Verdant Mazes }{ tag ; ricci's ansй

[. s p o r e ♪]

Scarcely had he taken an opportunity to escape the tight confines of Cliff Hold in order to enjoy his own freedom. Mother and Father depended on him, and he did not like to disappoint them, so he never left if there was work yet to be done. And there was almost always work to be done. It was just chance that led to him having a free candlemark of time to himself, and he seized it without hesitation.

That was how Codassiel came to be wandering the woods alone, waving a stout stick about as if it were a sword, though if it had been he likely would have cut himself. Swordplay was not one of Codassiel's notable skills. Weapons training or no, he seemed brave — or foolish — enough to venture into the forest alone without too much worry. The thick green of the trees invigorated him as he strode along, urging him forwards with their wordless presence. He delved deeper, enjoying the sights and sounds of the woods about him.

He should have payed more attention to where he was going.

Codassiel was not usually a foolhardy boy. He had a good head on his shoulders, and a sharp mind for remembering symptoms and instructions. Regrettably, he seemed to have left his head in the Hold along with his work, because by the time he realized that he hadn't been making a trail to follow back home, he was well and truly lost. Dripping green leaves encircled him on all sides, and thick trunks surrounded him like a cage. He began to reconsider his eagerness to escape the closeness of the Hold.

The young Healer stopped. He looked about, considering his predicament. He had not been following a straight route through the forest up to this point; rather, he had taken the path which seemed clearest to him, but to follow it backwards could still lead him astray. It was a sorry spot he'd landed himself in, and he had no one to blame but himself. Embarrassing, is what it was.

Still, with no better idea tickling his brain, he decided to turn around and go back the way he'd come, dragging his stick behind in case he needed to retrace his steps. If only he'd thought of this before, instead of using it as a toy, he wouldn't be so badly off.

[ricci]

For whatever reason, Ansй had taken a liking to this region of the continent. She had a sneaking suspicion that the Blue who as currently wrapped around her arm like a piece of extravagant (and complicatedly in the way) jewelry. He liked this place, and Ansй found that she rather liked to let him be happy. Not that the thing ever was truly happy. But she let him be and she simply wandered near the human settlements that formed nearby. She had encountered people occasionally, but generally she only saw them, they did not see here. The fact was, though, she longed for conversation. She hadn't realized it until she had come upon the Hatching at the cove that she missed human company, even if they were not her mother or her father. So when the opportunity arose for her to approach another human, she did so.

Coassiel looked distinctly lost, which was odd to Ansй. Already, she knew he was from the Hold, as they were not especially far from there, and she knew where the Hold was no less. He was far too... clean to be of her kind. And a Trader would never look lost. One brow angled up delicately as she observed him from her perch in a tree.

The fire-lizard on her arm made a curious sound.

"Mm," Ansй responded.

Lithely, the wild woman made her way down the tree one-handed, and with a light thump her now bare feet (as her sandals had finally given in and were no longer in any way reparable) landed in the crunching leaves that blanketed the ground. She followed Codassiel for a ways, watching as he went precisely the wrong way. She wondered at him, wondered at his age, at his rank. She did not wonder at his name. Somehow, names had lost their meaning to Ansй.

Finally, the woman grew impatient. She quickened her step, long legs carrying her faster than the decidedly short youth. And there was a youthfulness to him. Ansй would have envied his youth, but she had lost the ability to envy. Her eyes narrowed as she observed, and finally grew near enough that he would certainly hear her quick, long steps behind him. She made no attempt to speak when he did notice, and instead stood there and let him speak first.

That was the right thing to do, right?

Who cares?

Ansй didn't.

[. s p o r e ♪]

It took a few moments for Codassiel to notice the sound of footfalls landing behind him. He was so focused on keeping an eye on the trees surrounding him that everything else faded into the background, so when he finally realized that there was someone walking behind him the youth spun around, almost tripping over his own feet with haste.

The sight that greeted him was so surprising that he couldn't at first be sure if it was a welcome one. A brown-skinned woman several inches taller than he stood only paces away, staring at him with an unreadable expression. Her clothes were worn and there was something distinctly exotic about her long features and close-cropped hair. On her shoulder was a tiny blue firelizard, obviously mere days out of the egg. Codassiel waited a beat for the woman to speak, but she did not. So he took advantage of the silence, carefully dropping his pitiful excuse for a weapon and raising his dirty hand in a wave.

"Hello," he said, hoping that this strange, taciturn woman understood spoken word. "I'm... Codassiel. Do you know the way to Cliff Hold?"

His short introduction seemed lame to him. What difference did it make if she knew his name or not? They were hardly having a social get-together. But manners dictated that he introduce himself, and he certainly didn't want to offend what could for all he knew be a perfectly pleasant woman. Especially one who might potentially be his only method of finding his way back home.

/le short post. Sorry. ;o;

[ricci]

At last, he noticed her. Ansй wondered briefly if she should have said something once more, but decided again that she frankly did not have to concern herself with such things. The woman observed his expression, but seemed not to understand whether he was confused or otherwise. She had been long from human company, and human expressions meant little to her. Words sounded strange, though they had not left her. She hadn't realized the extent of her isolation until she had heard Codassiel speak to her. She had heard the others speaking at the Hatching where the Blue on her shoulder had been born, but they had been a short distance away, and Ansй had made no attempt to listen.

But now she found herself thinking about the youth's words. She thought of forming her own, she thought of how those words would sound. Other than the occasional hum, Ansй had forgotten what her own voice sounded like. Huming was not speaking, and there was a distinct difference to each.

"Tiamnor," Ansй lied again, unwilling to say her name. Her name was her name, and no one needed to know it, since tomorrow she wouldn't be here. Of course, she had been telling herself that for several days, that she would leave this region. "The Hold is North."

Ansй began to walk in the direction of the Hold, sure footed as ever, but inside she felt shaken. Was that her voice? So gravely and tired? Flat, emotionless? Did she mind? She wasn't sure. Ansй was losing her substance out in the wilds, losing her humanity, and as wild as Ansй longed to be, she did not want to lose herself to the wilderness. She stopped.

"Codassiel, are you well?" she asked slowly, her voice lilting unnaturally. There was an eeriness to her words as she looked at the boy. Maybe he thought he was a man, but Ansй could not look at him and not think infant.

The blue on her arm sighed. Ansй reached up with long fingers upon a long arm and rubbed his tiny head.

[. s p o r e ♪]

The woman to whom Codassiel spoke was very strange. She did not act like any woman whom he had ever met--for that matter, she didn't even act like any person he'd come across. The woman's face was blank and her eyes distant, impossible to read. She made no idle movements, keeping her hands still instead of playing with her hair or clothes as most females he'd met did. He felt unsettled, wondering what she might be thinking behind the mask, or perhaps if it was no mask at all, and she simply had no thoughts to express. He had yet to hear her speak, after all, and it was possible there was something wrong with her brain that stunted her thought process.

Finally she did speak, uttering a word which he hoped was her name, and adding the direction of the Hold as well. This likely would have comforted Codassiel more if he'd had any idea which way north was. As it was, he was about to ask her to point in a direction at least, when the woman turned and began to walk away. Alarmed at the thought of his only foreseeable guide abandoning him in the forest, the young healer hastened clumsily after her.

"Wait, please!" he called. "Is this the right way? Are we going north?"

Codassiel felt unpleasantly sure that Tiamnor would think even worse of him than she undoubtedly did already for not even knowing which way north was, but being thought of as a fool by a stranger was by far the better option when compared to blundering about in the woods at night. So confused were his thoughts that he almost ran straight into the woman when she stopped in front of him and spoke once more.

"What?" For a moment he could only stare at her, nonplussed. "I'm fine. Is something wrong?"

He couldn't for the life of him figure out what had brought about her sudden query about his health. Was she just trying to be polite? Had she noticed something poisonous sticking out of him? Suspiciously, Codassiel checked everywhere he could see to make sure he wasn't missing something obvious, but there were no malignant creatures attached to him that he could see. Perhaps she had only been trying to make conversation after all.

[ricci]

He had called after her, but Ansй had not immediately turned, she had been so busy thinking of how to engage in conversation. She tilted her head tto Coda, "Yes, this is the right way," she said simply. Though Ansй was anything but stupid, there was a simplicity to her words. Ansй had lost more of her understanding than she had thought, and it was becoming painfully clear to her as she interracted with this boy. She would make a point of interracting more with other humans. As much as Ansй knew she would never stay any one place, she also knew that she could and should acquaint herself with humans. She did not much care that Coda didn't know which way was North, though she did find herself alarmed that he did not know his way.

Ansй had always known her directions, ever since she could walk and talk her parents had guided her. She stood starkly still after she asked after his health, and then untilted her head as he responded.

"No, nothing is wrong," Ansй said. "Conversation is forgotten to me. Forgive my failure. I am happy that you are well, Codassiel."

Her words were clipped, but more out of misuse and a lack of practice than out of any sort of rudeness. The lilt was awkward, accenting words that normally were not accented. She was certainly out of practice. She waited for Coda's response as was, she hoped, polite. How long had it been since she had had contact with others? Why was she so lost in the way of humanity?

The fire-lizard on her arm rubbed his head against her shoulder. He wanted her to be human, and Ansй wanted him to be happy. He was a sad thing, needlessly so. There were few reasons in life to be happy, but a fire-lizard, as simple and spritely as they were, ought to always be happy. Calm, unendangering, perhaps, but happy. In all the ways that humans never were.