|
|
Post by Melissa|Tristan on Jul 13, 2009 15:25:27 GMT -5
Splotches of sunlight dappled her already spotty coat as she wove her way through the trees. She'd been exploring the area, curious about what she considered to be her home range. Mel had gone to the Naotak Public Library and taken out every single book they had on cheetahs. Because she read books like she went through food, she was already a good ways into the lengthy stack, and she'd learned some things about her talisman that she hadn't known before. For instance, a female cheetah's home range could be anything from 34 to 1500 kilometres squared. Of course, these were wild cheetahs who did that for food, and she didn't need to. She did however need to know about the area, where water was, and food if she needed it, just in case. Besides, there were hunting shacks everywhere, and she didn't want to get herself killed.
She'd also read that cheetah's were unable to roar, a fact she'd proved as she'd transformed and tried it. After almost choking on her own saliva, Melissa had read about noises cheetah's did make. It gave her satisfation to learn that the other 'big cats' were unable to purr, probably for the same reason she was unable to growl. How was that fair though? While lions, tigers and leopards could all roar threateningly, all she could do was chirp like a bird. Or purr. Real scary.
Melissa had needed to go for a run, so she'd thrown on some jeans and a long sleeved shirt, since it was still chilly out. A couple granola bars were stuffed into her pockets, along with her keys and her license. She hadn't taken a backpack; it would only slow her down. The instant she reached the trees, she shifted. Odd as it sounded, Mel felt . . . more comfortable in this form. She felt freer, sexier and more capable of taking care of herself. The loping pace she chose was more groundcovering and faster than running as a human, and it used less of her energy too.
She chased the beams of light that were randomly dancing across the ground in front of her, gradually picking up speed until she was going pretty fast. Not her fastest though. She picked a tree to be the starting line, picked another one about a hundred metres away to be the finish, and flat out sprinted. One. The trees whipped by her, blurring into a mass of green. Two. A rabbit darted to her left, pitifully slow by her standards. Not even worth chasing. Three Her finish line flew past on her left, but she didn't slow down. In order to build her stamina she was pushing herself to the limit.
In an instant the scenery changed. A wooden building loomed in front of her, and she wheeled to the left, using her tail for balance. She avoided it with room to spare, and came to a stop in front of it. The place appeared to be abandoned, but was it wise to check it out. Before her curiousity could get the better of her, Mel turned to look out at the dock. It went out for quite a ways, and she carefully trotted out to the end. The water was deep here, definitely not for swimming in. Having never seen her reflection as a cheetah before, Mel carefully crouched down and turned her head this way and that as she examined herself. It was pretty impressive, but she tore herself away from it and began to slowly walk back, careful not to trip on any of the uneven boards.
|
|
|
|
Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jul 13, 2009 20:03:49 GMT -5
The boat dock was known as the 'official' meeting place for Hunters, but it had seen little activity as of late. Despite--or probably because of--the lack of people, the last visitors had left quite a mess in the warehouse. Ofelia noted this disapprovingly as she righted a few upended chairs and tossed plastic utensils and fast-food wrappers into the trashcan. One would think they were small children, the way they were unable to take care of their own messes. Was walking ten steps and dropping a wad of paper in the bin really too much for them to handle? It wasn't as if the place weren't already an eyesore without the added litter.
Wrinkling her nose at a bit of stale onion ring, she reflected that the Elders had been oddly quiet recently. It could mean that they were planning something big, but until she received substantial proof of that, she was going to assume that they were merely getting lazy. It wasn't just she--everyone she knew hadn't heard much word from headquarters. Even the Innocents seemed to have settled down, keeping a low profile for the time being.
Still, inactivity from the higher-ups didn't mean she had to stay idle. Her reason for coming to the dock had not been to clear up some sod's trash. She had been planning to meet up with a colleague. Said colleague wasn't late; Ofelia was early, a rarity for her.
Tidying done, she stepped outside just in time to catch sight of a cheetah admiring its own reflection in the unusually still water. A Talisman, obviously--even if the cheetah weren't an egregiously nonnative species, the way it was examining itself was all too human. She neither knew nor knew of any cheetah shifters within the Hunter ranks, so this one had to be an intruder. It seemed to have stumbled upon the place by accident, however, since few shifters with even the faintest suspicion of what the dock was used for would be foolish enough to stick around to stare at its reflection. Unless it was really that narcissistic, but Ofelia doubted that was the case.
Nevertheless, it didn't hurt to make sure. Stepping onto the dock neatly obstructed the cheetah's only route back to shore, and she lay a hand on the hilt of a concealed knife, just in case the shifter was the type to attack without provocation.
"What are you doing here?" Her tone was more curious than suspicious, leaving the nature of the question up to interpretation. For all the shifter knew, she could very well be talking to herself, asking what a cheetah was doing in the Canadian wilds.
|
|
|
|
Post by Melissa|Tristan on Jul 14, 2009 11:40:25 GMT -5
The smells around here were incredible. There was the dominant tang of water, a scent that couldn’t truly be reproduced by any air freshener no matter how hard they tried. There were also swirls of pine coming from the forest, as well as the stale scent of humans, long gone now. She probably wouldn’t be disturbed, but maybe she should head back to land, just in case. After gazing at her reflection for a minute, she turned to walk back, and glanced at her reflection one last time. She became alarmed upon finding a couple patches of fur missing in places where several cuts had had to be stitched. I look hideous! What did they do to me? Sure, her run-ins with Vicky and the two cougars had been no picnic, but never had she dreamed that she looked this bad! The stitches were long gone from her encounter with the bear, but the scars remained on her shoulder, streaks through her fur far lighter than her natural colouring. The doctor had said that unless she had laser surgery they would stay there forever, though they would somewhat fade eventually. Sadly, a couple of the fresh cuts had required stitches, though not as many, so she looked like a mess again. But she was alive.
With a petite sigh, Melissa tried to shrug it off, knowing that they would heal, and the fur would grow back. There were more important things in life, she supposed. The boards underneath her paws were uneven and missing chunks in places, but the overall foundation felt solid. Concentrating on where she was stepping, she was more than halfway back to shore when a bevy of smells assaulted Melissa’s senses. First was the reek of garbage, and second was a scaly smell, like lizard, but not. Her keen brown eyes caught movement; a woman was blocking the rest of the dock. While the woman moved her hand unnaturally towards something concealed on her person, presumably a weapon, Mel was seriously considering swimming for it. Her cheetah frantically shook it’s head, advising her that cheetah’s weren’t the best swimmers, not to mention that the water wasn’t exactly the warmest right now. Note to self: Practice swimming once it’s warm enough.
The woman appeared to be Asian or something, maybe Japanese like Caleb? She carried herself in a manner that suggested that she was dangerous, but her features were so gentle and pretty that Melissa had an instinctive feeling that she could trust her. Mel had never seen her before, and wondered what she could possibly be doing in the middle of nowhere."What are you doing here?" I could ask you the same question. Melissa tried to control her sarcasm. Obviously the woman knew about talismans, and probably had one of her own. Now there was the dilemma of how to reply. Aras had basically told her that information was worth more than money here, so it had to be brief, if not cryptic. As for speaking in talisman form, Melissa had practiced, but she didn’t think that people in human form could understand. To simplify things, she backed herself up a couple of steps and shifted back. Her cuts were pretty much invisible, except for the one across her cheek, which stick out like a sore thumb. Vicky’s ring had cut her pretty bad when she’d punched her. After politely looking the girl up and down, Melissa replied carefully, putting the most important answer first, then continuing in descending order. Searching. Exploring. Exercising. You? She folded her arms across her chest. It wasn’t a defiant movement, but rather a defensive one. Though she felt on edge because her escape route was cut off, Mel wouldn’t be rude and turn off a possible friend. Heaven knows that she could use one right about now.
|
|
|
|
Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jul 14, 2009 15:18:36 GMT -5
When it caught sight of her, the cheetah froze in place. Its eyes darted back and forth frantically for an escape route, lingering momentarily on the water. It looked just about ready to make a swim for shore, but reason got the upper hand, and instead of taking a flying leap into the water--or at her--the cheetah forced itself to calm down. While it inspected her with intelligent brown eyes, Ofelia took the chance to get a better look.
As far as cheetahs went, this one was fairly average-looking, with coarse tan fur sprinkled with round black spots. A few patches of fur were missing here and there, where scars showed through; some of them even looked fairly new. The dark tear marks spilling from the corners of its eyes accentuated its appearance of watchfulness. If she had had any doubts about whether or not the animal was a Talisman--which she did not--the way it was so carefully scrutinizing her would have erased them all. It almost seemed to scoff at her question.
The cheetah backed up a couple of steps and, in a move that Ofelia had not expected, transformed back into its human form. The metamorphosis looked a bit awkward, as if she (obvious now) weren't quite used to it yet. It took a bit longer than usual as well, so Ofelia waited patiently. The cheetah had probably smelled something off about her. That was the problem with a serpent Talisman--come shedding time, she began to smell like snakeskin in any form.
Blond-streaked brown tresses framed the face of the girl that now stood before her. She looked to be in her late teens, with curiosity-filled eyes and a fresh scar across her cheek. Arms crossed, she gave a rather laconic answer. "Searching. Exploring. Exercising. You?"
Closed body language, pithy responses... so she wanted to play that way. "Waiting," Ofelia said, just as equivocally. The hand that had been on the knife hilt dropped to her side. A wary human was less likely to attack than a wary animal; even if she did, a human was still easier to fend off.
She knew she was putting the girl on edge by severely limiting her options--which was exactly what she wanted. Nervous people often let things slip--with the exception of Caleb, of course, because he was utterly incapable of functioning under pressure. This girl, at least, could speak English.
Ofelia didn't move from her spot. "Searching for what, may I ask?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Melissa|Tristan on Jul 14, 2009 15:52:33 GMT -5
The transformation was uncomfortable, but only because the girl was watching her intently. Feeling naked as she changed made the process take longer because Mel's focus was elsewhere. The transformation could have been worse, for sure. Caleb's transformation, for instance, was er, uncoordinated and unattractive to say the least. But then again, hers probably wasn't much better, since neither of their creatures even remotely resembled humans.
The Asian woman was fairly attractive looking, with a gentle face. Her closed expression indicated anything but, though Melissa did see a flicker of surprise pass across her face as Mel transformed. She supposed that not many people in the area would be so willing to show themselves to a stranger. Oh well. The damage was done now, and it would be easier to speak this way anyhow.
Waiting. The equally short reply threw Mel, though she really should have expected it. The woman's voice was accented, but not nearly as much as Caleb's. While his was almost unintelligable, hers was perfectly pronounced and understandable. Interesting.
They stood at a stalemate of sorts for a minute, the woman unwilling to allow her passage, and Melissa just as stubborn about not asking. Her stubborn streak often presented itself at the oddest of times for the oddest of reasons, and it wasn't something that Melissa could really control in herself. Just be the bigger person. You aren't good at mind games anyways. Her cheetah had a point; Mel's face almost always gave away what she was thinking. Her mother had once said that her face was like a large print book, open for anyone to read.
The woman's question was accented with a curious tilt of the head, and Mel decided to take the chance and answer honestly again. I search for myself, peace, and answers.The reality that the woman was blocking her only favourable route out made Melissa tense; she wished that there was room to pace. After letting her words sink in, Melissa fired off a question of her own. What do you wait for? Curiousity killed the cat, her talisman chided her. But it works for the rest of us. Wondering how long this polite conversation coud possibly last before the woman revealed her true intentions, Melissa pulled one of her granola bars out of her pocket and started eating. At least if something bad happened, it wouldn't happen on an empty stomach.
|
|
|
|
Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jul 14, 2009 18:27:13 GMT -5
The girl's answer remained vague, but it told Ofelia a little more about her. The sort of self-searching she was describing generally applied to newcomers or to those who had recently discovered their Talisman. For those who had been living with their power for a while--well, it became more a fact of everyday life, not so much a mystical power that required deep contemplation. This wasn't to say that Ofelia herself hadn't wondered about the nature of her gift; however, she had realized that constantly puzzling over it was ultimately futile, because she would never understand how or why it worked. It simply did, and she would be a fool not to take advantage of that.
"So you're new in town, then." Which would have been simpler to say outright, but since when did anyone ever make things easy? It was forever obscure answers and ambiguous remarks, and may pilot whales sail through the skies if anyone gave her a straight answer nowadays. (Not that she wasn't guilty of the same thing herself.)
"I'm waiting for a friend." Maybe she wasn't quite ready to consider him a friend yet, but 'colleague' would sound a bit fishy. Meeting a friend at an abandoned boat dock was strange enough; meeting a colleague at such a place was plain weird. She, at least, had more of a grip on subtlety than the Elders in their enormous stone mansion.
Raising an eyebrow when the girl reached into her pocket, she broke into laughter when the girl took out a granola bar and began to munch on it without further ado. She wasn't exactly an adherent to the rules of common courtesy, was she? Ofelia wasn't offended; rather, she was quite amused. It took someone with a fair amount of nerve--or obliviousness--to nonchalantly chew away in the middle of a conversation with a stranger.
"All right, I'll cut to the chase. This is private property, and while I have permission to be here, you don't. So if you don't mind..." She walked back ashore, the old boards creaking under her feet with every step. "Unless you're lost." Ofelia hoped this wasn't the case, because then she would probably be pestered to be led back to town until she chased the girl off with a crowbar.
|
|
|
|
Post by Melissa|Tristan on Jul 14, 2009 19:31:51 GMT -5
The knowing and understanding look that the girl gave Mel made her feel like finally somebody understood what she was saying. Until, like so often, she was proved wrong. "So you're new in town, then." Not really. Boy, Melissa hated it when people made assumptions. They should just do away with them altogether. She was somewhat proud of her casual reply, and happy to prove someone wrong for once. I wasn't talking about my cheetah, if that's what you mean. I was talking about myself as a person. Reflecting, you know? Mel wasn't sure if this girl was the self-reflecting type, but the Asians were known for their spiritualness. Maybe they were kindred spirits.
Hmmm . . . Mel didn't like the way the girl hesitated before finally settling on 'friend' as the word to use on who she was waiting for. What had she really meant to say? Too bad that she hadn't actually said it. It seemed like everyone around here spoke in cryptic comments that were so general that they didn't really mean anything. It was very frusterating, especially when all Melissa wanted to know was what the hell was going on in the supposedly 'quiet' town. All she knew was that in the past three months since she'd arrived, she'd been attacked a total of three times. I mean, she knew that it was dangerous out there, but honestly, was it just bad luck or what?
As they walked, Mel studied the way the woman walked. She carried herself with not a small amount of confidence, but at the same time the way she moved was very efficient and energy conserving. Not how an ordinary person walked, in other words. Her manners weren't like an ordinary person's either, as an ordinary person probably would have gotten offended by Mel eating in front of them. Mel was glad that the woman didn't take offense to her eating, as she followed the woman slowly off the boardwalk, releasing a tense breath as she finally reached land again. The trapped feeling Mel hadn't known she'd had was gone, and this allowed her to relax a little bit as she grinned as the girl implied that it was possible for her to be lost.
Nah, I'm not lost. But what exactly did you have to do to get permission to be here? The question itself was innocent enough, but the way the woman had said it was private property seemed suspicious. Aras had said something . . . what had it been? Something about odd activities that happened in Naotak. Maybe this was one of those weird activities, people visiting randomly placed abandoned buildings for unknown purposes. Melissa tagged along with the girl, unwilling to leave until she recieved a decent answer. On the way, she made a peace offering, pulled another granola bar out of her pocket and offered it to the girl in the palm of her hand. Would you like one? I don't mind sharing. She smiled hopefully, not wanting to leave before making friends, or at least aquaintances.
|
|
|
|
Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jul 14, 2009 20:33:06 GMT -5
There was an odd note of satisfaction in her voice when the girl spoke. It was as if she were eager to prove her wrong, to chide her for jumping to conclusions. Ofelia found this a bit irritating, to say the least.
"Yes, I know." She hadn't spent the better part of four years wandering abroad without doing some serious soul-searching. "But you and your Talisman are inseparable, so self-reflection involves your cheetah, whether you like it or not. Your spirit is part of what defines you." The animal spirit was sentient, certainly, but it wasn't an entirely separate being; it was more like the extension of one's soul. The connection she shared with her Talisman was far too profound for her to believe that they were two different people, so to speak.
When she stepped ashore, the girl let out a breath she had evidently been holding. Ofelia smirked inwardly. It was gratifyingly easy to make a person feel cornered, especially someone with a powerful animal instinct.
"Nah, I'm not lost." The girl was visibly more relaxed; the tension had worked its way out of her shoulders and hands. In addition, she had apparently made up her mind to follow Ofelia around. "But what exactly did you have to do to get permission to be here?"
"Ask the person who owns the place," she said breezily. It was really quite a useless answer, but hopefully, the girl would take it as a hint to cease her nosing around. Even if she somehow knew the owner, it wasn't as simple as asking, either.
To her surprise, the girl retrieved another granola bar from her pocket and offered it. Ofelia stared blankly at it for a moment--since when did Noatak start attracting such friendly people?--before she shook her head. "No." Then, almost as an afterthought: "Thank you."
She stopped, leaning her back against the side wall of the warehouse. Hopefully, she could get the girl to leave before the scheduled meeting. "That still doesn't change the fact that you don't belong here," Ofelia pointed out.
|
|
|
|
Post by Melissa|Tristan on Jul 15, 2009 12:54:22 GMT -5
A snort almost managed to escape Melissa's lips at the girl's cockiness. She sounded so sure of herself, like she knew everything when really she didn't. Mel was very tolerant of people's mistakes though, and she simply nodded her head in agreement. That is until the girl finished with that 'it defines you' crap. Mel had truly meant that she was reflecting on her behaviour towards her father, and his towards her after her mother died. Mel's cell phone voicemail was full of calls from him, first anxious to know where she was, then angry about her taking off with her mother's body barely cold. It's not my fault he doesn't get it. She'd deleted all the messages he'd left, and vowed not to call him. Melissa had a new life now, and was doing just fine on her own.
It did get lonely sometimes though. For several weeks now, she had been debating between getting a cat, or a roommate. On the one hand, she could use the rent money. The situation wasn't desperate though, and the idea of having a stranger live with her was terrifying. On the other hand, there was a shelter nearby, where she could possibly adopt a cat or dog. Probably a cat would be best, since she was sort of a cat too. They would get along fine, she was sure. Making a mental note to call the shelter and make an appointment to stop by later in the week, Mel continued following the woman towards the building, wondering what on earth it was used for.
When offered, the girl stared at the food as though she'd never seen a granola bar before. Or maybe she'd never been offered one by someone before. Either way, the woman refused the offer of food. Mel's face fell, and there was a pause before the girl offered a grudging 'thank you'. She smiled happily, proud of the progress she'd made with the girl already, and slipped the bar back into her pocket. Tilting her head to the side, Melissa wondered why the girl was trying so hard to get rid of her. To stall for time, Melissa responded slowly, with heavily weighed words. I don't really know where I belong, to be honest. Certainly not at 'home'. Once her mother had passed away, home was gone for Melissa. That simply wasn't an option for her anymore.
As they came closer to the building, Mel could see places that needed to be repaired, but for the most part it was in surprisingly good shape. A window nearby was filthy, to say the least, but Melissa could still plainly see the clutter and debris inside. Looking up to cautiously meet the woman's eyes, Mel looked hopefully at her. Is there anything I can help you with? I mean, it looks like a bit of a mess in there, and you'll be at it all day without help. Maybe asking for nothing in return was the best option right now. Plus, Mel had nowhere she needed to be, and she really didn't want to leave just yet. Hopefully the girl wouldn't make her leave, but then again, it would be interesting to listen to her try.
|
|
|
|
Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jul 16, 2009 11:58:33 GMT -5
The girl seemed displeased at her words¡Xa scoff on a human face was much easier to read than on a feline¡¦s¡Xbut she nodded anyway. She only stopped when she appeared to recall a distasteful memory. Ofelia raised an eyebrow at this.
"Don¡¦t pretend you agree when you really don¡¦t." Especially when her disagreement was plainly displayed for the world to see. Ofelia considered herself skilled at reading people, but she barely even had to try with this girl; every emotion, however fleeting, made its way to her face. Judging by the way her brow creased and her lips tightened, it was clear the girl thought her full of hot air.
When she turned down the granola bar, the brunette¡¦s face fell, then immediately lit up again at Ofelia¡¦s supposed gratitude. The veritable roller coaster ride of expressions was getting a tad ridiculous. If her face was like an open book, it was a brick-thick volume with enormous print, pummeling the reader on the skull to get its message across.
Taking her eyes off the girl to scan the woods for any signs of movement¡Xnothing yet¡XOfelia retrieved her cell phone from her pocket and flipped it open to check the time. Ten more minutes, and then he¡¦d be late. It didn¡¦t really matter if he was a bit tardy, though. First, she didn¡¦t have anything planned for today (perhaps she¡¦d grab a nice warm mug of tea sometime later). Second, Ofelia rarely ever arrived at anything in a timely manner; being this early was an unheard-of rarity for her. And third, that would mean she would have more time to chase off this girl.
"Wherever you belong, it isn¡¦t here," she said pointedly. The girl was persistent; she was trying far too hard to make friends, but all she was doing was getting on Ofelia¡¦s nerves. Almost like a lost puppy who had taken it into its mind to follow her home¡Xexcept unlike with a puppy, she was not going to scratch her behind the ears and drop her off at a shelter. "And thanks for the offer¡X" really, was she trying to impress her with her generosity?¡X "but to put it bluntly: go away."
Just in case the brunette didn¡¦t get the message, Ofelia made a brisk shooing gesture with both hands.
|
|
|
|
Post by Melissa|Tristan on Jul 17, 2009 23:30:07 GMT -5
Body language counts for 55% of what you’re actually trying to say. Words only account for 7%. So it really shouldn’t have been so bothered by the woman’s angry tone. But for some reason, it bothered Melissa a lot. A surprising lot. ”Don’t pretend you agree when you really don’t.” Why was the girl suddenly mad at her? Melissa had thought herself pretty convincing, but apparently she hadn’t been. Note to self: Practice your poker face.
The girl seemed to be on edge; she was glancing at the surrounding trees repeatedly, before opening her phone in a non-too-subtle hint for Melissa to leave. As the girl flipped open her phone to look at something, Melissa mumbled, Nice phone. under her breath. Hopefully the girl wouldn’t hear, since she’d probably think Mel was being sarcastic, even if that wasn’t how it was intended. One majorly suckish thing about the human race was that people interpret different things in different ways. In the animal kingdom, things were much, much simpler. If Mel growled at something, that creature instantly received the message to back off.
Like members of the animal kingdom, this girl was making herself very clear in terms of how badly she wanted Melissa to leave. Wherever you belong, it isn’t here. How true. It would be easier if someone simply told Mel where she belonged, but life was rarely that simple. Mel nodded slowly to show her comprehension, but didn’t reply, allowing the girl to continue. . . . but to put it bluntly: go away. Shock registered first on Melissa’s face, with hurt and embarrassment following closely behind. Mel backed up several steps as though she’d been slapped. While she probably somewhat deserved the snappy comment, no one she knew of would ever be blunt, or rude enough to say something like that out loud.
To top off the act, the girl made shooting motions with both of her hands, causing Melissa to jump in fright, then back away more quickly. She almost tripped over the uneven ground behind her because she didn’t turn her back on the girl. Um . . . well, it was nice meeting you. Maybe I’ll see you again sometime. Probably not. Her cheetah’s gentle attempts at comfort currently weren’t really working; the hurt was too fresh. She’d put herself out there to make a friend, and all she’d gotten for her troubles was hurt feelings. Mel waited until she was only feet away from the trees before breaking into a run, her tear filled eyes making sight near impossible. With any luck she wouldn’t hit anything on the way out and give herself any more reasons to be embarrassed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jul 19, 2009 11:11:39 GMT -5
The girl looked utterly appalled at Ofelia's words. Hurt crossed her features; she even flinched when waved away. With a stammered farewell, she backed slowly away, then broke into a run and disappeared among the trees. A tad bewildered by what she considered an overreaction, Ofelia stared after the girl for several seconds before brushing off the incident with a shrug. It was the brunette's own fault for refusing to take her hints. Sometimes, a bit of callousness was necessary to get one's point across. Wrapping her arms around herself to ward off the bite of the late-winter chill, Ofelia closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air. Eight more minutes. *** Eight more minutes. Without having to rush, he'd make it with time to spare. Though the cold weather was disagreeable, the day was pleasant enough. Spring was on the horizon, as evidenced by the returning songbirds flitting from tree to tree. It had been quiet as of late, but Aras hardly minded that at all. Compared to the general level of insanity in Noatak, the air of relative peacefulness of the past couple of weeks was rather soothing. Ofelia's request for a meeting had been a bit of a surprise; they hadn't spoken since the chaotic night at Oceana, and he had assumed that they were to pretend it never happened. Still, she had asked him to come--and with unexpected politeness rather than her usual brusque tone. So he was in a fairly good mood when something--or rather, someone--came out of nowhere and ran smack into him. |
|
|
|
Post by Melissa|Tristan on Jul 21, 2009 20:01:16 GMT -5
The fates must be truly against her right now. It wasn't enough for her to be shot down by a potential friend, but she couldn't even make a smooth, if embarassed exit. No, she had to slam into something on her way out. With a fast exhalation of breath, she stumbled backwards. Thankfully, fate wasn't completely heartless, and after taking three steps back she regained her center.
She'd hoped that it was the girl, coming after her to maybe apologize, but after considering the possibility for about a second, it was clear that A) the girl didn't seem the type to apologize, and B) the thing she'd run into had come from the wrong direction. It certainly wasn't a tree either, though her vision was so blurry that Mel wouldn't have been able to tell, even if she had looked up. Her only clue was that whatever it was had given somewhat under her weight.
The tears were practically spillling out of her eyes, so she turned her back on the thing, looking up at the sky for a minute. Row row row your boat, gently down the stream . . . Her cheetah was giving her that 'are you crazy?' look, but no matter what it said, the tactic worked. By the time Mel had mentally finished the rhyme her tears had retreated, for now, to a more private place. They'd find their way out later, if she let them.
After brushing nonexistant dust off her jeans, biting her lower lip all the while, Mel couldn't find any other reasons to stall. She took a deep breath and turned around, her brown-green eyes suddenly finding familiar sparkling hazel ones. Whatever she'd expected to find, it certainly wasn't him. Mel's eyes widened, and small spots of red appeared on her cheeks, because the last time he'd seen her she'd just been mauled by a bear and had been behaving pretty pathetically. Aras. If there was any justice left in the world, he hadn't caught sight of her tears.
She hadn't cried when the bear attacked her, and she wouldn't cry now. Okay, okay, so maybe she'd teared up a couple of times, but no actual spillage had occured. Just some cryptic conversation and a piggyback ride. Oh God. That's embarrassing. A hundred thoughts raced through Mel's mind, everything from her promise to thank him for rescuing her to their conversation regarding which faction he was a member of. He was such a mysterious being to her that Mel was almost afraid to look at him. She quickly debated simply taking off, since she could outrun anything, but Aras of all people deserved an explanation.
|
|
|
|
Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jul 26, 2009 12:43:02 GMT -5
The impact sent both of them staggering backwards. Aras was nearly sent sprawling when his foot caught on a jutting root; had it not been for the sturdy tree trunk at his back, he certainly would have. Blinking to clear the black spots from his vision, he turned to the person who had run headlong into him. She had her back to him, head tilted skyward, apparently taking time to regain her composure.
The vulture, who had been dozing rather peacefully until now, bristled with indignation at its rude awakening. Straightening its feathers, it gave up on the idea of a nap and decided instead to watch the scene play out. The girl seemed somewhat familiar, but until they could get a look at her face, they couldn't be sure. Old World vultures were largely visual creatures; other clues, such as scent, would be of little use to them.
When she did finally turn around, the dawning recognition on her face mirrored his own. Melissa. Of all the places he'd expected to see her again, this definitely wasn't it. A tranquil encounter at the park, perhaps, or a chance meeting at some busy cafe--but not here, running around in what was more or less Hunter territory. (Wherever it would happen to take place, he hadn't been looking forward to it, either. He'd disappeared on her without so much as a farewell, and she was bound to confront him with several questions he'd much rather leave unanswered.)
He had also expected to see Melissa faring better than he had seen her last. While in some respects that was true--she was, at least, not being ambushed by local wildlife at the moment--a closer look suggested that the past month or two in Noatak had not been kind to her. She sported new scars, including a fresh one on her cheek which looked like no mere accident. She looked visibly upset as well, holding back what could only be tears.
"What happened?" he asked, unable to think of anything else to say.
|
|
|
|
Post by Melissa|Tristan on Jul 28, 2009 12:13:47 GMT -5
For the split second that Aras was off balance Melissa felt a small amount of satisfaction. See, she wasn't as small and insignificant as others thought after all. The miniscule emotion was replaced by guilt and embarassment almost immediately afterwards though, as she felt bad for hitting him so hard. He was just lucky I hadn't shifted yet. That would have hurt way worse.
The girl back in the clearing -Melissa now realized they hadn't even exchanged names- probably thought that she was an emotional wreck, or insane or something. The emotional wreck part was true, at least partially; the nightmares of her mother hadn't stopped, and in fact a bear had been added to them. They were happening with increasing frequency, and as a result she wasn't sleeping as well as she'd have liked.
Aras looked exactly as she'd remembered him, especially his expression. That distance, that uncaringness which allowed him to not feel anything was apparent on his face. No, it didn't stop him from feeling everything, she realized. it protected him, so he wouldn't get hurt. Smart idea. The cheetah gave her a look, disbelieving that she could manage something like that.
Aras looked oddly apprehensive, as though she were a bomb about to explode at any minute. While that may have been true, Mel was closer to tears than to anger at the moment. And it's not like his words helped that any. "What happened?" Several answers came to mind, none of them polite. Nothing. Everything. Why do you care? Nothing in his voice or features suggested he cared, which made the question seem polite, almost mandatory in a civilized conversation.
She took a deep breath, maintaining a tone as even as his. Nothing. Too bad if he didn't like the answer, since he hadn't told her this area was full of things trying to kill her. He hadn't even explained the few cryptic remarks he had made, so really, he hadn't helped her at all in that sense. What are you doing here? Melissa quickly voiced her question, already drawing her own conclusions about the answer, but wanting to know if he'd tell her the truth. If he did, maybe she could trust him, and if he didn't . . . well, she'd have to see.
|
|
