Wren+and+Vhoori+in+Valparia

Wren stands in the large meeting room of the citadel, watching the group break to go their separate ways. Azarius and Amara walk away together, Lillarthi takes Yuki to the healer tents, Posy and Thorn go with William, Erevin wanders off to scout out the area a little better... and Wren had nothing much to do until night fall to go to the camp.

She looked around the room at the few scattered people remaining and smiled at the black furred, cat-like man still in the room. She walked over to casually stand next to him, "You know... we don't have your kind on our world. You're quite fascinating really..." She looked him over again in the well lit room.

"You said you're called the Kithkin?" She smiled, and gently caressed the fur on his ears, "You're quite soft... Are there many of you here?"

Vhoori smiled...pleased at the lovely young elf's attention. His race was rare even here…and since he was an outcast he'd probably never...see a female of his own race again. And she really did have pretty eyes...and he liked the way she stroked his fur. "No...there are not...many of us, at least compared to the elves and especially the humans. We...Kithkin are a nomadic race....deeply tied to their family and clan. So much so...that is difficult...to survive..." The cat man's eyes moistened slightly and he sighed, he seemed quite emotional. "Outcasts...those that are cast out of their tribes usually die." But the witch didn't miss the ton of pride in his voice...and she knew that he must be an outcast...and had...survived. He must think he could survive anything now.

He leaned casually against the wall. "Our...tribes...roam the grasslands of the Bronze Sea...and we can range quite widely over the course of just a few years…following the Chesah..." He stopped for a moment "The elves refer to them as bison I think...they have a special place in Kithkin culture…they are powerful...dangerous...and useful. It is over them that my people sometimes come into conflict with the humans...who try to steal our herds"

Wren wondered what it would be like...to be...constantly on the move. She'd lived her own life...in one place. But she supposed that now...she was making up for it with her extraplanar journey. She leaned in closer, offering Vhoori a glimpse of her pale shoulder. He noted...that she also...smelled...very good. Strange...spices. Exotic. He purred.

His voice rumbled as he continued " Kithkin live in low, rounded tents called ”//galug//”" His voice seemed a little more...reverent. "Typically between eight to ten stay in each galug and the...members of the galug typically form around an elder who is in charge of the galug." The cat man stopped for a moment...as if looking for the proper way to explain. "The word galug also has special meaning to the kithkin, as members of a galug have a tighter bond to each other than to other tribe members. Membership is not always by close blood ties. The elder decides who is allowed to stay in a galug."

"Mmm..hmmm" Wren murmured "It is...not unlike my own...situation. I am a member of a 'coven'. Sisters...some by blood...and some not. We are all very close. My mother...is 'Raven'...she is the leader...of my coven."

"It is pleasing to see...that...we are not so different then. Even on...other worlds...so many things are similar. Why is that...Vhoori wonders?" He laughed with her, putting his arm around her pale shoulder. He really was...soft and warm. "We... kithkin do not always form formal bonds of marriage, the parentage is noted and the father is responsible for the child's rites for certain milestones. The most common rites are the Rite of First Breath, the Rite of Weaning, the Rite of Naming, the Rite of Adulthood, and sometimes the Rite of Marriage. When a kithkin is no longer capable of hunting, there is the Rite of Elders to mark their progression into the ranks of the tribal elders."

Vhoori smiled "It is a great honor...to reach such an age...naturally...we do not live very long. Perhaps...forty of your summers if we are fortunate. Mere instants to elves like you. And..." His voice rumbled again "life is hard on the plains. A common rite of adulthood is to hunt a dangerous predator alone. The shoag are often targeted for this ritual, as they are a dangerous enemy."

He flashed her a toothy grin, his whiskers twitching "But...hopefully you will never see a shoag! But Vhoori is talking only about himself. Vhoori is also curious...tell me more about...this 'coven' you speak of!"

"Ohhh," Wren cooed at him as she leaned her body against his with his arm around her shoulder, "but I could listen to Vhoori speak all day..." She smiled up at him playfully, her eyes inviting. She slid her fingers deep into the thick fur along his neck, and up along his cheek, "...but if it will keep you talking... I'll tell you anything that you're curious about." She could feel his purr rumbling in his chest against her.

"Such a short life..." she cupped her hand around his cheek and looked at him with a hint of sadness, "the elves of my world live for a very long time... hundreds of years... if of course, they aren't out playing with dangerous predators..." she winked at him, "but this shoag sounds very interesting... my companions and I have faced many dangerous enemies and we're bound to see many more."

"While I'm an elf and there is a lot of various elven cultures... I'm also a witch... a type of magic caster... we get our source of power from the unknown. Covens, that you'd like to know more about... are groups of witches. We live together like a large family. We work together to accomplish the things that we need... Covens are all women. There are no male witches... though we take pleasure in the company of men outside of the coven..." She smiled a little coyly up at him as she rubbed his ear, "It is rare for witches to find real love." Sadness flickered across her eyes for a moment that suggested she missed someone... and then she smiled at him again, nestling a little closer, "and much rarer yet for a witch to be married. I... honestly don't know any myself..."

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"When a witch decides to have children... parentage of the chosen mate isn't noted at all in most cases... just the mother to the daughter. The chosen male isn't even usually aware that the child exists... I did meet my father once, however." She nodded to him.

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"We don't really have a rite of adulthood, but we do have a ceremony to acknowledge becoming an actual sister of the coven once you show your talent for magic and start contributing. We contribute in many ways... and often each chooses something that they'll specialize in to contribute more... I, like my mother, enjoy herbs and alchemy... and she has been teaching me important recipes for our ceremonies, culture, and health. There are traditions followed by most witches, and each coven has its own set as well... In MY coven, we are all given bird names when we become a sister. It's a tradition of my mother's. The first hex that she teaches each of us is the hex of flight... in honor of our coven, Raven's Nest, and then we're allowed to choose what we want to learn." She paused thoughtfully, and then smiled, putting both arms around his neck.

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"...but I'm sure you don't want to hear all of the boring little details... you'd probably rather hear about the traditions of dancing naked around fires and such..." she winked up at him and grinned. <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Vhoori purred as his eyes undressed her for a moment, images of her dancing naked flashing through his thoughts. He held her close to him, his voice rumbly, "So witches do not love?" He watched curiously for any hint of whatever had crossed her face before. <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wren's golden eyes glanced away for a moment as a light pink blush feathered across her cheeks. She smiled up at him, "Forgive me... I may have misrepresented ... I've spent a lot of time with a human priestess of love lately... it's unfair to say it's rare for a witch to find real love... it's probably more common for witches to love many... but less common to find that... soul touching..." she laid an open hand on his chest, "heart gripping... magnetic attraction that compels you to want to be near that person... to know them, love them, and protect them."

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She smiled at him, her eyes soft and filled with emotion, "it is more rare for a witch to allow that kind of love to touch ... and capture her." Her voice wavered only slightly, as she spoke with experience... surely there was someone who had captured her? <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"...but it is quite common to share a passionate, physical bond with another... more than just a physical touch... but a connection that may leave someone longing for more... but more often than not, it's only for a night." <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She leaned against him softly, "and though you do not often marry... do you often take a mate for life? Have your lips touched many?" Standing close, her spicy exotic scent drifted around him. She lingered a hand around the back of his neck, her fingers softly scratching his fur...

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Vhoori closed his eyes for a moment, purring. Her touch was so intimate... it was so distracting, he could barely think. Her scent was intoxicating... each time she spoke, the sweet smell of cherries carried off of her lips, mixing with the warm spicy fragrance of her skin. He opened his eyes, trying to recall the last thing she had said. Her gold eyes sparkled like fire. His whiskers twitched, and a subtle growl slipped into his purr, "Tell Vhoori more about this fire dancing..."

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wren laughed and leaned her hip against his, with one arm still loosely up around his neck as she gestured out with the other arm, "Picture a tall, crackling fire, amber sparks and embers dancing above the licking orange and red flames... beautiful women dressed only in beads, chimes, and feathers... their bare skin glistening with oil... all dancing in unison with a fluid tribal dance, chanting together... and you'll have an idea of what some of our ceremonies are like... of course... many like to dance naked around the fire just for fun too..." she flashed a wide grin at him.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(I see this as a great possible tie-in to the sabotaging the camp scene at the table where Wren was distracted by the fires on the beach and Vhoori had to pull her back. ::giggles::)

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"No...." Vhoori’s voice rumbled...and he stretched languidly underneath Wren's intimate touch "Vhoori has not...mated since his mate joined our ancestors many years ago before Vhoori became an outcast." He leaned in closer, and Wren could feel his warm breath across her cheek, his whiskers...tickling her face and the elven girl giggled, looking at him with questioning eyes. "It is a long...story...one that brings much shame upon me...and yet also...I would do it all again. It was justice!"

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">His muscled black furred body leaned against hers....fur sliding delightfully along skin. "That...actually...sounds very similar to one of the rituals of Marriage....among my people. Unmated....females drink...the fermented milk...and dance around a great fire drawn from the plainswood...which we gather for a moon before. To attract a mate...the smoke from the first is quite...intoxicating although many cannot quite remember the night before when the awake in the morning!" Vhoori laughed...a strange combination of laughter and purring.

<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The kithkin circled her in his arms...a predatory gleam in his eyes "It is customary...among my people...to take trophies....from our prey. We fashion them into jewelry...which we wear as a....map of sorts...to our lives." He growled softly, pulling her closer "Well....my pretty eyed....elf....shall Vhoori...take a trophy...this night?"

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">His soft growl sent a delightful shiver down her spine, and Wren grinned playfully, her golden eyes challenging, "Mmm a witch from another world is truly a formidable prey... but a trophy you say?" She leaned in closely, her lips close to his and grasped one of his whiskers ever so delicately between the tip of her tongue and her upper lip and tugged it gently as she slid from the base of the whisker out to the tip, her mischievous eyes not looking away from his.

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wren could feel her pulse quicken and her heart ached for that matching rhythm she had grown accustomed to. Something was missing.

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She could hear Yuki's voice echo into her thoughts, //"but without love, wouldn't it be lacking?" No! This has nothing to do with love! Why are you in my head? Not Now! Go away!//

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She lingered against him, chest to chest, allowing him to hold her closely, "I will have to consider this... trophy... as I am not quite so easily won, my kithkin friend." She played with one of his ears, brushing her finger tips along the edges.

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Crowe's voice floated from her memories, //"...with a lover like that... you're going to be disappointed by most other men." Not you too! Oh sweet goddess, what is wrong with me today?! Just take him...// she tried to convince herself, //He is handsome, alluring, sexy, attentive... He's a KITHKIN from ANOTHER WORLD! How often is that going to happen? I mean look at him!! Just take him....take him and wear him as your own. Just for tonight...//

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She rubbed her cheek up along his neck and across his cheek, and softly growled in his ear. Her heart was pounding and Vhoori could feel the heat of her body against him... her exotic spicy fragrance rubbing off on his fur as his warm earthy scent clung to her skin.

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"Not so easily, hmm?" He purred back into her ear, "but... hunt-able, yes?" Claws extended from his fingertips as he drug them down gently over her back, sending waves of delightful pleasure through her causing her to inhale sharply, her breath caught for a moment before exhaling slowly. She swallowed, her breathing quickened, and drowned for a moment in the painful pleasure of his touch. He could practically feel her desire calling out to him to claim her. He released his claws as he pulled her in close and nuzzled her neck, purring.

//<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"My wild... dangerous witch... my lover..." //<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kale's voice softly whispered in her ears... how she loved the way he called her his... Wren's eyes snapped open as her heart beat wildly... //Kale... why?! No... this has nothing to do with love! Damn this cursed emotion! What the hell is wrong with me?! Just TAKE HIM. ...but Kale... I am his... and he is mine...// She couldn't deny it... she loved Kale... and somehow she had become more his than she understood. She tried desperately to quiet her heart and mind.

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She leaned softly against Vhoori's chest, trying to slow her breathing. She glanced around the assembly hall and clasped Vhoori's hand, "We should... go for a walk."

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"Yes....my pretty-eyed witch...let us go away from the crowd...and out into the woods...a much better place for hunting." His eyes...gleaming and cat like...raking over her body, a predator sizing up his prey. "And...for some privacy…yes?" He squeezed her hand, and the two of them slipped away from the central hall and the soldiers nearby. Wren...looked around...for Yuki...then remembered the beautiful priestess of Sune was out touring with the handsome elven prince, Lillarthi.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">There would be no Yuki...to save her...or to damn her...now...

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Down...the two went...Vhoori leading the way until they slipped out of the palace and unto the streets...where the more common folk appeared frightened as they awaited the coming attack. They made there way out into the cool...dark forest. Quiet...and alone....Vhoori turned to her.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"Alone...at last...now...." He purred...slowly...backing Wren up against a tree...where she could feel his warm breath tickling her neck...

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She shivered and looked up, her gold eyes meeting his as she felt the tree behind her. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"Mmm, luring your prey into your trap?" She grinned playfully, leaning back against the tree, "Isn't that cheating just a little? And just how exactly do you plan to complete your capture?" <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">He was so close to her, she could feel the rumble of his chest against her as he purred.

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">He leaned in, pressing her gently between him and the tree. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Their lips a breath apart, she looked into his predatory eyes and nodded as though she had just gotten her answer, her voice a surprised whisper, "Oh." <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She reached up to tuck one of her raven strands of hair tousling in the breeze, but realized her arms were softly pinned with his hands on the tree around her. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She smiled slowly, her gold eyes sparkling with an invitational challenge.

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She closed her eyes and tilted her head as he leaned in closer, their lips brushing softly. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Something was wrong... she missed that enticing smell of steel and leather... when their lips touched, it didn't ignite the fire that should have lit easily. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She opened her eyes, blinking at him confused. He was seductive, exotic, strong... It was physically pleasing... what was wrong?

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">He raised an eyebrow at her as he saw the look of disbelief on her face. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The desire that was just burning her alive seemed to be fading... <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She shook her head, she must be mistaken... <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She pulled her arms free and wrapped them up around his neck and kissed him slowly, sensuously exploring his lips. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">It just wasn't right... that burst of color that warmed every part of her wasn't there. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The familiar touch that read her every desire like he owned the map was missing. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">That accustomed incredible body heat that should be clinging to her from him just wasn't the same.

<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She didn't understand... different, exotic, sensual... these things should be arousing... why then was her body cooling off? <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Her heart ached. She longed for Kale's arms that made everything better... <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She suddenly felt empty and alone and she missed him so much that she physically ached. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She quickly brushed a tear away that escaped the corner of her eye, "I... I'm so sorry, Vhoori... I don't know what's come over me... You're a great hunter... I didn't know this would happen... I'm really very sorry. I'm sure your mate would be proud of all that you've accomplished... Will you tell me the story? The one you would do all over again? for her?" She took his hand in hers and sighed a deep sigh.