Purple Picnic [Edge/Kira]

[Pearl Dragon]

Evening sunlight stretched in orange bands through the trees and out onto the expanse of fields that opened the forest up into farmland, marking it setting into the horizon. In the distance, a speckle of houses could be seen where the suburbs began to form, and further still was the sparkling glass and metal towers of the city. Kira stood by a tree, having gotten through most of her day quietly until she ended up here, gazing out across the farms with fascination. A two lane road ran nearby where a few shops and convenience stores could be seen a couple of miles away. Her interest was primarily focused on a small clearing, not too far from a local farmhouse and barn, where a checkered blanket had been laid out. On it was a wicker basket and red cooler, its contents holding Kira's concentration and curiosity. She'd seen the humans there about an hour ago, and now they were gone. A young couple who had stayed for the most part before wandering down a trail that led into the woods nearby. The blanket and its containers were now abandoned, but for how long?

Kira looked about, glancing first towards the dirt trail, then the country road before returning the blanket. It was out in the open, more than she was perhaps comfortable with especially this close to the road and the farmhouse, but her curiosity continued to burn brighter and brighter. That and she thought she smelled something...enticing. It made her stomach churn and mouth water.

Carefully, the Burbat slinked forward, keeping low but quick as she finally committed herself to approaching the blanket. Once she was on it, she paused as if forgetting what she had even come to do or perhaps realizing she was now exposed. The smell drifted to her again, stronger this time, and she refocused on the basket. Her ears flickered forward, tail timidly curled at her feet and she reached for the basket's lid. Underneath was an assortment of items that made Kira's eyes grow wide with wonder.

[NightshadeVII]

This quiet little outpost had always been a place that the Darai liked to visit. It was nice and quiet, and allthrough easily accessible by a bus stop further down the road, it was never crowded. Almost like a hidden oasis, that only a few people knew about. The few shops here were also different from anything one would normally find in the city of wathais. They were smaller, built of wood and offered alternative wares, mostly geared towards hikers and survivalists. However, Edge knew for a fact that the farm here had some of the best fresh vegetables, fruits and spices, as well as more alternative products, like inscence or carved wood figurines. So when he had the time and the energy, he enjoyed treating himself to a nice and slow trip out here.

After a chat with a shop owner, who Edge by this point knew by name, the Darai said his goodbyes. The sun was beginning to set, and the busses would be coming less frequently soon. The trip itself had been nice, he hadn’t had any plans when he had come out here and had ended up enjoying a cup of homegrown tea on one of the small tables scattered about the area. His limbs were getting heavy, but not in the way that warned him of immediate collapse. Instead it was a sign that he had used his energy well today, it was a kind of heavy contentment filling his limbs.
When the Darai left the shop, he look a look around the little area, taking in his peaceful it all seemed. But it didn’t take long for him to notice a small, oddly familiar figure not so far away. Crouched down and seemingly almost skittish, as if whoever they were didn’t want to be seen. Even so, it quickly became obvious to Edge that it wasn’t a human he was looking at. A sense of curiosity overcame Edge and he approached slowly, not trying to be soundless, but not being unnecessarily loud either. After all there were humans around and he’d had to be the reason why a possible innocent supernatural was hunted down by humans with cameras. Edge himself was lucky to be able to blend in after all, not everyone had that privilege

“Hello?”, he called out softly, crouching down so he was more at level with the other, “can I help you?”
A kind smile touched his lips and his eyes softened, his expression becoming lethargic yet approachable. He hoped he wouldn’t scare the other away or otherwise shock them, if they weren’t used to being around others.

[Pearl Dragon]

Despite the Darai's soft and gentle greeting, the Burbat startled nonetheless. The picnic basket closed again with a 'shuck' and Kira turned quickly to look up at the approaching figure. Flashbacks from the witch's hut bolted through her mind and she immediately looked back at the basket as if to check and make sure nothing was coming out of it to possess her. Of course, nothing did, and she turned again with a squeak of apology.

"Ah...m-my sorry, sir! Be no take..." She stammered, sidestepping away from the basket and hunching in a half bow. She avoided eye contact, looking at the man's feet and legs, almost up to his face, before dropping them to his collar bone instead. Only once did her eyes flicker up to his, but quickly darted away again, although she couldn't help but catch a brief sense of familiarity from him. She'd never seen him before, at least not like he was now, but that feeling remained.

Behind him, the road remained quiet and the humans walking throughout the nearby shops took no notice. They were far enough way to avoid being overheard, and most would assume they were out in the clearing having a picnic, of course. Many even went inside as dusk began to settle into a gold sunset.

Soon, familiarity crept back to her awareness and she dared to look up at him. "Is....is be know Kira?" She asked in a small voice. She knew him, but....how? Where? She could place neither his name nor his face, at least not directly.

Somewhere above them, in the darkening sky, a speck of violet light sparkled like amethyst far off behind the clouds. Although it seemed to stand still where it was, its trajectory was indeed Earth-bound.

[NightshadeVII]

A flicker of regret could be seen in Edge’s eyes as the Burbat startled away from him. He hated scaring or startling others like this and tried to avoid it, but he hadn’t been successful this time. In an attempt to seem less threatening, Edge decided to sit down in a kneeling position, knees on the ground, his rear resting on his heels. The Darai noticed how the other’s eyes flickered to the picnic basket. Perhaps they were hungry? It would make sense, if they were a super on their own, living out here, it would be hard to find food, and stealing from the nearby farm would probably result in getting chased away.
The kind, gentle smile remained on Edge’s lips and his eyes softened further as he tilted his head slightly, coming off as rather empathetic.

“It’s alright...”, He said, speaking softly and quietly, his tone the complete opposite of the Burbat’s frantic stammering, “I’m sorry for startling you like that, I didn’t mean to, I promise.”
It was strange talking to someone without meeting their eyes, but he wasn’t about to force the other into anything. If they were uncomfortable with the idea of eye contact, he had no intention of pursuing it. Still, in the moment of silence between them, Edge took the time to study the creature before him. They seemed familiar somehow, like someone he had seen before. And yet, the memory was more fuzzy and dreamlike than anything, nothing concrete that he could decipher. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the person in front of him was someone he knew, even if only faintly.
The name, Kira, clicked somewhere in his mind, strengthening the feeling of familiarity. He had heard that name before, he was almost certain of it. And yet it was so intangible, like grasping at smoke.

“Kira...?, I feel like I know you. Have we met before?”, Edge asked, sounding just as confused as the burbat, but he was also genuinely curious about the other, “My name is Edge. Does that sound familiar?”

[Pearl Dragon]

Kira took a shuffling step back as the man moved, but where she thought he was coming towards her, he instead lowered himself into a kneeling seated position. Kira's eyes shifted about, but eventually found his face when he spoke to her.

The man mirrored Kira's question with one of his own, and Kira noticed the same look of familiarity in his own expression.

"Met Kira maybe?" She answered uncertainly, not want to say yes or no in case she was wrong. At his name, Kira perked a little bit. "Yes, be familiar, is be not-remember but feels..." She struggled to grasp at the words, unsure on what best to describe how it felt to her. "Is can be here..but, not here." She tapped lightly at her temple, then took a tentative step closer to the man. He seemed much less imposing now that he was lower to the ground, and his voice seemed calm enough. She didn't hear any hint of threat or anger, and so wondered if the container thing was his.

Swallowing, Kira's eyes slid to the basket and then back to Edge. "Is yours? Is what inside?"

Skyward, the small violet light began to stretch as if being drawn by an invisible pen, trailing an amethyst tail silently behind it. A few late shoppers glanced up, paused to admire the sight and say a wish before moving about their way. However, unlike most shooting stars, the light did not sizzle out or disappear, but remained still in the night sky as a thin purple line against a bruised sunset.

[NightshadeVII]

Edge made a noise of happiness as Kira mustered the courage to look at his face, it was something between a purr and a trill, definitely inhuman, but not a threatening sound. He tilted his head as his smile reached his eyes, causing them to close slightly.
Listening closely to the other’s explanation, Edge nodded in understanding. English was a strange language, but even though Kira’s grasp of it was rudimentary and shaky, the Darai could piece together what she meant, after considering her words for a moment.

“Maybe...” Edge mused softly, chuckling as he saw how Kira grasped at words to explain what she felt. He understood though, it was the feeling of knowing, but not being able to place it, like chasing a dream after you had woken up, when something in the waking world had reminded you of it. However, the longer he sat here and spoke with Kira, the more certain he became that he had met her before. He didn’t remember how when and why, but surely, she wouldn’t feel so familiar to him, if they hadn’t met at some point, right?
“I understand. It’s a feeling of kind of remembering, but not knowing from where, yeah?”, he offered, hoping his explanation would put her at ease, once she realized she wasn’t alone feeling this way. The Darai was happy to see that she seemed to relax around him as well, even if it was just slightly. She was rather jumpy, fidgety even, but who could blame her for that. Edge didn’t know her circumstances, or what she came from, for all he knew, this behavior had helped her survive before. Still, he hoped to prove that he wouldn’t hurt her.

When Kira’s eyes slid to the basket again, Edge’s expression changed, not into something unpleasant, it just became more attentive than before.
“No it’s not mine. Are you hungry?”, Edge asked in the same soft tone, “I have food, if you want some.”
He had bought some foodstuffs from the local farm and shops, intending to take them home with him, but if she was hungry, Kira definitely needed them more than him.

[Pearl Dragon]

Kira's ears twitched at the trilling sound, and her head cocked just a little to the side as she listened to his words. She nodded somewhat enthusiastically when he began to relate to her words, offering a few meanings of his own.

“No it’s not mine. Are you hungry? I have food, if you want some.”

Kira ringed her hands together at his question, unsure of what answer she should give. Her own food pellets that she carried religiously, although her supply was slowly diminishing, were tucked in an innermost pocket of the t-shirt she was wearing. She itched anxiously at a spot under her collar before reaching into the pocket and pulling out one of the pellets.

"Is food, can have." She offered, wondering if he too might be hungry. "Be eat only small, but can share?" If Edge accepted the pellet, he would find both its taste and texture horrifically bland and fibrous, all while drying his mouth instantly upon contact. Kira took an absent nibble off of the corner of another, as if on some command prompt to eat.

After a moment, Kira's eyes drifted up over Edge's head towards the sky. Her arm lowered absently and her mouth dropped partly open as if in awe. Above, the purple streak had begun to stretch and angle towards them. There was a lavender flash all around them, a strike like thin lightning and the basket of food beside them jumped as if it were shocked. There was a gust of force from the impact, although only enough to billow clothing and hair wildly for a moment. Kira shrieked and dove towards the Darai, scrambling beside him in a tangle of wings and clumsy legs. When the flash cleared, the picnic around them settled, but the basket lay open. Some of its contents were scattered around, a sandwich in the grass to one side, a canister thermos to the other side. The interior of the basket, and the objects that had come out pulsed a soft, violet light. Kira huddled beside Edge, know realizing she had grabbed at him with every limb she had and was now clinging like a terrified monkey to his side. When she realized this, she immediately let go and ducked away, squeaking apologies.

[NightshadeVII]

The Darai waited patiently while Kira thought of what to answer. He could understand if she declined, after all, she wasn’t sure where she knew him from, even if she had a feeling of remembering, so perhaps it kinda felt like accepting food from a stranger. He was... skeptical, seeing the foodpellet that Kira pulled out, wondering if those things were all she had to eat, they didn’t look all that appetizing or nutritional.
Still he was touched that Kira offered to share her food with him, skinny as she was, it didn’t seem like she ate much or had much to eat at all. A pant of sympathy resonated in his chest and touched his features, changing his expression just slightly.

“Oh, that’s so sweet of you,” Edge said, slowly rasing a hand to decline, “but I don’t want to take your food, you probably need it more than I do.”
Keeping his movements slow and gentle, he got a little more comfortable on the ground. He didn’t really mind this spontaneous conversation at all, he wasn’t in a hurry and had no other plans for the day, so why not?

Still, Edge had not noticed the purple streak in the sky above them, it was only when Kira’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped, that he turned to follow her line of sight. But he didn’t get to finish the movement. A flash of lavender blinded him, as if some kind of lightning had struck the ground. Instinctively, he pushed away from it, raising an arm to shield his eyes and face. He didn’t even see the burbat move. However suddenly the Darai felt thin limbs wrap around him, clinging to him in an almost monkey-like fashion. That illusion was shattered, however, as he felt the gentle brush of thin wing membranes brush against him. That had to be Kira.
When he opened his eyes again and looked down, sure enough the burbat was clinging to him, and she looked utterly terrified. Poor thing. Then it was as if she realized what he had done, and quickly scrambled to get away from Edge, squeaking apologies. Was she worried that she had upset him? Or perhaps angered him?

“No need to apologize.” Edge said, sounding so far from angry. Then he tilted his head, studying the burbat for a moment, “are you okay?”

Hoping they hadn’t attracted unnecessary attention, Edge turned to look back at the more populated area of the outpost, ready to wave people off with a reassuring smile if need be.
When he was sure that no one would be heading over here, he returned his attention to the scene before him. Brows furrowed when he saw the faintly glowing items that had escaped basket. He hadn’t seen anything like that before.
“What the...?”, he muttered before looking at Kira, “do you see that too? The glow?”

[Pearl Dragon]

"No need to apologize. Are you ok?" Edge asked gently, and Kira's ears drooped as if in shame. She fidgeted roughly with her hands, looking down and away, then all around at the strange glowing picnic basket remains. What trouble they were in, what exactly had they done? She looked back up to Edge and nodded. "Yes, is ok," She said in a small voice.

She looked out at the mess, then considered Edge's question.

"Can see is glow...not good, be is in trouble now..." She noted, although the last part seemed to quiet into a muttered tremor. The objects around them pulsed with a soft light that grew, faded, grew, faded and with it the objects seemed to move. Was it the light, the shadows perhaps? A trick of the eye in the afternoon twilight? Kira stepped forward, hesitating as she peered over at the closest item. It lay just beyond the blanket, an ordinary sandwich wrapped in plastic that suddenly seemed to be rocking in sync with the light. It bulged slightly with each rocking motion, then began to grow in size. Kira let out a gasp, stepped back again to press against Edge's leg and held on with one arm. She knew she was repeating a possible offense, but the sandwich held her attention.

Then, as the light pulsed, there was a brilliant flash and the sandwich seemed to erupt outward, bursting through its plastic shell and suddenly doubling, then tripling in size. It continued to grow rapidly, until it was the size of a mattress. Kira backed completely away, now huddled behind Edge with wide, frightened eyes. The sandwich's bread layer folded then lifted like a mouth, revealing enormous slices of ham, turkey, cheese and lettuce inside all aglow with the same lavender light. It croaked a strange, otherworldly growl and then began to lumber towards them with a side to side wobble. Kira pulled desperately at Edge's pant-leg, a high pitched keen building in her throat and arm extended in a frantic point.

"Is coming! What! What is be!?" She trilled, her voice rising with panic. Beyond them, the town remained blissfully unaware, but if left unchecked, the monstrous sandwich would surely change that in no time.

[NightshadeVII]

The Darai barely had time to reassure Kira that they’d probably be okay, and that she wouldn’t get into trouble, before everything got weird. Even by Wathais standards. The sandwich morphed into a supposedly semi-sentient monster, that began a slow lumber towards them, flashing what was probably meant to be teeth.
A part of Edge wanted badly to laugh, both because of the absurdity of the situation and because of panic. He didn’t know if this thing was even capable of hurting them. And how on earth were you supposed to deal with a living, and possibly hostile, sandwich? He stepped back quickly, putting more distance between himself and the creature(?).

Absentmindedly, he noted how Kira had hid behind him, clinging to his pant leg, a keen building in her throat. Terrified. She knew as little about this as he did, so he needed to at least seem calm, so his beginning panic didn’t strengthen Kira’s. Luckily, he hadn’t fallen into full blown panic yet, as he knew he wouldn’t need much time to halt the sand which creature’s progress, at least for a little while. If that would even work on it of course.
Without even thinking, he knelt down beside Kira and held out an arm, as if gesturing for her to climb up. If they needed to make a quick escape it would be easier if there was only one pair of legs to take care of.

“R’assh-“, the foreign curse hissed past pierced lips, as he noticed that the creature seemed to be coming towards them deliberately. Time to test if this would work.
Edge didn’t have much time to think about what he was doing, before he knelt down, which by all accounts seemed like the wrong thing to do. Hands on the ground, he reached out mentally, feeling his way along the earth, concentrating on sensations alone. That was all he needed.
Not long after the ground beneath the sandwhich monster began to morph unnaturally, like it was a fabric getting stretched and twisted, as opposed to earth and rocks. It wasn’t supposed to move that way, and yet it did, beckoned and guided by the Darai. A visual mess of what should be impossible. The ground reached upwards, before clamping down on the sides of the sandwich creature, pressing it down against the ground beneath it and hopefully stopping it from coming any closer to Kira or the Darai.

The manipulation itself was small and simple, meaning that Edge barely felt it, which was something he needed to count himself lucky for.

“What the hell is that...?”, he muttered, studying the now hopefully trapped creature. Was this the effect of the magic he had been told about? Seemed like a rather absurd use of it.
But then he remembered that the sandwich probably wasn’t the only thing affected by this. There had been an entire basket after all. Worry in his eyes, he looked towards the rest of the basket’s content, hoping he wouldn’t see any signs of similar change with the other objects.

“Let’s hope that was a one time thing, yeah?”, he said, looking at Kira and sending her a small smile.

[Pearl Dragon]

At first, Kira could only stare dumbfounded at the offered arm held out to her. Then, as if spurred by another of the otherworldly sandwich-growls, Kira reached out and began to scramble awkwardly up Edge's arm and side until she was huddled clinging to one side of his torso. Although she was facing her body towards him, her neck and head remained craned around to stare at the monstrous thing that was making its way towards them. She pressed herself to the man, feet gripping at his hips and wings blanketing the rest of him in a web-like hold. It was only when Edge let out a strange hissing sound that her gaze swiveled back to his face to look up at him with confused fear.

The ground that morphed unnaturally up and on top of the sandwich caused the thing to almost deflate under it like memory foam. It bulked and pressed upward, puffing one side and then the next in a weird, worming motion. Kira barely heard Edge's question of "What the hell is that...?" as she turned again to look back at the sandwich.

"Let's hope that was a one time thing, yeah?" He commented, and Kira felt her lip tremble as she noted the other glowing objects around them. They had yet to move or grow like this one did, but...

Just then, the sandwich heaved itself in a massive, expanding motion up against the earth. The rocks went with it, and when it was at the peak of its height, the sandwich deflated again in on itself and pushed itself forward before the ground could pin it once more. A back corner caught just as the ground came back down again and Kira watched as bread, meat, lettuce and cheese were pulled from the sandwich's flank with a bready ripping sound. The sandwich was lurching forward faster now, as if fueled by a new desperation. In moments, it closed the distance between the two and bounced like a giant fish at the man holding the Burbat. It's bread bottom collapsed against them from the pounce, feeling very much like a soft, cool pillow. Kira was overwhelmed by the absurdly delicious smell the thing gave off, and for a moment she was almost stunned by it. One wing released the man's side to press against the spongy weight of the bread now trying to half-smother them, and she whimpered pleas at both the man Edge and the sandwich thing.