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 Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 2:40 am
Quote: Sycorax strode into the Feien shop, boldly going where she had never gone before!
Well, okay, actually her stride wasn't all that bold. Mostly it was just weary, wary, and above-all a little frightened. Puchiko has sent her here in order to see if there was any now merchandise for her 'Feien', whatever THOSE were. Syc didn't know, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to. Puchiko was involved in some weird s**t, like that whole gender-changing thing, and lasers from space.
Sadly, Syc was a poor college student, and could easily be swayed to do potentially life-threatening things when Puchiko promised her a case of Belgian beer. So. Here she was. It was the middle of the day, and no one was around. That was pretty creepy.
She walked up to a case, full of what looked like... cocktail swords? Tiny bolts of cloth for dolls? What was going on here? Considering that PUCHIKO had sent her, Syc was half-expecting that the shop would sell hideous mutants, or grenades, or something. Not stuff like this.
Maybe it was all a front for the real illegal business. Syc would have to wait until the shopowner came, to ask questions.
With a sigh - time was money, what was she doing here, WHY was she Puchiko's b***h all the time - Syc went to go lean in the corner and pout for a bit. If she were Jaes, Syc bet she wouldn't have to take this. She'd have... minions and stuff! Yeah!
In the shadows of the corner, however, Syc could just make out the glint of something... strange on the floor. She bent to pick it up.
Some kind of jade arrowhead? How odd! This didn't look like any kind of natural gemstone she'd ever seen.
"Hey, is anyone here?" Syc called out. This looked valuable. She didn't want to be accused of stealing. Suddenly, there was a dark flash in the corner of Syc's eye. Something literally detached itself from the shadows and launched onto her hand, affixing itself tightly and growling, "GRDFLZLE!" The hell!?? Oh god, some thing was attacking Syc's hand! Was this the shop security system??? She hadn't meant to steal! If it was valuable, why was it on the floor!!!
Syc screwed her eyes shut, and spent a good couple moments waving her hand about in blind panic, before she realized that no, nothing was exploding her head off and/or setting off ominous claxons.
The woman cracked one eye open.
It was... a tiny man?
But it couldn't be a Mendel, could it? It was still pulling at the gemstone in her hand, ineffectually. Syc decided to let him take it if he wanted it. She didn't need something biting her and giving her rabies or whatever. She had enough problems with doing pseudo research-assistant work for a mad scientist.
"Um, is this yours?" She asked, awkwardly. The tiny creature suddenly took a huge breath of air, his chest swelling to seemingly impossible dimensions, and let out a bellow (or at least as much of a bellow as he could), "YOU EES TAKING YANVIR STONE!" He tugged the stone away with him into the air, hovering several inches from Syc's face. It was almost a sad sight, really. This stone was easily the size of a human palm and grossly encumbered the tiny figure. He struggled to stay alight. "Sorry!" Syc squeaked. She was used to dealing with tiny people. Specifically, on particular tiny person with a bladed weapon, who would not hesitate to set Syc's textbooks on fire if she pissed her off. And another tiny person who had almost broken her hand for messing around with its dumpster. Who knew what kind of crazy stuff this little thing could pull on her? It had emerged from the shadows like some crazy magic shadow-emerging-from beast! What if it was some kind of demonic familiar!?
"Please don't sic anything freaky on me!" Syc babbled. "I just thought it was shiny and pretty! I don't steal!"
Sycorax was not a woman known for her bravery. AT ALL. "Ohhh?" the little fellow crooned at her, dipping down in the air and flotaing back up. He really was a strange specimen upon closer inspection. Three tails swished behind him in a rhythmic fashion, back and forth and back forth. When he rolled back in the air, the tails came whipping about. Hanging upside down in the air as he was, the grin he flashed her seemed particularly demonic. "Okay, you take stone now," he said. He fell down almost to the level of her hand and dangled the object like some sort of prize. Sycorax swallowed, nervously. She could be brave! She could be strong! She could... she could... she should probably start walking around, armed with a fly swatter, for situations like this.
"Um, thanks," Sycorax pasted on what she hoped was a friendly smile, and held her hand open, right under where the dark fairy-thing was dangling the stone. She would have taken it directly from the guy, but she was kind of afraid to touch him. He had claws and was like, MIDNIGHT BLACK, and he had FANGS, and all, and since when was that a good sign? Since NEVER.
"I've never seen a stone like this before."
It really was kind of amazing-looking, now that she got to see it better. Strange colors shimmered within the leafy green. It was almost... unnatural. Supernatural.
Yikes. The little fairy laid it delicately to rest against her skin. "This dead fairy, only stone like it in world," he explained. He drifted back up towards her face. "And Yanvir make it back for you! Okay okay?" He nodded vigorously. Make it back for her? What did that mean?
"Um, okay!" Sycorax said, cheering up a little, and shaking off a few of her nerves. It wasn't trying to kill her! Score one for Syc! Any errand of Puchiko's that she ran, with no possible risk of homicide involved, was a good errand indeed. "Thanks!"
It was a dead fairy? Really? There were stranger things on Gaia, she supposed. It seemed sad that it would turn into a gem and someone could put it in a necklace without ever knowing it was alove or so... maybe it was good the creepy guy had a handle on taking care of them. Syc felt kind of awkward to be holding it, now. Rolling in the air again, he continued, "This because Yanvir is so great. Because Yanvir great, Yanvir make stone back to you! All other feien jealous Yanvir because Yanvir is great! You think Yanvir is great, right?" And he finished with a sort of flourishing bow, made awkward by the fact he had nothing solid upon which to perch. "Of course I think you're great!" Syc said, eagerly. And she was, indeed, eager. EAGER NOT TO DIE. "I mean, you can fly! And you really caught me off-guard there. And taking care of these gems, that's a good thing, you know? Making sure nothing bad happens to them."
Sycorax actually meant that last bit of flattery, too. If they really were dead fairies, it'd be a shame if the gems were taken away by a jeweler or something. A shame, and also pretty icky. Those things were PEOPLE. "You is showing Yanvir gem now," pronounced the little fairy. He stuck out one little clawed hand expectantly. The expression on his face was one of seriousness and earnesty. Sycorax held the gem steady, so that the tiny man could... do whatever it was he wanted to do. He seemed pretty serious, so she didn't want to interrupt him by asking questions. At least he wasn't waging war on her hand anymore. That was a plus, right?
Yanvir was so solemn, too. That kind of mood was infectious. Syc couldn't help but calm down, and be a little serious herself Yanvir placed his hand upon the gemstone's polished surface. "No move," he said gravely, tiny brow furrowing and mouth turning into a determined frown. This lasted for about three seconds. "Okay, all done!" He zipped away towards the nearest corner. Syc stared down at the gemstone.
And stared.
And stared.
And stared.
She stared until she felt like her eyeballs would go dry. And so she blinked, before she started staring again. It was strange. For some reason, the gem's lustred appeared brighter. And Sycorax could have sworn that she saw the dark-green flecks within it... moving? It felt oddly alive in her hands, as though it had been charged with some sort of strange, supernatural static.
... Oh HELL, it COULDN'T be...
Syc brought it up closer to her face, squinting, and trying to angle her glasses so as to minimize glare. Was this a hallucination? It... it had to be, right?
It occured to her that the little guy had basically just run for cover, but Syc couldn't bring herself to drop the stone and run the hell away, no matter how much her instincts screamed at her to flee. The rock was PEOPLE, after all. The stone suddenly seemed to melt in her hand, pooling in the center. It was like holding mercury. The substance gripped her skin but slid across it without residue. A lump formed in the center of the pool, which became a mound, and then a hill, and finalyl drew itself up into a pillar. There was an almost blinding flash of light. The gemstone was gone. in its place stood a large figure. Sycorax stared down at the thing in her hand, dumbly.
The thing stared back.
First off: HOLY ********, it was THE FAIRY.
Second off: THIS was the fairy!?? Since when did Fairies look like... like... like THIS!??
"Um hello?" Sycorax blinked, skittish."Who are you and where am I?" The fairy replied, brusquely. She was very disoriented. She might not know anything about herself, but she did know this - she didn't LIKE being disoriented. She wanted answers, and she wanted them five minutes ago. Her body felt like it'd be put through seven levels of hell, and she didn't know WHY.
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Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 4:26 pm
Quote: Sycorax kept glancing at small person who had commandeered the passenger's seat of her beat-up Honda Civic. She couldn't help it. It was so... blue. And green. And a person. Running an errand for Puchi, Sycorax had expected to maybe, y'know, lose a limb or something. Acquiring some kind of a blue-skinned, bubblegum-haired ward had not been in the cards. After that shiny gemstone thing tined into a not-so-tiny fairy, Sycorax had searched the shop frantically for that little Yanvir guy. No dice. The fairy, which had spent the whole time floating behind her, looked unimpressed with Syc running about like a chicken with her head cut off, so eventually she decided to get the both of them out of there before something even WORSE happened. She was tempted to run away without the fairy, but Sycorax felt some kind of strange bond with the thing. Woman. Creature? What was the politically-correct way to address a fairy? Cripes. Sycorax tried hard to keep her eyes on the road. She really did. Her hands were clenched tightly around the steering-wheel, to the point that she'd almost gone white-knuckled. Unfortunately, that did not stop the inevitable from happening. She glanced at the fairy one too many times, and ended up almost driving the both of them into a semi. Desperately, she swirved teh vehicle, so as not to get the both of them smashed by oncoming traffic. The fairy was somewhat bewildered. She didn't like it. It didn't suit her. She felt like slapping herself for it. But that made no difference. Bewildered she was, and bewildered she would remain. First there had been darkness, multifaceted and crystalline, and then the strange sensation of knowing, somehow, that she had arms and legs and a head and wings, and then opening her eyes to see them there. It was like waking from a dream, almost.
Not that she knew what it was like to wake from a dream, exactly.
The fairy was about to open her mouth once more, and demand that this large person - much larger than herself, but seemingly flightless and without striking coloring, the poor dear - give her some answers. That was when the strange contraption that they were in lurched to the side, and she was flung into the passenger-side door. It didn't hurt much, really, but it did annoy her.
"Honey, what are you doing?" The fairy asked, once she'd heaved herself back into a sitting position in the chair.
Sycorax eep-ed self-conciously, and pulled over to the side of the road. An irate driver was honking "Ohmigosh! I'm so sorry! Are you okay!?" the student babbled. She felt like she should pick the fairy up and examine it for damage. Would that be weird? That was be Weird, woudln't it? It'd be like picking up a Barbie Doll, except one that was alive and which could kick you or do other unpleasant things. Sycorax had grown out of the former, and was wary of the latter, for obvious reasons.
The fairy flicked her trail, crossly.
"Sweetie, I may not have any memories, but you slamming my head into the that door is still not going to help help anything," she snorted at the woman who called herself 'Sycorax'. She didn't know how she knew that a blow to the head could cause amnesia. She just... did. Maybe she was newborn, but she didn't think that she was young. Call it a hunch, instinct, sense-memory, whatever you liked.
The great blank spaces in her mind made her want to tear at her hair in frustration. Or maybe punch something.
"Do you know what you're doing? You don't know why I'm here, so I hope you at least know where you're going," she crossed her arms, evaluating the scattered-looking being before her. She did not know why she was bothering with such a frail, nervous thing. It wasn't productive. But they felt strangely connected, and Sycorax had been the only constant she had known since her 'birth'. She'd stick with it until something more suitable came up. Sycorax sagged against the dashboard. She was easily many feet larger than this little thing. So why did the capital-L Look that it was giving her make her feel like she'd collapsed in on herself, until she was about two inches tall? "I can drive! Really!" she protested. "I'm just surprised! I didn't exepct you to be coming." She paused for a moment. The fairy was still Looking at her. Traffic roared by them. It seemed to expect more. ... Sycorax ducked her head, apologetically. "I think you're a Feien? Whatever that is. Otherwise, I can't help all that much. Except... ooh! I have another being sort of your size, that I took care of for a while! Maybe you can talk to her about... stuff." Not that Sycorax had any idea whatsoever about what they could talk about. Neon was a Mendel. This woman was clearly not, even though it was also small and odd-looking. She'd only suggested it because the fairy looked like she'd expected Sycorax to say more, and Syc'd felt like she had to say something to fill in the expectant quiet. When the fairy looked at her like that, it made Syc want to twitch, or run away, or hide, or something. Something her size. Would that give her answers? This world seemed built to the scale of giants, so things her size must not be very common. It was a shot in the dark, but taking action was better than sitting around. The fairy did not hold with laziness. She decided that right there and then.
"Right," she declared, hooking her claws into the seat's upholstry, in case the ride got bumpy again. Sycorax reminded her of a foal - knobbly-kneed, wavery, and directionless. It was obvious that she was going to have to take charge here. "We'll go back to your home, and work this out. If there's nothing that can be done there, you'll return me to where I was made and we can work things out from there."
Sycorax nodded, and started the car once more. Her throat was dry. She swallowed. It didn't help. "I think you were dead," she said, as she merged the car into the flow of traffic. Driving was a good excuse not to look at the fairy beside her. She wasn't sure how it would take the news. "There was this gemstone, that this dark little fairy named Yanvir touched. And then you were there. He.. he said that the gemstone was a fairy corpse. But now there's no gemstone and there's you so..." Sycorax managed to sound genuinely apologetic, even as she devoted a good half of her brain to changing lanes. How did you break it to someone that they were once a dead body? Syc had had many strange experienced in Gaia, but none of them prepared her for this kind of convesation.
The fairy closed her eyes.
"I see."
Then she opened them again.
"Really, I expected as much. I'm not a child," she said, crisply, as she watched the blur of cars and houses pass them by. "If I was dead, something must have killed me. If I have been brought back, there must be a reason. I will discover both and proceed from there."
She snorted, and then quirked the corner of her mouth up into a half-smile.
"Relax, honey. If you keep your mouth open like that you're going to catch flies. I may be a walking corpse, but this old girl's got some life in her yet. I'm not going to expire right here and now, I don't think, and I'm not going to fly off the handle at you either. " Sycorax closed her gaping jaw immediately. "You're taking this really well," she said, surprised. The fairy flicked her tail again.
"Why should't I? I won't accomplish anything by being some weailing ninny. Something must have killed me, and someone decided I was worth bringing back. Once I figure out who those two things were, I'll be set."
She really would, too. The fairy felt far more comfortable, now that she had a mission of sorts. If she had something to focus on, life would sort itself out.
She was becoming annoyed with this woman's stuttring about like a damn fool, though. The fairy would have to train her up better than this. She refused to associate herself with a frail, nervy creature.
"Did he give you a name?" the fairy asked. She should have a name. Her name was something that people should know."No," Sycorax replied. "Sorry." The look that the fairy gave her, when she apologized, made her wish to immediately say that she was sorry for saying that she was sorry. Fortunately, Syc stopped herself just in time. That would only have dig the hole deeper. "If you like, I could give you one," she said, hesitantly. They were almost home now. Syc was nearly faint from the relief of it. "What would you suggest?"
If the girl came up with something she didn't like, the fairy would just shoot it down. She wasn't fussed. It would only be temporary, until they figured out her real name. Syc finally pulled up to her apartment block. There were a million things to do. She needed to see Puchiko, talk to Neon, figure out what exactly a 'Feien' was... ... "How about Ursa?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 7:01 am
Ursa's new home was smaller than the shop. Much smaller. This was fine by her, but she suspected that the human might want more space. Sycorax's batchelor apartment was hardly an impressive sight, even to eyes that were newly reborn to the world. It was cramped, rather than cozy, and full of messy piles of paper and books. The only thing that looked even remotely new in it were an elaborate set of windows, that appeared to be designed to open from the outside. Everything was warn, second-hand, or both.
Ursa approved of a spartan lifestyle, however. She did not mind. Sycorax had said that she would take Ursa to the Feien shop, to find Yanvir, the next day. For now Ursa was meant to spend the day getting used to living. As this was both boring and inproductive, she spent the time investigating her surroundings.
Sycorax had set her up on a large, nearly-empty shelf, with a pillow to sleep on and something called a 'tea-towel' as a blanket. That was all that Ursa needed. Her only shelfmates Were a set of books concerning the martial arts. Ursa had dragged one down to look at - finding that she understood with words written within, again without knowing why - and found it filled with diagrams of motion, and perscribed training methods. The sections on something called 'kendo', which apparently involved swords, appeared to be well-thumbed, with several notations written in the margins. All of the notations were followed by wild series of exclamation marks. Whoever had flipped through the books before Ursa must have been extremely excited about Kendo.
Neon buzzed up to the window latch of Sycorax's apartment, wings working furiously. She normally lived with her boyfriend, Iron, in a dumpster! They were awesomely independant! But today was her day to report in to her researcher, so that was what she was doing! Maybe she could con Syc into a Jackie Chan marathon before she went back home. That would ROCK!!!
Latch opened, Neon darted into the one-room apartment, in a blur of light.
"Yo! Syc! I'm home!" She called, cheerfully. When she grinned, her glowing white teeth contrasted well with her glowing red skin. "Not that this is home 'cause I have my own home an' I'm not damn teenager no more but this is still sorta home an' anyway, I'm here!"
Not hearing any reply, Neon actually bothered to look areound her surroundings. Syc GONE? How lame! She could still work the DVD player on her own, but Jackie Chan was WAY less awesome when there wasn't anyone around to laugh at her impressions of him.
As soon as Neon entered the room, Ursa was immediately distracted from her reading. The girl was loud. Moreover, she glowed, and there appeared to be four yets of fire attached to her back.
Hunh.
"Sycorax isn't here. Who're you?" Ursa demanded, cutting to the chase. This couldn't possibly be a Feien. Her ressurection had cause Syc too off-guard, plus the thing... was it's arm not attached to the rest of it? It's wings were separated too! Ursa could look at the girl's blinding body with surprisingly few problems, and yeah, that was what she saw. Surreal.
Neon gaped. There was something here! Talking to here! Somethign large, and blue and larger than Iron and blue! Someon on HER old shelf, and reading HER old books! What the hell!???
"Hey!" Neon zipped over to the person's side. "I am Neon, and you're touching my stuff!!!"
Neon didn't really care much for material posessions, save when it came to doting on her sword. Living with the packrat Iron must have gotten to her.
Speaking of swords, Neon drew hers and pointed it at the woman-thing.
"Who are you and what have you done to Syc!? I know that she is lame but that is no reason to go banishing her from her apartment and then going through my stuff! Hell no!"
So this was the kendoist. Ursa's eyes narrowed, and she swiped at the thing with one powerful clawed arm.
"Watch where you point that thing, girl!" She snarled, voice heavy with challenge. "I didn't know whose this was, but I'll not be bullied by a scrawny chit like you!"
Neon dodged the woman's strike with ease, looking bored.
"You are slow! My boyfriend is only a little smaller than you but you are still way slower than him! Plus you totally do not know how ta punch!" Neon informed her, still grinning in a most maddening fashion. Whatever this was, at least it was not a wuss like Sycorax!
Neon whirled her sword, in a blinding silver arc, and pointed it back at the grumpy green-blue woman.
"I am the Mendel Neon, an awesome freak of nature made with science! Hell yeah. Tell me who ya are or get yer arse offa my turf!"
Ursa lumbered to her feet, tail lashing with agitation.
"I am the Feien Ursa, ressurected from the dead by magic. For whatever reason I was given to that scatterbrained woman's care, and you will NOT force me from here!"
Once Ursa had settled into a place, she did not like to be moved. AT ALL.
She levitated, and took another swipe at the annoying Neon thing.
Neon did not appear to be offended by the fact that the newcomer was attacking her. Rather, she seemed pretty excited about it. Her face had lit up even more than usual.
Again, she dodged with practiced ease - muscle memory kicking in before she even had to think about it.
"Wooooow? You were really dead and came back? That is so cool! You can totally have my stuff," Neon enthused. "I don't even need that no more, ya know? My training is totally more advanced."
Neon flitted around the large undead Feien thing, examing her speculatively.
"You'll never be able ta fly an' fight like me, but you should totally train too! Then you can smash things like my Iron can! Fighting is so awesome - there is totally no better rush rush in alla life, I garuntee it! I trained hard ta get stronger every dan an' now I have awesome skills."
Neon sheathed her sword again, and brushed her hair back, happily. Then she shot Ursa a knowing glance.
"Well, except maybe for getting it on. But that is also way way better when there is fighting! Not that I am coming on ta you 'cause I already go a rival an' also, yer not traind an' ALSO, yer not my species, ya know?"
Ursa frowned with frustration. This was ridiculous! She shouldn't be up here, batting at some impossible-to-hit glowbug like a damn fool!
Maybe she did, indeed, need training. Hard work. Yes. THAT would give Ursa something to do. And that was something that Ursa could respect. She felt it in her bones.
"It's in the books, is it, girl?"
"It's in the books!" Neon replied, encouragingly. How awesome! Now there was totally another person to be lazy Syc's role model, with Neon out of the house.
"You look like yer strong an' slow," Neon hadn't felt Ursa hit her or nothing, but those bulding muscles made things pretty obvious. "Are ya tough too? You oughtta make people come ta you. Maybe do something like Aikido or Judo, ya know? Or even boxing!"
Neon was a veritable encyclopadia of the martial arts, so she knew her stuff! She might not be the brightest bulb on the xmas tree, but she had a knack for telling how people moved, and picking up physical skills. She could tell that if this chick threw down, she wasn't going to be no precision fighter. She was a mace, not a poison needle.
Ursa sat back down.
"Very well, girl," she was willing to consider. It would be good to know how to hit. Over the one day of her existance, Ursa had decided that she was not going to take s**t from overly-cheerful glowing kids, or large nervous humans, or anyone else, for that matter.
"Very well."
Who knew! If the girl kept her mouth in check, they might even get along.
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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 7:02 am
((Big ol' compiled shop RP. Other owners, feel free to steal this from me! ))Ursa Sycorax had dropped Ursa off at the shop, and set out on her own to buy a latte and read a apper at a nearby Starbuck's. Ursa approved of this. She didn't like having to get dragged around, but she was certain she'd be able to remember the way in after this. Certainly, she could handle herself on the streets. She pittied any bellicose birds that crossed her flighpath.
And so the ancient floated into the shop, cloth wings billowing out behind her. Her hands were on her hips, and she surveyed the scene with a critical eye. This was, she confirmed, the place where she'd been reborn. She recognized it immediately. It seemed far less impressive, now that she was past the confusion of emergence. She flicked her tail in annoyance.
Still, Ursa had been 'born' here. Or reborn, at least. This was Ursa's domain. She looked upon it, posessively.
"Yanvir? Is anyone here?" she called, commandingly. Sycorax had said that this Yanvir, who went around ressurecting people, cold hide in the shadows. Ursa intended to be thorough, but she could not see in the dark so well. "If so, show yourselves"
Ursa wanted answers, and she intended to get them. Banana Tango The descision wasn't made instantly, Banana had talked it over with Kione. She had potential but unfortunately, she was not cut out for the brutality of war just yet. The Oculai did agree to continue to help her get over her phobia of the shop. Every little bit helps. Following the directions that he wrote down for her to the shop, she paused before the door unsurely. She'd had never been to the shop on her own and it seemed so much more intimidating now. She would have had a change of heart had something brightly colored caught her attention. Was that a feien? She squinted through the glass. Blast, couldn't get a good veiw. Her curiousity getting the better of her, she flew around to find the open window into the shop. The feien before her was a sight indeed. Never had she seen one like this. Setting her gear down on the sill fluttering closer cautiously. Ian and Aria Ianios flew into the shop, lagging behind him was Aria. He had come to visit Celaien's gemstone while she came to just hang out. Once into the stop, Ian stopped, Aria nearly slamming into him. "Hey!" she cried, peering aring his shoulder. Ianios didn't answer, staring at the new feien. He'd never seen her before! "Aria, who's that?"She shrugged. "Lets go find out?"Ian nodded, and flew down to where the green and blue feien was. Odd, it was almost like he and Aria had bred judging by her colors. "Hi!" he called cheerfully. "I'm Ianios and this is Aria!"Aria waved, moving out from behind her brother. Ursa Ursa turned in midair, when a flash of yellow caught her eye. Something yellow was buzzing twards her - a small chit of a thing, really. She beckoned her closer with one clawed hand. Ursa might have been born the day before yesterday, but she still recognized a child when she saw one. One of the many things she knew, without knowing why.
She was confident in her knowledge, in spite of its murky origins.
"You there! Come closer, girl, I won't bite. I already ate lunch," Ursa nodded, slightly, in welcome. It wasn't Yanvir, but it would do. She was satisfied to be making some progress. "What's your name? Do you know this place? I'm looking for one of our kind, who goes by Yanvir. He brought me back from the dead."
Ursa said that last sentence matter-of-factly, as though people getting brought back from the dead was something that happened every day. For all she knew, it WAS.
Ah! There were more. These ones were larger - adults. Ursa waved them over as well. They would come to her, of course.
"Hello," she said, businesslike. "Are either of you Yanvir?" Ian and Aria Ianios shook his head. "Nope, never met him or her before. Have you?" he asked, turning to Aria. She shook her head. "No...there are still a lot of feien I've never met."The green one nodded, then rubbed his chin. He had heard the newcomer mention she was once a gemstone. Well now...then it meant Cel could be brought back. Wonderful! Cascati Taking in what was veritably a gaggle of Feien was something very close to intimidating; but Cascati had already given Rose the slip (which was as difficult as getting a mouse to eat cheese) and, well, hell, there was no time like the present. He'd already gotten through the gauntlet of Div and Nero, Irisa and Neruo, and - Quantel. He'd been skulking around on the shelves for a few moments, touching fabric, the sharp corners of things; now there was a flock of Feien gathering at the fore, like so many colourful butterflies. The most colourful butterfly was in the middle, powerfully built. She was - Casca's mind closed around junoesque like a crab in a trap; more practically, she could probably eat him if she liked. He hoped he looked particularly delicate, meatless, and with fragile splintery little bones. Sigh. It was so tiresome being a juvie. Cascati flitted like a pale grey moth down to the edge of the little circle, selfconsciously patting his hair back into some semblance of shape, and attempted to look winsome. "My, this looks like a party, honeys. May I gatecrash?" Banana Tango Being spotted halted her in her tracks a moment or two. The corner of her mouth drew in slightly, pursing her lips as she fluttered closer at the gesturing. Okay, this wasn't a bad start so far but now fir the inital hurdle. Brought back from the dead? That caught her off guard slightly, but she didn't wish to be rude. Last thing she needed was to make an enemy so soon and this one would probably break her in two. She gestered to her throat shaking her head following it up with writing on paper motion against her palm. Holding up a finger she returned to her gear, rooting about in it for her paper, a bee stinger and a tube of paint. Returning to the feien, she wrote down, ' I am mute. I cannot speak, but my name is Banana Tango. I don't know of a Yanveer. What is your name if I may ask?' Ian and Aria Aria giggled at the small grey feien, marveling over his hair. How utterly gorgeous! "Sure, you can crash the party." she stated. Ianios glanced at the pretty yellow feien. She was still a child, but still..she was awful cute. He waved at her, smiling. "Howdy."Ursa Mute? That was unfortunate. Well, at least the girl wasn't being obnoxious and weepy about it. If there was one thing Ursa couldn't stand - and for someone who was two days old, she was very set in her ways - it was navel-gazers.
"Yanvir is the Feien who brought me back from the dead," Ursa explained, to all and sundry. She seemed to have gathered a crowd. Well, who could blame them? She was large and powerfully built. Rubeneqsue. These frail things looked like a stiff wind would knock them over. She hoped she wouldn't need to babysit them. These people should eat more and toughen up - especially the adults.
What sort of society had she been ressurected into? Was that why this Yanvir brought her back?
"My name is Ursa, sweetie. Or at least that's what I'm calling myself," Ursa paused. "If none of you are Yanvir, I should ask who you are." Ian and Aria Ianios blinked. Maybe she hadn't heard. Ah well. He'd introduce them again. "Name's Ianios, but you can call me Ian. This is Aria." He gestured to Aria, who was still looking at Cascati's hair. Cascati Casca bowed to Aria, smiling, all flourish and endearing grin. Another adult, softer than Quantel, all long blue hair and sweet smile. Interesting. "Thank you, sweetheart. I hate to gatecrash, but such is life. I'm Cascati, by the way, but I'll simply die if you don't give me a nickname. 'Cascati' is so stiff." And there was the other little yellow juvie, all bright hair and big eyes, holding up a sign like a hobo at a train station. It only took a glance to get the gist; the ice feien cocked an eyebrow. "Banana Tango? That's... unusual. Piquant. I like it. Enchante. Do you know sign language, dearling?" He made a movement with his hands, complicated and laboured as he obviously tried to think it out. "Not that that would help much. I think I know all of 'turtle'. Well, we could talk about turtles, no?" Banana Tango Banana mouthed the name to herself it was a familiar it seemed or sounded that way at least, but still unique none the less. The titter of other voices caused her to Stare about at the amassed crowd for a moment in stupified awe. Banana looked back to the larger feien again and smiled crookedly. It was amazing how quickly groups gathered in this place. She wrote down on the back of the paper large enough to show them all, 'Hello, Everyone' It was the best she could manage and still have room to write clearly. She switched to a new peice and held it up to Casca, ' Yes I know sign language, though I am not sure who else does. ' Once it had been shown around she wrote on a different sheet handing it to Ursa, ' Excuse me for not understanding fully but what do you mean brought back from the dead? Isn't death final?' Ursa Ursa was getting restless. All of this chit-chat was getting her nowhere. Ianios gave her greetings and nothing more. Aria was whittering like a juvenile over the hair of an actual child - disturbing, really. Cascati's speech was full of frippery and lacking in any sort of substance, and the mute girl was getting drowned out by the others. This was very much an unproductive mess.
Well, she'd asked for it.
"Who is in charge here, then? Do you know?" she asked Ianios.
Surely someone must be in charge. Ursa fought not to be snappish. Small-talk was not her style, but she needed information. Aria Aria giggled. "A nickname? Alright." She had to think for a second. Cas? Well that was almost too normal,but then Ianios was Ian. So what would be good for such a cutie? Hmmm... She looked him over, all swirly marked and all. Swirl? Cutie? Cassy! She laughed. "I'm calling you Cassy!" she remarked, grinning from ear to ear. Cascati Ianios, Aria, Banana Tango - good God, she needed a shorter nickname, stat - Ursa. What a crowd. Cascati was going to need a notebook to commit all the names to proper and respectful memory. And maybe he needed to learn more sign language. Other than turtle. And find out whoever 'Yanvir' was. That name sounded familiar. He'd heard it bandied around in Emperial's house, generally in tones of frank disgust or horror. Or annoyance. Or all three. "The name does sound familiar - madame," he added, nodding his head respectfully to Ursa. His blue-white hair shivered down his pale shoulders. "Not that that's helpful at all, I know, alas. Je ne sais pas. But as for who's in charge - that's Corvus, alpha beta gamma, the Feien Summoner." He knew that much. Ursa She looked back at Banana.
"I was a gemstone. We become them when we die. For reasons I'm unsure of, I was brought back. This is why I need to see Yanvir."
The kid seemed to know even less than Ursa. Was she that young? Or was it simply that NO one was in charge, and this place was chaotic and tiresome? Maybe THAT was why Ursa had been brought back - to whip these people into shape. Cascati Cassy. He might as well have invited her to braid his hair and put ribbons in it, and then had a sleepover. Oh, well, it could have been worse; Cascati laughed despite himself. Cassius has a mean and hungry look."Cassy," he repeated, and flipped his hair. "I only hope I can live up to the cute, my honey. Should I call you Arry and we can be twins, or do you like Aria?" Ursa "I see," Ursa nodded at Cascati, with a slight smile. "Thanks, honey."
She still didn't much hold with the frippery, but at least the boy was getting somewhere.
"Summoner, eh? Well, he didn't summon ME," Ursa stretched, lazily. Anyone who wanted to be in charge of HER was going to have to earn it. "Perhaps I should speak with him regardless."
He certainly didn't seem to enforce much discipline among his people. Not that any of the things she saw here could possibly challenge anyone for power, she supposed. Yeande "In charge?" A subtle voice came from the doorway, followed by a soft snort of amusement. "Good luck. Half the time we don't know, the rest of the time we only THINK we know and then find out someone else has been pulling the strings." Yeande flew into the shop, black wings spread wide as she moved to land near Ursa and looked at the taller feien critically. This one was new... but there was something about her that reminded Yeande of Arturo and Semella... was this one an ancient as well? "If you're looking for Yanvir, he's generally through that tunnel there." She pointed towards a hole in the wall where she had first travelled to deliver Corvus' message to hte bizarre little feien. "However, if you don't hear him screeching from here, chances are that he's not at home right now, or is sleeping for his one hour a day." Banana Tango The sharpe tone made Banana want to straighten imediately. It wasn't scary but it demanded respect that was for sure. She gave a shrug and unable to really answer the question, but she did want to help. 'I am not sure but there was another feien I think his name was.. Corus?' That got scratched out, 'Corvus? He seemed to be someone important.' It was vague but it was the best she could manage. The gears in her head shifted and turned at the thought of gemstones Surely not like the one she had found, right? She hoped not anyway. She blinked and looked past Ursa to the newest member of the group. She felt a lump rise in her throat and she swallowed deeply. If at anytime she would ever become aware of how small she was, the time was now. Ursa Ah! Now this one looked like HER. Or approximately so. Ursa's smile grew, in greeting.
"I'd thought as much," Ursa gestured towards the new Feien. Double wings, double ears... and while still scrawny, this one at least had the claws to maybe make a go of a fight. "Any leader worth his salt wouldn't let people go around ressuecting others on a whim, which is what happened to me."
She held out a hand for the newcomer to shake.
"Ursa," she said, shortly. "I was dead. Now I'm not. You look more like me than the rest of this lot - were you brought back as well?"
At least she knew where to find this Yanvir, now. She'd hunt the boy down and toss him like a ragdoll if she had to, although she supposed she should be happy to be alive. From what she remembered, being dead wasn't exactly unpleasant, but... feh. She wanted her answers sooner rather than later. Cascati "Sounds like the exact kind of Feien Emperial would be bonded to," the little wild-haired juvenile said candidly, and grinned; he put both his hands behind his back and attempted to look endearing again, but the eyes didn't quite make it. " De rien, Madame Ursa, don't mention it - Miss, you're Yeande, aren't you?" He'd heard of her, too, though because all of his information came secondhand through Rose, considered that 'Corvy's girlfriend!' probably wasn't appropriate. Considering Yeande, more like Corvus' evil battle queen, or even more likely, the Feien woman who makes Corvus her little b***h. Corvus was probably going to be one hell of a Summoner if he was associated with this. Yeande "Yeande," she answered, taking Ursa's hand in a firm grasp, although it was obvious she didn't have the strength of the other woman. It was hard to say if she was just introducing herself, or answering Cascati's question as well, as her gaze slipped to the boy with one brow lifted to regard him. "I'm afraid I'm not like you, in the sense that I'm not a reincarnated Feien. I only know of one other that fits that description... Semella, a rather kindly Rain element. I've merged with a gemstone, as did Corvus and another of our kind who's off questing with his daughter." She smiled to the woman then, liking her matter-of-fact attitude. Finally, someone who didn't tack purple prose onto everything. "It's good to meet you Ursa. From your words, I assume your reincarnation happened recently? That had to have been either Yanvir or Corvus. From what I've heard, Julius is the only other one with the ability, and he absolutely abhors the idea. For an immortal, he fears death too much." Ursa Ursa seized Yeande's hand in a powerful grip, and gave it a firm shake, before retrieving it and crossing her arms.
"Semella? I'll have to seek her out, then."
Then, what Yeande had said actually hit her. Hit her like a Feien-sized two-by-four to the back of the head.
"Wait," she said, warily. "What do you mean, 'merged'?" Ian and Aria Ianios shrugged. He really didn't know all that much about the leaders of the feien, if there was any. He glanced at Aria, who was giggling. He shook his head. "Arry? Nah, Aria's fine with me." she told Cascati. Ianios smirked slightly, just listening to the others talk. It was a good way to get information. He saw Yeande enter and smiled. Always a pleasure to see her. "Greetings, lovely lady," he said to Yeande. Cascati That startled Cascati out of any complacency; his next question was quite sincere. "What's a reincarnation, honeys? I mean, I know the term, and I've heard it mentioned in the House, but I've never met a living breathing Feien reincarnation." Julius, for one, was as elusive as Rose's socks. Yeande "Merged," Yeande replied, trying ot find a way to say it. "Corvus found several feien gemstones... and Julius offered us the chance to merge with them, since reincarnation wasn't an option. We took the stones into us, and gained some of the powers, abilities and physical traits of the former feien." She heard Ianios and waved to him, although her attention stayed on Ursa. Cascati "Merged with dead Feien," Cascati murmured. "My God, how delightfully morbid." OniAja A reincarnation and a merging! two things she was not aware of. Just how much of her own people had she been a stranger to? The idea was as offputing as it was intriguing. Not wishing to interupt she merely listened to them both speak. This Yeande had a desceased feien within her? How did -that- work? She had so many new questions but now seemed not the time for any of them. Ursa Ursa nodded at Cascati, curtly. He was calling THEM 'honeys'? She snorted with amusement. Silly little boy.
"A reincarnation is bringing a dead Feien corpse, a gemstone, back to life. That's what I am. A ressurected corpse."
She repeated the words that she'd said to Sycorax, days ago. "This old girl's got some life in her yet."
Then her tail cracked, whip-sharp, and she focussed all of her piercing yellow gaze on Yeande.
"So you mean to tell me that if I hadn't been brought back, I would have been... taken into someone else I didn't even know? Consumed? My corpse used up like a powerup in some blasted videogame, with no thought to my life or my wishes? Is that what this Julius does?" Ursa frowned, contemptuously. The very idea sent shivers up her spine. She could have been merged... consumed! Devoured cannibalistically by some lackadaisical nitwit! Some weakling! Such a thing was NOT acceptable. Ursa was practical, but not so practical as to advocate digging up the graves of strangers for power.
Then again, maybe that was fine, for Feien. She didn't know. She didn't know a lot of things. She's been ressurected naked and alone. All she had to reply on was gut feeling, and a thrill of terror that insisted she remain herSELF.
"Ah, but I must be mistaken. Our people can't be so callous. Did you merge with a friend? A loved one? My condolences." Cascati "Where the dead can walk and the blind can see," Cascati said languidly. "Death appears to be a less unbreakable barrier here than I thought. Though, madame Ursa, you're very pretty for a zombie." Yeande was Merged with a gemstone. Ursa was reincarnated. Was anybody here not practicing some form of necrophilia? Aria looked like a normal adult, as did Ianios, and Banana was obviously just a juvie, but as for the other two... Yeande "Thank you," Yeande said softly, smiling to Ursa. There was no way in hell she was going to tell this woman that she'd laid eyes on the stone for the first time only moments before merging with it. So instead, she neither confirmed or denied it. "And no, not all stones are merged. We have one currently that was a Feien my bonded was very fond of. She died due to neglect, as so many seem to do recently. He hopes to possibly bring her back later... or if that isn't possible, to give her stone to one that he knew she would have gotten along with in life." Ian and Aria Rynn Ianios glanced over to Cel's gemstone when Ursa asked Yeande if she had merged with a loved one. He sighed, then nudged Aria. "We gotta get going," he said, whispering to her. Aria nodded, and he turned back to the others. "Sorry, folks, we got to get going. Was a pleasure meeting you all." Ursa Still.. that was wrong. That was VERY wrong. Ursa would have to ask the human to make sure that such a horrible fate did not befall her, as well. Anyone who would do that, who would merge with a gemstone with no thought for the entire LIFE it must once had had, simply for power, was disgusting. Ursa would crush such a person. THat was all that sick, power-hungry trash deserved.
Yes, her return definitely had a purpose. She understood now.
"But you said that this Julius had the gemstones. So he took your loved one from you and THEN merged you? Does he keep a stockpile of the anonymous dead for special occasions?" she pressed. "That cannot be allowed to continue. This person must be stopped." Cascati " Au revoir, sweethearts," the Ice juvie said, barely batting an eyelid. "Until we meet again." Banana Tango That -was- very offputting. She sighed inwardly thankful that her bonded wasn't so neglectful. Or at least, she -hoped- he wasn't that way. Hugging her papers to her chest, she furrowed her brow as she looked over Yeande. Had she not known any better she would have thought she was another creature entirely. But to merge with a friend, that couldn't be bad, right? The thought that someone would take that person into themselves instead of bringing them back was what got her. Then again she wasn't really the best judge of those situations... Yeande Yeande blinked, regarding Cascati for a stunned moment before she answered Ursa. "No... most of the stones are with others, being kept safe. There are some cases when a stone can't be reincarnated, for many reasons." Cascati Lovely. A Feien reformer. Frankly, Cascati couldn't care less what happened after he passed away; he would rather have been merged and cause some unsuspecting Feien merry hell than rot away somewhere else. Not that he was planning on dying any time soon. "Let the dead bury the dead," he said conscientiously, velvety; and he crossed himself. "Julius will be judged eventually." Raphael Raphael entered the shop with an oddly vacant look on his face, chewing on a bit of melting snow as if he were a toddler sucking his thumb. He looked at the feien conversing further inside the shop as he touched down on the windowsill, but noticed, with a good bit of relief, that their backs were turned and they were otherwise not annoyed with him. So he contented himself with watching them from the windowsill, idly staring, somehow forgetting that it was impolite to stare. Ursa "So that's it," Ursa said, in a low, dangerous voice. "That's it? Does no one here speak for the dead?"
Ursa would make herself strong. No, she was already strong. She would make herself stronger. She would go the this Yanvir and she would see what could be done. She had to. The only alternative was a fate worse than death, for all of her old comrades. And she had the feeling that they must have been comrades. Some of them. Maybe.
Ursa was a stranger in a strange land, brought forward to a new age because it was lacking something from the past. She had no name and no memory. All she had was herself, and her principles. Those were all the weapons she needed.
"Would no one here know me? Or anyone from my time? Other than this Semella? I must have died long ago," Ursa mused, her fury fading, but still throbbing in the background of her consciousness. "I look noticeably different from the others, and so do you, Yeande. Why did your old friend appear different from the rest?" OniAja This was alot of new information to digest. The way things sounded, her training seemed that much more imperative. Not just for the fact she may be drawn into someone but the idea that she may NOT come back at all. She didn't wish to incure the wrath of any other feien but she didn't think too highly on it either. She raised a hand before she realized that she even had. Staring at her traitorous limb in dumbfounded resignation. It was a start? Yeande "She was an ancient as well," Yeande replied, sighing. "From wh at we've been told, the Ancients have been dying for quite some time. The only way that the Feien have been able to survive is to bond with humans. The reason that you have been able to be reincarnated is because a human agreed to bond with you... those that are not so lucky have only the choice of merging to live in some fashion again." Cascati Cascati laughed, shrugging at Banana in a very ah, well fashion. "Don't worry about it, Tango-honey. Frankly, it's all going over my silly little head." In some fashion. Ursa versus the world. That thought had him ready to hide in some safe, forgotten niche. Ursa "But you wouldn't be yourself," Ursa shook her head. "Merging with someone you would hate, who was against your principles, would be like being ressurected into hell. Like a violation of your mind, of your existance... wouldn't it be? It would be half a life. Less than that."
Wouldn't it? Ursa was confident in her instincts. if she thought it was so, it likely was. She had a strong personality. She couldn't imagine it being watered down, and fed into someone she didn't even know.
The shiver hit her again. When she was asleep, as a gemstone, was she dreaming then?
She surveyed the shop, contemplatively.
"I wonder what it was like, in the old days. I wonder what I was like. I..."
She smiled crookedly.
"Ah, forgive this old girl's ramblings. There's no need for drama."
Cascati Of course there was need for drama. It was entertaining. Cascati wished that some of the conversations could be videotaped for later edification, maybe when he had found a bowl of cherries to eat with it. Popcorn went right to his hips. "I think we all felt a little like this when we were born," he said thoughtfully, resting down on a book, cloaking his wings over his shoulders and stretching back. "Naked, not knowing anything. I still don't know anything, it's terribly tiresome. We'll help you get used to it, Mama Ursa." Yeande "Old girl, hmm?" Yeande said, smiling wryly. "You're looking pretty damned spry for an old lady. I'm hoping that you're able to have a good long life this time around... I'm glad that you're one of the ones that seem to have found a willing human bond." This one... was unique. Yeande was finding herself rather fond of the ancient, and her brusque ways. It was far better than the brown-nosing she saw on so many occasions. Banana Tango She smiled unsurely to Casca, He seemed like a pleasent one. She wasn't sure about being called honey though. It made something in her mind tingle. She shrugged it off though, her small shoulders bouncing in a polite chuckle. Ursa Ursa smiled at Cascati, bemused. The boy had attitude. Someone needed to take him in hand - tell him to drop and give her twenty, or the like. He seemed to mean well, though.
"Oh, I wouldn't call myself helpless, honey. Though I have no idea how long we live," she turned her smile on Yeande. "And I'd wouldn't call Sycorax willing, so much as bumbling. The woman is a wreck. I need to bring her into line. No matter - it will do her good in the end, and I'm sure she'll thank me. Were your humans forced, then?"
What a ridiculous notion. Obviously large, lumbering humans should want Feien around, unless they were giggly fools. Cascati "Some of them chose." The ice juvenile's expression changed; he shuddered theatrically. " My human chose. I only wish she would give me a chance to die from neglect. I love my sweet Rose dearly, but she doesn't like to let me out of a single room in case I fall and hurt myself. She's knitting me a scarf. Someone should tell her that my element is ice - " Oh, dear, wait. That was bitching. That was too close. Cascati laughed instead, silvery-light. "I think that most humans like Feien, though, Mama Ursa. We're so small and graceful and sweet and adorable." Yeande The idea of Youko being forced into anything was amusing and Yeande chuckled faintly. "No, no... not forced at all. He was given my bloom as a gift, and took care of me. Later, he bonded with another, a little Ice feien named Shalafi. Unfortunately, there seems to have been a problem with how he was summoned, and he was born blind. Recently a third bloom came as well, and that one is a bit of a handful... his name is Ankou, and Julius says he's a Death element." Banana Tango That thought had never really crossed Banana's mind really, she held the paper in the crook of her arm, dipping the bee stinger in the paint before writing , ' I believe that Oni wanted to bond with me. He does treat me like his daughter.' Ursa Death? Ursa would have to watch out for that. Someone who wielded the power of death should be properly trained and kept in line; given a sense of discipline. Otherwise, all hell might break loose, and from what Yeande said, no one here was equipped to stop that. All sorts of Feien running around the with the power of ressurection, apparently with conflicting principles, other people taking dead bodies into themselves, no clear leader... what was this world she had stepped into? It was a madhouse.
Trying to make order might be futile. It might not. Ursa, at least, could lead an orderly life.
"We're not all adorable, boy. I'm certainly not," Ursa grinned with pride. She was far from some humans' doll. Did Cascati think that he was weak? Poor boy, he just might be right. It wasn't his fault. "And neither is Yeande. You're not even grown. There's hope for you and the girl yet."
'The girl', of course, was Banana Tango. She was simply hovering there. Hopefully because she couldn't talk, rather than because she was afraid to participate in the conversation. Yeande Yeande didn't mind being called 'not adorable'. She was far from it... and knew that she intimidated the hell out of quite a few. "Actually, I may turn him over to you for a bit of training, if you'd be interested. He's a wild one, not altogether an intelligent sort, and tends to not think before he acts." Cascati Cascati gave Ursa a dainty little smirk. "I know, I know, Mama. Merci, c'est gentil. I'll grow big and strong if I eat my vegetables and drink my milk?" Maybe if he ate vegetables and milk for ten years. Delicate was a word you could apply to the ice juvie, and if you didn't like delicate, you could always go full hog and call him scrawny. The biggest part of him was his hair. Ursa "I'd be happy to," Ursa's eyes sparkled, slightly. Yeande had suddenly risen much higher in her estimation. It was good to know that someone else believed in order, here. "I've been dead once. Death does not scare me."
Merging, now, that was another matter, and Ursa was hardly ready to relinquish the life that she'd just discovered. She wasn't about to tell that to these people she'd just met.
"Once I've had a few days to get my bearings and hunt down this Yanvir, that is."
Ursa was very hard to unbalance, and she had taken to her new life with astonishing practicality, for someone who came into being under scuh extraordinary curcumstances. That being said, she needed to teach herself to fight before she decided to try 'training' others. Ursa was many things, but a fake was not one of them. Banana Tango Indeed most of her silence was due to her lack of voice. Constantly tapping people to hand them notes would get annoying soon enough for both parties. Not to mention that signing to a group that possibly didn't know how to translate it would be even more fustrating. No, for now she was more or less content to actually remain in the company and slowly aclimate to it than run off this time. She couldn't help but feel drawn to Ursa in a way. She seemed like everything she was not. She seemed to pridefully raise her head up at being mentioned. A slight smirk playing at the corner of her mouth. Her attention piqued at the mention of training and she looked between Yeande and Ursa with a sort of 'me too??' expression. She was, in a sense in the market for a teacher and this ancient seemed like the best bet so far. Yeande Yeande cursed softly, catching sight of the clock over the counter. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I must be going. Ursa, I'm glad we met, and I look forward to seeing you again. If nothing else, our address is somewhere in the owner's book over there..." She pointed towards the office door that was currently closed. After saying her goodbyes to the two young Feien as well, she spread her wings. "I'll bring Ankou with me next time I see you so that you can take a look at him. SOMEONE has to be able to knock some sense into him." With that, she aimed for the door, picking up speed as she flew. Ursa "It was good to meet you as well," Ursa nodded in farewell. This Yeande wasn't bad. Direct, and she got things done. People that got things done were high on Ursa's list of people. That she had just made. As of two days ago.
She looked down to see, the tiny mute Feien giving her some sort of... look, with wide purple eyes. Ursa was not good at interpreting these sorta of things. She preferred blunt words.
"And you girl?" Ursa questioned. "You're probably used to being neglected, but there's no cure for that except you standing up and taking attention."
Bravo to her. Such a little thing. Clamoring for attention took nonexistant Feien balls.
"Such as have right now now. Is there anything you'd like? As you can see, I can't offer you much in the way of information," Ursa was smiling, barely. This was as close to 'friendly' as the gruff woman got. Cascati "Goodbye, Yeande," Cascati called out gaily. "Till next we meet. 'Tis twenty years till then." He pushed his shoulders back, joints popping, head tilted up to the ceiling as the ancient among them looked to Banana. The thought of the quiet little juvie getting taught by the adult tickled his fancy. Talk about the meeting of different mountains. "You should train her too, Mama Ursa. You have voice enough for three of her and more." Banana Tango Ursa was right, she'd have to be direct. Unfortunatly her handicap didn't make it any easier, but she was stubborn that way. She had to be. Not wanting to miss what seemed a golden opportunity, she quickly scrawled on a sheet of the paper and help it up to the ancient feien. Gnawing on her bottom lip hopefully. 'Train me as well! I will work hard!' She couldn't get more direct than that.This feien didn't seem the type to wait about and if she didn't jump now she wasn't sure she'd get a second chance. She nodded to Casca as if to emphasize his words. She quickly looked about for something to give an example with. Spying the owner's book, she flipped the paper and wrote down. 'I'm strong, I've been practicing on it! Watch' Fluttering to it she brached herself cupping her hands under the corner of it. It took a moment but the end of the book did rise, not far but it did. She let it back down and turned to them both looking for approval. Cascati Cascati immediately broke into applause, taking the time out to put his fingers to his mouth to give her a piercing wolf-whistle. "There you go, Tango-angel! I couldn't do that with a winch and kneepads. Congratulations, dearling!" It would be extraordinarily useful if they were ever, say, attacked by a library. Maybe he should keep Banana in mind if Rose's Grimorum went rabid. Ursa A slow grin crept over Ursa's visage.
"Have you, now? Very good, girl," Ursa cracked her tail, like a whip. "But not good enough! No matter. We'll fix that up properly."
The girl would learn. Voices? Those were commonplace. Getting attention was about throwing your weight around.
Weight which, admittedly, Tango was lacking in. All in good time.
Ursa's wings fluttered, and she back drifted towards the shop door. This was not an impediment to her being herd. Her voice boomed, naturally.
"If you work hard, you'll become strong. If you slack off, I will break you so fast you don't even feel it. It won't be easy, and it won't be fun, but if you can deal with that then I can deal with you," the girl seemed to have her head on straight, and she didn't look a fool. If she was going to have to discipline some young overpowered hooligan, at least Ursa could have a serious student as well. The best way to cure this disordered society, was surely to keep juveniles from running wild.
Ursa did not think to question why anyone would want to train under her when she was only two days ressurected. Of COURSE they would. She was Ursa. She had been powerful, and she would be powerful. That wasn't even in question.
"I have to go meet my bond, now," Ursa stated. "Prepare yourself. I will meet you here, in a week. If you don't show, I'll assume you're not up to the challenge."
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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:58 am
Ursa's internal clock awoke her at the break of dawn. This was good. She did not wish to waste any of the daylight hours. There was much to be done, and for whatever reason, Ursa would prefer to do those things while the sun was out. She felt more comfortable in illuminated areas.
The blue-green Feien hovered over to the window, so that she could look directly into the sun. She pushed the glass open a crack. Staring into the blinding flame, with the smell of crisp morning frost in the air, was a simple, powerful pleasure. Ursa rested against the window-frame, and relaxed herself, enjoying the view.
A couple of minutes were all that she needed. Anything more would be a waste. Next time she would make coffee - Sycorax had a taste for the stuff, and Ursa had to admit that it wasn't half-bad. Especially since this old girl needed to get her a** in gear, and coffee was garunteed to jolt her into wakefulness.
So much to do, and so little time. Then children needed her. She had to be sure that her (maybe) old comrades weren't being merged into fools and tyrants against their will. Ursa's entire past was still a mystery, and there was more than one other Ancient that she needed to seek out.
Ursa would start simple. Ursa would start with training.
The glowing girl - who was flightly, but seemed to know her stuff - had recommended grappling, so Ursa had read up on Judo. That seemed to be suitable for her purposes. Still, basics first. She floated over to Sycorax's desk - cape that stood in stead of wings, billowing out behind her. Then she lay down, and arranged herself in the manner that the books had suggested.
The large Feien did an experimental push-up, and promptly wondered what the fuss was about. This wasn't going to do her any damn good at all.
Ursa tried it with one hand. Better, but she still felt as though she was making no real progress.
She tried again, this time pushing with only her fingertips touching the table's surface. A small, grim smile lit up her features, as she felt a slightly strined, painful sensation in her bicep.
There.
Pushups. Crunches. Chin-ups. Leg-lifts. Those were the kinds of things she needed. And really, she could do them all day. Something about the sour smell of sweat and the rhythmic motion calmed all of the troublesome confusions that had plagued her since her ressurection.
Four hours later, Ursa was very pleasantly worn-out. She should make herself some lunch, maybe use the coffee-maker to heat up some water so that she could take a good soak. Yes, that would do very well. Her first Judo practice could wait until the evening. This afternoon Sycorax could show her how to get to the places where the other Ancients - Semella and Arturo - resided, and...
Wait a second, was that human in bed?
The Feien immediately forgot about her soak-related plans, and floated over to the unconscious-looking blob of human that was hidden under layer-upon-layer of blankets.
"Get up, girl!" Ursa said, authoritatively. She also kicked her in the head. "It's eleven! You've wasted nearly half of your day already!"
A small whine could be heard from underneath the covers. Ursa crossed her arms and frowned. Then she kicked Syc in the head again.
"I won't be held up by your laziness, honey! And it's for your own good."
Hmm. The children weren't the only ones who needed her.
Ursa made a metal note to set Sycorax's alarm clock for seven in the morning, and then hide it somewhere where her human could not find it. It was in both of their best interests.
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:38 am
shop visit An imposing figure floated into the shop, looking over the landscape with a speculative eye. Her arms were crossed, her expression detemined. Yesterday, she had spent working out. Today she had made her way to the shop on her own. It was quite a trip - especially with the chill winter winds - but somehow that pleased her. This, too, would be good training.
As soon as she got a good look around the place, she immediately sighted two other Feien. One was glowng, and the light attracted her gaze. The other was less easy to spot, but since the first was looking at him, Ursa was still able to locate the juvenile in the shadows.
Ursa presumed that Yanvir would not be a mere child, if he went about ressurecting people. But the adult was black, and glowing did not appear to be a common feature for their kind. It was worth a try.
"You there!" She called out, with a small wave to the black-and-yellow Feien. Her tail lashed back and forth. "Yes, you, honey. Are you Yanvir Pierre du Klausheim?" Corvus stopped. Now THAT was even more interesting. Completely unfamiliar plant of origin signature! Previously unseen features! "Yanvir? Me?" he said, surprised. "Where did you come from?" Not the second summoner, he silently begged. Fifth looked up from his work, wondering if he could slip away, but if he did Corvus would know, so he merely took advantage of Corvus's turned back to take a small break, the first of many. "Yes, you. Why not?" Ursa floated closer. "All I know of Yanvir is that he has black markings, lives in this shop, and apparently brought me back from the dead without so much as a by-your leave or a note as to what my name might have been."
Her tail lashed in annoyance. The man's surprise indicated that he was not, in fact, Yanvir. Bugger.
Ursa's gaze travelled towards the juvenile that was cringing in the corner. She waved to him as well.
"For goodness sakes, boy!" She boomed, in a not-unfriendly fashion. Her tone, however, was one that brooked no opposition. "Are you a Feien, or are you a mouse? Get your arse over here and stop cowering! No one is going to eat you. I've already eaten this morning, and this one's so skiny I dare say he doesn't eat. "
Children. Honestly. She was thisclose to simply flying over and dragging him into the light. Was she really that different from the rest of them? Her skin and ears were variants, and her tail was unequalled so far, but really now!
As the glowing black-winged male approached, Globin again felt himself seize up, feathers ruffling unconsciously. Corvus's figure was even moreso imposing than Talonfaust had ever hoped of being...and he seemed to absolutely radiate with power.
He looked, quite frankly, like he ate lesser fairies for breakfast if they crossed him wrongly....and while his fluttering stomach and pounding heart commanded him to leave, and quickly, he still found himself rooted firmly in place.
However, as the sudden female interruption took the dark feien's attention off of him and directed his attention that way, Globin nearly collapsed in relief. It was odd how he'd spent two weeks in Canada, surrounded by the elements, surrounded by dangers, constantly plagued by his small leader's various annoyances and roadblocks, and yet still managed to find himself terrified at the prospect of meeting strangers.
He nearly took his chance and bolted right then and there but something -- perhaps how very different this new arrival was -- made him linger a moment more. He'd never seen anything like her before. Not in color, not in shape, not in anything. He found himself in a state between petrification and awe, like someone who's just seen a city-levelling explosion over the horizon. "What!?" said Corvus, astonished. "Yanvir what!? Impossible!" Never mind the indignity of being mistaken for a totally-black feien now that he was obviously black and -gold-. At her barked command, Globin immediately snapped out of his frozen state and, with almost ingrained obediance, quickly hovered forward, hands wringing, shoulders slightly hunched.
"I--I--" he cleared his throat as he regarded the green-and-blue woman before him. "My apologies. I was just--I didn't know anyone was here when I came." Saying so, his eyes then stole a quick glance at Corvus and another at Fifth. "Is it?" Ursa inquired, curiously. "I've heard there's another one in the boat as I am - someone named Semella? And that another one, nemed Julius, keeps an entire stockpile of corpses like mine. You're obviously different from the others, so I'd thought you might be Yanvir. My human doesn't recall much about him - she's very scatterbrained." "I'm not Yanvir," said Corvus, drawing himself up and crossing his arms. "I'm Corvus, the summoner. And you, honey, are poorly-informed. What are you talking about, corpses?" Now the boy was stammering apologies. Ursa gestured him over once more - she wasn't going to herd the boy in, when he looked as though if he were a human, he would wet himself. Humiliation wasn't going to help the boy grow a backbone any time soon, and Ursa doubted that she'd derive any pleasure from it.
"Sweetie, who do you think you're fooling? This old girl might have been reborn a few days ago, but she's hardly a fool," Ursa tried very hard to sound kind, instead of condescending. She gestured towards Corvus. "He and I are the most noticeable Feien this side of Yeande. Come now. Calm down."
Ursa turned back to the summoner, Corvus. That was all she could do for the boy right now - she had pressing concerns to attend to. Ursa was entirely unphased by Corvus' attitude.
"Oh! So you're the one that said might or might not be in charge," Ursa nodded to herself. Finally, she was talking to someone who might be able to give her answers! The corners of her lips twitched upwards. Ursa was slightly bemused. She resisted the urge to tell the adult to calm down as well. He was all puffed-up like a bantam rooster. Really, was that necessary? She was certain the man was powerful, if he summoned other Feien, but he hadn't summoned her.
"I'm calling myself Ursa, since I don't know what my name was," she said, brusquely. "Apparently I was once a gemstone - a Feien corpse. Yanvir Pierre du Klausheim brought me back to life, and then buggered off to gods know where. You wouldn't happen to know anything about where I came from, would you?" "Maybe, but first, what do you know of Yeande?" Corvus said. Ursa cocked an eyebrow. "I know that she was in this shop two days ago, and that she merged with another gemstone corpse at some point." Corvus suddenyl sracthed the back of his ear and looked at Ursa incredulously. "Excuse me, a what?" Ursa's tail twitched, and she looked at Corvus as though he were slow. She had only been reborn for less than a week, and she knew very well what a gemstone was.
"When Feien die, they become gemstones, honey. The gemstones are therefore their corpses, or as close as Feien get to having corpses," she explained. "I've been explaining this quite a bit, but I assumed a summoner would know about that. From your looks, I'd wager you merged with one yourself."As Corvus and Ursa continued to speak, Globin dared to hover closer into the large female's immediate vicinity, coming to a stop a polite distance from her. While her voice wasn't exactly kind...well...not the 'kind' that he'd come to know from Merrimack and others, it was not threatening either. And truly, if she meant to hurt him, he was sure that she was more than capable of having done so by now.
Remaining silent, he watched the conversation. It sounded to be an important topic and one that he had no place interrupting as most went directly over his head. He was aware of what gemstones were, he was aware of what merging was, he had heard Yanvir's name mentioned very VERY frequently by Berra on the quest, but the concept of resurrection was entirely lost on the blood juvenile. "A gemstone corpse. A gemstone corpse!?" He let out a sudden barking laugh. "That's a bit of a morbid thing to call a gemstone, isn't it? A corpse is a dead body. A gemstone is a magical construct embodying a feien soul and genetic material. Corpses are for the foul dead of humans and animals, not fairies. And you're one to talk. What on Earth makes you think I've merged? Have you looked in a mirror lately?" "You bet I have," Ursa grinned a small, tight grin, proud of her apparently-exotic looks. All of the others were so frail. A human could proably step on them without too much trouble - it was unforunate.
"Yeande told me only Ancients and merged Feien look like we do. She also told me a roster of Ancients, and you weren't on it."
Magical constructs, eh? If gemstone were Feien souls, that made the thought of merging with an incompatible gemstone even more horrifying. Before, Ursa has thought of it as being more... cannibalistic.
The large Feien stretched, languidly, pleased to see that the juvenile had come closer. All the children needed was a little encouragement, and a little discipline.
"As for morbidity," Ursa's grin widened ever-so slightly, and she shrugged. "I've been dead. I'll be as morbid as I please. How long do you reckon I have, anyway?"Corvus waved his hand a moment. "Waitaminute, waitaminute. Look like you? I don't look like you at all." He sounded indignant at the suggestion. "No you don't," Ursa told him, bluntly. "It's fine. As a summoner, I'm sure you have enough magic to make up for the fact that you look as though you'd be blown over in a stiff wind, eh?"
Really, he was very plain compared to Yeande and herself. He must be disappointed. Maybe the Feien he'd merged with was one of these more boring, newer models.
And really, Corvus was giving her no answers at ALL. He was full of obvious statements disguised as questions. Ursa was not in the mood for nonsense.
"Ah well. If you have no answers for me, that I'll go about my business," Ursa shrugged. For someone she'd been told was the alpha-beta-gamma of the shop, Corvus was pretty useless. Ursa had no time for it.
She floated towards the roster books, intending to look up the addresses of the other two Ancients she'd been told about - Semella and Arturo. Maybe they would be more help. "HEY!" came the angry shout from Corvus as he dashed over. "Stay out of the back office. Can you not read?" And he pointed to a very obvious sign: "DO NOT ENTER" His eyes flashed angrily. "The back office is for members of the management ONLY." Ursa flexed her claws.
"Well if you won't give me answers, and you're management, then I'll have to take them myself, won't I? It's not my problem if the management in this shop is so poor, that you lot let rouge elements run around ressurecting others at a whim. When I was brought back I was not told my name, or my history, and my human wasn't even told what a Feien WAS."
She snorted.
"Are you going to stop me? I'm sure you have power, so by all means, do your worst. Do your worst, or answer one of my questions with something other than a question."
Ursa's tail was twitchded back and forth, like a snake. A summoner would be powerful, but damned if she was going to back down to a puffed-up little man who seemed intent on wasteing her time. "You will not enter the back office," grated Corvus, flexing his fingers as he erected an invisible shield. "Your identity crisis is none of my concern. The laws of this shop are. Back office, out of bounds, and anyone found tampering with official documents will be punished." Already he was preparing Dark Energy Blast in the back of his mind. Ursa's claws skittered against the barrier.
"Then for gods sake, do your job!" Ursa snapped, iron will barely suppressing her urge to SWAT at the boy. "Or does the summoner of Feien truly know nothing about the other forces at work in his shop?" "Other forces?" remarked Corvus. He flexed behind his shield, interlocking his fingers behind him to disguise the telltale crackling black energy. "And you who've been here a week, tell me, what do you know about other forces? There are no other forces here, merely children playing out the daily drama of their pathetic soap opera lives." "Well, I knew that," Ursa rolled her eyes. "The lack of discipline in this community is ridiculous. The first time I came in I was mobbed, and none of the lot knew anything about anything, except for that Yeande. I'm not a week old and I've been called upon to take not one, but TWO juveniles in hand."
Ursa crossed her arms, and finally decided to give the summoner a close look-over.
"Yeande, though, Yeande told me this - you are the summoner, and Julius and Yanvir are Feien with power over life and death. You didn't know who I was, so you clearly don't have any power over Yanvir. And you seem to think yourself management if you're protecting that office. Management therefore does not have total control over this shop. Yeande said as much, and now I see it with my own eyes."
Ursa was no genius, but that was simple logic. Yeande really did have this place figured out. That woman, Ursa could respect."You seem to be greatly confused," smirked Corvus, "as I am indeed in charge of life an death around here. Maybe not yours, but if you're so eager to return to a gemstone state so quickly, I am more than happy to oblige. I do not merely think myself management, I -am- a member of the management. However, the things that go on in the public area of this shop are of no consequence and thus little concern to myself and my cohorts. Not that we aren't very happy to provide control when it's requested." Puffed-up little man, whom Ursa loomed over. Power had gone to his head. If Yanvir could revive the dead, then Corvus and his 'management' must not be as in-control as Corvus would like Ursa to think. No discipline among the ranks? No leader worth his salt would allow THAT.
"A ressurection happening in this shop is an act of no consequence? Either our kind is callous about the laws of nature, or you lot are not as in-control as you'd like to think."
Again, she restrained the urge to swat his smug little face. Ursa was not NEARLY ready to take on Corvus, and get into that back room. Not if he could create a barrier like that. She'd only started training a day ago.
The large Feien snorted, and floated away from the back-room door, in the direction of the shop entrance. She rounded on Corvus once more.
"At any rate, manager, either you have no information or you take pleasure in withholding it," Ursa decided, bluntly. "I'll find someone else."
Really. She could have spent time training, that she had instead spent on this damn exercise in frustration.
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2004 7:53 am
Ursa had flown to the shop, and now she was set to fly back. The winds were cold, and the world was frozen over. Ursa found little particularly pleasant about it, except perhaps for the glare of sunlight on snow.
It was to be a long trek home. She considered, briefly, asking Sycorax to scrounge her up some sort of warm knit clothing, but immediately rejected the idea. A small, determined smile lit her face. She knew what to do.
Abruptly, Ursa let herself fall from the air, and land in the snow. The immediate cold was a shock to her system. Cold, but Ursa liked the moisture on her skin, as well as the sting of frost against her flesh. It reminded her that she was alive, and breathing, instead of in that strange dark static place where she'd had no form, and maybe she'd been dreaming.
The snow came up to her shoulders. Good. Very good.
Grimly, and methodically, Ursa began to carve a path towards Sycorax's through the snow, her claws rending and tearing the snow out from before her. It was slow, tedious, skin-stinging work. Ursa's muscles screamed for release. She liked it. She could concentrate on the snow, and the idea, and the hard, heavy work, and forget all of the tedious troubles she'd been born with.
Once Ursa was out of the field in which she'd landed, she would take flight once more. She wasn't trying to kill herself.
If it would make her tougher, it was worth it. More and more, she was becoming convinced that she would need to be tough to accomplish her goals. Ursa had no illusions about turning herself into a martial arts master overnight, but as long as she stayed one step ahead of little Tango, then she would be doing her job. If she could make herself tougher, she could stand up to someone like that smug Corvus, with pride.
When she emerged from the field, Ursa felt like collapsing. It was glorious.
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Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 6:42 pm
Ursa's muscles screamed for mercy, but she ignored them. SHE was in charge of this operation, not they. They needed to shut and and do their jobs, like good soldiers.
It didn't help that her skin stung with numbness. Her body was very nearly ready to mount a coup. It Ursa had been able to turn any more blye, she probably would have. That sort of thing tended to happen when you were naked, and digging a tunnel through snow that that was piled higher than her head. Ursa tried to concentrate on the moisture. For whatever reason, it made things bearable.
When it came to training, Ursa could be nothing less than masochistic. She had told herself that she could do an entire lap of the park like this, and she WOULD, even if it KILLED her. Magic? Ursa didn't know if she had it, and if she did, she didn't care. Magic was a finite resource. Magic could only get you so far. Ursa preferred to rely on a far more reliable source of power - sheer bloody-mindedness.
It was getting dark out, which Ursa didn't like. She did not see well in the dark. But she'd gone over her basic Judo and done her other workouts earlier in the day. This - subjecting herself to the snow - had to be the last. It was too much of a shock to her system for her to do anything else for the rest of the day.
A flash in the sky. The snow was stained with blood-red light. Ursa looked up. A small, brightly glowing woman hovered above her. From certain angles, it looked like she was on fire.
"I'm not done!" Ursa growled, irritably. It took a measure of willpower to move her frozen jaw.
The Mendel Neon shrugged, and grinned her usual grin - stark white, against the red of her face. She didn't spend a ton of time around Ursa, but Ursa was always grunpy. Why should Neon be fussed? She was way too awesome to be affected by lame loseryness!
She landed behind Ursa, and the snow hissed, steaming, where her feet touched the ground. Her wings fluttered, and the snowpack directly adjacent to her formed a thin sheen of ice. Neon didn't mind. Temperatures had never bothered her. As a living, breathing neon light, she was her own heat source.
"Syc says yer nuts," Neon informed Ursa, cheerfully. Ursa pretended not to hear Neon, but she totally did! "And I gotta agree. I mean, hell, I've tried ta get myself killed in order ta get stronger, like, tons of times. But this doesn't even look FUN!"
Syc also said that she hoped Ursa died a horrible sub-zero death so that she could get a decent morning's sleep for once, and then mumbled a bunch about how fairies weren't supposed to be fat and garish and bossy and that she must be cursed. Poor Syc. She got really bitchy when she did not get enough sleep! Neon couldn't sympathize. She hardly ever slept. There was so much to do late at night... like her boyfriend! And killing moths! And late-night TV movies! Hell yeah!
"I'm not DONE," Ursa repeated, before heaving a chunk of snow out of her way. Her tail lashed, as she subsequently brought one powerful claw back to swat at the living chemical.
It didn't do any good. Neon was fast even when she was trying to be SLOW. God DAMMIT.
"I am not doing this for fun!" Ursa rumbled, glaring at her still-grinning visitor. Ursa sympathized with Neon's warlike nature, but the girl had not a whit of sense about her. She'd probably grin and yammer on about the coolness of mushroom clouds if someone decided to drop a nuclear missile on them. "I'm doing this because someone needs to! If power is the way to get my answers and set things right, then I'll get power."
And BUGGER, now that she'd stopped digging, she didn't know if she could start again. Her muscles nearly sagged with relief. Even her cloth whings were twitching hopefully, although they weren't much good for anything except appearing wing-like.
If looks could kill, bloody Neon would be a heap of slowly-darkening goo right about now. Ursa didn't know if her claws could actually tear internal organs out, OR if Neon had any internal organs, but she was damn ready to try. NOBODY interrupted her. Nobody.
Awwww, geeze. Trust Syc's new housemate to get worked up over some lame thing or other. Ursa totally needed to chill out! Fighting was fun! So was training! If she was gonna be all not-having-fun and bitchtastic it was time to take a breather, ya know? Even SHE knew that. Maybe Ursa would lighten up if she had an awesome adventure with Neon and they maybe killed some stuff or like, plummeted off of really really tall skyscrapers!
Nah. Ursa looked too wiped for that.
"Lady," Neon said cheerfully, hands on her hips. There was a dangerous gleam in her eye. "There ain't no way fer stuff like us ta get stuff up our arses, but if there was, ya might wanna look inta gettin' it removed from yers. C'mon. You gotta kick back, ya know?"
She jerked her head, to indicate the apartment across the street, high above them. The lights were low, but a cozy glow could be made out from behind the drawn curtains.
"C'mon. I'm gettin' ya a drink."
"A drink?" Ursa grumbled, sceptical. She didn't see how water would help anything. And hot chocolate was for sissies - one of the things that she and Neon were in perfect agreement about.
"A drink!" Neon repeated, happily. She poked Ursa in the arm with one superheated finger, and then easily spun to dodge another blow, when the fairy hissed in pain. Poor fairy. Even the WORD 'fairy' sounded pretty pansy-ish. Maybe that was part of why she was so pissed off. Daaaamn. In her situation, Neon might feel the same.
"Yer gonna freeze. Drink'll warm ya up, no problem! It works on my boyfriend, eh? 'Course, he's kinda alchoholic, but still. That is because he is cold an' it hurts his bones! An' also because it is fun. C'mon!"
She flexed her fingers, and then winked, threatening further hot-poke-age if Ursa turned down her request.
Being responsible was new feeling for Neon. Usually SHE was the one people were talking into not attacking rabid dogs or flinging herself into windstorms. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not, but hey, she wasn't gonna be a wuss about it.
Hopefully it wouldn't last. Responsibility sounded like it might be kinda boring.
Glowering, the Feien followed the Mendel up into the cool night air, and then into the decidedly not-cool air of Syc's apartment. The warmth felt scalding, after so long in the cold, and she had to sit down on the windowframe while tingles worked their way through Ursa's flesh.
Neon, in the mean time, fetched two thimbles full of whiskey.
When Sycorax got in, later that evening, she found her two ertshile flatmates playing poker on the kitchen table. They appeared to be involved in some sort of drinking contest. The look on Ursa's face was something alarmingly akin to glee.
"Syc! Get yer arse over here!" Neon called. Then she dissolved into guffaws. "Aw, man, Ursa told the DIRTIEST..."
"Shut your trap, girl!" Ursa bellowed, with a grin. "You lost the hand. Don't you use the human to welsh on our bet!"
Sycorax backed away slowly, and then fled not-so-slowly into the bathroom. Bed. Yeah, she was going to bed.
If she was bothered by the noise her small flatmates were generating, she didn't show it. She just turned the TV up really loud, and settled in for the Daily Show. She didn't even turn around when the pair - horrifyingly - broke out into a drinking song by Captain Tractor.
Researcher Syc might be, she still really did not need to know what a Mendel and a Fairy with no sexual organs considered dirty. AUGH.
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 2:52 pm
Silva Silva stepped into the shop, his new staff in one hand, his chain hanging from his waist, a piece of paper rolled in the chain. He had a diagram to work on, after all. If he planned on forcing his "Aunt" to make him a training doll he would need to know where the weak spots should be marked at. He crossed the floor and headed for the counter, planning on "Borrowing" some sort of writing device while he was at it. He still hadn't gotten his supplies. Casca The counter was already occupied, in one corner; a tousle-haired Feien was very carefully cutting something out, stiff paper, surrounded by dozens of equally small white rectangles; the nubs of old coloured pencils were around him as he frowned, using a small part of an old razor to very carefully pare it down to the desired shape. His grey wings were folded around his shoulders like a cloak; he didn't even look up as Silva approached, obviously totally engrossed. For once in his life. Ursa Ursa stretched in the corner, where she'd been taking a break before it was time to fly back home. Another day, still no sign of Yanvir. Maybe he was avoiding her. Maybe she was looking in the wrong places. No matter. It was good practice, flying all the way to the shop. Withstanding the wind and cold could only toughen her up, after all the inactivity of being dead.
She floated through the shop, and caught sight of a smaller figure on the way out. A much smaller figure, weightend down with a chain and a stick. His figure looked powerful, but he was so SMALL, to be armed to the teeth like that. Ursa resisted the urge to chuckle.
"You there, boy!" She greeted him, gruff, but not unfriendly. "I don't suppose you know Yanvir?"
She didn't really expect him to, but it couldn't hurt to ask. Silva Ice Queen Silva turned at the voice, blinking at the large female in the air. "Don't think I do..." He stopped, for the first time hesitating over the use of the word "Darlin." This feien didn't look like ANYONE'S darlin. But hell, Sunil hadn't been, either. So he smirked and finished the sentence. "Darlin." "Yanvir..." He stopped, remembering what he had read when looking up Julius. "One of those ancients, right?" Cascati "I don't know why you persist in looking for him, Mama Ursa," the occupied Feien remarked, calling out, one of his small rectangles shifting in the breeze created from both Ursa and Silva's movement. One of his long, slim hands reached out to snatch it up; like a favourite pet, he fussily put it back by his thigh. "I hear Yanvir's terribly uncouth. I don't think he bathes, honey." Ursa Ursa nodded.
"That he is, honey," Ursa crossed her arms, and looked the juvenile over. Paranoid kid. Maybe he was worried about meeting up with Corvus. Not that chains and sticks would not any good with that overgrown juvenile.
Unlike Silva, Ursa did not trip over the word 'honey'.
"As am I. Brought me back from the dead, he did. But for a necromancer no one knows a damn thing about him. Not even that Corvus."
Ursa shrugged. That was the story of her (brief) life.
She glanced over at the other juvenile boy. A choppy arm gesture was all he got in greeting.
"And if you were brought back from the dead, you'd look the one who did it too, kiddo. That's not the kind of thing you just medicate with a stiff drink," Ursa examined her claws. "Although I'm not sure what kind of Feien ressurects and runs either."
The more she thought about it, the more it pissed her off. Bah. Cascati Cascati looked up and looked winsome, grey eyes wide, razor stilling in his hand. There was something about Ursa which made him want to look winsome; possibly the fear of getting sat on and squashed to death, or some other end equally ignominious. "I don't know, Mama. Maybe if it was a very stiff drink. I hear bourbon helps." Silva He nodded, taking in the idea of being ressurected for a second, then shrugging. "Hell, darlin, it's just like being summoned by a b*****d that can't stand feien in general. Pretty much par for the course." He took to the air, glancing over at the other feien briefly before turning to look at the ancient. "That make you an ancient, too?" Ursa Ursa snorted.
"Does it now?" she quirked an eyebrow. "I'll keep that in mind. Whiskey's not bad - I know THAT from experience."
Ursa laughed. It was short, and sharp, and booming.
"Although it set me singing, and believe you me, honey, that's not a place you want to go."
When the laughter faded, Ursa cracked her back. Coming in from the cold stiffened up her muscles. It made her bones feel old.
"Damn straight it does, kiddo."
Her smile turned to slight consernation. "Are you talking about Corvus, then? I guess we are in the same lot. That boy's head is large enough to fill this shop."
She looked at Cascati. Then at Silva. Then back at Cascati. Razor? Staffs? Chains? Check.
"Is that why you lot are all going around armed?" Now, it was time for Ursa's knuckles to be cracked. "I prefer the basics." Cascati Cascati grinned, giving Silva the same slightly-wary onceover that the other juvenile had given him, and picked up another of the stiff white rectangles. "Bourbon's smoother than whiskey, Mama Ursa. You'll have to try it sometime. Of course, I can't sing either." More little chips of white paper fell to his lap as the razor did its work. "You sound like you're stiff, Mama, is it from beating poor little Tango to pieces?" Silva "Chain's for hunting, staff's something I'm learning to teach a... friend." He said simply, figuring this wasn't worth being cryptic about. "I doubt Corvus would come here in the first place. Too... good... for the unlucky bastards he summons." Ursa "Tango? She's too young to spar with," Ursa stretched again. "I've been plowing snow, toughening up. This old girl's gotta do something with her day. We all do. What have you got there, exactly?"
Smoother? Ursa wasn't sure if she liked the sound of that. Whiskey, yes. Beer, yes. But smooth? Smooth sounded like it was for people with liquid tongues and slim physiques, who did not know the pleasure of hitting something and feeling it crunch beneath their fists, or drinking until their head spun and they started singing about sunken ships and abandoned lovers. In other words, it sounded like it was for people like CASCATI. And while Ursa had no problem with the boy, she didn't hold with acting like that herself.
"I saw Corvus here," Ursa stated bluntly, turning to Silva. "For a summoner, the man didn't know a damn thing about what was going on in his shop. That or he wanted to play with me by withholding information. Either way, damn unimpressive."
Cascati Cascati gathered up a few of the rectangles in his hands; some of them already were marked, very carefully, in Casca's laboured-perfect hand. "Cards, Mama-honey. I like a flutter or two." He set them down again, by his folded legs, and winked at her teasingly. "You know how to play poker, Mama, or for ladies like you do I have to keep it to Go Fish, vous comprenez?" Silva Silva twitched slightly, not liking the idea of running into Corvus, but not worried. "He's a d**k." He said simply, shrugging. But the comment about training had caught his attention. The ancient trained. Probably as much as he did. "What kind of weights you use, Darlin?" Shalafi This was... exhilerating. Shalafi had long ago memorized the way to the shop and could fly it in his sleep. Now, he was enjoying the snow, the way the cold air slid over his skin and ruffled his feathers... and the fact that he wasn't stuck out in the sweltering heat anymore, like he had been when he got lost in the summertime. Large wings spread fully as he swooped past the window of the shopt, appearing almost like a snowball that someone had thrown. By the time he landed at the doorway, he was loathe to leave the frigid weather. However, he'd told Yeande he was coming to the shop and if he didn't at least make a token appearance, he'd be a liar. He squirmed in through the mail slot, falling free for a moment before his wings caught himself and let him land gently on the welcome mat. Ursa "Fer a lady like me? You gotta be kidding, kiddo," Ursa looked down at Cascati. "My human's other charge plays a mean hand of poker. Girl's got the damndest luck. But I can hold my own. You looking for a game? Doesn't seem like it'd be the same without a drink or two. "
Granted, Ursa held her luck because Neon got drunk a LOT faster than her. Still.
"Don't think I've intriduced myself. I'm going by Ursa," she told the other Juvenile. "And I keep with the basics. Pushups. Crunches. Bench-pressing. Lifting glasses. What, you work out?"
Her eyes shone with a tiny spark approval. Cascati Training-heads. Cascati suppressed a shudder at Ursa and Silva; training was not his thing. He already had a never-fail weapon, and her name was Div. "Not got the cards ready, Mama," he apologized. "But when we do, you're on. I couldn't beat you with my hands, but I'm a better challenge at poker. I'll play you. Avec plaisir! Maybe I can teach Tango-angel, too." His attention was turned by the small white lump that had fallen on the welcome mat, like a particularly large and feathery snowflake. "Howdy, stranger," he called out, voice a slow drawl. "You cold?" Silva "Darlin, I was born working out." He replied, his tone turning smooth, a slightly devilish smirk pulling at his lips. "Weights, running, even got two brats to help with my fighting. Basics are good, though." The lady had arms bigger then his thighs. He was impressed. "Poker, huh?" He finally turned to the other juvenile, actually curious for once. Shalafi Cold? Shalafi grinned, shaking himself off and looking towards the voice. "I think I came that way," he said softly, letting his wings fold behind his back as he padded towards where Cascati was. Up... must be on the counter. He flew up there, landing lightly and turning to determine where the voices were. "It's wonderful out there." Cascati "It is if you're an ice-feien like us," the other juvenile murmured, wondering at the unseeing milkiness at the newcomer's eyes. He moved as if he had twenty-twenty vision, and there was the strange bite of familiarity that he'd never experienced; meeting another Feien of your element. "It is gorgeous weather, honey." He looked at Silva for the first time, mutual interest sparked. "You play, darlin'?" Ursa "Then it's set, kiddo! Maybe when yer older we can have a real game, with the right refreshments."
By which Ursa meant, of course, a nice cold glass of ale. Neon went for the hard liquor, but Ursa preferred a creamy thimble full of microbrewed goodness. Nothing like it after a day of hard labor.
"Fighting?" Ursa addressed Silva. "I practice that too. Maybe you oughtta come to me when you're older as well, honey."
Ah! And there was another juvenile. Where were all of the adults? Kids running wild - Ursa wasn't sure if she approved.
"You like the snow, boy?" She called out to the newcomer, in a booming voice. "Well I'l be. I've been tunneling through the snow for endurance training, and you're a skinny little thing. What's your secret?" Shalafi Grinning, Shalafi nodded towards Cascati, suddenly curious as to who this other was. He'd met Amalthea and knew that she was an ice feien too... apparently this one was as well, and he'd never even known there were more. As he was about to reply, he heard Ursa's voice behind him and turned curiously. Another new one... "My name is Shalafi. I'm an ice feien, so it's absolutely perfect weather for me. During the summer, I stayed inside in the aicon most of the time. I don't tunnel through... well, not unless I dive in and have to dig out. But that never takes long." Silva "Older? Well, Darlin, I'm what... four months now. Don't know if age is what matters." He turned, his smirk getting a little evil. "I'll play. But if you call me 'Darlin' one more time we might have to find a replacement for you." He said, fingering his chain. "There's just somethin wrong about being called that by another male." He glanced over at the other male, blinking as he realized who it was. "Well if it isn't bleach boy! What was your name again..." He stopped, trying to think. Ursa Ursa snickered, and patted Silve on the head, genially.
"And since I'm only a couple weeks, maybe you're right at that. But it does matter when yer half my size, honey. I could bend you into pretzels. I don't want to spar kids."
Ursa nodded at the Ice Feien in greeting. Ice, eh? Ursa hadn't bothered to look into her own element. She liked the daylight, and the liked the feeling of snow melting on her skin. That was all she knew. The large Feien did not have much use for magic.
"Shalafi, eh? Ursa."
She noticed that the boy's eyes weren't focussing on anything. Strange. Maybe he was addled. Shalafi "It's good to meet you, Miss Ursa," Shalafi said politely, holding out a hand towards her. Instead of holding it as though to shake her hand, however, he was holding his hand almost palm-upward, as he did for every lady he met. "You must be the one Yeande has been talking about. Once Ursa spoke again, Shalafi's eyes locked to her instantly and didn't waver again, except for vague flickerings which he couldn't control. Cascati "I know how you feel. I've been holed up sitting on frozen bags straight out the freezer for the past months, sweetheart. Ugh. The heat. I wish it was winter all year 'round. What's your name?" Cascati flipped his heavy head of hair with one hand, languid, turning back to razor and cards again as he affected temporary deafness with Silva. "All right, honey-love. No ' darlin''. I agree, it's so rustic. It should be dar-ling, don't you think? Prediletto. Cara mia. I will, of course, beat the holy hell out of you at poker." He smiled again. Winsomely. Silva Being patted on the head? Now that was a new one. And honestly, had it been ANY other feien he would have shoved his fist through their jaw. But this one... He paused, looking at her and chewing his toothpick thoughtfully. "I'll hold you to that, Darlin. When I get a few inches I'm going to hunt you down." He told her. Then he looked at Cascati, slowly pulling his chain off, tossing the staff onto the counter. "Honey-love, huh?" He repeated, twisting the chain around one wrist. Ursa Ursa's hand left Silva's head, and grabbed Shalafi's wrist in a powerful clawed grip. She shook his hand thrice - heedless of the upturned palm - and then returned her hand to her side.
"You too, honey. Yeande's talking about me? Give her my thanks."
So this one lived with Yeande? Well behaved boy. She must take her juveniles in hand. Ursa approved. Shalafi Well, so much for that idea. Shalafi had to admit, that's the first time another Feien had nearly tugged him off his feet with a handshake. "I will, Miss Ursa," he said, smiling to her. "She spoke well of you. I think the reason Ankou didn't follow me around today was because he was afraid he'd run into you." Anyone who could take THAT idiot to task deserved respect. Shalafi turned slightly towards Casca and Silva, one ear twitching at the clink of the chain. "That didn't sound good..." Ursa "Suit yourself, honey," Ursa told Silva, with a wry grin. "Who knows, you might even be a good workout."
Then again, he might not. All of these Feien were such TINY things. It was no wonder they were all dead.
Ursa floated into the air, slow but steady. "I'll see you kids later. Give Yeande my regards."
And with that, she left the shop. There was training to do! She couldn't spend all the precious daylight in idle chitchat with juveniles.
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2004 1:07 am
Sycorax was not amused.
"Ursa..." the young woman began, tentatively. Ursa was relaxing. Kicking back with a cold thimble full of lager after a hard day of scaling walls, practicing judo, and freezing her arse off in the snow. The fairy - who looked and acted more like a gremlin, if you asked Sycorax - was tired, and she was happy.
It was now or never.
"I think you need a hobby."
There. She'd said it. HAHA, Syc was so brave, go her, yeah baby yeah!
Ursa raised an eyebrow. A single eyebrow. Her tail lashed fluidly, while the rest of her remained firmly solid and stationary as a rock. She was stretched out on a pillow, reaping the rewards of a hard day's work. The armies of hell themselves could not move Ursa, if she did not want to be moved.
"I asked you to get a fishtank," was her only reply, before she knocked back another swig of brewski and settled in to watch some WHL hockey on one of Sycorax's obscure Canadian cable channels.
Ursa liked the feeling of moisture on her skin, and swimming would be good training once the snows fled, and her tunnling days were numbered.
"Well, yeah. I'm working on finding something at the thrift store..." Sycorax fidgeted with her hair, and stared out the window, awkwardly. Somehow being around Ursa made her feel like her MOM was visiting. Except her mom wasn't hefty, she didn't ahve blue skin, and she certainly wasn't nine inches tall. Or at least, she wasn't the last time Syc had called. You never knew what would happen in Gaia.
"I was just thinking that, you know, if you only train all the time, you might go insane!" She smiled, nervously. "And I already have one small insane woman in this house! I don't need two! To be honest, you're kind of freaking me out."
And was it really any wonder? Ursa wasn't a fairy. She was an UNDEAD DISCIPLINARIAN GREMLIN. Syc was sure of it. Ursa was a curse, cast upon Syc. The evil revenge of professors new and old, who tired of Syc's lazy and procrastinatory ways. They had sent Ursa to earth to punish Syc, and make her do work and go to bed on time! It was terrible! Sycorax was drinking eight glasses of water a day (something Ursa felt very strongly about) and getting eight hours of sleep and night and everything! She might as well be dead!!!
Ursa snorted into her beer, and looked past Sycorax at the hockey game. Ursa liked hockey. Those boys were tough.
"Honey, I'm in no danger of going postal on you. Calm the hell down."
Sycorax tried. She really did. But honestly, calming down was never something she'd been particularly good at. If that had been something she was evaluated on in school, she would have failed.
It didn't help, that she apparently attracted miniature, violent women like some sort of miniature-violent-women-attracter ... thing.
"You could paint!" Syc said, desperately. "Or you could could, uh, learn to type! Become a computer programmer! Yeah!"
Those were incredibly stupid suggestions, but Sycorax had no idea what else to say.
"I mean, you're living in my house! You could at least try to sent my mind at ease. Just a little. Humor me. .... please?"
Ursa frowned. The human was improving, even if she was still intolerably lazy. And she had a point. Ursa was alive because of Sycorax. SHe owed her.
Of course, computer programming (whatever THAT meant) or painting were foolish suggestions, but Sycorax was a flighty woman. Ursa was still lightyears away from beating any sense into her fool head. When it wasn't annoying, it could be kind of endearing.
"You can't cook," Ursa finally responded.
"What do you mean I can't cook?" Syc yelped, hurt. She could cook really well! All she had to do was pick up a phone, and voila! Meal! It was an UNBEATABLE PLAN.
"I mean that I like food, and you can't cook. You should learn. No, WE should learn. Then I won't be dependant on you when I want a decent snack," Ursa decided. Her frown melted into a smile. The more she thought about this idea, the more she liked it. She was sure she could do a better job on food than those random strangers Sycorax contracted out. Human food was so... BIG. Which meant that Ursa often ended up eating big chunks of a single substance, like a mouthfull of cheese off of a pizza. Wasn't it supposed to be better with all of the ingrediants mixed together? Of course it was. And Ursa deserved good food. It was a nice reward after a tough day. Plus, she had to keep up her strength.
"We should learn?" Syc blinked. She wasn't sure whether to be happy, or dismayed. She'd wanted Ursa to have a hobby! But.... the last time she cooked, she'd set off the fire sprinklers, and it took her five hours with a hairdryer to save all of her schoolbooks.
"We should learn!" Ursa boomed, grinning. She motioned for Syc to sit beside her, on the couch.
"Now come on, girl. Watch the game. Kelowna's got a five on three."
"Ooooh! Okay."
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 3:06 pm
Ursa was lost, in her own private reverie. A cook-book was propped open in front of her, by one of Sycorax's metal book-holders, and there was a nice CD in the stereo - none of those modern pop business, Ursa didn't hold with it. Nothing was set out to be her size, of course, but it didn't matter. Ursa could improvise. If she was smaller than the humans, well, good. It meant that she could carve out the best bits of a steak, with a scalpel blade. It meant that she could use her knuckles to grind pasil into an impossibly fine powder. It meant that she couldn't take he lazy way out - with non-stick pans, and special tools, and all the other things that humans crafted for themselves. Anything she made, she had to spit-roast on a stick over the burner on Sycorax's oven.
It was good to take a holiday from working out, for the afternoon. Ursa sat on Sycorax's cutting-board, and hummed along to the music in a rumbling alto.
Yes. This was going very well.
When Great Big Sea launched into an old sailor's song about the death of a Newfoundland fisherman, her tail twitched in time.
Someday, she would like to go out to sea - feel the salt spray, taste fresh fish, fight against the tide. But not today.
While Ursa cooked, Sycorax lounged blissfully in bed. It was eleven in the morning, she was ASLEEP - like any proper college student was, at that hour - and all was right with the world. Getting Ursa into this cooking thing was quite possibly the best idea she'd ever had.
Her brain rewarded her with good dreams, for her trouble.
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 3:07 pm
That morning, when Ursa set out to do her morning sog through the snow, she caught sight of something on the porch.
Something addressed to HER.
The hell?
The large Feien floated closer, and checked things out. There was no sense asking Sycorax about it. She was ineffectual at the best of times. Quote: Dear Ursa,
Forgive me for not delivering these gifts in person, as I'm currently out of the country on a vacation with my bond. I would have stopped by sooner and delivered it, but I didn't even know about the secret santa thing until only a few days ago. As we've never met before, I'm hoping at least one of these gifts you'll like, I was able to purchase three since they weren't very expensive. Perhaps sometime after I get back we�ll be able to meet. I look forward to that, since I haven't met very many feien yet. Take care and Happy Holidays.
~Ava Quote: When unwrapped, the box is lined with white padding, a layer covering the gifts to ensure that they're not damaged.   
"SYCORAX!" the Feien roared, summoning her bond to the doorway to fetch the objects.
A gift, eh?
She had work to do.
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 3:09 pm
Ursa was up to her elbows in flour.
It was under her claws. It felt, even, like it was under her skin. Bits of floury dust decorated the fringes of her bangs. There was chocolate smeared on one of her cheeks. And why not? If she was making something for another person - even that silly swooning Aria - then she was damn well going to do a good job on it. You could call Ursa a bully, and you could call Ursa a workaholic, and you could even call Ursa too-damn-grumpy, but the one thing that you could NOT call Ursa was a slacker.
She was making cookies.
Chocolate-chip cookies. With small bits of almond in them. She'd smashed the almonds herself - powerful muscles working overtime to dash them against the metal table-edge.
Ursa liked cookies. And she didn't mind making them, evne if they were going to waste on some flirty little chit.
Anyone who had a PROBLEM with Ursa's hobbies could have a brief conversation with Ursa's fist. Then they'd see the error of their ways.
Neon, who'd been hovering behind Ursa for a good half-hour, goofing-off and practicing impromptu aerial combat maneuvers, was laughing.
"That is SO girly," she snickered. Neon snickered a lot. She did NOT giggle. Giggling was totally wussy and girly. Like baking cookies. What uncool times!
"Like, you're BAKING! That is SO SO girly."
Neon would not be caught dead baking. And... and if for some reason she WERE dead, and some lame person like, took her corpse and put it in a baking-type position so that they could take embarassing photos of her? Then she ws sure that Iron would kick their asses! Hell yeah!
Still, it was pretty lame. Baking? BAKING? Ursa had the good fortune to not look girly, even if her hair was that pink color! Ursa should go with it! Not like, girlify herself with lame girly girlness. The next thing you knew, she'd be wearing an apron!
Neon was about to start laughing again, when a parge, clawed green fist started to make its way towards her head. Fortunately, Neon was fast - REAL fast - and her reaction time was second-to-none. To her, it looked like Ursa was moving in slow motion, and she dodged easily. With a little gymnastic flip and flourish, even. Neon liked to show off her KICKASS skills.
"I thought I told ya ta fight open fisted, 'cause of those claws!" Neon chortled. Ursa couldn't hurt her, 'cause Neon was WAY fast, and she was fun to bait.
"Do you want to meet my claws, girl? Up close and personal? I can arrange that," Ursa grated. Annoying little thing. Ursa normally got on with her, but sometimes Neon's existance was grating. Mendel bodies said a lot about the Mendel, she'd heard. Neon was decked out for action, and bold, bright, and LOUD. Her very form screamed for attention.
Usually, that was a good thing, as Ursa and Neon both respected a woman with balls. But sometimes, it made Ursa want to crush the glowbug into an insectoid pulp. It was hard to remember that Neon was months and months older than the Feien, and actually did know better when it came to things like combat forms.
Ursa withdrew her fist - which should have been an open-handed claw, Neon was right - and went back to stirring the mixture that she'd put in the small glass that served as her mixing bowl. She never hit Neon. That was getting to be really goddamn annoying. Ursa'd have to work on it.
She had to work on a lot of things. Strength training wans't enough, and Banana was a tiny s**t of a thing. Ursa needed a sparring partner.
Neon already had a sparring partner, but as far as Ursa could descipher, amidst all of the babbling about things being 'awesome' and 'kickass', Neon used the words 'sparring' and 'foreplay' pretty much interchangeably. Ursa really did not want to go there.
Hmph.
"None for you, then."
Ursa twitched her tail, dismissively, and sampled a bit of cookie batter. Hah! It was the glowbug's loss.
Neon fluttered on, oblivious to Ursa's threats.
"That's okay! If there's no tobasco, then I totally don't care!" the Mendel declared, brightly.
Feh. Ursa was being lame and boring. Stir stir stir. Neon wanted a good fight or to watch an awesome movie with explosions! But most of her DVDs were at the Mendel Labs now, and for some strange reason Ursa never wanted to spar with her. Neon wouldn't beat her up too badly! Honest! Just, like... a bit? Ursa had lots of extra flesh - Neon'd never seen anything like it! She wouldn't miss it if Neon cut off just a BIT. And then Ursa could have sexy battlescars like Neon and then Ursa would probably get laid because some other Feien would notice the hotness of her scars, and THEN Ursa's get that stick out of her a**. AN AWESOME PLAN.
Annoyed that Ursa wasn't being entertaining, Neon flew back towards the thing that Syc called a 'Christmas tree'. She didn't know what to make of it. It was a tree. With lights on it. There were a lot of things with lights on them, right now. And shiny tinsel! Neon thought it improved the look of like, everything, and it was also VERY cool camoflage for her! It puzzled her that people didn't decorate things like that all the time. Neon even put lights on Iron's dumpster, which was also sorta her dumpster, sometimes. It made the dumpster look much less dented, but still rugged and stuff, so she didn't think Iron minded. If she painted it, he'd probably mind. Iron did not want a permenant cleanup done to his badass rusty dumpster or rugged individualist survival, or whatever.
Then Sycorax opened the door to her apartment, she was relieved to find that Ursa hadn't smashed anything, while trying to smash Neon. She was not-so-relieved to see flour all over the kitchen, but what could you do? With the housemate (Ursa) and the moved-out-housemate (Neon) that Syc had, any day without property damage was a good day.
"I brought presents!" Syc said, cheerfully, holding up a couple of gaudy-looking boxes. Neon would appreciate the gaudiness, and Ursa probably won't care.
Neon let out a short whoop, and punched the air. Present! Very cool times!
It was a human holiday, so she wasn't sure if she was supposed to be giving Iron a present. He'd probably think she was like.. sentimental and lame if she did. Maybe next time they fought, she'd be real nice to him once somebody won, or something.
Hunh. Actually, that was more like a present to NEON. Oh well.
Neon was next to Syc in a flash, waiting for the human to put Neon's present down so that she could slash the wrapping paper open with her sword! Xmas or whatever wasn't until tomorrow, but Syc was gonna be with her family and Neon was gonna hang out at the lab, so presents now! Hell yeah!
Ursa, who had a bit more restraint, ambled her way over. A large, green box covered with pictured of snowmen was labelled with the name, 'Ursa'. She looked at it, quizically.
"I'm not going to have to bake for you too, am I? You're way too large, honey, even if you could use some meat on your bones."
And that was the truth.
Sycorax laughed nervously.
"You could let me sleep in more? That would be a great gift, Ursa! You wouldn't even have to wrap it! Hahaha," actually, Syc didn't want much of anything that Ursa could give her. If she wanted to go to bootcamp, she would have joined the army.
Neon's gift to Syc, needless to say, was moving out and getting out of Syc's hair. Even if Syc kind of missed the little b*****d, sometimes. All that energy was motivating.
"Don't be lame, Syc! If ya sleep less you can do many more awesome things! Like travel the world. If I were a human, I'd totally travel the world," Neon advised Syc, as she made short work of the paper containing her present.
...
A set of needles! Human-sized needles! And a small bulls-eye made of cork! ROCK!
"WEAPONS!" Neon crowed, gleefully, and darted into Syc's hair - riding on her head, just like she used to, when she was all pink and a kid and stuff. "You got me weapons! I can throw them at things and kill stuff just like a ninja, but not like a ninja like lame First Carbon wanted to be bugt an actual ninja! I will strike from the air! Badass!"
Syc winced as Neon tugged at her hair, but it wa sa happy sort of wince. She just hoped that the Mendel didn't set anything important on fire, up there. Like oh, say, SYC'S HEAD. When Neon used to do this, her wings have been a lot less flamey.
Ursa clawed the wrapping paper off of her own present, and looked it over.
A fish-tank. A large fish-tank. For humans' pet fishes.
She raised an eyebrow in Syc's direction.
"Well, you said you liked the moisture in the snow, so I thought this'd be a lot less likely to kill you and... merry xmas?"
Water. That was what she needed. Water.
Very good.
"Thank you," Ursa nodded, perching on the side of the glass tank. For once, the human had done something useful. Who knew it could happen?
Plans for this fishtank were already forning in Ursa's head.
Very good indeed.
First, she had to wash this flower off, though, and get her Feien-sized cookies into the oven.
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 8:46 pm
((Ursa/Selene RP))
It was a good day out. Brisk and chilled. Ursa felt the sting of winter keenly - she was not a cold or ice elemental, after all. But she was glad of that. It kept her alert. Kept her awake. Kept her tough.
Getting to the shop had required her to fly through a small blizzard, and she spent part of her journey plowing through foot-deep snow. All the better.
Absence made the heart grow fonder, and as soon as she got inside, she was glad of the warmth. She was suddenly struck with the urge to sunbathe, although it was too dark out for that. Far too dark. And she did not want anyone to catch her lollygagging in the shop, no matter how eloquently her muscles begged for rest.
It didn't take muscles, to fly. Just the magic. A small effort of will.
Ursa floated up to the list of Feien spells, and looked them over. Magic, she thought, was often balderdash and frippery. Ursa did not hold with things that could be considered a replacement for an honest day's work. But she didn't want to be too prejudiced. Might as well give the list a look-over. Magic, after all, let her fly. Magic brought her back.
Selene fluttered along outside, following the green feien curiously and humming to herself, as always. She didn't bother to brush the snowflakes off, not minding the cold much.
She rubbed a hand on one of the windowpanes, clearing a small circle of its frost. She peeked inside to see if anyone else was in there, although it didn't really seem like it because it was so dark. Oh well, there were darkness feien after all, maybe they liked it that way.
Ursa perused the water spells. Shooting a small spray of water from her hands? Good lords, what a useless power. Ursa doubted that there was great need for an ambulatory drinking fountain in Feien society. If there was, SHE certainly wasn't going to fill that role. And Ursa did not wish for any spell to ease swimming - the entire point of getting that fish tank from Sycorax was to give herself a good workout. Perhaps the light spells would prove more promising. Flash looked interesting.
The large Feien coughed. Something, she felt, was watching her.
"Whatever you are, you can come out now," Ursa said, in a loud but conversational voice. It was probably yet another shrinking-violet juvenile, like that little boy with the horn she'd met before. "I won't bite, honey. And if you try to bite me... well, I wouldn't try it, if I were you."
Selene jumped guiltily at the other feien's announcement, and wondered to herself about the feien's voice, making up a character for the person to. She sounded very self-assured, that much was for certain.
Selene took her time flying into the shop and landing on the counter. She started to walk forward towards where the other feien was standing, but tripped over a book and tumbled head-over-heels with a chorus of jingling from her bracelets.
She managed to recover herself a moment later and backed away shyly, her fingers absently working a lock of her hair into a braid. "Sorry, need to watch my step..." Her own voice was quiet and a little scratchy with disuse, but musical. She introduced herself with a smile, "I'm Selene, I don't believe I've met you before."
"Ursa," Ursa said, simply. She siezed the shorter Feien's hand in a firm grasp, and shook it - regardless of whether Selene wished her to or not.
"I don't see many adults around here," Ursa appraised the other Feien. She didn't quite understand why so many of their kind seemed to be so recitient. That hardly accomplished anything. "It's good to meet you, honey."
Not that they were all bad. Still. That Tango was the best of a mediocre lot.
Ursa released Selene's hand, almost as an afterthought.
"You wouldn't happen to have met anyone named Yanvir or Semella, would you?"
Selene blinked as the other feien took her hand in a vice-like grip and tried not to wince. "N-Nice to meet you." She waited for Ursa to let her hand go... and waited... "Erm..." She opened her mouth to protest, but Ursa had finally let it go. She flexed her fingers slowly to see if they still worked.
She held her arm a little stiffly to her side and backed away a step for a little more space. What a strange feien... and a tail too? She'd never seen any feien with tails, although she knew they existed. "Yanvir or Semella... No, I can't say I have. I haven't been here for quite a while, so I suppose they must have come while I was gone. Are they some of the new young ones?"
"Young ones? I doubt it," Ursa shrugged. If Selene was holding her hand a little stiffly, Ursa didn't notice.
A small grin formed on the blue-skinned Feien's features.
"I was an Ancient gemstone. Yanvir brought me back from the dead, and as far as I know, this Semella's in the same boat that I am," Ursa said, matter-of-factly, as though being slightly undead was a matter of course. "They don't come around here, though."
Ursa's brow wrinkled.
"Is there a place that the adults go? I don't see so many around here, except for that Yeande. Goodness knows wherever you people are going, you're not getting enough to eat."
Ursa shook her head, at Selene's slim frame. Yeande had been the same. So was Aria, which was why Ursa'd given the woman those cookies - even if she'd forgotten a note. Those poor bastards. They'd snap like twigs in a stiff breeze, they would.
Ura's tail flicked.
"No offense, honey."
Not everyone could look as grand as Ursa, sadly for them. No need to be an a** about it.
"Really?" Her eyes lit up at Ursa's mention of such powerful magic. Resurrecting a feien from a gemstone? It was possible?
If Ursa was reborn, then what about that warm red gemstone, that Ian seemed so attached to..? Her mind flitted quickly from one possibility to the next, her curiosity showing rather obviously on her face, though she didn't notice herself.
She remotely realized that Ursa was still talking. Something about food? She nodded vaguely, her mind still spinning over this new puzzle. What a tale that would be, returning from the dead...
She resolved silently to ask her about it, and to find this Yanvir fellow. He would certainly know more, but if even Ursa couldn't find him after he ressurrected her, it might prove to be quite a task. A quest! How wonderful! A tale in the weaving. She smiled to herself.
"No offense, honey."
Her musings stopped abruptly as she snapped back to the conversation. Before she could think about it, she reacted with a confused, "Huh? Why would I be offended...?"
Ursa chuckled, lightly, and gave Selene a hearty slap on the back! She tried to keep it light, since the woman looked a little frail. Of course, light for Ursa was not the same as light for other people, but... the thought counted?
"Now that's the right attitude to have! You're skinny, I've got some meat on my bones, no need to make a drama production out of it."
The chuckling stopped, although Ursa's good mood remained.
"I asked if there was a place where adults met. Do you have questions too, honey? What brings you here?"
Ursa's tail flicked more rapidly. Cracked, almost. Like a whip.
"I, for one, am tired of walking around with a great hole in my mind where my childhood should have been. I can't say I'm not glad to be alive, so I'll give Yanvir that, but I don't hold with going around ressurecting people and not giving them a clue as to who they used to be. It's not right. No one seems to have any information about anything around here, except for Yeande. I don't know how you lot stand it. "
Ursa snorted. It wasn't like her to lose discipline like this, but dammit, she was frustrated! Not only did no one know anything about anything, but no one seemed to CARE! What WERE they, that they could call something like Ursa back from the dead? And why? Why were they here? Why were they dependant on weak-willed humans like that Sycorax? Ursa was a simple woman. All she wanted was a world that made sense. Was that too much to ask!??
"I don't even know my real name," Ursa rumbled. She wasn't really annoyed at Selene. The woman was a bit of a wallflower for Ursa's tastes, but she had a decent attitude. Ursa was simply annoyed with existance, in general. Poor Selene happened to be in the wrong place, at the right time. "Do you think Ursa suits me?"
Selene grimaced slightly and dug her heels in to keep from tumbling forwards as Ursa gave her a slap on the back. Good lord, why did the woman insist on such physical conversation? She obviously meant well, what with all her good-natured chuckling and smiles.
Selene had no idea what the feien was going on about, what did it matter to her if she was skinny or not? As long as she stayed out of trouble, she was usually good to go. Ah well.
"There aren't any meeting places that I'm aware of, apart from here in the shop." She shrugged a bit, studying the other fairy curiously. She was a little rough obviously, but Selene got the impression that she was... motherly, in an odd way. Selene flinched slightly as Ursa's tail snapped loudly. Definately a bit rough.
Selene nodded in response to the big fairy's question, and listened attentively to her story, storing it carefully in her memory in case it bore writing about later on. The woman certainly seemed agitated... With good reason, she supposed. But why would there be a gap in her memories like that? It was something that ought to be investigated. She frowned slightly, but let her continue.
Selene leaned back a bit, slightly alarmed by the huge feien's rage. she watched Ursa's expression closely, wondering about what had driven her into such a temper. It was obviously something more than a simple gap in her memory.
"Ursa..." Selene tried out the name, and tilted her head to study the feien. "Well, it suits you, but not perfectly." She paused, taking a little time in forming her question. "He didn't tell you anything at all..." She frowned to herself, with a tinge of suspicion in her voice. "Who is this Yanvir? I haven't met him, he must be awfully powerful if he can do something like that. And either callous or stupid to just leave you to fend for yourself like that." She added hurriedly, "Not to say that you couldn't! That's not what I meant... but it seems rather cruel to leave a feien in... well in another world, practically, without a word to guide them. Well, for all I know it could be another world... " She trailed off, but pulled herself firmly out of the daydreaming before it started. This needed to be attended to first. "In any case, we'd better find this fellow. I'd like to speak with him too, I've some questions myself."
Ursa calmed down. Somewhat.
"He gave me to a human. I guess that was enough for me to survive. It's the same any bloom gets, and I shouldn't complain if I got the same treatment as a child," Ursa nodded to herself, slightly ashamed of her outburst. Her frustration made her weak.
Hm. Ursa didn't apologize. But.
She flew over to a shelf, and retrieved the small bit of cloth she'd used to carry some things to the shop. Mostly in case Tango showed up. Or she got hungry before heading on the way back.
"Cookie?" She offered, opening the parcel. Inside there were, indeed, Feien-sized cookies. Macadamia-nut and dark chocolate. Ursa worked with the best.
Besides. Selene could use some meat on her bones!
"As far as I know, Yanvir is an Ancient who didn't die. He has the power to ressurect others. My human Sycorax described him as dark, even demonic looking - but then, Sycorax has all the courage of gnat," Ursa snorted.
"I can live without my memories, but I'd like to know why he brought me back," Ursa continued, brusquely, before faltering a bit. "I should have a purpose."
Ursa wasn't sure what she'd do without one. All that discipline and all that training had to mean something, even if all she did with it was keep the young ones in hand. Ursa could forge her own way if she needed to, but she was disgruntled with how little the other Feien cared about what was going on with their own society. Ursa was no hypocrite. If there was something from the past out there, waiting for her, she wanted to know.
"Is that what you're looking for too, honey?" Ursa asked, sympathetically.
Selene nodded, listening to Ursa's story with sympathy. She didn't really hold it against her.
She smiled as the other feien offered her a cookie. "Thanks!" She munched on it thoughfully, with a nod of appreciation. "Wow, this is really good..."
Selene laughed quietly at Ursa's description of her human. "Mmhmm, I don't think any of them are all that bright. I wonder if this ancient is something to be afraid of, though?" She shrugged, wondering about the identity of this Yanvir fellow. Perhaps he was the villain, practicing dark magic with no thought of the consequences. She glared slightly at nothing in particular, annoyed at herself for drifting off again. She hadn't even met him yet.
She noted the falter in Ursa's voice as she mentioned her need of a purpose. She nodded slowly, "Yes, true... although, I think that's something that none of us knows, our purpose... We can only guess, until after the fact. Who knows, maybe the purpose is simply to spend your life searching for it." Her gaze snapped back to Ursa as an idea struck her. What if the feien could regain her memories? What if she learned of her previous life? Would she know what its purpose had been? Or would it just be like waking up from a dream?
"As for my questions... Well, I remember my childhood, but I don't know that that puts me much better off. I don't really know anything about our people, and I would like to learn more. Do the humans just foster us out to any human? And why? And... " Selene paused slightly, thoroghly disgusted by the idea. "Are we... sold? Like some common housepet?" The tall fairy sighed.
"I told poor little Indra that the gemstones are only here for protection. At that time, I didn't imagine that it would be there for anything else. But now I have doubts... I've been away for far too long. I didn't care about anything else that was going on, I just got lost in daydreams, I lost my sense of time, and society. But now, well, I can hardly help but notice what's going on, and I want to find out what's behind it all."
She shook her head. "I just don't know. I don't know why I waited until now to worry about it, I suppose I had just been too absorbed in stories and daydreams, didn't stop to think about things, really, until I saw the gemstones here. Come to think of it, how did Yanvir get hold of your gemstone in the first place?" She frowned slightly.
Ursa beamed. Or at least, she would have beamed, were she anyone other than Ursa. At the very least, her grin widened. Finally - FINALLY someone else who was as concerned about these things as Ursa was! Selene brought up a lot of good points. Household pets? That hadn't even occured to the larger Feien. She didn't think these things through, deeply. All she knew was her gut reaction - what she felt was right, and what she felt was wrong. She knew that she wanted the world to make sense. That was all.
This Selene might be a frail thing, but she wasn't TOO little, and at least she was sharp. Ursa appreciated that. Ursa herself was no genius, but she didn't need to be. The sharpness of her claws made up for it.
Lost in a daydeam. Yes. None of the other Adults and Juveniles seemed to care. Were they lost? Was it because of the humans, or was it the malaise that killed their people in the first place?
"I don't know," Ursa shook her head. "Yeande told me that someone named Julius had a cache of Ancient gemstones - old girls and boys like me - under guard for protection. Maybe Yanvir does the same. Maybe I was his friend. Or his enemy's enemy."
The larger Feien bit her lip, speculating.
"You say there was another gemstone in the shop? I don't see one now."
Ursa scanned the area. Her features took on a hard look.
"I hope it went to someone who cared for it. This merging business, I'm not comfortable with it. Call me partisan," and at this, Ursa smiled, wryly. "But I'd be more comfortable if there were someone around here to watch out for the dead."
Silently, she offered Selene more food.
"Do they really SELL us?" Ursa muttered, indignant. Ursa hadn't known that. She shook her head. One question at a time.
"Nevermind," her voice grew louder again. "Honey, I like your style. You want answers and so do I. What say we pool resources? Stories I don't know much of, and daydreams neither, but if you want a lock kicked in, I'm your woman."
Selene smiled slightly in return. She truly was glad to have gained a friend, at last, for Ursa seemed like a straightforward, honest person. On the other hand, these questions still plagued her, and she couldn't draw her attention fully away from them for long. Perhaps it was the fact that she had voiced them at last? Selene certainly had voiced enough, this must have been the most she's talked in weeks.
Her frown deepened slightly. "A cache of gemstones?" She repeated, in disbelief. "But why? Does he think they're just objects, like everyone seems to? Another pretty rock for his collection?" She caught herself again, ashamed. "I didn't mean it that way, I don't even know the fellow so I can't say. But still... Indra had to be told what it was, and a lot of the others seem to just treat it like a corpse." She sighed.
She frowned slightly, confused. "Merging?" She took the cookie with a grateful nod, and nibbled at it thoughtfully. She shook her head, "I don't know if they purposely sell us or not. That's what I'm going to find out. The humans have too much of a hand in this, there seems... something wrong with it."
She nodded, grateful for the change of subject. This discussion had gotten awfully dark for having just met. She smiled warmly at Ursa's proposition. "Yes, that would be great. It's nice to know there's someone else of the same mind." Her smile grew, and she wondered to herself. "I think we have quite a bit in common."
"So do I!" Ursa said, gruffly. She was pleased. Her tail - expressive as it was - curled happily. Tango was a nice kid, but it was good to finally meet an adult she could get on with.
Her fist clenched.
"It's alright, Sel. I know I was a stone. I'm glad to be alive, but I would have been fine staying that way," Ursa's speech took on a raw undertone, and her usually booming voice lowered. She spoke confidentially. "Do you know that they keep them to merge with others? To make the corpse and a Feien that are alive... into one being? If it's a way to bring back a loved one, I guess I understand. If the dead Feien wished it, as a way to be alive again, I understand that too. "
Ursa's took on a solid, determined air. Her cloth wings flapped in the breeze of the shop. "But to be taken into some stranger who never knew or cared about the life in that gemstone, obliterated, used like a power-up in a videogame... I don't know if I can hold with that. What if my gem were merged, and someone else got brought back? What if I were joined with someone I would have hated? What if it were someone who could have been my worst enemy, or some weak, whiny waste of air? I'd be trapped within them. Forever. I'd be PART of them, and everything that's ME would be gone. It's..."
Disturbing.
Ursa was not a deep thinker, but she had a very strong sense of self. Ursa was URSA. She could not imagine being anyone else.
Merging was the one and only thing that Ursa feared, in this life. Or death, as the case might be.
"Whatever my life was, I am NOT an object. None of us Ancients are. None of us Feien are, period. That's what I think."
Ursa smiled, wanly, and deflated a little. Her anger was harsh and quick. "The others seem to think I overreact. Maybe I am, because this bag of bones should still be nothing but green rock right now. I'm glad you understand."
She looked Selene straight in the eyes.
"Those people could have been my comrades. Or my enemies, I don't care. I've got to know."
Ursa sighed.
"And if they're selling us, we've got to know too. The way some of these children run wild, with no respect for their elders, it wouldn't surprise me. But why?"
Hell if Ursa knew. Speculation was not her forte.
Ursa placed her hands on her hips, "But enough about me! Drama won't get anyone anywhere. Would you like to go get a drink? Yanvir's not here - I checked his lair. I'd like to hear what it's like to grow up in this world of ours, if you're willing to tell the story."
She managed to look a little chagrinned, in spite of her bulk, and usually-confident posture. Only a little bit, though. A little, tiny, minute bit. "I've only been here a month."
Selene nodded as Ursa related her worries, wondering to herself as well about the implications of two feien being merged, regardless if only one of them was really alive. And if so, did resurrection give a person true life? Or was part of them left behind? Or perhaps it was something more, since they had a whole life behind them? "Indeed it is..."
She nodded emphatically in agreement with the bigger feien as she asserted angrily that Feien weren't objects. Her question brought up others as well... The identities of these feien were unknown to them, but did the other ancients know? Did they just find the gemstones, or did they have them for some darker reason? She shook her head slightly. That didn't bear thinking about for the time being. There were many things to ask these ancients.
Selene smiled warmly, "I'd be happy to."
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 8:55 pm
Neon was flexible.
Neon was flexible, and that was a GOOD thing, because Ursa currently had her tied in one very strange knot. She was glad that she didn't have a skeleton. This submission hold really hurt!
"I thought ya said ya weren't gonna do no harm, when ya wanted ta practice on me!" Neon complained. Just because Ursa wanted to make sure that the judo moves she was learning actually worked, that was no reason to hurt Neon! What lame times.
"No pain, no gain," Ursa drawled. She currently had the fiery Mendel's non-segmented arm twisted in a very, VERY unnatural-looking position. Which was good. Neon was as flexible as only someone with no bones can be. If this worked on her, it'd work on other Feien, certainly.
Ursa was not going to indulge in useless training. It was a relief to her that she wasn't steeping herself in posturing frippery.
"I still have two more holds that I want to run through," Ursa stated, after she'd kept Neon squirming for a few more seconds. "What do you say, glowbug?"
"I say yer lucky I don't welsh when I agree ta do something," Neon bitched, shaking the feeling back into her arm. It had gone numb! Augh!!! This was so lame. Stupid Ursa. Neon was too bright for most people to look at, for long periods of time, so they wouldn't grapple with her. But for whatever reason, it didn't work on Big Mama over there. Ursa said it was 'cause she was a light Feien. Hmph. Any light-anything that was light enough to be called light would glow, like Neon! Hell yeah!
"When do I get ta take a swipe at you?" she challenged Ursa.
....
"That's a good point, girl," Ursa admitted. rsa was not some pansy that couldn't take a hit. She grinned, and backed up, twisting her hands into claws and assuming a defensive stance.
"Come on. Take your best shot."
"Really?" Neon blinked. She hadn't expected Ursa to actually take her up on it. Not that Neon was a wuss or nothing, but Neon fought with a sword! And she was good at it - way more practiced that Ursa! And she was really fast and, well, getting stabbed was very not cool for a very large amount of people. For obvious reasons.
"If yer sure..." Neon shrugged. She drew her sword from the chain-belt looped around her waist, in a flash. It sang to life, with metal scraping upon metal.
"Get it over with, girl!" Ursa barked, bracing herself. "If you're so fast, then no hesitation!"
"Fine, fine - it's yer deathwish."
The sword whirled, and Neon leapt. She wasn't aiming to really maim or nothing - she just wanted Ursa to get a good appreciation for sharp objects! Because they were awesome! Yeah! Swords rocked so hardcore.
It took half a heartbeat for her to open up a cut on the back of one of Ursa's outstretched hands. Neon stopped right after, keeping her blade level with Ursa's stomach.
"Ya see? You oughtta get a weapon! It'd look cool, plus, swords versus yer hands? SO not on. Yer not Iron - you don't got iron gloves ta protect yer hands."
Ursa hissed with pain, and then snarled. The cold didn't hurt like THIS. It clouded her senses - made her blood sing.
"SHUT UP, GIRL!" The Feien roared. The look in her eyes spelled destruction.
"I don't NEED your GLOVES," Ursa growled - her voice a low, rumbling alto. Unceremoniously, she grasped the blade with her uninjured hand, and - after a ten-second tug-of-war - wrenched it from Neon's hand. The blade bit into her fingers, and into her palms. Blood run in rivlets down the sword's surface. The pain was blinding. Bracing.
Ursa flung the blade to the side. Neon vaulted into the air and caught it before it could lodge in the wall.
Ursa was breathing heavily. Biting her lip. Willing the red down, and out of her vision. She would not scream. She would not cry out. She would not lash out at Neon - no matter how strongly the blood thundered in her veins.
Her tail lashed.
"Do you understand?" Ursa said, in a low voice.
Um, not really, no.
Well, hey, whatever made Ursa feel badass? Geeze, and people called NEON nuts.
"Yeah, yeah. Now I gotta wipe my sword out. Yer fairy blood better not be acid or nothing," Neon took to the air, in search of cloth or tissue paper.
"Get me cloth?" Ursa asked, tersely, while she examined her bleeding palm with a grim sort of fascination. She knew better than to order Neon around. The glowbug would just laugh in her face - insolent little thing.
...
"We should do this again," Ursa decided, while she suppressed a wince.
"I am always prepared ta help a fellow freak out out, in tha persuit of awesomeness. For we are awesome mutants!" Neon declared. She was relieved to see that Ursa's blood wasn't dissolving her beloved katana.
Her nose wrinkled.
"But hey, yer not some kinda masochist or nothing, are ya? 'Cause I already GOT a boyfriend, and he's like, my species and stuff, and also WAY hotter than you, no offense."
"Don't be ridiculous, girl!" Ursa barked. There was nothing pleasant about the slick of blood on her hand, or the metallic tang in the air, or the dull pain lancing up her arm.
"I just want to be prepared."
For what, Ursa did not know. For anything, maybe.
She'd alredy been brought back from the dead. Who knew what the hell ELSE would happen?
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