< atton revisited > The information page for Atton has been fully revised and updated with the new map!
< updated calendar > The Fortuna calendar has been updated in the "Other" lore section! This includes a document which displays the calendar for you to see, making it much easier to understand.
< moving map > The first functional map has been released in the News section! This map is also interactive, allowing you to drag and drop between points in order to determine distances. This is the first iteration, and there's more and better to come!
< first annual awards > The results for the First Annual Fortuna Year-End Awards have been posted! Go and take a look at who the finalists were, and who took home the big prizes!
< new default skin > Our new skin has passed the beta test, and is now the new Default for the forums! If you have any issues with this skin, send a PM or Discord to Mellie.
< human lore update > Humans have been updated with TWENTY-FIVE subraces/subcultures which add numerous options, and a little extra lore and flavour.
< magic lore update > Magical Lore has been enhanced with the addition of a post on Magical Education. From Beginner to Expert, this is how you learn the spells.
< a change to member groups > Member groups are now based on storyline! You can change your displayed storyline by editing the settings in your profile.
Welcome to the world of Fortuna, a land of fantastic proportions. This is an original fantasy roleplay that takes place in a world developed over nearly a decade of work and collaboration. We aim to encourage all participants to have a hand in the stories of the characters here, and the world around them. Your choices are key - so make them with pride. You decide who wins the wars, you decide who becomes King, the world is ours, and together we will bring it to life!
Late Afternoon on a Sunny Day The 6th of the Shared Mind The Rocky Shores of the Puhi Lanahu
T
hough Halulahi had been told about Fiamont - far more than most other places in Fortuna, aside from Kaikoa itself - he was still surprised at the sight of it.
He had sailed with Cari from Olathbe to the western shores of Paiia's land, and the moment it came into sight, he was stopped. It was a land of massive mountains, towering over everything he could see. He could spot a couple of dragons circling a peak not distant from the shore, and yet... Nothing else. No cities were in view from this vantage point, just the thin shoreline at the base of the mountain. Not enough to leave his boat - and not safe enough to leave his boat - but the map told him that this was nearer where he was going. But... how?
Halu sailed into shore, going farther south until Cari spotted a rocky shore that promised safety and danger. They could tie the boat here, and ensure it didn't sail on without them - but sailing in would be a difficult prospect without a master sailor like Kailani. Still, Halulahi was confident. He had to be. He aimed the catamaran to the shore, and had Cari pull down the sails as he went on. He would move with the aid of the waves, the wind would be far too strong. As he neared the rocks, Halu tied a rope around his waist and stepped off into the water. With the aid of the rocks and his height, he was mere toes away from touching the bottom, and quickly found a foothold on a rock that jut out just in front of him. He used the rock's aid and his own strength to lift the front of his boat as the waves pushed it towards him, and then turned to the shore, holding the massive thing above his head.
It was difficult to find each step beneath his feet, each rock having it's own shape, but he took it carefully and slowly, finally managing to get it over the breakwater with a grunt and a sigh. There would be no quick escapes if anything were to go wrong - but the hope would be that such a thing would not be required.
Untying himself from the boat, he used the same rope to lock his catamaran onto the rocks, taking a few other lengths of the stuff to ensure that everything was secured before turning to observe the shore he had come upon. A wall of stone shot up into the sky not a kilometre from their first steps onto the sand, the side smooth from years of erosion before the sea had become so shallow. There would be no climbing it -- but Halulahi did not think he would need to climb it.
The location he was in this part of Fiamont for had been called - by the ancestor who visited it - Puhi Lanahu, and it was distant from any place one might call home. An orphan off the shore. He would hug the mountainous wall, follow it east, and eventually he would find the small inlet where the cave's entrance was supposed to be.
Puhi Lanahu was one of the more difficult locations that the Kaikoa youths would need to visit. Many were merely points within cities, places where ancestors had aided other citizens. Others were spiritual locations, accessible by road or well-traveled paths. On occasion, however, there were places like Puhi Lanahu chosen. Places that had been 'discovered' by the Chief who had visited it. Whether that was true or not - they were always difficult to find, let alone traverse. He would need some proof he had been there - and Halu didn't even know if it would still be there... But he would try, and it would be his first Ancestral Location for the Uhane Holo.
"Your tutu Onomaka found Puhi Lanahu," His mother had told him many times, explaining the story of their last ancestor who had been Chief. Three chieftainships ago, before she had even been born - and yet she always spoke fondly of him, as if she'd known him as well as she knew Halu, "He spent three days inside, exploring every nook and cranny of it... Many youths cannot bear it there, they merely find the entrance and cheat away. You shall not, Halulahi. You shall prove your ancestors proud. Perhaps if you do... Onomaka shall bless you, and aid you in your Uhane Holo." That was why he was going here first, before any of the cities - before any of the locations near Kaikoa, or in Submiere. This place was important to his family, and even if he failed the rest of the journey (on purpose or otherwise) he would bring pride to the place known as Puhi Lanahu.
"Your tutu Onomaka told that there was great treasure in Puhi Lanahu, but that it was protected by the goddess Zarissia. No other youth on their Uhane Holo told of knowing such things, but we still do not take out of respect for his tales. Choose the coal, not the diamond."
Halu held his map with one hand, looking at the way the ink curved along with the shore. It was well-made, and Halu had to wonder if it was magical. His other traced the smooth stone he walked by, his fingers enjoying the feeling of something other than the ropes and wood he'd been handling on board his boat. He walked without paying attention, listening to the waves and not looking at them. Perhaps if he had been watching, he would have seen the other boat that had been tied off on a planted wooden stake. Perhaps he would have seen the slowly fading footsteps in the sand. Perhaps he would have realized that he and Cari weren't the only ones going to the Puhi Lanahu -- though they would be the only ones there with such a name for it...
"I understand if you remain outside Aumakua," Halulahi spoke, looking down at his small (yet powerful, he imagined) companion, "These trials are not your's to have to bear."
Post by Maldrem "Wight" on Mar 13, 2017 20:41:31 GMT -7
A debt to pay... And an adventure~
M aldrem would never say that he didn't enjoy working with a crew (he certainly, certainly did) and he would never say that he was a greedy individual (he'd say he was quite generous a good portion of the time! For a pirate, at least). But still, every now and then, it was nice to line your own pockets for a change. The problem with going to plunder treasure with a full crew was that the Captain (bless his hot, hot ass) always got first dibs, and the rest was distributed among the crew first by involvement, then by "salary". Those that were part of a heist always got bigger cuts of course, but everyone on the crew got at least a small cut of everything, including jobs they had no involvement in. It's how things on the Grail fleet stayed stable - you couldn't send your entire massive crew on every job, but you also couldn't just not give any coin to the people who were staying behind to mind the ships.
Maldrem didn't have any particular problem with it. But Maldrem also liked treasure, and liked to have a lot of it, and sometimes, he didn't feel like sharing. Which is why he was here now, of course! He had some leave time that he had decided to use while one of the Grail's ships had anchored near Fiamont. Mal's old home, which he had no particular love for given the memories. Fiamont was where his vile father had killed his mother for being a Tiefling, right in front of him. It was also where Maldrem had killed him right back, and then got thrown in jail for it, awaiting inevitable execution. Fiamont was also full of people who spoke other languages that Maldrem did not; his mother had been a Mot native prior to his birth, and she taught him to speak that tongue as he grew up, but it certainly didn't help him much when the people around him spoke a lot of Fianese (which apparently even had a couple different versions, yikes). Thank goodness Common was more or less spoken throughout the world now, was all Mal could say on that.
But Fiamont was also a place of mountains, where many legends of treasure existed. Mal had heard several growing up, often from the dwarven residents of the high mountains, and always felt pretty enchanted by the idea of investigating those tales. He'd never really gotten the chance prior to becoming a pirate, and even after that fact, he and the crew of The Soundless Bell had never felt any great desire to return to the place where they'd nearly all lost their lives.
It was long overdue now to go searching. He finally had some private time, he was near Fiamont, and he owed Reina a... well, considerable sum that he probably couldn't pay out of his own coffers. He loved the woman (sometimes), and she loved him (sometimes), but she would also murder him if he didn't pay his debt when she saw him next. She'd been very, frighteningly clear on that. And he rather wanted to see her again at some point.
"The Eye of the Charback, hm?" he mused to himself as he looked over a small sheet of paper from years ago. Back when he'd been more bright-eyed, he wrote down a lot of the old stories he heard, swept up in enchantment and adventure as he was. He'd at least managed to get ahold of his old journal after escaping prison those years back, and it was a page from that old thing that he was looking at now. There was supposedly a pair of giant red diamonds somewhere in a hidden cave on an orphaned, mountainous island. Most people never found the cave, and those that did never found the diamonds. But the treasure site was a legendary place according to the dwarf who had told him about it; originally kept by a dwarven shape-shifter who could become a dragon. The story said that he killed other dragons who had challenged him for his treasure hoard, and became so consumed by greed that he was cursed to remain trapped in his dragon form for the rest of his days, and his own eyes turned to great diamonds. And yet so greedy was he that even these he pulled from his own sockets, to add to his hoard.
The dwarf who had told Mal this tale said that it was one of caution against greed, something important for dwarves themselves to often keep in mind, but he also said that the treasure certainly existed - he'd apparently seen it for himself, but had miraculously resisted the temptation to take from it. Whether or not the diamonds really came from a dragon-shifted dwarf though...
"Well if it did, he'd be long dead by now," Mal said with a chuckle. The treasure had apparently been hidden a long, long time ago.
"...ese trials are not yours to have to bear," a voice down below was saying, and Mal perked up, startled.
He tore his eyes away from the page he was reading and looked down. There was a rocky cropping above the path that lead to the narrow cave entrance, and Mal had, for the moment, taken to climbing up and sitting on it while he read his journal and figured out what he was in for. He hadn't really been expecting for someone - no, two someones - to be coming up here as well. This island was all but abandoned, after all, and not the easiest place to even get to.
Curious, he shuffled backwards, hiding himself behind some of the sharper rocks that jutted upward and watching the path as the strangers came more clearly into view. One was a small girl, who had the look of someone who had just been out on a swim, and the other was....
Whooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaah.
Maldrem had seen some beefcakes in his day, but this guy? Damn. DAMN. He could probably crush Mal's head between his thighs. An almost inviting prospect. Ahem. And he was handsome to boot, with firm features and a strong jaw line, dark skin, and some damn attractive tattoos.
Post by Cari Oceana on Mar 23, 2017 13:42:45 GMT -7
Cari’s first boat ride was coming to an end as she and Haluhali came to a particularly dangerous looking land. It was very pointy and rocky and not soft or smooth or beach-like at all. Nothing about the island looked inviting, and it was certainly a wonder as to why a nice man like Halulahi wanted to be here. Nonetheless, Cari had wanted adventure, and it seemed like this would be the sort of island to provide that. What sort of adventure would she have on an island of fluffy creatures and pretty flowers?
Cari shook the unusually pleasant thought from her mind and instead focused on being helpful. She spotted an area that she was sure would be good to park the boat for the time being, but there was a somewhat treacherous path that they’d have to sail through. No matter – Cari subtly held her hand over the water, using her influence over it to provide forgiving waves to assist Haluhali in steering the boat to safety. When he hopped over and used his strength to pull the boat ashore, she gave the waves some more force to help him out. She didn’t want Halulahi to know of her power over the waves – not yet, anyway. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him – she just didn’t want to risk freaking out her new friend.
She walked along beside Haluhali in the sand. It felt so weird between her toes, like standing on a very dense liquid. She could feel the grains of sand part ways as her foot came down, and could feel them change into a murkier substance as the water imbued with the sand. She couldn’t help it – she was just always wet.
Halulahi told her that she didn’t need to come along with him, that it wasn’t her burden to bear. Typical super nice Halu! “Of course I’m coming with you! We’re a team now, aren’t we?”
Cari noticed the other boat that was tied up at the shore, but did not comment on it. She didn’t know the customs of Halulahi’s people – maybe it was another one of them? Though, the boat did not seem to be as interesting as Halu’s. She definitely picked the right person to join on an adventure.
Cari scanned the area – she didn’t see anybody else waiting for them or anything like. Maybe it was a very old boat that just happened to be there, or maybe people typically left boats in this rocky area – Cari couldn’t pretend to know proper customs. She would just continue to follow Halu, and help out however she could.
team. That was an interesting thought on a journey meant to be taken alone. If he could have traveled as a team he would have Kapue'o and Kailani at his side. Or even just Kapue'o. They could visit the world together. With Kapu at his side, he could easily imagine how differently this journey would feel -- but the imaginations were distant from reality. He imagined Kapu and him hand-in-hand breaching the entrance of this cave, and he imagined sitting atop the mountain at sunset and enjoying the view together. He imagined experiencing the cultures of the world with Kapu at his side and his heart soared... And it was only when he remembered the truth of their relationship that a solo adventure became more appealing.
Or, not a solo adventure. An adventure with his aumakua. With Cari. It was a different journey he could imagine then - one that would perhaps end, after all, in Chieftancy. After all, not every youth would receive an aumakua. He was honoured. He was chosen. And so they were "a team", and the thought made Halulahi smile.
"Yes, Aumakua Cari, a team," He placed a warm hand on her shoulder and offered it a small squeeze as he would do for his younger brothers. It was only in gazing down at her that he realized her eyes were set in a direction away from him. Closer to the Puhi Lanahu. His instinct was that she could see something he could not, sense something he could not -- that there was something about this place that drew her, thanks to his Tutu Onomaka, and the power of Wyghal. His instinct was wrong, however, as he followed her gaze and saw the sailboat beached on the shore.
The boat was not of a style he was very familiar with. The style of Kaikoa was like that of his catamaran, and it was seen as a part of the journey to travel in the way of the ancestors. Yet here before him was a strange thing with smooth, worn sides and sails of a firm make and fabric he would not have used on his own. He took a step towards it, and then stopped, remembering many things all at once.
Stories of outlanders were not very popular in Kaikoa, but as the Chief grew older and the Uhane Holo felt nearer, they would begin to spill from the lips of any elder looking for a moment of nostalgia. From what Halulahi understood, the people outside of Kaikoa held different values. They focused less on community, and more on family - blood family. They believed less in the spirits of nature, and more in the spirits of industry, and wealth. Still, many were kind. Many returned to Kaikoa with youths who had found love on their Uhane Holo instead of leadership. And others, like his family in Olathbe, would keep their hearths warm for any of Kaikoa to lay their heads.
But they were not all kind.
Some were violent, cruel, greedy. Territorial, even. While the owner of the boat could be kind, could be lost, could be dead -- they could also be dangerous.
Halu's eyes scanned the sand near the boat, nearly missing the quickly fading footsteps that didn't come quite to the cave entrance. They weren't fresh, certainly, but there weren't old, either. Not more than a day, not less than a few hours. They had to have climbed, and Halu's eyes gazed up at the rocks, arm raising to block as much of the sun as possible. It was no use, the angle was in favour of one atop the crop of rocks, not below it. If there was somewhere nearby... Halu and Cari could be in danger.
So Halu stepped a little, locking himself in front of Cari to block her from view, and projectiles. He raised his massive arms, eyes locked on the rocks, and called out: "Joesonghamnida," He made his statement in Royal Fianese, not realizing the age of the language - and certainly not realizing who he was speaking to. Without pause, he repeated the apology in Common, hoping his previous selection showed a deep enough respect to keep them both safe, "My deepest apologies. We mean no harm, nor to disturb. Pay us no mind, ju-seyo."
Post by Maldrem "Wight" on Sept 12, 2017 19:39:09 GMT -7
Fancy a Dance with a Devil?
W ell, well, well! Not only was the man tall and broad and muscled and suuuuuper easy on the eyes, he was also perceptive! And well-mannered. Of course, Maldrem didn't really understand the first words that came out of the man's mouth. At least, not the ones that were directed at him; he'd heard some of the preceding conversation with the little girl, something about them being a team? Speaking of her, now that he could see her up close, he was guessing she might have been either an Embodiment or Naiad - neither were particularly uncommon encounters when one lived a life of seafaring, and she fit the visual bill.
Back to the tall gentleman, though; he was squinting up in Mal's general direction, but wasn't looking directly at him. Maldrem realized that he likely couldn't be seen beyond the screen of the midday sun, so he had a bit of an advantage. And though he hadn't understood the first strange phrase that came from the guy's lips, he'd easily understood the bit in Common, and recognized the last phrase as well. "Juseyo" - that was definitely Fianese. He'd heard it said more than a few times while he grew up, and was pretty sure it meant "please". There had been a few merchants around his home growing up who had always refused to speak Common, no matter how much traction the language gained around the world as the years passed, so learning simple Fianese phrases like "please" and "thank you" had been a bit necessary.
So this guy was either Fianese himself, or he was making an assumption that whoever else was here with him might have been. Maldrem supposed it was a reasonable assumption to make; this island was pretty remote and difficult to reach, and it wasn't likely that you'd ever find someone here unless they came from the Fianese mainland. Which, hey, was technically true of Maldrem! He considered for a moment answering from his perch using a mashup of various Fianese words he knew, making a gibberish sentence out of it, but decided that as fun as that sounded it wasn't gonna be worth it. Mr. Big and Handsome probably spoke it fluently if he was brave enough to call out in it in the first place, so it would just make Maldrem look foolish.
Oooh, but what if he answered in Mot? Pretend to not understand him at all. Maybe play that angle, act like there was a language barrier between them. Maldrem had found in the past that pretending not to speak the same language as someone else could sometimes reeeeeally help with getting them into bed. Something about an exotic appeal, or the notion of only being able to communicate with body language.
He was clearly getting quite distracted from his original purpose here, but he'd already decided to run with it.
"Mis disculpas, amigo! No hablo Fianese!" He hopped down from his perch as he answered, landing on the path before the girl and the big man - and boy oh boy was he big, certainly bigger-looking once Maldrem was no longer looking down at him. He smiled wide as he stood up from his landing, putting as much charm into it as he could. He even threw in some happy-looking tail swishes for good measure. "Pero oye," he said, spreading his arms open in a non-threatening fashion. "No quiero hacer daño. Yeah?"
---
"My apologies, friend. I don't speak Fianese. But hey, I mean no harm. Yeah?"
s a guard, Halulahi had always needed to be vigilant. It did not occur that invaders would come to Kaikoa, Wyghal made certain of that, but it did occur that wild animals and mysterious beasts would find reason to endanger Kaikoan civilians. It could happen any moment - a mother boar taking vengeance for a hunter's misplaced arrow, a bear raging through due to a pain it couldn't explain, a more vile creature looking for the easy pickings of Kaikoan children and elderly - and one always needed to be prepared to stave it off. The Uhane Holo, he had assumed, would feel much the same way. Being out in the world felt wrong, and it was certain to have him on edge the more he was around 'others' -- but he hadn't expected the panic that rose in his belly as the stranger jumped down towards them.
Panic, that initial response that could seize the limbs, could raise bile, and lock the jaw. Panic, what took over him in the moment the man approached, speaking something that wasn't Fianese, and panic was what he overcome as he moved to even better block Cari. He didn't realize such a thing was unnecessary -- the girl had already made a swift departure into water, leaving only a puddle behind. With Cari's safety feeling secured, Halu focused on the words, and realized they were somewhat familiar. The accent was strange, as he had only heard the words used with a Kaikoan accent before, but they were familiar.
More familiar, anyway, than the man himself.
He was strange, though not in a bad way, and Halu found himself staring for far too long. He had horns, like a tiny, tiny yak, or ayrshire cow. And a tail? Not like a yak, or cow. Long and strange. The man was obviously some kind of humanoid, though of what kind, Halu could not name. And the man did not speak any Fianese he knew, but instead another language entirely, from a place he believed was many days of sailing away. Muerte. Why would a Mot horned-and-tailed man be here of all places? Halu would need to remain with his guard up, no matter how friendly the man appeared.
"Sí señor," He said, his Kaikoan accent not permitting the gentility and flow of the language as well as it had worked with the structure of Royal Fianese, "Lo siento por mi mal gusto. ¿Estás perdido, señor?"
🐯 🐯 🐯
Yes sir. Sorry for my bad taste. Are you lost, sir? (Intending to mean "poor tongue" like his speech, but conversational is difficult for him!)
Post by Maldrem "Wight" on Jan 4, 2018 5:34:10 GMT -7
Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho
W ell, well, well... this had just become more interesting. Maldrem had been delighted at the idea of toying with this handsome stranger, pretending not to speak his language so as to force a different kind of communication... one that involved more physical action, perhaps. But instead, he found that this fellow also spoke Mot, which was actually quite impressive. He'd already spoken Common and one of the Fianese dialects, and now Mot as well? You didn't usually meet people with such a talent for languages, especially nowadays when almost everyone spoke Common.
Maybe this meant that physical communication was out the door (or at least, it was for now), but on the other hand it meant Maldrem could put to good use all the lovely, honey-dipped Mot phrases he knew could make people swoon~
Or, well, as long as this guy was into it.
However, as distractingly pretty as the man was (and as delighted as Maldrem was over his little misstep in phraseology, hehe), he didn't fail to notice how the girl that had been with him wasted no time in taking her leave as soon as he'd appeared. She stepped back and proceeded to vanish into a nearby puddle of water. If Maldrem had been anyone else, he might have wondered what kind of magic had been at work to accomplish that, but alas, he was a pirate. And any pirate worth his salt would be able to recognize a Naiad after enough time looking at one. He hadn't been sure what the girl was when he first spotted her, but between seeing her more closely and then watching her plop away into a puddle, it was pretty obvious to him.
Well, that suited him just fine, at any rate. Naiads were pretty harmless outside of open bodies of water, and most of them knew it. If the girl had chosen to retreat, she likely had no intention of showing herself again while Maldrem was around, so that meant he could devote his entire focus to Mr. Stud.
Now, where to begin on him...
"Está bien. Pero creo que quieres decir 'hablar mal', no 'mal gusto'," he replied, smiling charmingly as he took another couple of steps closer to the stranger. The man definitely seemed to be on guard. Mal wondered what it would take to loosen him up. "'Mal gusto' es... los sabores en la lengua." And here he aided his little explanation by extending his own tongue a bit, tapping a fingertip against it a couple of times. If he wasn't mistaken, he was pretty sure he saw the stranger's eyes immediately move toward the pink muscle, watching with what Mal hoped was interest. He put his tongue back in his mouth and smirked as his eyes made a very obvious sweep up and down the man's body. "Y no parece que tengas mal sabor."
Breaking eye contact, he instead directed his attention off one of the nearby edges of the mountain trail, gazing at the sparkling sea as though someone carefree. He breathed a deep, appreciative sigh at the pretty sight. "No estoy perdido," he said in answer to the other man's question. "Solo estoy... disfrutando de una vacacione."
That wasn't really a lie, was it? He was on leave from The Grail, after all, and his errand here was one of his own making. And the sights were pretty (both the sea and the man). So this might as well have been a vacation, yeah?
He glanced back over at the other, smiling lopsidedly at him. The wind seemed to be on his side today, too, because just as he did so a light breeze gusted by, ruffling Maldrem's hair and causing several strands to flit past his eyes. He couldn't have asked for a more perfect flirty look. "Soy Maldrem. ¿Tu nombre?"
It's fine. But I think you mean to say "poor speech", not "poor taste". "Poor taste" is... the flavors on the tongue. And I do not think you have a poor flavor.
alulahi was a stranger to many things in the outside world, as many could simply not be found within Kaikoa. Many of them were things he would encounter on this journey, and their surprises were intended to make him stronger. Wiser. More capable. Perhaps he would bring one of them back with him -- it was the nature of the Uhane Holo. Of course, there were also things that were not foreign in Kaikoa, but were unfamiliar to Halulahi. Lustful flirtation was certainly one of those, and so while Maldrem's attempts were not entirely lost of Halu... They were, to put it lightly, confusing.
He couldn't help but stare as the stranger went through an assortment of poses and interactions, partially because he needed to focus on the language which was difficult to grasp when used so casually, and partially because the man was interesting. And the way the man was looking at him was interesting. He stuck out his tongue and tapped it to go along with his words, which took a moment for Halu to parse, but managed to win a small smile out of him. Ah, so he used the wrong word! It was embarrassing, but the man did not seem offended, which lightened the mistake's effect on Halu, and loosened his shoulders somewhat. The other man was seeming less threatening. Less the cruel savage he had been warned of, and more the kind citizen he had hoped to find.
Before Halu could apologize for his mistaken words, the behorned and betailed man took his tongue back and looked out to the waters, speaking more words that were oddly esoteric in nature. Much of the conversation he had learned in Mot had been purposeful, to the point. What the man was speaking sounded almost the way Kailani would speak, as if living out a metaphor. He found it mostly charming in her, he found it very charming in this strange man.
His staring had continued, and when the man turned back he felt caught red-handed. The feeling that enveloped him was much like when Kapueo would notice him these days, admiring his friend from a distance. Kapueo's interests had been made clear, and Halulahi would always respect that, but his heart often pushed boundaries against his will. He felt guilty when Kapueo saw him like that, as if he had betrayed him. Now as the horned man turned to him here, he felt that same feeling wash over him -- caught doing something wrong, inappropriate. The man's look didn't tense, however. No, it almost relaxed, like it was being painted by the wind, moved with it, and like the wind... It did not mind he observed it.
It was then that the man gave Halulahi a name. Maldrem. Mal-drem. It suited the language. But the man? There was little mal about him, in Halu's first impression.
"Soy... Yo soy Halulahi," He replied after averting his gaze to the distance beyond Maldrem's shoulder. Looking into the other man's eyes was somewhat uncomfortable, almost as if he were being sized up and devoured by sight alone. The discomfort wasn't like pain, though, or like guilt. It was a tight feeling in his chest that he used to feel before he confessed himself to Kapu. Perhaps this time he would hold onto the feeling, to the high it gave him. It felt good. Recalling his manners he turned to his side to introduce his Aumakua, "Y esto es..." But she was gone.
I suppose if I were an angel of Wyghal, I may not show myself to all, He reasoned as he looked at the puddle where she had once stood, I suppose I should take that as a warning. Could this Maldrem be someone I am not to trust? He looked back to Maldrem, his eyes not following his orders and lingering a trail up the man's form, before shaking his head, "Lo siento. Ha sido un viaje. Te agradezco por tu corrección. Has viajado lejos para 'vacacione'. Usted no está solo, ¿verdad?"
🐯 🐯 🐯
I'm sorry. It has been a journey. I thank you for your correction. You have traveled far for 'vacacione'. You are not alone, are you not? (Bad grammar intentional)
Post by Maldrem "Wight" on Jan 11, 2018 6:11:02 GMT -7
Got me a Catch
M al knew how to recognize when someone was affixing him with... appraising eyes. He'd had more than enough experience with such looks in the past, and right now he was sure he'd landed the amazingly attractive guy before him, hook, line... but maybe not sinker. He still seemed tense, just a bit, and not in the way that came with trying to speak a language he clearly wasn't completely confident in. More like he was still on guard. Well, that wouldn't do. Mal wanted a fun distraction from his worldly concerns right now, and he wasn't gonna get that if this Halulahi was still a bit suspicious of him.
(He doubted it would help to point out that from his earlier vantage, he could have easily gotten the drop on the man if he'd actually wanted to.)
The name did give him pause, though. There was something about it... actually, there was something about the whole picture. Tan skin... Lots of Tattoos... Ha-Lu-La-Hi... there was something familiar about it all, like someone somewhere (the Captain, maybe?) had told him about someone like this. It kind of bothered him that he couldn't recall. He was pretty sure it had something to do with the sea, and as such was something any good seafarer ought to know, but he just couldn't place it.
Ah well!
Halulahi had attempted for a moment to introduce someone else, which was somewhat curious; had the man not noticed his companion's swift departure? Well, he supposed she had disappeared pretty quietly, so he couldn't blame him. Afterward, he (only somewhat clumsily) asked about Mal's situation in further depth, commenting on his far travels and asking if he was alone. Well, not like this guy could have known Maldrem had come from far away. He wondered what kind of assumptions Halulahi was already coming to.
Again something nagged at him. The way Halu looked at him was very appreciated, but there was something about it... a lack of any reservation? Yes, that must have been it. Most people who weren't pirates or some other criminal saw a Tiefling and made some kind of face at the sight, even if it was obvious that they were also intrigued. Halu, though, seemed to carry no apparent misgivings. And there was the fact that his language usage was slow and measured, and his appearance which seemed so out of place... Mal finally concluded that he was definitely some kind of 'foreign', though for the life of him still couldn't recall whatever it was on the tip of his tongue.
"Yo solo," he replied with a lopsided grin, rocking on his heels a bit. Everything about his posture, from the slight forward angle of his hips, to the way he rolled his exposed belly just a touch, to the allure in his eyes (and this is why he used his magic to expose them, other tieflings couldn't pull off the eye allure thing!), suggested he wanted Halu to come closer and make him much less alone.
But rocking on his heels also reminded him of something else. The slight tink of his metal shoe tips caused him to glance down, and he realized that it was only natural for a stranger to be suspicious of you when you had visible daggers on your person and small bits of armor. Mal looked like he was ready for a fight if push came to shove. And he didn't want that.
He turned away from Halu as though careless, not bothered to leave his back to the other, and wordlessly began taking some things off. He removed his daggers, dropping them to the ground without ceremony, undid the fastens on his shoe tips and knee plates, kicked off his shoes, his belt, his sash, his ratty vest, and several other jingling trinkets and doodads. Eventually, the tiefling was left standing barefoot in just his pair of pants, most of his jewelry discarded save for the smaller, easier-to-lose bits like earrings and rings. He stretched languidly in the warm rays of the sun, which were honestly being quite generous with this little spit of mountain path the two of them stood on, and finally he flopped down onto his rear end and basked.
Halulahi had watched him quietly for the minute or so that he'd been at this, and after releasing a relaxed yawn, Maldrem returned his attention to the standing man, smiled, and pat the spot next to him. "Siéntate conmigo. Te mostraré para qué estoy aquí."
e was alone? In a place like this? A part of Halulahi worried more knowing that this man - Maldrem - was comfortable here alone, and a part of Halulahi was more distracted as the man moved in a strange way that made the pit of his stomach squeeze both excitedly and uncomfortably, and a part of Halulahi was more worried because it also brought attention to how well-decorated the man was in weapons. Halu could defend himself he was pretty sure, but the man seemed to be tempting him to let his guard down. It could be dangerous...
Just as Halulahi's shoulders tightened at the thought of Maldrem striking him in the gut with those sharpened foot-tips, however, the man began to undress. No, not undress. Yes, kind of undress.
Halulahi was no stranger to the mortal form, as in Kaikoa they had no need for heavy layers for anything except cultural and religious purposes. Halu himself was wearing only his sarong, and decorative dried kapu'e -- and yet it was the method by which this man stripped himself down to small accoutrements and bottoms that made the act different.
No, no, it wasn't the undressing. It was the disarming. Unarmed, the man was no match for Halulahi, who was perhaps twice his size in bulk. He was wilfully weakening himself to... To... To show me he means no harm.
It was all clear to Halulahi now. It was obvious that he did not have the most firm grip on the language, and probably obvious that he was nervous about the dangers Maldrem could present. Maldrem was making an exaggerated act to communicate to Halulahi that he was safe, and it wasn't exaggerated because it was a lie - at least, Halulahi didn't think it was. No, the man just wanted to be clear in his communication and his... Uh... Body language.
"Sí está bien," Halulahi said before he thought about the request Maldrem made, though he didn't sit directly next to the man. That seemed too close, honestly, and Halulahi wasn't sure how well he would listen if he were that close. Instead, he took a spot cross-legged in front of the man's stretched out legs, keeping a respectable distance between them. He carefully positioned his sarong and then latched his hands to his knees, elbows pointing out to either side in a position reminiscent of that he would have taken as a boy on the schoolhouse mat.
"Eres un hombre valiente por estar aquí solo. Estaría muy interesado en tus motivos... Maldrem."
🐯 🐯 🐯
Yes, okay. You are a brave man for being here alone. I would be very interested in your reasons... Maldrem.
The skin OTHERWORLD was made by JAWN of WICKED WONDERLAND.
FORTUNA-RPG was created by MELLIE. Images belong to their respective artists. All codes and scripts belong to their respective coders. Please DO NOT take anything without the owners' permission.
