pawstepsinthesnow

Jackpot. Ground streaks in a riot of colors strutted, pecking at the ground under a stand of birch. Nameless licked her tusks in giddy anticipation and flattened herself to the ground in the underbrush. Delicious, delicious streaks, fat on fall berries and seeds, ripe for the plucking. All she had to do was grab one. The birds were foolish and slow. If she was lucky, she might even be able to nab two or three with her Greheli magic before they took flight. She crept closer, wiggling her haunches, planning her approach… And burst forth. Chaos reigned in a whirl of screeching streaks and beating wings. Her jaws closed around one streak, and a few more crashed to the ground-- gravity suddenly too high for them to take off. She collected them with a few quick jabs of her kill claws, and was just starting to hang her kills off her belt when she turned and finally noticed the other ketucari in the clearing. Her first thought: Damn. Must be losing my touch if I missed an entire slab of

Shani swept across the floor of the Banukel, purring low in her throat as she made sure Everything was exactly in order. The catering? Excellent, of course, as she and her apprentices had handled it themselves. The lighting? She'd trust in the technicians. The decorations? Hm. She moved a set of balloons a few inches to the right. That looked a fair bit better. After all, with so many visitors coming to town, she had to make sure her city was welcoming. === Akihisa threw the door to the club open with a howl; "Coming in hot!" he charged inside, his steps light and prancing, tail hooked over his back. Someone who didn't know him might assume that was to keep the bag of supplies secure on his back. Anyone who did know him knew better. "Special delivery for one Shani!" the orange toa announced, prancing over to the crimson kadin with a grin. "Damn, is it hot in here or is it just you?" Without waiting for a response, he'd flopped down to dig in his bags, pulling out a holopad.

The streets of Messus felt even busier than normal today, what with all the new visitors from other worlds. Hinoka had begged for ramen, but the usual stand was so clogged up they'd been forced to look elsewhere. Asuka found himself padding down some side alleys he hadn't traveled in a bit, drawn by the scent of yakitori. But he kept swearing he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Something... yellow? "I think we're being followed." he murmured to Hinoka, hopefully low enough that he wouldn't be overheard. == It had been a long time since Hinoka had seen this many people. She skipped along, ducking and weaving after Asuka, looping around strange aliens to keep pace with her long-legged boss. They ducked down an alleyway--there were aliens here, too! A really scary one with a beak, organs showing through their skin who was carefully bagging some sort of dripping crystal taken from a cloaked alien--they passed the pair too quickly for Hinoka to ask what that was about, before

"Focus. Hold the shield in your mind." Amrita leaned her heavy paw harder against Ruairi's fragile Reflect shield. “Your survival will depend on your control. Think of your magic as part of your body. Use it like a limb.” He gritted his teeth, trying to reinforce it under the pressure, pushing more of his power into it.. The shield wavered, but held. It was an interesting feeling. A lot like what the Matriarch said-- like he had another limb, but one that could be molded like clay. Simultaneously he was pushing it from the outside and manipulating it as if it was his own paw. The Matriarch withdrew her paw with pride in her eyes. “...A good start, young one.” She patted his head with one of those broad paws, like a cub, and he scowled at her pettily, but finally allowed himself to take a breath. Relief flooded through him. He’d managed this basic task, at least. He finally released the magic, his shield dissipating in front of him. Kalyani made a scoffing noise in the back of