Legend of Ransera

Frost 62, 122 immediately following viewtopic.php?t=4374

Norani rolled onto her back, smiling broadly, when she felt something reach out to her. She felt it in the same way she had heard the voice of the lake back home or the winds that called to her to come play. But it didn't feel like an element calling to her, far bigger, far more... something far beyond a mere element, if such a measure could be used. Such immensity of presence was not something that Norani could truly fathom. It felt.. she couldn't put a word to it, but it was there, and it seemed to be watching her. It was all around her, she could feel it... everywhere.

But she didn't find herself reverting to her skepticism that had come from her burdened cynicism, the kind she'd lashed out at Captain Kynne with. Even thinking the man's name didn't bring venom to her thoughts like it used to do. She welcomed the presence, in whatever capacity it wished to be known. She knew now what Yeva had been doing her best to try and convince the Orkhan of, through word and action, and that was closing herself off was never going to make anything better. Norani took in a deep breath. No, no more of that. She opened herself up to this new presence, one that felt inexplicably old. She wondered if it was perhaps the tree, Agst'rasera itself. Having been born among the boughs of a great tree, there were many stories that suggested trees, particularly great and old ones were just as alive and present of mind as the Orkhan were, some even saying more so. Looking up into the branches far into the sky, "Hello to you too."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Vami Vani burst out of the brush nearby, snapping up Norani's attention, bringing a broad smile to her face as the flowery elemental floated down from her jump, leaving a trail of petals fluttering about in her wake. Soon, the little windy one came out after her, and Norani cocked her head to the side curiously. Then from her lap, Glorbp Glorbp bounced splashily, shouting, "Game!"

He dashed off to float along with Vomi Vani, as another dozen elementals burst out of the brush, several looking back behind them at what Norani could only assume was their playful pursuer. She laughed heartily, as Glorbp Glorbp came over, tugging at her hair, "Game!" Then he went wide eyed as a shadow passed over them both, a very familiar "SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" resounding over the land. Norani looked up in amazement, her smile growing wider. Diving in from the sky was Ruvaf with the little fiery elemental upon his back. Norani pulled the winds through her, leaping up from her spot upon the grass, propelled by the winds that were just as much a part of her as her green skin or the heart that beat for another in her chest. She raced out in a natural path for Ruvaf to follow, and she looked back over her shoulder to see he was following her, the little fiery guy upon his back whooping in its own crackling language.

Norani slowed, rolling over so her back was facing the ground, as Ruvaf flew over her. She could see that his wing was very much healed, and she reached upward, embracing him around the neck, pulling herself close to his belly as he flew the three of them after the fleeing troupe of elementals. Norani sent a wind with her words to his ears, "I love you," and he responded with a playful squawk. She looked backwards to see ahead of them, seeing that they were closing in on the scattering elementals. She heard the fiery one roar to life as he launched from Ruvaf's back like a meteor streaking toward them. The little rocky one stumbled on a vine, collapsing into a pile of rocks and dirt clods, kicking up dust. It rolled over, its eyes growing wide as the fiery tackled into it.

In the same instant the two collided they became something new. Something Norani had never seen before. She broke away from Ruvaf, flying down to inspect the newly merged elemental. It growled playfully at her and smiled at it. It looked like the stones that they kept in the cooking fires that would be dunked into soups to keep them hot. Fire and rock together. She watched as it moved around, stomping and play growling at the other elementals that were dancing about nearby. It moved more like a liquid and less like the stones of the original. And she could see it leaving burning little footprints behind it. Then it suddenly charged at the wind elemental who squeaked and tried to rush away. It reached out, touching the wind's tail, and Norani watched as earth exited the merger, leaving behind fire, mingling with wind, and a new elemental formed, and she laughed in delight. A swirling vortex of sand with a grumpy scowl on its face was now spinning there, howling and squealing loudly.

A flap of the wings gave away Ruvaf's presence as he landed behind Norani. She turned, finding his face pressing against her torso as she clasped him tight. In her native tongue, "I'm so glad you're better. I'm sorry I was gone for a while. I turned into water for a while." He pulled his head from her, putting his large eye before her own and she knew that he had already known. Maybe Astrid had told him. She suspected the woman would know everything Norani was up to here. Norani could hear the giggles and screams and growls as the game continued on behind her. "I'm glad to see you've made friends." She patted him on the beak and turned back to see that currently there the mingled one, the one who was 'it' appeared to be a combination of Vomi Vani and the little shadowy one. This resulted in what appeared to be an ephemeral, viney and dark entity that was racing around the others from plant shadow to plant shadow. It stretched and undulated as it chased.

Norani winked at Ruvaf, then called forth her watery form she'd recently learned, and leapt into the fray. Shadow vines lashed around mud, spitting out shadow behind, forming something Norani could only describe as a swamp elemental. It looked at her, seeing her in this new form, and sloshed after her. She turned and ran, Ruvaf settling in, watching. Norani looked over her shoulder and saw that the swampy elemental was gone. She looked back forward and eeped as it slipped up and out of a bit of mud that had formed under the shade of a tree. Her watery feet were slowed in the mud around her and the swampy graaaarghed as it reached for her. As it touched her, she felt that same aetheric ask that her and Glorbp Glorbp had shared, and she responded to it with her own. Vomi Vani was spat out and mud merged with Norani.

She felt a rush as the perfectly blended elemental of water and earth melted into her own watery form. She embraced it, taking on a new form that felt... easiest. Natural. The collision spouted a massive bog where the woman had once stood. Norani cast her aether out, the bog taking in the land all around it, converting more earth into the bog, racing toward the others. The eyes of all the elementals around them grew wide while Vomi Vani laughed as she played nearby in the mud. The elementals began squealing, turning to flee, some easier than others, with the wind ones zipping away easily.

But the earth elemental, made of rocks was very much ground bound at the moment and as the bog spread, it began to sink, and with an eep, disappeared into the mire. The mud elemental was spat out, and from the bog, a woman of mud stepped out. Norani embraced the earth elemental within her as the other elementals were ooohing and aaahing. She slunk back into the earth below her, moving silently in the soil beneath the play area. She could feel those walking upon the earth with her connection to it, but she had another target in mind, something more challenging than the easy pickings of the earthbound ones. A pillar of mud shot out of the ground, racing toward the wind elemental. She whooshed away to the side, laughing as she flaunted her speedy reflexes. But her dodge didn't matter, for the target had been the little fiery guy that had been behind her.

The pillar of mud caught the floating flames and Norani was spat out, as magma formed once again. She deactivated her form for a bit, to catch her breath, watching as the elementals continued to play their game. She walked over toward Ruvaf, sitting up against his body, his wing resting over her, as they both watched the play at hand, enjoying the presence of the other. And then another snuck in under the wing as well, looking up at the Orkhan lass with his big eyes. She reached out, pulling the earth elemental close, nodding, "Yes, it's your turn now."