Dust and Blood (Celeste)

[Mirage]

Celeste's djed stretched past its normal limits, pulling more and more upon her being until it was no longer difficult to hold her form. She would feel a faint, rather distant tugging toward her normal shape, but it could easily be ignored. It was still there though, a nagging itch that this body was not who she really was. She grew bigger than ever before, surpassing her last atempt by a staggering margin. Her subconcious did what her mind could not, and let her exceed her previous limitations. She stood at nearly four feet tall at the shoulder, her mass slightly more than her mass as a human girl. The body was large and combersome, heavy as her djed was not used to the weight of her physical self. Yet even so, something in her took all of this in and made proper adjustments long before her concious mind had even noticed. The desperation of the situation driving Celeste to be more than she ever thought possible.

The flesh would taste like rotten cabbages, and smell like sulfer. Her canine teeth would easily sink in, and blood would gush over her tongue. The creature would cease its attempts to swallow Riyanna for a moment, twisting its body so that all 6 eye stalks could look toward Celeste. That was all the time the Warden needed. In an instant she was in the air, sword held in both hands as she cried out in wild fury and cleaved the beast's head in two all the way down its middle. Landing lightly on her toes the two halves of the creature fell on either side of the Warden. Whipping her sword in an arch that sent crimson blood flying, Riyanna turned her attention to Celeste. Stepping onto the corpose's back she made slow, graceful steps toward her Initiate, showing no sign of haste even as Tierra bounded toward Brom. As she walked the plates of armor receeded, revealing scarred pink flesh and short spikey hair. Her eyes returned to their normal shapes. Stabbing her blade into the flesh of the beast Riyanna scooped Celeste's furry form into her arms, hugging her close and whispering softly, "Well done Celeste... well done."

She pulled back, looking the girl up and down and petting the top of her head, "Well look at that. You got bigger! I knew you were special when I saw you, I knew it! We will make you into an Initiate yet!."

Riyanna looked to where Brom lay, Tierra at his side. Slowly he was beginning to stand on his feet, with the help of the other Initiate. Celeste watched them thoughtfully for a moment, continuing to pet Celeste's head, "This fight... it was only a taste of what we do here. It is a hard life, and every day we face the possibility of death. Most likely we will all die here, far from our own homes. Celeste, sweet girl, tell me now. Is this what you really want?" She looked down into the girls eyes, her own a mixture of hope, sadness, and anxiety, "It is OK if you wanted to... to leave. We would all understand. I want..." She shook her head, brushing a hand over her eyes before smiling brightly down at Celeste, "What do you say cutie? Do you want to live this kind of life with me?"

[Celeste Arumen]

The taste of blood, disgusting and rotten stung her mouth and reflexively, she pulled back, just in time for Riyana to take the upper hand. Very slowly, she slid off the inert creature’s back. It made her want to swallow a whole mouthful of dirt, anything to get rid of the taste. Elation began to creep into her system, replacing the shock and as the Warden reached her, she beamed. They did it. They won. Her large brown eyes swam with love. It was only then that she realized she was shaking.

”I did, didn’t I?” She said in astonishment, looking over her improved form. It was far better than earlier. Before, she’d only yielded a little extra height. ”It feels strange.” The elastic of her soul was a bit looser, easier to work with. She could feel the niggling sense of Celeste the Girl, but it was farther off, more like a shout in the distance than a whisper from behind.

They would have a hard life, she said. They would face the possibility of death, every day. ”Yes,” the girl croaked, suddenly aware that she was crying. ”This is what I want. I’d rather die fighting than laid to waste under a Silencer’s blade.” The truth. If she’d stayed in Alvadas, she never would have become a Wizard. She would have died an urchin, a criminal, just another face in the crowd. This was purpose. It was family. And one day even, she might really rise up and make Riyana proud.

Indulging the sense of weariness, she let her body do the work. The fist on her djed loosened, allowing it to creep back into place. It remembered her girlish arms and her amber hair, even her tears as they leaked down the lines of her smiling cheeks. Celeste stood up as a little girl and hugged her mentor in earnest, still crying softly. ”Is Brom gonna be okay?” She asked, face buried into the crook of Riyana’s neck. ”I was so scared…”

Looking upon him, all she could see was Daisy, the dog whose form she took; her only friend. She’d died in pain from a lump on her chest, so large it stole the very breath from her bones. She couldn’t let Brom die alone. She wouldn’t.

She was still just a little girl at heart, brave as she could be.

[Mirage]

Riyanna's eyes followed her apprentice's gaze as she gently stroked the girls hair. She rested her chin on Celeste's head as she squeezed gently, "Yes... He is going to be alright. Look now he is changing back."

Brom's skin squirmed as hair retracted and his body shrunk in size. Settling on his backside each limb shifted and changed to something more human. The hair on his head matched his fur, and it was cut close to his scalp. He was a thin man, but not skinny. Muscles held clear definition, especially those of his abdomen and biceps. Beside him Tierra began to shift as well, shrinking in size and raising up to stand on two legs. Before Celeste's eyes two more arms began to sprout from the woman's sides. Six graceful arms and dark colored skin was paired with long black hair that fell to her mid back. She was actually slightly taller than Riyanna, and with a quick glance back at Celeste she moved so that her body was between her and Brom, more for modest sake.

Brom's left leg was twisted at an odd angle, and even now he still labored to breath. Tierra's hands began to press over his body, a quick examination for any obvious injuries. A dark bruise was beginning to form on Brom's right side, and soft as a breath of wind Tierra's fingers graced over the injury.

The Warden smiled down at Celeste, "Everything will be OK now. Though now I realize that there might be more to your training than simply learning models of animals." She looked over at Brom and laughed, "We will need to introduce you to the male anatomy at some point as well!"

Brom looked over at Riyanna and his face visibly flushed. He quickly looked away, shifting uncomfortably, though a quick shush from Tierra stilled him once more. The Eypharian did not seem in the least bit disturbed by the man's nudity, even as she examined his waist and below for injury as well.

Still smiling Riyanna patted Celeste's head, releasing her hold on the girl and standing. Grasping the hilt of her sword she swung the weapon free, sending blood spattering on the ground as she did so. Then she raised it high over head, lowering it slowly behind her back until the tip of the blade touched her skin at the very base of the neck. Tendril's of black extended from the blade, moving along Riyanna's skin before sinking beneath it, causing a gasp and a slight wince to escape the Warden's lips. From there the sword simply began to 'flow' beneath the woman's skin, returning to its original form, a simple black tattoo upon her back.

[Celeste Arumen]

Celeste turned to see while still in the circle of Riyana’s arms. Brom seemed of average height and build and despite his being okay, the injury still looked quite painful. At the sight of his nudity, her cheeks flushed and she stifled a giggle. ”I’ve only seen a naked man once,” she said, face flaming. There was some other observation, but it couldn’t quite make it past her throat; wisely, she thought better of it and quit the whole speaking bit entirely.

Tierra was very beautiful. She’d never seen an Eypharian before. Celeste wondered quietly if the extra arms were from overgiving or something similar. Alvadas almost never got desert-folk. So finally, after a good deal of staring, she released the hold on her mentor and decided to ask. ”Is Tierra, um..” She swallowed. ”Are those arms… Natural?” Better to ask quietly than risk offending her newfound companion.

”What is that thing, anyway?” She continued, pointing at the decomposing mass. ”Is there a name for it? And are we just gonna leave it here?” Celeste wrinkled her nose at the stench. It smelled terrible, even to her human-seeming. Not that she minded so much. Some of the alleys in her old city smelled worse.

She turned, surveying the otherwise beautiful scene. There was a barren sterility to the land and yet, a reckless freedom. It was vast, dangerous… But provided something she had not yet learned. In that moment, so far away from Celeste the Girl, she discovered a primal force buried deep within. Morphing before, had always been a means to an end but now, it meant so much more. It was a journey of discovery. What was she truly - beast or man?

Only time would tell.

”So, is there anywhere on the Island we can take him?” She frowned.

[Mirage]

Riyanna nodded, "Men are really strange. I have yet to figure out how they walk with so much... in the way." She watched Tierra as she moved around to Brom's other side, placing herself over his maimed leg, "And yes, those are her real arms. They were not caused by overgiving, at least. She is from a race of dessert people that live far to the south. They are all well known for having multiple arms." She looked back at Celeste and winked, "Weird right? That so many different types of people exist in this world, and just think. With our magic we can be any of them."

Tierra was now running her fingers over Brom's leg, applying gentle pressure as she felt the odd angles of the bones beneath. Brom winced from time to time, but did not say anything. Riyanna hopped down to the ground, leaning against the carcass and patting the dead flesh, "As for this guy, he is just another failbeast, a failed experiment with no name or title. We will just leave him for the Noktal," She waved her arms like she was flapping wings, "Big bird things that were made in Sahova to devour the flesh of these failed creatures. Their meat is most likely toxic to us, otherwise we would be having roasted worm tonight." She laughed, waving Celeste over.

Tierra continued her investigation, positioning his leg as straight as she could get it. She gripped him firmly at the upper thigh with two hands, while one hand rested on his shoulder, and another gripped him about the angle. Finally one positioned itself over his shin, where the worst of the break was located.

"I'm afraid there is no where we can really take him. The Citadel doesn't have any formal healing place, and we have no doctors. There is always Amaryllis... but then she is the Chief Embalmer. I hesitate to go to her for many reasons, but if there ever comes a time that an injury is too great for us to handle on our own I wont hesitate to approach her." Tierra pulled and twisted Brom's leg in one quick motion, snapping his bones back in place with an audible CRACK. Brom's face twisted in pain, a deep grimace etching his features, but he did not make a sound. Riyanna smiled and wrapped her arm around Celestes' shoulders, "But I wouldn't worry too much about that happening. Teirra is an expert when it comes to medicine, and if there ever comes something that SHE cannot fix, then we might as well expect to die."

OOCOk I think this is just about ready to be wrapped up! I think one more post from each of us and then I will post your grade ^.^

[Celeste Arumen]

She giggled. ”I know!” Men were strange creatures, all straight up and down. They had so little to look at. Except, well… Celeste blushed, grateful for the sudden shift in conversation. ”Desert people to the south?” With a sudden scowl, she remembered she couldn’t look into it herself; she still couldn’t read nader-canoch! ”I ought to pray to Qayala,” she murmured dejectedly. ”I can’t read anything around here.”

Failbeast - a failed experiment. She felt a pang of regret for killing the foul creature. ”It didn’t ask to be born,” she said, bearing a look of contrition. ”It didn’t ask to die.” Tampering with creation only seemed to cause harm. It was up to them – the Wardens – to maintain that tentative balance. ”Noktal,” she echoed, allowing the information to sink in.

For some reason, Celeste didn’t find it very funny. She frowned without reply and heeded the summons. ”I can imagine why,” she said, cringing at the sickening crack as Brom’s leg was set to right. ”She would turn us all into Nuit.. Or worse.” Just a body, nothing more than a shell. But there was something else, something gnawing at her mind. Riyana didn’t want to become beholden to the other members of the Citadel. In her position, it was a very bad idea. Celeste on the other hand, was not inhibited by Riyana’s mistakes. That was the whole ploy behind taking her as apprentice.

She filed the idea away for later reference. It wouldn’t do to get too swept up in planning. Her eyes held a distant, thoughtful expression. ”Tierra could teach me a thing or two,” she remarked quietly. Perhaps that’d be good, too. Celeste didn’t just want to hurt. She wanted to heal.

”Thank you, Riyana.” She turned and smiled. ”I’m glad to be here.”

Though, it was only just the beginning. Things could only get more complicated.

[Mirage]

Rolling her shoulders Riyanna looked up at the sky, rubbing the back of her neck, "This is a very cruel place to live. Its harsh, and unforgiving, yet somehow we have managed to survive. It wasn't completely due to luck, though that does play a role... No its because, when the time comes, all of us, Warden's and Initiates, will do whatever it takes to survive." Turning her eyes on Celeste, her iris' shifted to a deep blue color as she gave a sad smile, "When it comes to you Celeste, and Tierra and Brom, I would not hesitate to rip the throat from anything that threatened you. I don't care if it wanted to be born or not... Because Right now my world is not this Prairie, it is you three. You're my family, and I will always protect you."

Looking away quickly Riyanna cleared her throat, stretching her arms over her head as she smiled and said more cheerfully, "Now then lets see to Brom's wounds and then get something to eat. I saw some Dirt Dobbers earlier, maybe we can catch a few and have a good roast!"

Jogging over to Brom she would kneel down, talking to Tierra as the both worked to bind his leg in preparation for their movement. The adventure was over, for now, but the future promised many, many more of the same in the future.

[Mirage]

Celeste

XP:
Morphing: 4

Lores:
Morphing: Adjusting Mass
Morphing: Morphing while Moving
Morphing: Dog Model Size Increase
Morphing: Release the Beast
Noktal: Eat dead exeriments
Failbeast: Failed Experiments
Tierra: Eypharian's have multiple arms
Tierra: Knows Medicine
Prairie Warden: Calls for Safety
Prairie Warden: Calls for Summons
Riyanna: See's Celeste as Family

Additional:
That was a super fun thread!! So I gave you an extra point in morphing because of the fantastic detail and the effort Celeste put into each morph. Way to go super impressed at your grasp of the magic developing so quickly XD. Also, the lores on "calls" are in reference to the calls that they make to and from each other to tell them what is up. Like the Call brom used to summon Riyanna to the beast, or the call Riyanna used to ask about the safety of Tierra and Brom. Congrats Celeste now knows these, feel special XD. On an additional note, Celeste can now morph to her current model at any time. So she can change into the supersized dog form whenever she wants, and she does not have to try quite so hard to maintain it. She's quickly wearing away the elastic of her djed .

If you have any questions just PM me