ON THE HUNT FOR MOTES!
Kin Name: Shadowed Moon
Preference List: ten, three, twenty, twenty-one, eight, fifteen, seventeen, four, eighteen, nine, one, nineteen, five, fourteen, thirteen, two, twelve, seven, six, sixteen, eleven
RP: 7: Your kin imagines they are a different species of kin!
The buck had hoped perhaps his normal wandering, often done while chasing the spots of light before him, might have helped him catch one of those elusive motes, but so far his attempts had been to no avail. Eventually he was so turned around Shadowed Moon was honestly concerned whether he’d find his way back or not. That sort of thing was hard enough when one could see, especially in an unknown part of the swamp (at least for him, though normally he managed to luck his way back to the places that were important to him though a mixture of hard work and good timing) but at this point Shadowed Moon was quite convinced he might end up walking in the completely wrong direction on his way back. It was when he found himself lost in thought, no longer searching for it, that the light appeared in front of him.
The mote, near blinding in the darkness, seemed to have manifested out of thin air. Shadowed Moon closed his eyes, head turning away from the sudden brightness which left him stunned and blinking. When he regained his composure, the buck found the mote still floating before him, bobbing almost invitingly. He eyed it for a moment, wondering when it would dart off, but unlike his previous experiences this one didn’t seem to be leading him on a fruitless hunt. He tentatively went to step forward at it and found himself head over hooves as he tripped, the buck’s legs suddenly ungainly beneath him, as though he was a foal again.
Confused, the buck attempted to untangle himself, which proved more difficult than expected. His strangely heavy body seemed much less flexible than he was used to, and he kept catching himself on his seemly longer fur, hooves and limbs snagging and pulling it when he tried to move. Eventually, he managed to get himself mostly upright and looked down at this forelegs, which were (luckily…?) lit enough from the gentle light of the mote still floating above him to give him at least idea of what lay before him. To the buck’s shock his legs seemed to have both shrunk and grown, thick and stocky, with the thick hair and rough hooves characteristic of the Totoma.
Had he… turned into a Totoma? While the Helpers had told him the motes might cause visions this was all too real. It was like being back in the caves, skipping between fantasy and reality. Struggling to his feet the buck looked up at the mote once more (had he shrunk or had the mote risen?) and pondered his choices. While he had already decided he wanted to try and calm himself down, if only to remind himself that he wasn’t in the caves anymore, and whatever strange fever had taken over them had long since passed… right? At which point the buck came to the conclusion that thinking this over would likely just cause him more stress and jumped at the mote.
The mote easily bobbed out of the way and slowly darted off into the woods, the Kimeti-turned-Totoma chasing after it. While he was more reckless than normal in his wild abandon Shadowed Moon didn’t want to think if this was due to his new form, or simply his panic at the situation. His own experience with Totoma was hard to judge, as he knew few and they were… well odd individuals. But then again so was he by Kimeti standards so it was hard to tell if that was normal. Either way it seemed like he would never get used to this body, no matter how much he tried to watch his hooves or judge his movements by feel Shadowed Moon found himself falling into root holes, tripping into trees and many more painful mishaps…
Until he suddenly found himself back with the Helpers, mote drifting in front of him and an aching, but Kimeti, body once again. Confused and in pain from the sheer number of falls and crashing into trees he had done the buck simply collapsed into a heap, much to tired to deal with anything else for at least a little while. That much was fine right? Perhaps be wasn’t quite over his experience with the Obelisks… well, not like he could ignore the sky, and the hidden moon. With a sigh the buck let the Helpers deal with his hard-won mote and closed his eyes, hoping sleep would come quickly to quiet his racing mind for at least a short rest before… whatever else was to come.
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ON THE HUNT FOR MOTES!
Kin Name: Fire in the Night
Preference List: ten, three, twenty, twenty-one, eight, fifteen, seventeen, four, eighteen, nine, one, nineteen, five, fourteen, thirteen, two, twelve, seven, six, sixteen, eleven
RP: 7: Your kin imagines they are a different species of kin!
Fire in the Night had always enjoyed chasing lights in the darkness. She enjoyed anything really fun really, but the glow of light seemed to draw her in like a moth to the flame. It's one of the reasons she liked fire so much, and had spent so much time learning to create it herself (though her method was less than normal) so this darkness had been a bit of an unexpected boon. While she didn't want it to last forever (after all, so many fun things would disappear if the sun never came back) she was quite enjoying this novel experience. When the Helpers had asked if she wanted to chase down some motes the Acha had jumped for joy, how fun! For a while she'd simply been chasing them around and around in circles, watching them frit to and fro just out of her reach, which was quite enjoyable. Eventually once the doe was panting for air, she decided she was tired of running for now, and wanted to do something else.
Ah, if only Breathless was here, but most of the herds familiars were back at their Resting Place, for their own safety more then anything, and while a moth would normally be fine at night Breathless was so dark Nurtures Life had mentioned that another kin or creature could intentionally or unintentionally attack or injure the moth due to not being able to see them or intentionally taking advance of the darkness. Well the moth didn't seem to mind, and had been happily flitting around Beneath the Surface and his daughters, who themselves glowed like beacons in the dark, which was the main reason those three were staying at their Resting Place to keep the light for those who stayed behind. Well, not like she couldn't make fire without Breathless, it was just so much more explosive! Either way, in the darkness any fire was sure to look lovely. She was getting excited just thinking about it. Now, time to prepare for a burst!
As the Acha prepped her throat for the upcoming blast, breathing deep and feeling the sensation building in her throat, she pondered the Kimeti and Zikwa, who were able to glow like the motes. Ah it brought up the feeling of envy, for the doe did wish she could glow just like her name, and while she was happy with her lithe and agile shape, the lack of luminescence was something she could not have. Taking another deep breath the Acha burped and scrapped her teeth together, hitting the rocks ground in between her teeth just right and breathing up a small ball of fire. Giggling to herself the doe did it a few more times, the balls were various shapes and sizes (she hadn't quite figured out what the difference was or how she did it, but it did cause a different feeling in her throat when it happened) and Fire in the Night was quite enjoying getting to live her namesake. So much so that she didn't notice that the motes had come much much closer...
Until they seemed to flash in her face, leaving her dazed, her flames turning to simple sparks in her mouth. Coughing on her aborted fireball, the doe originally planned to jump on the motes around her but was instantly distracted by her now glowing body! Her oranges and yellows now pulsed with the warm glow only a Kimeti could have (she felt Zikwa had a colder glow, but hadn't exactly done a whole lot of testing on that) and while her body was no longer quite so lithe, Fire in the Night was quite enjoying this new look. Dancing around with the motes, watching her colors splash across her surrounds was so much fun! Oranges, reds and even the faint yellows of her eyes reflected off her purple fur and danced across her surrounds, the motes themselves adding splashes of bright light across the trees around her.
This night was turning out much more enjoyable then she had expected! The doe had long since forgotten her goal, or any warnings the Helpers had given her about illusions, she was having to much fun in her newly imagined state to care about returning with her enraptured motes. The Acha-turned-Kimeti simply continued her dance, building up a new batch of fire breath to add to her own fire-y light as she danced through the forest, skipping out across the swamp to wherever her hooves took her.
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ON THE HUNT FOR MOTES!
Kin Name: Spring's Passing
Preference List: ten, three, twenty, twenty-one, eight, fifteen, seventeen, four, eighteen, nine, one, nineteen, five, fourteen, thirteen, two, twelve, seven, six, sixteen, eleven
RP: 7: Your kin imagines they are a different species of kin!
While the doe had originally been planning to stay with the herd, not because she uncomfortable with the prospect of talking to strangers (dire times called for dire measures after all), but because she was worried about the many pets and familiars within the herd. How might they fare without someone to speak for them? To share their worries and make sure they were safe? However, when she was sharing her worries with Nurtures Life, he had no only reassured her that he would take care of everyone in the tribe, kin and companion (animal or plant) alike, but that her glowing eyes could be an asset to anyone needing a light in the darkness. While she could have taken that to mean she should stay, Beneath the Surface, Greenshell Mussels and Sea Sparkle let out enough of a glow on their own to set alight nearly the entire clearing, so she knew what he really meant. However, it was something she had to decide for herself, though she knew the buck was suggesting that getting out and talking to others (kin-type others) would be good for her either way.
Spring's Passing had picked herself up and headed right over! Following closely behind Shadowed Moon of course. No reason to head out alone right away if she didn't need too. Who knows who you could run into, and she needed some comforting company while she prepared herself mentally for the tasks ahead. The buck was quite reassuring, assuaging her fears and reminding her that several of her other herd mates had set out, so even if they were separated it was entirely possible to find another familiar face. This was comforting, as while she wasn't the best at talking to kin it was much easier to talk to the ones she'd known for summers upon summers, as opposed to strange new faces. It always made her tense up for some reason. When the Helpers were handing out tasks, she decided she was going to chase some motes first. After all, her skills with the creatures of the lands could be of some help here, and it was better to slowly get used to things after all. No need to jump in head first to something like a... conversation... with a
kin.
While she had originally intended to see if any of the creatures nearby might have some ideas, there were surprisingly few roaming around. She supposed the darkness had sent them either hiding or hunting, or perhaps both, and the lack of returning day was throwing things off. It made sense, but did make her job a bit harder. Either way, the doe dutifully followed the motes, attempting to catch them, trying to speak with them, and everything else she could think of until finally, when she had nearly given up, one drifted over to her face. In awe over her luck, the doe reached her nose forward only to be greeted by a sudden flash of light. Confused, Spring's Passing quickly looked at ground and blinked a few times. Wondering why her legs were taking so long to come back into focus before she realized it wasn't that her eyes weren't focused. Her legs were just... really, really... small? The doe lifted a hoof and shook it, but it was indeed her hoof.
Her limbs looked like, Acha... or maybe Zikwa? legs, she honestly didn't spend enough time looking at kin to know the difference, she couldn't remember exactly what one would do to know. The doe supposed it probably didn't matter in this instance, as it wasn't like this was real... right? The Helpers had said the motes might cause you to have visions, so perhaps this was just a very, very strange vision. The doe sighed, pondering if maybe she should spend some more time looking at kin instead of just familiars. Maybe she'd stare at Nurtures Life somemore... wait, wasn't he abnormal for a kin too? Something about being part-Totoma? The doe sighed to herself. Dealing with kin was strangely difficult, even if those different kin were just... you? Looking down at her wrinkled legs and strangely hairless body the doe pondered what she was going to do. Well, maybe she'd just ask the motes to follow her and... hope they would? Yah, this was enough strangeness for one day. Hopefully this strange vision would wear off by the time she got back to the Helpers.