Bonded

"Um...not really. Kind of new at this...if I really did know them, I would be helping that girl...I feel so bad...something tramatizing happened to her...she definately doesn't like Dragons..."

I bit my lip...Then turned toward the squirls. The least I can do is get these ready to eat...I sighed. That stupid human wouldn't let me touch them...

Ras bit her lip, offering the other girl some of the meat. She flopped down on her back and stared at the sky.

"I'm just asking 'cause if the dragon she's after has black or grey scales then its possible there in the Shadow Tribe. Anyways want some food, since the human won't let us touch his precious meat, you can heave some of mine."

She shivered, the sun was high and there wasn't a cloud in the sky and normally she'd be really happy. But something in the air was off, she just couldn't shake the feeling that something Dark was stalking them through the woods and getting closer...

*sorry is so short*

Karana

I shook my head. "No, stay...please."

He had to know. I had to talk. A wise man once told me that the easiest way to recover is to talk about it with someone you can trust. The memory brought tears to my eyes again; that man was my father...

"I guess...I guess my father was right. The easiest way to recover is to...to talk," I choked, just whispering.

"You're my friend, anyway, and you have the right to know."

"Thanks..." I bit my lip. I wished there was someone I could help. I knew something was wrong in the other wizardress' mind, but I did not want to invade her privacy...but I felt so helpless! Like I was trapped...what bothered me the most was that I actually cared so much! I hadn't cared for another person like this since...I swallowed back a tear and went about preparing the meat...There was no need to bring up past memories...

[Hilo]

Was she weeping for her father? Was he dead?

I had never wept for my father. He was just there. Until he wasn't. I hardly knew the man, so how could I cry for him? We barely talked or interacted at all. I didn't like him, but I didn't dislike him. Such an empty relationship. The one Karana shared with her father made mine seem like a joke.

This probably should have stirred some emotion in me, but it didn't.

At least I felt bad for her. Better than my usual apathy for everything.

"If that's what you want," I said, keeping the same tone as before.

I sat down cross-legged in front of her, offering a scarred hand for support.

"So it's the dragon, right? Why do you want to kill it?"

Karana

I reached forward and took hold of his hand with my left, letting his fingers close gently around mine.

"It's...a bit long. I'm sorry if I'm wasting your time," I shrugged, trying to steady my quivering voice.

I sighed. Now to begin.

"My family...didn't live in the caves, with the rest of my clan. We lived on our own, in the forests, where our ancestors had lived. It was only natural; the stone was too devoid of life and spirit and color to appeal to us...the forest suited us perfectly.

"About two weeks ago, we needed meat again. And, being the only truly fit and young person in my family, able to weild a bow under grave circumstances, I volunteered to go..."

I paused as my voice cracked again, my breaths coming in shudders.

But I had to keep going.

"The hunt lasted longer than I thought it would. For some reason, the whole forest was restless, the animals on the move, moving away. I actually missed more rabbit and squirrel than I killed. Everything was just too...spooked.

"And I finally understood why. I could smell the smoke, the blood, the singed furs and flesh. I could hear the commands and screams, often drowned by extraordinary roars.

"I got there too late; I had gone too far into the forest to get back in time. When I finally darted from the trees, bow in hand, there was nothing I could do.

"He just stood there, over the bleeding form of my wounded father. He was all that was left; no one else survived. I couldn't move, I couldn't even scream. All I could do was standing there, horrified as my father was killed before me..."

I stopped, and put my head back on my knees. But I had no more tears. I'd cried them all out. All I had left was sound...but I couldn't scream, yell, cuss, whatever I wanted to do!

"Then, the dragon turned on me. He moved slowly at first, like he was mocking me. There was just something in his gate, something cocky and careless, like he was having fun. Then he was upon me.

"I had no time to react. He had pounced, taking me beneath one of his paws, his claws cutting into my shoulders and side" - I instinctively brought my right hand to my left shoulder - "and holding me down. And he just stared at me, blue eyes contrasting wildly against his coal grey scales.

"'You're powerful, little one,' he spoke to me, in my mind. 'You're much stronger than the others; I can feel it. It courses through your blood and body.'

"I thought he was going to kill me, but it never came. He continued. 'I am curious as to how you will handle this mess...what will you do? When will you avenge them? How will you avenge them?

"'I'll leave you alive, Karana-san, just so I can fight you personally.'

"Then I was free. He was flying away. He looked back at me, a strange, threatening gleam in his eyes as his mind touched mine again. 'Pray you're more amusing than they were. I'll let you live longer that way!'

"And he was gone."

(big description. sorry it's long, and slightly dim, i'm back-tracking a bit. If there's no room for my character in the story, just kick him out.
I also don't mind people puppeting my character a little if it helps, so long as i get to object if i randomly find out he's done something incredibly... uncharacteristic)


name: kitsune (renown as kitten-claws)
gender: male
age: unknown
bond status: he pretends to know what that means
appearance: Roughly four foot, lean, a kind of dusty-grey tan. He wears a black vest, trousers, shoes. A long black coat, and a black drawstring bag that can carry almost anything. A greyish yellow sombrero, huge black glasses and a dark red scarf that cover most of his face, also pointy ears. Without the disguise he has a childish face and large black iris's.
He also has a black bow almost as big as him, which appears magically with arrows.
Background: His age is unknown because even he can't remember how old he is. All he can remember is joining small groups and travelling with them for saftely, entertainment and adventure.
Personality/weakness: (hmm...) He's confident, very defensive, ofted sarcastic and secretly distrustful. He always puts logic before morality, and won't hesitate to help others so long as he isn't at a loss (or they can pay him back). He's incredibly stubborn, and will go out of his way, even being foolish and wreckless, to avoid depending on others. He's eally smart, but in some ways still childish.

I wake to the crisp clean wind that rushes through the air, broken only by the few tallest trees of the forest. Lying on the branch where i've reluctantly fallen asleep for the past few days, i sit up and stare out.

I can see the land for miles, the pale blue sky stretching into the green mist above the eastern hills that line the horizon. When the air is still damp, and like every morning i think to myself; today the sky looks a little brighter than yesteday.

I hate sleep, i'm always busy, or afraid, but mornings are heaven. You know, that light, happy feeling you get when you first wake up, when your thoughts are your own, and you know that person is the true you. This is the me you may never get to meet. When obligations and burdens start to once again rake against your shoulders, that's the break between dawn and day.

I love mornings. Only mornings.

Reality starts to burn inside my chest. I pull my things from the branch above. My bag and coat. My scarf, glasses, hat. That is; my defences and my lifeline.

With ease i jump and swing from branch to branch, down to forest floor. Here it's darker, and in this mass of shrubs, trunks and moss, one has to rely on every sense just to walk without tripping.

Today the forest is horribly quiet. The animals tremble and flee whenever i approach, and somewhere in the wind is the stentch of blood.

The day draws on as usual to say the least, until a grief-filled shriek echoes through the forest. I run, climb, claw, whatever it takes to follow the noise until i leap over a bush and tumble to crouch behind another.

What i see, is foul. A creature that i had long thought to be dead, now standing with a blood-stained axe wielded high above him. I won't let my heart race, i won't panic. I am not afraid.

Still, i can feel the slow, heavy pounding, a hightened sense of awareness all around, and anger. What monster would kill a child for sheer entertainment? Before i can observe the pile sheltered below the crying woman, i see now the creatures new target. A boy. Human, i think.

Looking closer my chest tenses and i blink hard at his face and arms. Scars. Tens, maybe hundreds. Most look like falls or fights, some worse. Combined with his posture and position, making him look darkly elegant, or perhaps just gracefully drunk. His eyes widen, and within seconds he speeds off into the forest

At will i feel my cherished bow form in my hand, arrow in the other. Pull... Aim... Wait!

The woman leaps from her child and stands in my view of the creature. Grief has a way of making people act rashly, but she must have been cuckoo from the start.

I re-direct my arrow, skim her leg and scrape the creature's, enough to discract him. He rages towards me, oblivious of the woman. The moment his eyes catch on to mine, they widen in fury and recognition. Wait.

Wait...

Wait...

At last the woman decides to do the logical thing and run away. Once she is clear i start my own flight, up into the trees. It doesn't take long to loose him.

Senses more aware than they have been in days, awakened to the thrill of the chase, i follow the trail of the boy who fled, through to a gathering by a small fire.

Here i sit, mostly out of view. I sit, breath deep, calm myself down. I think i'll stay near here tonight, the fire is warm anyway.

For a while i sit and listen to them argue. When at last a girl moves closer i can see she's an elf, the boy follows. She starts to tell her story, a dragon who killed her family and let her live. I pity her, but i can't say i emphathise.

This world has too many sad stories to feel the sorrow of them all. I'll sit and listen anyway, until morning. Maybe they'll tell eachother a fairy-tale. My mind is already weakening, and my stomach rumbles, growling at the lack of food in my bag.

Perhaps they have food?

I relax back onto a branch.

They'll sleep at some point. Then i can eat.

[Hilo]

My mind shuddered.

Could things like this really happen? Tagedies reserved for songs on the lips of a bard, or tales of the vindictive hero? What thing, what monstrous beast, could have a heart so stone-cold and black? Mindless slaughter as a form of recreational enjoyment, leaving a single soul to slog through her days, consumed by a numbing revenge. Madness in its highest degree.

"We will be doing," I said quietly, "a great survice to countryside by ridding the world of this… blemish, this imperfection, this monster. Until it falls I will direct every ounce of my essence to bring about its destruction and make it pay for its errors with every stroke of my blades."

I gave her hand a light squeeze.

"Just hang it there, all right? We'll do this thing. You've no reason to doubt to your ability or your chance of success. You're plenty strong enough to beat this thing: I know it. Hell, even the dragon knows it.

"So fight on, right?"

Karana

His words touched me, deeply. They reached into my soul and cast a spark on that dying flame...

He was right. I knew it, too. We all knew that I was strong enough to beat this thing.

I pulled free of his hand and rose on my knees, leaning forward to wrap my arms around his neck.

"Thank you..." I whispered.

I knew I had a friend in him, someone I could rely on, someone who would be there for me.

Ras looked at the others, she didn't blame them for not realising what they were getting into. SHE didn't want to know what they were getting into.

"Karana? Caley told you I think that dragon might be a Shadow Drake's duel-dragon, right? What you guys don't seem to get, is that, that kind of personality is, normal, for a shadow drake and dragon."

Great, they were looking at her now.

"How do I put this. From what I know of my race we're divided into five tribes, Shadow, Stone, Sea, Wind, and Flame. Each tribe has an affinity for one element. Like, i'm in the Flame Tribe so all my majic is channelled through fire. While someone in the Shadow Tribe would channell darkness.

"The thing is, Drake's are so closely bound with their elements it often effects their personality. Like I said, since i'm in Flame, my personality is fire like. Those in Shadow resemble darkness, they are hatred, and cruelty, and all those emotions."

Now they probably think i'm nuts, rambling like this.

"If that dragon is part of the Shadow Tribe, you won't just be fighting him, you'll be going against the whole tribe."

There I've said my piece, now they know what they're up against. If they're smart they'll turn back, but probably won't. In which case I'll be forced to fight the Shadow Tribe too. Well it's not really a hardship, I think I like these guys, and I'm itching for a fight.

(so am i in?)

Monsters? Dragons? Shadow tribes?

I still carried on listening. The more they said, the more my mind raced.

These are the stories people tell to scare children, the kind of things that inspire nightmares. Yet here I find a group of brave heroes disguised as amatures, ready to fight whatever may come their way, to avenge their friends family.

I suddenly realise how tense my body has gotten, my lungs breathing deep, even the wind feels like its trembling. I should leave, now. Curiosity can find a new source, something a little less irrisponsible.

But oh the food!

I can wait. I can listen. Just a few more hours.

So long as my stomach doesn't give away my presense.

(I think we need to take care of a little confusion on who's character is where. Unless there was some time jump I'm unaware of, Hilo/Karana are still somewhere different than Ras/Caley. I think there may have been some confusion from kokobeans's post, but from my understanding, the two groups are still seperate. So that's how I'm going to treat it. Karana/Hilo can field Ras's dialogue once they return to the clearing; it shouldn't take more than a post or two.

You guys all right with that?

Also, koko, unless the thread owner states otherwise, any member is fair game to jump in whenever they want, assuming they've the other posts and have a good idea of what's going on. So there's no need to ask permission, especially when the topic owner isn't part of the active group. =P)

[Hilo]

"Any time."

I returned the embrace; affection was a nice change of pace.

It held for a moment. Then it was inetupted uncerimoniously by my growling stomach. Terrible manners, my belly.

"Sorry 'bout that," I said, offering her a sheepish grin. "I guess lunch hasn't happened yet. But we can certainly make it happen – you all right to head back?"

I continued to worry. What was taking them so long? I knew the story...I had seen it happen...felt the pain that this other wizardress had gone through. Mind reading could be a curse...but it could also be a blessing. I knew how to help...or at least I thought I did. I sighed, looking to the forest, waiting for Hilo and Karanna to re-emerge.

"So...do we know what kind of dragon we are going to battle?" I asked, questioning Ras.
"They sure have been gone a long time. I hope nothings happened..." I bit my lip, chewing on it, waiting, watching, wondering.

I agree with Hilo. Let Karana/Hilo get back to the clearing, then we'll acknowledge sylverdawn's post.

Hey, the more the merrier! Jump in whenever you see an opening, koko!

***********

Karana

I giggled at him. It may have been a little embarrassing on his part, but it was still funny. And I could relate. I was hungry, too.

"Yeah, I'm..." I sighed. "I guess I can handle going back."

I stood up to emphasize my decision to try.

[Hilo]

"All right," I said, applying the crooked edge to my grin. "The squirrels await."

Karana seemed well enough mentally to get along on her own now, but I put a hand on her shoulder anyway. Together we walked, slow but steady. There was no need to hurry, assuming I wouldn't collapse from hunger. That would be unfortunate, but I didn't think it would happen. Showing some foresight, I grabbed up four seperate sticks as we progressed. They could act as make-shift spits.

When we finally returned, the pair waiting seemed relieved. My squirrels were untouched, too, which was good.

Amost immidaitely the elf-but-not that Karana yanked from the fired a few words in our direction. I hoped Karana was paying attention, because I wasn't – something about shadow dragons and clans and how we may have to battle a tribe of dragons instead of just one?

I just wanted to eat.

I felt bad for leaving the discussion to Karana, but lunch needed to progress. I began working on the first stick, carving it a point so that it looked remotely spit-like. I could give my imput whenever necessary.