Is she drunk or just foreign? [open]

[Fela Meason]

10th day of summer, 511 AV "Well, umm, R," he pronounced the letter phonetically, "It is a, uhh, a pleasure to meet you. My name is Seidaku, and this is Vhanet." After a brief pause, he added, "Perhaps we should, ah, find you something to cover your... your condition." Fela heard his words but she was distracted by his jugular vein. It pounded against his skin like a caged animal that wanted out, she imagined the coppery taste tickling her taste buds and the blush of red staining her lips. She ran her tongue gently over her incisors. The feeling was unnatural to her, she wasn't much of a hunter. She stalked, she enjoyed a well cooked steak, but she didn't hunt often. She tried to look anywhere besides his throat but was greeted with the softest looking skin she had ever seen. She had an urge to rub her face along his skin and feel it's texture, roll in his scent. She mentally shook the feelings away, the thought she was overheating passed through her brain. She convinced herself with lots of mental coaching and she forced her eyes to his face and away from his neck. My condition? Am I ill? Fela felt her forehead and appeared concerned by his statement, then like a ton of bricks it hit her. Her nudity. Fela gently slapped her forehead. That's right, you humans like clothes don't you. Forgive me, I am not quite myself today. If it makes you uncomfortable Sei-da-ku...She struggled with his name. Then I apologize to you and your lady friend here. She bowed deeply to both of them in an overly formal gesture. For the first time since the this whole mess started she took a good look at the woman who had run to the man's aid. She was a little shorter than Fela, which was uncommon for the most part but it did hint at the woman's biology. Fela knew she was Dhani but had no idea what flavor she was. She was very slender and quite lovely, if Fela was not so distrustful of her she would have found her very attractive. She had silky dark hair that framed her petite face and sharp features. Well. What's the game plan? Fela glanced around and had a sense of familiarity with her current location which was odd considering it had already changed since she had turned around last. The street now appeared to be made of some gelatinous substance. Every vibration from the footsteps of travelers down to the speech of her and her acquaintances caused ripples and rolls through the street. Waves of the jelly like substance were reaching as high as four feet. Fela reached out a hand and batted at the goo, she watched it bounce and ripple and laughed without fear, like a child. The only areas not affected by the transformation seemed to be random patches of dirt much like the one they were currently standing on. Fela jumped up on a near by box and peered out over the rooftops and down the hill in front of them. She spotted several large shops maybe a half mile away and...wait... Is that my house? It looked just like the cottage from her memory but she could not be sure without a closer look. No point in just hanging around here...Fela said as she stretched and loosened her muscles. She was already naked, so no clothing to destroy. Plus her state of undress seemed to be making the human male uneasy. A thought that excited her and made her giggle to herself, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. Might as well ease their mind...Fela whispered to herself. The next moment a swirl of lights formed around her feet and quickly engulfed her entire body. A moment later the naked woman was gone and a dark Jaguar stood in her place, with one blue eye and one brown one.

[Yanessavhanet]

Vhanet was a bit surprised that the woman showed no real reaction to the words being whispered in her ear. Perhaps she was used to hearing her voice whisper to her to kill and mutilate people? Perhaps she was more interesting then than Vhanet originally thought, but that didn't mean Vhanet was any more keen to share her toy. Either way she'd have to try something else to cause some problems for the woman.

Still, she made a show of being nice. Standing up, with Seidaku's help, she smiled warmly at Seidaku for a moment, and then began to undo her cloak with the intent of giving it to the woman. Before she could though the woman was off and scrambling up on top of a box. Leaning close against Seidaku she whispered softly, "I don't think that woman can be called well in the head, do you?"

As she spoke to Seidaku she let her illusion of a whispering voice fade from the woman's ears, and was about to create a different illusion when the woman shifted forms. Of course, she was a Kelvic, that explained much, and only decreased Vhanet's opinion of her. She'd never had a good experience with the silly little creatures, other than eating them, and this was just further evidence against them.

Still, to the outside world she gave a small gasp of surprise, and widened her eyes at the woman's sudden change. Turning her surprised look towards Seidaku she mentally created her next illusion. Using the sense of touch she gave the Kelvic the feeling of dagger being slowly driven into her side. The burning pain as the metal parted flesh and muscle, and then spread them further apart. Just thinking about it was almost enough to cause Vhanet to shiver in delight.

[Seidaku]

The way she stared at him made Seidaku profoundly uncomfortable. An image of a mouse transfixed in the gaze of a viper flashed into his mind's eye.

And then the uniquely mismatched, predatory glare was gone, replaced with startling rapidity with the woman's apparently normal, flighty behavior. "Oh, umm, it is quite alright, really. No, ah, no," and then he was staring at the top of her head and the curve of her back, "... reason to apologize."

And then the solemnity was gone, replaced by seemingly idle fancy as she asked their plans and then darted away without waiting for an answer. "I, ah, believe you may be right," he whispered to Vhanet, "She seems a bit... touched."

Anything he might have thought beyond that was washed away in a wave of wide eyed shock as the woman vanished into a spray of multi-hued light that coalesced into the form of a hunting cat.

Fascinating. He had heard of the Kelvics, but to not only meet one, but bear witness to the magic of their transformation was truly a wondrous sight. If nothing else, it served as some justification for her odd behavior. He had read that the Kelvics had the minds of animals, which explained her casual stance regarding nudity. And he supposed it explained several other peculiarities as well, after all, one expected a dog to answer to the sound of its name, not necessarily to comprehend the significance of the sounds themselves.

Nodding to himself at the answers presented, he still had dozens more questions racing through his mind and vying for priority to be asked. Would she think them offensive? Her mind could not be entirely bestial, as she had mastered Common, which he had yet to see any common animal do.

[Fela Meason]

10th day of summer, 511 AV Fela shook her fur out and dug her claws into the wood of the crate enjoying the feeling of the fragile material splintering beneath her paws. Her ears perked up picking up every small and delicate sound all around her. Strange birds greeted the day with song and little regard for much else. The sounds of a busy city full of life delighted her. Mice could be heard making their way from bag to bag of the bakers good looking for a hole to slip in and enjoy some of their stolen feast. The hard rocking of wheels sounded off as carts bustled to and fro. People mumbled and went on about their lives, slow and tragically dull. It fascinated her how a race of people could be so enamored with the mundane joys of life such as eating a meal seasoned just to your liking or taking a lover for the first time. All of this seemed so trivial, but they enjoyed every moment of it and loved to chatter about it uninterrupted. She focused her senses on her two near by acquaintances and managed to pick up scraps of their conversation, but the more she tried to listen the more a white noise started to cloud everything over. The birds stopped singing, the mice stopped creeping and soon only a static hum could be heard. Puzzled Fela jumped off the box and stalked along the side of the street listening for even the slightest sound. Suddenly a blinding pain ripped through her side leaving her breathless. At once all of her muscles tensed and a low growl trickled out of her mouth. Fela spun around to face her attacker and found no one was near her, she had left Seidaku and Vhanet standing several yards away. The pain grew more and more unbearable as the feeling of metal digging deeper and deeper screamed signals to all of her nerves to attack. But attack what? No one was around. No one new had walked up, no new scents. Memories came pouring back to Fela, like someone unplugged a sink and she was the reservoir beneath. A hunter dressed in a dark green cloak came out of the darkness, a pale blonde huddled in the corner frightened and searching with her hands. Fela saw her self, like she was watching a play. She faced the hunter, crouched and ready to spring. The memory changed, the room was now filled with smoke. Fela lay limp by the door bleeding onto the straw mats covering the ground. She could hear the cries of someone inside but was too weak to help...to save them. The pain in her side snapped her back into reality. The pain became too much, the cat let out a startling roar and smashed the near by crate with a swipe of her massive paw. The pain leading to numbness and blackness eating at the edges of her vision Fela felt her legs start to go out from underneath her. She struggled to stand but the limp had become too apparent and slowly she slid to the ground. Her chest rose quickly with her panicked breath, she was vulnerable and scared. A trapped animal.

[Yanessavhanet]

Vhanet watched the Kelvic for signs of her reaction to the illusionary pain, and she was not disappointed with the result. At the creature's growl she held her breath, and then as the Kelvic spun she gave a startled gasp and moved behind Seidaku, her hands clasping to his arm. When the Kelvic attacked and destroyed the crate Vhanet outright screamed in terror, and she let her delighted tremble move through her body as if caused by fear.

"I think we might want to leave," she whispered to Seidaku as she watched the Kelvic with wide eyes, but her trembling ceased as the Kelvic slipped to the ground.

Perhaps there was something else wrong with her? Vhanet didn't think she could actually cause damage with her illusions, but it seemed the Kelvic was still suffering more than one would expect from the pain. Reluctantly Vhanet released the illusion as she whispered to Seidaku again, "What happened?" though she doubted Seidaku actually had an answer.

Still, her mind was starting to dance with the possibilities of a fun game to play with this bizarre Kelvic. She knew they could be tricked or forced into bonding with someone, and a loyal Kelvic toy could prove useful...

Releasing Seidaku's arm she took a couple hesitant steps forward and called out, "R? Are you injured? Do you need help?" she gave her steps a reluctant look to them, but she slowly continued to more towards the Kelvic, "Be there anything wrong?"

[Seidaku]

Seidaku's amazement curdled instantly into a sour dread when the woman gone large cat's posture changed from playful to threatening. First a low growl that he could feel in his chest, and then with a startling suddenness the beast was crouched and staring at them, hackles raised.

With Vhanet behind him, he took an involuntary step backward, pushing her with him, "I, ah, don't think that any sudden movements are a, umm, a good idea." A very clear scene was playing itself out in his mind. A cat perched over two mice. It was only when the mice darted away in fear that the cat pounced.

Then she smashed the box with one swipe of a massive paw and released an ear-splitting roar that sent the the people still on the streets scurrying away. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to follow them, running away and finding somewhere safe to hide. If he did that though, Vhanet would be defenseless.

With quick, shallow, terrified breaths, Seidaku clenched his jaw and stood his ground. He could do this. It was easy. All he had to do was stand there and be mauled while Vhanet ran away.

Even though he could feel his knees shaking, he took one deep breath, and then another, clearing his mind and quelling his fear. He would not be mauled. Vhanet would not be mauled. He was a mage. Djed was his to command. The Void was his to command. He could do this.

When Vhanet tried to step around him, he raised one arm to block her way, shaking his head slightly because he did not trust himself to speak without his voice quavering. Raising both hands now, he reached out with his mind and grasped at the fabric of the universe. First compressing a space to create a single point of perfect, bottomless blackness, he then stretched that single point into a ball of swirling darkness the size of his head.

A fearful voice in the back of his head gibbered at him to make the portal bigger, to pull the threat into the Void and close the portal after it. Feeding on his fear, the portal devoured more of the world around it, swirling to twice the size of his head and beginning to draw air into itself with a low, whistling hiss.

Calmer now, he looked over his shoulder at Vhanet, "Please, umm, please stay behind me. It might be... umm, dangerous."

[Fela Meason]

10th day of summer, 511 AV Fela could hear now, the pain was fading but her limbs still refused to work. Her right leg was just a worthless lump of meat. The sounds of voices soon reached her ears R? Are you injured? Do you need help? Fela let out a helpless whimper and attempted to stand again. Every time she got her footing her back leg gave out again and she slid helplessly to the ground. Her memories were becoming more clear, she started to remember who she was and her past, how she got to this place and everything she had lost. She remembered the wolf that had given her this bum leg, the hunter that took away her life of happiness and most importantly her name. Fela. Fela Meason. That's my name. The name given to me by Salida.She thought. Fela's eyes widened further in panic as the man proceeded to create a sphere of darkness in front of him, the void. She had read books on the subject and heard stories but as far as she could remember had never once met anyone capable of preforming the magic itself. She had to get out of there. The friendly clumsy man was now a monster to be feared. Adrenalin pumping through her veins Fela forced herself to stand. She swayed on her feet for a few moments while the feeling slowly crept back into her leg. She could feel the tug of the darkness, she watched as smaller things began to disappear. Specks of dust and leaves from the trees vanished into the numbing cold of nothingness. Struggling against the pull of the void and the still uncooperative muscles of her right leg, Fela limped towards the street, which was now covered in large floating drops of ink suspended in the air and dripping smaller puddles everywhere they stood. With most of the use in her leg back she raced down the street and away from the darkness and coldness that was behind her. Using of the ink drops she hid herself and tore down the closest alley she could find. Once she was sure she was well hidden and far enough away to not be seen she slid down the ground let out an anguished scream inside her head. She berated herself for thinking that any human could ever be trusted.

[Yanessavhanet]

As delightful and fun as this chaos was becoming Vhanet couldn't help but notice the negative attention given to Seidaku by the few people that remained nearby. In a different circumstance Vhanet would have delighted in the possibilities of the situation, but with her nearby that meant some of that attention could quickly shift to her.

After a moment's hesitation Vhanet decided to take things into her own hands. She'd scared the Kelvic off, hopefully teaching her a lesson, and had some fun. Now it was time to make the escape. Luckily it seemed Ionu was providing some assistance in the matter.

Drawing upon her divine mark Vhanet crafted an illusion over the portal to the Void Seidaku had opened. She softened the darkness over it, giving it a liquid sheen, and then created the image of similarly colored ink dripping off of it onto the ground below. With the Void portal now disguised as another of the nearby ink blobs she gave a faint tug on Seidaku's arm, "I think leaving would be good now," she whispered softly to him, and then gave another couple tugs to get him moving.

Her dark eyes glanced around the area as they started to move, searching for signs of the Kelvic. She wouldn't mind tormenting her more, but she doubted that the beast had stuck around. Regardless if she had left or not Vhanet would have to "thank" her the next time they met. After all, the Kelvic had helped her learn something very interesting and useful.

[Seidaku]

Seidaku took a half step backwards at the look of wild eyed terror in the large cat's mismatched eyes. It was only the fact that Vhanet would be defenseless if he fled that kept him facing the Kelvic. One never knew how a frightened animal would react. Maybe she would run, or maybe she would attack and kill them.

When she turned away, he released a breath that he did not know he had been holding. His display had been enough to save them. His shoulders dropped when he noticed the limp, though. Something was wrong with her, and instead of noticing or helping, he had opened a portal to the Void and scared her away with it.

He was frowning and staring into the crowd beyond the portal, after the fleeing cat as she disappeared into the streets, when he felt Vhanet tugging on his arm, whispering that it was time to leave. He turned to face her with a reassuring smile, one that soured abruptly when he noticed the angrily glaring crowd that his display had gathered. He could not make out individual voices, but there was an angry murmur to the crowd that indicated a willingness to do violence.

"Oh, umm, yes," he stammered, eying the gathered Alvadans nervously, "Yes. Leaving would be for the best. Now."

Except that there was one problem. He could feel the portal behind him, tugging gently at his attention the same way it drew the debris from the street toward itself. Except that it was not there. He turned to fully face the portal, breathing with the shallow, quick breaths of someone bordering on panic. He knew the portal was right there in front of him, but all he could see was one of the now ubiquitous blobs of ink flowing gently through the air and across the streets.

Had he even summoned the portal? Had he filled and destroyed it without realizing it? Gods, was this another symptom of over giving? Before, in the park with Vhanet, he had felt himself approaching his boundaries and made the conscious decision, fueled by pride, to approach too near it. Now, there had been nothing. No sense of danger, no feeling of stress or pressure, nothing. Just the sense that his portal was still there, when obviously it was not.

Licking his lips, and trying to hide his shaking hands from Vhanet, Seidaku closed his eyes and turned his will in the direction that the portal should have been in. When he fed the world into the portal to sever the way to the Void, it had felt right, but there was no change. Nothing to indicate that there had ever been anything there. Just that same undulating ball of inky blackness that was so obviously different from the perfect darkness of the Void.

With the crowd still pushing in around them, muttering angrily now about the oddness of the wizard's behavior, Seidaku aceded to Vhanet's renewed shoves and led the way away. He had expected to have to force away through the crowd, but the press of bodies thinned and then parted to let the two of them pass unmolested.

[Fela Meason]

10th day of summer, 511 AV Fela waited in the shadows of the alleyway for what seemed like hours before she dared move. The large cat licked furiously at her ink coated fur scrunching her nose up at the taste of it. I wonder if this is going to kill me? She thought to herself. At last she shook the last of the ink free from her coat and moved out of the shadows and into the light. The street was mostly deserted now. Only a few people milled about and even less of them seemed to recognize her from the early chaos. The ice cold stares from a few of the locals indicated that the incident was not all forgotten. Thank Ionu the street had not shifted in the time she was hidden. She could still see the little home sandwiched between the taller buildings from where she stood. Moving slowly and sticking to the shadows she moved towards the building. Fela reached the door and listened for any sounds of movement. None could be heard from the room beyond. If this was the wrong house, then no one was home to find her checking it out. The sun was starting to set and was much lower in the sky than when she had first arrived in the city only a few short hours prior. The large cat vanished in a brilliant light show and left Fela standing nude once more outside the home. With little ceremony she turned the knob and strolled into the house. She was greeted with the most beautiful sight she had ever seen in all of her short years on the face of this blessed land, her home. She could smell herself on the blankets on the floor, see the cat hairs coating the well used pillows and feel the claw marks in the floorboards beneath her feet. She was home, lovely wonderful home. Exhaustion overtook her and caused her to nearly fall where she stood. She needed food and fast, she hadn't eaten all day and transforming was very trying on the body. A worn chest sat to one side next to an equally worn table. Under the table was a box, to smell of beef greeted her senses and caused her mouth to water. Frantically she pulled out the box and fell on the jerked beef like a ravenous dog. The first few mouthfuls reached her belly and she slowed her pace. With six strips of beef left she carefully wrapped them back up and put the box back underneath the table. Her belly satisfied as much as it could be with her limited supplied she eyed the blankets on the floor. Sleep. She nodded to herself and curls up inside her cave of blankets and pillows and drifted off to sleep to dream of mages and snakes. The eventful day weighed heavily on her mind and gave her lots to think about. As much as she was afraid, she wanted to learn and to understand. The intelligence that shone from the human's eyes stated he could be reasoned with and a potential help to her. She did want to see him again but also didn't want to be wiped from existence. The Dhani on the other hand she knew would be nothing but trouble. Fela had traveled much and met many interesting people in her few short years of traveling with Salida, but one truth always held water: Don't trust snakes. That and don't steal an eagle from Wind Reach.