At the Beach/Sleeping Dragon Bay (Jygust 31st MT)

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Valya Nix
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At the Beach/Sleeping Dragon Bay (Jygust 31st MT)

Post by Valya Nix »

There were not many sandy beaches on such a rocky island as Citadel was. Most of those were either hidden or hard to reach, nestled in the calm bays isolated from the incessant beating of the ocean waves. The Sleeping Dragon Bay was such a place, jagged rocks reaching almost a hundred paces into the sea, like a pair of arms, bending inward and leaving only a narrow passage, perhaps ten paces wide through which the sea flowed into the serene pool. Gentle waves caressed the rough sand of the beach protected from the raging sea by the almost cruel looking rocks that reached into the sea.

A narrow and twisting passage was the only way to reach the hidden cove from the island, the way barely wide enough to allow two men to walk side by side. It stretched for almost a hundred feet, the tall rocks overhead shutting most of the light away, only the noon sun having any chance of illuminating the cold and darkened passage. After the final bend rocks underfoot suddenly gave way to coarse, rough sand though the way was bared once more mere feet away from the passage’s end, by a huge smooth rock stretching the length of the beach. A single arch to the right was the only way to reach the sea beyond.

It was not until one reached the beach itself that the stone drew the attention to itself, the other side looking somewhat out of place due to its smooth surface, but did not have the gasp-drawing ability the sea bound side had. Shaped like a slumbering dragon the arch was revealed to be a passage under its mighty tail, its head resting upon a pair of clawed paws. Rough hewn, it was still detailed enough to arouse suspicion that it was either made by a hand of a man or that the legend of the Slumbering Dragon of Citadel was true. There were many versions of the tale, but all agreed in one thing. The dragon that slept after so many years had been a mount of a leader of men who had built the mighty fortress in the times long gone. Even though the legend was most likely just a fanciful tale the dragon still lay there, serene as the small bay it protected.


Valya was restless. This was not an irregular occurrence these days, seeing as her moodiness was ever present. She walked along the rocky shore, kicking stones, jumping over tide pools, and staring out at the waves with a generally sulky look on her narrow face. Ever since the beginning of summer she had felt a distressing frequency of extreme highs and lows.

Val looked around, realizing that she had wandered down the beach quite a bit farther than she ever had before. Even that inconsequential piece of trivia seemed to chaff her. Of course she was out here, walking around, doing nothing. It’s not like anyone was waiting around for her, waiting, longing to see her. It’s not like anyone was staring at a stupid blue chunk of rock every night thinking about her before falling into a thin, fractured sleep. Of course not. Only stupid teenage girls did that sort of thing.

She gave a random lump of rock a good solid whack with her boot and watched it bounce away and come to rest at the foot of a seemingly solid rock wall. Val walked over and knelt down, intent on picking the rock up and skipping it out into the ocean. She paused down on one knee, her skirt getting damp and sandy. She felt a cold breeze on her bare arms, much cooler than the air coming off the waves. Was it coming from a cave or something hidden away in this rocky face? She looked around, trying to locate a shadow or crevice that might indicate an opening in the rock.
Last edited by Valya Nix on Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.
It's such a sad old feeling
the fields are soft and green,
it's memories that I'm stealing
but you're innocent when you dream. - Tom Waits
Grey Wolf
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Post by Grey Wolf »

The nature of Citadel was such that beaches were a rare commodity and most of the people who came to the island never saw one, even though a few really nice one were scattered around. The bay in which the city was built was the largest such place, and cliffs rose steeply around it, sheltering the inland plains from the winds and harsh weather when it came. As luck would have it, Valya found a thin strip of grayish-yellow sand running along the cliff face, the grains under her feet coarse and rough, and ever so slightly damp. From where she stood it did not look like the sand had any reason to be there, but there was something a few dozen paces down the cliff. A whiff of find carried a small cloud of sand outward, the yellowish puff seemingly emerging from the cliff face. Should she dare investigate, the girl would find an actual passage in the sheer cliff wall, leading towards the sea, the sound of waves beating against the rocks reaching her much more clearly there.
The diplomacy is the art of saying "Good dog", while you are searching for a big rock.
Valya Nix
Civus
Posts: 75
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:29 am
Location: USA/Citadel

Post by Valya Nix »

Val caught sight of the puff of sand and scrambled to her feet. Well…what’s all this, then? She walked the dozen paces, her fingertips of her outstretched hand trailing against the cliff face. Val stopped outside of the passage and gazed in, curious and hesitant. She looked back over her shoulder, as if to reassure herself of her solitude. Val rubbed her hand over the back of her neck to ease the creeping feeling that somebody might be watching her. She turned back to the passage. The urge to explore was much too strong to walk away now. She walked in. Val held her right hand, palm to stone, against the rough wall, hoping to guide herself in case the light might fail further on.
It's such a sad old feeling
the fields are soft and green,
it's memories that I'm stealing
but you're innocent when you dream. - Tom Waits
Grey Wolf
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Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:58 am

Post by Grey Wolf »

She was all alone on that thin stretch of sand, the wind howling softly through the winding passage, sharp rocks cutting the flow and making it whistle, bringing the scent of sea much more clearly on it. The passage twisted this way and that, almost turning back at one point, but inexorably led to the sea and the sound of waves crashing against rocks. Then came that turn to the right and a hidden beach opened before Valya, two spurs of rock reaching far into the sea, sheltering the sandy stretch like protective arms. Behind her the dragon curled and slumbered, hewn from rock, the odd flow of air making a soft snoring sound, enhancing the impression of a true dragon encased in thin layer of rock.

The sand under the girl’s feet was rough and every little breeze send it swirling around her ankles, the air above the beach filled with multitude of sounds and tiny noises. A gull cawed high above, drifting in the air currents, weaving up and down, almost as if caught in mid flight. To the left near the rocks a flash of white bobbed up and down with each rush of water, disappearing under the waves only to rise up again a few flickers later.
The diplomacy is the art of saying "Good dog", while you are searching for a big rock.
Valya Nix
Civus
Posts: 75
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:29 am
Location: USA/Citadel

Post by Valya Nix »

Val lifted her face to the wind and snuffed it nosily; her country, costal-bred nose delighted in the intensified smell of the ocean. Her mood picked up as her pace increased, she was nearly running, her hand skimming against the wall, when she burst out of the passage into the sunlight on the other side. Valya laughed aloud with pure triumphant exhilaration, a high, free sound that she hadn’t felt the need to express in some time. She spun around on her heels, taking in the bay, the jutting rocks, the curious cliff shaped like one of the magical beasts she had read about in her big old books.

Before she knew what she was doing, Val was tugging off her boots and stockings. Her heart felt so light…alone and near the sea, no one watching her deportment, no one not watching her though she might have liked him to. Val found a niche in the cliff side and stuffed her boots into it while she divested herself of the rest of her clothing. She undressed with the careless, unmodest ease of a child. She had always swum in the nude before…why change now? Leaving the rest of her clothes safely bundled together she walked down to the breakers, her pale angular body cutting through the soft air. She walked into the lapping waters, shuffling her feet to avoid stepping on any small aquatic creatures. The water curled around her calves, then her thighs and hips. She was in that anxious, awkward phase of youth – her body trying to adjust to the new fullness in her hips and chest and her brain furiously trying to adjust her posture and movements to accommodate her new form. She knelt down to let the water wash over her head and sprang back up with a snort at how cold the water felt on first contact.
It's such a sad old feeling
the fields are soft and green,
it's memories that I'm stealing
but you're innocent when you dream. - Tom Waits
Grey Wolf
Furry Game Designer
Posts: 2742
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:58 am

Post by Grey Wolf »

Warmth. Sand was so very warm under Valya’s feet, sticking between her fingers, caressing her skin, touching more as bits of her clothing were shed. Heat emanated from the sand, the wind making it comfortable, and as it turned out the water she stepped into was warm too. The little cove was well protected, water circulating so little, the sun warming it even though it was still early in the day. Were she to slip deeper, the water would clear a bit and schools of tiny, silvery fish did their best to evade this interloper, dashing away from Valya’s body, scattering in all directions.

There was a chattering sound from the left a single fin emerging from the water, fishes dashing away from it, running into Valya and swarming around her, bumping into her in panic. They were too tiny to hurt and did not try to bite, merely trying to get away from that fin as it suddenly switched direction and came straight for the girl. Whatever it was, the water was its natural habitat, the fin cutting the waves, rushing at the nudist with amazing speed, too fast for her to outrun it even if she were a natural swimmer.
Last edited by Grey Wolf on Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The diplomacy is the art of saying "Good dog", while you are searching for a big rock.
Valya Nix
Civus
Posts: 75
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:29 am
Location: USA/Citadel

Post by Valya Nix »

Val mucked about in the water, trying to catch the little fish that so neatly evaded her hands. She would hold very, very still, waiting for the fish to settle down and forget about her presence. As soon as they did she would clumsily face plant herself into the water, splashing and thrashing around trying to touch the fish, her fingers a split second too late. Then the game would start again. Finally, Val laid a finger on the wriggling tail of one slow moving fish. She instantly jerked her hand away and shrieked, unfortunately, while still under water. Up she sprang with a mouth and eyeful of salt water. Ew.

As soon as her senses cleared Valya noticed something wasn’t…quite right. All the fish were streaming away from her in a very direct pattern. She looked after them then from whence they came. Gah! Val had little time to brace herself for impact, much less try to swim for shore. So, she threw up her hands to give the water monster a resounding slap before it sucked the marrow from her bones, or whatever it was that hideous water beasties did to defenseless maidens like herself.

In that impossibly short time between her catching sight of the menacing fin and her inevitable, untimely demise, these images passed through Valya’s head – the Citadel plunged into mourning for its late, greatest citizen. Her image hung in remembrance on ever corner, the light of candles bright in every temple, the sound of wailing and gnashing of teeth loud as thunder. Of course, the Risque would close its doors at once, never again to open. Indeed, most places of amusement might as well shut their doors now that the brightest jewel of their time was no more. How people would gather together in small sad knots to mourn the fact that they hadn’t know her personally or hadn’t given her her proper due during her short (but impossibly flawless) life. Every where, all over town, men who had know her or had merely glimpsed her on the street would declare that they had never loved another but her and now that she was gone they would retire from this worldly life…maybe they would form some sort of monastery or something. Ketch could start it, for surely he would finally realize that she was the one true love of his life whom he had callously ignored and treated like nothing more than a foolish child. If he didn’t kill himself right away, that was. Valya expected the number of tragic suicides would be record breakingly high after her death. What would anyone have left to live for anyway? She could imagine in the dim future, children gazing at paintings of her, slim and sad eyed as a saint, wondering at the magic that had gone forever out of this cruel, cruel world…

Mod have mercy! >.<
It's such a sad old feeling
the fields are soft and green,
it's memories that I'm stealing
but you're innocent when you dream. - Tom Waits
Grey Wolf
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Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:58 am

Post by Grey Wolf »

Closer the grey skinned beast came, seemingly increasing the speed as it neared, the water parting before its upper fin, leaving a white furrow behind. Then, a moment before she felt its impact the beast sprang up from the water and jumped over Valya, twisting round its axis mid air and emitting a chittering call as it flew over head. Her fingers brushed over its smooth, firm skin, several droplets of water hitting her face as it swooped past. Down it went with a huge splash, making a tight turn to the right before repeating the process, jumping over the swimmer once more, before approaching the third time, slower, raising its head over the water and waving it about. The creatures head was round, a long snout edged with rows of tiny, pointed and most likely sharp teeth extending from it, a tiny geyser erupting from a round hole atop its head. Again it chittered and this time it sounded very much like a giggle, or laughter of a small child. Whoever or whatever it was, his smooth body brushed against Valya’s side, the creature circling her body, almost as if caressing her.
Last edited by Grey Wolf on Mon Dec 01, 2008 5:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The diplomacy is the art of saying "Good dog", while you are searching for a big rock.
Valya Nix
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Posts: 75
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:29 am
Location: USA/Citadel

Post by Valya Nix »

Val started to laugh in that hysterical, high-pitched way that a person does when their acceptance of certain death turns into fun ocean playtime. She squealed with glee as she touched the thing’s smooth skin and again when it jumped over her. She bobbed around in the water with the creature, splashing and giggling while she aped its movements.

“Who’s a good…sea puppy thing? You are! Yes, you are! You weren’t going to eat me at all! Well, I’m glad you didn’t.” She cooed and tried to stroke the thing on its head, much like she would an actual puppy.
It's such a sad old feeling
the fields are soft and green,
it's memories that I'm stealing
but you're innocent when you dream. - Tom Waits
Grey Wolf
Furry Game Designer
Posts: 2742
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:58 am

Post by Grey Wolf »

Clicks and high-pitched squeals answered Valya’s own, the creature, shaking its head, its sharp toothed maw looking like a huge grin, enjoying the game as much as the girl did. Much like a puppy she called him, he rolled over at the petting, waving its dorsal fins, splashing the water around. Then suddenly it slipped around and under Valya flipping her over and playing little pranks on her with obvious glee. The shallow water they were in was obviously not to his liking and it kept drawing her deeper, though he kept to the side, and made sure she did not sink, coming to help and push her up time and time again. Several times he seemed to charge at the girl only to jump up and over her, performing flips and twists mid-air, and always returning to his faithful audience. He sped away once, moving towards something white near the rocky outcrop that protected the small cove, chittering and clicking, but grew bored after a while and with a high-pitched squeal came back to Valya, all but purring as it rubbed against her side, casting glances towards that white object every so often.
The diplomacy is the art of saying "Good dog", while you are searching for a big rock.
Valya Nix
Civus
Posts: 75
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:29 am
Location: USA/Citadel

Post by Valya Nix »

Val gladly followed the creature out into the deeper water, her fear of death obviously forgotten. She dipped and dived with the creature, occasionally holding onto the thing’s fins as it dragged her through the water. She imitated the way the big fish arced and dived through the water, slowly learning to dive and cut the water more easily, coming up coughing out a lungful of water less and less often. Val began to really enjoy the way her limbs moved through the water, challenging herself to move as quickly and agilely as the creature she had decided to call Harold.

Valya treaded water and watched her creature, for now she considered it hers, of course, swim off towards the white thing at the foot of the outcropping and come back to her. “What is it, fish-puppy? Do you want that? Shall we go see it, Harold?” She started to swim in that direction, as curious and possibly as fish brained as her new friend…
Last edited by Valya Nix on Tue Dec 16, 2008 5:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
It's such a sad old feeling
the fields are soft and green,
it's memories that I'm stealing
but you're innocent when you dream. - Tom Waits
Meridiuz
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Post by Meridiuz »

OOC: Taking over from Kerensky as he is taking a step back from moderating.

Another couple of clicks and squeals acknowledged that Harold was excited to go check it out with Valya. He positioned himself under her so that she could easily grab on as they had been doing for a while now. The white object became bigger as they approached it, it's shape however wasn't becoming all too clear, since it seemed as if most of it was covered behind the rocks. It became clear that the shape was rectangular and a little pointy. It also seemed to be somewhat soft, as it was dangling along with the rocks.

Valya's fish-puppy clicked and squealed again, only this time it was a longer, more lower pitched squeal. It was almost as if Harold was getting nervous as they got closer. When they were almost there, Valya could see more of the white object and it...it almost looked like it was..something meaty? Was it..a dead animal?
[i]Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger[/i] ~ Daft Punk
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