Shrouded in obscurity

<font color='#728FCE'>OOC: Guess Im playing Chiara then. Right. Um, Spectra Diabolus, do I need to fill out a Profile for her? Im not sure how much longer this thread is going to last, and Im gettign kind of tired of doing so many profiles...and Yuin's profile more or less says everything that really matterd about Chiara! SO anyway, do I?

BIC: Yuin stared at her mother, for one of the first times in her life amazed speechless. As always, in moments of great shock her mind tended to focus on trivial things. So now, foremost in her mind, was the question, when had she learned to shapeshift?? It was not a thing that came naturally to females the way it did to males. But, giving herself a mental shake, she managed to gasp out, "Mo...Mother??" taking half a step forward. Even if it had been years since she'd seen the woman, she was still her mother after all! But all such forgiving thoughts were driven from her mind a moment later when Chiara said,
"You" in a tone of utter loathing and repulsion, with a scathing look on her face. Yuin took a step backwards. A soft, whining growl rose involuntarily in her throat. Suddenly, she snarled. "What do you want? Did the Clan send you to find me and cull me? Or is that jsut your personal mission?" Then abruptly she whirled and disapeared, with a crash at first at then silently, into the thick forest underbrush. Chiara just stood there standing stock stil and staring at the place where Yuin had last been.</font>

 

<font color='#3BB9FF'>Heh. No threat. Good. Diable rose from his defensive stance and looked at Rioze and at Estrella. He'd probably bump into Yuin again someplace later. They still hadn't caught any food so he was pretty hungry. "Are you guys still up for a group hunt? If not, I'll just go alone." He was keeping a weary eye on Chiara as he inquired the two others. "Unless you want to go find Yuin."</font>

 

<font color='#728FCE'>Yuin snarled as she stomped furiously through the forest. She refused to think, not one single thought, about that bitch she called mother, ooo she made her mad...STOP IT YUIN! she mentally shouted at herself. A rheyant errently skidded across the path in front of her. With an extra snarl and a leap, Yuin was upon it, taking pleasure in viciously wringing the things neck, imagining wringing that...that WOMAN's neck instead of the puny rheyant's. In fact, she had half a mind to go back now and challenge...Chiara. She refused to call her 'mother' any longer.
She took only a snapping bite from the dead animal's tender belly meat before moving on. In similar fashion she caught two more. The last one she was calm enough to eat more of it, although after a few mouthfuls she grew too restless again and had to leave it and continue her storming through the brush. She continued this for the better part of the next hour, not stopping at all now, although, if she had stopped long enough to think about it, her stomach was rumbling and her throat was dry. But she was so caught up in her fury as she raged through the jungle that she didnt even reallize it.
OOC: oooo she's mad!

BIC:
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Meanwhile, Chiara wrenched her eyes away from the spot where her daughter had last been, the first glimpse of her she'd had in over 6 years now. She didnt think  the large male pendragon's question had been for her, so she didnt say anything in response, simply looked at him quietly. Then she remembered the other one's question, the one up in the tree. She spared a passing glance at him. "My name is Chiara. That is all you need know of me." she said quietly yet in a clear voice that nevertheless carried. She was fairly tall for a woman, with a tan pelt and hard, steel-gray eyes. Her bright, royal blue spikes were tiny, so that overall she resembled more of a Terran creature than the colorful, oddly shaped ones more typical of Ramath-Lehi. Her coat was not completely tan/beige however, she had whitish bits here and there, and a few black streaks intermingled. Her legs particularly sported lots of black, and her exceptionally long tail, although starting out tan like the rest of her, faded gradually to end in jet black. She stands poised, with a haughty look on her face, drawn up to her full considerable height so that she appeared to be looking down even on those taller than herself. Her fangs flashed bright white as she spoke, her tongue a bright pink in contrast. All in all, she made a formidable opponent, one that made you think twice before attacking. Although color-wise she did not bear much resemblance to Yuin, they had similarly shaped faces, and, although Yuin hated to admit, several similar personality traits. Chiara was, after all, her mother.</font>

 

<font color='#3BB9FF'><center>Diable took his time examining Chiara as she spoke those few words. But he didn't want to talk. So, he walked away, in the same direction where Yuin had ran away. The others didn't seem up to another group hunt. He wasn't either. He'd find something small and kill it. Then he'd do that again and again until he was satisfied. He slowly disappeared from their view when that distinct smell of a fresh kill came floating under Diable's nose. Mmm...so he followed this scent until he came to an untouched dead rheyant. It must be his lucky day! He dug his nose into it and smelled Yuin. She wasn't too far. "Yuin?" He asked. He took a big bite out of the Rheyant, and rose his head, looking for Yuin once again. Hearing nothing, he sat on his haunches, eventually lowering his shoulders to the ground, and started to eat the Rheyant, thinking Yuin wasn't here anymore. Oh well. After this, he'd go find elsewhere to do something.</font>

 

<font color='#728FCE'>Left alone with Rioze and the strange Pendragon, Estrella wondered what she should do next. She didn't quite feel in a socialble mood, though it had been long since she had been with other Pendragons. Group hunt? Walking away? Just staying hear a looking stupid?
She opted for the first solution.
- How fare thee Chiara?
She suddenly blurted out, hoping to start some conversation.
Oooh.. Such an intelligent thing to say Estrellla ! you just bit her and scratched her to bits and now you ask if she's ok? what a fool you are !
- Are you hungry? Hmmm... We could resume our group hunt? </font>

 

<font color='#728FCE'>OOC (only): sorry, but rika, what's with the elizabeathan english? not that i mind or anything, but...its just weird! maybe i shud hav chiara talk w/ a laid bak, texan drawl or sumthin...ahh, wouldnt fit her caracter really i guess. well, next charrie. but in the meantime, huh??</font>

 

<font color='#CCCCCC'>He sighed and reluctantly leaped down. Why does something always interupt us when we are doing something somewhat peaceful? Rioze lightly sized Chiara up, noticing she was trying to be intimidating. Two can play at that game. Instead of slouching like he usually did, he actually stood up straight. The difference was nearly half a foot.

"Maybe it will be better if I went hunting for awhile. It seems there would be less distractions that way." And with a swish of his tail he was gone for better game. As he errantly went along he found a wild-eyed Rheyant running bewilderedly. With a quick mercy slash to the throat he started chewing on the meat. How unusual..something must of scared it out.

Looking up once he sniffed and smelled slight traces of Yuin. And Diable. Figures. They probably came along and killed some. Shrugging he wondered slightly what would happen with Estrella and Chiara alone. He decided to first finish his Rheyant then ask Yuin about the strange pendragon.</font>

 

<font color='#728FCE'>By the time Yuin reached the small  stream in front of her lair, she was calm enough to drink. Still not calm enough for rational thought though. Thoroughly miserable, all she felt like doing was leaving Manik. MAybe get out and see some of the world. But most of all, leave this place behind.
She thought about where she could go. Formal training of some sort would be nice. Was she too old to attend Janardan? She had heard rumors of it, wasnt even sure if it truly existed. Well, she could always go find out, couldnt she? But she was too tired to make the long teleportational trek right now. She needed to rest first. And to do that, she needed to calm down. But she couldnt. She paced around her cave for a bit, then finally sat down near the entrance, and gave voice to a long chorus of mournful, wailing howls, rather like the songs of her wolf ancestors. The cave walls bounced and echoed the music around, but Yuin continued to howl on. it was a sort of relaxation form for her, and finally, after about half an hour of this, she was able to curl up in the back of her cave, after of course first triggering her mental alarm system to alert in telepathically whenever someone crossed the threshhold of the cave.</font>

 

<font color='#3BB9FF'>Diable rolled over, his belly to the sky, and just took a second to listen to everything. Far away, muffled voices. Footsteps crackling through the icy snow and dead leaves. Branches above spun out of control as a gust of wind brought in a wave of cold air. Diable shivered, opening his eyes, still smelling the carcass beside his head. He brought his wing underneath the cleanly excavated carcass, as if he was holding it. He brought his wing to the ground, flat, and slung it forward so hard, he was lifted off his back and was actually sitting up now. This threw the Rheyant about 20 feet into the air, and it landed 40 feet away. "Wow," Diable muttered. Falling backwards onto his back, he remained, and stared at the clouds slowly passing overhead.</font>

 

<font color='#728FCE'>Yuin was woken up by a soft 'thump' and a slight crunching sound, rather as if someone had taken a nasty fall from, say, a tree. Broken bones. Feeling in a good mood, she was about to go investigate and see if she could do anything to help, when she suddenly had the feeling that there was something she was supposed to be remembering. Yawning, she stretched lazily, feeling refreshed after her long sleep. She was hungry... and that reminded her of Diable's proposed group hunt. And of its... - startling - ... outcome. Her good mood vanished. She was once again overcome with the urgent need to get off the island, as far away from Chiara and the others as possible. It was unrational, part of her said. But right now she was still to upset and angry to care.
She thought again of investigating that "school" she had heard of - a place where wise kioms taught younger pendragons various trades. However, one rumor said that only nioties went there. And while Yuin was not an elder by any means, she was most definitely not a niotie. Well, Janardan, if it really existed, was still worth a try. After all, if she didnt like it, or if it didnt actually exist...whatever! she could always return to Manik. Or even go somewhere else. Yes, Yuin thought, making up her mind. Shw would go investigate Janardan.
Then came the thought of how to get there. Had she known he coordinates, of course, she could have just teleported there herself, although givent he great distance it would have taken a considerable effort. She could have managed it though. However, she had no real idea where she was going. Which meant, short of physically walking there (or swimming or flying or whatever), which would take weeks and possibly months, there was only one way.
Each continent had one or more portals (OOC: well, Im sort of inventing here i guess. Spec, lemme know if you dont like it and I'll change it I guess. But I couldnt think of any other way   BIC:) that, when you entered them, you had but to clearly speak the name of your destination, and you would appear at that location's nearest portal. Unforunately, the only such portal that Yuin knew of was right near a Clan encampment.
She pondered this for a bit, but she couldnt find any way around the situation. Reluctantly, she decided to attempt it anyway. After all, they wouldnt be able to tell where she had 'ported to,  and the 'ports were supposed to be virtually instantaneous. Besides, when she had been there, the Elder, as they had called their leader, had been preaching that it was a thing of the devil and that anyone who went to near it would be eternally damned. Right.
She fixed the image of the 'portal as she knew it in her mind. She felt the landscape shift about her, and when she opened her eyes, she was standing about 20 feet from the portal. Yes, there was the Clan camp, although it seemed rather listless. A dingy, rather drab female was sweeping the entrance to the main dwelling, doubtless where the Elder stayed when in residence at this particular camp. A couple young nioties scurried and yelped as they chased each other through the dusty streets. An older male, definitely gray and grizzled around the muzzle and ears, with several interesting-looking scars, dozed in the shade of his porch. Those were the only signs of life however, except for smoke coming out of the chimneys. However, she could hear a voice speaking loudly somewhere in the distance, it sounded like behind the main dwelling. She heard a rumble, and then a forced-sounding cheer. No doubt there was some sort of Meeting back there. Yuin shuddered, remembering her own days in the Clan. No, she was definitely better off this way.
    That was when she realized that she was standing in the middle of an open, flat area. The woman who had been swweping had paused and was staring suspiciously at her, as if trying to place her. The two nioties had stopped their game and were crouching behind a pole, no doubt thinking they were invisible to her, as they stared at her and giggled.
    Growling softly to herself, she trotted self-conciously, although she held her head high, over to the portal. It didnt look like it had been used in rather a while. The Clan obviously had been persuaded of its devilry, from the way the nioties and the servant were staring at her now. And there were other 'portals on Manik, doubtless near its population centers, not stuck more or less out in the middle of nowhere, like here. A trifle apprehensious - what if it broke down mid-transfer?? - and trying to stifle it, she stepped hurriedly inside it if only to get away from the stares of her fellow pendragons. "Well, I'll be..." said a feminine voice issuing from the walls and roof and floor around her. "After all these years, someone is actually going to use me! I thought I'd seen the last of it, after the Elder started preaching against me. You're not one of them, are you dear? Oh no, silly me, of course not, if not you wouldnt be here, would you, now?"
"Er...yes.", said Yuin hesitantly, rather confused by the 'portal's rambling. She hadnt known they had had voices installed into them. Much less personalities, shallow though they might be! Then again, she had never used a teleportal before, either!
    There was a gust of wind inside, as if the 'portal were drawing breath before continuing. Hurriedly, Yuin said, "Er - could you take me somewhere?"
"Why of course, that's what I'm here for! I just do so enjoy a little company after all these years! But where would you be going? Or do you just wish me to pick somewhere at random, jsut for the sake of leaving here? That can have its advantages. Well, it can have its disadvantages too, I suppose, for something mortal like you."  WAS THAT A GIGGLE?? Yuin thought, rather shellshocked by all this. Dazedly she said, "Um...no. Please, I 'd like to go to Janardan Academy."
"And a good choice, that, as any." the 'portal said. "Hang on a sec now, here we go!"
    There was a wooshing noise, and dizzying twirling in which Yuin was knocked against a wall, and then another voice, this one male, said formally, "Janardan Academy teleportal. You have  arrived. May I help you?" Yuin rather thought that there was a dissaproving tone in its voice for the previous 'portal's behavior. "Er - no." Yuin said. "Well, yes actually. Where's the Academy?"
"As soon as you go outside you will see some large wrought-iron gates. That is the entrance. Anything else?"
"Um, no, I dont think so," Yuin said nervously. Then, taking a deep breath, she stood up. Two doors slid open on the wall facing her, and, taking another breath, she stepped forward and through, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight.


OOC: Right. There y'are. From now on though Im gonna have to continue her story in Janardan, though, so... . If you choose to follow her to Janardan or wherever, feel free and this thread can simply continue more or less in Janardan. If not, Yuin can just join with another thread in Janardan. Whichever. </font>