This was a very interesting world he lived in that was filled with very odd creatures. Some were small (most, in fact) and others were large. Some looked like rocks (Blue) and others were much more lovely and comely to his eyes (Clover, Arkrael). He wasn't sure how far he had wandered since he had last seen the Wolf-that-was-not-a-Wolf (Aza'zel), but he knew his legs were very well-suited to the distances he traveled. He could go very far in a very small span of time, and the more he practiced the easier it came. Perhaps being so tall wasn't so bad (not that he'd want to be any taller) but there were some things he hadn't quite gotten the hang of.
Like... his wishes. How did his wishing worked? He could not wish for light, but he could wish for darkness. He could not wish for food, but why couldn't he? Why could he wish for some things and not others? And could everyone wish for things...?
"Hmm," he mumbled, thinking to himself as he walked. He had even mastered the ability of 'speed'. He could walk quickly or slowly and now he strolled leisurely into the large, expansive chamber. He hadn't tried running yet but maybe one day he would.
But today was not that day. He came into a chamber that glittered like jewels, so beautiful and lovely and - his eyes could not help but go wide as he tilted his head up, craning to look at the stuff above. It was so high! And so shiny! And even in the darkest dark he could fathom they sparkled. The lights seemed so pure and honest and sincere - how they twinkled!
This was his new place of exploration and he explored it quite happily. He was a quiet wolf with a broad mind, one that didn't know the bounds his feet did. During the hours he spent in the cavern he came across the throne... and he knew, the moment he saw it, that it was something special. It was something with a story and importance he couldn't even begin to think of.
Or could he? He began to think, he began to imagine, he began to dream...
Roll attempt
Or could one dream when one was awake? Did it even matter? As the wolf imagined the world beyond this one his mind went to places unimaginable. Or was it so unimaginable? Scenes from his mind began to seep out of it.
As dotted with beacons of light as the room was, there were still deep shadows in the crevices and corners. As the wolf imagined, as the wolf dreamed his waking dreams the shadows crawled to his unspoken beck. They moved, gently at first, stirring from their solemn slumber to the little gembound's active imagination.
As intently as Saudade peered at the throne big, giant wolves tumbled and played around in the room. Thrown against the walls they tussled and rolled, fighting amongst themselves as he imagined they might, should they desire this throne. Unaware as he was of these silent entities, they were true to the scenes in his mind.
But his wolves were not wolves, were they? The wolf that did not know what being a wolf meant couldn't possibly imagine 'wolves' to be what they really were. His wolves had long, spindly legs and wings and beaks. His wolves had long arms and curled hands, and soft noses and little tails. Some had big ears, some had small ones. The details of these wolves were so varied one could imagine them in beautiful, splendid colour - each a different shade and hue, unique, lovely in how odd they were.
But the shadows that played were one tone - dark - and amongst them one shadow stood different. It moved differently and as the others argued and tumbled and fought, it came and settled into the throne, sitting there.
Saudade was speechless when the shadows (which had been around him, unbeknownst to he) suddenly showed itself before his eyes. It 'glowed' with inky jetness, shaking as he himself gawked.
"Who are you?" He asked the shadow.
For Delilah! But if anyone else wants to jump in, please do.
Ji’bassa the cat liked shadows too but for a very different reason. He liked shadows because he liked to sleep and hunt in them, not imagine things that could be there. He hadn’t strayed too far from her birthing place since being born. He had wanted to, but then laziness and hunting had sort of made him forget that there was a whole world outside that he hadn’t even seen yet. He hadn’t seen Juniper around much since they had played together not too long ago, and, even for a cat, he was getting lonely. And then along came the wolf who now occupied the space he slept in.
Ji’bassa’s eyes went wide as he witnessed the shadows moving on the walls, and he crouched down in fear and curiosity. He didn’t know that the wolf in front of him was the one controlling them. Then the orange-eyed cat let out a hiss of fear as one of the shadows moved differently than the others and sat down on the throne in the middle of the room. He was angry at the shadow. That was his throne! He had found it first! But he wasn’t about to go up against something he couldn’t smell or sense… Sense. Maybe the shadowy figure had a heartbeat! He drew upon his Magic, hoping it wouldn’t fail him now…
... Well, his Magic worked... he thought But if that was true, then he was severely creeped out. This thing didn't have a heartbeat. It wasn't alive but it was moving. Ji'bassa let out another very loud hiss, this time one of fear and uncertainty. He didn't understand! What was it? Was it dangerous? How had it gotten into his room? Why was it sitting there? Did the other Gembound know it? What was going on??
Delilah The only limits we have are the ones we give ourselves.
The young pup had yet to travel far from her waking place, still in the large room full of stars in the sky. But what were stars anyway? Crawling up high away from the area of Orion where her broken stone womb lay, she wished to explore more of this enchanting place. It wasn't easy at first, so many steps and rocks to get over. Still small, her limbs were short and body was round. So much of her skin had room to grow. And grow she would, with time she would be tall and elegant.
But now? Delilah was a fuzzy little puddle of curiosity. What would she find ahead of her? Even if the room had lights above, it didn't light up her path. She had to do her best to look to where she was going. Maybe fine others? After all, Issac seemed like a nice pup from before but she wished to go on without him. Maybe she was just to impatient to wait. Round eyes took in as much light as they could, gazing around the room. But before she went any further, she thought she heard something.
"Hello?" Pausing to look around her, but she saw nothing . . . but did she hear someone? Focusing really hard, she tried to see if she could.
will edit after roll
Closing her eyes tightly, focusing as hard as possible for such a young pup.
Thump Thump Wait, was that a heartbeat? She opened her eyes quickly, someone was near by; maybe more? Picking up her pace, she jumped over a few rocks before ending up looking straight at a dark figure. It seemed to dance around, but the pup soon realized that this figure had no heartbeat ether. Sniffing the air, confused but curious. Could something move without one? The brown poodle crawled closer, ready to jump back if she needed.
table by lisa
As perturbed as he was by the sudden arrival of the creature that sat atop the throne, he wasn't as frightened as a little boy might have been given the situation. What could the other do to him? Having yet to encounter a surly or mean soul amongst the gembounds, Saudade was certain this encounter would yield results similar to the others. It would be harmless.
But the shadow - like his reflection in the pool - never answered.
The wolf was prepared to take a step closer until the sound of a hiss garnered his attention. Turning from the perpetrator to the origin of the sound he was surprised by the vicinity of the... cat. Because it was most certainly a 'cat' and that was very, very different from a wolf. Staring at the bristled, hissing kitten Saudade couldn't help but momentarily think the feline was a shadow itself! It was dark, but the eyes undoubtedly set it apart.
And the scent. It smelled like someone living. The shadows lacked a scent.
Saudade was distracted by the presence of the cat, which was enough for any magic that could bring light into being to vanish for him. But when it came to the shadow-bringing his distraction dis not nullify the magic. It created something different. The darkness did not disappear. Instead it became more volatile, more energetic. It was as if the magic that produced the shades feasted on his subconscious and any latent aspects of his mind. Or was it coming from his mind, purely and completely?
As the lanky wolf hesitantly stepped towards the cat, the shadow creature reared and snarled. It was a silent movie, one that seemed angered at the sneaking of one particular whelp. The shadow grew larger and the other entities around them focused on the encounter as well. The shadow king atop his throne moved from it, slinking towards the brown poodle with a look of utter menace.
Ji’bassa’s ears flicked in the direction of the poodle when she entered the room, but he couldn’t focus on her. She wasn’t a threat. Not like the shadows. The shadows were very, very threatening and Bassa was just about ready to run. The shadows seemed to get angrier and they were snarling right back at him. The wolf in the room took a step towards him. He let out a loud, throaty cat-growl. “Stay away from Ji’bassa!” He backed up until his body was stuck in a corner, and he laid down to make himself small. Normally he’d be puffed up like a ball of fur to make himself seem bigger and scarier, but how do you scare something that’s not alive?
Bassa looked around the room, searching for the nearest possible exit, and that’s when he noticed the poodle attempting to – what? – sneak up on one of the shadows? Well that just seemed stupid. “What are you doing?” he hissed at her. “Get over here! Get away from them!” He may not have known the dog, but he wasn’t completely heartless. He didn’t want to see anyone come to harm by scary shadow things. But if she wanted to be stupid and get herself hurt, that was her fault.
The cat began to slowly slink along the wall, attempting to get to the opening he had just come from. He was getting out of here ASAP if he could. No reason to stick around, and he wasn’t proud enough to go up against something he couldn’t even smell. He just hoped the shadows wouldn’t try to stop him…
Delilah The only limits we have are the ones we give ourselves.
The shadows were almost hypnotizing the way they danced around, but when another gembound came into the picture everything changed. Eyes darted over to the cat that had his fur on end, hissing at the dancing shadows, watching them transform into something new. Something, larger and almost scary. A chill crawled down the pups spine, watching as it grew larger and and making it's way closer to her.
Oh shit. Her heart began to race, thudding like a rock in her little chest. Delilah had no idea she could feel such a feeling, such . . . fear.
Pulling back slowly, a voice called out.
“Get over here! Get away from them!” Turning to see it was the cat that was hissing at the shadow a moment ago. The soft little female looked back and forth between the feline and the large approaching shadow. She struggled to stand, legs stiffing from fear from this whole situation.
edit after roll, wow crit fail
The poodle finally got on all fours, but when she went to book it over to the safety behind the cat, she somehow manged to slip on a peddle and let out a cry of surprise. Tumbling forward down the rock and right in front of the cat, slamming her face into the ground. Oh the poor baby, eyes welling up with tears as her face throbbed. It took her a moment to get to her feet and sit her rump down, feeling a warmth dribble down her nose. Nose bleed, of boy.
"That hurt . . . " She stared at the little feline, not sure what else to say now.
table by lisa
The wolf blinked and hesitated, a paw left in midair before he retracted the step he would have taken. With a brow knit in confusion he stared at the cat, baffled at that particular reaction.
Stay away? Him? Why? What had he done?
Why was the cat so fussy anyway? It must be a cat thing, he deduced. His moment of uncertainty quickly tapering into his belief that the cat was merely agitated by nature and tense by definition. A stressful way to be, no doubt.
"Hey, are you alright?"
The cat be damned, having seen what he saw he came closer despite being told not to. The scent of blood - while delightful in some scenarios - merely meant the pooch was hurt. And hurt for no reason. Saudade gave the feline a sharp look, chastising him for frightening the girl and making her feel as of she had to hurry and flee. If he hadn't started her so, she wouldn't have tumbled over herself in her flight... Would she?
"Hmm." He murmured at her, moving to lap up the dribble coming from her nose, both in reassurance and in the name of hygiene. She was a lady and ladies weren't meant to be dirty.
"What are you two scared off?" He asked, looking more sympathetically to the girl and skeptically to the tomcat.
Saudade had yet to turn around or see what the shades had become, but it seemed the lesser shades on the wall were beginning to revert to nonsensical shapes while the large one howled in pain. It was suffering and writhing... Almost as if it was feeding off the emotions of others in the room.
OOC: I’m gonna have Bassa bail from this thread cos he wouldn’t stick around too long, being as skittish as he is. And he doesn’t like Saudade. XD
Ji’bassa was extremely agitated and afraid at this point, and his hackles were raised up as far as they would go. His pupils were dilated and his nostrils flared, especially when the poodle and then the wolf came toward him. The shadows were still there and the big one, which was now writhing in pain, was setting the cat’s teeth on edge. He did not want to be here any longer than he had to be. And he didn’t need to be here anymore. It was definitely time to leave this creepy place. He just hoped the Shadows would leave at some point. He had grown fond of his birthplace, and would be severely annoyed if it was permanently overrun with creepy shadow things.
Ji’bassa ignored the tall wolf who was now asking questions, instead opting to very quickly flee the room from the same doorway he had used to enter. He was done being here. Pride be damned, he didn’t like those scary shadows! Let the other two deal with them!
[Exit Ji’bassa!]
Delilah The only limits we have are the ones we give ourselves.
The young females face throbbed a little, feeling the numbing pain from her fall wash over her muzzle. That really did hurt, and she would do better next time in her escape attempts for sure. No longer paying any attention to the shadow monster, Delilah was trying to lick her own nose, tasting the metallic warmth.
"Are you alright?" "I would say not, that hurt!" Fussy lady indeed, turning to see that it wasn't that cat that spoke those words tho.
(will edit after roll)
She strained her eyes, trying to see around her, focusing mighty hard to soon realize it was becoming easier to make things out. As if she could see better in the dark now, FINALLY! Tho, it was unclear how long this would work. Oh, where did the cat go? It seemed the gembound who called her away from the shadow had left the scene, smart. They had the right idea but to bad she face planted before she could escape. Turning around, the pup came face to face with the origin of the question. Another new face, they looked like Isaac but his legs were longer. Was he a dog?
As he approached, she froze as the fellow gembound licked away the rest of her bloody nose. Now that was new and she wasn't sure how to react to such an action. It wasn't a bad feeling but for now she would think over it later since another question was given.
"What are you two scared off?" Wait, didn't he see the monster? Head titled to the side,
"The monster, what else. Did you not see?" Glancing past him, realizing the 'monster' wasn't being so scary anymore, dancing on the wall behind the male in front of her.
table by lisa
His ears followed the sound of a small feline scuttling away, his mouth remaining shut even if he might have had something else to say. 'It is a cat's nature' he told himself. Cats were like that. He might never have met a cat before, but he felt confident in both the term he called the hissing creature and his deduction of their personality.
Yet, just like it might have been instinct that made the other flee, instinct spurred Saudade to chase. He felt the muscles of his legs twitch within and his heart twitter a little faster. The blood on his pallet probably didn't help matters but...
"Is it really a monster, you think?" There was a playful lilt to his voice as he grinned, his attention and his eyes affixed to her. Sitting down next to her he turned to face what the two had seen that frightened them so. And he saw a creature that thrashed and moaned silently in agony. It slowly began to settle itself, its emotions falling to a baseline of mildness. It returned to the throne and sat, peering at them. Or so he imagined, anyway. One couldn't distinguish features in the pitch blackness of its body.
"What if..." He began, his lips pursed as he pondered the possibility. He didn't know who the shadow was, and he hadn't seen the violent side of it, but he felt... uncertainty. Was it really a monster? What if it wasn't? How could he feel such kinship towards it, if it was merely that?
"Hmm." He kept the thought to himself for now, giving her nose a final lick. "If it is a monster, you shouldn't be afraid of it." He said instead. He couldn't help but chuckle a little in retrospect. Her face plant had been kinda funny, after all.
"Still scared?"