The isles of Thanatos are often stormy, foggy, and wet. Today is no exception. On this murky day, as the day was setting into dusk, the sea was not calm...but it also unable to hide the sound. Something was coming... (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-dy5x_0u64) Local fishers could hear it first, the sounds of a sail-laden boat thrashing the water with oars at full speed. Those that were in the way heard it coming and called out, but no heed was given and they had to get out of the way or get wrecked.
They could now see it at port. It was a large vessel, Connlaothian in origin. It looked to be in a bit of disrepair, but its sails were unfurled and using the wind, as well as the fact that whoever was below was rowing like their lives depended on it. The ship was called the Swiftus, and as the fog was beginning to let up, you could see that there were only two figures on-deck. The one at the wheel was - at least, at a distance - apparently a normal hat-wearing sailor. Except...well...he wasn't normal. Anyone who was on-board could see that he was a skeleton, grinning skull and eye sockets addressing the world.
The other one was far worse.
The other was its master, and the maxter of those down below. It was made entirely of bone, some kind of armored body-shell in the form of humanoid jackal-figure. Beastkin were not unknown in the world, but this was very obviously not one. It was seven feet tall and clearly the magically-maintained armor-body for another inside. Behind the openings for the eyes were...well...eyes, Human eyes, it would seem. The thing also held a scythe with a curved handle, all made out of dense bone. Clearly, this was some sort of practicioner of the arts of the dead...
The figure stood up from the crate it had been sitting on as they made port. The oars all retracted before they ground up against the pier, causing splintering on both sides, before it came to a halt. The bone-jackal now headed over to the captain's quarters and opened the door. There, it spoke to someone in a female voice, an utterly calm young girl's voice, of all things!
"I should be alright. You'll know immediately if something is wrong."
Because if something DID go wrong, the hatted helmsman and the numerous Bone Warriors below would begin to act. She was here for a purpose, to see what necromancy and similar arts existed on Thanatos. She'd heard tales of strange things out here at the islands. She wanted to know, maybe even to learn something. And even though many people were horrible for her to watch, it was maybe worth putting up with them long enough to see what was here. The jackal-form leapt down onto the pier - the wood creaking and straining as she did - and began walking.
The sun was setting as Aahva wandered the pier- or it would be setting, if it wasn't such a nasty day outside. The weather was the reason he had chosen to come to Jin'ta that day- the tourists that flocked to Kunata would likely all stay inside. There was no lines at any of the food stalls, and apart from the fisherman and sailors, Aahva seemed to have the entire port to himself!
There was, however, a problem The stormy weather meant that the ferry back to Kelei would likely be postponed- Aahva was stuck on Kunata until the storm blew over. He wasn't too worried about what his parents would do, as it was unlikely they'd even notice he was gone, but there was the question of where he was going to sleep that night. "This is so gay." Aahva thought bitterly, kicking a bucket of fish off the dock and into the ocean. "Coming here was a fucking stupid idea. He slumped down against a large crate and looked out at the water. "I wish Kita was here."
Then, on the horizon, it appeared. Aahva squinted. "What the fuck is that?" he muttered under his breath. It was far too big to be one of the merchant's vessels that normally arrived at Jin'ta, and it moved far too quickly. As the large vessel reached the dock, it began to rain.
As Aahva watched with mild interest, a figure jumped down from the boat and onto the dock. Aahva couldn't help but laugh- the man was dressed in animal bones of some kind. "This guy. This guy is something else."
Aahva pointed at the man. "Hey retard!" he shouted in a heavily accented common. "The Night of the Dead is three months from now! Go home!"
As the figure moved, and with the rain steadily pelting down, the ears of the jackal-form had moved from being pointed ramrod-straight, to arching over the eye holes to keep the water out. This was to give her an unobstructed view and prevent irritation, of course. However, as her conveyance moved from the pier to the docks proper, irritation of a different sort made itself known. Someone was shouting at her, someone young and loud. She turned and scanned around...before fixing her gaze on the individual.
For Aahva's perspective, the bone-fellow had stopped, almost frozen in place before turning and looking. He would find that the bony jackal-face pointed towards him, and then that a pair of blue eyes which were like that of a human's were staring at him. Like...right at him, dead-center focus. The girl inside the bone-armor, meanwhile, viewed this local loudmouth as something strange. It was less about her having been made fun of, and more about being addressed in such a bizarre manner.
She was trying to decide if she should be annoyed by it - him, she decided - and whether or not to attack. She could scare it - him - off with a sandblast. Hmm, no... The rain would wet the sand in transit, make it more like mudslinging. She could still DO that, but it might be better to just handle it up-close, so that there was no question of hitting her mark. He DID mention something she'd heard of, the Night of the Dead... Nobody told her when it was, but it sounded relevent to her.
So, after a few seconds deliberation, she decided to walk towards him, gaze locked right on him.
The man stopped, seemingly frozen in place. Aahva stood up, and leaned against the crate with his arms crossed. He smirked. "That's right, foreign man. Now turn around and get back on your boat." The man didn't leave however, and instead turned turned to look at the boy. Aahva snickered, and pushed his wet hair out of his face.
That's when Aahva saw the man's eyes. They were blue- very blue, and unblinking. Before he had a chance to come up with a good insult, the man began to walk towards him. "Oh great, I bet he's going to ask for directions now- they always do." Aahva waited until the man was about two feet away, one eyebrow raised. "Something I can help you with, dumbass?"
"Go on, ask me for directions- I'm just gonna tell you how to get to the bad part of town."
As the figure approached, a definite bone-crackling sound was starting to become audible over the pitter-patter of the rain. Up-close, Aahva could definitely see that this was all rather intricate, this smoothe bony exterior. In the meantime, the occupant of the bone shell had just caught her first glimpse of something that properly irked her. No, not his words. He was just some local shouty moron.
What bothered her was his eyebrow. And what bothered her more was that she furrowed her own brow in response. Not that he could see that, but it disgusted her to know that she had done that...and that even if he knew all of this, that he was too dull-witted to comprehend his freakish nature. Because of this, she spoke out now, which would probably surprise the hell out of Aahva.
"I didn't come here for the Night of the Dead...but if I were to...I would hope you all have the good sense...to hide your faces."
So, two revelations for Aahva. One, she was female, and two, she was rather young. Of course, three, she had probably just called everyone ugly. And also...let's not forget that - for some reason - she's in a some kind of a bone-thing that looked like it could toss him into the drink rather easily. Maybe he wasn't intimidated, but there were some lethal applications here.
Aahva was beginning to have second thoughts about engaging the bone man. Up close, he could see that the man wasn't exactly wearing bones- it was more like they had a shell like a crab does, but made out of bone. Aahva was beginning to get a bit unnerved. "This guy is weird. Also, he should blink more. His eyes are gonna dry out."
"I didn't come here for the Night of the Dead...but if I were to...I would hope you all have the good sense...to hide your faces."
Aahva burst out laughing. After a good ten seconds, he slowed down. "Oh... oh wow..." He said, clearly amused. "You know, you really had something there. And then, just like that..." Aahva snapped his fingers. "You killed it."
He raised his voice an octave so as to sound more like the bonewoman. "You... think I'm acting... retarded? Well I don't like... your face!"
He thinks I'm joking... What a fool.
The way her mind worked, she thought he was mocking her distaste for people's weird shifting facial expressions, rather than what he was actually getting at. So, it was making her angry, but for different reasons. The only self-image that she cared about was what she thought of her appearance, not others. She really didn't care that he was making fun of her. He could easily be silenced if she felt inclined to. Her issue was that he stretched his face up like some freak while he laughed. She wasn't against laughter, but those expressions... It made her want to do...well...this.
She reached out suddenly with her free hand to try and grip him by his jaw, which would make talking or making facial expressions very hard. Assuming this worked at all, Aahva would find it very hard to get free. The grip would be rather solid, requiring him to be skilled at breaking bones, sturdy bones. He would, of course, hear her speak again through that jackal head, a little harsher this time.
"I can abide your idiocy...but you will stop twisting your face at me. Now."
That glare was both haunted and like daggers now.
Aahva was laughing so hard that he didn't see the woman's hand shoot towards him. Unable to react in time, he was gripped tightly by the jaw. "H-hey!" he protested, eyes wide. His voice was muffled, but his fear was audible. "I-I was only playing with you!" Aahva grabbed at the woman's arm, struggling to get free, but it was to no avail. Out of the corner of his eye Aahva could see a few fisherman take notice of the situation, but none of it really registered to him- all he wanted was to get free.
"I can abide your idiocy...but you will stop twisting your face at me. Now."
Aahva stopped struggling, and locked eyes with the woman. The two pairs of eyes both conveyed hatred, but they were different kinds of hatred- whereas the woman's gaze was that of somebody who was about to squash a particularly nasty bug, Aahva's burned with defiance.
"You can't tell me what to do!" the boy said angrily. "I'll make as many faces at you as I want, you cocksucking bag of roaches!" Reaching into his back pocket, Aahva grabbed his slingshot and a rock he'd found on the beach earlier that day. It was difficult to make a clean shot while he was being held like this, but Aahva would attempt to anyway- perhaps the lack of distance between the rock and it's target would even the odds somehow.
Something Aahva would probably pick up after the fact was that that haunted look of hers really DID find him shocking. She couldn't stand this. They were like monsters, like rubbery-faced frogs, those things that disgusted her as a child. She was glad they could only be found in wet climates.
Oh wait, Thanatos IS a wet climate, isn't it?
Dammit... There had to be a catch. Well, maybe she would be lucky and not see one. Freakish little animals... This had actually distracted her from Aahva's protests, because he couldn't actually break her grip by strength alone...which he didn't have a great deal of, anyway. You would have to be a physical powerhouse to break that vice...or do something unexpected.
Aahva managed to do something unexpected. The girl did not really know much about slings, about their force. They were weapons that she generally overpowered with magic. As in, someone might raise one and she'd blast them with sand. This one managed to actually hit her skull-helmet in the forehead, though. The rock struck at an angle, splitting on impact from the force, but it had an effect.
The girl's head snapped back with an "Ugh!", and her grip on Aahva faltered. He had cracked the helmet, but more than that...when she re-oriented...he could see that he'd cut the person inside, as well. Blood had begun to trickle down between her right eye and where her nose should be. Of course, even as this happened, the bone began to repair itself, and soon the damage to her armor was gone.
"Does that make it my turn now?"
To Aahva's relief, the stone hit it's mark. Striking the bonewoman in the forehead, the force of the impact was enough to cause her to recoil. Her grip loosened ever so slightly, an opportunity Aahva didn't waste.
"Does that make it my turn now?"
"Nah." Aahva said. Twisting his body, the boy managed to get his face free of the woman's grasp. He could see blood trickling down her helmet as he pulled away, but he didn't stop to take a closer look before began to run.
Bolting down the dock, Aahva briefly looked back. Two fisherman had decided to confront the woman, and while he couldn't hear what they were saying, the seemed angry. Aahva smirked. "Ha! Serves you right, you foreign cuntmonkey!"
The bone woman in question made a mental note that slings and the like were a real headache. She was starting to get a whopper right now. She also noticed, strangely enough, that when she enacted the repair of her bone-helm...that it seemed much faster, like the speed in which her mother's regeneration worked. That was unexpected. Was it the boy? They say that people on Thanatos carry mysterious powers. That made her curious, which made her more inclined to give chase, now that he was running. However, a pair of fishermen had approached her.
"Pardon our intrusion, but are you in the habit of harassing young boys and letting them hurt you? It seems rather odd, don't you think?"
"Mind you, that one is too rough-edged, not a good example of us. I take it his language offended thee?"
"You two are much more composed. I like that. Stay that way."
They were annoyed, but they were also Thanati. As such, they weren't blatant and loud like the boy. It wasn't the way of things on Thanatos. They had been throwing her a backhanded poke at her situation, though they didn't like Aahva's display any better. Youth were suppose to be a blessing, but every time he opened his mouth... The girl had all but ignored their statements and inquiries, and it left them a bit non-plussed.
"Whatever business you have on our island, I don't feel your time is being spent wisely, and you are more than a little out of place."
"Are you fishermen?"
"Yes."
"I have no need of you right now."
She walked past them right after shutting them down, leaving them properly insulted, Thanatos-style. She had essentially said 'You're a pair of nobodies. Don't speak to me anymore.', and they were lucky that she was not in the mood to kill. She was more curious about the boy...and keen on making her points very clear. He had started this, after all. Now, she would be moving after him rather swiftly, and silently, apart from the sounds of her armor's boney movement.
Aahva laughed as he ran down the pier and towards the market. "Man, that was great!" he thought gleefuly. "Kita's gonna be so impressed when I tell her how I smashed that retard's face in!"
The weather was getting worse, and Aahva soon couldn't hear anything besides the patter of rainfall and his own footsteps. Aahva frowned- he didn't like being out in the rain ever since he'd gotten sick that one time. Deciding now would be a good time to find some shelter, he turned a corner into a side street- only to find it was a dead end. "Oh, that's perfect." Aahva grumbled as he turned around to leave...
Although she had no special senses or skills for tracking him down - She had a sense of the presence of bones she could or could not take constrol of, in general, not the ability to distinguish one human set from another. - he was easy enough to follow, since he'd ended up laughing and she was paying attention. The rain was starting to get more fierce. The weather around here had been mentioned, but she didn't really care.
He'd turned into an alley and she crept over to the entrance, seeing what he saw, that it was a dead end. However, when he turned to leave...she was blocking his path. As in, she walked in and...pieces of bone began to fly off of her armor, forming into fence behind her. She dropped the scythe and seemed to walk right out of the longer legs as the longer arms and the rest of the torso armor fell off, leaving naught but the helmet now.
She pulled off the helmet herself, fully revealing that what he was dealing with was a strange dark-haired foreign girl of something close to his age, dressed in black and not IN a dress. However, before he could even take all of her in, she wiped the blood from her forehead with a gloved hand and flicked it right at his face. Folks in Thanatos tended to get on other people about their failing through passive means. Aahva was more blatant. So was she. Once she got him, she spoke.
"Now, you understand what it feels like when you make sick expressions at me like a fat, bloated toad..."
Having blood spattered into your face was no fun. It was an 'Ick!' moment, no question. Of course, having your forehead cut and bleeding with a headache wasn't any better, so fortunately the rain was going to help with that. It began to wash it off of both of their faces immediately. She felt her tension loosening now, as a result. Rain, like sand, was cleansing in a way. She was technically part Essyrni, so she appreciated the power of both. She waited to see if this boy way going to shoot his mouth off or say something more sensible.
Aahva froze. "Shit! She followed me? As he took a step back, the woman's armor began to reshape, chunks of it flying off and forming into a fence behind her. It was slowly dawning on Aahva that he was likely dealing with some kind of necromancer- there were enough of them skulking the back alleys of the island that it was fairly easy to recognize. The bones, the unpleasant attitude, it was all there.
Aahva's eyes widened as she proceeded to leave her armor and pull off her helmet... only to reveal a girl who couldn't be much older than he was. For a brief moment, he dropped his guard and stared at her in confusion. As she stepped closer to him, she wiped her bloody forehead with her hand and flicked the blood at Aahva's face. The rain was quick to wash it off, but he still recoiled. "Eww! What's your problem, asswipe?"
Aahva took another step back, shaking his head in disbelief. "You have a problem with my face, is that it? I don't particularly like yours either. Have you considered getting out of your armor when it's sunny out? You look like a ghost."
"Wait. She just got out of her armor! Aahva realized. "She's either a retard, or she knows something I don't and just acts really gay for some reason." He stared blankly at the girl. "...Why are you here?"
"If she makes any sudden moves, I'm gonna punch her in the face."
Aahva was well-tanned and she was not. It was true. Even the lightest Thanati looked like he'd been in the sun a bit. She did not really tan much herself, due to the nature of her body. So, while he had an interesting point about that, her reaction was merely to shrug her shoulders and reply thusly.
"Sometimes. The armor's safer, though, and more honest."
Honest... What a strange thing to say. What she meant was that the face of bone - No, not Face of Boe! - was not in the habit of deceiving. She was a master of death and she wore a mask of death. It was fitting, it was true, and it was there for all to see. Still, she found his words about as impacting as a fish flopping on the beach. It left an impression, but it was fleeting.
Now, Aahva was surprised that she was out of her armor, but this was not arrogant grandstanding. She DID know something. She knew that there could be bits of bone flying at him like pellets from his sling. She knew that she could immediately start blasting grit at him. She knew...how to duck, especially now that he'd used that sling. Still, as the two of them stood in the rain, he had to ask and...
"I wanted to see what Thanati necromancy was like. You can't do that by force. They just scatter. You have to either know someone or grab their attention."
Okay, so there WAS a plan. The armor was a means to convey a message to the shadows. It was 'something of interest'. Of course, there was always finding someone around here who knew where to find them, but what were the odds of that happening?
Aahva continued to stare blankly at the girl. He never really had to deal with a foreigner before, not to this degree at least. This girl was unusual, and her bizarre behavior was beginning to give Aahva the creeps. The girl did confirm his suspicions however- she was a necromancer, or trying to become one at least. "Figures that she's one of those freaks." he thought disdainfully.
"Pfft, necromancers are easy to find." Aahva said, trying his best to seem like he wasn't scared of the girl. "All you need to do is dress all edgy and hang around in a back alley. They'll eventually show up to brood with you." Aahva's face slowly curled into an amused smile. "This one time, I tricked some necromancers back on Kelei that I was one of them, and then called the guardsmen on them when they told me where there secret hideout was!" He giggled. "Shit was fucking hilarious, you should have seen their faces!"
She was, indeed, a necromancer...and she was starting to get the opinion that Aahva had never met a real necromancer 'till now. Either that, or Thanatos' mysterious power over life and death was not the force it was cracked up to be. In any case, his descrption of these necromancers made her glare go sort of deadpan. Not much of a change, admittedly, but you have to admit that the Flat What (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FlatWhat) hadto be some kind of achievement here.
The tale he told shortly thereafter was even more suspect. He managed to convince a necromancer he was one of them, and then turned on them? By what measure was he still alive? He laughed, but this only confused her. Why would anybody believe him? And somewhere in the midst of this, she felt annoyed that he'd gone and done this to others who share in her expertise. She now crossed her arms, deciding now to put this to the test.
"I doubt that you've ever seen a real necromancer. After all, betraying those who command the dead usually ends up with that person dead, or worse. You're just making that all up, aren't you?"
Yes, putting aside the fact that she could kill him, she was also calling his bluff.
Aahva went pale. He had, of course, been making the whole thing up- he just wanted to get under the girls skin. Knowing that he, somebody small and weak, could make somebody bigger than he was feel insecure made him feel good. The bigger person making veiled threats afterwards wasn't new per say, but it was certainly the first time they were capable of truly following up on them. "Alright, I ought to play it safe. No more aggrevating her- for now."
Still, a small part of Aahva was dissapointed the girl hadn't gotten more upset. "I can't believe she didn't pick up the part about seeing their faces. Come on bitch, it was right there!"
"Ahahahaha!" Aahva laughed nervously. "I was just fucking with you, don't take it so seriously! The real necromancers live on the other side of town, in a building shaped like a big skull." he lied. "But they close up shop at night, so you need to hurry and go there now if you want to see them tonight."
"That sounded believable, right?"
Oh, trust me, you're hitting some negative points with her, Aahva, but you elbowed the 'Extreme Disbelief' part of her mind on the way out and the willing suspension of it broke down. She was, after all, the so-called offspring of a being known as Gravekeeper Embalmus. Neither she, nor any member of the 'family', was exactly normal, but it wasn't a far stretch to believe that mortal necromancers would not be an embarrassment to the practice. She would have to purge such people from the living to make sure her own reputation didn't suffer.
Now, his next claim - Damn it all, he was still screwing up his face at her... - gave her pause. It wasn't that she really believed it, since necromancy was also a much feared art, in general. It was that having a skull-shaped stronghold was not impossible for them. She could have a skull castle, if she wanted. It would just take alot of graves. This was more plausible, but she had zero reason to believe him. Therefore, to really put him on the spot, she decided this was the better opion.
"I've never been to Thanatos before, so you'll have to show it to me yourself."
Oh shit. Bluff. Called.
Aahva eyes widened at the girl's request. "Shit! Now what do I do?" He scratched the back of his head, smiling anxiously. "Well, you see, the thing is..."
Suddenly, Aahva remembered something. "Wait! The skull building may not exist, but that tacky, necromancer themed restaurant all the tourists eat at does! They have the waiters in the stupid costumes and everything! Maybe I can still trick her!"
Feeling very clever, Aahva gave the girl his most charming smile. "But of course! It's the least I could do for a foreigner like you." Walking past the girl, he'd attempt to climb over the bone fence she had created...
That was another thing about people's expressions: They gave away too much. She wasn't inexperienced with emotion. She knew he had been taken by surprise. At first, it seemed like he was going to back his way out of it, but then the boy decided to press forward, after all. Because she, naturally, did not trust him...there was the question of just what the hell he was up to. His comment was especially suspicious, in that one of the biggest rumors about Thanatos was that they hated foreigners, though naturally their culture would keep them from just saying so.
This was highly suspect. Still, she would play his game, for now. She watched as he started climbing her fence. Well, Aahva would soon find the entire thing crumbling to dust when he was about halfway up, causing him to fall. All the bone in the area that'd been from her armor suddenly amassed and flew into a travel pack she had on her back, filling it up. Her scythe came flying into her hand. She was now ready to go. Lead the way, young man.
The fence collapsed as Aahva was climbing it, causing him to fall to the ground. He cried out in shock. Looking at the girl, he tried his best not to snap at her. "Next time... Next time warn me before you do that."
"Fucking gay ass foreign motherfucker! That hurt! You're gonna pay for that!"
Doing his best to contain his anger, he would begin to walk in the direction of the restaurant. It would likely take about twenty minutes to walk there. What was worse was that the rain hadn't let up, and Aahva was completely soaked. "This is the most retarded thing I've had to do in my life." he thought bitterly. "It's worse than when Mrs. Krahsna made me stay after school and write lines! And that was pretty fucking retarded."
Looking behind him, Aahva decided he'd try to talk to his new "friend". Not out of any desire for companionship, mind you- he just wanted to see if he could get her to say weird stuff he could make fun of later. "So... What did you say your name was again?"
"Come on, tell me it's something stupid. Foreigners always have stupid names."
Well, he shouldn't have been climbing a fence that she was obviously going to remove in order to get past it herself. The girl really had nothing to say on the matter, since to her it should have been obvious, so she merely shrugged in response to his beratement. So, Aahva would be leading her to what she assumed was a bogus location, the two of them still in the rain. The boy himself didn't like it very much. It didn't seem to affect the girl much, as it soaked her as well.
Something of note, however: Her cut had stopped bleeding, and may have even been healing already. Normally, her wounds - if she had any - didn't heal faster unless she killed something. At the moment of death, the lifeforce of that which she had killed transfers to her and supports her body, usually in extremely good health, a strong body, and the healing of any injuries. She hadn't killed anything, but her body's unusual healthy nature had kicked in the faster healing...much like the faster-than-normal repair of the bone of her hell earlier. She wondered about that...
It would have to wait, however, as her guide had decided that silence sucked as bad as the rain and asked for her name.
"Elise...Anicetus. It's an old family name."
Translation: Her parents were effectively immortal. Then, without batting an eyelash...
"Tell me something... Do you deal in magic, as well?"
After a few seconds of trying to get "Elise" to rhyme with "penis" in his head, Aahva gave up it for a bad job. "Man, how am I supposed to work with that?" he thought, dissapointed. "Anicetus isn't much better. It really takes effort to have a name that fucking bland."
"Tell me something... Do you deal in magic, as well?"
Aahva paused. Looking over his shoulder, he gave Elise a confused look. "Uhh... No?" he said slowly. "What kind of retarded question is that? If I had magic, I'd have used it on you." He turned his head back. "Magic is stupid anyway."
Lowering his voice an octave, Aahva gave his best mage impression. "Oooooh! I can shoot spooky fireballs out of my ass! Beware my power!" Throwing his head back, the boy began to laugh.
She had heard that traditional magic - like fireballs and whatnot - was looked down upon in this country, but Thanatos was a country that boasted a 'mysterious power', and that included necromancers, one of the only reasons she bothered to come. It wasn't that they eschewed magic altogether, they just thought twisting life and natural elements to be an affront to their goddess. Kind of like Essyrni and water magic, or any magic used to directly harm life. Or Connlaoth and...well...anything, really.
Now, we should point out that while she didn't like him making fun of magic, the image of a mage shooting a fireball out of his ass was amusing. Hell, Elise actually cracked a smile at it. Honestly, the girl DID have a sense of humor. It was just that it was largely internal. 'Oh, how zen!', says John De Lancie, off to the side there. Well, I'm sorry, but a belly laugh is out of the question. Still, she was almost certain that he must have power.
"I don't mean like that. I mean such as healing or strengthening. You wouldn't do any good hurling that at me, but look."
She pushed back her wet bangs and showed that the wound he'd inflicted earlier was all but closed. Not scabbed. Closing. It had happened even faster than she had been expecting, and Elise tended to recover quickly. It wasn't even going to scar. Well...okay, she never scarred, but even for a normal person, it wouldn't scar.
"It's either you or those fishermen, and neither one of you would have intended it. I think you're just unaware of the thing."
Turning his head again to look at Elise, Aahva saw the a flicker of a smile on the girl's face. He blinked, and it was gone. Had he imagined it? He didn't have time to think much of it before Elise began to speak again.
"I don't mean like that. I mean such as healing or strengthening. You wouldn't do any good hurling that at me, but look."
Elise pulled back her hair, revealing her forehead. Aahva's eyes widened, and stopped and turned to face her. To his dismay, where there should have been a sizable gash was now a barely visible cut. "But... But I hit her dead on! There no way that's all I managed to do to her!"
"I think you're just unaware of the thing."
Aahva shook his head violently. "Nuh-uh! If I had magic, it'd be something cool like going invisible, or seeing the future! I wouldn't have some gay ass healing power." Crossing his arms, he gave Elise a nasty grin. "I bet if I punched you in the face and broke your nose, I wouldn't be able to heal it." he said snidely. "What do you say? Wanna test my theory?"
Letting her hair fall back into place, Elise just sort of watched as he continued to deny the possibility. It seemed to her that he was completely unaware of it. It had to be him. Even now, there was something, how ever slight. She had the feeling that her cut may disappear entirely by the time this conversation was over. Aahva seemed rather keen on testing this out by punching her in the face. More likely, he wanted to do it so he could escape. No, we're done with letting people attack first.
"Your sling wasn't enough? I should be hitting you for that."
She also crossed her arms, but the one holding the scythe was tapping the ground with it.
"I know how magic works. I know that my body recovers from things faster when it takes in energy. Whether you're a healer or giving off energy freely, you're making my abilities work faster, stronger. No harm you could do would be permanent, and I'd have to hurt you back, to see if you can heal yourself."
You might not wanna push that too far, Aahva. She's stronger than she looks.
Aahva's stared blankly at Elise when she stated she'd have to hit him back. Aahva's family situation wasn't the greatest- getting hit by one or both of his parents was part of his daily routine. It was for exactly this reason he knew the girl had to be playing some kind of trick on him- he'd had plenty of opportunities to discover he had healing magic, and yet he never did. Still, if it'd let him prove Elise wrong...
"Hit me then, bitch! You probably punch like a girl anyway!"
His angry invitation did not ward her off. She meant it, so if he was calling her bluff...well...it wasn't going to work. She was certain that he must be doing something, and this would narrow it down. Elise stuck the point of her scythe into the ground behind her, before her arm pulled back and he hand formed a fist. Where to strike? In the same place he fired his sling? Sure, that makes sense.
Elise...didn't hit like a girl.
She was stronger than she looked, maybe more like an adult's strength. One second, her fist had been poised to strike, and in the next, he'd be feeling some pain, provided she didn't knock him out. These weren't love taps. Naturally, if any adult was bearing witness to this, there were going to be some questions, but Elise could honestly tell them that he was asking for it.
Aahva would be lying if he said it didn't hurt. He staggered backwards, a grunt of pain escaping his throat. Clutching his forehead, he looked up at Elise with a pained grin on his face. He had been hit worse, believe it or not. The girl, while strong, wasn't his father. He chuckled almost triumphantly, although it was clear as day that he was holding back tears. "I was wrong... You don't hit like a girl- my friend Kita punches way harder."
Standing up straight again, Aahva lifted up his soggy hair in a mockery of what Elise had done not minutes earlier. A welt was beginning to form where she had struck him. "See? It's not healing." He crossed his arms and gave the girl a smug grin. "I bet you feel stupid now, huh Elise?"
"Kita must be very forgiving, then."
After all, he didn't look like his friend socked him every day of his life for acting this way. It'd show, in that case. Still, he was clearly trying to save face (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oShTJ90fC34), as she knew that she'd surprised adults with her strength before and very quickly put them in a world of hurt, largely because her capacity for mercy came in small doses. He was also trying to make her feel bad because he did not appear to be healing. Meanwhile, she wasn't even feeling sore in her knuckles. This was disappointing, but she was undetered.
"Maybe I should keep hitting you. They say that magic can manifest very strongly through desperation, and I think you're just forcing it down to spite me."
Aahva's eye twitched. "Naw, you shouldn't embarrass yourself any more." he replied condescendingly. "You already look stupid enough." Turning around, he began to walk once more. He didn't want to talk about Elise's theory anymore, and he felt he had proven his point. "Forcing it down? Yeah right, retard. You're grasping at straws and you know it."
The rain had yet to let up, and Aahva's nose was beginning to run. Sniffling, he decided to change the subject to something else. "So Elise, are you from Serendipity? Because you look like you're from gay fairy land."
Hah. Of course he didn't want to get a beating. He'd feel especially bad if he lost, which he would since she was actually skilled in combat. Of course, if she was right, he was going to feel extremely stupid if it turned out she had guessed right. Elise felt like she could pull bones from a live target now, and that was alot harder than taking the bones of a dead man. When the boy - Aahva had yet to give out his name - decided to make fun of her again, she only found it amusing that he continued to poke fun at someone who could easily end him and turn him into one of her pawns.
"You keep using that word. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2y8Sx4B2Sk) Are you sure you know what it actually means?"
The rain was, by the by, having basically no effect on Elise apart from getting her wet.
"Besides, I come from Essyrn. You know...that desert nation with the giant city. You'd probably like it in there, except you'd probably die of thirst. This climate spoils you with water."
Aahva giggled. If Elise thought she could out-banter him, then she was sorely mistaken. "Essyrn?" he replied. "Really? Where's your tan then? Are you a shut-in?"
A question suddenly came to Aahva's mind- an actual question, not a veiled insult. "So wait, if you're a necromancer, and you're from the desert..." he began, his curiosity audible. "...Why do you use bones and not mummies?"
She thought about that for a moment. A life among the under, the dark necropolic, the armor often shielding her from danger...
"Kind of, but I also don't tan very much."
Then, he asked about mummies, and she was sure there were some around, back home, but mummies are essentially what you get when you get a corpse that's undergone specific burial rites...or at least been made to dry out significantly. It seemed as though her mouthy guide knew at least something of necromancy...
"I can awaken any undead. What they are depends on the state their in. I just prefer bone because it's it's cleaner and a hardened material. Flesh is for the living. Zombies and mummies will eventually rot down to the bone, anyway. My warriors will consume the flesh and other things, storing it inside of them, and then spray it right in unsuspecting faces!"
That had to be the loudest he'd ever heard her speaking, with exaltation even. It wasn't exactly a yell, more of a loud declaration at the point of 'spray it right in their faces'. It DID seem to amuse her, as well, because that small smile was back.
"I can also make sandstorms."
Aahva stopped. "Wait, you mean you throw nasty shit at people too?" Grinning, he looked behind him once more- and this time, the smile on the girls face didn't disappear. Aahva's smile was genuine too, rather then the condescending smirk he usually wore. "But I do that all the time! This one time, I stole a bucket of fish guts from the pier, and then-"
Aahva sneezed violently. Sniffling, he continued. "- and then I took it, and I dumped it that pussy ass bitch Jinta's head!" Feeling a newfound sense of respect for Elise, he spit on his hand and outstretched it to shake her own. "I'm Aahva."
His reaction was surprising. She thought that Thanati hated overt displays of elemental magic, much the same way Essryni have laws against using magic to destroy. Then again, this boy did seem to flout tradition about as much as she did. He was some kind of roughneck and Elise just didn't care about such things. She only kept appearances for convenience sake. Cross her at your own peril. At everyone's peril.
No matter. He seemed to genuinely like the fact that she blasted people and areas with sand and grit. He probably didn't know that she also killed people this way, sometimes. Sandblasting people to death was a horrible way to die, for them. The skin and eyes are torn away, the mouth and nose fill with sand, and while they desperately try to protect their exposed parts from it all while choking and gasping, blood flows freely and is blow away as muscle is torn away, as well. They die painfully, then the sand strips the flesh entirely, leaving only beautiful bones.
He sneezed while recalling a story involving dumping fish-guts on someone she didn't know. Was something wrong with him? Why did he sneeze? Err, while Elise was essentially never sick, she wasn't unfamiliar with disease. However, she naturally assumed that the weather couldn't affect people from Thanatos, since they lived with this all their lives, like how she lived with the dead. Then, Aahva finally introduced himself and extended his hand. Uhh... Elise sort of looked at it for a second, then at him. She wasn't unfamiliar with a handshake. They did that in Essyrn, and other places. What she didn't understand was...
"Why did you spit on your hand?"
Aahva blinked in confusion. "Um... It's just, like, what you do." Truthfully, he had never put much thought into the action- he had learned it from other kids at school. "You need to spit on yours, too. It's like, a respect thing."
Sniffling, he gave Elise a coy smile. "Don't tell me the girl who messes with dead bodies is afraid of a little spit."
She shook her head at his baiting question.
"No, I've just...never heard of it before."
After all, Elise never really knew any kids. She was the youngest of her family, and there were no schools where she lived, and she just didn't talk to people that much. Look, it's just one of those things, alright? Shrugging, she spat on her hand and reached out to grasp his. Since she was familiar with the handshake - though it was tradition for the male to wait for the female's first or to give the bow to the man before he can thrust out his own hand - this part was of no difficulty for her.
It was...strange, taking hold of a warm-blooded human hand. Her hand was gloved, but with her body being so well-maintained, she felt it anyway. She didn't really grip live humans very often, and usually that was only in the case of pulling them into a waiting death, like at the end of her scythe or something. Human lives - or ANY lives - were sustenance. The warmth of their lifeforce was sucked immediately into her upon their death at her hands. This was very different.
As for Aahva...
He'd probably find it weird that she didn't remove her glove first, but then she didn't know, anyway. He would also feel like blood pumped in her veins, and that she wasn't a walking corpse, per se. However, there was definitely more to this than that. At the same time, a feeling would pass over him, a dark feeling... (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqjK1w_HVlI) It was unmistakeable, that feeling of necromantic energy, the power of unlife. It was like she wasn't a normal necromancer looking outwards towards the boundary of life and death, but like she was out there and peering in.
Well, that would explain alot of her behavior, at the very least.
Elise's glove was soggy from the rain, which made the handshake rather unpleasant. There was something else too- Elise felt wrong, somehow. He wasn't sure what it was or how to explain it, but it gave Aahva the creeps. He pulled away from the handshake after only a few seconds, nervous look on his face. "Um... We'll be there soon, so lets keep going now."
They were reaching the touristy part of town, and it was almost baffling how different everything looked. Colorful lanterns lit the street, and even in the rain there were still a few foreigners wandering about. There was a tourist trap on every corner, selling everything from overpriced beads to "genuine" Thanati calligraphy. The sight of such an obvious facade made Aahva angry, so he decided to distract himself.
"So Elise, what's the best reaction you've ever gotten out of somebody? Having zombies barf at people sounds fucking funny!"
She wasn't at all surprised that he pulled his hand back after contact. He felt it, that instinctive contact with necromancy, of the borderlands, the outer limits... (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCcdr4O-3gE) Elise expected it, of course. It didn't bother her. This was her reality. So, Aahva explained that they were nearly there, and now they did seem to be in an area of the island that was more friendly to foreigners... Was this really the sort of place that the necromancers would hang out? She doubted that, but before the question could be raised, he had one of his own.
"I told you. I don't like using zombies. I prefer bone, fully-armored Bone Soldiers. And..."
She thought about it.
"Mostly it's flailing and screaming that's involved. I don't exactly give people time to reflect..."
Because usually...this is in the midst of battle or something.
Aahva shot Elise a confused look. "You don't give people a chance to reflect? What the fuck does that mean?" he thought, brow furrowed. "Why even do it at all then?"
Aahva was about to ask exactly that, when something in a store window caught his eye. It was a wall scroll bearing Thanati characters- but upon closer inspection, Aahva doubled over laughing. "HAHAHAHAHA! Look at this! Do you know what that says?" He looked at Elise, grinning madly. "It -*sniffle*- It says "my penis is exceptionally small"! HAHAHAHA!" He looked at the scroll with a look of adulation. "Some foreign fuckwit will actually buy this. That's fucking genius."
Look, uhh...mercy doesn't exactly rank high on her list of priorites. The vomit spray of her Bone Soldiers wasn't incredibly dangerous. It was just highly-distracting and useful as a means of getting the upper-hand. And the point of getting the upper hand is to use it, dammit! So anyway, they passed by something which was, apparently, very hilarious to Aahva now, but of course Elise couldn't read it. She had to take his word for it. Even still...
"That reminds me... There's something that's confused me here. I can understand why you hate people. They obviously make you miserable. Why do your people hate everybody?"
Xenophobia isn't exactly something that she entirely understood, because ALL people were strange to her, very much due to her strange mindset. It would be a little hard for her to feel quite the same way too, and the attitude of Thanati was strange too. It was like Aahva was the only normal person here.
Aahva looked at Elise as if her hair was on fire. "Are you retarded? Like, seriously, were you dropped on your head when you were a kid or something?" He shook his head in disbelief. "I mean, have you seen them? They show up on their boats, talk too loud, point at everything, and then they make a shitty mockery of our culture by buying the fake garbage here!" Aahva gestured to the shop behind him. "I mean, it's so bad that we have a bunch of tard wranglers calling themselves "tour guides" whose sole job is to keep foreign idiots from bothering us normal people."
Aahva crossed his arms. "I mean, what if I showed up where you live and pointed at everything? You'd hate me too!"
She was growing a bit weary of him replying to things she couldn't possibly know without living here and being like the people here with his insults. She asked because it was not known to her. Elise gave Aahva a look of 'Remember that I can strip the flesh from your bones' and then stated...
"Quit assuming that I know what you believe to be obvious. I'm not from around here, and I'm not like other people. I wouldn't ask if I had the answer, already."
Even still, he began to explain what it was that seemed to bother his people so much. And from the perspective of a Thanati, she supposed it might be irritating, but then...not only was she not Thanati...she was also not an ordinary being. He finished up with a 'shoe on the other foot' argument, regarding how she'd react to him being a foreign invader looking over the place.
"For Essyrn, this is just another day. It's the buying-and-selling capital of the known world. I don't care for it, nor do I have anything against it."
Unless she or one in her family wanted it to die.
"As for you, you already shout insults at everything you see. So, what's the difference?"
Aahva's eye twitched as Elise chided him. Being spoken down to was something the boy could not stand- he skipped school half the time to avoid having to listen to his teachers scold him. "Stupid, gay-ass, cocksucking piece of shit!" he thought angrily. "No. I won't let you." Fuming, Aahva focused on a single thing she told him and proceeded to dig in deeper.
"What do you mean, you're not like other people? D'you think you're special?" Aahva asked. "Because you're not. Yeah, you have that..."
Aahva stared at the scythe for a moment. There wasn't much farming done on Thanatos, and Aahva had never seen a scythe up until that day.
"... That thing, and you have the fancy armor and the fancy powers, but what are you under all of that? You're not different. You're flesh and blood, just like everyone else." He crossed his arms, his eyes a challenge. "Really, I wanna know. Who the fuck are you?"
The scythe moved so fast that his unprepared self couldn't have prevented it from coming within an inch of his neck if he tried. She was fast, frighteningly so. One second, she was still, and the next, she had done that and her brow was furrowed. She was angry.
"Do you know just how fragile you are? You are merely flesh and blood, because all you do is cut and bleed. This body - my body - is just a vessel, a container. What do I care if it bends or breaks?"
She raised her free hand up and...the arm suddenly snapped at the elbow! Then, the fingers flew into weird angles as the wrist broke! Elise only winced. She'd practiced this. She'd done this to herself many times, to see if she could. The arm returned itself to normal immediately after, just like new.
"I am not a human being. I was created, fashioned, by a pair of immortals who are my mother and father. My armored shell is closer to my true face than this one, as it is the face of my father and brother."
Not so much her sister or mother, though. She lowered the scythe and turned to face off to the side. Her face returned to a deadpan look as she spoke again.
"You've been lying this entire time, and I humored you to see what foolish act you were going to try to pull on me. You obviously know nothing of necromancy, or what those who push beyond the boundaries of life and death are capable of."
Figures her parents would send her to deliver fish on a day like today. Actually, it was quite a pleasant one up until she had reached the restaurant and the owners tried to con her out of a decent bargain. She had just spent the last few hours there, arguing over prices only to finally give up. While she was inside a storm had rolled in, a bad one at that. Of course, it would be her luck to have to try and find a way home now in this, even worse she was coming back with less than she was supposed to. She knew it was because of her hair, an omen to her people that caused them to look at her differently. They saw her as this thing to be taken advantage of or this thing that would do nothing but bring bad luck to wherever she was. The fact that a storm was brewing didn't help her case in the slightest.
And so there she was, walking back on some road while the rain drenched her crimson locks. No one would offer her shelter, and tourist would just stare at her like she were crazy. However as she walked she thought she heard a familiar voice, one that was confirmed when she heard it call someone retarded.
"Aahva" Kita's eyes lit up as she began looking for him, knowing he couldn't be that far off. At least now they could be miserable in this damn rain together.
Taking one last turn she finally found him, but what she saw was not what she expected. There was this girl, and she was holding some kind of weapon to his neck. "Not cool" she thought as her pace quickened. But then she stopped, completely thrown off when the girl started moving her arm and fingers in a way she had only ever heard stories of.
"Flesh Sculptor!" she yelled out in Thanati. "Aahva get away from her!"
The girl was saying something, but Kita was not fluent in common so she really didn't understand any of it. It didn't matter anyway, she had seen all that she needed to see. The girl's lips moved and Kita just assumed what was coming out. "Bullshit bullshit bullshit"
By now Kita had closed the distance and was standing beside her friend, glaring at the obvious foreigner making it clear her presence was an unwelcome one.
Well, that was a mistake.
Aahva had finally done it- he finally managed to get under Elise's skin. In an instant, the girl's odd weapon was at his throat. Aahva's breathing grew sharp. "What the fuck is she talking about?" he thought in a panic- then he saw what her arm was doing, and his panic became visible. His lips trembled with fear, and tears began to form in his eyes.
The girl lowered her... crooked spear thing, and proceeded to tell Aahva that she knew he was lying about the necromancers. He took a step back, prepared to run... and then he heard a voice call his name.
Armageddon had arrived.
"Kita?" he replied in Thanati, a look of relief on his face. His best friend soon stood beside him, giving Aahva a newfound sense of security. "Kita, she's a necromancer! She's doing something with her bones!" He gave his friend a worried smile. "I called her a retard, so now she wants me to find more necromancers for her or some stupid shit like that. It's mad gay, you gotta help me!"
He looked at the foreign girl. "Hey Elise, remember when I told you that my friend punches harder than you? You'd better back off before- *sniffle*- before she proves me right."
Panic, and fear. That was a bit more like it. A little honesty in the people she was dealing with, at last. So many people with false confidence, believing themselves invincible before the knife. Had he really thought that just because he spilt some blood with his sling that he was in any way comparable? Flesh and blood? She would love to show some flesh and blood right now. That embarrassing face he displayed, merely because she broke her own arm and reset it... He was just a boy, but she played an adult's game. The Game of Death.
The situation at hand, though, was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of another girl. A friend? Really, Elise was surprised that Aahva could keep any, given the way he spoke to everyone. He began to say things in what she could only assume was Thanati, presumably things about her. Since she knew Aahva to be a liar, it wouldn't surprise her at all if the account of their confrontation was not entirely accurate. She didn't care, but...there was one thing: She had kind of liked having someone to talk to, for a change.
Now, the boy was warning her about his tough friend. Something was wrong with him, though.
"Are you...crying?"
She still failed to recognize his cold.
Keeping a close eye on the foreigner Kita listened as Aahva explained, nodding as he went on. Her attention was so focused on the other girl in fact that Ankita barely noticed he was crying, or at least until he began speaking to her.
It was true that Kita didn't understand common very well, only knowing really what Aahva had taught her. She was able to pick out a few words here and there like 'friend' or 'me', but the rest was complete gibberish. She had no idea that Aahva was playing her up to be something she really wasn't.
Almost in sync with the other girl Kita also asked almost the same question.
"Why are you crying?" except, hers was far more on a serious note. "Don't tell me this... this..." Kita motioned towards the foreigner. "... this thing made you cry!"
And then she was laughing, shoving Aahva's shoulder. "You seriously let some fucking twit like this make you cry! This is rich Aahva!"
And so the mystery of why they were such good friends was revealed...
"I don't know who is more of an idiot... you or her right now!"
Aahva's eyes seemed to glaze over a bit as both girls asked if he was crying. "Shit, what do I say?" he thought anxiously. "I can't let them know I'm getting sick! If Kita knew about my shitty fucking immune system, she'd think I'm weak!" The boy balled his fists. "But I can't let them think I'm crying either! This is so fucking gay!"
Kita shoved on his shoulder, bringing Aahva back to the present. She was laughing at him now. Aahva crossed his arms. "I am not!" he said defensively. "My face is just- *sniffle*- wet from the rain, that's all." He shifted his weight slightly, leaning towards his friend. He wore a smug grin on his face. "Just because you want to cry doesn't mean I do."
Aahva then looked at Elise, eyes narrowed. "Why do you care? You're the one making me run around in this shitty rain!"
Well, the mystery of their friendship wasn't solved by Elise, that's for sure. She couldn't understand what they were saying, being not taught of Thanati. The language barrier suddenly made her realize that this might be a problem between her and the necromancers, as well. That would put a damper on her trip here, no doubt. And asking Aahva to translate for her - Aahva the liar - did not seem to be a very good prospect.
So anyway, she had no idea what Kita was saying. It was apparent that it was about her, but it could be anything, at this point. In fact, Elise was properly confused and distubed by her fit of laughter. What in ANY form of hell was going on here? She had no idea what anybody was saying until Aahva finally spoke to her in common.
"I simply noticed you'd been doing it a while. Still, I don't know what you're saying to your friend, but if you want to keep her, you'd best be telling her NOT to attack. I am not in the mood..."
Really, she was tiring of his games. For a moment, he had seemed interesting, but he stepped back into territories of annoying, and she didn't like it. Making him her undead and skinless slave was looking more and more appealing, at this point.
Mimicking Aahva, Kita crossed her own arms, shifting her weight to the side as she listened to his excuse. When he leaned in her eyes narrowed, curious what he was up to now.
Who the hell did he think he was saying she wanted to cry?
"Oh, that is just great Aahva. You're sitting over here crying like a pansy and yet somehow it's me that wants to?" He had struck a nerve with the short-tempered girl and it was clear with every action she took.
Agitated Kita flicked her eyes towards the foreigner and tried to read what she could from the conversation the two were having. Again she was only able to pick out a few words here and there but none that made what she was saying any clearer.
Setting her sights on Aahva again it was clear Kita was over the entire situation. "I came over here because it looked like you were in trouble! Yet somehow I feel like I've been dragged into some kind of shitstorm you created."
Bending down Kita grabbed some mud and quickly threw it at Aahva, hoping she could at least hit one eye or just his face in general with it.
"Fuck you Aahva!" Kita then looked at the foreigner and shot her a smartass smile. "Don't come crying to me when this thing turns you into some kind of twisted up decoration for a table somewhere."
"Aahva... idiot. Aahva... dumb. Aahva... gay." Funny how the first words Aahva had tried to teach Kita in common were curse words. Seemed so perfectly fitting now. Regardless, Ankita was happy that she would at least be able to relay her own message to the girl.
"Ankita." Kita then pointed at herself before extending a hand towards the foreigner.
[OOC: By Eckhart's request, I'm going next.]
Okay, actually...Elise thought she might be able to interpret this one. These two were arguing, and it was about her - obviously - but until now the meaning had been just out of reach. So, what was it? Well, clearly, Aahva had been trying to get his friend - the one he said could hit much harder than her - to attack the 'scary necromancer'. Well...she was a scary necromancer, pretty much on purpose, but that wasn't the point. The point is that the girl must've been saying 'Are you crazy? I can't fight someone using dark magic!', or words to that effect.
And that was when Aahva got a face full of mud.
It was a sudden and...oddly satisfying...to see him get a splat in the face. It even put a smile on Elise's face. Maybe she should kick up a sandblast and kick up ALL the mud into him... He fell over into it, so perhaps it was just for the best. However, before she could put her free hand out to do that, the other girl came over and introduced herself. This was...strange. She'd been muttering in Common. Were they now bonded by 'Aahva can be a real idiot' now? The necromancer paused, shrugged, then took her hand.
"Elise. Do you speak much Common?"
"Shit."
Aahva had forgotten just how quick his friend's temper could be, and she ended up throwing mud in his face. Grunting in pain as the sludge got into his eyes, the boy stumbled back and fell into a puddle. "Shit, damnit, cocksucker!" he thought angrily as he tried to wipe the mud out of his face.
Finally able to see again, he saw the worst possible scenario- Kita and Elise had joined forces. "Oh, come on!" he whined. "Now she'll never-"
Aahva suddenly raised his hand over his nose and held his breath. "No! I don't want them to know!" Finally, he felt the urge subside, and continued.
"Now she's- *ATCHOO*
Nose runny, Aahva slammed his fist into the mud angrily. "Fuck! This is so gay, today is the fucking worst!"