Freak Show Curiosities [OPEN]

[[-Kay-]]

It was rare for a werecat to be seen in the company of anyone, let alone the creature she was in the comapny of. But this one was different. She had dark hair that was hidden beneath the hood of her cloak, along with her pale, pale skin. The only thing you could really see from the tiny-framed girl was her eyes. Slitted and glinting, multi-colored and dangerous looking; strange as well as a curiosity. It was dark in the streets of Teirm near the shipyard, the alleyways were almost pitch black. Her pale arm reached out to touch one stone wall as she steadied herself, revealing the bare flesh to be tattooed with black ink. Swirls and symbols interspersed with random images and such. A dandelion's fluffs blowing off into the wind, birds flying out of a tree that was deteriorating at the same rate they flew; and if one looked closely it was almost like the images themselves were moving...but that was impossible...wasn't it?

Her mouth opened in a bit of a smile as she watched a drunk man stumble out of a bar into the alleyway,all her sharp little fangs displayed in that one movement. She moved down towards the shipyard, to one of the jettys that stretched out into the bay. She reached a hand down, and felt a cool pelt stretched out under her flesh. "C'mon Gaelica. It's alright to come out now." This, in fact, was a lie. The little werecat had lured the mare out of the Spine with the intent to sell her to some human. It was nearly dawn and Ivory led the Kelpie mare down towards the marketplace.

Water dripped from the mare's mane and tail, the olive streaked feathers around her knees and in her mane made her look even more exotic than she was. Her eyes matched the streaks, her pelt a white; with almost silver splashes of color across it. Her massive, plate-sized hooves made loud noises against the cobblestones and she drew very little attention. In truth, she looked like a draft horse, for that's how large she was. But she was as streamlined as any Thoroughbred or Arabian. "Where are we going, Ivory?" She asked, her lilting voice carrying it's cadence to the werecat girl. "The horse market, Gaelica. Just keep an eye out. Wrackspurts all around. Don't let them fly in your ears and make your brain go fuzzy." She warned the mare, leading her to one of the horse pens. She let the mare go in the small enclosure, sitting against the rails to watch for potential buyers.

[Arizae]

This truly was a frustrating affair. At this age he should have at least one person he could trust to run such a mundane task. By the grace of Nyx the Count of Tears should not have to travel all the way to Teirm to deal with problems in trade. There really was no other way to do it right now, not after the 'errors' he had found in the books. Well, he might have sent Jhored off on his own, but he needed the bodyguard with him...that and the man was incredibly slow. He could trust the soldier with mundane tasks about the estate, but not with the tangled web this trade bit had become. Khael still couldn't believe it, his advisor, the closest thing he had to a partner in this business...had betrayed him over money. He should've known by now. No one cared about Nyx anymore, crowns ruled. Silly advisor should not have crossed him. The man would still have his skin if he had stayed faithful, instead of crossing numbers to get a few, well, not a few crowns, it was quite an amount. Why were all his thoughts turned on anger these days? Why were his knuckles constantly white on the reigns? The count was beginning to feel badly for his horse, he was keeping too tight a reign as his thoughts wandered. Ah forget it, the wild creature needed it. This costly adventure was frustrating enough without having to worry about some beast.

The creature was too proud for its own good anyway, and he could feel it's frustration. Trained for war and fighting the almost brutish equine was sick of being used for mere traveling and parades. Kept him on his toes, constantly straining against the reigns, bringing the creatures head back round. It made for quite a spirited walk, the loud clack of hoof on stone sounding out and doubled by the other eight horses surrounding him. Those other horses weren't behaving either, better suited to a battlefield then strutting through the streets of Teirm. Brows drawn together, mouth in a sharp line he peered around the market.

The cry of gulls was sharp to his ears, and the smell of salt in the air seemed to double. Despite the enticing cool air and the promise of a sweet salty smell from the sea, the count nearly held his breath. They were near the ocean yes, but they were also in the middle of the horse markets. Horseflesh and excrement were heavy in the air. Many of the creatures whinnying and nickering back and forth to each other. His own proud steed was tossing his head, calling out to what he saw as his brethren. Khael pulled hard on the reigns, bringing his horse back in control. As his arm pulled back he felt a slight tap on his shoulder, and he didn't need to turn his head to know that Jhored had something to say. Now he trusted the soldier, but he did not enjoy looking at the man. He wished the captain of his guard would let him pay some elf to heal up that scar a bit.

Even now he could picture it in his head. Jhored might've been a decent looking fellow once, but it was hidden now behind that crooked scar. It started from the top of the man’s head and stretched all the way down to his neck in a jagged diagonal fashion. The thing had taken the sight of Jhored's right eye, a crooked hole was all that was left there, the torn rotting eye had to be removed. Scar tissue had grown out from the edges having an almost purplish hue at times. Worse yet it left the man's face looking downturned and grim. Even when Jhored did grin it appeared menacing, almost as if he were snarling. The wound had taken a bit of the lip away and part of the man's teeth was constantly exposed. That was enough to make anyone feel unsettled. Blinking Khael nodded his head slightly, and Jhored's low raspy voice came easily to his ears.

"Before meeting with the traders we should inspect the horses, one of the pack animals twisted a leg. Had to put it down and it will be slow moving if we don't pick another."

Khael did his best not to snort in derision. Picking out a new pack animal was work for the servants that would be leading the creatures and setting up his tents on the road. Why hadn't those fools taken care of it already? Now he had to take care of these small matters too? The Count was frustrated enough with all the micromanaging he had to do. Khael needed to be able to focus on the larger matters of the estate, not dealing with all this petty business. Shouldn't even be in Teirm right now, he should have a faithful steward for such a job. No one in this bloody world was bloody responsible. Gold corrupted everyone, which meant Khael could trust no one. Prosperity truly was a burden now. Frustration coloring the Count's face he turned to glare behind his right shoulder at Jhored. He did his best not to flinch at the cold hard stare, but in those eyes was a certain understanding. Jhored was merely making up an excuse, the servants would have already acquired a horse, something had caught the man's attention and he was simply making an excuse to bring Khael's mind to it.

With a stiff nod Khael followed his captain's quick glance, and spotted a very peculiar sight. With practiced ease he made the crazed warhorse he rode come to a stop, though it did dance a bit in protest. This time the count did not hide his stare; no he peered directly at the horse pen containing the curious creature. Was that a child sitting next to it? All the better for him, if he did consider buying that…thing, well there was no doubt he would pay less when dealing with a miniature human. No smile lit his face at that thought however; he was too practiced in immediately hiding the essential emotions when drawing close to an interesting trade item. Let a seller know you were interested and they would raise their price. With a flick of two fingers and quick fist following Jhored and another rider broke off from his retinue while the others maintained their places. The two riders following Khael set his horse off on a slow walk towards the curious looking horse and strange young child sitting next to the pen.

Curious he looked over his shoulder once more and actually noticed that Jhored’s face looked worried, if that was possible. To anyone else the soldier would look angry, disgruntled, ready to bite the head off anyone, but there was a twitch near the good idea that told Khael otherwise. His captain knew something was off about the horse, perhaps he understood the strange decoration of feathers? Or perhaps he could explain why the thing seemed wet? Either way it was off-putting and slightly nerve wracking to know that Jhored was worried about anything. A twitch in the eye was like an open mouthed gasp from anyone else. More determined to figure out this situation Khael let his horse get close enough to almost trampeling the child, and the warhorse did lash out with its sharp hooves. It snorted angrily and tried to back up, further away from the child and the strange horse, eyes going slightly wild as Khael pressured it forward with a sharp heel.

“What manner of horse are you keeping child?” had Jhored flinched when he said child? Was the thing before him not what he thought? Something to keep in mind, but the captain did not seem pleased with the small white haired one. “And what is your asking price for such a thing?”

[/blockquote]

Words :: 1323
Tagged :: Ivory and Gaelica
Characters of Mine :: Count Khael Settic
Muse :: Good on this one, unsure where it is headed but I like using Khael at the moment

[Nayeli]

’introducing
{tasia anna georgios*}
featuring--! sunglow ---! ---!
I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me
In these last few days I've been afraid
That I might drift away
I've been telling old stories, singing songs
That make me think about where I've come from
That's the reason why I seem
So far away today

”You can not ride Sunglow everywhere… We are not liked everywhere, so you need a horse, a good one.” The words echoed in my ears as I entered the streets of Teirm, wearing the most hated thing in the world. Lucky me, the skies were cloudy and Sunglow was circling over the city carefully. I wore a wool skirt, brown and reaching to my feet and it fit to my body. My torso was covered in a tight white shirt, and a brown leather vest. At my hip was my sword, the golden blade hidden by the sheath that protected it. My arrows were on my back, along with my bow, which was slung over my shoulder. I let out a sigh, my black hair was pulled back into braid and I had to put leave my vine crown back home. I hated to do that, but Anslem had told me it was the best thing, I had to make sure I looked human. Around my head, covering the top of my ears was a simple cloth that hid my ears and looked to be keeping my hair from my face.

My emerald eyes searched everything, I really did not want to be here and without backup was the worse part. I had rode Sunglow to the top of the Spine and had journeyed down the mountain during the night without a problem before getting on a road that lead to this port city. It had been annoying, but the best horse trade was here and I had to come and get a good horse. I had a cloak over my shoulders, the hood was lowered, allowing my face to be shown perfectly. I let out a sigh and moved through the streets, my hands covered in gloves to hid the gedwëy ignasia on my hand. I looked to the sky and shook my head in more annoyance. ”Will you please calm down sister, Anslem is right.”

[/color] I mentally growled in protest, but I did not feel like arguing with her. She seemed pleased with that idea.

As I got to closer to the market, I felt the minds of others coming quickly, one mostly annoyed and angry and I looked to see horses coming up… War horses at that. I moved aside to let them past and my mind reached out to the people carefully, feeling the emotion, but not invading privacy. I touched the horses mind with ease, feeling it’s own anger and wondering why. How could a horse get so angry? Such a thing puzzled me, but they had minds too and they could do anything. As I moved closer to the horse market, I looked towards the horses, but one being caught my eye. I could feel the magic without a problem… At the ground was a child looking animal, but I knew better then to realize such a thing. As the three horsemen went towards the child, so did I, but my mind gentle reached out to her own.

”What is a Werecat doing in the markets of Teirm?”[/color] I smiled at the child, looking at the horse from across the pin. She was a beautiful horse, the bloodlines were very good and I wondered what breed she was. She was strong… As the war horse not far from me freaked, I touched out with my mind to settle it as best as possible. I smiled at the beautiful white horse and could not help but think of the horses of Du Weldenvarden. I looked towards the werecat for a moment and then glanced to the sky. ”Not a bad mare? Eh, Sunglow?”[/color] She mentally growled at me. She was more thinking about lunch and I could not help but smile brightly and touched the pouch of Gold at my hip.

”What manner of horse are you keeping child?” I looked to the man on the war horse, his voice seemed slightly off and I swore that I saw a flinch come from one of the men beside him. I looked to the child and then looked back at the mare, before looking back at the Werecat. ”Yes, I would like to know too, Child.”[/color] I said as I looked at the beautiful beast. I reached out softly with my mind to the mare, she was looked at me for a moment and I smiled, knowing that this young mare would be a perfect pick for me, if the gruff man did not take it. ”I could always eat him and his horses, Tasia.”[/color] I mentally laughed at Sunglow, before scolding her. ”And what is your asking price for such a thing?” I wanted to know as well, but I did not ask, I just waited.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Now I have moved and I've kept on moving
Proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing
Found others on the way
I have kissed the fellas and left them crying
Stolen dreams, yes, there's no denying
I have traveled hard, sometimes with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind

’word count seven. nine. zero.
’tagged ivory, count khael settic
’song Caledonia--! Celtic Woman
’post status done
’template creator nayeli

[/size]

[[-Kay-]]

The little werecat held her position when the warhorse reared, lashing out at her with flinty hooves. She merely smiled, closelipped, turning her back on the man to pet Gaelica's nose. "What is she, you ask?"

[/color] Her voice came out, ringing and slightly frightening. One would expect the voice of a child, but her's was more adult. It was sweet, like bubblegum, but bitter as vodka. It was a complete contradiction and it was scary. 'People, Ivory. People.' Gaelica thought, not bothering to disguise her thoughts from the men, Tasia, or Sunglow. Gaelica snorted, tossing her head and whisking her tail a bit. Ivory turned back to them, slipping back her hood. Her slitted pupils and mismatched eyes gleamed a bit in the morning's new half-light. She grinned this time, all her pointed teeth exposed. "Oh she's no regular horse, that's for sure. Look at these teeth on her."[/color] She moved under the slat of the railing easily, slipping her fingers into Gaelica's mouth and prying it open to expose the rows of sharp fangs inside. "She's not designed for hay, mind you."

The mare snorted yet again, jerking her head away and stretching her nose over the fence. It strained towards the people, but Ivory just laughed. "I'd keep your fingers back, folks. She's a carnivore, like any old wolf. Just a hell of a lot prettier."[/color] She made this point a bit clearer, the mare having stretched towards a man that happened by and had NOT heeded Ivory's warning. Gaelica sniffed at his fingers a moment, promptly biting the tips off them all down to the second knuckle. The man was in shock, and promptly ran off, cursing and such. Ivory had dulled his pain with magic a bit, staunching the blood flow. But Gaelica didn't care. She just pulled her head back, chewing the fingertips happily, a few trickling streams of blood coming down her muzzle as she did so.

The mare went and took a drink from a bucket of water, turning her head back to people after a moment. "She's special, this one. Her name's Gaelica. A bit fuzzy in the head, mind you. Always thinking about all sorts of things. Can't very well get her to stay on track. She's always making up stories about this or that. Superstitious, she is." Ivory spoke as Gaelica leaned her head over the railing, resting it on the little werecat's shoulder. She ran her hand over the mare's neck a few times, wiping the slimy residue off on the blanket slung over the railings. "Ivory, why are they all looking at me so strangely? Did I do something wrong?" The mare asked the werecat softly, her voice barely above a whisper in this marketplace. "No, my dear, you've done nothing wrong." Ivory answered, scratching the mare between the eyes. "What do you think of her?"[/size][/blockquote]

[Arizae]

This must be a brave kid, weird looking though. What was with those eyes? Suspicion crept slowly into Khael’s mind his brow furrowing slightly. Entire thing was beginning to stink heavily of magic and witchcraft. When there was magic about it was always tied along with elves and riders. His lip began to pull into a snarl, his countenance taking the appearance of someone that smelt something truly horrid. Even magical humans wound up with dragon riders in Ilirea and any dolt knew that all elves were highly steeped in magic. It put him on edge, the nervousness spreading to his horse as it danced on edge. Unlike its rider however, it was not worried about a werecat or possible magic, its eyes were going wide in fear as it observed the mare. The warhorse could smell blood on the creature and desperately wanted to run away from it. Even the slightly more mild mannered of its brethren by its sides had their eyes rolling.

Suddenly the horse ceased its wild dance, and though it still breathed heavily it visibly calmed down. Khael was unsure what had happened, but he was thankful the beast was getting back into its normal mind, as wild as that may be it was better than the crazed fear. However, he again took note of Jhored; the man was not put at ease by the horses’ reaction. To Khael’s eyes it seemed the captain’s hand had drifted slightly closer to the sword as his side. That was more reason to be cautious than the horses dancing wildly. Jhored had good instincts when it came to people and motivations; sometimes it seemed he had anticipated an event before it ever struck. A mystery for another time.

Moments after Jhored stiffened and the horses calmed yet another person approached. A young lady of sorts, beautiful by any man with that could see, and yet her face seemed foreign to him. Khael took a long moment to study her, and not out of any interest for her flesh, but rather for her curiosity. By all accounts she appeared at least well to do, with decent clothes and a healthy look about her…so why did she carry sword and bow? Was it common these days for women to be taking up arms even in peaceful Teirm? If she had money for such fine equipment it would be better spent on a guard to watch out for her. A sword on the hip of a woman was no deterrent; it was an invitation to fine steel. With a steely look he turned away, even more displeased now that another possible customer had arrived. Funny how she emphasized child when speaking, she seemed a child herself.

Jhored was avoiding looking at the newcomer, having looked away after the first inspection, but the count’s attention was not on that fact. No, the curious kid with the large horse was speaking now and the matter demanded his attention. The sniff of magic in the air was stronger if anything, and Khael could feel his muscles tighten. The girls words seemed to ring in his ears, ‘no regular horse…’ by the grace of Nyx let it be a sales pitch!

Khael was frozen, too in shock to move or even make the correct expression for what he was being shown. Nyx save him this world may have magic in it with strange creatures, but they were not supposed to be paraded Teirm’s market for sale! Fear mingled with anger as his sweaty palms shook indiscernibly to any eye. Those teeth sharp and pointed, not for clipping grass and grinding, but for tearing and chewing. He felt sick, fought back bile as the girl went on explaining. Not even the girl’s sweet bubbling voice could calm her nerves; all he could hear was that edge of bitterness in its undertone. She was completely calm, as she exhibited a monster, a fell beast from the Spine or worse that should’ve been killed the minute it was seen! Nyx damn it all this was not like any wolf!

Khael was wakening from his shock when he was promptly put back in that state of mind by the horrible creature’s actions. That poor man, what had he done to deserve such treatment? And this would be business persone was not even taking responsibility for helping the poor bloke. He ran off before anything could be done about it. Khael wanted to shout, strike down the creature and end it, but his eyes were too busy growing into saucers as the horse gleefully ate the bits of finger. The count fought for his composure, wishing now that he was within his own city of Tears were he could deal with this problem swiftly. As it was, the guards in this area could be in on this business and he didn’t know if they would immediately come to call. Broddring was so divided that even a Count could not trust what he should in a different city. As the girl explained that the ‘creature’ had a name and more Khael softly cleared his throat and remembered the four essences. There, he had it, the calm he so needed to deal with this situation, he could feel it in his slow breath, the steadiness of his hand no gripping the hilt of his sword.

Then he lost it. What did he think of her?!? The creature that had done nothing wrong by injuring an innocent man? There was a flash as steel became bare beneath harsh sun, and it was as if two blades had been drawn simultaneously so quick were Jhored’s reactions. The last guard was quick to follow, and the sounds of the rest of his retinue closing in from yards away sounded clearly though Khael’s ears were deaf to it. Fury was writ on the Counts face, the two rings on his hand symbolizing his authority burned just as eagerly in the light as his sword. Seal of his house and one of his city, not just a rich man, but a voice of authority, and he leveled that hand of ‘power’ to point directly at the beast.

“What do I think child?!? What were you thinking!!” Most of his attention was on this Gaelica, but he turned his head briefly to glare at the child, as if condoning some street rat for stealing what didn’t belong or for harboring some disease ridden rat. “You brought a monster into a populated city!! It should be destroyed this instant!!” Jhored kept his blade held levelly, his eyes looking everyone and none, still as stone as the guards that had been left behind drew steadily closer. Khael had forgotten all about the young lady with the sword and bow, to him she was inconsequential unless the beast threatened her, but Jhored suspected differently though his suspicions remained ungrounded.

Words :: 1151
Tagged :: Ivory, Gaelic, and Tasia
Characters :: Khael Settic
Muse :: Good muse this time

[Nayeli]

’introducing
{tasia anna georgios*}
featuring--! sunglow ---! ---!
I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me
In these last few days I've been afraid
That I might drift away
I've been telling old stories, singing songs
That make me think about where I've come from
That's the reason why I seem
So far away today

I watched as the war horse came quickly at the girl, watched as she did not move and I smiled slightly as I looked at the young mare before me. She was beautiful, she held magic just like the werecat it seemed. My emerald eyes ran over her body softly, letting myself take in everything about her. ”The mare is more then a normal horse, Tasia… You should be very careful.”

[/color] I glanced to the sky for a moment and could not help but smile slightly. ”What is she, you ask?" I watched as the child petted her nose and I smiled, Sunglow was unsure, her body, though high above in the clouds moved over head, she was itching to come down when she could not. The werecat held a very adult voice and I glanced at the war horse, who had calmed down due to my mental touching.

Animals were so easy to understand, so easy to connect with, and her rider seemed to notice me. I nodded in greeting to the man, smiling slightly before looking back at the mare and the werecat. ”People, Ivory. People.” I looked to the mare and smiled. ”Calm down, Dear mare, no one here will hurt you.”[/color] My voice was private only to her, Ivory, and Sunglow who was flying high above and not wanting me to talk to this mare. This man would probably not want this horse once he found out more about her, but I wondered more about it as well. I watched as the werecat removed her hood and I saw her split eyes and smiled a bit bigger before seeing own pointed teeth. ”Oh she's no regular horse, that's for sure. Look at these teeth on her." I watched as the young werecat moved towards the horse and showed off the sharp fangs. I glanced to see the reaction of the man…

He looked horrified after seeing such a thing, he looked like he wanted to run himself, it was something I could not feel in the air. I felt Sunglow’s own mind run and then, I heard her voice echo within’ my head. ”I am coming to you… But I promise, not in my body.”[/color] With that, she was gone and I could not feel her presence. I hated when she did this, mostly because she always seemed to do this when I really did not want her too. ”She's not designed for hay, mind you." I looked back to the Werecat for a moment. ”Such a thing can be seen, her beauty hides her true nature.”[/color] I said to the Werecat, a smile on my face as I watched another man approach the fence next to myself. I hoped the man would not be too stupid and allow himself to do something stupid.

I glanced at the man on the large war horse, seeing something in his eyes that was rather amusing to me. Humans were so easy to read and it was fun to watch and funny to watch. I looked back to the werecat and then back at a man who put his hands up towards the mare. ”I'd keep your fingers back, folks. She's a carnivore, like any old wolf. Just a hell of a lot prettier." I watched as she took the fingers of the man who was now fingerless to a point. I rolled his eyes, rubbing the top of my forehead for a moment and shaking my head. ”Stupid Humans…”[/color] I turned to see a woman walking towards me, with a look of determination on her face. She had picked a pretty human, with long blonde hair pulled back and blue eyes. She had piece of brown cloth around her head to keep her hair from her face, a tan, skin tight, long sleeve shirt and a long, brown, wool skirt and brown shoes. ”This form is nasty.”[/color] She said to me as she was next to me and stood to look at the mare, her eyes looked at me for a moment and within seconds I saw her eye chance to her golden color.

I smiled, but returned my eyes to the man on the horse, seeing the shocked look on his face from the man’s fingers being taken off and he was fighting to keep calm. I chuckled lightly, along with Sunglow who nails were slightly sharper now and golden color. The human was changing little by little, but it would soon stop. Her skin was the same and it would not be changing any time soon, it would take days to take on the scaly appearance. ”She's special, this one. Her name's Gaelica. A bit fuzzy in the head, mind you.” I looked to the mare as the werecat continued to speak. It was a pretty name and I could not help but smile and lean towards Sunglow. ”Not a bad name.”[/color] I said softly to her, though I was sure the human would hear without a problem. ”Always thinking about all sorts of things. Can't very well get her to stay on track. She's always making up stories about this or that. Superstitious, she is." I watched as the mare put her head on the child’s shoulder and I smiled slightly at the cute moment. They were perfect together it seemed. ”Why sell an animal that seems highly attached to you, Child?”[/color] Sunglow’s voice held a mature hint to it, more then my own.

I looked to the man again, wondering what he was thinking. ”Ivory, why are they all looking at me so strangely? Did I do something wrong?" I smiled at the young mare, looking back at her as I watched the werecat speak to her. ”No, my dear, you've done nothing wrong." I smiled slightly at the young child and then looked at the man again as she spoke. ”What do you think of her?" I smiled slightly and looked to Sunglow, who’s eyes met my own for a moment as I smiled. She did not like what I was thinking. ”You want her?”[/color] I smiled slightly, but mostly because I knew this man would kill her. I was sure that I could ride her, she was such a innocent animal, she did not know what she did was wrong. I heard the sound of blades being let out and I turned to see the angry man looking at the child. ”What do I think child?!? What were you thinking!!” I watched for a moment, wanting to hear his words carefully. ”You brought a monster into a populated city!! It should be destroyed this instant!!” I chuckled slightly.

”This is no monster… She is a Kelpie and a beautiful one at that.”[/color] I said as I moved towards the werecat and the mare. I turned towards the man, pulling my own golden blade from it’s place and looking at him without a problem, fear was not within’ my eyes. Sunglow was at my side, her golden eyes looked into the eyes of the most loyal guard it seemed, she held no weapons on her, she was not in her dragon form.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Now I have moved and I've kept on moving
Proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing
Found others on the way
I have kissed the fellas and left them crying
Stolen dreams, yes, there's no denying
I have traveled hard, sometimes with conscience flying
Somewhere with the wind

’word count one. one. eight. five.
’tagged ivory, count khael settic
’song Caledonia--! Celtic Woman
’post status done
’template creator nayeli

[/size]

[[-Kay-]]

Ivory laughed lightly whenever Sunglow asked her question. ”Why sell an animal that seems highly attached to you, Child?”

[/u] The werecat turned her slitted eyes towards the blonde 'woman' and gave her a quick once over. The magic that came from her made Ivory almost purr and want to curl up beside her and bask in it's warmth. "Gaelica forms bonds in very little time. She's rather like a child, Bjartskular. You just have to work with her to understand her." Ivory shrugged a bit, but her gaze whipped around to Khael and Jhored. She hissed, lips drawing back from her pointed teeth. Her clawlike fingers curled in a bit, like paws almost. Her eyes had a dangerous gleam to them as she glared at him from his words. “You brought a monster into a populated city!! It should be destroyed this instant!!”[/u] She hissed again, her voice ringing out. It was a snarl and a growl in one, angry and vicious. "You'll not touch her you damn religious fool!" She took a step forward, ignoring the blade that was held towards herself and the Kelpie. She didn't pay any mind to what Tasia said, the little frame moving slowly forward. It was almost as if she were stalking them, her body lithely sliding across the ground with each step. It was almost as though she prowled. She stopped after a few steps, her eyes gleaming angrilly. "Who are you to come through and say such things? You are nothing. You are just another human with a high opinion of himself. Who else carries an entourage like this? Guards and a lackey." She snorted, the dagger that had been strapped to her waist was in her hand. The gem in the pommel of it glittered with it's own magic, a gift from Laemiri and Eitauv. The magic was so thick in the air you could faintly smell it, sickly sweet. She looked at Jhored's uneasy expression. "I'm no child, Khael." She let the words roll off her tongue, as well as out of her mind, directing the thought at him as she spoke it. She couldn't be sure he heard it, she didn't know if he had any sort of training to guard his mind. But it was there. She took a couple of steps backwards, tossing her dark hair over one shoulder. "Nobody likes bullies, Khael. And I'm not selling her to you. You can look elsewhere."[/size][/blockquote]

[Emma]

Had I always been this lonely?

The gentle sea breeze was a welcome reprieve from the daytime heat. The sun was at its peak, cruelly beautiful, hanging over an ocean the colour of cornflowers. It blew a few locks of dark hair that had come undone from my knot, briefly obscuring my view of Teirm’s harbour. Its white buildings gleamed like daytime stars, and its crowded docks were stacked high with ships at anchor and crying gulls. I could pick out a few flags that were familiar to me- Itasan, Alba, Hellas, even one from Saxony- but there were more that were unknown to me, possibly countries I was not familiar with, but were more likely mercenary ships flying under false colours. Teirm had even more pirates than Ceunon, being Alagaësia’s most accessible port. Its high walls and heavy dock patrols testified to that fact. All things considered, Ceunon was violent and dangerous, but it certainly wasn’t the worst of the cities I could have controlled. I watched one particular gull, set far apart from the others, alight on a post and settle itself glumly.

Yes, I decided, I had always been. Ever since Symmachus had died, and before. The convent had been full of stupid, conformist young women who had all been exactly like one other, and none of them like me. My mother had been far too obsessed with her vengeance for any sort of filial affection- she’d never wanted to see me, and I’d certainly never wanted to see her. Pele and Veela were my sisters. I loved them, I knew that for certain, and yet I didn’t feel that inextricable bond with either of them, and couldn’t lean on them for support. Veela was too fragile, and Pele was in too dangerous of a position. And here, in this Alagaësia with its strange customs and political tensions, I was surrounded by people, both good and evil, that I never truly understood. I had not grown up in a place ruled over by an oligarchy, or played the Grand Game. But this was the reality, and my life. I had come to accept it. But I was alone here.

Suddenly the air, which had previously been filled only with the noises of gently slapping waves and creaking timber, was full of cursing and the unmistaken sound of heels clicking against stone. It was a good thing that Laioni wore those impossible shoes and seemed to be in a constant bad mood while she was here with me- the girl didn’t understand the simplest of common courtesies, such as knocking. Sure enough, the door was flung open and my niece appeared, makeup running down her face from the combination of heat and her own exertion. She shut the door with a bang, and I heard her heels click-click-clack over to the washbasin, where she uttered a groan of disgust, probably seeing herself in the mirror mounted above it. I kept my gaze focussed on the picturesque view of the sea as she washed and scrubbed, and then applied a new, hopefully lighter layer of makeup. Then she finally spoke.

“If one more slave asks me if I would like a change of clothes, I will set the house on fire!” I smiled faintly, hearing my sister Pele’s temper in the girl’s tone. “They do realize I was raised in a forest, I hope?”
“Have they offered to take you shopping yet?” I quipped. “Veela has been itching to buy shoes with you.”
“She is insane. I would sooner let a dragon dress me.”

She came to stand beside me, where I was finally able to get a proper look at her. Laioni resembled me far more than she did her mother- our voices were, according to Veela, nearly indistinguishable, and we both had long black hair and sharp, aloof features. But with her ivory skin and smouldering grey eyes, I thought her far more attractive than me, especially now with thick black kohl lining her eyes, her lengthened and curled lashes, and red-painted lips. Beautiful as she was moody. Laioni had a barbed tongue and used dark magic more characteristic of a Shade than the Riders who had adopted her as their Ward, but she was young. She was naïve. She was even innocent. As arrogant and self-assured as she was, she wasn’t nearly as dangerous as half the elves of Du Weldenvarden. And for that, I had decided to place my trust in her, and had personally requested she join me on this routine trip to Teirm for a meeting of the sailing merchants and some trade issues they had come across- pirates, no doubt.

I had been surprised when first meeting the girl, and nothing could have prepared me for her, not even the full knowledge of my sister’s towering fury and the fact that she’d been raised in the wilderness of the Spine. Even now, I balked every time I looked at her- not even Veela wore such risqué outfits, although thankfully they weren’t quite as horrifying as Malandra Ramakrishna’s. Heeled black leather boots and a torn skirt that had seen better days were all that covered her legs; and a corset of the same colour and material left much of the rounded flesh of her chest exposed. Long fingerless velvet gloves stretched past her elbows, and the ends of her long hair had been curled and tossed back, revealing her neck. On one hand, the thin, petite girl could look exotic and svelte, and on the other, racy and rebellious. I suspected she continued dressing in rags just to spite the Riders. I smirked. Typical adolescent.

A cry from below attracted both of our attentions, and I frowned and looked harder as a man stumbled and tripped through the alleyway just below us. He was bleeding everywhere from his fingers- or lack thereof, as all that were left of them were stumps. I frowned. He looked very well-to-do, as most people in this section of Teirm were, too well-to-do to have injured himself doing labour. And I hadn’t once heard of soldiers disciplining criminals by cutting off most of their fingers, at least not here in Broddring. Stranger still, no guards were coming to his assistance. That only meant that they didn’t want to get involved with whatever or whoever had wounded him. That very possibly meant the Hive was involved. My lips curled into a grimace and I turned away sharply, leaving Laioni standing at the window. She was watching the injured man with something between a sneer and a look of amusement on her face. When she finally turned away, her eyes widened with surprise when she saw me pick up my sabre.

“What? You intend to help him? Humans are parasites who will appreciate nothing an elf does for them, Countess or not. You know this!”
“Mind your pretty head, Laioni.”

She frowned, looked up, and then ducked from the window just in time to avoid an enormous pile of excrement hitting the sill. She cursed again and closed the shutters, and then went to check herself again in the mirror. I fastened my sabre onto my belt and pulled on a pair of short white cavalry gloves before smoothing down my outfit- a knee-length, high-collared, thick ultramarine blue coat that went over a white turtleneck tunic and grey high-waisted breeches. On my feet I wore highly polished thigh-high black boots that were flat-heeled- I would never understand most women’s obsession with stilettos. Then, looking up at my niece, I snatched her hand and tore her away from her beloved mirror and down the hallway. Laioni cried out with surprise and cursed as I pulled her down the stairs, probably nearly breaking her heels, into the foyer, past several very surprised slaves, and out into the street. We had to be quick if we were going to catch the perpetrator. I followed the trail of blood, still at a quick pace.

“What is that smell?” hissed Laioni. “Must we muck about in the animal pens, now?”

I slowed to a halt. For the duration of our stay in Teirm, Lord Viethen had been kind enough to lend my niece and me his guest room. The only issue with it was that he, being a horse merchant, lived right beside the market where he sold said horses. Though our room was relatively safe from the fumes, the stink of animal sweat and manure was usually the first thing that greeted me when I stepped out into the open air. The droplets of blood seemed to originate from there. Still holding onto my unwilling niece, I slowed to a walk, glancing about with a frown on my face. The air was unnaturally still here; and the street surprisingly empty for a market day. However, a small crowd had surrounded one of the enclosures, mostly civilians as well as two important-looking men on equally proud-looking warhorses. Laioni stopped hesitating at this point, her interest piqued. We approached the little group quietly, careful not to attract attention.

“You brought a monster into a populated city!! It should be destroyed this instant!!”
“This is no monster… She is a Kelpie and a beautiful one at that.”
“You’ll not touch her you damn religious fool!”

The civilians were surrounding five people in particular, the two men on warhorses, two women, and a young girl. The louder of the men on horseback was very tall and dark, face contorted in rage and eyes the colour and seemingly the texture of steel. The man next to him seemed equally angry, but at second glance, his one eye was far calmer than the other man’s- it was a disfiguring scar stretching across his entire face, and the missing eye, that made him appear as angry as his master. I was sure that he served the other one- though his clothes were of equally fine make; they were not as eloquently detailed as the first one’s. The girl was the strangest of the lot, with pointed ears and tiny fangs rather than teeth, and slitted pupils- clearly not human. And then there were two women dressed in commoner’s clothing, but it was clear that they were anything but- they held themselves too high, one had golden eyes, and the other had hands too smooth and manicured and features too exotic for a simple human.

“Who are you to come through and say such things? You are nothing. You are just another human with a high opinion of himself. Who else carries an entourage like this? Guards and a lackey. I'm no child, Khael. Nobody likes bullies, Khael. And I'm not selling her to you. You can look elsewhere.”

Khael. Khael Settic, Count of The Tears. I frowned and glanced up at the man on horseback again. He’d taken over the city only very recently, after his father, the previous Count, died the night of the Renaissance Gala. Now the girl was approaching him with a wicked-looking dagger, and one of the women, the one with black hair, had pulled a sword on him. I was speechless, and angry. What were they thinking, threatening a Count in broad daylight? Beside me, I heard Laioni give a low, dark cackle. The noise permeated the silence, and several of the townsfolk looked around and back. Cries of surprise, spitting, and cursing occurred when eyes landed on our pointed ears, and all of a sudden we had a very clear path to the situation before us. Laioni seemed to not notice the open scorn, and stepped forward, the look on her face suggesting that she was about to say something exceptionally nasty. Knowing that it would only make things worse, I stepped out in front of her, twirling my sabre through the air.

“Here we are! Good morning, sirs and ladies.” I said it twice, once in common tongue, the second in the ancient language. “Pray put down those weapons, and hold your noise, else I’ll have Broddring’s convenient justice system place the lot of you in irons. Let’s discuss this like the civilized people we are.” I pointed my blade at each person in tandem, including Settic.
“Go with care, Auntie,” came Laioni’s sneering voice from directly behind me. “The Riders, in their eternal modesty, believe themselves to be above common law. You may need to discipline them like the stupid beasts they are.”

Characters Used;; Rusalka Venali with Laioni
Words;; 2070
Muse;; Started out okay, then died slowly. DX
Thoughts;; Not God-awful but certainly not my best work either. I deleted the OOC posts, btw, so they don't crowd the thread.