Slithering dreams [Open]

[K'Sabe]

OOCJust a nightmare series of Sabe's, anyone interested in a nightmare full of snakes can join, and I have more snake inspired nightmare's to draw inspirations for this from:) 46 of Fall 511 AV It was a wonderful place, sunlight seeping through thick canopies dappling the grassy ground with golden flecks and a soft breeze rustled the leaves. The ash haired Konti was wandering through the forest, not really sure how she'd got there from the start but right now she didn't care, Sabe felt at ease and perfectly content here in the peaceful, endless forest. It resembled a cathedral almost with the tall tree trunks and the sunlight shining through and the grassy ground dotted with flowers and herbs, it was such a perfect place in Sabe's opinion. A bit up ahead she came upon a crystal clear pool of water, a small waterfall sprang out from a cliff at the furthest end of the pond. Smiling for no reason really Sabe ran her hand through silky strands and pulled up her dress a bit so she could sit at the edge of the pond without getting her dress hem wet. The water was cool and the soft current gently pulled at her legs, falling backwards Sabe looked up through the green canopy her ashen hair glinting golden in the sun, spreading around her like a halo. Closing her sea green eyes she breathed in the fresh air smelling of flowers and rain damp earth, the vague rustle of aspen leaves would've rocked her to sleep if the tranquil scene had gone on for much longer. A sudden chill ran through the air and the ground beneath the Konti wasn't so soft anymore, it was rough and hard. The water vanished and not a trace of water remained on her skin, with it the sun went and Sabe opened her eyes to a dim forest overgrown with lianas and thick leaves only hid the sky partially. A scream stuck in her throat as she realised the forest was not full of lianas but hundreds, maybe thousands, of snakes. Freezing dead solid in panic Sabe stared wide eyed around as the slithering bodies of snakes of all colours and sizes lazily snaked around the trunks and over branches to other trees, Sabe could see pythons, vipers, boas, mambas and rattlesnakes. Wide eyed she looked around without daring to move her head even an inch, panicked tears wanted to escape her eyes but somehow they stayed inside and she had a crawling sensation along her back, like even her spine wanted to move from the terror around her. A smooth, warm body touched her foot and started moving up, with a scream worthy a banshee Sabe kicked furiously not caring if the snake would bite her, maybe she'd be rid of this place at least. She quickly stopped thrashing as she realised two things, firstly that the snake had been thrown off her leg and secondly that she was on the way off falling off the tree branch she had been lying on. With effort she rose up, pressing back another scream, her throat closed up, her heart beat so fast it hurt and all over her body her skin tingled as if snakes slithered over her. Moving her green eyes she looked around the woods that for barely a few chimes ago had been a serene forest now was her worst nightmare, every inch of the place was moving, snakes that normally would live alone and never tolerate another snake let alone another species was slithering, climbing and intertwining with one another in a mass. Panic almost took over but she was too paralysed to even succumb to panic, eyes darting, heart racing she noticed a shape not far away, only a few trees from her stood a humanoid creature, but he, or she, was shrouded with dark fog, almost like it wasn't for her to know its appearance. It seemed to look back at her before moving away, treading through the jungle with ease and avoiding the snakes like a dancer performing an intricate piece. "Wait," she tried to scream after the person but it came out as a hoarse whisper. Trying again with more effort she managed a loud, albeit squeaky call after the person. It didn't turn or even stop just continued on ahead. Fighting her fear Sabe looked down at the ground, it wasn't so far down, taking aim she jumped, landing safely on a piece of ground without snakes. The moving mass covering the ground served to raise her panic and fear even more and desperate to keep up with the rapidly moving person ahead of her she ran and jumped over the myriad of snakes all the time fearing what even a single wrong step would cause, though even her presence could irritate one or more snakes enough to attack her. As she ran her skin prickled along her neck and back, like someone watched her or was following her and Sabe expected anytime to feel fangs sink into her or a strong, silky body wrap mercilessly around her and squeeze the air from her lungs and crush her bones.

[Nidassasyae]

OOCHello, hope you don't mind if I join in?

The Kelvic picked her way carefully through the snakes, seemingly at ease among Siku’s children. Her wavy black tresses tumbled in a semi-tangled waterfall down her bare back. The petite young woman wore no clothing at all, and didn’t seem to mind. Around her body was curled an emerald and ebon viper, and it twined around her sinuously, never stopping in a quest to find a perfect perch. First on her waist, then her arm, and it finally settled around her neck. The serpent draped itself around her in loose coils, and reared up, its face level with her ear.

Almost as if the serpent had said something, Nida giggled aloud. She seemed to be having a conversation with the snake, nodding solemnly and smiling at turns. Where this would be another’s nightmare, this was only a rare and pleasant dream for the Kelvic.

She didn’t know how she’d appeared in this dense forest, nor did Nida care. She felt light and carefree, an feeling that was almost altogether foreign to the Kelvic. She wanted to enjoy the shadows under the trees, and the moist perfume of night flowers. For once, the whispering voice in her head had nothing to say, it simply crooned a tuneless lullaby.

She found her own husky voice imitating the one in her mind, piercing the thick jungle air with a soft and melodic hum. If this was complete contentment, if this was Siku’s paradise, the Kelvic never wanted to leave.

A rustling and crashing sound interrupted Nida, who paused in her leisurely stroll. She turned slowly, her slitted cats eyes observing the jungle behind her. There was a figure there, hopping about, dodging the serpents with both grace and an almost tangible fear. The corners of her mouth tilted in a merry smile. How odd, Nida never smiled about strangers. Her first instinct was always to fight, to kill, and to feed. But here in the calm jungle, with sinuous bodies twining about her legs and passing over her feet, Nida felt nothing but a deep sense of contentment. Let the stranger come, and be welcome!

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

OOCI’m coming in, this just reminds me of Indiana Jones for some reason.

Snakes….it had to be snakes. He didn’t have any really pleasant memories of these creatures. The slavers would use them to inject venom into those they wished to torture. They developed anti-venom this way and could trace the effects easily. The slavers would grasp the snake behind the head then press the snakes mouth near his arm. Irritated the snake would usually bite injecting him with the precious venom it carried. Fire would shoot through his veins burning his blood. This horrible sensation was almost always deepened when the venom reached his heart and the contaminated blood was pumped through the rest of his body. His body would weaken tremendously and numb as his pulse sky rocketed. It was a very unpleasant sensation that he was forced to enjoy almost weekly.

Scanning the forest he could feel his skin crawl, even underneath his white bodysuit. He was glad he was wearing it though it brought him some level of comfort. But there was little that could calm his nervousness around these fanged creatures. How did so many snakes end up in such a space? This was a dense forest normally there would only be a few specific types of snakes here…but here in this forest there were all kinds of snakes. Every actual imaginable type of snake was here. Every last one he could every think of or ever heard of was here slithering about in the forest floor with ease. In a way he wanted to gain some distance from them, but this was impossible they were everywhere. So he settled himself on avoiding the ones that he knew would likely poison him. He knew that most venomous snakes had a more pointed head. He would have to make sure to avoid those if he could.

He was growing increasingly uncomfortable with this place, but he was glad to have an extra layer of protection between him and these…snakes. He treaded through them carefully making sure to not irritate them if he could avoid it. Irritated animals , especially venomous ones, tended to strike out more often than ones that were at peace. A rattle broke through the forest and immediately he panicked. ANYTHING that had a rattle was venomous. He couldn’t place a finger on where it was coming from but he knew it had to be close to him. But his only response was to make his way through the forest toward the figure he saw before him. Cascading black tassels down her nude form. Was she in control of these creatures?

With the way the emerald snake wrapped itself around her he could only guess that she had some understanding of these creatures. Maybe they listened to her? Was that possible? Another figure was making her way toward the women. But this other woman was Konti and looked just as panicked as he was. He smiled briefly, it was good to see he wasn’t the only one that was uncomfortable in this situation. But this ‘snake woman’ she was at peace…and that almost disturbed him in a way. But maybe she understood something he did not…that was a very good possibility and he was always one for learning how to overcome his fears. That could be what this was all about, overcoming his past fears of snakes…or not…

[K'Sabe]

Panic swelled in Sabe's chest it was on the verge of taking over her, the feeling of when the warm bodies touched her bare feet only served to scare her more. She had really no idea why snakes scared her so much, she had never been even close to be bitten or attacked by one, but something about the way they moved, slithering forward without legs it was just unnatural, and their sheer amount of power, the ability to carry their entire body weight while only holding on with their tail. Though who knew where their tail ended and their body began. Deep inside her instincts told her to avoid those she knew were poisonous and therefore the most lethal but it was hard for her brain to make itself heard through the loud heartbeat echoing in her ears. Then as the dark mist shrouded person vanished into thin air she would have let out a desperate scream if only her throat hadn't been constricted, like a snake had already latched on to her and slowly strangled her, her breathing came in ragged short bursts and she feared her blurry vision would cause her to take a wrong step but the logic just dripped away like when pouring water on a goose. When her legs started feeling like jelly and her sight moved like waves under the surface of a river and sweat burned her eyes Sabe had to slow to a walk. While trying to breath deeply to gain more oxygen Sabe calmed down a bit, though her skin still crawled and she felt like curling up in a ball and just ignore the world, but then the snakes would overrun her and even the mere thought gave her a sickening feeling and her stomach sank like a rock. Her vision slowly returned to normal and up ahead she saw another humanoid shape, coming closer Sabe saw it was a naked woman, dark hair spilling down her back. What first filled her with relief quickly gave her another shock of fear and she'd have frozen solid if that hadn't meant she'd be standing still with all the snakes. The woman had a snake, that could be a viper of some sort but with Sabe's limited knowledge of snakes it could be anything for all she knew. The snake lay coiled around the woman's neck, it's lithe body held a dangerous, scary beauty, even Sabe had to admit that, the snake held its head high, just beside the woman's ear and she seemed perfectly at home here with the moving, twisting shapes all around her. But no matter how she recoiled at the thought she longed more for human company than she feared snakes and so she set off in a quick pace towards the woman, her dress made her feel very vulnerable with the snake covered ground, using all her will power to keep her panic in check, for if she let it loose again she wasn't sure she could stop it again. When she was almost upon the woman and her snake Sabe saw another shape coming closer from another direction. He was clad in white and looked far less at ease than the woman and seemed to keep careful watch on the sinuous reptiles. Hoping for all her might Sabe wished one of those two knew what was going on and where they were and how for all the riches in the world they could escape these snakes. OOCNot at all the more the merrier:) I have total understanding for Indiana's snake fear, I consider it a healthy view on them LOL.

[Nidassasyae]

The Kelvic ran her fingertips over the viper's scaly surface, smiling a crooked smile at the two strangers. How silly, how odd! The two people looked to be horrified at the serpentine scene around them. Nida inhaled deeply, trying to further understand who these strangers were. The male was obviously human, and though she could sense the fear radiating from him, there was something calmly rational about him. The female was of a race she'd never dealt with before, her scent consisted of an odd mixture of the sea, canines, and an almost floral aroma.

They were distressed by the snakes, obviously harboring some fear of the creatures, just as Nida was terrified of cramped spaces. Her fanged smile widened as she felt their eyes on her, confused at her relaxed manner. Well, why shouldn't she be relaxed? Her Bondmate and occasional lover was currently coiled around her neck in his snake form, observing the strangers dispassionately. Nida thought this was rather odd, since he absolutely detested humans.

Nida had no fear of snakes, but rather a very healthy respect for what the creatures were capable of. But somehow the dream did away with that caution, lending her a perfect composure among the serpents. The Kelvic thought this must be some form of Siku's paradise, for all she could see around her were snakes. Either that, or a terribly amusing ophidiophobiac's nightmare.

"Hello there,"greeted the Kelvic in her husky voice, nodding to the two strangers. "Are you alright?" This question was directed towards the other woman. Though the stranger struggled to compose herself, and was doing so rather admirably, Nida could smell the fear scent wafting off of her.

The Dhani coiled around Nida's neck eyed the strange man speculatively. It was obvious to Nida that the snake was trying his best to glare at the stranger, not liking that he was looking curiously at his nude Bondmate. The territorial feeling flashed through the Bond, making Nida giggle softly. After a moment of this, the serpent rested his head on Nida's shoulder and resigned himself to throwing more glares in the strange man's direction. His forked tongue occasionally flicked out to taste the air.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

He was a little unnerved from the creatures, enough that he had a very healthy respect to leave them alone where they were. But why so many of them? He knew these snakes couldn’t possibly all get along together this well could they? He thought for sure that under normal circumstances these snakes would be attacking each other. Wouldn’t they? Or was there simply more than met the eyes here? Why would all these different species get along so well in such a small space? It just all made little to no sense to him at this moment. But there were more important things to speculate on…such as the woman before him.

As he approached the woman he saw the snake about her neck shoot him a very interesting look…if it was a person he was sure he would be getting a very interesting glare right now. And if it were a man he was sure he would be getting a very clear message of BACK OFF or Don’t look at my woman that way! I WILL BITE YOU! That message was received loud and clear as he stopped looking at the nude woman and instead focused his attention on the Konti who seemed quite unnerved by this entire circumstance. This really didn’t surprise him because most Konti would be somewhat unnerved by these creatures. Actually most living creatures were unnerved by snakes…for good reasons as well.

They were different, having no legs is what made people suspicious of them at first. Then the ability for their wicked teeth to inject high quantities of venom just made them dangerous. But he personally believed that their ability to move quietly over almost every terrain made them scary to most. At least with a wolf you could hear the animal coming. But with snakes they usually moved completely silent over everything, making most unaware of their approach right before they struck you. This certainly was one of his many reasons for being cautious around the many snakes around him; you could never really be sure where they were until you stepped on one…or it struck at your legs…whichever came first.

The snake woman’s smile…he had seen one like it before…Those pointed teeth…His mind began running through the possibilities one by one in his mind and he observed her facial features carefully. Very carefully watching her speak and how she formed her facial expressions as well. He saw her eyes as well ice blue and slitted, like an animals, a cat more precisely. This cued him to the fact that she wasn’t completely human but was indeed just appearing to be human to the two of them. It was a good façade but one that he saw through, but not completely because he still didn’t know what she was besides not human. She stood a good five feet and a handful of inches, shorter than his taller form. He also noted her ease with the creatures. It was almost like she was enjoying herself here…actually judging by her ease of movement and the snake around her neck he could say she was enjoying herself.

“Hello indeed.” He said watching carefully the Konti that was approaching them. He stood among the snakes and even through his leather boots he could feel them move over his feet every now and then. It didn’t startle him but it did throw him off some. It was safe to say he had never found himself in a situation like this before now…So he wasn’t quite sure how to react.

He smiled a little in hopes to ease the anxiety and spoke again. “I think it is fair to say I’ve never experienced anything quite like this before…excuse me if I seem a little….perplexed. Although I see you are enjoying yourself. So pardon me if I seem a little queanChallenge MET WORD OF THE DAY but how do you remain so composed?”

[K'Sabe]

When Sabe reached the two strange persons she was struck by the fact that this woman had an atmosphere that she couldn't quite read, like the man for example he was uncomfortable and wary, but the woman was a mystery. She was calm and content alright but to be honest Sabe got that only from the woman's posture and voice, so either she had lost her Konti gift in this strange place or else this woman wasn't completely human, which her blue feline eyes suggested. The only possibility she could imagine was a Kelvic of some sort but the young Konti had never met a Kelvic before so she couldn't really say for sure. Though rather than believing her powers gone the Konti preferred to think the woman was a Kelvic or some other sort of animal in a humanoid shape. The black and emerald snake wrapped over her neck seemed to stare at the man, and as Sabe thought about all snakes she believed the snake looked evil or at least angry, "Hello, she answered the woman in Common as she guessed that none of these spoke Kontinese, her voice a few notes higher than normal, her green eyes darting between the calm woman, the strange man and the snakes all around. "I could be better I must admit. This place creeps me out and I have no recollection to how I got here in the first place either. Sabe said after the man had posed his question about the strange woman's calmness around the sinuous creatures. But despite Sabe's effort to keep her cool and behave like normal she had to force herself to stand still as the warm bodies of snakes slithered over her bare feet, when she'd gotten herself under control it was a lot easier but she shuddered every time it happened. It also brought to mind how strange this place was, all these snakes in one place and where was the serene forest she'd been in just a while ago, or had she been there at all? Had she just imagined that place to escape the horrible reality of this place? It was all so confusing, it felt like she couldn't think entirely normal, like something was missing or was out of place. Strangely the thought that this could be a dream never occurred to her, though how often did one really realise they were dreaming unless they were marked by Nysel.

[Nidassasyae]

"Me neither," agreed the Kelvic, nodding at the strange woman's observation that none of them seemed to know where they were, or how they came to be here. How curious.

Nida was intrigued and more than a bit unsettled by the woman's appearance. The stranger had... scales? Yes, the overlapping pattern of scales was present on her skin. They didn't look like snake scales, and she certainly was no Dhani, what with her lush blonde hair and fear of snakes. They had the look of fish scales? The lady was certainly of no race Nida'd ever seen or heard of before, but by the way she acted, the woman seemed to be no threat.

But Nida had no idea of what to make of the man. He was tall, as were most people when compared to her. There was something about his lack of nervous movements and speech that made one feel calmer. He looked like a friendly sort of man, like the kind one would be inclined to trust. Nida didn't trust men, though she found it amusing that he refused to look in her direction. She scolded the viper mentally, knowing that he couldn't hear her. And even if he could, he wouldn't listen.

The Kelvic listened intently to the stranger's question, trying her best to understand what a few of the more confusing words meant. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to disregard his extensive vocabulary and to focus on the last few words of the question.

"If Siku wished one of her children to kill me, I guess it would've happened by now. And even if it happens later, it would be by Her will," shrugged the Kelvic casually. Her usual aggressive manner and paranoia seemed to be barely there, laying beneath her calm surface as it waited for a more opportune moment to spring.

“I'm called Nida, by the way.” The Kelvic, nodded to each stranger in turn. Wasn't this how humans greeted one another, by introducing themselves? She cocked her head to the side, as if listening to something, nodded, and knelt. Her fingertips brushed the ground, and her arm formed a stairway of sorts to the snake, who promptly slithered down and joined his fellows in the roiling mass.

As she rose, Nida's brow creased and she stared at the snakes in open confusion. Where before they had simply been aimlessly slithering about without much rhyme or reason, now they seemed to have a distinct purpose. The serpents appeared to be all making for the same direction. Gone was their languid pace, for now they moved forwards with an almost frantic speed.

“I don't mean to alarm you,” the Kelvic's voice was dry, “But there seems to be something happening.”

OOCIf I've been too forward and you had something else in mind for the thread's direction, I apologize. Please let me know, K'Sabe, and I'll edit this immediately.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

OOCTook liberties let me know if I did something...distasteful

The woman with the cat like eyes had a very interesting way of looking at everything. She had almost surrendered full control to the powers at be, a feeling he knew very well. She spoke that Siku would kill her if she wanted to. He knew that if he adopted this outlook as well he may be as calm as she was. Strolling through the mass of snakes like it was a simple walk through the park. It intrigued him that the cat woman would be so calm among these creatures. He knew that so much mythology went toward painting these animals as devilish, untrustworthy and sinister. But as he watched them move he knew that they were creatures like any other; no different from a fish or a bird. But he knew that every animal was different in their own way…such as the viper she had wrapped around her body. Who she was letting down on the ground right now; that allowed the snake the ability to come over and bite his leg if it wanted to…he much preferred it on her neck where she could keep an eye on it.

The Konti was much less composed, he could see her shutter every time one of their warm bodies slithered over her bare feet…He was glad he had boots on. But they provided him with little comfort because there were so many of them. He watched her carefully and judged that she was very uncomfortable with these creatures…It was like they were her worst nightmare. He paused as the snakes began moving all together in one direction. That was when his mind began running around in circles. Why would these animals move like this? He knew that animals were far more observant than he was. They laid down when a storm was coming and they seemed to know when something was afoot. He was left with two inevitabilities. The snakes were either moving toward something or away from something. If it was the second he knew he had something to fear.

He looked from the direction they were moving from and he saw something far off in the distance…almost a full mile away. Darkness, pouring over the landscape like a thick smoke. Metallic clanking like chains emanated from the smoke even at this distance. The darkness poured around trees and such moving at a somewhat alarming speed, chasing the snakes away. A distant shrill like a banshee echoed within the void, tossing trees aside and burning the very landscape it moved over. Then from the deepest portion of the smoke living beings pierced through walking just in front of the rolling void. Their bodies were toned, varying in size but they had large leathery wings that looked like a bats adorned them. They were covered with a fine lack fur, but what stood out the most to him were the eyes…they were red but they were glowing like the pits of hell itself. He saw manacles at their sides clanking as they walked along with spears and armor made of bones and flesh. Some carried severed heads still dripping fresh with blood.

They were moving and Serrif’s eyes grew wide as he suddenly grew quite panicked. “We need to move…NOW!” He said as he looked toward the oncoming doom and destruction…his worst fear. Slavers that seemed to walk out of the depths of hell themselves. He had never seen these beings before, and they looked like something dreamed up out of his worst imagination. They couldn’t be real…could they? And the haze that they brought with them…

“Quickly!” He repeated with a very real sense of urgency.

[K'Sabe]

Disappointed that it seemed none of them knew their location Sabe nodded to the woman's answer, feeling a lot less inclined to accept death by snakes on the whim of a goddess. Seeing the strange woman kneel down to let the snake on her shoulders slither down onto the ground, keeping a wary eye on its movements Sabe wished Nida had kept the snake on her. Of course, Sabe did know a bit about snakes, that they were just like any other animal, hunting for food and defending themselves, but something about them scared her, and disturbed her very soul. "I'm Sabe, She said in answer to the woman's introduction, quite proud that her voice returned to its more normal fluid tone instead of the panic tinged notes from earlier. Her panic seemed to have lessened dramatically these last chimes, maybe the constant exposure to the sinuous reptiles was dulling her senses or if the calmness of the other two influenced her and served to make her more relaxed. Seconds later relief filled her as the entire mass of snakes suddenly started moving in one direction, moving incredibly fast, slithering so close the ground was entirely obscured, for a moment it seemed like a sea of reptiles. Sabe relaxed visibly, her shoulders sank down and her green eyes calmed down and instead focused on the snakes in confusion over their behaviour. Not until then did the thought strike the Konti that animals in general wouldn't move like this unless there was cause for danger, not so sure she wanted to Sabe couldn't resist her curiosity and spun around to scan the forest. A large billowing cloud of smoke spread out through the forest, by some reason it seemed to move forward, towards the strange trio. Out of the smoke horrible winged shapes could be seen, some holding cut off heads or wore armour off bones, nothing Sabe had ever seen could match these creatures, even from this distance their burning red eyes shone through the dark. The sight didn't scare her as much as the snakes did but the obvious show off violence made her sick to her stomach, as a Konti marked by Rak'keli, and with the git of sensing atmospheres, she was very sensitive to others pain and sadness. Looking back at the man and Nida the Konti saw the stranger's calm facade crack a bit as he urged them on, away from the danger, for that smoke harboured life threatening danger for sure.