Once Again[Rykanis][Flashback]

by **Dallisetria** on April 25th, 2012, 2:48 am

It was early in the morning, and Dallisetria was out at the river. She hadn't been able to sleep during the night, which is why she'd gone that way. The river reflected her appearance, although it was pretty blurry, and it was still kind of dark. Though, the sun was peeking up a little bit. She gripped onto the ground as best as she could with her hands, and then she leaned forward to get a better view at everything it was reflecting, like a mirror.

"How pretty," she whispered. "Hello," she spoke to her reflection like it was another person. "How are you?" she waited a moment, wanting to say, don't copy me! but she didn't. That would be loud at her frustration. "I'm doing good," she responded in a light heart fashion.

She looked up, and around. She hoped nobody would see her, she was talking to herself. More or less, her reflection. She then leaned back over, straining her arms so she could see better.

by **Rykanis Dakshata** on April 25th, 2012, 5:26 pm

Rykanis often went for walks. Often early in the morning. Usually this had nothing to do with the sights, but with the people. He did like observing people, and they were more likely to be themselves, and show something they would not otherwise, early in the morning, as most assumed no one was watching.

So due to this fact, Rykanis often rose early, sometimes before the sun rose, while it was still rather dark out. It did not affect him, he had unusually good night vision, even for an akalak, along with the infravision that akalak had. It was this vision he was using, as he walked along that day.

He did not see much, a few people, with there large hot bodies, a few stray cats, racing along, chasing rodents and such... Both of which's heat was harder to notice, be so much smaller.

He glanced around, seeing people at there business, and eventually ended up near the river. That was when something odd had finally peaked his interest. There was a large lump of heat near the edge of the river.

As he got closer, he used his normal vision, and saw it was a person, a woman... Though he could not make it out to well from this angle... He did wonder why she was leaning so far over the river, she might fall in. And that would not be good.

He did his best to walk quietly up behind her, using the small bit of stealth at his disposal. Though it was a bit easier, since she seemed to be so focused on her own reflection.

Only when he got really close, did he recognize who it was... The cat kelvic he had met the other day... Dall... something... What was it? He had forgotten, had just gotten used to calling her Dall or kitty...

He walked up behind her and spoke, careful to get a bit closer, and have his hand at the ready to grab her and pull her back if his sudden statement surprised her and made her fall in. He smiled, feeling a bit playful, maybe the cat needed a bit of a bath anyways? maybe he should let her fall, and then pull her back out after a bit of a soak?

"I thought kitties didn't like water?"

by **Dallisetria** on April 25th, 2012, 9:12 pm

The voice was low, the voice was familiar. And even though she'd only been around one person for a semi-long time, she'd heard many voices just recently, and found that she couldn't very well place this one. Although... she turned her head slightly, to where he would only see the side of her face. It was so she could just see with one eye. If it was somebody who did not appear friendly, she would jump in the water and swim. Her legs were made for things like swimming and climbing, and running. Athletic things like that. But when she saw who it was, her breath caught, and she suddenly couldn't think well.

When this happened, on the inside, she started panicking, and it felt like days on end until she did something. On the outside it had only been a second or two. She'd been startled by Rykanis's presence, and she spun around in humorous way, and she fell backwards into the water. She screamed, still under the water, in pure frustration. Which was how their first meeting had started, too. Her, screaming in frustration at her not being able to catch a mouse easily.

Dallisetria pushed herself up to the roof of the water, her eyes shooting daggers at Rykanis. She started to pull herself up, and though she was wet, her head was pounding. "Ocelots can swim, you know. Some ocelots may like swimming more than others, but all can swim," she seemed to be growling. "What did you have to go do that for?" she looked back at the water. Thank goodness, her shortbow was on the ground next to where she had been sitting. She went everywhere with it, but if it had been in the water, she'd of been even angrier.

"You startled me! I'm quite jumpy, if you hadn't already noticed." she bent forward, flipping her hair all in front of her face, and tried to wring it all free of the water. When she flipped it back up, it was still dripping. "Augh!" she shook herself. Now, she could say she was cold. She picked up her bow and her arrows, and hooked them up on her back. She looked out onto the water, and she sneezed. She would have cursed, but her eyes softened, and she looked at Rykanis. She was suddenly guilty for her outburst. For some reason, he made her hit her "high", which was often when she wasn't being a total... jerk.

"I'm sorry," she forced it out- it was almost a sentence that choked her. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, and wasn't sure what else to do or say.

by **Rykanis Dakshata** on April 25th, 2012, 9:47 pm

Rykanis only just kept from laughing, at the kelvic's reaction. He did smile though, as she flipped out a bit at seeing him, spun around, and flopped into the water.

Then he noticed bubbles coming up, it seemed she was trying to talk or something, or blow air out, while under water. Which was kind of silly. But she was a kitty, and kitties were a bit silly sometimes.

He simply smiled some more, as she popped up, angry at Rykanis for startling her.

"What is an ocelot? I just thought that kitties did not like water. Maybe I was wrong."

He simply let her say the rest of the angry stuff without replying, just smiling at her, and letting her blow herself out a bit. Usually once people saw you were not going to fight back, they got tired of being angry... Sometime...

She tried and failed to dry herself off, including her hair, though it did not work to well, and seemed if anything to just get her riled up again. Though he took pity once more, as she sneezed. It was a bit cold out.

He simply looked at her as she apologized, a grin in his eyes, as he could clearly see on her face that it was not easy for her to do so... He stretched out an arm, hooked it around her waist, and drew her in close, not caring that she was rubbing her wetness off on him.

He looked down into her eyes, and grinned, giving her a big warming hug.

"Now my kitty is all wet... Does this make you warmer? Why don't we go someplace were you can get dried off, and warm? Do you want to go back to my place? Or we could go get a warming drink at a bar. Or something else."

He smiled, giving her several options, letting her take her time to choose. She seemed like someone who enjoyed being given the chance to choose.

by **Dallisetria** on April 25th, 2012, 10:08 pm

She was shocked when he pulled her in close, and she was kind of confused as why he was smiling the whole time she was just... screaming. She didn't look up, she was too tightly held against him. But, she did wrap her arms around him, smiling. She nuzzled her face into his chest(or stomach, whichever her head was at), and her eyes were closed. She would have purred, if she were feline. At the moment.

"An ocelot is a medium-sized wild feline with large amber, golden like eyes, dappled- or blotched- fur, and a medium sized tail. About the size of a.." she paused, then continued when she remembered where she was when she described her feline kind. "bobcat, but the spots are larger, and tails longer. Both sexes of the ocelot species have the same markings," she started going into her description of them. "They have legs made for running and catching their prey, for climbing, and for swimming." she finished quite proudly, and as she did this, she noticed her fingertips were barely brushing each other. She giggled, and then went on to the options.

"Whichever," she said coolly, licking the skin on his arm- a sign of affection. Which, in this case, was somewhat hard for her to show. Or in any other case, for that matter.

by **Rykanis Dakshata** on April 26th, 2012, 2:51 pm

Rykanis simply smiled, as Dall hugged him in return, and sort of snuggled in closer to him, rubbing her face into his abdomen, like a cat might. he almost expected to hear her pur. She certainly seemed to get a bit lost in there physical contact, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Perhaps another quality brought over from being a cat?

Then he just stared, as she went into some long technical description of what an ocelot was. He had a feeling that at some point, she had asked someone, and had managed to memorize these facts on herself, just so she could brag of knowing it. It was certainly unusual for a kelvic to normally know such things.

But being a cat, it seemed almost believable that she would go through the trouble of memorizing it by rote, just so she could have a smug and haughty demeanor of knowing more in this one thing, than the average person. Cats did tend to be a bit conceited from what he had seen...

"That is... Interesting... And you memorized all of that? That must have been difficult. I doubt I could memorize it..."

He said this, purposely trying to stroke her ego a bit, let her get a bit puffed up. Though he still thought it was a bit funny, how proud she was to know that bit of knowledge. But he would let her feel good about herself in this regard.

He finished this by briefly scratching her behind the ear, which he knew she liked, and smiling at her.

As for him being nice enough to give her some options... She did not even take it... Oh well, she just did not seem capable of deciding. It ended up he would have to be the one to make the decision, and take charge.

Though he was a bit puzzled by her licking his arm... Another cat thing?

"All right then, we can go by Kulkukan, and get a drink. I am sure some ale in your belly will warm you right up."

Rykanis would take her by the hand once more, leading her along to the tavern. Once there, he would let her pick were they sat, he could at least delegate that much to her. Then he would order them a each a mug of ale.

by **Dallisetria** on April 26th, 2012, 9:03 pm

She nodded, and when he took her hand, it was hard to trail behind him, as he was so much taller, legs so much longer. She had been flattered that he had said that he couldn't very well memorize that much, but when she thought about it, it was Rykanis. To her, he was like, capable of anything. He could have memorized it if only he wanted to. She had to sort of skip, jog, run... When they walked into the tavern, she looked around, and grinned. She squeezed Rykanis's hand, although she wasn't sure he even felt it. Her hands were small next to his, large, blue ones. She walked over to a stool.. she thought it was a stool, anyway. She couldn't define chairs to save her life.

She looked up at Rykanis, and then yawned. Even though she'd just dropped herself in the river, and was here, with Rykanis- that didn't change the fact it was early in the morning, and she was kind of tired. Well, subconsciously tired, really. On the outside she was bubbling with excitement. She wondered how Rykanis could be so... okay right now, after the last time they met. She was too scared to ask, anyway.

Whether or not she was scared, that did not keep her from commenting. "Rykanis, are you okay? Last time I saw you..." she trailed off, but then ended with a "yeah".

by **Rykanis Dakshata** on April 26th, 2012, 10:47 pm

As they walked in, he looked down for a moment, as Dall squeezed his hand. He was about to ask her if she needed something, but then realized that she was only being playful, not trying to gain his attention.

Then she yawned. Until then, Rykanis had forgotten that it was early in the morning. Perhaps that was why there were so few people there? He saw a few tables, which looked to him like the contents of a boat or two's worth of sailors. Judging by there dilapidated manner, they seemed to have just gotten onto shore, and all decided at once to get a drink.

That was one nice thing, there was almost always people in the tavern here, no matter more or less when you came. Sure it was a bunch of rowdy men, swilling ale like they had not drank in a season, but it was better than if no one had been there.

Rykanis himself, well he was used to being awake more or less any time, and so certainly was not tired at the moment. He often enough decided to flip his sleep cycle, and stayed up all night, sleeping during the day, or vice versa, and so by now had no trouble being awake after a good solid chunk of rest.

Of course this did at times make it tougher for him to fall asleep, unless he was exhausted, and sometimes had to go and spar for a bell before he could pass out.

But as he looked around the tavern, he did notice something that most likely Dall did not, as they sat at a bar stool. Several of the men were staring at her, one of which seemed to already be about ready to flop out of his chair the way he was swaying.

Rykanis simply smiled back at them, with a glare in his eyes, and leaned a bit closer to Dall as she spoke, making it clearly sure that they were together, and they were not to mess with her. This seemed to work on a few of the men, and they let out a disappointed groan... But the other people devouring Dall with there eyes, seemed only more excited by the thought of fighting an akalak for a woman.

His attention though was drawn back in, by Dall's words. He played with her hair for a bit, and scratched her behind the ear as he answered with a confused smile...

"Am I okay? I am fine... Why do you ask kitty?"

by **Dallisetria** on April 26th, 2012, 11:07 pm

She followed his gaze, but it took a moment to realize what he was looking at. If there had been more people in the building, well, it would have been much harder than it already was, to figure out what it was he was giving a scary look to. She saw some men, who had been looking back at him.

It seemed some of them gave a sideways glance to her when they turned around, and made noises that made them sound defeated, when there hadn't been anything going on. Or so it seemed to her. When he turned back to her, was when she saw some men who were looking at her weird. It made her feel strange, and her skin itched.

Her eyebrows narrowed, and she would have growled if she could, in human form. She looked back at Rykanis, her mood lowered a few notches. She wanted to walk over and punch them in the face. She wanted to hurt them. She didn't know why. Why would she think such terrible things? Her teeth gritted, but he started scratching her ear, and he played with her hair... the men were totally forgotten.

"Oh, it's just last time, at your place... after you gave me the blanket, and I seemed to get comfy, you..." she couldn't tell what she was supposed to say to that. "Uh, you seemed very upset." she looked around, at the men, at her feet, her hands, and back up at Rykanis.

"I was really worried about you, you know." she mumbled. As she spoke, she was fumbling with her fingers now, and it was hard to look him in the eye. She felt embarrassed, and it was like she was in auto-pilot now. Almost like she wasn't there, like she didn't know what she was doing or saying, and yet, she was.

by **Rykanis Dakshata** on April 27th, 2012, 2:01 am

Rykanis might have noticed Dall's reaction to the men acting as they did, if he had not been staring them down. Perhaps he was just staking out Dall as his territory, something she would probably understand as a kelvic. Or perhaps he was just being protective, since they were friends more or less after all.

He did not want her being harassed by a bunch of drunk fools though. And he had a feeling that if he did not do as he did, they would try and move in on her.

For a moment he saw a bit of... Concern? Anger? Something... On her face... But as he tussled her hair, and scratched her in her favorite spot, she soon calmed down, and went back to a face of contentment.

As she spoke to him, the barmaid came over, depositing there ales, one in front of each of them. Rykanis nudged Dall's towards her, and took his own mug, taking a mouthfull, and gulping it down as he listened to Dall speak.

He had seemed upset? He watched as she glanced around, seeming rather nervous... And she was concerned with him? It was interesting to him, that she was that concerned over how he had acted... It was a bit cute, as she was clearly nervous trying to say this... Kind of cute...

He was interested to know exactly how she felt towards him... What exactly it meant... Though he was not exactly sure how to respond... How could he explain it, without telling of his other side?

"Upset... No, I was not upset... I was just... It is hard to explain really... I was just... Not myself... Sometimes it just gets to be a lot, and confusing... And I am not sure what to do... And I kind of lock people out... I don't mean to, can't seem to really control it... I just get cold..."

"You were worried about me? Why is that?"

He said this last bit, a smile suddenly coming over his face, scratching her behind the ear, and looking her in the eyes...