Dreaming With Your Eyes Open

Rayner lifted his foot away from the bone, some of the irrationality in his mind threatened to show itself again, but he pushed it away. One little bone wasn't going to do him any harm. There wasn't any point in going crazy again, not yet. He had already exhausted himself, and did not wish to exert any more energy unless he had to.

Unfortunately, it seemed Viva hadn't forgotten his behavior. The way she stood up, with her face a threatening distance from his, didn't exactly ooze friendliness. Up close it was even more apparent that, comparatively, he was a decent foot or so shorter. He wasn't used to such tall females. His own mate was around his height, and that was the way he preferred it. His mouth opened slightly, teeth barred in case she tried anything.

But instead, she said hello. Well, it was better than nothing. Possibly better than he could have hoped. Rayner kept his place though, and eyed her wearily. He had been at a disadvantage, sliding down that hill in the dark. If she had really wanted to, she probably could have taken him out before he had a chance to regain his footing. Not let him eat.

"You left the meat." He said, raising his head a little so that he was at least a little closer to meeting her eyes. "I should thank you. But why? Why did you do it?"

"You left the meat." He raised his head. "I should thank you. But why? Why did you do it?"

Viva tilted her own head. She could tell the male was stiff, unsure of how this was to turn out. She knew she should be ready to battle at any second but the maroon female was so tired; her fluffy butt hit the ground with a thud, bringing her eye level to his.

" I can understand your feelings towards the girl... It was humans that took me from my dearest Taggerung, and it was humans that attacked him when he came searching for me." She cringed, remembering the looks she was given when she broke from the barn where she had been kept, and defended her friend. "Since then, humans are less then kind to me... "

Slowly, she raised her left raw paw revealing an arrow like scar across the feet," This is a scar that marks me as a human killer." She wriggled her toes remembering the event. "The humans in my city took me down and marked me before Taggerung and I escaped. This mark means that, to any human who recognizes it, I am a dead Shinlai walking."

She paused, mostly for effect then smiled softly," However, I know there are good humans as well. Like the little girl who took care of me. I believe the one we encountered tonight is just the same."

" I do not expect you to give her a chance, but I could not go on without giving you the very same chance." She chuckled," Besides, you looked pretty hungry."

Viva yawned, finishing her explanation. She wondered how this lai would take her opinions...

"A shinlai attacked you?" Jagter said in disbelief "And you don't know why?" Jagter sounded puzzeled he then looked around "You wouldn't have happen to notice where it went?" Jagter looked at the the shinlai besides the cave "Is that the one that attacked you?" Jagter said not taking his eyes off the shinlai. "At this range I'm too close to get off a decent shot" he thought to himself

((Bunny wont be able to post until either late tonight or tomorrow, so I'm going to wait for her untill posting again.))

The male sat down not far from her, her blue eyes flicked up to look at him, before resuming half lidded with tiredness. "Well, I am not sure... I actually know that shinlai. He goes by Rayner and I have never seen him act out like that!" He explained. "It seems though he doesn't like humans at all, maybe something happened in his past? And when you tried to protect her it really ticked him off. I would try, and calm down now though and rest incase he finds his way here, and if he does I will try and talk some sense into him." He said.

She snorted quietly, she was trying to calm down, all that seemed to be happening was she was getting more and more sleepy. "I didn't do anything to provoke him... I even have friends who are Shinlai. All I do is study, and make masks. I don't see why he'd see it as grounds to attack me, even if hates humans." She heard Laila say, she vaguely noticed a male voice, another human by the smell of it.

She was just starting to dose off, when she heard the human male’s words. “If a Shinlau attacks you once, you’re wary of all of them. It’s the same for humans attacking Shinlai. What’s the phrase? Once bitten, twice shy.” She said, hardly lifting her head. “I’m sure ‘Rayner’ would have a legitimate reason not to like humans, but that doesn’t excuse him from attacking one who had done nothing.” She mumbled, eyes drooping again.

Laila nodded in agreement with Pip's quoting of the saying. It had to be true. After all, that was why she used to be very shy and reserved toward humans. Her mask making master had been cruel to her, and the children of the village teased her constantly. It took a Shinlai showing true friendship for her to change her mind. She frowned. She doubted a human doing the same for Rayner could help, though.
"Is that the one that attacked you?" she heard Jagter say. She shook her head furiously. "No. Neither of these two did it." She gestured to Pip and to Zeke. "Don't you dare hurt either one of them. The one who chased us was, as mentioned, called Rayner... but I'm betting he must be far away by now. He hasn't shown up yet."

She looked to Pip, curiously. "Do Shinlai of the same element often help one another like that? The one who helped us get away looked like he or she controlled light too."

Rayner watched as Viva sat down, but made no move to do the same. His belly felt nice and warm now that it was filled with fresh meat, and he was certainly feeling better than before. Yet, the weariness remained. Viva's good will had caused him injury, subtle movements would not gain his trust. It did put him at ease though, not to be towered over, and he allowed his muscles to relax slightly.

"Taggerung?" He blinked, surprised to hear that she knew the brutish male. Rayner had only met him a couple of times briefly, but he didn't seem the type to make friends easily. Or at all, really. From what Rayner had seen of him, Taggerung appeared hostile and cold-hearted. But he dared not say such things, especially if she really was that close to him. Instead, he leaned forward slightly to inspect the scar on her foot. It must have been hard, having to stay away from cities after being separated from her friend. Or perhaps more-than-friend.

He still didn't like to think of any humans as good. It was too difficult to accept, after everything they had done. Not only to him, but others as well. Viva was living proof of that.
"How do you know she is good?" He asked, a growl edging its way into his voice at mention of the human.

He let out a sigh, the better of his senses telling him to be calm. "Maybe it's possible." He admitted, "But she will have to tell me so herself."

Viva smiled at the males apologetic tone," Some things, you just have to experience for your self."

She stood up lightly, the glow from her right paws dissipating. She felt the spring in her step, the cracks in her toes healed now. Her cat like figure waltzed passed the smaller lai, moving her towards the middle of the valley. Tall grass, sucked dry by the cold mountain air crunched beneath her wide feet. She thrust her exotic head towards the sky, gesturing the male lai to follow.

"Since I was a pup, I loved watching the sun rise... as a Light Shinlai, it moved me in ways many lai don't ever get to experience." She glanced towards him; she could tell just looking at him, that he was no Light Lai.

"When I was born, I was told the light at the mouth of our cave was the Sun. I knew that, since I could see. The Sun gave us light, and it was good..." As Viva peered up at the horizon, a hint of red flashed just above the mountain peaks. "We are told it is good. We are told it is warm... and yet when I first walked out into the open of my home; the Sun burned my sensitive eyes. It roasted my sensitive feet when I pressed my toes atop the rocks." She cringed at the memory. Glancing back at the male she continued,"How could my family have lied to me, I wondered!What did they see that I did not understand? I hated the sun!" She growled," It hurt me! It blinded me, and it crippled me!"

She huffed and roared barring her teeth; when suddenly, a beam of light touched down into the valley. It shone directly a top her figour and she softened her expression.

"But, what could I do?" She pondered, almost to her self now," I tried again and again, despite how the sun broke me every morning. And one day..." She turned her head towards the gleaming sun," I walked out into the open, and the sun did not burn, nor blind me. It rewarded my determination by warming my skin. It soothed the cold river waters to heal my burns."

"I got used to the hurt, and the pain, and because of this, was welcomed by the soft gleam and warmth of it's caress." She turned her body to the male now, her back to the giant star," The humans are much the same as the sun, my friend. They will beat you, and destroy you, until you think you can go no further."

She smiled," But if you just hold on... just a little bit longer, I can promise you some little human will reward you with the warmth you deserve."

He saw that she looked like she was getting ready to fall over from exhaustion, but she was still trying to watch everthing happen around her.

"I didn't do anything to provoke him... I even have friends who are Shinlai. All I do is study, and make masks. I don't see why he'd see it as grounds to attack me, even if hates humans."

"Well next time I see Rayner I might just give him a piece of my mind, because I can tell you are not a bad human at all." he smiled at Lalia. Then he heard another voice which sounded like another human had entered the cave.

“If a Shinlau attacks you once, you’re wary of all of them. It’s the same for humans attacking Shinlai. What’s the phrase? Once bitten, twice shy.” She said, hardly lifting her head. “I’m sure ‘Rayner’ would have a legitimate reason not to like humans, but that doesn’t excuse him from attacking one who had done nothing.” She mumbled, eyes drooping again.

"I understand that completely! I didn't trust humans for the longest time when I was little, but that was because I never really intracted with them.." he said, looking at Pip as her eyes drooped. "I am sure Rayner must have his reasons as well, but he should think before he attacks, and you I think need to really rest! I will stay awake incase rayner comes back so don't worry" he said reasuringly.

"Well next time I see Rayner I might just give him a piece of my mind, because I can tell you are not a bad human at all." The male shinlai said to her. Laila's cheeks flushed from the compliment and she smiled softly in return. "Thanks. I try not to be... I mean, I know there's bad ones out there but it's the same with any species. Even with dogs. Punish the individual, not the entirety."

She stroked Pipistella's head again, soothingly. "He's right. You seem exhausted. Try to get your strength back. I'll make sure nothing hurts you, my friend." Laila paused and then looked back to the Zeke. "By the way, in case you didn't catch it my name's Laila."

Pipistella huffed quietly, her eyes closed but listening to their conversation. She might not be able to sleep fully, her nerves were still on edge, but she could rest and dose. She could feel Laila stroking her head and a slight purr rose in her chest, content for now.

((Short post is short, I'll have her wake up if Rayner turns up though))

((gettin' there! Still waiting on the lovely toadfoal. Maybe Viva can get Rayner there without killing anyone! ))

"Well next time I see Rayner I might just give him a piece of my mind, because I can tell you are not a bad human at all."
"So even shinlai have thier black sheep eh?" Jagter looked at smaller shinlai the girl was comforting "It clear that this Rayner may need to be dealt with before any other shinlai get the idea to attack more people." Jagter thought to himself. He then turned toward the male shinlai "This Rayner where is he come from?" he then took a step toward the shinlai "This sort of thing can't go on people are at risk we need to report this..." Jagter paused and glance at the girl and smaller shinlai "What if that girl had been alone?" "I understand he's your friend but human and shinlai have an understanding such an act would compromise human and shinlai relation."

(oops, sorry!)

Rayner followed close behind Viva, listening in silence. It was surprising to him, hearing her say such things. She had met him only hours before, under the most unpleasant of circumstances. And now she was willing to tell him things only she could understand about her element, revealing tales of her childhood. But that wasn't really the most surprising part. It was the wisdom in her words.

He could tell that she was young, and yet the way she spoke, he could have imagined that she were at least 60 years of age. That kind of maturity was beyond her years. And his too. A warm wave of shame heated the skin under his mask and the place where his ears had once been. It was an unpleasant thing for him to admit, but also fascinating. Rayner felt no anger towards Viva now, only wonder. Was what she said true? She was not the first to tell him that humans should be given a second chance. But the way she explained her reasoning was different. It made him think.

As he walked, he pondered the idea for a moment. Did that kind of determination really result in such rewards? He wasn't even sure a nice conversation with a human would be something he could consider a reward. It wasn't that he hated humans because they had destroyed his life or murdered his family, not like some. His hatred was rooted deep within his mind, to a place where rationality blurred with frightening dreams.

"You promise?" He glanced at her, his voice rumbling in a chuckle, "I think... I might believe you. But I will never bow to them." He shook his head and neck, releasing some of the tension that had built up over the night. He was tired, but less after having eaten. Now it was mostly his injuries that slowly drained his energy. He had never developed the healing abilities of his element, and refused to ask for help from fear of showing weakness. He let out a grunt, feeling the tug at his ribs when he let out too large a breath, and glanced at Viva again. "You never told me your name." He said. "One who travels with Taggerung is surely not just any ordinary shinlai."

(( Guyss, I just re read through the entire Rp; and I just wanna say we are AWESOMEEEE SAUCEEE))

"You promise?" Viva met eyes with the smaller lai as he chuckled through his words. "I think... I might believe you. But I will never bow to them."

"A true human friend will never expect you to bow to them. They should respect our strength, our power and our cunning." She began to walk towards the steep ledge of the cliff," However, you and I must remember to do the same! Humans are small, but they have achieved so much in their young lives. Some of the little rodents are quite clever, actually."

She took a small jump up, one, two, three times until she was a little ways up the cliff. Her large bulk of a size made it difficult to squeeze close to the cliff wall; and as she climbed, she wished she could be as lean as the lai bellow.

"You never told me your name." He announced, looking up. "One who travels with Taggerung is surely not just any ordinary shinlai."

Viva laughed heartedly at the notion; an ordinary lai! "To travel with Tagger, a shinlai must simply have an equally sour disposition. "

She croutched low a top the cliff rocks, looking down on her new friend. Her long white teeth bared, she roared loudly smiling as the cliffs took the sound and let it echo for miles. "I've two sides," she cooed,"and you've seen one this night."
Standing, Viva stretched and made it to the top of the cliff, directing him to follow. As she gazed down on his blue fur, she noticed some bruising by his side, where she had struck him.

"If you follow, I will offer you a place to rest, as well as my healing skills. However, note that my friends will meet us there." Her teeth glinted menacingly,"Please, do not give me a reason to show you my second half."

The fluffy Shinlai turned and began to walk down the trail wence they came,"Oh!" She called back,"and my name is Viva!"

"Hmph. I would disagree, and say that they are mere parasites. But then, I suppose that would be a biased opinion." Rayner pulled himself up the side of the cliff, being careful to place one foot in front of the other, so as not to topple back down. He could only imagine what a fun beginning to the day that would be. But at least he was built for this kind of thing, he had never been ill equipped in his home, up among the rocks that lay near the sea. It almost reminded him of that peaceful landscape where he had been born. Only this place was far more mountainous, and had far more trees.

He could easily imagine Viva living within the forest, but perhaps not climbing cliffs. She seemed too top heavy for that sort of thing, more of a brute-force type mover. That seemed unusual for someone of the light element. Weren't they supposed to be small and dainty? The thought brought the corners of his mouth to twitch into a little smile under his mask. Such a twisted world.

But now that he thought about it, it did make more sense that, if any shinlai of the light element were to travel with Taggerung, it would be this one. "Equally sour? I see." He cringed, barring his teeth as her roar reverberated within his mask and made his skull buzz from the sound.

With a slight wheezing sound, he leaped upwards and landed neatly at the top, a few moments after Viva. Perhaps, he thought, it was better to see this side of her. If she had easily beaten him in his own mad rage, he could only think what her bad side must be like. It was always the ones who retained some rational thought that were the most dangerous. He wanted to stay on his best behavior. But there was still a prickling in the roof of his mouth that made him itch to gnaw and crunch the bones of imaginary enemies.

Rayner shook his head again, to make the buzzing stop. He wasn't sure that he could afford another confrontation. For his own sake, as much as that of anyone else. The coward inside of him always had its say. He sped up a little once he recognized the trail, and trotted along after Viva, his silky tail trailing a serpentine path in the dirt.

"Thank you, Viva." He said, "I am in debt to your forgiving half. My name is Rayner Veldt." He added. As they walked, he forced himself to take deep breaths, and frequently shook the invisible cobwebs from his fur. Sustenance had given him reason to move forward from the night, but it was unlikely that Viva's 'friends', so she called them, would be as quick to forgive and forget.

Viva's large mass and complicated antler's wrecked havoc on the tree line along the trail. She never really used this path, as it was more for the deer; however in her rush she had taken it by mistake.

"This will lead us behind my home... I live in a large cave system within the mountain; probably dug out by an Earth shinlai years ago."

She chattered to pass the time.

" Pip and her little friend will have taken the front passage, and without any proper light they will have no doubt settled in the front part. It is hard to see how far back the cave goes during the night. Once we're inside, we'll have to be careful not to sneak up on them. If Pip makes another light blast like she did before, she will no doubt cause the cave to collapse on itself."

She turned her head with difficulty as she walked, avoiding trees where she could,"Rayner",she paused trying the name out on her tongue," perhaps not for me, but for your own sake... causing a fight within the cave system would kill all of us, including you."

She laughed aloud at a thought," Although, if we did live, I'd have to kill you none the less, for destroying my home!"

She smiled wide at her attempt at a joke. She supposed her time with Taggerung had rubbed off on her after all. She certainly gained his sense of humour.

Front foot out, Rayner paused mid-stride. He felt like he was supposed to laugh, but the thought of another light blast collapsing the cave didn't comfort him too much. Nor did the idea that if that didn't kill him, Viva would. But he forced himself to keep going, and let out a laugh of his own. "Ahahaha! Yeah, that would be terrible." He agreed, his voice cracking from the strain of trying to keep it steady.

He was beginning to have his doubts about going at all. Maybe it would be a better idea to turn around now, and high tail it out of there before anything else bad had a chance to happen. If he waited until Viva was distracted, he could make it quite a ways before she noticed, and duck through the heavier brush to avoid capture. Plans weaved their way through his mind, but in the end he let out a big sigh instead. This time, unfortunately, running away was not an option.

If Viva was a friend of Taggerung's, then she was connected to a tier of the Darkbloods quite a lot higher than he. Rayner couldn't afford to make any more enemies, not if he ever wanted to get anything done. But he couldn't afford to get himself killed over a petty matter either. She might not like to admit it, but Ryshka needed him, and he was of more useful alive than dead.

Moving along, he began to go a little faster again, deviating slightly from the trail and pushing his way through the undergrowth at heightened speeds. That ugly feeling of panic was rising in his chest again, not at its previous severity, but enough to cause him concern. It was becoming more important in his mind to get to the caves as quickly as possible, before he changed his mind about going at all. Images of Viva's snapping jaws coming towards him and sinking into his neck flashed through his mind. "We're nearly there, right?" He asked, slowing down just a little. He thought he could smell Pipistella with the faint human scent, Zeke, and something else. Another human? They must have come near this way. But how many humans could there be? Surely not more than one. It was a wonder he had ever managed to attack them at all, with how badly now he wanted to escape whatever emotions the party ahead might have seeping from their minds.

(hey dearfaces, may I join?)

(( Of course Mo mo!))

"Ahahaha! Yeah, that would be terrible."

Viva heard the lai behind her chuckled stiffly at her joke.

She was about to answer, when a large tree branch tangled itself between her antlers. Viva tugged and heaved against the large tree in a vain attempt to free herself; to no avail.

The heavy Shinlai grew frustrated, more and more as she struggled. However, the more she struggled on the small path, the more branches hooked into her complicated rack. Deep growls grew in her belly as she twitched and rolled, a frantic panic now. Without her trusted Taggerung along side her, Viva had grown much more erratic over the months.

Her composed side, was what was left of her time with her companion; however the side that was leaking out of her now... was something uglier then any malformed creature. Her roar cracked the silent air, as she threw herself against the trees and cliff side.

White sparks crackled along her fur, creating small blinding flashes in the morning light.

Electricity, was more of the power based side of the Light element, and was not a skill Viva had ever bothered to master. In her short life Viva had only ever created Lightening three times. Never on purpose, never was it planned. Always triggered by her anger or fear; the peaceful element became something more, as it was now.

Pure power rippled through her body as she roared enraged, unable to move her head at all now.

Now, she remembered why she never took this path.

(Hey hey! 8D)

Trapped in his own thoughts, Rayner didn't notice that at first that Viva had fallen behind. Then her roar split the air, and he froze again mid-stride. "Viva?" He turned around slowly, the fur on his neck and back bristling. He had heard her roar in anger before, but never with quite as much force. It couldn't possibly be a good sign.

Heading back the way he had come, Rayner ran through the undergrowth, forgetting the pain in his side and the cave they had been headed towards. Perhaps Viva had been ambushed! After all she had done for him, he couldn't let her be attacked without going back to help.

But there were no enemies attacking his new friend. Only the branches of trees. Rayner knew he shouldn't have been surprised that her massive horns would be prone to becoming tangled in the branches, but he wouldn't have expected her reaction. The way she writhed in anger had clearly made the problem worse. It reminded him of what she had said not long before, about her more dangerous side. But he hadn't fully grasped the gravity of her words, and didn't see this situation as being a result of that very danger.

He stepped forward cautiously. Now that he knew Viva wasn't being attacked, his fur should have lain flat, but instead all of it was bristling now, from the electrical charges coming from the light shinlai's element. He had never seen such a thing, and didn't understand the severity of electricity in this situation. Only that Viva was in trouble, and that he should help. "Viva, are you alright?" He asked, trying to hide the fact that he was somewhat afraid of her, "I'll help you. I'll cut the branches." His instincts told him to get away now, but instead came close enough to touch her, and reached forward to grab the some of the branches entangled in her horns.

(When are the other three coming back im growing a beard here)

((Hahaah, I`ve no idea Wyco!

I know Pip is sleeping until Rayner show`s up, but Zeke and Laila are just falling behind that`s all.
The best thing to do during an Rp if your partner`s are gone for a long time, is to work your way into the story of those who are posting! Viva`s making a real mess of things and being very loud, so I am sure you will have no trouble in finding her!

Viva and Rayner are very close to the shelter, just a couple yards behind it. ))

(( I see i need to post.. I have been busy, and I am trying to think of what to say :P

busy in a way... more having rp block for a sec))

(I'm not entirely sure won't it ruin the quality of the rp? but I'll try here goes I guess we could delete later right?)

Jagter heard what sounds like two large animals approaching he crept into the brush to get a peak and saw two shinlai.It was dark althought Jagter had excellent vision at night he was too far to see in good detail but did quickly pick up on a few features.
He quickly noticed the horns on the larger one"With a rack like that most be the dominate male and the blue one must be a female." he whispered to himself. "It must of attacked her becauseit must of felt like she invaded its territory." Jagter thought. He crouched and watch uncertain what to do"Maybe I should wait for a sign to see if it's friendly or not." At his current postion he knew could get atleast two shots in

((I've fallen back because Rayner and Viva are the focal point and Pip is asleep. lol Unless Rayner is going to come to Laila and the others, there's not much to do. And Laila would not want to go after Rayner after hearing Viva's rage-roars that's for sure!))