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A Visit Home[Ethereal-Star]

Started by Akia, August 08, 2015, 03:45:38 PM

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Akia

It had been far too long since he had been back home, and Leo made a mental note to not wait as long next time. That was the problem with finding so many interesting things out in the world. Seeing what things the clan had discovered while he was gone had been enjoyable. However, all things had to come to an end, and he was slowly making his way back out of the jungle.

He did pause here and there, making notes or sketches of his own of things that interested him in thick greenery of the jungle. Leo was keeping a wary ear and eye out. While he had grown up here, it was still the jungle. There were plenty of things that would happily eat him if he wasn't careful. No point in tempting fate, after all.

With his last note done, Leo shouldered his pack again and started to walk once more. It was nice to go through this again, and just savor the smell of home.

Ethereal-Star

At the edges of the jungle, a large black wolf was prowling around, sniffing the air and listening to whatever sounds she could hear quite frequently. Indigo was hunting. She was not happy that she had had to travel farther than expected just to find some damn food! Which was unusual to say the least, as normally the jungle was ripe for the pickings.

Listening again, the wolf cocked her ears as she heard the sound of bird wings flutter and land somewhere close by. Finally, she thought, both aggravated and relieved. Stalking her prey, she made to silently move as fast as her canine legs would carry her, trying not to make any noise that would scare the bird off. There, in the tree.

The bird was sitting on a branch, before it turned its head to scratch at its feathers. After the itch had been dealt with, the bird flew down to ground level while it poked and prodded at a piece of fallen fruit on the ground, the area surrounded by lush vegetation that successfully hid the predator who silently watched, ever waiting for the right time to strike.

Soon it was time and Indigo prepared to launch her furry body at the unsuspecting avian. And she was just about to do so when a slender man with blue and crimson streaked gray hair made his appearance then, therefore scaring off the bird in a fright. Which meant no meat for Indigo.

The wolf came into view of the man holding a sketchpad and growled at him for disturbing her hunt. He would be sorry for that. Very sorry.

Akia

Hearing the growl, Leo paused, eyes darting towards the source. Seeing the wolf, the man carefully, slowly, put his back  up against a tree. Where there was one, there may be more, and he had no desire to be attacked from behind.

Once he was a bit more secure, he took a moment to study the wolf. Now that his back was secure, Leo felt a little better. He could shift in an instant, and few things wanted to tackle a bird his size. It didn't matter that he didn't eat meat, his beak could easily break bone.

Though he did admire the wolf. It looked shocking, with the fur and eye combination, and he made a mental note to sketch this out later.

"You are a stealthy one, aren't you?" he said, a little surprised that it had been so close and he had missed it. Talking to animals wasn't anything new, even if people outside the jungle thought it was a bit odd

Ethereal-Star

Growling again at the man with colorful streaked hair, Indigo stood there staring him down menacingly before her wolf form began to shift. Black fur dissipated, only to become long blue-black hair which trailed down a lean body, ice blue eyes darkening to become indigo in color as she took on her human form then. However, despite the fact that the now human girl still wore her wolf pendant necklace around her neck, that was all she was wearing at this time. Her clothes did not ever shift with her as she had left them back at her camp. Why her necklace stayed with her no matter what form she took was a mystery though.

The fact of the matter was Indigo stood there completely butt-naked as she glared at the man before her, still angry about her failed catch. And he was to blame. Indigo held no shame about her body, she never did. All she wanted now was for this man to know that he had pissed her off.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?" she hissed at him, indigo eyes seeming to pierce into his very being. "You disturbed my hunt! Now, I have to start all over again!" Ending this last part in a shout.

Akia

Eyes brightening as the wolf shapeshifted, Leo wondered if she was a relative, or one of the other varieties of shape shifters that lived here. Though she was definitely irate. And nude. But since it didn't seem to bother her, he just noted it and continued on.

"My apologies," he said, aware that could be rather frustrating, when one was hungry. "If you would like, I can share a meal with you. I wasn't aware that anyone called this area home."

He shifted, putting his pack down and opening it. "I don't have meat, but the bars I carry with me are pretty good. Honey and dried berries with grains." They were easy to carry, and stayed fairly good for the longer periods between towns.

"May I ask if you are related to the numa clans at all?" It was mostly him being curious, and his cocked his head to the side as he waited to see if she would be willing to accept his peace offering. It wasn't as if he had ruined her hunt on purpose, but he had still ruined it.

Ethereal-Star

Well, Indigo hadn't been expecting him to make a peace offering. Although she wasn't entirely sure what she had been expecting him to do. Run away? Stare at her? Become hostile himself? The wolf shifter stood there indecisively for a moment while she tried to reign in her anger. She supposed she shouldn't be too surprised though. After all, since he was traveling through the jungle, he would have to know a little about survival skills too.

Calming down some more, Indigo finally relented. "Fine." she answered stiffly, "Show me what these bars of yours are." While Indigo wasn't solely a meat eater, grain bars were not something she was familiar with. There was also fruit around here too, plus certain plants that weren't toxic, but Indigo had really been craving some meat, no matter how little of a quantity it was. She supposed she would have to be grateful for what she could get though. But later, she had every intention to continue her hunt.

In answer to his question, Indigo told him a little of her background. "I have heard of the Numa clans before, but no I am not one of them. My tribe had lived elsewhere before they were all killed. I'm the only one left."

Akia

Smiling at her, he offered up the bars. It probably wasn't going to quite hit the spot, as she was a wolf, but it was something. And when one was hungry, sometimes that was enough. The smile faded a bit as she told him about the lack of relation.

He nodded in response to her statement. "I wasn't sure, as I know we have a clan who lives somewhere in the jungle that has some wolf members. I'm part of the bird clan." He absently tugged a lock of hair. He vaguely recalled there was some scrambling a while back between some clans, but he hadn't been around at the time, so he didn't recall the details.

"I saw a herd of small deer about a half hour back," he said, gesturing with his head. "They looked to be meandering this direction, so they might be making their way around here soon."

He paused, thinking of something, then gave her a small bow. "My name is Leo. I do hope that you will forgive my interruption."

Ethereal-Star

Grudgingly, Indigo accepted one of the bars and tentatively sniffed it, before biting into it. "Thanks." she muttered, while chewing the unfamiliar food. It was somewhat sweet, with hints of nectar and berries mixed in, so it wasn't all that bad. However, she still very much wanted meat. A piece of granola landed on her right breast and she picked it off quickly and popped it into her mouth without a second thought. And she was hungry, finishing the bar in all of ten seconds flat.

She was about to grab another, when the bird shifter as she now knew him to be, mentioned a small herd of deer heading this way. That was all the encouragement she needed and so Indigo quickly stood up brushing off crumbs from her chest and legs, ready to set off in search of the delicious food.

Before she shifted back into her wolf form, she gave her response to the Numa before her. "Well, Leo, I must be off now. If there's deer around, that is more than sufficient for my meal. Perhaps we'll meet up again sometime." And without even saying goodbye, she morphed into the visage of a large black wolf, very much in a hurry to get her desired nourishment.

Sniffing the air, the wolf girl determined the group of deer to be coming from the south, due to the scents she now detected with her wolf nose. And wolf senses never lied. Taking off quickly and quietly into the thick underbrush, she was soon gone.

((OOC: Don't worry, she'll be back!  ;) ))

Akia

He nodded at her thanks, pleased that he was able to make up a bit. Food was a pretty important thing, especially here. Though he was able to continue the conversation when she reacted to the comment about the deer. Seemed she really was hungry.

"Well, good hunting," he said before she took off. Absently, the man wondered what her name was, if she had one. She had a family at one point, so it was likely. Still, it looked like he was on his own again for now.

Taking a few minutes, he sketched out her face and some details of the pendant she'd been wearing. Part of his ongoing record of his travels. A few jotted notes, and the man began to pack his stuff back into place. The balance was always something he watched carefully, in case he needed to fly with it.

Leo hoped that the woman's hunt went well. Sometimes, a good meal was the difference between a good week or bad.

Ethereal-Star

Sneaking up on her prey, Indigo caught sight of a group of six deer grazing on the tall lush grass of the jungle. Pouncing when the right moment presented itself, she caught one of the two largest deer, tearing into it with much vigor. The others all ran away as soon as she appeared, ravenous wolf she was. However the deer that she tore into would provide her plenty for the time being.

Soon enough she finished, licking her chops of all the blood staining her fur. And was it ever good, she thought, now satisfied. Indigo would have to thank the man, Leo he said his name was, for pointing out the deer to her. In her human form, her senses weren't anywhere near to what they were while in wolf form, so it was entirely possible she could have missed it entirely if not for the male bird shifter. Then again, he had been the reason she had had to shift to human form in the first place. But no matter. She had had her fill of meat and now, it was time to return.

Indigo did not shift yet, being content to stay as she was, in the case of any more meat heading her way. Or worse, predators. In her wolf form, she stood much more of a chance to survive that than in her human form. The sight of the bird man's colorful hair met her vision and she trotted up to him, before settling down next to him, putting her head on her massive paws. Ice blue eyes looked up at him then, as though to say, "Well?" Some blood still stained her mouth though, and Indigo licked at it some more.

Akia

The reappearance of the wolf was a bit of a surprise, as Leo had assumed that she would go hunting, then return to her life. Not that he minded in the least that she had come back. Some company would be good, even if she was a wolf at the time.

"I see the hunt went well," he said with a smile. There was still some traces of blood around her mouth, and Leo was a little pleased by that. While his interruption of her hunt earlier was unintentional, it seemed that was how she fed herself, and he had no desire to deprive someone of food.

He had decided to take a break and eat some food himself, all the talk earlier making him hungry. "Now that I know you are living out here, I will try to be a little less noisy while walking through here on future visits. No need to accidentally ruin any more of your hunts."

Ethereal-Star

Indigo lounged about in wolf form for just a little longer, before she decided to shift back to her human form. Still naked of course, save for her pendant necklace. Some minor traces of blood still lingered on her lips and she licked that off, now all of it gone.

"Thanks for the heads up." she told him in gratitude, settling down on a relatively smooth rock nearby. "And I don't actually live here in this area. My home is down further west, about a mile or two away. Perhaps a little further than that."

Playing with the necklace around her neck, the pendant itself which was carved out of wood that hung from a thick black cord, her dark blue eyes glanced over to Leo then. "So, Leo, huh? Do you live around these parts then? The name's Indigo by the way."

She noticed his sketchbook on the ground at that moment as he had begun to pack his things away, and bent down to pick it up not waiting for any approval to do so. Flipping through the book curiously, noting all the sketches of various animals and plants as well as miscellaneous notations here and there, she soon came upon the page with her face etched on it in smooth charcoal strokes of artistry. In the picture she was wearing her wolf necklace, as it was a portrait of her from the neck up. Looking back up at Leo, she asked him, "Am I that interesting to you?"

Akia

"My clan lives to the south of here, and I had come for a visit." Leo thought about it a moment. "I don't have a place where I stay for long periods. The price for being a wanderer at heart, I suppose." His obsession didn't fit well with staying in one spot for too long, not that he minded it at all.

"Indigo, it's a pleasure to meet you once more." He gave her a little bow with a smile. Though a brow went up as she started poking through his sketchbook. It wasn't private, but he supposed if she lived alone, asking permission was a bit of a foreign concept.

"You are rather striking. And it is always interesting to meet fellow shapechangers. I make notes and drawings of things that interest me, so that I can look back on them and be reminded. Especially when I become older."

It was always a possibility that, as he aged, Leo would simply put some things out of his mind. The records he kept would help him recall them later if that should happen. That was what one paid sometimes for a lifespan like his kind.

Ethereal-Star

Nodding at this, Indigo put down the sketchbook after studying it some more. "I sometimes will go to the surrounding cities and nearby towns, but I don't make it a habit. The jungle is where I feel most at home. Plus the 'civilized' folks idea of food is sometimes atrocious."

She shuddered, remembering the bowl of mushroom soup she had had to eat. The innkeeper called it a 'house special' of his, but Indigo hadn't been impressed at all. She had even told him this up front, but he didn't kick her out for some reason even if she didn't have much in the way of coin to speak of. She supposed he had found her fascinating, despite the grievous insult she had made about his soup.

Twirling a strand of dark hair around her pinkie finger, Indigo turned her attention back to Leo. "It would be nice to meet some others like myself. While I have heard of some and maybe even met a few in passing, we haven't really interacted with one another. Those of wolf kind like me do tend to stay together in packs."

It had been five years since the slaughter of her own clan, and since then Indigo had lived by herself, meeting others only occasionally, never really stopping to chat much, especially if the others were hunting. And a wolf knew never to get in the way of another wolf's hunt for food. The idea of doing such was ridiculous, being as the need to hunt was such an instinctual drive in any wolf or wolf shifter. Although that's not to say there weren't any squabbles as there often were, especially if food were scarce.

"And thanks I guess, for the compliment." Sighing irritably, Indigo wished to prowl the jungle again in her wolf form soon as her legs needed a stretch. Plus the fact that the feeling was so freeing, her senses much sharper in that form.

As a wolf, she was stronger and more capable of defending herself from any would-be attackers. Poachers and human hunters included. Of course, that was the downside to being in wolf form, as various humans had tried to kill her for her hide and meat, mistaking her as a regular wolf. She sure showed them who was the stronger. While she didn't outright kill them, even though she really wanted to, she did injure them enough, ruining their clothes as well and leaving them with a stern warning not to come this way ever again. Some of course did not listen though, and later on she was forced to kill them. Kill or be killed, that was the way of the wild. Everyone knew that.

At this time though, the wolf shifter tried to quell her restlessness and simply talk to the man before her. It wasn't often she could converse with another shapeshifter. But soon enough the call of the wild would win out, beckoning to her as it always did. And Indigo would relish in the feeling of it, just like she normally did. For now though, her place was here. Indigo sat on the rock still, swinging her legs back and forth in her normal restless manner. "How long are you here for then?"

Akia

"A feeling of home is a good thing to have," he said with a nod. "And I can agree with you on their food." Leo chuckled. "Though probably for a very different reason. They are quite fond of their meat, which isn't appealing to me." He wrinkled his nose a bit, then relaxed it, grinning at her.

Humans, as well as quite a few others races, had an obsession with meat that he simply did not understand, as it wasn't in his nature to eat it. The times he had were simply a choice of doing so or starving. Though they didn't eat meat as often as they would like, given how rare it was. Even farmers couldn't slaughter their animals all the time, and a lot of what they ate was wild caught. Even in the cities, pigeons was a pretty common food source, easy to raise and kill.

Though her words about meeting others caught his attention. "Well, my clan is about three hours flight from here. Probably just a little longer by foot, as fast as I know wolves can go. They always welcome a friendly face, and there are enough raptors that you probably wouldn't be feed anything too bad." His grin was a tiny bit teasing. "Plus, there are a few who keep track of where all the other clans are as best they can. They might be able to tell you where some of the clans with wolves have settled down at. I'm not sure if they are in the jungle, though."

Leo paused as he thought about her question. "I'm not sure. I'm mostly just heading through, but I have nowhere specific that I need to be."

Ethereal-Star

"Apparently, the innkeeper had just fresh run out of juicy steak." Indigo said grumbling, while scoffing at the memory. The only reason it seemed she hadn't been kicked out was after she told him point blank what she was. He seemed to soften up tremendously after that, and had apologized to her. But there wasn't anything else he could do. So, grudgingly she had eaten the foul-tasting substance, the entire thing. It was either that or eat a vegetable plate of lettuce and carrots, which was even less appealing. The innkeeper said he had been expecting a shipment of supplies and foodstuffs to arrive any day now, but it hadn't yet come when she had traipsed in. Memories aside, she supposed it could have been worse though.

When Leo brought up the general location of his clan of bird shifters, she shrugged in reply. "No offense, but I don't think they'd have what I want. You said it yourself. You don't eat meat unless you have to."

A warm breeze blew through the area then, lifting a few strands of Indigo's blue-black hair. The scent of rain met her nose then, and not two seconds later, the sky opened up with a downpour as the heavens raged above. Thunder rumbled in the far off distance as a storm steadily approached. Indigo sighed. "For as much as it rains in the jungle, you'd think I would get used to it by now. My last home wasn't anywhere near this bad. Stupid rain..." she muttered.

Akia

Leo was tucking his things away, feeling the air changing pressure. "I don't, but we do have raptors. They are very much meat eaters." He hummed, thinking of how much that said raptors had to eat. "Though I was thinking more that you could be directed to some Numa who take after wolf lines. Even if they aren't the same as  your family before, they will be other shifters who are similar."

The rain hit then, and he could feel his hair flatten against his head in just a few moments. He sighed, then looked to Indigo. "I don't mind talking some more. But I think that we should move to find shelter of some sort." He was tempted to change, because his other shape was a bit better at shedding water. Still, that would be impolite.

Ethereal-Star

Indigo thought for a moment on what kind of meat raptors ate. If she remembered correctly, they ate lots of fish and rabbit meat, as well as a few mice here and there. Perhaps even other birds. While Indigo's favorite kinds of meat to consume were boar and deer, she would never say no to other kinds of meat. It was meat, after all.

"I can definitely go for some rabbit meat." she told him. "Rabbit stew sounds particularly nice." she recalled the last time she had had rabbit stew on one of her city travels. She had gotten lucky with that one. Although prepared stew was much less likely in the jungle. Still, Indigo did not consider herself to be picky.

The wolf shifter got up, also intending to find some shelter as well. Her clothes had been left in a pile underneath some leaves a couple miles back, but there was no way in heck she was going to trudge through the rain in either form just to get to them. Besides it wouldn't do any good, as they too would be soaked. Her hair was now plastered to her head, and she flung some of it out of her eyes in annoyance. "Yeah, let's get going. I'm not as familiar with this part of the jungle though."

She looked around them, trying to find some sort of drier area they could rest in to wait out the storm. Thunder boomed nearby, about half a mile away and she hurried her steps, anxious now.

Akia

"Rabbit is pretty popular. So is deer." He chuckled. "It's why I'm usually good at spotting them." Especially with the size that the raptors got. Leo was actually on the average size for one of the birds, and he was still closer to the size of Indigo's wolf shape than a naturally born parrot.

He grabbed his bag, moving after the woman. The issue with the jungle is that when it started to rain, it didn't take long to soak everything. Though it didn't take long to find a few slightly drier spots. "What do you think of here?"

Leo looked to Indigo, curious if she wanted to go first. "Half tempted to change, just for the extra layer of protection." It wasn't cold, just wet, so there was that. He hated being cold and wet at the same time.

Ethereal-Star

Quickly going into the small overhang of shrubbery and entangled vines, Indigo made to get comfortable on a dry patch of mossy ground. Wringing out her hair some, water droplets going this way and that as she both squeezed the ends and shook her head a bit, she then folded her legs underneath her. The area in which they were in would provide some decent cover from the heavy buckets of water pouring down, as it created a kind of "cave" of sorts. The small haven itself could fit about two or three people, provided they weren't overly large people. The wind picked up more and more though as the seconds passed by, but it wasn't exactly a chilly wind either.

"Much better." Indigo commented, as she leaned back a little. "This storm better not last for too long."

Looking over at Leo, she asked him about something he had mentioned before. "So, how many Numa wolf clans do you know of?"

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