Riders of the Wood (I.C.)

[Rawr]

--Raimee--

Raimee woke up and let out a loud yawn. It was early morning and the sun was barley coming up over the horizon. This inn wasn't the most comfortable she had stayed in, but at least it didn't have mice and rats running around. She was on patrol today and had to teach a few trainees. She had gotten dressed in her full set of armor and slipped on her boots. Once her boots were on, she stood up and stretched, putting on a pair of leather gloves and placing a phoenix feather firmly in her hair. After she was finished with her morning routine, she walked out the door and grabbed her meal voucher, her dog at her side. Raimee walked down stairs and up to the counter. She got her breakfast and ate it. Once she was finished, instead of walking to the R.O.T.D. headquarters, she walked out to the forest. For some odd reason, her mount was the only one killed when the overseers were. Once she was a long enough distance away from the city, she strayed off of her path and into the woods.
Raimee sighed and knelt to the ground by a bush blooming with purple and blue flowers. She then walked over to a small dirt patch with a wooden headstone at the top of it. Carved into it were the words, "Here lies Koria, a loyal complain to Raimee Ravideer, providing her services to the R.O.T.D. for fourteen years. We will miss our beloved friend and warrior." A single tear rolled down Raimee's face as she placed the flowers on the grave. She then wipe her face clean with the exposed part of her sleeve. Raimee then stood up and took a deep breath. She would have to go pick another today, but she didn't see how she could replace Koria. Upon standing up, she saw a white figure disappear behind a rather large tree. Had the build of a wolf, but she wasn't sure... Her crossbow was already loaded and at the ready and her dog was completely alert. "Show yourself!" She called out, wondering if she would even get an answer back.

--Angelis--

Angelis sat atop the church, the highest building in the soon-to-be-kingdom other than the councils mansion. Her eyes scanned the people below her, her gear rattling every time her head moved. No signs of danger so far. Angels glided down to the floor below, walking through the streets to the R.O.T.D. headquarters. She decided to help with the wall patrol until something caught her eye. She couldn't figure out what it was, so she walked closer. It was in the mount section of the headquarters and seemed to be undergoing a type of training that he had not seen before. Upon closer examination, she realized that it was a sabre tooth. After watching his training for a minute or two, she had saw him look back at her, so she gave him a friendly smile, trying not to bother him too much.

[OliveBranched]

Amara sprinted out of the city and into the surrounding forest, ignoring the gash on her front leg in favor of getting as far away as possible before they noticed she was gone. She refused to submit to those people that had abducted her and locked her away. She would die before willingly serving any of their kind. She dashed past a girl at a makeshift grave and hid in the copse of trees. She stopped to catch her breath and prayed to the gods that she hadn't been spotted.

"Show yourself!" The girl shouted, and a quick glance showed that she had her weapon at the ready. Great. She stepped out into the small clearing, ears back, hackles raised and teeth bared. If this girl was going to take her back to the city, she wasn't going to go quietly.

[Atethecat]

Mosi laid calmly on the what would be generally considered a hard wooden floor. He gently brushed his gigantic pink bristled tongue across the sabre-tooth's gigantic paws. Mosi's claws were detracted and he was a relatively peaceful status as he waited for his long beloved young rider. He was rather tired as most cats were, though this cat was sentient and over 300 pounds. The Sabre-toothed cat was not in the mood to do anything other than sloth about the day, though he knew that the R.O.T.D generally weren't accepted to the members that weren't active, but he cared very little for that now.

So I calmly waited for his rider, the captain named Kei to show up and begin any possible activities the two had to complete for the day.

[Rawr]

--Raimee--
With her crossbow still drawn and at the ready, she had her finger on the trigger. She quickly realized that the creature was a white wolf with brown colored eyes. It had reminded her of Koria, her beloved wolf and she couldn't bring herself to capture or harm it. The sound of a Day-watchers armor could be heard behind her, it was easy to tell apart from others because it consisted of mostly leather and cloth. Looking in the wolf's eyes, she had seen how angry and scared it must have been. The five day-watchers who had chased the wolf had stopped once they had seen Raimee and waited for her orders. They all had their weapons at the ready until Raimee gave them unusual orders for the situation. "Return back to the headquarters. She is not of a threat and we don't need to be capturing every animal we see fit for riding. I'll handle this." She said, placing her bow back where it was before. The day watchers gave her a look of confusion, then walked back to headquarters, knowing not to question her. Raimee turned back to the wolf. "Go, you're lucky I did this for you." She said as she turned away, beginning to walk back into the city, another tear rolling down her face. She was going to hear from the council about this one...

[OliveBranched]

Kei rushed from her quarters towards the mount stables. Of all the days to be late, it had to be on the day she was meeting her first mount. Naturally. She chanced a sigh of relief when the stables came into view at the end of the road. She nodded to the officer on guard at the entrance and shouldered the heavy door open. The atypical mounts were all the way in the back of the stables and as she neared their pens she caught her first glimpse of her mount.

Mosi was larger than the dogs that the guards around the city used by almost a whole head, and those already stood at her waist. His head was square and solid with two sharp fangs jutting out between his lips, gleaming gently in the low light. His light golden fur was spotted with dark rosettes with thick black stripes on his unusually short tail for a cat. He was beautiful.

She hesitated a few steps away from the door to his pen. "Hey, uh...I'm your new mount, I guess." She shifted her feet uncomfortably. "I've never done this before, so I'm a little jittery. They said today was just supposed to be for us to get to know each other and see if we're a good fit." She paused until the distant dripping of water was unbearable in the hushed hallway. "So, uh, I'm Kei. Kei Awiyah."

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

The girl wasn't moving. Which was good, since it meant that there was no arrow flying at Amara. No, she was just...standing there. Doing nothing. Amara began to shift backward in her defensive stance, preparing to run away when the officers that had been chasing her appeared behind the girl. She snapped back into her stance, lips curling back to reveal her fangs, sharp and still lined with traces of blood from the guard she had bitten.

"Return back to the headquarters. She is not of a threat and we don't need to be capturing every animal we see fit for riding. I'll handle this." Amara was so stunned that she hardly even noticed the girl putting her bow away as the guards retreated. The girl made as if to return to the city, then turned back to look at Amara. "Go, you're lucky I did this for you." Then turned back and started for the city. Amara only hesitated for a moment before slowly following after her.

Wait! She called after the girl. You are with them. Why did you spare me?

[Atethecat]

Mosi met his new rider, she was as many human women he had seen in his short occupation as a mount under the R.O.T.D. Though she wore some red, which seemed to visually stimulate the sabre-toothed cat for a good long while. At that point, he felt energetic enough to lift with long legs up and gently strut towards Kei. Mosi inspected her intensively as he respectively circled her for a few seconds, before sitting in an erect and almost-dog or statue-like stature. Mosi was honestly happy to have a new rider, though he had never personally had a long term or full rider and didn't know what it was like.

[Alex the Angel]

"Congratulations, Lexal. You've just been promoted to day watcher!" The elder member said, shaking Lexie's hand. "Well, uh... That was quick..." He stuttered, returning the handshake in a limp, half-hearted grasp. He had been in the R.O.T.D for three years now, and had always dreamed of this day. Yet now that it was here, he was a bit nervous. As much as he wanted one, he did not know if he was ready to take on a mount just yet.
"Head down to the stables as soon as possible and choose who will be your new mount... And wear some sleeves to cover up those tattoos, will you?" Lexie's eyes stayed glued to the ground and he nodded, before heading off into the direction of the stables. He searched around a bit, finding it hard to choose. Dragons... Wolves... Gryphons... I... I can't decide. He thought. Eventually, he stumbled upon something that stood out amongst the rest. A black shadow dragon... He studied her figure for a bit, taking note of the scars on her scales and how her red eyes shined brightly. He stood there in awe, the world seeming to melt away. She's... beautiful... He gently stepped forward, putting on his friendliest smile. "Um... H-hello..." He stuttered, waiting patiently for a response.

[Rawr]

--Raimee--
Raimee was almost through the gates of the city when she heard the wolf behind her. she then spun around. "Didn't I tell you to leave... The only reason I told them to leave you alone is because you reminded me of my other mount. Her name was Koria. You looked almost exactly like her and I couldn't bring myself to harm or capture you. And I may be one of them, but we're not all the same... Here, take this." Raimee said, returning to her normal, kinder voice as she threw a piece of raw meat to the wolf in front of her. She had saved this for one of the other wolves, but decided she could always use another. She then heard a voice call to her from the gates. "Raimee, you need to come help with the dragons today before you pick a wolf. We have a new day watcher and the captain's for the dragons are at the council."

"I have to go..." Raimee said as she walked into the city, stopping halfway. "You can come with me or go far away from here where they won't catch you... Your choice..." She said, finally making her way into the stables. She entered the dragon area and walked up to Lexal. "Hello, you must be the new day watcher." She said, looking at him and his possible dragon. "I'm Raimee, one of the captains for the wolf riders. Your dragon rider captain could not be here today, as they are busy speaking with the council. So if you have any questions or concerns with choosing your mount, ask me, as I have worked with dragons before. I will be feeding a few of the larger ones if you need me." Raimee wasn't like her normal self, due to what had happened with her mount. She would soon return to normal.

--Gemma--
Gemma sniffed the air, as there was an unusual human scent she had not smelled before. Both of her ears perked up and she stood up, the chain on her foot rattling as she got up. Her red eyes blinked and she saw a human walking toward her area of the stables. Normally people would walk by her and pick one of the more reliable looking dragons, the ones who didn't look like they would give out on you at any time. But not this human, he had stopped by her stable and looked at her. Gemma simply blinked and walked over to him, sniffing him. He was unlike the rest. He gave her a second thought. Gemma didn't want to mess up what may be her only chance at getting a rider, so she smiled back at him. The way he spoke, stood, and acted made her think he was a good choice. "Hello..." She replied. "I'm Gemma, and you are? She asked patiently. The other dragons had began to look at her in an angered way.
One of the wolf captains had stepped up and quickly introduced herself, then walked off again, as soon as the higher authority was gone, one of the blue-green colored dragons had gotten jealous, so he decided to take action for himself and butted into the conversation, trying to win the rider over for himself. Gemma gave him an angered look, then simply backed out of the conversation and with a sigh, went back to her stable.

[OliveBranched]

Kei stood stock still as Mosi shifted up onto his massive paws and began to circle her. She tried to keep her breathing even and not to betray that she was more than just a little jittery about this meeting. She could feel his intelligent eyes boring into her as he finished his examination and sat back on his haunches in front of her. Kei internally sighed with relief that he seemed to find her acceptable. She eased herself onto her knees so that they were on the same level -- or rather, Kei was just below his level. Mosi was so tall that when Kei knelt in front of him, he stood at least a full head taller than her, if not more.

She extended a minutely trembling hand and laid it against his shoulder, feeling the shift of the powerful muscles underneath the skin and fur. She smiled and stroked her hand through his fur, gently dragging her nails against his skin.

"So, do I fit the bill?"

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

Amara snapped into a submissive stance instinctively when the girl whipped around to glare angrily at her. "Didn't I tell you to leave... The only reason I told them to leave you alone is because you reminded me of my other mount. Her name was Koria. You looked almost exactly like her and I couldn't bring myself to harm or capture you."

Well that explains her unusual reaction when she saw me. "And I may be one of them, but we're not all the same... Here, take this." Amara eagerly snapped up the piece of meat the girl threw at her. She had refused to eat what they had given her in the city, too stubborn to accept the "hospitality" of her captors. She vaguely heard one of the guards talking to the girl before he followed his fellow men back towards the city.

"I have to go..." The girl started for the city but turned back to look at Amara. "You can come with me or go far away from here where they won't catch you... Your choice..." With that, the girl left Amara standing alone in the wooded clearing. It took Amara less than ten seconds to make her decision, and she crept silently back into the city.

If she was going to go, she was going to go willingly. Thankfully, she knew the best hidden alleyways and back roads to get to the stables from her escape. Within minutes she found the small hole she dug to get out of the pen they kept her in and wriggled her way back in.

Knowing that the girl had lost her mount, she would need a new one, and it was almost a certainty that she would choose another wolf. So, Amara sat back on her haunches and waited for the girl to venture back and find her.

[Atethecat]

Mosi seemed amused at the young human. He chuffed in the way that big cats do when they're happy and looking up at Kei, he replied with a calm "Sure". Mosi was pretty new at talking surprisingly, he had spent much of his life as a feral animal, fighting bears and lions that could not speak like him. Mosi had learned to speak by watching the humans chat amongst one another. Mosi seemed amused by his new rider and her calm attitude.

"So, who are you?" Mosi was curious about Kei and how she was supposed to be his new rider. He was the only sabre-toothed cat in the R.O.T.D that was still alive. Most of the mounts were wolves, dragons, gryphons or even chimeras. Kei had started running her hands through his fur, which made him purr in a low-pitch voice.