Dark eyes widened as they took in the sight of the glowing insect. It landed on her. She moved her hand slowly and brought it closer to her face. Its wings fluttering ever so slightly from the sudden motion. The blue glow illuminating her face. Her eyes stayed on it for a moment. She realized that the whole area was alight. Turning around slightly, she mouth formed into a small “o” shape. Noise was not heard from her as she took in the sight.
It was beautiful! The Iyọ fluttered around her hair and her body. A giggle slid out of her mouth. Her eyes started to look around quickly. There was so many and she wanted to see them all. She knew it would be impossible, but she still tried to see it. This impossible game kept going for a few trills.
Na’liya looked over to Ti as he thanked their race’s savior. She, herself, never really worshiped her. She prayed to Moseke once in awhile, but never really devoted anything towards the immortal. Her father and mother would praise her, but the ten year old did not share in that. A bit of guilt grew in her stomach as her friend praised Moseke.
Looking back down at her hand that the butterfly was still on, her eyes shifted onto the jar. It was time for her to let them go. A bittersweet smile graced her face. She was going to miss their warm glow in the night. How she would have nightmares and their light would soothe her back to sleep or when she was lost in the house and their lights guided her. She may be weird for bonding with a creature that only lasted for an arc, but she did it every arc. At least she would have their children to remember them by. Her hand hovered over the jar’s lid.
Before she could twist the lid open, the boy across from her started to speak again. Ah, her questions were never answered. She couldn’t exactly recall what she asked. “I don’t really remember everything I asked,” she said looking at yellow glow of one of the Iyọ in front of her. “I think I might have asked what do you like to eat. Oh well, I can ask something else. Why do you live in the forest,” she asked as her body started to lean forward looking the other child in the eyes.
Seeing him hold out his hand was a bit odd to her. She looked at it for a bit before shrugging and taking his hand. She didn’t mind as long as he didn’t fling her off the tree. Her eyes looked down while her hand started to close up into a fist. She had forgotten about the small scars on her hands. A wave of embarrassment crashed into her mind. Her stare transfered onto the jar, “do you want to release them,” she gestured towards the Iyọ trapped in the jar, “with me?”
Why did he live in the forest? It was a good question, one that he always struggled to answer. The topic of his mother was something still a little close to his heart, something that left a deep pit in his heart. He missed her, even if she had already begun to fade from his memories. "My mother died," he felt the pit form in his chest, "my father was heart broken and couldn't cope with people, he moved us to live alone." Ti felt tears threaten to breach his eyelids. But then he felt her hand in his, a comforting gesture that quickly calmed him.
He looked curiously at her hand as it appeared to recoil and fold into a fist. He wondered why she had suddenly moved her hand in such a way. He had felt some small bumps on her hand, but they had not bothered him. It was strange and he would have dwelled on it for a while. Yet as usual his young mind was quickly distracted by other things. The creatures still caught inside the jar mostly. They seemed to flutter with more excitement now that more of their kind flew around them.
Then she pointed to them and asked if he wished to open the jar and set them free with her. He smiled wildly with excitement as he readied himself to release them. He had waited all trial for this moment and he was now overcome with excitement. He placed his hand on the lid of the jar and looked over at the girl infront of him. He did not plan to open the jar without her permission. So he awaited her lead, he smiled at her happily.
"Whenever you are ready." He said nodding towards the jar. He was ready and he could hardly wait to see the two before them be released. It was quite amazing that they had yet to release them, he had assumed they would give in and release the insects before the appropriate time.
Maybe her curiosity got the best of her this time. She frowned and looked down a bit after hearing Ti’niva's reason. There’s a chance that she may have gone over the line. The pit of guilt that formed earlier grew more as she thought about how lucky was that her mom was around. This made her want to go home right now to hug the woman whom she cherish. Looking through her eyelashes, she noticed her friend’s eyes seem to moisten a bit. The pit grew even more.
With her hand still balled up in his hand, the young child's shoulders started to sag with the release of tension. She guessed that putting her hand in his seemed to comfort him a bit. A small smile started to form at the thought she was able to help. Na’liya took back her hand after he agreed to release the butterflies with her. Yes it was definitely time to release the creatures. Their wings seemed to flap impatiently as they waited their turn to fly about the night sky.
With a heavy heart, she grabbed Ti’s hand and placed it on top of hers as she twisted the lid slowly. “Okay. On the count of three we release them,” she looked at them with a bit of excitement. Their wings sped up a bit as well as if sensing what she was going to do. “One…..Two….Three!!!” The lid to the jar was off and the Iyọ were set free.
The ten years old's eyes followed their trail as they flew up to join the rest of their kind. A lopsided smile could be seen on her face at the moment. “I’m going to miss them, ya know,” she said leaning back a little and taking her hand off the boy’s. “They’re beautiful aren’t they,” she asked as she tried to keep her eyes on the Iyọ that once belonged to her. “It might sound weird or even silly, but they were my friends.... Well they were kind of my only friends at the moment,” her hair fell over her eyes as she looked towards the ground. The younger Sev’ryns were going about trying to catch the glowing butterflies, “I was hoping that we could⎯,” Na’liya cut herself short and just continued to look down at the Iyọ below.
She began to count and as she did Ti could feel the anticipation growing within him. He felt a chill run down his spine as he prepared himself to release the Iyọ. His hand was on top of hers and he could feel the twist as she opened the lid, the click and slight drop as it came free of the groove it turned in. He looked up at the girl and then back to the lid as he felt her hand rise up on three. His hand rose with hers and the Iyọ burst out of the jar flying up and out into the night sky. They seemed to dip and dive as if avoiding some invisible pursuer, but it was a truly beautiful thing to see. He knew that such creatures did not have emotions but he imagined them being overwhelmed with joy at being free at last. He traced the two butterflies with his eyes watching them mingle with the others around as they dipped and dived down to below the branch they sat on.
Ti looked back to the girl now, she seemed to have continued watching the Iyọ as they went down lower. She seemed to watch them with mournful yet happy eyes, it was then explained as she said how she would miss them. She said it was strange, but he disagreed inside, he thought it made total sense to miss something that had provided you with so much. He could see the Sev'ryn children below and they were chasing the Iyọ, trying to catch the recently freed creatures. He wondered what they would do if they eventually caught one.
His attention returned to the girl across from him as she spoke, he admired the colourful hues reflecting from her skin. In this light she appeared prettier than he had really thought earlier, yet, following her earlier reaction he decided it best to keep his thoughts to himself. Instead he found himself finishing the question she cut short. "Friends." It was the kind of word all children want to hear from someone new, the thing that never fails to make them smile. He himself felt a broad smile cross his face at the idea of a friend, his first proper friend, or that was what he hoped she would become at least.
"We should be friends Nana." He said nudging her again like he had earlier. He was sure she would agree, they had had a wonderful time together. "I will visit the city more and we can spend time together, I can show you the forest and teach you how to shoot a bow." He wondered if that was appropriate for her, would she even want to learn to shoot a bow. He doubted that many young girls shared his interest in the wilderness and shooting bows. But there was no real harm in asking, or that was his belief.
He looked into her eyes a hopeful expression on his face, he searched for something else to add. "Maybe you could teach me what you like to do. What do you like to do?" He asked curious to learn just a little more about the girl before the night was out and he needed to head back to his father in the forest. He reckoned he had a few bits yet until he really had to leave and he would drag that time to the last straw if need be.
Na’liya’s eyes widen and her body started to shake with a an excitement that could be barely contained. Her lips stretched across her face so her teeth were shown. If her appearance and behavior wasn't a tale tell sign of her mood, she was ecstatic that he finished her sentence. They were going to be friends!
Her poor brain was going in circles at the word. Friends….friends……. She almost reached out to hug him. Two logical things stopped her illogical action. One they were in a tree, there was a chance that they might slip and fall. The second reason was that she was sure that her hug might turn into a tackle. That might cause him to rethink about being her friend. So, she stayed in her spot and started to bounce slightly. Her curls bouncy with the movement. Maybe I do need a trim, a stray thought came about.
She playfully punched his shoulder after his nudge. Her pink tongue was stuck out swiftly at her new⎯Confirmed!⎯friend. The idea of seeing the forest was a bit over her head. She wanted to do that but she’ll have to be given permission. But did she really want to go through the trouble and hassle to ask her mother. She could just sneak out. That seemed better to do. She could just leave a note for her parents. “It would seem fun to explore the forest.”
The idea of learning bow and arrow was interesting. Her mother mostly kept her hunting tools away from her. It bothered her a little but she understood why. “I don’t mind learning how to do that,” she grinned, “my mom doesn’t really teach me a lot of hunting. A little bit but nothing too intensive.”
What do I like to do? That was a hard question to do. She likes to do a little bit of everything. There was so much but barely anything specific came to mind. “I like to run…” she paused and continued to think. What do she like to do? The sound of the chatter below them seemed to grow dull as she spaced out in thought. Her fingers pulled at her coat a bit. She didn’t really have a steady friend to enjoy activities together, so she wasn’t sure. Maybe she liked to make jewelry? Nah, it was hard and she couldn’t keep focus enough to do it.
“I guess you can say say that I like to play and be active. It’s hard for me to stay still in one spot. It’s like I get jittery. I also like to talk a lot. You can stop me of it gets annoying. I won’t mind, my mom does it a lot, but it’s my fault for asking questions in the middle of the night. That reminds me, I like to⎯,” she stopped and blushed a little bit. “Anyway, what do you like to do for fun,” she asked with a questioning tilt. Her mane shifting to the side framing her face in a odd way. Her almost black eyes looked on with an almost unblinking stare.
She was interested in him teaching her and exploring the forest. He was ecstatic and he could hardly contain his joy, he had wanted a partner for exploring the forest for so long. It got lonely sometimes walking the forest with only the wind and animals for company. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy solitude, far from it, it was just that everyone craved human company from time to time. He stretched his arms and pretended to shoot an arrow as he smiled at the girl, she was to be his new partner in the forest. Her hair bounced and he watched it mesmerised, the curls like springs.
She liked to run, that was good they could do a lot of running in the forest. They could also play and be active, they could climb and shoot bows, they could even try to track animals of the forest. He was excited to have a new exploring companion, but then his slightly more mature side kicked in and he began to think about how unsafe it was to go wandering around untrained. But it was again washed over with his happiness to have made a new friend. She asked what he liked to do, such a difficult question, he did not do normal things.
"I like to hunt, to explore and to see the wonders of the forest." He smiled and spread his arms wide. "There is so much to see. The forest is a huge place, seemingly endless we could walk forever and see many new things." He spoke so excited, his voice showing it, he rocked back and forth. Overwhelmed with excitement he felt himself slip and spin hanging upside down by his legs. He let out a wild laugh as he hung there his legs gripping tightly to the branch. He looked up at the girl and smiled still laughing as he hanged there.
"Could you help me up? I am stuck here." He said his laughter slowly vanishing as he realised he couldn't spin himself back around. The fear of falling slowly encroaching over him, he really did not want to fall, especially since he would land on his head. He looked nervous now as he tried to sit up and reach the branch with his arms to hang like a sloth. His muscles failed him and he returned to hanging there helplessly, his face turning red from the blood rushing down his body. He began to feel like his head would pop as he reached up again hoping to find the branch or maybe Na'liya's hand.
Na’liya nodded her head as Ti told her about seeing new things in the forest. She was excited for the time that they could do that. The hunting part was something that she wasn’t so keen on. Seeing a dead animal is one thing, but to kill one is another thing. She liked to run after animals but to actually capture one was something she hasn’t accomplished. Maybe she could just help with running the creature into a trap, if they make one, and Ti can kill it. Pouting slightly at the idea of her friend doing all the work, Na’liya decided she could try kill the creature first.
The curly haired Sev’ryn’s eyes almost bulged out of her head as she saw the boy swing back. Her hands reached out as if to grab him, but air was the only thing she caught. Panic started to swell in her chest. Moving swiftly but carefully, she saw that he was okay and noticed he was hanging by his legs. He was laughing loudly and it was fortunately contagious. She started to laugh with him; her heart going back to a regular pace. Her arms went around her stomach as she tried to calm herself. Wiping a tear from her eye, the ten arcs old child noticed he wasn’t laughing anymore. She watched him struggle to get back up and wondered if she help him.
The answer to her question didn’t take long to be heard. She leaned over slightly and looked down at him. His face turning red almost like a Da'kir Berry. A giggle was heard from the girl on the branch; she reached her hand out and pulled him up. Her legs squeezing the branch under her. Using all her strength she was able to get him up in a sitting position. “I think you should be more careful,” she all but laughed. “You could have gotten hurt really bad, and you wouldn’t be able to hang out with the amazing Na’liya,” she teased punching him lightly in the shoulder, “and if you couldn’t do that, then your life would have been boring,” she grinned brightly.
“Anyway,” she drawed out the ‘a’, “I think we should call it a night.” She looked up into the night sky. Tonight has been a bit tiring for her. She made a friend that would last a while, hopefully. She climbed a tree and had a bit too many mood swings. The Iyọ could still be seen fluttering about, but there was a bit less than there was earlier. “Do you come back often,” she asked while still looking up. She remembered that he lives in the forest and there was a chance that he doesn't always come back here. Frowning slightly at the idea, she decided to just clear her mind and look at the colors that were in front of her.
"Yes, time to go, I agree." He said as he crawled his way back along the branch to the trunk of the large tree. He managed to hang himself by his arms from the branch while finding foot holds and then transposing his hands to the trunk too. He shimmied and wriggled his way carefully about half way down the trunk, holding on for dear life. At this point he felt comfortable enough to drop from the tree. So he released his hands and arms and let himself fall towards the earth. He landed with bent knees, but the force caused him to drop further than expected and land on his arse. He moaned a little as he stood up and rubbed his sore rear.
He smiled back at the girl who had also begun her decent, he waited for her to get down before he spoke to her. He did not wish to distract her and cause her to fall, that would have been catastrophic. They had only just become friends after all, he would not forgive himself for killing his new friend this early on in the relationship. He laughed to himself as she reached the ground, he had a strange thought process at times. She was down safe and as was he, ready to return to the forest he looked at the girl one last time.
Some strange primal urge came over him now and he stepped forward, and rather awkwardly hugged his new friend. She was a bit smaller than him, and he thought it might have looked like he was smothering her to a concerned passer by but in reality he was showing affection in the only way he knew how. Ti released Na'liya as he spoke to her for the last time that night. "Goodnight Nana, I will see you again I am sure of it." He turned his back now and found himself running excitedly off towards the Itọju.
He smiled the whole time he ran filled with joy to have made a friend, but he did long for the loneliness of the forest for a while. Therefore he strolled the rest of the way once he was out of the city, not rushing too much to get home, just admiring the glow that was still on the sky and the occasional Iyo that would show up and flutter by. What a wonderful night it had been.
Loot: None Injuries: None Fame: +2 (Taking Part in a City Holiday) Devotion: +5 Moseke (Taking Part in a City Holiday)
Story: 5/5 Collaboration: 5/5 Structure: 5/5
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Ti'niva
Knowledge:
Psychology: Missing Out on Childhood
Psychology: Laughter is Contagious
Holiday: Mwẹnz Tsäbtä
Na'liya: Outspoken, Unique, and Interesting
Na'liya: Call Me Nana
Na'liya: Pretty
Na'liya: Has a Sister
Na'liya: Friend
Climbing: Using Low Branches
Climbing: Risking a Broken Bone
Climbing: Using the Trees Structure for Purchases
Strength: Required for Climbing
Strength: Giving a Boost
Iyọ: The City's Lantern
Loot: None Injuries: None Fame: +2 (Taking Part in a City Holiday) Devotion: +5 Moseke (Taking Part in a City Holiday), +1 Moseke (Prayer)
Story: 5/5 Collaboration: 5/5 Structure: 5/5
- - - - - - -
Comments: This thread made me incredibly happy because you all used the "Star Release" holiday. I am so glad that you all seemed to enjoy it. The bond between the two of them was lovely nurtured. I look forward to seeing their friendship progress. Na'liya is definitely talkative, but I love that about her character. She contrasts Ti'niva so well.
Please be mindful of run-on sentences. I noticed improvement as the thread progressed. Reading out loud may provide some benefit to you while editing your post prior to posting. I did not dock any points at this time.
If you feel I've missed anything or if you have questions about your review, please don't hesitate to send me a quick PM. Thank you!
word count: 341
I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be then me.
