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Post by Nayunva on May 17, 2011 19:50:55 GMT -5
When Atxkxell heard her, he seemed rather taken aback. He pasued and stared at her for a good few seconds, porbably not noticing the juice dribbling down his arm, and then is leg. Nayunva had to try hard not to laugh as he attempted to return her greeting with a mouthful of fruit. Others around her were not so kind, and Atxkxell's tail whacked one of them across the chest, which she was sure was not on accident.
As he made room for her, as did the others around him, she cast them a smile as well before sitting down and turning her attention on the male. He was asking her about the Tsahik's song. "Yes, I did. It's one of my favorites. Overwhelming odds are something that gets to me. What about you?" She paused, glancing as he wiped the juice from his arm.
She was surprised. From what she'd heard of him, he was normally overconfident, borderline arrogant. He seemed at first to be a little shocked upon her approach, but it seemed now he was regaining himself.
"Yes. I'm Nayunva." She replied with a smile. "The food is good. You made a nice kill." She couldn't help herself with adding a small comment. " I didn't try the fruit, but I assume it's good?" She raised one eyebrow at him curious to see how he would respond. She noticed that the few Na'vi around them, while engaging in their own conversations, had one ear turned their way. Apparantly, their conversation would make the clan gossip tomorrow morning.
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Post by fuzzydude on May 17, 2011 22:12:10 GMT -5
"It was... good," he replied.
He mentally winced at the stupidly bland statement. He followed this with a mental kick to his mental head. Around him, he could see a few of the others very carefully not noticing what they were saying to each other. Great, now the entire clan would have even more to talk about when he wasn't around. Sometimes, it seemed like good things always happened at the wrong times. He hoped the shadows hid the flush that crept across his face.
Thankfully, she rescued him by changing the topic. One he could warm to easily.
"Thank you, sister. It was a good hunt," he agreed with a grin, beginning to get his feet under him once again. "And you..." he began, automatically starting to return the compliment, only to find himself unsure of what to say next and too far in to back out. "Uh... look... nice." He glanced away, grimacing visibly at his own clumsiness. There went his feet again. This was getting ridiculous - and embarrassing. He'd always had something to say before at every moment. Maybe not the right things, but always something. And suddenly, it was as if the wind had stolen all his words.
"I didn't try the fruit, but I assume it's good," Nayunva said, gracefully continuing the conversation. She looked at him with eyes that danced in the firelight, as beautiful as whirling kenten.
He swallowed, looked down at the fruit, nodding dumbly in response, then looked around as if searching for another. In the end, he, almost shyly, held out his remaining half, offering it to her while looking pointedly towards the fire in an obvious attempt at casual disinterest.
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kenten - Fan lizard
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Post by Nayunva on May 17, 2011 22:32:34 GMT -5
He replied simply about the song, stating that it was good. She smiled slightly. She hadn't expected Atxkxell to be shy.
At her mention of his hunt, he immediately seemed to be more at ease. She suspected that hunting was probably one of the subjects he was more comfortable with. She had noticed before that he spent the majority of his time hunting and providing for the clan. For whatever reason, he always did this on foot, never with the assistance of an Ikran or horse. It didn't seem to slow him down though. She supposed he would just rather hunt on foot.
After her complimenting him, he attempted to compliment her back. It was a stuttering compliment, at best, but she smiled all the same. His apparant shyness spoke more volumes than his words could. Him being shy meant that he was truly taken aback by her. She hoped it was because he liked her and not because of some rumor spread by the elders.
At her comment about the fruit he merely nodded, but then surprised her by offering the remainder of his fruit. He turned away from her, facing the fire, and handed it to her with lessened interest, as though it was no big deal. Perhaps he was merely full? Or was he being nice? She couldn't really tell. She took the fruit from him, nodding while she did. "Irayo." Thank you.
She took a bite out of the fruit, not being able to help the small amount of juice that dribbled ontoher hands. It was good, and she found herself immediately grateful that he had offered her some. She made note to get some tomorrow night. Determined not to let the male off the hook that easily, though, she continued the conversation. So, Axtkxell. Tell me about yourself. I'm afraid I only know what others say about you."
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Post by fuzzydude on May 18, 2011 12:27:53 GMT -5
The corners of Atxkxell's mouth drew up a bit as she took the fruit. She took a bite, clearly enjoying it. This pleased him. Not that the offer had been anything more than just to be polite, of course. Of course.
Some of the juice dripped down on her hands. He made the smallest movement of reaching forwards before covering it up by scratching the back of his head briefly.
"So, Atxkxell," she said. She had a very nice voice. He suspected she must be a beautiful singer as well. "Tell me about yourself."
She had a way of carrying the conversation, showing just enough curiousity that he found himself feeling flattered, even though he didn't know why. Now if he could just stop acting like a skxwang, everything would be fine. Of course... what could he possibly tell her about himself?
"I'm afraid I only know what others say about you," she finished.
For just a flicker of a moment, Atxkxell's eyes seemed to darken, but when he turned to looked back at her, there was nothing but his trademark smile.
"Ah, so you've heard of my great exploits already," he said. There was just an almost imperceptible hint of self-deprecation in the over-the-top, playful way he said the sentence. "Yes, I'm afraid the stories are all true. Especially the brave parts where I save the clan repeatedly," he said, looking down briefly where he'd been idly drawing out some spiral pattern on the ground.
"I try not to brag about that," he added, touching his lips with a finger in a "shhh" gesture and looking sideways at some of the nearby clan members.
At least he'd found a voice, now. That was something.
"But enough of me. What of yourself, sister? Aren't you a healer?"
OOC: It's decided. Atxkxell is the hardest name to type ever. It's like H.P. Lovecraft came up with the name. I should have just named him "Bob".
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skxwang - moron
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Post by Nayunva on May 18, 2011 13:00:35 GMT -5
After her question, he turned away from her just briefly, before turning back. She found herself laughing at his portrayal of himself. This was much closer the the Atxkxell she had heard rumors about.
"You know, I actually hadn't heard about all the times you saved the clan. Thank you for informing me though." She replied with a slight laugh.
A healer? Yes, technically she was. Though she often felt overwhelmed by it. Hunting was simple. Find your target, and aim your bow at it. Healing... Not as. All the different remedies, remembering where to find them, their names, what they did. When mixed together, which one's were toxic. It was tiring. But, over the years she was getting better at treating ailments. Just the other day she had treated a warrior with a nasty cut on his arm. It had already begun to heal, slowly closing up. He would probably have a scar, but there was nothing she could do about that. At leeast she knew she was getting better at her practice.
"Yeah. Well, I'm trying to be one anyway. But there's always new things to learn, better treatments. It's exhausting. I thikn hunting is much easier. You get good at it, then there's not really much else left to learn." Speaking of hunting made her think of her missed trip this morning. Her Ikran, Syelang, had not bee ridden today. That only meant that tomorrow she would probably be more fired up than usual. The Ikran seemed to enjoy the thrill of the hunt just as much as Nayunva did.
ooc:
Lol! But if you had named him Bob, the backspace button wouldn't get nearly as much use.
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Post by fuzzydude on May 18, 2011 14:26:40 GMT -5
"Oh yes. I just don't want the others," he said, glancing over at the group he'd been talking to earlier, all of whom seemed to be engaged in a particularly slow, dull conversation to cover their eavesdropping, "to feel like they are living in my shadow, so I try to keep it from being common knowledge. I don't think this would be a problem for you, however, so remind me to tell you about all those times when they aren't around," he suggested jokingly.
Despite the playfulness he'd adopted, he seemed to pay particular attention to her words as she described healing. Her apparent difficulty with the learning surprised him, although he could hardly blame her. The little he'd heard all sounded very confusing to him. Her preference for hunting, however, certainly made him smile.
"Perhaps," he began. The playful bravado faltered just a little, "we can go hunting together tomorrow... if you have time, of course," he offered, looking down to add a few random lines to the random pattern that'd slowly been forming in the dust. "Perhaps there is still something we can learn from each other."
If there was one thing he knew he could do well, it was hunting and suddenly, letting her know he wasn't the clumsy fool from a few minutes ago seemed very important to him.
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Post by Nayunva on May 18, 2011 15:44:30 GMT -5
As he continued, she smiled and leaned back, resting her body weight on her elbows. "Of course." She replied. "It wouldn't be nice to make the others jealous." She narrowed her eyes at one of the male hunters who had started to pay too muh attention to their conversation. He quickly averted his eyes and twitched his ear back forward, although his tail swished indignantly. Clan life apparantly allowed no secrets. "I'll have to remember to ask you later."
She had to admit, she was surprised when he invited her to hunt with him. She was sure the surprise showed on her face, and it took her a few seconds before she was able to respond. "Um, yeah. Sure." Atxkxell may be rumored to be arrogant, but he was also a good hunter, and that was a fact. They both probably had tricks to teach the other. "But I bet I'm the better hunter." She said the last comment with a smile. A playful challenge for the next day.
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Post by fuzzydude on May 18, 2011 16:28:20 GMT -5
At first, the surprise on her features worried him, and in that single second, a long line of doubts and possible horrible reasons she might turn down his offer paraded through his mind, each one stopping to taunt him one at a time. What if she was just being nice and he'd taken it too far? Maybe she didn't want that much contact with him. Maybe some rumour about him would turn her away. Maybe she knew more than the others about his problem - she was a healer. She might want nothing to do with him. What if she didn't think he was good enough to hunt with her? He hadn't seen her in action, but he'd heard many praises of her skill with the bow. Maybe his clumsiness earlier had set the wrong impression. Or maybe his joking after. Maybe he should have waited until they were alone... Oh, how was he ever going to live this down with everyone listening to them? Why did this have to happen now? The day had been going so well. Of all the dumb-
"Um, yeah. Sure."
-luck?
There was a smile on her face now, with just a bit of an edge that made it so enchanting everything else seemed to vanish. He found a matching smile beginning to creep stupidly across his own face.
"But I bet I'm the better hunter," she said. Now that really made him grin. She was wonderful.
"Oh, we'll see about that," he shot back, easily warming to the challenge. "Tomorrow morning," he said, eyes dancing with playfulness.
This was going to be great.
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Post by Jai'byrd on May 18, 2011 16:30:40 GMT -5
Drums sounded as a few Clan members got out flutes and stringed instruments as they all began to play in time with the drums and quite a few got up and started dancing.
This also included Kilvan'mawey as a good beat was too irresistible even though she was going to be sore later. Thus the old Tsahik got up and started to shake her tail feathers - literally as someone had put some feathers in her tail tuft. If a Dreamwalker had seen her, they'd probably liken her dancing to an epileptic on a caffeine and sugar high with all her random herking and jerking.
Thankfully her Omaticaya kin were a tad more understanding as a young male came up and started to dance with the aged female and quite a many others all smirked behind their hands (even though she couldn't see them regardless).
"Oh yes!" she cackled, "Feel the music in your toes! Yeah!"
((Dance party with wacky a Grandma!))
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Post by Nayunva on May 18, 2011 18:49:04 GMT -5
He answered her comment, and she laughed. "All right, then. Tomorrow morning."
She was about to say something else, when the sound of drums got her attention. She flicked her ears in the direction, and soon other instruments joined in. She breathed in deeply, enjoying the sound, when something else caught her attention. Their Tsahik. The old woman had stood up and begun dancing, quite animatedly. Nayunva couldn't help but to laugh a little as the old woman danced about the fire, attracting several children and other members of the clan to join her.
Kilvan'mawey was definitely one of the most interesting women Nayunva had ever met. She still hadn't decided whether the woman was crazy or wise, or some sort of psychotic mixture of both. No matter what she was, the woman made her smile, and Nayunva couldn't help but to join in.
"Come on!" She said quickly, a smile on her face. It was an invitation, but she didn't expect him to join. Dancing about the fire with a crazy old woman wasn't exactly the type of thing she could see Atxkxell doing.
Nayunva stood, and joined the others who had gone to dance, moving with the beat of the drums.
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Post by fuzzydude on May 19, 2011 11:50:25 GMT -5
Almost spontaneously, some of the clan had produced instruments and a catchy, upbeat rhythm began, quickly growing strong, its pulse spreading quickly among those around the fire. A few Na'vi began dancing - mostly children - and leading them was, of all people, the Tsahik, who was energetically twitching around more than dancing, but so clearly enjoying herself that the joy had rapidly become infectious. Atxkxell laughed, shaking his head. Had there ever been such a strange Tsahik? Sometimes, she was so wise he could barely comprehend her, and other times, she seemed like she was a child in an ancient body. Around him, everyone seemed to be laughing, drumming - even if only on the dirt or a log or stone - dancing and enjoying themselves. Likely, it was because of the very strange nature of one of their wisest guides that the clan was as great as it was now. As strange as that was.
He broke off from drumming quietly on one of his knees when, beside him, Nayunva stood.
"Come on!" she called.
Atxkxell's eyebrows rose in surprise and, for a moment, he looked like he was going to join, simply because she had asked. But then, he glanced back and forth at the others before grinning and shaking his head, holding his hands in front of him.
"No, thank you!" he called, but Nayunva was already threading her closer to the others who were dancing. She joined in energetically. Atxkxell found himself staring, unable to turn away. She so beautiful. And she'd come and talked to him! And they were going hunting tomorrow together. Watching her, he felt as if his insides were turning into a happily burbling puddle of goo.
Oh, but what was he doing? He'd never approached her because he knew it couldn't lead to anywhere but disaster. Day after day, he was sure someone else would come and choose her and that would be that, but day after day, there she was alone. And every time, he told himself it could not work and then he would occupy himself with yet another task and try his best to push away the thoughts, focusing on the things that mattered. Providing for the clan, keeping a wary eye on the danger that silently grew where the Sky People had come.
But now, he found himself simply watching. The past and the future faded away and he felt himself pulled along with nothing but the moment, watching her body move with the deep pulsing beat of the drums. The firelight danced across the outline of her body, the adornments she wore sparkled like the stars, and her white hair swayed captivatingly back and forth, trailing each of her movements. And each of those movements held the grace and power of a skilled huntress, a wonderful energy focused with pure intent. He'd never seen anything so... perfect in all his life.
Perhaps... Well, he was simply getting to know her. They could be friends. There could be nothing wrong with just that, could there? His mind grasped that thought with the determination of a drowning Na'vi and pushed the worries away violently. The doubts grew quiet - mostly - and he found himself smiling.
Without realizing it, he'd stood and made his way closer, completely oblivious to the surprised expressions of those who knew him better, eyes still fixed on the white-haired Na'vi ahead. And before he knew it, he was dancing as well, pulled forward by some invisible force as strong and unrelenting as the raging currents of a river.
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Post by Nayunva on May 19, 2011 13:17:05 GMT -5
Nayunva was not surprised when Atxkxell declined her offer. She hadn't expected him to accept. Instead she occupied herself with dancing with some of the younger members of the clan, who were more than eager to dance along (thought they didn't really have any clue what they were doing). She glanced up once back in the direction of Atxkxell, only to find him watching with a smile.
He was a mystery to her. Her mother had pointed out that he had glanced at her tonight, more than once. She couldn't help but to think that surely tonight wasn't the first time. After all, her white hair made her kind of hard to miss. It wasn't as though he'd just seen her for the first time or something. But why had he never approached, if that was the case?
She doubted that Atxkxell was too shy to approach her. He seemed very sure of himself. Or, at least he had after he had regained himself from the shock that she had walked up to him. She couldn't place him. It didn't really make sense. She supposed that one reason could be because he hadn't yet taken an Ikran. After all, he had to do that before he could take a mate, but still. There was no harm in getting to know her before that, or at least being friends.
She wasn't sure. And rather than giving herself a headache by overthinking male reasoning, she decided to go back to just listening to the music, focusing on something much simpler. As she completed a turn, she was rather surprised to see the person that had come to join her. Atxkxell.
He was truly a mystery. As he approached, she smiled, but did not stop her dancing. When he was close enough, she leaned towards him so as to be heard over the music. "Finally got up the courage to come and join me?" She asked him in a teasing voice.
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Post by fuzzydude on May 19, 2011 13:51:49 GMT -5
Atxkxell didn't dance that often. At least not just for a silly bit of fun. Now, however, he found himself easily losing himself to the music. Not to mention the sights. He moved into the circle of dancers and joined, just letting instinct guide his movements. Nayunva had her back turned and fluidly swayed, then twirled in a flowing pirouette that ended with her facing him. Her brows drew up in a brief moment of surprise, but she didn't miss a beat in her dance. "Finally got up the courage to come and join me?" she teased. "Courage? I was just enjoying the view first," he replied. There was a slight twitch of an ear as if he'd just snapped himself out of a trance. "... of everyone having so much fun." He tacked on as quickly as possible, but not before the pause had already been just slightly too long. Friends, only,, he reminded himself. "After all, it's not everyday you see the Tsahik doing that," he continued, trying to cover up the slip. "... Or maybe it is," he added, grinning to one side at the crazy old Na'vi while he continued his own dance. OOC: Hmm... don't have much more for now, and narrative-wise, it seems like a thread wrap up might be fitting soon unless any of the rest of you have more you want to do! Or our batty old lady starts juggling or starts playing Charades or something.  |
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Post by Nayunva on May 19, 2011 14:35:04 GMT -5
ooc: I agree. I guess with this post I'll send Nayunva home.
ic:
Atxkxell replied about enjoying the view. Nayunva almost thought it to be an innuendo until he pointed out the Tsahik's unique dance style. "I have a feeling she does variations of that everyday." Nayunva said with a slight laugh.
She danced a little longer, until the drums ceased, this song finished. She stopped her movement, and let out a heavy breath. Dancing did take up so much energy. "I think I'm done for the night." She said simply Atxkxell. "I'll see you tomorrow. Be prepared to get shown up." With a final smile, she turned away from Atxkxell, and headed back towards the tree she shared with her family and a few others.
She was excited for tomorrow. She wasn't completely sure about how she felt about Atxkxell. She liked him, yes. But as more than a friend? That was still unclear. She supposed only time would tell, especially with so many things about him still shrouded in mystery.
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