A Time To Heal. (Closed)

[Lucy]

While Lucy followed Galio around, which was weird for her, she suddenly felt enormous pain. She felt it even before she heard the sound. It was like her skull is breaking, and her heart is beating with the rhythm of music. It hurt too, she felt a deep pressure in her chests. She wanted somebody to stop it. She turned around, kneeing. Nobody noticed. She couldn't find Galio. Nobody noticed! How can they not notice? If they won't stop it, she will. She needs to stop this! She needs to stop music! The musicians! She didn't wanted to, but she felt her hands morphing. She had no energy. She stopped morphing and returned into human, but she couldn't breath well. Lucy saw everyone and everything and she had headache from that. Every single move was a little more pain for her. "Stop it!", she tried to scream, but obviously didn't. Nothing came out loud. It's their fault! The musicians! That humans doesn't feel anything! Humans. Yes, humans. Stupid humans. Which she always served for no reason. Humans who look down on her. Humans who doesn't notice all of the Klevics being in pain. She was already laying on the ground while she was thinking this. She didn't wanted to morph, that was all she knew. She didn't know why, but she tried her best not to, even now. She saw peoples passing around her and ignoring her pain. It's impossible they haven't saw her. She wanted to hurt them, to show them what are they doing to her, to show them who is boss, she didn't wanted to be ignored anymore. And she wanted that music to stop. She saw her claws again. She couldn't do anything. She started to morph, slowly, and it was painful. She knew she shouldn't. Her eagle body is weaker then the human one in those sort of things. She became aware of that while morphing, and that gave her a push to move on, so she returned into human. "Help! Help us! Stop mus-!", she succeed to say loudly, but that was the final effort, she morphed and attacked. She had no idea what or who was she attacking. She aimed for musicians, but it could be anybody. She just wanted to hurt them. She felt even more pain than before, but she ignored it. She'll hurt them! She'll kill them! She is not some Klevic who'll serve humans around! She isn't some cute pet! She is an animal, and she never should be human! She is an animal and those are her enemies. Eyes. She attacked with her claws. She felt someone punching her. Everything was dark for a second and she fell on the ground. She couln't fly. She broke something. She saw her clothes on right and crept into them. After that she haven't remember anything for a while.

[Veldrys]

„Only degtine?“ the Symenestra repeated and made a face. He wasn’t sure if he approved of the fact that Jarret sold a salve with degtine in it and claimed that it helped against ugly faces. He didn’t say anything though because he wanted to know more about the other potion. He waited for the man to answer his question, but then he heard a voice next to him. He looked mildly irritated because they had interrupted something potentially important, but he turned around regardless. Irritation quickly made way to confusion. He couldn’t see anybody. It was only after a few moments that he realized that there was a child talking to him, and he lowered his gaze and smiled at her, his previous irritation quickly forgotten. Children were always allowed to interrupt him. Besides, he found it unusual that the little human girl wasn’t afraid to him. Most humans, at least outside Denval, tended to fill their children’s heads with horror stories about the Harvest and the evil, evil Symenestra. But she didn’t even have any idea what he was. „I’m a Symenestra“, he answered, ignoring Jarret’s comment. There was nothing philosophical about it in his opinion. „I work in the Chapel.“ He turned to face the man that had appeared behind Hanno. „Is she your daughter?“ His Common was slightly accented, just like Haraza’s, a clear sign that he was not a native of Denval. He wanted to say more, when he noticed that the potion in Jarret’s hand had exploded. He murmurred a soft curse in Symenos. „Do you have more ... What’s going on here?“ There was something strange about the music that had now started.

[Galio Keln]

The noise and music that had been playing throughout the day had been quite an annoyance to get over at first when the festival had first began for Galio. Yet after a few hours of being around people his ears adjusted to it and he was fine. Now the annoyance returned. It was if everything was louder and more amplified than before. Every note and every voice sent a spike of pain through Galio. He let go of Lucy’s hand and tried to cover his ears. Everything was so loud and frightening, the waves of sound crashed around him. It felt like someone was using his head for a drum. Covering his ears didn’t help, the sound only continued to grow and get louder. His skull felt like it would split open at any minute, his ears had were starting to go numb and normal talking was fading from his ears. He could no longer hear anyone talking nearby, only the shouts and cries of joy from the people around him were heard by Galio. Sounds that normally were loud were amplified ten times over and sounds that were quiet or normal were silent completely. His instinct was to run, to get away from all the noise, he turned away from the barrels with his hands still covering his ears. Moving into the crowd he attempted to walk through the crowd to get away, leaving Lucy behind. He hadn’t noticed it, but she was hearing the same thing he was. Yet he was mistaken in this choice, a girl grabbed his hands and pulled him around in dance. Moving only made it worse and with his hands no longer covering his ears he could hear everything again. An angry growl left his mouth and the girl let him go in surprise, Galio bumped into more people and causing more surprise and bringing on more noise. Growing more aggravated by the second Galio finally could no longer hold in his distress and anger. Everything around him told him to morph, to attack, to push, shove and roar until the noise went away. Words told to him long ago by his father echoed back to him. “If you can’t get away, make them go away”. His feral instincts took over and he was gone in a flash of lights. They lasted only second, before forming into the massive grizzly that Galio truly was. His jacket and pants were torn apart by the transformation and fell in shambles around his feet. The sudden change in body sized pushed away the dancers and party-goers around him, most backed away at the sight of the grizzly. The following guttural roar quickly parted anyone who hadn’t been pushed aside. Yet Galio’s transformation did not help rid him of the noise, if anything it made it worse. It drew shouts and screams from the surrounding Denvali and only made him more aggravated than before. But now he was no longer a young boy being pushed around in a crowd, he was a mighty grizzly that knew more ways then one to make the noisy people go away.

[Daroes Murphy]

The music changed to an annoying tune then it was before. Murphy's eyes shot open and he fell backward out of his chair onto the ground. Murphy grabbed the back of his head from hitting the ground he could feel the warm liquid spilling out of his skull. Murphy's gaze became hazy, "I need to stay awake," Murphy whispered to himself standing slowly. That's when Murphy felt the effect of the music, it was painful, like it was ricocheting off all of his bones and piercing his organs, every voice burned his ears.

He felt the burning, and looked at his hand as it was changing, first his nails, then his hand, then his entire arm was becoming a wolf. Murphy, the Kelvic boy, took off running as fast as he could, when he finally became the wolf he was inside. Murphy kept running but then his instincts told him he would never out fun the music he could only kill them.

Murphy ran past everyone that was in his way not caring about safety, even tripping someone who had drinking in their hands. He didn't care as long as he stopped the horrid music. As Murphy got closer to the stage he saw that he wouldn't make it there were to many people surronding them, so he looked and saw a path that went up to the mountains and hills. He took it, sprinting harder than ever before, anything to stop the music was Murphy's goal, or at least escape it.

[Hanno Frostfawn]

“A Sy-men-esss-truh?” Hanno repeated, testing the unfamiliar syllables on her tongue. The name did not recall any stories she could remember, nor had she ever seen Veldrys' like. She gaped up at him with a child's bald curiosity, marvelling at the strangeness of his translucent skin, silver-spun hair, and filed claws. Many a Denvali might have laughed to see them converse: the Vantha girl was every bit as short and flush with color as the spiderlike man was tall and ashen. They were strange opposites, of a sort. But despite their disparate appearances, Hanno was no different than a Symenestran child in one regard: she was full of questions. “Where are you from?” She asked. “Why do you have claws? What is your name?” The interrogations - innocent though they were - spilled like water, outpacing Veldrys' ability to respond. Then they evaporated with a pop, the bottle of Blood Key exploding in Jarrett's hands. Hanno yelped in surprise, her cry mingling with the spatter of dashed liquid and the tinkle of broken glass. Veldrys whispered a curse, barely audible over the vibrato of a distant fiddle, and before anything could be sorted out it was all drowned in shrieks and a sudden eruption of barking. “Havoc! Shhh!” The girl reprimanded the hulking dog at her side. Low on its haunches, lips pulled back in a snarl, it continued to bark frantically over the growing din. Frowning, she raised two fingers as if to tap its snout in discipline, only to pause, stunned, as she saw the cause of its agitation. “Papa,” Hanno hissed in Vani. “Bear!”

[Syllke Skyglow]

Almost with relief, Syllke had released those alabaster fingers and turned to Seodai’s cousin, shaking Talen’s hand firmly, turning away fully from Lysnader. He wasn’t really up to staring at the man, no matter how pretty he was. “Good to meet you.” He said, leaving it at that, not trusting his voice to keep that same, measured, casual tone he was striving for, and had reached – so far. Syllke made no reply to Lysander’s comment – it didn’t appear that he actually needed one, as Seodai quickly turned to his beautiful, golden friend and Lysander too was instantly drawn into that universe with room for two only. He cast a glance over his shoulder and saw that Murphy had chosen not to follow him. His shoulders slumped just the slightest – the kelvic had become such a close friend and such an integral part of his life these past months that, unexpectedly, Syllke had found that Murphy provided him with a relatively steady source of understated comfort. Not that he needed much in that vein – Syllke’s ebullient approach to life was generally one that held him buoyed up with a pervasive happiness. The past few days had been quite a bit rougher, though. Wistfully, he turned back to Seo and his other friends, determined to put the best face on this uncomfortable situation as possible. The expression on Seo’s face, as Syllke looked at him looking at Lysander, told him he was doing the best thing. Still, watching Seodai with his fingers now entertwined with Lysander’s, Syllke hung back a bit, telling himself it was to give the two their own space, but knowing that really, this was not going to be fun, at all. Carefully, he breathed. Carefully he kept his feet moving forward, though slowly. Carefully, he looked away without seeming to, already having seen Seodai lit up like the evening star – which Nashira had told him was really a planet. He thought of her, and Murphy, and Vanos and the others he had deserted back at the table – anything but what was going on two meters away from him. An so it was that Syllke was not really looking directly at the couple when suddenly an odd and exceedingly bright light split the air around all of them. Syllke first looked up – half expecting some fire lit projectile to be hurtling towards them, though the light was far brighter than any weapon of man. But as soon as it had burst forth, it was gone, with a great cracking noise. His upwards tilted face came down first to glance at Talen. But a split second later, his head snapped around at Lysander’s cry. Syllke’s lips parted and his eyes widened, for there in Lysander’s place was a young boy! Confused, Syllke’s eyes flew to Seodai, and he saw the same bewilderment mirrored in his friend’s alarmed expression. For one brief moment, Syllke himself was utterly confounded, until he thought once more of those horns – the now missing horns – and of Nashira and what she had taught him. Of course – Lysander was an Ethaefal. So he would of necessity and design have two forms. Was the boy before them now his other self? Syllke’s eyes went to Talen, who was already stepping forward and placing a steadying hand on the boy’s shoulder. Talen’s expression was one of concern, but not hostile or angry, as one might expect a soldier to be if a friend had suddenly disappeared and a stranger left in his place. Seo’s expression only bespoke massive turmoil – it was clear he had no idea what was going on. Then, it hit him. An awful possibility struck Syllke like a bolt. Nashira’s more exotic, more beautiful (in a way) form, was upon her during the day, for she was a child of Syna. If Lysander had horns already, when Syna had already set, then he was a child of the moon. Gods – he had been so stupid, so obtuse! Seodai had told him about Lysander. He had told Syllke everything – every minute detail about the man – the beautiful, exotic man with the amazing horns. And Syllke had completely failed to put two and two together. Lysander was an Etheafal, and Seo had never once mentioned his “other” form. And Syllke had not wanted to ask any questions about this creature who had such hold on his friend’s heart. Out of blindness or stupidity or jealousy, Syllke had never thought to ask Seo whether he liked Lysander as well in his “other” form – or what form he even took - and now . . . Now it was clear, as the subdued panic in Seo’s voice that was audible to at least one set of ears – he had no idea that this was Lysander! Seo was looking at Lysander as if he was a ghost suddenly come up out of the ground. Eyes still full of love – but eyes that saw a stranger, an interloper, where only his beloved should be. Was it really possible that Seo had no notion that Lysander was not always the luminescent creature of surreal beauty as he had described to Syllke? Was it possible that he had never seen him in his boyish form? All these confusing thoughts galloped through Syllke’s brain and then Seo was speaking again – something about fixing this problem. Seo’s eyes turned to him briefly, but Syllke could only gape helplessly. He almost shrugged his shoulders, as if to say what do you expect me to do?, but at that instant, his ears became aware of something else. Something was going on behind them as well as in front of their very eyes. His eyes turned, and then his head, having given no answer to Seodai – no comfort or reassurance. Over his shoulder, what he saw caused his eyes to widen even further, if that was possible. A large, wild cat covered in spots was hissing and growling at the festival goers backing away quickly from its immediate surroundings. Then he heard a growl that sent a shiver down his spine – knowing just as the Vantha child had immediately what kind of animal made such an unpleasantly terrifying growl. Bear! His eyes flew about, searching in a near panic, and within a moment picking out the huge grizzly, now snarling at other partiers – showing his massive, pointed teeth. Syllke felt his heart skip at least two beats. His brain could barely register that it was, in all probability, Galio. That didn’t matter. All he wanted to do was run, fast, in the opposite direction. Friendly Galio was one thing. To the young Vantha who had a bear phobia, an angry sounding grizzly was an entirely different proposition, kelvic or no! A streak of brindled brownish grey streaked out of the crowd of now greatly alarmed townspeople. Despite the proximity of the bear, Syllke’s brain finally kicked back into gear. Murphy! What the hell was going on here? Syllke’s eyes, now rippling gold, crimson and orange in alarm, shot a look at Seodai. He knew his friend wanted his support, but what could he do? What would he be allowed to do with Lysander at the center of this particular maelstrom? Murphy needed him too – and probably Galio as well, and Syllke finally paused to wonder if Lucy had been shocked into shifting as well – but by what? In any case, he couldn’t – could not go to Galio. Perhaps Vanos . . . Shaking his head mutely, Syllke turned and ran. Through cowardice and desperation, on so many different levels, he ran after Murphy, leaving Seo in the care of his cousin and his beloved Lysander. OOCSorry this post is so long. I lost track of how long it had been since I posted last.

[Sitkanis]

OOCSo sorry for the wait.

Sitkanis agreed and even thought Astrid was being so kind about her denial, he felt a bit embarrassed at his suggestion. Perhaps it was just he excitement about finally getting to be a father again, or at least feeling like one. He had spent so long wondering about the boy clouded in his memories that he had started to crave the feeling of being a father, of being the figure a young child would look up to. He was excited but Astrid was correct. The child would take time but that was a good thing. It would be even more time to get ready and be prepared to take good care of it. He needed to be strong and able to fight so he could protect his child. Astrid and the rest of the guild would help and he was thankful for this. The Ethaefal smiled lightly at Astrid. "No, I want to. Teach me." He was sure he would fumble a bit but if he needed to learn, why not have his first lesson from Astrid? He would follow her lead if she chose to start the dance. Sitkanis was surprised to see his Drykas form taking prominence in the light of his lunar father. He was not sure what to think. Was he finally free? Was he finally Drykas again? He was not sure if Ethaefal ever really got free. As far as he knew, Ethaefal were well… Ethaefal until they were returned to their deity again. The strange happening effected more than Sitkanis body. The Drykas was granted more time now. He got to be with Astrid even in the light of Leth. A memory came to Sitkanis, filling up his sight. It felt almost as if he was there himself. "I don't know why I married you Luukas…" A beautiful brunette was on the front in front of him looking up at the Drykas with tear filled eyes. Along her body were bruises and small cuts. "What happened to you? We used to be so happy." The Drykas chuckled as he looked down at the woman, watching her aura flare with fear. "What are you talking about dear? I'm very happy. You've just become boring." She started to cry but quickly tried to stifle the tears. "Don't cry Sasha. You look ugly when you cry." He chuckled slightly as he bent down on his knees to face her. "I know why I married you though." He smiled slyly at the sobbing woman, gripping hard to her wrist as he pulled her close. "Why?" Sasha shook from her tears as she looked at him. "You are really easy to control. You make me feel like I can have anyone." Blinking, Sitkanis returned to Denval. Sasha's beaten body and tear stained face was replaced with the sight of Astrid. He did not know what to say. He had felt the emotions of Luukas… or himself in a past life. He liked how it felt to talk to Sasha, to see her broken on the floor. Looking down he saw his hand gripped tightly around Astrid's. He quickly let go as he looked at Astrid. "I'm sorry… I don't know what happened." He was not sure what to say. Things were getting worse. He did not want to hurt her but deep down something in him did.

[Haraza Frostfawn]

Haraza kept a smile on his face as the Symenestra asked his question. As he went to proudly exclaim Hanno to be his her smooth voice cut him off, her questions flowing out like water fro a basin. He merely let her finish, there was no point interrupting her when just twice as many questions would pop up. No need to give her even more time to think about it. Haraza attempted to steal the conversation back for an instant, however, quickly opening his mouth to speak the first second Hanno's inquiries paused. But before a word slipped from his mouth Haraza too gasped out lightly as the potion bottle exploded so close by. He took a defensive step back and his hand closed tighter around Hanno's coat, ready to pull her back just as quick. But Haraza had also noticed the change. The environment seemed stressed, the music was feverous and intense. Some people were already exclaiming out in surprise or panic, something was seeming to go on around Haraza without explaining just what. But more peculiar was the many sounds and roars of animals that filled the air, wolf and eagle and... BEAR? As Hanno pointed and her voice sliced the tense air even more tense Haraza froze. Haraza hadn't thought to remove the spear tied firmly to his back, luckily, but a single spear is little good against that huge beast of brown fur. The creature lumbered slowly through the streets though, threatening everyone with its angry roars. It threatened Hanno. Haraza spoke quickly in Vani as he loosened the spear, pulling it free from the basic knot. "Hanno, take Havok and get inside a building. Keep the pup quiet. It'll be alright, just close the doors." He scanned the crowd, looking for an opening and formulating his plan. "I'll be right back, sweetheart." Haraza didn't spare another moment. He took off around the crowds and buildings, running around a building to head off the bear. He had to get far enough ahead to let it see him as a threat without being able to immediately rush him. Haraza ran a little faster. Finally Haraza burst through the streets in front of the path cleared before the Galio, maybe about 10 yards in front. He wished there was further distance, but he took what he could get. Haraza screamed loudly, holding his weight up and coat out to look more intimidating but holding the spear forward cautiously. Whatever happened now was in the hands of the bear. The plan was simple. If it attacked him, like he thought it would, Haraza looked out down another alley, thinking he could make it in time. He could at least lead the creature away from these people and then slip loose, go back for Hanno. He hoped that would work. oocGah, this is also long. I let t get away from me a little bit. Geez, I don't know why my character wants to be the hero all of a sudden

[Lysander]

Lysander lurched forward, slipping out of Talen’s grip as he threw both arms around the concerned waist of Seodai. His heart was pounding, and when he dipped his horribly plain face into the warm folds of Seo’s shirt, tears stained the fabric and he let out a shuddering sob. “I’m not hurt,” he murmured, lingering in the last embrace he thought he’d ever get from a friend he was sure to enrage with his revelation, “It’s my … I’m …” he hiccupped and broke the hug, staring wholly up at Seodai with round chestnut eyes. The hand was on his face again and he leaned into it, tightening his quivering bottom lip.

This boy is not who I am, he wanted to scream it at the night, at he Heavens, and at everyone around him. The body was a shell of another, someone who had died; Lysander wasn’t dead, he was alive, he was beautiful and he belonged to Leth. His head swarmed with fleeting memories of a life he’d never lived. He reached up—Seodai was taller than he was, now—and mirrored the gesture along the chin that never changed between day and night.

“This is what I was,” Lysander’s voice shook like a leaf on a dying branch, “Before I was me. I didn’t want you to hate me, because I—”

That was all he could manage before a sob choked out the possibility of further explanation. Because he what? Soon, it was apparent to Lysander that even he did not know how that sentence should have ended. Russet swam scared in the oceans of cerulean that leered down at him, devoid of the wonder they so often held. He loved that wonder, and now, as he feared, it was gone. Seodai would want little to do with a human and one so young no less. Lysander was no man, not like Talen, or the artist Syllke, he had lived less than a year, and half of it had been in the body of this stranger, this boy—though he’d had little problem with the body, until he felt compelled to hide it from the stunning blues of Seodai.

He didn’t deserve that wonderful stare.

A growl, the clatter of dishes, and scurry of terrified feet lurched Lysander back into a reality where Ethaefal weren’t the only ones being ripped from their alternative forms. The artist had bolted into the crowd, leaving the three of them. “Seo,” he managed to whimper, finally ripping himself from his self-loathing to look past his tiny world at the chaos that was unfolding around them. The whimper turned into a desperate, teary screech, and despite his smaller stature, a protective arm wrapped around the waist of his dearest friend (or so he hoped). “There are animals! We have to go, you, you’re—you can’t get hurt.”

There would be time to weep and repent later. Lysander cast a glare over his shoulder at Talen for guidance. After all, he was a soldier, was he not?

[Galio Keln]

Galio’s roaring had quickly cleared the crowd in his immediate area and the sight of the huge grizzly had also caused quite a few people to run. Yet those remaining where either just leaving their own little worlds to see the chaos around them or screaming their heads off in fear. Then the shouting got loud, the source was a man moving towards Galio holding a spear. Turning towards him Galio pushed off the ground with his front paws to rise to his full height. Letting loose one last roar into the air Galio fell back to all fours and charged towards the man. Everything about him screamed danger, run away. Yet Galio had already tried running away and that hadn’t worked. So he charged ready to crush the man that was so clearly was screaming at him.