Mute, not dumb {Murdoc}

[Alana Vox]

Deep in the woods of the park, Alana knelt near a tree, staring intently at her surroundings. She was so hungry. She needed to find something before she got sick.

It was the same park that she had met Jacob at. That had been one crazy day now that she looked back. She could have been mince meat if he hadn’t saved her, even though he technically got her into that situation.

It was such a calm night. She barely heard any animals moving through the trees, nor did she smell any that were nearby.

Tired of waiting, she stripped down to nothing and left her clothes in a neat pile before she shifted into her leopard form. The massive leopard trudged forward, moving towards the lake with the intent to go for a swim and maybe get lucky with a few fish.

Her legs carried her quickly and gracefully. She stepped over to the water, sinking a paw in first to test it before sliding in. Her head stayed above, paddling around for the fun of it, until she saw a fish swimming by then she dunked her head quickly and snapped a jaw around it, eating it hungrily.

She did this for ten minutes or so, until she was full. Stepping from the water, she shook hard, tossing water droplets all into the air. Then she shifted back into her human form, her wet hair clinging to her back.

That was when she noticed a new scent in the air. There was someone nearby. Her blue eyes traveled along the tree line, looking for the person or thing the scent was coming from. It smelled kind of like a human, but kind of not. She hadn’t smelt something like this before.

Her arms came around her front, covering her chest as she moved to the tree where her clothes were. Grabbing them quickly, she did a quick scan of the area again. She hoped it wasn’t a predator. She disliked being hunted.

As her gaze penetrated the trees around her, she slowly bent to put her shorts on. She was straining to hear a limb snap. As soon as she got completely dressed she was going to go sniff that scent out and see where it takes her.

[Murdoc Riango]

Leaning back against a tall pine tree, Murdoc let loose a relieved sigh. Gone was the acidic scent of that blasted city, with its ignorant citizens, noisy traffic and rebellious music. What was it with people nowadays and their almost blatant disregard for what they were doing to their planet? Not to mention what they were doing to their fellow man…it was murder with every breath that they took, and every move that they made.

They were disgusting. Even now, thinking of those dirty, damned, cherubic faces, he felt his stomach roil and his chest constrict. He had to fulfill his purpose, and soon, or else he’d be forever sickened by the disease that man had dealt out upon the world.

But that was for later. Even evil monsters like himself needed a bit of R&R time, right? Letting his shaved head thunk back against the rough wood behind him, the warlock snorted a quiet ‘yes.’

How long had it been since he had been set free, he wondered? Time had always been different in the prison world; longer…definitely longer. A year spent in this world would mean ten in the place he’d called home for the past few centuries. He grimaced at the memory, reaching down to grab hold of the soft grass beneath him, as if to anchor himself to the present.

There were no venomous creatures out for his blood, in this forest. No flowers hungering for flesh, of fellow inmates needing to hurt to feel fulfillment. He’d quickly gone from the small, skinny youth that had been sentenced by his loved ones, to the hulking behemoth that he was now, if only to survive. The men had been less likely to…bother him, when he knew how to defend himself. And the women?

The women were more likely to, but that had been fine with him. Sex was always a welcome distraction from the fire of hatred in his gut.

Idly, he weaved a few runes in the air in front of him, watching as the trees around him began to blacken and die. Like gentle raindrops, brown leaves started to fall around him, scratching his bearded cheeks and bare hands. A nasty smile slid onto his lips as he watched the life being sucked out of the forest, and added to the glowing ball of energy in front of his chest.

Yes, soon…soon, he would be free of this retched place. He would destroy the world and everyone on it, and then he would know peace. True peace.

Telltale rustling of feet on grass broke through his reverie, and a scowl replaced the dark semblance of a smile on his lips. On his feet in an instant, he moved through the crackling leaves and followed the noise, curiosity and boredom warring in his mind. His black boots moved silently through the underbrush, and he carelessly swatted at overlying branches. He was probably following after some stray animal, but he did so love to watch the forest creatures wander around their home...before he made them rot from the inside out.

A flash of white caught his eye and he froze, moving into the shadows of twisted branches. Like a lithe angel, the big cat trotted into the small clearing and a look of wonder fell onto the warlock's face. Well, here was a creature he hadn't seen before. Look how powerful it seemed. As if it were part of the forest itself--

His eyes widened in shock as the form of the leopard began to twist and change, finally forming itself into that of a naked young woman. Good Gods, what was she? What kind of magic did she use, to perform such a grand feat? Fascination crossed onto his face as he watched her move, and his hands itched to caress that smooth, otherworldly flesh.

"That was beautiful," He breathed before he could stop himself. Disregarding the fact that she was naked and he was male, he stepped half out of the shadows, a look of awe on his face. "What are you?"

[Alana Vox]

Alana jumped when she heard a man’s voice from inside the darkness of the trees. She clutched her shirt to her chest, suddenly very aware of her nakedness. Her blue eyes stared at the man, unsure what he had asked her, but by the look on his face he had seen her shift. Fear played a huge part of her emotions. It hadn’t been but weeks prior that she had been captured and taken to some facility for them to experiment on her, and she was not up for a repeat of any such situation.

As cautious as she was she was also very curious about this man. The scent the air carried over wasn’t a typical human scent. He was definitely different, but that didn’t mean she could trust him. To be quite frank, the scent actually had her hackles rising. She scurried behind some bushes to get dressed. Her eyes never leaving the man that had approached.

He spoke words, words that she didn’t know. Again, she hated this deficiency. It was beginning to haunt her. She had to start learning words besides the select few she had in her vocabulary or she was never going to make it in this place. Vocabulary was far too important.

She was no longer living with a pard. This is what she wanted though. She had wanted to restart and learn more about her human self. Her memories were starting to slowly come back. She had one when she was with Jacob. A vivid memory of her mother.

Well, at least she hadn’t bolted, which did cross her mind. She was still unsure of her safety.

After she had her clothes on, she moved back out from behind the bushes. Pushing a hand through her wet, tangled hair, she stood before the strange man. “Alana,” she brought her hand down onto her chest, her way of signing her name. Then her hand came out and pointed to him, expecting him to give her his name.