A Night Swim (Open)

[Mirei]

74th of Spring, 512 AV Water. Cool, refreshing water. Aaahh.. She couldn't believe how good the water felt against her skin. It was like a healing balm on a burn, every one of her muscles sore from the unending travel. Six days of walking. Why? Why hadn't she stopped two days ago? Her body wouldn't be so sore if she had. Yeah, and risk a fight with a pack of dire wolves? Not likely. She had somehow wandered into the pack's land without even noticing but she couldn't figure out why. Then again, maybe it was because she had already been on the move for four days straight without any rest or food replenishment. Mirei realized now that that had been a suicidal move and now she didn't have the foggiest idea of why she had done something so stupid on a grand scale. Usually she was smart about such things but her mind had been occupied by other thoughts, focused on something about herself. And it was about time that she looked at it closely. It was already the middle of the night by now but she had been here since dusk and had already eaten. The remains of her kills - two buck carcases - lay not far from the river's edge and were nothing more than a few thin strips of meat on bones. She had definitely eaten well tonight and the meal should keep her going for at least two days before she had to eat again. As for the moment, she was enjoying a nice long swim in a river with the moon and stars providing the only light. The river was entirely refreshing, the section she was in fed by a waterfall that was no more than twenty feet high. It kept the water fresh and clear even as it flowed lazily. The particular spot she was in had some fairly deep areas but the bed closest to the edges were steady slopes for easy access. Though right now she had no real desire to dive down into the depths. Instead she was just floating along the surface, occasionally kicking her legs or swirling her arms to keep herself in the middle of the water and from floating with the river along its course through the Wildlands. Green eyes were half-open as she stared up into the night sky through the break in the forest canopy above, glowing faintly under the moon's silvery luminescence. Raven black hair swirled and fanned out around her head in the water, framing it like a black halo. Though she usually preferred to be in her panther state it wasn't feasible to float on her back like she was doing now. But with her clothes on the river's edge with her other belongings she was very much nude to the world. It didn't bother her though being a Kelvic. Being nude as a human was rather quite similar to being in her animal form. Both were natural so she was entirely comfortable. It just bothered the other races of the world so she at least conformed in that small way. Made life easier since it caused less issues with others. Speaking of issues... Her mind wandered back to her own personal issue. The one that had almost gotten her into serious trouble two days ago. Lately she had been feeling a sort of emptiness within her. A void in her soul. One that continued to creep up on her. Most of the time it happened either while she was in an area of population or just leaving one, but occasionally it sprouted up at other times. It was honestly starting to scare her and as much as she didn't want to ponder it, she had to. Unfortunately, she was pretty certain why she kept getting this feeling. It was longing. A want to belong. A need for a companion or master. In truth, she had been fighting it off for so long but now that void was growing bigger and her need stronger. What would she do? She was getting lonely, having no real direction in her life and just living, just surviving. It went against one of her deepest fears. Mirei sighed heavily and closed her eyes. What the hell am I going to do? OOCYes, looking for a master/companion for Mirei. Preferably a male and one that is either a neutral or criminal party in regards to laws. I find it more fun, hehe.

[Ulric]

Gray trunks wailed in thin, doleful scrapes. Gusts fringed the forest, and turgid channels laced the rustling of branches, gurgling and carrying brown leaves over stony depths. The banks undulated, eroding from petrified ridges of limestone. Their bowels piped by muddy chinks. Towers of pines and firs plunged in spiny frocks, barked by a shake of creepers. They splayed over carpets of needles. Tassels of ferns and pale grass crept from mazed roots, tufting defiantly. The studs of boulders pocked from black earth, indeviantly crusted by purple lichen.

Ulric trudged by a deadfall, dark eyes prying over the decaying timber clad by bulbs of yellow, white, and orange fungus. There was a leaden tug to his strides. The cleft chin gave a jerk, and he grunted, shifting the shirt of scales so it was confined under a bicep. The breeze was a salve, lifting tiny prickles over flesh left hackneyed by the squash of quilted linen, boiled leather, and jet, flame-scarred metal. There was only a light jerkin now, charcoal stained by the resin of sweat. The projections of tendon banded by twisty lumps of copper.

Vaguely, he limped.

Braids of inky night parted as he forced, with a jerk of discerning ear, toward the rippling murmur. The fire was distant, lonely but for his mate, her monkey, and his mule. The gloom crowded him. The wolves prowled, cages of rib likely conjured from gaunt chests, but would they dare? Their lupine shrieks, the puncture of fangs and sticky, rancid slaver, were in discord with the maul wrapped crossways over his spine. I’d wager they won’t trouble me, he mused, brushing away a prickly frond. I’m just gristle and scars, anyway.

Harshly, a twig crinkled under his heel. Dry, brittle, yielding to neglect. That it could persist in such desiccation, in audience of the forest’s bounty of subjugating muck, was a tiny miracle. Like many, crushed harshly underfoot. Bereft of reason, blind of whim. That’s its only augury, he thought.

The crows garbled, mocking him from their lofty spires. They rained their japes, lifting frayed plumes and yellow, beady eyes. The effigy of the dying man’s final gambit, made manifest.

Ulric disregarded their cackles, shambling through tangles of briar without balking. The crows were just hungry. Wired spears latched onto his trousers, his jerkin, and his flesh. Those barbs reared as woefully transitory impediments. They lashed away, festooning the furls of wool, or jerked back to gorge on fat, ruddy beads.

Presently, he reached the bank. The scales gave him away with their ruthless slither, the clanking of hard living. The gray-gush jumped away from gorged ledges, dredging into a vaster current. Nebulaic plaiting into pitch-black nadir, feral in its sprawl over calcified detritus. Rumbling further down, maybe from a necklace of rapids. Above, a string of gleaming pearls. Proud in their vaunted temples, yet below in this purgatory, glumly kneading the muffled flush of prosperous from manifold thumbs of fungus.

Ulric’s eyes lowered, intractably smoldering in their sockets. From his palm hung a greasy rag, meant for buffing the coat of scales, with its manifold blemishes and tiny, oblong shells. There wasn’t any inlay, except the grunge of faded battle. Barely discarded. Unchastened. Idly, the priest bided there, his presence looming in discord. Profaning the shafts of half-light.

Looking at her.

Intrusion, for all the nights he’d passed in rocky vigil, shivering and cowled against the shrieking gusts of winter. Internal was the night, though he wasn’t its only warder. Moths sprang from rumples of dry bark, fluting through the murk on creasing, dusty white wings.

His voice was like gravel.

“They crave the night, y’know,” Ulric grunted, forcing the scar of a grin. “They’re always flapping by the ruddy wick of a lantern, until they finally furl too close. It’s just a curt, sharp pop, and they’re gone.” Moribund, and morbid. Mindful that he’d forgot exactly how to interlace an enjoyable discourse. Not that he’d ever minded. Each utterance was blunted, as if parched by nonchalance.

The scales rustled, vaguely spreading over tufts of earth, and he lifted his chin. The melding of peeks must surely follow, for he’d no qualms over that sort of adjudication. Measuring her for what she was. “Inane japes in their fuzzy husks, but tragic. In that, at least, they’re mulishly real,” he intoned. There was a trifle of warmth, as if flanging from an exhausted furnace. “I’ve always liked moths,” he jerked his jaw at her, reckless. “Don’t you?” 

[Lunafang]

Luna's wings flapped in the midnight sky. The air rushed past her and cooled her face. The moonlight lit her whole body up. The night was perfect. Luna had came out hunting. SHe was running low on food so decided it was time to restock. So far, she hadn't been lucky. She hadn't found any prey except for a little measly doe, in which escaped from her. If she found any signs of life, they would die for sure. Her eye caught sight of a human under her. Ha! A slave's a slave. She descended from the sky in big circles, landing behind a tree. She peered out from it, looking at the man and panther. Panther? That was food! Luna rushed out from behind the tree and hissed at it. How dare it try to eat her slave? She looked behind her, and yelled to the human "Run!" in common language. She couldn't let him die. Luna's mind froze. Did he know she was hostile? Was he going to turn her in? Oh petch. She looked at him to see if he was running, but turned her head back to the panther. It wasn't going to fight, was it? Her wings were outstretched, and very wide. She was starting to think this over. Both of them could be the end of her life.

[Mirei]

Used to being on her own and in the forest most of the time she hadn't expected anyone to come upon her. In truth, she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings like she should have so it wasn't until she heard the male voice that she realized someone was watching her. The sound startling her and she righted herself in the water with only head and shoulders above the surface, narrowed green eyes glaring at the intruder. She didn't like being approached by someone that she didn't know was there and never had. When that happened it was usually intentional by the intruder so they could go unnoticed, but tonight it was her own fault for not paying attention. So now she had the consequences to deal with. Mirei didn't respond to the male right away, instead watching him closely and measuring him up. Was he friend or foe? She couldn't tell right away so only time could reveal it. The most she could discern was that he had rugged appearance and seemed to be exhausted as if he'd been traveling for a long time or running from something. Whichever it was she didn't really care since that gave her an advantage if it came down to fighting him. Even so, if he had meant her harm wouldn't he have already tried attacking her by now? "I can't say I've harbored a personal liking for them but they are interesting enough," she finally said in answer to his question. Her voice was light but wary, making it clear that she would attack him if necessary. "It's dangerous for a human to be out so late in this forest. There are many things that could very easily kill you." It was both a warning and a statement of fact while at the same time she hinted that she wasn't a human herself and very much able to defend herself. There was also an unspoken question underlying her words as she wondered why a human was out and about this late and curious to find out. Mirei had waded to the edge of the river as she spoke, walking along the incline until she was completely out of the water. For a moment she just stood there and stared at him, getting a better look now that she was closer. Obviously she didn't care that she stood nude before the man, giving no thought to it even as she turned and went to sit on the ground next to her belongings. "Sit and rest," she said moments later, jerking her head in a nod to indicate a spot across from her. And before he could deny her she went on to say, "You are tired and injured, favoring one of your legs." In between the two spots was a pile of mainly tree branches along with some twigs, dead leaves, pine cones, and other dead brush. It was all stacked in a pile and ready to be used for a fire. She had gathered it all before hunting but hadn't lit it before now because she had no need for a fire then. Now she did light a fire with the flint and steel in her pack, a small flame at first but it gradually grew with her coaxing until it finally rose to consume the entire pile of kindling. Sitting close to the fire she had yet to clothe herself but at least pulled her cloak on so she wasn't completely exposed to the elements. Normally she would've shifted into her panther but with a guest that would've been rather rude, even for her. And as much as she disliked strangers she sensed something different about him. She didn't know what it was but she was willing and curious to find out.

[Ulric]

Swells of hair swept over the dregs of her vanishing skin, pushing loops of mongrel ripples over the current. Neck and face breached the surface, framed by the plaster of jet tresses. Green eyes regarding, their depths glazed less by moonlight, and more by mistrust.

Ulric made to stifle a chuckle, failed. Though he’d hardly thought to find the waters occupied, he didn’t balk. The coat of scales slid in a clatter, and with a grunt, he knelt by the mossy bank. The rag poised, though not yet chafing at the blemishes. Those could wait. “Moths are moths,” he shrugged. “There needn’t be any meaning to them, if you’d prefer it that way.”

The trunks groaned. Their tangled limbs squeaked, leafy manes skidding and sliding. Taking his rag, he ran it over metal, sucking in whiffs of earthy, clinging resin. Rapt glance puddled with darkness under her utterances, the gears of his head grinding as he gleaned their tonal undulations, the shifting of tendons over her face. This isn’t the usual waif, he reflected. There’s hardly a shred of fear in her. That implies she’s ignorant of what I am, or that I’m ignorant of what she is.

Though he was barely perturbed.

Mostly bemused.

“They’d harm me so easily, would they?” Ulric gave a raspy snort, displaying his disdain for the remark. “I’ve scalped wolves before. I’ve split a bear’s skull. I’ve flayed, and crushed, and strangled many warriors with shackles of their belched guts. If they’d care to try this night, let them.” Idly, his grip brushed over the leather-wrapped haft of his bearded axe.

Rubbed with the jilted fervor of a lover.

Ulric shifted his spine against the erupted knuckle of a boulder. Looped the rag around a strap and its jangling buckle, the pink tip of his tongue flicking out scantly as she left the current. The pale half-light sifted through plaits of leaves, playing over her face and their studs of jade, laving skin with a luminous white. The disfiguring scars on a length of arm evoked a fleeting scowl. Inky tangles slapped at her ribs, shedding tiny pearls. Naama’d just try to rip them out, he winced. There’s no enjoying yourself when your mate’s a jealous harpy. Reached for the symbol under his missing ear, and swiftly banished any hunger from his thoughts. Might have to pinch myself, though.

Even so, he shifted to sit near her. Bided there, chafing the scales of his gorget, as she plucked twigs, shaping a spark. Though jungled briars pulsed, as if cleft by disorder, he only gave a jerk of his jaw in rejoinder. Draped over him was a canopy of needles and tapered, iron gray leaves. Densely layered, it wasn’t so easily skewered. And he’d found out that in the depths of forests, you made out all sorts of queer noises. The djed, maybe. The animals, likely.

Shuffling his heels so the right lofted over the left, he looked at the girl. If he’d been a dolt, he might’ve grumbled about the fire she’d kindled. If he hadn’t dispensed with his riddling, he might’ve tried another sally. But the yellowy flush of licking flames suffused him.

Ulric lifted an eyebrow, half-japing as he intoned an inquiry. “You’re not a woods-witch, are you?” Tugging his face to the side, he eluded an offending trickle of smoke. “You’re not a warty crone, but it could just be a chimera. I’m intrigued, y’see. I’m a large man with an axe, and you’ve a pair of tits and no axe. If I’m not mistaken, this’d usually begin with the girl shrieking and fleeing, and the brute pursuing her for a ravishing. But you haven’t fled and I haven’t ravished you yet, so that invokes the question, why hasn’t either of us done as we ought?” 

[Mirei]

She stayed silent for a time as she shaped the fire and made sure it would stay up for a while at least, listening to the man as he spoke. He had a harsh voice but it went well with his ruggedness and she could sense a sort of dangerous air about him. It made her even more wary and cautious of him but it seemed that he was just the same with her. It also seemed to have taken him a bit off balance that she hadn't reacted as he had been expecting. That at least gave her some kind of advantage. "Just a kindly warning from one who has lived in the Wildlands for most of their life," she replied simply, but not at all doubting that the man could defend himself well enough. As he went on she could only smile. Not one of warmth or kindness but more of knowing, though there was a hint of amusement. Clearly the man had yet to figure out what she was in regards to race. Should I let him figure it out for himself? The thought was more than tempting as he'd surely get a surprise if and when he realized she was a Kelvic. But what would he do once he knows? Watching him closely, she listened as the man raved on about asking what she was. Mirei didn't respond immediately, letting him rack his own brain for several more minutes. Then she finally leaned forward, letting the fire illuminate her face more so he could see her features more clearly. Pale lips spread in a wide grin, revealing an array of pointed teeth, while the vertically split pupils of her eyes focused completely on him. These were the features of only one race - Kelvics. "Neither woods-witch nor crone, am I; and a chimera is just insulting." Green eyes stared at him now, watching for a reaction on his face. Would he be curious? Perhaps uncaring? Angry even? She didn't know why but she was curious and eager to know, but she didn't let either emotion show on her face. Eventually she sat up straight and tilted her head to the side in a very animal-like fashion, rolling around the argument he had presented about her fleeing and him ravishing in her mind. Guess I should've ran in the first place. Oh well, it's too late now.. "I'm not one to flee so quickly or scare so easily in the presence of a stranger. Not all of them are so bad." A slight grimace crossed her face once she said that, going on to say, "Of course, that does depend on one's view of what "bad" is." She spoke so matter-of-factly as if that were the only answer to his question. It certainly was to her and a simple rationale. "As for you.." she resumed, a confused look crossing her face, "..I honestly can't say what to make of you. There is no doubt in my mind that sitting here as I am before you I have put myself in danger. However, as much as I'd prefer not to admit it, something about you draws me to you. I don't know why or even what it is, but it's there and it's becoming harder and harder to ignore. If I weren't feeling this..compulsion..to you I would already be gone." There was a scowl on her face by the time she was finished, making it obvious that she wasn't exactly pleased with the idea of being compelled or drawn to someone but she wasn't entirely unhappy either. And now that she had admitted this feeling to him, she wondered what he would think of it and even do about it.

[Ulric]

Ulric glared into the jetsam of embers, with their jeering hiss and the crackle of twigs, swiftly consumed. Though hardly powerful, the gusts whipped and gelded the smoke, such that it curled around his eyelids, suffusing him with bluish smog and every then and again, warmth. There’d been a trick, he recalled to drying out your boots, but he’d probably just scorch the leather. His eyes glancing over her again, from porcelain skin to her unruly thicket of tresses. He half wanted to twist them around his finger, if only to see if they’d submit to his grasp. Maybe not, he thought. Maybe she’d just scratch your eyes out.

However, she’d piqued his interest, every intonation with a twang that he couldn’t decipher. “I’m Ulric,” he leaned closer, “of no place in particular.” Idly taking up a twig, he flipped it into the flames, watched it char, and then ignite. His chin gave a jerk. “You’re from these forsaken forests, then,” he remarked. “You’re brash, girl.”

Her grin was feral, and he found himself frowning. His gaze pried over the slit pupils, the tapering incisors, though he tried to stifle the extent of its intensity. I’ve seen this before, he pondered, looking into those eyes. If she’s exposed, and unafraid, and hungry, then she’s like that other girl. It was then, with some guilt, that he recalled gorging on the walrus.

Haven’t tried human flesh since, he bit his lip.

“Insults are like leaves,” he grunted blandly, giving her a curt shrug. “They’re like to rustle and mound up around you, if only you’d neglect to forget, and let them moulder.”

Though he’d tried to jape it away, her words made him perk up. There was something lurking under her shell. This compulsion, the way she’d let it spill so freely. That she’d not fled, and reclined devoid of fear, dredged up a grudging respect. You’ve probably drunk some bad water, he wanted to jape, if only to defuse the instant. Yet, he’d not let her think him crafted of flimsy wicker, when he was banded of bronze.

“You speak of compulsions,” Ulric replied, letting the coat of scales slide away on its leather backing, and knelt in front of her. I’ve my own, I suppose. I like wine, for one thing. I’m also drawn to the dusk, when the blanket of jet covers those strings of pearls. I don’t know you, though. I see your eyes, and want to know, what’s inside of them?” 

Reaching out, he plucked at a strand of her hair and gently rubbed it between thumb and forefinger. His breath was a vague tickle on her neck, the proximity used to gauge her measure. “If I were to peel back your skin, what might I find?”

OOCApologies for the wait, I’ll be able to post frequently now. 

[Mirei]

He's almost like a barbarian. It was possible, but he appeared to have more sophistication than a regular barbarian would. It could be he had an unforgiving life. So, what is he really like? She was curious to say the least. "Hm. I can be, but only when the situation calls for it," she replied simply, sitting up straight again. "Mirei, and I guess you could say I'm from this forest. It is a dangerous one but you get used to it after a while. It's a much simpler life out here, away from the crowded streets of a town or city where it's too loud and a rancid stench coats the air like a thick layer of fog." A disgusted look scrunched her face for a few seconds as she remembered all too well how bad a city could smell. Possibly worse than a skunk, she mused. Picking up a long stick she poked one end of it at some of the blackening lumber in the fire, shifting it around slightly until the flames picked up a little. When she looked back at Ulric, the intensity of his gaze upon her didn't go unnoticed. It made her grin again, wider this time. She could only guess as to what he was thinking now but she had a small idea. "I'm not hungry if that's any part of what you're thinking. In fact, I ate a short while ago," she jerked her head for him to look over where the two deer carcasses were. "Won't need to feed again for a day or two at least." Moments later her grin faded to a frown and she sighed softly. "Insults are just words and can't really hurt but a few do get under my skin. Others I ignore and go on with my simplistic life. There isn't more to it than just surviving." A silence rose between them and she looked to the night sky, head tilted back slightly. It was starting to get late judging by the position of the moon, but that was a good thing to her. The night was her closest friend, its darkness a cool and calming presence for her while being watched by the moon, which was almost like a second mother to her. If she were able to light my path I would follow it forever. Something moved on the edge of her vision and she shifted her gaze to find Ulric kneeling in front of her, a strand of her hair caught in his fingers. Mirei just stared at him, completely still and unafraid. He was so close and yet she was relaxed. What it meant she wasn't sure but Ulric was probably just as surprised as she was. And she listened as he spoke, remarking on compulsions. "The dusk is my morning and the dawn is when I bed. The night is my day and the day my night," she replied, her voice a soft whisper. A shiver coursing up and down her spine at his proximity, and his breath causing a rise of goosebumps on her flesh. She couldn't help but to lean towards him, lips hovering next to his ear. "A predator lurks within these eyes and under this skin..." It was the last of her words but she stayed as she was in front of him with her head over his shoulder. The only thing she did was to undo the straps of the cloak in front of her neck so that they wouldn't choke her. Soon her human form began to change and drastically. Every part of her body changed in shape and size as the process lasted ten to fifteen minutes until it was finally done. A panther now stood where the woman once sat. Its head was positioned the same way Mirei's was over Ulric's shoulder, muzzle right next to his ear. A moment later though the panther took two steps back so it was standing right in front of Ulric and staring at him with bright green eyes. The same green eyes that Mirei had. In fact, the panther was Mirei and it wouldn't be at all difficult for Ulric to figure that out considering she had shifted right in front of him. The predator she had spoken of was now out and free to roam. She sat upon haunches in front of him, maw opening in what appeared to be a wide yawn. However, it wasn't a yawn at all. It was a show of sharp teeth, an intimidation tactic and a warning to any and all that she was dangerous. Eyes then resumed staring at Ulric, ears flicking once before focusing on him. What will he do? she wondered.

[Ulric]

The dusk cloyed him.

Ulric let her whisper sift inside his head, hurled over a precipice by the rashness of his zeal. Eyes, it shrieked. Skin.They were banished, replaced by gray trunks and the unruly spill of jet over her bare shoulders. The latent shiver of possibility surged through him. The palanquin of flames sketching what he’d forgotten in a hundred, dancing shadows.

Hide vests, and the rattle of bones. High drifts, the crunch of gristle. Hunger. Forest, verging on steppes, yielding to tufting, undulating tundra and the passage of ungulate herds, feasting on flecks of scraped lichen. Everywhere, barren. Everywhere, the promise of mines, delved by sledges. Faraway, the hunter and his spear, facing down a snarling lion. Both hurt.

Both unafraid.

Ulric didn’t budge, for as she sembled into her furred form, he shifted as well. That vestigial puddle of man lifted, and he felt inside the forest again, took solace in the mossy carpet. Those jaws might bite, and rend flesh, but he’d done the same. There wasn’t much between them, he thought. The fetters of bowl, crusty spoon, and the rhythmic flick of a needle defiled granite rearing in domed spires over a catacomb of canals. They’d just crumble, and drown. The musty heels of bread were more use in famine than a bust of some stodgy, moth-fated priest. The starving killed to eat, didn’t they? Their glib-crossing tongues and barrel-vaulted effigies relegated to pretense.

If man wasn’t a beast, then what was he?

Ulric displayed his incisors in a grin. “Mirei,” he gave his chin a lazy scratch. “Mirei, who pretends to be one thing, but what is she, really?” Though his tendons were creaky, he didn’t rise from his kneel just yet, gaze latched on those jade eyes. Their slits didn’t subdue his intoning, and he regarded the creased taper of her inky pelt. Then he rose, the fire gushing up sprays of cinders behind him. “There’s many of my people, from the city on the lake, who’d see you chained, and thrashed into an untidy deference. There’s more that’d see you dead. I’ve slaved, yes, and I’ve injured one of your kind. I wonder, though.” Ulric paused, forced the tangle of a hand through his spiky mane before leveling his query. “If you’re not entirely a beast, or one of my kind, does that mean you’re just Mirei?”

Probing, he extended a hand before him. 

[Mirei]

The extended hand wasn't expected but at the same time she wasn't surprised by it either. What is he looking for? she pondered. His questions and statements stabbed close to home. The thought of slavers and being enslaved how other Kelvics sometimes are got her hackles raising. At the same time there was a quick flash of roiling emotions in her eyes - pure unfettered rage, overwhelming sadness, violent hatred, and emotional pain. It was only for an instant, then her eyes were normal again as she watched him with an unblinking gaze. Backlit by the fire as he stood in front of her, Ulric's presence was...oppressive. He was completely calm and confident. It didn't matter that she was a panther, a dangerous beast that could maim and kill. If she didn't know any better she would've thought him as something other than human. Time and space fell away, separating from her as she focused entirely on him. Mirei leaned her head forward and nostrils flared as she sniffed at his hand, trailing further up along his arm and stopping at his elbow before returning to his hand. His scent clogged her nose, demanding attention until it was the only thing she could smell. A dark spice.. Heavy.. With a citrus crisp... A soft, low rumbling started in her chest. Not growling, but purring. Mirei had her muzzle pressed against the palm of his hand as she licked it, trying to take in as much of that scent as she could. Intoxicating... She didn't know how long she did that for but finally stopped. A frustrated chuff as she backed away, pacing for a few minutes until she was calm again. Another several minutes passed and Mirei was a woman once more, putting on her clothes moments later. She said nothing to Ulric as she did so, instead trying to figure out what the hell she had just done and why. This man had confounded her already in such a short time. It wasn't that he was domineering but he held a certain allure that seemed to demand her acquiescence. "I be and do what I have to in order to survive," she stood and looked at him, eyes hard, "for survival is all that matters to a creature like me. And society has no place for such creatures. Material possessions I do not care for and the unending roads are my home. I kill for food and to defend myself, and some of my enemies have the misfortune of becoming my next meal. Many say that I am a monster but I am only who I am. Nothing more or less." Her gaze was unwavering now as she stared at him, head lifted in pride with her chin stuck out in defiance. "Yes, I'm just Mirei."