If only she could be embraced by her own pack like this, the female felt she would feel less of the burden of leadership. But it was a fanciful thought, one she kept to herself as she watched with envy the quick gathering of kindred souls to their leader’s call.
When approached by this experiment, the Shepard was more than willing to comply with her friend. She was glad for the chance to return to her most basic of forms even though it was far from her preferred. Yet her body was used to the change and in a seamless transition she had lost the height and bulk of her Optime form and stood upon four equally fine limbs in the body of her ancestors. Her body was much lighter than she was used to, and a striking contrast to the height of both her Secui and Optime forms. The lesser of the three was considered the ‘punishment’ or ‘weak’ form to the Nomads, only ever taken to show they were under reprimand by their family head. But standing in this form, she did not feel as weak as the form would have perceived. She was brimmed with more energy and the slimmer body allotted for more dexterous movements. Freer…yes, that was how she felt.
Before she had taken this form she had prepared herself for the engagement, weaving her mane into a series of long braids fashioned with various owl and eagle feathers accented with glass beads. But even with that attempt at taming, her mane was still wild and the rough bangs still hung in front of her face. She had managed to fashion the bulk of the auburn mass with several slender sticks as well, piling the braids at the back of the neck in the hopes they would keep up and out of the way. It was a disaster that any wise eye could see would eventually happen, but she carried on in blissful ignorance, ready to start this little experiment of theirs.
“Goodday everyone,” the lady Shepard greeted with a smile. Even as she dipped her head in a more formal greeting the pile gave way and the braids came spilling down. So much for that attempt… “I would like to thank you for coming to join or little game,” she continued without missing a beat. “And I assure you, it will be worth it. Let me begin first by explaining; where I came from, we act as our instinct compels us to and take great pride in it. It is our belief that our true strength and reasoning comes from what our bodies know what to do and how to act. It seems a little strange, yes… but it is quite effective when you learn to trust your instinct-“ her eyes then wandered to Wayne and she smiled knowingly. “-and follow its instruction. Think of this as a kind of training to awaken that dormant part of yourselves and be reacquainted with it. Even if it is through play. The purpose of this exercise is to let your instinct speak and act for you… to speak without actually speaking and convey your intentions through sound and body. To recognize everything from the most exaggerated, to the most subtle gestures and act accordingly.
“But… for those that are not used to this or are a little out of practice…”