There was a spot on the island where the forming flow sunk beneath the waves and was pummeled in places by the force of the water. When the tide rolled out, it revealed a coastline of craggy pools, separated off by craggy ridges, like miniature mountain ranges, a tiny, topographical map of a completely different world. Sea creatures of all sorts hemmed and hawwed in the small pools, starfish and urchins and even tiny fish, who seemed to flit around with anxious energy, probably counting every single, dreadful second until the seawater would return and free them from their tiny prison where the oxygen was steadily diminishing with each minute slither of gills.
Kassandra was avoiding the great, green, living mass of the jungle which pulsed at the center of the island like some terrible, wonderful tumor; the wind brushed a raspy breath along the sparse grass and broad-leafed shrubs at its outer rim, and the tops of ring-trunked trees swayed and bent under their very height. Small flashes of color, beautiful climbing flowers, chirping tropical birds, and probably a monkey or two bent the inner boughs and gave the jungle some movement to the outside eye; to Kass it seemed a poison fruit, beautiful and tempting but terrible and taboo all at the same time. She had great reservations about exploring its depths, but she was no stranger to the push and pull of fate; something had drawn her here, though what it was, she did not know. It could be horrible or it could be wonderful; she would end up pushing into the jungle. Despite her lingering fears, she knew it was unavoidable— but it was not urgent, necessarily, not yet.
Nearby, Oculos was perched on a slight ridge, staring into a tidal pool with his amazing vision, stock still save for the gentle twitch, raise, or lowering of one or both of his ears. Kassandra, distracted by some tiny crabs marching in and out of a forest of flotsam, turned away and walked over to where her Bonded sat to see what was arresting his attention so much. She came to his side and snorted.
A dead fish, silver belly up, yellowed eyes staring aimlessly off at the far horizon, floated gently this way and that on the ripples of the tide pool. It was small, not five inches long, with black fins and a black line across the width of its tail. Kassandra did not want to ask the Borzoi why he was so fascinated with the piscine corpse; she had a terrible feeling she already knew. She tossed her head into the distance and considered entering the jungle just to distract herself from what was coming next.
Her suspicions were confirmed when Oculos licked his lips and asked, (‘Should I eat it?’)
“No!” Kassandra said, disgusted and disappointed but not at all surprised. When she and Oculos had been drying and dying in the desert they ate whatever came to them, and so the sighthound had consumed the remnants of many dehydrated corpses; it may make her hifalutin, but Kassandra had hoped those days were behind them. Maybe a bit of those silverite and ivory cage bars had worn off on her, cage though it was. “Go into the jungle to hunt,” she suggested, “maybe you can catch a monkey.”
(‘Hrmph,’) Oculos grunted, laying down int he sand with a grumble in his throat. The tips of his curved nails and white-capped paws dipped into the dead fish’s resting place. (‘This is here and ready, though I’ve not eaten monkey before…’)
Kassandra sighed, unable to keep a bit of the haughty disgust from her tone, and moved further on down the coastline, hoping to find something to keep her mind off the looming expanse of the jungle behind her.
kassandraoculos | 634 | @Huehuecoyotl | I really gotta go to work so this is a bit short & I'm not super happy with the coding but BIG SHRUGS ; also this is going to be the first chronological thread of her on the island, for my own notes
06-25-2019, 01:01 PM
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Chaosy [PM] Posts: 91 — Threads: 10 Signos: 0
The sassy stallion decided that the island seemed like the best place to explore that day, traveling through the realm until he had reached the bridge. He leapt into a canter that betrayed the friesian blood that coursed through his veins. He definitely took after his sire more than his dam, only receiving the blanket from his appaloosa mother. Once across the cooled lava, he plunged deep into the brush, no particular goal in mind.
“No! Go into the jungle to hunt, maybe you can catch a monkey.” The words and the underlying disgust caught his attention and he veered toward the source, slowing and moving as silently as he could through the brush. Coming to the edge of the forest, he saw a strikingly colored mare and some sort of canine. Tilting his head, he observed the pair as they discussed something around a tidal pool. A stray thought nearly made him chuckle and give himself away. Bel would be trying to rescue the creatures in the pools. As he took in the night sky reminiscent pelt of the mare, he began to make his way around them while staying in the brush. While he moved, he let loose strange noises whenever he was out of sight.
When he was sure that he was behind the pair, Coy leapt out into the open. "RAH!!" He bellowed, trying to frighten the mare. His intentions were not cruel, rather all in fun. However that didnt mean that was how things would turn... Heavens knew he had a tendency to get himself in more trouble when he played pranks on others.
Settling onto his acid green hooves, Coy tossed his head proudly and smiled at the mare as he waited for her to respond. Who knew... maybe she would send the canine after him and he would have to flee...
@Kassandra "Coy Sass" Notes: Coy decided upon scaring XD
They were set at a disadvantage to Coyote’s apparent sneak attack: Kassandra was far more occupied with ignoring her Bonded companion and his fantasies of the stomach, as well as blocking out the large, hulking mass of dread which seemed to emanate from the center of the island; Oculos, despite being a canine and, supposedly, having enhanced hearing and scent, was more focused using his sharp eyesight to watch his maybe-snack bob and lull in the pushes of the waves; his ears were full of ocean sound and his nose stuffed with the reek of dead fish and other good smells trapped by the weight of the water.
And so, when he lunged from the foliage cover with an (almost comical) roar, both Kass and her canine companion startled. Kass sucked in a sharp gasp and tossed her head, turning her crown on an angle to get a go-ahead look at whoever their aggressor was, and assess the truth of the threat level. Her back legs kicked under as she half-reared, short silverite-white main flashing up with the motion. A cloud of sand billowed up underneath her and she whirled, keeping her back to the aquatic expanse surrounding them. She saw the stallion at once, his pelt a myriad of nights and emeralds, and, knowing so little of Novus and especially this new place here, thought at once he was sent from within the jungle, perhaps to punish her for her tardiness and hurry her unto her fate. There was no threat or aggression written on his features, and though his sharp grin was not altogether malicious, it was not comfortable and kind, either.
Still, he did not seem to want to attack her. She unpinned her ears and instead listed them forward, questioningly. Her nostrils flared as she gathered his scent and her hindquarters came untucked, no longer prepared to run— or, in the worst case, leap into the ocean and swim.
Oculos, on the other hand, lunged forward with a sharp bark of shock. Had he been a dog of normal proportions, perhaps his surprised jump to freedom would have placed him safely in the tidal pool; he was not, however, an average shaped dog, and instead his full extension landed him beyond the walls and valleys of the tide pools and, instead, he splashed out into the lowest point of the tide, up to his mid-leg in seawater. It was a messy, calamitous, unsightly thing, the thrashing and the splashing of silver water as he gained his bearings and struggled to calm down.
Kassandra took her attention from the stranger and called, “Oculos?” with gentle concern, taking a few precautionary steps towards him. All at once the splashing stopped, and the Borzoi stood to just above the knee in the sea, though his fur was wet all over and dripping with saltwater. His tail was tucked, his ears were pinned, and his chest was expanding and contracting with rapid motions. Oculos looked all the world like he would panic and pass out until he swallowed hard— Kassandra watched the tail of the dead fish vanish from where it peeked out of the corner of his mouth— regained his composure, and stepped onto shore.
(‘Yep, worth it,’) he said, burping slightly, (‘totally worth it.’)
Kassandra groaned in disgust and flicked her tail in a comparable version of a horse face palm. Her Bonded was usually very protective of her… but he also loved a good prank. Oculos probably had, like, a seventh or so sense for someone who was just joshing, which explained why his only response to Coyote’s ’sneak attack’ was a languid decompressing stretch and yawn. (‘He got us pretty good, huh,’) the canine asked, striding over towards his companion.
“Yes, sure,” Kassandra allowed, aware the stranger could not hear Oculos’ words and, for a moment, it would seem like she was speaking to herself, “but… why?” She perked her ears and addressed the stallion, a tilt to her head that inferred curiosity. “Is that… your way of greeting new people? It’s quite strange… oh!” She gasped, forgetting herself. “I don’t mean to be rude, of course. It’s just… I’ve never experienced a hello quite like that.”
kassandra oculos | 701 | @Huehuecoyotl | i really need to slow down and pay attention to my coding bc i cant do my normal coding on mybb so everything can get a bit. hinky lmao. anyhow sorry for the wait & sudden speech color change akjsdfas
07-01-2019, 12:46 PM
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Chaosy [PM] Posts: 91 — Threads: 10 Signos: 0
It took every bit of willpower to not laugh hysterically at the reactions of the mare and her companion. He caught the canine's amusement as he watched the pair, though he couldnt understand anything between the two. Coy couldnt completely erase the snorts that were escaping as he fought not to laugh.
“Oculos? Yes, sure, but… why?" Coy flicked an ear as she spoke to the canine and tilted his head. "Does he actually respond in a way that is understandable?" It was genuine curiosity that colored his words. He had not been around companions much and still didnt quite understand how it worked. He had a feeling that the why was directed at him, but he chose not to respond as he was watching the mare and her canine.
"Is that… your way of greeting new people? It’s quite strange… oh! I don’t mean to be rude, of course. It’s just… I’ve never experienced a hello quite like that.” Coy snorted in laughter as she spoke again. He loved startling others as a way to start things off. It usually either really irritated them or made them laugh. This poor mare didnt seem to know what she thought of him and that was even better. "I cant say that I have a normal way of greeting... At least this one didnt result in blood on my pelt." The memory of being impaled by the little... doe... would probably be permanently seared into his brain. "I am Huehuecoyotl... though most call me Coy or Coyote." He introduced himself, subtly straightening his frame and lifting his proud head.
However misleading their original encounter may have been, the vibrant, somewhat discordant colored stallion did not seem to mean them any harm. Indeed, Kassandra was getting the idea she was the victim of a harmless, if perhaps not-so-innocent, joke. If Coyote was looking for any sort of ashamed or angered reaction to give him a secondary form of glee, however, he would not get it here. This joke— or, all but the hint of the essence of it— was already soaring so far over and beyond Kassandra’s head it might have well been an albatross rising over the ocean. To be clear, it was not stupidity which made her immune to such jests, but an overabundance of curiosity, which drained the fear and apprehension from many scenarios like some sort of childlike vampire, much to the dismay of Oculos, who was well set on keeping his companion alive.
Speaking of the hound, he was more comfortable and familiar with this verdant stranger than some others Kassandra had met. He simply figured if Coyote had meant to do either of them harm, it already would have been done; besides, he was wholeheartedly split down the middle between being impressed by the stallion’s ‘sneak attack’, and inwardly chastising himself for letting his guard down.
Does he actually respond in a way that is understandable? The stallion prompted, and Kass frowned a bit in consternation. While it was true she and Oculos’ could share thoughts, he was a very vocal creature, which, perhaps, differed from other bonded companions. Most of what he said to Kassandra had an outward vocalization which came along with it, but to Kass, it was all just… just words. “Yes, he does!” she insisted, a bit excited by the revelation. “Aside from when he’s being silly, of course.”
The stallion responded to her question with a laugh; Kassandra felt as though she was being laughed at a lot today. “I… see…” she ruminated, sounding more confused and less impressed. She did not like the idea of being someone who regularly injured, or became injured, because of their strange greeting tendencies. “Does it happen often? The— the bleeding?” If so, Kassandra mused, she would change up her introduction techniques.
The name the stallion gave sounded to Kassandra like someone having a bad cough, or perhaps an injured lung. She sounded it out in her head and was very thankful when he gave her a shorter title to call him by. Coy, she thought, seemed right, given what limited things she knew about his social tendencies. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, ser Coyote,” Kassandra said, responding to the minute changes in his stature with a polite curtsy— a slight bend in all the knees, neck elongated, head on a gentle angle— because the lessons in etiquette forced into her like a square peg into a round hole by her aunt, Queen Nethalandin, were as much a part of her now as her own bones and flesh. “My name is Kassandra, and my companion’s name is Oculos.”
She righted herself, and walked a little closer to Coyote. “May I ask what brings you to the island?” she questioned, ears perked forward in a curious tilt. “Or are you just here to scare people?” It was not meant to be a drag on his character, but a genuine question. For all she knew, that’s what he did— traveled the world, jumping out of bushes, and frightening others.
