Harvest Moon

[Armand Temi]

Location: Harvest Festival, Caprine Village on Iktotch (2 years ago)

In a cracked mirror in the ancient ruins which served as Priestess Tiin’s makeshift temple, a blonde handmaiden put the finishing touches on her ensemble and placed a flower garland atop her head. She was servant, but for one of the most well-known religious figures on Iktotch. Her asymmetrical dress was long and billowy, made of modest materials and definitely not luxurious enough to usurp her Lady’s outfit.

Spoiler

The Priestess was finishing up some business in the capital of Ankhela and would be late, an exciting twist for nineteen-year-old Livna. For the first time, she'd be able to attend the Harvest Festival unchaperoned and away from the Priestess for most of the night.

Her fellow maidens, Toole and Saira had already gone into the village square, ready to drink and dance the night away in their finest gowns. Only thirty minutes without them, and the flaxen-haired maiden missed her companions. Gregarious in nature, Caprine were a notoriously dependent species and abhorred solitude.

She finally tore her away from the mirror, still not satisfied that she was as pretty as she could be for the festival. In bare feet, Livna dashed down a long flight of stone stairs from the ruins and practically ran to the village square. There before her were thousands of lanterns and torches lining every bit of the Caprine village, a glimmering sight to behold. The smell of herbs and wine was in the air. Mirth and laughter could be heard everywhere, and handsome male Caprine had oiled their long horns just for the occasion.

This is going to be a wonderful night, thought Livna. As long as Priestess Tiin didn't show up too early to demand her three maidens at her side.
[member="Akkest Yiun"]

 

[Qamaria Nasha]

The sound of reveling Caprine assaulted Akkest's sense of hearing. The sound of stamping feet as dances spontaneously broke out within crowd, the sound of shouting voice, each one raising higher and higher so as to be audible over the others, the bubbling sounds of laughter that rose and fell like an imitation of music. the rushing sounds of cloth brushing past cloth and the roaring of the winds that managed to exist and thrive within the closed confines of the village square. All of it thundered within Akkest's ears. Accompanying the roaring noise was the spicy smell of herbs and wine as the potent liquid was freely poured down the gullet of many a Caprine and split onto the candle illuminated stone floor by those that had consumed too much. The winds carried upon them the sharp taste of smoke while the air was illuminated by an array of candles, each one casting a warm, orange glow over the thriving mass of bodies and cold, stone architecture.

However, despite the assault to his senses that Akkest was experiencing, the evidence of the liveliness of his people, none of it truly registered with the ashen haired male. His toned, muscle covered torso was bared to the heat of the flickering flames, the only cloth covering he wore was a pair of loose, white trousers. His exposed skin was slick with sweat and oil as he slowly prowled around the small ring that had formed within the crowd at the chance to witness more entertainment as a new fight between male Caprine began.

His body was tense, muscles coiled, as he moved softly on his arched feet. Akkest's purple coloured iris were affixed to the figure of the similarly dressed male across from his. That male wore his dirty blonde hair short, barely reaching towards his neck, an juxtaposition to Akkest's own long, white hair that was pulled back into a topknot pony tail. Where as Akkest was pale, his opponent was tanned and where as Akkest was slim with lithe muscles, his opponent was stocky and heavily built. Slowly, the two opposites circled one another, waiting to charge and lock themselves in combat. Even though neither of them had long horns like the Balaer, both being of the Nur race, and were as such unable to lock horns, they were still able to fight with their fists and bodies for the entertainment of the roaring clouds.

Growing tired of the wait and the heavy, tense atmosphere that was beginning to settle between him and and his brown hair opponent, Akkest lurched forwards with a roar that emerged from the base of his throat, seeking to intimidate his opponent. Bared feet pounded across the stone flooring, eating up the difference between the two oil covered males.

Keen eyes immediately caught the tensing along the right hand side of his opponent's body, the muscles their rippling as the male prepared to release a powerful punch. Smirking, Akkest lifted his feet, allowing gravity to pull him into a crouch, letting the punch fly over his head, rippling his hair in its wake. Pushing forwards from his crouch, thigh muscles tensing and pushing powerfully, Akkest launched himself forwards, twisting his body to the right slightly, and drove his right fist into the stomach of his opponent.

Feeling the body beneath his punch recoiling in an instinctive move, as the strike had been delivered to the solar plexus, Akkest stepped forwards, his lift foot sliding between the feet of his opponent. Driving his left fist into the side of the male, his middle knuckle pushed forwards to deliver more pain, Akkest seized upon the recoil of his foe to deliver a series of quick fire strikes. Coming to the end of his combo, Akkest wrapped his right arm around the neck of his foe and pulled to the left, twisting his hip to gain leverage, tripping his opponent and sending him crashing to the floor. Crouching to deliver an open palmed strike to the expossed neck of the male, Akkest staggered backwards halfway through the move. His opponent had recovered fast than expected and managed to deliver a punch to Akkest's own solar plexus.

Leaping backwards, fighting to ignore his spasming muscles and fighting to regain his breathe, Akkest returned to prowling around his opponent. Around him, the roar of the crowd had grown even louder at the entertainment being provided and the sharp whistles of some of the more intoxicated females pierced through the night. However, despite the early success in his spar, despite the lively atmosphere that surrounded him, Akkest's features remained locked in an emotionless mask that was becoming more and more common of the face of the grown orphan.


[member="Livna Zios"]

 

[Armand Temi]

The freedom to do what she wanted was intoxicating without the strong Caprine wine from nearby vineyards, but she snatched up a flowing cup of it in any case and walked down the cobblestone streets towards the village square where all kinds of events were taking place. Where to go first, she thought? The easiest answer was to find Toole and Saira, her partners in crime. As she passed a field where Caprine frolicked and danced, she craned her neck to see if she could find her best friends, but had no luck. Her ears pricked at the roar of a crowd and she followed the sound to a ring where two males were sparring, but not with their horns.

Two Nur Caprine were in a hand-to-hand combat competition. Livna herself was a Nur and while all different races of Caprine mingled, there was a natural tendency to drift towards one’s own kind and it filled her with a simple joy to watch the majestic warriors of her own race fight.

While both sparring partners were capable in their own right, the paler one with the long, white hair appeared to have the advantage. As they continued their fight, some of the females of the village lined up, ready to give the winner a gift – either flowers, wine or even a kiss, which was customary. Biting her lower lip, Livna looked around but had nothing to give. She was well-known as the Priestess’s servant so perhaps a kiss on the cheek from the young, flaxen haired maiden would be enough for the victor in this fight. She could even give him a blessing from the Priestess herself. She hoped it was the slender and silvery Caprine as he was clearly the cleverer warrior, despite the other’s obvious strength and stamina.

[member="Akkest Yiun"]

 

[Qamaria Nasha]

Sliding under the wild haymaker his opponent swung, the larger Caprine obviously seeking to connect with the side of his neck and drop him where he stood, Akkest straightened up slightly, keeping his knees bent slightly just in case he needed to move quickly. Pushing his entire body weight behind the punch as he twisted to the right to add to the total momentum, Akkest drove his left fist, middle knuckle extended to deliver more pain to his opponent, into the fleshy side of the larger Caprine, who had left his entire left flank open from overreaching his strike. Feeling his fist drive deeply into his opponent caused a sense of satisfaction to well up within Akkest's breast, especially when he felt the muscles there spasm in pain.

Leaping backwards, Akkest took stock of the current situation. His opponent was sweating profusely, his short hair messy and knotted. A split lip causes drops of stark red blood to drip down the chin of the larger male, staining his dark skin. In comparison, Akkest looked untouched. His skin still shone in the dull light, but more from oil than anything else as, by letting his opponent make the more strenuous moves more often than not, Akkest had barely broken a sweat. The only sign of the fight that he had been involved in was his hair. He always sought to keep his hair and horns in pristine condition, the only sign of vane pride that he allowed himself to indulge in; he never took any notice of the long, red scars that wound their way across his skin, he never cared if he was clean shaven or bearded, but he always made sure to keep his hair in peak condition and his horns cared for. The fact that strands of his long, white hair had fallen out of the topknot pony tail he wore and fell down in front of his face was proof of his actions within the fight.

A dark smirk crossed his lips, breaking the emotionless, focused mask it had been covered with since the beginning of the spar, when his opponent shook of his pain and charged towards Akkest with anger ruling his action. Moving gracefully and swiftly, Akkest lowered his body slightly by bending his knees once more before sliding forwards. As he slid forwards, Akkest raised his right arm and pushed it to the side, the result of that action was the desperate punch that had been aimed at his head veered off course and left the larger Caprine open.

Stepping forwards, Akkest drove his open palm into his opponent's throat, dropping him to his knees as he chocked on nothing, desperate to take in air. While the strike could have collapsed the male's windpipe, it had not done so, just choking the male for a few seconds. Seizing those few seconds, Akkest drove his opponent backwards until he was laid prone of the floor and crouched above him, one hand wrapped around the neck of his opponent and his lips drawn back in a snarl.

Going lax, his opponent silently declaring that he was the winner, Akkest staggered backwards, panting in exhaustion as he finally let the toll the fight had taken on him show. However, as the crowds that had previously kept their distance surged forwards, the victorious smirk on his face dissolved into a tense smile. Akkest, by nature, was someone who preferred to keep to himself, where he could lose himself in thought. As much as he enjoyed the festivals that his species were known for and as much as he the physical activities like sparring that were commonplace, he did not enjoy interacting with others. As such, when the crowds swarmed him, females offering kiss, wine and other gifts, it was all he could do to not storm off in annoyance but whether it all.

After letting yet another female, one of the Balaer race, lean up to press a quick kiss to his check, Akkest began to murmur his excuses, ones that he had been using for years when placed in situations like the one he was in now, and extract himself from the crowd, causing the group to turn their attention to other thing, in particular, the new fight that had started only a few meters away. Sighing in relief as the attention was removed from him, Akkest made his way towards an empty spot at the edge of the square, grabbing a full glass of wine as he did so.All he sought to do now was to relax after the fight he had just won and savour the taste of wine.


[member="Livna Zios"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Livna beamed with joy as she watched the contest, the grunts, the jabs, even the blood - all of it was strangely alluring and hypnotic. Finally locating her, Toole skipped over, and they both leaned their elbows on a stone railing to take in the two warriors as they battled for supremacy.

“Do you know either of their names?” Livna asked her friend.

“I don’t know the bigger Nur, but the silver haired one is named Akkest.”

“Do you know him personally?”

“No, but I pay attention, Livna. You should more often as well."

Her lips tightened at her friends barbed remark. “I can’t help it if I’m the Priestess’s favorite,” the blonde Caprine huffed.

“You won’t be for long. Saira has spent more time in her bedchambers lately than you have.”

Livna tsked, and pushed her raven-haired Asti friend playfully. She then winced, and the servants half clutched at each other when the larger male was taken down. An attendant signaled the competition was over. “Off to dance,” said Toole, weaving down a series of narrow cobblestone streets, away from the sparring rings.

Her brows furrowed at Akkest’s reaction to the fawning over him. He seemed aloof, or perhaps uncomfortable… maybe he was in pain? The blonde servant waited until the light-skinned Nur was alone and approached him. She had wanted to plant a kiss on his cheek before, but he had hadn’t seemed receptive to any of the female friendly or seductive advances so far. Bowing before him, she said, “Ax’no gives you her warmest blessings, Warrior. For there is no better homage to the goddess, than the exhilaration of victory.” Not many in the village were able to dole out The Goddess’s blessings, so this was an indication to Akkest that she was employed by Priestess Tiin in some way.

[member="Akkest Yiun"]