Of wolves and men. (neekra) [job thread]

[Ximal]

Xi he kept fumbling lightly with all the equipment on his desk, this wan't exactly new to him but tit still gave him slight jitters. Then she spoke of mentioning to the people down stairs that she was a kelvic, and how that might clear up any misapprehensions about what was going on up here. Xi nodded he would have to do that, after all he didn't want people getting the wrong idea. then as she began to explain, what she'd seen out int he lower levels of the jungle. Xi's heart sank a little, five separate camps...and she couldn't tell him where they were without a map. Damn it. still it didn't mean he'd list anything in fact now he had more information than before about the whole situation. He began writing onto the parchment, jotting down dates and times as well as small facts. Like there being poachers in the jungle wolf skins nailed to posts. Still it was hard to keep any kind of focus with her sitting on the desk next to him. even with her legs crossed he was at more or less eye level. xi coughed lightly to try and refocus his mind. "Ok miss neekra, unfortunately i do not have a map on me. So could you please just give me a rough idea of how many slavers are in each camp ? Then i can get a rough guess of how many there are in total." Writing down a few more notes he considered some more questions. " would you be able to tell me a general location of them without the use of a map, like the surrounding areas ?As that could be much more useful than with a map. Seeing as a map would never really work in a jungle of this size..."Xi looked up from his parchment and at her before the soaked dampness of what he was sitting in bean to irritate him immensely. " Neekra you don't have to sit on the desk, you could always go and lie in the bed to warm yourself. I'll still be here as i need the desk to write on." He let off a slightly nervous smile before he stretched ut again and took a yawn. Then he asked the question. "neekra would you mind and dont take this the wrong way, but would you mind igf i completely stripped? It's really uncomfortable in soaked trousers and undergarments."

[Neekra]

He was nervous, she could tell, but this nervousness was not weakness, not at all. He was fiddling with his tools and looking at her with traveling eyes. She blamed it on the human race, it wasn’t his fault. She patiently waited as he jotted down several lines of notes then began to speak. Of course she could give him the basics of their location. That would be simple. But how many were there in the camps? Her creator only knew. His next few sentences were relatively surprising. Move to his bed? A thought pierced through her mind like a glass arrow. Was he… Her mind ran wild with make-shift scenarios that all ended in denial. That’s not what he meant, she thought, besides he said he’d stay at the desk. But for how long? Mindfully, she kept her thoughts from appearing in her facials. Don’t take this the wrong way… but… She shifted her eyes to the floor to keep him from seeing the flicker of emotion in her eyes. Seeing a Kelvic in human form was like staring at another animal; seeing any other race without clothing was… different to say the least. Neekra felt her stomach churn and wondered whether it was because of her empty stomach or her sudden surge of emotions. She found herself in a pool of emotion that grew deeper by the second. “You’re free to do as you wish. I don’t mind.” As she dropped from the desk to her feet, she leashed her mind, focusing it, telling herself to stop these foolish emotions. He probably meant exactly what he said. She peered back at him. A hint of an innocent smile curved the corners of her lips, “And I’ll have to take you up on your offer,” she said and subsequently scanned over Lupa again who was still sleep soundly by the fire. Then she continued to his bed, speaking as she walked, “I can tell you where to find these camps and the basics about them if you so desire. First, though, I must tell you how they systematically set up their camps. As I mentioned earlier, they tend to settle away from the primary travel routes from city to city. This being true, the camps can easily be located within the triangles of the travel routes,” She sat down on his bed then laid back in his cozy blankets.[color=#FF0040] “Like I said, it’s hard to see without a map.” She paused when the scent from his bed filled her nostrils and could only be described as a man’s blood, sweat, and hard day’s work. She immediately procured a liking to it. Neekra took a second or two to regain her train of thought but when she did, she proceeded to tell him what he wanted to know. “The two camps to the south of the Spires are the smallest of the five and consist of no more than twenty to thirty people a piece. One rests directly south of our location, probably thirty miles out, and the other sits southwest of that camp on the border of Taldera and Kalea. The third is northwest across Storm Bay and in the middle of the hunk of land south of Avanthal. This camp is small with no more than fifteen people but I believe they use the bay to get their ‘winnings’ out to the rest of the world.” Without hesitating in her words, she pulled one of his blankets around her and settled into its warmth. “The next encampment is somewhere in the middle of the triangle that includes Avanthal, Spires, and Novallas or mid-way between Storm Bay and Desperation Bay. This is the second largest camp with a population of forty or more people. I’ve run into them quite a bit since they control the animal traffic between Avanthal and the rest of Taldera.” She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, feeling the warmth of her own breath caress her cheeks. She was began to relax but stayed aware of his position at all times. “The last is the largest of them all and is located in the dead center of Taldera. The people in the area are hard to count since there are so many of them. I’ve only come across this area once.”

[Ximal]

Xi continued taking his slow breaths focusing on what was in front of him, he'd have to focus to get anything done. And right now he was still technically on duty. He ran his hand through his hair again combing it back out of his face slowly. Then he heard her say it was fine for him to do as he wished. he sighed and continued to listen to her speak as she headed over to the bed. She could tell him everything, fantastic maybe now he could finally get an idea of where these bastards were. Xi sighed lightly but not of anything other than relief. His mind cleared a little his current surrounding still present. As she sat down he stood up, unbuckling his belt and sliding his lower garments off. He shook his head at how easily that sudden torrent had soaked him. She walked over to the fire slowly before placing his lower garments in front of it. Letting the warm air permeate the waterlogged cloth before turning towards to neekra as he headed back to the desk. Planting himself back down and pulling the quill out of the ink as she began to speak. Keeping up with her was a challenge so he only placed down the basics. South of the spires two camps. Up to thirty people each. One straight south, one to the south west close to the border of taldera and kalea. Third north west, across storm bay, near avanthal. Fifteen people max. Fourth, middle of that triangle. Second largest with fourty people. Last is the largest centre of taldera. Unknown ammount. As she finished Xi could barely believe what she was saying. There was a network of slavers and poachers this large? Damn it he thought he'd made a dent but no he'd barely taken down a camp by himself in Numbers, and one of the smaller ones as well. Xi quickly drew something of a sketch next to the list of the placement and figures. with the spires marked and the shape of the slaver bases marked out. At least one-hundred and fifteen people in total he marked down next to the diagram. A lot of slavers for such a small area but with the spires and the surrounding areas so full of prizes it wasn't a surprise. Xi popped the quill back into the ink pot before turning in his chair to face neekra being fully visible as well. He sighed and hung his head lightly. "Thank you for the assistance neekra, it's much appreciated, i just didn't realize how many slavers and poachers there were. Nor that the network was so large... Now that i know i'm going to have to re double my efforts. Xi leant back in his chair refocusing his thoughts, Still seeing her bundled up in a blanket on his bed was rather cute and it sent a sudden torrent of thoughts and emotions through him. He'd found out a great deal of information about the slaver network around the spires thanks to one kelvic, he didn't know how much he owed her. How many lives that might save. Only now did he really catch up with how cold he actually felt. Taking another long slow breath he closed his eyes to try and focus his mind, and he could think of was getting wrapped in a blanket for a bit. But that was by no means the only thing on his mind.

[Neekra]

His words felt like a conclusion to their meeting, like he had heard everything he needed to know, but she couldn’t imagine him making her leave. Not now. Not with the heated emotions thick in the air making every breath harder to take than the one before. In an attempt to dull sensation, she covered her nose and mouth with the blanket, leaving only her eyes exposed but nonetheless steeled as usual. She watched him, unmoving. As she spoke her voice was slightly muffled by the fabric of the blanket. “There’s no need to thank me really. You are a guard, doesn’t that obligate me to tell you everything I know if it means protecting the city.” Her words faded out in a soft whisper. She didn’t want to welcome the goodbyes between them for several reasons. First and for most, his blanket was so warm; she didn’t want to move. Next, the rain still carried on outside. If she left now, she’d be in the same position as before, wet, cold, and now alone. She shivered involuntarily at the thought and pulled the blanket more tightly around her. And lastly, she honestly enjoyed his company. Her conversations were rare since she practically lived it the jungle and what she was doing now, bundled up next to the fire with a companion, felt right in a deeper part of her brain, the canine part of her brain. It gave her a strange sense of pleasure that could be compared to a sort of fulfillment. She opened her mouth to speak again but hesitated, glad he didn’t see it. She carefully picked her words of the next sentence, “If you don’t mind, may I stayed until the weather clears up?”

[Ximal]

Eyes closed lightly his mind just listening to the crackle of the fire and relaxing his body. even if he was still cold and very daamp, t least he knew he'd get some more work done tomorrow. Then from the silence of a few second he heard her again. That she didn't need thanks and that it was her obligation to tell him. That wasn't exactly true and he thought he might say as much to the effect. "That's not entirely true neekra, you didn't have to tell me anything, just because i am a guard does not mean that i have to be told everything." A small smile crawled onto his face as he held his seating, now only being licked by the warmth of the fire. the cool air still circling him as he sat there. Still her next words came as a little bit of a surprise to him. She thought he was going to throw her out. He shook his head lightly and responded to her. "That's alright i wan't planning on tossing you back out into this weather. That would be both cruel and heartless. Your welcome to spend the night if you would like. I don't know just how long this storm will last so, until it passes your my guest. He didn't know if she would mind but now the cold air was starting to get to him and he travelled over to her sitting next to her, infront of the fire, her still bundled up beneath the blanket and him feeling both the effects of a warming fire and a clawed cold at his back. he hunched over before asking almost absent mindedly. "Is there room for two under there ?" He smiled lightly as he hunched himself over leaning closer to the fire trying to stave off the chilling and biting air around him. Today was cold...and right now he was really feeling it. even his body which had acclimated to the snowy winters of sunberth was feeling the effects of the cold air, both sodden and naked.

[Neekra]

He told her she didn’t have to tell her what she knew. She still didn’t understand it. Were they not on the same side? He was a guard; this made his authority greater than the average citizen or herself. If they were on the same side and he was a guard and she the civilian, wouldn’t she be obligated to tell him what, especially if it would help save lives. So she would tell him everything she found out if it meant getting closer to putting a stop to the horrible acts of those people. Her hardwired loyalty to authority was to blame.

When he finished talking, her eyes followed him as he moved between her and the fire. He was cold, and just as bared skinned as she was. How could she forget that even if she had been curled up and surrounded by a nice warm blanket for a while now? The site of him huddling next to the fire pit made her feel a prick of shame for not including him sooner.

Then he asked to join her. She held her breath for a second, thinking of the consequences of both replies that she could give. Either answer would change the way they looked at each. A yes would bring them closer and a no would distance them and since she already agreed to stay, there was no backing out. She exhaled slowly, inaudibly and said,“Yes, I believe so.”

She immediately began to shift, loosening the covers from her own body and making a place for him. What would happen next? She didn’t know on account that this would be the closest she’d ever been to another human in her humanoid form. She began to speak to distract herself from the possibilities. “I apologize for not offering sooner. You must be freezing…”

She stopped rearranging the blanket as soon as she felt like he would have enough space to be comfortable and that there would be enough room between them as well. She waited, propped up on her elbow but still completely covered.

[Ximal]

As she shifted beneath the blanket Xi felt himself almost smile in relief that she want going to hoard it. but right now his mood was much lighter than it should have been, he'd been bombarded by the images liro had set forth time and time again and now she was getting ever closer the images were getting ever stronger. He shook his head lightly and bundled under the blanket next to her and listened to her speak relly quite formally about his almost joking ask to get under the blanket. He almost wanted to say that h was joking but he wsnt the cold air was getting to him. and now he needed more than just the warmth of a blanket. As she apologized for not offering sooner he almost waved it off, not nastily but nonchalantly. As if he was waveing off a small joke from a friend. "It's alright i was half expecting you to say no, then i'd have to bundle up closer to the fire. " he felt himself grinning as he pulled himself closer underneath the blankets before a touch of liros nature over took him. And an idea swept over him. "Sorry about this, but this way it'll warm us both faster, shareing body heat" Not giving her virtually any time to protest he'd wrapped the blanket around his back and pulled her over sitting her in his lap, using her boy heat to help warm himself more and the blanket to contain the heat. The sharing of warmth felt good, like a pulsating beast, especially from the fact he could feel her heart beating now, just slowly and softly but not quite as slow as his own. the warmth of her permeating the dull cold shell of his own body. Slow breaths of cold air kept him mildly chill but the warmth of air around him now was heating him back to full muster and full control. h hadn't ment this in any way other than as a way to heat him and her up faster, even if his bdy was still coated in a light film of liquid.

[Neekra]

He didn’t hesitate when being told yes. The next second, even before she could finish speaking, he was underneath the blanket. He kindly waved off her apology then she felt him move closer to her. Not by much but still enough to sense and slightly throw her off. She concentrated on her breathing, making sure she looked composed and calm but almost missed what he said.

He grinned as he spoke. So playful. She relaxed slightly and let the corner of her lips slip up. Then he said, "Sorry about this, but this way it'll warm us both faster, sharing body heat". What?

Before she could ask what he meant he whipped the blanket over his shoulders and boldly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap. She gasped out of sheer shock and the fact that his hands were ice cold. A second after she found that his entire body was just as cold as his hands.

As soon as her back pressed against his massive chest, she felt the different. Could her small bit of warmth out weight his icy temperature? She could only hope so. With his arms around her and the blanket around him, it was up to her to keep both of them warm. Though she wasn’t one that enjoyed being held down, she stayed there, knowing she was helping him. Neekra shifted in his lap, feeling the layer of water left on his skin melt between them. She pulled in her legs and wrapped her arms around them, hoping to capture all the heat that her body allowed her to put out. At this point, even if there was a way to meet his eyes without changing position dramatically, she wouldn’t do it, partly out of fear. Not a horrified fear, but a slight fear of the unknown. She didn’t know what his intentions were nor what he was going to do next. And she didn’t want to know. She didn’t want time to react.

“Well that was… unpredictable,” she whispered loud enough that she was sure he heard. Honestly, she didn’t know what to think. This had never happened before. So she turned to her raw emotions. Delight? Pleasure? Thrill? Strange to say the least. She acted on just what she felt. After letting out a breath that could have doubled as a short laugh; the remnant of a smile was left on her lips. Still, she wondered what had possessed him to grab her like he did. Was it instincts? Did humans listen to instincts like she did? She didn’t know. But what she did know was that almost less than an hour ago, she was willing to rip this man’s throat from his neck if she made a wrong move and now, she was in his arms and willing to tell him everything he wanted to know. So her curiosity wondered and she asked,“Who are you really, XI?”

[Ximal]

As he pilled her into his lap he felt her warmth burning him back to normal. the moisture ridding itself of it's presence. Both her beat and having her this close sent his heart beating a little faster pulsing blood around him and shooting his temperature back up to normal. Roaring the fires of his burning through him. But he could feel the Icy talons of liro pulling their way deep into his brain again. He used his full size of his immense frame to engulf her, holding her gently like a small heater and using himself like a blanket of flesh. He kept his eyes close now just to hold back liro and speak somewhat normally, restraining the beast of a creature that lie within him was a struggle even at the best of times and right now it was taking a lot of concious effort just to hold off the beast. As he held onto her waist lightly he heard her speak, her voice hushed and almost strained in it's attempt to be heard. The fact that what he'd done was unpredictable. He'd just been thinking logically creatures and living things were normally warm, and using both her heat and the heat of the fire it would warm both him and her faster than the pair of them individually. He slid his arms up lightly to get a better grip on her whilst still holding her lightly. he couldn't stop himself from smiling lightly, and softly even as liro bit into his head with force. Though her question shocked him, not as much as she would have thought it might, and nowhere near as much as he'd actually let on. "Who am i really ? That's a difficult question. I'm nobody. A whisper, a sound that is heard but never known the origin of. I'm a simple person of little importance. I look to help not harm. Though lashing out through anger is not a stranger to me. in short who i am is not as important as what i am. I'm a simple man, with a simple way of life, to protect those who need it. Defend those who cannot defend themselves. In short i'm a man with a secret, one simple and small." This was all that which rolled off of his mind, he just spoke as the words came to him. He was nothing special and he knew that but he also knew that he wouldn't ever attack before defending. Though he thought he might ask her the same question. "Well neekra, you know who i am. but who are you, there has got to be more to you than the strong wolf, and the beautiful lady? Every person has a story. As that's what define us. Our stories. The accounts of our life. Mine are nothing special, but you might have a tale or two to tell." If he was right maybe he would get rewarded with a small tale about her, but if he was wrong then he'd still be like this and to him, he would be satisfied like this for a while to come. Though he would remain the honourable man. if she wished for him to let her be then he would, she could have his bed and he would sleep on the floor. It wasnt much but he woulod never devolve into the beast of his other side, the evil spirit that haunted his every waking hour...Liro.

[Neekra]

She rested against him as she listened to his explanation, rising and fall with his chest and feeling his warm breath on her cheek. Every word in order and spoken in full confidence. Like a song or a poem or something to that nature. She exhaled and closed her eyes until the word “secret” escape his lips. If she wasn’t taking in every word, she would have missed it. It sparked her curiously once again but before she could ask he inquired about her story.

“…there has got to be more to you than the strong wolf, and the beautiful lady? Every person has a story…” Had she ever heard those words being directed towards her? Strong and beautiful? She looked down, blushing slightly with a hint of a grin. She had been shamed for so long by the words of her parent’s master that said she would never be as good as her parents, never be as beautiful as her mother. Maybe, just maybe he was wrong.

Xi was right. Everyone had a story; as far as hers, like his, it was nothing special. But she had no reason not to tell him. “Please don’t expect an exciting, wonderful story because I don’t have one. My parents were both Kelvics, both bird types, and now they’re both gone. They had the same master in Avanthal, where I was born. Unfortunately, looking back now I see how cruel he was. He sent my father on the suicide mission that killed him and worked my mother until end of her short life. Then locked an iron collar round my neck and sent me away because I was unworthy to serve him.” She pressed herself into his chest and found a strange sense of comfort in it. She closed her eyes again and continued. “I roamed the Taldera wilderness for almost a year before I came here. Thankfully, the Jamoura were kind enough to break the iron ring from my neck. But I guess that how fate works though. If all of that wouldn’t have happened to me, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you all of that stuff about the camps and more lives would have been lost because of the poacher’s greedy habits.”

She brought her head up and rested it in the curve of his neck. Now almost completely relaxed, eyes still closed, she decided to ask, “I heard when you say secret earlier. I wouldn’t mind knowing what you meant. Of course, if you don’t want to tell I understand.”