Gotcha! (Nightly)

[Tinnok]

The claws were gone well before she reached the ground, her magic energy having waned from the exertion of putting them upon her hands and feet. She saw the Kelvic scrutinizing her, trying to figure her out, and she smiled as he asked his questions.

"Its because of the gift Caiyha gave me." It was strange to think that he probably knew little...or nothing of Caiyha. But Dhani worshiped her like Siku, surely someone had taught him of the Goddess of Flora and fauna. Regardless she twisted her shoulder to show him the intricate marking upon her shoulder, then grunted as his body slammed into hers.

She knew a creatures smell could solve problems hers could not. She pressed lightly against his head, shoving him gently away and giving him a good scratching behind his ears. "I don't think you'll figure this one out with smell, cat."

She chuckled.

"That claws are a magic I know little about. It is probably the same to how you shift and change, you know your cat and human form just like breathing and eating, for us...we have to learn to shift very slowly. Which is why I just start with claws for now to climb. She paused, making sure he was still listening before she continued.

"See this?" Again she showed the jaguar the strange Gnosis mark, this time is face was right there to see it. If he looked carefully he could see the image move upon her flesh, birds perched up high in branches and a shadowy cat lurking in the darkness at the base.

"This was given to me by Caiyha, she is the mother of all plants and animals, and watches over us all, protecting her land. She gave me this, and it makes it so the creatures of the jungle know I will not harm them, unless I need to eat or hunt."

She continued scratching his soft fur, wondering if he understood.

[Nightly]

She was right of course, Nightly knew nothing of that name and even more he didn’t understand what a gift was. Even if she were to explain this, he would not believe her. In his world there was nothing you got for free. A rabbit might cost you the whole day; the sticky sweet stuff would cost you days of pain. Shelter might cost you a fight that you may even lose. There was nothing for free, nothing was ever just given.

He saw the flash of the mark but didn’t pay it mind. It was just a spot, he had many. He missed the intricate design of it in favor of trying to see what cat she smelled of. Having himself pushed away was not part of the plan, and he growled warningly only to suddenly stop and quiver as he was petted. He allowed himself to be moved back, and only gave a huff of disagreement. Scent could tell you anything and everything you would ever need to know.

As Tinnok did that barking sound again, his ears flattened. Magic, he did not know what that was. His skins, he knew what those are; he was born to them; lived with them both. Thanks to the bonding he had separate the two as if they were two halves. His human skin useful only for the noise it could make. It was weak, and he did not like it. While his normal skin let him breath; let him fight and live.

That the human might learn to change skins was both a strange and nice thought all together. If they could change skin, did that mean they were stronger? Why hadn’t the others done so? Looking at the mark he saw tiny little things; but as it wavered on her skin he barred his teeth and his fur stood up. Such a spot was not normal, it didn’t belong.

He would have bit her, would have sprung away had she not kept talking and petting him. A mother, she was not his. This Caiyha was a rat, a sneaking shuffling creature filled with sickness. He moved away from the mark, his fur along his back all standing. That he was being petted didn’t matter in his distress to get the unnatural spot away from him.

He moved so he faced her again; looking at her searching for why she would allow such an unnatural thing on her body. He shifted, not caring he now sat on his knees before her, her hand in his hair. “Get it off, that spot. It’s wrong, it doesn’t belong.” He felt ill at the thought of it, he knew brands. “That one isn’t mother to any, a rat.” His teeth clipped as he said rat, as if they very thought of the creature was filth. “A brand, you are caught and owned. Get it off.” His last words were a growled demand, fear replaced by anger. Anger he understood, anger made things okay.

(( So sorry this took so long! I got a cold and for the first bit it was hard to even get out of bed. I feel a lot better now and I shouldn't be disappearing again. ))

[Tinnok]

oocNo worries!

She sensed the jaguar's distress as it slowly grew. He seemed not to understand her, or Caiyha, and though she comforted him, it didn't help at all.

When he shifted, Tinnok felt strange. Running her fingers through the pelt of a cat seemed almost common place...but running her fingers through the hair of a man implied different things. The fact that the man and the cat were of the same body still didn't remove much from the awkwardness she felt, and her fingers were removed.

As he growled, demanded her to removed the spot...of which she could only assume he meant the mark, her confusion turned into anger, which was spiked when he referred to her mother...as a rat.

Tinnok stood abruptly and slapped the Kelvic square across the face. "I am no slave, Kelvic, I chose to be marked by Caiyha, and if you call her a rat one more time..." She trailed off...what would she do, kill him? That seemed ridiculous...it was just so strange. Dhani and Myrians both could agree on a certain reverence to Caiyha...yet he seemed not to understand her warmth, that she was everywhere, in everything he hunted and every plant beneath his feet.

She turned away. "You are just a child...you do not know her light, but without Caiyha's help...I would surely be dead." It was spoken softly. Tinnok turned back to the fire and collected the stag's antlers, attaching them to her pack, slipping the leaves filled with meat in as well. Her half of the honey comb was left untouched and she turned to leave. She had attempted to befriend one strange Kelvic and it hadn't gone right...why did she expect this to go any better.

[Nightly]

Nightly was unprepared for the strike. His vision turned to stars and his ears thrummed; the whole thing hurt like nothing else. A hit to the head normally wasn’t enough to rattle his brain but such a hit as this was; his skull smaller. Lifting a hand he placed it on the burning skin, confusion and anger making him glare at Tinnok as she demanded she was no slave and that he not call the one a rat.

Sullenly he rubbed his face, not understanding her anger. No mother marked a child; markings were for slaves. Glaring at her he sneered, a look that would have even worked as a cat. “You are the cub. You whine to one you call mother, you take her help and let her mark your flesh. You bind yourself; and no help comes for free.” He watched her leave, sitting unhappily and alone.

Angry hurt and confused he looked at the fire, it didn’t tell him anything. Why could the human not see what she had done? He shivered and touched his ear. Faintly there was a brand, simply the number five. No help ever came for free, and no mark meant freedom. How had she not learned this but call him the cub? A mark meant ownership, no matter how nice the other was; a brand was a brand.

Getting up he grabbed up his and Tinnoks sweet treat. He kicked some dirt on the fire, knowing it burned and would eat the world if not controlled; then hurried after the human. His nose followed the scent of the meat, and he soon caught up. Not sure what to do he hanged his head before going behind her and nudging her hand with his that held the sweet stuff.

He did not know how to say sorry or even that it should be said. Why would one say sorry, it was already done? Instead he offered her both the bits of sticky stuff; food was the most important thing in the world. Nightly chuffed, the sound remarkably the same even as a human. “I will not say that again.” He lacked words to express much of anything; annoyed by his own limitations he gave his whole body a shake as if it would help him dismiss the whole affair.

“Do not be angry, or sad. I will not do it again.” He didn’t understand what it was that had angered her, but whether or not he knew didn’t matter. He would be sure not to do it again. It was easy to remember things not to do after he had done them once.

[Tinnok]

Tinnok was surprised when she heard the sound of the jaguar following her. She reflected back upon the large remains of the stag left to the jungle, but she knew that many scavengers would eat well tonight, and they had her and the Kelvic to thank.

She felt the sticky texture of the honeycomb against her hand and couldn't help but smirk as she took the offered sweet, sliding a large section into her mouth which she chewed on thoughtfully to avoid speaking. He did not say sorry...but he acted just like a chided child who wanted forgiveness.

He merely didn't understand her, that was all, he had said words, she had hit him, but was done was done, something both of them could agree on, if silently. So to his words she nodded, eating the rest of the honey comb as its own sign of forgiveness, still so confused about Kelvic and their minds. She contemplated for a moment, then spoke, spitting out a chunk of beeswax that she didn't care to swallow.

"Did the Dhani ever tell you of their Goddess, Ssiku? She is the daughter of Caiyha and rules over all snakes...surely you must have learned of her if not Caiyha?"

She was curious. How mad was this queen they had given the jaguar cub to? Did he even know of these beings of power, higher than them?

She realized slowly that she was walking back to her hut. It would be a long walk, but one she could make before Syna fell in the sky, and she tried to think of if she should allow the other Kelvic to stay there...Dog would not be pleased, nor that other Kelvic who had the sad eyes and had tried to hug her...but petch both of them, she couldn't turn away the half starved thing...especially after such a tale.

[Nightly]

He hummed to himself as the food was accepted, then just followed along not bothering to shift. He was somewhat amused to watch his ties move as he walked. They didn’t move like paws; but they sort of spread still. Everything was different in this skin, everything seemed muted from colors to smells and sounds.

He looked up from his feet as Tinnok spit, and wondered what the sound was for. Maybe calling another bird. “I have never heard of those names but when the other snakes went near queen and would smell suddenly of salt and call out those names then leave hurriedly.” He rubbed his face absent-mindedly, a pretty bruise starting on his pale skin.

“The snakes never spoke to or touched me; I was given food and water sometimes but that's all. They were scared of Queen, none wanted to be close.” He knew they were getting closer to the city with each step and wondered what would happen. It came to mind he had never given the little human his name. “My name is Nightly, what’s yours?” He glanced at her, but most of his attention was to the trees around them.

Just because they were getting closer to the city, didn’t make them any safer. He had seen a great large and lumbering animal before. It smelled of mold and moss; its fur even growing it upon its back; but Nightly had not missed the shine of its black claws nor the large teeth as it bit at its own arm. He did not know what that thing was, but he had only seen it once and vowed to stay clear of it from then on.

“Where are you going?” He did not say we, not even sure if she would allow him to follow or not. If it was far, he wanted to get his bag; he did not want to lose his toy. He had other things as well, but it was only the ball he had use for.

[Tinnok]

So he had heard their names...what a strange Dhani that she would be so feared by her predecessors. Tinnok imagined that night in the cave with Eagle, the pale Dhani Priestess with eyes of blood and scales like spoiled milk and shivered. Perhaps not so strange after all.

"Nightly?" She smiled. "That is a nice name. I am..." She paused for a moment. it felt so comfortable to slide out that phrase, her name and her clans, but she realized that soon she would have to forget she had ever carried it...best to start forgetting now...

"My name is Tinnok." She glanced towards where she could hear the muffled sounds of Taloba.

"We are going to my hut, it is in the woods, not far from the city."

Not far enough for me...the abomination. She thought to herself. But if Nightly seemed to think her being of two bloods was an advantage and saw no negative qualities of it...it would be hard to explain why precisely she did live outside of the city, away from her brethren...her clan, and any who did not wish to look upon her face.

She walked in silence for a while, the naked Kelvic beside her, not finding the circumstances any odder than the Kelvic himself. Her toes sank into the damp loamy soil, and the sounds of rain beginning to come through the upper canopy echoed from leaf to leaf. The half breed smiled.

"Makutsi brings her rains to water the earth." Just another deity the Kelvic knew naught of. But he would learn, Kelvic learned fast, or so everyone told her. One int he military could learn things in a season that would take other warriors years...but that was due to their short lives, it all evened out in the end.

The rain began to dribble upon their heads, but Tinnok didn't mind. She welcomed the rain, it made the flowers and trees sing with a different sort of life, and created a wonderful percussion to everything she did.

Looking more at the foliage than the ground before her, the half breed stumbled into a large puddle, a surprised frog leaping out and disappearing into the underbrush. After the initial curse at her own folly, Tin laughed. She cleaned off any sticky remains of the honey, and cupped two hand fulls of the muddy liquid throwing it towards Nightly's chest without a second thought, a grin plastered on her face.

[Nightly]

Nightly caught the odd shiver, looking around he deduced it was her own mind bugs making horrid noise. He did not like those. At her compliment to his name he felt suddenly lighter and happier; his head lifting a bit in pride. Then hearing her name after the hesitation, he blinked and nodded. “What does your name mean?” He looked at her with more attention now, letting himself lapse in paying attention to what was around them.

“Queen gave me my name, she said I was black an empty inside and out, like nightmares.” He did not know what a nightmare was, but his tone was pleased as it had been his bonded to name him. It wasn’t much of a name from what he understood; it had no real meaning at all. Queen had simply wanted the name for him, and he took it.

Hearing ‘we’, he visibly perked, his naturally hooded eyes opening wider and gleaming with mischief. “I can see where you live then? I can show you where I do, if that’s okay? I want to get my biting thing. It too is not far from the city.” He wanted his ball if he was going to go somewhere new. Just thinking of it made him want to chew it.

As silence stretched, Nightly once more let his attention go to what was around him, then heard and smelled the rain. Lifting his head he scented the air and made a low deep sound only to give a start as Tinnok said someone had made the rain.

“Humans can make rain?” This was troubling, was he too quick to come here in the midst of them? More and more he was learning today, that he knew near nothing of this world. It seemed more and more of a place to fear then enjoy. As the ground turned damp he found it harder to walk as he sunk into the ground.

Giving a start of surprise he jumped back as both the sight of the frog and Tinnoks curse. Amused that she should walk into standing water he opened his mouth to ask if she was walking with her eyes closed until he suddenly was splashed. Eyes wide he looked at himself then to Tinnok. “Why did you do that?” His nose wrinkled as he brushed at the muddy water. As it all just smeared over his chest and stomach, the tip of his tongue stuck out as if me might try and lick it.

There was no warning but the sudden flash of his eyes as he looked to Tinnok, then he crouched and jumped to tackle her bodily into the water. Revenge, the one thing all cats great and small knew and knew well.

[Tinnok]

Tinnok frowned thoughtfully. My name, I do not think it means anything." She blinked once as Nightly explained the meaning of his own name...just like a Dhani to call something after nightmares. Or perhaps just the mad ones...

She chuckled at his question. "Caiyha is the Goddess of plants and animals, she protects nature and travels Mizahar, healing and punishing those who do not respect her realm. There is a God like her, that watches over the sea, a great blue mass of water, and his name is Laviku, he has a daughter named Makutsi, and while he is God of the Sea, she is Goddess of Rain, and every Summer Myrians hold a festival in her honor to welcome the monsoons she pours on us from above. She is no human, but a God, beings that live forever and watch over us smaller things."

But those words, that story were lost now, forgotten. She had wondered what the Kelvic's reaction would be, his face holding the strange confusion of a creature not used to playing with others (or so she could only assume).

And then the naked body of the male was suddenly atop her. She screeched in a most un-Myrian like fashion, the both of them submersed in the massive pool of water, her head dipping down below only to resurface moments later, coughing and spluttering, and laughing as she slapped her hands on the water and continued splashing Nightly with water. Was this fun? It had been so long since Tinnok had had some...she had forgotten precisely what it felt like.

[Nightly]

All that about gods; what were those another human? He didn’t understand it enough that such power could be had to do things. Yet Tinnok could make claws, which was something to; was that what the gods did? Did that mean he was something like one, or that she was; but that left what a god was and it was and then Tinnok said they were not human. If not human, then what? A snake, were they a tree? Tree’s lived forever and watched them; but tree’s died. All things died, even gods would need to die else how were they anything save a rock, and a rock was not something he wanted to watch him.

It didn’t matter, and he let the question slide in favor of playing. He had never had someone to play with; oh he had his toy and his tail but that was all together a different thing. At her screech his eyes widened and he grew worried when her head went bellow water; but then she was up and splashing at him. He stuck his tongue out, an utter mistake as muddy water dribbled on it from another splash toward him.

Leaping up from Tinnok to escape her water attacks, he promptly grabbed a bunch of leaves and tossed them at her. “There now, I am sure you could hide form anything. You look like the ground.” He stared at her before he smiled with all fangs, looking every bit of a rouge with his gold eyes shining. He had never before smiled and it surprised him enough that it slipped from his face and he moved his jaw to try and unstretch the skin.

He didn’t let it distract him enough to dismiss Tinnok, and he looked back at her and tilted his head back challengingly. “So oh great little hunter; how is it you’re on the ground; and I am not?” He gave his head a shake to send water flying from him like a dog. The rain had sped up, the sky darkening not just from the sun setting. Heavier clouds were rolling in thanks to the heat of the day.

He loved the smell of summer rain, it was a thick and heavy smell, close to a metallic scent. His eyes suddenly widened with fear. “Get up! Up!” He hurried toward her, grabbing the back of shirt to try and help speed her in standing. The sky suddenly flashed with light and the metallic scent grew making Nightly sneeze. Even Tinnok would likely smell it now as the thunder rolled through the clouds.

Rain was fine, but lightening was deadly. It would strike in the jungle but no one would even notice it unless the happen upon a tree that was hit. It was too wet to spread the fire far while it rained so hard, but such a strong smell mean it would strike close. How fast could she run?