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lantairvleaPart Three
Sensation slowly came back to Kri as she returned to consciousness. Her mind gradually slid towards awareness, first feeling the wood beneath her body that swayed and creaked beneath her. She allowed her senses to come back at their own pace, no need rushing things. Sound softly drifted to her ears, creeping leisurely to higher volume as her mind returned to a fully awakened state. None of the noises were familiar, at least at first. There were voices, all sounded male, where was she? There was a bump in the road; the sudden jolting of the wheels jostled her into full consciousness.
Bars surrounded her, they blocked every way out, not only that, but between the thick, metal bars was a fine wire mesh. There wasn't a form small enough that would have allowed her to pass through that.
Panic rose up from her gut, clenching at her and suffocating reason. How'd she get here? When did this happen? She couldn't remember, what was going o--wait . . . a face, that face was familiar, who was it? Click. "Symihr!" She roared. She struggled up and attempted to jump toward him, but merely crumbled on the floor. The wagon rocked and the Lasa’tei whinnied and pranced towards the side of the road. Her limbs were too weak to support her, being tied didn't help her situation much either. She growled and snorted into the wood. "Betrayer."
Once he regained his nerve Symihr approached the cage. "Awake and able to articulate in such a primitive and beastly form."
"Coward,” the low murmuring roll of a growl underlined her speech, "say that without these bars between us or these ropes to bind me."
Symihr shrugged. "Cowards don't die young."
"They do when they've crossed the wrong person."
He dared to laugh. "’Person’ is hardly the word to describe what you are."
Rounded ears flicked against Kri’s skull and she snarled menacingly. “The same could be said of belly-crawling bottom-dwellers like you, Symihr.”
Carelessly Symihr waved his hand to dismiss the remark. “Just know, beast, or Kri if you prefer it, that you won’t be receiving anything from us, food or water, until you return to your Human form.” He turned and began walking away, on towards the front of the line of wagons.
“Symihr, I promise,” she breathed with a hiss, “you are a dead man when I escape.” Harsh gold-brown eyes burrowed into the back of Symihr’s skull. He stopped in his tracks almost thoughtfully as if he might turn back, but continued with a slight shudder of his shoulders.
The first day of travel went slowly once Kri was awake. With the racket that the young Shabenay insisted on maintaining the Lasa’tei refused to pull properly. The poor equines were scared senseless for the first half Kut before they were calmed enough to work. Even once the Lasa team was settled the noise and commotion emanating from inside the cage was enough to draw a crowd, which slowly faded as the trees of the Sha Forest loomed ominously ahead of them.
The Sha Forest is considered a haunted place. The only way through it that guarantees survival is a road that was built some two thousand years prior. Despite the road’s age it is in astoundingly good shape, because of its vital importance to overland trade routes on Roomir, which otherwise would have to make detours several thousand Kiloms out of the way by sea in order to make it safely to the other side. The forest stretched, roughly, from the northern coast to the southern coast, the few breaks in it were also surrounded by trees and not easily accessed from the outside. The name itself, Sha, translates to “spirit” in Common Tongue, though those that guarded the forest were anything but spirits despite their own name, Shamien, derived from the Common Tongue words of Sha and miren, or “spirit beast.” The Shamien had a way of moving in the forest that unnerved most travelers. Rumors ran ramped about the guardians of the vast forest, many regarding them as more than mere animals, which they were, but not in the way that most liked to portray them. Many though the Shamien as fantastic, super-natural beasts with magical powers, but truth be told, they were not magical, merely intelligent. Despite somewhat primitive appearances, the quadruped locomotion, and near-absolute lack of technology, the Shamien were sentient with a complex language and ancient customs, they were as aware as the other five species that placed their claim to Kashian firmly in the soil, they just chose a different means to live by.
Some of the men looked about nervously for the first Kut after they first entered the forest, even though the road stretched at least 25 tirms across, wide enough for a dozen wagons to run side-by-side. Perhaps it was the emptiness of the road that unnerved the men more than the animals that lurked beyond in the dense trees.
Kri quieted down for a moment, staring into the trees. She’d passed through this forest before, though not by the road she was forced to use now. There had been no resistance to her passing last fall. Not a single Shamien had made its presence known, despite the constant feeling of eyes watching her and the occasional scent that would shift through the trees. The forest appeared even more still and silent than it had been then. She pressed her muzzle against the mesh between the bars and took in the smell of fresh growth on the trees, but no Shamien.
She grumbled annoyance, not even being able to pace made the journey incredibly dull. That is, until she decided to focus her mind on listening in on her captors’ conversations. It was readily apparent that the men didn’t count for the Shamien’s acute sense of hearing; either that or they didn’t care what was overheard. From their whisperings she learned there were scouts actually combing the forest for another Shabenay. They had known of her for some time. Kri hoped that the other would have better luck evading capture than she had. Her shoulder still ached from where the dart had hit.
A small knot of Humans passed, Kri hissed menacingly for lack of anything else to do, they quickly increased their distance from the cage in response. She looked back towards Kur’hran, the city was hardly visible now, just a pinprick between the small gap that showed where the road began its cut through the forest.
The rumbling growl emanating from Kri’s stomach signified the onset of hunger. No food or water until she returned to her Human form, was it? Well, she wasn’t about to make this trip any easier for them, especially with another Shabenay out there being hunted. Kri struggled to her feet; rather difficult as she couldn’t move them much more than a few inches beyond the places they were bolted to the floor. She glared defiantly at some of the men who walked passed, sending them a warning growl. Now standing, she tested the irons that clamped tightly around her wrists and ankles. They were firmly bolted into the floor and wouldn’t be pulled out of the heavy wood without dealing her a good deal of injury.
Kri snorted irritably, if she was going to find some way out of here she’d have to get out of these chains first, but she wasn’t about to show them any more forms, granted, with three marks plainly visible there wasn’t much chance that they assumed she only had two forms. “Ach, curse it, I want to at least be able to move.” A clear mind and a mere thought caused her to change shape, from the Shamien the size of a small horse, to a small finch-like bird. She chirped from where she stood within one of the large iron bands that had encircled her leg but seconds before. A quick flick of her wings perched her atop the band. Just out of pure curiosity she flitted over the wire mesh where she perched for a moment and attempted to fit her head through, still too large, resigned she glided back to the floor and reassumed her Shamien form. She’d last longer without food or water if she stayed in one form, especially with the Homich Shamien’s natural ability to withstand long periods of time without water.
She paced around the small cage; head low to avoid hitting the ceiling. There wasn’t far to go, but it was better than just sitting. Her eyes crawled over the cage, examining the bars and mesh, seeking a possible weak point. She stopped pacing and sat in a corner. The thick, powerful tail thudded against the floor as she thought. It would be impossible to break the bars and she didn’t have the room to be able to get to the mesh properly, let alone get the leverage needed to pry it apart. She glared at the wood floor then scratched it tentatively with a claw. Hard wood, it was to be expected. Getting up again she paced the length of the cage then halted at the back end, eyes fixed on the back wall, also barred with the mesh between. If all of it was bars and mesh how had they managed to shove her in? Turning her head sharply to the side she was leaning on she backed up to focus her eyes more properly on the edges of the cage. The links of mesh overlapped, she looked up, the bars fit in grooves at the top, not into the circular holes that the others did. It was obvious that this panel was meant to swing down.
Oblivious to the fact that she may be watched Kri backed to the front of the cage before charging and throwing her weight into the back end. The Lasa’tei whinnied shrilly and danced back as they were nearly pulled off of their feet. The driver cursed soundly, but Kri was not deterred, with a shake of her head she backed again and rammed into the gate. More curses from the driver and he shouted for assistance. A third time Kri backed up, noticing the slight dent she’d made her lips curled in a grin. She was stopped mid-charge by a dart in her shoulder. Her momentum couldn’t be stopped and she crashed less carefully into the gate for a third time.
“My luck, same shoulder,” she grimaced slightly. Symihr blurrily came into view again.
“How—“
“I’m a ‘shifter Symihr, we can accomplish amazing things.” She grinned, her body started to go numb, “it was worth a try at least.” Blackness enveloped her again.
Kri woke up to the sound of the gate slamming shut. She slit her eyes open, it was dark now and took her eyes a while to focus. Cursings filtered to her ears, or at least she thought they were cursings, they weren't Common Tongue or anything else she could easily recognize.
"Welcome to first class," Kri muttered, grinning slightly. The other's form started at her voice. It was Human, definately. "Never hear a Shamien talk?" She questioned.
The other appeared to stare blankly at her, it was hard to tell in the dark. The long blonde hair that brushed the floor covered most of her face. She was bound rather tightly, though not bolted to the floor like Kri was.
"I have," the other replied firmly, and attempted to flick the hair from her face for a better look, "it's just I never expected to see another Shabenay."
"So you're the one they've been talking about all day." Kri stated as she readjusted herself to a more comfortable position than the one she'd been put in. "Didn't take them very long to get you."
The other snorted. "They've only been snooping around the Sha for the past year and a half, actually," she replied and grunted slightly as she manovered on her back to stare at the cieling. "What's your name?"
"Kri," Kri replied, "and yours?"
"It's Shinkir. I'm of Ker's line, you?"
"Who's line?" Kri asked dumbly.
"Ker, you should know, he's rather well-known." Shinkir stated matter-of-factly.
"I'm sorry, I'm not quite following you on that."
"You don't know Ker? Surely you've at least heard of Kirashtyn's guards." Shinkir went on, "Or just Kirashtyn everyone knows of Kirashtyn."
"Uh . . . I think you're wrong on that part, who's he?" Kri querried, not in the least perterbed by her own lack of knowledge.
Shinkir blinked dumbly for a moment. Kri watched her, waiting for an answer. Shinkir stared back. Several minutes of silence passed between the two before Shinkir finally picked up the conversation again. "You've never heard of Kirashtyn?"
"Never," Kri confirmed.
"And you're a Shabenay?" Shinkir probed.
"Why else would I be here?" Kri replied retorically.
"Stupid question, sorry, Shamien hardly ever speak Common Tongue, and the sense of another is unmistakable, but . . . you're a Shabenay, yet you've never heard of the most prominant figure in our past?" It was apparent Kri's new travel companion was having a hard time wrapping her mind around such a concept.
"Quite plainly, Shinkir, you're the first Shabenay I've ever met." Kri replied as she shifted to her side.
Once again Shinkir gaped back at Kri. Shocked that such a thing could be. "You're a first-generation Shabenay?" Shinkir's wide eyes stared at Kri in the dark, "there haven't been any of those since . . . since, well, since Beneur chose us as far as I can remember."
"Who?" Kri wondered who was more confused, herself, or Shinkir.
"Beneur . . . she's, well, she's our god, or goddess, really." Shinkir replied.
"Go on," Kri nodded encouragingly.
"Alright," Shinkir said then seemed to gather her memories. "Back before the Shabenay were around, when it was just the Shamien, Kierr, Frineir, Tynomai, Amrea, and Humans, Beneur, the single goddess sought to give a gift to her children. Though it could not to be given to all, for she knew of the frailties of many minds. She singled out the strongest and wisest of each species." She paused for amoment. "I don't quite remember all of it, it's been a while. Anyway, she gathered them together to one place. There she told them of how she created the world and also of her plans for it. She shared much of her knowledge with them and gave them, if they accepted it, the gift to be able to shape-shift, which would help them to not only understand themselves, but to understand each other.
"For the longest time we were a great people. We had much knowledge from all over and were great peacemakers among the other species." She shook her head as best as she could in her position. "So much was lost during the Two Hundred Year's Chaos. Histories and knowledge. Ways of doing things have been lost for the past millenium.
"We didn't use to be hunted you know."
"Well," Kri shrugged slightly and closed her eyes, "your story's a far cry from anything else I've heard about us."
"And do you believe it?" Shinkir querried.
"I'd like to, but either way you look at it, Shinkir," she looked at her companion again, "we're both cursed and blessed. We're hunted by these men that hold us captive, but we have advantages that they can't forsee, power that they don't understand and are afraid of."
Silence again prevaded between the two of them. Kri was exhausted, despite having been forced into unconsciousness twice in the same day she was still tired both mentally and physically. She was almost asleep when Shinkir's voice brought her back.
"Kri."
A low, slightly irritated rumble replied.
"I'm just curious, but," Shinkir paused for a moment as if choosing her words carefully, "how old were you and what was your original form? I know it's not Shamien, you don't have the accent. You don't have to answer, I'm just curious."
Kri looked groggily at Shinkir. "Born Human, I was only eleven when I 'shifted. Killed a man then out of self-defense. Didn't stop them from trying to kill me. Granted, they think they actually succeded, but I'm not the one to correct them on that."
"And is that-"
"Yeah, the scars are from that." She motioned to the left side of her face. "Almost like these accursed Marks, 'cept I can't hide them even if I try." Kri snorted, there was a soft clinking as she shifted her position. "I'm going to sleep now."
Shinkir didn't try to continue the conversation. Kri slept less than soundly the rest of the night.
As always, commenting and critiques much welcomed. I need to print out two and three now and run them over for some more final revisions.
This paper is annoying, i can't think of anything in my life that relfects this accursed hero's journey cycle.
Sensation slowly came back to Kri as she returned to consciousness. Her mind gradually slid towards awareness, first feeling the wood beneath her body that swayed and creaked beneath her. She allowed her senses to come back at their own pace, no need rushing things. Sound softly drifted to her ears, creeping leisurely to higher volume as her mind returned to a fully awakened state. None of the noises were familiar, at least at first. There were voices, all sounded male, where was she? There was a bump in the road; the sudden jolting of the wheels jostled her into full consciousness.
Bars surrounded her, they blocked every way out, not only that, but between the thick, metal bars was a fine wire mesh. There wasn't a form small enough that would have allowed her to pass through that.
Panic rose up from her gut, clenching at her and suffocating reason. How'd she get here? When did this happen? She couldn't remember, what was going o--wait . . . a face, that face was familiar, who was it? Click. "Symihr!" She roared. She struggled up and attempted to jump toward him, but merely crumbled on the floor. The wagon rocked and the Lasa’tei whinnied and pranced towards the side of the road. Her limbs were too weak to support her, being tied didn't help her situation much either. She growled and snorted into the wood. "Betrayer."
Once he regained his nerve Symihr approached the cage. "Awake and able to articulate in such a primitive and beastly form."
"Coward,” the low murmuring roll of a growl underlined her speech, "say that without these bars between us or these ropes to bind me."
Symihr shrugged. "Cowards don't die young."
"They do when they've crossed the wrong person."
He dared to laugh. "’Person’ is hardly the word to describe what you are."
Rounded ears flicked against Kri’s skull and she snarled menacingly. “The same could be said of belly-crawling bottom-dwellers like you, Symihr.”
Carelessly Symihr waved his hand to dismiss the remark. “Just know, beast, or Kri if you prefer it, that you won’t be receiving anything from us, food or water, until you return to your Human form.” He turned and began walking away, on towards the front of the line of wagons.
“Symihr, I promise,” she breathed with a hiss, “you are a dead man when I escape.” Harsh gold-brown eyes burrowed into the back of Symihr’s skull. He stopped in his tracks almost thoughtfully as if he might turn back, but continued with a slight shudder of his shoulders.
The first day of travel went slowly once Kri was awake. With the racket that the young Shabenay insisted on maintaining the Lasa’tei refused to pull properly. The poor equines were scared senseless for the first half Kut before they were calmed enough to work. Even once the Lasa team was settled the noise and commotion emanating from inside the cage was enough to draw a crowd, which slowly faded as the trees of the Sha Forest loomed ominously ahead of them.
The Sha Forest is considered a haunted place. The only way through it that guarantees survival is a road that was built some two thousand years prior. Despite the road’s age it is in astoundingly good shape, because of its vital importance to overland trade routes on Roomir, which otherwise would have to make detours several thousand Kiloms out of the way by sea in order to make it safely to the other side. The forest stretched, roughly, from the northern coast to the southern coast, the few breaks in it were also surrounded by trees and not easily accessed from the outside. The name itself, Sha, translates to “spirit” in Common Tongue, though those that guarded the forest were anything but spirits despite their own name, Shamien, derived from the Common Tongue words of Sha and miren, or “spirit beast.” The Shamien had a way of moving in the forest that unnerved most travelers. Rumors ran ramped about the guardians of the vast forest, many regarding them as more than mere animals, which they were, but not in the way that most liked to portray them. Many though the Shamien as fantastic, super-natural beasts with magical powers, but truth be told, they were not magical, merely intelligent. Despite somewhat primitive appearances, the quadruped locomotion, and near-absolute lack of technology, the Shamien were sentient with a complex language and ancient customs, they were as aware as the other five species that placed their claim to Kashian firmly in the soil, they just chose a different means to live by.
Some of the men looked about nervously for the first Kut after they first entered the forest, even though the road stretched at least 25 tirms across, wide enough for a dozen wagons to run side-by-side. Perhaps it was the emptiness of the road that unnerved the men more than the animals that lurked beyond in the dense trees.
Kri quieted down for a moment, staring into the trees. She’d passed through this forest before, though not by the road she was forced to use now. There had been no resistance to her passing last fall. Not a single Shamien had made its presence known, despite the constant feeling of eyes watching her and the occasional scent that would shift through the trees. The forest appeared even more still and silent than it had been then. She pressed her muzzle against the mesh between the bars and took in the smell of fresh growth on the trees, but no Shamien.
She grumbled annoyance, not even being able to pace made the journey incredibly dull. That is, until she decided to focus her mind on listening in on her captors’ conversations. It was readily apparent that the men didn’t count for the Shamien’s acute sense of hearing; either that or they didn’t care what was overheard. From their whisperings she learned there were scouts actually combing the forest for another Shabenay. They had known of her for some time. Kri hoped that the other would have better luck evading capture than she had. Her shoulder still ached from where the dart had hit.
A small knot of Humans passed, Kri hissed menacingly for lack of anything else to do, they quickly increased their distance from the cage in response. She looked back towards Kur’hran, the city was hardly visible now, just a pinprick between the small gap that showed where the road began its cut through the forest.
The rumbling growl emanating from Kri’s stomach signified the onset of hunger. No food or water until she returned to her Human form, was it? Well, she wasn’t about to make this trip any easier for them, especially with another Shabenay out there being hunted. Kri struggled to her feet; rather difficult as she couldn’t move them much more than a few inches beyond the places they were bolted to the floor. She glared defiantly at some of the men who walked passed, sending them a warning growl. Now standing, she tested the irons that clamped tightly around her wrists and ankles. They were firmly bolted into the floor and wouldn’t be pulled out of the heavy wood without dealing her a good deal of injury.
Kri snorted irritably, if she was going to find some way out of here she’d have to get out of these chains first, but she wasn’t about to show them any more forms, granted, with three marks plainly visible there wasn’t much chance that they assumed she only had two forms. “Ach, curse it, I want to at least be able to move.” A clear mind and a mere thought caused her to change shape, from the Shamien the size of a small horse, to a small finch-like bird. She chirped from where she stood within one of the large iron bands that had encircled her leg but seconds before. A quick flick of her wings perched her atop the band. Just out of pure curiosity she flitted over the wire mesh where she perched for a moment and attempted to fit her head through, still too large, resigned she glided back to the floor and reassumed her Shamien form. She’d last longer without food or water if she stayed in one form, especially with the Homich Shamien’s natural ability to withstand long periods of time without water.
She paced around the small cage; head low to avoid hitting the ceiling. There wasn’t far to go, but it was better than just sitting. Her eyes crawled over the cage, examining the bars and mesh, seeking a possible weak point. She stopped pacing and sat in a corner. The thick, powerful tail thudded against the floor as she thought. It would be impossible to break the bars and she didn’t have the room to be able to get to the mesh properly, let alone get the leverage needed to pry it apart. She glared at the wood floor then scratched it tentatively with a claw. Hard wood, it was to be expected. Getting up again she paced the length of the cage then halted at the back end, eyes fixed on the back wall, also barred with the mesh between. If all of it was bars and mesh how had they managed to shove her in? Turning her head sharply to the side she was leaning on she backed up to focus her eyes more properly on the edges of the cage. The links of mesh overlapped, she looked up, the bars fit in grooves at the top, not into the circular holes that the others did. It was obvious that this panel was meant to swing down.
Oblivious to the fact that she may be watched Kri backed to the front of the cage before charging and throwing her weight into the back end. The Lasa’tei whinnied shrilly and danced back as they were nearly pulled off of their feet. The driver cursed soundly, but Kri was not deterred, with a shake of her head she backed again and rammed into the gate. More curses from the driver and he shouted for assistance. A third time Kri backed up, noticing the slight dent she’d made her lips curled in a grin. She was stopped mid-charge by a dart in her shoulder. Her momentum couldn’t be stopped and she crashed less carefully into the gate for a third time.
“My luck, same shoulder,” she grimaced slightly. Symihr blurrily came into view again.
“How—“
“I’m a ‘shifter Symihr, we can accomplish amazing things.” She grinned, her body started to go numb, “it was worth a try at least.” Blackness enveloped her again.
Kri woke up to the sound of the gate slamming shut. She slit her eyes open, it was dark now and took her eyes a while to focus. Cursings filtered to her ears, or at least she thought they were cursings, they weren't Common Tongue or anything else she could easily recognize.
"Welcome to first class," Kri muttered, grinning slightly. The other's form started at her voice. It was Human, definately. "Never hear a Shamien talk?" She questioned.
The other appeared to stare blankly at her, it was hard to tell in the dark. The long blonde hair that brushed the floor covered most of her face. She was bound rather tightly, though not bolted to the floor like Kri was.
"I have," the other replied firmly, and attempted to flick the hair from her face for a better look, "it's just I never expected to see another Shabenay."
"So you're the one they've been talking about all day." Kri stated as she readjusted herself to a more comfortable position than the one she'd been put in. "Didn't take them very long to get you."
The other snorted. "They've only been snooping around the Sha for the past year and a half, actually," she replied and grunted slightly as she manovered on her back to stare at the cieling. "What's your name?"
"Kri," Kri replied, "and yours?"
"It's Shinkir. I'm of Ker's line, you?"
"Who's line?" Kri asked dumbly.
"Ker, you should know, he's rather well-known." Shinkir stated matter-of-factly.
"I'm sorry, I'm not quite following you on that."
"You don't know Ker? Surely you've at least heard of Kirashtyn's guards." Shinkir went on, "Or just Kirashtyn everyone knows of Kirashtyn."
"Uh . . . I think you're wrong on that part, who's he?" Kri querried, not in the least perterbed by her own lack of knowledge.
Shinkir blinked dumbly for a moment. Kri watched her, waiting for an answer. Shinkir stared back. Several minutes of silence passed between the two before Shinkir finally picked up the conversation again. "You've never heard of Kirashtyn?"
"Never," Kri confirmed.
"And you're a Shabenay?" Shinkir probed.
"Why else would I be here?" Kri replied retorically.
"Stupid question, sorry, Shamien hardly ever speak Common Tongue, and the sense of another is unmistakable, but . . . you're a Shabenay, yet you've never heard of the most prominant figure in our past?" It was apparent Kri's new travel companion was having a hard time wrapping her mind around such a concept.
"Quite plainly, Shinkir, you're the first Shabenay I've ever met." Kri replied as she shifted to her side.
Once again Shinkir gaped back at Kri. Shocked that such a thing could be. "You're a first-generation Shabenay?" Shinkir's wide eyes stared at Kri in the dark, "there haven't been any of those since . . . since, well, since Beneur chose us as far as I can remember."
"Who?" Kri wondered who was more confused, herself, or Shinkir.
"Beneur . . . she's, well, she's our god, or goddess, really." Shinkir replied.
"Go on," Kri nodded encouragingly.
"Alright," Shinkir said then seemed to gather her memories. "Back before the Shabenay were around, when it was just the Shamien, Kierr, Frineir, Tynomai, Amrea, and Humans, Beneur, the single goddess sought to give a gift to her children. Though it could not to be given to all, for she knew of the frailties of many minds. She singled out the strongest and wisest of each species." She paused for amoment. "I don't quite remember all of it, it's been a while. Anyway, she gathered them together to one place. There she told them of how she created the world and also of her plans for it. She shared much of her knowledge with them and gave them, if they accepted it, the gift to be able to shape-shift, which would help them to not only understand themselves, but to understand each other.
"For the longest time we were a great people. We had much knowledge from all over and were great peacemakers among the other species." She shook her head as best as she could in her position. "So much was lost during the Two Hundred Year's Chaos. Histories and knowledge. Ways of doing things have been lost for the past millenium.
"We didn't use to be hunted you know."
"Well," Kri shrugged slightly and closed her eyes, "your story's a far cry from anything else I've heard about us."
"And do you believe it?" Shinkir querried.
"I'd like to, but either way you look at it, Shinkir," she looked at her companion again, "we're both cursed and blessed. We're hunted by these men that hold us captive, but we have advantages that they can't forsee, power that they don't understand and are afraid of."
Silence again prevaded between the two of them. Kri was exhausted, despite having been forced into unconsciousness twice in the same day she was still tired both mentally and physically. She was almost asleep when Shinkir's voice brought her back.
"Kri."
A low, slightly irritated rumble replied.
"I'm just curious, but," Shinkir paused for a moment as if choosing her words carefully, "how old were you and what was your original form? I know it's not Shamien, you don't have the accent. You don't have to answer, I'm just curious."
Kri looked groggily at Shinkir. "Born Human, I was only eleven when I 'shifted. Killed a man then out of self-defense. Didn't stop them from trying to kill me. Granted, they think they actually succeded, but I'm not the one to correct them on that."
"And is that-"
"Yeah, the scars are from that." She motioned to the left side of her face. "Almost like these accursed Marks, 'cept I can't hide them even if I try." Kri snorted, there was a soft clinking as she shifted her position. "I'm going to sleep now."
Shinkir didn't try to continue the conversation. Kri slept less than soundly the rest of the night.
As always, commenting and critiques much welcomed. I need to print out two and three now and run them over for some more final revisions.
This paper is annoying, i can't think of anything in my life that relfects this accursed hero's journey cycle.
