Post by hybrid on May 4, 2010 0:05:10 GMT -5
Name: Xieack Palulukan'ite
Literally: Xieack Daughter of the Palulukan
(Images available for both Xieack and her Ikran but I wasn't sure if they were permitted in applications.)
Age: 20 years young
Secret Word: PMed =]
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Race: Na'vi
Tribe: Aylukana (Possible Tuyeteira Origins, a mix of two tribes, history unknown)
Mount: Ikran: Zathos
When Zathos first reared his head and turned to face the young woman the great beast is said to have roared forth a sound that nearly took the woman’s breath. The blazing sunset colors of his massive muzzle glistened in the burning sunlight. The reds, yellows and oranges soon faded and gave way to the deep blue violet of her body, the crisscrossing of black stripes breaking the brilliant color up into segments of pigment that flashed vividly over his rippling muscles. Claiming him was no easy task for his spirit was as wild and unbreakable as her own, and so they made a compromise, he landed a bite in her thigh, and she made the bond.
Flying with Zathos has become Xieack’s primary way to escape to the forest. He carries her effortlessly through clouds and storms. His massive blue violet wings pounding through the air, the sound of his breathing matching her own, they are one. Xieack has been known, or rumored, to fly her Ikran without Tsahaylu, allowing him to steer and be free with her so that he can be himself. It is a wonderful partnership that Xieack would never trade.
Physical Description:
With tightly bound muscles, long graceful limbs, and a mane of coal black hair, Xieack’s appearance speaks louder than any words could about her nature. Standing nine foot nine inches tall, she is, to some extent, taller than many of the female Na’vi. Her queue is long and is often seen brushing the base of her tail when she walks. Her face, despite its feminine appearance, embodies her untamed spirit with its large fiercely glimmering eyes. These pools of gold are flecked with hints of green and brown, and are framed by long, abundant lashes. Her lips are a pale blue with a fleshy pink hidden beneath the cyan color of her skin. Her mouth is often displaying the slightest hint of a smirk pulling up at the left corner of her lips.
Her skin was once a very pale blue, as though the rich cyan tones of her skin had been washed out but years of living in the jungle have turned her skin into a richer color, yet it can still be noted that she is paler than most. Bioluminescent white spots decorate her face in small swirling patterns, elaborate and distinctively beautiful. These white jewels follow around her eyes, surrounding them like an intricate mask. When not following within a particular pattern they are flecked across her face like human freckles, glowing brightly in the darkest light. These bioluminescent specks form constellations across her back, and encircle the small swell of her muscled abdomen. The dark steel blue and navy color of her stripes compliments her skin in exquisite detail. Across her frame the stripes are interconnected, forming chains and webs over most of her body. On Xieack’s face, however, her markings do not connect; instead they seem to etch themselves across her cheeks and eye sockets, before fading and becoming part of her pale skin color.
Xieack’s body is that of a hunter, long, elegant, and well defined. The dip at her waist gives rise to a unique curvature not normally seen in many of the Na’vi. Her legs also have a voluptuous feel to them as they curve and swell with muscle. Her chest is small, yet distinctly female, and in its own way, attractive. Xieack’s long, superbly crafted arms are covered in tightly woven muscles and end in rough, calloused hands. Her tail begins and falls over firm buttocks, and is both long and powerful, with a full plume of black hair at its tip. She is slower on foot than most of the Na’vi, gifted with endurance instead of speed. She is a silent stalking predator, who is as tenacious as she is untamable.
Like all creatures, however, Xieack is not without her flaws which come in the form of ten unsightly scars that are clearly visible across her back, stomach, face, and thighs. The macabre slash marks run in lines of two, with a smaller third line being less noticeable beside the larger cuts. Three on her back, three on her stomach, two on her left thigh, one on her right thigh, and a smaller scar on the right side of her face. They all came from the same animal, the Palulukan.
Personality:
Xieack’s personality is often described as bittersweet. There is a subtle kindness in her actions, gentleness in the way she stays her hand, the way she moves about the world, but interwoven into this tender manner is the fierce wild animal of the forest. In fact many of the Na'vi describe her by saying, Poe tayìran mì mune kifkey (Literally: She walks in two worlds), or if they wish to insult her or steal her attention they use, Uniltìranyu (Literally: Dreamwalker). She is silent and quiet when surrounded by her own people, yet so natural and feral when amongst the forest, running, climbing, hunting, and allowing herself to become one with the jungle.
Xieack’s one love in life, for she has yet to accept a mate, is being with animals. When she is not with her tribe, she is often lounging in the bows of one of Pandora’s massive, moss covered trees, watching the Nantang, Angtsìk, and when she can inch herself close enough, the mighty Palulukan, the animal from which she is named. Xieack has always been captivated and mystified by the Palulukan. The woman, who took on the role of Xieack’s mother, told her that she was connected to the animal.
There is something earthy and spiritual about Xieack. Even in the way she runs her fingers through her long black hair and the look in her eyes when she is thinking, all of her actions seethe with a constricted intensity that is rarely seen in many of the young Na'vi. Despite her reserved nature she has been known to anger quickly if pursued by others, or questioned about her whereabouts. She never intentionally means to insult members of her tribe, but sometimes her untamed behavior gets the better of her. She is a labyrinth of emotions, and an enigma when one delves into the catacombs of her thoughts.
.
Talents:
Inner Strength: Although physically capable of taking care of herself, Xieacks inner strength is probably her best attribute. She is a fiery tenacious woman whose outward appearance is often cold and distant. She has an enormous will to see, understand, and feel. She still struggles with the idea of not having a true family, but this absence has only made the young woman stronger and more intent on living her life to the fullest. Even during her childhood when the other children often taunted her she was able to find a way to move forward and to put them behind her.
Connecting with Animals: Although all Na'vi are capable of forming tsahaylu with the creatures of Pandora, not many are as intrigued by the bond as Xieack. She is at once with peace when with the creatures, as though they alone can understand her on a deeper level. It has been noted that she often attempts to fly her Ikran without the bond feeling that they know one another on a deeper and more connected level. She has also been rumored to have attempted bonding with the Palulukan which is how she received the vicious scars on her body. She can often be found lounging in the forest or watching the animals, learning their ways and slowly making herself a larger part of their world.
Endurance: Although not incredibly fast on her feet she does have great endurance and can go for much longer than some, albeit at a slower speed.
Quick: Xieack yearns to understand new things, even if they frighten her. She loves language and has been taught enough of the human's language that she can attempt conversation. She is incredibly curious and interested in what is different than herself.
History:
No one, not even Xieack, knows exactly where she came from. At only five years old she was found in the in the deepest part of the forest by a group of Aylukana scouts. The scouts who found her spoke of hearing the roar of a mighty thanator, and of seeing its tracks and claw marks in the mud and bark of the tree, In one of these trees was where young Xieack had taken refuge. She was curled up inside its hollowed trunk. The scouts did not know what to make of the scene, between the strange wild child of the forests, and the clear signs of one of Pandoras mightiest predators; they were both awestruck and unsettled. After a quick discussion about what to do with the child, they decided that bringing her back to the Aylukana people was the best option. Pulling Xieack out from the hollow, much to her loudly voiced unhappiness, they placed her atop their horses and took her to the Aylukana tribe. Once in the midst of the tribe’s people, the young child was examined fully. Her skin was a much paler blue than their own, with dark grayish navy stripes. They looked deep into her eyes and saw the flecks of green in each iris and the vague hints of yellow blazing through. The Aylukana leaders questioned whether she was from some distant land for she did not look like any of their tribe. After a through examination Xieack was placed into the arms of yet another stranger, a woman she knew only as Old Mother.
It soon became apparent to Old Mother that her charge, whom the Scouts had named Xieack Holawnu Palulukan'ite, wasn’t the typical child, she was almost feral. She bit, scratched, hissed frequently, and often refused any type of clothing. She was often covered in dirt and mud, her hair matted into thick chords, which Old Mother nearly risked her life to untangle. Poor Old Mother had her hands full. It took months to teach Xieack the ways of the tribe, but the teachings eventually stuck, and despite the occasional bristling of her hair, and the curl of her lip, Xieack all but stopped biting and growling. Her relation with the other children was strained, however, because of her lack of communication skills, and her often violent play. She was often teased by the other children, and after her retaliation ended in one child missing part of their finger, she was forced to be kept away from the other children until she was old enough not to act in such a manner.
When she reached ten years old, she was nearly trained. She spoke the language fluently and without falter, yet with a strange unrecognizable accent. She was already becoming skilled with a bow and arrow, although she preferred her natural weapons of tooth and nail. At ten she also discovered the Tsahaylu, much to the surprise of Old Mother, by bonding with a Pa’li. Her first bond did not last long, because immediately after the bond was made the dire horse bucked her off wildly. Xieack's language lessons were not the only schooling she received, although the child had felt the deeper connection to the spirit called Eywa, she had never before uttered the name. She was taught about the times of Great Sorrow, how aliens had tried to control their planet. She was taught pieces of thier language, but it did not amount to much. When she was old enough to understand further about the world around her, she was told about where her name came from, but the child was not surprised. She often had dreams of what she supposed was her real mother, a tall, strong, pale woman who road atop a coated palulukan, and her father, a darker skinned man with a quiet smile. She enjoyed the teachings of Old Mother, but not even the domestication that Old Mother placed on her was strong enough to tame her spirit.
By the time Xieack was sixteen she was using a bow with enough skill to demand at least some acceptance amongst her peers. Her attempts at riding the Pa'li had been more fruitful but she still felt out of place on their backs and often tried to avoid making Tsahaylu with them. Xieack had also learned of knifes, which she carved from the bones of the animals the tribe hunted. Her own knife is carved from a Palulukan tooth, and she cherishes it dearly. At sixteen Xieack also encountered her first Angtsìk; she was spying on it from a bow overlooking the forest floor. This day Xieack also attempted in forming a bond with the massive beast, but needless to say that did not occur. In fact, Xieack was quite happy to escape that incident with only a few minor cuts and bruises. Sixteen was also the age that Xieack received the vicious scars that now decorate her flesh. Xieack had spent weeks spying on the beast and had thought it time to try and make contact with the animal. At first the animal was surprised and curious, but curiosity soon changed to anger and through quick action, and a lot of luck, Xieack escaped with only ten disfiguring scars. Since the attack, however, Xieack dreams of connecting, if not bonding with a Palulukan, which fuels most of her expeditions into the dense jungle. There is a strange way about her actions when amongst the Palulukans, she seems very rarely afraid, as though something about them calls to her. There is a rumor amongst the Tribes people that she has already formed Tsahaylu with one, but rumors are a lot of talk.
At eighteen Xieack completed in claiming her Ikran, Zathos, a magnificent male. After taking her place fully amongst the people Xieack found that much of the teasing and taunting she'd received as a younger child diminished significantly. Making her body from the sacred tree, and crafting her own arrows, she has become one of the Aylukana in every way, however, she does not have a mate. In a way, she has not searched for one, and one has yet to search for her. She is a very free spirited individual, perhaps this is why many of the young male warriors have yet to make claim to her. Taming her is not something an average man would be able to accomplish, yet if they really loved her, why would they want to tame her?
RP Sample:
It always felt hot to her, the blazing sun, even as it came in shards through the canopy. With the sun's rays intermingled in with the humid air, Xieack was most content to spend her day relaxing on one of the rocky outcroppings that overlooked a crystal clear waterfall pool. Massive trees and ferns cast large shadows on both the young Na'vi and the water. Over the years she'd come to acclimate to the weather, although she was never quite sure why it felt so hot to her. Whilst all the other tribes people seemed comfortable in this climate, Xieack always seemed have a trickle of sweat beading on her brow, and more than once she found herself taking refuge in the shaded spots of the forest.
Pushing a lock of her onyx hair behind her shoulder, she breathed in the rich earthy smell of the trees, and the fresh cold scent of the water. Her pale blue lips parted in a soft, simple smile, pearl colored teeth glimmering in the dappled light. Sitting with her legs out in front of her, one knee up and the other down, Xieack rested comfortably with her back pressed against the cold moss covered boulder behind her. With her eyes closed she could hear the distant rumblings of a thanator, the heavy footfalls of a titanothere, and the group rustlings of a pack of nantang. All of these sounds, however, could not compete with Zathos, who was preening himself in the trees above Xieack’s head.
She had not moved when she heard the soft thudding of footfalls in the forest. A group of humans were exploring the land, using their strange face masks to breathe the air. Flanking the group were two dream walkers, their funny clothes and shoes, their black weapons that they held tightly in their hands, all of it intriguing and unsettling to her eyes. Xieack pressed herself into the shadows so that she could watch the group from a safe point of view but Zathos was becoming agitated, she could nearly feel it in her heart, and hear his low rumbling snarl from the tree tops. The group stopped as they too heard the growl, looking about themselves to be sure that they had only imagined the sound of a predator. A young man bent to examine the plants and the small bugs that moved against the backdrop of the land whilst his dream walker escort moved closer to where Xieack pressed herself.
Moving her hand to her knife she silently unsheathed the blade and waited. As the avatar neared ever closer to Xieack she held her breath her eyes blazing both curiosity and unhappiness. The avatar lowered his weapon and knelt by the water and ran his five fingered hands through the cold water, letting out a low sigh as he then drank from his cupped fingers. Xieack waited, in a moment the dream creature would turn and see her, and then what? The creature’s ears flicked in her direction, and she felt her own long ears pin themselves back against her onyx hair. When the avatar laid eyes on her dim shape in the shadowed outcropping he stumbled back and tilted his head to the side.
Xieack leaned forward and looked quixotically at the creature. “Hell-o”, was all she could manage to say.
Literally: Xieack Daughter of the Palulukan
(Images available for both Xieack and her Ikran but I wasn't sure if they were permitted in applications.)
Age: 20 years young
Secret Word: PMed =]
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Race: Na'vi
Tribe: Aylukana (Possible Tuyeteira Origins, a mix of two tribes, history unknown)
Mount: Ikran: Zathos
When Zathos first reared his head and turned to face the young woman the great beast is said to have roared forth a sound that nearly took the woman’s breath. The blazing sunset colors of his massive muzzle glistened in the burning sunlight. The reds, yellows and oranges soon faded and gave way to the deep blue violet of her body, the crisscrossing of black stripes breaking the brilliant color up into segments of pigment that flashed vividly over his rippling muscles. Claiming him was no easy task for his spirit was as wild and unbreakable as her own, and so they made a compromise, he landed a bite in her thigh, and she made the bond.
Flying with Zathos has become Xieack’s primary way to escape to the forest. He carries her effortlessly through clouds and storms. His massive blue violet wings pounding through the air, the sound of his breathing matching her own, they are one. Xieack has been known, or rumored, to fly her Ikran without Tsahaylu, allowing him to steer and be free with her so that he can be himself. It is a wonderful partnership that Xieack would never trade.
Physical Description:
With tightly bound muscles, long graceful limbs, and a mane of coal black hair, Xieack’s appearance speaks louder than any words could about her nature. Standing nine foot nine inches tall, she is, to some extent, taller than many of the female Na’vi. Her queue is long and is often seen brushing the base of her tail when she walks. Her face, despite its feminine appearance, embodies her untamed spirit with its large fiercely glimmering eyes. These pools of gold are flecked with hints of green and brown, and are framed by long, abundant lashes. Her lips are a pale blue with a fleshy pink hidden beneath the cyan color of her skin. Her mouth is often displaying the slightest hint of a smirk pulling up at the left corner of her lips.
Her skin was once a very pale blue, as though the rich cyan tones of her skin had been washed out but years of living in the jungle have turned her skin into a richer color, yet it can still be noted that she is paler than most. Bioluminescent white spots decorate her face in small swirling patterns, elaborate and distinctively beautiful. These white jewels follow around her eyes, surrounding them like an intricate mask. When not following within a particular pattern they are flecked across her face like human freckles, glowing brightly in the darkest light. These bioluminescent specks form constellations across her back, and encircle the small swell of her muscled abdomen. The dark steel blue and navy color of her stripes compliments her skin in exquisite detail. Across her frame the stripes are interconnected, forming chains and webs over most of her body. On Xieack’s face, however, her markings do not connect; instead they seem to etch themselves across her cheeks and eye sockets, before fading and becoming part of her pale skin color.
Xieack’s body is that of a hunter, long, elegant, and well defined. The dip at her waist gives rise to a unique curvature not normally seen in many of the Na’vi. Her legs also have a voluptuous feel to them as they curve and swell with muscle. Her chest is small, yet distinctly female, and in its own way, attractive. Xieack’s long, superbly crafted arms are covered in tightly woven muscles and end in rough, calloused hands. Her tail begins and falls over firm buttocks, and is both long and powerful, with a full plume of black hair at its tip. She is slower on foot than most of the Na’vi, gifted with endurance instead of speed. She is a silent stalking predator, who is as tenacious as she is untamable.
Like all creatures, however, Xieack is not without her flaws which come in the form of ten unsightly scars that are clearly visible across her back, stomach, face, and thighs. The macabre slash marks run in lines of two, with a smaller third line being less noticeable beside the larger cuts. Three on her back, three on her stomach, two on her left thigh, one on her right thigh, and a smaller scar on the right side of her face. They all came from the same animal, the Palulukan.
Personality:
Xieack’s personality is often described as bittersweet. There is a subtle kindness in her actions, gentleness in the way she stays her hand, the way she moves about the world, but interwoven into this tender manner is the fierce wild animal of the forest. In fact many of the Na'vi describe her by saying, Poe tayìran mì mune kifkey (Literally: She walks in two worlds), or if they wish to insult her or steal her attention they use, Uniltìranyu (Literally: Dreamwalker). She is silent and quiet when surrounded by her own people, yet so natural and feral when amongst the forest, running, climbing, hunting, and allowing herself to become one with the jungle.
Xieack’s one love in life, for she has yet to accept a mate, is being with animals. When she is not with her tribe, she is often lounging in the bows of one of Pandora’s massive, moss covered trees, watching the Nantang, Angtsìk, and when she can inch herself close enough, the mighty Palulukan, the animal from which she is named. Xieack has always been captivated and mystified by the Palulukan. The woman, who took on the role of Xieack’s mother, told her that she was connected to the animal.
There is something earthy and spiritual about Xieack. Even in the way she runs her fingers through her long black hair and the look in her eyes when she is thinking, all of her actions seethe with a constricted intensity that is rarely seen in many of the young Na'vi. Despite her reserved nature she has been known to anger quickly if pursued by others, or questioned about her whereabouts. She never intentionally means to insult members of her tribe, but sometimes her untamed behavior gets the better of her. She is a labyrinth of emotions, and an enigma when one delves into the catacombs of her thoughts.
.
Talents:
Inner Strength: Although physically capable of taking care of herself, Xieacks inner strength is probably her best attribute. She is a fiery tenacious woman whose outward appearance is often cold and distant. She has an enormous will to see, understand, and feel. She still struggles with the idea of not having a true family, but this absence has only made the young woman stronger and more intent on living her life to the fullest. Even during her childhood when the other children often taunted her she was able to find a way to move forward and to put them behind her.
Connecting with Animals: Although all Na'vi are capable of forming tsahaylu with the creatures of Pandora, not many are as intrigued by the bond as Xieack. She is at once with peace when with the creatures, as though they alone can understand her on a deeper level. It has been noted that she often attempts to fly her Ikran without the bond feeling that they know one another on a deeper and more connected level. She has also been rumored to have attempted bonding with the Palulukan which is how she received the vicious scars on her body. She can often be found lounging in the forest or watching the animals, learning their ways and slowly making herself a larger part of their world.
Endurance: Although not incredibly fast on her feet she does have great endurance and can go for much longer than some, albeit at a slower speed.
Quick: Xieack yearns to understand new things, even if they frighten her. She loves language and has been taught enough of the human's language that she can attempt conversation. She is incredibly curious and interested in what is different than herself.
History:
No one, not even Xieack, knows exactly where she came from. At only five years old she was found in the in the deepest part of the forest by a group of Aylukana scouts. The scouts who found her spoke of hearing the roar of a mighty thanator, and of seeing its tracks and claw marks in the mud and bark of the tree, In one of these trees was where young Xieack had taken refuge. She was curled up inside its hollowed trunk. The scouts did not know what to make of the scene, between the strange wild child of the forests, and the clear signs of one of Pandoras mightiest predators; they were both awestruck and unsettled. After a quick discussion about what to do with the child, they decided that bringing her back to the Aylukana people was the best option. Pulling Xieack out from the hollow, much to her loudly voiced unhappiness, they placed her atop their horses and took her to the Aylukana tribe. Once in the midst of the tribe’s people, the young child was examined fully. Her skin was a much paler blue than their own, with dark grayish navy stripes. They looked deep into her eyes and saw the flecks of green in each iris and the vague hints of yellow blazing through. The Aylukana leaders questioned whether she was from some distant land for she did not look like any of their tribe. After a through examination Xieack was placed into the arms of yet another stranger, a woman she knew only as Old Mother.
It soon became apparent to Old Mother that her charge, whom the Scouts had named Xieack Holawnu Palulukan'ite, wasn’t the typical child, she was almost feral. She bit, scratched, hissed frequently, and often refused any type of clothing. She was often covered in dirt and mud, her hair matted into thick chords, which Old Mother nearly risked her life to untangle. Poor Old Mother had her hands full. It took months to teach Xieack the ways of the tribe, but the teachings eventually stuck, and despite the occasional bristling of her hair, and the curl of her lip, Xieack all but stopped biting and growling. Her relation with the other children was strained, however, because of her lack of communication skills, and her often violent play. She was often teased by the other children, and after her retaliation ended in one child missing part of their finger, she was forced to be kept away from the other children until she was old enough not to act in such a manner.
When she reached ten years old, she was nearly trained. She spoke the language fluently and without falter, yet with a strange unrecognizable accent. She was already becoming skilled with a bow and arrow, although she preferred her natural weapons of tooth and nail. At ten she also discovered the Tsahaylu, much to the surprise of Old Mother, by bonding with a Pa’li. Her first bond did not last long, because immediately after the bond was made the dire horse bucked her off wildly. Xieack's language lessons were not the only schooling she received, although the child had felt the deeper connection to the spirit called Eywa, she had never before uttered the name. She was taught about the times of Great Sorrow, how aliens had tried to control their planet. She was taught pieces of thier language, but it did not amount to much. When she was old enough to understand further about the world around her, she was told about where her name came from, but the child was not surprised. She often had dreams of what she supposed was her real mother, a tall, strong, pale woman who road atop a coated palulukan, and her father, a darker skinned man with a quiet smile. She enjoyed the teachings of Old Mother, but not even the domestication that Old Mother placed on her was strong enough to tame her spirit.
By the time Xieack was sixteen she was using a bow with enough skill to demand at least some acceptance amongst her peers. Her attempts at riding the Pa'li had been more fruitful but she still felt out of place on their backs and often tried to avoid making Tsahaylu with them. Xieack had also learned of knifes, which she carved from the bones of the animals the tribe hunted. Her own knife is carved from a Palulukan tooth, and she cherishes it dearly. At sixteen Xieack also encountered her first Angtsìk; she was spying on it from a bow overlooking the forest floor. This day Xieack also attempted in forming a bond with the massive beast, but needless to say that did not occur. In fact, Xieack was quite happy to escape that incident with only a few minor cuts and bruises. Sixteen was also the age that Xieack received the vicious scars that now decorate her flesh. Xieack had spent weeks spying on the beast and had thought it time to try and make contact with the animal. At first the animal was surprised and curious, but curiosity soon changed to anger and through quick action, and a lot of luck, Xieack escaped with only ten disfiguring scars. Since the attack, however, Xieack dreams of connecting, if not bonding with a Palulukan, which fuels most of her expeditions into the dense jungle. There is a strange way about her actions when amongst the Palulukans, she seems very rarely afraid, as though something about them calls to her. There is a rumor amongst the Tribes people that she has already formed Tsahaylu with one, but rumors are a lot of talk.
At eighteen Xieack completed in claiming her Ikran, Zathos, a magnificent male. After taking her place fully amongst the people Xieack found that much of the teasing and taunting she'd received as a younger child diminished significantly. Making her body from the sacred tree, and crafting her own arrows, she has become one of the Aylukana in every way, however, she does not have a mate. In a way, she has not searched for one, and one has yet to search for her. She is a very free spirited individual, perhaps this is why many of the young male warriors have yet to make claim to her. Taming her is not something an average man would be able to accomplish, yet if they really loved her, why would they want to tame her?
RP Sample:
It always felt hot to her, the blazing sun, even as it came in shards through the canopy. With the sun's rays intermingled in with the humid air, Xieack was most content to spend her day relaxing on one of the rocky outcroppings that overlooked a crystal clear waterfall pool. Massive trees and ferns cast large shadows on both the young Na'vi and the water. Over the years she'd come to acclimate to the weather, although she was never quite sure why it felt so hot to her. Whilst all the other tribes people seemed comfortable in this climate, Xieack always seemed have a trickle of sweat beading on her brow, and more than once she found herself taking refuge in the shaded spots of the forest.
Pushing a lock of her onyx hair behind her shoulder, she breathed in the rich earthy smell of the trees, and the fresh cold scent of the water. Her pale blue lips parted in a soft, simple smile, pearl colored teeth glimmering in the dappled light. Sitting with her legs out in front of her, one knee up and the other down, Xieack rested comfortably with her back pressed against the cold moss covered boulder behind her. With her eyes closed she could hear the distant rumblings of a thanator, the heavy footfalls of a titanothere, and the group rustlings of a pack of nantang. All of these sounds, however, could not compete with Zathos, who was preening himself in the trees above Xieack’s head.
She had not moved when she heard the soft thudding of footfalls in the forest. A group of humans were exploring the land, using their strange face masks to breathe the air. Flanking the group were two dream walkers, their funny clothes and shoes, their black weapons that they held tightly in their hands, all of it intriguing and unsettling to her eyes. Xieack pressed herself into the shadows so that she could watch the group from a safe point of view but Zathos was becoming agitated, she could nearly feel it in her heart, and hear his low rumbling snarl from the tree tops. The group stopped as they too heard the growl, looking about themselves to be sure that they had only imagined the sound of a predator. A young man bent to examine the plants and the small bugs that moved against the backdrop of the land whilst his dream walker escort moved closer to where Xieack pressed herself.
Moving her hand to her knife she silently unsheathed the blade and waited. As the avatar neared ever closer to Xieack she held her breath her eyes blazing both curiosity and unhappiness. The avatar lowered his weapon and knelt by the water and ran his five fingered hands through the cold water, letting out a low sigh as he then drank from his cupped fingers. Xieack waited, in a moment the dream creature would turn and see her, and then what? The creature’s ears flicked in her direction, and she felt her own long ears pin themselves back against her onyx hair. When the avatar laid eyes on her dim shape in the shadowed outcropping he stumbled back and tilted his head to the side.
Xieack leaned forward and looked quixotically at the creature. “Hell-o”, was all she could manage to say.
