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 Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2023 5:18 pm
Heike 1 Picking her way through the new terrain, a small basket dangling from one arm, Heike kept her eyes trained on the trees around her, looking for any ripe enough with fruit to forage for her grandmother. The older woman was using her age as an excuse to make the Elidae do this for her, despite Heike knew from watching her move that the Elaria was anything but feeble. Mayella still moved with the grace of a Keldari, ready to snap to attention whenever the situation called for it. It was no wonder she kept one as a pet, coiled around her arm or waist at all times. Maybe a reminder to herself that she wasn't quite done yet more than to anyone else. The grey in her hair was only a hint at the future, but it was not *the* future. Not yet.
Still a strange word to test on her tongue. Grandmother. Sometimes she saw her aunt, but only seldom. Occasionally her cousin, even less than the mother. Doesina was probably too busy playing silly Earthling games with that hybrid and Heike was perfectly fine with that. It hadn't taken her long to realize her cousin's attention would be mostly off her. She honestly couldn't stand the constant upbeat attitude of the Elaria. The world wasn't one big pile of sunshine to bask in and it was nothing short of naive to think so. But whatever. It was off her hands, now. Once she got her fill of Yael, she'd return to her own Tree. Back where she belonged.
The basket was half full, weighing her arm down a little. Not that it was difficult to carry. Over her time in Emeka, she had built up a noticeable amount of muscle. The menial task of foraging was already beginning to wear on her, making her feel like some youngling sent out on an easy task for grandma. Furrowing her brows, Heike picked a flat spot and set the basket down, pulling her spear over her shoulder to hold in both hands. Maybe a few short drills would help her mind focus. Foraging was important work, too.
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Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2023 12:14 pm
Even in these times of peace Ai found herself taking daily patrols around Zinris and it's surrounding wilds. The Alkidike pulled her skull headdress over her face to mask any defining features save for the endless void of her eyes. With every step dual swords swayed heavily against her thighs, reminding Ai that a battle was never far away and that even if she was a mother her fangs would never dull. Over the years fewer and fewer of her sisters had opted to come on these patrols with her, choosing instead of trust in the sanctity of their borders and their Yaeli neighbors.
Not Ai. The only yaeli Ai would trust was a dead one and had said as much to many a well meaning traveler.
Nearby sounds caught her ear and an unconscious hand sought the hilt of a blade. While she didn't draw it, Ai did move closer and didn't so much as bother to hide her presence. What did she need to fear? Who could possibly threaten a creature like her? Pressing through the fog and bramble, the Alkidike drew closer to the Elidae. While she was happier to see another Aishan rather than an earthling she wasn't much happier and it showed.
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Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2023 3:01 pm
Heike 2 Heike wasn't at first aware of the approaching danger, too caught up in her own training was she. With her green eyes, she watched the tip of her spear spin in the air before her, the long red cloth tied to the end easily marking its passage. It wasn't terribly sharp, dulled over many, many years of use by her grandmother. Sure, she could have gotten it retouched up. The blade sharpened, the wood of the shaft replaced. But it was so old that, by than, she may as well just order a new one and retire this one for training purposes. Doesina had probably used it, as well. Lot of good that had done her. Granted, her cousin was a damn good shot with a bow, even if her skill with the spear was abysmal.
As it streaked through the air, the Elidae's eyes were drawn away for a moment, to something else materializing out of the fog. Heike gave a bit of a start, not expecting to see anyone at all, let alone someone dressed quite like this. At least not an Earthling, that much was apparent by the stranger's height. Did she think to intimidate? Once that initial shock, she didn't feel any fear. No matter how fearsome the headdress was.
Since the stranger wasn't speaking, Heike decided not to say the first word. She merely placed the butt of the spear against the ground and leaned on it, watching, her own face passive of all emotions. She wasn't annoyed by the interruption. At least not a whole lot.
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Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2024 7:35 am
For a long moment all Ai did was watch. She assessed the situation before her and only when the Elidae lowered her weapon did she reach up to remove the headdress. The elaborate piece was heavy enough to require a practiced hand to remove it, mainly so the skull didn't catch on her antennae, and was made all the heavier by the mist that clung to it. Once the Alkidike was free she gave her dreads a shake before moving over to lay the headdress out atop a nearby stone.
"Do you normally train by yourself?" Ai's tone was a deep, guttural rumble; as if her vocal chords were more accustomed to bellowing orders or not speaking at all. They, like everything else about her, had been rode hard over the years and held no signs of slowing. "Or is it because you find Elarian training too difficult?"
Even if she didn't mean to sound condescending there was a tell-tale tilt to her head, as if she were purposefully trying to look down on the Elidae. It came as naturally to Ai now as it had when she was a teenager, facing down earthlings in the war.
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:14 pm
Heike 3 An Alkidike, huh? Not that she didn't expect to find some here, too, as well, but it was still surprising. What did that say about this one, being so far from Jauhar, in the home of the extremists? It was much different being in Zinris than it had been Emeka. Heike knew she could handle it. Had she been anyone else, she might have smirked at the insinuation. No, it was not. Quite the opposite. She rather liked the pace her grandmother set for her. It wasn't all that different from the one she had given herself. Strength did not come to those who were idle.
"Sometimes," she answered simply, standing up straighter while still leaning on her spear, pushing her shoulders slightly back. She followed the movement of the headdress with her eyes, before snapping her focus back on the other woman. "I find I prefer the Elaria's way. Do you usually sneak up on others out of the mist?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2024 5:29 pm
"Sometimes." Ai quipped in turn and even offered a small grin as she moved closer. Her eyes took in the form before her, judging Heike not as a fellow soul, but as the potential weapon she knew all Aishans to be. The Elidae's muscular frame settled well with Ai, especially considering the Elidae's choice in weaponry. If she kept others at a distance then her weak points would naturally be close range combat, but with a solid right hook...Well, it all depended if those arms were for show or not.
"Old habits aren't so easy to forget." She'd taken earthling lives by the dozen in her youth. One by one, snuffing out their screams before they could alert anyone and disappearing before mist so much as shifted. After a moment, the Alkidike made a sort of humming sound before asking, "If I had been hostile, how would you handle it? A figure approaches you from the fog with dual blades; what would your first move be?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2024 5:23 pm
Heike 4 "The mist must be the perfect tool for it." The grin was not returned on Heike's side, but not out of any form of disrespect or arrogance. She just wasn't the smiling type. Not a grin. Not even a smirk of challenge before a spar. Indeed, her face barely changed, unless it was registering disgust or anger. Which it wasn't now. Curiosity was the only thing she was feeling at seeing an Alkidike. That could imply something. Or she was just a visitor like herself. Either was perfectly possible on Yael.
"Mm." Heike considered the question, idly tapping the butt of her spear against the ground softly, making barely a sound. She accepted the challenge, as if it were a mental spar, trying to picture the scenario in her mind. "Well, it's fortunate that I have my weapon already in my hands. Though fighting someone with two might be a bit difficult. Might be safer to wait for them to make the first move and guard myself as best I could until I can create an opportunity or get a blade away from them."
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