Welcome to the CIC

[Talon StarDrifter]

||Well, the realm of Aleah'Cim is not that big a place. It's made up of a bustling city [the city is not particularly different from any other, other than the fact that the buildings and pavement are white marble. Catches the sun spectacularly biggrin ], the palace that Aväris and Maar and Strider are in, and empty plains surrounding the city and palace for miles. Then it drops off to the human realm [Aleah’Cim is pretty much a floating island]. Also, Otaku, I’mma post some info on Maar, because I’ve decided I want to keep him with me. I just figured out that Maar is cool!||
 

[SpunkyOtaku]

You just figured that out? But he's your own character. xD I guess you did need practice. That's okay, this place is designed for discovery!

and you know, since this is taking place in your realm, don't even bother with the rest of your character profiles. You never know who else you'll end up working with.  

[Sun Salutation]

Hmm...Could I possibly have Damek as a native to this place? I have the major events of his life already set up, and he does not really leave from the areas near his birth...  

[SpunkyOtaku]

Hmm, I guess. It would certainly make it easier. After all, the main point is for the character exercise, not necessarily details. Though you would have to follor the rules of the realm. Whatever those are...  

[Talon StarDrifter]

||Well, if he were to be a native, he'd have to have wings, and would be unnaturally beautiful. biggrin ||

Bringing the soggy kitten to his eye level, Maar grinned. The tiny creature had finally calmed and opened its eyes to gaze at its surroundings. It had the bluest eyes either flihva had ever seen.

"It has eyes of the sky," Maar said, pausing his song a moment to look at Aväris with a surprised expression. Aväris simply smiled.

"It looks cold," Aväris observed, watching the shuddering kitten. The kitten seemed to acknowledging its surroundings, taking in the two flihva who huddled over him. "Perhaps we should stick it back in the water."

Maar snatched the kitten away, assuming a panicked look on his face. He stood in the waist-deep water, frowning down at Aväris.

"Aväris, why--"

"I was just joking," Aväris said, waving away Maar's scandalized tone. "Let's take him to dry." He stood next to Maar, lifting his sodden wings out of the water. The wet appendages were very heavy; Aväris shook out most of the excess water.

"Fine, but you're not holding it." Maar shot Aväris one warning look before climbing out of the pool and striding toward the sunlit portion of the room. Aväris shook his head, wet hair swinging, before clambering out as well to follow Maar.

Maar entered the sunlight, squinting a little at the sudden burst of light. Now, in the sun, he could see the faint orange stripes blending with the dark yellow fur. Had the kitten been dry, he would have looked quite nice and fluffy. Maar set the kitten down on a warm rock. He sat himself next to the kitten, watching it so it wouldn't fall.

Aväris moved next to Maar, stretching his wings out in the sunlight. Ah... That felt nice. He tilted his face toward the sun, enjoying the warmth. Though the water itself was warm, Aväris had grown accustomed to the heat of the water, making it seem cooler. Now the sun warmed him in its glorious light, caressing him and warming him to the bone.

"Well," Aväris sighed, plopping down next to the rock on the opposite side of Maar. He stretched his wings out into the sun, resting them on a rocky ledge behind him. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Keep it, of course," Maar replied, looking offended. "What else would I do with it?"

Aväris shrugged. He reached out a hand to stroke the bedraggled kitten, straightening out its fur. Pulling his hand back to his lap, Aväris said, "I don't know. Release it into the wild?"

Maar shot him a dark look before leaning over the kitten again. His short, curly blonde hair glinted in the sunlight. "That's not funny." He hummed several notes again, trying to shut Aväris up as well as keep the kitten calm and still.

Aväris grinned, shrugging again. "Wasn't trying to be." He fell silent, listening to Maar hum. Even Maar's hum made the most angelic-voiced bard sound like a drunken, angry cat.
 

[SpunkyOtaku]

Still the kitten gazed in awe at the stunning forms that were nomselw so much larger than himself. Giant in comparison really. Still lovely beyond his wildest trees. Only in the books of mythology did he ever see such an image. Vivid red yet so gentle, golden yellow more... amused?

It has eyes of the sky.
...Was that a compliment? He wriggled and stepped in under himself, trying to move to keep warm. Aw shucks.

It looks cold. Perhaps we should stick it back in the water.
Before the babe even had time to react he was jerked somewhat violently away. It could not even get it's claws into the hand for support. It shook, but more from disgruntlement than anything.
Aväris, why--
I was just joking

Sheesh, even he could see that. He coughed once. Thank time with his sister's dry and sometimes morbid sense of humor for that. Not that he wasn't grateful for concern, but really, people had limits when it came to care that was so... physical.

Avaris, the being with obsidian hair and golden yellow eyes, continued. Let's take him to dry. He cringed when a sprinkling rain of water doused him, thanks to this Avaris person/angel/thing shaking it's wings.

Fine, but you're not holding it.
A tiny snort escaped it's microscopic pink nose. It sounded immature, and coming from such an elegantly crafted creature was humorous. He was half expecting the childish response to include him sticking out his tongue.

Instead, he rose out of the water he had been half-submerged in, walked. He lifted his face up, to see the area bathed in sunlight. It almost felt cooler here already. Until he actually reached into the sunlight. The warmth was wonderfully welcome, penetrating it's fur to the skin hidden underneath. Even the rock the golden curly haired being set him on was comfortingly heated.

He stretched his tiny paws out in front of him and yawned, stretching it's jaw. Ugh, his fur was so wet, and clinging to him like mad. He held out one of his back legs and moved his head down, licking away the dripping water.

Well, what are you going to do with it?
Avaris again, he judged without looking up. He could tell from the way his voice sounded normal. After the little rough tongue got between his toes, he moved to the other side and mirrored the grooming process on the other leg.

Keep it, of course, came the musical voice, What else would I do with it?

Huh? That stopped his action stone cold and he looked up at the musical man, his tiny pink tongue still out. Keep him? Like a pet!?

He mewed when a hand out of his field of vision stroked down his twisted back, to let out his surprise and displeasure. He was not some pet!

I don't know. Release it into the wild?
If he didn't know any better, he would swear this man was his sister in disguise. Honestly, releasing a poor defenseless kitten into the wild to fend for itself? Cruel.

That's not funny.
Yeah, what if the poor baby got hurt!? ... Oh wait that was him. His ears flicked back, hearing the telltale signs of another spellbinding melody. Yes, spell binding, it was obviously a spell!

Wasn't trying to be.

Good, otherwise he would have killed him. He shook out his little head again and looked to the man humming another melody threatening to calm him. He had to fight it! His little mouth did not move, and his wide innocent little kitten eyes did not narrow or scrunch, obviously portraying his determination flawlessly. He stood and stepped awkwardly forward to confront the music man. He opened his mouth to let him have a piece of his mind!

Mew
What the- no! I'm not a kitten!
Mew
Get me out of this ******** hell!!
Mew
Blast it all!!!
He kept coming forward, dripping and scraggly, mewling out his message.  

[Talon StarDrifter]

Maar smiled while singing as the kitten cleaned itself of water. It was... licking its toes? While that was not an admirable feat, it was brave, to say the least. Well, despite its tininess, it seemed quite capable of caring for itself, excluding the part of feeding itself. Both Maar and Aväris watched, amused, as the kitten continued to groom itself.

But the kitten suddenly stopped, looking at Maar with wide eyes. It's ears seemed to follow their conversation, almost as if it was listening, and not just hearing.

Maar abruptly ceased his humming when the kitten stood and began mewing at him. It looked almost... indignant. The only time either flihva had seen an indignant cat was when a careless flihva had stepped on its tail. But this kitten managed the look with no physical help. Hm.

"Why is it meowing so much?" Aväris piped up, having shaken himself out of the stupor Maar's humming had put him in. He blinked his golden eyes, watching the meowing cat with observant eyes.

Maar shrugged. The kitten was stumbling dangerously close to the edge of the rock. He reached up and wrapped his hand around the kitten's back and stomach, gently lifting it to place it back in the middle of the rock.

"I dunno," Maar finally replied, stroking the cat. Its fur was still soaked, though its body temperature seemed to be rising in the sunlight. "Maybe it's hungry?"

"How are you going to feed it, then?" Aväris asked, an amused smile on his face as he watched Maar blink. Maar had obviously not thought of that. It was all well to have a full grown cat that could live off of meat and grass, but it was another thing to have a newborn kitten that needed its mother's milk.

"Can't exactly go around milking every mother cat," Maar muttered to himself. "What am I going to do with you?" he asked the cat, staring at its scrawny, bedraggled frame.
 

[SpunkyOtaku]

It continued it's stumbling forward, absolutely annoyed that he could not make any coherent sounds. It was especially frustrating when the pair starting talking to each other simply trying to figure out his reasons for his attempted conversation. The tiny paws under him started to step on less even ground, and nearly tumbled until the music man saved him. He mewed once more in protest. He would have been fine, hmph. He opted for standing still at least when he was set back onto the stone. That fall actually did look a bit far in this size...

A surprised mew escaped him when a hand pet his soaked fur. It looked up at the guilty music man and mewed up at him in protest when he mentioned food. Though Avaris's question was a good one, one that he was eager to answer.

It met the music man's questioning red eyes, and proceeded to tell him that when a kitten is only about six weeks old, a substitute of goats milk boiled with yogurt was the best bet. While it could not be boiling, the formula had to be at least 95 degrees Fahrenheit, or body temperature- and he stopped his explanation as soon as he remembered that these two could not understand him anyway. Blast it all.

He wanted to go out, maybe show them what to do, but he felt restricted in his fur. So, he plopped down on the rock, and started grooming his forearms, and halting abruptly when he realized: Sweet Dome mercy, he was licking himself.

Oh well, when in Rome. He continued, and twisted his head to start getting his tail and back.  

[Talon StarDrifter]

"Can't you shut it up?" Aväris asked irritably. The damn adorable thing was meowing incessantly at them, staring at them with its eyes of the sky. "Shove something in its mouth or something..."

"Oh, please," Maar retorted calmly, resting his elbow on the rock and placing his chin in his hand. His red eyes raked over the kitten, trying to imagine what it would look like when it was finally dry. "I'm beginning to think you'll never live up to your threats."

Frowning, Aväris looked down at himself and at Maar. They hadn't even dressed. By now, both their bodies were dry, though Aväris's wings were still soggy. Lifting a slender hand, he curled his fingers into a fist, save his index finger. Using his finger, he drew a glowing rune in the air with a sharp curving motion. He let his hand fall again, staring at the rune expectantly. Maar glanced up, watching the rune glow and pulse for a moment. Then it faded, melting back into the air. A moment later, both flihva's breeches flew across the steaming room and landed in front of them.

"Show off," Maar said airily, grabbing his tan breeches. "Thank anyway."

Snorting a bit, Aväris stood and grabbed his own black breeches and pulled them on, relishing the feel of the soft fabric. He folded his legs beneath them and raised his heavy wings in the bright sunlight. They were drying, but it was boring to have to wait for them to dry. He flapped his wings a little, sending droplets of cold water flying everywhere. Maar cried out in protest, flinching as the cold drops came into contact with his warm, golden skin.

"Relax," Aväris smirked, settling his wings once more.

Maar gave him a flat look in return, turning his attention back to the kitten; hit had ceased its meowing, finally, and continued to lick itself.

"Waiting to see if it licks itself where the sun don't shine?" Aväris asked, amused eyes staring at Maar's. Maar reddened.

"You--" Maar started, then stopped. Why? Why waste his breath on stupid comments like that? "I'm not singing for you for a week."

Jaw dropping, Aväris started to protest. "Now that's hardly fair, Maar!"

Smirking, Maar shook his head, reaching out to gently lift one of the kitten's paws. He remembered the sharp claws that had snagged at his skin. "We're going to have to declaw it or something," he stated, ignoring Aväris's protests.
 

[SpunkyOtaku]

Well it wasn't his fault he could not talk, he was just trying to be helpful. Ungrateful... whatever they were. He had been awed of course at the little demonstration of magic, but he had expected some great feet, so he was able to keep explaining even when the breeches flew in. Self conscious, he did manage to glance at what exactly the breeched were covering... only to fall in the pit of despair. Of course, everything about them was perfectly endowed. Lucky bastards.

Even when he licked himself, he found Avaris's comment amusing. Had he had his own way, he would have had a witty reply to shoot back, but alas, it was incapable of such a thing at the moment.

It stopped and glanced at the finger holding his paw. He could see his teeny clear tips of claws poking out from the pink padding.

We're going to have to declaw it or something.

While the kitten certainly had a human mind and heart, it had a feline body. So, being able to discern what they were saying, his kitty instincts took over and let him know exactly what he thought of that statement.

The tiny ears flattened, the little eyes narrowed and scrunched, and he hissed. Like hell they were touching his claws.  

[Talon StarDrifter]

||Haha, Otaku, you describe my characters better than I do. xd I wasn't quite sure whether or not to comment on their 'endowment,' but you did it for me. biggrin ||

Maar's eyebrows lifted in surprise as the kitten hissed at the mention of declawing it. Well. It either understood and hated the idea, or it just didn't like people touching his paws. Frowning a little, he let the tiny paw slip back onto the rock. He looked up at Aväris. Aväris was frowning as well, staring at the kitten. Their eyes met for a second before looking back down at the cat.

"You know," Maar said slowly. "That was weird."

Aväris gave him a flat look. "Perhaps. But then again, it probably might not like you touching its paws. Cats tend to be sensitive like that. Spoiled little bastards..." he trailed off, glaring at the kitten. But the crease in his brows smoothed and he smiled a little. "Though I can't exactly blame them. They're so vain, and we only encourage it when we do this." He lifted his hand and scratched gently at the cat's cheek and chin. Past experience told him cats liked that best. His hand then ran over the kitten's damp back, collecting hair and water with the movement. Grimacing slightly, he shook his hand, trying to dislodge the wet hair.

Maar let out a musical laugh, continuing where Aväris left off and scratching the cats cheek and head. "Imagine cleaning up its furballs... That'll be worse than what's on your hand."

Giving Maar a flat look again, Aväris stated, "I am not cleaning its furballs. It's your cat. Not mine."

Maar only shook his head, still smiling and scratching the kitten.
 

[SpunkyOtaku]

((lol, some below the belt humor. I figured you were holding off for our sakes, so I opened the door for ya. xD))

And so, he waited, and look, and waited... only to find his message had been missed. He dropped his head. Darn it...

His little ear flicked at Avaris's little jab. Though the man could not understand it, he had actually touched a delicate nerve. For in his world, cats were a humorous 'symbol' for women. He did not appreciate being called sensitive and spoiled, especially in that context.

He was not looking up, so he could not be warned when fingers started scratching at his cheek and chin. His thin almost nonexistent whiskers twitched and moved to accommodate the fingers. His head and back pushed up under the hand moving over the furry hump. He did not even care if they started talking bad about his fur, he was enjoying this too much. He was glad when the different hand picked up where the disgusted hand left off. Ooh yes...

It pushed it's head forward into the hand and rolled forward onto itself. The moving hand now above it stirred it's playful nature and it swatted out with it's tiny paws. The claws were out, but more as pinpricks, as opposed to a painful length. It bit at the fingers as well, though the pressure from its jaws were carefully measured. After a few minutes, a tiny under developed kitty motor stirred and activated. No fair, that was playing dirty!

It flopped back over and meowed within it's throat, unhappy he had let his instincts carry him away as such. He needed to find a means of communication. It set up his bright blue eyes beseechingly, even if there was nothing he knew of they could do.  

[Talon StarDrifter]

||Thank you varry much. biggrin ||

Laughing lightly as the kitten pushed against his fingers, Maar continued the pleasant assault on the kitten’s head. Aväris couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Maar was such an animal person; simple things like this cat enjoying the ministrations upon its head were enough to bring joy to the singer. It was amazing how Maar could laugh like that.

Eyes softening, Aväris lifted his clean hand toward Maar. Maar’s laughter faded when he saw Aväris’s expression. His mouth closed into a soft smile. His hand hovered over the over-playful kitten, pausing. Aväris and Maar stared at each other, Aväris’s hand getting closer to Maar’s face when—

“Ah!” Maar yelped as tiny claws swiped at his fingers. It wasn’t so much painful as unexpected, and Maar quickly pulled his hand away from the cat, though the cat got a few gentle bites in before his hand was fully retracted. Aväris’s hand dropped as well, and both flihvas stared down at the kitten. It had started to purr, and then stopped, almost as if appalled at itself.

Flopping onto its back, the kitten stared up at the two flihva, eyes almost… pleading.

“That is no normal cat,” Aväris stated. Maar could only nod his head in agreement. Its actions were too… controlled, too thoughtful, to be cat like.
 

[SpunkyOtaku]

He rolled onto his belly, before sitting up. His fur was no longer dripping at least, just a bit damp. It was still plastered on to his body with little difference in hues. He stared back at the pair of winged men scrutinizing him. He watched Avaris make his statement, and Music Man nod in agreement. Finally, a recognition!

Without moving, without letting out a meow in an attempted answer, the kitten opened it's lips to reveal a toothy grin.  

[Talon StarDrifter]

Tilting his head to the side, Maar watched as the kitten rolled onto its stomach and sat up. Its tiny mouth opened in a toothy grin, showing off its baby teeth. He glanced over at Aväris to gage his reaction. Aväris simply looked dumbfounded. Cats don’t understand speech. They understand food, strokes and malice and each other, but not speech.

“This is definitely no ordinary cat,” Maar stated, breaking the silence. Aväris swiftly glanced at him before returning his gaze to the damp cat. “I mean, it follows our conversation, and it seems to understand the concept of declawing it, and it’s grinning at us.” Had either flihva known what the Cheshire cat was, they would have thought it eerily similar to the cat on the rock.

Aväris nodded, golden eyes still on the tiny figure on the rock. Perhaps this was another flihva, victim to a spell gone awry. Transformation, however, was very difficult, as it required knowledge of the difference between bodies and knowledge of the innards and workings of the animal in question, along with the fact that the mind had to be in perfect harmony with the desired animal. Transformations often resulted in mixed products, referred to as chimeras, and inflicted terrible agony on the person. This would have had to be a perfect transformation, and Aväris did not know any flihva with such power, besides the gods. And no god would willingly be turned into a defenseless kitten.

“Well, what do we do about it?” Maar queried, glancing helplessly at Aväris. The flihva shrugged.

“Well… we could test it. Would you like that?” Aväris directed the last question to the kitten on the rock. He felt idiotic speaking to a cat like it was a flihva, but perhaps it would help solve the apparent mystery.