trans_9 | Bus Woes

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Bus Woes

Kaya had, upon beig able to live in the W.I.T.C.H. bus for the time being, happily cooked meals for the inhabitants where she could, pleased that she could finally do her part. Today, when she woke up, she hadn't seen Matt. Thinking he might be out for a Council related activity, Kaya had let this pass, exercising in Will's classroom, training her body, and then popping over to visit Billy. When she came back, she got the feeling that Matt was still gone, and she started to worry, just a little bit. She asked around for him, but no one, not even those on Council, had seen him that day. Still, she was willing to ignore this, wait because it wasn't possible. How could it be? He was a Concil member, he was the W.I.T.C.H. bus person, it wouldn't make sense.

But she knew it was true. Felt it as surely as if she'd been told, and she couldn; bear to be around anyone, bemoaning his loss. After all, these were feelings only she knew right now, that loss of something she'd had after she had weathered so many changes. She had not thought it possible to be this cruel, after all of that.

And so she wandered to the baths, stripping down and sinking into the baths. It was perfect: she coudl cry all she liked adstay underwater so no one was the wiser.

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He paused in the wringing of his hair and leveled his gaze on the girl beside him. "'Move them at will' as in taking control of their bodies? Like mind control?"

Despite the sudden crimson color of her face, he didn't mention it. Ronnae and Billy blushed so often that it was practically expected at this point.

"That is...an unusual ability," he admitted, drawing one of his legs to his chest. "How does manipulating the water in one's body cause it to move to your whim?" From what he knew of basic humanoid biology, that didn't exactly make sense to him. And it wasn't magic, so...

He released the length of hair in his grip, a thoughtful expression easing onto his features. "The stronger you get, the more self-restraint you have to be willing to show, I think."

"It's more body control than mind control," Kaya said. "It was actually something Katara taught em with great reluctance: it's not an ability she's really proud of, but I think its safe to say its a testimony to her strength and what she can do. Thanks to her, I can use the ability against an enemy that would hurt us without a moment's notice."

Provided there was a full moon, of course.

"Humans are made up mostly of water, when you get down to it: without it they would die. I don't quite know how you explain it in scientific terms, but because you can move water, it stands to reason that means water in everything. Granted, humans have skin and many other things in their body too, which is why its so hard to begin with."

She nodded. "Yes. I've learned that to be true. Tell me, your tattoos: do they hold a sort of significance, or did you just want them?"

"Ah, I see. I used the term 'mind control' because that is the name of a similar spell in Azeroth. By taking a hold of your mind, they control your body," he explained. "It is a very jarring experience."

He tried not to think too hard on the scientific aspects of what her words meant. He wasn't very good at science in the first place and he had a tendency to dissect everything down to its base component in a quest to figure out exactly how something worked.

At her sudden question he raised his head slightly, idly tracing over the eagle with spread wings that was inked on his chest. "They do hold significance. They are representatives of the animal aspects that most Hunters learn of. Many of them simply call upon them when they need, but my mentor was convinced that I needed a more permanent manner of inducing that state."

A slow smile spread on his lips as he recalled the memories. "Whenever I would finish my training of mastering a new aspect from the creature who I learned from, Janni would bring me back to my 'home' and she would spend the entire night drawing the corresponding animal aspect onto my skin."

"I knew of people in a place in my world where mind control was managed," Kaya said, shivering a little, "but blood bending is obviously a little different. With it, its your body moving, but your mind stays the same."

Kaya's mouth dropped open at the implication: apparently, he was able to imitate aspects of other animals, and had the ones he knew tattooed on him. She was trying to look him over, although she still felt a little shy about it.

"How many aspects do you know?"

"Six. Hunters--those who actually go down the path that is steeped in physical skill, wilderness know-how and mysticism--have various other abilities that revolve around the natural world."

He dropped his leg from his chest and let it dangle over the edge of the water. Grabbing the wet mass of hair that was spiraled on the floor, he pulled it back to give her a clear view of his chest and abdomen. A bird with wings spread wide in flight was angled on his chest, the tattoo ending beneath his collarbone.

"Aspect of the Hawk," he murmured, tracing a finger over it. On his lower abdomen a small fox was curled into a little, sleeping ball, furry tail partially obscuring its face. "Aspect of the Fox."

Coiled around his navel many times over was a snake with teardrop-patterned scales, mouth open and bearing its fangs. "Aspect of the Viper." Nokosi then lifted a leg and trailed a finger along the ink there. A large, spotted cat was in mid-leap, its paws nearly reaching his knee. "Aspect of the Cheetah."

On his right bicep their was a tree with many limbs and few leaves. The entirety of its trunk was corkscrewed down to the long roots that spiraled and circled around each other. "Aspect of the Wild," he said, brushing his fingers over the tattoo. "This is the world tree Nordrassil, former home of the Night Elves. It means 'crown of the heavens' in our tongue."

Finally he leaned forward and pulled his thick rope of violet hair to the side, showing her his back. Four wolves were inked there, looking in the distance as if they were searching for something. "Aspect of the Pack. Of my six aspects I can extend the benefits of two of them to my comrades."

If she had any reservations about seeing his naked body in detail, she seemed to get over them quite quickly: there was nothing that so captivated her as this right now. In a way, they reminded her of the Avatar's tattoos, yet these were something different, like a branding he underwent to show that he had obtained something that he knew himself. These tattoos weren't even showing in obvious places, telling her that Nokosi meant for them to be a message to himself, something that was a link to what he had of himself from his world.

That was her thoughts anyway. What Nokosi was thinking was still a mystery to her, though she knew enough that he had how own ways, that she need only ask and he would tell her.

"You can extend them to two comrades?" Her eyes went wide with wonder. "Have you ever done something like that before?"

"Oh, no. I can extend them to multiple comrades though it is only two of the Aspects that I can use for this purpose. Aspect of the Pack and Aspect of the Wild. The former bestows fleet of foot to my allies while the latter bolsters their defense against poisons and other nature-based spells and abilities."

Nokosi straightened back up and smiled cheerily at her. "I also have other abilities that are linked with those of my animal companions, such as being able to see things through their eyes for a short amount of time. And then there's feigning death--a skill that tricks both animal and person in a very convincing manner."

She was pretty sure her jaw dropped. She wasn't sure why, but she thought that having the ability to do something like this would have been something Nokosi might mention at an earlier time. Then again, as Nokosi wsa more apt to spend time with himself and Fontaine, maybe it simply hadn't come up. He didn't seem the type for bragging, especialy when it came to abilites like this.

"Wow," was all Kaya could really say at the moment. "You mean to say that Night elves can learn this if they wish? That's amazing! Did anyone you know every channel these abilities of yours before?"

He regarded her with a questioning look, even though he was well aware that she wasn't a native and thus, knew little about the things he spoke of. "Not just Night Elves- there are many races of people that become hunters if they so wish, though some of them do so in different manners. Dwarf and Tauren Hunters prefer guns to bows and they are far more for 'the thrill of the hunt' than some other races."

Nokosi drew a leg to his chest and draped an arm over his knee. "But, like undertaking such as that, it does take years to master." A toothy grin widened on his oval face and he raised his head slightly. "At such a time I would have feigned death after speaking about it, but after everything you underwent I would not want to give you a scare."

It was true- Nehaalista greatly disliked when he did that the first few times, in danger or no.

Years. Well, that made sense, right? Nokosi had lived for a very long time, why wouldn't he have lived long enough to learn how to do the things he said? It did make her wonder how long these Dwarves and Tauren guys live.

"Wait, why would you do that, that's mean!" Kaya protested, giving him a pointed look. "Though thanks for thinking of that now! It's bad enough with other people podded! I don't want anything bad happening to you too!"

Unintentional morbid sense of humor sometimes, really.

"Most times it was for a legit reason. A lot of creatures simply ignored you if they believed you to be dead and for that reason they would attack her instead. She was much more suited for taking direct blows." Other times...

"Well, other times it was more for my benefit. It is very hard to hold one's breath for such a long time and even harder to maintain one's heartbeat at such a sluggish pace. Much practice needed."

He laughed at the expression she made, his own face the closest thing to an 'apologetic' look as he could muster. "It would not have been intentionally to deceive you!" Nokosi curled an arm around her neck and pulled her into a shoulder-to-shoulder hug, though he was still attempting to stifle his chuckling.

"It would have only been as an example, Kaya. Really!"

"I can see how that would be a good survival technique," Kaya said, although she did think that she was still being teased more than she would normally have allowed. It was Nokosi though, so somehow she allowed him even this.

"I would like to learn that sometime though. I wish I could learn some of those aspects, but I am still proud at what I learned and what I'm able to do."

She tried not to flush at this particular gesture, but she did have to smile a little, and hug him back. "Well, thanks for that then! I mean, in just a short amount of time you've become one of my closest friends! There aren't too many of my friends I've bonded with this quickly."

"As you should be! I am not sure I would easily be able to teach you such things since nature on this ship is so small compared to the natural world, but there are plenty of other things I could teach you. Despite those other things, I am also very skilled in archery and tracking. I could instruct you in the uses of a bow and markmanship, unless you are already skilled in such."

Nokosi studied Kaya for a long moment, a jovial smile rising to his face. "Oh yes, I am very glad for your companionship! It usually takes a long time for others to get over the oddness and awkwardness that I am associated with."

"Actually, that happens to be one of the disciplines I DON'T know," Kaya said sheepishly. "I had thought that one of the first tings it was important for me to learn was hand to hand in the case of close ranged fighting: ranged fighting has only recently been something that occurred to me. If you were to teach me how, I would be most grateful if you would take the time to teach me."

She bowed gratefully, then shot him a strange look "Oddness? I mean, you're a little eccentric, but overall? You're someone that other people should get to know. I guess wise people always tend to unnerve others?"

He laughed suddenly though it was good-natured in tone. "I am not told that I am 'wise' very often. I am sure people think that I am odd because I am both 'eccentric' in their sense and I tend to ignore--or more than likely--not realize most social conventions and other aspects. I believe it is only made worse in Azeroth since there are so many different cultures."

"But," he started after a beat. "I can teach you how to shoot a bow and arrow. Perhaps it might help you with your bending as well, in a ranged sense." He wasn't even aware if she could shoot projectiles with her abilities, but it was worth mentioning.

"I've met plenty of wise people who were odd though!" Kaya protested. "If anything, sometimes oddness is a sure sign that there's a wealth of experience in the things you've seen! Anyone who's met you could never claim to know you at all if the only thing they noticed is that you're strange!"

She looked grateful. "Thank you," she said. "I can use my water in ranged ability, but I haven't done that with actual weaponry It's the reason I want to learn: if there is ever a time I don't have water available, at least I should still have a way to defend myself."

"Perhaps you have a point," he agreed. "No need for thanks, though. It would be my pleasure and it'll probably be very fun as well! You look to be nimble enough so I think you will do very well, Kaya."

Well, she was that: with all of the teachers she'd had, it would be an insult to them to have let herself go in any sense of the word.

"I'm quick enough, maybe, but I'm hoping my aim is just as good," she said. "When do you want to start?"

He shrugged a shoulder as he ran his fingers through the length of his hair, trying to untangle the knots there. "Whenever you would like. Almost all of my time is free time since Ronnae is generally busy during both the day and night."

Fontaine made a show of climbing out of the large bath and shaking, sprinkling water all over the place. Nokosi gave the wolf an amused look and simply shook his head.

"Just tell me when and we can begin, though you might have to supply your own bow. I can make you one but it will take a day or two."

Kaya giggled. "Well, I can imagine: she DOES work with Billy, and those two are fairly busy most of the time. And I can see you're having some trouble with those knots: come here, I'll deal with them for you."

She stood up and started to move her hands deftly through the hair, making sure that she was able to not harm him by tugging impatiently but all the same making sure that she was getting to the root of the problem.

"As soon as possible. I need something to distract me, in case you haven't noticed, and I want to make sure that I give Billy and Ronnae some free time."

He hummed in agreement. "Yes, sometimes having very long hair can be a pain but I quite like it." The elf allowed her to begin on one side while he worked with the other.

"Yes, they do need the free time. I spoke with Ronnae...there are many things that have been left unsaid because she does not wish to disturb his mood. If she does not bring them up soon enough, I think I might have to talk to him myself." He paused and glanced at her. "We can start today if you so wish."

"I like it too," Kaya said, smiling a little. "I know its rare for guys to have long hair, but I don't mind it at all. It's very pretty!"

And she painstakingly continued undoing the knots, taking care not to tug.

But this caught her attention, of course. It was Ronnae, someone she loved and considered a friend, and Billy, her own Bonded.

"What's been unsaid?"

It went without saying they would start immediately: Kaya liked a head start on things.

"Thank you," he replied. "I usually have to cut it every few years or so. If it has grown down to my thighs then it is generally too long to be anything but a bit of annoyance. Another foot and a half and it will be there."

If anything, he didn't seem as if he minded the occasional tug. In no time at all he'd straightened his side out and deftly began twisting the few braids that were visible throughout his usual ponytail.

"Things that she remembered during her childhood, things that have worried her, things from her time at home that he might be better off knowing. That sort." He paused for a moment, ear twitching slightly. "I will speak with her again, I think. It was enough that she was choked up about speaking of such things."

Kaya giggled. "In that case, I think I'm a little jealous. Even my hair isn't that long, and though we have it cut to make it manageable, I almost wish it were."

Once she was done, she smiled and handed him her side. "There you go. I hope I did a good job."

Kaya did look a little bothered by this, but it was Nokosi, after all, who knew Ronnae better than she did. "I hope in time she WILL tell him, and me, but only when she's ready. I just don't want her to suffer whatever those memories."

Nokosi repeated the small twists on the other side as well, then pulled the entire length to the side to twist it into one large braid. He pushed some of his still-wet bangs from his face and nodded. "Yes, thank you. You did a splendid job."

He stood and stretched his lithe limbs then walked to one of the shelves against the wall. "I am sure she will, perhaps when a bit more time has passed. I have never been the type to think that silence is better than simply dealing with one's problems, despite the joy, heartache or unhappiness they might cause."

The elf began replacing the dangling threads, long chains, trinkets and baubles that were his earrings. "So it is a bit difficult to sit upon the sidelines and simply wait for her to decide to get over her uncertainty."

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