Light and Dark

For Meee and Sirrryy <3
Rping Pip and Icar!!

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It was getting late, the blue sky was darkening to a velvet black. Pinpricks of stars hardly lit the sky, the moon pale and round, giving off a weak glow, hardly lighting the dense forest. A slender figure darted through the trees, her footsteps light and hasty. There was the faint clink of jewellery, the occasional shine glinting off of her. There was a faint howl in the distance, making her skitter and bump into a tree, showering her with leaves and loose twigs. She shuddered and shook her fur, trying to dislodge the leaves. ‘That sounded like a wolf... I’m bigger than them... I’ll be fine...’ She thought to herself encouragingly, despite the fact her paws were shaking.

She shook her fur again and continued through the trees, the dark making her trip and stumble often, the roots catching her paws. She sighed, and glanced around her, the forest seemed empty enough, she was just aware that being on the edge of Darkblood territory probably wasn’t the best place to use her element. Then again, at this rate, she was going to break a leg. With a slight sigh, she generated a small orb of light, and had it skim along the ground in front of her. Her walking increased to a trot, and she made a bee line towards a shimmer in the distance.

She burst through the tree line and found herself in a clearing by a lake. She slowed to a stop and lowered her head, breathing heavily. She hadn’t realised how tense she had been in the forest, then again it was the furthest she’d been from home and family before. She let the light orb diminish and headed towards the smooth water of the lake. Glancing around once more before lowering her head to the water, gulping down several mouthfuls of water she sighed and sat with a bump. Watching multicoloured fish skim beneath the surface. Her dad had called them Koi...

She moved away from the lake and walked over to a large oak tree, finding a large space between the roots. She dug a little bit until she could fit and curled up in the space. Removing her mask and wedging it beneath a root, she rested her head on her paws and let her eyes wonder across the lake. The occasional wolf howl broke the silence, a small herd of roe deer moved about on the other side of the lake, and Pipistella watched them hungrily, her stomach rumbling in protest.

Icarus patrolled the edge of the Darkblood territory. His electric, glowing blue eyes were hooded and sunken with apparent sleep deprivation and... just a generally bad mental state. Being around so much dark played tricks on his mind, messed with his brain. He found himself shaking his head often, trying to rid his skull of the buzz constantly playing in his ear. It felt like bees were in his brain, buzzing and buzzing and buzzing. They refused to leave.

Brother...
Go away.
Have you ever seen death, young one?
Huh, that one wasn't Xir.


Icarus suddenly turned violently and launched his head at a tree, whacking the withered trunk with his impressive curving horns- it created a very different kind of buzzing. He needed to get these voices out though. They were voices of darkness. The deepest dwellings of his mind stirred awake. They whispered things to him on nights like this. They whispered bloody murder. He had visions of painting great pictures in blood. Sometimes in his sleep he had nightmares of himself laughing among many bodies. It made his head hurt.

Something caused him to pause his insistent banging and turn his head. A light caught his eye. Almost immediately he felt the soothing calm of Light's element. He was instinctively drawn to it, as many Dark Shinlai were. Many took Light Shinlai as mates to calm the darkness of their own hearts.

He began to draw cloaking shadows around himself but stopped and shook his head where the voices got louder.
Let's drown her. No. Icarus would have none of that.

As he drew closer he could feel his headache hurting less, and he felt the need to be right next to her. Such things weren't smart though. He approached quietly, but not too close. He slipped, and a misplaced foot plunged a nearby rock into the water- surely revealing him to her.

Her bright eyes sharpened into focus at the sound of a loud thunk. She stayed very still, listening intently, trying to determine the cause of the noise. There was nothing, a long stretching silence where nothing happened or sounded. Pipistella went back to watching the lake. When a plop interrupted her thoughts. Eyes focused intently and began scanning the banks of the lake, it wasn’t a fish that had made that sound, they would have been louder. So what was it? The roe deer had moved further away, sticking close to the tree line on the opposite bank. She stared at them, stomach making a grumbly noise.

She shifted around, trying to get comfortable in her little tree root hole, unlike her dad, she had trouble staying in trees. As she craned her head around to rest it on her paws, she saw a shape. It was dark, almost unnoticeable against the velvet black sky, the weak moonlight hardly showing anything, brief highlights of fur, long swooping horns. She stayed very still. Staring directly at them, suddenly wishing her white fur was purple too. She felt extremely obvious in amongst the dark roots and mud.

What should she do? She was automatically tensing, ready to bolt, she’d have to leave her mask wedged in the roots, her mum would be upset, but maybe she’d be able to come back and find it. Wedged in her little hole, she wouldn’t be able to get up very quickly. Right now, she was completely venerable.

Should have thought about where I was sleeping a little better... She berated herself.

Opening her mouth to ask what they wanted, she resulted in giving a tiny high pitched squeak. Which she instantly regretted. With a snort, she tried again.

“Yes?” She asked bluntly, voice still high, but not as squeaky. If she had ears, they would have been flat against her head.

Icarus watched, approached quietly. His wide paws made hardly a sound against the bank of the lake. He couldn't think of words to say- to many of them occupied his brain. They told him to do horrible, terrible things. They whispered bloody murder in his ear. Icarus drew closer slowly, and his mouth grew wide into a grin. It wasn't quite right and stretched too wide- showing much too many teeth. His eyes were too wide too, his eyes rolling slightly.

He stopped, a respectful distance away. He tried to remember how to speak. What was the proper greeting? I'll kill you? No, no, no. That couldn't be it. "Hello," he murmured, his voice was hoarse and cracked from lack of use. He continued to stare.

"I'm Icarus." He blinked, looking confused and dazed. "This is Darkblood territory."

They moved closer, instinctively, she wanted to shrink back and hide, but she forced herself to stay still and not show her fear. A wide grin spread across their face, the moonlight showing glints of white teeth in amongst the dark fur. She couldn’t tell what element he was, maybe dark, but she wasn’t completely sure. If he was dark she didn’t want to risk using her element to see him better. Most Shinlai had prejudice against dark Shinlai, but if anything, she was the opposite, believing that dark Shinlai would be against her for being a light Shinlai.

He stopped a short distance away, staring at her intently. He gave a quiet horse ‘hello’ by way of greeting. His voice suggested he hadn’t spoken in a long time, or that he was just extremely thirsty, did he realise that the lake was right there? That he could quench his thirst anytime he wanted?

“P-Pipistella.” She managed to reply. “It is? I didn’t realise I was in the D-Darkblood territory.” She said, becoming much more wary, eyes briefly leaving Icarus and flicking around the lake, before looking back to him. “S-sorry. I didn’t realise.” She said, she squirmed about until her feet were tucked under her. She was a quick runner, if she had to she might be able to lose him in the trees, but he was big, and she was small.

Although, other than the tooth filled grin. He hadn’t been threatening yet...

“It is? I didn’t realise I was in the D-Darkblood territory.”

“S-sorry. I didn’t realise.”

Icarus shrugged. "It's alright" He slurred his words together a bit. "Just... be careful around here." Icarus sat down, cocked his head at Pipistella. "What are you doing here? It's not often a Light Shinlai will wander through such hostile areas. "I'd be worried if I were you, Dark Shinlai don't always welcome Light, and we know one when we see one." He cocked his head, "What are you doing by yourself anyways?" Icarus guessed Pipistella was only a few years younger than himself.

(I'm bumping Icarus down to 25 I think... that fits his timeline a lot better :Db )

"Just... be careful around here. What are you doing here? It's not often a Light Shinlai will wander through such hostile areas. I'd be worried if I were you, Dark Shinlai don't always welcome Light, and we know one when we see one. What are you doing by yourself anyways?" He reeled off, words slurred and sitting down.

Pip shuffled a little, he certainly wasn’t very threatening, but the fact he mentioned he was a dark Shinlai worried her. “I was exploring,” she answered honestly. “And t-trying not to use my element. I knew I was near the Darklands and tried not to draw attention.” She mumbled, kneading the dirt between her claws.

She stomach grumbled again and she curled up slightly, trying to stop the rumbling. Yes she was hungry, no it didn’t need to make a point. “I, uh, how did you know I’m Light?” She asked, curious.

Icarus laughed, eyes glinting. "A Dark Shinlai always knows when a Light Shinlai is around, love. My twin is a Light Shinlai, or maybe was, I haven't seen him in years. But while a lot of us just know something is up I know a Light element when I feel it."

Icarus' tattered ears pricked up behind his mask when he heard Pip's stomach rumble. He grinned slightly, the smile still not quite natural. "Don't tell me you were hunting here too? You're stepping on every rule in the book. What if I drew my fellow Darkbloods over here? You wouldn't have much going for you." His eyes were playful though, not serious in his threat.

She gave a soft snort. That explained how he located her at least. She watched his ears prick, unusual with a mask too, and the grin returned. ’Fellow Darkbloods’ she heard him say. If she had ears they would have vanished from flattening into her fur. Instead she stared levelly back at him.

“I wasn’t hunting. I haven’t eaten for days.” She replied calmly. “If you did call your friends. You also wouldn’t have much going against me. Other than my element, and even that’s not much.” She said, a grin slowly spreading across her face too.

“And say,” she said leaning forwards a little. “Why would you call them over?” She asked, tilting her head to one side, eyes wide and innocent.

"I would have plenty to go against you. How many Light Shinlai do YOU know who are Darkbloods?" He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, something in him reminded him that it was his duty to Darius and his cause to chase out the young female. But... he hadn't felt so good in weeks. Just being near her helped drive away his own element from his clouded mind.

Icarus shrugged at her question. He hadn't planned on it. "Did you want to eat? There's plenty of game around." Icarus looked over at the foolish roe deer who were still on the opposite side of the lake.

He stood, shaking out his coat. His dark fur was threaded with nearly flourescent blues. His fluffy tail swished behind him. And stunning orange horns swooped out over his back. "If you'd like, I'm not opposed to hunting either."

“A better question would be how many Darkbloods do I know. Which is none. So of course I don’t know any.” She replied tartly, there probably was some, her mum had told her that Volpe would trade information with them, he was a light Shinlai. Icarus stood, shaking his fur and looking to the roe deer.

“I’d like to, I’m not all that skilled at hunting.” She said, looking up at him, before slowly climbing to her feet. She tugged her mask out from under the root and faffed about, slotting it into place, before tugging her long mane out from under it. She probably could have done with getting Iapto to trim it for her, but her sister was a long way away right now.

Once her mask was in place, she gave her fur a shake, dislodging any mud or leaves that had gotten stuck, her white fur was stark in the night, as were the mask marking and her bright blue eyes. The deer would probably see her a mile off. Looking over to Icarus, a scowl formed beneath her mask. She could hardly see over his back, she was so short.

(OOPS.

I FORGOT.

DERP.)

Icarus grinned lazily at her curt and rather tart reply. Proof goes to show you don't need teeth to bite. "Well then I'll just tell you- zero. None. Zzzzip." Icarus stretched his back, muscles rippling under his rather scruffy coat. He yawned widely, moaning almost like a lion. "I've never known one true Light Shinlai who called himself a Darkblood. I know a few rather... on the edge of it. But no TRUE Darkbloods."

“I’d like to, I’m not all that skilled at hunting.”

"That would explain why you're so scrawny." Icarus sat down, his legs splayed ridiculously, that stupid grin still on his face. There was a slight twinkle in his eye though, rather than the usual dull glaze or a crazy light. He watched her put on her mask, taking note of it and what it entailed. There was the Light symbol right on the front, she displayed it proudly- similar to Icarus' mask. His symbol covered the whole face, and it was a symbol of defiance, hate, and prejudice- at least that's what it meant to him. Her sea-green gaze looked out from beneath the purple surface of the mask.

He noted with amusement the scowl she gave him. It must have been her height- she barely made it over his back.

He stood again, shaking out his own coat. (Sometimes he swore if he shook his head too much the weight of his own horns would pull him over.) "It won't take long to catch one of those, I can do it myself if you're truly as bad as you say you are." He grinned, even wider if possible.

“I’m young, I’m allowed to be small,” She said, or at least that was her excuse. Both parents were huge compared to her, and almost every Shinlai she met was taller than her. Her mother kept saying ‘you’re young, give it chance.’ But she was getting bored of being small.

She became aware of him staring at her mask. That was off putting. She was aware of the bright symbol painted right between her eyes, she felt like a target, something to be aimed for, either to attack or covert. Holding back the overwhelming urge to push him over so to stop him looking at her. She promptly walked past him, head held up, eyes fixed on the deer.

“I just need to get close enough.” She replied. She was quick enough and strong enough, but her light colouring meant they often saw her before she was in range. “Not everyone can camouflage. And no. I haven’t learnt illusion.” She added. Some Shinlai she had met just said she wasn’t trying hard enough. That hadn’t ended well for them. She had plenty of tricks and abilities, none of which they expected.

"Small is different from scrawny, chica," Icarus chuckles and stands, the normally glazed and dull eyes had a spark of light. Not the same light from when he wasn't... right in the head. One like- like he was sane again.

He stirred shadows around him but quickly relinquished his hold on them when the voices in his head stirred. He winced, and huffed slightly. Fine. He could hunt without camoflage or other tricks up his sleeve. "I'll go around that side of the pond," Icarus jerked his head to the left. "If you could go around the other side I can drive them towards you and you can cut them off."

And with that Icarus seemingly melted away, using only a bit of his shadows to leave silently. He didn't want the deer to see the direction he set off in. He prowled around the lake, his footfalls suprisingly quiet and his black coat blending in easily into the forest. When he was close enough, he crouched, waiting and watching to see if Pip would be able to get close. He snorted at the thought- the very likely thought- that those deer would see her coming from a mile away with all that white fur on her.

"I'll go around that side of the pond, if you could go around the other side I can drive them towards you and you can cut them off." Icarus said, vanishing into the shadows. Pip waited a moment, listening intently, before shivering slightly. It was off putting having a dark Shinlai larking around, but worse not knowing where he was, mainly because then she felt alone, and vulnerable.

She sank low to the ground, and began weaving through the grass, her white belly hidden by the dark grass, and the dark purple blending with the night. Not invisible. But as good as she could manage. As she stalked around, eyes fixed on the deer, she focused her energy. Long thing tendrils or dim light snaked away from her paws. They glided across the ground from her, looking like ripples of water, criss-crossing and linking together. Forming a huge net across the ground.

Now all she had to do was wait.