Sizing Me Up {Cadoc}

The advanced soul stone abilities were beautiful and were what graced young Cadoc with the opportunity to sit, just as he was, watching the tiger in plain sight without being detected. He sat still as a statue on his belly, only a few feet from where the tiger practiced with his dark eyes trained on the creature's form. His own body was camoflaged expertly, changed more perfectly than a chameleon so that he was an array of greens and browns that matched his surroundings. It allowed him to watch him so closely, his quiet, measured breaths ensuring that he wouldn't be detected. He'd noticed the tiger while he was out of the archeron patrolling, and had decided to keep tabs on the young cat. He was, as he had noticed, a carrier of a novice soul stone, one that could easily be changed to match his own with the correct influence. He wasn't sure what was drawing the orange cat so close to his home, but wasn't surprised when he followed him into the clearing where he began to fight with the stones, improving his own strength the best way he could without a true partner. Cadoc watched him for some time, but even in his advanced state usage of his abilities drained his energy. As he felt himself growing weary he decided it was time to step out of the shadows, and he did that in a characteristically creepy fashion.

"Impressive," he purred, his voice breaking the silence of the forest so suddenly he was certain it would send the young cat reeling. He lifted himself before shaking his body, a motion that sent the greens that covered it pixelating into disappearance, giving way to the true nature of the dark king's body. He took a couple steps closer to the tiger, as if seemingly appearing out of thin air was the most common thing in the world. "There's only so much one can hope to attain from playing with rocks, however," he said, lips curling into a devilish grin as if his charming nature alone could win the tiger to his cause. He let out a rumbling chuckle, dropping his nose just slightly before shooting dark eyes back up to Tejas. "Forgive my manners, introductions would be nice, hmm? I'm Cadoc, and I was out hunting when I caught sight of you practicing, and thought I'd sit in."

As his body turned to its true form it became apparent what he was; a large male lion with a stone as black as the night. The chunk of obsidian rock was fastened to an ornate silver necklace he'd purchased before leaving the city. The large piece of jewelry was beautiful in its own right, but was even more so when it boasted his black soul stone as it sat frame by his thick mane. His body itself was decorated too; dark purple painted his face and his legs, markings he'd created after mastering the darkness. Barely visible wings were scrawled on his paws in black and purple while those paws themselves were engulfed in a smoky black fog, the same fog that seemed to radiate from his eyes when he was angry. He wasn't angry of course, but rather intrigued by the tiger and all of the possibilities he presented. "Who're you, all alone in this big jungle?"

TAG:Tejas Mithra

xxx

He hadn't been expecting the male to greet him with good cheer and sunshine, and wasn't surprised by the low rumble that hissed from his throat as his lips pulled back over his long fangs. He looked thoroughly unphased however, lips curled into an amused smirk while his dark eyes were alight with interest. He turned his head to the side just slightly as he looked at him before reclining on his haunches. His tail lifted absently behind him, curling and flicking as his eyes set trained on the other. Are you buttering me up or challenging me? If you want me to go, you just have to say it.

He glanced away as if contemplating his word, lips parting as a hum pressed against the back of his teeth. "Hmm, I'd say a little of both, perhaps. But no, I certainly don't want you to leave. I don't own all of the jungle, yet, of course," he replied easily. The tiger was young, he assessed as he stared at him and the youthful tightness in his bright orange face. He was young too, of course, by a feline's standards but not so much so as this brute. It made little difference to the dark king how old he was; any age was old enough to begin training toward the darkness. "You see my profession is teaching; I spend a great deal of my time training others in the various powers that you can attain from your soul stone. I see you are as fresh as they come, dark blue without any direction," he said, his voice a little more serious yet still light and smooth. His eyes flicked to the tiger's leg; yes of course he'd noticed that little blue gem hanging from the boy. "As you can see I've all but mastered my own, only one step away from perfection."

He paused to interject an introduction. He almost laughed at the cat's response; he was so grumpy for such a young boy! He frowned slightly as though the boy's response had hurt his feelings, his brow crinkling slightly. "It's just basic conversational etiquette, that's all. I'm the king of darkness and even so I take out the time for polite introductions," he said, his face turning graver for a fraction of a second, annoyed even. "I tell you my name, you tell me yours and then we're acquaintances. That's generally the point of meeting someone new, isn't it?" His seriousness broke and he chuckled softly, shaking his head and lifting a brow. "Why should you be so careful of telling your name, anyway? I've no qualms of speaking mine, and you know I"m sure the negative connotation attached to that. Lighten up kid, I've no intentions of harming you today."

It was troublesome sometimes, how evil that the world thought he was. He'd left his family because his mother was a murderer and his siblings accomplices in their acceptance of it, and yet he was the one with a bad rep? He'd never harmed a soul that didn't deserve it, and even so only punished to the extent of what was necessary. He was a good man, in the end, but was simply twisted by the darkness, captivated by its strength and the power it gave him. He didn't use it to kill for the sake of killing like some cat's did - he only used his power as he needed it to keep himself on top.

I live in this big jungle. It's the only place I've known and have. I should be asking you what you are doing here so don't get it twisted. He laughed again, light and airy to show how simply ridiculous his hatefulness sounded. The king's lips curled into a smirk once more. "I clearly live in the jungle as well. I own the temple here in the jungle though; it's not that far from here, which is probably the reason I happened across you practicing today. That's where I train cats, you see - they live there with me and I show them how to unlock their true potential. Wouldn't you think it would be much more beneficial for you to train with a living, breathing mentor rather than just stones?"

TAG: Tejas Mithra

x

A soft chuckle rolled through his lips as he shook his head, ending the motion with a sigh as his eyes lifted back to meet Tejas. As they did they held something new, something dark and menacing that might have given an indication of just how dangerous the large lion was. He was the single baddest cat in the jungle and he knew it; but he didn't walk around with an attitude like some cub. But that was the problem here, wasn't it? Tejas was nothing more than a moody cub, an adolescent several years his younger. He acted like a punk because he was a punk; he knew nothing. "Hate to break it to you, punk, but I am the jungle. This place is my home and some day in the not so distant future I'll own every square inch of it including sniveling little children like yourself," he purred, his voice dark but still velvety smooth, taunting him. He lifted himself onto his paws and strode nearer, every step slow and purposeful.

"I will own everything. I was just trying to give you an advantage, a chance to align yourself with the winning team," he said, and as if to back up his claim that he was a force to be reckoned with, he melted into nothingness. His body glowed purple for a fraction of a second before he slid into the tiger's shadow, one with the darkness of it. He materialized at his side, paw outstretched so that he could slip a claw beneath the vine that held his soul stone to his leg. "Soul stones are bullshit, hmm? Guess you won't be needing this then, if they're such a waste of your previous time," he said darkly as he pulled as if he was going to break it and take the stone for himself. He didn't plan to, of course, and was merely threatening the boy. Within just a short second he'd pulled away, leaving the vine uninjured a putting a few feet of distance between them.

"You're going to die out here because you're too ignorant to see an opportunity when it arises. But that's fine; I don't need the likes of you in my army," he said, stepping back quickly so that he could turn and step back around in front of the smaller male. "When the time comes that I take siege on all of the land and need to weed out the weaklings, you'll be the first to go."

You and your wack pack haven't come across any tiger cubs lately, have you? He shrugged, the tension that had filled his body just moments before dissipating. He didn't have the time to waste his energy on a little spat with a tiger child. "There's tigers that live in my temple but no, I haven't found any cubs to take in. I offer anyone that has nowhere else to go refuge among my ranks, however."

TAG:Tejas Mithra

Cadoc's a sarcastic asshat xD