Hold Your Breath When a Blackbird Flies [Fely]

[Le Mad]

A silence had wrapped its hand around the Hiagaru Wastelands in the night. It smothered the air, sucked away energy. It kept whatever few creatures that lurked there on edge. It dampened spirits. It had been one of those nights. One creature, however, strolled the land unaffected. A black pelt kept the creature hidden in the night, and unless you had amazing vision in the night, one could only see the moon's reflection on her horns or eyes.

This creature was Sésuga, the Zimbar Mutatio crossbreed. She wasn't walking toward anything in particular, merely walking to walk. The femme wasn't exactly making great distance, either. In fact, she was moving rather slowly. Her looks were deceiving in the veil of night for those who could see her. The fae, curiously picking up rocks and inspecting them curiously in the moonlight for quite some time probably looked like a usual demon. One might judge her as evil, or malicious. Her massive horns and dark fur probably helped with that. In reality, there couldn't have been a kinder soul around.

It wasn't unusual for her to be in random places for no reason. She really just went with the flow and followed wherever her legs decided to take her. Sometimes she moved with the wind, some with the way a branch pointed. But tonight, she did seem to have a purpose. She was listening to the stories of the rocks and plants, hoping to find out information about the wars and possible survivors that were injured and alone. Occasionally she would be drawn to a piece of dead vegetation or a small rock, and she would sit for a good half hour to listen and converse with the object.

Eventually, she came upon a large boulder. Surely it would know something or other. She pressed her right hand-like paw on the boulder's cold surface. A cool breeze drifted through and she shivered. She sat on her haunches, listening intently. It was probably an odd sight to see her sitting nearly motionless with a paw pressed to a rock, but she didn't mind. And so, the boulder and Sésuga began to speak in the murky darkness, the femme seemingly oblivious to any approaching creature.

[Felypsa]

The stars were explosively scattered across the dark night sky, vivid white streams soaking in the air. In the deserted wasteland, tramping through the sand, was a tall figure, his golden fur rippling in the wind. He was walking with purpose, but his head was tilted back, staring up at the sky, as if the stars were his guides, and he was following them to his destination.

Eventually his paw slipped and Keroberos stumbled forward a bit. Realizing that he should probably pay attention to where he was going, he pulled his gaze down and focused on what was in front of him. His head was in the clouds. He had been distracted these days. His wings had finally healed from his strange fall from the sky, but that memory was still missing. It was like a dream, but Kero still did not know where he had come from, where he had been. So he was entranced now by the sky…and all the mysteries held up there. How could he get those memories back?

Kero sighed. He might have looked noble where he was (aside from the slip), a wolf and lion hybrid of impressive height and mighty stance. But inside, he was feeling desolate, empty. He had survived a war, for which he was grateful. Still, he longed for that completeness again. It was important, the reason why he had fallen from the sky…if only he could recall it. Another heavy sigh left him and he plodded down the sand, continuing on to nowhere. The wastelands were a good place to wander without a destination. And this was where a great battle had taken place. Kero’s head tossed from side to side, looking at how the sand had blown over everything…the bodies, the blood, the bones.

Suddenly, he saw that he was not alone. A figure in the distance, standing near a large boulder. Keroberos tilted his head and began to trot over. Of course he was wary. There might still be a few Giaku scouts here, in spite of the truce. As he drew close, though, he saw that she was touching the rock, seemingly in harmony with it. She was quite a bizarre-looking creature, but that only added to her intrigue. Keroberos licked his lips and stayed where he was. He had a feeling that if he called out to her, he would be interrupting what she was doing. Probably, she would eventually notice him, he thought. Then he could inquire about what it was she was doing.

[Le Mad]

The information she learned was, in a way, not the news she had hoped for. Yes, the militia had traveled through here. Yes, there were fatalities. But no, there wasn't a single injured soul that straggled behind. They had either perished and been buried under the hot sands of the wasteland, or had been rescued and taken home. It was a shame that so much death lay below her feet. A frown played across her lips.

Not everything in the barren landscape was dead, though. The boulder concluded its tale by showing her an image of her own form sitting next to it, from the rock's point of view. Sésuga didn't notice the creature at first, though she didn't know how she missed it. His fur stood out quite a bit, golden in the moonlight. She slowly lowered her hand and muttered thanks to the great rock before rising from her sitting position. The fae slowly turned, her green eyes moving to him.

He was large, bigger in mass than she was, though they were probably the same height. He was a peculiar looking wolf, if he was even a wolf at all. He looked a little too feline to be a canine, but a little too canine to be a feline. Her mind settled on a cross, perhaps a demonic cross, but a mixed breed none the less. He showed no signs of hostility, and his eyes didn't seem too threatening.

Slowly, the charcoal femme began to stroll toward him, her head cocked slightly, her ears at attention. The moon shone brightly enough on the sands that he would be able to see her clearly, if not slightly shadowed at this distance. When she felt she was at a comfortable distance, she slowed to a stop. Her tail hung low and wagged slightly, and her bodice was relaxed. She didn't want to offend this wolf.

"Hello there," She said softly, her smile evident.

[Felypsa]

There was a prolonged moment when each of them took in the presence of the other, and Keroberos was internally debating whether he should make the first move. Just when he thought that she was too wary to approach, she made her way toward him, her stance relaxed, and greeted him first. He gave a smile, somewhat lopsided, his own posture indicative of calmness.

“Hello yourself.” They were quite a strange pair of creatures in the desert. He had a feeling she was just as curious about him as he was about her. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you before. I think I would remember you.” No, he knew he would. “Are you new to these lands—or have I been so holed up that I have not noticed such a unique being walking by?” He tilted his head toward her. “I am Keroberos.” He could not assume that she would know who he was, even if she was a member of these lands. Kero was not as high-profile as he used to be. He spent a lot of his free time falling from the sky and inadvertantly starting wars…apparently…

oOc| sorry for the delay! and the shortness x.x

[Le Mad]

She couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face when he responded with the same curious tone that she had started with. She was glad that he introduced himself right off the bat. How wonderful to know he wasn't angry with her trespassing, though she wasn't doing anything, she had been confronted by many a scout for being in packlands without belonging to a pack.

"Keroberos.." She murmured softly. She liked the way his name sounded. "No, I'm not new to these lands. I'm not new to any territory in Shinkou, but I'm new to you, and you're new to me. I'm Sésuga." She smiled. Her eyes moved over him, taking in his features.

Upon closer inspection she decided that he was more wolf than a big cat. He seemed like quite the specimen, however. A great example of a warrior. He had a few scars on him that she could see in this dim light, but that didn't matter at the moment. Sésuga spoke again.

"What a lovely night.. Are you a member of the Akeru pack, Keroberos?" She asked quickly, her head cocking to the side, her green eyes reflecting the moon.

[/size]

OoC:That's alright! :D

[Felypsa]

He didn’t mean to be rude, but he had a terrible itch behind his ear. So while she was talking, Kero reached up with his hind leg and went to town on that bad boy. Of course, that didn’t stop him from listening closely to her words. She was no stranger, but there was still something foreign, something exotic about her, in appearance and in name. Kero himself, no doubt, appeared the same way to her, especially now that he was acting like an agitated puppy. He set his hind leg down with a sigh when relief came.

“Sésuga. Such a beautiful name.” He tilted his head to look at her. “I am actually a member of the Shinkou pack. But since we are allies, I am free to wander between the two.” It was not, actually, something he did very often. But he was being nagged by that mystery of his lost memory, and this desert was the closest he could get to the place where he had fallen from the sky…Giaku. After the recent war, the two sides were still nursing their casualties, and if Kero went waltzing back there, he would be attacked worse than before. He himself had delivered plenty of damage to the Giaku army that invaded the Allies.

He let out a snort as he shook those thoughts from his head. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Sésuga. Might I ask what you were doing with that rock yonder?” He gave a gentle smile. “It seemed to me as though you were communicating with it. I’ve seen stranger things, so no need to be shy about the truth.”

[Le Mad]

The large femme grinned and let out a giggle as she watched him scratch behind his ear. He was such an odd looking fellow, though she was probably just as odd to him. Her bobbed tail wagged as she glanced to the ground. She felt almost self-conscious, but it was probably because of the fact that she hadn’t been around other creatures in quite some time, always watching from afar.

Sésuga smiled as she complimented his name, letting a brief thanks before he went on. He spoke about being a member of the Shinkou pack and she realized that she’d never seen him before. In all of the years that she’d been watching the packs, she hadn’t ever noticed him. She began to ponder how she’d missed him, when he began to speak, asking about what she had been doing with the rock.

The large fae smiled once more. She looked back to the rock, before turning her head back to Keroberos. An idea sparked in her mind, and she livened up quickly.

“Come, I’ll show you.” She spoke softly, beckoning to him with her left handpaw. If he followed, she would trot to the rock and sit down next to it. Sésuga would sit her weight on her haunches, pressing a darkly colored paw to the large rock, and offering the other one to the male. She would explain that he needed to place a paw in hers and open his mind to the world around him, her bright eyes glimmering. If he took her hand, she would look back to the rock and reach for its mind.

Once the connection was made, the zimbar femme would close her eyes, willing the link to extend to Keroberos, and she would introduce him. The boulder would respond with its own introduction. Sésuga would look back to Kero once more, awaiting his reaction.

[Felypsa]

For a moment, Kero wondered if he had overstepped the boundary of a newly met stranger by asking this, but to his surprise and pleasure, she agreed to do more than just explain—she intended to demonstrate. He was a bit skeptical but for some reason, he allowed himself to trust her. When she told him what to do, he placed his paw on hers and couldn’t help but notice that, though his was still much bigger than hers, she still had quite sizable paws herself. Yet he did not linger on this observation for long; she ordered him to clear his mind, and he closed his eyes, attempting to do just that.

Of course, a few thoughts lingered like nasty flies, but when he finally managed to shoo them all away and leave his mind free and open, he felt a surge of a presence that he had never felt before. He had not known what to expect, but it was not that. Startled, he removed his paw from hers and eyed the boulder. It was just a big rock. It had always been an inanimate object to him, nothing worth his attention or time. Yet Sésuga could…speak to it…at least, as much as one could speak to an object that has no real thoughts…

Kero licked his chops and tilted his head at her. “Well. That is certainly a unique talent of yours.” He did not touch her again, though, because that connection had somewhat unnerved him. It was odd enough listening to the wind whisper in his ear like a gossipy ghost. But the words and sounds that the wind brought him were not formulated by the wind, but rather, were carried from far away. It was something else entirely to think that it might be, in its own sense, alive.

The great wolf shook his head. “Of all my many many years of existence…I won’t tell you how many…” He gave a slight grin, “I have never experienced anything of the sort. How long have you had this…ability?”

[Le Mad]

Sésuga was a tad prideful when the connection was successful, but that was quickly replaced by a bit of worry when he removed his paw quickly. He looked a bit ruffled, and she was afraid she had done something wrong. She let out a relieved sigh and took her hand from the boulder when he told her that her ability was unique. She smiled apologetically.

He spoke again, saying that he hadn't ever seen or heard anything like what she'd helped him to experience. The great femme looked toward the ground, trying to remember when she started noticing it, her eyes narrowing.

"I can't quite remember ever not having it, Keroberos," She said, almost sheepishly, "I just.. Learned on my own I suppose." It was true, she couldn't remember ever not having it. She always spent her free time learning about what the plants and rocks had seen in their past. She turned to him, blinking and beginning to speak.

"Do you use magic?" She asked rather innocently.

[[OoC: Sorry about the delay. Busy busy busy lately. D:]]

[Felypsa]

She was just born with it—fascinating. The implications were staggering. She was a loner now but she never truly lacked for companionship. She found it even in the most unlikely of places. Kero gazed at her for a moment, considering that. If only she could…hmm…hold that thought. Sésuga inquired about his magical ability, and he had to give a large smile.

“The wind is my gossiping friend…when I want it to, and sometimes when I don’t, it tells me of conversations and events far away…it exposes whatever secrets it wishes.” Not that Kero was ever interested in scandal. He only listened to the wind when it was necessary for battle or some other immediate concern. And when he wanted to make fun of his family members. But he was not interested in the idle lives of strangers.

“It comes to my aid in a fight as well…it can be very powerful.” He wasn’t going to tell her to what extent. There was no point in getting into it—how Kero could himself become a furious whirlwind, a bodiless being of rage. Such things were not for polite conversation. Kero decided to demonstrate on a very small scale. Focusing lightly on the ground, he caused the air to gather and stir, picking up enough sand to create a tiny sandy tornado about the size of Kero’s paw. He reached out with his paw and turned it upward, letting the small thing dance into the palm. “As you can see…the wind is my friend. And I try not to anger it lest it ever attack me.” He gave a wink.

oOc| lol don't worry...as you can see I'm slow too...it's been a seriously hellish couple of weeks lol but the end is near!

[Le Mad]

Sésuga smiled at the thinking Keroberos. She liked his energy. He had a good vibe, and she cursed herself for not having paid more attention to him while she watched the packs. Her large ears perked up when he began to speak about his own powers, explaining that the wind was his ally. She liked the way he put it, thinking that he had control over the force. She was a bit surprised when he explained that the wind actually spoke to him, just as the earth spoke to her.

“Just like the rocks and plants.” She chimed, smiling. She imagined what it would be like, to talk to the wind, and figured that it would be a lot like talking to the trees and the rocks. The femme wondered about what stories it would have to tell Kero. She glanced back to him, snapping back from her wandering mind’s trail. Her head cocked to the side as she watched him concentrate on the ground.

She gaped slightly when the twister formed and drifted into his paw. He really did have command of the wind, or at least a strong bond with it. She hadn’t ever thought of the wind as a living thing, but some didn’t even think of plants as living. The Zimbar smiled when he spoke of staying on the wind’s good side and she laughed.

“Say, Kero,” She said, a thought coming to mind, “How’d you find yourself in a wolf pack? You seem... Less and more than a lupine creature.” She asked this with an honest innocence. In no way did Sésuga mean to be rude or offensive by this comment, but she was truly curious. She knew Akeru and Shinkou were reluctant to accept demonic creatures, and Kero didn’t look demonic, but the fae hadn’t ever seen any creature like him.

[Felypsa]

His little demonstration impressed her, and Kero couldn’t help but feel a little proud as he dissipated the wind, setting his paw down once more. Now that they were acquainted, Sésuga asked the question that she must have been wondering since she first saw him. Kero had to give a gentle laugh. It was a question he had often been put up to and he usually gave a vague answer because the truth was so complicated. “It is a long story…” He might as well warn her. “And some of it you may or may not believe.” He shifted to sit down on his haunches; might as well get comfortable.

“Long ago, when I was traveling on my own…I somehow got swept up into Akunikai, the spirit world.” He closed his eyes briefly, remembering. “I wasn’t dead yet…a living creature where I did not belong. I was trapped, but I knew I could get out if I just fought. After a series of adventures, I ended up facing a very powerful creature…a Spirit Lion who was a guardian in Akunikai. He refused to let me leave and said I had to stay until my natural life-force ran out. I challenged him to a battle…I’m afraid I was very hardheaded in those days. I resolved all my conflicts with violence and fighting.” Kero gave an apologetic smile. Yes he had been quite the arrogant hot-blooded busybody.

“After some deliberation, the Lion agreed. We fought and…I have never been in a more vicious duel in my life. I thought I wouldn’t survive. But I defeated him. In the end, I just defeated him. Killed him, actually.” Kero let out a sigh. For some reason he felt a pang of guilt for it now, though he never had before. Something tugging at his memory. A clue, perhaps, to what he had forgotten? “And by doing that, a portal opened for me. But when I left, I found that the Spirit Lion had been fused with my body…giving me the appearance you see today. His strength was mine too, and I was even more powerful than before. Of course I abused this strength for a while…until I was humbled. But that’s another, very different story.”

He blinked and looked back at Sésuga. “I hope I did not bore you with such a tale. But it is true. I looked very different before I killed that Lion…I was gray and bland-looking. Personally, I think I look a lot better now.” He straightened up into a pose, smirking at her. Oh, yes, he had been humbled…but that didn’t mean he couldn’t show off every now and then. A little harmless flirting.

[Le Mad]

When Keroberos got comfortable, Sésuga took her chance, and lay down on the ground. Her ears perked up, and she focused intently on him. A slight breeze drifted its way through the wasteland, blowing her fur in different directions. She began to ponder the circumstances on how he had managed to get swept up into the great beyond. Her eyes took on an air of wonder as he told his story.

Her ears swiveled backward when he spoke of challenging the lion. She didn’t like the idea of him fighting, or fighting at all, but she had assumed when she met him that he was involved with the war. The dark femme was completely bewildered by his story. There were so many unanswered questions floating around in her head, though she knew the male could not answer them himself. They were questions that might not ever get answered, so she buried them for thinking purposes. She cracked a smile when he spoke of being drab colors once upon a time, laughing a comment.

“We would have been two of a kind then, Keroberos.” She smiled, and then laughed even more when he struck a pose. “Yes, yes, you’re quite handsome.” She laughed. He was a magnificent creature, and he made sense now. When she looked at him then, she didn’t wonder how he came to look that way, but she saw him for himself.

“I’m glad to have finally made a friend that’s like me. Well, even if that friend’s part lion.” She chuckled, grinning at him.

[Felypsa]

He had her undivided attention, and she responded well enough, agreeing with him, though she made him laugh. “I’m just unique,” he mused, looking down at her. But then again, so was she, and she pointed out that they were good for one another because of their uniqueness. The freak factor; they had to stick together. Kero let a smile dance across his maw and he tilted his head. “Likewise. What species are you again?” He felt that it was vaguely familiar but he wasn’t sure what, exactly, it was.

oOc| sorry for shortness x.x But I do have a vague plot in mind...

[Le Mad]

The dark female let her green eyes chase the patterns that the stars wove across the sky, comfortable and content with where she lay. She pondered for a moment how alike the stars were, though some were bigger and others smaller. Her head turned to look at Kero once more as he spoke, asking what species she was. She smiled in return thinking about how to phrase it.

"I am a halfbreed; my mother was a Zimbar and my father a Mutatio," said the gentle femme, looking back at Keroberos.

[/blockquote]

OoC: It's fine. Hope you don't mind my short post either. xD. And, Ooo. What kind of plot? o:[/size]