[Blue as Sakkata, Terri, and Torr. Small Wonder as Hatame. Continued from
HERE and
HERE.]
<font color=yellow>How interesting. Here they were, back in this bustling little village. Back where so much happened to her young friend and student.
Terri was obviously very uncomfortable with the situation. Unlike herself, the young Drygan could not take the shape of a human, and therefore felt vulnerable out among all these humanoids.
Sakkata grinned and glanced down at Terri. The girl was hunched up in her cloak, careful to keep her face hidden. Only a few locks of short blue hair hung loose. Everything else was completely covered by the deep brown cloak.
Sakkata was in a human form, with lightly tanned skin and long, starking white hair that fell in a long ponytail down the length of her back. Baggy cream pants were tied off at her ankles, a deep green vest the only thing covering her upper half, leaving her arms bare.
Eyes of yellowish amber watched everything about her.</font>
<font color=blue>Terri shifted uncomfortably as they strolled through the crowded streets. She didn't like being around humans. Not after what they had put her through. Never after that.
Ice blue eyes warily watched the world from beneath the protective cover of her cloak. She did not expect to see anyone she recognized, as Sakkata might, but was more watching out for danger.
This new wariness was hard grained into her from her years as a slave.
So was her defiant nature.</font>
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OOC: Heehee...finally drew a good pic of Hatame! It's in my sig! ^_~ And it's mouseart!
IC:
It had been a while since he had been separated from Sakkata during the chaos of the manor fire--a long while, it felt like!--so he hadn't really expected to see Sakkata around anymore. Not here, at least! He figured that she'd probably have moved on.
However, there was no mistaking the Drygan, who was walking with...another Drygan? Oh! Wait! That must be...ah! So, she lived, then, obviously. Good. Sakkata sure had risked a lot to make sure she did.
And they both didn't look bad, either.
Huh...he probably should have been more surprised that he stuck around. He didn't know everything about Sakkata's traveling habits, but he knew about his, and he was as nomadic as a nomad could be. He never stuck around a single area long. Odd that he decided to hang around here as long as he did...
But, oh well! Since he was here and they were here, might as well pay a surprise visit to his ole Drygan "buddy"! Then again, there was no need for him to go to them...not when they were about ready to walk past where he stood in an alleyway.
He waited until they were just about ready to pass him by before catcalling and shouting to Sakkata, "Hey, sweet thing, lookin' good! Work that tail, baby!"
Yeah. If that didn't get her attention, he didn't know what would.
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(Woo, hot stuff! Heehee, veeeery good pic! He has no man nip-lees. Eh heh ^^'' , forget i said that, my weirdness has taken hold. I'm not called 'Traumatized' for nuthin...
Oh, lol, and Sakkata is in human form, but now i'm going to twist it and make Mr. Hot-Hatame special. Feel the specialness, dammat!)
If Sakkata had been paying enough attention to her surrounding, she probably would have caught scent of Hatame long before she reached him. Terri noticed, but couldn't quite place the familiar scent, for she had been nearly out cold when she had caught it for the first time so long ago.
Now, Sakkata would pay for it with heated embarrassment.
"Hey, sweet thing, lookin' good! Work that tail, baby!"Oh.Dear.Lord.
...Hatame...
Yeah, he had gotten her attention all right.
Sakkata swung around so fast, she nearly toppled the young Terri over. The younger Drygan gave a startled hiss and clutched the cloak even tighter about her distinctly Dryconic form. Sakkata stared blankly at him for a few brief moments before feeling the urge to charge over there and pummel him.
"You...you..." She sputtered, unable to come up with a reasonable response to his stupidity.
Wait a minute? Work that tail??? How the hell could he see her tail!?
Sakkata's expression changed from enraged and embarrassed, to confused and thoughtful so fast, it was like a light turning on and off.
"You can see my tail??" She glanced back, but confirmed she was still in human form and it was not there.
"Hatame..." Her voice had a dangerous ring to it as she stared hard at him. "Do I look like my true self right now, to you?" She had to ask it quietly, for those around were not to know what she might be. It was dangerous for people to know.
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OOC: LMAO!!! You're like the third person to mention Hatame's nipple-less-ness! One was my mom, actually...gave me quite the guilt trip. XD Guess I'll go and give the poor boy his man nipples, now! Ahahah, and silly me, I somehow misread about Sakkata! Whoops! ^^;; Oh well! Now Hatame gets to be special, eh! YAY!
IC:
It took a great effort not to burst out laughing at her utterly priceless expression and to keep a mask of innocence plastered on his face. Never failed. He knew all the right buttons to press, and the outcome never disappointed.
What a rewarding reunion.
"Yes? Me what, sweetie?" he asked wryly as she sputtered, and could have continued to embarrass her--until she pummeled him, that is--except that her expression suddenly changed in a way he hadn't seen from her before. He blinked in surprise, suddenly confused, as well.
And then he stared hard at her like she had gone insane when she asked if he could see her tail.
What kind of a question was that?
"Er...yeah. You know I can see your tail. This some kinda trick question?" he asked, mimicking her hushed voice out of instinct and tilting his head. Hmm...didn't sound like a trick question, though. He recognized that particular tone of voice. "Your true self? Well...you look like a Drygan, yeah."
Well, this was really weird. Why was she all weirded out about it? It was pretty obvious...
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Sakkata hissed and shook her head sharply. It was NOT a trick question, the idiot...
Trick questions were something he would do.
She was perfectly serious, and now a bit worried.
He could see her tail, and the rest of her as a drygan.
Oh, of course he would blurt it out!!
In a flash Sakkata was standing right in front of Hatame, one slender hand clamped over her mouth. Face furious, she bared her teeth, which to Hatame were dangerously pointed. "Shhhhhh! Idiot! You're not supposed to say that word around other people!!!" She growled, and Terri was quickly on the alert. Eyes of icy blue quickly began scanning the crowds around them, making sure no one dangerous might have heard the word.
Hatame might not realize it, but there were many people and creatures that might love to kill any Drygan they found. These were people about as secretive as the Drygan themselves.
Stepping back, Sakkata began to pace, and for Hatame, her tail thrashed angrily behind her. Skin of light blue replaced the tan in Hatame's eyes, and normal nails were more clawlike and black. Feet shaped suspiciously like a dragon's took her back and forth, back and forth. "This is very odd. Hatame, I'm in my human form. I don't know how you can see me as myself."
She continued to puzzle over it, one hand at her chin and the other cupping that elbow.
So very, very odd...
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Hatame jumped when Sakkata was suddenly in front of him with a hand clamped to his mouth...and back to being royally pissed. Eh? What had he done this ti--oh...right. The "D Word". Oops...
"Ack! Sorry, sorry! I forget! The 'D Word' is off limits in public. Right. Got it," Hatame whispered when Sakkata stepped back and began to pace, and he watched her, still as confused as ever.
He was the idiot? Well, she wanted to be so secretive, so why wasn't
she cloaked like the other gal? She was like a walking neon sign with Drygan flashing all over it, and she was complaining about his slip-up?
Odd, odd woman.
He was about to mention something along those lines when she spoke up.
"What? Ah...you are?" He raised an eyebrow as he swept his eves over her, head to toe. Looked pure Drygan to him. Hmm...but, then, it made sense. It would explain why she wasn't getting any stares from passerbys.
He blinked, and rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "Weird...but...then...if that's so, why could I see you in your human form before, and not now?"
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Sakkata was chewing furiously on her bottom lip, and simply shook her head at his question. She was trying to figure that out herself. He had been just a susceptible before hand, and now he could somehow see her as a Drygan.
It didn't make sense, really. This was not the type of spell that just made her
appear human. No, this was true flesh and blood, molded from a set amount of magick. If you were to have your hand where her tail is in Drygan form, you wouldn't feel some invisible mass. No, she was human as far as she could be.
So how could he
see her???
And then it hit her. The magick exchange when she was healing Terri. Hatame had offered up his magick to her!
That was it!
Grinning, Sakkata whirled around. "I've figured it out." She announced, and the vigil Terri turned back to listen. "After the burning house incident, I had to try and heal Terri, remember? But I didn't have healing abilities, so you offered to help with your own magick. That must have been what did it. Sometimes magickal connections play hell with the spells of the two involved afterward." She was slightly relieved to have figured it out. Terri nodded vaguely. Sakkata had told her of the decision, and it did make sense, in a way.
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"Gyah! Would you stop doing that!?"
Bloody hells, the woman had more mood swings than all the women he had met in his lifetime combined! Once again, he jolted in surprise when Sakkata swung around to face him, suddenly grinning when moments ago she had been furious and deep in thought. She had to have a switch in her brain or something to be able to turn her emotions on and off like that. Or maybe it was just a Drygan thing.
"Ah...so that's it, huh? Makes sense. That's still kinda weird, though...it's been a while since we did that. Funny it's still acting up...wonder how long it lasts."
Then, with his usual playful smirk, had to add, "Not that I mind. I rather like looking at your tail, babe. It's one fine appendage, if I might say. Nice and muscular and oh-so-sexy."
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...It was just a Drygan thing.
Sakkata shrugged at his ramble. "How should I know? It's like the numb foot thing, I can't dictate how long it lasts. Maybe a few months, years...forever." She couldn't help but grin remembering that foot incident. It had been funny as all hell, watching him stumble around...
And then her face contorted with his comment. Sakkata snarled angrily, her cheeks purpling lightly with what might be to her a blush. "God Dammit Hatame!" And with that she spun sharply, bringing that 'sexy' tail around to thwap him one good.
Terri was staring openly, mouth slightly agape. He had complimented her tail...oh dear, and he probably had no idea what-so-ever how deep a compliment that was. Man, how'd Sakkata get stuck knowing a guy like that anyway!?
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Hatame was just about to make another comment on how cute she looked when her face turned that purply color when--
WHAP!Ooh, wow, he could swear he saw stars that time.
For a few moments, he just laid there, waiting until the pain ebbed and the flashing lights in his vision cleared. Then he slowly picked himself up off the ground and brushed himself off. Wow...she really hit him good. But her reaction was so worth it!
"Ahh...you know, I was actually starting to miss those love taps," he murmered with a smirk as he tried to stand without swaying too much.
Heh heh...and from the looks of it, his comment reached Terri, as well. She looked royally shocked. Heh, he'd have to remember that line for future use...
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Sakkata was positively heaving. The idiot...you didn't compliment a Drygan female's tail unless you intended to mate with her!!!
ARGH!
God...he was just so stupid...
And now she was blushing furiously. The heat had crawled up her neck and fumed at her ears, causing her cheeks to darken to a nice shade of purple. It wasn't overly dark, as the blue of her skin wasn't all that dark either.
Still, it was obvious she was blushing.
"Take care of him!" She snapped at Terri, then spun on her heel to vent on something that she wouldn't accidentally kill.
Terri watched her stomp off, then sighed and came to Hatame's wobbling form. Her slender hand clamped down on his shoulder, keeping him from swaying. Her face was exposed as she looked up at him with hard icy eyes. The white coloring of her skin was hard to miss, the light causing the surface to sheen with all the colors of a rainbow. "You really are stupid, I hope you know." She began, shutting her eyes and shaking her head. "My names Terri, and that makes you Hatame. Now sit." She shoved him into a sitting position against the nearest wall.
"She hit you heard enough to perhaps give you a minor concussion. Just sit still." With that command, she placed both small hands at either side of his head and called on her secondary power, that of earth, to heal him.
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"Ahh...nice to meet you, too, Terri. And thank you for updating me on my intelligence," Hatame replied wryly with a grin, not putting up any resistence as she lead him around and made him sit. Ooo...that sudden movement made the world spin even more. Yikes. She
had clocked him one rather good.
"Heh heh...wow...never got quite that kinda reaction outta her before. She hit extra hard this time. Huh. Wonder what it was...then again, Sakkata-dear is so terribly modest and--ack!"
He jerked away from her touch abruptly when he realized she was channeling magic into him, feeling the tell-tale beginnings of the sensation that spread through his body when he came in physical contact with magic--and it started with a burning sensation deep inside that spread to each nerve.
Unfortunately, his jerky motion didn't help his head much.
"Erk...no magic. Sorry, probably shoulda mentioned it, but...ah...magic doesn't like me too much..." he explained, waiting for the familiar burning sensation to fade, leaving a faint tingling behind.
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Terri would have to explain to him just what it was he had said. However, she first had to get him to sit still.
"Dammit! Stop moving!" Her hands now grasped his head, holding it firmly in place. She glared at him as he explained, then chuckled and shook her head. He really didn't understand anything about Drygans.
"I'm not using magick per-say. I'm channeling your own ability to heal into your head wound. Just a shifting of Earth's energy is all. Calm down. It won't get any worse than this." She slowly released his head, and again concentrated on her task. She was using his own body's ability to heal and manipulating it. To pass the bit of time, she decided to start explaining why Sakkata got so heated.
"The ah, compliment you gave her was a bit...deep. One only compliments a female Drygan's tail if one wishes to make his desire to mate known. Um...I don't think the two of you have...ah...progressed quite that far in your relationship yet."
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He gave up fighting and obediantly held still, seeing as how it wouldn't be of much use, anyway--and trusting Terri's word. Huh. She was right, though. The burning didn't get any worse. Odd...but a relief.
"Interesting...using my body's own natural healing...Gryphon magic focuses solely on channeling magic from the outside, so Dry--er, you guys'--magic focuses more on the inside?" he mused aloud as he felt the pain gradually lessen as Terri worked on him.
And then Terri went on to explain why Sakkata had gotten so...flushed. And Hatame nearly choked, both with laughter and surprise, momentarilly breaking his stillness.
"Dear Gods, you're telling me I just asked her to...? Good lord! Ahahah...wow. Ah, that's very...interesting." He gave a nervous laugh.
Wow. Drygans certainly had a lot of crazy buzz words incorporated into their culture. Idly, he wondered what would happen if he complimented one on their colorful skin. Hmm...no, he'd leave that for another day.
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Maybe he wasn't so stupid after all! Terri beamed and nodded at his deduction. "Yes, very good. The magick comes from within, but sometimes we can pull energy from around us to help as well." She sounded like a teacher happily congratulating a struggling student who finally figured something out.
Terri gave an embarrassed look and withdrew her hands, putting one gently behind her head. "Um yes...interesting. I just suggest you don't do it again any time soon." With those words of advice, Terri stepped away from him and crossed her arms, huddling further into the cloak so as to remain unseen.
For a moment she stood there, in the alley, simply awaiting Sakkata's return.
And then...a scent that sent her nerves racing. "Damn!" In a blur, something rather huge had tackled Terri's cloaked form, slamming her into the ground about five feet back. A lot of hissing and snarling was coming from the scuffling two, and a sudden blast of icy magick shot the huge form away from Terri.
In a flash she was up, the cloak having been ripped away by the aggressor. Her entire body was covered in that shiny white which shifted colors in the sun. Her tail was still just a stub, and her ears remained cropped short. They would not regrow on their own. Her hair was just about as short as it had been, only to her ears, and predominately that dark blue, with a few bright streaks of white running through it. She wore a light blue tunic and similarly colored pants that went to about her knees before stopping.
The creature across from her was quite obviously a Drygan male, simply by looking at his build. He was huge, gold in color, with a few random streaks of ebony across his skin like stripes. Oddly, his hair started off sandy brown, but then turned white suddenly. It was long enough to reach between his shoulder blades, where there was a small clasp holding the ends together. A simple vest of brown, and cream pants tied off at the ankle were his wardrobe.
And no, he did not have nipples.
(sorry Rhi, couldn't help adding that in, lmao!)
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OOC: LMAO! No, don't worry! XD Gave me a good laugh! Eheheheheh!!!
IC:
He couldn't help but roll his eyes slightly as he caught Terri's congratulatory tone. Hey! It wasn't his fault he didn't know about Drygans! Sakkata was the first he met--and, as seemed to be the trend, he didn't learn something new about Drygans until Sakkata was beating the information into him after an apparent slip-up.
Er...well, actually his "slip-ups" were intentional...he just didn't know the exact, sensitive implications they held for Drygans!
He grinned at Terri's plainly uncomfortable look as she moved away from him. "Oh, don't worry. From now on, I promise I'll save it for when I really mean it."
But his amusement was cut short when Terri walked away...and was attacked by an unmistakably Drygan form.
He jumped to his feet, quite relieved that Terri had healed him, but Terri had already...ah...blasted the other Drygan off her and had gotten to her feet by the time he reached her. He had no time to take in her unique appearance fully just yet, for his attention was on the new figure. And that white bit of hair. Erk. Hatame could vaguely remember Sakkata talking about white hair, way back when they first met...the whiter the hair, the stronger...or something along those lines...
"Y'okay, Terri? And...whatever happened to that line about your kind being
secretive!?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the newcomer.
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Terri hissed low, the sound coming from deep within her throat. The male standing not ten feet from her was smirking mildly, arms crossed, and looking quite cocky. Terri found his hair very odd. She had never heard of a drygan with hair like that. Why were the roots sandy brown and the rest white? It did not make sense. Her blue and white hair remained that way even as it slowly grew. The white roots were white, the blue roots were blue.
Same for Sakkata and her white hair.
It was just so odd...
"Not all of our proud race choose to creep around and hide in the shadows like pitiful rats." The male answered Hatame's question in a deep, arrogant voice. He was obviously quite full of himself. But then, with the amount of white hair he sported, he had all the reason to be.
Terri shifted uncomfortably, but snarled with anger. "We are not rats! We hide because of beasts like you that would attack us otherwise!!"
She had no hope of defeating this creature in a fight. She had only to hope Sakkata would work off her aggravation and come back soon.
Therefore, it was a stalling game for now.
Hopefully Hatame was good at it.
"What is it you want?" Terri demanded of him, her entire small frame tense.
The male grinned calmly, his own muscular tail flipping out behind him lazily. "Where is the other female that was with you?"
Terri blanched. Dammit! He was looking for Sakkata!
Damn damn, and double damn!
"Not here, obviously." Terri managed to hiss back, fear creeping up the back of her throat.
The Drygan smirked. "Yes. So where did she go?" His snapping amber gaze shifted to Hatame, as if posing the question to him and not Terri.
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Erk. This was a mess. The more white hair, the more powerful the Drygan, that was what Sakkata had said. And the guy had a lot of white hair. Nope...definitely no way they would be taking him--even if he had use of his magic. He was a sorceror among Gryphons, sure, but his magic had been repressed before he could fully strengthen it. He had seen what Sakkata was capable of, and that wasn't even what she was
fully capable of. He could only imagine what a guy with half of the white hair Sakkata had was capable of.
And, contrary to popular belief, he really
wasn't an idiot. He could be serious...when he wanted to be--or when something triggered the response, deep within him.
This sitiation, sadly, called for it.
Unfortunately, he was a bit confused as to whether it was a good thing Sakkata was absent, or a bad thing. It was good because the guy was looking for her, and thus she ought to stay away...but bad because, likely, she was the only one who could deal with him without being pounded into the ground. Erk. Quite the situation.
So, yes indeedy, stalling was the best bet.
He gave the Drygan an awkward look, shifting uncomfortably. "Er...sorry, but you just missed her, actually. Where she went...ah..." He cleared his throat. "Well...er...it's best not to say. You see, she's terribly modest, and would likely kill me if I mentioned it. But, um...we'll...ah...just say she's...taking care of basic bodily needs, if you catch my drift. Best not to mention it..."
Clearing his throat again, he looked back at the Drygan. "But...er, that aside...whatcha looking for her for? Sure seems important."