[Freezair]

The scents of the night were unpleasant.

The pungent garbage, cooked to putrescence by the heat of the day. The inebriated bums sheltering from the wind behind the run-down wall. The stench of pond scum that followed the Merkuhna, not quite lost as she crept over fallen stones and heaps of rubbish.

Algae clung steadfastly to the crevices of her intricate, torn body. Dessicated by land, her delicate, toxic fins drooped without the water to support them. Rips traced through the ephermeral membranes across her tails and fins, and new ones sprung up as she dragged those tails through the murk. Hygene seemed to be the least of her priorities, thought it didn't seem to be from lack of trying. She would stop, occasionally, to procure a bottle of lotion from the small sack she carried, and rub the creamy pink substance obsessively into her face. The sweet scent of it mingled nauseatingly with the miasma around her.

Her expression was oddly cheerful, as if she came there with a greater purpose. Despite the drag of her tails and the droop of her whiskers, she looked somehow empowered.

[1]

[Kitsune_Beauty]

A small blue kindle of flame flickered weakly on one of the old, dusty beds in the cathedral as a lone flarend girl slowly let her aching body awaken. Her eyes came open and she looked around in a sleepy daze. "Oh yeah...Came here to sleep off the hangover." Young Kanali didn't feel like getting one of her sister's lectures about coming home drunk ninety-five percent of the time. She already had a screaming headache. "Some party last night..." Kanali murmured to herself as she attempted to hop down from the bed. In her woozy state, she stumbled and fell with a plop on her side. She drunkenly staggered to her feet and went outside.

Night already. "Did I sleep all day again?" she asked no one in particular. The sound of the small stream seemed to be magnified in her ears. Going over to it, Kanali dipped her black paws into the pleasently cool water and rinsed her face before looking at her reflection. Kanali looked just as she would expect. Eyes slightly bloodshot, the fur on her head strung in all different directions, and a sticky substance on her chest fur that was apparently a mixture of some of the different drinks she'd had the night before. Shrugging casually, she began continuesly dipping her paws in the water and washing herself.

[Freezair]

Aha! There was someone who looked like she could use her help.

Down by the steam, dipping her paws through the waters. She had all the halmarks of a Troubled Intercity Youth. The stumbling gait. The bloodshot eyes. A pungent, alcohol-esque scent, thought that may also have been one of the winos sleeping in the corners, clutching his precious bottle. Noelani had found her chance! Here was her oppertunity to Do Good In The World.

She sauntered up to her subject. Her tails still dragged dejectedly, and all of her delicate accoutrements bowed beneath the weight of gravity. But her paws placed themselves in front of one another jauntily, and her oilslick-colored eyes were bright.


"Hello, Troubled Intercity Youth!" Noelani cheerfully greeted her.

[Kitsune_Beauty]

Kanali shook the excess water from her body and looked up to find the gorgeous, yet rather dry-looking creature in front of her. Not even her Grandad had told the flarend girl or her sister or her mother of this species of kuhna. Could she be a custom? Or maybe one of thoughs Christmas species. Well this is nice... she thought to herself. Usually the hullicinations of beautiful mamasitas stop coming by now...

The flames on Kanali's tails abruptly flared back to their normal life as the beautiful kuhna's voice came to her mind. A hard look came to her eyes. "What did you call me?" she growled lightly. "I am anything but troubled, baby. Thoughs late-night parties are a blast for the right types." The growl had gone from her voice and now she had  let herself melt back into her 'normal' ways.

"Youre lookin' a little dried out, beautiful. Why don't ya stand in the stream for a bit." The black female sat on her haunches, her flames completely normal now as last night's shananigans wore off. Truth be told, the female's rather abrasive voice had caught her off-guard, but Kanali figured it may've been a misunderstanding. Not to mention, whatever this kuhna species was, she was one gorgeous creature.

[Freezair]

"Oh, no thank you," Noelani replied ingenuously. "That water is flithy. I have plenty of moisturizer here in my backpack." As if to prove a point, Noelani reached behind her and pulled out the creamy pink bottle. She squirted a dab of lotion into her paw and rubbed it liberally into the fuzz on her face. The bits of fur there stuck together in bizarre peaks, making her look even droopier.

"You shouldn't be touching it, either," Noe advised, turning her nose away from the stream. "See? That's a piece of advice to help you Turn Your Life Around. I'm here to help Troubled Intercity Youth, you see."

[Kitsune_Beauty]

Kanali rolled her eyes. Great. Houston, we have a priss. Her tails had begun twitching rather irritably. "Look here, missy, I'm not what you'd call 'troubled' so quit tellin' me I am. Capiche?" Her regular wild girl tone had returned. If there was one thing Kanali could not stand it was a priss, but the main thing that had begun to make her flames increase in temperature was the fact that this particular priss was trying to tell her how to live her life.

"Yeah I may be an intercity youth or whatever the hell you called it, but if you've heard me sing at the Slums you'd know I'm anything but troubled." Had she brought her own mic and boom box with her? Were they in the cathedral? She'd have to check later.

OOC- Yes Kanali tends to have a bit of a mouth on her. Baal-sama knows.

[Freezair]

"Oh my!" Noelani's tails were already dragging submissively, so there was nowhere for them to fall to, but her back arched in surprise. "I'm sorry! I was complete unaware! Are you a Good Samaritan like myself? I'm Noelani. May I ask what you are?"

Noe's tone was high and cheerful, but her entire body was crushing toward the ground. It was clear she was rather frightened. She was not used to people shouting at her.

[4]

[Kitsune_Beauty]

The female's blue flames began going back to normal once more as she saw that she had gotten at least the main part of her point across. "Pfft. Good samaritan. Now that's funny." There was a bit of sarcasm to her voice. "Name's Kanali. As for the whole 'good samaritan' jazz, if you call getting drunk off your tails every night and dancing rather rudley at clubs than I guess I fit the bill." The flarend turned to go see if the boom box was in the cathedral, but not before waving a tail in Noe's direction as an invitation.

Pushing the large door open with some effort, Kanali's flames illuminated the darker cathedral in a soft blue light. Waving her tails, she ignited them even more to make it easier to see. "I thought I had that thing around here somewhere." she muttered as she looked around the bed. The night before was so fuzzy she couldn't remember if she even had it.

[Freezair]

Slinking close to the ground, the instinct to run pulsing in her paws, Noe trembled her way into the cathedral. She followed her nose inside the broad, fearsome doors, the little pink nub searching around the dark insides. The darkness was... Oppressive, she thought, was the best word for it. The tall shadows left by the high columns and the motionless dancing statues seemed to want to drink her in.

"Um..." Noe muttered. The simple utterance richocheted all around the inside of the building. A hidden choir wondered back at her; the echo almost made her turn tail and leave again. Bravely--as bravely as she could muster, anyway--she brought her whole self inside. A quick gust of wind thumped the doors shut behind her.

"So, um... what are you looking for, again?" She was still determined to be helpful, doing something for the Intercity Youth, even if they weren't positively Troubled.

[5]

[Kitsune_Beauty]

Finding it rather agrivating trying to keep her tails bright enough and looking for her boom box, Kanali flicked each of them quickly in different directions, igniting the varias torches that lined the walls. "That's better." she mewed as she let her flames shrink back to normal. "You okay over there, baby?" Kanali said as she turned around a moment to see the slinking kuhna.

"I'm looking for my damn boom box." she answered as she wriggled under the bed. "Guess I didn't bring it. Oh well. A mic probably wouldn't be a good idea in this echoey place anywho." Coming out from under the bed again, she hopped up on top of it. A cloud of dust followed and she coughed a bit wile waving a paw. "You look like an aquatic type, gorgeous. Not to be blunt, but what the hell are you?" It wasn't in Kanali's nature to make an attempt at wording things politly, but part of her hoped Noe wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"Know what, I think I'm actually gonna change now. Even though I hardly ever use my half humanoid form." With that, she moved to the middle of the bed and switched into her anthro form. The red runes stuck out against her tan skin. Her black ears and flaming tails were the only features of her kuhna form. "You got a humanoid form, baby?"

[Freezair]

"Oh!" Noe's head perked up eagerly. "Why, as a matter of fact, I do! As well as a draconic form and a wolf form. But unfortunately, due to the great strain of their use, I cannot use any of them here, where others may be hurt--even the reletively tame human form.

"But since you asked, this body I have to wear now is called a Merkuhna," she said grandly, bowing her head as she spoke.

This was easy, this was. It was true that she had another skin to slip into, but it wasn't another species. It was another persona. So long as she had her shield, her other her, she would be alright. The meek, the naive, the sheltered--all of it could fall away when she slipped into that self she had built for herself. The one with the myriad magical powers, the tortured past she had bravely struggled through, the strength, the trauma, the--

So what if it wasn't exactly wise to lie? So what if this curious creature, seemingly torn between sweetness and ferocity, could prorably rip her to shreds? She didn't decide to put up the shield. It just came to her.

[6]

[Kitsune_Beauty]

Kanali watched the feline almost suspiciously. Her sister, Illiana, was always better at seeing through a person but the flarend couldn't help but feel that Noe was hiding something. She layed on her stomach, propping her chin on the back of her hands. "I wanna see your human form, babe." Her tails swayed almost teasingly as she watched Noe with her indigo eyes.

"Soooo? You gonna show me your other skin or what?" She winked slyly. For this little number in front of her, she'd figure out a way to see that hidden side.

[Freezair]

"Well, in order to transform, I require a lot of power, and I wouldn't want to hurt anyone with the backlash."

The answer came so smoothly and falsely. It was almost as if she were preening herself. But hearing the insistance in the other's voice, she began to consider what would happen if she kept pressing. What if she was exposed? What if she had to admit herself? That had never really happened before. She'd never had to worry about it before.

Her limp tails twitched, almost as if they were afraid for her.

[7]

[Kitsune_Beauty]

Kanali placed both hands on the bed behind her, propping herself up as her tails swayed cooly. "Don't be afraid of me, baby. I ain't as bad as I seem." Her words were followed by a 'friendly' wink. "Now a 'good citizen' like yourself wouldn't want to keep me waiting, would ya? I showed you my other side. If your this gorgeous in feline form, i'm sure I can take a bit of an 'outburst' to see it."

OOC- In class. Bell about to ring

[Freezair]

"Oh, I certainly don't question you, miss. But there are others outside whom I wouldn't want to hurt. I have to think of others, after all."

Now how much longer would she be able to persist with these lies? Kanali was insistant. She would probe and probe and probe until Noe had no option but to confess. She tried not to be obvious about it, but she was sweating.

[8]