Knights in Stolen Pelts [Markus Andres]

by **Nidassasyae** on January 15th, 2011, 3:31 pm

I was gone as well

"It doesn't hurt," she grinned. "It's just kinda tiring, that's all. I'll need to rest a bit before I can change back into a human." It was nice that he had laughed at her comment, even if he could not possibly understand how stifling this human form was.

The Kelvic stepped back... and back some more. She wasn't too sure if transforming too close might have her squish him. Nida'd never really morphed into her animal form too close to someone else before.

Nida bent to pull off her boots, throwing them to the side. Without a trace of modesty, the young woman then pulled off her tunic and pants, putting them beside her boots. If Markus still watched her, she would meet his gaze unabashedly, her iris growing larger until there was no white to be seen. Sparks of light began to materialize around her, and her small frame dissolved into them, until there was no more girl to be seen. Only light. Even then, they did not stop, their numbers growing larger as they covered the area around her, slowly taking shape to form a large cat-like figure. If Markus had expected to see a waist-height cat, he was probably in for a very big surprise. She hadn't mentioned the fact that she had the Talderan gene, for she didn't even know what that was.

The light solidified around her, and the glowing lessened. When it died away completely, a few seconds later, the squire would see a a massive cat watching him closely. A full foot and half taller than him, the leopard would simply sit where she was, her long tail flicking nervously behind her. She hoped he wouldn't run, this man who had been so kind to her. He was only the second human who'd seen her transform, and the first one had already seen a Kelvic, so that didn't really count. It was nice to intimidate enemies, but that effect sort of backfired when among friends. And she did count Markus as a friend. Her trust might be hard to earn, but when it was, she trusted wholeheartedly, as a child might.

by **Markus Andres** on January 16th, 2011, 7:05 pm

Markus was pleased to hear that such a transformation wouldn't hurt her, since then Markus would have to be insistent on such a transformation not happening. He didn't share his masters idea of pain being weakness leaving the body. Not yet at least. Markus would be too stunned to avert his eyes when the girl started undressing. Her naked frame appearing quite beautiful in the late afternoon light. But as sudden as her nakedness had been, it was gone again. Dissolved into the lights of her transformation and Markus' jaw dropped and watched the lights multiply and spread like wildfire. It was an incredible sight. The dancing light. Magic looked awesome. Markus almost wanted to reach out and touch the lights. But he was awestruck. Feeling scared to tamper or touch the lights. What if he was dragged into the transformation? What if her transformation would go awfully wrong?

Markus' mouth twirled up when he saw a form appear in the lights. But this smile soon twirled the other way, when the size of the form appeared. This was no house cat. Hell, it was barely even a cat to begin with. It was much larger than Markus. The small girl had somehow turned into something ten times her size ... If that could do it.

It took every fiber of Markus' will to stand his ground and it took even more for him to not reach down for his sword and fight this ungodly beast. When everything had been transformed. Markus was standing a few feet away from something that could bite his head off without a second doubt. His wide eyes and open mouth just staring at the large cat.

'Relax... Relax.... Take a deep breath... Deep breaths. Come on now. It's the same girl. RUN! NO! She's not going to eat you. Relax. Relax.... Run. No, don't run. Stand still. run run run run run run run run run run. RELAX.'

"You are... certainly a lot" Gulp "... bigger than I expected." Markus right eye began to frantically blink before he noticed it and somehow found the willpower to make it stop. Since everything was still devoted to him not running away.

"You can... not talk? Right? ... As a cat? Just... Er... Nod or... You know..... errr. not?"

Markus could almost hear the voice of his master in his head. Calling him a coward. Taunting him. Then Richards voice. Laughing because he was covering from a challenge, rather than taking it head on. It raised a little anger in Markus. Who just in spite of those voices in his head, reached a hand out to touch the wild creatures head. Pat it if it would let him. If it growled... Then to hell with the voices and Markus' hand would shoot back to his side.

by **Nidassasyae** on January 17th, 2011, 9:53 am

OOCHeh, me likey "ungodly beast"

Nida opened her mouth slightly, letting the day's scents settle themselves on her tongue. It felt so good to be on four legs once again, to be covered in fur, not woolen clothing. Yet, she couldn't fully appreciate these things while Markus struggled with keeping his ground.

She could smell the fear scent on him, and realized that she needed to give him some space. The animals here were smaller than in Taldera, and most were not as fierce. Nida had to respect that, since he'd probably never seen a wild animal as big as her.

And she did. The leopard folded her paws before her, lying on her belly so he would be taller. Let the tall human at least have that comfort she told herself, watching him intently with slitted eyes. Whatever he told himself about her being the same girl, there certainly wasn't any resemblance. There was nothing human in her gaze, though the blue irises remained the same.

Nida understood the question. No, there was no way that her voice would be understandable. All human words were just a jumble of strange sounds in this throat. Now, she was only capable of speaking as a beast: in the guttural and growling tongue of leopards. But she could shake her head, that was easy enough. Nida did this, meeting his eyes as she did so, to show that she understood what he had asked.

He is... petting me? thought Nida, grinning internally. When I'm human, he hesitates to touch me. Now that he's afraid of me, he pats me on the head? What a silly race, these two-leggers are. But silly or not, the Kelvic let him pat her thick fur, keeping perfectly still as he did so. Her tail was the only part of her that moved, twisting and flicking behind her in a serpentine fashion, the only thing that showed just how nervous she was.

The leopard would not growl, but simply watched. Curious. Markus faced his fear, and tried to conquer it. Admirable, though whether he did it for bravery, or an attempt to prove himself, Nida did not know. When he was done, she would simply sit and tilt her head to one side, as if to ask 'What now?'

by **Markus Andres** on January 18th, 2011, 10:35 pm

Patting the beast gave Markus some confidence back. Especially when he pulled his arm back and noticed that he wasn't missing any digits. It would appear that the creature was in fact still the girl he had talked to earlier and it hadn't lost its mind to her animal form. Something Markus had also pondered about. He laughed a little. Feeling much more relieved with that info. Now that he knew that the leopard wasn't aggressive. Or at least, wasn't aggressive towards him, then he could relax around it and admire the beautiful creature that lay before him.

Dirty thoughts from his early childhood as the son of a merchant entered his mind. Polluting his innocent and almost child-like admiration of the creature. Polluting it with thoughts of how valuable such a pelt would be in the city. But as soon as those thoughts had manifested themselves, they seemed to dissolve again and left Markus very amazed.

When the creature tilted its head. Markus found that so adorable that he almost threw himself at the feline creature to throw his arms around its neck. But he managed to maintain his somewhat respectable demeanor about him. Still, the thought lingered in his mind. Urging him to take the risk. But he resisted the thought and instead began to walk around the large house cat. Still a bit uneasy, but feeling confident that she would control her animal urges to eat that squishy two legged pink thing that was parading around her.

"You really are... Amazing." Markus said as he walked around her large body. Inspecting her huge body. Resisting the new urge to climb up on her back. Knowing that such a breach of personal space probably would result in him getting eaten. He swatted at the moving tail. Playing with it. His own child-like behavior made him chuckle a little. He really wished he had had a pet when he grew up. When he made full circle and stood in front of Nidass again. Holding her clothes in his hands.

"Thank you." Markus said. "For showing me a small part of the magical world." Markus bowed his head to show respect to the large feline creature.

by **Nidassasyae** on January 21st, 2011, 3:15 pm

Nida had no intention of eating the 'squishy two legged pink thing', but turned her head so that she could watch him move about. He seemed to be walking around her: observing her. How odd.

The Kelvic let out a coughing bark, that served as her form's laugh. Amazing? Well, that certainly was a first. It was a pretty compliment, if not particularly true, or meaningful. Still, she tilted her chin up proudly at the word. Compliments were rare enough to her, and it still surprised her when she received one. Nida would probably say that she could count the number of compliments she'd received on one hand, but since she hadn't been keeping track, that wouldn't have been exactly true.

Her long tail swatted right back at him, attempting to whack him in the face. Nida wasn't too sure if she succeeded or not, but it was all in fun. It had been a long time since she'd played in this form, and it felt wonderful.

When Markus stood in front of her, with her clothes in his hands, she looked at him curiously. Did he expect her to shift now? She probably should, but knew that she'd be terribly hungry and tired after. Luckily her pack must have some deer strips left, she could gnaw on those. Or was he going to continue to be silly, and try and make off with her clothes? That wouldn't be too good. She only had one set, and grimaced to think what Nehsmay would say when she saw the Kelvic running about naked. Or course actually being naked held no embarrassment for the Kelvic.

Nida nodded in response. She owed him something for what he had given her, and this only seemed proper. He'd helped her with something a human could hardly be expected to do, and should receive something that a human usually did not in return.

With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and willed the change to take place. Her large furry body dissolved into a thousand bright lights, and they buzzed about busily, rearranging themselves. In the span of a few moments, the cluster of lights had shrunk, to the much smaller size of her human form. The sparkles died away, leaving a naked young woman sitting calmly on the grass.

by **Markus Andres** on January 22nd, 2011, 3:59 am

Nidass in human form hadn't seemed as playful as she did in this feline form. Of course, Markus had a hard time believing that those two different creatures actually were the same being. The whole concept was just strange to him. But magic was a strange concept to being with. Standing in front of her with her clothes in hand and half expecting her to run off, he wanted to make sure that she at least had her clothes with her. But she must have seen it as some sort of signal to turn. For suddenly, Markus was gazing at the lights again.

It was just as awe-inspiring as the last time it had happened. Leaving him breathless once again. Markus stepped back. Although he knew that the form that was left after the change would be smaller than before. His healthy dose of respect for magic left him seeking some distance to it, it was like entering the realm of the gods. Watching the natural alignment of things gets shattered by magic.

What was left on the ground, was a small cute girl... Who was butt-naked. It left a small smirk on Markus' lips as he threw her clothes to her.

"... As I said... Amazing." He said with a glint in his eyes before he respectfully looked away from her when she dressed. Of course. He could not know if anyone on the walls or the guards at the gate would do the same.

"I didn't expect you to turn back. Wouldn't you get ... home much faster in your other form? ... I am sure I could have tied your clothes to you... Somehow." Markus chuckled cheerfully at his own rambling.

He could see now, why she would feel restricted in the form of a human. Being accustomed to being a mighty predator and then be reduced to a monkey with opposable thumbs as one of the few notable perks.

by **Nidassasyae** on January 24th, 2011, 11:06 am

The world spun around Nida for a few moments, and she struggled to process the images her eyes were sending her. The transformation had been exhausting, and had used up almost all of her pent up energy. A mistake? Probably. But Nida was anything but a perfect being, her entire life was full of mistakes. It is one of the consequences of rash behavior.

But she didn't regret it. What was tiredness, compared to the look of wonder that had been on his face. What did tiredness matter, when he had accepted her for what he was. He would have made a good Bondmate, she mused to herself, almost jokingly. But someone else's Bondmate, to be sure. Not hers. Markus was too... human, too well suited to his race's civilized ways and morals. But he didn't need to be evaluated in such ways. Nida considered him a friend, however new and tenuous that friendship may be.

Caught up in her weariness and thoughts, Nida did not even notice when the clothes were tossed in her direction. She let them fall upon the grass, not glancing once in their direction. Her gaze was firmly fixated on her pack, and the dried meat that she knew lay inside. While it would not restore all her energy to her, it would give enough of a boost to get her up on her feet once more.

The Kelvic didn't care a whit if Markus, the guards, or really anyone was looking at her. While her body may make dramatic changes when morphing, her mind certainly did not. Nida might remember to act more human-like at times, but it was just that, an act. But now, there was no one to remind her of this. So she snatched up the pack and searched through the contents with savage purpose gleaming in her eyes. Her hands fell upon the dried strips of deer meat, and she gave a small cry of excitement.

As Nida ripped a piece of meat off the dried strip, she pondered what Markus had said. Tie the clothes to her? That was silly. How would she ever bring her pack as well? Ah well, let humans continue with their silly notions. After all, that was why they had created beds and clothing. The ideas were so thoroughly human, which meant that they contained a certain bit of the race's silliness. At least, that was what Nida thought. Personally, she thought beds were too soft, that the ground was much better, and that clothing in warmer temperatures was a waste of time. So her opinion of human ingenuity might have been a bit biased.

"I couldn't get back in the city while in that form. I don't much like the idea of being killed on sight," Nida said dryly. Out of courtesy, she offered Markus a strip of the deer. It couldn't have looked very appetizing, but it was custom in the North to share what food you had with friends, and to deny it to others. Either way, Nida didn't much care if he took it or not. No doubt his human food would be better.

"Home is too far away. It would take me many suns to travel there again. But there's nothing left there for me. Only bad memories. I stay here, but not for long. This is not my home. There is snow and ice in my land, do you have it here, in your home? I do miss the feeling of snow under my paws," Nida rambled, talking as much to herself as to Markus. She sighed thoughtfully as she gnawed on the piece of deer. "You will need to go back inside soon, correct?

by **Markus Andres** on January 29th, 2011, 7:19 pm

Markus had a mixed response when he noticed that Nidae decided to not put on her clothes at all. His morality and ethics told him to look away from the girl. But his gender and hormones loved her naked frame. Markus struggled for a moment with his own sense of ethics before giving in, it wasn't like he could continue to have a conversation with the kelvic girl without ever looking at her again. Still, he tried to keep his above her neck, something that took quite a good chunk of his mental capacity to maintain. He chuckled a little when he heard her cry of excitement. Despite her former dangerous appearance, she now looked like a little child playing with... Meat. She offered some of the meat to Markus, who contemplated taking some so he wouldn't offend her. But the meat looked quite unappealing to him, so he tactfully declined with a simple:

"No thanks."

With her explanation of home being too far away for her to reach it, Markus wondered if she were talking about her birth place in the north, he assumed, with her description of it being snowy. Was she from Avanthal? That place the water thief Diane had been from? That meant this girl had also seen the aurora that Diane had spoken about last time. Markus really longed to go see this light. Or just to leave the boring walls of Syliras. It was just endless corridors and awful stone walls.

"Yes, I should probably get inside and find my bunk before it gets too late. Otherwise training is going to be absurd tomorrow if I am also tired." Markus halfways complained to Nidae. "And yes, it snows here in Syliras occasionally. So you might be lucky if it snows one of these days." Markus said with his usual warm friendly smile.

by **Nidassasyae** on February 7th, 2011, 9:20 pm

OOCLet's wrap this up?

Nida shrugged off his polite refusal of the food. After all, that meant there was more for her. Tiredly, she continued to gnaw on the dried piece of meat. It was dry, and not particularly flavorful. But it was still food, still meat. She needed sustenance if she was going to survive the rest of the day. Nida thought about hunting a bit, and shrugged the thought off. Too tired... and I want to meet up with Seliarus when his job's done, she decided.

"Then you should probably go, it wouldn't be good for you to be tired tomorrow," she said, nodding sagely, as if she completely understood what he was talking about. In reality, the words 'bunk' and 'training' were unfamiliar to her. Training, she could guess at the meaning... probably something along the lines of 'raining'. Bunk though, that word was confusing. What could it possibly mean?

But she just nodded as if she understood. Nida felt like that was all she ever did nowadays. Someone said something. They wanted her to agree. Sure! I'll just go along with that! Yep, that was definitely what her life was like. But she didn't mind too much, these two-leggers usually made better decisions anyways. Not that she'd take orders from a complete stranger, but a friend was an entirely different story.

"I'm leaving soon, not for a couple days, but still. I hope we'll see each other again, Markus," The Kelvic smiled slightly. It was good to have met someone that she could trust, another one of these humans that defied what she felt as the norm. But she probably wouldn't see him again, Nehsmay had said nothing about returning to Syliras. Even if the Vantha had, Nida wouldn't have been too keen. Not even for Markus. The very thought of those stone walls made her shudder.

The young woman remembered how these humans shook hands when greeting or saying goodbye. Not a gesture she'd be likely to replicate in her animal form, but still. Nida tentatively held out her hand, looking as if still confused by the mere idea that one shook another's hand. Odd humans...

by **Markus Andres** on February 12th, 2011, 5:55 pm

Markus had always expected a naked girl to say 'hope we'll see each other again' - he just never imagined this particular scenario and it left him speechless. For how should he respond to a girl who was butt naked and saying she hoped to see him again. His mind was still warped around the idea when his mouth just seemed to take over and utter a single sentence of reflex.

"Yea, me too."

With a coy look on his face, Markus accepted her outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake. Still trying to keep his eyes above her neck while he spoke to her. But Markus was pretty sure her naked frame was etched into his brain now. Forever. He let go of her hand and took a step away from her.

"Well, until next time. Take care Nida." Markus turned to walk away, but before he turned away completely he turned back and added. "I might have to point out, that it is normal for humans to wear clothes too. Just so.. You know." Markus said. Still not giving in to the temptation of just staring at her chest. "In case you're... going back into the city sometime." Markus finished with a wink. Before turning all the way and walked away from the naked and far from unattractive girl.