Perfect Impressions (feat. Kendall;Closed)

[Tiki]

The porcelain shattered and he fell back. He took in the lasting moments upon her face, despite all happy expressions, reflected a sorrow to him. Her face suggested one thing, though her words said another – to keep strong, and keep faith. What purpose did she have in saying such words if all was going to be alright? The fragment ripped into his flesh and pierced his core to which he closed his eyes and fell into oblivion for the time. As he had curled and grasped for it, the substance itself had receded from the place while leaving its mark; his heart ached. The moment after was accompanied by silence as the two recovered. Kendall spoke, and Tiki answered with a nod. His eyes didn’t meet Kendall’s however rather his glazed look surveyed the ground before him, changed. His jaw seemed to hang as he coped with this psychedelic feeling. The already odd land, shrouded and ever changing now reflected the eyes of envy in its coldest of shades. The metallic jade vision filled his mind, and faded as quickly as it came. She spoke once more and he answered, “You’re welcome…” as his own thoughts came to mind. He observed now, very clearly near the ground, what appeared to be some vaguely shaped quarter staff. He had only seen these in… he looked beyond that and saw in the mist, no longer that distant entity, a truer white gaze onto him. The sadism of the beholder reached out to him when he blinked. The eyes were gone, the staff had transformed… Kendall was not far off playing with a rat, to TIki’s understanding. He looked then too at Kendall a bit closer, his companion in this twisted vision. Tiki blinked more, his head down and shaking. His throat throbbed at a moment’s notice as he swallowed over and over to clear his throat. Kendall merely shifted as the rat moved off, she murmured something… Kendall? he thought, but didn’t utter it himself. A thought within a thought…why not, conscious layers… Kendall! he pleaded again in hopes of recognition. “Kendall…?” Tiki spoke weakly. The milky eyes appeared before him, taunting as the glance shifted to Kendall’s being and back. “Kendall!” he cried out in desperation of the terror he felt again. He stepped and slipped, trying to run towards them. Behind him a set of eyes reappeared and shifted entirely through the fog as if from thin air. The sleek, pitch body, ripped in muscle, flesh, and bone, vicious in all its appearance as if the dead singer. So nonchalantly it walked up, this feline which appeared so sickly and fierce, and perched upon Tiki’s back letting its claws run deep. Rather than pain, he felt fear at its worst known case. He felt the claws tear down and sink into him. Weight shifted over his body as his flesh was put to use as nothing better than bark on tree, a scratching post. He could do nothing, was nothing, and all attempts to move or shift back to his animal form, to let instinct over, failed. The other pair before him multiplied, and soon swarmed over the area of the unnoticing Kendall before they pounced and ripped her apart. “Kendall?” Tiki spoke again now questioning her state. She was as well in the state he had left her in as he turned his attention to the staff. He looked again, the staff gone… He looked into the fog, now dampened from the rain. He looked now and saw the gem stone glory that now paced the earth in this world. The sense of foreboding lingered, but it seemed the world was calming again. He looked down at the ground and himself having slipped. No blood or tears marked below…he’d be alright. Pulling together, he stood back up. He then walked to Kendall, looking back over his shoulder from time to time, until he was beside her and said, “I want to go home.” Looking up it was plain on his face, he was scared and missing something of his own. Against all sense of ferocity that lay within the heart of a jaguar, fear found its way into TIki’s. He waited for Kendall’s input.

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall blankly stared at the fog where the rat had scampered away. "Markus, I'm sorry…" He felt tears threatening to roll over his cheeks. "I never meant to ruin your memory of Zeltiva." No matter what he said, the rat would not return. He was scared and of course, there was a large cat in a human body behind him. It was no place for a scared rodent. The blond heard Tiki's voice rip though his thoughts. He kept his eyes lulling in the fog, trying to find Markus' rat within it. Tiki called again though and this time, it sounded more urgent. When he turned to face his friend there seemed to be nothing wrong though. He thrashed about, seeming to be under attack by something that could not be seen. "Tiki… are you okay?" Then, just as quickly as the attack seemed to start, it ended. Tiki seemed to have calmed as he walked forward. There was still a look of fear to the kelvic. Kendall could see it as he kept looking over his shoulder. He knew that feeling. The one where you thought everything and everyone was out to get you. Kendall looked down at Tiki, concern evident in his eyes. It was not often he found himself faced with someone shorter than him. "I know Tiki… I want to go home too." A scared aura seemed to radiate from the boy and Kendall felt the urge to comfort him. He knew how it felt to be far from home and scared. He wrapped his arms around Tiki, holding him in a hug. He was not even sure why he was doing it except that he knew how much gestures like this had helped him when he was new to his body and scared out of his mind. "Everything is going to be okay." It was a futile effort, trying to rid others of their fear. He wanted to help Tiki though. He did not want others to be scared like he had been. "Where is your home?" As he spoke, the faint sound of waves seemed to sound through the air. "Mine is in Zeltiva, off the sea." As the blond stepped back he looked out at the scene around him. The fog had lessened slightly, showing a beautiful horizon and calm waves washing over the jeweled ground, just a run from where they were standing. It was not a Zeltivan sea, this much was for sure. The water seemed to shimmer with every color imaginable in what seemed to be a rising sun over the horizon. Was their nightmare almost over? Kendall smiled slightly at Tiki as he turned away from the jeweled sea in front of him. "I'll help you get home." His voice was calm and soft. There were still tendrils of fear clinging to him from the girl who has turned to glass. "You helped me, it's only fair."

[Tiki]

Tiki wasn’t expecting contact, but there was a sense of warmth and comfort. There was a greater deal of conflict with this as well though, Kendall being what she was. For now, Tiki’s mind accepted the security and reassurance. His head snapped, he saw green again from the corner of his eye, but evaded him again. He continued to look back into the forest, blinking, as his eyes pupils began to thin. With the rising sun light began to fill his eyes. Kendall stepped away and spoke, to which Tiki responded. He looked to Kendall with mere slits as the star reflected; he then looked directly towards it. He didn’t speak through words, his body slouched a bit and he held himself. Looking into the sun his eyes lost strength and turned to the beach. Uncertainty… He took a breath, filling his chest he took in the sight. He’d never seen a beach truly, nothing open like this. Lured to the beauty he started toward it. I’ll help you get home… You helped me, it’s only fair… His teeth ground together and he picked up pace a little. Keeping up was simple, even at a brisk walking pace. He was fixated on the shore, drawn to the all absorbing boundless sea. He let loose his arms and ran for it. Splash, splash, the sloppy sound of the wet sand echoed across the silence of the realm joined alone by the crashing of waves. He slowed to a nearly immediate stop and looked into it. He took a deep breath, unblinking. He took a moment to take it in, then moving even closer to the water. He stood in the white wash, the cool cleansing of the water washing over his muddied feet. Jaw hung loose, he remained a statue against the scene, silhouette black against the sun towards the mainland. His fear melted away into the sea as he immediately fell in love with the present, it was unreal, it was precious, it was – “Beautiful…” He wanted to go deeper, but was afraid if he’d be able to come out, if he could then back. That’s what bothered him presently, miles away from Sylira in the jungles around Spires.

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall followed Tiki toward the water line. Even though he was a child of the fire. One of Ivak's marked men, he loved the sea. It called to him in what seemed like hundreds of voices. It was Zeltiva, it was Hadrian, it was home. The waves and the breeze seemed to hum together, whispering words through the air. It was a familiar tune, or better yet, a poem. One that Kendall had recited over and over to himself back in Zeltiva until the words were carved into his memory. It was the same poem that he had recited to Hadrian one of the many times they had laid together, holding each other close and whispering words of literature back and forth until at last, there was not a need for words. "In the eye of the sky the night bent down and sighed, and said with a smile, to the wind as it cried: "Your tears form the oceans and with it the tides, time forms the tears that you cast from your eyes, your salt forms the land and the earth becomes mortar, which dictates your path with direction and order, as the rivers lay softly asleep in their beds, you cry with great plumage from violet to red, as you to your sons and you to your daughters, I'll keep gentle watch over the earth and its waters, and as much as you control the ebb and the flow, as sure as the currents carve the pathways below, as swift as the tides rotate from high to low, that's as swift as you came and as quickly you'll go." Kendall closed his eyes and listened, a light smile showing proudly on his lips. This was his favorite poem. Ahead of him, Tiki was wading into the water, seeming to be testing it out. The blond watched quietly as he proceeded to roll up the legs of his pants before bounding off into the ocean. Once at Tiki's side, Kendall nodded lightly. "It really is." The water meant to much to him and it only meant more as the days went on. Although Kendall wanted to keep dry, he felt the urge to feel the water, to let it rush around him. He sat down in the water, the wake rushing up against his body and soaking his clothing. He wanted to feel more, to let the water rush through his hair. This was just a dream, there was not reason to fear suffocation, even if Kendall was unaware of this. He laid back, his body resting upon the jewel incrusted ground. The sapphire waves seemed to race around his body, tousling his blond hair. There was a look of peace on the blond's face as he laid in the wake. "It is home. My home."

[Tiki]

He looked back at Kendall and smiled, she was lucky to call this home. The sensation of freedom and endless possibility shimmered all around. His eyes, glowing in a joy, returned to the sea. He looked so silly, so foolish with his mouth open, lost for words. He looked then down to the water. The white foam slid up and over his ankles and he sank gently into the sand. Little waves permeated through the sand as he wiggled his toes. To him it felt soft and warm; everything under the sun did though he truly knew not the course texture of the real beaches. The suction tried to fold him down, water washing over sand brought up thinning the layer. One foot. Rushing past him over the sloping shore the water tried to push him back, breaking over his ankles again. One step. Footstep by footstep he made his way down towards the water. He was knee deep before the waves were curling before him. The wave crash in the sand was all he could hear around him. Again he shifted forth through the endlessly shifting tide, poor timing, a wave crashed on his chest. He brought his arms up in vain, and laughed as it piled over his body. Waist deep he stood in the water, the waves rolling up and down in gentle rhythms against his body. He left go, and his fingers felt the water. He looked back for her, half turned. He could see her as he’d go to look, but by the time he had her in full view she vanished. He was there, but, was she really the same? His wider grin began to shrink, though the blemish of joy was left in a slight smile. He waited for her to meet him, or at least tell otherwise.

[Kendall Saarinen]

When Tiki walked away from Kendall's side, he sat up in the waves. He watched as Tiki moved farther into the water and to his surprise, the kelvic was enjoying it. He chuckled slightly as he shook the water from his hair, rising out of the water. As Kendall walked, the water seemed to trickle off of him, falling in drops back into the water like liquid diamonds. Everything seemed to be a more beautiful and pure version of itself. The sand, like endless jewels and golden dust rolling over his feet. The water was like an endless expanse of sapphire and aquamarine. It simply was too perfect to be real but in dreams it seemed to make perfect sense. The water lapped up against Kendall's legs as he walked. It did not feel as cold as it once had. He was not sure why. Perhaps it was just the world slowly equalizing and calming. This was not the time to analyze. He walked toward Tiki keeping a light smile on his lips. That was until he saw Tiki's own smile falter. This worried Kendall. Perhaps Tiki was not one who was going to be able to live with knowing both of his forms. He felt embarrassed before the feline man. If only he could be a girl again. Then Tiki would not have had to see who he had become. Kendall stood beside Tiki, the sea breeze blowing through his hair. "I thought cats were supposed to hate water." He smiled lightly as he looked at the Kelvic. He supposed one could say the same about him. He was not sure how many Azenth were as enthralled with the ocean as him. Azenth were workers of fire and emotion but water seemed to surround everything that he loved.

[Tiki]

He was staring long before he realized it, observing Kendall’s movement through the liquid blue. He hesitated, lip twitching, before he took full realization and turned down to the water. He took a breath, as if dodging a danger. It was rude to stare, right, or was it foolish to not watch? Kendall spoke, and Tiki looked back up with a silly half-smile, a bit weak of heart. “I usually don’t like getting wet, but there are exceptions.” he murmured, then turned toward the sun. “Sometimes you just have to get your paws wet - or feet, even… Besides, it feels nice.” The words came off with unusual wisdom for a kelvic, or maybe it was just how profoundly simple he made this overlooked fact. After all, what Lhex bids one’s fortune is so, whether good or bad. Is it not the question of why things came to be that is so often sought, rather than how? He saw her in the corner of his eye, hair flowing and all… He turned abruptly, only to stop as she came inside the side glancing view, now he. His nostrils flared, exhaling through, and he looked back to the sun…again, deceived. He positioned himself then just right, and so he saw her behind him, felt the warmth of her presence, and admired the vague beauty within. “You’re pretty.” he said, pleasant and calm. Wonder took hold of him, a young kelvic, and drove him further, “Why do you look like that? The reasoning of his request was made full clear as he too turned to her, or was it a him, and looked into eyes which reflected a broken soul, if not two.

[Kendall Saarinen]

The simple way Tiki spoke of the water made Kendall smile. So many people, scholars even, tried to describe the expanse of water in so many ways. They used so many words and dressed those words up in fancy rhyme schemes and alliterations. The words that came from the feline man's mouth were so simple and yet, they said exactly what needed to be said. "I couldn't have said it better myself." He moved his foot around in the water, letting the waves ripple in the disturbance. Below the surface, the glittering sand ran over his toes, hiding them from view as it settled over his foot. At Tiki's next words Kendall blushed. "Thank you." He had not expected the kelvic to call him pretty. Many did, although it was often said as a jibe against him. I was just another way people joked about his more… feminine tendencies. Sondra was a big fan of using the adjective at his expense but as time went on, he had come to let her sassy remarks roll over him. She said them out of friendship. Tiki's next question caught Kendall's attention much more than his first statement had. He knew why he was pretty, at least in a sense. "I suppose it's because I don't know how to be handsome." The intricacies of being male still confused him a bit. Somewhere in him he still wanted to cling to the feeling of being beautiful and pretty. The Kelvic was staring up into Kendall's eyes and in a moment he noticed what Tiki was actually asking. "Oh… my eyes." He was not sure if he wanted to answer that. Were his secrets safe on this dreamy plane? "I got caught up in magic… bad magic. It sort of messed me up." Over the horizon a small thunder cloud boomed. He had to keep the bad memories at bay. If he could not the world could turn stormy again. He looked down into the water solemnly. Looking back at him was the same boy that always had since the day of his accident. With a small pout he kicked the water, shooing his reflection from sight. He had not lied to the feline man which was a step in a good direction. He just did not feel he could share his story, even in the calmness of dreams. "I'd like to keep those thoughts far from my mind though. Tell me more about you."

[Tiki]

“Why won’t you tell me?” he said, seemingly hurt. “I mean you’re a pretty girl, not…a boy. Why are you a boy is what I mean; what ‘bad magic’?” He bit his tongue against all feeling of persistence driving his curiosity. His eyes drooped, and he tried looking back. Of course he felt it, perhaps he had not heard the thunder clap across the sky, nor the flash of memory dancing the synapse bridge, but she was hurting. He had a right to know, didn’t he? He whirled around to the storm and clawed through the water. No outlet of frustration was enough in this realm, the water, scarred deep, splashed out before him in a little wave and sprinkles. He became irritable, looking at the storm, and changed in body language. His arms crossed, insecure, and he brought himself together. His head pitched down, and he glared upward at the horizon threatening conflict. He growled in low feline tones. He closed his eyes, trying to find a dreamy peace within this dream conflicted, digging deeper to no avail. The world, this world, the real world, none of it was suiting to someone so unaware. He shook his head, trying to shake it all. His head did truly shake, back in Spires, the barrier giving way. In his bedroom, at Grath’s Rest, he parted his lips, dry in the hot summer air and kept breathing. Irregular, perhaps, for he was moved within this dream. His head tossed to a side, and he collapsed back into the whole of the dream. He looked then, eyes now open, at the storm which appeared so vivid and alive. The beauty of it, comprehension of the rolling clouds and lightning strikes became surreal. He was trying to find peace, and whatever trouble was returning. He looked on into the storm unsure of the place, unsure of himself. “I’m not even sure about me, sometimes. Right now I just want to… I’m not sure what it is, actually.” He was vexed by confusion of feelings, emotions for her and against him, something so unnatural and secret. Guile was an unfamiliar concept to him, no matter how much he’d like to think he could grasp it when idiotic hunters thought themselves smarter than the beasts. He was just so damned naïve.

[Kendall Saarinen]

The tears welled up in Kendall's eyes. He was so used to people just accepting when he wanted to stay quiet. His fists clenched tightly, almost in unison to the storm out over the water worsening. The thoughts and feelings surrounding his accident were ruining the dream and turning it back into a nightmare. "It is because it hurts to think about." His words were a little sharp as he spoke them. He just wanted Tiki to drop the question. He wanted everything to go back to being beautiful again. That was never an option though. There would always be explaining to do and apologies to spill due to his accident. "Animation… and I'm not a girl anymore. That is plain to see." Kendall seemed to be getting more upset as the conversation went on. This was a dream and strangely, he was starting to realize this. He did not want to have to revisit all of his horrible memories here. This is where he went to get away from those thoughts. "I need to see that myself but I can't. I can't move forward until I can accept who I am." The words were meant for Tiki but from their content he seemed to be talking more to himself. Almost as if he was trying to reassure himself and make himself believe the words he spoke. Mismatched eyes watched Tiki calmly. Kendall knew it was unsafe to stand in the water with the storm raging forward but in the same turn, the storm was of his own creation. It had been spawned from his anger and fear. It fluctuated with his emotion as the pair spoke. It felt powerful but in the same stroke, he was changing Tiki's dream as well and that was not right. "No one really knows I suppose. I sure don't." Kendall squinted out at the storm, arms crossed over his chest. "There is time though. There always is." His voice was flat and quiet as he spoke. A light rain seemed to trickle down from the sky, seeming almost to start the dream over. Everything was going back to the way it started. With a boom, the thunder roared out through the dreamt world, filling it with a blinding light. For a moment nothing could be seen but a world of white light and then, just as quickly as it had happened, the light faded back. Kendall was himself again, or herself. Her eyes were still the mismatched shades they had been before but the rest of her was a beautiful as she had once been back in Zeltiva. "I think our time here is about done. Things are starting to seem a bit familiar, no?" With a small chuckle, Kendall flashed a small smile. "Who knows, next you could be a cat again."