All Alone (Neoma)

by **Aello** on July 5th, 2012, 8:43 pm

Summer 65, 512 AV

Each hand bore a weight. Cold, dark, lined with the sharpened edge of metal. Bloody, dripping. But instead of a red rain, there were tears of the sky. Unblinking gaze releasing droplet after droplet of moisture onto the earth. Once parched, crackling as vegetation came uprooted; now sinking beneath masses recently found. Indentations funneled rivers into the line of trees, beneath gnarled beds of root. Into small valleys cast by the cascading undulations of the world, forming lakes that could drown even the mightiest of ants. Force even the weakest of flowers further into their wilt. Their hung heads. Leaves furled, their veins cringing as they were forced to absorb all the more, as even the air itself remained dense with all that fell. Moisture being poured away, drizzled onto the diamond backed casing of younger trees, the peeling bark of the occasional birch, crunching like potato chips within the confines of a hungry mouth. Cotton fabric, long grown nearly sheer with the excess, drizzled clear orbs onto paling skin. Clung so heavily to the flesh, that no sense of form was left to the imagination.

A single bow, hiked onto the shoulder, jostled the girl's knee as her fists tightened around the hilt of her daggers. The black slipping through her fingers from time to time, as though her hands were slick with sweat. Gritting her teeth to keep them from chattering as her boots sank into the mud, producing an unpleasant squishing sound, Aello forced herself to continue on. Her long, dark hair, kept out of ribbons today, swirling around her neck, like an angry tangle of webs. Frayed edges splaying across her lips; pale as bleached peonies from the cold. They tickled her numbing form, as goose flesh rose upon skin marred by the cuts cast by branches she failed to push rightfully aside. With eyes dark as chocolate, she looked from narrowed slits, trying to block out the rain. Wretched weather, making this bloody work impossible, she thought, as she raised her arm and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, forcing some of the straying strands away. The occasional droplet, which flicked uselessly to the floor.

How the petch is a woman supposed to make a living when she has this nonsense to deal with? the aurist asked herself as she trampled a few brambles, too slick with the recent weather to remain. Thus, forcing them into their silent graves, beneath a wave of sodden earth. And besides which, how is she to get back from a day bound to prove useless when the drivers are bound to remain in the city, where it never does? Where the waters are always quelled by the hands of their filthy god? The girl shook her head lightly as her gaze darted up to the sky. Darkened by clods of ominous looking, fluffy, dark grey clouds. Oh petch it, Aello thought. This shyke doesn't look like it will be ending any time soon. So what is the use in complaining, if even, only to one's self? Best keep diving deeper, perhaps then, there will be found something to hide behind.

by **Neoma** on July 5th, 2012, 8:59 pm

Neoma had gone out from Ravok in search of a place to shift, to stretch her animal muscles. Without worrying about being turned into a slave. She had been out in the forest for some time, her clothes, cloak and necklace were on a tree whose position she had memorized and she never strayed more that a kilometer from it.

She had enjoyed an hour of rainless play before the rain began. Immediately her fluffy coat had stuck to her skin, darkening the grey and black and giving her a bit more camouflage. Her striped coat actually blended fairly well with the shadows on the forest floor, and she was using this as a chance to track things, to use her rather impressive sense of smell to find her things, fallen fruit, and dead animals. She even tracked a dear from it's hoof prints and scent.

Of course she couldn't take down a dear at her young age, but it was fun to follow one. And she had managed to get in a small snack here and there. But when the rain started she had assumed this foray would be over, until she decided to test and see if her sense of smell still worked in the water. It wasn't nearly as good as it was when everything was dry but she could still follow some scents, like her own which was so familiar to her. So she began to play in the rain and mud, having some fun for once. It had been a while since her family's death but still she hadn't fully regained her happy go lucky spirit.

But a good portion of her mischievous and playful nature was back, so she had fun jumping into puddles, chasing water logged mice and generally acting like the kid she was. Her coat gained a good amount of mud from this, brown covering her legs and half her body. But she didn't mind it at all, she was having fun.

She was about to pounce on a mouse when she slipped and did a form of roll out into the path of a hunter woman who was as soaked as she was. Neoma looked around, disorientated from her tumble and coated in mud.

OOCCould you make the timestamp a little earlier? If you can. If you don't want to you can leave it!

by **Aello** on July 5th, 2012, 10:22 pm

There was a gentle blur. A ripple against the water, a delicate splash as muddied puddle gatherings were displaced, and then sent back from whence they had come. Sodden fur seemed to shake out, as clotted remnants were forced into the mud. Paws squishing against the accommodating earth as much as Aello's own boots were as she stepped forward. Her lips parting just enough to allow the moisture that trickled down her paling cheeks to slip inside; to tickle her tongue. A soft rumbling escaped the back of her throat, as sparkles sprang into her eyes. Lips curling into a soft smile, displaying her mounting pleasure at this surprising turn of events. Fearing little from the hyena, seeing as her aura displayed only a sense of playfulness, in addition to a playful nature, the aurist sheathed her daggers and leaned down. Her fingers brushing dirt clod fur. "Well hello there little one," she chuckled. "Best be careful, lest you trip over your own two paws again." Her fingers, now covered with cold mud that sank into her skin as she rubbed her flesh together to ward the grime away, pulled her hands back, lest she scare Neoma.

Her eyes dwelled on the creature's own for a moment, a dark brown, nearly black as night. Seemingly without pupils. Her mind, the texture of her fur, so devoid of that warm fluffy feeling she got when she drew her fingers through Nex's own coat. But she supposed that had to do more with how it was now slick with mud and water, than anything else. The coat, the fall, made her think of those times she was first learning to walk. How hard it had been, especially in this sort of weather, how many times she had stumbled. It made her smile, filled her body with a slight sense of heat, as though a candle had been lit from within at the memories.

With pause, the girl tilted her head to the side, as her eyes grazed over the matted coat of the hyena. "You know, you don't look much like the other wolves around here," Aello commented. "Your fur is a lot darker for one, theirs being shades of grey, mostly. And your snout, it's a bit shorter, rounder perhaps. You're not a runt are you? Cast away from your kin?" She paused, as she looked at Neoma's paws. Small, but still, seemingly too large for her body, as though she were still growing into them. Like a man's form during adolescence. She shook her head lightly, forcing the gathering fronds of dark hair to shift ever so slightly, that which hung loosely to swing in the air, like spirals. Jump ropes. "No, your eyes are too bright with youth. Your form too elegant, even when muddied for that."

The spiritist took a step back. "Was just out for a hunt, if you'd like to come along. May be good for you," she commented before walking away from Neoma. "And two heads are better than one. Don't you think? All the more likely to find something, even in this mess."

by **Neoma** on July 6th, 2012, 12:19 am

Neoma's senses came back to her quickly enough and she noticed the woman, a giant in her eyes. She had daggers on her and hunting gear. She smelled like a hunter too. But the woman was smiling, a kind expression not a cruel one and the hyena cub didn't feel as much of an urge to run away. Although when the woman leaned down to pet her she climbed to her feet, ears laid flat against her head. The woman's daggers might be sheathed and she might have a kind expression on her face but Neoma's instincts still ran through her. The flight one was forefront in her mind.

Her speaking roused some curiosity in the cub though. She spoke to her as if she thought she could understand, her voice spiced with a chuckle that had Neoma's attention. Laughs of course had a hyena's attention, so close to their own calls. She looked at the woman, able to follow her words. So it was her fall that had elicited the laugh. Neoma looked down, she was still somewhat clumsy with paws too big for her and this slippery floor.

The woman's eyes met her own, the woman had warm chocolate eyes that comforted her. Her mother had, had brown eyes. Darker than this woman's but warm every time she looked at Neoma. Perhaps it was the combination that had Neoma staying to listen to the woman.

The woman tilted her head and Neoma mimicked her movement.But she let out a small growl when she said she didn't look like the other wolves around here, implying she was a wolf. Please, her bite was stronger than any wolf cubs, her forelegs stronger and her sense of smell far superior. She would not be referred to as a wolf! At the mention of her fur she looked over it, mud and water soaked her light stripes were hidden from sight.

And at the mention of her snout she pawed at it, wondering what was wrong with it being rounder. She growled at being thought of as a runt, although... She pushed away thoughts of her parents and the crash of the boat. But the woman shook her head as she looked over Neoma, at her too large paws and body. Her hair swung with the shake, dark strands looking like sodden ropes coiling from her head. Neoma had to admit that wish to play with them was strong, they looked somewhat like a to for play.

The woman fixed her previous error, compliment this time was what she spoke and Neoma puffed up a little. Elegant? Neoma would've beamed if she were a human. Then the woman was taking a step back and Neoma let out whine, was her new friend leaving her now?

AH, she was out for a hunt. Neoma nodded her head, saying she would in fact like to come along. She could sniff out things, and learn form a human how they hunted. Although she preferred to scavenge, as was her nature, learning to hunt would not be a bad skill. It would do well for her if there were no recent kills around her if she went out into the world again. The woman began to walk away again and she whined once more, then rushed to catch up to the woman's long stride. Her little paws worked hard at the ground but her body was made for this, it was made to go for long distances every day.

Neoma began to smell the air, searching for the scent of deer, or hare, perhaps a moose. Were there moose around here? She wondered that as her nose tried it's best to smell through the rain, which was cleaning her fur of it's filth seeing as she wasn't tumbling through puddles now.

There was a scent. Over towards the right, Neoma wasn't sure what it was with the rain dampening everything. And there were no tracks, the ground having been turning into a blank slate by the water, or rather no tracks she would see. Perhaps the higher plants held hints. But she let out a small cackle, premature and young sounding, excited at the thought of food and prey. She made another cackling sound and trotted in the direction of the scent and waited for the woman to follow her.

by **Aello** on July 6th, 2012, 2:12 am

Aello stopped for a moment and peered over her shoulder. "Don't cry little one. I won't go fast enough for you to lose sight," she called, before turning her head back around, and slipping her hand past the damped folds. Cotton fabric which clung to skin it wove itself in between. It hastened the progression of her numbing fingertips. The flesh which ached to brush against the familiar; to hold the chilling weight which had been bound. Which she had not yet found a way to release. Her teeth trembled, clattering against crowns as the first nails drew against the black, producing a muffled screech as fingers crawled and soon wound themselves around. Five slender snakes with beady eyes, trembling as they encased a rotten tree. Slowly drawing it down to an earthen bed. A palm lined with scars of fading red; fissures, where the world had split, to make way for the blood of Caihya. Mud and crimson combined. Swiftly, it was torn away, drawn into the open within a single heartbeat. A mighty sweep which brought the tainted weapon to her side. The darkened metal hanging behind.

As soon as it had been freed, Aello continued on, and listened to the cackling of the hyena. She looked down upon Neoma, after the last vibrational current had been leased upon thickening air. "Are you trying to say something?" she asked. "About the creature off in the distance. Several yards to our right?" There was a pause as she considered and took a few steps closer to the hyena. "You know, it's a wolf. Far larger than you, unless..."

"You were whining before. Shaking your head a little, making unhappy sounds when the thought was expressed. When you were being classified," Aello wore on, as she leaned down a little so her face would be a bit closer to Neoma's. She was studying the hyena's eyes. The secrets held there. The vibrancy and innocence only found in the hearts of the young. Their features. "Perhaps you are not a wolf, but some other sort of dog. Something, not from around here, or at least, something all the more rare." Aello paused for a moment, considering, scratching her chin with her free hand before setting it on her knee. "Or maybe that's just the imagination at work and that's your mother. Although, her form seems a bit young for bearing children..."

Sighing, Aello pushed up against her knee, and brought herself into a more typical position. She turned her head, looking out at the wolf, its snout held against the ground. Brushing up against puddles, and sodden leaves. It was as though it were looking for something; having had picked up on a scent. "If you want to go that way, perhaps it would be wise for you to be left. The wolves have been acting strangely of late. Far more violent than usual. Aggressive. We wouldn't want to get into a tangle, and leave you all alone to fend for yourself. You being so young, so inexperienced, you may not last, and I don't think either of us wants that." Aello sighed as she took a few paces towards the right. "But if that's your path, if that wolf is your mother, then you should go to her, be with your kin. She would be missing you by now, no? Being as far from her side as you are."

The girl's eyes seemed to lose a shade of color as she looked into the distance. Past the tangle of the trees. "Best be going on if that's where you need go. I can accompany you part of the way at least. Just to be sure nothing else gets you before she does," she finished before continuing on in stride.

by **Neoma** on July 6th, 2012, 6:24 pm

Neoma stopped her whining when she was informed that the woman wouldn't be going too fast, which made the smaller creature pleased. She had a friend out here! She didn't pay much heed when the woman took out her blade, as long as it wasn't turned on her she didn't care too much. Although she wondered how she would hunt with that, seeing as humans were notoriously noisy forest walkers and much more fragile than the food they hunted.

Was she trying to say something, of course she was trying to say something! Why couldn't this woman understand her? Was she not speaking clearly? Neoma was used to living with a family that could either understand her perfectly or got the gist of what she said. Seeing as she hadn't been shifted around anyone else she assumed it was always like this, apparently not.

So it was a wolf then? Neoma memorized the scent, something she' have to stay away from until she was bigger. How did the woman know the distance the wolf was though? The woman took some more steps towards her and Neoma sat down as she began to talk, figuring it would be another 'conversation'.

She was dissecting Neoma's previous actions and the young girl was wondering at this woman's intelligence. There it as, yes the woman had classified her wrong. It was a new word to the girl but she figured it meant that she had called her the wrong breed. Perhaps she would ask. The woman's face neared Neoma's own and she got up and padded towards it. She tried to stand on her forelegs and touch it but just found herself falling over.

She was getting closer, although she was no dog. She began to cackle and whinny, to tell her that she was correct. Excited noises these were. Yes she was rare in these parts! Hyena's were usually found in dryer, hotter climates although her kind was a bit more diverse in the areas they could call home.

Then the woman got it wrong again and Neoma just growled in frustration. Human's why must they be so dense? Then the woman was standing, something that Neoma didn't really like because it made the woman tower over her. Perhaps she should shift back!

The wolves were being odd? Was it because of that storm that had wrecked their boat? She wondered at that, having heard talk of a Djed storm but never really making a connection until now. Had ti scared the animals around here so badly they were acting funny?

She shook her head at the mention of her mother being a wolf, no no no! Neoma walked in the opposite direction of where the woman was heading and finally decided to try shifting into her human form.

Where there once was a cub there was no a small child of no more than ten summers.

"I am not a wolf ma'am."

by **Aello** on July 6th, 2012, 8:13 pm

The colors flickered, causing Aello to pause, and then swivel, so that she may face the hyena going in the other direction. "Something wrong?" Aello asked. "Are you afraid, or is she not your mother?" There was a short silence followed by a burst of light, like a miniature sun exploding upon the shaken surface of the world. The aurist smiled weakly, the edges of her lips curling ever so softly, as her eyes danced over the naked form of the girl for an instant, "so you are not. But you are a Kelvic of a different breed." She chuckled. "Should have known, you are nothing like my Nex," she explained before shrugging a little. "But that doesn't answer the question does it, just what sort of animal are you?" she asked, as she sheathed a dagger and swiftly moved to remove a spare dress from her pack. One of a deep blue make. She held it out to the girl with her spare hand. "Here, take this for now, unless you tend on shifting back, lest you freeze. Although, with this damned weather, you're bound to anyway." She paused a moment, to lick her lips as she waited. Returning the dress to her bag if the girl refused, or unsheathing her dagger once more as soon as she had taken it. "I'm Aello, and who might you be?"

Again, the girl would fall silent as she tightened her grip on the hilts of her daggers. Her gaze grazing lazily, idly lingering on places where the vegetation rustled, before moving on to other portions of her surroundings. "And why are you out here all alone? Surely you're a bit young for your own hunt. No offense of course," Aello continued, as she took note of how the wolf's aura billowed an angry red as it trotted off to the north of their location. Perhaps it really had caught sight of something. "But it takes practice to grow good at anything, even if you have your instincts to guide you." She chuckled. "Trust in another a few years older, they'd know. Took bloody ages to learn how to shoot arrows true to their marks, to wield daggers as though they were the deadly fangs of an enraged viper."

The girl's thumbs danced over the hilts playfully, as she kept her eyes trained on Neoma's own, darker bits of inky obscurity. Muddled in shadow. "Anyway, we'd best not head to the north, if you still intend on coming along. The bitch is headed that way, and even though we won't tangle with emotions if she dies, I'd rather not have to loose anything needlessly. As easy as it would be to sever the strings nowadays. So, now that that is said, which way do you think we should go?" she asked as she gestured with her bloodied dagger in each direction left- south, east and west. "For there is nothing that the eye can see anymore. But perhaps your nose, even in this weather..."

OOCThe dress looks like the one on my CS, just less ribbing. It's supposed to be a bit cheaper in make than that. She can borrow it until the thread's end if you'd like.

by **Neoma** on July 8th, 2012, 3:50 am

The girl shivered, her black and white hair hung in clumped, tangled threads around her face and over her body. Water dripped down skin erupting in goose bumps and her teeth chattered lightly.

"I am a striped hyena mum." she told her, her voice stuttering slightly. The woman handed her a dress, which she quickly put it on, it was long on her but she grabbed the end and tied the fabric into a knot so it came away from the ground. It was loose on her but it was clothes, and it was warm. Her shivering lessened with the protection of the dress, although she was still cold and she missed her fur. She had to be able to communicate with the woman, and ask why she didn't understand her.

She took in the woman as she unsheathed her daggers, she didn't look like a giant now. The difference in people's height was always a bit confusing when she shifted. Of course the woman was still taller than her, most adults were.

Aello. she thought, her name was Aello. She put that to memory before replying.
"I am Neoma ma'am." she told her, her voice childish but already it held a slight smokey, husky tint to it that hinted at how her voice would sound later on in life.

The woman's eyes kept tabs on their surroundings, as did the small girl's. Her kind knew when to flee so she knew to keep her eyes out for danger. Even in human form her hearing and sense of smell was better than a normal human's so she was fairly relaxed, nothing was close by that smelled of predator.

Her attention was brought back to the woman as she talked about how she was young for a hunt, which Neoma would readily admit to. She didn't even really know how to hunt, hyena's rarely hunted although they all had the ability to take down larger prey. But scavenging was so much easier, and it was funny to scare other predators from their food. Or so her mom told her.

"I wanted to shift, I can't do it in the city miss." she told the woman her reason looking away, perhaps it wasn't a good reason for a human but another Kelvic would understand the need to change, to stretch their legs. To live. Living stuck in a human body was no life. At least not to her, her true form was her animal form and she always knew that when she was human, it;s why she was never fully comfortable as a human.

She looked at the woman, who looked like a predator in her own right. She looked deadly. She was reminded of Aru, and her mother. Two dangerous women she knew. She always had a hard time believing they weren't just created as deadly women. She looked at her in disbelief, still under the impression such women were just created, that they just popped out of the ground with weapons ready and a deadly smile on their lips.

The girl nodded, yes she was still intent on coming along. Any chance to eat was good to her. Neoma looked around and her nose lifted, scenting the water air. It was even worse now, in human form. But still she could smell and hear. Plus what about that deer she had seen earlier? He had been heading to the...west she believed. She pointed in that direction.
"I remember seeing a deer that way some time ago, if we get close enough to him I'll be able to smell or hear him, maybe before you see him miss." she had never tested her nose, she knew it was strong, strong enough to hate the city scents that hurt and confused her so. But this weather masked scents, and she didn't know if her nose outstretched human sight in this form.

by **Aello** on July 9th, 2012, 3:26 am

"Alright Neoma, why don't you lead the way?" Aello asked as she took a few steps forward. Her soiled boots plodding through a multitude of puddles; allowing water to seep through the suede skins. Moisture clung to her toes now, hanging between the empty spaces, past the webbing. "For as of now, it remains out of sight," she added, as she stepped forward again, shaking the water around. She could almost hear it sloshing. Inwardly, she sighed, wondering if the animals could pick even that up in this weather, meaning that she was still making too much noise. Shaking her head slightly, she kept on moving as she took several deep breaths in through the noise, and out through the mouth, and began to imagine the water in her boots trickling out the sides, and falling back down towards the earth. Watering muddied puddles; drowning weeds. She pictured the boots empty of everything save for her feet; her toes, which wiggled against the tops of soles. She imagined them cramming against ends. Ankles banging against sides as she stepped. Imagined the soft click the bottoms made on wood; listened to the squishing step she produced now. She imagined all this gone next. A strange silence passing over all, as a dark purple ooze seeped out of her skin, and ran through the emptiness. Filling the places where the water had once been, falling beneath it. Slipping underfoot, covering the heels, the tips, the balls of feet. A thin sheet of paint, blanketing the mud.

After a few minutes, in which time Aello had come to imagine each portion of the muddied shoes to be covered in this purple gel, she pictured it blocking out all sound. Being a shield that reflected everything, before it swallowed it whole. She imagined how tranquil it would be if there was no noise, not even the sound of her thundering heart to listen to. It was then that the shield began to fade, leaving naught but a sparkle behind to mark its passing. Now, as she walked, there was more of a silence, but still, noise could readily be heard each time Aello was forced to tread through a puddle. She sighed, some things even magic could not help. Frustrated, her hands tightened around the hilts of her daggers as the colors darted forward. Each seemed a pillar now thrust outwards to form rubble. Seaweed slithering as fish flitted past. They seemed to pulse before her very eyes as water trickled down her brow. "We should try to stay out of the puddles," she called to Neoma. "They'll not only dampen us more quickly; crushing spirits, and curdling bone, but they'll alert our potential prey to our presence. Best when hunting to remain as silent as possible, no?" she asked, before closing her mouth.

The colors were rippling, and as of yet, Aello could not be sure why.

by **Neoma** on July 16th, 2012, 12:04 am

Neoma looked at the woman a little shocked. She was asking her to lead? Neoma looked around, a little nervous. She picked at a white and black strand of hair.She would do it, because it was interesting, new, and she had never been on a hunt. Plus this nice woman wanted to hunt. But she'd never done it before really. Just with tiny things, like mice or moles. Neoma began to walk forward her steps considerably more silent than the woman's own steps. She naturally avoided the puddles, almost subconsciously going into a form of stealth mode.

She looked back at Aello to see the purple ooze coming out of her. She had heard of magic but hadn't actually seen such a thing before. She made small whimpering noise, her eyes wide. She didn't think she liked this thing, this magic. It wasn't quite right to her. The purple condensed around the womans feet. She walked with more quiet now but Neo kept a certain distance from her now, at least a few feet. It was obvious the young girl had never encountered this before, and as such she was unsure of how to deal with it.

Could one best magic with teeth and claws? With a firm bite? Could one run and hide form it? Was it sentient? These things she wondered. Perhaps she would ask the woman, later though. When it wasn't quite so wet. And she wasn't hungry, her metabolism burned through the calories like a flame through paper. She as hungry again, she wanted to find that deer. Rip into it's flesh, break the bones. She took herself out of the hunger induced thoughts and began to walked again, occasionally hopping or skipping around puddles with a slight smile, getting joy from being a kid.

Her nose began to pick up on something, dampened by this accursed rain. She veered to the left suddenly. A few moments later and she was on a well hid, small deer trail. Her nose was in the air and she was sniffing it like a bloodhound.