Fera

Deep in the tree of Kyss, a black shadow flew through the tree's leaves, making the citizens look around. A look towards the large main building provided an answer. Their patron beast, Shyama was out patrolling before she left the Center Tree. With a final look, she glided down to the roots of the tree. She turned to west, towards the center of the lands. With a sure step, she took off towards the area where she would meet her other half. The one that would mature her magic, the thought excited her, made her push harder. She had waited years for this day, even if it meant that it was the 5th year her father was dead.

When she reached the large tree, she settled into the east section of the hollow tree, curling her tail around her body and over her nose, the tip shaking. The spikes rattled like a snake's. She was excited, nervous and worried. What if her mate didn't want her? She didn't even wish to dwell on that.

---

Aysu looked at the Eastern beast as she left and nodded. It was time. He began to move up through the city, passing people by. He had a long journey ahead of him, he knew that. As he began to take to the sky, he felt the pang of nervousness. Would that man feel the same as him? Is that man even real? He shook his head and flew a bit faster. Only time, and fate, would tell...

Voras skidded to a halt as his breathing was a little faster then usual. He sat down on the log as he pulled out of his bag a small piece of dried meat which he took a bite out of and swallowed. "Needs water." he said sighing as he finished the piece off before adjusting the Bow on his back and tightening the strap that keep his quiver comfortably positioned. Voras stretched again as he then began running moving swiftly through the forest to his destination.

He wasn't sure about the dreams and that's what he wanted to find out. He jumped over another fallen tree as his pace slowed as he neared his destination, the one from his dream. Voras felt a shiver go up his spin and got a few goose bumps as he just sat down staring at the tree... it hadn't been too far from his home. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand as he took another piece of the dried meat from a his small sack.

A lone figure walked barefoot on the dusty path, leaving faint three toed tracks. These tracks hinted at being left by feet both longer and wider than a human's and in some of them discreet evidence of webbing between the toes could be found. Between these footprints a wavy line meandered, sometimes scuffing out a footprint. Various small creatures watched the figure fearfully but curiously. The slowly moving figure moved slowly and smelled different. He smelled of the sea.

Sirken Aquis wasn't aware of his timid observers. He had once been extremely curious about the flora and fauna of land but now his interest had dulled some. They weren't really radically different than sea animals. There were the hunters, the prey, and the scavengers in both worlds. In some ways life was surprisingly similar. Yet in more ways life was dramatically different. People lived in buildings and ate food cooked over a fire. Sirken had eaten cooked food for the first time when he stopped at an inn. He didn't really like the taste too much. Perhaps it was something that was aquired. While fire and its uses were helpful to land dwellers to someone who had spent their whole life underwater without fire the element seemed dangerous and unpredictable.

Yes, I like raw meat better than cooked meat, even if it is the strange flesh of land animals. He couldn't find himself becoming dependent on fire. He planned on coming back home eventually after he found out what this was all about. On land he was awkward and clumsy, a near literal fish out of water. In the ocean his body was graceful and fluid as the liquid around it.

The place his dreams had shown him was close. He could sense it. He slapped his finned tail on the ground in irritation. Why did land dwellers wear clothes? They were scratchy and they chafed. In the ocean Kelpers didn't wear anything except scars, tattoos, and facial expressions. Tails made clothes hard to fit, especially the broadly finned tails of Kelpers.

He reached the clearing his dreams had indicated. A land dweller of some sort was eating dried meat. That was another thing that wasn't in the ocean. Dry didn't exist, everything was wet.

Sirken took a whole fish out his pack and causually bit its head off. It wasn't a really big fish and it was rather drably colored. The muddied green of this particular river fish was bland in comparison to the ocean's flavorful variety. He finshed it up in three more bites. He chewed very little; a Kelper's mouth was made for cutting food into pieces that were easy to swallow, not grind them up into some sort of mush.

He glanced at the humanoid who was near him. There was something inhuman in him, Sirken thought, although he was by no way an expert on land dwellers. On an impulse Sirken walked over to the humanoid and said, "Hello. My name is Sirken. What is yours?" He held out a hand to shake, a custom he had learned that many types of land dwellers had for a greeting.

---

"Merglin, make sure that Kenstae does not even try to bully his cousin to give up her dowry. The girl should start making her own decisions, by the Teeth." The red haired young man said to the older one. Merglin nodded, looking down from his relatively great height. Merglin towered above most people, even his liege's human form. Not that the Beast of the South's human form was particularily tall, but the knowledge that Inx was an enormous horned horsy creature at heart would make one expect that he was taller as a human.

"Oh, remember to have Trent released. The thief's been in prison for just the right time, I think," Inx said. The amount of time criminals should serve was a tricky problem. You didn't want them to be release too soon or you would be viewed as soft or, even worse, you might look like you were endorsing crime. But you didn't want to keep them in too long, either, because then it would be unjust. People did deserve second chances.

"And-"

"Inx, shouldn't you get on the road already? Don't worry. My memory isn't that bad. You did give me a meticulously written out list of things to do. I'll check it every morning. Now get out there and find a magic stablizer, for heaven's sake," Merglin said. The big man nearly winced at the thought of Inx's unstable powers burning up another precious document.

"Yes, I suppose I should. Don't forget anything, Merglin." Inx had to bite his tongue to stop himself from prattling on. The young beast set off on the road to the Place of Meeting. He started running and his form blurred and shifted into his true one: a white-hot Kirin. He galloped away from the only home he had ever known to the mystery of the future. What would his mate be like? He was eager to find out. Truthfully he didn't expect to get along too well with his mate. He didn't know many people not from Avco who would want to live in a volcano. Time will tell.

It was a beautiful morning, but today the young elf was too distraught to wake up. The night prior had been restless; every beast of the forest seemed to be talking right outside of his window.

Sitting up, Alvaro stretched and flicked off his blanket with an elegant flick of the wrist. He had chores he needed to start... but those could wait until after breakfast. Sniffing the air, the grimness left his eyes and was replaced with a childish light. His mother had prepared lembas, a special bread that tasted as sweet as a honey cake, but kept a young elf going for days.

Pulling on his shirt and ringlet, Alvaro quickly made his way down to the eating area to greet his parents.

The meal went on as normal, not a lot of talking, but a lot of smiling and good-will. When the meal was done, the blonde gathered his bow and quiver and headed out to begin his chores.

"Alvaro!" His brother Byrant called, looking a little displeased with his brothers late-morning appearance. Alvaro winced, trying to smile as he greeted his brother with a handshake.

"You're late, boy," Byrant scolded, missing the hand and grabbing his younger brother by the ear to tug him over to the group of hunters. "Alright, Magic Man, you're up."

Once Byrant let go, Alvaro groaned, but obeyed. Closing his eyes, a white light enveloped him.

After a moment of brief pain, there stood Alvaro, now a brilliant white stag. Giving his brothers a nod and a snort, he started out into the forest, scoping for the villages next meal or potential threats.

Blood, there was something so distracting about the warm crimson life fluid. For Lyrana, she enjoyed her meat red and juicy, on the rare side when not raw. Unfortunately her current meal was not as she would rather have her food. Even fresh fish, which was about as bloodless as she could deal with, was a distant desire. Her sharp teeth chewed through the heavily salted beef jerky as her travelling dress fluttered above the dirt in her wake. At least the salt reminded her of home, the scent of the brine below the cliffs. A decently sized pack tried to weigh her down as she stuck with her unappetizing meal. It was times like this where she wished she could actually hunt on land. Any and all attempts had been met with failure and any water she had come across wasn't exactly rich in prey. It had been a few days since she had parted from the caravan.

The gypsies had been very polite and helpful, some of them going out their way to give her a hand in learning the ways of the wild. Still a few days were not enough to learn how to sustain herself. So Lyrana had to be content with the weeks worth of trail rations and the longing hope that she would find a lake or a river that could actually submerge herself in. So far all that held her attention was the dusty path stretching before her. It was somewhat irritating that was in the middle of nowhere, although she respected her father's wishes she disagree with his sentiment 'go where your dreams lead you.' Apparently it was the dreams that drew her parents together. Lyrana couldn't put any value in dreams, they were unsubstantial things twisting and manipulating reality to follow the most abstract of thoughts. At least that was what she had experienced and had been taught to her. Neither could she bear the thought of her future being decided for her and in such a ridiculous way as finding a mate. Yet her was her father's request and her mother's final wish, she would do asked they asked. An endeavor like this would supposedly provide the mastery of her magic, the skills and the experience required to be the ruler her father, the king, and the people needed her to be.

Despite all her skepticism there was something disturbingly familiar about the surroundings. The loneliness, the dirt path, the slightly overcast sky. They were something akin to a the fracture madness of a dream. With nothing in her plans she had nothing left but to follow this supposed fate. Head where the dreams take her, when things seemed recognizable and comfortable she could feel confident that she was going the 'right' direction.

Voras glanced over his shoulder as a voice spoke to him, with a hand on his sword he looked at the creature behind him as he pulled down his hood revealing his face and ears. "Hello? Nice to meet you Sirken, my name's Voras." he said his hand slipping away from the sword as he guessed this creature meant him no harm. He then took Sirken's hand and gave him a firm hand shake.

He then pulled his hand away and adjusted his bow on his back, "If I may ask. What brings you here?" he said sitting down again as his gaze left Sirken and towards the tree.

Alvaro

The white buck ran swiftly, dodging obstacles with the grace and flexibility that his kind was known for. Nothing of true worth had shown itself that day, not even another herd for which he could gather details. He had seen tracks, though, of many of the smaller occupants of his woodland home; squirrels, chipmunks, birds and the like, but nothing of grave importance.

It was then that something caught his eye. It seemed to be two males, each of them strangers by their scent; though by the ears of the bowman, he figured him to be kindred maybe not of his forest home – but kindred all the same. The other, however smelled of water and not those found anywhere in these woods. Slowly, Alvaro crept closer, his ears perked in curiosity, but his hooves ready to bolt if anything violent were to insue.

It was the noises that caught Lyrana's attention this time. Traveling only a few days she had still attuned to what were the natural sounds. These weren't and they were accompanied by the absence of nature's soundtrack. She was traversing only a small dusty path, not even sure where she was or where she was going. So who or what would be out here? She moved forwards, off the beaten track. Brushing low hanging branches aside she kept low, ready and confident. A little further in she could make our some shapes, they seemed human like. She pushed out more and the pair were revealed. The hilt of her scimitar was swung forward on her hip and her right hand rested ready on the hilt. She paused, silent and curious. Neither made a move towards her although she kept ready, blue eyes narrowed and watching the more inhuman of the two. A Kepler's presence meant that she was at least someone safe from the strangers, as his race wasn't generally inclined to violence. However a Kepler this far inland was a odd sight, she had only seen a few of the reclusive creatures in the see and not one on land before. The other man was armed, but he didn't look particularly ready to fight, yet that was all she could gather and nothing was going to let her relax her guard.

"Hello? Nice to meet you Sirken, my name's Voras." the humanoid said, removing his hood. Sirken noticed he had longer, pointed ears, unlike the common rounded ears of humans he had seen. What did that mean? Sirken blinked his four vivid green eyes in an effort to remember. Ah, yes, that was it! It meant that this person, Voras, was an elf. External ears were a thing that interested Sirken as there were so many different types on land. Kelpers had no outcroppings that signified ears; rather they had holes in the side of their heads covered by thin disks of skin.

"If I may ask. What brings you here?" Voras said.

Sirken shifted his gaze to the elf's face instead of his ears. Voras's eyes wandered to a tree. Sirken didn't mind this action that others could have interpreted as lack of interest. In the ocean you always had to be on the lookout for dangers. He assumed it would be the same on land. "It sound a little silly, but I had dreams telling me to come here. A little odd for a Kelper's dreams telling him to go so far inland, but what can I do? I'm curious to see why they told me to come to this place. I doubt it is a coincidence."

Sirken shifted his weight, trying to get in a comfortable position. This wasn't an easy task on land. Kelpers may have been an amphibious species but they were still far more accustomed to water than land. He sighed, some air spluttering out of his gills in a noise not unlike a fart. "What about you, Voras?"

A sense of being watched fell over Sirken. His tail stiffened, but otherwise he gave no sign of noticing. After debating for a moment he looked about and called out, "Is anyone else there?" He could be wrong. Things were different on land, different enough to disrupt a Kelper's senses. He still couldn't shake the feeling, though. "Do you feel that?" he asked Voras.



Inx was approaching the Place of Meeting. Or at least he thought of it that way, capital letters and everything. Some other beasts might not, but who cared what they thought? They were entitled to their own opinion as much as he was. What the mates thought of the place interested him a lot more. Did they hold it in special regard? Did they even know why they were going there?

He slowed to a trot before turning back to human form. Traveling for hours with hardly any rest was not something he usually did or really liked to do but sometimes, like now, the situation called for it. It was fast but tiring. Part of Inx really wanted to get a good rest before he met his mate, but another part wanted to get the meeting over with. He wanted to see his mate now.

He ran a hand through his red hair, a little concerned about his appearance. First impressions lasted longer than one might expect, and he did not want his mate or his fellow Beasts to think hom sloppy or uncaring. There was little he could do about his looks at the moment, though, so he would just have to bear with it. He absentmindedly adjusted his tunic and rearranged his leggings so they went over the tops of his boots. Although he still wasn't satisfied with his appearance he started to walk forward.

Some people were already at the Place of Meeting. There was an elf and some strange looking aquatic thing. Were they mates? Inx sure hoped the fishy creature wasn't his. He couldn't see them geting along well. He could sense the nearby presence of another Beast, although he wasn't exactly sure where. He looked about a bit but could see his relation. He or she was good at hiding, or Inx just looking hard enough.

The question was if the elf and the fish man were friendly or not. Inx decided to listen to their conversation a bit more to learn about them. Probably not the most honorable of tactics but definitely a safe one.

Voras continued to listen to the forest around him as he filtered out the usual noise he was accustomed too hearing.

"It sound a little silly, but I had dreams telling me to come here. A little odd for a Kelper's dreams telling him to go so far inland, but what can I do? I'm curious to see why they told me to come to this place. I doubt it is a coincidence."

He quickly turned looking at the Kepler his eye's blinking as a smile grew on his lips. "So you had dreams aswell. Interesting. Atleast I can stop thinking I'm insane." he said chuckled.

"Do you feel that?"

"I don't thi-...." he said his looking around him as he trailed off. "Yes... But not feel. I hear something." he wasn't sure if they were forest animals or something else. His hand slowly slipped down to his waist and closer to his sword not touching it but keeping it ready.

Alvaro

Alvaro watched, golden eyes tracing every movements the strangers made. It seemed that something had given him – or something else – away. He sat in quiet, debating on the issue. If they made any moves at all, he could run back to his brothers and let them know they had intruders. Or, he could continue to watch and eventually introduce himself if he was not discovered first…

At the mention of dreams, his ears perked slightly. For a while now, he had been having wonderful dreams in which he encountered a man, and these dreams had always brought a foreboding sense of having to leave. In his curiosity, Alvaro absently stepped forward to get a better listen, unheeding to the twig that was now under his hoof. When he stepped, it snapped and sent a small family of chipmunks scurrying in the underbrush.

At first Lyrana had thought she was in plain sight, but it turned out the draping branches and shadow hid her lithe form for initial detection. Being so unaccustomed the the environment had allowed her to hide accidentally instead of hinder her. She didn't move, curious as to how alert the pair was. She managed to eavesdrop on enough of their conversation to catch something of interest; Dreams. So these were prospective leaders of nations or their soul mates, at least as far as her parents had mentioned. It almost made her shudder at the though of something else restricting her life. However she could somehow relate with the Kelper, what was the purpose of her being this far inland. Away from home and her father, how she wanted to see him see again. Yet she was here to prepare herself and she wouldn't surrender on her decisions. Another comment caught her attention or more accurately the pause before hand. It seemed that perhaps remaining out of sight would serve only to heighten any minute danger presented by the pair.

Lifting a branch out of the way she stepped into the open, still with a cautious hand awaiting on her sword. She doubted that either of the pair would do anything threatening, considering neither of them shared her dislike of being driven by dreams. If the worst emerged she expected she could best them. She opened her mouth to speak when a abrupt snap drove through the clearing accompanied by the scuttle of small animals. One did not have to be accustomed to woodland to recognize those tell tale signs. Certainly Lyrana would not be able to recognize any more details. Her eyes strafed the forest in the direction of the sound, although she kept an awareness of the Kepler and the man.
"If these dreams are so clairvoyant perhaps you would expect that we'll be having further arrivals." She introduced herself without so much as a greeting, preferring to cover as many subjects with as few words as possible. She didn't look at the couple either. Not out of rudeness, merely she didn't need to to speak. They ought to have gathered enough from her statement, being in the same situation and no threat. The details about the numbers were not revealed by her dream but by her father's words. Four cities, four heirs from each and a companion for every representative. Meaning that the three of them, four if the twig was any sign of another, was only a portion of the the full number.

Shyama lifted her head to hear the people outside. She recognized a few and one made her purr. Shifting back into her human form, she exited the tree's inside and walked out to stand near, but never too close, another beast, a female. She was not her mate, if the scent was anything to go by. It was too much like her own. The red haired male wasn't either. She had only noticed him by his scent.

"I believe we're almost all here..." She smiled at the others, never becoming threatening. "I hope we'll all meet soon. Being away from my city for this long... It's new."

---

Aysu landed in a low tree branch, eager to watch the others for a bit. He could pick out the different auras that clung to everyone. Shimmering golds, reds and blues floated around with a rare green near by. It would entertain the male for now, until he would confront his mate. Vaguely, he wondered how this would work.

Alvaro

Alvaro flinched slightly, afraid that his mistake would have brought more attention to himself. But, when the attention turned to the young female, he decided that they the group couldn't be that bad. Slowly shifting out of his form, he adjusted his bow on his back and stepped out into the open. He listened to the woman's words for a moment before smiling. Dream havers. All of them.

"My apologies for spying you, my friends." He greeted, giving a slight bow as he looked about the others.

"I see that you are all on the same quest. Please, allow me to bring you back to my village for the night; the woods are no place to stay when Sun sinks," He looked towards the males - especially the water dweller - and smiled before looking to the females and giving a light bow. There were others, he could sense them, but he would let the offers stand. This was the way of his people - kind to those who deserved it.

Voras head spun around glancing at everyone who'd almost appeared at once, "Well guess we were being watched." He glanced at each one the other elf different skinned interested him a little before his eye's fell on the women who had just spoken, he smiled before tearing his eye's away and let his hand fall from his sword on his hip.

This was going to get interesting from what he knew they all were having the same dreams that had lead them here. He sighed and rubbed his shoulder as he waited to now see what the group would do,

Another two burst from the brush and joined the group. Although she was content to believe this was a peaceful meeting Lyrana felt discomfort at how many little awareness she had of the surroundings. She was the ideal prey on in this landscape, lost an unknown surroundings. Though the idea of her being prey was preposterous. The elegant elf presented himself with a curious grace considering his home was these wilds. Lyrana assumed that he was another of their number, even though he didn't specify. The fact he was here could probably be constituted as proof. She was curious as to he was supposedly destined for, looking to each member of the group she could make few links. Except for the presence of the Kelper, which she found perplexing and disturbing due to the implications by him being there. Perhaps it was foolish to believe that she would not get dragging into her destiny despite disbelieving it. Not that she would surrender willingly.

She would be more comfortable with a roof over her head, or at least some semblance of a shelter other then branches. Of course that was all she needed from a place to stay. Protection was one thing that she didn't really need and even went as far to say it.
"If you are aware of who we are you may know that protection is not something we lack." She glanced around at the others, ignoring the fact she did not speak for them all. The two males certainly looked capable of holding their own. Although she wasn't certain if any of the assemble were another of beast descent like her. Of course she could certainly deal with most wandering creatures and men alone. Mostly she tried to get a glimpse at their responses, to see how capable they felt they were and perhaps which ones were also heirs.
"Yet a night with both eyes closed would a welcome reprieve." Again she did not care that she could only speak for herself. She had no intention of voicing for the others. They all were capable of speech.