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Character of the Season
From Attuned to Ascended to Ancient, Kiada Njovu-Reyes has been reborn several times throughout her short life, but her fighting spirit has never once been diminished. With beauty, grace and a quick wit, Kiada is the whole package wrapped in an infectious smile. Recent endeavours have found her in the heart of the Hollowed Grounds, aiding the region and bettering it for her new Ancient kin, and whatever she does next, we know it's sure to pack a punch.
Congratulations, Kiada!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
Night fell over the coast. The wind picked up and a thick fog rolled in from the sea that turned Haulani into a mystical thing, like floating lights suspended in the darkness. Black footprints of sand turned molten and resolidified lined the oceanfront. A young spermwhale calf had beached nearby and for most of the afternoon its mournful cries had drawn in buzzards from all around. But she was too vigorous still. Could crush a careless opportunist if they weren't careful. And while the Fyrhund was an opportunist, he did not think he was foolish.
Her dirge had quieted by the time he reached her. Hels had pecked deep gashes into her back and sides. Somewhere nearby the yowls of fighting lions shattered the quiet of the night. And eyes glazed over with pain and the awareness of impending doom watched him approach. He could see himself silhouetted against the faint light from the city, and knew that she realized he had not come to save her.
He could have, probably, given the right application of skill or magic. But Isar did not know how, and while he wasn't exactly kind, he did not enjoy being cruel either. His jaws were savage as they tore into the whale's drying skin. Using claws and teeth he sliced through thick layers of blubber in search of an artery. And when he found it, the blood that started gushing would finally bring an end to her suffering.
Only when the light had gone from her eyes did he begin to eat. By then he was truly ravenous, starvation making his temper short and intolerant to intruders. He never was much for sharing anyway.
As she slithered through the dark night, wandering aimlessly, a cacophony of noises came from nearby. Curiosity caused her to lift her serpentine head, sliding her tongue out to scent the air. The smell of blood and saltwater bathed her senses, making her salivate in hunger. It hadn't been long since her last meal, but it was tempting nonetheless.
Thal crept cautiously towards the source and found the sperm whale lying limp in the sand. But it wasn't alone. A familiar Fyrhund appeared to be enjoying the recent death of the creature, gorging itself as if it were a buffet laid out just for him. Certain that the few morsels her Lava Wyrm consumed wouldn't be missed, she slinked forward with barely a shifting of the sand beneath her.
A near trancelike state had settled over his mind. The mechanical action of chewing off chunks of meat and swallowing them whole was so satisfying that it neared ecstasy. While there was no way for Isar to consume the entire whale by himself he wanted to. Who knew when he'd be able to eat again? In the flawed logic of the starving, tomorrow was a year away and all that mattered was sating his hunger now, here, today.
When a glow of fiery hues approached his meal, a low rumbling issued from the chest of the fyrhund. Unaware of who the creature was, he bared an impressive row of teeth and snapped the air in its general direction; a warning to stay away. This was his.
The snapping of the Fyrhund's wide jaws made Thal hiss in defensive annoyance. She was barely the size of a whiskey bottle and the three bites it would take to fill her would be less than the cork of said bottle. He wouldn't have even known it was gone if he hadn't spotted her. However, now that he had, she wasn't about to back down.
With a long, vibrating hiss, she slithered her way into the mouth of the beast. A sizzling sound could be heard as her fiery body seared along the inside, releasing a cauterized scent that smoked the mouth's cavern. The blatant defiance was accented as she proceeded to tear into the meat. If he wanted to be selfish, she would be a pest.
The Fyrhund's growl grew in strength as the wyrm hissed back at him. When it darted for the mouth of the whale he launched and snapped at it, missing with a good margin and was left to growl menacingly at the sizzling, burning sound and scent of scalding meat that began to rise from the air vent as though the whale was still alive and breathing smoke rather than mist.
He couldn't get to it though. And while the wyrm kept feasting on the inside, his own stomach growled even louder than he had. The idea that the food would disappear while he was still hungry inflicted a horrible anxiety within him, and he returned to set upon the carcass like it might flicker and fade - like a dream, a mirage, some horrible illusion.
And who knew, if he made a dent deep enough, he might be able to chase the little bug away too. Or eat it. There was a thought worth holding on to.
At the Fyrhund's snapping maw and accompanying growl, Thal just gave a stuttering, hissing sound that substituted for a mocking laugh. The burly creature was much to slow for her slippery form. And until he was able to tear through the skull and into the mouth, she felt safe enough to let herself indulge in the fresh meat.
Just as she'd assumed, a mere three bites had her satisfied and a comfortable weight settled in her tiny stomach. The sensation was such that she liquified into a small puddle of lava, content to let the food digest slowly as she lounged within the beast. A wafting smoke continued to fill the chamber while the sizzling lulled her into a comfortable relaxation, totally unbothered by the hungry Fyrhund just outside.
A satisfied daze gradually settled over his mind in pace with the filling of his belly. There was more food on the carcass than any one creature could comfortably eat, and by the time Isar sank to the ground, gorged and drowsy, hels had begun to peck at the hide near the tail.
Glowering at the taunting plume of black smoke issuing from the mouth, the Fyrhund huffed and snuffled around for the molten parasite, but found that he didn't care as much about it anymore. Not enough to pursue it. Instead he settled into the sand and watched for it to come out, even as eyelids grew heavier and little by little began to close in sleep.
With her burning metabolism, the sustenance was quickly consumed. She soon opened her eyes to the smokey interior of the whale, content to resolidify her wyrm form. Her tongue licked out in a hiss of appreciation for the easy, fulfilling meal.
Thal listened closely for the Fyrhund outside but found that the ripping and tearing had gone quiet. Perhaps the beast had also gotten its fill.
Cautiously, she slithered to the opening of the mouth, peering out to see it laying nearby. It appeared to be asleep, but Thal was still feeling mischievous. Creeping forward, she approached the Fyrhund, stopping in front of its muzzle and cocking her head in quiet assessment.
The faint odor of burning soil reached past the slumber to tickle his nose. It wriggled back and forth, chasing the scent even in sleep, and the motion drew him back to wakefulness. A light sleeper, the open landscape and the nearby food didn't allow for more than a light doze.
A slit cracked open around the segments of cooled lava that formed the eyelids. A burning crimson eye slowly focused and took in the curious little doodle of a wyrm right before his now. Isar let out a sullen huff; a puff of smoke escaped his super-heated lungs and drifted over the little creature. Far more tolerant now that his hunger was sated, the large fyrhund stretched and flopped over on his side; not even once did he try to make a snack out of the curious thing. Even though it looked tempting - he idly wondered if it would take offense to being licked.
