A Child's Tune. [Border!]

Guest

Amidst the trees, two feet swung delicately from their perch, enjoying the view that such an outstanding height was able to offer. She loved to climb; there was something exhilarating about standing above the commoner’s world, looking down from where she sat as though she was a frail bird that could take off even farther into the sky, for even at this slight distance she had never felt more alive. The lady inched closer to the edge of the sturdy branch holding her up, acting as the sole semblance of defiance and peculiarly all rolled into one, destined to go against what any dare preach as being of the classical normality. She was far from one’s normal character; the way that she smiled down at the ground, at each blade of grass and each buzzing insect that roared passed, was surreally stunning. It was as though she could look upon the darkest scenario, seeing it for its shades of black, its gore and its decay, and still manage to pick out something along the brighter side of the spectrum. Red lips parted to usher a child’s tune, something youthful and innocent, inscribed with the doings of kindness and therefore untouched by the darkness of any misguided shadow. Soft was its rhythm, enveloped in her own delicacies as slowly, carefully, she pried herself apart from her place of comfort and fiddled down the various levels of the tree as though a monkey that exhibited expertise in its ability to ascend and descend accordingly.

She reached the ground in a timely manner, two feet implanting themselves upon refugee from the danger such immense height proposed, a thoughtful glance skimming its stature, but a semblance of nature and its blissful power, before she departed from its side to travel farther into the place she knew housed her own kind. She skipped through the flowers and the petals and the shrubs, elegant and beautiful, twirling and dancing, as though the world was her playground and she was more than happy to treat it as so. Ginger locks of long hair bellowed down the length of her spine, spinning and circling in the air’s cool embrace as she pranced onward with undeniable speed. She bunched her legs and leaped over a fallen tree, stopping immediately, her perfectly clean shoes muddying with the abrupt change in velocity as she took a few cautious steps backward and patted the rough surface of bark that coated the poor tree. She mumbled an indecipherable sentence under her breath, hating to see such a fine specimen of nature having met its untimely end, before familiarizing herself with the point behind her exploration and continuing upon her merry way.

Perhaps, soon, it’d be proper of her to shift into her animal form. Those of her kind that likely inhabited this nearby realm would probably like to meet her, face-to-face for the first time, as the animal - as the powerful, venomous reptile - that she could morph into upon her command. However, such would simply not be the way. It would not be her way. She was awfully accepting of her human qualities, and she only hoped that these Shifters would not be as unforgiving of the enjoyment she derived from being human as did her family from long before. She would not tolerate being confined to the body of a cold-blooded lizard. One should not mistake her love for being human as a genuine dislike for being a Komodo Dragon. She adored her reptilian form, her true form, but there was, in equal parts, thing to be adored about being human. She loved having two legs - prancing and skipping with the ease and the hyperness of a nine year old girl. She continued to hum, even as she neared closer, and closer still, to the place where she would surely encounter one of her own. It had been so long since she had seen another Shifter. She could do nothing but hope for the best, as she frequently found herself doing.

Subject: Re: A Child's Tune. [Border!] Tue Jun 03, 2014 12:52 am

((Sorry it's not my best, but at least it will be to the point))

Two feet faded to four and burst off on their patrol canter. The Auxiliary shot off into the spring brush, keeping her jaws open to take in all the scents and file them individually to decipher what was out of place – if anything was indeed astray, that is. The ashy pelt raced through the emerald foliage, furry paws silently pummeling the baby grass back into the earth. Though her frame was heavy, she was light in her bounds and nearly soundless, her passage barely more than a flash of fur and a gust of wind that rustled the leaves. Honestly, she had no reason to remain silent and could just as easily stampede through the territories, but that was not of her nature. As a cat, and more so a snow leopard, she was bred for stealth. After a good ten minutes of a steady run, she slowed to a brisk trot. A single black-tipped ear flicked around, interpreting the sounds of the forest. Somewhere above her, a finch began to call for a mate. In another tree to her left, she could hear the chattering of squirrels in their hollow. Life… It was so beautiful and precious in such small and defenseless creatures. So easy, in fact, to rip away. Her eyes flickered briefly with an animalistic instinct to kill the noisy things, but she continued on her way without losing concentration.

It was not long before Jagara neared the border. A stranger’s scent wafted into her nostrils and up to the roof of her jaws, alerting her of their presence. The grey paws instantly changed their course, following the trail of the potential intruder. The leopardess paused at the border, standing firmly as the red-headed female walked closer. Cold eyes hit the child-like woman instantly, inspecting every inch of her body and gestures as the other approached in what reminded her of a prance. The Auxiliary’s long, muscular tail lifted up into the air authoritatively; the black membranes of her lips drew back in a warning snarl. Jagara was a feline who demanded some form of respect immediately but gave the guest a chance to show it of their own accord before she clawed it out of her. Though her stance was intimidating to some, it was clearly not aggressive or overly defensive. Her grey-blue hues stared at the other’s with a calmly wild fire as she came up close. A smooth voice rumbled from within her throat, “Traveler, I smell my kind upon you, but am not familiar with your species besides you being a reptile. I am Auxiliary Jagara, and you have stumbled upon the territory belonging to Regina Eden and her mate, Diallo. I suggest you identify yourself fully and state your purpose.” Sure, the leopardess was quite gruff, but such things were necessary upon first meetings. If this stranger would show her respect and fulfill the requests, Jagara would continue on in a more amiable disposition. Any disrespect, however, would be met with a wonderful session of instilling the fear of the divine back within the soul before her.

Guest

From the bushes came forth a creature of outstanding grace, a creature of power, one of remarkable beauty and sharp eyes that clawed into her soul with not hostility, but a curious flare. The human girl returned a curious look of her own, no fear in her eyes directed to the magnificent snow leopard , but a certain element of shy intrigue. Her authority was clear, portrayed with the rising of a white tail over her spine. It would seem . . . odd for a human to bow to an animal, but she knew better, for she was no true human. Curtsying to the she-cat, Celeste offered a bold smile, brushing locks of red hair behind her ear to keep them from falling into her pale face. She had no plans of testing the female’s patience. She wished for Celeste to identify herself by means of the reptile she was able to morph herself into with such ease. It had been so painfully long since she had shifted back into her natural form; she had almost grown comfortable, too comfortable, in her own human feet. However, she was in no position to reject the snow leopard, Jagara, from seeing what it was she sought.

At one point in time, there had been a beautiful lady standing before the cat, ghostly eyes framed by vivid shades of ginger, orange and red. Now there stood a tremendous lizard in her place, tall by no means, but with a length and size that threatened other females of her kind. A forked tongue slithered out from between her powerful jaw, known to hold a bite that could create blood clots, the lowering of blood pressure, muscle paralysis, and the induction of hypothermia, leading to an unavoidable state of shock and loss of consciousness in envenomated prey. Although her height was easily rivaled, there was no mistaking that she was a creature known to dominate its natural habitat. What was once that beautiful lady, was now a Komodo Dragon. She was lethal, packed with a toxic and thoroughly painful bite, and yet she posed no threat and made no moves to counter the dominance that radiated from the nearby snow leopard. “My name is Celeste Beausoleil. As you can see, I have a minor preference for inhabiting my human form - but I hold no quarrels with my true self. I am proud to be a Komodo Dragon.” She flicked her scale-armoured tail, letting it lightly slap against the side of her lengthy body before resting it gently in the grass. “I wish to be with my kind once again. It’s quite simple to blend in with the humans, though their company will never mirror that of which I can achieve with my fellow Shifters. It’d be an incredible opportunity to serve those of hierarchy that you speak of: Eden and Diallo.” Celeste’s words were naturally hissed, unable to fully occupy the clean, harmonious vocals of the human girl when she was in the form of a Komodo Dragon. She searched the leopard’s form thoughtfully, curious of whether or not they could make use for a giant lizard amongst those that lived here.

Subject: Re: A Child's Tune. [Border!] Wed Jun 04, 2014 9:35 am

Jagara was pleased by the woman’s curtsey. The one before her seemed to be innately filled with joy and curiosity, something she rarely saw in grown individuals. Red-headed and pale skinned, this individual was an interesting sight to be seen. Within a moment though, the intriguing woman melded into a gigantic lizard the Auxiliary identified immediately as a Komodo Dragon. In all her years of travel, she had never encountered one of these great reptiles, spiking even more mystery as to her origins. Jagara’s paws moved closer to the beast, scrutinizing her scaled skin and well-muscled limbs. As the shifter spoke, she noticed a heavy hiss lace her words and venomous teeth reveal themselves. Completing her visual inspection, Jagara sat down in front of the one called Celeste and curled her long tail entirely around her body. The fur of the heavy limb covered her paws up to the knuckles. “A pleasure to meet you then, Celeste.” A dull slap was heard as the shifter flicked her tail against her side. It was an interesting behavior, but Jagara did not ponder too much on it. Instead, her pale hues returned to the lizard’s own, staring intently as she continued.

Just like everyone else who came here, Celeste just wanted a home. A slight smile adorned the onyx membranes of the leopard’s lips as she replied, “I can see that your physical condition is well-kept. And of your species’ natural traits I know, to some extent, through my studies. It is interesting to see one of you as a shifter though. Regardless, I would love to hear of where you come from. I recognize the meaning and approximate origin of your name, as I myself lived in Basque for several years and became fluent in French as well as Spanish. Your name seems to fit your personality nicely.” Jagara was truly interested in the wanderings of such an innocent-looking soul. “And also, as I must ask by protocol, what are you willing to offer if we were to add you to our ranks? What are your work ethics, how well do you get along with others, would you be willing to pledge your life to serving the Rex and Regina… All that jazz.” Though the tone was fairly light despite the natural ice to her voice, Jagara was fully serious upon those last questions. Her grey ears flicked forward, the Auxiliary listened to what Celeste had to say.

Guest

Celeste enjoyed being asked questions, but it had been so terribly long since anyone had been interested in her roots. Memories of her family were not the fondest - however, it did take her back to a time when she had never been happier; a time when she had met someone that she hated to leave behind. Nikolai. She didn’t think about him often. Their paths had not bothered to intersect in the some years since they had been apart; she could do nothing but hope that he had found happiness, for she knew not of his current whereabouts, or even as to whether or not he was still alive. She certainly hoped that he was. Nikolai had taught her everything she knew about being human, so that when she went away - he always knew that she would never stay - she would be able to blend in and appear completely natural. It’d be nice to see him again, but she didn’t get herself excited over such unlikely possibilities. Besides, how incredibly awkward that would be! She had turned him down when he wished for her to remain with him; she had always cared for him, immensely, but it had never been enough to make her turn her back on her dreams.

Blinking, she recalled where she was. She had been awfully silent, enveloped in her deepest thoughts - she only hoped that the glimmer did not reach her eyes. “Yes, well, originally I was born and raised in Indonesia. I spent a lot of my time there as a young komodo, but I had to take a different path once I started embracing my tendency to become human. Let’s just say my . . . passion was unwelcome amongst my fellow reptiles.” She flicked away what grief tugged at her heart with the motioning of her scaled tail, moving on from the subject quickly - she would never stop loving her family, which made it all the more difficult to discuss them when they outright refused further interaction with her because of the choice that she had made all those years ago. “I’m certainly glad that you recognize the origin of my name: Beautiful Sun. I’ve always found it quite fitting.” A chuckle escaped her, but the sound felt raw in her reptilian throat.

She had known that the protocol questions were coming, but it had been nice for Jagara to ask open-minded, friendly questions beforehand to get a rough understanding of Celeste’s character and background. A part of her had been expecting strict, to-the-point Shifters to greet her, caring only of what she could offer to their kind. It was refreshing to see that there were others out there that were just like her: those that genuinely cared about those around them and wanted insight into the many histories and unique personalities that came and went. “As I’m sure many say, I’d be more than happy to offer my protection. I’m not certain of what means of protection your pack already has - but these venomous jaws can do some serious damage, let me tell ‘ya!” Hopefully Jagara would be accepting of her humour. She wasn’t one to settle comfortably into serious situations without at least trying to lighten the mood. “I have yet to meet anyone whom I was unwilling to get along with. I’ve been known to get through to even some of the most stubborn individuals! And as far as work ethic goes, I love to give, and to be as helpful as I can be. I’ll always be prepared to offer my services in any way possible.” Celeste flashed a toothy smile, forked tongue slithering from between her powerful teeth. “But now it’s my turn to ask a question! Pardon, I don’t mean to be the interrogator here, I know that’s your job. However, I can’t help but find myself curious: how long have you served your Rex and Regina, and how are they as individuals?” If Celeste was being too forward, than it’d be incredibly simple for Jagara to say so, putting her right back into her place. She didn’t want to intrude upon topics that weren’t any of her business; it was merely in her nature to be intrigued about the simplest matters and concepts. She loved to gain knowledge in any form that it was available to her.

No matter how scary her face could be, covered in scales, and equipped with one of the world’s most petrifying mouths . . . there was always a trace of that beautiful, human girl upon the surface. She didn’t hide herself beneath the reptilian skin that she wore. She could be dangerous if she had to be, but until she had to be, there was nothing but friendliness inscribed within the face of the komodo dragon that peered idly up at the snow leopard before her.

Subject: Re: A Child's Tune. [Border!] Sun Jun 08, 2014 7:11 pm

Because of Jagara's absence, you hold the choice of either waiting to continue this interview with her, OR you may go on ahead.

Another option being that Eden steps in and gets it over with in RP. Whichever you prefer, that will be fine.

If you are to skip it, you may change your name to Bellator Celeste & I will lock the thread for you.

Sincerely,
The Tigress.

Guest

[I think I'll just skip it! Thanks for the offer. :)]

Subject: Re: A Child's Tune. [Border!] Tue Jun 10, 2014 9:17 am

Jagara watched the female as she sunk into deep thought, noticing her gaze become distant in reminiscence. The question of her past had clearly brought this up. Within a few moments though, several quick blinks of realization awoke the reptile’s consciousness. A brief explanation of her birth place and implied reasons for leaving was welcomed. The auxiliary favored brevity in speeches given to her at borders, not seeing any sense to dally. Still, there was something about this recount that was evidently painful. On a more casual setting, Jagara would be more than willing to comfort this lost soul, but she was on duty. A quick transition to the subject of her name confirmed that the topic of her family was unpleasant to her, and the leopard did not seek to question it further. It was clear enough that Celeste was rejected in some sense, most likely due to her love for her human form. A flight from such a setting would be completely understandable. The chuckle that sounded from the scaled throat was almost hoarse. Jagara could not tell if it was due to her reptilian anatomy or the lingering emotions from her thoughts. Regardless, she answered with a soft smile. The auxiliary allowed herself to softly touch her nose to the scaly, smaller head of the border guest in a gesture of comfort. The action did not last long though, and soon Jagara was once again seated in her proper posture.

The answers to the protocol questions were soaked with levity. Though this was not exactly pleasing, as the ranking shifter preferred to get straight to the point, the potency of the information in the response was sufficient. What was mainly important was how useful this girl could be and how dedicated she was to the potential pack, both of which were of qualifying degree. Jagara could see that she was trying to flash humour at her to ease the situation, but the cat was not responsive to that aspect. Instead, she was noting the diplomatic traits of this shifter’s speech. The leopard decided that Celeste could potentially be useful in verbal negotiations and such, but did not jump the gun. As disarming as this creature was, all members of the pack had to prove themselves capable of withstanding increasingly demanding tasks. But as for now, this woman certainly had the qualities of being a bellator.

This final question, though met without reprimanding, did not evoke any sense of joviality even with its playful phrases. A pink tongue swiped over her onyx-lined lips in contemplation as Jagara considered what was asked. “I have been here for several seasons now, though not a considerable amount in comparison to my past two centuries of existence. However, I have been here long enough to grow from Epror to Auxiliary and see many shifters come in and out, changing rank as they do so. Also, I have served the Regina longer than the Rex, as I was here a good while before Diallo came into the pack. I hope that answers your question. As for how they are as individuals, both are quite respectable. Eden has an innate majesty about her striped white form. She cares a lot for her pack, but that does not mean one may step out of line. We run a tight ship around here. I know less of Diallo as a leader as he has not been Rex for too long, but he is a decent male. Very, very fond of his mate. Overall, he is nice. I have little else to say.”

Jagara rose to her paws, staring down at the other dutifully. “Without further ado…” She paused and cleared her throat before continuing, “From here forth, you shall be called Bellator Celeste Beausoleil, pledged dutifully to this pack and more specifically to Regina Eden and Rex Diallo. You will be expected to complete all tasks given, which are almost always simple enough, and more importantly, remain loyal to your superiors and this community. This pack is now your family, your brothers and sisters. Respect them all, and you shall be rewarded with the same. Also, should the time come and we are in need of physical defense, you as a Bellator will be required to fight for the pack. Orders from your superiors are to be obeyed without question, and basic laws of pack life are to be followed. If you understand, nod your head yes.” The icy gaze held on to that of the cold-blooded reptile’s as she waited for a silent response before starting again. “Now you may either come with me and I will entertain your further general or personal questions should you have any, or I may leave you to explore on your own. I expect you to settle in tonight and begin your duties tomorrow at noon. If you do choose to go check out the territories on your own, I suggest heading to the Monet Quarter. It is not a place of permanent residence, but rather a sanctuary among our land for those shifters who need a little ‘human time.’ I personally run the library over there.” Jagara’s gaze softened a little, looking to the newest addition to their pack, “And Celeste, if you ever need anything – perhaps combat training or even someone to talk to – you may come and find me. I won’t turn you down.”

Subject: Re: A Child's Tune. [Border!] Tue Jun 10, 2014 9:20 am

((Oh, well... I typed a reply for you anyway, not having known of this exchange of words. So I just decided to post it anyway. It was going to be the last one regardless, unless you wanted to continue and talk more with Jags. But since everything is already settled, oh well.))

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