[Freezair]

Or so I was telling myself.

I've never seen Skycutter so unhappy in her life. Of course, no bird likes to be earthbound for any great period of time, but most birds don't find themselves knee-deep in algae-encrusted muck. Garudors aren't wading birds; they aren't meant to stride through this thick, gloppy stuff. She can barely manage as it is. Krii's not helping--he's sitting on her back, shuffling around and all about, trying to pick goop out of his fur.

Overhead, the sky raged and growled. Lightning skewered mangrove trees at frighteningly close distances. I wasn't sure whether coming down to land was all that much safer than flying through this storm. But now that we were down here, we needed to find a piece of solid land to pitch our tent on. Luckily, it came with pontoons--we don't want to wake up in the morning six feet underwater.

[Shaetani]

[center](Its okay, I was just trying to figure out who I want to use )


Bouncer - M - Bubble - F - Saejer - M

As the two made their way through the muck and algae, the storm that was causing all the lightning finally broke loose as a large amount of water began to pour out of the sky, adding to the damp misery of the swamp. Practically swimming through the muck and downpour, a large rolling mass of fur and scales shifted about, two bubble spirits playing in the rain and following. It was the bubble spirits that first noticed the Garudor and Rengosett, and made their way over, hoovering in the rain right in front of them. To the side, it probably seemed like the very ground itself was rising up to eat them alive as Saejer reared up from the muck and coiled himself, looking at the two. His voice was slightly hissy, slightly raspy as he spoke. "And what are two land lovers like you doing in the swamp like this?" The bubble spirits made a gurgling noise, then started dancing in the downpour.

[Freezair]

I don't think you can blame me for my reaction.

"AAAIEEEEEEEEEE!"

Lemmie be honest with you--I don't like snakes. Not one bit. So when a rather sizable Carpetfang reared its head out of the gray-green sludge and hissed at me, I was understandably a bit shaken. There was nothing I would have liked to do more than retreat beneath the nearest mangrove cluster and hide. However, the thick mud swirled around my ankles, preventing me from getting closer.

Bless Sky's heart! Her first reaction was to protect me. She was bogged down as I, but she wouldn't let her waterlogged state stop her. She fumbled over to me and spread her wings, shielding me against the presumed threat. I found a spot beneath her wing that kept me well out of site, but I pushed aside a few of her stony feathers, my morbid curiosity egging me toward the scene.

Only Krii seemed unabashed by the Carpetfang. He spread his fingers across the mud, increasing his surface area so as not to sink so quickly.

He pulled himself up on his back paws, looking the huge beast in the eye.  I didn't think that ws a good idea, but I had no means to think for him.

He bared his teeth halfway--only a cautionary leer. Swishing his tail, skimming the mud, he asked, "Who might you be, stranger?"

[Shaetani]

Aiiee? Seajer smirked, pleased to see he had created quite a stir. As the Garudor spread her wings over the person, He waited a second then tilted his head to the side to get a peek at the person who was hiding under those wings. Then, a movement of color caught his attention. The Carpetfang straightened and grinned a Toothy, slightly hungry looking grin at the Rengosett. "I'm the Swamp Monster... hehe, no, you can call me Saejer. Who are you all?" Bubble had heard the girl squeak and floated over, pausing a moment in front of the Garudor before lowering slightly and apparently peeking at the girl, her two white eyes mostly hidden by the watery tendrils that were encased in the bubble. Another bubbling noise came from her, this time sounding sort of like a happy brook on a sunny day. Bouncer just shook himself once then went and rested on the Carpetfangs head.

[Freezair]

"Bubbles?"

I may not like snakes, but I've never known a threatening thing to come of a Bubble Spirit. I watched the little watery beings swirl within their fragile shells. Pretty little creatures. So delicate.

Should the Carpetfang turn nasty, I knew I could not count on their seeming benevolence for protection, feeble as they tended to be.

I heard the response echo the swamp.

"I'm the Swamp Monster... hehe, no, you can call me Saejer. Who are you all?"

Well, if he could speak, I could at least make the assumption that he was civil.

Skycutter did not seem willing to let me go--it's hard pushing stone wings aside, let me tell you. While I fought out of the feathery forest, Krii let himself become my mouth. I thought at first I should be miffed by this, but then recalled that I myself had a similar tendency.

Krii swung his body into the sauciest position he could manage, all covered with grim. "I'm Krii. The scaredy-cat over there is Jimmy. Stony goes by the name of Skycutter. As you can see, we're kind of having a bad day here."

[Kitsune_Beauty]

Bri

Splut! Once again the arkuhna had found herself in the depths of Baian Swamp. The only difference was last time it wasn't pouring rain. Her cotton sack hung around her neck, full of her art supplies and her rain tent. Often the heavy bag stuck in the deep mud and she had to strain her neck to get it out.

This arkuhna named Bri had not maneged to find anything on her last trip here since she had to go home rather quickly, but she hoped that getting her multi-colored pelt mud caked again wasn't going to go as a waist. An artist must suffer for the sake of the art. she told herself as she continued her laborous splashing through the sticky bog.

Her ears perked as she heard voices ahead. Yes! I will take another one home today! she thought excitedly as she began hopping through the muck once again. Poking around a mangrove, she noticed the humanoid and the other pets. Her eyes grew wide as she noticed the look in the carpetfang's eyes. What would happen to her if he saw her? Suffer for the arts, Bri. With that, she set up her rain tent and began setting the rest of her things up.

[Shaetani]

Bouncer had been sitting on Saejer's head when the Carpetfang smelt the Arkuhna and turned his head slightly to look towards her. Since he turned his head, bouncer did too, and curious, he floated over to hoover in front of her, gurgling noises rumbling from his protective bubble shell. Seajer turned his attention back to the Rengosett and the rest of them. "Hello Krii, Jimmy, Skycutter... If you'd like, I'm sure there's some solid ground over there by the Arkuhna, if you, Krii, and you, Jimmy, want to ride upon me you can... Skycutter, I can't offer you a ride, but I can help you get free of the muck enough you could fly over, as its just a short distance away." Bubble gurgled again at jimmy, then floated upwards to where she was out of jimmys sight, then back down. Seems she was trying to play peek a boo.

[Freezair]

Skycutter shrilled plaintively. "She says she'd like that very much," I translated."

As for myself. I felt a little more confident, but I didn't know how I felt about climbing on top of that... thing. Sure, it was a critter, and I'd ridden plenty of critters in my life, but never one quite so large, or with such a sinew-stringed body.

I gulped a little, stepping forward. "Uhh... and I... suppose we'll... do that." One of the two Bubble Spirits bobbed up and down in front of my head. I was certain it as trying to be friendly, but its anxious movements seemed to set me even more on edge.

Krii did not seem to notice that I was volunteering him for a snake ride. He was prowling around near the backside of a large tree. His round, wrinkled nose twitched. "I smell oil," he said.

((OOC: What kind of paint does Bri use? If this is wrong, I'll correct it.))

[Kitsune_Beauty]

OOC: Bri uses all different kinds to make her paintings very lifelike. Watercolor, oil, lots.

After Bri was set up, she poked her head around the corner of the tent to save a mental image of the scene. Grabbing her brushes and setting some paints on the tray in front of her, she looked around again to make sure she had the shades and colors saved right. Seeing the rengosette in front of her and the carpetfang heading her way certainly caught her off guard.

"EEP!!" she squeeled as she toppled out of the stool she was sitting on. SPLUT! She landed with a splash in the mud. "Um..Uh..I..Uh..." she stammered as she wiped the worst part of the mud from her fur and face. "Forgive me, i'v been looking for people and pets to paint." she said, her voice shaky. She hopped back up on the stool and shook her front paws to get the mud off.

"I saved a mental image of the scene before. My specialty is life scenes..." Bri didn't want to look at the Carpetfang. "I never let pets know i'm painting them. I often get chased away." She flicked her tails, still trying to get clumps of mud off her.

[Freezair]

"Mmmm." As much as the Carpetfang concerned me, I couldn't help but turn and watch Krii's encounter with the Arkuhna.

Now I'll be honest with you (and some would say, "When are you not?" with that tired tone of voice), I've never been big on Kuhnas or other critters what purr and flick their ticklish, fluffy tails in your face, but this gal, she seemed alright. I scented the same oily, acrylic paint smell Krii caught wind of. An artist. I get along with artists.

Being a bit too curious for his own good, Krii reached out to pinch at the hairs in Bri's brushes. I knew he would pull them out if I didn't stop him. I wasn't sure if the Arkuhna had noticed.

"Krii! No!"

Krii's hairless fingers withdrew as if burned. Not inappropriately, he looked like a child with his hand found in the cookie jar. With my eyes burning into his back, he was forced to swallow a mouthful of the swampy air and make his request--if not civilly, at least as politely as he could manage. "May I look at your brushes?" he mumbled. "I promise I won't pull any hairs out or anythin'."

Sky clucked a little in a way I assumed was meant to be a warning.

[Shaetani]

Saejer nodded then leaned forwards and down, his chin and mouth going into the mud until only his nostrils were above the mess. He moved his head forwards and under Skycutters keelbone (Chest area) then carefully started raising his head, and in doing so helping to push Skycutter up out of the mud. There was a squishing noise as his head cleared the mud and he then shifted his body in a half circle so he was next to jimmy. "You can hang onto my fur tufts for balance. Don't worry, I haven't lost a rider yet." He chuckled as he said it though. Bubble moved over and settled on Saejers head, and he sighed. "Bubble and Bouncer like to come out when it rains, but I can't seem to convince them that my head is not a couch." not that he minded, not really. As bri fell off her stool, then got back up and on it; Bouncer moved over to the indent made in the mud and watched in silence as rain collected in the imprint. Once it was full, he plunged in, never mind that the water was quite dirty. Saejer, who had easily moved through the mud to bring Jimmy to dry land, looked thoughtful. "You wouldn't be the same Kuhna that painted my Battlefield Garudor friend and hmm, Yes, I think it was the Stargoyle that was with him that day? By a fountain? Charash mentioned a kuhna making a painting..." What were the odds of running into the same Kuhna? Or maybe he was mistaken, as lots of the Arkuhna's seemed to have an artistic side to them. Bubble sighed, then moved over and started bouncing against bouncer, the two of them apparently wrestling over the home-made puddle.

[Freezair]

If beaks could smile, Sky would've been grinning ear-tuft to ear-tuft. There was a thick schlorp as hee legs came free of the mud. I wasn't entirely sure I trusted her to fly, weather being as it was, but I knew that complaining to her about it would do no whit of good.

Uneasily, I saddled myself on the Carpetfang's back. I harkened Krii back from pestering the Kuhna. Rather than sit with the woman giving him flack, he chose to scramble up Sky's tailfeathers and hunch irritably between her shoulders. Whatever suited him.

My vision significantly less orange, I sized up the critter all the other furballs* had seemed so interested in.

"Seems like an odd place to go out painting, especially in this weather."

((OOC: Jimmy means no disrespect in thinking in this term; it's just her dialectal way of thinking.))

[Kitsune_Beauty]

Bri's ears perked. She remembered the Stargoyle and the Garudor. "Yes, I remember them. I have that painting back at the pens. That battlefield and Stargoyle's multiple shades proved challenging." The kuhna turned her light green eyes to the brightly colored rengosette. "Please forgive me, but I am rather protective when it comes to my art supplies." She wouldn't be surprised if the little creature tried to chase her off, but others messing with her beloved supplies was something she couldn't handle.

Looking back at the humanoid, she answered his comment. "An artist must suffer for the arts. That's why i'v been dragging myself through the mud all day." Reaching her pink paw into the bag, she grabbed one of her sketch pencils. "Now if you will all excuse me, I must start before I lose the image I saved earlier."

Bringing the image of before to the front of her mind, she began sketching. She did the garudor first, carefully adding the runes in his stony body and adding sharp edges to his outstretched wings. Next came Jimmy. She looked partly behind one of the garudor's wings from the angle Bri was at at the time, so thats how she drew her. Looking over the stone bird's shoulder. Next came Krii. Standing on his hind legs, partly hidden by the mud she would sketch later. A look of curiosity in his eyes. Saejer was rather difficult to sketch seeing as he had many details. She drew his long upper half that stuck out of the mud, and carefully added his hair, making sure it looked as wet as it was. Last but not least there was Bouncer and Bubble. She drew Bubble down near the ground, looking as if she'd just popped out of the wet earth. Bouncer was drawn floating near Saejer's head. The background came easily for her. The different levels of the mud and standing water, the bits of greenery that maneged to grow on the ground, and the thick masses of roots under the mangroves.

Backing up a bit to make sure she had all the details in the beginning sketch, she nodded in approval and took out her paints and mixing pallet.

She took out a rather dark gray and started on Sky's body, getting all the shading and ammount of color in the right spots. Rinsing her brush in the cup she kept outside her tent to fill with rain water, she dipped it in a bit of bright blue. The runes were difficult seeing as they changed shades in some parts, so the kuhna occasionally had to mix it with a bit of gray. Even though Sky was a temple, Bri worked to get that protective expression on the bird's face as she stood before Saejer. She rinsed her brush again and took out a very bright orange and a bit of goldenrod yellow. With quick strokes, she got the furry texture of Krii's body. Mixing a bit of the orange and the yellow on her pallet, she began working on the flames on the rengosette's tail. The kuhna made swirling motions in varias places with her brush to copy that of the twisting flames. Rinsing her brush yet again she dipped it in the yellow and painted the tufts of fur on either side of his head, making sure to get a bit of the orange in the base. She used a bit of tan for his hairless hands and feet. Getting out a lighter gray and some white, she did the base color on Saejer's body then mixed just a little bit of white in it to do the underside of the snake-like creature's belly. She got out her greens and blacks for his markings and hair. She made the hair along his back a darker green than normal since it was wet. Next was the light green of his markings and toung, then a darker green for the ones near his face. She got the friendly, yet intimidating expression perfectly. Finally came the two Bubble Spirits. She used an aqua colored blue for the little spirits themselves, then waited a minute for it to dry before getting out her watercolors. She used a light watercolor blue for their delicate outer shells.

Putting all her oil-based paints away, she began using watercolors for the background. She mixed a bit ofolive green with a light gray to make the color of the stuicky ground below them, and she wrapped the colors around the others' feet and put some on parts of their bodies to get that look of reality. She also used a few drops under Bubble as she plucked herself from the mud. She used the same olive green color to make the leaves on the mangroves that surrounded the area and the other swampy plants that grew up from the flooded ground. She mixed just a bit of green in a dark brown to give the trees a bit of a moss-covered texture. She did several shades of dark gray in the sky above the tops of the trees and bits of white to make streaks of lightning. She waited a few minutes again for the paint to dry, then made several clear-blue raindrops on the canvas, but not so much that it would overlap too much.

Finally, Bri had finished. She leaned back to examine her work, then smiled and hopped off the stool into the mud, careful not to let any splatter on her canvas. "Perfect!" she beamed as she began draping clear plastic over it to keep it safe from the rain and mud. "What do you think?" she said to the others.


OOC: Dang that took forever to type!

[Freezair]

((OOC: Jimmy is a girl--her name is short for Imogene. Maybe I should have made that clearer. ><))

"Oh, that's beautiful!" I have to admit it, I was plum flattered--I've never had my picture painted before. It's hard to make a ragtag group of critters into a thing of beauty, but darn if that little furball didn't pull it off. The icen glow of Sky's body. The feathery tufts of Saejer's back and Krii's face. The swirling, hypnotic innards of the bubble spirits--I'd never seen anything like it. Even the oil-stroke mud at our feet was an eye-catching spectacle, the earthen shades swelling and tumbling together in expert ways.

Suddenly I found myself sliding from Saejer's back. I only hoped I hadn't nicked his side. I was dashing forward, throwing my body over the painting to protect it from the rain. "Careful! Careful!"

From Sky's back, I heard Krii say something to the effect of "Hua boy."

[Shaetani]

Saejer smiled as she mentioned know them, then settled in to watch her paint, content for the moment to just observe. Bubble and Bouncer started to drift away, floating on a little rivlet of water that was now running from the mud puddle down towards a part of the swamp where even saejer had trouble swimming, and watching them so focused on each other they didn't notice, he chuckled, calling out. "Bubble! Bouncer! I expect to see you back here in no less than an eighth an inch of Rain, Got it?!" The two turned and looked at him a moment, nodding before letting the water drift them farther away again. Feeling Jimmy slide from his back he quickly turned his head to watch her throwing herself forwards. He wasn't scraped or nicked, his leathery skin was actually quick thick and tough. He looked thoughtful a moment. "It's realistic...if you'd like, I can give you a ride back to town or elsewhere once the Waters get back, It'd be quicker than you hauling that around the swamp all day...you could consider it payment for helping my soul have a happy ending." The Wyrm Caverns he'd originally came from had this legend that making a likeness of someone granted them a blessed afterlife, and if that all the images were destroyed, their soul was banished to the depths of despair for eternity. The Guardians had guarded many tunnels filled with carvings and pictures, their sole duty in life to protect the happiness of the dead. And those convicted of the worst of crimes like murder, had their images destroyed so that they might get their deserved suffering in the afterlife. Then there had been the Forbidden Artists, ones who criminals would pay to make tiny sculptures of the them in an effort to thwart the justice system. His Nostalgia faded as Bubble and Bouncer came back and sat on his head, and he rolled his eyes to look at them. "An eighth an inch already? Its raining harder than I thought." He had tried to teach them time, but the only concept they'd been able to grasp was the measuring water per space concept.