would say no? The pretty ones might be rare, but if one comes along I'm going to say yes." He was, after all, a young teenage boy who had a fondness for certain areas of the female anatomy. It may not be a lasting relationship, but who was he to say no if the right girl came along?
Catching the carved potato, Selim it turned it around in his hand with a thoughtful expression. "It depends on how much taller, I guess. I've heard they can be half a man's height and I just don't know how I feel about that."
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 11:40 am
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"Pfft. Regardless of their assets..." Cyril pointedly glanced towards Selim with a shake of his head, "I wouldn't want to waste my time dating anyone. It wouldn't be the first rejection nor the last I'm sure." Romance was such a waste. It was much better to spend his time training and learning new tricks, "Even this is more useful than dating." He gestured with the knife in hand towards the potato pile. They could at least get nourishment from the potatoes and have some sort of trading skills for later on if anyone needed help cooking.
Cyril chuckled, "Why worry about height if it comes with a nice package overall?" He teased thinking back to his brother's earlier commentary and motion, "They can just lift you up and save you the trouble of anything else." What a ridiculous conversation. They had started with wondering about the dangers of these bug women to considering how nice it would be to date a pretty one. Cyril definitely wouldn't have expected such a turn but at the same time he was with Selim so anything was possible.
Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 11:52 am
Sabra Knight
[6/7]
"Your loss." Selim shrugged his shoulders. Instead of carving a new potato he took his twin's art piece and sliced off the 'antennae'. Bit by bit he cut it into pieces and added it to the pile. "It's not like we can afford to be that picky, you know." Even though it was an added afterthought, Selim's side note held a bit of salt. Honestly, any girl who looked at him for him, instead of some kind of exotic accessory or an outright freak was a contender. He knew Cyril's views on romance, had talked about it often, usually after some tramp rejected him, but Selim still held out hope.
"Look, it's either they came here to kill us all or to make nice. I, for one, am not going to turn down a chance to explore the latter option." Selim was one to believe that if this was truly their downfall then he would rather go out smothered in breasts than never having touched one at all. "There's worse ways to go; like when mother sees so many pieces we've flicked all over the ground."
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 12:26 pm
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"Glad I'm not in the market for such things then." Replied Cyril calmly. He knew what his brother meant and it probably was one of the many reasons he avoided anything to do with romance. No one he knew outside of their troupe family got past their appearances to really get to know them as individuals. What type of love could he receive with that? Perhaps it was mostly his fault for being so icy towards strangers but it was best to avoid potential pain as soon as possible instead of giving anyone the opportunity to harm him or his twin. He'd seen enough heartbreak from his mother while they were growing up.
"Pfft. I'll remember you then." Though at his brother's commentary Cyril scooted from his perch and placed his knife down, "I suppose I can avoid that death by helping to pick the pieces up then." He quickly got to work, his fingers trailing along the ground as he plucked each piece up and added them to the garbage pile. At least they were done with the potato peeling for now. They would probably be back here within a week but what else was new?
Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2020 1:00 pm
Sabra Knight
Fin?
"I'm surprised she hasn't come to check on us yet, honestly." Normally their mother would have caught them in the act long before it got this far, but maybe she was busy? Has to be; otherwise she would have doubled the punishment after hearing me talk. It was the only explanation, really.
Still, Selim had to wonder if they would see any Alks at their shows from now on. Maybe if they came closer to the island? It had to happen eventually, if they were the nicer kind. A few would get curious, make their way over and things would eventually meld. He just wondered what that would look like; bug women in leather and buckles. It sounds both horrifying and sexy all at once. It was...such a confusing idea.
One he tried to put out of his mind as he finished cleaning up. "Come on, let's get these to the kitchen before anyone comes after us."
