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 Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 1:55 am
In the Dark.
xxx( Yasu & Kiyoshi. )
xxx( la mort noire - - xx & lethality. )
xxx( Somewhere on Campus. eue; )
xxxxx♚ ♚ ♚
For some odd reason, Kiyoshi had a feeling he was going in the wrong direction.
Not an entirely unusual occurrence in the Ampharos's life on campus, though this time, it might have been a bit troubling, as not even the walls looked familiar to him. One ear flexing, the gijinka smiled, playing a long, ebony strand through his pale fingers.
"Lost again."
It wasn't that Kiyoshi wasn't used to this. It wasn't that he didn't consciously know that he was the worst person to ask for directions and more than that, the worst person to get lost with. The Ampharos knew when he was lost, and he certainly knew when he wasn't going to be finding his way home any time soon. But perhaps those facts weren't quite interesting, in that they all led up to the overwhelming idea in his head that the gijinka simply couldn't bring himself to care. A tail flexed, the dim glow of red outlining the halls as evening set outside. Kiyoshi was sure he hadn't been down this way before, and without the natural sunlight filtering through the halls, it was beginning to feel rather ominous. However, in a sense, this entire place was quite ominous. The lab wasn't simply one of those dingy little places that beginning trainers got their pokemon from. It was dark, it was dangerous. Kiyoshi couldn't help a shudder up his spine, a bitter, foul taste in his mouth. But all he did was continue to smile and walk along, his footsteps turning into sways, which in turn led to a jittery dance.
Yes it was dangerous here, but it was also fun.
Kiyoshi exhaled, fingers rising to his mouth for a moment, electricity glittering against his lips as he looked around. He now stood in an intersection of halls, shadows hissing and shying from his glowing red tail. The Ampharos was not afraid of the dark, not when he was made to be a saving grace for others lost in it. Yet still, a shiver crawled up his spine. His eyes shut, and Kiyoshi turned to take the route to the left, his feet leading him down a dim corridor, darkening with each step. Idly, he wondered if no one had thought to install lights in each of the halls, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care. Outside, the world of night was rousing from its slumber, and sooner or later, he really would have to put an effort into actually trying to find his way back to the dorm he was in now. Reaching out a hand, Kiyoshi let his nails trail across the walls, tasting their textures and locking it into memory even though he knew he would forget. He knew that he was nowhere near the classrooms, which left only a handful of possibilities. And what floor was he even on anyways?
Kiyoshi pressed a few fingers to his forehead, nails grazing over the red gem. His stomach gave a whimper and he felt a sharp hinge in his side. Still, it didn't keep the smile off his face. Still it had him walking. Hunger or not, he would continue on. Pain or not, he would keep going. Another twist, another turn. In the distance, he could hear voices and wordless sounds. Dorms? Perhaps... Or the Kitchens. The Ampharos, however, was interested in neither, and when his eyes rested on a light at the end of the corridor, he targeted it with ease. Fleeting, jittery, elegant steps brought him to the door, pressing it open with ease even though his mind told him that it would be even more dangerous to be lost outside of the building. The nighttime descended on him like a drape, its darkness edging along his skin as he left behind the comfort and warmth of inside. The sound of water was not far off, which wasn't something entirely surprising, as the schools did lie on in a valley of waterfalls. Electricity glittering against his skin, Kiyoshi moved away from the walls of the building, nearing the paths leading out and away from the school. To the forests...? To the edge of the rock beds? He paused, his eyes flicking for a moment. East, west, south, or north, he wondered for a moment, knowing in the back of his head that this knowledge should have come to him easily enough.
Without thinking much, the Ampharos began down the path, a well traveled road by the sheep, though before he got far he stopped, settling with a slight curl of lip. Just where did he think he was going? This wasn't going to take him home. Part of his mind told him to turn back, to continue wandering the actual campus. But another part told him to stay, hidden and lost in the darkness, where he didn't risk the chance of being found. Kiyoshi tilted his head back and stared at the cloudless night, electricity sparking up his tail with the restlessness now forming in his gut. The stars smiled back at them, but their rows of teeth looked sharp and fanged, cold. Kiyoshi smiled back, his face full of a soft warmth that could not be explained. His tail dimmed completely, the red glow disappearing into the night. For the first time in a long time, he was entirely in the dark.
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Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 12:39 am
He was a light in the dark, bright with wild yellows, oranges and reds in sharp contrast against the darkness.
The scent of the wild drifted all around him, like wind dodging between trees and leaping over logs and overturned roots. Yasu blazed, tails fanned out with flames licking the cream-white fur yet doing no damage. Fire was his element, after all. And, so was the business of hunting. While it may not have been the same as before the experiments, what-- now equipped with ungainly limbs and restrictive clothes, he could still see his prey. Hear it even, galloping wildly through in a desperate attempt to escape. Though, every now and again, the air distorted and trees and foliage seemed to arrange themselves in an entirely different order. Yasu wasn't foolish enough to think reality actually did that; he worked with illusions every day and could spot a well-placed Hypnosis even on the fly.
This was sloppy, and he shrugged off the hallucinations and narrowly avoided crashing into the tree the stantler had made invisible with the move. The fox twisted, tails brushing against rough bark, and resumed his hunt, digging his feet deeper into the ground to push himself forward until he was literally racing against the stantler's flank. If he were not a gijinka, he would have nipped at it in warning, as a sign to come. Flames danced wildly, dimming as he struggled to draw in breath, and then burst from his mouth to catch on to the fleeing pokemon's short fur and skin. In a last ditch attempt, the stantler bucked, stopping abruptly to thrust his feet back against his stomach and send him flying back a few feet.
Yasu snarled and bared his teeth, fury curling momentarily around his head as he gave the pokemon a heavy right hook against its jaw with Payback. There was little choice between his natural weapons, really-- not when he no longer had claws to speak of and his teeth, while sharp, was inside a mouth that was stuck close to his face, virtually useless when it came to closing down on the main artery in the neck that made a bite that final blow. It was that one feature that made humans so vulnerable to pokemon-- their bodies were just not suited for hunting. They were, in honestly, prey-- if they didn't have their intelligence on their side.
And opposable thumbs. That was one good thing that humans had that most pokemon didn't.
Yasu followed the galloping stantler, flames dimming against his sides. The scent of burning flesh was a particularly strong one, and it coated the otherwise crisp night air. It wasn't his usual hunting technique, but he didn't often need to get rid of the creeping sense of humanness-- if that was a word, and if it even made sense. Hunting was also a large reminder that he didn't need to depend on the humans to feed him. The thought of humans drew up a slightly bitter memory, although he had chosen the path for himself. Better let him face the experiments than the den of pups the humans had almost taken while they lay unprotected. Not all of them would have been as lucky as he had been with ... experimentation success.
He slowed and lost himself in thought, letting his prey leap farther and farther ahead. He only snapped out of stupor when he felt his stomach lurch in hunger, and forced his body to renew its efforts to catch his food. The stantler burst through the foliage ahead, hooves thumping heavily in the earth with Yasu chasing right behind. However, the ninetales hadn't predicted there would be someone else wandering the forest in the middle of the night. Yet, here was one right in front of him as he made a last leap at the stantler and drove his hand into his prey's neck in mid-stride. It was certainly a memorable way of meeting someone, Yasu thought dully, heart still hammering in his chest from the chase and blood slipping down between his fingers.
The ninetales gave the ampharos an expressionless stare, tails fanning out as they flickered with flames before dimming as they curled against each other under his coat. He could recognize the long dark hair and the ears, and even more so the strange smile the ampharos wore. "Ah-.. Kiyoshi," the fox managed carefully, murmuring the ampharos' name as a greeting.
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Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:20 pm
It was the smell of fear that attracted him first.
But then again, perhaps attract was the wrong word. Closed off from the world of technology, Kiyoshi was alone in the wilderness, his eyes shut, his head tilted back. There was a smile that pulled at his lips, small and far off. Was it supposed to be for the moon, a part of him wondered, or was he simply smiling because there was nothing else he could do? The sheep blood in him quivered as night descended fully over the crevice of the forest where no rooted tree stood. Alone in the dark, little lamb, A voice in his head crooned, the wolves will come and eat you if you stay too long. Kiyoshi hushed the words, smothered them into muted ramblings in the back of his head. He tamed the shivers down his back and the standing hair at the nape of his neck. He closed his mind and breathed deep. He opened himself to the sounds of night. It whispered against the crook between his neck and shoulder, a bitter brush of cold air. It sang from the treetops, and it hid in the shadows of moonlight. It was beautiful and deadly, cold and cross. But the bronze smell of fear refused to leave the air.
Deep, molten gold eyes fluttered open, their depths hazed with a far off look. Fingers curled, twitched, a sign of slight curiosity. Memories burned in his gut and spread to his mind, of moments when the world was black and white, life or death, fight or flee. When he was part of a flock, and when that flock was the prey. The smile deepened, a bittersweet taste in the back of his throat. Kiyoshi's ears twitched, and he listened again. Somewhere, a Noctowl was waking in the trees, its wings beating as it took to the sky. In the dark, the wolves were on the hunt. Leaves cracked somewhere, the wind pressed into the fragile tree limbs. Something was running, running, running. Kiyoshi inclined his head to the left. Twigs broke, long legs tripped in a hurry, and the overwhelming taste of fear rushed against Kiyoshi again. The Ampharos stepped forward, ears twisting back. This forest was dangerous, he knew, but this new explosion of sound, muted against the backdrop of the dark intrigued him. He'd never heard it before. He'd never seen it before.
You shouldn't be out here, A faceless voice suddenly said in his mind. The memory is shattered, but the bodiless presence stays. Always, always stays.
Kiyoshi's reply caught in his throat, a scene playing out before him as though in slow motion. The stantlers motionless, wide eyes stared out at him through bulging skin, blood forming at its muzzle, a spasm quaking through its body before it fell limp and -- The Ampharos tore his gaze before he could see the death of the once magnificent creature. Every inch of his body bellowed for him to run. You'll be next, his mind sneered into his ear, run, little lamb, run. But he didn't. Darkness ebbed around them, washing up against their bodies with a blackness that spread. Kiyoshi didn't need the light of his tail nor the flicker of flames to know the predator's identity. His body loosened eventually, pressing the need to run into a tightly kept place. "Yasu," He murmured when the other spoke, his tail lowering from its almost tensed positon, the gem almost brushing the ground. Something warm and wet slid over his cheek. Kiyoshi brushed the back of his hand over the pale skin, the crimson now staining his knuckles making him chuckle softly. Had he really been that close?
"I hope you dont plan on hunting me any time soon." He said with amusement to the Ninetails, his mouth curving upwards into that strange, unreadable smile. A hand brushed his throat where the caribou's neck had been opened, the rise of a scar making the hairs on the back of his neck stand. Tail beginning to sashay back and forth, the Ampharos moved, tentatively at first, closer to the other, eyes glancing first to the kill, and then to the gijinka's ruby eyes. His mouth curved again, ears twitching gently. "Dinner?" A part of the sheep scolded him for getting closer. A part of him begged to run. Run until his breath was no more, run until his lungs burned, run until he was far away from this predator that had probably tasted his kin's flesh and blood. With dawning realization, Kiyoshi took a step back and swayed, his body twisting back into its subconscious pattern. The elegant, jittery step, the slight rock of hips that crooned to be the start of a wayward dance.
You're afraid, the voice came alive again, this time right next to his ear.
And for once it was right and Kiyoshi could not deny it. Yasu was a predator, and did that make the Ampharos his prey? He knew this was an irrational fear, one driven into him by the sheep blood that he was born with. But he could not shake it and he could not escape it. The Ampharos closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were liquid gold, unreadable, untouchable in the moonlight. The fear was crushed, but the whisper of it still remained, unseen anymore in his fluid words, only a bare murmur in the undercurrents of his wayward movement that it had even existed.
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 11:11 pm
Half-lidded crimson eyes regarded the ampharos silently as the predator inside of him urged a taste, a n** that wouldn't even matter, or something that could satisfy the bloodthirsty whim that had gathered around him. Yasu clenched his blood-soaked fist, bringing it up to his mouth to give his finger a small lick as though to test to flavor. It didn't satisfy him, but he wasn't sure he was up for answering the other gijinka's question, since-- at that moment-- he couldn't say Kiyoshi would not end up dinner one day. The ninetales offered no smile, no meaningful action that would betray any sense that Kiyoshi was safe with him. It would be too precautious a promise anyway, and he'd never give up the feeling of being wild to be some human-civilized pokemon. Flicking his tails, Yasu knelt down besides his fallen prey, bangs fluttering over his eyes so he wasn't looking at the ampharos. For a long moment, the ninetales did not speak, and tugged at the words he wanted to say. The more he waited, the calmer he felt.
“Bao Yu— ” He paused debatingly, pointed ears flicking about thoughtfully before he started again to amend the more well-known name. "Kiyoshi. I've told you before," Yasu relayed, lips twisting a fraction but not into a smile. His heart thudded loudly in his ears, though it was slowing and softening as his exhileration cooled. "I don't hunt acquaintances unless it's for practice." The ninetales' eyes flitted up for a second, bright as though glowing.
He heaved the carcass up, attention drifting towards their surroundings. It would have been a fine place to eat, but Kiyoshi had been there first. His eyes drifted towards the wound that leaked out blood like broken faucet, tainting the ground and air with the thick scent and taste of blood. The ninetales blinked, reminded. "I'm sorry," the ninetales murmured, remembering the way the ampharos' hand had rose to wipe away what was undoubtedly blood from his pale face. "I didn't realize anyone was out here, or I'd have steered it away," Yasu murmured, tone laced with faint apology. "Though, I don't know what you'd be doing out here. A sheep shouldn't wander from his flock in the middle of the night, if you don't want to be eaten." His gaze flickered to meet the ampharos' gaze meaningfully, tail swishing gently as the other drew nearer.
He nodded at Kiyoshi's question, frowning a bit. "Yes.. I was hungry." The ninetales couldn't help feel a fraction defensive; though why would he need to be? It wasn't as though Yasu had brought down one of Kiyoshi's kind. They'd eaten together once with another prey he'd caught as well, so it wasn't as though Kiyoshi disapproved entirely. Yasu turned his head away, though not seeing wasn't enought to miss the way the ampharos suddenly stepped back. How could he when the ninetales was so familiar with the scent and movement of fear? Yasu wasn't sure what he was expected to do. Comfort wasn't a predator's job, not when he was the reason the ampharos was afraid.
Yet, the fear wasn't the reason why Yasu's attention turned back to Kiyoshi a moment later. Though the feelings of hunger continued to stir havoc in his stomach. The more questionable factor was when all traces of the sheep's prey-like fear disappeared a moment later as though it had never existed. One of his ears twitched towards the sheep, his eyes turning to observe the other with faint interest. You're strange, he wanted to say. But, it should have been obvious, with just how... secretive and all-smiles the other was. Yet, he didn't say it.
There would be other opportunities. "Would you like to join me?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 2:33 am
Bao Yu.
The Ampharos's lips curved softly into a smile. Just who was he, in the grand scheme of things? Bao Yu? Kiyoshi? Names were just titles given to one to give the self satisfaction of having an identity. But the electric type didn't need a name to know who he was, and that alone made him want to laugh. His tail swayed slightly, the light dimming in and out like a light bulb flickering in and out of life. He watched the predator in the half glow, his eyes illuminated by the ghost of red, unreadable. The muscles in his legs were relaxed, though the slightest action could make them spring and tense. He was born and raised on instinct to run when he felt the threat of the hunt. But he'd overridden those programmed traits, hadn't he? He'd washed them away, built himself to survive in this world that he still could not begin to understand. Yet still Yasu made the sheep inside of him shudder, minute chills running his spine. Just where are you headed? A voice inside of his head cooed. Just where are you headed, and where do you want to be? Kiyoshi held back a laugh, a bitter taste of something old and forgotten. Instead his attention turned to the fox, his hips swaying in a slow, elegant procession as he stepped forward, eyes ever untouchable, smile ever unreadable.
"Call me whatever fits your taste. A name is just a name." He murmured, his voice a sweet, sharp ghost on the wind. He did not want to interrupt the silence of the forest. The deadly harmony that played when the rest of the world slept. His mouth opened into a well rehearsed chuckle as the other responded to him, striped ears swiveling to and fro. "Unless its for practice." He repeated, tasting the words, his eyes glancing the Ninetales out of the corner of his eye. His smile became a bit clearer, a bit sharper, a bit slyer. "Do you think you could catch me?" He asked, his voice playful. "I'd like to see about outrunning you sometime." Sharp golden eyes glittered for a moment, their depths an iridescent color, an ever changing swell of emotions. They switched to the bloody corpse of the Stantler, and than back to the fox. "I think I'd give you a run for your money. More so than tonights dinner at least." The Ampharos said, his voice somewhere between seriousness and a tease. The wind brushed against him, his hair tangling with the it. Sighing softly, Kiyoshi raised his hands, expert fingers brushing the black strands back, wondering whether or not to retie the ponytail he'd long since forgotten to put it up in.
Driven back to reality by the others words, Kiyoshi raised his eyes, glancing to the fox. His tail gleamed just enough to illuminate them in the shadow of red, oddly still for once as he began to contemplate his surroundings. The chill of autumn had set in, and the workings of the forest were twisted and rooted with noises from all around. It would have become chaos in Kiyoshi's head, his ears naturally over-attentive to the outside world. He turned his head to the side, ears swiveling and dipping as though trying to listen to all of it, to be aware of all of it. Though after a few moments, the sheep calmed himself in a two deep breaths, pressing the sounds into the muted part of his mind, where they sang out as though trying to scare the sheep that still slept within the Ampharos. "Dont apologize." He said finally in return, remembering to speak. A smile ghosted his lips - just when had it disappeared? "It was interesting to watch. I've never seen a predator in action from the sidelines." His voice hung on a stray tease, mixed with the curious intrigue that he had only ever known the hunt when he was the prey. And then the fox caught him off guard.
A sheep shouldn't wander from his flock...
Unable to help himself, Kiyoshi laughed; a soft, silent sound. "The night fascinates me." He said with ease, though his eyes didn't glance Yasu. "And I'm afraid I dont have a flock to stray from. Nor a home." Turning, the sheep smiled, the same, secretive look that he'd always kept. "So just where am I wandering from, if I have no place to return to?" The question bit into his mind, a sharp, intoxicating swell of emotions. Putting it literally, he would have been lying. He had a man who took care of him, a place to stay and sleep. Figuratively though, personally... Just where could Kiyoshi call home? Not the grasslands he'd come from, not the lab he was born in a second time. Not even the dorms, at least not yet. "I'm not afraid of being eaten." Kiyoshi commented softly, though as he looked at the fox, he sobered a bit, his face veiled by the phantoms of emotion. His lips curved up slightly, but not enough. "But I'll remember that," He murmured, "And try to watch my step."
When the other mentioned hunger, the sheep's mouth curved into a sharp sort of smile. "Of course, of course." Kiyoshi returned, his smile as placid as ever. He shook off the frown, knowing that relations between predator and prey could never just be that easy. Not when he was still scared, not when the blood in the air and the 'dinner' that could have easily been him a few years ago still haunted his mind. But whatever ghosts brushed against his conscious, chattered and cooed to him with vicious words he ignored. He'd learned long ago that fear had sharp claws, but he could be even sharper. Learning to leave the phobias behind, however... Well that was another story entirely. Tail sashaying from side to side, Kiyoshi's eyes fluttered to the dead deer, wondering for a moment why those lifeless eyes didn't haunt him anymore. The scent of the hunt lay heavy in the air, and it was only months of dealing with it that made the sheep survive it. His legs tensed for a moment before loosening again, the need to run escaping its cage and making his mind spin for a moment before he kept it in place. Yasu's words echoed in his ears, but that didn't stop the chill up his spine nor the way he knew that they had always fit on the natural food chain.
Watching the other turn back to him, Kiyoshi kept his expression schooled and unreadable, wondering just what the fox had in store. The night was beginning to swell to its natural glory, the moon high and the stars all singing a cold, distant lullaby. But the sheep couldn't bring himself to be tired. Distracted by the faint interest in the Ninetale's eyes, Kiyoshi laughed softly, as though to something private in his own mind. His lips curved up and his body shifted. This fox intrigued him, fascinated him so. The need, the want, the craving to learn more and more overrode the fear growing in the back of his mind, pressing it back into a miniscule part of his being. The sheep inside of him shuddered and stayed silent, knowing that it could only cause trouble if it came out to play. When the other offered company, Kiyoshi couldn't help but grin.
"If you dont mind my company for awhile longer." He murmured, one arm pressed to the crevice of his back, the other over his chest as he dipped a teasing bow. Just what would this night bring, he wondered. Just what indeed.
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