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Post by Crispin on Jul 11, 2020 21:42:46 GMT 1
Day 22, afternoon
The sun beat down merciless at the grounds outside and Crispin gave a small sigh as she pulled the curtains closed. Better. As much as she was used to daytime activity, in her personal quarters she preferred twilight. Soon enough she'd be called to heal someone, join on a round of visits where her opinion mattered less than her magic. But it meant helping, none of the people deserving to be in pain. Quietly she stepped over to wake Tuft, stroking her bonds fur till the young caracal playful dabbed at her hands.
She was about to get up and fetch a yarn-ball for the big cat when there was a light of magic, the airy and lightfilled rooms of the palace that'd come to be her home changed to a cave lit by firelight. Surprised she startled, grabbed for Tuft to keep the spooked caracal from running off and getting into trouble. The next thing was to send a wordless ping out, a request to speak, confusion shining through.
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Post by No-Sting on Jul 11, 2020 22:57:48 GMT 1
No-Sting, having gotten into the furs before sunrise for once, wasn't too tired when a stranger's sending startled her awake. She'd always been a light sleeper - that came in handy when you often ended spending the day balanced on a branch. **I hear you stranger,** she open-sent to whoever it was that had reached out, as well as to the rest of the elves in the holt, to make sure all knew she'd be handling this one. **I'm coming to you, stay where you are. You are safe.**
Hopefully the truth would shine through in that sending. Not that Beacon Call was completely safe, any more than any other place in the world, but it felt decent to let the new elf know they'd not been taking to an outright hostile place.
Pulling on her tunic and hose, No-Sting quickly made her way to the cave with the beacon in it, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Swift-Wind had woken up briefly, but clearly been too tired to be a good greeter, so No-Sting had left her to sleep with their bond-friends to keep her warm.
Stifling a yawn, No-Sting rounded the last corner of the tunnel leading to the room with the beacon. Her eyes hadn't adjusted to the light yet so she couldn't fully make out the stranger, but there was a scent of cat that almost felt like lynx and yet not. "Greetings," she said into the cave, holding up both of her hands to show she wasn't armed. "I'm No-Sting. Welcome to Beacon Call Holt. I'm sure you've got questions."
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Post by Crispin on Jul 12, 2020 16:03:33 GMT 1
Stranger. It'd been a long time since anyone had called her that, most coming to her as patients, calling her healer when nothing else was know. And odd greeting too, nothing like the community she knew, embracing without questions. But she stayed, relayed the feeling of ::Safe:: to Tuft and waited for whoever entered, smiled in the direction.
**Shade and clean water! I'm Crispin and this is Tuft** The caracal gave a chirping meow, prompted by a gentle gesture, still not entirely sure about this new space and it's lack of earlier-promised yarn balls. **A Holt, that's amazing! I didn't think there were any left. This must be very far up-river, but... how did we came to be here?** Having lost her voice long ago didn't stop Crispin from chattering just like anyone else.
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Post by No-Sting on Jul 15, 2020 20:54:43 GMT 1
No-Sting stepped into the Beacon Chamber and took in the stranger with a quick glance. They shared the same dark skin, the stranger's possible a bit darker than hers, but in height they differed greatly. No tufts on the stranger's ears either. That said, her scent spoke of kinship with cats - also, the cat in the room helped send that message. No-Sting had never seen such a cat before, but there was no doubt in her mind it was a distant relative of the lynx. It surely was no wolf.
Ah, we're sending. The stranger's name took No-Sting somewhat by surprise. It felt...strange, nudging against her mind in a way a regular name shouldn't. For a brief moment of panic she thought this might be an elf like Milo, far too willing to share too deeply too fast (she hadn't learned his soul name, but she'd learned enough from Choice and Keleero to worry over it happening). But no deeper knowing of the stranger came, only that faint 'after taste' No-Sting couldn't put a name to. Odd.
**Shade and clean water to you too.** It seemed the polite thing, to reply in kind. **You're likely more than up-river from your home. See that big rock in the wall behind you? It's magical and it sometimes grabs people from all manner of distant places. As far as we know, there are no elves here, only elves who end up here. So we've made our own holt. For now.** A pause. **What do you mean there are no holts left where you come from?** Another elf with an unsettling home place?
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Post by Crispin on Jul 16, 2020 14:51:37 GMT 1
Eyes having adjusted to the light she took in No-Sting, noticing how much younger and smaller she was. Like a child. The name she used was not a soul name, but this too wasn't her call to judge upon. It was nice to talk through sending instead of words, what little speaking the Divide Crossers used either aimed at humans or distraction so no one noticed they could communicate otherwise.
A magic rock, now that was a strange idea, but there wasn't much arguing with what'd happened. Crispin focused on the question instead. **There just aren't** she replied with a shrug. **They dissolved when we scattered among the humans. How would you have a holt, when neither place nor the people around you stay the same?** Stroking over Tufts back she added: **I'm glad I got Tuft here for company**
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Post by No-Sting on Jul 16, 2020 22:52:16 GMT 1
**Humans again,** No-Sting sent, not sure if she should be exasperated or worried. **They seem to be everywhere. Strange I never met one. Though we have elves here who've managed to live in peace with them, so hopefully the ones by the sea here aren't the type to attack us.** Crispin seemed so calm, despite her new surroundings, that No-Sting forgot to try and ease her way into the experience of being one place and suddenly another.
**The humans haven't seen us yet and while the hunting hasn't been easy it hasn't been impossible either. You shouldn't need to go hungry. You're of course free to stay or go as you please, but beware that the weather outside is terribly cold.** From the look of her clothes, Crispin hadn't come from a snow covered place. **Are you hungry? Tired? You and your bond are welcome to both eat and rest here. What sort of cat is it you're bonded with?**
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Post by Crispin on Jul 18, 2020 20:20:56 GMT 1
**They're people, just like we are. Some good, some bad and most just acting on what they know.** She replied full of kindness. More than one human child had been nurtured back from death by her hands and while the scars on her body, hidden by colorful scarves, told another story, she'd long since made peace with it.
It was an odd prospect to think about hungry and having to go hunting – she never had to. There'd been times with tight food, for they weren't the highest priority in droughts, but they wouldn't have been allowed to go and fend for themselves. **We're good, thanks. I think she's more missing her yarnballs. And I'll have to keep her from sticking her nose into anything she finds.** Tuft in fact had already decided this was boring and sniffed around, getting her bearings. **She's a caracal** Crispin included in her sending a brief scene of wild ones, stalking the bushland, a majestic predator in it's right.
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Post by No-Sting on Jul 19, 2020 20:49:09 GMT 1
**You'll at least have Jaseio on your side in that argument,** No-Sting sent back. As she had never met a human, she had no real opinion of them. To her, they seemed like clever predators - possible to bond with and like all living things only to be killed if you were forced to, best avoided. The concept of a 'yarnball' was completely new to No-Sting, leaving her frowning in concentration as she tried to grasp the shared image/idea of it. She switched to speaking mostly to save her concentration for this new thing. "I'm afraid we don't have any of those. But there are other cats here that she hopefully will get along with. Why don't you-" That was when the beacon flashed again. OOC: Tag Silvergill! I thought it a good idea to have Silvergill also arrive in this thread, to avoid timeline confusions (mostly by me - I am terrible at having more than a few threads running at the same time, sorry XD) and because the beacon generally tends to bring more than one elf at the time. |
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Post by Silvergill on Jul 20, 2020 2:17:52 GMT 1
(OOC: Here we goooooo lol. Hopefully i didn't write too much)
IC: The sun had moved from just peeking over the horizon to overhead in the time Silvergill had been fishing. Worn trousers rolled up around her knees as she stood in the running water of the Green River. Her sandals were tied together and draped over her neck to keep them dry. Her toes gripped the mossy riverbed with trained precision and confidence, she had long ago learned the best stances to keep from falling into the river. On the bank behind her lay a pile of glimmering, silver fish. As the trees moved in the gentle breeze, the scales would catch the sunlight, turning her fishing cove into a glowing myriad of scaly designs.
Silvergill paid no mind to the dancing lights surrounding her, her gaze was focused solely and entirely on the river. She had not moved for hours, waiting for just the right fish to come along to be snagged by her spear. She blinked once, eyes never leaving the flowing river at her feet. Every once in a while, a small guppy or two would swim by, but they were not enough to feed an elf for a bite or two, hardly worth adding to her catch to bring back to the Tribe.
There, finally. A flash of silver scales near the surface of the water caught her attention. She quickly sized up the fish, deeming it worthy to add to her pile. She moved to intercept her chosen prey, moving with imperceptible grace with the flow of the river, as not to reveal her intrusion in the riverbed. The fish did not acknowledge her presence, as was her goal, and kept its lazy path up the river. Silvergill moved into position, rotating her spear in her hands and adjusting her aim for the distortion on the water.
So focused on her prey and the angle of her spear, Silvergill did not notice the small area around her filling with unnatural light. She thrust her spear quickly, aiming to add another fish to her collection. Ass the sharpened tip of her spear pierced the scaly hide, the unnatural light flashed, stripping her familiar surroundings and replacing them with the darkness and unfamiliarity of a cave. The dry, cold stone floor was a shock to her bare feet and she stumbled. Taken aback, she glanced at her spear, where her fish should have been, lay bare and unbloodied.
"Slip grass and fish guts!" She exclaimed indignantly, the loss of her catch momentarily distracting her from taking in her new surroundings, and her new present company.
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Post by Crispin on Jul 20, 2020 9:30:00 GMT 1
There was no arguing needed for Crispin, things just as they were. She'd help everyone, elf, human or animal, regardless of it. Everything else could be settled out after, but many were too grateful for healing to dwell on past discrepancies.
A yarnball would be easy to replace, only needing some ribbons of cloth or thread to make one. It was what she could do best anyway, apart from magic. And it'd be good for Tuft to meet some other cats, too little of them around in the palace. Good that caracals live mostly alone – she'd have to learn to adapt here.
Before she could reply, the Beacon flashed and that had her move away, her bond following in a swift jump. Who knew what'd happen now. Crispin blinked at the appearance of another elf and settled on a **Shade and sweet water to you! Nice to not be the only new one here** Unknown place or not, she could still be friendly and project some calm.
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Post by No-Sting on Jul 20, 2020 22:45:59 GMT 1
OOC: Great first post, Silvergill! Don't worry about how many words you write, there's not max or minimum limit  IC:Calmed by Crispin's serene attitude, No-Sting was taken completely by surprise at the beacon's second flash. She stumbled and muttered a curse of her own. This wasn't the first time the beacon called more than one elf to it - she should have been prepared! "Yes, yes, welcome," No-Sting said to the new figure, hidden from her by the shadows on the cave's far corner. Her voice had a tone of annoyance, though she wasn't annoyed at the newcomer; only at herself and her kittenish jumpiness. "You are not in any danger here and no one has taken you, only rotting old magic that can't behave itself." She thought to ask the stranger's name but changed her mind. The poor thing probably had a fair share of shock to work through and being overrun with questions wouldn't help. Not everyone who arrived were as calm as Crispin.
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Post by Silvergill on Jul 20, 2020 23:25:46 GMT 1
The stranger's sending snapped her out of her fish-focused trance. She slowly stood and straightened out of her hunting position, still keeping a vice-like grip on her spear. As her eyes adjusted to the light of the cave, she took in her new surroundings and the strangers beside her. The stony cave floor was so different from the moss and grass of her swampy homeland, unfamiliar and ungrippable.
Noticing both her new companions were unarmed, she quickly dropped her spear from a defensive position, choosing instead to hold it casually, in an effort to seem more personable. She had never interacted with anyone outside her own tribe, she hadn't even known other elves to exist. Her ears twitched as she latched onto the other strangers last words, spoken, not sent, with stark difference in tone than the caressing voice that had sent earlier. She didn't have time to register if the hint of annoyance was directed at her or something else entirely, she was too confused.
"Magic?" Silvergill replied, "Magic can't do anything like this." At least not any magic she'd ever seen. Her world consisted of the gifts of healing and tree-shaping, not teleportation and fish-stealing. She looked between the two strangers. "Where even are we?" She asked, her brief panic subsiding, aided by the calm atmosphere in the room. She would settle on confusion for now, until she received more answers.
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Post by Crispin on Jul 21, 2020 19:47:45 GMT 1
Crispin was a bit surprised at the sudden annoyance in No-Stings tone, but then this must be rattling for her too, to have strangers just appear in your home. Well, they could sort that out later. **It appears it can, since we're both here now.** she send, then took a step towards the fire, gesturing to it. **How about we sit and let No-Sting explain. There should be food to have too, if you are hungry. I am Crispin – what's your name, child?** The offer extended to her sure extended to the newcomer as well. To Tuft she send a quick ::Stay. No playtime:: to indicate some patience. Her bond was used to this, not always allowed to tag along when she was called to a healing.
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Post by No-Sting on Jul 21, 2020 23:38:11 GMT 1
"Sadly, magic apparently can do whatever it cursed pleases," No-Sting said, glaring at the beacon as its glow faded. "That thing over there has brought many hands of us here, from all over. I'm No-Sting...formerly of the Tuft Ear Clan. She'd just begun accepting it, accepting that she'd never see her clan, her mother again. That didn't mean she'd have to like it. Then again, taking out her grief on perfect strangers was not the way to go. "Ah, yes, there is food, should you wish to sit and eat. I'll get a fire going." Without it and with the fading glow of the beacon - its light the closest to firelight in the previously empty Beacon Room - they'd otherwise be left in the dark, what with the twists and turns as well as cover of the entrance tunnel. "I don't have Flint's fire magic, so I'll have to get it going the regular way." There were embers left glowing, enough to give off a soft light still. She only needed to fetch some wood from the store room to get it going again. To make sure no one was surprised by the gathering of people in the Beacon Room, No-Sting open-sent as far as she could reach: **Two newcomers! I'm making us some food and getting ready to explain things. Anyone is free to join us.** |
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Post by Silvergill on Jul 22, 2020 0:58:14 GMT 1
"Silvergill," she replied hesitantly "Silvergill from the Green River Tribe." She sat next to the others, tucking her spear behind her. Her shoulders relaxed as her body finally began to accept that she was not in danger. "Well, since it appears I've lost my fish, I may as well accept the offer of food." She rocked back on her hands. The action helped her convince herself to relax, as well as hopefully tell the others she was no threat. She scooted closer to the small flames. This cave was much colder than the endless summers in her swampy home, and it was starting to creep up on her.
"You mentioned there were others?" If she was going to be stuck here for at least the time being, she might as well know what exactly she was getting into. "Hopefully just as welcoming as you two." She chuckled, half joking to herself. Even if nothing could ever come close to replacing the absurdly close knit bonds of those in the Green River Tribe, it was always good to have friends, or at least acquaintances to fall back on.
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