BETWEEN THE RAINDROPS [c]

[Wanderer]

TAKE ME NOW
THE WORLD IS SUCH A CRAZY PLACE

Excitement bubbled in through Wanderer’s veins, causing her heart to pound against her chest and her fingers to grow numb. She realized, that it wasn’t just the adventure that was causing these feelings, but over the fact that Kajetan’s hand was in hers. She had blinded folded him with a spare shirt she found lying around the area after she promptly requested he shift into his human form. It was the only way to keep the surprise a surprise. Hastily, Wanderer and Kajetan returned to the Analoya territory, where Wanda snatched a ragged, dirty and torn backpack that had been shoved into an emptied out log. She double checked the contents, which contained two containers-bottles, she remembered- and enough food for them to last in case hunting wasn’t an option.

Wanda squeezed Kajetan’s hand, taking a gander at him as he shadowed her. With the warmer season arriving, she noticed that Kajetan had a tendency to walk around shirtless, and this happened to be one of those moments. She admired his human from, from the dark tone of his skin to how lean and tall he was. In both human and his feline form, Jet towered over the lithe Analoya Teller; he could easily take her down. She wasn’t sure if she found that thrilling or intimidating.

They had left the Lawaii territory in the dead of the night, and Wanderer watched the sky as they trudged towards their destination, praying that they had time to catch the sun rising. The only sign that gave way to their destination was that the Analoya trees steadily thinned the closer they got. During that time, their trip had been silent besides the steady sound of their breathing. It was a long walk, almost the rest of the night. But when the trees disappeared and the cool ground beneath their feet changed to dry shrubs and soft, malleable sand and the sky began to lighten did Wanderer’s voice filled the emptiness. “There are many things I cannot do, Kajetan Vash’ka. I cannot give you your family, I cannot free you from here, and I cannot make your life happier. But before my time comes, I want to be able to give you a little hope and a little bit of home. And I hope what bit of home I can give is enough.”

Wanderer grabbed both of Kajetan’s hands and pulled him a little farther into the desert, turning him so that he could see the vastness in its entirety. She slipped the fabric from his head and slipped to the right, her hands behind her back and head down as she looked at her dirty, bare feet in shyness. Instead of looking at Kajetan, she looked towards the desert, a small smile creeping at the corners of her mouth. Wanderer had found her home within the Menagerie, deep within the Lawaii mountain ranges where the air thinned and she could be one with the clouds and sleep in the snow. She knew that it would never be the same, just as this desert will never be his Gobi desert. It was beautiful and harsh. The land would as soon kill you as give you a rare gift. Water was hard to come by and so was food. But... they were the clearest skies, the most graceful dunes. You could see for miles without running out of land, and in the sun everything looked gold. It was almost impossible to get by, sometimes, but it was worth it. Just when you thought there was nothing to keep going on, the desert would give you something more. Kajetan’s words rang in her ears and she shuffled on her feet nervously.

She hoped this was enough.

[/blockquote]

WHEN THE WALLS COME DOWN
I'M HERE TO STAY

[Deleted]

THERE IS AN ECSTASY THAT MARKS THE SUMMIT OF LIFE
AND BEYOND WHICH LIFE CANNOT RISE

Being sightless for so long was disorientating, and the only thing that kept Kajetan grounded was Eden's hand, which clasped his own firmly as she led him. That is not to say that he did not have his fair share of trips and stumbles, but in the long run he thought he was doing well. He didn't know how long they walked, or to where. It seemed like a small eternity.

Jet was trying to guess where she was taking him, but he wasn't having much luck. He didn't know much about the Menagerie lands besides the retromorph territories, and even that was limited knowledge. The ground did not shift abruptly, either--it was subtle transitions, that he hardly notice. He didn't asks for hints, though. Most people hated surprises, but Kajetan loved them--they touched him, in a way, because it meant going out of one's way to please another.

But he did feel the ground soften, and he couldn't help the smile that broke across his face. I can't believe her, he thought abruptly. He remembered their initial meeting, her demands and his resentment. It had changed quite abruptly, although he had to admit that after the Analoya meeting Eden had earned his respect.

Eden. The thought of her, as that name, continued to surprise him. It was an entirely different girl. Eden. Wanderer was his leader, but this was Eden, he decided abruptly--she was the one that was leading him through the night to... where?

They stopped, then. Jet had felt the change in the ground, but he was uncertain where they were. The thought of ripping off the blindfold crossed his mind, but he was humoring her... besides, the wait may have been excruciating, but he was flooded with a feeling of childish excitement. “There are many things I cannot do, Kajetan Vash’ka. I cannot give you your family, I cannot free you from here, and I cannot make your life happier. But before my time comes, I want to be able to give you a little hope and a little bit of home. And I hope what bit of home I can give is enough.”

Before he could reply, she pulled him forward by both his hands. He was blindly trusting her (quite literally) and this made him nervous, not that he would admit it. His smile had faded, and her hands moved to tug off the blindfold, brushing the back of his neck in the process. He kept his eyes closed for a moment, even after it had been removed.

Then he opened them.

The desert stretched out before him, It stole his breath away, bringing to mind countless images of home, but then the vanished. He was laughing, very quietly--and all at once he was also filled with the urge to cry, an emotion that was so human it was nearly unbearable. He could smell it, arid and dry. He could feel it, the sand under his bear feet. He knelt in a rush, to dig his hands into the earth and let the sand waterfall between his fingers, just staring. The early morning light was increasing by every second, until the sun broke the lip of some distant horizon and spilled out over the sand.

He was quiet, marveling. The awe showed on his face, but so did a bone-deep kind of sadness. I miss it, he thought. I miss it so much it hurts. And then he fiercely reminded himself that this was a gift, and that he should appreciate it, not pine for lost days. He turned to her, then, smiling wide enough to show his teeth. "Thank... Thank you." But his expression was really what was thanking her, open for one of the first times since he had met her. It was raw with a mixture of grief and joy and... and bemusement. She bemused him, quite certainly.

This was the last thing he had expected of her. And all at once, Kajetan realized that she did deserve his loyalty. A leader was not just someone who was strong in body and mind, but someone who could offer compassion. And this compassion nearly stirred him into tears.

Jet turned away, and after another long moment of soaking in the desert that looked so much like his home... He rose, and in the process he shifted, so that the first step he took was that in his natural form. The sand shifted under his paws, and he turned to glance at her over his shoulder, as if to say, are you coming?

His thought was, home.

AND SUCH IS THE PARADOX OF LIVING

[Wanderer]

TAKE ME NOW
THE WORLD IS SUCH A CRAZY PLACE

When Jet turned around, Wanda’s head snapped in attention. He was smiling, his face radiant with a fierce joy and numerous emotions that she could not begin to spot. When he thanked her, Wanda felt heat rush to her cheeks and she smiled bashfully, clearing her throat and digging her bare toes into the sand. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and when she glanced up, Jet was in his natural form, staring over his shoulder at her. She too shifted into her natural from, frowning slightly at the strange feeling of the gritty sand against her pads. But she jettisoned the feeling and padded up to Jet and stood by his side, looking out across the horizon, blinking wildly as the sun beamed in her eyes. She could already feel the heat begin to press down on her in waves, but she would bear it with her chin held high.

Wanda’s ears fell against her round skull and she glanced at Jet from the corner of her eye before standing on her high legs, forelegs spread in the air as she came down upon him. She landed on his shoulders and began to gnaw on his ears before skittering a few feet away, back arched and rear in the air with her long tail swaying back and forth playfully. Before he could counter-attack, Wanderer took off at a sprint, aware that she would be unable to keep up this feat. She wasn’t a creature built for endurance, but short bursts of speed and strength. And even in strength she was beaten by Jet. Wanderer skidded to a halt, sliding in the sand as she spun around to face the sand-colored leopard charging towards her.

He was a sight to admire, the morning sun showering him in gold as sand danced around him. She braced herself , back arched high and whiskers twitching in anticipation. There was a part of her that knew she was going to regret this decision later.

ooc: god its so horrible im so sorry

[/blockquote]

WHEN THE WALLS COME DOWN
I'M HERE TO STAY

[Deleted]

THERE IS AN ECSTASY THAT MARKS THE SUMMIT OF LIFE
AND BEYOND WHICH LIFE CANNOT RISE

He couldn't help but think that the two of them, side by side, had to be quite the sight to see. They basked in the morning sun, and Kajetan threw his head back proudly, his nose in the air as he slit his eyes and twitched his ears back, merely enjoying the feel of the sun and the smell of the desert. Home. He reminded himself, after a moment, that this was not his home, nor would it ever be. He belonged to Analoya now, in their redwood forest, and he loved it there--

Before he could think more on it, Eden pushed into his side. His one eye (on the side of his head where she nipped at his ear) slit open, and he let out a playful growl. But then she was off and running. Jet fell immediately into pursuit, feeling happier than he had in a long time, and equally surprised--he didn't think this joy would come in the form of the stubborn snow leopard, his opposite and equal in so many ways.

She stopped abruptly, and Kajetan plowed into her. He did so gently, his claws carefully sheathed. His aim was to tumble the both of them to the ground, in a roll of fur and splayed limbs. The result was an awkward one--she had reversed the roll and pinned him, quite effectively, despite his larger size. Kajetan thought he could have easily broken the hold, but he resisted the urge, and instead released a chuff typical of a tiger, rather than a leopard. He affectionately licked the fur of her neck before untangling himself from her. He could feel the heat, now, and he was certain that she must be miserable with her longer, thicker fur. And so Kajetan shifted into a man again, sitting cross-legged, his eyes glinting and his smile wide and mischievous. "You wanna wrestle me in this form, too?" He said it playfully.

AND SUCH IS THE PARADOX OF LIVING

[Wanderer]

TAKE ME NOW
THE WORLD IS SUCH A CRAZY PLACE

When he ran into her, Wanderer expected the impact to be more forceful. Regardless the two went sprawling into the sand and for a heartbeat Jet was on top of her, but some flexible twists and squirms Wanderer found herself rolled on top of him. For a moment pride began to swell in her chest before she realized that this was something he was allowing, not something she earned. Her ears lay flat and her teal colored eyes narrowed in suspicion as her puffy tail flicked. Her mouth opened, but before she could say anything Kajetan’s tongue ran along the fur of her neck and she stood there perplexed. Her eyes and stature softened as she looked down at Jet, but he squirmed out from underneath her, shifting into his human form where he sat before her cross legged.

She copied him, grateful to be free of the heavy weight of her fur. Instead of sitting, she crouched on the balls of her feet, her arms crossed on her leg as she eyed Jet. Wanderer had never been given any sort of affection, and she was unsure how to react towards this small form of it. “You wanna wrestle me in this form, too?” Wanderer came back from her thoughts and smiled, her eyes darkening with mischief. They were merely a foot apart, so Wanderer closed the gap between then. Wanderer instinctively leapt onto him, knocking him back into the sand, cackling loudly like a madwoman as she straddled his chest. Her cornflower hair fell in waves into the sand and she cocked her head to the side, admiring the face of Jet’s human form. She had no clue as to what she was doing, but she had seen it done before many times, performed by humans and she still didn’t quite understand what it meant. But she wanted to try it.

Wanderer leaned down and gently pressed her lips against his, closing her eyes as she had seen humans do. It was an odd feeling, but it wasn’t bad. She pulled away suddenly, bashful and uncertain of her actions. She climbed off of his chest and sat in the sand, clearing her throat numerous times. She still had no true understanding of what that action meant but she was suddenly afraid that it was something bad. She twiddled with her fingers, quickly glancing up at Jet through her hair as it fell to cover some of her face. Some leader you are, she thought fiercely.

[/blockquote]

WHEN THE WALLS COME DOWN
I'M HERE TO STAY

[Deleted]

THERE IS AN ECSTASY THAT MARKS THE SUMMIT OF LIFE
AND BEYOND WHICH LIFE CANNOT RISE

When he looked at her with his human eyes, it occurred to him that she didn't know much about affection. She had seen it when she had looked at him, confused, after he had licked her. Kajetan would have to fix that--he was so physical most of the time that he didn't know how to convey his feelings otherwise. He might have continued musing on this course of thoughts, except for the fact she took his little "challenge" seriously, and tackled him into the sand.

Kajetan couldn't help the laughter that burst from his chest as she kept him pinned. But then something about her demeanor changed. He opened his eyes to see that she was very close to him. He saw her eyes in detail, the pretty structure of her face, the gold of her hair--she closed that distance, and then her hair tickled his face and her lips brushed his. It was hesitant, inexperienced, but the rawness of it made Kajetan braced his hands on her hips.

She broke away quickly. He stared at her with frank confusion. She was sending mixed messages that he didn't know how to read, or respond to. Kajetan sat up and cleared his throat, as well, glancing away to let her regain some composure. And then he turned to look at her again, with his pale yellow eyes, cocking his head to the side in bewilderment.

"Eden?" he asked. "You do not know very much about affection, do you?" This saddened him. He could not bear to think of a life without it--it would be cold, lonely. He reached out to brush the hair from her face, and he leaned close to brush her lips with his own, this time with some more enthusiasm. It was a gesture that he was familiar with--one that could have been platonic in his group of nomads, or romantic. He wasn't sure how he wanted it to be, just then. He broke away. "It is... a sign of affection? It means..." Kajetan struggled with words, and found that he couldn't explain what it meant.

AND SUCH IS THE PARADOX OF LIVING

[Wanderer]

TAKE ME NOW
THE WORLD IS SUCH A CRAZY PLACE

When he said her name, her heart jumped in her chest. It felt good to hear her name again, to hear it from him. “You don’t know anything about affection, do you?” She felt his fingers brush against her cheek as she swept her hair out of her face and pressed his own lips against hers. He lingered longer than she had, but broke apart. “In which form?” She laughed quietly, ashamed that he had found one of her many flaws, obviously giving away that she wasn’t familiar with affection in her human or natural form. “I’ve seen humans do it, but I never understood what it meant, or why they do it. I just wanted to try it and...see what it felt like.”

Jet started out as if he was going to explain what it meant, but he never finished. “I have seen Athena and Darrik together, at one time, and how they were. I never understood it. I never…found anyone to understand it with. I have a…responsibility, to our people. And I just… I don’t know.” She sighed loudly, rubbing her hands against her face in frustration. She was feeling a range of emotions that she had no idea how to express. “With mother, if was different. It was…maternal, by birth. I’ve never felt…like this. Like...” her palms opened and she laid them out in front of her, looking into Jet’s yes, hoping to find an answer within them.

“There are still many things I have to learn, about humans, it seems.” Wanda licked her lips, realizing that she was suddenly thirsty. She dusted herself off when she gathered herself onto her feet and headed towards where she left the raggedy bag sitting in the sand. She brought it back and sat in front of Jet, rolling one of the bottled waters towards him. “Your family,” she began after taking a small mouthful of water and twisting the plastic cap back on. “May I know more of them? Or is it too soon?”

[/blockquote]

WHEN THE WALLS COME DOWN
I'M HERE TO STAY

[Deleted]

THERE IS AN ECSTASY THAT MARKS THE SUMMIT OF LIFE
AND BEYOND WHICH LIFE CANNOT RISE

Kajetan had not thought that his inquiry might offend her, or embarrass her. He realized that it might have been a sensitive subject, however, and softened his words. "Both," he said, with a smile that was not particularly mocking--merely friendly. He could still feel the imprint of her lips, and he was uncertain as to what it meant to him--if it was as platonic as he had made it seem.

"It can mean many things... among my people, it could be something shared between friends, often as jokingly... or it can be shared among lovers, as well." “With mother, if was different. It was…maternal, by birth. I’ve never felt…like this. Like...” He waited for her to finish, but she didn't, and he was not able to hide the unabashed curiosity. This woman was something else--she was... she was unlike anyone he had met, and it made Kajetan uncertain. He still owed her for saving him, but now his debt was something else.

He laughed, then. "We have many things to learn about humans. And I don't think all of them are good." Jet watched as she stood, and he found himself studying her with an intrigued appreciation--she was beautiful, in both her forms, no matter the hand that the Keepers had played in her animal looks. They had played a hand in his, as well. Kajetan reached for the water once she finished, using it as an excuse to think and also to quench his thirst. After a drink, he set it between them, and took one of her hands in his to feel at the smooth creases and the callouses there.

"They said that this gift of hands was given to us by the World, for us to survive. I grew up with the belief that this was a gift, a beautiful gift. My people valued beauty above almost everything, aside from life." He raised his eyes to hers. "What is it you want to know, Eden the Wanderer?" His lips quirked in a playful smile. Oh, it was certainly something personal, something he had cherished--his past. He remembered it with a mixture of adoration and regret, but that did not change the fact it was his.

Had the circumstances been different, he would not have said a world. His people had been a private people, closed to outsiders. But he no longer considered Eden an outsider. She was his leader, and she had earned her respect with a handful of words. “No, not foolish. Daring, perhaps. Even dangerous. But not foolish.”

And wasn't that the bear bone of it? Of this entire thing?

AND SUCH IS THE PARADOX OF LIVING

[Wanderer]

TAKE ME NOW
THE WORLD IS SUCH A CRAZY PLACE

Lovers. The word struck a chord in her mind and she quickly glimpsed at Jet, to see if maybe he had reacted to the word he spoke. But from what she could see, there was no reaction. But when he laughed, a small grin peeked out from beneath her hair. It wasn't until she returned with the water and a snack did they return to being physical. He grabbed her hand in his, minuscule compared to his, and she found herself growing self-conscious about them and she had no understanding as to why she was. They were calloused and dirty. In fact, all of her was dirty. It had been many moons since she had bathed near the abandoned man made structure. "They said that this gift of hands was given to us by the World, for us to survive. I grew up with the belief that this was a gift, a beautiful gift. My people valued beauty above almost everything, aside from life." She hoped he would not notice the small bumps that had risen on her skin, regardless of the growing relentless heat.

“I…” what did she want to know? Everything, the voice in her mind whispered. But she knew that was asking for too much, so she would stick with a few simple questions. In turn she looked at his own hands, admiring the dark tones of his skin and his fine boned fingers. It was striking, the contrast of their skins side by side. He was the sun, a burning and fierce beauty while she was the moon, elegant and lithe. “When you weren't moving, since I assume you must have stopped for rest some time, what did you do?”

That seemed a simple enough question. In her mind, Eden simply imagined the pride of spotted creatures falling asleep until they were strong enough to continue moving the next day. She looked up briefly to gaze upon his face as she waited for his answer, but something she had always wanted to ask slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself. “And how did you get that thing in your nose?” It was an interesting thing, what seemed to be metal going through his nose. She still didn’t know what it was.

And there was one more question itching in the back of her mind, and she slowly got to her knees, closing the gap between them to cup his right cheek in her hand, her thumb caressing the scar that covered it, the sun devouring her in a halo of light. “And who has done this to you?”

[/blockquote]

WHEN THE WALLS COME DOWN
I'M HERE TO STAY

[Deleted]

THERE IS AN ECSTASY THAT MARKS THE SUMMIT OF LIFE
AND BEYOND WHICH LIFE CANNOT RISE

The question she asked had not been one that he expected, and when she delivered it, it was while she stared at their hands. Kajetan's head cocked, a thoughtful expression. They had done many things. They had fought and loved; they had learned and lived. And that was it. They had just lived, and the simplicity of that life was one that he continued to long for. But he felt as though that was not the answer that she wanted. "We would find shade if we could, and we would doze or play. We would paint each other's faces and look at the stars. We would sing and dance, sometimes, around fires in the night. There would be courtships or ceremonies, sometimes, the pairing of two of us, or someone coming to age."

Her next question made him laugh. Kajetan replied with a smile still on his face, his eyes squinted. "They put a hole through the skin, and then the... um... what would you call it? We call them ornaments, but they're kind of... piercings, I would guess."

When she grabbed his face, his smile stayed, at least until she asked her third question. Kajetan regarded her quietly; his change in demeanor was obvious. There was a sort of hurt in his gaze, pure and animal, the way that an injured dog would often look. The scar she spoke of had memories of his father's furious face attached, as well as the savagery of his people. That was the last thing that Kajetan ever saw of them.

A people of such beauty. But sometimes, all he could remember was the violence with which they outcasted him, sentenced him to solitude. The worst fate for a Jian Taun.

"My father. My people." He was silent for a few seconds, struggling with his words. Sometimes him and his people--his former people, his former family--would go days without speaking verbally. They would merely speak through their actions, through their bodies. But her question would not allow such a response. It needed words. "I was banished for breaking their laws."

A law. Just one. Kajetan Vash'ka had merely wanted to love whom he wanted to love, and that had been his undoing.

AND SUCH IS THE PARADOX OF LIVING

[Wanderer]

TAKE ME NOW
THE WORLD IS SUCH A CRAZY PLACE

It was a beautiful thought, something Eden would dream about for days to come. The sky an endless abyss, dotted with brilliant stars and nebula's in the sky as Wanda and Jet stood on either sides of a massive fire, their bodies alight by its enticing glow. They would meet in the middle and they would circle each other, their right hands touching with their left behind their backs and they would dance, barefoot in the sand, the warmth of the sun seeping through the bottoms of their feet even though the sun had been absent for hours. She would be decorated in the clothing of his tribe, something simple yet elegant, nothing like the drab clothing she wore now. She couldn’t imagine too much, but it was enough to send her pulse racing.

His answer though, for his nose, was one Wanda didn’t quite understand. For one, who would want to put a hole in their body? And two, how he made a hole in his nose and put it in there was unanswered, but she would leave it for now. He was laughing and she caressed her face, but her question struck more than home. His face grew sullen underneath her fingers and she almost pulled away, afraid that she had went too far. She was expecting some form of tragic event, like the loss of a sibling, but not what he told her.

He spoke of his family, his people, with such love and loyalty and pride that she found it hard to believe they had done such a thing. And banished him, too. She felt an ache in her chest for no reason and she stroked his cheek with her thumb, her head cocking to the side as she admired him in the broad sunlight. “I will not ask, Jet. It is not my place to know. Forgive me, if my curiosity got the best of me.”

Before she could worsen he damage, she pulled away and stood up and stepped away to dust the sand from herself. “I’m afraid if we linger here much longer, we will have uninvited guests.” She shrugged the pack onto her back and smiled down at him. “Plus, it’s unbearably hot. I’m still unsure how you and your people survived in such desolate conditions.” She reached her hand down, offering her strength to him. “Come, let’s head home.”

[/blockquote]

WHEN THE WALLS COME DOWN
I'M HERE TO STAY