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as insubstantial as light and shadow
Topic Started: Sep 20 2010, 09:37 PM (1,476 Views)
argenticide
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All throughout the islands, the branches creaked and groaned like wizened old men, waking from their torpid slumber even as their masters took steps outside for what had to be their first sunlight in ages. Long ago they had slept the sleep of the dead and known aught but what their fleeting dreams told them. Going out into a world where their dwellings, even those charmed by the most skilled flora Chre, had been overgrown and crushed beneath the awe-inspiring tenacity of Mother Nature had been a shock. Even more of a shock for them was the utter chaos that had cast it's black shadow over the withering world. It was enough to make even the most battle-hardened Qhek shuddering in repulsion. Even the most neutral of the Khri could not help but want for action on seeing their fragile creations, once marvels of society, crumbled beneath the talons of marauding Taint and raiding Sekkain alike. It was cruel that they should be bound by their own neutrality, bound to inaction and contemplation rather than preparation and strategy by their own culture they had so carefully nurtured over the millennia.

Like the gentlest sigh of a favored lover, tree and bush alike bowed and dipped curtsies in the merest hint of a morning breeze. With it moisture and salt were carried inland, soothing the jangled nerves of its resident hybrids and encouraging all life to flourish under it's refreshing whispers. Tangled like spider webs in the branches, strands of silvery hair glinted like fine gossamer thread, leading the way to their owner. It was a twisting, cavorting route that took many switchbacks and side paths, yet somehow it never strayed from its course. Towards the sacred spring it went, passing over gaps in the cliff walls and eventually working its way deeper, much deeper, into the core of the wilderness. The spring itself was covered by an ancient stone shrine, though the once beautiful carvings were coated with moss and ivy and the designs themselves having been worn by many hands and many types of weather over the centuries. The spring, faithful as ever, still supplied cool, clean water to anyone, hybrid, man, dragon, or beast, who came through looking for something to slake their burning thirst. It was as neutral as the people who had kept it pristine for so long, showing no favor to any individual.

Now, after so long, the first hybrid visitor had appeared to give homage to those powers who bequeathed upon their race the gifts of long life, immense wisdom and power, and the neutrality that had served them so well for so long. As insubstantial as light and shadow, fleeting as the morning fog, she approached with a distinct aura of serene grace, her amber eyes watchful and pleasant. She seemed almost jaded, tired of the world around her being put through such misery. It was such a pity that, no matter how sorry she looked, she only truly cared about her flora and it was for those broken, diseased trees and flowers that she wept and cried bitterly for. It was not to say that she did not or could not love, but merely that she cared for her plants above all else and would put even her own life on the line to save them. Still, there were a few things that she would willing shoo her precious darlings from and the sacred spring was one of them. Her body flushed pink with joy, transluscent white scales showing but a hint of the features that lay beneath them and her moss green shoulders and back melding smoothly with the moss and plants that she cultivated on her own body.

Singing gently to her willing pupils, Coxauqhui ascended the marble steps, making gentle sweeping gestures that sent the plants gradually receeding from the shrine. Her magic was not as immeadiate as a Chre's, but the power would undoubtedly send the plants sighing and creeping away, the ivy unfurling from the stone pillars and moss slinking form the stairs, to hover about the edges of the sacred Myl-Aulum Spring as was proper. The Khri took a deep breath to steady herself as the last of her spell left her body, securing the building to make sure that even the most stubborn of plants heeded her orders and left the place alone. It had been many years since she had felt such exertion and, though not at all unpleasant, was foreign after so long. Coxau glided to the well, trailing her fingers in the clear water, before taking a few long draughts from the pristine, stone-lined pool. Such beauty seemed to only exist in the hybrid's lands now, a fact she resented every moment. It was well that the elders had agreed to let her restore the forests, she would have disobeyed anyway. That she might fail in her duty never crossed her mind, for this Flore Khri had never encountered defeat and was firm in her mindset that such an occurence never could, or would, happen to her.

Seating herself at the edges of the spring, Coxauqhui folded herself into the full lotus position, her tail wrapped coyly around her postured body and legs, debating the careful practice of preparing for her journey. She would need little to no clothing and knew her only loincloth would suffice, though she had neglected to wear it on such an informal occasion as this, and perhaps a few of her carefully wrought jewlery pieces, the ones with the rubies and pearls especially. Food and water, of course, but what else? She clucked her tongue, muttering under her breath. "There is something I've forgotten, I'm sure," she tutted. "Ah, but what of a cloak? I may need to mask more of myself than a loincloth can hide. Tsk, what a long time it's been since I've seen the world." She stiffened slightly, sensing beyond the immeadiate foliage that something headed her way. Mostly likely another hybrid, but who knew what else could be lurking on their island after so long a sleep? Weapons, perhpas that was what she had been forgetting.
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Toxique
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Being awoke was a strange, forlorn experience, he would have contentedly stayed in the blissful nothingness that sleep gave to him. The comforting embrace of nothing had made an eternity seem like fleeting seconds to their kind, and it was with disdain that he was wrenched back into the world where he didn't want to be. Almost instantly he had set himself away from his kin, disappearing from their simple, idle chatter that held no importance to him. He did not want to know about them, he did not want their pleasantries, they were all fools in his mind.

So he wandered, only his sheer force of will keeping him from wandering off of their island sanctuary, and onto the rest of the world. Omega knew deep in his mind what would happen if he left this place; fires would burn, he didn't particularly care whom it burned, those that were not his kin were all sinners in his eyes.

With these sour thoughts in his mind, he simply let himself wander, wide feet carrying him past the springs and into the forests. He was not normally one for forests, as his particular power was known to wreak havoc on the delicate trees, Even simply walking, brushing branches here and there, had the nearest leaves withering with the sudden change of his body temperature, which was far greater than the air around him. Though he hardly noticed the leaves as they curled up and died, and only continued on his way, sighing every so often before a voice caught his ears. It spoke of traveling, using a cloak to hide. And to that he instantly scowled, coming out from behind the trees to peer across the pond, sneering quietly.

"Why do you travel to where you have to hide?" He growled, looking at the flora, a almost look of pain crossing his eyes, though he hid it before it could come. "The humans? Why do you bother to walk among them? To even ponder the idea of doing so...?" He growled, flabbergasted at the idea.
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CloakAndDagger
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THE DUNGEON MASTER
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Through the depth of sleep, there was still restlessness, a longing to breathe. There was a certain comfort in such a slumber, a seeping absence that dulled everything, took away sense and reason and pain, but it was never enough, and there was such a feeling of loss upon waking, as if some emotion reached out to a dream long past, forgotten, but could never quite touch upon the honesty of the original. Such reveries were worthless, figments and illusions. They were merely the product of a sensory starved mind. Though, it was rare that he remembered any at all, let alone gave even a moment to dwell on them. Useless. Worthless.

He had found it hard, these past few times, to wake fully from hibernation. Given a choice, time would be better spent if it was all done away with, sleep, dreams, everything. It made him spite his very flesh to think himself so weak he had to rely on it, and still he fell to it. His mind was always first to ripple the darkness, making its way back to recognition, but the journey was such a slow process. The lightning keen hybrid often found himself settling back into sleep only to snap open sharp eyes later, waking up to let his pupils flex against the environment. Even then, it took what became ages for his body to adjust, muscles able to tense and relax as his mind took hold completely. Though he regained balance and ability within a few hours, it would take him a day, maybe more, to recooperate totally. The length of recovery made him that much more zealous in his wishes and that much more hateful of his infirmity.

Mara, however, was unwilling to waste any more time and broke into daylight to stray among the edens of this world and find a new location for his workings. He left the darkened sanctuary fully covered and clothed, feeling a chill despite the brightness of sunlight. Even his feet and hands were bound, though, perhaps more to cover the creeping blackness spreading up his limbs than for protection itself. Under light now, he put a gloved hand up to shield his eyes some as he shifted into the shadow of the more robust foliage. His voice mask let out an unnatural, static breath.

From there, he moved like a prowling viper, pinpointed eyes looking for areas that would be of use to him. The world had grown since he had last seen it and, what had been familiar territory was now unyielding and strange. Nothing looked right. In his searching, his raking footfalls took him toward something reminiscent of a structure, but, as he neared, he became keenly aware of the voices and presences of others. His suspicions rose. With narrowed eyes, he debated for a moment. He seemed to recall an ideal place somewhere on the other side of the lot, but would it be worth it to pass so close? Such an area may be nothing more than arching roots now. He hesitated, weighing the options.

With a smooth mechanical stride, he cut close, frigid eyes streaking through the forest spaces now and again to catch a glimpse of those who willingly made company.
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Seiss
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Gyrfalcon- geddit right bud, or you is food.
OOC [/failpost Dx]

The Taints were expanding, the humans retreating, forced to flee to the farthest, eastern end of the continent. Their little islands of sanctuary weren’t safe anymore. Sensing the stir of Keres’s consciousness against his own, Larguz knew she would wake soon and it wouldn’t do to have the two of them vulnerable when she drains him. Enveloping her prone body in a safety cocoon with utmost care, he took upon the shape of a giant Roc, unfurled his wings in a grand flourish and lifted off, smooth as dipping breeze, and embarked upon the journey to the sacred islands of home. He had landed just in time, when her eyes flickered open; but distrusting of others and covetous of his mistress, he laid her in the safety and isolation of a hidden, lagoon grotto.

She had never understood why she had to drain life when the long slumber released her. The pool of her magic was full, yet her body drew, pulled hungrily for more and it never spills over the brim. Each time she woke, Keres had to be wary of her constantly growing appetite for the breaths of the living. Larguz- how would she ever survive without him? When the white shield around her slipped and took the shape of a staff, she sat, unconcerned with her nakedness and waited for Larguz to recover just enough for him to shape shift. Slender fingers worked through silver threads of her long hair, combing them into some semblance of order during her vigil. The white homunculus morphed into a long furred cat and heaved a languid, contented sigh as his mistress carried him in the circle of her velvet arms. He was gifted with a small fond smile from her. Keres used to have a habit of thanking him whenever she woke, but Larguz refused it adamantly, demanding a kiss on the nose in exchange for it instead. Bemused, she relented. A delighted purr thrummed through him when she delivered her promise.

Casting her light, sapphire gaze on the world that belonged to a different time had always been a daunting experience. The light of her curiosity always dimmed with a hidden dread of what she might not want to see. But this was home- a place untouched by humans and dragons alike. How the flora had grown. Despite their possession over grand structures her kin built, the flourishing, thick greenery never failed to lift her spirits. Not many had risen from their sleep and it granted her the relief she wanted as she made her way to her neglected home. Once she was modestly dressed and her hair cut above her waist, she left, not bothering to order the intrusive vines and roots to leave her quarters with Larguz in her arms.

Bare feet thread lightly over fallen leaves, quiet and slow. Her eyes were drawn to the exotic plants and the fearless animals. They were different, but she could still recognize them. Entranced by the texture of a gargantuan tree, she shifted Larguz onto one arm and trailed her fingertip across its coarse bark. The musk of the forest filled her sensitive nose, setting her heart at ease. Voices from her kin interested her only briefly, before her attention was whisked away by a flitting bird. She was a pulsing beacon for them. The creatures within range were caught by the magnetic pull orbit close.

“Keres. Keres!” Larguz’s voice shook her from her daze just in time before she would walk into a tree. She blinked and was quick to recover. The homunculus mewled in mild distress and turned his milky eyes to his charge. “Must you chase every butterfly and bird you see, mistress?” Larguz teased, but the exhaustion in his voice dragged his words to a slur. “You’ll walk into him next if you do.” He motioned with a tip of his chin in Mara’s direction.

A male Khri, swathed in so much clothing and a strange instrument over half his face sparked a faint curiosity. She had known her kin to adorn themselves with magically imbued items but they were no less intriguing. Yet she was oblivious to subtle enchantment laid over her- one that tugs anyone and any creature close enough to protect her from harm. He looked so cold in body and soul from the window of his startling eyes. She offered him a polite smile despite it all and dipped her head briefly as a greeting.

Larguz huffed his impatience when he decided his mistress was giving this male took much of her time. “May I have my water?” he purred, rubbing a cheek against her arm.

“We are almost there.” She skirted around Mara, towards a small spring farther away. She didn’t wish to intrude upon the other two conversing Qih-nzak.
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argenticide
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There was movement in the bushes to her left and the Khri let out a spitting hiss, her nose scrunching up with distaste. She could feel the leaves wither and break upon contact with the creature's body and could sense the heat it must be giving off. She trembled, minute earthquakes setting her whole body into a fierce posture, though she never quite rose from her lotus pose. The very nerve of such a hybrid to destroy the land which had so loved them! It was insulting and an offense she didn't intend to let get very far. The heavy male Qhek, though hundreds of pounds heavier than her and several feet taller, was shown nothing just cold politeness as he entered her clearing. For once, Coxauqhui kept her wits about her and stood suddenly, her fragile porcelain limbs carrying her with an almost silent grace. Her head tilted, the gesture alien and obviously not human, so animal-esque that it was frightening. Her features, so like a child's, contorting into unearthly expressions was unsettling to even herself when she looked in a mirror.

"Why do you walk into a forest with no intent of watching where you walk?", the Flora Khri snapped back, long and prehensile tail snapping at the direction from whence Omega had come. "Is it not terrible enough that forests outside my guardianship are dying? It is certainly not necessary for these to wither as well. Now get you onto that stone floor before I must throw a bucket of water on you." She tossed back her floor-length hair and ran razor-sharp nails through it. "Of course, it would probably serve you right. Ruining my forests! A dragon or human would've died for such an offense," she muttered to herself, pacing appraisingly around the male, her strides long and swift, though she herself was crouched until she was not much taller than an average male hume. Startling several birds roosting in the boughs above them, Coxau leaped for the nearest branch strong enough to support her weight, careful to leave no gouges in the bark as she slithered to her perch. She let her hair drape down the sides of the branch, her mostly barren shoulders looking odd without her usual array of flora present, and peered closely at the Qhek before answering.

"I travel where I must hide because it is my duty. I have sworn an oath, one that I intend to keep intact, and it is this oath that compels me to go into the humans' territory. Besides, I do not intend to 'walk among them', as you say, for they and their war-beasts, the very dragons and dries we Qih-nzak gifted them with, are the reason why I had to take up my oath," she half sang, languidly lying parallel on the branch, her soft belly scales making soothing shush-ing noises against the rough bark. "They, like you have just done, injured the forests. The humes, however, did not stop. The war required wood for all manner of purposes and they, unthinking as they are wont to be, depleted them far beyond the usual amount I allot. In addition, the Tainted beasts and their foul ilk poisoned the flora and fauna of the woods until the very plants themselves became bloodthirsty and began to attack those who ventured into their depths." Her eyes burned viciously, hatred for all those who had done harm to her precious children flaring within her heart. It was the humes' faults that all this had happened! If they had never been gifted with the dragons, maybe the catastrophe could've been avoided. Oh, the injustice of having slept most of it away and being unable to intervene!

Disgruntled by yet another intruder, Coxauhqui leaped nimbly through the branches, landing above and before Mara. She curled her tail about the limb for support and dipped the front of her body over the front of the branch stared at him upside-down, draconic eyes narrowed to little slits. "At least you, Khri, have enough sense to leave the forest in peace," she grumbled, dishing out one of her kinda-sorta compliments. "Not a day out of hibernation and already a big, proud Qhek has trampled my lovely flowers, scorched several ivy plants, and inflicted minor injuries upon countless trees and bushes," Coxau continued, although she spoke more to herself than to anyone who might be in hearing range. She suddenly pressed her ear against the branch she was on, focusing intently. "Ah, and another Flora has stepped into my forest. My forest! Well she can't have it and I'll gladly prove that point to her," she nearly screeched, fury evident by the ominous creaking of trees and smaller plants alike, swaying slightly as those buffeted by a light gale. She glared down at Mara.

"Well, since you're here, you might as well fetch that damned Flora and bring her along to this little party or come yourself. If you want samples, ask first. I can't stand anyone, Qih-nzak or Hume or what-have-you, who won't give the simple courtesy of asking permission." The lithe, pale Khri's voice was doubtful, resigned, and not at all happy that she was going to have to entertain. All she had wanted to do today was get packed, find a water Chre who was up and about, commission a small sailing vessel, and get the hell off these islands. She had work to do, but everyone else was intervening and getting in her way. Politeness bade her greet them and make small-talk and perhaps serve them water and any edibles she could find on such short notice, but she wasn't pleased to do such things when there were more important errands to run. Still, the way she flipped back up and began climbing over the limbs suggested she was resigned and committed to having company for the rest of the morning, if not day. Hybrids were notoriously slow to leave, especially Khri, and so she was expecting the worst sorts of delays.

She returned to see Omega still not quite on the stonework and squawked irritably on him, fanning her arms in the same shooing motions she had used on the plants in an attempt to herd the massive fire Qhek up the stairs and into the cool shade where he was less likely to kill any more plants of start a fire. "Do you drink tea?" she asked mildly, her face trying to become passive and blank, but failing quite badly when there was no real need to mask her emotions. "I dare say we could boil a pot on your scales if we had but a kettle. Ingredients are easy enough to find, there's a patch of mint growing on the far side of the spring's shrine," she carried on in a conversational tone.
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Toxique
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The moment he stepped into the grove, Omega was growling darkly, turning his head to face the snappish flora and lifting one of his own wide lips to curl up over one of his protruding canines. Displeasure dripped from his face as he sneered at her, he had no previous intent to be unpleasant, but now that it was brought onto him, he was all to content to let himself growl back to her, the heat around his body intensifying, if only to spite the other.

"I walk where I please, Flora." He spat, growling and bristling all over again before snorting and continuing on his way. Whilst he was there, he might as well have made it a trip worth while. "I'll get onto the stone floor if and only when I want." He snarled back as he dipped himself, settling onto all fours as easily as he strode on his hind legs, muzzle dipping to the cool spring, taking a long drought and ignoring the female prancing about in the branches above him. Though her words quickly drove his head up, snorting into the pool and causing a gust of steam to billow up above him as he whipped his head around, bristling even further. "I walk where I want, tree or no tree. I do not willingly burn them, female, however if you keep at this incessant chatter, I will set this entire forest ablaze with you in it!" He barked, lashing his huge tail and furthering the tearing of the ferns and foliage behind him. Served the pissy thing right.

Yet from above him she blathered, making him roll his eyes as he continued to drink, the water seeming to cool the heat that oozed from his body. Though it soon spiked as he rolled his eyes again. "Do what you want, they'll kill you just as soon as look at you." He snorted again, yet more steam bubbling up from him as he righted his body, placing himself into his contented field of intimidation with his heightened stature. Though even on all fours he stood taller than most humans did upright.

However he turned his head as another hybrid soon made itself known, and with it, two more behind, hiding in the trees. Useless idiots, but if they wanted to hide, let them cower away in the branches which he cared not for. Instead he turned his head to peer at the second flora which came fourth, blinking inquisitively at her and the creature following. But he did not linger, instead growled again at the first flora that bothered him, tossing his horned head at her words.

"And I do suppose the forest and everything in it belongs to you now, woman?" He growled, showing that he very much did not agree with those words, and instead shifted his bulk to fall on the forest floor before him, settled on the bank of the spring, charring the earth beneath him rather smugly. "Pity the rest that should actually care to use something. I do suppose this leaf here belongs to you?" To that he plucked a leaf from its stem, holding it between two of his sharp claws and holding it up. "That one over there, what about the patch of herbs that grows near my den? I do suppose that if its a plant in this forest, its automatically yours?" Voice growing in ire, the male narrowed his gaze, shifting his hair away from his face with a sweep of his long hand. "You happen to be wrong, last I checked we Qih-Nzak were of equal in all ways, or did something change in the last two hundred years and I wasn't aware of it?" He growled again, tempting her to come closer. He'd burn the entire damn forest down if she tried anything with him.

Though she soon twisted herself around, into a different mindset, to which he fully ignored in favor of shifting to a sunny patch that broke through the trees. The heat helped curb his burning emotions, though he did let his tail hit the ground rather heavily at her comment about a tea kettle and his scales. "Watch your tongue, woman, lest you anger me." He growled out, though now with his eyes closed and uncaring of her and her forest, or the other hybrids around them all, which he ignored. If any of them had anything to say to him, they could all come out of their hiding places and face him like honorable creatures.
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CloakAndDagger
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The lightning Khri was never much of the social type, which is why he initially tried for a more round about way of skirting his fellows, but, as it always seems to happen, he was sensed and marked for judging eyes. The male stopped, standing where he was on the balls of his feet, the wraps tight between his thin toes. He was, however, unprepared for the sort of feeling that slipped quietly into his bones as the female stepped from the undergrowth. With a strange, unnatural seeming creature in tow, she smiled warmly, eyes back to him after a brief fleeting moment of following something of an aviary nature. She greeted him warmly, nodding to the bewildered male. For a moment, he paused and nearly found himself nodding back, but his motions were cut from action as his mind realized how outside of his nature they were. The mechanisms with his brain railed against one another, confused, vexed as to why this feeling was felt within him. He could not ignore it, but he pushed it away, banishing what he could to the far reaches of his consciousness. So, instead of giving her the kind response she deserved, Mara merely narrowed his eyes, the color within them sparking in their arctic swirls.

However, his thoughts were soon turned towards a second, less strangely bewitching face. The second female, set with pricked feet upon the thickness of a tree branch, leaned down to gaze at him with her face at an inverse to his. A loud, gaslike hiss escaped from the sides of his mask as he was startled to find another face so near his own. If it had mattered to him at all, here would have been a great time to realize how out of place he looked in comparison to others of his race. He was a sickly pale against their flushing, well hued skin and his posture was more than tense. However, more than that, he was clothed, head to toe. Every part of him, save parts of his feet and neck, were covered and wrapped in protective garments. Perhaps it hinted at his tenancies to shear himself off from the rest of the world.


With his hands curled into claws by his sides, there came a crackle from within the metal sheathe, the electricity being called from the fringes of his body to gather there. The mask itself was a dull metal, unpolished, fitted to him with functionality and utility at the forefront of concerns. It covered the lower part of his nose and shielded his mouth to rise about the sides of his face and snap to his short, curving horns. It was from within that he had beat chance and restored his voice.

"Troublesome creature. I am not here to socialize."

From the mask, the series of words tumbled out in barking snaps, electric impulses drawn up to give a robotic semblance of speech. Every syllable was a snapping reverberation. He drew back, uninterested in drawing closer to a group of anything in any way. She had nimbly climbed back already by the time he answered her and, even from where he was, he could here the discourse and contentious conversation between the two, one he assumed was the other creature she mentioned. The more brutish sounding one took a reaction similar to what Mara was accustomed to to doing, ignoring others and following his wishes.

Infact, he was in the process of stalking away, himself. Bah! Useless Socializing! He longed for Science!
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Seiss
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Gyrfalcon- geddit right bud, or you is food.
It was ridiculous how many animals and plants his mistress was attracting. They swarmed (an exaggeration due to Larguz’s exasperation) towards the small pool he was soaking in and granted no peace during the first few hours of their reunion. A few common birds perched on leaning branches and a daring crow fluffed up right by Keres’s thigh, completely ignoring their mock feline predator at the edge of the pool. Little insects crept discreetly under the grass, but occasionally, a flash of minute colour gave them away. The lush carpet of green on which she sat seemed to glow brighter with a unique freshness. He sighed in vexation and draped himself over the edge, savouring the energizing cool of the water. He’d deal with them later, when he had enough strength to chase and pounce. A contented series of purring thrummed in his chest when a gentle hand stroked his head.

The following barrage of harsh, unsophisticated voices was of no interest to him. Larguz wasn’t too impressed with the previous, masked Khri’s hostility and he certainly wasn’t with the current disagreeing strangers. But when Keres’s hand stilled over his fur, he knew something was amiss. Milky eyes tilted up to find faint distress knitting finely ridged brows, worry and a shadow of hurt dimming different toned eyes. Clearly, something the other Qih-nzak said affected his mistress, for nothing had scored her flesh. He chided himself for being so careless and unattentive. Larguz did not miss everything, however.

Leaving the doting touch of Keres’s hand, Larguz’s white shape lost its feline characteristics, smoothing away to form something thick, cylindrical and gracefully long under the water. A large, white snake surged over the opposite bank of the pool and wove an angry, winding path towards the Lightning Khri. He circled the agitated Qih-nzak curiously, gliding on pristinely scaled belly before stopping short of a few feet away. Forked tongue flicked out faster than eyes could blink imitated a living snake’s perfectly. Larguz lifted himself to meet the frosty gaze of the Khri and titled his serpentine head. “When a lady seeks your company, you shouldn’t refusssseee,” he hissed in mocking likeness to a snake’s. “And when my mistress greets, you should return it. It is only polite, no?”

Keres tried to catch the homunculus as quickly as she could, but he was still too fast. Whenever Larguz decided to use speed, it rarely ever meant anything good. He’d try to get away with whatever he could without her supervision. Her hurried steps slowed to a stop when she sighted the Lightning Khri again. His gaze, his posture and the faint strain of his visible muscles warned her of his discomfort. Though unaware of the cause, she had a nudging suspicion that nearing him would be unwelcome. Not one of the Qih-nzak here were welcoming… was her presence a nuisance now? She could leave. “Larguz… don’t disturb him. Come here. We should go,” she beckoned in a muted voice.

The homunculus responded instantly, slithering away from the Khri as if the grumpy Lightning was long forgotten. The large snake writhed halfway on its path. Its white mass shrank and malleable threads unravelled from the nameless shape to merge into a panther’s form. The colourless cat simply continued onward with a proud trot towards the waiting Crhe and rubbed his side along her legs. “I’ve only had a moment’s drink,” he purred fondly. “Why should we lea-“ Then it struck the creature- something either one or all of these Qih-nzak had said was related to his mistress’s sudden desire to leave.

Before he could even think of taking a step towards the other Qih-nzak, Keres was on her knees and caught him by the scruff of his neck. While he could easily break her hold, Larguz wouldn’t think of committing such an offending act. The sly creature wasn’t just about to let the matter rest, however. How could he when Keres was upset? “I am still tired,” he whined. “Maybe just for a while longer?”

Much to his glee, Keres’s grasp relented. He bounded forward and squeezed past the Lightning’s side towards a dried herbal scent. “I smell tea leaves and flowers!” he announced with a false enthusiasm that succeeded in masking his vengeful desire. He suddenly found himself standing between an agitated Qhek and certainly another annoyed Khri. The spots of charred earth were a possible cause for all this animosity. “Did someone burn grass?” he asked innocently.

“I apologize for his behaviour,” Keres murmured, sincere and almost repentant for something she didn’t commit. Slowly, she rose but was hesitant to follow the homunculus. It was probably best to skirt around him….
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