You find yourself in the forests of the realm, a small blue lupine as your guide. You look down at the small fox, and ask where you are heading next. The smile on his furry face makes you wonder what you're in for. He will not answer your questions, so you simply follow him through the trees.
As with any other part of this magical realm, an hours walk could find you in the bone chilling cold of the high arctic, the steamy heat of a tropical rainforest, or anything in between. Right now, however, you are on the edge of the rain forest and heading into a much cooler area.
You're looking around as you walk, so you soon spot the flashes of blue luminescence that are occasionally appearing on one side of the path. You blink, trying to decide if your imagination is playing tricks on you. Your guide doesnŐt appear to notice the glow. When you point it out to him, he pauses to look.
"Did you know this part of the woods is supposed to be haunted?" He asks in an offhand tone, as if he expected it was something you already knew. "There have been reports of a ghost in the area."
You blink again, looking down at him. You're not quite sure what to say to this, and now you're faintly spooked. Was that the ghost you'd seen, flitting through the trees? Something that sounds suspiciously like laughter drifts through the woods. If the situation had been different you might have said it was a nice laugh, but the combination of the somewhat dark woods and your guide's story result to make it a bit creepy. "Oh really?" You ask, nervously studying the woods on either side.
"Yeah." He answers, casually studying the trees over your head. He seems to be waiting for something.
A large glowing blue creature lands on the path in front of you, scaring you half out of your wits. You're frozen in fear, but you're soon glad that you hadn't run. Your guide and the glowing creature, you can now see it's a feline, have quite literally fallen over laughing and lying on the trying to catch their breath.
You scowl at the two creatures, annoyed with the prank. Eventually they stop laughing, your guide looks up at you and apologises, sounding decidedly sheepish.
You continue to scowl, not at all mollified by the apology.
In an effort to diffuse the tension the blue glowing creature introduces itself to you. "My name is Ruyumai. I'm an essence type Raaven Kat." Her tail twitches as she hopes that you're not too terribly annoyed.
You introduce yourself, somewhat calmed by the Kat's apologetic manner. You chat for awhile longer with the Raveeness, then continue on through the woods with your vulpine guide.
"Um, Wanderer? Don't freak out, but we're being watched.." Guide comments in an undertone.
"Watched?! What do you mean we're being watched?!" Your question must be louder then you thought, because Guide hisses at you, demanding that you lower your voice.
"I mean we're being observed.." He continues, lowering his voice to the point that you can barely hear him.
"Well yeah, that's generally what being watched means, " you reply peevishly. "What exactly is watching us? Is it a threat?"
"If it is who I think it is, he could be a very significant threat, depending on what sort of a mood he's in.." He comments to you, before continuing in a much louder voice. "Iuu? Is that you?"
"Yes.." The quiet reply comes from a extremely leafy section of overhead branch, and a glowing figure drops to the path in front of you. The easiest thing to see on this particular raveen are the red markings on his ears, and his glowing yellow eyes. The rest of him is half transparent and fades into the surrounding scenery. He simply studies you and Guide, not saying a thing.
"Uh, yes.." Something about this Raveen male seems to make Guide uncomfortable. The easy companionship he shares with all of the other creatures you've met so far doesn't work with this particular sentient. "I, of course, realized we were heading into your territory. We've just come from your mother's, and I thought it might be nice for the Wanderer to meet you..." He trails off awkwardly, obviously unsure as how to continue.
"Fine, I'll bite." Iuu half growls, then settles himself into a seated position and wraps his tail around his legs. " My full name is Iuutoimis, shorted to Iuu for ease of reference.. You likely caught it. I'm a Raveen of the Soul designation." Plainly finished with his little speech the male turns his golden gaze on Guide as if asking if that was sufficient.
It's obvious that Iuu is not a very sociable Raveen.
In fact, the Soul male seems to be getting more and more irate by the second. One ear twitches, and his eyes narrow. One glance at Guide makes you realize that the fox is looking very nervous indeed.
With a sudden snarl Iuu leaps into the overhanging branches and is gone. Guide heaves a sigh of relief. "Right then, maybe we'd best be going.." He says, still sounding somewhat nervous.
Awhile later a shout echoes through the area, "WHY CAN'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?" You recognize the voice to be Iuu's, and the rage and anguish in the call is enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand.
The sight of a glowing blue figure leaping onto the path a moment later nearly causes a heart attack for you and Guide. How could Iuu have moved that fast?! The shout came from a good distance away. Certainly more then the male could cover in such a short time, at least without teleporting.
Then you realize it isn't the soul male at all, it's his mother. Ruyumai skids to a stop when she realizes that you and your guide are on the path, heaving a sigh of relief. "I was worried when I realized which way you where headed.." She comments, explaining her speedy arrival. " I knew Iuu was having a bit of a bad time, I feared this might happen.."
You're tempted to inquire as to what exactly is wrong with the male, but don't. However, Ruyumai must have read something in the expression on your face. The female essence heaves another sigh, this one sounds extremely tired.
"My son, Iuutoimis, is of the soul type. He picks up on the anger of the violently killed." She explains. " It's a struggle for him, dealing with it. He's often not in the best of moods. Both he and Shiryouu, my first-born, have the same difficulty. Shiryouu, however, has the advantage of a realm that's not plagued with angst ridden souls, unlike this realm. Very little of it's history has been under the rule of the Sirah and her siblings. There's been a lot of death, and there are a lot of angry souls floating about.." She trails off there, becoming lost in her own thoughts.
You're not really sure how you can reply to that one, so you simply remain quiet. The decidedly stiff silence stretches to an unbearable level. You're about to do anything to break it when the Raveeness realizes what is happening and suggests that there are others of her kind to visit.
You and Guide take the hint and skitter off, rather relived to be leaving the territory of the Soul male.
Ruyumai's Information
Iuutoimis's Information