...Is this really happening? Posts coming early in the week?! Awesome
Let's start off Week Six with a bang, shall we?
"Well, it comes with the part, sometimes. The first rule of a seer is to get the beast to believe you."
"Is that right…"
Noooo Nyika! Don't give her any ideas!
Poko was playing with a tankard set before her, every so often leaning in to sniff at the contents and wrinkling her nose in a frown.
"I don't care what they said... this is definitely DIET Strawberry Fizz."
Zevka scowled. "Istvan and I got a few names, but that's all
Gee, if only SOMEbeast hadn't killed off one of their leads...
The pine marten cursed, slamming her paw against the table. Nyika jumped at the noise, breaking her reverie of Zevka breaking into houses, chatting with strangers as though they were old friends, smashing their pots and stealing their treasures, and leaving, never to return again.
XD It HAS been a while since the last Zelda reference, hasn't it? Silly kitty.
"Not quite," she answered the old owl.
"Vell, den, it must be—"
"It's because she let Istvan tattoo herself in his religion!" Zevka burst out. Her tail was thrashing, her ears pinned back, and there was a scowl on her muzzle.
Haha wow Zevka, way to be a wet blanket.
Here she was playing games with Noonahootin and Zevka was sick with worry, not only about Nessa, but Mekad as well—Zevka's best friend, and quite possibly her own brother.
Mekad was Zevka's best friend?! I didn't etc etc.
"That was my next guess," Noonahootin said quietly, dropping his accent. The owl was still smiling, but there was no more amusement in his eyes.
XD aww... I loved that whole exchange though. I need to actually come up with a word for 'cutely sad' but that explains it so well.
"No, I'm the one who should apologize. I didn't mean to snap like that. I'm just getting so frustrated. First Mekad, now Nessa, and nobeast knows where either of them are.
This is almost exactly what Nyika thought she was feeling. In a way it's nice to see that she was correct about her assumptions, but it's a repeat of what we've already heard just a few lines earlier.
Nyika played with the tankard's handle. Alcohol was a sin, and to poison the body would be blasphemous against the All-Mother. As much as she wanted to, if she truly wished to be Istvan's Mistress of Spirits, she had to start taking her role seriously. "No," she said. "I think not." She sighed. Maybe just a sip.
Aww, she's trying so hard.
"I hope you're not taking this too seriously," Zevka said, taking a small draught of her own. "You were drunk when you agreed to this arrangement in the first place, weren't you? Istvan's a good enough beast when you get to know him, but that doesn't mean you should just abandon all fun for somebeast who might not even exist.
I like how hypocritical Zevka is. "Don't listen to and follow Istvan. Listen to and follow me instead!" She is always right, in her eyes. I do have to wonder, though, about where her distaste of religion came from. Or is it just Istvan's religion? Does it just come from her practical academic upbringing, or is there something else behind it?
"Whether or not she's real isn't the point," Nyika said, still playing with her mug. Her ears perked up. "Where is Istvan? He knows to meet back here, aye?"
Nyika's clearly been following our discussion about this.
The tapered feathers of Noonahootin's former moustache twitched. There was concern in his great, owl eyes.
Huh, and here I thought Noonahootin had been a canary this whole time...
"Some fox made some insults to 'our glorious High Priestess Tikora'," Zevka said, her voice adopting a mocking lilt, "and was executed for it in the middle of public."
The single quotes - and the fact that it's Zevka speaking - clue us in that she's being mocking. "Zevka lilted" would have been fine on its own. Lilt is a great word, too... well, at least I like it.
"The Cutter's Mark?" Noonahootin said. "You mean Risk's?"
"Poko," Nyika whispered. Noonahootin couldn't know. "Poko, stop."
The ferret continued, her voice lower but dripping with contempt. "No, a big gruesome 'N'. N for Nyika."
Ahahaha poetic justice. Or should I say POKO-etic justice?
The wildcat was shaking, moaning as her claws dug deeper into her flesh. It was a nightmare. She had thought it was over, that all her repercussions had caught up with her. She was wrong. Everything she had built with Poko, all the reparations they had made, shattered. Noonahootin would never look at her the same way.
Ugh, Nyika, why didn't you just tell them the truth to begin with? If you want to get favor with your friends, surely trusting in them enough to confide in them, even when you've done wrong, is better than skulking around and hoping that nobody will ever mention it.
This isn't like Noonahootin's trouble with the feather where there was really no reason at all for anybeast to be mad, though, so I can't say it's something that shouldn't have happened; a fear of confrontation is definitely true to Nyika's character so I can see why she would have wanted to wait before bringing it up. Both hers and Noonahootin's feelings and worries were very real, though, so perhaps I was being overly harsh on Noonahootin as well. I really feel for Nyika here, too, especially after all she's been through in finally making up with Poko. It's just painful to read, which I guess is the whole point. So... I guess that's really a good thing after all.
Zevka glanced between the three of them, realizing the sudden rift that had dug itself between the remainder of their group. She tried to bridge it.
"Well, it wasn't as if he didn't have it coming! The rat's a bigger legend than Goragula! Well, in Carrigul, at least."
Look at Zevka being so sweet! I guess its in her nature to play the mediator, but still. Regardless of anything, she always keeps friendship first.
"Yes, but Nyika cut him! With a knife!
Thank you, Captain Obvious.
"No!" she said, her paw pressing the garment against her body, hearing the crinkle of parchment and feeling her fur settle as she knew it was still there. "It's my story."
Nooo Nyika is turning into Tidus.
"So you left him with something to remember you by. Smart." Poko paused, lifting her tankard for a drink, ignoring the tongue Nyika had stuck out at her. She took a sniff and put the tankard back down. "Why did you go there in the first place?"
XD Good job being the adult in this argument, Nyika.
Poko's high-and-mighty attitude does kind of put me off, though. It's very easy to say that Nyika could have left Ruark unpunished when she wasn't even there herself. Would she have been this calm and thoughtful? But it's an argument and Poko's very obviously not keen on considering the other side.
Nyika didn't answer, opting instead to draw imaginary runes on the table with a claw.
"Ever since I Iearned there were higher forces at work," she said,
Hey, you just said she didn't answer!
"If I can get on Tikora's side, I can find out how Carrigul holds Aster in the pad of their paw."
Ooh, nice phrase!
"No! I won't let you throw yourself in the wearet's den. There has to be another way."
Also nice.
"You want to know where Beechton Valash is, aye? Mekad, and Nessa? You can't keep unraveling threads the way you are.
Haha have you already forgotten how highly everybody thinks of YOUR methods of finding information?
Zevka shook her head, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
"You're right, and we're running out of options. But if you die," she said, pointing at the wildcat with a threatening claw, "I'll kill you."
XD awww.
"I don't think so," Nyika murmured. "Otherwise I wouldn't be so afraid."
"Courage is not measured by the absence of fear, my dear, but by the strength one has to overcome it. You are, perhaps, one of the most courageous beasts I have ever had the privilege of meeting."
For once, Nyika smiled at his words. Perhaps she was brave. If she pulled it off, it could even make her a hero; otherwise, she was no more than a fool. It was a funny thing, how blurred the line gets when one approached it. But Nyika was sure with her friends and the All-Mother behind her, she could do it.
If not, at least Death would be by her side.
Even more awwww! This contest is just rife with amazing post endings.
Oh, and one more thing because I'm a jerk: "eyes" is mentioned fifteen times throughout the whole post. Nyika's writer really likes to show emotions through the eyes.
This post is relatively short but absolutely packed with emotion. I really feel for Nyika and like I said, it was hard to see her put in that situation and I was fired up through the whole argument with Poko. I wanted to see her fight back and defend herself. Although I'm also already looking forward to seeing Poko's side of the story in her post, now.
Even though they stay in the tavern for the whole post a lot was accomplished. I like the differences between Nyika's plan to speak with Ruark and her plan now; she is thinking things through more and actually discussing it with the group. She's convinced the others that she can do this and handle herself. That's a lot of progress for her as a character, as well as setting up a lot of ground-breaking material. Nyika is definitely a key player now, and may very well end up with a lot of power in her paws. I can't wait to see how that plays out.
Oh, and I love the title. It is absolutely adorable.
