Open A Look at Leth

[Tinnok]

A Look at Leth
61st of Fall, 514 A.V.

As a whole it was a night much like any other in Zinrah. Dhani slithered calmly through the intricate tunnels of the city, many lounging in the hot springs, others attending plays, a few collecting int he Distillery to gossip or simply drown the constant intrigue and gossip of the nest.

Sinilyssintile, however, was far more interested in what was going on upwards and outside of the city, than what was within it. A full massive orange moon would be in the sky this evening, that he knew, and he was determined to see Leth in all his splendor. That being said...it was never safe for Dhani to simply leave the city, even out of the exit hidden int he ruins above Zinrah, the one so jealously guarded even the jaded monkey Myrians didn't know where it was kept.

No, Nilyss had need of a bit of entourage, a single escort might be fine, if it was the right one, but the more the better, each able body decreasing his chance of getting skewered and roasted over some spit all the more. So, despite the fact that Dhani were not all that friendly in the first place, Nilyss was parading down the tunnels of Zinrah, very blatantly calling out his request to all those that could hear.

"A beautiful dissplay on tonight my brotherss and ssisstersss! The fullness and glory of Leth on dissplay thiss eve for all to ssee! And I am going to the ssurface to glimpsse him, thosse who wish to join flock to me!"

Largely Nilyss was met with degrading stares from female Dhani, confused looks from basically everyone, and largely ignored. The more he was ignored, however, the louder Nilyss spoke, eventually someone would go with him, if only to silence the noise that was coming out of his brown speckled maw.

Tinnok, who was still nowhere near being able to properly navigate the tunnels of the city, was dragged toward the racket Nissyl was making by an excited Tsuya, her dark green head bobbing up and down as she led the half breed down a steep tunnel, around a sharp right turn, and almost bodily into the male Constrictor. Tinnok skidded to a halt, and rubbed her nose. Tsuya, however continued forward, bumping into the Dhani's stomach and giggling profusely.

"Do Tsuya want see Leth?" Tinnok asked in her broken form of Common. The girl nodded eagerly, acting shy in the presence of Nilyss for nearly the first time since she had been put under Tinnok's care.

Nilyss eyed Tsuya and Tinnok warily. In such a small community as this it didn't take long to identify the half Myrian, given Sanctuary by Caiyha and Siku herself. He snorted a bit, taken aback, and almost regretting the show which he had made, then shook his head. "It will be a gloriouss dissplay tonight, all are welcome to join me, regardless of their...unfortunate heritage."

Tinnok rolled her eyes, but Tsuya grinned and thanked Nilyss with a bob of her head, grabbing Tinnok's hand again in preperation for the exit of Zinrah, Nilyss desperately looking around for another more Dhani face to join him.
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[Xen]

The Stygian Serpent

“ Beautiful...” Xen had forgotten about the elegance of the moon.


It had been a long time since Xen had spent a night outside of Zinrah. Glorious nights, such as this one, were always enjoyed with those he roamed the lands of Kalea with—his parents, and uncle. The eerie darkness was suppressed by the light of their relentless campfire, and the cold was banished by its warmth. Stories of adventure and peril, causing laughter and awe, filled the surrounding silence. Expressions of delight, painted by fond memories, created everlasting pictures within his forgetful mind. Indeed, even in his forgetfulness the memories lived on.

Xen rests his lengthy form on a branch, surrounding him was the darkness and the cold of loneliness. There was no fire that could warm what he felt; no laughter to build happiness upon. It was only him and the dark expanse of quietude. The blood moon's visage was within Xen's gaze; his eyes reflecting the great giants light like the quiet surface of a lake. Yet, he did not feel tranquil, nor was his depths as serene. And below no creatures swam, nor were there currents or a flow of any kind. There was only stillness, seemingly perpetual in nature.

“Light is always around me. Yet, my perspectives remain dark,” Xen thought while observing the sky. Dozens of celestial bodies presented themselves; brightly existing, they to were surrounded by a body of utter blackness. But the stars did not falter in the overwhelming presence of darkness, and as a result, they became powerful beacons of perseverance and strength. Xen continued to gaze upon the stars, wondering if he could become like them. He did not wish for their luminance, but their strength. If he could grasp an understanding of power and will then he could suppress the evils that have been trying to creep into his life.

Xen needed a foundation; something he could build his strength upon.

He was quite close to Zinrah; though, suspected no one would notice him immediately. If he learned to mask his presence entirely; he could become a formidable nocturnal predator. Xen flicks his tongue, and focuses on the jungle floor beneath him. He wasn't just moon watching this night, indulging in his serpent form, Xen was out on a hunt as well. He had concealed his machete, dagger and shield beneath the undergrowth in case a large animal entered the vicinity while he was hunting. Xen didn't have the luxury of a constrictors massive form; he had to be careful, even more so now that he was in his serpent form.

“It will be a gloriouss dissplay tonight, all are welcome to join me, regardless of their...unfortunate heritage.” Xen heard someone say; he assumed that this stranger was a constrictor, it was that sibilant accent that gave the strangers nature away.

“ We're all dhani, aren't we? I wonder what he meant by unfortunate heritage, ” Xen curiously asked while observing Zinrah's entrance.

[Ssafiracitlali]

Citlali's approach was languid and unhurried, perhaps even lazy, as she was drawn to the unpleasant sound of the male's repeated cries and the very little excitement he was drawing from the crowd. She wore her Dhani form proudly, as brown as he with the speckles of black and moss tones to distinguish her from similarly coloured siblings.

The importance and interest of the male was eclipsed easily by the presence of the female and her companion, bringing the realisation that this unaccompanied female could be the very same one that had been brought in and therefore the very subject of salacious whispers in the darkest tunnels.

"Mind your tongue, male," Citlali interrupted what was sure to be the brown's next slur with a sharp hiss and a quick beat of her tail. "Thisss iss an esssteemed guessst. It would be unssseemly to come off asss rude, yesss?" She gave him the most sweet smile she was capable of, which in her Dhani form was nothing pleasant to look at if one was unfamiliar with Dhani expressions.

She looked away from him then, allowing him reprieve from the unblinking stare she gave him. Her attention instead settled upon the woman given freedom to enter Zinrah and her interest in the girl was acidic and perverse. Certainly there were elements to her that were Dhani, yet they were invisible to the actual Dhani. Her little companion was no different, regarded with as much disdain as Citlali had regarded the Myrian child of years past.

Citlali did not waste breath attempting to communicate with either in this form. Her mouth could not do much more than hiss. Their mouths would only dirty the language. Rather, as she looked between them both, she immersed herself in the uneasy sensation of her gnosis to learn them in a more [i]intimate[/i[ way. She sought their fear, chasing them down, before swallowing the knowledge, inclining her head in greeting, and flicking her tongue suggestively at Nilyss before awaiting the moment of their departure.

After all, Citlali would not have come if she were not interested.

[Tinnok]

A female approached with similar coloring to Nilyss, yet her bearing and demeanor was that befitting a superior female of Zinrah. It was strangely amusing to Tinnok the strange similarities that lay between the Myrians and Dhani, how superior females were, their stubborn pride where either race was concerned. She hissed something that sounded authoritative to the male, who cowed, and though she eyed Tinnok with...curiosity? The half breed caught her more than disdainful look directed at Tsuya, causing the half breed to draw closer to the younger. Oblivious, the green haired girl beamed up at their new constrictor companion.

"I'm Tsuya, glad to see someone else coming!" Though Citlali didn't respond, the young child did not seem bothered by this in the least, and grabbed Tinnok's hand, ready to depart and see the moon. Tinnok gave a slow nod of greeting to the serpent, since it seemed she did not care to speak.

When peering into the two individuals with her gift of fear, Citlali would glimpse two different stories. For the girl her greatest fear was quite recent and fresh like a wound. A dark night, a feeling of rot and death, and a being that transformed into mist, following, stalking her, seeking her body and to harm her Tinnok, and all of her animal friends. They were strange disjointed images, partially blocked due to fear and pain, as well as losing consciousness during the entire event, but they had been resurrected when Tsuya had met the Undead Sorceress Evalin, who gave off the same unnatural bone chilling aura of the floating girl that had laughed and taunted her and Tinnok upon the fateful day where they had met.

When she glimpsed at Tinnok she would sense something different. Her greatest fear without question was being stripped of her Gnosis. She had not possessed the language of the natural realm for long, not when compared to so many, but as soon as she had received it she had felt as if a part of her always shut had been opened, a part of her that had always sought out a deeper connection to the living things around her. The idea of ever failing Caiyha and having the language stripped from her that made her feel as if she truly had a place in this world when shunned by both Myrian and Dhani, it terrified her to no end. The fear manifested in an utter silence, being cut off from the thoughts, colors, and feelings of everything around her, a world most would never understand as she did.

"Come then, let uss glimpssse Leth, it iss not often we can sssee him in ssuch glory ass thiss night." He did not meet Citlali's gaze, but inclined his head respectfully and slithered before her, leading them out of the tunnels into the secret entrance of the city that would place them within the collapsed ruins above the city. Currently due to the trees that sprouted and conquered the ruins, it was impossible to see the moon Nilyss was so eager to see. He waited till everyone had filed out and gestured in a direction that would lead them in the opposite direction of the blockade. "I know of a place with higher ground, and a good space through the foliage." He continued ahead, Tinnok drew her longbow, keeping it before her. She was no fool, and would not be caught unawares by a Myrian fang happening by. It was easy to hide and sneak through the ruins, but didn't mean it was impossible not to be found. She crouched slightly and kept close behind Nilyss, glancing every now and again to check on the new female Dhani and Tsuya's progress who at least now knew to keep quiet when first exiting the ruins of the city.
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[Xen]

The Stygian Serpent

“ ....”

Xen slithers his body off the branch; his long form stretching towards the darkness of the undergrowth below. He continues to slide down, until his tail tumbles off the edge of the branch. Xen hits the dense undergrowth beneath him in mere seconds after his tail left the branch, and releases a short hiss from his jaw the moment of the impact. A hiss of relief, but one that could have easily been mistaken for pain. He had managed to avoid hitting the ground, which would have undoubtedly had a sturdy rock of some form, waiting for him to collide with its dense surface.

But, by good luck, this jungle had many conveniently placed soft and itchy areas to fall upon. Xen shook his body amongst the small branches and vines as a dog would with water that was lacing its fur. He did not like the prickly touch of the brush—flicking his tongue in disdain—he quickly slithers from the dense vegetation. Xen moves to a lighter portion of the undergrowth to avoid a future of tedious scratching, and regret. However, when one problem is cleared, another will always make haste to present itself. Xen no longer had the luxury of higher ground, he now had to watch his surroundings extremely carefully.

The serpent form had always changed his perspectives of the world; everything was so much bigger than he was. And minor predators, posing little threat to him, became much large. Xen slithers quietly through the brush; his smooth scales aiding in dampening the sounds of his movements. He remained close to the high-standing sections of the undergrowth that blocked the view of the canopy, but kept his view of the jungle floor manageable. That way avian predators, sitting and observing from the branches, would not spot him.

“ ....” Xen remained silent, and observant of his surrounds. He tries with the best of his skills to remain utterly silent, but his tail would still strike a stem—causing noise—or be entrapped within the grasp of a clingy vine. Xen pauses, and rears up to see what lied ahead of him. What he saw was a beautifully illuminated jungle, and dark shadows that were existing in harmony, with the haunting white glow of the moon seeping through the canopy. Xen continues to observe this beautiful portrait seemingly painted by the very gods of the elements. He remained close to Zinrah, but doubted anyone would notice him from the caves entrance, should they be walking out.

[Ssafiracitlali]

Ssafiracitlali looked upon the girl who spoke to her, completely nonplussed. What did the child say? What did her words mean? She did, after all, understand that the girl was communicating. Even savage brats could use words. While that was not worth a comment, she did return the nod given her by the Guest. Appearances mattered.

And when fear touched Citlali again, after so long ignorant and immune, it was inhaled deeply and cherished. This was what it felt like to live vicariously, to remember terror. It was not her own, yet the sensations were as real as if they had been.

Citlali could taste the rot and smell the death. Her ears were deaf, her fingers dull when they touched the hewn tunnel leading to the surface. She had been struck senseless and yet hypersensitive, and it was thrilling to know these secrets, these fears that weren't her own. She did not quite understand them, disjointed as the sensations had to be, but it was the knowing that mattered, and now that the Dhani knew she could piece together the methods to use the knowledge.

Quickly, she carried herself away before she let show some sign that she knew, as of yet ignorant to her own capabilities. She turned her face to follow Nilyss, lowering her torso, extending her arms, and actually slithering once they'd emerged from the tunnels and into the fresh air of Zinrah's outer ruins, the city that predated them all and spoke of lost secrets.

Silence was imperative here. Her fingers caught at divots in the worn stone, groves where weapons had chipped and the earth had been corroded, muscles coiling in a familiar motion to assist her in moving. She was large and slower than these others, even the male; Citlali had grown accustom to matching the pace of her peers.

Unlike the Guest, Citlali did not draw a weapon. She was all the weapon she could bear herself, as a bow wouldn't suit her in this moment and bludgeoning weapons could be acquired at a notice. It was good, though, that the woman brought her bow. Citlali didn't have range herself, and those who wield bows could do more from afar than she herself could.

The constrictor followed Nilyss closely, trusting the male's ability to bring the group to a place where the moon was lovely and there weren't so many trees to close him out of sight. She was alert now, beyond the languid atmosphere of Zinrah proper. Unlike the woman with Caiyha's gift, Citlali couldn't hear the life around her as anything other than wordless noise. It could be beautiful, but it was meaningless. She'd have a moment to resent the halfbreed for her gift later.

Citlali remained silent, even as they reached a distance others might deem safe. She had little to say that needed to be said and she was content with letting the male lead.

[Tinnok]

The group seemed not to notice Xen's presence, at least not yet, though Tinnok felt a slight prickling upon her neck that set her even more on guard. Her ears strained for the telltale sound of bird whistles or animal sounds the Myrians used to communicate, but other than the chirping of frogs and insects, nothing seemed amiss. She paused momentarily to place her hand on the large root of a nearby tree, calming her nerves with the steadfast nature and feelings of such an ancient entity sending its slow sturdy thoughts through her mind.

Tsuya had ceased talking, but was keeping pace with Citlali, curious and enamored with the powerful female Dhani all at once. She glanced back to check on Tinnok's progress, then continued her pace which seemed to be one step away from skipping, beside the massive slithering tail of the female Dhani.

Nilyss led fairly confidently, despite his rather unassuming and submissive male nature. He had been this way hundreds of times before after all, such was his connection to the sky.

"Not too much farther, perhaps another half bell or ssso." He hissed back to Citlali, who was his main concern of pleasing on this evening as the only full blooded female Dhani in the vicinity. His lids blinked once at the hopping green haired girl before turning back to his journey, glancing at an angled collapsing pillar and taking a sharp left, leading him farther from the ruins and deeper into the jungle proper. Gradually everyone would find themselves climbing an incline as Nilyss led them to the spot that he claimed would give them a perfect view of Leth.

Tinnok did not have an arrow notched, but her longbow remained at the ready, golden eyes focused on her charge and the large female Dhani, a lifetime of distrust for half of her bloodline never far from her mind.

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[Xen]

The Stygian Serpent

“ ....”

Xen turns his head sharply to the left, and slowly turns his head forward again. He was certain that he had heard someone. Did he pass a constrictor by while they were hunting?Strange, he should have smelled them, or at least sensed their presence amongst the jungle brush. Xen flicks his tongue once in annoyance, contemplating as to how he did not notice this individual sooner. There were always crucial details he missed when he focused excessively onto something; he probably slithered passed whoever was out in the jungle without knowing. Xen flicks his tongue once more to smell his surroundings, checking to see if there were any foreign smells within the vicinity—none.

He listens closely to the jungle, and relaxes the portion of his body that remained along the ground. Xen senses nothing at first, but then he felt small vibrations along the ground. The causes of these vibrations were likely to be small, nearby prey. And Xen had zero interest in rodent game as their meat and hide would only enrage, dissatisfy his stomach. He needed bigger prey, and the individual, who he believed he heard in the jungle, was probably hunting for said big game. Xen heads in the direction he heard someone in, thinking of the promise of food.

He slithers quickly! The foliage sighs softly as his slender form traverses over their earthy roots. Xen was still very cautious of his surroundings, and with every sound he heard, he paused to scrutinize. Xen continues to slither beneath the thick undergrowth, and with each meter he crossed his instincts flared! He could feel an odd energy coursing through his body; he could only describe this force as something primal. “ Prey is somewhere,” Xen felt his mind being muddled by simple thoughts, and his body consumed by what he feared the most the hunger.

He had forgotten about his objective, its been replaced by another. There was no longer a stranger he was looking for in the jungle. He was now looking for prey of which needed to be found—it needed to be hunted, and consumed. Xen flicks his tongue, and inhales air through his nostrils. There was only the omnipresent smell of the Falydarian jungle, which continued to fuel his drive. Xen search progresses into the ruins; he did not take notice to the old foundations that slowly emerge from the brush. In his rapidly descending mind there was only the hunt, prey, enemies that sought to hinder his hunt, and himself.

It took Xen awhile to find Tinnok and the group. He could not discern their features amongst the glare of his infrared vision, and opts to stalk them from behind instead.

[Tinnok]

oocCitlali if you do return and wish to join in on this thread again let us know! Also Xen, apologies for this shortish post!

Nilyss led the way cautiously forward, Tinnok still appearing as if she was ready for battle. She hated the land directly surrounding Zinrah's entrance, there was not as much wildlife, but the prospect of being caught by a Myrian fang was one that tugged at her viciously. She knew how fast they could summon reinforcements, and that knowledge filled her with more fear than perhaps even the Dhani felt at times.

The half breed could not shake the sense that they were being watched. She fell to the back of the pack, confident that Tsuya would be safe surrounded by Dhani, and let the three of them move gradually farther away from her, until she followed only the sounds, and the faint light of Leth shimmering through the thick canopy.

There she moved slowly, feet careful where they tread, trying to make as little noise as possible in order to hear something to confirm her paranoia, or nothing so that she could drive it away once and for all.

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[Xen]

The Stygian Serpent

“ ....”

His body remained very low to the ground, his movements remained the same as he prowled.

Xen made no sound as he went, but his body did. A subtle hissing sound was continuously being made while his scales brushed against the dry tree leaves beneath him. To an individual close to Xen, the sound would be reminiscent to light rain hitting the vegetation of a vast forest. Xen slithers, now pursuing the scent of what he thought was prey. But, as he follows the scent and allows it to become clearer and clearer to his mind, he realizes the single scent was instead various scents.

“ This is not prey,” He thought with his mind trying to regain a form of stability. The scents were familiar, he knew that for certain; they were that of constrictors and possibly a group of them. Xen’s tongue flicks from his mouth and touches the ground before darting back into his jaws. The scents were consistent and remained strong, mixing with the earthy odors of the jungle. He would pursue these constrictors, hoping that they’d bring him to the promise of food.

Xen had not realized that Tinnok stopping behind the group, his eyes were now upon the jungle floor, and the rest of his senses towards the vibrations along the earth. There weren’t any changes to the environment besides those he made with his presence. Insects like large crickets and occasionally a moth would respond to his presence and evade him. It was only after a few chimes of slithering that Xen raises his body off of the jungle floor and decides to look above the vegetation blocking his view of things.

“ !!!!!!!!! ” Xen instantly recoils at the sight of someone in his direct view! Instinctively he slithers backwards, and flares his hood in a defensive-offensive display. He was not expecting someone to be this close to him! The only things he did not do was hiss loudly and spit, for he notices this stranger...it was Tinnok.

“ Tinnok...”He thought

This was not who he was expecting; she also must have been hunting at such a fine hour. Xen lowers his guard and puffs air from his nostrils to make a small hiss. He did not wish to make too much noise, prey could be nearby and having them notice their conjoined presences wasn't good. In his serpent state he could only hope that Tinnok would notice him, and lower her stance.