Strange Notions [closed]

[Lucette]

81st Day of Spring, 511 AV Lucette stood on the small, quiet side street as the afternoon hours came near to close. Covered only by her flowing dress, its simple clasp was shiny and prominent upon her collarbone. The girl stood as if frozen like the very rock that surrounded the city. Was it possible for a human to stand so still? So focused? Yet in contrast, the soft wave of her hair lightly curled about her delicate shoulders, and a small breeze lifted the dress’ thin fabric, only to let it settle once again upon the soft curve of her shapely calves. A bird pecked at the ground a short distance away from her, looking for discarded morsels. If the Kelvic had been in Cheetah form, her tail would have twitched in anticipation of capturing the small avian. But even in this less lethal human form, that physical movement still needed release. Down at her side, two fingers on her pale hand twitched. Again and again. The instinctual desire surfaced; the need to hunt and to kill. Never had she hurt or caused the death of any creature large or small, but the impressive feline inside of her was sleepily aware of this lack and it mattered not that she had never hunted before. Closer she slid on soft feet, and her reflective eyes took in everything, every detail about the bird before her. Peck. Peck. The world grew small. Peck. Peck. She wanted it. Badly. A part of her mind wondered why no one had ever told her of this compulsion. But the bird hopped again in the dirt and Lucette’s eyes narrowed. She moved closer, each step painstakingly slow. Her body knew; she was too tall in this form. She must be lower! Very slowly, over a matter of chimes she bent her long legs at the knees, her hands reaching out to grip the earth in front of her. As the girl lowered, the breezy air caught at her dress again and lifted it, exposing one lean muscled thigh. If she noticed, the Kelvic did not care. Modesty was not something she had ever been taught. As her hair lifted and settled, one knee had almost touched the ground. In an instant, Lucette would transform into the more glorious form of Cheetah.

[Legion]

The brown thrush pecked and hopped, fluttered and bobbed in satisfied ignorance of the brutal end it was about to meet. The gold edged feathers ruffled in the breeze that flirted with the fabric of Lucette's dress and vivid leaves quivered in the branches of a sycamore with a rustling yawn. In the shadow of the sycamore lounged a man of middling years with velvet brown eyes squinted from too many years staring down targets and deep, character defining laugh lines. His arms were crossed over his chest and a the symphony curve of a composite shortbow slung across his back alongside a quiver of arrows. Thus did the Academy Lieutenant watch the Temple acolyte with an expression crossed between vexation and fascination. He held himself still in the wind and green shadows, but the shift of air betrayed him in the carrying of scent. Clean sweat. Heliotrope. Ink and steel.

[Lucette]

Crouched on all fours, Lucette’s eyes focused on the little bird. In small increments, her left hand rose upwards towards her shapely collarbone, until finally her fingers tightened around the clasp that held the flowing dress closed. With just a tiny flick, the clasp would open and the dress would fall flowingly about her as she transformed. But the Kelvic hesitated… A man, hidden! The Kelvic’s body froze statue still, the pale hand still holding the shiny clasp. Lucette’s head swiveled on her pretty shoulders as her attention shifted from the bird to the man. She stared. Her gaze studied him, observed how he leaned against the tree, what he wore, and what he held. Quietly and silently in the deepening shadows, Lucette slowly blinked, interest peaked. The bird hopped in its foraging, and her head was drawn back to it. She was torn between the man and the pecking bird. The prey might escape, and the Cheetah denied the tender snack. Yet, the man… The slave girl did not know how to react to him. He had not called to her, nor had he moved. Did he require her? Or wish to reprimand her? Lucette’s head turned again to face him, waiting with feline patience for him to do something. The sense of time lengthened, unhurried, she would wait... But the Kelvic instinctually yearned to feel the slowing of the bird’s blood pulse with her mouth and teeth, and throat. Just once... just once. It was a heady desire… but her training made her hesitant to shift forms. What if, like Roland, the man frowned upon such turnings? She must not disappoint! But the bird…!

[Legion]

The whole of Delano’s days were bordered by the treacherous mountains and unpredictable seas a trapped god’s grief had made of this fringe of the world. He had never seen a cheetah, though he had read of them in books brought by Zeltivan scholars in days not so long gone now. Once, with Eyris hands clamped over his eyes, he had breathed in sun scorched air and musk, felt the quiver in his bow arm while sighting down an unfamiliar landscape. He had not fired in that half dream, that borrowed scrap of a dead man’s chavi, but he had not wanted to either. Feral beauty, predatory grace, he had not known it in such formation until then. Until now. Rumor of the kelvic’s arrival had spread like any other through Denval. It was a small, close knit community where it was more surprising for someone to not know your name than the other way around. They kept close and curious tabs on new comers and that was for more good reason than most were aware. Not a little bewitched, the corners of the lieutenant’s mouth twitched toward a smile. It was a vaguely military gesture, the head and shoulders bow he proffered, as if it were caught somewhere between a ballroom and a salute. Go on, his body language communicated, as you will. And he, well, he would be the transfixed audience. It was a brown thrush rather than a tattered gladitor, but he had signed its death warrant all the same for the sake of learning.

[Lucette]

With the man’s consent, Lucette’s mouth turned upwards into a brilliant smile, as her fingers instantly flicked the shiny clasp open. The dress billowed away, caught in the breeze as it slid along her back and across the curve of her hips. Delicate, white sparkles of light illuminated the air around the Kelvic’s body, and a magnificent Cheetah crouched where the gentler human had been but an instant before. If there was a moment between stillness and speed, it was not visible in the rush of the Cheetah towards the unsuspecting bird, so fast did Lucette fly toward it. The wind rushed against her, to fill her nostrils with the scent of the alley way, the man, and the most enchanting of all, the pecking bird. The bird! The bird saw doom descend upon it, and its wings flapped furiously, propelling the small body into the air at an angle. Lucette’s powerful tail ruddered to the side after it, but unused to the tail’s power she over compensated. Her long nailed claws clinked loudly and scrambled on the cobble stones as she righted her course. Reaching one long forepaw into the darkened sky, Lucette only snagged at tail feathers, which exploded from the bird. The other impressive paw lifted, strained to bat at the bird wildly. One lethal claw caught flesh... It should have been easy to bring it down… It was not. Lucette was too inexperienced with the rush of bloodlust that pumped through her heart and organs. The bird skittered sideways, but still flew, wobbly to the roof of the nearest building. Pacing below, the Cheetah’s slanted eyes peered up intently, a low, growling cry caught in her throat, as if she could will the avian down. The loss of the quarry was a terrible blow to the Kelvic’s confidence. But then the breeze shifted, and Lucette remembered the man. The feline looked forlornly over her shoulder to see him in the shadows against the tree. How sorrowfully the Cheetah looked upon him.

[Legion]

The Lieutenant held his breath, finding himself silently rooting for the elegant but clumsy cheetah. Those brief moments in which the cloth of her dress had tangled alluringly about her curves was near overshadowed to witness the beast stalk her prey. He was not aware that he had sunk into a crouch, the stalks of grasses and flowering weeds whipping lightly against the high, weathered rise of his boots. Delano was forced to choke back a laugh when the thrush escaped by the narrow margin of a tail feather. The sound rumbled in his chest, but he scrubbed a calloused hand over his mouth in an effort to suppress it. He did not wish to incite the cheetah. Rather, he wanted to make friends. Velvet eyes, thickly fringed with gold ripped lashes, blinked widely when forlorn disappointment was turned expectedly upon him. Gaze rising to the injured thrush roosting now in the eaves of the Academy, his mouth skewed to the side. Fingers drummed against the curve of his knee and within a long series of heartbeats he was shoving up to his feet and swinging the sleek work of his composite bow from its sling across his back. An arrow was drawn from the quiver and cart-wheeled about his fingers as he continued to look from feline to bird and back again. A splash of sunlight dappled through the boughs of the pecan tree as he hoisted his chin, high lighting the curve of a high cheekbone. He might have been lovely were it not for the scar coiling down his left cheek. There were those who thought he still was. Badge of honor, leftover from footing the guard as a young man, caught in the midst of a zith raid. Bowstring twanged and arrow flew, lethal aim whistling it straight to the breast of the bird. Within breaths, it was toppling from the eave to plop at Lucette’s feet. Everyone needed a little help sometimes.

[Lucette]

With too much ease the bow then arrow came into the man’s hands. Lucette’s head and shoulders drifted to the side. Her long legs tensed, ready to slink away. She knew first hand how much pain an arrow could cause. Would this man do the same and shoot her? Were all hunters alike? While the front most part of her body moved, the Kelvic’s eyes stayed upon the arrow, only to flick back to his eyes briefly, fearfully. But she saw no cruelness there. As the man gazed up at the bird, Lucette craned her neck to look up also. It was still above her! The infuriating bird taunted her by its presence and she hissed between sharp teeth. But the distance was too great for her to reach it, and the bird knew it also. The Cheetah’s tongue darted out, as if to taste it. Her paws danced small steps, wanting to pace in annoyance. Turning, she studied the man and his dark features. He carried a scar too, and somehow that made her feel more comfortable. Had he been attacked as well? But a slight movement of his fingers signaled the arrow would soon fly. The strings twanged and Lucette flinched, but as it soared she straightened as the bird landed at her feet. There was no hesitation; the Kelvic pounced to land two large paws upon the small creature. Its flesh was warm, yet its heart barely beat. Her velvet nose nudged the bird’s belly, inhaling the scent of its blood and body. Powerful instinct surfaced and she mouthed it and picked it up. The arrow whipped around still stuck in the bird as she shook it, and her paws lifted, first one than the other. Opening her jaws, the bird dropped to the earth and Lucette pushed at it with a paw. It was dead. Feathers dangled from her mouth as she picked it up again. The urge to eat it was strong, compelling. But the man… did he want it? Would he be displeased? Her powerful jaw went slack and the bird bobbed slightly, yet did not fall. Unsure of what to do, Lucette stepped closer, then stopped. It was not in her feline nature to share, but she was no ordinary feline. And she would give it to the man if he wished for it.

[Legion]

Delight emanated from the lieutenant at the cheetah's long awaited raptures. The flop and fly of feathers and the kittenish gesture in so majestic a creature were a discovery greater than any artist's rendering in time or salt worn parchment. "Oh, no. No," laughter echoed bass notes, colored like hickory chips as fine lines fanned out from the edges of his eyes. His smile was not wide upon his mouth, but it more than made up for it in the deepening tones of his regard. "Yours, lady," and he folded a hand to his chest, over his heart in what was doubtless meant to be a courtly gesture. It sat a bit strange on him, he who was more used to military leanings and the bumble and dash of children in all varying years. Some might find it endearing, therefore, for there was as of yet no grey in his hair. "You hunted it. Fair and square," and he said this firmly, stating it as fact. "I just.. Like the wind," he decided. "A lucky wind at the right moment. No more. Go on."

[Lucette]

The bird still in her mouth, Lucette regarded the man and his smile. The friendliness in it pleased her, like a welcomed, yet unexpected present. And he called her “Lady…” The Kelvic’s gaze rose from his mouth to his eyes. No one had ever addressed her as such and she was flattered. But it was the man’s refusal of the bird that quickened her breath. Already she could taste the blood upon her tongue, pungent and thick where her sharp teeth had punctured the soft flesh. Swallowing the small drops warmed her belly as no slab of days old meat ever had. Lucette wanted more… and it didn’t matter how the bird had been killed, only that she was allowed the gift of it. Powerful jaws compressed through the soft muscles of the bird, and the tiny, hollow bones within shattered splendidly. Blood splattered to coat the roof of her mouth and teeth. The Cheetah’s head lifted, eyes closed to slits in the virgin pleasure of the fresh meal. The preference for fresh blood had awakened. The Kelvic did not care that the arrow still stuck through it, and through the use of her rough tongue Lucette worked it away. Opening her mouth it fell to the ground, discarded among fallen feathers. A thin trail of crimson dotted her whiskers. The bird was no more than a snack, and too quickly it was gone. Automatically, her strong tongue licked her lips, and then a thick paw as it was brought towards her face. The impulse to clean each nail and paw coursed through her. But she was aware that the man waited, amused, though she was not sure what had caused such a reaction. She slunk towards him, and mid-step white lights began to shimmer around her Cheetah form. The glow lit the darkness softly and magically as the shift to human form was complete. A spot of blood sat high on her chest. Lucette stepped closer, unaware of the boundaries of personal space most humans enjoyed or required. Her nose lifted slightly to sniff, but in this form its power was weak. With blood scented, bird scented breath, the Kelvic purred, “Thank you… for him.”

[Legion]

Blood, gore, feathers dripping thick with blood plopping to the hard packed earth failed to phase the lieutenant. This was a man who had spent his life in free time hunting for game to continue with the providence of Denval's populace. While she ate, he hitched the bow back across his back from the leather loop; and when the arrow dropped from the remains of the bird, cluttering the ground between them with little bits of bone and what he imagined to be brain matter, he stooped to retrieve it. An unconcerned swipe in the grass cleaned the arrow head as a temporary cleaning measure before he returned it to the small brace. This motion was completed while the ripple and swirl of light motes coalesced once more around the kelvic. It left afterimages in his pupils, sparkling there like the auroras he had seen through divine vision in the everwinter of Morwen's hallowed land. A thick breath was sucked in as his cheetah, returned to the skin of a woman, approached. He could swear in her shadow he saw the twitching of a tail. "My distinct pleasure, lady," he murmured, a touch shy. He averted his eyes, an attempt to be polite, and noticed the wind's tangle of her shift about the roots of a birch tree. It appeared, that tree, most pleased to have stolen her garment. He moved to fetch it for her, however reluctant to place distance between them. "Perhaps we should do some real hunting together sometime," he suggested.