[ORP] Emergence

[phoenix kiss]

It comes as a flash of intuition -- something that wakes him up in the middle of the night. No one else seems to have been affected. The resting bodies of the Tidewalkers appear as lumps on the sand, except for those who are on watch. No one else seems to be afflicted with this -- .. Knowing.

The zikwa are coming.

Longstride hauls himself up out of sleep, and goes in search of Bitterleaf -- the old Crone somehow knows, too, Knows that the zikwa are emerging from the deep places in the earth. Knows that they must be there for when it happens. This is happening with less pomp and circumstance than the winter snows that preceded the totoma, or the flood that followed the kiokote.

So they leave the beach: Bitterleaf loping alongside an eaglehound whose tongue hangs out of his mouth, and eventually they leave one another, as Longstride races through the swamp in search of the Legendaries -- those like him:

Stargarden. Swan. Nettle. Wildflower Breeze. Fiend. Fish Bones. Walks Without Rhythm. Peeper. Frenzy, Doom, Wood Spider, Lull in Sunlight, Meets-the-Sea, Cue Queue, Willows-breath.

Eventually he will find them all; eventually they will gather, if they are able, around Ghost Thistle's mound. It is dusk, and they have gathered -- standing in small groups with their firefly eyes alight, chatting to one another, or some with their faces turned into the wind, trying to catch the scent of the zikwa. Before them the mound rises up out of the swamp.

Longstride himself is the last to reappear, flanks thinner, his pelt striped with mud and blood, a bit feral around the edges. He plants all four feet, shakes himself in a rather canine manner, and then shrugs as he comes to stand near Bitterleaf. "They're coming. Soon. I think they'll come out here.

And we'll be the first to greet them."

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[OOC Note: All legendary owners are more than welcome to post!
This is an ORP about the emergence of the zikwa, but kimeti owners are welcome to join, too. ]  

[Appeal]

Stargarden hadn't been chattering with his mouth so much as he had been with his feet, his crane feet. He had little sense of personal space, gracefully hopping from one legendary to another in what could only be described as a meet and greet for him. WHAT WERE THEY? His eyes inquired suspiciously. Some of them looked familiar to him, particularly Nettle, but it had been a long time and this stag could not remember any more.

Never had he been around so many kin at once, typically avoiding things or being too caught up in his own crocodile adventures to be interested in things like fire, snow and floods. Maybe if the sky fell it would be interested but the crane simply had other things to do then. Right now though? Oh ho ho, this was interested. So many unusual items in one place!

Longstride looked like a hay ball that drooled all over itself.

Bitterleaf seemed to be a dragonfly. Maybe it was those wings he noticed more than anything though.

Swan looked like a goose. Stargarden liked geese. He tried to quack at it. Oops, that's a duck right? Oh well.

Nettle looked like a grumpy guppy.

Wildflower Breeze looked like a bruised apple and Stargarden kind of really wanted to take a bite.

Fiend seemed to be a strange coloured centipede. Oops.

Fish Bones looked very sick, being a fish out of water. It was even green behind the gills!

Walks Without Rhythm seemed to be a very large ant. What was with the creatures in this swamp?

Peeper was what Stargarden thought was an out of season cattail fluffing up for the world.

Frenzy kind of looked like Frolic, which didn't make Stargarden very happy. He might have kicked her.

Doom looked like an autumn tree.

Wood Spider didn't look anything like a spider! She kind of looked like a pine tree though.

Lull in Sunlight looked like a firefly.

Meets-the-Sea seemed to be a very confused dung beetle.

Cue Queue was clearly a very old snake who'd seen better days.

Willow's-Breath was a flowering tree, even out of season, just magical. Stargarden liked this tree, lingering on her flank longer than most.

Deductive skills used up for the moment, Stargarden look a seat near the mound and stared at it. Could he go down that hole? Would he meet a rabbit? Oh, maybe this is where his moon hid during the day!

 

[EchoLimaFoxtrot]

Hero wouldn't lie. He was stalking. The buck was travelling, as was his typical habit - on his Quest for those that might need his help. It was her that he saw. At first, he was convinced that she was just a ghost of his imagination, but when he looked longer he still saw her clearly.

Bitterleaf had left the beaches. While he was sure that was not all together impossible, he had difficulty remembering when - in the rumors - she ever left: and he could not recall. It seemed odd, so he followed her.

It was difficult, she was definitely more agile and quick than he was, but his trusty Adventure was able to direct him whenever his sight failed him.

Finally, he came upon, and the sight was enough to ground him speechless.

Legendaries were everywhere. He had only met... well, Bitterleaf... that he knew of, and could not see all from his vantage point behind leaves. What were they doing here?




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Wild Cry sniffed the air, his body trembling in anticipation. Something was happening. He felt a story coming....

"Come, Hidden Story, it is time to go..." he glanced down at the foxbun, but where?

Where did the biggest stories come from? The answer should have been obvious, Ghost Thistle's mound... he could always try there.

The buck was relieved and his bones vibrating with the energy in the air. Yes, he thought, as he saw all the Legendaries - more than he knew, this was most definitely the right place.

Wild Cry could not help the smile that swept his face when he caught sight of the beautiful Willows-Breath. Their reunion was a long time in the making, but alas it was overcome by enormity that hung in the air. The buck stayed put, out of the way, forever the observer and gatherer of stories - perhaps Legends in this case (in more ways than one).  

[hybridic]

When Longstride had shown up at the Borderwalker's cave, bedraggled and dirty, Meets-the-Sea had been afraid she was going to have to break up a fight. Walks Without Rhythm, her mate, had an ongoing grudge against the other stag, but thankfully the two had put off their arguing (for now at least) in favor of responding to the feeling of urgency that had dragged them all -- the chosen ones of the swamp -- to Ghost Thistle's mound.

Meets stood next to her mate as the legendaries gathered and brushed the fin of her tail against his. Her eyes shone in their dark purple-black glow as she looked around the circle at the other legendaries, examining them each in turn. Some she had met before -- there was Wood Spider, the small and delicate mare who had given Meets her first blessing and inspired such change in her life -- some she had only heard of -- the dark gray lady with the scars and glowing wings must be Bitterleaf, the head of the Tidewalker clan -- but most of those gathered Meets couldn't even have imagined -- a stag with huge white wings, a translucent creature with a skull for a head, a collection of pink fluffballs, a mare with a haunting shadow, and so many more! Meets examined them all closely, trying to glean from their sparse movements a sense of each's personality and demeanor. She was perfectly still, until suddenly something landed on her back.

Confused and surprised at her lack of attendance to her more immediate surroundings, the mare turned her head and eyed the crane that had landed on her with raised brows. Another legendary, but in his animal form. The fanned fin on her head opened and closed a few times as she watched him, the ghostly form of her own crane form mimicking her movements. Her dark eyes followed him as he moved on, alighting on the back of each of the legendaries in turn.  

[gospellicea]

Runs with Death had been on one of his solitary wanders, on the lookout for something exciting or dangerous to play with. As he walked the swamp, he noticed the gathering at Ghost Thistle's mound from afar, and squinted. Something important was happening.

He saw many kin that looked... strange, somehow. As he drew closer, he tried to puzzle out what it was that was different about them. He watched a crane moving from kin to kin, and thought something seemed different about it, as well.

Then he had it. These must be Legendaries. He had heard of them, but never met one. Wasn't it kind of unusual for so many to be in one place? He inched closer and lingered on the edge of the gathering. This was exciting, and that meant he wanted to be a part of it.

"Hello!"

 

[and be blue]

Nettle is there, but perhaps his reasoning is not the same as the others. He stands, seriously, beside Peeper -- his eyes narrowed, focused, considering the crew gathered -- and gathering -- around them. When he moves it is in a serious manner, two steps forward, as if he's preparing to address the lot, but his eyes focus on Longstride instead of on anyone else, and his voice comes out soft, ruffled, annoyed --

"Where is my griffin."

This is personal business, asked almost as an aside. Anyone else listening might be confused, but Longstride will know exactly what he means.  

[theCorniest]

Wildflower Breeze had long ago gotten used to following the subtle and not-so-subtle pulls the Motherfather tended to direct his attention with; he had, in fact, already been on his way to Ghost-Thistle's Mound when he was met by the stagglehound Longstride. The reappearance of the Zikwa had seemed inevitable after Kiokote, Acha, and Totoma all returned, but this confirmation of the oldest stories' truth set his head awhirl and heart aflutter nonetheless. If this story, barely known, widely varied, was true, what other half-remembered fancies could have truly happened? What other creatures had tread the ground - what other things had happened in days long gone, lost and unknown, that might now or soon resurface?

Professional suspicions aside, there were more ascended kimeti here than one could shake a stick at, and the tension in the air was thick enough to chew on. Some of the stags and mares he had met - Willow looked rather pretty, but quite irate, and he knew better than to approach her; while Nettle looked pretty much the same as he always had, but with a little more horn and hair. Some he knew of by reputation - indefatigable Longstride; bitter Bitterleaf, as he'd heard snatches of song tell; gentle Meets-the-Sea and her mate, Walks Without Rhythm; the charming charm-maker Wood Spider, toothy Frenzy... and the crane that settled on his back (and left him mightily perplexed, with the taste of apples lingering on his tongue) must have been Stargrarden. Still others he had not yet heard of, all diverse, but still obviously part of the blessed.

Slowly, now, other kin began to arrive. Soon, from the mound, the Zikwa would, too. There was history in the making this evening, and Breeze was proud to be there to record it all.  

[and be blue]

In contrast, Willow is, as Stargarden surmises to himself, magical -- as this is exactly the persona she struggles to create, when she is not fighting with the wild growth that sprouts from her hooves and winds her way up around her ankles. She stands majestic [she poses], with her head up and tilted so that she can watch the crowd through lowered lashes. The breath sighs out of her, and even this is elegant.

Of course, there isn't really anyone looking at her, now. The elegance is lost, until a soft voice comes up at her shoulder, low and gentle.

"Have we interrupted your gathering?"

It is a surprise to the mare, makes her start, makes her frustration with the lack of attention fade away into embarrassment as she tips her head down to study the small, wrinkly, eyeless, glowing creature beside her.

Ghost can't blink back up at her, and doesn't bother. Instead she studies the rest of them, glowing shapes on her eyelids, faint shadows and nothing more. The zikwa will seem sinister to the rest of their Kin, perhaps, but it is nothing compared to how the world appears to them.

"We didn't mean to," she offers, gently, taking one step in, and Willow recoils instinctively, for the moment unable to respond. The poor mare cannot figure out where this strange creature came from.

((OOC NOTE: for the love of god if you talk to my characters in particular, gimme a quote. XD))  

[Chrystali]

Close behind Ghost, her gold-smeared shoulder brushing against Thief's own as she pressed by, Take Root nosed her way from the bosom of the earth and out into the night air with a quizzical but interested expression. The first thing she noticed was the air as her head cleared the dune, slender legs pressing cave-worn hooves into the soft dirt: it smelled wet, but cool, crisp, lacking the acrid air she'd grown used to underground. Her pale ears wavered upright and to the sides as she became secondly aware that they were not alone: the subtle shuffle of hoof on what she would learn to be trodden earth, the voices that weren't quite murmurs. Fear of the unknown laced her breast, but she emerged all the same, giving her body a good shake to dislodge the creeping remains of dirt and dust, lifting her head to 'face' the audience the best she could. She felt exposed, but her kin were here. There was nothing to fear.

"It's quieter than I thought it'd be," she murmurs, and her voice sounds quiet even to her in the great open area.




The teal and gold bat lodged to her back was less impressed with the gesture, its squashed face nestled against the back of her head. Take Flight briefly spread his wings before settling them against her slender sides again, unperturbed by the entire event. He offered little more than a high-pitched chirp before resting his long ears forward, paying attention but not respecting the gravity of the given situation.







Not far from the group, Grave arched his slender neck to watch the strange hairless beings emerging from the churned earth, frowning subtly beneath his mask. He'd seen the displaced land and had approached in expectation of finding a grave upturned or some sort of hasty point of demise, but it seemed instead...the dirt womb was birthing a race unlike any he'd seen so far. Uncertain, he didn't immediately approach, instead observing to make sure what was happening was to his concern at all.  

[gospellicea]

No one responded to Runs with Death. He stared around, confused. Then he saw the strange creature talking to one of the kin.

"What is that?! What is going on?" he thought aloud.

Pointed stares came from some of the group. Was he being rude? He could never tell, and forced himself into silence.

 

[SilverShieldwolf]

She felt movement, the ground shifted and more. There was whispering and she shuffled over to the group more. It was to get an idea of what was going on. Her hooves stepped on others, stumbling into her fellow Zikwa. "Are we going to find out what is going on above us?" Soundless Voice asked those closest to her, waiting.

They told her, the spirits, that there was a gathering on Ghost Thistle's mound. Her eyes scanned the way, following the path that took the long way around. Twilight's Mystery didn't know who or what was gathering, but the spirits seemed intent on her being there to witness it. Someone from the Shadowwalkers needed to be there to carry on the story of this...this. Her steps stopped, causing her to glance up to see what was around the mound. Legendaries. She had never seen one or even knew who they were, but the sight was astounding to the doe. To bring forth so many, there must be a reason and she wanted to join in. Before she went into the open, a buck emerged from the opposite side.  

[Aric Val]

Evenfall was one to observe, her dull grey eyes marveling at the scene unfolding in front of her. She kept her distance at first, it was them--the legendaries all in their beautiful glory, feeling that she wasn't worthy enough to approach. ---Yet she did,her curiosity stronger than any uncertain thought she had. Grey hooves treaded lightly towards this strange energy that surrounded this place, and she knew something was coming, and it excited her.

And she let out a soft breath, these new creatures--this new life emerging from this mound. Then arose the Zikwa, the markings on their bodies just like hers--but much more vivid and lighting the dull night. She was quietly captivated. For the moment she heard nothing else and saw nothing else.  

[phoenix kiss]

and be blue

Longstride starts at this question -- having been busy shaking the hay out of his mane (where the hell had hay? come from?) -- and then looks to Nettle. For a moment it doesn't seem like he recognizes him, but that's to be expected; when in his eaglehound shape, social graces leave him. Longstride blinks, shakes his head (and a bit of hay falls out of his mane), and then says, astutely, "What? He didn't stay?"

Longstride had been fully intent on leaving Shriek there. The gryphon is not, by any stretch of the imagination, tame. When he'd left Nettle's cave, Shriek had stayed behind, and he'd thought that was the last of it. No more shrieking in the hours before dawn on the beach. No more bird droppings to watch out for.

The gryphon hadn't returned to the beach. "He hasn't come back to the beach..."

---

Wood Spider makes her way through the crowd, following the sight of a black-and-blue fin that looks .. well, interesting, but also familiar. Some part of her recognizes it as Meets-the-Sea, but she isn't sure. Being so petite does have its downfalls, of course, and most of the time she must crane her head and perk up her ears to be able to see or hear anything. Her sense of smell is somehow clogged with the scent of pine -- an interesting thing, and a bit odd, since there are no pine trees here...

Circling around the mound to try and find Meets-the-Sea, she runs bodily into a smaller shape -- a piebald zikwa, at least what she thinks is a zikwa, who blinks up at her with bleary, tiny teal eyes and speaks in a soft, breathy voice. "--oh," it says; "I didn't see you."

Wood Spider backpedals a step and nearly bumps into a kimeti behind her; after a moment, however, her expression grows interested .. and a bit bemused. It is interesting to be bigger than someone. "You are a zikwa? Welcome to the swamp. My name is Wood Spider."

The zikwa looks around, ears perked up, and squints. It is impossible to figure out what it sees; Pulse cannot see anything but a bright background on which many, many dark things shift and move. Pulse looks up at the mare as she continues to speak, and then glances around -- hopelessly -- to see if there are any others about.

Spider adds, "We have come to welcome you."  

[EchoLimaFoxtrot]

Wild Cry slunk around to try and get to Willows-Breath. He noticed the sleek creature come around, and then speak in a soft manner. The buck stopped, his nostrils flaring. This was it... first contact. This was where stories began.

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Hero, too, crept closer a bit. One, then two, then three slender creatures crept from the mound. The buck was in awe, truly they looked more unbalanced than a newborn colt! But they managed well and walked with grace.

He heard a grey one speak, his smell telling him this must be a female. A scaleless, hornless female. Gracious, how did they tell the different between the two? One might get confused! But he came forward, giving Adventure a warning glare lest it think to try to take on one of these delicate creatures, and came nearby - just enough to hear her speak quietly.

Hero chuckled low in his throat. "Just give it time. The kin, especially us kimeti, rarely stay quiet for long..." He gave her a disarming smile, to try not to frighten her.

Chrystali