Take A Little Break (Open)

[Akki]

Perhaps, just perhaps, venturing into the forest wasn’t the best idea. One could make many jokes starting with 'There was a blind man lost in a forest...' in this type of situation.

To be fair though, Exarin hadn’t exactly planned on going into the group of trees. His tunnelcats had lead him there and before he knew it – he was smack-dab in a bunch of skybrooms. He couldn’t really get out of there on his own either for his ‘eyes’ were currently rustling around in the long grass.

He gripped a long, gnarled branch in his hands. The tunnelcats were pretty good at guiding him but it never hurt to have some extra help. He tapped the stick on the ground in front of him as he walked, warily searching for any holes or stones that could pose a hazard. Exarin’s milky eyes stared out blankly as his nails dug into the wood, “You two are still here, right?” The last thing he needed was to be abandoned by his guides but soon a barrage of chirps and warbles greeted his ears and he relaxed slightly. He hadn’t been at Dark Moon for long and really hadn’t met too many people so; unfortunately, the renegade attacks were quite unknown to him. If he had been aware, then he would have definitely turned back towards the Weyr.

His stick hit a large rock and Exarin let his hands run over the hard surface before carefully perching himself on top of it. He closed his eyes and grinned, “You two go and adventure out, just make sure you come back for me.” He felt a small bump against his leg, followed by a soft cheep – Lirea was assuring him they would back. Tiano, on the other hand, was already tripping and scrambling over tree roots as he poked around. Exarin relaxed, a smile on his lips. It was actually quite peaceful in the forest with the wind whistling quietly through the skybrooms and Rukbat’s rays had managed to warm the rock he was sitting on.

[Ranuu]

Though he wasn’t an antisocial person, Eolden always enjoyed time away from other people. He had never been away from the ocean in this manner before, that he couldn’t see it at least out of the corner of his eye. The lake was large, which was nice, but it wasn’t the same as the terrible, loving mistress he’d known his entire life. He felt lost, almost empty, to not have the tell-tale sound of waves crashing against the beach, of the avians squawking as they dove toward the water, intent on their aquatic prey.

He was going through withdrawal. And so he had decided to come here, to the forest, in hopes of maybe finding something that would fill that hole. So far, he’d seen a lot of trees, which reminded him of the shipyard at Tillek. A big thumbs-down for this idea, no doubt.

Nevertheless, he kept at it, hoping that his emptiness would eventually fade under the -admittedly- beautiful scenery. The sunlight breaking through the canopy was a sight, with the fluid shadows of the leaves above, dancing in the breeze. A few creatures here and there, darting away at the sight of a human, almost caused a smile to escape his lips. But no, it just reminded him of the hordes of fish that would disperse as a fishing vessel disturbed their home.

And that was when he happened upon a boy sitting on a rock. The boy was grinning like a fool, his eyes closed. Apparently, he was just taking in life. A waste of time, in Eolden’s opinion.

“Ah, excuse me,” the newest Candidate said, making his way closer to the grinning fool on a log. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

[Akki]

Exarin flinched, quite visibly, with his knuckles turning white as he grasped the walking stick. His eyes flew open only to be greeted with the familiar blackness that had been there for most of his life. His milky blues darted around him, a habit that still remained with him even though his sight did not. People always asked him why he kept his eyes open – it was unnerving to be greeted with eyes that simply just stared at you. He would always just answer them with a smile and a soft shrug; there was no point in explaining that it was his minds way of wishing for sight back.

There was a blur of white, darting around the ground before leaping up onto the rock. Lirea arched her back, her teeth bared as her tail puffed up. She was considered the first line of ‘defense’ in terms of protecting Exarin from the world; she was nervous around others and wouldn’t back down until she felt comfortable too. Tiano, on the other hand, was taking his time as he bounded through clumps of tall grass to reach the rock – beady black eyes resting on Eolden with a hint of curiosity.

The man relaxed slightly, the initial shock passing over. “Uh, no. I doubt we have.” Considering the fact that the only person he had met so far was a girl and this was most certainly not a feminine voice. Exarin held out his hand in front of him, not knowing if the man was there or not, “I’m Exarin. The white tunnelcat is Lirea, the other is Tiano.”