Session Start: Sat Apr 13 12:39:11 2002 >> LUDE START << >> The night is a cool one, the sky filled with many glittering stars. If one looks above, they can almost relate the beauty of the stars with the fragile beauty of Mitsuo's wings revealed to them earlier. But it is late. And not everyone is accounted for at the Tenkali village.... >> Nathan, wearied from the day's wonderful (*snicker*) discoveries and battle, decides to track down the huntress. With a little prodding from Dylan and Erel, of course, to help him decide to move. His feet carry him quick enough outside the village. >> In the distance, he can see the dancing ghostly glimmer of firelight from inside the jungle's otherwise darkened grasp. * Nathan balances on a branch high in the trees, watching the light in the darkness for a bit * Nathan approaches cautiously, not knowing how torqued up Feray is right now >> By the time Nathan reaches Feray's small camp, he becomes aware of the smell of roasting rabbit. From the foliage, all he can see are her boots. Not moving. * Nathan angles over to another tree, and checks to see if she's still attached to said boots * Feray is slumped against the base of a tree, eyes half closed as she gazes into the fire, as if she's falling asleep. The rabbit seems to be getting a little bit TOO well done in her drowsing. ^^; * Nathan sits down on the branch, "I thought I told you not to make me come look for you." ^_- * Feray jerks her head up, her body tensing in fright. "Huh?! What?! I'm awake, I'm awake!" * Feray is almost comically startled, eyes wide. Whoa! Easy there! Its just me! ....oh. Nathan. ^^; * Feray exhales and then blinks. Why are you up in the tree? 'Cause I'm scared of low places? ^_- * Feray notices her rabbit is burning and squeaks, scrambling forward to tug the makeshift spit off the fire. "Ow! Hot! Ow! Ah, damnit!" * Feray looks at the rather crispy bunny. ... * Feray scowls. * Nathan hops down from the tree, looking a bit concerned You're not at all yourself. What's up? * Feray sucks on her burned finger and grumbles around, tossing the rabbit onto a blanket of leaves nearby. Muttin'. * Feray speaks around her finger. ^^; * Nathan raises an eyebrow dissaprovingly * Feray pauses, noticing the raised eyebrow and sighs as she removes her finger. Come on, talk to me. What's eating you? I'm just really tired, this whole nightmare demon thing is completely wearing on my nerves and I'm half considering just running off back to Leck and marrying some fat farmer named Angus. * Feray looks decidely grumpy and crosses her arms over her chest. ...oh ....oh? Is that all you can say? Hmph. * Feray grunts. Well, if that's all you want to tell me, then what else is there to say? How about 'don't go! we need you!' or.... 'it's okay, everyone was freaked out, you don't have to feel like a complete failure for caving like you did'... Or maybe 'here, let me give you a back rub and I'll wash your feet later'. * Nathan's expression softens, "So that's what this is about." * Feray exhales softly and throws her arms into the air. "I can't believe it. That stupid beast morphs into a spider, and it's not even a REAL spider, and I know it's not a real spider because it WASN'T a spider moments ago..." And yet I curl into a ball on the frickin floor! And cry my eyes out like a stupid child! Instead of protecting you.....and the others! And you can't accept that yet, right? C'mon. I'm strong. A strong, mannish, brute-ish woman. Gods only know that the least I can do is protect what I love. But no, no, no. Not this time. * Feray grumbles. * Nathan stops for a moment, then continues his train of thought, "Feray...there's something that you need to understand about what happened." * Feray's tension begins to fade a little and she just sighs, looking at Nate. That beast used fear as a weapon. For many warriors, they train and harden their bodies and skills to defy that which is brought against them. It makes them strong. But fear is different. Fear is not something that is brought TO someone. It comes from inside that person. How often have you had to defend yourself from something that attacked you from the inside? .... * Feray looks at her tattooed arm, turning it over to the scarred side, and then looks up at Nate, a wry look on her features now. And you know what I'm talking about Battles of that sort aren't fought with sword and shield. You fight them with will and disicpline. But that only comes with practice. No warrior masters a weapon or technique on their first try. So why do you expect such from yourself? Yer not Wonder Woman yanno ;) * Feray grunts a little, a hint of a smile flickering at the corner of her lips. "Stop it. You're ruining my brooding time." Brooding time is over. Now is time for smiles! ^_^ Agh. It'd be easier to distrust you and hate you if you weren't so damned endearing and cute. * Feray snorts and tosses a stick onto the fire. Well, we can't all be perfect ^_- * Feray stares at the fire for a moment and the look of tension returns. * Nathan sits down next to the fire, and pats a spot on the ground next to him, "Come on and have a seat. No sense letting such a nice fire go to waste." :) ....mmph. * Feray stands and heads to Nate's side. * Feray flops down unceremoniously. ....Nate? Hm? You went against your own people in anger when they killed me in your dream? * Nathan fidgets a bit Well, yeah. I did * Feray gazes into the fire a little dazedly. "....and I kissed you?" * Nathan looks at something very interesting in the fire, yessiree. "Yeah...you did." Mm. * Feray chuckles softly. Your dream was similar to mine. Hm? How so? Well. Instead of you kissing me in MY nightmare, you just proclaimed your love for me. And when I began to think about it and consider it, even, you took it back. Said it was a joke. That nobody would want someone like me. ...and how did that make you feel? * Feray snorts softly, her eyes betraying her tough facade and showing hurt. "Well, I didn't feel like throwing a party after." For what its worth, I'm sorry Yeah, you were pretty sorry when you left the hut and became spider bait, too. * Feray chuckles softly. Couldn't save you then either. Well, if I was that cruel to you, I deserved what I got No. No you didn't. You were just confirming what I've always wondered. * Nathan blinks Huh? * Feray turns her gaze upon Nate. "His name was Emmitt, you know. The guy I fell for. Real smooth talker. Made me feel beautiful and wonderful and wanted. Attractive. Then after he got what he wanted, he left me. For another woman. A real woman." * Feray starts to babble. Real woman? I don't follow Someone who wears real clothes, who can't lift oxen above their heads, who have a normal womanly job... * Feray sighs. What's that have to do with being real? He left me because I wasn't womanly enough, Nate. I may as well be a guy. What does being strong have with being a man or a woman? Strength is strength It's normal, sure, for Lainian women to be strong. But normal humans? They prefer their women a little softer. Pfeh. What do they know? * Feray sighs and draws her knees to her chest, hugging them, a note of insecurity in her voice. "It doesn't matter. It's in the past, really...or it was. A part of me has always wondered at it....and now, because of the dream, I feel like I'm all weird angles and shapes..." Well I don't care what the Emmitt clown thinks. I know that you are a very strong woman, and if he couldn't see that, then he's missed out * Feray exhales softly, gazing into the fire... Where I come from, anyone who has the strength to carve out their own life is to be respected. Male or female Why are you afraid? Huh? If I'm so wonderful and desirable, why is that when you told me about your dream where I kissed you, you sounded like it was the worst thing you had ever experienced? * Nathan fidgets It wasn't you...honestly. It just...reminded me of something else that happened a while ago before I came to the surface * Feray pauses and blinks, not really having expected that. "...you mentioned something about being afraid of getting hurt. What hurt you?" * Nathan takes a deep breath How much do you know about Merfolk mating habits? Well, I kinda assumed it was basically the same form as how we do it. * Feray blinks some more, arching an eyebrow. No. It's not It's short, brutal, violent, and someone usually ends up injured, or killed. When a Mermaid goes into heat, she becomes dangerous There's no love or tenderness in it * Feray's eyebrow threatens to disappear off the planet. * Nathan rests his chin on his arms and continues I was abou 14 summers when it happened. I was on my first solo hunt. I was after a bunch of rays south of the temple. And of course, I managed to get lost I ended up swimming into the territory of a Mermaid who was just going into heat. She was in the throes...er, a minor form of mating madness that happens in the first few days. * Feray listens quietly, intrigued. Instead of me being a hunter, I ended up being hunted by her She was much more experienced and stronger, and she cornered me in a ravine I tried to fight back and escape, but it was like trying to fight off an avalanche. She was all over me, biting, scratching, clawing, pulling... .... Finally I managed to wriggle free and into a crevasse that was too small for her But she wasn't going to give up. She was determined to get me out even if she had to dig me out She must have battered that rockface for hours, maybe even days. I couldn't tell But eventually, the throes passed, and she lost interest in me, and left for easier conquests * Nathan looks glumly at the fire I was so terrified I don't think I came out until I heard some of my compatriots calling my name some time later * Feray pauses and reaches out to touch Nate's arm lightly. "I'm sorry." * Nathan pats Feray's hand on his arm. "It was a long time ago." Still. I didn't realize it was so different.. No wonder you were freaked out. Like you said. I should have seen it for what it was. I know you'd never try and hurt me on purpose. Certainly not if I were trying to seduce you. ^^; From what I've heard, you surface dwellers usually do things a lot differently than Merfolk do. And sometimes, that suits me just fine Well, if it helps any, I'm pretty sure that any woman you bag up here won't try and take a bite out of you. Maybe a small nibble. A teensy weensy one. * Nathan laughs a bit I don't know, I've heard some wild stories ;) * Nathan goes quiet again * Feray shakes her head a little, smiling wryly before eyeing Nate. "What's up?" Don't ever let anyone tell you that you're not beautiful Feray * Nathan reaches out to touch her hair, "And I mean more than this, or your face, or hips, or whatnot." * Feray blinks a little and backs her ears, looking surprised. The way you care for Mitsuo and Erel, and look after everyone else around you They way you're willing to stand by and defend those you care about against all odds Not everyone can do that you know. That is a rare thing. And to Merfolk, that's beautiful * Feray opens her mouth and then closes it, blinking some more, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. If anyone ever tells you that you aren't beautiful, then its only because they wish they had the kind of strength you do So the next time I tell you that no one could ever love you, stick a knife in my gullet, OK? ^_- * Feray blinks and utters a low noise, oddly akin to a whimper. She then bursts out laughing. Now that's more like it :) Isn't it nicer to smile and laugh with a friend than it is to be alone and brood on gloomy things? * Feray dies down to soft giggles and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. "Yes, mom, I feel much better now." * Nathan drapes an arm over Feray's shoulder and hugs her playfully, "See what happens when you listen to fish now and then?" ^_- * Feray snorts and leans into Nate's body. "Aside from being tossed into the funny house for talking to fish?" Well, everything has its drawbacks ^_- Hmph. ..... * Feray blinks and looks worried. Is Mitsuo doing alright? Last time I checked he was still resting. Erel's been pulling the all-time vigil She shooed me out of the room once already when I made inquiries ;) * Feray chuckles and imagines the tiny mage ushering out the merman. ....heheh. As long as he's gonna be alright.. ^^; He's been through a lot. We just need to have faith in him right now Well, that I have. By the buckets. ^^; Good. He's going to need it, from all of us. Its not everyday that one finds out he's some sort of mystical creature from legend Aw, but it could be fun. He'd probably be able to get some nubile virgin priestesses to cater to his every desire.. ;) Nah, Erel would brain him if he tried it ;) * Feray snorts. "So did you come to scout me out yourself or am I needed back at the village?" Everyone is pretty much bagging out at this point. I was starting to worry about you. Then Erel and Dylan kicked me out the door and told me to quit being a dork and find you Aww, how cute. ;) * Feray reaches out to pinch Nate's cheek. You were worried! Aww! Well, yeah. You were gone for a while, and a lot had happened during the day ^^; * Feray chuckles. "I was just attempting to work off some stress. Hunting rabbits." * Nathan indicates one of the burnt ones, "So I see. What condiments go well with carbonization?" ^_- ...watch it, you. Ever been hit with a burned rabbit? * Feray shakes her fist. Watch it you, or I'll challenge you to a charred rabbit duel ;) Yeah, because the Tenkali need to think we're even more crazy. Two of us running around fighting with the burnt remains of rabbits. Ah, it'll be status quo for us. We don't have a reason to be thrown out of town yet * Feray brightens, a gleam in her eyes. * Feray then slumps. I guess it'd be a bad idea to get kicked out when Mitsuo is still down. * Nathan gives Feray another reassuring hug, "He'll be up long before that." * Feray mumbles. "I hope so." He will. I know it * Feray shakes her head. "We should get back. As much as I enjoy cuddling with a sexy merman in the jungle by the firelight, Erel will probably throw a fit soon." I must say this is rather cozy, but you're right. We shoud probably go ...eventually * Feray snorts and attempts to move too. ... Hmm. I appear to be stuck. ...guess we'll have to wait until you get unstuck * Feray nods a bit and yawns. "Could take a while. I'm so weak. And womanly." Fish can't do much out of water. Maybe we'll have to wait for help.... or morning. * Feray nods again and shrugs a bit, leaning into Nate and closing her eyes. "Morning sounds good. Oddly, I haven't been sleeping well lately. All these odd dreams. Hmm. Weird." How about we keep the bad dreams away from each other tonight? I'll bet that between the two of us no nightmare will want to mess with us. True. That sounds pretty good. Thanks, Nate.... * Feray sounds drowsy once more, lulled into security by the warmth of his body. Anytime Feray. Anytime * Nathan holds Feray close, glad to have his friend back once again * Feray yawns once more and finally drifts off into sleep... >> LUDE END << Session Close: Sat Apr 13 16:28:23 2002