Common Misconceptions (M)

[RedOptics]

Completely ignoring him, Ira climed onto her lap and licked at her face, "Alright, alright! You proved your point," Keona laughed, hugging the fluffy thing. Looking back, the tiger stuck his tongue out at Travis,enjoying the attention from the woman.

"Oh come on Travis, I love you both, and there's no way I'm leaving or losing either of you." She said with a smile and the animal suddenly stood on her shoulders, causing her to hunch over. She quickly said something her her native language and Ira slid off, curling up in her lap.

[Wrathwyrm]

Travis crossed his arms in mock-irritability.  He wasn't taking this seriously, although he did somewhat envy the tiger's innate cute factor.  It was a clear advantage, in this situation.  He was only handsome, but Ira was freakin' adorable, after all.  He shrugged emphatically at Keona's comment and the actions of the tiger.

"Oh well.  I guess I play second fiddle to the cat."

But he'd made his point, he felt.  And speaking of stuff felt, it felt like they were startin' to really move!  Looks like they'd re-rigged the main mast sails, 'cause you just might be able to hear the casting of wind spells out there now to push the boat forwards.

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Meanwhile, in the ship's hold...there was a single lantern lit and a pen scrawling.

Dear Boomer,

As I write this, I understand that you cannot read or write, so you may have to get your human to do so for you.  As per your request and that of several cats in Serendipity, I have embarked on a ship to determine just how bad it is at sea.

Therefore, the first thing I wish to point out is that the food and sleep is not so great.  You could start out catching rats, but when you run out, what then?  Further, the sleep is horrible.  Everything is moving, people intrude on your privacy no matter where you go-

"What in all the hells is going on here?!"

Garlock paused in his writing while in cat form to blast the quartermaster's mind with a Brainwarp and sent him on his way.  A moment later, he resumed his work.

-which reminds me, humans at sea do not bathe unless they fall overboard, and that doesn't happen nearly often enough.  Of course, none of this compares to the weird people you meet or the sea monsters that can attack without warning.

Hoping this finds you well,

Garlock

[RedOptics]

"What? You want me to hold you in my arms too? All you have to do is ask." She sheepishly smiled, rubbing the tiger's back. At night, Travis was the perfect substitute, but of course she wouldn't say that. He was warm and made her feel protected, and it was something she had never gotten in the longest time.

Hummed to herself, she watched the animal squirm before reaching his head up to let her scratch behind his ears.

"You know, I just wanted to thank you... for keeping me warm at night. This little furball is much too small for me." She giggled as he playfully bit her fingers.

[Wrathwyrm]

"I don't do too well with chin-rubs, though.  No beard, you see."

Also, he didn't purr and he wasn't cute enough, as we said.  It was still a funny thing, though, and he was frankly glad that she was capable of that, despite all the things going on.  Travis hated a somber mood.  It was just awkward and nothing ever gets done or said that needs to be said.  Better to cut through all that.  As for keeping her warm...

"No problem.  A ship's no good with a fireplace.  Maybe an oven, if they're careful, but you can't risk the wood."

Try being the guy who has to transport a sick dragon overseas.  A more stressful situation, you may not meet.

[RedOptics]

Keona shifted a little as the animal in her arms began to slow down in fatigue. "If... it's too much to ask... I'd like you to keep doing it, even if there is a fireplace... I like it." She blushed softly, kissing the top of Ira's head as he drifted off into a nap.

"Hm, poor little one's tuckered out from fearing for my life." She giggled softly, "You should be too. Why not take this time to rest and regain your energy?" Keo looked up at him, something unreadable in her eyes before she broke the link and stood, leaving the bed vacant before putting the little tiger on a pillow she had grabbed.

[Wrathwyrm]

"I think I can do that."

Keona needed warmth.  That was a fact.  Travis would be more than happy to make certain she was comfortable.  And hey, if it was at the expense of having to do nothing but cuddle with a beautiful woman, that was just a sacrifice he was going to have to take.  Yeah, I couldn't say it with a straight face, either.  He let out a chuckle as she mentioned Ira's super-busy task of watching over her.  Yeah, that was certainly a fulltime job, alright.  Travis remained in good spirits right now, but she was right about one thing: He'd been taxed somewhat in his reserves today.  Although...did it seem more like an invitation?

"I think we could all use a rest."

It wasn't suppose to be so rough, so soon.  Hopefully, he could at least enjoy the moment before something else went wrong.  That said, Travis did indeed take the invitation to rest on the bed.

[RedOptics]

Ira parted his jaws wide to let out a yawn, and Keona patted his head. "You're growing so fast... last week you weren't that heavy..." She murmured softly, kissing the top of his head before he curled up and closed his eyes.

Returning and sitting on the edge of the bed, Keona sat straight and stared in the tiger's direction before turning her attention to the port hole to watch the sky outside. The sun had a quarter left in the sky, and the ahip was forced to skip lunch because of the incident. But during supper, they were sure to get swallowed by the crowd.

Deciding not to dwell on the near future, she yawned and stretched, carefully laying herself down on the edge to leave room for Travis behind her.

[Wrathwyrm]

Time would pass, and they would rest.  Travis, however, would be dreaming something he did not expect.  Rather than dreaming of the ship or the snake or Keona, he found himself in...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A small and pleasant town.

"What the...?  Where am I?"

It was one of those places that was recently modernized, you could tell.  Cobblestone paving, statue in the center of town, nice wooden houses and buildings of commerce, and even a town guard.  Travis had never been here before.  He'd been in places that were like it, but he could somehow feel that he'd never been here before.  Walking around the place, he tried to get a sense about it when...a fight broke out.

It was a mage's duel, and the mages were drunk and erratic.  They'd had too much at the tavern and were blasting up the place.  Travis had had to dodge one of their shots and kicked the nearest mage down.  He was about to shout at him when uhh...something behind him.  He turned and...wait, this was familiar.  He was seeing a man, but the man was cast in shadow like energy had taken the shape of a black cloak, like...some kind of evil magus.  ...evil magus?  Hadn't he seen...?

No sooner had Travis thought it than the magus started destroying the entire town!  Fire, wind, ice, lightning - he shot out all kinds of magic to raze the entire town!  Travis changed into his demon form and moved to run the man through from behind, but after he did...the man just melted.  In fact, EVERYTHING melted...into a pool of shadow.  And that's when the trouble started.  The shadow grew into a HUGE feline abomination, a two-tailed beast of black-and-red energy with gleaming eyes of fury and teeth as big as his whole body!  He leapt and cut into it, but it was malleable, able to slam him to the ground with multiple paws.  Travis shadow-blasted it away, fighting the beast as their surroundings were on fire...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Travis seemed rather disturbed by his dreams, though in his sleep he muttered something like "Not this shit again...".

[RedOptics]

Keona couldn't sleep, but n turn produced more heat in order to heat up the room a little. She could hear mumbling behind her head, and carefully turned around. Of course didn't know how it fully felt like to have a nightmare, as most of her dreams were just a twisted flame.

Hesitantly, she gently moved to that she could rest his head on her chest and her hands on his neck and head. The heart was always warm, even in her sleep. Besides, listening to the rhythmic sound of a heartbeat is one of the most soothing things to ever be heard. Or, at least in her standards. Keona let out a breath, staring at the ceiling for a good five minutes before closing her eyes.

What are you doing Keona...? Her mind spoke as a dreamless dream overtook her. No fire, no light. Just darkness.

[Wrathwyrm]

On a point of reference, Keona had a normal heartbeat.  Travis, on the other hand, had a 'Thrump-Thrump'-sounding one that was strong and regular, but tended to be just a touch slower than a human heart, normally.  It was weird, but it was there.  He seemed uhh...calmer once introduced to the warmth of the currently-questioning-herself Keona.  As the two of them entered proper sleep, Travis unconsciously took hold of her, as promised.

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Good god, what a day.  The quartermaster sat in the mess area with a pint of ale.  It was hard work, the whole day, and after a tremendous aamount of work too.  There was no sound right now, as night set in, but the sea and the air and all that went with it.

Well, there was that, of course.  The purring sound.

He looked down on the floor.  Maybe you become a hardened sailor on these trips with regard for nothing and no one but yourself, but maybe you don't.  Maybe, you still have the ability to smile at a sleeping cat, like the one stretched out right now.  Wonder what he's dreaming about...?

[RedOptics]

Waking up on his own, Ira raised his head from his resting spot. The tiger stood and stretched and yawned, shaking his fur out afterwards. He removed himself from his comfortable spot and padded across the darkening room. The light had turned orange outside as sunset approached, the light having travelled away from the warm room. He looked up at Keona and Travis for only a moment, allowing them to do what they were doing and managed to make his way out of the room. The door wouldn't be the only way out. There was a hole in which he wa small enough to squeeze through unnoticed, left under a table with a long tablecloth. The outside was cooler as the sun went down, but Ira didn't shiver from the sudden loss of what he was used to.

With big dark eyes that shone in the orange light, the tiger stared up at the mast that looked misshapen and odd, basically broken. He didn't witness what had happened earlier, he only felt the way the ship rocked and was hit, scared for Keona's life. Trotting forward onto the emptying deck, he gained many gazes while simply leaping onto the bow of the boat, sitting in a safe spot to watch the waters go by. He was big enough for people to question his attitude if they were to try and nab him, but he felt relatively safe at the current moment.

[Wrathwyrm]

Eventually, there was company.  It was like he was there in a snap, one minute nothing...and in the next...cat.  It's generally how he went, when he wanted to.  His presence had appeared behind, then was nearby on the ship's railing.  For the moment, he was also watching the water, perhaps thinking of scooping out a fish.

So, these shadows, then...  They seem rather vindictive.  Definitely a repeating curse made from pure darkness.

He looked down at Ira now.

You understand that since the girl has no enemies whatsoever, it has to be someone connected to her.  Curses doing appear long-distance unless you can absolutely focus it on someone.  I should know.  It's my job.

[RedOptics]

The shadows are persistant on putting the world into darkness. Keona is one of the most important things we need in the world, because without her kind we would have plunged into darkness. Her mother knew something we didn't, but was not allowed to tell anyone. Hell, even I know a secret... but it isn't time to reveal it yet. Ira thought, simply staring out into sea, unfazed by the being's appearance.

The curse is ancient. It's a magic that had been hidden for many generations. He stated, glancing up at him. The sun touched the horizon, beginning the few hours worth of dark ess to come. It was at this time Keona was most likely to be attacked, but for some reason they hadn't done that yet.

[Wrathwyrm]

A darkness that plagues the world, eh?  Hmph...

The trouble with dark creatures is that they only think dark thoughts.  I'm full of darkness, but I'm different.  I'm a cat.  My thoughts have a much wider range and contrast.  But I guess those born in darkness can only think in darkness.

Garlock managed to take up a 'bumper car' laying position on the railing, looking back at sea.

So, you think they're dumb enough to attack a fire elemental in the hot desert, where she's at her strongest?

Essyrn was a big freakin' desert.  Keona would have no trouble for warmth there.  None at all.

[RedOptics]

You'd be surprised. They're evolving. The last one had a tough hide, and usually they dissolve once they hit water. I sense the next one will be tougher. He stated, pupils dilating in the absence of light. The tiger stoo up and looked at Garlock, studying the being with a watchful eye. You're strange to me. But so far you haven't done anything to hurt either Keona or Travis. I can't say I'm not even in the slightly way suspicious, but do know that I am keeping an eye on you. Ira stated before trotting off the bow and onto the deck, headed back for the room in which the others stayed. They'd wake up from hunger if anything, and he didn't realize how hungry he was until recently.

[Wrathwyrm]

Perhaps he would be.  Humans were strange creatures, so why not darklings or anything else?  Well, they weren't exactly his problem.  However...those things had best stay out of his way.  If anyone was going to bring ruin to humans he despised - which...frankly, those two hadn't made the list - it would be him.  At any rate, Ira left him out there and returned to the two sleepyheads.

Yes, ummm...you know how when you're a cat - You're not a cat, but just bear with me. - and you find the humans lying around instead of feeding you?  This was like that.  Unless Keona was showing signs of life, those two hadn't realized their - and by that token, Ira's - hunger yet.  Perhaps they needed a hand...or a paw?

[RedOptics]

Ira sat patiently at the foot of the bed, looking up hopefully at the two that sadly did not show any signs of waking up. With a small huff, he reared himself back and leaped onto the bed, deciding to ruin Travis's sleep more than Keona's and stood on his back. The little tiger made mini roaring noises and jumped around, only resulting in the woman underneath the two to clutch whatever she was holding closer to her as the calming realm of sleep was being stripped away. The dream she was having was... odd to say the least, but indeed something she didn't want to leave. It was happy, warm and loving, and she could hear the soft singing of her mother as she danced around in a void of warm pinks and oranges.

Stopping to make sure she didn't wake up, Ira listened carefully to the sound of movement and breaths taken by the two beings. Growling softly, he began to tug at the man's collar, urging him to wake up and feed him. Basically he just wanted to screw with him, he said he accepted him, he didn't say he really liked him at all.

[Wrathwyrm]

The problem here was that Ira didn't employ the claws while on Travis' back, although hopping around and rowring was inventive enough.  He ended up pulling on Travis' shirt collar, since his coat was still on tattooed brunette.  A few tugs and Travis finally felt his head being jostled weirdly, which allowed him to slowly awaken.

"Mrrr?"

Sort of.  It took a minute.  However, one eye definitely opened so that it could look around.  Think of it as a peephole out of sleep, checking to see if the rest of the body should wake.

[RedOptics]

Stepping onto the stomach of Keona, Ira pawed at Travis's head in an attempt to wake him up faster. The little tiger stopped for a moment, a rather unimpressed look on his face before he had an idea.

If you won't feed me, then I'll just have to eat you then! Then reared up and swiftly bit at the back of his neck, possibly hard enough to draw blood, but he wouldn't know until he could taste it, or taste whatever this demon had for blood. Maybe black sludge, who knew?

Either way, the motion did in fact cause both of them to move, Travis and Keona. The woman shifted to curl in on herself, probably kneeing Travis in the process and suffocating him where she held his head. If he could, Ira would laugh at the current situation, watching as she basically held the man like he was her most precious object she had ever owned.

[Wrathwyrm]

Upon being bitten, the eye that had been open suddenly widened, and its brother joined in as Ira had definitely heard a decided "Mmf!" sound.  You wouldn't get an intelligable reply, due to the way Keona held his head, thus leaving him talking into her chest.  The little tiger would further here a somewhat deeper grunt as Travis had been kneed unintentionally.  Incidentally, Ira DID draw blood, and it tasted more of iron than normal blood, and it was hot, like spicy-hot.  He was a hot-blooded demon from the smelting process that created his true form.  Now, he wasn't going to suffocate...because he couldn't...but he was going to reach back and try to bring the tiger into view of the eye that could currently see anything, so that he could go "Mmf mmf mmf mmmf?", which Ira might be able to interpret as 'Can I help you?' with a slight tone of irritation.