Wyrmeweald (Started, but still accepting characters)

Loretta

"Klarence? How long have we been walking?"

I stamp one foot in protest to my Wyrme. The large creature looks down, not phased by the complaints, then looks back to gauge the distance. He had refused to fly for reasons unknown to me. Maybe he thought I needed the exercise.

"About a mile or so. You won't die." He says, much to my own dismay. I turn my gaze forward once again. That long, and still nothing around. Other Kin really were few and far between now, and my partner and I hadn't seen anything in days. A few Kith, yes, but no others.

Until now, that is. Up ahead is a cave, and near the entrance what look like two Wyrmes - one larger than the other - and two people. Kin.

"Are those..." Klarence begins, followed by a long sigh when he realizes that I've already taken off sprinting toward the group, despite the ache in my legs.

"Hey! Hey!" I shout to the little huddle, hoping to get their attention.

Zara

Kaelo hears the shouts before I do. He turns around, eyes fixed on two figures--another kin, and her wyrme companion. I raise my kinlance high in the air, to let them know we'd seen them.

Nathaniel turns and looks, as well. "Who is that?" he asks.

"I don't know," I answer.

"Greetings!" Kaelo calls out, in wyrme tongue. "What are your names?"

Nathaniel,

The second kin pair approach quickly up the hill. It amazes me: almost two months of no other kin, and now this. The human is female, the wyrme male. Kaelo asks for their names.

"I'm Retta, and this is Klarence," the human says, gesturing at her wyrme companion, "You're the first kin we've seen in quite awhile."

"Likewise, Ascal says, "Where have you two been fighting?"

"Oh, here and there," Retta says, vaguely, reaching the cave entrance and sniffing at the roasting deer. Which is when I catch a very different smell on the wind, strong enough that it makes me choke. Kith taint. And it's coming closer.

Nairdi

Three Kin. I wipe my palms against my pants. I'm still shaken from a Keld razing I just escaped. Tears of frustration prick at my eyes just to think about it. We're just a group of people trying to carve out a life in this waste land, and we're attacked in our own homes.

The new pair begins to speak in a language that I can't understand which is incredibly annoying.

I study each wyrme, pricing the skins in my head. The small one alone is worth at least a pouch of silver. One Kith against three wyrmes is dicey enough. One Kith against three wyrmes and their Kin is impossible, and I know it. An image of my father flashes in my mind's eye. My hand creeps to my throwing knives secured to my leg despite the known consequences, abandoning my axe handle. I move forward carefully, avoiding the dry twigs and brush that will make them aware of my presence.

I freeze when the boy Kin stiffens and looks toward the mouth of the cave, eyes scanning the dark surrounding me. Damn.

Nathaniel,

"Kith," I hiss, jumping to my feet, and Ascal nods in agreement, "Nearby"

"We can all smell it," Retta says, irritatedly, "But there's no way they're gonna attack three kin pairs at once."

"If there are enough of them, and they're stupid enough, they might," Kaelo says, and Zara grips her kinlance tightly. I grab mine from where it leans against the wall of the cave.

"Chances are, they've already seen the fire," I say, peering out into the night, "Can you see anything out there, Ascal? Kaelo? Klarence?" The three wyrmes all look into the night. Their vision is far better than ours, but all three shake their heads.

"The kith must be behind some rocks, or something," Klarence hisses, "Even we cannot see through that. The smell is close, though. It's practically on top of us."

Nairdi

A stream of curses, growing in obscenity and creativity, runs through my head as I crouch behind a rock.

They're all standing now, murmuring in their strange language, as they reach for their kinlances.

Abort mission.

I'm vengeful, but I'm not stupid.

I take a step back, planning to quietly retreat to fight another day. I look down when the ground moves beneath my foot and scream in what I promise is surprise when a snake writhes under it, preparing to strike my ankle. Grabbing my axe, I jump away from the creature and cleave it in half. Chest heaving, head swimming, I retreat from the active halves and look up at the shocked face of three Kin. I'm in full sight, seemingly spotlighted by the light of their fire.

I grab a throwing knife from my thigh and let it fly, taking a moment to aim.


Fenrir

I slink into the charred ruins of a village and peer around the skeletons of houses. In one fist is a bunch of new herbs I want to test. I grin when I reach what must have been the front porch of a house at one point and kneel beside a blackened corpse.

Peeling back a layer of clothing, I pinch off a bit of flesh and nod in satisfaction.

Dinner.