Private Tales New Places, New Faces

[Kir]

Neveah's palms firmly planted on his chest...and then proceeded to move him not even a single inch.

Compared to her he was a massive bulwark of a man, plus he had sort of expected this backlash after she had all but attempted to beat him into a pulp. His face was a grim mask of determination though, his thin as she made her demands.

"I am here to keep you safe." Kir knew it would not be enough of an explanation.

The old woman had been right.

This all might have been easier had she been told from the beginning, but they were now far past that reality. All he could do was get her out of this place, back to actual safety. Those creatures were probably making their way up the ridge even now.

"I was hired by your family." He told her. "We need to get you back to the city."

Hands came up, gently grasping at her forearms.

 

[Neveah]

"No," she stepped back, trying to pull away. "I hate you!" She twisted and tried to punch him. Tried to kick him. "I'm not leaving their bodies down there." Her voice cracked as her eyes watered.

But she pushed the sadness away and went for anger instead.

Her limbs swinging.

"And keep me safe?! What about my sister?! What about the one who was to inherit the throne! Let go of me!" A growl of rage and sorrow left her throat. Even as the sun began setting. Even as the shadows lengthened across the plains. Even as her ears picked up the sound of skittering claws up the canyon's walls.

She went for another kick and twist.

 

[Kir]

Kir winced slightly as she threw a punch, then a kick. He might have been a wall, but that didn't mean he didn't feel pain. A gruff noise escaped his throat as her foot launched against his calf, fingers curling a bit tighter around her forearm. That's gonna bruise.

He thought to himself, though didn't let go of Neveah.

As she tried to twist Kir suddenly grabbed onto her more tightly. He used her own momentum, against her, spinning his own body and twisting so that he caught her in his grasp. Tree-trunk arms wrapped around Neveah, pinning her to his chest so that she faced away from him.

"Stop." He anounced. "I wasn't here for your sister."

Kir announced truthfully. "I was hired for you."

Probably because of her.

"Don't let your parents lose another daughter." He growled at her. "Just because you're too fucking stubborn to be sensible."

 

[Neveah]

She didn't care if she was pressed against a nude man. His arms locking her in. Her head bucked back. Her legs tried to twist against his own, hook beneath his ankles to get him to trip up or something.

She grunted in frustration.

"You're fucking stubborn!" She yelled and pounded the back of her head against his chest. Tears were flowing more freely now, blurring her vision.

 

[Kir]

A long sigh escaped her.

More bruises would cover him, he knew that. She would probably fight him every step of the way back towards the city. There was no helping that. "Sure."

He told her softly.

"Sure I am." Kir said, and then without another word she would feel herself lifted off the ground. He said nothing else, picking her up and simply tossing her over his shoulder. His grip tightening so she did not wriggle free.

The Werebear knew that she would fight him every step of the way. Knew that she would kick, punch, claw, and scream, but it didn't matter.

He had to get her away from here.

 

[Neveah]

"Stop," she argued as he slung her over his shoulder," salty-angry tears streaming down her skin. "I can walk. I won't...run." She saw the canyon edge getting further away with each step this giant of a man took.

"My sister," she spoke in a croaked voice. "Everyone thinks she jumped but I don't think she did. I know she didn't. You taking me back to the kingdom might not be as safe as you think," she warned quietly.

"This is humiliating," she managed as she sniffled. "Please put me down." She was fuking begging. And she hated herself for it. But she wanted to walk. She didn't want to be dragged back. Even as stars began to come out. She doubted they'd make it back by daylight. The gryphs were gone. They were both only human now and there was a lot of ground to cover.

 

[Kir]

The first few times that she objected Kir didn't even bother to respond.

He could understand the impulse.

Being carried like this was probably on some level...well humiliating like she had said. She was a Princess, yes, but also a full fledged adult. He doubted there were many in her life that acknowledged her as such. Least in most of her day.

Particularly with what had happened as of late.

It was only the third of fourth time that Kir began to slow. His head shaking. "You'll be safe with me around."

He said as she warned against the city, though still took a few more minutes walking to consider her other request. It was only after another ten minutes that he finally let out a loud sigh and placed her down in front of himself.

"Fine." Kir said, but readied to catch her if she tried to make a break for it. "But we go back to your parents."

The Neusian insisted.

 

[Neveah]

The young woman stared up at him, pushing the heel of her hand at her cheeks, wiping away any of the tears that hadn't already dried. Then she turned away from him. The sun was setting and stars were beginning to peek out. Over the horizon the glow of the city lights could just be seen and smaller lights around the wilderness flickered to life around them. The other tribes that were spread across the Savannah.

"You might not be safe with me around." At least he put her down. Took him damn long enough though.

She made no move to run but she did walk away from him, going to gather wood. They needed light to keep any of the predators away tonight.

Golden eyes glanced at him in the growing darkness.

"How long have you been tailing me?" How long had her parents hired him? Was it only since her sister? Had her sister had a bodyguard?

 

[Kir]

Kir dutifully followed after her, not giving her enough space to break off into a sprint.

Not that she would be able to lose him anyway.

On the ground he would be able to outpace her even in this form. His nose was keen enough that he could track her for miles, though it wasn't like he was eager to share that piece of information. "I'm safe enough."

He assured her as he tagged along.

"A little while." Kir said cryptically. "A conversation you better have with your parents."

The Neusian was not here to play family counselor. He was here to keep Neveah safe, and that was it.

 

[Neveah]

"Believe me. As soon as we get back I'm going to have some words with them." She looked up, a bundle of dry wood in her arms. "Stop hovering so much. It's not like I'm going to run away."

If she was going to run she'd have to wait until she could shift again.

But she wasn't going to run. At least not right now. Not yet.

"Why don't you help gather some wood?" She pointed out as she dropped her pile in a somewhat cleared area. The landscape was mostly dry and not many trees. They'd have to be careful not to set the whole bush on fire. "So you can...turn into a bear?" She was curious about him. WHat he was. Might as well pass the time if she was stuck with him.

 

[Kir]

Kir didn't try to rebuke anything that she insist, but he also notably didn't back away from her too much. Even as she went about gathering wood the Werebear continued to follow along closely, always making sure she was within his sight.

A grunt escaped him when she beckoned him to join the hunt through the underbrush.

He considered for a moment, and then let out a sigh before bending down and picking up a small stick. In his hands it looked half as tiny as it actually was. "Sort of."

The Neusian said, finally breaking his silence.

"It's a bit more complicated than that." He explained. "I'm not a shapeshifter, or one of those..."

Kir paused. "Those Norden...nords...norden something."

Someone here in the Southlands had told him about them, but...well he kept forgetting.

 

[Neveah]

And he was still naked. Though she didn’t focus on anything below his waist. A shrug across her shoulders. “Never heard of them.”

She’d grown up on the Savannah her entire life. She’d read about some of the neighboring cities and lands but had never heard of a group of people that shape shifted. She’d always wondered if she was the only one.

“Really?” A brow arched at the stick he held. Then she squatted down to the wood she gathered and began arranging it. A flint was pulled from her pocket, sparks beginning to fly.

 

[Kir]

A shrug rolled over his shoulders. "Not like you need to."

They did live on the other side of the bloody world after all.

Still, he'd heard the comparison often enough that it was beginning to annoy him. Having to explain that he wasn't some kind of soul bear grew real tiresome after the fifth or six time you had to clarify it. Especially to a drunken mercenary after a fight.

They rarely accepted his answer.

"Hey it's a stick." He told her. "If you wanted someone to fetch, you should have gotten a dog."

Though from what he understood Werewolves here were a lot less...pleasant to be around.

 

[Neveah]

"Is it too late to trade you in for one?" She muttered as the sparks caught. A flame growing in the tinder and brush. Bending down, she blew gently on it, feeding the fire until it spread and she had a good enough flame going she wouldn't have to worry about it going out.

"It's either you go gather more wood to feed this fire or turn into that bear beast for the night to keep the predators away. Your choice."

And GREAT gryphs he was a little too comfortable with pouncing around naked.

Did he just grow up that way? How did he think her parents were going to respond if he walked her back into the city like that?

 

[Kir]

A wide grin pulled at his lips as he heard her sass.

"That's not a good idea." He said idly as she suggested that he take the form of the beast overnight.

Though he could control it most of the time, the longer he remained shifted the more...complicated things got. Control was a careful thing, something he had learned over the years but not yet mastered like some of the others.

A loud sigh escaped him. "Fine."

He told her, finally relenting.

"But stay in my eyesight." Kir said. "I have a feeling if something happens to you I'm going to be nothing more than a pelt."

An idea he was not happy with.

 

[Neveah]

"A naked man pelt?" She'd ask, eyes lifting to track him as he turned. Seeing a different kind of full moon.

Stars and wind.

Head shook as she got the fire to a decent place. She sat back on her haunches. Golden-eyes flickered around the area in the growing darkness. Head tilted as she listened. There were large predator cats that roamed this area. The kind that weren't trained gryphs. They wouldn't hesitate to snack on either her or him. There were also packs of jackals and wild dogs. Large boar with tusks.

"Is Lok even your real name?"

 

[Kir]

"A bear one." Her parents had not exactly known what he was, no one did, but they'd heard the rumors. Kirov had made a name for himself here in the South, a small one, but enough that he'd managed to land the job.

Not that he wasn't starting to regret it. "Nope."

He answered as he began to search through the underbrush, picking up anything that looked like it might make good enough fuel for the fire.

"I'm surprised you can even remember that." Kir mused. "Given how drunk you were."

The bear chuckled in remembrance of that. "My name is Kirov."

He told her finally.

 

[Neveah]

She heard a rustling out behind her and turned, staring into the darkness. She remained as still as she could and for a moment...the rustling stopped. Exhaling, she turned back to the giant of a naked man.

"It was...not my finest moment," she admitted quietly. That morning she'd had to attend a remembrance ceremony for her sister. It had all just been...too much. Since her death everything had been too much.

"I am impressed with myself for not trying to make out with you though."

She added another log to the fire.

 

[Kir]

Kir shrugged his shoulders. "Not like i'm a stranger to drink."

Back home it wasn't exactly uncommon to waste the way away at the bottom of a bottle. There wasn't much else to do in the winter months, not with the biting cold and everything else that set into theflesh.

"You couldn't have reached." The Werebear said with a grin, finally coming back to the small camp and dropping what he had gathered onto the floor.

It wasn't a meager harvest, enough to last them through the night. "Wouldn't we be better off heading back?"

He asked, genuinely ignorant.

There were many dangers in his own country, beasts roaming the land, but there it was never advised to make camp. Fires only drew in the trolls, not to mention the Yuki.

 

[Neveah]

“Certainly not in my human form,” she agreed. A small smile on her own face. A brief break in her otherwise stormy mood.

“No,” head shook. “There is only one thing the beasts of the plains hate. Fire.” She added another log to feed the flames. The only other option would be to craft torches. Even then it would be mildly less dangerous at best.

Stars were out now. Wide and plentiful in the sky.

She side-eyed the bear-man. “Is your plan to walk be back to the palace like that?”

 

[Kir]

He mused for a moment, making a note in his head in case he ever had to travel through this place on his own. Fire was important everywhere he supposed, even back home you needed it if you were going to get anywhere. Though that was mostly because of the cold.

"Like what?" Kir said, then glanced down. "Oh."

A frown pulled at his lips. "I hadn't considered it, really."

So far he had mostly been focused on even getting back into the city. Clothing wasn't exactly high on his priority list. Particularly given that he had sort of gotten used to being without it for long stretches of time after transforming.

Plus this place was much warmer than home.

"I have some armor back at my Inn, we could stop by there on the way." Though he'd have to make sure not to lose her in the city. She knew the streets much better than he did.

 

[Neveah]

She rolled her eyes in the firelight.

He hadn't considered it?

Who the hell was he? "I'm not walking around the city with you naked." With a quiet harumph, she curled onto her side, back to him and the fire as she looked out at the tall grasses. She just had to wait a few more hours - tops and then she could shift.

There were screams in the darkness as some of the weaker animals began getting picked off by the beasts that roamed the nights.

 

[Kir]

Kir turned his head as some of the screams echoed out, lips thinning for a brief moment.

"Well I have to get to my place somehow." The Werebear said as he turned his attention back towards Neveah. He frowned, wishing that he at the very least had a blade that he could use. Shifting again would...hurt.

Hopefully the fire worked."So naked it is."

Kir pointed out, still observing as she laid on her back and turned away from him.

"Unless you have some clothes my size stashed away." An eyebrow perked. "No?"

He very much doubted it.

 

[Neveah]

"Your size?" A roll of her eyes in the darkness even as her hands cradled her head in a makeshift pillow. The worst pillow. "If my gryph hadn't flown away we might've been able to use the reins to help make you up some kind of outfit. You don't seem like the type of man to like cords of leather strung about themself, though."

She continued to not look at him, keeping her gaze on the tall grasses around them.

"We can't go back to the city right away. We have to go back to the village. They will be wondering why we haven't returned and think the worst." She wanted to stop them from sending others into the trap.

 

[Kir]

He frowned for a brief moment. "I'm not sure your parents will be fond of that."

After a moment more Kir finally sat himself down on the ground, watching the fire. He had never needed much sleep, not since he had first been bitten. An effect of the curse, as he understood it, though no one really ever explained it to him.

"They'll wonder where you are." He pointed out. "Might even create a bit of a panic back home."

Kir didn't elaborate as to why, they both already knew.

He really, honestly, wasn't trying to push any buttons.

The Werebear had been hired to make sure that Neveah was safe, and that was what he was going to do. Her parents, as far as he knew, cared about her. Loved her and wanted to keep her out of harms way. Kir was going to do that the best way he knew how.