Meet Again {Jenn} Finished

[Nathalia]

Mulsej lay his head down on his front paws. The sunlight filtered down through the leaves in various, soft, swaying patterns as the wind ran through them. He rolled his haunches so that the remains of his legs could splay more comfortably in the sunlight...he loved days like this.

He heaved a sigh and smiled, the sun warming his red and grey patched fur.



He wheezed happily, in a small, self-contented laugh. He had done what his Lady had asked him to do for the day, and she had told him, kindly mind you, to shove off for the afternoon as she was going out. Ha! Let Furl and that Atreju mind the old place for once, he was going to stay out here and enjoy the sun!

...and the remains of that human that he'd found in the gutter a few nights ago. Mulsej loved hanging about outside of the bars, premium food, that was; slow, barely conscious, and already well sauced and basted. The old Torn grinned to himself, his lips pulled back from rotting gums, and reached into is pack to withdraw a slab of red meat.

"S'all in the wahy yeh please people, I allus say." He laughed to himself, tearing into his meal. "Ah'll jus' take thish lovely day off an' get back tew 'em tomorrow...if they're lucky." He joked, continuing to eat. A joke was all it was though.

He would never leave his Lady.

[Jenn]

The warm, bright sun shone down on Onyx Park and Maskaeinji growled low in displeasure, hunching his shoulders even closer to his body in an attempt to minimize the amount of heat soaking into his skin. Perpetually cursed with a low-grade fever, all of this did nothing more than make him pant in his body's desperate attempt at perspiration, each slightly wheezing breath sounding as if the air fought in vain for escape from his mucus-coated lungs.

Spring was unpleasant, aggravating all of his allergies, and summer was downright miserable with the scorching days and broiling nights. Not even lurking in a cellar could cool him enough for sleep on nights like those. Summer found him perpetually groggy and irritated, napping in places he would normally think better of stopping, and wore thin his customary feelings of apathy. Even more than the exhaustion and panting, that irritated him beyond reason - which was, of course, the problem. Irritation annoyed him in and of itself, and when he got annoyed, it wore him out even more. The cycle persisted until autumn's cooling balm washed over the city and let him sleep in peace. Wasn't that a lovely thought...

He grunted, dark eyes snapping back open as the warmth lulled him into a semi-conscious state. Bugger that! He wasn't falling asleep beneath some public park bench in plain sight during the day. He may have been dull, but he wasn't quite that oblivious. If a human didn't try to kill him, some thrice-blessed Amuni would happen along.

Speak of the bloody devil. His green lips pulled back in an annoyed grimace as he saw a pale white form strolling through the grass not twenty feet away. It hadn't spotted him yet, which was in his favor. He didn't feel up to a confrontation, not when he was so tired. Slowly, so as not to attract its attention, he slunk from beneath the bench and moved over to the more densely forested section of the park.



Maatija noticed the smell before anything else, the sickly sweet fragrance of disease catching in his nostrils and making him snort in dismay. Who could possibly smell like that and be out and about in the park? No landowner would venture out of their homes in such a condition. Perhaps it was one of the many transient poor without a space to call home? His eyes scanned the area in concern, searching for a human but finding only...now what was that?

His eyes narrowed to distressed silver slits as he saw the Euclides retreat from the area, the smell rolling off of it in waves. What was the creature, to carry the stench of death so strongly about its person? Did it search for another to spread the sickness? Protective instincts rising to the surface, he took off after it at a trot. Mask, hearing it coming behind him, grunted in displeasure and increased his pace to a shambling run, heading straight for the trees.

[Nathalia]

Mulsej awoke suddenly. His eyes snapped open, and his head twisted on its long neck in an attempt to see, blearily, over his shoulder.

"What th' devil was tha'?" He choked, rolling over so that he would at least be upright to confront whatever had begun the cacophony of slapping feet, wheezing, coughing, and shouts. "Ew the hell's out there, now?" Mulsej called, backing up so that he was behind a tree trunk. He really didn't feel up to being mowed over today. "Ah warn yeh, ah've got friends ew'll come tae my aid!"

The old Torn began to back away even further, slinking into the shade and back toward Onyx Park. His curiosity wouldn't let him leave though, not until he saw what was causing the noises.

He pressed his head flat against the trees' trunk and peered out at the hills beyond the copse. Something...no two somethings were charging over the hill toward him...the first looked oddly familiar... He squinted and attempted to make out the mottled green creature's face.

Meatbag..." The words floated back through his head...was it really the young infection? He squinted again, unsure. "S'at yew, lad?" He muttered to himself, looking back at the other running figure...pure white...looked like a...

"Oh shit..." The Torn muttered, eyes widening as he attempted to hide himself better. "Amuni..."

[Jenn]

Hacking and coughing as he ran, partly from allergies and partly from general malaise, Mask knew he didn't have much running in him before he'd be forced to confront the creature behind him. Whether it wanted him dead or simply wanted to preach at him didn't matter. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with those religious holier-than-thou freaks. He enjoyed their company even less than that of his own species - at least otherEuclide weren't always interested in his destruction or conversion to their beliefs. Only sometimes.

Screw the lot of them.

He grunted and managed to make it to the treeline before he slowed to a walk, wheezing hard and coughing up unpleasant gobs of phlegm as he went. Climbing was out of the question. Even in the best of circumstances, he couldn't climb well at all, and now that he was having trouble breathing properly, it was completely out of the question. Besides the fact that he was suffering from allergies, he didn't much like heights anyway and it would take a lot more than some stupid zealot chasing him to send him up a bloody tree.

A flash of red caught his eye and he grunted in surprise, head snapping up from its lowered position as he stared at a vaguely familiar ruined form. Where had he seen this creature before? No legs...no nose...missing large patches of fur and, in some cases, skin and muscle...

Had this one ever confronted him? No. Annoyed him? He didn't think so. Woken him up? Maybe...but no, that didn't feel right. Perhaps someone in his company had woken him once before. A body like that would be a hard thing to forget.

Maati gained on the sickly creature easily, his long equine legs more than a match for the shambling gait of the Infection. He wasn't sure of its type, but from the smell he could guess. "Demon," he said in a low, vaguely worried tone when he came near enough, "what is the blight of your presence doing here, tainting such a beautiful day? You should remove yourself from the premises immediately. There are humans about, and I will not allow you to harm them, though I've no real desire to fight you."

Making a thoroughly disgusting noise, the canine dislodged a large chunk of mucus from the back of his throat, brought it forward, and spat it near the golden hooves of the unicorn. "Bugger off, horse-freak," he growled low.

[Nathalia]

Mulsej's lips pulled back from blackened gums in a horrible smile as Mask stumbled into the copse. So it was the Infection lad...what was his name...? He clearly remember ed him now, the way that he and the Lapines had all…er…played… that one evening, it had been a laugh, quite fun. He liked this creature.

He began to pull himself out of the foliage, grinning in the face of familiarity and nearly forgetting about the thundering gaining on the Infection. He looked to the left and finally made out the shape of a Unicorn. Now that was unexpected. It was gaining fast too.

He turned back to the Infection, only to find the lad's large, green face pointed in his direction. The endless black eyes scouring his face. Mulsej motioned to him.

"Good tae see yew too, lad." He chortled, spitting a bit in his excitement. "Ere now, what's that thing doin' after yeh? Yeh go near it's big castle place?"

He didn't get a chance to further the conversation, as the Unicorn burst into the copse. It called the Infection a demon and didn't seem to notice Mulsej, low on the ground and closer to it than the Torn would have preferred.

He listened to its demands on Mask and watched the Canine respond by spitting at its feet. Then tilted his head to the side. "Ere now, gov'nah, why don' we all jus' kinna relax, eh?" He asked the large Amuni, backing away slightly. "S' no need tae git all worked up over nothin' is there? We'll all jus' calm down and sit in the shade, all righ'?"

He hoped he wasn't about to die...

[Jenn]

Maati's gaze shifted downward quickly as he heard another, unexpected voice address him. Another one?! Were they only here to meet, then, or were they planning something in tandem? It was an absolutely horrifying example of its species, rotting and falling apart as it stood. He couldn't quite place the viscous mixture that oozed from its muzzle, though he could tell that saliva composed only a part of it.

"If the situation is nothing, then I will have no quarrel with you other than the usual," he told the disgusting male in a quiet tone. With a voice like that, he certainly hoped it was male. "So long as you are not planning on harming humans at the moment, it is not my place to put a stop to your activities, no matter how distasteful I may find them. As a whole, however, you are well known to be notorious liars and I'm not certain that I could trust your word on anything."

The unicorn's mind buzzed with worry over whether or not he could overcome the two of them if it came to hostilities. The decrepit elder male he could probably handle, but the other, for all its wheezing and illness, seemed a more formidable presence. He would likely need help to handle both at once, especially since he was not a natural-born fighter. He abhorred violence, though he recognized its necessity in some situations by Amunuku's command, so long as he wasn't forced to perpetuate it. Helping the needy, defending the helpless, and spreading the word of God was much more his style.

Mask, on the other hand, had little tolerance and even less patience for the kind of preachy, self-righteous bullshit the Amuni spouted. He wasn't looking for a fight and would be less than thrilled if one broke out, but if the God-pimp took even one more step towards him, fur would fly. He wondered, suddenly repulsed, if its horn could purify as legend suggested. What a hideous mutation if it could!

"If you think we're all hideous liars, you won't believe us whatever we say, you stupid git," he growled, hoping it would take the hint and leave. Tact wasn't quite his strong point.

[Nathalia]

Mulsej watched the Unicorn as he addressed them. He watched the noble tossing of the Amuni's head, the self-assured and calculating looks, the assertions of their blasphemy...

This was what Amuni were suppose to be like. This didn't unnerve him, make him doubt himself, or gain compulsive feelings for the being in front of him.

He felt much better, even if the Amuni was only six feet from him, he was without doubt an Amuni, and the playing feild existed correctly as to standard.

Mulsej smiled up at the Amuni, a wide, toothy beam of confidant delight. Mulsej was thrilled to understand what was going on...as far as it concerned him at any rate. He nodded toward Mask at the Infection's last statement.

"Whell, he's got yeh there, lad. Iffin yeh do think whe're all lyin' then what conclusion kin yeh possibly come to, eh?" He shifted, and gazed up at the Amuni's handsome face. "What if Ah said that Ah thought yew was right, an' that we should clear out fer the good ahf the humans round the place?" He asked, tilting his head to the side and grinning innocently. "Would yeh take me at mah word or would yeh think I was playin' with yehs?"

He moved a bit closer to the Unicorn, risking a cuff to inhale the scent of this fascinating creature. He breathed deeply through the cavernous holes in his face, and sighed in delight.

"Dahm, but yew do smell good, lad. Now where was I? Ah, yeah, yer God seems a might bit hypocritical there, iffin' we're all lyin' but he wants us to tell the truth an' then git... Seems a bit off, wouldn't yew say?"

He made a move to lick the Amuni's leg. "Yeh evah actually listened to what yew preach, gov'nah?"

[Jenn]

Though it pained him, Maati conceded that the crude green canine had a point. Past horrors and betrayals made it very difficult for him to trust the word of these creatures, and though he always preferred to give individuals the benefit of the doubt, that policy had bitten him far too many times in cases where he was forced to interact with Euclide. The way he said it, however, and the gob of mucus currently resting far too close to his hooves, made the unicorn want to leave the area as quickly as he could.

The disgusting mustildae began to speak in that rough, rolling voice again and he listened, partly to distract himself from the unnerving black stare of the other male. The rotting grin unnerved him even more than the sticky, smelly gob. Someone should have put this creature out of its misery ages ago.

"I would think that you took me for a fool," the Amuni conceded quietly, resisting the almost overpowering urge to take a step back as the creature sniffed at him, far too close for comfort and quite disturbing. "It would not be the word of the Lord prompting such though, however, so keep your blasphemous words unspoken. It would be personal experience with your treacherous kind, and-d-"

His words broke off in a horrified stutter as the thing went to lick at his leg and he drew it back, wishing fervently that he was more militaristic and could smash his hoof into the old creature's face without remorse. That would be an act of rage, however, and such strong, violent emotion went against his grain. He left the fighting to others and only stepped in to protect. In this situation, that simply didn't apply. There weren't words to express the depth of his disgust at the thought of its slimy, saliva-covered tongue running up his smooth foreleg. The thought would surely give him nightmares for times to come.

Mask, seeing Mulsej's action and the Amuni's recoil, abandoned his hostile glare for a dark chuckle, thoroughly amused. Oh, wouldn't that have been perfect! Now if only they could get the preachy bastard away so they didn't have to bother with a confrontation...



From not too far away, they heard a loud squealing yip, as if someone had just showed a puppy some nice, juicy steak and let it run for the kitchen. "Maati!" a young voice cried as Elisibeta caught sight of his pale white form through the trees. Her father gave her the whole nearby field to play in on this afternoon walk, but she had stayed near the forest in hopes of catching a white flash that would alert her to the unicorn's presence. Though she knew she'd probably be scolded for it later, she broke from the field and ran towards the trees, intent only on the Amuni. She didn't even notice the danger that lurked just past him.

Elisibeta 8/15

[Nathalia]

The Unicorn's reaction and the green Infection's goading laughter encouraged Mulsej to continue. He gazed up at the uncomfortable Amuni and raised his eyebrows, lowering his eyelids in an obvious "come hither" expression.

The Amuni's pompous speech, cut off at his attempted lick was simply too much to pass up, besides, it wasn't as though he was actually looking to hurt the male...just have a bit of fun, was all.

"Whatsh the mattah, lad? M' Ah a bit old fer yeh? S' Arigh', tha' jus' means tha' Ah know exactly what Ah'm doin', eh?" He sidled closer to the Amuni, near to bursting into laughter himself, the Infection's cackles were as easy to catch as any of his illnesses.

"Ah bet yeh've never had it as good as the Euclides kin give, eh lad?" He whispered to the Amuni, ropes of saliva hanging from his maw. "Yew types up in yer uptigh' castles wit bells. Do yew even 'ave sex at all, or do yer bebes jus' kinna appear iffin' yeh wish tae yer God 'ard enough?" He leered at the Unicorn, admiring his sleek white coat. He was about to attempt the lick again, when a voice broke through the air.

"Maati!"

It was a small, high pitched voice. Mulsej stiffened slightly, his posture straightening as he looked through the Unicorn's legs. There was a tiny blue form racing over the hills, it had other strands of color twined into its coat, and almost appeared to frolic as it ran.

"Wha' in the blue blazes?" Mulsej asked.


{{OOC: Squee! She's so cute <3 I can't wait to run her up against Furl. <3}}

[Jenn]

Maati's feelings of disgust towards the flirting elderly Euclides paled in comparison to his immediate fear for the young pup should either one of these creatures get their filthy paws on her. As filled with innuendo as its words were, he didn't even want to imagine what would happen to Eli if it snatched her and took her back to its no doubt putrid lair. He ignored all mention of sexual relations, uncomfortable with the topic even on the best of days, in favor of turning to address the pup bounding eagerly towards him. She was already far to close for his peace of mind.

"Run away now!" he commanded, the tone of his voice stopping her in her tracks. She looked at him, somewhat hurt by the coldly urgent order, but then Mask's shifting caught her attention and stormy gray eyes widened hugely.

The Infection leered at her, hoping his somewhat ghastly grin would drive the youngling away, perhaps taking the adult with her. That would be ideal. Instead, the sight of his slimy, yellowed teeth caused her to hackle and bare her own teeth in a growl. It would have been menacing if she weren't too young to properly pull it off. As it was, she looked rather cute in an angry sort of way. Her words, however, were anything but those of a sweet little girl.

"Foul demon! You leave Maati alone right now or I'll...I'll attack! Don't you know better than to try and kill a unicorn? You nasty creature, get away from him right now or I'll send you back to the hell you crawled from. Drag your filthy carcass out of here and don't bother the people in the park ever again! Hellspawn!" She couldn't think of any other threat besides "I'll call my father over," and that didn't sound very worrying at all unless they knew who exactly her father was, which they might not. She had inherited his vehemence and conviction, multiplied by her mother's, and would do whatever necessary to save the beautiful Artifact from whatever cruel fate they had planned. Kaerjius's daughter had learned well from her father.

Mask snorted, taken aback by the youth's words. He certainly hadn't expected such things from the mouth of a babe. "Listen, you nasty little piece of work, if you think-"

Having enough of this encounter entirely, Maati ground his flat teeth and ran up to Eli, shoving her back with a hoof. "We run now," he said, tone brooking no argument. He could only hope Kaerjius was nearby to deal with this incident. "Back to your father."

Black eyes narrowed as the pair of them ran back to the park's open field. "I think we'd better find somewhere else t' chat if they're bringing more bloody reinforcements," he growled, scanning the area. The only place that seemed even remotely promising was the forest, which wasn't especially thick. "Unless ye have some handy hole t' dive into, the forest is it."

((I know, won't that be fun? I've posted the beginning of it in the Churches forum.))

Elisibeta 11/15

[Nathalia]

The blur of blue rushed closer and was only halted by the Unicorn's sudden sharp warning. Mulsej could see her clearly now, a tiny Canine, mostly blue but with a colorful mane and a demeanor that stamped her heartily as an Amuni. He blinked, and then smiled, pulling himself forward so that he was fully in view of the child.

He opened his mouth to speak and shut it again quickly as the girl suddenly erupted into a raging outburst. She yelled about how terrible they were and other such rubbish. Mulsej grinned delightedly. Oh, but these Amuni were real! These were Amuni that he could play with, that he needn’t feel guilty about harping on or playing with before they all let each other go.

Mulsej truly saw the rift between them all as nothing more than a rather amusing, and slightly biased game. They would all insult each other, then go off home to laugh it all off. Chuckling in a manner that sounded like choking, he cupped a paw to his mouth.

"Don' lissin tae him, girl. Come an' play wit' us nohw."

The look he received from her almost seemed to slap the look off of his face. He had never seen real hatred before.

The green Canine turned to him, nodding his head away from the Amuni and asking if he had someplace to go. Mulsej nodded.

"Whell, lad. It is through the forest, buht not fah. C'mon, there's always a back way inter anywhere, ain't there?"

Mulsej began to drag himself quickly into the trees, heading for a low knoll in between two large trees. Down in the dip by the base, Mulsej knew there was a good place to hide, what better place than home?

Listening to the sounds of the trumpeting Unicorn, calling for retreat behind him, Mulsej pulled himself a bit faster...the idea of the father who had raised that child was a person you wanted distance from. Reaching the base of the knoll, the old Torn began to paw at the turf. He soon turned up a thin piece of twine; he tugged it eagerly, revealing an old, half rotted piece of wood, which served as a door in the hill.

A good amount of debris was affixed to the top, along with some dead leaves and bracken. He tugged it up high enough to be able to fit down and looked down into the dark, black tunnel beyond. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder at the Infection.

"Yeh wahnted an 'ole in the ground, eh lad? C'mon!"

[Jenn]

Mask followed the dilapidated old Torn through the woods, wondering sourly if they would have to put up a fight today. He really didn't feel like dealing with Amuni. He just wanted somewhere nice and cool where he could flop himself down, rest, and try to breathe through these hideous allergies. Illness he could handle, even revel in, but this constant, non-infectious drip of snot from his nose grew old years ago. Even as a pup, summers had been miserable.

When they stopped only a short distance away, he watched in idle curiosity as his companion rooted around, apparently finding what he was looking for as an opening revealed itself in the side of the knoll. He would never remember where exactly this was, having a terrible head for things like that, but for now it served quite well.

"Nice dive," he muttered, then plunged down into the hole without a second thought. If something unpleasant lived inside, he would deal with it as it came. He wasn't aware that this was actually the entrance to a Cast's lair. Even if he had been, it wouldn't have made much of a difference.

[Nathalia]

Mulsej listened as the Infection muttered "nice dive" and smirked to himself. The Lad was rather endearing...what with his constant case of sniffles and cute little tail.

Damn. Those thought need to stop when I'm running from things....

The old Torn pulled himself out of the way so that the Infection could land in a space not occupied by himself, and then reached up to fumble with the door. He hoped the Amuni weren't following. It had just occurred to him how much it would suck to have an angry Unicorn in here...

"S' ah bit coolah in 'ere, anyway." Mulsje said happily to the worn looking Canine. "Cahm on, then, yeh kin crash in mah room until yeh feel bettah, 'ere Ah'll show yehs."

He then began to drag his body off down the hall, after about five minutes of cool, damp dark; the tunnel began to get lighter, and dryer. The floor was better packed and well worn, and there was a small kerosene lamp up ahead, sitting o n the floor in front of a small door. The old Torn reached out and gave it a shove, it swung inward.

Beyond was a larger hallway, doors lined it every fifteen feet or so and roots and vines adorned the walls. Mulsej pulled himself on and down a corridor to the left. He soon reached a door that was apparently his. Wheezing slightly, he pulled the lopsided door open, and crawled inside.

His living space wasn't fit for a king, but was nothing to be laughed at either. Especially for one such as himself. A lump of pillows covered in a blanket obviously served as his bed, there were various rugs strewn about the floor, and a shelf with a few bottles on it. A basket in the far corner contained three books, a few feathers, one or two loose trinkets, a leather bag, and...a small huddled form, much like a doll. It didn't move.

Flopping onto his bed with a sigh, Mulsej waved the other in. "Come on, Lad. Yew kin have one ahf the rugs fer a bit, nice an' cool in 'ere, an' the celing only leaks iffin' it's rainin real hard."

[Jenn]

The cool of the earth, so much more pleasant than the blazing brightness of a summer sky, made Mask sigh quietly in pleasure. He didn't normally indulge such feeling, but after running and trying to avoid a confrontation with the Amuni, his wheezing sounded about as bad as his companion's. He followed doggedly, not really taking in the change of scenery until he saw the first door.

"Ngh," he grunted in surprise, walking past and gazing at one or two in dull curiosity. If the Torn walked so comfortably, here, this was probably his home and, from all of the doors, the home of many others. A Cast? He avoided all of the vines, not even wanting to brush up against them until he had some sleep. Plants. Bah.

He hated summer.

The room, apparently belonging to Mulsej, drew an appreciative glance. As one who lived in filth like the gutter trash he took pride in emulating, such neatly kept living quarters were foreign to him. Even his parents had never bothered with tidiness, preferring slovenly living to the work required to change the conditions. He was much the same.

As his companion flopped on the bed, he took one of the rugs and flopped with a relieved groan in the back of his throat. He stretched out, sprawling on the covering and taking up as much of it as possible, surprised by the comfort of it. "Nice an' cool," he agreed with a yawn, deciding to roll around a little and ruffle his fur. That always helped air reach his scabby skin more easily and served as a scratch at the same time.

[Nathalia]

Mulsej chuckled softly, drooling a bit as he did, when the young Infection flopped onto a rug and sighed, happily. He did love to see these attractive ones happy...not that he was the most attractive...you just couldn't beat the Lady Dayobi...not in his eyes.

But still, the lad had a certain oozy charm...hmmm... No, he wouldn't want it. Mulsej sighed slightly, rolling onto his side and then laughing.

"Those Amuni ain't nevah gonna fin' thish place, they'll be out there jus' shoutin' away, prap's iffin' they're lucky they'll run inter that hore ahf tiny rabbits...they'd get the Amuni runnin' in no time...could kill off a Church, that littl' group, Ah swear..."

He turned to look at the green Canine sprawled on his floor. "Remin' me wha' yer name ish, lad. I've gone an' fergotten...if Ah ever knew anywhay..." He grinned, and reintroduced himself. "Ah'm still Mulsej, jus' in case yeh din' remember." He laughed again, a sloppy noise, aged and raw.

As he had begun to speak, the doll-like object in the basket had perked up, it opened a sleepy eye, saw its master home, and then fell asleep again.

Mulsej reached over to his shelf, and tugged down one of a few flasks. He tossed it to the Infection. "There yeh go, s' jus' water...git tha' down yew, 'll clear up somma tha' phlegm yeh got drippin in there."