A new reflection ~open~

[Lex]

Reno was walking lightly over the sand dunes, sweating even though he hadn't come here too long ago. At the Time of Darkness it was nice and cool just how he liked it, but during the Time of Light the heat was almost too hot to bare. If it wasn't for him usually seeing an already dried up plant that could possibly be a herb he would just curl up and go to sleep so that he would be able to spend more time traveling in the dark. The problem with that though was that he had a harder time in spotting possible herbs. Stopping to bend down and dig up another herb, it turned out to be a rare Sylvia root. He smiled, clearly proud, and placed the roots into his bag. He went a little while further before seeing some strange tall trees, and some sort of body of water.

Walking up to the water Reno looked down into to find some stranger looking back up at him. They stare at each other for quite the while before Ren reached out and poked the figure. It caused the image to ripple in little waves and bend, it was kind of funny. He hadn't really seen himself in quite the while, the mountains were so nicely cold that water hadn't been able to survive there without freezing, but now he was in some dessert. Noticing that the thing in the water was just a reflection of himself, Ren noticed that he looked pretty bad. Not being around water, drinking from plants that hold it instead, he hadn't gotten the chance to clean up in... well, he couldn't remember when. It had been so recent since he lost his memory, in fact he hadn't really known what he looked like till now. There was still red staining the back of his head and his face was a little dirty from where he tripped at one point, plush his knee which he could clearly see had at least healed over, but besides that he looked fine.

Splashing the water roughly instead of just poking it again, Reno continued to mess with his reflection fondly. He was oblivious of all surroundings, not really caring if someone thought he was mad to seemingly be fighting water; Who's to say he isn't? After a few more strikes he stood up and felt the back of his head. He felt a sharp pain but neither flinched or so much as twitched, just stood there, staring at the water. 'I should probably clean up..' He resolved, and planned to do just that. Taking a few steps backward, he ran and jumped in the water, fully clothed, having only the time to throw his pack against one of the trees so it didn't get wet. Once in the water he rolled up his pant leg and cleaned off his knee then rolled it back down after that, finally concerned enough, he looked around, wondering if someone had come around.

[Alice&Bennett]

Alice was napping serenely under the quiet shade of the trees when she heard a struggling sound close by. While the noise wasn't particularly loud, she was quite sensitive to sounds that could mean danger for her. She awoke quickly and eased herself up off the soft moss of the ground, being careful to stay hidden in the leaves of the oasis trees. With her keen eyesight, she spotted a boy splashing at his reflection in the water with a playful sheen to his actions. No, not a boy, a man, and a rather unclean one at that. Her delicate nose wrinkled as a feeble breeze blew his scent over by her. Most humans may not have noticed yet, but being half elf and half dryad, she had acute senses.

Tip-toeing closer, she peeked her small face around a large leaf and watched curiously as he jumped into the water, flinging his pack close to where she was. Well, she thought, at least he has the decency to clean himself. As he rolled up his pant leg, she hoped nothing else would come off, because she found interest in watching him. Stepping closer still, she knew she could be seen if he looked hard, but maybe he could be a friendly...

[Lex]

Reno got the feeling of being watched, he didn't understand what it was, but he tried to ignore it. He was having fun with his water playing. He didn't really get that he was having fun, only knowing that he was not bored, but that's what he was doing, having fun. He did look around slowly, wondering if anything big would stand out to him, but nothing did, it was so bright he also wondered mildly if he'd be able to see in the time of Dark better. As a Snow leopard he could, but he didn't really know that yet. Turning back to the water Ren remembered to wash the back of his head also. He ducked his head under the water and rubbed the back, ignoring the pain without having to try. There was a little problem though. When he tried to breath under the water, it choked him!

Rushing back out of the water Reno coughed up a mouthful of water and a bit more. That was not the best thing to do, at least he knew now that he couldn't breath under the water. Gasping for breath, Ren laid down on his stomach, still coughing a little. That had scared him and he felt like resting now. He was cooler from the water but now he was more tired, yet couldn't sleep. The feeling of a creature watching still loomed about, that feeling was what wouldn't let him sleep, in fact it sort of drove him into a panicking feeling. "Out." He demanded in his simple vocabulary, if the thing was going to attack him, let it do it now instead of depriving him of a nap. He'd just shift and fight back, not feeling the strength to run.

[Alice&Bennett]

Alice chuckled at him, watching him play. He was so very childlike for someone who wasn't a child. It seemed like he was having trouble comprehending the simplest of things, but without even trying he had a natural instinct to know what to do. He was strange, alright. Maybe this wasn't the best idea I could have had, she thought cautiously. Should she run now? She could rush into a flight faster than anyone she knew, but...he didn't look dangerous. Yea, wow, that proves so much, she criticized inwardly at herself. She should know, better than anyone, how someone could be dangerous while appearing docile. She should know. But she didn't appear to, because Alice remained rooted to the spot, still watching, making slight ruffling sounds in the leaves to get his attention. Her dark eyes were riveting, sparked with interest and the shy glint of the sun trying to make its way through the thick leaves of the palm trees and bushes.

Light glared off the crisp-looking water, making it harder to see where his eyes were. Had he discovered her yet? Maybe, but maybe not. She froze as he stilled, looking carefully towards where she was. "Out," he muttered uneasily. Was he scared? Of her? Perhaps he didn't see her, but instead sensed her. Once again, the opportunity to run flitted by, and it was probably the last. Alice stepped out from behind the trees and opened her mouth, shutting it again when she saw how his wet clothes clung to the lean muscles of his body, the sun making the droplets of water on his back shine brightly like jewels. He was quite handsome, and it took away her words for a moment.

"I mean... no harm," She began in a low, soothing voice. It chimed out across the space between them, floating on the invisible breezes like music notes, reverberating in a theater. Her voice was calming, she'd been told, like a lullaby if she used it right, and sweet as honey to the ears. She didn't want to frighten him, instead Alice wanted to get a closer look at his body and she still hadn't seen his face... but hopefully it matched. Now she sincerely doubted he would cause her harm, by looking at him, and yet she still knew she could be wrong, so she didn't step too close yet. "Who are you...?"

[Lex]

The one to come out of the green leaves of the plants they'd been hiding in had not really been expected by Reno to have once been so close to. He couldn't really make out the detailed features of this new arrival from all the radiating brightness that comes with Time of Light that messes with his vision, but he could tell it was someone with light colored hair like the sand itself, along with the darkest eyes he'd ever seen, compared to his own without color that wasn't much, but still, it's the same. In fact it was the first ever creature he'd ever seen walking on two feet besides himself, it was kind of strange, yet exciting. Feeling the sense to get up Ren hauled himself onto his feet as well, brushing off what he could of the wet sand. That was the problem with laying on the sand, it sticks to you, but being wet too? He managed to get the worst of it off, but there was still more that refuged to be removed.

It wasn't as threatening once the one who had been hidden came out, Reno hadn't really been looking right at it, but it was close enough. While looking up Reno took more into in the figure of the one before him. It's stance wasn't threatening at all and the voice sounded just as easy going, he didn't see anything wrong that would lead it into attacking him so he smiled and nodded, "Reno." he gave the creature his name without bothering to ask for its own. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, it looked so different from himself and yet the same. "What you are?" He asked, completely confused. He knew he was a creature that changed shape, but that was pretty much it, he had no clue of other beings let alone what a girl was. It would probably funny if not at least kind of amusing that this was his first encounter with something that spoke back.

[Alice&Bennett]

He spoke so simply, uneducated-like. She stood, watching him smile at her as if he had discovered something, and wondered what answer she could give to, "What you are?" Alice quickly averted her eyes from his to the sand he had swiped off himself, to give herself time to think of an acceptable answer. "I am half elf, half dyrad; a mixed breed." She told him, almost uneasily. What if he was... one of them? That looked for her. That she ran from. They often come from nowhere.

Her voice shook slightly, betraying her emotions to this... this... what was he? She scanned his body again, lingering on his hands and face, her eyes quick and decisive. He wasn't of them humans, and he wasn't of the elves, and he wasn't of the dryads. He was something Alice wasn't too familiar with. Considering how little he spoke, she doubted he knew the term for it himself. That's it! she thought. He speaks very little, and it's quite broken, like he's having trouble understanding what he sees. He has a very human-like shape, but there's an air about him. He must be a shifter.

"I'm... Alice." She sang, a tense smile gracing her mouth. Taking a few more steps towards the stranger, she reached out and stroked his jawline with her thin fingers, carefully at first to gauge his reaction. I never learn, she thought absently, drifting through her mind easily trying to obtain a vision. Touching things, people and such, helped her see them more clearly. Maybe they met once as children, or maybe they've never met at all. Perhaps they had a future together, also. To know, she needed more contact, but she held back to see how he took her in.

[Lex]

Reno watched the.. Mix-breed, as it called itself, sort of overly interested like, he would probably ask more about what a dryad and elf were at a later date, but he'd rather take things one at a time. As the first to ever talk back to him in words he could understand, was there really a reason that he shouldn't be fascinated? When Alice grew uneasy about something, he started to grow a little uneasy himself, thinking there was something threatening around that he couldn't pick out but the Mix-breed could. So long as whatever was around didn't seem to have a desire of harming him, Ren would be okay with it no matter appearance, though with his interest in finding out what exactly it was and what it was capable of he'd have to rely that if it sensed something he didn't, he would have to take that as just something it was able to do. He's sort of sensitive to the emotions around him when other are there, but that's just another thing he must do to survive.

When approached by Alice as he gave her another name besides 'Mix-breed' Reno could guess that that was the Mix-breed's name. It was odd to him how he sorted such things out so quickly, but he didn't question it, it was just something he did. 'I wonder if there is another name to further describe what the Mix-breed is?' He thought to himself, there must be a broader category Mix-breed was under, like the large black scale and small scaled quickster (snakes) were placed under Reno's ground crawler's book that was in his mind.

Alice's tense smile was quite odd, Reno didn't know what was to be worried about, his frame went blank as he just stared, wonder to himself for a bit. It wasn't a good thing on how easy it was for him to become panicked, but he was starting to get somewhat panicked anyway. While almost fully approached he thought about turning to run, but his curiosity on what the Mix-breed was going to do kept his feet where they were. He also had a better view of what he was talking to now. To his surprise he thought it.. hmm.. 'Cute.' The real word alluded him, but at least he could come up with that one. The figure seemed graceful when Alice walked, and the touch was gentle, it also soothed him. From a habit of his feline part he enjoyed being stroked, he closed his eyes and had a satisfied grin on. Though he enjoyed the delicate touch, it still scrambled his thoughts, making him forget about his question; it made him forget that Alice seemed tense about something also.

[Alice&Bennett]

Feeling his body relax through her sensitive fingers, she raised up her other hand and took his face in hers. She was shorter than him, but he wasn't a giant, and she quiet easily brought his face down to hers. She gently touched her nose to his forehead, brushing her lips across his brow, before a gasp broke through her lips and she stopped moving. A vision.

A series of images, blurring by too quickly to really be studied. A dark, dank place. A big white... cat? Happiness. Comfort. Plants and books, writing. And then a flashback, from his life alone, hit her full force. Curiosity mixed with worry as he went back to check on a noise. A steep ledge, and falling. And then... nothing. A white blankness that sent fear into her heart. Alice's mind pulled away from his, ending the vision.

She shook herself, releasing him and stepping back slightly. Her body was slowly relaxing, she didn't see any mention of Bryce and his many men in this strange shifters past. The feeling of nothing was hard to shake off, and she wondered if that's what he saw in himself every day. If so... then does he remember his own past? Should she tell him, or even ask? Questions burned on her tongue, but she kept a straight face and whispered, "You have a very... interesting memory, Reno."

[Lex]

It was rather strange how Alice acted, at least it was very different from how everything else acted. Nothing else ever bothered to come near Reno when he moved, always getting frightened and running away. It was nice to be able to interact without everything being scared that he was going to eat them, although that was somewhat true. Some of the other creatures he had caught before coming to the desert or in it were captured then eaten, so Ren didn't really blame the others for being afraid of him, he was a hunter after all, a carnivore. Sure he ate some plants in order to feel better or get the water from them but they never tasted good, they tasted disgusting actually, but it was necessary to survive.

Reno leaned down a bit without a struggle, the Mix-breed didn't seem harmful, in fact it was nice; he'd never met anything like it that he knew of. When brought down to level he looked on filled with curiosity but looking on the outside as if he didn't have a care in the world what was happening. It was a little worry-some when Alice gasped then stopped moving and he was about step back to see what was the matter but soon Alice was the one to step back and tell him he had a good.. memory? He wasn't familiar with that word and yet he knew it meant his past. It was odd yet perfectly understandable, which just made it that more odd. Standing back up straight Ren thought that a Mix-breeds' greeting was very strange. That's how he saw all this, as a first meet and greet, he wondered lightly if everything on two legs greeted in such a manor. This day was quite the learning experience, and he loved learning new things.

"No not what my.. Nemori be. Not have one." Reno said with a childish grin on, his question came back to him as quick as it'd gone, "But, what you are? I know Alleec the Mix-bread but a larger category is there?" Thinking and speaking were completely different things when applied to Ren, he could think clearly and understand plenty but couldn't put it into words unless someone gets him to repeat and correct himself. All he wanted for now was to find out all he could until his curiosity was satisfied; That may take awhile.

[Alice&Bennett]

ooc: hey im on vaca right now n so i cnt rly get on. my bad, i jst thot i'd steal a few moments to let you kno. i'll be back soon tho!