Completed Come Over to the Dark (Mamuro)

[Tinnok]

Come Over to the Dark
20th of Summer, 513 A.V.

She felt as if she had been running for a lifetime. Tinnok did not allow herself much time for breaks. Even if she had thrown her would be killers off of her scent, there was no reason to ever be anywhere near Taloba again...one look into her eyes and she would be shot dead or sliced to pieces. She was sure even now the tales of the half breed murdering her Myrian kin was traveling from ear to ear in the city, her retreat the only evidence her people needed to prove she was a traitor.

Why was it again she was still referring to them as 'her people'?

Oh...because she had spent a lifetime growing, training and being hated by them...what a valid point.

The half breed was vaguely aware that the further she ran from Taloba the closer she came to Zinrah. Should she run into a Dhani she'd be happy to rip their throats out as well. It had been that blasted Dhani witch that had gotten her into this int he first place, and petching Svan's fault for trusting him int he first place...he was probably stinking in his little swamp now without the slightest clue as to what he had done to her. The other Dhani, not Svan...oh Goddess what did it matter. Both Dhani and Myrians would cut her down given the chance and it just went to show...

what exactly? She didn't even know anymore.

Her feet slammed against moist earth and Tinnok knew she should be quieter, but her lungs were burning, her sides sore from running without enough respite or sleep, and she simply couldn't find it in herself to care.

Finally, she halted, but only because the urge for water had overridden all other instincts. She felt a coolish breeze wash over her, and could practically smell the stream, legs changing course and dashing straight into the cool clear waters of the shallow river.

She let her heart beat relax then, pouring water over her sweating body, watching her scales glint in Syna's light as the water cascaded over her skin. Long brown hair was slowly taken out of its tight braids and slipped into the water. She could murder any sentient being that came up to her in that moment, but her weariness overcame her wariness in this case, what were the odds of running into either of her enemies here anyway?

[Kalesserimamoru]

The rivers were a popular place amongst the wilds of the jungle. Many creatures flocked to it, whether for a drink, a good bath, or looking for a new home, they were all there at some time or another. There were also those that fed by the rivers, the predators who laid and wait for their unsuspecting prey to come down to enjoy the coolness and life that was the gift of water. Mamoru was a long way away from the nest again, the trickster had been following a group of monkeys again as was his hobby.


He looked to better understand them and soon to take on their form and rise to the trees as they did. What a wonderful disguise it would be and so easy to slip passed Myrian patrols. They were looking for Dhani after all, not howling monkeys. But as usual, he could only watch them for so long and it was off on his own again. In human form, the Dhani made his way towards the river for a quick drink and possible snack. Once there, he looked around first to make sure that the Myrians weren't lurking about and moved in.


It was always a gamble when it came to them, they were fast, tiny, and could hide almost anywhere. He never knew if they were hiding, waiting for an ambush or simply happened upon unsuspecting Dhani when they attacked. Mamoru keeled down by the river, cupping his hands together as he dipped them into the in and took a drink. A sudden snarl caught his attention and the trickster raised his eyes to fix onto a crocodile stalking him from the other side of the river.


"Oh? Hungry..are we? Not a chance."


The Dhani hissed at the creature, turned away from the waters and headed back into the woods. It wasn't that he feared it, but crocodile meat wasn't tasty and he wasn't in the mood for a useless battle with a dumb animal. It was time to make his way back to the nest, but just as he did, something flashed passed him in the brush a short distance away. At first glance upon the bronze skin, he thought it was a Myrian.


"Flamesss!"


Mamoru slipped back into the bushes to hide himself as he looked around. They never traveled alone and he wasn't about to be caught unaware. But this one was alone. No on else appeared, no rustling of bushes or whispers in the jungle. Just one. Mamoru crept closer and peaked out to see what was going on. It was a female, human? He wasn't sure, but she was bathing openly as if she were at home. Curious creature, perhaps he had found his meal after all. Then, another snarl reminded him of the crocodile that had been stalking him earlier. It seemed he was in a race now and had to get to her before the hungry gator did.

[Tinnok]

She should have been paying more attention that was clear. Silver fish darted around her legs, birds called in the trees, monkeys shrieking out their afternoon plans in the canopy above. Normally she enjoyed picking out the minute details of her surroundings from the colorful hissing cockroaches to the stealthy panthers, but she was so damned tired none of it seemed to matter.

Up until the crocodile snapped its massive jaws barely two yards away.

Tinnok jumped, startled, and water flew in every direction as she whirled to face her new companion, a dark scaled reptile whose one yellow eye gazed upon her unblinking, head tilted to the side in order to keep the Witch in its sight while it kept watch on the surrounding jungle.

Tinnok had always enjoyed her contact with snakes, their thoughts were mesmerizing, sliding and strange, slightly mechanical like an insects', but more intelligent...calculating. It explained a lot about Dhani when one thought about it, and perhaps even a little about herself to boot.

But an alligator was a different beast than a snake. Just by the size of him she knew it was male, but looking into its eyes confirmed her assumption. This particular body of water was fairly small for his bulk, but he enjoyed prowling to make sure no caimans or young gators thought to poach upon his turf. She saw an image of an unsuspecting young deer he had caught in deeper waters this morning, and felt a strange coldness flow through her knowing that he'd prefer the witch kindly shove off of his turf.

She took a slow step through the water toward him, reaching her hand towards his snout. The Alligator didn't move, so she took another one, and still he stayed like a statue, gazing at her. Her fingers lightly brushed against his snout and she sent her own images of a small troop of peccaries further upstream. A damn created by one of the early storms had damned up part of the flow, creating the perfect deep hunting ground for him if he hurried. She felt a bit of that strange calculating soften...at least in regards to her own being, but the Alligator didn't stay to chat, merely grunted and slid into the water, brushing by her like a scaled phantom and continuing on his way.

Tinnok watched him disappear in the dark water, trying to discern where he lay even as his form mingled with the dappled shadows upon the stream. Only when she was sure he was gone did she sit upon the back of the river, squeezing excess water from her hair, her troubles momentarily forgotten by the momentary peace her Gnosis allowed her surged through her being.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru moved out of his hiding place and headed towards the bank as he watched the gator approach from the other side. The creature was alot faster in sprints than it was in pacing itself. Just as well, the creature was even faster in the waters, which meant that the Dhani had to move quickly if he wanted to get there in time. The trickster doubled his speed as he raced on and willing his djed to rise and form around his right hand. First there was a tingling sensation, followed by the popping and stretching of the bones in his fingers.


The thick skin at his finger tips melted with the bone beneath and together they grew and stretched until his fingers resembled five long daggers on the one hand. He had to be quick and strike deadly if he wanted to take out the beast. If he wasn't fast enough, the beast would snap it's jaws around him then spin it's body over and over until he had been ripped in to. Mamoru gave a light hiss as he swung his arm back and prepared to dive into the river.


But before he could, something gave him cause to slow and watch. The woman in the waters didn't seem frighten in the least at the massive animal drifting towards her. Instead, she moved towards it and extended her hand out. The trickster froze just at the end of the bank and looked on in astonishment. Did the woman want to die, had she simply excepted her fate or....?


"What...Isss...Thisss?"


Mamoru looked on in disbelief as she calmly placed a hand on the snout of the beast and within a moment, it turned away and disappeared in the waters. It was a thing of beauty to see, and one Mamoru might have enjoyed more had he any idea it would happen. It seemed there was something more to this woman than he had thought. Now it was just turn to use his gnosis, he wasn't sure who she was and didn't want her to know him as a dhani just yet. The gnosis did as it normally worked, and used it's influence to touch her senses, not of sight or touch, taste, but sound. It was a simple edit, a way to disguise his voice so that he didn't talk with a lisp.


"Well...look at you. Special aren't we? And here I was ready to dive in an attack that thing....Looks like you don't need my help."


The trickster cackled lightly and flicked his hand about as he released his djed and allowed the bone structured daggers to soften, and recede back into his fingers. He stared at the woman curious, wondering how she would react to his sudden appearance, and also thinking just how tasty she looked sitting there on the bank.

[Tinnok]

She cursed beneath her breath at the voice, jumping up for the second time that day, mahogany locks falling around her face. She made sure they covered her eyes, for the source of sound didn't sound like any Dhani.

Whipping around the drenched half breed caught sight of the speaker...a strange figure to say the least. He looked like no Myrian she had ever seen, pale, with long dark hair and strange eyes. But he didn't look much like a Dhani either, at least not the Constrictors she had come to know...in those brief circumstances.

Did that make him human then? It would be foolish of anyone to traverse the jungles alone...but the same could be said for her, she supposed. Tinnok wasn't sure of anything yet, and one hand slid to the hilt of her daggers, eyes watching him beneath dripping hair. He spoke in common, and she grimaced, not being well versed in the language herself.

"Strangers don't help strangers, I found." She drew her dagger and pointed her blade at him, they were a distance apart, true, but one casual throw of the knife could shorten it in an instant. She decided to gloss over her Gnosis. There was no need to explain it to a potential barbarian, and she doubted her common could explain it well anyway.

"What are you, why you follow me? If you want fight I give it, if you want peace, should go." Despite her broken words her tone was serious, and she slid a lock of hair out of her face to reveal a single golden eye, wide black slit assessing her potential enemy. She altered her stance so she was comfortable in the water, muscles tensed and ready.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru watched the woman closely with intense, albeit sinister eyes. The Dhani wasn't sure if he wanted to gobble her up right then and there, or to learn more about her strange ways with animals first. It was a hard choice, the trickster was always hungry and the assumed human looked delicious dripping wet, and glistening. Licking his dry lips, Mamoru took a step forward and paused just as the woman spun around and drew her dagger, pointing it at him as if she wanted to fight.


"How true, how true.." the dhani said as he looked on at the drenched form in front of him, with wild locks that hid her face. Now that she was standing, he noticed that she was taller than he had thought. Muscular arms and thighs, an over all toned body to say the least. Perhaps she was Myrian, or something else all together. One thing that he did know was that she was a fighter. From the way she held her dagger, he could tell that she was confident, not a novice tale about it. "Does it really matter what I am?" he continued in common. "What matters is that you are here and I am here, and we're both alive. That croc seemed determined for a meal. I wonder what you said to him to send him off."


He was teasing her now, of course he knew that she hadn't spoken to the animal in that way, but the familiarity she seemed to have with it did pose a question. The trickster then found himself laughing at her last words. "Well now, aren't you the hasty one. If you really want to fight me, I can end your life, but I promise you..they'll be no peace..ever." he finished, his voice growing deeper and tainted with malice. Suddenly the woman decided to reveal a bit of her face. A single golden eye, with wide black slits. Familiar eyes, eyes that looked a lot like his sister's while in her dhani form. This only intrigued him more and his curiosity was doubled.


"What a pretty little thing you are.."


Mamoru decided to try something with her and released the touch of his gnosis for the time being. But before he started to speak, the dhani put his djed to work again, the concentration of it's flow centering on his torso. His frame was still well hidden under his robes, but inside the dark fabrics, the trickster morphed a hallow bone structure to cover his chest and back as if it were plate mail. The soft bones protruded from within his flesh, meshing together as it formed into one shape that stretched across his chest, abs, and back before finally hardening to a solid. With a bit more protection, the dhani spoke to her in snake tongue.


"Are you a part of the family?" the words were spoken, but the dialect was thick, and constricted, sounding as if the back of his tongue was twitching and rubbing against the roof of his mouth. It was a tricky language to speak in human form and was likely that she didn't understand a word of it. Still, he paused a moment to see her reaction. A moment after, he called his gnosis magic again to re-assumed the same illusion as he had before in order to hide his lisp. Once he was ready, the trickster spoke again, this time using his best Myrian.

"Are we kin?"

[Tinnok]

He eyed her like a meal. It was a gaze alarmingly similar to the one the Alligator had borne before swimming off towards the peccaries, and she had seen it it many predators along her travels as a servant of Caiyha.

But he was just a man. She shook her head a little. She should no better than to just assume. There was dangerous intent in those eyes...just like a determined Myrian...or a Dhani.

He flippantly addressed her gift and Tinnok scowled. She wasn't sure if it would serve her better for the Dhani to know she was marked by Caiyha, perhaps put him off of eating her, or if it would be prudent not to mention it. If he didn't know the scope of her power perhaps he would be driven by curiosity...and that might help her in the long run.

The half breed took a half step backward, dagger lowering slightly as her eyes assessed his. His words were practically sultry, and when he said that a fight would end in her death...she almost believed him.

The compliment, however, was a strange thing. It wasn't often Tinnok received accolades for her eyes...those treacherous things that marked her snake blood. Her eyes widened slightly, uncertainty hanging within their yellow depths.

He hadn't made to attack her yet, but somehow Tinnok found herself wishing she had run into a Myrian patrol. They were simple creatures, and would just try to hack her to bits. Whatever this...thing, was doing it was playing a much more complex game.

When he spoke in snake tongue, Tinnok cursed. Of course he was a petching Dhani. She was tempted to hurl her dagger at him, stick him in the chest and then run like hell. It was doubtful she could fight this thing...and then he spoke in Myrian as well.

Well...he could have picked that up from anywhere. From torture chambers in Zinrah, from listening to Patrols. Snake tongue was something impossible for the average Myrian to learn. She spoke back in her native tongue, lowering her dagger.

"I would like to say I am no kin of yours, but that may not be true. My father was Constrictor, my mother Myrian." There, the truth. She could understand that hungry lust in his eyes, wanting to know just precisely what she was. Well know he knew, and he was probably going to try to petching eat her.

She took another half step back. "Where does that leave us...brother?" Her lips twitched at the little joke. She might have been dead already, but...she was planning to give this Dhani some serious indigestion if he tried anything.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru could feel his stomach grumbling more. The dhani was always hungry, always in need of another meal, and this woman would do nicely indeed. She wasn't some tiny human, the woman was fairly tall, and meaty in the right places. He could imagine that she would go down nicely and maybe she would stay in his belly long enough to enjoy the feast.


The dhani watched her express as he spoke in snake tongue and narrowed his eyes. Even if she didn't understand a word of it, he noticed that she recognized the language and what it meant. She wasn't a barbarian who had been ship wrecked and lost in the jungle, she was native. Now he was really curious to find out, what type of Myrian had eyes like dhani.


"Who, what are you.."


The woman stepped back again and even lowered her weapon slightly, and the trickster arched a brow. Had he touched a sensitive subject, said something that made him appear less hostel? The next words from her mouth caused the dhani's eyes to widen and his lips to curve upward. A half dhani, half Myrian? He had never heard of anything so bizarre. In all of his long years, not once had he seen an attractive Myrian woman. It wasn't something that happened and made him wonder what Dhani would lay down with a monkey?


"Strange union. Were they close?" he said in Myrian.


This was another tease by the trickster, he didn't have any ideas of her parents being close or in love. He would imagine the relationship was as particular as the situation. The woman took another step back and Mamoru took two forward, he couldn't have her running off so soon, Not when he was yet to decide if he would eat her or not. "An introduction mayhaps?" he faked a gentle smile and waved his hand about his face to gesture to the woman to move her hair away to that he could see more of her face. "Call me Mamoru, and you are?"

[Tinnok]

Perhaps it was better that she explained what she was. The Dhani's confusion was sated, but his curiosity still piqued. She saw him move towards her, making up for all the space she had put between them, and decided it would be best not to back away any father. She made sure her full height was apparent, and snorted at his question.

"I'm sure it was a whirlwind romance made in the heavens." Her voice dripped. It seemed easiest for him to speak in common, her Myrian. At least that way they understood each other and had no need to sacrifice fluency.

Introductions? Well that hadn't been what she had expected...but all of a sudden, Mamuro would be able to see the half breed's body relax more than before, sliding the dagger into it's sheath. This was all a game...and she wasn't some hot blooded Myrian to just jump right in and try to slash his throat...at least not anymore. Her eyes which had been studying the river turned up, a hand brushing the rest of the hair from her face, which glinted in the dappled sunlight as Syna's rays revealed the light smattering of scales across her tanned cheeks. She wound her hair into a loose tangle of curls, lying it against the back of her neck before stepping forward and offering her hand.

"Well met, Mamuro. I am Tinnok, formerly of the Tempered Steel." She wanted to extend her title to include Caiyha, but perhaps it was best if the knowledge she gave away was slow in the process.

The cool water ran slowly around her ankles, he on land and she in the water. She glanced around. "I assume you are out here to hunt? This is a good spot to be sure..though I don't see any prey..." A slow smile spread across her lips, wondering how long she could keep him amused over his hunger, then gestured down the stream.

"Perhaps you would allow a Myrian raised half breed to accompany you on your journey? Two pairs of eyes are better than one, for certain."

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru chuckled loudly from her joke. Even in the mist of a possible threat the woman had a sense of humor. True it was a retort, but witty just the same. "As well it should be" he stated deciding to continue in the common tongue. "The best of stories are made from such spice." There was something else to be taken from her statement, maybe the woman didn't know much about her parents and their strange union.


He had wanted to know more about it, a curious tale to say the least, but he knew that the woman couldn't explain something that she didn't possess knowledge about. He noticed with mile surprise as she put away her dagger, then pulling the hair away from her face as he had asked. If the woman was part Myrian it had to be a very small part. She was more civilized then any Myrian he had ever met and by far the most attractive.


"There now, isn't that better? Such adorable features...and those eyes...why would you want to hide such beauty?"


The hand that was offered was excepted with a gentle, awkward grace that could only be known as Mamoru's touch. She had the hands of a warrior, but to the dhani, her human skin was still soft and smooth, much more so than any scales, which she only had a small bit of. She introduced herself seemingly reluctantly so and included her ex clan. This was also something of note. Of course all Myrians had clans, but this half breed was no longer with hers...interesting. "Formally? I take it those monkeys turned on you because of the dhani blood in your veins? Is that why you hide yourself? Did they make you feel ugly?"


The trickster scoffed and shook his head. "Savages, afraid of everything that doesn't move and squeal as they do...pathetic." While the woman turned and looked into the waters, Mamoru took the moment to look over her body again. The first half breed he'd ever met, and the first Myrian-Dhani conversation he'd ever had that didn't involve blades. At her words regarding prey, the dhani smirked and looked her over again. "Things are not always what they seem.." Mamoru was hungry for many things in life, and none of them had ever been satisfied. Perhaps tinnok could help him in that for one or two, maybe even three of those areas. Only time would tell. "I was only stopping in for a drink, but I could always go for another meal. Lead on."