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Thread: Untamed lands, untamed heart. - 9.107

  1. #1
    Mara Tallen
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    Closed Thread Untamed lands, untamed heart. - 9.107

    She dragged in a heavy breath, and then expelled it just as slowly. Trying, in vain, to assuage some of the tension that seemed to dwell in every muscle fiber of her body. Somehow, she managed to walk through the officer’s common area without stumbling, concentrating intently on putting one foot in front of the other.

    Back in her own quarters after talking to Glayde and Cirr, Mara sagged against the wall and slowly slumped to the floor. Her amber gaze was dark, irises and pupils narrow vertical slits in true feline form. She was very slowly losing the last vestiges of her control – but, leave had officially been granted and the next twenty-four hours hers to do with as her beast pleased.

    “Just a little bit longer…we’re going now. I swear it.” She murmured, a faint, soothing entreaty to the beast that fought her tirelessly for control. Pain flashed across her features, tightening her lips into a grimace as she struggled back to her feet. There was no soothing her now. No more waiting.

    Her fingers shook and made gathering her collection of blades more difficult than it had to be. A pair of tehk’la blades were tucked into the sheaths built into her boots, a long knife was belted over her right hip, and over the left was a coiled length of rope and two hunting knives. A number of other things and a change of clothes were packed into a small duffel bag, topped off with one of her Dissuader slugthrowers, loaded with tranquilizer rounds.

    Just in case.

    Mara pulled a jacket on, shivering as she shouldered the duffel and locked her quarters behind her. Tentative steps took her to Morgan’s door, where she had barely touched the access panel before the door slid open. Her slitted gaze rose to meet his, pain altering her features as she hung onto her humanity by the thinnest of margins.

    “If…you still want to come…we have to go. Now. Barrrely holding on.” Her voice emerged dark and harsh, though a thread of a plea was buried somewhere within.

  2. #2
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    "Okay." Was all he said.

    She didn't need to speak for Morgan to see that Mara was holding on to the very edge with her fingernails. He knew this day was coming soon, and had packed for it. He grabbed his shoulder harness, jacket and a large hiking pack mostly filled with food. Mara's eyes were open, dully following the motion, but she was not there. Mara was undergoing a tremendous battle of will, and she was losing.

    He put one arm around her shoulders and guided her through the ship's corridors down to the Novgorod's small ventral hangar bay, which was still mostly hidden behind palletized cargo. Mara climbed the half-height cargo with a burst of energy. The big kitty inside was ready to go, now. Morgan keyed the door to the tiny spacefaring vessel, and she slumped inside to the nearest seat.

    Morgan started on the flight pre-checks. The small craft warmed up quickly, and within 2 minutes, they were ready to be underway.

    "Shuttle 813712-AV to Novgorod control, requesting permission for departure."

    "Permission granted, Shuttle. Safe flying." Behind them the bay doors opened, which left only a slightly shimmering at the edges force field between them and open space. The shuttles repulsor's whined quietly. With a metal on metal scrape, it was airborne in a gentle wobble a quarter meter off the deck. Morgan eased it out, and there was a static sound as they passed through the threshold into space.

    He gave a glance at Mara, who held her sides. Her breathing was raspy. He'd never seen her look so haggard and exhausted.

    "I can set the shuttle on autopilot. Is there anything I can do to help?"

  3. #3
    Mara Tallen
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    Something in her gaze must have told him to do it, because she was well past the point of speech in any understandable form. Morgan turned his attention to engaging the autopilot while she freed her hands from holding her side to press her palms over her eyes.

    Holding onto her human form...her natural form...was beginning to hurt more.

    Mara heard his chair swivel to face hers and almost uttered a whimper. Almost. She'd never liked how vulnerable she felt in this state, but worse, she thought distantly, was having Morgan witness it. It was one thing to have him along for a hunt.

    But to see this? Gods. It just made her feel that much worse.

    She still, however, slid out of her seat and crossed the small space that separated them. Mara couldn't even bring herself to meet his gaze, she simply sat in his lap and curled up as best she could, resting her forehead against the side of his warm neck. The need for comfort outweighed her self-loathing in that moment.

    Warm, which eased her shivering. Comfortable, which eased at least a little bit of the pain and pressure of her beast. Here, she could breathe.

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    "We'll be planetside soon." He said in a calm, reassuring voice. He wrapped his long arms around her. He could feel her nod slowly against him, and her ragged breath smoothed somewhat. She was tired of fighting.

    He briefly thought to tell her everything would be ok, but he didn't know how it worked, and didn't want to push any emotional buttons or give reassurances he couldn't back. The stellar charts were something he could rely on, and there was a nearby planet with a primarily Nitrogen/Oxygen/Carbon Dioxide atmosphere and a lot of plant/animal life. There just wasn't anything valuable on it. This far in the Outer Rim, no one cared unless it was more valuable than water. Morgan, not normally intuitive, could tell that she was ashamed, and he didn't understand why.

    Mara had to keep it together for another hour, and if she couldn't, well, he could knock her out.

  5. #5
    Mara Tallen
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    She lost track of time, and not in the good kind of way. More of the struggling-for-control-of-her-own-mind kind of way, as she tried to keep it together until they hit planet-side. Inch by inch, however, she lost ground in her mind, though she managed - only barely - to keep herself from changing physically.

    As the shuttle broke atmosphere, even the comfort Morgan offered was beginning to lose its effectiveness. Mara sighed, tilting her head back and very slowly unfolding herself to stand. She cupped his face in her trembling hands for a few sweet seconds and kissed him lightly. Her slitted amber gaze flashed as she pulled back to let him take the shuttle off of autopilot.

    Mara buckled herself back into her own seat, head titled back onto the headrest with her eyes closed tight. Hands folded together in her lap, though it was obvious that her beast was gaining ground physically as well - her wrists and knuckles began to slowly pop and distort.

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    The shuttle touched down firmer than he intended, but they were in a rush. The landing struts compressed about halfway and then settled. Mara was anything but. She gave the crash webbing a look of confusion and anger, and her shifting, trembling hands were of no use. She let loose a feral cry of frustration. He opened the shuttle's only door at the back. Mara's head flicked from him, to the door, to the awful crash webbing. Her teeth were bared, and her longer than usual canines were longer still.

    Morgan was out of his seat and undid the restraints with speed.

    "Go." He pulled her to her feet and pointed her at the open door.

  7. #7
    Mara Tallen
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    There was no fight left in her by the time Morgan pulled her to her feet, and even less control. By the time he pointed her towards the door and she'd taken half a step, she had shifted.

    Her large, sleek feline form closed the distance between the seats and the door in a graceful leap. The sudden movement rocked the shuttle on its struts, considering how much larger and heavier she was in this form. Outside, she paused a few meters from the shuttle, the late afternoon sun already beginning to set off in the distance.

    She shook herself after stretching, claws extended and digging into the sun-warmed grass and earth beneath. A deep purr of pleasure rumbled in her throat as she shifted slowly from side to side, until the breeze was blowing right into her face. She breathed it in deep, tasting it, letting her senses roll it around until they found what they were looking for.

    There was water nearby, and whatever it was that passed for herd animals on this planet. A low, hungry growl rumbled deep in her chest as she stalked off into the tree-line, keeping low to the ground as she picked her way through the thick vegetation.

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    Mara paused briefly to get her bearings and then loped effortlessly away. Like a shot, she was gone.

    Morgan took a deep breath, counted to three, and then followed. When he hit the tree line he paused. He'd lost sight of Mara. Morgan knew he could just find her, but he wanted to do it the old fashioned way.

    He moved when the wind moved to mask the sounds he made going through the thickening brush. Even as big as she was now, Mara's lack of height was an advantage here, although he had much better visibility. She was hunting mostly by scent until she was a much shorter distance from her prey.

    He was near the edge of the tree line now and sat on a log. His brown hair blended into the tree behind him. His green eyes looked at the herd animals unblinking. He knew Mara was watching, too.

  9. #9
    Mara Tallen
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    The vines and tangled shrubs offered enough cover as she stalked her prey. There was a group of eight, mostly females and their young, along with a male who had likely seen his last breeding season. Portions of his intricate horns were broken off, and there were relatively fresh scars on his shoulders from recent fighting.

    He would do nicely.

    She was not a patient hunter on the best of days, and certainly was far from it at that moment. Her nose wrinkled as she caught Morgan's scent, amber eyes tracking him as he perched gingerly atop a log. She rumbled softly before turning her attention back to her quarry. They had begun to move, lengthening shadows beginning to touch the water's edge as the sun set further.

    There was another male...a young, strong buck stalked the opposite side of the river, searching. For a crossing point, perhaps, to challenge the older buck for his herd. With a replacement seemingly waiting, why delay the inevitable?

    As the does continued to move downstream with their young, the old buck paused at the water's edge, taking the time for one last sip. As his head lowered, she burst from from the tree line. He startled, of course, and manged a few short, bounding steps before she was upon him. Front claws dug into his flanks and dragged him down with a spray of blood.

    The buck's head shot back in sheer panic, his horns narrowly missing her head as a broken edge tore into her shoulder and broke off within. She threw her own head back and roared as she freed one massive paw and slammed his head forward. Her claws pierced his skull as her jaws tore into his throat, viciously long canines slicing almost effortlessly through flesh and scoring the bone deep.

    A font of arterial blood coursed over her fur as she jerked her head to the side and swallowed the considerable chunk of flesh. Another snap of her jaws saw another piece of the buck's neck disappear, as she fed seemingly heedless of the injury that made her left front leg buckle slightly.

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    Morgan waited until Mara got most of her fill before he dared to move. At fifty meters, he paused. Mara ignored him. He waited another minute before he slowly closed the distance to 25 meters. She was impressive, but out of practice. That antler shard in her left shoulder was evidence enough of that.

    Right now, she was close to his size, but had five points of very sharp damage. She looked up at him for a moment, and the back down at her kill and took another bite. Morgan was willing to bet that right now, at a dead run, he was faster. If not, he had other means of escape.

    "You're going to need that antler pulled out." He said after stopping at 15 meters. He was willing to go no closer until she showed a sign of cognizance that it was more than the large feline in front of him.
    Last edited by Morgan Evanar; May 19th, 2012 at 06:19:24 PM.

  11. #11
    Mara Tallen
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    She rumbled softly at him as she pulled back, blinking as she put weight on her left front leg and stumbled. The pain finally broke through the last vestiges of her adrenaline soaked fury and feast, dulling the predatory gleam in her amber gaze.

    The Felacatian took a tentative, painful step, and then another before she simply gave up and sprawled out on the soft earth. Leaning on her right side to alleviate some of the pressure and pain, she gazed up at Morgan and then put her head down. Her heated breath escaped her bloody muzzle in tiny little whorls of steam, and quickly dissipated in the cooling evening air.

    A soft, sated purr rumbled in her chest as watched Morgan approach tentatively. Carefully. She closed her eyes and sheathed her bloody claws as best she could. At the back of her feline senses, her humanity lingered and tried to retake control. But the beast wasn't ready to relinquish it yet, so feline she remained as he came ever closer.

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    He knelt down in front of Mara and then moved to her shoulder. He ran a hand down her furred back, and could feel her body purring. She lifted her head to catch a glance of him, and the set it back down.

    "This is going to hurt." Mara's breath sped up a little, but she didn't move. Morgan stared hard at the broken antler in her shoulder and closed his eyes. He needed to know what it looked like under the surface. There it was, clear as day, in a slightly tighter arc than he would have guessed. His hand wrapped around the bone, and pulled it free in a fast, smooth arc. Mara roared and immediately tried to get back to her feet.

    Morgan reached around her body and pulled her back down with a grunt. Some of the air popped from her lungs in a big urrff.

    "Stay down!" he growled back. Mara would always rush headlong into danger. She growled a low, a dangerous tone.

    "It still hurts. Stay down." He repeated, his voice firm.

  13. #13
    Mara Tallen
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    She growled at him again, a deeper, darker tone that spoke of her displeasure. But down she stayed anyway, her brief burst of adrenaline fading fast as he held her down, somehow managing to wind his arms between the heavy spikes on her back.

    Her breath left her in a sudden exhalation, ruffling his short hair as she nudged him with her head. She shifted her position slightly beneath him, before putting her head back down, breath gradually easing back into a normal pattern. A purr rumbled softly in her chest, a sated tone to it, though pain made itself audibly present whenever she tried to move.

    This time, she did utter a peculiar whimpering noise, the sound punctuating her purr with every rise and fall of her chest. With the last drops of adrenaline well out of her system and Morgan's proximity keeping her relatively calm, the pain rose to the forefront of all her senses.

    It sounded as if she were trying to get back to her human form, only she still couldn't quite grasp it through the haze.

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    Morgan took a deep breath. When the antler had impacted her metal bone, the tip had shattered. He matched his pace of breath with hers, and at each full exile, a shard was teleported out of her. He could see 7 distinct pieces, ranging from a centimeter to a milimeter. Morgan started with the smallest first. Each time he did it, he felt a wet slap against his open hand. His brow was creased in concentration. He'd done this sort of thing practicing it, but it was different to apply it as a means of field medicine.

    When the last shard hit his palm, he sagged, and gave Mara a pat. Mentally exhausted, he collapsed back into the grass.

  15. #15
    Mara Tallen
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    When he patted her side, she discovered that she could move a little bit easier, though it still hurt enough to make her rumble with pain. Amber eyes blinked as if through a haze as she looked up at Morgan, and watched in a peculiar detached fashion as he collapsed back into the grass.

    The lingering piece of her human self didn't have to nudge the beast to move, she did it on her own, dragging herself around through sheer stubborn will. She curled up in his side and half closed her eyes, chest heaving with labored breaths for several minutes.

    She nudged his cheek gently with her nose as she caught her breath, her mostly feral mind unable to comprehend what human side was trying to tell her. All the beast knew was that something wasn't quite right, and as such, remained as alert as her pain and exhaustion would let her.

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    "I'm ok." he managed. He gave her a clumsy pat. Truthfully, he had found the entire process of separating objects that were so tightly physically entangled incredibly taxing. It explained some aspects of his skill, like why the clothes came with people.

    "I'm ok, Mara." he repeated between deep breaths. "Just tired." Morgan didn't need her to understand right now.

  17. #17
    Mara Tallen
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    She gave a short huff of breath as means of assent, her raspy tongue darting out to lick away the smear of blood her nose had left on his cheek. Somehow, she managed to get up onto her paws, though heavily favoring her left front leg.

    Gingerly moving around him, she stumbled down to the water's edge and waded in. She drank deeply before immersing herself in it, rolling back and forth to rid herself of the blood and grime coating most of the fur of her face and chest. After a few moments, she hobbled out of the water and shook herself as vigorously as she could, with one leg unable to bear much weight.

    She wandered slowly back to where Morgan lay, and by the time she did, Mara had managed to somehow shift back into her human form. She dropped down to sit beside him in a less than graceful motion, amber curls damp as she ran an absent hand through them. She shrugged her way out of her jacket with a grimace, the fingers of her right hand curling into a fist so they wouldn't go poking at the gaping wound on her shoulder.

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    "Hey." He managed. He opened up his left hand and held it up toward her. His eyes were still closed, but he knew exactly where she was.

    "I got everything out." Mara's blood stained the splinters and Morgan's hand. Through the crushing exhaustion, there was a note of pride. He let his open hand rest on the grass next to her.

    "I'll fix your shoulder in a bit." He added, and opened his eyes to stare at the sky, which started to change as the tightly wound binary suns began to set. He rolled his head over to look and winced. Mara was damp, and in pain. This was a great start to a sunset.He realized that all of the food and supplies were back in the shuttle, about three kilometers away. He hadn't expected to pull tiny fragments out of Mara's shoulder. What she had done was frankly stupid. If that antler had been ten centimeters toward her chest, he might be in the middle of a full-blown medical emergency. Mara had enough of a reminder of how foolhardy she had been.

  19. #19
    Mara Tallen
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    "You...got the splinters out? With...your ability..."

    Eyes wide with wonder, she sighed softly and let her voice trailed off, staring down at the antler shards in his palm. One by one, she tucked them in one of the pockets of her now ruined jacket, and laced her fingers in with his.

    Her shoulder hurt like there had been a rancor gnawing on it for a couple of hours, but at least, she mused, the blood flow was easing down to a trickle. "S'ok...shoulder can wait." she replied after a moment, wondering why there was a sudden ache settling into her chest.

    Mara bit her lip and simply refused to acknowledge it, attributing its sudden arrival to the shock of being wounded while so lost in her feral side. Normally even in her feline form she could exercise some manner of thought and restraint, but this was the first time since her teenage years she'd been held so completely in thrall by her beast.

    Amber eyes clouded over as she stared down at their entwined fingers, lost in her thoughts.

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    "Yeah." he said and closed his eyes again. He couldn't remember ever being this tired. It felt like that time he forgot to eat lunch and dinner. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. With his free hand he pulled a ration bar out of his jacket and tore the wrapper open with his teeth. He spit the wrapper and began to chew. Halfway through the bar, he paused.

    "You should do this more often, your approach angle was crap." He managed with a tired laugh. Morgan knew once he got through the bar he'd have enough energy to carry Mara back to the shuttle if he needed to. He pulled himself up, and leaned gently against her good shoulder. He rested his head against hers and watched the suns slowly dip below the horizon.

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