Branches swayed in a soft, yet sturdy breeze. After having plucked off a leaf from a nearby sapling, Aikanaro stopped to watch the wind and how it bent and twisted even the oldest tree. Holding the leaf out in front of himself, Aike pointed an index finger in th center of the leaf and watched as a flame erupted from his finger tip and the leaf burned from the inside, out. After it all turned to ash, he pocketed his hands and took another look around. He wasn't quite in the midst of the forest yet. Trees dotted the land, the bulk of them to his left as he headed west. He hadn't heard much of the forest, but he did know for a fact it housed bandits, and he didn't want any of that trouble. He barely had anything on him to begin with. To eat and drink, he had to be lucky and find something edible in the wild or a river to follow. Thankfully, I will never get bored in a place like this, he thought as he plucked another nearby leaf off of its roost. He stopped walking to watch the flames crawl up the leaf as he had lit it from the very bottom.

Sighing, he looked around again and thought to himself, If Taras is supposed to be a major city... I really don't think a huge forest would be in its back door. It's possible, but I'd doubt it. He chewed on the corner of his lower lip and glanced at the sun. I've been heading west, that much is certain, but..." He swiveled on his hip to get a good complete view of everything. North? South? ...Ugh... He hung his hand and started walking again, hoping to find some random passerby... on the edge of a bandit infested forest... in the middle of nowhere...

He couldn't help another sigh as he trudged along, disheartened.

The leaves swayed in the breeze and the grass bent with it. Shadeen’s sable hair blew loosely around her face and body as she walked. Her booted feet barely made a noise as she moved, and she body swayed with each step, adding a small amount of grace to each stride. Her jade eyes twinkled in the sunlight and she felt a certain joy as she moved. The forest seemed graceful and still, although it was a little ways off, something she had always loved about them. She moved closer to the rise of trees in front of her. Trees scattered the plane she walked on now and birds sung, but their voices seemed far off to her. The occasional creature skittered across her path, disappearing into the foliage.

She had heard of bandits in these parts and so she carried her katana with her. She had gotten used to having the weight of it at her side, being without it just didn’t seem right anymore. Although aside from her single blade she carried no other weapon or offensive spells. She didn’t want to alarm anyone she might run into by being decked out like a gladiator looking for a fight. Instead she sang a happy tune that she had learnt back in her village.

“The dawn is coming,
Dawn is breaking,
Do not cry
Do not cry”

The rest of the words didn’t seem to come to her and so she hummed over the parts that she no longer knew. Her light-hearted feeling couldn’t easily be shaken today and that made her spirits even higher. When she stopped singing, racking her brain for the words she needed, a sigh sounded to her right. She moved in the direction of the sound, trying to make some noise so as not to startle whoever was out here. She hoped it wasn’t a bandit, and one hand rested lightly on her hip, ready to grab the katana if the need arose.

“Hello,” She moved out from behind a tree to face the man.

It was after Aikanaro had plucked another nearby leaf from a tree when some random woman popped out from behind it. In fact, he was taken by such surprise that he had indeed jumped backwards with a, "Whoa!" and dropped the leaf, which had already started burning. His eyes widened to dinner plates at the sight his mind indulged him in: a forest in shambles, blackened and broken beyond recognition. His foot hesitated slightly before stomping the small flame out; not even the grasses around it had even charred yet, but it was still a visible hesitation.

Aike glanced back up, eyeing the woman before checking his surroundings more closely. He even looked up in wonderment, pondering if the gods had heard his thoughts or if he was just lucky today. If only that were the case..., his smirk would have gone unrecognized to those who noticed it.

Shaking himself back into reality, he gave the woman a small wave, "Uh... H-Hi." He really hoped she wasn't some plant-loving nature chick. He really didn't want to get chased around again. He thought it'd be best to get his question out as soon as possible. "Do you know which way Taras is?"

Shadeen watched the man jump backwards and couldn’t help but giggle. He dropped the burning leaf to the ground and she wondered just what he was doing with them. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” She said, smiling apologetically. She really hadn’t meant anything by her entrance, and if she had known his reaction ahead of time she probably would have come from a far more noticeable way. But then again, if he was a bandit then it might not have been a good idea. Oh well it was too late to change her approach now.

He waved back and she smiled a little brighter. “Taras? Oh umm. . .” She thought about it. “Well it’s on the western coast so. . . west.” She shrugged. She thought that really wasn’t a good answer though so she wracked her brain trying to think of the right directions to Taras and how far they were from it. “Well if it takes up most of the western coast.” She turned her body and faced west, “Then it makes sense that if you just walk this way,” She pointed, “You’ll come into Taras. Once you get there it probably won’t be hard to find the city.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,”

Aike shook his head and waved a hand dismissively. "No, no... It was my fault for not paying attention to my surroundings. You'd think I'd be more careful knowing the dangers around here..." He frowned at himself and his lack of attention as well as its span.

“Well it’s on the western coast so. . . west.”

His eyes half closed in disappointment as his hopes of finding Taras vanished. Of course it's West, he thought, Even I knew that much.... But his attitude shifted again when she said it took up much of the western coast. He followed her pointing and checked with the sun. Sure enough, he was headed in the right direction.

He smiled a little, a rare event; rather relieved he wasn't too terribly lost, he said, "Thank you very much, Miss...?" He cocked his head sideways as he asked her name. She was even pretty easy on the eyes. In fact, now that he got a better look, he noticed that she couldn't have been any older than himself. He wondered what would bring her out to a place like this, but saved the question till he knew her name, at least.

Shadeen’s lips parted in a smile when the man smiled a little himself. “Shadeen, or Shade.” She laughed a little. “No miss, please,” She’d never been called miss before and she found it a tad formal when it came down to it. She probably wouldn’t call anyone mister, maybe sir, once in awhile. But it was so impersonal.

“And you?” She smiled at him and left him the opportunity to answer. Meanwhile she surveyed her surroundings. Trees rose up around her, and the lush grass and stones were scattered about. She caught the sight of a burnt leaf that he had stomped out earlier and the question rose on her lips.

“Why were you burning leaves anyway?” She smiled a little, she was a bit embarrassed that she had opened her mouth and blurted it out. “I don’t mean anything by it, just wondering is all.”

She moved jade eyes down to her feet and kicked at the leaves beneath her feet. She brushed at her dress. She let out a tiny yawn, it had been awhile since she last slept and she found the affects were finally catching up to her. The sun shone down and it was still the middle of the day. She just had to make it through today and get to her house, or an inn, and then she could collapse in bed.

She studied the man before her when she raised her eyes again. She’d never seen anything quite like him, he seemed to have an air of fire about him. “What are you anyway?” She said, the curiosity in her voice overrode the phrasing. “I mean, well. . . you’re not an elf. And I don’t think you’re a human either.”

"Alright then, Shadeen." He bobbed his head forward slightly in a greeting gesture. He assumed Shade was her nickname, but Aikanaro knew how to be polite and still keep people's wishes; that was, until he actually gets closer to them. He nodded when she asked for no title.

"Aikanaro. Or Aike, if you prefer." He honestly didn't care what people called him, of the two names at least. He liked how his first name sounded, but many people prefer shorter names for ease of conversation.

Aike grinned as he looked at the char under his foot. "Heh. You could say it's a small habit of mine. I'm just glad you didn't freak out about it." He bent over and plucked a stem of crabgrass. Holding it up, he pinched the top of it and watched intently as fire consumed its way down to Aikanaro's hand. He blew out the flames before it reached his fingers. "Habit or hobby, either way. You might even call it an addiction." He plucked another from the same crabgrass bundle. Poking it in the middle, he let the fire eat its way from the inside, out. His eyes never left the orange and yellow lights.

He cleared his throat and let the blackened weed drop to the ground, ignoring the fact she was as blunt as himself when it came to these kinds of things. "I'm... human." Even a deaf man could hear the pause in his sentence, as well as the uncertainty. "Well, mostly human, I think. My grandpap' wasn't human, I know that much. A fire elemental, from what I hear." He shrugged, never seeing anything significant from it. If anything, it's why he got booted from home. He could understand her curiosity though, as his was far worse at times.

Her eyes watched as he sent fire as it appeared from Aikanaro’s fingers and danced outwards. She was more fascinated by it than anything else. “It’s not really something I’d freak out about,” She laughed a little “I mean it’s not like you’re killing puppies or anything.”

She noticed him pause before saying the word human. She didn’t mention it though. She figured that if he really wanted to tell her he would have by now. But half-fire elemental and half-human. It was a rather interesting combination. She smiled realizing that that was how he was able to get addicted to burning leaves. But then again she was addicted to spending far too much time in or by the stables.

“That’s pretty cool. I’m just plain ol’ human. At least you have a story,” She smiled at him, her eyes lighting up. “Aikanaro. I like it,” She laughed. “If you want I’d be glad to accompany you to Taras. Only if you’d like. . .”

“I mean it’s not like you’re killing puppies or anything.”

Aikanaro laughed with her, "I don't know, you be surprised how some people react to this sort of thing..." His next expression matched his thoughts from back when his own father chased him out of the house with a rifle. The humor in his voice faded into sarcasm. "I'm sure they see plants as their own sort of puppy." Regardless, he shrugged and muttered with a downward glance, rubbing the back of his neck in the process, "To each his own, I suppose...."

"Being human isn't so bad." He lifted his hands in what was supposed to be a shrug, but came out half-heartedly, "At least you have an entire race that accepts you as their own, huh?" He started walking, not even bothering to verbally accept her offer, but accepted it nonetheless. "I mean, I don't mind being unique, if just for that fact. Seeing other peoples' friendly curiosity is a nice change. Mine just usually lands me trouble." He grinned at that, thinking back to all the times he almost died from it. "So, are you just happening to head to Taras as well, or do you have other business I'd be taking you from?"

“I mean it’s not like you’re killing puppies or anything.”
Kalarn ran from tree to tree, leaping from the thick branches. He revelled in the feeling of freedom, running far in front of his tiger. He heard a voice, nearly a whisper, and stopped. He gave a whisper of a smile, and jumped down, landing heavily next to her. "I hope you aren't talking about me behind my back. That would be, most unwise."

He wolf-whistled up in the trees, a white flash, Ishrantu, leapt down, lightly walking around Kalarn. Kalarn walked to a tree, and whispered, "Shredding Flesh." As soon as the majyck showed its head, he gripped it mentally. He worked to keep it out longly, making a symbol in the tree. At least, half a symbol. He grimaced, and turned back to them.

"Eh, 'twas never my strong suit."

((OoC: Sorry its short but I want to get all my posts done or you might be waiting awhile for it ><))

“That would be most unwise.”

Shadeen jumped at the voice that sounded beside her. Oddly enough the thump hadn’t made her budge. The voice shocked her though and she felt a shiver go up her spine. She watched the figure move to a tree and scratch in a symbol. Nothing seemed to happen. She waited though, expecting something. But it just never came. She let herself relax a bit and let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding.

“No one’s good at everything.” It was the only thing she could think of to say really. Should she introduce herself? Stay silent? She wasn’t sure. So she answered Aike instead.

“I wasn’t really doing anything. I just like to wander. So no worries about tearing me away from some extremely important mission,” She smiled at him and took a step in the direction of Taras. Then stopped and turned to the newcomer. “Will you be coming too?”

“Will you be coming too?”
Kalarn growled, saying, "Never! Why would I go to that hell hole? That's the last place I would go at a time like...." He turned away, and petted Ishrantu. He turned back after a few minutes, and said, "And you are? I know for one that you have a name, even if you do not know your true name. But, very few people know their true name."

He looked up, and said, "Even in the disorder here, I still am sure of that. You may not be able to sense it, but I, the drakonne, the draconian, the shalaam, can. I have been called many names by you humans, some as an insult. But, most as a title. Drakomme, Draconian, Shalaam, Ukbenrir, Balarkinir. Many, beyond the count of humans. So many, I have forgotten many of them."

He turned back to the tree, and looked at the unfinished sigil. He grimaced slightly, and turned back to Shadeen. "Why would I go there? I have never been called anything but insults. Would you go to a place where you are constantly ridiculed? I think not."