Dawn OOC Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 “They are familiar.” Yithaja’s expression is hooded. “But we will not discuss it. Not here. We are not yet safe in HeartStone, and there are things that listen when the living talk. When we reach HeartStone, the Eldars will speak to you, and they will ask to keep the images.” “They will?” Frida asked, her eyebrow rising. “If I say no?” “It will cause contention.” The Chideran woman had never minced words before and she was blunt and honest as she said, “You bare our warrior’s most precious moment for anyone to see. You do not know what you do, and I do not know how. But I know that it is troubling.” “I’m sorry,” Frida said sincerely. “I mean no insult.” Yithaja’s expression softened and she reached out to cup Frida’s cheek. “I am aware. A warrior’s death is their greatest test, their moment of character. It is… vital to die well. It is distressing to see that moment on paper for anyone to see.” “They can be destroyed,” Frida offered with a hard swallow. “Please no!” The Chideran looked truly distressed now. “They are lovely. They are art. Do not destroy them.” She pressed them back into the artist’s hands, her sharp eyes picking out Frida’s relief at her answer. “Please keep them safe until they are there.” -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Becor stared at him patiently. “You are getting better,” he told the other man with patience. “It will come. You are learning something that our children take some time to do.” “You keep saying that!” Ryan whined. “But nothing happens!” A burst of pure frustration rocketed through him, and the sphere rocked. As the two watched, it rolled an inch and stopped. “I did it!” he hooted, then reached out to push it again. To his dismay, it didn’t bulge. “Calm yourself and try again,” Becor replied, looking smug. “You are close.” -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Rosa grinned and nudged Lucia in the ribs, giggling at the look her friend gave her. Suddenly, Rosa put her head on Lucia’s shoulder. “Thank you for bringing me.” She added shyly. “And for being my friend.” -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- They were back on the road, so to speak, when the snow hit. The two panthers were almost smugly superior as they paced the riders, bouncing ahead and coming back to arch their whiskers at their friends. They also looked annoying warm as the cold wind found seams and gaps in the furs the kids wore. Snow gathered on one side of their body as the wind drove it into them. Yithaja called for a halt after dark. The group was starting to wonder if she planned to push forward all night; they were tired. Even the panthers were looking a bit worn. But she had a purpose; the woman led them into a narrow gorge where the snow didn’t fall at all. A permanent fire pit attested to this being a frequent stop on the way to HeartStone. Once again, they worked to get the tents up; this time everyone helped, including the cats. Once camp was made, everyone settled around the fire for a hot meal, but the hard travel left everyone too tired to talk – save Ryan, who was sitting alone mumbling to himself. Gradually, everyone drifted to their tents again, and sleep came quickly to most. Ravi didn’t sleep for a while, but that was hardly his fault – there were some things more important than sleep, and a lady-friend of his needed him. Three or four times. Morning came with clouds still hanging overhead, but no more snow. Many of them were still stiff from the hard travel and moved slowly – or as slowly as Yithaja would allow. She kept reminding them that there would be real bed in HeartStone, with warm hearths and food prepared by others. The encouragement got more than one of the travelers, far too used to modern comforts, back into the ryhnnorms. Lunch was cold salt-tack by an icy stream; Yithaja pushed them back into motion as soon as their mounts had filled up on water. The sun finally pushed through the clouds by mid-afternoon, leaving them with intermittent patches of warm, blinding light. The path was mostly downhill from the stream, the mountain pass clearly heading for a valley. As the sun was sinking low, Yithaja stopped and told Sean to dismount. “Go first. You need to enter HeartStone alone, on foot.” Seeing the questions coming, she added, “It is How It Is Done. Where there two of you quickening, you’d fight for the honor. When challenged, tell them your name and your mother’s, and why you are here.” There was no room to argue with that tone. With a sigh, she walked forward first and so was the first to see HeartStone. The valley was snuggled between two mountain ranges, leaving a massive bowl in the middle of the icy peaks. Plumes of steam rose from the valley floor, leaving vibrantly green land visible, its hues shocking after the snows. “Geothermals,” Sean said with wonder, eyeing the green areas. It already felt warmer and Sean could see the small village below was mostly snow-free. Unlike the last city, there were only a dozen or so buildings, all of them the larger lodges they had been housed in at DoorHold. A thin stone spire rose from the center of the bowl; after a moment, Sean reevaluated the distances and realized it probably wasn’t that small. She understood, on a completely instinctive level, that the spire was the HeartStone. She glanced back and saw his friends waiting patiently for her – or not so patiently in Ryan’s case, who was making a ‘get a move on’ motion. Swan gave him a smile while Yithaja imparted a somber nod of reassurance. Straightening her shoulders, she started down the path to the village. There was no gate, but the two Chideran guards waiting blocked his path with crossed spears. “Halt, for you have no business in HeartStone, child.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatiana di Jadzian Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Sean took a deep breath and met the eyes of the Chiderans. His friends were behind him, his mother and younger sister ahead in the village - or so he'd been told. If he wanted to do everything he could to help Dalton from threats beyond the Door - threats in part due to the actions of his father - and didn't want to lose himself - more than he had already - then he had to come here and learn about... whatever he was now. A woman. A Chideran warrior-woman. "I do." Though his voice was a smooth and feminine alto, it was strong and steady, more than he had expected. "My name's Sean Cassidy, and I'm the so- the second child of Vena, of the Midnight Ice line. Though I've lived my entire life on th'other side of the Door, I've come to HeartStone to, uh, quicken, the, er, fires within me and to learn of the heritage I never knew I possessed. Um, and something about purification from men..." That's going to be a lot of purification, since I've been one for sixteen years...He couldn't help but make a quick glance down at the most obvious signs of that heritage. Kinda ridiculous how that 'heritage' is popping up too. He kept his jaw firm, and if he wasn't exactly standing with pride, he was standing with stubborn determination. "The Caramines are comin' for Dalton again and I'll do what I can to stop 'em, like my... mother and father before me." The two guards studied him, then his companions further up the pass. There shared a hooded look then turned back to him, their spears still crossed. "Vena has but two daughters, Cassandra, who has already come to HeartStone, and Savannah, who is yet here for her quickening. You are not they, and Vena's only other... issue," The Summer Shadow guard's lips writhed in disgust, her dark eyes suspicious and unfriendly, "was left behind on the otherside of the Door. You are not as... it was described." Sean's face flushed a vibrant red, his hands balled into fists at his side as he resisted the urge to deck the bitch, spear or no spear, girl or no girl. "Yeah, I get that a lot." He grimaced and gestured at himself. "I got... better. Bring me to Vanessa - I mean Vena- and Savannah, or bring them to me, and I will prove I'm her... other child." He snorted, resigned. "The daughter she expected and never knew she had." His voice dropped to a low mutter. "The daughter who never knew he was a daughter." "I'm as much as Chideran as you or my sisters, now, and if they could and have been here, then I've the right too." "Very well, we shall see, child," the Summer Shadow - his height, but slender and wiry with ropey muscle - said, nodding at the other Chideran - a Burning Ember with glossy sable skin and vibrant red hair, muscular and curvaceous - who turned and jogged back to the hamlet. The Summer Shadow watched her go then nodded at Yithaja before gesturing at Sean with her spear for him to precede her. "Come then, and know this, if this is some trick to profane the HeartStone, you will die." Sean gritted his teeth at being called a child by a woman that hardly looked any older than he did, and walked ahead of her down to the tiny village. On the other hand, his mother looked less than a decade older than he did, so who knew how old this woman was. The casual way she promised his death did have him worrying what would happen if Vena and/or Savannah didn't vouch for him, or if they would consider a boy who was now nearly identical to his sisters a 'trick.' He kept walking resolutely, in case hesitation was taken as a measure of guilt. Time to swim or drown, Sean, and you better get used to a one-piece or a bikini, 'cause a pair of trunks ain't gonna do it for you anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Jackson Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Far to the rear of the column Ryan was juggling Becor's sphere of nothing. Juggling wasn't really the right word for it though it was more like pushing it in circles and loops. He finally "got it" and it was nice to actually be able to do it, though he wasn't entirely sure what good it was. Up ahead the column stopped. For entire minutes they sat there. Sean looked back and Ryan gestured, Get on with it! The sphere of nothing vanished, a change that was unsettling because how could nothing cease to be? "Now you will make your own," Becor's quiet voice informed him from behind and to the right. Ryan turned back to face him, unneeded perhaps, but old habits die hard. "You want me to do what?" He threw his hands up, "I only just figured out how to move it!" He looked behind him and say some of the others staring. His hands were still up, and he looked at them quietly. "I like to move it, move it?" he half said, half asked, as he lowered his arms. "Lemme be," he mumbled to himself. With a breath he tried to figure out how to create nothing, which really ought to have been super easy, but quickly proved less so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravi FitzCoventry Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Now what has he been doing this whole time? Ravi didn't voice his curiousity for the whole day, firstly because he was far too busy exulting in the conscious control of his Beast and had barely spent any more time than absolutely necessary in human shape. He was so fast! So nimble! He could smell absolutely everything. and while that might make an ordinary human wrinkle their nose and exclaim 'Uck', everything was actually pretty damn interesting. He could hear just as well as he could smell and see with greater-than-human clarity even in pitch-darkness. He could leap - OH, but he could leap. Ordinary panthers probably didn't leap like this, but the first time he'd catapulted himself into the branches of a tree that crossed the trail ahead of his friends, it had felt so easy to span the distance. The cold barely touched him, he could run down a rabbit-like creature with consummate ease. He was grace and strength and power incarnate, and he revelled in it. Sylvia had been the fly in that ointment, always checking on him, always growling at him when he strayed too far from the trail in his ranging. Several times Ravi had come close to swatting the pushy female, but he had thus far contented himself with constantly pushing her boundaries, making her have to work to rein him in. She wasn't as strong as him, as fast as him or as good a hunter as him, after all! Why should he listen to her? The second reason he hadn't bothered Ryan yet was because, whatever the boy was doing, he obviously needed privacy and his own thoughts to do it. Ravi could respect that, and yet with their journey at an end, he felt that he was entitled to express a little curiousity. "What did you just figure out how to move?" Ravi's voice came from nearby as he emerged from behind a tree, fastening his belt and arranging the leather vest to his fastidious satisfaction. If he had to wear two legs, he might as well look his best, after all. Right? He paused near his friend's rhynnorm and looked up at Ryan, eyes gleaming in the sunlight. "You've been muttering like an old man refighting World War 2 the whole trip, Ryan." he bantered quietly. "What gives?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SalmonMax Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 "Soooo," Renata drawled to Yithaja. "Can I go in too?" The amazon guide gave her a flat, stony look that Renata had come to associate with 'the answer is so no I don't even have to say it.' She grinned and shrugged unrepentantly. "Hey, I'm a girl too." "You are not Chideran." "Yeah, well, another day or two a week in the gym and..." Yithaja repeated more stridently, "You are not Chideran!" This piqued Renata's curiosity, so she kept pushing. "So, what if I joined the tribe. We've already seen that you sometimes..." With a shake of her head, Yithaja cut Renata off. "This is not a question of tribes. Anyone can prove themselves worthy and join a tribe, if they are strong and brave. The Heartstone is not like that. It is only for Chiderans. This is for your protection too. The Heartstone would kill any other." "But what IS it?" the high schooler asked. "Is it magic? Stonehenge? Some kind of super-machine from long ago when you were all space travelers?" Yithaja shrugged. "It is the Heartstone," she replied simply. "It need be no more, and it can be no less." Renata scowled. "Anyone ever tell you that you're hard to talk to?" "I would say that of you." Ren sputtered at that accusation. "What?! But..." "Questions!" Yithaja spat. "Always questions! More questions! You cannot speak and listen at the same time. You spend so much time asking asking asking, you do not see or hear the answers all around you! You are young. Listen, and look, and learn. That is the way of things." Gee thanks, mom, thought Renata sarcastically. "Okay, okay, I get it. Keep out. Where can we go to wait? And how long's it take?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Jackson Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 "What did you just figure out how to move?" Ravi's voice came from nearby as he emerged from behind a tree, fastening his belt and arranging the leather vest to his fastidious satisfaction. If he had to wear two legs, he might as well look his best, after all. Right? He paused near his friend's rhynnorm and looked up at Ryan, eyes gleaming in the sunlight. "You've been muttering like an old man refighting World War 2 the whole trip, Ryan." he bantered quietly. "What gives?" Ryan looked un-surprised by Ravi's sudden approach, but then if everything he claimed about his "Rydar" was accurate it meant that it could see most anything coming. He looked down at Ravi and replied, "It. Ya know, it." He looked at the younger man and then raised his hands above his head again and swayed in his seat, "I like ta move it. Ya know ... It." He gestured at himself and repeated the motion. The expression on Ravi's face spoke of amusement battling with his desire to call bullshit. Instead he shook his head, "You're not half as dumb as you play at Ry. I turn into a panther, Sean has boobs, you and I both know that you didn't just figure out how to 'move it, move it'." Ryan scowled, "I'ma late bloomer," he added in a petulant tone dropping his arms. "I wuz gifted with tha power of interpretive dance?" It was as much a hesitant question as an answer. Ravi seemed unfazed and unimpressed; he continued to plod alongside the beast. "You've been talking to yourself for the past two days. Loudly." "I have?" Ryan looked at Ravi, his head tilted curiously, "Are ya sure? I think I'd 'member that. Talkin' ta nobody but myself. Mebbe you misheard. Scouts honor I haven' been talkin' ta myself." Ryan held up a hand, and low and behold he even had the Boy Scouts hand sign correct. Ravi couldn't tell if he was lying, in fact quite the opposite Ryan seemed to be telling the truth, at least about not having been talking to himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravi FitzCoventry Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 "Mmmhmm." Ravi said, narrowing his cats eyes to slits. "Never attempt to shovel bovine excrement onto a bovine excrement shoveller, Ryan." "I was tellin' the-" "I know you were. The scrupulous and above all exact truth, without volunteering further information, which I know well is better than any lie. 'Talking to yourself' isn't really what you've been doing. We both know that. To these ears, it sounds like you're talking to someone I can't hear." Ravi gave the other youth a big, white-toothed grin. "But you know what? Fine." "Fine?" "Fine." Ravi nodded. "You don't want to share, or can't. Either way, it's your secret to keep. Everyone has those." He smiled again as he looked ahead to the others, lined up on the ridge looking down at the spire of rock and the hamlet around it. He said nothing more as he and Ryan drew abreast of the rest of the group, merely moved a little way off and flopped down to sit and sunbathe on a bare rock, a picture of feline laziness even in his two-legged shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Jackson Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 "That was surprising. The skinshifter is very perceptive," Becor said quietly, for Ryan's ears only. "Yeah, well, you said I hadda keep my mouth shut." "Indeed, but his points were valid as well. Your frustration has been significant, and your outbursts have not been unsubtle." "Yeah? So?" "So perhaps we should take a break. You can resume later when you are ready." "Oh. Cool." Ryan looked over to Ravi where he was lounging. Sliding off the buffacorn he made his way over, "Yeah dude, about that ..." Ravi looked at him questioningly. "The whole secret privacy stuff." Ravi nodded as though bidding him to continue. "When ya go all kitteh an stuff could ya try an' not make with the ball lickin'? It's kinda nasty." Ryan barreled right on, noting giving Ravi time for even an indignant reply, "I mean I get it, your junk gets around an' all ..." He failed to finish though, he was already laughing too hard to talk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravi FitzCoventry Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Ravi's face was a mask of wounded pride at first, but he shook his head and looked off towards Heartstone as Ryan's laughter ran it's course. The two friends didn't say anything for awhile, content to just watch the distant ant-like figures of the people moving around the large spire. After a few minutes, Ravi spoke. "So what do you suppose Sean's going through?" he asked idly, the very faintest of purrs in his chest providing a strange counterpoint to his human speech as he basked in the sunlight. "Some kinda amazon-warrior hazin', I guess." Ryan answered with a shrug, freeing some jerky from his pack and handing Ravi a piece. "Y'know, single combat in the ring of doom, or some shit." The two boy chewed silently for a few moments more. "Maybe it's naked combat." Ravi suggested with a positively evil grin. "Uhh-huh. In mud." Ryan agreed, grinning himself. "Lots of grappling." "Sean'll be havin' fun then." "We should go and cheer him on." Ravi affected to look sad. "Damn straight. We'll just have to get the dirt outta him after." Ryan passed another piece of jerky at Ravi's prompt. "Won't work. He's not bound by the guy code anymore. He's gone over to the enemy." "Damn." "Yes. Shame, really." Ravi stood and stretched. "Ryan?" "Yeah?" "You're just jealous you can't lick your own balls." Ravi stated authoritatively before hopping down off the rock and grinning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Jackson Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 "You're just jealous you can't lick your own balls." Ravi stated authoritatively before hopping down off the rock and grinning. "Nah. 'Cause no matta how you go an' justify it, yer still lickin' balls." Ryan smirked at Ravi, "But hey, you're European so mebbe tha' ain't ah big deal fer you." He hopped down off the rock too, "I'm hungry, wanna go see what's cookin'? " "Sure, let's see what they have in town." "Good, I wuz hopin' ta avoid stuff tha's all dry an' salty. I feel like I been eatin' rawhide." Ryan punched Ravi in the arm, "Shame you ain't a weredog, I could make a chew toy joke." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn OOC Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 As Sean walked forward alone, Yithaja turned to Swan. The two women exchanged a look, communicating something without words. After a moment, Swan sighed and pull a bit of rope out of Sean’s saddlebags. She tied that to the collar she was still wearing and wrapped the other end around a ring on the saddle. “Perhaps if your people weren’t paranoid xenophobes, this would be unnecessary,” Swan muttered. “Perhaps if your people weren’t conquering tyrants and fyjorm shit, we wouldn’t worry about you coming to our sacred sites,” Yithaja said with a sharp scowl. “It is only your connection to Sean that allows you this close to HeartStone. Remember who you are, Caramine.” “I remember who I am,” Swan said softly. “I am of Dalton.” Yithaja’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she led the group down into town. Whatever Swan had done with the saddle and rope, it seemed to have worked. None of the Chideran women stopped her, though they eyed her like they wanted to stop her. Sean walked onward toward the central longhouses, while Yithaja led the Daltonites to another longhouse. Like the buildings in DoorHold, these were made of stone with thatched roofs. Another Burning Ember was at the door, looking like a taller, heavier cousin to Yithaja. “Welcome,” the Chideran said, even as she eyed Swan like those at the gate had done. “You will be guesting in this house. How are people coupled?” “The children are not coupled,” Sylvia said. “Boys should not be housed with girls. Especially Ravi with any girls.” “Of course not – finally a Daltonite who talks sense about these things!” the Burning Ember said. “We’ll get you all settled momentarily.” She was as good as her word, rapidly pairing up students by gender and finding them rooms. Ravi was with Ray, at Sylvia’s insistence; the teacher had done much of the dividing, leaving the Burning Ember looking befuddled while Yithaja looked annoyed. Once rooms were made ready, their hostess asked, “Is there anything else I can get you?” -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Sean was admitted to the longhouse with no fuss. After she had repeated her answer to the challege, the Midnight Ice who had met her said, “We will send for your mother and sister. Until then, please remain here.” Food and water was provided; more of their bitterly sweet fruit and actual water, which tasted mineral-rich to the boy-turned-girl. This longhouse was single central room, and carvings of Chideran women in various war scenes decorated the walls. Sean studied them as she waited, bored into an appreciation of the art. Her people’s art, he realized suddenly with a start. Or perhaps only half his people’s art. Footsteps rang in the entrance and Sean turned as Vena and Savannah entered. His mother looked tired, drained and worn. She wasn’t in armor, but a simple shift with a fur robe wrapped over her shoulders. Savannah on the other hand looked vitalized; his little sister had always liked being outdoors and camping, and it looked like this life agreed with her. As they entered, Vena’s steps slowed. “Where is he? You said Sean was here?” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravi FitzCoventry Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 “The children are not coupled,” Sylvia said. “Boys should not be housed with girls. Especially Ravi with any girls.” "That's a matter of opinion." Ravi stated with a yawn. "Some find me quite pleasant company." Ignoring Sylvia's scowl, the lean young man sauntered over to where Yithaja was talking with a couple of the local Chiderans, a Midnight Ice and a Summer Shadow, if he remembered rightly. He waited a polite distance until they noticed him and Yithaja waved him over, smiling slightly. "This is Ravi, one of the Beast-Skinned among the Daltonites. He is the one who slew Selih in single combat - in less time than it takes me to tell of it." Yithaja told the other two with a grim smile. Ravi noted that her tone was not one of warning so much as approval and respect. "Ravi, these are Lisona of the Midnight Ice line, and Jiskadar of the Summer Shadow line." "Ravi of Dalton." Lisona nodded as one would to a respected peer, her blue eyes studying him with curiousity. "I had never thought to see a Beast-Skin. It appears that the tales told of them are true. Selih died well, to fall at your hand." Ravi was a little taken aback. He had expected wariness, perhaps aggressive warnings to keep his temper... but these two Chiderans were treating him almost like one of them, with some fascination added to the respect. He rallied and smiled at them both. "She fought well." he told them. "I was carrying the wounds for the rest of the night." "But you do not carry them now. So that also is true." Jiskadar noted. "Your people are as hard to kill as they are gifted at battle. We shall leave you to become comfortable." The two nodded to Yithaja, and once more to Ravi, before walking away. Ravi looked at Yithaja questioningly. "Your people are fables to many." the red-headed warrior woman explained. "You can expect more of that. You wanted something?" she asked him in her usual direct manner. "I was curious about whether or not I was free to roam, day or night." Ravi asked, still digesting the surprising reaction the two strange Chiderans had exhibited toward him. Yithaja looked around and, seeing everyone else busy, smiled at him. "You cannot cross the line of red stones outside the town." she murmured. "But this side of that line you are free to go anywhere you please." Leaf-green eyes met his scintillant green-gold ones as her voice dropped further. "And I do mean anywhere, Beast-Skin." With a tight grin, she moved off to help get the others organised. "That's good to know." Ravi murmured to no-one in particular, his own lips quirking as he glanced around. The bloody irritating Ms Dorn had finished assigning them all paired rooms like this was still some kind of school outing. When Ravi saunted back over to the knot of students, she looked at him sternly. "Mr FitzCoventry, you'll be rooming with Mr Venkman." she told him matter-of-factly. "Actually, I'd rather not if there's a choice. No offence, Ray." Ravi replied breezily before turning to the Burning Ember and giving her a courteous bow. "I am sorry to trouble you, but is it at all possible to have my own room? I like to keep my own hours and my own privacy." Though he was polite, there was an undercurrent of resolve in Ravi's tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatiana di Jadzian Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 The Chideran women in the carvings certainly looked badass. Glancing down at himself, giving them a shake, Sean didn't feel badass - he felt like he was being forced to dress-up in his sisters' and mother's clothes... and disconcertingly, was growing comfortable in them, or at least used to it. Surreptitiously looking around to make sure no one was watching, he tried emulating some of the dynamic poses... ... And spun around as he heard some noise by the door, affecting a casual stance. As he saw his mother and sister, he straightened up, rolling his shoulders in an habitual manner and folded his arms beneath his breasts. It was uncanny and discomfiting how their eyes revealed not the slightest spark of recognition. Still, Sean couldn't help but smile a bit at the sight of his younger sister; gone was the snarky and biting expression of a moody young teen showing every sign of turning into as much a bitch as their older sister. Instead she was vibrant, like he hadn't seen her since before their parents got divorced and they were still close. Hell, it had only been a few weeks since he had seen her last and she looked inches taller. stronger too. On the other hand, he had never seen his mother look so worn and wan, with purple rings under her eyes. Cold and remote, often, yet seeming capable of breaking through anything baring her way like a remorseless avalanche. To see her like this, fair skin almost grey with exhaustion, it made her look smaller - he realized his eyes were level with her own now. It was... as odd as him being a girl now, in its own way. Sean swallowed, the cleared his throat, drawing Vena's and Savannah's attention, then hesitated a moment more, running a hand through his his short, raven-black hair. Telling Cassandra had been relatively easy, if still uncomfortable, but this was his mother and the sister he actually used to get along with. "Uh... yeah, about that...." Sean took a deep breath, then assayed a smile and shrugged self-deprecatingly. "You, see, the Caramines are causing trouble at Dalton again and he wanted to asked his mother about the last fight with them - and to see how his sisters were doing - and... there was kind of a... side-effect when he stepped through the Door..." This doesn't get easier to admit, nor does it ever sound less insane. "Hey, sis! Hello, mother. I guess you can say the Door gave me one hell of a makeover. It's me. Sean." Both women stared at him in disbelief with deep, sapphire eyes. The silence stretched, Savannah tilting her head to the side as she studied this woman, realizing how much she looked like Cassandra, more than most of the Midnight Ice Line, if maybe a bit broader in the shoulders. Then she shook her head and burst out with a snort of laughter. "No fucking way!" Savannah protested. "There isn't enough plastic surgery in the world to make Sean look that much like a woman. On Earth, here, or any other world." She looked up at Vena and the other Midnight Ice, a wry twist to her lips. "This is some sort of hazing ritual, isn't it? Some crazy Chideran joke?" "That's exactly what Cass said too. It's a crazy joke alright, Sav. And I'm the but of it. It really is me, your brother." His lips writhed in a crooked grin as his hitched up his breasts with his folded arms. "Your former brother, I guess." Vena was silent, staring at this Chideran of classical Midnight Ice form. In appearance, there was nothing of the abomination that was her son in her, save for the colouring, the same as all Midnight Ices. Yet, she could see something in the way the stood, how her fists clenched, the expression on her face, that reminded her of Sean, now that the preposterous claim was made. Could it be...? "Sean?" The name passed through her lips in a bare whisper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Jackson Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Ryan was plenty happy to get his own room, mostly because he knew he'd be sharing it anyway, but also for the ability to practice without being bothered. He'd never had to practice very much at anything in his life until this year; first photography and now this, though he did admit to himself that this was by far worth the effort if even half of what Becor said he could do turned out true. He disappeared into his room and emerged only much later, to forage for food. He wondered how making nothing could be so difficult, but he knew that it wasn't that simple, it was more like pushing everything away from a point, pushing the world away and revealing nothing, like an impossibly heavy curtain behind which was a vast emptiness that yawned like a chasm and beckoned like a groupie. He just needed to push that curtain aside and expose the void beyond reality. Yeah, piece of cake ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SalmonMax Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Once she saw that they were being separated by gender, Renata was quick to volunteer, "I'll room with Mari." Sylvia, still fuming over her confrontations with Ravi, merely grunted assent and went on assigning pairs. Everyone knew Mari and Renata were friends; the request wasn't unusual, and it made her job easier. Renata went over to Mari with a big cat-ate-canary grin and said, "Check it out." She offered up her 'frisbee of doom' for Mari to see and pointed at the thick black stains on it. "That's what that spider-monster had for blood. It was crazy. I was all, fshhhh..." She held a hand out, Jedi style, as if controlling the blade wheel again. "And it was all...wrrrrrrrr..." Now she tossed it up with spin so it would spin in the air before falling. "And it just sawed into its shell." Renata sobered a bit and added, "For a second, I thought it went for your tent." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atomicweasel Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 “Whu…” Mari had been in something of a daze. The last few days seemed to have blurred into one another, making the whole journey a dream-like procession of snow and sun and the clomping bounce of the enormous beasts that had borne them along to this new corner of Narnia. None of it felt real. None of it really felt like it was happening to her. Instead, it felt like everything was happening around her. Mari felt disconnected even from herself. Who was this strange girl wearing white leathers with a bow strapped across her back? Could it really be Maria Juliana Palacios from Queens, New York? How had she found herself here? How could this all have come about? It’s all because Coach Rosen thought I was real good at soccer, Mari reasoned dizzily. Coach Rosen. A name from another world, from a world where a young girl went to a fancy private school on an athletic scholarship, fell for a boy with golden green eyes, and followed him through a door into...This. Whatever this is. It seemed as improbable and fantastical as… …as a giant spider gut covered death Frisbee that was being shoved in her face by her super-power having friend, Renata. “Eww, gross!” Mari said reflexively, hopping back a step and wrinkling up her nose. “Why’d you leave the guts on it?” the lithe little freshman protested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SalmonMax Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 "It's like a trophy of war," Renata explained, grinnng broadly. "Proof of my badassery. Now I just need a fur bra and skirt, and cape made from a wolf skin that still has the wolf head on it, and I can be Renata, Queen of the Barbarians. And you can be my maid, and like, fetch me water from the spring and rub my neck after a long day of barbarianning." She laughed at Mari's expression and amended herself. "I'm just kidding. You can be a barbarian too. Best bow and arrow in the tribe." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frida Ricci Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 As Ravi dealt with Sylvia and the Burning Ember, Frida made her way to where Yithaja, drawing the Chideran woman's attention with a polite clearing of the throat. When she turned around, she saw the quiet young woman standing there, holding her sketchbook. The biting cold of the trip had kept her in the living world, aware of her surroundings in a way that (for now) had driven back the girl's otherworldly appearance somewhat. But contemplation of the pictures had kept her connected to the spirit world.. there was still a vagueness to her, a softening of color, as if she were less present than her companions. And when she spoke, there was a still an echo to her voice that belied her connection to the once-living. "Yithaja.. you requested that I speak with the Eldars once we arrived. Shall I do so now.. or later?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn OOC Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 “However you wish to stay, so long as there is room for all visitors. HeartStone doesn’t normally see this many outsiders,” she said, her eyes straying to Swan, who was standing at calm readiness, the length of rope still wrapped symbolically around her wrists. “Just don’t stray beyond the line of red stones or into private dwellings, and all will well.” “What’s a private dwelling look like?” Ahvia asked. The Burning Ember pointed up at the mantle of the door. It was carved with a symbol. “All public dwellings have that mark over the door. If the door is not marked, you should await invitation. Also, non-duel fighting is forbidden at HeartStone. Accommodations will be made for you, as you are outsides, but try not to offer insult.” “So what is duel fighing?” Rosa asked. “How do we avoid that?” “Simply do not make or accept a challenge to fight.” The Burning Ember said it as if it was truly that easy. Yithaja had been watching their interactions with the representative, and one another. A slight smile curved her full lips; that smile faded quickly at Frida’s words. “Yes, now,” she said, waving for the artist to follow her. Though only as tall as Frida, she set a pace that had the brown-haired artist hustling to keep pace as she headed for one of the buildings. Frida glanced up as they approached and noticed that the ‘public’ symbol wasn’t over the door. Yithaja did not hesitate, opening the door and motioning for Frida to follow. Inside the room were three women, all of different Lines, though the specifics were hard to tell with their age. Their hair was gray and age and the dim light inside the building made eye and skin color hard to pin-point. The other thing that marked them as different was the scars that decorated them. Yithaja had her own set of scars, but these women easily bore three times as many. One woman was missing her pinky and ring finger on her left hand; another had no right eye anymore. “Elders,” Yithaja said without preamble, “I have brought a Daltonite. She has something to show you. I ask you allow her to speak.” -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- “It’s me,” Sean insisted, crossing her arms before dropping them. “But… how?” Vena asked. “Prove it!” Savannah had moved in front of her mother, a length of wood in her hands. Sean blinked a little at the fierceness of his little sister. He’d known that Savannah could be protective, but this was a little much. “If you’re girl-Sean, you’ll know something that a Childeran wouldn’t. So tell me something only Sean and me would know!” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatiana di Jadzian Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Sean scowled (prettily) but swayed back, bringing his hands up defensively, not doubting Savannah would hit him - she had done it before, taking advantage of the fact that he wouldn't hit a girl, let alone his sister, back. "Ah, c'mon, Savannah! I just did this with Cass after comin' through the Door. This ain't some stupid movie. And don't call me 'girl-Sean.'" But Sean held up his hands, relenting, as Savannah raised her club, lips tightening in a mulish line. "Fine, fine, sis. How 'bout this? Two - no three - years ago, when I was staying with you guys in Denver for the summer, I was shooting hoops when you demanded the basketball. When I wouldn't give it to you, and began playing keep-away, you up and kicked me in the balls. Total cheapshot." Savannah's expression darkened and Sean hurried on. "Okay. You were... seven? Seven and I was nine - it was the last winter before mom and dad got divorced, still all living in Whistler. You and mean had teamed up, pelting Cass with snowballs. She chased us, but whenever she went after one of us, the other got her in the back. She still managed to make us eat snow, though. Even mom smiled, watching us play." Sean smiled at the memory of one of the last times they had all been happy together as a single family and let his hands drop - Savannah didn't seem like she was going to club him over the head and if she did, well, it wouldn't be the first time, nor the last he'd taken a headshot. His smile turned melancholy and sympathetic as he met Savannah's deep blue eyes with eyes he was unaware were the same colour. "And then, there was the day mom and dad told us they were splitting up. You, me, and Cassandra all acted like it wasn't a surprise, but after, you crept into my room, blaming me for it. Then you cried in my arms and fell asleep there. When you woke up in the morning, I couldn't feel my arms. Is that enough, or should I go on?" "Sean?!" Savannah and Vena exclaimed at the same time. Savannah tossed aside her stick, then barreled into her brother-come-sister, giving him a hug. She had been moody the last year or two from adolescence and the influence of Cassandra and their mother, but Savannah and him had been quite close, though the divorce had opened a distance between them. He made an 'oof!' at the fierce embrace and hugged her back, then grunted as he felt a pair of fingers jab him in the tits. At least the leather armor protected him from another purple-nurple. His lips twisted into something between a scowl and a self-conscious grin as he let her go. "They're really real!" Savannah commented in wonder, going for another poke, but looking up at Sean after he slapped her hand away. "And you're really you!" "Stop that!" Sean said sharply. "You and Cass both. I never poked you guys in the boob or twisted a nipple, not on purpose. Why'd you think I'd like it? Yeah, I'm really me. Just with new packagin.'" "How?" Vena repeated. Sean turned to his mother, shifting his weight self-consciously, and shrugging. "I dunno. I was really hopin' you'd be to tell me. I stepped through the Door and... Ba-da-boobs! There they were. Then I start talkin' with the amazons and they say I hafta come here or I'll cripple my soul or somethin. So... here I am, to learn what it is to be a Chideran, and everything we can about the Caramines and they last war so we can stop 'em from conquerin' Dalton this time 'round." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravi FitzCoventry Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 The students split up, heading to their various rooms as Frida followed Yithaja out of the door. Ravi, who'd caught that exchange, pondered following along but decided to relax instead. If there was anything of interest, he could talk to Frida later about what she was up to. Smiling pleasantly at the glowering Sylvia, he moved to Mari's side and scooped up her and Renata's packs. "Allow me." he said smoothly, causing Mari to smile up at him and Renata to roll her eyes. "You ladies lead on." he continued as he hefted their packs, then leaned a little closer to Mari conspiratorially. "After all, I need to know where to come to tuck you in." he stage-whispered, causing Sylvia to glare, which of course he pretended not to notice. At least, until they started to troop down the hallway to their assigned room, at which point Ravi glanced over his shoulder at the other werepanther. Yeah, it's kinda like that... There was only so much fun to be had in baiting the housemother, however, even for Ravi. He turned his attention to the guest house, finding the solid construction to be charmingly reminiscent of a hunting lodge he'd stayed in occasionally. The glow of clean sanded wood, faint scents of smoke and sap, and somewhere food being prepared all hinted at a level of comfort that, after the road, was luxurious. There was this to be said for Ravi - he always liked to make the most of wherever he was. Whether that was a boarding school, the freezing wilderness of an alien world, or in a guesthouse run by warrior women, he always radiated a sense of being perfectly at ease with where he found himself. It was probably a cat thing. "Nice." Ravi said, looking around the sleeping chamber assigned to Mari and Ren. Two beds piled high with furs, a fireplace, and some other creature comforts met his approving gaze. He flashed the two girls a smile as he set their packs on one bed, a thought occuring to him. "Do you suppose they have hot baths?" "Feeling the need for a manicure?" Renata asked with a smirk. Ravi grinned back and pointedly examined his nails - thought currently not extended, they were still reminiscent of claws, being strong and ending in a point. "I don't see the need - nobody's stuck in them. The night is young, though." he retorted. "In any case, spending days on the road with minimal opportunity to get clean has left me with the urge to soak for an hour or so." He kissed Mari gently on the cheek. "I'll see you at dinner... Unless the bathhouse is communal." His grin was wicked as he swept out of the room, his own pack in hand. The bathhouse, as it turned out when Ravi asked the hostess, was communal. In a large annex built onto the rear of the guest house, Ravi found a number of large pools, each large enough for three or four, set into the floor in low-walled booths so as to give a certain level of privacy for the modest. How the water was kept warm, Ravi wasn't sure, but he suspected perhaps a natural series of hot springs, similar to those found in Iceland. The water smelled like minerals, a little more pungent than river or well water. Steam hung over the room, deadening other scents and sounds a little and providing some relief to the werecat's senses. It was also deserted currently, the other Daltonites all settling into their rooms and relaxing after the journey. Well, most probably were, Ravi reflected as he shed his clothes. Ryan was likely up to... whatever he'd been up to. And Frida was meeting with some Chiderans. Sean was god-knows-where doing god-knew-what. He considered that as he set his clothes on a shelf and padded naked around the bathhouse, unselfconscious as ever as he examined the room for other exits and windows, the steam condensing onto his tanned skin in a soft sheen that clung to every muscle. It felt good to be warm again, to breathe it into the chilled parts of his body. Even after learning to control his shift, the werepanther still felt as though there were parts of him that would never be warm again. He made for a tub and slipped into the dark steaming water, letting out a soft, sensual sigh of contentment as he felt the heat spread through his body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 The smells of drinks and meat came out from the warm hearth in the fading red-sky. Ray smiled as he recognize the sounds and looks of the pub as well- this lodge being that sort of communal dining hall that Ravi had marred with blood-spilling. A situation Ray had considered closed, but the whole stresses of the past few days still had demanded a solution. The answer was one he resorted to with some consistency during the past year. Find a Chideran who secretly batted for the other team and shared their bed-company for the night. There were always a handful he knew, in every settlement. Heartstone was no different in that respect. You just had to be a bit more discreet than normal. Within a little bit, Ray had arranged up his meal and a bit of a drink with it. He was sitting in his own lone segment, and had taken one or two imperious sorts of questions from Chiderans about whether the Beast-Skinned was indeed with them (though he suspected that the asking women were simply curious, and not curious). Eventually, though, Ray spied a Midnight Ice, the definite traces of some linkage to female Sean there, but not close enough to suggest this being his mother or sister, besides the obvious fact that they would be expecting Sean, wherever he was. She showed some quiet signs of annoyance when the other Chiderans brusquely mentioned Ravi, and her attention did seem to be on him a bit. Eventually, she caught Ray's eye for one intense moment, and then rose up and left the pub. Ray finished up a pull of his drink, and then slowly made his way outside. The Midnight Ice was in a side street with no one around. "Excuse me." Ray politely asked, as he moved up nearby. "Are you directly part of Vena's line? I noticed you were Midnight Ice, but..." "No, not directly." She said, casting a dark blue-eyed gaze back at him. Nice boobs, and from what he had seen of her walking, Ray knew the ass was something a rapper would reference in a song. But he had yet to be sure... "I am Lianja, of the Midnight Ice clan, correct. You?" "Ray, of Dalton. Though I spent the past year in the Doorhold." When Lianja's eyebrows rose at that claim, Ray explained. "Kidnapped by the bats, and then I escaped through the Door, but wound up there. They DID train me." Lianja's mouth formed a wicked questioning grin that arguably could have fitted a porn star, though it probably wasn't that completely intended. "I assume you proved yourself worthy?" Score, company tonight. "Do I need to prove myself worthy to you, Lianja?" Ray asked with his own growing grin. "Perhaps you do, Ray." She agreed, casting a brief sudden touch on the furs lining his lower body. "But under the warning-" "Lianja." Ray pressed in close with sudden presence, his face looking up to hers and lips close enough for that kind of contact. "I proved myself personally to more than a few Chiderans. I know to keep quiet." "Good," she breathed with warmth into his ear, relieved. By this time, it was getting clearly dark out. The two moved back apart, and Ray nodded. "So, test me in your dwelling?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z022 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 They'd been given a slightly larger room, since there were three of them. Ahvia curled up on one of the beds as soon as they were inside, making a soft shuffing sound that Lucia and Rosa were pretty sure was her people's version of snoring. They grinned at one another as they got all their gear inside and situated, having determined days ago that Avhia's snoring was far cuter than human snoring and didn't seem to include the embarrassing ocassional snort. Perks of not being a mammal, I guess. She plucked at her shirt and crinkled her nose, "Hey, I'm really really stinking. I'm heading for the bath before getting some sleep." She nodded in the direction of said bath. "You coming?" "Uh uh." Rosa shook her head. "Ahvia had the right idea. I'm even more tired than stinky than now. Bath in the morning." She grinned, "The furs won't know the difference." "Says you. Poor furs." Lucia scrounged through bag until she found the towel and tightly rolled bag of toiletries she'd packed and slipped out to the bathhouse. It was sort of Japanese, the way the main building had the bath house built on the back; luckily it was late enough that there weren't many Chiderans around. She stripped out of her ripe travelling clothes in the small anteroom between the main lodge and the bathhouse, and debated the modest of the towel. If I put it on now, it'll stink when I'm clean. She sighed and scooped up her toiletries, stepping gingerly into the bathhouse and praying it really was as late for everyone else as it felt. "Bathhouse," she decided with another sigh, was bit grand of a name for it; it was more "steamy large room with sinkholes to fall into". The steam felt nice, but she couldn't see a damn thing. Then it was all Goldilocks: this sinkhole is burning my foot, that one is boiling my other foot, this one over here is practically freezing...she made her way half-blindly through the room, her coils of darkness slithering around her and mirroring her annoyance with sharp flicks at the stone floor and any bits of mist that seemed thicker than other bits of mist. She finally found a sinkhole - pool - that wasn't trying to bite her or freeze her and she slipped into it with sigh of relief as grime and sweat were slicked off her skin. The sigh turned into a groan as the heat of the water began working out knots and sore spots she hadn't even known were there yet. The coils relaxed with her, gliding together until they formed a cushion and pillow for her against the lip of pool. She smiled, relaxing just for moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frida Ricci Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 The woman with only three fingers lifted them in a gesture of summoning. "Come here, Daltonite." Frida stepped forward, into the intense scrutiny of the Elders. Here in the dark hut, her mind on the subjects and implications of her drawings, she was more obviously inclined towards the ethereal. The insubstantiable quality was stronger, her coloring muted again in a way that Yithaja hadn't seen since they'd originally arrived at Doorhold. Two of the three stood, and as they woman with one eye remained standing, her gaze fixed on Frida's intently, the other woman circled her slowly, studying her. This woman had encountered other Daltonites, and some of them would have withered under such a stare, or else glared back in defiance of her authority. This one was different.. she gazed back, not indifferently, but.. passively, observantly. Frida's gaze took in everything about the old woman, not just the intensity of that one-eyed stare, but the intricate details of the scars that criss-crossed her face and body, the style of her clothing, the lines of age that the Chideran elder wore proudly. As Ravi would have been able to attest to, Frida's gaze made you feel as if someone were looking into your soul and pulling it out for all to see.. if you were only aware enough to notice her gaze in the first place. The other Elder completed her circle, standing closer to Frida. She reached out and pinched her, as if curious to see whether she would feel her there. Frida flinched, more from the surprise than the pain, and let out a little startled sound.. she was obviously still a part of the world, though the elder Chideran had felt a chill run through her at the moment of contact. "Ouch!" "What are you, Daltonite? What is your ability? I have never seen one like you." "Your people at Doorhold called me 'ghost-touched'. I see the spirits of the dead." "And why do you seek the presence of the Elders of Heartstone?" "Because of these." With that, Frida extended the sketchbook toward them. The one-eyed woman took it, and after a moment studying the outside of the book, she flipped it open and began to page through it, her still-sharp gaze focused now on the images the young artist had captured. The other two gathered around her, the three-fingered elder picking up a lit candle as she stood, and drawing it closer to the page in order to shed light upon the drawings. "I do not know why I drew them. I normally only draw things that I have seen. But these came to me, at night on watch during our travels here. I showed them to Yithaja, and she requested that I bring them to you. They were familiar to her. So here I am." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn OOC Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 Vena hesitated, then stepped forward and put her arms around him in a hug. It had been a long time since she’d hugged him and Sean felt a little self-conscious. After a moment, she stepped back, smiling at him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, and Sean was startled to see tears in her eyes. “Had I known… I wouldn’t have treated you so badly. I just thought… nevermind what I thought. I’m relieved to know what your father did to you isn’t permanent.” “Wait, Vena,” Sean protested, “we don’t know what happened. Isn’t it a little premature to blame Dad?” “Sean, he turned you into a boy,” Vena said tartly. “Why wouldn’t we blame him?” “This isn’t important,” Savannah said quickly, seeing a fight in the making. “We need to take him to the Midnight Ices and show him off!” “Her,” Vena said firmly. “Mom, I know, but I can’t make that change overnight!” Savannah grabbed his arm, smiling up at him. “C’mon, you have… cousins to meet. There’s even a sister of mom’s here, so you can meet her.” “Don’t I have to Quicken or something?” “Tomorrow,” Vena said, taking his other arm. “Tonight is a time for celebration.” -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The pools were rather large, meant to hold more than one. It should be no surprise that one tub was able to accommodate both Lucia and Ravi, though only the latter was aware of his companion. For a long moment, the two soaked in mutual silence. Then Lucia moved her foot and brushed skin – someone else’s skin. I leave the rest to you. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- “Yes,” Lianja said, glancing around again. “I have the mernish carved over my front door. Come around back.” “Mernish over door. Got it.” Ray nodded; he knew what a mernish was. It was a mythological Chideran monster that had once carried all their men away. Smiling a little, he watched her walk away. He was careful not to seem too smug or arrogant over it; even man-loving Chiderans could take offense at that. After a count of ten, he exited the alley the other way and went hunting for the house. HeartStone wasn’t large, and he was able to find it pretty easily. There was no back door, but when he knocked quietly on the window shutter, it opened. Lianja was already naked, her skin glowing in the light from the hearth. He could smell something sweet and vaguely floral, and a pale smoke was rising from a bowl near the bed. Clearly, she had put some effort into welcoming him. He didn’t let that fool him; she’d probably still want to be on top. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- “These are our sacred fallen,” the Elder said after she’d seen all the pictures. “The moment of death – it is sacred.” “I understand your beliefs,” Frida said softly, “and I respect them. I wondered what you wanted me to do with them. I have no wish to offend.” The Elder was quiet for another moment. “How would we… preserve them?” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravi FitzCoventry Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 He'd been aware of her as soon as she'd entered the room - even with the steam deadening everything, the shapeshifter's senses were still able to pick out Lucia's scent and the sound of her footfalls as she moved about the room testing the water in the various pools. He'd almost spoken up as she'd stopped by his pool,but had remained silent watching her graceful curves through the shroud of mist with his eyes half-lidded. Then when she'd slipped into the hot water with a sensuous sigh of approval, the shadowy tendrils dancing about her body, he elected to remain silent still. Mostly, it must be said, out of a sense of mischief than any really sinister motive. But when her foot brushed his calf, the game was pretty much up. As Lucia opened her eyes wide at the sudden contact, she saw another pair of eyes open maybe five feet away in the steam, level with hers. The irises shimmered green gold around slitted pupils in the dim light, narrowing her bathing partner down to two choices... Then the owner of those eyes spoke, dispelling any hopeful notion that it might be Sylvia whose bath she'd inadvertently shared. "Pleasant, isn't it?" Ravi's smooth tones inquired urbanely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z022 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 To her credit Lucia neither shrieked nor tried to hit him like all those women in the volumes and volumes of romantic comedy movies at home. Partially because she was too startled but mostly because she didn't want to give him the satisfaction. Her tendrils snapped from behind her, wrapping around her almost like a disturbing black bathing suit; unfortunately that meant the loss of her pillow and the dull thud of skull on stone was punctuated by an irritated, "Ow!" She scooted away from Ravi as much as she could and scowled at him like hitting her head was his fault. The proper and prim Dalton Student Council President in her wanted to lash out at him, to yell at him to get out of the bath or turn around so she could leave; but another part, deeper, stiller, and simply darker didn't care. Between the dull throb of her head and sheer exhaustion of the day, it was that darker part of her that responded. The tendrils loosened around her body, seeking out the crevices of the stone and anchoring her into the pool, keeping her where her body could recover from the ravages of days of riding a rhynnorm and camping on cold, rocky ground. Black-on-black eyes regarded Ravi coolly, her voice like night wrapped in velvet. "You could have announced yourself when I came in. At the very least it would have saved time finding a suitable pool." Whether she meant the pool they were in together or one lacking the laconic werepanther was left for him to decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravi FitzCoventry Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 "Perhaps. But you might have decided to turn around and forgo your bath. And that would have been a shame" the beautiful young man purred, sitting up a little and draping lithely muscled arms on the edge of the pool as he regarded her. With her own eyes adjusting somewhat to the dim light, Lucia could make out a faint smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "Besides, it seemed wrong to announce my presence, somehow." "How so?" she inquired, trying not to smile in return. Incorrigible rogues were not charming in real life, they were annoying and stuck on themselves, she reminded herself. "I'm not sure." he mused, a serious look in his eye. "Sitting here, listening to, smelling and seeing you without being detected in turn... There was a thrill to it. I'm not a voyeur by habit, you understand. A month ago, I might well have called out as soon as I heard you. But my attitudes to a variety of things have changed, and this seems to be one of those changes." He shrugged, smiling at her. "Call it a stalking reflex." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z022 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 "I would have," the Lucia-but-different voice replied with unusual candor as she closed her eyes and leaned back against the web of shadow-tendrils. "And watching a naked girl for the thrill of it isn't 'stalking reflex', no matter how much you want to dress it up as so." She considered for a moment, "Unless you're admitting to be a stalker." They were quiet for a minute, soaking in the warm mineral-infused water. When she opened her eyes again they were still pitch black; she watched the steam rise off the water in front of her. "A month. A month ago - for me - was just about when all of this started. The Social, the Caramine numbering people off, finding out about the door....It didn't happen like this the first time." She held up an arm out of the water, a tendril slowly slithering in a coil around the flesh a moment later. "When I met Ahvia, I was still...." me. She didn't say it, her voice trailing off until she found a palatable way to end the sentence. "I was still just a normal girl." Inhuman eyes met inhuman eyes for a quick moment, then retreated back to staring at the water. "I think you're lucky, Ravi FitzCoventry. You have another like you. Sylvia annoys you. Everyone can tell. She annoys a lot of us, in her constant mothering, but still...the Chiderans know about you - your people. You're not...alone." She contemplated the tendril and everything that had happened in the past month. "I met someone. Someone that knows something about my mother. Someone who is different, too. Inhuman. Nonhuman. Changed, he said. Human once but no longer. I don't know the right word. He said I was human once too, but that I'd been kidnapped when I was a baby and rescued from somewhere out here by mother. That being here changed me. Now I don't even know who my parents are. If she found me out here, I might not have ever been human. Like Sean." Like you or Slyvia? Her voice dropped to near a whisper, which only seemed to make it all the more mysterious and engaging. "In DoorHold...in the lodge..." she swallowed, "I didn't...what happened...I wanted to-to..." She sighed, "I don't even know how to explain it. I felt like you should be given something...not a prize, but...like a-a recognition." She splashed her hand back into the water, pulling the tendril with her. She sighed again. "Do people going insane understand that? Can you know if you're going insane or just going....alien?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravi FitzCoventry Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 It could (and had) been said of Ravi that he was vain, arrogant, lecherous, spoiled, inconstant, mercurial and somewhat cruel. And he'd cheerfully admit to those traits, too, claiming in his insousciant way that his accuser had just rattled off a list of his best qualities. That tells you everything you need to know about him. Or does it? As he gazed steadily at Lucia's downturned face, his sardonic half-smile faded and became more gravely empathic, something that wouldn't have surprised some, but would probably have shocked Sean into fainting. He didn't really know Lucia Blake - he'd heard of her around the school during his brief time there, but due to her mysterious disappearance they'd never met before life had decided to take a left-turn at the lights, cut across the intersection and leaving a ten-car pileup on the highway. Their first meeting had been girl-to-beast, and Ravi had not been at his best that night. But despite all that, she didn't seem to bear him much animosity (snarky comments about tummy-rubbing aside - Ravi knew with feline smugness that she'd been taking refuge behind those). But she was confiding in him now... reaching out, perhaps. She felt alone, isolated from even her friends by the knowledge of her past and her current changes. Ravi could relate. "You're not insane." he told her in a soft voice, his self-assurance - the flipside of his arrogance - evident in his words. "None of us are. I thought I was, before I Changed. Nightmares, mood-swings, flares of temper, waking up thrashing and fighting against something. Oh, and being indoors felt like being caged. I thought I was going out of my bloody mind." he gave her a wry smile. "And when I Changed, I went temporarily crazy. But even in the depths of that, there was enough of me that was Ravi to stop the Beast I had become from harming Frida, or Mari, or you for that matter." "You're different now, yes. But what really matters is that you are still Lucia. If you weren't, then you probably wouldn't care about feeling alien or crazy. You care about your friends, even though you feel apart from them." He shrugged, the smooth tanned skin of his shoulders gleaming with condensation as they moved. "What we are doesn't really matter, Lucia. Who we are... now that's the important thing. Good or bad, wrong or right, we define ourselves." He gave her another smile as she glanced up at him with her shadowy eyes, his lips quirking warmly. "You're not alone. Or, I should say: 'You're as alone as you want to be'. We're all changing, different but the same in that one fact. We're here for each other, if we have the eyes to see it." He stretched out in the water and sighed contentedly. "And thank you. For the recognition, and for the support back there the morning after. I was feeling a little under siege there." He smirked up at the ceiling, resting his head on the edge of the pool. "I've always disliked people preaching at me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z022 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 "Yeah." It was something between a 'your welcome' and 'but I don't know who I am'. There was another quiet moment, then a quiet splish as Lucia ducked her head under the water to wash some of the travel-dirt from her hair. When she resurfaced she pulled a comb and a small bottle of conditioner that smelled pleasantly like oatmeal and honey out of the bag of toiletries and began carefully teasing the tangles out of shiny black locks. After a moment he realized that that's pretty much all it smelled like, unlike the strange stinging smell of chemicals that most of the other stuff everyone had brought from Earth smelled like. When she glanced back at him, her eyes were back to their 'human' golden brown. Her voice had lost the strange, compelling nature it had had moments before. "What does it feel like?" she asked. "When you become a panther, I mean. Does it hurt?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravi FitzCoventry Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 "Not anymore." he responded, lazily watching her work on her hair. There was something intimate about it - the dim lighting gleaming from her hair, the heavy steam moistening her skin, and the scents of her and her conditioner. He wondered how it would feel to bury his face in her hair and breathe her scent in, spending a few moments on that idle fantasy before returning to the conversation. "It feels like a stretch that goes on forever, and when it's done I'm faster, stronger, tireless..." he paused, his smile a little abashed. "It's a heady experience. The involuntary shifts are different, though: They're like giving birth and being born at the same time - a mix of pain and release. That's the closest I can come to describing it. The first Change though, that was..." ...Pain rippled through his body and he screamed, feeling every nerve-ending vibrating with white-hot sensation that could not truly be called pain, not anymore. He felt his muscles dancing, his whole body spasming as it fell backwards and he screamed again, his voice cutting through the night air. This second cry was not purely of pain or fear, though. There was another note to it, a deeper primal tone of savage exultation that rang out beneath the voice of the man-boy. ... Ravi groaned and doubled up, his body arcing and twisting away from the watching guard, flopping and spasming in a manner which would have been comical to watch were it not for the look of pain and terror twisting his handsome features. It felt as though claws were tearing at his innards, as though something inside wanted out in the fastest, most brutal way. His thoughts were a babble of panicked agony... "... unpleasant. Like something from a movie: ripping sensations and sounds, feeling my bones being broken and reset, feeling the Beast inside me trying to claw it's way free." Ravi's voice was subdued and he shivered despite the warm air. He slid a little lower in the water, letting it cover his shoulders and arms once more. "If I hadn't been strong enough, I would have died before I'd even Changed. I know that, just like I knew I had to try and ride the wave of my beast-soul's rampage, cling on with my fingernails if I had to. Or I'd have been lost there, too." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z022 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 She continued working on her hair, the movements lithe and automatic after years of practice. "I didn't help much, did I?" Her eyes had flecks of black floating through them again. "It was the first time....the first time for me too. That I did something, that the..." Darkness "...that I changed. I was normal the fist time went through the door. The only strange thing was a dream I had when I was on Ahvia's world. She said I'd seen the the Door to a place called Aherinha. It sounded like she was talking about Heaven or something at first, but she said it was a place you could go. The center of all the worlds. 'A place of peace and power.'" She hesitated, but while she was with the group and wanted Sean to be okay, she was out here to find her mother - not just to galavanting around like some Indiana Jones after-school club. "She said that those who hold Aherniha hold the worlds in their hands." Why was she telling him this? Him? A spoiled, immoral, immature rich-boy brat that ate horses and chased anything in a skirt? Why wasn't she telling Rosa? Because she'd nod and say that was interesting or not to worry about it and wouldn't really understand. She'd try, but....she sighed, some of the steam billowing away from her. But she's not changing into a monster - of one kind or another. "I was thinking that maybe after Sean does this ceremony so his-her soul doesn't fall apart or whatever, maybe we could try to find the Key to Aherinha?" When she looked up at him there was something in her expression he'd never expected to see from the prickly young woman that had faced him down as a newly-born panther and had defended him over Selih's death with cold, precise words just before they left DoorHold - vulnerability. "They'd...if what Ahvia says is true...they're probably the best chance I have to find my mother." She dropped her eyes, her hands falling from her hair to fiddle nervously with the comb. "I don't even know where to start. Yasu woudn't tell me anything. Nothing helpful, at least." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravi FitzCoventry Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 "Aherinha." Ravi carefully repeated. "A place that's the center of all things?" Lucia nodded, watching him as he frowned in interested thought. "That could be what we need, you know. Not just to find your mother, but to face down the Caramine." He gazed at Lucia levelly. "I haven't forgotten why we're really here. I doubt any of us truly has. I'll bet that the Caramine don't have this Aherinha in their grasp - or they wouldn't need their armies or treaties. So rather than piddling about trying to fight a conventional war with the evil empire, which will be hard to say the least, we should go looking for Aherinha. If we make friends and collect allies on the way, so much the better. I think we'll need those friends to piece together how to get there anyway." He smiled at her, a genuine warm smile. "This is what we need, I think. Not chasing after answers that won't get us any closer to a solution, but striking for the heart of the problem." "But we don't know where to start." Lucia repeated, trying not to smile back and mostly succeeding. When Ravi wasn't being a brat and a rogue he was dangerously engaging. "Yes we do." Ravi said, eyes alight with curiousity and inspiration. "We start here. We talk to Chiderans, gather tales of Aherinha that exist in their culture. Then we talk to, say, Ahvia's people, or whoever we meet next. We pretend we're going around doing some diplomacy, but we're really gather the stories. Ahvia's people know of this place, so other cultures might too if it really exists, even if they think it's a myth." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z022 Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 "They do," she said. "Think it's a myth, Ahvia's people. Kind of like how people on Earth believe in Atlantis or Area 51." She snorted delicately, "Although, given the Doors, Atlantis probably does exist, the Bermuda Triangle is probably one large and random Door, and Area 51 might just be where the US hides all the aliens that wander through the states." Her smile faded at little as her mind worked that over. "It's a little scary that that could actually be true." She shivered and wondered for the first time if she should go home - if she could. What if the Darkness stayed? She couldn't just put a shawl on and pass for human, like Ahvia did. She swallowed hard but nodded, staring at her rippling reflection in the water as if could answer her fears. "Yeah, it's a good idea. The diplomacy and information gathering." She fished out the comb she'd tumbled into the water and set back to brushing out the last of her hair. "I wonder what's going on at Dalton now. If Pritchard and the others are covering our absence..." Her mind wandered over how everything she'd built so carefully was falling apart - hard already fallen apart, really. "It doesn't really matter, though, does it? We've decided to fight a war. On our own. That doesn't stop so we can go to class or get diplomas or...or go to college or get a good job or get married or have a family or even survive. Nothing's guaranteed now." She hadn't meant to say the last out loud, but her thoughts whispered out her mind in that Lucia-but-not voice he'd heard earlier. She shook herself to dispel the moment of despair and fumbled to put the comb away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravi FitzCoventry Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 He realised she was trembling very slightly, her breathing and scent indicating stress and panic. The composed and centered girl was trying to deal with her fears and worries, and they had gotten atop her so badly that she was confiding in him. With a smooth motion, he crossed the pool and leaned against the side next to her, a hand gently coming to rest on her shoulder. The simple contact caused her to shiver, the tendrils shifting across her skin and lightly intertwining with his fingers. Only the fact of their nakedness kept her from turning towards Ravi and hugging him for dear life. He was solid, and warm, and alive, and he wasn't afraid of her. His other hand gently took the comb from her fingers and set it aside, before taking her hand in his. "So many worlds, so much to do. So little done, so much to be." Ravi said softly, his tone pensive, quoting something he'd learned some time ago as though it had new meaning. Lucia looked up at him as she smiled, recognising the poem. His eyes shimmered, his smile was for a change not knowing or mocking, and he was, for want of a better term, beautiful. "In Memoriam, Tennyson." she said, finding some strange comfort in the words, and greater comfort in his nearness, experiencing again that stranger-yet fellow feeling with this privileged man-child, with his arrogance and cruelty and his deadly, predatory nature hidden beneath. Unbidden, the rest of the verse rose in her mind. "How know I what had need of thee, For thou wert strong as thou wert true." The last few words resonated a little, the inner Darkness betraying her yet again. It was hard to remember she disdained Ravi's various negative traits when he was smiling at her, the faint swells of muscle around his shoulders highlighted by the gleaming caramel-coloured skin. Her fingers wondered if it was as soft and warm as his other shape's pelt... "That's us." Ravi said softly, regarding her intently enough to make Lucia's cheeks color even as his eyes held hers. "All of us." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SalmonMax Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 "It's like a trophy of war," Renata explained, grinnng broadly. "Proof of my badassery. Now I just need a fur bra and skirt, and cape made from a wolf skin that still has the wolf head on it, and I can be Renata, Queen of the Barbarians. And you can be my maid, and like, fetch me water from the spring and rub my neck after a long day of barbarianning." She laughed at Mari's expression and amended herself. "I'm just kidding. You can be a barbarian too. Best bow and arrow in the tribe." Mari did something unexpected at that. She drew herself up and said in a sharp voice, "Oh, you think I need your permission? You think just because I'm latina I'm going to be your maid?" For a second, Renata could only open her mouth in comical dismay as the rug under her feet was yanked out by the unassuming freshman. "No!" she managed to exclaim. "I was...it was only..." Mari let her stammer a bit before relenting. She grinned impishly and said, "I know. It's all right, I was only teasing." Ren's face turned red, then she lunged at Mari and grabbed her around the waist. Mari burst into a mix of half-hearted screaming and full throated laughing, turning to face away from her tormentor while pounding feebly at her hands. "Stop!" she begged between helpless giggles. "Let me go!" Renata kept grappling and tickling long enough to make her point, then let Mari go with a smug grin. The smaller girl stepped back and straightened her clothes and hair, then delicately informed Renata, "I think we need showers. It's been days." Unabashedly, Ren gave her armpit a sniff and made a face. "Yeah. They have to have something like that here. Lets ask around a bit." The first Chideran they accosted gave them a look suggesting they were a bit dim, and pointed. They looked around to see a largish hut with steam billowing out from behind it. "Springs," she told the Daltonites. "Warmed by the earth." "Great!" Ren caught hold of Mari's hand and tugged her foreward. "Come on!" The two girls took off at a brisk jog towards the springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Jackson Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 "You cannot make nothing that way..." "GAH!!" Ryan tossed his hands into the air and flopped backwards onto the pallet. "No shit I can't. I ain't dun nuthin' what with makin' nothin'. Sounded so simple b'fore." He ground his palms into his eyes, eliciting sparks behind his eyelids that lived and died in moments of darkness from nothing more than pure neurological stimulation caused by the pressure. "I'm sick ah this! I'm gonna go out an' get ah little air. Y'all can come if'n ya want." He flipped off the pallet easily, Ryan was nothing if not nimble, and took a step for the door before halting. He looked back to the window instead and made for it, clambering out and scaling the exterior of the building to the roof easily. He didn't look behind him, there was little point Becor was as invisible as air, and he didn't need to look anyways to know that the other was following him, walking up the wall as easily as Ryan would have across a floor. Ryan wanted to ask him how he did that too, but he was more interested in nothing at the moment, and even more so on seeing the sights, Ryan style, than he was on nothing. The roof was thatch, and another nearby was stone of some kind; there seemed to be a mix of natural materials at work. Stone, brick, clay and wood; all manner of construction techniques, blended into some kind of weird unified whole. I bet each tribe or whatever they're called does things all different like. With a shrug he took off across the roof, his steps muffled, his movements quiet, efficient, graceful. He leaped the gap from one building to the next easily, and so it went as he moved through the small city. He stopped on occasion, to look at something interesting, to catch the smell of something cooking, which reminded him that he hadn't eaten recently. A granola bar came out of one of his pockets and he munched it silently as he crouched atop a roof and warmed his hands from the heat throw off of a chimney vent. As he did he looked down at the street and tried to get his bearings in relation to the boarding house they were put up in. He cocked his head to the side and stared, the dark did nothing for his color vision but there seemed to be a pace wide red line paved into the street. Wonder what that's for? The wrapper went into another pocket, he wasn't a litterbug after all, and he moved on, crossing that curious red path as he did. Ahead in the distance he could see that strange spire silhouetted against the sky, and he made for it indirectly. Any warning about it long forgotten and ignored. Athletics & Stealth? Stealth 8d10 jameson *rolls* 8d10: 6+10+7+9+9+2+8+8: 59 jameson *rolls* 1d10: 2: 2 [jameson] 2:19 pm: 5 sux then Athletics, also 8d10 jameson *rolls* 8d10: 2+2+2+2+1+10+3+6: 28 jameson *rolls* 1d10: 8: 8 [jameson] 2:19 pm: 1 2 sux [jameson] 2:20 pm: witness? [Jeremy] 2:20 pm: witness [jameson] 2:20 pm: thanks [Jeremy] 2:21 pm: don't you mean 2 sux for the second roll? [jameson] 2:21 pm: oh yeah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Ray smiled lightly, as much at the joke he recognized about coming in through the window. Apparently, the tradition lived on. With coordination born of training, he lifted himself up on the sill and moved through the shutter, closing it shut once he was through and standing again. His head turned back, only to meet the aggressive advance of Lianja's lips. As he knew well, even man-loving Chiderans insisted on dominance in bed. Ray didn't mind a bit, any masculine pride already more than satisfied by getting laid in the first place. Hands roamed and with a hunter's expertise; Lianja removed the furs, Ray tumbling onto the bed on his back to continue. Hmm... I think we have a challenger to the Emerald Fires... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatiana di Jadzian Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Bracketed by his sister and mother, Sean found himself pulled out of the cabin and led insistently through the tiny village that arced in a shallow crescent in front of the spire of the Heart Stone. He followed unresistingly, feeling conflicted. On one hand, he was getting incredibly tired and annoyed of it sounding like getting turned into a girl had cured him of a terrible affliction. On the other, Vena hadn't sounded a thing like Cassandra. He didn't think he had ever seen his mother cry either and despite how he had been treated by her, a pang still rose in his heart, seeing his mother in distress. And he couldn't recall ever receiving such a heartfelt hug from his remote mother, so surprised by it he hadn't even noticed the oddity of their breasts pressing together until it had ended. "Huh? Where're we goin'g?" Sean asked, feeling the cold wind on his face, breaking through Savannah's and Vena's excited chatter. His mother hardly looked wan and tired anymore. "Each Line has their own Longhouse here in HeartStone," Savannah explained, "To prepare initiates for their quickening, and for gatherings." "Oh, right, that makes sense." Sean looked around, trying to get his bearings. "Is it alright if I bring a friend along? I wasn't sure what would be happenin', y'know, how'd you guys take the, uh, new me, but I don't want to leave her alone tonight." "Her, huh?" Savannah said with an amused lilt to her voice, looking up at her new sister with a smirk. "Got a girlfriend? What does she think about," she gave the prominent, leather-clad bulges on his chest another poke, "these?" "Stop that! And Swan not - she's -" Sean frowned. "Yes, she's a girl, and yes, she's my friend, but.... Hmmm...I guess, she might be my girlfriend after all..." He gave his sister a narrowed eyed look and hunched his shoulders. "And she seemed to like these just fine. Less disturbed by them than I am." Savannah snorted. "That's cuz she presumably has her own, Sean - though probably smaller than yours. Yeah, Swan can come, can't she, mom?" Vena smiled at her daughters - glad she could say that in truth - and nodded. "If you claim this Swan as a Soul Sister or lover, she will be allowed to attend, Sean." Soul Sister? Sean thought, blushing at how casually his mother mentioned him having a possible sexual partner. "Uh, yeah, sure, Soul Sister. That's Swan." Without breaking stride, Savannah and Vena still with a grasp on each of his arms, they turned and lead him to the lodge his other companions had been shown on the side of the village furthest from the HeartStone. But as soon as they encountered the common area of the lodge, occupied only by Swan and a taller, heavier built version of Yithaja, Vena stopped with a hiss. "What is a Caramine ukoonta doing in HeartStone?" Vena demanded. Swan elevated her chin, solid black eyes narrowed to slits, not at all ashamed by the rope symbolically binding her wrists. Seeing that, Sean gritted his teeth angrily and shook himself free of Savannah's grasp, then stalked across to Swan's side and stripped the rope and collar off her. He gave Swan a hand to her feet, then turned back to face his sister and mother, jaw set stubbornly, still holding Swan's hand. "This is Swan. And whatever she was before, now, she's my friend. Swan, my mother, Vena, and my sister, Savannah." "Sean, daughter, she is Caramine," Vena reiterated, saying 'Caramine' with the same disgusted, contemptuous tone one would use for 'child-molester.' "Not anymore," Swan corrected her haughtily, twining her arm with Sean's. "I gave up my blade willingly and Sean shattered it. I am no longer of Caramine, I am of Dalton. And I am of Sean, if she will have me." "He," Sean muttered, giving Swan's hand a squeeze. "And yeah, of course, I'll have you - I mean, for a friend, as a friend." Swan smirked - I plan on having you as more than that, Sean - as Sean faced down his family. "If she can't come, I ain't goin' either. I've gone this long without knowin' 'bout your side of the family, Vena, I can keep goin'." "I think he's being serious, Mom," Savannah commented, watching Swan uncertainly. She'd heard stories and rough jokes about the Caramines since llving among the Chiderans, but had never seen one until now. Other than freaky eyes, she was slim, if toned, hardly a match for the vast majority of Chiderans. She noted with amusement that Sean did have several cup-sizes on his girlfriend. "She." Vena corrected absently as she eyed Swan distastefully, then studied her son-now-proper-daughter. She could tell she was being serious now, and stubborn as ever. She did wish to alienate her so soon after being reunited with her for the first. She snorted and nodded. "Very well, Sean, she may come, though it will cause problems." Vena stalked up to Swan, griping her chin in her strong fingers and tilting her head up to glare down at her blank eyes. "But if I find you are attempting some underhanded, Caramine plot and using my daughter for your own ends, I will end you. you understand, little one?" "Yes," Swan replied with simple directness, matching Vena's glare with one of her own. "Well, that's done then," Sean said in a (feminine) growl. "Shall we go meet the rest of the family - Line - whatever. Just how related is a Line anyway?" With Swan on one arm and Savannah on the other, Vena stood next and ahead of her youngest daughter, leading them to the Lodge of Midnight Ice. "To explain in a way you will understand, Sean, you can think of a Line as one very big extended family. Think of most as distant cousins and aunts. Those sharing the same mother are as sisters, but my own sisters and their daughters are considered nearly as close as well." Vena gave Sean a flat look. "Sexual relations within the same Line are frowned upon," she said with an emphasis that suggested it was about as frowned upon as fucking a rhynnorm. "Ooookay..." Weird. This is going to some time, Sean thought, trailing off as he was entered the Lodge of Midnight Ice and got a view of most of dozen of his own Line standing all together in one place. It was an uncanny sight, and proved just how much time it would take. All of them had fine-featured faces that could grace the covers of fashion magazines and most were as tall or taller - one had to be nearly seven feet! - than the typical supermodel, and every bit as good-looking, many somewhat curvier than most and far fitter than any. Heroin-chic had never been a fashion statement here. And they all shared enough qualities in face and form to be labeled sisters or close cousins back on Earth, those Sean was beginning to suspect smaller differences were noticed more here. One was a near twin of his mother, standing next to another that could have been Cassandra, if Cassandra didn't usually have an expression of arrogant bitchiness on her face. If I look anything like then - and I'm afraid I do - I'm gonna have guys hitting on me all the time. Vena grabbed him by his shoulders and lead him forward several steps. "Women of Midnight Ice, another once thought lost before she was even born is now among her people for the first time. My daughter, cursed into an abomination, has been returned to her proper self upon stepping through the Door into Chideran lands. Make my daughter Sean, welcome and show her what it is to be Chideran and Midnight Ice." Sean stirred at being called a cursed abomination, but couldn't get a word in edgewise, his mother proud to have a stain on her honour removed. As an after thought and seeing the hard eyes being directed at the Caramine on Sean's arm, Vena added with a reluctant sigh, "The Caramine too claims to have shed the stain of her birth and is proclaimed Soul Sister by my daughter. May... Swan be welcomed as well." "So, a second-sister who once endured the dangling weakness of a man, you have my sympathies," Cassandra's non-evil twin said, offering him a large stein of the hyper-sweet booze that seemed favoured among the Chiderans. "Second-sister?" "Cousin," Savannah explained in a loud-whisper. "Mom's sister's daughter." "Cow-zin," the woman with black hair nearly as short as Sean's own agreed awkward, then gave him a big, cheerful smile. "I am Kiaki. Here, drink! Let's share tales of the men we have defeated and the women we have known, and swap humourous stories." She laughed and Sean tried not to bristle. "You must have many, being cursed into a man." Sean took a long pull of almost sickly-sweet alcohol - he couldn't tell if it tasted more like strawberries or cherries or something else - fearing he was going to need the alcohol to get through the night. Once they had gotten over their initial shock and discontent at seeing what they saw as a Caramine in this place, the Midnight Ices began to get... boisterous. Apparently a young Chideran about to quicken was always a cause for celebration, especially one that had the good sense to no longer be a man. Oh, boy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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