RP:Cats Helping Khats

Part of the The Whisperer In Darkness Arc

This is a Devout's Guild RP.

Summary: Khitti happens upon an elvish-looking Zahrani and the two speak of the upcoming mission in Venturil.

Southern Scenic View, Xalious Mountains

Zahrani sits in a tree overlooking the valley, the feline wearing her more elf-life appearance. Spring is in full blossom, and the panther's dark-brown skin is garbed in a humble linen, tied off with a canvas belt. Her equipment sits next to her, neatly tucked away in a satchel. She appears to be quietly reading a book from the Chapel of Cyris. It speaks of the various gods of Lithrydel, formatted as lines of poetry. With the sun setting, it's difficult to tell whether the amber light playing across the woman's skin is her own aura or that of approaching dusk.

Khitti || The more-than-occasional channeling of Seika’s magic as of late had started to leave its residual mark on Khitti. While she had the katana with her, strapped to her back as usual, Khitti sensed Zahrani’s aura and made it verbally known before Seika even had a chance to say anything--though really, unbeknownst to Khitti, Seika was really testing her to see what sorts of things she could sense on her own without the sprite’s help. When she found Zahrani, however, she could only blink up at the elf in the tree, thoroughly confused until she remembered Zahrani shifting to this state during their escape from what she liked to call ‘The Island of Doom and Gloom’. She’d carefully wander over towards the tree, attempting to not disturb her just yet, but soon a “Hi, Zahrani”, would come from the redhead below.

Zahrani had heard footsteps approaching, a smile forming on her face at the familiar sensation of Seika's aura. At Khitti's greeting, cyan eyes turn to the red-headed woman. Black fur covers her pointed ears, her tail swishing idly behind her, but beyond that, she does indeed look like a very androgynous elf. The cat closes the book, hers legs wrapping around one side of the branch, before she crosses her arms and leans back. One smooth rotating motion has her hanging upside down by her legs, her face at the same level as Khitti's. Gravity takes hold of her braided hair, as well as the bottom hem of her shirt, the latter revealing a well-trained and defined core of abdominal and oblique muscles. "Good to see you two again, since our last meeting. How is the rest of the guild doing?"

Khitti grinned at Zahrani’s upside-down-ness, shrugging somewhat at her question. “Well enough as far as I know. Seems we’ve all disappeared into the void again where we came from.” The grin shifted into more of a smirk, “But, I’m sure they’ll all be there when I come calling. I intend to seek as many of the guild out as I can before this stealth mission and get us all on the right path. Did you still want to help out with that? The mission?” Khitti peered up at Zahrani quizzically, her head tilted a little. “I would gladly accept your help if you were still willing to give it.”

Zahrani curls her body forward, pulling herself back into an upright position as she listens to Khitti. The cat retrieves her satchel and book, nimbly sliding off of the branch and landing on her feet next to the human. The panther has a very pondering look on her face, "I think I could help with that. Is there anything more you can tell me about the mission? What we know already?" The paladin places her book in her bag, before turning to walk towards an old run-down hut nearby, trusting Khitti to follow. Rani's gaze seems almost meditative and pensive as she approaches the small grave, marked with small feline statuette.

Khitti opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t find words. What would the feline think if she told her who Khitti got her information from? She wouldn’t find those words until Zahrani had reached the hut and the grave, Khitti’s grin fading as she finally spoke, “It’s… sort of a long story. But, to keep it short, I’m acquaintances with a mermaid. I didn’t want to say it at the meeting, for fear of someone there thinking me crazy--moreso than most already do. It probably would’ve hurt my chances at starting up the guild if I did.” Sigh. “Anyway, the mermaid, Nemona, has family over in waters near Chartsend and Venturil and they fled the area not long after that dark magic and blood had begun to spill into the river near Aedrebyrg, and then into the ocean. It didn’t matter though. It infected them all like some sort of plague… and it got Nemona too. I had to channel Seika’s magic to heal her before she died.” Khitti’s hands fidgeted in front of her, her red brows knitting together, “I’ve seen this type of dark magic before. She was throwing up black, putrid liquid… her veins were black too. That same sort of thing was going to kill me, years ago… and it’s why I became a vampire in the first place.” She paused again, letting Zahrani take all of this in before she went any further, in case the feline had more questions.

Zahrani quietly sits in front of the grave, turning to Khitti as she tells her story. A half-smile forms at the idea of the others thinking Khitti crazy. The feline passes no judgment; she has seen many equally strange or improbable scenarios unfold. The roses and baby's breath that grow about the area have begun to bud, the feline taking in the scent of the earth, the vegetation, the old timber, and her friend/leader. The paladin listens quietly, taking a moment to absorb the information, before asking with a curious face, "So...what usually causes this kind of dark magic to manifest? And aside from turning into a vampire, how do we counteract it?"

Khitti felt a wave of relief when Zahrani didn’t make fun of her or give her some incredulous look. She certainly got it when she was reborn and told the recently deceased Mrs. Mallard about the mermaid that’d saved her. “It’s a type of the dark arts that comes from the Shadow Plane. Amarrah, Facilier; the ones I told you about before. The Umbrawisps. It’s their magic. That female we killed on the island. She was one too. I’m not sure what’s going on entirely, but it might have to do with that guy that got away.” Khitti shrugged, “Holy magic worked well, but it took a lot. Probably took more with me because I had to channel Seika’s magic to heal Nemona. Seika did tell me that I’m nearing the end of my training, so there’s that at least. But, I don’t want to run in there with a ship and a crew of a hundred plus us again. That didn’t go well. We need to know how bad things are before we can figure out how much magic we need to do this.”

Zahrani thinks back to their previous fight together. That was a hairy one, and rushing in blind certainly did them no favors. This next mission would require restraint, and stealth. Exhaling with a controlled breath, the feline looks towards the grave, then back at Khitti, "So this is an information-gathering mission. I'd be happy to help. How many others have committed?" Her father Falion would likely stay behind and help with pooling and cataloging any research brought into the guild. He has an eye and a thirst for knowledge, traits that he passed on to his foster daughter via mentorship.

Khitti || “I seriously hope it’ll just be an info-gathering mission. That’s what I want. That’s what I wanted last time. But, unfortunately, things do not always go as planned--I’ve learned this well from being around Lionel.” Okay, so things never went as planned before Lionel came along; Khitti wasn’t going to mention that though. “Meri, the blonde that helped us with the island. Possibly Brand, if I can get him to go with us--he has years of experience with this sort of thing. And, Encara. A drow ranger who is apparently friends with both Meri and my brother.” Khitti seemed uncertain about this last person, but she tried to do her best to hide it. “I think a small group will definitely suit us. We’ll still want to be on our guard though. We don’t know if there’s any kind of traps about. I imagine they’d figure we’d come sniffing around at some point, it was only a matter of time.”

Zahrani nods in understanding, "I will do my best to prepare for anything unexpected." She smiles at the mention of Meri and Encara. "I've met them both." She and Meri had a brief moment to get acquainted after the island. She had also helped heal Encara and her small drider friend when she had been working in Frostmaw. The cat's miraculous healing power has certainly made her some friends. As night falls, the paladin remains seated at the grave. Her bright blue eyes glow like starlight as she surveys the area, "I have heard rumors that the little one who perished here can sometimes be seen wandering the field...I have yet to confirm such whisperings." A wry smile in the dark, "Either it's nothing more than rumor, or the little spirit is avoiding me." Rani's spiritual aura is certainly intimidating when it is first felt by those who are sensitive to such phenomena. But it becomes warm and inviting after awhile.

Khitti nodded in acknowledgement of the feline meeting both Meri and Encara, a slight smile forming. Good. It always worked out better when people who were to be adventuring together knew one another. Khitti’s line of sight shifted from the feline’s elven form to that of the statuette, her head tilted somewhat, “Perhaps their spirit passed on entirely and rumors are merely that. I highly doubt anyone would avoid you, even the dead. Even when I just met you, I knew you to be trustworthy--and that’s a lot coming from me, heh. I don’t put my trust in people easily. It’s a hard habit to break, but it comes in handy.” She looked back towards Zahrani, studying her somewhat unfamiliar form, “I didn’t know you had this form. I’ve known dragons to shapeshift, and even a human, but not felines.”

Zahrani looks back at Khitti, smiling warmly at her words. "That is kind of you to say. I am glad that you find me trustworthy." The cat places a hand on the small gravestone, her fingers subtly glowing with that same divine aura, before she brings herself to a standing position next to the other woman. At the comment regarding her appearance, the panther adds, "This...is an ability that I recently learned to tap into. It involved...at least partially...a trial that I underwent to contemplate on what it means to be truly Free. It was a difficult trial, but I gained a new degree of Freedom with my physical form." She pauses, then adds, "I don't know if that's all there was to it. There's a lot about my blood parents that I don't know, so I might have inherited some degree of power that I don't know how to use yet." Her biological mother was a Jangalan feline, and she had hailed from a place that blurs the line between the natural and the supernatural.

Khitti’s smile remained, growing somewhat as she listened to Rani, “I hope I can get to that point too someday. I still feel chained down. Shadows keep cropping up all around and I don’t feel like I’ll ever be rid of them. Might just be that I’m more like them than I realize. It’s why I decided, after some thought, to become a templar and not a paladin. It gives me room to breathe, so to speak.” She tilted her head a little, a pensive look crossing her features, “Have you thought about researching your heritage? Maybe you can find some answers that way.”

Zahrani smiles, listening to Khitti's words and getting the sense that Seika did a good job choosing the redhead as her new wielder. In response to the woman's question about her heritage, the feline shrugs, "I have an old heirloom from my mother before she died. The feline matron in Cenril who took care of me after that told me what she knew of Jangal. It's a place where life has a strong connection to magic. The plants, the wildlife, and the people all make use of it in ways that you don't see here. It's culture is largely shaped by beastfolk - felines, lycans, dragons...- but that's mostly from secondhand accounts. I asked around, and the last known Jangal feline to reach Lithrydel was a shaman...with a really hard-to-pronounce name. But no one has seen him in some time, and he didn't leave any records behind." Not every denizen of Jangal was as forthcoming with their origins as Kumorohyou; for all Rani knows, there could be elves, felines, or even humans from Jangal wandering about still.

Khitti lifted a hand to her chin, scratching it idly in thought, “Maybe once all of this stuff with Venturil is over with, we could look into it if you want. The libraries around here are more vast than most realize and I’m particularly good at navigating them. That’s up to you though and if you want to go down that road. I entirely understand if you’re content with things the way they are now.” She smiled, then looked up towards the heavens, “Oi. I should be getting home. Brand’s likely to need a bit of a break from the kid and some dinner. We’ll talk more about this later if you’d like, alright? And if need me before the mission, don’t hesitate to seek me out.” With a wave, and if Zahrani had nothing further, Khitti would be off headed towards Kelay-Sage, and Cenril beyond that.