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Post by Serena on May 19, 2006 6:26:20 GMT -5
The golden sand shifted unpleasantly under the matching hue that was the resident sun, giving the impression that the grains glittered in the dawn. Veridians, ceruleans, and goldenrods shone brightly in the clear sky as the day slowly began. There was not a single creature to be seen, only stretches of dessert, and plain beyond. This was a quiet, regular peace that was interrupted at about this time each day.
A sound like the crack of thunder rose deep from beneath the sand. The sparkling grains jumped a bit, then settled, as if it hadn't happened just now, or ever before. And yet another ominous boom sounded, sending the sand slightly higher than before. Another came. And another!
The surface above was so innocent and naiive to what was slowly errupting from deep within its crust, and if that alone wasn't enough, it probaby had not a single clue as to know that someone below had just died.
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Post by Serena on May 21, 2006 17:53:12 GMT -5
Finally, another ominous, yet dull crash was heard from the uninhabited surface. Below, it had hundreds of times louder, so that the sickening crunch of flesh was lost to the falling rocks. Not a single drop of cold blood escaped the rubble.
-
"Zlae'jil-sama!"
"What is it?"
"Kel! Someone wasn't cleared of the explosion site!"
"Then why in the hell did you detonate?"
"Because you ordered me to, Kel!"
Sighing, the Zlae'jil further interrogated the naga before him, "Alright. So who didn't make it out?"
"Err..."
"Te? Who was it? Who's zy'ohka?"
"Fa'juhk-sama, Kel..."
"..." the Zlae'jil had not expected a naga so great to foolishly stay behind after laying down the zip'z. This would prove to be a difficult situation. Not only were they down an asset, but now... he had to explain to Fa'juhk's daughter, Sp'lode, that he wasn't coming home... "Alright. Thank you, Kel. Back to your station."
"Yes, Kel!"
-
The wailing that took place ten minutes later lasted for three long days. Not that it was staying in one place.
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Post by Serena on May 21, 2006 21:36:20 GMT -5
A knock sounded on the cold, stone door. After a moment, the opened a crack.
"Hello?" A small girl snuck a glance through the gap, her vibrant red hair just catching some of the magic-light outside. As soon as she recognised the man behind the door, she gasped in surprise, opening the door fully.
The Zlae'jil smiled sadly, not quite finding it in himself to remember the girl before she'd grown taller. The young naga, a natural-born tan-skin called Sp'lode, had only become worse over the years, declining from her original, perma-cute self.
"Sp'lode? I have something I need to inform you of, though it brings me great pain..." he began.
She smiled, more sweetly than she ever did for anyone but her, now zh'ohka, W'tal, and invited him in, "Kel, please come in. I'm sure it would be more comfortable than standing at our door, like that."
The Zlae'jil almost double-taked; he hadn't seen this side of Sp'lode in years! Surely this was a doppleganger in her place?
"Sure, sure..." Sp'lode slithered a bit to the side so that he could pass. She led him to a heated stone slab (in other terms, a chair), and sat down opposite him. Her blinking golden eyes looked at him as if to say, "So, what are you going to tell me?"
The Zlae'jil chose his words carefully, "Sp'lode; I'm afraid that there was an accident, this morning."
"Yes?" she remarked, "And those happen, how often? You usually don't come telling me about it; what is this about?"
'Right to the point, then,' he thought, "Your W'tal was caught in the crash, Sp'lode." he looked to the cobblestone floor, "I'm sorry to inform you, that your W'tal is dead."
The change in the girl's disposition was instantaneous, her tail fell into a slump, rather than the witty curve it had held just a second before. She looked to the floor, beautiful eyes brimming with tears. Her hands fell to the side, clenched in both grief and anger.
"I know how hard this must be for you; it's hard for me, and I hardly knew him as you did..."
Her nails were now cutting into her palms, she shouted at the Zlae'jil, "No, you didn't! You never knew him like I did! You never will, and all because your naga are too damned stupid to warn one of the dangers of explosions! My W'tal was smarter than that! If he, one of the brightest among you idiots, if not the brightest, is zy'ohka, then what of the rest of your naga? Your company! I don't even know what W'tal saw in you! We should have never come to work for you; you filthy k'tej!"
"Now, Sp'lode..." this is what the Zlae'jil was afraid of. This was the new Sp'lode.
"No! Shut up! You have no command of me, now! W'tal is dead! And it is all your fault!" She thrust a small slip of paper into the Zlae'jil's face; he didn't have time to register what it was before everything went black.
Two in the naga settlement were zy'ohka, that morning.
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Post by Cinekina on May 22, 2006 21:36:32 GMT -5
The naga in the market spoke hurriedly, their voices joining together in a roar that echoed off the tall cavern walls. The explosions had ended early that day. From what the young 8-year old human could make out, someone had died...crushed in the falling rubble...someone important...another had died....not like the other, though...The human girl tried to block out their voices, trying hard to focus on what her mistress was saying, but her mind kept slipping to the chatter of the naga. She shrugged the heavy basket back up onto her shoulder and used her left hand to quickly pull her messy brown hair out from under its handle, it was bad enough her mistress would pull out her hair at some point today, she hoped she would have at least some hair left by the age of 10.
She felt a sharp pain slash across her cheek with a force large enough to knock her off her feet. The basket slid off her arm and landed with a thud on the rock, spilling its contents. She heard a high, musical voice curse at her in an unforgiving tone, one that promised nothing but pain and anguish.
"Look, look what you did, you little rodent! First, you ignore me, and now you drop the food I've worked hard to buy!!! I ought to strangle you!" the voice screamed. "But then I would have to carry the basket myself, and daddy always says I shouldn't strain myself. Just be happy you get to keep your life, human! It's not much, but still..."
The girl's eyes watered up and her tears hit the ground silently. She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. Her palms were scraped, the cuts stinging as she picks up the dropped food and places it back into the basket. She hauls herself to her feet, only to be knocked back down. Once again, the basket hits the ground, but the girl cries out as a sharp rock slices down her arm.
"Stop whining, you little brat!!! And hurry up! We've still more shopping to do," her mistress sniffed scornfully.
The girl picked up every thing, babying her injured arm, and followed at a run after her half-snake owner. Her owner was beautiful, deadly so, but her eyes were cold and heartless. Because of her daddy's station, she feared nothing and believed she had a virtually endless amount of money. Her hair was long and blond, almost white. It bore no tangles, no split ends, even despite its length. Her tresses were so long that from the girl's height of 4'5 she only had to reach her hand out to stroke the beautiful naga's flowing hair. Her skin was pale and smooth like silk. The tail that she followed was red, but the 'underbelly' was gold. The naga's shirt was tight fitting and the color or the brightest orange fire.
The slave looked down at her tattered and dirty dress, if it could be called one! It was ripped and caked in mud, sweat, and blood from her wounded arm. A wave of pain shot up her arm again. She bit her lip to keep from crying. Her thoughts turned to her mother. Her mother was a quiet woman, kind and always willing to help the other slaves. Her eyes were a pale blue, 'like the ocean' one of the slaves had said. According to her mother, that slave was her father, but he had died from infection before she was born.
"Ju'seti", her mother had said once, "never stop dreaming. There is a god, and he will answer you if you want it enough." Ju'seti still believed, if only because her mother said so. But she didn't understand why god hadn't answered her yet.
Ju'seti weeped over her bleeding mother. "Ju'seti," her mother said softly. "Don't cry...I'm free now. But I'm afraid I must leave this flesh, but I shall always be with, no matter what."
Ju'seti watched in horror as her mother's chest ceased to move. She howled in sorrow and grasped onto her mother's clothes. She refused to let go, even as the whip cracked...
It seemed that two souls lost something very dear to them this day.
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Post by Serena on May 23, 2006 19:18:10 GMT -5
Shoving her way through the throng on tails and torsos, all varying and height, length, and colour, Sp'lode did not care how many she knocked down. She was furious. She was hurt. She was indifferent to how much blood was spilt, now. Her W'tal was zy'ohka. Nothing mattered now.
The passing naga looked at her with many different expressions. Some read disbelief- how dare this insolent whelp brush their pampered forms? Some pity- the news of Fa'juhk's passing was already spread rampant about the settlement. Some relief- the look in Sp'lode's golden eyes was now malevolent, bloodthirsty, and cruel. However, not a soul reached out to chastise, comfort, or stop her as she left, quickly and without hesitation.
One thing caught her eye as she left. Though she didn't doubletake or pause physically, another of the imported humans, a girl only years younger than herself, was being punished, it seemed. The girl looked pained as she quietly followed the naga that was, no doubt, her master.
Sp'lode approved of slavery in civil terms. But never was a servant, who without, many naga would die, to be injured by the hand of the one responsible for them.
She smirked, 'One more reason to blow this acursed town to all hell,'
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Post by Serena on May 24, 2006 17:05:06 GMT -5
Sp'lode did not know where she was going.
Still pounding forward, lithe tail whipping back and forth in what could be considered a naga's run, she thought aloud about a half hour later, "What in the seven hells am I doing? This is insane..."
Still she continued on until she reached the Great Cavern; the capital naga settlement, from which all others were tunneled. Only then did she stop.
Gazing about in amazement, Sp'lode found herself in a tunnel a mile high, with acres of space beneath, in which she could see hundreds of varying tails, writhing about unpleasantly. Is was dizzying. She quietly slithered off of the main path and emptied what little food she'd eaten for breakfast from her stomach.
Behind her, a figure snickered; apparently amused. The girl whipped about to face the man. He smiled pleasantly, saying, "First time to the Great Cavern? It tends to do that to people." Sp'lode crossed her arms, as if she hadn't heard him.
Naga didn't speak to humans as equals; and certainly humans were never to belittle a naga.
The man acted as if she had, and continued, "The trick is to focus on the torso; it's less disturbing if you see the more human part of them."
That crossed it. Sp'lode snapped at him, " 'The human part of them?' What do you think we are? Deformed humans? How dare you speak that way without your owner to protect you? Who do you think you are?!"
He seemed to have ignored her outburst,rather, taking in what she actually said, "I am an escaped slave; I've just killed my owner. That, my dear, is what I think I am."
Sp'lode froze, speechless. It's not as if she couldn't defend herself, but she'd never heard of such blasphemy. A slave did not kill their owner. It was unheard of.
She almost began to advance on the man, hoping to punish him for his wrongdoings, but stopped. A flash of memory crossed her chaotic mind as the image of the slave girl from earlier reminded her of something. The naga put herself in the girls shoes, so to speak, and wondered what she would do if she was mistreated, beaten, fed little, and forced to work. She would certainly kill off her owner as this man had; it wasn't fair to punish him.
Instead, she started toward the city. The man looked surprised, as if he'd expected her to lash out at him, he called after, "So you're leaving; eh? Just like that?"
Without turning back, she called, "I may have a short temper, but I like to avoid hypocrisy."
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Post by Serena on May 25, 2006 19:33:43 GMT -5
Putting the man behind her, Sp'lode slithered down the carefully crafted path to the city, which was slightly lower in elevation than the entrances to the Cavern. Her frustration subsided for a moment as she took in the awe of the huge undergriund settlement. Even from about, she could see hundreds of naga, a marketplace, and buildings taller than she'd ever seen!
After a few moments, though, she reached the final segment of the ramp, and looked about to see where she would go first. As the man had assumed, this was, indeed, Sp'lode's first time to visit the Great Cavern.
Her W'tal once told her stories of the capital, where he had met her Fi'tal. She recalled it with relish, trying to remember that old image of her Fi'tal.
The young male naga looked about the city excitedly; he finally had made it to the capital! He was often at the butt of jokes as he was so slow for his size. Those at the settlement had discouraged him from even trying to reach the Great Cavern, insisting that he would be out of food by the time he got there. Well, that was nonsense.
As he descended the worn path to the city, his peridot eyes caught something colourful scurrying across the path. Now, that would be an understatement; most all naga are colourful, but this one... She had such an odd array of colours that he was surprised noone else had followed after her as he found himself doing.
The naga of his settlement were quite cruel; considering he wasn't really all that slow. He rushed after the festive naga, wondering what he was doing. This was his first time in the Great Cavern; and he was chasing after something pretty? It didn't stop him, though.
After a few minutes, he started to wonder why she kept going; surely she couldn't be going all of the way across the capital? That was insane. 'She must stop somewhere...' he thought, struggling to remain on her trail.
Finally, about ten minutes later, she stopped and looked into a building (although primitive to upperworld human standards), giving the male a chance to catch up.
"Te." he smiled.
She turned about in surprise, golden eyes sparkling, "Te, to you, as well."
The male hadn't quite thought this through; what was he going to do when he did catch up to her?
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Post by Serena on May 28, 2006 14:08:21 GMT -5
He was going to charm her, he decided. At least be curtious; it was the right thing to do, after all, he had just disrupted her day!
"I was curious as to who you are," Fa'juhk stumbled across his words awkwardly, as if they weren't quite his own.
The female arched a brow, skeptisism playing across her light chestnut face, "Alright," she said, "if you tell me who you are, my good kel." she smiled.
Fa'juhk managed to surpress a blush, as even its slightest form rivaled his fiery hair, "Ah; my name is Fa'juhk. And you?"
She swept a lock of ebony hair behind one pointed ear as said, "I am called N'shael,"
In the male's soul, he swore he could hear the angels sing; 'This is what one looks like!' he thought, suddenly remembering tales of blue and golden tailed angels with relish.
Apparently, he'd been in his own owrld a second too long, as N'shael soon asked, "Are you alright, Fa'juhk-san? You're blushing..."
Sp'lode shook her head, this was no time to be lost in nostalgia. She needed to find a place to stay in the huge settlement.
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