{Open} These thrice-blasted mountains!

[kather]

A rustle was heard in the Spine as a dark-pelted werecat padded through it.

"I cannot... I just cannot find Carvahall or Therinsford! Where are they? How am I supposed to escape these thrice-blasted mountains!"

She scaled a tree and, gleaning no infromation, lept from it. 

"Gah, I could at least hunt..."

And hunt she did, catching a crow... A squirrel... a mouse. Tearing open the squirrel, she begain to eat, the other two dead animals beside her. In between bites she was muttering.

"Travel all the way from Du Weldenvarden for this... Can't even cook a hot meal... I'd much prefer an Elvish treehouse than this..."

Seems she was occupied, for the moment, by her muttering and food. 

[Deleted]

(OOC- Hey! Nice to see a new face! I'm not sure if you have a plan here so, I'll give you a rundown of some possible characters I could bring in (I've got a handful, but, some are currently active in other threads and I try not to have them playing major rolls in more than one [it gets confusing otherwise]).
I have avaliable:

Varda, the good Rider who spends most of her time in Alagaesia, battling the enemy. She comes with her dragon, Blizzard.
Nextith, the loyal elf soldier who doesn't have much patience for Du Weldenvarden and prefers dealing with humans.

Eladan, Varda's insane, and very evil, twin who used to fight for the Empire and now has joined the shades. His dragon is Amethyst.

I do also play Eragon, but, he's unable to leave Bromsland because destiny stuff.

Anyone piquing your interest?)

[kather]

{OOC} To answer the first... erm.. Well, no I don't really have a plot. As for your character, you can be whichever character you think is appropriate to the Spine. It isn't my choice to decide who you play as.))

[Deleted]

(OOC- It's just a courtesy I extend as a fellow RPer . Sometimes, people are looking to get their characters to a certain point, like allying with the Riders, in which case Varda would be useful because of her long-time service. And sometimes, they're looking for a fight, in which case Eladan would be a good choice. That's why I give the list of characters. I'm always more than ready to play any one of them, and really don't have specific preferences most of the time.)

Nextith grimaced as he sat down with his back against a tree. Days of running and tracking were beginning to take their toll, even on an elf as willful as he was. Still, he couldn't afford to let the enemy get a foothold here in the Spine, where travelers were infrequent and the natives were still suspicious. It would be the perfect place for a hidden base of operations. He scowled. According to recent intelligence, the assassin, Sideon, had spent the last sixteen years hidden in the mountains of the Spine. And now he was back, wrecking havoc and causing even the Riders problems. They didn't want something like that happening again. And Nextith himself was sure it was. He had been waylaid by a couple of enemy scouts on his way south from a brief visit to an old friend in Du Weldenvarden, who, upon realizing they were being overwhelmed by the elven fighter, had fled into the Spine. He assumed that they had thought he would be wary of following them. If that was the case, they were fools. He had no fear of anything the mountains may hold. He felt most alive when things were interesting, and despite the exhaustion the three-day chase was causing, he couldn't deny the excitement he felt at doing something other than roaming about, finding and delivering intel. Lucian was going to have to wait on that next report.

He took a swig from his waterskin and dug into his pack for some food. Then, he paused. He sensed a presence nearby, one that had escaped his notice when he was caught up with thoughts of his chase. Immediately on the alert, he shoved the waterskin back into his pack and moved fluidly to his feet, a hand going to his sword. One of the scouts? No. It didn't feel right. He moved silently towards the presence he sensed. It was oddly familiar. Not in a personal way, but more in the way that one would know that a tree was of a certain type. As he neared, he realized what he was sensing.

Werecat.

[kather]

She had just began to tear her crow open when she had felt the mind of another creature of magic. Perking her ears, she looked up from her meal.
She had never had the skill of magic. Ever. But one thing she could do, was finding, sensing, and, although she preferred never to, attacking minds.

Living in and around Du Weldenvarden, she almost immediately recognised the touch of an elf, through the strange, well, alien nature of their minds, though it would seem less alien to her, for again, her home was the forest of elves.
Lifting her head higher, she sniffed in his general direction.


Elf. 

[Deleted]

Nextith broke through the trees a moment later. Immediately, his sharp blue eyes focused on the cat that was sitting on the ground. From the way its head was raised, nose towards him, he assumed that it had smelt him coming. No, not it, her, he realized. Now that he was closer, his inhuman senses picked up on those things that marked her as female. Primarily, the shape of her feline form and the tenor of her mind. He cocked his head slightly, his loose black hair shifting over his shoulders and down his back. Interesting. She smelled like the forest he'd left not so long ago. Curiously, he flicked out with his mind, an invitation to converse.

What's a werecat doing in these mountains?

His curiosity nearly overshadowed the urgency of his chase.

[kather]

(({OOC} Nearly forgot to mention, Kather was speaking in the language of Werecats at the beginning.))

Cautiously, she reached out her mind toward the strange sounds of the elf's mind. She swallowed to rid her teeth of the crow's blood, than spit out a hallow wing bone. She properly looked up at him.

Taking an instant to gather her thoughts, she asked, What's an elf doing so far from the Guarding Forest? She mentally made the switch to the Ancient Language before asking, for she wasn't sure what language he spoke. Besides, every älfa was almost sure to know the Ancient Language.

Despite that, her confusion and curiosity spilled, if only slightly, spilled over to his mind through the mental connection, though it was still rather thin.

[Deleted]

Nextith's thin lips curved in a slightly wry smile when his question was answered with a question. That was usually the question that was asked when he first met someone outside Du Weldenvarden. Elves didn’t often roam, even after Galbatorix’s defeat. It was odd to see one gallivanting around Alagaesia and beyond. He crouched down to better observe the werecat, sitting back on his heels.

Avoiding the dullness of my brethren, he responded.

He cocked his head slightly to the side, taking in her confusion and curiosity. His loose hair shifted, falling partially over his face. He didn't bother to move it.

 
Are you from the Forest? He asked with equal curiosity.

That would be equally odd as an elf roaming about.

[kather]

In a roundabout way, I suppose.


Her ears tilted back in annoyance as a few flies  began to buzz around her dinner. With a paw swipe, they scattered, only to reform a moment later.

I can't pretend to think that I don't know what you mean; about the dullness of the other elves. Strange things they are, living in swaying treetops and eating no meat. Not to say, she added as an afterthought, that you would be just like the others. It's rather surprising, anyway, to see one out of the Guarding Forest, especially this far.

Although they talked at the speed of thought, the werecat may have thought she may have spoke a bit too long. Chasing the flies off again, she bent down for another bite of crow.

[Deleted]

Nextith's smile turned into a grin at the werecat's assessment of his kind. It was terribly accurate. He'd always been rather odd, especially when he had joined the Empire back during the war. Even now, he wasn't quite sure what had driven him to do so. A bout of madness? Perhaps. Nevertheless, even since he had defected to ally with the 'good guys', he had only ever returned to Du Weldenvarden for brief visits. His kind was supposed to be naturally in-tune with nature and at home in the Forest, but, he only felt as though he were being judged for his differences. He enjoyed combat, only feeling truly alive when he was living by the sword. He was the type of man who despised sitting still. As long as he was doing something, something meaningful, like fighting dark forces, he was content.

The cat was right, though. To see an elf, who wasn't a Rider, out of the Forest was odd, even now.

Hm. I prefer to wander. I relay messages from the Riders to their allies on occasion, but, mostly, I act on my own.

He turned his eyes towards the deeper parts of the Spine. Somewhere, his quarry was on the move. Or, perhaps they were stopping to rest after the long chase. He had no doubt that they were human. And he could go for much longer without reprieve than they could.

[kather]

She lifted her head from her meal, slightly tilting it in the direction the elf was looking. 
What are you looking for? She inquired, poking around the feathers of the once-living bird. Her ears perked a bit as she realized something.
What is your name, anyhow? I mean, the one you go by to others.