A Promise Kept -Flashback- (Open)

[Circe Ananasi]

2nd day of summer, Year 510


After her close encounter with the polar bears that guarded the entrance, Circe was more than grateful for the strange solitude she felt inside the walls of Avanthal.

Several people trudged through the snow, some newcomers like herself bundling their furs tighter about their necks. She found herself wondering, almost vaguely why the others had come here. Safety perhaps, or something more? For her, it was a desire for peace, and for shelter.

It had been her father's idea that she go to Aventhal, deciding that she would be safe there. When not in the clumsy form of a human, Circe was an Arctic Fox, happy and carefree. Due to her albinism, her fur would not change color during the spring, thus making her a somewhat easy target for hunters who wanted her coat.

But in Aventhal, it snowed year around, allowing her to often appear as if she herself was part of the snow, save for a pair of pale pink eyes as she would gaze out into the world.


Her father had died almost a year ago now, and she felt a strange sort of emptiness in her chest. He had always been her main companion, her teacher, and friend. He had loved her in spite of the obvious weakness that her condition had bestowed upon her. She gazed down at the small amount of white skin that her cloak head left uncovered and shook her head, covering the skin quickly.


Too much exposure to the sun and she would turn as red as a robin, and suddenly she was struck by the mental image of herself as bird, causing her to laugh loudly. Several people who were passing by jumped, and she shrugged in apology before crinkling her nose and bounding off into the snow. The previous sadness she felt was now easily forgotten.

[Darren]

As sure as the snow was falling in Avanthal Darren was outside, immersing himself in strange routine of lounging around and straining himself in his training for between hours. "It's really boring without a living thing to work against" he murmured softly as he went through the motions of his routine. Martial forms three and four done repetitively until he was able to do it without fail. More often then not he would do them correctly but retry it again. It was either to slow, or to feeble, his form wasn't right. He grimaced as he went through the two movements in conjunction with another. Throw a right, step in, weaken their placement, shove, follow up with a tackle, grapple arm, step to the side, force them in front of you, place free arm over target's neck, kick forward targeting area between thigh and calve, drop down with them, and use arm to choke them out. And now motion fou- he paused as he saw movement. That was the only way he would have noticed the camouflaged fox lying in the snow. Already the people near it gave it a wide berth as they looked at it with meticulous eyes. "Obviously, those are not hunters" he mused softly as he brought himself up. He watched as they started to form a curious half-circle as they watched the creature run out of sight. Wonder how it managed to get past the guards up in the Icewall he wondered as he made his way to the crowd. Already a few murmers of concern resonated in the small group. "How'd that predator get past the gate? We have to alert Icewatch or someone. What if that beast comes across our children?" seemed to be the underlying thoughts in the crowd. "Meh, it's fine" Darren said nonchalantly. Already a few apprehensive looks were given to him before he could explain. He forced a nervous laugh as he tried to talk down the crowd. "It's alright, it's alright. I'll try to see if I can find it myself and take care of it" he explained as he pointed to his gauntlets. True he wasn't really to adept with his newest toy but he was more then able to take care of a smaller predator.

[Circe Ananasi]

Beast.

The word echoed through Circe's ears as she bounded through the snow, scurrying past the feet of several onlookers. Hadn't anyone seen her transform? Damn it. Her father had always said it was better to ease people, especially humans into the idea that she could transform into a fox, lest they turn her into a furry coat.

But she couldn't help it, it had been ages since she'd felt the power of transformation, felt the weak flesh of her human mouth give way to tough gristle, the slightly itchy feeling of white fur sprouting through her pale skin.

On impulse, she kicked up her back legs joyfully and let out a yip of pleasure at the feeling of freedom that was soaring through her.

After she reached a clearing, thankfully free of humans, she stopped. Bounding around in silly half circles she danced, admiring her own paw prints in the snow.

Be dignified, act with grace.

The words of her father suddenly echoed through her ears and she froze, realizing that her behavior had been very childish, and she was no longer a kit anymore.

Then, there was a new smell assaulting her senses, something unfamiliar. Circe flattened her ears against her scalp and turned to see what appeared to be a young human male.

He must have followed my paw prints from the gate, she thought, her joy now rising to panic.

She gazed around frantically, trying to find an escape from the clearing, realizing halfheartedly that the only way out was through this human boy.

He looked somewhat poised, and she tucked her tail between her legs, her lips rising to reveal small pointed teeth as she snarled.

[Darren]

Darren waved off the rest of the onlookers away from the area. He didn't like being watched when he was doing what he does best. A disarming smile was given to the few who stayed, an underlying anger in his features. As the last of the onlookers left, Darren turned on his heels as he started off where he saw the fox went off to. He opted for speed walking, anything to release any aggravation he got had towards the more stubborn members of the group. True he wasn't the best in individual talks but he usually assumed a leadership role in bigger groups. His way was usually though intimidation and physical action and when he didn't get the desired response things usually deteriorated quickly. Luckily he managed to pull of the his little speech went off without a hitch and any negative feelings quickly disappeared. He nearly missed the fox while he paced around, truth be told he was just walking straight. Thoughts of tracking or following footsteps came a bit late as he saaw the growling fox growling at him. "Ah! There you are my lovely!" he smiled as he paced towards her. He moved over her before aiming a short kick to punt the smaller creature, his demeanor seemed unperturbed at the action. "Now be a good girl and go back where you came from" he cooed, obviously he was one of the few people that didn't realize that kelvics didn't have to be just bears.

[Circe Ananasi]

Did, he... really just kick me? Circe thought, indignation rising up in her throat. Obviously, he thought her to be just a common fox. But still, even as she gazed up at the boy's face, he obviously didn't seem to have any intention of harming her. He simply thought her a pesky animal that had somehow gotten past the guards.

She snorted, shaking her head as she gazed up at him. Instead, she trotted a few feet away from him and sat down, wrapping her white fluffy tail around her. Such a shame, she really didn't want to change back so quickly, and foolishly she had left her cloak near the entrance to the city. She could always run back and get it, but this was too good an opportunity to miss. It would be quite amusing to see the look on his face when he realized she was a Kelvic and not just a common beast.

Calming her mind, she focused on the human aspect of herself, and brought it forth, feeling her jaw retract with a little sadness. The fur soon disappeared as well and she was left sitting cross legged in the snow. Brushing a strand of white hair out of her pink eyes she sighed.

"You know, it's a little rude to kick people."

[Darren]

He watched as the small fox hovered a few inches off the ground before it took a few paces away from him. He hummed a favored song to himself as he continued to pace forward to punt the fox around some more. The soft, light tune was cut short as he saw it take a seat in the snow. "Erm, alright" he said as he paused for a moment as he regarded the odd behavior. He started forward, moving to pluck the resting fox off the ground. Perhaps it wasn't let off so easily he thought as he made his final pace forward, the guards probably made it tired just to even get inside. His mand moving to grab the scruff of the fox's neck he paused as he watched it suddenly morph. He took a pace back as his demeanor sudden changed. Once aloof and nonplussed now he had his mouth hanging slightly in sight of the woman in front of him. Darren paused as he tried to decider the words of the woman in front of him. Little rude? Very rude! he corrected mentally as he took a knee next to the woman and moved his hand away from her neck. "Very sorry! I no knew" he said softly, his eyes taking in the figure before him. "You new here? You know magic well, girl?" he asked as he leaned forward awaiting her response. He loomed shamelessly until his thoughts finally caught up with him. "Ah! Sorry!" he stuttered as he took off his jacket. Placing it on Circe's back he rose as he offered his hand to her. "Very cold yes? Go inside and have snuggling warm?" he offered as he nodded his head to Avanthal. oocGuy doesn't know common too well. Mostly knows innuendo, curses and the odd phrase.

[Growl]

Appreciation Time! Name: Circe Experience: +1 Running Lore: Feeling Empty, Being Kicked Name: Darren Experience: +1 Unarmed, +1 Rhetoric Lore: Chasing a Fox, Kicking a Kelvic Additional Notes: Please watch your spelling guys, go over your posts and edit if you have to! I also doubt the Vantha would fear an arctic fox coming after children, their animals maybe, but not children. Darren, please stop torturing the Avanthalians... seriously, no throwing Snowsongs, no kicking pcs without their permission. Sorry the thread ended so soon, pm with questions or concerns.