Through the Shade of Night - OPEN -

[narifia]

      It had been a long trek.

      Tired, Bastijn kept his head lowered and his ears perked as he trotted casually out of Kinir territory and into the Outliers of the Viriun, though he hardly cared anything about either schism or their territories. He hardly even acknowledged their existence. It was the night of the new moon, and the sky was pitch black save for the stars that littered about. This was Bastijn's favorite time of the month; the time when there were no bothersome lights to harass his sense of vision. Unless one counted the numerous stars, but they were such tiny things that they hardly counted as a source of light, and they certainly didn't bother Bastijn's eyes in the slightest.

      The unusually large, jet-black Belgian Sheephound had travelled on and off for days throughout the other two territories with little incident. Oh, here and there he would come across an ambitious Nihil recruiter or face the fangs of a Kinir, but aside from a handful of troublesome encounters, the journey here had not been a hard one. Bastijn had dispatched of any obstacles relatively easily. He didn't care about these factions nor their feud with one another over their supposed god, or lack thereof. He just wanted to be left alone.

      He knew vaguely of the Viriun of whose territory he now trekked through; they were said to be the most fanatical ones, the ones who would spill the blood of an unbeliever without hesitation should they come across one. Well, that didn't make any sense to Bastijn. Or then again, maybe it did. The Belgian himself would often bowl over anyone who bothered to get in his way and not have the sense to disperse of their own accord. All he wanted to do was travel--to where, he had little idea. He was just tired of being stuck in a stale, static place. The idea of slaying others in the name of some god though was just a foreign concept to him. What reason was there to believe in something that one could not see, or subject oneself to the mercy of a being that probably didn't exist--or if it did exist, probably didn't care?

      Bastijn sneezed. The air around here aggravated his nostrils. He paused briefly and attempted in vain to wipe the irritants from his nose, but eventually gave up and heaved a deep sigh. He should rest, but this was the best time to travel. Still, the darkness was beautiful. It wouldn't hurt to sit back and enjoy it for just a moment as he loitered beneath a tree.

[alice]

Kendrick Drow lounged serpentine in a tree. The boughs held his weight as he allowed it to disperse evenly. Stomach on one branch, chest on another, tail wrapped about the trunk, and neck draped over yet another sturdy piece of wood. The whole position was rather lazy. It looked more as if he had fallen and that was how his broken body lay. No branches were broken however to suggest such a theory and thus one might assume he was a serpent of sloth.

A lightly tattered ear flicked behind him, azure eyes half lidded presumably from lack of sleep. Unfortunately for any callous trespasser, the great beast was simply lounging, relaxing. Not every moment needed to be spent in the constant buzz of activity. However, he was vigilant, ever alert; sensitive to the soft sound of footfalls even in rest. Thus as the intruder approached, the wyvern roused ever so slightly, adjust the tilt of his hanging head so that he could watch the black dog’s progression. Unfamiliar, unknown, not to be trusted; it was his immediate diagnosis. Perhaps the hound could be brought into the light, but he highly doubted it. Those who followed the void seemed as steadfast to their non-beliefs as the religious did to their own creed. Couldn’t hurt to try he supposed.

Gracefully as he could, Kendrick slid form the tree. His eyes opened fully as his back feet touched the ground first, one giving a distinctly loud thump that suggest it as not his own under the skin veil. Hand-like front extremities touched the ground directly after and an unusually long tail, at least twice the length of his body was held swaying behind him, never once touching the ground. Horizon pupils dilated to large orbs as he approached the dog in the low light. The wyrm could not sneak up upon him, due to the artificial leg’s loud, metallic thump. Hold his head high, long neck gracefully curved, he looked rather majestic, even if the right hind leg looked as if it had been torn apart and reassembled. While the shoulders were no terribly high compared to those of some others, his head require most to tilt their head up, as he generally kept his eyes nine feet from the ground.

Allowing a quiet grunt to escape him, he regarded the canine expectantly. “Such dark fur makes you hard to spot on a night such as this. I supposed I can give thanks for sensitive ears,” he stated coolly. His voice was deep, a slight accent that gave his tones a proper feel, but did not limit him as snooty. “I presume you are aware on whose territory you now trod? You are either very brave or very foolish. Or you don’t care.” He sighed softly and shook his head. “State your purpose if you would,” Kendrick said with a wary enough look to show he was not over-confident.

word count | | 487
comments | | Hope this is open XD First time rping this guy here so bear with me XD

[narifia]

      Bastijn had just planted his rear beneath the tree for a rest when he heard a creature approaching. From the sound of it, the creature seemed to have at least one metallic leg. He turned his head to watch as the serpent-like creature walked up to him and issued a grunt before speaking in a deep, calm voice.

      “Such dark fur makes you hard to spot on a night such as this. I supposed I can give thanks for sensitive ears. I presume you are aware on whose territory you now trod? You are either very brave or very foolish. Or you don’t care.”

      Bastijn didn't respond, as was usual for him. He only stared blankly at the wyvern as it spoke, and still staring he stood with a displeased grunt. The Belgian was irritated at having been disturbed by such drivel as this creature was spouting. Of course he knew where he was, he wasn't stupid. He just didn't give a shit.

      "State your purpose if you would," he heard the other command. With a deep huff, he started walking again and gave a simple, gruff reply of "Just passing." He began to trot past the wyvern, content to getting the hell away from this annoying thing and getting back to his aimless travels. There weren't many that were worth Bastijn's time, and this was no exception. It was lucky to have gotten the two words it did out of the quiet brute.

(It's definitely open ^^ Love your character so far! And I'm still getting used to Bastijn too, so this post isn't quite so great ^^; I'll adjust soon enough, I'm sure.)

[alice]

Kendrick Drow stared down upon the smaller creature. While the canine was big by species standards, he quite a bit shorter than Kendrick. He could probably walk under the dragon without ducking. The beast stood, still observing the dog. He wasn't large, thus not threatening in that sense, but he assumed there was a reason the male was still alive, as he didn't appear to be from any schism. Either way, the beast didn’t particularly care is he was from Nihil or was just another random Renegade. He stepped before the dog, digging his talons into the dirt, flexing his digits. “Just passing?” he repeated, as he lowered his self so that the dog couldn’t just move under him. His back end seemed almost independent of his front, as the power hid limbs had only just shifted slightly to compliment his movement. “Excuse me,” he growled softly. Kendrick wasn’t angry really, but he was not a fan of being passed over like an insignificant.

He slid into a living wall in front of the dog at that point, neck twisted backwards and head turned so his eyes were practically level with the dog's. “No,” he murmured. “There is no ‘Just passing,’” Kendrick stated. His thickly muscled waved behind him, held so the long fur of the end half didn’t brush the ground. “But, I’m not completely heartless. There is always the option of joining.” The lilac flesh of his mouth became visible each time he opened his jaws, even in the dim light. It was strange but not too out of the norm.

word count | | 263
comments | | Thankies~ I've been making a lot of new characters recently, so I've been adjusting better of late. Though Kendrick is really new. His current personality is a mix of two previous charries and his design and such... Well, I created the original over a year ago.

[narifia]

      Bastijn's ears swiveled back indignantly as the wyvern moved to block his path. He stopped on a dime, his black paws on equal ground with one another as he listened to the old snake ramble on about joining the Viriun. Joining? There wasn't anything worth joining--especially if its leader was anything like this snaky character. With a huff, Bastijn's answer was to hunker down, and then kick off with a powerful thrust of his back legs--propelling him up and over the massive dragon. It was an insane leap for a dog of even his size to make, but he landed on the other side of the wyvern's body with a great thud of his paws and continued sauntering off in the direction he was originally going.

      Absently, Bastijn wondered what the leader of the notorious Virun must be like. What had his name been... Abraxas, was it? Said to be intelligent, cunning, and relentlessly cruel--at least to nonbelievers. A picture of what the fearless Harbinger of the Viriun must be like threw its shadow vaguely across his mind, and for a moment the Belgian was intrigued as he continued on his indignant walk away from the wyvern. No, the leader of the Viriun that Bastijn pictured was nothing like that irritating, overgrown snake behind him. He had never really bothered to think about it before, but now that he was faced with the possible opportunity, he had to admit he was curious to see if this leader was as legendary as the rumors had made him out to be...

(You're welcome ^^ This is pretty interesting so far!)

[alice]

Kendrick Drow watched the dog leap over him, impressed, but now he appeared disappointed. There was only one way this would be going now. He doubted the dog would join from its disposition, so it was either the axe or imprisonment in the dragon’s eyes. A soft growl the reminisced prehistoric reptiles rumbled in his chest before it erupted from his muzzle in a snarl. The wyvern wasn’t a sneaky one as he launched himself at the dog. He would have slammed his head and neck against the dog, to fling him off to the side before rounding again. If the dog dodged, Kendrick would dig his talons in and swing his back end around. Either way, he’d be facing the dog. A roar tore from the beast, the sound scattering sleeping prey. It was loud enough that other would probably hear it for miles around, the volume greater than that of a lion’s roar. While it wasn’t anything personal, the heavy dragon’s features were quite menacing. A low rumble continued to emanate from his throat as he stood, awaiting the dog’s move. Perhaps he could subdue the dog and drag him back to Abraxas could convince him into joining. There was no evidence of these thoughts on the wyrm’s face.

word count | | 211
comments | | Glad you like it :D Kendrick isn't really that talkative, though compared to this guy, he is a socialite XD I just thought Kendrick would be all like "Meh, oh well" attack times.

[narifia]

      Bastijn heard the growl of the wyvern erupt behind him and knew he wouldn't be walking away from this one without a fight. Typical. He supposed he shouldn't have expected anything better. He turned just in time to see the wyvern launching itself towards him. Being the big brute he was, his reaction time was unfortunately slower than necessary to avoid his flank being bashed by the dragon's huge head. Taking the blow in stride, he rode with it as he was winded and knocked to the side. He hit the ground with a terrible thud; his body slinging around like a rag doll as he rolled a bit before coming to a stop at the base of another tree.

      For a moment it seemed as if that was the end of it. The jet-black Belgian lay on his side, unmoving beneath the tree, and it seemed as if he were only barely breathing as his side heaved in shallow rising motions. Bastijn shuddered, and just at that moment it seemed as if he'd taken his last breath... if only he wasn't pulling a foreleg beneath him, followed by a hind leg, to push himself over onto his belly. He lay there for a minute, panting hard with blood streaming from his maw, before pushing himself back to his feet.

      His unusual size wasn't merely for intimidation--his well-muscled physique gave him the advantage of sustaining blows that would kill any other of his breed. As he raised his head to look back at the wyvern, his brown eyes burned with a silent, almost ethereal rage and conviction. Now that the fight had been initiated, this Belgian Sheephound was going to see it through to its conclusion. Blood continued to drip from his maw from the impact of the blow he'd sustained--there was probably going to be some internal damage there, but at the moment at least it didn't seem to faze him.

(Lol, Bastijn rarely speaks. He's actually the first character I've ever had to be so silent, so it's taking some getting used to. I think I'm doing rather well so far. Just need more time with him, I suppose. He's kind of my big, bull-type character. I won't say what I hope for him in the future of this roleplay, but rather I'd like to roleplay it out and see if it all goes according to plan ;) )

[narifia]

(It's really a shame this one died, I was really enjoying it :\

Still open to anyone else who wants to jump in in Alice's place.)