The Lioness (OPEN)

[aniri]

She could feel her own power as she ran across the wooden planks to the end of the pier. Feel her limbs stretching and contracting; energy bursting from her core. Breaking through the peaceful barrier of the environment as she leaped into the water, the lioness momentarily disappeared in its depths.

Seconds passed, and instead of the animal, a feminine blond head broke through the water, laughing from the sheer fun of the jump. Taking a few deep breaths in, her heart still beating in her ears, Ani let the water cradle her, stretching out on her back with her face to the skies.

She didn’t get to do this enough, but when she did she savored every second of it. The cat still lingered inside her, it always did after such a rush, just waiting under the surface wanting to join her in the water.

She had just finished an intricate sword for a very important client, this weapon took days and nights, as he demanded it in a ridiculous amount of time. But she was a professional, and he had information she needed. Being indoors so long made her twitchy and restless, and this was the first time in weeks she felt the freedom of running in her lioness form. It was a bit like sex, so much more powerful and satisfying after a dry spell.

Thinking about her client, a lycan, wilted her enthusiasm a bit. She’ll have to see the vile creature when she performed the exchange. She gives him the sword—which by the way was one of her best pieces yet—and he gives her the much needed money, and information about the vampire she was seeking.

Now that put her smile back in place. Most would imagine it to be a devious, almost evil smirk considering the situation. But Ani’s smile was always sincere, her happiness always apparent. She couldn’t wait to capture the bloodsucker that killed her father, and with the lycan’s information she would be one step closer to achieving this goal.

Ani made a circle in the water, almost dancing. It was surprisingly warm and welcoming. She looked at the sun, which was slowly making its way down the blue canvas of the sky. Only a few minutes until it leaves her to the evils invited by moonlight. She really should be going back, the night was dangerous even to her.

She grasped the wooden plank at the end of the pier and pushed herself up in one fluid motion. Water dripped from her tanned body, leaving it gleaming in the dimming light of the sun. She was flawed perfection. Ani walked purposefully from the dock to where her wrap dress and carefully hidden weapons lay waiting. She slipped on her pale green dress quickly, glancing hesitantly at the setting sun—damn she really wasn’t paying attention to the time. She grabbed her amulet in one hand and was just about to place her dagger in its hiding place within the ties of her dress when she realized the sun had completely left her. With a sigh, Ani kept her hand close to her dagger as she made her way to the small path that would take her back to her shop.

[Deleted]

The shadow flashed in the back ground, the dark form watching carefully, drawing in the scent, the residual reek of Lycan, the burnt smell of forge and hot metal. The woman still moved like a cat with a grace that belied a deadly level of skill, of power. The form moved silently through the darkness approaching slowly blue eyes glinting, flashing like twin sapphires.
Moving with the grace that only a cat could posses himself, Javan went to stand in a shadow between a brick boundary wall and an old driftwood sculpture.

‘ She’s obviously nervous in the dark, as she should be, that dagger is of a fantastic design perfect for one like her, easily hidden, yet as deadly as Presul.’ He appraised her for a moment his eyes cold, empty of expression. His nose itched with the scent of salt in the air, he barely suppressed a sneeze, careful not to make a sound, he waited for a bedroom light to go dark before moving again, silently into a shadow across the way.

As he watched her images flooded his mind, images not of a future but of a past best forgotten. A young woman about her age waving, smiling, as she and two others walked out of Sanctuary.

‘ She looks like Sister, almost, her eyes are different but she carries herself the same, has that same overpowering joy surrounding her. She’s like Sister’s doppelganger.’ He felt a bit of a twinge at the thought of his family, but he had a new family now, and that was all he needed to worry about. Why was he even here? Why was he following?

‘ I keep this up and I’ll be no better then a stalker.’ He shook his head slowly. ‘ I had better end this, leave before she notices, if she hasn’t already.’ he turned and…sneezed loud and full, sending echoes down the path.

“Damnable Sea Salt!” he turned hoping to be able to flee at the first chance. No way would he fight a woman, the wolf in him cringed at the thought.

(((side note: I'm pushing the limits of todays muse...)))

[aniri]

The air has changed. Ani sensed it as soon as she set foot on the path. Not knowing whether the creature watching would do her harm she continued to move, albeit slowly, her hand itching to throw her dagger in the direction of the one disrupting the atmosphere. She seemed relaxed to an untrained eye, the only indication of her tension in her hands, ready to strike.

When the attack she expected did not come she almost relaxed, thinking it strange her nose betrayed her. But then…

A horrendous noise, like a whiplash of the sinus variety, echoed from the boundary wall. Almost instantaneously Ani whipped her body around, dagger already in the proper position in her hand, and threw it in the direction of the intruder. There was no time to regret her rash decision, or to actually identify the sound, or identify her target for that matter.

Ani breathed in heavily; worried she might have hit a helpless animal.

She should have changed and began running in the direction of town, but her curiosity got the best of her. Plus, she was partial to that dagger and very much wanted it back.

Quickly she ran to the wall where her dagger hit. She was disappointed to find that it wasn’t there. Then she saw it, the wolf, only that definitely wasn’t a wolf. Shifter. She would have admired its power if it wasn’t traveling at a ridiculously unnatural speed.

Ani didn’t hesitate, throwing her dress off as she ran, changing into her lioness in the process.

It didn't look like there was much chance of catching up with the shifter, but she would definitely try. She wasn't too fond of spies, but she was curious to know who it was.

Of all these thoughts clouding Ani's head there was one that stood out the most...
I better not find my dagger between that dogs teeth.

[Deleted]

The dagger struck deep into his shoulder as he changed to get away, fire burning from the wound, muscle twisted the blade inside his flesh while the change finished. He ran for a time but the pain made him slower. He eventually stopped waiting for the other shifter to catch up. He tried to reach the blade with his teeth, but its location on his shoulder made it impossible to bend his head at all. The whole time he was trying to find a way to remove the accursed thing all he could think of was the workmanship, the strength of the blade and the unerring accuracy of the user.

‘A fine weapon wielded by a fine markswoman, a deadly combination for anything, not already moving to avoid it. If I tried something like that I wouldn’t miss but I’d be damn lucky to hit anything vital. Why am I think about the workman ship of a dagger when its stuck in my shoulder? Why am I not reacting properly? Is it shock? Or maybe awe? Why am I still thinking about it? Am I rambling in my mind? And talking to myself? By my ancestors I’m finally losing my mind.’

He watched her approach, he could change and remove the blade but the shift would do more damage and would take longer to heal. Why did this happen to him? He should have just gone home the long way, shouldn’t have taken the shortcut. If he had just gone along the main road instead of cutting across the side streets he’d be home by now make a bowl of instant ramen or a cup soup. Eating a light snack before going to sleep for a few hours. Well she was getting closer, better explain and try to keep peace than risk further injury. Here was hoping shed be able to under stand him while he was changed. He really didn’t spend a lot of time around others, and never in his animal forms.

“ Listen, first thing, I am not a stalker. I saw you swimming and for some reason started to follow you. I don’t really know why but it just sort of happened.” He turned so that the side with the dagger protruding was facing her. “If you could remove this, its not exactly comfortable. And if I change it’ll only get worse.”

He could only hope she understood. His thoughts were focused on learning more about his own kind, this kind of situation could be made a lot better if he knew more about Shapeshifters and how they interacted. He didn’t spend nearly enough time around others. He spent most of his time hunting, killing, protecting, fighting, but not socializing. Fight him you’d learn a lot. Like how painful his kicks were and how sharp his blade. On the few occasions he used it how much blood could flow after Grendals piercing attacks. But small talk? Gossip? These were foreign matters to him. Hell he couldn’t even formulate a proper response to how are you?

[aniri]

Ani has never had to run this fast to catch up to anyone. She was actually getting quite miffed, she considered her lioness to be quite the athlete, but compared to this wolf she was practically speed-walking.

Ani was ready to give up the chase, defeated, when she realized the creature was slowing down…then it just…stopped. Something wasn’t right. She ran up to the creature and saw the reason he slowed down—she gathered he was male beause, well, because she could see he was male—her dagger hit its mark.

She smiled in victory and changed back into human form, then mentally slapped herself.

He’s wounded and I’m celebrating my good marksmanship, shame on me. He probably thinks I’m psychotic now, good job Ani. “ Listen, first thing, I am not a stalker. I saw you swimming and for some reason started to follow you. I don’t really know why but it just sort of happened.” Whoaaa buddy, hes in my friggin head! What the heck are you doing in my head?! “If you could remove this, its not exactly comfortable. And if I change it’ll only get worse.”

Ani couldn’t move.. .staring at the wolf as if he grew a second head. For the second time she had to mentally shake herself. This is becoming a habit of late. Then again no one has interrupted her mental conversation with yours truly before either.

She looked the wolf directly in the eyes. Gorgeous eyes. Mental shake number three. She then focused her thoughts on the wolf, seeing if he could read them as well as force them in her head. "I’m going to pull this dagger out slowly, its most definitely going to hurt so please control your wolf and don’t bite me."

The wolf looked at her as if he understood; she hoped. “Oh and uh…sorry” she said out loud, albeit belatedly with a bit of a sheepish look on her face. She knelt next to the wolf and put one hand on the hilt of the dagger and the other at the entrance into his shoulder.

She pulled the dagger out slowly, wishing she had something to sanitize the wound with, or her dress to stop the bleeding. She had no idea if the shifter was in pain, the expression on his wolfs face was unreadable.

[Deleted]

Javan watched her, heard her, and braced for the pain that would come. He would have laughed at the belated apology but he didn’t quite have the larynx for it. He ground his teeth as the blade slipped out but managed to avoid a snide remark about being gentle. She could just as easily remove then blade a strike again before he could react. Once the blade was clear he began to shift, his form rise the fur remaining intact until the last moment. The sound of bones crunching into their final position, and tendons snapping as they lengthened, was like canon fire in his ears.

“Sorry to have startled you. I was just about to leave when I sneezed. Listen I’m really not any kind of a stalker, I prefer to hunt them down and give them a good scare really.” He grinned in a way that could only be called wolfish. “Besides that I tend to be on the move to much to establish such habits. And of course my little girl would kill me.” He’d noticed how she had looked at his eyes. And to be entirely honest he could only barely avoid staring himself. She was only the fifth Shifter he’d come across in the last 10 years, the other four had all been male, and trying to invade Sanctuary.

He looked at the sky for a moment the stars had only just begun to shine through, the wind made a soft hum and whistle in the trees and spaces between walls and buildings…and the damn sea salt was making his nose itch again. He covered the next three sneezes with his elbow the wound on his shoulder all but forgotten. The blood was still oozing but the pain was marginal compared to some wounds. The sneezes however reminded him of the deep puncture. Pulling off his shirt he ripped it into strips, making a pile on a stone post. He had turned his back to her his scars shone vibrant white against his tanned skin. Parallel lines in groups of four made a checker board of his back in some places.

“I have to say to hit your target when your turning and it’s fleeing is impressive. Were you taught? Or did you teach yourself?” He shifted Presul and Grendal so they wouldn’t jab at his sides, and to show he wasn’t unarmed to any that might think to interrupt him and the Lioness, he didn’t sense anything but years of battle made him wary of unforeseen dangers. He turned back to her, the scars on his chest were more pronounced by the well toned pectoral muscles. The contrast between his chest and belly region though was remarkable toned muscle turned to un-toned muscle, not fatty tissue, but not hard to confuse them either. It usually gave his a weaker appearance which was the downfall of many opponents.

“I don’t see many shifters with such skill. All the ones I’ve met relied solely on their animal forms to fight.” What he didn’t say left a black mark on his heart and conscience.

‘Which is why their dead, why my blade took their lives away.’ He had only been defending his home but that didn’t ease the pain. He didn’t like taking lives. Doing so had consequences far and wide. He hurt more people then the ones he killed. He knew what it was to lose family, and he had done that to someone many times, this left him feeling somewhat hollow at times.

[aniri]

Ani grimaced as she pulled the bloodied blade out. Unfortunately nursing wounds was most definitely not her forte as was apparent by the slightly accusing look she got from the wolf. She was much better at causing them.

Then he changed. It actually startled her, which was strange since she does it all the time. But she never gets a chance to see another shifter go through the motions. It was very fascinating…except for the bone crunching part…that always makes her cringe.

Seeing his wound in his human form made her feel three times as guilty. She almost apologized again, but then he shouldn’t have been spying on her in the first place.

“Sorry to have startled you. I was just about to leave when I sneezed. Listen I’m really not any kind of a stalker, I prefer to hunt them down and give them a good scare really.”

Ani looked at the man suspiciously wondering if he was in her head again; then dismissed it as a coincidence.

“Besides that I tend to be on the move to much to establish such habits. And of course my little girl would kill me.”

And there..the little words that could melt any woman’s heart. Any man who loves his daughter can’t be heartless. You could see the change come into his eyes when he said her name.

Ani smiled. “We’ll we wouldn’t want your little girl to finish the job I’ve started.” She noticed he was tearing his shirt up to make bandages and was selfishly glad she didn’t have to tear her dress up.

Then she saw the scars and her smile instantly faded. She reached her hand out to touch the scars there, as if to take a bit of the pain away, then caught herself mid-motion. It was difficult not to feel sympathy for this man. It was obvious he has been through things she couldn’t imagine.

“I have to say to hit your target when your turning and it’s fleeing is impressive. Were you taught? Or did you teach yourself?” The man said.

“I uh…It started as a hobby really, when I was a little girl. I liked to make weapons; daggers, swords, that kind of thing…weird I know.” She said a bit distractedly, trying not to look at his scars. “When I was a bit older I started to actually use them. The world’s a scary place” She looked into his eyes as she said that last part, her sympathy for whatever happened in his life pouring out.

She heard a rumble in the sky and reigned in her emotions. Great Ani, stabbing the man wasn’t enough, why not get him rained on while you’re at it. Hell…get him hit by lightning…that would top off his day. As her mind cleared so did the sky.

“I don’t see many shifters with such skill. All the ones I’ve met relied solely on their animal forms to fight.”

“The animal is strong…but impulsive...I could kill someone much faster with one controlled sweep of my blade.” She was smiling as she said this more to keep her thoughts out of the weather, but realized she must have sounded quite heartless. “I’m Ani by the way…Aniria Areli.”

She was about to reach for the strips he had neatly ripped from his shirt to help him bind his wound, then abandoned all thoughts as she noticed the weapons at his side.

“Oh my but these are gorgeous!” Not being able to help herself she reached for two of the most beautiful weapons she’s ever seen “Lovely.”She whispered in awe. The craftsmanship was exquisite.

Suddenly she heard them. Or felt them rather. The scent of death mixed with alcohol; terribly foul smell. Her expression was serious now; they’ve been standing there while the darkness fell all around them, inviting danger. This man was obviously not here to harm her, but she was sure she couldn’t say the same for who was coming. She glanced once more at the weapons at his side, then at his face; seeing that he was deep in his own thoughts, ones that brought him pain. “I hope you know how to use these…we have a bit of company”.

Ani tightened the grip on her own dagger and prepared for the worst.

OOC: feel free to take it wherever you want. The "attack" was a spur of the moment thing lol

[Deleted]

He noticed everything the looks, the sympathy, the appreciation for his weapons. And then tensing, the scents. his mind cleared at the thought of battle, emotions would only impede his movements and his resolve. He drew Presul with a smooth sweep, whirling the blade, Black Flames flickering along the blade, the first thing that happens when Presul is drawn.

"The blade is Presul, an Angel's Blade, the Medium of Divine Black Fire. It's mine out of a contract, with a White Angel named Gabriel. The chain is Grendal, a weapon I inherited from my father. It's powerful but I prefer not to use it, as it causes more pain then necessary, and even when used carefully can cause injury to the innocents nearby. Grendal is essentially a sound weapon. Humans cant hear the whistle but it can still kill them." He held the blade out in front of him as the the three drunken 'wolves walked, or rather stumbled, out of a side alley.

They turned with varying success, two falling, one barely keeping his feet. Their eyes were glazed with liquor, bright with intent. Javan watched them. his eyes tracking their every move. He settled the blade on his shoulder. Sighing he settled. They were so drunk chances were they wouldn't be any fun at all.

"My name is Javan by the way, Javan Huntley, I've been called The Hunter before. Might as well tell you now, but, I hunt werewolves vampires and others who cause harm to the innocent, per order of my contract. My scars are from fights with targets. The only time I kill is when I have no other choice. If you want these three morons to die then its your call but I wont finish them if I can help it." He wasn't worried, if they tried to hurt anyone they'd be targets, but for now they were just three drunken idiots.

The three stared blearily at the two shifters, eyes unfocused they seemed to be un able to figure out what they were seeing and smelling.