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Post by Siren on Apr 12, 2009 22:45:09 GMT -7
Siren yawned and stretched slightly as she jumped down from the tree branch she had been napping in. Today she would be passing over the border between the Cat Kingdom and the Fox Kingdom, on a special task from King Saraine to keep up relations with the King of the Fox Kingdom. She brushed off her clothes and straightened herself up a bit as she thought about how frivolous the task seemed to be. Fox and Cat had never had a better relationship than they did now, and it seemed much the same as flogging a dead horse to attempt to strengthen it. "He's just sending me there because he thinks I like the King's adopted son..." she mumbled to herself. Of course it wasn't an absolutely wild accusation. Jacob was nice, and she thought they were great friends, but she didn't think of him the way Saraine believed she did. Not that she would ever pass up the opportunity to see her friend again. She smiled at the thought, and started walking. She'd stopped for the night not far from the border, not wanting to be caught in the Fox's trees, but also not wanting to be too far away when she woke. Siren could tell as soon as she was over the border. The trees in Fox were slightly more cautious about their lives, more pine and needles than there were the leafy trees of the Cat kingdom. Her magical connection to the elements allowed her to feel the life flowing through the trees of her own kingdom, but this kingdom was more guarded, almost hostile, and she knew it would take a stronger connection than she had to feel their energies. All the same, she knew she could tap into their strength if she needed to. Lost in thought about the trees different feelings between the two Kingdoms, Siren barely noticed the sense that she was no longer alone.
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Post by Max Füchs-Kojote on Apr 12, 2009 22:55:04 GMT -7
Behind one of the trees, Max inhaled silently. He caught a scent different to that he had before. He didn't catch this one often...
I wonder... Could that be a cat? Maybe the cat? He stole off in the undergrowth, fur and clothing helping him to hide. Eventually he got an appearance. Matches the description, and looks like she's heading for the net... He moved over to the trap. A careful tug of the rope would pull the net's corners together, enough hopefully to trap her or surprise her so he could get advantage.
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Post by Siren on Apr 12, 2009 23:39:51 GMT -7
The feeling that she was being watched intensified and something about the feeling she was getting was not right. She stopped walking, closing her eyes for a moment to take in what sense she could from the trees. Something about their silence was eerie, in more than just the normal Fox Kingdom way, as if they were waiting for something. She could tell that they were definitely aware of a presence other than her own. Opening her eyes, she scanned the ground ahead of her. Something was off about the way the ground looked, but she couldn't quite place the object that seemed strange where they were. Sighing, she wondered if maybe she was just paranoid, and she started walking once more. She hadn't taken three steps forward when she heard a noise and suddenly her feet weren't touching the ground anymore. She gasped, her fingers grasping the net that had appeared on both sides of her face. I knew I shouldn't have ignored my instincts... she thought. Too curious about the eyes she had felt, she refrained from freeing herself, which would have been easy for her with any number of her natural and man-made defenses.
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Post by Max Füchs-Kojote on Apr 13, 2009 0:01:37 GMT -7
"Hm...It looks like the prey needs to work on its senses." The voice was young and while it spoke Cat, it had a horrendous accent that marked it out as one whose home language was Fox. "Unusual for one such as yourself to be wandering about this kingdom, especially when you can be a target." He walked to her, claws out and smiling, baring all his sharp teeth. Lanky, but nonetheless threatening. He waggled a clawed finger at her admonishingly. "And it so unfortunately happens you are wanted."
He crossed his arms and peered at her curiously with blue eyes. "But tell me, why would one such as yourself be out here all alone. Not the wisest idea in the world, hmmm?"
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Post by Siren on Apr 13, 2009 9:20:54 GMT -7
The voice that came out of the trees spoke in the cat language to her, though it was obvious it wasn't the native tongue of the creature. This fact only made her more curious, and she peered towards where the voice was coming from. Whoever it was, he didn't sound much older than she was. He was taunting her, though, so it made her wonder if he had been told much about his target other than what she looked like. "It's not all that unusual. I come here often, without escort. I can take care of myself." she said plainly. As if to prove her point, she placed her palm on the bottom of the net, feeling her magic move to that point. As it found the net, it burst into flames around her and within seconds there was nothing left of it. As the bottom of the net broke open, she fell to the ground and landed neatly on her feet without a sound. "Were you told all that much about me, hunter?" she asked, blinking at the fox-like creature whose blue eyes held the same amount of curiosity as her own.
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Post by Max Füchs-Kojote on Apr 13, 2009 15:15:56 GMT -7
"Mage. Always the possibility." The claws remained out. I would like to have a word or two with my employer on being informative. But nonetheless, you being a mage changes little." His tail flicked.
Magic. So she's part human... The blue eyes blinked, was that concern in them? But that moved as quickly as it had appeared. He made no move to physically hold her, merely standing there with claws out, as if saying she was welcome to try to run. Key word: try. His ears twitched. A pure-blood, technically, he had no magical abilities, but made do with the enhanced senses of his kind."Magic aside when you're paying attention, is it still wise to wander this kingdom alone? Without at least a guide?"
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Post by Siren on Apr 13, 2009 20:53:38 GMT -7
Siren looked curiously at his claws for a moment as the sun glinted against them, then her eyes returned to his. The blue shade that his eyes were made her think of ice, the type you found when you went high into the mountains. He questioned her sanity once again, and she smirked at him. "As I said, I come here often without escort. I know this land well, and have friends in high places." she replied. Siren's mind wandered slightly as she wondered who the fox-creature's employer could be. How many people actually knew she traveled through the fox kingdom at all? "Which reminds me... those same friends are expecting me today. You're not going to make this easy are you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
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Post by Max Füchs-Kojote on Apr 13, 2009 21:07:35 GMT -7
"I might actually make it easier, and I might make it harder." He looked torn, then sighed. "Right now I'm tempted to help you sheerly to spite my employers for not offering an appropriate price, and for being... uninformative." He grinned, light flashing off those teeth. "Not the first time I wasn't meant to return."
"Of course, either way you aren't getting away from me. I know how to maim a being so it can't flee." Those claws flashed again.
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Post by Siren on Apr 13, 2009 21:34:45 GMT -7
Siren probably should have been more cautious, and definitely should not have been standing around chatting with the Fox, but she was very curious about him, and he seemed not to be in the least worried about what would happen if he didn't deliver his mark. "Hmm... Well, since you seem so concerned about my being without escort, walk with me a while." she said, thinking There's no harm in humouring him, I suppose... "Wait here a minute." she said, "Don't worry, I'm just going up." She pointed to the nearest tree, and without any other explanation, leapt up to pull herself onto the first branch. She watched him as she climbed up the tree, only looking away as she reached the top. She was exactly where she thought she had been, and she smiled before she quickly climbed back down the tree. "ouch... these trees are so unsuitable for climbing..." she muttered as she dropped to the ground. "So then, that way?" she said, pointing in the direction she should be traveling. She wasn't sure whether he was agreeing to her suggestion yet, or not.
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Post by Max Füchs-Kojote on Apr 13, 2009 21:42:50 GMT -7
"Why ask me?" He grinned, his claws had sheathed already. "I don't know where your destination is, I only knew your path up until where I laid the trap." He paused. "Speaking of which, did you have to burn it? I made it..." He briefly put on a mournful expression, then it passed. "Anyway, these trees need time getting used to, after a while they're rather comfy."
He smiled at her, then walked in the direction she had indicated. "Don't worry about the net now though, they'll assume that you burned me to a crisp or something if they come by here."
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Post by Siren on Apr 13, 2009 22:03:37 GMT -7
Siren rolled her eyes in amusement as he complained that she had burned his net and started walking after him. "Hey, you're the one who just threatened to maim me if I tried to escape you... I assume asking is the polite thing to do. Vines work better, anyway." she said, laughing a little bit. Just ahead of him, vines twisted into the form of a net, quickly closing around him. "Or at least as well as rope works on someone with claws anyway. I know you're aware that I'm part cat, it's not exactly hard to tell." she said, twitching her black ears and her tiger-striped tail. Before he could ruin her magic-made cage, she created an opening in front of him so that he could continue to follow her.
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Post by Max Füchs-Kojote on Apr 13, 2009 22:18:43 GMT -7
"I know vines work better, but I don't like using them." He, surprisingly, looked rather shy. "Some of our furry cousins like them where they are." He quickly went to her first point. "I know you were a cat, I expected you to cut it, not burn it." He smiled. "I fix and reuse them sometimes, or I use them in other things."
He shrugged. "But now I guess it's easier to look like I failed. Would be nice to not groups trying to get me killed for a bit."
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Post by Siren on Apr 13, 2009 22:43:16 GMT -7
Siren looked at the Fox in concern. Furry cousins? she wondered, but didn't say anything. As he said it would be nice not having people trying to kill him for a while she looked at him, unable to keep silent on that one. "That's ironic.. That's exactly the predicament I'm having right now..." she said sarcastically. "And I do return the vines to where they were originally. Sometimes they weren't actually there before. If they aren't native to the land I am in, I have to tap into the earth to look for vine traces in order to produce them.... At least most of the time i'm able to return them..." she finished cryptically, looking away from him. At that moment a squirrel skittered to a halt in front of them. Siren's eyes snapped onto the small creature and she licked her lips hungrily. She hadn't yet eaten.
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Post by Max Füchs-Kojote on Apr 13, 2009 22:55:54 GMT -7
However, the squirrel invoked quite a different reaction in the fox, he moved in front of her, unaware of her reaction, and gently stroked the squirrel. "Hello there, little one. What are you doing here?"
He picked up the squirrel carefully, still stroking it, wearing the gentlest expression on his face as he turned to Siren. "I expected to find you in the trees, not running around at foot level. It's dangerous down there."
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Post by Siren on Apr 13, 2009 23:17:57 GMT -7
Siren's eyes widened as she watched something she thought she'd never see. "Wha.. what are you doing?!" she stammered in confusion. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "That's food, not... a pet or something... what.... I think I need to sit down a minute." she said, leaping off the ground into the nearest tree to perch on the lowest branch, grimacing as the needles poked her fragile human skin.
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