|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 4:07 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:42 pm
|
|
|
|
Her necklaces jingled slightly as Jay leaned forward, sprawled on the dirt as she worked to undo the bandages around her forearms. The white strands of cloth unraveled, forming a twirling pattern as it grew into a pile. Once the bandages were undone, Jay flexed her hands to relish the feel of bare arms. She smiled softly and picked up a pair of fresh bandages. The horsewoman slowly wrapped it around one arm. She tugged it tightly before tying it up and proceeded to cover her other arm, but midway through the process she heard something.
She paused, curiously raising her head and looking around for the noise. No, it wasn’t just noise. It was music. Jay’s interest was immediately piqued. The bandage still half-wrapped around her arm, she picked up the dirtied bandages and stood up. Jay tilted her head slightly before moving in the direction of the music, which sounded like a flute. It took her a few minutes to discover the source of the music—another war horseman. She treaded carefully so as not to startle him suddenly. Silently, Jay kneeled in front of Shikoba and remained in a kneeling position, listening to him play with wide eyes. Normally, she would have spoken up by now, but she didn’t want to stop the song.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 3:13 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 9:42 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 1:44 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 6:43 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 4:21 pm
|
|
|
|
The retaliatory sticking out of her tongue drew Catori out of hiding, and with a few flaps of her wings the wind flute alighted onto Shikoba's shoulder, black eyes boring into Jay. "You could say so, yes," he answered with amusement, lightly brushing a finger over the minipet's head. "I was not interested in it at first but my mentor, Orithia, was a firm believer in finding a calming, non-violent activity to balance out training. 'One cannot be all fire and expect to live unscathed,' she'd say. 'Fire does nothing but consume, and it will eat what you feed it even if it is your whole being. Find something that does not inherently destroy, but rather gives, that you may live and remember something more than the handle of a weapon and the taste of blood.'"
Shik paused in remembrance, the smile fading. "She used to carve miniature wooden animals."
Catori tweeted softly, breaking his somber mood with a single note. "Have you always been able to mimic so well?" he asked, acting as though he hadn't just slipped into memory. "And is it only birdsong you can copy?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:47 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:29 pm
|
|
|
|
Catori hadn't been the only one staring; Shik joined in once he realized how much attention Jay was paying to the wind bird, blinking once at the witch's cackle and starting at the lion's roar - it was hard to stay put with such a loud sound in one's face after all.
Catori, on her part, trembled and ruffled her wings in a disapproving manner, shrieking a high, off-pitch note in response to the tricks this strange horsemen pulled against her. Again his ear was assaulted, again Shik winced.
"Tone it down," he grumbled, most of the praise he had to say drowned out by the ringing in his ears. "It's a useful trick, though. Unique." He paused to stick a finger in one ear and make sure it was in working order. "As for the animals . . . yes, I have a few back in the tent, assuming they weren't added to the fire while I was gone. Come." Shik gestured with the flute for her to follow as he began the winding way back to the center of War's section.
Jay reminded him a bit of the ghoul who had given him the fruit basket: a bit air-headed, but with good intentions.
"I don't remember your face well. What is your rank?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 5:51 pm
|
|
|
|
Jay broke into laughter when she realized she had startled both of them, but mostly Catori. “Was I too sudden? Should I have warned you first?” She poked out her tongue, secretly pleased with the results when she noticed Shikoba’s wince. Her voice wasn’t naturally high-pitched and grating, but it was easy for her to change that. Shrieking and squeals seemed to fit her personality more.
More laughter and she waved at him. “Okay, okay. I won’t do something like that again unless I really need to,” she promised him. “Animals?” He caught her attention with the word. The horsewoman was back on her stomach in a flash. She pushed herself back up, the tails on her skirt rustling as she stood up to her full 5’2” height. “Animals? More animals? Yay! You know, I should call mine over too so we can have a party.” Jay looked away for a moment as she brought two fingers to her mouth and whistled a small series of notes. There was nothing at first, but there was still nothing. Maybe they were just late.
“Yeahhh. Like, I think I’ve seen your face a couple times, but I never got your name until now! I’m a warrior!” She happily ruffled her feathers. “What about you?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:35 pm
|
|
|
|
"I don't react well to sudden noises." They were usually accompanied by some sort of physical reaction, and it was only because of music's tempering calm that Shik had not done more than start - a downside he now made note of. Blunted weapons would do his clan no good after all.
Catori, for her part, gave Jay a baleful, beady look. At best she cocked her head inquisitively at her trills, yet even that had a hint of suspicion. Probably the crude horseman's call for more plebes. Joy.
"Shikoba Len. Executioner," he said, an inner brow briefly quirking at their stark height difference. But it was a non-issue really - Shik knew how little size mattered, having been beaten by someone even shorter than Jay in combat. "I am unsure 'party' is the best word for any occasion we have here, but so long as they don't leave droppings in my tent, your creatures are welcome."
The wind bird raised her head imperiously in complete disagreement.
"Warrior, hmm. Do you know Zelda? Tan skin, grey hair, forever angry at something?"
Syusaki I fail at remembering what rps I've replied to OTL
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:23 pm
|
|
|
|
“Really now?” Jay hummed. “That’s a real shame. You should fix that because sudden noises are important too even though I imagine a lot of people don’t like them too so I think you should try to tolerate them more in the future.” Somehow she had managed to say all of that in one breath.
The bird did not appear to respond to Jay’s calls, which left the horsewoman disappointed. She hummed again, but this time with a twinge of disappointment. The warrior chose to ignore the minipet for now, especially when the other horseman’s introduction piqued her interest. She clasped her hands together. “An executioner! Just like Senga! Do you know Senga, then? He is a tiny horseman, oh but he’s a bit taller than me, and he wears a white wolf pelt on his head.” Jay made a motion that imitated the pelt, but it was just waving gestures over her head.
She frowned. “So it’s not a party?” The horsewoman began to gradually deflate at the revelation, but then she bounced back to her usual self when she realized her minipets had arrived at last. “Yayyyy! My cutie patooties are here~” It was a trio consisting of a war treat, war vaisel, and poms war, but without a doubt she would give anything to make the band grow.
“Ahhh. Mmm. Zelda?” She brought a finger to her lips as she thought. “I’ve seen her a few times, but can’t say I’ve talked with her often.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:11 pm
|
|
|
|
This time an actual eyebrow was raised as he paused to take in the exuberant horseman's words, feeling like a rock caught in the pull of a babbling brook. He also might or might not have cause the distinct air about Catori that suggested ditching present company and going off flying somewhere.
But then Catori remembered Jay could fly too, and a long-suffering note was hooted. The songbird took wing, gliding on ahead of them to the arboreal abodes just ahead. Three was a crowd. Six? Beneath her. She would wait for them at home, if only because she did not know what these strangers would do there. The silence before they came would also be nice.
"I'm not surprised. She isn't a very chatty woman," Shik commented with some amusement as their group swelled with feathers, fur, and bright painted markings. His lips pressed together in thought at the mention of Senga. "Mm . . . The wolf? I've seen him around but have not had the chance to formally meet him." This would have to be remedied; he hadn't known a second executioner had lived through the tragedy.
Technically there were three, but Shikoba was no fan of the prissy Xiomara and in fact preferred pretending she didn't exist.
Careful not to step on the mini pets if any of the trio got overexciteable, the horsemen steered Jay to a dusty-brown tent near the fringes of camp, by a growing sapling upon which Catori was perched. She stared the group down as Shik lifted the tent flap and invited them in. Beyond stretch of cloth and hay-grass passing for a bed and a small wooden shelf housing several weapons, the only defining characteristics of Shikoba's home at the moment was a skinned piggies tanned enough to be considered a welcome rug - well, assuming the visitor didn't pierce their feet on its horns - and a woven chest by the weapons rack.
Shik strode towards the bed, lifted the blanket, and produced a bag two fists tall and two fists wide. "Here." He offered Jay the bag. Within laid five carved animals of various wood stock and grain: a jaguar in mid-prowl, its coat dappled by black spots from the work of a small, dextrous bush; a crane with its wings spread, its feathers rendered in a way that made it seem more delicate than its material actually was; a coiled snake with brilliant scales against dark wood, its tongue flicking out to taste the air for its next prey; a doe sniffing the invisible ground before her, ears pricked for any sign of danger; and a snarling bear with a paint job reminiscent of the markings Shikoba bore himself.
"There were others, but they were either lost to the explosion or broken in its aftermath."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|