[Flashback]Sharpening Your Nails on Bones

[Nadala]

1st of Winter, 510 AV. Wildlands.

She'd been walking for a long time. A very long time. All four of her paws were tired at the joints and her neck was sore from having the back strapped around it for such a long time. Deciding that she needed a much deserved break Nadala slowly walked towards one of the trees close by and laid herself down by the beginning of its trunk. Her spotted tail curled, lazily around the cheetah and her ears perked up as her eyes remained only half-closed, she knew it would be much too dangerous to let her guard down in these areas. Taking a moment to breath Nadala recalled her times in Taloba, she missed the city so.


Early Summer, 508 AV. Jungle Wilds.

It hadn't been long since the young Kelvic had left her mother and began her venture out into the world. She had just turned two not long ago and while sexually mature, the youth was still at times quite innocent. She'd been taught to fight as a human by her mother who was a prestigious fighter herself. These skills had so far not been put to use in real world situations as there hadn't been much need for violence, Nadala had for the most part avoided civilization as a whole, instead turning to the wilds. Being a cheetah, Nadala was for the most part a very solitary animal. For many this might post a problem, being alone in the wilds, but not for Nadala. She could reach speeds of 45 miles per hour in only seconds and go up to even 70 miles per hour, so it was often comforting to know that there were very few things that posed a threat since most things couldn't catch up. But it was always better to stay closer to the areas with roads, or rather the areas that were not forested since near the Talobian region roads were few and far between. Plus, it was an easier bet that she'd find Taloba if she stuck to the "roads".

Nadala continued walking, she was in her human form, and was often annoyed at how it took so much longer to travel while she walked on two feet. But mother had always told her to travel as a human whenever possible, it was safer from poachers and with the abundance of humanoid races she'd stick out much less. Before long Nadala could begin to see the great walls of the city. It was quite dark by now but that made little difference to Nadala, she hunted primarily in the evenings and so had very good sight in even when light was minimal. Though she may have been very far Nadala could make out at least four guards above the wall, watching for any who may near the city fortress. This did not stop the young women, she merely stayed her course.

Nearing the gates Nadala could smell a mixture of blood, kohl and sweat. It seemed odd to her that the smells didn't seem to be strong enough to bother the guards. Perhaps their noses weren't as developed, or they were even more disciplines than she'd heard. Hearing, it was an odd thing as well. She could hear every little movement they made in their trek to keep her in their line of sight but it did not bother her much.

She knew she was being watched but she'd expected as much. The Myrians were known for being cruel, un-accepting and blood thirsty which suited Nadala just fine, she much enjoyed combat. Plus, she liked the weather.

[Nadala]

Nadala expected guards to bar her at the entrance, but nothing. This did strike her as odd. Why would they have guards stationed on lookout but not at the actual entrance to the city? For the first time that night Nadala felt a little ring of alarm run through her. Quickly she brushed her hair behind her ears and listened intently. Nothing. Well, not nothing, there was still the sounds of animals in the jungle, steps within the city, the wind. But nothing to put her further on guard. Still, before continuing to walk inside Nadala let her hands hover around the daggers on her belt, her golden eyes darting from side to side at the slightly hint of movement within the shadows.

She walked and she walked. Now a descent distance away from the gates Nadala got even more suspicious. For a city known for it's brutality and lust for conflict she had entered much too easily. Then there was a sound. Immediately Nadala brandished her daggers and in an instinctual manner turned her head to look behind her. From the walls around the gate four figures dropped down all landing firmly on the stone beneath their feet. In the twilight she could see the glinting of gold in each figure. With impressive speed for humans the four ran at Nadala all with weapons as well. Two wielded golden gauntlets with long, sharp claws extending forward, the other two had long, three pronged daggers; all were gold.

Nadala could now see that the warriors were all women and in addition to their golden weapons, each woman sported armor; a mixture of leather and gold protective pieces. Perhaps if she was not under attack Nadala would have thought about it, but she was acting on pure instinct no thoughts involved.

The tallest of the women was close to match Nadala's height of 5'10" but didn't quite make it, she had deeply dark skin and braided hair pulled back with a strap of leather. She was the one who struck first. Her golden claws came down on Nadala but the Kelvic nearly laughed at the attempt. With both her daggers held out horizontally Nadala stopped the attack and pushed the woman back, then dropping to sweep her leg and knock the Myrian off her feet.

But of course there were three more and the fallen one wouldn't stay down long. The two with daggers encircled Nadala, both with one dagger pointed towards Nadala and the second pointing upwards. With a coordinated yell both twirled the up-facing knives and attacked. The spinning dagger were a diversion, which Nadala soon learned and they lunged forward with the opposite dagger slashing at the Kelvic. One she could dodge but the second cut her near her shoulder eliciting a very feline growl. That had done it, it caused the perfect second of hesitation from the two warrior women for Nadala to take advantage of. She threw her leg up hitting the first squarely on the chest and kicking her down. In a matter of milliseconds the Kelvic, in a sweeping motion, spun on her heel and, with the same foot that had knocked the first twin down, hit the second one's forearm breaking her hold on the three pronged dagger. Dropping down to the floor in a crouch, Nadala then rolled to the side and shot out another well placed kick hitting the Myrian woman's calf and sending her to the ground.

Taking her own dagger and throwing it at the first twin Nadala just barely missed her opponent's arm, Nadala could see shock and relief mixed into the face of the other woman. Not taking any time to curse her poor aim, Nadala picked up the fallen three-pronged dagger to replace her own. The larger, dark woman had gotten up again and ran towards Nadala with her claws slashing in a two circles.

[Nadala]

Taking her plain dagger and aiming for the dark Myrian's arm Nadala shot it straight and true. The flying weapon might have hit its mark too if one of the swinging claws hadn't caught it first and deflected the blade, sending it off to the left. And still the claws kept swinging, undaunted. In a slight surge or panic Nadala bit down on the strange dagger's blade and dropped down to all fours again. Momentarily forgetting she was in human form the Kelvic lurched off to the side and began sprinting out of the Myrian's reach. Despite not being in her animal form Nadala was still fast and agile and while for most humanoids running on all fours would seem an awkward and tumultuous Nadala sped over the stone ground like it was second nature to her.... well actually it was closer to her true nature than walking on two feet ever was.

As she ran through the streets of the city, the blade still in her bite, slightlycutting the sides of her mouth, Nadala could feel beads of sweat running down around her face. She was overexerting herself. Cheetahs could run at great speeds with little time needed for acceleration but they were built for speed, not duration. But at the same time, she was being attacked by crazy killer warrior women, how could she just stop to take a break? She couldn't. While continuing at this pace could definitely kill her due to the steep body temperature spike, stopping would just as quickly be suicidal.

But before she could barely form a thought, from above some building a figure dropped down in front of Nadala. She turned her body so as to help herself slow to a stop, burning her palms with the friction of the ground in the process. As Nadala looked up she could see the woman. The fourth woman. She was, by far the more beautiful of all four. Her skin was a golden tone that nearly matched that of her armor. Her armor, unlike the other three, included no leather; instead she wore a golden brassier and a chainmail loincloth-like bottom. She took, Nadala could tell, was made for speed and agility over strength. The woman's lips glistened with their metallic shimmer imitating that shine of her armor and weapons. And her weapons, they were different too, they were clawed gauntlets like those of the larger Myrian but held an extremely different feel. The claws were made to me an extension of the fingers, not an addition, and while they weren't as long Nadala felt they were much more formidable. This woman as a whole gave the feeling of being superior to the others before her. On the top of a head of straight black hair was a mask (golden, of course), probably the reason Nadala hadn't noticed her as much before. Kohl rimmed eyes stared at Nadala as she stood herself up to full height, a good 5 inches taller than the Myrian.

[Nadala]

Nadala's hands were stinging, some of the skin had been scraped off when she'd tried to slow down. Her arm was trickling blood. Her heart was beating far too quickly, any faster and she might've fainted. This battle could very easily be her last.

Looking at the other woman Nadala for the first time in a while felt very unsure of herself. While Nadala was panting and bleeding, the Myrian was standing calmly in the center of the street, her arms down by her sides. Not even a hint of sweat was marked on her body, which considering the physical activity plus the fact that it was a Talobian Summer spoke great lengths of the woman's physical conditioning. The woman did not move, though. She only stood there, watching Nadala try to get a hold of her breath. Nadala's face was locked into a frown but the Myrian showed no emotion whatsoever.

From behind her Nadala picked up the sound of running footsteps, surely the other three, finally catching up. And then they did, before Nadala could come up with a way out of the situation the other three women were not far behind her. With three behind her and the other in front, Nadala was effectively trapped.

Finally the golden woman moved, bringing her metal-clad hands up to clap twice. "I applaud you, Kelvic. You were stronger than we had expected."

Nadala bared her teeth in a growl, her elongated canines making themselves apparent. Words would not help the situation go either way.

"No need to be feral. We knew you to be one of the animal-people as you neared the city."

Nadala's response was only a hiss.

"A hunting cat I gather, no? What is it? A jaguar? A leopard? Lion?" sucking her teeth the woman shook her head. "No, no. Much too fast for any of those. My guess would be.... A cheetah."

Nadala swallowed, what had she gotten herself into.

"Ding ding ding. Hit the nail on the head, did I? I think soo..." she smiled, a near perfect smile. Would have been perfect if it hadn't held such a dark personality.

[Nadala]

"Oh do calm down, won't you?" her voice was smooth yet sinister. "We won't hurt you. My name is Tana of The Golden Claws. You've passed the test."

For the first time Nadala spoke, her voice was week and forced out, "Test?"

"Yes, test. See we aren't generally welcoming to outsiders. Most are either killed or barred from the city but a few are tested. If they prove themselves, they are allowed to stay. Let me extend this invitation. Would you-- what is your name?"

Her breathing was beginning to regulate itself once again. Her body temperature was reaching it's normal point. Nadala answered the woman, "Nadala is my name. What is this invitation you speak of?"

"Ah, well just let me finish. Let me extend this invitation to you Nadala, to become a member of our clan, The Golden Claws."

"A Clan? And this is how you invite your recruits? By nearly killing them?"

"....No, it's how we challenge them to see if they are indeed worth the clan's time. It seems that you are, congratulations."

"So what happens now?"

"Well, you have a choice to make. You can join the clan, we will house, feed, pay and train you in exchange for your allegiance and the completion of certain missions. Or you can choose to resume the battle and see if you can escape the city. The Clan, doesn't take kindly to rejection."

With little choice Nadala looked at the ground and then back up at the woman. If she wasn't so beat up already she'd probably try to make a run for it, escape was a cheetah's forte. But the odds were against her and Nadala felt much too weak to continue a fight where she was clearly outnumbered.

"So, will you coming with us?"

Nadala nodded.

"Wonderful, this way please."

*****

[Nadala]

After she blindly followed the four, followed being a loose term since two were stationed behind her not letting her slow down, Nadala was slowly regaining her energy. Approaching a step pyramid structure Nadala glanced around. She didn't like enclosed spaces, they always made her feel trapped like she had no way out, like she was flanked by warrior women.

The pyramid grew larger and larger as they got closer, it's stone blocks covered in creeping vines and ivy. The stairs led downwards into the ground, into the pyramid. Nadala's stomach felt uneasy, it was like she was going deeper and deeper into the pits of hell, deeper and deeper into a maze she could not easily escape. She closed her eyes but kept walking unsure if she wanted to see what the path led to.

Upon hearing the footsteps in front of her stop, Nadala's eyes shot open. They'd arrived.

She looked around and discovered it was not what she'd expected at all. Torches, sconces and fire pits were common and placed just about everywhere, which while yes was good to provide light also increased the heat. Her body though, was used to heat and the high temperatures did not seem to bother Nadala much if at all. In addition to the fire there was water. Pools had been built into the stones in the corners as well as along some of the walls. The water seemed dark, Nadala could smell that it was clean. It smelled of brooks and streams, she even wondered if perhaps fish could be found. She was hungry, but eating now would not be appropriate. Besides she hated eating in her human form. To Nadala, humans had always eaten in such a strange way. The Kelvic enjoyed to run after her food in order to catch it, and eating it fresh and raw was part of the fun. These humans with their rich foods and lazy habits of eating... no wonder so many of them tended to be overweighed. Was there such a thing as a fat cheetah? Not likely.

But food was not the point, not now, she had other things to think about. Her eyes jerked around, catching every small and seemingly unimportant detail. The walls, while covered in green on the outside, seemed to also glow a golden hue with the firelight. They began walking once again, and the women took Nadala through a hall, a turn to the right, a turn to the left, left again and then down more stairs. Once the finally seemed to stop, Nadala took in her surroundings. She could tell that in the far right corner of the room was an exit because she could smell the fresh air but she doubted it would be so easy to escape. There were others here, other gold clad women. The room was very very large, with two halls on the right and left walls directly opposite of each other. The the far right, where the exit seemed to be was what Nadala would assume to be a clinic area, A woman in a shapeless white robe stood behind a table grinding something in a bowl. There were cots stationed near her but no one was in them. The rest of the room was in battle. Women wearing armor and wielding weapons slashed, kicked, stabbed and swung at each other. There were at least ten pairs sparring. Her guides lined up single file and led her to the back where the robed woman worked her herbs.

"We've a new patient for you, Drila. Her name is Nadala, a Kelvic. Once you are done with her send her to Miira. She's a new recruit and will need new weapons."

[Nadala]

Drila was a very thin woman with thin limbs and a delicate face. Her skin was dark and had what seemed to be a to be a circlet of white dotted around her forehead. In contrast to her ebony skin Drila had startling light blue eyes, their nearly white irises always shocked those who looked upon her.

"Here," she said, handing Nadala a bowl with some water and a cloth, "clean your wounds."

Nadala took the bowl and soon grimaced as the stinging began. It hadn't been water but some saline solution. She had just gotten, quite literally, salt on her wounds.

"The salt helps kill any infection that might have wanted to start. Give me your arm." Scooping out a green paste from the stone bowl she'd been grinding it in, Drila spread the mud-like substance on Nadala's cut. She continued to treat any other injuries the Kelvic might have acquired and bandaged them. "Take the hall to the left and keep walking till you find the red bull, then go right and right again."

To Nadala the instructions seemed to have been rather vague, but she assumed that once in the hall it would all make sense. And just as she'd thought, it did. Once she had entered the hall, to the far end she could see a bull's horns jutting out from the wall, their tips stained with red. The smell of blood was strong so Nadala gathered that the beast had been a recent kill. She turned right and took the first right again and found herself in another large room, this one had reed mats covering the floors and a wall that looked to be there for the sole purpose of supporting vast menagerie of weapons.

Kneeling in the middle of the room was Tana. Nadala entered and the Myrian lifted her head up. "There," she pointed to a corner, where a mannequin wore armor similar to hers. "Get dressed for war, your training begins now."

Nadala was annoyed, she had just been bandaged up and this woman wanted to fight her again?! And yet, on some level, Nadala admired her. In the wild, a predator would not wait for you to heal. He would not give you the night to rest and let your wounds close. He would attack, that was nature's way and in a strange way this made Nadala dislike the woman less.

[Nadala]

Though made in a distinct design that was very close to Tana's, the armor Nadala donned had many differences. Unlike the Myrian's, Nadala's had chainmail connecting the top to the bottom and covering her midriff. The chain male was the same gold color of the rest of her armor and extended in a skirt-like manner in panels down to her mid-thigh. Her arms were sheathed by the chainmail in sleeves that Tana's armor did not have.

"It shall give you protection without hindering your movement. Speed and agility is key to winning a fight. You cannot be beaten if you cannot be hit. The armor is yours now. Come."

Nadala walked towards the woman, her new boots were still stiff, clearly never been worn. The heel was solid metal, just as the armor but the actual boot was a dark brown. The leather was hardened and, on the sides, it had golden rings sewed onto it.

"Choose your weapon," she gestured to the wall. Every weapon Nadala could imagine was on display. Swords, axes, spears, the pronged daggers, maces, bladed staves and the golden claws she'd admired earlier. Reaching out her hands for the weapons Nadala let her fingertips touch the glinting surface before picking them up. "Wise choice."

Nadala slipped one hand into the gauntlet blades and before she could do the other Tana took her hand. On Nadala's middle finger Tana slipped a ring, a gold band with a long flat slice of onyx on it. Upon the stone was a carving of a claw print. "You are now one of us. Welcome."

~~*~~

Waking with a twitch Nadala blinked a few times. She'd let herself fall asleep. Though it had not been long, being asleep in these areas, for any length of time, was dangerous. She got up and continued walking knowing that staying in one place for too long could become a peril she'd rather avoid.

[Templar]

Nadala: Dagger: 3 – Dual Wield: 2 – Unarmed Combat: 3 – Throwing knife: 1 – Running: 3 – Observation: 2 Lore: How to run on all fours, as a human – Initiation Test - Clan Golden Claws – Dangerous to sleep in the wild Additional notes: Excellent fight thread. I liked it a lot. If you feel unfairly rewarded, just contact me and we'll figure something out.