Flashback Cats Like the Dark (Poison)

[B'Naomi Tomva]

Who do they think they are, shoving me down a hole? Scrawny two legged spider men! Naomi yelled in her mind, a red film of anger covering her vision. She flicked her tale in annoyance. Quickly the rage she felt turned ice cold, a more dangerous, calculating version. She finally bother to look around and saw that it was quite pleasant. But it was still a hole! She sniffed, and turned her head to the side to look at a woman who had screamed. She felt bad for breaking into, intentionally or not, what was this woman’s turf. She gave her a comforting purr that seemed to say, ‘I am sorry for the surprise’, carrying warmth in the sound. Three more women entered, and a snarl formed on her face. She relaxed some when they assured the great cat that they meant no harm. Just a little. Her hair stood on end when she heard two thump behind her. She lightly whirled around to face the source of the noise to see that the guards had followed her. She was surprised that they would have the courage to face her after the roar she had given. She hunkered low onto the ground, ready to pounce. With a low growl she told them, ‘If you try anything, your lungs shall become my dinner, your heart my offering to the Bright One.’ No one ever understood the exact meaning, but something along those lines had to get into their head. Her paws were almost as big as their heads, a quick swipe would rip their legs off. She was not worried, if not a bit insulted and, though she would hate to admit it, panicked.

[Poison]

„I’m sorry for what we did to you“, Naomi could hear Alanys say. “We wanted to show you this building where your kin live, but we didn’t know how to get you down the hole!“ The Symenestra sounded sincere. She had drawn her weapon in case the situation escalated though, just like Demyan. The people that lived here could not be harmed!

One of the white robed women stepped towards Naomi, despite her threat. She only trembled a little. „Calm down!“ she told her again. „Nobody is going to hurt you. It is unfortunate that you were thrown into the hole, just an unfortunate mistake. Can you see the pregnant woman over there?“

She pointed at her colleague that was trying to comfort the human girl and sincerely hoped that Naomi didn’t know the dark secret of Kalinor yet. It was always better to solve a problem without violence. „Do you think a place where a pregnant woman lives is dangerous? Please change your shape again, and then we will explain everything.“

„They …“ Now she pointed at Alanys and Demyan. „… have only drawn their weapons because they are worried you will hurt a pregnant woman, an innocent one. If you calm down, everything will be alright.“

[B'Naomi Tomva]

If Naomi was any normal human, she might have been at a loss of what to do. But she was not a normal person, more animal than human in thought process. She did not move, the only bit of her that did was the hair on her back standing on end. The were trying to play it off like it was an accident! Whoops! Just shoved you down a hole, my bad! Who were they fooling? She did not know what was going on her, but she did not like it. She felt a little better, they would not keep pregnant women in someplace that meant her harm. But while the place might be safe, the weapons the guards had said otherwise. She did not trust them anymore. She looked over their weapons, deciding that in this quaint room, she would have the advantage of weaponry and sheer muscle power. A nurse assured her that the weapons were only so that she would not harm anyone. What purpose would harming someone serve her? She had eaten recently, and had no want for human flesh at the moment. And they did not seem to be wanting to harm her, so there was no reason to harm them. The guards however… Naomi swiped her paw at the closest guard, the speed and force of her blow tremendous. The dexterity in which she wielded her paws was astounding, no wonder tigers were feared hunters. If someone in the room had blinked, they would have missed the attack. She longed to feel the sensation of flesh on her claws, followed by breaking bone.

[Poison]

Alanys cried out as Naomi swiped her paw at her. Blood immediately began to flow. Demyan cast a brief look at his colleague before he aimed his spear at Naomi. Alanys had always been the braver one, the stronger one of the two of them, but he needed to take her place now and try to solve this situation with as little bloodshed as possible.

„Stop right now!“ he called out to her. „I know that you can understand me. If you stop this instance and become human again, nobody will harm you and everything will be forgiven! But know that we cannot tolerate the death of one of our own people! Alanys is still alive! You still have a choice!“

With one hand he gestured towards one of the nurses. She eyed Naomi wearily, wondering if it would be safe to go to the wounded Alanys who had slumped down on the floor. The other nurse, the one that had been comforting the pregnant girl, was taking her charge out of the room as she did not want her or the precious child that she carried to accidentially get hurt.

„You might be able to hurt or even kill one or two of us, but there are other people in Kalinor“, Demyan warned Naomi. „They have ways to control Kelvic, to keep them from shapeshifting. Do you want to spend the rest of your life in the Sac? Do you have a death wish? We only wanted to unite you with your people!“

„Kelvic have lived in this house before!“

[B'Naomi Tomva]

Naomi sniffed, a rusty sent filling her nostrils. Yes, this guard was now poisoned. She had a hostage, leverage in which to escape. She looked at the spear warily, not trusting it's edge. She Shifted, after some deliberation, casting flecks of gold light around the room. She brought herself to a standing position, slightly chilled from lack of clothing, and spoke her demands, "Your companion is poisoned. No point in beating around the bush, I suppose. She has around a hour to live. I, and only I, know how to create the antidote and will do so, if you get me out of this place." She picked up her pack, shouldering it. Taking a few vials filled with various liquid and solid substances out of her pack, she spoke, not looking up, "If you refuse, her death is on your hands." That would hit the guard in a soft spot, if he cared at all about his companion. Naomi did not like to do something like that, but you use what you have got. She turned to the nurse, "I am sorry for the trouble I may have caused you. I was very upset about being pushed down a hole," she shot a glare at the guard that was still upright before continuing, "Oh, and she will start convulsing soon, might want to get her a bed. Here is how this is going to work. You will send me down in the basket. I will start on the potion, and if I see or hear anyone trying to come get me, I will break the vial and their neck. If no one tries, I will put the vial in the basket and you can lift it up and heal your friend. You should get a move on. An hour only is so long." This just might work, and once in tiger form, she doubted they could catch her. And if they traced her to the forest, into her domain, they were in for a surprise.

[Poison]

To Demyan it seemed as if his worst nightmares had come true. He looked at Naomi in horror as she informed them that Alanys was poisoned and only had an hour left to live. Had it been wrong to lie to the Kelvic and try to harvest her? Was this Viratas‘ punishment for hurting an innocent? No, she wasn’t innocent, she was a poisoner, a murderer, just like them.

He did not want Alanys to die. They had been friends since they had been children. But neither did he want to let Naomi go, not after what she had done. He looked around the room for a few moments, he looked at Alanys who looked back at him pleadingly, and then he nodded curtly.

„Very well“, he said. „I will take you out of the Nest and to the Woven Gate. How can I be sure that you will not simply run once you have been sent down in the basket though? How can I be sure that you will really create the antidote for Alanys?“

[B'Naomi Tomva]

Naomi scoffed, the man was ignorent! "I do not think you know much about great cats, we are very honorable. I would never be able to return to the forest with my head high if did not have my honor untarnished," she said, her eyes twinkling with amusment. "Also, I do not wish for death, and this poison has a particularly nasty way of going about it. I do what I need to survive." She was unaware that the Symestrians had a very simmilar outlook, she might have thought it interesting. She looked apologetically down at the female guard, who had just started to seize. Next there would be the blood. She shuddered unconsiously at the though of the way it seemed to pour out unaturally, out of every hole. Naomi decided that it was best for them to be off now, "Come, lead me to the basket. Soon there will be one less Naomi and a not dead friend here in Kalinor. I was probably not worth the trouble anyways," she said with a wink, the wondering how true that had been. Once in the basket, she was taken to the enterance of Kalinor, the same way she had come in. Being careful not to drop anything, she called out a thank you, and set about creating the antidote. Mixing poweders with bits of crushed vine, heating it over low heat in a blue liquid, and a few other steps (a secret potion it was), and she held two bottles of the antidote, one dose each. She downed one, just in case, and set the other in the basket. Before she called it down though, she carefully scanned the rest of the tunnel, to make sure there was no traps. Vial still in hand, ready to be dropped and broken at any moment, her green eyes scrutinized the cave leading to the bright sunlight. OOCI will change this next bit if there is a trap, PM me please Satisfied that there was not one, that the guard had really cared for his companion, she replaced the vial in some cloth and headed up the cave. At the mouth, she shouted, "YOU CAN RETRIVE THE BASKET NOW!" She was sure the sound would carry to the guards ears. On the ground, she placed caltrops around her, with the same poison, but in a more diluted form, it would only cause extreme weakness. She could not have them trying to track her after all, not that you could track her over rock very well. Naomi allowed herself to bask in the sun for half a second, then, in a shower of golden sparks an a leap, she was bounding the mounain as fast as her legs and the terrain would allow. She breathed freash air, and felt the sun on her back. Naomi was happy.

[Poison]

Demyan did not know anything about poisons or how potent the poison that Naomi had used really was, and thus he had to take her word for it. Before he answered the Kelvic, he knelt down besides Alanys and held her hand for a moment. „Please be strong“, he whispered to her. „I will be back with the antidote in no time.“ Alanys tried to raise her head and say something to him, but no words came out. „Don’t speak“, Demyan said to her. „Save your strength. Everything will be alright. Viratas will see to it.“

He stood up again and turned to Naomi. The expression on his face was grim. He did not like that he had to do this. He didn’t like having to let a surrogate go, but it seemed as if he didn’t have a choice. „Come with me“, he said to her and gestured for her to follow him. One of the nurses quickly handed him a rope. He climbed through the hole in the ceiling and then lowered the rope to help Naomi up. Once she had climbed through the hole, he threw the rope back down and started leading her through Kalinor.

The Symenestra were staring at them, just like they had stared at them before, but this time he did not care at all. He had more important things to do. He needed to save his friend.
~~~~
Since Alanys and he had been occupied with Naomi, another pair of guards had taken their place at the Woven Gate. They looked at Naomi questioningly as she approached. Women that looked like they were fertile usually didn’t leave Kalinor this way. „She’s barren“, Demyan explained. He decided that it would be better to lie to them for now. He didn’t want anything to go wrong now. „And her father is a wealthy trader. I thought it better to let her go rather than get into trouble for nothing.“ The guards still did not look very happy, but Demyan simply gestured for Naomi to step into the basket and lowered her down himself.
~~~
Demyan as well as his colleagues looked down at where Naomi was preparing the antidote. As she told them that they could retrieve the basket, Demyan immediately pulled it up. His colleagues started at him. „You have a lot of explaining to do“, one of them remarked.

Demyan only shrugged his shoulders. All that mattered to him was that Alanys would live. If they threw him into the Sac because of it, then so be it.
~~~
Nobody followed Naomi as she fled the cave, but her trouble was far from over. In front of her were an endless wilderness and high mountains. The next city, the next halfway civilized area was a long distance away.

[Poison]

Skills: Subterfuge 5, Observation 5, Interrogation 2, Intimidation 1, Brawling 1, Philtering 1

Lores: Symenestra are sneaky; Kalinor: The Hanging City; Kalinor: Basic Layout; The Meadows Public House; Being examined; Being betrayed; The Nest; A narrow Escape

Notes: This was a really awesome thread! Naomi, your actions surprised me. I hadn’t expected that it would end like that. I was convinced that Naomi would get harvested, get pregnant and die. Well done! If you have a problem with the XP and Lores I gave you, send me a PM, otherwise enjoy your freedom!

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