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 Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:20 pm
Incoming message. . .
I moved silently through the tall grasses of the plains, my senses on alert for any sign of danger. I hadn't fed this night, nor the one before. Not that I was in any danger of dieing for this..quite the opposite. I've found in my many years of wandering that the longer I go between feedings, the more apt I am to sense danger before it becomes dangerous, so to speak. I paused, listening for heartbeats. When I heard none, I continued onward. I could see the castle now, looming in the path ahead. I had been away for so long..I wasn't even sure I would be welcome after the last near death encounter I'd had. Not near death for me, of course. Near death for the unfortunate girl that I'd run across. I only knew what had happened because Hiratoshi had shared the memory later to punish me for trying to absolve myself of it. I hadn't tried since. I knew somewhere deep in my heart that I would never be rid of the weapon. I only had one option left to me. Once more return to the Haven, to that one girl that had the odd ability to dissolve the weapon's hold on me. This meant that perhaps I could have a chance at normality, even if it were only for a few moments. But then, could I ever be normal?
Heaving a small sigh, I started moving again, making haste toward the one last refuge available to me on this plane.
Toward the Haven.
End of message.
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 6:36 pm
Keir stopped just short of being in seeing distance of the few milling about outside of the village. Reaching up a hand to touch her fingertips to the fake horns upon her head she considered digging for something to actually cover them. Many outside of the normal range of The Church had never seen the priestesses, so maybe a human with horns might startle a few of them. Though, from what she'd heard of this 'haven' maybe it wouldn't be too much of a shock.
Deciding that getting a hood or anything else would be too much effort, the priestess continued on the road to the town. She ignored any looks she may have been getting because of her clothing and what was on her head. She went to the closest building, which happened to be a post office and waited in line patiently before addressing the lady behind the counter, "I'm not delivin' a letter, I'd like t'know where this 'Haven' can be found?"
The lady stared at her blankly for a moment before finally pointing at a map behind her, "They say it's somewhere around there."
Keir moved her gaze to the map, squinting to see it better. Remembering what she need she nodded to the lady, then left the building with a simple, "Thank you."
Hours later she was on her way to the place the woman indicated on the map, muttering about getting a rental vehicle next time.
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Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 5:10 pm
Ria dropped her backpack on the ground and sat on it. She sat at the edge of the forest and watched the sun rise. She had spent the night at the village tavern and was now a little unsure. The villagers had been most talkative after a few rounds of ale. They had portrayed their lord as coolly beneficent, dark demon, and all the facets in between.
Well, it didn't matter. She had come far to find Aunt Dara's favorite place and nothing would get in her way. Surely this Lucid would be a friend once again and grant her Dara's boon. She had never come this close to finding him before.
"Enough of this" she thought. "I will never get done if I don't start". Slinging her backpack to her shoulder, she stepped out into the knee-high grass that lay in every direction. To the east, the towers beckoned to her. She started toward them, a merry tune on her lips.
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:15 pm
Scents were thick on the air and the wolf's nose picked up all of them. Crossing over a few fallen logs, the wolf moved into the tall grasses of the plains, his stride carrying him back toward the Haven. He had only gone a few steps when a sound made his him stop short. His head came up and his audits pivoted about, trying to sense the direction of the intruder. His eyes, not nearly as powerful as the rest of his senses, peered through the grass in the darkness, his gaze shifting about him. Nathaniel crept back the way he'd come, listening carefully. He paused upon hearing the sounds again, then lowered his form when he saw the figure just a few yards off. He waited, watching as the figure made it's way toward him. Standing up then, the wolf let out a warning growl. He wasn't sure what this person wanted, but there was no way he was going to let them come any nearer. The thick fur on his ruff stood up, then the ridge of fur along his spine followed suite. He lowered his head, the deep growl emitting from his maw.
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 8:39 pm
Ria stopped in mid-stride, registering the growl from the grass up ahead. There was a figure ahead, low to the ground. She hesitated only a second then lifted her blade. "Wait, was this a wolf?", she thought stunned. Surely not, the wolves she knew didn't travel the grasslands. Anyway, she crouched, battle-ready as she eyed the creature
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 5:31 pm
Keir soon started alternating between whistling and humming a hymn from The Church as she walked on her way. The Goddess was surely looking out for her here, as was the God, but she didn't let her guard down even though she seemed to be rather carefree. The high grass she'd taken to walking through made her nervous, a good reason for keeping her light brown eyes on the untraveled path ahead of her and on the ground beneath her feet.
She saw her destination now, not straight ahead like she'd thought given the woman's poorly made map, but instead to her left. With a frown she turned to change her course when she heard a noise nearby. Her frown deepening she looked about wondering if she should continue towards her goal of the Haven or duck and hope whatever it was left.
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 4:58 pm
The wolf took a slow step back, his growl still low and menacing. He pinned his ears upon seeing the blade raised, baring his sharp teeth. If she attacked him, he might get injured by the weapon in her hands. He also would injure her though, and with this in mind, he held his ground. He shifted his paws, putting himself into a more firm stance and lowering his head a degree further.
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 5:35 pm
Ria kept her eyes on the wolf. Not wanting to hurt the beast she was in a quandary. If she lowered her blade or dropped her gaze to show no threat, the wolf would likely attack. If she locked eyes with the wolf and continued in battle stance, the wolf would likely attack. Holding her blade ready yet somewhat more relaxed, she continued to study the wolf out of amber eyes, no longer attempting a dominating stare. She shivered slightly as the menacing growl continued and awaited the next move from the wolf-like creature
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Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 1:37 pm
The wolf stopped growling. He knew this was pointless. The woman was obviously unafraid of him. Somewhere deep within the wolf's mind, Nathaniel shifted his energy outward. The wolf's body dropped to the ground, and the sound of bones sliding and snapping could be heard. The thick fur gave way to skin, the tail, ears and muzzle contorted. The wolf's shape soon gave way to a more human shape, eventually becoming human altogether. Nathaniel lay unclad amongst the tall grasses, his consciousness fading.
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Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 8:19 pm
Ria's eyes grew wide with a mixture of dread and delight. "All these years I believed you were telling tales," she thought. "Aunt Dara, I do apologize" Sheathing her blade, she watched the transformation in silence. As the figure before her grew increasingly more human, she walked forward. Kneeling by the head of this man/wolf, she did a swift assessment. There appeared to be no outward injuries, or any obvious signs of inward ones. "Possibly," she thought, 'this changing of shape takes a strong toll upon one." Looking down at him she blushed and shook her head. Pulling a tunic out of her pack, she threw it over the lower half of his body.
Taking a quick glance around, she knelt again by his head. Gentle fingers feathered down his face and she whispered, "I wish that I could talk to you. I feel that we could learn much from each other. Unsheathing her sword, she leaned back with her blade across her knees. The least she could do was guard this man until he awakened.
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Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 1:34 am
The priestess sighed with relief when the growling sounds ceased. She quickly resumed humming and continued on her way, walking around a lady who was kneeling near a naked man, paying them very little mind at first. But soon she stopped, a few steps from them and turned to look at the ground near them, "Excellent that neither of you were harmed. I quite dislike healing, makes me feel dizzy."
She looked from one to the other, then blushed at the thought that entered her mind, "Or maybe those were growls of another type. I'm sorry to have intruded..."
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Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:41 am
Ria had been aware of the rustling in the grass for some little time now and braced when a figure came through the grass. She saw what looked to be a young women walking in the grass. The woman passed them and then turned to face them. "No, no one is injured here only greatly wearied. I think that he will recover soon." Ria giggled. "It is not for me to roll around in the grass with shape-shifter that I have never met. Of course, there is always a first time." She studied the others horns intently. "Be ye a demon then?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:43 pm
Nathaniel stirred slowly, crawling his way through layers of mental fog as his mind slowly became conscious. The first thing he registered was voices. Two female voices. Had he passed out? He hadn't done so in a long time. Listening to the voices, he wondered if they were talking about him. Figuring he had to be the only person they could be talking about, he pushed that away. He began a mental check of his person, first making sure that everything still worked. He then opened his eye, shifting his gaze over his surroundings. He was still a bit groggy, but he felt no pain, so he assumed he would be fine. He wondered at the brush of cloth against his hip as he shifted to sit up, but thought nothing of this, since he was perfectly happy without any type of clothing. Nudity was a common practice among shape shifters like himself. They even slept in piles at times, without clothing. Julian had called them puppy piles once. He lifted his upper body, so that he was sitting up, then reached up to brush his hair back from his face with one hand. He then studied the two women around him with a curious gaze.
"Hello." he said, looking between them. "Is there something I can do for either of you?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:56 pm
The snap of the wind filling the deep blue sails cracked like a gunshot over the water. For once the sky was clear, the storms had all moved north, and even the sea was calm, lazy almost. a rarity when he was pushing this close to home but Seth was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. The crew was handling the rigging, and the new hull was preforming very nicely. The wind was heavy, but not cold, the air was warm and humid without holding too much heat. the night sky was clear, nothing but the brilliant light of the moon and hundreds of stars. normally he would have dropped the crew and the Sea Dragon in port off of Anica, picked up his smaller ship and taken just him and Lyra to the Haven. In truth though, he had had no intention of setting out towards the Haven. No, merely ordered the crew to ride out the vicious storm that had played hell with his ship for three days. The storm had cleared this morning, but there were damages, to the hull and the mast, they were just now reaching waters calm enough to allow his crew to work to rectify the damage, and clean up in the wake of the storm. As they had not had a time limit, the ship going off course had not cost him or his crew anything, but they needed to make port, and soon so he and his men could make proper repairs. As the sky had cleared, Eric, Seth first mate, had called below deck to him saying that their was something he thought his captain should see. And damn it all if Seth had not gone above decks only to catch sight of the towers of the Haven. To sail around to Anica would take at least three days of travel at a good speed. The Sea Dragon just didn't have it in her. The closest port was his...home. They would have to stop. Tilting his head, Seth glanced over at Eric.
"Head for the cove, make sure to navigate easy towards the rocks, the water will try and smash us up against the cliff sides. We cannot afford any more damage." he ordered, his voice soft. He did not wait to hear his first mates acknowledgment, he knew his orders would be followed. looking up at the sky he frowned, but sent the call regardless.
:Talon, fly ahead, warn lucid we are here. We have arrived much earlier than planned. I do not think it is safe for Lyra as of yet.:
:Then why stop?:
The ship has taken too much damage. We need to anchor as of yesterday. We don't have any other choice.:
:Fair enough.:
Seth watched the falcon lift off the crow's nest and wing toward the distant spires. They were a few hours from the Haven's cove, possibly. With a resigned sigh, he moved below decks, knowing that he had to inform her. If she came up on deck and spotted where they were, she could think the wrong thing and run off without him, he couldn't risk that. Lifting a hand, he tapped gently on her door.
"Lyra?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:27 pm
Incoming message. . .
Gabriel stretched his wings to their fullest, catching as much of the updraft as he could. He soared upward slightly, then flexed his wings back and bit to lower himself again. He'd been playing with the air currents since Lucid had risen and told him to find something to do with himself. Boredom was a horrid thing, he decided. His spanned his wings up, then tucked them close to his frame and started into a short dive that took him below the clouds. It was then that he noticed the ship. Tilting his head, he studied it, his nearly perfect vision zooming in a bit. He was in his usual partial demon form at the moment, having wings, tail, and horns. He hadn't been trying to shift all the way, but he like having these three because they made him feel a bit more whole while he was flying. His tail also gave his added stability in the air and this was important, because he had to flip upward to avoid a collision with Talon. He wheeled downward again, moving toward the ship. Seth would be happy to see him, he hoped. Only when he was nearly upon the vessel did he notice the other men scurrying about the deck. s**t. He wondered for a brief moment if they'd ever seen a demon before, but only for a moment. Then his feet touched the deck. He landed a bit ungracefully, since the ship was moving at the good speed still. Stumbling some, he grabbed the railing to balance himself, then looked up.
"Hello.." he muttered, giving the crew a small smile.
End of message.
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