Private Tales Shifting Sands

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
"Hard to sleep without the stars." His tail flicked behind him as he continued to practice, shapes and forms rising up from the sand with greater ease. While his first statuette had been a painfully slow process, his creations now rose easily for him, hours of practice now on display.

After the break in his demonstrations, Vulpesen stretched and started to stand and put his things away, cleaning up from their hours in the dome. Finally clasping his cloak back around his shoulder while his tail beat the sand form its lower half, he turned to respond to the concerns of his continued education. "Solid stone I suppose will be my issue. I can keep sand bound together, but how would I draw something from the ground? I suppose I would use the magic to shear material rather than bond it."

Seteta
 
Seteta simply had to redress, since she didn't carry any luggage with her other than a few items in a small leather pouch she carried at her waist. As Vulpesen dressed and gathered up his own things, she shook out the blankets and neatly folded them.

As Vulpesen asked his question, Seteta finally released the magic she'd been holding to keep the dome up for nearly an entire day. Her sigh of relief was audible as the sand walls collapsed around them.

The desert wind was still brisk, but the sand itself had settled and the sun was high in the sky, though it was still morning. Seteta quietly stretched and lifted her face up to the sunlight.

She finally turned back to Vulpesen with a smile, and gestured eastward, and they began to walk again.

"Solid stone and sand are similar, at least for me," she spoke. "Ultimately, they are made of the same things, although I find it easier to break solid stone apart than to make sand hold together. And it's impossible to restore broken stone to its original state."

Seteta fell into quiet thought for a moment, pondering how best to word her answer to Vulpesen's question about drawing things from the ground.

"For me it's a matter of... exchange, if that makes sense. Whether you're trying to draw something out of the ground that is part of the earth, or something else, you need it to move. To exchange places with the earth in its path."

She scowled lightly, unsatisfied with her explanation, and halted. She knelt down, motioning for Vulpesen to join her, and she buried her hand in the sand. But she didn't touch any magic.

"It's like this," she said, flipping her hand over so that she could push her fingers up through the surface of the sand. "I'm no altering the earth or its structure. It's just being nudged out of the way. The concept is the same with solid stone."

Vulpesen
 
Following Seteta, he kept his eyes on the horizon, though his ears flicked as much towards her as they could to catch every word of her explanation. It made sense to him, particularly on the ease of shearing as opposed to holding stone together. Once separated, the deed was done as opposed to needing the constant concentration.

Kneeling down to watch the demonstration, he watched the sand pour over her fingers, doing his best to visualize what would happen if he tried to pull rock from a stone surface. "So the land needs to move around it, become less solid. I suppose a makeshift sword would get a tad stuck on the crossguard." A small smile touched his lips as a new visual entered his mind, one of him or some other hapless geomancer tugging at a bladeless hilt while some threat bears down on them. Morbid to be sure, but it wasn't the first time that the possibility of impending doom had gotten a chuckle from him.

"And therein lies another exchange. I go from not worrying about sand getting in the way to not worrying about if my construct is going to stay together."
 
Seteta laughed softly at Vulpesen's observations. "It's best to work with the natural... inclination of something, if that makes sense. Creating that dome of sand to shelter us was strenuous because sand doesn't want to be solid. If we'd been nearing an outcropping of rocks, I could have made a shelter that didn't require me to maintain the magic, because boulders exist as a solid form."

She stood again, brushing the sand from her hands, and they continued on their way.

"Now, tell me what some purposes are that you might use earth manipulation for. Try to think of some that might not be so obvious."

Vulpesen
 
He nodded to Seteta's suggestion, rolling it around his head in a moment as he took in the rest of her words. Between sensing the land around them, creating a shelter, and the theorizing of pulling objects from the ground, he felt that he task for him might be a bit more difficult than expected. Thinking on the environments he had fought in, he thought about tricks that he had wished he could do but had found himself limited from. Thankfully, it wasn't long before something came to him.

"Mobility. My claws are made for the trees of my home. They also help on the mast of a ship, but a sheer rock face will leave me no more capable than any other person when it comes to upward motion." Quickly leaning down to scoop some sand into his hand, he fortified the clump with magic, leaving a simple orb in his grip. Then, to demonstrate his idea, he took a finger and simply pushed into it, creating an indent for his clawed fingertip. "I don't imagine that'll be a problem from here on out. A minor thing to do but something that can give me the upper hand."
 
Seteta smiled and nodded as Vulpesen showed his idea. "It will be easier to accomplish than with the sand," she said. "Because if you're climbing a rock face, all you have to do is create the indent, not just the surface."

They continued to walk, though at a much slower pace than the previous days of their travel. Seteta herself was unsure how much of it was because she was simply tired after holding up that dome of sand with her magic for nearly an entire day, or because she was finding herself reluctant to bid farewell to Vulpesen quite so soon.

"There's more you can do with earth manipulation," she continued. "I have a specific thing in mind, but I want to see what else you might come up with."
 
"I figured as much. I've a feeling however that solid stone is generally going to be easier on the mind than sand when it comes to holding something together." Once more he began to think. He hadn't a clue what might come to her mind or what she might consider obvious or clever. "A key. Place sand in a lock and use it to move the pins and cylinders. Might be easier than a pick if you can sense what you're doing within the mechanism." Perhaps it was a bit of an illicit use, but it was certainly a use that he didn't think was particularly associated with geomancers.

Seteta
 
Seteta nodded. "If possible, it's always best to work with a type of earth or stone that is more naturally inclined to what you're trying to use it for. Sand can be fluid, but that means it's trickier to convince it to be solid. Marble or granite, though, will keep a shape once you convince it to take that shape."

Vulpesen's next idea was definitely unique.

"I've never had a need to pick a lock," she laughed quietly. "I honestly would have never thought of that."

The wind had calmed fully now, and the sun was bright in the sky again at last after the sand had settled in its new places once more. Seteta walked leisurely, her hand brushing against Vulpesen's arm from time to time.

"The trick I'm thinking of is one I've not seen many other geomancers use at all," she eventually said. "It does involve another element, but you don't need to be magically inclined with that element. I suspect, since you seem to have the ability to use all forms of elemental magic, it will be much easier for you to manage than it is for me.

"Earth can be used to help purify water," she continued. "With the right combination of sand and clay, and using earth manipulation similarly to how I did with the sand dome, you can make a net, of sorts, to run water through. It's not perfect, but you can use the magic to attract sediment and impurities to the clay and sand you control. The water might still need to be sterilized, though."

Vulpesen
 
He smiled brightly at her admittance of new knowledge. Such was the case of folks who came with different stories of their past. While she had never saw the need, there had been more than a few times that he had cursed his fingers for not working faster at such a task.

Her own usage of the magic came as a small surprise to him as well, making him tilt his head as he thought about it. "We always boiled it. Burned away disease and minor magics pretty well. Nice to know that there's an option if we're out of firewood or other heat sources."

He had yet to get any talent of water magic beyond a few tremors and sensing the occasional fish, but he figured that with some extra practice, he could become pretty proficient in what she was explaining. "Seems both of us have been full of surprises on this lil trick of ours. You've actually been far better company than a whispering voice in my head. My patron would have driven me completely insane by now."

Seteta
 
"I am always excellent company," Seteta smirked. "But I also feel like I have a decided... physical advantage over your patron."

The continued to walk, and Seteta pointed out some of the sparse desert vegetation, telling Vulpesen which ones were good indicators of groundwater, then simply passing the time in conversation. As the sun began to sink low in the sky, her steps slowed. When she'd invited Vulpesen to travel with her, to learn from her, she hadn't expected to actually enjoy his company as much as she did.

She was, inexplicably, both eager to continue her journey to Fal'Addas... and loathe to part from Vulpesen's company. She was going to miss the conversations and quiet companionship she'd found with him. Just one more night, and part of tomorrow...

"Is there anything else that you feel you need to learn about earth manipulation?" Seteta asked quietly. "I've tried to be a thorough teacher, but this is my first time to teach someone entirely from the ground up." She smirked a little at the pun she made, but her voice was a little melancholy.

"Depending on what else you might want to cover, we can focus on that this evening and tomorrow, or we can just... relax, without having to worry about a sandstorm."

Whether that relaxation was simply conversation and stories, or more along the lines of how they'd passed the time waiting on the sandstorm, she'd leave it up to Vulpesen.

In the distance, the sight of the final oasis made her smile. "Finally, a proper oasis to show you," Seteta said. "If you like swimming, there will definitely be a pool large enough."

Vulpesen
 
Taking her point, Vulpesen placed an arm around Seteta's waist as they traversed the sands his tail swaying joyfully behind him. "That you do," he agreed. He had heard tales of warlocks who had shared certain intimacies with their patrons, pacts form out of bonds from more than transactional business. His own was most certainly not among their number.

With every bit of survival knowledge, Vulpesen drank it in just as eagerly as he had the magical teachings that Seteta had shown him. Some of the knowledge, he had already learned from his limited campaigning in the region, but even the most well prepared army, if unfamiliar with the terrain wouldn't have nearly the breadth of knowledge as the local populace. Some day, he knew he'd return home and he only hoped he would remember what she told him so that perhaps he could pass it down to others. Inwardly, he couldn't help but wonder at just how little she realized she was doing. For now, Vulpesen was simply another man in the world, a lonely warlock wandering in search of knowledge, far from anyone who's debt might be of consequence. But, behind him stood a fae and an ancient institution. Perhaps one day such favors would come to her benefit, thought he hoped she never needed them.

"I think," he started, his tail snaking around to join his arm around her, "that we've earned a bit of rest. Especially with you holding up against last night's storm. You've laid the foundation. I'm sure I can build from there." His ears flicked at her melancholy tone, and he knew that it was a feeling that echoed within himself. Such company was rare for him to find nowadays, and a part of him considered the idea of offering his furthered companionship. Of course, she had her own destination, and already he knew that Varos was working on his next. Their deal was far from complete, and thus his path was not yet his to choose. "I also think that a nice dip in cool water would do us some good. As much as I favor the heat, the sun out here is brutal. Not exactly the nice canopy shaded environment I'm used to."
 
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Seteta smiled softly as Vulpesen's arm slipped around her, and again a little while later when his tail did as well. She softly stroked at his fur with her fingers where the end of his tail curled around her waist.

"I just hope I haven't missed anything vital in that foundation," Seteta said with quiet laughter, then smiled and led him toward the oasis. "A cool dip does sound lovely."

This oasis was large enough to support a small village, where several families--both Abtati elves and Kaliti humans--maintained small groves of olive trees and date trees. Rich, lush vegetation surrounded a large, spring-fed pond. Seteta led Vulpesen around the pond, to a more secluded area, keeping him on lesser-used paths so he didn't have to hid his true form.

She smiled as they broke through the trees to the pond's shore. "Here," she said, crouching down to press her hand to the earth and setting a ward that would warn her if anyone stepped within sight of them. "Now we can bathe undisturbed."

Before them lay what could almost be described as a quiet, miniature cove. Palm trees overhung the water, and there was a brick retaining wall built into the shore with steps that led down into the cool, clear water. Seteta released Vulpesen's hand, unwrapped her headscarf and folded it before setting it aside in a spot where it would stay dry. She sat down and pulled her shoes off, then stood and came to stand with Vulpesen again.

With a gleam in her eye, she leaned in and softly kissed him. "Let's relax," she said softly.


Vulpesen
 
"I doubt there'll be any such issues. I'm sure more skills will come to me with practice and time," Vulpesen offered, his tail fluffing slightly at the touch. As they approached the oasis, his smile only broadened at the sight of the cool sparkling water. This was more what he imagined when he thought of the life giving oases in the desert wherein people could gather and protect themselves from the harsh environment.

Following Seteta around to somewhere more private, he gave her a grateful squeeze. "Truth is, my secret is more or less useless now that you know. Though, should other people learn what I am, I suppose that would create a minor liability for the future." Even a single person knowing that which gave him power could have a pronounced effect of his magic.

Joining her at the pond, Vulpesen rose a brow at her spell crafting, kicking off his boots and unclasping his cloak as he watched. "Alright. Perhaps a less concentrative alarm would be nice to know." His tunic followed the rest of his clothes as Seteta removed her scarf and shoes before rejoining him. Welcoming her kiss with one of his own, he slipped his arms around her. "Agreed," he assented, his mouth turning into a fanged smile as he further prepared himself for the cool water.
 
"No one will learn of your secret from me," Seteta said softly, reaching over to squeeze his hand.

Vulpesen said:
"Alright. Perhaps a less concentrative alarm would be nice to know." His tunic followed the rest of his clothes as Seteta removed her scarf and shoes before rejoining him. Welcoming her kiss with one of his own, he slipped his arms around her. "Agreed," he assented, his mouth turning into a fanged smile as he further prepared himself for the cool water.
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She giggled softly, slipping out of his arms. "The alarm ward is quite simple," she said as she pulled her clothes off. "It's the same concept as the sand dome from the other day, making a weave with your magic between the earth. But in this case, you're not altering anything. Just... tying your awareness to it, so you know if something approaches. How far you can extend it out depends on your own strength."

When she finished speaking, a cool breeze wafted over the surface of the water, and Seteta found herself sighing. She tipped her face up to the sky, closing her eyes as she savored the kiss of sunlight over her bare skin. Clasping her hands behind her, she gently arched her back and stretched her spine and shoulders, then slowly twisted her neck from side to side. She looked over at Vulpesen with a slight smirk and a quiet laugh, fully aware of the little show she'd just given him, and then she took a running leap into the cool water, curling into a ball before she hit the surface.

Vulpesen
 
Vulpesen stood motionless as Seteta undressed and stretched, his tail flicking from side to side as he watched the show. Watching the sun highlight every inch reflected in the water, he couldn't help but be mesmerized by the gorgeous elf before him. [Hello. Arethil to Vulpesen. I hoped you remembered that little lesson because I'm getting a lot of blank from your mind right now,] Varos reminded, cutting through his warlock's fogged mind.

Shaking himself back to attention, he smiled and lifted his tail and arms to defend against the splash from his companion's cannonball. Removing the rest of his own clothes, he dove in after her inelegant entrance, his form spearing through the water with hardly a drop rising up from his entrance. Gliding beneath the surface, he passed Seteta and rose up in front of her, twisting to face her as he enjoyed the cool water around him. "I think this is exactly what we needed. A nice change from the dust and sand. Though, Zorrens aren't really made for water. Makes me a bit of an oddity with my sailing and all."
 
Seteta resurfaced, tipping her head back to allow the water to smooth her away from her face, just in time to see Vulpesen dive, smooth and sharp as a well-edged knife, into the pond. She treaded water for a moment before shifting closer to the shore where she could comfortably stand with the water hitting just below her shoulders. Her eyes tracked Vulpesen's movement through the water, and she grinned when he circled around her before popping up out of the water.

As he spoke, she swam closer to him, looping her arms around his neck and leaning in to kiss him when he finished, licking droplets of water from his lips.

"How did you come to be a sailor?" she asked, letting her hands wander slowly down his chest. "I want to know more about you. About your home."

Vulpesen
 
His hands settled around her waist while his toes bounced lightly at the silt beneath him, keeping him somewhere between standing and floating. Pressing back into her kiss, he drank in the affection from her watered lips before listening to the question. "Well... I guess I just needed to get away." For a brief moment, the same sad memories filled his gaze as he went back to the start of his adventures. "My people are landlocked, being deep in the forested wilds. And after I spent some time alone in the woods, I was given some hints as to where to find my master. I knew it would be nowhere my people had been before, and as you might have guessed, we've marched a fair number of places on our quest to protect the world."

His clawed fingers traced light patterns on the abtati's hips beneath the water and his tail occasionally swept forward, sending a current across her skin before brushing against her. "But we never really sailed. So I traded the trees for masts and the verdant canopies for white sails. In truth, the first few weeks were absolute torture. I could barely focus on learning, let alone searching for a legend I was so seasick." He laughed lightly at the memories of his first days on the sea. He'd bore the insults and hounding of even the most patient captains who had just about snapped and thrown him overboard for how useless he was. "Now, home is somewhere I am not to go. V- My master allows me to have some limited contact, but it must be from a distance. Easier to avoid our roaming militia when I'm at sea. Even our most well travelled agents tend to stick to the mainland." Leaning forward, he placed another light kiss against Seteta's lips. "In some ways, I'm made for the sea... but in many, a ship a world apart from my home."

Vulpesen heard a small warning growl in his mind as Varos rumbled an admonition. [Careful now, lets not be too comfortable. In time perhaps, but don't lay down your last card just yet.] Varos had thus far shown his enjoyment of his Warlock's company, but even so, there were boundaries to be set, and his ears ever listened for the slightest slip of his servant's tongue. When secrets were power, one learned to hold them with an iron grasp.
 
Seteta's hands paused for a moment as she caught the sadness in Vulpesen's eyes. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't realize you only became a sailor because of... that incident."

When his hands settled on her hips, she grinned and pressed herself up against him, giggling whenever his tail swished through the water and brushed against her.

"It sounds like quite a change you overcame," she murmured against his lips when he finished speaking. "To lose your friends, leave your home, and learn an entirely new skillset. It must have been frightening, at times."

Seteta pulled back a little then, her hands resuming their path across his torso, teasingly tracing the droplets of water that dripped across his skin, then following the track of his muscles lower beneath the water.

"I'm glad we encountered each other," she said, leaning in once more to catch his lips. "It's been nice to have a companion again."

Then she teased her hand over his hip, and a moment later dug her toes into the sandy bottom of the pond, and pushed away from him with a smirk. For a moment, her back arched, pushing her torso out of the water, sunlight gleaming on the droplets scattered across her skin.

"We should play," she teased, gliding backwards through the water. "Come and catch me... if you can."

With a deep breath, she ducked back below the water, and began to swim away.

Vulpesen
 
Doing away with any mournful expressions, he offered Seteta a smile in response to the apology. "Wounds heal. And now when I go home, I'll have something new to teach my people." Feeling her press agaisnt him, he tightened his hold, murmuring his words against her kiss. "Terrifying. But it all led to this. As I've said before, its wonderful to have another voice that isn't in my head. Especially when such a lovely voice has such a beautiful view to accompany it."

Glancing over her body as she pulled away, Vulpesen simply admired the view, letting Seteta slip from his arms as she offered her challenge. "Oh, that shouldn't be a problem." His smile broke into a full wide grin as he took off after her. This time with a splash, he flew under the surface, his arms and legs propelling him towards her. Of course, Zorrens had learned to swim in the path. Even in the forest there were lakes and ponds, water being a crucial part of any civilization. But with ten years at sea where ones skill in the water could mean life or death, Vulpesen was likely among the best of his race when it came to navigating waves and currents. In still waters like this, it was all that much easier to propel himself towards the nimble elf, even if he had yet to learn any magics of the element.
 
She was certain Vulpesen far surpassed her in skill beneath the water, but she grinned as she dove deep. The bottom of the oasis' pond was still sand, after all, and as she skimmed over the floor, she dropped a hand to lightly touch the sand. Magic flowed through her fingers, and a cloud of sand shot up into the water, right into Vulpesen's face.

Seteta twisted around, looking over her shoulder and giggling silently. She set her feet against the sandy bottom and pushed herself up out of the water, taking another breath of air before she dove under again, slipping and twisting through the water. She knew she wouldn't be able to evade Vulpesen for long, and she didn't plan to.

The chase was fun... but being caught was part of the fun too.
 
Vulpesen's eyes widened then shut at the rush of sediment that rose up to meet him. Backflipping in the water away from the obstacle, he placed his feet onto the ground and crouched down. Taking a brief moment to conectrate his own magical energy he lifted his arms and sprang up, creating a column beneath his feet to send him shooting up for the surface.

Breaking through the surface, Vulpesen just managed to catch a glimpse of Seteta as she passed back beneath the water and took off. He couldn't help but beam at her trickery, enjoying cleverness of her challenge before he got back to the chase. "Cheeky lass."

Diving back under, the zorren swept his arms through the water, each stroke timed just perfectly after years of practice to bring him closer to his quarry. When he was in reach, he would reach out, each arm wrapping around Seteta while his legs kicked them up to the surface, aided by his tail which did its best to flail and generate lift, almost like the actions of an oar.
 
A quiet thrill swept through her when Seteta glanced back over her shoulder again and saw Vulpesen darting through the water and quickly gaining on her. She sped up, take a few more desperate strokes through the water, even as she felt his fingers brush against her waist.

When his arms wrapped around her waist, she struggled playfully, but didn't resist as he pushed them toward the surface. She gasped in a breath of air as they broke the surface, then laughed as she leaned her head back on his shoulder.

A moment later, she turned and gently caught his earlobe in her teeth, tugging at it playfully.

"Now that you have me," she whispered, "what are you going to do with me?"
 
A laugh broke past his lips as they breached the water, cut off as she nibbled on his ear. Groaning slightly, he tightened his grasp and press his lips against her neck, his golden eyes shining at her query. "I think that perhaps we've relaxed enough." His kisses travelled up towards her jaw then finally to her lips, claiming them while his arms turned her body to face his own, his tail taking its place around her waist to prevent her from floating away despite his already firm hold.

Since the start of his adventures, there were few moments that Vulpesen could describe as bliss. Sure he'd been happy, jovial, and content on many an occasion. A fine story, a good drink, and a job well done had all given him joy on his adventures. But now, with a gorgeous elf in his arms, the bright warm sun on his back, and cool spring water around him, the old soldier felt like he ad find himself a small slice of paradise, even if it was a fleeting one.

His claws raked lightly against her flesh beneath the rippling water, unobstructed by the clothes that had long since been abandoned on the shore. His fangs which had startled her upon first sight now roamed from her lips, nipping playfully at whatever they could reach while whispers of his plans slipped past them.

Seteta
 
"Still fun, though," Seteta purred as Vulpesen's lips teased up her neck to her jaw. She let him turn her in his arms, sighing softly as his mouth covered hers. She parted her lips, teasing at his fangs with her tongue before he pulled away and started whispering his intentions against her skin.

She hooked a leg over his hip, laughing softly as they bobbed and almost dipped under the surface again, and let him take over treading water. Shivering as his claws just barely scratched at her skin, she mimicked his motions, moving from tracing over his form from her fingertips to her fingernails. His tail was securely wrapped around her waist, holding her against him. Heat and want at her front, and cool water at her back, and she fairly trembled in his arms.

"We should probably go back to shore," she whispered, catching his mouth with hers again.
 
"And I thought we were enjoying a refreshing dip in the pond," he teased before surrendering to Seteta's kiss and drifting them towards the water's edge. One hand drifted down as her leg rose over his hip, securing the limb with a squeezing hold as he savored the feeling of her body against his own and the delightful paths and patterns of her nails.

Mindful this time of the second set of thoughts within his head, Vulpesen gleefully set up his mental barriers as they reached the dry stone which had been warmed underneath the desert sun. "Lets hope those alarms of yours hold true," he murmured before resuming their kiss.
 
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