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 Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 7:15 pm
Child's Play After wandering off into the forests of Juahar and getting royally thrashed by the local wildlife, Nyx had had to be cured by one of the village’s healers. Needless to say, her aunt and uncle hadn’t been too thrilled about that, reaming her out for doing something so dangerous. Especially after the appearance of the Dretch, no one was supposed to go anywhere alone! So while she was still low on energy and on a tighter leash than normal, Nyx was more or less grounded. Not that she’d have run off anyways: after the embarrassment of what had happened, she was taking a break to rethink her strategy when it came to exploring. She needed to learn more about the area first.
Which led her to where she was now, sitting within earshot of a few of her cousins as they engaged some of the local teenagers.
Bored out of her bloody mind.
“Uuuugghh this is awfuulll…” she groaned, picking a small crystal jutting up out of the ground to toss it into the other eternal gloom surrounding this damned country. One of her cousins turned, smirking ever-so-smugly at her, “What Nyx, can’t think of anything to do that doesn’t include getting your rear-end handed to you? Maybe you should go pick a fight with those mushrooms, they look pretty feisty?” At that the others started laughing, relishing the opportunity to kick Nyx when she had been knocked down a few pegs from her insufferably high perch of pride. She returned the remark with a less-than-polite gesture of her middle finger, getting up to skulk somewhere else.
Prowling around the area for a while, she eventually concluded that she was adequately far enough away from the group to not have to deal with them anymore, planting her arse on a large tree root while she fumed. Stupid brats. Stupid family. Stupid country. The sooner they left the better, back on her home turf in Tale. She pulled her knife out of its spot at her hip, threw it down into the hard flesh of the root, pried it back out, then repeated those steps as necessary until she felt better.
But then her melancholy was rudely interrupted by the laughter of children, looking up to glare at wherever the source had come from. It was a small group of shifter younglings that were busy in some kind of game, chittering and chattering as children felt the need to do. Nyx scowled, having half the mind to toss her knife into their midst just to see how quickly they might scatter, when she spotted a familiar spot of brown amongst all the shades of grey. There was a little Leaf boy in their group as well, about as out of place as a zit on a bald man’s head. With a huff she kept her knife at bay, watching their shenanigans in case SOMETHING interesting might happen.
[1/10]
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 9:31 pm
Laughter was supposed to be a good thing, especially if it came from your friends. Generally that meant that they were all happy, you were supposed to be happy, and the atmosphere was generally one of lighthearted warmth.
So...why didn't it feel that way?
The little leafling boy kicked a ball to the shifter kids with a smile, hoping to perk himself up a little when his kick sent the ball skittering off into a nearby shrub. It bounced over an extended root before burying itself deep into the thorny flora, drawing a chorus of groans and 'come on, again?' from the children.
"Bet your sister could've kicked better. Bugs are good at that kind of thing." Several of the children snickered, but the one who spoke, a little rotund shifter boy, stepped up close enough to Eurig to pinch his skin as he passed. He let out a little yelp, raising his hand to cover the afflicted flesh.
There was no point in telling them not to say anything about his family, because they hadn't listened before and didn't seem likely to do it now. He certainly didn't like having his sister talked about like that; it wasn't fair and it was rude-
"Guys, guys look he's crying, he's totally going to cry, look!"
The tears may have welled up but Eurig didn't let them drop.
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:21 pm
Sitting and watching the children’s festivities, Nyx audibly groaned when the little Leafling sent the ball careening into a thicket of thorns, stuck right in place by the barbs. Mistakes like that weren’t good: kids are vicious little things, quick to point fingers and call out the mistakes made by the weakest members of the group. Nyx would know: she did the same thing at that age. Usually drew a few laughs at other’s expense, or bloodied a few noses when someone tried to return the treatment.
Unfortunately, this boy was not looking to fight back; instead tears were welling up in his big green eyes. Usually she’d just write it off, let it be a lesson for the kid to either grow a spine or continue to suffer. But these weren’t the usual circumstances. This was some shady country with dark people and dark monsters, and quite frankly, she’d had enough of putting up with its s**t. No one was gonna’ kick one of her own, not when they weren’t on their home turf.
So she got up off her root and sheathed her knife, pacing over to the group of younglings with the air of a predatory cat. “We sisters tend to be pretty good at kicking, especially little asses.” Resting her elbow on Eurig’s head, she cocked an eyebrow at the plump little boy, the obvious leader of the pack, sizing him up. “Looks like it’d be easy to hit yours; could probably do it with my eyes closed from a mile away, the target is so large. Maybe you should get caught on a few of those thorns while you are at it: might release some of that hot-air bloating you up like a fat little corpse.”
[2/10]
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 12:09 pm
Eurig didn't notice the older girls approach at first. He saw it in the eyes of his 'friends'; how some of them backed up, but mostly how the vast majority seemed to puff up their little chests, like a flock of tiny birds ready to peck. When he turned to get a peek at the one talking he found he couldn't turn his head very far, mostly because of the elbow on his head. He tried to peer up at her, though, as far as he could make his eyes roll up. She wasn't as big as Subira, but they seemed to be the same age, and....and she was tan, so maybe she was like him.
Sheepishly, he turned away from her to look at Ignis and the way his fat little brows scrunched. Eurig snickered, at least he started to, when one of the other kids caught his attempt and he immediately quelled it. This girl was ruthless.
"Y-you can't talk to me that way! No one asked you to be here, so you should just leave!"
While he didn't particularly like being so mean to others, in this case Eurig was glad to be on her side than standing over there with the shifter kids.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 1:51 pm
Nyx simply took in the spectacle, the way the kids puffed themselves up, the ruffling of their little feather…ah, it’d been SO LONG since she’d played like this. When you got older, there were these expectations that we should all be ‘more civil’ and ‘control our tongues’. But where was the fun in that? The real test of someone’s mind was how quickly they were able to defend themselves, and there was no better arena than a sparring match between wits.
She grinned at his defensive retort, in much the same manner you’d imagine a shark would when it picked up the scent of blood. “Really, because the way I see it, why should I stop? Because my lips seem to be moving, and words are coming out, and…oh, would’ja look at that, I’m STILL talking? So who’s gonna stop me? You?” Her eyes flit to scan the small herd of dark-skinned children, sizing them up as well. “Your little posse? I’d suggest maybe you might rely on a sister to come out and save you, but judging by all those rolls, if you ever even had one, she’s already been gobbled up by your greedy little mouth, hasn’t she?”
[3/10]
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:25 am
When it became clear that the scary leaf girl wasn't just talking to Ignis, but rather the group as a whole the children seemed to huddle closer to one another. A few murmured words between themselves, but the only one stupid enough to keep flapping his gums at an audible level was the portly Ignis.
Eurig may have been giggling at the start, but he didn't particularly like making the other kids upset. Ignis he didn't mind, but the others weren't too bad, and she....she really was coming down on them pretty hard.
"I don't need a stupid sister, I have a brother! And you'd better watch out c-cause when I tell him he's gonna come and kick your butt!"
Eurig scrunched up his nose. Ignis may have been chubby, but his brother was actually stocky and muscled. Lazy, though, so he didn't think the man would be coming to Ignis' aid anytime soon, but still....He really didn't want this girl to get hurt because of him.
So, the little leafling tentatively reached up and tugged at arm she'd propped atop his head. "Um, excuse me? Miss? I think they're scared now."
"I'm not scared of her! She's a short, horned freak and my brother's gonna kick her all the way back to Tale!"
Shut up, stupid! Even if she was short she was still a heck of a lot bigger than they were!
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Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 4:39 pm
Listening to the little thing prattle on, Nyx had to scrunch up her mouth, holding back her tongue for a moment. While riling this little twit up was enjoyable, she didn’t exactly want to drag anyone else into this. It wasn’t that she was opposed to meeting this “older brother” and maybe getting into a fight. But rather, that wasn’t the purpose of coming over here in the first place.
It all came down to this Leafling kid.
He was being ganged up on and singled out, probably because he was different than the locals. But if she was too rough on the other kids, or embarrassed their leader TOO much, then they might ostracize him completely. And while she couldn’t understand why he’d want to hang out with this tubby little s**t-head, it was important for kids to have friends. Otherwise he might turn out to be some weirdo who sits by himself and like…pokes dead animals or something.
So really, she had to think of a way for him to prove that he wasn’t just a wimpy little sissy, bring down the leader’s ego a bit, while still maintaining their delicate group dynamic.
Ugh, why’d she get herself into this anyways?
She removed her arm from atop the little boy’s head, standing at his side as she crossed her arms. “You could go and get your brother. But after he came here and tried to shut me up―which by the way I find HIGHLY unlikely―then what? You’d just be some coward that has to rely on stronger people to fight your fights for you. “ She raised an eyebrow, cocking her head, “Are you saying you’re a coward?”
[4/10]
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 12:35 pm
Was she...Was she listening to him, or not? Eurig couldn't tell. He stayed close to her, even after the initial contact was removed, though he didn't reach up to touch her arm again. His little brows furrowed forcing the crystals that lined his eyes to rise in the process. She wasn't going to pick a fight, was she? He knew she should be able to win, she was bigger, but there were more kids and if they wanted to they could gang up-
"Why do you even care anyway?!" Oh no, Ignis was mad now. Eurig could tell because the second fat roll around his neck started to vibrate. "You don't even know him! He's just some stupid kid who can't even climb trees-!"
"I can too!" Eurig chimed in. "I can climb them better than you, we just don't climb so much because you're scared." He puffed up them, standing a little taller. The little leafling wasn't an expert at it, and he got scared, just as much as Ignis, but he still did it. "S-s-so you are a coward, and....and you're a bully too. She's trying to help so stop being a jerk."
"She's a bigger jerk than I am! Whose side are you on, Eurig?"
"Well, I mean, yeah...." He looked back, and up, at the girl. "She's rough, but she's helping me when you said bad things, so that makes her better than you."
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 3:22 pm
It was like watching a little Edwardian play, the two boys bouncing retorts off of each other. It was almost kinda cute...in a comically ridiculous way. But it looked like the Leafling may have had a spine after all, so maybe her efforts weren’t going to totally go to waste.
Nyx’s eyebrows rose up at the latter comment, the irony of it not being lost on her. Yeah, she was a jerk. But maybe sometimes that jerkiness could be used for good? Was it good to rile up little kids? Good and bad were such stupid concepts anyways; she didn’t care if people saw her as helpful or not. Whether or not she was helping or hurting at the moment was up to interpretation, but at least it seemed like the tan boy was appreciating her unique brand of spitefulness.
But something they had mentioned had caught her attention: maybe she could work with that. Nyx propped her hands at her hips and shrugged her shoulders, speaking up again, “I don’t really care either way about if you think I’m a jerk: I’m not your friend, and I’m not his friend. Just seems silly to me for you to claim you’re not scared, when you’re getting awful defensive.”
She paused, putting on an air of indifferent curiosity. “If tree climbing abilities is your way of gauging stupidity levels, then you must be a dunce. At LEAST as dumb as this little twig here,” she said, tapping her knuckles atop Eurig’s head as she looked at the other children as well. “Since he claims that you can’t climb trees either. So you're saying that you’re JUST as stupid as he is?”
[5/10]
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 7:41 pm
Eurig rather liked the feeling of being puffed up like a bird. His stuck his chest out, feeling bigger than his years ever naturally allowed and felt like he was tough enough to at least defend himself. If only he could hold the pose naturally instead of feeling like the moment he breathed it would all come tumbling down.
The problem was, with so many young children hanging around in one place they were sure to draw attention from adults, mainly the ones that were supposed to be watching over them. Although Eurig's own parents were close by, the shifter kids had relatives in the area and with all the commotion coming from young mouths a few had come over to investigate.
Two middle aged shifter men came over, clearly annoyed to be interrupted from whatever work they had been tending to. They had expected to see the same kids squabbling over the same ol' problems they usually had, but the addition of a leafling teenager had them stumped.
"Hey now, kids, come on - Hang on, who're you?"
"It's Eurig's fault she's here, papa!" One of the smaller kids, the one who had practically vanished behind Ignis, piped up. "We was just playin' and she started pickin' on Ignis. "
Clearly, the shifter didn't believe it, but he was skeptical, if only because of the things he heard on his way over to their group. "Is'at right? You pickin' on my boy and his friends, girl?"
"Look'at'em, Rylin. Shrimpy and pip over here ain't pickin' on no one. Your boys hidin' behind chubs. What do ya think went on here?"
Eurig...wasn't entirely sure if he should be happy that his friend's dad was on his side or not, considering the nicknames. He knew they didn't care for him, but at least they tried not to let their boys pick on him too much. "Miss, can we go? I don't wanna be here anymore."
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Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 8:13 pm
Whether or not the tubby youngling decided to take the bait and initiate a challenge to uphold his honor in front of the group of children was something that would have to go unanswered, as the party was soon crashed by some adults. They should be lauded for the attentive watch they kept over their progeny, ensuring that nothing was amiss or endangering the youths; but in Nyx’s eyes, it was like a couple of wrenches had been thrown right into a machine that had been running quite well on its own, thank you very much. She squinted as the two men came over, mood immediately dampened by their appearance.
She huffed indignantly, placing a hand on the shoulder of the little boy at her side as accusations started flying. “Whatever we said was totally deserved: Pudge over here was laying the pain down on this squirt, so we were just giving some of it back. Wasn’t a fair fight―the whole lot of em ganging up on him. I just came over to even the odds.” She cast ‘Ignis’ a look, sneering sardonically. “He’s just so used to giving lip without ever getting smacked back that the little gremlin overreacted, worked his posy here up for no reason. Apparently his ego is a fragile little thing that's bruised easily~”
[6/10]
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Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 8:28 pm
On impulse Eurig took a half step closer to the girl, pressing his little body against her leg. Whether or not he was trying to hide behind her was a mystery even to himself. Even now the shifter adults looked at him like a foreign substance; something not entirely unpleasant, at least not as much as his alkidike mom and sister, but also not exactly wanted.
"S'at true, Ignis? Were you pickin' on the leaf kid again?"
"Come on, Rylin, it's just some boys playing games." The other man scoffed at his friends behavior. "If he can't take the heat then he should just stay home."
That's what they said every time this happened. It always came down to his inability to act 'normal' with the shifters because of his home life, and Eurig didn't understand it. What was wrong with having two moms? It didn't make him physically slower, or stupider. He was just born stupid; it wasn't their fault. He squared his shoulders, tears gathering once more as a pit of anger built up inside of him.
Ignis met Nyx's sneer with an angry little pout, one that was made stubby by his short, puffed up nose. The boy behind him was quick to point out, "There she goes again!" before Ignis himself tried to speak....
....Eurig just beat him to it.
"You suck, Ignis!" That seemed to stun the portly little boy. "She's right. You push and push and push, but when someone pushes you it's all bad. That's not fair."
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Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2017 1:55 am
While Nyx was not one to readily agree with adults that were interfering in her business, this one time she felt that perhaps she might agree with what was being said. A bit. Weakness is not a desirable trait, nor cowardice. Children needed to be weaned off of those crippling handicaps at an early age if they wanted to survive in their dangerous world.The vicious attacks of peers can be just as painful as the ripping claws of forest cats: both predators that sought out the weak and isolated. If you weren’t prepared to defend yourself, it would be best to stay away―watch from a safe distance as you collected weapons to use against them.
Perhaps it would be for the best if this Eurig did stay home: he seemed like a sensitive kid. Sensitive kids never lasted very long; their hearts were too big, bled too easily. They were the kind to not get up again if they were kicked too many times. And more often than not, the world simply didn’t want to stop to help pull them back on their feet. So they get left behind.
Life was a d**k like that.
And suddenly it was like a little inferno had lit up beside her, the once meek youngling snapping at the threat with all the ferocity of a tiny beast. Nyx’s eyebrows rose in surprise, visibly startled by the outburst from the boy that had been all but clinging to her leg a moment ago. And then she was smiling: not just a sneer, but a real honest to goodness smile.
Hell yeah. That was more like it.
She crossed her arms squarely, stance ready to challenge anyone else that wanted to try to come at them. “Feels like it’s getting a little toasty over here; might want to run home before you get burned beyond recognition.” She stared down the other children, including the two adults in her gaze. “Unless you’d like to play with some of this fire too?”
[7/10]
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Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2017 3:20 pm
Eurig may have been passive, but that didn't mean he was weak. Just because he didn't have the same aggressive spark that his momma had that didn't mean those aspects weren't alive inside of him. He didn't like being mean; certainly, he didn't like snapping back at others, but enough was enough!
He seethed, standing there with his little fiingers curled into fists and finally the shifters seemed to get it. Whether they saw any sort of actual change in him or not was questionable, but it was obvious the boy had been pushed his daily limit.
If he would have had magic like his grandpa he would have set their pants on fire by now! Or....okay, maybe not, but he would have made the insides of their shoes sticky. That was almost worse, in a way.
Rylin just shook his head and motioned for the other kids. "Come on, let's go."
"But dad-!"
"Move it."
Eurig move just a fraction away from the teenager to watch the kids lift up their feet and shuffle away. Ignis stopped long enough to pass him an angry sneer, but even he knew when to fall in line. Still, Eurig didn't think it would be the last of it.
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Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 12:27 pm
Nyx continued to scrutinize the others until everyone had made their retreat, leaving only her and the little Leafling standing where the drama had been. Without all the bickering going on, it was oddly quiet, save for the almost audible waves of resentment wafting off the little boy. Nyx’s was less palpable, but it was still there none the less.
“Well,” Nyx began, cracking her neck as she uncrossed her arms, “That was a whole thing, wasn’t it? Haven’t had to deal with little twats like that in a while.” She glanced down at the boy, blowing air through her lips as she registered the moisture on his big green eyes.
Rolling her eyes, she came down to a squat to talk to him, resting her hands on her knees. “Hey―good job. You shouldn’t ever have to put up with that kind of stupidity, especially not from a bunch of black skinned weirdos. But don’t ever give them have the satisfaction of seeing you cry; then they’re winning.” She poked his chest, tipping her chin up as she continued, “They said your name was Eurig?”
[8/10]
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