07-31-2017, 08:33 AM (This post was last modified: 07-31-2017, 08:34 AM by Nathanael.)
NATHANAEL
I wasn't there when all hell broke loose but I wasn't far behind. We hadn't heard from dad in awhile and though we knew where he was and that he could take care of himself - long gaps in communication still left Bara and I concerned. He didn't have to come back for us or check up on us anymore - at six years old, we had this shit figured out and he hasn't been part of our demon hunting team since he left for Helovia - but he's still family and family always has your back. After convincing Barakiel to stay behind with Kastiel, Marlena, and the rest of the herd, I left on my own - taking to the skies on powerful wings, thunder following in my wake.
It was difficult to find Helovia at first. Thick black smoke has nearly consumed the entirety of dad's last known location and the effects of it leave a puzzled expression on my dark face. The land below nearly oozes death and destruction, screaming of evil (possibly demonic) forces. Dark, unhealthy, and zero signs of life. My instinct drives me closer, seeking to investigate and hopefully find some trace of dad. Flying just above the reaches of the black smoke, though, only confirms that aerial investigations won't be happening - I can't see through the mess well enough to learn anything useful. I move to descend into it but as soon as my nose drifts beneath the black stuff, I feel like I'm suffocating - the foreign clouds leeching the air from my lungs triggering a small coughing fit before I thrust my wings downward, raising myself above them once more. Pale blue eyes scan the tops of the black stuff, looking for a hole or clearing to drop into. I half expected to come up empty handed and not find anything - thus being forced to turn back and I nearly gave up when I finally saw it. There, towards the south western reaches was a small break, a clearing. I race towards it without a second thought, which really isn't the best idea I've ever had.
By the time I see the portal, it's too late.
I'd been flying fast, too fast to slow down and reverse. Too fast to avoid the pull of the portal. Hurtled into darkness, it's difficult to discern which way is up but the travel is blissfully short and soon I'm falling. But there isn't anything graceful about it. Wings and legs flail in a desperate attempt to right myself before impact. Failure is imminent. The ground is rushing up to meet me so I tuck my wings and legs to brace for my inevitable collision with the foreign soil. I land with a solid thud and a grunt, the breath forced from my lungs and leaving me disoriented for a few moments. I cough as I attempt to inhale, carefully shifting and lifting myself off the ground. "Son of a bitch." I mutter under my breath, voice rough and strained from getting the wind knocked out of me. As soon as I can breathe more steadily again, the burning in my lungs nearly eased, I raise my head to glance around me. The trees are gnarled and dark (practically reaching out for me), glowing neon eyes dot the darkest shadows and for a moment I'm simply frozen. "What the hell?"
(First post with him since he was a baby 4 years ago. Gotta find my sweet spot with him again. xD Have fun with him!)
FOREIGNER
Magic (he was born with these, if he keeps anything just reword it however it makes the most sense, a couple of them seem like they might be vanity magic) ::
- Retractable wings
- Eyes glow light blue - nearly white - with magic use
- Wings produce thunder in flight
No items or anything else. No specific requests. Come say hi to Nate! :D
The entire world seem to shake with thunder. Does this creature think that, simply because he is airborne, that he is safe from the shadows?
They leap up from the gnarled limbs, engulfing him in their greed. In, deep, they reach with their spears of sharp darkness. They twist, steal, take. They are hungry.
And then they leave, off to find another soul to feed from.
There was no such thing as night in the rift; no such thing as day…
There was nothing to actually signify any passing of time at all, except for the drenching rain when (very) occasionally, it paused. The mostly stagnant, ominous weather system was about the only thing (at least the most noticeable) in this surreal, perilous world of neon-brights, that did change. Here and there, events were occurring; strange phenomenons which drew Helovians and their native Riftian counterparts from far and wide, to partake in strange battles; or observe inexplicable milestones. One thing she had come quickly to appreciate, was that the Rift was as unpredictable and treacherous, as it was beautiful.
Seeing Bird again, no matter the cruel nature of the delusion, had fuelled her with motivation to return to the portal; it would be the first time since reuniting with her father’s reanimated corpse, soul - since she had attacked him in a fit of fearful rage there, with the skulking shadows and cold, white eyes bearing witness to her felony. She was yet to forgive herself, though ironically, he had been her steadfast companion for the length of her journey after - goodness only knew why…
For this occasion, however, she was travelling alone
As the rain spewed copiously down from the heavens, Zahra wheeled down through the tepid, misty air towards the (now) familiar jungle of vine and old, gnarled, hideous timber. Like a mirage on the horizon, the mysterious portal winked and rippled transparently though, and otherwise camouflaged; golden eyes breezed across it, with little interest in its peculiar presence this time around. Though, as she sailed still lower, tucked hooves within reach of the tallest, twisted kindling, the air began to shake violently, thunderously, and she was purged from its midst.
Shadows leapt around her, ignoring stale flesh which they’d ravaged once before, yet she struggles, all the same, to free herself from the bed of tendril cloaked twig, just in case; she couldn’t be sure that she was safe, at all. When at last she’d wriggled free, a little bruised - heart thrashing beneath a soft breast - golden eyes sought to survey the murky, sinister undergrowth surrounding and their quiet, cautious search revealed a stranger nearby.
For a moment she stood motionless, wishing perhaps, that she might not be seen; but Zahra had crossed many bridges of late, and his posture - frozen, confused - begged for something more.
There isn't much that surprises him anymore. Being sucked into a portal was a new experience for him, however, and it isn't exactly one he'd like to repeat. Traveling through is dark, disorienting, and blissfully (or perhaps disconcertingly) brief. Thunderous booms quake the air with every flap of his wings but it was suddenly different. Either the portal or this new land warped it, twisting it and - in some ways - made it more powerful. The sound suddenly throws him off balance, not from any sort of force but rather confusing his sense of direction. A dangerous combination with the unfamiliarity of this strange new world. His flight becomes erratic, flailing limbs and uneven wing strokes nearly sending him gracelessly and unceremoniously into the gnarled dark trees that seemed to be reaching out for him.
Only, it didn't just look like the dark tendrils were reaching out for him: they truly were. Unable to react with any level of confidence and efficiency, they latch onto him. The darkness wraps around him, consuming him inch by precious inch. They hold him up, ripping into him like some sort of hellhound. Sharp, like teeth or claws, they pierce his dark and tender flesh; so deep and twisting he's certain they'd scar whatever is left of him when they are done. If they leave anything behind. He grits his teeth, clenching his jaw tight in defiance - refusing to scream or shout. Refusing to let them win. Yet, as quickly as they'd come, they are suddenly gone. Dark shadows disappearing amongst the haunting nearby trees while dropping him like a used toy onto the dark forest floor.
Regaining his footing is the least of his concerns. The plan is simple but concise, which inevitably means that it won't be either. But he's relentless, arguably because he has to be. First, he has to track down Miykael and he sure as hell better be here in this godforsaken place. Nathanael had been frozen for a time, staring into the seemingly dead thicket dotted with glowing neon eyes. An almost hesitant voice reaches his ears, ushering him back to the present moment. "What the hell?" he mutters under his breath, the phrase hardly audible and undirected - merely thrown from his lips as an expression of his own disbelief. He'd never admit to being rattled. Never admit that maybe, just maybe, he doesn't have a plan this time; that maybe he's lost or that he doesn't have the slightest clue if he can just walk through the portal from this side and end up back to where he'd started. Magic frequently isn't that obvious or simple and his entire mission might be for naught. His entire mission just might blow up in his face and though the thought of never seeing Barakiel again was unsettling, he at least knows that she's in good company.
As he turns his head, he finds a graceful form tucked into the shadows. She's a pretty one, of that he has no doubt, and though Bara would urge him into caution, his red-headed twin isn't present to be the angel on his shoulder. Pale grey-blue eyes lock onto her, watching carefully as he nonchalantly snaps his wings open then quietly (and painfully) folds them in. Yet he doesn't fold them they way most wings do, the way Zahra's surely do. Wings and feathers condense, slipping beneath flesh as though into pockets along his spine, and disappear entirely from sight. Well, at least that didn't get warped too. "Hey, you alright?" he asks, his voice warm and deep. Though charming, his mannerisms could be considered less refined; more bad boy than gentleman. More flirtatious ladies man than romantic family man. Even still, the concern hidden behind his question is real. It is his job to save and protect the innocent after all; and he is certain there is more innocence than demon in this golden eyed girl.
Tall, dark and handsome, the feathered man swivelled his lifted face at the notice of her soft and tentative voice.
Others purged from life into this shadowy, demon-filled realm, had reacted to the change – the surprise – with bursting volatility and aggression (she herself had dabbled on the brink of insanity, once), but there were far finer aspects to the Rift, that lurked beyond reach of the naked, presumptuous eye; the obvious. For that reason, the painted mare with the golden-tinged stomach paused a moment longer to observe his unceremonious arrival, his reaction, and only when the hue of his burly, virile voice tempted her waiting ears forward, did Zahra move from the breath of billowing shade.
To her surprise, those glorious array of black and white feathers which had flanked him and appealed to her want for kinship, seemed to vanish from sight and very briefly, neat, sturdy hooves ceased their cautious tread; uncertainly she searched him, scoured him, until the lure of his charmingly gallant exterior eroded that suspicion. "Aye…" the sweet note of insecurity danced ahead of her stride, "I’m Zahra." The mood of her bonded – the voice in her mind – shifted to caution, and the tiny spider (though certainly imperceptible), threaded a path up to the handy pinnacle of her sister’s poll.
From her vantage point, Ilham examined the stranger who’d lulled the wariness in the golden-girl to rest.
He is not familiar… she whispered, sensibly.
Zahra nodded gently so as not to displace the puny arthropod, “no, but he is different.”
She couldn’t deny the stir of faint attraction as she extended forth her plush, whiskered maw to meet him. He was lovely, strong despite the cruel introduction to this place (most weren't), and as she delved further into the healthy contours of his exterior, it struck her – he reminds me of Da. A small smile leaked into her otherwise passive outlook. "Are you alright?" she asked with care, signalling with bold, expressive eyes towards the awkward-looking nakedness of his shoulders.
The Portal
