Set My Heart On Fire (Open)

[Blitz Burning Bright]

Blitz soared on through the bright skies being carried by the wind currents. He was searching for a resting place that would offer rich prey and well hiding. The ribbons of feathers streamed out from behind him as he powered against the wind. His crest lie flat atop his skull as not to ruffle it bad.

Below him he spotted a flicker of motion in the treetops he glided over. He shot down towards the treetops in pursuit of his next meal. Talons lashed out as he was caught in a quick chattering frenzy. Powering up he gripped in his talons a very young macaque. The small primate would make an excellent meal.

A large branching tree towered above all the other at the near center of the jungle. It must be the homing tree he had heard so much about. Taking a land on one of the branches he flinched as he heard a sound. Leaving his meal in a small hollow he fluttered from branch to branch. Looking down, he hissed at the being he saw.

[Evelyn Paynter]

This was the best adventure yet, Evelyn was sure of it. The jungle was filled with new sights, sounds and scents, the combination of which had left the little shape shifter pretty over stimulated. Spending the last couple of hours flitting between new shapes and shifting her skin every five minutes to emulate all the new creatures she found had led to Vyncent demanding that she pick a skin and keep it. Her choice was obviously feline, muscles rippling beneath her glossy, spotted fur as she crept along a thick tree branch. Her claws cracked the dark bark and her passing would have been almost silent if it weren’t for the tinkling bells which had been tied to her tail with a black ribbon; more of Vyncent’s work. He didn’t want to lose her while she was off prowling, so he’d made sure that she was the least stealthy predator in the whole damn jungle.

Her eyes glinted like emeralds as she slid across the branch on her stomach, keeping her tail as still as possible to try not to alert the brightly coloured bird she was stalking to her presence. She’d never seen anything like that before; so big and bright and exotic smelling. Hopefully it would taste as good as it looked, but she would need to catch it to find that out.

The crimson jaguar was oddly difficult to spot in amongst the lush, green foliage and Evvie made it within pouncing distance of her prey before the slightest twitch of her tail gave her away. The bells chimed cheerfully and the bird was spooked, its feathers ruffling before it leapt into the air in flight. Instinct took over and she pounced, soaring through the air with her claws outstretched, but the bird was just too fast. She missed it completely, ending up landing down on the ground snarling up at the sky, tail whipping through the air behind her angrily. Missing a meal wasn’t something that she was used to, but she did get a small prize. A couple of blue feathers were scattered over the jungle floor where she had landed, Evvie sniffing at them for a moment before picking one up in her mouth, looking around for Vyncent to see where he was. He could keep her feathers safe for her while she explored.

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[Blitz Burning Bright]

Blitz watched as the being, which was apparently a jaguar, leapt at a blue bird. He figured the large felid could be hungry, so he worked his way back to his meal, then back down dropping the partially eaten macaque in front of the jaguar. He let out a small sound like keck, keck, keck. "Eat if you are hungry, young felid, for life in these parts require extra strength, a good hunter must eat well." He said to the jaguar.

"Avians make for little meals, not worth the work!" His voice rang out across the dense forestry. Blitz may be a raptor, but he was not an average avian. He was a phoenix, a legendary bird said to be born from the ashes. He was able speak hominid speech as he was structured different from most birds. Although he could only speak the English language.

[Vyncent Schwarz]

Evelyn might think of their little trip into the jungle as the ‘best adventure yet’, but Vyncent Schwarz found it nigh on impossible to agree. He’d awoken about a week ago, hungover to hell on a ship to Quem, with nothing but leagues and leagues of ocean between himself and any form of civilization. Even on a good day, the High Demon was far from a fan of the water, so with his stomach churning (partially from the hangover and partially from seasickness) and his head pounding, the entire trip thus far had been a veritable living nightmare.

He thought things would look up a little when they finally arrived at Quem. He was choosing not to ask why his booze-addled self had chosen the large island with its dense jungles as a good destination, but at first it had seemed as if he’d struck gold. The temperature was perfect for a fire demon, the air warm and fragrant, the sun almost unrelenting.

But then they’d gotten lost in the Jungles of Khuzou (about two days before now), and Vyncent had discovered that Quem, while it might be abundant in sun and heat, it also had a thriving insect population. The culture, too, wasn’t to his taste; there were no lavish inns, no gambling parlours, none of the things that Vyncent was used to. He was grumbling as he hacked through the foliage after Evelyn, listening out for those damn bells tinkling on her tail.

It wasn’t long before he stepped out into a clearing, Amor in hand, Evelyn in front of him with a mouthful of feathers, a half devoured macaque nearby and a… a… a talking bird? "Something poisonous obviously bit me somewhere back there. Either that, or I’ve gone insane from being stuck in this damn place for days,” he muttered to himself.

[»Kamui Syvil VII]

"Phew. It's humid..." Kamui mumbled to himself, pausing for a moment to wipe the sweat off his brow before continuing on through the undergrowth. Because of the heat he had shed his long vest, placing it in his haversack. Likewise, because of the glaring sun he was also wearing his darkened spectacles. His furry, monkey-like tail was coming in rather handy for swatting away the insects that got past the camphor sap he had applied earlier. For sometime now he had been roving about the jungle aimlessly, and wasn't quite sure where he was (beyond being somewhere on Quem) or where he was going. But that was nothing new for the easy-going wanderer.

Accompanying him, as always, were Yibbles and Sakurako. The small piglet rode atop the wolfdog's back as the trio navigated the shrubs and vines. Whether taking the time to go over, under, or around they passed through the dense terrain without disturbing it. Well, not much anyway. Occasionally Sakurako had gone off to hunt, or Kamui would stop here and there to pluck fruit from the trees or gather edible plants. It wouldn't do well for them to starve after all.

Just as he was spitting out an açaí pit, his nose twitched. There were a multitude of scents in the air, but his heightened senses detected the presence of others nearby. He glanced toward Sakurako, who also seemed to notice them as well. At first he wondered if they were members of some local tribe, but quickly discarded that theory as he drew closer, the scents becoming more distinct. "Hm, interestin'. Wanna go say hello, Sak?" Munching on more of the assorted fruits in his arms, he set off following the scents, and it was not long before he was within sight of the clearing.

[Blitz Burning Bright]

Blitz looked at the being who seemed to be dumbfounded by his speech. "We have poisonous spiders here if that's what you could suspect hominid being, although I doubt you are imagining this as I am quite real. Thank you very much." He blinked at the jaguar then the hominid. He figured the two must be fellow travelers or some kind of explorers maybe. Even so Blitz was just visiting himself, so not much to tell.

His eyes flickered as he smelled a slight scent, birds don't just rely on eyes only. Frankly, the only raptor Blitz knew that couldn't smell was the owl. Overall though, others could smell pretty well. "You can come out, Tailed One!" He called as he spotted a tiny movement in the brush. In truth, nothing could escape a raptor's eye in daylight too easily. He let out his signage keck, keck, keck once again while his crest shot up.

[Evelyn Paynter]

Evvie was ashamed to admit that she jumped a mile when the carcass dropped down to the floor by her, lip curling back in a savage snarl, though the effect was somewhat diminished by the plume of blue feathers poking out of her mouth. After glaring at the dead thing suspiciously her head snapped up at the sound of the voice, head cocking to one side as the bird spoke. Yeah, that bird was talking…to her? If thought she needed its leavings? She made a coughing sound at Vyncent as he joined her, spitting the feathers out at his feet and nudging them towards him to silently ask him to save them before her gaze returned back to the bird. This time the look in her eyes was plain to read; she’d found dinner.

The notion that you shouldn’t try to eat things that spoke to you was lost on the shape shifter, the jaguar growling lowly to herself as she leapt at the tree, claws digging deep into the bark as she clawed her way up, peeling off curls of wood. She only paused when she was settled on a branch within pouncing distance, the bells jingling madly as her tail flicked back and forward, nostrils flaring as she caught the new scent. It didn’t really distract her much though; she was far too set on her little hunt.

The figure in the trees was spared a glance, and Vynce a snarl which meant that he was meant to be watching her (she was his pet, she wanted attention). And then she pounced. Pouncing was a favourite pastime of hers, especially when there was food at the end of it. Talking birds required a little more effort than just this though, her form rippling and flowing as she flew through the air. She was expecting a chase, so she took the form of a small, agile jungle cat, the ribbon with her bells on tumbling down through the trees to land on the ground.

Vyncent could play with the new comer, she wanted this bird.

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[Vyncent Schwarz]

Vyncent arched an eyebrow up at the bird as it also directed conversation towards him. He frowned gently. Hominid? Hardly. He was beyond the boundaries of those pitiful humans; he just happened to play along with the image for his own benefit. Before he could say as such, however, Evelyn had made it obvious as to what she thought of their bright new companion. The High Demon couldn’t resist a smirk as he watched her slink up the tree, as lithe and dangerous as ever even with the bells jingling their merry way.

She was a jungle cat before he could blink, but Vyncent couldn’t really focus on what was going on between the shapeshifter and the bird for very long. “Tailed One?” he echoed, at the same time as he caught the scent of a stranger in their midst. He turned sharply, grip growing tighter on the hilt of his rapier, the demon drawing himself up and looking suspicious at best as he peered through the trees, catching sight of a figure standing beneath the canopy. He sensed others around him too, spying a canine shape in the foliage.

His crimson eyes stirred with amusement. The power around the stranger was almost palpable to someone like him, but Vyncent, in his arrogance, didn’t think much of that. “Yes, Tailed One,” he echoed the bird, laughing quietly, “do come out.”

[»Kamui Syvil VII]

Kamui wasn't surprised when they called out to him before he even reached the clearing. He wasn't making attempts at stealth and if he could sense them, surely they could do the same. Slipping past a shrub, he stepped into the area the others occupied. He glanced up, taking notice of the jungle cat stalking the bird. He surmised neither of them were normal animals, but it was Vyncent, standing before him with sword in hand, that caught his immediate attention. The scent of the man's fiery demon blood was obvious. This was a strong one, full-blooded, unlike Kamui.

Sakurako stared warily at the other man, Yibbles was oblivious, staring off into the canopy. Without a word, Kamui simply offered Vyncent a papaya as a friendly gesture. He had no idea how the other demon might react, but he hoped to keep things amicable if he could.

[Blitz Burning Bright]

Blitz hissed furiously as the feline, as nest a raptor could anyways. He would show this dunderhead why one should never stalk a phoenix. "Silly cat, silly cat! Don't just think that you're all that!" He cried as he shot up in a flash. Soon enough he ignited himself and using his speed and agility had the feline surrounded in fire. "Want to survive, you need to fly!" He mocked the silly cat.

"I don't take assume lightly! Think not stink!" He jeered at the cat again. It was quite obvious he was truly agitated at the cat's attempt to pounce and kill him. He never was one to allow such rudeness, and since this one could shift forms it could easily escape the fire. So in all, nothing would be too bad, once she got out of the tree he could send the fire away, he wasn't born from the ashes for nothing.

[Evelyn Paynter]

That was the tricky thing about stalking birds; they had wings. The slightest sign of trouble and they were off up into the air and out of your reach. The branch shook as Evelyn landed, hissing right back at the phoenix. Did it never stop talking? Maybe she should eat its tongue first, just to shut it up for good. The smaller body allowed her to perch on the branch with ease, tail swinging down behind her as she looked up at her prey, whiskers bristling as the heat of the fire hit her. Oh, now that was something that normal birds didn’t do; birds didn’t fight back.

Evelyn shrank back as the fire surrounded her, singeing her fur and the tips of her whiskers. The clearing down below was suddenly crowded with the appearance of the tailed man and his entourage, so the only way she had to go was up. Fur gave way to feathers as she leapt straight up, slipping into the skin of a small hawk to flap away and escape the flames.

The branches were too close for any real flying down here and flying was always hard enough without trying to fight with the phoenix too. With an unhappy click of her new beak the crimson hawk fluttered down through the trees to land on the papaya the newcomer was holding out to Vyncent, feathers all ruffled up in agitation.

Birds weren’t in her good books for pretty obvious reasons and Evelyn had no intentions of wearing her feathers for long. Suddenly she was an average cat, leaping down to pad off into the jungle, a voice calling out to them soon enough. “Vyncent, I need my clothes. I want to be people again.” Her red hair was wild as the girl appeared from behind a tree, using a pair of huge leaves to keep her modesty. “The stupid bird was mean.”

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[Vyncent Schwarz]

Vyncent could only stare as Kamui stepped into the clearing with his little ragtag band, the demon’s eyes flickering from the half demon to the wolf, the piglet and then back again. He was aware of a flash of heat over his shoulder, turning in time to watch the bird set fire to the air around Evelyn. He arched an eyebrow; that was interesting. And it was still gibbering away as if it hadn’t realised that it was, in fact, a bird. Granted, it obviously wasn’t a normal bird, but right now the strangers on the ground were getting the lion’s share of his attention.

He wrinkled his nose at the papaya, but before he could char it in Kamui’s hand, Evelyn suddenly appeared, perching atop the fruit. Then without so much as a warning, the bird became a cat, and the cat became Evelyn. “Make up your mind,” Vyncent complained, turning to check for the fiery bird she’d been trying to pounce, wondering if she’d managed to eat it. He scoffed and looked around when Evvie asked about her clothes. “You can need them all you like,” he told her, “I thought you had them. Must have left them on that rock by the stream. What a shame,” he muttered, as if it wasn’t of any real import.

“But don’t go changing again,” he told her, sounding grumpy. “It’s starting to piss me off. Besides, eating talking animals is bad luck.” (It was a lie, but Vyncent figured Evelyn would believe it.) “And who in seven hells are you?” He lifted his gaze levelly to look at Kamui once more.

[»Kamui Syvil VII]

"Hm?" He curiously glanced upward at the ring of fire, watching as the cat shifted into a hawk to escape. However, Sakurako didn't take her icy blue eyes off the demon while Kamui briefly mused to himself. The other bird was a fire bird of some sort, it seemed. A phoenix, perhaps? That explained why it could talk, and must have been the first voice he heard before Vyncent's. It seemed upset, and understandably so if the shifter had been tying to catch it.

He looked back down when the hawk landed on the fruit in his hand, only to turn back into a cat and leap off. And then a naked woman, with naught but leaves to cover herself with. An attractive, well endowed woman. He forced himself not to stare at her as she conversed with Vyncent. When the demon addressed him, Kamui gave a small shrug. "Just a simple wanderer." He glanced at Evelyn, "Miss, if you're hungry, I've got plenty of fruit instead... and a vest, if ya' wanna borrow it. It's weighted though."

[Blitz Burning Bright]

Blitz was amused with his hand work on the silly feline. Although he might need to get the fire away before the forest burned down to nothing. Quickly he encircled the base of the tree and shot up, the flames trailing behind him. Giving a last circular look the flames vanished as if they were never there to begin with. The only proof of the deadly ignition being the charred areas on the towering tree. A former picture of its once known beauty.

"Don't get too used to it!" He chimed lightly as he hovered down to alight on a small branch about six feet from the ground right near the other beings. Kack, kack, kack! Came his well-known call as he settled himself. "Enter a jungle you can't get out! I can lead you, but you must not doubt!" He called in a hopefully easy riddle. Mainly he was inferring that he could lead these beings out of these muggy jungles. Although if he were too, they would have to trust him.

His eyes beamed as he looked over each one. A demon perhaps was the one who seemed to infer "hell" as a strong believed word, a hominid with an ape-like tail, a wolf, maybe wolfdog, a small swine offspring upon the canine's back, and for the love of Star of Ember, why was there a naked female human?! He gave a small, gruff tssk at the female's moreover indecency. Last he checked, most humans should be wearing some sort of decent pelt layering. His crest rose on his head as his ribbon-like tail plumes flowed down about halfway to the ground.

[Evelyn Paynter]

“How can I have them? Cats don’t have pockets.” She pointed out, just in case he hadn’t known this before. She gave him a deadpan look as he told her that her clothes were lost, looking down at herself before looking back up at Vyncent. “What am I meant to wear? Leaves?” She grumbled, though the loss of her clothes was a pretty common occurrence for Evelyn. They were left behind when she shifted and by the time she turned back into a person they were usually miles away from her abandoned clothes. These were the occasions that she would kill a passer-by for their clothes, but she doubted that they were going to run into many people in the jungle. The tailed man was the first person they’d seen in here and he smelt powerful; not the type you killed and robbed blind.

“I…it is?” She gasped at the news about the bad luck associated with eating talking animals. She turned a frown up at the phoenix in the branches, though she was starting to feel like she’d had a lucky escape. Of course she believed what Vyncent said, like she would ever question him.

She looked grumpy as he told her to quit it with the shifting, grumping and looking down at the leaves; how was she meant to make those stay in place? She looked over her shoulder as the tailed man spoke to her, frowning in confusion as she looked around to try to find this ‘Miss’ person. “Don’t know how Miss is, but I want a vest.” She mumbled, looking around at him before her gaze flickered up to the phoenix. “Want someone to make his stupid beak stay shut too.”

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