[flashback]Fighting your inner demons...[The Tears]

[Ssafirsotibones]

11 Spring 485AV Bones had been walking through Kalea for quite some time now. He was tired... He was thirsty.... And the hunger.... As always it seemed to bring out his animal nature to a insane degree... All he could think about was finding some meat... And swallowing it whole.... He could almost taste the meat now..... See the blood.... But there was nothing he could sense close by.... Soon though he could hear the crash of waterfalls nearby... They loomed in his vision, showing how large they were as they seemed to get no closer as she walked towards them... Finally he could go no longer, and near the water, he tossed aside his gear, and his clothes, and started his transformation. Soon he was changing, his features expanding and stretching.... Till he was in his most savage form, that of a snake over forty feet long... Moving up to the edge, he went right in, surprised by the shock of ice cold water... But he was so hungry he could think of nothing more than filling his belly. As his length undulated, he moved swiftly through the water, trying to find some prey. Luckily for him the river was filled with fish, as it was spring and they were going upstream. It was quite easy to grab some in his wide open jaws, and swallow them whole along with river water. Almost like... Not to mix metaphors... Catching fish in a barrel... Coming up for air, he made several trips, going up and down to get more fish to fill his swelling belly... Finally he had his fill, and he slithered on to the riverbank... his hunger had been sated for know.... After a bit he would go in search of his clothes and his gear.... And then just lay there as he digested for the rest of the day....

[Flicker]

Anything and everything in the vicinity made themselves scarce upon the entrance of the mammoth snake. All except for the unlucky fish that found themselves in this beasts tummy. The sated snake made his last foray and curled himself up, freezing as the breeze vacuumed up what little heat Syna slathered on; the creature’s own energy focused on digesting the fish packed into his stomach. When he finally stirred from his food coma and ventured forth to reclaim his belongings, against all odds, they were gone. With not a single trace of occupation anywhere near anything the snake had slithered near…save for one telling footprint left so distinctly in the mud that there was no mistaking or missing it. It pointed, and subsequent thinly spread steps, toward the chasm where the rivers converged. Not a sign of anything revealed itself from a cursory peak over the edge into it. Not a sound except the roaring of falling water drifted out.

[Ssafirsotibones]

As Bones slithered back to look for his gear, he let out a hiss of rage as he saw that it was all gone. Were was it! Before he could let out a stream of curses though, he recalled that he was in snake form. Which was not so good for cussing. He looked around, trying to find who he would have to kill, who had dared to steal from him, a constrictor dhani! Though no one seemed to be near. In fact every living thing seemed to have run off at the sight of him going into his snale form. Finally he noticed a footprint... Following it, he came to were the rivers met... And a series of steps... Was that were his belongings had been pilfered to? Without any fear of what lay ahead, he stormed along in the direction, fury surging through him.... He would slowly kill whatever had wronged him... Reveling in its slow death and its pain.... As soon as he found it....

[Flicker]

As the snake stormed into the chasm, he would realize that any number of assailants could be hidden in the area. A long sheet of unending water sloshed from great heights into the river bottom on his left. And on his right. If there were caverns back there, an entire army could be watching and waiting. And the myriad of stone lumps provided wonderful camouflage. As the constrictor swerved through, searching, when he finally came to the apex of the river, where the two elevated flows met, at first he wouldn’t see it, but after a few chimes it came to his attentions. A dark, stone still man, sat crosslegged on one of the tears. He exuded such harmony with the area around them both that it seemed he flowed straight up from the stone he sat on and solidified from the air around himself.

[Ssafirsotibones]

In reality, it was not really a good idea to go charging off into the unknown to find whoever had wronged him. Also, he had jumped to the conclusion that the person had done so to wrong him. For all he knew the person was trying to be helpful. But Bones was not thinking clearly in his angry state, and this fogged his judgment. After a while, Bones came to what he was sure he was looking for, a man sitting there, surely he was the one! Though looking at him... There was something there... But Bones could not place his finger on it why he was so strange... But he did not care, he just wanted to watch as he died, and throttled the life from his flesh... He reared up, and once more began to transform, this time going into his dhani form. After a bit he stood there, with the head and tail of a snake, and the torso of a man... "Ssief!!! You will die!" Having said this dramatic statement, Bones would charge at the man who was sitting stock still, both trying to grab the man and snap whatever bones he grasped, and to sink his fangs into his body... He did this with no regard for what was going on... Or the likely hood that the man he was facing was probably also skilled at fighting... Most likely much more than he was....

[Stardust]

OOCAlright, I tried to keep the atmosphere the same as it was before. Please let me know if you have any questions of need and clarifications! I hope this works for your intentions with this thread! The man's head tilted to the side as Dhani charged forward towards him. The closer the Dhani would get, the more predominate the features of the Akalak would be. His strong muscles would seem daunting to those unaccustomed to the Akalak race. His deep, dark blue coloring would strike many questions as well. The tattoos on his face would provide a warning to anyone that dared to ponder them. Above all, one would notice a cunning smile upon the man's lips. Once the Dhani was within arm's reach, the Akalak stood and reached out in one fluid movement. He sidestepped as he took the Dhani's arm in his hand and twisted back, moving to the side as he did. This would force the Dhani's arm into an awkward position behind his back, most likely throwing him off balance. The Akalak released the Dhani. He took a couple steps back, chuckled to himself, and then crossed his arms in front of his chest, assessing the situation with narrowed eyes. One would notice that he would seem to be amused and enjoying the playful spar. "Do you think it is wise to blindly attack a stranger? Or, was it that you wanted to play?" His words would sound deep and strong, giving more emphasis to the physical and mental shape the Akalak was in. It would be plainly obvious that this man was talented in fighting, as well as observing and predicting what his opponent would do. His playful smile would never leave his lips and he watched the Dhani's reactions. The Akalak would give off an intelligent and wise demeanor, even while he fought. It would be obvious that he had been through many situations and many unarmed fights through out his life time. x

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones did not note the mans blue face, if he had, it would have meant little to him. The painted human was perhaps large compared to other humans, but compared to a Dhani he was tiny. But even in his oversized Dhani form, the man had still bested him. He, a constrictor Dhani, with the strength of four normal men, half snake and half man, stretching out a good twenty feet long including his oversized snake maw that could swallow a man and his snakes tail that could knock a man flying as easily as a twig. All of this attached to his human torso, which had stretched to match the larger size of his Dhani form. He was easily twice as large across, had twice the reach of his normal human limbs, his arms could twist and break a mans spine by a simple hug. He could break a mans arm with but a twitch of his fingers. And if he had his blade right now, the sword would appear more like a dagger in his grip. As he went to make a swipe at the man, instead he found his arm being guided behind him, using the force of his own motion to twist it in a uncomfortable fashion. He had not used brute strength, for in that regard Bones would have easily been victor, instead he had outmaneuvered him, out skilled him, to force him to do as he chose. Bones let out a hiss of pain, trying to pull away. He had been looking right at him when he did it, but he still could not understand what he had done... As the Man Painted Blue took a few steps back, he chuckled at Bones. He laughed! He found his pain funny! "Do you think it is wise to blindly attack a stranger? Or, was it that you wanted to play?" Bones let out a hiss of anger, looking at the man with his snakish head. He moved his arm around for a moment in its shoulder socket, to make sure it still worked, as he looked at the tiny painted man before him. "I do not come to play! You are sse one ssat ssstole my ssingsss! Who elssse could it be, ssere isss no ossersss! You will return ssem, ssief!" Glaring at the painted man, he would give him a moment, and then he would make a twist at the waist without need of getting any closer, and send his long tail swinging across the open air from behind him, headed right for the mans chest. While the blue man might be out of range, Bones with his tail had much more range of attacks. His tail was as thick as the trunk of a tree that could hold a man, and much denser and heavier, and if it struck him, it would knock him flying like a doll. For what he had done, he deserved no less. translation : "I do not come to play! You are the one that stole my things! Who else could it be, there is no others! You will return them, thief!"

[Stardust]

x Sulow, the wise Akalak paid close attention to the Dhani's actions. His eyes darted around the man's body while he moved. It would be obvious to Bones that the Akalak was both interested and intrigued by the Dhani, himself. But as he moved, no real surprise would be apparent on Sulow's face. The blind anger that the Dhani showed, made the Akalak tilt his head to the side inquisitively. His eyes narrowed to near slits. The words the half snake man spoke did not give the Akalak any reason to respond. It was the strange movement of the Dhani that started the Akalak. Suddenly, a large tail was swinging his way. The Akalak thought quickly. He knew that he couldn't get far from where the man's tail would strike, but he could avoid the majority of the blow. The Akalak bent his knees and rolled to the side as the tail flew by him. It struck his back as he rolled, propelling him further back into the knee-deep water side surrounded by large boulders. The muscular man let out a troubled and frustrated growl as he pushed himself to a crouching position. He looked straight at the Dhani once again, pity flooding his eyes. “Calm yourself child!” He projected his low voice over the sound of the moving water. “Fighting will not accomplish anything.” He got to his feet once again and placed his hands on his hips. “This is a place for reflection. This is a place for reformation.” The Akalak made gestures with his hands before he held his hands out in front of him, his palms facing the Dhani in a defensive, yet nonthreatening position. “Maybe I can help... What ails you?” x

[Ssafirsotibones]

The way that he tilted his head at Bones, like he was inspecting him, further infuriated him. He was like some bird, just out of reach, haughty on this fact, taking the time to inspect his predator. Not knowing the prey was vulnerable, that the snake would spring forward and snatch it from the branch, and swallow it whole. That was what went through Bones mind, as he made his attempt at breaking the Akalak like a doll. But what had meant as a death blow, breaking his spine and hip bone, possibly crippling him, had ended up more as a glancing blow. Bones let out another hiss of anger at his prey, though grudgingly with a small bit of respect for his evasion. Not that it lessened his anger any, more than anything it fueled it. As the painted man spoke to him, Bones inspected him once more, pausing for a moment. If he had not eaten so recently, his anger would have been to great for him. In fact, if this had all happened before he had dined on the flesh of fish, this man would find himself hunted down by the Dhani, unable to break from his instincts telling him to bite, rip, tear, kill. Luckily for the man, or perhaps luckily for Bones, he had eaten, and so he was much more cool headed than at other times. He took in a hissing breath, followed by a slow exhale, tasting at the air, tasting at the man, even from so far away. "What ailsss me? What ailsss me? Nossing ails me, but ssat my ssingsss have been ssstolen! I want my blade back, and ssen perhapsss we can talk! Sse rest can come later. But I want my blade!" Bones let his eyes search for a moment, trying to find were he had hid his things. "And perhapsss my clossesss to, unlessss you want to keep talking asss ssisss." Bones continued to glare at the man, his anger still there boiling under the surface, but not spilling out into violence... For now. speech : "What ails me? What ails me? Nothing ails me, but that my things have been stolen! I want my blade back, and then perhaps we can talk! The rest can come later. But I want my blade! And perhaps my clothes to, unless you want to keep talking as this."