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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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 Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 3:37 pm
Caolan was... by nature, skittish. Trailing away from the settlement and into the middle of the dangerous wilderness, therefore, was out of character for him. Yet there he was, seemingly unaware of his precarious position, leaning up on the tips of his toes - reaching for a segment of hanging dark moss from the nearest tree. After a bit of strain, he managed to grab a handful of it and yanked - dropping it into a little, stained basket at his feet.
Grinning, Caolan squatted beside his basket, scrubbing the dark smudges from his hand to his tunic. His dad had showed him this moss, before - it was almost as good as charcoal was for making dark colored pigments for painting. Caolan was still little, but his dad had been away for some time, and his mom hadn't been able to get more paints for him to play with.
Sure... it was only one color, but it would be more fun to draw with one than none at all, right?
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 4:44 pm
Akeldama didn't like earthlings, so it was odd for her to go even remotely close to their settlements. So her being as far out away from her own was uncharacteristic of her as well. Phenomenon of the world unite! In truth the Elaria had been working with her strange mainland familiar. Yava was a Maglardilla but she'd been working on new tricks with him. "Hup." She called out to the large insect and it went skittering into the nearest tree. She watched as it went up, circling the trunk as it moved. Thankfully it had chosen a tree that was in front of her so she didn't need to stop moving or backtrack. Once it was out on a branch and she was close she held her spear out and clicked her tongue twice. Command given the beast leaped from the tree and landed on the broad side of her spear head. "Good boy. Treat." At the last word he moved down the handle to her arm and finally to her shoulder were her free hand held one of his treats. The bug took it gently and nommed on it as she continued to walk. When she rounded the bend she noticed the earthling child and slowed. At first she thought they had come too close to her home and instantly stilled, her eyes going to the surrounding area to look for the parents. "Hup." She gave the command for her familiar to take to the trees again and it obeyed. Instantly it was off her shoulder and up into the tree in front of her. Holding her spear with both hands then she focused on the child. Earthling or not she didn't harm children. There was no challenge there and no one would think someone accomplished for taking down something so harmless and small. Eyes narrowing she moved closer slowly, still searching the trees around them for any signs of an adult. When she was only ten or so feet away she spoke in a harsh tone. "What are you doing out here?"
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 4:51 pm
So invested was he in his gathering, the Yaeli boy didn't notice a stranger approaching until, the call of a sharp tone. He jolted and ducked to grab at his basket, at first thinking it was one of the Yaeli adults here to scold him for wondering away - but when he turned towards the voice, mouth already open to cry out his apologies, the boy went still and wide-eyed, a high pitched squeak startled from his throat.
Tiny hands, dirty from his work, grasped at the handle of his basket, his silver, subtly glowing eyes locked on the pointed end of the spear. "I uh-- uh!!" He answered, quite intelligently, licking his lips and swallowing hard against the sudden dryness in his throat.
A million rumors and whispered warnings about the mainlanders beat into his head, all at once. The pupil-less eyes were just as terrifying as he'd been told - so bright and vivid in color that it seemed alien and horrifying. Did she see the world in a stain of aquamarine? The antennae made her seem even bigger than she already was, and once again he came back to that weapon!
"J-just-- the- moss. Moss- it's... I didn't take it, it was just- growing-" He babbled, clinging to his basket defensively.
(2/10)
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 4:59 pm
Right after she spoke she noticed that the child, a boy possibly, grabbed the basket near him and stood. Apparently the basket and its contents were important to them. What she noticed fright away was that the kid went wide eyed and focused on her weapon. Akeldama also looked down at it and when the earthling spawn stuttered and stumbled over their words she sighed, gave a roll of her eyes, not that it was noticeable, and moved her spear back. She went from a two handed hold to a single hand and the sharp end was pointed up as the dull end was planted on the ground beside her feet. One small brow of hers rose up as she looked into the basket and saw the moss that had been mentioned. She took a second to really look at it before her eyes went back to the child's face. "Yes, it's moss and it does grow. Thankfully it's not poison though I don't recommend eating it." Hopefully that wasn't the intent. It wouldn't taste the best. Nor would the stomach like it very much. "That doesn't answer the question of what you're doing out here." Her free hand motioned to the mostly empty trees around them. "There is no adult. Do earthlings not care about their young?"
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 5:05 pm
Caolan's body finally relaxed, just a bit, when that spear was shifted away from him and dropped into a more neutral position. He still didn't like that it was there, but... now that it wasn't brandished at him, he felt... safer. Somehow. He let out a little breath of relief, only to feel his face flush as she advised him about the moss... then once again asked why he was here. The worst part was that Caolan failed to recognize that she was making a general question about his species, and not simply making a jab at his parents.
"My mom - uh. She-- doesn't really know I'm here! She cares!" He argued loudly, squaring his little jaw, emboldened enough by a perceived insult to his parent that he briefly forgot his predicament.
"And I... I know the moss isn't poison! It's a pigment! For... for painting. My dad showed me! I needed more and..." He trailed off, voice lowering a bit, guiltily, "I came out to get it."
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 5:24 pm
So the story unfolded! The child had come out on their own. That made Akeldama smirk at him. She might even be just a little bit impressed with his bold attitude considering how scared he was a second ago when her weapon was pointed at him. So she did something.. The Elaria moved forward so that she was just in front of him, maybe three feet away now, and knelt down to be at eye level with him. Again she looked at the moss in the basket, this time moving her head instead of just her eyes so that he could tell what she was looking at, then back at him. Silently she moved her spear so that it was held out to the side and she clicked her tongue twice. Right after there was a Maglardilla on the spear head staring at him. "It's dangerous out here, child." She turned her head to look at her familiar and smiled at him. Free hand went digging into her pocket to fish out a treat for him and then she offered it to the beast. "Good boy. Treat." On command the large bug moved to her shoulder to take the offered treat. Giving her attention back to Caolan she pointed at the moss in the basket. "Smart kid to know you can paint with that." Had her tone softened a bit? Yes. Akel was impressed with him for having the guts of an Elarian to defend his mother when he was obviously frightened. "Do you know where you can get other things to paint with?"
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 5:37 pm
Despite being a suspicious and fearful thing by nature, as were so many of his kind, Caolan wasn't yet old enough to inherently understand duplicity. She had moved her spear away, so she wouldn't attack... right? So when the bug woman seemed to advance on him, his shoulders shot up and he tugged his basket a bit higher, over his chest, as if it would act as a shield to protect him. As if on cue, she angled her head to peer into his basket, and while with any other adult he would have shown off his harvest with pride, here he was sorely tempted to drop the basket and tug it where she couldn't see it. Was she going to take it?
But. Instead... she made a weird noise with her mouth, and... a creature dropped from the sky (or had she summoned it with magic, here to devour him?!). It was scary looking - with mandibles that he could've sworn were razor sharp pincers, and what looked to be a stinger on the end of a hooked tail. He squeaked again, shrinking under both the creature and woman's matching unnerving, pupiless stares, especially when she uttered what sounded an awful lot like a threat.
It didn't attack him though. Instead, the woman... offered it food, and instead of biting into her it almost delicately took the 'treat' with tiny little graspers on its face. It was strangely cute... or would have been, if Caolan wasn't so startled by it.
When next the woman spoke, her town had lowered, and he couldn't understand why but he felt his frazzled, almost faint self soothe just a touch at it. "I... the... dad brings roots. And it makes red. And... and some of the fruit from the north, it makes yellow. Berries for... blue..." Caolan trailed off, biting his lip. "Are you gonna eat me? I heard there's witches in the woods that eat kids..."
(4/10)
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 5:53 pm
She listened to him as he listed what could be made into colors. Akel nodded her head. It seemed he was at least educated in these things. She approved. And on the heels of him being scared of her and her odd familiar no less. In truth she was surprised he could remember how to speak. Caolan reminded her of an Elaria child. Bravery even in the face of danger. Or was it stupidity in his case? Did it matter to a child? His tail end question about whether or not she was going to eat him because of witches in the woods that ate children had her staring at him with a dull blink of her eyes. Until she finally chuckled at him and shook her head. "No, child, I am not going to eat you." For some reason she wasn't of the mind that the kid should fear her but she didn't want him to grow up thinking he could just walk out into the woods and get close to where she and hers resided. Leaning forward so that she was done on one knee she used her free hand to grab the extra fabric that hung down from her top then moved it out to the boy's face, wiping away a smudge on his cheek so that his face was clean. "You are seasoned with moss and that is a bad taste. Don't believe me? Lick your fingers." She pointed at his hands then to prove a point. "But there are some in the woods that might consider you delicious or a future threat, so you shouldn't wander." Here she took a moment to look from one side to the other, once more looking for an adult for the child. The Elaria even checked to make sure there wasn't another of her tribe nearby. "Have you enough moss to make your paint?" She asked when she looked back at him. It would do no good to send him home if he didn't because he would sure just come right back out for more.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:05 pm
Caolan could never consider himself brave. Not when his sisters were all so much braver than him! He was, perhaps, the only child in his family who took after his mother's fearful nature. But... he also was far too small to run and hope to get away, and... well. Again, she had lowered her spear, right? Even if she seemed to revel in startling him, as seen flourishing her familiar at him.
The Yaeli child let out soft, relieved noise at her answer, and responded with a ridiculous flash of a grin, one that quickly grew contrite, like that of any scolded child, as she continued. She leaned in closer, and Caolan grunted, closing one eye and wrinkling his face as she scrubbed at his cheek.
"Ugh-- blech!" He announced, agreeing that moss was very gross, but he at least bobbed his head in a conceding nod. He didn't really understand how one of the giant witches of the woods (the Elaria, he remembered) would ever think HE would be a threat - they were huge!! but... he somewhat understood her point.
The woman continued though, and Caolan perked up just a bit, glancing up at her (as she was taller than him by just a bit, even when kneeling to his level) through the tops of his eyes. "Well... I got all I could reach." He admitted, softly, a pout clear in his tone. "... But um... I guess it'd be enough to make a little..."
(5/10)
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:16 pm
His agreement of her statement about the moss not tasting too good made her laugh at him. "I take it you've already figured that out." Akel had to wonder if he'd willingly stuck the moss in his mouth or if it had been an accident. Either way the child was somewhat adorable; even for an earthling. He was certainly small enough to be called cute. As he looked up at her and said that he'd gotten all that he could reach she blinked again then looked to the trees around them. Considering his small stature she could understand the pout in his tone. Still, she figured if he didn't have enough he'd be right back out. If not today then some day in the near future and it might not be her that came across him then. So she moved again. This time backward so that she was crouching again and then finally standing back up. A snap of her fingers got Yava to move down from her shoulder and to the ground so that he wasn't trying to pull off a balancing act. "Hm, well then I guess you'll need to get a bit more before I take you home huh." Akeldama looked down at the boy before she bent and scooped him up with one arm. He was small enough that it was easy to perch him on her hip and she was tall enough that he could easily reach more of the moss he wanted. Once she had him in hand with his basket she moved over to the tree so that he could reach. "There ya go kid." Akel made sure to keep her weapon away from him, the pointy end facing down to the ground at her other side so there was no possibly way for him to accidentally get stuck. Even her hold on him was gentle. There was no way he could wiggle loose and fall though. "Get what you need and I can take you home so no witches get their hands on you."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 4:54 pm
... Honestly, if he didn't come back for it today then he might be able to ask his sisters to. But then... he might need to tell them about meeting one of the tree ladies out here, and if he did he doubted that they'd agree to come. It made more sense to gather all of the moss he could, just in case. Right?
Caolan's attention snapped away from the moss and back to the woman when she snapped again, his dark eyes wide in surprise as the insect skittered down her arm. He had little time to prepare himself before she was scooping him up - and she was so tall! He squeaked in surprise, his stomach twisting with vertigo - but she was strong, and held him safely and securely.
"T-thank you!" He squeaked, staring up at her for a moment. But she walked them closer to the trees and, after a moment to settle himself, he tentatively began to reach and pluck more of the moss down, exceedingly careful not to risk smearing any of the resulting black and gray pigment onto her colorful clothes.
"Do... you want some?" he asked, after a few pieces were gathered and she moved them to another side of the tree, peeking at her again. "Do... Do baby bug ladies like to paint too?"
(6/10)
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 5:24 pm
She hadn't expected the child's squeak to be so cute so Akel had to turn her head to hide the small smile she had on her face. After clearing her throat she looked back at the boy then nodded her head at him as she made sure the moss was within reach. It surprised her a little when she noticed the care he took to keep the dirty moss from touching her. Akel moved her spear in her hand so that the sharp tip pointed down then stabbed it into the ground so that she could release it without it falling. With her hand freed up she touched the moss in the basket then booped Caolan on the nose, leaving a dirty spot there. Akeldama chuckled. "I don't have a baby of my own so I don't know, sweet one, but we are called Elaria. Not bug ladies." Despite her correcting him she didnt seem to have an angry tone. And while she didn't have a child of her own she found herself thinking about the idea now. "When I have a daughter of my own then I will see if she likes to paint."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 5:55 pm
Caolan absolutely did not notice Akel hiding her smiles, not when he was so invested in his gathering. He tilted his head to look at her when he asked his question, his eyes going just a little wide again when she jabbed her spear into the ground - but the bop on his nose surprised a giggle from him that loosened up his tensed shoulders, and finally allowed a bright, if a bit wary smile to fly over his face.
There was no point trying to rub the smudge away - his own hands were just as dirty! But he also didn't have the courage to try and smudge HER up - not when she was already being so nice.
"Elaria." He murmured, curiously. It ... wasn't the first time he'd heard the term, but his people didn't generally use it. They were all very superstitious, after all, many felt giving a person or bogeyman a name gave it more power.
But... Akel didn't seem like a bogeylady at all!
He mumbled softly under his breath at first, but then she continued to suggest she MIGHT have a daughter, later, and he immediately perked up. He didn't see a lot of babies... he wondered how big bug-- ... Elaria babies were? "I hope so! And... and you'll know how to make the best paints for her! I bet she'd really like it!
(7/10)
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 6:11 pm
Hearing the little boy giggle melted a bit more of her cold heart. Akeldama smiled at him again. As he repeated the word she told him she nodded her head. "Yep. Elaria. We come from our mother tree, Elzira." Akel felt proud in teaching the boy just a little bit of knowledge. "Just do me a favor, sweetling, if you come across another like me be sure to run. Not all of us are nice. If you are caught by another Elaria then tell them you want to see Akel." She worried that in being so nice to him she may make him think that all of her tribe was as considerate. It would be upsetting to know that a child was put in harms way, earthling or otherwise.
She smiled at him again and booped him on the nose again, this time smearing the dirt some to create a design. "There we go. A little painted warrior." Akel nodded her head. "How much more moss would you like before I take you home safe and sound?"
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 6:28 pm
Mother tree... Elzira? He didn't know if he understood - he knew Elaria (and Alkidike) were big and scary, but... he didn't understand the differences between them otherwise. He just nodded, as if he did, his eyes huge on his tiny face. The next warning, however, was easier to understand; she'd warned him already, but the second time he nodded furiously. "Are... you Akel? Is that your name?" He asked, staring at her with big eyes. But then she continued, and he gave a little start, wrinkling his nose back and forth a few times and squirming just a bit in her hold as she painted his face.
He wasn't much of a warrior - but... he could play pretend, if a big, fierce lady like her said so. "I... um. This is good." He admitted, smiling down at his stuffed basket. Then, shyly, he looked at her again, having to crane his neck to properly gaze up at her face. "My name's Caolan. If... others are so scary, how come you're being so nice?"
(8/10)
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