{Rano} Alone

[Deleted]

It was cold, windy, and for once, Ming-Yue felt like he was at home. During the freezing, frost-bitten season, his homeland had always been covered with layers of snow and ice. Granted, there wasn't nearly as much snow as there was in his lands, but it at least gave him some sort of familiarity. Silently crunching and stumbling through the mounds of snow, the small, stuby-legged creature's red fur stood out from the snow like a fly in milk. Snorting faintly as he shook his head, trying to rid the frozen flakes that had gathered on his nose, the red panda retro paused for a few moments, a heavy sigh leaving his lips. Ever since he had been caught in that damned human trap so many moons ago, his back right leg had become limp and useless. He could hardly feel anything in his paw, not the cold or the soft brush of the snow. He couldn't move it and all it really did was get in the way. But, that was only for his paw. While it hung there from his limb, twisting and dragging over the earth, the muscles in his leg were constantly becoming sore. There was always a dull ache that would never go away no matter what he did and it was something he had grown to live with.

With an irritated flick of his ear and a wave of his tail, Ming-Yue gradually returned to his walk, focused on one certain thing. Getting as far away from the others as he possibly could. His kind was not used to such crowds and he wasn't one who even truly enjoyed to be in such things. But, he had to stay there, for his brother if for nothing else. It was only because of that brat that he tolerated the others in this 'herd'. Sighing, he limped over to one of the trees that hung over the rushing waters of the river, his eyes watching as only the middle of the stream remained free of ice. The edges, though, were covered with the thick, slippery substance, the water having been too slow to stop the ice from forming. "...Should be far enough, I suppose," he grumbled to himself before he settled himself down in the snow, his red fur gathering a few clumps of the snow at its tips, but they did nothing to bother him. No, if anything, it comforted him. The snow was the only thing, really, that kept his memories alive.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Deleted]

Rano sat huddled against a wall-like structure under an overhang by the bank of the river. His legs were tucked up against him as close as possible and his hair was let loose and draped around his shoulders. Aside from his flimsy shorts he had no clothing, and being made for a tropical climate he was turning even bluer than he naturally was from the cold. In his odd looking hands he held two pieces of quartz rock and was desperately scraping one against the other over a small pile of kindling. He'd searched the entire overhang and gathered anything dry enough to burn and stacked it. He'd only been in the biodome a short time and never had he been this cold in his life. Oh how he missed the warmth of winter in Panama.

Suddenly a spark from the rocks jumped to a piece of dry moss that begun to smoke. Rano dropped the rocks and leaned forwards, placing his hands on the ground and blowing carefully into the pile. A small flickering flame lapped at the kindling and Rano held his breath before remembering that he should breath a bit of oxygen into it.

"Burn burn bun..." he mumbled, and in his thought's he added "Or I shall die in this godforsaken place." He regretted venturing into this part of the dome, but he'd wanted to explore and be alone, and this area seemed the least inhabited. If he'd known the climate was this rough he'd have stayed in warmer areas. But now there was nothing to do but see if the fire would burn and if he'd survive.

[Deleted]

As he sat there, his tail wrapped neatly around his paws, Ming-Yue silently stared up at the sky, his mind wondering to his homeland. He couldn't help but wonder if anything there had changed since he had left. Were there new cubs in his forest now? Had the cubs he had fathered the years before he had become lame grown? Did they have cubs of their own? Did any of them hold his power? There were so many questions he had that had no answers. He would not know any of these and he would never have the chance to learn the answers to any of them. With a loud snort, Ming turned his head away from the sky, the fur on his shoulders bristling faintly in frustration before he allowed it to relax and fall flat on his shoulders. What was the point of lingering on such things as that? There was no way he would be able to return, no hope. As his small round ears laid back flat against his skull, he turned to leave simply to escape his thoughts when the faint smell of smoke reached his nose.

His muscles tensed, his fur prickling as his head jerked around. His eyes were wide with fear, knowing just how much of a threat a fire could be. But, what baffled him was the fact that there was a fire in the middle of winter. Most every piece of wood was wet from snow and rain, how could any fire manage to start on its own? Of course, whoever said it was started on its own. As the thought sunk in, Ming-Yue felt a new tension settle in him. Someone was on his territory. He may have to share said territory with others, but being a solitary creature by nature, he still felt that unwavering instinct to get rid of anything that dared to stake a claim on his lands. Standing, moving as fast as he could even with his limp leg, he followed the smokey scent before his eyes came to rest on a male. Ming found himself dead in his tracks at the sight of this...thing. He hadn't been in this wretched land long enough to know of all the different kinds of creatures that lived here, but he knew that this was not natural. "State your business trespasser," he spat, his tail fluffing out as he narrowed his eyes at the male.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Deleted]

As the fire grew in size Rano relaxed a bit and leaned towards it. He closed his eyes, enjoying the small bit of warmth. He knew this fire would only last about half an hour, he had nothing else to add into it that would burn but his own shorts. He'd decided earlier however that if he were to die he'd rather be found with shorts on. The flimsy cloth would only burn for a few moments anyhow.

As he was sitting there, smiling for perhaps the first time he'd come to this place, a voice suddenly arose from the snow. Alarmed he sprung to his feet with agile grace and scanned the area. He felt saliva gathering in his mouth and he got ready to spit at whatever was speaking. It wasn't deadly but it'd numb whatever area it soaked into, which if aimed at eyes could be very helpful.

However his sight was poor and it took him a while to spot what was speaking, despite the fact that it was red against the snow. There was quite a bit of snow, after all. How had he not felt it's approach? It must have been it's small size and his distractedness, he would've had to pay close attention to feel it's approach.

"I am traveling," he said. He crouched back down towards the fire and put his hands on the ground. If the animal moved he wouldn't be able to see it from this distance, but he'd be able to feel it. He wasn't sure if traveling was quite what he was doing, but he had no other explanation. "I've become a bit lost..." he said. It then dawned on him that he was speaking to an animal, it must be a shifter he decided. A bitterness rose in him as he was reminded of his lost power, of his current distasteful appearance. "I mean no harm..." he added quietly.

[Deleted]

With the fur on his shoulders bristling and his lips pulled back in a faint snarl, Ming-Yue was ready to put up some sort of fight if it was required to chase off this intruder. These lands belonged to him-- No, they belonged to Bellator Herd. Oh, how he missed having his own territory, not needing to share his space with anyone, not needing to both with sharing food with others. It had all been his. But, that pleasure was long gone now. No, now there was nothing that could purely be his. In a way, Ming hated the thought that he had to share the land with a number of others, but he also somewhat found the company a bit comforting, though he would never admit that freely to anyone. His whiskers twitched faintly as he watched the male, not quite sure whether to be cautious of this creature or not. As far as he could tell it had no sense of weapons with it and hardly any sense of defense. That could be a great advantage to him.

As the male finally spoke, the small retro's ears pressed forward, listening and watching every single movement he made. He did not want to be surprised by some kind of sudden attack by this creature. At the state of his business, Ming-Yue snorted harshly as he took a small step forward. "Traveling," he questioned in a sharp hiss, his thick tail lashing off to one side. "That's what they all say before intruders take what rightfully belongs to us!"

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Deleted]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 390px; height: 387px; background-image:url(http://i47.tinypic.com/14uhxrk.jpg)] Rano couldn't see or hear the shifter's snarl and bristling fur, but he could tell from the tone of his voice and just the general energy that he wasn't happy about Rano's presence. He felt him take a step forwards before speaking and sized him up, he couldn't weigh much and in his animal form would be easy to overpower. However he didn't know what type of person he was, (for by now he'd smelled that it was a he), in his human form. Rano was short for a human, standing only five feet tall and weighing hardly anything. His figure was lean, taking after his frog form, but he was agile. His spit was also a definite advantage if the enemy didn't know about it's workings. No, don't think of him as an enemy, Rano told himself. The fire cracked which reminded him of his desperate situation. A fight would not only mean eliminating the only company and possibility of help he currently knew but the possibility of injury could make his death more painful. Freezing, he'd heard, wasn't so bad. Bleeding to death seemed much worse. "I am new to these lands, smell me yourself, I still stink of the labs," he said, hoping this would make the other's opinion of him a bit milder. "I admit, I belong to the Nakoma, but I beg you to believe that I am not in this area for any reason other than peaceful exploration. In fact I am lost, to tell the truth." It was funny, he thought, how many lies one told during the course of their lifetime. So many of them go unnoticed, so many of them are believed, he had told so many to save his hide when he'd gotten into trouble at school or broken a house rule at home. And now he was in a situation where the bare truth might not even be enough to get him through the next hours. He kept his focus on the rust colored shifter.