Never Knew There Face *Open*

[Vicerin Nights]

The past could sometimes be a good thing, or it could be a bad thing. it all just depended on what it was that had gone on in the past that had made it the way that it was. For Vicerin, she had a bad past, but she couldn’t remember a lot of it, and so that was something that was good for her. She was an orphan, and had been so since she was 5 years old, and that was some time ago. Her parents, she didn’t remember them, she couldn’t remember there faces or names, but she did know that something bad had happened, and that was why they were no longer with her it made her sad. Vicerin was only 20, that was young compared to most of the others, she had only been around for a short time and dint know to much about the things that were going on. Though she did know about the war, and why people were fighting and all, she just thought that there was no need for it, but what did she knew she was just a kid. She wished that she still had her parents, it had not been easy for her to grow up.

She had always felt like no one cared about her, like she was just there and no one gave a damn about anything she did. She lived in the pride house, where she knew she could because they were loving of everyone there. But, she just felt like, because she grew up with no one or anything to her name, she was nothing compared to the rest of them. People did care though, she had a place to stay, food to eat and clothing to put on, she was also working and had a job with some of the other people, though most of them thought of her like a rogue and she just seemed to drift from one place to another, with out another thought or care that would run in her head. She also thought like that as well, but sometimes she just wished she belonged somewhere, and not just drifting out there in space. This brought her back down to today, where she was working in the main place, helping out with some things in the kitchen, she liked to cook, it was interesting but she really did like it a lot.

Once she was done there she had walked out into one of the main areas, there were kids running around and playing, adults were reading or talking, just doing every day things, something she wondered about when she had nothing else to think about. She hoped up the stairs into another area and leaned against one of the walls. There was a big debate going on about the shifters and being natural in this war, that they could do so much more if they just got there backsides into the war and got fighting on a side. She didn’t know where she wanted to stand on this, she just knew that she did not want to be eaten by a vampire, or a wolf, or a dragon or anyone for that matter, it would be a bad thing and she wouldn’t like it at all. All that talk made her feel kind of sick so she walked out of the place and outside into a garden. It was nice out there, and she felt a lot better once she had some fresh air on her face, and there was no more talk about death. She sighed, closed her mind off and started to walk a small path, letting her thoughts drift away on the breeze.

[Isolade Kachina]

Isolade was hiding. There was no dignified way to put it. She had ducked out of court as soon as she could and slipped out the back way that her father had taught her about. The council wanted to reconvene in an hour but she was done being nice today. Twice today she had kicked people out of her audience chamber for offering bribes or otherwise trying to get her to take a side. The stress was growing and she wasn't very good at dealing with stress and she was going to yell at someone and that someone wasn't going to be happy about it. She sighed heavily and made her way through the passageway in her cougar form. This secret path lead out of the shelter and into the library and only trusted friend and past leaders knew about the passageway. It was the leader's escape from a demanding world. Unfortunately unlike other shifters she couldn't stay gone forever she had duties and other obligations. Like council, she reminded herself with a feline sigh. She growled quietly and pressed on trying not to wince as she wadded through small puddles of water.

The passageway had been carved and created by her ancestor the founder of the Pride, Rio Kachina, the black horse. It had been an amazing time when she had brought everyone together into one paradise. She had created this passage to get away from it all for a while and all these years it was a closely guarded secret of the Empress. Rio had carved it into the bedrock and small amounts of water leaked through cracks from ground water reserves. This passage ran along the wall of the Shelter's true secret: The caverns. The caverns were the final line of defense for the shifters should they find themselves in an unwinnable situations, not likely but not unheard of either. The location of the caverns was a well kept and guarded secret held by the leaders and a select few others, such that if anyone were captured they would not know its location. The cavern was filled with enough supplies to sustain the Pride for years. It was so heavily sealed that their attackers wouldn't be able to find it. And even if they could there were emergency tunnels running as far as old Mississippi.

Isolade made her way into the back hall of the library where no one traveled, at least not often. She shifted back to her human form and slipped on her hood. It wouldn't do well for her to be seen now for people to ask, "Have you seen Isolade?" "Why yes she went that-a-way." She slipped like a shadow through the book shelves avoiding people and librarians. She finally darted out into the garden and sighed with relief. Almost free only had to get to the forest beyond and she would be home free. She could live like a cougar for a few hours not caring about this stupid war. She paced along the path keeping her eyes down and her face covered. She ducked behind a tree as a few courtiers passed by. So far so good. She stepped out onto the path again and looked up seeing someone. She froze and swore silently to herself. She lowered her gaze quickly away from the woman's and made to turn around when a voice made her panic. "Isolade? Empress Isolade!"

She let out a squeaked and without thinking threw herself at the woman thinking she had seen her face. She grabbed her and ducked behind a tree holding the woman close and sealing her mouth with a hand. She closed her eyes and prayed as the voice went on. "Isolade! Where are you? You have court! BAH!" The person whoever it was stormed off and Isolade drew a sigh of relief and in her relief she loosened her grip on the woman. She reached up fixing her hood making sure it was still secure. She glanced over her shoulder to see the retreating back of one of her 'keepers' advisers they called themselves more like self appointed babysitters that were not wanted and not needed.

[Vicerin Nights]

Vicerine was not one for letting herself get caught up in something that she couldn’t get herself out of, this was going to be one of the things she dreaded for the most part. She never wanted to get mixed up with war, with the pain or suffering that could come with it, or the death that seemed to follow anything that was bad. She was stead fast in her thinking, she didn’t want to come off as rude or anything like that, she just new that was how she wanted to be. So she had taken a job working in the library for the most part, when she was not doing other things around the house, that was what she was cut out to be. She just wanted to be shown the way that she should be going, she knew she had a purpose on this planet, and she had no idea what it was, but one day she would find out what it was. So being out there in the garden gave her a chance to think for herself, not listing to the things the other people were saying, she did not care what they thought, she had her own way of thinking.

People were all to caught up in themselves, and did not think about the other people that were around there. How many times she had to stop and help someone out because other people were just walking by them, she had this big heart that everyone seemed to fit into and she was more then happy to let them all in there as well. She didn’t want to turn away anyone that cold help her out at the same time, she was not selfish she just wanted a little bit of help as well from the world. So when she went out into the garden she did not know that she was going to be helping someone out at that moment. She was happy to do so though, so now with herself walking around, her mind off into the no where land. Thinking about the other people that lived in the world, of the dragons and vampires, the wolfs and the casters. How could something as blood get in the way of them all having peace on the planet, silly little things. If the humans had not gotten, what was that. She looked away from her thoughts as she got grabbed by another women and moved around.

She at first had no idea who this person was, and was just about ready to scream when he mouth was covered. Vicerin looked at her wide eyed for a moment, as she listened to the other voices that were going on around them. Who was this person? It clicked then when she heard a name and was wondering about the way this women was acting and all. She bit her tongue to keep herself from saying or doing anything until she knew that the cost was clear and everything was going to be alright. When she was able to move again she stepped back a little bit and breathed out a bit laughing a moment. "Wow that was different" She said as she laughed a moment, trying to regain herself as she looked at the other one that was standing there. "Empress? What are you doing out here?" She asked softly, so that her voice did not attract any of the other people that were out there at that time, she wasn’t going to give her away, that would be a bad thing. So she just was being nice and standing there watching around them.

[Isolade Kachina]

Izy wasn't too fond of her keepers. They were just too much like jailers for her to be comfortable with the idea. Hell! She was the Empress! She would go to court when she damn well pleased! She bit off a growl that would give her away. The last thing she wanted was to have a yelling match in front of the court. It would probably happen one of these days she's already called the northern councilor a stubborn pigheaded goat. Which to only make matters worse he was in fact a goat. In her opinion the animal was a reflection of the spirit inside the person that most humans had been able to hide. Then the Shifters had figured out how to harness that shape and use it freely. No one can choose their animal but when one sees a woman with a stubborn neck and calls her a mule more often then not she is. Horses tended to be proud but skittish, lions strong and aloof, birds free spirited and intelligent. And her cougar, strong, proud and ruthless. Isolade had never really thought about it until her father had talked about his own 'keeper' as fittingly being a bull.

She looked back at the woman and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. "Shhh!!!" She scolded looking around her eyes wide. "I'm sorry." She whispered. She fixed her hood nervously. "You haven't seen me." She declared. "Understood?" She gave a soft smile forcing herself to relax. 'What are you doing out here?' the question was so simple but it made her want to cry. It had that kind of 'shouldn't you be doing something important' tone. She knew the woman didn't mean it it just kinda jumped out when questions like that were directed at her. "Ugh." She groaned and slid down the tree to plop on the floor. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually this pathetic." She sighed. They basically weren't letting her relax at all. If she wasn't careful she would start ranting to this poor woman and taking out all of her annoyance on her. She covered her face and bit back a scream of frustration. She was the great and fearless leader. Empress Isolade the Courageous they called her. Some courage she had sitting here close to tears just wanting the entire world to go away.

Isolade sat back and glanced around for any eavesdroppers, one never knew if there were birds about that weren't actually birds. "I'm sorry to drag you into this. What's you're name?" She really hated that question. She was the Empress of course everyone knew her face and her shift but she didn't really know anything about a lot of people she ruled over. "Do you work here? In the Shelter?" She asked curious wanting to focus entirely on another person for a little while. It always felt good when all the attention was not one her and her decisions. She wished she could just go out sometimes and just walk around without anyone going "Oh my goodness it the Empress!" or "Empress Isolade the Courageous how may we serve you today?" or even worse, "Empress Isolade the Courageous when are you going to do something about the war?" Those comments made her just want to cry and often times she did, or course after when she was alone. Just because she was cold and somewhat ruthless and really a tough woman that didn't mean she didn't have a little girl inside her.

[Vicerin Nights]

Vicerine didn’t know what was going on with this, she didn’t know why the leader was hiding from the people that she worked with. She didn’t know why they were having to hide behind a tree. It just seemed like a game or something like that, but she didn’t want to come off as being stupid, so she didn’t say anything until she knew that it was going to be safe. Vicerine was thinking about all the things that were going on there, what was so important about that, and she was told that she was not seen and she was not to talk about the things that were going on there. She shut her mouth as she sat down on the round with her, it just seemed there was something sad with her, like she had been put through so much and now it was starting to take a toile on her. She felt so bad for her, not that she wanted to give her pity, no she just didn’t like the fact that people were taxing her so much with things to go on, this was going to be a long road, and they were going to get through it.

She sat down and crossed her legs and sighed some, she just anted to make sure that everything was going to be ok. She looked around at the other people, that were now not looking for them and they could get a moments of rest. "Don't worry I have not seen you, a and i wont rat you out to the others, that’s not the kind of thing that I do." She said softly as she crossed her hands on her lap and just let a gentle smile play across on her face, to keep herself strait and knowing of her surroundings. it was rather interesting though, that she was there in the first place, why was she running away from everyone? Though she could have many good reasons to running away from everyone anyways, it was not her place to ask about that, so she was letting that go. "You have nothing to fear from me, besides, i don’t like some of them they scare me." She said honestly as she looked down at the ground, ashamed that she was scared of some of the people that worked there, but it was going to be ok when she thought about it.

She tilted her head to the side for a moment and then blinked as she was asked some questions. She smiled then nodded her head for a moment as she was thinking then she answered. "My names Vicerin Nights, and yes i do work here in the shifter place, im a shifter a falcon, and i work in the library" She said smiling off again, she thought that it was rather kind of interesting how she would ask something like that. But she could understand how it was, with everything that she had to do, Vicerine was sure that she had other things to worry about then knowing who everyone was there at the place. She looked up at the tree and then sighed. "Having a hard day then?" She asked waving her hand a small bit, thinking about the people she was running away from.

[Isolade Kachina]

Isolade smiled warmly at the woman, "Thank you so much." She felt like such a whiner. There were so many people who had it worse than her and would say "Selfish Empress has everything she ever wanted and even now she is unhappy." Isolade hated that the most. She didn't have everything she ever wanted. What she wanted was a peaceful world for her people, for them to live free of pain and fear. She also not as strongly wished for someone to share the burden of leadership with but the only co-leader there could be would be her mate and she wasn't ready to settle down and worry about that and having a successor. There were so many things about being a leader that were obligation and caused her so much stress that it far outweighed the little pleasures she got of servants and private baths. Those things made her feel selfish sometimes but really they were compensation. So much of her life was dedicated to her people that she hardly had anytime truly to herself anymore.

Isolade laughed, "They scare me too." She was really starting to like this girl. "Have you met Macavity? The snake? Just like one if you ask me. I don't trust him." She shook her head growling a little. "They're like vultures some of them, that should be their shifts." She scoffed. She shook her head looking at the woman's expression. Over the years she had gotten very good at reading people and she shook her head and gently touched her shoulder, "Don't be ashamed. These are dangerous times it is hard to trust anyone. Sometimes it makes me feel like a failure that I can't make this all go away." She shook her head, "I can't even get the leaders to take me seriously and I can't threaten war because our people have sworn against it." She shook her head. That doesn't mean she had never bluffed, that usually worked with casters but dragons were wise and vampires could smell a lie a mile away. Werewolves were so threatening she bluffed but she didn't want her bluff to be met.

"Pleasure to meet you Vicerin." She smiled pleasantly. "Ah the library, when I was little I used to go there all the time but now a-days there's no time for reading." She said mournfully. Isolade learned forward a little, "Tell me what's it like to be you? Do people still trust me? Whats it like to not have to make decisions?" She sat back a little at her comment and nodded. She groaned a small growl coming out with it. "You have no idea. I had to throw a werewolf and a dragon out of our territory for petitioning me to join their sides. I hate it! Why do they have to try to drag us into this stupid war? And the council is doing nothing as usual and I was so mad today I think I may have to write some apologies tonight." She laughed a little, "It felt good though but usually the council doesn't take too kindly to being called a 'useless body of failure." She winced a little. She had a short temper and it often got the better of her.

[Vicerin Nights]

She felt a lot like the leader here, wanting to be free from a lot of things, when she had the time and everything. Vicerine worked two jobs, she worked in the library there in the shifters pride, but she also lived in the orphanage that was being run by a caster, because she had no parents and as far as she knew she didn’t have any siblings, though she did. She was sure that she could feel about the same in this situation, now knowing what was going on and everything seemed like it was so far away, or so close sometimes. She wanted her to know, though she was prolly a lot younger then the leader she knew what it could be like, and that she understood the times that they were having now, everything was going to be ok at one point in time. They were all going to get through this, and in the end, it was going to be a better day, they just hoped all to get through this. The war was scary and most people were scared, and ever leaders had the right to be scared of this, it was all very scary.

She smiled when she said that she was scared of them to, it felt nice to have something in common with another person now. She nodded her head knowing the other person and the ones that she was talking about. It was not hard to know who they were, from the things that they would talk about, and how they would look later on. "I know most of them, when im not working i kind of just walk, and they are there as well sometimes, but i agree they don’t seem to want to do anything, unless it benefits them. I wonder how you do this job sometimes Miss, all the weight of everything on your shoulders, and your strong, but i can understand its hard isn’t it." She said softly as she looked at her for a moment, and then looked away to the sky area, it was interesting. "You are not a failer, this war, whatever it is, is nothing that can just go away, we will get through it if its just one step at a time, and show that were a lot stronger then they are by doing good for everyone" She smiled again, trying to be strong somewhat.

"I love it there, when i am not at home in the orphanage, its something that i am happy to be at and working with books, i like books." She then smiled some as she looked at her. "There is always time to take a small reading break" She grinned off then sighed, and closed her eyes sometimes. "For me, well, its ok, im an orphan, my parents died when i was really young, so i grew up in the orphanage that is close to the casters town. People like you a lot miss, everyone thinks highly of you, and a lot think that you are doing a great job with this. And i make a lot of decisions every day, but that’s just part of life." She smiled then patted her on the knee some and smiled, trying to come off as calm, she was calm but she was also a little off, remembering that her parents were dead again. "There selfish, they want all the power, and so they are going to come after the people that can give them power, and that is what there doing, i think its right that were not fighting, its making everyone here a lot more safer then everyone else. Its going to come out alright in the end, we just have to hold on and believe. Ahha, yeah well they can deal with being called failers." She giggled some.

[Isolade Kachina]

((I'm soooo sorry its taken me so long to reply I've been beyond busy!!!))

Isolade winced a little at the comment. It was true the people she worked with were all very kind but they all had a starvation for power that they could not obtain. The souls of the leader only chose a few and the successor by the blood of the current leader. The soul of the leader occasionally choose the mate of the leader in order for them to lead alongside them. Isolade could only hope for such a situation it was a rare thing that the leading spirits chose the mate and even less for the leader to even find a mate. Isolade had long given up dating, every time she got into any kind of relationship the populous got insane with hope and the council made sure that they made their views known. Isolade smiled at this woman, she had no idea how much stress was put on her shoulders to keep her safe and Isolade wanted it to stay that way. She wanted her people to be informed but she would rather they thought she was just like what she seemed, strong and fearless.

Isolade laughed, "Me too," she replied at he comment about how she did her job. She shook her head, " Let me tell you its no cake walk. Its more like being thrown into a shark pit, no offense to any of the sharks here." She said with a smile. "They all want their foot in the door and I have to keep them in their place which isn't always pleasant because sometimes I enjoy it but they don't." She smiled warmly at the next comment, that was something she never wanted to happen. If her people lost their faith in her then she was no better than the other leaders in this war. In a sense she was at war keeping the other waring nations from walking all over them. Even now she had spies around the nations keeping her informed on their decisions so that she could react to them before they even started moving. She also had troops moving along her border keeping would be attackers at bay. The shifter race would be unsettled if they knew truly how many attacks had already been averted.

She smiled, "Oh you work at the orphanage? I've always wanted to go there but I never have enough time..." she trailed off and suddenly became very angry. "I'm the empress dammit! I'll make time!" She stood suddenly. She felt so empowered she lost almost all of what she had been saying. It took her a while to realize that Vicerin was still speaking. She nodded vigorously giggling a little, "They do its like I'm talking to a lot of five year-olds." She laughed and clenched her fist, "Will you take me to this orphanage? I'd very much like to see it." She said. "Empress Isolade!" A voice called and she reflexively winced. "Cilarnen," She said turning. He inhaled to fly into a lecture and Isolade put her hand up stopping him before he could start. "No you listen to me." She said firmly. "I am not going to any more meetings today. Unless something truly disastrous comes about, and no councilor Wient having a hissy fit does not count as disastrous." "But lady, what are you going to do?" He asked as if afraid to know the answer. "I'm going with this woman Vicerin to see the orphanage." Isolade said stubbornly and held her hand out to the woman on the floor.