Kacela quickly went to work, hobbling Trav at the far back wall of the barn and tipping him a few handfuls of the grain she carried. It was really enough to distract him for a few minutes while he settled in. The barn felt strong and safe against the harsh storm outside and she was comforted by the fact. Fire was her first task, and it only took a few minutes to run out into the rain and drag in some deadfall. It was easy to find now with the amount of trees that had been dying of late along with the large storms. Trees had been knocked left and right, their roots too withered to stand against the winds. The bark was wet on the tidy pile of wood she made, but when cracked open over her knees the insides were perfectly dry and brittle.

It only took a few minutes work to get it lit and roaring cheerfully. She had traveled many times, and fire was always a first when camping. It took only a couple of minutes to untack Trav and lay all her items (now washed clean from the rain) next to the fire to dry. It would probably take an hour or so for them all to dry. Her cloak was already dry, the mixture she had soaked it in was still holding true despite no magic having made it. She smiled at it, proud of her own work. She inspected the bottom, a couple 2-3 inch tears marring the perfection of the fabric. 'Hmm.. not as bad as I thought. While eveyrrhing dries I shall fix it quite easily.' 

She started to shed her outer garments, belt, gauntlets, gloves, and she had just finished unlacing her corset when she heard a crash in the branches. It was directly out from the barn, maybe a hundred yards. She peered out among the rain, knife in hand. The distance no human would have really noticed but she sure did. The creature was not small. She pursed her lips. 'The bird maybe? She followed me?'  But there was no more movement. Strange... She knew there was no real place to land over there, no trees still living large or stable enough to support a bird of that size, much less a phoenix. The sky was black and thick with the storm, turning the day into night for a short period of time. The storms here were strange now. Seemingly the over abundance of weather was trying to make up for the loss of magic, but did more damage than good...

She waited a very long while, searching for movement. Sensing none she turned away from the door to continue to finish drying off. Her conscience nagged at her though and she turned back, frowning in the direction the crash had come from. 'What if it was the bird? Even though she attacked, me she is a magical being and she could have been extremely distorted and disoriented by this land. I doubt it is her fault... Or she could just be nasty? No, the girl seemed more scared and lonely by the tone in her voice.' She knew if it was her out there she would wish for help. Kacela had helped many over the years, trying not to embrace the darker side of her inner beast. Anyone she had hurt usually had deserved it in some shape or form... But the girl seemed quite young, or at least not older than Kacela herself. Who knew really...

"All right!" She said to the open air. Trav's head popped up staring had her expectantly. He did not want to go back out in the gale she was certain of that. But she would not make him. He would be quite safe in here and would guard her belongings just fine. She grabbed her cloak, muttering about the idiots who get hurt in the rain and whirled it over her shoulders as she set off back into the false night.

The rain pelted her hood and shoulders forcefully and she was very grateful for her cloak at that moment. The rain seemed cold. She kept one hand on her weapon as she carefully and quietly made her way through the brush. It took only a few minutes before she starting nearing to the spot when the faint smell of Phoenix reached her nose. 'I knew it! Either shes is hurt or this is trap, I'm not sure what she is capable of really...'  But there was no movement. Maybe she was gone? It wouldn't hurt to search around more. Her sharp eyes gazed through the rain, picking up details quickly. She had always been able to see in any darkness just like the wolves she had met, though her strength of vision was much greater than theirs, making out details that most wolves could not see.

Small branches had been snapped in many places here, and she seemed the phoenix again and again as she turned. Where was she? She turned and her eye caught something not in line with the usual forest decor. In the hollow of a now dead ancient tree's roots, was curled the soggy pathetic looking bundle of phoenix. The great bird was most certainly not in a good condition, her tail and wing feathers bent and mussed with mud, and the whole form seemed to shake ever so slightly.

"Hello?" She called. Would the bird wake? "Little phoenix I promise I am friend so if you are awake respond so I may approach you." What if she was already too far gone to wake back up? 'I'm so tired of seeing people die...' Despite her first meeting with the little fiend she would not let her sit here and die. If the bird refused her help she would leave, but if she didn't wake at all Kacela would probably just carry her back to the barn and hope she wouldn't wake in her arms or attack her in any way. Not that the phoenix seemed to have any strength left to do so. "Are you all right?" She called softly again.

(( You can leave her sleeping or not, either way my character will be nice enough to save her :P ))

((Wow just realized how long this post was lmao. Surprised myself! ))

(( Thanks! Thats fine :) I understand when theres just a couple of days where a person just can't fit everything into 24 hours. I'd rather you have a post you like and is well written, than something rushed because you felt you needed to post.

Looking forward to tomorrow! And I hope your finger gets better :P You are very entertaining to role play with! :D ))

(( If you want to picture a good version of my character as a real life human she looks almost identical to Red from Once Upon a Time. Or thats how I picture her. lol http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp272/westbrooke1025/red.png Not same clothing though :P Just the face/hair. More pics easy to find on google. ))

Kacela called softly again. "Little phoenix? Are you okay?" The bird clearly was not okay but it never hurt to ask. She would not leave the bird there either way. 'Poor thing probably was delirious before it even attacked me. She should have left long ago. Purely magical creatures fare the worst in these kinds of situations.' She knelt, placing her hand gently on the sodden, muddy, black feathers. They were starkly warm to the touch through the dampness but it seemed more of a sickly than healthy heat to her.

She gently pushed the creature, but again the phoenix did not move, though she could see the eyes moving rapidly under the lid as if dreaming. The bird was quite certainly sick, and the rain wasn't helping its condition. Ever so gently the wolven lady curled her arms around the phoenix, gathering her into her arms. The bird was much larger than normal but her strength had out matched any human or beast she had never met, so on the whole she was not very heavy, just unwieldy to carry. She kept the feet tucked up under, grabbing the legs right above her claws. That way if she woke up delirious she couldn't quickly drop the creature without sustaining any injury.

The bird stayed limp as she straightened, keeping one arm under the body. She gently curled the slender neck around to rest on its back feathers so her head would not flop around and give her more injuries. She was light for her size, but it was not unexpected for birds had hollow bones and she didn't expect magical ones to be any different. "Okay girl, off we go." It took a little longer to walk back to the cabin, since she needed a wider path between the trees so the bird's long feathered tail would not catch on the brush. But the longer trip helped wash the majority of the mud from the bird.

She gladly entered the dry barn, already feeling the heat from her fire. Trav perked his ears up, catching the scent of the bird. He nickered nervously, shuffling forward towards the pair. "It's all right boy she won't attack you again." She reassured him. The stallion reached his head out, nosing her unconscious package for a second and then promptly lost interest.

Kacela knelt by the fire and carefully arranged the phoenix on the ground, putting her as close to the flames as she could get without putting her in the fire, which she assumed wouldn't hurt her anyways. But with no way of being certain, she opted not to.

It took only a minute for Kacela to strip down once the bird was comfortable, she left nothing on but her hip and breast wrap, laying it all out by the fire on the opposite side from where her guest was tucked. It would do no good for her to shred the rest of her gear. It took her only a moment to grab a few things out of her pack, a small bowl, a couple of packets of herbs and a tiny sewing kit. The herbs and bowl were for the phoenix when she woke up, if she woke up at all.

Rainwater easily filled the bowl and in went in a combination of herbs. If she could get the phoenix to drink it, it would deaden her magical senses and abilities by quite a bit, but it would also take away her delirium. It had been used on many recently and she had gathered a supply just in case she started getting sick.

Placing the bowl at the edge of the coals to brew she made herself comfortable by the fire while starting to repair her cloak with quick, neat stitches. She wasn't totally trusting of this bird, so she kept her weapons close, and one eye on the slumbering form. The fire slowly warmed her bones as she waited for her guest to wake up.

(( Sorry I took so long have been very busy as well. Does your pheonix have more of a hawk or a swan with a different beak and tail? Not sure of your phoenix's anatomy XD ))

(( Thanks and aw okay! I look forward to your post Monday! ))

Kacela kept her mouth shut for a while, letting the phoenix gain her bearings. The poor thing was beraggled, dirty, and looked exhausted. She was almost positive the bird wouldn't make it to the edge of the Dying Lands on her own. Her golden eyes, stared bemusedly at the magical being for minute as she weighed her options and her guests survival rate on her own. The bird obviously was being heavily affected by the absence of magic and didn't remember a thing from before. Or it was lying...

No, the bird was in too fragile of a state to lie, and her eyes were bright with confusion and a little suspicion. Kacela finally gave a small, welcoming smile, pausing at her mending. "I am always tired here, as the magic in this land affects me like you, although not quite as strongly. I am keeping from my true form to prevent the sickness as I am Kacela, Daughter of Wolves." She didn't know exactly what to call herself so she had always stuck to that in first time introductions. Fortunately she didn't have to explain what she was too many people.

"You do not remember the events of the past hour I can see that plainly." She resumed her stitching and gave a slightly snort. "You are lucky I have a soft spot for wounded magical creatures phoenix, not many would help one so helpless after they had attacked them not minutes earlier." She raised her tattered cloak to the question in the phoenix's eyes. "Luckily this was the only casualty and easily fixed." A pattern had started to take form along the rips, and instead of a simple stitch, she had created a twining pattern of leaves. It curled along the finished portion, looking more if it was purposely put there, rather than a necessity.

She had grown skilled at things like this... she always had plenty of time alone.

"But I can tell you that if you go off on your own, you will mostly likely succumb to the delirium many have, and suffer a worse crash or even an attack you won't survive. Here, Drink this." She lifted the bowl by the very edge from the fire, careful not to let it spill or burn her. Leaning forward she set it near to the bird. "It will help. If you can not manage it on your own I will help you."

The bird was probably suspicious of her. She suspected very few acknowledged her existence much less helped her when she was in danger. Either way the bird could choose what she wanted to do. She wouldn't be able to do much until she drank what was in the bowl though. The being was slow to respond, and Kacela flicked her eyes up to meet her dark ones for a second and resumed her stitching. But at least she was responding as the heat and dry shelter revived her.

The fire felt good, sinking into her bones, relaxing her. She could tell most of her items were beginning to dry and it wouldn't be too long before she could move again. The storm had not slackened yet though, and she hoped it would not last all day. She could move easily at night on her own, but Trav could not and she would not risk him.

(( My post feels so blah. Rainstorms (in real life) always make me so sleepy XD ))

"No I am most certainly not human..." she echoed, staring at her hands while they worked seemingly of her own accord. She honestly didn't know what she was. At times it scared her not knowing her past or even if she had one. Was she created by something? Or maybe she had been a rather despicable being and someone had stripped her of her memories and left her to die at the mercy of nature. She had no memory of before that moment, waking up in the woods, wolves surrounding her. All she had known was her name at the time, but somehow she knew she was safe and that she would understand these creatures and they her. It hadn't taken her very long to figure out how to shift... but that was one of her more unpleasant memories.

"Hey girl what you doin here!?" A large hand had been grabbed her arm in a crushing grip, hauling her out of the window, throwing her on the ground. At the time she hadn't known such a thing as decency, and her naked body sprawled in the dirt. She didn't even know she should be covering herself yet. She didn't understand more than the wolves had told her. The man was large, dirty, and stank of sweat and alcohol. "Oh my..." He leered at her. "Come to steal my items for you got not a stitch on you little dirty thief."

Kacela didn't understand, she was confused. She had just been exploring! She wasn't going to take anything. The wolves said she'd be safe to walk among them in this form, what had she done wrong? Her golden eyes were wide with fright. The my hacked and spat in the dirt next to her and she flinched away from it. "Well I'm going to show you what happens to women like you." He lunged on her before she could even react, as confused as she was. One large hand grabbed her throat as she started to panic, his full body weight on top of her. She could feel his hand...

PANIC. RAGE. She snarled as red curled over her vision, her body burning, writhing. She could feel her strength explode, and her hands- no claws reach for him. The last thing she remembered for a few minutes was the sheer terror in his eyes.

Her vision cleared once he was dead, and she standing in a pool of his insides. You could barely recognize the body, so mangled it was, her fur was dripping, and she could feel the tang of blood on her tongue. It was the first time she had ever changed.

She flinched away from the memory, pulling herself back the the present, eyes darting to the moving form of the bird. At least she didn't seem injured. "Do not worry about my cloak. I am not surprised, the magic has left the land, which is desperately taking every drop of magic it touches within itself to fight the dying battle. You should have left long ago." She was pleased the bird drank some of the draught. She would make it out of this place much easier if she continued to drink it.

"Do not worry Shinno, I do not judge by appearance, it is actions that prove who a person is to me. You are lucky I give the strange ones second chances." She gave her a small smile. "You should announce yourself as a Phoenix of the Black Flame, it will cause those who think they know what you are and your power to think twice if they want to challenge you. People fear most of all what they do not know. Creatures like us should always take advantage of that."

She was feeling unreasonably personable at the moment, maybe it was because she could be exactly what she was around Shinno and nothing else. There were few other than wolves she could do this with and true wolves had a... different way of looking at the world. "If you choose to travel with me you will be glad not to see my true form until we are in a place with magic, for if you do it will mean we are in considerable danger. I have not been affected because I closed myself from all that deals with the force until I am away from this place. So far it has worked but it has not been easy."

She held up her cloak, admiring her handiwork. It almost looked as if it had never been torn! She rose to her feet gracefully and walked to the door. It took only a minute of her holding it under the rain for the remaining mud to wash off. Luckily it was waterproof so she didn't have to dry it again. Her clothes were almost completely dry and she started to redress, keeping one eye on Shinno, who was huddled so close to the fire it seemed as if she would get singed by the flames. But she seemed comfortable enough.

(( Well thats dissapointing, there doesn't seem to be any other people on here that I've seen with your Literacy. But Maybe we can start this one up again sometime. I guess I'll see you around. ))

(( Okay well keep me updated. It seems many of my RPs never progress very far lately lol I hope everything goes all right! ))

((I REALLY hope we can continue this RP. It was my favorite in a long time. :( ))