dare you to move [Fafnir]

[Elysia Phearson]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 499px; height: 443px; background-image:url(http://i40.tinypic.com/2mqn40z.jpg)] Elysia's tail lashed from side to side, ears flat against her head as she stalked quietly through the undergrowth pushing through the cracks in the cement. Her mutated feet, more paws than anything, were soft and plush and left her footfalls muffled, and she was confident her target wouldn't hear her coming. In fact she was certain she could outwit the woman in charge of training her. She had been taught years and years ago how to maneuver through the forests without being seen, or heard. But she wasn't here to prove herself the best and the brightest. She was here to blend, to be neither above nor below excellence. She simply wanted to exist, to survive. And she firmly believed that if you were in some sort of spotlight, you were more likely to get killed. So she found herself a twig to step on just before she burst from her hiding spot to pounce on her mentor, who spun and easily knocked her to the side. Elysia caught herself and wheeled on agile paws to block another blow and grunted when she landed on her but as he legs were swept out from under her. She sighed, glancing up at the looming figure of her mentor, Giselle, who was grinning from ear to ear, grasping the hand Giselle offered. She was dark skinned and had hair pulled tightly back in a ponytail, though it somehow managed to fray out in every direction. The woman was a sight, to be sure, but Elysia did like her somewhat. She was nice enough when she wasn't lording her "prowess" over her mentees. "Better than yesterday, at least. Got closer this time," Giselle said, brushing a few bits of dirt off Elysia's shirt. "Next time though, try to keep your clumsy paws clear of twigs. You're lucky I wasn't a Carna. Or something worse," she continued, her tone darkening. "Get your act together, Elly. There's no opportunity for second chances in this place. Make one mistake, you're dead. This place isn't like that fancy house you grew up in. This is the real world." Elysia grit her teeth, tail lashing from side to side behind her, resisting the urge to step forward and slap Giselle across the face. She could take the insults about her , but for this woman to speak about her past as if she knew everything, every danger-filled moment she'd lived in the wilderness for years as a young child before she was adopted by a rich family...to insinuate that she hadn't earned every happiness she'd worked for, only to have it taken away by cruel men. And now to stand her with this woman daring to lecture her on the way the world really worked. She wanted to rake her claws down her face if only to wipe that smug look off her face. But Elysia remembered her place, and her vow not to cause trouble. Besides, she wouldn't waste the energy. She simply ducked her head and nodded, even as Giselle continued on a tirade. But Elysia had stopped listening; her ears twitched, pupils and nostrils flaring as she felt her pulse spike. She could hear heavy footsteps thundering towards them. "Giselle, something's coming," she said in a hoarse whisper. Giselle shut up immediately, turning towards the sound. She'd picked up on it too, and as the wind shifted a strong, sickening scent drifted across the breeze. It was sickly, a scent that cloyed the nostrils with a stench of rot, and death. Elysia didn't want to admit it, to say it out loud. But she knew what was coming for them, but she hoped to god that she was wrong. ooc; sooo long overdue. but at last! >D

[Fafnir]

The realm of the Nakoma was a strange place to wander after spending his days lurking about the overgrown weeds and charred trees of Delica Park. It wasn't his home per se, it was a place he liked to frequent, a place he knew a shifter or two was bound to be regardless of the time or the day or whatever other reason those things had for going places and doing things. It was a place of familiarity, a place he knew the ins and outs of, a place he found his own scent and paw prints in, a place he was comfortable with. This place though, with its cracked cement and cobblestones, its winding roads and decrepit old buildings, it was strange and different. It was a foreign place with foreign smells and foreign creatures. He didn't like it when things changed around him, but something compelled him to come here. Something willed him to go to this place and seek out its inhabitants. Exactly what, though, could be anyone's guess.

"This place isn't like that fancy house you grew up in. This is the real world."

A voice rang out above the overall silence in the chilly mid-afternoon air and the beast stilled himself for a moment, large canid-like ears pitching forward and pivoting toward the sound. It belonged to a female, that much was obvious in its pitch, and by the sound of the words there was more than one thing there, it was speaking to someone else. Large nostrils flared as the breeze kicked up slightly and he drew in a pair of scents, two females that smelled of both human and animal at the same time, a strange combination he didn't smell often among the shifters and the retros. The voice went on as Fafnir began moving again but the words were unimportant, what mattered now was the pounding in his head, the monstrous howling in his ears, the vehement roaring thing that told him to go find these two things and tear them to pieces. Heavy paws beat the pavement as he lurched forward into a gallop, which at such a size wasn't all that fast but his powerful limbs made up for the lack of speed with a long gait.

As the monster shot down another street, the wind caught him and became his herald, the harbinger of death. The subtle breeze would tell his targets he was coming with a taste of his scent, but by then it would be too late. Toxic orange pupils set within pools of putrid black zeroed in on the two anthros, teacher and student, as the monstrous fiend came into sight. The taller one shouted something at the smaller fairer skinned one before stepping in front of her to face him in some foolish attempt to buy the other one time to flee, knowing very well it would mean its demise. Fine then, he would grant this death wish and pursue the other at his leisure, as it would not get far in the time it would take to thoroughly dismember the foolish one. With a thunderous roar tearing from his gaping maw the beast sprung into a leap, large bear-like forepaws with their five long claws reaching out to rake, and rend, and ravage whatever would be caught in their path. This one he would kill. The other one, he would infect, which was a far worse fate than death.

[Elysia Phearson]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 499px; height: 443px; background-image:url(http://i40.tinypic.com/2mqn40z.jpg)] She scented it before she heard it, and heard it before she saw it. She could hear it's thunderous steps, ears straining forward to pick up every sound, every detail. It was large, powerful. She could hear its breath heaving from its lungs, seething through sharp fangs. She could feel it coming in the earth, the stones beneath her paws trembling. Giselle was screaming something at her, but she was focused in the distance and couldn't discern her incoherent babbling. She didn't have time. As soon as she spotted the creature turning the corner, she'd already turned on heel and was starting down the street, headed in the other direction. It was all in a matter of moments, she heard the roar, Giselle's screams. The rending of flesh and the crack of bone, the spurt and gurgle of blood as claws and fangs sought and destroyed living flesh. She had thought for the briefest second of turning back for her "mentor", but Giselle screamed, and screamed maybe once, twice, but her third was cut short with a sickening crunch of finality. So she kept moving, legs pumping, small tail streaming out behind her. Elysia couldn't help but hear, but she was glad she didn't have to witness Giselle's destruction. It would've been difficult for her to sleep with those visuals echoing in her mind--though truth be told, at this point in time Elysia wasn't sure if she'd make it through the next minute. She ran, padded paws gripping the cobblestones, fleeing for her life. She could hear he thing behind her, chugging along like a powerhouse, she could hear its paws and breath and heart pounding in her own head. She dodged and weaved, knowing that the thing chasing her was heavy and would have difficulty turning on a dime like her small, lithe frame enabled her to do. She tried to think of where to run that would be safe from this creature, this nightmarish figure that stepped right from the Keeper's Handbook on how to scare the shit out of the poor little Shifters in the dome. There was nowhere safe, not from these things. It was hard to think when she could hear the breathing getting closer and at times she imagined its hot, rancid breath on the back of her neck. She winced, the muscles in her legs beginning to burn, her breath sharp and ragged. She struggled to control her breathing, even though she'd been a fairly well practiced runner. Panic was taking over, and she couldn't think straight. The thing was only a yard or so behind her and gaining fast...he was slower than her but had more endurance, she could tell. It would be over soon, she knew...but she wouldn't give up with out a fight. Gritting her teeth in grim determination as she felt the beast but feet behind her, she changed direction in an instant and darted to the left down a thin alley between two houses. It had hit her suddenly, where to go. If she could make it, she'd be safe and sound and the beast would have no choice but to give up the chase. The River. If she could make it there, she'd make it out alive. ooc; I'm sorry it's so late D: also wow, really long post about RUNNING XDD

[Fafnir]

There was nothing more satisfying than the crack and crunch of bones in his monstrous jaws, the smooth and savory taste of blood on his tongue, or the sweet delight in knowing he had snuffed out yet another life. It was over almost as quickly as it had begun and death had come swiftly - although painfully - to the now limp, lifeless, and limbless form dangling from his maw. With a tilt of his head the body slid from his mouth and fell into a heap upon the sanguine soaked ground. A yawn easily set his hinged jaw back into place and that snake-like orange tongue of his made short work of the red stain marring his muzzle. As his gaze rose in the direction the other thing had fled in, his nostrils flared to catch its scent, drawing in one great breath and releasing it in a contented sigh of thick condensation that hung for a moment in the nippy air.

With a scent to guide him that gargantuan form was in motion again, thick powerful limbs carrying his long graceless body onward after the thing that eluded him. Once it was in sight again his pace hastened, muscles pumping feverishly beneath that filthy fur in an attempt to gain ground and close the distance between them. As it darted around a corner the beast was hot on its heels, his great size and weight working against him and sending him careening into a nearby wall, which in such a dilapidated state was no match for the sheer mass that barreled into it. In an explosion of dust and bricks the wall collapsed down around him and for a few seconds it seemed as if the thing had escaped the violent fate of the other, but with a monstrous roar the colossal creature was upon his paws again. Shaking off a thick layer of brick dust and grime the monster charged forward once again, quickly recapturing his momentum and closing the distance between them once again. Where fear drove the thing to keep running, sheer adrenaline was what fueled him, and it was more than obvious which chemical reaction was stronger.

Exhaustion was swiftly getting the best of the thing he pursued and it was becoming more and more apparent that it needed to resort to outsmarting him rather than outpacing him. Speedily dashing about another corner it took off in a different direction, but he would not be fooled so easily again. Planting his hind paws into the rough cobble street this time he let his front paws guide him and allowed his hindquarters to produce drag, slowing his titanic form as it rounded the corner and stopping him from sliding into another wall. Though he had lost some speed, which he didn't really have much of to begin with, he had maintained forward momentum and as a result had not lost any ground in his pursuit of the fleeing thing. It raced beyond the crumbling structures and seemed to push forward with purpose this time, through the trees and toward the river beyond them. A smart decision. With his size and weight he would surely struggle to tread water and even the mildest of currents would no doubt prove too difficult to traverse. Swimming, for him, was most definitely out of the question.

Ah, but he wasn't about to let that happen. Where the fleeing thing had the wits and knowledge of the land to use against him, he had the strength and endurance to overtake it. With one last burst of energy his mighty form surged forward, one massive paw reaching out to swipe at those racing legs. With any luck he'd trip the thing and put an end to all this pointless exertion, he would have his prize and all the time in the world to savor every moment with it. Death would not be as quick as the other, this one would feel every measure of his madness as his virus consumed it.

He would make sure of that.