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Ripples in Velvet Sand

Started by Lion, March 08, 2016, 11:40:38 PM

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Lion

@Rhi-Rhi

It was easy to say that he was tired of the desert.  It was maddening to view the sand in all its expansive entirety, seemingly endless with ages buried underneath it.  There was no mercy in this place.  The sand took what it wanted, including him if he let it. 

Atalier frowned in the distance before him, continuing his trek off the beaten path.   The caravan routes were only so useful in traversing the wider expanses of desert.  For now, however, he wandered away from sand and down toward the canyon ridges that resided far far west of Essyrn into a place uncharted by most maps. 

It was just as well that he would die out here without ever finding what he sought.  He knew if it sounded too good to be true, it probably was.  But a faint glimmer of hope clung to the promise of his employer.  They knew a way to break him from his curse, with an arcane understanding of djinn and their vile magic.  He could only hope it was true.   He was not that much a fool as to buy into that alone.  He knew there was a price to be had.  In exchange for his help they wanted something just as valuable.

A pelt more majestic than the world had ever seen.  A lion's pelt, but to be more specific, a certain breed of lion that was larger and stronger than those found in the wild.  They knew the place, the path to get there, but would rely on him to get it.  It sounded easy enough, kill one of them, skin the pelt, and take it back.

Atalier found the badlands easily enough, hidden far from view from the main route, within a canyon that allowed excellent coverage.  How even his employer found it was beyond him.  He observed the redrock stone, towered high above him as he ventured down, avoiding stepping on any poisonous lizards that hissed at his passing.

He pulled the face covering from his cowl, looking up around him, as he was now wandering the deep shadows in the canyon's labyrinthine ridge.  Wind swept back his cowl and sent his hair into his face.  He wiped a hand across his brow, going deeper into the shadows.

Until a growl caught his attention.

Atalier stilled himself.  Shit.  Couldn't this have been after I ate something?  Not even breakfast yet! he inwardly griped.  He turned slowly, seeing nothing.  "Fuck," he muttered, half irritated that his nerves were getting the better of him.  "You should know better, Tal."

That was until he heard a loud growl again, this time much closer than before.  And something heavy soon landing on his back, knocking him down to the floor.




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"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

That something was a lion.

Six hundred pounds of healthy lion, and a male from the looks of it, its mane thick and full. And all that weight landed squarely on his back as it slammed him into the sand with a snarl, wicked claws pricking through his clothes--yet strangely not piercing his skin too deeply.

Yet.

The lion pinned him with its massive front paws and lowered its large head down next to his to sniff him, nostrils flaring and teeth bared, teeth set in a mouth large enough to tear his face off in one good chomp. It huffed once or twice, stirring the sand and the hair exposed from his now half-off hood, and then drew back with a low, rumbling growl of warning for him to stay very, very still.

Not a lion; Chephirah could smell his humanness, and that made her relax the barest amount--which was good news for him, because it meant she wasn't going to rip his face off.

Maybe.

Because he was still a strange male and strange males were dangerous, especially ones who so irreverently trespassed.

And Chephirah was feeling extra twitchy about that, especially considering her blind daughter wasn't but a couple yards away.

She glanced up and over her shoulder, and found the girl crouched where she'd left her, curled up in a crevice in the canyon wall, her ears perked and listening. She had told her to hide the instant she'd noticed the male, and now she turned her attention back to him and shifted her weight, massive paws kneading into his back.

She supposed she should give the human a chance, at least, for were mercy and honor not two of her pride's biggest virtues? Humans were ignorant, and if he was just a nomad passing through, killing him for nothing would be a waste.

After all, humans didn't even taste very good.

The shift was instantaneous; one moment the man was pinned by a lion, and the next he was pinned by a large, naked human. Well. Sort of human, if her tail, ears, sharp teeth, and sharp claws didn't give that way. She dug her knees into his lower back and fisted a hand in his hair to keep his head down while she leaned in and growled into his ear, "You have five seconds to explain why you're trespassing in Nomalanga territory."

And her hand tightened in his hair, her claws unsheathing to prick against his scalp.
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

Atalier's eyes shot wide open at the feel of a massive paw holding him down to the sand.  He felt the faint sting of claws poking at the skin of his back.   Oh shit!, was definitely his first thought!  But not his last.  There was no way he could roll out from under the weight that secured him to the prickles of pebbles and stone.

His head was turned to the side, just enough to be able to look at what held him down.  It was a lion.  A big-ass fucking lion that sure as hell looked like what he was looking for in the first place.  He couldn't be that sure however.  He wasn't just going to tangle with some wild animal without knowing for certain this was to be his quarry.

But the weight was starting to be a lot to bear.  He gasped for breath, pushing out sand from his mouth, as he sought to turn his head enough to look behind him.  He tried to tense himself, to keep his ribs from buckling.  "Fuck!" he panted out, watching and waiting.  There was little more he could do.

Until she turned into a woman that was.  That was clearly unexpected.

Atalier breathed in deeply, spewing out more sand and wincing when that clawed hand gripped his hair.  "I'm..."  He gasped, feeling her sharp knees digging into him.

"I'm a traveler!" he managed to spit out.  "Look, I got lost in this canyon.  I don't know whose territory this is, or if there were naked lion ladies out here!"




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

Chephirah tapped the fingers of her free hand against the sand, timing his words. Hm. Almost exactly five seconds. Well done.

His panic seemed genuine, and his excuse sounded plausible. However, one could never be too careful. With a thoughtful hum, she released his hair and started to pat him down instead, checking him over for weapons, and none too gently. "Hmm." She felt nothing on him but his clothing, no weapons, no equipment.

Finally, she released him, and slid off his back to crouch beside him, her tail curled and twitching as she watched him with that intense, unwavering gaze felines were so good at pulling off. "Rather stupid of you to be wandering out here alone, with no supplies, don't you think?" she said, voice a low rumble. "Hmph. Very well. I suppose I won't eat you."

Not that she had been planning on it, but a little fear never failed to set humans on the straight and narrow.

She rose to her feet, briefly examined her claws in a way she hoped would draw his attention to the wicked things, then sheathed them. "You should leave, though, human," she said. "Go back where you came from."
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

Frankly it felt weird being felt up by some naked lion woman.  Atalier didn't know whether to be alarmed or aroused, until she finally let him up.  Considering what she could turn into, he decided to stay cautious and carefully climbed to his feet.  He pulled the hood down from his face, hair furling out and he looked her over fully.

Eyes remained steady, wary, sizing up the opponent that had dragged him so easily to the ground.  His side hurt from the pressure they sustained, but nothing major he reckoned.

"How can I go back?" he said with a shrug of his shoulders, reaching into his poncho and pulling out a water flask, drinking small thirsty sips. "The road is far from here."  He eyed her clawed hand, watching the nails recede back into their pockets.

"I'm sorry for intruding on your territory, but the day is nearly over.  I'll just make camp here.  With something I guess," he said, not sounding very confident.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

A low growl started in Chephirah's throat and she drew herself up, squaring off against him--and amused to find that though he was a tall male, she was the larger of the two.

"Will you, now?" she asked, voice a low rumble as she stepped closer, her lip curled to bare large, sharp canines. He may not have a thing to his name, but that didn't mean she wanted him here. Too dangerous. One exception lead to another, growing lax about one instance lead to growing lax in others, and she couldn't afford that, not when she owed it to everyone to keep them safe from the threats they'd fled. "I don't recall giving you permission."

He had nothing on him, and the nearest water source was near her pride's camp. In this heat, he might very well dehydrate or die of heat stroke by the time he got back to...wherever he came from. But that was his problem, not hers. He had made the choice to come this way, and he had to either live or die with his choices.

"Turn around. Go back." And her claws slid free again. "I won't tell you again--"

"Wait!"

Chephirah froze in mid-speech and whirled at the sound of her daughter's voice, and growled in aggravation. Tiaret, tiny and blind-folded, had slipped out of hiding and was making her way toward her by sound and scent. She was dressed in a colorful skirt and loose top and carried her mother's clothes, as well, as her sandal-clad feet tread silently over the sand.

"I thought I told you to stay put."

"You did," Tiaret confirmed as she neared, "but I couldn't." She came to a stop a yard away and sniffed the air as Chephirah moved to position herself firmly between she and the human. "You said he's just a human, mother. That he has nothing." She frowned. She knew as well as Chephirah how scarce water was out here. "Won't he die?"

Chephirah flicked a glance at the man. "Perhaps."

"We should give him water, at least."

Ugh. Bleeding heart Tiaret. It was the healer in her. She didn't understand what it was to make a tough call; she wanted to heal the world. "Tiaret." The girl twitched at the way she said her name, in that tone that told her she was in trouble. "You know the rules. It's a risk we can't afford. He chose his fate."

"What if he didn't? What if he's running from some--"

"All the more reason to cast him out. I won't have him leading his people here."

Tiaret frowned, ears back and tail drooped. "But we take in refugees all the time. You said that's what makes us different, stronger, that we help those that can't help themselves. He's just a lost human."

Chephirah shot her daughter a look, teeth bared, and then rounded on the man again. "Is anyone following you?" she demanded.
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

Atalier found he didn't much appreciate being spoken of as if he wasn't here.  He didn't know whether to be annoyed or grateful at the young woman's intervention.  He'd come a long way into these badlands, and to think that his only salvation had been another of these lion-people that stayed the large woman's hand, well...  Maybe he was just over thinking it.  He kept his eyes on those claws however.

He held his breath, listening to the exchange.  A frown soon set in.

"I have no people," he said, feeling the words heavily cutting even to himself.  "I came alone.  If you have water...I would be honored to partake in your hospitality."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

"No people?" Chephirah's eyes narrowed. "And why not? Humans are social, are they not? You have prides. Tribes. So where is yours?"

Even male lions often teamed up in pairs and coalitions, even if temporary ones until they found a pride of their own. Which meant, in Chephirah's eyes, that either he was seeking a new one or had been kicked out of his old one.
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

He made a noise, his frown deepened but he kept Chephirah's gaze, eyes steady.  "My....pride is dead," he said.  "I am the last one.  I am alone."  He nodded and kept his hands where she could see them.




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

Chephirah blinked, having not expected that answer, and her expression softened. Just a little. She wasn't without empathy, and could in fact relate--and all too closely, as the thought made her stomach twist in a slight pang.

She wasn't about to drop her guard, but she could at least understand.

Giving him a final searing look from head to toe and back, lingering on his eyes in that hard, feline stare, she grunted. "We'll provide you water, stranger," she said, tapping his chest with one of those lethal claws. "Water and a meal. And then you must be on your way, to your own people. Understand?"
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

Atalier kept his eyes on Chephirah, even after the claw on her hand poked at his chest.  It wasn't at all comforting to think they could kill him so easily.  However he would be grateful for this...erm, lioness' hospitality.  Not killing him being one of them.  Atalier let out a slow eased breath.

"What are your names?  I am Atalier."  He understood their caution.  But it didn't hurt them them to know this small bit about each other did it?




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

"Chephirah," she answered as she took the clothes from her daughter and shrugged them back on. The sun was hot on her skin without the protective fur of her other form, and the sand was burning her bare feet. All things she had pretended not to notice and not to bother her as she confronted Atalier, but it was a relief when she finally got her sandals back on.

"Leader of the Nomalanga Pride." She jerked her chin at the younger girl. "That's Tiaret, one of my daughters."

Tiaret smiled in his direction and dipped her head in greeting, tail swishing. Less cautious than her mother, she was more curious; she'd never met a human before, much less anyone who came from beyond the boundaries of their territory. She'd met very few males.

"If you're wounded, she can fix you. Now come." And Chephirah motioned him to follow as she turned, taking Tiaret by the elbow to guide her as well, and spoke as she walked. "I'll take you to our camp."
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

[Just gonna put it out there: I'm totally imagining Chephirah with either an Australian, New Zealand or South African accent.  Not sure why, haha.  Just read "Leader of the Nomalanga Pride" with that in your head.]

"Hello Tiaret," Atalier said.  He bowed deeply, a sweeping motion from a life left behind long ago.  He stood straight and smiled at the pair, though it was evident the lioness' daughter was unable to see him.  These were strange creatures.  But there was no doubt in mind that they were people.  Tufted eared, tail swaying people.

Atalier found himself unable to say anything further as the trio of them ventured off deeper into the canyon.  He wouldn't complain of the pain along his ribs from being held down by a 600 pound lion, or the aching in his back from where Chephirah had dug in her knees.

He accidentally bumped into Tiaret.  "Oh, sorry," he murmured.  "I didn't mean to.  Your mother left me staggering a bit.  She's very...strong."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

[HAH! I LOVE IT! xDDD Omg you're right, too, now I'm totally imagining her with some hybrid Aussie/South African accent. CONSIDER YOUR HEADCANON OFFICIALLY CANON. *salutes*]

Tiaret gave a startled "oof" when Atalier bumped her, staggering to the side, and Chephirah whipped around to look behind her to check what was going on. But Tiaret hopped a step and righted her balance with a lash of her tail, and gave a soft laugh of embarrassment, and Chephirah relaxed again and continued her march. She knew she was being overprotective, and overly paranoid, especially toward a man who was utterly defenseless, but Tiaret was equally defenseless in her eyes.

Which was why they had been out here in the first place, to teach her how to fight and hide.

"Oh, no, that was probably all me," Tiaret said, and reached up to adjust her blindfold when it slipped down on her nose. "It's difficult walking a straight line."

She turned her face toward him, ears pricked forward, and had to focus hard on his scent and sounds to give her an idea of space, so as not to drift into him in the process. "She didn't...hurt you, did she?" she asked, voice lowered, though from Chephirah's twitching ears their conversation wasn't exactly private. But her mother had said, 'if he was wounded', and considering what she'd heard--all those growls, a thud like prey hitting the ground, and Atalier's gasped protests, she thought she had a good picture of how things had played out.

Lions were built for taking down wildebeest. To have all that slamming into him...

"It sounded like you'd been flattened by an elephant."

Chephirah hissed under her breath.
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

What she'd heard was fairly accurate.  Atalier wasn't going to downplay the reality.  In truth, he had seriously been concerned with being crushed to death by said elephant-sized lion.  He chuckled a little which made him audibly wince as his laughter vibrated against his ribs.  "Ouch!" he hissed and looked over to Tiaret.

"If I said she was as light as a feather...I'd be lying.  She damn near crushed me," he panted, breath catching and he soothed his side a little.  "Never the less, I suppose she had reason.  What were you two doing out here in the middle of nowhere, if I may ask?  I mean, it seems you're away from your uh...pride."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

"Oh, us? We were...hunting," Tiaret said, a little color staining her cheeks. She scratched behind an ear. "Well, I was hunting. It's good practice."

Which was to say, Chephirah had brought her a wobbly baby gazelle for her to practice on--which was horribly embarrassing, to say the least, to be trained the way cubs were. But she had made her best effort to hunt the thing, using smell and scent to track it, and it had taken a few awkward attempts (and Chephirah catching it and bringing it back when it escaped several times) before she finally got it--

Though she hadn't had time to kill it when Chephirah smelled the human, and it had scampered back off to its panicked mother while she scampered off to, well...to her mother, too.

Her cheeks darkened all the more. "We go hunting all the time out here, together. Today we were hunting buffalo. I was on the scent of one before you showed up. Anyway, do you need help? Or will you be okay to make it to our camp? You don't sound too good."
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

Oh.  That would explain much of the over protectiveness.  Training in her condition couldn't be easy, and having an interloper - even just a human one was probably an annoyance they would rather avoid.  Atalier could count his luck when it mattered. 

He noticed her expression and he smiled.  "Oh, uh.  Well, if you could examine my ribs and back, that's where it hurts the most."  He blushed and made a hitched breath, wincing when air passed through his lungs again.

"How do you hunt if you can't see?  Just curious."




Like to kill mages?  Join the Order!
The Order of St. Agratha

Help Rebuild Connlaoth from the ashes of war!
The Red Legion

Jump in the water's fine!
Desert Valley Nights
Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

Tiaret reached out a hand to grab Atalier's elbow, and pulled him to a stop as she stopped, as well. Chephirah turned and watched them, arms crossed over her chest and head tilted.

"I hardly touched him."

But Tiaret made quick work of pulling open his poncho and pushing up his shirt. She had worked with plenty of bodies and even helped deliver children, and she was wasn't particularly shy, in the way healers were used to touching and seeing a lot of naked people in various states of distress. Only in her case there was no seeing in the usual sense--and in her case, she really hadn't interacted with many males. Not counting her brother, who had been gone now for six years.

Her hands faltered for a second when they grazed his ribs, and she fought back the stupid blush that wanted to creep down her neck. Yeah. This wasn't her brother.

Tiaret cleared her throat. "I can tell by the bruises that you were feather light," she said, trailing a line from Atalier's ribs to his back, letting her power seep into him, creating a mental map of his injuries. She could see the hairline fracture in his lower left rib toward the back and the bruising spiderwebbing all around it. That was the worst of his injuries; the rest were more bruises and some tiny cuts where Chephirah's claws had pricked him.

Focusing her energy inward, Tiaret began to run her hands over his ribs, back and forth, her hands warming as she did, and warming his skin more than the sun already was. "You've got a small fracture, but I should be able to fix it," she said as she worked. "And anyway, I hunt through smell and sound and feel. I've never had my sight, so it's never been a distraction."

Chephirah said nothing. Tiaret couldn't hunt except with help, as it was now, much less fight, but she wasn't about to correct her bluff. She had taught her that; let the human think she was more dangerous than she was.
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Lion

She was touching him.  She just!  She had no boundaries did she?!  Did that go with being blind or being tufted-eared?

"H-Hey!" He croaked, stumbling off to the side when she took it upon herself to manhandle him right then and there.  Fingers splayed across his ribs and he tightened his body, tensing, expecting pain and bracing himself.  Most of his years, pain was all he'd come to know, all he remembered.  And this gentility was as foreign to him he was to them. 

The pain he expected didn't come, and suddenly all there was was warmth.

Atalier relaxed a bit and he dropped his shirt after the examination was over and he gave a grunt.  "What was that?  That you did?  Were you 'seeing' my wounds?"

He was careful to keep his attention off Chephirah by that point.  No need to worsen his injuries.




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Wrong Turn

"Go into battle determined to die and you will survive.  Go into battle hoping to live and surely you shall not." -Bushido proverb
"Life is a series of dogs." -George Carlin
"We must view with profound respect the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge." -Thomas R. Lounsbury
"If a cosmic tree falls in the universal forest and nobody is evolved enough to hear it, does it make a sound?" -Unknown

Rhindeer

Tiaret nodded at his question, smiling, oblivious to his discomfort. She was used to patients fussing. No one liked a doctor.

"Yes. I told you I'm a healer, did I not? I can heal, and I can...see your wounds. Though 'see' may not be the right word." She pursed her lips, tail curling in thought. "I'm not sure how else to put it, but I'm aware of your body and its functions, its health and its distress and tension. I know you're fatigued and dehydrated, too, and your temperature is a bit high, but it's nothing rest and water can't fix."

She pat his chest, careful of his bruises. "Strong heart. Otherwise healthy. Anyway, your ribs should be feeling better right about now. I escalated their healing. Do you feel it? You may start to feel a little more tired, too."
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

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