Among the Temple Ruins

Signia could hear voices over head, conversing about things his child mind could care less about. His mind's eye showed him different things, more entertaining ideas. Dreams his pappy called them once.

The boy pup huffed in his sleep, rolling over and letting his paws hang in the air. He dreamt of flying, and hunting hare with his mammy. His dream took him to far off places, mountains covered in snow and fish -

His dream halted as his rational mind reminded him that fish did not belong on mountains. Stomach growling, Signia opened his sea foam green eyes and let out a high pitched wail that only a pup could achieve. He scrambled behind the blue lai he had been curled up against as a brown, partially hairless animal climbed into the ruins.

Wide eyed and heaving breath from his lungs to feed his panicked heart the pup slammed his head beneath blue fur.

What was that... that thing!? He had seen gophers before, hare, fish, even wolves! But this was none of those animals! He tried to remember what it looked like thinking hard. He remembered the animal shedding it's hide to reveal pink flesh, like the soft under belly of a fish. It's fur was isolated a top it's head, and small patches a top it's flat face.

Signia shuddered disgusted, his stocky legs barely able to withstand his weight and he attempted to peer around the female lai's shoulder. Before her feet lay the multicoloured hide of the beast's within the ruins. Signia felt his stomach heave.

(omg step on Viva guys I dare you xDDD )

Lilith was only vaguely interested in what Callandrea had to say. A jeweler and mask maker. She had been curious if perhaps the locals of the nearby port stopped at the temple regularly. Lilith raised her head slightly as she looked at the blonde female approaching. Ugh, more pups. Lilith huffed with annoyance.

"You take quite an interest in the affairs of others, Lilith. One would to well to be careful... especially where Daila is concerned."

Lilith growled viciously, on her feet in an instant and bearing her teeth. "Watch your mouth human!" Lilith didn't take kindly to insults, or anything that could be perceived as an insult. How dare this- this human- who likely didn't even worship Daila- tell her to be CAREFUL?! "You would do well to take your own advice!" She was truly a menacing site despite the bright colors in her coat. She stood on the top step of the temple, guarding it almost.

With a low rumble in her chest (truly her mother's daughter!) Lilith turned and disappeared into the temple behind Serenity and Iapto. She caught up to them just in time to hear Serenity.

"This temple has a cellar, it's filled with stale dirty water, I can't swim and you know what the brats like. There's at least three scrolls there, and probably others under water."

"Wow RUDE." Lilith barked as she trotted up behind them. She bumped her head right against Iapto, nearly pushing her in. "Hey, Iapto!" She greeted, pleased to see a familiar face amongst all the strangers- likely more pleased then she'd usually be. As Iapto stepped into the water though, Lilith hung back predictably. She shot angry glances towards the human, Rubisa.

"I don't like where all this company came from, mother," she whispered insistingly. Lilith was clearly rearing to go, waiting for one more comment to start a fight. She looked behind her though, up at the statue of Daila. She knew it wasn't appropriate to fight on temple grounds. Lilith was a priestess of Daila, she was very familiar with the rules of what was appropriate or not on temple grounds. However, those rules didn't ban dirty looks, which she continued to shoot at anyone or anything that got too close.

[[ OMERGERD GUYS IMA SEXY SHINLAI BEHOLD MY SEXY TAILL FLUFF]]

WAIT IS THIS REFERRING TO THAT THING ABOVE YOUR NAME
WHAT
MAN THAT'S PRETTY COOL
I WANT TO BE SEXY

Best intermission ever

/ny out

((NY YOU ARE SUCH A LURKER XD))

Serenity looked down and the pup in confusion as it wailed. Deciding he was hungry or sleepy, she promptly picked him up in her mouth and plonked him back on top of her paws, giving him a few reassuring licks. "What is it little one?" She asked softly, briefly glancing up at Lilith and her rumbling.

"I don't like where all this company came from, mother," Lilith said in hushed tones, glancing towards the front of the temple.

"Nore do I." Serenity grumbled in reply, the rumble as close to a whisper as she could get. "They have shown us no ill intent though, aside from a few comments, and we all know how well you make comments back." She said tartly, stopping as she head a squeal of 'ewwww' from Iapto in the cellar. She sighed and rubbed her mask with one paw. "Would you mind standing at the top of the cellar and taking the scrolls from Iapto?" She asked, as right on cue a small scroll hurtled out of the cellar, bouncing off Serenity's flank and landing with a clatter on the stone steps, serenity scowled at the flinging of scrolls, but made no comment.

"Sen!" The voice called up. "Move the fire along about six feet! This goes back further than I thought!" She shouted, there was a brief pause before she called 'thank you', followed by a splash and a grumble. "AHH something just touched my leg!" Iapto shouted up.

"Good grief she's a squeaky human." Serenity mutter, before slowly laying her head down on the stone floor, one paw running across the pups back absentmindedly. He still looked wide eyed and nervous about Iapto's clothes heaped next to her. "Little one, what is your name?" She asked. "Have you not met a human before?"

((I don't know why but I'm imagining Serenity with an old Scottish lady accent .__. To youtube!))

Candy fumed... She had half a mind to chase after the other lai. But instead, she turned to Rubisa with a look that clearly read "Quit being so rational".

Candy followed the obnoxiously colored shinlai from a distance. "She meant no harm... She merely meant that you cannot be too careful around strangers... we have had a few many close encounters with unfriendly darkbloods of late... the last with a lone acting fiend by the name of Vuturid..." She offerd softly. Her shoulders were scarred, though it was hard to see for her coloration. when moving quickly she had a slight gimp of her left rear leg...it seemed fresh, as there were new scars poking out from behind her decorative bracer.

Rubisa waits with Breeze and her pup, doing magic tricks for the babe.

"Nore do I. They have shown us no ill intent though, aside from a few comments, and we all know how well you make comments back."

Lilith snorted indignantly. "Well excuse me if I take offense to offensive things!" She hissed back. At that moment a scroll came out of the cellar and fell between Serenity and Lilith. "Would you mind standing at the top of the cellar and taking the scrolls from Iapto?"

"Sure," Lilith murmured. She went to sit back at the entrance, calling down to Iapto to be careful about where she threw valuable artifacts. Lilith looked over her shoulder when paw pads came up behind her, expecting Serenity. However when she saw Candy, she scowled and went back to watching the cellar.

"She meant no harm... She merely meant that you cannot be too careful around strangers... we have had a few many close encounters with unfriendly darkbloods of late... the last with a lone acting fiend by the name of Vuturid..."

Lilith huffed, she was by no means easy to reason with, yet she could sympathize with unfriendly Darkbloods. She glanced at Candy, and it was immediate that she was far more relaxed. Her bristling fur lay down again and her growls quieted. "I believed she was implying something else. Good to know otherwise."

Lilith glanced at the flooded cellar. She frowned slightly, thinking the only way to get the other's away from the possibly valuable scrolls was to lead them away. She wasn't ready to resort to that quite yet though. "If you excuse me, I've come to this temple looking for something in particular and I really must get back to it...." Lilith left the sentence hanging, hoping Candy would take the hint.

(fff, I meant to reply earlier but my computer was being a douche)

Naria giggled as she 'wressled' with Candy, grabbing a tiny mouthful of fur and attempting to growl fiercly.

Breeze greated her twin's mate, laughing at their antics. Her fur bristled as a smaller, strange and lairy coloured female growled vicioulsy at Rubisa. When she turned away, heading deeper into the ruins, her fur flattened back down.

Naria dropped to the ground as Candy stood up, her ears folding back as she sensed the tension between the strange female with the brightly coloured mane and her Aunt's friend, though she didn't understand half of what was being said. She whined quietly as Candy went after the stranger, but was imeadiatly distracted by Rubisa, who started doing magic tricks to keep her entertained.

Breeze followed after Candyand the stranger. Noticing an older female close to an doorway into the basement of the ruins, she cocked her head as a familiar voice drifted out from the openning.

"Iapto?"

"... with some unfriendly Darkbloods..."

Dailian. Esther immeadately thought. And I'm outnumbered. she thought, biting her lip. Not wanting to get involved in a fight, the shinlai started to back up, going as quietly as she could. She moved further and further backward, her eyes fixed on the temple through the bushes. She didn't want to get in a fight with these Dailians. Her teeth were visible as they clutched onto her outer lips out of worry.

Yet as she moved backward, she moved closer and closer to the sleeping shinlai that she was unaware of behind her. Unaware of until she tripped over her, that is.

Esther let out a yelp followed by cursing under her breath as she attempted to pull herself back to her paws and make an escape.

[[ SHITS ABOUT TO GO DOWN SUCKAS!! SKY GIN HAS AWOKEN THE BEAST ]]

"Little one, what is your name?" "Have you not met a human before?"

Unable to look away from the beasts loose hide, the boy pup shudders," Signia... that's my name." he pauses,"What's a human? My Mammy or Pappy never told me about humans before" He screwed his eyes shut, thinking hard," They look scary miss."

The pup lowers his head sniffing the strange cent, "my Mammy always protects me from bad things. My Pappy says it's because she has a sour temper... sour like green berries in the spring!" The pup jumps and turns excitedly,"One day I will be scary and big like my Mammy!" He puffs out his chest looking up seriously at the blue shinlai.

---

Viva's heavy head lurched as something tripped into and over her antlers. A huff of air left her nose as her rested eyes darted behind her. A heavily stripped female stared back her, shuffling to get away. Viva growled deeply, animal had ran into her unknowingly before, but never another lai. She bared her teeth suddenly letting the female know she wasn't welcome around her.

"Signia," Viva grunted towards her front,"Sign-" She stopped, feeling the cold space beneath her paws.

The blood seemed to drain from within her, as her whole body went cold. She heard the female scrambling behind her, as her active imagination and quick temper put two and two together. Standing to her full height, her husky body weighed down over the other shinlai. She turned towards her slowly, menacingly as a deep roar ripped through her throat,

" Where is my pup?!"

"I believed she was implying something else. Good to know otherwise." Lilith commented. "If you excuse me, I've come to this temple looking for something in particular and I really must get back to it...."

Serenity snorted to herself, she knew what Lilith was suggestion, but made no bid to correct her, she was ware of the scrolls, and the fact other Shinlai might not show as much respect for them as she did.

"Signia... that's my name. What's a human? My Mammy or Pappy never told me about humans before. They look scary miss." The little pup said, the most she'd head him say. "My Mammy always protects me from bad things. My Pappy says it's because she has a sour temper... sour like green berries in the spring! One day I will be scary and big like my Mammy!" She chuckled quietly at the pups stance.

"My, aren't you a fearsome one!" She said, grinning broadly at him, before abruptly grabbing him and rolling him onto his back. "Raaah gonna get ya!" She said, pushing her nose onto his belly and blowing a raspberry. She laughed quietly before looking at him seriously. "Humans aren't all that different to Shinlai, some are nice, some are nasty, this one." She gestured to the cellar. "Is nice, she grew up with Shinlai and she's very kind." She reassured. "There is no reason to be afraid of her." She said.

"Iapto?" She heard from behind her, making her look around and eye the blond Lai coming closer.

"You know her?" She asked tartly, but she could press any more Iapto's head popped out of the cellar.

"Breeze! Hello! I'd come and greet you but I'm covered in muck!" She said, dropping a few scrolls by Lilith. "I'll come and see you guys once I'm done here!" She added, before disappearing again.

Serenity shook her mane and glanced down at the pup again, hearing a noise from somewhere. "Lilith, did you hear that? My ears aren't as good as yours." She said, eyes narrowing and flicking about, scanning the Shinlai and surrounding trees

Rubisa paled-if at all possibleas she ooked like a porcelain doll-and her hand went to her hip... Damn! Candy had her weapons tucked in with their trade goods... She dashed in, slipping on slick rocks but using the momentum to tuck and roll sidelong, coming behind Candy... Naira was tucked into her arms safely, unharmed but enjoying the spinny-flippy tricks.

"Mummy sounds pissed!" she paled, delivering Naria to breeze and going into a crouch in the shadows... she seemed to disappear, only her human scent giving her away... her hand rested on the dagger tucked into her boot. If ANY THING tried to hurt her friends.. they were going to have a tiny-though fierce-raging EB: Beep, this word is censored. on their hands.

Candy inched between herself and the entrance of the temple, putting herself between her niece, her dear sister, and her best friend... the others might have to handle themselves...

[[ TAKE COVER EVERYONE. THE BEAST HAS AWOKEN. ]]


Esther backed up, fur bristling as she faced the angry shinlai. Oh no. she thought, looking back and forth to try and find a way to escape. Yet she was trapped. Esther pulled herself to full height, letting out a defensive and warning growl.

"Were is my pup?!"

Esther blinked in surprise. 'Her.. pup?' she stood, dropping her guard. 'Oh.. crap. She thinks I stole her pup.'

"I don't know where she is!" she growled, her fur standing up along her back. Her muscles tensed, waiting to spring forth should the older shinlai attack her. "I swear," she said in a bit of a growl, her tail giving a slightly nervous twitch as she waited for the mother shinlai to either attack.. or.. she didn't know what she would do.

Signia pricked his over sized ears, batting flies away from them as he did. He was certain he heard something.... familiar...
His blood ran cold realizing what he had heard, ducking behind the blue lai lady,"Mammy's maaddd..."

---

Viva's own growl stuttered as the striped lai bellow her growled back defensively. It had been years since any lai stood up to her, or even acted defensively. Her jaws twitched, holding back a malicious grin. She was almost entertaining until she stuttered,

"I don't know where she is!"

Viva's anger exploded past reason. She was lying of course! Viva knew it was rare to find other shinlai out this far! With a strangled roar that was distinctly her own, Viva brought down a massive paw down on the striped lai. Though the young lai beneath her was smaller and faster, as Viva only managed to tear at the side of her white neck.

Blood leaked onto the dry leaves beneath them and splattered on the trees nearest them and the two lai scrambled at each other viciously. The sound of snapping teeth, wiping wind and cracking branches filled the forest, Viva's anger building. Suddenly, the young lai landed an excellent, deep swipe a long Viva's neck. An electric crackle could be heard beneath her roar this time, as Viva sucked light into her mouth and blasted it into her opponent's face, temporarily blinding her.

Viva flew back into the clearing, the impact being harsher then she expected. Standing slowly, blood gushed from her neck and mouth, leaking into the river beneath her.

Esther tried to dodge the older shinlai's blow to her neck, but did quiet roll out of the way in time. Her claws came smashing down on her neck. Blood spurted out of the gash, spraying out onto the younger shinlai's short, white, and striped fur coat. Agony exploded as the claws swiped down her neck and the air shinlai let out a roar of furry of her own before turning to lash out at the older shinlai, aiming for her face.

The two tussled about, snapping at each other, clawing, lunging, dodging. It was a flurry of claws and teeth, and before long, Esther landed a blow on the mother shinlai's neck. A certain satisfaction welled up inside her. A vindictive, aggressive, and victorious satisfaction. Blow for blow. Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. 

Esther let out a sharp, pained yowl as the older shinlai let out a blast of light from her mouth. Esther shut her eyes tight, but when she opened them, she couldn't see. She let out a Joel of frustration as she blinked furiously in an attempt to regain her sight. As a blurry vision began to return to her, she searched for the mother lai. And she quickly found her. Sight still blurry, she charged into through the bushes and leapt at the shinlai. Yet, while airborn, she used the wind to speed her up, and landed with more force than she normally would of been able to with a regular jump. Yet the impact sent her rolling across the grass and into a thorn bush with quite a bit of force. The thorns stung as she slammed into the bush, digging into her hide. 

There was the furious sounds of fighting, that even Serenity's old ears could pick up on. "Mammy's maaddd..." The little pup said, shrinking back and hiding behind Serenity.

Her eyes widened as she looking from the pup towards the noise, if she had ears they would have folded back. "IAPTO." she barked, lurching to her feet. "Pack up now!" She ordered, heading for her bags, grabbing them and quickly carrying to the cellar.

Iapto came bounding up the steps, covered in muck and slim from the cellar, carrying a couple of scrolls with her, she piled them into Serenity bag before yanking her clothes back on. "What's going on?" she asked, yanking her arm through her shirt.

"The pup, Signia, his mam isn't happy." Serenity said, gesturing to the little green one, as she pulled on her harness with the bags, fumbling slightly with the buckles. "I'd rather get him to her before she smashes down the rest of the temple."

Iapto glanced down at the pup, she knew her clothes would smell strongly of Shinlai, mainly Pipistella and Dagda, but she was still human and probably intimidating. She picked up her knives, slotting them into their sheaths and headed for the temple steps, seeing blood in the river. "Oi!" she shouted towards the river, wary that the Shinlai might charge towards them. "You Signia's mum?" She shouted, not entirely sure where this female was, half hoping that the fighting would stop long enough for the mother to hear them.

"Seriously?" She heard Serenity ask. "Why don't you just walk in between them?" She snapped. "You trying to get yourself killed?" but she got no reply, Iapto just flapping a hand at her with a 'be quiet' air.

((Iapto should be smelling like Pip, which Viva may notice? Y/N?))

Naria raced behind her mother as soon as Rubisa released her, her ears folded tight against her skull and eyes wide with fear at the thunderous roars and fighting sounds.

Breeze's fur stood on end, imeadiately in protective mother mode.

"Mammy's maaddd..."

A pup she hadn't noticed sqeaked, diving behind the older blue female, who shouted for Iapto.

She shook her head as Iapto walked out towards the stream.

"Naria, stay with Candy." Naria nodded, racing behind her aunts legs, as Breeze followed after Iapto.

"Oi!You Signia's mum?"
"Seriously? Why don't you just walk in between them?You trying to get yourself killed?"

Breeze willed the air to flow towards her, catching the sent of the fighting shinlai, one scent was unfamiliar, the other wasn't. She was glad she'd followed after Iapto.

Viva heard a throaty growl as the younger shinlai jumped at her, just to say clipping her mask. Copper dug into her gums where the masked hooked in to keep it in place. She tasted the copper and the blood in her mouth as the white lai thudded into a thorn bush. Viva realized then that the lai was just a pup compared to her. Newly found element of air and probably not even twenty yet.

Viva well into her 30's now shuddered at the though, Phlo's voice coming into her head,"You're a beast Viv, and strong yes... but you're not indestructible. Be careful when you fight... be careful not to blind yourself with your anger."

The marroon lai's snostrels shuddered with heavy breaths, when she suddenly took in a small cent. Vaguely familiar, Viva took a second to peer around towards the smell; not turning her back from the striped lai, aching from the bush landing. Eyes wide, Viva roared vciously, blood sprouting from her neck as the muscles tightened. A human, a small family or lai... blood. Her own and the babe in the bush. Breeze! (She growled remembering their scuffle in the desert so many years ago) and another human... Pip! Viva snorted, shaking loose blood off her fur, squinting, she didn't see Pip at all.

Viva heard some muttering around her, as her basic senses came back to her in a flood.
"Oi!"
Viva flinced as the human addressed her, rather rudely for a human, Viva noted, growling.

"You Signia's mum?" More muttering of murder but Viva didn't notice. She saw Signia buried in a female lai's fur, eye his mum tentatively. "Signia!" She boomed, still rather angry. Eyeing the striped lai as she did.

And the pup knew to go to her.

Lilith growled, the fur along her back standing on end. She bared her teeth in a ferocious grin, her eyes looked wild beneath her mask. It'd been so long since she fought someone- even a simple spar. Lilith stepped forward, smoke billowing from her nostrils as she sized up the opponent who came from the bush.

She had to look up to the large maroon Shinlai. Viva terribly taller than her, maybe about three feet, but she was big. Lilith jumped forward down the temple steps where she stood snarling like a guard dog just beside Iapto. Even if this Shinlai was a giant, Lilith was sure her fur would catch fire just the same as any others.

Lilith wasn't sure herself if she jumped forward to protect Iapto or in eagerness to fight. It was likely very stupid of her, but she brushed away the thought. Sometimes she forgot that just because she felt no pain didn't lessen the seriousness of some injuries.

(wow sorry crappy post)

Serenity shifted to the top of the temple steps as Lilith bounded down next to Iapto and Breeze, but she hung back, knowing her element was more use from a distance. “He's fine,” she called down. “He had fallen into the river and we fished him out. He was tiered, but fine.” She said, voice stern but sounding calm. “There's no need to lash out.” She said curtly, eyes narrowing with a disapproving air.

Iapto had her hands out in front of her, not a submissive stance but an non-threatening one. “Alright?”She asked, before slowly going down the rest of the steps, before side stepping slightly further away from her, moving carefully and keeping her hands out. “Hey, stripy?” She asked tentatively, looking over to the thorn bush. “You alright there?” She asked, keeping her distance but watching the pale one.

Breathing heavily, the shinlai pulled herself out of the bush, her teeth clenched against the pain of her wounds and the newer, stinging pain of the thorns raking against her hide as ehe pulled herself out of the thorn bush. The shinlai let out a threatening growl as the human approached, bearing her teeth as a threatening snarl rose out of her throat. Normally she was neutral towards people... but after being beaten up by another shinlai, she was feeling rather nasty. Her fur bristled, her bloodstained fur making her more intimidating than ever. Yet as she growled, the movements in her neck caused new pain to shoot up the gashes in her neck. If they had gone deeper, or the shinlai had not moved out of the way in time, she might of had a broken neck or the wound would of gone deep enough to kill. She stood still, her chest heaving as kept her eyes on the mother shinlai, the human, and the snarling lai that had seemed to have taken the role of the human's bodyguard. It took her a few moments to register what the human had said.

"Just fine," she said in a growl, pain coursing up her neck again as she spoke. "Absolutely fine. You know, with a gaint gash down my neck and all... I think I'm okay." she said sarcastically, gritting her teeth against the pain. Some of the thorns were stll lodged in the shinlai's hide, and they stung, along with the wounds the other's had inflicted.

(Lol, Frap, it was Typhoon she and Tag had a fight with. Not Breeze xD)

Naria continued to cower behind her aunt, staring at the big maroon lai with wide eyes. She was very glad her mother wasn't that scary.

Breeze's fur flattened slightly, now that the fighting seemed to have stopped.

“Hey, stripy?You alright there?”
"Just fine, Absolutely fine. You know, with a gaint gash down my neck and all... I think I'm okay."

"There's no need to be sarcastic." Breeze said, her frown hiden by her mask. The striped female's wounds were serious, if left unhealed they'd start to fester soon. Glancing warily at Viva, she leaped over the stream, and padded towards the strange female.

"Those wounds will fester if they aren't seen to soon. Are you able to heal yourself?"

Candy scooped up Naria and watched Rubisa approach breeze with the bandages. Candy followed Rubisa, watching warily...

"I'll clean up the one in the bush if you try to help...Mammy" She glanced from Breeze to Viva, pulling forth a pair of pliers for removing thorns.

The human approached Esther slowly, with a cleaning cloth in hand. "I am Rubisa Dana... I have far more agile hands than my friend Breeze, so please allow me to help..."

"Careful Breeze..." Candy called, holding Naria close to her chest... Naria could hear her heart racing... she would feel better, if her better, stronger half were here to comfort her...

Esther ignored the part about her sarcasm withe the exception of a indigant sniff that was emitted from her nostrils. "..No. I can't." she said in reply to the light brown shinlai. Her eyes narrowed slightly as the human approached, and she took a step back or two, eyeing her distrustuffy and the small metal tool gripped in her hand. For several seconds Esther stood, her eyes narrowed as she examined the human and the shinlai standing beside her. It seemed as if the person was a friend of the shinlai around her. That was good enough for her. If she was a friend of the shinlai, she was someone who could be trusted. Human's rarely got involved in Dalian and Darkblood contriveries- she didn't have to worry about her trying to posion her or something. What was there to gain from harming or trying to kill the shinlai? Esther would end up seriously maiming her or killing her if she tried.

"... thank you," she said, her gaze locked with the human who stood across from her. Gritting her teeth, she laid down on the grass to make it easier for the person to reach her wounds. "If there's anything I can do in return for you.." Esther said, her eyes fixed on the person.