Shadowy Steps (Seth)

by **Alenias** on April 14th, 2011, 8:31 pm

Alenias' heart was pounding as she finally regained her bearings only to find that one of the men was ready to toss his net again. She tried to flit away, but the net landed on her and caught her wings. She tried to pull free, but the net had her too well.

Desperately she pecked and pulled at the net, trying to get free of it. If only Treanas was there, he'd know what to do, or he'd scare the bad men away. Everything would be better if Treanas was back, but he wasn't there now. She had to do it by herself so she could make sure to still be safe when Treanas finally did come back.

So she continued to struggle and try to find a way to slip out of the net. For Treanas she would struggle and fight as much as it took to get away from these smelly bad men. She knew that Treanas would be sad if she wasn't here when he got back, and that thought scared her more than anything these men could do.

by **Seth** on April 21st, 2011, 2:45 pm

It was no use.

Now that she was snared, the poor little bird would find that her current form was no match for the tightening net. It twisted and curled aorund her, moving every which way, never allowing her to get a firm grip on the thick strings with her rather small beak. It simply tightened more and more, and soon, she would find she barely had any room to flutter about. One of the men was gathering up the net in his hands, bunching it up. She would have a split second to tranform back into her girl form, if she thought that would work a little better. Or perhaps it would throw them off guard, since at the moment, all they had to do was fight a little bird.

It was up to her. Right now, the men were merely clapping the one who had captured her on the back, congratulating him for his catch. He would be able to sell her for decent coin on the Slave Market, they were saying.

The world seemed a little darker in this very moment. Here these men were, attacking a little girl, just for some minor amount of coin. From the tone of their voices, they were also considering other acts with her... but the innocent one would likely never be able to understand such insinuations. For now, it was merely her, the men, and the net. She was about to have her freedom ripped away from her.

by **Alenias** on April 21st, 2011, 3:18 pm

Trapped in the net, barely able to move, Alenias was panicking like she had never before. These bad men were going to take her away, she wouldn't be here when Treanas came back! She couldn't allow that to happen!

Her instincts told her that changing to her human form would be bad while trapped in the net, that she shouldn't do it, but more powerful than instinct was her bond to Treanas. In a flash of colorful lights Alenias transformed within the confines of the net.

In the blink of an eye her body grew from the small bird to the much larger girl, but the net wouldn't give up its captive easily. It dug into Alenias' skin, causing rope burns and even drawing blood in a few places, but eventually the net gave way and she was free. With a scream of pain and desperation Alenias ran for the door outside, naked and in pain, hoping she could get away from these horrible men this time.

by **Seth** on April 29th, 2011, 6:02 pm

The net didn't prove to be the sturdiest weapon, but even if it couldn't hold the suddenly transformed Kelvic, it did manage to injure her. The sudden stress on the tightly wound net caused it to rip free from the man's hands, his grip loosened a bit in shock at the sudden flash of light. All of the men took a half step back, taken by suprirse, a hand coming up to shield their eyes, startled yelps echoing from their lips. People in Ravok weren't all that used to seeing Kelvics transform, it seemed. And really, any flash of light in such a dark house would easily stun such sluggish and unsteady drunkards. Anything random and sudden probably would have baffled them.

In their shock, Alenias managed to rip free, but not without a few flesh wounds. The thin twine dug deep into her skin, drawing criss-cross cuts across her skin, blood seeping out of her bare figure. She was naked now, having lost her clothes in all the chaos. She easily managed to slip away this time, the combination of the transformation, her terrified screams, and her bloodied figure being enough to shock the men.

Out the door she went, the little birdie finally being free. She ran through the darkness, terrified, calling for help. There was no one out in the streets, at least not in the darkened alleyways that her abandoned house had existed in. Would she run to the main roads, calling for more help, or was it time to make another transformation, and a hurried getaway?

by **Alenias** on May 2nd, 2011, 1:11 pm

Free from the bad men now, out in the street, Alenias paused for a moment. She'd gotten away, but those men were still in Treanas' home! What if they found Treanas' shinnies, or broke things? She had to make sure they got out.

Transforming once again back to her bird form she took flight, but instead of flying away from the area she turned and began circling around the door out of her home. As she flew by the open door she chirped angrily at the men inside, "Get out! Leave Treanas' home! Come get me if you want!" even though she doubted they could understand her.

As she flew she kept her eyes on the men, ready to turn and fly down the dark alley to lead them further away from her home. Once she was satisfied with how far away they were only then would she think about returning home. She had to make sure Treanas' stuff was safe!

by **Seth** on May 11th, 2011, 5:37 pm

The men were pretty much primal and simplistic, at this point. Now that she was in the air, she could escape them at any time... but they didn't seem to realize that. Each of them stumbled after her, waving their knives in the air, giving chase through the back alleyways. They cursed a bit when they realized she was too high up for them to reach, but when she came back around to give them a few angry chirps, they guffawed loudly and swatted at her. Their attempts to snatch her out of mid-air were practically useless at this point, as she was small and quick and in an open space, while they were big, lumbering, and completely awkward.

From that point on, it would be simple to lead them on a goose chase, and then easily lose them under the veil of night.

She would return to the house, and everything would be as she left it. They didn't have the mind to think she would double back to the house, so she had quite a bit of time to make sure everything was where she had left it. She would soon realize though, that she couldn't stay here. She would have to find someplace else to live, as now her location was known, as well as the fact that she was a free Kelvic.

If she didn't leave, the men would be back. And when they came back, they would be more prepared to catch their flighty prey.

by **Alenias** on May 11th, 2011, 8:55 pm

Alenias' heart was pounding as she led the men away, but she was determined to make sure they didn't to anything to Treanas' house. Finally, when they felt far enough away she turned around and flew back, cutting over roofs and avoiding alleys so they couldn't follow her.

Once back inside she returned to her human form, taking a moment to put her dirty and ragged dress back on, and then ran to check on Treanas' things. Luckily everything was as it should be, even the bag of Shinnies, but she knew the men would be coming back. She couldn't let them take her, and she couldn't let them take Treanas' Shinnies.

Grabbing the bag she clutched it tightly to her chest as she ran back outside again. Treanas would know what to do, how to get rid of the bad men, when he got back. Alenias had to make sure she was still waiting for him when he did return. So she would run and hide for now, but when Treanas was back then they'd scare off the bad men and everything would go back to normal. She just hoped Treanas would be back soon...

Several streets down from Treanas' house she found her hiding place, somewhere she had been before. It looked like just a gap between the alley and the corner of the nearby building, but she knew that underneath was a dark little spot she could hide and rest in. Dropping the bag of Treanas' Shinnies down first she then transformed for the last time of the night, and then pulled her dress in with her as she hopped and walked through the opening. A bit of fussing got her dress into a decent little nest, and giving a small shake of her feathers she settled down in it and closed her eyes. Tomorrow she would look for Treanas again, and even if she couldn't stay at his home she would at least stop there to see if he had come back...