Completed The Blood That Binds (Naomi)

[Vetari Violet]

The 90th Day of Autumn, 512 AV Vetari thumbed through the pages of the old book, bound century and a half before and having passed through numerous hands. Calvino Amaranthus had informed him that the writing of his great grandfather, another great fortune teller, traveler and priest of Viratas, was held between these pages, and that they held some information that he may be interested in. The bibliophile that he was, Vetari could not refuse. Sitting in his tent, cross-legged on the rug with his cards set before him, he began to read. Most of his weekly customers had already come, and those who concerned themselves with divination only once a season had come just after the Watchstones had flared and traded in their hues for those of spring. Though it was now mid-afternoon, the tent was still open to those who might wish to have their fortunes told, as the sign in the front advertised. Carefully turning page over page, he finally came upon the entry. The 15th Day of Spring, 366 AV Having returned from my time abroad, I have come now to illustrate my findings. My most interesting discovery was one taught to me by others of my trade when I visited the Myrian home city of Taldoba; a method concerning divination by blood. Vetari’s gasp was audible. Divination by blood? he thought to himself. Is such a thing possible? Is it right by Viratas? The next passage answered his questions. I have adapted their method to be more suitable to my gift, as Viratas has graced me with my third mark upon dedicating my discovery to him. Instead of spilling the blood, as the Myrians practice is to observe the patterns the drops of blood make, I instead have chosen to drink the blood as I attune myself with the person I am reading. The knowledge their blood gives me allows me to reach beyond the now and see what their life holds for them. Speechless. Utterly speechless was what Vetari was. The accounting went on, in detail, to describe a number of readings his grandfather had done and his varying results, as well as what had worked best for him in the past. His methods were methodically written, as if this was not the author's first time recounting his experience. If only Viratas placed his trust in me, then perhaps I might be able to help others more capably. The thought was not without its seductions. Serve Viratas and the people at the same time, without being payed by the church? Though he was happy to volunteer, he had refused money whenever Daratur had offered it to him for his aid. Making a living separate of the church was important to him, though not as important as serving Viratas. For some time now Vetari had been considering giving up Fortune Telling in order to become an acolyte, but this provided him the chance he needed to provide service to the people and his god. All he needed was the first mark of Sakrilov.

[B'Naomi Tomva]

Naomi wandered aimlessly through the Bazaar, stopping to look at interesting shops, some selling cloth, others jewelry, among other things. She did not really feel the need to purchase anything so petty as jewelry, as she already had a few baubles about her as was needed to complete her ruse. She wrinkled her nose at the rank odors coming from deep in the abyss. Those, combined with her perfume was enough to drive her senses mad. Near the edge, she saw a sign that caught her eye; “Fortune Telling” it read. Thank The Bright One that she had learned how to read. Her pupils had not been cat-like slits since she had gotten to Kalinor, giving her vision in the darkness. What did not change was her inhumanly sharp teeth. She walked over to the tent with silent and stepped through the fabric door. Once inside, Naomi saw a man reading an old book, probably much much older than she was. He seemed very concentrated on his work, so she waited a few seconds before asking, “Hello? Are you the fortune teller?” her eyes glowing in the dim light. She looked at the book and saw dates and long passages of text she would be hard pressed to read were it not upside down. She looked up from the book to his head, waiting hopefully for him to answer her.

OOCHey, can you make this thread a flash back, anytime last year is fine. My time in Kalinor is a flashback.

[Vetari Violet]

Vetari nearly jumped out of his robe, having not heard the woman enter. He quickly closed his book, knowing it was bad form to be reading on the job. The woman had spoken to him in the common tongue, which meant she was likely a foreigner. Looking up, her eyes caught his immediately, their glow nearly hypnotizing. None the less, he smiled. "Yes. I'm sorry for ignoring you. Please, sit." His common was shaky, but he spoke it on a regular basis with his customers that did not speak Symenos, his mother tongue. "My name is Vetari," he explained "Vetari of the Violet Web. How can I help you today, miss...?" He waited for a name. Often a name was all a fortune teller needed to divine a broad and relatively inaccurate reading of ones future. Though he was not knowledgeable in that particular practice, he had heard of those that were. Her eyes kept a hold on him, and he was mystified by them. He'd never seen eyes that glowed like that, and all he could think was that they were oddly feline in nature. Perhaps this woman was not human, as she first appeared. Or perhaps she was, but possessed some sort of magic. Either way, Vetari was enthralled.

[B'Naomi Tomva]

“B’Naomi,” she replied, “Just Naomi is fine though.” She was amused by the surprise her entrance had caused the man, prideful at her stealth, even in human form. Vetari had spoke with a foreign accent, but he seemed to have Commen down well. She spoke bits of a few other languages from her travels, but never to the point of fluency. His gaze was focused on her eyes, intrigued, and she held it. He wore a cloak of red, which went well as contrast with his near white hair. She felt a tug deep within her, a strange longing calling out to her. With a grimace, she silenced it. She had yet to discover what kind of strange plight affects her, but she would keep searching for an answer. It was all she could do in the present not to fall to her knees. The pain had grown worse and worse over the past year as she had traveled, like a piece of her soul was gone, and more was being sucked out of her every day. She held up her hand and teased her strange power to produce a gold spark. It danced up her arm, casting a light glow along it. It faded upon reaching her neck. The distraction had taken her mind of the gut wrenching feeling and she could contain it now. She looked at the man sheepishly, completely forgetting he was there. What would he think of her?

[Vetari Violet]

Vetari gasped at the silent display of power that the woman presented him with. He’d never seen anything like it, and he’d seen a lot of people come through that tent flap in his four years of service. This woman possessed some sort of magic, he knew, and he was honored to have her in his tent. He was struck by mixed emotions of fear and curiosity. Perhaps she had come to curse him, or perhaps bless him? Maybe she was a goddess, though he had never heard of any goddess by the name Naomi. She was certainly beautiful enough to be a goddess, and he was surprised she hadn’t already been picked up off the street to be harvested as a surrogate. Or…maybe it was simply a trick of the light. He knew not, but what he did know is that this woman was something special, and she looked pained. Vetari looked concerned. “Please, sit, Naomi. How can I help you today?” He pulled out a kneeling pillow that he had been sitting on and offered it to her. It was warm from his touch, but he didn’t want her to sit on the ground alone. Though the rug helped some, the stony floor still had a tendency of making the knees ache uncomfortably after a while. He sat again, cross legged, waiting to hear what services he could perform for the very special woman who sat before him.

OOCJust to let you know, the common tongue is called Common, not English. Not a big deal, but just for future reference.

Also, what is the power that she's harnessing? I see no magic skills in your CS...

.

[B'Naomi Tomva]

Naomi gathered from Vetari’s quick intake of breath, that yes, he had noticed her partially shift and quick display of sparks. He now was in a state of awe, looking her up and down as if she was something special. Well she was, after all, tigers are a most magnificent sight to behold. You would think he had never met a Kelvic before. She could smell fear off of him, a fear of the unknown, a primal fear of human races. She gave him a dazzling smile to reassure him that she was harmless, or at the very least, meant him no ill will. He offered her his pillow, and she nodded, taking it and placing it beneath her. She was very grateful, though she did not want to appear weak at the hands of a hard floor. The grasses and soft dirt carpet she much prefered over this gripless stone. She felt a pang of homesickness for her forrest. “Well, I was wondering if you could tell me my future. I want to know if good times are ahead or ones I should flee from,” Naomi explained, looking at Vetari with hopeful eyes. Knowing what would happen to her would be very handy, maybe he would even be able to tell her if she would get out of Kalinor without a hitch. That would be good news indeed, as the question was constantly banging at the back of her skull. Oh, he would probably want some sort of payment. She had mizas, but where was the fun in that? Maybe she could offer him something else, knowledge perhaps. He did not look like he got around outside much, or at all, and he did not seem to know hardly anything about Kelvics. Yes, information is power, and money buys power, so by all means wouldn’t knowledge be worth something?

OOCSorry! Forgot about the common thing. I edited my post. Naomi is just messing with her shifting power by wanting to shift, then instantly changing her mind, causing only a few sparks to appear and then fade quickly. She did it to create a spark to distract her from the pain. Cats are distracted by shiny things

[Vetari Violet]

Her request to have her fortune told came as a surprise to him. Surely a creature of such power could know their own futures? Or, perhaps, she was lost. Or maybe all of her power was simply a trick of the light. Until he had reason to believe otherwise, that was what he told himself. She was special, that much was true, but she couldn’t be magical. “If…if it isn’t impolite…what are you? You seem human enough to me but your eyes glow and your teeth…” He’d only just then noticed the size and shape of her teeth. They truly were predatory in nature. He shook his head “Please, don’t take my curiosity as insult…I simply have never met a woman like you before.” He frowned as soon as he finished saying the words. That sounds like you’re romantically inclined towards her he chided himself in his mind. She may be beautiful, but she’s a customer. We can’t have her getting the wrong idea before we do any business at all.He cleared his throat. “Apologies if that sounded...flowery,” he said. The pauses between words were accented with hand movements. Being flustered and mystified by this woman and speaking in a tongue he was unfamiliar with stewed together and put him at a loss for words. He’d sometimes have to search to find the right ones. “I don’t mean to be too forward.” But, by Viratas, she was beautiful.

[B'Naomi Tomva]

Naomi answered Vetari's question with a barely noticable twinge of anoyance, "What am I? I am a Kelvic, a creature the forrest. To not upset you, and so I can speak commen, I have chosen this form. Though to truely know what I am, I would have to shift. I will, if you so wish it." Was he trying to come flatter her? If so, it was working. She let out an involentary purr of contentment, coming from deep within her chest. She decided she did not mind this spider-twoleg, and if it came to it, would not eat him, at first. Plus, venom makes meat taste bad. Flowery? Bah, nothing about this place had had anything to do with plesent smelling plant life, exept her perfume, let alone his complement. "If you were being forward, I shall think nothing of it. Most humans react to me this way, though I would not know why. I look like them, mostly, and talk like them, so why should I be different?" Naomi realising that she had been rambling, looked into his eyes instead of flitting them around the room, and so, not wanting to press her trouble onto him, said, "Hmm, no matter. Now how about that fortune? Or do you want me to show you what I am first?" She examined the room and mumbled, "I think it's big enough. Well, one way to find out!" People suprise themselves with the amount their faces contort when a tiger suddenly apears in the room.

[Vetari Violet]

Vetari thought a moment. Kelvic. I’ve heard that word before. He couldn’t remember what it meant for the life of him. The lady spoke of ‘choosing this form’ in order to remain acceptable. He wondered what she meant, and was about to ask a moment before she showed him. Vetari had never seen a beast so strange. Orange and black, with a white underbelly and toes. It stood on four legs, and fluffy fur that looked thicker than any fur he’d ever seen. He recognized the featured as feline within a moment, and had a hard time wrapping his brain around the concept. Naomi had said this was her true form, and that the humanoid form was one she had chosen to be decent. That meant that she was an animal that could become human? This woman truly was something special. After his initial shock, Vetari’s features relaxed to those of gentle wonderment. “You’re very beautiful…” He reached out with a hand, unsure if petting the woman was acceptable or not. He’d seen a great number of animals in his time, and a good deal of cats, but none this big. He wondered if big cats still liked to get pet. “I can tell you take good care of your…pelt.” He really wasn’t sure how to deal with this woman. He hadn’t expected anything of her nature to walk into his tent today, or any day for that matter! He wasn’t sure how Kelvic culture worked, if there was any sort of polite gestures he should be observing, or social norms that would make her more comfortable. And, by Viratas, her clothes had torn all over the floor. His jaw dropped as he noticed, and hoped that, when she changed back, she would be willing to accept his robes to wear until she bought some new ones.

[B'Naomi Tomva]

Naomi stretched, arching her back and giving a large yawn. Being a tiger again after almost a week felt so good! It was a shame about her cloths though, she would have to buy more of them. There were not completely worn, only at the seams, due to her weakening them so she could Shift at a moment’s notice. Vertari put his hand on her head and complimented her beauty once again. The petting was quite demanding for her, as she was not some filthy dog pet, but it felt good all the same, so she tolerated it. She nuzzled her forehead into his hand, her ears going to either side. She snorted at his next remark, a quick exhalation of air, of course she had a good pelt, she made sure of that. Also, hair condition seemed to carry over from one form to another. Her tail batted back and forth, seeming to have a mind of its own. Her head came up to a half a foot above his waist, she was an average sized tiger. Naomi thought that petting time was over, and it was an inconvenience that she could not communicate to the man in a language he could understand. Surprisingly few people can speak Feline. Her body erupted in a flow of golden flakes, emitting quite a glow. The tiger was gone, and in its place was her human form, a red haired girl. Ventari’s hand was pushed off her head during the Shift, and she was now standing nude before him. “Now you know what I am, impressive, no? Ah, being a tiger feels good! You should try it sometime,” she said with a smirk, her eyes glinting in the night. Her hair flowed around her face as she knelt to pick up her ripped clothes. She collected them into a bundle, and tucked it into her pack near the entrance. She also secured a small shiv into her hair, as her twin daggers were in the midst of the clothing pile.