The Woods

As night came on, Nathair awoke from a restless sleep. She had been having the nightmare again. The same nightmare that she had been having almost every day since she fled her clan. Hands drenched in the blood of her kin, the frightened faces of her mother and sister, looking in the mirror only to see the face of a monster. She wondered again what might have happened to her family after she fled. Surely they couldn't have been persecuted... right?

Nathair uncoiled herself and slithered towards the outer cave. It seemed that the Bat who had been staying here was out for the night. Wait... no, maybe not. She could feel creatures moving inside the cave. Large creatures, likely human. She moved in the direction of the vibrations and before long she could hear people talking. There were three of them - all male by the sound of it. Driven by curiosity, she cautiously continued moving towards the males, stopping once she was close enough to see them all. She recognized the Bat but not the two others. The one with green hair felt familiar somehow. Perhaps he was cold-blooded like herself. The other one - Nathair reflexively raised her head and neck into a defensive position. He was an Avian! She could smell it on him. She instinctively rattled her tail to scare him off, stupidly revealing her position.

Kyler raised an eyebrow slightly, Gau was blind? He felt a slight pang of guilt for not realizing that beforehand, but didn't say anything in apology, just a slight blink of the eye. The adults had always ridiculed the clans, excluding their own of course. Felines especially, but he hadn't met one of those yet. They'd often poked fun at Bats for the "Blind as a bat" statement, though Kyler had come to think that the metaphor had come to be for the fact that bats were colour blind.
He turned his head slightly to Gau as he mentioned something about traditions, showing his warrior tattoos. "That's impressive" Kyler mumbled, and he didn't sound sarcastic either. "The Bird, or, Avian Clan I suppose is more formal, they focus more on the world of academic achievement, but also on flight," he explain, then paused and added "And there is a required class on that"
"For every flight class you pass after your 6th year of school, you receive a feather, some choose to wear it in their hair, some make them into those "Dream Catcher" things, it doesn't matter" he shrugged on his last phrase, blowing a strand of black hair from his eye again. "When you first get into school, you're issued a feather of the bird you shift into, mine for example, is a raven feather" his hand moved to the left side of his rib cage, over a pocket on the inside of his coat where he kept it. "If you complete your sixth year of flight, you get a Sparrow's feather, then for your seventh, a Jay's feather, and so on"
He heard something rattling and stood up, instinctively pulling out his switchblade. He'd never heard a Rattlesnake in his life, the only snake he'd ever eaten was a harmless garter one, and it tasted horrible. His gaze swept the room and found the source of rattling. "Who are you..." he asked quietly.

All of the anger left Leola in a whoosh at the girls words. Here she was, going on and on, judging this girl by her 'predatory nature'. Even when she had lashed out, this Cana had kept her temper. Leola knew that the wolf-girl was right, she couldn't stay out here alone. Her shoulders slumped, the rage left her feeling more fatigued than she had been before. Once the fact that she was a wolf was taken out of the equation, Cana had been nothing but kind to her - even going so far as to chase her down to keep her from danger. Add that to the fact that every point the wolf made was spot on, there really was only one option.

Stepping forward, Leola embraced the girl in a hug. It was stiff due to her own remaining nervousness, but it was her way of telling the younger girl that she would accept her help. In the Ungulat tribe, it was not a handshake that sealed a deal, but a hug. They were a very touchy-feely tribe.

"I'm sorry." Leola said, eyes on the ground. "Thank you. I do need your help." She glanced up at the other girl a serious expression on her face. "No shifting yet, though please." It was a stretch accepting Cana's help, every instinct told her to run in the other direction. If there was an honest to god wolf in front of her, there was no question in Leola's mind that she would bolt.

She was utterly taken aback from the girl’s abrupt embrace.”I- uh- uhm.” Were the nonsense words that seemed to just plummet out of her mouth. She couldn’t figure out what she herself was thinking about this situation, or what the girl in front of her was either. Cana stood as uniformly rigid as Leola seemed, one of the grounds being that she was entirely stunned by the girls sudden change, and for the reason that Cana had only been hugged around once or twice in her life time, that time being when she was a adolescent girl, therefore even those reminiscent scenes that popped up in her mind weren’t vivid. Her clan must have been quite the opposite from Leola’s as the wolves weren’t very loose with their emotions. The fact that the girl was probably only an inch taller than her was different to her as well as she had never really been around people too close to her short height.

Stepping back a bit in more of an awkward shuffle, she let out a small laugh, “No, no there’s honestly no need to apologize you had really good reasoning!” She smiled sheepishly. “And you don’t have to worry about me shifting. I really only do it when I’m in immediate danger.” Turning around to look at the place she came from, she spoke in an almost business tone, “I still can follow my scent I made running here, so we can get back to the others, but we should probably move fast as it’s not going to last very long.”

As the Avian boy brought out a small knife, Nathair hissed and prepared to strike. However, she took an extra moment to examine his stance and he didn't look like he was going to attack. His stance was defensive and cautious, not aggressive. She decided that there was no imminent threat and shifted into her human form so she could speak with him. Moments later a teenage human female stood where the snake had once been, scales slowly changing into skin. Her black hair was tied up in a ponytail which brushed across the collar of her navy leather jacket. "My name is Nathair. I apologize if I've frightened you. It's just that I didn't expect to find so many strangers upon waking. Especially ones of your... species." She tried to remain respectful, not wanting to provoke an attack. She had heard stories about the cunning and brutal Avians. You saw a winged shadow on the ground and by the time you looked up you were trapped inside razor sharp claws.

"If I may ask, why are you all here? I've never seen such an odd medley of creatures before."

Kyler nodded a little, but did not sheath his knife. He'd grown to be wary and cautious over the years. He'd told himself when he was planning his escape from the Avian clan that he must be unbiased towards all species, with the exception of cats, he really didn't think he could act pleasant towards them. He could tell that Nathair likely wasn't friendly with his species, and for good reason. As I've said before, he'd eaten a garter snake once. After he'd decided that she wasn't going to attack, he slowly sheathed the blade and placed it back into the pocket inside his large black hoodie. "My name is Kyler, and it's alright," a small smirk played at his lips, "You didn't frighten me."
He decided to sit down and turn towards the fire before continuing, "We've run away, left the clans, two others were here earlier..." he said the last part with a lower voice, he didn't mind Cana, in fact, her and Gau were his favourite members of the group. He just didn't like large crowds. He didn't know what to think of Leola, as he really hadn't met her yet, she seemed like the quiet type though, Kyler liked quiet people.

Gau was about to correct Kyler-Raven-Boy, but thought better of it. It probably wasn't best to reveal the fact that he'd left the clan on the word of his superiors. Not as an exile, but as more of a... search party. To share his reasons for being outside of his territory would reveal a weakness within his clan, and he had known these others for far to little time to trust them with something that important.

So, instead of putting in his own two cents, Gau gave a nod to corroborate Kyler-Raven-Boy's explanation. "I believe they should be on their way back soon." Standing up from his position, he moved to stand even with Kyler. "I am Gau." He introduced himself. He offered his right hand in a handshake in an effort to dispel any lingering tension there might be.

Snakes and bats had once been rivals, though the animosity had faded in the past few generations. A lot of this could be attributed to the growing respect for each others warriors. The snake clan produced some formidable warriors, he had heard. He couldn't help but secretly hope this girl was also a warrior. Call it a fighter's arrogance, but he itched to spar with a Snake, just to see if their fighting abilities was really as advanced as the elders said.

Leola nodded her acknowledgement, and set off walking in the direction from which they'd come. As she walked, she reached up and tried to comb her fingers through her hair. Shifting always set it into a hopeless knot. Shaking out the rat's nest of tangles and the dried leaves she had managed to get caught in it, she re-braided it. Given that she would be meeting the first people outside of her tribe since, well, ever, she thought it best to look at least marginally presentable. Looking like the fawn who had fallen in the brambles did not lend itself to being taken seriously. And considering she probably lost any respect there she might of had by bolting off like a spooked rabbit, she needed all the help she could get in actually being taken seriously.

Once she had finished with her hair, she broke out into a fast jog. Eyes on the ground, she was tracing the trail carved by herself and Cana's rush through the forest. Looking over at Cana, she gave a tentative smile, hoping it didn't seem to half-hearted. Build bridges, not walls. That was what her elders said. Granted they applied that almost exclusively to herd members, but it couldn't hurt to try with this wolf.

Continuing after her, she took note of the surroundings around her, trying to memorize every detail of the path, trees and anything else as she passed by. She never knew if she was going to come near this place again, but she was sure if she was she wanted to be familiar with it. She watched the girl curiously, an itch in the back of her mind desperately wanting to know why she had left her clan. She of course wasn't going to intrude and ask as that would be rude, but she couldn't help but simply wonder, her imagination coming up with ideas of her own. Shaking her head of the thoughts, she gained her focus back unto the forest surrounding she walked through.

Smiling back a little timidly back at the girl, she picked up her pace as well, but slowed down almost in an instant as she picked up the familiar scents of the group. "We're just about there." She smiled to the girl, pushing back the brushes and shrubs that scratched her arms. She really wish she would have brought her warm cloak. Stepping finally in view of the cave, she peered in, saying a small "Hey," before gliding in. Dropping her bag on the ground, she was quick to grab the light blue cloak that lay on the dirty ground. Slipping it off, the sudden warmth of it gave a small chill going up her spine.

It took Cana less than a second to see the new face amongst them. "We've multiplied." She laughed slightly, looking at the black haired girl. Tilting her head a bit, she examined her. Snake. She thought to herself. She had recognized the scent and she had that feel about her as well. She really didn't see her as being a threat at the moment in time especially do to the fact she hadn't done anything to the others, and that the others hadn't done anything to her. "My names Cana." She spoke softly, directing this both at the snake girl and Gau, who she never had a chance to really say anything to.

Kyler turned his head to face Cana and Leola, and a small smile played on his pale lips. "Hello..." he greeted them. He saw the Leola girl was here as well. His gaze slowly reverted back to the fire, he wasn't much of a conversationalist and he never really knew what to say. Kyler had always been the sort to sit in the corner with his own thoughts and not bother with others, but he found that he sort of liked being around these people, some of them anyway, he didn't know how much he'd like the snake...

Nathair noticed the subtle smirk that ran across Kyler's face when he said that he wasn't scared. "What an arrogant little bird," she thought to herself. However she was shocked to learn that everyone in this cave had fled their clan for some reason or other, including two others who were currently absent. They were runaways like her? Nathair wondered what incredible twist of fate could have brought them all here.

The Bat stood and offered his hand, introducing himself as Gau. As she had noting in particular against Bats, she accepted the handshake willingly. Nathair noticed that Gau's forearm was covered in a long white tattoo. "This tattoo... Are you a warrior?" she asked. Presumably it had something to do with his achievements as a warrior or otherwise. The Rattlesnakes had a very similar practice. She glanced down at her left arm. Her own tattoo was currently being obscured by her jacket but she could still visualize it perfectly. Black lines flowing together to resemble a long snake, mouth open, ready to strike - now with a thin scar running across it.

Just then, two others entered the cave. These must be the other runaways that Kyler had mentioned. Nathair could sense that they were warm blooded but couldn't tell much other than that. The brown-haired one looked quite skittish, perhaps she was often a prey rather than a predator. The blue-haired one introduced herself as Cana. "Good to meet you. My name is Nathair."

Looking at Kyler, she gave a warmer smile, returning back with a happy "Hey," Before facing the snake girl once more. "That's a really interesting name." She laughed, as she moved closer to the warm fire. "Your a snake correct?" She asked curiously, glancing back at her. "What brings you here?" She said trying to make her words seem less like she was prying and more of a kind, small talk nature. "Oh! And I should have mentioned, I'm from the wolf clan."

Looking down, she noticed the fire was dying out a bit, she she moved towards the pile of wood sticks, and threw two more in. It lit up a bit more, hopefully it would keep going to awhile.

It made Kyler feel somewhat happy to receive a smile like that, as it was a rarity for him back home. And he thought "Home" in massive sarcasm quotations because he'd never thought of it as a proper home, just a bunch of bricks and a roof with another big group of annoying, unwanted kids. Kyler did feel odd around these people because he felt that despite his height, he was probably the youngest, and he really didn't like that. A bunch of the stupid kids back "Home" would tease him about his looming height, one quick glare would shut them up, but nonetheless...

"I'm Leola, from the Ungulate clan." Leola said, directing her words at both the snake and strange bat. She didn't recall seeing either of them before. She didn't offer her hand to either of them, nor did she embrace them. However, she did make sure to look each of them in the eye and give her best friendly smile. If she was going to stay with this group for any amount of time, she couldn't always be shying away on the outskirts. Besides, as other clans went - bats were basically just night-birds, and snakes were an avoidable hazard. There really wasn't an active animosity or fear as far as the Leola's clan had led her to believe.

Gau smiled broadly. "Yes. As a matter of fact I am." Perhaps, he may just get his chance to go up against a warrior snake after all. He still had to make sure. "How about you, Nathair-Lady-Snake?" The bat asked curiously, a tone of respect in his address of her. "Are you a warrior as well?"

He heard two new members join the group. One, the wolf that had commented on his height earlier. The other was the deer he had heard outside the cave mouth a while ago. He gave welcoming nods in both of their directions before turning expectantly back to the snake.

Kyler listened to the random bits and pieces of conversations, there were a wide variety of races and personalities among them. He waited for a second before finally speaking. "If anyone's hungry, they should probably eat now" he gestured to the fire, his fingers long and a little bony. "The fire is beginning to die, and I don't think anyone else wants to go out and get wood for it..."

"Yes, I'm a snake. A Rattlesnake to be specific." She replied to the wolf girl Cana. Nathair couldn't recall ever having met a wolf before. Then again, that wasn't very surprising. She had rarely ventured far from her clan before. She was also sure to give a polite nod in Leola's direction. That girl still seemed ready to bolt at any moment. If Nathair remembered correctly, Ungulates were four-legged hoofed creatures. Perhaps she was some variety of horse or deer? She guessed a deer from her nervous nature but it was hard to be sure.

"I.." Nathair was silent for a few moments before choosing her words carefully. "I am apart from my clan now. I've left them, just as you all have." Not wanting to draw attention to the subject, she didn't say anything more. She was sure that everyone here had different reasons for leaving, but she was equally as sure that none of them were fleeing execution.

She returned her attention to the warrior bat, Gau. She was glad that she'd caught the tail end of the 'traditions' conversation between him and Kyler or else his name for her would be very confusing. "I am, yes. Our clans seem to have surprisingly similar warrior traditions. I wear the tattoed symbol of a Rattlesnake warrior on my arm. Does yours have any particular meaning?"