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Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 5:13 pm
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Midnight's shadows passed overhead, clouding the earth with pitch-black patches of nothingness. Everything seemed to disappear when it was engulfed, and reappeared worse for the wear once they passed. What were these shadows? What did they mean? A sudden heart-wrenching wail tore through the stillness of this dark-embraced world. Nothing stirred, everything had stopped breathing in fear of calling out the creature that had sounded so mournful. The trees sagged, branches brushing the ground. Animals stood frozen to the spot, not daring to blink. Even the moon had disappeared behind furiously grey clouds. What had caused a sound capable of freezing all of life? As if it had heard, the master of that horrible cry came swooping in towards Cold-Blood. A mass of feathers and tears hit the doe and enveloped her in a most loving, if not suffocating, embrace.
Gulping for air, Cold-Blood awoke with a start, drenched in a cold sweat. Blinking furiously, she remembered she lay at the edge of the swamp, looking out over the flatlands that the kimeti avoided. As she wolfed down the night's cool air, the doe calmed down enough to see that she had scared her companions nearly out of their skins. Glint and Shadow were lying about a foot away from her front hooves, peering at her as if she might jump on them. Her muzzle breaking out in a quick smile, Cold-Blood beckoned the snakes back towards her with a soft hiss.
"I'm sorry, my dears. Didn't mean to scare you! I was just having a dream. I suppose it could have been a nightmare... but the warmth at the end... it felt like my coat was on fire, burning in the grasp of..." A gasp had managed to escape the doe's lips.
"...Mother Crane... could it be?" she whispered to no one in particular as her beloved snakes wrapped themselves back around her front legs, content that she was alright.
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Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 9:32 pm
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Glint and Shadow had firmly entangled themselves around the doe's front legs by the time she had stood up. Taking the time to stretch her half-numbed limbs and arching her back in an attempt to dispel some of the stiffer muscles, Cold-Blood tried to sort out what the dream meant. Absent-mindedly she started walking out into the dry flatlands.
Dryness never bothered the kimeti, and neither had the flatlands though she did hold a certain respect for them, for even the snakes did not venture out there at blistering midday or flesh-biting midnight. But as she juggled her thoughts, it seemed right to be out here, not too far from the marsh, but not quite close enough to feel that constant humidity. It was a nice change for her scales and fur, feeling lighter dry than they did weighed down by the wet air of Mother Marsh.
After a few minutes of walking, Cold-Blood stopped dead in her tracks. She had seen a flash of light hit the ground at her feet. There it was again, pushing at the corners of her shadow, trying to shrink it. Barely able to move, the doe turned her head to look over her shoulder back at the swamp. There! Two fiercely-burning green dots were moving between the trees, moving closer and closer, while all Cold-Blood could do is stare, hooves planted, frozen.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 10:48 pm
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There were voices that chased him all into the night. If Crocodile Smile weren't so secure with his resolve, he might have thought he was going insane. The swampland was never quiet, but never before had he been so aware of the noises it brought when the burning ball in the sky retired. There was laughter and screaming, and songs. Lots of songs. It was enough to drive a thing mad.
Instead of shirking away and hiding when the night came, he allowed himself to give in and move with the darkness. It was the best time to hunt, stalking over the sprawling undergrowth, scraping scales across the bark of trees like an old lover. It was the first time he felt like kicking his heels up in the moonlight. When something screamed, he was there, like always, licking his lips. And some nights the screaming was his own doing. Recently it, well, it brought out the real beast in him.
And when the wail came, it was Crocodile Smile who answered. He followed the cadence of shadows along to its source, tilting his head in a pure predatory act. Something was moving far ahead, but he could not scent blood. From where Cold-Blood stood, the buck was coming up behind. While she was distracted by the green, she failed to see the red. Croc had gotten his nose by her neck by the time he realized this would be most unbecoming of him to eat. A rumble was offered, thick against the doe's ear.
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:22 pm
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That mesmerizing glow kept her entranced to the point where she noticed nothing around her. It was as if the whole world had stood still just so she could follow this light in the marsh. The spell was broken with a low rumble in her ear.
What came next was in instant reaction. Cold-Blood managed to whip her body around and away from the stranger by throwing herself to the side. She rolled and picked herself back up in one swift movement, which brought her to a low crouching stance, facing her immediate danger. She was not one to run from danger, she met it head-on and fought through it.
Head low, almost touching the ground, ears pulled back, teeth baring, the doe was ready for anything. But this. A buck? I'm being attacked by a buck? A crocodile she could handle, one of those rare hunting cats, even a stray wolfen thing... but another kimeti? She had never encountered this sort of situation before, and was slightly at a loss of what to do. Well, she wasn't about to let her guard down, that was for sure.
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Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 1:09 am
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Her quick motions made him falter a moment, rocking him forward and after her a pace. A growl emerged thickly from the buck's throat, coupled with a moaning note that was not at all pleasant in this pitch dark. As he studied the defensive stance, he licked his maw, breathed in deep through his nose. Eyes burned hotly with a feral sort of fire. It was a lust that shouldn't be of a kimeti.
Even as he stepped closer to the doe, his mind was racing over why? Why wasn't he just stopping? He sniffed at her again before he managed to rein in the curiosity and temptation. Then he turned, as if disinterested, beginning to slide away again. There were other things out there, more edible things. He didn't want to hurt her, his mind said, even if a part of him wanted to scare her a little.
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Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 12:27 pm
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Hesitation, and then advance. He looked like he wanted to eat her. What is he doing? Has he gone mad? She had never come across a kimeti with quite that look in its eye. It was a look of pure craving for flesh. In fact... she had seen it before... in a crocodile's eye... in a cat's eye... Was he no better than those hunting predators? But then he sniffed at her and turned away. Her companions slithered down off of Cold-Blood's legs, sensing her irritation, and made their way towards the safety of the grasses of the Swamp. This would not do. Not at all.
Without thinking, she ran at the predatory buck and leapt on him, slightly to one side. As he fell, she kept her stance and stood over him, her front right hoof on his chest, keeping him down. She had surprising strength for a doe, atleast when she was angry. She lowered her body a little, to apply more pressure to his chest, as she was sure he was strong.
Daring to press her face closer to his, she snarled, "What was the meaning of that? Chase upto me... growl in my ear... contemplate eating me?!" If her voice didn't speak her anger, her eyes shone it, their bright gold glow piercing in her current state of agitation. "Are you no better than the crocodiles? Wanting to dine upon the flesh of a kimeti?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 3:06 am
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A rather undignified whistle of air came as the buck went down, certainly not expecting an attack. He was easily pinned, not only by shock but by will. The more sane part of him would not bring her to harm- it was very impolite. His ivory head lolled back onto the earth, his scarlet jaws parting. He smelled like blood and something sweet, panted.
"From what I can see, your flesh is in tact," A grin split his features, his lids lowering as some of that fire was stoked. He stretched beneath her, testing. Though she was strong, he was a buck, and if he so willed it there was little doubt he would be free. "Maybe you shouldn't look so delicious."
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Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 3:48 pm
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Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 9:35 pm
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Rabbit watched in bemusement as the scene played out. The buck had made a good point; even though he had apparently thought of dining on his sister's* flesh, he had refrained.
Though, when he looked at the doe, delicious wasn't what came to mind exactly. This was turning out to be a strange day.
And so, slowly, cautiously, he crept up towards the pair. "If I may introduce myself," he plainly said, "I am Rabbit, and I hope I am not interrupting anything serious."
Hopefully his polite attitude would keep the other buck at bay. He wasn't much of a fighter.
*I use this as a general bretheren thing, not literally family.
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 12:09 pm
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Brows quirked, and for a moment her response was only a guttural rumble. As she backed away it was only a simple matter of rolling over onto his hooves, the movements smooth and sleek as the shadows playing over his ivory hide. Croc shook his mane free of dirt, the red of his mind clearing a little with it. It felt as if the swamp were pulsing all around him like one giant heart. Or maybe it was his own, swimming in his ears.
Before he could speak, another joined their party. His ears flicked back against his skull, lips curling to show his teeth before he was thinking about it. A smile. And more came, seemingly melding out of the trees, two more bucks. A part of him was intimidated by the sudden number, wanted him to step back into the shadow and slip away from his lost kill. Another reminded him of manners, that it wasn't right to leave when someone was speaking to you.
Crocodile Smile stepped back, not from fear of the others but to receive a better vantage point. He was sobering quite quickly, moved stiffly with his indecision.
"Nothing has happened, friend." He would tell Mourning Fog, smooth although there was something a little unwelcoming to his tone. His eyes seemed like burning coals as he spoke. "A meeting in the dark, contact of strangers." Something sweet-smelling filled his nostrils. A water fowl, so close, near the buck newest to the party. He licked his lips absently before looking back to the one named Cold-Blood.
"My lady, see what you have brought upon yourself? Have I not spoken truth?" But he sounded almost bitter. He moved slowly, looming toward Rabbit, his neck arched.
"Excuse me, Rabbit." He purred, planning to take his leave past what his instincts told him was the weakest of the bucks.
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 1:04 pm
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The doe examined the red and white buck before her and watched his reactions as he pulled back his ears and smiled. It was an odd expression, one that entranced her. She was a hunter too, but his demeanour was darker than hers and that's what brought her attention to him so.
They all seemed to come at once, and it played with her own emotions, ending with confusion. She was most comfortable when on her own, with only her snakes as companions, and she wouldn't mind the company of one or maybe two other kimeti, but this was a little overwhelming. Five was a too many for her liking and it made her itchy.
Returning the slightest of nods to each buck as he introduced himself, out of sheer politeness, Cold-Blood turned so she was facing most everyone. As the first buck edged his way towards escape, his words struck her and rang in her mind. Maybe you shouldn't look so delicious.... Have I not spoken the truth?... The doe lowered her ears, tensed her muscles and looked around at the others. They were all polite... and they seemed docile to her... one even had a sleeping bird upon his back. None of them could mean her harm... but even so, she was very uncomfortable in such a large group of kimeti. She kept an eye on the predatorial one, not sure if she would prefer his company to that of so many others.
((Lady of Shallot, according to her sig, won't be back until end of July/beginning of August, so I think we should keep going, and when she gets back she can just jump back in whenever she gets back))
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