I think I thought I saw you try
for Jigano
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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MP: 9824
#15

I am my mother's child, I'll love you till my breathing stops
I'll love you till you call the cops on me

She followed her guide with eager footsteps, skipping, leaping, bounding because she could, full of energy, vim, and vigor, much like a sprite, much like a fey, much like some twisted, unleashed heathen. Fangorn was already distracted and deterred by Isuma, but they all made their way along, no matter if by play or by fervent, vehement hunting intentions; aspirations of the wild and savage, regardless. She hummed beneath her breath, a tune by her sister, sometimes concocted between bulbs of thistles and meadows upon meadows of wildflowers, no words or stanzas to it, but the lines there all the same; swinging her arms back and forth, gilded gaze flickering down upon the fox, and then along the canopies, intertwining back and forth in order to catch movement and motion made by wolves.

Instead – they received gourds.

“Oh dear,” she grimaced as they came closer, because before Fangorn she would’ve easily annihilated all of them without batting an eye – kicking them aside, grabbing hold and throwing them into the woods; she’d once even made a game of it, pretending they were targets and missiles. But after gaining her little vampire pumpkin, she had a new respect for the adept flora and fauna (who somehow managed to survive when the rest of the world seemed intent on destroying them), even if they were eager to bite at her ankles.

She gently pushed one away with her foot, while Fangorn advanced. There were some hisses and growls insinuated from his rapacious mouth, fangs glistening, but she couldn’t understand a word of the apparent conversation. Perhaps he was asking them to leave? Perhaps he was imploring them to go elsewhere? Perhaps he was informing them that they were of no threat to the tiny demons, and really, were after much larger prey?
M e l i t a
But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power
I'll find a way to be without you, babe

Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
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Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#16
The fox was equally amused and exasperated by his friend's antics as she skipped and hummed along, sending every nearby creature fleeing to either farther or higher ground depending on their instinct. It felt less like a hunt than a hike, and the companions were too wrapped up in their playful antics to approach the matter with stealth. He didn't think they'd startle their prey, at least, being too small and also naturally part of the woods, but Melita...

Well. Even if they couldn't sneak up on the wolf today with a party full of so much boundless energy, at least he might track its path and get a better sense for its territory, and Melita's cheerfulness was a much-needed balm for his recent depression.

Vampire gourds, on the other hand, were decidedly less welcome - Fangorn excluded, of course - and Jigano bounded to stand beside Melita, hackles up and teeth bared in a warning growl as the savory crop came closer, malicious mischief in their fiery eyes. He had half-expected the tousle-haired warrior to leap into the fray, but it was Fangorn who bounced to the fore, with a lesson in diplomacy they all could learn from. Well. They could have if they'd understand what was being said, but the hisses and growls were just noises to the curious fox and excitedly bouncing Isuma. Whatever Fangorn said - courtesy or threats, cajoling or promises - it had an effect on his three pumpkin-hulled brethren, whose snarling subsided to lower-volume growls as they shifted and shuffled and finally turned to roll off in search of other prey.

The same could not be said for the cucumber, alas. While the peace summit was taking place the conniving cucurbit rolled stealthily to the edges of the group and then made a flying leap for Melita's shin, determined to clamp down its green, warty teeth on her tasty human skin, and get revenge for generations of salads who had fallen in glorious battle before it. Vegans beware! This vegetable bit back.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#17

I am my mother's child, I'll love you till my breathing stops
I'll love you till you call the cops on me

Though she had absolutely no idea of what conversation was occurring between the gourds, she tilted her head and studied it for a lengthy while, finding time to glance at her fox guide with an arched brow and an indulgent shrug. At least Fangorn’s prowess reached over into politics and diplomacy, not just an insect devourer and killer, and before long, the rest of the gourd horde seemed to roll off – hastening in retreat. Melita laughed, not overly loud, remembering they were on a hunt, suddenly, as if the notion hadn’t been clear from the very beginning, folding her arms over her chest, a radiant, reverent smile for her companion on her lips. “Well, well, what do we have here?” The pumpkin managed to look quite pleased with himself, putting on a more debonair air, puffing out, strutting onwards as if he were a mighty warrior. Melita didn’t bother to hide rolling her eyes, but leaned down, scratching him along the top of his head.

The cucumber, however, seemed to have other ideas, not responding to any semblance of authority from the bonded gourd. She hadn’t even really bothered with the notion of its existence, too distracted by the others, until a sudden biting rasp clenched over her shin, piercing into her skin. She hissed, an audible sound that might’ve reflected Fangorn’s usual decibels, hand reaching down to the top of the fruit’s head, and then tossing it in one glorious ascent, hoping to hear the wake of its crash in the distance. “How dumb,” she muttered to herself, directed solely at her own performance, so tired of her constant mistakes and errors as of late, sighing and wiping at the blood welling up along her flesh.
M e l i t a
But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power
I'll find a way to be without you, babe

Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#18
Jigano relaxed, hackles lowering as Fangorn worked his diplomatic magic on his people and it looked as though they would escape unscathed from the ambush. Isuma peeped happy support of her friend, admiring his gourdly strut and then trying to imitate it - no easy task with six limbs to coordinate in place of Fangorn's zero!

The grey fox had just begun to turn and put his nose back to the trail when Melita hissed in pain or anger and he jumped around, fur a-bristle, growling at whatever threat had caught his friend off-guard. The cucumber attached to her leg didn't stay long, not as summer's daughter sent it on an all-expenses-paid flight to anywhere else. It's tinny screech of anger at being denied its rightful vengeance against the biped oppression that was to last another day could be heard for long seconds as it arced into the distance, until a distant crackle of branches indicated it had landed and become a problem for some other area of the Woods.

The copper tang of fresh blood was a distraction from the wolf's older spoor, however, and the fox whimpered sympathetically as he padded over to nose at Melita's hand worriedly. Isuma joined them a moment later, and the pair looked up at the autumn-haired warrior with matching concern, sitting back almost in tandem to wait until she had tended the wound with more than just a swipe of skin over skin.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#19

I am my mother's child, I'll love you till my breathing stops
I'll love you till you call the cops on me

Melita enjoyed the sound of the cucumber’s bizarre screams, the distant decibels of it landing far, far elsewhere – served it right for bothering them in the first place. She didn’t expect Jigano’s whimper at her wounds though, and she crouched down further to inspect it, more than just dabbing and toying with the minor laceration, shaking her head, tousling crimson curls as the ichor stopped its abhorrent flow. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing major.” The youth grabbed ahold of her bag, snatching at her canteen first, dripping a little bit of water out to rinse the blood off her hands, then went for the bandages. She was glad she’d taken them – most of the time she simply ventured out on her own with absolutely zero thought put into possibilities of injuries. It wasn’t that she believed herself impervious, it was the impetuous notions and nature, planning, forethought, and calculations not in her normal range of sentiments. The girl neatly unrolled a set, wrapping it around her leg, tying it off, and then put the dressing back into her satchel.

“There, good as new!” Her eyes gleaned back down to the fox as she rose back to her full height, shouldering the bag back onto her back. “Ready when you are!” Her tones were bright and effervescent, same as always, not about to be waylaid by a minor cut and scrape. What else were they going to meet up with before the wolf though? Would the scent of her blood draw it towards them? Her hands went to the arrow strap, the quiver along her spine; they’d be fine. They’d be safe.
M e l i t a
But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power
I'll find a way to be without you, babe

Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#20
The gray fox looked at Melita with a hint of skepticism for her reassurance, but he sat back in renewed silence to watch her tend to the wound. With the blood washed away and not just smeared across her skin it really did look better than he feared, and he gave a small wag of his bushy brush as she finished tying off the bandaging over the minor punctures. He barked approving agreement as she rose again, ready as ever to set out on their adventure, and he turned to lead the way once more.

Isuma stayed close to Melita's side after that, a small and fluffy protector, helping Fangorn guard his mistress. The gourds didn't make a reappearance as Jigano's nose sniffed through the underbrush, following the wolf's trail through fallen leaves and dappled sunlight. It was a trail that meandered and, once, ended in tufts of rabbit fur and blood stains that were still tacky. The fox's hackles rose at that, and he shot Melita a warning glance to walk softly as his own movements became stealthier and more cautious.

The trail led to a small clearing, and in that clearing, a small house. The construction was sturdy, but the shutters had blown loose from one of the windows and one hung forlornly upside down from its last hinge. There was no sign of movement or smoke from the chimney, but a fresh wolf's pawprint, large and deep, marred the damp earth where a garden plot now held only dying weeds. The grey fox crouched, fur puffing out over its body as lips pulled back from shining ivory teeth in a silent snarl, eyes locked on the cottage.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#21

I am my mother's child, I'll love you till my breathing stops
I'll love you till you call the cops on me

Isuma and Fangorn seemed to crowd in on her from either side; and she was immediately suspicious of their attempts of guardianship. It’d only been a minor wound, nothing even remotely serious – but she did reach down to pat them both, before they moved on and on, roaming into the twist and turns of sunlight, of fallen leaves, whispers of decay amidst the beauty.

Then there was pieces of fur and blood; and the festering, withering requiems dancing in her head were real – crouching down to inspect Jigano’s exploration, the hackles, the warning, her stare flicking over the particles of demise. She raised her brow at the fox, but wisely said nothing, following intricate movements and motions, embodying a huntress instead of the wayfaring spirit, the traversing sprite, the rapturous, ravenous fey; led to a clearing, to a house.

It appeared abandoned, nothing roaming within its outer sanction, nothing revealing significant signs of life: maybe another taken during LongNight’s reign, or simply moved on, basking in the glow of another haven, another sanctuary. This safety net had lost its touch though, shutters loosened and barely hanging on – her eyes narrowing at the paw print though, laden and massive amidst a world once inhabited by herbs and flowers. “I’ve heard this tale before,” she whispered, ducking down to inspect, to provide humor and light and mirth where it likely didn’t belong; and all the while, maneuvering her bow in place, stretching her arm to retrieve an arrow from quiver, notching it along her weapon. “Grandma, what big ears you have,” she murmured, nearly a singsong, nearly inaudible, fervent, ready, eager when Jigano was.
M e l i t a
But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power
I'll find a way to be without you, babe

Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#22
From carefree waif to stalking huntress, Melita's focus on their mission narrowed down once they found evidence of the wolf's most recent meal and Jigano was surprised at the near-silence behind him as the humming stopped and her footfalls grew even lighter against the Leafchange loam. It seemed she was getting serious, and he shot a grateful look over his shoulder as he continued to lead their way through the woods until they found the clearing with its forlorn little house.

The pawprint was as good as a signpost, and Jigano suspected what he would find if he snuck closer to sniff at the foundations. Melita did, too, her soft voice mostly hidden by the breeze, and the fox tilted an amused ear her way in spite of the danger. Some stories surpassed the boundaries between worlds, but he didn't think this one would have such a happy ending. No little girls to rescue from the belly of a wolf that had conveniently swallowed them whole, for one. He sat back to consider the situation; the small house, Melita's weapon one of range rather than close-quarters. How good a shot was she? Would she be fast enough? Accurate enough? Questions he probably should have asked before they began the hunt, but now it was time to trust or head back, hunt unfinished.

A thought to Isuma sent the little gryphlet padding quietly forward to sit on Melita's foot, if the girl would allow it. The small feathered creature looked up, big golden eyes solemn as she physically urged the human to stay put while Jigano slunk closer to the house. The scent trail was powerful now, both fresh and layered over time, and the fox had to hold in a sneeze at the unpleasantly musky odor. It screamed danger to his vulpine senses, but he gathered himself to leap lightly to the windowsill, and then over a small table beneath the window to the floor inside.

And very nearly onto the back of the wolf as it surged up from the corner of the room, the pair colliding briefly, the fox yelping in surprise, before Jigano scrambled and retreated much faster than he had entered, the slavering hunter behind him.

The grey fox flung himself from the window like a stone from a sling, a slim bullet of swift motion as the wolf leaped over the table and through the window, his once-massive frame now looking emaciated and his yellow eyes cunning and mad with sickness and an unnerving intelligence as he followed Jigano with a snarl, fangs snapping shut on the very tip of the fox's tail and getting a handful of hairs for his trouble.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#23

I am my mother's child, I'll love you till my breathing stops
I'll love you till you call the cops on me

Melita hadn’t thought about being barred inquiring entry by the gryphon, but sure enough, the companion settled upon her foot – a clear warning, a clear indication, that only made the girl nod and raise her bow. She was ready as Jigano tiptoed closer to the house; unmoving, still, silent, like days in caves, stretched out oblivion as they heard monsters curling and clawing outside their stone doors; hushed breaths and nothing more, hoping their scents didn’t carry, that the demon wasn’t terribly hungry, that the world was not as cruel as it seemed.

But it always was.

She waited, biding her time, practicing composure and composition, remembering precision as the fox leapt into the house – the heavy, overwhelming edge of quietness driving at her senses. Fangorn was on edge too, but didn’t utter a growl or a hiss; knowing well enough about survival, about how to remain alive when the rest of the realm wanted you dead.

No more than a few seconds lapsed before there was a yelp and the honeybee child was no longer just a youth: a monster herself, huntress in the woods, armed and fervent, ardent for the chase – Jigano leaping back from whence he’d come, and she had only a passing moment, a haunting thread, to gather at the sight of the wolf.

Skinny. Emaciated. Maddened.

It didn’t bother her – it should’ve, but it didn’t – too numbed from all her other experiences, too hasty, too ferocious, too unrelenting. She grounded herself, placed her weight in her heels, in the soil, in the earth, narrowing her sight to its head, pointing and lining the arrow up with its movements and motions. Without a second though, the string pulled taut and rigid, before she let it fly, let it descend, let it cut through the wind – brutal, barbaric, every inch a forgotten innocence, drenched and scraped up from the abyss all over again.
M e l i t a
But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power
I'll find a way to be without you, babe

Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#24
The bow wouldn't be much use inside, but Jigano hoped to draw the wolf out into the open, where Melita's weapon would be of most use, and where she would have the most space to find a tree to retreat to if things got, well, hairy. Of course, that had been partially predicated on the assumption that he was a sneaky bastard who get into the house undetected and lure the wolf out at his leisure, intending to control the encounter with confident aplomb and grace.

Instead he nearly landed on the damn thing and got wolf slobber on his proud brush. It was not, as these things went, his finest moment, but luckily Melita was ready and waiting when he made his ignominious retreat, with the sick and angry animal hot on his heels.

The wolf might have been focused on Jigano, but it wasn't deaf to the twang of Melita's bowstring. The beast twisted its head, rising up as its hindquarters slid underneath it in a slight shift to face the new prey, but before it could do more than begin the motion the sturdy shaft slammed into it. Not into its head, as she had hoped, but lodging deep in its chest. It snapped instinctively at the feathered pest protruding from it before the pain hit and it yelped, tumbling as it scrambled to come to a stop, panting and snarling weakly in the middle of the weed-infested cucumbers. Paws scrabbled for purchase as thick red blood welled from the wound, the punctured lung torn as much from its continued movements as the initial entry.

Jigano paced back towards it, watching the wolf with solemn blue eyes, resigned but far from horrified as it struggled. There was the scent of sickness about it, and it was no wonder it had begun hanging around the farm hoping for an easy meal. But he couldn't let it have Rory's goats, and he didn't want the dogs getting hurt fighting it off, either. This way was better for the Farm... and he had his own responsibility for bringing things to this point.

Though he didn't like shifting in front of others short of an emergency, he did so now, the fox flowing upwards into a tall, slender horse. Blood flecked the foam at the wolf's mouth as it struggled to regain its feet, snarling bitterly at the pain and strangeness of what was happening. Its confusion lasted a handful of seconds more before a pair of hooves came crashing down upon it, ending its misery. He stepped back almost immediately, shivering a little as he tried to scrape the blood off on the grass, even as Isuma bounded towards him, peeping her concern.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#25

I am my mother's child, I'll love you till my breathing stops
I'll love you till you call the cops on me

Melita had faced many monsters: she’d coined it as her duty amidst friends and family to be the defender, the sword, the shield, the rampart, the bulwark in the scattered remnants of oblivion. So she didn’t quake or shudder as the wolf’s gaze slid over to hers; but lord, she felt an impact, the eerie, enigmatic rise of apprehension, the hair looming on the back of her neck, the smoldering sway of power beneath menace and malice. Perhaps it hadn’t meant to be so desperate, perhaps the world had been just as cruel, and in return it relied on its instinct, on slinking, on roaming, on becoming this - she could understand it, the way the world twisted someone back upon themselves, nowhere else to go but down, down, down. She didn’t hate it, couldn’t scorn it, couldn’t shame it into death and desecration. They might’ve been the same, pushed and pushed until it naught else left.

She only wished her arrow had been more precise, more true, wafting and waning until it hit the chest instead of the head. What might’ve been a shot with less suffering, less agony, didn’t matter; a snarl, a scramble in the dirt, a knotted, gnarled feeling pushing into her heart. Her hackles didn’t raise. Her expression didn’t change; disheartened, saddened, enigmatic in a way, just as all the other established deaths in the Rift had tied her into nettles and thorns. This one was no different.

Jigano shifted again – no more fox, but equine, and when his hoof descended upon its skull she didn’t shy or look away, gaze fixated on the end, on the finale, the misery shaken and gone, hers still attached and haunting. She put her bow along her back again, silent, then still, her stare shifting back to the bard with her solemn brow. “Sorry. I should’ve been better.” An anthem, a theme, a tune to everything she’d ever done.
M e l i t a
But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power
I'll find a way to be without you, babe

Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#26
Melita's apology brought the horse's head up, blue eyes wide with surprise at her words. He shook his head, mane flying, in silent negation, even as Isuma flew up to perch on his back. Stepping carefully, he made his way over to the huntress, whuffling her hair in a horsey gesture of reassurance before resting his chin on her shoulder, nickering softly. He was grateful for her quick thinking and reflexes, knowing perhaps better than she did how close he'd been to being lunch. Her arrow had proven the difference between life and death for him. She had been better enough to save him, and he couldn't ask for more.

He stepped away with an encouraging whinny, nudging her back the way they had come. He and Rory could return for the skin later, so the beast's death wouldn't go to waste, but for the moment there was no need to linger amid the scents of blood and endings. Soon enough he had found some thick enough underbrush to pass behind, obscuring him enough that he felt comfortable shifting back to a human form so he could join Melita as they retraced their way back to the edge of the farm. He gave her his heartfelt thanks, promising to see her again soon, before they went their separate ways.


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