Threading through Foreign Territories

Players Involved: NekoNay
Characters Involved: Ezra (NekoNay)
Setting: Sodanryn Forest and any other encompassing areas.
Time: Current, Afternoon.
Weather: Partly Cloudy.

A slight breeze coursed through the likes of Sodanryn forest. Once keeping a slow pace through the foliage, the tiger Kelahati became still, his ears swiveling about to detect sounds. He was… nervous. He hung close to the shadows, the striped patterns along his face and body allowing him to stay camouflaged. He was crossing through unknown territory that did not belong to him. All of this land he had never set a single foot in until now and it made him ill at ease.

He gripped tightly to his spear, another hand on some prize bounty strapped to his waist. An unfortunate hare that managed to snag itself in one of his many traps. It was all he had manage to scrounge up, the prey in this location so elusive.

It told him one thing. More dominant predators roamed the patch. It made the prey more careful, more intelligent. While it was a challenge he would normally applaud in a different situation, this time it made him apprehensive. When would be his next meal? It was days since he had passed civilization and the next time he would roam through once again… it concerned him.

Yet in the face of such a thought, he steeled his resolve, resuming a steady gait once more as the wind died down. He was light, nimble on his feet, maintaining on a trail animals frequently passed through when all else seemed to have end. If there was one thing he could trust, he could have faith in the animals, knowing they would have the best knowledge of their own domain.

He chuffed, his tail flickered. He remained on guard when he seemed to be lost yet he prayed a sign, a light through this bleak time.

It was a peaceful day in the Sodanryn Forest, much like every other day since he'd arrived here from the other side of the continent. It was cool in the shade of the trees, and several small animals had gathered around him as he sat on a rock near a stream to rest. Many seemed to be on edge, with some of the more skittish creatures taking cover under his ornate robes.

"What's got you so frightened, little ones?" he asked, voice as sot as the breeze that ruffled his feathers and hair. One of the braver hares replied, its paws on his knee, and spoke back with a voice only a kelahati could understand.

He gave a thoughtful nod as he listened, and finally gave a nod in understanding. "So a new hunter has come to this part of the woods?" He gently scratched the hare between the ears and continued, "I'm very sorry for you all, but they need to eat, just as you do. It's a part of life."

The man leaned back to peer through the crowns of the trees above, peering through the leaves at the clouds rolling by without a care in the world. "Perhaps a song will ease your troubles, friends."

And he began to sing, his voice resonating as though the world around him were built to carry the tune of his somber melody.

"Ubi cogitantur discrepant
mea deteriorem rea theologiae
argumentis denegassem

Facturum via ope sit
diversas tollitur ibi
periculi formalis

Diversi apertum clarius
nos aliquid nunquid sed tur rea"

The very air around him seemed to shimmer as he sang magic into the world, and his voice continued to echo through the forest long after he finished singing, filling the air with an eerie whisper of song.

Small, cloven feet gently padded along the ground below; little body brushing against bouts of underbrush and leaves of bushes around. It had been a few days since Akeme had found herself just roaming about the forest, it was more relaxing than minding herself with her own little home. Sure, wondering about the forest came with it's own dangers; especially in the form she'd chosen to do so. Hunters were more the large thing she could think of to watch for.

One looking for a meal would not ask questions before sending an arrow, or anything else to that matter, her way. A scary thought to think about, but it was the way of life; though she'd rather not go in such a horrid way if one was to be honest.

Dark fur shined in the light the more she moved forward, that was until she could heard the faint sound of song among the trees. That was, interesting, perhaps she could investigate; or it was just her imagination. No, there was no way she was imagining the sound of song filling the air. It drove her to move closer and closer towards it.

A few more steps and the sound became more pronounced, even if the singer was nothing more than a whisper of a voice as they sang. Ah, another Kelahati, not surprising really. With her head low she moved in closer and closer, until she was just about a couple feet away. Her ears flicked and twitched with every word that traveled from their mouth.

Akeme found relaxation in their song, though it seemed they'd been done for quite some time; the sound still resonated in the air. In her relaxed state, she gently lowered herself to the ground and laid there; eyes closed softly as the enjoyed the presence around her. "You have a lovely singing voice," she spoke it hushed tones.

His ears perked up. The melodic tone reached them, his body leaning towards the sound. A comforting sensation filled him, no doubt perhaps what the singer had meant it to be. Yet he shook his head, his face becoming that of stone. People were less trustworthy than animals from his past experience. 

He took a tentative sniff, nose in the air. His mouth twisted into a scowl as he scented nothing. He decided to follow the sound instead, his footsteps silent as he threaded through. Just this once he would give… whoever this being was a moment of his trust. Only his tail swished by him, showing off his nervousness when nothing else had.

Closer and closer, he honed in, the sound growing, the words becoming clearer. The language slowly dawned on him, the sobering tone touching deep. Of his people did this belong to him and it made him think of home. 

He stepped through the bush and paused at the sight of the congregation before him. The source belong to a Kelahati, an older one that put his age to shame. His eyes narrowed at the small animals hiding beneath the being's clothing. No doubt they saw him as a protector and immediately he became sour. 

There wouldn't be another opportunity after this and he had no intentions to continue hunting on another territory, even if - his eyes shifted to the deer - he was hungry. 

He continued to take cautious steps forward. “Are these your lands?” He spoke up and asked. It was rude to say nothing.

"Thank you," he said in response to the deer. "I hope it brought you peace." He folded his hands in his lap, the golden ornamentation on his fingers glittering as they moved briefly through a patch of sunlight. He allowed himself to fall into silence with this stranger, and the animals gathered around him settled down into a contented lull. The forest was still and quiet, and the man closed his eyes to revel in the peace around him.

It was rather short lived, however. The animals around him roused quite abruptly from their rest, and a few of the more flighty creatures took off into the underbrush. It didn't take long for the kelahati to see why: a predator was in their midst, and his eyes were keenly set on the deer lounging nearby.

"Peace, friend," he said softly, turning his vivid blue gaze to the other man. "My name is Osira, and these lands belong to no one. I'm nothing more than a traveling scribe, chronicling the history of the land in song." He ruffled his wings, his feathers rustling softly, and extended one in a sweeping gesture in invitation. "Won't you come join us for a while?" There was no harm in easing the newcomer's worries. Osira had little doubt that life had been hard on him, especially given the predator mentality of lands belonging to one or another. Though perhaps he was simply out of touch with the rest of his kin; civilized life in the far swamps had been far different.

His gaze slid over to the deer, an inkling of concern written in the creases around his eyes. The new man hadn't yet noticed that she was one of them, and he was keen to fix that, lest blood be split. "I don't believe I got your name, Miss. Pardon my rudeness." Osira's head dipped in an apologetic bow as he brought a hand to his chest.

As soon as the new body had shown up into the peaceful area, it seemed to change it's aura into more of.. a bit of a frantic one for the small animals. Plenty of them went and hid while others only scurried away from the area instead. It was their own rights to do so. Though the cycle of life called for one to be killed and eaten, it never meant another creature actually wanted to become food for another.

Large doe eyes slowly made their way to glance over towards the other male, who stood there, eyes practically trained on her form. Akeme couldn't help but fidget slightly where she laid, her dark eyes peered between both men. In a sudden motion of her head, her attention was solely upon the lightly colored male, who had mentioned his name as being Osira. "Oh! No you are quite alright, I should have introduced myself," she shifted upon onto her feet, body morphing deer form to her more humanoid one, "I am Akeme, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir.

The small, young woman took a few steps towards him, her little hand reached out in gesture of a handshake. The little animals that stayed hidden around the older man skittered a little, but in no way felt threatened by her presence in the least. It was then that she bent over just a little, a hand reaching out towards them; a little rabbit took a couple steps forward, allowing her to gently ran her fingers through the fur on it's head. She couldn't help but to smile now, such a sweet little creature, in want of nothing more than to live another day. The small creature nuzzled into her hand gently, causing her to giggle softly at the affectionate little bunny.

The young male tried to best to school his surprise but as he watched Akeme changed into that of a human, his eyes flickered with it. Instantly he held remorse, his eyes darting away from her form. He should known better than to assume. His first impression was already going south, a hand creeping towards his mouth to better hide his face. 

Be as it may, for lack of better words, he was flustered. 

He wasn't accustomed with words... rather speaking at all. He lacked the finesse to smooth out the situation he brought about so he settled with an introduction, seeing as the both of them had done so. 

"I am Ezra..." He seemed to pause, searching for the right words. "I am on a pilgrimage..." His voice was gruff, rough from misuse. After being trapped in his own little village, it seemed better to set out on his own to witness with his own eyes what he had been missing. But it seemed better than to observe and listen than to speak himself. Never one to truly talk but this was a time to get some practice he suppose.

He only wish it was one individual. His ears reflexively pinned back. He wasn't great with two... 

He would have approached Osira, seeing both he and Akeme greet but he was nervous to even get near the deer Kelahati. Prey like being never tolerated his presence for too long. Seeing as some local animals scattered at his arrvival, it was only appropriate that they would, recognizing what he was. He didn't really expect her to stay around him for all too long and truth to be told, the thought bothered him. 

He told Osira's offering for granted, settling down on a patch of grass, crossing his legs. He was growing tired and wondering around in circles did him no good. "I can... thank you," he added more quietly.

"Akeme," Osira said, taking her small hand in his own and shaking it a few times. "Ezra." He nodded in the man's direction, cementing their names into his mind. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." This time he smiled, the expression traveling up to his eyes, accentuating the crow's feet wrinkles at their corners. It was nice to be in the company of others again; he'd been alone in his journey for far too long, animal companions aside.

The man leaned back against his rock once more, a hand propping him up for support, and just enjoyed the brief silence of newfound camaraderie. Even Ezra had seemed to relax, though Osira gleaned there was more to the young man's story than he was ready to share.

Still, it was worth a gentle prod. Perhaps he would be forthcoming with answers, though the kelahati doubted his kin would let down such a carefully upheld guard.

"So, Ezra," he began softly, "you mentioned a pilgrimage? Where are you heading to, and what prompted this journey? Was it perhaps the death of the oracles?" The man gave a contemplative look before adding on, "Apologies if this is a sensitive question. I'm but a curious old man." Osira gave a chuckle at his own joke; he was hardly more than middle aged.

There was some truth to his words, however. Osira too had set out on his journey after hearing of the human oracles death, and now two more had joined the oracle in death. Fire, water, air... What did it all mean?

Though his voice seemed soft, quiet with being unused, the faint sound of his name reached her ears; causing them to flick lightly against her head of dark brow hair. She kept her eyes upon him, just kind of taking him in for the moment being. The girl didn't hold any ill-feelings about him eyeing her like nothing but prey to feed upon; it wasn't as if she was naturally in her humanoid form to begin with. Walking through the forests was just... easier in deer form in all honesty.

"It's nice to meet you, Ezra," she sent a gentle smile his way, eyes gleaming up towards the older of the three, "oracles have died? I don't think I've quite heard about that." It was true, like most creatures of nature she kind of kept to herself mostly; only to sell fruits and the like to neighboring villages close by. Even then, she didn't care mingle about with nothing but rumors; this didn't seem like anything close to just gossip one heard in the streets.

Once again her large, brown eyes made their way over to Ezra, who looked just a little uncomfortable for some reason. "You can come sit closer, if you like," she patted a little spot on the grass near her, "I won't bite, I promise." Akeme gave a little giggle and a playful smile; there was no fear nor feeling of threat towards him.

Ezra gave the older one his full attention, his ears pinning back at the sound of oracles. A dark expression crawled its way across his features. "That is part of it...," he unwillingly parted with. With his tribe, as secluded as they were, even the deaths of the oracles reached their quiet area. 

Normally the outer world had no part of their way of life. It was only when the 'disturbances' began that it disrupted their tranquility. 

"Life has been thrown off in some way... They sent me to be their eyes, that is all." He wasn't wholly against it neither but he did not have much room to fight it as well. Eventually he would have report back but it was liberating to be away from his secluded land. He was... enjoying this outer world bounty. 

He paused in his words, eyes darting towards Akeme as she addressed him. He went stiff, nearly wanting to roll his eyes at the idea of her even 'biting' him. He had taken her words a bit... too seriously. As she patted the patch of grass next to her, his golden gaze continued to dart back and forth between her and the ground. 

He chuffed under his breath, scooting towards the spot she gestured, stopping some inches away. 

"Not that I'm afraid you will bite me but I'm being...  courteous by keeping some distance." He felt like explaining himself, keeping his face averted from her. His eyes shifted back towards Osira, "You wouldn't know more about this, would you?" He hastily returned to the subject, eager to have knowledge of the situation at hand.