Humans have come to stake claim to land that is not theirs. They bring with them disease and technology of the likes the natives had never seen. The natives were of magickal kin, holding on to things long lost to humans - if they ever had it. Instead they have a dangerous technology that they bring with them, causing destruction all along the way. Homes are burnt and food resources destroyed. Families ripped apart and abominations created. Those abominations are made by those friends and families that many have lost. They will chase down the natives till there are none left.

Characters:

Name: Kumara
Race: Shifter
Photo:


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The smokey smell of cooked flesh reached the sensitive nose of Kumara. She had been asleep in her home with her mate and child when it first started. The screams came and grunts of pain. Bright blazes that foretold fire and that odd, repetitive sound that often came with the humans. That noise that always meant death of some sort. Peering out the window had told her all she needed to know of the town's destruction. They were now going down the huts that were in a line, her's was part of it. She would have but moments to act if she were to get her family out.

Her mate was currently collecting the weapons they would need while she threw food and waterskins into a leather bag. Just as she was running to the crib to grab her infant child, the door was busted open. Kumara let out a scream, hugging her baby close. She tried to scurry from the room but the men grabbed her. They took her baby and Kumara screamed, just as a sickening thud sounded. The baby was no more.

This happened just as her mate had come running out of the room. The sight of the bashed infant and a battered mate sent him into a rage. With a partial shift, he started at the humans with all he had, dropping all but his own sword. Kumara watched, horrified, as her mate was quickly overcome. Her legs then moved on their own accord, grabbing up her twin blades as she dashed out the back of the hut. She ran as fast she could, hopping upon her dappled horse. She was too stunned to shift that moment and knew not where she was headed.

Kumara eventually passed out on her horse, trusting it knew where safety might be. Their bond was a strong one. When she came to in the morning, Kumara found herself outside of the gates of Branch City. It was a city set far back in a dense woods, well protected from much of the outside world. Her clan's land had laid just outside the dense forest. Her horse must have remembered the way here from the few trips they had.

Kumara wearily, numbly, made her way the the local inn. She practically fell off her horse as a stablehand took her. Kumara just silently nodded her head. The bruises and small amount of blood on her was enough to tell what happened. It was happening more often lately. Her clan one of many. Before her world knew it, even the city would be taken.

Character:
Name: Teru'dga
Species: Shape~shifter
Temperment: Aggressive
Appearance:


The risings and settings of the sun had long become one unending blur of a day, how long he had been walking, Teru'dga did not know. His stomach growled protesting the hunger he had subjected himself to. No, he was not fasting, but the thought of hunting, of killing any prey immediately conjured up vivid images of the raid upon his village. A pristine clear night that had seen arcs of crimson splash against the nightsky overhead. Even now, the coppery scent of spilled blood was a phantom haunting his sense of smell. Every fiber of his being ached as he was not accustomed to having to hold a shift for such a long time. Worse was the gash above his shoulder making every trodding step forward agonizing, his own blood having clotted, the thick black fur of this panther form matted with the essence of his life.

Oh yes, he remembered it clearly. He had been working at the river, spear fishing for fish to sell the next day at the weekly market. He had just speared a particularly large and tasty looking cat fish, pondering to himself if he should keep it or not when he noticed the first tendrils of blood hued water streaming past his bared calves. The wind had been to his back so he could not have smelled the fires burning through is village, burning those he knew and held dear. His bounty abandoned, and spear in hand, Teru'dga rushed back through the brush of the woods, over stone and logs, to reach the great wooden fence that surrounded where he lived.

It was no more, save for barely standing portions. Splinters and broken wood littered the ground, how it came to be emphasized by the heavy battering rams laying abandoned by the main gate. Inside the parameter, he could hear the dying screams of those being slaughtered, the protests of those being spirited off to deities only knew where. Rage welled within his chest, his hands tight around the shaft of his spear and blindly, foolishly, with a roar he charged forward blindly toward the new scent that accompanied this wave of death.. the scent of the humans. Again and again he thrust the blood soaked spearhead towards the forms of the invaders, each succesful strike giving him a feeling of rightful vengeance. But they were many, and the villager's warriors too few and declining. As the carts began to leave and what machines the humans brought began to finish the fight, Teru'dga had felt a sharp, searing pain on his shoulder, and the hot trickle of his blood flowing down his chest. He would never admit it, but he had been grateful for the black smoke burning away the homes and bodies, for they had given him cover to retreat, shifting painfully to the panther form and to escape into the forests.

And now, here he was. Dirty, injured, and starved, padding heavily towards a familiar location.. a hidden inn known by most of his kind. A hot bath and hot food in his stomach, that is what he needed. And perhaps some rest, before he could turn his mind towards what he would do next. Reverting back to an upright, humanoid form, the shifter had slouched his way into the inn, ordering his room, and forced himself to open the door and fling himself onto the bed. He had barely started telling his legs to lift him again to see about that bath before he was out hard into a restless sleep.

((Dang, your post puts mine to shame, certainly. ^.^ This is going to be a wonderful role play. Now that the intro is over, my length will likely drop down.))

Pleasant dreams drifted before the mind-eye of Kumara. Her laughing daughter, Azula, and her gentle mate. The pleasant, memory filled dream soon took a dark turn however. The blazes, the rivers of blood, and her infant. Smashed against the wall. Her bubbling baby gurgles forever silenced. Before the dream could turn its attention to her mate, Kumara startled upwards in bed. Her breasts were heaving with hard breaths. The panic still crowded her mind. No sense of security, even in the small, comfortable room. Yesterday's events still too fresh in her mind.

Her skin was still sticky with sweat and blood. She wasn't even sure what was hers. Kumara had suffered far less than those around her. She suffered but bruising on her arms and cheeks where she had been struck and grabbed. Her lip was busted but that had healed awhile ago. Inside, however, she was grieving. Her young family to never know a long life. Tears drifted to Kumara's eyes but they refused to fall. She ached. She ached so badly for the wistful life she had led. She had not been fast enough. It was her fault. She hadn't been able to do what was needed. She was weak.

The word gave Kumara pause, however. Weakness would not serve her kindly here with those monsters out there. More families like her's would suffer. She did not know what had even come of her parents. The panic wanted to settle in but Kumara felt the need to do something. To even just wander a little. The humans wouldn't get away with what they had done if she could help it. She needed to have her family's deaths avenged and to not be in vain.

Anger swelled within. Kumara was determined to do all she could. However, a bath was in order first. To help cleanse her of the smell of burning flesh and coppery blood. It just stung her nose now. Kumara made her way stiffly to the bath in her room, full of cool water from the night before. She had never made it to the tub but she had no patience now to wait for the warm water. Afterwards, Kumara stumbled down the stairs to the bar and kitchen area, her stomach rumbling. She needed to see if there was any other survivors. She needed to rectify her cowardliness and weakness. The humans would pay.

(I really enjoy yours, I'm hesitant to get all dark off the bat. x3 I think I'm really going to enjoy roleplaying with your. )

"Shut.. up," Teru'dga's sleep thick voice rumbled as he rolled onto his side in his slumber. A scream of protest from his body and he was awake, his shoulder throbbing. Of course, naturally he had to have rolled onto his injured side. The sheets were sticky and wet with his sweat, smeared with dirt and his dried blood. Another smell was on the air as well, filling the space between the inn's wooden walls.. daylight, the open air, and more importantly food. His stomach howled and gurgled. He sat upright in the bed, his fingertips rubbing against his forehead. Though his sleep had been dreamless, it was not soundless. Screams still echoed in his ears and he felt far from rested. He felt as if he could still sleep a week away.

Stiff and sore he tore himself out of the comfy welcoming hold of the bed, callouses had already started to form on the heels of his hands and feet from traveling on all fours, little splinters had even managed to embed into his skin. Perhaps there was a resident doctor at the inn, or able to direct him towards one. It didn't thrill him, but retribution would require him to be at his physical best. He went to his washroom, and, seeing a cold bath he frowned. No, that wouldn't do at all. And there was no wood for him to start a proper fire to warm the water. Fire.. how he looked at it differently now. Teru'dga made his way downstairs, an irritable look upon his features. He didn't find it too farfetched that he might be liable to deck someone should they even look at him wrong at the moment his mood was quickly turning that foul. He hobbled his way around, through the common rooms, looking for anyone he could ask about. Maybe at the desk? He passed through the kitchen and bar area on his way to find one of the inn's staff members.

Kumara was wallowing in her food, deep in thought, when her nose twitched at the smell of wounds. It brought back images from the past night and she shuddered. Her silver eyes glimpsed up in time to see a man walk past the room she was in. Where he was going, she wasn't sure but the smell of wounds permeated from him. Could he be a refugee like herself? Indecision rang through her mind as she looked down at her food, considering abandoning the hot meal to chase after the man. Perhaps he had seen the same horrors as she. The thought, while it didn't please Kumara, called to her.

With a heavy sigh, Kumara pushed away from her hot meal and treaded after the male. He looked like he came from a tribe not much different from hers. And to her eyes, he appeared to be a warrior. She was not one. While she could wield her weapons well enough, she was rather a healer of sorts. Maybe he could use that attention while she tried to get information out of him.

Kumara trotted up to him, afraid to lose him from her sight. She nearly faltered with her words but she managed to get them out. "Hello... I'm Kumara. I come from a clan not too far from here that faced recent... tragedy. May I ask your name?"

A distinctly female voice spoke up suddenly, so lost in his throughts Teru'dga was surprised to find he was so off his guard. He turned on his heel immediately to look in the direction the voice had come from, turning his blue eyes downward to the woman who had spoken. He took note of her bruises, the busted lip. He had never been a gambling man, but he would feel safe to bet this woman might have had run into some trouble, though judging by the extent of her injuries, it might not have been too bad. If anything she made him feel quite out of place.

"I'm Teru'dga, from one of the northern clans of the forest," he said, then added sharply, "and I am looking for wood since I'm in dire need of a bath." His tone sharp, curt, not out of malice or lack of social skills. He was just tired and still rather filty, two things combined that made him less inclined to stand for idle chatter or be asked for charity.

"Did you need something.. Kumara, was it?" he asked point blank, his eyes still narrow and unblinking. He folded his arms across his chest as best as he could, wincing slightly. He was well aware that his wound was visible, and perhaps it was some deep rooted, subconcious male instinct that encouraged him to appear unphased by it while in the presence of this woman.

Kumara noted the male's... well, maleness about the wound she could see. It didn't look too good and needed tending to. Her own silver eyes assessed the man in front of her further before responding, "Well met... is what I wish I could say. However, it would appear that I am not the only one who suffered at the hands of someone.." She made a gesture towards the wound, "I come from a clan just outside the forest," her voice momentarily cracked, "My clan was attacked by humans and their horrible machines. I think I am the only surviver. I was hoping to see someone else here from my clan but there is no one." Kumara shuddered as if it were cold. The chill going deeper than a fire could fix.

"The sight of you made me curious. Was your clan similarly attacked?" Her eyes slid to the wound again, "I can also help you with that, if you wish, in exchange for a chat. If you are willing. I am as good as you might get on short notice. I do not think that will stay uninfected long." Her eyes dared to turn a little hopeful, though the smell of her food made her mouth long to taste it again. Her stomach was still quite empty and her appearance, despite the bath, more disheveled than the usual.

Teru'dga's eyes betrayed no emotion, though he did furrow his brow tighter together as he listened to the woman speak. So he had been wrong about her situation, but still, he considered her lucky. He could very easily symphatize with her in regards to how disheartening it was to see not a single familiar face. He also could not help but consider her offer. The wound to his shoulder would indeed become infected, he was no doctor, but he could tell it was a deep cut, and whatever dirt or grime or blood of his kin had been on whatever struck him, if anything, was now getting comfortable within his flesh, and revenge couldn't be taken once one was dead.

He sighed, wearily, his broad shoulders hunching forward as he gave in to both her offer of help, and to his tired state. Besides, perhaps she could give him information he could use later. The humans seemed quite adept at finding their villages, but so far, as far as he knew, not one of his kind had found where the humans were. Not on purpose at least. A younger, brasher fellow warrior of his village had left some time before on a scouting mission and had never returned. He was given up for dead not long afterward.

"We were. What do you want to know, and where would you like to talk?" He asked. As one of the kitchen staff flitted past, he flagged the younger man's attention, and placed an order for a meal of his own. Kumara could only do so much for his wound, the rest would depend on him looking out for his own well being as well. If the inn hadn't been discovered by now, perhaps they were safe here, which would offer plenty of time for thinking and regrouping.