Back To The Earth

[Lumiere Solice]

13th Day ~ October ~ 23rd Hour ~ Year LVI

Night had fallen so hard, so fast against Lumiere's sleep-laden mind. She had only awoken at around the 15th hour...It seemed like her day had slipped right by her.
Her eyes were dull. Pain filtered through her mind, barely recognized now. Her shoulder throbbed, as it had for years. The pain was now nearly unbearable. Breathing deep the humid air, the young woman felt as though she had just taken in a lungful of liquid. She might as well have; everything was so thick with moisture.

She ran a hand through her tangled hair, allowing a guttural growl to escape her lips as her fingers caught against the finely woven knots in a most painful way. Yanking her arm away, she rose from her tree stump perch, frustration mounting quickly. Glancing around her, she noted that her campsite had become quite messy. Her haphazard supplies were scattered about, the remnants of a ration-instigated food fight. She hadn't been able to find her sweetbread. Sweetbread! She was sure she'd stuffed it into the very bottom of her pack. Sure. But then, what was certainty, if only trickery of the mind? So she had tossed her food about and thrown her utensils at the foot of her tent. Understandably, this turnout had been rather unpleasant for her shoulder. This had not quieted her rage, only fueled it. In turn, she had taken her frustration out on her fire, kicking at it with her bare feet. Dirt had managed to scatter over it before it caused too much damage to her naked skin, but the blisters were evident enough. She did not care. The dying embers cast a lovely glow about her.

A sudden noise drew her attention. Raucous cawing could be heard as a bunch of large black birds, presumably ravens, took flight over her encampment. Screeching wildly, Lumiere leaped toward the nearest climbable tree, scrabbling up as high as she could without hurting her shoulder too terribly, freeing her sling and stone pouch. She waited, breathing deep, the glow of the blue sky casting just enough light upon the birds to strike. With precision, she let loose a smooth rock, watching with pride as it struck the thing, sending it plummeting. A smirk evaded her pretty face, but quickly erupted into something much more disdainful when she heard a rather undesirable splash. Water! The cursed bird had landed in a body of water. Cursing and ignoring her blistered feet, Lumiere kicked at the tree she was sitting in. When she'd had her fill, and her toes were bloodied, she climbed down, careful not to disturb her offending appendage. Sulkily, she sat down near her destroyed fire.

"Stupid bird, I had you. Had you, yes. Now you feed the wild! Curse the sky! Scrawny little imp you are, you'd hardly have fed me." She scoffed and brought her knees close to her chest. Another night without a cooked meal. How pleasant the forest was.

[Cedric]

__________________________

Cedric;

Scouring the fringes of the woods was always a past time that wavered between being both borderline pleasant and troublesome. Not to mention eerie. It wasn't exactly a job that needed to be done either, seeing as the outpost building's did a well enough job of surveying the surrounding forest for danger. But it was something Cedric felt he must do every now and then. His father would've likely called it a way to simply get himself killed, but it made the younger Guardian feel better about himself. It made him feel like he was doing something useful for once – not to mention it got him away from Maggie and Deven. While Guy was ambivalent that none of his children should hardly even go near the forest, he took a much more amount of care of making sure his younger children stayed away, rather then Cedric.

Pausing in his trek, the small silhouette of the feline eyed his surroundings, as if half expecting something to jump out at him at any second. For a few heartbeats, he simply stood there, only his ears moving at they flicked quickly in several directions. Then, seemingly satisfied, the Guardian once again moved on, soft pawpads making little sound against the damp ground. At least it wasn't cold tonight, though her couldn't say the humidity was any more enjoyable. Sighing in frustration, the tom peered up towards the sky tiredly. Well, it was supposed to be a good thing that he hadn't found anything... though it somehow didn't leave him feeling any more satisfied as it had when he had started his trek.

His quiet night would not last long however, as suddenly a loud noise caught his attention – the raspy calls of crow's, or perhaps raven's in the distance. Muscles tensing, the Guardian was off in a flash, racing through the undergrowth towards the cause of commotion. While it might be nothing, the off chance of someone – or something – was much more of a concern to him then anything else. He arrived at the 'scene' of sorts in moments, tail twitching when he heard muttering just a little beyond. Feline expression twisting it what could presumed confusion, the tom ventured forward, appearing calm, but tense.

Cedric' expectation as to who or what was there went out the figurative window when he finally comprehended what had happened. Pausing mid stride, the tom surveyed the campsite of sorts that lay before him. Utensils and other items were strewn across the ground as if they had been thrown to the side in favor of something else, suggesting the camper had probably lost something or simply had a hissy-fit of sorts. Then there was the peculiar way said camper was muttering to themselves near an extinguished fire. Though those two details weren't what made Cedric stop in alarm. No, it was the faint traces of blood in the air that made him tense up, eyes widening a fraction in the darkness that enveloped the small area. Where there was blood it usually meant a wounded creature of sorts. And where there was a wounded creature there meant potential food. Which could led to bringing...

Eyes hardening, the tom came forward, stopping only a few feet away from the young woman. He did not making such bold and sudden entrances, but the woman was wounded, and any potential at an easy meal around here would be snapped up quickly – regardless of what it was. He could not tell exactly where she was wounded and what extent of the damages were, but there was no meaning that he should hesitate in trying to get her to safety.

Giving a soft and short 'mrow', Cedric announced his presence if she had not noticed him before, eyes locked firmly onto her curled form. How exactly he was going to do this he wasn't sure... but simply not even bothering to try and help the young woman was not an option on his list.

[/font]Kaze No Ne (Sound of the Wind) - Final Fantasy - Crystal Chronicles

[Lumiere Solice]

"Dreadful the way this night has fallen. Sickly!" Lumiere rose in a fit, grabbing, with her good arm, the kettle that hung just above her fading fire. Hissing, she stood ready to throw it down. The force behind her arm wavered as something caught her eye. Her ears tingled as noise broke the stillness of night. What was there? She whirled, ready to strike! No? A cat. A...cat? Turning, she let an eerie smile drape itself about her lips.

"Ooh...Hello kitty. Are you hungry? Want a little...treat? Well! There's nothing for you here! Nothing for me, and nothing for you! Go hunt your mice, your birds, your woodland creatures. Go, and be thankful you can't cast stones. All your food would hit water and rot there." As her voice faded, a sulky tone took her. Sighing, she sat down, dropping the kettle. Reaching down, she picked up a small pouch that she had tossed onto the forest floor in her search for sweet bread and opened it, pulling out some deer jerky that she had obtained on her way through another village.

"I lie, creature. Nature's cruelty is a thing a human knows well. I wonder, are you just as well acquainted with it? Here." She tossed the meat down and waited, a bored and pained look coming to rest against her pretty, but dirt-smeared face. Her feet were in sore condition, and her shoulder hurt worse from all her acting up. She watched blood trickle from her toes, amused for only a moment.

Lifting a strip of the dried meat to her lips, she nibbled, savoring the taste. It was slightly sweet...but spiced. It was oozing with flavor, but age had nearly come to claim it by now. Yes, it was still good, but the aftertaste was one that made her lips curl back in disdain.

"From where do you hail, kitty? You seem well-cared for. Would your people care for me just as well? I doubt it." Here she laughed, bitter and world-weary. She knew well enough her mind had gone, but she could feign sanity for a short while. Faking such a thing had not ended well for her in past endeavors to find a home. Pausing, she looked the tom over. He reminded her of a cat she'd been fond of at her father's estate. He'd been called Martin. That animal had been able to hunt like nobody's business, which was strange, because, as far as Lumiere knew, females were the hunters. She'd thought it was perhaps only that he enjoyed the chase and struggle.

"Very regal thing, you are. Be proud of yourself." She tossed her head, closing her eyes. When she opened them, the look on her face was intense as she studied the features of the beautiful animal.

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