Aura

Well, do you have any particular interests in mind?

Hi there! I've noticed you poking around in the statuses. Welcome to our community! I see that you've already made a thread in the roleplayer's bulletin board, so there's no need to point you there. I would suggest participating in some threads on the community index in order to get to know some more people! Why don't you tell us some more about yourself? ^^

Location: Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound Natia was pleased to watch Rowan eagerly eat the porridge. It was a significant boost to her confidence knowing that she could be of use to him, even in such a small way, under these circumstances. She looked up at his handsome, smiling face. She couldn't help but question what it would be like to remain by his side. He had already been taking such good care of her, and something about this discussion of maturity only made her body feel lighter. It reminded her of the way she felt any time she would fantasize about meeting an Aequu from another tribe. That natural urge to reproduce... but such thoughts were indecent! Especially about an outsider... Besides, she wasn't even certain if the aequu could breed with other species. It might offset their balance, or at the very least, the balance of their offspring. That would be quite a significant risk to take for just a few minutes of pleasure. After a moment of silence during eating, Natia thought to ask another question. Looking up at her new friend, she opened her mouth with a slight blush. "Um... I don't believe you've mentioned a significant other yet... Do you not have a lover?" She asked, with a slight, unintentional hint of hope in her voice. "Or does your culture not rely on ideals like that?" She turned to look outside of the cave. "The Aequu very rarely get to experience love. Cera's gift will not bless children from incestual breeding, and I can't imagine she would bless children of interspecies breeding as well. So the only way for us to reproduce is if we happen to stumble across another tribe. Then, the tribes join together, sort of like marriage between families. It is only then that we have the ability to find love. That's part of why our species are so few in number."

Location: Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound Once again, the words Rowan spoke reminded Natia greatly of her family. The way he spoke about the youth was exactly the way her father would speak on the matter. It was especially surprising that another individual would share such values with the Aequu despite the fact that their lives seem to end so much faster. She always imagined that other people didn't put much value into their own lives since they didn't seem to have as much responsibility to protect the world around them. However, after her discussions with Rowan, it seemed quite reasonable. They valued their lives partially because they were so short. They had no time to lose. They would pull all the strings they could to ensure they and the ones they loved had the opportunity to live their lives to the fullest. Natia nodded as Rowan suggested his plan for getting out of the forest. It sounded good to her. She had managed to hold onto him while she was exhausted and he was in a hurry to get away. She was sure she wouldn't have any problems now that she'd had a chance to rest. "Yes, I suppose it makes sense that my captors would have taken me through such a dangerous path. Perhaps with... er... someone like me..." It made her stomach turn just thinking of being treated like nothing more than cargo for trade. "...they felt the need to choose a path that few people travel in order to avoid thievery." It was just a guess, she obviously had no idea what purpose the men had in bringing her through the forest. For all she knew, they might have just had a death wish. "Or, perhaps it was a path they usually take slaves in order to discourage them from running away? Maybe they usually capture slaves from more local areas who are more likely to know about this forest. Under the circumstances, I could already piece together that this was an extremely dangerous place filled with monsters. But I really didn't have anywhere to go but away. I hoped that, by walking along the river, I would stumble across some sort of city where I could potentially get help, but then I reached the point where I just couldn't walk anymore..." Natia nodded again when Rowan asked about the porridge. She put on a soft smile. "It's nice. These blackberries are surprisingly good!" She lifted another spoonful to her mouth. "By the way, you said I looked like a child, right? I suppose it's not too far from the truth. Even among my people, I'm really small for my age. My people don't really age very much from year to year. I'm actually 83 years old, which is still really young for the Aequu. We generally live for around 4-5 centuries. So, if I were a human, it would have taken my body around 16 years to develop to the point it's at now, I believe I've been told. So, I am certainly young, although I am probably significantly older than you would have expected."

Hi there! Welcome to our community! I love your profile picture by the way! If you're looking for a well-thought-out roleplay story, I would strongly suggest checking out our club directory and see if anything catches your interest. Otherwise, you can also post in our roleplayer's bulletin board for smaller, one-on-one roleplays to do either in the public rp club or in private. If nothing strikes your fancy, you can always create a thread in the bulletin board with your own ideas! I'm excited to see what you have in store and hope you have fun here!

Welcome to our community! As the other two have suggested, please come to us staff if you find yourself with any comments, questions or concerns! We hope you enjoy your time here!

As Rowan dropped the berries into her small hands, Natia smiled before dropping them into her bowl and carefully mixing the berries into the porridge. While Rowan was busy collecting more berries, Natia lifted the spoon to her lips to try another bite. While the porridge was still quite bland, the blackberries certainly gave it a bit of flavor which was more than enough to satisfy her under the circumstances. She continued eating from the bowl while Rowan returned and began discussing the types of creatures in the forest. She almost choked, however, when he unexpectedly listed something as bizarre as a 'sex tree.' She could only imagine a creature disguised as a normal tree but with long, penis-like branches to wrap around unwary travelers, and... Her face was already bright red as she bit her lip. Surely she just misheard him. If that were the case, it would certainly be embarrassing to ask him about a nonexistent sex tree. She decided to remain quiet and shake that image out of her mind, although she could feel a slight tingling between her legs... She was pleased that Rowan seemed to be enjoying the blackberries as much as she had been, although her mind was still set on the monsters he had been talking about. "Y-yeah, there are a lot of strange creatures here... I'm much more used to more typical animals like wolves and bears. I've never had to deal with anything as terrifying as a dragon or those hounds! And without my magic, it's all so... overwhelming. It's like I'm trapped in a completely different world and absolutely nothing I know about survival is applicable anymore." She found herself leaning against Rowan again, this time it wasn't out of exhaustion but more just for comfort. "I really can't express how grateful I am for your generosity... You could have just left me to die. Instead, you took the time to carefully check up on me even when I was too scared to trust you and we were right in the middle of those hounds' territory... You could have avoided that danger if you just kept going and left me when I told you not to approach, right? But you stayed there... just for me...?"

I've noticed that there isn't really a convenient place for public RP plots. Most people seem to do it either in Statuses, which can get buried pretty easily, Ecchitexts which limit the user to users they specifically name, the public Ecchichat, where again, suggestions are likely to get buried and/or ignored, or the private roleplayer's bulletin board, which seems to be the most convenient IMO, but it has the issue of being called the private roleplayer's bulletin board which could discourage new users from posting there, thinking it's exclusive to private roleplays. Since we now have this Public RP club, I think we should remove the "private" from the bulletin board and just call it the "Roleplayer's bulletin board," and just ask users to specify whether they prefer public or private in their thread. That way, people don't get confused by the title and understand that any plots for any type of roleplay are welcome. After making that change, I think there should be a link to the bulletin board on the Public RP club's homepage with a brief explanation of its purpose. It would also be nice to have an OoC section for users to openly discuss their ideas in the club itself. For something like this, it would probably be best to be a page in the club rather than just a thread like in most other clubs due to the significantly larger amount of individual and entirely unrelated stories going on at once. Users should be able to create a separate OoC thread for each one of their roleplays if they desire.

Earing birbs

Welcome to our community! You're more than welcome here and if it's roleplay you're looking for, you're bound to find it! Feel free to take a peak at the private roleplayer's bulletin board for other people's plot ideas and if nothing catches your interest, you can always create your own!

Unfortunately, @Bluespark has been banned (hence the red name) for violation of section 9 of the Terms of Service, as listed on her profile.

I hope you enjoy your time here!

Hi there! Welcome to our community! If you're looking for a place to explore your more sexual side then you've most certainly come to the right place! Since you mentioned that you have limits to what you're willing to roleplay, I strongly suggest you fill out your roleplayer preferences so that we have a better idea of what you are and aren't willing to roleplay! If you are currently searching for a roleplay partner, I strongly suggest checking out our private roleplayer's bulletin board as well, as, despite the name, there are suggestions for both private and public roleplays there. If nothing catches your interest, you can always create your own thread detailing your ideas and see if they catch any attention! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me or any other staff members with purple names for assistance! Happy dreaming~

Location: Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound Natia sat up excitedly when she saw the berries Rowan plucked. His assertion earlier had convinced her not to get her hopes up. "Those look wonderful! And I recognize them, so I know they're not poisonous or anything. I was worried this forest would be full of strange fruits and berries that could be potentially fatal..." She looked down at the berries with a bright smile. "Yeah! They have a bit of a sour taste to them, but they are also pretty sweet! I do typically prefer sweeter fruits, but these are more than welcome!" She sat up closer to the pot. "So, I guess we just throw them in and mix it up, right? I suppose we'll need some more." Natia sat back and lifted the bowl Rowan had handed to her. She hadn't even tasted the food yet. She figured she should probably at least try it before mixing in the berries, so she took the spoon and lifted it to her soft lips. It was still quite hot, but had mostly been cooled down since it had been sitting in her hands. As expected, there really wasn't any taste at all. It felt more like something that you would only eat out of necessity, which she supposed made sense considering Rowan's survival instincts. Whatever the case, it was certainly better than tasting horrible, although it still seemed to have that same dirty taste to it which at this point just seemed inevitable.

Location: Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound "Wow! You mean even a non-magic user can create art out of food? And even go so far as to improve its taste!?" Natia sat up with a surprised smile on her face. Looking at the bread and the porridge, she had assumed that all of this food made my non-magic folk would be similar bland, amorphous shapes. The idea that somebody could take food like this and make art of out it was quite intriguing to her. "With magic, I can create really pretty fruits and use them for decoration, but altering their taste isn't really a possibility. At least, not to my level of knowledge, anyway. My mother loved to make really large, bright, and delicious strawberries!" She found herself curious, she wanted to taste this chef's food now, but she felt it may be a little presumptuous to ask Rowan to take her to see his best friend, so she decided to leave that curiosity to herself, at least for now. Natia nodded as Rowan asked about her people's food. "That's right! We make it ourselves by combining the elements. Just like humans, plants need a very specific balance of the elements to survive. It's one of the first skills we're taught as children, actually, as it's very important for our survival. Usually, plants are mostly made of water with a little earth, air, and aether to keep its energy up. Fire has to be maintained at a delicate level, too. Too much or too little of any one element can have devastating results for the creation. That goes for everything in the world, even living beings like us. When we create fruit for eating, we can basically make whatever we want since we're going to eat it right away, but when making fruit or other plants for decoration, we usually have to match them with the environment so that they can be cared for by Cera." She paused for a moment after recognizing the rest of Rowan's question. She blinked. "Meat? You mean, like, animals?" she shook her head. "No, no, my tribe is adamantly against needless slaughter of animals, and creating meat with magic would require delving into the forbidden elements, which is a deity's work alone. We do not eat meat unless we are in an extreme desperate situation..." she winced slightly as those last words left her mouth, imagining that she could very well find herself in a situation where she'll have no choice but to consume meat. "We... we get all the nutrients we need from our fruit and vegetables we consume. We are more like spirits than people, I suppose. We are meant to watch after the world and bless it with beauty, we are not meant to take from it as other creatures are, although Cera is a generous goddess and is more than willing to help with her own gifts in times of need." Natia then recalled something Rowan said earlier about the porridge and why it would lack flavor. It didn't really register with her in the moment, but she found it quite odd, so she decided to speak up about it. "Sugar is expensive, you said?" she asked with a quizzical look on her face. "But, it's right there in almost all fruits, isn't it? That's how they get their natural, sweet taste to begin with." She paused for a moment before looking back out at the trees of the forest and getting an idea. "Oh! I bet we could find some sort of fruit in the forest to mix with the porridge and help give it more flavor!" Of course, without being made by her own hand, the fruit would likely not be nearly as fresh and pure as she'd be used to, but she had been longing for the taste of a juicy fruit since her kidnapping. However, it could just be wishful thinking. She was well aware by now that this forest was quite dangerous, and Rowan would probably be against needlessly searching it for something so unnecessary.

Totally Orgasmic Radio

Location: Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound Natia wasn't entirely convinced by his reassurance, but she nodded regardless. It wasn't healthy to stay awake for too long, especially when travelling. Even with her magic, exhaustion wasn't something that could be cured easily. However, she didn't want to press the issue too hard. She was sure Rowan was an experienced traveller and is well aware of the consequences of sleepless nights. Perhaps in such a dangerous place, he had adapted to surviving off of little sleep. Natia nodded in agreement when he explained that he didn't want to linger too long within this forest. Beyond the danger the hounds and whatever other beasts provided, she simply didn't want to be in the place she had escaped from her slavers. For all she knew, they could have survived and been on the hunt for their escaped slave... Natia watched as Rowan mixed the water and oats into a thick-looking gruel before handing the waterskin to her for a drink. She nodded, appreciative of his concern, before taking a drink from the small pouch. She could still taste a little dirt in the water, but just like before, she had no right to complain. She was just thankful to have such a convenient source of it in such a difficult time. When she was drinking, she looked down at the pot. It most certainly didn't look appetizing to her, but she was admittedly curious the same way she had been about the bread before. "I've never really eaten foods like these. They are... strange to me." She found herself speaking up. "Your bread and this porridge seem quite heavily processed... I suppose these are products of your farming? My people simply eat natural fruits and herbs that we grow ourselves with our abilities, so we have no need for such complex methods of food preparation." She looked up, realizing that she may be coming off as a bit rude. "Th-that's not to say that I don't enjoy these wonderful gifts of food! I just find the processes behind them very interesting. It's curious and quite impressive how you've managed to thrive without immediate access to all your basic needs. I can't imagine living in such a way...

Location: Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound It would be another few hours before Natia awoke. The sun had just begun peeking over the horizon once again when her purple eyes began to blink open. After she awoke, she remained still for a few minutes. She could hear morning birds chirping from the trees as the sun's faint light blanketed the grass outside, leaking into the cave ever so slightly. The rain had stopped, but the ground still looked fairly damp. In the moment, she had forgotten what a dangerous forest they were in. Everything just felt so peaceful. She then noticed that Rowan hadn't moved much at all. Her head was still leaned against his shoulder and their hands were still holding. It took her a few more moments to notice he was gently rubbing his thumb over her fingers which showed an unexpectedly gentle side of his touch. He mentioned having a sister, so maybe taking care of that sister was how he learned to be so gentle? Of course, she didn't know if it was an older or younger sister, it was just a guess. Either way, she was sure he must have had experience with children. As she went along with that train of thought, she glanced down at their hands and realized how much smaller hers was than him. It was reasonable, as the Aequu were a species of relatively smaller builds and even among them, she was probably the smallest of her age. But considering how little Rowan seemed to know about the Aequu, she had to wonder if he thought she was just a child rather than a grown woman. If he did think of her as a child, he would have at least acknowledged her maturity given the discussion they had the previous night, but it was still a little embarrassing that she was probably significantly older than he was despite her size. After those few minutes of silence, she slowly sat up with a yawn and glanced back up at Rowan with a soft smile. "Good morn-" she started before she noticed the bags under Rowan's eyes signaling that he hadn't slept well at all. "-ning..." she slowed down as her concern grew for the man. "Are you... feeling okay?"

Not at all ^^

Location: Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound Smiling while Rowan seemed to reassure her that there was much more good to their system than she initially thought, Natia found herself relaxing once again. With the blanket tight against her body she gently leaned her small head onto Rowan's shoulder and closed her eyes. Her exhaustion had begun to catch back up to her. "Thank you... It means a lot to know that, even where I thought there was nothing but darkness, there is still light." She still held his hand softly. Even among her people, this was a bit more intimate than they tended to get, but with Rowan, she didn't mind. Perhaps this discussion was exactly what Cera had in mind for her. Maybe this was a part of the world's beauty she hadn't been able to see before and Rowan personally helped her to see that. Listening to the rain bouncing off the forest leaves and serenading over the crackling fire, Natia yawned again and her breathing began to slow. Her grip on his hand loosened slightly and she slowly began to fall into a peaceful sleep. The constant tapping of the rainwater echoed through her mind, helping her to remain relaxed while the warmth of the campfire and the blanket helped her to stay relatively comfortable. It still was slightly less comfortable than she was used too, but having Rowan there as support seemed to help make it better. Something about this man had really grown on her. Perhaps it was his unexpected generosity. He had sacrificed so many of his limited goods just for her own well-being. It honestly made her feel a little guilty. She was going to have to think of a way to repay him sooner or later...

Location: Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound Natia frowned while rowan explained the reasoning for all of these factors. It did make sense, but it was quite disheartening to think that such a flawed system was their best bet. Surely there had to be something that could help more. "Well, they wouldn't have no compensation... their compensation would be their ability to work as a team and share their harvest in exchange for the fruit of others' labor, such as the tools you suggested..." she then curled up tighter. "But... I guess I just don't understand because we Aequu have never had any need for material goods. Perhaps we travel in smaller tribes specifically to avoid such corruption that comes with larger numbers and conflicting opinion... Maybe it's true that this competition would lead to improvement in the society, but how quickly do you think it would take for everyone involved to completely lose sight of what's important? Is it not jealousy that drives these people to compete? They may be improving, but it seems as though they are only doing so out of necessity. What happens when tragedy strikes? What if one of these blacksmiths grow ill? Would the other assist him, or selfishly reap the benefits of his inactivity and become stagnant? What if this jealousy grows so strong that it leads to theft or even murder? And there are so many more factors as well... I've seen multiple civilizations going to war over who owns what land and it is absolutely asinine to me. How could one be so selfish as to claim to own land? Would these people bottle up all the air in the world and take claim to that, too?" She sighed. "I suppose I understand... People are just too selfish for peace to exist. That just makes me fear for the direction society is going, though. How long does it take for the people of the world to forget about the world itself and be blinded only by their need for money? If each tree they cut down earns them more money, how long until every last tree is cut down? If every beast they slay on the hunt earns them more money, how long until every last beast is slain? The world can only produce resources so fast... if the people just take and take from it, and make inventions to take more and more from it, when will every resource in the world be depleted? Would we begin to dig up the dirt until the entire world is dug upside-down, desperate to find just one last shiny jewel? Just because the logic and reasoning makes sense... it doesn't mean that it's okay... I just wish I knew how I could help." Natia yawned slightly and pulled the blanket tighter against her. Rowan had opened her eyes to a much greater understanding of why society behaves the way it did. Even if she couldn't think of a proper way to help, she was at least thankful to know why. It was still saddening, though. The best she could do was trust in Cera's judgment about good and evil. Surely there had to be some upside to all this corruption. Perhaps after reaching the town they were currently headed to, she would be able to appreciate civilization more? Unfortunately, the more she thought about it, the idea of visiting a town only made her more nervous. She was going to be completely surrounded by outsiders, the exact type of people her father raised her to avoid at all costs. She had no idea what to expect, but somehow, part of her knew that she would be okay as long as she remained close to Rowan. He did make an interesting point, after all. It's possible that Cera had specifically separated her from her tribe so that she could be set on such a path to meet with outsiders? Perhaps her role was to bridge the gap and finally unite her people with the general public one day? But such an idea could never work, right? Their communities just seemed far too different. Her people would be taken advantage of, tricked, played, abused, raped... that was a burden she wasn't sure if she was ready to bear. "Greed... Greed truly seems to be the largest evil in the world..."

Location: Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound Natia could notice Rowan's confusion as he looked around at the small shelter. She just giggled slightly. "You don't agree? But you intentionally seeked out a place just like this to take shelter from the rain. Haven't you ever stopped to consider just how reliable places like this are? It's like they were designed intentionally for people and animals in situations like ours. It's easy to take for granted the beauty of the natural world when you're on top of the world and can do whatever you want, but then in just one night, all of that can be taken from you and you find yourself crawling back to nature to keep you safe." She listened considerately to Rowan's assertion as to why he isn't particularly religious and just smiled. "Knowing that a deity is watching over you is a massive boost in confidence, even if the people of this world frown upon you..." she paused a bit and gripped her arm. "Although... maybe I have become a bit too reliant on Cera's gift... perhaps that's part of why she allowed this to happen to me. Maybe she wants me to adapt to living without magic so that I can have more appreciation for it, I'm... I'm not really sure." She shakes her head. "All I know is that Goddess Cera has a plan for me. Perhaps I'm supposed to help you with something, or maybe I'm supposed to learn something important on our travels. Maybe I'm supposed to help put a stop to the Daedra. I honestly don't know what my calling is, but there has to be some purpose for all of this... Natia frowned as Rowan expressed his views on economy. Perhaps it was a necessity with the way their culture worked, but in her eyes, that was exactly the problem. "Ideally, everybody would do their part to help the community. If the community as a whole needs more food, more people would farm for it. I feel as though, with money involved, people are less likely to want to do any sort of charitable work simply because there is no monetary benefit to them. The way my tribe works is that the youth are trained by the tribe's elder in the ways of our magic while the more mature of us work together as a team to do whatever tasks need to be done in the area, such as monitoring the weather, searching for potential dangers, fixing any unnatural damage, etc. I'm sure there are other tribes that handle things differently, but the way we function, we have absolutely no need for things like money. Everyone does their part because if they don't, it will just make things harder for everyone else. In worst case scenarios, people may be exiled from the tribe for their dishonor, but I've only ever seen one case of that in my entire life. It's true that it's easier for us due to our smaller numbers and our ability to use magic, but what humans lack in magic ability, they gain in numbers and manpower. If everyone did their part, I'm sure they could divide the necessary tasks among the entire population and ensure that they have everything they need for survival, also without the need of money. If anybody was unwilling to do any work, they would not be able to reap the benefits the others receive. That way, their value to society is determined by the amount of work they do rather than the amount of meaningless coins they receive through unknown, and potentially illegal means. I would imagine things like slave trafficking would also be significantly less common." She looked up at Rowan again and then back to the fire. "But I suppose I don't really know much about these other cultures... Maybe there are complications I wouldn't know about." She sighed. "I just wish everyone could get along, but I suppose it's that fear of evil that keeps it from being possible... but to live in such fear just doesn't seem right to me... I would like to think that people's own moral code should be enough to stop them from wrongdoing, but I guess that's just wishful thinking. I can't say I fully understand how exactly the balance of good and evil really works..."

Welcome to our community! If you're looking to roleplay, please take a look at our Private Roleplayers Bulletin Board where you can find a variety of roleplays that are currently open for discussion. If nothing strikes your fancy, you can always create your own thread there with your own ideas and see if they gather any attention! Please feel free to contact any staff members, users with purple names, if you are confused about anything on this site. We hope you enjoy your time here!

Location: Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound Natia felt slightly unnerved as Rowan stared at her in silence for a few moments. Had she said something to offend him? Perhaps she shouldn't have volunteered her opinion on such a sensitive topic... He then put a stop to her self-doubt my complimenting her on her tolerance, which caused her to smile warmly as well. She nodded as he continued to explain the evils and why he couldn't tolerate them himself. "I understand your views. The people who live within the confines of civilization have a number of fears and struggles that my people are lucky enough to avoid with out way of life. To this day, I hardly understand how your people can put so much value on these meaningless pieces of metal... What is the purpose of currency? If one needs help, is it not your duty to help them in any way you can regardless of how much money they possess? I don't particularly blame any individual among society, I suppose, but rather civilization as a whole. It seems like civilization is meant to be a way for everyone to work together and grow exponentially, but it's like people are far too distrusting of each other, so they instead have to put their efforts into ways to demand that everyone gets what they need. It's really not much different than living in the wild, except instead of desperately searching for food, water, and shelter, they're desperately searching for the money to maintain their permission to have those things. It just seems cruel to me. If I had to blame anything for all this cruelty, I would blame fear... Since, at the end of the day, the need for money only comes from the fear that one's neighbor wouldn't help them in the time of need without being forced to by some sort of governing body... But even then, fear has its important purposes, so I can't exactly wish that away, either." She shrunk down, thinking about the way those men treated her in the caravan, completely ignoring her crying and protests, like they had heard it all a million times. Back then, she was far too scared to really think about it rationally, but why were those men so cruel? She had always been warned of the cruelties of the outside world, but that didn't make it any less jarring having experienced it firsthand. They thought nothing of the fact that they were going to change her life permanently and she wouldn't have had a choice in the matter at all. The idea of being bought and sold as a product and then raped and abused by some complete stranger made her stomach turn. Did she really mean what she had said before about not bringing herself to hate anyone? Maybe she did hate those men... it was clear that if she ever came face to face with one of those men again, they likely wouldn't ask for forgiveness in the slightest. Because she wasn't a person to them, she didn't deserve even the most basic respect. They would just grab her and steal her away once again. Would she be capable of finding it in her heart to forgive them even under those conditions? She pulled her knees tighter against her chest as she fought back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She had never been so hurt before. What was Cera's plan for her? What purpose in the greater scheme did this experience serve? Did Cera want her to become cold and empty? Surely not, Cera was a calming presence, why would she punish her with so much severity? Had she forgotten some important value? Could this all be retribution for her willful disobedience of her father? As she was lost in thought, she heard Rowan speak up again. which distracted her from her self-loathing. "Goddess Cera is... well, she's the Goddess that we believe to have created all life in the world." She chose her words carefully, knowing that religion was a very touchy subject for many people, although Rowan didn't seem the type to be offended by something like this, she wanted to play it safe. "She created the fabric of reality out of the five white elements and four black elements. Some believe she is merely a symbolic figure and that she is more or less what you might call 'mother nature,' a symbol of the natural world, but my tribe strongly believes that she is a physical deity. Cera created the Aequu for the purpose of maintaining order in nature while her attention is diverted. In times like these, her attention most certainly is torn across all the wrongdoings in the world, so they are very trying times. She is a very calming presence. She maintains order in an otherwise chaotic world. She ensures all of the elements are in perfect balance as well as good and evil. She doesn't demand any sort of sacrifice or ritual for her honor, she simply demands that the people of her world take care of her beautiful work of art. I love to honor her by decorating the paths I take in beautiful flowers and fruit." She looked over the fire and out of the cave. "One day, I hope to have traveled this entire world and seen everything she had placed there for us to see. I've seen so much in my lifetime already, and it's all been so beautiful... even here, despite the danger, these trees are really pretty. Even this cave is awe-inspiring to me," she found herself smiling as she glanced around the small alcove. "Maybe it's just me, but I love even the smallest of details that even people of my tribe often overlook."

Natia could only ever hurt an animal on accident or if she desperately needs it to stop something. But knowing she caused an animal to get injured would break her heart!