Taltos

[Neve Luna]

"As long as you want to save the forest Allain is from and where you were put into, then you're welcome to be by my side. Finding a purpose is the only drive someone has whether it's love, hate, even freedom." The visions of nightmares played over and over in her head as she spoke, but she didn't allow them to weaken her drive.

Without a word to Neve, Dy'tre let out a roar and took off ahead, his irritation with Devyn for giving Neve painful memories was making him want to hunt or take out anything else that might be a potential danger to her.

"Don't mind him," she began before he even thought about asking, "Dy'tre is over protective and, again, not too trusting. He's sensitive for an overgrown kitten." She laughed and turned her glance at him as she continued walking. "It's nice to finally meet someone, even if it is for a little bit. Tell me a bit about yourself."

[Devyn Astratos]

Even as she explained what happened with Dy'tre, Devyn felt himself feeling guilty about the situation. He was very familiar with the idea of a familiar being overprotective, and his eyes reflexively flicked upward again at the thought. Allain was not there. She had flown after the jungle cat. Devyn was alone.

"About myself? Well, I don't have too many clear memories of the time between my ejection and meeting Allain. There's this feeling that I was still not a fully-formed person until that point." Without the presence of his falcon familiar there at that exact moment, it struck Devyn just how dependent he was on her. There were reasons for that, but he knew he needed to become a sentient being - not a codependent one. He searched his mind for his memories and found that he couldn't come up with any that didn't involve Allain. So he decided on honesty.

With a jarring clarity, he continued. "She taught me everything about who I am, what I can do, everything. I wouldn't even be as proficient with my powers if not for her direction." Devyn's black eyes were about to glance up again, but he caught himself, training them on Neve instead. For the first time since his first assessment of her attractiveness, he took her in again. He couldn't help the very slight smile that appeared on his face. "But until this moment, I didn't fully understand the one thing she's always been trying to teach me: that I also need to be my own person. I kinda think I have you to thank for that, Neve."

This elicited a laugh from him. "But you didn't ask for an epiphany. You wanted to know about me. I'm...well, I'll tell you a story about me if you want to hear it."

[Neve Luna]

"How did I - " Her question stopped when he laughed, so she decided not to continue it, assuming it wasn't any of her business. "Before you begin, I could tell you the very same thing - I have no knowledge that my familiar doesn't. He was there when I awoke from my pod, he was there when I couldn't walk or swallow. He is everything to me that a parent should be, and more." Although her heart didn't hurt, she placed her hand over it still, realizing that it was a very different feeling from hurt. "I love Dy'tre - even without him, I wouldn't know what love felt like, or affections, or understanding."

The night continued to sing its song with every step the two of them made. "You said you should thank me for something - no, please don't. Whatever I have done for you, the Universe set in place, and I hope you will ride on the wings provided for you." The heat in her cheeks appeared again and she turned away from him, hoping - even if it was dark - that he wouldn't see.

Dy'tre snorted in Neve's head and she smiled, ignoring him like she always did. "But, please, tell me a story - I like stories." A large willow tree surrounded by moss was the first thing the tired Vai'aja saw and she gladly sat at its base, sighing halfheartedly with relief, knowing fully that Dy'tre turned in his tracks to inspect the area more thoroughly. "They usually give me dreams." The smile she gave Devyn as she looked up at him was from more than just the outside of her.

[Devyn Astratos]

Devyn nodded, taking a second to look back at the section of bridge they had crossed. It was one of the first figurative steps he'd taken on his own - and it felt exhilarating. He could feel Allain's pride pervading his mind as well. Sitting under the canopy of the tree with Neve, Devyn looked at her, strangely unnoticing of the closeness. That is, until his eyes caught hers. He felt suddenly self-conscious about his midnight-hued eyes, unsure of how she saw them. He turned away, instead casting his gaze to the brush beneath them.

"I'll tell you about the first time I tried integrating into a society." Devyn's voice lost its childlike innocent quality, dropping to a more somber tone. "Allain led me to a village; a village that by all rights, seemed very accepting. There were people of almost every race living together in relative harmony. But I have a way of...disrupting harmonies." Another chuckle escaped his lips, no trace of mirth in it whatsoever. "Half of the population thought I was an angel sent from heaven. The other half thought the exact opposite."

[Neve Luna]

The beauty of his eyes struck Neve, but his reaction to her looking at him was a little shocking; her heart filled with worry and self-doubt, but she didn't ask him any of the many questions in her head - she just looked away instead.

After listening to the beginning of his story, she set her gaze upon him again and she could understand the feeling the people who saw him as an angel felt, but she could also understand the confusion the rest of the people felt. It was unnerving, even a little envious, that the Universe created people - living, breathing, talking people - and then sent them onto the Mother. What for? What was their purpose? The questions could drive anyone mad with curiosity, and it was apparent that curiosity can lead to many different things.

Rising her knees to her chest, Neve looked ahead of her and into the dark brush of the surrounding speckles of the forest as she awaited more of his story.

[Devyn Astratos]

"As you can imagine, the tension reached a head pretty quickly. Throughout all the time I spent there, I dealt with torment on the parts of the villagers that couldn't accept me: not that I was different, but just how different I was from them. In every way. More than just my skin color or my eye color. It's what I can do; where I come from. It...scares people." Devyn explained as best he could, looking back up at her after a while. Her eyes faced ahead, but he could tell she was paying rapt attention to his words. She looked...he found that pretty wasn't adequate anymore. She looked as perfect as anyone he'd ever seen. This thought made him self-conscious again, but since she wasn't looking at him, he didn't look away this time. He simply continued.

"I had refrained from using my powers too much among them. You know, keep them pacified as much as I could. But it turns out that..." His voice unexpectedly caught in his throat. Whenever he thought of this part of the story, he found it difficult to continue. "...it turns out that that is a bad idea. One of the townspeoples' daughters, a beautiful little Vai'aja girl, couldn't be anymore than about 13...she liked me, you see. Not in any sort of untoward way, but she didn't fear me. She didn't see me as anything other than normal. Then the powers I tried not to use flared up. Allain told me afterward that around that age, my powers get stronger on their own, and it wasn't my fault, but..." His eyes moved from her face again and stared off into the distance. This time, he wasn't looking at anything.

[Neve Luna]

The sudden change in his voice made Neve turn her gaze on him; her heart feeling sympathy, fear, and sadness for him. Subconsciously, the Vai'aja placed her hand on his and smiled, hoping to bring him back to the reality they were both in. "Your past hurts - so does mine - but it's not about what happened to us, it's about how me deliver ourselves from the experiences and who we become."

The speckles in her eyes began to shine as she stared at him; her eyes followed his jaw line, ran over his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose, and down to his lips. Blushing once more, her eyes went up to his and she continued. "Mistakes are meant to be learned from, did you learn from it?"

[Devyn Astratos]

He looked at her when he felt her hand on his. It was soft, almost unnaturally soft. It felt wonderful. Physical contact was not something he was used to feeling. This time he caught her blush. "I - I think I did. At the time, I thought the message was to not ingrain myself in people's lives. That I was just supposed to be alone. But I feel differently now. It depends on the people."

Then his train of thought changed. "You are incredibly beautiful Neve, why are you blushing?" Tact in certain lines of conversation was not something he had grasped completely yet.

[Neve Luna]

"I - uh..." Her hand retracted and she placed it on her cheek, looking away to hide her embarrassment. The last time Neve felt any physical contact - or even a compliment - was when her lover was still alive so many years ago. "I'm not that good at hiding emotions of affection; sadness, fear, anger, and even blood-lust all come with an easy mask..." The rumble in Neve's head let her know that her surrounding area was safe and she felt a sudden silence in her head - Dy'tre left her completely alone to deal with the feelings she was having.

With all the noises of the night, Neve turned to look at Devyn. "Thank you for your compliment, Devyn; it is true that I see that you're different, not like any other man I've ever seen, but you're handsome and defined." In the many years Neve had spent with Dy'tre, the Vai'aja never learned to speak her affections out loud to a person. Dy'tre was telepathically, her lover was physically with deep embraces, passionate kisses, or gentle love making.

[Devyn Astratos]

Devyn, on the other hand, had never received any compliments period. At least, not from anyone who wasn't paying him blind worship that he didn't want. The compliment felt very different coming from this woman. Strangely enough, he found himself blushing slightly as well. The rose tinge was embarrassingly visible on his white skin. "I know I'm different, but thank you. I'm glad you like it. Well, me...you know, how I look." His words were tripping over themselves again.

He could hear Allain in his head, trying not to make herself obvious. This was impossible in telepathic contact. He just ignored her. Devyn was normally very self-conscious about his eyes, but he couldn't take them off her.