Totally Lost (OPEN)

[Misu Aoki]

12th Fall 512 A.V

Where am I now? Misu thought to himself as he wandered through the crowded streets. This city was strange, it gave the Kelvic chills. His fur stood on end as he glanced across the street. I could have sworn I passed that building this morning...

Don't panic, he told himself, Just find a quiet place where you can transform back and then find someone who can help you.

The wolf looked around. Where would be a good place to transform? Hm... Ack! Now the building was gone completely! Misu sat himself down and placed his bag of goods in front of him. Those who passed gave the Kelvic odd looks but didn't seem overly concerned. He mentally retraced his steps, but was unable to remember how he had ended up in this strange place.
He did remember passing a giant rock on the way in though, it had asked him why he was heading to the City of Illusions. Misu didn't know.

[Ruzekiel Soren]

Zeke was strolling down the streets of Alvadas in his morning free time, visiting the shopkeepers and enjoying the smells of freshly baked bread and pumpkin spices winding through the tall buildings of the city on a cool, crisp wind. He wasn't playing at the tavern until noon that day, so he took the opportunity to explore the city further. Good old City of Illusion. Here even the dumped latrines smelled like roses. He passed goodmen hawking their wares on the streets, stray cats and dogs bickering over succulent scraps, and young urchins scrambling around getting caught under women's skirts. Zeke took a deep breath of the nice, smog-filled city air and smiled. Everything was in its place.

And then he saw a wolf. He did a double take, blinking and stopping for a moment, other city-dwellers bumping into him and brushing past him in a hurry to get somewhere. Of course it wasn't unusual to see something like this in Alvadas, but the way this wolf was acting was rather curious. It turned around a few times, tail on the brink of slipping between its legs, its yellow eyes wide with a human apprehension, and then looked behind it, finding something out of place with the plot it was sitting on and getting even more agitated. Zeke had seen this before. He had experience with Kelvics, wolf Kelvics especially, and he was pretty sure that this wolf was having some issues getting back to its human form. Or getting back to a familiar place, for that matter. This city could be scary on one's first go-around. Things were always disappearing.

Zeke jogged towards the Kelvic in distress, who was now sitting down looking puzzled, gently pushing pedestrians out of the way, as one had to do in such a crowded environment. He came to a stop in front of the wolf, tapping his foot lightly on the ground and regarding the Kelvic with a quizzical eye.
"D'you need some assistance, mate?"

[Misu Aoki]

Misu looked up at the man who had stopped in front of him and was rather surprised. The man had on very odd clothes, bright and colourful and spotted with paint. His blue coat had many different pockets with completely random things in them. The strange man's black hair fell around his face in a way that must have been fairly annoying.

Although odd and a little crazy looking, Misu was unable to find the slightest trace of bad will in the man.

The Kelvic stood when the man asked if he needed assistance. Yes. Yes I do. I would like to know where I am and what is going on. Misu remembered that he was still in animal form so answering the man, other than howling, was out of the question. But above all, I would like to find a place where I can transform back.

Transforming back in the middle of the street would not be the best idea. This may have been the City of Illusions but humans were still not accustomed to seeing naked sixteen year olds just walking around.

[Ruzekiel Soren]

The wolf howled adamantly, attempting to stand up. Yup, this was definitely a Kelvic, and it was trying to talk to Zeke. It must have lost its way and needed a place to change into its human form. Steel and Jade always went behind a tree to change because they of course couldn’t wear clothes as wolves, so they were naked when they changed back. Then again, Granite and Snowdrift had no such restrictions, but they were in the forest then, no one but family to bear witness to blatant familial nakedness.

Now the wolf and he were in the middle of a busy street full of non-Kelvics who were looking at the odd pair curiously. Zeke looked around for a moment and then thought of the perfect place to direct the young wolf to.
“Allright, quit yer yapping, kid, I get you,” he said, gently tugging on the wolf’s fur to direct it north down the crowded street.
“Come on, follow me. I know a place where you can change. Do you have some clothes to get into?...Well, I’ll find you some when we get to the Wolf’s Cave, I’m sure Micah won’t mind helping out a fellow. Do have a place to stay for the night?”

Zeke was a babbler, and he babbled as he led the Kelvic down the narrow, winding and confusing side streets of the city, abruptly turning when the usual turn had shifted and become brick or a portal to another dimension. He babbled as he elbowed people to get them to move and strode through the markets, snitching an apple on the way. He ceased his babble to take a huge bite out of it as they walked leisurely towards a cave-like complex that had an old wooden sign hanging creakily from the main doorway. He turned on his heel and announced,

“Here we are! The Wolf’s Cave! A perfect respite for Kelvics. We’ll just strut in, get you a room and some clothes and you can change in there, savvy?” his voice was a bit garbled through the mouthful of apple, but still understandable. Zeke took one last bite and threw the half-core into the street, where a hungry group of rats converged on the fruit. It was here that he wondered if the wolf was actually a Kelvic, because if not, he was done for. Or a crazy person, but he had suspected that for a while so it was manageable. Getting mauled by an actual wolf, however, was not.

[Misu Aoki]

Although unable to speak, the man seemed to understand what Misu was implying. He tugged at the wolf's fur and told him to follow.
He also said an array of other things that the Kelvic didn't pick up. Something about clothes and a wolf's cave.

Misu picked up with things and went after the strange man, who was still muttering away about something. He took fast confident steps, it was obvious that he knew his way around the ever changing City of Illusions which made Misu feel more at ease. They travelled down narrow, winding paths, took sharp turns and pushed through markets that were packed with people. The sounds and smells almost unbearable. People were constantly bumping into him and stepping on his paws, and he wondered how could they have not seen the rather large wolf? Surely he wasn't invisible.

The man picked up an apple and began eating; the fruit silenced him for a moment.

Up ahead, Misu saw a building that strongly resembled a cave. A sign hung above the door. This is where they stopped, the odd man saying through a mouthful of apple, “Here we are! The Wolf’s Cave! A perfect respite for Kelvics. We’ll just strut in, get you a room and some clothes and you can change in there, savvy?”
He then threw the apple away, it was devoured almost instantly by a pack of rats.

Ah. I see. Not a wolf's cave, The Wolf's Cave.

The man hesitated, probably thinking over the situation. Misu stepped up to the door and scratched it a few times.

[Ruzekiel Soren]

The wolf whined and scratched at the door impatiently. Zeke sighed.
“What am I thinking, of course you’re a Kelvic. Silly, silly Zeke,” he muttered, rapping smartly on the thick wooden planks. It swung open to reveal a beautiful blonde-haired woman. She smiled widely and ushered Zeke in. “You were supposed to be here an hour ago,” she chided. Then she saw Misu in his wolf form, and her eyes widened in recognition. “Oh,” she said, “Is this-?”
“Yes he is! He needs a place to stay,” Zeke replied cheerily.
“My dear Micah, if your brother could perhaps lend the poor fellow some clothes?”
“Korin is out at the cistern right now, but I’m sure I can find something for you,” Micah said, addressing Misu directly. She then grabbed Zeke by the arm and dragged him to a stool in the middle of the busy cavern. No one seemed to mind seeing a wolf there. They all assumed that he was simply wandering around in his animal form, as Kelvics were wont to do.
“You, play,” Micah said, shoving a lute into Zeke’s hands and then showing the wolf a little adjacent mudroom nearby where he could change, taking some dried out garments (presumably Korin’s) from the firepit and draping them over the wolf’s back so that when he changed, he would have something to wear. Zeke was confined to the stool, but he knew that the Kelvic was in good hands. He started to play, figuring that the wolf would come out to meet him when he was done in the mudroom.

[Misu Aoki]

The door was opened by a kind looking woman, the strange man and blonde-haired women exchanged greetings. The wolf followed the two into the crowded cavern. He looked around the room taking in the new scents and sights, no one seemed to mind him being there.
The women, Micah, showed Misu to a room and placed some items of clothing over his back. The wolf trotted in grateful at having somewhere to change. He figured that these people were quite used to dealing with new comers to their city.

Changing back to his human form took only a few seconds, the boy stretched out his sore muscles and pulled a few sticks from his brown and silver streaked hair. He pulled on the clothes the woman had given him, they were a bit big but the kelvic was used to wearing clothes that didn't fit him. He pushed his hair out of his face, it had grown to a length that was too short to tie back but long enough to get in the way.

Misu walked out of the mudroom, the man from earlier was sitting on a stool playing a lute. The kelivc leant against the wall and waited until the man was finished the song.

[Ruzekiel Soren]

Striking the final few notes of the ballad, Zeke looked up to see a strange, brown-and-silver haired boy leaning against the wall and watching him. It must be that Kelvic in human form. At this realization Zeke stood up to a meager applause and sauntered over to the boy. He took some time to regard his scruffy appearance, the ill-fitting clothing, and the few bits of twig that still clung mercilessly to his hair.
He held out a hand and said brightly, "'Ello mate, I'm Zeke. And you are...?"
After a few moments he set his lute gently next to the stool he'd been perched on and crossed his arms. His blue coat gleamed slightly in the candlelight.
"Well, that can come later. What I really want to know is why you have been trotting about with nary a spare pair of trousers in a big city such as this. Have you been here awhile?" He was a talkative fellow, seemingly unaware of boundaries, and this quality he seemed to flaunt, chittering away like a plump blue mockingbird with the guests and patrons earlier, practically interrogating this boy now, but all in good intention.

[Misu Aoki]

When the strange man finished his song, Misu clapped along with a few other people. He came over and introduced himself. Zeke his name was. Shaking the man's hand the boy answered, “I'm Misu, thanks for helping me”

The kelvic was still trying to figure out whether Zeke was just eccentric or completely insane. But there was a warmth about him, making the man seem harmless enough. Though, his odd coloured clothes were hurting Misu's sensitive eyes.

Running a hand through his hair, discovering a few bits of plant life he had missed before, Misu sighed, “Honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing in this city, I usually just wander around the mountains and forests. My belongings are hidden up in the mountains somewhere, I'll have to find them...” he looked up at Zeke, “What about you? Have you always lived here?”

[Ruzekiel Soren]

Now the boy walked over to him and took the offered hand. Zeke beamed. "I'm Misu, thanks for helping me," the wolf boy said. Zeke chuckled. "No problem at all, mate. The city can be a difficult place for Kelvics," he reflected. At Zeke's question Misu sighed, flicking a spare bit of leaf out of his tangled hair. “Honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing in this city, I usually just wander around the mountains and forests. My belongings are hidden up in the mountains somewhere, I'll have to find them..." at that the boy looked at him curiously. "What about you? Have you always lived here?" Zeke coughed uncomfortably and leaned against a wooden pillar, thinking on Misu's question. "Oh, I've been everywhere, you know? Hard to say if I've ever really lived anywhere. I mean I was born in Avanthal but I..." here he stumbled, to an awkward finish. "I left, see." Well the wolf boy needed to find his clothes, did he? Etienne could help with that. He had a habit of sniffing out and trying to eat one's personal possessions. "I can help you with those pesky belongings," Zeke said, abruptly changing the subject with a smile. "I have a horse out back. With that we can move quicker. If you're up for a search we can leave now."