Missing

[jada]

Jada was in her panther form. Her black silky coat shook in the breeze. Her eyes were fixed on her dinner. A small white rabbit. It sat nibbleing on some dark green blades of grass. Jada crept up quitely, keeping to the bushes until she was only a few feet away. Her mouth was drooling just thinking of the juicy rabbit in her mouth. She couldn't wait any longer. She leaped out of the bushes and on the rabbit killing it almost instantly. She crushed it's spine and began to eat.

When she finished, Jada found a small stream where she washed up at. She sat a while until it started to grow dark. "Mother will be getting worried soon," she thought to herself as she began her journey home. She ran through the enchanting green forest to her small village, just outside of it.

Once she arrived, still in some bushes she changed back into an elf. Her long caramel hair reached just below her shoulders and blew in the breeze just as her black silky fur did when she was a panther. Jada looked around to make sure no one had seen her and ran along to the dirt road leading to her house.

When she got home she found a note on the kitchen table.

Dear Jada,
I am sorry to say that I will not be home tonight. Your brother Lander will watch over you but i have things to attend to. Your father has be pronouned missing along with other hunters in our small village. I must help some of the other families. I will be home soon enough though, so don't you worry.

Mom

"DAD'S MISSING?!" She cried tearing the note up in frustration.

[Fecatah]

Fecatah had been wandering in this forest for quite some time now. He knew he ought to be getting back to the village fairly soon... The sky had grown dark.

His feet were telling him where to go. Deeper and deeper into the woods, but he was not worried, he didnt see how anyone could be on a night such as this. The balmy air playing around his body, when he suddenly came upon a path. Knowing he would not be able to find this spot again, he set off down it.

A calm apprehension overtook him. This path looked as though it haddnt been used in many years. The overgrowth was almost too much to walk through, but the path was still visible through the weeds. Winding to the left, then the right, and back to the left again, he followed it closely.

Suddenly, and without any prior warning, he was hanging in a net!

How could I let this happen?!? He thought angrily to himself, Maybe its an Elven trap? Ive never been quite good at detecting them... But even as he thought these words, he knew they werent true. The woods around him teemed with sentiant life, and he was surrounded by goblins...

[jada]

Jada didn't want to hear any of this nonsense about her father missing. She took off full speed for the woods. She dived over somebushes and landed on her rough black paws, transforming ing mid-air. She kept running not looking where. She just had to get away. Eventually shefound a small hardly traveld on path, she kept running and hardly expected what happened next. She tripped over a wolf in a net, and fell , she rolled a few feet away and sat up.

She bent her ears back and gave a low hiss. goblins surrounded her and the trapped wolf. She dove for the net and desparitly cut away at the ropes with her claws. A goblin came up behind her and drew it's dagger. She jumped around and bit at the goblins hand. He stepped back in fear and called to his buddies. They seemed to be laughing, and mocking her. She spun around and sliced the last few rope freeing the wolf.

She looked for any way out. "I guess I'll go up and over," she thought in her head. She bounded up the closest tree calling to the wolf," Follow me before they catch you again!" and she bounded down the other side sig-zigging throught the woods. She finally stoped at a small creek. She sniffed around and smelled nothing of danger, and took a drink of cold clear water.

[Omio]

Omio was out for a peaceful wander. As usual, every like... 7 steps, he'd turn to either the side, behind, or other side. He remained cautious in that respect. He was journeying out of leisure and his journey became a little more serious. A wolf that was trapped in a net was about 25 yards South-east, (ahead and to the left for Omio) and a panther almost in the same spot, but it dashed off. There was a scent in the air he was familiar to, and he trusted what his instincts said.

"Stupid goblins, wolves aren't your food!" He dashed towards one, drew his daggers, grabbed a goblin, and placed it in a chokehold as he looked at another goblin. He looked at the wolf. "Go! Quickly!"

[Fecatah]

Wondering what was going on, Fecatah wasted no time in dashing after the panther, though he decided to go around the tree instead of up and down. After a brief backwards glance at the human, all he could follow was a glint of black on the tail of the panther every few meters. They ran on for quite a few minutes, untill they reached a creek.

Hmmm... I wonder what that was all about? He thought to himself. He sat down on the ground, and surveyed the panther. His eyes narrowing, and then going back to normal, his brow furrowing, and unfurrowing. Finally, he made a desicion about what to do.

"Who are you?" He asked the panther gently. "Why did you save me?" Though this may not have been the most friendly question to ask someone who just saved your life, Fecatah was not the quickest to trust anyone...

After most of the shock had worn off, he bent over the water and lapped up some. He sat back down and closed his eyes slightly, but left them open enough to keep an eye on the panther...

[jada]

Jada looked up to him," My name is Jada, and I saved you because they would have killed you, and was just sort of instinct. I diddn't even know you were there until I tripped over you, to tell the truth." She said a bit emabbrassed for tripping over him. "Sorry about that." She added.

She looked back to where they came, even further beyond that was her home, where her rother would be retuning to soon from his job in the tavern. He would notice her missing. "I guess I have to go back for now, or he and mom alike will be worried outta their minds," She mumbbled.

She looked back at the creek and imagined her mother crying at the loss of her husband and daughter. "I can't let that happen." Jada said to herself snapping out of her daydream. "I need to be heading home now, if you'd like you can stay there. If you need somewhere to stay that is." She said to the wolf, " By the way what is your name in return?"

[Fecatah]

Fecatah opened his eyes fully once more, and continued to survey Jada for any untrustworthyness... And could spot none.

"I am known as Fecatah." He said sharply. He never expected that he would meet anyone on his walk, when now, he was even starting to like this panther. "It is... Nice to meet you Jada..." The words seemed almost forced, as though he were not normally like this, witch was perfectly true. "And dont be sorry." He said in an abrupt fashion, "If you hadnt tripped over me... Well..." The rest of the sentence trailed away. He suspected they both knew what would happen, had he not been discovered.

When Jada offered that he go with her to her place of dwelling, his natural paranoid instinct kicked in. "Why? Er..." Seeming to catch himself he added, "Are you sure it would be alright with your mother?" He shifted a little where he sat, he wanted to say, Sure! Id love to come back with you! And I think your a really nice person! But the fear of being taken advantage of was too great of a barrier to be brought down with just one meeting...

"I dont have a place to stay anymore..." He mumbled uncomfortably. "But I dont want to impose upon you or your family..." The sentence finished awkwardly, but the slight expression on his face was hopeful.

[jada]

"Well it's just me and my brother for a while. Our mom is helping out other villagers and will be gone for the most part. She won't mind eaither, she LOVES to help people." Jada smiled.

Jada sensed the orkwardness but ignored it, she just liked haveing company. He seemed a nice enough fellow too. Wonder why he doesn't have a home anymore? Better not ask. she said to herself.

She turned and slowly began the walk home. "I think well go around the goblins." Jada laughed.

[Fecatah]

He didnt know what to say to this act of kindness, let alone the fact that he was bewildered at Jada's trusting nature. Slowly, he stood up, and began to follow the black, swishing tail once more.

After a couple minutes of walking in silence, he decided to ask Jada the question that had lingered on his mind ever since he met her. "Are - are your family panthers too?" Though this seemed an odd question to ask, he noted the fact that a panther could speak fluently in a language he himself understood. Plus, he was not so sure he wanted to live in a cave, or in the woods or something...

Though he had been ingnoring and disguising it very well, the pain in his left leg began to increase with the strain. Eventually, after another few minutes of walking, he began to limp very slightly, hoping Jada would not notice.

It was odd, walking along with a companion like this. It had been a very long time since he had a friend, but he wasnt even sure if he could call her that just yet... His last companions name was Zyto. An Elven druid from the Land of Fire (or so it was known to the people of Fecatahs home-village). It was a fortnights travel east from Fecatahs old home. As he thought about this, he wondered whether he would get to see his old friend, just once more.

[jada]

"Oh umm no they arn't panthers. I'm not even truely one. I can shapeshift, although, PLEASE don't tell anyone. My family doesn't know of it yet and i'm not sure if i want to tell them. They can't shapeshift, no one i know can, well as far as i know anyway. Their are roomers i believe to be true, that my father could shapeshift. I wanted to ask him, but he was just pronounced missing along with other hunters in our village.," Jada said looking away.

She hadn't told anyone her secret and really didn't want to, but she didn't want Fecatah to think she was suspious. She felt ashamed she hadn't even told her family. "Just don't tell them, I was going to sooner or later but I don't know how. I don't know if i should eaither, IF my father was a shapeshifter, no one else really knew, I'm not quite sure I should tell anyne eaither. But Since we are pretty much strangers and you are going to stay with us for a bit, I figure you may want to be able to trust those you are staying with." She said.

They continued on heading back to Jada's village. They crept around the goblins domain. Jada had thought she herd another voice while they were escapeing but didn't have much time to look back. Soon enough they were reaching a small clearing, large enough for a village. Jada hid in the bushes and morphed into her elven form. "Follow me," She said to Fecatah.

They walked up a dirt street and reached Jada's warm wood house. She opened the door and walked in," I'm home! and we have a guest!" Jada called walking inside. She proceeded up the stairs and into a cozy little room. It had a bed and so little side tables, a few candles, and some drawings framed and hung on the wall. "This is one of our guest rooms you can stay here, you are free to do as you please, it's your home as long as you stay here, so just relax," She smiled walking out and closeing the door behind her.

He probably wants some time to himself before dinner, Jada thought to herself walking down the steps where she was greeted by her brother. " Hello did mom say when she would be home?" Jada asked

" No" was his only reply. He went up stairs and turned at the top," I'll make dinner in a bit, until then i'll be in my room." He said turning back around and walked down the hall to his door and closed it behind him.

Jada went into the kitchen and cut up some vegitables and fruit for a snack and sat on the couch in the living area. She gazed out the window to the woods, where she sat poundering the question, I wonder where father is?

[Fecatah]

As they walked along, Fecatah's head was pounding slightly. The pressure of the day was giving him a slight headache. But not showing signs of weakness was his first resolve, and he acted as though it didnt exist.

He stared at the panther quite intently as she morphed right before his eyes, the sleek black coat became clothes, her ears grew slightly longer, and her whole appearance changed into that of an Elf. He didnt say anything right away, he didnt know what would come out of his mouth... Then finally, after a moment of pondering, he said

"Wow... Um, your sure nobody will mind a human-like wolf wandering around?" This was certainly an awkward question, but he was known for bringing these things right out in the open. "And, no problem, I wont tell anyone your secret... Thanks for trusting me." He mumbled. He was starting to feel slightly ashamed for not trusting Jada so well, but an invisible barrier inside him shut these feelings away to be pondered at a later date.

When she opened the door to the warm building, many different feelings washed over him at once. First of all, he wasnt sure why Jada trusted him, second, the warmth in the house was something he hadnt felt in a long time. He became immidiatly weary and just followed Jada wherever she went in the house, which seemed to be a small room upstairs. "Thank you for your hospitality." He said, as he watched her leave the room, "Ive not met many people such as yourself." This seemed to be a statement, and not a conversational topic.

When she had closed the door behind herself, he peered around the room. Natural instinct told him to be afraid, or cautious, of everything. But another voice finally spoke up in the back of his head, Why dont you trust her?

I dont know... said the other voice.
She's helped you so far.
But what if she cant be trusted?
What if she can...

There seemed to be a twisted logic to this. His mind whirling, and his stomach twisted into an uncomfortable knot, he drifted into a restless daze on the soft, comfortable bed...

[schlitz]

Schlitz gritted his teeth, looking angrily at the goblin leader.

"It was a simple task," he said through his teeth. "Capture the wolf-man. That's it. That's all. And you screwed it up." Schlitz knew the man who had requested the assassination was becoming quite restless. Anymore screw-ups and the contract would fall, and this man was offering a LARGE sum of money for it.

"I'm sorry," said the goblin simply. His language was archaic. His tone, argh his tone. "It won't happen again."

"That's true. It won't. Why don't you come over here? I'm not angry." Schlitz smirked as he placed a hand on his twilight crystal dagger. The goblin walked slowly over. For some reason he seemed calm, not his true self. Schlitz got up and walked to the goblin. The tent was small, but large enough to walk around in. Schlitz bent over and whispered in the goblin's ear. "It won't."

In a flash, Schlitz's dagger was inside the goblin. His blood splattered on the ground. The goblin staggered back in a stupor, not realizing what happened. He crumpled in a ball on the ground. Schlitz stalked silently back to the chair he was sitting in and looked at the body for a few seconds.

A guard assassin walked in. Stumbling on the goblin's lifeless body, he said, "Sir-- we have the hunters you requested."

"Finally-- something goes right today."

[jada]

OOC: I think i'm going to make Lander (jada's brother) an officail character, I'm still debating it. any thoughts?

Jada turned around on the sofa and saw Lander walking down the steps. He came over and sat down next to her. They looked out the window together just gazing at the forest before them. Finally Lander said,"Jada I haven't told mom yet but,...I'm leaveing, I want to find dad and the others that are missing."

"Lander if you go i'm going to,...there's something I have to tell you too. I'm not quite sure how to say this, but before I tell you promise you won't tell anyone, ESPECIALLY mom." Jada said fearful of his reaction when she told her secret.

"Jada you can't come with me, I won't let you. Don't even think about following me either. ...What is so bad you can't tell mom?" He said looking a bit shocked.

"It's not nessisarily bad, it's just different...ummmm...Well there were rummors dad could shapeshift, well i believe he could because I can..." Jada said looking away. She didn't want to see his reaction.

There was a long silence following Jada's comment. Finally Lander said," Why didn't you tell us? When did you find out you could shapeshift?"

"I didn't tell you because I didn't know how you'd react and well dad didn't tell anyone did he? Or maybe only a few people. I decided you need to know, mom does too but I don't know how to tell her...I've know for a long time now. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you." Jada said ashamed.

"Jada, Don't be ashamed you have a wonderful gift! It must be so fun to...well what do you shape shift into...?" he asked

"A panther," She replied smiling beccause he was happy for her.

"AWESOME! Show me! come on please?!" he asked. Lander was her older brother and he was acting like he was 8 again, jumping around all excited.

Jada laughed," Yes i'll show you, but only when we are in the woods, how about tommorrow when our visitor is more comfortable and knows his way around." Jada suggested.

"Alright, but you do need to tell mom as soon as she comes back, promise me you will. I better make dinner for everyone too." he said heading for the kitchen.

"I promise," Jada said as he left the room.

[Fecatah]

Fecatah awoke from his drowzy slumber, to find himself not much more rested, but a lot more accepting to whatever might happen. It felt like he had been resting for hours... But his mind told him different. Then, by natural instinct, he braced his mind for a struggle, as so much of his life had been...

Just to make sure he had all of his equipment with him, he gave himself a once over, Yeah... It seems to all be here... He was pleased with this thought, and it lessened the knot of distrust in his chest. Well... He gave it a contemptuous thought, It cant be all that bad to stay here. I wonder what fate is playing at, sending that girl into my life... This thought had not much time to expand while he was with her, but now, it played upon his thoughts like a bard to a guitar. And the familiar battle erupted yet again...

She did help me out of a pretty tight spot...
Does she want to use me?
If she does... Well, there havent been signs yet.
She's good at hiding them?
Maybe... Maybe not...

He shook his head to clear away these thoughts, hitched on a face that showed no pain, nor any other emotion, and strode over to the door. When his paw finally came to rest upon the handle, he heaved one last sigh to ensure his emotions were under control, and flung open the door.

He closed the door gently, and peered down the stairs. There seemed to be a commotion in the kitchen area. Fecatah frowned at his own ability to remember the parts of the house he saw earlier... But the accepting part of him took this for granted, and he walked slowly down the stairs. He was not sure, but by the sound of it, a male was in the kitchen. Though he was not sure exactly how aggressive Jada was while not surrounded, or being chased by, goblins.

At the bottom of the stairs, he glanced around, and noticed the couch sagging a very little. Noticing these little details had saved his life numerous times. He stood at the bottom of the stairs for a number of seconds, perhaps even a minute or two, before deciding that he would like some interaction with the person who had saved his skin. He walked smoothly, noiselessly, as though he was gliding across the floor, towards the couch and upon approaching it, saw that it was Jada sitting on the couch.

She had a look of relief on her face, but Fecatah could not tell what about, as he walked around the couch to sit with her. He sat down quietly, and stared at her. This stare might have made her uncomfortable, he did not know. But he wanted to study her, all her features, her emotions, everything. Instead of speaking first, he waited for her.

[jada]

Jada turned to face Fecatah, She smilied at him, and thought it was a little odd he was just stareing at her but she decided not to bring it up, instead she mentioned dinner. "I'm not sure what my brother Lander is makeing for dinner but he's in there making it now. I was about to go check to see if he needed any help, if you want you can join us but you can just sit here and relax too." She said with her bright smile standing.

* * *

Lander was in the kitchen when he herd his sister talking. Must be the guest Jada brought home...He decided.The wondeful warm smell started to drift out into the living area where Jada and Fecatah were sitting.

"Dinner's about ready!" He called out to them. He started serving up the plates and setting them on their large wooden table.

He appeared in the living room when it was already. "Hey dinners ready if your ," he said to them.