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Post by qhostqrowls on Mar 20, 2024 22:47:12 GMT -6
Rika paddled lazily down the river, letting the current push her along. She rolled onto her back, staring up at the canopy, and huffed out a deep breath as the cold water ran across her pelt. Exploring the hundreds of waterways branching off from the lakes kept her occupied, but it was starting to get lonely.
The Taikura flipped back over and dove beneath the surface, her claws brushing against the riverbed. The river was narrowing into a shallow stream, not widening into rapids or a waterfall or anything remotely exciting. She resurfaced with another huff, nostrils flaring and her ears flattening against her sleek head as a flock of birds exploded from the undergrowth, alarm calls echoing through the forest. She missed the murky, milky water of her homeland. She wasn't able to ambush so much as a mouse when the water ran this clear.
She padded along the riverbank, water streaming from her pelt, jaws parted to taste the air. When she reached a sunny patch of grass she flopped down heavily and stretched out, knowing this deep in the wild there was no chance of a human coming across her. The thought of hunting passed briefly across her mind, and then she decided she was much too comfortable to be bothered to chase anything.
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 21, 2024 3:04:30 GMT -6
On top of the grassy hill, overlooking the riverbank, stood a biped who was most certainly not human. The tall woman paused, resting against one of the small trees on the riverbank, her long white hair like a mane around her shoulders. She was strong, muscular, and very tall, barefoot, even in the sharp stones and sticks of the forest floor above. Her fingernails and toenails were sharp and claw-like.
She paused as she considered crossing over the crest and wandering down to the river as she spotted the sleek shape of the Taikura dozing on the shore.
An unfamiliar animal.
An animal that was not an animal, she decided after a brief inspection.
Was it lost out here? It didn’t feel like it belonged to the forest, or the rivers of Wathais, even less than she herself did. Sophia’s bones knew that her home was somewhere across the sea, in the cold forests of Europe, with the bison and the last wild horses. Perhaps the home of her ancestors no longer even existed.
She considered approaching, and then settled on waiting to see if she was noticed. Her aura was naturally calming, and without making contact with its emotional state, she was not sure if it would be frightened off should she call for it.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Mar 21, 2024 4:25:43 GMT -6
Rika half closed her eyes at the soft warmth of the sun against her pale underbelly. She rubbed her face against the grass, paws askew, and then stilled abruptly when she caught sight of the woman on the hill.
She stared hard for a few seconds, upside down, and then rolled fluidly onto her side to sit upright.
Her gaze was piercing, but devoid of any predatory intent. This was no normal human. She was a beautiful wild woman, and after a moment of silence she chuffed a soft greeting across the distance, not wanting to rise and scare her off.
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 22, 2024 1:19:35 GMT -6
Sophia smiled as the animal called to her. Curious and friendly. Not always a good thing when meeting strange predators, but Sophia wasn’t particularly threatened by animals, either magical or ordinary. Her aura gave her an edge with most, especially if they were non-sentient, and her nature gave her an edge if they were intelligent or highly aggressive.
She crouched down, and, in the universal sign of invitation, held out her hand, palm out. There was nothing within it. Her only offer was her friendship. Her yellow eyes were filled with sadness. When she was still, she looked rather like a statue.
“Want to come up here?”
The demigod asked. Her deep voice was a gentle whisper that carried on the wind down to Rika.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Mar 22, 2024 15:05:30 GMT -6
Rika rose, padding over softly. She was a large, heavily built animal, and yet her approach was almost entirely silent. The dappled sunlight made her striking pelt stand in even sharper relief against the gentle green of the forest.
She slowed, lowering her broad head to sniff the woman’s outstretched hand. Her hot breath washed over her fingers, whiskers brushing against her skin. She smelt like the riverbanks after rain, like the new growth of the plants.
“Who are you?” She purred, the words a low rumble in her throat. Somehow, she felt she’d understand the alien language and not mistake her speech for a growl.
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 23, 2024 1:09:48 GMT -6
“Me? I’m Sophia. I live nearby.”
The demigod said, as if that explained everything. Her voice was slow, deep, and gentle, spoken just under her breath. She did not move, though when the strange animal sniffled her fingers, she curled them, slowly and gently, so that she could smell them better. Her long nails were pointed like claws.
“What are you? You… I’ve never seen you before. You feel different than this place. Smell unfamiliar.”
She phrased it less as an interrogation, and more as a genuine question. There must be a story here. Strange creatures did not simply appear, just as Sophia did not suddenly appear one day. There must be more to this.
She paused, considering standing, but in the end, remained seated in her place, yellow eyes unblinking.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Mar 24, 2024 23:19:15 GMT -6
“A beautiful name. I’m Rika.” She replied, entranced by the woman. Her gentle aura was so at odds with the scars crisscrossing her skin.
“I’m not from this world,” Rika affirmed. “But I have been here for years. This region, only a few months.”
She stared intently into the yellow of her eyes.
“I’m Taikura, but they call me something different everywhere I go. Lake leopard. Hellcat. Rivermonster.”
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 25, 2024 1:42:35 GMT -6
Sophia’s lips moved as she silently repeated Rika’s name, considering its feel, before nodding, as if this was more invitation than what they had just done. The wind ruffled her mane-like hair, and she took a step closer to the Otter-like creature.
“Another world? Do you come from the spirit world? Or...?”
She gestured up at the sky, as if to imply that Rika might be some kind of alien. She could never be sure with all the strange creatures she met, and Rika’s species was unfamiliar to her. Coming from space wasn’t so different than coming from another plane, was it?
“Oh. Those don’t sound like nice names. I think you’re beautiful.”
The woman spoke slowly, offering a hand, as if to pet her new acquaintance. She paused, looking up at the sky, and then her eyes drifted down to the creature.
“… What do you eat?”
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Post by qhostqrowls on Mar 25, 2024 23:00:10 GMT -6
“No. It was a little like this world, but more wild. There were humans there too.”
She sat back on her haunches, thinking.
“I suppose I am an alien, but I came here through magic. By accident. It is unpredictable like that.”
She purred at the compliment, a deep rich rumble in her chest.
“Then we think the same of eachother.”
When Sophia stretched out her hand, she gently bumped her cheek against it in invitation. Her coat was silky and sleek, still damp from the river.
“Anything that swims,” She replied, her tone lightly teasing. “Sometimes the land animals, though they are all so thin and tough. Are you a huntress too?”
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 26, 2024 0:16:01 GMT -6
“There are so many beautiful things in this world.”
Sophia inclined her head, studying the large animal as it brushed against her hand. The fur was surprisingly soft for fibers that seemed almost spiny on first look. She tilted her hand the other way, her gaze softening a little. She could feel the hard edges of Rika’s focus brush against her mind.
Rika’s desire to hunt and kill dancing in the back of her mind, like one of the little mink that caught fish and squirrels on the riverbank.
“An accident? What happened?”
She asked. Sophia was no stranger to magic, but it was of limited use. Only certain domains, only certain times, and for many things she could do, there was a price. It was a shame that there was no freedom in the use of magic.
The demigoddess made a soft sound as breath escaped between her teeth and she pondered what best to offer her new friend. She didn’t have any meat at the house.
Sophia thought long and hard, and then reached out to touch a nearby cluster of cattails. Rika felt a sudden surge of magical energy, like faint electricity in the air, and one of the plant’s seed clusters unfurled itself.
Where one might have expected the flowerhead, instead there was a cylinder of…fish flesh? Which seemed to have grown from the plant’s body in a perfectly aberrant, disgusting glistening cylinder.
Without hesitation, Sophia broke off the strange flesh-flower, and offered it to Rika.
“Like this?”
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Post by qhostqrowls on Mar 27, 2024 22:06:16 GMT -6
“Oh, we were fighting with the humans. A spell went wrong, I think. Tore a rift open. There was an explosion, and somehow I ended up here.”
She shrugged, blinking slowly. Being bitter wouldn’t change what had happened.
“This world seems to be the end zone for that kind of magic. Lots of world-jumpers and portal makers and mages who end up here when something goes wrong. There’s worse places to be.”
She was watching the woman closely, and her pupils dilated at the prickle of magic across her pelt. Her small ears pricked forwards, and she made a soft noise of curiosity as the flower unfurled.
Rika craned her neck forward, hot breath washing over Sophia’s fingers. Carefully, delicately, she took the strange offering between her teeth and swallowed it in one bite.
“Thank you. I wish I had something to offer you too. I could catch you something.”
Her laziness dissipated at the prospect of impressing Sophia. The beast purred deep in her throat, pushing herself to her paws and padding in an inquisitive circle around the woman. She settled back in front of her, tucking her broad flat tail over her paws.
“Your scars. What happened?”
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 28, 2024 1:51:27 GMT -6
Sophia’s expression softened. Fighting the humans? Were the humans in their world bad? Or were they merely hostile to other living things, like they were on Earth?
She sighed out of her nose, crouching down into a squat again, her loose linen garb bunching awkwardly as she positioned herself, her expression one of sympathetic sorrow as the strange creature took the offered treat from her hand.
Not even a pause for consideration; Rika was truly an animal, in the best sense of the word.
The demigoddess felt a certain sense of satisfaction, watching her work go to good use. It was a shame she couldn’t do that everywhere, and feed every needy creature in the area.
“Don’t worry about catching me anything. I have food at my house, just nothing that you might want to eat.”
She smiled gently. The creature was very eager to please.
Sophia was so happy with her new friend that she was caught off-guard by the Taikura’s question, and froze. She hesitated. How could she even answer the question? She rubbed her arms, and winced, looking awkward.
“Well, um. I came from across the sea. I was a pet before.”
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Post by qhostqrowls on Mar 31, 2024 18:41:54 GMT -6
Rika blinked, watching Sophia's smile fade. A pet. Not the answer she had expected. Her ears flattened against her head, and the low rumble of her purr faded.
"They did not treat you kindly," She remarked, her muzzle scrunching into a faint snarl. The woman was as wild and free as any beast of the forest - it was wrong to even think of her chained and leashed like a dog.
She bumped her broad head against the womans leg, a soft placating movement, realizing she should probably change the topic. The predator flopped onto her side, hoping to put her more at ease.
"Where is your homeland?"
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Post by jarahamee on Mar 31, 2024 23:39:54 GMT -6
Sophia shook her head once, eyes closed, as if opening them would invite the memories back. Her long white hair was like a mane, rippling over her back as she made the motion. When Rika changed the subject, she opened them again, rubbing her cheek with the back of her hand.
“My homeland? I can scarcely remember it. I lived there with my mother. I can barely remember her either. We lived across the sea, and I traveled here in a box. My father was special. They said he was a very old thing, from when the world was all forest and tundra.”
Her voice became distant as she looked across the river. The water shone in the sun, sparkling gently as the light reflected off the waves. A few fish splashed in the darkness.
She looked down at Rika, as if she just remembered the Taikura was there, and stroked her head.
“Where do you live now?”
She asked, frowning slightly.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Apr 1, 2024 0:09:23 GMT -6
Rika pushed her head gently against the palm of Sophia's hand. The both of them displaced, far from their homes and their families. She parted her jaws, panting softly.
"What are you?" She questioned. "I can smell the wolf in you. Can you change your shape?"
Whatever group had taken her deserved to be torn apart, the members picked off slowly one by one. There would be others they had stolen who had not escaped like she had. Something to report to her superiors, now she was an agent. No more hunting and killing on her own, and she felt the faintest pang of regret at the thought.
"At a house at the edge of the city." Came the reply. "I like the wild, but I get lonely."
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