A Sudden Storm

Thread Status:Open
Players involved: Four Moons Watching, Kokopuffs
Characters involved: Miara, Akuma
Setting: Southern shore of Odslig Lake
Time: Current, midmorning
Weather: Absolutely pouring rain, and there's a thunderstorm on the horizon too

~~~~

Fuck.

Miara wasn't usually one to swear, but here she was, caught out in the rain with her legs scraped up from undergrowth and her hair in a hopeless mess and nothing to even show for her ill-fated errand. She'd been gathering clay to make replacements for a couple of broken teacups, but it had washed away when the rain picked up.

Resigning herself to returning empty-handed, she turned and began trudging (there was really no better word for how she had to slog through the mud) back home, shivering and cursing her luck.

Of course, the day just had to go from bad to worse. Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance, startling Miara. The little nymph flinched and tripped over some rocks, brushing by a thorn thicket on the way down and picking up even more scrapes.

Worst of all, when she tried to stand up again, she found that she couldn't. The mud was too deep; her hands found nothing to push herself up against, and she was too cold and exhausted to get back to her feet without using her arms. She tried healing herself to get some strength back, but it just wasn't enough.

Getting desperate, she gathered the last of her vikta and freed one hand from the mud to throw a brilliant flash of light into the sky, the blue of her magic luckily distinct from the white-gold of lightning. She took off her hat and held it up to make sure she was visible above the mud and waited anxiously for help, or the storm, whichever came first.

The rain and thunder had no effect on the man who made his way through it, even as the lightening struck in the distance he dare not flinch; his eyes glued upon the path before him. Perhaps the thing to hate, however, was the thick mud it seemed to create below his feet. Not as harsh in areas where the foliage was most dense, but worse where it was thin, dying.. barely there. He growled in frustration, his dragon like feet practically sunk into it, caking him in the sticky substance.

He could shift, make it easier, then again.. he could also make it so much worse as well. The large the body the more it would sink into the soft earth; something no being really wanted to happen. In the sky, there was soon a bright flash of light, far different than the flashes of lightening that lit the sky. No, much different really, perhaps a look would kill any curiosity about it.

Slowly the large hybrid moved through the trees, feet sloshing, tail creating deep grooves in the ground behind him. If he was to be tracked now, it wouldn't take much to actually be able to find him. With the pouring rain, however, there would be no reason to be out tracking anything. Well, he was surely out in this, and there was no doubt in his mind that he was not the only one. Storms struck when they wanted, unchanging by man or beast.

The further he'd taken himself, the more he could make out a small body in the mud; trying their hardest to stay above the thick mud. Their hat was held in the air, desperate, he could practically smell it in the air around him.

Closer and closer now, he was right upon them, where the mud started to pull his very own body as well. Damn this was much deeper than he'd expected at the time, but perhaps not as deep as to swallow the entirety of his being. With one massive, clawed hand, he grabbed onto the beings arm and started to pull. The mud may have been thick, but his strength was well enough to overpower it as the small woman started to appear from the mud.

Dirty, filthy, it covered her from head to toe; even as the water from the rain started to clear it from her form.

Miara hadn't been expecting her signal flare to work.

Now, here she was, hanging above the mud by a stranger's arm. Still muddy and cold, sure, but free.

She clung tightly to him, worrying she might fall back into the mud, and bowed as best she could in midair. "I can't thank you enough for helping me. Let's get out of the rain? I live in the cave behind the waterfall - there's a path up the mountainside just a bit south of here. And what's your name? I'm Miara."

The man could only stare at the mud covered female, it dripped down from her body back into the deep muddle of mud he'd pulled them from. It thinned witht he rain, however, but she was surely still caked in the thick substance; as was he at this point. It wasn't as bad for him, however, it was mostly his legs, tail, and the arm he'd reached in to grab her with. It wasn't until she spoke that his eyes met her own, she was even clung to him for dear life it seemed.

A low grown rumbled through his chest, unsure if taking the invite was something he very well wanted; then again, the rain didn't seem like it was going to lighten up any time soon. Silently he lowered her towards more solid ground, away from the deep puddled of mud that had engulfed her just before. His hand stayed slightly upon their back, claws gently grazing them.

He was uncertain of the reason for telling her his name, surely it wouldn't matter, this would be their only meeting. What chances was there to even meet again after this? The possibility in his mind was low, very low at that. "Akuma..." his deep voice responded to them, and it was honestly the only thing he felt he needed to say.

Miara scrambled to get her balance again when her feet touched solid ground. "Alright, then, Akuma, let's go." Noticing that Akuma didn't seem to be interested in talking much, she led the way silently, back to the mountainside where her waterfall flowed down towards the lake.

"It's just up this path." A few minutes of walking later, the pair had reached the base of the Starfall. Miara led the way up the slope to where a gap between the water and the rock, big enough for even Akuma to pass through, revealed the entrance to a cave.

Inside, the cave was warm and smoky, lit by a fire built against a wall. Pallets of moss and fur had been set up around the floor, and a curtain hung at the back. "There's space to wash up over there -" Miara gestured to a small side passage, leading to another section of cave with a spring running through it "- and once I've got something dry on I'll make some tea. Nialle knows anyone caught out in that storm could use something warm." With that, she slipped behind the curtain to change.

Akuma never saw much need for talking, he usually allowed body language to get across what he wanted, or even needed in all honesty; there weren't many in this world that could get him to speak, let along in conversations that lasted. He followed her though, close behind, his tall frame practically towering over her own. A usual is was for him, there wasn't many yet that passed his own height.

The man let out a soft grunt in return for their words, not much of a response, but it certainly was a response rather than silence. He didn't expect the entrance to be large enough, but was certainly relieved he didn't need to squeeze his body through it. The warmth of the cave hit him, his chilled, wet skin tinging with the sensation. Pleasant, that it what could describe it, even if areas of his body were muddy and covered in dirt. Even leaves pulled down by the force of the rain had stuck themselves to the caked on mud; it was truly a sight.

The man's head turned to gaze upon the small female, though eventually they panned to where they gestured. A place to clean? Well, that was very convenient actually, then again, he assumed he would just allow himself to be washed off by the waterfall outside. A spring was more than needed, it wouldn't be the harsh cold of any other water.

"Alright," he spoke back to her, only to watch her slip behind a curtain. This left him of his own devices for now, so as suggested, he made his way towards the passage that lead to the spring. Just the steam rising from the heated water caused the man to let out a content sigh, just before he started to shed from how own clothes. Akuma even allowed his long hair to be undone, even it it was only held together at the end with large beads.

He went ahead and turned his hair into a thick, long braid down his back; much easier to maintain while in the water. The dirt loosened quite well when he had stepped in, steam engulfing his entire being as he sighed softly.

Meanwhile, Miara had peeled off her own mud-coated dress (gods it was nice to be naked for a little bit, she usually wore clothes so as not to bother her visitors, but she was still a nymph and didn't like the feeling of cloth on her skin) the moment she was safely through the side passage concealed by the curtain. 

Her room was small, a simple pallet laid out by a shrine to Nialle and a fire banked on the opposite wall. The underground stream that fed the spring forked a bit further into the stone, forming a second spring that peeked through the floor at the back of the room. It wasn't quite big enough to soak in, but it kept her from having to be one more person in line for the bigger spring. 

Once she'd stirred the fire to life, she peeled the caked mud from her skin, then dipped a washcloth and began going over herself with it, clearing away the last of the dirt and encouraging some warmth to return to her chilled form. Her hair was a bit trickier, but she had practice bathing from the little bit of spring, and it was really just a matter of scooping water out and pouring it onto her head to loosen the mud, then combing it out.

It was over all too soon, almost. Miara slipped into a clean dress, picked up the dirty one to wash, and banked the fire, returning to the main cave. She filled a teapot from a jar of water and set it on the hearth, then filled a tub to soak her muddy clothes. Then, all there was to do was wait for Akuma...

Unlike the woman, he himself didn't have clothes he could simply put on once he was done; they were also caked in mud. The best he could do, was the wash them in the spring, and possibly just wear his undergarments about. It was the best he could do, without just strutting around with his bits hanging about. Comfortable as hell for him, for her though? Surely she wouldn't see it the same way as he would.

Slowly the half-dragon pulled himself from the water, body dripping with warmth and water; cleaned from every bit of dirt he had once had upon his flesh. It was now for his clothes, as she dipped them into the hot spring before him. The heat easily took the mud from his clothing, allowing it to fill the pool of water itself. It was quite nice these thing always had a way of flowing out, otherwise it would stay noting but a hot heap of dirty water.

With that done, he hung them where they could drip themselves dry, hoping the heat would surly help along with that process. Once satisfied, he moved out of the room with the spring, following the entrance back out into the main area of the cave. It seemed she was done as well, but unlike him, had more clothes upon his body. He only had underwear to cover his lower half, it would do even if she didn't like it. Not that it mattered either, as he gave a soft grunt, letting her know he was there.

Miara smiled, unfazed by Akuma's near-nudity. "Hope the bath was good. Come over by the fire and warm up - I'm making tea." She picked up a small wooden box from a stack by the fire, checked that it was the right one, and offered it to Akuma. It contained a variety of dried herbs. "Here, take your pick."

The large man raised a brow towards them, only to slowly made his way toward the fire where they had sat as well. Without much thought, he sat himself before it, dragon like legs crossed before him; toes stretching lightly as well. Akuma gazed over to the small woman, he could smell the contents of the box without having to even look inside; yet he was sure to gently take it from the woman's grasp.

His eyes gazed into it, plenty of herbs inside, plenty of smells that seemed to combined together. He wasn't sure exactly what to pick, so withouth much thought into it he merely just pointed towards one. "This one I suppose...."