City Lights [Toshiro]

[Elisabeth Ramsey]

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[atrb=background,http://usera.imagecave.com/Ravenz/sixingold/lissy2.jpg] The sun was just hanging in the sky, displaying its last brilliant few shades before it would retire for the night. Elisabeth had been sitting on the Tracks just before the station, but excitement had her on her feet and moving around. She’d come equipped with two borrowed canteens, filled to the brim with water straight from the Oasis, two apples, and her newfound ability, which even her mentor didn’t know about. This would be her first time leaving Fallen territory since that horrendous rendezvous with Noah in the Chapel, and her first time leaving at night, period. Not only that, but it was also her first real scouting trip. For the past few weeks she’d been training with Toshiro, and now she’d put her skills to the test. The girl laughed out loud. She was nothing less than exhilarated. Spying, sneaking, and basically just breaking the rules… She exhaled in wonder. It was all so edgy. She liked it. When she first entered the Menagerie, she’d thought of it as a living hell. Now she wasn’t sure she’d go back to her secluded little cabin if she had the choice. Here she could do whatever she wanted, be whoever she wanted, even wear whatever she wanted (though Elisabeth was frightened of the clothing choices of some in here; she was still wearing her old conservative outfit)! Never before had she felt so liberated, which was ironic, if one thought about it; she was trapped in here, facing perils that she’d never even dreamed of before arriving. She hadn’t realized how smothered she was before, and was now pitying her siblings rather than longing to be with them. More than once she’d wondered what her parents had told their other children when they realized she was missing, and more than once she’d wished they would look for her and end up here. Not in a malicious way, of course; she honestly thought that the Menagerie was a good place, despite the frights she’d had. “Toshiro?”

[/b] She asked in a voice little above a whisper, squinting into the setting sun for him. Her emotional high was beginning to wane with her patience. He’d told her to meet him here, hadn’t he? Worried, she sat back down in the middle of the Tracks and gathered the canteens and apples around her. They needed to be leaving soon, or it would be too dark for them to find their way…
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words; 407
ooc; For Toshiro!
And lol, sorry for feelingsrant, was even shorter and she had nothing else to do xDD
Also, I am aware that I am posting this in the Fulsi and that it’s currently taking place in the Fallen. They are going to the Fulsi 8D
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[toshiro]

The young man came as softly as the dusk. He had been a scout far longer than Lissy, and so it was no surprise that she hadn't heard his approach. That was, after all, as he was so fond of telling her, the idea. He'd gotten used to fitting his feet inside of the wider tracks left by either ring mates or all manner of curious beasts that had gone before. If one was quick about it, they could turn the imprints--fading gradually with the shifts of the breeze, and feathering at the edges as they blended themselves back into the nondescript sand that was their origin-to their advantage. All it took was stepping inside the shallow hollows of the footprints that littered the sand. It kept his his own footsteps light, and prevented him from giving himself away by stirring the sand.

It was a technique took practice to master. A certain sort of knowledge of the Fallen territory and the way the land shifted underfoot. A sort of connection to the blood that coursed through the beige and cream and duns of the desert's veins. And when you had known nothing but this strange madness since your first year, your steps made you graceful--attuned. It was something , he was sure, that Elisabeth would learn quickly.

Thinking of his pupil brought a faint smile to his lips. Her enthusiasm and eagerness to learn was refreshing--and in some ways, as endearing as it was often exasperating. Her bountiful energy had done its part in reviving Shiro, as well. Drawing him back from the brink of the grim state he'd resided in for a handful of listless months. Cheerless, and seemingly without end. Those days were largely behind him now--his days occupied with the rigorous training sessions he'd put in place for the young Fallen. He had little time to let his thoughts stray towards darker, brooding imaginings--if he wasn't careful, his lack of attentiveness often meant that Lissy would be abruptly stricken with wanderlust.

It wasn't so much that the girl's head was in the clouds, he mused, pace quickening as the shadows lengthened across the dunes, signaling the late hour, so much as it was that she was naturally curious. As such, things didn't usually hold her interest for very long, before something else caught her attention. It wasn't long, however, before the distant haze of heat that danced over the tracks came into view. And, it was only moments after that that Toshiro arrived at the great, snaking tracks, just in time to catch Elizabeth's uncertain murmur.


Toshiro's lips twitched in quiet amusement. The half-whispered name hung in the air between them--half question and half uncertain. He took it as his cue to step forward, tucking his hands lazily into his pockets.

"Better eat that on the way, if you think you're gonna get hungry," he said, nodding to the apples gathered around her. In reality, the scout was impressed that she'd thought to bring along the supplies. He tipped his head back, squinting at the position of the sun. The result was somewhat impressive--the lavender of his hair flaring into a darker shade of purple momentarily as the last of the sun's rays filtered through it.


"You ready to go?" he asked, sliding a hand out of his pocket and offering it to her.






Ooc: Fail post is fail, but at least I got it done? D: I swear the next one will be better. <3

[Elisabeth Ramsey]

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[bg=7fbfc6] The movement was caught in her peripheral vision, and she turned with a relieved sigh to see Toshiro. She nodded seriously as he spoke, but that melted away to a smile as she caught a flicker of what went through his mind. Impressed! He was impressed, with her! Elisabeth tucked a ringlet of dark hair behind her ear, hoping to look dignified, and picked all the things strewn around her up before accepting his outstretched hand.. “Here, I brought these for you,” She juggled the items around a bit before securely separating a canteen from the rest. She handed that to him, and a moment later an apple. “You ready to go?” Was she ever! “Yes, yes, let’s go!” Without waiting for her mentor she started walking along the tracks, her arms swinging at her sides. She was more than happy to lead, but after a few steps she realized she didn’t know the way. Elisabeth slowed down and waited for Toshiro to catch up. Since neither of them was speaking much, the girl decided to use the time to exercise her ability. Not that she had any clue how to work it. She furrowed her brow and concentrated on his mind, but the uneven flow of random thoughts stayed the same. Still, she was eager to share it with him. Elisabeth kept sneaking glances at him out of the corner of her eye, her smile continuously broadening. She knew of his gift of radiaton. It was scary, but she trusted that he had control over it. And of course she trusted him not to use it on her; he was her mentor! And her friend! But she’d felt sort of left out, hearing about his and others’ powers. She didn’t really know what to make of these strange powers; Toshiro said something about the “Keepers” bestowing them upon the shifters, but the girl was skeptical of this. She had decided that her ability to read minds was a gift from God; it was much too magical for a vanilla human to be able to create outside of the imagination. So she would use it, because if He gave it to her then obviously He had an intended purpose for her. That didn’t mean she still couldn’t have fun with it, though. “Toshiro,” She said, very slowly. She wasn’t able to tame her grin, though. “I know what you’re thinking.” Her bright eyes watched his face, eager for a sign of approval or more impressed thoughts. Elisabeth was finding that she was very eager to please. --- words; 427 ooc; SHE STILL HAS BROWN HAIR IN THIS THREAD, IGNORE SIGPIC XD Credits: Girl – faestock.deviantart.com River – grannysatticstock.deviantart.com Meadow –resurrection-stock.devianart.com

[toshiro]

Toshiro paused, watching her with a bemused sort of interest as she attempted to wrestle the tangle of her supplies undone. A second later, however, Elisabeth was rewarded with the fox shifter's characteristic and lopsided grin, as lazy as it was sincere in its warmth. Without a word, he held out his hand, catching the canteen around its strap and hoisting it over his chest, so that it came to rest with its broad strip of canvas resting comfortably over both chest and shoulder. The heavy slosh of water echoed within the hollowed chambers of the canteen, a sound that, while a hindrance at the moment, would be welcome later. It was heartening to see that the young pupil had already taken the terrain they'd be traversing into account; Fallen or not, it was generally unwise to trek across the still-cooling sands without a source of water.

It was partly why Toshiro so rarely shifted within the Fallen borders. The heat was an oppressive and punishing weight on the spine of his slight vulpine form--a creature far better suited to temperate weather than the white-gold swelter of arid climes. Not that he had high tolerance for it outside of his shift; quite the opposite, in fact. His life was caught between the modest and subtle lines of sand that gathered in the creases of his clothing--shed on the floor the night before, only to be sprinkled with the faint and hissing shimmer leavings of wind-driven sand by morning. And often, looking as if someone had shaken a very irritated pixie rather violently over the top of them. The fact that its grit crept into any and all food, thereby ruining any hope he may have had of eating it also did little to endear the Fallen's 'home' to him.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he caught Lissy's gaze. "Thanks!" he said brightly, giving the canteen a fond pat. But he scarcely had time to say anything else before the girl was skipping ahead of him. Nearly quite literally, such was the spring in her step. He watched her for a moment, as she clambered onto the slick and worn metal of the tracks and proceed to walk the rails, giving his head a short shake.

"Man, if we could bottle your energy and sell it," he muttered under his breath, choosing to ignore for the moment that his remark was a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. He hurried to catch up to her, slowing only once he'd drawn abreast of her. They were, in fact, moving a little too slowly for his tastes, but he supposed that, for Elisabeth's first outing, there wasn't any particular rush. Besides--the darker it was, the less likely the chance of the two of them being seen--or, in a worst case scenario, captured.

Her voice broke through his thoughts once again, and he glanced at her sidelong. There was an unmistakable lilt of mischief in those words--a subtle tone of someone who was inordinately pleased with themselves. He grinned at her with a short little shrug.

Sure. I'll bite, kid.

"Oho, do you, now?" he drawled, his eyes glinting with a hint of playfulness themselves. "Not so sure you should be in there, little girl," he continued, pitching his voice into a low, gravely growl. He was trying--and failing quite miserably--to sound intimidating. "It's dark and scary in there, after all," he finished, wiggling his fingers for emphasis. A low chuckle escaped him, as he struggled to maintain a straight face.

"But. Go on, then. What am I thinking?" Giving her a nod of encouragement, his eyes narrowed on the murk in front of them. They had at least an hour before they arrived at the Fulsi borders; he could only hope that the Fulsi had grown lax in their security since their recent hostile takeover.





[They'll get there next post. ;3 Then the games can really begin.]

[Elisabeth Ramsey]

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[bg=7fbfc6] Elisabeth slipped the long strap of the canteen over her shoulder and rolled the apple between her hands as her walk morphed into something that resembled a skip. Her ponytail bounced merrily behind her, leaving just a few strands of hair framing her face, definitely not enough to hide the ever-growing smile. Even the trace of impatience in Shiro’s thoughts did not wilt her mood, though she did respond by quickening her walk. She had been working on building her endurance up for this trip for the past two weeks, alternating on walking and flying each day. Her leg muscles were gaining definition and the challenge of the long, empty desert stretched out ahead was slight. “Yes!” The girl laughed the word out and fell back in giggles, avoiding his waggling fingers and nearly tripping over a broken part of the tracks. “I am not a little girl!” She said with the indignance of a child protesting against a well-worn taunt, but gave a good-natured grin. “I’m as tall as you.” Elisabeth’s face then went smooth and her mouth closed, determined to get a handle on her abilities (even if just for a few seconds) and make Toshiro proud of her. Maybe, just maybe, if she was able to correctly relay his thoughts back to him, he’d be proud enough to show her off. Or even promote her from her lowly Tenderfoot status. Her mind became active with daydreams and any thoughts she was reading from Shiro slipped away. The dragonfly shifter slowed her pace and clenched her teeth; she’d figured out prior to the scouting trip that her mind had to be nearly blank to receive complete thoughts. When she was only seven years old her father had taught her how to meditate. He taught all his children; he said it was a way to clear the mind and become closer to God. Elisabeth wasn’t sure if using meditation for anything but praying and communicating with Him was immoral, but, as her father was nowhere near she decided that she could try it just this once for a different reason. Her steps stopped altogether and her eyelids closed over bright blue eyes. She concentrated on her breathing. In, cold, out, warm, in, cold, out, warm, over and over again. She was relaxed. She was standing up straight, shoulders back, but her body and mind were at ease. With that relaxation came an unguarded and open mind, and the thoughts came not long after that. Elisabeth was aware she looked idiotic, but when she opened her eyes she didn’t care. Her smile was wide and lit up her entire face. She had to run a few steps to catch up with her mentor, but once she did she stopped in front of him so she could see his expression when she told him what he had been thinking. “We have an hour until we get to the Fulsi border,”

[/b] Elisabeth repeated what she’d heard him think just moments before. Though she did her best to speak slowly and enunciate, her excitement had her speeding through the words. “You hope that their security’s not up to par since their takeover.”

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words; 529
ooc; So… yeah… -cough- That took long enough. XD
Credits: Girl – faestock.deviantart.com
River – grannysatticstock.deviantart.com
Meadow –resurrection-stock.devianart.com
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[kitsune]

I hate to say it, but I'm dropping this thread. I just don't have the time or motivation to finish it. Sorry. </3 Please archive.