Disturbance of A Werecat's Rest

[Aelodil]

Avinder laid there lazily as he continued watching the water go by. He quickly made a grab and caught a fish. He mewled in victory and began eating the fish. Fish was a favorite of his, along with birds, squirrels, and any other creature that didn't require too much energy to kill.

As he devoured the fish, he stalked over to one of the nearby trees, climbed it and laid at the top of one of the branches, his black and light blue fur causing it to look like a miniature rainbow. He mewled, stretched and began grooming himself in preparation of a nap.

[Quetzal]

It seemed Avinder was not to be alone for long. Isrydia had some time off from training as William's apprentice, and had chosen to take a nice peaceful stroll by the lake. The water was beautiful, the fish shining like ripples of silver moving as one underneath the gentle folds of the water. They flickered between lazily waving fronds of green leaves, large muddy grey catfish picking at the rocks at the bottom of the lake just visible at the shallower edges. It wasn't too cold today, so she took off her shoes and enjoyed the feeling of her bare feet in the cold water. She didn't go in too keep, else the water might dampen the leather armour she now took to wearing more often underneath her regular clothes in case she should be caught unawares.

As she sloshed her way along the shore, she thought she saw something large move in a tree - way too large to be a bird. Her hand twitched towards Nettle's hilt, but she restrained herself and continued walking normally. She didn't know it was a threat, after all. Coming closer, it seemed to be... a cat. A really big cat. Her muscles tensed, preparing to run. He looked a bit like a panther, but there was something different about him. Whatever species of big cat this was, big cats were notoriously fierce predators and she didn't fancy facing a hungry beast with great big claws, fangs, and the speed to outrun her. Studying the creature carefully, Isrydia relaxed. She could see fish bones next to him, and he seemed to be settling down for a nap. That meant he must have eaten already, so wouldn't be hungry. Moving out the water, she tried to be as quiet as possible as she crept past the unusual cat so not to disturb him.

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[Aelodil]

Avinder continued to lick his light blue and black fur when he sensed another mind then heard a twig snap thoughblightly. He opened his eyes, like twin jades as they observed the passing woman.

She seemed to have potential. A Knight's Apprentice by the looks of it. He looked at the tree and instead pounced tobland gently on her head and nap. What can he say? It had ecome a habit

[Quetzal]

Isrydia hadn't been looking at Avinder, instead focusing on the ground to avoid stepping on anything noisy. She winced as she trod on the stick, hoping the cat hadn't heard, carrying on her slow progress. Just as she was starting to think she wouldn't disturb the cat, a whoosh sounded in the tree, branches rustling as Avinder jumped out of them. She turned around and got a faceful of werecat. Stumbling back until the sudden weight, she couldn't help but cry out in shock. The cat was on her head! Was it trying to eat her eyes? Slash at her neck? Claw her face? But no... The strange fluffy mass of blue and black fur seemed just as ready to nap as he had done in the tree. Isrydia wasn't feeling his claws at all. It was as if she had simply found herself a warm fluffy hat. A large, fairly heavy, hat which for all she knew could turn hostile at any moment.

It was strange for an animal to linger when humans were nearby, but pretty much unheard of for them to leap at people without the intention of attacking. This cat was way too large to be a pet cat, so Isrydia could only assume he was wild. Was he... ill? Infected with some strange madness? He didn't seem sick. She wanted him off her head, not trusting him there. Plus he might have fleas, and she didn't fancy any of those trying to pay her a visit. Trying not to cause the cat any discomfort, Isrydia attempted to prise him from her head and set him on the ground. "You certainly are a strange cat. Never seen any creature like you before. Well, cat, you can't just go around pouncing on strangers' heads. It's scary," she wasn't entirely sure why she was speaking to the cat, seeing as he was an animal so wouldn't understand her. It seemed the right thing to do. She was clearly not over the shock of having a big cat land on her head, her voice sounding shaken.

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[Aelodil]

Avinder had had fun as he leapt on to Isrydia's head and had meant no harm. He simply wanted a nap on somebody's head. He made sure his huge claws weren't being retracted as to not slash her head and then suddenly felt her strong hands grip at him.

Mewling in annoyance as she plucked him off of her head as if she was plucking an apple off a tree he stared at her in the eye. His eyes like jades kept staring. That's when he heard her talk to him."Ah, my apologies woman. I meant no harm yet I have a habit of sleeping upon one's head." he said, licking around his mouth.

[Quetzal]

As soon as the cat was on the ground, something pressed against Isrydia's mind. She instantly tried in vain to protect herself against the other mind, looking around to see who could possibly be pressing against her mind. The cat must be a decoy, luring her into a trap. But who would bother trapping a mere apprentice? Seeing no signs of life aside from the cat, Isrydia looked suspiciously at the animal as he spoke to her. She had never managed to reach outside her own mind before, and nothing had ever tried to contact her in this way before, so all she had to go by for her defence was hear-say, making her mind surprisingly easily to overcome. The cat's words were certainly not hostile, and his mind didn't feel like it planned on bringing danger to her.

Kneeling down so that her eyes were closer to level with the cat's, she looked at him curiously. "I've never heard of any regular animal able to contact people's minds before. You're can't be just an ordinary cat, can you?" Isrydia was wary, but mostly just excited. This was a new thing she had found, and the idea of something being totally unknown, ready to explore, excited her.

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[Aelodil]

Avinder again felt even more annoyed as he was put on the ground. At the moment, he felt like nothing but a little child's toy. Being put here, then nope. There. Then here, then there, then here, then there. "Yes, I was the one who spoke to you. And I am not an ordinary cat.". As he said that, he shifted into human form.

He felt the usual stretch, then the sudden fact that he was flying a little taller, then the fur resided from him, except his ruffled and mangled blonde hair. The enchanted belt, sword, and daggers he had came back to him, as did his usual clothes of a simple shirt and a jacket that was tinted with gold. He stood up and tried looking her in the eyes which was quite hard as she was now very taller than him. "I am a werecat." he said plainly, voice not hard nor soft.

[Quetzal]

((Sorry about the length/quality, I'm pressed for time and just wanted to get a reply in))

The cat didn't look best pleased as he spoke to Isrydia again, confirming her suspicions. If he wasn't an ordinary cat, was he some sort of magical being unknown to most people? She had certainly never heard of any magic cats running around jumping on people's heads and using telepathy. Perhaps William would know-

Oh. It seemed the cat was now a human.

What? Isrydia's eyes widened, brain telling her that this was some trick. The cat's body had shifted and changed to another form, but that surely wasn't possible. The cat-man spoke to her again, announcing in a flat tone that he was a werecat. That meant nothing to Isrydia, who had never heard of the secretive race before. "I haven't heard anything about werecats before. Is that anything like a werewolf?" she asked, the only thing she could think of to compare them to being the vicious monsters. He certainly didn't seem anywhere near as terrible as a werewolf, but they might be similar in principle, if not in nature. "Oh, and I'm Isrydia, by the way," she remembered that she hadn't introduced herself.

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[Aelodil]

Avinder watched in satisfaction as this little human's eyes widened and surprise formed in her eyes. His race was meant to startle and awe people. As she compared his race to werewolves he hissed, baring his canine teeth. Though they weren't the same as a cat's teeth, they were still very sharp. Sharp enough to rip her throat out if necessary.

He was about to reply about what werecats were when she introduced herself. "I have many names. Moonstalker, Nightwalker, and if you want to learn my real name then you shall only learn it from somewhere else. But in the meantime, you can call me Avinder. And to answer your question; werecats may be like werewolves, yet we prefer to be civilized most of the time. We do not support neither Varden nor Empire, yet I have supported the Varden many a times so you may consider me a friend." he said, voice rich and also layered as if he was purring as well. "Though if you are with the Empire then this meeting shall not end well." he ended, voice not meaning to be mean or hard, just a warning.

[Quetzal]

Isrydia winced a little when Avinder bared his teeth. She hadn't meant to anger him, but thinking back, comparing his race to werewolves was definitely not a good idea. You would be hard pressed to find a person who actually liked werewolves, the savage beasts known to be merciless killers. Well, from what Isrydia had heard, anyway. She had never met a werewolf herself, so she couldn't know for sure that they were inherently evil. As for the werecat's name, she quite liked the names of Moonstalker and Nightwalker. For some reason the fact that they rhymed pleased her. They brought an image of Avinder, as she now knew he was called, trying to pounce on the moon while in cat form. That, and melting into the shadows.

"I don't support either of them. Politics can be boring when it gets to a bunch of angry people shouting at each other. I'm not keen on the Empire, though, so I guess if I had to choose one, it'd be the Varden. Not that I will choose." she said, liking that she was meeting someone else who was on similar standing to her regarding the civil war. She was determined not to pick a side, hoping the Empire would be overthrown, but not caring enough to join the Varden. She got by fine under Empire rule, so why tear the country apart in civil war?

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[Aelodil]

As he stood up, Avinder began flexing his muscles. Ah, going back to Human form after so long was definitely not fun...or comfortable for that matter. He continued to listen to the human as she spoke. "Well," he said, voice bored, "why have you come here? Is it how nice the view is, the River, what?". He also continued to observe Isrydia. She seemed to have brilliant shining eyes that gave a shine of curiosity. She seemed new to the tactics of warfare, though she seemed to have a good start and teacher.

He continued flexing and stretching and asked, "Would you spar with me? Just a little. I need to get my reflexes back. The last time I had wielded my sword was....far too long ago. Though we will end up using wooden swords as I cannot use magic." his rich voice purring.

((Can I get my Rider Laetri here to dull the swords?))

[Quetzal]

In truth, Isrydia had gone for the walk purely because William had been wrapped up in a lot of official Varden business planning something to do with Dras-Leona, she didn't entirely know what. There wasn't much chance of her telling Avinder that, though, seeing as she had only just met him so had no reason to trust him with information relating to her master or the Varden. Why she had chosen this particular spot wasn't exactly an important issue, so there was no problem in telling him. "I was just a bit bored in my free time and wanted some fresh air. I love the sounds, smells and look of the lake, as well as the feel of the cold water on a warm day." she glanced down at her slightly damp bare feet. It barely qualified as warm, really, but it was warmer than it had been recently. Isrydia realised that the lake was pleasing to all her senses but taste. It reminded her of home a little as well, the vast expanse of water complete with waves reminding her of the sea by her hometown. She hadn't really noticed how much she liked water until she had been away from it for a while.

Isrydia smiled as he asked if she would like to spar with him. It was funny; nearly everyone she had conversations with seemed to give her that opportunity at some point. It was probably because being around William so much meant se met a lot of other warriors, and there must be some appeal in passing knowledge down to a newbie. Avinder mentioned he had not used a sword in a while. That did not surprise her. Having seen the werecat's great teeth and powerful muscles as a cat, she could tell simply being in cat form was a weapon enough. Her hand moved to Nettle's hilt, but stopped when he said he did not have the magic to blunt their weapons. For some reason she had assumed a shape-shifter would be able to use other forms of magic, but that was clearly not the case. "I don't know how, either. I didn't come prepared for sparring, either, so I don't have any wooden swords." she frowned, eyes flickering to the branches of the tree. They might be strong enough, but there was no way they could cut them down without an axe.

((Sure, can't see why not))

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[Aelodil]

((Ooc:Haha! Nice Avatar ))

Avinder growled a little angrily, though it wasn't pointed at Isrydia. He paced around a little annoyed. He followed her eyes to the tree and snorted, "Though we may be very strong, there is a low chance we would be able to chop that tree down with our bare hands." (Except of course in Minecraft. Sorry bout randomness..had some chocolate awhile ago.) he said, partly annoyed, though he didn't blame Isrydia. He found himself studying her. Her eyes twinkled with an almost mischievous sparkle of curiosity. He sighed and plopped down on a nearby log.

Agaravel's light blue scales shone in the sun. Her partner-of-mind-and-body, Laetri, was on her back. They had decided to take a nice and small trip near a River. They had searched a lot until they found one. "You think we might meet any trouble?" Laetri asked her uncertainly."Calm down. I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle 'shade-slayer'" she said mocking him. He flushed as he remembered killing the Shade with Aryanna. Since then, Agaravel had taken every moment to tease him that way.

"Laetri? What is that over there?" Agaravel asked, her gentle and soft voice cautious. The last person they had met had attempted to capture them and warn their whole entire faction of them though they meant no harm to anyone! They simply wanted peace. Laetri put his hand on Thringa's hilt as Agaravel sped down. As they neared, Laetri's Elven eyes spotted a girl. She seemed strong, though still new to warfare. A Knight's Apprentice he would have to say. And a Werecat. Wait, wait, wait. Was that Avinder? "Avinder!" he shouted, glad to have found the werecat who had acted as his companion on more than one occasion

. As Agaravel landed, she turned suspiciously to the girl. She stretched her neck and began sniffing her."You seem to be OK." she said, her voice as always soft and gentle, even with a stranger. As Avinder explained they needed their swords dulled, he gladly agreed and dulled Avinder's two daggers and sword while he dulled the girl's sword. He returned the sword back to her and studied her for a moment. He picked up her shining eyes, sparkling with excitement. "May I spar with one of you after this as well?" he asked softly, "Or am I interrupting something?"

[Quetzal]

Isrydia looked up at the sound of wings, seeing a dragon. She shivered with excitement. Since becoming William's apprentice, it seemed she had suddenly been plunged right into the legend being written as the Riders returned. This was the third dragon she had seen, her scales an aqua blue. It was odd how she had only heard of elves, dwarves, dragons and Riders in stories, and all of a sudden she was meeting them. Werecats, too, a whole new race she had never even heard about before. What else was there she did not know about? The Rider shouted Avinder's name in a friendly manner, so she assumed the two were allies. That made her more comfortable, knowing that the powerful two were on the same side as Avinder, so would not attack either her or the werecat. The dragon looked at her and sniffed, speaking to her in a soft tone.

She could hardly decline the offer to spar with a Rider, as opponents didn't come much stronger than that (provided the Rider had been trained up themselves). What a Rider could teach her was invaluable. "Of course you may! Oh, and my name's Isrydia. It's an honour to meet a Rider," she remembered to introduce herself.

After speaking with the Rider, she turned back to Avinder, their weapons now blunt and so ready to spar with without hurting each other too seriously. She took the shield off her back and held it firmly with her left arm. Fighting a werecat would be an interesting experience. He was a lot shorter than she was, so it would be almost like fighting a very skillful child. She would have to reach down for her attacks, while Avinder would be able to avoid her attacks easier. "You ready?" she asked her sparring partner, allowing him the first move. Before she tried anything, she wanted to see how he fought so she could predict his movements better.

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[Aelodil]

Laetri inclined his head to Isrydia and then made a bowing gesture, putting his arm infront, "My name is Laetri, at your service. My dragon is Agaravel. I am pleased to meet you." he said, voice rich with music. "Please continue with your spar. Though I would rather if you don't beat her up too much. I wish to teach her magic and the art of using your mind." he told Avinder. Agaravel herself nuzzled Avinder and then walked to the tree and curled around it."Do not mind me. I am tired after such a long flight." she said, her voice gentle.

Avinder nodded to Isrydia then to Laetri then hugged Agaravel's neck as she nuzzled him. He knew what Isrydia was aiming for and so decided not to give her the chance. He took out one of the daggers and the sword. He began feinting with lightning speed here and there then lunged truly, his dagger aimed at her shield while the sword was aimed at her chest.

[Quetzal]

When Laetri said he would try to teach her magic and defending the mind, Isrydia felt very excited. As a human, there was a good chance she would be unable to use magic. Few had that gift. She had never tried using magic before, since she didn't know any words of the Ancient Language. William was one of those rare humans who could use magic, but his skills were limited. She supposed many people probably had the capability of casting basic spells, but few had enough connection to magic to have the potential to use more complex magic, and fewer still would actually have the instruction and awareness. Since William only knew the basics, he hadn't taught her anything, focusing instead on physical combat. Isrydia had no idea if she could use magic or not, but whatever the case, being able to defend her mind would be a useful skill to develop.

Remembering what the Rider Caspia had told her about fighting, she watched Avinder's eyes to see what his intentions were. The werecat was extremely fast, so she had to process the information quickly. It was hard to tell a person's intentions by their eyes in her opinion. She was new to that strategy, so still had some way to go. A brief flicker of Avinder's eyes from his original path made her suspect he would feint, but she did not know exactly in what way. His eyes had moved towards her left, where her shield was, but there was a large uncertainty in 'somewhere on her left'. She needed to be able to tell exactly where he was going to strike. Raising her sword to her left side, she was then better prepared as she saw his sword moving for her chest. This was what she noticed first, and just managed to flick her own sword to parry the blow. The dagger hit its mark, the blow to her shield jarring her left arm with surprising strength, forcing her to take a step back to steady herself. She didn't want to lose her balance, after all.

Avinder was strong as well as speedy, despite his size. She could not underestimate him. It wasn't hard for her to overestimate her opponents either, seeing as she mostly seemed to end up sparring with people far more skilled that her. Fighting a werecat was a new experience, and so she had no idea how Avinder would fight. A dagger and sword was an interesting choice, too. She swung her shield back out of the way of his dagger. As soon as she had parried the blow, she attempted her next move. She put in some force as she tried to shove Avinder's sword away, which if successful would leave his chest open and lead into her trying a shield bash to force Avinder backwards and slow him down.

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[Aelodil]

Avinder seemed greatly joyed as Isrydia was able to block his first attack. "Good, good!" he shouted in encouragement as she began pushing him back. He then steadied himself and breathed to relax himself. As his dagger was parried he smiled as he picked up from her mind the thought that using a sword and a dagger was an interesting choice of arms.

As she put force to shove his sword away, knew exactly what she was doing and so jumped down, beneath her legs and ended up behind her. For once in his life he thanked great powers for the fact that he was small. He then switched his sword with his dagger, causing his dagger to now be in his right while his sword be in his left. Hopefully this would catch Isyrdia off-guard as she turned. He then leaped forward and slashed with his sword to her shield, hoping to make it clatter to the ground.

[Quetzal]

Isrydia recovered after seeing Avinder slip underneath her, darting between her legs to emerge behind her. Her back was to him. That was a dangerous position. She had a little forward momentum, so carried on forward a moment as there was no werecat to break her movement. Turning around quickly on the spot, she noticed that his sword and dagger had swapped hands. OK, then. She simply accepted that that was the situation now and carried on. Finding his eyes again it was clear he intended to slash at her shield. She didn't get that from his eyes, though; he was already moving for her. With her reaction time lost getting her bearings after turning around, the sword hit, forcing not just her shield down but her arm with it. She was determined to not let go under the force, whole body leaning to the the left. It would have probably been better just to have let go, as she was now off-balance.

Adjusting her grip on her shield, she made a mental note to fix those straps most shields had to fix the arm in place, or at least look into it. She didn't have them already as she preferred free movement, but it might be good to have that option. Shifting her weight back to her right leg to straighten herself up again, she continued the movement on as she moved towards Avinder. She was reasonably light on her feet. This time, she simply used her shield for its primary purpose, shielding, offering her right arm protection as she aimed a swooping blow at Avinder's upper leg. With any luck, even if he jumped it would still hit some part of his leg. That was bound to knock him off balance, buying her time.

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[Aelodil]

Avinder felt a little satisfaction, though he hid it, as Isrydia expected his move and quickly observed everything though it had cost her a hit. He was in the middle of congratulating himself when suddenly her shield was above him and her sword aimed at around his thigh. If he jumped, her shield would hit him. If he attacked, his sword would bounce off her shield. With nothing to do, Avinder hit the ground, though not quick enough to gain a bruise near his knee.

Wincing, he got up and hobbled backwards. He eyed Isrydia with more care this time. Unlike before, he now used his mind to get his bearings and closed his eyes. He reached out with his mind, seeing everything with his eyes closed. He leapt forward, threw his dagger at Isrydia's left shoulder, hoping to keep her shield out of the way before taking out the the other dagger. With another dagger in his hand again he slashed his dagger towards her chest so that if she moved her shield to protect her other side, her arm would be hit and swung his sword in an arc at her right shoulder.

[Quetzal]

Isrydia was incredibly pleased that her plan had worked. All that training was starting to pay off! As she moved forward to try and attacking Avinder while he was down, he closed his eyes. That threw her completely off. For one thing, it seemed like the most stupid thing he could possibly do in this situation. For another, it was suspicious. She knew he was not stupid, and she was cautious of everything he did, having no idea what other abilities a werecat might have. For all she knew, he might be using a spell or starting some technique she had yet to hear of. The whole affair made her hesitant to attack should Avinder try anything. She couldn't watch his eyes, now, either, so was at a loss for what to do. It was all fine what Caspia had taught her, but that method could not work for this situation. She would have to try and read his body language instead. She felt his mind somewhere around hers, instantly enforcing her weak mental barrier so he would have to put in a slight effort to read her intent through her mind. Was he trying to see with his mind? Surely he would have difficulty seeing things that weren't alive, like rocks or her sword and shield. That must be a disadvantage. Maybe werecats had as good hearing and smell as cats even in their human form, so did not need to rely entirely on sight. She didn't see how that would work, but it was a possibility.

Avinder threw his dagger at her. It seemed an odd move to make, but he had managed to locate her well enough. Isrydia didn't find it too hard to bring her shield up to meet it. The blunt weapon wasn't sharp enough to embed itself in the shield and so instead fell with a thud to the ground. She would have picked it up to keep Avinder from using it, but he had another one all the same so she simply gave it a kick to roll it towards Laetri so neither of them would trip on it. Avinder had moved off by now. He was aiming for her chest, but also looked to be aiming another attack with his sword. She would have to prioritize her chest to protect her vital organs in a real fight. She thrust her shield out to hit the dagger rather than just let it hit the shield, but the sword then managed to hit her. The wide arc would be an easy thing to predict, but she was focused on the dagger aimed at her chest instead. The sword in her right hand came up to try and meet the other sword, but she was too slow. The speedy werecat had given her a bruise too, the blow sharp and stinging.

Her right arm dropped in response to the hit. She moved her arm slightly in the joint, working out any kinks before she carried on. It stung a bit, but wasn't limiting the movement of her arm at all. In one swift movement, she withdrew her shield and thrust her sword into the space the shield had been, aiming an uppercutting slash at Avinder's chest. All the while she watched him carefully, unsure of where to look for clues as to his movement in this situation.

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