as seen through a child's mind ~ banez&kivari

Kivani bursted into the park, coming in from the outskirts, trembling from the speed she exhausted to get here and from recently changing. It took one thing to ruin the entire day. She thought people left the legends of unicorns and stopped hunting them, but earlier she made a mistake, the mistake of carelessness. In other words, she had been spotted, and was forced to sprint away. The trap was amazing; they had calls and signals that she had never heard before. Thinking about it now made her want to throw up. Her face wrinkled in an attempt to keep from getting sick and in an attempt to keep the tears that began burning in her eyes from falling. She sniffed. Luckily she managed to find a secluded place to shift, some odd cave, and grab clothes and sprint the rest of the way down here. They managed to give her a few wounds with their weapons, a scrape on her side that she healed and one now found on her forearm, one she didn't have the energy to heal.

Her eyes darted around the scenery, moving over people and judging if they were enemies or not. Kivani finally took the time to realize that it was the middle of the day, that the day felt rather nice, and that people were here for enjoyment.

She felt like she was going to throw up. The terror did a number on her stomach. And soon the indigo dreadlocked woman bounded off into the forested path, hoping no one would be around to hear puke. Kivani didn't have time to check if anyone was around; she went to the nearest bush and threw what contents were once in her stomach, which wasn't much. The forced change made her weaker than most changes--she changed too quickly. Kivani became so unaware after she threw up that she didn't even hear the leaves rustle when a man walked along the path. In fact, the birds singing didn't even reach her ears.

The were-unicorn plopped down, leaning up against a skinny tree and inhaling deeply. Today sucks.

Kivani sat against the tree, taking in equal breaths in a constant rhythm. Her eyes looked straight ahead; it wasn't until she heard a voice that she immediately jumped, ready to flee again. A usually graceful person, Kivani stumbled up and had to brace herself on the skinny tree. Somehow her foot tripped over her other foot--having only two feet was a pain when she was more used to four hooves. With a small scream she found herself looking up at the sky. Stupid human clumsiness.

And then she remembered what scared her in the first place. First is the worst, second is the best, that's what she hoped for. Her second try on actually standing up went much better and much more graceful. As if he couldn't see her behind the skinny tree, the were-unicorn peered around the trunk and looked at the fellow human. He looked . . . not scary. Maybe a little intimidating with his height.

"Huh." It took her a moment to process the words. Everything happened so fast and now she felt a dull throbbing in her back not to mention the back of her head. "I'm . . . alive," she replied. Is that what he meant by asking if she were all right? "Who are you?" she interrupted. "And nothing, just running in these parts... you know." Kivani offered a quick smile. She studied the humans and how they reassured one another. Maybe that would help.

Something made her feel comfortable around the man even though she had never before seen him in her life. Purity. Of some sort. Slowly, she came out from behind the skinny tree and returned to the spot she once sat in, but stood there. Kivani still appeared cautious, but who wouldn't by this point?

She innocently watched him, trying to fight the feeling she had that she could trust him. Why? Because her heart still beat at an unnaturally fast pace that made her instincts push for fight or flight. And Kivani wanted so badly to bolt from anyone right now. She wanted to be alone even though being alone would probably be more pernicious to her than anything. So she accepted the company for now. At least she had a good vibe from him.

Usually, the unicorn would be rather pleasant as she loved meeting new people. Her manners were forgotten when he introduced himself; there were no return introductions, no nice to meet you; instead she looked at him, trying to smile but unable to. Kivani looked down at her arm and slumped over a little bit. Unicorns couldn't lie to save themselves. "Well. . . not exactly," she admitted. "I just ran into some trouble. That's all. I shouldn't have been wandering in the forest carelessly." She never could lie and keep the truth in.

She watched him curiously as he tore a strip of cloth from his shirt. At first, Kivani looked at him oddly. What was he doing? Why was he tearing up his shirt? Since she had healing powers, normal bandages were useless to her. Kivani knew she could heal it soon, once she had enough strength. Perhaps if he knew that, he wouldn't seem so concerned, although it was nice to run into someone who actually seemed to care. While there was that instinct to flee, she forced herself to stand still and watched as he tied the bandage around her arm. It stung, but she said nothing. "Thank you."

"Oh I'm sure. It's okay, I'll be fine." She offered a genuine smile this time. Without saying anything else, Kivani plopped down on the ground, figuring she might as well give into her vibes and trust him. Not another thought about safety passed through her mind right yet. "Oh, I haven't introduced myself..." She needed to get used to these customs again. Living two lives always made certain customs harder to remember. "I'm Kivani."

Some odd sounds that a forest usually makes made her jump on occasion and look over her shoulder, as if someone were coming to get her. She played them off though and focused her attention on . . . what was his name again? . . . Banez. "Do you work in the hospital or something? How did you know that tying this . . . cloth around my arm would stop the bleeding?"

Kivani emphatically nodded her head at his statement. "True..." In all of her lifetime though, she had never allowed someone to see her in unicorn form. How could she be so careless? It was her first time feeling that she was in real danger. "Oh, I will. Terrible animals," she agreed. They weren't men, they weren't even animals. She hated them. Kivani's eyes widened. She hated someone, truly loathed their presence on this planet. It surprised her and disappointed her all at the same time. But now she pressed on and decided to ignore that. All of those thoughts could come later. "I wouldn't want others to get hurt. I'll report it." She offered a certain smile. They should be the ones hunted, she thought. In that train of thought, she snorted like a horse, annoyed that they weren't being hunted right now. She didn't notice her old habit, though. They die hard.

"Nice to meet you too," she added. "Thanks for helping me." Kivani really appreciated that. Too much for words, really. "You were with the Guardians? Good," she responded. No wonder why she trusted him. It made sense now. Kivani wanted to be more involved with everything, politics, human life in general. It would be safer. Which made Kivani slightly frustrated because she enjoyed the freedom and solitude being a unicorn could give her. Life was just too unfair sometimes. Oh well. At least hope still existed in the world.

"Just dandy," she responded optimistically. Sure her wound stung a little, but compared to a few minutes ago, she felt fantastic. Perhaps it was the infuriation that someone tried to kill her that allowed the energy to pump through her body and give her renewed strength.

She got up from where she sat and decided to follow Banez. After all, she rarely came into town. While she enjoyed the bakery shops, there was nothing else she came to enjoy. It all seemed too close for her liking, and all too overachieved. Oh well, she decided she could muster it if her life depended on it. "You said you were with the Guardians but you aren't any more?" It was interesting to her. While she would like to become more involved, the town just . . . wouldn't work out well for her, that and she loved moving everywhere.

Kivani nodded to his statement. She decided she would remember his kindness. Unicorns could have very long memories, almost like elephants, except with more rainbows. She followed him as they made their way out of the forest. Thankfully someone knew where they were. Kivani almost felt like she was bad at directions. She had been here before, some time ago... It had been awhile and her memory was rusty. But Unicorns had excellent memories.

"Oh. A Sacristan? What is that?" It sounded incredibly important, like some sort of priestly job. "Hm, true. But you can only fight so long. Justice is always paid with a sacrifice." Kivani could easily get riled up about justice and how injustice the world was, how barbarous the world was. She decided to leave that rant for another day.

"Oh, no I don't live here," she replied with a small smile. The fact that he noticed her trinkets made her extremely happy, which showed on her face. "Thanks! I put them all in myself. I like the sound they make while I walk, like small chimes." And then she noticed his hair. Which wasn't bad really... just not unusual or unique. "You should try it sometime. Even if it's a charm that's mostly hidden. It'll make you feel unique." That was the thing about towns: most of their inhabitants tended to wear the same clothing, do the same stuff, while individuality suffered.

"I don't really come into town much. It makes me a little claustrophobic actually. But I do like the bakeries. I tend to be more of a nature sort of un--person though. It's more peaceful. But I don't judge those that live in town." She wanted to make sure that she didn't offend him. After all, he helped her. Kivani wondered if it would be weird if she went ahead and healed herself. She decided it would and therefore different.

Kivani listened to his description of his highly important job. It was very interesting. "That sounds like a very prestigious job," she responded. Kivani laughed. "All we have is time." She had plenty of time.

"Ummm, not exactly. I've been to those places though. Very lovely," she commented. "I have taken a fancy to Atiello though." It was small, quaint, not too clustered. She considered Carvalo rather clustered. Mentioning her trinkets that were braided and tied in her hair, she smiled brightly. "Thank you!" Compliments, other than sweets, were something Kivani loved best. They made her feel good and it was nice for art to be admired. She considered her hair art; it reflected the unicorn's spiritual side. "Hmmm, maybe not," she agreed with a laugh. "We'll have to figure something out though." A hat. "We should look for a hat then. A green hat." Green would go with him, if it were possible a color could go with a person.

Towns. Kivani knew she could get used to them if she had to, but the point was, she didn't have to. Surrendering her free spirit was too much to ask for a town with walls, with corners, with stones. To her, it reflected nothing of nature. She laughed at his guess. "No, I don't come from there. Right now I'm living in the Peaks. I like to move around, you know. I could have passed through that town although I don't remember it..."

Mentioning the bakery, Kivani's eyes lit up. "That's what I miss about not living near a town." And Banez's treat? Sure! Kivani immediately took up that opportunity. "Oh that would be wonderful!" Mentioning how she looked, she looked down. Hm... That would be a problem. But she didn't have a jacket. She had been in such a rush, the pile of clothes that she owned were left behind. She wondered what happened to them. That would be weird if they were taken. In that train of thought, she scrunched up her nose.

"Well, hang on a second." She stopped and unwrapped the bandage slowly. Naturally she had begun to heal a little bit, but not much to where it would be recognizable. If she had been in unicorn form, she would have already been fully healed. Now she had to put energy toward it. It stung a little bit, but not bad. "Is there any water near?" she inquired. "I mean, just so I can clean off the dried blood..." Banez didn't seem like he would be utterly surprised at someone healing themselves. There were stranger creatures out there. So, Kivani decided to go ahead and do that.

She placed her hand over the injury and focused on healing. Within seconds, the scratch had scabbed up into a little thing that looked like a wound from a briar. That was all she could do at the moment. She felt proud of herself.

Kivani nodded at his description. "Sounds like they're lucky they found you then." She was excited to find someone that liked color. "Black is . . . all right... but I like color so much better! It's so boring without color." Of course Kivani liked white, she loved indigo and all the other colors too. Essentially she just loved rainbows. "I like rainbows. I think it's neat how they include most colors." She hadn't seen a rainbow in awhile sadly, but when the rains came in, surely one would appear in the sky again.

"Yeah, the Peaks are pretty safe. I mean, you still have to be careful, but I'm more concerned about actual people there rather than the beasts of the mountains," she responded with a smile. It was sad how that had to be. She said nothing more on the subject though. "It's very peaceful up there. The weather's tough, but I can always migrate to a town or the island if it gets too rough." Kivani knew no other home in all honesty. The Peaks were where she was raised, at least as she remembered. Perhaps it was the island. She shrugged. Who knew? At a century old, she was good to remember yesterday.

"Atiello is quite beautiful," she added. With the mountains near it, Atiello was in a good location. The valleys were gorgeous. "Oh really? That's neat. The people there are very nice. And yes, it is. This city is very busy..." Which was one reason she hardly ever came here.

"Good. It'll help me look less like a crazy hunter or easy prey." Kivani didn't particularly like it when she appeared weakened to any state. People already took unicorns so lightly. Then again, it wasn't as if anyone knew here. Good. She looked up at Banez after she had finished healing herself. "Mhm, I can." She smiled brightly. That power was all right to expose. "I've never met someone without a power." On that note, she looked at him, tilting her head. "What about you, Banez? What's your power? Surely you have one."

Kivani followed him toward the water. She started noticing how the last lights were slipping away. While Kivani told herself she wasn't afraid of the dark, and she wasn't... tonight was a little different. She felt more on edge. She quickly approached the edge of the creek and washed away the dried blood. Once she was finished she stood back up. "There we go. I don't think I need a jacket any more. It looks quite a bit better."

She took a moment to look around right quick. The night always had noises; she heard them in the owls, in the critters that took cover from a predator, but she still felt wary. "Let's go to the bakery now. I'm famished!" Healing took some energy, that was for sure. Something sweet would hit the spot.