Private Tales Paradise Awaits

[Jezal]

Aiyana's desperate plea drowned in the several raised voices around them. The villagers stomped on the earth or porches to their homes, but there was no rhythm.

{"I battle now?"} he said to Aiyana, his voice, too, losing out to the tribespeople, "Why?" he shouted.

The villagers had come between Aiyana and Jezal and shepherded the latter towards the pit. Hands clawed at Jezal until his grimy cloak and tunic were removed, exposing his feeble build. His thin, lanky physique did little to inspire.

Jarrah took his place in the pit as Jezal was shown a rack of weapons - mostly swords and spears. But the outsider shook his head and held up his hands before he was urged into the pit, facing off against the towering warrior. The tribe's warchief spared a single glance at Jezal and spat in the dirt. He wielded his favored spear with a broad and curved blade at the end.

Jezal's lips curled up in a pitiful smile, as he could tell with a single glance of his own that Jarrah wielded his weapon as if it were an extension of himself. For how many years has he fended off beast and outsider alike?

All around them, the villagers began a slow, thumping chant that sped up with each repetition until all of their voices mixed into a single cry. Meanwhile, Jarrah started a ritual of his own.

As did Jezal, who sat on his knees, closed his eyes to shut the world around him out and began to draw deep, deep breaths of air. His withered form livened, if only by the slightest of margins, and the outsider's senses grew sharp enough to feel the beat of Aiyana's heart within the crowd. He turned his head towards her and offered a solemn expression.

{"Ancestors!"} Jarrah opened his arms to the sky, his wingspan stretching wide, and flexed the muscles he wore like armor, {"Give me strength and favor!"}

Jezal stood at last, and in the next breath, Jarrah had closed the distance between them.

 

[Trista]

{"Fight well, and you will earn the respect of the people!"} but please Gods don't kill him. She didn't dare utter the words, knowing the mere suggestion that Jarrah could be bested by a scrawny looking outsider would not go down well with her people - but she'd seen what he'd done to a man with a single punch, Jezal wasn't an ordinary man.

Aiyana shoved at the men who found it necessary to hold her back, men who were clearly finding some amusement in her predicament.

{"I hope you said your goodbyes, Aiya. He doesn't belong here - you know that."} Jarrah's younger cousin smirked.

"Ah eat shit and die." she growled back, much to his surprise as she wriggled out of his grip. She managed to weave her way through to the front, though arms far stronger than hers barricaded her should she try to intervene. All she could do was scowl, and then watch as Jezal fell to his knees. Her heart pounded hard and fast in her chest, her expression shifting from anger to worry as he looked up at her like that. Was it resignation, or apology for what he was about to do?

She flinched as Jarrah's voice boomed thunderously and she looked toward him, pressing against the arms that penned her in.

{"Jarrah! Please, be careful!"} she called, drawing a look of rage from the chieftan, though it quickly melted to confident amusement before he made his move. Jarrah, like all of her people, moved with the agility of a jungle cat, and in this jungle he was King. The weapon whistled through the air as he made his first strike, low and sweeping slash from hip to shoulder.

 

[Jezal]

Jezal's master had been a short, slant-eyed man. An artist, the apprentice had never bested his master. Not a single time.

He could see things well, the outsider, and read the distance between himself and Jarrah surprisingly well. To the onlookers, it appeared as if Jarrah's spear would have cleft him wide open, but a timely drop of Jezal's knee saw the spearhead's edge harmlessly slice air as he evaded a killing blow by a hair.

"When you see your own weakness, only then can you begin to sense the weakness of others. It's like being carried by a wave in an ocean storm. Or, for instance, becoming like a single drop of water that sends ripples throughout your surroundings. That is the Shape of All Things."

His master's words would come at strange times.

Evade, evade, evade. Jezal found himself in a trance as Jarrah's blows would narrowly miss, the former's motions being as minimal as possible. Then, as the war chief's frustrations swelled, he swung wide, and Jezal stepped into the opening to slap his palm against the warrior's belly, sending him crashing into the pit's wall.

Jezal exhaled a hiss of breath and watched as Jarrah rose to his feet with little difficulty.

"Come on," the outsider scoffed, exasperated, "You couldn't stay down?"

 

[Trista]

The crowd's yips and chants in favour of their chieftain paused for a moment of shock the moment Jarrah collided with the wall. Stunned expressions contorted to outrage, and the sounds and jeers they struck up as the warrior stood again were far more infused with ire and indignation. Aiyana's mouth fell open and her fingers pressed to her lips as she watched, her dark eyes glistening. If either one of them were seriously injured, if either of them died, it would be entirely her fault. If Jarrah lost this fight, would her people forgive her?

{"Stop! Stop this!"} Aiyana demanded as though her voice held any sort of sway. Not only was it lost in the crowd's fury, she knew Jarrah would not stop, not now that he had been humiliated by being the first to fall. This was no longer a lesson but a challenge, and he had never turned his back on a challenge in his life.

It was quite clear from the look that the chieftain gave the outsider that the man's strength had been something of an unpleasant surprise. He was not as weak as he'd appeared, and Jarrah had made the mistake of underestimating his abilities. Jarrah laughed as he gathered himself, an attempt at brushing off his embarrassment as little more than a test, but the bruises were already forming on his stomach and back.

Herculean muscles flexed as Jarrah rolled his shoulders and neck, now studying Jezal with a little more interest as he circled around him. His next strike was that of a viper, a quick step and stab of his spear at his opponent's side. Aiya flinched and squeezed her eyes shut.

 

[Jezal]

A second move to follow the first, which Jezal parried with the back of his hand (if Jarrah had been shocked, it caused no hesitation), came as a downward slash from the opposite side. Jezal backpedaled, evading Jarrah's subsequent rush of blows, and found himself on the back foot.

Evading one fatal blow after another was all he could do until his heel hit the dirt wall that encircled them. He'd worked up a healthy sweat across his brow, not because the duel had been incredibly tiring, but because so many close-calls had taken more of a mental toll than physical.

Jezal ducked under a blow that would have unburdened him of his head and rolled forward, scissoring Jarrah's legs between his and bringing the behemoth down in a swift move. He was quick to rise to his feet, and as he readied himself to pounce on the war chief, Jarrah was quicker to thrust his weapon out.

It caught Jezal's side, drawing a great deal of blood, but the outsider grasped the polearm and twisted it from Jarrah's grip, tossing it aside before mounting the warrior, preventing him from using his mighty strength to its fullest.

 

[Trista]

The gasps and groans of those around her told her that the fight wasn't over and her eyes opened only a fraction, ready to close again at any moment. Jarrah was being ruthless, likely more so to claw back his pride. He'd likely expected the duel to last less than a minute, and as the seconds went on the chieftain was growing more and more frustrated.

Furious jeers rang out as Jarrah was once again taken to the ground, though their anger was allayed for a fleeting moment as blood was taken in payment. Aiya flinched, but as she watched the weapon being tossed aside and Jezal pinning Jarrah to the ground, she moved. Throwing an elbow into the lip of the man at her side, she pulled herself over the wall and into the pit, stopping a safe distance away.

{"Enough!"} Aiyana's voice broke through the crowd this time. {"Has he not proven himself worthy enough by now?} she frowned at Jarrah. The chieftain had been disarmed, and she knew well that his fists paled in comparison to the outsider's. If this was a fist fight, Jarrah would lose.

 

[Jezal]

The two had wrestled for tens of seconds before Aiyana interrupted the duel. Good timing, the outsider would think, as Jarrah had just eyed the fresh wound on his side and was likely to take advantage of that. That being said, shiny crimson flowed from the warrior's nose and cut on his lip.

Fist reared back to strike, Jezal instead lowered his arm and pushed off of Jarrah's chest, taking a few cautious steps back as the man rose.

Grateful was how the outsider felt as he spared the young woman a glance. He could leave a few nice scratches on Jarrah in his current condition but would lose the duel if it went on much longer. His heaving, sweaty form was telling of the outcome, and the wound on his side bled without end. The war chief, though, had boundless stamina.

{"Keola Ki'lai,"} Jarrah announced the duel's conclusion after a long pause and addressed the crowd, {"The outsider is welcome to step foot in the village!"}

And he turned to Aiyana, {"But he will be watched."}

 

[Trista]

Aiya's eyes quickly scanned over both men to assess their wounds. The wound on Jezal's side was of most concern, but she would wait for Jarrah's decision before acting on it.

A breath she hadn't realised that she'd been holding tumbled from her lips, her shoulders visibly falling with relief as the chieftain spoke. There were mixed responses within the crowd, some cheered, some were disappointed that there wouldn't be any more bloodshed, but all of them now took cautious interest in the outsider.

Jarrah was still clearly upset with her for bringing him here at all, but he'd withstood his time in the pit and so, the Gods had deemed him worthy. She knew that he was still her responsibility, and that it'd be unwise to let him out of her sights any time soon.

She dipped her chin to Jarrah and stepped forward to press a guiding hand to Jezal's back to lead him from the pit. {"Come with me. You need stitches."} she said calmly. {"Then we eat."}

 

[Jezal]

{"Food?"} Jezal's head canted at the word, like a curious puppy. It was as if he had no regard for his injury.

He could have begun to explain that the stitches wouldn't be necessary, but it was best they get to a private place first. She would see, eventually, and words would be useless.

She guided him to her home. It was a modest, airy hut that smelled of incense and herbs.

The moment of truth arrived. At her request, Jezal removed his ragged tunic, and as the native woman leaned down to begin cleaning the smeared blood across his side, his wound had already begun to close itself. Upon even closer inspection, she may see as fibers of muscle seemed to regrow and reconnect in a writhing, disgusting way.

He had expected her reaction and just smiled at the girl.

{"... Food?"}

 

[Trista]

{"Yes. Food. Soon."} she told him, ignoring those who stopped to stare as they made their way through the little village to her hut. Once there she quickly set about filling a wash-bowl with water and a fresh cloth. It took her a moment of cleaning the blood away to realise that the bleeding had stopped, her expression pausing as her dark eyes watched his flesh knit itself back together.

Her mouth fell open and she looked up at him, frowning at his smile and quickly getting to her feet to back away from him and into a shelf of plants and ointments, stumbling over the basin on the way.

{"What are you?"} she asked with a glance toward the doorway, her voice hushed enough to avoid drawing the attention from anyone outside. If any of them saw they'd drag her into the pit next. What the hell had she brought into their village?

 

[Jezal]

{"I am normal man. Promise!"} Jezal appeared entirely unbothered that she'd backed away so frantically, even tripping in the process. He just sat there, slightly hunched forward, and proceeded to continue with cleaning around the healing wound.

{"I this way for... many years,"} He wore a melancholic smile, "It's like a curse."

 

[Trista]

Her eyes narrowed with accusation as she watched him clean the healing flesh, her hand dragging up through her hair. She huffed at that sombre smile of his and her features softened into something like intrigue.

"A coorse?.." she repeated, butchering the word with her accent. "Jezal..can not die?" she asked with a squint of incredulity. She glanced again to the doorway of her hut and hurried back to kneel in front of Jezal with a long strip of cloth which she promptly started to wrap around him.

{"You were wounded. You must look wounded. My people won't like this."} she told him with a shake of her head. {"They'll probably try to burn you alive to see if you're a God."} she snorted and paused before looking back up at him with a quirk of a brow. {"You are, not a God, are you?"}...

 

[Jezal]

"Can't die, can't age," he nodded.

Jezal lifted an arm for Aiyana.

{"Yes, and I act wounded,"} the man scoffed, {"Burn not good. Will not kill me. Bad knights try before."}

A bit of mental gymnastics for her last question, {"I am just a man."}

No, what he possessed was hardly Godhood compared to some of the sorcerers of the current day and age. Mighty warmongers and rulers and soldiers roamed the lands boasting unfathomable power. How little the people of this island knew.

 

[Trista]

Aiyana hissed at him as she wrapped the cloth around his back. {"You are not just a man. What sort of man heals like that and cannot be killed?"} she grumbled, wrapping his side three times before knotting the cloth a little tighter than necessary.

She sat on her knees for a moment, her eyes studying his face with uncertainty before she let out a long huff. "Jezal be good, yes?" she asked and shoved herself to her feet.

"Food. Eat." she muttered, and turned to lead the way along the stilted walkways that led down onto a sandy cove, the largest of the crystalline pools in front of it and the mountain behind, providing shelter against the elements. It was where the village ate and drank and danced. They celebrated lives and mourned their dead and everything in between on this little cove, and it'd remained the life of the village.

There were options to eat today. A fresh haul of fish had been brought up the day before the outsiders had come ashore, and an unfortunate boar had wandered into the village some time in the night. The meats were cooking on spits and there were many different fruits and vegetables.

"Food. Eat." Aiya turned to Jezal with a small smile and gestured toward it. Many had stopped what they were doing to look over in curiosity. Some children shuffled closer whilst some mothers held theirs back. Aiya's gaze shifted around them.

{"By the Gods have you all nothing better to do? Jezal is a friend, please honour our people and welcome him as such!"} she folded her arms with a furrowing brow and a shake of her head, and everyone quieted for a moment.

{"Welcome, Jezal"} a child said first, and the greeting quickly spread until all were comfortable enough to go back to whatever they'd been doing. Aiya smirked and turned her attention to the young boy and girl who ran to her with their arms wide, and she caught them as they leapt at her.

{"Aiya! What happened to you?"} said the boy. {"We were worried sick!"} added the girl, and Aiyana laughed fondly.

{"I am alright. Thanks to our new friend."} she smiled and looked up. {"This is Jezal. Jezal, this is Koa and Lowanna, my sister's children."} she introduced.

 

[Jezal]

Jezal innocently pouted and shrugged his shoulders at Aiyana. There was a point to be had, sure. But it was no stranger than a knight calling forth the sun's wrath.

"Ack!" He hissed as the girl tightened the dressing over his healing wound, "Just because it won't kill me doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, damn it."

And tenderly rubbing his side, Jezal watched her stand up, his brow curving up.

{"I always good,"} he grinned with straight white teeth.

He obediently followed Aiyana at her heels, not unlike a puppy strung along by the scent of a treat, and remained behind her as they entered the cove. He offered a shy wave after all the greetings subsided.

{"Thank you,"} Jezal answered the villagers. Perhaps taken aback by his response in their native tongue, most of the villagers seemed content with his presence in the heart of their village. He studied how they seemed to mingle around the small feast and grab food as they pleased. Some would even grab for others, and he warmly smiled as he watched friends place food on each others' plates.

"O-h-h!" Jezal exclaimed, turning to face Aiyana's niece and nephew with a smile, {"Good names! Nice to meet you. Please excuse."}

The smell of food had finally drifted over to him, and unable to fight the urge, the outsider rushed over to fix himself a plate.

 

[Trista]

Aiyana's lips curled as Jezal gave an impatient greeting before hurrying off to get himself something to eat, those around him now taking to offering him different bits and pieces of food.

{"How does he speak like we do?"} Lo asked as she climbed up into Aiya's arms.

{"He sounds funny, though."} Koa added with a tilt of his head. Aiya laughed, ruffling her fingers through her nephew's hair which he promptly fixed.

{"He learns quick."} Aiya shrugged. She'd picked up a fair few words and phrases of his language already but Jezal's mind was like a damned sea sponge. Another trait that set him apart from 'normal' men. {"Come, lets eat."} she grinned, following after Jezal.

Her greeting now was far warmer than it had been earlier thanks to the gradual acceptance of Jezal. She gathered some food and took it to sit in a large circular pit that had been dug into the sand. The seats that had been carved were covered with pelts, and a large unlit firepit sat in the centre.

{"Fen, Rama."} Aiyana greeted the two men already there, Fen's laughter ending abruptly as she arrived. Rama smiled warmly and offered her a greeting. He was younger than she was by a few years, and Fen older by the same amount. She was used to Fen's scowling. He was always far too serious, and he'd shown interest in Aiyana for some time now and didn't believe she'd had the right to refuse him when she had. If it hadn't been for Jarrah, Fen might have gotten what he'd wanted, but he hadn't and it'd left him with a bitter taste in his mouth.

{"Someone piss in your potatoes, Fen?"} Aiya asked blandly as she tore into some meat.

The male snarled and grabbed his dagger, suddenly pointing it toward Jezal. {"He is not welcome to eat with us."}

Aiyana's dark eyes slowly rose as she chewed, drifting between the two men with a quiet sigh. {"He is not eating with you, he's eating with me. And he is quite welcome to. If you have a problem with it, take it up with Jarrah."} she said calmly, offering a brief smile as she could tell her answer only served to irritate Fen even more.

 

[Jezal]

Jezal, too busy digging into his food, paid Fen little mind. Perhaps if he hadn't been so wanting of food, he'd speak for himself. It was better this way. Aiyana wasn't a weak-willed woman, that much was clear.

He raised the grilled leg of some animal up to his mouth and sank his teeth into it. Hot juice wet his thick, scraggly beard, and in mere moments he'd cleaned the bone entirely.

"I need a shave," He said to Aiyana between bites, {"Shave face hair."}

Jezal ignoring Fen seemed to irritate the man further, but one thing was evident, and that he wouldn't defy the warchief's word.

{"My name is Jezal,"} he said to the two men, looking each in the eye, {"I come from across the water. Land far away."}

 

[Trista]

Aiyana ate far more elegantly than Jezal did, and she cast him a side look as he devoured his food like a starved animal. She wondered just how long it’d been since he’d had a decent meal, though by the looks of him, it’d been a while.

Her brow quirked as he mentioned his need of a shave and she gestured to her food, quite clearly irked by his new demands. {“Can I eat first?”} she asked, though it wasn’t up for debate. The reason Aiyana didn’t have a man of her own was because she enjoyed her freedom to do as she pleased. The men in this tribe disliked it, not that she cared. That she was speaking for this strange male was bad enough, but that she was apparently looking after his needs was enough to spark an entirely new fury in Fen’s eyes.

The male stood as Jezal spoke to the pair, his knuckles paling with the tightening grip on his weapon. {“Don’t speak to me, mainlander. If it were up to me you would not speak at all, let alone the language of my people.”} Fen growled and looked to Aiya. {“You will teach him no more, Aiya. He is not one of us. He does not belong here.”} he scowled at her, but Aiya stood.

{“I will teach him if I choose to. Now fuck off and let me eat in peace, or shall I let Jarrah know that you overstep him again?”} He took another step at the threat. He was a foot taller, but Aiya stood her ground even as he reached for her throat.

{“Enough!”} Jarrah’s voice interrupted from nearby, but Fen’s eyes continued to burn into her as his hand lowered and he stepped back. Another look of disgust was shot in Jezal’s direction before Fen turned to leave, the other following behind.

{“Men.”} Aiya spat, muttering as she sat herself back down. {“If anyone else has a problem – I advise you keep it to yourselves!”} her voice rose and the encampment fell quiet for a brief moment before the murmurings resumed.

 

[Jezal]

Silent as they bickered, Jezal's hands were not to be stopped, and he continued eating while keeping a wary eye on the two. Then, as he and Aiyana were left alone, Jezal swallowed a mouthful of succulent meat to speak.

{"He is like kumquat juice,"} stated Jezal, {"Thank you for standing for me,"}

He smiled at the young woman.

{"I should learn the ways of here,"} he said, {"Too stranger, I am. Cause much offense, if not smart."}

 

[Trista]

The stoic expression she wore could only be held for so long. As he smiled at her, her lips twisted in effort to contain the laughter that built in her chest, but there was little she could do to stop it bursting free, nor the beaming smile of amusement that softened her features.

{"Yes, and perhaps some more of our words, too."} she smirked with a shake of her head and a deep sigh.

{"I will teach you. You met Jarrah's challenge and gained the respect of most, but there are always more who will challenge even Jarrah. Men are like animals. They want power, and those who are weak will die. My mother taught me to stand up for myself, to be stronger than the men in other ways. You must show your worth."} she explained as she ate, hoping he would pick up enough to understand what she was saying.

 

[Jezal]

{"You—plenty strong!"} the outsider smiled at her.

She was right. There was much for him to learn, especially if he was stuck here for the foreseeable future. There was no linking arms and skipping back off to the mainland with the Bergsons. Until he had the strength to manage for himself, he'd have to take in as much knowledge of this strange island as he could.

{"And how would an outsider show his worth?"}

 

[Trista]

She paused her chewing and swallowed an audible mouthful of food as he smiled at her. It was an unusual compliment from a male, and one that caught her so off guard that it took her a moment to smile back. "Thank you." she said, her accent thick around the common tongue.

{"Lots of things. You learn our ways, you contribute. You hunt, you work, earn your keep. You help protect our home from the outsiders. You teach us about them."} she pointed toward the west with a hard jab of her index finger and an angry scowl on her face.

 

[Jezal]

{"I try,"} Jezal solemnly nodded.

After they'd eaten their fill, Jezal followed Aiyana to return their dishes before they made off for her home. At this point, the man had become giddy at the prospect of a bath and he'd begun to bombard his guide with a slew of questions.

{"Do you have a blade for shaving? And where will I be sleeping? Will I share your roof for now?"}

 

[Trista]

{"My roof??"} Aiya snorted with a glance at him. {"Not unless you want to make an even larger target of yourself. It's.. Women don't share their roofs with men unless they are bound to them. I am not bound, nor do I have any wish to be."} she shrugged.

{"There are one or two empty huts."} she added, though decided against explaining why as she stepped back inside her hut. From a beam of wood above, a long golden tail flicked and curled as the strange creature that it belonged to woke, staring down at them with wide, brown eyes. It had the face of a tiny bear, but by the way it hung itself upside down and reached out with its paws to take the large chunk of melon offered by Aiyana, it was clear that it was no such thing.

{"Hello Mika."} she smirked as the creature made light work of the fruit. Aiya went about her hut gathering fresh sheets of cloth, lumps of soap and a small though incredibly sharp blade that she used predominantly for opening oysters and de-scaling fish. It'd do, she was sure..

{"Here."} she smiled, thrusting a small bundle at him. {"Come, I'll show you the springs. It's not a far climb.. And remember.. You're supposed to be injured. Don't let anyone see that you're not."} she reminded firmly with a light jab of her finger into the man's side.

 

[Jezal]

Jezal nodded. It was a common enough cultural practice in many tribes that he'd seen.

{"At least you not forced to have man."}

He stood in the doorway and watched in amazement as the tiny animal energetically skittered about the hut, using every piece of furniture and the wooden beams holding up the walls and roof as its playground.

{"No ever seen animal like that."} He said as she pushed the supplies into his stomach and jerked as she jabbed his side, which had fully healed during their meal. {"Thanks. I know."}

Jezal's overgrown beard wiggled as he frowned. It was one thing for him to act injured while sitting down for a meal, but he wasn't such a talented actor that he could appear fatigued from a climb. He kept the worry to himself and just hoped they'd be alone.

{"I ready go."}

****​

Ultimately, his worries were for nothing. As they reached the top of the steep path, Jezal had worked up a healthy sweat and his breathing was heavy.

{"You said... no far..."} The outsider stopped for a moment to rest his heavy legs. A thick screen of large leaves separated them from the cool, refreshing spring on the hilltop.