Post by Kadina on Apr 6, 2012 19:40:28 GMT -6
After a long night of music with the riverside frog chorus, Kadina lay arched across Kitty's back as they both slept by the bank of the river, its rushing waters a lullaby to Kadina's ears. The sun began to rise, and the birds chirped their morning warmups. Kitty stirred uncomfortably beneath her.
The horse positioned herself recklessly and stood with Kadina still carefully balanced across her back. Her arms and legs hung limply on both sides of the horse, and she grumbled lightly. "Five more more min..." her mumbles trailed off as the horse grazed on the grass around them. Once the mare had her fill of food, she whinnied to wake Kadina. Kadina swat at her mindlessly like some sort of snooze button then let her arm fall limp once more at the side of the horse.
Kitty, unappreciative of the swatting, snorted and took an alternative approach to wake her drowsy owner. She walked next to the river and bucked Kadina into the water then trotted in place while neighing with giddiness.
Kadina flailed as she fought the current and eventually managed to plant her feet in the muddy bed of the river and catch her breath. After a solid minute of blowing water from her nose and violently coughing, she smacked a wave of water at Kitty with a scowl on her face, but gave in to a light chuckle.
This is were Kadina spent most of her free time. She loved the water and would normally be found near the ocean, but Tagor's tragic death had scared her away for some time now. The sand and the tide only brought back memories of his farewell events there by the sea.
By the time the sun had traveled into the zenith, Kadina had already spent most of the morning climbing trees for fruit, swimming, and whittling. She took a break from all of the activities to bathe, working extra hard to get the dirt out of her fingernails. Her hair had nappy patches of twigs and leaves that she began to pluck out. As she worked vigorously at a lock of hair, nearly a dread, she stopped to stare at her reflection.
She never saw herself often and was almost shocked by her appearance. Dirty. Nappy. Brutal. How old was she now? She couldn't remember, but she didn't look like the child she left home as. She touched the paint that still remained on her cheeks and lightly caressed it. The paint smeared down toward her neck and dripped from there into the water, the ripple disturbing her reflection and the paint polluting and discoloring the area in tiny swirls. She watched the current carry the color downstream then cuffed her hands, submerged them, and brought the water to her face to splash it clean. She combed through her hair, taking out the shells, beads, charms, and feathers that she had adorned it with while the water settled once more all around her. Again, she looked at her reflection, the water complementing and lightning her eyes, and this time smiled at her half way normal appearance. She looked pretty. At least that's what she couldn't stop thinking. "Not too bad, huh Kitty?" She placed her hands on her hip and smiled brightly over at the lazy beast while it simply snorted and continued to eat at the sack of fruit beside her. Kadina looked back at her reflection and the smile faded.
Even without the paint, she still looked rough. Scars and wounds everywhere. Less bloody now, but still there. She didn't seem to care so much. Most of them weren't too bad, and the more she thought about it, the more she liked her scars. They reminded her of who she was. A warrior. Like her family and friends. A wave of loneliness washed over her in that moment. A breeze swept the surface of the river and blurred her reflection. She was glad, but at the same time, sad to see that beautiful part of her go thinking that surely by the end of the day, she would have a whole new array of cuts and wounds.
After scrubbing her feet, she washed her long wavy hair and let the sun dry it while she sat with her feet in the water. She then combed it, braided little pieces, and began to put her trinkets back into place among random strands and braids. All the while, she sang a native folk song to Kitty and the frogs:
Night has the owl and day has the lark
Day has the sun and Night has the dark
I have your promise and you have my heart
Our differences can't keep this love apart
So meet me beside the evergreen tree
I'll pick the flowers and you bring the rings
My tambourine and your six silver strings
My heart and yours, our harmony
Darling, my love, if I ever let go
Rest not the one who carved out my soul
Know I'll be with you in spirit, if so
For a love rare as ours is more precious than gold
She then lied on the bank with her pants rolled up and her skin soaking in the sun as she curiously watched a small army of ants. Together, they carried off the peeling of her apple that she had left behind earlier in the day.
Kadina rolled over on her back, letting the sun tan her smooth dark skin. The warmth was soothing. Her arms were folded behind her head like a pillow. The breeze rustled wisps of her hair and the water trickled lullfully nearby.
She wondered how her family was. This time of year they'd be somewhere out west hunting large prairie beasts and harassing travelers in the western passage cliff dwellings. That was always fun. She chuckled as she thought fondly of Berusia, as he struggled up the side of a cliff once, his pudgy legs flailing as she helped him up. She remembered thinking how strong she was once she had pulled him over the edge only to find out her father had been pushing from below. Thinking of his smile warmed her heart now, but she remembered boiling with anger at the time. She wanted to prove herself. Every outing with her father's pack of bandits was a challenge to her in her quest for respect among them. If she had "known her place", she would have been with the women of the tribe learning how to weave baskets and tell fortunes. That was never what she wanted... but things were starting to feel different now.
Being among the warriors in Hyrule, Kadina felt disposable. Her skill most often outmatched by people of power. Real power. People with abilities. Kadina sat up and began drawing squiggles in the dirt with the point of her finger. Sitting criss-cross, her other elbow was rested on her knee and her head was propped up in the palm of her hand. Her blue-gray eyes squinted to see in the light of the day, her brow furrowed in frustration. She never mentioned to anyone how much the ability thing had bothered her. It bothered her to think the scars she had were only going to keep multiplying because she was always pushing her luck in battle. With her tribe, she was top rank. Here, her war paint was a mockery.
She raked her fingers across the dirt in a row of two to symbolize the double dashed warpaint ranking she usually wore on her face. She then raked her whole hand across the dirt, rows of five, and saw it as the rank of her friends and enemies in Hyrule. Annoyed, she swiped the dirt away creating a blank empty space. She crossed her arms childishly and spat in the river. For almost an hour she sat there watching the shadows of her surroundings grow as the sun sank in the sky. Her stomach growled. She placed her hand over it where her shirt had been tattered and torn revealing her midriff as if this would hush the grumbling. Kitty neighed and Kadina knew she must have been thinking the same thing. She stood and was about to turn when she felt a hand grasp around the back of her neck. Looking down in the reflection of the water, she saw that it was Luca
"How did that song go again? Rest not the one who took my soul?" His grasp tightened. Kadina wheezed and gasped for air has he lifted her off the ground, his large hand big enough to enclose her tiny throat. She could hear Kitty getting up to charge him but her endeavor was followed by a zap and a loud thud. A tear leaked from Kadina's eye as her vision blurred, and she felt her heart rate slowing down. Her face was turning purple, the veins in her forehead began to protrude. She began to lose consciousness and tried hard to accept death as being near. It wasn't hard after recently thinking how disposable she was. As she squirmed and clawed, she realized that it was all she could do for herself.
As darkness crept from her peripheral vision inward and clouded her world, she felt a change in momentum as her body was tossed to the side where she rolled several feet and stirred up a cloud of dust. She writhed in pain and gasped loudly and violently for air, inhaling the airborne dirt while awaiting life to reoccupy her body as it had almost leaked away.
Once her vision had returned, the first thing she noticed was Kitty lying lifeless a few feet in front of her. Heartbroken and angry, she looked around for Luca. There he was where he had assaulted her. Despair flooded her mentality as she observed his height and build. She new that she was no match for him and today would be her last. Still, the spark of life flickered inside of her. She weakly pushed her self up, every joint in her body shaking from her impact with the ground. She spit dirt from her mouth and wiped her lips. "Luca." She curtsied sarcastically as she addressed him like an acquaintance. Her weapons were with her vest and belts over by where Kitty had been napping. She had nothing.
"It's been a while" She sturdied herself a little more in order of showing no weakness. Her body language a bluff that Luca could see straight through.
"You're right. It's been to damn long..." He shot a bolt of blue electricity at her heart but she dodged it in the knick of time.
"Is this really anyway to greet and old... erm... friend?"
He chuckled. She knew she had gone out on a limb with her choice of words.
"Ok... I get it..." She held her hands up in a defensive manner to let him know she wasn't trying to pick a fight. While dusting herself off, she ask, "What's the significance to you?"
"Come again?" He asked as he slowly began to approach her. The chains around his belt chimed, his boots left little puffs of dirt with every heavy step.
"The significance of the song." She took tiny steps backward hoping they were just small enough not to be noticed.
"Really? You mean you can't figure it out?"
Kadina thought a moment. Awkward silence filled the air as he stalked toward her.
"She was carrying... YOU FUCKING SAVAGE!" He sent strike after strike of electricity flying at her as he raced to strangle her once more.
Epiny. He's talking about Epiny.
He had managed to miss her in all of the rage. That or only planned on scaring her so he could kill her with his bare hands. But neither happened. Instead, he swung the back of his hand at her so forcefully, she was knocked into the river. While she was submerged, he composed himself, adjusted his glove, chuckled, and whispered, "I knew you were bluffing..."
Kadina broke the surface slinging her wet hair out of her face and behind her. Water droplets rained down around them as she breathed heavily, and he stood watch on the bank.
She almost felt safe to be out in the middle of the river away from his grasp, but realized soon that she was wrong.
Luca squatted down beside the river and smiled menacingly. Their eyes locked, and it seemed as though there was nothing to say. He began swirling his finger in the water. A pretty figure eight. She watched mesmerized when she had finally put two and two together. Water was the last place she wanted to be. The graceful figure eight was a warning and he had been waiting for her to catch on. It was his own little form of torture that he couldn't go without doing. Not to her.
"Luca, it was an accident!" She began walking toward the bank but it was a slow progression. The current was strong and the water was up to her waist. This panicked her even more. "She was disguised! She betrayed us! I didn't know what else to do! I didn't know she was with child. I'm sorry. I didn't know, Luca. I didn't know!" He stood up and rubbed his thumb and index finger together. Little sparkling zaps flickered between the friction of his glove. He then began to hum the melody of Kadina's folk song.
She tried to run through the water the best she that could, her body stricken with panic and fear knowing what was coming next. His gloves began to glow and spark brighter and bigger now. Her heart was beating in her throat and she cold hardly breath or call for help. The sound of the rushing water seemed to put her entire body under distress as it was the force costing her her life. Her desperate pleas were all she had. "Luca, please. I'm sorry!" She stopped and held out her hand desperately. "I'm sorry..." Tears ran without a sob down her cheek as he stared her in the eye cold heartedly, rubbed his palms together, and shot a powerful beam of electricity into the water.
[End Thread]
The horse positioned herself recklessly and stood with Kadina still carefully balanced across her back. Her arms and legs hung limply on both sides of the horse, and she grumbled lightly. "Five more more min..." her mumbles trailed off as the horse grazed on the grass around them. Once the mare had her fill of food, she whinnied to wake Kadina. Kadina swat at her mindlessly like some sort of snooze button then let her arm fall limp once more at the side of the horse.
Kitty, unappreciative of the swatting, snorted and took an alternative approach to wake her drowsy owner. She walked next to the river and bucked Kadina into the water then trotted in place while neighing with giddiness.
Kadina flailed as she fought the current and eventually managed to plant her feet in the muddy bed of the river and catch her breath. After a solid minute of blowing water from her nose and violently coughing, she smacked a wave of water at Kitty with a scowl on her face, but gave in to a light chuckle.
This is were Kadina spent most of her free time. She loved the water and would normally be found near the ocean, but Tagor's tragic death had scared her away for some time now. The sand and the tide only brought back memories of his farewell events there by the sea.
By the time the sun had traveled into the zenith, Kadina had already spent most of the morning climbing trees for fruit, swimming, and whittling. She took a break from all of the activities to bathe, working extra hard to get the dirt out of her fingernails. Her hair had nappy patches of twigs and leaves that she began to pluck out. As she worked vigorously at a lock of hair, nearly a dread, she stopped to stare at her reflection.
She never saw herself often and was almost shocked by her appearance. Dirty. Nappy. Brutal. How old was she now? She couldn't remember, but she didn't look like the child she left home as. She touched the paint that still remained on her cheeks and lightly caressed it. The paint smeared down toward her neck and dripped from there into the water, the ripple disturbing her reflection and the paint polluting and discoloring the area in tiny swirls. She watched the current carry the color downstream then cuffed her hands, submerged them, and brought the water to her face to splash it clean. She combed through her hair, taking out the shells, beads, charms, and feathers that she had adorned it with while the water settled once more all around her. Again, she looked at her reflection, the water complementing and lightning her eyes, and this time smiled at her half way normal appearance. She looked pretty. At least that's what she couldn't stop thinking. "Not too bad, huh Kitty?" She placed her hands on her hip and smiled brightly over at the lazy beast while it simply snorted and continued to eat at the sack of fruit beside her. Kadina looked back at her reflection and the smile faded.
Even without the paint, she still looked rough. Scars and wounds everywhere. Less bloody now, but still there. She didn't seem to care so much. Most of them weren't too bad, and the more she thought about it, the more she liked her scars. They reminded her of who she was. A warrior. Like her family and friends. A wave of loneliness washed over her in that moment. A breeze swept the surface of the river and blurred her reflection. She was glad, but at the same time, sad to see that beautiful part of her go thinking that surely by the end of the day, she would have a whole new array of cuts and wounds.
After scrubbing her feet, she washed her long wavy hair and let the sun dry it while she sat with her feet in the water. She then combed it, braided little pieces, and began to put her trinkets back into place among random strands and braids. All the while, she sang a native folk song to Kitty and the frogs:
Night has the owl and day has the lark
Day has the sun and Night has the dark
I have your promise and you have my heart
Our differences can't keep this love apart
So meet me beside the evergreen tree
I'll pick the flowers and you bring the rings
My tambourine and your six silver strings
My heart and yours, our harmony
Darling, my love, if I ever let go
Rest not the one who carved out my soul
Know I'll be with you in spirit, if so
For a love rare as ours is more precious than gold
She then lied on the bank with her pants rolled up and her skin soaking in the sun as she curiously watched a small army of ants. Together, they carried off the peeling of her apple that she had left behind earlier in the day.
Kadina rolled over on her back, letting the sun tan her smooth dark skin. The warmth was soothing. Her arms were folded behind her head like a pillow. The breeze rustled wisps of her hair and the water trickled lullfully nearby.
She wondered how her family was. This time of year they'd be somewhere out west hunting large prairie beasts and harassing travelers in the western passage cliff dwellings. That was always fun. She chuckled as she thought fondly of Berusia, as he struggled up the side of a cliff once, his pudgy legs flailing as she helped him up. She remembered thinking how strong she was once she had pulled him over the edge only to find out her father had been pushing from below. Thinking of his smile warmed her heart now, but she remembered boiling with anger at the time. She wanted to prove herself. Every outing with her father's pack of bandits was a challenge to her in her quest for respect among them. If she had "known her place", she would have been with the women of the tribe learning how to weave baskets and tell fortunes. That was never what she wanted... but things were starting to feel different now.
Being among the warriors in Hyrule, Kadina felt disposable. Her skill most often outmatched by people of power. Real power. People with abilities. Kadina sat up and began drawing squiggles in the dirt with the point of her finger. Sitting criss-cross, her other elbow was rested on her knee and her head was propped up in the palm of her hand. Her blue-gray eyes squinted to see in the light of the day, her brow furrowed in frustration. She never mentioned to anyone how much the ability thing had bothered her. It bothered her to think the scars she had were only going to keep multiplying because she was always pushing her luck in battle. With her tribe, she was top rank. Here, her war paint was a mockery.
She raked her fingers across the dirt in a row of two to symbolize the double dashed warpaint ranking she usually wore on her face. She then raked her whole hand across the dirt, rows of five, and saw it as the rank of her friends and enemies in Hyrule. Annoyed, she swiped the dirt away creating a blank empty space. She crossed her arms childishly and spat in the river. For almost an hour she sat there watching the shadows of her surroundings grow as the sun sank in the sky. Her stomach growled. She placed her hand over it where her shirt had been tattered and torn revealing her midriff as if this would hush the grumbling. Kitty neighed and Kadina knew she must have been thinking the same thing. She stood and was about to turn when she felt a hand grasp around the back of her neck. Looking down in the reflection of the water, she saw that it was Luca
"How did that song go again? Rest not the one who took my soul?" His grasp tightened. Kadina wheezed and gasped for air has he lifted her off the ground, his large hand big enough to enclose her tiny throat. She could hear Kitty getting up to charge him but her endeavor was followed by a zap and a loud thud. A tear leaked from Kadina's eye as her vision blurred, and she felt her heart rate slowing down. Her face was turning purple, the veins in her forehead began to protrude. She began to lose consciousness and tried hard to accept death as being near. It wasn't hard after recently thinking how disposable she was. As she squirmed and clawed, she realized that it was all she could do for herself.
As darkness crept from her peripheral vision inward and clouded her world, she felt a change in momentum as her body was tossed to the side where she rolled several feet and stirred up a cloud of dust. She writhed in pain and gasped loudly and violently for air, inhaling the airborne dirt while awaiting life to reoccupy her body as it had almost leaked away.
Once her vision had returned, the first thing she noticed was Kitty lying lifeless a few feet in front of her. Heartbroken and angry, she looked around for Luca. There he was where he had assaulted her. Despair flooded her mentality as she observed his height and build. She new that she was no match for him and today would be her last. Still, the spark of life flickered inside of her. She weakly pushed her self up, every joint in her body shaking from her impact with the ground. She spit dirt from her mouth and wiped her lips. "Luca." She curtsied sarcastically as she addressed him like an acquaintance. Her weapons were with her vest and belts over by where Kitty had been napping. She had nothing.
"It's been a while" She sturdied herself a little more in order of showing no weakness. Her body language a bluff that Luca could see straight through.
"You're right. It's been to damn long..." He shot a bolt of blue electricity at her heart but she dodged it in the knick of time.
"Is this really anyway to greet and old... erm... friend?"
He chuckled. She knew she had gone out on a limb with her choice of words.
"Ok... I get it..." She held her hands up in a defensive manner to let him know she wasn't trying to pick a fight. While dusting herself off, she ask, "What's the significance to you?"
"Come again?" He asked as he slowly began to approach her. The chains around his belt chimed, his boots left little puffs of dirt with every heavy step.
"The significance of the song." She took tiny steps backward hoping they were just small enough not to be noticed.
"Really? You mean you can't figure it out?"
Kadina thought a moment. Awkward silence filled the air as he stalked toward her.
"She was carrying... YOU FUCKING SAVAGE!" He sent strike after strike of electricity flying at her as he raced to strangle her once more.
Epiny. He's talking about Epiny.
He had managed to miss her in all of the rage. That or only planned on scaring her so he could kill her with his bare hands. But neither happened. Instead, he swung the back of his hand at her so forcefully, she was knocked into the river. While she was submerged, he composed himself, adjusted his glove, chuckled, and whispered, "I knew you were bluffing..."
Kadina broke the surface slinging her wet hair out of her face and behind her. Water droplets rained down around them as she breathed heavily, and he stood watch on the bank.
She almost felt safe to be out in the middle of the river away from his grasp, but realized soon that she was wrong.
Luca squatted down beside the river and smiled menacingly. Their eyes locked, and it seemed as though there was nothing to say. He began swirling his finger in the water. A pretty figure eight. She watched mesmerized when she had finally put two and two together. Water was the last place she wanted to be. The graceful figure eight was a warning and he had been waiting for her to catch on. It was his own little form of torture that he couldn't go without doing. Not to her.
"Luca, it was an accident!" She began walking toward the bank but it was a slow progression. The current was strong and the water was up to her waist. This panicked her even more. "She was disguised! She betrayed us! I didn't know what else to do! I didn't know she was with child. I'm sorry. I didn't know, Luca. I didn't know!" He stood up and rubbed his thumb and index finger together. Little sparkling zaps flickered between the friction of his glove. He then began to hum the melody of Kadina's folk song.
She tried to run through the water the best she that could, her body stricken with panic and fear knowing what was coming next. His gloves began to glow and spark brighter and bigger now. Her heart was beating in her throat and she cold hardly breath or call for help. The sound of the rushing water seemed to put her entire body under distress as it was the force costing her her life. Her desperate pleas were all she had. "Luca, please. I'm sorry!" She stopped and held out her hand desperately. "I'm sorry..." Tears ran without a sob down her cheek as he stared her in the eye cold heartedly, rubbed his palms together, and shot a powerful beam of electricity into the water.
[End Thread]