Adventure Is Out There (Open)

It had been a little over a week since the Baroness had crossed the border into Shifter territory. So far she had only met two other shifters; Epror Niko and Auxiliary Jagara. The Second-in-Command she had yet to figure out, but she thought she might have a good friend in Niko. He seemed kind and caring, so far he hadn't judged her on her awkwardness. But they had only met once. It wasn't enough to suddenly warrant a crush. The lioness thought of him fondly, but as a friend and no more. She didn't think she had any ambitions of love at the present time. She had yet to speak to the Regina about becoming their Healer - sorry, Mender. But the way their first introductions had gone, she knew it would take some serious action to prove to the tigress that she was useful to the clan. There was also the issue of her being so jumpy. Blake needed to get used to being around shifters again, trusting that they wouldn't hurt her, before she could remove this low rank from her name.

After learning she couldn't live permanently in the houses of Monet Quarter, the lioness had to find a way to keep the truth of her primal form hidden for the moment. She was still unsure as to how much news of the South had spread this far, if at all. Better to be safe than sorry. For the first week she did live in that run down old house, airing it out and opening it up a little. She still hoped to turn it into a General Practice someday, but that was still a while off. She had tried to acclimatise herself to it by first sleeping as a lioness in the house. Then in as a human in the yard. Then as a lioness in the yard when she was absolutely sure no one was around. Even then she woke early and shifted before the librarian came to open shop. But this evening she knew she would have to sleep like the others, in the wild in primal form. Rather than sleeping in the designated part of the forest named the Timberlands, Blake had taken to sleeping away from the others. She intended on shifting her positioning each night, even if only slightly. Loosening the straps of her pack, the Baroness shouldered her few worldly possessions and shifted in the tree line.

A lioness ran through the forest with a backpack on her back. A very strange sight to some, but common for the beast in question. A strange array of colour up ahead caught her eye in the evening light. The sound of rushing water drew her in. Breaking into a clearing she found a beautiful waterfall. The clear liquid cascaded over crimson stones that glowed softly with the light of the sun. They looked almost like dying embers, unquenched by the running water. With the light fading fast, she figured this was as good a place to stay as any. Creeping lightly over the rock, she found it slippery underpaw - more so than she had expected. Treading carefully she slid easily behind the falls, following the rock formation until she found a crevice. Inside she stored her bag, carefully hiding it from view. But she wasn't ready to sleep yet. She slid between two streams of the falling water, keeping her fur relatively dry, and looked out over the pool below. The lioness crouched, searching for a ledge below. Blue eyes finding their mark, she dropped heavily to the lower platform; first her forepaws, then her powerful hind legs. She sat by the pool, lowering her head and lapping at the refreshing essence. She inhaled the scent of water, feeling comfortable. Sometimes it was easier to be alone. She could be herself. She caught sight of one of her many scars from the corner of her eyes. Of course, there are down sides to being yourself.

As the light of the moon struck the entrance to his den, Kenai stirred awake. It was not uncommon for him todo so. After his interaction with the Regina, he found himself barely allowed to sleep at night. Was it guilt? He didn't know. All he knew was he did something, and she seemed to like it as well. Was it a crutch? He was unsure. But when she needed him the most, he was there. Kenai was a very reliable male, and he knew this about himself. In the dead of night, he walked from his den and stretched his large form as he stood on two legs. His head turned slightly to stare up at the moon. His ears were forward and sat perfectly still upon his head. His long coat draped majestically over his large form. When he came back down on his front paws, a loud thud could be heard. Beneath him it felt like a small earthquake. Taking a few steps, he decided to explore the lands he called home. Why not when he couldn't sleep anyway.

He left the pack clearing and headed for the very falls he enjoyed for a midnight snack. The Crimson Falls were gorgeous any time of the day, but at night it was even more beautiful. As he strolled beneath the pale moonlight, he took in all the sights and smells of the area. His silver gaze stared ahead as his nocturnal senses took over. The reflection of the eye from the moon made it seem like his eyes were white and glowed brilliantly. As he approached the falls, he saw a creature running with a sack on her back. What was she running from? He followed her slowly and quietly, like a Hunter stalking it's prey. Though he would not harm her. In the darkness, she slipped inside a crevice and he could no longer see her. But when she returned, his eyes stayed on her. The lioness was a majestic creature, quick and quiet on her approach to the shore. He watched as she lapped her pink tongue over the water. He sat for a moment, shrouded in the shadows of the trees and waited to see if he should present himself. Building the courage to do so, he walked out casually from the darkness. The light of the moon rested on his features, making him look much more intimidating than he was in his Grizzly form. He stood across the small stream from her and offered a friendly greeting. "Hello miss, I am Kenai, Bellator of these lands under the magnificent Regina Eden. Who are you?"

The lioness raised her head, salmon tongue swiping over her jowls, catching the last few water droplets. Her head tilted towards the rising moon, drinking in its light. When she was little the lions of the south believed the sun gave power to their race, it was why their coats were yellow. But when she shifted for the first time with a white coat, they told her that she was a daughter of the moon. They claimed the moon was her friend and it gave her power. But on those cold nights in the tigers camp she found no friend nor power in the silvery orb that hung in the night sky. All she found was more pain. And when the sun rose in the morning there would come another round of stabbing, slashing, slicing and beating. For what purpose, she still didn't know. But somehow, all these years later, the moon seemed to give her a sense of comfort. It was the only constant in her life. She was always moving around, always changing her name to avoid suspicion, she had far more aliases than she could care to remember. Even the sun wasn't always there and sometimes it gave off different levels of heat. But every time she looked up at the night sky, there sat the moon as it always had and always would.

But a deep voice broke her from her thoughts. She jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of yet another shifter. Her fight or flight instinct was frozen, almost torn between the two. But the male must be of the clan, so he couldn't be an enemy. Her blue eyes finally opened to the world and saw the great grizzly before her. She gulped down a large breath and let it go. Okay, she thought to herself, he's a grizzly. Not feline. That means he probably doesn't know. The Baroness took a few steadying breaths. But he hasn't seen me in my human form. Best not to shift to be on the safe side. The only other male she had met was Niko and he was a Persian Leopard, so she knew she didn't know this male. Kenai he called himself. She liked the name, strong but not overly vicious, it seemed to suit him from what she could see. Her grasp on this lands shifter traditions claimed that Bellators were the main brunt of the fighting force, the soldiers in the army camp. Regina, so that was the official title of the clan leader, the Tigress Eden. An interesting word to use for such a title, but not disagreeable.

The lioness stood on all fours, her forelegs dancing skittishly at the waters edge before her head lifted, eyes nowhere near level with the bears. "Er... Hello. Blake, Baroness Blake." She added a dip of her head in respect, suddenly remembering that he outranked her. But then her mind began to range, berating her for giving her name. He may not know what you look like but now he knows your name! If he tells any of the others what your natural form is, we're done for! Blake realised she would have to somehow steer the conversation at some point so that she could place it in his mind not to mention her lion form to the other shifters. Then came another worrying thought: her scars. Had he seen them? Did he think them ugly, gruesome? She was starting to think she had made an awful decision in sleeping by the falls this night.

Ooc - since this thread was started when Blake was still a Baroness, I will play it that way if that's alright with you.

As the moonlight laid across her spine, Kenai could not help but to catch glimpses of her wounds. They were scars now, tales of old dangers she had been through. Kenai too had some scars, but his were covered by the flowing fur which covered his large frame. His head lowered to the water and he drank of the chilled liquid. It ran over his tongue and swirled down his throat. It was refreshing, but his stomach growled. Te curse of the bear, one was always hungry. The rumbling of his stomach was loud and he felt slightly embarrassed. "My apologies Baroness Blake. My stomach often has a mind of its own. Right now it is definitely voicing its opinion." He have a soft smile, hoping she did not think he wanted to eat her. The idea of eating his own kind was so horrid and terrifying that he could not honestly consider it. The worst part about it all was hat at night, the fish slept and did not try to swim upstream or anywhere. So even if he was hungry, the best he could do would be to chase down a quick footed rabbit or a sleeping doe. The thought of berries was nice, but they did my fill his bottomless pit of a stomach. "What brings you out here this late in the evening? Surely you know the fish do sleep at this time?" Kenai was not completely sure how or what lions ate, but they were felines. Of course they loved fish, but in his eyes, who didn't? Fish was like the ultimate prize for food. It was easy to eat and always delicious.

The lioness watched the bear carefully as he drank his fill from the river. His wide pink tongue sent gallons of water flowing down his gullet. Blake lowered her belly closer to the ground to hide the majority of her scars whilst she observed the bear. He was massive, much taller than her on all fours. He would have to tower over her on two legs. Long claws protruded from his massive paws, his whole body covered with dark brown fur. White teeth gleamed with a flash in the moonlight each time his maw opened. A loud grumble reached her ears, the bear was hungry. Would he try to eat her? She had heard of bears centuries ago in a place once called America often eating Mountain Lions. How much of a step was it really to go from Mountain Lion to African Lion? But with his voice he tried to put her mind at ease. Her lips lifted slightly in a smile, acknowledging his humour. As if in answer, her own stomach growled, though nowhere near as loud. Licking her jowls the lioness felt she could do with a hamburger. A fresh bread roll; a thick, juicy beef patty; lettuce; tomato; bacon; beetroot; pineapple; topped with barbecue sauce. The thought sent saliva flooding into her mouth. Her stomach clenched at the delicious thought. Maybe later. "Sleep is what brings me here. I have no interest in catching any fish at present." She didn't have a particular liking for seafood. She didn't mind some calamari and fish and chips on the odd occasion. She just couldn't stomach raw fish, or those ugly oysters. She was more of a red meat kind of girl.

"Sleeping is not the best thing to do here. It is dangerous out here at night. Especially when the predators of the night rest in these parts. Why do you not sleep within your den in the shifter pack lands? If it is because you do not have a den, I would be happy to help make one for you. I do not know how lions sleep in the wild, but I would assume they do so in dens." Kenai looked over her and then around them. Nothing was here at the moment. His great nose could smell nothing dangerous near them. His silver eyes gazed to the water, wondering if any fish were close to where he stood. But as he found none, he looked to the tree line once more. Berries hung to their branches in the forest and his eyes lit up with delight. "Have you ever tasted the sweet taste of berries?" He walked over to the small bush bearing the fruit. He smiled and shifted to his human form. With one hand, he reached down and grabbed a couple berries off the branches. He put some into his mouth and closed his eyes as he ate them. "Mmmm... that is good stuff right there..." He turned and looked to her, holding out his hand. "Would you care for some?"

She waited, hearing his council but not heeding it. A lioness, even a lone one could fend off most predators on her own. "I don't have a den, I don't need one. Lions naturally sleep during the day with their pride and hunt at night. But humans do most the opposite. And that is what I do. Lions don't tend to sleep in caves or hollows. They sleep in the open when in their primal form." She failed to mention that it was rare enough that she had slept in primal form. Only decades ago when she was a young cub, playful and rebellious. In the south she had lived in a palace with her mother, father and brother, attended by servants and surrounded by noble lords and ladies of all kinds of feline persuasions. Since the south she had lived entirely human, purely for camouflage. Survival had been her main goal, not pride for her species.

The lioness watched the bear, near horrified. as he offered her berries. She could never be a vegetarian. Her human shell was of course an omnivore and her lioness a carnivore. Meat was everywhere. She couldn't live without it. In her disgust, her nose wrinkled at the berries he offered her. She might've been able to stomach them in human form, but she refused to shift. She could keep her identity at least half-secret. Her lion form would never be so degraded as to eat food meant for prey. "No, thank you." She was hungry, but it would wait. In the wild a lone lioness struggled to hunt for food and their tactics were designed for teamwork. The same went for her. But if the male left her alone, she could sneak off and shift and find something to tide her over.

As he stood in his human form, he put the berries into his mouth and chewed them respectively to her. He did not like to be rude when he ate, so he always made sure his lips were closed tight when he chewed. He swallowed and could feel the juice from the fruit sliding down his throat. He smiled to her, even if she was not enjoying his company, it was nice to meet new people. As he stood there, eating his berries, he tried to think of something to speak to her about. But to be completely honest, Kenai knew nothing about lions or their female counterparts. It was a strange revelation actually, but how was he when he was in the concentration camp from birth to the first couple years of his life, then thrown to the wild and then among teenage humans. They never spoke of shifters, not when humans were more concerned with vampires and werewolves. Kenai had to wonder though, what kind of past did she come from where she felt so peaceful being reserved from him. They were both of the pack, and he showed no aggressive tendencies. He showed her no reason to fear him. But maybe his form had been daunting on her mind. Yeah he was one of the largest shifters in the land, but it was no reason to fear him. He stumbled on ideas within his mind, but could come up with nothing of use to speak to her about. "Sorry miss, I mean umm... Blake. I don't honestly know anything about feline shifters, other than Eden sure can cook a killer meal. If you get a chance to try her cooking, I highly recommend it. And Diallo..." speaking of the Rex, Kenai stopped himself. He did not wish to bring down the mood of the evening, though it was not in the most chipper of spirits, he didn't want to bring it down. "So why don't you live with your kitty clan still?" He didn't want to poke fun at her heritage or where she came from, but he truly didn't know what it had been called. Was it a pack?

With the bear in human form, he seemed much less menacing. The lioness padded her way over to the berry bush, dropping heavily to lay at its base. She rolled her eyes at his very pointed attempt to chew politely, falling over onto her side so that from above she was viewed in profile. Of course he would want to ask about her past. Wasn't that what everyone did the first time they met? Swapped stories and condolences for an old and troubled life. Part of her just wished she could forget it all, move on and be someone else. But part of her was also afraid that she was still being hunted. If she had some kind of definitive proof that the war was over, or at least that no one cared if she was alive, then she might get to be more herself. Sadly, without returning to the south and risking the death penalty, there was no way she could think of. So she had to keep her secret with her. Blake breathed in the scent of the little blossom resting before her nose. It reminded her of the house in Monet Quarter she wanted to fix. She wanted the gardens to be beautiful. Neat and artistic. She could fill them with plants that blossomed at different times of the year so each season would bring a new array of colour. "A group of lions is called a pride," She said, her eyes still closed. "But we housed more than just lions. All kinds of felines. Leopards, Tigers, even a few Lynx." Her eyes opened, as if revealing the reality to her brain as she spoke the words. "But they are not the kindest of beings. They didn't want me around, so I left. I've been living as a human for nearly seventy-five years." And in some ways, pretending to be human was far more simple than any of this.

"Oh yeah. I guess Pride sounds better than kitty clan, huh?" he said as he tried to make a joke of his mistake. "What was it like, living with different cats? I grew up with all kinds of bear shifters. But I am more comfortable around the Grizzly kinds, but just because Polar bears have a strange accent and Pandas are all about hugging all the time. Koalas, surprisingly, not bears and also, they do not like hugging. Never try and hug one or they might try to tear your face apart. If you really want a good hug, Grizzlies are professionals at it, not too much and not too little. It's just perfect. I don't know how your coat works in the winter time, but my coat cuts out the wind and the chill. It's like a magic cloak, keeping me from the rest of the world. Only... it never comes off of course... And I run hot.." Why was he telling her all of this? It was a strange thing to speak to her about, but he found himself talking on and on about it for no reason. What was wrong with him. "Sorry about my mouth... Token used to tell me I had a blabber mouth. But I can give you time to speak if you like. Please, tell me more of what it's like to be a feline. What kind of food do you eat? Like if you had to choose one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?" He smiled as he looked to her, picking more berried and popping them into his mouth.

He did ramble a little, but she enjoyed listening to him speak. It kept the attention off herself and her past. Was it hypocritical that she wanted to know about others but not have them know about her? Yes. She thought. But if they don't mind sharing, whether they gain knowledge in return or not, it's their choice. He was a bear, she kept telling herself, so he wouldn't know about the war. About me. But at the same time he was still a Bellator to this clan. He answered only to the Regina and her close companions when they spoke with her authority. The Regina of course had already seen both her forms, but didn't know why she was so loathe to shift between her forms. Blake hadn't spoken to the Regina since the border a week ago, but the impression left implied that Eden had no love for the lioness. It was a shame. All Blake could do was keep her distance until either she was summoned or they crossed paths by chance. For now there was a grizzly to placate. She gave him her best feline smile. "Well, hugging a panda, or really any bear, I have to admit is something I've never done. Something about claws in my back just isn't all that appealing." She chuckled, passing it off as a joke. If only. Claws were just one of the weapons to have made the scars she bore.

"Lions are built for the heat of the savannah, so our coats are short and rough. They do the job, keeping us warm when we need it and protecting us to some degree. What it's like to be a feline, well. There's so much that differs between the species, so I can tell you what I know about lions. We stick together, work together with our natural instincts. The bond between pride members is indescribable. You're so close to one another you could easily predict how someone is going to move in a hunt. Raising cubs - from what I know of the wild lions - is very communal. Everyone helps, everyone shares. Lions aren't flexible or good at climbing like leopards and tigers, but we take care of one another." That was why her father couldn't kill her. A male lion would never hurt his own offspring, it was detrimental to the survival of his genes. A male would only kill the young of a rival. But still, no love was lost on him. "As for food..." She trailed a moment, once more thinking of a delicious hamburger. Something meaty would be good. "We're carnivores, meat eaters. We love our red meat, or certainly I do. In the Serengeti a Pride would hunt antelope - they're like the african deer, but there's all different kinds - or sometimes zebra. Did you mean human food or hunting wild? Hunting wild I prefer zebra. There's just something terribly delicate and delicious about the meat. But if you meant human, I would have to go with hamburgers. Because it's meaty and delicious and customisable." Now she was rambling of course. So she redirected the conversation back to him. "What about you? Any particular food you'd choose to eat for the rest of your life?"

"If I am to be completely honest... felines sound like the much better family. Bears are mostly solitary creatures. We live with our moms for the first year of our lives and then we wander our own directions. If I were a real bear, I would have never met my father. Luckily, kinda, for me I am a Shifter. I get the best of both worlds.." he said as his tone kind of escaped from his lips. "I can tell you that I will honestly eat anything you give me. I am a consumer of anything which is related to food. If it is meat, I will eat it. Berries, I adore them. Lettuce is kinda lame, but with the right salad dressing... perfect!" He kissed his fingers and opened them to the world. He smiled to her and ate more berries, careful not to be rude again. When he finished, he was asked a question in return. What was his favorite food? "See, now that in itself is a very hard question for one who loves food as much as I do. There are many dishes, both rare and cooked, I enjoy. I love a good strip of steak, raw or even seasoned to perfection and grilled with lines and all. But I also love fish, only raw though. Cooked fish has a strange texture to it. But candy is amazing! Chocolate is probably, no... I like Twizzlers as well, that artificial cherry taste.. It's too damn good." Thinking of food was making his mouth really water. He wanted more than just berries. "So, why don't you shift to your human shell? I mean, you are gorgeous as a lioness, but surely you must be as gorgeous as a human as well..."

In her experience, life as a lion hinged upon whose offspring you were. You survived so long as your parents did. It might've been different once you came of age, but Blake never got to see that side of things. War had broken out long before then. She spent her eighteenth locked in a dungeon and her twenty-first as a prisoner of war in the enemy camp. This bear it seemed had a history of his own with war. But his history revolved around the tales she heard over the years. The war between humans and all other species had claimed his childhood. He didn't say it, but the way Kenai spoke about his father suggested that the older bear was no longer of this earth. She wanted to comfort him, but what words could make it any better? Her brain could not think of any, so none were said. Yuck, berries. The lioness stuck her tongue out in distaste. Berries contained too much chance. Some were delicious and nutritious, but many held death i their juicy folds. But her grin was angelic as he rambled his love for food, it was a funny trait about him. One she had heard of in the human world. So many humans who claimed one food or another was their vice, that they always gave in to an offer of it. For some reason pizza was the most common. She didn't get it. "I don't shift because I don't want to. I've spent too many years as a human. I might as well enjoy what time I can as a lioness," the lie was smooth and almost undetectable. Of course she did enjoy time in her primal form, but she chose not to shift out of paranoia. Sadly, the girl was oblivious to his flirtatious attempts.

Continuing to enjoy the sweet berries, Kenai never took his silver stare off of her. The moonlight painted beautifully across her back. She was a very stunning creature. "I can understand where you are coming from, but it is important as Shifters to love both of our forms. One will keep is safe around the humans, while the other will protect us from the wilds. In my years, I have lived both forms separately and never together until I moved here. For the first many years of my life, I lived and acted as a true Grizzly Bear. I lived with one female and she was my mate. We had a life together, but some hunters decided to kill her, using her pelt as a trophy. I could not save her then. After losing both my family and my mate, I devised a plan to get into the human ranking system of their military. I forged fake documentation such as a birth certificate and school records, and submitted myself into the human education system. I was a Senior in high school. I trained myself to keep one form at all times, never allowing anyone to know the truth. I made human friends, but one stood above all the rest. He was my best friend, the first and only I have ever had. We played football together on the varsity team and had many parties to celebrate our good fortune. After graduating high school and earning our diplomas, he and I enlisted into the army. But shortly after our basic training, between the time in which we were going to specialty schooling, a war broke out with the Werewolves. We, as new troops, were forced to get our battle gear and were sent to our deaths. I was not ready and neither was my best friend. He was killed by a werewolf, beheaded by the evil creature and I could not save him. I lost all control and shifter to my bear form. I killed the werewolf, decapitating it and ran from the humans. I don't know if they ever learned the truth about me, or if my form was protected by the tides of war... But from all this, I learned to love both parts of me, for without one I am incomplete, but when I embrace both, I am whole. As Kenai finished his speech, he looked to her with a smile. He had not meant to go so deep into his story, but it happened and he could not retract it now. He popped some more berries into his mouth and are them, waiting for her response.

His tale was grim, as she had predicted, but far worse than she might have thought. "I'm sorry that you have had such experiences. But you seem the stronger for them, if it is possible to take any solace from that. And you're right, we do need to learn to love both sides of ourselves. If we can't, then why do we call ourselves shifters? But there are those who believe otherwise. That one side is more dominant than the other, more powerful. There always have been and there always will be." Of course her own clan had not been this way. They had utilised both the human and primal forms, they often referred to themselves as the true shifters. But some had passed through their lands when they were younger. Cats who believed they needed to live solely as animals: wild and untamed. In the human world she learned that shifters were thought of as unnatural beasts who needed to be eradicated. In the human world there was always a necessity for disguise, even when you were human. As a shifter, her disguise was her human form and she used it well. One had to adapt to survive. Part of that adaptation was to remain human for a long time. It had been so long that up until a week ago, she'd been worried she'd forgotten how to shift. Her fears were groundless though. She'd managed to shift for the Regina, and once again this evening. His speech made her want to shift to her human form for him. And she came so close. Her chest tightened in anticipation of the shift. But she couldn't. She wouldn't. The fear was too strong. She released the breath and turned her head away, unable to meet his silver gaze.

"It was a learning experience and without it, I would not be the Shifter I so proudly am today. Look, I understand not wanting to shift because you had lived one way for so long. But this here is your people. You are among friends and possibly even family. None of the creatures here will ever want to harm you. Everyone is all very nice it seems. And understanding. But I'm probably the nicest guy around here." he joked as he popped more berries into his mouth. He chewed then with a closed smile, not flashing any teeth to be considered rude. "Well, it's getting pretty late and all, it was nice meeting you, Blake. And I hope to see you around sometime, maybe in your human form.." He flashed a quick smile and headed from the area, moving back to his den. He hoped his words would encourage her to open up and just accept the fact she would live both skins equally here. Nobody needed to hide any form away. Especially not one who's primal side was so stunning.