Red Moons {Bella}

[Ensign]

It was late at night. Very late. All that kept her company was the dark, and the sound of her own breathing. Occasionally there were chirps, creeks, or cracks from the forest around her. They didn't bother her. They were just a part of her, and she a part of it. One thing. What did she have to fear of the forest and the creatures it held? And what did they have to fear of her? She resided here, for this time; as they resided here, for all time.

Just a simple human. Being.

Nai bounced back, shuffling light on the balls of both feet, arms raised slightly in a defensive posture. To the left. To the right. Keep your arms up, your feet light. Shoulders back. Eyes forward. Ears aware. Knees tense. Ready, waiting for the moment. All it took was one strike. One strike and they'd be dead. One strike, and she'd be dead.

The moss and leaf-litter was comfortable beneath her feet. Cool and dead. In the most lively of ways. They'd ceased to live, but they'd provide new growth to the forest. Such was the cycle of all life. And death.

Overhead the moon shone bright, casting the lightest glow of white and red through the trees. Red light stretched long, even in the darkness.

Red heart. Red blood. Strong life burned bright through the darkness.

Nai danced forward, feeling the slight give beneath her toes. She compensated, angling herself slightly with her right hip. Ducking low, she reached up and grabbed, giving a small hiss as she felt herself bitten.

Drip.
Drip.

The red moon of the sky was met with red moons of the ground, they're glows so meeting as to appear black. Red blood glowing bright in the darkness, so bright they seemed a shining black. They sparkled lightly, making the ground slick; but only in the small space they occupied. They could mean death for an unfortunate insect, or life for a parasite or fungus.

Nai shifted smoothly, bringing her hand over, twisting her shoulder, and pulling the blade from where she'd propped it in some branches. With a turn, she span the blade backwards, thrusting at the air behind her. With a small 'shnk', the blade met wood and stabbed. A target.

She'd made a mistake, she had messed up. She knew it was dumb to practice with a live blade, but this should have been routine. The pain taught her a lesson. Her hands only had minor wounds, still lightly dripping blood.

The tree, a part of her as she a part of it, held its own wounds. Small pockmarks from where it had been a target for its counterpart. Its blood ran too, sweetly golden; orange in the vaguely red light. Its blood too could provide life, or death. There was not so much a difference between the two of them.

Some could hypothesize that such a philosophy was eccentric; Nai didn't think about it too deeply though. It just was. How was one life so different from another? That was an idea she had to considered, as she wounded herself and tree. As she trained to take a lives if needed, she had to be willing to accept their differences. And how they were, ultimately, the same as her own. To take a life meant to take of herself.

So she prepared.

[Bellatora]

Yanoya sat in silence. Her arms crossed in front of her as she leaned back against the lazy form of her blue dragon who never seemed to have a care in the world... and yet he was always watching and always aware.. of everything. It was almost... frightening at times. She was a shadow. they were a shadow, blending into the trees and moss... Though the moonlight ever so slightly illuminated her. It was beautiful. Lovely. There was so much... It was the silent of night that one must learn to be one with. It was the silence of the night that could teach you much and give you calm... Yanoya's breath was slow and calm.

Life filled the night. Life in a different way. Darkness did not mean death. It meant life in its own way - a rather mystic way. Yanoya stood in one fluid motion and breathed deep, her eyes focusing on what she could see of her target - illuminated by moonlight alone. She breathed in... and.. out. The arrow loosed and headed straight for its target... She smiled slightly as she heard the satisfying thunk of the arrow hitting the target she had set in the last waning light of the sun. This was no real practice at all. She needed something... more difficult... but this was a good thing in a way. A moving target would be better. A target she had not already acquired. But she wouldn't use Paxis at this time. Her flitt was rather... well. He was deeply asleep at this point in time.

Why must you always remain awake... Sleep is good for you. Rest is necessary. Let us rest. The Blue looked at his with one swirling eye. He wanted to rest - he loved hte calm of night. It meant that he could rest. It meant he could observe the calm. And that Yanoya would not force him to train so much. She was focused on the calm in her own way.

Yanoya breathed out. Her target looked back at her, unseeingly. Death was not something to be taken lightly. To kill... was to take a portion of yourself and kill it to - each death should and would weigh on the heart. Certainly, Yanoya was best with her bow. Best at being one with it. Best at feeling the air and the way it moved... The very breath in her lungs. It was as simple as breathing in its own way. She stopped, hearing someone... she did not doubt that that someone had heard her and she turned, arrow at the ready as she slunk back against her blue and the bushes which hid them, the dragon himself flattening against the ground with a mental groan.

She doubted this would be a fight... but the Rebellion was about and was a real threat all the same. She would not be surprised if there was a member nearby. In fact... she almost expected them to try something very soon. It had been quiet for a war - they had been quiet for a rebellion.

[Ensign]

Nai was attempting to bandage her hands with leaves when she heard... a sound. An irregular sound. One that was not her, or the forest around her. It was different, unique. In fact, she believe she knew the sound. The creek, twang, whistle, and thud cycle were clearly indicative of a weapon. A bow. The question was who held the bow, and why? Surely no one would be hunting at this time of night, it was foolishness. It could be someone practice shooting, but only she was so peculiar as to practice martial arts at night. The sound could be someone generally threatening, but why in the world would they shoot pre-emptively and destroy their cover? The only way to get answers was to ask.

Nai stood slowly, turning on the balls of her feet, her hands still dripping blood. Walking slowly and cautiously, she grabbed the hilt of her wakizashi, which was still thrust into the tree, and pulled it loose very slowly; as to minimize any sound. Having accomplished that, she turn and picked up the sheathe, holding it in her right hand, facing backwards. It could be use as some sort of knife or shoto variant in that position. Nai was a left-handed swordsman, not particularly common. She supposed she wrote left-handed too. Or... she would, if she had ever learned to write.

Somewhere beneath the small surge of adrenaline was the concern that the blood on her hands could damage the wood of the sheathe and hilt of the blade; but they had been sealed for basic water resistance, so it should have been alright for a short time. Having retrieved her weapon, Nai turned again towards the source of the sound. Knowing the bowman could be holding her in their sight, Nai strode quickly, never touching with her heels, to a position behind a tree. After a moment, she moved to another tree, a strange motion that was ultimately fast, but was so smooth as to seem slow. She proceeded in this manner a small distance, every time taking a moment to stop, slow her breathe, and listen for any more sounds. There were none ultimately apparent. It was quite likely the individual in question had heard her. She was no woodsman.

Nai strode along the corridor quietly, spear in hand, waiting, stopping occasionally to listen. On the stone walls were only occasional candles, flickering in the darkness. This place was absolutely quiet, but posed the danger of echoing sound at any moment. Taking a deep breathe, Nai moved forward again, attempting to approach her target. This was a stealth exercise. Not a specialty of Ortiega, but something that her father demanded she pick up anyways.

She took a left, and then a right as she had been instructed. She slowed even more as she spotted a hallway filled with doors to sleeping chambers. Shrinking low she inched past them, knowing her father had probably recruited men to hide in there and come at her if she alerted them to her position. Once past that, she exhaled quietly and turned down another corridor.

There. That was her target room ahead of her. Nai approached it, and then pulled on the lock, thankful that it was well oiled and not locked. Millimeter by millimeter she pushed the door open. Once it was open enough for her to slip past, she went to move through it. She was halfway through the door when she felt herself slammed from the side, pinned between the door and frame. Giving a small gasp, she managed to quickly turn, loosening the pressure, and sliding inside. She went to spin her spear, only to realize the tail-end of it was still caught in the door-frame. Turning, she saw a hand reach out, easily batting the stuck spear aside, and then head straight for her nose. She had no time to react.

When she woke up later, she could tell her nose was broken. The face of her father was looking down at her. "You weren't quiet enough. I heard you breathe, you should have muffled that. Used your shirt or something. I've taught you not to be embarrassed if you lose your clothes in a fight. Also, taking a spear was the stupidest decision. The shards were you thinking?! Fights aren't on glorious battlefields anymore where a spear can inspire hope or fear! They're completely impractical in the close-quarters fighting these days! Most full size swords won't even do! Stupid! I don't want to see you with a spear ever again, got it?!"

She'd never forgotten that day. Getting closer, Nai realized that her breathing might be apparent to the individual. Perhaps the uncomfortable flashback floating in her mind compelled her next move. Holding the sword and sheathe at her feet, Nai quickly removed her shirt and tied it about her mouth like a bandana. This left her in knee lengths pants and a basic upper undergarment. Nothing too scandalous, but most people would be deeply unsettled by this. She wasn't.

With another turn, she began her routine of darting tree. After a few minutes, and having not been shot by an arrow, she knew she was right near the individual. Gripping her now blood-wet hilt and sheathe, she turned a final time and entered within just two or three feet of the bow-wielder.

It was a young woman, probably about Nai's age. A blue dragonet, which meant it couldn't have betweened here. This meant this person was of Trelis. Nai had probably just scared the wits out of her, appearing out of the shadow, wakizashi and sheathe in hand, blood dripping from her hands, wearing only pants and an upper undergarment, with a make-shift mouth muffling bandana.

Reaching up slowly with the hand still holding the sheathe, Nai tugged the mouth muffle slightly, lowering it just a bit, allowing her to speak clearly. "Hello." was all she could muster.

[Bellatora]

Yanoya held the bow and arrow up towards where she heard the slightest movement. Her ears were going to be better in this case, but your ears made it very difficult to actually acquire the target, but rather, made it necessary for her to try to peer into the darkness.

This person was very light on their feet. Quite honestly... it made it difficult on her. She felt more tension. She frowned and tried to focus more. There it was. The sound of breath. Muffled. Someone knew what they were doing, in all honesty, but that didn't mean they were completely untraceable. But where were they coming from.... where were they?

She stood slightly, ready to fight, pulling arrow and bow up moving them in such a way as to fight with them if it became necessary that she should have to try to defend herself as the individual stepped forward.

She frowned. She seemed vaguely familiar. Mine. She is a Candidate. Nai, I believe.

Yanoya stood to her full height and took the other girl in. "Hello. I am Yanoya of Blue Hyselhoeth. You are Candidate by name of Nai." It was nice to have a dragon who observed everything, despite how lazy he could be. She stood and lowered her bow, though she stood ready to move should the need arise.

Yanoya was looking at her with interest. Scars. A nose that had been broken before. She was a fighter. Most likley a well trained one by the looks of it. She was not afraid of losing her clothing or using it in a way that was necessary. She looked at her dragon as he stood with a wide yawn and holding back the cough that attempted to escape her as the disgusting smell of her dragons breath washed over them. She fanned a hand in front of her nose. "Sorry about him..." she said giving a slight cough.