06-23-2009, 08:26 AM
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| http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/rp/kae/ ... tblood.jpg); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position:fixed; padding-top:248px; padding-left:25px; padding-right:25px; padding-bottom:10px;"> mall-caps;">Out of Character ♥ mall-caps;">In Character Kaena was drawn to the city. The Citta Umana of the former territories had been almost mystical to the coyote—they were a place of wonder and dreams, where terrible and wonderful things had happened. She had met Ahren there at first, wandering through the streets in a haze of liquor, stumbling upon the church where his mothers' bones rotted to dust on the thin red altar carpet. She had taken his virginity there, and he had almost planted his seed in her, granting her the litter of children who were now edging on four years of age. She thought of that encounter fondly as she passed a church that was not so different, altering her course to head toward it. The Lykoi mounted the steps quickly, her claws clicking against their marble exterior. They had once been quite shiny, but now age and neglect had worn their sheen down to nothing, and not even the noon sunlight could bring them to glint. Kaena's head wandered to another encounter in the concrete jungle, recalling the creation of Salvaged Eternity as she knew him. She'd introduced him to sex and violence, inadvertantly breathing live into the monster who terrorized Bleeding Souls for years following that fateful night. She'd put a stop to what she'd created, though... well, almost. She had, only she'd continued his line herself, carrying Salvaged's child in her belly with Rachias, Arkham, and Andrezej, pegging her as the outsider the moment she took her first breath. The church hadn't been opened in years, and unlike the other church, which was only dimly lit at best, this one had gaping holes in its roof, and bright sunlight filtered through, illuminating the church's ruined interior. There was debris in many of the pews, and the altar was ransacked, tipped over and destroyed. There wasn't much else of interest, so Kaena made her way to the side entrance and into the graveyard, thinking perhaps she'd gather a few bones for Inferni's borders. Someone else had to have paint, she figured. She opened a heavy oak door and closed it behind her, finding herself in a graveyard. Most of the stones were old, but she continued deeper into the cemetary, convinced she'd find newer stones (and thus, newer bones) toward its edges. The Lykoi passed a mausoleum, studying the grimy angel statue near its door as she went. It was covered with a jade green substance, but its innocent face still shone clearly beneath the muck. The hybrid's attention returned to the path before her, and she read gravestones as she passed them, meaningless, strange names passing before her eyes. This was an idea. The Lykoi hated to think of herself as dead, but she was not immortal. It would happen sooner or later—and perhaps a headstone on a knoll in Inferni would ensure she would not be forgotten. Dying didn't bother Kaena so much as being forgotten did. She itched to carve her name into the earth with fire or blood or ink, whatever she might get her hands on—if she could write, she would. She would write down her family's names, her name, her life story, her family history, Inferni—everything. Being forgotten was worse than dying, the Lykoi decided, as she rounded a bend into a parcel of fresh graves. There was a sort of open mausoleum, with a stone bench between two pillars and several graves in its wall, though the wall appeared to be crumbling in parts and Kaena could see the worn wooden edge of a coffin sticking out. The Lykoi headed over, stopping to look over the pillars. Vines had grown over them, and in the early summer they were still exploding with flowers, brilliant purple things that smelled of honey and sunshine, thickening the air with their perfume. The hybrid kept moving after a moment, walking over to the wall and placing one of her hands over the cracked part, giving it a push. It gave way beneath her hand, and exposed a gold handle of the coffin. The Optime grabbed ahold of it and pulled hard, sliding the heavy thing along the floor of the grave and into the wall. It buckled outward for a moment, and with a few more hard yanks came through, small pieces of concrete falling around the hybrid's feet. The coffin hit the floor, and Kaena set to work trying to open it, her claws scrabbling for a hold on the wood until she found the thinnest hold on the edge of it. She pried it apart with her claws, driving them between the lid and the body of the coffin, making a tiny space she progressively widened by driving more of her claws and then her fingers, pulling hard all the while. She breathed hard, and gave a final pull, the lid of the coffin sliding off to reveal the bones beneath. Kaena peered inside, and swung her pack around to the other side of her body, opening it up and placing the skull inside of it. There were a few more bigger bones that she wanted, like the ones from the legs, and a few smaller ones. None of them were good for chewing—the nutritious marrow had dried up years and years ago. |