A Curious Visit

[Rhaxma Jacinto]

Before Ice and Cailen had made a treaty between the Ice Warriors and the Fallen Angels, The Ice Forest was a place to fear for all those who were not part of an alliance with these angels. However, the treaty meant that they have opened their doors to the Ice Warriors, and the Ice Kingdom now belonged to both armies. Although she was excited, Rhaxma appeared calm and very professional about entering into this foreign land. However, she was rather tired and her body ached for her to stop walking, her muscles tensing with every step she took. She had actually come from Elïna, and was forced to climb over the mountains in order to get to the Fallen Angels' lair.

Rhaxma's white blouse glowed vigorously beneath the sun's burning rays. Her long, light-blue skirt swayed in her movement, light tracing her white boots. She regretted not wearing sturdier shoes, but she knew that she was almost in the Ice Forest, the snowy trees beginning to appear at a distance. A rush of exhilaration soured through her and she suddenly felt herself sprinting. Her double-balled mace was tied to her back, having bringing it as her training to build her upper-body strength continued. She had little doubt that she would need it, but it would be very helpful if she was capable of climbing the mountains without much trouble.

Her eyes grazed peacefully over the forest, as she entered it cautiously. Although there was an alliance between the Ice Warriors and the Fallen Angels, thus she had no fear of a surprise attack from one of them, this was a forest, bound to be filled with more than just Fallen Angels. She had her double balled mace, however, and should fear nothing. The Ice Forest was just as beautiful as she had imagined, the trees rising high with snow blanketed over the branches, and the pine needles. Icicles decorated the shrubbery, and some trunks were crusted with thin layers of ice, shining impeccably. She didn't know what she was going to find there, but she had no specific destination: simply to see this site that has been forbidden for so many years.

Flowers sprouted out of the ground, as well, and how they survived this cold weather was beyond her, but they were all crystalized with the frozen water, however their original color could still be seen beneath the glassy shield. The Ice Forest was, obviously, exceptionally white, however, she was surprised that there were a variety of colors in every direction, standing out strongly against the white scenery. But, however beautiful all of these plants were, something else, rather unappealing, had caught her attention.

She stood before the massive tree, looking up at it in envy. It had no leaves, and looked very old. But, she felt wise standing before it, staring at it with glittering eyes. Three thick, and large trunks grew out of the ground from its roots, all of them pointing in different directions. Large icicles leaked from the thick wood, and snow stuck to the ice that had completely covered every inch of this tree. She didn't know what attracted her so much, because there was absolutely nothing special about it, but she felt welcomed. She sat at the bottom of the tree, looking at the sky where a soft snowfall suddenly began. She closed her eyes carefully and drifted into her dreams.

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[Zurth Saper]

Zurth sat looking at his refinished longbow. The movement in the lair caught Zurth's eye. He took aim, out of instinct. "Who could it be?" It seemed to be a Ice Warrior. If it wasn't they would be in trouble. Zurth jumped down from a tree, and steadily walked towards his unknown guest. Zurth looked down at the invader with his hand on his blade.

[Rhaxma Jacinto]

Rhaxma loved dreaming, it was always a great runaway place, where she could be anything and everything she wanted to be, nothing could harm her, and it was her world: she created it. Most of the time. However, something had quickly interrupted her restful sleep. Startled, her back stiffened, but she did not open her eyes, her breathing steady and unchanged. She felt a presence, right next to her. She could hear the breathing, and immediately, she leaned off the tree, and grabbed her double-balled mace and held it before her, towards her onlooker. Her eyes stared at the man, wide and startled, before she sighed in relief and lowered her head, taking a few deep breaths. "You certainly.... startled me..." she was breathless, fearful that it was a polar bear, or something worse. But no, the man was a Fallen Angel.

She stood up gently and wiped the snow off of her skirt, placing the mace back to its rightful spot. Her eyes returned to the man who had hovered over her. She wasn't one to introduce herself to people in a friendly manner, so instead, she looked at him once and asked, "A Fallen Angel?" She needed to be sure, before she completely let her guard down.

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[Zurth Saper]

"That I am." Zurth gave a small smile. "And you?" Zurth always hated to be rude. Only to those that were rude to him. "I'm Zurth Saper, A Fallen Angel." Zurth gave another grin. "I hope you are a Ice Warrior, or else this may not end pretty."

[Rhaxma Jacinto]

Relief overpowered her, however she did not show it. She took a deep, cold breath and smiled back at him, happy to know that she did not need to her mace quite yet. Although hesitant to give her name, she would not deny his request when he had fulfilled her's. Her voice was soft, as it seemed to always be lately, "Rhaxma. Rhaxma Jacinto." She chuckled lightly. "I am an Ice Warrior. No need to fight, I should hope." She finally had a chance to look at him, to really look at him, which was much more difficult than she was used to. She noticed that he was a good foot taller than she was, but she refrained from being intimidated. She also noticed that he didn't expose himself much, so it seemed, as his black cloak covered most of his face and his body. However, she could slightly see that his eyes were a strange white.

She narrowed her eyes curiously, having never seen white eyes on someone living, but she didn't want to make him, or herself, feel uncomfortable, so she quickly broke her gaze. Looking back at the tree, she said, "This forest is beautiful. Do you live here?" She looked back at him and waited for his answer.

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[Zurth Saper]

"I only attack when told or when it is needed." Zurth looked down at her. "It is. That's why I live here. This is what I call my home." Zurth hated talking about himself. "Where do you come from? Why did you come here?" Zurth narrowed his snow white eyes.

[Rhaxma Jacinto]

Rhaxma had nodded at his response, noticing his discomfort easily. She didn't blame him, really, she wasn't a fan of talking about her self either, but she was tolerable, depending on the person and the question. When stared down at her with his piercing, white eyes, she felt a chill go down her spine, and couldn't help but jump. She hoped he hadn't noticed, which was probably unlikely, but she recovered herself quickly, ignoring what had happened. His eyes were impossible to read, which was the only hope she had at figuring him out. She gave up trying and smiled weakly.

"I live near the outskirts of Elïna." She wasn't used to be asked so many questions at once, and looked at him warily. She blinked a few times and stared at him calmly. "Ever since the treaty between our people had been made, I was eager to visit this Forest. If I had entered it before the treaty, well... someone would have died." She didn't want to play twenty questions, but wasn't that how all first-meetings went? Again, she averted her eyes. She didn't like holding a gaze with him, it made her feel uncomfortable, intimidated. She hated being overpowered.

She glanced at his weapon. "So, you use a sword... How long has that been your weapon?"

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[Zurth Saper]

"My weapon is no sword. The blade has no accuracy. It is a distraction." Zurth gazed down, she was a foot shorter than him. If she were to look up towards his eyes he would see it. "And this weapon was a gift from a old friend, who tried to kill me."

[Rhaxma Jacinto]

Rhaxma had again, nodded, in response to her question, and still she did not look at his face, avoiding it as much as she possibly could, without being too rude and suspicious. When he mentioned that it was a gift from his friend, she glanced at him in curiosity, and confusion. She was hesitant to look at his eyes, but she did, and again she felt a chill. She wondered if most Fallen Angels had this effect on people, as she had never actually met one before, but the thought was overwhelming. She pushed it out of her mind. She took a sharp breath and said, "Your friend... tried to kill you?" She wanted to ask why, but she thought it was not her business nor was it it her place to ask such a personal question.

However, her curiosity was intense. Maybe he would answer the question on his own, even though I hadn't asked it... Again she looked away from him and glanced at her double-balled mace. "If it is a distraction, than why do you use it? Because it was a gift?"

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[Zurth Saper]

"I use it to get away...I am best with my bow, and not my blade. Why do you ask?" Zurth kept his eyes steady on her. Zurth took his hand off his blade. She may be asking too many questions for him. If he kept answering these questions when the Fallen Angels or Ice Warriors broke the treaty she would know more than the unsuspected Ice Warrior.

[Rhaxma Jacinto]

Rhaxma looked at Zurth briefly and held his eyes, just for a moment. Glancing back down, once again, out of mere habit at this point, she said, "I'm just curious. That's all..." She decided that that was enough questions, for now... Rhaxma was a very curious girl, and when she sees things she's never seen before, she tends to be questionable. She tried to straighten her posture, to seem slightly taller than he was, but she failed miserably. She looked at the tree she was leaning against once again, the ice covered tree. She moved towards it and stepped onto one of the branches, feeling the ice slipping beneath her. She hugged one of the large branches and kept in her place.

"I don't understand how you guys live in trees..." she said out loud, although she hadn't meant to.

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[Zurth Saper]

Zurth's eyes widen. He took it as if was an insult. She was lucky there was a treaty protecting her. "It's simple..." He showed his full snow white eyes. "It prevents us being ambushed." Zurth didn't take his eyes off her. One wrong move and he would be forced to take it to the trees.

[Rhaxma Jacinto]

Rhaxma comprehended that it could protect them from ambushes, but what she found very hard to believe was that it was simple. She looked at him and saw his white eyes on her, full. She suddenly wished that she hadn't looked at him, for once again, those piercing white eyes caused her shudder, and she slipped. Luckily, she wasn't far from the ground, not at all. She landed in the snow on her back, but she didn't move. She stayed still and stared at the sky. She moved her head to look at Zurth. "You can't convince me that it's easy to climb those things." She pointed to the tree she had just fallen out of, for her lack of focus, and her sudden... distraction.

[Zurth Saper]

Zurth jumped into the tree and sat with his arms folded leaning up against the trunk. "It's not that hard." Zurth was almost at the top of the empty tree. "If you live with trees you'll be able to climb them as if they were as easy as walking on this soft ground." Zurth's eyes were helf way covered.

[Rhaxma Jacinto]

She no longer felt uneasy beneath his gaze, however, goose-bumps had formed. She took a step back and watched him skillfully climb the tree. Her eyes were filled with envy, and slight amazement, as he climbed the icy tree with little difficulty. It must have gotten easy after so many years of practice, just like learning how to walk or run. She looked upwards at him, now he was at the highest point he could reach. She smiled and then she began to climb it, however with much difficulty. She had gotten about three feet above the ground before she decided that she was high enough. She sat on the branch carefully and again, her arms wrapped around the trunk so she would not fall, again. She looked up at Zurth. "Is this what you do in your free time? Climb trees?"