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Post by tsukikoko on Dec 4, 2018 16:06:17 GMT -6
The undergrowth heaved and tore beneath the violent, rapid struggles occurring beneath the trees. Birds scattered in terror. Dirt, leaves, twigs; all flew into the air. Accompanied by snarling and snorts of exertion. Frustration. The shrieking crunch of claws through tree bark. A clacking of something hard, like jaws snapping together.
This continued for a good few moments, before a long, lithe shape came crashing out of the ferns and bushes, uncoordinated and thrashing as limbs refused to cooperate. At odds with the rest of the creature, a thick, scaled tail came dragging behind, smashing into a nearby young tree and knocking it flat. A low hiss, a short, brutish grunt and the creature struggled upright, limbs spread in a supremely awkward fashion. Bloody 'ell, six limbs can be a sod. Reet... come on Sara, git it together. The woman-turned-seraph shook her slim head, exhaling steadily. It was always harder, shifting into something with more than four walking limbs for the first time or so. Her brain had to adapt, adjust to the extra nerves, sensations and locomotion. It was like learning to walk, all over again.
Since discovering she had acquired Sarkany's large, animalistic form, Sara had found herself unbelievably excited to try it out for a longer period of time (a brief 30 seconds of surprised shifting did not count). Yet she had found, rather quickly, that not only could she not hover in the same way he seemed able to - or at least hadn't figured that part out yet - her limbs were rather slim and not particularly strong where her body weight was concerned. Couple that with the difficulty in learning how to control the six of them and the shifter had soon found herself flailing around on the ground in a rather ungainly fashion. She had come to the place he instructed, after being given a 'sample' of his full form, so he could show her how to hunt. She hoped to at least get this learning period out of the way before he showed up. She could just see the smug, or perhaps embarrassed, look he would have on his face at the sight of her. Ugh.
Now she carefully lifted one front leg, spreading the toes and then placing it down in front of her. A small wobble, but she didn't fall over again. Sara sighed, a short, relieved sound and then her eyes narrowed in concentration. Next foot.
It was strange. Looking at the trees around her, she could have sworn she was even larger than Sarkany. Larger females in his species perhaps?
The thought made her grin.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Dec 4, 2018 17:27:06 GMT -6
Audun lay still beneath the dappled shadows of a large tree, screened by the undergrowth. Ahead of him, a group of wild boar rooted in the leaf litter, grunting quietly. For almost half an hour he had been watching and waiting with a reptilian patience as they edged closer and closer. His muzzle lowered fractionally, the tip of his tail twitching in preparation for a strike. He'd break the first one’s spine for sure. But he would have to be quick to catch the others - they were much more agile than him, in the dense forest.
But before he could move they scattered, squealing, as a sudden fierce commotion kicked up from deeper in the forest. Audun hissed his displeasure and rose to his feet, startled. With an irritable flick of his tail he stretched upwards, digging his claws into the tree and rearing to stand on his hind legs. His head peeked above the canopy, and he watched the thrashing boughs with a wary confusion. It didn’t look or sound like a fight, so what was the reason for all the noise?
He lowered himself back to the ground and began to stalk in the direction of the ruckus, head held low and forked tongue flicking out to taste the air. No blood. The snorting continued from up ahead, and he paused, shocked, as a massive, six limbed creature burst out of the trees, legs splayed and thick tail smashing through branches and flattering thorns.
The creature was definitely female - her scent was distinctly and almost overwhelmingly feminine, even if he didn't know exactly what she was. Audun scented the air again, just to make sure. Perhaps she was in heat - that would explain her ruffled disposition and all the noises she was making.
The young drake edged closer, keeping a respectful distance between them. Her claws - six sets of them, too - were impressively sharp, and he was mindful that she would likely have a head full of equally wicked fangs. He turned his head and looked over himself, briefly preened his claws, and then he stepped out in front of her, head held high and his eyes bright and interested. He seemed both uncertain and confident at the same time.
“Hello?” he tried, as politely as he could manage, in clear draconic. She didn't look like a dragon at all, but he knew a number of larger predators understood the language. “Are you alright?”
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Post by MP on Dec 4, 2018 18:44:55 GMT -6
Sarkany had mixed feelings about the sight below him. It was a fair wind better than watching his shape bumble around like a five-footed pup, that was for sure. But seeing another Sahar was...strange to him. At least the tail was still the same, he noted as Sara flattened a large sapling with it. The thought brought him an odd sense of reassurance, and he watched her wobbling movements with renewed objectivity.
Her problem, he decided after a few minutes of watching, was that she expected to fly. The flowing trot of his kind was buoyed by aether; their claws anchored their weight to the ground rather than hold it up. Sara imitated what she saw, ignoring the how. She was trying to walk high and upright like a dog when she needed to walk like a pup, low and spraddling on her palms. He was about to speak up and tell her so when the other creature came out of the trees.
Sarkany stirred on his branch, shifting from his reclining position to better watch the drake. He hadn't seen a need to bother about it before - it wasn't a natural predator of an Icarim and it didn't seem especially territorial now. Probably mistook her for a dragon, knowing their kind. Nothing to worry about - especially with a queen's shape.
The twitch of a smile at the corners of his mouth as it greeted her. Sarkany rested his chin in his palm and settled down to watch. Well she had her own shape now; let's see what she would do with it. If worst came to worst, he was only fifty feet or so from stepping in.
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Post by tsukikoko on Dec 5, 2018 10:39:04 GMT -6
Sara blinked, tilted her head as she regarded the stranger. She had been expecting company of the male variety, but not of this fascinating, new male variety. Whatever this creature was, it hadn't attacked her, nor did it seem in any hurry to do so. In fact, if her instinctive semi-knowledge of language (both body and spoken) was to be believed, he was trying to say hello. After a very brief moment where she wondered when Sarkany would arrive and what he would make of this creature, the shifter shoved her head forward and curiously sniffed at her new companion.
Her eyes shone, her body practically vibrated with excitement. What was he? Sentient obviously, not winged like a dragon or wyvern, certainly not an icarim (that was what Sarkany had said.. right?), but definitely something along the draconid line. Where had he come from? She even wondered, already, whether he'd be okay with her taking a sample. Then berated herself nearly in the same mental breath for jumping the gun.
For now, she keened, a sound somewhere between a whistle and a purr, then growled out an unpracticed attempt at 'hello!' back at him. The mane on the back of her neck fluffed a little. Though Sara didn't yet know why, still caught up in untangling the instincts of this new shape, it felt like a smile. Her new, uncoordinated body was briefly forgotten in the wake of her excitement and Sara lowered her body to the ground, wiggling her rear end like some kind of excitable puppy. It didn't register that the lower stance was more stable than she had been a moment before and in the next heartbeat she was rearing up and spreading her forelegs, the membrane stretched wide, a show of enthusiasm that perhaps came across more intimidating than the shifter intended, given the size of her current form.
Until she promptly fell over sideways in a heap as her balance failed and her legs buckled out from beneath her. She flailed, her tail thumped against the ground and she very nearly ended up flat on her back.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Dec 5, 2018 12:15:56 GMT -6
Audun became a little bolder when the female did not react aggressively towards him. He stretched his neck out and sniffed back as she did, forked tongue flickering. The drake tilted his head to the side as she twittered and then chuffed out something that sounded like “hello”. So, she could understand and speak draconic, albeit with a strange accent. But she was not a dragon, or any reptile for that matter.
She...seemed friendly? He thought so, anyway. He took a stiff-legged step closer, still cautious. Still at a loss to what exactly she was, he looked over her, taking in the fluffed mane and the strangely crocodilian tail. And then he shied back as she reared up and flared her membrane, muzzle wrinkling into the beginnings of a snarl at the blatant threat display. He didn't know what he'd done wrong but already his muscles bunched in preperation for a counter attack.
But before he could so much as hiss back she tumbled to her side, stomach bared and legs flailing. Like a pup He straightened slowly. Again, he was at a loss to what she was trying to convey, and stood very still and tense as she struggled to regain her footing. Even with his emotionless reptilian features, the confusion was clear in his face and in his body language. He lifted a foot. Placed it back down. His tail swiped slowly over the leaf litter.
“Are you okay?” he repeated again, much more slowly and clearly. He almost wanted to help, nudge her up on her feet.
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Post by MP on Dec 5, 2018 12:44:02 GMT -6
Through the sound of Sara’s flailing, there was another sound, muffled and more distant from the drake: the sound of a human chuckle, a mix of amusement and helpless exasperation. Sarkany raised his face from his palm, still shaking his head, and called down to the overturned queen.
“Aye, why don’t you bite him next? That might be friendlier than a rearing flare. My skies...”
If his grin wasn’t visible from his perch - the same high branch occupied by a twine-wrapped box not so long ago - it was perfectly audible in his words. The man showed no inclination to climb down and help communicate. He only sat up on the branch, the better to watch the conversation.
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Post by tsukikoko on Dec 5, 2018 14:22:26 GMT -6
From the spreadeagled position on her back, Sara's head snapped up and turned towards the treetops at the sound of a familiar voice. Of course he was already here. Of course he was. What did he mean, a rearing flare, what had she-?
The shifter lifted a foot in front of herself, took in the sight of the membrane and the confused, tense creature lingering nearby. She blinked again. Oh. Oh. She wasn't a mammal. Of course she wasn't a mammal, neither was this fellow, of course! She must have looked as though she were inciting him to a fight, reared back with all her frills and such on display. Not the best way to introduce herself.
Sara snorted with a huff in Sarkany's direction, then slowly flopped from her back onto her side, her tail making a mighty 'thump' in the process. She swivelled her head towards the newcomer, regarding him from one eye. If an icarim could look sheepish, Sara did in that moment. Her jaws parted just slightly, letting out a soft croon of a 'sorry'. Then she was steadily finding her feet again, gathering them under herself and raising herself only slightly from the ground. It dawned on her now, with a bit of hindsight, that the lower centre of gravity was far easier to remain balanced on. Surprised. She tried to say, then paused, thought it over, fluffed her mane a little. There were no words so much as an attempt at explanation through body language and chuffs of sound. Excited? ... Too much. It was hard, knowing which of the semi-understood languages she had rattling around inside her psyche and instincts to use.
Again the shifter leant towards the draconid-looking male, her muzzle extended. She bumped him gently on his muzzle with the tip of her slim snout, another mixture of embarrassment and a smile in the form of fluffing and tilting her gaze away. Sorry. Then her attention diverted, looking pointedly up at Sarkany. No she was not going to bite him, thank you very much Mr Backseat Driver, the look seemed to say.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Dec 10, 2018 10:46:29 GMT -6
The drakes head snapped sharply up at the sudden voice, his horn only just missing the females hide. He took a single step towards the sound, bristling.
But then he paused and eyed the tree and its reclining, grinning inhabitant with the same standoffish suspicion he had initially given the female. The scent that drifted to him was distinctly human - at odds with the mans position halfway up a pine, and his familiarity with the other. She spoke up from her sprawled position and he turned back to her.
Her meaning was clear, even with the broken draconic, and he nudged her back with the side of his muzzle. An uncommonly friendly motion for the drake, but her playfulness, whether or not she meant it, put him in an easy, if not confused, mood. She was being friendly with him, so he'd be friendly with her.
“You have a human friend?” he pointed his muzzle upwards from where the voice had come, still speaking slowly and clearly. Even if she didn't understand him, the questioning nature of his words was clear. He tilted his head just in case and looked between them, mouth slightly agape as he continued to scent the two of them. "Do you also have a human shape?"
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Post by MP on Dec 10, 2018 11:20:47 GMT -6
Sarkany answered the shifter’s stare with a winning smile, all harmless innocence on his perch. He showed no desire to come down and socialize. When the drake looked up at him, he only waved cheerily down at it and continued to watch. The creature seemed almost as awkward as the false queen, and he thought he’d get a much more entertaining view of it all from here.
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Post by tsukikoko on Dec 12, 2018 13:48:55 GMT -6
The shifter snorted, her muzzle wrinkling into an expression of flippancy laced with an odd note of humour, when the draconid asked whether she had a human friend. Less friend. She looked up at Sarkany again, both to narrow her eyes at him and to figure out how best to describe what he was. Especially given the limited grasp she still currently had on the languages available to her - though it was getting easier as the minutes ticked by. Irritating. ... Pain in rear. A blink, a light click of her teeth that may have been something like a smile. Like him though.
"Do you also have a human shape?"
The question made Sara's tail swish once, her mouth opening in an excited twitter. Next moment, the seraph was gone, replaced by a ginger-haired woman with a hand on her hip and a grin on her face. Notably for Audun, there was still a large, scaly tail behind her. "Why aye man, got a human shape! As ya can see." She gestured to herself, apparently oblivious to how dangerous it might be to assume such a small shape in front of something so obviously predatory. It had been a long time since she'd been so oblivious. Of late, up till now, it had been very far the other way - anything new or vaguely threatening had made the shifter jump out of her skin.
Maybe it was the lingering sense of confidence from having been such a large predator herself only recently, or maybe it was because the draconid's behaviour up till this point had been tentatively friendly; either way, she had no problem addressing him with glee. "'Ave a lot of shapes under me belt." A quick flick of her eyes as she looked the draconid over, then her smile widened, "Could even make meself look like one of you, if ya like." Then, as she remembered the other person present, "Oh aye, also-" She pointed up at Sarkany, "-'im up there, 'e's nowt entirely 'uman, divvint let 'im fool ya." Now that she could talk more easily, Sara thought it time for introductions and really hoped the newcomer could understand human English. Or, at least, her heavily accented version of English. "Pleasure tah meet ya, sorry for bein' so rude with me 'ole-" She spread her arms in a pale imitation of her flare from earlier, "Ya know.. anyway, like, me name's Sara. Who meet you be?"
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Post by qhostqrowls on Dec 25, 2018 18:30:06 GMT -6
Audun took a startled half step backwards as Sara shifted. He hadn't been expecting an immediate demonstration. For a moment he just stared, enraptured, and then lowered his head to sniff at her. The difference in size was massive, and he was conscious of how soft and small she now was. His tongue flicked briefly against the rough scales of her tail - it did not fit with the rest of her at all. Not in this form, or the first. He drew back suddenly as he realized that it was probably both rude and frightening to be licked by a creature of his size.
He stood awkwardly, more puzzled than ever, and then abruptly there was no longer a drake standing before her, but a man with unnervingly reptilian eyes and a shock of shaggy red-brown hair. There was a disheveled look to him, and if possible, his body language was even stiffer than before. Scarred arms were crossed tightly across his chest, feet planted wide, but there was a slight smile gracing his lips as his gaze flickered down Sara's body, lingering again on the crocodilian tail.
“The pleasure is all mine. You have many pretty forms, Sara.” There was a soft southern drawl to his voice, and sharp teeth flashed from behind his lips as he gave her a grin that was a little more animalistic then he meant it to be. “I'm Audun. You said you could look like me - what did you mean?”
He tilted his head slightly even as he sent Sara's not-friend, not-human companion another sideways glance. An almost imperceptible nod of recognition, a slight upwards tilt of the chin, was directed towards him. A forced greeting at best.
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Post by MP on Dec 27, 2018 5:17:48 GMT -6
Not much for playing human, Sarkany thought with a mental shake of his head. Or human manners. Drakes.
Still, he answered the stiff greeting with a nod of his own, a more comfortable gesture than the reptile's by far. Awkward or not, Audun asked convenient questions. The seraph was curious how quickly Sara could adjust to new shapes. He'd never seen her in the process of stealing one before, and after the...incident during his initial visit, it had never been convenient to ask.
Sarkany dropped from his branch, dangling briefly by the live hand, and landed on the next one down. He dropped another two branches in this manner before settling down on the third, watching the demonstration from a more convenient seat.
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Post by tsukikoko on Dec 28, 2018 5:36:10 GMT -6
Given how often she spent around animals and bestial supers (as well as being various animals and supers), Sara was not at all put out by the lick to her tail. It wasn't a nose to the crotch like a dog, so she simply smiled and took it as the drake trying to figure out why her tail was so at odds to the rest of her body. Really, she couldn't blame him. The crocodile tail was rather noticeable. Her thoughts briefly drifted to wondering whether he smelled through his tongue, like many reptilian species, before the shifter's attention was well and truly focused on the man now stood in front of her. So he had a human form too! How fascinating.
“The pleasure is all mine. You have many pretty forms, Sara.” She stuck her tongue out a little at that, not at all put off by the bestial nature of his smile. "Flatterer." Came her easy response, again not taking his words to heart as much as she perhaps should have. Many non-humans had decidedly blunt manners of speaking, or used words that a person might not. Plus, Sara couldn't exactly judge, given her own often flirtatious manner of speech.
“I'm Audun. You said you could look like me - what did you mean?”
The shifter opened her mouth to answer, only to be momentarily distracted by the sound of movement through the trees. Seemed Sarkany had dropped lower, though he still hadn't joined them on the floor. He watched, but offered no comment, so Sara just narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the trickster before she slid her gaze back to Audun. "Pleasure tah meet ya Audun. As for you question, eeee.. well, can mean a couple'a things, like. I'm a shapeshifter, aye, but not between a set selection of forms, like, I can take on new ones. I could quite literally look like you, a replication, aside from me tail, that never changes." A smile and a light shrug. She didn't particularly mind that her tail was a constant presence no matter the circumstances or form in question. "Orrrr..." she continued, glancing at Audun sidelong now, the building excitement and anticipation clear in the lines of her expression, the twinkle in her eyes. She loved gaining new forms. "-I could become a female of ya species, like, me own proper version. But, tah do that, I need a sample, like. Blood, saliva, semen, somethin' with a live sample of ya DNA, uhm.. genes, the stuff that makes your species unique, ya know?" She wanted to explain, so the drake knew exactly what he was getting into. But without knowing how much he knew about biology and genetics, she figured it best to err on the side of caution - more explanation was better than not enough.
Then it was determining the safest method to gain said sample: sex of any variety was off the table; he could spit into something, she supposed, but that tended to make people cringe; a blood, skin or cheek sample wasn't viable because she had none of her equipment with her and didn't intend to scratch him; a bite wasn't exactly the best way to show friendship, usually when Sara gained a form that way it was an accident... or in self defence. That left an option she'd used a fair few times before. "I could kiss ya? That'd work. If ya alreet with that, o'course."
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Post by qhostqrowls on Jan 3, 2019 19:04:57 GMT -6
The drake listened diligently to Sara, raising his eyebrows and shrugging at the explanation of her species. It figured. But he did wish she had truely been whatever her initial form had been, or a repltile of some sorts, as her tail might suggest.
As the explanation wore on, his eyebrows furrowed deeper and deeper in a look, yet again, of confusion and slight wariness. He had understood most of what she said. But a kiss, of all things?
Despite his suspicions, as he thought over the offer, his eyes began to light up with an intent interest. A proper female drake? His grin became a little more toothy and prompting at the mention of one of the possible DNA samples, but he refrained from making a comment on it. Perhaps if the other had not been watching from the tree...but regardless, he didn't want to offend her with his forwardness and ruin his chances.
“A kiss? Of course. Gotta get ya a proper sample, after all.” still smirking, he stepped closer to the redhead when he finally spoke up, looking all too pleased with himself. He waited as politely as possible for her to initiate the kiss, doing what he thought was a decent job of keeping casual, save for the smirk and the look in his eyes.
Above all he was incredibly excited about the potential of having another drake of his own species around, something he had only experienced for a few brief days after hatching. It was almost too good to be true - but she smelt safe and her explanation made sense.
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Post by tsukikoko on Jan 15, 2019 17:41:33 GMT -6
Audun stepped forward, decidedly polite in his approach after agreeing, despite the eagerness she could feel from him, pooling around his body and rolling towards her. She grinned back at him, excited at the prospect and also finding his demeanour rather sweet. It crossed her mind that she was giving him the wrong impression with her suggestion - was he excited about the idea of another drake, or the fact she was about to kiss him? - but then, he wasn't human, did a kiss mean all that much to him? She could certainly think of a few creatures that thought very little of much, much more intimate affairs.
Not giving herself time to dwell to much longer and resolving to explain the situation should he think more of it than she did, Sara closed the distance. Her hands slid over his cheeks, holding Audun steady to avoid the bone jarring impact of teeth-on-teeth, since she had no idea what his experience of human kissing would be. Another smile, gentle and reassuring. "Thanks luv." When Sara kissed the young drake, it was no chaste thing. In order to ensure a complete sample and prevent having to try again, she gently parted his lips with her own, alert for any signs he was having second thoughts, and deepened the kiss. A few seconds passed, her eyes opened, glazed over momentarily, body quivering in a long motion from her head down to her toes. It was never a dull experience. Feeling the change in her genetic makeup, the briefly volatile reaction of absorbing and utilising new genetic material. It never hurt, exactly, but there was a certain strangeness to it; all her cells altering in a cascade of tearing and reforming. She could perceive the new form within her, sift it out from the myriad of others swirling with her genetic code, waiting to be released.
When the shifter stepped back, releasing Audun's lips, it was not the crocodile tailed woman that stood before him. A large, reptilian face, nostrils gently flaring to take in the new scents, pupils dilating only to shrink again, as her body adjusted to new visual and sensory information this form provided her. Sarkany would have seen the change, the peculiar rippling of flesh that signalled it, followed by a near seamless transition to a drake of deep red scales and ginger streaks. While her legs were splayed a little awkwardly and the shifter's body quivered as though unsteady, she at least remained standing (some previous first time shifts had left her in a heap on the floor for a few minutes).
Sara blinked, slowly. A soft, questioning croon escaped her mouth, as though to ask 'how do I look?' Then she was craning her neck around, getting a good look at herself. Her enthusiasm was palpable, a trembling, expanding force that accompanied a rising growl of intrigue and wonderment. There was a dull, faint heat in her chest, a warmth that spoke of something new. Something exciting! Her head suddenly disappeared between her front legs, looking beneath herself, trying to see if there was a glow or anything of the sort. Nothing external. She lifted a foot, flicked her slimmer but still most certainly crocodilian tail, then lifted another foot to spread the toes and get a good look at them.
It was at about that point, the shifter's balance failed her.
A short bark of a growl, feet churning the ground in a desperate attempt to right herself. She stumbled, nearly fell, the gliding skin between her legs threatened to flare as she struggled to work the relevant new muscles. Another stumble, she caught herself, barely, and in a brief scuffle of limbs against the forest floor, ended up planted on her haunches like a dog. The look on her face, however, far from embarrassed or irritated, Sara's face was a picture of excitement and elation. She lifted a fore paw, turning it over in front of herself.
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