Flashback A Crimson Lesson [Tinnok]

[Razkar]

Things... did not go as expected.

Razkar's good intentions were crushed and crumbled in a nightmare that he was powerless to wake up from. Fine words and noble intent. Did he really think that could reverse countless centuries of Myrian distrust and prejudice? One skirmish, one flash of brilliance, that would be enough to redeem a half-snake in the eyes of the army of Taloba?

He saw the crack of knuckles on flash that knocked Tinnok to the ground and flinched as if it had been his face struck. Rehkuna, the smartest, toughest fang leader he knew, just stood there with a faint, satisfied smile on her face. Laughter and snickers from the Myrians around the group, the one called Chinra grinning like... like...

A Dhani. The sheer sadism in it was unmistakable.

Razkar was left looking down at Tinnok, and saw the bitter resentment and anger in her face as a fresh bruised bloomed on her cheek. It was directed at him. What had he done?

That look haunted him as they regrouped and began their long trek back to Taloba. They marched separately now, in buoyant spirits from bloody, blessed battle and the sight of a snake bitch pounded into the leaves. Razkar was a sullen, silent figure throughout the day, eyes fixed ahead, not daring to look around...

"You shouldn't have said that."

Erama walked next to him, voice low so their words did not carry. Razkar couldn't keep the edge from his voice when he snapped back, "Thank you for clearing that up for me."

"Watch your tone, male," Erama said, but there was only a hint of a threat in her words. She was... concerned, in her own way. Not for the half-breed perhaps, but for her fang-mate. "You know how things are. She'll always be a half-breed. Best to let her deal with it on her own."

"But-"

"Look, I know about you and that Scattered Bones girl."

Razkar's head snapped around like he'd been punched by an Akalak. Erama saw the note of warning in his eyes as they looked into hers, but she pressed on. She didn't need him distracted and on some stupid crusade when he was on duty with her, it was dangerous and against everything they'd been taught. So she lowered her head, accentuating her hard eyes, and kept talking.

"I wish you luck, truly I do. But one half-blood does not mean they're..." she chose her words carefully "... accepted. And that one's Dhani, Raz. For the Goddess's sake, who the Hell knows what's going on in her head?"

"She did her job today. She was courageous and cunning and-"

"And she is still half-snake, Raz. That won't change, and what people see won't change either." She turned away with a sigh, frustrated with silly males and dreamers who sought to change that which should be left alone. "You want acceptance? Accept that things are best off as they are. No-one's gonna turn everything on its head for one half-blood..."

The sentence was left hanging just like that, but Razkar didn't need anymore words. The monotonous thump and crunch of his feet against dirt and twigs were a counterpoint to his own thoughts. He had been so arrogant. So short-sighted. Now his actions had only damned Tinnok further in the eyes of her fang, and Goddess only knew what Rehkuna's black look in his direction would blossom into.

Accept what is. Accept what your people are. And for the love of Myri, don't go fighting others' battles for them.

The fangs marched on. There was a low growling from one that did not come from any Myrian throat.

Well... at least they let her keep the dog...

[Tinnok]

She walked out far ahead, so that she couldn't even see the scouts behind her as she circled the traveling party, moving in lines that intersected over each other to get the lay of the land. She moved silently across the ground, toes sinking into damp earth and feeling its life through her Gnosis. It was always so strange, hearing the disjointed thoughts of the plant life. She had learned when she was young that the soil of the jungle was no good for crops, had very little nutrients in it: one of the many reasons Myrians were no farmers, she supposed. All the food that trees needed they received from the air, from Syna's light, it was why they pushed so hard int heir race skyward. They calmed her now as she walked. She brushed her fingertips against bark and moss and felt their unity. So many entities growing upon one surface. Some plants strangled and killed, but most created that symbiosis, that partnership with one another for mutual benefit, so unlike her and her fang. Was she the strangler fig, wrapping around the old tree and slowly leeching the life out of it with her very presence, or was that what they were all doing to her?

She spat upon the ground and kept moving.

Rigel walked calmly beside the half-breed, quiet and vigilant, her paws nearly as quiet as the strange footfalls the woman made upon the ground. Tinnok's eyes surveyed the landscape, glancing to trees and ground alike for signs of anything amiss, but the trail was just as easy to follow as before. The ground was muddy where so many human and canine feet crossed, mucking up any other animals trails there might have been and scaring away wildlife. She caught the trail of a group of thicket tinamou, those strange looking fat little birds that scurried across the forest floor, and took note of their tiny foot prints before continuing. There were old tracks of deer, many days gone, but no large predators, no strange human markings.

The eyes upon her as she marched back, she simply couldn't ignore, despite the fact she made sure to keep her gaze forward. She approached Ioxera, who ignored her for two chimes before she spoke. "So?"

"The human trail is just as before, blatant and easy to follow. No one has left it from where I have gone yet, and the only tracks I've seen of animals are a few days old or too small to warrant." Ioxera merely grunted, and shooed Tinnok back. The half-breed was surprised no jabs were thrown away, but it seemed Ioxera did not care for in-fighting any more than she did. She fell back, letting the group past her and circled round the outside of them, disappearing into the forest and making her way ahead of the group unseen. She preferred this tactic to walking amidst them...her stealthy nature revealing itself unconsciously once more. Her stomach grumbled and a quiet whine emanated from the dog. She was not the only one hungry then. She tapped the canine upon the head, sending an image of ground birds or small game, pressing forth the notion that the next time they saw something, they would take it. Rigel was content with this. She liked hunting birds, even funny ones like the one's the woman showed her.

Her mood gradually calmed as she drew ahead of the group once more. It was fine out here, alone in her element. It would not be fine once they settled in for the evening, when Ioxera finally gave her leave to sleep. The half-breed glanced wistfully into the woodlands, dreaming of the day when she could sit up in the trees and pay no heed to the armies of Taloba. Today, however, was not that day. So she kept walking, kept searching, and let her mind drift to more pleasant thoughts, letting the forest fill her with it's calm.

[Logos]

Skill and Lore Rewards Razkar Skills Lore Observation - 5 Tinnok: Shrewd Mind, Kind Soul Rhetoric - 3 Kindness: Useful or Useless Philosophy - 3 The Art of Screwing Up Praise Socialization - 3 Humans Are Tricksy Tactics - 2 Closing the Gap: It's harder than It Looks Storytelling - 1 Myrians Will Never Change Stealth - 2 A Lack of Mercy Hunting - 2 Sacrificing Pleasure To Win The Battle Shortbow - 2 Anger Is An Asset Running - 4 Leadership Has It's Prices Handaxe - 2 Success Breeds Death Gladius - 3 In Visctory Ritual Is Important Acrobatics - 1 Pride Before A Fall Leadership - 3 N/a Tracking - 2 N/a Endurance - 2 N/a Tinnok Skills Lore Observation - 5 Peace in the Wilds Socialization - 2 Insulting One's Leader = Pain Philosophy - 2 The Mind of a Hound Stealth - 2 Dogs Are...Tasty? Hunting - 1 Snarling A Hound into Submission Longbow - 3 Weapons: Don't Throw Them Away Acrobatics - 2 Head On Stick: A Worthy Prize Dagger - 4 Rigel: Faithful Hound Running - 3 Recognition Isn't All It's Cracked Up To Be Brawling - 2 Succeeding Breeds Resentment Endurance - 2 The Pleasntry of Soil Underfoot Intimidation - 1 Nature & Symbiosis Rhetoric - 2 Razkar: Stupid Petcher Tracking - 3 N/a Loot: Machete; Long Dagger; Rigel (Dog) Joint Lores Fallen Comrades; Humans Can't Fight For Shyke; Hunting As A Fang; Myrian Ambush Tactics; Escape Is Unforgivable; The Frey Is Bloody; Unusual Tactics Bring Useful Results Additional Notes : This was an awesome thread to grade as my first real attempt at a longer thread! I loved it all, the action and the thought processes of both of you lovely characters. I hope the grading seems fair. Any issues jsut PM me. Any questions or queries, please PM me.