Beasts and the Almost-People (Dex)

[Rhy]

Year 512, 52 day of summer Time: Evening Place: Cliffside Grotto People: Dex There is nothing so vile as overworked, salt incrusted and sweaty men. But if you take perhaps two dozen of said individuals, and a dogs keen sense of smell, then you get something truly horrific. Rhy is elbowing past a mob of dock workers on their way home after a hard days labor with one hand held to her nose to prevent the acrid scented brew from finding its way in. She is on her way to the Grotto in an attempt to get to fresher air. "Step clear, sweetheart!" One of the workers yell as she trod on the toe of his boot. Rhy waves him away with her free hand. "Sorry, sorry, just passing. Let me through..." Someone pushes her out of the way with a gruff and she instinctively pushes back, catching her elbow in his diaphragm. "Oi!" he wheezes. He was Human, as far as she could tell, and cresting a few inches above herself. A hand comes down on her shoulder in an attempt to steer her out of the way, or to stop her from falling into someone again, but she is caught off guard and repays him with with a quick snap on the fleshy part of his hand. Only to let go with a shock when the man howls and she tastes blood on the edge of her teeth. She stumbles back, laughing nervously. "I-Im sorry! These things happen..." The men were looking far from appeased. So without further ado she tucks her metaphoric tail and bolts. And she doesn't stop running until she passes the gate of the Cliffside Grotto. "Dammit," she growls, speaking to her own human body. "Your not even worth this trouble." She stomps up the stairs with misplaced frustration, shedding clothing as she goes. For her, this frustration is well founded. Its when she's with humans that she feels the least human. They rarely suffer from impulse, never get overwhelmed with sensory overload, their thoughts are deep and clear and expressed through writing or an equally deep and clear language. Likewise, the dogs make her less of a beast. She sees their expressions as shallow, their reasoning flawed. She sees herself as much more then them, but so much less then human. Bitting people when startled just attests to this. She shoves her clothes in her mouth and shifts to her dog form without breaking pace. She doesn't aspire to be human, just as she doesn't aspire to be a dog, she just wishes her body would decide what it is. You bite and run away, or you apologize and get out of their way, she tells herself. You don't do both! A tree in its full summer bloom sits wide and arcing on the left of the path. Its stance large and inviting and good a place as any to lay her head. She ducks the railing and after tucking her clothes away and doing a few pacing circles she finds herself a good bed between the roots. But she keeps her eyes open and listens to the rustling of birds, hedgehogs and moles in the bushes. Her mind is still far from easy and in no state to sleep. A quivering bed of flowers catch her eye and her ears naturally cast in that direction. Maybe a snack before bed...

[Dex]

Dex was happily interested in digging for random bugs, a new hobby he'd picked up. With his quick and dexterous claws, he could snatch them up and study them. Studying of course including sniffing, tasting, touching, looking, and otherwise testing them for all sorts of random things. Really, he just enjoyed messing with bugs. He perked his head up, and heard a noise that definitely was not a bug. In fact, that almost sounded like ... Dex poked his heads out of the flower patch, and came upon a dog. Honestly excited, Dex scrambled out of the flower bed to greet the new animal. He was quite excited whenever he met a dog, having a good relationship with them since his own parents were dogs. As he scrambled up to meet the dog, he kept his body in a low deferential position, making sure he didn't spook it.

[Rhy]

Is it... Is it acting submissive? This is a first. Are the gods (who she has so thoroughly ignored) decided to bless her with dinner on a silver platter? Is the furry critter contemplating suicide? Can rodents be depressed? If it is the gods they could have picked something better as a willing sacrifice. Ferrets are almost as bad as rats. A flick of an ear in the only indication of her mind forcing to itself into less fantastical waters. Reasonably, this was either someones very stupid pet... Or its a Kelvic. A twinge in her mind, a sort of taboo recoil kicks in. Am I feeling guilty? It takes a second to fully grasp the idea. He's a god-damned rodent! You eat rodents all the time! What makes this different? She knows Kelvics don't have a great track record for getting along. They are all so different. Especially since they are all beasts first, of varying order and breed, and altered, moulded, slightly eremophibic people second. But they are all the same race. Does that mean a truce to the natural order of things? Is it the food chain or cannibalism? The thought becomes to philosophical and horribly complicated for her taste. She's not even that hungry anyway. She growls and snaps at him to scare him off instead, now throughly engrossed in her bad mood.

[Dex]

OOCSoooo sorry. I was so sure I had posted already. I guess it skipped out my post somewhere on my internet. Grrrr. Ferret dance of madness!! And sorry about it being short. Dex crawled forward. The dog apparently had a problem with something, because she snapped at me, a cute little fuzzy ferret! ... Or maybe it was from a few to many times in the sewage system. He continued to crawl forward, curling up and around her front paws, batting and swishing his tail. As he came up towards her front, he bounced on his back paws and touched noses briefly with the dog. Actually he was kinda confused. The dog wasn't chasing him, but it wasn't welcoming him either. And it definitely smelled of humans and akalaks .... more then a normal dog does, especially one on the streets. Curious.

[Rhy]

OOCIts ok! This is a game, not a priority. Glad your back tho. Even if your internet is being a jerk. Despite all the misfired rage clouding her eyes, she finds the long fuzzy rodent very cute. It winds around her stiff legs with more dexterity then she thought possible, and demonstrated a bold lack of caution as it jumps up to give her the animal approximation of a kiss. Part of her is charmed by his thick-headed friendliness, the other half is raging at what she sees as a disregard for his own life, and disregard for her as a predator. Maybe, if he caught her on a better night, they could be friends. But not tonight. She snorts heavy through her nose, raising tuffs on white ferret fur, and she is already human before it settles. One hand clamps around his skinny midsection and she raises him to eye level. I'll show you to play with beasts. "Do you think this is a game? Huh? Do you think we are all friendly? What is your problem!", she shouts, rattling him around to sink the message in clearer, "I give you the gift of clear warnings and you decide to make yourself at home? Im not human! I won't pet you or feed you or cuddle with you! I will eat you and bury your bones for later!" Of course, all she has is a suspicion that this creature is Kelvic and therefore can understand her. If it really is just a ferret, then she is standing naked in the middle of a popular garden throttling terrified rodents. But all she cares about is instilling the ferrets instinctual fear. She's never felt so insecure.

[Dex]

Dex found himself in a rather strong grip, of what used to be his dog friend. Cool! She's like me! However, he couldn't prove that to her when she had that grip on him at the moment. His collar jangled with his pouch and name tag on it, which he'd need to fix with some more tree sap. Petch! Dex still had fun saying it, even if he only half knew what it meant. Glancing around, he smelled his best friend coming. She had left for a bit following an outdoor cat for some cat to cat experiences... or at least that's what Dex thought. Howlwing came padding through the taller grass, following Dex's wonderful, if fragrant, scent trail. Her silver wings were folded down against her body, keeping the bugs off her fur. She meowed loudly, sensing his confusion at being trapped. Also scenting the dog part of the girl, she hissed slowly yet loudly at the duo of them, more in trying to help her ferret friend than trying to warn off the dog-girl.

[Rhy]

Well, that is rather unexpected Its a cat. But not like Rhy had ever seen. It has wings. Beautiful, silver feathered wings. And its hissing at her in a slow, lazy way that made her think the animal wanted her to put the ferret down. "Alright, alright. I wasn't actually going to eat him." She explains with a huff and drops the ferret with a deflated motion. Interrupted in the middle of her tirade left her feeling hollow, but the appearance of the flying cat spiked her curiosity and she neatly forgets the ferret in favour of this new apparition. "Huh, guessing you're not a Kelvic eh? What are you?" She seriously doubts the cat will let her touch it, so she crosses her legs and lowers herself to the ground a few feet away, facing the cat.

[Dex]

Dex shook off the impact of being dropped on the ground. Bright light flashed once, only to leave a tall human where a ferret had once been. However, he was fully clothed in comparison to the girl. This was generally regarded as an impossibility. Dex had come to simply know that it happens because of his collar that Howlwing had delivered. "Nope, she's not. At least she hasn't shown me her human part yet. Maybe it's dirty and she hasn't gotten it cleaned yet. But it's been awhile so I don't think it's that." Dex sat down next to the girl and clicked his tongue a few times to Howlwing to call her towards the two of them. She came quickly, completely trusting to Dex, if a little nervous over the girl. Her dog scent put her off more than Dex, considering the usual cat/dog relationships and that Dex had a happier history with dogs. Howlwing curled and whirled happily with Dex's petting. Dex nudged the girl, taking her hand and trying to push her to pet the cat. The hand was soft and smooth, surprisingly quite like Howlwing's own fur and feathers. Dex smiled at that thought.

[Rhy]

The flash of light that signals a shift was almost expected, so she doesn't bother to turn around. "I knew you were Kelvic," she simpers victoriously. Well, no, she didn't really know for sure. But it would never do to let him know that. "Maybe your kitty put her human side away for future emergencies. Like feral dog attacks." He sits down next to her and Rhy doesn't conceal the fact that she's openly staring at him. First of all, how the hell is he already dressed? She files that question away for later. What she is really after is some sort of characteristic that singles him out as a ferret. He's tall and somewhat scrawny, as if he's been stretched like that chewy candy they sell in the Bazzar. But his body is lean like an acrobats, with the tough and narrow muscles you get from living without the human comforts. And strangely enough his ears are not rounded but peak like an Akalaks. There is still no way around it, though. He looks incredibly human regardless. And she's horrified that this makes any sort of difference to her. A gentle nudge to her ribs and the Kelvic is guiding her hand to pet the cat. She doesn't resist but is still surprised when the flying cat doesn't shy away. She smiles despite herself. "Huh, first time I'v pet a cat", she admits, stroking the cats soft crest feathers. "If this is really what it feels like then why don't people pet me more often?" She resolves to beg for more ear scratches, then without skipping a beat her mind whips to another train of thought. "I really wasn't going to eat you, you know. You're too-" There is a long moment when she realizes that she really doesn't know why. So she lets the unfinished sentence hang for a moment. "You're too friendly." She finishes lamely. "But why didn't you think I would go after you?"

[Dex]

Dex just gave a small smile. “It might help if you didn’t shake people with your paws, but I’m sure people will learn to pet you. I knew you wouldn’t eat me, I love dogs. My mom was a dog. I’ve learned that if I’m a friend to dogs, dogs are a friend to me. Especially when I juggle their balls for them.” Dex said, adding in a friendly yet mischievous wink. When he looked her over, he saw the human body which was slightly dirty, and built in a long, sinewy manner. When she talked, her canine teeth were quite a bit longer than normal. Her eyes were a brown that only came from animal eyes, but with odd flecks of gold in it. Her chest was flat, but rippled with muscles, her only feminine trait being her hips and the way her muscles flowed. “Howlwing here isn’t a normal cat. Don’t know why, don’t know how, but she flew in, dropped off my collar, and then stuck around me ever since. It’s been great fun! What do you do for fun?” Howlwing crawled up quietly into Dex's lap and flopped over, curling up for a nap. OOCAgain, sorry it’s short.