Blurry figures moved across Mezhas vision, moving all around the small space they occupied. Everything was blindingly bright, so the splotches of pastel blues and greens that surrounded her almost blended into the world around them. Their voices, the sounds of their instruments, and some kind of clattering mixed together into indistinct ambience. She could feel a shaking sensation as the world flew by before her eyes, like she was flying. Something with a strange flexibility to it was pressed to her face, and she felt a prick on her arm. Blackness dropped over her vision like blinds.
She woke up in a bright room laying in a bed, and opened her mouth, but no sound came out. In an instant, she was wide awake and had many questions. Was she okay? Where were her parents? In a haze, her hands suddenly felt warm and wet. She could hear panicked shouting, and a strong voice. Something firmly held her arms down, and she felt another prick on her arm. The room went dark again.
▲▼▲▼▲▼ Toran, Present Day ▼▲▼▲▼▲
Mezhas wasn't quite fond of cities, and often considered treks into them a necessary evil. Her disdain towards cities could be fairly easily understood if one knew her circumstances. Being mute, she couldn't easily communicate with anyone she met, though at least the scars on her neck made it obvious to those she encountered
why she didn't speak to them. She also couldn't let her gift be revealed, so Urst couldn't carry her around like he usually did. The only one of her companions she could consider summoning was Fulnit, but two foot long fire-spitting pupa don't make for good social lubrication either.
A sigh escaped her lips as she walked. She was mistaken for a young boy everywhere she went, and didn't have the energy - or ability - to correct anyone. This only served to further cement her desire to finish her errands and escape back to her campsite in the forest. She got along much better with natrelmon than she did with humans, and she dearly missed having the company of Kaisl, whom she'd gotten to know quite well.
▲▼▲▼ Toran Forest, One Week Ago ▼▲▼▲
Mezhas lounged in Ursts arms, making her way around the woods. She considered it a nice stretch of her legs from the errands earlier, and the faint crimson glow from Urst's black-rimmed eyes indicated to her that he felt the same. Moreso than Nomstel, Urst was easy to read. Then again, Urst was the first natrelmon she'd bound, so it was Natural that he was the one she knew best.
「Mezhas.」Urt's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, her eyes turning to the distance. The last time they'd come across something it was an Orkora, so she'd tempered her disappointment. She was floored when she caught a glimpse of purple in the clearing ahead. Urst let her down on the ground, and she slowly picked forward to peer at the creature in the distance.
「Is that... a Kujaku?」She asked Usrt, looking back at the tibearius. She was going off a vague description the doctor had given her, and resolved to study the less common natrelmon more. Beautiful blues and greens mingled in it's feathers, and unfamiliar symbols adorned it. Mezhas was, frankly, unsure if she would be able to capture this beast, and looked at her Relic, William, with uncertainty. She settled on no, and pursed her lips. While she didn't like the idea, she settled on using her gift.
Mezhas carefully made her way towards the creature, the flesh under her fingernails blackening as dark energies began to swirl at her fingertips. Her eyes, rimmed by a blood-red glow focused on the Kujaku, and she whispered an apology in her mind. The Kujaku's head turned abruptly to look directly at her, and she briefly froze. Only long enough for silence to reign for a heartbeat, and be broken by torrents of cloudy red mist to surge from the ground and envelop the creature, black chains whipping around it.
Mezhas grit her teeth, feeling severely guilty over what she was doing, the sinking into the Kujaku, which thrashed violently in it's binds. It was over moments after it had started, the Kujaku going limp as the chains holding it faded away. Urst joined Mezhas at the Kujaku's side, the girl gently petting her new companion.「I am sorry for what I've done.」She gave the Kujaku a telepathic apology, then held her Relic - a Weddlebek plushie - out.
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Mezhas broke free of her thoughts, shaking her head. She'd ended up wandering while daydreaming, she'd ended up close to Central Square. She mostly avoided the more central areas of the city, she didn't get along well with crowds. After getting her bearings, she groaned, about to start heading back for camp. Something caught her attention in the square, though.
She slowly picked her way down the street, stopping at the threshold of Central Square. Two other trainers had squared up, and Mezhas was pleased to find she'd arrived in time to see the first exchange. She hadn't had to really fight anything up to now, so seeing what she'd be up against was likely for the best. Especially if other powerful natrelmon like Kaisl were out there.
