In the Ruins

(( Hey everyone! I'm still really new to the site, so I'm a little scared to join any of the current rps. cx Anyway, anyone can join this rp, though obviously it can only be one other person since it's 1x1. All I ask is that if you do join, post a little more than maybe one or two sentences per post. c:> I feel it's easier for both parties to rp with more to work with from their partner. Thanks for reading guys! ))

 From above, the lush greens of the Mystic Ruin's canopy almost looked like an open field, vast and jutting out high above the ocean that surrounded it, save for a few, sparse breaks in the foliage that broke the illusion. These allowed small glimpses into the life of the shaded, twisting forest underneath, whose trunks and branches rushed up from the earth to stand stoically in the sun, catching it's rays with open, green arms. The light that filtered through played over the jungle and the creatures who called it home, though they rarely made themselves so exposed, so obvious. They had to have known better. Or at least, most of them.

"Alkira.. What's that white thing in the sky for?"
"What?"
"You know. That circle that's always up in the sky when it's blue out."
"Have you been staring at the sun again, Najara?"

 Two of the jungle's autochthons made their way with ease through the winding branches and limbs, avoiding these spots of sun as they passed them. The pair were both bats, one much older though not much taller than the other. The younger one was less colorful, sporting a coat of bright yellows and red-mochas while his older companion's fur was dotted with vibrant reds, yellows, red-browns, and oranges. The older bat, a female, had twisted to stare down at the younger, a male, and having ceased motion the bat pup collided with his elder's side.

"N-no! I just.. Uh.. I see it some times. Through the trees." The younger bat managed out in a panicked fashion as the female's gaze bore into him.
"Gods, Najara... You're just as bad at lying as your mother. Now hurry. We need to go check the traps before it gets any later.."

 All along the jungle floor the two had scattered traps, some more well hidden than others. These had been set out not with the intention of capturing game for food, but rather to capture anyone unlucky enough to wander by and get ensnared. The two bats, now separated from their large colony, needed anything they could get-- namely supplies. And chances were, adventurers and wannabe adventurers alike who had chosen to explore the morass of jungle would have just that. And so, the two went about their business, beginning to search the traps they had set out.

In the vast expanse of the jungle, not for from the bats and where they lived, was a young panther. He was once from a city far from this place, now seeking a life of solitude in the forest trees. Although he was far from your normal jungle cat. He was a cyborg, he had metal on most of him. But some of it blended in with the synthetic fur. On occation he had to break the traps the bats set due to th face he always managed to get caught in them. And now yet again he was hanging by his leg up in the air thanks to a snare. "Just great" he mumble trying to swing to the branch so he could untie himself.

"Alkira.." The younger bat's ears flicked about as a peculiar noise caught his attention. Somewhere close by a branch could be heard groaning under some sort of weight, sounding as though it would soon break. "Do you hear that?" The volume of his voice sunk, and he quickly pressed to his companion's side. 
"Hm?" The female narrowed her eyes ahead in concentration as she lifted her ears to their full height on the top of her head, scanning for the sound that had caught the youth's attention. "Yes... It might be one of our traps.." she murmured under her breath, "Stay here, I'll look."

Leaving the pup behind, Alkira quickly made her way toward the source of the noise, until she was only a few feet above the snagged feline. She watched briefly as he swung, no doubt trying to get himself out of his unfortunate position. But there was something odd about the jungle cat.. he appeared to be.. at least part robotic. She suddenly wondered if this was a good idea. However, their supplies were getting rather low.

Swallowing hard, the bat tightly clutched the small knife she had pulled from under her clothes- the weapon had no doubt been snagged off some other poor victim to the bat's traps- and lept down to the forest floor. "Stop moving." she hissed, pressing the soles of her feet firmly to the ground as she held out her weapon.

The panther caught notice of the bat And stopped. He staye silent noticing the knife, which he could have shot out of her hand by now, but chose not to as to not scare her or seem threatening. "Easy. I mean you no harm." He said hoping she wouldn't gut him like any other animal in this jungle.  This was a little embarrassing but he wasn't able to get out of this one. She already had fear of him, he saw that clearly, but would he get out of the trap alive was his current thought.

"I don't care about that," the bat hissed, flattening her ears back as she advanced toward him. "I want your belongings." Her accent was thick, enough to make what she was saying almost questionable. She circled him for a brief moment, looking for anything on his person to snatch. 

She knew she had to be brief, Najara was still waiting for her in the trees. And she didn't know how far she could push the feline..

"Nothing you can take I'm afraid" he said. He had no bags, no jewelry no nothing except the cloths on his back. "I was out hunting when your blasted trap caught me by surprise. I left everything I ever had behind." He said his leg shifted cuttin the trap. He landed on his hands then his legs, but making no action against the bat. "Now unless you have any other cares I should get back to hunting. And you migh want to keep a closer eye on that pup, he might not like all he finds down here" he started to walk away. He didn't respond to threats well but he understood why she wanted whatever he should have had, she was trying to survive

Alkira watched as the panther slipped out of the trap with ease, quickly took control of the situation, and began to take his leave. Part of her wanted to seethe at her failure to procure anything from her catch, but.. maybe not all was lost. She couldn't quite gauge the feline's intelligence just yet, but perhaps she could trick him. 

"You're on your own as well, then..?" she asked slowly, lowering her knife. The idea of working with a ground-dweller was demeaning, insulting even, but she had more than herself to think of here. And this arrangement didn't' have to last long. "Maybe we can help each other out...?"

The panther stopped. "Considering you looked like you wanted to skin me, you wouldn't want to work with me even if the world ended." He said turning round. "But I'm listening" he didn't want to trust her but what choice did he have right now. He kept stepping on her traps, and this would be an opertunity to learn a few things. Like how to avoid the snares

"You're trying to hunt, yes? I catch a lot of feral game in my traps, but obviously they're of no use to me. I give you what I catch, and you help me with a little muscle." the bat proposed, trying her best to soften her expression and voice. "I can't always overpower the ones that I catch, like yourself. And there's no doubt your appearance will intimidate others... If we work together, we could make things easier for the both of us."

The panther thought. His ears twitched. His arm seemed to transform into a gun shooting past her head. A snake fell to the forest floor, a large one at that. "I can hunt for myself, but if you need help with hunting I'll help. But fair warning I'm not someone you want to trick miss..." He was trying to figure out if this was a ploy or the truth.

Alkira clutched at her chest, her heart racing as she watched the large reptile slump to the ground behind her. Her ears pulled back a little, her head throbbing thanks to the gunshot. "Why would you help me for no reason..?" she asked cautiously, keeping her gaze steady as she examined his expression.

One of her ears flicked upward a little, and she could hear Najara moving around in the trees above them. She knew he was probably nervous by now, having been left alone for some time. She just prayed he'd be smart enough to stay put in the safety of the foliage.

Cause I would hate myself if I didn't" he said smiling. It was a friendly smile. "The name's Luxius but call me lux." He looked at her still smiling. He didn't want to hurt anyone or get hurt for that matter, so making friends in this wilderness seemed like a better idea. "Maybe you can teach me a thing or two about these traps. I've been stuck in so many I've  lost track"

Her lips curled into a frown as she listened to his reasoning, still unsure of him. Was he really wanting to help them? Or was their another motive? If the feline was being honest about his intent, she wouldn't stop him. After all, brushing off his offer at a time like this would be foolish. Especially if she didn't have to offer anything in return.

With a soft inhale, she quickly composed herself, her expression twisting into that of a friendly smile in return. This, of course, was nothing more than a mask. "I'm Alkira." She informed him, pulling down her left ear in some form of foreign, unspoken politeness. "As for the traps, I can help you. It'll at least save me the trouble of having to set them back up again."

Hehe sorry about that" lux said. "I tried not to do too much damage" he looked to her. Then up to the trees. "Might want to check on him before he gets too ansy"  he said sitting on the forest floor. "I'll wait down here if you want"  he smiled. He knew she wouldn't trust him right away so he would have to earn it.

"He'll be fine, he's--" A soft thudding a few feet from the pair stopped the bat, who gave a soft groan under her breath instead of finishing. Dammit Najara. The younger bat had dropped to the jungle floor by them, seeming to study the distance between himself and his elder. Keeping a careful eye on Lux, the pup quickly darted to his aunt's side and more or less latched onto her leg.

"I told you to stay up there." the female hissed between her teeth, trying to keep her cool.
"Y-you were down here for so long.. I got scared.." he whined, his nose and ears twitching in the feline's direction. "Who's this?"
"His name is Luxius." Alkira said simply. "He's going to help us."

Lux just gave a smile. And waved. "Who's this little bat alkira? He reminds me of a curious canine I once knew" lux thought back to his times in the city with his band. Those were good times. But then memory cursed him once again for the reason he was out here. "But anyway where do we start." He said standing up

"This is Najara, my nephew." Alkira said simply as one of her wings flared open from her back and neatly wrapped around the bat pup. The younger bat watched the feline curiously, his large orange eyes darting around as he studied him. 

"Very well. How many did you set off? And what about them exactly do you want to know? I'm guessing, just where the others are placed?" Alkira asked. "And.. how long have you been here, cat?"

"Two years. I exiled myself cause I couldn't protect someone" he said not looking to them. "And I only got snagged in one today, I knew enough to fix the few I got caught in yesterday"  he sat back down. He couldn't protect his sister and forced himself out here to live for the rest of his life.

"That might not be one of the wisest things to tell the people you're offering to help.." she murmured, raising a brow at him. "Strange. You've been here for some time, but I've yet to see you around. But I suppose, the jungle is quite vast. Have you just migrated to this area, then? Do you happen to have a camp?"

I set up a camp just south of here, I moved to this area just recently. And I try not to be seen. Cause I don't know how people would react to a cybernetic stranger walking around. Now I know" he said Looking to alkira. He smiled a little "I came here to become stronger in strength and mind. To better protect others."

"Cyber-netic?" Alkira echoed, having trouble with the clearly alien word. "I do not understand." She finally moved from where she had stood to place a buffer between the two of them, stepping closer slowly to make her way over to the sprung trap.

She listened to him as she began to set the trap back up, her ears flicking and twisting in his direction so that she could hear him clearly as she was turned away. Najara was at her heels at every second, watching Lux carefully as his little hands grasped handfuls of Alkira's clothing.

"Meaning part machine." He said lookin to her. "It's a condition to losing parts of my body to an enemy of mine" he said keeping his distance. He was trying not to intrude on their space. He didn't want to make it seem like he was a threat.

She glanced over again, her expression just as confused as it was before. "I guess that explains your...strange appearance.." she stated flatly. 

"What kind of bat are you?" Najara piped up, his lips twitching between a tight, nervous line and a slight smile. "He's not a bat, Najara." Alkira sighed softly.

That made lux chuckle a little. "Well I'm a panther. A kind of cat." He said stepping forward only to have his foot caught in another branch trap. "Who apparently likes hanging from trees" his said sighing. This was embarrassing, plus he was wasting their traps which probably wouldn't get him in friendly terms with them at all

"What's a cat?" Najara asked, tilting his head. "It sounds like a bat." The pup watched as Lux stepped about, only to find himself yet again hanging from a rope. 

"Gods dammit.." Alkira hissed under her breath, rubbing her temples a little as she watched the feline, "You'd think someone who kept getting caught in these would grow more cautious.." She bit her tongue as far as insults went... The female felt as though this partnership would have many more of this sort of thing to come. 

A distant sound caught the bat's ears suddenly, and the irritation on her face was quickly replaced with that of fear. A whirring. The sound of heavy footfalls. 

"Najara, into the trees--NOW!" Alkira snapped, quickly pushing the pup from her leg. The youngling whimpered, quickly flaring his wings open widely. He gave his aunt one last nervous glance before he quickly took to the air, disappearing into the safety of the trees.

"Hurry, get yourself outta that." Alkira hissed, quickly handing her knife to the feline. Her wings twitched nervously, anxiously on her back, and she looked almost as though she was conflicted between staying with Lux for much longer or simply fleeing as well.