|
|
Post by Vulira on Sept 2, 2016 18:14:14 GMT
Vulira bristled at the bat woman's tone, her jaw tightening slightly as she brought her temper into check. Vulira wasn't normally easy to anger, but this was kind of a sore spot for her. She remembered all too well what terrible things happened when people hated each other irrationally. The wars in her home world were too fresh in her mind and heart. And so many places she visited, she saw the same patterns and the makings of the same kinds of disasters and tragedies.
Outside the tent, her tail lashed furiously back and forth, but inside, she forced her ears upright and kept her face as neutral as possible. You would 'execute' two people without evidence? Pretty obvious who the real 'murderer' is, here. Vulira thought. She wanted to say it out loud, but she knew it was pointless and incendiary to the situation.
Vulira pointedly turned her head away from the guard to just look at Daeus and Lucia.
"I'm fine, just... worried," she admitted, meeting Daeus' gaze and letting her concern show. "You two are pretty much the definition of unpopular," she said, rolling her eyes towards the guard without turning her head. "They think you're either spies, kidnappers, murderers, or some combination thereof, and I'm not sure how much they're interested in evidence," she warned them grimly.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Lucia. "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked in a slightly skeptical tone.
Her gaze shifted between the two of them, the weight of what she wanted to say hanging over her. If things go bad, run, and don't worry about me... she thought, wishing she could convey it to them like Daeus had done with his shadows. Since she couldn't, she just thought it as hard as she could and hoped they would see it in her eyes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Taliyah on Sept 5, 2016 23:58:43 GMT
"We're just travellers. I don't know what experiences they've had with people from where we're from before, but we don't mean any harm. We're not what they think we are."
She grimaced a little. "Just a side effect of being here I'm afraid. I think I'll be alright." Lucia sighed. "My tech pulses every now and then which is a bit of an annoyance and slightly painful but other than that fine."
Lucia looked at their guard with disbelief. "Monsters? I get that you don't like us, though I'm not sure as to why. We have done nothing to endanger or harm you or anyone for that matter. All we have done is be here. We are not a threat to you nor do we plan to be." Despite the anger welling up in her, she forced herself to stay calm and composed on the outside.
|
|
|
|
Post by Licht on Sept 6, 2016 0:13:06 GMT
Daeus looks at Lucia as she answers and adds quietly "Whatever they're worried about wasn't us, but it probably was someone from our home. Cathedral would have a field day in this place if it wasn't for..." He doesn't want to finish the thought out loud, with crazy bat lady right there, but he rubs at the metal on his face as if it were itching, thinking that Vulira was probably sharp enough to get the meaning.
Deija glared at Lucia. "Don't feign innocence with me, I know better. So what if you have yet to kidnap or murder from our lands yourselves? Do you deny that you were sent here by the ones that have?!"
Daeus looks at the floor uncomfortably. He reshapes the shadow he's been holding in his hands this whole time, forming a blade hidden in his hand. He won't make the first move, it's not his style. But if the angry Shifter tries anything, he needed to be ready to cut the ropes around his hands and fight back.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vulira on Sept 6, 2016 0:36:42 GMT
Vulira followed Daeus' movement and nodded slightly. Their tech malfunctioning is holding them back.
"Yeah... that can happen sometimes with interdimensional travel," she said pointedly, watching them for a moment for their reactions.
When the guard spoke, anger and empathy warred within Vulira. She sighed and rubbed her temples. Finally she turned to the bat woman and spoke, keeping her voice gentle, but also firm.
"I understand your fear, really I do. I've seen it before, more times than I can count. But if you would lash out and kill people without evidence just because they're different from you, then you're no better than what you hate! If you walk that path, it's one you cannot come back from, and it will darken your soul far more than you can imagine. And if the next words out of your mouth are 'I don't care about my soul' or something to that effect, then you'll prove my point about becoming what you hate." Vulira didn't really figure the other woman would listen to her words now, while she was angry and still very scared. But later, if she wasn't beyond redemption, Vulira's words would haunt her and make her question her decisions and motives.
She turned back towards Lucia, glancing briefly at Daeus long enough to see what he was doing. Her mouth tightened slightly in worry, but she forced her gaze to Lucia. "How's the medicine I gave you working? I would offer you something to numb the pain in your leg, but for one thing, you're not really in a position to take it, and for another, I worry it might make you drowsy or dizzy..."
|
|
|
|
Post by Taliyah on Sept 7, 2016 18:42:40 GMT
Lucia's eyes went wide when Vulira mentioned interdimensional travel, but in the present company didn't know how much she should say. She appreciated what was said to the guard, though she wasn't sure it would change anything.
"I'll be alright for now, it's more an annoyance than a major discomfort. That medicine seems to be working rather-" She paused mid-sentence and sighed.
"I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that no one else sees a fox sitting on our lovely host's feet?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Vulira on Sept 7, 2016 19:11:35 GMT
Vulira followed the direction of Lucia's gaze, and then looked back at her and shook her head, frowning. "No... how long have you been seeing this fox? It's... not especially normal for hallucinations to be of the same thing for a prolonged period of time. If you've just been seeing the same thing over and over for a long time, I suspect it's not a bad side effect from contact with a toxic plant after all," Vulira said speculatively.
|
|
|
|
Post by Licht on Sept 9, 2016 22:24:14 GMT
Deija paused, staring at Vulira curiously. "No... no the first words out of my mouth will not be I do not care about my soul. You seem to know very little about us stranger. Not much about them, but enough to be suspicious. However..." Now that she is actively talking to Vulira, the venom in her tone has faded, she seems concerned, and her demeanor is more weary. Vulira's knowledge of medicine hints to her from sizing up the woman she is showing signs of exhaustion.
"You specifically mention interdimensional travel. So you know enough then to be dangerous. I suspect that is why the leader needs to talk to you personally. If you were just any other of us in the woods, you would probably have been regarded as a youngling of our kind who didn't know enough of the world to stay away from their kind. If you understand where they come from, then mayhaps you can understand the problem. What should our people, who do not know their secrets of travel between wherever they hail from and here, do when presented with this threat? I do not call them a threat out of baseless racism as you imply, but out of years of loss and struggle. We have been assailed by people from their tribe, or whatever you might call it for many moons now. Our lands have been defiled, our people have been taken, never to be seen again, those that fight them are killed without hesitation on their part. It is not that I refuse to believe these two have done nothing wrong themselves, but what assurance do we have they would not have contributed to the sins of their kind if their orders had been such?!"
Deija shook her head, thinking deeply about something as if she was trying to decide how to elaborate while Vulira and Lucia mentioned Vulira's visions. She looks quite startled by this.
|
|
|
|
Post by Taliyah on Sept 9, 2016 22:45:20 GMT
"I've been seeing this fox ever since we arrived here.....and I mean as soon as we got here. Everywhere we go, even in my dreams, I see this fox. I had hoped that you were right and that I had just encountered a toxic plant since arriving here. Maybe I am just going mad. No one else can see what I'm seeing. What other explanation could there be?"
Lucia listened intently to what Dejja was telling Vulira. People being taken? As in kidnapped? She frowned. "I can assure you without a shadow of a doubt that we are not here to defile your land, kidnap, or kill anyone. I am sorry that you and your people have suffered such losses."
|
|
|
|
Post by Vulira on Sept 10, 2016 0:05:20 GMT
"Youngling!" Vulira exclaimed, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. She laughed aloud, unable to help herself. She took a breath and shook her head. "You're judging by appearances, again," she said with a small, enigmatic smile.
She paused to look at Lucia. "I don't think you're crazy. There's several possibilities, such as a spirit, a divine messenger or sign, psychic projection... just to name a few. We'll figure it out," Vulira said with reassuring confidence. Then she turned back towards the guard.
"I speak of interdimensional travel not because I know where they come from," she said, tipping her head towards Daeus and Lucia, "but because I come from elsewhere. Not their world, either. Hell, the world I came from wasn't even my own!" she admitted, shaking her head again. She cocked her head to the side as she looked at the bat woman. "I admit that now because my ignorance of both worlds is already quite obvious, and I don't believe anyone here is an idiot, so it would've been figured out eventually, especially if your people have the means to force truth to be spoken, which I expect you probably do," Vulira said in a slightly wry tone.
Tired of leaning half in the tent, Vulira stepped fully inside and crossed her arms under her bosom and stood with one hip cocked to the side.
"So when I say I've seen this kind of conflict more times than I can count, I really mean it. I've seen it repeated over and over across countless worlds. You ask what you should do when presented with a threat you don't understand? You learn about it, obviously. And you can't learn about people if you kill them," she said reasonably. "I will agree with you on one point... those who would blindly follow orders are dangerous. But I'm quite sure these two were not given orders to cooperate with you, else they'd have approached you openly to gain permission to access the forest. And yet they have cooperated with you. So that shows they are capable and willing to act outside the stringent parameters of their commands. They are people, not puppets," Vulira said, nodding.
"And that means you can bargain with them. They have something you need: information. And you have something they need: access. If they are spies, it would be better to know who they are and where they are, and control what information they get. If they are spies, and you kill them, then their superiors will simply send new spies, who blend in better," she said with a hint of wryness again, "and you would lose your advantage. 'The enemy you know is better than the enemy you don't,' as they say."
Vulira glanced at Daeus and Lucia and flashed a quick smile, feeling like she was actually making progress this time, unlike with Hawin.
|
|
|
|
Post by Licht on Sept 12, 2016 23:04:48 GMT
Deija pauses, rubbing her forehead at what is going on, clearly showing she has developed a headache. She rubs a small locket around her neck, the kind that might hold a photo, as if it comforts her while she takes time to think.
"I... I do not... there is much to take in about your statements, and much that you will needs repeat to Lord Kayin, but all of that can wait for the moment."
She stares sharply at Lucia "How do you speak of such things that you could not possibly know? Is this some trick to gain information from us? There is simply no way you could be experiencing the visions, your kind are simply not able to..." She begins pacing back and forth quickly, clearly even more agitated than before though not necessarily angry.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vulira on Sept 12, 2016 23:15:54 GMT
Vulira smiled slightly and looked down at her feet for a moment. "I know I'll have to repeat myself later. I haven't told you everything. I expect your leader will want my full story, or as much of it as I'm willing to tell, anyway. My purpose was simply to give you something to think on," she said, looking up at the bat woman. She briefly considered offering a headache remedy, but figured there wasn't enough of a foundation of trust at the moment.
Vulira uncrossed her arms and cocked her head to the side. "Wait, you know something about what she's experiencing? It's kind of a gap in your logic to suggest someone might use something they 'couldn't possibly know about' to gain information from you, by the by... But that's besides the point! I know you probably can't see a reason to help Lucia, but, having someone indebted to you can be advantageous in situations like this," Vulira coaxed, looking equal parts amused and bemused.
|
|
|
|
Post by Taliyah on Sept 15, 2016 4:59:24 GMT
Lucia looked to their guard hopefully. "I know that I am a stranger and that you don't trust me. Please if you know something about this tell me. It is torture to doubt the sanity of one's mind and to be questioning what is real. What do these visions mean? This has only been happening since I came here, it's never happened where I am from. I promise I know nothing about them and what I am experiencing is no trick."
She was grateful that Vulira was there trying to make sure that they were not unfairly judged, and that Daeus was there as well. All of this was unsettling and if she could find out a reason it would do wonders for her nerves. Her eyes caught sight of the locket Dejja rubbed at and wondered if that had something to do with the hostility she had displayed toward them. Had she perhaps lost someone?
|
|
|
|
Post by Licht on Sept 18, 2016 7:51:37 GMT
Deija looks rather unhinged at the news of all this that she is hearing. "You really don't know.... oh gods... oh sweet Chalis have mercy why.... no no no no no...." She whispers frantically, running her fingers through her hair and pacing madly about.
"One of us... from there.... but they'll want to.... no no no no no no no no..."
Daeus exchanges a look with the girls, unsure how to take this sudden turn from the bat lady.
Deija suddenly stops and stares wild eyed at Lucia. She fixates on the doll in her hands and starts murmuring. The doll seems to take on a likeness that it did not have before, becoming eerily similar to Lucia.
"I must put an end to this myself. You are either lying and a spy or truly ignorant and some horrible abomination. Either way I will suffer you no longer." With a sudden motion of her fingers to the doll, Lucia's arm flies up and twists painfully behind her back. The pain from her arm being twisted unnaturally is excuciating and the others can clearly see that. With your next post decide how what approach your character is going for to handle this odd situation, combat or noncombat.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vulira on Sept 18, 2016 14:12:47 GMT
Vulira gasped, eyes widening. Substitution magic! I knew it! Her face tightened and her eyes narrowed and began to darken.
"That's enough! Stop that! You were given orders, weren't you?" Vulira said harshly, taking a few steps forward and reaching out to grab the bat woman's arm. Vulira's ears tilted to the side, and her tail had gone bushy and stuck out almost straight, but angled upward a bit. Her pupils looked like they were dilating, and her limbal ring seemed larger. The crimson in her eyes was now more of a dark blood-red. Vulira shifted her density as she spoke, to about the equivalent of lead. She didn't quite want to go as solid as she could get, just yet. She was careful to be mindful of her grip so she wouldn't give away what was happening. She was angry, very angry, but she wanted to stop this before it turned into a fight. One guard was nothing, but a fight would bring the whole camp down on them, and she wasn't sure Daeus and Lucia would be able to get away if that happened.
"You feel the need to vent your anger on someone, how about you don't choose someone bound up and helpless?" she snarled, the little points of her slightly elongated incisors flashing. "If you really believe what you're trying to do right now is the right thing, then your leader will agree with you. If you're trying to do this before he gets here, then it shows you know you're doing wrong and he wouldn't allow this!"
|
|
|
|
Post by Taliyah on Sept 20, 2016 21:03:04 GMT
Lucia let out a cry and tried to breathe through clenched teeth as the pain in her arm threatened to knock the wind from her lungs. At the same time,she was desperately trying to think. Her first instinct was to find a way to fight back. However, it occurred to her that doing so might cause more problems than it solved. After all, they weren't there to hurt anyone. That and she was tied up which was problematic.
"You accuse us of so many things and after we cooperate, this is what you resort to? It's not your job to decide to suffer us or not, it's you leaders. How will he feel if he gets here and we are harmed when we did nothing to provoke this?" She spoke slowly and her tone was low as she struggled to focus on her words through the pain.
She glanced at Vulira. "Be careful, I don't know what she'll do." Lucia looked back at Dejja. "Attack me all you want, I won't do so in return. You initiated violence and I will not sink to that level."
A fight would probably ruin any chances they had of being received well by this Kayin person or being let go at all.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vulira on Sept 22, 2016 18:02:19 GMT
"Lucia, shh, I think anything you could say now would just antagonize her more," Vulira cautioned softly, tone gentle, but strained. Despite her tone, her expression was fierce as she glared at the bat woman.
"You should put down the dolls," Vulira growled, "and probably step outside. Ask to be relieved by another guard, if you feel someone must be inside the tent. But you. Cannot. Be here. Anymore!" she ground out.
|
|
|
|
Post by Taliyah on Sept 22, 2016 21:18:26 GMT
As this is going on a black panther has made its way into the tent. Golden eyes flashed as they took in the scene, and the cats long black tail began to lash back and forth in agitation. A warning growl echoed from its throat. The cat stalked over and stood between Dejja and Lucia, growling once again.
"ENOUGH!" A deep voice rang out. "Dejja what is going on here? Have we taken to torturing strangers and I was not informed?" Within the blink of an eye the cat was gone and a man stood in its place. He was dressed in black from head to toe, and there was a mixture of concern and displeasure in his eyes. He had not arrived in time to hear the beginning of the conversation but he had heard some of it and wanted a full explanation.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vulira on Sept 22, 2016 21:36:00 GMT
Vulira did a slight double take and stepped back from Deija, crossing her arms as she assessed the newcomer. Her tail began to relax, and her eyes began to brighten back to normal. She guessed the new arrival was probably their leader, Kayin. She looked away from him and back to Deija, mouth tightening slightly. Vulira kept silent, waiting to see what the other woman would say, first. She kept her arms folded tightly across her ribs, back and legs stiff, while one ear flicked back. As an afterthought, she shifted her density back to normal.
|
|
|
|
Post by Taliyah on Oct 8, 2016 23:00:29 GMT
Dejja doesn't respond and seems to just be in distress. She starts rocking back and forth in a corner of the tent mumbling incoherently, the doll on the ground beside her, seemingly forgotten.
Kayin assesses her state of mind from her actions and walks over to her, crouching down. "Dejja, I'm going to have Hawin and the others take you back home now. Get some rest and we will talk at a later point."
At his motion at the entrance of the tent Hawin and a few others help Dejja up and escort her out.
With that situation handled for the time being, Kayin turns to Vulira. "From what I have heard I would like to hear from you what is going on. From what I have gathered you are an impartial outsider to this situation."
He looked at Lucia. "While I am gathering those details one of my people will tend to your arm." After a few moments a hare shifter entered the tent and started examining her arm.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vulira on Oct 9, 2016 1:31:01 GMT
"Hmm," Vulira shifted her weight to her other leg, "I do try to maintain neutrality when I visit other worlds. It's not my place to dictate how other cultures should do things. Though there are a handful of things I can't abide and feel compelled to get involved when I see it. What do you want to know? The story of how we came to be here?" she asked, nodding her head towards Daeus and Lucia when she said 'we'.
"The shortest version is that I stumbled across them and we were having quite a lovely conversation when a group of your people sprang out of the trees with arms drawn. I knew they didn't want a confrontation any more than I did," she nodded towards Daeus and Lucia again, "so I told your people we would cooperate, and they followed my lead. When we arrived here, Daeus and Lucia were brought in here and I was set loose, but told not to leave (not that I had anywhere to go). I stuck my head in here to check on things, and I thought for a minute I was managing to soothe some of the tension. But then Deija? That was her name, right? ...Seemed to lose it when Lucia mentioned having visions of a fox that nobody else could see."
Vulira flicked an ear back and gave Kayin a puzzled look. "She was muttering things that I didn't quite understand, like 'one of us, from there'. I can only guess she believed Lucia is one of your own kind, but I don't understand why that would drive her to attack. I would've expected the opposite, honestly," she said with a frown.
|
|
