Fear (open)

[Brenton]

Skailah took a deep breath as she gathered her thoughts and then began from the beginning. My name is Skailah Dawnsdaughter, dragon spirit and older than I look. My life was relatively normal back when my twin sister and I were young but a spell was cast on me to freeze my body in a cryogenic state. Years passed and I awoke to discover an anger within that made me a dragon who ripped animals to shreds. It scared me terribly because I do not like fighting but it was worse because a friend appeared, Camarat, who knew my sister. He and Kialandi trained me for awhile after telling me my twin was murdered. All I wanted to do was hide but eventually I trained and now I am somewhat stronger. It took time and I still look longingly at lakes but I learned to accept my fate.

[Quetzal]

As much as he hated being wrong, Eragon had to admit Saphira was right about not running into the midst of the action. He watched mesmerized as Nelfarion shimmered and the spirits took on a physical form. Darker shapes dissipated or fled. From what he could see it appeared the man was winning. Once it was over, Eragon saw the three colourful spirits fade and return to him, saw him turn into a dragon and back, saw him collapse with exhaustion. It was a surprise to see he was a dragon spirit as well, and by now suspected that the woman with the snowcats on the roof could be a dragon spirit also. Presently he was concerned for the fallen man as well as curious. Saphira this time had no qualms as he dashed foward, although she herself stayed put.

Without bothering to introduce himself to any of the strangers, Eragon knelt by Nelfarion's side. The Rider could see he was still breathing; the amount of magic and energy expelling those spirits must have been tremendous so there was a high risk of death. He looked up at Arathale. "Who is this man? Whose enemy and whose friend is he?" he asked the dragon spirit. There was no point trying to heal the stranger if he would then try killing or capturing him. Dragon spirits were predominantly on the Varden's side or neutral, but they were also strong and he didn't want to take a risk for a powerful complete stranger.

Farria felt that Skailah was alike her. The story was a sad one, but similar to her own experience of the past day and night. In the calm that settled, she found a part of humanity just as one might find a hidden object after brushing aside a few leaves. Stepping through, she slipped into a more easily controlled, more familiar state. Fur shrank, four legs became two, and thankfully her clothes returned too. A little girl with bright forest green eyes was looking at Skailah in place of the snow leopard. Her mouth did not open to speak but it did offer a small smile. Sheratan was relieved to see her back as a human again. Farria tried to push some of Sheratan's mind to one side, to separate their minds or at least have them joined more neatly, but it was hard. Sheratan cooperated and the new warg's mind became marginally less scrambled.

Eragon saw the change out of the corner of his eye and stared. Yes, there was definitely a girl and a snow leopard where there had one been two of the big cats. He'd seen werecats before, heard of werewolves, he was talking to a dragon spirit... but this was new. Werecats turned into something like a domestic cat, not one of those massive bushy-tailed beasts. He frowned slightly, taking it in for a moment before asking Arathale another question. "Did you know that snowcat could turn into a human? How did she do that? I've never seen that before," he was thoroughly perplexed by both the child and the struggle with spirits from the unconscious man at his feet.

[Brenton]

Arathale turned back into his bipedal form with a small frown on his face at the thought of Nelfarion. He gathered the changes and all of that but friend and enemy? It was possible he was allies now but then again Nelfarion had killed so many people. Nelfarion is a dragon spirit and so my brethren. I will claim him as an ally but Skailah's not likely to do the same thing as he killed her sister. Of course even if he attacks then there are two dragon spirits, a rider, dragon, and two leopards who would be able to fight. As for Farria, she is like a rider in essence with Sheratan. They are bonded but the difference is that change. I'd been trying to calm her down when everyone showed up and Nelfarion took precedence over her.

[Aelodil]

Nelfarion looked up in a daze. He could see another man had rushed over. He frowned. He hadn't seen him earlier. Weird. He tried to get up. He gasped in pain and doubled over, giving out a good stream of vomit. He licked his lips in disgust and almost gagged. He stood upright and looked around him trying to gain his surroundings. He looked at Arathale and the new-comer somberly,"My bad." his voice a little more than a croak. He took a deep breath and exhaled. His head had quietened down. He would have to get used to sharing his mind, but after the initial shock of it all, it didn't really matter anymore. All that mattered to him was that he finally controlled his mind, no matter with help or without. He began with a shaky step towards the nearby town. The first step felt like he was trying to heave thousands of pounds. The next came easier and so and so forth until he was walking naturally once again. He turned to the group and walked back.

As he reached there, he took a look at the new-comer. An elf, by the looks of it."My name is Nelfarion, and as Arathale said, I am a dragon spirit. I did indeed kill plenty of people but that was under the effects of the evil spirits within me. I am in control now, possibly the first time in centuries, but I'm certain I won't drop to that level again." he said, sticking his hand out as a gesture to a hand shake.

(Sorry, low on my muse. Also sorry for the late reply)

[Quetzal]

While Farria and Sheratan waited for answers from Skailah and looked down in puzzlement at the scene below, it continued to unfold. Eragon trusted Arathale's judgement and maintained a curiosity in Farria. A Rider but with a snow leopard instead of a dragon, and with the addition of that transformation? He relayed images of what he'd seen to Saphira. "I've never heard of anything like it, not even in old tales. She won't be safe here either. We ought to take her to the Varden. They'll know what to do with her and where to go to find out what she is," the dragon replied. Eragon could see in her mind the idea that this could be something new to Alagaesia entirely.

What was to be done with the child was a question that could wait while she was up out of the way on the roof. He was prepared to heal Nelfarion, but the man woke up. Eragon jumped back in a hurry as he doubled over to vomit profusely. The last thing he needed was sick splattered up his trousers and on his shoes. Watching the shaky dragon spirit warily, he was surprised to see him able to stand and speak after all that magic. Dragon spirits certainly had a strong magical connection. He hesitated, gauging whether or not this strange man really was safe, then shook his hand. "I am Eragon, Rider of Saphira. That was an impressive show of magic there. Allow my to lend you some energy to help you recover. Who put those spirits in you, and how?" it was only fair he told Nelfarion who and what he was since he knew that much about the other man. Should Nelfarion accept his offer of energy, he would gladly allow it to flow into him. He knew how terrible and ill one could feel after using too much magic.

[Brenton]

Skailah, having been distracted by the scene below with Nelfarion and Arathale, looked back at the snow leopards just in time to see one turn into a girl and smile at her. Ah now it made sense why the dragon spirit warrior had been so interesting in this young girl to begin with when she had shown no signs of being different when Skailah had rode up. With a small smile herself, the female dragon spirit examined the girl and came to the conclusion that she meant no harm to her or to any of them for that matter but that she had seen many things just in her short life.

It was always hard being different and secluded because you felt like you were violent and didn't deserve to be near anyone or to have any friends in the world. Yet Skailah could see that Farria could use some friends in her life who understood and wouldn't judge her for what she could do or who she was. It was much like how she saw the king of the elves whenever she was around him or even how she could see Kialandi when he wasn't trying to help Shaelren or her. Suddenly the girl's eyes shot wide open as she remembered why she had really come to this place in the first place and that it was important.

You now see that it is possible to control that transformation from human to leopard and from leopard to human but it takes concentration and extreme will power for no one can do it without both of those things together. You are a strong girl and I can see a bright future for you but there is also heartache ahead that you must avoid if you do not learn to control the anger that builds from that change. The best thing for you is to find someone who can relate and to talk to them about how it feels when you change and what it's like because they may be able to help. Search for a rider and then for a shape-shifter for they can help you the most as I'm sure you are most like both of those groups.

Skailah smiled warmly at Farria before she flipped down off of the roof and spun in the air just to land lightly on the balls of her feet in a crouch next to Arathale. Lightly was that landing and barely visible was the dust that had been disturbed when her feet had touched the ground that she stood upon. Slowly the girl stood straight up and smoothed her shirt with one hand while staring at the rider and dragon, making it a point to not look at Nelfarion. He had killed her sister and no matter how many spirits he dispelled from his body it would never bring her back which would never make her forgive him. Skailah's eyes narrowed slightly as her full lips came together in a small pout.

Arathale, you never introduced me to your friends here and that is very bad manners to not introduce a lady to someone as obviously important as a rider. Didn't you learn that as a child or were you too focused on finding Kialandi to care about niceties such as when to introduce people? Skailah was playfully pouting but it took all of her concentration and will power not to bust out laughing when she said it all because she would never say any of those things in a normal situation. Still it was rather serious that she didn't know Eragon.