Round 2 Collab Applications

[Vin]

North

Gauta Firstflame
Fisher
Late Thirties


[spoiler]"Do you see this, dearest?" asked Gauta as her fluffy tail twitched, her sleek body grounded to a halt and the bones rattled one last time, dancing with the smoke filtering through holes from the bowl. "A different song!"

"I have my doubts, mother." Bonn shook his head. "Using fires for divining? I do not see the point in this."

Gauta turned to the beast she had raised for fifteen seasons. With the firelight below the bowl, the cave was illuminated with the faces of the many Bone Rattlers who had walked so she could run. Some of the drawings were lifelike - the fisher could feel her son's humorous gaze atop the wall - while others have been whittled away by the ravages of time, or, like Gauta's, had been poorly drawn. Rellan remarked that her pitch-black face looked like some sort of ex-edible.

Thankfully, having to create self-portraits was the worst portion of her duties, being the only part her mate had failed to teach her. She knew which bones were to go into the bowls first, how quickly her limbs needed to sway, and when to end the long dance. When to stop all motions and listen to the voice that blended past, present and future into a single melody - The Song Of All That Lives. One world, one song, one fate.

Or so Gauta thought before the flame called to her.

"Do you not hear, son?" The older fisher's tail began to swing madly. "Shaking the bones oneself is not reliable in the slightest. Every group of Rattlers has a different way of doing so, but there is only one true future! There must be some constant holding all the different strands of destiny together, I am sure of it!"

"And you think that constant is fire?" asked Bonn. "The same fire that consumed our woods just days ago?"

"There is no need to remind me. I was there!" Gauta threw up her paws in exasperation. "Fire has taken trees and grass and converted them into dead earth and deader ashes, but it is from these where new life grows! I heard the flames, its shouts, its shrieks, its screams! Never before have I felt so alive!"

A flash of alarm surged onto Bonn's eyes. "Mother, are you well?"

"Look around you, Bonn!" Immersed in her ecstasy, the senior Rattler let go of the bowl, sending the bones spinning around the cave-floor. "It is no to the flame this world shall meet its end! It's something else! It rises and consumes all that is in its way! Earth, plants, beasts-"

"Gauta!" Rough paws shook the fisher away from her trance. "Stop this at once!"

The fisher's eyes snapped shut, and a few seconds passed before they opened again, gazing upon another fisher. Unlike Bonn and his mother, his father's fur was nut-brown, and his stern grey eyes stared right through her.

"Rellan," Gauta muttered. "You're back."

"I heard all about you, Gauta," said the beast she called her mate. "You and your ramblings about destructive, chaotic fire. Chaos is something that's to be extinguished, not kindled!"

"You can't kill chaos. Just because you're a decade older than I-"

"I taught you everything you needed to know, Gauta!" shouted the old fisher as he bent down, gathering bone after bone from the ground. Bonn rushed to help his father, but he was quickly waved away.

"I know."

"And you taught me all you knew as well." Rellan took a deep breath. "We've been together forever, through hot and cold. Together we laughed when our kits were born and together we cried when the plague took them. Why abandon us? Why chase a phantom flame?"

"You will never understand the summons. The calling's more than just a hope or dream, more than any hunger or thirst." Gauta's fearful eyes turned to her mate and kit. "I have heard tales from the citybeasts who visit us. Whispers of ruination, of a slowly encroaching tide, of a mass of water that nobeast alive can stop. Only the flame can lead us away from it, and it calls me away from home. It calls me towards the south."

Bonn's jaw hung away from the rest of his head as his mind struggled to form a response, but a paw on his head put that process to a halt.

"And then what?" Rellan asked, his brows furrowing. "You can struggle as hard as you like, but you can't fight against the Song. Forget about your fires, we provide guidance! Stay here, and do your duty while we do ours."

"Mother!" Bonn finally cried out. "Please don't leave us..."

"No," spoke Gauta Firstflame as she turned away and took the first of many steps away from home. "Worry about yourself, dearest. My fate lies elsewhere."[/spoiler]

South

Scorpio, Lord Of Rain, Bringer Of Floods
Gila Monster
40s

[spoiler]Desperate claws scrambled for higher ground as storm clouds rumbled impatiently overhead. Precariously balanced atop the tall rock structures of a closed ravine, Scorpio reached towards the heavens from a clearing in the stone. Nothing. Nothing. And finally a droplet as his pursuer followed him in.

"Nowhere left to run," called the Ringbearer, unable to hide the hunger in his voice.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Scorpio grinned down at his quarry. "Come to seek your fortune? I can tell right away what fate has in store for a fine young beast like you." He ducked; a stone from the hare's sling flew past his head. "You're going to die!"

"Says the sitting duck." The hare whirled around his loaded sling. "You're unarmed. Alone. And in no position to defend yourself. Lies and bluffery won't save you."

"Lies? Bluffery?" Scorpio hissed, shaking raindrops off his head. "I'm an Interpreter! We are oathbound to speak nothing but the truth." He ducked back behind the rock as the second stone whizzed past. "You still have Interpreters, surely? Or were you warmbloods so convinced of your own superiority that you discarded everything my clan ever built?"

"We tore it apart," the Ringbearer boasted, his voice raised so as to be heard over the storm. "Come down, lizard. Better a swift death than a slow one. I know you're wounded."

"Oh, really?" Scorpio put on a tone of surprise. "And what makes you think that? The blood on the ground?" The interpreter threw back his head, and laughed. "Did you really think that after so many moons on the run I would make a mistake so utterly juvenile?"

With a grunt, the hare let loose another projectile. Without missing a beat, Scorpio caught it.

"Don't you see? It was hubris. It always is! You were so convinced, so utterly blinded by your own glory hunting that you thought you could end me in one fell swoop. You didn't even consider that a beast of my talents could leave a trail knowing it would be found! Knowing it would be followed! Do you really think I'm the only thing that bleeds?" Scorpio let the sling stone clatter to the ground and chuckled. "The funny thing about my being a vengeful spirit is... I can't actually kill you! I'm an Interpreter! There are vows! We're bound by oath to remain aloof from the dealings of the world. Forbidden to interfere. Only to guide, but never to lead."

Lightning struck the desert and shook the cavern walls. The lizard's voice grew colder.

"So I guided you... to Death."

The hare growled and tossed his sling aside. Taking a running start, he threw himself at the base of Scorpio's perch, and slipped to the ground.

"Wet rock makes for poor climbing," Scorpio taunted. "While I wait for you to get up here, how about a little lesson?"

"Shut it, lizard!" the Ringbearer snarled.

Said lizard payed him no heed. "I'm sure you know all about the water cycle! The scorching rays of the sun turn our precious water into clouds. After every hot day a cloud is formed until the heavens can no longer hold it all in and it is released all at once! This is the phenomenon known as 'rain'."

A distant rumble, but not of thunder. Scorpio quickened his pace. It would not do to have the hare die before knowing the gravity of the situation. What fun was food if it couldn't be played with?

"We normally get very little of it, but every once in a while the heavens burst and it begins to pour, and I'm afraid your mother never told you why you should never follow a crazy old lizard into a cavern during a thunderstorm." The rumble was tumultuous. Scorpio shouted to be heard. "But don't worry, we still have time for me to explain it to you! You see, sand does not hold water well, so instead of going straight down it builds up momentum very quickly, and goes wherever it wants to."

The hare was ignoring him completely. Too little, too late.

"Seek higher ground when the rains come, or else you might be swept away. And unfortunately for you... I have the high ground."

The rumble grew deafening, and as if the ocean itself had come marching in, a wave burst into the canyon and slammed the hare against a wall. If that didn't kill him, the floating debris flash floods carried with them would. Failing that, he would drown in the rapidly rising current.

Scorpio clambered down and fished the discarded sling out of the water. "There's a joke to be made about drowning in a desert." As the rain pattered down ceaselessly, the lizard filled the cavern with the echoes of his laughter.[/spoiler]

Locke the Laughing Lance
Ocelot
Adult, 30ish

[spoiler]"Commander, I found the source of our missing supplies," a less than gentle push sent the raccoon stumbling through the tent flap, tail tucked between his legs.

The ocelot merely twitched his tail at the presence of the thief and the coyote who dragged him in. The feline was bare-chested save for the two wedding rings hanging by a chain around his neck. He was hunched over the war table, peering at the map of the battle that would take place tomorrow.

The moment of silence continued until the coyote coughed politely.

"Hmmm? Oh! Ari! Yes, yes, let me look at him," Locke turned quickly. He walked or rather prowled, thought Ari, around the thief, "Kind of skinny for the soldier stealing our food, ain't he?"

"You're one to talk," Ari almost said out loud. Even so, she felt regret thinking it. Every member of the Ring deserved respect, especially the original members who were practically living legends. Ari herself was secretly excited when she learned who would be leading this lizard hunting force. To fight alongside one of the greatest pit fighters turned freedom fighters, Ari told herself she should be ecstatic right now.

It was just that Locke's legend was a little less... well-rounded than in real life, and less chatty. So much less chatty.

"Let's see... Shadowpaw, right?"

"Yes sir," the raccoon said quietly.

"Your parents willingly chose 'Shadowpaw' as a name? Sounds more like something a thief would call himself to sound 'cool'. But then again, here we are. So who am I to complain?"

Before the raccoon could reply, the cat threw an arm around his shoulder, "I don't know which disappoints me more, Shadowpaw, you stealing from your brothers in the Ring or the fact that you got caught. I thought I taught the new beasts better than that! Too much of Kango's training. He's a horrible thief. Why, one time in the fighting pits..."

Ari could not hide her own disappointment that the seriousness of the moment was being lost in the cat's ramblings. Maybe there is a reason none of the other original Ring members were involved in running this platoon.

"Locke," she breathed deeply.

"Right, sorry. Ari, remind me what the penalty for stealing is now?"

Shadowpaw gulped as Ari drew her knife, "The right paw."

"Please..." he began.

"Sorry, kiddo. Back when we were just a band of misfits I would have just boxed your ears, but we are an army now. Nothing but pro-tee-calls. An army can't run properly if you break them."

Ari tuned out the following pleadings of the raccoon. This little song and dance were playing out about how she expected it would go. Locke would put the fear of the Shade in him, but he would show mercy in the end.

"We-e-e-ll, I suppose I can forgo the rules this once. We will need every able paw for tomorrow's battle."

Just as Ari thought, the feline has gone soft in more than one-

"You will cut off your tail instead."

"...what?" both beasts chorused.

"Not the entire tail, mind you, just a paw length will due."

"B-but, sir!"

"Here, use my knife," Locke thrust his hold-out knife into the thief's paws. It looked heavier in his claws than it should have, "You see, kiddo, the Ring is more than some grand adventure to join. It's a brotherhood of guardians. Now, if I can't trust you to guard something as simple as food, why should I trust you with such grander responsibility?"

Locke's grin disappeared, "So can I trust you, or should I cut you lose right here... leagues away from any civilization not controlled by lizards?"

Shadowpaw looked up into the impassive face of his leader. With tears in his eyes, the thief grabbed his tail in one paw and the knife in the other.

Locke was immune to the cries of pain that ensued.

Afterward, Locke retrieved his knife and the lost portion of the raccoon's tail before dismissing him.

Shadowpaw turned to leave but stopped when Locke called out, "Are you not going to thank me for my mercy?"

Pausing as if stricken, Shadowpaw growled as low as he dare, "Thank you... sir."

Now left alone with the coyote the big ocelot sighed, "You youngsters got it easy. The lizards would have cut off his tail at the neck and eat the rest."

Ari was still speechless as Locke gazed off into some unseen distance while fiddling with the rings about his neck.

With a feral grin, Locke stabbed the bloody knife into the table, piercing the lizard's stronghold on the map they were going to invade along with the rough drawing of the enemy leader's face, "Tomorrow we will show those reptiles what real mercy is..."[/spoiler]

Ixchel
Ocelot
35

[spoiler]Ixchel woke up, stretching her paws as the first beams of the sunlight creaked through her cave. Standing up to full height, she'd reach for her staff, carved as it was with strange markings, she smiled as they slightly reminded her of home.  Somebeast was at her door, she could tell easily by their scent, as her whiskers twitched. Stepping out into the light, she could see them more clearly, as she raised a paw to shield against the light of the sun.

"You're early," The Ocelot would reply to the jackrabbit standing at the entrance. He was an older beast, one with iron on his wrists, denoting him as being of the Ring. He stepped forward again, a bundle in his arms, as he laid down a basket of prickly pear that had been stripped of its thorns. Ixchel gave it a cursory glance as she nodded.

The cat would walk to the side, where there was a clearing in the sagebrush. As she directed the rabbit to sit, she'd take out a stick, looking at where the sun was sitting in the sky. The rabbit raised an eyebrow, as she'd explain. "The Gash are many, although hidden from you. In the canyons they lurk, desperate for a reprieve from your gaze." She smiled slightly at him as the stick would be held outward, and she'd place tokens, strange carved shapes from the southern lands in a semi circle.

It was clear to both what the intent was, as she started to hum a foreign tune, almost musical in melody, as she was going about her arrangements. "I understand you have to go through this, but the Ring needs answers now, my brothers and sisters-" Ixchel cut him off with an upraised paw, as she sighed, shaking her head. Understandable he was impatient, but she had work to do, work that couldn't be rushed.

"They will have their answer. But I must gather the sign first, to know just what fortune awaits you on the journey." As she spoke, the sun rose over them, just in time. That was the time she'd asked him to meet, and if they were lucky, the sun would stay this way for an hour or so. It hit the stick just perfectly, as the shadow cast onto the southernmost stick. That was the idea for the next phase, as she'd hold out her paw, a special circular stone with a raised center and place it right at that shadow.

She noted where the shadow split after hitting that stone, right to the side, as her eyes raised up at the Rabbit. "Good fortune. But you must search the canyons to the east. That is what these signs say. I cannot promise you that there will be anything to find, or that what you find is exactly what you seek...but the omens are good." She stepped back, waiting to see if there was anything else she saw, but if there was anything...she didn't say.

The rabbit stared back at the omens for what seemed like an eternity, before he seemed to accept it and stood up. "I'll come back in three days. If what you say is true, then the Ring can do business with you." Ixchel smiled back at him, giving him a curt nod as she would gather up her things. "I'm sure that you will find it to your satisfaction," she said as she watched him go.

The sun rose, and the sun set.  Ixchel would go about her days as per usual, but it was not a surprise when she'd see the Jackrabbit again. He looked worse for the wear, part of his ear was in a bandage, but he had a bundle of prickly pears at his side. "It was as you said. We find a Gila nest hiding. It cost us, but we " The cat's tail swished as she nodded, unable to prevent a slight swelling of pride run through her body.

"Of course... I only tell the truth. Nothing but the truth. Nature doesn't always give us what we want to hear, but sometimes by listening, we can find out our answers." The rabbit stared, but he'd drop the pears and go. She'd have something for her poultice tonight.

The sun set, as she heard foosteps outside of her cave again. There were three sticks outside of her door, impaled on them were dried fish strips. She'd walk around the Pemmican, as she could see that whoever had left his present had not been long gone. For on the sand leading away from the cave were a set of tracks. Five toed tracks...and the long dragging marks of what might be a stubby tail.[/spoiler]