Nocturne

[Claire]

It was dark here. Suspended, Claire could pretend that this water was salty, that her toes could brush sand and fish underneath her. This was more like home than the harbor, with it’s brown water and smell. This was clean, here. She opened her eyes and looked up above her, watching the darkness over the rippled surface of the water above her. Too soon, however, her lungs began to burn and Claire pushed herself up to the surface, gasping for air when she broke above.

Claire pushed her dark hair away from her face and treaded water, looking up at the falls. A grin came over her face at the sight of the water breaking through the ice and snow to the pool below. Even at night, it was beautiful. Perhaps even moreso than during the day. The full moon shone it's bright light and abundance of stars down on the water. The water was surprisingly warm here. She wondered vacantly if the water from the springs began here, but that did not make too much sense. Warm water came from underground, not above it. Claire sucked in another breath and ducked back under the water, swimming towards the shore and climbing out.

Bathing in her underclothes seemed like a good idea when she jumped in- she had not really had the chance to properly wash her clothes in a good while. Securing a place of residence that she found suitable was proving harder than she anticipated- she needed to be close to the water. Some water. It was hard to pray when she wasn’t around water.

Claire toyed with the crystal around her neck and looked down at it, huffing a quiet sigh. It looked like that girl was the one after all. Whatever task she had to do now was beyond her. Clearly her goddess simply wished for her to be patient. Two years for patience.

Claire looked down to her clothes and sighed again, beginning to dress. It was starting to get cold again.

[Deleted]

Silence, something a winter night always seemed to have. Large paws padded almost soundlessly on top of the snow. Her large nose lifted into the air, familiar scents wafted in the air. Her long whiskers curled forward in a tiger like laugh. This scent was both new and familiar; Claire was the bearer of this scent. She could feel Core in the back of her mind perk up…apparently he wanted to see his wife. Who was she to deny him?

She paused in her stalking….was this bordering on creepy? Really she did fall into the habit of whenever she smelled a familiar scent she seemed to track whomever it belonged to. She enjoyed the satisfaction of tracking down whomever she was fallowing but she really never thought of it coming from the other end. She sat in the snow licking a paw as she contemplated this new perspective.

Then again it was loads of fun for her, and the reactions where amusing more times than not. If she was going to choose to act mature it certainly wasn’t today. She stood up, her fur rippling as the invisibility that came with this form took over. She slowly but surely stalked her way towards the lake.

By the time she got there the woman was paddling her way to the shore. Aria still cloaked in invisibility crouched not too far from her clothes. As the woman began to get dress Aria extended her head and with her rough cat like tongue licked the side of the woman’s leg….before quickly darting away into the brush.

[Claire]

Claire was beginning to pull on her boots when she suddenly felt something wet and rough against her leg. A shiver ran up her back and she quickly yanked her leg away, her feet shuffling against the snow-covered stones. The slickness caused her to lose her balance, falling backwards into the water again with a yelp. She sat there for a moment, half-submerged and wide-eyed with hair in her face, before turning her eyes to the footprints beginning to form in the snow leading away from her and into the brush.

Oh, there was no way she was going to let this thing get away.

Claire pushed herself out of the water and quickly pulled on her other boot, hopping a little in the snow. She pulled a dagger from her belt and turned it in her hand, creeping towards the direction of the creature. She looked down at the massive footprints- like a giant cat? Invisible cat. Claire grit her teeth and followed towards the brush, pushing it aside as quietly as she could.

She could see the pressure in the snow, but was unsure if the creature was looking at her or not. It hadn’t struck yet, so it was possible it’s back was turned. She let out a puff of breath before lashing forward with her hand and gripping something- it felt like a tail- and pulling as hard as she could.

[Deleted]

A damp hand clamped around her tail and tugged, she jumped to her four paws and yanked the holder forward. A massive paw clapped the woman on the back pushing her to the ground…where she was promptly sat on by a furry rump. The large tiger suddenly shimmered into view, a deep rough sneezes coming from the large animal’s maw. It curiously sounded like laughter from the large beast.

Aria in her mind was rolling around in laughter, the look on the woman’s face was priceless! She felt slightly bad that the woman had gotten wet again but ….the reaction was definitely worth it…maybe she should sneak up on more people while they were bathing.

The large tiger looked down, its large blue green eyes sparkling with amusement as it leaned down and licked the woman’s face.

[Claire]

Claire was about to raise her dagger to strike down when she felt herself being yanked forward into the brush. She landed roughly on her knees, scratched by the mess of twigs and leaves, and was knocked to the ground again before she could recover. She hit the ground hard and the force sent the dagger flying from her wet hand across the snow. Then there was an enormous pressure on her chest, and she could feel hot breath.

When the enormous cat came into view, with it’s huge paws with sharpened claws and cold eyes, Claire screamed. Blood drained from her face, leaving her ashen, and she started to struggle to get away. She was pinned, she couldn’t reach her daggers, and she could barely breathe with the weight. It was barely enough to scream again, and she did, her unpinned hand searching across the snow for something she could use to fight this thing off.

When the creature’s head bent down, Claire’s hand found something in the snow and clasped tight around it. When she felt the hot and rough tongue against her face she took no chances and swung with all her strength, striking the creature across the face with a rock with another cry.

[Deleted]

Well…this was a bit much, she didn’t mean to scare the girl this bad. Hell she had woken her dad up like this on numerous occasions and he never screamed like this….he cursed all cat kind but certainly never let out an ear piercing shriek. Her ears pinned back against her head; the loud noise hurting her sensitive ears. She brought up one large paw to rub her ears; really this woman had lungs….If uncle Zeppy every came round she knew this woman had the lungs to take care of him.

When the large tiger bent down to lick she suddenly saw stares as a large rock got smashed into her eye. The large tiger plopped back, bones cracking as fur rapidly receded and her skeleton rearranged itself into human shape. She sat on the ground bare as the day she was born; holding her left eye. It was swelling quickly and very likely to be purple and black in a short time.

”Ow…….all fun and games until someone gets an eye knocked out….”

Aria looked up at the petrified woman with a lopsided grin.

”Good evening, guess I deserved that…first person to hit me with something in a good couple of years”

[Claire]

Claire scrambled to her feet as soon as she was free, twisting to grab her dagger. She turned back to the creature before it could attack her again, only to be frozen. There was a painful-sounding cracking of bones and the fur shrunk, revealing skin. Soon that girl was there, naked, sitting in the snow and clutching her eye. Claire’s breath stopped as she stared, her eyes huge.

What kind of sorcery was this?! How could she- was that the sort of power these fated people had? She could hear the girl speak but in her shock she couldn’t quite understand her- she could barely remain upright. Adrenaline from being attacked was still pumping through her veins- she could feel her limbs shaking as she gripped her dagger tighter.

Then the girl smiled at her.

The girl was smiling.

Rage boiled in her suddenly and sharply, clouding her vision with red- the girl attacked her and now had the audacity to smile? A scream of rage was ripped from her lips as Claire rushed forward, grabbing the girl by the throat, shoving her to the ground as hard as she could manage. She braced herself over the girl, her eyes and hair wild. She pressed the tip of the dagger under the girl’s jaw, at the soft flesh, ready to press in.

How dare this girl? She could squeeze so easily, make this girl feel the fear that she just did. She pressed her knee hard into her stomach, making certain she couldn’t move.

“ <What the fuck is wrong with you?!> “ Claire leaned in, trying to search the girl’s face for an explanation. “You- you are not human. How could you do such a thing?” she squeezed her throat once. “If you turn back into that thing I will kill you. I would have killed you. I was sent here to find you and- you are nothing but a stupid, selfish child!”

[Deleted]

As she was thrown on her back she could feel the cold bite of the snow. She felt the woman squeeze her hand around her throat along with the sharp point of the dagger. Her eyes became like ice losing all mirth from them. However her whole exterior remained calm….relaxed even. Her skin began to harden as red almost black scales covered her form. Her skin taking the appearance and quality of dragon hide. In the same breath the metal dagger in Claire’s hand would begin to rapidly increase in temperature. The tip slowly melting away as an orange gold glow formed around it.

”Daddy thinks I may have suffered to many knocks on the noggin with rocks….”

Her voice was dry, when she spoke.

”You have my apologies for licking you; frankly I did not think that you would take it as the sign of an attack. However if you want answers then I ask you to remove your grip around my throat. It’s a fair bit uncomfortable….”

Arias fingers drummed the ground, and patiently waited for the woman to get off of her.

[Claire]

Claire could feel heat below her hand, first warm, then uncomfortably hot. She watched in undisguised horror as the girl’s skin transformed under her fingers and the metal of her dagger began to melt. She realized that her hands were burning and she dropped the knife, wrenching herself away from the girl and pushing herself away until her back hit a tree.

Claire’s breath was pluming in front of her face in rapid bursts, her hair nearly completely hiding her face. Her hands burned with pain as they were buried in the snow on either side of her and she watched as the snow around the girl melted on contact with her skin. She pulled another dagger from her belt and pushed her back harder against the tree, holding the dagger aloft in front of her, pointing the blade at the ungodly girl in front of her.

“What- what are you?”

[Deleted]

Aria sighed as the woman scrambled off of her, she slowly sat up large leathery black wings that formed on her back stretching out. Her blue green eyes a stark contrast to the dark scales; slowly the scales rippled away forming into normal skin and the wings receded into her back. Leaving the girl normal once more. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, mortals were always so jumpy when it came to her transformations. It made her appreciate Garrets good humor about them that much more. Least he chuckled at the fact it was downright creepy.

”Calm down I haven’t killed anyone since I was sixteen and even then it wasn’t done by my own hands. I swear on my gods and yours that I am not out to harm you if that makes you feel any better…..”

Aria turned towards the exposed rocks, it was getting chilly out here. She pointed to a larger one and flames leapt from her hand and streamed across the rock. Super heating it until it radiated off warmth. At least that would fight off the cold for a bit.

”I am a mage; and no I’m not a human one. I am what is referred to as a phioric angel. A fey type; though more often than not I’m thought to be one of Zepons demonic spawns. Unfortunately by the time I am born….fated are sometimes brought from different time lines….most of my kind had been killed off. Often we’re mistaken for demons instead of the angelic side. We represent the animals that we watch over; we can communicate and change into their forms. The form you saw before is a part of the feline family, it’s a particular subspecies that originates from the lands that the Ku Deyu are from….the black scales and wings happen to be a dragon species; a particular brand that is extinct in my time…I don’t know if its extinct in this one I never did find out when that particular dragon was wiped out.”

For once Aria was able to explain more about her kind; at least that was one thing she studied thoroughly when she was on the glade.

”Does that answer your question?”

Aria was surprisingly calm when explaining, she didn’t really expect it to go well. After all when she first started showing any powers her orphanage tried to burn her alive.

[Claire]

Claire could feel the blisters in her palms burn as she gripped the hilt of the dagger tighter and tighter, her hands shaking from the force. She watched as the girl sprouted wings, black like a bat, and stretched them before her skin faded back to pale white and pink. The stark black of her tattoos were incredibly clear now. She could see the dagger one clear and plain, but the sword, the reason for her being here, was hidden with the girl facing her.

Claire jolted as Aria superheated the rock, feeling the warmth radiate to her. She hadn’t noticed that her teeth were chattering until that point, and the warmth soothed the tic. For some reason she didn’t quite believe Aria, regardless of the purity of her intentions. And when Aria began her explanation anew, she could barely understand half of what she was saying. Gods and demons and other lands… she could pick up on a few names however. But when Aria finished speaking and looked at her expectantly, Claire could not help but think that the girl was delusional. Delusional with incredible power was a poor combination.

However, it was clear that the girl was finished with her assault and Claire lowered her dagger finally to look at her hands. Her palms were red and blistering from the contact with her skin, and she looked back to the girl.

“I searched.” she began slowly, lowering her dagger to her side, still gripping it with one hand in case she needed to use it again. “For two years, for this city. Across the sea and over lands no one from my country has tread. To find you.”

Her fingers twitched over the dagger in her hand, clenching it harder. “I will see that mark on your back. The sword. Now.”

[Deleted]

Aria sighed, and ran a hand through her mass of red curls pulling it out of her face. It looked like her explanation didn’t make much sense. She scratched the back of her head, really the language barrier was a problem. It would be easier if she actually knew how to speak Claires language. Arias eyes trailed down to stare at the tagger still gripped in her hands. Aria pointed to it; then to the lake.

”Drop that and go put your hands in the lake, only for a short while. It will help the burns…don’t put them in snow it will cause more tissue damage…”

Aria wished she still had the paste Grandpa Lee Lee made, all of the healing properties and none of the tripping. Her attention turned back to the still stiff woman, at least the warmth was helping her chattering teeth….Aria still sat nude.... it was cold but she didn’t think Claire would do well with her growing a fur coat at the moment. As Claire began to talk Aria listened….she could practically feel the love from where she was sitting….Then she demanded to see the sword on her back.

”….Please….Please may I see the sword on your back…I won’t stand for people demanding to see marks on my body. For the record it is hardly my fault that I am not what you expected….would you put that dagger down I’m not attacking. By Mylees drafty balls your as bad as my old teacher…”

[Claire]

“I have suffered worse burns, this is nothing.” It truly would be soon enough, the sting on Claire’s hands was already beginning to fade. But she would not allow this… this spoiled child to tell her what to do. She was not the one to give her orders.

When Aria sighed and spoke to her again, Claire’s eyebrows rose sharply. Pleases? She was going to demand politeness after what she just did? It didn’t surprise her truly- it seemed like the girl was not actually capable of any sort of human remorse. Whatever she was.

Claire rose to her feet and walked forward, not to the falls, but directly towards the girl. Without a word she grabbed the girl by the arm and pulled her to her feet, turning her like she had the night they had met at the springs. She looked down at her back, at the long tattoo of the sword there. She scowled, releasing her arm.

“You will answer my questions.” she walked back to the falls to grab the rest of her things, still talking to Aria. “You owe me that much, after what you did.” she grabbed her things and walked back. She pointed to the sword on her back, pulling on her cloak. “What is that and how did you know my name? And do not tell me ‘a voice in your head’. I want the truth.”

[Deleted]

As Clair stomped over Aria allowed herself to be yanked up and turned around. She could have been an ass and covered her back with scales and hid the sword from view. However she would give Claire this one, she didn’t seem to like not being in control. When she demanded to have her questions answered Aria just looked at her with a calm expression. With one eyebrow arched ever so delicately; it was her best Daddy impression. She got that look more times then she could count. It was a bit interesting due to the bruise that was now skirting across the one eye that wasn’t burned. Really she must look quite the site at this moment.

”Owe you? My dear woman all I did was lick you, and I apologized for the scare already. Honestly I thought you’d just jump a little, to me you didn’t seem like the type to scare easily”

She tapped her eye which was currently swelling shut.

”And I believe you made it even with this and the lovely yank on my tail….seriously that’s almost as bad as groping my rear end….Then you got even for me pinning you by doing the same thing…tho I didn’t hold a knife to your throat and try to choke you….once again I just licked you. It’s not like I attacked you at all….I will answer your questions, but simply for the sake of answering.”

Aria sighed and went to go lean on a rock…only to have her rump burned. She jumped up with a yelp and glared at the rock….she had stupidly sat on the one that she had heated. …Apparently she would be standing for a while. When Claire asked her question Aria sighed.

”That was the truth; I would give you a more detailed explanation but I don’t know how to convey it to you in a way you might understand. There is a language barrier after all…I can try to explain it but you need to have patients and ask if there is anything that you do not understand...I will try to reword it or explain it if you don’t. ”

[Claire]

“Did you expect me to recognize you?” Claire gestured to Aria incredulously, “When you are in the form of some… giant hell cat? I thought you were a creature trying to eat me. Or did you truly think that I would not try to defend myself?”

She crossed her arms hard, looking down at Aria with a hard glare. She watched the girl burn herself and scowled harder down at her. Really, how completely oblivious could you be? It was inconceivable.

“Do not treat me as if I were stupid. I speak your language, I understand it. You will explain.” Claire stood her ground, her arms still folded tightly. “Tell me about this voice. Can this voice speak for itself?”