Flashback Panic! In the Jungle

[Na'oni]

1st of Spring, 512AV. 10 chimes after noon.

Normally Na'oni was punctual, waking at dawn or soon after. However, when she did sleep deeply, she was impossible to wake. It was unbecoming and downright disastrous for a warrior woman like her to do but she couldn't help it. Only cold water or violence could wake her. An elderly Myrian, A man even!, had once murmured something about a gift when he had heard the murmurs about her sleeping problems. Perhaps he was peeking into the Ancestors knowledge because he died the next day. After that, it was mostly swept under the rug, though from time to time her mother even joked that she would've slept through the Valterrian. Turns out, maybe she was right.

She awoke with a start and the first thing that hit her, even before she opened her eyes, was the smell. It smelled like the night before a big storm but it was...off somehow, in both it's timing and it's smell. The storm was at least a season early! She inhaled deeply before she sat up and looked about, however the rumbling earth made her clutch the sides of the bed. The way the sun was shining, it was at least noon but no one had even tried to wake her.

A sheen of sweat covered her skin from a dream she couldn't even remember and she disregarded clothes for now in her hurry to see what was going on. She stumbled to the ajar door, still groggy and disoriented from sleep. The closer to the door she got, the more sour the smell, like magic gone bad, and the louder the sounds, the more the ground trembled. It was hard to tell what it was, her ears seemed to be trying not to listen at first. But as soon as she reached the door, everything hit her like a raging Tskanna.

Na'oni first heard the sounds of the animals in the Zoo, restless and fearful. Then she heard the cause of the out-of-place earthquake; the sound of hooves beating the ground filled the air as the tskannas ran rampant in the city. And then the horrible undercurrent, the screams of her people. Yes our people, she insisted to herself, They are our sisters even if you prefer to be alone! The screams, the shouting, the cacophony of voices and wind and hooves was overwhelming for her, who had done her best to stay away from crowds, and she breathed heavily as she snatched up her cloak before running out the door.

Unfortunately, she realized that she wouldn't be getting anywhere as fast as she expected. As if Caiyha herself had been there, all the paths and clearings were overgrown. It was as if the jungle had taken back the city. Na'oni felt like her breath was choking her as she threw on the warm cloak. She shouldn't need it, even in Spring, but the comfort was almost like her own mother's embrace and she ignored the heat flushing her face. In her mounting panic, her Morphing was working about as well as her brain. Her skin slithered on her body, trying to carve a new shape but her bones wouldn't listen. Every attempt made to Morph as she moved as fast as she could to the center of the city failed over and over, fizzling out and even causing herself pain. She heard crackles and pops as her bones were constantly in flux, attempting to form something other than this fragile form! We need to escape! If she didn't have so much adrenaline running through her system, she would've been in agony but all she cared about were here mother and father.

Her concentration was broken entirely when she broke free from Caihya's grasp and into the center of Taloba.

[Na'oni]

It was clear that she had caught the tail end of the storm, but it was far from done doing damage to the city. While most people looked fine and all that was left was the wind but the tskannas were still riled up and people were scurrying around trying to calm them down or get out of their way. It was unlike Myrians to be caught off guard like this but a Djed storm is something no one had expected. The Trading Square was partly trampled and what was left standing was buffeted by the wind, loose wares swirling in the air.

Taking a deep breath, Na'oni launched herself into the chaos, bouncing off of people and dodging hooves. Her bare feet skidded on the ground, getting cut up all the while but she hardly noticed. Her eyes were focused on their stall. Half crushed, there was no way anyone in there was alive but she hoped anyway and was crushed when she saw the color of the ground. She let out a shriek, briefly drawing all attention to her, before she turned and ran. Dad her mind protested weakly but she had no trouble ignoring the voices this time. What did it matter if her mother was dead?

She breathed heavily, now from held back tears and the heat of the cloak but she'd never take it off now. Her feet carried her past the Watchtower and out into the jungle where, again, Caiyha had been there overnight to help the jungle take over. Despite her best attempts, she could no longer escape quickly and after a few minutes she stopped to catch her breath. She stood close to a tree where her diminutive size could hide her and stopped to listen. She could no longer hear the city and the ground no longer shook but she did hear the animals. They were riled up, just like the animals in the Zoo and sounded more hostile. For the first time, she was scared for her life.

[Na'oni]

Na'oni didn't like the sound of the animals, it worried her, and a growl close by startled her into action. Before she could figure out what to do, she needed to find a safe perch. Latching the cloak tightly, she turned to face the tree. Wrapped in vines, it should be easy enough to climb. She grabbed a hold of the highest tangle of vine she could reach and pulled herself up, feet scrabbling against the tree for purchase. With a huff she grabbed another vine and slowly made her way up the tree, the only sound the animals and the scraping of her feet against the bark.

At last she reached a branch and after a quick scan for insects she sat down and took a second to breathe. Her eyes slid upward toward the greenery and then back down to the forest floor where a tiger prowled past. She smiled, happy to see a friend when it looked upward. The growl started so quiet she could barely hear it but as it moved closer to the trunk and placed its huge paws on it, the low sound felt like it was rumbling her chest.

Na'oni whimpered and backed up, keeping her eyes on the tiger as she stood on the branch and tried to scramble higher. A squeal left her throat as the tiger's muscles coiled and she turned her back on it to pull herself from branch to branch as quickly as she could. If we can get to where branches thin out, it won't follow. she thought, grabbing at a vine. Her heart leapt into her throat as her hand missed and she felt herself falling despite her attempt to tangle her legs in vines.

[Na'oni]

Na'oni thought it was all over. As always when on the edge of death, Dira blessed her with a moment to think. Time seemed to slow down and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She prayed softly to Myri, apologizing for her failure, and Navre, Syna and Leth. They were only brief prayers, a few words to each god, and she ended with a soft, "Hello.." to Dira.

She felt her body hit something solid and though only her breath left her in one big huff, she was sure the tiger would finish the job. It only took a minute for her to realize what she was laying on was not the ground, however. It was...warm and soft. Her eyes shot open and she sat up on the beast's back. The tiger had caught her on a low branch and she thought that maybe....it was on purpose? It certainly made no move to get the Myrian off its back. Before she could climb off, she felt the animal's massive muscles tensing and it's body shifting towards the ground. She wrapped her arms around its neck just as it pounced and landed on the ground with a soft thud.

Na'oni slid off its back immediately and backed away, watching the tiger closely. It made no move towards her, just stared and she held her breath for Myri knows how long until it turned and melted back into the jungle. It was in this moment that she had a little clarity and she stood calmly and started making her way back to Taloba. As she moved towards the city she practiced her morphing the way her mother..her mother had taught her.

"Feel the djed around and inside you...now grab a hold of it and concentrate on your fingers. First, the color then make them fluid. Think of a tiger's paw and try to replicate it. Slowly...slowly Na'oni"

[Na'oni]

By the time that Na'oni came back to the city of bones, she had managed to change both her hands into tiger paws. However, as soon as she ran into a guard her concentration broke and they snapped back to their original form, almost painfully. The guard turned to her and snapped, "Have you seen your father yet?!" Na'oni's heart leapt in her throat and she immediately felt guilty. We were so panicked about Mother and the storm, we didn't even check on him... With a quiet shake of her head as her only response, her face remained emotionless. "Fek is in the Barracks. He wants to see you immediately." She grunted and continued on her way, changing her direction towards the Barracks.

How will we convince him? He'll never let us go anywhere after this storm! And especially after.....He won't want to lose us too! She snorted and ground her teeth together, quickening her pace. Father doesn't know what we are capable of. It will teach him how strong we are. She spotted her Father from far off, it was hard not to with all the red and orange swirling designs on his chest and back, proudly showing his talent as a firedancer with no words whatsoever. He was talking to a group of men and she pushed her way through the crowd. The conversation lulled and drew everyone's eyes to her. All at once she realized how hot and sweaty she was, she must've been red as her face felt hot.

Her Father reached for her cloak and she flinched away from him, drawing it closer to her. "I must talk alone." she said, her words weighing in the air. Her Father only nodded and the men scattered. From the sounds of things, the city had calmed and cleanup had begun. We should be here to help..He won't be happy that you flee instead of helping your sisters and brothers. With a snarl that ripped out of her thoughts and into reality, her response was audible as well. "I am not fleeing! The words seemed to echo and she sunk into the large cloak. Fek responded quietly. "I never said you were, my child." She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and looked up at Fek.

"Father, I must make a trip."

[Na'oni]

At this point, this was the first time she had looked at her father's face all day. She hadn't come to stand in front of him in fear that she wouldn't be able to get those first few words out of her mouth. Now she was wishing she had seen him when she had first woke up. The brilliant green of his eyes was replaced with a translucent white, making it clear that her family had suffered more than just the loss of her mother; they had lost both their warriors, in that when the fire was extinguished in her mother, so had it in her father.

A whimper followed by a soft, "Oh..." escaping her lips. In that moment, as that heartbroken whisper left her lips, she realized she must make this trip more than ever. She needed to think because while this was certainly something she couldn't kill in vengeance, she wanted to do her damn best. She caught that breath and inhaled it back in, standing up as straight and tall as she could. "I'm sorry father but I have to. More now than ever. Please." She managed to get out, with difficulty not only because of the situation but she had also always hated the delicate dance of words. She would rather dance in fire or with teeth and claws than with words.

Of course her father would have nothing of it and it was if those eyes could see her again in all his rage as he glared down at her. "You have much more important things to do than take a selfish trip! You have to help your fellow Myrians to rebuild the damage that has been done! Now more than ever." He spat those last words and the shouting had now drawn the attention of several onlookers. Now normally they wouldn't be one to pry but Na'oni had received her stubbornness from her father and their fights were always entertaining and today would be no different. Na'oni stood there growling at him, bubbling over with rage.

[Na'oni]

Na'oni stomped one foot, though it looked and sounded ridiculous with her minute size, she plowed foward, spitting the words. "I do not have to be a guard like you father. I have the ability to rise where you do not. So don't hold me back." She would end up regretting each one of those words but at this moment of time, she meant everything. "To rise you must appeal to the people! Even Myri herself helped build Taloba! Did you know that while you were sleeping, the djed storm swept away the Blockade?! There is work to be done and our numbers are slimming!"

Na'oni knew he was right but the tiger hadn't just saved her for no reason. Now whether it was a sign from Myri or Navre she had yet to find out but she knew where she could find peace to learn what's next. "I want to go to the Tear of the Clouds to commune with Caihya." She said, quieter now as not to yell her plans to the city. It wasn't entirely true but true enough. "I want to find my path now that that mom is gone." She watched the rage seep out of his face and with a quiet nod, the tension was broken.

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Na'oni sat in the long house with the cloak finally removed, spread out on her bed to dry from the sweat. She hadn't put on a shirt yet but she was too busy packing to notice. It was never smart to travel the jungle at night, even as a morpher but she wanted everything to be packed so that she could leave first thing tomorrow morning, however. She gingerly rooted through her mother's things, taking a small dagger and canteen. After a few minutes of tears and packing, she was as ready as she could be and she sighed, sinking on her bed.

Na'oni suddenly realized she didn't feel comfortable in the long house for the first time in her life and she felt herself tense slightly, looking at the other Claws around her. They were her clan, her family but she felt exposed and nervous. She was breathing harder than she should've been, she had cooled off from overheating at least a few bells ago, and this feeling was very alien to her. Keeping her face quiet and emotionless, she refused to reveal the chaos in her brain as she collected her things and left the long house. She wasn't sure where she was going but when she was outside she had calmed enough to think about it. She knew where she was eventually going but she was still resolved against leaving at night. If we could find somewhere to take shelter for the night.. She made a sound of discontent and pulled the backpack straps tighter.

This is going to take a while.. She mumbled back and stared into the dusk. It was a strain on her eyes to try to spy the small indications of a cave in the dim light and she followed tangles of vines, hoping to find some of Caiyha's secrets.

[Na'oni]

After what felt like 10 chimes, Na'oni spotted a darkness hidden behind a wall of vines and slowly creeped towards it, using the last of Syna's rays to tiptoe through the brush. Her muscles were tense, coiling and ready for attack or flight. It took much too long, it felt, and she cursed her height under her breath as she approached the vines. Her muscles were tensed and coiled for whatever should come out of the cave, as was her djed. She almost...felt her djed pooling in her hands and if she wasn't looking at the vines she would have noticed that it was. However, her control over her djed was not that to allow her to use as such and it dispersed as soon as she moved her hands to pull back the curtain.

Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest but it quickly dropped back to her stomach in relief as her search revealed nothing but a small cave with jungle litter on the bottom. She stepped inside, careful to recover the entrance, and gathered the litter in a pile a few feet from the mouth of the cave. She set her bag down near the back and dug through until she pulled out her flint and steel. She kneeled down next to the pile of dried leaves and branches, tapping the two together. Sparks flew and landing on the pile and after five chimes, she had a fire going.

Na'oni stepped out of the cave and hissed in a breath. In the few minutes she'd been in the cave, night had fallen. She stood in front of the cave, stock still and quiet, for a few minutes until her eyes adjusted somewhat and moved towards the trees. She needed just enough to keep it going until sun up so it wasn't too hard to find enough and she quickly returned to the cave, sliding down the cave wall with the wood still in her arms. Setting it down next to her, she sat there watching the fire for who knows how long before her eyes s l o w l y slipped closed...

[Na'oni]

Na'oni woke slowly at first, her eyelids opening as peacefully as of she'd slept in Taloba. It was the darkness that caused her alarm initially, and what instantly woke her up. At first she froze, not for any reason but fear, and then she moved her hand towards the wood pile she knew was near. Though it took a lot of stumbling and reaching around, eventually the location of the original fire had enough to start one anew and she fumbled for her flint and steel. It had been left on the floor upon her falling asleep and the darkness caused a panic deep inside her mind. She was scared of not finding it and of the anonymity of the dark and when her hand felt cold metal, her relief was almost palpable.

It took quite a few strikes to start the fire and quite a few more chimes for the cave to grow warm again but at that point she learned her lesson; keep your eye on the fire, lest it go out. Luckily, she did not encounter any wildlife that night and the rest of her time was spent lightly sleeping, though at the first sound of morning birds she awoke with a start.

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The first moment she awoke, the first thing she felt was confusion, then panic, then sudden very awake awareness that snapped her eyelids wide open. Now this happened in the space of a few seconds and her head didn't register much except that fact that she was suddenly very wide awake. It was clear by glancing out past the vines that it was just barely dawn and she stretched out to prepare for the day. She had done no unpacking and thus it was easy for her to start her journey, forgoing breakfast for her eagerness to explore the jungle. While she knew exactly where she was going, she had been in and around Taloba her entire life and it was exciting to finally get to see beyond it.

[Na'oni]

4th Day of Trip

Na'oni had been walking for 4 days now, camping in caves she found along the way and picking up small game that was stupid enough to cross her path. It was dangerous business first clearing out the caves and she had more than once chosen the trees to cradle her instead of facing Nightmare Bats. As long as she stayed low to the ground and kept a fire burning all night, animals tended to stay away, for the most part. What was truly strange however is how she kept spotting tigers or even leopards out of the corner of her eye, not in any threatening manner however. No, it was more like they were watching her and her mind drifted to her mother every time she felt feline eyes watching her. Maybe mom..maybe she's watching us. The little voice in her head had suggested more than once but she refused to respond, her heart still raw from the loss.

Today was one of those days in which she had to sleep in a tree in which she was able to use vines to rig a net in a split in a branch, upon which she now slept. Being tucked in like this, even the insects barely noticed her and the warm fire underneath her quickly made her eyelids crash shut. When she awoke is where the fun began though, as she woke up to something tickling her nose. Of course, normally anything touching you in the jungle is bad news so her immediate reaction was to snap up into a sitting position.

She stared in surprise and then chuckled. Three Vom had curled up in her make-shift hammock with her and their brightly colored scales hurt her groggy eyes. The reptiles were just waking up as well, apparently just as startled as her about their bunkmate. They made sounds to each other and she watched the small creatures as they moved about. If she had a softer heart, she would have thought twice. She may have even felt guilt. But she didn't.

Na'oni's hands shot out to grab the two larger Voms, wrapping around their throats before they could jump away. The last Vom darted away before she could try to do anything about it but she was satisfied with her kill all the same. The skins would sell well when she got back to Taloba and she had meat for at least another day now, which meant she wouldn't need to make any stops to hunt. Smiling at her good fortune, she pulled the small hearts from their chests and popped them into her mouth like berries, smiling as the blood filled organ burst in her mouth. This made her think back to her first hunt and her smile fell as she remembered the time spent with her mother. The joy of taking a life for the first time. How angry she was at her bloodlust.

Na'oni snorted. She isn't here anymore to stop me. She thought but at the same time, Would she be happy to know her daughter is a killer? Thia was such a gentle woman, so unlike the bloodthirsty Myrians that if she didn't know any better, she'd think she wasn't. Of course she'd never seen her mother in battle either. She heard from many people that she was vicious and brutal on the battlefield, even before pairing with her father. With Fek, she and him became a storm that rumbled over the battlefield. Though she could never match Fek or Thia's movements firedancing, she loved watching when they danced together and told stories of their battles together. It was not an art for her but she appreciated it just as much as the other arts.

With a sigh she finished her work, tossing the small fistfull of innards on the ground. She could finish the process when she stopped to eat but the meat would be okay for the time being. She dropped down out of the tree and kicked the dead fire a bit before looking up at the sun. It was early in the morning but not as early as usual. She'd slept in. With a groan, she turned slightly away from the sun before setting off. It was nearly the halfway point in her journey and she used the time walking since leaving Taloba to come to terms with her mother's death and her father's blindness.

She was the oldest female in their family now and Fek was most likely going to try to push responsibilities on her. Like learning to use a weapon other than her hands or watching the Blockade with him. But she had an itching inside her, she wanted to do more and see more than Taloba allowed, than he was allowed. He was just a man and stuck guarding the Blockade but she could be so much more and he wanted to keep her bogged down? Ridiculous.