Tribe of Dancing Stars

Echoes of Silver flew through the air, twisting her lithe body, her blind eyes upward at the sun. She didn't need to see though, she was in her element (not literally), the sky, where all Nivaj lived, in the sides of cliffs. She sent out her senses ,making a mental image of where she was. Echo knew where she was, near the Pool of Ancients, a luminesant pool that stretched down forever, or so it was thought. Anyone could go there to try to contact the Ancients, the earliest Nivaj that were supposed to be all-knowing. She landed on the ledge, feeling the rock on her soft pads. Echo laid down and stretched out, feeling the warm sunlight on her fur. A cold wind blew through her pelt, one of the constant heralds of winter. Echo soon fell asleep, planning to wake up soon and continue a task that needed to be done before the day was out.

Sharp Wind that Moves Clouds dashed in the cool air. He spotted Echo far below him as she dove down farther, to the Pool of Ancients. She can't think that she won't be attacked if she sleeps down there in the open, does she? Sharp flew down twenty lengths or so, finding a spot where he could keep an eye on the sleeping Nivaj. Sharp glanced around the area. There really is no danger here, but you never know, he thought. A huge bird could swoop down and take either of us for its dinner... Sharp folded his gray and black wings down, warming his cold fur, waiting for something to happen.

Echo wasn't at the pool anymore. She was in empty space, floating like a feather. "Hello?" ,she called hearing her echo answer mockingly. " Hello hello hello hello...." It was cold, like something that had been dead too long. And she was not alone. A dark presence hovered over the place, pushing down everywhere and nowhere at once. The hackles on the back of Echo's neck went up. Suddenly a large red eye opened and she woke up, in a cold sweat. "That's what I get for sleeping next to the pool of ancients." ,she muttered to herself. But she had came her for a reason. Flame that Flies Swift was missing. Echo had thought maybe the Ancients would help her. But that wasn't an Acient, ,she thought uneasily. That was something else. And its not something good. She knew that much. Echo heard a stirring above her. She searched for the name soul, smiling as she found it. "Hi Sharp." ,she said, turning her head towards him.

Sharp glanced down at Echo, who was now awake. "Morning, Echo." He noticed she seemed a bit ruffled, as if something had happened in her dreams that scared her. "Sleep well?" he inquired. He stood, his wings rising above him as if they had a mind of their own. He was a bit bigger than the female Nivaj, for he resembled a dragon-wolf more than a fox-cat.

OOC: Maybe there should be three types of Nivaj, a Dragon-Wolf, Fox-Cat, or a pure-bred Nivaj (all of the breeds).

OOC: great idea :3 btw i just remembered a Nivaj has three souls: The Name soul, the Dream soul and a Tribe soul or Wandering soul (if they're not part of a tribe)

IC: "Morning ",she replied. As Sharp mentioned dreams, she shuddered as she remembered the red eye, which had seemed to stare into her dream soul. Echo stretched her small wings, which shimmered in the sunlight, nevously. She didn't want to reveal her terrifying dream, but she also needed to be comforted. If Flame was here she'd tell her, but Flame was the reason she was here in the first place. Echo faltered, trying to think of what to say to Sharp about her dream. Finally deciding against it, she replied. "Fine." ,she said, not even believing it herself.

OOC: Thanks :3 And that's pretty interesting.

IC: Sharp gazed at Echo's wings that appeared to be sparkling in the sun. She seemed a little hesitant, but Sharp pushed the thought away as she replied with 'Fine'. Sharp blinked his sapphire-colored eyes, searching for something to say. He shuffled his paws as his stomach growled. "Would you like to go hunting with me?" he asked, embarrassed.

"Sure." ,Echo said. "That's what I had been doing before I came here." Quickly she ran over to the Pool of Ancients and took a small drink for good luck. Swallowing the cold fresh water, she took off into the air and hovered for a second. "What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing." he smiled as he leaped from the ground, air gathering naturally under his wings, ruffling his feathers and rising him up in the air. Sharp felt as light as a feather when he flew just below the clouds, his heart full of good feeling. He glided easily, his fur brushing Echo's as he floated next to her. He blushed, attempting to mask his embarrassment which was tough to do with the female. "Ready?" he asked.

Echo hovered as Sharp flew up, blushing as Sharp's fur brushed against her's. She covered it with a simple challenge. "Bet you can't catch me." ,she laughed, sticking out her tounge at him. She sped upwards,hiding in a cloud. She popped her head out of the bottom of the cloud, with a comical expression on her face. "It's wet." ,she complained.

OOC: classic Echo, trust me lD -shot-

"Wet? Really?" he snorted, joining her in the puff of cloud. "Let's race." Sharp hovered at the edge of the cloud, waiting patiently for Echo.

"Of course." ,Echo accepted the challenge, leaving the cloud. Deftly she shook off the water droplets that had condensed on her fur. "Where to?" ,she asked.

He glided beside her. "There's a tree beside the Pool of Ancients. How about there?" he suggested. Sharp felt the breeze twist to his liking, blowing away from him and towards the Pool. His feathers ruffled and Sharp followed the trail of a loose, black feather with his blue eyes.

"Sure." ,Echo agreed. The wind blew pleasantly, angling towards their goal. She stretched her wings to their full size, getting her muscles warmed up. The wind loosened the three feathers on her head, but she didn't notice in her excitement for the race.

"Ready? Set? Go!" Sharp glided in the air, his wings catching it easily. He stretched them wide, letting them guide him to his goal. He was halfway there when he looked behind him, searching for Echo.

Echo tried to keep up, but she was no match for an air elemental. The air buffeted her as she struggled to catch up. It blew one of the feathers off of her head and she stopped immediatly. She dived, desperatly trying to catch it. It landed on the surface of the Pool of Ancients, sizzling for a moment before disapearing. As Echo heard it sizzling, she realized which feather it was. Flame's. "No. Not that one. Anything but that one!" , she sobbed. "It was the only thing I had left of her when she disapeared!" Flame's feather had always been her keepsake since Flame had disapeared. It was orange-red in color and had been warm, like it was fire itself. Echo would take it out when she was feeling sad and would be comforted immediatly, like Flame had actually been there. Echo landed next to the Pool, and dived in. She must get it.

OOC: Echo overeacts..... a lot X3

Sharp attempted to halt the feather by changing the air patterns. But something seemed to be blocking the move, like fate? Sharp gaped as if sizzled on the water and disappeared. He lunged at the pool, leaping out of Echo's way as he landed by the water. Echo dived into the water, aiming for the feather. Echo, no! Sharp wanted to scream. He dived in after her, feeling as if he had been punched in the stomach. He knew this was all his fault. As water surrounded him, he wished he had a water element. Sharp held his breath, diving deeper in the freezing water, searching for the female Nivaj.

Echo tried in vain to get the feather before it got out of her reach, but it sank like a stone. Giving up, she rose to the surface and crawled out, coughing. There she lay, cold and wet, stonefaced as she tried not to hate herself. She had lost it. For good. It was like she had lost all hope of finding Flame. Suddenly she remembered Sharp and got up. Echo searched for his name soul and realized he was in the pool. Probably trying to get me, she realized. Had he seen her get out? She dived down to where she knew he was and nudged him.

OOC: I failed. epicly.

Sharp turned at a nudge on his shoulder. He rose to the top as Echo followed. He coughed up some water before asking, "Are you okay?" The lingering feeling of guilt deepened as he saw the look on Echo's face. Defeat.

"Yeah." ,Echo said, sensing his guilt. "It's not your fault. There's something here that doesn't like me." She shivered, not from the water, but from the thought. "We should hunt before we go back." She tried to ignore the feeling of loss the was creeping up on her. No. She would not cry. Not in front of Sharp. That would make him feel even more guilty.

Sharp climbed to the edge of the Pool. He retreated to his mind before setting off with Echo to hunt. As he shook of the droplets of water collecting on his fur, he wondered what was after her, and how dangerous it was. He'd protect her at all costs, even his life. "I'm ready." he barked as he finished drying his fur.

Echo fluffed up her fur to dry it; she was drenched. "Me too." , she replied. "Lets go." She took off, hovering before flying up high, knowing that Sharp would follow. Even though she was blind, Echo was a good hunter. She mimiced the call of an eagle, her bell-like voice echoing for long distances.

OOC: eagles are Nivaj main prey.... they aren't endangerd where they are X3

OOC: Cool x3

IC: Sharp envied Echo's ability to mimic the eagle's call with perfection. Sharp never seemed to get the sound just right. He floated next to her, searching the blue skies for any sign of an eagle. His ears perked up, straining to hear any sound of wings flapping or birds calling.

Echo listened carefully to the echoes of her call. One small, almost unhearable echo came from the left of her. Slowly she flew that way, and called again, hearing a soft reply. "This way." ,she whispered to Sharp.

(Grounded for two weeks for no particular reason, might be on every other morning)

Sharp nodded, following Echo. He soon heard the Eagle's calling as he neared the bird. He hovered, waiting for Echo while planning the attack.

(Sorry for short posts .-.)

"Cut it off." ,Echo whispered. "I'll dive down from above." She flew up until the eagle and Sharp were just small dots below her. She was glad for her thick fur, because it was cold up there. Echo waited for Sharp to get into posistion.