Okkie didn’t wait for a reply. A hollow boom of thunder rippled the air, and the hybrid pointed her nose at the damp earth. She spread her scruffy wings out as wide as she possibly could, then began to descend, her velocity greatly slowed by her widespread feathers. Despite the sluggish pace, however, she was earthbound in less than a minute, her porcelain mitts meeting the soft terra as she banked softly and landed. For a split second, she stood solidly on the earth, her gaze directed upwards as she watched the skies churn violently. Then, the soft soil beneath her feet gave way, and she began to sink. It was only then that the femme realized her landing spot was none other than a muddy sink hole. “Oh — yuck!" Her cry was muted by another peal of thunder, as Okkatteiru waded through the dirty sludge. She attempted to move around and find more sturdy earth, but it took her a good few moments to find the edge of the mud puddle. When she did, the Angry One bounded from the grime, stockings of muddy green filth sliming up her legs. Okkie grimaced a bit, but did not otherwise try to clean herself up. It was only dirt, after all. It would dry and crumble off, just as the mud spots from earlier would. Besides, it was doing her no harm. Otherwise could be said about the tempest brewing overhead. Once again, the banded female peered towards the charcoal sky, her mismatched orbs watching in silent awe as the storm hooded the earth below. It had been thundering in the distance for a while, and now it swooped rapidly over her head, grumbling and crackling. Bright bursts of lightning cracked and popped, and for a good five minutes, all she did was watch in quiet wonder. Such beautiful things, storms. Violent, insane, and dangerous. But just as easily striking as any other marvel of nature. But — but where was Kakos? Okkie cast her eyes about, searching for her comrade. She was both sad that she could not share this moment with her friend, could not revel in the gorgeous sights of the incoming storm, and also concerned, because she had no idea if the Evil One was still in the sky, having either not heard her friend’s cry, or perhaps having refused to heed it. A frown line appeared on Okkie’s brow as she suddenly forgot the storm, and instead began searching the sky for her friend… But then she heard a soft, teasing voice behind her, and ’Kie swung around, snowy ears pricked as she surveyed her dark-furred friend. “I do not fear the storm. I just respect it," she replied coolly, as she reposed upon soft haunches and looked back towards the broiling heavens.
“Respect, hm?" Kakosenas carried this word with her as she slunk closer to Okkie. She turned it around inside of her head as she gave it some thought. The sheer force of the storm. Yes, she could respect that. Its brutality. They way it tore the leaves from the trees and uprooted those that were too weak to withstand its bullying. The way it unleashed the rain in bullets so that it stung your eyes and you were forced to look away. How it could rain, and rain so much, that it could flood. Torrents of water. Drown the life out of the poor creatures that could not swim to safety. Yes, she definitely could respect that. It was her own element after all. Water. Ice. Steam. They were all the same. So Kakosenas respected the storm… but at the same time, she was thriving on it. Its wrath curling about within her breast, tickling her senses and filling her with some of its awesome power. She trod past Okkie now, her wings slung over her back in a crisscross fashion. Her path to her right into, or rather, onto, the mud puddle Okkie had just vacated. Instead of sinking though, Kakosenas stood upon the muddy rain-bulleted puddle as if it were solid ground. Not even seeming to notice this feat of defying gravity, she swung her own muzzle skyward. The foliage did a good job at filtering some of the harsher raindrops, but Kakosenas still found herself squinting against it. Not completely satisfied with what she was seeing, she shook her head and gazed off to her right, into the dark recesses of the jungle. “You know, in this weather, most creatures would be hiding."
The younger of the two pendragons tilted her head and watched her companion. Kakosenas slipped closer, her movements ethereal; she was like a wraith against the dark backdrop of shadows. This image was furthered by her fleet footed movements over the same puddle Okkie had just stumbled in. Where the female had sunk and slogged just moments before, the Evil One now floated, hovering weightlessly. Though Stormwing had almost always known of this amazing skill, this new manifestation of them was not any less stunning. Her jewel-like eyes watched with mild awe as Kakosenas slithered around her, prowling over the surface of the water even as it began to ripple with the abrupt presence of a light rainfall. Black paws slunk right over the surface, not even a whisper of a disturbance caused by their passage. The only thing that was moving the water slick was the rain, which was going from a mist to a fully-fledged downpour. This sudden slough of water greatly hampered visiblity, and Okkie found herself squinting now, Kakosenas becoming engulfed in the watery darkness. “Durr, yes, the smart ones are probably holed up by now," Okkie commented when she heard Kakos’ voice through the cascading sheets of liquid. She let her eyelids droop over her mismatched gaze, trying to focus and intensify her range of vision. The silver-dusted form of the Evil One went from a vague silhouette to a more solid blob of purple-dufted shadow. “But I’m sure there are a few little creatures stuck out there, blinded in this rain. I know I can barely see." These last few words caused the female’s eyes to widen suddenly with a realization, which was almost forgotten as raindrops stung the sensitive flesh of her oculars. Okkatteiru blinked rapidly, shaking her head violently as if that in itself would rid her of the aggravation. When the small ache finally subsided, she then opened her eyes to a mere squint, finding Kakosenas once again in the darkness. Nearby, slinking about and intermittenly surveying the storm. Okkie wondered if she had caught the involuntary nuance in her words. A few little creatures stuck out there, in the rain. “Hey, I may not be able to see very well, but my sniffer is as good as ever. What do you say to a little hunt? We can seek out those stupid little creatures that didn’t make it home quite in time," Twelve said, abruptly unsheathing her claws and studying them for a delicate moment. “We can sniff them out and offer them a nice, warm place to sleep in. Forever. Ha, ha, ha."
Kakosenas’ tufted ears perked up. Had Okkie just suggested a hunt? Here and now? She opened her mouth to interject, to tell Okkie that hunting in this sort of weather would be foolish. Besides, most all of the scents would be washed away now and dampened. Tracking would be next to impossible. Yet her slate blue tongue caught in her mouth and trapped the words behind her teeth. If they were lucky, they could stumble upon something. Some sort of fresh or lingering scent. Kakos was feeling rather peckish at the moment. So if they were to scrounge something, anything up, even if it were only some nuts and berries, she’d be sated. At least for the time being. The prospect of having fresh meat though, that faint sliver of hope… “Yes…" she began slowly, “Yes, that’s… that would be nice." She chuckled softly and paced back towards Okkie, swiftly clearing the mud puddle so that she stood fast by the Angry One‘s side. “I bet that there are plenty of critters just itching to get acquainted. With us. Warm and as accommodating as we are." She bobbed her head, grinning mischievously. “Lead on then…?"
Stormwing nodded to her companion, more than happy to scout the way on this little expedition. Renegades and escapades, she thought to herself with a light chuckle as she began to trot through the wet grass and mud. Only the two of us would think of hunting in this weather. As she thought this, the caramel juvenile turned to make sure her friend was following behind. Seeing Kakos cantering not too far in her wake, Okkie stopped, whirled around, and nipped jovially at the darker female. She only half-stifled an enthused bay as she twisted around again, and then her white paws tore into a healthy gallop, carrying her into a thick copse of trees ahead, the shadows viscous and black like tar. Sightless though she was now rendered, Okkie had no problem navigating through the wet forestry. Her nose guided her quite well, as did her ears. She dodged betwixt trees, even glided well over a fallen trunk in her path. She swiveled around every few seconds to make sure her fellow renegade was tagging along, and was constantly assured by the presence of those lemondrop oculars. For a few minutes, all that consisted of their little quest was a darting hither and thither through the choking black shadows, Okkie constantly checking to see if the Evil One was gliding along behind her. It was only when the former caught a rather musky scent that she finally trailed to a stop, lifting her nose high into the moist air to take a robust sniff. “Something quite smelly, at about six o’clock. What say you?"
