With A Dream We Travel [open]

[EIKA]

The dawn bathed the floating gardens in strengthening light, tinting the vegetation with pink and gold. It was a beautiful sight, not that Eika was interested in that. The view was what she was focused on - she delighted in the knowledge that peering down from the island revealed the same sight that she had when she flew. Not that many ground-bound demons could get here anyways, but the fact that it was a floating island appealed to her. A piece of the earth in the sky; strange, but it had a certain feeling of being... balanced. No wonder it appealed to her; it was the only place she could rest in without feeling lethargic after too long. She considered it a haven, and it was a neutral place, especially since it had a guardian. As long as she didn't disturb either the guardian or the place, she could stay here. A good enough deal, in her eyes.

Her reasons for being here were simple. The only thing was that there wasn't much to eat, or so she gathered, unless she wanted to try eating the guardian. That seemed like a very bad idea. But she hadn't lived for so long without learning to ignore the more irritating instincts to kill and eat anything in sight. She could eat later, once she returned to more mundane ground. It was soothing, here. She felt as safe as when she was flying, surrounded by the wind - a few hunger pangs were worth staying here and watching the dawn.

Or well, not watching the dawn, since she had been completely ignoring the rising arc of the sun. It was over the horizon now, and Eika settled for watching the fiery orb begins its passage through the sky. The peace here was deceptive, she knew. If she looked down at the ground, from the vantage point everything looked... idyllic. You couldn't judge the growing tension from appearances. She could feel it in the air, even though she had yet to encounter any youkai with slaves in tow, and had completely avoided any settlements just to make sure.

There was fear for herself as well - the situation might get bad enough that she would have to begin using her human form. It was confining, too solid for her tastes - but discomfort was better than being a target for some arrogant youkai lord. Dismissing those thoughts for now, the wind demon tipped her head back, letting the wind ruffle her fur as the wisps on her back twined and flared out in a bewildering pattern. She was somewhat amused to find she was no longer feeling like returning to the mountains and 'sleeping'.

Who would have thought the world might have changed enough for her to take an interest?

[REIKA]

She flapped through the dark sky, searching the ground for something to eat. Yes, she was very hungry, and yes, she was getting more impatient by the minute. Reika just couldn't understand why some animals could just present themselves to her! So intent were her senses on finding something to eat- anything really, horse youkai, deer youkai, she'd even settle on snacking on a human or two, really. But then she noticed the lightening horizon. Reika was in her full demon form, of course, and really, bats don't like the sunlight too much. Well, unless they had rabies or something. But she was most certainly not rabid. She squinted at the oncoming light, growled to herself, and looked for a place to stay for the day. She saw... an island. It was floating. Reika had never seen a floating island before. Okay, so at least it was better then sleeping in some open grounded field somewhere.

Transforming back into her human form then and there, Reika pulled back her wings and landed as gracefully as as young, hungry, tired bat in the direct dawn light could do. She flexed her brownish-black wings a few times to loosen them up, then folded them neatly around her shoulders. The bat demon looked around the island, which was mostly covered in an enormous garden. Sniffing lightly, she stalked around for awhile, trying to find a good place to lay down. Eventually she caught the scent. Faint though it was, it was still there. It smelled of the wind and of youki. So a wind youkai, eh? Reika mulled it over for a minute, the main thought on her mind 'can I eat it?' Eh, maybe. Reika walked in the direction of the scent of and soon, low and behold, she found the wind youkai.

It more or less looked relatively canine, and was facing the the rising sun. Reika knew that it was likely that most creatures were probably diurnal. Reika was a bat demon. She was entirely nocturnal but that didn't mean she had to like being out all day every day, or would if she could help it. It's fur looked wispy, and Reika could also tell from it's scent that it was a she, apparently. Okay, so she was a big wind dog sitting in a flower garden on a floating rock staring at the sun. Reika decided that it probably wouldn't be too easy to kill, and once she did, if she did, that it probably wouldn't taste very good anyway. Oh well, so much for that plan. Instead, Reika walked up, careful not to step on the flowers- she had to admit, they were rather pretty- and walked up to stand at the creature's side. Well, if you count about a good tree-length away from her "at it's side." Yes, Reika was not sure if it was a friendly youkai yet and thought it best not to take her chances.

She still kept tense and aware, ready to reach for the Naginata that was strapped to her back if she had to. Reika lifted her left hand to block the light of the sun from her face. "Hey. Is there a reason your watching the sun?" Reika knew for a fact that though it was far more likely to happen to a human if they stared at the sun too long, but it was still possible for most any demon to go blind if they did the same.

[EIKA]

Eika, despite her apparent absorption in burning her eyes out by staring at the sun, was not unaware of her surroundings. Thus, once she heard footsteps, she twitched an ear to gauge how far away the sound was, and realized someone was approaching her. That was somewhat odd, as few people could get up here - she didn't expect to ever see humans or hanyous here, and flying youkai were somewhat rare. Those that could fly tended to be powerful, though she wasn't about to give ground to one who landed - she had been here first, and this was a relatively neutral area anyways. She might not know her own strength when compared to others, but she had pride - pride tended to interfere in escaping injury, but surely she deserved being proud of what she was?

The breeze moved, letting her catch the other's scent. A bat youkai... Rare, especially at dawn, but perhaps it weakened the intruder as resting on the earth did her. Nevertheless, she had to admit that she was somewhat curious as to why a bat would go out of their way to fly here, when the sun was rising and possibly causing her pain. Soon enough, the intruder actually appeared, in a human form. Well, a being of some power then. Blue eyes never wavering from the sky, she twitched her ears again as whoever it was stopped moving towards her. At the sound of the other's voice, she tipped her head back and let the wisps of air around her flare out, just as a gust of wind ruffled through her fur and then swept towards the other youkai.

"I have little else to look at that interests me, and I can gauge time this way," she responded politely, words calm and impassive. At last her gaze shifted, ever so slowly, towards the bat. "Is there something you wish to ask, or would you rather attack me?" Not that she was complaining. She did not like fighting. It felt... wrong to use the wind to kill and harm for no purpose other than to defend herself. Of course, she still used it, but it was easier not to. Sometimes, she feared tainting it.

Instinct was instinct, though. Just because she didn't like to fight didn't mean she wouldn't. She had to hunt and kill to eat, just as she had to protect herself. Considering what might happen with the land in upheaval, she found herself somewhat more willing to shed blood than before. Turning around completely, she stared at the intruder, tense but not so tense that it might be taken for a threat.

[REIKA]

Reika smiled, baring her teeth at the oncoming sun. It did hurt. It was entirely too warm and too bright out. How could the diurnal creatures stand it? It was like being in an oven. Although the flowers that bloomed in daylight were pretty, she felt that the rest of the time was prettier. The moonlight and coolness of night outweighed the pretty flowers of day. She turned an exasperated glance at the wind youkai. "You could amuse yourself somehow, and besides. You could gouge time from your shadow, couldn't you?" She sniffed as she turned around to keep her back to the sun. She could still clearly see the other youkai and it was somewhat safe doing this. She chuckled a bit as the other asked what she was going to do.

"Well, I don't really have anything to ask you, and though you are a demon I'm sure it's beyond my interest to try and eat anything as airy as you, so no, I'm good." She turned a twinkling eye at the other. "But if you must know, I'm doing this because there is little else around that interests me." Reika said this, quoting what the other had said earlier. She laughed a bit and flexed her wings, looked at her claws. She suddenly had a great idea. "I'm Reika, by the way. You?" And after she said that, she opened her mouth slightly, letting lose her 'echo-location.' Yes, if her demonic powers were anything to sniff at, the sound, which was too high a frequency for a regular human, and a good few types of demons, to hear. It'd still make them dizzy, annoyed, or at least just a little, tiny bit confused. Reika really didn't expect the youkai to go unconscious. No, that was something that happened more typically with humans.

Reika's stomach suddenly rumbled, and she cut it off. She was hungry. The bat youkai generally weren't prone to hunting in the daylight. But eh, she was very hungry. Casting a glance about, she saw a flock of birds flying overhead. Eh, not much, but it'd probably do. She watched them for a minute, wondering when would be a good time to strike. She flicked her wings just a little bit. Boy... those birds sure looked tasty right about now.

[EIKA]

Eika preferred, predictably enough, any time of the day that there was wind, preferably a strong breeze. Any stronger and her mind tended to wander - sometimes literally - and any weaker and the stifling heat of late spring and summer caged the air too much for her to enjoy it. Of course, she could cheat and move the air herself, but it always felt better to just take pleasure in what was already there. Glancing at the bat youkai, who seemed extremely put off by the fact that it was daylight, she said blandly, "I like to look at the sky," which was indeed true. Her shadow held little interest compared to the constant change of air currents, the volatile weather... Air was change.

The other quickly explained that there was nothing she needed - and no doubt a wind youkai would taste bad. Eika obviously wasn't sure if that was true, but it made sense. If she could melt into the wind so easily that she often had to actively fight the pull, she doubted she would taste like anything, especially meat. Maybe if she was killed her body would fade anyways... That was an interesting thought to consider. The bat parroted back her words, not that she cared and then... introduced herself. There was something off, like a thrumming in the air that she felt more than heard. The wisps at her back coiled and tangled, trying to track the movement while she shook her head slightly, trying to get rid of the feeling. "I... am Eika," she responded, speaking somewhat slower to hide her confusion at what had happened. The sound - or whatever it was - cut off rather quickly and she relaxed, studying Reika without much curiosity. "It seems our names are quite similar."

Following Reika's gaze, she stared at the birds, tail twitching back and forth idly. Doubtless the other wanted to hunt. Hunger stirred, to remind her that she hadn't eaten for a while, that it might be a good idea... Easy enough to hunt birds. She could fly as well, and confuse them easily by moving the air. It would be so simple to do so... But she would wait for Reika to make a move first, not out of politeness but more to prove that she wasn't going to be ruled by such base instincts and urges as hunger.

[KAI]

Kai poked his head cautiously out of the cloud he was floating in. He had been careless again, and had ended up evaporating into a cloud. It was a very unpleasant sensation, seeing as his body was broken up into thousands of pieces, and he tended to avoid it when possible.

He looked down and saw that he was quite high up, and not currently over a body of water. Had there been water beneath him, Kai would have jumped from the cloud and landed with a splash into it, but there was not a pond or river to be seen.

To make matters worse, the cloud was moving slowly. There was a slight breeze, but it was very faint. At this rate, it would take him two hours, at least, to find a body of water. He frowned. At this height the fall would surely kill him. It was true that he was made of water, but that didn't mean he didn't have bones, organs, and the like as well as humans did. Then he saw it.

Off in the distance, not too far away, was a floating island. Kai was confused by this, but seeing as he was slowly drifting towards it in any case, it was his only option at the moment. If he stayed in the cloud another hour, he would not be able to pull his body back together again, and would have to pull moisture from the air. Not only was this process painful, it was also very time-consuming, and like evaporation, he avoided it like a disease.

Fifteen minutes later, Kai leaped from the cloud, and dove toward the floating island. Only seconds after doing so, he realized what poor timing he had. He had aimed his jump for the centre, but was now aimed for somewhere closer to the edge, and not only that, but right at another being. It looked like a female human, only it had black things on its back. Kai wanted to say something, but his muteness prohibited him from even screaming. He was plummeting towards the girl, and there was no way to warn her. He could only pray that she had heard him.

[REIKA]

The bat demon spread her wings wide, readying them for the flight at the birds. Once she got close enough to them, she could just use her sonic waves to immobilize them. Easy meal and it would most likely take out a lot of them. All the better. As soon as she ate a good enough amount, she intended to curl up somewhere out of the sun and sleep. When the wind canine spoke, Reika squinted at the bright blue sky above her, with the yellow disk rising. "I prefer the night sky myself." She commented, eying the sky. A cloud was drifting closer. Good, maybe it'd cover the sun, despite being rather puny and thin looking in size.

Reika listened carefully as the other gave her name, and commented on the fact of the similarities. "Yes, they do rhyme rather well, Eika" The birds were flying closer. Ever closer. Reika almost couldn't control her hunger now. "If you don't mind, I'm going to hunt. Feel free to watch or join in." Reika squinted and launched herself from the ground, aiming for the birds. Just a little closer and she could screech at them, and they'd be done for. Her powerful bat wings pumped gracefully in the air. Reika was just about to let out her eco-location waves that would, considering their size and power, probably knock them unconscious or at the very least make them a good deal dizzy.

So engrossed was she in going for the birds, she didn't notice the small fox plummeting towards her until it was practically right on top of her. Reika had just started to screech as the little thing suddenly crashed into her. Reika was thrown back a few feet as the thing hit her dead-on in the face. She blinked before stretching out her hands to catch it. As soon as she regained her senses, she narrowed her eyes at it and snarled. "Where in all the hells was I when foxes learned to fly?" She breifly wondered if she should eat it, or just drop it and let it fall to it's death. But then she realized that it looked vaguely familiar. Had... she seen this creature before? Reika that thought away quickly and glared at it. "Do I even want to know?"


OOC//:
WordCount: 403
Muse: Great
Music: N/A
Other: Sorry it took so long

[EIKA]

Eika didn't move, still staring at the birds as she debated whether to bother or not. "Hn. The sky is the sky - I always prefer looking at it than the ground." That wasn't really a surprise given her nature. She was about to move forward and join Reika in the hunt when she noted something falling from the sky. Bemused by this sudden occurance - she hadn't seen anyone do that before, especially without wings - she prepared a breeze to catch whatever it was when it managed to fall on Reika. Snorting, the wind youkai stepped out onto thin air, strolling towards the bat with a nonchalant ease that proclaimed that she had done this many times.

The first time she had managed to stand on thin air - and at a dangerous height - she had been so thrilled that she had lost control and nearly plummeted to her death. That wouldn't happen now. She had long since learned her lesson. Better to be reserved, aloof and have power than be open and helpless to control what was rightfully hers. The flock of birds had noticed the bat, her passenger and the canine walking towards them with some dismay, so before they could veer away she manipulated one of the many gusts of wayward wind to block them. Ignoring the chaos that ensued, she padded towards Reika, tilting her head as she saw the fox.

"Hm. I have not seen you before, especially not in the air, so I assume you are not able to fly," she said curtly towards the fox, trying to ignore how helpless he looked. His scent reminded her of water, which was interesting, but not interesting enough for her to stay around. "I believe I will take my leave for now. Good hunting." And with that, she turned and began to move away, stopping at one point to snap at a passing bird. Her way of hunting was usually swift, but the sunrise and the lazy, careless conversation had made her languid, and she didn't really want to hurry to get away. As long as the others were at a safe distance, she could eat something and then drift away. Perhaps something of interest had happened elsewhere...

There tended to be something interesting to observe now, with the demon lords feuding - though interesting wasn't always the same thing as safe.

((Blah, Eika-muse is not going well. I had about one tangent in here. D:))

[KAI]

Kai landed in the hands of the figure he had fallen towards, and sniffed her hands. He remembered the scent immediately. He had met this bat lady once before in the forest. She had been pretty nice to him, and he liked her. He hadn't seen her since then, but she was with him now, which made him happy.

Then another demon, something dog-like with awesome little wispy things floating all over the place, strolled up casually. She stayed only long enough to glance at him before leaving. Kai frowned. She wasn't being fair! She hadn't even asked his name! He looked up, and saw some clouds just above her head. He hopped into them, and hopped right back out again, and on to her head. Then he began gnawing playfully on her ear, demanding attention. There was no way someone was going to walk away from him without even trying to get to know him.

It was the first time anyone had been genuinely not interested in him, and he didn't like it. Even the bat lady had been somewhat interested, but maybe that was because he brought her food. He couldn't be sure, but at least she hadn't taken the food and left.

[REIKA]

Slowly it was starting to come back... this was the little fox who'd caught the rabbit for her! What was it doing in the sky? Perhaps it had been grabbed by some sort of predatory bird demon, and then dropped? Oh well, it seemed to be interested in Eika now, after she'd announced her departure. "Well, Eika. Have fun doing... whatever it is that you do." Reika returned her attention the to birds after the fox had jumped into a cloud. They seemed to be rather panicked, as if they were caught in some sort of updraft. Reika stared. Cool. She flapped her wings a bit and flew closer, before using her sonic waves attack. She opened her mouth and screeched, in a very high-pitched way. It probably wouldn't affect those behind her too badly... after all, they were still behind her. But on the off chance that they did notice it, Reika really didn't care if they got a bit dizzy.

It was the birds she was most concerned with. Regular animals were weak. They didn't have their own youki power to protect themselves and none of them even knew how to speak. So saying, most of the birds got pretty dizzy, a good portion of which also going unconscious, and they fell from the sky. Reika smiled at her good fortune, and darted over to catch a few of the falling morsels. Lucky for the birds, only the ones that were closest to her went unconscious, so the ones that were further just got super dizzy, fell a ways, and then frantically flew off. Oh well, Reika still had a good five birds in her hand. Now that they were close enough, she could tell they were some sort of duck or goose. Mm... tastey. She flew back over to where Eika and the fox were. "Well, now that I have food, I suppose I can go and sleep somewhere." So saying, she sunk her fangs into one of the ducks that were in her arms and began drinking it's juices, at the same time scouting out the land below for a good place to roost for the night. Any tall trees? Caves? Cliff faces, crags or ledges? As she looked, Reika didn't notice one of the ducks- which were still alive, just unconscious- in her arms was beginning to wake up.


OOC//:
WordCount: 398
Muse: Not as good as it could be.
Music:
Other: She likes food, doesn't she?