[Open] A Sudden Encounter with a Predator

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This shining population center is considered the jewel of The Sylira Region. Home of the vast majority of Mizahar's population, Syliras is nestled in a quiet, sprawling valley on the shores of the Suvan Sea. [Lore]

Re: [Open] A Sudden Encounter with a Predator

Postby Mella on February 17th, 2010, 5:07 am

“No, not clever,” she said simply a smile gracing her features at her correct guess. It was a pleasure for her to know that her senses would not fail her and any situation that reinforced that belief only increased her mood. “You smell like the fresh breeze, and there is a distinct scent to certain traits such as curiosity, intelligence, and cunning, all of which cling to you. They are as telling as if you had held up a sign.” She elaborated closing her eyes briefly as she once again took in a deep breath trying to reinforce the fragrance into her mind for later use if needed. “Once I encounter something or someone the smell is usually memorized and used to identify the thing or person later on. It has only taken me this long to finally understand because it has been a lengthy amount of time since I have last encountered one of your kind.” She finished finally opening her eyes to once again regard Calovan.

His next words surprised her. How could he ever think that she would judge him poorly because of his inner animal? Yes, she had been cautious at first because of it but that was her personality and upbringing shining through. She being a Kelvic, herself, knew all about prejudices and misconceptions based on her race’s forms, and though she would use her knowledge of other animals to her advantage on how to act or how careful she should be around them, she would never judge them on that alone. Her own natural form was frightening to some, and it made her wonder what human would find a raven so loathsome to behold. She herself found them to be quite stunning creatures and with their dark, shimmering feathers and graceful wings, they were the sky’s own living art.

Resting her chin in her hand, she traced circles into the grain of the wood absentmindedly her thoughts on human misconceptions. “If you are considered savage, I must truly be a beast,” she said quietly aware of the nearby tables. “You have already guessed that I am feline, yet I’m quite certain most would not find me a ‘pleasant pet’ as you put it so nicely,” her eyes twinkled with unspoken mirth at that laughing silently at his mistake. “I’m a black panther and besides my fur being a nice adornment on someone’s wall, I doubt many would be partial to having a wild cat in their home.” She fell silent at that and the morbid image of what she had just described flowed into her mind. Shuddering lightly at the sight, she tried to banish the thought but despite the effort she was quite certain the image would haunt her dreams tonight.

Her eyes flicked to his quickly as she distracted herself focusing on his words that flowed over her deceptively smooth. She frowned lightly at his avoidance of the real meat of her question, but batted the disappointment to the side. His statement unlocking a her competitive side. Was that a challenge?

To his question, her brows furrowed lightly as if she was concentrating on unearthing information long forgotten within her mind. “My secrets?” she questioned as if genuinely confused. “Truthfully, I don’t have many. Yes, I am reserved and I do not easily reveal facts about myself yet I do not actively hold back certain information from others. Besides even if I did have dark secrets, I wouldn’t so readily give them to you, now would I?” she pointed out not worrying whether she was being slightly rude or not.

She paused for a moment as if deliberating and used the lull to sip from her glass before continuing, “But, I suppose it would not be right of me to expect details about you when I do not offer any myself. I’ll offer you a small deal. I’ll answer any one of your questions to the best of my abilities in exchange for one of my own.” She offered a single raised eyebrow prodding him to ask one.
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Re: [Open] A Sudden Encounter with a Predator

Postby Calovan on February 17th, 2010, 7:20 am

What an odd agreement to come to, he thought. An exchange of information that could be dismissed by others as sheer banter could wind up meaning life or death for a Kelvic. More often than not, though... Death was preferable to the way he'd seen some other Kelvics being treated. He'd heard horror stories from the lot of them.

"A panther? Well, I rather admire the feline family. Beautiful creatures, they are... They have that certain something that isn't present with others. I suppose I just like my associates to have a little bite to them." He smiled, his own sharp teeth glinting while he carved an ornate symbol into the wood of the table. He considered her words for a long time before he even spoke again. To speak in haste was often a mistake, and that was a mistake he was unwilling to make.

"Hm... You want a deal? Fine, I suppose a single question can't hurt anything."
He pondered over his question for a long moment and then it came to him all at once. He knew precisely the question he needed an answer to from her.

"Mella, I have an intense desire to understand you. You are... a special case. So, I would like you to answer truthfully. Now... What is your deepest fear?"
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Re: [Open] A Sudden Encounter with a Predator

Postby Mella on February 20th, 2010, 1:40 am

At his question, Mella froze her glass just touching her lower lip. She stared at him a hidden terror lurking just below the surface. Her movements cautious, as she slowly lowered her cup back to the table without taking a drink. Her body remained tense as her eyes darted around the room searching for an escape—two windows, one door, a questionable exit through the kitchen. She could not comprehend this tension inside herself that coiled like a tightly wound spring. She was the one who had started the wager, and she should have been ready for any question. Yet, she was struck and paralyzed by this one, simple, almost harmless question.

She forced herself to breathe, to move. Fighting the strange urge to bolt, she leaned back against her seat eyeing Calovan with a hard stare. He was practically a total stranger, yet he boldly asked in other words, ‘What is your weakness?’ He had pinpointed a question that could target her vulnerabilities and he could easily use that information to his advantage. In a strange way, she had to respect him for that. He waded through the ocean of insignificants and approached the one thing that could break her. He had turned her own game against her, but she was not lost yet. Unfortunately for him, she had been playing this game since birth and was not stumped by one turn of the table. She had many more tricks in her before she would fall defeated. “You do understand the implications of that question, do you not, Calovan?” she asked sharply as her mind scrambled for an answer.

She could bolt. She could ignore the question. She could lie. But, she felt compelled to answer as truthfully as she could and thoughts churned through her mind, a chaotic misty swirl of dark blue. As the thoughts solidified, she was able to relax slightly a sly smile spreading across her face. Yes, she would answer his question—just not the way he expected or wanted. “My deepest fear…,” she deliberated as if thinking of what to say next, “We all have fears, Calovan. Some have ones more potent than others, yet still they remain. What makes you so sure that my fear is singular? Perhaps I’m afraid of being alone, of never being wanted or needed. However, I’m sure you have that same fear deep inside you for all Kelvics do. Or maybe, I am afraid of fire, the all-consuming destruction that it causes. Swords? The stab of iron and steel through my skin? Those fears would be feasible, but not unique. No, perhaps death is the fear that haunts me or more specifically a brutal death. We, Kelvics, have such short lives that it could be expected of me to fear it or perhaps a bit more logically, I would fear time. The long stretch of life that others seem to have is cut short for our kind and maybe that is what I fear; my life passing so quickly that in a blink I am no more.” She paused her face giving nothing away as she took a bite of her meal letting him deliberate on her words. Swallowing, she resumed speaking with a philosophical air of someone speaking their thoughts out loud, “Going along that same line, maybe I’m afraid of not being adequate or of not living this short life to the fullest. Or a bit more interestingly, I am afraid of myself. Our nature rests on a pinpoint, and I am afraid of falling one way or the other. I am afraid of who and what I could become. I could be a heartless, savage beast who relies only on her instincts with no feelings at all, or be a completely tamed ‘pet’,” she spat the word viciously bile rising at the thought. “I would be repressed, an unthinking mindless thing to be ordered around. I would just be a shell of a being.” She looked away her mouth curled in disgust, only for her face to relax in a pensive melancholy state. “Perhaps that is what keeps me from bonding,” she whispered more to herself than Calovan.

Realizing her slip, she turned back to face him her facade once again composed. “Or maybe…” she continued, “I afraid of being trapped and imprisoned—of steel iron bars enclosing upon me the cage becoming smaller and smaller. I am afraid of the slave chokers that grace some of the Kelvics stopping them from transforming and keeping them in line under the control of some cruel bond-mate.”

“Any of those fears could apply to me. It all depends on how you perceive me and which one fits that perception. But, now it’s my turn,” she finished a slightly mischievous tone coloring her voice. “If you could be anything in the world, what would you be?” The question was harmless enough, but the slight forward tilt of her body and the steady gaze that regarded him told a different story. For how he answered the question would determine whether she walked out of the inn not glancing back, or stayed continuing to further her knowledge about the raven.
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Re: [Open] A Sudden Encounter with a Predator

Postby Calovan on February 20th, 2010, 4:24 am

He simply looked at her for a long time after she explained herself. A clever answer, from a clever girl. He should have expected no less. The answer was more than he had anticipated, true, but surprises didn't always have to be unpleasant ones, he supposed.

She turned her golden eyes to him, and then he found himself paying rapt attention to her again. He couldn't ignore her; she was so likeable and, to him, approachable. To walk away from one of the finest people- nay, one of the finest Kelvics- he had ever met would be foolish and wasteful.

Her question was, yet again, a strange one. He had asked about her fear because he wanted to know what made her the way she was, and now she was doing the same. He could only respect her more for her bravado. It took a substantial amount of elocution and persuasive skill to get him to confess something like that. Nontheless, he was a fair creature, and he was not one to be called a liar.

Narrowing his eyes in concentration as he pondered his answer, he tapped one of his fingers on the table and absentmindedly drew a small panther into the wood with his sharp nails.

"Anything, Mella?" He repeated, finally returning his gaze to her. "First, you must understand my beliefs on life. I believe that sentient life is here to learn everything it can. Whether it be for good or for ill, we exist to learn, to understand. In knowledge rests the true meaning of existence... If I could be anything, I would be nothing at all, Mella. Far too often I find myself bound by my own mortality, my own perceptions, and this frustrates me. However, I am not afraid of death, my friend. No, not afraid. I am merely inconvenienced by life. The world around us is alive, you know that as well as I do, being a child of nature. It is born anew each and every day, and dies, likewise. Ideas, thoughts, conceptive reasoning, these things are all temporary... but the world lives on. You see, because you are something- you are mortal, you are flesh- you cannot be a mountain, or a blade of grass, or the soft breeze in the valleys, nor the stormy waters. We may imitate these things, but our nature inhibits us. Betrays us. I would wish to be nothing at all, to not be something, yet in the process, I would be everything, understand everything. Do you see what I mean, Mella?"
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Re: [Open] A Sudden Encounter with a Predator

Postby Mella on February 27th, 2010, 12:52 am

[[sorry for the delay]]

She measured him with her eyes trying to predict what he would say. The answer to her question could answer so much about the raven’s personality, and reveal a plethora of things about him. But, that was only if he answered truthfully. You could never be to certain with strangers yet she hoped that he would answer honestly if only to settle their bargain. Her curiosity was just a bonus that would be satisfied with his answer and so she watched carefully his absentminded drawing not escaping her notice.

He seemed lost in thought and his eyes darkened as they seemed to do when he was thinking heavily. She remained silent however. Patience was something you learned early as a predator. You could not strike too soon or else all would be lost. So she watched, and waited till finally he opened his mouth to speak.

The words that streamed from his mouth, an outpouring of thoughts, were strangely eloquent painting an invisible picture in her mind’s eye. It was as if in that one moment, she could see what he was viewing in his imagination. The feeling of wholeness, of peace infiltrated her as she almost believed the illusion to be real. The wide, open plains, the wooded forests, the desert sands, the majestic mountains and the vast oceans all lay before her. Time was nothing. Eternity was just a blink for her. Everything flowed in one cycle, all life ending and simultaneously beginning.

The image faded with his words, and Mella frowned suddenly less satisfied with her lot in life than she had been before. The imagined feelings of wholeness disappeared with the vision and Mella felt bereft as if she had gained something only to lose it in the same instance. The gnawing need for that wholeness became forefront of her mind, and she fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair.

She felt resentment towards Calovan seeing him as the indirect cause of the feelings that were welling up inside her. She was usually a calm being, reserved, and did not easily lose face, yet here he was inspiring these confusing thoughts and emotions. She looked away from him, “I understand,” she uttered coolly distancing herself from her emotions and him. Taking in a small breath she said somewhat briskly, “Well, It was a pleasure chatting.” Mella stood up swiftly laying the money for her meal on the table. “Perhaps we will meet again,” she said before quickly fleeing the tavern tugging at her hood.

Calovan was probably wondering about her sudden departure, or strange mood swing, but there were things about Mella that few would understand upon first meeting her. Her exit was just a product of a combination of those things.

She was normally in control of her emotions. Anything that lessened that control brought her off-kilter forcing her to be more cautious. Another thing to consider was that she did not socialize with people often. In fact, this was her first encounter with someone one on one in a long time furthering her discretion. She was also acutely aware of her own loneliness and seeming incompleteness without a bond-mate and when something or someone brought those feelings to the surface, she would flee. She felt it best to leave the situation before a slip occurred revealing how emotionally unstable she truly was deep down—something she hid behind aloofness and a calculating almost cold personality.

So she walked quickly down the street her form receding the farther she walked as she tried to blend in with the crowd.
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Re: [Open] A Sudden Encounter with a Predator

Postby Calovan on March 1st, 2010, 2:34 am

Calovan watched Mella go with a sort of melancholic but expecting expression written plainly across his face. He knew she was bound to leave, yes, but the sudden absence of a companion was painfully present in his thoughts. Now, all that was left to him were his philosophies and an empty chair. Looking down, he noted the picture he had etched into the wood and frowned.

Why had he drawn that? Was the feline really so important that his subconscious demanded his attentions, as well? Yet, like everything else in his long and lonely life so far, she had proven only to be a disappointment and an agonizing reminder that he was utterly alone.

Snarling at his drawing on the table, he swiped his hand at the wood and slashed deep scars into the picture, completely obliterating the sketch and leaving nothing but splintered wood in its place. Standing to his own feet, he stormed from the tavern without another word, knowing that tonight would be like every other night.
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Re: [Open] A Sudden Encounter with a Predator

Postby Gossamer on March 4th, 2010, 5:26 pm

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