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Post by SERAFINA AZAR CELAROUX on Mar 19, 2012 19:55:28 GMT -8
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: d3d3d3; width: 370px; padding-top: 30; padding-bottom: 30;] wretched, look at me, i've lost it [/style][style=width: 340px; font-size: 9px; padding-right: 5; padding-left:5; color: 504f4f; line-height: 10px; line-space: 1px; background-color: fefdfd; text-align: justify;]
There was nothing more nerve-wracking than landing a skyship for the first time in a long time. Fina was used to traveling tenuous distances for any matter of time, months, days, though she hadn't quite experienced years yet. What created more anxiety was the feeling of being on land again. Fina wobbled and used her crew mates as crutches and she kissed the ground a few times. To say the least, she wasn't the least bit fond of earth.
But after getting her land legs, she was able to hop around London like a cheery school girl. Despite her very intimidating job and her boyish toughness, she did enjoy the occasional window shopping. Whenever she was in a big city like this, Fina always found the darkest little corner shop and purchased all that she could with her modest pay. It wasn't a lot, but it definitely didn't leave her destitute. It was more than she would make if she weren't working, anyways!
After buying all that she could in the few shops she went to, Fina had to make a trip back to the airship. Her crew mates weren't at all surprised to see her lugging around a few bags, and even flashed her a knowing smile, which she heartily returned. Coming back from the ship, though, she decided to head down to the Tower Bridge. Being on the bridge was almost like flying without wings or a ship.
Atop the bridge, she peered over the railing at the water, watching the sun create an orange hue over the otherwise blue ripples. It was soothing to simply stare at the flowing aqua, and how it lapped softly at the bank of London. But, then, at the large pedestals that the bridge set upon, the water crashed and growled and gnawed at the stone like a bitter tempest. It was apparent the water had a very blatant deathwish against the bridge. And Fina did not want to tempt it more.
She began to walk off the bridge, deciding to, instead, lounge around at the gate near its entrance. She leaned all of her weight against one of the posts in the gate, and dropped her head back against it. Her eyes shut loosely as she began to daydream a bit. The thoughts coursed through her brain so rapidly and so furiously. It was enough to make a sane person froth at the mouth. Luckily, Fina wasn't so sane. Months aboard a skyship with nothing but men, well... it left you with a different imprint on your brain. What you think you knew about the world, you really didn't.
Serafina was tempted to fall asleep leaning against the post, though terribly uncomfortable. Her conscious was stirred by a colossal ship tearing its path through the waterways. It was, by no means, a silent ordeal. She bolted back onto the bridge to watch, underfoot, the boat. A stunning behemoth, really.
Fina was curious, and like all curious animals, she had to find out exactly what the ship was all about. The officer shifted into a small, sleek gray feline with blue eyes like her own. In a dare-devilish attempt, she clambered up on the railing, and without hesitation, leapt from the rail. With her four paws underneath her, and her ears piqued forward, she was able to land, almost unscathed, on the deck of the boat. Anxious to get started, she bolted off in every which direction, sniffing inquisitively along the boards of the ship, more like a hound than a cat. No life preserver was left unturned, and no person unmet. Though, her search very swiftly ended as the horn aboard the ship sent her rocketing onto the sides of the boat and into the water.
Unfortunately, cats and water do not mix. Fina was forced to swim through the rough current that the boat had created and back to shore. Her tiny paws splashed and swiped at the water in a less-than-cyclical motion. It seemed more like she was trying to kill a bug.
As she made it aboard the bank, she shifted back to her human form, not really caring who was watching. She stood to her own two feet, dripping and heavy as her body was. She took every inch of her clothing that she could grab and wrung it out over the grass. After it that was finished, Serafina flipped her hair over and wrung that out, as well. Tossing it back and letting it fall over her shoulders, it was about as dry as she was going to get without changing clothes. And she was not going to walk back to the ship just to do that. Instead, she collapsed on the ground, a few feet from where she had dried out her clothes. Her arms crossed, upset, over her chest. Her brows were furrowed, distorting her face into the epitome of frustration. However, on a girl like her, it was laughable. She was tiny and drenched, making her look smaller. She looked anything but vexing or intimidating.
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Post by TARAN CAI EMBER on Mar 19, 2012 21:47:52 GMT -8
[style=position: relative; top: 120px; right: 100px; width: 200px; background-color: #96CDCD; font-family: arial; text-transform: uppercase; line-height: 60%; text-align: center; padding: 10px 10px 10px 10px; color: #F0FFFF;]lay me down
let the only sound be the overflow [/style]
Two weeks without pay was starting to take its toll on the young man. Though he was capable of getting food easily through his more animalistic forms, it just didn’t feel honest. It felt like stealing, even if people were willing to offer a small scrap to a purring feline. He was down to his last bit of coin, though, and it wouldn’t last long at all. He was depriving himself of meals increasingly often to stretch his money a bit farther. He needed to find work, and badly. Unfortunately, not many captains were looking for a sailor that wasn’t willing to stay bound to a ship for the remainder of his life.
With a heavy sigh, Taran pushed himself away from the wall he’d been gently leaning on and headed for the bakery he’d come to like here. He couldn’t afford meat at the moment, at least not anything good, so he settled for a diet of breads for the time being. If he needed to act upon his carnivorous instincts, he simply could transfigure into a cat and possibly catch a mouse. Though rodents weren’t all that tasty, they were filling and quite common if one knew where to look.
Inside the bakery, after greeting the baker, he purchased a small loaf of bread, cut in half. A slight grin graced his lips as his hands pressed against the thin paper it was wrapped in, feeling the warmth of a delicacy straight out of the oven. After purchasing his meal and placing half of it in the small bag on his back, he contemplated either staying here or going for a walk to nibble away. It was quite nice outside, so he opted to take a stroll around town. There wasn’t any harm in it, and though he wasn’t much for interaction, Taran liked to watch people. They were curious beings. Despite the fact that he was indeed a human himself, the man still had difficulty claiming as much. After spending much of his life as a cat, he came to believe he truly was one. On this particular afternoon, nothing much occurred aside from the usual; children playing in the streets, the poorer women scolding them. Men returning home from a long day at work. Many were milling about much like he was, soaking up the likeable weather.
Suddenly, a flash of fiery red caught his attention, his ice blue eyes latching onto it instantly. It couldn’t be… But that hair was so familiar. Taking another small bite of bread before also slipping it into his bag, Taran ducked into a lonely alley and shifted into his oh-so familiar feline form. He blinked once, and cerulean became ablaze with gold, pairing nicely with his brilliant orange fur. On silent paws he followed the young woman, careful to stay far enough back that he could escape her notice. If this was Fina… well, he didn’t know quite what he would do. He missed her terribly, and missed being good company for her. Life on the Firecat had been so wonderful; he would do anything to get it back. And maybe, just maybe, he could. Taran dared not become too hopeful, though. As soon as he did, his dreams would be shattered in a matter of moments.
Startled suddenly by the sounds of an incoming ship, the cat instincts took over and sent the man rocketing towards a high, secluded place. And she was gone. Crestfallen, the tabby could only watch the massive ripples that the watercraft left behind it. He cursed himself for not being more vigilant in tracking her down. Then again, it could have been any woman. Surely Serafina could not be the only woman in London with such red locks, after all!
Instead of shifting once more to his human form, Taran began to trudge slowly off to the nearby docks to quietly investigate any airship he might possibly be able to find work on. He felt more like being more discreet today, especially after the incident with the mystery woman.
Except it seemed that that incident was not over after all. Near where the watercraft sat at rest in the harbor, the plume of red appeared once more, though rather dampened along with the rest of the girl. Now, there was no mistaking her. Fina. Taran wasted no time nearing the girl, trying to remain quiet as he came up behind her. His coat and tail practically twitched in excitement and anxiety. Would she recognize him? Of course she would, this was the body she’d known him in through their time together. He could only hope for the best.
Nearing the recently drenched young woman, Taran did what he could consider one of the braver feats he had accomplished in his life. He gently placed his front paws upon her forearm, reaching up to gently lick her cheek. Nerves exploded like angry bees from a hive in his gut. But there was no turning back now.
notes have fun tag finawords 832 |
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Post by SERAFINA AZAR CELAROUX on Mar 26, 2012 17:15:27 GMT -8
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: d3d3d3; width: 370px; padding-top: 30; padding-bottom: 30;]wretched, look at me, i've lost it [/style][style=width: 340px; font-size: 9px; padding-right: 5; padding-left:5; color: 504f4f; line-height: 10px; line-space: 1px; background-color: fefdfd; text-align: justify;]
This was what she got for being curious. Sometimes it was worth it. Sometimes it was not. But at least she got to be on a boat! And a large one, at that. It was certainly no airship, but somewhat similar. She definitely would not trade her command of the skies for command of the sea, though. The sky was just so much more vast and you could go anywhere through it. Rather than just cruising along the water, an airship cut through the atmosphere, dancing on the thin line of too little and just enough oxygen.
Fina was not nearly paying any attention at all to the small feline running up to her, though, until she felt a warm, coarse tongue sweep across her cheek. She nearly flung the tiny cat across the waterway, but her muscles tensed before she could move. Immediately her eyes were torn from the boat to the creature, who stare up at her with colossal golden eyes, ones that seemed almost too large for his head. She knew those eyes. She would know them anywhere, as well as the fiery fur.
Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of Romulus, her once-dear, sweet kitten-turned-human. She knew that this feline was just a false form, and it made her somewhat angry that he would approach her like that, even after she knew his secret.
Serafina rose from her sitting position to remove Romulus from her arm. She glowered down at him, her own eyes quite brilliant with a hateful flicker. "Romulus! Or whatever your name is! Are you trying to fool me yet again? It's been four years, and yet you're making me look like an idiot!" She grasped her temple with her hand, rolling her eyes back in her head. "Talking to a cat! People will really think I'm insane!" Then she shook her cranium, obviously doubting her own self.
Of all the things... she came across this boy again. It had been four years, but she knew this cat, knew every single stripe in his coat, and every fleck of gold in his eyes. She had grown up with this feline-human, and couldn't feel any more betrayed than she had felt when he became a human in front of her very eyes. Did he think she was stupid? Did he think he was clever? Perhaps not, perhaps she was just blowing this out of proportion.
Fina spun on her heel, facing town now, and grasping at her scalp in frustration. She was torn on how to treat this situation. It was like meeting an enemy you hadn't seen in forever, so you had to acknowledge them, but then again, you wanted to bust their nose.
She sat back down now, getting on Romulus' level. She stared into his relatively large feline orbs, searching his very soul for her own patience. "I can't tell you how confused I am. I love this little cat named Romulus, but I know you're not a cat, so who do I love? I don't know you, not as a boy, and even if I did, what's there to love? Deceit, deception, lies?" she ranted vivaciously. But then she sighed, as if regretting some of her words. Finally, she cried, "Just show me who you really are."
Serafina couldn't have been more puzzled. Only she would come into a predicament like this one! Getting scared off a boat into the water, and now running into an "old friend"? It was just... crazy! That's what it was, crazy. Who even knew that something like this could - or would - ever happen?
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