Tweet
"You know the mountains much better than I do," Aria responded. "We'll do whatever you think is best." Aria's eyes had returned to the fire, and she stared at it mindlessly for a while. Despite all her napping earlier that day, the beating flames seemed to add weight to her eyes and the soup had kept her filled up enough. "I'm tired already," Aria yawned. As she stretched out her legs, an unwelcome pain began to subtly sink back into her ankle. "Why don't we get some sleep for tomorrow?"
-
-
"Good idea," Jack replied, helping her to the bed. Sylvanas grumbled and scooted over to make room for her. "She'll keep you warm, it can get pretty cold at night. Or so she tells me." He grinned and went to sit by the fire, enjoying the blistering warmth. Already he was looking forward to seeing what was below the mountains, to see what else was out there. He was nervous too, afraid his abilities would react badly, like his father's had. He looked at the fire and frowned at it. A moment later, the fire froze over, crystallized flames made immobile by his ice. Almost immediately the light died as the cold extinguished the fire. He stared at the ice that remained, containing the emptiness that remained. He could control the cold better than his father. He'd be okay. He shrugged off his vest and shifted into his glacinox form. It was more comfortable sleeping on the floor in that form instead of his human one. More comfortable period, really. He twisted his long neck to grip his pants and untangled them from his legs, tossing them to the side with his vest, before settling down beside the flame-shaped ice.Phillipians 4:13 - I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Character Tracker, where you can find out about all the characters.
sigpicComment
-
As a weary Aria got into bed, she didn't reject Jack's hands as he helped her up. She found it interesting how despite his isolation, Jack was just as nice as someone you would meet in the city, probably nicer. She hadn't thought someone living in a world of their own in the mountains could be so welcoming. "It gets colder than this?" Aria muttered from the bed in response to Jack. However, the cold didn't appear to be a problem and she seemed to have passed out before a minute had gone by, the harsh environment having siphoned out most of her energy.Last edited by Peeps; 04-14-2015, 07:36 PM.Comment
-
Jack blinked open his eyes as early morning light streamed into the cave. He uncurled his neck to look at the entrance, noting that a few icicles had appeared in the night. He sighed, stood, and shifted back to his human form. He pulled his clothes back on and headed to the entrance. He ducked his head under the curtain of icicles, and began to carefully make his way through the snow to a nearby bush for his usual morning deposit.Phillipians 4:13 - I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Character Tracker, where you can find out about all the characters.
sigpicComment
-
Bright leaves rustled slightly over the courtyard as Aria descended the stairs, taking a seat on the bottom steps to lace up her long leather boots. Nearby, Estriela was focusing on boiling water over the outdoor stove, but she had still heard Aria come out. Estriela was the young wife of Aria's swordmaster. She was at least half his age, but the marriage seemed to be going well. She was a Silvervale woman, skin toned by the farming village's sunny days, and she had beautiful dark hair and eyes not unlike Aria. She looked similar enough to pass as Aria's mother, and this was her role in the girl's city life. As she got older, Aria thought the relationship felt more sisterlike because they couldn't have been more than ten years apart. As Riela poured water from the kettle into two glasses, she asked Aria how she had slept. Aria responded that she was well rested, but in reality she barely had the energy to tie her boots. She looked up to see Riela gazing back at her with a grin, saying something about how Aria would be the prettiest face in the Imperator's ranks. The woman hugged Aria, reassuring her that her initiation into the military would be a walk in the park. She then passed over a cup of tea, the type that Aria claimed cleared her mind in combat to make her swordplay more effortless. The cup somehow fell straight through Aria's hand as if she were a ghost.
Aria was snatched from her rather uneventful dream by a shattering sound. She cracked her eyes open without seeing what the sound was and sat up in the bed with the blanket wrapped around her shivering body. She could hear that the wind had picked up from the night before as it was practically howling into Jack's den. Windy enough that one of the icicles had probably been flung into a boulder. She didn't see Jack anywhere and guessed that he was off hunting down his breakfast like a true caveman. Using only her thin blade as a mirror and the utensils she had brought from the castle, Aria worked on fixing her makeup while she awaited Jack's return. The fact that there was no clean bath or warm tea to wake up to only sunk her spirits.Comment
-
Just as Jack was lacing his pants back up, Sylvanas appeared, hopping her way down the cliff side with the nimbleness of a mountain goat, one of which dangled from her jaws. "Breakfast?" he asked when she landed by the cave.
She looked at him. "No, just some hapless creature I happened across. Of course it's breakfast."
He grinned. "Great! I'll go light the fire again!"
"Make sure your guest is awake," she warned as he hurried into the cave.Phillipians 4:13 - I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Character Tracker, where you can find out about all the characters.
sigpicComment
-
Upon Jack's return, Aria's eyes flicked away from their reflection in her blade to meet his. "Good morning, Jack," she warmly greeted from the bed. She shifted to stretch a little on the bed, working out any kinks from the night's rest. "I'd hope you didn't let me sleep too late..."Comment
-
He grinned at her as he knelt by the icy sculpture over the fire pit. "The sun's still rising, it's early yet." He touched the ice and with a thought, sent it away. Laying down fresh sticks and kindling, he quickly got a fire going and set the goat Sylvanas brought in cooking. He then hunted through the chests alongside a wall for plates and utensils. It took him longer to find them than he'd hoped, but living on his own with only the lynx for company, he didn't use them very often.Phillipians 4:13 - I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Character Tracker, where you can find out about all the characters.
sigpicComment
-
As Aria reached down her extended leg for a stretch, she caught a glimpse of the ice on the fireplace melting into a puddle in a split second, seemingly behind Jack's will. Aria was fascinated the first time she witnessed magic as a child when her brother discovered his abilities. She had praised his powers but always knew that magic was a subject to be careful about. This is because an early display of magic for her was when Rhykim's forces used it to obliterate the village from her childhood the night she lost Eclipse. Magic became more common for her when she witnessed the Stari from the Imperator's ranks practicing it on multiple occasions. "Neat trick," she complimented. There was a break as she pondered how he figured out magic while living in solitude. Perhaps he hadn't been alone his whole life. Or maybe he discovered it himself like Eclipse had, but she thought that must be a rare thing. "Ice magic, is it? Where'd ya learn that?"Last edited by Peeps; 07-22-2015, 09:23 PM.Comment
-
Jack paused a moment, frowning as he considered Aria's question. "Well," he started. "My parents were both Stari. My pa had the same gift I do, I think I said before? When I was born, he lost the glacinox, giving it to me instead. He taught me what he could, but he never really had control of the magic. My ma's gift was for survival, which gave her skills to stay alive, although she couldn't use them unless they were necessary to survive. How she reacted to my ice gave us some ideas to help protect others, but for the most part, I've had to figure it out alone." He shrugged and gestured around the cavern. "Any ice you see in here was created by me, either by accident, or practice attempts. Sylvanas tends to disappear anytime I practice. I don't blame her, I'm dangerous when I lose control." He glanced sideways at her at that. He'd told her before that he could be harmful to her health, but he hadn't explained beyond warning that he could give her frostbite. Perhaps it was better she didn't realize some of the stalactites and stalagmites weren't simply ice-coated.Phillipians 4:13 - I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Character Tracker, where you can find out about all the characters.
sigpicComment
-
"Hm, you seem gentle enough to me," Aria calmly commented. She hadn't felt a hint of danger around Jack, despite his unusual way of life. What she was curious about was this glacinox he had mentioned. If he had told her anything about it the day before, she must have forgotten due to her potion's effects. "I'm lost on what the glacinox is, though..."Comment
-
He grinned, pleased at her comment. "Well, I've gotten a pretty good handle on it," he said, then considered her other comment. "A glacinox is... well, it's a bird, but..." He frowned, trying to decide how best to describe it.
"Tell her it's like a swan," Sylvanas said, finally entering the cave after grooming herself. "But with the talons of a hawk, and the tail of a widow-bird."
"How do you know what those are?" Jack asked, bewildered.
She glared at him. "If you listen to the feathered folk while lying in wait for decent prey, you hear plenty. And if you watched them fly above, you'd know what they look like."
He shook his head and turned back to Aria. "A glacinox looks like a swan, with the long neck and graceful body, but its beak and talons are of a hunting bird, like a hawk. And the tail, it's long, like a widowbird. The plumage is light blue, with white highlights and darker blue splashes." He grinned, suddenly realizing. "I could show you, if you wanted."Phillipians 4:13 - I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Character Tracker, where you can find out about all the characters.
sigpicComment
-
Aria glanced uncomfortably between Jack and his lynx as they exchanged noises. It would take her a while to get used to hearing him speaking with his companion. "I would love to see," Aria answered when Jack told her he could show the glacinox. In her mind she had the image of some kind of swan calmly sitting on the water, but didn't think there could be any ponds around that weren't frozen. "She sounds beautiful."Comment
-
He gave her a sly smile as he shrugged of his vest. "The glacinox isn't a she," he told her, "it's a he." And with that, he shifted, his body changing smoothly and rapidly into the icy bird's shape. Exactly as he'd described earlier, but larger than any of the birds he'd compared himself with, he could carry her off if he decided to. Powerful talons scraped the rocky floor as his long tail feathers brushed the dirt. Yet as intimidatingly beautiful he was, he was still just as clearly goofy, innocent Jack, watching her with bright copper eyes, waiting excitedly to see how his new friend would react.Phillipians 4:13 - I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Character Tracker, where you can find out about all the characters.
sigpicComment
-
Aria's observation of shirtless Jack was instantly interrupted when his body shifted shape. She turned away in revulsion before letting her gaze fall back upon a big icy colored bird. She couldn't really comprehend that it was Jack's glacinox she was looking at. Aria had seen many different types of magic being practised in the past, but the shape- shifting had her by surprise. She would call the glacinox beautiful, yet it seemed to lack some maturity and elegance. The glacinox had young eyes that couldn't have seen too much of the world yet, like Jack. A grin spread on Aria's lips as she admired the glacinox's energy. "Hey there, frosty," she teased as she stepped closer to Jack. Since she was still in one piece, she reached to gently run her hand down the creature's neck, looking into the pair of wide eyes.Comment
Comment