• Graded • Red in a Forest of Green

[Tai'klein]

Red in a forest of green
3 Trial, Ymiden, 716 Arc

Tai’klein gravitated to the waters of Tosibeere Whakamatao. He say atop one of the beautiful spring’s cascade playing his harp as the sound of waters crashed to the below stones on the bed of the river. Every now and then a splash of water would trifle from its path and would cause droplets of water to drip down his barren chest. The sun’s reflection poured through the canopy of trees above as wind pushed his glistening red hair into his face.

Sweet melodies echoed through the woods as his white wolf familiar, Rei’sch sat next to him, the graceful mourn through howls sounded through his music. Tai’klein joined in with song.

Music

As the world spins
and time passes by
it may be hard to grin.
Remember though; you are not alone
when you feel like you need to cry.
Just take a breath and think of the stone,
it has been phased by many things
you may not know, but this stone,
strange as it may be, endures a lot,
and though this thought
may seem silly,
let it take it's spot.

The stone is phased by water
that can hurt more than tears
it has also been used for many years
to agonize some fears.
It crumbles and it withers
from the bad things life can offer.
The stone - sometimes hard sometimes soft,
is something we all have gathered.
Though, there are beauties in the latter
with some wondrous things that matter.
The water that hits it carves it pure
into a beautiful, colorful stone
that we all can endure.

The rest that may seem obscure
also has it's place and though it's used to stem fear
many thing big and small
have relied on it to live, shelter to obtain.

So it seems the stone is something no one can replace,
even though it crumbles and it withers from this place
it's pieces always stay
which morphs into better things.
The stone that always seems to sustain
is waiting and working to become
something no one can condemn;
an elaborate gem.

It wasn’t soon after singing his last verse that the sun fell to the shadows of the canopy. As streaks of light shines through, still allowing for some visibility, Tai’klein stood up. His feet still a bit wet from the warm waters. Setting his harp down carefully, he took his waterskin and filled it up, allowing the water to flow straight into it. Taking a sip, he couldn’t look happier. Grabbing his possessions he figured that his moment of relaxation would be over.

Tai’klein gently ran his hands through Rei’sch’s fur, sharing a smile as he looked into the eyes of his familiar. Everything seemed calm, and just the day for moments of relaxation. It felt as if the wolf didn’t want to leave, but Tai’klein hadn’t yet eaten this day yet, and it was still fairly early in the morning. Gently swiping his hair out of the way, the two headed off into the woods towards their den, his harp strapped to his back.

As he worked his way through the woods a few birds flew off from their nests in the canopy, and a few others just kept a watchful eye on the red haired Sev’ryn. Along the way he spotted a few berry bushes and plucked them to put a few of the ripened fruit into his mouth. They were delicious and wouldn’t sustain him for long though. Sometimes he thought it was easier within the city of Desnind, but the commodities of nature were far too appealing to him now.

As he was walking a white moth fluttered across his body, and landed on his hand. At first shocked he smiled and observed it. It was a rather large moth, and he wondered what the meaning of such a thing meant. It’s wings opened and closed gently as he looked at it, and it seemed it didn’t bother moving or flying away as he slowly moved his hand to turn it.

[Niv]

Niv had traveled far on the back of her cockatoo friend Patcha with the intention of finding some interesting new herbs and to explore the forest. The Tosibeere Whakamatao was a great place to find all kinds of lush and vibrant plant life with all kinds of uses. The trek out was a long one for Niv’s feathery friend, so it was a trip Niv didn’t take very often. they had almost reached the stream when Patcha lost patience with flying and soared down into the trees. He perched on a branch and let Niv climb off the saddle. The Tunawa pursed her lips in irritation but she wasn’t about to force her friend to push himself any further for her benefit. Niv gave Patcha a gentle stroke to the nape of his heck before letting him soar away to do what he wished. Niv knew she could call on the white bird once he had looked around a bit and maybe filled his belly with nuts and fruit.

Traversing the tree tops wasn’t difficult for Niv, It was almost second nature for her to boldly leap towards and run across connecting branches like a wild squirrel. Navigation was the tricky part, especially in foreign areas where she wasn’t familiar with the landmarks. The only thing the Tunawa could think to do was listen carefully for signs of rushing water. The constant calls of animals and other residents of the forests made that especially difficult and she had to stop to mentally focus on the different sounds. She closed her eyes and sorted the many songs of the forest within her mind, talking her time to listen to each one. As she listened to the chirps of one particularly noisy bird she started to hear a strange but beautiful melody. It captivated the tiny connoisseur of sounds and she knew she would have to find it’s source.

It grew louder as she rushed towards it, the gentile vibrations of noise giving Niv the energy she needed to push herself forward. There was soon no more branches for Niv to run towards but the music was close she could even heir the sound of a man singing as well. She looked around the clearing she had just entered and was overjoyed to find the sparkling river she was looking for. Though her joy was short lived once she realized the music had ceased. She sighed and began climbing down the tree, she had almost made it to the bottom when a flash of bright red caught her eye. Niv climbed back up the tree and towards the thickest branch. She ran along it nimbly as she kept a close eye for the district red she had saw. Through the foliage the Tunawa spotted the crimson man who like many Sev’ryn seemed to be interacting with one of the unseen spirits of the forest.

“Stop!” Niv cried out from the tree tops as she continued her way over. “I wish to speak with you!”

In a matter of moments she had finally caught up to him and with a daring leap she plummeted towards a branch just above him. Being light as a feather, there was little rattling within the trees to announce the Tunawa’s crash landing, just enough to rouse the man to look skyward.
Niv laid on her stomach with her head peaking over the thick tree limb to observe the man. If the red haired man looked up he would see a Tunawa with a wide grin and a tiny arm waving about with enthusiasm. to complete her odd greeting, Niv tweeted a smooth and cheerful call of a song bird.

“Did the river just sing to you?” She asked with great curiosity. “If we become friends can you ask it to sing for me too?”

[Tai'klein]

Red in a forest of green
3 Trial, Ymiden, 716 Arc

As the white moth fluttered on the back of Tai’klein’s hand it finally took off and sputtered around him for a few moments before flying up in the trees. Tai’klein watched it float upwards into the canopies and then something else caught his eyes. Chewing some remains of the berries he looked at the figure curiously. It seemed to be waving it’s hands and arms to him, but he couldn’t exactly hear what it was trying to say. Suddenly the figure fell from the trees to another branch. At first thought, he panicked and figured the figure to be in trouble.

Rushing over to the figure, he noticed the thin framed figure to be covered in a sort of smooth bark and purple flowers. She didn’t seem to be in much distress, but as she made a strange bird call, perhaps she was trying to communicate that some of the birds above were attacking her. He looked over at the figure, seeing as how she was only about 7 inches tall and readied his bow and arrow, knocking them up towards the canopies up above. His instinct instantly was to protect the figure, but after scanning the canopies he noticed that no birds were around, at least none that he could see. After dropping his guard and looking down to the figure he heard her speak.
He smiled showing his teeth and responded while looking up “The river, the trees, and the wilds sing to all. You just have to listen.” Though, he had no other intentions he was just trying to relax. Setting his bow down he took out his harp once more and closed his eyes and focused on the sounds around him.

The waters of the river trickled through the faint wind and leaves which danced about. Adding to the sound of nature he gently started to pluck on his harp.

“Every breath staying alone,
locked up between corruption,
beasts just grasping on hatred,
what is left to turn to is still unknown.
Every stone, sun, or moonlights vision taken,
nature is the getaway,
here in the darkness, shines the moon,
here in daylight, we block out the sun,
when running waters drums into our souls,
nature is the pure tone.

Hear those water drum,
the deepest of music under the sun,
washing and corroding the stone.
no worries, no reason to grasp on,
nature is our overtone.”

The music echoed throughout the woods, and in his relaxed state he gently opened his eyes to the feeling of his familiar laying its head on his lap. He gently started to pet Rei’sch and ran his hand through his fur. “I am not sure you would want to be friends with me though” The red hair Sev’ryn said calmly through his melody and then fully laid down staring up towards the sky and the figure that was laying down on a branch directly above him. His yellow eyes stared at her with the reflection of trees in his iris, and just at that moment a familiar moth came and landed on his forehead. He just continued to lay there and smiled briefly before saying “Why do you want the river’s to sing to you?”

[Niv]

Niv was distracted for a minute by the fluttering wings of a moth, but was alarmed when she looked back to see the man pointing his bow in her direction. She had no idea why the man was aiming pointy objects at her but before she could even react the bow was lowered and replaced with a smile. It didn’t take long for Niv to calm herself, the wilds were a dangerous place and her sudden appearance must have startled the red haired giant. Though his reaction revealed to Niv that he was a hunter of some sort, or at the very least an least capable of it.

The man revealed what seemed like an ornate wooden frame with thick cobwebs laid out in straight lines and began to delicately pluck at the strands. It became clear that the sound she was hearing before came from this man and not the river like Niv had foolishy assumed. She didn’t dare interrupt him though and instead felt a compulsion to dance along. She ran along the connecting branch and leaped towards a hanging vine which she swung the rest of the way down. Niv landed on a fallen log only a few feet away from the musician and was level to the his abdomen as he sat down.

It didn’t take Niv long to get into the melody, despite not being the most skilled of dancer. The song sounded elegant and hopeful so she did her best to illustrate this with the most delicate dance moves she had. She started with simple spins by crossing her legs and untangling them, making sure to spin in the opposite direction after so as not to make herself dizzy. The hand gestures were the most expressive thing Niv did, she twirled and swayed them about to evoke the waves and flow of water. There was no real thought of choreography, Niv just did her best to capture the feel of the music to the best of her ability.

The song gave Niv the feeling of hope and the lyrics the man sung made it all the more clear. The Tunawa couldn’t be sure but it sounded like the man had been through a lot and was finding peace in nature. Niv hadn’t been alive very long but she couldn’t say she hadn’t had to overcome any trials. When the song was over the Sev’ryn continued he conversation, and it seemed by his words that her assumption was right.
“Of course I’d want to be friends with a fellow music lover” Niv giggled dismissively at his comment. “I thought it was the river making the song but it was all you, I always wondered how people could get such beautiful sounds from spider webs.” Niv turned her attention from the peculiar instrument and up towards the man’s light green eyes.
“I’m a dancer and I like to hear all the songs the world has to offer.” Niv pushed off with left leg and spun on the tip of her right leg once around. She completed the move by landing with her right leg bend out in front and her arms out stretched in parallel to her legs. While impressive to those with out dance experience, Niv new her transition was a little shaky and would need to be worked on.
“On another note, what do I call you?” Niv asked before singing a strange sounding bird call, with an unnatural melody. “That’s what my parents named me but everyone just calls me Niv.”

[Tai'klein]

Red in a forest of green
3 Trial, Ymiden, 716 Arc

Tai’klein was a guy who had grown up with mostly alone, leaving him to his songs and lullabies. Most of the time as he was raised by some elders of Desnind on and off, as a boy he would often play his harp to his own comforts. He found solace in the nature outside of the city, but rarely had the opportunity to venture out as a child. Now living amongst nature one could say he met his lifelong dreams, but only time would tell how exactly this would impact his future.

His wolf familiar, Rei’sch, stood up calmly and went over to observe the strange and small dancing lady before them. In a lighter mood, the wolf started to play and do a dance of his own, lowering his head and pouncing back and forth towards the dancing maiden. Though, she would not be able to see it. Tai’klein simply smiled in reaction as he had never seen Rei’sch act this way. It made him feel playful himself, and he showed his lightened mood by standing up.

The white moth floated off in the process and went a distant branch and seemed to do something upon a leaf, but Tai’klein didn’t pay it much mind. He was far too intrigued by the footwork of the maiden before him. She seemed kind enough and wanted to befriend him, but all he could think of is how she would react once she knew of his familiar or if she saw him meld with Rei’sch. There would only be one way to tell, and that would be to show her. Though, Tai’klein himself wasn’t too sure, just as the forest could play tricks on one, so could those that reside within.

Regardless, with yellow-green eyes, warmed by rays showing through the canopy the Sev’ryn beckoned for the dancing maiden to join him somewhere, and as if common sense offered a ride based on accusation that she would not be able to keep up with his pace. “My name is Tai’klein.” He said briefly in response to her. “Come I will show you how to hear music from the wilds.” He said after holding out his palm.

Regardless, the red haired man would walk off once again to the river while playing his harp and singing while walking. He didn’t mind too much of the company, and would allow the little maiden to crawl over him should she desire, as he played. It was a difficult thing to do while walking, and although his tones weren’t completely as fluid as if he had been still, it was still music to his ears. “Come along…

I hear the river’s song calling,
Come stand beside the waters
And watch the scattered sunbeams
Shimmer as they fall
Upon the sway of flowing waves
Where nature’s songs inspire
Sweet melodies and symphonies
To grace Mosekes choir. “

As he walked slowly through the woods towards the river he fit in the surroundings to add to song. He still kept a watchful eye, knowing that such song would attract those that dwelled within the woods. He shared smiles between his verses, and told a story from his heart.

“The Moukou trees beckons
The leafy branches curled
Come feast your eyes upon the land
While nature clothes the world
With Da’kir in the woodlands
And flowers strewn across the hills’ “
The wolf soaring through the woods
howling towards the moon
To swoop with grace and then embrace
The waters and earth as one
His howl with satisfaction
Agreed with breeze and yew
‘if only man could understand
And see the way we do.’”

His last verses ended in a calm speech, and the melody soon ended as crashing waters sounded against the rocks. Birds sung their song from atop, insects chirped along the waters, and leaves blew in the wind. There was no more need to play the harp; it was relaxing and despite the company of the cheerful new acquaintance, he figured that he could enjoy the scenery and ambiance of the waters in only the way that an animal could. He almost craved to know what it would feel like. “Let me meditate for a bit upon these sounds.”

Before long the red haired Sev’ryn laid against a rock by the waters and closed his eyes. Rei’sch was in the distance perching upon a rock in the middle of the river, and would suddenly materialize to one that was watching in that direction. With a great howl the pure white wolf made itself known to those around, and sat down observing the waters below before gently lowering its head and drinking from the steady stream.
The wolf’s yellow eyes watched over towards the rock of Tai’klein, almost as if guarding the body there to make sure nothing out of the ordinary was happening. When the wolf caught sight of the maiden known before as Niv, the wolf pounced off the rock and slowly walked towards both his body and Niv. Every step was cautious and slow as to not to scare off the little maiden, but something within his instincts told him to do such.

[Niv]

It was understandable to be weary of jumping into the hands of one of the Tall ones but Sev’ryn were cousins to the Tunawa and family could always be trusted. Niv looked up into the mans face, seeing his trustworthy smile she happily jumped into the offered hand.
“Nice to meet you Tai’klein” She smiled sweetly up at him and tweeted a happy song bird call to show her eagerness. If Tai didn’t lift her to his shoulder, Niv would crawl her way up so she could get a better look at where Tai was intending to take her.

The man sung as he rushed back towards the river, and Niv joined him with soft melodies made entirely out of different bird calls. She didn’t want to upstage him and did her best to follow the harmony he was creating with his instrument. It was made a bit difficult with the bumpy ride and the simple fact that she wasn’t completely familiar with the song. The music became a chaotic mess of pleasant sounds once Niv added her contribution. A few surrounding birds even joined in, making it seem like the forest was singing with them.

Niv enjoyed the story hidden with in Tai’kleins song, it was something the tunawa had never really thought was possible. The majority of the songs Niv had heard were from birds, and the others were from other tunawa who mimicked those same birds. It was nice to have her horizons open to new possibilities and was glad she had stumbled into the crimson haired bard.

After reaching the water the man stopped his performance and Niv followed suit instead deciding to have a meditation session. Niv sat down cross legged on the broad shoulder of Tai, with her back resting on the large rock. She closed her eyes and began listening intently to the symphony of the forest. Niv let the sounds resonate with in her thin frame until she could feel it in the vines on her head.

It wasn’t until a loud wolf howl erupted in front of her that Niv broke from her trance. She noticed the stark white fur of the majestic creature right away and couldn’t help wondering how it had suddenly appeared there in without her noticing. The wolf turned in her direction and while the tunawa had little to fear from a predator her concern fell towards the human she was currently sitting on. Not knowing how to communicate with an wolf, Niv made a Howl of her own in hopes that it would keep the wolf at bay.

She Jumped down onto Tai’s lap and continued down to his knee, Making another bold howl for good measure.
“Find meat another place Wolf, I’m protecting this man.” Niv proclaimed with a vibrant beat of her chest. It didn’t look like the wolf was even on the prowl but Niv couldn’t be sure. Wolves, especially white wolves weren’t something the tunawa had encountered often, so she didn’t know their behaviour patterns.

[Tai'klein]

Red in a forest of green
3 Trial, Ymiden, 716 Arc

The breath of whispers through howl sounded through rushing waters. The song continued on, each rise in pitch sounded through the woods, and could mostly likely be heard throughout. Among most wolves; the howl is used as a greeting or mark of socialization, and in this case communication.

As Rei’sch sat amongst the stone, his vocalization and cry harmonized with Niv’s doing the best to match the tune. A howl was not used as a mark of a hunt, it was used to convey emotion; sometimes a wolf would just howl to mark territory or let others know of their presence. Suddenly as Niv moved across the body of Tai’klein the wolf responded by moving further and further closer to them, and as he howl changed tones to a more defensive stance the wolf stopped in its track and slurped up some water from the river once more.

She clearly hadn’t put two and two together, or perhaps didn’t know completely of the bond between Sev’ryn and their familiars. Opaque eyes of stern yellow greens met them, and gently closed as the scratch of melancholy melodies filled the air struggling for breath. His eyes gazing through by glare in a snarl.

There was no need to defend against the wolf, and the attempts caused a gravely visage from the wolf, it’s back hairs standing up as shifting shadows of canopy’s grace moved about in place. Was Niv trying to claim Tai’klein for herself? The misunderstanding only caused the wolf to carefully look through her actions as she spoke of finding meat from another place.

Imitating a wolf was far different than sounding off imitations of a bird, and far more complex. As Rei’schs feral instincts caused him to slowly moved forwards, comforting thoughts from Tai’klein suppressed his and was controlled as lonesome eyes once more reflected through the opaqueness of the wolf’s eyes.

Ears lowered and fur no longer erect, the wolf was now within normal arm reach of the two. The wolf turned its head once more to the river, where a school of fish worked to jump and make their way upstream. With a bow similar to the stance of offer Tai’klein had made towards Niv for carry, the wolf lowered itself to the ground slowly.

The wolf would allow Niv to take stand and attempt her hand at riding, a very rare occurrence only granted by the motif to protect Tai’klein.

[Niv]

Tunawa could only mimic the sound of a creature, it took a little longer to understand the meaning behind the chirps, howls and barks. Niv took notice of how the wolf tried to sync up with her howl and realized that she may have jumped to conclusions. The hunter was not growling or bearing it’s teeth and it wasn’t crouched down in a pouncing position. It wasn’t until Niv started to get more aggressive that the wolf returned it. For a wolf however, the back lash was pretty mild and even seemed a bit hurt.

Niv started to suspect that the wolf was Tai’s familiar, since it’s behaviour seemed odd for a typical wolf. It became all the more clear when Niv stated that she wanted to protect tai, and it became almost instantly docile. It lowered itself in a way that seemed like a invitation and Niv couldn’t help but be a bit hesitant. The tunawa had little to fear from predators since she was practically impervious and not considered appetizing. Niv was more concerned with Tai’s well being but her hunch said to trust the wolf.

Niv didn’t know other wolf sounds and howling seemed like a bad thing to do considering how she had used it before. Instead Niv relied on her bird song, singing a quick sweet sounding melody to show that she no longer considered the wolf a threat. She leaped of Tai’s knee headed towards the accommodating wolf. She climbed onto it’s furry back and once she got settled she stoked the wolfs soft fur and even provided some back scratching.
“do you like that?” She calmly asked the wolf. “You have very nice hair.”

Niv turned to Tai who seemed to be in the deepest of trances, which wasn’t too surprising for the spiritual Sev’ryn.
“Not sure if you can hear me but this wolf might be talking me for a ride." Niv explained to the the crimson haired man. "I won’t go far though” Niv was sure that if the wolf strayed of course she could ether jump of or convince the creature to run back.

Having showed that she was no longer afraid, Niv felt safe enough to howl again. This time her howl was made with the intention of showing her eagerness. It certainly wasn’t everyday that a wolf allowed anyone to ride them, and Niv wasn’t going to miss out on the golden opportunity.

[Tai'klein]

Title and date

Listening was all that was required to hear the songs of the river. The ears of a wolf provided sound that was unmet by the capabilities of human hearing, and of course those weren’t the only senses enhanced. As Tai’klein embodied his familiar, he often grew to love those sense. When Niv was petting him the white wolf raised its head to the air in enjoyment. As he did, the fresh scent of blood wafted through the air.

In a sudden change of mood shortly after Niv’s howl of excitement, the wolf leaped and turn in the direction of the blood then let out a harsh snarl and continued to growl unlike Niv had probably ever heard. His white fangs shown from his snarls and lowered its head as if on the prowl. The wolf couldn’t hear much over the rushing waters, but he could smell something. He was simply trying to warn Niv of the putrid smell.

Finally, his curiousity got the best of him. Escaping rather quickly into the forest, the wolf sprinted through the woods towards the direction of the smell. It felt natural and would surely be a smooth ride despite the speed that Rei’sch was running. Following the scent while running and avoiding travelled paths of leading to the frequented Tosibeere Whakamatao, the wolf had to stop and get scent of the blood once more.

While doing so it kept to the shadows of the forest, only slightly panting from the run. Before catching wind to the scent once more the wolf scratched at a tree nearby, leaving his scent to follow for later. It was a tactic that most wild wolves would use aside from urination, and proved to be effective. Shortly after, the wolf once again darted into a sprint, but it didn’t take long before the wolf abruptly stopped in his tracks and lowered down crawling slightly forward into a bush and out the other side. There were numerous bodies of animals all gathered in a heap bleeding to the forest’s ground.

Amongst the dead bodies of animals also lay a familiar white moth, coated in blood and also dead. With a quite snarl the wolf had no idea how to react, or what caused such deaths in the forest. Whatever it was did not follow the laws of the forest, and disrespected nature and the natural ways that Tai’klein and Reisch respected.

For now the wolf simply prowl within the bushes waiting for whatever it was that caused this to show itself. Stalking was one thing that the wolf could do, but this time he had a companion that he had nearly forgot about, until he felt her move about on his fur. The wolf simply reacted by letting out a quite snarl that only she would hear. The vocalization was like a small scratch within the throat of the wolf.

[Niv]

A deep menacing growl game from the wolf and it turned its head to something Niv was unable to sense. Before the tunawa realized what was going on she was being carried swiftly towards the woods once more. Niv was confused and frightened by the wolves sudden actions but that didn’t compare to what she would soon witness once the wolf finally came to a stop. The gore that painted the foliage first hit Niv with the over bearing smell of blood. She could practically feel the metallic taste hit her mouth and it made her feel numb. When Niv pulled herself up to look, What she saw was revolting and unnatural.
“What could have done this” She whispered to herself as tears began to water her tiny eyes.

The low frequency growl from the wolf could first be felt in vibrations and Niv knew what it meant instantly. Niv went silent and listened carefully for what ever savage creature had committed the atrocity. It wasn’t long before the cracking of twigs and the sound of speech could be heard, even by less sensitive tunawa ears. Niv leapt off the wolf and onto a nearby trunk, with the intention of doing a bit of recognizance. She repeated the same low growl the wolf had made to hopefully communicate that she was on the job. it was quite clear that out of the two of them Niv was the least likely to get spotted and there was no telling what they were dealing with.

Niv quickly and silently climbed up the rough bark and onto a high branch so she could get a good view of the culprits. About a yard away Niv spotted them, One man one Women, both ugly. The man was laying on the tree with his bloodied club resting on his protruding belly while the women with the bad posture and large nose started to cut into the branch of a tree with her axe. The were both practically covered in blood and the small pile of animal corpses was enough evidence to point to them.
“Get of yer arse en help me collect some wud before all this meat goes bad, yah loisy drunk”
The women snapped back at the man.
“Eh, I wos da one who got all dem meats, while you sat and watched ya old hag! aan who you calling a drunk there isn’t even a drop of ale in dis shity forust. You’re the one dat got us in dis mess remember, so you cut da wud.”
The two began to bicker like idiots as Niv watched in disgust. It certainly wouldn’t be hard to catch these two off guard but Niv wasn’t sure these were the only two hunters in the area.
Surprise was probably their best bet and if the wolf seemed like it was going to make a sneak attack Niv would assist by throwing the sound of a howl in the opposite direction to distract them even further.