Songs echoing [tavern tales (tails?)]

[lyistra]

A being enters the tavern, settling down at a table, finding a clearing near the bar, after a few words with the barkeep, she nods.  Sitting down upon a chair she draws up by the bar, she gets out her jhar`ath, a modified version of an eight-string lyre.  \"Good folks.. If I could pray silence, for but a moment, I would gift, mayhaps, or at least share song.\" She nods, quietly, smiling a bit... the cheetah-based enkidukai smiling softly, as the room falls silent, for a moment, then closes her eyes, starting to play some chords...

The chords float out, haunting, sweet, more notes there than the simple pentatonic, the modification allowing grace notes, and notes that resonate oddly, adding to the cheetah\'s skill, who plays it sweetly, caressing it like a lover.

She begins to sing, a gentle contralto, a soft purring vibrato within each note.

I dance with thee softly, in yliakaum halls,
touch the clouds sharply, as the rain falls,
and as the crystal, rises above...
perhaps, perhaps, out there is love?
Dancing in meadows, near the cavern walls,
can you see me there, where the wind calls?

She stands, then, and begins to dance, even yet playing, never opening her eyes, starting to sing more brightly.

As the crystal lights our lives,
can we know, for what our heart strives?
Can we embrace yet, and touch the sky?
Why, cry I?  Why must love die?
Sometimes the memory, from which it derives,
cuts our hearts later, like iron knives...

She twists, turns, dances, her flexibility, passion, her feel like fire, dancing, leaping, as she turns, and spins, jhar`ath clasped to her chest like a lost love, playing yet.

But, yet embracing, I grasp the wind,
softly, then facing, my oldest friend,
Do you yet know me, or turn away,
Whence has my heart gone, how does it stray?
I may have struck thee, but twas my end,
to make something beautiful, to share and befriend...

She moves, and gazes out, her dancing stopping...

Ahh, my Laanx, where have you gone,
as the day moves slowly, into the dawn?
Why has time moved thus your heart...
to leave, me, bereave me, softly depart?
But yet, comes to us, what we did spawn,
and play, and pray, as you moved on...

She weeps, softly... still yet singing.

For Talad and Laanx, tomorrow does cry,
yesterday but a memory, that slowly does die,
sometimes hate twists us, but redemption can rise,
like the emphyry, into the skies,
but auld love, embrace comes yet nigh,
then, softly slips away, as gods do cry...

She nods her head, the auld song lost, like the wings of the emphyry, shimmering away into lost distance.

She bows her head. \"I pray, good audience, that I might give thee a more cheerful thing, soon enow, to offset the sorrows of which I sang...\" she smiles, softly, gazing out at the room, aware of her talents, but... somehow burned more by them than by the arrows of life.

She smiles, nods, and sings, much brighter, the jhar`ath dancing in her paws, singing softly, the bardess turning.

Sparks leap into sapphire night,
dancing and turning, like my delight,
as the fireflies rise, so does my soul,
when the passsion, burning makes whole...
Singing of mysteries, dancing to the skies,
all eternity, there in your eyes,
Somewhere in silence, music can ring,
can I not fill silence, as I now sing?

She smiles, softly, sweetly, singing in that soft, purring voice.

Embracing the mystery of my yet youth,
so many things to see, where is the truth?
But I see wonders, and passions of life,
even through shadows, of endless strife...
Dancing for destiny, as moments turn,
can you embrace me there, as we do yearn?
Inspiring infinity, as khorath leap,
where in the moments, is time for sleep?

She grins, imitating the leap of the khorath insect, and winks, grinning at the audience...

Sometimes in sorrows, we get led away,
moments yet turning, from night to day,
but yet there is joy, there is a song,
that brings and bides, all days along...
Dancing and laughing, we can burn the earth,
or, so, same dancing, give it rebirth...
As the memories, so softly fly,
let us laugh and sing, for soon we die...

She assumes a sorrowful expression momentarily, then continues to dance, singing bright, her eyes closed tight, unaware of anything around her a moment.

Embracing ecstacy, lost in the song,
can our lives, living be wrong?
Grasping eternity, soft in our paws,
so long as we live, within our own laws...
Dancing, embracing, softly now chasing,
we can look ahead, to see what we\'re facing,
sometimes in memory, sometimes in life,
We can turn away, and get lost in strife...

She smiles, brightly, and continues, a swish, a turn, a swirl of her tail, playing stronger, then, sings yet again,

Crystal above, and earth below,
there\'s more to life, than even gods know,
dancing in wonder, we feel the world,
as to the future,  we are now hurled,
Sometimes the darkness, seeming too long,
dances, and chances, to laugh with our song,
and as the crystal darkens with night,
chasing, embracing, we\'ll again see its light...

She purrs softly a moment, then falls silent, and opens her eyes.

[Under the moon]

A man standing in a shadowy corner raises his mug with his right hand.  His left is heavily wrapped in thick cloth despite the warmth in the air.
- \"Your songs bring warmth to my heart, Goodmistress,\" he says in an unfamiliar accent.  But there is a saddness in his eyes.  A deep pain that pulls at the Enki\'s heart.
- \"I would like like to request a song of lost love, if you know one.\"

[lyistra]

Lyistra nods to the shadowy figure. \"I am Lyistra.  And I can find such, in my heart, should you wish.  I sing only my own works, for the nonce, unless one has a request.\" She whispers, and thinks a moment.

She nods again, thinking, her eyes quiet, dark, a moment, then begins to again play, slight dischord in the otherwise smooth melody, adding an eerie echo in the dimly lit tavern.  The notes are in a minor chord, slow, almost a dirge, played on that odd lute.

She sings, after a moment, lower, softer, her eyes once again closed.

By the bluffs, my true love lies, lost, to the shadows of time...
for by the heart of Laanx, in their disguise, lost, goes that love of mine...
Wandering quietly through caverns auld,
through fire-filled crevices, or ice so cauld,
broken, wandering, deep in the earth,
where has my love now gone?

Once, and moments, I knew my love, grasping eternity in grace,
But in the requiem, beneath and above, I have to look, \'pon crystal\'s face....
Moving closer now, I feel its power,
burning, more, hour by hour...
Broken, my soul, broken and gone,
where has gone my inner worth?

An argument, furious, brought him to fall, storming out into the night
not the hands of Laanx, as I recall, twas my fault for the fight....
Moving ever closer, the crystal\'s light burns,
not as much as my heart does yearn,
to go back in time, and restore the past,
but death is the only victor I know...

I weep, and sleep, then move closer yet, to touch the power, that made all in all,
I cannot remember, that there is still yet, more to my life than his fall....
I touch, and burn away, as moments do fly,
and my body, swiftly does die...
but my spirit must final go,
before the one, who made me at last...

She is gently weeping, eyes filled with tears, ears flatted, as she sings softly.

And then... and when.. I see them there, my body gone from this land...
Do I regret the moment I reached, and touched the crystal with my hand?
As I reach towards the fading light,
I cannot see you at all....
did... my heart love you too much,
or was it my anger... that brought crystal\'s touch?


She whispers softly, and closes her eyes. \"The story of a friend... who went to the crystal, after... their love died, in a cave-in, after storming from her home.\" She whispers softly. \"Each story.. holds deep meaning to me.\" she explains.

She shrugs a little, and smiles softly. \"I wonder sometimes.. if she found the peace she sought.\" She shrugs. \"I\'m not going to follow to find out.\"


She smiles softly \"There are songs both sad, and joyful.. shall I sing aught else?\"

[steuben]

ooc: hmm, something different

--------------------------

steuben had been leaning against the bar the while lyistra sang. he stared in to his mug of mulled rum. its warmth thawing his body and most of his soul.

\"at the end there is always peace for the body, and perhaps the soul as well,\" he says quietly.

he turns around from the bar. \"yes. give us something joyful. something that we can sing along to.\" he smiles with a mischievious grin. \"and perhaps something a little ... naughty.\"

[Under the moon]

*[OOC]  That was perfect! It seems that you somehow know my chararter\'s story, even though it is not yet completed.*

- The man gazes at his bundled arm, a tear in his eye.
- \"The past is never easily changed is it, my Lady Lyistra? Your song soothes me, I thank you,\" he looks at Steuben and nods.
- \"Yes, Goodmaster.  A joyful song is called for.  Something our fellows can dance to.\"  He pulls a small, wooden flute-like instrument from his tunic and takes it in both hands, only the fingers of his left hand showing.  He holds it gently and familiarly.
- \"This was given to me by someone dear to me.  I ask that you let me join you.\"

[lyistra]

Lyistra smiles. \"I believe the forum is pg-13, but perhaps I can come up with something else later, I fear I\'m a touch distracted for the nonce.  (RL stuff)

Edit:

She considers a moment, and thinks, her eyes closed as she ponders, yet another song perhaps coming to her mind, and just starts to play her instrument, not bothering to sing for now, the chords floating up into the air, somehow twining harmonious chords with a simple melody.  SHe smiles, and considers, then ups the beat, to where the chords come with the beating of a heart.  A moment later, she starts to think, to sing...

Bright the dance, bright the fire,
leaping turning, with desire,
laughing strong, the hidden way,
finds the strength to laugh and play,
living strong, and burning bright,
is the fire of our delight...
Sometimes turning, ever yearning,
dancing solemn in the breeze,
neath the forest\'s tallest trees,
Echoes soft, the hilltops loft,
lifting high, tween hill and croft,
touching soft, the whispring way,
that hides the truth we speak today.

She sighs. \"Alas, I grow tired, fear I. \" she blusehs. My talents are erratic when tired.\"

She puts down her lute, and closes her eyes. \"Mayhaps on the morrow.\"

[steuben]

steuben smiles broadly.

\"no worries, lass. i think, perhaps, the floor will always be available for you. me, i couldn\'t carry a tune even if it was strapped to my back. but, you have both the gift and the talent. it is always a pleasure seeing both in action. espcially when presented in such a fine bundle.

\"but, it is the end of a long day. come, relax. enjoy the simple pleasures of good company, and good drink.\" he stops, looks down at his mug, and frowns. \"don\'t know why i keep coming here looking for the latter.\"

without looking he doges a swat from the barkeep.

\"but, for now it will do,\" he says with a smile.

he places his mug down on the counter with a few tria next to it.

[lyistra]

Again the cheetah bard slips in, her eyes a-dancing merrily as she steps and turns through the door, humming to herself.  She looks about, finding the place quiet for once, then sits down by the fire, after purchasing a mug of ale.

She considers a moment, then starts to sing to herself, playing her lute quietly,  her fingers dance over it, unnoticing of anyone that comes in, working the half-tones, and quarter-tones in with the crackling of the fire, weaving melody with harmony, her own style of magic, perhaps...

She sings, softly, her tail flicking to and fro, ears tilted, to listen to the echoes, tuning her voice to the area, letting it flow from her like a silken veil over the surroundings, losing herself in the music..

I glanced out... and there I stood,
by the fire, the burning wood,
glancing \'round, the shadow\'s sound,
brings out things both fell and good...
Turning sweet, the world I knew,
burning brightly, what is true?
Where went my heart, how to start,
on time\'s wings life flew...
Shadows sweet, or crystal skies,
echoes empty, in my eyes,
I am lost, like tree-tops tossed,
with the things I prize....
Blades of night, the shadow\'s edge,
as the planes shifting slowly dredge,
the one I love, to world above,
through the labyrynth where we pledge...
Soft and sweet, the mem\'ry\'s call,
as I stood, I did once fall,
could you  forgive, and still here live,
I\'d give aught I have, it all...
Sometimes shadows spend the night,
spinning softly with delight,
lacking rhymes, the ageless times,
burn within, a song so bright...
Sometimes whispers softly call,
the endless memories to fall,
in ageless skies, I see your eyes,
through sapphire crystal tall...
Where are you, and who am I?
The masks I wear so slowly die...
through the maze, through shadow\'s haze,
I reach for you and cry....
The memory soft, gentle, sweet,
mocks my heart with words replete,
with shadoows cauld, and memory auld,
know I can\'t be... complete.....

She whispers the last line, and shakes her head, shaking off those tears, then starts to fiercely play another tune, a martial rhythm, a strong beat, that stirs the blood with fire and fury.

They say in the caverns, there is a tavern,
where tales are told of old,
and loosing their hair, the ladies they care,
to hear the legends unfold,
and as the notes sing from the rafters,
the laughter and beckoning call,
the bard she has stood, \'neath aging dead wood,
as no more teardrops shall fall...

In Kada-el\'s tavern, in Ykliaum\'s cavern,
the hours and moments they play,
and as strong and sweet, as the mead and the meat,
the hours are lost and away...
the moments of fury surround me,
but hours of laughter embrace,
so why should I, sit here and cry,
if I can dance in tear\'s place!

The temple of laanx, of Iron-made planks,
the stone of talad\'s strong tower,
embraces the earth, that gave me birth,
and laughs at time\'s fell power...
but moments of thought they surround me,
and laughter and love of the wind,
so wander must I, till mountains die,
and still sit here with a friend...

As laughter does call, the bardess shall fall,
the lady of sorrows is gone,
and moments of mystery, embrace the history,
time has turned and moved on...
and moments of light have embraced me,
empassioned the call and the flame,
as the crystal does sleep, no more shall I weep,
for my smile\'s all I have to my name...



She grins, and starts to dance to the turne, a strong dance, her blades drawn, *knowing* where she is, dancing slow and sure, after simply glancing where the blades are running, a martial dance, a blade-dance, the falchions shining as they gleam in the firelight, her eyes closed, glittering as she moves, in counterpoint, a kind of deadly jewelry with the motions, then falls still, smiles, after several moments, and looks out across the tavern.

[lyistra]

The cheetah sits down with several enki cubs near her feet, smiling at them as she shares some small dried fish and some jerked meat treats.  She says, softly, in that quiet voice she uses,

Tonight.. we speak of old tales.  Tales that would otherwise be forgotten.  Books may carry the words of the wise, but stories carry their souls, and so, as of old, the stories are begun.

Of cloud-leaper, Jhamethaar Herasaii, who tried to catch something called the moon, in a place before the portals.  I suppose the moon is kind of like a big ball in the sky, but it\'s forgotten what it looks like.  It glows...\" She nods, to a young cub who asks. \"A ball in the air?  is it stuck to the cavern roof?\" she smiles.

\"no, child.  I seem to think that the legends said that it was so high that you couldn\'t find the cavern roof.  So it was either a larger cavern than we can imagine, or another world entirely, which I don\'t understand, so much is lost. \"  She smiles. \"So shall I continue my tale?\" she giggles... and hands out more sweets.  Then starts to speak. \"This ball was very high in the air, but Cloud-Leaper tried to jump after it many times.  He chased it through its path in the sky, and leapt after it as it passed overhead, then chased it farther as the light-cycles waned.\" she smiles. \"It mentions something called snow, which was like very cold rain, in tiny flakes of crystal that would melt on your fur.\" She smiles. \"I don\'t expect you to understand, it seems when rain gets really cold, it becomes snow, and turns white.\"

She purrs softly, and smiles. \"Cloud-leaper left behind a family and mate.  They hunted for themselves, but their children were hungry.\" she smiles, softly, a little sadly.  \"Cloud-leaper danced across a mountain.. and he found that the moon had led him to a lake so large, there was no way to see across it, so he grabbed something called a bird, which the accounts say were like a megara, but with plumes like the emphyry.\" she smiles, and produces one of the shimmering plumes, still dancing with its greens and golds in the firelight there in the tavern, as though still worn by the odd creature.

She tucks the plume into one of the children\'s hair.  \"The bird flew for many light-cycles, gliding on the huge lake, till he landed on the far side.\" She giggles at a question. \"No, I don\'t know how he held on so long.  Some tales say that he tied a rope to the thing\'s legs, nd used it as a swing, some say he managed to get on its back.\" She grins. \"Does it matter?  After a long time, he came to another land, a land of giants.  He continued to chase the moon there, through mushrooms sometimes as big as trees, climbing mountains and sometimes going through them in caverns.  Sometimes his journey was long, and more than once he thought of giving up.  Cloud-leaper found the top of the mountains though, and a plains in the direction the moon was traveling.  WIth a cry of joy he ran towards it.. then awoke, to find he\'d fallen, and another enki was helping him.  She was beautiful, with fur like the moon, and eyes of gold, hair more golden than the metal itself spun into thread.  She had healed him, and warned him against following the moon farther, for it would lead him to more sorrow, for the things he had forgot.\" she smiles softly. \"I\'m getting to that.\" she winks to the child who asked what he forgot. \"You see, cloud-leaper asked the same question.  \"What did I forget.\" he asked. \"You\'ll see, if you keep going the way you are... \" she whispers. \"Are you prepared for that journey? It will be a long one...\" she smiles. \"But going back, there are no birds to help you on your way.\" She smiles, gives another child a bit of dried meat, who was fussing about what the enki forgot.

\"Cloud-leaper asked the white enki to come with him, but she said that it was forbidden, for now.  She would meet him when he remembered what he forgot.  He laughed, and claimed he had forgotten nothing, he is hunting the moon, as he always had.  She laughed. \"Foolish Enki, you can\'t catch the moon.  No matter how high the mountain, you can\'t leap to it, no matter how deep the valley, the moon will  not stop.  It even flew higher than the bird that brought you.\" he nods. \"I will find the moon.  I will catch it!\" She chuckles. \"What you catch will be illusion, what you grasp, nothing but your own foolishness.\" She whispers. \"Go.\" He turns, angered, and runs to catch the moon again, more determined than before.

Lyistra giggles softly. \"yes, he kept chasing the moon for many of its paths across the sky, and the moon mocked him by changing its size, disappearing sometimes then reappearing.  it was many of these cycles, and he kept running.. one day, he ran across a valley and found.. a camp of enki... they were in mourning.  He called out. \"Who do you mourn for.\" they called back. \"The mother of the clan, the moon has stolen her, and we have no wisdom to lead the hunt.\"  He blinks. \"The moon stole her?\" he says, softly.  They cry out. \"Our clan-father ran away years agone, seeking the moon, the clan-mother was old, and has died... \" he looked around and blinked once. Do you know what they said their clan-father\'s name was?


She giggles to the little one. \"no fair telling because you already know the tale.\" She smiles. \"yes, it was Cloud-leaper.. he\'d come home.\" she whispers. \"He found that what he\'d forgotten was his mate, his children, and he\'d run so long that time itself forgot him.. he was still young, still chasing the moon, even as his children were old, and his mate gone.\"  she smiles softly. \"He looked at the graving of his mate.. but for the youth.. the white fur, and golden hair... were hers.  A dream-sending.\" she smiles.

And that\'s the story of cloud-leaper.  What happened to him after?  That\'s another story.. for he took a new name.  Stormdancer.


She smiles, and sends the children back to play, and settles, purring to herself as she sips some warmed milk.

[Under the moon]

- A man chuckles to himself behind her.  She turns and recognizes him from a few nights back, the one who asked for the sad song.  He is grinning broadly, with an amused twinkle in his eye.
- \"You do not believe my tale?\" She asks teasingly, almost a purr.  He laughs out loud.
- \"No, Goodmistress Lyistra, that is not it.  Your tale is much more believable than mine.  I was born under the moon.  But for all my years in this land, you are the first person to ever mention it.\"  He looks upwards, through the thick timbers of the tavern and a shadow passes over his features.  \"Sometimes... sometimes I miss the sky.\"  He turns his gaze back to her and sees that she is viewing him curiously, only a slight disbelief in her eyes.  He smiles...a knowing smile.  \"Someday I will tell you of it... but not now.\"

[OOC] Is this better?

[steuben]

ooc: wonders about caves of steel syndrome

---------------------
steuben shrugs. \"it\'s hard to miss something that i\'ve never seen. but, if half the legends are true then, it would be a glorious sight. and perhaps one worth trying to see before the end.\"

steuben takes a pull of his mulled rum.

\"but, perhaps we could trade tales of foolish mortals and gods? besides, aren\'t all such stories true? and some of them actually happend besides.\"

[lyistra]

She does blink and looks over. \"Fascinating, I\'ll have to learn more of that someday, I\'d heard the portals were still trickling in travellers, now and again.

I love to learn and tales of other lands fascinate me.  That was one of the old tales of the vocal traditions my foremother passed to me, through her forefather.  We have a long line of bards.   The vocal history connects worlds with worlds, as long as we keep it alive, we live.\"

\"Born under the moon?  Can you tell me of it? What it was like?  I have some rumours that speak of many worlds and many moons.. what was yours like?  I find many tales, few tellers, and I must keep all histories alive.\" she whispers. \"I am Lyistra, as I spoke before, a bard, (oocly in the fashion of the old skald, in norse mythology, a history-keeper, and a bearer of tales, the skald could break kingships by tale of cowardice.. so were respected in most courts)  and talespinner.  I am glad to meet another who can bring to light more stories.\" she purrs.

\"So tell me, sometime of yours.. and I will tell you aught of mine.\"

She turns to steuben \"Mortals and gods?\" she asks. \"There are many tales so told, also of spirits auncient, and worlds unknown.\" She smiles. \"or castles lost in the mists of time, broken by unknown forces.\" She grns wryly. \'Time can be an odd thing, tales twined with words lost... what tales should I then tell?  Of the madman who tried to fly to the crystal, to embrace its light, like a foolish saethyr moth before a torchflame?\"

She grins. \"or perhaps more a story of the man who was challenged to move a mountain... by one of the old gods, who believed it could not be done.\"

\"there are many stories.  But the most fun are those that put the gods and mortals at odds.. and the mortals end up setting things both awry and aright.\" she grins.

[Under the moon]

- \"Lyistra, your stories touch a chord in me as well as your songs.  Gods and mortals at odds?\" He unconsciously rubs his left arm, which is still bundled heavily.  His head shakes sadly.  \"Those stories seldom bring me joy.  I will not tell you my past now; that story calls for a dark rainy night, with the wind howling at the door and thunder shaking the panes in the windows.  Nor can I tell you my name.  For now, not to be rude, you may call me Lura\'fen (loo-rah-fen).  It means \'Hand of the Light\' in the Old Speak of my home.  Or simply Fen, If you wish, meaning \'Hand\'.  It is...was my title.  But I will tell you of my moon.\"
- His gaze becomes distant, seeing something far away and long ago.  A hush falls over the tavern.
- ?The last thing I saw as I came into this land was the moon.  It was three days past full, meaning a sliver of it was covered in shadow.  But still, it shone in the sky a bright blue-white ball, except for a lavender, tear shaped area near the right side.  This was known as Ree?ann?s Tear, given the moment she died for her people.  As your story told, the moon was big and so far away that it circled our world, untouchable.  But if you held you hand at arm?s length,? he holds his right hand out to demonstrate, thumb strait up, ?you could nearly cover it with your thumb.? he opens his hand as if letting something go and lets it drop to his side.  He continues, but his voice becomes more pained.  The memories drawing some deep anguish to the surface.  ?When the moon was full, it lit up the land in blue washed colors that mirrored the yellow sun of the day. In winter, another story for another time, the moonlight turned the white snow a sparkling blue.  Especially when the air was so cold that your breath would turn to mist and hang motionless in the air. Sometimes I would sit for hours in the cold, just staring.  The moon was free too roam across the sky, for there was no cavern roof, no cavern at all.  Only the sky, a deep blue, almost black expanse that some say went on forever.  But the moon was not alone in the sky.  Bright specks of light dusted the void around the moon and a thin ribbon of light followed its path to touch both horizons.  I was told the further Norent into the colder lands you traveled, the thicker the ribbon appeared, but I never saw this myself.  Also, you could follow the moon, as Cloud-leaper did, or at least travel toward where it set each night, and someday you would come home.?  His gaze drops to the floor and his voice lowers so that only Lyistra can hear.  ?I have lost my moon and can not follow it home.  The portals have been gone for generations, near as I know.  And I could not go to them if they still were opened.?  He takes her hand and brushes it with a kiss, careful to keep his left arm behind his back.  ?I bid you good night Goodmistress, until the next we meet.?  He turns away to the door, his shoulders hunched as if carrying a great weight.  Only the shadows greet him as he passes into the night.

[OOC] Feel free to tell me to change anything, this is your thread.

[lyistra]

Lyistra listens, her tail flicking to and fro as the words are said, watching quietly at the being\'s face. She misses little, movements of the body, subtle variations in tone, her eyes a touch sad as she takes in the sorrow of the other being.  She considers a little, and tailflicks, her head tilting as he continues.

\"Then mayhaps it\'s time to find a new moon.\" She whispers. \"And a new home.\" As his back disappears from the tavern. She looks in herself, making a decision to find more of who she is, find... peace, as she seeks, remembering things of her own best left forgotten.   She shakes her head, shaking it off, and orders a drink, one with alcohol for once, a small draught of strong distilled spirits.  She takes out a small packet, of a well-known root for sleeping, the nightstar flower root, and puts a very tiny amount in, then goes to her room, and sleeps, so as not to dream in the long night.

[lyistra]

Wakened in the morning by the sound of commotion, Lyistra wanders down to the tavern, just in time to see a young Enki female with rolling eyes, raving at the top of her lungs.  She blinks a little, as there are several guards there, and sniffs the air once, twice, as the guards are standing there in a defensive posture against the diminutive girl.

\"What goes on here?\" She asks.  \"You don\'t need four...\" she blinks, as she sees the guard signal to a fifth and sixth, both large diaboli males, wearing full plate, and boggles as the \'diminutive girl\' takes them down. \"One moment.\" She whispers.  \"Put away your blades... this isn\'t the right time for that.\" She says, softly.  \"Don\'t alarm her.\" is all she says.  The previous night\'s stories are gone from her mind for a moment.

She looks down at the two diaboli who are writhing in pain, at the wounds that penetrate the armor.. she thinks a moment, pondering, and whispers. \"I\'m Lyistra.\" she says, very, very softly. \"It will be ok.\" She purrs soothingly, the enki\'s ears turn to follow her, her tail utterly still, fur bristled as Lyistra looks at her. \"Shh.  It will be ok.\" She whispers. And purrs some more, soothingly, like a mother cat to her kitten.. the rolling of the eyes slows, though they still dart to and fro like a being in a full state of fear and panic. \"Shh.\" She whispers, approaching closer... \"take my hand.\' she whispers, both hands outstretched.  \"it will be all right, I won\'t let them hurt you.\" She smiles a little, then blinks as the other female shifts on her feet, a footpaw lashing out at her, and shifts on her own paws, letting it pass by, the glimmer of energy at the clawtips not lost at all on her.  As she falls, she grasps an odd pendant she wears, putting it to her muzzle, and with a small puff, a thud, a small dart appears in the other Enki\'s shoulder.

The enki blinks, pulls it out, and looks at it, her head tilted as though she can\'t understand what it is, then starts to cry, kneeling down and crying like a small child, though she\'s obviously an adult... the dart drops from her fingers, the tip discolored, and Lyistra stands up, and waves the guards back again. \"Just go.  If you don\'t, more of you will be hurt.\" she growls.  The other enki female slowly starts to calm, to relax. \"I\'ll deal with the legal situation later.\" She says.  \"Go.  Or I won\'t be responsible for the consequences.\" She says firmly, then kneels. \"Yiinhaaara?\" she whispers?  (beloved child)  \"there is nothing to fear.\" She whispers.  As the drugged dart works, the other feline starts to calm, and slowly settles in her breathing, sitting down and staring at her claws dully.

\"Yiinhaaara?\" She repeats, the other enki looks up at her.   And then throws herself at Lyistra...

The bardess waves back the two Enki males that attempted to help her, as it becomes obvious that the female is sitting there, holding her and crying.  She pets her head, soothingly. \"Yiinhaaara, zherrro merrai, yazho miikhrram.\" (oh, my beloved child, the shadows wrought an awful burden upon you today)  She just holds the youth, and says \"Come with me.  I will keep you safe.\" she whispers.  She touches the feline on the back of the head, and blinks at the sticky mass of blood.  She looks at the two guardsmen, on the floor, as the healer deals with them. \"They were lucky, she has platinum on her claws.  I\'ve not seen it in years.  And some kind of blessing.\" She shakes her head, as the feline goes to sleep. \"No, I won\'t remand her to your custody.  If I do, you\'re likely to die.  She\'s seen something horrible.  Something that sent her into the blood-madness, but also activated all of her innate talents.  She must be trained.  Or she, and likely a large section of the population, will die.\" she whispers, quietly. \"I have to find my teacher.\" She whispers, her eyes downcast, as she pets the young one, and uses a little of the crystal way to bind the head wound, and let it heal on its own without infection, simply cleaning the blood away and looking for any foreign object.

She growls suddenly, at a comment from one of the guards on the floor. \"Well, if you\'d look at her, she\'s got a head wound, and anyone should have been able to see that glow on her pa...\" She hushes the other, as the feline starts to stir again, looking at the necklace that the other wears curiously.  \"Well.. who are you?\" she asks, softly, looking at the other feline\'s facial markings.  She blinks, as she bears no tattoos, nor patterns shaved in the fur, as though she\'s grown up away from any other Enki.. another cheetah-type female, but with white and black fur.  She tilts her head, curiously, and considers.

\"go.\" She whispers, very softly, but somehow manages to convey fierce determination. \"She is my charge for now.  If that time comes, I will share her sentence for this.  Just go.\" She whispers, sadness in her voice.  She holds the other Enki close.. and gently as the other\'s muscles slump, lifts her and carries her to her room, uncaring about the rumours that she may have just started.

Several days later, she comes back down, the other following her, looking a little more shy than is usual, and very nervous... red-rimmed eyes as though she was just crying. She talks to the guard, quietly, and says. \"I invoke the right of Cha-Phaarh, under the treaty of the Otarch.\" She says. \"This young lady must not be touched.  She has no memory of who she is, nor what she has done.  Under your laws, and the laws of the city, according to the decision of the Great Council of 549, she is not who she was. She was mad, and injured.\" She says, quietly. \"If punishment must be meted, mete it to me.\" she says, very softly.

The other female looks a bit frightened, but stands still, waiting, the officer calling a clerk from the offices, Lyistra stands there, waiting.  The clerk comes in and nods. \"It is within her rights.\" he says. \"The punishment for the murder of three guardsmen... One of the two she hit three days ago died, two trying to corner her here.\" He says softly. \"normally this would be death.  In this instance, there must be an offering of flesh, of the punished.  It is the law.   The judgement will be delivered here, by an emissary of the Otarch.\" he says. \"And I applaud your determination, if not your wisdom.\" he smiles softly. \"And your knowledge, for that matter.

he turns and goes, and Lyistra orders a meal for herself and the other enki.  Then simply sits and talks a while, at a corner table.

\"Perhaps someone might recognize you.\" she says. \"I\'ve been.. punished... before. \" she smiles, gently.  And pats the other enki on the paws. \"We\'ll figure something out.\" She looks around, at the taverngoers. \"I don\'t know what happened, but that fear requires something very extreme.\"

She trails off, thinking, and drinking ale, mixed with milk.  She doesn\'t say much, not even music as she settles there, just being there with the other Enki.