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 Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 5:22 pm
[ Metaplot ] The War of the Fire Crown [ Chronicle of the Phoenix - Prologue ]OOC Meta Plot ORP Rules→ This is a backlog rp to establish this meeting in the canon of the shop! Anyone can read along, but only Thalion and GunSniper can post here!
→ A RP with the FC's will be opening at the same time- this just predates the timeline of that rp.
→ An ORP with the Phoenix Army will open shortly after the FC's are established!
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 He woke to a world of ebony and glaring, hot light. The thousands of smooth, sharp stones around him caught the sun and heated the ground around him to a nearly unbearable degree. Light flared out from every direction possible. By the time he was on his paws and had blinked away the foggy blur, and had padded his way into a patch of shade, the sun was just hovering above the horizon. His mind was curiously blank, neither grasping onto every detail and puzzling out the meanings, names, or trying to find his place within the grand design, he was quietly observing.
It didn't take too long for him to seek out the large, still lake sitting nestled in the natural obsidian valley and discover that the clear, cool liquid somehow cooled his dry throat and filled his empty stomach. It wasn't as substantial as something else...but he didn't know what that something else would be.
Strangely, as the light of day was swallowed by the deep indigo of dusk, it seemed as though the vivid sounds of the world were absorbed into a still quiet silence. He settled himself beside the still waters and watched as the stars emerged for the first time in his young life. Small flecks of light began to emerge against the darkness as a ribbon of gold and pink still lined the horizon line. The lake lapping at the obsidian shore reflected the scene perfectly.
He smiled, settling his chin down on the crossed paws ahead of him.
Before sleep could settle his mind, a loud splash shattered the silence around him. His ears rolled forward as his eyes snapped open. The lake's formally still surface was disturbed, rippling outward. He frowned and slowly followed the ripples inland towards the source of the disturbance. A strange shape's sleek back caught the moonlight, highlighting something...moving and very much alive. He padded forward, lowering himself to the ground to pick his way forward.
The creature looked nothing like him. In place of a soft, flatter nose it had a hooked, polished beak, a dangerous pair of eyes, long tuffed ears, and a pair of...appendages that opened up and fanned out. What looked like thicker, flatter fur covered those strange appendages. The colors were what fascinated him. The plumage resembled the bright circle that had glanced off the obsidian around him. Its beak, however, almost matched the night sky above them. But...something seemed off. The creature was making a sad, distressed sound. One of its hind paws looked...wet- but the "water" was crimson, seeping out of a bare patch. The skin looked...broken.
He inched a little closer then froze, inched closer, froze, closer- stop. When the creature finally noticed him he was only a few body lengths away from it. His eyes were wide with curiosity, his ears perked high, and his nose flaring at the strange, gut-wrenching smell. The creature sank back, pressing its massive wings back against its body and hunched down. It clicked its beak and took a painful limping step backwards.
The cub smiled and slowly sat himself up. The slow shift from a predatory prowl to a more friendly, less aggressive posture seemed to relax the wounded creature. He took a few slow steps forward, pausing every few strides to allow the paroo to relax. The creature huddled back, tucking itself into his wings.
"Shh...", The cub coaxed, padding a little closer. The paroo remained frozen, its ears dropping as its talons tucked into the plumage of its chest. The creature made a sharp hissing sound as the cub gently nudged at the wound, inspecting it. He'd never seen a wound before...didn't know what blood or pain was...but the creature's plight moved him.
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Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 10:12 am
 Volga's head tilted back to scan the sky for his missing prey. The small creature had been so fast he had lost track of it within seconds of its departure from the other larger creature. It had been wounded. Normally Volga would not have taken such an interest with anything outside his duty, however, the patterns on the feathers reminded him of someone he had thought lost. A dear friend of his... missing, and under his watch did this b'alam vanish. Insult to injury for someone so prideful.
Perhaps this creature was a sign from the Weaver leading him to his lost friend? Volga hated to put so much stock in something that may not have been true. Leaving even his bound behind, Volga dared to chase this idea of hope to the obsidian lands beyond the border of their territory.
He glanced down after there was no sign of the small creature. Damn. Volga hissed under his breath. Dark eyes shifted along the terrain until his sights fell to the large body of water. A dry itchy sensation clawed at the back of his throat.
Reluctantly Volga halted his search to make this detour to the lake. He would be useless if he were dead.
During his approach he noticed something off about the water. A disturbance in the surface toward the edge of the lake caught his eye almost immediately. That bird! ... and... a cub?! Again... Did the weaver have some sense of humor?
Still, there was the bird! Volga's pace quickened as he made his way toward the water's edge, and the cub.
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 10:30 pm
The paroo noticed the newcomer before the cub did. It let out a loud, offended squawk and opened its wings, hoping to look somewhat imposing by doubling its size. The cub, distracted by the wounded paroo, jumped nearly two feet into the air, his claws shooting out and his fur standing on end. When he landed, for whatever reason, he was fluffed out to nearly twice his size. His lips had instinctively drawn back to display a mouthful of new, white fangs, and his tail was snapping back and forth, lashing his sides violently.
He shot a short look to the paroo, who was just as bristled as he was, before following the creature's line of sight to the stranger.
...and how strange it was!
It looked something like he did- at least what he'd seen in his own reflection -but it was larger, more muscular...and it seemed it was covered in....very flat, very thin, very smooth stone? No...the material shone with a different light. There was a clean and dangerous shimmering of of the edges of the material, a strength despite how thin it was, and a strange...mark of pride in the way this one wore it. It must have been heavy and loud but this creature wore it not as a burden but as a badge of honor.
...honor. Strange. The word came to him and while it filled his belly with a fire he didn't yet understand what it meant.
He slowly took a slow breath, willing his body to relax. While his fur stood on end, he regained his poise and lifted his head to regard the taller being.
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 12:46 am
Volga's sprint turned into a soft trot before he stopped completely before the young cub. There was a good ten feet between the two when both feet stood firmly planted on the ground. Too close seemed unwise.
It was odd, this cub seemed... like the answer to a question Volga did not even realize had been asked. His eyes narrowed as he sorted out that strange thought. Another cub? Volga had already taken in two others... both had grown up to beautiful Nans. A Tah was new. Crucible would understand, she always does.
he narrowed his eyes on the cub. So small, but he had wonderful reflexes.
"are you alone out here?" Volga spoke without looking around. he had not sensed anyone in the area, but there is always a chance the cub was left behind.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 11:22 pm
The cub regarded the adult, his eyes meeting Volga's without hesitation or reservation. Perhaps he didn't know better to meet the eyes of another, certainly not the eyes of one in a higher rank or age than himself, or perhaps he felt that somehow he would be seen as weaker if he averted his eyes. He was ignorant of formality, ritual, or even the subtle ways one might communicate character to another. It simply felt...right. He held the other's gaze as his fur slowly fell back into place and his little heart slowed to a normal pace.
The question earned a small, almost confused frown. Alone?
The word was a hollow one. He had to pause for a moment, his eyes going distant for a few heartbeats as the quiet voice from somewhere undefinable identified the word. Alone...
He glanced shortly to the paroo and shook his head. "I suppose not." He looked back to the stranger with a ghost of a smile. "They've been here with me." He added, with what might have been a dry attempt at humor. "And you've just arrived. That makes three of us."
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2016 11:02 am
It was impressive to say the least how much knowledge the cub had about him. Volga had expected the little one to advert his eyes, or even cower more. Instead he was impressed by the calm demeanor and the fact that the cub held his gaze where it should be.
The response caused Volga to blink a few time before he shifted his glance from the cub to the paroo and than back again. It was a clever response. Volga laughed as his sights returned to the cub. Clever. The question had been answered, he was alone in a sense.
"I suppose you are not." Volga responded after his laughing died down. "... and where are you going from here?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2016 12:22 am
Going? Did he need to go anywhere? He supposed he had...gone here in a sense. There was no reason he shouldn't go elsewhere, if only to see what existed...and perhaps to find a way to make his stomach feel....fulfilled? That didn't seem to be the right word, but he didn't properly understand the tight feeling in the pit of his gut or the rumbling sounds it had made. Empty. It was empty? Something like that...
The laugh, a strange sound, forced a small smile on the cub's maw. He found he quite liked that sound. It was...joy? No. Humor. He had said something comical. Interesting that words could force a response like that out of a perfect stranger.
"I'm not sure." The cub admitted freely. "I've only just opened my eyes. I found this-", he motioned to the water. "It's...refreshing. Is that why you've come here?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2016 9:56 pm
Volga's eyes widened slightly. Just opened his eyes? This one was a new soul. He probably had no idea what the world was, or what was going on.
"Normally, it is a good idea to seek out water." Volga responded. "This time, I saw you by yourself."
It was another cub, just like the nan he had found before, and anther nan before that. Finding new woven souls was something he seemed to be great at. Volga tried to recall other things he had done when he found the others. What did they need? What was the first thing he had done for them?
"Have you found anything to eat since you opened your mind?'
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 4:32 pm
It was a good thing to seek out water? Perhaps... it had cooled his throat and filled an empty, aching spot deep inside of him but it hadn't really put the growling, gnawing sensation to rest. It did feel good on his paws, especially after walking across the hostile, sharp, and extremely hot surface of obsidian. It also had a nice smell to it. It was...clean, fresh, and inviting. The surface shone like the stones around them but somehow it was different. The wind caused the surface to move, sending shimmering waves over the face of the graceful body.
He chuckled softly. "I'm afraid I've not figured out what 'eat' means either. Perhaps you'd enlighten me?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 4:50 pm
Volga released a laugh at the cub's innocence and wonderful vocabulary. Such big words yet he did not know the meaning of something so simple as eat. The cub wasn't dumb, just new.
Once his amusement died down he glanced out over the lake, the wounded paroo, than back to the young cub.
"I can show you how to hunt and than eat. Will you come with me and do as I say?" Volga inquired. Just as his two adopted daughters before, Volga was quickly becoming attached to the little one.
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 10:07 pm
Follow and do as he says? It sounded simple enough but there was the smallest whisper of a warning in the back of his mind. What if...what he was told to do wasn't...good? Not good...he couldn't quite grasp the word. He didn't know this individual and while the armored B'alam hadn't presented ay sort of hostility or sign of harming the cub, he couldn't help but to be wary of blindly doing as he was told to do.
"I suppose... with all due respect, sir," He answered carefully, choosing words as carefully as he could manage, "It depends on where you want to take me and what you would have me do." He smiled, hoping to take any edge off his response in the simple, gentle expression.
"If we go to learn and you teach me how- I can do that."
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 10:39 pm
A wide grin formed on Volga's maw. That was a good statement, this one truly was a clever little ember. Cleverness in the young cubs was always a pleasant surprise.
"I can only teach so much before you have to make your own way, I promise that is my only intention. You can't survive is you don't know how to hunt. I can teach, how much you learn is up to you." Volga laughed.
In his amusement he caught sight of the wounded paroo in the corner of his eye. The grin faded slightly.
"Will you be taking responsibility for that one?"
He gestured toward the peroo with a nod.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 1:06 am
To teach him... that was all he wanted to do?
It seemed so...easy, so simple. Surely there had to be more to it than just that. While the cub was unaware of why he felt it, but part of him questioned the morality of taking a service from someone without anything of value to offer i turn. He wanted to learn, he wanted to know how to survive. It was...of value that could not simply be laid out in a physical manner. At the same time, he had nothing to offer for the time and instruction it would take to ensure that he was able to survive.
Before he could make light of his concerns, the stranger presented yet another question.
"Oh?" He glanced to the nearby paroo. "I...can do that?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 10:51 pm
It was unfair to assume the new-woven would understand everything Volga had spoken of, but there was no more he could do to explain it. Learning and understanding would be up to the cub now.
At least he seemed somewhat confident.
"Well, come than. The first step is to track something-". Volga paused as he remembered the Paroo.
"Hmn, is that little one coming with you? If you do not take it in, it may not survive. That is, have to leave this world and never return."
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 2:54 pm
Not make it...? Leave the world not to return? Feng frowned and glanced over to the paroo sitting nearby, now happily preening out its feathers. The wound was going ignored for the moment, either out of pure simplicity of mind or self-preservation in not bringing attention to the wound. Perhaps there was nothing that it could do for itself but hope that it healed.
Volga hadn't answered his question...he...could take ownership of a creature? A living creature? It wasn't as smart as a B'alam but it was still a free beast. Still...
"I suppose... if it will follow us." As much as he liked the beast, he didn't want to touch it without knowing the paroo's personality. The beak was thick, curved, and could likely do a number on his digits if he pressed the creature too far outside of its comfort zone. The front claws were tipped in talons that rivaled even Feng's.
He glanced back to Volga, "Then let's track something. The other will follow if it wants. If...we find a thing to eat- I could share it. It may help gain its trust."
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