Flashback Cats and Dogs Don't Mix...Or Do They? [Nanami]

A stubborn and headstrong child meets her match in a fellow Kelvic

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This northernmost city is the home of Morwen, The Goddess of Winter, and her followers who dwell year round in a land of frozen wonder. [Lore]

Cats and Dogs Don't Mix...Or Do They? [Nanami]

Postby Saraphina Skyglow on December 5th, 2014, 5:19 am

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Saraphina Skyglow


26th Day of Fall 512 AV


P outing moodily and swinging her legs back and forth under the chair she sat on, Saraphina looked down at the book her Mother, Callimus Skyglow had placed in front of her. It was a history of the ice wonderland of Avanthal. Of how the Goddess Morwen had come to the Vantha, granted the people her mark and helped them to live comfortably in the eternal winter landscape. And nothing could be more boring to the young Kelvic right now. “Mama…..I don’t want to study…I want to go out hunting! You said you’d ask the Hunter's Lodge to take me out with them!” The high pitched, almost squeaky voice of the red haired child moaning in complaint in only the way an impatient and energetic kid could, drawing out the syllables to make the statement sound as needy and pathetic as possible. Standing only 4’2’’ and looking no older than 9 years as a human child, Saraphina Skyglow was almost 5 months old by Kelvic years. Practically an adult, as far as the headstrong young red head was considered. She crossed her arms stubbornly and glared with childlike frustration at her Mother, seeming well on her way to throwing a tantrum. The elder Vantha women looked over her petulant child with an exasperated sigh and a small smile. Such fire her daughter had, so much life and passion. It made the memory of her former lover’s lackluster and absent worth the pain. Walking over to her lively child, Callimus placed a soothing hand on the bouncing ginger’s head, “And so I shall Sara…but only after you’ve finished your lessons for the day. This is our history, our birthright and blood. It’s important for you to know what makes you Avanthalian Sara. I’ve spoken with Nanami….she’s going to take you out hunting later today. Alright.” Saraphina’s small, chubby face wrinkled in an adorable expression of distaste, but she said nothing. The Tiger Kelvic didn’t necessary dislike Nanami, but the elder Kelvic reeked of dog, which clashed with Saraphina’s feline instincts.

L eaning forward again, a 9 year old Saraphina flipped the page of her book, studying her Mother out of the corner of her eye. Callimus smiled, pleased that her stubborn little angel was listening for a change. Pouring out a bit of warm water into a cup, she set a cup of tea sweetened with a bit of honey by Saraphina. Giving her daughter a kiss on the top of her head, the seamstress walked into the back room of their small lodge. The Arvinta of their small hold was empty today, save for the two of them. The other members had left for a musical showing in SnowSong Hold. Callimus still had some mending to do, but she needed some of her supplies from her personal chambers. Perhaps it was foolish to leave her impulsive, Kelvic daughter alone, but Mother’s often times couldn’t see mischief when it brewed in their offspring. Saraphina, however, was paying very close attention to her parent’s actions. As soon as her Mother vanished from view, the young Kelvic grinned happily. As silently as she could, the ginger child slipped off her chair and ducked under the table. Tip toeing across the common room of their house, Saraphina grabbed her small boots from the alcove. Pulling them onto her feet, she reached up and grabbed her winter coat before carefully opening the door and stepping outside.

G rinning in triumph, Saraphina spun and immediately bolted down the icy street. Ducking between a pair of holds, she thought she briefly heard her Mother’s voice yelling on the wind, but she didn’t stop running. Her breath panted out from her sprinting, frosting in the air as white, humid clouds. Sprinting along the IceWall, Saraphina felt a stitch form in her side, but kept running. The wind whistled in her ears, turned her baby cheeks red and rosy and chilled her lungs, but she kept going. The feeling of freedom and the wildness in her chest had grown and needed a release. Her Mother was wonderful, and Saraphina loved her with every bit of her heart. But she was sadly still human. Callimus tried hard to understand her wild daughter. But really, only Kelvic’s could hope to understand other Kelvic’s. Slowing to a jog and feeling a bit bad that she’d worried her Mother with her skillful departure, the ginger decided to make it up to her parent by catching something for her. Maybe a nice fat Talderan Hare would make her less angry. Breathing hard from her bolting run, the ginger child made her way to one of the exits of Avanthal. Pausing as she neared the opening, Saraphina braced her hands on the cold wall and pressed her back against it. Bending into a crouch, she slowly walked up to the exit. Two Icewatch guards were standing near the opening, talking with a group of Vantha hunters that were either leaving the city or just returning. Saraphina couldn’t tell and if she wanted to sneak past them and get out into the ice fields, she’d need to move fast. Biting her lip in excitement and feeling her heart pound a bit harder, the young Kelvic crept closer to the exit.

S tep by step, inch by inch, the sneaky, defiant child made her way closer to the freedom her instincts craved. The snow crunched softly under her feet and fearful the guards would hear it, she carefully place one foot down and ever so slowly added weight to that step to minimize the noise as much as possible. Her Tiger form would be quieter, but that would take time to strip out of her clothes and shift. And she was already afraid her Mother would be calling out the whole Hold to track her down. Now close enough to the guards to see their breath cloud up in front of their faces, Saraphina paused. Not really sure how to get past them without being seen, she tried hard not to snarl in frustration. But Morwen seemed to favor her as the hunters moved past the guards, temporarily blocking their view of her. Smirking cheekily, Saraphina quickly ducked around the corner of the opening and scrambled up the snowbank on the other side, sliding down the cold hill and crouching at the bottom. Pausing, she tilted her head to listen to the Icewatch, wondering if they’d seen or heard her scampering about.

T hey carried on with their conversations. Saraphina grinned happily and quickly moved along the wall again. After sneaking for about 400 meters, she broke into a run again, angling out from the Icewall and heading for the fields. The snow and ice had melted a bit during the summer season, but with the cooler fall weather, the top of the white powder had hardened to a thick crust. One that a lightweight 9 year old child could easily run across. Far enough away from the city, Saraphina let out a whoop of joy, spinning happily in the wilds and laughing loudly. Falling to the ground, she rolled around a bit, still giggling and rejoicing in the freedom she’d gained. After a few chimes of celebration, she climbed back to her feet and looked around. Sparse brushes and hills lined the area, but she could see any tracks of prey. But the day was still young. Skipping along, she headed deeper into the wildlands, filled with innocence and wonder at the world, 100% convinced nothing bad could possible happen to her.


Last edited by Saraphina Skyglow on December 7th, 2014, 8:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Saraphina Skyglow
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Cats and Dogs Don't Mix...Or Do They? [Nanami]

Postby Nanami on December 6th, 2014, 8:32 am

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Nanami stomped through Avanthal with her breath steaming from her nose and her expression so thunderous that it looked like she would breath fire at any moment. She was following a trail of small footprints through the icy city, though she knew exactly where they would lead.
 
It was only several chimes ago that she had let herself into the Skyglow hold, only to be blindsided by an anxious mother. Callimus Skyglow insisted that the canine Kelvic turn right around and track down her daughter, who had fled the hold during a brief moment of neglected supervision. It seemed that 'soon' was not soon enough for the impulsive Kelvic child when hunting was involved. Though Nanami had showed up at the hold that day specifically to take the child out on a hunting trip (with a fully equipped sled and a Vantha hunter that knew what the petch he was doing) Saraphina had decided to take fate into her own hands and brave the wilds. Alone.
 
That in itself wouldn't have enraged Nanami the way she was. She herself had snuck out of her hold once or twice when she was young to test out her rapidly growing body, after all. But not only did it seem that Saraphina had no respect for how dangerous the wilds could be, the timing for her jail break couldn't have been worse. The tiger Kelvic would have come alone on the hunting trip purely for educational (and some much needed animalistic) purposes. But for the adult Kelvic, pulling the hunting sled was her job. She was forfeiting a day of profits thanks to the child's thoughtlessness. Nanami had been hoarding her miza's for months now, but it has taken on a new kind of urgency lately, since she had found out that she was finally pregnant.
 
She was only a few weeks along, but there was a giant ticking clock over her head as she counted down the days before she would no longer be able to shift. As a creature who makes her living pulling sleds, this was a problem. Now she was wasting a day of pay in order to pull the girl out of a dangerous situation of her own making.
 
Nanami growled through her tightly closed lips as she followed the footprints exactly where she knew they would lead: the Icewall gate.
 
The two stationed Icewatch guards looked up at her approach. Only the Frostfawns left Avanthal for the Northern Reaches with any regularity, and Nanami was in and out with them often enough that the sentinels knew her by sight, if not by name. The closest, an unshifted Icewatch Bear, asked her to halt.
 
"You're traveling lightly. Are you going to the Lodge?"
 
Nanami shook her head, beating her mittens together to warm her chilled hands. "No. A child from the Skyglow hold snuck out and through the gate (right about there, you can still see her prints) and is out there somewhere. I'm going to find her."
 
Before she'd even finished speaking she had their complete and shocked attention. Both looked alarmed, and the Kelvic was inhaling deeply through flared nostrils- obviously trying to pick up the scent of the escapee.
 
"Petch. Soren and I will track it. Go to you hold and-"
 
Nanami threw up her hands in the universal expression of 'wait'.
 
"Dont worry about it. She hasn't gone far, I can handle it."
 
Nobody seemed impressed. The Kelvic rubbed his beard and considered her for a long moment, noting the off-colour eyes and her mode of dress. She wore a long, loosely laced winter dress under a sleeveless cloak, and high, open boots on her feet. Things that would be perfectly warm, but could be ripped off over the shoulders in an instant.
 
"You're Kelvic, then."
 
"Yep."
 
"What kind?"
 
"Zypherian."
 
"You're a good tracker?"
 
"No." she admitted with a sigh. "but I've got a functioning nose and a burning desire to put the fear of god into a bratty little girl" she growled. "I'll drag her back this way so you guys can know we're ok." she amended.
 
It was obvious that neither liked this plan. But they couldn't force help on her. The young man frowned.
 
"Alright. But if you're not back by mid day we will be sending someone out for you. There is an ice storm coming."
 
“Alright”, Nanami nodded.
 
So now not only did she have to find a little girl, she has a deadline with which to do it. She grumbled incoherently to herself and passed through into the deep snow of the northern reaches. 

As it was every time she stepped out of the city, Nanami was struck by the beauty of the vast snowy landscape. It wasn’t the same type of beauty you could find anywhere else- it was not the colourful, ripe or rolling landscape of other cities. This land was a collection of glaciers tied together with frozen hatred. It was wild, inhospitable and gave zero shykes about your will to live. But it was so still. Even with her incredible hearing there was nothing but her own breath, and the soft powder of the snow. You could run for miles and never change direction, you could howl for days and no one would hear you, it tugged at the part of her that wanted space and freedom and something to fight. Nanami could understand Saraphina’s wanting to come here, though she hated that she could.
 
The path Nanami followed was not well travelled, and while the sky was grey and heavy it hadn't snowed yet. The girls small footprints were plain to see in the unblemished snow. The Kelvic’s pale eyes were alight with the snows reflection and swept the landscape in front of her. The little girl's famously red hair would stand out like a beacon in the sparsely wooded tundra- a landscape dominated by the colourless blacks and whites. It would make her easy to spot. Which would mean nothing else would have trouble finding her either. The Kelvic picked up her pace.
 
Soon there was a depression in the packed trail she was following. The Nanami got down to her knees to inhale the scent she knew would be there- a combination of leather, wool, and Saraphina's own unique scent. She was just glad that was all there was. And that the little girl wasn't pulled down by something else. Seemed she was just rolling in the snow.
 
She stood and shaded her eyes from the snow's glare, and her ears strained to hear the sound of crunching snow or the rasp of cloth on skin. Next to taste, sight was the sense the Kelvic dog trusted the least. But Saraphina's inherent Kelvic grace manifested itself much different than Nanami's easy, lopping stride. Her's was a low, liquid kind of movement that played hell with Nanami's motion-sensitive eyes. It was the reason dogs chased cats in the first place. Her eyes searched for that distinctive kind of movement now, flexing her prey drive minimally to help her focus.
 
And it worked. Something flashed on the other side of a low tundra hillock. Something red. Nanami's pale eyes glinted, and she turned her ear towards the movement.
 
"Saraphina!" she called smoothly over the north's hushed quiet. The tone was light, friendly and promised violence all in a single word. She didn't expect the child would come to her, but the child would also know that she would chase her down if she didn't. As Nanami waited she could feel the tiny shift in the air she didn't notice as she was following the tracks. The air was heavier against her tongue, the cold bit icily at her lips. The promised storm might break soon.
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Nanami
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Cats and Dogs Don't Mix...Or Do They? [Nanami]

Postby Saraphina Skyglow on December 7th, 2014, 9:11 pm

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Saraphina Skyglow


T here was a cold, still and breathtaking beauty to the wilds of Avanthal. The crystalline snow that glittered with colors unimaginable by human minds, the soft whistle of the wind as it gathered wisps of powder and twirled it in the air. But most of all, what call to the young Kelvic, why she fought to come out here at almost every turn....there was solitude. Saraphina was a feline at heart, independent to a fault. Social niceties, gentle embraces, stirring conversation....while she could understand them and at times enjoy them, the quiet, lonely existence called to her more. Cats required very little social interactions, not like pack or herd animals. They did well as a lone body, and Saraphina craved that isolation with every heartbeat. Far enough away from the city, the red head girl raised her face to the sky. So peaceful, so silent....so perfect. This was what she wanted. But remembering that her Mother would still be angry at her, Saraphina refocused on the winter world around her. The glacial landscape was untouched by any other signs of travel. That was good, maybe there would still be game about that hadn't been disturbed.

S he considered for a moment stripping off her clothes and shifting to her animal form. It would make the potential of finding prey much easier, but would run the risk of her loosing her clothing to the elements. And her Mother was not a wealthy women, she worked hard to provide for her single daughter. So, Saraphina decided against stripping naked just yet. Maybe she'd look for some track to see if there was anything worth while to hunt for. Walking briskly through the woods, the cold nipped at her cheeks and ears. If she'd had more time before sneaking off, she would have grabbed a cap to keep her head warm. Something to remember for next time. The frost coated forest trees had bits of green needles poking through and she could hear the sounds of winter birds fluttering in the branches. The snow crunched under her feet, disturbing their whistling and chirping, sending a few flying into the air. It was a rather magical sight, seeing the small winged creatures erupt from the snow coated tree. Beams of sunlight caught the puffs of snow they stirred up and caused it to glitter like diamonds. Smiling softly, Saraphina kept walking.

A...small bank rose up in front of the young child and she climbed to the top. From here she had a better view of the forest. Glancing around, the sudden still silence triggered an infant response to her developing instincts. The air seemed to shiver like a strands of a spiders web, quivering with vibrations but unable to give the feline shifter any real insight as to what had caused it. The hairs on her neck stood up and she jumped down the hill to lower ground. Freezing at the bottom, she strained her above average hearing to try and detect any tiny sounds. Her golden eyes darted about, the black pupils narrowing to block out the brightness that the sun created off the flawless snowy landscape. The faintness whisper tickled her senses, the tiniest crunch of snow under something heavy. Then came the voice, the female voice Saraphina instantly recognised as Nanami. The canine Kelvic had followed her, tracked her through the forest and the tone of her voice said that she was NOT pleased about it.

S araphina's breath caught in her lungs as her mind whirled. Could she outrun Nanami? Unlikely, the dark haired women had stamina and speed the young child couldn't hope to match. After all, her job was pulling sleds for the Vantha hunters. Still, to be picked up and carried back to the city like a newborn cub was so insulting to the Tigeress that her lips pulled back from her teeth in a fierce snarl, displaying the pointed canine teeth that were still growing. Too young, too stubborn and too independent to simply lay down and surrender to Nanami's superior experience and skills, the flame haired child bolted. Her small sized proved invaluable as she dashed across the frozen landscape. Feline agility and flexibility allow her to dodge around the trees with ease. Briefly she thought about pausing to try and erase her tracks, but the sound of pursuit banished any thought of that. As she jumped up onto a mound of snow, the child Kelvic suddenly felt the ground under her feet shift. Yelping in fear and surprise, the solid footing she'd though she had fell and a hole opened up under her. Gravity took hold of the child and she was airborne for a few, heart stopping moments before she hit the ground. Luckily, her short fall was cushioned by the snow so aside from a sore rump, she was unharmed.

S haking her head, Saraphina looked around once her vision had cleared of the whiteout. She was in a narrow hole about 6 feet deep. The sides were coated with ice and snow, there was no way she was climbing out without help. It was likely a depression where long ago an underground spring had formed a small pool. But generations of elemental wear and tear had created a hole in the ground, one that had been covered by a thin layer of snow and ice. And she had stepped right on top of it. Pouting as she heard the sounds of Nanami's footfall coming closer she knew she was going get the scolding of a lifetime for this stun.

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