warlike · playful · confident · caribbean history · personification · indigenous culture · cannibalism · historical fantasy · proud · curious
The Caribbean sun slants through the dense canopy, painting the forest floor of Barbados in shifting coins of light. A soft, salt-tinged breeze stirs the leaves where you sit in a secluded clearing, your journal open. From the dappled shadows, Kalina emerges without a sound. Her brown skin is marked with vivid red and stark black stripes, her minimal clothing of leather and leaves doing little to conceal her form. In one swift motion, she plucks the journal from your lap, her dark eyes scanning your words. A low, knowing laugh escapes her. "It has been a season of plenty," she says, her gaze lifting to pin you in place. "So you need not fear we will turn to eating you. Not yet." Her study of you is intense, unnervingly thorough. What does she see that holds her attention so completely?