~Exilon's Night Party - Dridder Forest Edition~

A loud 'clop' sound suddenly echoed through the cave, the result of Exilon's feet hitting a bare spot of stone on the floor. She walked over to Kleos and patted his back heartily, smiling at him. She then held up a page ripped from her notepad, enchanted to be readable in whatever language the reader would most easily understand.

"That's it, man. Let it all out."

Well that didn't last long, only been here for several minutes and already the 'Knight Templar' has kick started his 'Holier Than Thou' routine.  

So not a party person.

Winona decided it was best not to say anything, life long experaince has taught her that her participation in such matters just muddies the water.

Afterall, when it came to predatory prowess, Winona was proberly the worst (or rather, the best) person in the room...ugh, cave.

Were Persephone the type to brood, she would have spent the next few minutes after hearing Kleos's rant silently judging him. After all, who was he? A human. Or, well, close enough in all the important ways. Here was a creature whose life was based on its consumption of other life - whether animal, plant, or other - who thought it had the right to deprecate and accuse. How many living things had been killed, eaten, and "absorbed" by this guy in his lifetime? Why did he deserve to exist? Because his kind was special - better or more worthy than the ones off which it fed? The Dridder could easily make the same argument.
However, she wasn't the type to waste her limited brainpower on this for more than a few seconds. She'd gone down this train of thought before and already knew where it ended. Rather she was interested in seeing how violently the Dridder would respond to all of this. Had she been berated this vituperatively before? Was she the type to lose her cool over it?

Ah the infamous "How can you feel no remorse?" question. Something that has plagued predators for as long as any of them that talked to their catch could remember. With a cave full of people she would normally consider prey, it was inevitable that at least one of them would ask something like that, yet it still angered her. Poss stood her ground, her irritation could be visible in her eyes. When she spoke, it was with a firm and assertive tone.

"It is true that I have eaten a lot of people, but that doesn't mean I'm an abomination. I'm not forcing anyone to be here that doesn't want to be here. This party is for everyone's enjoyment." She then stood perpendicular to the cave's mouth, her left arm pointing out into the forest. "You're free to leave any time you wish. I won't stop you."

Nyaha has reserved the next post.

(Sorry about that. I would've posted sooner but the forum wasn't working properly for me. Seems to be okay now, though.)

Exilon stepped back from Mort after Poss spoke. She really hoped he wouldn't choose to leave. Not only did the party need as many people as possible at this point, but when she talked to him earlier when inviting him, she'd wanted to convince him that 'predators', as they're called, are people, too, a belief she'd been raised with since being born in the Rosic's village out east. She really wanted the opportunity to change his mind and if he left, she wouldn't get it.

Astrid mews nervously. "Nyaa, you really shouldn't be rude to our hostess. I mean, she's going out of her way and is allowing us to party in her home. Besides, not all preds are bad. Would you think that I'm bad?" She grins cutely with an ear cocked to the side. "I hunt and eat tinies, but at the same time I'm close friends with some tinies, and even have tinies as my family."

"This is madness... I assure you, I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't the will of Oth."

Kleos looks up again and replies in a firm tone of his own.

"I've seen too many people fall victim to you fiends. I've seen hordes of you monsters devouring countless innocent people who wanted nothing more than to speak to you peacefully. They were my brothers and sisters of Oth. Whenever I look at you, I hear their screams inside my head. I hear them cry out for help as they never again see Oth's light!"

He takes a deep breath and then exhales slowly, helping him to calm down.

"Okay... I'm done talking to you. Neither of us have anything to gain from this. So I'm just going to stop talking and try to enjoy myself. But I'm not taking my eyes off you. Know that, Dridder."

As he passes Astrid, he answers her question.

"No you aren't bad. You're worse. You would eat the very people who you had befriended. It is abhorrent."

With that, Kleos takes another deep breath and sighs. He wanders over to a secluded part of the cave and sits against the wall with his head in his hands. Sitting there, he takes deep breath after deep breath. Inside his head he feels ashamed for snapping like that, but he'd never admit it. Especially not to the Dridder. It isn't in his nature to be violent. Not even with words. But being in the presence of a predator is making him act differently. A deep rooted hatred and bloodlust that he has been supressing for a long time. He is pacificistic and wont intentionally harm. But he can only bury his emotions, nothing can ever get rid of them for good.

He instinctively raises his head to look at the Dridder and then lowers it again. Suddenly he has strongly mixed feelings. Part of him wonders if maybe she really isn't a monster. But raising hs head to look at her again only brings back his anger and he dismisses the thought. She has to be evil. Predators aren't good people. They can't be good people. They can't.

"I came here to get away from these kind of discussions." Winona mumbled, reaching into her hangbag for her stash of catnip.

It's quite baffling how too few people around Felarya adopt a more Objective perspective given the world's choatic qualities, One would have thought that most of the Fundamentalists and the idealists would have died, gone insane or simply buggered off by now. This world is simply not kind to those of people.

That kind of thinking never did Winona any favors, thats for sure. You have to bitch up and adapt, or this world will eat you alive...figuratively and literally.

Winona pulled out a pre-made four-inch Catnip blunt.

"This should perk things up." She grinned, lighting it up and sticking it into her mouth.

Persephone didn't consider herself a social butterfly - back at home, most of her interactions with people were either polite attempts to not make enemies or clandestine attempts to manipulate them. But it seemed obvious enough to her that the party had taken a somber turn and someone would have to do something to blow away the little cloud of angst Kleos was emitting. So for the moment she put herself in "friendly mode."
"Well, I'm glad we got that over with at the beginning - now we can all enjoy the rest of the party without wondering how long it'll be before somebody snaps. Anyway, what are the plans regarding things to eat? Is dinner going to be served?" she more or less announced, standing up, clapping her hands, and addressing no one in particular.

Exilon clapped her hands in response to Persephone, giving the room a smile and gesturing to tables that had been set up around the walls of the cave and the base of the tree in the center of it, most of which had an assortment of food, snacks, and drinks set about on them. Exilon picked up a pink, spiral-shaped pastry from a tray and took a bite, then lifted her shoulders and tensed her body at the incredibly sweet flavor, then looked at the people and made a circular motion in front of her with her palm upward, attempting to convey that the rest of the guests could do what she just did, too. There were also things like flat, dried wheat products with various flavours and spices, short tubes of meat nestled in soft bread with condiments placed nearby, and even cupcakes! Exilon had truly went all out to make sure there'd be a nice variety at this party, though it would be clear to everyone who looked around that the confections-to-guests ratio had been severely overestimated.

While trying to draw everyone's attention to the free food and drink, Exilon took a glance up at Poss, concerned for her friend and host's emotional well-being. She had really not thought that Kleos would blow up like that when she offered him his invitation. He'd seemed so much more reserved than that. Exilon glanced around the tree at Kleos next, considering going over and helping him sort through some of the thoughts he must be having.

After sitting for a while, Kleos noticed Exilon making a gesture to come and get the free food and drink. While he was still torn up about his outburst, he was very hungry. Slowly getting to his feet he wandered over to the food and was careful not to make eye contact with anyone. When he arrived he surveyed the table and was impressed with the amount of food and the way it had been presented. Though there seemed to be alot more food than was necessary for this amount of people. Kleos murmured a quiet prayer and made a holy gesture before looking back at the food again. He went for the meat tubes in buns. They looked pretty good. Picking one up he paused for a moment and then, with unusual speed, devoured it in two bites. He picked up another and ate it just as quickly. And another. And another. Then he switched to some pastries and ate most of those in a single bite also. With incredible speed he devoured enough food to feed two people and then had a drink of water, which was also consumed very quickly.

After wiping his mouth with a napkin, he moved onto some desserts. Like a man possesed, he picked up an entire cheesecake in his hands, taking huge bites of it, and within a minute it was gone. He went for a bowl of gelatin next and poured the whole thing into his mouth, clearing it in seconds. Finally he took yet another huge drink of water and then stopped. Breathing heavily from the physical effort of eating so quickly, he suddenly froze and slowly looked at Exilon. It had suddenly occured to him that the way he ate might have offended her.

"Uhm... Sorry about that. Its kind of a long story but ah... yeah I'll leave it at that."

He smiled and continued.

"Thanks for the food by the way. I appreciate your generosity. Oth bless you."

He made another holy gesture and then looked back at the tables again. For a moment he considered resuming his eating rampage but thought against it. He'd already shamed and embarrassed himself twice now in front of his hosts. Kleos simply sat on a chair next to the tables and silently looked at the ground.

(I'm gonna' wait for other posts before I reply again.)

Possios considered going over and trying to talk things out with Kelos, but after seeing him engage Exilon in conversation, and eat a ludicrous amount of food that made her think about his apatite for food, that she simply sat there with a somewhat defeated look on her face. She was hoping tonight would go without that kind of outburst, but she agreed with Persephone that it's better for it to happen at the beginning of the party rather an hour or so in.

She decided to put the issue behind her and sat in a social stance with her legs folded under her abdomen and began speaking to Persephone. "Looks like you've got plenty to eat. I'm Possios by the way."

Astrid walks over to the food and starts to eat some, then looks at Kleos. "Nya, who's Oth? And don't worry, I understand your sentiment about me. I don't mind, everyone is allowed their own opinions."

Persephone was flattered to be noticed so quickly by someone who was apparently important in this circle. Sure, she considered herself to be a big deal too, but that was no reason not to be humble when it was appropriate.
"Ah, nice to meet you, Possios. I'm Persephone W. Norman, capsuleer."
She figured she'd give Possios a chance to ask the questions for a little while before asking too many herself, such as what made her decide to be a "safe" predator and so on.

Exilon saw Kleos freeze and look towards her. He'd have seen a wide grin plastered on her fac, her body shaking as if she were laughing at him, but without any sound. After he sat down, she raised her pen to her notepad as she walked towards him. When she arrived, she lowered the note into his field of vision.

"You know what irony is, right?" it read. "Eating like that after berating someone for their diet."

Exilon would give Kleos a hearty pat on the back as soon as he was finished reading, still smiling.

After reading Exilon's note, Kleos looked away and frowned.

"It is not the same thing at all. Not the same. I do not eat things that still draw breath."

He looked back at Exilon's smiling face. He wondered why anyone could take this issue so lightly. In fact, it seemed like the vast majority of people in this cave were sympathetic to predators. He couldn't understand why anyone would sympathise with creatures that don't even consider them equals. Predators consider humans, nekos and the like to be mere food. They aren't our friends. Far from it.

While deep in thought, he heard Astrid ask him who Oth was. He instantly perked up and shook off his negative thoughts. Smiling a bright smile, he spoke to Astrid with genuine enthusiasm.

"Who is Oth? Excellent question! But the truth is, you already know who Oth is. After all, you see his light every day. Whenever you see the light rise on the horizon, you see him. Whenever you feel the warmth of the light envelop your body and fill you with peace, you feel him. For the light is his, a manifestation of his great power. Myself and other Othemites believe that Oth is the source of light in this world. He is the source, and we who believe and follow his teachings are his beacons. We Othemites bring his light to all corners of the universe in order to conquer the darkness and bring order to the chaotic dark."

Kleos suddenly realised that not only had he stood up from his chair, he had also taken a preaching pose with one hand on his heart and the other lifted into the air. He lowered his arms and continued.

"Got a little carried away there. In short, Oth is the god of light and is known by many names. 'Light bringer' and 'Sun god' to name a few. Though no one has ever seen Oth in person. For his light is too brilliant and blinding for any mortal to behold."

He sat down again and crossed his legs.

"I hope that answers your question. Please, feel free to inquire further. It is very pleasing to find people interested in learning more about Oth. Spreading knowledge of his existence is our duty after all."

Winona snapped out of her catnip induced high and realised everyone had gathered around the party table while she was spacing out.

"...Shit."

She hurried over to the table, as she got nearer she heard the Knight templer was still going on. By the sounds of it someone had asked him about Oth. Winona struggled against the temptation not to take another suck out of her blunt.

Winona got a plate and focoused solely on the soft breads with the tubes of meat inside, rapidly piling one after another onto her plate, only turning away when she coulden't fit on anymore. She then started snacking on her collection, bringing one of her breads to her mouth and chomping into it.

"Mmm...beef." She mumbled, taking a moment to savour the taste.

As she listened to Kleos go on about the light of Oth, Exilon wrote up a slightly longer note, taking up both the front and back of the page she was using. There was something she'd always wanted to say to people who didn't understand giants, and Kleos would be the first to hear it. Or, well, read it.

After he sat down again, Exilon audibly tore the note off her notepad and placed it in Kleos' lap, then turned and walked away. She headed over to one of the people she knew would get her - Winona - writing up another note as she walked. She threw her arm around the white-haired neko's shoulder, grinning ear to ear as she held the note in her field of vision.

"Took time off work just to swing by? I'm touched!"

The note she left with Kleos had a slightly different tone, however. "First, I didn't call you a hypocrite, I just said it was ironic. Second, it is the same thing, if you see it from her viewpoint, which is something you're gonna' have to learn to do if you plan on influencing anyone."

Winona read Exilon's note and grinned.

"If by 'took time off work' you mean 'Shirking from my "responsibilities"' then yes, I took time off." Winona smirked. "What the 'higher-ups' don't know won't hurt them."

Astrid nods. "Nya, I see now. That's pretty cool." She tilts her head. "So...do all people who follow Oth have the same opinion on predators as you do?" She examined him for a moment. "Because it actually seems like something happened...maybe you lost a family member to a predator? Nyuuu, sorry, don't answer that. That's far too personal of a question for me to be asking, and its hardly the right place."

Kleos looked at Exilon's second note and read it. Without saying anything he folded up the note and placed it inside one of the pockets of his robe. He didn't want to deal with it right now. His mind was firmly closed for the moment and wasn't going to consider changing his mind. Inside his pocket, his finger grazed something metal. He retrieved it from his pocket. It was a ring. A ring made of gold, it had a sinister insignia, with a beautifully cut sapphire in the center of the crest. Kleos stared at the ring for a few moments and then placed it back in his pocket. It was very important to him, and he carried it everywhere he went.

Then, Astrid spoke. His expression darkened as he listened to her.

"I'm going to keep my history to myself. I'm sure you understand."

Whilst he spoke, his hand found its way back into his pocket where he lightly touched the ring. Cool to the touch, it brought back memories both great and terrible.

Exilon wrote another note right before Winona's eyes, her arm still wrapped around her shoulder.

"I can tell how much you enjoy your job, so it means a lot. Enjoy the party!"

Exilon would then begin walking away, turning to listen if Winona said anything else. She headed back over to the tree in the center of the room, hopping up and grabbing the edge of the lowest platform and hauling herself up on top of it. She checked to make sure her stamina drinks were there, and sure enough they were, up against the trunk of the tree, well out of sight from everyone below. She preferred to hide them from the audience in order to avoid speculations that she's taking some form of liquid drug to enhance her creativity or anything like that.

With everything in order, she turned toward her audience, surveying how much everyone looked to be enjoying themselves.

(If you would all be so kind as to describe what Exilon might see concerning your OCs along with your next posts, I'd appreciate it. ^_^)

(Hat; I totes made those drinks
YOU'RE WELCOME KITTY)