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 Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 10:28 pm
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CasϨandra •❀•ʅaruzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
❀Cassie nodded in response to his answer, letting it sink in. So the cave was good enough, although it would be better if the waterfall was stronger. It was true they hadn't had much rain lately. The water wells were even running a bit low in town. Turning her attention away from her thoughts, she glanced down at her finished fish. Although it wasn't anywhere used to what she usually ate, she wasn't about to complain. It was food; she needed food to survive. Simple as that.
By the time she took three bites, she noticed Kaine was already finished. Not too surprising for her by this point. She knew she had to learn to eat quicker. Table manners and proper etiquette wasn't needed in a forest, she had to learn to abandon them. Her mother would certainly frown upon her from even thinking of eating something from a stick. The thought made her smile a bit. Turning her attention back on Kaine, she nodded once again in response.
After she finished her fish, she discarded the stick and brushed herself off out of habit. She didn't think that was a bad habit to have in the forest at least. Whatever crumbs and morsels left over could be used to feed the birds. After she was satisfied, she set off to find where he had went. A few moments later she spotted him gathering leaves. "Bedding, I take it?" She asked as she approached.
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Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 10:51 pm
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Kaine
Kaine had gathered a good armful of leaved when he heard footsteps approaching. He looked over at Cassie when she spoke and nodded. "A decent bed takes four times what I have in my arm." He explained, stooping to gather more leaves. "You want to find ones that have just fallen and are still bendy. If you bend it and it cracks, it's still alright, but if it crumbled, it's too dead and will make you itchy when you sleep on it." He picked one up, and bent it between two fingers. It crumbled, the light little pieces fluttering away. "Too dry." He took another, bent it, and it only cracked a bit at the fold. "Alright." He handed it to her, then took one more leaf, bent it and nothing happened to it. "Perfect." He handed it to her. "Find more of those ones. Four armfulls." He went on looking for leaves for his own bed.
When his arms could hold no more leaves, he made his way back to the cave and settled it down on the bare rock of the cave floor, then went out for more. He did this three more timed, until he had gathered enough to be comfortable. Finished, he went to the old bed and took off the furs, dragging them outside of the cave and patting them off to rid them of the dead leaves. He listened for Cassie, making sure she was still close to camp. It would be bothersome for her to get lost and need to be searched for. As long as his keen ears could hear her rustling about looking for leaves, he would not bother her.
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 6:24 am
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CasϨandra •❀•ʅaruzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
❀Cassie had started picking up leaves and inspecting them as Kaine had instructed. Finding the right leaves proved to be a bit more difficult than she expected. She supposed it had to do with the lack of rain lately. The trees could be starting to lose their leaves faster than normal as a result.
Still, as difficult as it was, she seemed to still find a good amount of leaves by the time Kaine had finished his last pile and headed back to camp. Her on the other hand, was only on her second. Not that she was complaining, she was actually surprised she had gathered up as many leaves in that time. Once it was apparent that he would not return, Cassie decided to keep searching, figuring she would just receive more instruction once she returned with her fourth armload. Once she was halfway through the last, the area she was searching in seemed a bit scarce on the correct leaves. Tiny bits from previous leaves littered the ground where she walked. It was quite bothersome.
A blue streak whizzing by her caught her attention, and she saw the bird from the day before. "Thank you for yesterday." She said, although she knew the bird wouldn't really understand. To her surprise, the bird seemed to nod, and after staring at her for a moment, flew off from tree to tree, looking back from time to time. Curious, Cassie followed the bird until it stopped and glanced downwards to the ground. Her eyes followed and spotted a plethora of leaves underfoot. She picked one up and tested it like she had been taught, finding it to be surprisingly fine. A perfect leaf, as she recalled him saying.
Cassie picked up her share of leaves, finding more good leaves like the first one. She had to remember to tell Kaine about the area once she returned. Such information may be appreciated. Once her arms were completely filled up, she looked around, suddenly unsure where to go from there. If only she'd paid more attention on the way there! A tweet to her left broke her thoughts and she glanced upwards at her bird. It stared at her for a moment before flitting from tree to tree again. "Please be taking me back to the cave.." She muttered to herself as she followed the bird.
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 10:24 am
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Kaine
Kaine had finished his bed, laying down one of the furs on top. Done with that he sat back on the balls of his feet, listening. Cassie was no longer making any noise. He turned his head, hoping to hear farther, but still nothing. He stood and left the cave, seeing the sun was almost set. The forest was dark now, and predators would be starting their hunt. He lifted his head and sniffed the air. He knew her scent by now, and it was not hard to follow. He took off into the trees after her smell.
Also following a strange new scent was a mountain lion, a mother with cubs to feed back at her den. She padded through the forest, stealthy and sleek, her wide green eyes alert and looking for her prey. She came upon the creature whose scent she had been following. It was a young human female. She was picking up leaves. Strange behavior. The lion prepared herself to pounce, but the human turned away and began walking away. She would have to readjust. SHe followed silently, waiting for her chance to attack.
Kaine followed the scent until he could hear her footsteps approaching once more. He picked up his pace until she came into view. "Cassie. You should not stray far from camp. This time of day is when predat-" His eyes caught movement and he reacted on instinct. He shoved Cassie down and grasped for his sword. The attacker dodged the swing and went after the form on the ground. Fear and anger took hold of Kaine and he lost his composure. A yell split the air, twisting and devolving into a howl. Unexpected, the lioness paused her attack in confusion and looked over at when she had left the other human. There was no human now, only a shadow with piercing blue eyes and white, deadly teeth. They were heading straight for her. The lioness turned to meet her attacker and the two locked claws and jaws into each other, a giant writing furry of teeth, fur and claws.
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 11:16 am
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CasϨandra •❀•ʅaruzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
❀The sky began to darken a bit as Cassie followed the bird through the forest. A strange sound stopped her in her tracks. Footsteps? She turned to see Kaine walking quickly towards her. Relief flooded her upon seeing him, at least until he suddenly pushed her down. As she turned and was about to ask what that was for, her green eyes widened at the sight of him fighting off a mountain lion. Abandoning her leaves, she scrambled backwards, letting out a cry as the animal lunged towards her. This is it, she thought in fear. There wasn't much more she could think to do to get away. Her dress weighed her down, and she was backed up against a tree. Where was she to go? It was a nice life I suppose....
After a moment, she opened her eyes again, only to widen them in surprise. Where was Kaine? Her eyes darted to a dark figure in his place. A wolf? Fear struck through her. Now there wasn't one animal, but two she had to somehow fend herself off from?
Before she could think to move, the wolf lunged for the mountain lion. It was... helping her? Cassie caught a familiar flash of blue on the wolf. It's eyes? Same as Kaine's... She shook her head and decided now wasn't the time to try to process information. An urgent tweet sounded above her, causing her to glance up. Something told her she should climb the tree. That was safe, right? Safer than on the ground, anyway. Without giving it a second thought, she scrambled her way up the tree to safety as best she could.
{o.o.c. Sorry for the double quote. I had to finish this up because my computer randomly restarted.}
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 12:16 pm
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Kaine
The fight was fierce, and went on for a good three minutes before the lioness decided it was not worth it. She swiped at the wolf's face, causing him to rear back with a yelp, then turned and ran into the trees. The wolf gave chase for a few meters, then stopped and snorted, as if telling it to never come back. He stood there, his back to the tree Cassie had climbed up, panting. Now that the fight was over, the adrenalin was wearing off and Kaine drooped, worn out. He turned back towards the tree, panicking briefly when the girl was not there. He raised his head, ears perked and looked around for her, when he heard the ruffle of wings and panicked breathing from up in the tree. He looked up, sapphire eyes meeting the green ones, and he relaxed. It was darker now, in the forest, and he wanted to get back to his cave. He sat and waited for her to come down, hoping she was smart enough to put the pieces together and realized it was him. He also hoped it would not frighten her enough to not want to come down. He would rather not have to deal with that annoyance.
Kaine would change back eventually, but when for sure, he could never predict. It could be in a few moments, or a few days. He wished he knew how to control it. He wished Cassie hadn't have seen him like this either. At least he was still in control of his actions. When the night of the full moon came, he became an uncontrollable, angry, and violent beast. He did not want Cassie to see that. It could mean her death.
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 12:37 pm
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CasϨandra •❀•ʅaruzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
❀Cassie perched in the tree watching the fight between the two animals. With a final parting blow, she watched the lioness retreat back into the forest. A sigh of relief escaped her once she disappeared, then she glanced down at the wolf. Was it really Kaine? Seeing the same sapphire eyes peering up at her, her suspicions were confirmed. How he could turn into a wolf was beyond her, but she wasn't going to question it. Strangely, she didn't feel like he was a threat, although he was quite a large wolf in her opinion. Then again, she'd never actually seen a wolf before. Deciding to trust her instincts, Cassie made her way down the tree again.
Once down she glanced between the wolf and her abandoned leaf pile, deciding which she should go to. Although she wasn't sure how much in control he was of himself, she made her way over to him and knelt down to his level. "Wow, it really is you in there isn't it?" She asked as she looked at him. It just all around surprised her. Such a thing as transforming into an animal was something she only read in fantasy stories. It wasn't supposed to exist.
"I'm sorry for being out too far. It's my fault you got hurt." She apologized before standing up again and grabbing her leaf pile again. She assumed the leaves were okay. There were plenty of them so if one or two were ripped or broken, she didn't think it would be a problem. Once it was all collected, she turned to face him again. "I'm ready to go then."
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 12:45 pm
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Kaine
Kaine was relived when Cassie climbed down from the tree. She seemed to be unafraid for the most part, only surprised. He could not respond to her in a way he thought she could understand, so at her apology, he merely blinked slowly and stood as she picked up her leaves. He took the lead and led her through the forest, back to their camp. There, he walked stiffly to the fire and plopped himself down by it, turning his head to start licking his wounds. There were quite a few of them, but they were not too bad. Mostly scratches. They were not deep, as his thick fur caught most of it, sparing his skin. The deepest cuts were on his face from the final swipe, but he could not reach those.
After a bit of that, he gave up and lay his head down on his paws, tired and sore. This girl was a lot of trouble, but somehow, he found it hard to be angry with her. She tried hard, and did everything he told her, and best of all, she had not complained once the entire time. He was admittedly impressed. He closed his eyes and let the fire sooth his aching muscles.
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 1:03 pm
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CasϨandra •❀•ʅaruzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
❀Once back at camp, Cassie placed her last pile of leaves with her others and made her way to the pond to wash her hands off. From the events of the day, her hands felt a bit dry. Something she would have to get used to, she was sure. Unless she could find some aloe growing somewhere. Maybe she would keep a look out for something of the sort the next day.
As she sat by the water, she found herself continuously looking over at Kaine. Seeing him as a wolf was strange. What surprised her more was the fact she wasn't afraid of him. Any normal person would be afraid of a wolf, and even more of a person becoming one. It just didn't make sense. Silently, she watched him lick his wounds. That part she knew animals did, it was only normal. It wasn't like he could do anything else to clean them really. After watching him try to clean the slash on his face, and failing, she grabbed the hem of her dress again. It was sad, she did like the dress she was wearing.
After a few moments of fidgeting with the hem, she ripped one of the skirts of of her dress off. The dress was layered about four times, so she supposed she could due without one of them. And it was less weight on her. Afterwards, she tore of a rather large strip and glanced over at Kaine again. "Did you need any help? I can clean that for you." She offered, holding up the cloth. "It's the least I could do."
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 1:33 pm
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Kaine
Kaine opened his eyes when Cassie left the cave to wash her hands. He watched her for a moment, his head still on his large, black paws. With a sigh, he closed his eyes again. He really wished he would change back. It was easier to be a wolf most of the time, but at the moment, it was a hindrance. He couldn't clean himself, he couldn't talk to Cassie, and he couldn't enjoy his own bed. It was harder than one would think for a wolf to cover himself with furs. It was more trouble than it was worth. His fur kept him warm enough anyways. He had gone through the trouble of making a new bed, only to sleep outside anyway.
When Cassie spoke, he opened his eyes again and lifted his head. She had torn her skirt into rags which she now held in front of him, offering to clean his wounds for him. His pride wanted to refuse her, but his logic said it was probably a good idea to let her. It would do no one any good to have his wounds get infected and him get sick because he didn't want to accept help. He nodded, though he looked unhappy about it. He sat still, allowing her to approach.
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Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 1:53 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 11:50 pm
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Kaine
Kaine clenched his teeth, not wanting to move and risk hurting himself more or frightening Cassie. She was brave to come to a wolf, even though she knew it was him. He figured he would have a bit of explaining to do, but he figured he could give her a short, honest answer. She had no business knowing about his past. He did so well to keep himself form thinking about it this long.
When she announced that she was finished, he opened his eyes and sighed, relieved. It hadn't hurt as badly as he had thought it would. He leaned forward and licked her arm, in appreciation. It was a small, quick action, and he was just as quick to pretend it hadn't happened. With a yawn, he lay himself back down on the dirt, the fire slowly ebbing. It was a good hour to get to sleep. There would be no mist tonight, for one, they were out of the poisoned part of the forest, and two, night had fallen and there was no signs of any other trespassers. The night would be a peaceful one, and Kaine did not mind sleeping under the stars. Cassie could have all of the furs this night.
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Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 3:01 pm
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CasϨandra •❀•ʅaruzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
❀The gesture of appreciation surprised her slightly, but judging by his change in behavior again right afterwards, she decided not to say anything. Once up, she went inside the cave and placed her cloth strips with the rest of the gathered things. Glancing over at the piles of leaves, she didn't know what to do with them really. But judging by the fact Kaine was still a wolf, she was sure she wouldn't get any instruction on how to make a bed.
But that didn't mean she couldn't try. Determined, she piled up the leaves and placed them all on a pile wide enough for her body to lay on. After she was satisfied, she found the rabbit furs from earlier, and a few other furs, and lined them on the top of the leaves. As she inspected her handiwork, she decided it was good enough for the night. The rest of her dress could provide an extra cushion for her during the night, and if the bed was wrong, she would do it again. At least she tried, right?
To finish up, Cassie placed the ivy back along the entrance. The fire would be too bright for her to sleep otherwise, but through the ivy, it gave her just enough light to see and not be burdened by it. Settling down in the bed, she used her cloak as a blanket like she had before. The evening air had gotten a bit chilly for her. The bed was surprisingly more comfortable than she had expected. It certainly wasn't anything like a real bed, but it was still nice. She watched the soft glow of the fire through the ivy until she fell asleep.
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Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 11:25 am
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Kaine
Kaine lay there by the fire, listening to Cassie's movements inside the cave. When it sounded like she was asleep, he stood. He could feel it. He was going to change back soon. His bones shook. Trotting off into the woods a ways, he found a secluded grove and let go, letting the change happen. He could not control when he changed, but he could always feel it coming when he was turning back into a man. He whined as his body began to shift it's shape. It was painful, but not too bad. Not when it was a normal shift. He dreaded the full moon though. He would become a monster, and the transformation process for that was excruciating.
Once again a man, Kaine returned to camp and stood by the fire, the warmth soothing his aches. He glanced at the cave. He could sleep in there now, on a bed. But the fire felt nice. He went to the cave and slipped inside, looking at Cassie's sleeping form, then glancing to his bed, the furs still on it. He took them and shook them off a bit, then turned and covered the girl with them. He left the cave and plopped down in his spot by the fire, falling asleep to the residual warmth of the dying flames.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun rose, casting light on the walls of the kingdom by the sea, but it was anything but peaceful. Soldiers marched through the street, led by a notorious general, General Gustav. Though there had never been war in his time of commanding, all of the city's criminals knew to fear this man, and now he was leading the hunt for the now most wanted criminal of the kingdom. Sapphire Eyes, the thief who had kidnapped the princess. Gustav would make the beast pay, slowly and painfully.
As the garrison left the walls and entered the forest, the forest shuddered. A great number of hostile intruders had entered, and it could not release the mist until nightfall.
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Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 3:48 pm
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