Brenda, after having been lost for awhile, begins to understand what has happened to her power. A few weeks pass with little to no encounters with the locals and she begins to despair, afraid she'll never see anything familiar again. As a last hope, she heads back the way she came, to the Nexus, to see what may be in store for her.
The area around this particular portal on Nexus is rugged, but beautiful. It's in the lower portions of the mountains near Haven. Breathtaking cliffs drop down to green valleys, and in the distance the ocean can be seen. When Brenda arrives at the location of the portal that dumped her here (well, she triggered a last ditch teleport spell when she started drowning due to losing her powers, and that's what got her in this mess), she sees nothing. It's inactive.
Brenda flumphs down on the ground, feeling hopeless, and lays on her side in the grass . o O (What now...that hunch didn't pan out. I should know better than to let my curious side get ahold of me by now. An unfamiliar world, with no inhabitants that I've met so far..and I don't even know which direction to go.)
A few birds chirp and fly overhead, and a light breeze brings with it the chill of fall, and a hint of the winters that do hit at this altitude. But otherwise the silence is oppressive up here. Silent until a rumbling sound rolls across the valley, sounding a bit like thunder.
Brenda hrmmphs..Queen of the Oceans and this ys the best she can manage. A sound somewhere between a sigh and a snort comes out of her mouth.
Brenda's tummy rumbles and she decides to head for a nearby batch of trees, looking for something edible..
This late in the season, only the occasional berry can be found on some of the bushes, though a few nuts are still hanging from low branches. The rumble of thunder is now louder, and seems to be racing towards this valley. Odd.
Brenda's hackles raise and a shiver runs up her spine..she loses her focus on food and pads cautiously to the edge of the wooded area to get a better look..
The apparent thunder resolves itself into a white streak across the sky. It's difficult to tell but the object moving at such ludicrous speeds is apparently about the size of a small horse. In the time it takes to see that much, it has rocketed through the valley, followed by a loud sonic boom that rattles your teeth and shakes the branches. A rather stunned silence follows.
Brenda kerblynx? For a moment she just stands there..then instinct (curiosity again) kicks in, and before she knows it, she's streaking across the valley in the direction the object went, looking for telltale signs of smoke.
After several minutes of running, it's clear that the object is gone. The strangest thing is that it left no smoke trail of any sort. No exhaust. However, you seem to have stumbled into a little oasis in the mountains. A small pond, with a few fish swimming lazily along the shallows is in the center of this clearing. Short grass, a few fruit trees (with the fruit getting rather ripe). And, in the grass, a small rodent like creature is looking for food. And upwind too.
Brenda can't resist...she crouches low in the grass and slowly slynx forward without making a sound. She gets herself within about four feet of the rodent and waits..looking for any recognition of her presence.
The chubby little rodent is stuffing it's mouth and cheeks with seeds from the flowers around it, and is oblivious to all but it's need to stock up on food as quickly as it can. That, and being upwind of Brenda keeps him from smelling her approach.
Brenda's muscles tense up, and she waits a moment longer before: *kerSPROING!* she pounces on the unsuspecting critter! She then proceeds to *kerFLUFFApooflefuzzle* the poor little thing, then sends it on its way, looking not at all unlike an oversized dandelion with buck teeth, to be teased by its peers. After a snort of satisfaction she pads over to one of the trees with fruit on them, finds a fruit that's not too soft, bats it down and begins eating it gratefully.
From up on a hillside, a soft chuckle can be heard.
Brenda snaps to attention! Her ears swivel in the direction of the noise and she remains completely still, except for the occasional *fliptwitch* of her tail.
The chuckle continues for a few seconds, then seems to catch it's breath. A boyish voice sounds out, "And here I thought felines ate meat. Poor little thing looks like a walking hairball now. So, what kind of kitty are you?" From the sound of the voice, it doesn't expect to get an answer to it's question, just musing.
Brenda's heart beat races -- She hasn't heard another voice in weeks..and it seems even longer! She almost answers out loud, but caution steps in and she plays dumb instead. She tries to pique the creature's curiosity. She takes the fruit with her to the other side of the pond, putting some distance between them, lays down and playfully bats at the fish, obviously not trying to catch anything, while nybbling on the fruit.
The voice chuckles, and then gets closer, "Well, you're definitely a smart little kitty. Don't worry, I don't eat predators at least. Prefer fruit myself." A couple of stones skitter down the hill, then what appears to be a odd looking young human with odd pants sits down on a rock. When he crosses his legs, you see the hooves. And now the short stubby horns on his head. The satyr grins at the lynx by his pond.
Brenda gets a good feeling from the satyr and decides to stick around for awhile. Her mischievous side takes hold and she keeps herself from saying anything out loud. She sniffs the air slightly, then lets out a 'myowrrp?'
The satyr waves, "My names Sylen. I noticed you running along, was it after those noisy catbird things? They look like fun, but they really make a racket flying like that."
Brenda makes a mental note of 'catbird,' a bell ringing somewhere in the back of her mind. She padpads over near the satyr and sits at a distance of about two and a half feet. She cocks her head curiously at him, looking as if she was actually _asking_ him to continue.
Sylen grins and pulls out a strip of dried meat from his pouch and tosses it a few inches in front of the lynx, "Do you like meat at all? I've never seen a cat pass up a fat pond rat before."
Brenda peers curiously at the dried meat, then takes a step forward to sniff. A bit too pungent for her, she shakes her head slightly, then sits and continues to peer at Sylen.
Sylen chuckles, "What an odd, but very cute little cat. If we weren't so far from Haven, I'd almost wonder if one of those city people had tried to make you a pet or something."
Brenda snorts audibly, but barely.
Brenda's mind chugs along..there is a city here, but not nearby. Makes a mental note out of the position of the sun compared to the direction the 'catbird' was flying.
Sylen smirks, "No, you'd never be a pet. You'd take over the place and then let them think they're in charge. ;) You remind me a lot of someone I know. Course, you're MUCH quieter, which in my book is a plus. So, you don't like meat? Hmm, I have some bread and some cheese, which do you prefer? I think you're pretty hungry the way you savagely slayed that poor pear. ;)" He puts out his hands, one holding a slab of bread, the other a small wedge of cheese.
Brenda looks at the two, then goes for the protein, nudging the piece of cheese slightly with her nose, and never touching the piece of bread at all.
Sylen chuckles, "Well, that's more like it. Here, you can have half. I can't stand dry bread." and carefully breaks off a small piece for himself and gives Brenda a lot more than half the cheese.
Brenda neatly swipes the piece of cheese and starts eating happily, a good solid purr erupts from her and before she can realize she's doing it, she mutters through a mouthful of cheese, "Do you have any idea what I'd give for a good saucer of wine right now?"
Brenda myrrowroops, she stops midchew and blynkblynx ky00tly up at Sylen.
Sylen scritches the side of his leg with the other hoof idly and looks off into the valley quietly, enjoying the rustic beauty around him. He seems quite at ease just resting and enjoying an afternoon with a silent feline. A few quiet clanks further back point out the few sheep that the satyr has been herding. He chokes and nearly falls off his boulder seat as he looks at the feline?
Sylen finally gets the mouthful down the right pipe and hmms, "So, you're more than you seem? And you'd like some wine? Maybe Brandyberry wine? ;)"
Brenda, still purring from the cheese, 'gryns up at the shocked satyr, "I'm sorry..I shouldn't have done that. But I'm a stranger here and I'm not quite sure who to trust. Are you quite all right?"
Sylen chuckles and nods, still a little hoarse, "I'm fine. And it's been much too long since someone pulled my beard. You did very well, though I might've been more surprised if you hadn't acted so friendly. ;)"
Brenda purrs quietly, "I'm friendly by nature..I just can't help it. Anyways..I was pretty sure that you were okay..I'm not easily fooled. As for the wine, thank you, but no..I've already taken far too much advantage of your generosity. But that cheese was heavenly..thank you." }:)
Sylen chuckles, "Wine is easier to get than cheese. I'd be happy to share a little. So you say you are new here? How can that be? Come with those odd catbirds in their flying houses?"
Brenda blynx, "Flying houses? No..I got here by way of," she pauses for a moment, deciding to not give away too much, "the ocean."
Brenda says, "As for the wine..I've never heard of Brandyberries..but if you're sure it's not too much trouble, I'd love to try a little. Not too much though..I haven't eaten much recently and I'm afraid it wouldn't settle."
Sylen hmms, "On one of the trader ships? I guess you caught vermin for the captain in return for passage. How did you get so far from Haven though? Sure, I have a little bowl here somewhere. Ah, here we go."
The satyr pulls out half of a large nutshell and pours a small amount of fragrant wine into it, and places it down in front of the lynx, "So, in return. My name is Sylen, and you are?"
Brenda almost snorts again at the thought of catching 'vermin' but catches herself, "Actually, my..err..transportation was destroyed on the way and I never made it to port. I awoke on dry land, nowhere near a city. I'm not actually even sure where I am..I've been lost for a number of weeks now without having run into anyone or any civilization."
Brenda snyffs at the wine, taking in yts aroma, after lapping once or twice she purrs, "My name is Brenda..and it's very nice meeting you Sylen."
Sylen nods, "Well, my folk aren't too fond of "civilization", but I can point you in the right direction. Not sure how well the folks in Haven will like you, but seeing as the catbirds walk on four legs too, who knows. Pleased to meet you lady Brenda." and the satyr winks playfully at her before taking a draught on the tangy, deeply fruity wine, tasting much of wild blackberries.
Brenda lyx her lips, savoring the flavor, and finishes the contents of the nutshell, "How far away is a city? And what kind of people live there? I'm not entirely sure that the city is where I should be headed.."
Sylen hmms, "Well, not many other places to head if you want to see much in the way of people around. It's a good 50 miles to the fields that surround the city. They were also a bunch of folks who claim to have come from the sky long ago. They have this odd idea that four legged critters are all dumb beasts. Must have riled em up good when those catbirds put em in their place."
Brenda wonders, "Who are these catbirds? Can you describe them to me?" There's still a twinge in the back of her mind, a connection that she still hasn't made that's bothering her.
Sylen hmms, "Well, they're big, they have these really long wings. They look kinda like big cats that walk on four legs, and they kinda have another body where the head should be, with arms and chest and a head. I guess they're hard to describe."
Brenda hmms and mutters something under her breath about it sounding like 'Copernicus'.
Sylen winks at Brenda, "No offense intended m'lady, but the females are also very clearly female, if you get my drift. So, I need to get back to my mate shortly, want me to lead you towards a trail?"
Brenda nods, "That would be great. I really do appreciate all you've done..is there any way that I can repay you for your kindness?"
Sylen grins, "Just don't tell my mate that I've been talking to strange feline ladies about how pretty the catbird ladies are, ok? She gets a bit jealous. And drop by and say hi sometime. It's about a half hour from here, and partly uphill till you get to the trail."
Brenda smiles, "Thank you for all of your help. I hope to see you again sometime..and I promise, I won't give anything away to your mate." With a 'wynx she disappears into the trees, heading uphill and looking for the trail..
The trail isn't too hard to find, though it takes the young lynxette an hour to find it, not a half hour. As she finally sets off on the rough trail towards Haven, she swears she can hear the satyr's voice saying, "But Arcadia, 'Brenda' was this little cat. Honest!"