[Arashi]

Got to break free from this disease
Even though without a doubt I just want more
Life breathes from holes down deep inside
I need to find


» Break Free -♦- Decyfer Down «

====================================================================================

[R]ivulets of golden sunlight coursed through between the tall, robust frames of the red-brick and wooden buildings that comprised most of the bustling town. Since dawn broke, the streets had gradually filled with all sorts of beings beginning their day's affairs; it seemed as though the town awoke from a night's slumber almost as real as that of most of its inhabitants. The ambient noise of everyday activity filled the town's streets and plazas - the shouts of street vendors advertising their goods, the conversations of citizens exchanging gossip, the raucous laughter of some of the heartier town residents. Yet, amidst all this sound, there was one who made none; a solitary figure avoided the social buzz of the town, keeping to himself. Kiya.

Piercing yellow eyes watched the town's inhabitants stream along the streets in what seemed to be an endless current. The shadow of an overhanging canopy - extending from the walls of one of the shops - concealed the male serraptor to whom the observant gaze belonged. He shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other, trying to plan his route from here. The serraptor had not wanted to come here, but it had been necessary. Kiya, in his venturing outside the town, had acquired some goods which he could make no immediate use of - thus, he had come here to sell them, and, in turn, obtain a few keystones. He lacked money, and he understood that, despite being a feral creature, he would need currency sooner or later. Yet, being the introvert he was, the town was hardly the most pleasant place to be in. A weary sigh from Kiya as he glanced across the street reaffirmed this fact.

The serraptor lingered for a few more minutes, hoping no-one would approach him. Eventually, he mustered the will to move into the crowd, and began making his way through, aiming to reach the town's exit. Instantly, however, he was engulfed in the current of people. Resisting the growing panic within him, Kiya tried to navigate through the crowd, nudging and pushing, and garnering a few annoyed barks and remarks from others in the process. 'I need to get out of here as quickly as possible,' he thought to himself. Little did he know, however, that being among what he hated most would prove to be a turning point for him...

{ 1 } || { 1 }

[Indigo]

Rayner was bored.

The fire had been fun. Oh, yes. They always were, otherwise he wouldn't bother to set them, would he? But the fire brigade or whatever they were called had shown up, and he'd needed to get away; he was an ethereal creature, yes, but he had those handy chains to grab onto and it didn't matter how hot he made them to people who specifically wore fireproof equipment. So he'd fled as quickly as he could manage, which was quite fast indeed, and eventually he'd ended up back here.

He wasn't really a great fan of the town; it had brought him plenty of unpleasantness over the years, small children exploring the old factory who ran in terror when he loomed up out of the shadows, angry ghost hunters who thought he was something they could banish, people conducting experiments without realizing they were being watched. And outside the abandoned building it was, of course, much worse. Many people around here had seen Barghests before, of many types, but his was supposedly known for being violent and unstable, and so he wasn't exactly welcomed. That was the trouble, really: the town wasn't a great fan of Rayner, either.

He walked as unobtrusively as he could manage, trying not to pass through people since that usually upset them, and he'd had his dose of havoc for the day. There weren't many opportunities to do his thing around here anymore; too many more fires and they'd pull down the factory, and then who knew what would happen? He might just disappear as if he'd never been. He didn't pay much attention to his surroundings other than taking care to stay solid. Nobody in town recognized him, but he knew every face; it wasn't exactly the largest place, and he'd lived there for decades.

Then--someone. A person he didn't recognize. That by itself surprised him, but there was also the way the stranger pushed against the crowd. Like he didn't want to be here? Who came to Nabias against their will? It wasn't exactly a trading hub--they had shops and such but it wasn't like the big cities. Not a child dragged along by a busy parent, since the Serraptor appeared to be alone. And certainly not an explorer, since most of those didn't bother coming to town at all if they didn't want to. So what was he doing here?

Fire flared behind Rayner's eyes, and he grinned. Something to do!

He wouldn't ask, not yet. That kind of thing only resulted in panic. But he did begin to walk toward the stranger; he'd reach a suitable position to ask questions from soon enough.

[Arashi]

Got to break free from this disease
Even though without a doubt I just want more
Life breathes from holes down deep inside
I need to find


» Break Free -♦- Decyfer Down «

====================================================================================

[K]iya's unique disability made him predisposed to feeling intimidated in such public places - such a fact was clearly evident in his body language alone. His muscles were taut, like the fibres on strained ropes; his neck erect and his tail stiffened. To any onlooker, such a posture was clearly awkward, yet the young male Serraptor could not help it. As indicated by his body's automatic reaction, Kiya needed to escape this place before the worst possible scenario occurred: he was approached and talked to. To most others, such an outcome was hardly worrisome, but to Kiya it was something that needed to be avoided. At least, as much as possible; he knew there would come times where a conversation - or, to be more exact, a monologue - was inevitable.

Kiya glanced around, trying to co-ordinate himself amidst this river of unfamiliar faces. Where had he initially come from? The conglomeration of different scents that hung in the heavy air, clouding and permeating the town’s streets, robbed the Serraptor of most of his concentration. Eventually focusing himself, the raptor began moving once more. ‘Yes, the exit must be this way,’ he reassured himself. He recalled the buildings he had seen coming here – he was headed in the correct direction.  As if to ascertain this, Kiya glanced behind him, at the buildings to his rear; yes, he had not come from there. Whilst examining his surroundings, however, Kiya noticed someone. In the brief glimpse he had managed to get before other people had blocked his view, Kiya thought he had seen someone following him. Some sort of Barghest, perhaps? Kiya was not sure – he had captured only a fleeting  glance. 'Who was that?' The Serraptor shrugged it off. It might have just been his imagination.

Returning his thoughts to the task of finding his way out, Kiya once again pushed against the current. To many, the Town of Nabias was hardly as densely populated as some other cities, but, to someone such as Kiya, it was just as unpleasant. The stream of a few people felt like a raging torrent to him. The Serraptor began to feel claustrophobic; his throat tightened, and his arms drew up against his chest. He needed a breath away from all these people. Glancing around, he tried to find someplace to escape; someplace to go. Anywhere. Any place.

Kiya noticed an open doorway leading into what appeared to be a vacant building, and the Serraptor slipped in. It was dark inside, and nobody was around. The musty smell of dust, grease and oil met Kiya’s nostrils. From the deserted, decrepit appearance of the interior – oil stains on the dusty floor, dirty windows – Kiya assumed this building had been abandoned for some time.

The Serraptor took this opportunity to rest himself, taking in the relative silence around him. It comforted him – it was what he was used to: solitude and silence.

{ 1 } || { 2 }

[Indigo]

Rayner increased his pace as the stranger continued to move away from him—he'd known Serraptors to be pretty fast, and he wasn't keen on losing sight of his quarry before he found out just what was going on. No, that would be a waste of time. And as he sped up he very carefully forgot himself.

Not entirely, of course—he didn't know what would happen if he did that, but he didn't like to think of the possibilities. Perhaps he would fade away completely, only supported by his own memory of himself now that his creator was dead. But he wasn't opposed to a little forgetting if it made his passage easier, and at the moment it did. He became largely transparent, insubstantial, hard to see and harder still to touch. Sometimes he stumbled through people by accident this way, but he wasn't too bothered about that anymore, too focused on his new quarry. It let him move faster, too, unhindered by air resistance and friction and other important physics information, which he could now just…forget. There were benefits to not being all there.

And then the Serraptor went straight into the abandoned factory. Amazing! Rayner had to stop himself from cackling, although nobody was likely to hear him anyway, in this state.

He followed the stranger inside. Musty, greasy, and familiar—this place was the closest thing he had to home, and since he was tied to the place there was always a certain sense of well-being that came over him when he entered it. Once he'd hated the feeling, but now he was more inclined to accept it as a relief from his life's background radiation of fear and loathing. Here was a place that loved him, without concern for what he did.

The Serraptor had stopped, so Rayner crept up behind him, as silently as he could manage. It was harder to forget himself in here, where he'd been created, and it required much less effort to just let himself flow back into being.

He leaned over the stranger's shoulder, and said, "So, what brings you here?"