the hills are alive! [rumor]

[Deleted]

the pounding of the drums of war

the joy of vengeance, and now our flag will fly

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=style,background-image: url('http://i53.tinypic.com/wb98wn.jpg');,true] AGAINST A BLOODRED SKY the meeting, while generally positive, had set kira on edge. extremely on edge -- it wasn't the news, unusually enough. she didn't have any big issues with welcoming the anthros due to the strategic advantage it gave; as long as they pitched in, she was fine with hosting the freak show. no, it was something else, something more. spirits ran high in the massive crowd, and kira had been surrounded on all sides by strangers and friends alike -- creatures sweating, jostling for a better angle, shoveling deer meat into their mouths. crowds bothered her on a good day, despite the medic being pretty extroverted. yet this was a new kind of pressure. it was a sensation entirely alien to the fulsi. it was pure emotion, not her own but the culmination of her peers'. the more she reviewed what had led up to her stress, the more kira noticed new details. she had been bouyed by their good spirits, yes, but as the meeting wore on, the arguments began. the rows and quibbling that seemed to engulf her. it was more than kira could bear. yes, she could be emotional, but this made little sense. it was then that it hit her: sense. sensing, sense; the emotions had swung and rocked terribly. they couldn't have been her own. had she -- did she -- ? the medic paced, reeling, engulfed in her own thoughts. it was quite a relief to know that her thoughts and actions were purely her own, for she had an inkling that her emotional breakdown wasn't self-inflicted. it was engineered by the keepers. the puzzles fit together -- lapse of memory, mood swings, influencing mood swings in others. the revalation of her new abilities made kira slightly giddy. she was so focused on her own thoughts -- thoughts such as, it's proof, i'm the reincarnation of lilith! -- that she hadn't realized where she was heading. and, indeed, kira was in enemy territory. it was obvious from the terrain that this was where the bellator reigned. the flat meadowlands gave little shelter, she realized, a shoe-in for capture as soon as she was spotted. then it hit her: why the heck was she walking on foot? the medic morphed into a cassowary, a large bird with a black body and a mottled blue head. a casque grew from the top of her noggin, and deadly talons grew from kira's feet. she was much more formidable this way, thank goodness, but even she couldn't outrun the fastest horse. or, the fastest zebra. the fulsi jumped as a rustling noise sounded behind her. 435 WORDS , RUMOR WITH ZURI , NOTES !

table by california dreaming @ caution 2.0

[Zuri]

[bg=000000][atrb=width,500,true][atrb=border,0,true] Zuri meandered through the meadows, humming happily to herself, head down as she tore at the sweet spring grasses that grew closer to the ground. Occasionally she would lift her head up and look around, only then revealing herself. The taller, waving stalks reached her shoulders - with her neck lowered, she was all but invisible. She poked along lazily, settled into the familiar rhythm of grazing. Step, tear. Step, tear. The sun was warm on her stripped back, and the insects buzzed softly. There were no pressing matters to attend to, nothing to concern herself with other than the chore of filling her belly. However, the peaceful monotony was broken when she lifted her head for one of the usual checks, and found herself faced with a rather large, silly looking bird. The zebra snorted softly in surprise, then stretched her nose toward the strange creature, catching the scent that drifted toward her. It didn’t smell of sulfur. Abruptly she shifted, sliding into her human form and throwing her hands up in the air. “You poor creature!” she cried. “What have they done to you?!” The tall woman rushed forward in a jangle of beads and charms, catching the bird’s head gently in her long fingered hands, and turning it this way and that, peering at its features. “Poor, wretched creature!” she lamented again. Darting a hand into the folds of her robes, she pulled out a small pouch of ocher paste. Dipping two fingers into it, she quickly marked each side of the deformed bird’s beak, and rattled off a blessing in her native Kiswahili. Stowing the pouch away with a satisfied nod, she gestured widely in accompaniment to her statements. “Who did this? Who twisted and broke your most elegant frame into this monstrosity?! I shall send spirits to haunt them with waking dreams, and purify their uncleanliness. I shall curse their very graves!” A ferocious scowl emphasized the sentiment. This was the work of black magic, she was sure of it. ooc; I am incapable of writing her in any form of srsness. -dies-

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[Deleted]

the pounding of the drums of war

the joy of vengeance, and now our flag will fly

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=style,background-image: url('http://i53.tinypic.com/wb98wn.jpg');,true] AGAINST A BLOODRED SKY the cassowary spun to find a zebra, snacking leisurely in the meadows of her territory -- suddenly, the creature started and ogled at her. the zebra headed immediately toward kira, eventually morphing into a taller woman, adorned with bangles and such. yet what stunned kira was, in fact, the wave of sympathy that radiated from the creature. really, she thought, this is a lot coming from someone who looks like they walked straight out of an abstract painting. the medic reared and said so herself -- though it came out in an unintelligible squawking. the easiest thing, she decided, would be to morph. she shook her beak as zuri began to apply ointment to her, and morphed rapidly -- her blue head turning to skin, feathers to hair. "me? wha--?" kira stared at the stranger in amazment. "nobody did this to me! are you calling me ugly, is that it?" her brown eyes narrowed, and she stared at zuri, as if to judge whether she was being facitious or serious. it was difficult to stay angry, though -- she couldn't help another wave of giddiness as it passed through her, and she lost some of her sense in the strength of the mad emotion. "oh, who am i kidding? it's imposisble to be furious!" she giggled, and the delirious look that passed into her gaze would no doubt unnerve her batty companion. "i'm lilith, do you hear me? i am the reincarnation of lilith! it all makes sense!" even as she said the words, she could have sworn the laughter of the gods echoed in her ears. 267 WORDS , RUMOR , EEP ! SORRY ABOUT THE LATENESS/FAILPOST.

table by california dreaming @ caution 2.0