Ikaina
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Posts: 42
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Post by Ikaina on Jul 3, 2007 21:19:03 GMT -5
It had been a very long few months for the wolf demon. And she was starting to hate herself for letting herself get caught up in emotion. She hated it. All of it. But no, she grew up soft. She grew up loving her father; loving Katrine. She grew up with the responsibility of carrying on Theonaru's name. And what a burden it was.
Through the streets of Aquadin walked a beautiful wolf. Black, silky fur, neatly kept, and delicate paws. The eyes were bright red-orange, staring out from amongst the dark colors, standing out like a white cloud against a black sky. The animal didn't stare down at the ground or shy away from people either, but walked straight through the crowds, diving in and around people who were walking back and forth to the Well.
She had spent nearly a month away on her own. Granted, Ikaina was usually on her own, but this was being utterly alone. Living in the forest, human civilization being nearly one hundred miles away. And what an eye-opening experience it was. She became more in tune with her own emotions, learning to control her expression even better, so much that her eyes wouldn't give anything away if she didn't want them to. And in this time, she trained. Hard. Practice with sword for five hours a day, a small break for lunch, and then five more hours for bow practice. Then the hunt for dinner, and another the remainder of the night was spent training her body to defend itself, without the use of weapons.
But she had decided that it was about time to start going out into the world of humans again. She couldn't stay locked up in the forest forever. Well, she could, but she chose not to. Ikaina found humans interesting; their actions, their words, their motives...all of it was as good to her as a film. And while many thought her to be quite the...well, bitch...she had her softer side. Which in her opinion, was being shown too often for her liking.
But she needed a break from the world of worries. That was why she was traveling through Aquadin. The sound of water was always soothing to her. And she stayed in this form, knowing that only people who already knew her would recognize her. No one would bother her. And if they did, and she didn't know them or wished not to speak to them, she could very easily act like a simple wolf, and ignore them, as she would probably do anyways.
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Post by deamon on Jul 5, 2007 10:50:00 GMT -5
Nyra wandered aimlessly throughout the city. She had the morning to herself before she would have to tend to Lord Damon this afternoon. For when he decided what he should serve for dinner to his...newest guest or guests, as it had been lately. Nyra sighed heavily and stopped at the well to watch the people gather their water. She watched a little girl with her mother go play in the cool clear water....
"Daddy why can't I play with the other girls at the well?" A younger version of herself pulled lightly on the jacket of a wealthy man. He turned slowly to face her in the carriage and gave her a dark look. "Because Narida you are high class young lady. You do not play or talk to low class heathens!" He faced the driver again and gave him the signal to hurry up. The carriage jerked as it sped up.
The little Narida looked at the girls having fun chasing each other around and shed a small tear as they disappeared from her view...
Her head jerked to an upright position. Quickly she looked to see if anyone had noticed. No one had that she could tell. Wile shaking the cloudiness out of her head she clenched her eyes closed.
The visions came often. They weren't very long, but they had annoying tendency's. They got in the way of her work scary enough Damon was in them, but the strange man was in them allot too...
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Ikaina
TownsFolk
Queen BAMF!!!
Posts: 42
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Post by Ikaina on Jul 6, 2007 17:03:46 GMT -5
Ikaina had stopped, licking her paws and watching as people walked by. Her eyes were bright and full of energy, yet Ikaina knew very well that she couldn't release that energy. Not here in town at least. She would wait until she got to the outskirts; perhaps to a small river or forest.
And so she just sat there, grooming herself even though she didn't really need it. But as she was watching the people, one girl in particular caught her attention. She was by herself, yet was here doing seemingly nothing. It wasn't often that people came her to do nothing. Actually, Ikaina had almost never seen anyone come here to do nothing. They almost always had a purpose. And the fact that she looked as if she had nothing to do intrigued her. She sat looking at the girl for a moment, but people kept walking past. And even though she had superior vision, she couldn't see through people.
Standing, the black wolf made it's way delicately through the crowd, weaving in and out of the crowd, until she stood right in front of the girl. Ikaina looked up at her, meeting her own eyes with her red-orange ones, and was almost able to feel the girl's confusion. Ikaina knew that it would be better to make a friend rather than an enemy; she had too many of them running around lately. But she wanted to gauge this girl first, and so she laid down at her feet, her frong legs stretched out in front of her and her black head resting gently on her paws, her eyes never leaving the girl's.
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Post by deamon on Jul 7, 2007 21:30:52 GMT -5
Nyra looked down into red-orange eyes. The eyes connected to a fairly good sized black body. Wile the large dog looked at her she grew a little nervous wondering if it was nice or not... or if it was even a dog...
Ny looked around to see if it belonged to anyone. But no one walked toward her to claim it. Bending down to almost eye level with the wolf-dog she looked to see if it had a rope around its neck, or any other sign of ownership, but saw none...
"Hello there. My names Nyra."
She didn't know why she was talking to it. It was an animal. But for some reason she felt like it could understand her.
"Are you hungry? I'm sure you could come home with me to the castle and eat something there."
She reached her hand out slowly deciding if it was safe or not to pet it. Ny wondered if it had a name. She would hate to just call it, it or dog like Lord Damon would.
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Ikaina
TownsFolk
Queen BAMF!!!
Posts: 42
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Post by Ikaina on Jul 7, 2007 23:46:08 GMT -5
Sometimes, Ikaina seriously thought about staying in her wolf form forever. Honestly, who wouldn't like to be cared for, fed, housed, groomed, loved, and pampered? No responsibilities, no worries. Just wandering around, doing what you wanted when you wanted to do it and not having to worry about people coming after you.
After all, it's only a dog.
And best of all, she could get someone to pet her whenever she wanted. Even though she was a wolf-demon, she still liked being petted.
But she knew that it was out of the question. As she stared into this girl's eyes and she spoke of the castle, she knew that it would be a way in. She had wanted to speak with the Lord for a while now, but had never gotten this far as to actually do it. She had wanted to ask if he had heard word of Neoroku in Aquadin. She wanted to know if there was any news of him what-so-ever. Ikaina was bloodthirsty for that boy.
Play it off like an innocent dog and then you'll get into the castle, she thought. There's no way you'll get in otherwise...from what I remember, public audiences don't happen very often in Aquadin...
And so it was decided. She was going to play it off as an innocent wolf pup. Then when the time was right, she would reveal herself to the Lord. Ikaina pushed her nose under the girl's hand, as if to say that she would like to go with her very much, and then waited for some sort of action from Nyra.
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Post by deamon on Jul 8, 2007 9:22:41 GMT -5
Nyra looked shocked at first, but she petted the dog's head lightly and smiled warmly. It had to be somewhat tame. So it had to be alright for her to bring it to the castle. Lord Damon would just ask that it had a bath and was primped before shown in public...namely his female escorts of the day.
Nyra stood up and turned to the castle. Glaring at it, wishing it would burn down. Nineteen year olds should not have to clean up after the emperors 'after party's' with other women, wait on him hand and foot, helping the wreck get dressed in the morning and make sure he was on time for everything. Yes that is what a maiden did but still... She worked to hard for him to be treated like she did... he did save her life... and there was oddly something familiar about him to her... Something she wanted to figure out... she sighed and took a few steps toward the castle and looked behind her.
"Coming?''
She smiled brightly while she said it. Ny finally had a friend she could vent to, or tell secrets...and the wolf-dog couldn't tell anyone...Nyra frowned, up until now she never realized how lonely she was. She rarely got out of the castle. The only reason she did today was to get a new dress made for herself for the funeral they would be attending...Damon insisted that they go... otherwise she would still be at the castle sewing holes or something. She looked at the crowd one more time before she looked back at the wolf-dog.
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Ikaina
TownsFolk
Queen BAMF!!!
Posts: 42
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Post by Ikaina on Jul 8, 2007 12:23:16 GMT -5
Ikaina could tell that there was something rather important running through this girl's head at the moment, but she made no effort to figure out what it was right then and there. She let her hand stroke her fur, feeling rather happy that she could get this kind of attention that easily. Sometimes Ikaina swore that the more time she spent in her wolf form, the more dog-like she became. But no matter, there were other important things to worry about.
She watched as Nyra stood and looked at the castly, a look of hate clearly showing in her eyes. And Ikaina couldn't help but wonder what it was exactly that this girl did at the castle. She could guess, of course. She was probably a servant. She looked too young to be anything else.
As Nyra began to walk away, Ikaina made no move. She wanted to be sure that this girl was actually going to get her into the castle. Plus, a dog wouldn't just automatically start following someone unless they were being called. Or had food. Either one.
She looked around the crowd again, making sure that no one she knew was going to be around to spoil this for her. Though for some reason, Ikaina couldn't help but think of Roxas. She owed him her life. And she was determined to find him one day to thank him. Probably the only....what was the word?....friend?...that she had that was worth the effort of keeping in touch with.
Ikaina stood, daintily picking up her paws and stretching before running off after Nyra, falling into step next to her.
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Post by deamon on Jul 8, 2007 21:20:39 GMT -5
Nyra looked at the wolf-dog as it fallowed her and then to the castle gates. Selvagem, one of the castle guards, was still on duty...meaning she was early home. Not exactly unusual for her. So she wasn't to worried.
Selvagem nodded her through the gate's and raised a brow to the wolf-dog, but said nothing to oppose her entering. So Ny kept walking. Winding her way over a small bridge to the castle of Aquadin... Nyra turned to the wolf-dog and bent to its eye level. Staring hard in to the red-orange eyes intensively.
"You need to be a good dog or Lord Damon will kick you out. Do not leave my side. OK?"
After a few minutes, confident that the wolf-dog understood, she stood up again and walked to the servant's entrance on the side of the castle. Ny knocked 3 times and let herself in...
"Nyra, dear, welcome back."
Satra an older maid with wiry red hair and amber eyes. Bustled around the room, making beds and dusting.
"Lord Damon wishes to see you at once. He's not in the best of moods mind you."
She pretended to be drinking a bottle so Ny knew he was drunk. Maidens and Vassals couldn't 'talk bad' of the emperor because of guards stationed outside the door, so signals were used.
Ny knew he would be. He opened a bottle before she even left. Lord Damon had become good friends with the Emperor and Empress of the Forest. Their death had hurt him a great deal and he drank himself to sleep often...
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Ikaina
TownsFolk
Queen BAMF!!!
Posts: 42
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Post by Ikaina on Jul 9, 2007 9:13:15 GMT -5
Ikaina looked at the castle gates as they approached, catching the guard staring down at her. She stared right back, not moving her eyes until the other looked away. Somehow, she still held that demanding prescence, even though she wasn't nearly as intimidating at the moment.
In response to Nyra's order, Ikaina stared at her for a moment, making no move. And after about a minute and a half, she scooted closer to her, deciding that it would be much better if she just followed her for now. The chances of her finding Lord Damon on her own were very slim seeing as she didn't know this castle at all.
Walking in through the servants' entrance, Ikaina quickly found a spot in the corner and sat down, looking almost like a stone statue. Only her ears flicked, perking up at the sounds of Nyra's voice, and that of the other servant's. For now, it had seemed that the other woman hadn't noticed her. And it was probably better that way for the moment. Ikaina wasn't sure if Nyra would get in trouble for having her here. And if the girl got in trouble and Ikaina got thrown out, there went her chances of speaking to the Lord.
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Post by deamon on Jul 9, 2007 17:55:29 GMT -5
Nyra sighed and gathered herself before walking to the door. Satra hadn't noticed the dog and she wasn't going to point her out either. Satra wouldn't mind, but she didn't want to keep Lord Damon waiting any longer.
Ny walked through the door to the great hall pausing only to let the wolf-dog through. The halls were silver walls and blue gems, and also lined with the Flag of Aquadin. It was a simple but effective touch. Walking up the grand staircase with the guest rooms on the right and the library on the left, Nyra turned to the left and walked along the balcony to the farthest wall.
"You need to stay quiet." Ny crouched down to pet the dog, "After this I'll feed you, but the lord is beside himself and needs silence."
Ny stood quickly as the door was thrown open. Tamora ran out quickly as a bottle flew out of the door nearly hitting her.
"Good luck Ny. He's lost it," she whispered and walked off to clean up the bottles remains.
Ny nodded slowly and breathed in deep before walking in. Lord Damon was sort of crouched on the floor. His long silky black hair covered his face and he had one knee on the floor, the other was trying to help his arms push himself of the floor.
Ny held her breath for a split second. It hurt her to see such a strong man crumbled before her like this. Nyra slowly walked up to him and dropped gracefully to her knees.
"Lord Damon... Are you alright? It's Nyra"
Damon looked up at her. He hated it when the other low-lives saw him like this, except for Nyra. He felt more relaxed in her presence... He would have to apologize later to the maiden, Tamora was only trying to help him up after he fell...
"Help me up."
His own voice scared him. It didn't sound like him at all. He was mostly scared himself. Taimen and Gintsu were on there own now. Nagamasa was there for them but still... If only he would have gone to see them that day...It wouldn't of happend...And Nyra wouldn't be helping him off the floor because he was stupid.
Ny helped him off the floor, and stand because he couldn't on his own. She walked him to his bed so he could sit and stepped back to give him space. All he did was lay down and closed his eyes.
"Tell Tam I'm truly sorry, and send Lord Taimen and Lady Gintsu a letter of my coming. Did you get a dress for the occasion?"
"Yes, they will send it after they get some adjustments done. Are you going to the Moonfire Festival?"
"I suppose we could stop by..."
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Ikaina
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Queen BAMF!!!
Posts: 42
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Post by Ikaina on Jul 9, 2007 22:18:38 GMT -5
Ikaina watched as events unfolded before her, and she couldn't believe that she was actually doing this. It didn't make any sense, that a daughter of Theonaru, the greatest wolf-demon of all time, should be ruduced to walking around like a common dog just to get information.
This is so stupid, Ikaina... she told herself. You should have just marched up here and demanded an audience. It isn't like he is sober enough to turn anyone away at this point... She was a strong woman, but in the back of her mind, she knew that it wouldn't have worked, no matter how many threats she made or how many people she held at sword point.
The black wolf dog walked next to Nyra, not leaving her side at all. Ikaina let out a small growl-like laugh that was just barely audible when she saw the Lord of Aquadin, kneeling on the floor in a drunken stupor. She was sure that there was good reason for his drunken-ness, but there was no excuse really for an Emperor to be in such a state when he should be out watching over his people.
When the two began walking towards the bed, Ikaina followed, watching as the man laid back against his pillow and closed his eyes. She wanted him to notice her. She wanted the Lord to see her in this form, and she wanted him to see her change back into a human girl. Perhaps his vision of her in both ways would make him realize just how powerful she was. After all, she came from a great lineage. Even if she didn't know who her mother was, she still knew she was great. She had Theonaru's blood running through her veins.
The wolf's black head rested on the edge of the bed, the red-orange eyes staring straight at Lord Damon, unwavering and unblinking. Look at me you drunken idiot... she thought, wishing for just a glance that would be long enough for him to register her as being there.
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Post by deamon on Jul 11, 2007 21:02:13 GMT -5
"Now who do we have here?"
Damon sat up and stroked the dogs head lightly. The red-orange eyes had caught his attenction in the dark room. Soft fur met his hand and he smiled. Something just made him smile and instently happy...but what... Nyra looked at the dog slightly mortified, she smiled when I did and she also looked at the dog. Nyra got all misty eyed, she was in a far away place...
"Oh Damon! Look! Look at the little puppies!"
An older version of Nyra bent down to pet the litter of puppies that ran to her and Damons feet. Damon looked at her with love in his eyes as she picked up a black puppy and showed it to him. Its eyes were as blue as the sky and its fur black as the dead of night, soft as velvet.
"Well, Nerida. Isn't she beautiful? Shall we take her home with us?" Damon said as an old lady walked up to them.
"Really?"
Damon and the woman talked for a wile and she gave Nyra the puppy on a leather leash and collar.
"Thank you Damon..."
"I love you Nerida."
"I love you too."
Nyra blinked a few times and she looked like she returned from her far away place. She looked scared with her eyes wide open. She quickly walked to the door and left. Damon looked puzzled as he still petted the dog...Is she alright?
After Nyra stormed the room she ran down the stairs and outside to the stables. Tears poured from her eyes and her heart was heavy with heartache. Hiding in Lord Damon's horse's stall she wept.
"Damon I'm scared."
"If he can't accept the fact that we want to be together, and he wants to disown his only child, thats his loss... Not ours! I promise my love, I will work hard for us both. We will be together always, Nerida..."
"Oh Damon!"
A phantom of Nyra fell into Damons arms helplessly and then sighed. They walked out of a little barn and sat under a grand oak tree. The leaves were red and orange with the comming of fall and the grass was brown, but it was still beautiful. A small farm house was only fifty yards away. Its fresh wood siding hadden't yet been faded. The barn was older but still standing.
A scream was heard from the right at the neighbors house. Both looked down the dirt road to see what was going on. A man was running for his life, screaming at the top of his lungs for help. Damon and Nyra ran tword the man, but when they were only steps away an arrow flew through the sky and hit him in the back of his skull killing him instantly.
"Nerida! Run for the house!"
Damon and Nyra started running to the house, only to find a large group of men stood in their way. Damon grabed her and held her tight to his body. His breathing was hard and his heart was about to come out of his chest. Nyra's was too. Fear wrapped the two in a thick blanket.
"Damned pirates!" Damon yelled and was answerd with a laugh.
"Mighty purdy lass you got yourself there sir..." The tallest one said with a heavy accent.
"You keep your filthy hands off of her." Growled Damon.
"We just wanna play."
"Over my dead body!" Nyra screamed.
They laughed and walked twords her slowly. She sreamed in terror as they ripped the two appart. Damon tried to fight them off but there were to many of them... Nyra bit the closest one.
"You damn wench!"
All she saw was the flash of a silver blade, felt the warmth of hot blood running down her chin, and heard Damon scream in pain.
"NERIDA!"
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Ikaina
TownsFolk
Queen BAMF!!!
Posts: 42
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Post by Ikaina on Jul 11, 2007 21:35:39 GMT -5
Ikaina let herself be petted for a short time, then sat back, watching as Nyra seemed to disappear. Well, in the intellectual and spiritual sense. She was still here, but she wasn't here. Ikaina was a bit worried, for she had taken quite a liking to this girl, but she figured she would find out what was wrong later. Now, she was focused on her own goals.
After being a bit puzzled as to why the young girl had run out of the room, she decided now would be a good time to show herself to the Lord. It would be hard to explain, yes, but she needed information on Neo as soon as she could get it. And she figured that, being the Lord of a kingdom, he might know something.
She walked to the center of the room, just at the end of the bed, and closed her red-orange eyes. She felt herself change. It was almost as if her spirit was being molded into that of a warrior again. The body of the black dog lengthened, and the paws became delicate hands and feet. The face compressed, becoming that of a beautiful young girl. The fur disappeared, except for that on the head, which grew longer until it was the girl's waist length black braid, a few strands hanging in front of her eyes. The red-orange eyes became a dark teal, though still held the intensity that the wolf's had. Ikaina stood there in her usual sort of clothing. A black tanktop and a pair of blue jeans, black knee high boots on her dainty feet. On both hands were a pair of leather gloves going to her wrists, the fingers cut out, and around her neck was a black lace choker, the circled star symbol dangling from its center. Around her waist was a belt with a long red sheath engraved with golden symbols of protection and power, and only the beautiful hilt of Wolfsbane could be seen; a hilt of pure silver, two sparkling rubies shining slightly in the dim light. And finally, hidden by her jeans, was a small dagger strapped around her ankle.
Ikaina stood there, letting him catch up with what he just saw. She wasn't sure just how often he saw demons in this place.
She didn't bow; Ikaina was too proud to bow. However, she did give a slight tilt of her head, a gesture of acknowledgement. "M'Lord." she said softly, surprised that he hadn't turned her away yet. "My name is Ikaina, daughter of Theonaru." That was really all she needed to say. Theonaru was known throughout the kingdoms. Not necessarily in the best of ways, for many thought he was nothing but a cold-blooded killer, which he was, but Ikaina preferred to see it as he was a man who would do what he needed to survive.
She stood there, waiting patiently to see what he would do, and half expecting Nyra to come in. Nyra.. "Before you say anything, I would ask you not to be angry with Nyra. She didn't know what I was. When she saw me, I was merely a wolf. The young girl didn't know. This is all of my own doing."
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Post by deamon on Jul 12, 2007 9:36:36 GMT -5
Damon stared at the girl who appeared before her. He was surprized of Nyra's dissapearance...but not the wolf demon....
"Lady Ikaina...what a gallant suprize."
Damon sat on the edge of is bed and stood up. He wasn't to impressed with the wolf. Using Nyra to get in to the castle. He strode tword her unstumbling. His drunkedness dissapeared.
"I Do Not appresheate the likes of you taking advantage of my slaves, Lady Ikaina."
He stopped right in front of her. His amithist eyes bareing down on her, staring at her, challangeing her look. He balled his fists in unknown anger, but he wouldn't hit her. He was just angry... But why? He backed off. Calming himself down he headed for the door, and paused only to open it.
"Come to my library, and we shall talk Lady Ikaina."
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Ikaina
TownsFolk
Queen BAMF!!!
Posts: 42
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Post by Ikaina on Jul 12, 2007 10:25:50 GMT -5
Ikaina made no move when he advanced on her, and was ready with a snappy remark, but kept her mouth shut. As much as she wanted to say it, she knew that saying something rude might very well get her kicked out, and then she would never get the information she needed.
"Well, the likes of me didn't use your slave." she said back, staring straight into his eyes. Lord or not, she wouldn't be intimidated. Ikaina was one of the most powerful wolf demons in the seven kingdoms. She wasn't about to let herself be beaten down like a lost puppy. "I would have received an audience from you somehow. I thought it better sooner rather than later."
Noticing how he balled his fists, Ikaina did the same with one hand, the other moving to the hilt of her sword. It wasn't like she would actually use it unless she had to, which sh e knew if it came to a fist fight, she could probably win with a bit of work. No, the move to her sword was merely a habitual reaction.
As he walked to the door, she turned, following him. "Fine." was all she said. Ikaina was going to get answers. He was an Emperor...he had to know something about Neoruko's whereabouts. And if not, well, she would get information out of Aquadin somehow. Someone had to have heard something.
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