InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I can has plotbunny plz?"

( you yourself are nothing so divine ) matthias. (infavour) wrote in thebreed,
@ 2008-06-22 02:36:00

you've given in to all these reckless dark desires;
It probably came as no surprise that the various therianthropes were drawn to the woods or the mountains that surrounded Denver in fits and bursts. There was nothing particularly ‘wrong’ with the numerous parks that were scattered throughout the city, but there were only so many times they could be visited before it all seemed a little too artificial, boxed in and restricting. It was better out here in the wilderness for so many reasons, not least of all because no one group had ever been able to lay claim to the woods or mountains, respectively. They were too large, too sought after, and had they been claimed by different factions, fighting would have broken out.

Not that Matthias would have cared. He liked fighting, along with one or two choice others in the Tolstov Clan, and he had no doubt that they would have joined right in if arguments over the land had turned violent. Oh well. Opportunity missed.

For a therianthrope, at least one like Matthias who had spent the first dozen-or-so years of his life waiting for his first change, being in animal form was like a breath of fresh air, a liberating sense of freedom that encompassed not only the senses, but every inch of his body, from head to foot, or tail, considering his current state. Sometimes, there was nothing better than answering that silent, internal call, feeling that itch beneath the skin fade as the transformation overcame everything, shifting man into beast. Then there was running, really opening up and going flat out, and Matthias had a feeling that, had he been a wolf, he would have been the sort to just cry out his exhilaration to the sky, corny as cliché as that was.

But there would be no howling. Hyenas did not howl, nor did they bark. Like all others of his kind, regardless of whether they were brown, striped or — as he was himself — spotted, he had a rather restricted selection of vocalisations, not that he was being particularly loud. For a change. Instead, he was wandering this way and that, obviously at random, following his feet or his nose, whichever took control in the moment, weaving lazily between the trunks, heading nowhere in particular.

( LEAH )

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purplewinged
2008-06-22 02:45 am UTC (link)

That was something they had in common: Leah had not been a therianthrope long (indeed, she had little idea just how long she would be one), but the appreciation and longing for the freedom that only came with one's animal body, with spreading her wings under the watery light of the moon, had settled into her bones as readily as those bones took to owl form. The woods were not her most frequented spot--she still had some rather unsettling dreams since being attacked by the were-owl there--but every now and again the stifling buildings and glass and perfectly pruned trees sent her wandering into the dark and cool places of the woods. She flew; she always flew. When she got there, it was a study in self-discipline: balancing the desire to flap out between the trees, and to maintain her human form. It was something she needed to do, really. Leah worried, sometimes, seeing other therianthropes wandering Denver, that transforming too often woud kill any desire to be human at all.

She had enough to worry about, anyway.

But at the moment, she was just plain old Leah, her arms still working slightly from their recent winged forms, sitting on a log in a small clearing. It was easier to transform in clearings, if a little riskier: her owl form was so small, she was still getting used to where her arms and legs would pop out when she was through, and old scrapes on her limbs were testament enough to how often that worked out. Her ears caught the sound of approaching feet before she was really aware of it, and it was only that lingering sense of heightened awareness that shot her to her feet, looking around nervously.

"Hello?" she said, only realising once the words were out of her mouth how stupid that was. Really, who was going to say hello back, if they were creeping up on her? Hadn't she learned anything from all those years of horror films? She took a step back instead, ready to run should something present itself. It only took a few moments to transform. A leap and a thought and she could be airborne in seconds.

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infavour
2008-06-23 04:10 pm UTC (link)

If Matthias were to ever meet a therianthrope who shied and pulled away from their transformations, he would immediately judge them, call them ‘inferior’ and say they weren’t worth his time, and that they certainly didn’t deserve to be what they were. Therianthropy was not a curse, even though it had its minor downfalls, like never being able to tolerate silver, but when it was all laid out and observed with a logical eye — something Matthias did have despite evidence to the contrary — it was plain to see that the pros far outweighed the cons. But then again, perhaps he wasn’t the best person to ask; he had been born this way, raised with an understanding of it so it wouldn’t come as any shock or surprise. He’d had a head start, effectively, that not everyone was privy to.

As it happened, the hyena that loped stealthily through the trees had caught onto a scent that didn’t belong to the woods just as he heard the voice carry, his rounded ears tipping back and then pitching forward, immediately curious rather than concerned. Perhaps that made him foolish, that desire to investigate that easily overwhelmed any instinct to be wary or cautious in his approach, but he never pretended to be anything other than what he was. Clan members such as Jacob would ridicule him, but the old male had very little right to really criticise him nowadays.

The sound that escaped from his long, reinforced throat wasn’t all that dissimilar to a chuckle, and had he been in human form, it could very well have been some sort of laugh. But in his hyena body, with all the restrictions and vocal limitations thereof, it was a curious sound, a sort of chatter that, in its own way, served as a response to the slightly cliché query that had been called out. He could see her now, catlike sight compensating for the gloom and shadow, and taking in a deep breath, he all but bared his canines in a grin. Well, well.

Stepping out from the shelter of the trees surrounding the small clearing, he regarded her for only a moment in his hyena form, dark eyes catching the tiny flickers of light from above, before he reversed his own transformation, the change smooth and obviously practised; disciplined and comfortable. Giving his head a small shake, mostly to get the rebellious bangs from his face, he reached up a hand to rake them back, giving the female a smile. “Hello yourself.”