[The Garden of Reflecting Pools]A Date with Nature (Keeva)

[Xyltha Thanole]

Late Melora, Winter, Era I, PF XV at The Garden of Reflecting Pools

The grasp of winter had mellowed - Xyltha could feel the seasons starting to turn once more. Like an inexorable revolution, the universe continued as it did. He couldn't ask for a more delightful brightening to venture out into one of the lovely leisure spots of Zinn'Sunn.

The Sun peeked through the branches of the carefully tended groves. As the local birds chirped merrily among the trees, Xyltha spritely strolled along the pathway, past arching bridges and into one of the gazebo. The pool-cum-moat rippled from the surface, and Xyltha stopped to gaze inside.
He squatted near the pool, and stuck his finger inside. It was cool, refreshingly so. Taking his footwear off, he proceed to submerge his feet. Wriggling them felt nice.

It's so peaceful here. I should have brought lunch for picnic - or better yet a friend for a picnic.

Having just recently arrived in the city, the elf knew no-one around these parts. For the most part, he spent his brightenings to his lonesome self, wandering the streets and soaking up the ambiance.

[Keeva Kaldres]

Amidst training and dancing and everything else that had subsequently occurred since her arrival here within the great city itself, Keeva had had little time to settle down, rest and relax. Even though she had dwelt within Zinn’sunn for a number of cycles now, the majority of that had been composed and taken up by rather intensive things, and it was for this reason that the young woman came to the Garden of Reflecting Pools now.

She had hoped for some time alone, time within which she could truly relax, and find peace. The Gardens, however, seemed curiously busy this brightening, and whilst Keeva would have been satisfied with partial seclusion alone, there were a great number of families about, filling up the gazebos and lounging around the pathways by the pools themselves.

In fact, as the young woman walked there was only one she could find which was almost, completely clear. There was an elf, with his feet submerged the pool, but that was pretty much it. Keeva did not know elves to be overly frustrating or annoying sorts, and so believed his presence could be tolerated, at the least.

Moving to sit besides the pool as far away from Xyltha as she could, the girl seated herself cross-legged, hands folded in her lap as the great metal warfans were placed with utmost care by her side. The tessen were treated as gently as any thing of delicacy could be, which was perhaps strange, given the substance from which they had been wrought.

Closing her eyes, the girl breathed in deeply, and sighed.

[Xyltha Thanole]

The woman's entrance did not go unnoticed. Xyltha heard those heavy footsteps padding towards the gazebo even before he could see Keeva. Still, he cast his eyes to the pool, swirling his toes around, and watched the ripples that fanned out.

As the woman sat down to sigh her sighs, Xyltha thought it odd. Not a peep came from behind him, in her direction. Women were chatty creatures, and sociable creatures - why was she alone, and quiet? Maybe she's not ... right in the head.

Curious, he cast a glance over his shoulder at Keeva, who remained kneeling on the floor in what appeared to be deep meditation. The sight of the fans at her side caught the elf's attention. What were they? They looked like fans, yet there seemed to be something different about them. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, without getting closer.

"Hey, girl! What are you doing? What are those curious fans at your sides?!"

Heh, maybe she was asleep already, far removed from the conscious world to hear his call.

[Keeva Kaldres]

Keeva was trying to acquire some manner of peace, and Xyltha…was definitely not helping. The sound of his voice jarred her from meditation, causing an expression to form on her face which was somewhere between cringing and rage. An entertaining little thing, perhaps, but then the woman was far from pleased. It hardly helped that he addressed her as ‘girl,’ and then expected her to enlighten him as to what her warfans were.

“I am trying to enjoy the silence, good elf.” She retorted, her usually soft voice marred by something else- something coarse. If the girl’s timbre was not enough sign that she was displeased, however, then perhaps her body language might have been. Keeva’s arms were crossed, the pout on her face evident as grey eyes narrowed, evidently displeased.

“Those are tessen. They are used as weapons, to fight. Perhaps you would like a demonstration…?”

A curve of a smile, fleeting, came and went. The girl was perhaps not the best for being tested in this way,

[Xyltha Thanole]

The bite in her voice escaped the elfling's notice. Human speech sounded all the same to him, coarse and barbaric to elfin ears. Her body language was an entirely different matter, the way she crossed her hands and pouted her lips, almost as if she was offering herself to him... or so it seemed to the elf. He brightened up at the offer of demonstration, so cute and adorable in his naivety.

"Alright. Show me! They look so fragile, you sure you won't break them?" He looked doubtfully at the fans; how ever did any one make a weapon out of those?

[Keeva Kaldres]

The elf was certainly a strange one, that much was for sure. Indeed, Keeva looked upon him rather curiously, now, as though honestly uncertain as to what manner of creature he was. Unable to take a hint, so it seemed, or even to recognise a threat. Keeva could have exhibited a flicker of her fans there and then, and shown the elf first-hand what manner of damage they could bring. She could have hurt him, badly, but did not. After all, she was not a bad person, no matter how much she might have wanted to be, now.

“They are made of metal, elf- good metal- and cannot be broken so easily. Even if they look fragile, they are not…appearances can be deceiving, you know.” There was a faint smile, then, the hint of something warmer beneath the surface, so it seemed.

“Do you see the blades?” She asked him, holding one of the warfans forth. It was open, and though it remained unadorned by any pretty patterns or images, as such, it was still a masterpiece of work- the metal formed intricately, with a delicacy very much refined. “Sharp as a knife…I could really hurt you with these.”

Keeva slowed her speech then, turning the warfan within the grip of one hand. It was a thoughtful practice, albeit idle, as well, and succeeded by another small smile, and a sigh.

“Fortunately I am a nicer person than that…Why are you so interested, anyway?” Curiosity prevalent within her verbal timbre, now.

[Xyltha Thanole]

The elf squealed with gay delight as Keeva unsheathed her warfan, displaying the beautifully deadly design. Wow, he'd never seen a warfan so ingenuously designed before. In fact, he'd never seen a warfan before this. It was strangely exciting and appealing, that something so apparently harmless could be so deadly in the hands of a trained expert.

"Wow! Did you get them from round these parts? They look as pretty as Syl'Rosia's gardens! Are you any good with them? Show me, show me!"

With childish glee, he cried to the human to demonstrate, as she had promised before. Except perhaps without him as the target. That wouldn't be nice.

[Keeva Kaldres]

“Actually, no…These were made for me in Archadoon.” The girl replied, bringing the fans backs towards herself, as though to keep them safe from Xyltha, his childish antics at bay. “I have only started learning this month past…It is why I am here in Zinn’Sunn.”

As she spoke, she rose to her feet, dusting off an invisible layer of dust that had gathered on her dress, before assuming the first stance, Calling the Winds. It was almost poetic in nature, the pose, with her eyes downcast, the fans folded in a cross about her front. Not that she truly expected the elf to understand that at all. His race was unaging, yes, but thus far she had been left with the impression that he was really quite young.

Moving to Steal the Wind, the girl’s right hand arced backwards, before coming up, swiftly, in a strike aimed for the groin. Fortunately not Xyltha’s, though she had been tempted, at first.

“The art of the warfan is one of grace and poise. A thing of beauty…” She paused, eyes still focussed on the topmost point of her fan- the blade which struck out at its top- sharp as a dagger and every inch as keen.

Keeva had far to go yet in becoming a suitable disciple of the Crane.

[Xyltha Thanole]

Xyltha watched with a mixture of awe and fear. The art of the warfan, it was truly a thing of beauty and grace. Perhaps he would take that up as a hobby, one of these days. Ioannes knows how much he needed some sort of close combat knowledge, given all the dangers he'd hazard in the past.

"You're good at it! I want to learn it! Where can I learn it?"

He took a seat in the empty space across the gazebo from Keeva, so that he would not be the victim of the sharp blade protruding from her fan. It was a deadly weapon indeed, for all its appearance.

[Keeva Kaldres]

“I learnt it here, in Zinnsunn, though I’m not certain it is something that you could learn…” The girl replied, coming out of her stance as she assumed a far more casual position, gracing the young elf with a frown. It had nothing to do with his race, as much as his gender. After all, most wielders of the warfans that she knew were strictly female, and she had not bore witness to one male one yet.

Things could be different, certainly, and if not then there was the chance that they could change. For now, however, she simply did not trust Xyltha with the discipline and focus needed to learn of such an art, himself. He was yet to impress her, and so she, in turn, would refrain from providing him the information he sought- for now, at the very least.

“I could let you hold one of mine…if, of course, you promise not to get yourself hurt.” She added, as though in comfort, but partly in the beginnings of a plan. She would see how well the elf managed in behaving himself, conducting himself with solemnity and grace, and after that, who knew? Perhaps this would end in her telling Xyltha a little something, after all.

[Xyltha Thanole]

He didn't realise his good fortune, as Keeva relaxed from her deadly stance, which was very much capable of emasculating the Elf's JEWELS! All he cared for was this novel toy waving in front of him.

"I promise, Miss... Umm.. Warfanner. I'll be extra careful. I dont want to be poked by those sharp blades sticking up from the top..."

The elf oohed. The pretty girl was finally going to let him play with the warfans. With childish glee, he would clap his slender, arachnoid fingers over the edge, clasping it with childish wonder. Of course, he would take the utmost care not to damage his delicate hands by careless mishandling.

"Have you fought anyone in real life with them yet?!"

[Keeva Kaldres]

Keeva was still not entirely convinced, but rolled her eyes and sighed again, nonetheless. If it meant that this elf would be appeased, then so be it. He could play with her fans, for a time. Allowing Xyltha to free her of one of the dainty metal tessen, the woman stepped back, once and twice, as though to provide herself with some space, some literal margin, of saftety.

“My name is not ‘miss Warfanner.’ Call me Keeva, alright?” She told him, rather sternly, in face of the fact that her tone of voice was soft. “And I have sparred, yes.”

The girl fell silent for a moment, simply watching Xyltha with care. Honestly, she was still rather worried that he would accidentally gut himself, somehow, and was sure that she would need to step in, sometime soon, to prevent such from coming to occur.

“Take care not to cut yourself on the blades…and for aetheria’s sake, do not press the triggers. I would not want you to shoot yourself in the head. Such would be rather…messy.” It was not as though she truly cared for him, though she did, in the simplest of ways. Keeva did not want for the elf to become hurt on her watch, and by one of her weapons, no less. She might not have held any connection to Xyltha, but neither was she evil enough allow him to feel such pain.

“Now, what should I call you?”

[Xyltha Thanole]

The young elf struck a grin, happy that this conversation was heading along quite amiably.

"Well, I'm known as Xyltha. Nice to meet you, Keeva. There are triggers in this? What do they do? Show me! Show me! Please...."

His ingratiating tone was filled with childish excitement, his roving hands caressing the new toy with equal delight. The lethal deadliness of the weapon whetted his appetite for fun, and he planned on pestering Keeva to no end until she showed off a few more tricks with them.

Apart from the scenery, there was really not much by way of entertainment in these here parts to interest a young elf like him.

[Keeva Kaldres]

The woman would have rolled her eyes, had she not managed to catch herself in time. Instead, she merely drew out a smile- a rather forced quirking of the corners of her lips, which ended equally swiftly, and without any due remorse. Keeva sighed, and lifted her fan, closed, towards the wall beyond where the young elf stood. She would not aim for him- heavens, no- but instead some small distance away. Keeva did not intend to cause a casualty here, after all, much as Xyltha was presenting himself to be almost annoying enough.

She targeted the wood wall, then pressed one finger down upon the trigger. Instantaneously, three darts shot forth, each landing with a thud, almost in unison, and close to where the others had been cast.

“Each contains three darts, shot from hollows within three of the blades. The triggers simply release them, whilst the aim is better kept whilst the fans are closed.” So saying, the young lady went to retrieve her three darts, inserting them back into their place. “I really would rather you did not try that yourself…why are you so interested, anyway?”

[Xyltha Thanole]

The elf shrugged. The realisation had dawned on him, that this lady was not one to be trifled with. Of course, he had an inkling of that when he first laid eyes on her, a wariness that had grew with each passing moment. But it was only now that he realised the full extent of her lethality.

But he wasn't scared. Perhaps it was the pure ego rush he felt when it came to all things violent. Or maybe it was the elegance with which the girl in front of him handled herself with it. The intoxicating blend of beauty and death that made life oh so spicy!

"You're not some undercover assassin here, are you? That's some deadly weapon you have there."

Then he groaned inwardly. Well, he definitely blew it this time. If this was indeed an assassin, he doubted he would live to tell the tale in the next few seconds. And if she wasn't, then he wasn't sure that calling her an assassin was any more flattering that calling a girl fugly.