Two Wrongs and a Right (Tinnok)

[Licearsvansan]

. . ......... My journey is my destination. . . . .

Spring 513, day 43

It was a good day. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the slightly humid spring air was uncharacteristically warm. Svan had woken up in the morning to the sight of a light dew spread thin over the jungle plants. No bugs were in his clothes, no horrible beast was nipping at his toes, and Svan could have sworn that he had seen a rainbow in the distance. Best of all was that even the normally vicious tiger kelvic, Samantha, greeted Svan in an unusually friendly manner this morning. Even Kiyeri, the Myrian outcast, seemed to be in better spirits towards the rattler. It was simply a perfect day.


Was...

Then the bird came. A phirebird to be exact, the very same type of bird that had tricked Svan off a cliff once before, and had ambushed him en masse at another time. He tried not to mind it. He must have told himself a hundred times that the bird was just another random member of its species, and not the specific one that had assaulted Svan twice before. He paced back and forth for minutes with the bird watching patiently the entire time, but finally Svan could ignore it no longer and he attempted to shoo it away. It worked, but only for a time.

Before Svan could really be satisfied at having reclaimed his good day, he was hit on the head by a rock. He first believed it to be one of his companions playing a joke on him, but as he looked to his surroundings he could find no one. Steadily he looked up, praying that it was simply some trick of nature that had tossed up the rock, but to his dismay he found something much worse. No sooner had he looked up than was struck straight in the face by--well--the other thing birds tend to drop. The good day was officially over.

The next half a bell Svan spent chasing after the bird. While Svan had no gnosis that allowed him to speak the bird's language, he was still able to clearly hear the bird laughing at him as they wove their way through the dense forest. The phirebird gracefully dived and spun through the thick mess of branches like a small fireball. Svan on the other hand, had left grace to rot at least one mile back and was climbing through the tree branches with savage morphed claws. He quite clumsy and had fallen to the ground several times, much to the amusement of the bird, but he was also undeniably relentless in his pursuit. Unfortunately, all the willpower in the world couldn't save him from being outsmarted. Svan wasn't quite sure how it had happened, nor did he know how the bird learnd the trick it had just pulled off. But after chasing the bird through a series of loops, the snake now found himself tied in a knot and unable to move. There was one thing that was very clear though. The one hundred year old Dhani had just been beaten by a glorified crow. He might have committed suicide right then and there if only he had the power to do so.

Upon realizing what he had done, Svan attempted to untangle himself. However, as he attempted to pull back his body a crushing feeling began to fill his chest as his own tail literally squeezed the life out of him. With a gasp Svan pulled back forward and took a moment to assess his situation. Maybe if I just loosen the coil a little. An audible popping sound was made as the snake's coil pressed into the back of his elbow. He gritted his teeth and let out a whimper as he expected to be hit with a rush of pain. Luckily for Svan, the pop was nothing more than the sound of a joint adjusting to the stress, but the threat of breaking his arm was very real. Okay Svan, lets not break anything just yet. There has to be a way out of this. Unfortunately, there wasn't. After trying for several minutes to free himself Svan had run out of ideas. He had heard of things like this before, strange diseases could make a snake literally tie itself into a knot it couldn't escape on its own, but never before had he actually witnessed such an unfortunate thing. It was supposed to be something that only happened in bad children's stories, and the drunken tales of overconfident warriors. But here he was, tied up in a knot around branches and himself with his mortal enemy pecking rhythmically at his head.

Svan turned to the bird and stare upside down at it. "I suppose you want an apology?"

The phirebird cocked its head from side to side as if to say "maybe"

"I don't see why I should be the one apologizing. I'm not the one who started this. In fact I was perfectly happy until you had to come and show you petching fa-" The bird began picking incessantly at the brille over Svan's eye. Instinctively the dhani shook his head to keep the creature from his eye. "Hey! Stop that! Petch it, I just shed my skin two days ago. If you ruin that scale I will have to wait forever to get a new one!" Looking out from a damaged brille was in every way as annoying as looking through damaged glasses for Svan. Fortunately fo the snake, the bird relented after a few moments and Svan was able to regain his composure. "Okay fine, you win" Svan was sure the bird had just shrugged a "naturally" to him. "So now that you and me are buddy-buddy do you think you can help me out? Yes? Okay then listen, you know where miss fuzzy face is right? The tiger woman, I want you to go get her and bring her sorry fur keister over here as fast as your little red wings can carry you." The bird gave an unreadable stare to Svan. "Hey what are you waiting for, get going. I know you can understand me. You aren't that d-" Svan stopped himself before he could finish that last word. It was wise not to belittle the intelligence of the creature that had just run circles around him. With out any further instruction the bird took off deep into the forest. Still hanging upside down, the brown scaled dhani watched as the bird disappeared amongst the trees before finally letting out a heavy sigh, "Gods, Samantha won't ever let me live this one down...and neither will that bird."

However, what Svan failed to notice was that the bird did not head back towards Samantha, but rather it headed off in a different direction to a different person. Specifically, to a certain Phylonurists.

[Tinnok]

The abomination sat in the lower branches of a large tree, inspecting a section of rotted bark upon the trunk of the great jungle plant. The rot wasn't yet deep enough to be of worry to the plant, but Tinnok knew little of plant infections, and as such was worrying over the spot, pulling away dead sections. The tree seemed healthy enough, and it took her a bell or so before finding the source of the problem: termites.

Despite her gift, telling termites to uproot their home and move was easier said than done. Tinnok picked up the creatures, swarms and droves covering her arms and legs, crawling up her neck and a couple entering her ears. Her skin itched like no one's business, but she managed to drop down from the tree without squashing any of her passengers as she began to search the woods for a more appropriate home for her little burrowing friends.

She did not have to travel far to find a large tree that had been felled perhaps during the Djed storm of the previous spring. Placing both palms along the bark she knew the tree was well and truly dead, for it was silent to her gifts, and the termites used her appendages as ramps, crawling down onto the tree. It was lucky that this colony was fairly new, or she wouldn't have stood a chance carrying them all. Perhaps they would move to another living entity once this one had been broken down, but for now...the tree would be able to restore it's wood and harden its bark after a few seasons, ensuring its continued health.

Shaking a couple of the stray insects from her body, Tinnok turned to see a creature flying through the forest towards her. At first she thought it was a black bird, then a swallow, then a wood pecker. It's wings shone like fire with every flap, and eventually she settled on the fact that she did not know the identity of the creature, it was not a bird of this kind of jungle for sure.

It landed promptly upon her shoulder and grabbed her ear in its beak, pulling hard. Tinnok gasped in pain. "Oy little friend, what's the idea?"

As her flesh touched the bird's beak swift and free flowing images and colors surged through her consciousness. She glimpsed flashes of lands outside of this jungle, far away over plains and mountains, she glimpsed a figure, male, and other birds of the same species. Then she saw as the jungle became her own. The bird was content here, it seemed to like the abundance of food and enjoy bullying other birds, even those larger in size than it. Tinnok chuckled as an image of the Phirebird chasing Tinamou over the ground flashed through her mind.

But her smile froze at the next series of images, a Dhani caught in the trees...twisted around itself...caught. A Constrictor traveling alone was a strange thing, they knew better. She sent images back of evil snakes that ripped apart birds and murdered her people but the phirebird just deflected these thoughts, as if this was of no concern to it. It sent feelings of playfulness and annoyance with the strange snake man it had followed, and Tinnok was suddenly met with the very real thought that this Dhani...was not from this place.

"Will you lead the way friend?"

The bird gave a nip at the skin of her neck and flew off through the trees. Tinnok sprinted off through the foliage. What snake would be so stupid to catch itself in its own tail anyway? Were Dhani outside of Zinrah and the Wilds not as bright?

When she reached the trees, the Phirebird soaring up and landing on a branch some distance away from the Dhani, Tinnok growled. Her longbow in hand she pulled an arrow from her quiver, drew and aimed at the Dhani. Realizing he probably didn't know Myrian, Tinnok was forced to use her broken common when she spoke.

"Tell me one thing why or I should kill the Dhani now." It didn't make much sense...but the idea behind the threat was still there, and the snake would be able to see the arrow pointed for him. In truth this was the perfect setting for her to take a Dhani one on one.

[Licearsvansan]

Svan wasn't sure what hurt most. The crushing feeling of his ribs as they were pressed into his vitals, or the crushing disappointment of seeing the phirebird returning with a random Myrian.

Due to his thermal sight, Svan had been able to see the Myrian approaching before he could even see her with his actual eyes. Believing the approaching figure to be Samantha, Svan had braced himself for the ridicule of a lifetime. What he was not prepared for was the readied bow of a Myrian warrior. It took a full 5 seconds for Svan's mind to actually realize his misfortune. In that time he had made a series of confused grunts and stammers to both the woman and bird. Once his brain began functioning properly again the snake immediately turned to the bird and whispered harshly in his native tounge, "You petching shyke-stain! Does that LOOK like a tiger to you?! No, thats a Myrian you featherbrained bastard. They don't help dhani, they make SHOES out of em! Why in the name of Caiyha would she be willing to help me?" Assuming Svan was confused about the Myrian, the bird leapt up on Svan's head and pecked his eye once before pointing to Tinnok.

Lazily Svan lifted his head and scanned the woman's face. Had he eyelids he would have gone bug-eyed when he realized just what she was. She was not only a Myrian but part Dhani as well. "A Constrictor too?! Just perfect, I always worried I would die a quick painless death. Thank you for making sure that my murderer has a torture fetish too! Remind me, why did I think you would actually help me?!" Unable to understand The dhani language the bird simply gave Svan a confused look, and took off into the jungle canopy. "Get back down here and face me like a man! I demand a rematch! If she kills me I swear to every god I will haunt your feathered butt to Syliras and back! And I-"

The snake cut his rant short upon the realization that he had ignored the Myrian. Svan's head snapped back to the dark haired woman and spoke in common once again, "I'm sorry, I forgot you were still there...what did you say earlier?" It took a special kind of stupid to forget the person who was currently threatening your life. " Never mind, You said...'Tell me one thing....why or...I should kill th-' Gods woman, is this your first time speaking the common language or what?! I understand that you people like to kill stuff, but you didn't have to butcher language as well!" Svan shook his head and made a tsk tsk sound. He was really in no place to criticize her, but he had never been able to hold his tongue very well when he was in a poor mood. "Okay so why shouldn't you kill me. Well snake-eyes, that is a very good question and it deserves a very good answer. I of course have an answer, but I feel compelled to adjust the wording so that I can properly respond with an equally...good answer." Svan was obviously stumped. Had she been a pure blooded Myrian he could make up facts and claim to be on her side, and if she was only a Dhani he could easily claim that he was one of several members of the rattler clan here to aid the Dhani against the Myrians. Unfortunately, without knowing her alignment Svan wasn't able to decide which excuse might save him and which would bring him a slow painful death. Just as he was about to take the side of the dhani, Svan noticed the gnosis mark on her shoulder and an excuse shot into his snake head.

"You shouldn't kill me because you are a phylonurist, which means you hug trees! So do I, I mean just look at how hard I'm hugging this tree. Its like I'm practically stuck." Svan smiled and added a poorly faked laugh. Smooooth. If I get any slicker I'll be as slippery as a hunk of unpolished granite. He said to himself sarcastically. Back in the nest, Svan was such a skilled liar that he once convinced a man to willingly swallow a burning lump of coal. Sadly, it seemed that the years of seclusion and soul crushing loneliness had taken the edge off of Svan's ability to improvise lies so easily. Now that he had likely offended her he needed to come up with something else to say. Working like lightning he produced the most cunning sentence his mind could create, "And I'm a snake, and killing animals is bad!"

Oh nice save brain, I'm sure THAT will convince her. Svan would have tried to say something else, but he was already too busy saying his last prayers.

[Tinnok]

This creature was like no Dhani she had ever met. Her arms quaked with fear of what would happen if the thing managed to untangle itself, but then when it began shouting...it was yelling at the bird not at her. First anger surged through her person at being ignored. Didn't he see that she was the real threat here, not the avian?

Slowly he turned back to her, she saw neither fear nor defiance in his gaze, just surprise...and was that annoyance? Then he began to rant about her misuse of common...

She drew the bowstring back about an inch father than it should have gone, and an echoing twang reverberated through the forest as an arrow was loosed from the long bow, settling in between a few overlapping coils of his tail. Damnit, I wanted to hit him....

After that he began stuttering about why she shouldn't kill him, an Tinnok's mood went from fear and anger....to one of disgust.

What idiot, Dhani, tie their own tail then cry like baby to birds?" She said with contempt, spitting upon the ground. "You like mewling babe."

She slid her longbow over her shoulder, and the phire bird returned to her shoulder, pecking at her ear again, though this time the Phylonurist didn't react, for she was focused on something he said. "You know witches, snake?"

She curled up her nose. "Just because you child of snake mother, not mean you....what word...child of Caiyha." She threw up her hand.

"Better I leave you, let real Dhani find babe in tree. They have fun methinks." And briskly she began walking away. As she did so the bird grasped onto one of her earrings and tugged...hard. Crying out the phylonuirst shooed the bird away, but it continued attacking her. Confusion and annoyance swept through her at the gall of the bird, and she watched as it sent her images of the Dhani, how it clearly wasn't like its brethren, which Tinnok could tell quite readily...

She watched as it flew back up the tree, once more striking him upon the head and scratched the back of her neck. It was clear the bird wanted her to save him...but it went against every fiber of the half breed's being to do so...

[Licearsvansan]

A baby?! At least I'm petching literate! Svan was practically fuming. Shooting at him was one thing, that could be forgiven. But the earth would sooner split than he allow himself to be insulted by a creature that was so meek that it had shaking in fear only moments before. "I dare you to untie me and see if you have the petching snake eggs to say that to my face you miserable half-breed." Svan growled quietly to himself. His gaze was fierce but he did his best to keep his hateful thoughts to himself as she continued.

"You know witches, snake?" She made a face at him and he fought off the urge to break his arm in half just to escape and beat the sneer right off her face. "Just because you child of snake mother, not mean you....what word...child of Caiyha. Better I leave you, let real Dhani find babe in tree. They have fun methinks."

Svan had murder in his eyes as he watched the woman turn to walk away only to be assaulted by the phirebird. Svan made a grimly satisfied smile as he watched the bird harry the Myrian. He wondered if he was lucky enough to have his two current most hated people in Mizahar kill each other in front of him. Sadly Svan's dreams were left unfulfilled as the bird flew back to peck at his head once again.

Svan shook his head once to shoo the bird and turned so that his cold eyes rested on Tinnok's. Humor had left Svan's voice and it was filled with nothing more than rage at the woman for belittling him. He had suffered enough from full-blooded dhani mocking him in the past, he wasn't about to let a half-blood do the same so easily. "Do I know of witches? Yes I know of witches, in fact I've been trying to become one myself lately. In fact I've learned a fair bit about the goddess in my travels. For example, I know well that we Dhani aren't the children of Caiyha, but we are her grandchildren. No matter how misguided some members of our race may be we still share her blood. And yes I said our race you fire tempered cur, just because you can't shift like a pure blooded Dhani doesn't make you any less a monster than I. So don't you DARE think you have the right to judge me as a villain until you cut out your own scaly throat!" Svan was half certain what he was doing would get him killed, but he had failed to appeal to her sense of decency so he was left little choice. "Oh, and here's another fun fact from the world beyond the trees. Not all Dhani are actually murderous beasts! Some of us would rather serve our grandmother instead of Siku. In fact there's a whole petching NEST of us bastards sitting at Caiyha's doorstep to the north. Its a little place called the Spires, ever heard of it dumbshyke? Or have you been too busy shooting everything with a pulse that you never bothered to actually learn more about your goddess." The snake hissed loudly at the woman and weaved his head rhythmically as he spoke. With each insult he ducked forward as if trying to deliver a bite with his venomous words. His gaze seemed like one of steel, and Svan acted as if even the threat of death was meaningless to him.

However, his body betrayed the strength of his words. With his blood flowing faster due to his rage, Svan was quickly growing light headed as the blood that got pumped to his skull struggled to to keep flowing. He felt dizzy, as if he had spent the entire day hanging by his feet. By the time Svan finished speaking, he was breathing heavily and there was a sickly look to him.

"And... and.... Gods, if you don't stop spinning I'll throw up." Somewhere a phirebird was laughing its tail feathers off at Svan's now obvious misery.

[Tinnok]

She had certainly never met a Dhani like him. As he spewed his words, most of which she got, she took a deep breath in through her nose, releasing it out of her mouth. At the idea of Dhani serving Caiyha over Siku she almost choked, but kept her composure. Had he ever lived in Zinrah? Had he been there in the cave with that Priestess and her cult? After living with the Dhani as the Myrians had, with little to no knowledge of the outside, would he see his race any differently?

But that did not matter. She glanced up and spat. "Stop moving, you cut off own tail at that rate."

She made a big show of lowering her bow and quiver, then began to climb up the tree, slowly. The phirebird watched curiously from his perch upon the Dhani's neck, and Tinnok smirked at the coy creature. "This bird follow you from lands away? Is good sign you in tune with Caiyha."

As she approached the massive set of coils in the tree, her lips became pursed. He had knotted himself up good. Both sides of her now, Dhani and Myrian, shouted that this was the wrong idea, that he was just going to murder her with bare hands once she was done. So then what side was telling her to help him? Perhaps Caiyha had led her this way for a reason. Now more than ever she needed stewards of her land. Would it be so bad for her to help a potential?

Then an image flashed through her head of a fang of Myrians coming through the wilds, glancing up to see the half breed already despised, freeing a Dhani from its own stupidity. They would shoot the both of them without a second glance. Her Goddesses never seemed to tire of testing her will...

Grimacing slightly Tinnok crawled gently over the coils, bare feet not distributing much weight as her hands lifted her up on higher branches, sweeping over the the knotted side of the Dhani's body, and noticing the appendage on the end of his tail. She gestured to it. "What Dhani are you to have this?"

Then she examined the coils. It was much like figuring out a knot in a fishing line, save much larger, she watched as his muscles beneath the scales roiled and pulsed as he tried to escape, not for the first time thinking of how much power a full blooded Dhani commanded, and how weak to him she must seem in comparison. She shook the thought from her head. Right, grandchild of Caiyha, you pull here..." She gestured to a thick coil. "I'll push here, we'll see if it work."

She took a deep breath, wondering if her life was soon about to end with the freeing of the Dhani, and then shoved the full amount of her weight against one of his coils, arms straining with the effort.

[Licearsvansan]

Svan was going insane from the lack of blood flowing to his head. He had to be because there was no other explanation he could think of that would explain why the Myrian was helping him. He told himself that he was going delusional, dreaming at best. Even so, there was a slight possibility that he had somehow convinced the Myrian that he was a good person with his frankly insulting rant. Not wanting to dissuade her from freeing him should he not not be dreaming right now, Svan shut his mouth and remained silent so that the woman could act.

He watched cautiously as the woman put down her weapon and breathed a small sigh of release as they touched the ground. Without her ranged weaponry she posed a much less significant threat to Svan. Still he tensed up as she climbed the tree to him, and only once she spoke about the phirebird did he let his guard fall. he had little choice really, it was fairly difficult to remain focused on defending ones self when you were busy stifling a laugh. This bird is a sign of how in tune I am with Caiyha huh? Well the only sign I'm getting is that she hates my guts. While the bird had certainly helped Svan get out of this mess, it was also the creature that had got him in it in the first place. That, and Svan had the suspicion that the bird had led the Myrian here not to help him, but to finish him off.

Svan's sensitive scales allowed him to feel every movement the woman made over him, and more than once he winced in fear as her foot hovered over a stop that could be break something if pressed. Aside from the brief bolts of fear, Svan could feel something else. While he couldn't place it exactly, it seemed as if the woman was nervous. Whether she feared him or some other grisly fate he knew knot, but after surveying his tangled body for a bit she broke the tense silence and inquired about his rattler. Head still swimming Svan barely managed the few words that came from his mouth, "Explain soon, forest dancing too much" The snake groaned as his vision blurred and the ground below him bounced in and out of focus. Just wonderful, now I talking like a Myrian...

Finally the Myrian finished solving the puzzled of Svan's knotted body and ordered him to pull as she pushed. Svan opened his mouth to repeat what she had said, but before he could utter a word he felt her push and one of his bones begin to give way. Instinctively the snake pulled the coil that she had pointed to earlier and Svan's body unfolded with a pop. And then a crash.

Branches smashed against the snakes body as he plummeted through the trees. In his confused state he had forgotten to take hold of something once his body was unlocked, and so now he was headed on an express route to the ground. He reached out the grab a tree limb to stop his fall, only managed to slow it since the branches were too weak to sustain his weight. Realizing that hitting the ground was certain Svan kicked his legs over his head, and towards the ground so that he broke his fall by sitting into it. Unfortunately Svan lacked both the coordination and the legs to do such a feat, and so his attempt to right himself only ended with him sailing his tail over his head not once but twice to preform an impressive mid-air somersault before landing face first into the soil below.

The snake lay unmoving as if dead for half a chime before it finally manage to recollect its consciousness. With a whining moan the snake rolled onto its back and lifted its arm to give the Myrian an "okay" signal. He wished he was human right now so that he could close his eyes and trick himself to sleep. Still, he also realized that even slowed, only a Dhani's sturdy frame could have allowed him to walk from such a fall in one piece. His hand went to massage his snake neck and he silently reminded himself to thank Siku for giving him so much more flexibility than a human. Had he been in his weaker for his skull would have likely been rolling around a few feet away. After some time to recuperate from his fall, the Dhani lifted himself back up and looked to the Myrian and shouted, "My name is Licearsvansan, or just Svan if you would rather save your breath." The snake looked around to the sides to check if there was anything to fear nearby. Seeing nothing he turned his attention back to the half-breed. "I can't tell you how much I owe you for helping me out. I doubt I will get the chance to return the favor by untangling you from a tree so how about I pay you back in a different way. You were curious about my tail right? Tell you what, come down here and I will tell you anything you want to know."

A well meaning Svan gave the woman a large friendly smile. A large friendly smile with four razor-sharp six inch teeth lining it.

[Tinnok]

It was much easier than she thought it would be, this whole process of untangling the snake, and she couldn't help but chuckle in amusement as he tumbled out of the tree onto the ground, eyes lit up. the phirebird cackled as well, and the witch and creature had a nice little chuckle. What Dhani was so callous to people who could help, yet seemed almost entirely unconcerned with the danger she posed, and seemed not to desire any violence in return? At least...after the initial insults anyway.

She swiftly curbed her almost...joy? No that couldn't be it. This was a dangerous situation dammit, even if the danger wasn't posed by this snake, there were plenty of other sentient life roaming the jungles that wanted her head. She crouched int he tree and leapt out onto an outlying branch, much more able to handle her lighter weight than the Dhani's. Swinging back and forth a couple times to gain momentum she acted the part of large monkey, lowering herself gradually through the tree before letting go and landing upon the hard earth tumbling down. She retrieved her longbow and quiver, sliding them over her back, and turned to...Svan?

"Svan is good, never understand snake names."

She leaned against the tree trunk, body a bit stiff to this whole...chatting with Dhani thing. "Dhani here, not have that thing on end of tail. Where you from?"

Then a series of other questions came at once connected from this. "How you survive in jungle, not found by Myrian or Dhani? Why here in first place? Where bird come from? What you call bird?"

Not normally the questioning type she stopped, rather embarrassed. "Sorrys. Not sure why...care." An excellent question in and of itself. Why did she care? All instincts told her to leave the petching creature in the woods and let him have fun with the rest of his short life. But she was curious as well. If he was not a Constrictor, why was he here and for what purpose?

[Licearsvansan]

Svan coiled his tail beneath him and sat on it like a cushion as the questions rained on. As soon as she stopped to take a breath Svan held up his hand to stop the onslaught. "Okay wow, hold up. Head still spinning here." Svan moved his hand to cup his head and tried to recall the first question.

"Lets see here...I'm going to assume the only dhani you have witnessed up until now have been my lovely cousins known as the Constrictors right?" Svan spoke of the constrictors with a hint of disdain lining his voice. "Well if that's the case I can't say I blame you for trying to kebob me." Svan glanced up towards the arrow still lodged in the tree, and chucked lightly. It was strange for him to be so calm when there was Myrian standing across from him, but he had trouble believing she had any ill intentions against him. She had already given up the most advantageous position she would ever get on him, and each moment that passed renewed Svan's strength even further. Happy with his renewed feeling of security Svan smiled at the woman as he continued. "What you know about Dhani is only a part of the whole. In truth there are actually three different types of us, and each has its own customs and quirks. Unfortunately, what this tends to translate into is that the dhani have managed to stuff three divisively different methods of being homicidal bastards all into one incredibly lethal race. You almost have to give Siku some credit. She may be a horribly cruel sadist, but when it comes to making a super powerful race of psychopaths she goes for quality." Svan breathed out heavily. He had mixed feelings regarding Siku. She was a mother to all the Dhani and supposedly very protective of those close to her, but Svan disliked her pointless cruelty and felt that she might one day snuff him out to save face for the Dhani race.

As I was saying, there are three kinds of us. The Constrictors, the Vipers, and the Rattlers. I'm the last one, a Rattler Dhani, named so because of this little charm on my tail. " The snake lifted the tip of his tail up to make a point. "Not only does it allow me to make a rattling noise loud enough to wake the dead, it also can cave a skull in with one good swing." Svan gave the woman a teasing smile as he mentioned his lethality. "Aside from that and a somewhat flat head there my kind is pretty much the middle ground between a Viper and a Constrictor. As for where I'm from? Well I guess I owe you a bit of honestly. I've never actually seen the Spires myself, I only heard of it from another man who visited it. I was born in the Nothern Dhani nest, a home for all chaos loving Rattlers. To spare you my life story it will be suffice to say that I did not fit in amongst my somewhat more homicidal brethren, and so I left in order to grow closer to Caiyha."

The snake paused his story for a moment to check his surroundings. While he didn't believe he had much to fear from this woman, he was not so foolish to believe that all Myrians would be so kind as to listen to his story before killing him. Seeing no immediate danger Svan continued. "18 years later I find myself traveling with a Myrian and a tiger Kelvic through the jungles on my way to Lhavit. Don't ask me about the Myrian, we just met her and I know little about her aside from the fact that she hates my guts. Thank the gods that snakes don't close their eyes when they sleep...As for how I've survived this long? Well there isn't much that can threaten a Dhani, a tigress, and a Myrian together. Anything that can, we can usually avoid." Svan relaxed his back against a tree and stared up at the phirebird. His expression was one of distaste. "Lastly, that bird is no friend of mine. Each time we meet I end up nearly dying. The petcher once made me fall off a cliff! The other time that beast got a gang of its little friends together and tried to peck my eyes out. And what do I call it? Nothing that's what! That thing is no bird of Caiyha, it is a creature born straight from Rhysol himself." Svan folded his arms as he finished and shot the bird a glare.

"So anything confuse you, or did you get all that?" Svan had a few questions he wanted to ask as well but he could save those until she was ready.

[Tinnok]

It was a lot to take in. Tinnok knew vaguely of Dhani outside of the jungle, but she had always assumed that all were constrictors, just escaping Zinrah because of the tight grip Myrians had upon the cave. So he was an entirely different breed. It still did not explain his behavior, however, for as he said, Siku was a sadistic Goddess, and surely this Dhani could have gained no favors from her in shirking his people, even even if she was a daughter of Caiyha.

It was true though...he was smaller than a constrictor now that she thought of it, which meant this third breed...vipers was even smaller? Strange.

Her lips twitched slightly as he mentioned the bird. "No, I mean what bird called, not what you call bird...its...how you say? Breed? It not from my jungle." She said somewhat possessively. To claim the jungle as her own was quite the point of pride for the Half breed.

So he came to the jungle to get closer to Caiyha...she mused upon this for a moment. It was a good place to do it, in fact, for it was said that this was the place of respite in which Caiyha dwelled. Not surprisingly as tropical forests housed the most life per square mile of any region on Mizahar, it would naturally be more comfortable for the Goddess who had created the creatures and plant matter that sprung from the Semele's realm.

At the idea of another Myrian...and Kelvic traveling with Svan her body stiffened somewhat. Despite the fact that any full blooded Myrian who kept Dhani for company meant that she had potentially more problems than Tinnok, still meant the potential of the news of the phylonurist consorting with Dhani of any kind getting back to Taloba, a grave issue indeed. "Where your...companions...now?" She asked cautiously.

The Dhani part of her cared little for Taloban politics, and frankly Tinnok as a whole would rather avoid them, but she had responsibilities to both of her patron Goddesses, and she was not so willing to forsake Myri because she happened to help an exceedingly odd Dhani out of a strange situation. The slower and more calculating part of her mind was already beginning to formulate an idea about this...Svan. Curious about the skill set of an entity that had made it this far in the Jungle Wilds.

"I question too much. You have ask for me?" She said, trying to be polite. Part of her was extremely upset that she was being this congenial, but part of her assured herself that there was no point in picking a fight with this creature.