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 Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 4:20 pm
Yonak moved silently through the dark forest. Idlely, he began to wonder what time of day it really was, though it was impossible to tell through those thick black leaves. His mind wandered, flitting from one subject to another as he moved. It was quite a ways to travel to get to the black forest, but the festival would be quite the spectacle. In all honesty, Yonak was of the mind that it was little more than an extravagant party. What god would be so easily swayed, so fickle, when they had the entirety of the world to watch over. He was far from arguing. It would be nice to look over the merchant's goods and take part in the revelry. His core cast a dim light on the forest floor before him. It was more than adequate for his eyes, he often preferred moving about in the darkness of night any how. It was something no one would dare do in his homeland. In the mountains of the Uhawe, the black was life threateningly cold. Now, in warmer lands, he moved with a much greater freedom. he wasn't looked at sideways. No constant judgment.
It wasn't often that Yonak found himself thinking of his homeland. His parents. Most times, all that place provoked was good riddance. He had always been pushed to the outside, expected to live the exact same way everyone else did. Do exactly what everyone else did. Act exactly as everyone else did. And that just wasn't his style. His way of doing things suited him, why should he compromise that for someone else's comfort? It wasn't as if he had been bothering anyone to begin with. It had been a miracle the day he had heard of the Dar-vatta. Yonak visibly winced. The break hadn't been clean. He'd been more than content to leave behind his overbearing parents. They had always felt they'd gotten the short end of the stick with their 'girl of a son.' There had been few in the pride that would have missed him, but few didn't mean none. Yonak still couldn't understand why he hadn't just come with him...
With a deep breath, he turned his gold eyes out to the forest. Something had flickered--the firelight in the distance? He was rather sure that he hadn't traveled far enough to reach the festival already. He would have heard the music, the revelry. But there was that flicker again, moving along in the forest. It was brighter than any core would have shone, almost like fire. Yonak picked up his pace, trotting toward that flickering light, and idle curiosity playing a grin upon his face.
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Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 8:15 pm
It was a long way from the northern peaks to the Midnight Forest. Rivers and mountains made for a difficult journey, but the brunt of them had been avoided by detouring around the range, crossing instead the wet marshes and grassy plains; It had felt all the longer to Lughus, however, as they had moved down as a group. While the weather warmed as they traveled south, his clansmen's attitudes had remained chilly, at best. Still, Lughus always thought the journey breathtaking; his family may have fallen from grace, but not his enthusiasm. Somewhere along the way, he'd had the chance of passing by a mineral vein in neutral territory. On his way back he'd definitely dig around, split some rocks, and see what he could pocket.
But as they say, out of sight, out of mind- and there were little places in the world where one could see less well than in the Midnight Forest. Padding through it was always an experience in itself, a world of trunks and leaves, invisible until approached; surrounded by darkness in all directions, it was as if one was suspended in a different, timeless space. It was easy to forget that there was a sky above the canopy, filled with clouds at day and stars at night. In fact... how could there be a forest without any inhabitants? What was feeding the soil, if rotting tree trunks were infrequent? He wondered what it might be to see the forest light up in a strong wind as the leaves gave way. Perhaps, in this darkness, there were things that silently gazed at them just out of the reach of their night vision... these unknown creatures would become visible for a short moment, and nothing would be the same ever again.
It is while Lughus was immersed in these frightening thoughts that a phantomlike blur came suddenly into focus. He reared, caught himself before yelling something untoward, and wheezed. First shock, then recognition, then joy passed on his face. "Yonak!" He said, too enthused to be embarrassed.
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 3:56 pm
Yonak near bowled over as the flickering light he had been after all of a sudden turned into a korliyo! And..and Lughus no less. When he recovered from the shock, Yonak's face sobered. Of all the people he'd been happy to leave when he had turned his back on the Uhawe, Lughus had not been one of them. They had grown up together, two fellow outcasts in a pride where being different was severely frowned upon. And the first chance he had gotten, he'd left his only friend behind. "Lughus!" His gold eyes were wide, and his maw rather unappealingly gaped. He should have known that his old friend might come to the festival, but still.. To see him standing right there.
Lughus seemed happy to see him, something Yonak didn't quite understand. He'd only had one regret about leaving that cold place, and that was leaving Lughus behind. But Lughus was happy to see him, and so he put away those darker things, and smiled. "Lughus, it's.. it's wonderful to see you again! How have you been? What have you been up to? How are things back at--" He caught himself, almost calling the place 'home.' He thought he had broken that bad habit. "...Back at the mountains?" The string of questions left his mouth one after another, as if they'd all tried to push to come out first. He must have looked quite the buffoon, but for once, he didn't quite care.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 9:28 pm
The same voice, the same face- but between the Yonak now, and the Yonak before, something had nevertheless changed. He knew the bitterness he had felt from being left behind was his own fault; Yonak had made his choice, and Lughus had made his own. And so, he'd wondered how badly it would affect him when he next saw his old pal again. If his warmth could weather the difficulty he had experienced since the only friend he'd had forsook the Uhawe and left them with only himself to be blamed.
Now, he knew those worries had been pointless. The distance of being in different tribes, the distance of a difficult parting; he could disregard them without a second thought, as his feelings of friendship remained the same. He greatly anticipated hearing of Yonak's life since then, but was beaten to the punch. His momentary hesitation was not lost to Lughus. "Heh! Your family is healthy, though winter preparations were difficult for everyone this year as they were disrupted by a storm. Other than that, things are the same as always," he lied. They were worse in a sense, and then better in another. "-but I've been living the Trili life, got my own den now! A couple decades from now, I'll be known as a crazy exploding hermit that lives in the ground. ...If that's any indication, my projects have gotten even more fun." He grinned. That part was true. "So, what about you? I can't believe my eyes, your mane has gotten even longer. And here I was, thinking that I might have finally caught up." He flicked his messy ponytail with a paw; to think he'd used to believe he had a chance in that competition!
((Whether Yonak also thought of it as a competition is up to you lol. ...Did I guess right about his family being fine as far as Lughus would know? xD))
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Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 10:51 am
Yonak's smile widened the more he realized that there was no grudge to Lughus's voice. Part of him had dreaded ever seeing his old friend again. He was sure that Lughus would hold some grudge, would hate him for leaving him behind, but that wasn't Lughus. This was Lughus. That big lug, the one who always saw the best in every situation. The best in everyone. He was always the one to give the world sunshine, and bury the rest.
A bright laugh bubbled forth, "Things have been.. they've been amazing. I visited the Yonak falls, the one my mom named me after, and it was huge.. Just, unfathomably tall.. And then I got to walk the serpent's road, and explore Rekkdar. The ruins are amazing--You would love some of the metals I've seen there." His laugh bubbled up again at the mention of his mane, "I don't think you're as behind as you think. I was beginning to get worried when I saw how much longer yours has gotten!"
Yonak still couldn't help but feel guilty. He knew that things couldn't have been as great as Lughus would want him to believe. The pale korliyo's smile softened, and his tone sobered. "You know, if you ever wanted to get some metals from the ruins.. You could always come with me." He had missed his old friend more than he could have imagined, but those words didn't seem right. They had been the same ones he had left their home with, and left Lughus too. "...I mean, I could help you find some of the best troves, and help you bring it back to the mountains..."
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 3:23 pm
Watching his old friend speak of these places with such enchantment in his eyes and voice was bewildering to Lughus. It was not only the dark granting splendor to the images coming to mind as he listened to the descriptions of where Yonak had traveled. To think the flowing-maned Corleo would find so much joy in his life outside the mountains, so soon... that life away from the Uhawe could bring such expressions to his face. He was overjoyed, but part of him was... uneasy, for some reason. He blinked, both eyes wide open, and then furiously rubbed an incandescent paw against his eyes as a joke. He shouldn't be so surprised, but... his choices must be incomprehensible to Yonak, after all. Maybe someday, if he can make a difference in the Uhawe... after all, if there was one thing the firemaker was stubborn about, it was optimism.
As Lughus would always listen to an entire sentence before interpreting it, he did not see any narrowly missed path to a destined-to-failure discussion. Yonak's idea was more than he'd hoped for. "Aww, you don't need to use metals to entice me to pal around with you!" He half-spoke, half-chortled, teasing- before assuming a serious expression. "But it's too late to take it back. Metal troves have been foretold."
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Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 7:33 pm
Yonak let out a bright burst of laughter. He had missed Lughus's sense of humor. As his friend comically rubbed his eyes, and threw jokes Yonak really began to realize how dim things had been without him. The days might have been easier away from those shadowed mountains, but he had missed the fun times he'd had with his old friend. The closest thing to a friend he had now was Cookie, and while he wasn't exactly terrible company, he just.. Wasn't Lughus. Before he had really realized it, Yonak was wiping a tear away. He had laughed so hard at all of it that he was now crying. His laughter subsided into a string of rather immature giggles, "Fine, fine. Gods I've missed you Lughus." He gave his old friend a fond smile. "We shall go after the festival!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2013 1:13 pm
Lughus laughed heartily together with Yonak- just like they used to, years ago. When his friend's own laughter devolved into giggles, he nearly busted a gut. "W-we need to stop, it hurts-" he managed to choke out midst the laughter, until finally he could take a breath of relief as it subsided. Somewhere along the way, he'd fallen to a crouch.
His silvery-haired companion's admission was very much a shared one. "And so have I, Yonak" he said, walking by to brush his head against his friend's, a gesture of affection among their kind equivalent to human hugs. "Right, the festival. I have a show to give! Think you can make it?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2013 1:47 pm
Yonak gave a deep sigh, trying to catch his breath after the onslaught of laughter. Then Lughus was right there. It was just a hug. It was nothing more, but something in him sank. Damn. He thought he'd gotten over this. He'd worked to get over this. He took a breath, refreshing that easygoing smile and returned his friend's affection. That's right, they were both heading to the festival. "Yeah, um.. I'll try." He gave an apologetic grin, "I'm supposed to be meeting a friend near the merchant's tables." The lie slid out smooth, but Lughus was always so proud of his fireworks... "But I'll definitely be watching." The last thing he wanted to do was push Lughus away again, but he needed some space to get his head straight. He hadn't been prepared for this. "So what do you have planned?" He asked, genuinely interested and excited--and hoping that a change of topic might help him clear his head.
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Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2013 7:15 pm
Yonak was right. As unpretentious as Lughus was, when he talked about his fireworks, that humble demeanor and tone would readily metamorphose into a proud swagger rivalling any parent bragging about their children. "Heh. Remember the fire palette that I'd use to test mixes on indoors? I couldn't place them too close to each other or one would light up the other with sparks. Well, I decided to have a little fun with just that one day." A grin spread across his face, and he unhinged a claw to begin tracing a drawing in the dirt. "So I placed ground charcoal like this, and lit up the start of the line, and then- tssss!" He used his fire shanak to trace along the dirt groove with fire, the drawing of a Fanadwi shining from the end of its tail to the tips of its antlers in a wave of light. "Of course, it's more fun and suspenseful with the sparks, noise, and colors... and I've started with animations! The best part is that anyone with a flint, spark or means of starting a fire could put on such a show. It doesn't take a fire shanak. Partially it'll be to advertise, and partially it will be to inspire. I plan to tell a story with it too, just a little anecdote and thoughts to honor Choqlehut; but if I can get more of us interested in rediscovering smelting and help with developing means of signalling with flares useable by even non-fire shanaks, it will be progress!"
By the end of his speech he had paced, gesticulated, and gone through all of the motions of a passionate speaker. It had made him quite thirsty, which dawned on him along with the realization that he'd gotten a little too carried away. Lughus laughed sheepishly. "Wow, hey, sorry about talking your ears off! You wouldn't happen to have a drink of water, would you?"
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