[MillietheWarrior]

The wind was silent in the hills. Down below, the graveyards of the former cathedral and the ruins were quiet as well. Not even a foul breeze blew through this night. Form out of the darkness, four sets of eyes appeared. Slowly, as one, they began to converge.

[MillietheWarrior]

“What brings you here?” The first to speak was a Mekkayena. He was strange looking, with wings on his back and a coloration that was unfamiliar to the other three. His face was set into the trademark half smile all Mekkas wore, and the panel on his back pulsed a pale, pearlescent blue. Even in the dark, they could see the symbols etched into his skin glowing unnaturally.

[MillietheWarrior]

The next to slowly appear from the shadows was a feline of massive proportions. Her body was made of crystals that glowed a pale green in the faint moonlight. Her head was held regally, high above her shoulders. She did not respond to the question, instead blinking impassively down at her cursed counterpart. Her jaws remained clamped shut, and she seemed as though she was refusing to speak even as the others looked to her for an answer.

[MillietheWarrior]

The final two to appear from the darkness were a pair of similarly looking felines. Their movements were mechanical, ligaments and joints hissing with grinding as though they were gears. Their eyes glowed unnaturally, and the ends of their tube-like tails were tipped with lethal looking blades. It was they who answered the question first.

[MillietheWarrior]

“We have come to seek out a new home.” Their eyes slanted to the Hunter beside them, who still remained stubbornly silent. “And what of the two of you?” The Mekkayena’s gaze rested on the crystalline feline, an animosity he didn’t quite understand passing between them. He frowned, and turned back to the two Khimera.
[5/5, level up x 4]

[MillietheWarrior]

“I have my reasons,” the Mekka replied evasively. His gaze shifted back to the Hunter, who had not said a word. “I am known as Max. I hear you were once residents of the menagerie. I take it you did not find the accommodations suitable? What was the problem?” There was accusation in his tone, and the Khimera and Hunter didn’t seem to enjoy it.

[MillietheWarrior]

“The accommodations were fine,” the female of the two khimera replied, and shifted where she stood. The chains on her ankles clinked loudly in the silence. “There was nothing wrong with them. But we have freedom now. And freedom means choosing four ourselves.” The Mekkayena blinked slowly as the Hunter turned to gaze at them. “And that means we can choose where we wish to live and raise out kits.”

[MillietheWarrior]

“I was not aware that Khimera could reproduce,” the Hunter responded at last, her voice holding a faint, echoing quality that made it sound as though it came from far away. “We have run together before, my friends. I am glad to see you here again, and in such good spirits.” The Mekka wondered what good spirits she spoke of. “I too, seek something, though what it is would perhaps be better to share another time.”

[MillietheWarrior]

“Oh, you speak?” The mekka looked faintly annoyed. “but I suppose we all have our reasons. What are your names? Or do you even have any?” The other three turned to lock gazes with him. The khimera looked amused, but the Hunter simply looked unimpressed.

[MillietheWarrior]

“I am called Laroo,” the crystalline feline replied at last. “And that is how I wish to be addressed.” She inclined her head towards the two cats at her side. “I am Naasade,” the blue female spoke first. The second, a white, battle scarred male with a fearsome visage, spoke next. “I am Charge.”
[5/10, level up x 4]

[MillietheWarrior]

“Laroo. I have heard your name before.” The Mekkayena eyed the Hunter speculatively. The Hunter reentered his gaze impassively. “You were once a member of the menagerie as well. I have heard you were bound to one of the inhabitants.”

[MillietheWarrior]

The Khimera exchanged glances. They seemed to be wondering about the faint undertones of animosity between the Hunter and the Mekka. “Perhaps you heard correctly,” Laroo conceded with a dip of her head. Max perked up considerably, looking faintly intrigued. The Hunter, however, would not continue without prompt.

[MillietheWarrior]

“Indeed,” he said at last, sitting down in the soft grass beneath his paws. “I would kindly ask to know who it is you have bound yourself to. I myself have the same difficulty - if you could call it that, of course. I am interested to hear about your experience.” He turned to the Khimera as Laroo considered his words carefully. “And the two of you? Are you bound as well?”

[MillietheWarrior]

“I don’t know what ‘bound’ means,” Charge explained slowly, child-like curiosity filling his eyes. “Naasade?” He turned to the female at his side, and she looked thoughtful as she mulled the question over. “Being bound can mean a number of things,” she explained, and felt Laroo shift beside her to regard her curiously, even as Max watched her intently.

[MillietheWarrior]

“In our case, Charge, it means ‘master.’” She turned to gaze at the Mekkayena solidly. “I once had a master named Eyes. The two of us were separated long ago, but I know that he has earned his freedom, the same as I.” Laroo looked on in interested as Max tilted his head. “After I was set free, I was taken captive by a group of humans who wished to use me for sport. I was set free by a woman with strange powers. It is she whom I owe allegiance to, but I am given freedom to go where I will.”

[5/15, level up x 4]