Death, the Dance, and Destruction of Humanity

[Amm]

Strangers were confusing. Between crane and fish not much made sense. All of the strangers, all of them moved beyond her knowing, throwing off tiny sparks of communication that did not speak to her. Babble. The fish took an extraordinary amount of time; the crane none at all. She took a few sly glances at the crane. In him then, was a warrior like the Aniz Tera. But what of --

Arusa finally came out of the stranger-full building, and Chez said two very simple words. Amm was confused. She stared at Arusa, and tried to imagine what had taken the fish so long. Did fish know of Amm? Had she been communicating with her own An? Was she more like the healer Tera? The urge to fight grew up in her, until it filled her chest and spread to her fingertips. But the fish did not act like her mandibles were spread. She still acted like a fish.

Amm turned on her heel and strode forward, following at the crane's heels and too long strides. When they were free of the gathering of strangers, she broke in front of the crane and stopped, glaring between him and the fish. "I hunger." She said, and without explanation she flitted down to the lake, moving in a ground eating trot to get to a place at the shore that was not crawling with strangers. She knew they would see her; she was not worried of losing them. They knew their place, like nymphs. They would not stray.

She was quick to catch fish. She caught enough for the three. They were hers to keep -- she would provide. The thought of fish eating fish amused her, and so she was smiling when she returned to them. She offered their share, selfishly keeping the largest for herself, and then turned and walked westward.

She did not know the land that way, beyond the memories of it passing smooth and silky beneath the crisp beat of her wings. She had never crawled on it. She took lead still, because that was her duty to An and she held it dear within her breast. She would watch her crane and fish, and she would learn through and from them. She would protect them, and if they pleased her she would not kill them. Maybe not. Her spear itched for stranger blood and stranger bowels. She grieved yet for Hozu, for Exquisite Hum. She would offer last, personal farewell before she caught brief sleep that night.

[Arusa]

She had been correct in assuming that they would leave immediately. The other two seemed impatient, Arusa noticed, but it wasn't her fault these peasants had so few belongings that they had no reason to choose between them. In fact, Arusa had only two small bags with her now, and the feeling that she had forgotten to pack something important with her followed her down the stairs and out into the streets.

She was surprised when they didn't have a carriage waiting outside, nor anywhere, it seemed. Surely they weren't going to walk to the next town. Maybe it was just temporary, or maybe... No, I'll just have to ask Chezak.

It was as the girl ran off to the waterside to play that Arusa chose to pose her questions about their traveling circumstances to the other elf. She walked up to him slowly, and smiled in a gesture of... friendliness? Earlier she had not been so kind to the man, which would have to chance if she wanted to get on his good side.

Carefully, deciding it best to start slowly, as though casual, she spoke the first thing that came to mind, "She's odd, isn't she? That tera... She really... resembles a child, the way she acts sometimes. Don't you think?"

[Chezak D'Maroe]

Chezak lifted an eyebrow at the Tera, realizing he hadn't had anything to eat for several hours either. He wasn't worried. More often than not, he would simply eat on the move, or pause outside of the town. He had enough food for several days in his pack, and he always supplemented it with forage before bedding down for the night.

Instead of following her out, he instead folded his arms across his chest and leaned against a tree just on the outskirts of the town. The branches spread above him, protecting him from the dimming afternoon light as he watched Amm catching fish at the lakeside.

He could sense the dancer near him, especially with the movement of her feet in the dirt of the road. Even though she was a dancer with her own unique grace, he could tell she couldn't move through the forests and down roads with the silence he was used to from his travelling companions. In fact, she was likely uncomfortable with walking long distances, he mused, thinking she would be more suited in a coach.

"She's odd, isn't she? That tera... She really... resembles a child, the way she acts sometimes. Don't you think?"

Chezak turned and raised an eyebrow at her, noting the uncomfortable smile on her lips that didn't touch her eyes. He was surprised she was agreeing to any of this, despite Amm's insistence that they both come with her. Instead of replying right away, he studied her for a long moment, his eyes moving up and down her body, noting the travel clothes she was wearing, and the two bags she was carrying with her. He pursed his lips slightly, then nodded. This was going to be a long journey.

Turning back to the Tera, who seemed to be finishing up, he responded to her question. "The Tera have very little human contact," he waved his hand slightly, meant to indicate that the term 'human' was used loosely. "They do not act like you and I would otherwise expect, just as children of our races do not act as we would expect until they have gained the necessary knowledge of how to act. That said, the only thing child-like about them is their appearance."

Chezak looked at Amm as she approached, mildly wondering at the smile of amusement now on her face. His brow twitched in a slight frown as he murmured, just loud enough for Arusa to hear, "I believe this one would attempt to gut us if she decided we were hindering her in any way."

He stepped forward, breaking off any further conversation, nodding in appreciation to the Tera as he took the fish, slipping a piece of cloth from one pocket and wrapping it to be cleaned and cooked later. He slipped a strap of the pack from one arm, placed the fish inside next to his other food, and fell into step behind Amm, slightly to her right. Slipping the pack back into place, he pulled his bow stave from it's holder, carrying it ready at his side, trailing the Tera at an easy pace to match her speed.

Chezak glanced over his shoulder at Arusa, giving her a crooked smile. "Save your breath. I believe she wants to make up some wasted time before we stop for the night."

[Amm]

Each stranger took the fish without proper acceptance. Amm expected. She'd fluttered disapproval at them, but they did not react. Amm expected that, too.

So she walked, watching sky and dirt, and puffing dust that gathered at her feet. It was a disgrace to sky, and it sullied her eyes and made her squint. Her hands were wet and slippery where she'd touched the fish. Dirt gathered on them, and did not rub off so easily onto her crude clothing or other parts of her skin she would not notice them. She scowled, and tried anyways. If she could fly, she could be graceful and dirtless, and she would not have to crawl like the grubby strangers did.

Already she thirsted, at ten shifts of her feet, but she knew that was in part boredom. There was no air to beckon to her, to caress her softly and whisper news to her. She'd walked long and hot already, from her home, now there was more to walk. She twisted to see fish and bird, and was dismayed to see fish had not followed. Not completely surprising, but disappointing. Crane had followed, close and near to her heels, and that was surprising. She gave him a frown, but then towards the fish Amm moved her arms and swayed her body in a complicated looking dance that would have been recognizable on a human face as two raised eyebrows and an exasperated look.

[Arusa]

"I believe this one would attempt to gut us if she decided we were hindering her in any way."

Arusa's eyes widened, her smile fading, as Chezak breathed those words at her. What is that, some kind of threat? was the first thing to cross her mind, followed shortly by visions of herself being impaled by that long spear the girl carried. It was an uncomfortable thought, so she replaced her own image with that of Chezak, a far more pleasing idea.

As she opened her mouth to unleash a vicious reply, however, Arusa noticed the Tera approaching, several fish in hand. At first, she paid little attention to the girl, aware that her activity, as strange as it might be to the elves, was probably not at all unusual for the Aniz. ...however uncivilized their culture may be.

And it was only a moment after this thought fluttered through Arusa's mind that Amm thought to pass her a large, slimy fish, apparently still breathing. She held it away from her, her grip light, her face likely a picture of confusion. She noticed how the other elf accept the creature gladly, wrapping it and storing it in his luggage. That alone was enough to make her gag, but she kept herself from showing any of the disgust she was feeling, even if her surprise was apparent.

The can't expect me to keep this thing in with all of my clean skirts, surely!

For what seemed like several long minutes to Arusa, yet was likely only seconds in reality, she stood there clutching the fish, wondering what in the world she could do with it. Would the girl be offended if she refused it? Would Chezak look down on her with his usual smug condescension?

Unable to hold onto the fish any longer, Arusa decided to give it back to Amm, hoping the girl would not get angry and spear her just like she had probably done with many of these fish.

She walked up to the other two, already moving on, with hesitation, and passed the fish to the girl. "You caught it, so you can keep it," she muttered uncertainly. When the Tera took hold of it, Arusa went back to pick up her bags (for which she required two hands to carry), before returning to the others. "Where are we staying tonight?"

[Chezak D'Maroe]

Chezak turned with Amm, carefully keeping the amused expression from his face as the dancer came forward to return the fish to the Tera. He wasn't sure if the Tera would consider this an insult, so he leaned the bow stave against him and let his fingers move quickly through a few motions towards Amm.

She does not have to ... his fingers paused as he searched for the correct word ... kill ... to eat. She is used to having others do it for her. I will try to teach her, if I must.

He watched for the Tera's reaction, then nodded slightly, bringing the bow stave in front of him and grounding one end, placing one hand atop the other on the opposite end and leaned forward slightly to rest his chin on his hands to wait for the dancer.

Once she was close enough, he and Amm turned and continued up the road. He glanced back to Arusa as she spoke, then looked up at the sky, gauging the time, then thoughtfully perused the road for a moment.

"There is a clearing just outside of town, about two hours walk, that I like to stay in sometimes. The tree cover is excellent for keeping most of the rain off, though I don't anticipate any tonight. We can have a fire, cook up some fish, and spend the night there, then have an early morning." His fingers moved at the same time, repeating the conversation for Amm.

A slight look of amusement flitted across his face as he looked at the dancer. "I hope this will be to your satisfaction?"

[Amm]

How funny! Amm took the fish with grave movement. Like a dog to the humans, so her newfound charge returned food with put upon dignity. More food for her. Crane took matters away from Amm, but truly she had no reason to care. She provided. The Tera were not ones to force anything on anyone -- privacy mattered. If the fish chose to gape at flies and not eat, and die, who was she to care? She liked having two strangers. One would do. She clicked her teeth and tongue in laughter, and did not pay Crane much heed.

She put the extra fish into her own rather lumpy and definitely not stranger made pack, quiet as he spoke.

"Fire." She said, and looked quite thoughtful. She clapped her hands. Tera did not have fire. She had seen it made, once. It had been unusual. Could all Strangers call it forward, like the devils for Zuu? "We go. Fire. Go."

[Arusa]

Clearing? Outside of town? No shelter? Arusa had not done such things since she was a child, and rarely even then. The thought of being outside in the cold made her pout. Why couldn't they just stay in town? I have money. We can pay for a room. We will pay for a room - or at least, I will - and they can just stay outside and fr-

"Fire. We go. Fire. Go."

"Huh?" Arusa looked across at the Tera, who appeared thoughtful, perhaps even apprehensive. "What do you mean? You want us to make a fire now? We need to go to the place where we sleep first. If you're cold, I can let you borrow a coat of mine." She turned to Chezak in askance, speaking now to him, "Does she understand what I'm saying? Tell her what I said."

[Chezak D'Maroe]

Chezak looked at Arusa for a long moment, before simply shrugging and doing as she 'requested'. It was easier than explaining, and besides, it seemed the Tera was interested in anything human that she had not previously experienced. Before he began his translation to Amm, he did make a small comment to the dancer, "I think she means she wants to get to the clearing soon so we can have a fire..."

Resting his bow stave on one shoulder, his fingers moved dutifully, gracefully through the words, which were coming back to him further. He could understand most of Amm's own movements, minus the nuances of emotion, and was able to copy them when he needed to add words to his repertoire. Instead of adding a comment to the Tera, as he felt inclined to do, he simply repeated Arusa's speech word for word.

He leaned back on the bow, waiting to continue his translation duties, one side of his lips lifted in a crooked smile of amusement.

[Amm]

Amm waved a quick "Shut up." at Crane, instead urging him to take them to this place where she could see him make fire. It took more mouth gawping, but after brief spate of reluctance they moved out. Walk, walking, walked: they strolled with frustrating leisure. Amm zigzagged behind them, pretending she was flying as she tried to ignore the gravity tugging her heavy awkward body down. Thud thud thud her feet fell upon the ground, and she was disgusted.

But they made it. Great Sun had not fallen completely, and Amm soon found herself tasked with finding dead wood. It was a confusing thing, but Crane insisted she had to, and Amm knew had to so she did so. She made a big complaint as she moved, occasionally turning back to give Crane dark looks to make sure he saw and knew she was doing this as favor and not because she was told to, as if he was leader. She puffed out her cheeks. He had not skills enough to best her, and he was not Tera, so he could not be leader. He'd be stupid to think otherwise.

She gathered wood like he'd asked, picking only the wood that was dead. Yet when she dumped her staggering armload at his feet, he snapped some of the branches in half and showed her the colors within, saying that was not right for fire and she had to pick dead and dry wood.

Amm clacked her teeth at him in mandible warning and made a high humming noise through her nose. It was rude to resort to such noise, as if he was blind and dumb, but he only seemed amused.

Arusa certainly didn't seem inclined to hunt elusive dry-dead-not-green wood, so Amm heeled around and danced Frustration-at-Stupid-Stranger the entire circuit again, and this time when she dumped out her wood for Crane and he was satisfied.

She waited for fire, still clacking her teeth.

[Arusa]

The entire time they had been walking, few words shared between the three, Arusa had been dreaming of what was to come. Not in the immediate future, of course. No, this day was going to be nothing but problematic, and so would the rest of the week, it seemed. Instead, she let her imagination wander to thoughts of world fame, traveling to other continents, earning enough to buy anything she wished, and perhaps even meeting royalty of some sort.

It was such a disappointment when they finally came to a stop, and the elven woman was thrown back into her miserable reality. She had not even realized just how much her arms and legs were hurting until now, even with a body trained well through years of dance. Dancers rarely had to carry heavy backs all day whilst walking in shoes clearly unfit for the task.

Upon their arrival, she immediately dropped her bags, little regard given to where they might fall. Of course, they were mainly travel clothes, rather than any of her more fragile and expensive clothing; she would not be so careless to bring anything of great worth along with her, especially traveling with strangers. She brought no jewelery, and only plain skirts, pants, blouses, and dresses. Apart from those she was wearing, she also only carried with her two other pairs of shoes. One pair of her old dance shoes, just in case she needed to perform, and another pair of reasonably fashionable (when out of the city, at least) but slightly uncomfortable shoes.

Arusa had not long since taken a seat on a nearby fallen log, when already the other elf began to order her and the other girl around, telling them to find firewood. Oh, that's right. I was going to go into town and find myself a proper place to stay, she reminded herself, as she watched the Tera obediently obey Chezak as though she were his pet. It sent a shiver of suspicion straight down Arusa's spine, and she quickly stood to rid herself of the feeling. She chose, instead, to wander over to where the elven man was looking about thoughtfully.

"How far did you say we were from town? Couldn't we just go there instead? The girl might get cold out here, and we could travel more easily after a good night's rest, and..." She had now come up beside him, and something about his demeanor, whether the feeling was real or imagined, simply did not feel right. It was unsettling, at best. "Wh-where was it you and the girl were planning on going?"

[Chezak D'Maroe]

Chezak simply walked, one foot in front of the other, for the hour it took them to find the clearing he was looking for. The sun was low in the sky, and it was slightly past the normal time for dinner. He had been thinking about the Tera, and why it was he was following her, but deep inside, he knew.

Chezak had been adrift in the sea of exile for many years now. He knew he would never return to the life he had known, and he wasn't the least bit sorry for his actions, rash though they were. Meeting this Tera, so willing to come with him despite the long centuries holed up in their swamps with little contact with the elves, let alone other humanoids, was an opportunity no elf would pass up. Even an exiled elf. And he had to admit, despite how useless she was likely to be on the coming journey, it was nice to have Arusa around as well. Another elf who would talk to him, though he suspected it was so only because she didn't know who he was.

Chezak eyed the clearing, noting that people had been here since he had last stayed. He always cleaned the small hole used for the fire, making sure the rocks were arranged properly, burying the ashes. He continued to look around, noting a piece of garbage off to one side, a torn piece of cloth near it. With few words, he politely requested of both Arusa and Amm to find some dry, dead wood to begin a fire, and set about cleaning the firepit, pulling the ashes out, pushing them to the edge of the clearing with feet and hands before burying them. He added the piece of garbage to the small hole, ignoring the cloth for now.

Amm came back with an armful of wood, surprisingly large for her size, and he smiled and advised her that the wood she had gathered was too wet to burn properly, but that it would work better once the fire was going well. He broke apart a piece of wood, showing her the slight dampness within, and told her that drier wood was needed to begin the fire. She turned away abruptly and went back to her task, which Arusa was not sharing in as he had asked. Chezak could read the frustration in Amm's movements, and knew that there was more to the movements than he was getting from them. He pushed down his curiosity for the moment, instead arranging the rocks so they would catch, hold, and reflect the heat of the fire best.

"How far did you say we were from town? Couldn't we just go there instead? The girl might get cold out here, and we could travel more easily after a good night's rest, and..."

Chezak turned to Arusa, looking over his shoulder as he finished placing the last rock. He'd known something like this was coming the moment he saw her on the road with her two large bags, but he'd waited for her to bring it up. The only thing he was surprised about was that she had waited this long to ask.

"Wh-where was it you and the girl were planning on going?"

Chezak shrugged, indicating he didn't know yet. Amm came back with a pile of wood, which he checked over and nodded, telling her it was exactly what he needed, giving her a small smile of encouragement, and trying to convey satisfaction and pride in his bearing and stance. He turned to the backpack he had placed nearby, reaching into the front pouch and pulling flint and steel from it. With a small knife, he shaved tiny bits of wood from one of the dry sticks Amm had brought for tinder, breaking off the smaller branches still attached to the larger pieces of wood and setting those close by. He requested of the Tera to continue that task, and she complied, with more of the irritation conveyed through her movements, which he again chose to ignore. As he worked, he spoke to Arusa.

"I'm surprised you've come this far, to be honest. I know that long days of travelling are not likely what you would prefer, as I believe you're far more used to riding in a carriage than walking... evidenced by your packing habits," Chezak smiled slightly to take the sting out of the comment, indicating the two large bags haphazardly set off to one side. "I believe the Tera and I are far more comfortable being in the open land than staying at an inn. And as to where we're going..." he waved towards Amm, fingers moving slightly to indicate the question for her in case she wasn't able to fully follow their speech, "... you'll have to ask her."

Bringing the flint against the steel, he created sparks, which didn't catch. Trying again, the only sound for a long moment was the scrape and light knock of the flint and steel, until on the fourth try a spark caught in the tinder. Gently blowing it to life, he added the small pile of stripped branches Amm had provided, slowly building the fire larger.

[Amm]

Light. Heat. Life.

Fire was ancient and fickle. It was no contained by the Tera Aniz, nor controlled. To watch strangers coax and tease was disturbing. Fancy tricks. What else did they have? To tame fire . . . Amm watched crane as much as the fire, seeking answers with her keen eyes. What else might be brought against Tera? This was what she needed. With this, she could help her own. She must know.

He made noises she did not bother to comprehend, instead engaging in her own flurry of movements to catch and hold his attention.

"You will teach me how to control and create fire. I must know how. It is very important to me."

Fish, in turn, was ignored for the moment; she had not assisted Amm with gathering wood, so then she must be dumb and ignorant in the mysterious procedure. Clearly, the fish had some other use in stranger society, for she had otherwise shown no possible reason to be. But, that question of why she existed and for what was something that trickled slowly in Amm's mind. The more urgent and pressing need to learn something so applicable made fish less important in the moment.

Amm still had some time. Not enough enough, but enough.

[Arusa]

Arusa scowled at Chezak's words, beyond the limit of her patience after such a long day. She slapped at an insect which threatened to feed on her, then looked in disgust at the smear of blood and body parts on her palm. Why am I here?

She glanced at the little girl nearby, who stood staring curiously as Chezak's attempt to light a fire for them. Has the girl never seen a fire? Gods, how does she put up with the weather? The thought alone sent chills through Arusa's skin, and she realized suddenly how tired she was. She looked about her for a place to sit, and frowned at the thought of lying on the dirt -- but her exhaustion washed over her like a wave over the shore. She dragged her bag of clothing nearer to where the fire was being lit and sat down, for a moment contemplating cleanliness before resting her head down on the bag and watching the fire begin to come to life.

[Chezak D'Maroe]

Chezak continued to add larger pieces of wood from the pile Amm had supplied, knowing that he would have to go out and scavenge some bigger pieces to help last the night. It wasn't exactly cold at night, but it was cool enough that the warmth from the fire would help keep them comfortable.

He watched Arusa from the corner of his eye, seeing her seat herself on the ground and lay her head on one of her full bags. He had to admit that she was doing better than he had expected, even if it had only been an hour's walk.

Moments later, with the fire contained and burning well in the shallow pit, the rocks reflecting and holding the heat already, he leaned back on his heels. The Tera was signing to him, and he followed her motions and words with a slight frown.

She wants me to teach her how to 'create and control' fire? he pondered to himself. It wasn't surprising that the Tera didn't know how to make fire, particularly considering the swamp-like nature of their usual habitats. He was more surprised at her insistence and the mild feel of ... anticipation ... that seemed to flow from her movements.

Chezak nodded to her, fingers moving gracefully in reply. "Not this night. Another. We are tired and need more food." His fingers indicated Arusa, whose eyes were blinking heavily as she gazed at the fire.

He turned and dug in his pack, keeping some of his attention towards the Tera in anticipation of her reply. He pulled the fish she had given him from his pack, unwrapping it from its cloth. He smiled and indicated to the Tera that he was pleased with her gift, then slipped his belt knife from its sheath and began cleaning the fish. After cutting it into pieces, he took a small metal pan from his pack, tossed a few choice herbs onto the fish, and began cooking it.