A Chance Meeting (Nehsmay)

by **Nidassasyae** on October 13th, 2010, 5:30 pm

1st of Fall of 510 A.V.

Nidassasyae stumbled forwards through the snow, dragging her feet. She didn't know how long she had been walking, the weeks had drifted slowly by. The young kelvic girl was lost.

Her clothing was torn, providing little protection from the bitter cold. Her shoulder wound throbbed, and she was weary beyond comparison. The sun's light glinted off the snow, stinging her eyes, and she lurched forwards, tripping over a hidden rock. Instead of the soft landing in the snow that she had expected, Nidae fell onto a hard stone surface. She cried out, her body aching from the impact.

Then suddenly, the thought occured to her. The ground was so comfortable, she only had to lay her head down and rest, just sleep in it's embrace...

"No!" she hissed, the girl knew what would happen if she slept. Certain death awaited her, she would freeze to death in her sleep. The young kelvic struggled to pull herself up, but her body gave up on her. Anger filled the girl's small frame, anger at the world, at the snow, and at the men who took her family. With a final burst of strength, she managed to yank off what tattered clothing that still clung to her body, and morph into her true form.

With a sigh, the young snow leopard crumpled back to the ground, submitting to the sweet darkness of unconsciousness.

by **Nehsmay** on October 13th, 2010, 6:01 pm

Nehsmay left the city of Avanthal, holding her colt, Shade by its reins and heading towards the wilderness hoping to practice archery once more. Shade was more eager than usual and Nehsmay was having a hard time keeping him in check; however she did not want to mount him yet. She would give him free rein once she was further away from the city.

The girl's mind was elsewhere as she walked through the snow. Autumn made her nostalgic so she didn't mind her way enough to notice the silver form lying in the snow. She tripped over it and fell...

"What the...?" Nehsmay looked around bewildered and saw the snow leopard lying next to her."Shade?" her eyes widened, but soon she dispelled the thought. Shade was larger and his fur shone with a healthy spark. This leopard looked sickly. Foolishly enough she put her hand in the feline's fur and started shacking it. She didn't know what she was trying to do; she just knew that if the large cat remained in the cold much longer it would die. When she retreated her hand she saw blood staining it crimson. The leopard was wounded...

by **Nidassasyae** on October 13th, 2010, 6:26 pm

It was warm and comfortable in the darkness. Nidassasyae wondered why she had not fallen asleep earlier, her shoulder wound and the wracking hunger pangs were gone, replaced by a deliciously soft slumber.

Something interrupted her sleep, and the lovely sensation drifted away. She could hear the wind howl once again, it swept over her fur, reducing her to a furry shivering animal. Nidae gave a pitiful meow, staring up at the one who woke her. The lady shook her again, and an exquisite explosion of pain stabbed at her shoulder. She gave the coughing bark that served as her cry of pain in this form.

Nidae didn't know if she had the energy to transform back into her human form. She supposed that this Lady would want to speak with her in the human tongue, perhaps her animal form was different that Nidae's. Turning, she stuck her head into her discarded pack which lay beside her, nosing objects out of the way until she found the few remaining strips of meat. With one swallow, one of the strips of dear meat had disappeared into her stomach. She had thought to ration out the food, but it seemed that the opportunity called for a rare meal.

With a bit of food in her belly, Nidassasyae began to morph back into her human form. The cold wind bit at her naked flesh, and she grabbed her tattered clothing off the ground. It was too cold to go without clothes.

The bit of food seemed to restore a great amount of energy in Nidassasyae, which she didn't think she possessed. However, she was still weak from blood loss and hunger, and after weakly tugging her cloak around her, asked the Lady weakly, "Who are you?" She was curious, and a bit annoyed with the stranger for having woken her up, regardless of that having saved her life, though her voice conveyed no emotions besides that of profound tiredness.

by **Nehsmay** on October 13th, 2010, 7:26 pm

Nehsmay yelped in surprise as she felt the leopard wake up and move. She backed away a few steps should the animal feel the desire to attack, but relaxed once she saw it start eating a few scraps of meet. Tattered clothes lay on the ground, clothes that Nehsmay had not seen before.

'Maybe the leopard is a Kelvic.' she thought. In that exact moment a white light engulfed the animal and she saw it morph into a young woman with blue marks on her face.

"A Kelvic, just like Shade!" Nehsmay cried out unable to stop herself "A snow leopard Kelvic. By Morwen you must be freezing." she remarked startled as she saw the pitiful state the clothes were in. She quickly fumbled for her blanket in her backpack and handed them to the young woman.

"My name is Nehsmay. You are near my homeland, Avanthal." she gazed at the Kelvic again and wondered whether she would require more food in her sistem before being able to take her somewhere safe. "My mother packed me some food. Would you like some?"

Nehsmay watched the Kelvic with sorrow in her eyes; she had always seen Shade, her friend, into perfect shape therefore seeing this young woman wounded, freezing and hungry was devastating for her. Blood still seemed to be flowing from the Kelvic's wound making Nehsmay wonder whether she would need help from one of the healers. She glanced into the other woman's eyes... they looked so young.

by **Nidassasyae** on October 13th, 2010, 11:25 pm

Nidassasyae looked at Nehsmay in surprise, her icy blue eyes meeting the Lady's red ones. "So, I'm guessing you're not a Kelvic... but you have pretty colored eyes... Are you a Vantha?" she asked curiously, her voice weak with hunger and exhaustion, completely distracted by the woman's red eyes. "I've never seen one before!" the thin girl tried to grin in excitement. After hearing the two strange names, she cocked her head to one side, asking "Who's Shade, or Morwen?"

Her attention snapped to the blanket, and she stared at it hungrily. Thanking the stranger, Nidae wrapped the blanket around herself, sighing with pleasure as warmth crept back into her body.

"Hello Nehsmay, thank you for saving me! I'm Nidassasyae Iskedart, but you can call me Nidae. That's what my sister did." She rambled weakly over her long name, giving Nehsmay another tired smile. Nidae's eyes clouded over when she mentioned her sister, and she looked down, remembering the reason why she was stumbling through the snow. Running away.

"What's Avanthal?" she said, confused by the foreign names and the fact that her savior was a vantha. Never before had she thought she would be rescued by a woman out of her mother's legends! "Oh yes please!" she exclaimed. The energy from the tiny strip of dear meat was swiftly dissolving, and she needed to get food into her system. She wouldn't be able to shift back into her leopard form without some energy. Come to think of it, she wouldn't be able to do anything! All other thoughts vanished from her mind, she was totally focused on the mention of food.

by **Nehsmay** on October 14th, 2010, 12:16 pm

Nehsmay grinned in amusement as she watched the girl ramble, but turned solemn upon seeing her cloudy eyes. Her own eyes changed to a pale blue as she felt the hurt in the young girl's voice that reminded her of her own loss.

"Shade is..." she stopped "... was a friend of mine. He was a snow leopard Kelvic like yourself, though older and probably wiser." Here she smiled a little and her eyes turned golden. "Morwen is our goddess and Queen... she brought us to Mizahar through the Aurora Borealis and our eyes are proof of that fact."

Nehsmay smiled again as she saw the young Kelvic wrap herself tightly in the blanket. "I can lend you my spare cloak if you're still cold." She nodded when the other one introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you Nidae. I'm sorry I kind of tripped over you. Avanthal is our city... you are a few meters away from it."

Nehsmay fumbled in her backpack again and took out the food her mother had packed her.
"Here you are." she smiled brightly."You must be starving... you're so thin."

by **Nidassasyae** on October 14th, 2010, 4:01 pm

Nidae's brow creased in worry as she saw the sorrow in Nehsmay's eyes. It seemed that both of them had lost someone dear to them. Perhaps she and her savior had more in common than she had thought.

"It's alright," Nidae responded brightly to Nehsmay's apology. "A city? I've never seen one before!" exclaimed the kelvic, twisting around to try and get a glimpse. The sunlight reflecting off the snow impaired the crepuscular creature's vision, and she gave up after several long moments of squinting into the white landscape.

"Thank you so much," smiled Nidae, gratitude and awe of the strange and beautiful woman shining in her eyes. "I can't remember the last time I ate something other than dried deer meat. I've been wandering in the snow for... I don't even know how long." She gingerly accepted the food, and proceeded to devour it with as much vigor as her thin frame possessed.

Once she had finished the food, she looked up at Nehsmay with a sheepish expression. "I'm sorry, I've probably been wasting your time. I wish there was something I could do to repay you for your kindness, Lady Nehsmay."

by **Nehsmay** on October 14th, 2010, 4:16 pm

"Avanthal is beautiful." Nehsmay exclaimed with delight in her voice "You'll love it. Vanthas are amazing storytellers and carvers... you can hear a good story at every corner. Some of us are musicians and they sing lovely ballads." She blushed and adverted her gaze towards the ground realizing she was rambling. Nehsmay watched quietly as the young Kelvic devoured the food and sighed in sadness. "My mother is a good cook. If you come with me I'll see that you eat a decent meal and get that wound bandaged."

Wondering why the young girl was in such a pitiful state, Nehsmay had almost missed what her companion said. "Waste my time? Don't be silly... you were wounded and sick I couldn't possibly let you freeze to death. Although I really didn't know you were a Kelvic when I shook you. You simply reminded me of Shade." She paused and took look at Nidae strangely. "As for as you put it repaying me for my kindness you can get some flesh on those bones of yours. Even your leopard form is to skinny." She grinned and her eyes blazed golden with amusement. "Don't call me a lady. I'm barely older than you and not yet an adult by the account of my people. I will be on the 31st."

She gazed at Nidae and bit her lips wondering whether she should ask her or not. "I hope you don't think I'm intruding or something, but what happened to you?"

by **Nidassasyae** on October 14th, 2010, 11:48 pm

Nidassasyae's eyes widened in awe. This city sounded absolutely wonderful, as if out of a dream. "I hope I can go there one day, it sounds amazing!"

Nidassasyae grinned back, showing elongated canines. "Sorry, it's just that when you get rescued by a creature out of legends, you tend to be a bit confused," She laughed. "I'll be an adult in... well, that depends on how long I was lost." She was silent for a few moments, trying to figure it out, then shrugged. "Would you happen to know the date?"

Nidae sighed, but if remembering recent events was what Nehsmay wished her to do, then she would gladly tell the vantha.

"Long story short: My family was captured by four strange men on horseback, I barely made it away. I wandered in the snow, fell down with exhaustion, and you woke me up," she recounted with a cold practicality, burying the sorrow within herself.

by **Nehsmay** on October 15th, 2010, 6:31 am

"Oh, Avanthal really is beautiful. We can go there now, we're really close by. And you can get some warm clothes and real food into your system." Nehsmay clapped her hands. "A creature out of the legends?" she laughed. "I'm flattered..." Trying to recall the date Nehsmay paused a little then said "It's the first of Fall." She shuddered dreading to know how long the poor Kelvic was on her own.

"Those bastards!" She cried out, then noticed the cold tone Nidae had. Ot was impossible to be so calm after loosing one's family. "Don't do that!" Nehsmay snapped at her. "Don't try to act as if you're all right. Pressure will only build up and one day you'll snap... it'll be far worse when that moment comes than if it happens now. Trust me I know..." She gazed at Nidae with cloudy emerald green eyes. "Let it go. Just go in the forest, punch a tree and cry yourself out if that's what you need. Those men were monsters... tearing away a family like this just to make profit. No one should ever be locked up." she shuddered and placed a reassuring hand on Nidae's shoulder. "Maybe we'll find them one day."