Snake in the Grass (Kalila)

[Wrenmae]

27th of Spring, 512 AV Late Afternoon The sun had begun to fall from its zenith, shadows spawning from the treetrunks and branches, slithering across the ground. The heat had gone from the day, seeping into evening. Only the flash of a long dagger kept vigil as the daylight ceded its territory to a more vicious master. It glimmered, glared really, cold iron catching the dying rays of the Day Giant and splintering them through the forest, catching air on fire. At the end of the blade, a small snake dangled lifelessly, stabbed through the head with such ruthless precision it begged the question of intent. Shroud held the creature out, facing camp and the direction Kalila would have to walk to meet her superior, the ever scheming Shroud. A grin felt at home on his face, although it was a stranger to the constantly dissaproving side of Wrenmae. He'd worn his armor, hard cured leather that fit around his body beneath the long cloak across his shoulders. He cut a dangerous figure, armed and prepared for what he assumed was a Dhani. If anything Vahnet had told him was true...she would be fast, she would be deadly. If provoked, he'd need to be careful. His time with Bones proved that Dhani were superior in strength, perhaps even in speed...but he wanted to do something here, drive some point home. She would know him by his mark. He waited, dangling the dead snake from the end of the blade till she approached through a haze of branches, leaves, and raised roots. "Kalila, our cheery healer," he drawled, flinging the dead snake from his blade to the ground, "How lovely that you were prompt." He glanced up at the sky, the slowly falling sun, stretched. "I have a hunch, my dear, that there is more to you than meets the eye...and among comrades, honesty is everything." His blade flashed. "Dishonesty marks the seeds of betrayal, and so I thought I'd put this matter to rest once and for all." He stopped, sideways of her now, menacing her with the blade, "You're a liar, Kalila, and I'm beginning to think you don't belong here, belong with us." He tipped the blade back at himself, then to her again. "So why don't you show me what you can do. We don't need a carefree doctor who peddles hugs and bandages...we need a killer." Circling again. He was grinning, dark eyes flashing, "Go to Syliras if you want sympathy, Zeltiva if you want someone to pat you on the back. As far as I'm concerned, you and some of the newer recruits are shivering little rats, devoid of the ability to defend yourself and relying on our good will to defend you." He spat. "Here's your chance to prove me wrong...sssssnake. Defend yourself or die here." Shroud chuckled, amusement on his tongue. "Maybe I'll just cut you and leave you to patch yourself up...see if you're as good at wrapping bandages around women as you are...around men."

[Sahashkalila]

If Kalila was completely honest with herself, she would admit that she was nervous at the moment, her anxiety building as she made her way along the path home. She had made sure that Roka was going to be alright before she had left, knowing that moving him from where he was may have not been the best idea, and so she had left him in the care of others. Her small confrontation with the dark headed boy troubled her, because he did not seem.....right. She knew that they started young, those mercenary types, but this one just seemed...wrong, and she could not shake the feeling from her gut as she trudged through the brush, a frown on her face. As she walked she reach up and removed the jade necklace from her neck, placing it in her pack for safekeeping. The boy had asked to meet with her after she treated Roka, and Kalila was thankful that she had worn her robes today....they would make it much easier in case she needed to shift.

Her anxiety heightened though as she emerged from the path a few moments later to finally face the fully armed boy, and have a dead snake thrown at her feet. It was the greatest insult she could have possibly been given, and her nose wrinkled in disgust as she finally looked at the boy, anger beginning to override her anxiety. She did not know what this boy wanted with her, nor did she know why he cared so, but she was not about to fight him. She listened to him ramble on about himself and the slights that he seemed to throw at her, no doubt to try and get a rise out of her, but she was not about to give him that pleasure. The knife that was in his hand flashed towards her numerous times, but she did not flinch, knowing that would be exactly what he wanted. Instead, she slipped the bag off of her shoulder slowly as he circled her and she patiently waited for him to finish his arrogant speech before responding.

"You are an arrogant one, whoever you are, and you know how to greet ssomeone. I applaud your mannerss,"she said, her eyes narrowed in annoyance as she stared at him, stiffening slightly at his last slight against her. She did not like this boy. "You have much to ssay, much of it about you and your falsse loyalty to thiss group. If we are comradess then why would you be here armed and threatening me over thingss that are none of your bussinesss boy." She shifted her feet and didn't give him the time to answer, the anxiety building inside her once again. "I have never assked for anything from you, nor do I expect it. If it iss a fight you are looking for then you will not find it here. I will not fight a child, nor anyone with sso little resspect." She had no intention of fighting at all, and she was fairly sure that he could beat her if it came down to it. But she did not wish to hurt anyone, that was not her way. She only hoped that the expression on her face did not show the anxiety that she felt.

[Wrenmae]

A grin pushed at the edges of his face, splitting it wide enough that his eyes sparkled, cold, black, pearls. He continued to circle her, taking half steps closer each time he completed a round, watching her eyes following his, the way she held her body in rigid control. This one didn't want to fight, this one felt she might be better than him...a better person perhaps. But in Sunberth, it was only the wretched who thrived. Only one doctor and she was soft. "Darling," he said after she'd finished, shrugging, "Of course...it's gibberish, but darling all the same. I pledged allegiance to Cade, Mok, and Eryss...capable fighters in their own right. Cade may have taken pity on you vagabonds and let you live in our camp, but you are no comrades of mine." He was at her left now, blade down at his side. His pacing sped up. "I pledge no allegiance to decietful little serpents, and I have an inkling that you haven't been completely honest with us...Dhani," He nearly spat the word, "Respect is a reward earned, not given. You've done nothing but play nursemaid to functionally inept fools playing at mercenary. You know nothing of blood, of carnage, or death. How could you?" His dagger lanced out, pointing at her hands, concealed by the sleeves of the robe, "The only blood on your hands is freely given, not taken." She followed him with her eyes, her body moving to give him no adequate opportunity to stab her in the back. Shroud couldn't tell if she thought he'd attack or not, but her demeanor was unchanging, held together with thin strands of control. Time to rattle those bonds. He stepped in towards her from the pacing, giving no warning. His blade flashed up, the points tickling her bronzed throat gently, almost, toyingly...and then a sharp flash of pain, hot rush, and he stepped back, holding his blade up toward his face, marveling at the glistening blood there, gleaming in the paler light of falling evening. "Tell me," He said, fixing her with his predator eyes, "How can you call yourself Crimson Edge..." He licked the blood from the tip, grinning, "If your edge is not crimson?"

[Sahashkalila]

He moved faster than she could follow, and soon the felt the kiss of a cold blade against her neck. She flinched and her eyes widened in surprise before the hot sting of pain spread across her neck and she gasped. As quick as it happened he moved away from her, and she stepped back, a hand coming up to her throat. She could feel a thin cut along her skin and her hand came away with the stain of blood, and she looked at him in confusion and disgust. Her stomach churned in nausea as he licked her blood from his blade, and she wondered why he hadn't killed her right then. What was he trying to prove? That he was better than her? As her emotions grew frantic so did her desire to shift and assert herself, to prove that she wasn't the things that he was saying to her. The need was so great that her skin rippled and she drew a shuddering breath before she clamped down on her emotions, keeping a tight hold of them.

She chuckled slightly and the absurd situation she was in, once again faced with someone who hated her for what she was and stood for without even trying to understand her. Not that she felt like this boy would try to understand her, something was not right with him and it unnerved her to even be around him. "You would make a good Dhani boy, and that iss not a compliment,"she said finally, shifting her feet once again in case he decided to spring as her once more, her feelings held tightly in check. "Sso you have disscovered my ssecret, whatever that may mean to you. I do not have to prove anything to you by it. I have no tiess or loyaltiess to thiss wretched gang, but I came here to offer my sservicess, nothing more." Her despise for this boy continued to grow as she stared at him, the crazed look in his eye unnerving.

"But I can tell you that you have no right to make asssumptionss about me when you do not know me at all. I have live lifetimess longer than you and have sseen far more bloodsshed than you ever will. Do not sspeak to me of not knowing death!"she said savagely, her temper rising once again and causing her skin to ripple before she took another shuddering breath. "I do not need the edge of a knife to make a Crimsson sstain boy, you would do well to remember that." It seemed that no matter what way she looked at it, a confrontation was going to be inevitable. She did not want to hurt this boy in front of her, even though he had made it clear he would hurt her, the sensation of her own blood trickling down her neck reminding her of the fact.

[Wrenmae]

[indent]He chuckled, the tickle of mirth carrying into laughter, laughter carrying into howls of glee that echoed discordantly among gnarled and twisted trees. She held her ground, blood stained on her fingers, her composure slipping and she dared to lecture him? Him? Shroud had difficulty containing himself, putting a hand against the bark of a tree to steady. "That secret means everything, little Dhani," Shroud revealed, shaking his head. "I could sell you to a slaver, I could kill you and study your anatomy...there are plenty of ways to skin a snake, so to say." Holding up the blade again, the red of the dying sun caught its edge in sudden splendor. Shroud's grin faded from his cheeks. he watched her, he let the dagger drop to his side, staring at her. "I think you're misunderstanding the gravity of your situation, Kalila. I really think you are." A cool wind moaned through the branches, carrying with it the back of night, the cadence to begin the grand orchestra of nocturne. Shroud took a breath, closed his eyes, and brought Djed to the surface, infusing his gaze with the powerful and crushing might of his hypnotic sway. "Words are cheap," his eyes remained clothes and he almost smiled, "A man can say all sorts of things about themselves, their will to live, their experience, their power...but in the end words are poor constructs, useless, weightless things that cannot carry the weight used to speak them. I, however, believe in a more universal truth." He opened his eyes, fixing them on hers...pouring pure terror from his gaze into her mind, sending it into a shrieking panic at the almost tangible aura of danger rising around the hypnotist. His eyes dominated her gaze, drew her in, promised nothing but madness and terror. Gave her a taste of who he was. What he was capable of. How little effort it would take to unleash it. "Do not misjudge your opponent, little snake," he whispered, his voice just loud enough to be the only sound she needed to hear. "I will kill you where you stand, leave your body beside the snake and think nothing of it. You don't belong here girl and I'm giving you an ultimatum." He shut off the Hypnotism, blinking, and holding up his dagger again. "You can drop your pretty words and control, show me what you're capable of, prove to me you belong here with the murderers and cutthroats...or you can leave. Walk into the forest and never look back. Erase your face from this city and play doctor to others. I won't repeat myself and you don't want to ignore me." He tapped the blade above his eyes, winking. "If you do, I'll crush you, body and soul."

[Sahashkalila]

Unease once again settled into the pit of her stomach, his laugh ringing in her ears and causing the hairs to rise on her body. This boy was....sick. Terribly, terribly sick, and she did not think that even she would have been able to help him....or if she even wanted to. Her mind begged her to remain silent, and for once she decided that remaining silent might have been best. She inwardly agreed the he was right, she had misunderstood the situation that she was in, and she had no real fighting skills. She did not think that she could beat this boy except through speed and luck, if she was even able to do that.

She shifted uncomfortably once again, the unease growing as he closed his eyes and she stared at him in confusion, the breeze ruffling her hair and ironically just escalating the tension. She listened to him intently, her body strung with tension as she heard his last comment....and then he opened his eyes.

She could not look away from them, and her mind was suddenly bombarded with fear and emotions she had not felt since the night she was forced to leave the viper nest in Ahnatep. Her body was immobile and yet her mind was screaming at her to run away, to get away from whatever stood there in front on her....because he was not human, and she would never be convinced that he was. He word that he spoke to her felt like it was being branded into her mind, and somehow showing up on her skin. And she had no way to stop it, no matter how much she may have wanted him too. As soon as it started though it seemed to stop, and she took a shuddering gasp, her hands coming up to cradle her head. He had just invaded her mind, her most private place, with magic and that caused a rising fury to build inside her. To her utmost embarrassment, her whole body was shaking, and she looked up at him with her teeth bared.

"......I'll crush you, body and soul."

Her hands dropped to her side and her breathing was heavy, her eyes narrowing at him as he grinned, like nothing he was doing was wrong in the worst possible way. It seemed that no matter what she did, she was going to have to fight, and she tried not to think about the consequences of what she was about to do. "You are determined to get a risse out of me it sseemss,"she said finally, her voice steady although her body still shook. "Invading my mind, threatening my life and home, and inssulting me. How very typical of humanss. If it iss a fight you want...then I have no choice but to give it, it sseemss."

She then slowly slipped out of her boots and placing them next to her bag, her eyes never leaving his. Her skin rippled once again as she tried to keep herself in check, and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she undid the ties to her robs, letting them flutter to the ground along with her undergarments. Once naked she closed her eyes, letting her mind tap into the side of her that she tried vainly to hide from everyone and let her body shift. Her skin rippled as her bones contorted to her new shape, her dark curls receding into her scalp. Cream colored scales replaced her skin and her body elongated, her lower half fusing together and flexing as her muscles transformed. In a matter of seconds where once a young woman stood, an almost ten foot Dhani replaced, and she opened her eyes to stare at the boy in front of her. Her tongue flicked out and she hissed in agitation, her fangs emerging and dripping with venom in her agitated state.

"Isss thissss what you wanted boy?,"she asked sarcastically, her lisp more pronounced in this state.

[Wrenmae]

She transformed in much the same way Bones had, as Vanet had. Her nudity was embarrassing to her only by the telltale marks of red on her cheeks, the way she pushed her legs inward to hide her feminine curves. The transformation, when it began, seemed to steal away the softness of her features, the vulnerability there. Scales shuddered across her skin to replace it, spreading like blooming petals across her body and up her neck. Head reshaping, body lengthening, legs squeezing together...he'd seen this transformation before, twice now, but the fluidity by which it moved surprised him all the same. For creatures of such disciplined morphing, they had no idea how to apply it to the rest of themselves. No matter. He smiled, happy she had at last relinquished the stubborn grip to her false self and circled her, just out of reach, that same grin plastered across his face. "I prefer you this way, snake," he complimented, "Much more honest than that soft woman illusion you're wearing." He brought up his blade, flicking it between them, weaving it through the air. "A natural killer, perfect for Sunberth, but I wonder if perhaps your caring disposition might interfere with your effectiveness." He continued circling. "Now that I've drawn you out, what will you do? Will you strike at me, your ranked superior? Or will you back down and cower?" Chuckling, the mage paused, between her and the way back to camp. "What are you, little lost Dhani, but a monster playing human?"

[Sahashkalila]

Kalila could not deny the pleasure she felt in shedding her human form and reverting to her natural state, her tongue flicking out and her tail coiling behind her. Her other form was so....frail, and as much as she tried to deny it....she had missed being like this. Her upper body swayed as she followed the young boy's movements, her tail closely bunched beneath her in case she needed to spring away from him or perhaps attack, not that she intended to be the first one. She was not a fool to attack an unknown threat, nor did she particularly want to.

"I am sssure you prefer thisss, for a monssster only feelssss at eassse in the company of other monssstersss do they not?"she hissed at him, her slitted eyes fixed on his movements and the knife he held, her hands clenched tightly at her sides. "I do not know what liess inssside of you boy.....but it isss not human, and I am more human then you will ever be."

She stopped her movements when he did, the tension between them was pulled taunt, each of them waiting for the other to make the first move. "I am not a fool boy, and I have no desssire to fight you. Yet you continue to insssissst that thisss musst be done. I do not wissh to hurt you......but you will never be my sssuperior,"she hissed angrily, her body swaying in agitation. She was angry and frightened, knowing that she could not beat him through skill since she had very little. So the best she could hope for was speed and brute strength. In fact, she was surprised that he would openly want to attack her, a being that could easily kill him with a single bite. It was foolish and reckless....unless he intended to cheat, which Kalila had to be prepared for. "I am ssurprissed at you boy, openly attacking a Dhani. I would like to know your name."

[Wrenmae]

There was a certain power in control. Here among the gnarled trunks and grasping branches, it was Shroud, not the snake that controlled the situation. Her bluster was thick, her hiss exacerbated by her transformation. It seemed more natural that way, all threat and warning lisp rather than the hint it pushed at in her human form. Honestly, why even have one? As he circled her, watched her, he assumed it was because they were predators. Like the speckled backs of rattlesnakes or the way a spider hid beneath a trap door, this was a camouflage to lure in prey. Walking amongst the soft skinned humans like brothers while cold blood pumped hunger through their veins. Kalila, she was different. Healer, medic, doctor, she clung to words that defied her nature. What owl pulled bandages over the wounded rodent? What wolf set splints for a deer? In direct contradiction of herself, she stood before him and quivered. She QUIVERED. It was enough to turn his stomach. She was like the storyteller, the taleweaver, Wrenmae. Rather than playing to the strengths of his magic, he insisted on taking the pacifist road. Pathetic. As if the words of charlatan from Alvadas could warm the hearts of a man to stay a blade, or change the course of history. No. This world belonged to the predators, to the ravagers and murderers, to the innovators and the leaders, and all on the corpses of those who couldn’t step up themselves. Shroud’s expression darkened, almost distracted, but her words brought him back with a fierce grin, he circled closer. “Monsters? What do we define as monster, hmm? I feel our definitions may not be the same.” He tossed the dagger to his other hand, switched it, paused a few feet from her and stared into her unblinking eyes, “I think the real monster hides in plain sight. She wears the skin of her prey and makes them trust her, pretends to care for them. You think me monstrous because…what? Because I murder? Because I manipulate, abuse, and injure to induce control? Have you not lived in Sunberth this season? Have you not seen the city? There are two kinds of people who exist in Sunberth…the victims, and the predators. You…you my dear Dhani, you were born a predator and you act like prey. Whereas I…” He held out his arms and then let them drop to his sides, “Was born a prey, one life among many, not unique, not special, sickly and discarded.” He laughed. Kalila’s expressions were unreadable in this form, so he had no way to gauge her stare…only the trembling in her body. “I became a predator. I refute the lot of a victim. I will let no one control me so long as I draw breath.” Chuckling he brought the blade up again, dying sunlight bleeding across its glimmering length. “Does it bother you?” he asked softly, almost in pity, “That I am fully human while you will never be? Your only fate, Dhani, is to remain a Dhani. You are reviled, you are feared, and no matter how you dress or pretend, no human could ever truly accept you as family or friend…not knowing the truth.” Hypnotism swelled in his voice again, despair creeping through his words as he laced them through the air between them. Her aura pierced, violated by his will. But he held back most of his power, prepared for what he truly wanted. She would be marked, truly marked, but not in a way most may see. At least not at first. “I will never be your superior, you say, but perhaps you’ve forgotten that I am within the organization you serve.” He raised an eyebrow, quirking a smile, “And…if I am so inferior, or even equal, to your species or your worth, Kalila…then why do you tremble in my presence? I am smaller, I am your food…aren’t I? So why are you afraid of me, snake…” His eyes glittered and he charged towards her, bring up his blade. His eyes were on her neck, though, those fangs he needed to keep well away from his body. The moment she darted, he’d have her speed and he’d immediately retreat…just to take a measure of her skill. “WHY ARE YOU AFRAID OF ME?!”

[Sahashkalila]

He was steadily getting closer to her and her eyes never wavered from his as they continued to circle each other. Her lower body was coiled tightly underneath her, ready to spring at any given moment as they rippled beneath her, never turning her back to him. She knew that if her attention strayed from him for one second she would be dead, and she was not about to throw away her life for one boy's silly game. All of her years trying to survive in the viper's nest in Ahnatep started to come back to her, memories of what she had to do and learn started to resurface inside her, her tongue darting out as she hissed. To survive this encounter she was going to have to embrace what she long ago had buried inside of her....and to her utmost displeasure, those instincts came back all to easily.

The boy liked to talk didn't he? Kalila wondered if he liked to listen to his own self righteous speeches as much as he enjoyed telling others his opinion, as if he was right. She kept her face devoid of emotion though, not wishing to give him an even higher advantage over her. "I believe I ssssee why you were disssscarded,"she said quietly, still moving with him as he continued to circle her, sadness beginning to overwhelm her as he continued to speak. He was right, no one would ever see her for....no! He was inside her head again and she shook it furiously, rage building up inside of her as he invaded her personal space yet again. She hissed angrily, venom dripping from her fangs as her control began to fall around her. "If we are comradessss then sstay out of my mind!,"she cried, dropping her body low to the ground as she prepared to spring at him. She quivered in both anger and fear, and he knew that, pointing it out plain as day. Before she could do anything, he suddenly charged at her and she let instinct take over.

She darted quickly to the side, her upper body slithering across the ground as her tail lashed out, catching him across the ribs. The blow was enough to cause him to stumble and give her enough time to slither off into the underbrush, hoping that she had at least broken a rib or two. Her body moved soundlessly across the ground, her golden eyes watching him intently through slits in the foliage. She would watch and she would wait, find a weakness and then spring to devour.....no no! She would just incapacitate, nothing more. She would not sink to his level....but she was the hunter now.....and she wanted to see fear cross his eyes.