Dropping Eaves

[Felypsa]

A young girl ran barefoot through the field alongside her village, smiling as the long, uncut grass blades tickled her exposed feet. She was on her way to the cool stream that Hayabusa depended on for cleaning and drinking. This girl, who at the tender age of fourteen believed herself as adult as her village elders, carried a wooden bucket for water. But she was not going to the stream just for chores.

Liana was her first name, and Eavesdropping was her middle name. Well, figuratively speaking. At a very early age Liana had discovered a very interesting power she possessed. The elders, who in reality knew much more than she did, called it scrying, and were wary of her because of it. They all cautioned Liana to use her ability rarely. But like all good children, the words of the wise went over her head.

Upon reaching the stream, Liana almost immediately went to the water, but checked herself. Her father was usually easygoing and did nothing to limit Liana’s use of her ability, but if she did not finish her chores, he would bring out the switch. She grimaced and dipped the bucket into the stream, repeating the action until the bucket was full and heavy. Liana put it down carefully, making sure that the water wouldn’t slosh out, and then eagerly bent over the creek. Her thick, dark brown hair fell into her eyes, and she pushed it back impatiently, wishing she had tied it up.

At first, all Liana saw was her reflection: a golden-skinned girl with unusual grey eyes and a small button nose. Then, her brows furrowed in concentration, she made the water ripple and change. Her reflection was distorted and transformed into the image of the inside of a familiar hut. Liana had had someone very specific in mind when she started to scry: the chief’s daughter herself.

She was a young woman, several years older than Liana, but the chief made sure she was a virgin. For she was promised to marry the man whom the chief deemed would be the best chief after him. Unfortunately, that man had an ugly face and undesirable body, even though he was good at heart and had proven himself to be a strong leader. Still, his lack of physical attraction made Liana suspect that the chief’s daughter would not be satisfied with her lot.

Liana’s suspicion proved to be correct. For on this fine day, the chief’s daughter was visiting the most lazy, cocky, lunkheaded, and, unfortunately, handsome young man in the village. He could hardly put an arrow to his bow and shoot it, never lifted a finger in his life (his parents spoiled him), and spent his days leering at young women who were too busy (and too smart) to indulge his desires. He was a perfect match for the chief’s daughter, who was much the same way. And now, watching greedily in the stream, Liana caught these two like souls meeting in open passion.

At least their clothes are still on, thought a very amused Liana. The whole village’ll be appalled when they find out. But she would be delighted. She thoroughly enjoyed the village’s shock over the scandals she uncovered. And this one was ripe for picking.

After a few minutes of watching, Liana let the image go, picked up her bucket, and hurried back to the village as fast as she could. Some water was spilled, but that was unavoidable. As soon as she got to Hayabusa, she paused, walking more sedately through the roads. The key to starting rumors was to make sure no one linked it back to you. Liana was a master at this. She stopped the nearest passerby—a little boy. With wide eyes, she whispered to him, “Can you keep a secret?” When he nodded eagerly, she went on to say quietly, “I’ve just heard that Sakiera and Taruno are…” She winked at him, and that was all that was needed. The boy gasped, Liana hushed him and urged, “Remember, it is a secret. Don’t tell anybody.”

Those were the magic words. As Liana went on her way, she smiled with satisfaction, for she knew that the scandal would be known by the entire village by that afternoon. Another job well done, she thought, very pleased with herself.

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[Aveilthé]

OOC: Everything here temporarily; text stays. XD Still need to make her profile. So slow.

Hey, kinda had an idea. You wanna roleplay Sakiera's father? XD And if you'd like, if Liana has parents, I could roleplay them too. It would just be interesting, yanno, 'cause I'd rather not know what could happen and all that good stuff.

Sakiera's lips were practically glued together with Taruno's.
They appeared so locked up in eachother's arms, that it would
seem that Sakiera would not mind doing what Taruno was
obviously thinking about.

Her eyes snapped open to reveal reproachful brown eyes.

"Taru," said she, slapping his hand that was groping up her leg.

"Murf," was all that Taruno could respond, for he was too busy
eating her neck, and was too stupid to register her glare.

"Taruno, stop!" she yelled forcibly. She pushed him off.

"Wha...?" he grumbled dim-wittedly, caughing mildly.

"You reek of alcohol, and you are unseemly!"

"Buh... buh baby, I thought you--"

"You thought wrong," she growled, standing up and pulling her
sleeve back up to her shoulder. "You're cute, Taruno, but I don't
want to go any further than that with you like this!" And with these
words, Sakiera left the little house, grumpily snapping at little
children that passed her by.

"Little ugly runts," she muttered, stomping up through some
flowerbeds that belonged to an old lady that was crying at
her to stop.

Sakiera was obviously unaware of her arch-rival, Liana, was
currently defaming her. If only Sakiera knew what Liana had done,
she would have gone off on a murdering rampage. True, Sakiera
wasn't the brightest; she never usually looked into the future but
with five minutes in front of her face. She was smart when it came
to solving problems and difficult math structures, but not
thinking. Her words were sharper than her head.

Liana had always been Sakiera's problem. Since they were little,
Sakiera was very jealous of Liana's spirit, and longed to have
been free like her. Sakiera tried to be spirited as well, but looked
into the wrong places. Taruno, for example; she thought about
bringing on a little fling with him and be rebellious from her father,
whom was the chief of the little village. Her father constantly
berated her and told her to be a mannerly young woman, but
Sakiera hated that. She absolutely hated being told what to
do, and liked doing things her own way - simply because she
never really got to as a child. But Sakiera possessed everything
a girl could ever want, such as a huge place to live in, with riches
that many would kill for.

Such material things included gemstones up the wazoo. Various
sapphires adorned her head in a kind of necklace-crown, with a
single dark blue gem dangling between her eyes. This was a sign
that she was a princess of the area. Her dark, raven-black hair
was as straight as an arrow, and hung loosely down to her
tailbone. Her dress was beautiful and a light-brown and leather,
something to come hard by in the city. One odd thing about her,
was that, unlike the people in the city, her skin was pale as the
moonlight yet her eyes looked like Asian ancestry. She took after
her mother, whom many had said that she was an elf. Her mother
had died years ago due to an illness. Believing elves to be
immortal, and unable to die even with sickness, Sakiera did not
believe it.

As custom in the village, she was barefoot, but her ankles held
gold bangles to complement her eyes. Her eyes, being a dark
brown color, had just noticed a group of elderly women speaking
lowly to one another.

"Oh, no, she did not," moaned one of the ladies, holding a basket
of dried leaves on her wide waist.

"Yes, it's true," said another lady enthusiastically. "And who knows,
she could be pregnant!"

All the ladies congregated together gasped exasperatedly.

"A child out of wedlock! That is absolutely horrible!"

"The princess would be condemned by her father, for sure!"

Sakiera's mouth was gaped wide open. Then one thought popped
into her head: Liana.

Turning swiftly, she ran angrily down the dirt road.

[Felypsa]

oOc| Ooooh, I'd love to xD Sounds fun.




Liana was in a very good mood. Rumor was indeed her best friend. It had a tendency not only to run but to grow on its own accord. All she had to do was to start it, then she could sit back and enjoy it. But first—chores. Liana hurried home with her bucket, and without being told put it into the kettle over the fireplace. “Mama! I’m back!” she called. She then started a fire and tended to it carefully, though her mind was on the rumor she had just begun. Her timing couldn’t have been any better.

She grinned maliciously to herself while she stirred the water, thinking of how Sakiera would react when she heard the gossip about herself. Oh, Sakiera. Ever since Liana first laid eyes on the princess—Liana was three, Sakiera seven—Liana had hated her. Everyone showered love on her, in the form of physical affection and material valuables. Sakiera had never had to lift a finger to do chores in her life. A pampered princess, indeed. And she seemed to hate Liana as well, though Liana could never figure out why. It was always Sakiera this, Sakiera that. She was to lead their village when she got old enough. And that somehow entitled her to look down on Liana, her friends, her family, and just about everybody else. Liana hated it, and wanted to take Sakiera down from her lofty pedestal.

So Liana did her very best to make the chief’s daughter as miserable as possible. Oh, and once she got the hang of her scrying gift, she did. Though Liana targeted just about everybody for her rumors, she usually branded Sakiera with the worst of them. This did not endear her to the princess, but what did Liana care? Princess or not, she was not safe from gossip. No one was ever safe from gossip. That was the most important lesson Liana ever learned.

Now that the water was boiling smoothly, Liana knew she could leave the cooking to her mother. “Done, Mama!” she shouted, to let her mother know it was time to cook. Then Liana added, “I’m going out, Mama!” and did so before her mother could stop her. As if she would. Chores was the only thing that held Liana back. Once she was done, the village was hers to roam and prowl.

Her rumor should have grown to adolescence at least, if not full adulthood. Liana eagerly headed for the schoolhouse. Even though school was not currently in session, lots of kids her age liked to hang out there. It was a common meeting place, and one of the ripest places to go to if you wanted to harvest good gossip. There Liana could hear the fruits of her labor, and maybe even glean a few new juicy rumors as well. But before she got there, a procession made her stop in her tracks.

It was the chief, flanked by his two most trustworthy guardians, Ket and Raan. Raan was actually Liana’s older cousin, and one of her best friends to boot—when he wasn’t guarding Chief Vorukai, anyway. As she halted, he caught her eye and winked, but otherwise didn’t change his expression whatsoever. She hoped that she would be in the clear, but then the chief stopped, turned, and headed directly for her.

Oh, cat dirt, she thought, her heart sinking as he approached. Normally Vorukai was a very amiable man, far more preferable company than his daughter, but he was also smart. If he heard the rumor, he would know exactly who started it. And for some reason, he was fiercely protective of Sakiera. Liana tried not to look guilty.

“Liana,” the chief said formally, inclining his head towards her. She did the same, kissing her fingers and touching them to her forehead, which was the appropriate response. Then Vorukai smiled, which surprised her. “How are you doing on this fine day? Raan tells me today is your father’s birthday. Do congratulate him for me.”

Oh, right, she thought, wincing. So it is. Birthdays weren’t that big of a deal in her family, but Liana always felt as though they should be celebrated wholly. In any case, not only did Vorukai remind of her of that special occasion, but he wasn’t yelling at her either. She realized with a start that he must not have heard the gossip circlulating about his daughter. Whew. That was a close one.

“Thank you, Chief Vorukai,” Liana said formally. “I am sure he will appreciate it.” But instead of nodding and continuing on, the chief stayed. That made Liana nervous. Did he suspect something after all? Or was he just being extra friendly today? She shifted from foot to foot, glancing down the dirt road, anxious to get away.

“Have you seen Sakiera today?” Vorukai queried. “I have been looking for her, but she is in none of the places I would have expected.”

Liana gulped. “W-would you like me to scry her, Chief?”

The chief frowned. “Well, you would need water for that, would you not? Nay, do not bother, Liana. I am sure she will turn up soon.”

[Aveilthé]

The road led Sakiera to an old trader that stood in the middle of the
road. As she passed by, the trader called for her, saying, "How
'bout you trade that pretty tiara of yours for this fine Gnomish
coat? It would become you more!"

Sakiera retaliated in response with rude messages that left the
poor old trader weeping.

Once passing the trader, her eyes were instantly filled the figure
of her father standing dignified, seemingly alone; she could not
tell the other simply because he obscured that person.

"Papa," Sakiera yelped, her eyes widening as she skidded
to a halt right behind him. He was not the person she expected
to run into.

[Felypsa]

The chief had scarcely spoken when the princess herself came running into view. Liana noticed gleefully that Sakiera’s eyes were filled with anger. That meant she had heard the rumor. I wonder at what stage it had reached when she heard it? Liana wondered, smiling. That smile vanished instantly when she saw Chief Voru (as she affectionately thought of him in her mind) give her a Look. Liana looked down at her feet. Does he suspect me of having something to do with this?

“Ah, my dear Sakiera,” Voru called, holding his arms wide to his daughter for a fatherly embrace. “I have been scouring the entire village, it seems, looking for you. Your fiancé is waiting at our hut to discuss your vows to one another—” He stopped, frowning, taking note of Sakiera’s distress. “My daughter, you appear distraught. Is something the matter?”

In this exchange, Liana tried to slip away. In doing so, she came out from behind the chief and into Sakiera’s line of sight, should Sakiera choose to look. As Liana crept by Voru, her cousin Raan caught her eye and winked. She grinned up at him; he would never turn her in. Filled with confidence by her cousin’s affection, she strode away from the royal family, as if Raan’s wink would prevent Sakiera from seeing her.