K'jera's Tale -

Grasses bent to bow in homage as a soft pair of furred, speckled feet passed through them. Wide and round chocolate eyes skimmed the treeline, the thin breech cloth wavering in the tender breeze as sore shoulders rolled back to ease the pain. A black nose twitched, the salty scent of sweat tingling the nostrils as the creature raised herself higher, ebony rimmed circular ears swiveling. She stood not more than five and a half feet tall, remarkably small for her kind, with rich almost golden brown fur and wide eyes, around which the whites could be seen. In addition to the breech cloth, her breasts were bound by a doeskin halter-like top, leaving much of her shimmering fur starkly apparent; the black splotches patterning her hide follwed that of an ocelot, right down to the tip of her small but gracefull tailtip which wavered slightly as she tracked. The smell of a tainted soul reached her nostrils and again she dropped to all fours, stalking silently through the long grass that danced lightly in the wind.

****

Grypis paced solemnly in the clearing scattered with relations, running a hand nervously through his black hair. His obsidian eyes flickered over the gathering - the trees strung with flowers, the maidens all dancing to the soft sound of lyre and lute strumming, their curling locks prancing in the sun's late afternoon light as they whirled to the melody. His parents laughed merrily, talking lightly to their friends from the village down the way. Kayia and Rala, his sisters, sang happily to the music as they wove flowers in their hair and batted their blue eyes at the menfolk. Garen, his brother, stood like a spooked young colt among the dancing maidens, stuttering abashedly at their giggling. Everything was going as smoothly as planned; still he walked to and fro as a caged lion does, for someone was still missing.

****

Two pale hands parted the brush obscuring their owner from the view of the number of people in the clearing. A thin-boned woman then peeked through, her glass-like blue eyes skimming the bodies enjoying themselves within with a soft, pouty sigh. An ivory gown pooled over her thin frame, the rich silk having been brought in from a far away land, and her limp blonde hair wove intracately through a ring of pink, violet, and blue tinged flowers around her head. Shaking her head a bit, she backed away from the clearing, turning to run across the field that backed it and into the deeper woods, the silk rustling as she ran, thin satin slippers growing brown and dirty as she fled, unable to bear the thought of what lay behind.

****

She moved quietly along the path, noting with mild alarm the growing sensation of a multitude of humans nearby, gathered.
~Yorl'yae'xenlyrn~ she growled deep in her throat, the musical syllables cascading off her tongue in a glorious rush. Her nose lifted again. ~Kyxe..~ That was enough. Her hunt began anew, increasing in its intensity the closer she moved to the clearing.

****

Head turning, Grypis' eyes narrowed. A sound had whispered from the brushes. An odd, unhuman sound, like the chiming of the tiny silver bells tied around a spirit-dancer's ankles. Slowly his feet began to move through the bushes, pressing the foliage out of his way as he began to walk, finding himself drawn along a certain path and away from the gathering. Sharply, his eyes became accustomed to the darkness of the deeper woods as he plunged through them, the dirt passing swiftly under his soft leather boots.

****

Still the pale girl ran on, the branches tearing cruelly at her sleeves and train. Her mind was filled with only the thought of leaving this place behind, as she had so many times before, to leave it all far behind and start over in a new village and a new life. The people here, they pressed on her, forced her to do as they would. She was not free here, nor was she free in any of the other villages. These people, oh, these people, all were tyrants of their own property, demanding such that should not be demanded on so fragile a girl. None of it was fair! And on went her feet, ears barely registering the distant rumble of water.

****

Yet again her nose lifted. The scent veered away from the clearing sharply, and was twined with the scent of another. Her brow furrowed as she sniffed. It was definately human as well, but it was.. different somehow.. its scent did not quite match that of the rest of the primitive species. She shrugged a bit; her prey was ahead nonetheless. Her stride increased to a lope, so as to overtake the human fast enough so it would not to get in the way when the time came.

****

Feet now all but flying over the path, Grypis screeched to a halt as he picked up the circlet of flowers, gazing at it, black eyes flashing with an unreadable emotion. Softly, he breathed the name of the one it belonged to.
"Mentira..."
His hand clenched then, crushing the beautiful blossoms as he threw it aside, running full force into the even deeper forest, features hardening over his face as his ears pricked at a faint rumbling sound..

***

Mentira wailed as her hands tore at her dress, ripping the delicate silk strands in a sort of crazed madness. Her world seemed to be pressing in upon her, and so she ran from it, the only thoughts in her mind those of what would happen to her in the future, to where she would run, not once thinking back to those she left behind. Her feet were driven by the same crazed madness as she flew, the soles of the slippers long since worn out, leaving her feet to be rent and torn into bloody messes. The skirt of her dress flapped, half torn from the bodice, around her legs, causing her to stumble, though still she ran onwards toward her new life.

****

Now feeling the urgent need, the creature broke out into a streaking run, claws sinking into the moist earth to drive herself more swiftly, all but a blur to a passing human. Her prey, so it seemed, was slowing, and nearing a place where she would not be able to do her job, thus time now became a vital element. Her ears bent forward as the sound of the rush of a waterfall grew heightened in her senses. Mouth gaping as she ran, the cat-like being skimmed quickly through the branches, barely making a sound.

****

His breathing labored, Grypis tore his way through the underbrush, frantic now, finding bits of white satin scattered on the foliage. She can't be far off now, he thought, stumbling heavily through the woods, struggling to keep his feet moving as the sound of his breath roared louder in his ears than the nearing waterfall's rush. She can't go on forever...

****

Breath tearing at her throat, the pale girl Mentira fumbled through a thick patch of leaves, then vaulting through the next, only to catch her foot on a root, sending her tumbling head over heels to land in a dishevled heap on a cold slab of bluegray granite. She gasped, blue eyes widening as she raised her head, blood dribbling frm her chin, and beheld her predicament. The granite rock, she saw, jutted out over the cliffs from which the falls tumbled, their crystal-like waters creating a fine mist far, far below. The source of the falls rumbled several hundred meters from where she lay, spewing forth in a great rush out of the natural spring in the cliff. There she lay, gasping softly..

***

Folding a pair of feathered wings to her back, the ocelot-like creature shot through the woodland paths like an arrow, her ears pricked ever forward to the sound of the two mortals stumbling heavily through the underbrush. The time was growing nearer - she would have to face off with both of the mortals.

****

Grypis, in his own rush, tripped over the same root as had Mentira, but landed with a mouthful of dirt, in the clearing just before the rock. He looked up, and blinked at the sight of Mentira, standing on the granite slab overhanging the cliff with her arms widespread, as if she were to take flight from the rock.

"Mentira!" he cried. "My love! What ails thee?"

"Your *love*?" she hissed. "Never that.. your confidant, you lover? Mayhaps.. but never your love. You are too foolish to have ever seen the truth!"

"What mean you by that?" Grypis, stunned, drew back a bit from her.

"I love thee not, young Grypis.. I never have. You're boorish and stupid to have not seen it; My life is not with you. Never have I cared for thee, never once. What you saw, or chose to saw, was a myth, a fable, and it is not me. I do NOT love thee! I am a tortured soul, a wanton. You give to me all that I want - attention. THat is all I want from you. I do not love thee and I will refuse to marry ye, as I have refused to marry many others previous!"

~That, as much, is true.~ The ocelot-like beauty stepped from the shadows in the trees, her breathing still lightly heavy. Now standing on her two-legs and in a form that looked human but for her thick, tawny mane and skin patterned after her fur, she gazed at the two of them; the stricken look on the man's face and the sneering one upon the pale girl's. ~For one such as she has love naught but for herself.~

"Wh-who are you?" Grphis stuttered, blinking at bit at the newcomer's near perfect body.

~Who I am is not important, young one. What I am is. You, ~ She raised on slender finger to point at Mentira, ~Are tainted. You wander to torture young men's hearts, leaving grief and sorrow in your wake. You are no Light-bringer...~ Her lip pulled back to reveal her slightly elongated canine teeth. ~You work with the dark.. and you must perish.~

"No!" bellowed Grypis, throwing himself between the two females. "I love her.. Gods help me.. but I still love her.."

~But why?~ The creature looked confused. ~She intended to shatter what heart you have, with no remorse, no pity.. no regret. She thrives off what those can give her, and gives nothing in return.~

"I know.." His voice broke sadly. "But yet.. She still holds my heart. Please.. do not harm her.."

Considering the both of them, the creature folded her arms. ~I.. will let her pass.. ~

At these words, Mentira broke into a run, leaving the forest, Grypis and the strange female far behind, her mind once more on her future, her life.. Her shredded and still bloody feet smeared the earth as she went, never uttering a sound when her foot caught on a second root, but this time there was no granite slab to catch her fall. Tumbling, her fragile form scrabbled for purchase in the loose dirt around the edge of the cliff, but found none as she dropped soundlessly and wordlessly down towards the mist curling up from the bottom of the falls, her final thoughts those of what would become of herself in her next life..

Sighing, the remaining female, vaguely aware of the silent fall, continued to the sullen-faced man, whose head was bowed, fighting back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him.

~But look ye not back, Grypis. There are others who would love ye more.~

Blinking, a tear running freely down his face, he looked up into her warm brown eyes and she smiled gently, reaching a soft, pad-like finger up to brush the tear away.

~Trust me..~ Tenderly, she leaned forward to kiss the place on his cheek where the tear had lain, finger tracing over his lips. ~Come... I will show you..~ Taking his hands, she began to lead him back through the forest, Grypis following her like a slightly stunned sheep.

"But.. who ...are you?"

~You may call me K'jera.~ Her lips parted in a beautiful smile as the two disappeared into the emerald foliage dusted by the sprinkle of sunshine that danced over the velvet leaves, padding slowly away down a path infrequently touched by the likes of those who see only themselves, for beauty is within that around you, never just within yourself...there by leaving the Xelyr'Shek Qarra behind.. the Inward Turned Falls, as those of K'jera's tongue would call it, as the Rhani are as the sun, enlightened and forever lasting.

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