Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kara hopped out of a tree she was in and wandered around for a few till she saw Saline swinging her tail around. Her eyes went big, but she kept herself in control. She took deep breaths as she waited till Saline was not paying attention anymore and waited till she gave her attention to Sworda. Once Saline turned to to Sworda, Kara began to walk quietly as she could towards the two. Once close enough, she looked at Saline's tail move back and forward and attacked it, hugging it close to her as she squealed.

As Kara was set down on the grass she instantly put the green ball down and hugged the plushie close to her as she squealed again. She may have been 16, but she had the mind of a 5 year old..Sometimes a 3 year old.

Saline accepts it, hands covered with the cloth and ready to wrap it up once more. She cradled it close to her body and studied Sworda carefully with one eyebrow raised. "So this is yours then?" she asked finally. "Like I said, I woke up one morning and it was just lying beside me. Why does it act so strange when I touch it? And just who is after it?" She thought about if for another moment and then turned away from him. With a sigh she waved for him to follow and went back into the little house. It was probably safer to discuss if they weren't out in the open. Saline placed her hand on Kara's shoulder and motioned for her to follow as well.

"Come. You don't have to stay in here, but at least eat with us," she offered. She pushed the door open and slipped inside. The interior of the house wasn't quite as run down as the exterior. The walls were white-washed and for the most part bare, giving it a cleaner feeling. To one side of the wide room was a dark blue futon covered in several blankets and pillows. In the center of the room was a square, dark wooden table low to the ground with a sitting cusion on each side. In one corner was a small old-fashion stove with a somewhat battered black kettle waiting to be used and a large pot with steam rising out of the top. Above the stove was a small open window with faded light-blue curtains. The wood floor was old and faded a grayish brown, but clean. In random places on the floor were older but soft rugs to be easier on their feet. This had all taken quite some time, but it was true when Saline said that it had been fized up inside. She waved her arm in a wide circle for them to make themselves at home before slipping the sword into the pile of blankets atop the futon.

Kara took her toys inside and jumped onto Saline's bed. She watched as Sworda and Saline were talking and then watched him leave. "Bye!!!!" she yelled childishly.

Saline hears him anyways and sits up with a wide yawn. She smiles and waves at him sleepily, resting her chin on her hand to await his song. For most of the time he had been gone she had been alternating between brooding over the new weapon and trying to keep Kara of her tail. She had been too nervous so far to try any real training with it for fear of what it might do to her, but perhaps under the guiding light of the moon it might be easier. But for now the thought of the flute was enticing, so she could wait a bit longer to try it out.

Saline finds herself humming along quietly, tucking the tune into her memory. But when Sworda began to change she found her body moving of its own accord, quickly grabbing the wrapped sword and running outside to watch the rest of the show. This was certainly a new trick, and a frightening one at that. Staring at the tear in the heavens, she quickly cast aside the cloth and held the blade defesnively before her, forgetting her previous hesitations.

That is, she forgot it until the sword started reacting again. The strange smoky tendrils were summoned much faster this time, perhaps reacting to her fighting stance. The smoke climbed up her arms and wrapped around her shoulders like a spider's web. Her body felt frozen solid as it weaved quickly around her chest down to her waist. Even when the vines began to glow like the moonlight down her legs she couldn't break away. Had her voice worked she might have screamed when the light seemed to melt into a solid sheet over her entire body, even lifting her a few inches off of the ground.

Saline felt it crawling finally up the back of her neck, the light soaking her hair so that it glowed like a river of stars. When the light finally faded she had been placed neatly back on her feet, though she nearly jumped up again upon noticing the differences. Lifting one lock of hair she realized that it had gone from raven to a silvery blue that resembled moonlight, though her tail and ears remained black. Her clothes were different as well; she wore a sleeveless top that tied around her mid-back and around her neck that was made of a beautiful, flowing silver cloth unlike any kind she'd ever seen, embroidered up the front in a beautiful, delicate swirling pattern in pale, robin's-egg blue. Her skirt, made of the same liquid-like silver, was embroidered the same up the sides. The sides were slit up to her mid-thigh, the pattern in the center curving down into a diamond shape. The feature that surprised her most was the mark that had appeared upon her left arm; it was a simple design, a dark blue diamond with thin black swirls curling around one side. It was the mark of her mother's tribe. Saline touched it with her free hand (the other still held tightly to the sword) and realized that her claws were even colored the same moonlight-blue.

"What the HELL!?! SWORDA!!" she yelled.

Saline is unfased by the remark, even if it did come from one of her best friends. Not bothering to use the sword, she walked up to him and whacked his head. "It's me, Saline, you idiot! See the tail?" she yelled. "What did this damn thing do to me!?!" She plunged the tip of the sword into the soil so it stood upright and folded her arms over her chest. When she didn't change back she let out a frustrated growl and grabbed the sword once more. "What did this thing do to me?" she repeated impatiently.

Saline searched herself over to make sure everything was back to normal. The only thing that remained was the tattoo upon her arm. The mark usually only surfaced when Saline's body came in contact with any sort of energy mass. She quickly dropped the sword so it wouldn't happen again, taking a wide step away from it.

"Okay, no way in hell am I going to let that happen again," she said quietly, shaking her head. She looked at her friend, leaning one hand upon her hip. "Hey Sworda, just what the heck were you doing up there?"