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Post by Daja Sekhmet on Feb 11, 2008 2:31:28 GMT -5
Daja walked quietly into the library, closing the door behind her. It was the middle of the night, and she didn't want to wake anyone. "Good to be in here again," she commented to Tarquin. They hadn't been for nearly two weeks, since they'd been fighting with rival townies recently. He grunted. "It's borin'. There en't no'in for me to do." Daja ignored the big cat. He was always complaining, so she was used to it. She lighted the lamp that she'd brought with her and walked through the aisles, trying to find something interesting to read. Finally she chose a book about the different wars all throughout history, sat down, and began to read.
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Post by .:Artemis & Skyran:. [gone] on Feb 11, 2008 2:42:43 GMT -5
Artemis shivered as she walked quickly through the large, indoor halls of Jordan, the light given off by her candle flickering over the cold marble walls and floor, her shadow flitting between pillars. Reaching the end of the hall, she tugged at the enormous door of the library, opened it a crack, and girl and lioness slipped inside.
As always, the warm scent of library, its many tomes, and the chairs and iron lamps were a welcome sight to the young scholar, and Artemis smiled as she shifted her book and parchment, walking swiftly through. She glanced as always down the long rows of shelves, eyes darting above to the heavy chandeliers, stark from fire at these late hours.
Even for Artemis, whose sleeping patterns were strange with all the late nights and short days she worked and studied, it was extremely late to be up, and she didn't want to risk the anger of the colleges's sleeping occupants and servants if they caught her.
Stopping at one thick oak table to put her things down softly, Artemis turned to a brass sign on one of the shelves to check the numbers of the books, when Skyran froze, upper lip lifting slightly in agitation.
"What is it?" hissed Artemis to her daemon, who sniffed the air warily.
"I"m not sure," whispered Skyran back, tail lashing back and forth. "But someone else is here. They smell dirty too . . . soot and grease, maybe. City smells."
"That's odd . . ." muttered Artemis, though she had a fairly good idea who it probably was.
The two made their way, silent as ghost, down the hall slightly, Artemis holding her candle out in front of her for light--they hadn't dared turn on the abaric lights in the library this late.
The candle illuminated a dark, large figure, and her equally large and shadowed daemon sitting at a table, reading. Artemis sighed, and put the candle, in it's lantern, down on the table beside Daja.
"Daja," said Artemis. "You know you're not supposed to be in here, especially this late." She was pleased to see her friend, but they had only recently escaped getting in trouble here, and Artemis would not risk getting library privileges taken away. Being confided to the Falconry--the joke name for the Hawke tower--would be extremely dull.
Skyran observed Tarquin with courteous greeting. It was obvious that the lioness respected the leopard daemon, who was of course, only slightly smaller than she was, and probably more tough as it was.
"How are you?" purred Skyran softly. "Get into any good fights lately? We did, a few days ago. One of the townies was beating on a little boy here, and Artemis whacked him with an encyclopedia she had with her. I told her not to, but it was still good fun."
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Post by Kayla & Stormation on Feb 11, 2008 2:55:09 GMT -5
"Bullying?" A young girl with wavy chocolate brown hair slipped through the door. Behind her came a tiger-daemon, well built, strong, and with claws long enough to rip into human flesh.
"Hi Artemis." Kayla said. "'Couldn't sleep, y'know?" She brushed her messy hair behind a shoulder. "And... I don't know you. Do you go to Jorden College?" She asked Daja.
Her daemon, Stormation, gave a low growl when he saw the leopard. Of course, his main form was a normal grey tabby cat, but he was big for his size. "Storma." Kayla waved her hand infront of her daemon's face. She ran her hand along the bookshelf, covering all the spines. Then she brought one out, and her heart leapt when she saw the cover. "A guide on witches." She read aloud.
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Post by Daja Sekhmet on Feb 11, 2008 3:13:19 GMT -5
Daja quickly looked the stranger over. She didn't look older then nine or ten. Not very threatening. Daja relaxed slightly. "No, I don' go t' Oxford. I'm a townie, I just come in here to read sumtimes," Daja said casually. She figured it wouldn't do much good to lie, since then the child might start asking around the college for a dark muscular girl wit a leopard daemon, and that could lead to trouble. "And I en't s'posed t' be in here, so don' you go 'round talkin' about this or I'll hafta bash ya li'l head in." Daja turned her attention back to Artemis. "So anyway...a dictionary, eh? So you 'uz just carryin' 'round a random dictionary while walkin' 'round? do ya aluz do that?" she grinned. Daja liked Artemis, she was cool for a college kid. They didn't fight with each other very often, either. "N' I know I'm not s'posed to be here; I en't ever s'posed t' be here, but that's never stopped me b'fore. And it's safer to come at night, people usually en't around. 'Sides," she added, "I don't reckon you're really s'posed to be in here at this time neither, are ya?" Daja leaned back in her chair slightly. "And yeah, I've been in a bunch o' fights lately. Me n' my friends 'ave been fightin' with another townie group right now. Group of brats, them." She rolled her eyes. " That's why I 'aven't been able t' come here recently. Been way too busy, with that and with the whole stoppin' crime thing." "Otherwise known as the stickin' your long nose where it don' belong thing," Tarquin added. "Exactly. N' ya help, n' ya'd do the 'zact same thing even if I weren't around. N' ya know it, so ya can shut your oversized piehole now, Tarquin." Tarquin smiled slightly and licked his paw. "C'mon, ya don' really reckon that'll ever happen now, do ya?" "No, but I can hope, can't I, ya old fleabag? Anyway," Daja said, turning her attention back to Artemis, "How've you been recently? 'Aven't gotten yaself killed yet? Any o' m' townie friends come in and beat the tar out o' you college kids these past days?"
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Post by Daja Sekhmet on Feb 11, 2008 19:27:26 GMT -5
(Oh wow! I hadn't even noticed you'd posted! Sorry, I'll fix that soon!))
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Post by .:Artemis & Skyran:. [gone] on Feb 11, 2008 20:58:29 GMT -5
Artemis glanced at the younger girl, who seemed to be occupying herself for the moment, and turned back to the Daja, shrugging.
"Encyclopedia," corrected Artemis automatically, then grinned. "Yeah, you know I do that a lot of the time. "And of course I'm not supposed to be in here, no one is this late, and the librarians aren't even up. The door was unlocked though--we didn't even have to pick it. So I reckon it's alright. They're used to me wandering around at night anyway, because my sleeping habits are so weird."
Skyran nodded, and purred. Lions, of course, are nocturnal, so Artemis's sleeping periods seemed to be fine with her.
"We saw that townie group too," reported Skyran, glancing curiously at Artemis, who frowned, and nodded.
"Sky's right. They've been hanging around an awful lot lately, giving some of the college residents a hard tine." She gave Daja a long side look. "We may have to give them a talking to. I have this excellent old hardcover thesaurus that might to the job nicely."
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Post by Kayla & Stormation on Feb 12, 2008 3:06:59 GMT -5
Kayla glanced up. "Were they the bullies? If they were, i'll tear their heads from thier shoulders!" She gritted her teeth. "That will show them not to bully!" Kayla put her book on witches on the table, upside down, so to keep her place in reading. "No, Kayla." Stormation warned, forming into a magnificent golden eagle, and spread his wings causiously.
"I'll find those bullies." She said, a defiant frown on her face. "Those gits."
((Sorry if that offended anyone, but in the rules it says a little swearing is aloud, though its not even swearing))
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Post by .:Artemis & Skyran:. [gone] on Feb 12, 2008 20:10:36 GMT -5
Artemis gave a little laugh as she turned back around to face Kayla, shaking her head.
"Yeah, no, you're not," she said, raising an eyebrow and looking at the younger girl sardonically. "Look, those are townie gangs, understand? They will rip your head off. One's okay if they're a coward and you happen to have an eight-hundred page hardcover reference book with you. These aren't petty bullies. They're dangerous, and you're ten."
Artemis gestured to Daja. The girl, who was only a few months older than Artemis, towered over the young scholar, despite the fact that she definitely wasn't giant. However, even in the near-darkness, Daja's muscles were clearly visible, as well as her big-cat daemon's.
"Daja here can, because she's used to these kinds of gangs and roughing it. She doesn't have commitments here, and she was taught how to fight. I'll take on the stragglers who have the guts to get into Jordan, but Skyran's a big help--" Skyran gave a growl of ascent, "--as are very large, heavy objects. You're little, and you're daemon's unsettled. He'll change with your emotions, and some of these guys have nasty daemons. They'd crush you, and then you'd get in trouble on top of that. Rule one of any city--pick fights you can win."
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Post by Kayla & Stormation on Feb 13, 2008 3:19:32 GMT -5
"Let 'em try!" Kayla put on an angry frown, and Storma formed into a fox, and beared his teeth. "I can fight them! I can! Storma's nearly settled. It won't be long." The girl looked at the witch book again, then back at Artemis. "I may be younger than you, but I ain't weak."
Stormation flicked a busy fox-tail. But knowing she wouldn't win the argument, Kayla sat down again, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning.
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Post by .:Artemis & Skyran:. [gone] on Feb 13, 2008 18:23:34 GMT -5
Artemis rolled her eyes, and shook her head. Skyran was preening herself, running her tongue over her short, white-golden fur, ignoring Kayla and her daemon. The girl wasn't exactly doing her best to make herself seem more mature.
"You're daemon won't settle for a few years," Artemis said, looking at Stormation. "Skyran didn't until I turned thirteen last year. You don't exactly seem much like your ready for adulthood, anyway. Just forget about the townies, they won't come into Jorday, and just stay away from allies."
Skyran looked up, green-grey eyes glinting with mirth. "Or you could do what Arty--sorry, Artemis does and just never leave the college."
Artemis looked affronted, and drew herself up slightly, glaring at Skyran.
"I do so get out of the Falconry sometimes!" she retorted heatedly to her daemon, who merely smirked, drawing her tongue over her whiskers.
((I've mentioned it before . . . the Falconry is Artemis's (Hawke) family's name for their tower and study where they live.))
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Post by Kayla & Stormation on Feb 14, 2008 3:09:51 GMT -5
Kayla had to laugh at Skyran's comment. The frown disappeared off her face. "I always sneak out of the college." She said, and Stormation bounded into her lap as a tabby cat.
Then she started talking about the bullies again, for an idea had popped into her head. "I could win it, because Storma is unsettled, and he could turn into a tiger or somethin', and if the boy's daemon were a mouse, Storma could kill it with a good blow." She grinned evily.
"No." Storma growled. "No, No, No." He became frustrated, turning into a tiger. "I'm not gonna kill. We'd get arrested."
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Post by Daja Sekhmet on Feb 16, 2008 16:50:03 GMT -5
((Okay, I fixed my previous post to make more sense. Sorry about that, but Kayla posted after I started writing my reply, so I didn't see that she'd replied before me.))
Daja looked at the younger girl in amusement. Well, she's got enthusiasm. "Don' worry about the gang, Kayla, they're my problem, not yours. Me n' my friends will handle it, and it en't any of ya business anyways. 't en't right t' butt into other peoples feuds when they don' need any help," Daja said. "It's great that ya sneak out t' town though. It'd be awful borin' stayin' around here all the time. Be careful, though. It's dangerous out there, n' us townies are aluz fightin' with you college lot. Make sure ya can fight good." Daja turned her attention back to Artemis. " 'N ya do need to get out more, Art. C'mon, when are ya gonna visit me fer a change?" Daja punched Artemis lightly. "I promise I won' let any'un eat ya or sum'in. An I don' reckon many would wanna attack you, with your daemon n' your encyclopedia on hand."
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Post by .:Artemis & Skyran:. [gone] on Feb 16, 2008 23:25:12 GMT -5
Artemis rubbed her upper biceps where Daja had punched her, raising an eyebrow and trying not to smile behind a very severe look.
"Don't hit me so hard, you know you're about twice as big as I am. I'd get out to visit you more at night--you know how Skyran and I are about cities. You were there anyway, when . . ." she stopped, and changed tracks suddenly. "But you know how the city is at night . . . I dunno. Maybe we'll take up knife-fighting, and then I'll come out. I'll fit right in. And we all know Skyran's a coward."
The lioness looked up, fuming, and tried to look as dignified as she possibly could. The truth was, though Skyran did have a more aggressive side, she really wasn't very threatening, unless attempting to hug you a little two hard.
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Post by Kayla & Stormation on Feb 17, 2008 3:18:30 GMT -5
((Ok, thanks Daja. No worries)) Kayla looked at Daja. "Ok... If 'ou say so. I ain't weak anyway. If I were, then god help me." She picked up the book on witches, and Stormation ran up her leg as a mouse, and settled himself behind the book, in Kayla's lap, where he had a good view of the book in a long run. "Hmmm... Witches are telepathic." Storma read to Kayla, so only she could hear.
"What does that mean?" Kayla whispered back to her daemon. "I think it means their daemons can go away from thier humans as far away as they please." Stormation replied. "That'll be good for us." Kayla said. "There's no reason why you ain't telepathic." "What?" "Well, Luciana Airlark surely was telepathic. She's a witch." Storma named Kayla's mother who had abandoned her ten years ago, when Kayla wasn't even a year old. "You're right, though, Storma." Kayla grinned.
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Post by .:Artemis & Skyran:. [gone] on Feb 17, 2008 4:20:01 GMT -5
Skyran's ears twitched, the lioness clearly listening to what the younger girl's daemon was saying. There wasn't much you could hide from the lioness.
"Telepathic means you can hear other people's thoughts in your mind, or their daemons," explained Skyran, unable to let the confusion continue. "Or just you and your daemon. Talking without actually speaking. Fair useful, I'd expect. But witches can travel very long ways without their daemons. No one really knows why . . . it's something that they do when they come of age, or something like that. Like a ritual, or a test. Because younger witches' daemons can't, but after a certain age, most can."
Artemis raised her eyebrows questioningly at Skyran, who dipped her head, looking sheepish.
"We used to be into witches, remember, Artemis?"
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