[Bronze Wood]A Leopard and a Lamb (Rayque)

[Sterling Atkins]

13th Day of Spring of 512 AV Sterling looked around suspiciously, peering behind each rock and tree. He knew that the Syliran knights were looking for him, but in such a huge city it was next to impossible to find any one person, especially when that person could change their look from one minute to the next. But out here, on the outskirts of the Bronze Woods? Anyone could sneak up on him, and could do it fairly easily. Still, he needed to practice his morphing if he was going to get any better. He had spent the better part of the morning in the Bazaar, looking intently at a sheep for sale. In fact, the only reason he had left was because the merchant selling the sheep had chased him off, since any other customers had been put off by the strange boy. Still, Sterling had a picture of the sheep in his mind; what it looked like, how it moved, how it had done every thing it had done. Now he was going to try to become it. He found a small overhang that offered a bit of cover and quickly disrobed. He found it a little awkward, but he couldn't afford to damage his only suit of clothes, especially as he wasn't totally sure where he could buy another. Sterling took a deep breath, It's now or never he thought, thinking once more of the sheep. Fixing it firmly in his mind, he let djed flow through his body, and envision his body becoming that of the sheep. Sterling felt his bones and organs begin to shift and snap into different location, and had the interesting sensation of his eyeballs changing shape. At the end of roughly 15 seconds he shook himself slightly and realized he had succeeded. He was a sheep! He laughed out loud, but it sounded more like an 'ba' than anything else. Sterling felt his Djed being consumed slowly but surely as he meandered around the forest, being a sheep. He knew that this wasn't the most useful transformation, but it was a start. The problem was that unless he came upon a caged tiger or a circus bear, he would have to get close, and stay close, to an extremely dangerous animal long enough to make a model of it. He supposed he could attempt to modify his own body to be more dangerous with horns or some sort of armor, but for now he just wanted to see how long a full body transformation could last.

[Rayque]

The city made Ray nervous. Many days she spent pondering why she didn’t just leave Syliras, but they always came back to one idea. Safety. Even though the walls trapped her and confined her which she absolutely hated, there was something about the way the city was built that gave Ray a sense of security, some would say even comfort at times. And there was always the wilderness outside the city. An animal needs to be free, get fresh air, let loose, and that just was not possible inside those confining walls, or inside any city that Ray had been to in her travels. Ray’s booted feet made hardly any noise as she softly paced through the wild. A breeze ruffled her black peasant dress as she grinned slightly, enjoying the freedom. She felt the need to take her true form, and glanced around, half laughing at herself at her attempt at modesty before stripping and becoming the leopard she truly was. Her black pelt blended in with the undergrowth, the only thing visible to any soul that was watching would be her stunning green eyes, which lit up at the excitement of having such freedom. She had been bounding through the brush, when a sound came from her right. It sounded like a baa. Confused, Ray crept behind a few bushes and looked to see if it truly was such a domestic animal out in the wilderness. Sure enough, a white fluffy animal was standing right in front of the bush Ray was hiding behind. Blood. Warm blood. Animal blood. Rayque was a predator. Being able to be both a human and a savage animal was confusing at times, but Ray’s animal instincts were always present. Her fiery temper is a clue into her animalistic tendencies, and her claws are quick to tear into flesh. This was no exception. The powerful scent excreting from the animal was intoxicating to Ray as she made her way around the small clearing that the animal was standing in. It had been a long time since Ray had had a meal fit for a leopard, and it was time to give herself the energy she needed to handle the city once again. This animal would make easy prey, but as she accidentally stepped on a small twig, the sound startled the domestic creature and it looked up.

[Sterling Atkins]

Sterling felt his Djed start to run out and reluctantly decided it was time to change back, or risk overgiving. He had been in sheepy form for only a bit more than half an hour. That would be more than enough to get inside most defenses depending on his disguise, but he wanted to be more than sure that he could fool not just the guards, but his target himself, if it came to that. He was about to release the shape and return to his own when he heard a loud snap nearby. Sterling lifted his head immediately, making a startled baa noise at the surprise. He immediately darted away, hurrying toward the overhang his clothes were stashed at. Who knew what dangerous animals were following him, thinking him a tasty meal? Thankfully, his transformation came in handy, the strong legs of the sheep propelling him away from the perceived danger. Reaching the outcropping, he quickly let go of the transformation and, returning to his human form, spun around to get a look at the attacker. "Stop!" He yelled. He knew it probably wouldn't mean anything to the creature, but maybe it would distract it long enough for him to come up with a better plan? Low on Djed and naked in the middle of the woods, he was rather short on options assuming the thing wanted to kill him. I knew I should have prayed before I left for the woods today he thought distractedly Maybe then some gracious god would intercede.

[Rayque]

Stalking, stalking, stalking. Ray was out of practice, as her paw had snapped a twig on the ground. She cursed in her mind, and let out a soft growl as the startled sheep glanced up, and sensing Ray’s prescience, leaped away. But Ray wasn’t going to give up that easily. Her black form blended in with the undergrowth, even while running and she quickly took off after the retreating prey. The animal didn’t go far before slowing down, and as Ray rounded behind a tree, she stopped abruptly. Where the sheep had been just seconds earlier, a man stood, and he seemed to be expecting the approach of a predator such as herself. Ray originally would have run from a man in the woods, knowing that in many cases he would be a hunter, but this man was different. Apart from being naked, and without any weapons, the scared look in the man’s eyes made Ray feel sorry for him. But how did this happen? Of course, the man could be a kelvic, but Ray had never seen a kelvic sheep before. Not saying there weren’t such creatures out there, but the confused look on the man’s face made Ray think that he wasn’t comfortable with the change, as a kelvic would be. Ray paced toward the man, slowly, keeping her eyes on his face as she snarled, hoping to see if the man would run again. But he stayed, keeping his gaze trained on her. Her green gaze glanced back at the trees behind her, and unable to speak in her natural form, Ray retreated to where her clothes were, and changed back to her human form, returning to the clearing where the man had been standing. Ray would much rather be in her leopard form, but leopards can’t speak with humans, and so she was standing before him as a human. Many times, if Ray would meet someone as a leopard, and then again as a human, they could recognize her eyes, but Ray couldn’t tell if this man could or not. “Only a fool would take on the form of a sheep when there are… predators around,” Ray’s silky smooth voice was hypnotizing to many, and more often then not, it worked to her advantage.

[Sterling Atkins]

OOCQuestion: Has Rayque put her clothes back on? Just asking so I don't say she has when he hasn't Shyte shyte shyte shyte shyte a flurry of curses ran through Sterling's mind, a repetitive soundtrack to what he suspected was his doom. There was a leopard not 30 feet away from him, and what was he? Naked, weaponless, and if he used reimancy he'd likely end up with a rock stuck through his stomach and a few less body parts than he would have otherwise liked. And then the leopard would eat him. So. What were his options? Use reimancy to fend off the cat and hope to the gods that he didn't get injured too badly. Run, get mauled in the back, die. Attempt to fight, get mauled in the front, die. However silly it might seem, Sterling decided when-if-they found his body they would say he had died bravely. Mauled in front it was. Just has he made this decision, the leopard came closer, snarling. Knowing that any move he made would only make it pounce sooner, Sterling stood stock still, keeping his eyes fixed on its face. Its eyes seemed strangely bright, with a real light of intelligence in them. What had that story been in the market just the other day, about some creature that was an animal and a person at the same time? And it switched back and forth whenever it wanted? He couldn't think of the name of it, but maybe this was that type of creature? He certainly hoped so. That would make it a potential ally as well as saving him from being killed. Even as this thought flitted through his mind, the leopard flicked its eyes to the trees behind it and it moved back until it was concealed. Had it gone for good or was it just waiting for him to let down his guard? No, that was nonsense, his guard wouldn't have to be down for it to kill him in a heartbeat. A short time later, a girl about his age appeared. Sterling looked at her and with a start realized she had the same eyes as the leopard. I suppose she is one of those creatures he mused. When she spoke, Sterling was intrigued. She seemed not only intelligent, but quite eloquent as well. And what a voice! Smoother than the water on a summer day, and twice as beautiful. Twice as dangerous too he reminded himself. Though she probably wasn't still planning to kill him, it was a possibility, and one he should plan for. His Djed was starting to replenish, but he still didn't have as much as he would like. Time to stall. "I wasn't aware there were predators about." he said with a slight smile "And I do have ways of protecting myself, as a last resort. And before we continue this conversation, may I dress? It's still a bit chill for spring, and I would hate to get a chill"

[Rayque]

OOCShe does have her clothes back on. Haha, it would be even more awkward if she didn’t.

Ray was originally surprised to see the man still standing there after she had almost killed him. It amazed her how bold some people were especially when she could easily kill them with little effort by her. But this man’s boldness seemed refreshing, and his words were carved carefully as to give her a taste of her own medicine. But Ray’s experience with people, especially men came in handy while trying to find out more about them, or getting something from them. So far, Ray wanted neither from this stranger, but he seemed like an interesting man, so she stuck around, watching his antics. She forgot that some people took modesty more seriously than she did, and the fact that he was naked seemed to make the man uncomfortable. As a Kelvic, modesty was the least of their worries, for as a leopard, technically, she walked around naked all the time. Raising an eyebrow at his attempt to threaten her into civility, and her lip twitched upward when he asked if he could get dressed. He said it was because of the weather, but the uncomfortable look in his eyes told Ray that getting a chill wasn’t his main concern. “Of course you can” her stare made his cheeks redden, “but only if you want to,” Such talk was always fun, for Ray was comfortable in many situations that normal humans were not. The awkward antics of the humans always amused her. As she waited for him to step away, her mind flashed back to a similar encounter with a troublemaker like herself. It seemed like the new people she had met so far, she had met outside the gates of the city. It was not uncommon for Ray to be outside the city walls, as she couldn’t roam the streets inside as a black leopard, but the fact that so many others felt the need to escape the city made Ray consider why they did not leave and go to a city that perhaps has less laws and rules that are so strictly enforced. Her mind drifted back to the situation at hand, and seeing the man still there Ray smirked slightly, “Go on,” her voice was mesmerizing, “Ill stay until you get back,”