(Switchblade) Lose Your Soul

[Deleted]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 433px; height: 593px; background-image:url(http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll192/_Kamora_/deerlingtable1_zps37c959dc.png)] "Hafsa! Come this way!" Her brothers' laughter floated around the garden as a six year old girl spun in circles searching. She darted towards the bushes only to hear the giggles coming from across the yard and raced towards them. "Anoush! You are cheating!" She cried in despair as she flung herself into now empty bushes. "This game is not fair, Kourosh." The youth wailed as she spun about when she heard her middle brother's chuckles come from above. With a frown the little girl began to climb up the great tree in the middle of the garden. She had dared not ever try to pull herself up this tree before in fear she would be stuck, but the game of finding her brothers drove her into the branches with vigor. The siblings had started the game in the morning since their studies had been cancelled for the day while the adults of Tehran attended special meetings. Yashar had been dubbed 'it' first, but he soon grew tired of his brother's antics and left to go practice his academics. Anoush and Kourosh had been disappointed at their brother's bad temper, and decided to go find their other sibling to torment. Kiana had been playing with her dolls when her older brothers charged in with charismatic smiles and convinced their baby sister with ease to join in their games. Kiana had learned early on to be wary of her older brothers with their fascination with mischief, but she was eager to get out of her room and play with them. However, she regretted that decision more than ever as she neared the top branch of the tree and looked down with fear. Leaves crackled behind her, and she watched as a lion cub raced the other side of the trunk, while she was left hugging onto her branch for dear life. "What's the matter, Hafsa?" Jeered Anoush from below as Kourosh shoved playfully at his older brother. "Two more years and then you'll be sorry!" She shouted back as tears started to sting her eyes. "Come on, Anoush. We're gonna get in trouble if Father finds out about this." Kourosh tried to reason, but Anoush only rolled his eyes. "She's fine!" He bit back, and turned his attention back to his youngest sibling in the tree. "Aren't you, sister?" Came his call, but Kiana was distracted by insects scurrying across the bark of the tree. She let out a shriek as she realized these copper headed bugs were fire ants, and lost her grip on the tree trunk as she tried to scoot away. With a crash the six year landed on her back at her brothers' feet. She had been ten feet off the ground, and the moment her body connected with land all the air was pushed out of her lungs. "Oh my Allah." Came Kourosh's whisper as he stared at his sister's body. Her arm was crumpled funny, and he could see the already purpling area where the bone had snapped. It was like falling out of a tree all over again the moment the bullet had made contact. She could feel her bones splintering as they made room for the lead, and she wondered if this was how it was going to end. The next thing she had remembered was darkness, and the pull of sea like she was suppose to eternally swim in the salt water. But she hadn't. Instead her eyes had blinked open to burning light, but her brain was much too foggy to understand anything else. Kiana barely parted her lips when she was suddenly drug back under the tides. The next time she fully awoke was in the snow. She was greeted by Jack Frost and the Noble pushed herself up, only to slip back to the ground. The Keepers had kept her sedated for a month while her bullet wound healed, so the young woman had a hard time finding the strength to use her muscles properly. However, she managed to regain control of her body after a while, and staggered about the Menagerie. She didn't know what she was looking for, but managed to stumble into Carna territory. Her luck had somewhat turned around and Kiana was accepted into this ring and learned about her new home. A days later found Kiana on the ground as she began her morning prayer, "Allahu akbar." Came the soft whisper, but suddenly she stopped after reciting the third verse of the Qur'an. She looked up into the sky as tears threatened to spill over in frustration as she cursed her God. "You were suppose to protect me!" Her face reddened as the sins she committed began to play through her mind. She casted her eyes back to the ground as shame overtook her features, "Or at least protect my innocent children." She whispered bitterly as she fisted the fabric of her dress. One of her hands moved up touch the cotton that covered the scar of the bullet, just mere inches from her heart, and then moved to touch the new scarring that deemed her Carna. That was sin to mark her skin, but what could she had done to prevent it? "Astugh-Fer-Allah." She called out to the sky, renewing her prayers with much vigor. Kiana had always been religious, and understood that Allah viewed men and women as equals even though Sharia Law placed them as separates. However, she had began to doubt her religion when her marriage with Samir became a nightmare and their firstborn was left dead. But now she sought Allah's counsel more than ever. After her prayers, the woman stood to her feet and smoothed her dress. With a sigh she moved towards the towering red oaks and leaned her head against the bark. She inhaled the earthy smell and longed for her mother's extensive garden as well as her own. Kiana had always sought refuge in her home's gardens, but right now she was missing the banter of her brothers. They would be able to make light of the situation. "I'm torn between two Gods: myself and Him." She admitted to herself, and it felt as if a burden was being lifted off of her shoulders only to be replaced by a heavier one. With a resigned sigh, the young woman closed her eyes and let her skin shiver as she changed into a fallow deer and headed deeper into the thick trees. Sometimes she wished the bullet hadn't missed her heart. - - - - Translations: Hafsa - Lion Cub, Allahu akbar - Allah is greater, Astugh-Fer-Allah - Allah Forgive Me

[Switchblade]

Deer.

She exhaled slowly as she brought her head up once more. The scent was almost overwhelming here, allowing for the wolf to gather that the animals had mingled in the area for an extended amount of time before moving on. Switchblade let out an irritated snort as her icy blue eyes scrutinizing the small clearing she had followed the smell in to. She looked around for any obvious signs as to which direction the group might have gone. The early morning’s snow had blanketed the dome with a fresh layer of find powder though, and had effectively covered any tracks that might have been left. Of course the Keepers wouldn’t make life easy. Where would the fun be in that?

While their tracks in the snow had been covered, there were other obvious signs that the large herbivores had been in the vicinity. A few of the braver plant life had been relieved of a few items, and there were places where one could see where the snow had been pushed aside in an attempt to get at the vegetation hidden below. The evidence proved to be of little help for the hunter though. She didn’t care where they had been, she needed to know where they were now. The large canine put her nose back to the ground and began to sniff about once more, hoping to find the general direction the animals had left to.

It had been a rather uneventful day thus far. She had spent the better part of the morning simply trying to find a good scent trail to follow. There hadn’t seemed to be too many animals roaming about, only a few rabbits among other smaller mammals; none that were large enough to warrant the effort of wasting energy on to catch. The deer trail she had found had been the only worthwhile creature she had found. The trail was strong and relatively fresh, a good sign that the group was likely still within Carna territory somewhere.

When she gathered the general direction the hoofed creatures had wandered off to, Switchblade was on her way again. Her cranium was in a constant dance of being up or down as she switched from observing for signs of the animals with her eyes to making sure she was still on the right track. The trail led her deeper into the wood, no doubt that the deer were searching for better sources of food. Their tasty scent grew stronger with each passing paw step though, enticing the predator within her. She was getting closer.

As she traversed the forest, however, she had caught a whiff of another creature having wandered through these parts, and with footsteps as well. It had been another human, and a woman, if their size and the scent left behind were anything to go by. The prints had caused for alarm in the Carna Hunter at first. With recent happenings and the fact that the Fallen border being not too far off from there, Switchblade couldn’t help but to suspect the worst. As the wolf had taken a second inhale though, she had been quick to discover the twinge of Carna that intermingled within the scent. The alarm signs were quick to go off after that. While the scent was unfamiliar to her, Switchblade saw little need to chase after whoever it had been. It was another Carna member, so what? She had a job to do. What other members did on their own time was their business, not hers.

So the wolf continued on her trek after the deer, the minor distraction put to the back of her mind as she refocused herself on catching her elusive prey. They were around there somewhere, she could feel it. It wasn’t long before she found one of the hoofed beasts, catching it only out of the corner of her eye. Switchblade couldn’t help but to stare at it for a few seconds, her brain trying to work out what it was that was before her. It was a doe, there was no doubt there, but what kind of deer was it? Though similar in the most general of aspects, something about this one just seemed…off. It was a rich dark brown color, and—if her eyes weren’t fooling her—she could make out a few muted spots on the creature’s flank. It looked nothing like the deer she was used to seeing around the dome; white-tailed, mule, red. ‘Perhaps it’s something new that the Keepers threw in here,’ she mused as she turned to quietly stalk after the herbivore.

A deer was a deer, and the Keepers were never up to any good. This doe had made the mistake of breaking off from the group. Switchblade carefully placed one paw before the other, doing her best to mask her silent approach in the snow. Her relatively white coat would help camouflage her form against the snow-covered forest vegetation and ground if the deer happened to look back for whatever reason. From her past experience with the animals, if she stood still long enough, they would simply turn back around and continue on their way anyways. It was likely this one was no different.

Closer and closer she came. If she had any chance of catching this fleet-footed creature, it would be by surprise. As a lone hunter, she didn’t have others to count on if she bolo’ed on the initial attack. Missing her target out in these woods would mean certain failure, because, while she was agile, her thicker build had nothing on a healthy, nimble deer’s. Her first strike would have to count. Her ears pressed against her cranium, and her muscles tightened with anticipation as the moment of truth drew ever closer. She was ready.

When she saw her opportunity, Switchblade’s body bolted forth. A vicious snarl ripped through her throat as her jaws aimed to wrap themselves around one of the deer’s front legs. Her goal was to hold the creature by what would have been the equivalent to a person’s upper arm, possibly using her momentum to send the creature down onto its side. She was sure that she had weight on the deer, which looked to be a few ten or twenty pounds lighter than her, so she had little worry that the thing would drag her off somewhere with little effort. The only thing she was concerned about was those sharp hooves. While she had had her fair share of them in the past, their punch was never something she looked forward to.

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OOC: Sorry this is so late and so long Dx I had some things come up over the weekend that I had to take care of first!

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[Deleted]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 433px; height: 593px; background-image:url(http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll192/_Kamora_/deerlingtable1_zps37c959dc.png)] She had never had a problem with the fallow deer the lurked under skin, unlike her brothers who bickered with their lion counterpart. She supposed it must have been the power of the feline that caused conflict within an eight year old's brain, so young Kiana had never been horribly offended when she was pushed a little harder during play or almost crippling protected by her loyal siblings. Of she had her own bad habits that surfaced and flawed her childhood innocence when the fallow deer made itself known, as in the case of her jealousy for her brothers' powerful shifts. The prey instincts of flight and fear fought against a young girl that had been raised to be a lion, and the human side of Kiana won out with its stubborn pride to refuse to be reduced from the status of predator. Over time she had grew into the deer's body, and found she was much quicker than her brothers. It would never be enough though. The disappoint that came from not bearing her family's namesake had caused Kiana to dislike her animal form, and had sough comfort from her mother. She supposed the only good of it was the bond she had been able to forge between herself and her mother. After time, she became fond of her animal counterpart and used it to seek solace when her life began to take a downward spiral, especially after she married Samir. The barely visible scars on her deer form gave justification for Kiana's hatred of her husband. The doe flicked her ears forward as she spotted the brown fur of a couple of deers in a clearing up ahead. She cleared her head, and a wave of security washed over her. She felt safer around others, and supposed it was her animal nature that called for company of her own kind. Kiana didn't suspect the deer to be shifters with their obvious disinterest in her as she moved about the trees to munch on a few leaves. With a shake of her head she moved on to nose a few more plants. It was different here than home, and she wasn't for sure if she should be thankful. Her mind was still plagued with the screams of her family and the images of her crying children, but at long last she was away from Samir and the restricting life of Iranian Court. She closed her eyes as she she tried to get the past of her mind. She couldn't focus on those things if she wanted to stay alive here. Kianna was desperate for a life worth living, the one that had been denied to her by gender roles and oppressive governments. But her luck always turned sour before it's expiration date, and suddenly the snarl of a wolf was causing her fur to stick on end. She had been too lost in thoughts to keep a handle on her surroundings, so her body froze on instinct. Her mind went blank as the wolf sunk it's teeth into her leg, and the doe let out a cry. Kiana struggled as the wolf easily turned her onto her side, but that's when her eyes were trapped in the canine's. There was something different. "Please! I am same as you!" Came her shifter-tongue, as she prayed that this wolf was indeed a human. However, she choose not to shift into her human form in fear that the white beast was feral, because at least as a deer she could get in a few kicks. The doe was currently twisting as it tried to dislodge the wolf, but Kiana knew she was too small and was screwed if there wasn't a human face lurking underneath that fur.

[Switchblade]

A swell of predatory contentment coursed through her canine body as she saw the herbivore become rigid almost instantly as she burst from hiding. Nothing was more satisfying than prey that made themselves easy to catch, especially ones as large as a deer. Most of the time, they were bounding away in an instant, their hearts pounding wildly as they weaved and swerved to evade the predator at their heels. Every so often though, she would get one that would choke, that would freeze instead of run away. It was prey like this that Switchblade enjoyed catching the most. Perhaps it was because it simply made life easier for her, or, perhaps it was the wolf in her that fed off of knowing that she was the one to put them in such a state of panic.

Her teeth sank into the doe’s leg with ease, her canines easily penetrating the deer’s hide as her momentum sent the two of them to the ground. Her paws shot out to steady herself, one placing itself between its front legs, the other pressing firmly into the animal’s warm stomach. The animal trapped in her jaws cried out, whether in pain or surprise, Switchblade cared little for. It was caught now, and it was going to die one way or another. Crippling it so it couldn’t effectively run away was only the first step. As the doe struggled against her, Switchblade could feel her teeth tearing into its flesh. Instinctively, she tried to pull in the opposite direction of the struggles, hoping to further add to the damage she was dealing on the animal. ‘That’s right, do the work for me,’ she mentally urged, her tongue eagerly lapping at the crimson liquid that slowly seeped up from the opening wounds. She didn’t blame it for struggling, but, it should have known better than to wander off from its herd.

Pleading words resounded in her ears suddenly, shattering her predatory high in an instant. Her icy blue eyes shot up to the creature’s head, her own body going stiff now. ‘Did it just…?’ For a moment, she wondered if she had simply been hearing things, but as she felt the deer try to twist out of her grip once more, she had to fight the wolf in her that was urged on to continue her assault. She released her prey as if she had been burned and stepped back a few feet, but not so far that she couldn’t quickly attack the downed animal if her thoughts had proven false. Her ears were held against her head as she stood there, her icy blue eyes looking the deer over questionably. She tried to sniff the air to figure out if this herbivore before her was really a shifter, or if it was actually just a regular deer. Her senses were shot though, too overloaded with the scent of fear, deer, and blood to accurately make out what it was that was before her at that given moment in time.

Her own heart pounding with adrenaline, she decided to try her luck. “Who are you?” she growled. The wolf’s eyes continued to roam over the deer, trying to find any obvious signs that might indicate who they were. Until her nose was able to clear itself of the scents that had overwhelmed it at the present time, she had no choice but to go by visual cues. If worse came to worse, and it really was just a regular deer, at least she could go about killing it with a safe conscious. She wasn’t about to become a cannibal though, enemy shifter or not, and there was no way in hell she would want to feed her fellow ring members another shifter.

For the Carna mark, she searched. She could make out the faint signs of scars along the deer’s upper back, but that did not mean that the mark of the CarnaRing would be any more visible. Her own mark, after all, was hardly visible at all in her feral form. Only the scars along the thinly furred parts of her showed. The wolf let out heated breaths as she waited for a reply, trying to buy herself some time while she waited for the overpowering scents to leave her nose.

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OOC: Thank you for wanting to continue this thread with me <3 Sorry it’s such a short reply though after having to make ya’ wait so long Dx

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[Deleted]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 433px; height: 593px; background-image:url(http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll192/_Kamora_/deerlingtable1_zps37c959dc.png)] "Hafsa, come play with us!" Came her eldest brother's shout. "Anoush, we cannot call her that anymore. Father will be angry." Chided Kourosh, while his brother only responded with a roll of his eyes. "Be kind to me, brother. It is not my fault!" "You have brought our family dishonor. They believe you are a bastard child. Is that what you are, habibi?" Anoush sneered the last word, jabbing a finger at his younger sibling. "No! I am still like you! " Her voice was pleading, as she fell to her knees in front of her brother. She grabbed onto his shirt with small fists, begging him to forgive something she could not alter. "Liar!" His brown eyes flashed to gold, and suddenly a young lion was pinning the girl. "You're weak." Came the snarl that would haunt the little girl for the rest of her life. She had cried for two days after that. As a child it was easy for her to grasp the concept as to why he brother disliked her. She was different. However, her parents never understood the sudden divisions between their children. Alliances had been formed over night, and Kiana had been left out. Yashar provided a sort of neutral messenger and Kiana knew he favored her over his brothers, and sometimes Kourosh gave her presents, but Anoush was the oldest. They had to follow him, or they too would be outcasted. Kiana had always had a distaste for her weak shift that would intensify whenever she was in a situation that would have been much easier to get out of if she could become a lion. Like now for instance. Her lion wouldn't have a problem fighting off a wolf. But she was a deer, and there was nothing that could change that. But she sure could be pissed off about it, because right now she felt like death. It burned. Kiana knew that the tearing on her leg, or what would be her human arm, was deep bloody. However, she felt more vulnerable in her current animal with the wolf watching her and was finding it difficult to fight the nervous nature of the deer. She was so tired though, the struggle had done it's toll on the young woman and she felt like her body was about to give out. Screwing her eyes shut, the deer gave a shuttering breath before its bones started to change. If this wolf was really a human that would take pity on her, then it would be best if she was back in her human state. Dragging a deer through the forest wouldn't help anyone out in this situation. So as her fur receded into skin, it revealed a slender shaking woman. Her dark hair was plastered to her face with sweat, and Kiana groaned with pain as her wound contorted to match her human body. Her upper arm was bleeding heavily with severe bite wounds. More than likely if Kiana hadn't struggled the tearing of her flesh wouldn't have been as drastic. But she had struggled, and now she would the pay the price as the blood ran down. Her dress sleeves were ripped around her arm and through the tatters of fabrics, the older scars of her past were visible. "One of you…" She murmured again, the loss of blood making her head swim. This wasn't going to be how it ended. She was not going to bleed out in a forest with a stranger. She was Kiana-Mahsati Taja Abbasi, born of noble lion blood to the Shir-del noble family. She been through too much to die like this. The young woman struggled to keep her vision from blurring, trying to make out the face of the wolf. She moved her other arm, trying to think of a way to stop the bleeding, but it only made her head hurt worse when she tried to sit up. She wasn't for sure which past pain resembled this the most. It was equal to the searing sting of the whip, but as violent as the gun shot. It howled through her entire body, and Kiana tried her best not to break into anguish wails. Samir had taught her not to make noise when she received her punishments, but that didn't stop hot tears from rolling down her cheeks. - - - - Translations: Habibi - darling sister OOC: I got overly excited when I read your post, and all my love for Kiana came rushing back <3

[Switchblade]

The wolf watched with cautious, yet anxious eyes. Her body itched to leap upon the downed animal once more, to finish what she had started, to claim her prize. Those years of living out on her own, of living as if she were truly was the wolf she could shift into, had made the transition of finding and catching food for her Ring easy for her. She could track, hunt, and kill. But at a moment when she was forced to stay her fangs after already carrying out what had become second nature for her, Switchblade found it to be somewhat troublesome. She resisted that predatory urge that her inner animal was so eager to carry out though, for, never before had her intended food had the possibility of being another fellow shifter.

The deer was clearly in pain from her attack. Though, it would be hard to expect it not to be if the blood that eagerly pooled from its new wound and staining of its dark hide were anything to go by. The herbivore let out a breath before its body suddenly began to change. An involuntary growl rumbled from her throat in warning as she noticed the beginnings of the transformation. Fur gave way into skin and clothing, and, soon, Switchblade found her suspicions confirmed. Indeed, there had been a shifter hidden beneath the skin of the deer.

A young woman laid before her, dressed a foreign attire of mostly white with accents of red and gold. She looked to be around her mid-twenties, and had an exotic beauty to her that allowed her to stand out from the crowd of faces Switchblade was used to seeing around the dome. Strands of the stranger’s darkly colored hair stuck to her skin as she let out a pained groan. The sound caused the wolf’s ears and muscles to twitch. A quieted snort left her nostrils as she desperately tried to rid herself of those overpowering scents. Her mind reflexively thought the worst of the shifter before her. She had never seen this woman before, and, for all she knew, she could be a strayed member of the FallenRing. A weapon could be hidden away in folds of that unfamiliar attire, ever ready to drive itself home into the wolf shifter’s own flesh.

The groan had reminded her of something else important though. Icy blue eyes drifted over to the bloody mess she had created. What would have been a beautiful piece of attire was ruined with the large tear in the sleeve. The woman’s life liquid easily stained the lightly colored fabric around the wound. Switchblade could just make out the signs of old scars on the woman’s flesh from where she guardedly stood. The blood that easily oozed from the wound covered much of anything else. Some small part of her urged her to help the woman, but caution held her back for now.

The stranger answered the wolf not long after revealing herself, though the words seemed to have been spoken with a bit of difficulty. It appeared as if the pain and shock from the wound had affected her ability to say much else in that given moment. Switchblade’s tail rose in a dominate manner as she placed a cautious paw forward, her nose carefully sniffing the air in an attempt to confirm if this woman was to be treated as an ally or a foe. It appeared to be all the woman could do to stay fixated on her canine features. Her chocolate eyes went in and out of focus as they looked at the wolf. By the third sniff, it seemed that the scents that had fogged Switchblade’s senses earlier had finally faded into the equivalent of background noise. “Damn it,” she cursed under her breath. The lightly colored wolf quickly trotted forward with purpose to her step.

Carna. The unmistakable whiff of the CarnaRing was mingled into the frosty air.

The woman made to stop her own bleeding, but appeared unable to complete the task she set out to do. A part of the hunter praised the woman for focusing on more important matters than verbally blaming her attacker for her pain. Any lesser person might have been screaming profanities at Switchblade or wailing in their misery by now. “Don’t make me regret this,” she grumbled quietly in warning as she drew up to the downed woman’s side.

She took a quick, scrutinizing glance around them, searching for any signs of danger. There was nothing that confirmed anything particularly dangerous was mingling about the area. Feeling that the two were safe enough, Switchblade reverted back to her human form. Once she was human again, she swooped down into a kneeling position before her fellow Carna, her icy blue eyes examining the ragged wound her canine fangs had wrecked upon the woman. ‘I tore in deeper than I’d thought,’ she mentally winced, though the wolf in her gleamed in pride of its fangs.

She looked around them for something that could be used to tie around the injury. Nothing. Absolutely freaking nothing. Trees. Hardy plants. Snow. Everything that she didn’t need to stop the bleeding. A feral-like growl rumbled in her throat. She irritably murmured to herself at her lack of luck, “Damn it...if she hadn’t been a damn deer…I…should have known better…” She caught the tears that had snuck down the woman’s cheeks. Why was she crying? Switchblade blinked in quiet surprise, but then quickly shook her head, forcing herself to frown, “Oh, please don’t cry on me.”

She looked around a bit more. She could always tear an edge off of one of their shirts…she had a knife now that could make that process easier… Her eyes suddenly honed in on the black bandana tied around her left wrist. A thought came to her. Should she…? ‘No,’ her brain vehemently denied. There were reasons why she wore it. Why should she sacrifice the little item of security for a complete stranger? Her gaze fell upon the seeping wound. The blood that spilled down the woman’s arm made the answer obvious to her. It made more sense to use it rather than tear apart one of their clothes. Besides, the logical side of her made a good point. A life was worth more than hiding something so small. Another irritably growl slipped passed her lips. Her icy blue eyes glared at the woman’s face. “You’re lucky I owe you one.”

She raised her wrist to her mouth and tugged on the tight knot of material with her canines. This woman was damn lucky that she was a fellow Carna member. Switchblade loosened the knot enough that her fingers could finish untying the bandana. Her eyes never left the bleeding stranger before her for any more than a few seconds. “What’s your name? she roughly asked, though a bit reluctantly. It had seemed as if the woman was on the verge of consciousness, if her hazy focus was anything to go by. The last thing Switchblade needed was this woman passing out on her. If that meant small talk, then so be it.

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OOC: Yay! :D I’m happy it worked out like that! I hope I gave ya’ enough to RP to with this post. It would have been longer, but I figured that it was safer to end where I had x3 It’s already long Dx

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[Deleted]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 433px; height: 593px; background-image:url(http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll192/_Kamora_/deerlingtable1_zps37c959dc.png)] This was it. If she had been wrong about the humanoid expression in the canine's eyes, then this would be her final transformation. The young woman swallowed hard, trying to keep focus on the creature. Her fate had been sealed the moment that the wolf had picked up on her scent, and she did not want to accept it. However, it had been her own stupidity to think it was safe to walk in her deer skin when there were unknown creatures prowling the land, so if she had anyone to blame it had to be herself. "I do not accept my fate, Allah. I ask for your help." The words echoed in her mind, and Kiana gritted her teeth as she struggled with conflicting thoughts. But did she really accept to finally fall at the hands of a beast? She deserved a proper death… not one that was given to her by wolf's fangs. She had been taught to be acceptive and maintain a demure attitude when it came to her faith, but now she warred with her herself. She wasn't ready yet. The wolf still had not moved, and the woman suspected it was due to shock. Her hazy eyesight was causing the outline of the animal to blur, and it was harder to make out its eyes. Then she heard it. The unmistakable curse words fell on her ears making hope flourish throughout her body. "Thank you, thank you, thank you…" She repeatedly thought, sending her praise to her God. Luck had finally decided to turn up in her favor, and the woman was beyond grateful. She had caught a break, but she wasn't for sure how long it would last. The stranger came closer, and Kiana's eyes were able to focus for a bit. She nodded hastily in response to the warning with a bit of a frown. How would she make the other regret helping her? She didn't question the stranger though, not wanting to lose her only way to get help. Instead she watched as the wolf's fur started to recede and its body contorted to make way for a human to emerge. With her swimming vision, Kiana wasn't for sure if she was seeing things or not with how light the color of the woman's hair was. She had never seen anything like it before, and it momentarily distracted her from the pain. The woman kneeled next to her while she inspected the wound. Meanwhile, Kiana's head was starting to get fuzzy, perhaps due to the sudden loss of blood, and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from buying into the darkness that tinged the outskirts of her vision. The woman's words cut through Kiana's muggy brain, and she tried to focus. She let out a bark of laughter at the woman's words, and with a thick accent she commented, "I have gone my whole life saying that… if only I weren't a deer."

[/i] Her voice grew more distant towards the end, husking into a whisper as memories gnawed at her. "A wolf warrior would not dare attack a lion."

Much pain and suffering could have been stopped if a powerful beast had lurked under her skin. However, things had not worked out in her favor and now she was here in this awful place with a bloody arm. Using her good arm, Kiana wiped at the tears on her cheek. The simple act made her feel tired, but it couldn't possibly be just because of the wound. She had been restless and sleepless since she arrived in the Menagerie, and it had taken a toll on her.

Kiana had been unable to process the past few weeks, and suddenly she was being forced to acknowledge it. It was if the weight of the world had suddenly been thrust upon her, and she was desperately trying to hold it up. This stranger had no idea of the hardships she had faced in her short life. She had no right to tell her not to cry. She ached for her dead children and prayed for her living one, and the blood was triggering the memories. Kiana heaved in a breath as she gathered herself, finding strength in the resolve that one day she would get the hell out of this place and find her son.

Blinking back the last of her tears, the young noble woman turned her full attention back onto the stranger who was busy looking at a cloth tied around her wrist It was as if she was struggling with something, and Kiana could almost see the war raging in her head. Then the woman finally made her decision and removed the dark cloth. Through her vision, she was able to make out some scarring on the woman's wrist, but she did not ask. In her experience, scars were not things that were attached to happy memories.

Realization dawned on Kiana that the other woman planned on tying the cloth around her arm to stop bleeding, and the thought made her stomach squirm. Pressure on open wounds hurt. The already throbbing bite would burn with renewed vigor once that cloth was around it, but Kiana knew it was the only way to slow the bleeding. The stranger's words cut into her thoughts, and Kiana's brown eyes clashed with icy blue. She did not count the stranger's sharing of the bandana to be equal payment of her bloody arm, and she was not very receiving the of the attitude. It wasn't as if she had asked this woman to attack her. Kiana would have returned the glare full force if it wasn't for her head being fuzzy, so instead she opted for a forced smile.

The woman turned back to finish getting the bandana off her wrist, her cold gaze flicking back between the cloth and Kiana's face. It was probably a good thing that Kiana found the stranger's antics to be frustrating, because they offered a distraction from the pain and from the ever looming darkness that offered an escape. After a few more moments, the stranger asked her name. "Kiana. I am, was, a noble of Iran." Her English was bit sloppy in pronunciation, while her Iranian accent came on thick. "You?" Usually the woman could speak English well, but with the pain it was a bit hard to focus.

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ooc: sorry it took me so long! I have been beyond busy

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