To the North (CS)(accepting characters)

[Ermak Lorde]

Carmine's head began to sway back and forth as his golden eyes stared down at the human before him, Hot breath steamed between clenched teeth as he shivered in fury, How Dare this human speak to him so? throwing salt on the painful knowledge of how few his kind had become! He had little hope that the Darkol would survive,... he himself had not seen a female since for more winters than he cared to remember. His claws around Sadira flinched tighter as his thoughts boiled, yet after a moment they once again relaxed until she was no longer in mortal danger, "You are in poor position to insult me so crooked fiend, I could kill you and your fur-clad freind in a moment if whim so took me!" His eyes narrowed as he watched Shinra's scanning gaze, So typical of a human! Their despicable kind cared more for their own fragile skins than their four-legged companions! "You are a foolish man-beast!" Carmine decided his voice thick with disgust, "I will leave you to your foul-mouth and shifty lying eyes two-legs," with that said his tail whipped forward striking not Shinra, but the sand before his feet throwing a veritable wave of gritty particles into the unfortunate man's eyes. By the time he had cleared his vision Carmine was fast moving away accross the dunes, Sadira tucked against his stomach with one talon, moving serpent-swift even without the use of one limb.

By the time the sun had risen high in the sky Carmine had reached a large platue scaling it's sides quickly despite his weighty bulk and his captive, he reached the top winded but satisfied, depositing Sadira on the ground before thoroughly exploring his new safe-haven, "My appologies, cat-beast,... I let my anger overcome me, it was rude of me to have commandeered you without your permission..." He admitted calmly, yet despite his words he made no move to indicate Sadira was free to leave... the cliffs were incredibly steep, with no pathways for smaller creatures. Carmine had managed mostly on virtue of his impressive reach but it had not been easy-going for the Darkol either. Now he sank to the ground uncomfortably, the heat was intense, and his thick scales held warm tempurature rather than releasing it, very quickly he was panting, and rethinking his hastily chosen stronghold...  

[Eskevar Fire Cross]

Sadira yipped as the creature's claws clenched tighter, but they soon released. He was not holding her tight enough to inhibit breathing, but tight enough she could not move. Her bite seemed to phase him not at all. A pity... but she was stuck.

She watched with suprise as the great beast whipped his tail in front of Shinra and then slithered away at amazing speed with her still clutched in his claw. Sadira choked back an exclamation of suprise as the creature continued to bear her with him up steep red rocks to a sheltered alcove.

When he finally released her, her legs were so cramped they gave beneath her and she crumpled to the unforgiving rock. Pins and needles shot up and down her legs and she began to vigirously lick her paws (despite the fact they were covered in sand) to bring back some circulation. She was still occupied with this pursuit when the dragon-thing apologized. Sadira looked up, her grey eyes looking peircingly at him.

" Rude? I could think of another word for it," she spat out bitterly, still trying to work some sand out of her mouth. She watched him settle to the ground. She stood up and began to investigate the possibility of climbing back down. She soon realized despite her upbringing in the mountains of Nibel she would never make it down on her own. Frustrated she sat glaring at the panting beast. " Just who are you anyway?" she demanded. She herself was uncomfortably hot and it made her irritable. She was grateful (for once in her life) for her snow white pelt at least it repelled some heat.  

[Ermak Lorde]

Carmine, from his position across from Sadira, listened patiently to the frusterated feline's words, "My name is Carmine, I am one of the last of the Darkol." He explained calmly, "My kind were all but killed off by those beasts called 'humans'." He spat the term as though it were distastful to him, "My ancient home has once again been lost to me,... though I have no doubt that man-beasts were somehow involved." He gazed at Sadira silently for a few moments, "What is your story little one?"  

[Eskevar Fire Cross]

Sadira's body language changed gradually from glaring at Carmine with flaming tail twitching with annoyance to wide eyed wonderment. Darkol.... the elders told stories of the Darkol. If even half the stories were true they were a mighty race, and a wise race. She remembered listening with the rapt attention of a cub to the elder tell the story of the Darkol's lost homeland. It was several momments after Carmine had ceased speaking that Sadira even realized it.

" You are... really... really a Darkol?" Sadira managed. She then remmembered he had asked her a question. " I'm Sadira Ih'rabi one of the Lion's Paw. My four.... that is three..." she corrected quietly suddenly subdued. "brothers and I are... I mean that's what we're called. My eldest brother was killed..." she hesitated almost choking over the words, " was killed by humans that attacked the mountains of Nibel. Our people are responsible for protecting those mountains." She shook her head causing the beads and various baubles in her main to jingle as if trying to clear it from the memories by doing so. " Now though I was sent to discover what fell to earth. The planet is wounded, even I feel it's pain."  

[Ermak Lorde]

Carmine listened gravely, nodding as she spoke and kindly ignoring her stumbling words, He considered her words carefully, with the patience one aquired with centuries of experience. "What fell to the earth..." He murmered as she paused, ".... I fear I may have made a grave misjudgement little one. I know of the occurance you speak of, my home was destroyed by a large stone from the sky,... in my anger I fear I blamed the humans without reason." He shifted on the large platue, gazing at the sky in some discontent, "But perhaps we can speak more on these things were the angry sun cannot vent her frustrations upon us." His great golden eyes twinkled with amusement, and he extended one great talon to the smaller feline.  

[Saerenna]

Shinra had shortly considered leaving the Sadira to the giant beast. But only briefly. If he was to go on in his quest, he'd need the companionship of someone. And it would especially help if it was a non-human. After all, there was only so much one man could do, at least not without lots of equipment, which he didn't have at the moment. So, unable to think of any better way to go about it, Shinra started following the trail of sand that had been left by the large creature's passage. What he would do when he actually got to the great beast, though... Well, he had to hope it had a weak spot of some sort, or he and Sadira would both be in trouble.  

[Eskevar Fire Cross]

Ermak Lorde

Carmine listened gravely, nodding as she spoke and kindly ignoring her stumbling words, He considered her words carefully, with the patience one aquired with centuries of experience. "What fell to the earth..." He murmered as she paused, ".... I fear I may have made a grave misjudgement little one. I know of the occurance you speak of, my home was destroyed by a large stone from the sky,... in my anger I fear I blamed the humans without reason." He shifted on the large platue, gazing at the sky in some discontent, "But perhaps we can speak more on these things were the angry sun cannot vent her frustrations upon us." His great golden eyes twinkled with amusement, and he extended one great talon to the smaller feline.

" I quite agree," Sadira responded enthusiastically leaping onto Carmine's offered talon. The young feline was more than ready to get out of the heat, in her deepest being she was at home in the snowy mountains NOT the desert. " I wonder what happened to Shinra..." she added speculatively. " He 's not such a bad guy... I mean for a human and all."  

[Ermak Lorde]

"For a human..." Carmine agreed with mock gravity, and gently descended the steep sides of the platue, pausing with a sigh of relief in the shadowed side. "Where were you headed little one?" He asked as they sat in the cool sand. Without the sun to beat against it the breezes that passed by were tolerably cool, and the sand even comfortable.  

[Saerenna]

Shinra continued his boring trek, wishing that he could walk faster or that he had some sort of Chocobo. That's what this Planet needed, something besides animals for people to use to get places faster. Chocobos were too unreliable at times you really need them, and they could also be tempermental. What the Planet needed was some sort of vehicle that could be used at any time, and wouldn't tire quickly. But everything needed energy. He needed some way to harness a lot of energy. Thankfully these thought processes were enough to keep Shinra going, or he might have just decided it was too late to save Sadira. But she wasn't helpless, and probably wouldn't let herself die at such an inopportune time.

((Well, he IS the beginning of the ShinRa company... xd ))  

[Eskevar Fire Cross]

Sadira leaped from Carmine's talons to the cool sand. She was still hot and the mixture of sweat and fur was somewhat sticky and uncomfortable. She felt better in the cool, but did not follow the Darkol's example and settle to the sand (it would be a nightmare to lick off the mixture of sand and sweat later). She looked out over the glaring sands hopeful of catching sight of Shinra, but with her albinism affected vision she could not make out any movement.

She twitched her tail in mild frustration and answered Carmine," We were headed to the north, to the sight of the meteor collision. First though there is a ship waithing to take us in a northern cove." She said this almost abstractly while she continued to look out over the desert.  

[Ermak Lorde]

Carmine sighed heavily, He had just come from that point and the loss of his home was a wound still fresh. His gaze passed over the same desert expanse but his vision was somewhat less hindered. Still he did not see what she sought. "Would you prefer I take you there little one? Or shall I leave you to wait for your freind?" He was very reluctant to meet up with the human again, he was not entirely sure he trusted either his temper or the Man, despite what Sadira claimed.  

[Eskevar Fire Cross]

Ermak Lorde

Carmine sighed heavily, He had just come from that point and the loss of his home was a wound still fresh. His gaze passed over the same desert expanse but his vision was somewhat less hindered. Still he did not see what she sought. "Would you prefer I take you there little one? Or shall I leave you to wait for your freind?" He was very reluctant to meet up with the human again, he was not entirely sure he trusted either his temper or the Man, despite what Sadira claimed.

Sadira looked back at Carmine in suprise. " You mean leave Shinra?" it was completely incomprhensible to the feline to leave a comrade behind. She sat staring at Carmine not sure if he really meant that, and trying to think of some way what he said didn't mean that. It was that puzzeling or statment that got her.. take her there OR wait for Shinra... not and....

She noted he seemed less than happy with waiting for Shinra, but Sadira, by the warrior's code could not possibly countenance leaving someone behind. " Why? I don't understand.... why would you want to leave my comrade in arms behind?" the cat asked attempting to comprehend this.  

[Ermak Lorde]

Carmine glanced down at the feline, hesitating at her words, Sighing heavily he lifted his head towards the sky, He really did not want anything more to do with humans... His long life had been punctuated by those two-legged beings and their hostility, he held long grudges,... longer than the man-beasts individually survived. Never-the-less, he had greiviously wronged Sadira... and he did not yet know the Shinra-man, Carmine shifted his gaze down to the sand between his forclaws. He did not know how to explain a lifetime of pain and betrayal to someone as young and innocent as the feline, her life was uncomplicated with these weightier things. Shifting uncomfortably in the sand Carmine finally turned back to Sadira. "It is not that he is your comrade that upsets me..." He began slowly, carefully choosing his words, "I have... in my life... found many reasons to distrust humans young Lion's Paw... I find it very uncomfortable to consider greeting one again now." He quieted for another few moments, "I am not your comrade little one..." Again he hesitated, "Perhaps...... perhaps you should rejoin this human of yours, His path is not mine." The Darkol decided finally.

((P.S. Shinra can meet up with Carmine and Sadira any time now))  

[Saerenna]

Shinra continued looking for Sadira and her captor by following the obvious trail of passage. Finally, he thought he spotted something that was most likely the creature up ahead. After all, there was little you could mistake for a giant worm-like creature. Quickening his pace, he hurried to the bulk that was in the shadow of an outcropping. As he got closer, he found it to indeed be the fould creature that had kidnapped Sadira. Drawing his sword, he approached it cautiously with a glare. "Release my companion at once!" he demanded of it, though what he could really do against such a being, he didn't know.