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 Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:10 pm
Technically, as only a prentice, Lucijah really had no business leaving the family nest near Sol to leave on a trip - especially one that took her a few days south from the settlement. Her disappearing had never really been a huge concern before - like her father before her, Lucijah had the spirit of a traveler, and it wasn't in her to remain still for long. She'd never gone on a large pilgrimage like he had, of course, but at the same time she loved the ache of walking for hours - of seeing new sights. Growing up in Sol meant she was used to the slightly parted jungle trees, to sometimes look up and see sunlight filtering down against the blue trunks, natural and golden compared to the artificial cyan glow of the jungle crystals. Away from home, though, the world disappeared into a world of purples and dark navy blues, swirls of bright aquamarine around tree trunks, mulched black soil under her feet that her feet partly sank into with each step. Dark pools of water, occasionally found, that had been confirmed free of the contaminant of Crystal Rot, were her favorite spots - dark pools that looked like inky masses, apart from the subtle glows underwater of crystals, or reflected light from mushrooms growing on the trees.
She'd had a fight with her mother, as she always did. About the war, of course. Luc had pointed out the need for fighters, for her to truly earn rank. She'd demanded gauntlets be made for her, and her mother had responded by snidely reminding her that Tendaji had all the fighters it needed - that right now, after the lost battle, what they needed were women to bear new young, fertile bodies to replace the lost ones at battle. "Women have no place there - it is certain they can fight, of that I don't doubt, but they fight a much greater battle against EXTINCTION. We need women to have the babes, to rear them - what use is it to waste a good womb on the battlefield?" She had said, rolling her eyes and grabbing at Luc's wrists, unwinding the bandages she had coiled there, smeared with mud and guts from an insect she had hunted and practiced her punches on.
It had been too much - as soon as her mother assumed the fight was won (seeing Luc's silence as acquiescence), Lucijah had packed a small satchel with nuts and berries, and a set of cloth bandages, which she had long since wound around her knuckles again. Climbing through the jungle, Lucijah peered up at the canopy, a grin of excitement rising onto her lips. It must still be day, for her skin was still a dark hue, but she wondered how close to night it had become. In the thicker parts of the jungle, to the south near Neued, it was hard to tell how much 'light' she had - and while it hardly mattered as far as traveling went, it did matter in that some of the natural hunters were nocturnal, and she would prefer to be safely curled in a vine hammock before nightfall. So she hitched her back over her neck and shoulder, so it wouldn't slide off, and climbed a nearby tree as nimbly as any other Shifter, grabbing notches and mottled vines with testing touches, in case of carnivorous vines - then hitching herself up, climbing a vine with apparent ease. Once she reached one of the sprawling tree limbs, she hitched herself aloft and climbed the rest of the way up to the top of the canopy, squinting with a hiss as she peered up into the sun. IT was afternoon, but still a few good hours before dark. Nothing to worry about, it seemed. So she descended again to a limb, and sat straddling it, reaching for a handful of nuts to bide her growing hunger.
She'd always preferred insects. Maybe she could find one to cook - and build a fire to boil some water, since she didn't know if Crystal Rot had spread this far out or not. She had a char cloth with her, but she would rather use it only if she had to - and she had plenty of time before the worst predators began to prowl the jungle.
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:14 pm
Comfort in the jungle came in many and various forms but more often than not lasted for only a brief moment of time. Today it seemed Nera had found herself in one of the few permanent luxuries that the wilds delivered without restraint, bobbling just above the surface of the water the prentice exhaled through her nose and dipped her pointed chin into the soothing coolness. It had been several days since Nera had left the security of the Oban camp she had stumbled upon, the kindness of her people had been welcome after the grueling endeavors she had faced upon the first excursion she had made into the depths of the jungle. This time the well-built redhead was better prepared, the backpack she carried with her now was of a more durable leather and coated in oils that kept it and its contents dry, she had rations as well, dried meats and hardtack, frivolous spices for both cooking and flavoring her drinking water, things this time would play out differently for the youth; there was no way she would end up crawling back to her people for assistance. Absolutely no way.
Cupping her small hands together Nera syphoned the liquid into the depression between her fingers then quickly clenched her palms together, a giggle erupted from her throat and bubbled past her lips as an arch of water sprayed into the air then splattered back into the dark, inky pool from which it came. The heat of the desert was something that Nera had long ago learned to cope with but the humidity of the jungle was something that the youth struggled to acclimate herself with, the heat was just a smothering sensation, heavy, thick, strangling; crawling into her chest and coiling over her mouth and nose until inhaling was just too much for her to take. It was sad in a way, there were times during the day when the moisture in the air bled all of the heat from her then other times she would dig into the black soil and shove her head into the earthy pit just to catch her breath. Perhaps traveling was in order, the frozen north beckoned to her yet there was something about the surrounding rain forest that captured her attention and held her in place, a profound sense of allure of the unknown appealed to her yet the danger and mystique of the foreign land stimulated something much more primal in the girl; an untapped sense of purpose that longed to be discovered.
Willowy limbs out stretched and pulled the short statured girl from the murk of the pond and onto the blanket that she left outstretched for herself to dry upon. The approach of the lunar hours was steadily making its decent into the late evening, glancing upward towards the trees that blotted out the sun pink hues lazily fluttered shut and rounded ears easily heard the approach of buzzing and flittering wings. There was no need to scale the trees when there was a body of water nearby, the sounds of the jungle varied throughout the day and it merely took a bit of time and observation to understand the pattern of the sky cycle. Insects and various other creatures were stirring deep in the gloom of the neon spotted darkness, soon night would fall and the flesh and blood that stories were made of would creep into existence; for Nera the choice of taking shelter balanced on one hand while the other gripped tightly into a fist readying to face the horrors of the wilds. Rations would only last so long and fish as she had learned some time ago were more of a time consuming burden than what they were worth. Honing her skills in the thicket of trees and vines wasn’t exactly how Nera had expected to learn survival and yet the thought of out witting savage beasts and claiming their life with her own hands sent a euphoric wave radiating to her very core. It could wait until she was fully dry however, the dampness of her clothing made for her concentration to go askew when she was attempting to focus on simple tasks, rolling onto her stomach the slender yet lean built Oban grinned while stretching until the vertebra in her lower back cracked and a pleased groan tumbled off of her lips all too loudly.
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:18 pm
Above the crunching of nuts in her mouth, Luc couldn't hear much else. Instead she waited, eating slowly, until her eyes readjusted to the gloom of the jungle, shifting from the reds and oranges of sunlight to the blues, purples, and teals of the crystal and mushroom glows. Up here, in the treeline, it was somewhat dark - hidden between the glow from below, and the shine from above by thick tree limbs and leaves, respectively. Above the din of crunches against her teeth, it was no surprise that the delighted giggle from far below her went unheard. She was too busy thinking back to her mother, angrily, and then longingly towards the large lake that she was wandering towards. She'd been walking for two days - if she camped here, tonight, then she would only have to walk an hour or so to reach it. Then she could stay there a few days, head back home and have the trip finish as a weeklong excursion. She'd be sure to get a scolding, if not a slap or more, from her mother, but it would be worth it, Luc thought. Besides, she needed to be free - beneath the canopy. It was dangerous, her on her own, but she had her dagger and knowledge of the jungle, and as long as she climbed the trees and bundled herself, unnoticed, before nightfall it should be fine. At least it always had been, in the past.
Shaking her head, Luc reached upwards to grip a small offshooting branch, using it as leverage to pull herself up to her haunches, squatting on the smooth bark of the tree, toes curled to grip every bit of surface it could, for better balance. Peering around, Luc hoped to view any sort of nearby food - she had her nuts, but any insect she could sweep up, lured into nonchalance by lack of common predators, would be easy to snatch up. Mushrooms were good, too, but it was so easy here to mistake one mushroom for another, and given that a good majority were poisonous Luc didn't quite trust herself to remember the differences enough. So bugs - or climbing back up into the canopy to scower for more nuts and, hopefully, berries. The berries didn't last very long in her pack without being crushed, and they weren't like the sweet berries of other places - these berries were thick and meaty, with bursts of delicious liquid that would save her having to risk drinking from an unknown water source, or lighting a fire when it was so close to night as it was. She hadn't seen any when she came up - then again she'd been too intent on the sky, and amidst the colorful treeline it was often hard to discern the presence of berries without turning the leaves over and checking the stems personally.
Humming in thought, Luc tested her weight on the limb she was hanging upon, to be sure it wouldn't snap, then leaned out, over the sheer drop from the branch, but her grip was sure, in a way only a child who had grown up among it would be, and instead she raked her eyes over the dark and glow below.
The normal colors were aqua, teals, blues - occasionally maybe the sharp pink crystals jutting from a tree. But amber. Amber, in Jauhar, had always been a foreign color. It was native to places like Zena - coming to Jauhar only by way of stowing away in a pocket as a trinket to bring home. Large jewels of swirling gold, yellow, orange weren't native -they weren't NORMAL. So seeing it, below, and without any glow (meaning maybe some rare form of mushroom? Who knew) instantly caught her eye. Looking closer - Luc's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open. They were crystals - large, chunky, much unlike the small teardrop shapes on her own. She'd seen an ice earthling before - covered in rocky, chunky crystals that looked painfully embedded, different from the almost delicate shapes of her own. Sometimes she'd see a Shifter with larger stones, but it wasn't usual, not for shifters.
Nor was it normal to see someone with skin like that - a brown that she had never seen, not locally - maybe akin to the dried wood ornaments her father had once shown her, from far away, not like the colorful blues and purples of Jauhar wood.
An Oban. She'd heard of them - red-eyed demons, burnt by the sun, unprotected by the goddess as Shifters were from the sun above the canopy. This one didn't look horribly burnt - maybe similar to a Talean, sandy and pink - but definitely Oban.
Luc quickly scrambled back onto her branch from where she'd been hanging, moving to grip the vines she'd used to climb to the treeline. She could stay up here - she could stay here until it passed on. But Luc had never been careful - nor had she ever shirked away from a fight. Normally sliding down a vine wouldn't be advised, as it would burn the skin from friction - but with the bandages wound around her bloody knuckles, it wasn't quite an issue. So she gripped the vine - using her foot to shove herself from the tree limb, and dropped along it to the lowest limb - which was scarcely ten feet above the Oban's head. Settling on it, Luc carefully climbed onto it, her steps sure and careful, glad for her bare feet as it made it easier to climb without making a sound. Once she was directly above the Oban's head --
She jumped. It was so precise - practiced as she was to pounce from the tree limbs to hunt bugs or small mammals. In this case, she wasn't diving knife first, driving the blade with the heel of her palm into the neck, or using the force of the fall to shunt it through a thick carapace. This time, she moved to land directly on top of the Oban, hopefully to pin it to the ground.
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:20 pm
Bright pink orbs had long-since shut as the shifter overhead switched branches and prowled in the tree-line like some dark-skinned apex predator. Ignorance was certainly a fool’s bliss and Nera was the crowned clown prince in that moment, behind closed eyes the redhead focused inwardly on her own colorless thoughts as speckles of shooting stars erupted in the darkness from behind the thin lids that shielded her gaze. The days had been far more lenient to her than the first time she had attempted to endure the wilds, her body was relaxed and the soles of her feet which were already calloused from the heat of the desert were beginning to hardened at the edges of her sandals and discolor ever so slightly due to the dramatic change in surrounding elements. Normally the youth would have dipped her feet in oil at the end of the day and restored the hydration that she had lost but the jungle was no place for such luxuries; pushing out her bottom lip Nera shifted ever so slightly on the furred blanket, cool sections of fur brushed against her bare midriff and soothed her overly-warm skin with the small action.
Oblivious to the assailant that was slowly making her way into the perfect attack position directly over her the short-haired Oban continued to smile and lazily enjoy the on-coming drop in temperature as night began to crawl along the hidden sky. There were plenty of things she could do once the evening had descended upon her, hunting would be the one that she would enjoy tonight then she would feast on her endeavors and finally retired as the sun bled through the dense, lush canopy.
The attack was swift and executed in such a manner that Nera barely had time to register what was occurring as she felt a weight collide against her exposed back; a sharp gasp tore from her throat as her ribs compressed against the hardened ground and violently forced the very oxygen from her lungs. Wild panic claimed the capital-born sand-dweller, lean muscles tightened and lithe arms toned with hidden power flexed in vain against the unknown-aggressor. “Get off of me!” A high-pitched feminine shriek escaped the fiery-haired youth, thrashing to emphasis her command Nera then fell completely still as a hot breath caught on the back of her neck and the pressure of a heavy chest pushed against bare skin of her upper back where her drab yellow garb ended and her body began. In the back of her mind Nera felt a slight wave of relief permeate through her being, karma wasn’t something that she believed in however with the mastercraft lie that she had woven for Shalvesta back at the Oban camp she wouldn’t have been shocked if those falsehoods came to fruition and manifested into truths. The very thought chilled her to her very core and a noticeable quake overtook her thin-frame making her tremble with anticipation and fear.
“Off of me, you Juahar beast, get off me now or I will make you sorry.” Nera’s voice was cool yet wavering in pitch as her nerves puppeteered her inflection and tone, she had tried to sound absolute and formidable but the girlish tenor that eased from her throat didn’t carry the attempted objective. Cranking her neck as far back as she could manage the petite youth stole a glance at her foe and bright pink eyes widened at the sight that greeted them.
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:21 pm
Luc had grown up wrestling the other younglings and prentices in her settlement, often knocking fists, practicing their hunting and fighting skills. And she had always been best at using her fists to her advantage. She couldn't help it - when she landed, she quickly, efficiently, slid her arm down to the Oban's elbow, wrenching it painfully tight against her back so that her shoulder burned, but didn't pop or crack - a threat to force her to stop struggling. Having landed and swiftly pinned her, though, Luc let out a laugh of triumph, the noise low and victorious, pleased. When Nera peeked at her over her shoulder, it was to the sight of a broad grin, pearly white teeth showing against her dark face, bright blue eyes twinkling and pressed thin into a wide smile that shifted every feature of her face. It was predatory, but also childishly happy at her success. If anything, the shriek that had been wrenched from the poor beast's lungs amused her even more, and having the girl peek at her made her grin back down at her, knowing she was looking and reveling in that victory. The muscles in her arms briefly strained in holding Nera down, but she was broader than Nera - somewhat taller, too.
And being called a Jauhar beast? Luc tilted her head, then actually tossed back her head and laughed, deep from her belly, the motion rumbling from her chest to Nera's back. "Beast?" She asked, shifting so she could properly straddle the girl's hips, sitting comfortably now that she had properly shoved her down beneath her. It might have been a real threat, if this girl were older - she may have been more careful of magic, but as it was it was clear there was little risk of being electrocuted or burned. So, yes, she got cocky. "What will you do to make me sorry, amber one?" She hummed softly, and now that Luc had the girl pinned... she looked at her, properly. The girl was clean, now that she'd had a swim in the water (which was clear from how damp she was, under her), with strange hair that was still drying in small spikes at the back of her head.
Curious, Lucijah leaned close, keeping her grip on Nera's arm, but freeing one of her own so she could card her fingers through that short, wet hair. Nothing was on it - she expected paint. Clay, perhaps, or inks to dye it a strange color. But her hand came back clean, and shifting the hair apart and peering, it was red to the root. Her eyes widened, curious. Every shifter had white hair - there was no variation. This was... strange. Her finger trailed down to the girl's cheek, marveling at the red of her lips - what a strange color. Her eyes, though - they weren't the bloody evil red she had been told, but a pleasant soft pink, not unlike the beautiful hues of the tree crystals - even if they looked just as sharp, now, from defensiveness and anger.
And why shouldn't she be? Luc had no idea what she would do with the girl. Drag her back home, perhaps? Luc didn't know what use a young Oban would be, but she wasn't a wise thinker, so she would leave such strategy to her betters. Instead she trailed her finger against the soft lips, then slowly skid, feather light, along her neck to the amber crystal at her shoulder, fingers feeling at the place where crystal met skin, embedded and growing from it, as anyone's crystal did. It was beautiful, even if she wouldn't voice it out loud.
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 1:14 am
Shame colored the sharp, high set cheek bones of the bronze complexioned girl as she lay defeated on her belly with her arm twisted so tightly behind her she was afraid any moment she would hear the dull thunk of the bone leaving the socket; it wouldn’t have been the first time she had heard the noise of her arm being disjointed and probably wouldn’t be the last if it did occur however the sensation of heated ache that claimed her senses prevented her from struggling further. Glossy, perfect teeth had grinned down at her like a large feline toying with a lesser prey just for the sheer pleasure of indulging in the chemical scent of fear. It shifted upon her body and dark thighs parted ever so slightly until they securely rested on either side of her narrow hips, the heat from the white-haired demon’s front side pushed down against her clad rear and the dampness of her clothing absorbed the natural warmth until it made her clothing cling to skin unpleasantly.
Amber-one?
Swallowing hard at the sensation of nimble fingers tugging at her still drying hair Nera found herself giving a breathy noise in reply. Each tussle and movement Lucijah made caused another stammered gasp to creep from the coiled confines of her chest and drift away from her supple, agape mouth. There was nothing she could say in reply that could explain how she would make the creature pay for her impudence but upon having her mussed tresses examined and toyed with, absolutely nothing. “I—“ Nera stammered, she had silenced the fluttering of her heart enough to find room in her head to craft some manner of speech then just as quickly as it had formed the shifter tugged at the thread and unraveled the words from her tongue with a simple stroke of her cheek.
‘I’m enjoying this . . .’ the revelation plowed into the lean figured youth like a balled fist slamming into her gut, how could she be enjoying the fact that she was being dominated and examined like some sort of pet, why was it she found the feather-like touches rousing the most peculiar of groans from deep within her chest? None of it made sense and it just wasn’t something she would allow! A snarl tugged at the corner of her mouth and her brow furrowed into a scowl that painted her sharp features in a hardened unpleasantness, Nera was set on tearing the foul beast in half . . . then lissome digits played along her neck, trailing a path down to the crude orange stone that jutted from her shoulder. “Darkling-goddess . . . what are you—doing to me?” Pathetically mewled the Oban in a voice that slurred the words in a hazy pitch while she arched up against the touch as if wanting more.
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 2:35 am
The sandy skin under her fingertips colored as she touched, and Luc found herself rather taken by the hue. She blinked, gazing down at the girl, and after a moment she loosened her hold on her arm. Not much, but just enough that there wouldn't be fear of it popping from its socket with the slightest provocation. It was, however, still crimped in a way that would no doubt make the muscles ache and cramp, tugged so the hand was pinned between Luc's hips and Nera's lower back. Under the muscles of her thighs, where the weight of her body pressed down against this girl's body, she could feel the slight shifts of muscles in the Oban's buttocks as she tried to shift, minutely, out from under her. No longer was she struggling, but her body did try and wiggle away, just the slightest bit. Having conquered her prey sent a thrill through her that warmed her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, settling within her belly, hot and heavy in a way she hardly experienced.
Was this fear? The subtle ways that the Oban reacted - gasping as she touched her hair, in way that made Luc pause and wonder if she had yanked it, without noticing. Gasps were squeezed from the sandy woman as Luc shifted, but the shifter assumed it was pressure on her lungs - and yet even so, the noises made her skin shiver and prickle, a soft, hot breath escaping her lungs and dancing across the back of Nera's neck. What was this? It was strange - there was pleasure in a kill, in a hunt, a giddy warmth and happiness and pride - but this wasn't like it. Was it supposed to be different, besting a speaking prey that was as smart as her? That was all she could think.
Soon enough, though, the quick breaths that reminded her of the dying gasps of a radaku she had hunted shifted into a growl - the face hardened, and /oh/. If the gems on her back were lovely, it had nothing on those eyes, which hardened like crystals, pink and vivid and staring at her, the growl a challenge - the growl a promise of a matching determination, of a creature that wouldn't give up easily.
And then - it did. The Oban's resistance shuttered, and Luc could only think that it was a trick. She would be disappointed, but somehow the way that face shifted again - this time a soft, somewhat strained look, one that she found fetching for reasons she didn't understand, was pleasing to her, just as much as the previous resistance.
And the voice - compared to the threat, this was soft, not placating but almost beseeching, slurred and lifting at the end. The voice traveled to that heavy feeling in her belly, her fingers sliding from the small crystal at Nera's shoulder to the smaller one that settled where her neck connected to her shoulders, the skin sensitive and prickling under her touch. Now though her hand slid lower, trailing along her throat with very light fingers, in search of more crystals, she told herself. Really though she just loved the feeling of warm skin under her fingertips, that throat shifting with each soft gasp.
Darkling goddess? It was... a strange name, but Luc found a giddy sort of feeling settling on her once more. She smirked, but her eyes were set on Nera now, and she didn't shift them away even if, normally, she would have rolled her eyes at such a nickname. Now, she was staring, hard, at the side of her face that still tilted to look at her. "I thought it obvious, I captured you." She said, her tone matter of fact. That was all this was, she had captured here and was sitting here until the creature calmed long enough that she could collect vines and tie it up. That was all. And why shouldn't she examine what she had caught? It was only the predator's right, wasn't it?
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 2:46 am
The sensations that washed over her made Nera forget the position that she was in, the tiny breath at her neck and the tender administering of strokes and idle touches to her back made everything veiled in shades of warmth and dizzy lightheadedness that felt as if she had drawn a heavy pull from a strong liquor. It had to be some sort of jungle-magic, some savage-enchantment to lull prey into a dreamlike state. She would not stand for such treatment nor would she just give up, but goddesses be praised how the charms of the dark-skinned beast overwrote her desire to struggle, her willpower to fight.
‘I thought it obvious, I captured you.’ The silken voice mocked her from the throne she had made of her back while her finger trailed a path down her throat then back up. Another breathy noise tumbled from her softly colored lips before Nera yanked her head back and stared defiantly into the pale cool hues of her would-be captor, shifting her hips into the blanket the redhead offered up a sneer then gripped the inside joint of Lucijah’s thighs; the pivot section of tender flesh that coupled with pressure points and gripped it with a brutal vice like twist while arching up and aiming the back of her head with the white-haired shifter’s nose and mouth.
“You’ve caught nothing yet, darkling,” the voice of the girl was labored yet resonated deep within her chest making it come out louder than what would be expected from a person of her stature. The grip on her arm tore tears from her eyes as she pushed into the pain and attempted to roll out from underneath the brute on her back, the position that she lay in was one that would be hard to get out of but with some wriggling she had faith that she could not only escape the strong hold but also the spell the she-witch had cast upon her. “You’ll have to come at me harder than that to get me to sit still while you cast your charms upon me!” Twisting violently Nera stared heatedly into Lucijah’s face while bearing a determined grin of her own.
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Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 11:44 pm
So easily, the girl had given up - and now they simply sat, their heat shedding into the other, Lucijah becoming more and more intrigued with the prey beneath her. Her fingers continued their pilgrimage, trailing up, briefly against her throat, then cupping the bottom of her jaw. As soon as her hand slipped away, from the hollow of her throat, and instead to her cheek, the girl rebelled. Without the threat of a hand at her throat, it seemed, she had regained her fire. It would have been a good change, had Luc not relaxed so much - thinking the Oban lacked the fire. A foolish thought - she was a red headed demon, fire in her blood, and it was ridiculous to have expected the Oban would give up. That being said... the sensitive ligaments of her thigh GRABBED, gripping hard, Luc's eyes widened, brutalized and yet somehow pleased at the fight the girl was presenting. Pain and roughness had never made much headway on her - if anything, she had a masochistic tendency to throw herself into trouble.
The next act, however, was muss less alluring. Luc only had a moment to pull her head away, but that head still crashed into her face. Her nose didn't crack, thankfully, but she felt a rush of heat and a telltale flood down her front that she knew was blood, hot and thick and red.
The words though - they were a challenge. And that was enough to harden her soft blue eyes into diamonds, blood-streaked lips pulling into a shark-tooth grin, wide and toothy. Beneath her, the creature struggled, hips bucking, wiggling to try and shift out from under her. Unknowingly, Nera had unleashed something. It was her being a predator - her winning. Now? Having those fingers dig into her, hard and bruising, the grip lingering even after Nera's arm wrenched away to struggle, had helped her pinpoint what it was. She had never lain with a man or woman - to Shifters, while relations between women happened, it also was a silent taboo, too similar to their enemies the Alkidike to be easily accepted. But Lucijah had seen it before. She'd simply never felt attracted to people, male or female. And yet she was a prentice - a teenager in her own right, and it would be strange if she had imagined it.
She'd wrestled plenty of other prentices, but never had the thrill of a fight felt quite so riveting before. Never had she wanted to win so badly. And she never would have acted upon it, even upon an Oban beast, if the girl hadn't barked out something about being bewitched. Lucijah wasn't smart - she wasn't a strategist, like Nera was, even if Nera didn't understand the dark girl's limitations just yet. But she could make that connection.
For now, however, she had to suppress the girl. After grabbing her, Nera had tugged her arm away from Luc's temporarily broken grip, her hand wrenching away from where it had been pinned. That, and rolling her body to try and scramble away, meant that Luc almost tipped sideways off of her - but instead she coiled her arms around Nera's legs, hooking her ankles together. This hold could be broken, if Nera shot out with her knees, but Luc was counting on her not being familiar with these sort of wrestling moves - it was more likely that Obans trained with swords as younglings, Luc assumed. Her hands now hooked under Nera's armpits, hooking one arm up, while the other pressed against the back of her neck, locking her into a hold so that any attempt to buck would pull her shoulders at an odd angle from her neck, while also protecting her from being struck in the face again.
Breathless and panting, and licking blood from her lips, Luc barked out a laugh again, and now realizing what had caught her attention, she ducked her head, lips barely touching the shell of the girl’s strange, round ear. "I cast no spell, amber one, besides pressing you into the dirt. Perhaps that was enough to suppress you, when it came to it?" It was a jab. She could tell, now, that Nera wasn't the sort to give up - but she had now locked onto the fact that they had interested one another. Why not use it against her?
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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 9:18 am
The solid thud of the back of her head colliding with the soft tissue of cartilage instantly swelled a gloating bellow from somewhere deep inside of the masculine-built youth, she wouldn’t allow this savage to dominate her, she would fight back and grind the smug smirk off of the female’s face with the heel of her foot. Nera would make this dark-skinned fiend suffer for her injustice. This manner of battle however wasn’t one that the desert-dweller had much experience in, wrestling was something that seemed barbaric and less civilized. In her family hand-to-hand combat had been dealt with differently, upright, face to face with her enemy, this manner of groping and blinding wriggling and twisting was awkward and tiresome, if only she could manage to put just a little space between them or completely turn eye-to-eye.
Narrow shoulders twisted and corkscrewed until her arms became locked and hooked at uncooperative angles making her shoulders burn and the center of her back dully ache. “Lemme go!” the short-haired prentice thundered as legs ensnared around her and brought her closer to the shadow colored she-beast. The world around her was spinning and behind her eyes she could feel sparks of adrenaline bursting into floral patterns making her head throb and cloud with a warm white haze, there was something primal about the sensation as it waved over her making Nera feel subdued yet angered like a caged animal being overtaken by bloodlust. Spreading apart her legs Nera dove further into the ground then lifted her pelvis off of the ground, not wanting to tire herself out she held the angle as best she could with a twist of her thigh, if the vile woman wanted to play this game then she would play along until the creature lower it’s guard once again.
The dry laugh was like a thousand tender-twigs snapping in half at the center point, perfect and crisp. Creasing her brow Nera fought with herself to push past that triumphant sound that echoed in her ears, everything about this situation had been engrained in her as something that was horrible and yet the weight of the taller prentice against her back caused a fire in her belly to swell until she felt the blaze pierce through her cheeks and enflame her skin; she had assumed it was shame that was marring her complexion but the odd sensation that shot through her body and sank its fangs into her chest filled her heart with a chilled venom of lonesome agony instead. ‘There is no way--- that --- her--- it isn’t possible!’ Internally the girl struggled with the information that was processing in her head, her body was enjoying situation, the self-effacement meekness that she was being forced to show by submission. From behind she could feel the shifter sliding into a more comfortable position before panting uncomfortably close to her person.
“Oh goddess be praised,” the words fell away from her lips as her throat tightened and her tenor dropped to a gruff whimper. Desert warmth played along the curve of her ear and Nera closed her bright pink hues as the darkling murmured into her flesh. The comment was both a lie and catalyst, the creature surely wanted her to react, tire herself out with struggling but Nera was not some stupid whelp that would fall victim to the charm of the heathen before her. “I would never be taken so easily, perhaps this is exactly where I want you, maybe this is all part of my plan to take you by surprise.” The quip came out bitter and lacked the honey that normally flowed from her tongue and carefully chosen words, it was easy to tell that the petite Oban was frustrated and the more Lucijah toyed with her and lavished attention upon her the more high-strung and irritated the girl became. Snapping her head backwards Nera shot a look at the woman as best she could as a glimpse of a pink tongue dragging across the trail of blood came into view, smudges of red painted the shifter’s face in odd hues as a fresh stream of crimson dripped from her nostril and fell onto her own much lighter skin. “You’re making a mess,” she chastised in a voice that all too high-pitched while her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth and felt thick in her mouth. “Clean it.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 2:39 am
Initially, even within the Shifter tribe, such wrestling was not meant for the battlefield. Spears, blades, beasts - there were all manner of different weapons, and the advanced forms of such wrestling were unique to people like Lucijah that had never learned to outgrow such fumbling. She found that experience was now a double bladed sword, for despite restraining the Oban, the close proximity had her just as intrigued as the girl next to her. The strange feelings left her confused, her brow furrowing in confusion.
It should be strange, but in the heat of the moment Lucijah didn't allow herself to dwell on it. There was the thrill of the chase, the need to dominate, the frustration of just wanting to roll the girl over, shove her down and -- what? What would she do if, somehow, she got this beast on her back? 'I need to do this, now.' She thought, with the flawless rationale only a feral creature could make in this moment. Just as she began to muse on HOW - Nera's lower body dropped flat to the ground, taking the dark shifter by surprise, then lifted, trying to buck her off. Lucijah was forced to clench her legs tighter around Nera's, to force her back down.
At this point she rested her face against her prey's neck, her nose leaving oozing blood behind on the red-brown skin, and Lucijah couldn't help but feel it was a fetching color. And yet at the same time, a sense of wrongness inside - she found she quite disliked the idea of this creature's blood spilling, of her body being decorated in her own blood. No, the flush was much better, so if Lucijah wanted to mar her with that red to better appreciate it must be her own. Too overcome by adrenaline to think straight, Lucijah pressed her nose to that neck, letting out a shuddering breath at the soreness, but was rewarded by a smear of blood as she rubbed her nose up Nera's neck to the delicate bones of her jaw.
Was that her plan? Then foolish of Nera to share it - but in the current state Lucijah was in, she was sure she would forget to keep on guard soon enough. For now, she smirked and hummed in approval, and 'rewarded' Nera with a sharp bite at the skin she had just been nuzzling so happily at. "I quite like this place, where you want me." She pointed out, with a smile. Maybe it was a trap, and more foolish of Lucijah for walking into it, or maybe the Oban was blowing hot air - but she just WANTED and she couldn't make herself think about pulling away, not from this one.
The hour was growing late. In the growing noise of the jungle, Lucijah was slowly shifting from her dark skin to a lighter, milky color - but for now was still somewhat dark, the change not overly obvious in the glow of the jungle, by the lake.
Lucijah was in control - she was the one holding the Oban in a tight grip. And yet... when Nera looked at her, Lucijah found herself frozen. Not in shock, but she did meet that gaze almost eagerly, and when the Oban spoke - the words... the ORDER. Any normal enemy of an Oban would laugh, would force its head to the ground and growl at it to shut up. Lucijah, however, found herself finally relaxing her legs so that, instead of pinning Nera down, she once again shuttered them,propping herself up on her knees. "As you wish, my Oban queen." She purred, teasingly, both making fun of her for ordering, and also gasping the words out in apparent approval. Slowly, she dipped down, her eyes locked on those beautiful pink ones, and opened her mouth - making quite a show of dragging her tongue from Nera's lower shoulder, up and up - until it swallowed up that bead of blood.
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Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 9:07 pm
“All of the queens future and past!” Heatedly swore Nera as her aggressor continued her sensual assault. Never before in her young life did the prentice experience such intense desire or longing to touch and be touched in return. In Oba the short-haired would-be prince never felt the need to chase after potential mates and those that made the attempt to go after her sickened her, sure the attention was enjoyable but those that lavished upon her and sought to lay with her made her want to tear the gems from their skin and seal the wounds with hot wax and peppered oil.
The chemical mixture flooding the air, iron and pheromones, a potent scent that hung heavily on the moist currents of the night breeze. Parietal eyes focused in the obscuring gloom of the darkened forest floor, thick limbs silently swayed, a tail poised and solid muscle went slag; readying every fiber, each neuron for the oncoming actions. Blinking steadily the beast cantered its head and peered at the fleshy couple, the milky gloss of the exposed back of the larger mate caused the saliva to gather in his maw and creep out the slides of his shut snout. Tonight he would feast.
“Don’t you dare stop,” Nera repeated, a slender hand twitched and wretched against the restraint wanting to wind itself deeply in the shifters long white locks. Oban Queen? Really? A laugh erupted from the slender girl, yes this woman knew her place, she knew how to address her properly. She could be forgiven for her actions. Staring into diamond ice pupils turned into pools of reflecting black, the pink barely visible of her iris, the twirling dance Lucijah played against the ruddy crimson paint against her skin spurred a gasp-like pant to erupt from her throat and tumble away from her agape lips.
There was no time to cease her movements, everything was already such a blur that went she shot forward and her mouth connected with the much fuller lips of the taller prentice she whelped out in surprise then growled deeply from within the confines of her chest and hungrily moved her lips demanding more. “You’re gorgeous. More.” Sinking her teeth into the soft pale flesh of the name-less shifter’s bottom lip suckling on it imploringly. She didn’t even know this person’s name, but that didn’t matter, the only thing that was important was making sure she kept filling the deep ache that radiated from her soul, this creature caught her, wanted her; that was the only thing that counted.
Curious creatures these two legged beast were, the soft sounds and erratic movements denoted that the pair were still just juveniles to their species, perhaps a first copulation, the milky-skinned whelp that dug into the smaller mate certainly acted with desperate aggression. Soon the two would be in a position that would leave them vunerable and escape would be impossible for the foolhardy pair. Heavily muscled scales dragged across the blackened topsoil, calculating eyes blinked slowly, flickering from side to side in anticipation. Glossy light flesh tensed and the smaller she-beast cried out, the heady scent of arousal and copper grew stronger, intoxicating his senses; a clawed paw jerked forward and pupils sharpened into dangerous slits. Now was not the time, the paw came back down and the soft pad connected with the ground steeling himself from leaping out too soon. That scent was enough to drive anyone crazy, such a delicious fragrance; they simply had to be his. This was his kill. Dragging a tongue against a dried maw the beast crept forward, low, concealed.
A silent twitch, muscles rippled just under the flesh as he watched the pair continue to engage in what he thought was love making but in actuality was desperate, rushed kissing. This was the time, he could hear the cries of the mates reaching a pentacle, the climax of the act. Now was the time. Digging his talons into the dirt he watched, the hips of the largest creature jerked erratically and a new scent filled the air, yes, this was it! Snarling he launched himself from the shadows, each step he took adding to the strength of his ambush. Springing forward he threw open his maw and readied his claws in midair, they would not get away from him.
Grinning broadly the youth opened her mouth to speak, the words would have been of downy and sweetened like honey towards the girl yet the expression that was once soft suddenly filled with wide eyed terror and the tone that ripped from her mouth was of warning. “BEHIND YOU!!!” Instinctively feet rather than hands shot up and pushed the brute away from her body, lean thighs with hidden power propelled the long-haired shifted backwards and towards the side away from the clawed night-terror, but not far enough to save her completely but enough to throw the critical attack to miss its mark.
Pin pricks of slits widen in shock at the agile movement of his prey and confusion flooded the beast, what sort of creatures were they!?
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Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 9:46 pm
Lucijah found she quite liked the curses this poor Oban came up with. She felt a soft snort of laughter bubble from her nostrils, but she was too thrown into kissing at Nera's throat to think much more on it. She only knew that the girl was begging her for more. She nearly lost it there - a primal growl broke from her throat, and Luc stopped licking at her shoulder, her arms slipping from their tight hold around Nera's throat and shoulders. Instead, she briefly fisted her hand in the short hair, and braid, at Nera's temple, tugging the hair away so she could tilt her face to drag her lips over her cheek.
Oblivious of the predator in the darkness beyond the gently glowing copse they had found themselves in, Lucijah instead remained entirely focused on Nera. The moon had risen, and with it her skin finally shifted fully from the dusky dark and into the glowing, milky white of her nighttime skin. She thought nothing of it. Then, just as she answered, Nera turned to somehow tilt her head over her shoulder, torso twisting as their faces met, and instantly Lucijah surged forward to match her kiss. Growling when Nera broke away to speak, Lucijah obeyed - jumping as she was bit. It didn't even matter to her that her control was slipping, and now she was working more on behalf of the beautiful creature below her than herself. 'More' Nera asked, and so more she gave - after shivering at the bite to her lips, she kissed her back thoroughly, a desperate matching of lips that was messy and embarrassing but so right that neither cared. Somehow as they kissed Lucijah had let up her pressure, breaking their kiss long enough to flip Nera over onto her back with ease, pausing to smirk down at her before ducking to kiss her again. She leaned back onto her haunches, only now properly getting a look at Nera, and her eyes widened. "You are..." She gasped, but what Nera was she didn't know. Now looking down at her, Luc was overtaken with the red - which, before, she had attributed to a demon. Now though - her pink eyes were beautiful, and the tinge of red that colored her body made her simply look ALIVE. Lucijah was breathless.
But suddenly the touches stopped, and Lucijah drew her eyes open, gazing at her caught queen in confusion.
Nera's face shifted in horror. Lucijah felt stabbed through the heart for reasons she couldn't understand, misunderstanding - but in a split second she saw those eyes focus behind her. She turned - catching sight of it lunging at her just as she turned. At her neck - it would catch her neck, she was dead. Terror filled her body, and Lucijah knew in that moment she was dead - and even if the possibility of failure, at catching an Oban, had meant she might die, not like this. Better to be taken back and executed than THIS -- she had seen enough corpses to know the horror. A radaku would rip your throat out - its claws raking, tearing out your belly. You would be lucky to bleed out quickly, hope that the main artery in your neck got punctured. But she had heard tell of windpipes crushed, intestines pulled from a belly, bleeding but not fast enough, instead suffering as the beast made a meal of you - tearing chunks of your flesh at its leisure until finally the pain made you pass out, or away, but only after so much suffering.
She'd never thought this would be it. And then, from behind her, feet kicked her - was the Oban kicking her towards the beast, hoping that it would be busy with her and let the Oban escape ? It really shouldn't be a shock - this was an Oban, and yet -- she had thought... she had thought...
Another moment of crushing despair that she had no right to feel. A maw full of sharp teeth sank into her, pain exploding in her shoulder and neck, but as she was shoved back to the ground by the weight of the crushing creature upon her, Lucijah realized it was NOT tearing at her throat - but had buried its teeth into the flesh of her shoulder. The kick had saved her - maybe not her life, that remained to be seen, but from an assured death certainly. Partly from the pain, and partly from the weight of the radaku bearing down on her, Lucijah opened her mouth in a shout - hands raising to shove and scrape at the scales of the beast on her, dimly aware of its front talons deep inside her side, piercing - a grasp to hold her still. Its mouth, now fastened around her shoulder, tugged - shaking her, an action that would have torn her throat, and definitely tore her flesh, but it only caused blood to burst into the beast's mouth, not to inflict a fatal wound.
So now it would focus on disembowling her. 'Knife' - she thought, brokenly, kicking her feet as best she could, arms dropping from trying to push the muscled beast off, and instead groping around for her knife - but it was kicking, claws catching her wrist and forearm as it tried to gouge out her legs, up to her belly in hopes of gutting her. There was no way she'd get the knife, not alone.
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Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 9:54 pm
The beating heart in her chest had consumed every fiber of her muscles, very firing nerve ending that sparked to life under her skin and throughout her being. One moment she had been in paradise and the next she was plunged beneath the surface of sinister reality, the pain that had been in those diamond eyes drove a stake of ice into her chest sobering the wild panic that she felt clouding her mind. Gears screeched and spun in her mind but her limbs still felt thick, confused and lifeless as she watched as if disembodied from her own person, claws raked over creamed flesh and jaws sank deeper into the neck that she wanted to claim as her own. The radaku ruined everything and was attempting to take what rightfully belonged to her away with its thoughtless actions.
“Enough!” Nera roared, her voice boomed over the ambient noise of the jungle and droned out the cries that escaped from Lucijah. “She is mine and you will suffer for harming her, you foul beast!” Logic had given way to instinct, if the creature continued as it was then the shifter would sure end up mortally wounded, there was no time to plan and weave together a course of action, she simply had to act and do it swiftly.
Small balled fist connected hard with the scaled backside of the beast, did the female really think that his attention would be so quickly stolen from his wounded prey? Giving her own snarl Nera reached around the side of the creatures face and without even so much as second guessing slammed her arm into the creature’s snout making the beast shake its head violently once again, she was just a pest and would be dealt with the moment the larger one fell. “You will leave her alone!” This time the bothersome whelp struck true, long talon-less paws dug into the corner of his eye pushing past the membrane and entering behind the socket, a howl of pain forced him to release the alpha-mate, if the little one was so eager for his attention then he was more than happy to lavish his devotion upon her. Whipping away from Lucijah the radaku turned on Nera snapping his maw at her exposed arm clamping onto the thin, lean appendage with brutality and malicious intention. “Run away! I got it! Go! Save yourself, my Doe!” The words tore from her mouth before she even realized that she had spoke, this beast was already upon her shaking its large head from side to side tearing into her flesh like a knife through churned cream. There was only a numbness there, she didn’t scream nor did tears prickle at the corners of her eyes, Nera met the best half away and grinned wickedly as she repeatedly jabbed her hands into its face clawing at its eyes and tugging at the skin of its mouth.
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Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 10:03 pm
For a long moment there was only panic and pain. The radaku continued to shake its head, unwilling to release her from its maw, lest she scramble away - and teeth buried against her collarbone and shoulder meant it held her well. But it also meant that, by shaking her, it was trying to will its teeth to slide just right against an artery - a hollow wish, seeing as the nearest life supporting vessel was a good few inches away. That didn't mean she didn't bleed though - ohh did she bleed. But the tickling sensation of blood marring her pale skin had nothing on the horrible agony of talons and claws, dirty from past kills and the dirt it had briefly buried its nails in before springing, made every further tear of her flesh burn with pain - and the piercing deepness of the talons in her sides, and raking at her legs, made her scream - a howl of agony that she didn't realize had broken from her. Her hands continued to try and fumble to the belt, but it had dipped low against her thighs. She felt weakness already swallowing her - could see nothing but the dim clow of mushrooms above her, unable to crane her neck to LOOK at Nera, because for some reason all she wanted was to just look at her, perhaps for one last time --
But above the harsh, hot breath of the radaku against her bloodied neck and ear, she heard Nera - roaring, and her consciousness zeroed in on her words. Emboldened by them - 'HERS -- I'm hers, all will be well' she thought, the scream dying as she clenched her teeth against the agony. The slap to the beast's snout made it bite her, deeper, if that were possible, shaking its head so fiercely her brain felt boggled about in her skull- nearly making her scream again. But instead she waited - waited until the right moment.
That moment was when the fierce eyeball, which had turned to watch Nera leerily, was suddenly, and quite viciously, popped by the intrusion of fingers. Bloody, viscous fluid leaked down its snout, and it finally released her. Lucijah fell, heavily, from its lifted grasp, her breath knocked out of her - but her eyes followed it as it swung around - and closed its teeth around that beautiful arm. The skin, perfect in every way, tore until its viscious grasp, but Nera didn't flinch - scream. She SMILED -- she smiled as it ripped her skin, precious blood pearling around its frothing maw, down her forearm and dripping from her fingers. Lucijah locked eyes with her, startled - entranced. She had been accused of casting a spell before, yet now she felt it over her - ADMIRING this beast, calling at her to run.
Soon those bloody fingers tore at the Radaku's mouth, continued to rake at its eyes - and Luc took the chance where she found it. Bloodied arms blindly felt for her knife, unable to stomach looking down, certain that the sight of torn, flayed flesh on her sides and legs would make her lose what determination she had - and instead used every bit of strength she had to roll up from where she'd fallen, and sink that knife past the scales and into the Radaku's throat. She stabbed - once, twice, then waited until Nera's hand dropped from the radaku's eyes, and stabbed it - the knife shooting past the bloody pulp that was its eye, and straight into its brain. Almost even before she knew it was dead, Luc dropped the knife and instead gripped the lips of the beast, uncaring about the needle sharp fangs tearing at her fingers, and instead PRYING the maw open - off of where they had sunk into her lover's perfect flesh.
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