#dokkcebi

[exzul]

---  @dokkcebi.

ionia was by no means foreign ground for her to tread... but being among the trees felt like a memory ; something lost over the years and struggling to break surface once more. she was neither lost nor certain she was on the right path ; the deeper one went in the ionian forests? the less obvious trails became. it was then that a stir of noise called the warrior’s attention, hand drifting easily to the hilt of her broken blade, callous fingers curling instinctively. should she speak, her mind wondered with curiosity. amber eyes scanning the vicinity for anything obvious, her skimming gazer was met with another rustle and a swift blur of motion.

             ❛ --- ... ❜     her grip stiffened further, wrapping around the leatherbound hilt of her shattered sword ; she was ready... her stance rocked toward defensive. whatever she was about to encounter? it was getting ever closer and should she need to, she would fight.

[godshadowed]

‘ the world is spinning far too fast for me to stay on it. ’

“I find that difficult to relate to, when I spin my world at the exact speed I need it to be.”

And here Kayn thought Vastaya were more in touch with the earth than humans. Then again, it was easy to note some oddities, when white eyes glanced along several black tails. Nine, he counted. 

Nine-tailed demon. Stories from his childhood, ones his caretakers told him to keep him from wandering too far into the woods that surrounded the Order of Shadow. He never believed them. He didn’t now.

“Grasp your world and stop its spin, if you must. If you can. If you are not capable of this, then you waste the time of this god.”

@dokkcebi

[twilead]

paps him in the face w/ her tail

  He coughed ,  bits of fur brushing past his lips and pushing into his nose. Taking a step back  he nudged gently away at her tail , “ Yes ? How may I help you? ”

[godshadowed]

it was difficult to read this thing, to tell if it was a boy, or no more than a gust of wind through the trees. her ears turn back as she feels herself being watched. tails draping behind her along the stone and grass. ' come out, no need to watch from the forest. ' she gestures to a spot near her. ' a shadow has nothing to fear from me, for it has nothing to give... '

There was a moment where shadows stopped. Time continued, the wind blew, the leaves of the forest rustled, and insect wings were caught upon the breeze just the same as birds, but the shadows that draped across the ground were still. As though something as natural as how light casts darkness behind a surface became a set of parallel dimensions, one atop the other, though one had frozen while the other continued on. 

It was more natural than that, however. The shadows were alive in their own right, and upon being addressed, like a deer lifting its head to notice the eyes upon it, they had stopped to look back. 

Motion returned in moments. Slow as the wisps of dark that reached out from the shadow of a nearby tree. They slid into place beside the fox, and sure enough, and man formed. His posture relaxed, he leaned back on one hand as white eyes looked to the creature that invited his company. The breeze caught in his long hair, making it curve along his back and around his side. 

“The shadows do not fear. They only create it in others… but not you, it seems.”

@dokkcebi

[exzul]

she paces slowly, watching, as riven goes about her business. the womans presence accepted for the time being. mostly due to ahris own growing curiosity at the sorrow that seemed to hover over her. as riven was preoccupied, the fox would sit closely, ears turned forward. ' do you ever feel anything other than sad nomad? your regret is making the air taste bad. '

she’d spent a good portion of the early morning, just before proper light cracked the skies above, gathering fallen branches and other fire fixings --- she did not chop wood. not in this forest. respect for how this land did not belong to her present enough. she would only take what nature itself had toppled, however limiting it was. 

ash and dirt caked had in the pale crescents of her nails as she made a spit for the food current company had so generously procured for her. riven was quite grateful, much beyond what words could convey for the kindness of such an action, given the precariousness in their dynamic. her presence was allowed with blatant caution, and that was something that the exile indeed hoped to continue earning from the fox before her... they were amicable with one another --- trust was still in the process of growth between them. 

amber eyes rolled seconds before resting on the other, her next words coming with a gentle teasing as not to offend,     ❛ — of course i feel more than simply sadness or regret --- you feel more than just suspicion, do you not? ❜

[dealtfire]

@dokkcebi.

  A suprise attack too quick for him to read, too unexpected. The anomaly of their breath was one Lee Sin wasn’t prepared to notice. Far too uncommon to be human,  something akin to an animal’s ;  but then how ?  ---  their tracks, the rummage of five fingers on each hand across the grass. The swift sound of two bones swiping and accomodating themselves according to the position of the other. Something human, yet feral. Similar to something , or rather someone he once knew, but only once he had seen it.  And it wasn’t like this.  He convinces himself to be prepared for anything, quickly stabilizing his own breathe,  and quickly switches to a total fighting stance.  Then he interrogates, before trying to move, in a tone almost like a shout.

       ‘  man  or  beast  ?  ‘

[twilead]

it was quiet for the moment, yet her ears still twitched and moved as she picked up the smallest of sounds. her hand passes again and again, slowly over a tail that sat in her lap. that was then shed glanced to him, bothered by how little hed said since her visit. ' you may touch them if youd like. ' as if on queue, the inky tails splayed out, a pair of them resting against the floor between them. ' carefully of course. or i am afraid the punishment will be severe... '

   He was content with peace  , had become close with silence  in periods of meditation that stretched for days where even sustenance was denied. This was nothing to him though he could near sense the restlessness that radiated in waves off  the wild fox. These days when she’d wander past the gates to his temple , he’d give short instruction , explain a social construct - anything that would guide her towards passable assimilation.   Shen was prepared for her to shatter the silence , whip at the peace with an untamed tongue - but he had not anticipated this. His gaze lowered from her eyes , the curve of her nose , down to the tails brushing idly over the floor. They had always appeared soft to the touch much like the ears that sprang effortlessly from strands of silken hair - and they did not appear as nefarious as she. Though , he supposed that was part of the trap.     Even as she had expressly given her permission , however unbidden, he had noted her peculiarities when it came to them. The near hiss when he had unintentionally brushed them with his leg , the explicit warnings. Rather than the tension he anticipated , he found a gentle smile turning his mouth at her offer - even with it’s caveat.   “Of course.”   He reached out a hand, slowly, and touched his palm to one of the two that lay between them. His usually stern voice was made warm  , “Thank you.”  | @dokkcebi

[twilead]

  starter for | @dokkcebi

 [  - “Save us,” she led Shen to a room, dismal and thatched, where he was greeted by the stare of two children knelt over a graying man. His eyes were open, a pale blue and empty stare. “Without their father, they will starve.” He looked down at his chest where the threads of his soul were snapped and frayed, leaving very little behind. The mother twisted her hands anxiously, ] The path of overbearing essence led him to a forest of Ionia, one less traveled and for good reason. At the mouth was a thin ray of sunlight canvassed over the dirt, deceptively warm and inviting.  From there, he had been able to trace the demon who seemed to put little care into concealing their trail. He was not here to retrieve the portion of soul lost, there was no possibility of that. A wind kicked up from the grass, shaking the trees in unison.  [   -  “He is gone.” his gloved fingers left the neck of a young man. When he stood up , he had no need to check the other three. ]      He was pursuing a beast of agility and speed, already pulling labored breaths from his trained and hardened form as he gave chase. When the sticks snapped beside him, he knew he had finally caught up. He turned to face the demon- and paused. This was not the pronged horns , sludge and mire nested beast he had come to expect. She was human, part so, with pointed ears and an excess of furred tails , dyed the color of ink.  There was a wildness in her eyes, in the way she stood, and by the look of her - he knew he had found his demon. There was naught to cover her body and by practice of will, he did not glance downwards and kept his stare to her face. It did not matter that she appeared young, what the world would consider beautiful, he reached for the spirit blade sheathed on his back. “You are the one who has been feeding on the souls of the villagers?” though he already knew the answer.