[The Home Cave] Let Me Love The Wind (Term/PM Invite)

[Nya Winters]

TS: 48th of Winter, 509 AV Location: The Cave in the Cobalts Purpose: Reinmancy Training Status: Terminus, PM to be invited. There were certain things sacred in life. One's home was like that, especially to a forest cat like Nya. The Cave had become something of a haven for her, one she thought she wouldn't welcome anyone into ever. Then Abashai had come along and Nya now couldn't think of the cave as home without thinking of him. And now, in a major step in her life, she'd also invited Terminus to join her. She'd asked him for a favor, something she'd decided was really needed with all that had happened in the Fall. Nya needed to learn a magic that would help her fight when there was no other way to fight. She had to protect Abashai better than she had in the past, grow stronger, faster, and somehow never witness what she'd witnessed a season ago; his death. In exchange, she'd offer Terminus any knowledge she had, which wasn't much to her mind, but there would be something there he'd be interested in learning. Hypnotism, Hunting, Unarmed Combat... Wilderness survival. Something, anything... she decided would suit him. And maybe, just maybe, he'd need knowledge of kelvics, which she knew very very well. And so she lead the Ivak worshiper to her stronghold, the heart of her territory, and up into the confines of the cave. Nya didn't know if Abashai was home or not, but he'd be welcome to join them if he wished. What she needed was an education in magic, preferably the elements, and one she figured Terminus could help with. Fire wouldn't be her instrument. No, she already knew the wind called her. But hopefully it was similar enough that Terminus could show her the basics. "Here we are. It's not much, but it is ours. Comfortable in the winter, cool in the summer... it doesn't get better than this." Nya said gently after a good half an hour hike and invited Terminus to come in.

The Cave :

Modified: August 20, 2009 "Like all of us in this storm between birth and death, I can wreak no great changes on the world, only small changes for the better, I hope, in the lives of those I love." Nya has taken up residence in a cave she's discovered on the flanks of the Cobalt Mountains. She doesn't mind living rough, it suits her more than finding someplace in the city to purchase or living in a tent. The interior is spacious, and though she has to share it with a few bats and insects, it is clean, dry and has a natural vent for allowing for a fire if she wants to be human. Slowly, over time, she will populate the cave with her things and some creature comforts of her own. ] While most Kelvic don't necessarily carve out territory, Nya has staked out one in The Bronze Wood. Her territory is perfect, about thirty square miles she can easily traverse in a day that flanks some of the lower deciduous trees and some of the upper larger conifers. It isn't a round territory, like a bulls-eye, that most cats prefer. Instead, her territory runs in a large strip about three miles wide and ten miles long from near the fields around Syliras to up on one of the more rugged flanks of the Cobalt Range. It offers her variety, holds lots of denizens, and allows for her to range high and low as the winds lure her. *

[Terminus Norin]

Terminus was quite honored when Nya asked him to come to her home to teach her Reimancy. He knew that home was the most sacred thing to her and by inviting him to come there with her, she was showing him a great deal of trust. He was glad to see that she had that trust in him as the process of becoming a Reimancer was one that required trust in one's teacher. He had agreed to become her teacher without yet explaining to her what was involved, he knew the intitation rite was going to be hard on her but he would tell her everything when they arrived.

The Cobalts in winter were a wonderland of forest and snowcapped peaks. He had lived here 10 summers and still it brought wonder to him. He was dressed in ligth cotton pants and a liong sleeved shirt, his gift from Ivak keeping him warm against the cold, though he did wera a traveling cloak just for show. He loved being back in his natural environment..or what had become it so the half hour walk didnt seem so long or hard.


He looked up the hill at the spacious cave entrance,which was camoflaged by trees even in the dead of winter when there were no leaves. It was plenty large enough for the great cat to enter and yet secluded and isolated enough for protection. He gently smiled as she invited him in and followed her lead to whatever room she had chosen for this.

It is wonderfull Nya. I have spent most of the last 10 years or so living in the tent I keep on my horse Duclea. This is the kind of home I would have loved to have during my travels.


Once they had settled in, he cleared his voice and spoke softly and firmly. He wanted no doubts to be in her mind about what she was facing. Reimancy was a dangerous and painfull art for the experienced,much less for the initiate.

Allright Nya. I agreed to teach you the basics of Reimanc. Your primary element will probably be Air where as mine is Fire but the techniques are the same no matter what element you use. he sotpped to make sure she was following him and began at the beginning.

I presume you understand the concept of Djed? If not it's the magical energy that fills everything living , life generates it and keeps it going. Those of us that are Mages manipulate and shape Djed to get the effects we desire. Reimancy is one of the most complex ways. It is also the most powerfull and by far the most dangerous. He stopped and cleared his throat lightly ,waiting to make sure she was following him

In Reimancy, the Reimancer summons his/her own Djed and causes it to transform into a visible substance called Res, res can take solid, liquid or gas forms. Gas is the easiet to make and controll. Once you produce the res, you cause it to leak out of your body and shape it the way you want. The final step is to transform the Res into your element and release it to do what you want it to. Your controll is based on skill level of the Reimancer and distance from Reimancer to target. At first you will be unable to hold the Res for long, much less transform it and send it. Keep working and you will establish the controll you need.

He stopped for a while and let her ask questions before he went on. He wanted to be absoulutely sure she understood what she was getting into

The biggest problem of Magic is that the source of the Djed is you. sou you can overextend yourself resulting in damage or death, I'll go over the signs and symptoms of overgiving with you now.

He spent the next half hour or so going over the concept of overgiving and what it looked and felt like. he then got down to the brass tacks of it.

In order to become a Reimancer, you must undergo the initiation rite. I will cut you and I in various areas on our boides, shallow cuts, but cuts. I will then summon Res in my body and force it into yours. This gives you the feel of what properly formed Res in the body is like. The ritual is exhausting and extremely painfull. The final danger of reimancy is loss of controll

His eyes misted and clouded over as he said softly Believe me I know what can happen when you lose controll He was silent for a while and contemplative then he said

If you are willing then we can begin the rite immediately

[Abashai]

The Desertbred huffed as she drug the logs up the hill, coaxed by the benshiran. Once they reached the pile of firewood, Abashai unhitched her from the makeshift drag and led her to her lean-to. Removing his sword and bow from the horse's harness, Abashai untacked the mare and made the short trek the rest of the way to the cave's entrance. He had left town early to collect some more wood and set to chopping it before bad weather arrived. He hoped to see Nya arrive later in the day.

At the opening of the cave, he heard a man's voice and paused cautiously. Once he recognized Terminus, he moved through the evergreen branches and stepped into the cavern home.

Abashai had the immediate feeling he had interrupted something very serious. Terminus was speaking, a grave expression on his face. Nya had a look of sincere concentration. The benshiran hesitated, considered stepping back out. But the cave was his home now too, and he was intensely curious what the two were up to. He quietly laid down his weapons, and approached slowly, which he knew was pointless. Nya would have caught his scent long before he even entered the cave. Instead, he stood and watched his two friends with a most curious expression.

[Nya Winters]

They had settled on a pile of furs at the southern end of the cave. Nya had made sure a fire burned in the fire ring, a feat she wouldn't have been able to accomplish a season or two ago before she'd met her bondmate. With the fire crackling, she retrieved a wineskin from their cool storage area and left wooden goblets where they could reach them in case they thirsted. Nya also set a small kettle over the edge of the fire to heat water in case Abashai returned, knowing he would not touch the wine but would want tea instead. She knew Terminus could light the fire, but it was somehow important to her that she provide hospitality, because she had invited him here for something rather important - as a teacher - and he was owed it.

They settled on folded legs across from one another where they could talk quietly and yet still be heard. Within the cave it was as if winter did not exist. It was warm, inviting, and filled with the glow of welcome only a real home could provide. Looking around, Term would see collections of small things - shells, colorful stones, butterflies carefully dried, all laid out like offerings along the wall. They were gifts, smal tokens, that Nya had brought to Abashai throughout their time together. Sometimes they were something beautiful she wanted to share with him, other times something odd that she thought he just needed to see. The forest cat hadn't expected him to keep the things, but his collection had seemed to grow enough to decorate and brighten the cave in a new purpose she hadn't really intended.

Nya beamed under Terminus' compliments, thanked him, and then settled down to business.

Terminus would find Nya a very attentive listener. It was almost disconcerting how her moss green eyes locked onto him and she barely glanced away - barely blinked. Nya nodded then stopped Terminus before he got too long into his talk of Djed. She glanced towards the entrance, growled low in her throat at the sound of footsteps, then brightened as the wind carried Abashai's scent to her. Nya shifted sideways slightly, so that instead of her and Terminus almost sitting knee to knee on the furs, there was a third place created where Abashai could sit down just as close and join in.

"Terminus is going to teach magic... Reinmancy. Not his fire - fire scares me - but he can show me air like wind which would be better. Will you sit and listen? In exchange, I will teach him something he wishes to know and maybe you can as well, Abashai." Nya invited, patting the space she'd just created. It was an intimate setting, perhaps a bit too intimate for Abashai, but Nya had noticed changes in the Benshira lately where his personal space was getting smaller and his body language more open. This might not be as much as a stretch as it would have been a season ago.

Nya then turned back to Terminus. "I understand Djed. My mother was a mage... a good one. She told me about her work, but it was really hard for me to learn. I was different then though. I think better now, and understand better. The only thing I could learn then was an art of magic that suggests things to people, that makes them do things you want and all you have to do to get that done is stare deeply at them. Forest cats have a natural stare in the wild, it is our hunting gaze, so she taught me that magic because it was not so different than what we did already. But it works best when people know you do not have it. They do not recognize your thoughts as yours and separate out the thoughts that are their own." Nya wasn't sure what the word was for the form of arcana she knew, but she suspected Terminus would recognize it. And she was good at it, so to prove that she knew it, she leaned forward slightly before her words could sink in, and pushed a thought straight into Terminus' head even as she purred her pleasure. [I Want To Pet Her. I Should Pet Her. Look, She Wants Me Too. ] Nya inserted the thought into Temrinus' mind so quickly after she told him, Nya hoped he wouldn't connect the two fast enough to stop the action. And to aid the action, she leaned forward even more, smiling and purring. Her eyes were luminous even in the dim light as she locked onto Terminus' in order to insert the thought into his mind. It was like sliding a knife into butter because he was so unsuspecting.

But it was up to him to see if he followed through with the action. She couldn't make people do things, only suggest that they do so, though most of the time they reacted as if it had been their idea. So she waited to see if Terminus would give in to the thought and lean forward to stroke her face or hair... and then she'd say... "My thought. Not yours. It's magic." Ironic though, for now he'd question such thoughts and possibly pick out immediately if she ever did it again to him, for Terminus could tell she was no beginner at it, and was probably as skilled with it as he was with Reinmancy because he couldn't pick up even a hint of her voice in the artificial thought.

Glancing at Abashai, the kelvic gave him a wry smile. "You I have never used that on. I see sometimes you have many thoughts, but your body is so controlled, so tightly bound, that I could slip thinking into your mind all day and you would not act on it. It frustrates me sometimes, but it means you are very strong willed. Controlled. I worry sometimes about what must have happened in your life to make you so..." Nya said, then turned back to Terminus to hear the rest of what he had to say.

The signs and symptoms of overgiving were a good refresher course for Nya. Her mother had drilled in the facts often enough, especially the one time she'd worked to hard and had come back crying tears of blood after a practice. A hypnotists eyes were very vulnerable, and she'd been careful ever since not to damage them.

Nya watched Terminus carefully, sensing in his pause that he too had experienced something awful in terms of trying too hard or pushing himself too much. When he explained the initiation, she only nodded. Most disciplines had some sort of rite that followed such things. And she wasn't afraid of the pain, even though she didn't like getting hurt. She wanted this, needed this, to help defend herself and Abashai better next time they got into trouble. So she glanced at Abashai, rose, and stripped off her clothing until she was down to a brief silk slip that covered most of the parts that made her bondmate uncomfortable leaving her arms, legs and most of her torso and back free to make cuts in if Terminus needed too. Terminus had seen her without clothing before, but in the firelight and with all the shadows cast, he could truly see that her skin was not flawless or white. She was tanned dark by running in the sun without a stitch of anything on, and her arms and legs, indeed her very torso was etched with scars. Nya was no stranger to pain or being wounded.

"I'm ready." She said softly.

[Terminus Norin]

Terminus had come to expecft Nya to be an intent and intense listner. It was one of the qualities he admired in her as he would not have to repeat anything unless she was having dificulty with a concept. He Admired the way the cave seemed to reflect its occupants. He let Nya go about being hostess as he could tell it was important to her and his eyes most of all showed his gratitude. Once they had settled in he begain his lesson noting that her moss green eyes locked with his and did not blink but little.

Suddenyl Nya halted his speaking and emitted a low growl as she turned to face the entrance. His hand slipped down to the sword by his side in case she shifted and sprang. He relaxed as she smiled figuring that Abashai had come home and was pleased to find he was right. As she moved to accomodate him and told him of Terminus reason for being invited, he nodded softly and said, The initiation ritual is unpleasnt for both the initiate and the teacher. I am just warning you now so that you know it is painfull but I am not intentionally hurting Nya. It is part of her learning to controll Res. You are welcome to observe though.


He was pleased to know thta not olnly was Nya knowledgeable of magic but she could perform some of her own. At least that way she was aware of overgiving and that would make teaching her much easier. He smiled as the thought entered his head of petting her while she was talking and he made a move that only Nya could detect with one hand before placing it back due to the fact that Abashai was there and he would contain his displays of affection. he chuckled as she revealed that the thought was hers not his.

So your talent is Hypnosis? And you are extremely talented at it. I may ask of you to teach me that. But primarily I have a few questions I desperately need answers to.

Terminus smiled as she spoke of her bondmates self controll, he had noted thet Abashai kepty things tightly controlled and he had wondered why, but did not know the Benshiran well enough to ask such questions.

He closed his eyes and began mental preparations while he hard the soft rustle of clothing indicating that Nya had disrobed and was prepareing for the ritual. He opened his mind to the Djed that flowed in him but did not summon it as of yet. At this stage he was clearing his mind and focusing on the task he had yet to undergo. He knew the slightest misstep or distractioncould secerely harm Nya or himself so he wanted his mind sharp and clear. He pictured a bright forrest clearing with a small stream and he wa sin the stream feeling the waters wash away his cares and he directed the stream with his mind to focus his mind. He then opened his eyes and approached Nya.

The young Kelvic had chosen a breif silk slip to cover anything distracting and for that he was gratefull for though he had seen her nude, he did posess a slight modesty. He allowed himself to note that her skin was neither white nor unblemished. He noted the dark tan and the scars knwoing she was probably all to ofamiliar with pain, but not like she would feel this day.

He himself disrobed right down to a white cotton pair of shorts that covered anything private or distracting. His mark showed above his right breast as a burnig flame that appeared to be live as it danced with a life of its own. If Abashai knew his gods he would recognize it as Ivak's mark and make his own conclusions. His own body was muscled and browned from years of living outdoord in the sun. He turned to face Nya and drew a ceremonial dagger that he kept on his person.

After the dagger was drawn,he began to make small incisions at various places on her body that were exposed, her arms and legs and back and chest as well as her forhead and neck. None of these were deep nor would they leave scars or bleed heavily. He then made identical slices on himself so that the Res could flow from his body to hers. The flames in the fire seemed to leap with a life of their own and the movement of air in the cave also took on its own life.

He then concentrated, turning his focus inward to the depths of his very being, searching out the Djed within him. He found the shining, flowing stream of energy that filled him, it writhed and shimmerd like a living thing, turning all the colors of the rainbow and appearing pearlescent. He summoned it to the surface, forcing it toward the cuts on his body.

He linked himself to the energy becoming one with it and seeing the very particles it was made of He forced those particles to change, to become a gas, a silver,shimmering mist that flowed through him like water. He then moved the Res toward the openings of his body simply telling her to open her mouth and then no more. Suddenly he embraced Nya, forcing her close to him but with no intimacy, just purpose.


Abashai would see Terminus body beginnign to be coverd in a soft, silvery and shimmering gas , he would see the beads of sweat as Terminus struggled to controll the gas and make it do his will. The Terminus embraced Nya, instructing her to open her mouth. Simultaneiously the gas began to flow from his body to the cuts on hers and into her ears and mouth and eyes. The gas was leaving Terminus and filing Nya.


From within, Nya would be able to feel the gas entering her like a hot brand. It would begin to fill every fiber of her being with a searing,burning pain. She would for the first time understand what it felt like to have res within her body, know what it smelled like, felt like, tasted and sounded like. Terminus seemed to undergo the same pain as she did, but not a sound did he utter.

The suddenly the gas would be gone and Terminus staggered back breathing heavily. He said breathlessly

Im sorry Nya, this was necessary. Remember what the res was like..how it flowed through you. Try not to be afarid of it..if you have control of it, it will never hurt you again. It is the first step in learning to summon your own Res



He redressed and took a mighty sip of wine as he nearly fell down to the furs on the floor. He was exhausted rigth to the core of his being.

Now we rest. In a few hours we can begin the first lesson in summoning Res

[Abashai]

Confused, Abashai settled into Terminus and Nya's circle on the furs. the man only nodded a greeting to Terminus, the sober atmosphere seemed too solemn to interrupt with his words. Abashai was a bit disconcerted to find them conversing so intimately, as if they were conspiring. But Abashai trusted Nya, and sensed nothing inappropriate from her. He had recently got to know Terminus a little better too, and found him to be a very balanced person.

Magic. This was about magic. Among the Benshira, magic was looked at suspiciously, unless it was used by the Rapa priests, in the form of gnosis power from Yahal. The Eypharians were known to use magic, magic that did not come from a god, but from within themselves. That only added to the suspicion. The Benshira were suspicious of Eypharians too. It wasn't that Abashai thought magic was bad, he himself could channel gnosis magic through the blessing of Yahal's mark. But he didn't understand it.

But then he met Nya and she told him stories of her mother. His bondmate painted Zilvia Winters as a wise scholar, someone who used magic to seek knowledge for good. It gave Abashai a new perspective on magic. He even hoped someday to meet Nya's mother. There was Matilda, the kind Konti who "saw things". And then Abashai learned that Terminus used magic, and he found nothing sinister about him. Though he still had an uneasiness about magic, he had become much more curious about it.

And now he learned that Nya's mother did indeed teach her daughter some magic. The revealed secret was a bit of a surprise, bordering on shock. But Abashai believed he understood why Nya had kept it from him until now. He had never seen her use Hypnosis, or so he thought. He watched her stare into Terminus' eyes, but he couldn't see anything magical happening. For a moment, he wondered if she had ever used magic on him. The thought disturbed him. He would not have liked that, if he learned that he had been made to think thoughts that were not his own. His God was free to do that, but no one else. Abashai was relieved to hear that his bondmate had not used the power on him. But he frowned slightly at her explanation. Nya had not tried to use hypnosis on him, not because she wouldn't, but because she thought she couldn't. He simply nodded and remained silent. They were going to have to talk about that one.

Feeling a bit over his head as he suddenly found himself in the middle of something he didn't understand, Abashai sat quietly and as still as possible. He listened to the teaching, the explanation of Res and the description of the initiation. He was grateful that Terminus warned him about it, as it took all he had to watch the man cut into the flesh of his bondmate. Had it been another man, Abashai would have turned the blade on its wielder. He still didn't like it, and when he found that his hand had come to rest on the hilt of his boot dagger, he quickly moved it back into his lap. He did not like to admit that his logic and control wavered when it came to Nya's safety.

Then the ritual turned eerie...both of them cover with thinly bleeding wounds, the fire dancing, the strange silvery mist emitting from Terminus. Abashai felt the hair on the back his neck raise. Then Nya opened her mouth and Terminus pulled her to himself.

Abashai's own emotional reaction was overwhelmed by what he felt through the bond with Nya. First it was instant agitation and a flare of primal temper, as if the forest cat felt suddenly threatened, then intense pain. He doubled over and groaned through gritted teeth as he experienced a taste of Nya's anguish.

Invasion, cornered, that was the sensation he was feeling through the connection with Nya. Abashai sat up and instinctively scooted back, gathering his legs under him in preparation to move quickly. He knew what the forest cat did when she felt trapped, and he sensed the instinct spike inside of her. He wrestled for an instant whether to try to break the two of them apart, warn Terminus, or just get out of the way. He would not have the chance to decide...

[Nya Winters]

Note!I'm taking a little leeway because Term didn't leave Nya a lot of room to react, so I'm inserting a reaction into the middle before he speaks!

Nya watched Terminus' hand twitch with disappointment and wondered why absolutely everyone from the Symenestra she'd met in the street to even her friend were able to resist any forms of Hypnosis they chose too. The spiderling had only twitched too, so she'd left the benshira woman who had clung to the creature in her own ignorance, to become his meal, rather than murder someone in cold blood in a street within the city. Something that was decidedly not within the human rules of the world. With the way her mother had made her practice, she'd been pronounced competent and there shouldn't have ever been a hesitation when she slipped its usage in, especially when people were unaware. Had it been the fire of a reinmancer, they could not so easily ignore it, for all that powerful suggestions could do equal if not worse damage inside a person while fire burned away flesh outside. Nya preferred dominating prey with a hard mental line rather than through blind terror. Meat that was terrorized had a tang of fear to it that made it virtually unpalatable to her. And if she'd known Abashai's thoughts, she'd have smiled and erupted into light laughter. Couldn't... yes... for there were lines even the forest cat wouldn't cross, ones that involved respect, trust, and love and nothing would make her cross them. Wouldn't implied that she could when in truth she could not. Not ever. Not to him.

Regardless, that was something for another time. Here and now she was to learn the more blatant magic, to reinforce her bond with the winds. And so she focused once more on Terminus. She didn't mind that he disrobed. She figured there'd be blood. It felt, however, strangely unnatural to allow him to produce so many cuts all across her body - especially with Abashai watching. It seemed incredibly intimate, and although Terminus had forewarned her, she wasn't really prepared for it. The pain of the wounds burned in an annoying way, but she'd had much worse and was used to ignoring them. However, when Terminus started expelling gas, surrounding himself with a silvery light, the forest cat grew nervous. She trusted him, instinctively, for she felt he had a good heart and knew parts of it from their open talks.

But he misjudged something, almost critically. While he had intended no intimacy by reaching out and forcing the kelvic into an embrace, Nya was totally unprepared for it. Singularly, she would have been fine held to him, but the fact that his Res was invading her body in multiple places including flooding her mouth, nose, and eyes caused her to panic. Had he kept his distance and done the rite through only her mouth and perhaps cuts on her hands ... she wouldn't have reacted the way she did. But locked in Terminus' arms with his... very essence invading her arms, legs, back, chest, neck, forehead and her mouth and nose... it felt very wrong. There was overwhelming heat. It felt very dominant, very male, very sexual, and very forced - none of which the young forest cat was ready for. In another season, without the influence of her mother's calming herbs that kept her natural cycles completely in check, Nya might have reacted completely differently. Instinctively her human side knew that she was the one that asked him to do this, but her forest cat side completely lost control.

No male was ever going to dominate her and force something of himself inside her while she was not willing. Not now, not ever, and not in front of Abashai - whom she felt had rights first and foremost to all that she was. The woman knew Terminus hadn't meant it like that and had told her this was the way it was done, but the cat had no such reassurances. Her whole body oozed fight, and she got ready to bring one on. But the pain of the invasion was a little more than she'd anticipated. Things moved fast and the Azenth didn't linger. Perhaps it was his instinct as well, for if he had she'd would have liked to shift in his arms so he had a larger stronger forest cat clamped to his form rather than a pale vulnerable human. Terminus' res filled her completely, and something in her own body reacted forming up on its own until she realized there was a wealth of it within her that she hadn't known had existed. And what she had and what he had forced into her clashed inside her And while the overwhelming burning pain gave her permission to scream, her rage fueled it into something more than a release of pain. It was a scream of challenge as she came to deadly life in Terminus' arms.

Through the sudden invasive dominating pain while she was still held to him, Nya's Will locked onto Terminus' and she sent a single hypnotic flash straight into his mind. It was a compromise to what the cat really wanted to do. It was artfully done because she'd practiced such things over and over, designed to confuse enemies and get them to do what she wanted. In this case, she wanted Terminus to to let go. It was a battle the cat and woman had waged in a single heartbeat - the difference between illusion and reality. The flash drove the image home swift and suddenly into Terminus' mind - Nya shifting in his arms and tearing out his throat as she dwarfed over him. It was very much like recalling a vivid memory or having a 'what if' instant of incredible clarity. He could actually feel her warm skin shift to fur and her teeth and claws rend the meat off his body and release his blood from its prison of flesh. She wanted him to let go, and let go fast.

At the same time, even as his Res invasion broke off and the burning intense pain eased, she snarled and backed away from him. She felt invaded, dominated, and controlled. Trembling, her eyes wild, Nya spit like a cornered cat and fled the immediate area, ducking around Terminus and Abashai, needing space to get control over herself and calm down. She didn't exit the cave, but rather she fled to the other chamber, the one with the cool soothing water.

Falling to her hands and knees by the pool, Nya reached forward to dip her hands into the water and wash her face to clear her mind. Her eyes caught a glimpse of her reflection in the still water and she paused, horrified. Long hair was tangled and nasty, twisted with twigs and leaves. Nya had swore her hair was smooth, well groomed, and brushed out neatly when she'd anticipated Terminus coming. Her face was harsher, elongated, and her teeth looked sharp. There were hollows in her features and her eyes looked almost the yellow of a beast as she gazed into the pool.

Beast.

She reached out, slapped the water in an angry gesture and erased the image. All she'd ever wanted was to be human, fully human, and not some mockery of it. But everyone knew she was better as a cat, no matter how she tried to learn and grow. And now this... this appearance. Abashai had never said a word, but Nya knew she'd been progressively looking more and more feral - more inhuman - ever since she had gotten back from her capture in the pit trap. It wasn't so bad today, but a few days ago her own image had even scared her. And she hated it... no mater how much she brushed her hair smooth until the comb never tangled at all, she couldn't get rid of the things she saw trapped in the brindled locks nor the snarls that she could see but her comb just couldn't seem to find.

She bowed her head, and heard Term's words clearly, echoing through the cave. She'd return in a moment, apologize, but not before she'd sat there a while, letting the cool air in this part of the cave chill her overheated skin.

[Terminus Norin]

Terminus felt Nya's rage and confusion long before the mental image entered his head. His mark had burned since the embrace and he knew there was nothing he could do about it, this was the way it was done. He felt sorrow at causing his friend this kind of feeling and shame as he knew how violated she felt, he did after his initiation as well. He couldn't do anything about what was happening though, if it didn't she could not manufatcure Res.

Once the images entered his mind,as strong as they were, he did not let go untill the ritual was complete. He knew that if he let go of her, she would be severely injured by the process her body was undergoing and he would not allow his magic to damage another again. He was not terrified by the images as he knew that if the cat had won, he would be dead by now and most likely even Abashai would not be able to save him.

Then he felt her own res beginnining to form and he released her, staggering back from his own reaction to it. He heard her feral snarl and evn if he could, he would not have followed her as she fled. He would have done the same if he had had her strength when he was initiated. He spoke softly and weakly to Abashai

I apologise that you had to see me do that to her. I felt the same as she probably does now when my master finsihed with me and she was harder on me. I felt violated and dominated. I cant apologize to either of you enough. However if I did not do this she could not produce the Res she needs to make this magic work. In fact Reimancy can be deadly to the unititated.


He gulped for air as he desperately needed to rest but he needed to explain it all to Abashai more than he needed the rest.

By doing this i have saved her life most likely. I could have explained res formation to her, but without the initiation she would never know when it had formed nor when it was ready to release and it could have killed her.


He never smiled and id face showed the emotional agony he felt at what he knew Nya was feeling right now as he waited for Abashai to speak and Nya to return

[Abashai]

As Terminus and Nya's traumatic embrace broke and the hissing kelvic backed away, Abashai felt her pain subside, but the strong feelings of violation still surged through their bond. His gaze followed her as she fled to the adjoining cave and he stood to his feet, but did not follow, though he very much wanted to. He knew his bondmate needed to be alone for a moment.

Still staring at the opening through which Nya disappeared, the benshiran stood, listening to the weary words of the firedancer. Abashai breathed deeply, trying to clear his mind and check his own emotions and those he felt through the bond. He was angry, not necessarily at Terminus, or Nya, just at the situation. He did not fully understand Terminus' explanation, as Abashai knew nothing of this kind of magic. At that moment, he didn't care to. He was agitated by the what he had witnessed, then the reimancer spoke of danger to Nya's life. He closed his eyes, whispered a short prayer to Yahal in Shiber and allowed his racing pulse to slow.

He sighed heavily and turned to look at Terminus. "I do not blame you. I know this is something that is important to her. I know why she is doing it. But you know it is hard for me to watch anything hurt her." It was true, but the nature of their lifestyle seemed to place them in harm's way quite often. Abashai had accepted that. Nya felt great purpose in protecting him, and he had accepted that. He also felt deeply that the two of them were destined to serve a greater purpose, to live an exceptional life. That kind of life inherently comes with danger. Indeed, the gods themselves had stuck their hands in the lives of the bonded pair more than once. Even the Defiler. Abashai shuddered, that memory still so fresh.

"My people are very wary of magic, and it is very strange to me. But I want to understand it. People I know, trust, use it. I know it is part of Nya's life and I have seen that it can be used for good things."

Abashai turned again to glance towards the storage cavern, resisting the urge to check on Nya. "Rest Terminus, she will return when she is ready." The worry in his face betraying his true concern. Nya's strong emotion had faded from the bond, though he felt the same vague distress that he had noted several times in recent days. He hoped to address it later, when he had a chance to tell her all he had to say. Finally turning away, he stepped to the fire to make himself some tea.

[Nya Winters]

It took her a long time to make her way back to the main cavern. She didn't want to face Abashai looking like she did, or to apologize to Terminus for her reaction. She wasn't sure why she'd reacted like she had, but she was still feeling 'differen't' inside, as if she'd been invaded. But she was determined to learn Reinmancy, and the truth of it was she wanted Abashai to learn as well. But she knew the Benshira fairly well, and she was quite certain he would not accept such an initiation himself. Nya wondered, in that instant, if Terminus could teach her then perhaps she could initiate Abashai in a kinder gentler way than Terminus had for her. If she could make Res, then surely she could teach someone else's body how to make Res - especially her bondmates - and then perhaps they could learn from Terminus how to control it together. But it was dangerous, and she could see instantly how it was because even as she knelt beside the pool gazing at her horrible visage, she could feel Terminus' Res doing its work within her, coaxing her own djed to solidify, change, infuse itself with purpose. And it was an intense feeling, one she would not have tolerated unless she had a need to do so.

When Nya returned, it was with measured steps. She was wearing an ankle length orange tunic that belted at her hips with a piece of leather wrapped twice around her. Abashai knew it was her bathing robe, one she placed on herself to put him at ease after she'd gotten done enjoying a bath. The forest cat returned to the two men, knelt down, and sat with her legs folded under her.

"I'm sorry. You warned me. But that was unexpected." She said with a growl, then shifted suddenly, so she was leaning against Abashai. "I heard what you said, about that being how you were initiated, but I think sometimes Terminus, you should understand you can do things your own way in your own time. You have a lot of compassion for people, an insight on how they live... how they feel... its a very important gift. I think you can, if given some thought, come up with your own style of gifting Res that is not your teachers way, a gentle healing way that infuses people with your same compassion. You are so skilled. You can do things your own way, a more powerful way. With love." The forest cat said, yawning. She was exhausted, though the water had woken her up... and within her there was something happening within her djed. It was a lot like her stomach was rumbling, but in a way that no one but her could hear. Things were mixing, changing, converting... and she was helpless to do much about it but let Terminus' res do its work.

"Tell us about her... about what she was like and how you knew her." Nya suggested, suddenly... curious. She shifted down further, so her head was leaning against Abashai's knee and stretched her legs out - the very picture of a lazy cat in human form.