Vina Angelus

Silver hair brushed against pale skin as the soldier stood atop the cliffside, overlooking the capitol's bay that stretched out beyond the sights of human eyes. Vina traced it with those yellow eyes of hers; yellow, piercing daggers she oft' used to her advantage. Lieutenant Vina, they wanted to call her, now that she was promoted. What they should call her. Yet, as she stared out into the wilderness of the ocean, Vina couldn't help but feel something dirty about that phrase. It made her skin crawl in a way that was uncomfortable. But none of that matters, now, she thought.

Today was bonding day.

There were once stories... ones that would make you question your sanity.

People wondered where everything came from and how it had changed so much. No one understood the way humans began to be bonded to animals of the wild. Where some were given wolves and others mice. It was a horrid experiance for many, but for others it was their calling day. It gave them purpose to continue on, to actually work for what they wanted. It was a day of celebration, or so many that actually got predatory animals thought.

-----------------------------------------------------

Rising from the dirt, a young man with black hair glared at the distance. His clothing was made of leather, leather that he had crafted with his bare hands during his time away from the city. His pale ice colored eyes were filled with rage, his skin turning red and working on bruising as he rose from the soil. Mud and dirt lined his face, sticking to the blood that was oosing from his split lip, but the smile that sickeningly curled against his face was a whole different game.

Pushing himself off of the ground, the young man shook out his hair with a chuckle. He might be angry, but that only fueled him a bit more. He was a street rat, one that rose from nothing and had no rank to begin with. Now? He was one of the secret warriors for the kingdom. He was hidden, his affinity for being silent and sneaky useful. He had no title, but he was paid handsomly to infiltrate places for the kingdom and make sure that nothing bad was coming their direction. It worked for him, but others thought he was a useless worm that could be beaten and taken from.

"Well boys... this was fun and all, but I have somehwere to be." Spitting out a blood coated blob of spit, he turned away from the group that had taken him to the ground and thought they won. He was not the strongest by any means, but he did not fall down until he was alone and no one could see him. It worked best that way, but it did get him into trouble. That was why, when he heard them curse at him and their feet move, he burst into a sprint and ran straight for the ceremonial grounds.

Grinning as he went, the man named Ryan moved swiftly. He weaved in and out of areas until he was at the sanctum. It was his day, along with one other human, to be bonded. He would learn of his creature, figure out what he was bonded with, and go from there. With his current attire though, the leading person of the kingdom saw him and shook her head. It made him chuckle, but he could only do so much. With that all said, it was not surpriseing that when he began to change his clothing from the duffle bag on his back, that the groud gasped and screamed. He had under clothing of course, but the tattoo on his shoulder spoke enough about him.

This was Ryan Knightride... and he was the queens persional spy.

Liuetenant Vina Angelus

- - - - - - - - - -

Vina tucked her hands behind her back dutifully, tilting her head up at the perfect posture. In her walk there, she had adorned her military badges and medals of honor, each depicting another story far more gruesome than the last. With her perfectionism at it's all time high, she felt satisfied facing the Queen. Yet, it'd be a lie to say that nerves didn't course through her like a raging river after decades of rain.

"Welcome to the Bonding Ceremony!" Came the authoratative voice of the Queen, herself, rising from her throne delicately after her brief glance toward Ryan -- what a weird man -- and opening her arms out wide to the group. There were a few others there with Vina and the other contestants, but the Sanctum was swirling with people on it's outskirts ready to watch the beasts be unveiled. "You lot have proven yourself worthy of our land's greatest blessing. I am proud of each and every one of you."

Vina wouldn't help but allow her chest to swell with pride. Though, she was attentive, and noticed the Queen's slightly distracted expression. Following it with a flicker-like glance of her own, her eyes landed upon a leather-clad man amongst the others. Vina was quick to look away, focusing her attention forward as she bowed her head to the Queen.

"This year, we've got two beasts ready to bond," The Queen explained, gesturing toward the group, "to the two of you that will, we will discuss your business after. For those who don't however, fret not, for it was a great enough honor to get here!"

Vina internally shook her head. No. She made it this far, to turn back now would be a failure of her family lineage. She wouldn't allow some eyesore to take her bonded beast. Her expression darkened a tad. But the Queen slowly turned back toward a rickety gate at the bottom of the sanctum, where snarling could be heard.

Suddenly, Vina's thoughts went silent.

- - - - -
(We can jump into the wolf parts next post!)

Ryan Knightride

Slipping his clean clothing on and watching everything with inqusitive eyes, Ryan listened to the queen as she spoke. He was here to be bonded, hopefully considering it was not a guarenteed thing for anyone. He did hope, but for now all he could do was stand there and listen while keeping his eyes flicking over everything and everyone. The only other person he could even think of being bonded this season was a woman who just got promoted to leutenant. He had not really spoken to her, more like passed her in the night without even a word and now he was in the same sector of the kingdom as her yet again, but this time for different buisness all together.

Standing there with his arms crossed, Ryan was about to shift his weight when the queen spoke of only two beasts. His brows furrowed at that, but he let it slide for that moment even though internally his hope started to faulter. He was unaware that there were only two, which made this seremony even more important. If he were to be bonded, it would take the chance from the others were, but at the same time he wanted it. That was why when the gates lifted and the snarling sounded, his mind blanked as his vision tunneled in on something inside of the holding cell. He felt it, felt them, but that would not even touch the end of what was to be coming as he stood there, his black hair a mess and his eyes locking in on something.

Mist

Standing inside of the cell, a red canines ears pinned tight to its head. Eyes of a light blue blazed as the canines paws shifted. Dirt and stone laid beneath her paws, but her red coat was faintly dingy. The pushing against bars and against the ground had not aided in her being settled, but the wolf could not help herself. Instead, the angry canine felt her hackles rise with unsettled anger when the gates began to lift. She was here for a reason, but the wolf did not know that reason until her paws hit the daylight outside of the holding cell.

Flicking her blue gaze up, Mist looked outside of her containment. Her white dipped paws suddenly stopped moving as her white ears flicked forward. Her bushy red and white tail lashed for a moment until she locked on a human woman, the two legged being having captured her attention. Baring her teeth, Mist dared the human to come closer, almost begged for a brawl. She was supposed to bond, but the head strong beast wanted no part of it... Or so she showed on the outside as she glared.

Liuetenant Vina Angelus

- - - - - - - - - -

Vina's eyes widened somewhat when the gates were unlocked, and she steadied her feet on the ground as if she were ready to face a battlefield. But even in the midst of her adrenaline-influenced fear, those topaz eyes of hers couldn't help but take in the beast's beauty. That fiery red fur captured Vina's eyes like a glittering diamond in the sun, drawing her in with those patches of white strewn across her coat that was -- undeniably mangy. It was then that Vina's head would begin to pound, as an anger settled deep within her chest. Not at the wolf, as much as it might've looked like it at the time, but rather...

Who allowed these beautiful creatures to be treated like this?

And so, Vina made likely the most foolish decision she's made since her graduation through the war colleges in her teenage years -- she took a step toward the massive creature, as if ready to reach out to the red wolf slowly but surely. Her eyes hardened into sharp daggers of steel but not aimed at the wolf. Rather the one standing behind her; the keepers in charge of the cage and their care. There was a look in the wolf's eyes, though, that silenced Vina beyond speech, yet enabled her to come to somewhat of an understanding.

Sling!

Vina drew her blade, earning a gasp from the Queen as the worst ran through their minds. The black rapier glittered in the light of the ceremonial grounds as Lute brought it toward the wolf.

And laid it out on the ground before her, as an offering of peace.

- - -

Facilis

The luster of his coat faded long ago, now covered in singe of ash from closely swung torches to ward him back in the place. Nevertheless, the massive grey beast would slowly creep his way out of the cage. He wasn't outwardly violent, yet, like Mist, but rather pinned his ears back and honed his eyes in on each member of the ceremony -- sheer hatred and aggression boiling behind the pools of blue-brown. His points were marked with lighter grey stripes of fur, matted and tangled with the time locked in a cage. He, at first, was prepared to follow Mist's lead, but instead found himself fixating on another with dark hair.

A human.

A dangerous snarl ripped through his throat. He felt the connection, there, but would he initiate it? This human could've very well been one of the ones to... nevermind. Facilis approached in the form of a low crouch, ready to thrust off the ground and pounce at any moment -- his tail straight up and outward.

Ryan Knightride

Standing there with his eyes latching upon the first wolf for just a faint baited breath. The red and white creature was a beauty, but the one that came out of the holding cell after the wolf had his body tensing in a different way. He could feel it, the bond that would draw them together, but the black haired man suddenly felt uneasy. These beasts had been pulled from the forest and were now here to bond, but who was to say that they would really want that?

Hearing gasps, the man slowly turned his head to watch the woman. She grabbed her scyth and placed it on the ground, something he had never seen be done during the bonding ceremony. It might work for the wolf that was obviously more brawn that anything else, but he had this instinct in his gut that it would not work for the wolf he felt almost like a second skin. His body hummed with the soon to be made bond, but it was not pulling him like it should. Instead, the bond he felt was more like a caress, as if the wolf he was being urged towards internally was something all different.

Letting out a breath, the man finally returned his attention to the male wolf. His long legs moved over the soil in a confident stride, but there were sounds of panic when he dipped down. The queen had first seen a woman lay down her weapon and was now witnessing a man fall to one knee, his head tucked low as an offering of peace and calmness. He wanted no fight from the wolf, but he wanted to start in a better place. It was easier this way, or at least thats what his thoughts said. Thats why when he was down on the ground, Ryan tilted his head to the side, baring his neck in submission to the wolf before him.

Mist

Blue eyes latched onto the human with teeth bared. Fur rose high upon her shoulders as Mist drug a front foot through the ground. Her paws were dusty and held faint specklings of blood once one was close enough to see, but it was the pure hatred upon her face that would make one question what had exactly happened to her. She had been beating herself up inside of the cell, but that was not the worst of it all. The way they had stolen her and brought her here? That is what Mist considered to be the worst thing out there for her.

Scanning the human woman as she came closer, Mist lashed out with bared fangs right before the weapon was laid upon the ground. Her teeth never made contact of course, but once the weapon was on the ground her entire mood shifted. Eyeing it wearily, she finally let her head tilt to the side as she watched the human with a different light to her eyes. There was anger and rage of course, but the inkling of hope blossomed in her chest.

Liuetenant Vina Angelus

- - - - - - - - - -

Vina's expression was one of anxious determination -- and empathy. Her lips, slightly parted, revealed a gentle smile of good nature toward the beast. In that moment, Vina was entirely focused on exuding a calm, soothing aura; a silent promise of safety and a vow to reach out. Vina's hands, pale and slender, extended slowly forward. She reached out with a tenderness that contrasted terribly against quite literally everything else about her -- who would've thought that the fearsome Lieutenant Angelus was capable of such kindness?

Finally, though, the tips of her fingers made contact with the wolf's fur if she so allowed it. The touch, so gentle from the soldier that it could've been imperceptible. It was at that time that Vina's eyes flickered to the likes of the other wolf as it approached the other candidate. The Queen and Vina looked on in anticipation.

- - -

Facilis

Facilis' breath was hot and steady as he drew closer to Ryan, feeling the human's energy completely envelope him as he approached. To submit so quickly? Facilis was, indeed, intrigued. The crowd held its breath as he lurched forward, baring his teeth in a vicious snarl. Time seemed to be at a standstill as Facilis made his decision. The Queen, herself, held her breath as Facilis allowed his nose to brush up against the human's neck -- dangerously close and yet so tantalizingly afar.

But he stopped. Instead, taking a step back. Those eyes of his, sharp and defiant, narrowed with a slight resistance, and yet turned into a nod of agreement. From that point, he stepped up again -- placing the flat of his head against Ryan's own to show a sign of peace and bond.

If this was going to be his ticket to freedom, he ought to treat it well. For now.

"My, oh, my!" the Queen exclaimed.

-

(A bit short, my apologies).