Closed Kelvic Cats can be Mages?[Nya Winters]

[Clyde Sullins]

2 Fall 512 Once again, Clyde was a bit lost... Really, one would think that after staying as long as he had in Ravok, he would be able to find were he was going. But it seemed even after all of this time, he still got confused and took a misstep. He had been told many times he should get a map, which he had never done. After all, what true citizen of a city did not know its layout, and had to go to a map for directions? He would look like a fool and a foreigner! So he had refused to get one, and he continued to occasionally get lost and end up in the wrong place. Getting stuck and having to backtrack, and taking much longer than he had planned... However, this was not one of those times, were he got lost, at least not in the usual fashion... He was deep in thought, thinking fancy mage things. Well, technically he was trying to think of a better way to glyph a rock, which was about as mundane as his fancy mage thoughts ever got. But in doing so, he had looked up to see he was somewhere, but he had no clue were he had been going! "Petch!" It seemed he had gotten so deep in thought, he had let his feet carry him, and had also forgotten were he was going in the first place. He had just gone in a circuit of the same route twice, and only now realized he had no destination in mind. And try as he might, he could not recall were he had been heading. He was fairly certain it was somewhere he needed to go. But he could not recall where. So Clyde took a few moments to curse under his breath, and knock his staff against a wall once, as he looked around, trying to see if he could spot were he was going... Wherever the petch he had been going. He nearly knocked into one person as he turned around looking, who cursed back at him before continuing on. He really should look were he was going, as he backed up another step, away from were he had nearly collided with the man.

[Nya Winters]

In other times she would have killed him, hunting him like she did. The flesh of men tasted fine on her tongue and she'd used their bodies many a time to sustain herself. But these days she was well fed, fat even, compared to how she was when she came out of the prison. Living in a wealthy household did that. Food flowed like water and had fleshed out the big cat's body even to the point her hair had regrown, thicker and more luxurious than ever.

But still she went out barefoot, collarless, and in only a slaves thin shift. It came down mid-thigh and covered nothing less and nothing more than her torso. It was dyed a dark color, the washwoman having grown tired of cleaning stains out of her play things as she called them. Playthings indeed. Nya was no child. She wasn't even human. And the big cat inside of her itched to hunt, even if it was forbidden.

So she picked random strangers and followed them. As she did so, she began to salivate, sometimes even pant, her heartrate came up, and the big cat trapped inside of her felt useful again. By the second bell, it was almost purring with contentment. And as long as she did not blood the kill and turn life into death, she stayed out of trouble. Nya wanted no more trouble, not now, not in Ravok.

She moved from shadow to shadow, slipping close to a fence and darting out into the dock which served as streets along Ravok's narrow waterways. She kept him close, close enough to smell and to puzzle over his mutterings. And slowly but surely she noticed a pattern. It was a circular pattern. He was lost, very lost, and the forest cat knew it.

Nya increased her pace, pulling even with him, tired of the game. She move fluidly, like a streamlined dark fish in a silver sea. She neither joined him nor spoke to him causally, but instead she pulled up alongside him, hesitating, looking at him with bright moss green eyes. There was power in her gaze when she finally uttered a sound after she met his eyes and held them to her own. Compulsion, the need to talk, "...tell her everything", his brain whispered as she asked..."Why are you walking in circles? Where did you actually mean to go." She said, her voice pitched low, husky, almost like an animals would be - the growl of a dog or a cat - the tone of a predator.

Forest Cats were naturally hypnotic. When they actually trained in the artform, it was a thing of beauty to behold.

[Clyde Sullins]

Honestly, considering were he was, Clyde was not paying nearly as much attention as he should have. He had left Rye at him today, so had no guard dog to alert him to anyone approaching... Which was probably stupid... Perhaps him leaving the dog at home had something to do with his destination. But as he stood there with his staff in hand, he could not recall... Were the petch had he been going? But as he fought to recall the fact, he was distracted. Perhaps that was part of why he did what he did, answering her question. He had been startled by it, and had just answered instinctively... That was it... Surely that was it. If he had more time to collect himself, and had not been surprised by it, he would not have answered. As his eyes met a woman's, he was oddly drawn to stare back into them... Then he felt a tingle... Or at least, that was how his auristics sense interpreted it... A tingle on the back of his neck, as something brushed against the edge of his aura... Which most likely meant magic. But he was in the middle of a street, it could be anyone, or any kind of magic. He had no idea what the magic was on him, or from who, only simply that there was magic at work, targeted at him. Any more would recall his conscious effort, much more than could be told by such a passive detection. He did notice something about the woman... She was going around barefooted... And she was barely wearing anything... Only a thin little bit of cloth to cover her modesty... Which in Ravok most likely meant slave... But for some odd reason she going around barefooted, which made him think for a moment of Kyra, who also loved to go around without shoes on. "I do not recall... I forgot were I was going... And my feet just carried me along, without purpose. I only just realized that." It was odd though. He knew that there was magic in effect around him, or even on him... Which at other times would have made him hesitate to answer until he had found the source. But it just felt right to answer her question... He did not put two and two together though, the connection between answering the question, and the shiver down his spine in the auristic sense. At least not yet. After he answered, a real shiver went down his spine compulsively, going down his neck and into his back. He looked at the woman, wondering who she was, and why she was asking him questions. Had she been sent by someone? "Can I help you? Did you need something?" He asked, a bit of a confused look on his face, as he puzzled through the actions that had just taken place, and tried to sort them all out...

[Nya Winters]

The girl blinked, breaking eye contact with him. Unlike other hypnotists, Nya's true flare came through eye contact. Hunters in Taldera would always warn never to stare a Forest Cat in the eyes. They'd invite you into their mouths and you'd walk forward without even a second thought. But the girl was fat because flesh covered her skeleton now, her well fed form soft once more, not starved in a sheath of skin covering only bones. And she was only curious. These walks, these stolen bits of time, her only recourse from her day to day life as a bodyguard to a spoiled child with no merit of his own in Nya's eyes.

The kelvic had no need to lie. In fact the concept alluded her most of the time. "I was following you. You walk in circles. Someone is going to steal your coin and your clothing and cut your heart out while you stare about yourself muttering. And you seem to gentle of a person to let that happen. You should not be out alone at this hour, or at any hour. The streets are dangerous. Big predators walk their channels and paddle on their waters. Don't you feel them all around you?" She asked, her moss green eyes locking with his once more.

Dangerous. It is dangerous here. You should not be alone.

Her eyes held him in their liquid green pools. They spoke of ancient trees hundreds of feet tall draped with moss that was softer than a baby's round bottom. Staring into her eyes, if he concentrated, he could smell the scent of a talderian forest, its redwood and cedar behemoths infusing his senses with their scent.

She broke her gaze again, releasing him, not interested in toying with her food. He wasn't prey anyhow. She was just curious. A breeze where none existed came up suddenly, toyed with her hair, and the girl absently swatted at it. Sharp words filled his ears, breaking him out of the memory of forest that was not his own. "Not now. Later. I'll play later." She said, swatting at the invisible again as something very clearly tugged her hair painfully. She growled, snapped at the invisible thing, and then she smiled at him.

"They say a storm is coming in. A good one. And they want me to gather the winds to tame it. I have no desire to help this city at all. It is a cesspool but the stormgems bring a fair price, no matter who sells them." She added, as a breeze circled him now, tugging at his clothing and playfully yanking his hair.

Nya growled again, and it was gone, just like that.

She then tilted her head, glanced at the sky, and shook her mane of brindled dark hair. "No, I need nothing. You cannot help. I was just walking. Just like you. Only I did not forget my destination. I had none. Maybe I came out because of the storm. The beach where it will hit will make a good one now, I suppose." She said, seemingly trying to decide to talk to him further or go find where the storm would hit land.

[Clyde Sullins]

For some odd reason, he felt something offsetting about her eyes... He could not place it exactly, but it just seemed... Off... They seemed to deep, or some such thing, and seemed to almost draw him in... An odd quality for a slave to have... If nothing else, she was an interesting enigma, a puzzle to sort out and solve. He was interested to hear her say though that she had been following him. Not necessarily that she had, but that she just came out and said it. Most would have at least been a bit more subtle about it, or lied. But the odd thing was, he believed her. It did not make sense to say it, if it was a lie... Though if she was telling the truth, then why was she following him? Spying maybe? Who would want to know of what he was doing? The Stryfe perhaps? Didn't they have people of their own for that? Clyde just smiled at her words. Was she concerned for his well being? "You should not make assumptions, just on appearances. They can fool you. I assure you, I am more than I seem outwardly. People here no better than to do that, to try and rob or attack me. Most anyways. They learned their lessons previously. And those who are good enough to really do damage, well I would have no hope of evading them even if I stayed at home in my room, if they really wanted me." For what came to mind was the Stryfe. If they were really after him for some reason, there would be no were he could hide. Nothing he could do. Not if they wanted him. Hopefully not dead. And any other mundane little thief or bandit? Some petty little cut purse? They had likely seen what he could do, or heard tale of it, and knew to steer clear of him. He had shown enough demonstrations of what he could do, to scare the rest off but good. "Perhaps I am not a predator like the ones you speak of, but neither am I a simple little prey. I am my own unique little thing. And if I have to, I can defend myself, though I prefer to avoid such scenarios. And defend myself I certainly do, with flare." He smiled a bit to himself, at his own play on words... Flare, as in exuberance and flashiness... And flare as in flame, like his reimancy... Yeah perhaps it was not that funny after all... As he squared eyes with her, the sudden odd feeling came over him again, and he was reminded of things, which he did not quite recall seeing before... He could almost smell the scent of them from the memory it was so intense, but he could not place it as a place he had been. He was certainly starting to grow suspicious... Was it perhaps to do with this girl? Now that he thought of it, that girl had been there when he felt the tingle, had been looking him in the eyes... And there it was again... Was perhaps she the source? If so, how did a slave have magic? That really did not make sense. Her next words confused him, was she crazy, talking to herself? But he himself was in touch with arcane forces others could not see... Had himself argued with the whispered urges in his skull telling him to do things, urging him on... On second thought, it did not seem to different from that, what was going on here... But was she crazy, or seeing some thing his senses could not? If so, surely some magic was afoot. He did notice the air... It was... Pulling at him? If he did not know better, he would think she was using air reimancy, similar to how he could, but she seemed to not be doing anything discernibly... If nothing else it got his interest more than ever. Now he was sure some kind of magic was going on... And she was either a very high level reimancer, who could somehow cloak her res from being visible as his was... Or she was doing this some other way... Or perhaps it was being done to her? Though the word Stormgem did catch in his head. Had he heard that before? It sounded vaguely familiar... "A stormgem? Now why does that sound familiar... What exactly is that, or does it do? You say it is something that people buy? It does sound intriguing..." He was interested in what she was saying... It sounded almost like she was going to do some magical procedure, something involving this 'stormgem', whatever that was... And it involved a storm? But him being a mage, he wanted to see it, always wanting to increase his knowledge. "Perhaps I could come along, and see this 'stormgem' at work? Or however it goes? I promise i will not be a burden. I might even be of use."