Where Did You Go?

There was something that Lunie was beginning to notice over the past few weeks. He didn't know if others did, he'd never asked them. He'd kept the thought bottled up, worrying incessantly in his head. Truth was, the feluis was beginning to notice that were was a distinct lack of a colourful hairdo roaming the corridors.

It wasn't just anyone. Lunie didn't know her as well as he'd might know a close friend, but he'd at least enjoyed her company. So when she suddenly seemed to vanish from existence, that was a cause for concern. He noticed these things. The last time they'd met certainly hadn't been much of a happy time at all.

He wasn't sure exactly where her dorm was, he'd never been there before, but as he passed a wide-open door, curiosity nagged him to peer inside. Was this Raye's room..?

"Hello?" his voice cautiously squeaked, his wide green eyes squinting for the Jinn. "Is Raye in...?"

Raye had the only cushion in her room by the corner in her strong jaw, growling as she tossed the little black thing back and fourth playfully. She was in a much better mood that she was previously. Her stomach was getting more and more uncomfortable as the days without food grew in numbers. But it was only discomfort. She could handle that.

She was missing the outside world, though. She missed being in people presence. True, she had had people come in and sit with her for a little while but she missed being in big groups. Big groups were fun and they kept her awake. She had been asleep much longer than she had liked in the past month and had suffered through many nightmares. She really hated her Nightmare Disorder.

The Jinn looked up at the small voice, tail wagging behind her. She was in such a good mood that she couldn't find it in herself to be annoyed at him for interrupting her alone time like she had with the others.

She dropped the half-way mutilated cushion and bound over to him, rubbing against his side with her cat-like purr. "Lunie~!"

Lunie hadn't known what to expect when he first arrived at her door. Would she happy to see him? Sad? He'd developed a sort of paranoia that maybe she didn't want to see him, not if she'd been hiding all these weeks anyway. What if he did the wrong thing? He'd only been trying to help her, at least, that's what he believed.

He was thoroughly relieved to find her playing around in the room. Although, her canine-like appearance didn't fail to startle him slightly. It was tricky to get used to - feluis would sometimes fall victim to the common dog let off its lead. But a smile was assumed. This was Raye! She wouldn't harm him. At least, he hoped so.

His smile grew as she leapt towards him, and he crouched down to her level to stroke a hand down her spine. "Raye! You're here!!" He let out a giggle, happy at his small reunion. His head tilted as a look of questioning crossed his face. "Have you been in here for all the time? I was so worried! I not seen you anywhere for a long while so I thought you left... you know, like you said you would." The corner of his lip curled in an anxious smile. "I really missed you!"

The Jinn arched into his touch, her purr climbing in volume. "Where else would I be? Ndale's room?" She wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near Ndale's room at the moment. She fully intended to avoid the cheetah for a while.

Her head bobbed in answer to his question. "Yeah. Haven't found the need to leave quite yet." Which was true. She hadn't needed to leave. She wanted to leave. But leaving her room and still avoiding Ndale would be a difficult feat. One thing she knew about cats was they had a way of appearing when they weren't wanted.

"Ah, I'm sorry, pup. I did say I was going to be in here, though. You shoulda come 'round sooner, ne?" She nudged his cheek with the tip of her wet nose before slinking towards the blanket laid out in the corner. She sat on her haunches atop it and cocked her head to the side. "Like I said I... Oh! Nah, that shouldn't happen for another couple years yet. You've still gotta suffer my presence for a little longer before I leave for good."

"Aww, I missed you, too, pup~"

At the mention of Ndale's name, Lunie couldn't stop himself from cringing. Yes, he'd made up with the cheetah. Apologies had been made, and as far as he was aware, the tension that once resided between them had settled. Lunie's memory was foggy of the actual event, but he could remember how he could feel. Anger, hurt, but most of all, wholly confused. He bit his lip, saying nothing to the remark.

He seemed disappointed at Raye's apparent refusal of leaving the room. He tilted his head. Was she still mad? He hadn't had the chance to speak to Raye properly after it had all happened. Smiling meekly at the nudge, he followed Raye to where she sat, crawling on all fours.

"I'm sorry," he apologised, bowing his head slightly. "I should have come sooner! You must have been very lonely." Her statements seemed to further baffle the feluis, as shown by the plainly befuddled look on his face, not quite getting the sarcasm. "Suffer?" he echoed. "I don't suffer! I enjoy you around. You say a few sad things yes, but you're super nice!"

He smiled anxiously. "If you're still mad... Ndale said he was sorry, and I think he really meant it! And I'm sorry too!" He gave a quick glance around the room. "Where is the cloth I give you?"

The Jinn dipped her nose under his chin and nudged upwards. "No need to apologise, pup. I'm the one who's at fault here. And anyway, I haven't been entirely lonely. People have been passing by and coming to visit every now and again. And when they're gone I talk to the sheep. Really should give it a name..." she muttered, cocking her head and staring at the picked-clean skeleton sat a few feet away from them.

She blinked and turned back to him. "That was sarcasm." Okay, future note: Lunie doesn't understand sarcasm. She'd make an effort to not use sarcasm much around him any more.

"I'm not mad, just..." What was she? Confused mainly. Scared... "I'm not mad."

Raye ducked her head and her eyes wandered to a tattered, bloody piece of cloth lying pitifully in the middle of the room.

At the small nudge, he lout out a small, content purr that rumbled in his throat, before blinking at her words. His ears pricked with interest. "A name? I am good to giving names! I think it should be called---" his eyes slid towards the sheep in question thoughtfully. Then he froze, realising it wasn't the sort of of sheep he was used to seeing on the fields. He fell backwards onto his posterior in fright. "--Is that a dead thing?!"

He blinked. It couldn't be... Why would Raye ever keep dead things in her room? She was nice! Recovering from the momentary shock, he listened. The word 'sarcasm' was vaguely familiar, and in Lunie's definition, it was starting to mean something similar to 'lying'. Raye was lying?

As she looked to the almost unrecognisable cloth, which his eyes had previously skimmed over, he looked back, before gasping in shock. That was... his cloth? He scooped up the poor thing with one hand - its silky, smooth texture now rumpled and torn with dried blood. This would be impossible to wash out, considering its age. He sighed, upset that his generous little token could be left in such a state.

He didn't want to stay too upset for long, and he looked up to her again, trying to show an encouraging, toothy smile. "I'm not mad either... But more important thing is to be happy! Are you happy Raye?" He tilted his head in a questioning manner. "Do show a smile! Like someone bake a cake for you with your name on it! I want to see you with happy smile!"

Her head cocked to the side when Lunie fell back. Was keeping a skull really so odd? Well, people here seemed to be incredibly upset by death... "Well, he wasn't always quite so dead, but yeah..." Her eyes moved to the sheep. "So, what should we name him?"

She looked over at the Felius when he gasped and her ears pinned back on her head. She was feeling a little ashamed that she had left the cloth in such a bad condition, even if she wasnt exactly thinking straight at the time.

Happy...? Well, she guessed she was happy to some extent. As far as she knew, there wasn't really anyone that wanted to kill her. She wasn't constantly being used and abused. She had friends here.

So yes, she could say she was happy.

And thus she gave the kid a smile. Her teeth pulled back form her muzzle in what would have looked like a snarl if her tongue hadn't lolled out of the side of her mouth. Okay, so it still looked like a smile; it just looked a little less threatening. Though she did inwardly wrinkle her nose at the sound of cake. She wasn't one for sweet sugary foods like chocolate or cookies or cake.

"How.. how is he dead?" he asked, turning a naive glance on Raye. He couldn't have assumed that Raye would kill it herself - that would be much too barbaric! His brows furrowed. She still wanted to name dead things...? Very well. "...Dead..face." He nodded, reaffirming his decision. "Deadface." He reached out a tentative hand to pat said skull on the head softly. "I hope afterlife is kind for you..."

Taking his cloth, he slung it over his shoulder, planning to give it a thorough wash later. He probably wouldn't be able to get out all the stains, but he could at least attempt to salvage what he could.

Upon seeing her smile, his own was shortly returned - a wide, genuine one. She was happy! It was a great relief, and he could almost feel his heart flutter with joy. He didn't even take the time to be at all afraid at the baring of teeth.

"Dogs are so silly at smiling," he teased. "Look, see?" Pulling on the edges of his mouth with two fingers, he bore his teeth, allowing his tongue to lol out his mouth - a teasing imitation of Raye's smile. He couldn't mantain it for long before bubbling up in giggles at his own hilarity.

"I tore out its throat." She laid on her side and stretched out, looking at the skull as if it'd remind her of how she killed it. "No, wait, that was after it died... Did you die of asphyxiation or Exsanguination?"

Her eyes rolled up to meet his. "Deadface...?" That was...an odd name. "Kao Shinda." That sounded a little better. Yes, she'd name it Kao Shinda.

Her nose wrinkled and she stuck her tongue out at him childishly. "Our smiles aren't that silly." But she joined him in his laughter.

----------------------------
Kao Shinda - Dead Face

Lunie well intentioned smile notably faltered at her badly chosen words. If the fact that there was a dead sheep in her room wasn't unsettling enough, then she just added the fact that she was describing how she killed it. It was... it was frightening. He backed off a little, taking careful paces backwards as he eyed the door cautiously. Of course, he wanted to trust Raye with all his heart, but... "Why would you do that?" He didnt even take note of the awfully long words that he pretty much had no idea what they meant.

The name was baffling enough. Kao Shinda? What did that have to do with anything. "Is... is sheep, not cow."

His laughter was nervous. "Y-yes they is..." Again, he couldn't really relax with a self-admitted murderer in the room.

"I had to eat." Her shoulders rolled with a shrug. It wasn't a big deal. She was a hunter. She killed by nature. And sheep were the easiest prey to catch here on the island.

She gave a little chuckle. "Kao, not cow. Kao Shinda means dead face in the country I used to live in."

The Jinn sat up again and cocked her head to the side at his nervous laughter. Had she done something to make him uncomfortable? "Are you all right, Lunie?"

She had to eat... but she didn't have to tear out its throat. An image flashed across his mind... an innocent, dainty little sheep just plucking grass from the field, before a bloodthirsty hound charges and- and--- He gulped noticeably. looking to Raye, and to the skull again.

He might've displayed more interest in the odd language if it weren't for his sudden bout of nervousness. At her question, he started to nod... before it started to turn into the frantic shake of his head instead. "No... is.. is dead... dead..!" he pointed at his desperately, trying to conjure up some other word to describe it. Needless to say, he failed. "Dead... is.. thing is dead! DEAD." He whined. "You.. killed the dead and it.. so dead now, cause you kill! Is deead!" Hopefully Raye got the gist of what he was saying.

"Yes, Lunie, Kao is dead. And yes, I was the one to kill him." She sat up. "I'm a predator. It;s what we do."

Her cyan eyes flitted to the skull. "I didn't kill him for the fun of it, Lunie. I killed him to survive." Her eyes slid to him. "If I hadn't killed him I would have died of starvation."

She ducked her head and stared up at him. "Its the first time I've killed in months. I havent killed at all before him while I've been here on the island. I'm not going to kill a student here, pup." She shook her head softly.

Lunie wasn't entirely convinced by Raye's reassurance. He stood, his eyes wide as he listened, as she literally made a dog's dinner out of his morals. Claws slid in an our his fingertips, and his eyes pinned back cautiously. He wasn't fearful of Raye killing him or other students.... but there was something very wrong with not only killing, but talking about it in such an every day manner.

"You can eat other things! Maybe fruit or cereal or... anything! But not dead things!" he whined, striking out his lip in a stubbornly unhappy pout.

"Sheep could have family or baby shape, and you made them so sad." His brows scrunched into what almost looked like anger, if it hadn't looked so pitiful on him. "You're very bad!"

She stuck her tongue out in disgust. Fruit...? Cereal...? She barely managed to choke down a handful of nuts and berries every once in a while.

"He was old and sick." She laid down again, resting her head on her paws, eyes sliding shut as her mouth opened with a yawn. "He was going to die pretty soon anyway. If anything it was a mercy killing."

She had scouted out the herd beforehand, taking mental note of the young, old and sick - the easiest prey. Kao Shinda just happened to be the easiest to take down alone.

Her eyes fluttered open when he called her bad. It wasnt the worst thing she'd been called - hooo boy it definitely wasn't the worst - but coming from Lunie, she supposed it wasnt a light scold. He was truly unhappy that she had killed the sheep.

"I apologise, Lunie, but I won't stop hunting."

His pupils narrowed into unmistakably angry slits for a flash before they returned to something more normal - unable to hide that he'd been offended by her words.

His foot stamped on the ground, and his tail began to bristle. "Stop doing that!!" he whined loudly. "Stop pretending that killing is nice! It's not! It never is!"

He twisted around, turning his back towards her. His arms crossed in a pouting manner. "I'll not stop being unhappy until you stop hurting things."

"It's not nice but its part of survival. That and I'm just so used to killing it doesn't phase me any more. I used to kill on command after all..." Death was something that she rarely cared about these days. As long as she evaded death herself, all was well.

She let out a loud breath of air that wasn't quite loud enough to be a snort but not soft enough to be a sigh. "I don't hurt them, I kill. There's peace in death. No pain in death..."

She stood and padded over to him, brushing against his side affectionately.

Killing is part of survival? It still just didn't make sense. Survival was all about not dying- that's how you survived. But a sort of shiver went down his spine as she went on. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that she could be so comfortable with killing. He thought she was his friend...

And then he was only baffled further. How could killing not hurt? How could death possibly be peaceful? How could it be good?

He flinched away from her as he felt the fur brush against his side. "Wh.. what do you mean?" he questioned warily. "Death is not peaceful and it would hurt very much! Do you not see how much sadness there is? I don't..." His brows furrowed. "I don't understand..."

She couldn't deny the small pang of sadness she felt when the Feluis flinched away from her. She had scared him. Her ears drooped a little.

"It depends how you die. Yes, there are painful deaths - but there are also peaceful ones. Like being shot or dying in your sleep." Her shoulders rolled in a shrug. "Each death is different."

She sighed. "Yes, I know that death can sometimes be sad." Her eyes slid to Kao Shinda still staring blankly out at her room. "But Kao... He was old and sick. He wasn't going to get better and he was dying."

"Oh, honey, you're young. You shouldn't understand this."

He was only more confused, his own morals that he'd been raised with were being doubted. He'd refused to believe that anything to do with death was a good thing, but now, someone that he had come to trust was insisting otherwise. It was a big toll for his mind.

He shuffled uncomfortably. "My dad... few years ago, he-.." he hesitated. "He was very angry and mean with humen people and wanted to fight with them. But then they pull out guns and... they.." He gulped. "They shoot him... lots and lots of times all over. Is that..." He looked to her seriously. "Is that good thing?"

He hadn't recalled liking his father very much, but he was certainly upset at his death, like any being should be. But Raye had him thinking...had it been peaceful for him? Good at all? What about other deaths? The questions kept springing up, and they didn't stop.

The wolf flinched. That was a terrible way to go. She'd seen people be shot down. Hell, she'd been the one holding the gun a few times.

Immediately she began shaking her head. "No... No, that's definitely a painful way to go. There are peaceful ways to die with a gun but being shot down definitely isn't one of them."

She was getting a little uncomfortable. Yes, she could talk about death 'til the cows came home without feeling uncomfortable but not with a kid. Kids shouldn't know any of this.

She sat down, ears pinned back. "I'd rather not talk about this topic much more. In short: there are okay ways to go and not okay ways to go." She wanted to wrap it up quick.

Lunie stared at Raye. She seemed to agree that his father's death was pretty grisly, but still, it had him thinking of things he'd never thought about.

It was difficult to annoy the feluis. It may have been easy to tease him, but to say anything that would actually send a ripple of anger down his spine was another matter entirely. However, Raye succeeded in doing just that. "Stop doing that!" he yelled. "I look young and I am a kid but I grow up! I can be like older person too if you treat me like one!" he insisted desperately. Trying to convince himself that he didn't need to be coddled all the time.

"So is okay to kill if you eat them after? Is okay to kill if you do it really fast and not make it hurt? Is it?!" His arms waved frantically.

The Jinn flinched back when Lunie yelled. She hadn't expected the Felius to yell. It just didn't seem part of his character...

"You shouldn't want to grow up too soon, pup. Being a kid is fun." She gave him a wolven-smile again. "Enjoy childhood while you still have it, ne?" She hated the fact that she had to grow up too fast. By the time she was six months old she was having magic lessons drilled into her and was being taught how to hunt.

She gave a shrug. "It depends on who it is you're killing, really. It was okay to kill Kao because he was sick and old and dying. He wouldn't have lasted much longer." She turned to look at the skull still sitting in the corner of her room. "And there are times when its not okay to kill. I'd... I wouldn't get caught up in killing, Lunie. Keep your hands clean."

When Raye flinched, it surprised him. He'd assumed Raye to be an older, far more braver character than he... so how could he have possibly frightened her?

An indignant huff escaped him. "Don't call me pup! I am no baby! And maybe I do not want to be a child if nobody takes me... se.. serious..ly!" The word was pronounced as if it were the first time he'd ever uttered it.

Following her gaze to the skull, Lunie continued to piece things together in his mind. So if something was nearly dead... it was okay to kill it faster? That was okay? "My hands are clean!" he insisted, turning away from her. "How is it okay for you to kill but not me? What if I want to..." There was a pause from him... and suddenly, his jaw dropped in horrific realisation at what he was about to say. Was he really going to say that? He'd never want to kill! Never!

A hand flew up to his temple. "I not mean that. I not mean that at all," he blabbed to himself, giving her an apologetic glance.

"I'm sorry."