06-05-2021, 10:02 PM
The light that meets the dark
It was impossible to ignore how the beast was confident in his own skin. He spoke like a horse, like one of the inhabitants, only capable of so much more than the ‘regulars’ like Cheri. His skin was different, his mannerisms belying a strength and personality used to commanding others, and to Cheri this was all so vaguely familiar and yet not at the same time. When he spoke, the chimera reminded her of Reave - her cousin / uncle with a morbid fascination for adventure - but he was arrogant where Reave was clever. Still, young Cheri couldn’t find it in herself to take what he claimed so personally: she only half-laughed at the way he twisted her words.
If he was chaotic, then she was a ghostly vision. She could be spicy if that’s what he wanted, and she set her mind to the task while working over her little patient. “Whatever makes me less appealing to his appetite.” She thought humorously, watching the glint of his coiled barb flash underneath the Eclipse’s unholy light.
The very air of Tephra itself seemed intoxicating to Cheri. She felt it settle over her skin in a thin layer, making her hot where before she’d been pleasantly chill. The fog of her homeland was similar in feeling, but the redwoods had always been a damp sort of cold. The volcanic kingdom left one feeling feverish, and watching her companion wander closer felt just like a fever dream to Cheri. Her eyes did widen, but their intent was unclear: part of them displayed a macabre fascination with the mechanism of his body and how it might theoretically work, the other was tainted by an expression of quiet awe.
“That’s fine.” She whispered, glancing up to read his eyes like an open book. As he settled across from her, Cheri reminded herself that he’d claimed not to be a murderer, but it was hard to dispel the instinctual anxiety that came from looking so directly into a predator’s gaze. She felt herself growing smaller underneath that stare, clinging to the humor laced throughout instead of succumbing to her panic.
Besides, there was something else in great need of her attention.
Cheri looked back to the bird and zapped it once, experimentally. The result was instantaneous movement, a little jerk from the creature that meant she was probably on the right path. Her murmured thought about healing the thing was seconded by her companion, and she smirked happily. It was moments like the one they were experiencing that she needed encouragement the most, and though he looked entirely different from herself, Sorren’s cocky assurance felt better than anything her kin could’ve said.
“I wasn’t aware you were the expert here!” She scoffed quietly in the dark, exhaling an incredulous laugh. Her tone was pitched sarcastically; Cheri shifted her folded limbs in discomfort but smiled secretly. This close to the shifter she could smell his skin, the wild clinging to him like a calling card. In the quiet after her remark she could also feel the temperature of his breath on her nose. Cheri did not dislike it. “The wing is fractured in several places.” She explained. “When I touch a sick thing, I can almost sense the illness and what needs attention. I’m pretty sure it’s been suffering from infection as well.” She estimated, sighing prettily.
As much as she hated to admit it, her companion was right: she needed a much more gentle approach if she was going to mend this bird before her strength and power ran dry.
“Still…” She murmured, shyly refusing to meet her friend’s eye again, “You’re the perfect distraction, Chaotic or not.” Cheri lowered her lips to the soft-fluttering breast of feathers again, this time emitting more of a hum than a buzz like before. The light from her touch spread like a slow ripple, intensifying in the dark before receding back to the source of her contact. “Do you have a name?” She wondered, ears twisting as she watched for signs of improvement in the little creature between them.
If he was chaotic, then she was a ghostly vision. She could be spicy if that’s what he wanted, and she set her mind to the task while working over her little patient. “Whatever makes me less appealing to his appetite.” She thought humorously, watching the glint of his coiled barb flash underneath the Eclipse’s unholy light.
The very air of Tephra itself seemed intoxicating to Cheri. She felt it settle over her skin in a thin layer, making her hot where before she’d been pleasantly chill. The fog of her homeland was similar in feeling, but the redwoods had always been a damp sort of cold. The volcanic kingdom left one feeling feverish, and watching her companion wander closer felt just like a fever dream to Cheri. Her eyes did widen, but their intent was unclear: part of them displayed a macabre fascination with the mechanism of his body and how it might theoretically work, the other was tainted by an expression of quiet awe.
“That’s fine.” She whispered, glancing up to read his eyes like an open book. As he settled across from her, Cheri reminded herself that he’d claimed not to be a murderer, but it was hard to dispel the instinctual anxiety that came from looking so directly into a predator’s gaze. She felt herself growing smaller underneath that stare, clinging to the humor laced throughout instead of succumbing to her panic.
Besides, there was something else in great need of her attention.
Cheri looked back to the bird and zapped it once, experimentally. The result was instantaneous movement, a little jerk from the creature that meant she was probably on the right path. Her murmured thought about healing the thing was seconded by her companion, and she smirked happily. It was moments like the one they were experiencing that she needed encouragement the most, and though he looked entirely different from herself, Sorren’s cocky assurance felt better than anything her kin could’ve said.
“I wasn’t aware you were the expert here!” She scoffed quietly in the dark, exhaling an incredulous laugh. Her tone was pitched sarcastically; Cheri shifted her folded limbs in discomfort but smiled secretly. This close to the shifter she could smell his skin, the wild clinging to him like a calling card. In the quiet after her remark she could also feel the temperature of his breath on her nose. Cheri did not dislike it. “The wing is fractured in several places.” She explained. “When I touch a sick thing, I can almost sense the illness and what needs attention. I’m pretty sure it’s been suffering from infection as well.” She estimated, sighing prettily.
As much as she hated to admit it, her companion was right: she needed a much more gentle approach if she was going to mend this bird before her strength and power ran dry.
“Still…” She murmured, shyly refusing to meet her friend’s eye again, “You’re the perfect distraction, Chaotic or not.” Cheri lowered her lips to the soft-fluttering breast of feathers again, this time emitting more of a hum than a buzz like before. The light from her touch spread like a slow ripple, intensifying in the dark before receding back to the source of her contact. “Do you have a name?” She wondered, ears twisting as she watched for signs of improvement in the little creature between them.
@[sorren]