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 Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 4:19 pm
Heat seared her. They had warned her about the heat, told her about the heat, she had linked to their minds and thought she understood the heat. Nothing had prepared her for it. She wanted to scream, but didn't. It felt like her fur was on fire, like her skin was burning off. And then she landed with a thump, into the bushes.
Groaning softly, she looked around as the night air cooled her heated skin. It felt like a long luxurious bath, so refreshing, so cool. She stopped herself from making a sound, but it was hard. She could not be seen until she was ready to be seen. She trained for this, she was ready. Didn't matter that Master Ryosh thought she was still a youngling, didn't matter that everyone told her this mission was suicide at best, didn't matter that it had been forbidden. She knew she was ready, and she knew she was meant to take this journey. The Gods had called her, of course she had to answer.
She clutched a blue crystal egg in one hand, the other resting on the butt of an energy pistol as she scanned the wooded area around her. No way to tell how deep she was into the woods, or even which forest this was. No matter. She'd find the Aldatan estate eventually. Claim her place, then maybe find the temple of Vartra at Stronghold. No, not Vartra, she reminded herself, calling to recall all she knew of the stories. She had been told not to come back, and they had thought she'd listen, so they hadn't watched what they shared as closely as they should have. No matter. She just hoped the drug cleared from her system soon. Because it was messing with her senses. She hadn't been prepared for that. This forest smelled nothing of home. No Rhakla or Chiddoe spore, no hint of the minds of wild Jeggets.... it had to be the drugs.
She stood carefully, assured she was alone. She felt no other minds, saw no one else. She climbed a tree and stowed her stuff high in the branches. She was prepared for this trip, it wouldn't be like what they went through. She stripped off her tunic and brushed out her hair until all that she wore was a golden band across her forearm and a small sheathed knife hidden int he fur of her left hind leg. Grandfather would have skinned her alive for not having some hidden advantage somewhere. Of course, a modern energy gun was a pretty good advantage. She stretched the last of the stiffness from travel out of her limbs then dropped to all fours. Not as smooth as some of the elders, never that smooth, but it was worth it. They were the newest generation, they were better than any previous one. And if it made it a little more difficult to lope on all fours, it was still worth it. She shook out her hair, letting it merge with the fur along her face and shoulders.
She knew how she looked. Her people saw her as a bit small and scrawny, but other from that and her eyes, she could pass as pure sholan to any non-telepath. But she had met some distant human relatives recently and they had seen her in this form, and his shock had burned itself mentally into her brain. She had seen her as he had seen her. Low to the ground, her pelt dark for a female was brown in a tabby pattern with the rings on her tail fading into her adult colors. He saw her low on all fours, ears up, tail moving with agitation. He had thought she looked like a bobcat or panther or something. She had to look up data cubes on those animals after. She didn't see it herself, but if that was how the Terrans and Kessians saw her, so be it. When she stood on two legs they found her attractive enough. She'd flirted with a few, but she hadn't found any who appealed to be her first. She held out hope for a telepath, but none of those had appealed anyway.
But that was part of why she was so eager to answer the call of the Gods. Perhaps it was because she was hoping to find an acceptable male here. Now. She made sure the crystal was well secured in her bag, then lept back down to the forest floor. She slunk low to the ground, her predator's eyes shining in the moonlight. She focused and sent out her mind, feeling for other people, feeling subtly for telepaths, hoping to go unnoticed.
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 10:36 am
Hadrian smiled. He felt the gentle ripple in the energy around him. He forced his mind to go blank, like a human's. While this energy did not feel like the undead, it didn't feel quite like a Carpathian's either. Almost like a Jaguar's, though they were mostly extinct. Definitely not lycan. The lycans had a more group thought mentality and touch to them. His thirst for knowledge had been piqued.
He was a Carpathian. A master of darkness. Tall and well muscled, he had black hair that came just below his shoulders, Hadrian kept it secured at the nape of his neck with a leather tie. Like all of his kind, he looked as if he were carved from stone, much like the statues of the Greek gods that had been produced ages ago. He could command the elements, change his shape at will, fly, bury himself in the ground and live with ease. Little could hurt him. And he knew it. He wore confidence like a second skin.
He decided to track this energy back to the source, shifting on the run into a sleek black panther to blend in easier with the night.
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Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 12:04 pm
She smelled the other cat before she sensed him any other way. One of her ears flicked back. That scent wasn't familiar. What kind of creature was it? It didn't smell like a feral, thank Ghykulla. She could handle a feral, she could even take a a few of them at a time. But she didn't want her first impression with the people here to be wounded warrior.
But that was neither here nor there. What was here was a vaguely feline scented creature. Not Sholan, not Feral, not U'Churian... Well, there was one thing she could do to get a better sense...
She slunk into the underbrush and lay low and flat. Mentally she recited the litanies to still her mind, then she sent her awareness out passively. If the creature were like a jegget, simple minded and mildly telepathic, she'd know and the creature would never be aware of her. She doubted it was, but if she found a telepathic feline race.... maybe her aim had been off....
The possibility that she would find nothing was high, but there was one more possibility worth considering. Reaching not the cat, but another telepathic mind. If there was someone near enough, she'd be able to sense them without alerting them. To do more however... well, she'd climb that tree when it was before her. No sense hunting wild rhakla in the desert, after all.
Her eyes slitted half open as her telepathic awareness spread itself out towards the cat in a widening arc, sensing for any telepathic mind, but also for any more evolved mind - Sholan, human, or otherwise - that could give her some grounding of where...and when... she was.
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 11:26 am
The Carpathian bristled at the mind probe, hiding himself deep within the mind of the cat. He was not ready to be discovered. This one was strong, whatever it was. And he could smell it now. So deep in the mind of the cat, it was hard to tell just who thought that the smell was wonderful, him or the cat. He stalked closer, still determined to find out what this powerful being was.
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Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 12:23 am
The closest comparison she had to what she sensed was a Feral. Her ears flicked back in disgust as her nose wrinkled. She forced her tail to stay still, lest it give her away. Ferals were never fun to tangle with. Predatory, unmistakably felines like Sholans, but mindless, unreasoning unthinking beasts. She could take it, if she had to, of course. But she didn't want to. She never cared for hunting beasts that looked alike enough to be distant kin. She always felt the urge to shake the ferals, demand they stand up and be better. But Vartra had not blessed the Ferals, none of the Gods had, and they were mindless beasts. Clearly there was nothing here for her. She'd have to get to her belongings, and try again in another direction. This way led to nothing. If she were in the Taiyuki forest, the direction she had headed would have led eventually to Valsgarth. She should have felt something with the second probe. She had almost thought she felt something human, maybe, at the fringe of the first, but it was gone by the second. No, there was nothing here for her, just a forest full of wild animals. She had wrong spoored herself.
She moved carefully out of the underbrush, not wanting the feral to find her, careful to leave no fur or skin on the branches, no evidence that a Sholan had rested there. Once she was free, she kept her mind aware for the presence of the other and began to pick her way back towards her belongings when the world bucked and shifted under her.
A flash in her mind. White tiles. Lights. Pain. Fear. So much fear...
She staggered, she knew what she felt was a flash back to some past event, rationally she knew it was the remnants of the drug in her system. But she could feel the fear. Feel the terror. Her feet lurched.
Another flash, making her moan softly against her will. She felt another mind dying. Dying, fading. Pain... so much pain. Then the other mind was caught, held by another in terrible pain. The pain from both swamped her.
She had made it to the tree where her bag was. She had no clue how. The ground rolled under her, or at least it seemed that way to her. The crystal fell from her bag, and landed on her head. She clutched at it with a small mewling sound, projecting her fear without being able to stop it.
Are you the cub they all think you are, or a warrior? a sharp voice asked in her head. Her face snapped back as if she had been slapped and her mental shields went up at once. The ground still rolled under her feet, but she had to move. If there was anyone or anything sensitive at all in range to pick her up... she had just advertised herself as a target. Swearing mentally at herself, she scrambled up, trying to climb the tree, with some small limited success.
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:27 pm
Hadrian felt the retreat and moved up again in the cat's mind. He was once again on the move at a nice slow pace. Until he felt the disturbance in this new creature. For some reason, fear tore at him. He didn't know where it came from, but he felt it. And he had to get to the creature. She was in danger. She? Where did that come from? Why had he called it a she? He didn't know, only that the fear and the pain got worse. His soft padded feet got him quickly to her side. Caution was thrown to the wind as he approached this cat-like creature. The panther's nose was down toward hers, sniffing, checking for wounds. He was also using his mind to check her for wounds. Satisfied that there were no fresh wounds, that the pain and fear was in her mind, he sent waves of strength and reassurance to this she cat. He sat down a few feet away from her, ears up and alert. Waiting for anything to try and harm her again.
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:44 pm
She felt the strength and reassurance. It came on the heels of the voice, but she knew that voice as well as her own. The feel of this... was new. A scent caught her nose and she opened her eyes, having not realized she'd closed him. She saw the panther and stilled.
She had to access what she knew, and swiftly. The feline had come up upon her without her knowing it. There was another telepath near. One and the same?
She had never seen a Sholan so dark pelted as the one before her, and U'Chirians couldn't go down on all fours the way she could. Her nose registered his scent, he was the one she had detected before. He wasn't the telepath, though. She had scanned the area... But there was a telepath here, Vartra knew that. So someone had gotten past her scan. Well, it hadn't been intrusive, she had done her best to be subtle. Maybe a rouge talent? Some of the Brothers were good at shielding. How well she knew that. But still, was it the cat, or someone else? If it was him, then she could talk to him, and maybe he was the one she was looking for. Mayhaps he could lead her where she needed to be.
Well, she could answer part of the question. She could contact the telepath, him or someone else, if they had skills in more than shields. Hello? she sent the thought out in a wide arc towards the direction the feelings had come from. She allowed herself to move, slowly, carefully. Her foot hit the crystal. She gave it a subtle careful flick and caught it under her front paw, resting the rough leathery palm on the ovoid surface. It was warm through the thick skin. Thank Vartra....
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:05 pm
The cat's head tilted at the telepathic communication, confusion written on it's face. Suddenly the panther screamed, the carpathian inside losing control with the replacement of color and feeling. He lost his hold on the shape of the cat and shifted, his eyes watering, the colors stabbing at them like tiny knives. The feelings washed over him. The need to find out what this one in front of him was, the need to protect her, and most importantly, the need to mark her and make her his. He worked to calm his ragged breathing and stood somewhat shakily, not bothering to clothe himself in the easy manner of his people.
His hair was as dark as a raven's wing and his eyes as gold as the panther's had been. He was clearly not embarrassed to be standing in front of her naked. A slow smile spread across his lips and he spoke with a rough, earthy accent. "Good evening, my lady." Or would you prefer that I greet you this way?
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:18 pm
When his scream ripped through the air her fur had stood on end, her claws had come free and she had looked, her warrior's mind snapping forward, trying to find the danger. She opened her mind to anything she could passively sense of the danger as well.
Every bit of her attention focused on him as his form changed, however. She watched him as the fur became human skin, as he stood, as he smiled.
She sat back on her haunches and recited litanies to herself, putting back up her shields around her mind. Whatever had caused him to scream, she could only guess. But it was not her focus now. It clearly wasn't a danger to her. Not from the laughter in the back of her mind anyway. She banished it as well as she could. That laughter seemed to mark more of her life than it didn't. She was somewhat annoyed, and sometimes amused, how often she was found to be herself amusing. Perhaps this was why, this moment.
Certainly the stranger's talent was impressive. It trumped Jasia, that's for sure. Others had done similar on a smaller scale. But this... This trumped the eyes that she knew of, and that required a gestalt. The scream implied pain, but there was no backwash of energy, and she sensed only the one mind. To be able to do that without a gestalt... how powerful was he? She forced her ears still, they wanted to fold back. She would not let them.
And then he spoke. English. Relief flowed across her pelt. Thank Vartra she wouldn't have to try and lift a language from a mind like that. With his permission, that could be exciting, an adventure to plunge into a talent of that breadth and depth. Without being able to ask him first? Somehow she didn't think he had the traditional telepathic weakness of being unable and unwilling to cause pain.
But he also was unlike the other humans she knew. And humans here and now... there should have only been one, and a female at that. He most certainly wasn't female. He was quite handsome, however.
She felt his words in her mind and her lower jaw dropped ever so slightly. A Sholan smile, though few humans recognized it for that the first time. One ear flicked in mild amusement. "Whichever way you prefer," she said in clear English. Human English, Sholan, Trader, and the Alliance common were the languages she knew best. Then she blinked in surprised. Why would he speak English, not Sholan?
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:29 pm
Hadrian's laugh was deep and rich, a perfect match to his deep baritone voice. "I should like to listen to you speak, so this way pleases me very much." His eyes moved over her hungrily, as if he were memorizing her. "I have never seen one like you before...and I am very curious." He moved toward her a couple of steps, still inspecting her. "Whatever you are, you are certainly lovely..."
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:49 pm
"You haven't?" she asked, head tilting to one side. Then she decided that her neck was cricking, and that it wasn't good for a warrior to stay in this position, especially as he neared. She rolled back her shoulders and she stretched her back. She stood slowly, letting her knees shift back into position so her legs were as straight as his, though her knees would always bend opposite. Her fingers came out of her leather palms, and she stretched them. Within a moment, she stood, short for a woman, tall for a child. Her hair shook free of her shoulders, falling to be clearly hair. Other than her knees and her hands, nothing had actually changed. But now she looked more like a feline person than a wild cat. And now he'd be able to see hints of the weapon strapped in its sheath to her hind leg.
"How odd," she said to him. Why were there more humans here than expected? How had they come to be here? Seemed like Vartra just loved to toss her kin into deeper and deeper mysteries. Now it was her turn. Well fine. It was in her blood and in her training.
Then the rest of what he had said hit her. "I'll take the compliment," she said offhandedly, while her mind worked, ears flicking. He had never seen a Sholan before? How... was that even possible? Something... was wrong here. Very wrong.
Something pulsed against her palm. She glanced down and was unsurprised to see that she was holding the crystal, despite having no recollection of having picked it up.
Her body was lean and covered in the soft fur, the same color as it was before. Her colors would change soon, but not from talking to a male. Of course, she had not come all this way just to talk. He might notice that her body from neck to thighs was as flat as a board. There were no female curves to her at all. Her bifurcated face and her voice were female, her body could belong to either gender, her fur giving nothing away. She was as covered as though she were clothed. Her legs and arms were lightly muscled, clearly ready for action. Whoever, or whatever she was, she was strong for her size, and quite likely trained to use that strength.
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:58 pm
He shrugged, "You appear to be a cross between a Jaguar and a Lycan. Though that would be impossible. The Jaguars are so few in number, and their blood does not share. It dominates or is dominated."
He didn't care that she didn't look like a typical woman. She was his lifemate, made for him. She was made for him. He moved another step closer.
"You must be expecting some sort of attack the way you are armed. I can assure you that I will let no harm come to you. You are under my protection." Her scent was calling to him. He reached out to touch her mind again.
Do you fear me?
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 11:07 pm
Jaguar. Lycan. She did not know these terms. More aliens? She needed to learn all she could, maybe he'd let her take a mind imprint for AlRel to study when she came home. The Gods knew she hadn't expected to meet any aliens on this journey but she would take back what she could.
Expecting some attack? Maybe it was better that her sword and her energy pistol were still stowed safe up in the branches of the tree... Then the rest of his words came to her, the ones he had spoken aloud, anyway. Her tail twitched with the effort to not laugh. He was going to protect her? Trying not to laugh in his face became increasingly difficult.
And then his mental voice. She was shaking by that point, and his question was the final straw. She leaned back against the tree, holding her sides, shaking, making small hiccuping noises. She couldn't speak, couldn't answer or the laughter would pour out and over take her. She let her barriers down just enough to let him feel her amusement and mirth. She hoped he wasn't insulted by it, but she had to release the amusement somehow.
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 11:12 pm
It was his turn to be confused. "I do not see what is so funny. It is no light thing when a Carpathian gives one his protection. Especially to his lifemate."
He wasn't offended, but curious. Clearly she had no clue what he was.
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Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 11:20 pm
It took her a few more moments before she could calm down enough to be able to respond. "I do not know what a Carpathian is," she said simply, "but I have no need of protection, thank you all the same. I am no typical youngling, not even for the Telepaths. She reached for something then remembered she was not wearing clothing, so could not show him her sleeve. She let her hand fall. "I am used to working with someone to protect each other. I do not carry my weapons because I expect an attack at the moment, but because I am trained to always be prepared for one when I expect none," she explained, leaning back against the tree more comfortably now.
"But how is it that you have never before seen a Sholan?" she asked, jaw resting in a partially open position when she finished speaking.
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