The male stopped before his old home, breathing deeply in the sent of the pine forest around him and looked around the area. His once home was gone, the wood cabin long since rotten and fallen to ruin, almost nothing left in the small clearing. He sighed softly, closing his eyes and letting the memories fill him of his childhood here. Of the wolf family that had once adopted him. Of his mother teaching him the arts of healing and nature. He shivered at the thought of his own mother, the last image he had of her seared in to his mind of her mangled, destroyed corpse.
He shook his head to clear the image and stepped forward in to his destroyed home, walking through the ruins as if it was a sacred site. He had thought that coming here would be good for himself. Sorta like closure. Instead he found it was irritating him, upsetting him farther. He closed his eyes, taking a steady breath as he felt the all to familiar presence in his mind stirring deep within, urging him to give in and let himself go. He pushed the Guan-thwie away and opened his eyes, continuing through his home and out the backside where the door use to be.
Striding through the rest of the clearing, he came to the edge of the forest and paused in front of a brilliant red bush. He tilted his head, looking at it in awe and smiling slightly. Here, right here was where he had found his mother's body. Her blood seeping in to the ground. Apparently it had permanently colored this bush red and he reached out, touching the leafs softly with the tips of his fingers and nodding in satisfaction. At least his mother's memory would never be forgotten. At least as long as this bush survived it would not be forgotten.
Post by Cinnel Greymoore on Jul 4, 2012 17:32:25 GMT -5
Cinnel wandered about without a care of where she was. She breathed in the sharp air of the forest, glad of the seclusion. Nobody was around for her to be bothered by, and that was always good. She shut her eyes and kept walking, using her instincts to see. Birds chirped, the trees rustled in the wind, the breathing of another person... Wait. Another? Cinnel stopped abruptly and opened her eyes. She scanned the area angrily, searching for the destroyer of her peace. Through a small clearing that she stopped in, Cinnel saw a man about 15 yards away touching a red plant, as if it were some significant key in his life. She watched him, intrigued by the delicacy of his touch. Cinnel crouched low to the ground as he nodded to its leaves, as if having a conversation with it. 'Must be some special plant...' she thought to herself. Cinnel edged closer, being careful to keep her head down. From moving, she could get a better view of the scene. There was an old formation, probably a house, broken and lying in pieces around the clearing. Cinnel slowly lifted her head, craning her neck to see more. She shuffled her feet slightly. It wasn’t often you saw a broken home in the middle of nowhere. A twig snapped under her foot. Cinnel swiftly rolled behind a tree, pressing her body against it in fear of getting seen.
Hearing the snap of a twig, Ca'guuror smiled to himself and inhaled deeply and chuckled. "You may come out. I don't know who you are, but your scent is close enough to my own and tells me that you and I have a lot in common." He tilted his head looking around and continued to smile. "I have no problem with you being here, well as long as you don't plan on attacking me or disturb this area unduly past what has happened here already."
He stepped towards the tree she was behind, but was slightly off and simply looked around wondering who it was and what they where doing so far away from everything. It was after all quite a ways away from the closet town nearby. Perhaps the person was lost, or in need of assistance. If either where the case, he was more then willing to help.
Post by Cinnel Greymoore on Jul 4, 2012 23:33:40 GMT -5
Cinnel started at the sound of his voice. She hurriedly moved to the other side of the tree and peeked around it, so that she was looking at the back of his head. After seeing that he wasn’t a threat, she inhaled, and stepped out of her hiding spot. “The only way I would attack you is if you challenged me. You seem fine enough, so I can trust you for now. Plus, this place is quiet. Why disturb the peace?”
She eyed him up and down curiously. He was little, for a man. Not much taller than herself. He seemed relaxed, like he had trust in even strangers. She took a slight step back. He seemed a little too trustworthy for her taste. She normally butted heads with kind people.
“Who are you, anyways? This place special to you?” She asked, standing stiffly with a hand on her hip.
Turning, the male never once dropped his smile and and nodded at the female. I wouldn't never challenge a stranger straight off with out getting to know them at least slightly. That is the height of stupidity. A quick sure way to ensure a more then likely painful death, wouldn't you agree." He chuckled warmly, his strange eyes glinting with mirth.
"And to answer your question...this place does indeed hold a extremely significant specialty in my heart. That," he pointed at the ruined house, "is my old childhood home." The smile slipped from his face slightly, as his finger slowly turned from the house to the strange red bush. "There...there is where I found the body of my mother." He dropped his finger slowly, the smile faded completely from his lips, his eyes a dull sheen now somehow looking to have lost their glow of life. He shook his head slowly, sighing deeply and chewed upon his cheek in sudden silence, gazing upon the ground.
Post by Cinnel Greymoore on Jul 5, 2012 0:41:23 GMT -5
Cinnel dropped her hand, embarrassed for asking such a serious question. Normally, she wouldn’t react like this, but this man seemed smarter than the rest. She nodded slowly, looking back at the ruins. “I’m sorry I asked. It must be painful to remember.” She turned back to him, running a hand through her hair. “If I caused any offense, I apologize. Normally I wouldn’t but this looks like a special case. Please, excuse my intrusion. I thought that this was just an old piece of forgotten land.”
She nodded once more, keeping her hands at her side. “I’m Cinnel, by the way.” She diverted her gaze, attempting to prevent self-humiliation. Overcome by the embarrassment she turned and began to walk away. She couldn’t allow herself to befriend anybody, no matter how trusting they seemed.
She scowled to herself for giving her name. A stupid mistake. As she walked, she clenched her fist, waves of animosity emitting from her body.
The male frowned as the female walked suddenly away from him. He jumped beside her, placing a hand gently upon her arm to stop her from leaving. "No, please don't go. You have nothing to be sorry about. This, " he waved his hand around, releasing her to encompass the entire area, "was probably the best time of my life. So I have no regrets except that I was not strong enough to save my mother. You as a fellow shapeshifter are more then welcome to walk these lands. Just...please be careful. Whatever attacked and killed my mother was never caught. I don't know if it was some bear, but I have a feeling it was something much worse."
He smiled again warmly at her, and extended his hand, firmly slipping it in to her own and shaking her hand. "Also, my name is Caguuror, but you may call me Cag. Everybody does after all." He chuckled and let her hand go and stepped back and way from her to give her back her own personal 'bubble" of space he had intruded upon to stop her from walking away earlier.
Post by Cinnel Greymoore on Jul 5, 2012 1:01:48 GMT -5
She jumped suddenly as his hand touched her. Physical contact was nothing that Cinnel was used to. She looked at his hand as it moved away, motioning to the ruins. She held her arm against her torso, as if trying to protect it. “I won’t be here for long. I’m a traveler. I dislike being rooted to one place for too long, it’s not like me. And I am quite capable of defending myself.” She responded in her best defense.
She jumped again as he shook her hand. This politeness was very foreign to her. Nobody had been this kind to her before, not even her uncle. “Nice name…” She mumbled quietly, quickly pulling her hand back after he introduced himself. When he moved away from her, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized was held in. Cinnel preferred being secluded from others. She looked around uneasily. Having another person near made her anxious.
“Even if you give me permission, I won’t remain on this land. It wasn’t my home, nor will it be.”
He sighed, shaking his head. "If that is your wish Cinnel, I wouldn't force you to stay if you didn't want to. It was only an offer after all, and I am absolutely sure you can defend yourself exceedingly well. After all, you are a shapeshifter." He chuckled, looking about himself. "Well, would you like to come along with me? Back towards town I mean. It is going to get dark soon, and you don't want to be out alone in these woods alone. Not anymore at least." He grimaced again, thinking of the pack of wolves who had adopted him, and been slaughtered pointlessly to be blamed for his mother's death.
He glanced up at the sky, judging the Sun's position and gave them about an hour before the it set. Nowhere near enough time to make it back to town before sunset. He didn't mind being out in the woods, despite what lurked around out there. It made no difference to him. However, this female could be a different story for he knew nothing about her at all. She could hate nature, or animals, or the dark. It was all new ground with a new person. Thinking these things, he imagined her hunkered in the dark screaming at some squirrel brushed past her and he grinned to himself.
Post by Cinnel Greymoore on Jul 5, 2012 1:54:34 GMT -5
She thinks about his offer for a few moments. What could possibly happen? She could fight, no argument there. But would it be worth the time? Cinnel sighed. “I guess I can. I was trying to get there anyways. But a warning: Do not try anything. And by anything, I really mean anything. Whether it is an attack or not. I’m not seeking a friendship.” She makes a few hand motions to emphasize her words.
She waited a minute, watching him through narrowed eyes. “And…Don’t be sentimental. I’ve done fine without it for all this time, and I don’t need it now.” She cracked her knuckles, keeping her gaze on him. He seemed to be lost in thought, and not paying any notice to her. Cinnel exhaled, undignified. She was about to open her mouth to speak once more when he started grinning. “You should stop that. It’s weird, smiling for no reason.”
He laughed, shaking his head. "I smile when I want, despite what everybody else thinks. You should try it some time, making things less serious." He looked up at the darkening sky. "Well, shall we walk, or would you prefer to find another way. I could change to a horse and give you a ride if you want. Or we could both change and simply gallop there if you want." He shrugged, light heartedly.
As he stood, his bones began to crack and grind, breaking and rearranging as short stiff hair that was black as night grew from his skin. His grew in size, stretching and dropped to all fours. Soon the noise stopped as he stood before her, snorting and stopping his hoof as a large black Arabian horse with a gleaming black coat of fur and a long black mane that shifted slightly in the slightly increasing wind.
Post by Cinnel Greymoore on Jul 5, 2012 23:51:28 GMT -5
Cinnel shut her eyes. “I dislike horses. I prefer smaller mammals, like foxes. They are quiet and furtive, unlike horses. And smiling isn’t something I do often. I have no reason to smile today.” She bent at the knees and rolled her shoulders, anticipating the shift. She felt her bones move, rearranging themselves; some shrinking, and others cracking to accommodate the situation. Salt and pepper colored fur sprouted and she shrunk down on all fours, eventually fading into a nice rusty orange at her feet.
She flicked her tail, as she usually did after shifting, to get used to the new body. Cinnel looked up at Cag, waiting for him to move. She nodded impatiently, stamping her front paws into the soft dirt. She felt her claws dig in comfortably to the ground. Cinnel loved this form almost as much as being on two legs. Seeing from a different point of view, as another creature, was sublime.
Cag looked down upon the cute little now fox and chuckled. "That is a most adorable form, Cinnel." As he spoke, fur rippled along his flesh, growing several inches long. It was jet black, and shaggy like a mane or something. Claws sprouted from his hands as he fell upon all fours and his body slowly shrunk in to the stout, muscled form that was covered in all black fur with an almost raccoon like mask upon his face. A long tail had sprout from his rear, and swung slowly from side to side behind the wolverine.
He simply looked at her for a second, then turned and began to take lope in a measured pace down the slight hill towards the town three miles away. He checked her often to make sure she was still there, not that there was anything he could do if she left willingly. However, he could protect her from things that would harm her. Hence, the more powerful dangerous form he had taken to run along with her instead of just another fox. In this form, he could rip the throat from a bear if he had to, but would probably just distract it so she would be able to escape.
Post by Cinnel Greymoore on Jul 6, 2012 1:09:38 GMT -5
Cag’s re-shift didn’t faze Cinnel. She simply shrugged, and followed after him, trying to keep at least six feet of space between them. Her eyes scanned the trees, keeping an eye out for any potential danger. She angled her ears back to keep the soft breeze from tickling the soft fur present there. She trotted down the hill, stumbling slightly over a rock.
Cinnel quickly regained her composition and shook her head. She quickened her pace for a few moments to catch up the other shifter, but slowed down once more to retain the space. Cinnel watched his lumbering form moving steadily down the hill. He looked like he knew the land well enough, but she still didn’t feel safe. She could never trust anybody for long periods of time; betrayal was inevitable in the end. Cinnel crouched lower to the ground, swiftly crawling across the grass. She felt somewhat safer towards the ground. She was harder to spot, and if worst came to worst, she would be able to dodge and attack easily.
Cinnel paused at the times he looked back at her out of caution. The animal he was that moment was more than capable of killing her with one blow.
As soon as they where close to town, he stopped and looked back at her one final time, waiting for her to get closer before slowly changing back to his human form, shaking his head slowly. "Here we are Cinnel. I think I will leave you here now." He reached in to his back pocket, extracting several twenty dollar bills and holding them out to her. "These will buy you a room and plenty of food in the morning and this evening. I....I won't be accompanying you in to this town. I find it uncomfortable."
He glanced at the town occasionally as he spoke, making perfectly sure to keep his face hidden from anybody who might look up and possibly spot him. That would lead to extremely unpleasant questions...and people recognizing him then even more unpleasant questions. After all that...it would be a miracle if he didn't rip some head from shoulders and play football with them and have the mountains in the distance act as a field goal. Just thinking about it gave him a headache and he rubbed his head and sighed deeply, his smile gone.
