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Post by Kitty on May 5, 2008 18:46:47 GMT -5
 Somewhere along the way he'd taken a wrong turn, he was certain of it now. Map reading wasn't exactly his forte but really, how off had he been this time? He hadn't remembered the realm he had intended on going to being a forest at all but when he'd entered the wood he thought maybe it was just a small part of the realm. Nope, wrong, and terribly so at that. It was increasingly creepy and the more he thought about his surroundings the more uncomfortable he felt. In fact the hair along his spine had already begun to rise. So, if he was lost, and completely off from where he intended to be... where could he have gone instead? He froze the moment it struck him ... had he actually wandered into the Tulgey blissfully unaware of his mistake? He couldn't possibly be that oblivious to the world, could he? He chuckled nervously to himself, trying to brush the thought off and press on, but his tail feathers fanned now and his heart rate went up a bit now that the idea had implanted it's self into his mind. There was just no way he was in the wood, no possible way... |
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Post by The Jenn on May 5, 2008 19:00:28 GMT -5
Alponse felt irritable. That in and of itself wasn't anything unusual, but this time it was hunger prompting the annoyance. He was always cranky when he hadn't had a meal in a little while. Granted, he didn't have to eat as often or as much as his siblings, but blood at least once a night was a necessity if he wanted to stay healthy, which he certainly did. He flapped and glided through the canopy of the large trees in the deepening gloom, dusk having fallen not long ago and given him leave to go out hunting. He certainly couldn't leave during the day or the sunlight would burn him and probably kill him if he stayed out long enough. Evening was his time, and the dead of night even more so. He had become one of the Wood's many predators and had only been improving his skill at hunting over the years. At fifteen, his arrogant mind assured him that he was nearing the best. A strange scent caught at his nose and he wrinkled it in distaste. It was almost familiar, something he had smelled once before. It reminded him of rot, but with an overtone of something else. Something... That nasty woman! He nearly collided with a tree as he suddenly remembered where he'd encountered that scent before. The woman with the horrible man with the electric thing that had shocked his mouth. Had she come back?! He tried to figure out where the smell was coming from and follow it to its source, staying high within the trees. |
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Post by Kitty on May 5, 2008 19:12:17 GMT -5
He sighed as he gave the map one last once over where he discovered something rather strange and, well, disheartening. It was upside down. Slowly he flipped it around and traced a solitary, purple claw along the path he'd taken and couldn't help but laugh again. Well, it wasn't exactly a laugh as much as it was a sound of frustration mixed with terror and a pinch of shock as well. He was in the wood, and it was surely getting rather dark now... he'd been warned about this and he certainly hadn't wanted to come here quite yet. He wasn't ready to be here, but he was.
He reached back ever so slightly and clutched his cloak, bringing it tightly around his body and taking a small bit of comfort from the reassuring stiffness of the fabric but he still needed something more which turned into him hugging himself with his wings as well. He was intelligent enough to know a bad thing when it was presented to him and he looked around slowly. It all looked the same. That... was far from encouraging.
That's about when his paranoia decided to make it's self known and poke at his mind, telling him something was going to come for him any moment... it sent a shiver down his spine, but it also prompted him to keep moving. Something was bound to look familiar eventually, right? |
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Post by The Jenn on May 7, 2008 9:34:35 GMT -5
A strange sound caught at Alphonse's ears, something halfway in between a laugh and a whimper or cry. He couldn't quite tell. Whatever it was, it didn't sound like any of the creatures of the Wood, so maybe it was just someone traveling. Or an Outsider. The hint of smell he kept getting suggested the latter and his red eyes narrowed. The sound hadn't really reminded him of the nasty woman from a long time ago, but maybe he just wasn't remembering correctly.
He continued flying, nose twitching and ears swiveling. Where was it coming from? It was going to drive him crazy if he didn't find out, especially if it wasn't just some carcass left as carrion.
Eyes used to nocturnal hunting caught a flicker of movement below and he turned his head, alighting on a sturdy branch to get a better look. It was wearing clothes and certainly wasn't white. He refrained from chittering in anger. From above, all he could see was the blue top of the creature's head and blue wing-tops. Vaguely familiar with regional differences because of his father's insistence, he thought it might have been a Sorgaire. But where was that smell coming from?
Maybe the Outsider could be a meal. He'd been working at his vampiric abilities, trying to get them to take on a more malicious note, and had managed something. It wasn't everything he wanted yet, but that would come in time. Until then...
Stupid Outsiders! Stealth was always his best weapon, but he needed to get a glimpse of the stranger's rank before he dared to use his newest ability. "Trespasser..." he hissed in his most menacing voice, the one he'd practiced in front of Rosemary and won her approval as his 'creepiest'. He was mostly hidden on the other side of a large tree from Tavor, high in the branches. "You dare to set foot in our Wood?"
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Post by Kitty on May 7, 2008 17:54:47 GMT -5
One ear, lined in white velvet, perked ever so slightly as he thought he heard the faintest sound of something moving. He chided himself mentally, believing his mind was just playing tricks on him, which wouldn't have been that far fetched of an idea had there not been a voice a few moments after. And suits was that specific voice ever creepy. He adjusted his wings and pulled that cloak of his in a bit more closely to his frame and he resisted the desire to just up and use his power right then and there. As much as he was certain this was a bad idea, he'd make the 'most' out of his visit to the Wood.
I ...
No, that wouldn't do. He'd heard the stories of the Tulgey, he'd been properly warned and he just didn't think 'I didn't mean to come here' or something along those lines was going to get him anywhere. There was always the possibility that civility might get him further then empty apologies, however slim it was. He straightened himself up as best he could and cast his gaze up to where he believed he'd heard the voice come from..
His voice gave his fear away though, it always did.
G-good evening. |
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Post by The Jenn on May 7, 2008 20:34:01 GMT -5
At least the creature had good ears, however stupid it no doubt was. Its head homed in on the exact tree in which he hid and his red eyes narrowed. Alphonse tended to think that everyone was stupid unless they proved otherwise. A teenager and full of himself, few people had managed it. Rosemary and his Daddy were just about it. From the way its voice trembled with some weak emotion, it wouldn't be able to manage.
It also probably wouldn't be much of a threat, a thought which delighted him. Putting himself directly in harm's way was just dumb, but if he could toy with his prey before he ate it then he always preferred to. It was just so satisfying. The more he looked at it, the more the creature seemed like prey. The only thing making him hesitate was the continued assault on his nose of that faint trace of rot. It left him... uneasy.
Slowly, one silver-furred white wing before the rest of him, the squirrel-bat slunk into view along the side of the tree. His bright red eyes stared down unblinkingly at the Outsider. Now, closer, he could see the brown mixing in with the blue. So maybe it was this timid, straight-backed creature making the smell.
"Echeh. Yes. The evening is good. For me, at least. Not so good for you. I say again - trespasser." Until Tavor acknowledged that word, he wasn't going further.
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Post by Kitty on May 9, 2008 12:00:29 GMT -5
His ears twitched and then settled themselves into odd angles but his gaze remained steady and fixed, especially once movement, and then part of a being were detected. It was a mild comfort that the younger figure was most likely a card, he'd heard of some rather terrible things that were suspected to be roaming the wood, but the boy himself wasn't something he could take comfort in at all, especially after that feeling of familiarity began to be more then just a poke at the back of his mind. He'd come across an awful lot of rather unbearable people and if he was familiar, but forgotten.. .well, it had been for good reason.
This feeling, along with the re-affirmation of what he was here in the Wood, caused both of his ears to swivel back and lay down fully. Perhaps he was wrong? It's not like that never happened before. But what if he attempted a bit of humor? He'd never been particularly good at getting the point across, but he could try, no harm in that ... right?
M-my apologies ... I ... am not s-so good at... reading maps... upside down.
Well, at least he was gaining ground in ditching the stutter... slowly. |
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Post by The Jenn on May 9, 2008 12:22:32 GMT -5
The answer coaxed Alphonse a little further from his placement behind the tree's trunk and he slowly crept forward, eyes never leaving Tavor's form. His wing-tips and toe-claws against the bark of the tree made a scratching noise that he tried to emphasize, not sure how successful he was being. The anxiety he could see in the Outsider's bearing delighted him. That cloak still hid his rank, though.
Now that he was a little bit closer, he could see the feathery tail and the shape of the face. A rat-bird? He thought it was a rat, anyway. It certainly wasn't squirrel like him, and it was far too pronounced to be mouse.
"You read your map upside-down and ended up in the wood? CHE!" The sound was accompanied by a derisive laugh, the teenage Tulgey feeling even more at ease around his potential prey. Providing that he was of a low enough rank, this man would make an easy knock-out and a good meal. A pity he didn't have any bovine mixed in, since red meat always proved the most delicious and filling, but he'd only been lucky enough to fell one of those Cards once.
He balanced carefully on his back feet, gripping the branch, and spread his wings. The silvery fur along their edge was more apparent now. Leaning forward, keeping his balance, he opened his mouth and slowly began to extend his fangs until they protruded about an inch and a quarter from his gums. It made speaking difficult, but it always worked wonders for intimidation.
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Post by Kitty on May 9, 2008 12:40:43 GMT -5
His own eyes remained on the parts of the creature that he could see. Eventually, however, his blue eyes met Alphonse's red ones and he had to avert his gaze to the side a bit, he didn't deal well with eye contact, it was still a rather rare thing for him to give or receive. He wasn't willing to let his form out of sight though and focused mainly on the tree nearest him and listened as he spoke. He didn't sound the least bit interested in letting him just go on about his way, and the noise he made at the end of his sentence startled him.
In fact, it pulled a little jump and squeak from the rat-eagle and in the process he let the comforting green fabric slip from his grip and it, of course, fell away, revealing the black ten upon his chest rather nicely. And, depending on from what angle he were to look, a bit of the rot on his back would probably become noticeable as well.
His gaze traveled back to the bat just in time to catch the lengthening of those fangs and his fear intensified. He backed away quickly but alas his tail was his downfall for about the hundredth time as it lingered to near the ground and after a few steps it managed to trip him up rather nicely and in his haste to escape he wound up on the ground. If the Tulgey resident had noticed his rot before, or had any doubts, the exposed bone on his tail would be fully visible now. |
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Post by The Jenn on May 9, 2008 14:57:36 GMT -5
Alphonse watched in delighted disbelief as the Outsider backed away and fell flat on his ass, tripping over his own tail. Talk about an easy lunch! And a Ten! As soon as he saw the rank flash past his eyes, he knew he had dinner. All he had to do was serve it up and...
The flash of exposed bone and rotting flesh made the squirrel-bat jerk back, nose wrinkling in horror. The stupid, incompetent stranger was the source of the stink that had reminded him of that awful woman! Eugh! He glanced at all of the brown mixed with the blue, now that he could see more fur clearly, and vaguely remembered that the woman's leg had been the source of the smell. It had been brown as well.
His eyes narrowed to slits and he hissed, mouth opening wide to expose his fangs even more. It also showed the gleaming sharpness of the rest of his teeth, right down to the molars in the back. Then he activated his ability, which should cause the man to slump down unconscious where he was sprawled.
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