[MillietheWarrior]

The light colored Akail's tail thrashed unexpectedly. She could hear the soft sounds of something lurking off in the darkness, and she could see each individual stone and crevice hidden in the shadows. This was her home; she was obligated to know everything about it. But it was not happy memories that flooded her mind when she reminisced about her old life; but memories of pain and suffering and utter and complete loneliness.

She was here for a reason, a purpose. She'd heard of other Akail, Akail who, like her, were pale of flesh. She'd thought she was one of a kind, and had a hard time coping with such a thing. Many, if not all, of the darker Akail shunned her, intent on keeping her rare and unwanted genetics out of their lines. They hadn't even spoken to her since she‘d shown her face in the caverns.

But now she'd heard tale of lighter colored Akail, the 'Pale Akail,' if you would. She was, needless to say, quite skeptical. If she was shunned, simply for her coloration, then what made anyone think these creatures truly existed? There was no way that they could have survived on her own. She’d been lucky; she was found by a human, and taken home.

But now she returned; returned and was hopeful of finding a place within the tribe of the Pale Akail. Maybe they had formed Clans consisting of Pale Akail alone. It would make sense, and it would explain how they survived for so long without anyone getting wind of their existence or dying off completely. Perhaps they, understanding her condition, would accept her and she could freely live down here with them.

Maybe they could teach her their secrets of living a life as a freak, an unwanted individual; and she, in turn, could teach them the secrets of the surface-world. Her heart was lighter than it had been in ages; she’d never been happy here, not when she was alone. But perhaps, if she could find at least one of these Akail, she could plead her case and ask to stay with them.

[1, 12]

[MillietheWarrior]

Seaspray knew that many people had traipsed down into the tunnels, defiling her homeland, and routing out her brothers and sisters. Yes, they were still her kin, her kind, even if they didn’t want her. She was angry at the intrusion, like most sane-minded Akail would be. But she had not minded the human who had taken her home. Did that make her a hypocrite? Did the Pale Akail feel the same? She wondered if they despised the surface-dwellers as much as she had at one point in time. She wasn’t sure what she would find down here, or if she would find anything, but she was hopeful.

It didn’t look like the prospects were good; after all, her kind were some of the rarest of the rare, hard to find, and hard to tame. But she wasn’t looking to really tame; she was looking for a friend, for someone who would accept her as she was, and vice versa. Perhaps, if she was lucky, she could find...A mate? Seaspray had never dared hope. But if there was anything of the kind, then perhaps one of the pale ones would take her in, look after her...Love her. People thought of Akail as cold, unfeeling creatures; creatures who, if given the chance, would choose to fight and kill and destroy instead of coming quietly.

Yes, Akail were dangerous. But wouldn’t anyone else do the same, if their home and their very existence were threatened? She knew it would be true, yet they feared her kind, and hunted them. Akail had feelings; they loved, they cared, they raised their families. Certainly, she knew she had been shunned. But it was because she was different; Akail didn’t like different. At least, most did not. Maybe if she foud the pale ones, she would find a family, and some hope. And possibly love...

[MillietheWarrior]

The caverns were getting darker as she progressed deeper. She knew that, should she ever hope to find a pale one, she would need to venture deep within the caves. Seaspray had lived her whole life down here; venturing down into the abyss of shadows was nothing new to her. She relished the idea of returning to the place she called home. The darkness crept in around her, obscuring her from view for anyone who relied on normal eyesight.

But night remained day, for a creature who had spent their entire existence in the darkness. Seaspray was not afraid, nor was she worried, as she traipsed deeper within the tunnels. She knew this place, knew it inhabitants. The only thing that had he on edge was being spotted by a 'normal' Akail. They would not take kindly to her intrusion. Bearing that in mind,. she silenced herself and her footsteps, moving along quietly and making no noise.

[3, 14]

[MillietheWarrior]

Seaspray knew the pale ones would hide deep within the shadows; perhaps because they knew it was safer, or perhaps because they were ashamed of their looks. Did they feel as she felt, destined to hide their true selves from the outside world? When she was brought to the surface, she remembered that most who looked at her saw her as something rare, beautiful, and strange. They coveted her, wanted her for themselves, asked her owner if they could buy her. But the woman had held fast, and would not let go of the precious Akail.

Seaspray was grateful for this; her existence would be nothing without her master now. Though she ventured deep into the caves to find and possibly live with the Pale Akail, her mind always went back to her home, and how happy she was there. Then why was she down here? If she was so happy on the surface world, why return to the place that brought her nothing but despair? Why? Because for once, in her short life, she wanted to find a purpose; to find others who were like her.

[4, 15]

[MillietheWarrior]

Seaspray felt as though there were a million eyes watching her. But she knew there was nothing out there; nothing close by, anyway. She could sense the movement within the darkness, pinpoint every clatter and snap of rock or crystal as something deep within the tunnels leapt from place to place. Yet still, she pushed on, the only sound in the tunnels was the soft 'click, click' of her claws against the rock. Akail rarely traveled the paths down here; those were fore the truly brave, or the truly stupid. Akail stuck to the shadows, to the high ledges and the dark crevices far above the paths taken by humans and pets alike.

Seaspray felt odd down here, yet knew that this path, most assuredly, would take her to the pale ones. This was the main path, the one that led all the way down into the darkness of the caverns. Though Seaspray no longer felt like a true Akail, she did not feel like a hunter. She was here for something that no hunter could ever hope to ask for. Her large yellow eyes blinked and glowed in the darkness as she moved deeper into the caves.

[5, 16]

[MillietheWarrior]

Seaspray stiffened in the dark, her neck taught as her body quivered with a sudden sense of someone behind her. She whipped her neck around, but was met with only the silent darkness. The shadows closed in around her as the last dredges of sunlight filtered off and faded away. Now she was surrounded by complete darkness, lost in a sea of blackness that few dared to swim in. But this wasn't a problem for her. She welcomed the darkness, relished the shadows. It had been a long time since she had been down here, and they engulfed her with a pleasant feeling that was distinctly and irreplaceably 'homey.' The frills on her back glowed and swayed, showing just how at ease and at peace she was.

Her serpentine neck weaved back and forth, moving gracefully in an arch through the air with every step she took. Without warning, she leapt from the path, her powerful hindquarter muscles propelling her towards the sheer rock wall. She stretched her legs outwards, claws grasping as she suddenly stuck to the rocks like a Gecko. She crawled along it, nearly walking completely vertical. Her head snaked downwards to glance at the path. No one was following her; but it was as she expected. But maybe she’d have a better time of finding another Akail if she stuck to the rock face. This was, after all, where most of them lived. Seapsray was careful not to go sticking her head or legs down any cave holes; you never knew which ones were occupied.

[6, 17]

[BasilFox]

Seaspray was half-right. There was indeed someone on her tail...But not intentionally per say.

A dark-skinned akail weaved his way through the dark tunnels of his homeland, deep in thought. He barely noticed the fresh claw marks on the ground, though he followed them. Light blue markings glowed softly along his body, showing him in a pale light. He hardly needed them to see. But they were something that he could not get rid of...Though he did try. He tried so hard...For if he could just dim their light, if he could just cover them...Maybe his kind would be more accepting. After all, his skin, though slightly different, was the same as theirs...But the more visible difference of his markings was enough for them to shun him. How could he hunt if even when dimmed as much as he could make them, his markings still glowed with light enough to give his position away? When a human came along, explaining the world above...Well at first he was skeptical. After all, when faced with a situation in one is about to be eaten, one can make up wild stories. But then she had told him that he had kin above. Kin in his markings. Other creatures that carried the burden of the glowing-brightly-blue-symbols. Needless to say, he had been shocked. He had to see for himself...Even if it meant going with the not-human-but-dragon-child.

Now for the second time, he was lurking in the tunnels that he had once called his home.

This second time held more than the first. In the first, all he had met were creatures-of-the-sun...And he had been with that loathsome baskerville, Coryn. This time, he had come alone, only to find Basil with the new imuet, Chigaru, and another creature who possessed marking like himself. The three of them were searching for the ruins and runes that his fellows guarded with their lives. A dangerous prospect. If he had known Basil was going to do that, he wouldn't have let her talk him into going to Basantha Shrine...Feeling something was amiss, he had left there and found her talking with another of his kind. A pale, nameless beauty, The one-who-seeks-many-secrets.

Truly he had been excited when he saw her. One of his kind...And one that did not call him a traitor for leaving, or shun him for his markings! As he had listened to her speak, he had felt surte that now he would have a companion to share similar thoughts with...A like mind to brighten his days and make the worlds above and below seem even greater. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

The temple-patterned akail raised his head and the skittering of claws on rock broke through his thoughts. He looked up to see a pale form climbing the sheer-wall of rock. The Nameless One! His excitement returning, he approached the wall carefully and climbed slowly up. When he was ten feet away he stopped, though not because he feared he might scare her off or startle her into attacking...But because he realized it was not The Nameless One. His face fell, crestfallen for a second, before he covered it with blankness. His excitement returned as it came to him that he might have found another beauty...And one that might stick around a little longer. Still, he knew that finding such a 'sociable' akail had been pure luck on Basil's part, so he tensed, preparing for an attack while trying to conceal his joy.

[MillietheWarrior]

Seaspray was absorbed in the joy of being back home, lost in thought as she skittered along the rock wall. So the faint glow of the Akail below, and his clicking claws did not draw her attention at first. But soon, she noticed, there was a set of clawed feet following her own. Seaspray whipped her serpentine head around, her body arching gracefully as she did a near one hundred eighty degree turn to stare behind her. So...Someone had been following her after all. And this Akail was...Strange. She studied him from afar as he skittered up the rock after her, his dark flesh glowing with strange blue symbols that both intrigued, and disgusted her.

But, Seaspray realized, she was being too judgmental. She really shouldn't do unto others what had been done unto her. Differences should be accepted in Akail society. It didn't mean she had to let him come near her, however. Arching her neck, she opened her beak and hissed violently, the frills on her back vibrating and shaking as the pale black spots glowed slightly. Her tail lashed behind her feline-like form, and she lowered her head, weaving it from side to side as if she was about to strike. She snapped her beak, claws scraping against the rock as she drew nearly level with him, a low, rumbling growl reverberating deep in her chest.

She sounded like a giant cat, and might have even been mistaken for one in the poor light, had it not been for that fact that she was clearly an Akail and fifty feet above the cave floor (The six eyes, frills, and sharp spikes probably didn't help either). A sudden, piercing thought was thrown his way, and Seaspray hurled it at him with enough force to make him dizzy as she began to communicate with him. She hissed again. 'You are not a Pale one,' she grumbled, narrowing all six of her eyes. 'Who are you, and why are you following me?'

[7, 18]

((Yayz! Thanks for Joining, Basil. ^^ I really 'preciate it. And I already love that Akail of yours. This is gonna be interesting. XD))

[Jessari]

 
Astoria - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bane

She dreamed of darkness. A cool breeze ruffled her fur as she walked blindly forwards. The ground beneath her feet was hard, rough. Stone? Whispers curled around her, voices that could not be understood. Then, two sets of bright pinpoints in the void. They rushed at her with a frightening hiss, and she realized too late that they were the eyes of predators...

* * * * *

Inside one of the many holes that pocked the face of the cave wall, Astoria awoke to darkness. She froze, not out of fear, but because previous experience had taught her that it could be injurious to move too abruptly after awakening. Thanks to the curse of somnambulism, or sleepwalking, she had found herself in a myriad of places: rooftops, boats, edges of cliffs. As far as she could recall, she had never woken up in the same place she had fallen asleep. It kept life interesting, to say the least.

Astoria let a little energy trickle into the focus orbs gripped securely in the tips of each tail, setting them aglow to provide illumination for her eyes in the absence of other light. The darkness took form, revealing the shape of the tunnel wall in front of her, and the circular entrance (or exit) to her left. And then there was the hovering shape of her companion. "Good morning, Bane. Where have I taken us this time?"

"What do I look like, a GPS system?"

The words were mumbled, nearly indistinct, but the glum sarcasm held therein was very clear. Astoria's tails flicked restlessly, expressing the sigh that she refused to voice. She wasn't exactly sure why the depressing little Angst Ball had decided to latch on to her, but she wished he would lighten up once in a while. Perhaps she'd have better luck wishing for a million ks. "What's a GPS system?"

As usual, Bane remained silent, refusing to explain his cryptic reference. Astoria shrugged, turning her attention back to figuring out just where she was. The hole wasn't large, but wide enough for her to stand comfortably without having to worry about bumping her head on the ceiling. Having familiarized herself with the stone chamber, she turned her curiosity to the outside. Her feet padded quietly as she walked to the entrance. What she saw there made her cringe back inside, extinguishing the light of her orbs and flattening herself to the ground. Akail.

Bane floated nearby, near her head. "Wonderful," he said, voice devoid of emotion. "Stuck inside a dark tomb with a pair of grim reapers. My life just got worse. I didn't think that was possible."

"Shut up!" Astoria whispered. Had the Akail heard them talking? Had they seen her light?

[BasilFox]

ooc: Your akail is so prettyful. D:
bic:

Flynn flinched back a bit before remembering that he did, in fact, have a spine.(XD) The frills along his head and neck rattled a warning, not unlike that of a rattlesnake as he inched forward the slightest bit to make up for lost ground. If it came to a fight, he might very-well loose, seeing as he was smaller than your average akail.

"But you are...Or at least you have some relation...But you are not the one I thought I had been ssseekiiiing." The syllables in the last word were drawn out, more of a hiss in response to her own, than a finish to the sentence.

That answered one of her questions. He had partly believed the tracks to be those of The Nameless One. As for her other...Basil had told him it was rude to with-hold his name when asked it...But those were more sun-dweller courtesies, rather than cave-dweller. And indeed the caverns were a harsh place full of harsh creatures and the giving of a name was not always the best course. Still...She was a female. And at the very least she deserved some respect.

The expressions on his face went rapidly from indecision, to thought, and to one that showed he and thought better of ignoring Seaspray's first question. "I shall give you my name...But in turn you must give me your own..." For a second it seemed as though he was going to request that she give him her first, but then he added, "I am called Flynn'Delmar."

It was as he said this that he noticed that he and the female were not alone. Two others were with them...And they were definitely not akail. He glanced away from the female to hiss out a warning, his spike-frills rattling louder. In a minuscule movement his head turned back to her. In a contest between two enemies, a fellow akail deserved his wary attention and focus...not puny sun-dwellers.

It crossed his mind briefly that the not-human-but-dragon-child would scold him for being so rude...And that the annoying-baskerville-Coryn would gasp in mocking shock at his behavior. Of course, neither were here to humiliate or give him a slap on the wrist...This aspect of freedom he relished.

[MillietheWarrior]

A soft whispering in the dark filled Seaspray's senses, and she whipped her head around to stare at a small, unobtrusive cave. A soft glow came from within, and voices whispered frantically, obviously aware of the two Akail just outside their door. She hissed in exasperation, then turned her attention back to the male, backing up slightly to keep both him and the cave within her range of sight. 'I am not a Pale One,' her mental voice growled in annoyance. 'I am looking for the Pale Ones.' She whipped her head to the side, staring at him with three glowing, yellow eyes. 'I don't see why I owe you anything. It is you who snuck up on me,' she hissed, narrowing her eyes. She dug her claws deeper into the rock, shifting to get a firmer grip.

'And now you bring surface dwellers with you...How am I to know you are to be trusted?' She hissed again, her tail lashing. 'You are just like all the other hunters who come down here. You bring surface dwellers to capture our kind. It is no wonder you are alone in our world.' She lowered her head, the frills on her back vibrating with her growls. She was certainly one to talk. She was alone in the world of the Akail as well. She had no friends, no family, no mate; all because she was different. He must have the same problem; no sane Akail would have been caught dead with him. He glowed, and the symbols on his body gave too much away in a place where darkness and secrecy were the key to survival.

She snaked her head back and forth, looking between the cave of the surface-dwellers and the Akail. 'My name won't mean anything to you,' she grumbled, scratching her claws against the rock. 'But I am Seaspray. Call your surface-dwellers back to you, or I will do away with them myself.' The mind-speech was meant for anyone in the vicinity. Everything she had said was directed at the Fenling, her companion, and the strange Akail. She wanted to be sure they didn't underestimate her.

[8, 19]

[BasilFox]

Flynn hissed in anger.

"I have brought no one here. Any in here are here of their on accord and their own ssstupidity..." He spat back at her. The words were true enough. He most certainly had not brought the small-morsel-fox-creature, nor the dark-winged-ball-of-shadow. And if she spoke of Basil and Chigaru...He had not brought them either.

"And who do you think you are, if you believe that you, of all our kind, may mock my  appearance? Have you not seen your own skin?" How dare she speak to him of his obvious seclusion and rejection when her own skin would hardly get her into any sane pack. The male felt a spark of regret for his sharp words...Though he barely kept himself from spitting words like 'sickly' and 'dead'. No...to say so would be hypocritical, especially since he had exclaimed the beauty of The Nameless One.

"I need not you nor anyone else to proclaim the the atrocity of my own skin. I know it well enough already. I know it on every hunt, every time prey escapes my claws, every time our kind turns away in disgust, every time I return to my home-cave only to be mocked once more. At the very least, you may go unseen to prey when darkness is upon you." His spikes rattled against one another as he hissed and growled in barely controlled anger. Like he needed a lecture on fitting in from her.

"Test me no more, Seaspray," he hissed the name like a curse. "Test me no more lest you find out that my skin has not dulled my claws nor hindered my speed. And that goes the same for you sun-dwellers. Slink back to your cave-but-not-cave-homes."

In one encounter, Basil's hard work to civilize Flynn was about to go down the drain. Way down the drain.

[Jessari]

Though she remained motionless, Astoria's fur bristled at the thinly-veiled insults hurled in her direction from both Akail. Not that she had expected anything less; in the natural way of things, she would be looked upon as nothing less than an annoyance, something to be eaten, and then forgotten.

The argument between the larger, powerful creatures set the air to humming with anger and pent-up aggression. Though it touched her racial instincts, sending wave after wave of adrenaline-inducing fear through her small body, the words stirred an indignation in her mind. Unlike many 'surface dwellers', as they had so flippantly called her, Astoria had been equipped to survive just about anywhere. That was why in the olden days humans had chosen Fenlings to act as messangers; though small, Fenlings had the endurance to travel hundreds of miles, up mountains, down tunnels.

Her pale, pupil-less eyes flicked from side to side, looking in vain for a path that would lead her from this small refuge without taking her near the Akail. No such luck. They clung to the walls below her, clearly at ease with the vertical surface. Although she was positive she could get the hang of climbing the wall as well, the time it would take for her to get her footing and climb upwards and away from the predators would require her to turn her back on them for far too long. And waiting here wouldn't be quite such a wise idea either; as furious as they were with each other, one of them might decide to take their anger out on her after the other had left. The stone hole wasn't small or deep enough to hinder their entry. Could it be possible that the only way out was to act the diplomat or die? Astoria's ears flattened against her head at the thought.

Her ears remained flattened as she poked her head out over the rim of the hole. A slender foot emerged, feeling tentatively for purchase on the stone. "Mighty Akail," she began, with the hope that a little flattery might soothe tempers and encourage them to underestimate her more than they probably already had, "it seems to me that your quarrel is keeping you both from your goal. If...if you worked together instead of arguing, you might have a better chance of finding these 'Pale Ones'." And here was the most important part, the part that her life rested upon. "If you so wished, I could assist you in finding them. Though we are small, Fenlings such as I are adept at reading the future and guiding the steps of others in the right direction."

As she awaited their answer, keeping her body low in apparent submission, her tails clenched tighter around the focus orbs. Although the cursed markings on her pelt had earned her a certain amount of scorn and fear from her fellow foxes, it had also provided her with an unusual edge that not even those wise to Fenlings would expect. She was fairly certain she could fend off the attacks of one Akail, but if they both decided to attack... Well, she could only hope that her suggestion would be received well.

[MillietheWarrior]

Seaspray was loathe to take her eyes off of Flynn. She stared at him for a long moment, taking offense at his hissing. She didn’t know why, but it bothered her. She knew she shouldn’t be so judgmental, nor should she be so overly aggressive, especially to a male of her kind who was brave, or foolish, enough to approach her. Perhaps this was a sign that she should accept other Akail into her life; excluding the Pale Ones, of course. She’d already decided she wanted to be a part of their Clans, so they were automatically welcomed in her book. She tilted her head slightly to the side, as if considering Flynn’s words. Her growls died in her chest, the soft glow on the fronds on her back fading and going out like small, snuffed out candles.

‘Oh yes,’ she replied, suddenly far less aggressive than before. But she wasn’t overly welcoming. Her body language still promised him a quick death if he came too close to her. But she didn’t have an air of hostility about her, more like wary acceptance. ‘I know what I am. And I know what you are. I suppose you could say we are...To coin the phrase, ‘in the same boat together?’ Although I can’t say I’m pleased that you were the first Akail I stumbled upon, I can say that I am surprised and somewhat interested to find someone as different as I am...Besides the Pale Ones.’ The sudden sound of the surface-cave dwellers caught her attention, and she whipped her head around, keeping one eye on Flynn. The Fenling had an interesting proposal.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, and tried to recall what her caretaker had said about manners. ‘Surface Dwellers, Seaspray, are not to be harmed. You can hurt them, because they’re...Well, there’ s a lot of them. They’ll get mad if you hurt one of them, and come back with more of their kind, and destroy you and your home. Not all Surface Dwellers are as nice as I am. So don’t make them angry, all right? Be nice...And stop asking them if you can eat them.’ Seaspray nodded to herself slightly, and took a step back. ‘An interesting proposition, small one...’ Her ‘thought’ voice echoed inside their heads. ‘Perhaps you will be of more use than even you know. I suppose I could use a...Fortune teller...And a little luck.’ She paused suddenly, and narrowed her eyes at Flynn, as if to warn him not to move. ‘Come out, little one. We will not eat you. You have my word.’

[9, 20]

[BasilFox]

If it wasn't one thing, it was another. By the akail's body language he was safe...for now. As long as he didn't get closer, or make any sudden movements. So the best thing to do would be to remain a statue. A few frill-spikes clinked against one another as Seaspray made the promise. For him as well. He didn't really mind all that much. A fortune-teller sounded interesting, to say the least.

All the same he didn't add to the promise. Smudges would be on the word of Seaspray if he decided the surface dwellers were morsels. He probably wouldn't though. He had just eaten. Granted, it had been surface-dweller food...But food was food.

"Well then surafce-dwellers...It would be a shame to eat such a useful creature." No promises.

"But I must ask the question, what are the limits to your power? Are they stronger some places rather than others?" He didn't really care, but Basil had pounded it into his head to find out if there were any other creatures she should consider adding to the ranch.