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 Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 12:03 am
A full moon hung bright and unfettered in the night sky, casting its ghostly pale light across the compound. There was a certain stillness to the dead of night, a certain intrigue that didn't exist during the day. In the darkness, everything was new and different. It was another world in and of itself, and tonight, Seven was exploring.
She didn't fear much, even in the dark. There was a sense of complacency that came with living inside the compound, and everything seemed to be there to take for granted. Safety, peace, quiet. It all added to the exotic aura of the night, and the stars dancing overhead only made it all the more magical.
Getting out of the stall? Hm. Easy. She'd learned how to do that as a baby, stuffed into an overfilled stall with some rowdy boys that loved nothing so much as getting into trouble. Perhaps it was simply that they had no other purpose in life. They had all been Culls, after all, or the sons of Culls. But from them she had learned that it was all simply a matter of knowing where to reach to unpin the door and where to put weight to slide it open. Nothing to it.
And Seven wasn't the running away type, anyway. She enjoyed her life just fine, and there wasn't any part of her that wanted to leave Devin. Where else would her inner cuddlebug find comfort? That was her main concern.
But for now, a short break from that structured life was in order, and she trotted along the edge of the compound, playing with the idea of the outside world. Not that she had any desire to be there. Just some overly romanticized fantasies that had no place being fulfilled.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 12:17 pm
 She had been wandering around lokoing for those whose meals had been put out by their owners. Although she had hated her master, hated the food she had given him, the smell of freshly cooked meat had always appealed to her, but she had never gotten the chance to wander the streets when she was caged up like a small animal without spirit or respect.
She had both, as well as honor and will and determination.
Now she had come looking for food to take back to the wild, back to Cellen as a small meal for them to share together, whether or not she would find one at this hour was beyond her.
Nevertheless, the moon was a rather fine sight this night.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 2:41 pm
She had been feeling the need to take a short break from the rigorous schedule of sleep-train-sleep that she had been on in anticipation of her first formal fight. Even Seven had to admit that the routine got a little dull after a while. But that was alright, since Devin had yet to notice, she would make do on her own. No doubt, her handler would soon realize that she was feeling slightly stifled and would take matters into his own hands to sort something out.
Until then, Seven had this. The moon, the night, the excitement. It was all enough for her for now. There was no part of her that wanted anything more adventurous than this.
The russet Mokai paused as a scent drifted toward her on the wind. An unfamiliar scent, and somehow strange as well. It wasn't the scent of any Mokai she would recognize in captivity. Seven's dark eyes scanned the immediate perimeter of the compound, until her gaze landed on a dark figure, so dark and well hidden in the night that she might have missed it completely if the Mokai in question hadn't been moving.
"Well, hi," she greeted the dark Mokai, watching her carefully.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 6:51 pm
Reisx knew if she was in an area where other fighters were, there was a great chance of her being found out. But that was just fine with her. She was unafraid of them, other fighter's, it was her old master she had qualms with. As she heard a voice speak to her, she stopped, turning her gaze to fall on a sultry brown female watching her idely.
She blinked, silver eyes watching carefully.
"Hello."
She swayed her tail and moved as to not have her back face away from the female, she noted the collar and knew this female belonged to someone, which position she ranked in, however, Reisx did not know. Reisx only had the memories of what she had experienced.
She didn't appear as an elder, or threat, yet, she noted, but was careful. Reisx was too far from the outer wall to make it clearly if others were around.
Relaxing her shoulders, tail kept a little high, she let her ears listen, eyes watching the collared female before her.
Reisx would never let another collar grace her neck again
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 7:59 pm
The other female moved with a cat-like grace that seemed to suggest she was of the same sort as Seven, but with one main difference: no collar. The russet Mokai regarded the other with interest. It wasn't often that she saw Mokai wandering in the compound when they weren't clearly bound to any human, and unless the dark female had lost her collar - unlikely - she was on her own.
"Are you not... from here?" It was a strange question, and perhaps not at all how Seven would have posed it if given a second chance, but there was the gist of it in there. Somehow, the other Mokai seemed all the more exotic for being collarless.
She would have sat, but for the complete unfamiliarity of the situation. What to expect, how to react... neither of those were questions that Seven could answer when dealing with a feral Mokai, so she stayed where she was, standing. There was no scent of danger hanging on the air, but that could change in the blink of an eye, and the last thing she wanted was to be put out of commission because of a silly mistake.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:09 pm
Reisx watched this female's movements. It was apparent she had no problems being within the settlement, being with the humans. For a moment, she almost let a smirk slip onto her void expression wondering if this one had had the pleasant experience of meeting her past master, but her maw stayed emotionless. Swaying her tail, Reisx watched, let her toes flex, tension dissipating within them.
She did not seem to have a want to attack, so Reisx would hold back as well.
"I was," she answered to the question, ears flicking, "but I left."
She blinked, silver eyes watching, the female seemed cared for.
Would Reisx have stayed if she had had a kind master? No, probably not, the call of the full moon, the wild and its wonders beyond the walls and gates were too great, as was the howl that had awoken her wild spirit.
"Why do you stay? What...are you?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:32 pm
"Left?" Seven echoed, though she had had a sneaking suspicion that might have been it. She couldn't fathom what lay beyond the compound, what it was about it that could drive Mokai to desert their homes in exchange for a scavenged subsistence out in the wild.
There was the possibility of hunting, but having had no experience, she had little idea how difficult it was. No doubt, if she was out in the wild, scavenging would be the way to go. Not that she had much of a desire to be out there.
True, the strict, regimented life within the compound did get to be a bore at times, but other than that, she couldn't complain. She had had her bad lot in life, and she had been rescued from it, which had to mean that humans weren't all that bad. And she didn't mind Devin's company in the slightest.
"I'm a Fighter," she replied, tilting her head slightly as she considered the question. Why did she stay? Why didn't she leave? She wasn't altogether sure. "I guess I just... have to reason to do otherwise."
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:50 pm
Reisx noted the female seemed rather confused by Reisx's choice to leave, to abandon what she grew to know within the walls, gates and concrete complexes. But the grime here was nothing compared to the outside, what lay beyond was green, not gray, was fresh and full of life, not stale, grimy and cold.
She quirked a brow, a fighter?
Really?
This one seemed so...what was the word, feminine? Although, Reisx said letting the tiniest amount of smile curl at the corner of her maw, the feminine charm could play a huge roll when against a male opponent.
"I was too," Reisx said aloud, "a fighter. But," she stopped, looking to the brown female.
"Yours cares for you, don't they?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:59 pm
A dainty smile came over Seven's muzzle at the other Mokai's apparent surprise. Even Devin had initially seemed skeptical upon realizing what she had been bred to do. It seemed to be that way for anyone who met her outside of the pit, which seemed to suit the brown Mokai just fine. That element of surprise could play a crucial role in her success against an opponent.
"Were you..." Good, was what she had wanted to ask, but somehow... it didn't seem to matter. It was all behind her, anyway, wasn't it? The dark Mokai had something else now, though Seven had no way to imagine what. But it had to be something good to be worth abandoning the dependable meals and ready stall shelter.
Hers. Her handler, Seven guessed, and she couldn't help but smile again as she nodded. "Yes, he does," she said. It didn't take much to figure out how much affection she had for Devin. He had saved her, after all, and he seemed to understand her almost intuitively.
"I'm Seven, by the way."
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:14 pm
Reisx watched her and let herself at ease and sat back upon the ground. This female posed no threat, her words were unthreatening, but she would keep a sharp silver eye upon the brown female just in case.
When the question was asked, then cut off, Reisx tilted her head slightly, flicked her ears, but the female moved on.
"That's good," she said, "that he cares for you."
Reisx wanted to tell her to never let him turn against her, never let him raise a hand or let his love and affection drive him to unspeakable things, but no, Reisx would not speak such things. No need to bring such thoughts upon a Mokai who had a decent human master.
"Reisx," she spoke, "I am Reisx."
Seven, an interesting name. She wondered if it perhaps had to do with the Mokai's fighting style, out in seven moves, seven specific attack formations? Too much to think about.
"What were you going to say...was I, what?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 11:18 pm
Seven nodded. It was good that he cared, and she thought that maybe she deserved it after what she had endured in the "care" of her old handler growing up. Maybe if she'd stayed with that one, she would have answered the call of the wild lands beyond the compound too. Maybe. But those possibilities were not things that she particularly wanted to dwell on. It was just more comforting to remain in the present, where everything was fine and dandy.
"Reisx," she echoed softly. Somehow, the familiar urge to pander to the other's ego with compliments wasn't there tonight, and Seven felt an opportunity here to be... what was the word... genuine? Was she not usually? She wasn't too sure, but the idea of stepping so far out of her comfort zone, to the point where she couldn't even verbalize it, was disconcerting. So she didn't, and instead, she referred back to her usual antics. "It's a beautiful name. I love it." Smile.
"Oh. Good, I was going to ask. If you were good," Now that she actually said it, it seemed to matter even less. But it was out in the open now, no point trying to bring it back. And it wasn't like it would be entirely unuseful for her. "Those awesome horns probably did a fair amount of damage."
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 7:20 pm
"Thanks," she said, "I guess<" trailing off. She didn't know what to expect. She didn't expect a domestic Mokai to be...what was the word, kind? Open? Speaking in good terms? "Yours is," she tried to find the words, tried to give a compliment back but Reisx knew it was not in her, and never had been. Reisx was about the puzzle, the game, living, not about the cushy life she could live in captivity that she never had. "Yours is...misleading, I think, but in a good way," she said trying to explain yourself.
"Gives your opponents, friends...anyone, questions they want answered, but of course, there is never enough time."
With Seven's next question, Reisx let a smile cross her and she shrugged and nodded.
"I was good when I was allowed to be, but my master liked to play the game too much. Yours cares for you, never let that go, but mine, he sometimes rigged my fights so he could bet against me."
She let her silver eyes break contact with Seven's.
"Never let him raise a hand, or bar to you, ever. That is when you'll lose interest in the fight for strength, and moreso for revenge."
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:14 pm
She hadn't really any reason to hold any kind of prejudice against feral Mokai, or anything, really, except to wonder about their lives outside of the compound. Certainly, it was a different existence, but when it came down to it, weren't they all just the same?
She chuckled, lifting her gaze to meet Reisx's, and shrugged lightly. "That's the way it should be, I suppose. I was lucky number seven." Which is wholeheartedly believe. Luck had done something big for her the day she was delivered into Devin's care. Had probably saved her spirit, if not her life. She had nothing but gratitude for that.
At the dark Mokai's next words, she blinked, and a small frown furrowed her brow. "Bet against you?" She echoed. There was a savagery in the idea that made her feel chill against the night, and yet... somehow... she believed it. She had seen enough to know that humans could be cruel, and if they could be cruel, then how could she rule out this possibility?
Her thoughts went to raised hands and metal bars and anger. Hate. There wasn't much room in her heart for that - she was so much more the lover than the hater - and perhaps there hadn't been in Reisx's either. "Is that why you left?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:39 pm
"I wish luck on your side always then, Seven," Reisx said with a smile. She furrowed her brows, and nodded at Seven's question. "Yes, I couldn't take it anymore, one night I heard a howl from beyond the walls and outer gates and one night I finally had the courage to raise my voice, regardless of what the human would do. Then he came for me, and helped me escape."
She wasn't sure if Seven knew Cellen or not, she wasn't particularly sure of how many of the fighters here Cellen had known before he had left the compound and settlement to be in the wild once more, to be with her.
"I only return at night now, see if there is anything useful, trinkets or throw aways, left out food, easy targets, you understand," Reisx was a feral, she knew and accepted that and loved her life not having a collar around her neck. But she still had honor and pride in her actions, she wasn't going to break into houses taking food.
She just wanted the easy-pickings.
"Its nice...this, is nice," Reisx said aloud, watching Seven. "I never thought...would have figured, a domestic could accept someone like me. You got the luck of the draw from the beginning and I didn't, perhaps if I had more of your luck, things might have been different."
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:55 pm
She tilted her head, wondering who he was, but he had obviously done her the favor of a lifetime. It made her wonder if ever she would find someone as dedicated to her as to willingly risk his life for her happiness and safety. Outside of Devin, she doubted it. She wasn't built for that kind of intimacy,and perhaps it was a shame. Perhaps she was missing out on something wonderful, but no matter how it was put, she couldn't reconcile herself to an attitude so vast removed from the one she had now.
"Not from the beginning, no," she said quietly, shaking her head. There were times when she wished it had been, that she had been with Devin since birth and that none of her past had ever happened. But then, if that had been the case, she doubted she would be standing here listening to Reisx and almost understanding what had gone wrong in her life.
"I understand a little of human cruelty. I can see how it could push you to escape. If my luck hadn't changed, I might have ended up beyond these walls like you." She, too, knew the ramifications of human greed. Perhaps not to the point where it might have hurt her the way it had Reisx, but she had grown up in a single box stall with upwards of twenty other young Mokai, fighting for every scrap of food that came her way.
"So I can see where you're coming from." They weren't so different, the two of them.
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