Completed A Jaunt Through the City of Bones (Nightly)

[Tinnok]

A Jaunt Through the City of Bones
2nd of Summer, 513 AV

She woke suddenly, unsure of where she was, and suddenly aware of a pulsating warmth to her side. She rotated slowly, memories from the previous day slowly eeking back into her mind. Yellow eyes fluttered opened, and she espied the jaguar, sleeping comfortably, folded up into the side of her bare body. She assessed this position for a moment. It was already getting hot again, so the warmth was a bit much, but it wasn't as if she had been complaining the night previously. The half breed slowly slid her way from the Kelvics form and slid out of the mouth of the cave, grabbing her rucksack with the stag tines attached and stretching as she entered the small clearing around the cave. She was as naked as her name day, but out here in Caiyha's realm, it hardly seemed to matter.

That being said, she wanted to go to Taloba today and that would require at least some clothes if she didnt want the attention of the entire city upon her.

She walked around the perimeter of the clearing, feet sinking into damp ground and getting mud between her toes as she walked, waiting for the jaguar to wake as she searched for tracks.

She was waiting for him? The thought was nearly instinctual. She sighed to herself, but Tinnok knew she couldn't just leave him to half starve in the jungle. He needed to learn more.

[Nightly]

Dreams were not something he had, colors however were. While sleeping Nightly was treated to a light show of colors flashing moving and ebbing like a heartbeat. It was all he ever dreamed, and it might have been a god sent thing; or perhaps not. Dreams helped lead you, helped you to learn at times. Without dreams he never slept deeply, it was as if he treaded sleep on his back then dived into it.

As Tinnok left, he slowly became aware of a missing warmth and fading scent. Puzzled he opened his eyes and looked to see his sleeping companion gone. With a sudden jolt of fear he woke up and sprang to his feet. Such a quick start wasn’t pleasant but already he was searching for a sign of struggle or blood and when he found nothing he hurried out of the den. There she was, just walking around.

All the fight suddenly taken out of him, Nightly slumped. It was an odd thing for a cat to do, his shoulders hunching and head hanging down. For a bit he sat there and watched her, before he walked to her and just wound himself around her like a tamed house cat. He looked up at her and turned his ears to the side; silently scolding her for scaring him as she did.

With a sneeze he made sure was against her skin, he sprang away and shifted. “You scared me.” His golden eyes went to her bag he spotted for the first time. Tilting his head he looked at her with a surprising clear look of pain. “You were going to leave?” He sounded like a lost child as he spoke; his eyes widening as if he might actually cry. Not something a cat could do, but in this skin it was possible.

[Tinnok]

Tinnok watched the jaguar hop out of the cave, looking sullen for reasons unknown to her. She was still unsure or not if she should be way of the affections the jaguar bestowed upon her. He may not have been even half as large as a Myrian Tiger, but one chomp of those jaws could take a solid chunk out of her leg.

When he transformed Tinnok's question was answered, and she smirked. "Can't leave a jaguar who doesn't even know how to hunt." The phrase reminded her of her bow, left inside the cave with her quiver of arrows and wet clothing.

She marched back. All her clothes were damp, but they would have become so in the humidity, so she slipped on clothing enough to hide her unmentionables and make it so that her bow string didn't rub uncomfortably against skin as she slung it over her person, quiver following.

Basic dressing done, Tinnok began to walk from the clearing, listening to the sounds of birds waking and the humming of insects grow louder, glancing towards Nightly. "I was thinking we need to get you more food, then we can find your things...I am not sure where they are, and head to Taloba to sell these antlers. How about it?"

She was of course open to any suggestions the Kelvic had on the matter, but at present he seemed to be a very malleable companion, so for now she began trudging through the dense and watery undergrowth listening for signs of potential prey.

[Nightly]

It took a minute, but then he visibly perked up as it was affirmed she was not leaving. “I can to hunt,” he looked away from her, mumbling the last part. “Just not so good.” He felt really tiny next to Tinnok; she could do anything, she had magic and one day turn into him. That seemed odd. Watching her move back to the den he leaned to the side to watch her only to topple over to the ground.

Scrambling he got up and looked around to be sure nothing saw that; then casually brushed himself off as Tinnok came back out wearing those skin and the stick thing. He had forgotten about such things, even her bag was hard to remember; such odd things to have to remember. Hiving himself another useless brush he trotted after her as she left the clearing.

“Food is good.” Nodding absently, he got a dazed look at the thought of the city. “My stuff, it’s in a tree, I know the one.” Least he thought he did, they were all different yet all the same all at once. “Sell, what is sell? Will you gift them?” He did not know what gift was either, but at least she had used that word before. He paid no mind to the matter of soggy ground, now firmly thinking of food.

For a second he wondered about the dead deer, but then he recalled Tinnok seemed very against bugs and birds. It would surely be covered in them now. “What food are you looking to find now? Will it be more deer?” He did not think they would find those, not with a dead one lying around somewhere. Those flights prey seemed to be scared of blood of all sort, one smell and they ran.

He lifted his head, searching for a prey scent; but it was hard to tell. Rain had washed all the smells away, but now it smelled of still water already. “Oh, do not drink the puddles that are green,” he positively chirped the bit of advice. That had been something he learned after a few days of being sick, not just once.

[Tinnok]

"Selling?" She repeated. She realized all of these concepts would be moot to a creature who seemed to thinking hunting, sleeping, and eating comprised what life was. She couldn't look very far down on this philosophy of course, she simply made money off of her hunting, and apart from that her life had very little to separate it from Nightly's. But that was part of the problem, wasn't it?

"Myrians need objects, we do not have fur to cover us, nor claws to use as weapons, nor good eyes or good noses. We usually don't eat food raw, so we must cook it, and most seek shelter over their heads, trophies of their conquests like skulls, more weapons, scalps. When you put these things together it makes for more objects than one can sort through. So I will sell my antlers so I can get other objects I need, like food I cannot easily find in the jungle, or more knives for my collection, better arrows...gifts are things you give without need of something in return, selling is wanting to get something back."

She wondered if her words meant anything to him, but smiled, she rarely talked this much, and no less to teach ideas that most beings knew implicitly.

Tinnok suddenly stopped was peering at the ground in concentration. Rain had a tendency of washing away tracks and scents, just as the jaguar knew who was treading behind her, but rain also brought out creatures who simply loved the water. When he asked about the deer Tinnok's face lit up.

"Not deer...but peccary." She knew he might not know the pigs by that name, but she was sure he would know them by smell when they found them.

"Part of being a good hunter is knowing what kind of prey will be where, and at what times. Do you know of the pigs that roll in muk, have coarse fur and smell?"

She looked at him curiously.

[Nightly]

Nightly just blinked at her as his question was repeated. Maybe she didn’t know what it was either. It seemed strange to him how humans had so many different things to do and all of them seemed so strange the more he learned of it. Yet she knew, she seemed to know everything he could think to ask; and as he explained Nightly looked at her as if she were mad.

“What is the point of these trophy’s? A skull is not useful in the least.” He did not know what a scalp was, but with everything else, seemed just as useless to him. “All these things, seems strange.” He wondered what food could be had that was not from here. There was a lot of food here, more than he could hope to eat or count. Why want more from somewhere else? Then there were gifts and selling.

He sighed but stopped short from running into Tinnok as she suddenly stilled. Looking to her, he followed her gaze to the ground, looking for what she was seeing’ but it looked like the ground to him. Stepping closer so he could better see the ground; but it was still only just a ground. “Peccary,” he repeated, trying to think of what the name could mean; but Tinnok explained without him needing to ask.

The dirt eaters, he wrinkled his nose and gave himself a shake of distaste. “I know of those, but not really where. They go everywhere.” He wondered if Tinnok would really eat one of those things. “There was a few of them by the river, but that was a while ago.” He rubbed the heel of hand against his head, trying to think where they might go.

It was hard since he never thought of them as food. Their smell was not a nice one and the noise they made. Giving a small shiver he started walking to where he had last seen the beasts. “Their dangerous, and smell horrid, and make so much noise.” He hopped over a log without so much of a pause. “Shouldn’t be too hard to find them.” If he remembered right, there was one with large upward teeth; a big boar.

[Tinnok]

Tinnok shrugged. "You have no need for objects, but when you a life that has always used them...it becomes more difficult to go without.

She straightened and nodded sagely. "The males can be dangerous, yes, but usually only during rutting. Pigs are scared of you, more so than you of them, unless you corner one of the big male boars...they are more clever than deer or birds, but this is the right time of day and the perfect weather for wallowing in mud, don't you think?"

She grinned and started forward. There was mud everywhere, and soon her legs were coated with the substance, but it felt cool and nice where the jungle was hot and sticky, also keeping away bugs. Tinnok grasped some with her fingers and streaked it through her hair, around her scalp and ears so it would dry and create a barrier for further bug attacks around her sensitive areas.

She slid a dagger out of her belt, flipping it absentmindedly in her hand. It helped to have cold steel in your hand to stay alert, she had found, and she was practicing catching it by the tip of the blade, something that happened about 50% of the time. 15% of the time she got small nicks upon her flesh, tiny white scars marking the fact that she had been playing this game for some time.

The knife stopped and slid into her sheath to be replaced by her bow when she heard a loud squeal echo through the jungle. Plants were crushed underfoot, the half breed thinking someone else had gotten to her prey before she had.

She was wrong.

The pigs were wallowing contentedly, squealing for their own pleasure if nothing else, and Tinnok felt somewhat like a male stepping into a cool spring filled with naked females. The pigs were silence looking at her, she looking at them, both hunter and prey caught at their own game.

And then that instant was gone and the pigs were off, dashing faster than those stumpy legs should have carried them, careening through the brush.

"NIGHTLY!" She screamed, kneeling in the freshly tilled muk to notch and arrow and aim it toward the fleeing rumps.

Mere moments and they'd be gone for good, perhaps the jaguar would be able to catch them, but she sure as Dira couldn't. She couldn't be patient, not with this shot, found a fleeing bit of mud spattered grey fur, aimed and loosed. The shot was strong, but not well aimed, it stuck ineffectually into the trunk of a nearby tree and Tinnok cursed, slamming the ground with her fist, which only resulted in sending a fine spray of mud onto her face.

Well...perhaps the cat would have more luck...

[Nightly]

Nightly just nodded, he did not think he would understand the need for objects just because someone told him why they wanted them. It would just be one of those things, a small list that was growing steadily larger. He coughed, or made a sound as if he did. He did not think they were clever, he had seen one run into a tree and fight it. “I have never watched them, just looked when I past them. They never seemed worth a glance.” Even he had his limits for what he ate, and mud covered things were at that limit.

Still he followed her willingly enough, without having much else to do it would have been silly just to leave. He watched her with the mud his nose wrinkling and lips curling from his teeth. “That was just gross.” Mud was steadily climbing his own legs; and he wasn’t very happy. Being dirty was one thing; willingly walking then smearing it on you was a whole other.

He wasn’t paying attention to anything, his mind wandering at the sticky mud clinging to him and how horrid it would be to get this off his fur later. Never mind that he was in a human skin now; he learned from trial and error that it was near impossible to lick one’s self clean in this skin. He caught the flash of the tossed blade and tensed, but all Tinnok did was play with it.

He was so busy watching her, and his nose filled with mud; the pigs scream came as a surprise and he jerked bodily back from it only to stop and stare in surprise at the amount of them. When they suddenly ran Nightly shifted; instinctively wanting to case which ran from him. Tinnok screamed his name and fell but he was racing forward already.

He shied from a thump sound and tripped. With a yowl he slid across mud and wet plants. He was thankful that there were no trees and he kept going forward, as he did he managed to right himself and lunged after one of the pigs. He felt a happy thrill as his claws sank into the pigs hide; and surprised when it spun around and hit him along his ribs.

In pain Nightly snarled and struck at the pigs head with quick swats. House cats sometimes did it, to dogs or people. It was light but fast hits that caught and tore at the skin. In this case he caught the beast’s eyes but the pig was stupid from pain and anger and charged right toward the cat. For his part, Nightly jumped to the side and with a snap his jaws closed around the pigs head and its skull crushed with a clip in his mouth. Letting the prize go he took off in pursuit of the others.

He was much faster than the foul smelling brutes and soon caught up. He wanted to grab another but then thought of something better. A trade, if he got something to, maybe he could sell it? He sped forward and pounced; landing not on an adult’ but a piglet. He was very careful as he did, the small beast cried but he ignored it; opening his mouth he roared to be sure its mother didn’t turn back for it. When none came for the baby, he picked it up in his mouth and started to trot back to Tinnok.

If antlers could be sold, maybe a small pig could be sold; lots of soft tender meat. The piglet squirmed and jerked but Nightly held it loosely; his tongue pressed up to hold the baby animal off his teeth. As he reached back to the clearing, he lifted his head and nearly pranced toward Tinnok; feeling smug that he had gotten the kills this time and now he had something to sell; maybe. The tiny animal jerked and Nightly was tempted to simply bite down on it but held back, barely.

((( Woops! All fixed now; so sorry. Next time I will be sure to look up the name if I don't get what it is. >< I really never knew there was more then one wild pig. )))

[Tinnok]

She heard a squeal cut off and smiled. She knew a good kill when she heard it, and it seemed Nightly had had far more luck than she when trying to get the pigs.

She rose from the muck, slinging the bow over her back with a sigh at her own impatience and lack of skill, then pushed away the leaves and branches in her path, starting forward to see what he had gotten.

And to her surprise, found the jaguar, looking quite pleased with himself carrying the squirming piglet like a mother cat might carry her cub by the nape of the neck.

She knelt to be on level with the large cat as he trotted happily towards her, and held out her hands for the squirming piglet.

As soon as its flailing feet touched her hands she knew she had made a mistake. Fear, and knowledge of the piglets imminent death were clearly on the infant's mind, flashes of its fleeing mother disappearing into the thick jungle echoed in her skull, with an acute sense of terror at the monster carrying it in its jaws. The half breed recoiled from the creature with a start, trying to ascertain the change in Nightly's behavior, as she tried to collect her thoughts. She had heard of cats playing with their prey, but this seemed unduly cruel, and her tone was harsher then she meant when she finally spoke.

"What are we going to do with this one, then? Make a small side of ribs?"

She saw the corpse of another peccary not far off and sighed, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...I'm just mad I missed my shot is all." She gestured to the tree with her arrow sticking out of it, and made her way to the dead peccary, taking out her knife as she began to take off the rough hide. She glanced at Nightly, who still have the piglet hanging from his jaws and gestured him over.

"Come on, we need to get some meat on those bones of yours. I'll calm the piglet and you can eat."

When he brought over the baby peccary to the witch, it did calm noticeably. Already prepared for the fear, this time, Tinnok took the infant into her arms, scratching it behind the ears and sending soothing thoughts of cool mud and warm milk from its mother. Exhausted as it was, it didn't take long to soothe the little thing into a fitful sleep, which Tinnok was grateful for, as it stopped the surge of strange thoughts flowing into her mind from the Nura.

[Nightly]

Nightly lifted his head ready to drop the baby animal in Tinnoks hand, but when she jerked away from him then snapped; Nightly flinched and dropped down growling. His lips pulled up and he readied to run or fight, her strange reaction doing nothing but confusing him. He watched her warily, barely even glanced to the arrow; not wanting to let his gaze wonder from her.

He didn’t understand. Her comment seemed to be angry he had a baby; but what was the difference between a baby or an adult? This one had been the slowest, and the smallest of the group; it would have died at some point and for now it was alive. He stepped closer to her, and did give her the piglet but he backed away hurriedly and made no move toward the food.

Instead sitting some ways away, he shifted. “Why did you get mad, what if I had killed it? You eat that one, but not the one in your hands?” He was crouched, not sitting fully so if need be he could spring away from her. “It is slow and foolish; it couldn’t keep up with the rest of the litter so I took it, one day something else would have.” He tapped his fingers on the ground, not happy in the least. The only thing between the dead one by Tinnoks feet and the one in her hand; was age. He could not think of anything else that would make her mad over one and not the other.

He was somewhat sullen as well, he was proud to have gotten the adult and the piglet; he had wanted something to take to the city as Tinnok brought the antlers; but it seemed he had done something wrong but he could foresee nothing in what he did was wrong. His own mind rambling along with what he had asked out loud; Nightly growled. In a human throat it wasn’t as impressive as it normally could be but it served his purpose to show his current agitation.

"If I had just killed it would you have been happier?" He looked at Tinnok again, his golden eyes showing no clashing emotions; they didn't belong to a human and the anger in them didn't either.