Closed An Ethaefal and An Ocelot [Kalina]

[Lynx]

Day 43, Autumn, 514 AV
-13th Bell: Kulkukan Tavern and Inn

Lynx held her journal in the crook of her left arm with a kitten of some kind sitting precariously on top of it. The woman held her elbow at a weird angle to make sure that the kitten was leaning more towards her neck and shoulder so then it wouldn’t fall off. The lethafal had picked it up just after she had exited the Valkalah Library and had ever since wondered as to what it was that she needed to do to take care of it. She had gotten used to taking care of her two black silkena dogs that were still half growing, but now she had a kitten of some kind with a collar around its neck. The woman stood fumbling for the key to her door for a moment and a couple of times she had almost thought that she had lost it and the kitten, before she righted her arm so then the cat was steady. Finally, after what seemed like a battle, she finally got her key into the door and she turned the lock, her hand lifting so then it could grasp the door knob and turn it. The door creaked open and she shifted the book and cat so then it was held it both arms.

Suddenly, a pair of black dogs seem to bound out of this small, nice room that she had at the Tavern and she lifted the kitten high enough so then she could scold the dogs. ”Snipe, Shadow, down, behave yourself, we have a guest that will be living with us.” Although she had not the slightest idea as to what it was. It wasn’t like any cat that she had seen, at least not in the way that its fur coat was patterned. It even looked slightly bulkier than a normal cat. Having decided that she didn’t want to wrestle with the key again, while holding the cat, she decided to walk over towards her desk. She gently set both her journal plus the cat down upon the wooden top and she turned her violet gaze to glare at her mis-behaving dogs. ”We will go for a walk later if you behave yourselves,” she said with a huff and walked back over to the door, only to wiggle the key out of the lock and closing it with a soft click behind her. With a slow breath, she turned to view the two dogs sniffing at their new companion.

”Now what did I tell you two, not just a chime before?” She said with a soft growl at the dogs. The woman clicked her fingers and then she pointed to the door, ”Sit there and leave this poor little creature alone.” With small whines of protests, they finally moved to obey, but instead of sitting they laid down, resting their heads into their front legs as they watched her. With a satisfied nod, she lifted her right hand to brush back her white hair away from her face and slowly she turned back to her desk. She finally stretched out a hand to let the kitten sniff the back of her scaly hand, a gentle smile upon her lips. ”Hello there young one.” She finally said before she ran her hand over the kitten’s back should the kitten allow it. ”I wonder if you have a name, or do I give you one?” She glanced down at her dogs while she pressed her lips tightly together for a moment. Lynx then turned back to the kitten upon her desk, deciding that she would give it one later. ”Well, welcome to your new home, although it’s a little basic, it does the job just fine.”

[Kalina]

*

Within bells of arriving in the city of Riverfall, Kalina had been passed over to yet another. Another ship, another journey, and she had, once again, been passed to someone new. The poison that had been coursing through her body since she was taken. From Sahova had long since passed from her system. She could feel that morphing was now a possibility, if not for the iron collar that rested around her neck, keeping her in her ocelot form. She had paid vague attention to what had been said around her. Too young. She had not bled yet. Kalina did not know what the words meant, but she had understood that she was not ready for something, that this woman would care for her until then...

The feline's appearance of rest was a calm, peaceful one, as she lay tucked into the groove that the woman held her in, with her head resting on the shoulder. Exciting as the new city was, the young Kelvic was exhausted, and was happy not to have to walk to wherever this strange woman was taking her. Over the woman's back, moss-shaded green eyes were open, taking in what she could as it came into sight as they walked through the city. Everything was new to her, strange in its own way.

It had been the woman's own appearance that had been the most natural to Kalina, of most whom she saw within the city of Riverfall. Since her arrival, she had seen blue and green... the skins of those who resided her were different to any who me she had seen before, and they were much more well built, muscular, perhaps even taller. The ocelot Kelvic was glad to be restricted to her feline form, rather than being limited to the far less offensive human form. Smaller, covered in grey fur, with heightened senses, she felt more prepared, and safer.

But the woman, Kalina was glad that she had been taken by her, she was normal, or as close to as she might get. The woman's scent might be unusual, but she looked normal. Her eyes were violet and her hair was white and long, as if she might be very old, yet the face contradicted what the hair suggested. No lines marred her face, yet there were clear signs that she wasn't completely human, like her Master had been, or even Annalisa. On the sides of her neck were thin lines, much like she had seen the fish in Ravok had, and sections of her skin, like the hand that held her steady, had patches of shimmering scales of many colours. In between her fingers was skin; they were webbed.

The woman paused, and seemed to be fumbling for something. The ocelot stirred, raising her head a little and looking around, noting that they stood in front of a door. Eventually, the woman found what she was looking for and the door swiping open to instantly reveal the irritating yapping of two canines. Kalina instantly bristled as they approached when the woman placed her on the ground, hackles raised. Instinct took over. This was their territory, she knew, but she was a predator, and she would not back down. A low growl reverberated in the back of her throat - Amelia's attempts at teaching the girl good manners were forgotten by the Kelvic, and in this woman's home (woman completely forgotten, she didn't even acknowledge the woman's words) she abused the hospitality that she had been offered.
*

[Lynx]

An eyebrow perked upwards at the sound of the cat’s growl and she glanced at Snipe and Shadow before she chuckled softly. ”Looks like you boys are being told off by a cat and if you prefer to keep your nose, then I suggestion behaving yourself.” She would then kneel down next to the cat and pulled out the key that had been given to her. Apparently this animal was what they called a kelvic, a human that could turn into an animal form and they could be dangerous. To Lynx, she really didn’t see anything too scary about the cat, but then, things were never as they seemed. She would move to unlock the collar from around the cat’s neck, the key sliding in to the little lock, only for her to hear a small click. The collar popped open and the woman would slowly take the collar away from her neck, to settle it down upon her desk along with the key. If this cat really did have a human form, she didn’t feel comfortable with having a collar around its neck. A collar did not belong around a person’s neck, no matter the race. The lethafal paused for a moment, her violet hues looking between the dogs and the cat, a soft sigh settling upon her lips.

She reached down and plucked the cat up off of the floor and carried her over towards the bed, putting the cat down upon it, ”You are going to have to get used to them Sparky, you live with both those two and myself now.” She giggled to herself about the name that she had given the kitten. Some-how, she always seemed to name things after the letter ‘s,’ why? She had no idea, just that the lethafal had named two pets and a kelvic with that specific letter. Snipe, Shadow and Sparky. The cat of course had a name of her own, but because Lynx had gained a new name when she had fallen, due to not knowing the name from her previous life, she believed that the cat also deserved a new name. However, it was up to her as to whether she wanted to keep the name or give herself a new name. Or, if she wanted to keep her old one, that was up to her, but Lynx was hoping that the kitten would tell her just what she wanted.

The woman turned to the closet and opened it up, only to pull out a simple purple tunic and a pair of black breeches, of which she threw over the back of the chair in the room. She paused for a moment to lightly tap a finger to her chin and then she simply closed the door to the closet, those clothes would have to be enough until she could go and get the young one some proper fitting clothes. She snapped her fingers together and the two dogs rose from their position upon the floor, but she simply waved a hand at them as her gaze turned to the kelvic upon the bed. ”Come on Sparky, we need to get you a set of clothes that will fit you properly. This outfit will just have to do until we can get to the clothes store.” Indeed, clothes had not been provided for the young kelvic, but Lynx did not mind that she would have to spend some money upon her, it was just one of those unforeseeable costs that happened. She turned to the dogs that looked up at her expecting to also go and she shook her head. ”No, you two will stay here, we have to go into places where you are not welcomed.” A smile curved her lips as she watched their ears lowered and she turned her gaze back to the kitten, waiting for it to do something.

Word Count647

[Kalina]

*

The growling continued, and the two canines, who were currently substantially smaller than the almost fully-grown ocelot, hesitantly backed off a little, though Kalina kept her haunches raised. She ignored the woman's words, not caring what she was saying, not even sure to whom the words were directed, yet she did stop growling the instant that the white-haired woman knelt beside her, and Kalina tore her eyes away from the two dogs to glance up at the woman. Unconsciously, the grey ocelot took a step back, frightened as to why the woman might approach her, but she did not retreat or flee.

The tiniest of whines escaped from the ocelot as she felt the collar around her neck tighten when the woman slipped her fingers between it. Were the woman sensitive on the tips of her fingers, she might have felt the jagged line of the old, silver scar around the Kelvic's neck. Remaining still, the jingle of keys in the woman's hand alerted Kalina to realise that the metal device was shortly to be removed, and she remained still, even going as far as to hold her neck in a strained, stretched position so that the so,she would have easier access to remove it.

Without even a chance to get used to the fact that her collar had been removed, Kalina felt herself being lifted off of the ground. The ocelot mewled in confusion, and partially in protest, but there was little she could do about it, short of shredding the skin of the woman who had, so far, done nothing wrong. Placed upon the bed, Kalina had the vantage point over the two dogs, and she did not return to her low growls. The woman's naming of her passed straight over her head; she assumed that it was a word, rather than a name.

Moss green eyes warily followed the movements of the woman around the room as she took the information in - so this was to be her new home for the present time... she wondered if she would ever get used to the foul stench of canines, or worse, their incessant yapping and need for attention. At the mention of clothes, the grey ocelot's ears pricked up, realising that the flourish of clothing in the air meant hpshe was being asked to morph forms. The young Kelvic shifted uncomfortably on the bed before sitting, squeezing her eyes shut and disappearing into a flash of bright light. Left behind was the form of a pale, skinny human girl of about thirteen winters old.

The girl, not ashamed of her bare human form, took her time in clambering off of the bed and approaching the woman, accepting the clothes off of her. She had already turned away and placed them down before the voice of Amelia drifted into her mind, "remember to say please and thank you, Kalina..."and she craned her neck to rasp out a quick word of, "thanks..." to the woman. And she stuffed each of her extremities and limbs, one by one, into the relevant holes of the oversized clothing that she had been given.
*

[Lynx]

Lynx had thought that she had seen all there was to see when someone shifted, for she was used to her own form shifting when Syna gave way to Leth. It was a fairly simple and painless process, this she knew from experience. However, she had expected the cat to shift into an adult for she couldn’t really tell if the animal was adult or a kitten, but then again the people that had handed the cat to her had said that she was a kitten, too young to breed. Those words should have prepared her for the shift, the bright light which made her turn her head away for a fraction of a chime. Then, for the sight of the naked child before her and her lips parted in surprised as the child looked no older than a thirteen year old. It baffled the woman, especially considering that they thought that this child was dangerous and so had a collar around her neck. It was a baffling thought and she couldn’t help but silently fume at the injustice that had been done upon this young one. It was an unfamiliar feeling to the woman, considering that she was normally patient and level headed.

She gritted her teeth together for a moment as her violet hues watched the little one clamber off of the bed and approach her, accepting the clothes given to her. The lethafal managed a small smile for the young one at the thanks given. Silently she watched the child stuff her limbs into the over-sized clothes and she angled her gaze to view her pair of black Silkena pups. Both of their heads were angled to the right and a look of confusion seemed to fill those beady green eyes and Lynx sent a silent thought to them. I’m about as baffled about this as much as you two. It was then that she noticed that the girl was too small for the pants and she tapped a finger upon her chin for a moment and then she remembered that she had a belt that she could let the girl use until she could get proper clothing for her. She crossed back over to the cupboard and opened it, reaching in only to pull out a black belt. Closing the cupboard once more, she spun upon her heels and moved other towards the child. ”Alright well, lets roll up the long sleeves and legs of the pants so then you don’t trip when we walk. I will need you to turn around for that Sparky,” she said in a suggestive tone. She didn’t want to force the girl to do anything that she wasn’t comfortable doing.

The lethafal felt that, if one encouraged someone, rather than force them to do anything, then they could mature and grow. Only using punishment whenever the dog, or in this case, whenever the child decided to do something that she disagreed with. However, so far the child hadn’t done anything wrong just yet, so she would be as encouraging as possible. Her gaze drifted over the little one’s form and it stilled at the sight of something that she never thought that she would ever see. A tattoo upon a child, it was in the shape of a crescent sun on the back of the child’s hand and she pressed her lips tightly together. Why would anyone ever tattoo a child? She silently asked herself as she closed her eyes to pinch the bridge of her nose between her eyes. What had this child been through? What history did Sparky possess?

Once she was sure that the child had turned around, Lynx set about looping the belt into the loop holes of the pants, before buckling it so then to make sure that the pants would stay there and not fall down. Her hands would then work at rolling up the sleeves of the pants and tunic so then she wouldn’t trip over on them. Once this had been done, she straightened up her posture and offered a smile, opening the door after she had given the pair of dogs a firm command to stay. ”Lets go shopping shall we Sparky?” Again, the tone that she used was suggestive, but she would prefer that the child came along for this so then she could get the right sizes instead of attempting to guess at the correct size.

Word Count737