romamaro
Well-Known Member
A flock of birds flew over the little yet proud village, but the humans knew many of the shifters ways. Five skilled archers poised themselves upon the villages archer towers, and all at once, let loose their arrows. Five of the birds fell, and for every arrow fired one bird would go down. The alive birds moved faster as the killed members of the flock fell to the ground. However, contrary to expectations, these birds remained thouroughly bird-like long after death.
One such dead bird landed in the garden of a fearsome female warrior. At that moment in time, she did not look the part; she wore a plain brown frock, and hung up her family's clothes on the washing line. This was because Isabella had long ago hung up her sword for favour of a broomstick, after the birth of her first child, Walter. The ex-warrior wandered over to the dead crow and sighed. If you were going to use arrows, you ought to make sure you were shooting at something worthwhile. There wasn't much mean on a crow to eat. Even still, the housewife scooped the bird up and went inside with it, leaving the washing for the moment.
When Isabella entered her two roomed house, she instantly noticed that her husbands fighting spear was missing off its stand. With a gasp and a bit of a groan, she dumped the dead bird on the kitchen table and rushed off to the house's bedroom. Within, instead of finding one of her six children playing with their parents' old and new weapons, she saw her husband, Geoffrey, tucking each of the children into bed one by one. On his back, his spear sat in its sheath, and the well-built man wore all of his best armour.
"Geoffrey, whatever's the matter?" Isabella asked, rushing over and scooping up the youngest child, Emma, before the baby escaped into the kitchen.
"They're finally attacking those filthy shifters, Bella!" Geoffrey exclaimed proudly, taking Emma and setting her in her cot.
Isabella scoffed in disgust, but for an odd reason. Isabella was one of the most ardent shifter haters in the village, and had killed many of them in her time. "Why wasn't I told?" The wife asked, walking backwards out of the room as her husband walked past her.
"We've no time for this right now," he said with a wave of his hand, "if you're coming, put on your armour! You have wanted to do this for a while, yes?"
Unbeknownst to her husband, Isabella had started putting on her armour as soon as he had turned his back to her. Now, she wore a full set of armour, nearly all her body covered in steel and iron. Her sword, polished, lay in its sheath, waiting eagerly to slice through the air and come down on a neck or two. "Well then, we must hurry!" She exclaimed, then looked back into the room where her children slept. "Do not leave the bedroom, do you hear me, children? The shifters will come for you if you do," she claimed. The children that could nod nodded, as they were terrified of the shifters, and Isabella closed the house door behind her and her husband.
The pair hurried to join the large crowd that was gathering. The two were well known, though many were bewildered to see Isabella with her armour again, and her long sword just as intimidating as it had been ten years ago. They stood at the front of the crowd, beside everyone from a trained warrior to a young peasant boy with a sickle. Once an ample crowd gathered, an experienced and wise warrior stood at the front and lifted his sword upwards. "Today, we finally attack the heathens!" He declared, which prompted magnificent cheers. The loudest ones came from Isabella and Geoffrey, who raised their own weapons.
"We attack the heathens who go against the Lord, and transform themselves into devious creatures to rob and murder their fellow men!" The wise man shouted. "They murder our neighbours and kidnap their wives and children! They work them to death! They sacrifice them to their evil gods and take great pleasure in their misdeeds!" The speech went on for a very long time, and none of it really did anything but reinforce beliefs that most everyone already held. Finally, it was over. The group of humans began their trek into the woods, a forty-five minute or so walk that would lead them to a long time enemy.
In the branches of a tree in the shifters' village, a monkey lay, soaking up the sun like a sponge soaks up water. She sighed contentedly, though she was starting to get a little bored. She sat up and moved to standing on the branch. Carefully, she bent her knees and jumped, diving into a small pond just beneath the tree. As she hit the surface of the water, the monkey instantly became a little fish. A few quick laps of the pond later, and the fish jumped out of the water and became Matilda's favourite form, back into a monkey
The long legged animal strode away from the pond and the tree, towards the centre of the town. She intended to buy some things and then return home, but quickly noticed distress amongst the people in town. She transformed into whatever animal was needed as she spoke to the other citizens, and eventually gathered that the normal people were believed to start an attack against them that day. She learned that a young wolf scout came back, terrified, and howling about the humans. He had been badly hurt by them, but had escaped. The village was now in high alert. Most everyone took aggressive, angry forms.
Upon gathering all that she could, Matilda transformed into a black bear. She stayed on four legs for now, but she was prepared to come back up to full size if she needed to. Restless, she forgot about shopping, and she stayed close to a crowd of other aggressive formed shifters, feeling safety in numbers.
One such dead bird landed in the garden of a fearsome female warrior. At that moment in time, she did not look the part; she wore a plain brown frock, and hung up her family's clothes on the washing line. This was because Isabella had long ago hung up her sword for favour of a broomstick, after the birth of her first child, Walter. The ex-warrior wandered over to the dead crow and sighed. If you were going to use arrows, you ought to make sure you were shooting at something worthwhile. There wasn't much mean on a crow to eat. Even still, the housewife scooped the bird up and went inside with it, leaving the washing for the moment.
When Isabella entered her two roomed house, she instantly noticed that her husbands fighting spear was missing off its stand. With a gasp and a bit of a groan, she dumped the dead bird on the kitchen table and rushed off to the house's bedroom. Within, instead of finding one of her six children playing with their parents' old and new weapons, she saw her husband, Geoffrey, tucking each of the children into bed one by one. On his back, his spear sat in its sheath, and the well-built man wore all of his best armour.
"Geoffrey, whatever's the matter?" Isabella asked, rushing over and scooping up the youngest child, Emma, before the baby escaped into the kitchen.
"They're finally attacking those filthy shifters, Bella!" Geoffrey exclaimed proudly, taking Emma and setting her in her cot.
Isabella scoffed in disgust, but for an odd reason. Isabella was one of the most ardent shifter haters in the village, and had killed many of them in her time. "Why wasn't I told?" The wife asked, walking backwards out of the room as her husband walked past her.
"We've no time for this right now," he said with a wave of his hand, "if you're coming, put on your armour! You have wanted to do this for a while, yes?"
Unbeknownst to her husband, Isabella had started putting on her armour as soon as he had turned his back to her. Now, she wore a full set of armour, nearly all her body covered in steel and iron. Her sword, polished, lay in its sheath, waiting eagerly to slice through the air and come down on a neck or two. "Well then, we must hurry!" She exclaimed, then looked back into the room where her children slept. "Do not leave the bedroom, do you hear me, children? The shifters will come for you if you do," she claimed. The children that could nod nodded, as they were terrified of the shifters, and Isabella closed the house door behind her and her husband.
The pair hurried to join the large crowd that was gathering. The two were well known, though many were bewildered to see Isabella with her armour again, and her long sword just as intimidating as it had been ten years ago. They stood at the front of the crowd, beside everyone from a trained warrior to a young peasant boy with a sickle. Once an ample crowd gathered, an experienced and wise warrior stood at the front and lifted his sword upwards. "Today, we finally attack the heathens!" He declared, which prompted magnificent cheers. The loudest ones came from Isabella and Geoffrey, who raised their own weapons.
"We attack the heathens who go against the Lord, and transform themselves into devious creatures to rob and murder their fellow men!" The wise man shouted. "They murder our neighbours and kidnap their wives and children! They work them to death! They sacrifice them to their evil gods and take great pleasure in their misdeeds!" The speech went on for a very long time, and none of it really did anything but reinforce beliefs that most everyone already held. Finally, it was over. The group of humans began their trek into the woods, a forty-five minute or so walk that would lead them to a long time enemy.
In the branches of a tree in the shifters' village, a monkey lay, soaking up the sun like a sponge soaks up water. She sighed contentedly, though she was starting to get a little bored. She sat up and moved to standing on the branch. Carefully, she bent her knees and jumped, diving into a small pond just beneath the tree. As she hit the surface of the water, the monkey instantly became a little fish. A few quick laps of the pond later, and the fish jumped out of the water and became Matilda's favourite form, back into a monkey
The long legged animal strode away from the pond and the tree, towards the centre of the town. She intended to buy some things and then return home, but quickly noticed distress amongst the people in town. She transformed into whatever animal was needed as she spoke to the other citizens, and eventually gathered that the normal people were believed to start an attack against them that day. She learned that a young wolf scout came back, terrified, and howling about the humans. He had been badly hurt by them, but had escaped. The village was now in high alert. Most everyone took aggressive, angry forms.
Upon gathering all that she could, Matilda transformed into a black bear. She stayed on four legs for now, but she was prepared to come back up to full size if she needed to. Restless, she forgot about shopping, and she stayed close to a crowd of other aggressive formed shifters, feeling safety in numbers.
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