Relaxation and Play

[»Míríel«]

The sunlight danced from the heavens upon the golden leaves that filled the Centraurs woods. It seemed to fill the place with light, a light soft enough to be comforting but not chase away shadows. It was beautiful, the colors, the gentle winds, the fading light. To many wandering through the woods it may seem a bit to mysterious, but to a fox-like creature hiding in the shadows, it was perfect.

The fox's fur was as pale as starlight and seemed to shine in the light like polished ivory. But there were a few strange things about this fox, besides the silvery white pelt, if you happened to catch a glance at it you would notice not one, but five tails sprouting from her hindquarters. They seemed to fan out behind her like a pea****'s. The next thing you would probably notice is that her eyes were a reddish amber color and seemed to blaze like coals. It was a pretty picture, her delicate and well defined face, dainty paws, slender figure, she seemed like the perfect fox.

Her little paw lifted off the ground as she brought it up to her mouth. Pink met white as she licked it gently. Many had told her that being in her true form was pure foolishness. After all she didn't look like a real fox, in fact compared to them she stuck out like a sore thumb. But she knew better. If any wimpy human did manage to catch site of her, she would use her illusion powers to make him believe it was just his imagination. "Such a useful power.." a smirk came to her face as she place her paw down. With such sensitive ears and sharp eyes as she had it was very hard to surprise her, and even if you did manage to, once again, she would make it seem like everything was just a dream or even a nightmare.

An ear twitched behind her as she picked up the sound of footsteps. They were approaching toward her. With a smirk she drew into the shadows and used her powers to make an illusion that she wasn't there. "Perhaps there will be an animal, a chipmunk or squirrel perhaps..." Her tongue ran over her lips, "It would be nice to have a bit of a snack."

[saerwen]

What a clear blue day it was today! The sky was so bright, filled with glorious rays of the sun, making the clouds come to life as they moved slowly along to the winds power. The smell of flowers and grass and the trees made Eventide’s head spin. It was all so wonderful, almost like a heaven on earth. She walked through the woods, enjoying listening to the birds sing, the squirrels hop from here to there, and all of the other little forest creatures go about their very busy and interesting lives. Her hair bounced around as she walked, sometimes dancing as the wind blew it around. Her eyes shone brilliantly in the sunlight, the window into her equally glowing soul. She loved to come to the woods. They were always secluded and quiet. She could let every care in the world that she had kept inside come flowing out while she was here. It was like this place created a sanctuary for her often wearied heart.

As she walked along, she felt herself slowly begin to fade. It was a strange feeling, like she was falling asleep. In reality, she was letting her mind break free though, and like a caged bird, it gracefully flew out of its guilded and tightly sealed cage. She felt herself slowly drop her human skin and become her natural form. Like a fluff ball straight from the nursery, her grey fur puffed up, and her tail swished this way and that with a graceful flourish each time. She continued to walk through the forest, her paws making no sound as she padded along gracefully. She was happy now, because her mind was free. She no longer had to worry about getting embarrassed or slipping out of her skin on accident. Her red eyes searched the forest all over for a good place to lay down. She then found a tree that was large and sturdy.

“This should do very well.” She spoke out loud to herself, a slight accent rolling off her tongue. She had not lived in Korea for long before she came here, but she had picked up on the accent rather quickly. She missed home already, but she was willing to wait to go back, fully complete and ready to start a life.

She jumped up into the tree, and found one very thick branch that would keep her high and safe at the same time. She curled up into a little ball, forked tail swirling around in front of her little pink nose, making her the perfect picture of innocence. She looked at her tail for a moment, and then shook her head a little. “You’ll never get married like this…” She then shut her eyes and gave a sigh, fixing to take a rather relaxing nap. She was unaware that there was someone right below her…probably watching and hearing every word that she said.

[»Míríel«]

The fox lay in wait, she couldn't help but lick her lips once or twice in anticipation. The footsteps were light, a small animal, though not to small. Her eyes blazed as her body lowered down into a crouch. There was no reason to crouch down, it wasn't like the thing coming would be able to see her anyways. But habits and nature are hard things to fight against. A small cat like creature came into view.

"How unfortunate... She snarled for a moment in disappointment. Ah well, that's life for you, full of disappointments. "Well..I've heard cat meat isn't to bad..not as good as squirrel.." Then a voice snapped her out of her thoughts. That accent...that voice..it was familiar. The fox blinked her amber eyes in shock for a moment as everything started to add up. "Forked tail, grey pelt, red eyes, accent..it must be...it has to be!" In shock the illusion flickered and disappeared revealing the white figure behind it. A paw extended from the shadows, then another followed it as the five tailed fox emerged from the darkness. Her pelt seemed to shine in a certain swirl and patten around her form. Her fur wasn't a different color, but instead some hairs just were more reflective than others. These hairs swirled up her feet, forming socks that spiraled upwards. They also gave her other swirls along her body and face. IT was almost as if her body was filled with strange rune like designs.

An ear swiveled and her eyes flicked from one place to another. "Where is that little -" She didn't need to think any further as another sentence from the cat softly drifted from the tree above.

"You'll never get married like this"

The fox let out a melodic laugh, she couldn't help it. "Aye, after all who would want a grey fluff ball like yourself?" A grin came over her snout, to humans this wouldn't be very pretty, I mean a fox showing it's teeth at you, very frightening, but to other creatures like herself it was a full fledged friendly smile. "Eventide my beloved companion! If I hadn't recognized that scruffy form of yours you might have become my supper." So there she sat, her markings shining in the sun like a star, and her five tails tapping the ground with contentment and excitement. It wasn't every day you stumbled upon an old friend in a forest.

[saerwen]

Because Eventide had closed her eyes, she had not seen the fox with five tails disclose its location. She was simply falling asleep, high up in the tree, happy as could be. It was only when she heard someone laughing that her ears flicks up a little, her eyes staying closed. When her excellent hearing had located the source, she slightly roused herself, pulling her head up so that she could look over to the ground. She let out a yawn that showed how unsatisfied her body was with the torturous taste of rest that she was now roused from. Her little red eyes peered over slightly, eyes barely visible as she waited to determine whether this was someone she wanted to talk to or not. Her ears pricked up and wiggled daintily as she heard the fox talking, most of her form still hiding, except for her eyes up. She was always inadvertently cute like this. She looked like a kitten playing hide-and-go-seek. She recognized the voice after the first statement, and so her head popped up, as though out of no where.

She started to carefully and gracefully pad down the tree, and then she plopped to the ground with a dull and hardly audible thud , all four paws touching the ground at the same time. "You would have had a hard time of that my dear." She sat down on the ground in front of the fox, paws holding her up. She wrapped her forked tail around her front paws and looked to the fox with her red gaze. "So how is it that you have come to be here Cecily?" She yawned again and shook her head a little. "I wouldn't have thought that this academy was quite your cup of tea." Her accent made certain vowels and consonants come out slurred and difficult to understand...It was so hard not to just default switch to Korean. It was soft and gentle, much like her appearance when she was a human, and when she was calm in her natural form. She looked up to Cecily with a curious and sweet gaze, though a red gaze is rather unnerving, a true friend could see that it was sweet and caring.

[»Míríel«]

Cecily watched as her friend slowly came to. "Poor thing... She really does hate being woken up just as she is on the verge of sleep.. Ah well she will get over it." Her tails flicked back and forth in anticipation. Eventide was taking her time coming to her senses. Suddenly her face popped out of nowhere over a branch. But Cecily had no surprise showing on her face, after al they were both illusion workers weren't they?

She listened carefully to what Eventide had to say. To many Eventide's accent would be hard to understand, but this wasn't the reason Cecily was listening so hard. Instead it was because she knew that Eventide chose her words carefully and she respected that her friend was talking to her. There weren't many that Eventide talked to. "Oh would I now?" Cecily swatted at her friend playfully, it didn't come near the grey fluffball called a Nekomata, but then again she hadn't meant to come close. To the next question Cecily blinked her blazing eyes at her friend and the smile that was on her lips curved into a smirk. "Well I guess I should really be asking you that... after all you came to me...dispute what you may think. I was under your little perch the whole time." The smirk faded into a quiet smile. "But I guess I will answer you question.." Cecily tucked one of her many tails around her paws. "The quiet and the serenity of this place attracted my attention. Here was a place I could roam freely without the disturbances of humans, well not to many disturbances. Plus I thought I might come across a little snack." She glanced over Eventide, "But sadly I was disappointing to just find you wandering around." She added playfully. "As for the academy...." her dainty little nose wrinkled unattractively. "It isn't..." She sighed and lifted her eyes at the trees with a lofty demeanor over her face, "But I came here to learn the art of well taking things your own hand better plus where else can you hone you skills than this place.." Taking things into your own hands was her way of saying, poison. It was her specialty and she had already taken classes that had to do with the dark arts in her past year in the school. Then a sigh passed her lips once more, "Books... I love them but sometimes they can be a pain in the tail...if you know what I mean." Her gaze shifted back to Eventide, "What about you? what brings you here??

[saerwen]

When Cecily took a little swipe at her face, Eventide sat stoic, knowing that the swing wasn’t going to come anywhere near her face. She smiled, a little grin coming across her face, but not showing any teeth, it just curled up around her muzzle. “Yes. You would have a hard time getting me. I’ve gotten a lot better since the last time you saw me.”
She chuckled when Cecily started talking about getting a snack. “Sorry to disappoint, dear.” She shuffled her feet and then lifted one of her paws and started to lick it and swipe it over her ears and head. “I wouldn’t have tasted very good anyway, my fur has been needing some cleaning for a while. I just haven’t gotten around to it.”
She stopped suddenly when Cecily mentioned the poison indirectly. She recognized those hints. She hadn’t really noticed that her tongue was still resting on her paw as she stared at the fox as she talked. When she did realize it, she was trying to talk, and it came out little jumbled and in Korean. She shook her head, blinked, and tried again. “So you are going through fire so that you can later cause more flame.” She shook her head a little and muttered. “Sounds about right for all of us.”
“I am here simply because I need to learn control. I can’t keep living like this. Popping into my original form whenever someone gets my mind a tiny bit off kilter.” She shook her head again and stared at her paws and forked tail that were resting on the ground. “I have got to learn to live around humans in secrecy. Right now I am a bloody disappointment.” Then she licked her lips. “I also have to learn it because I am supposed to take the lead of one of the regioned clans in Korea when the current leader sees fit to croak.” She started pulling at the ground with her claws, a nervous habit. “I am just not prepared for this yet.”
She looked back up to Cecily. “A lot of things happened while you were gone.”

[»Míríel«]

“A lot better eh? Well, I hope that is more of an improvement then it sounds.” Cecily smiled brightly but the smile was short lasting and soon faded into a slight smirk. “Have you just been learning through the teaching here or have you been seeing a secret master?” The smirk grew bigger before a sigh escaped her. “Though you haven’t been the only one to improve, if you haven’t noticed I have gotten another tail since we last met. Only two more to go!” Those amber eyes of hers rolled upward slightly,”Which could mean two things, I’m either getting more powerful…or I’m just getting old” she grinned again at Eventide, “Hopefully it is the first”.
‘Yes I must say it was a dreadful disappointment, but I will get over my friend. My stomach is used to hunger.” It was true, Cecily always had a very slender form, she didn’t need a lot of food to keep her going and so she didn’t eat much, especially in her human form. Nothing tasted good in that form, she didn’t know why. Plus she liked things fresh.
An evil glint came to her eyes as Eventide talked about the flame. “Yes, a wonderful thing don’t you think? It’s the only thing that keeps me in this place. All the rules.” She shuddered at the word. “Not my cup of tea…As you know.. But how else will I make a mark on the world except through my special…powers...”
Cecily’s smiled turned sympathetic as Eventide started talking about her destiny. “I’m sure you will be ready for it, you are probably ready for it now. Stop doubting yourself, after all you just said you have become more powerful. Things happen for a reason and you were chosen to have this part for a reason. Personally I think you will knock their socks off.” The smile faltered at the last thing her friend said, “What sort of things if you don’t mind me asking.”

[saerwen]

“I haven’t learned much about fighting here.” She admitted with some dullness. “I learned most of it from Kasim. So in a way, yes, I have been learning from a secret master.” She smiled at the thought. Kasim had been one of the best people in the world. He had been kind enough to take her to live with him and his family, and to train her, and help her learn how to live a better life. And his wife had been so good in teaching her all of these wonderful things that she knew she would need to know later on, like how to take care of a child, use herbs as remedies, and how to be a good worker for those around you. That family had been the best. Had been…She hated how it was past tense now.
“Yes, I did notice. I am sure that it is because you have been getting better. You have always been one to excel at everything you do.” Eventide spoke brightly and reassuringly. “And rules are the instructions of life you know. Without rules we are…more than a little bit lost, wouldn’t you say?” She knew that her friends hated having to follow rules, but she didn’t know why. “And without rules, how would you make your little concoctions, eh?” she winked at Cecily.
“Agh, what will be is to the future. I have given up on hoping. I just have to make sure that I do the best I can.” Her face darkened when Cecily asked what things had happened. “Well… I got new parents…I moved to my native Korea…And I was introduced into the world of Nekomata’s officially, and they all nominated me their future leader, at least one of the clans did. So here I am, landed with this new…something of a power that I have to master within 2 years, because the clan leader now supposedly only has 2 years left. Don’t even ask me how they measure these things out, because I have no idea. But basically, one day I am going to be representing a whole lot of Nekomata’s that I hardly even know right now. What am I to do… GO TO CHIMERA ACADEMY!” she said the last part with heavy sarcasm, not because she disliked the school but because she was not exactly sure that they school would fix the problem. “Anyways…that is my story. Don’t get me started on the whole other part, then I go into a rant. Quite boring I am sure. I have given it to my parents, and they just stood there staring at me…actually, my mom started laughing really really hard, which was really funny, but that is something totally different…” she sighed. “So what has happened to you, other than getting a new tail to add to that fluffy collection of yours?”

[»Míríel«]

“Ah, well I’m glad that you have learned more, from what seems to be a great person by your smile.” She looked at her friend with a tilted head. “Perhaps you will have to show me some of your secrets.” The smirk came back to her lips, “I promise I won’t tell anyone…well, if I do they won’t live to tell anyone else..” she licked her paws nonchalantly. “That you can be sure of.”

“Rules... you Asians are all about your rules, I mean you guys can’t even say bye to someone without having a certain phrase and motion you have to use. I bet if I went to your country I would be the rudest person that ever set foot in Korea. Though…” A look of disappointment came across her face and her ears fell to the side a bit. “I suppose the world would be in chaos without rules..As much as I love chaos I suppose that wouldn’t be a good thing…”
Then what Eventide said caught her attention and her ears pricked at it. “New parents! Ah, so you finally got rid of those blasted bad ones that you had... Good thing because I had something cooking up for them if they tried anything to hurt you again…” Her eyes blazed a deep amber and seemed to pick up the mesmerizing qualities of fire. “Ah well.. I guess my plan will go to waste... I hope your new parents are better… Though...,do they know about what you are?” Her head tilted slightly, “and what you will become? As for the thing you must learn what is it? Perhaps we could look up something in the Library to help you out.”
Her white tail flicked away from her paws and settled down by her other tails. “Oh not much, I just went here and there, doing classes. Everything was dreadfully boring here...” This was all an understatement of course, Cecily didn’t like to talk about her pastimes very much. People just didn’t understand her. “Though I have felt a new source of power flowing in me ever since I have gotten this new tail. It’s been positively wonderful! I’ve been able to do more intricate illusions than ever before and I feel so much craftier…”

[saerwen]

“I will die with my secrets I am afraid, unless I find some young kid that really needs help, kinda like I did.” She gave a friendly smile, not meaning to be rude or anything, just saying that she wasn’t going betray anything.
“Are you becoming racist?” she cocked her head, mocking Cecily. “We are not obsessed with rules, there are just certain things that are wise to do, and wise not to do. Being rude is something that we avoid at all costs because it makes civilizations become haughty and unbearable…like America.” She sighed. “You would be one of the rudest, that is true, but we Korean’s are fairly forgiving. If you made an effort to change we would not mind a few mistakes.” She smiled.
“Yes, they know. They are actually the ones that sent me here, and they are the ones that helped me find the clan. They are really great. They adopted me because I am Korean, they wanted to take me back to my birth home. It really upset me that I had to leave so soon after just arriving not too long ago.” She looked down at her paws again. “I will get over it tolerably well though.”
“Is there a book in the library that will provide me with a magic spell that will immediately allow me to know how to keep my skin on, maintaining it perfectly?” she sounded utterly hopeless.
“Boring…I am sure that you caused enough trouble to keep the teachers on their toes and students rolling on the floors.” Eventide smirked, if that was even possible for her. “That is exciting to hear about getting so much power, but that makes me wonder…Have you been putting it to good use?”

[»Míríel«]

“Well I may not be a kid but I certainly need help.” She cocked her head slightly, “Does that count?” She grinned in a slightly unpleasant way before her visage returned to normal. She had a strange essence about her, one moment she could be all kindness and playfulness and the next she would give you a very uncomfortable glance.
“Me, racist?” Her face turned innocent. “Never! I’m just exposing the flaws in your culture. America may be rude to you, but to us it is something that lets your soul free and you not be restricted by unnecessary rules.” An eyebrow raised on her pretty face, “Such as sitting down in the correct way and opening a door in four different steps like the Japanese do, pure nonsense. If you can’t open a door in one smooth motion you might as well give up on life.” A scoffing laugh came from her as she shook her head, her face relaxed into a kinder look. “Though I suppose if you ever brought me into your country I would try my best to learn all your oriental rubbish…I mean rules.. I really would try my hardest.” Her eyes widened into an innocent but pure look. “Of course I would have to look at some of your natural herbs and such….They would be most interesting.” Her gaze, which had drifted off to the nearby tree snapped back as a playful smile curved her lips, “A small payment for my good behavior of course.”


Cecily studied her friend for a moment, she herself had never experienced such nonsense as homesickness. Home was never a nice place to be. Plus the world was to big to be stuck in one place all your life. “Well you’ll get home soon enough, these two years will fly by and you will be the little ruler, or whatever, of your little tribe…species..thing..” She winked, “ Now that’s something to look forward to isn’t it?”
A laugh echoed through the forest, causing a couple of bird to stop their chirping and focus on the strange pair below them. “Perhaps we will find such a book, you never know in that library, they seem to have all sorts of things and all sorts of strange people..I just came from there and there were some very strange people. One girl was sitting in a corner reading, another was stretching up for a book, a guy seemed to be hunched over in a chair, and the librarian was falling asleep with her mouth open.” She cringed slightly, “Not a pretty sight let me assure you… That lady really needs to see a dentist.” Cecily’s tails flicked about her, moving like a visible wind behind her, swishing to and fro, seeming to be free spirits. “Perhaps we will find a book that will have some lovely rules about keeping your skin. You seem to like those sort of things.” Cecily laughed once more.
“Yes power is a wonderful thing. It sends this delightful sensation through you, it almost seems to fill you with electricity! I have gotten much quicker on my feet!” Then her ears flicked back as her eyes got a sorrowful look to them. “Eventide…my friend…I’m surprised that you would even dare to doubt my character! Of course I haven’t!”

[saerwen]

“Ummm, I will have to think about that…” she was joking of course. “Well, dislike them as much as you might, I still think that rules are good, and I think that it is a good idea to exercise as much self-control as possible for as long as you can because it helps you become much more responsible. Such ritualistic things as those found in Asia are the perfect way to do that.” She looked up into the sky, peering through the thick foliage to the bright blue of the afternoon sky. What a glorious thing, the sky was. “If you are a good girl for the next few days, I’ll bring you some interesting herbs that my mommy sent with me from home.”
Eventide shook her head as she looked back to Cecily. “I’ve looked forward to having my own home, a loving husband, an entire brood of children, in other words a happy little family. A small semblance of a normal life, you know. That is all that I have ever longed for…a normal life, with normal people that won’t look on me like I am something lesser, or something scary. I want to be part of the world for the better of my life.”
She had sobered a little, but when Cecily mentioned the library she laughed. “Cecily, don’t be mean. Some people are just born strange.” She added with a slight smile, “You can’t mock your own kind, Cecily.” It was her way of getting back for the comment that Cecily had made about the books and the rules. Eventide didn’t really have the spirit for making fun of people, or for jabbing them with stinging comments. She didn’t really like them, they hurt some people more than most realized, and she didn’t like to hurt people.
“I am glad that this new power has helped you, and I never did really doubt you. Some times I just worry a little bit. It might seem foolish, but ‘trust’ is a hard thing for me to well…trust. That sounds so stupid, but do you understand what I mean?”

[»Míríel«]

Cecily jumped up and lowered her front paws so she was in a playful bowing position. Her tails flicked back and forth with excitement. “Really? Oh goody! I can’t wait to get my paws on those!”Then her excitement faded rather quickly at the mention of having a happy family. She lifted a lip up in disgust, “That might be for your tastes but certainly not mine. I doubt there is any such thing as love in this world. It’s fight for yourself.” She shrugged and turned away from Eventide for a moment, “Though I wish you best of luck with all that.”

A gaze of amusement filled her eyes and Cecily turned her white form back towards her friend. “You are one to be calling others strange.” She laughed, her mood immensely lightened. She sat down contentedly, though her feet had a longing to flyover the ground, she wanted to run. “Trust can be risky, I guess you have to take the risk sometimes…It’s life.” Her nose lifted as she gazed toward the sky. “The light is fading.”

[saerwen]

“Ha, well your greedy little paws will just have to wait.” Eventide stood up on her hind legs. This was not hard for her like it was for other animals. “I said that you have to be a good girl before you can get them, three days, Cecily, and I mean good.” She was giving a mocking lecture. Like she was talking to a three year old, she started to pace slightly. It was all for show of course, but she never did like to put on cheap facades.
“There is such a thing as love, I know it.” She spoke gently, not like she was arguing a point at all. That was just how she argued, not as though she were about to bite your head off if you didn’t agree with her, more like, she was going to smother you with gentle affections. “It isn’t some faerie spell that comes over you at first sight, I think it is earned. Like a compassion that you feel for a friend, I think that it is very real, and it also keeps the world from chaos.” She sighed at the thought of it. “But if you don’t believe so, I won’t push the ideal.”
She lifted her nose to the sky, taking in a deep breath. “Yes, I can smell it. Tonight will be a deep twilight. I should not be out tonight…I tend to get in trouble on deep nights like this one.” She put on a sheepish grin. “I really don’t know why I like to look at shiny things so much…” her eyes flickered green for a moment.

[»Míríel«]

“That’s cruel…” Cecily got the most pitiful look on her face. “That’s like waving a piece of meat in front of a starving dog. I haven’t got to handle herbs of quality in a long time!”. She looked deprived.
“I have known such a thing to exist except through my love of poisons and they certainly don’t return your affection. ” She licked her fur with a swift movement and listened to her friend talk of twilight. “Yes a beautiful night I will love to stretch my legs a bit. To glide along the forest at night.” Her eyes sparked with a longing glow. Rising to her paws she smirked at her friend, “Well I won’t keep you out past your bed time.” With that she took off into the shadows, her white fur glowing slightly in the fading light and her markings becoming more pronounced. Night, what a beautiful thing.