The Animal Within (Open)

[Wilddeath]

The day was warm and the sun was shining however in the forests of Concordia such things could not be seen. Beneath the trees all was quiet and peaceful, the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves on the trees sounding like the waves of the ocean beating against the shore. It was as if a blanket of peace had been wrapped around the area making all who came here feel calm and serene. At the base of a large oak rested the figure of a man whose hair was as red as the last dying embers of a fire with a large grey streak down the middle. That hair was neck length and quite ill kept due to circumstances beyond the man’s control. His Blood red eyes slowly opened to greet the day and he stretched yawning in a tired sleepy way.

Looking first to his left then to his right he got up and brushed the dirt from his clothes. Securing his sword to his back and running his left forefinger over the pendant that hung from his neck he walked down the forest path to a stream he had become very familiar with after all the time he had spent in this place. Silently he stripped down to his birthday suit he dove into the waters, letting the cooling waters wash the filth from his body. When he surfaced he swept the water from his face and opened his eyes once more.

He washed himself thoroughly making sure to leave no spot unwashed before he swam back to shore. He then proceeded to wash his clothes in the stream careful not to drain the color away in the process. After wringing them out he proceeded to get dressed making sure he put his pendant on before anything else. If one looked at him from behind they would have seen the many scars and old wounds that existed on his body from his many years of torture and imprisonment. “Five years and still nothing has changed.” He said to himself after slipping his shirt on and strapping his sheathe to his back.

“What am I doing here…?” He asked himself as he stared into the sky completely oblivious to what was going on around him a breeze blowing his hair as if to dry it. “My family and my honor have both been taken from me… and in all my searching I have not found a single person like me. Am I truly alone in this world or is there perhaps hope that I will find another…” he asked the sky before his eyes strayed downwards filled with sadness.

Those who knew this man knew him to be a kind and gentle soul not knowing the raging spirit that filled his mind whenever he was angered. The animalistic nature of his mind, which at times ran on instinct alone. The man walked upstream in hopes of finding fish for his breakfast so that at last he could eat.

This mans’ name was Derrick Yillian…

[Tarn Isazu]

Tarn was sitting in a small clearing that was on the edge of the river. His wooden rod was laid down beside him. "Maybe I should get some fish..." Tarn put a hand on his stomach as it was growling. "I am getting kinda hungry." Tarn looked up and the sun was shining brightly. It was noon. "Alrighty..." Tarn said as he was getting up. "Time to eat!"

Tarn took off his cloak and put his rod on it so the breeze wouldn't blow it away. He took off his shirt letting his gut hang out and took off his shoes, placing them near his cloak for easy access when he decided to get dressed again. Taking off his pants his stomach started growling again. "Hold on, I'm working on it." Tarn laughed.

Standing up, Tarn scatched at his beard, getting ready to jump into the cold-looking river. "Gerranimoooo!!" Tarn telled as he did a cannonball into the water. The water was cold, as he had expected. His left foot twinged. "CRAMP!" Tarn grabbed his foot and grimaced, while trying not to drown. Tarn rubbed the feeling back into his foot, and started to look around for a perfect candidate to catch. Tarn swam around slowly to search. He stopped so that a fish might swim by. Tarn waited patiently. A big-mouth bass was stopped right in front of Tarn's face. Tarn waited patiently for the right moment. Patiently. Ever so, Patiently. "AHH" Tarn's muffled battle cry was drown out by the water, as he grabbed the fish. Tarn held the fish in his hands and started to have a mini panic attack because he was out of breath from the battle cry. While throwing the fish onto the land, Tarn surfaced and breathed in a lungfull of air. "Well, there's one." Tarn smiled.

Tarn got out of the water a half an hour later, after catching four more fish. The fish had stopped wriggling from being outside the water for a while. Tarn dried himself with his cloak, and pulled on his pants. He slipped his feet into his shoes. Tarn went over to a bunch of trees and gave one a hug. Tarn then proceeded to collect sticks and twigs to start a fire. He went back to the middle of the clearing and laid the bundle down. Tarn uttered a few magic words and the wood set ablaze. He took two twigs that we shaped like a Y and jammed them into each side of the fire. Then, Tarn took a long stick and slammed it into one of the fish's mouth. He set the stick with the fish on it onto the two sticks that were stuck into the ground. Tarn watched as his homemade rotissary cooked his fish.His stomach rumbled again, Tarn put his hand on it and whispered "Shhh...It's almost done."

[Nymph and Dragon]

The cold water of the river flowed around Twyla as she hovered a foot above the pebbled floor of the languidly-moving stream. Icy currents brushed against her unclad body, coursing against her as it moved inexorably downstream. The nymph closed her eyes and inhaled water, feeling the weight of the liquid as it filled her lungs and rejuvenated her travel-weary body. It was amazing, how completely her preferences had changed since the day the Elemental had stolen her soul. There was once a time when she would have scorned the softness of freshwater in favor of the more textured brine that she had been accustomed to. Now, the very thought of bathing in the ocean repulsed her, and without a daily wash in fresh water . . .

I didn't steal your soul, a hurt voice sounded in her head.

Twyla opened her eyes to glare at the Elemental, but it had wisely taken its aqueous form and was indiscernable from the rest of the rushing stream. Even though she could sense its presence only a few feet away from her, the nymph pointedly stared straight ahead and began to propel herself upstream. She viciously recalled vivid images of sinking ships and drowning men, memories from her days as a Siren.

Stay out of my head, snake.

She could feel the sensitive Elemental's distress at the memories of the carnage, but Twyla ignored its pain and focused her attention on swimming. It was good to be in the water again instead of on a hot, dusty road. Walking had swiftly lost its charm in the days since she had left the monastery. Twyla hadn't had much opportunity to do research on the humans of the area, but she was sure that it wouldn't be long before she reached some sort of settlement that was large enough to acknowledge in her documentary. With a pang of worry Twyla's thoughts leaped to the silver medallion that was nestled in her bundle of clothes that she had hidden on the bank of the river. Losing that necklace was not an option . . .

The vibrations of a frenzied swimmer brushed against the nymph's body, distracting her from her thoughts. She peered in the direction of the shore, expecting to see a large fish engaged in a successful hunt. She was therefore surprised when she saw that the "fish" had two chubby legs that were churning vigorously to keep the large body they were attached to afloat.

Could it be . . . a human? Twyla felt a twinge of glee at the thought of an encounter with a human. It was gone in an instant, exchanged for the self-disgust that always followed her chronic delight at mankind. It's probably just a dwarf, anyway.

Undaunted hope making the nymph reckless, Twyla moved silently to the surface, remaining motionless as she lifted her head from the stream just until her eyes were above the water. She watched with amusement as the strange little man wrestled with a fish, even going so far as to use her Oceanic to call a few more closer.

That's not fair, the petulant Elemental said from behind her.

If you don't want to find out what happened to a group of men who tried to capture one of my sisters, I suggest that you shut up. Twyla watched the man clamber out of the water and dress himself, absently kicking her legs to keep from being swept away in the current.

He might not be human, she thought with a pensive smile, but I'll bet he has some interesting things to say about them.