tria 18th, 81381. private for jodie. jude ahara. Once upon a time, the Tere river had been clean and sparkling. It stood a few yards in from the ocean, the mangrove-like plants filtering out salt to truly make it brackish water. Now brown and white sculptures of foam and sludge drifted serenely down the river, often covering it for yards at a stretch. And where the surface of the water was visible it was covered with a molecules-thin petrochemical sheen. There was a loud whirring as a couple of geese, thankful to be back in the area again after the long, exhausting flight across the sea, landed on the rainbow-slicked water, and sank without trace. Funny old world, another might have thought. Here’s the Tere, used to be the prettiest river in this part of the world, and now it’s a glorified industrial sewer. The birds sink to the bottom, and the fishes float to the top. Jude would never think such thoughts. She continued to gaze out at the ocean, following an impressive sludge and foam sculpture with her bright blue eyes. “So beautiful," she murmured softly. “It’s all so damn beautiful." Her voice was a dark echo from the night places, a cold slab of sound, gray, and dead. If that voice was a stone, it would have had words chiseled on it a long time ago: a name, and two dates. She opened up a bag. In it was a bracelet – a circlet of white metal, set with diamonds. She gazed at it with some satisfaction, then put it on – it glinted in the light of the rising sun. Then the tarnish, which had begun to suffuse the silvery surface when her fingers had first touched it, spread to cover it completely – and the bracelet went black. Jude, along with the rest of her family, as far back as time could trace, had toxins stored in pockets throughout their body, available to be released when needed. She’d been testing its effects on certain materials, but had needed some “fresh air" and time out in the field. There’s one thing you can say for air pollution: you get amazing sunrises. It looked as though someone had set fire to the sky. And a careless match would have set fire to the river, but alas, she couldn’t do that now. Far beneath the thunders of the upper sea, far, far, beneath in the abyssal sea, the kraken sleepeth. And now it was waking up. Millions of tons of sea ooze cascaded off its flanks as it rose. As it billowed through the icy waters, it picked up the microwave noise of the sea, the sorrowing beeps and whistles of whale and fishsong. The kraken stirs. And ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengeance.
ooc - I didn't mean for this one to get long. I just haven't written as Kay in a long while. :x Kakosenas' hands were in her pockets. She was dressed casually, wearing a pair of tight dark grey pants and a bright yellow and black shirt. Kakos seemed to have done a complete 180. Over the years she'd gained confidence as well as skill. She was no longer the meek, sneaky shade she had once been. She still immensely enjoyed her solitude. She enjoyed it so much that she had cast off all her friends. Instead she now organized individuals in her life by their worth. It was much easier to deal with them that way. Even if it was a tad shallow. She could ignore their feelings more easily and better manipulate them. Her contemporaries still continued to underestimate her... of course, to Shriker, this was always an advantage. Real estate had become her interest. Specifically the seemingly worthless swamplands of Bhim. She'd been laughed at when she'd bought such undesirable acreage in what was considered the “shit-hole" of Ramath-lehi. Of course, they didn't understand the land's true value. She'd gotten the deeds and the sellers took no notice of the bright gleam in her yellow eyes. Blissfully ignorant twits. Still, Shriker had not been able to completely escape her old habits and mannerisms. She was still the same in many ways. Her step was still light, her stride more of a sneaking lurk than anything. The way she watched her surroundings, making she she didn't have anyone tailing her, still remained the same. Almost always she felt the need to move around, lest she be found. There was still her father, Refsto as well. Kakosenas had last seen him on that diabolical cruise ship. He'd issued her a warning and Kakos had opted to put as much distance between him and herself as she could. Bhim was his territory though. Refsto's clan was here. If she were to meddle in the wrong way at the wrong time... Her eye twitched at the thought. She still needed more time. More time, and then maybe she'd be ready to face him. Bhim was wondrous. Irregardless of what others said. Most knew it only to be corrupt... and not for its actual land value. Still, the land, Kakos reasoned, had been changing over time. When she had been younger, things had looked a lot differently. Instead of being predominantly a world wide trading post, industrialists had started popping up. Instead of goods being brought to Bhim in order to be traded – some of them were being manufactured here. It didn't seem quite right, but what did she know, or really care, about that? Kakosenas was walking along the beach, her footprints being devoured by the waves as she continued along. She liked the pull of the water on her feet. So ominous and powerful. It made her heart swell up with love and awe. She couldn't command the ocean in its entirety. It was still beyond her grasp. Maybe, in time, much like Refsto, she could become its master. What a day that would be. Kakos closed her eyes briefly and made a happy bird-like 'chirring' sound. It wasn't long before she had come upon the river Tere. There was a time when it was different. Now it was a snaking river of sludge. Shriker walked up to one of the banks, frowning more and more as she neared. It wasn't that she disliked the pollution or what it did to the creatures that lived (or used to live) in the river. It was what the pollution did to the water. It made it weak. Kakos knelt down beside the bank, then she got down even lower so that she was now laying on her stomach. Deciding to tempt whatever fates there were out there, she cupped her hands and slipped them into the filthy water. What she retrieved wasn't fit for any sort of living consumption. Still, Shriker raised her taloned hands to her mouth and took a sip. It was interesting to say the least. She let the rest of the water fall back into the river, then glanced up along its length. It would seem that she wasn't quite alone as she had first thought. Not much more than 20 feet away there was a lone female figure. Kakos scrambled back up so that she was now in a spring-filled crouch. “Hello little sirrah. What business have you here?" her voice carried to the young thill as she tilted her head to the side.
This was better. It was awful, and Jude was sure that sometime in the future her programming would fail and her apathetic fortitude would fail, leaving her to feel terribly guilty about her feelings on Sare - but right now the only thing that coursed through her veins was a surging sense of relief. Jude deflated, her upright posture slackening until she was practically slouching, her bright eyes softening slightly. She needed to feel useful, because she generally did nothing but work, drink, have extemporaneous sex, and sleep on occasion. She was useless. Just like her mother had sa – no. She was a mountain climber. She was a fighter. She was the essence of determination. She had ambition written on her forehead. Blind ambition. Programmed into her. Like a computer on a trial run. And experimental robot. Junk metal. Jude flinched slightly as her train of thought veered severely off course, slipping the bracelet and an equally blackened necklace onto her body in silence. Leaning forwards, Juju rested her head on her knees, curled into a fetal position like a small child, her eyes wide and absent as they stared straight ahead, finding no words to express her feelings without betraying some part of herself she wished to keep secret. Someone was coming – - “Hello little sirrah. What business have you here?" Jude turned around, Skillet (her pet AD tmuka who lived in her shirt half the time) poked his curious little head out from the back of her lab coat. "Hello, sweetie," she purred, giving him a soft kiss on the top of his before turning back to the dark-furred thill. "Oh," she said, extending an arm for a handshake. "I came out here to do some fieldwork. The pollution’s not so great, but the ocean’s beautiful, huh?"
Kakosenas' large tufted ears flattened back against her head. She'd gotten better at meeting people over the years, but she still wasn't comfortable with strangers. She'd always had a rather distrustful, anxiety-filled nature. Who knew what could happen if she let her guard down. Kakos wasn't about to find out. She eyed the other thill for a moment as well as the other's extended hand. Although it might have been considered rude, the soot coloured thill chose to overlook the offered handshake. She glanced down at her own taloned hands briefly. She'd just touched that water after all. Who knew what sort of disease she could be carrying now. Instead, she slipped her hands into her pockets and rocked gently back onto the heels of her bare feet. At least this girl seemed to have an appreciation for the ocean. That made her a little favourable in Shriker's black books. What sort of fieldwork one would be doing out here though, Kakos had no idea. She decided not to ask. “It is beautiful," she agreed. “One day I'd like to have it." It was a strange choice of words, but it summed up the private thoughts she'd been contemplating along her walk. She then looked at the creature that was poking its head out of the young thill's coat. Its eyes seemed to glitter with a bright intelligence. “Is that your tmuka?"
ooc. For further reference - is Many there with her? ic. Kakos spoke about Skillet, simultaneous with the appearance of a wide, dazzling smile that split the girl's oblong jaw in half. "Yep," she said. "This is Skillet. He's a sweetheart, but he lives in my lab coats, most of the time. Guess he's a little shy." Juju nodded understandingly at Skillet, as though they were sharing some sort of little secret. "Would you like to own the whole world, too?" A relatively small amount of blood was dribbling from a bird nearby. To be seen, especially after the ground was disturbed by Shriker's own shuffling footsteps, one would require equal measures of daylight and sharp eyesight. That is, of course, if sight was the only means by which fresh blood made itself apparent. The volume of air it affected was many thousands of times that of its source. It spread outwards like an explosion, coating every available surface in a thick, metallic smell. To Jude, sitting by the river, it was like running into a wall. A very appealing wall. She stopped on a dime, head snapping in the direction of the intoxicating smell. Her movements were quick, clean, and precise, like a cat on high alert. Within minutes, she had followed the invisible trail over to a tree, stealing through the shadows and sunlight with feline grace and the deadly silence of fallout. "Should I put it out of its misery?" Jude purred airily, cocking her head to one side, a distressed frown on her face.
ooc – He/it always is... just not visible at the moment. I could make him visible though. I don't think anyone has seen him yet in character. Kakosenas nodded as the thill gave her her tmuka's name. Priorities, right? The tmuka was certainly the prettier of the two. Specially with its bright shiny scales. Kakos' mouth opened in response to her question, but for a moment she didn't say a word. Was there anything implied by the stranger's question? It didn't seem like it. It was harmless enough. Besides, it wasn't exactly like she had plans for world domination. Shriker had very specific interests. “No. I think not. The oceans would suffice. They're larger than the land... which I suppose is ambitious to even think about. Perhaps though... perhaps I'll start with freshwater and then move onto the salt. Sometimes it is best to take little steps at first." She liked to talk about the water. Certainly one could mistake her for an environmentalist if they listened to her long enough. However Kakos didn't care a great deal for many of the creatures and their habitats which were continuously being destroyed. She'd be disappointed if they were all gone of course – then she'd have no one to play with. A sudden movement by the copper female made Shriker instinctively crouch lower to the ground. What had she seen? Or smelt, as it appeared. Kakos trailed after her, her curiosity piqued. It didn't take her too long to notice the faint scent of blood. If she hadn't been trying to figure out just what had spurred the other female, she probably wouldn't have noticed it at all. Soon enough they were upon the body of an injured bird. As they approached it, Kakos could sense the creature's heart begin to race even faster in panic. “You found it... so do with it what you want."
"That is is," she said, nodding softly. Along the steady return to normality, her resolve to carry through the entire healing ritual began to dissolve like an open packet of Pop Rocks in the rain. Soon she’d act to amuse herself – flirtatious and witty, carefree with just a hint of malevolence to every action, every word. Jude was a strange individual, subject to more mood swings than your average premenstrual female. That was if her shell was pierced. A delicate balancing act, working in sync with natural homeostasis, fought a silent battle to keep her out of harm’s way. And when it hadn’t been prepared, it broke, shattered and bleeding – the consequence of which could be documented in Jude’s rather traumatic week. But now, it was patching up. She just needed to pretend it’d never happen, and forget about Sari’s parents wanting to get in touch with her. And have a bit of fun. For old time chemistry’s sake. Faster than it had taken hold, the potent shot of dark, vehement fury melded with the irregular crimson tide into whose environment it had intruded. The sudden change felt like a vertical drop, the comedown after a night on cheap, contaminated drugs. Somewhere, both hands in the tight, loving grip of teary-eyed relatives, a dying man offered up his last breath to the highest bidder. Seconds later, it left Jude’s lungs, hoarse and dreadfully aged by the weight of an unforgiving world it had but glanced during the fleeting second spent nestled against the girl’s heart. “Um," she murmured. “You happen to know any healing magic… what’syourname? I’m Jude, by the way."
Healing magic. What was this young thill all about? Just mere moments ago, Kakos could have sworn that she'd been about to kill the small bird and put it out of its misery. Now it was as if she was filled with compassion for the injured creature. Had whatever been in her been punctured and deflated? Where had that creature gone? Puzzled, Shriker held onto her words for the time being. She knew limited healing magic. The most she could do would be to simply stop the bleeding. She couldn't fix or set bones, nor tend expertly to internal injuries. The bird was, in her opinion, as good as dead. It was unfortunate that her brother Yoake wasn't still around. He'd been the yin to her yang. The light to her dark. However, he was also partially the reason why she'd been exiled from her clan and un-named. She'd most likely never see him again. “Nay. I cannot prevent the winged one from dying. However, I could make death come swifter if you wish. The goddess Jaitl has given me a gift for such things." Countless small creatures had met their deaths by Kakosenas' hands. Blood sacrifices, shrouded rituals... they all had their time and place. Re-animating the dead was also in Shriker's repertoire, but to waste such magic on a bird? It was ridiculous. “You may call me Cipher. A nonentity. A zero. One with little importance. Yes?"
Jude's lips tightened and wrinkled, shedding several shades of youthful colour as blood was forced out – for but a fraction of a split second before they were pulled into a wide, Cheshire Cat smile. Strands of black, yellow, and blue parted to expose a pair of wide, expressionless eyes, ill matched to the toothy smile connected to them by her nose. "Well, I guess that's a good skill to have!" She finished with flourish and even had the nerve to laugh, but considering she'd been about to saunter into a trap without bait, one might feel she was entitled to it. There was a raw edge to Cipher's response – the kind that gilded the voice of daredevil youngsters who had greatly underestimated the difference in trauma factor between the miniature roller coaster and the adult upgrade. "Mhm. Okay, then - you can kill it painlessly?"
Shriker nodded in agreement. It certainly was a good skill to have. Specially when it came to her line of work. Although recently she had been trying to broaden her range of skills. Being able to kill things was useful, but there were so many other things out there to learn and practise. As for Jude, Kakos was now having mixed feelings about the thill. She was either completely insane, had some sort of personality complex... or who knows what. Who was Shriker to judge someone on account of mood fluctuations though? She herself was sometimes a captive of such similar impulsive swings. She chose to ignore Jude's shifts. To try and keep up with that roller coaster would give her a headache no doubt. Instead her attention snapped to and focused on the bird. It was a poor looking thing. Although it was only bleeding slightly, Shriker could tell that the damage already done was crippling. One of its wings was broken. A bird that couldn't fly was already as good as dead. “Mm, yes. Painlessly." Shriker took this as confirmation and slunk toward the small bird. When it noticed her and realized her murderous intent, it let out several loud calls of alarm. “Shhh..." Shriker hissed as she cornered the creature between herself and a tree. It was flailing its broken limb, trying to edge away in a panic. Using both of her scaled hands, Shriker reached out and grabbed the ailing bird. Her left hand covered its head so that it was immediately silenced and couldn't see. Her right hand held its body firmly in her claw-like grasp. Shriker could feel its tiny heart beating furiously against her hands. For such a small, dying bird, it certainly still had a lot of life left in it. She glanced over her shoulder at Jude. “Is there anything you wanted to say before I...?"
ooc. I swear. This is the weirdest thread I’ve ever been in – I mean, Jude is tarnishing a bracelet, Kakos stumbles over her, and Ju finds a dying bird and has Kakos kill it…? x_o Poor birdie. ic. Like the climax scene of a psychological thriller, head bowed forward enough to transform her eyes into the slanted glare of archetypal villains, Jude crept over to watch the fluttering bird die. "Poor thing," she murmured. Had she hunched over just a little bit more, the subliminal vibes emitted as a result would probably have woken the nearest ‘dragons up and the day would’ve been saved. But she didn’t, they didn’t, and it wasn’t. In no other situation could frantic squaking have sounded so much like the coming of the apocalypse. The thought of breathing didn’t hit Jude until her diaphragm forcefully drew air into his starved lungs. Coordination had long since absented itself from her list of physical characteristics, so the dark eyes remained shut whilst she took a few short breaths to break the daze. Slowly but surely, ordinary functions began to return, struggling into motion like stubborn farm tractors. She didn’t catch Cipher’s eye, instinctively deciding that it was high time for the infamous ‘cool’ to return to the scene. "Um. I hope that you dont' feel anything and that you're happy in Fromina and... uh, yeah. Yeah. You can go ahead, now."
ooc – Weird is so good though. Kakosenas' tufted ears flattened themselves back against her head as Jude crept closer to her and the bird. The short fur on the back of her neck bristled momentarily before settling back down. She didn't like it when others came too close to her. She didn't like being within any sort of grabbing range. Jude, despite her oddball nature, didn't seem like much of a threat. Still, she was starting to make Shriker feel uneasy and paranoid. For a moment, Jude's breathing stopped. Two for the price of one? Shriker thought a little darkly. Yet as Kakos watched her from out of the corner of her eye, the thill resumed what appeared to be relatively normal functions. How strange, but also how interesting. She was talking now. Shriker didn't wait for Jude to go through her entire spiel. The small bird's heart was beating frantically in her hands. If she kept it captive for much longer, the little thing might just give itself a heart attack. So it was midway through Jude's last sentence that Shriker gave a sharp twist of her hands. -SNAP- She broke the creature's neck. Instantly it was still and limp in her hands. Disinterested with it now that it was dead, she deposited the bird's body upon the ground and retreated several steps. “Mm, well that's done... certainly is." Shriker glanced at her hands – taloned, just like the bird's feet had been. She licked her right forefinger, ridding it of some of the fresh blood that had settled there. It was delightful.
With the bird not dead yet, desperation was growing in her like a cancer, diverting both blood and mind away from the rest of her body, and with that, the scraps of sanity that sometimes dotted her rabid blue eyes. Jude watched intently as Cipher snapped the bird's neck, unflinching at the sound that marked the breakage of vertabrae. When Cipher licked the blood from the back of her hand, the further her wicked grin pulled back. It looked out of place in a face that would otherwise have looked delicate, carved from copper fur and decorated with thick, dark lashes. Her manic gaze settled on the other thill's face, the look giving her something of what washed-out addicts had during their last desperate days before either death or rehab sunk its claws in. Jude mused quietly, watching with morbid delight as the options multiplied on the screen in front of her eyes – a permanent feature that played on the concept of ‘rose-tinted glasses’, but of a slightly different shade. "So... you like the blood?" she asked quietly.
Somewhat startled by Jude's bright gaze, Kakosenas drew herself up to her full height. Perhaps Jude's question had be innocent. Perhaps it hadn't. She looked hard at Jude, her eyes narrowing but her mouth remaining expressionless. She still wasn't quite sure what to make of this thill. Whatever feelings she' been developing for her were still neutral – neither friend nor foe. “I'm not a vampire," she answered back just as quietly, her tone strangely musical. Why were they being quiet? Did it really matter? No one was around to hear them after all. “I suppose I do like it... although to have a diet that consists primarily of blood?" Kakos bristled then spat violently to her left side. She couldn't fathom stalking creatures simply for their blood. What a waste it was.
"Mhm," Jude said, shrugging nonchalantly. "I like it, myself, even though I'm not a vampire. I have a blood kink." Her mouth twisted in the proverbial ":/" and her gaze fell to the ground. She sorted her tri-colored hair into columns between her fingers, her sick, acid-spawned grin on her face again. Off in the distance, the water was roaring and bubbling up. "What is that?" Jude spat, narrowing her ocean-blue eyes. Her brow creased in disdain, and an ancient line of poetry snagged on a branch of thought in her mind, ringing hard and clear like a hammer to the head: Far beneath the thunders of the upper sea, far, far, beneath in the abyssal sea, the kraken sleepeth.
Shriker was relieved. At least partially. She had been beginning to suspect that Jude was some sort of a vampire. A blood kink was quite different and to her – perfectly acceptable. She had never gotten along with those certain “creatures of the night." They were a menace and not even worth the dust they walked upon. Her attention snapped to the bubbling water sound which was further highlighted by Jude's voice. Shriker wet her lips as she watched the water froth and seethe. It was music to her ears. It felt so angry. The type of passionate anger the Kakosenas would love to harness. “It isn't I," Shriker assured Jude. “That there is passion. Someone isn't very happy."
<blockquote>"Mm-mm," Jude shook her head, calmly, staring out at the horizon. She remained standing, routinely cracking each and every knuckle whilst lowering herself to sit against the backs of her heels. Another button on her had-been-starchy lab coat had come undone, and the whole thing now looked a bit like a waiter gone without rest for twice his recommended – and legal - hours. But it looked good on Jude. It suited her hair. Anything ruffled did. "Wonder what it is..." Mischief still managed to shine through the obvious fatigue that still lingered like residue at the bottom of a coffee cup in her squinted, expressive eyes. They fixed Kakos with a look you might’ve wanted to use to tell children white lies. "Don't hurt me with it," she commanded, making it sound like an option. The infamous head-tilt made both eyes clearly visible, pleading in a cute, non-threatening sort of way. "Please." White lies.</blockquote>
Shriker was confused. Or rather, Jude was confusing. Actually, she found most pendragons, aside from herself, confusing. She tilted her head, not understanding. Jude's words were clear, but her tone said something else entirely. Kakos met Jude's eyes, her own lemon drop gaze quite vacant and uncomprehending. Suddenly something brushed against Kakos' left bare foot. Startled, she jumped to the right. Standing where she had been just previously was a small, mutated creature. It was Many. Slowly, very slowly, the rabbit-faced daemon turned its head and gazed solemnly up at Kakosenas with its wide, putrid yellow eyes. Shriker's teeth chattered involuntarily. Jude was forgotten. Kakos had at once been captivated by Many's spell. With that same casual slowness, as if he had all the time in the world, Many closed the distance between them. Similar to Kakos, he had no shadow. However, unlike her, he left no footprints. No trace. No indication of his passage. He seemed to almost glide. Many came to a rest by Kakos' left foot. Why had he decided to show himself? He was usually sleeping. Quietly tucked away... Silent. <span style="color:#EFB61D">[It is curious.]</span> Shriker felt Many's telepathic voice inside her head. It was an uncomfortable sound. Burning and dangerous. Much like a smoldering coal. However, it was the only way that he could talk in this form. Having no mouth was somewhat of a disadvantage. “Hey... er. Jude?" Shriker once again became aware of the other thill's presence. “This is Many. He wanted to meet you."
<blockquote>JudeÂ’s glare at the water intensified. Her irises threatened to burst into .gif flames, dangerously angled even without the enhancing lines. "I've never heard of anything like that water bubbling from a creature..." For a minute, she looked and sounded like Hannibal, "Hope it doesn't come after us." Jude gaze startled over the creature curling like smoke around Cipher's foot. It was firey, almost, like Jude - she had a faint smell of ashes and flame to her, as though her very feet had stepped from the fires of Hell. She surveyed the daemon - it was white, with piss-yellow eyes and appeared to be the illegimate offspring of a rabbit and a goat. "Hey, Many. You're awful cute, you know." Right then, a slimy tentacle poked out of the water.</blockquote>
Shriker's large tufted ears had spread them flat against her skull. The appearance of Many was enough to make her worry. Bad things always tended to happen whenever he attempted to physically manifest himself. Death liked to follow hot on those cloven hoofs of his. Not to mention that keeping a corporeal form was a difficult task for him. It was almost laughable how pathetic and how “cute," as Jude had so aptly put it, he became in the physical realm. Maybe... maybe if Jude let her, she could show the thill exactly what Many really looked like. He was weak. So weak in this existence... but elsewhere? He had the sort of phenomenal power that made Kakosenas tremble. Aside from looking at Jude and blinking at her several times, Many didn't react much to being called cute. He simply stood for a moment before stepping onto Shriker's left foot. He felt weightless. If it wasn't for the cold emanating from his body, she wouldn't even have noticed he was there. “He's only really um... cute, here." Shriker fumbled with her words, not quite knowing how to explain Many to Jude. Fortunately, she was spared having to. A tentacle had slipped out of the water. The sight of it caused Kakosenas to jump – much like she had mere moments earlier. Many was thrown off of her foot, yet landed gracefully enough several feet away. Shriker landed in a crouch, a dagger-like icicle forming in her left hand. She didn't want to hurt the creature. She liked beasts. She had a camaraderie with quite a few of them. Still, the watery depths held secrets... creatures she'd never come in touch with before such as this one. And ooh, was the water around it ever angry. Water couldn't talk of course, but she could sense it well enough. This wasn't a friend.
