⚓ IKAIA | current track ♪ | current shape: oncilla | exploring. . . engaging. . . |
It started with the boredom of sunrise.  While watching the waves turn orange made him smile, the boy possessed a restless, eager heart.  For this particular early morning, he decided only a quick adventure into the lands unclaimed could satisfy him.  He'd explore for the day then come back before nightfall, or later, if he found a safe place to rest -- the boy figured no one would go looking for him if he's gone for a day or two.

He skirted around Tanglewood's swamp as a peregrine falcon, preferring not to accidentally trespass anywhere, regardless of alliances.  As he discovered an open field to venture through, filled with flowers and plenty of tall grass, he dipped for a landing, grinning ecstatically as he shifted, landing gracefully on four paws rather than as a bird.

His spotted tail flashed against the green grass, an oncilla once again as he took to walking.  He might have began marking the area in his mind, but he spotted another small figure not far away, following a butterfly across the field.  Wasting no time, he began trotting a path towards her, wearing his typical friendly grin.

"Aloha!" She seemed nice enough, given she was around his age and chasing butterflies.  Ikaia already smelt something funny about her -- I think I know this smell... -- and wondered if she was from a group too, like him.  Should that be, she must like to explore too, since she was out here, like him.  "Hey, I'm Ikaia," he'd offer brightly.  "What's your name?'

⚓ IKAIA | current track ♪ | current shape: oncilla | interacting with aine. . . |
Scared her. Given the unintentional fright, his ears flicked back sheepishly.  Ikaia's smile turned far more gentle and repentant.  As she replied with her name, plus some inquiries he took a seat in the grass, resting his tail over his paws. A pirate?  "Sure am! The best ever too, well maybe not yet... I will be eventually!"

"That don't mean I'll hurt you though.  A pirate doesn't have to be mean," he added hastily, conscious that she seemed more nervous about the prospect than the earlier scare.  With that all cleared up, the boy hoped she wouldn't be so scared of him.  "Think of me like an adventurer-pirate.  I just like the freedom.  It's fun to explore."

"You like to that too, right? I think you do, I can tell. Would you like to explore with me, Aine? Just for today?" Double the adventurers, double the fun, in Ikaia's opinion.  "This field is really big; I'm sure there's something hidden to find!"

⚓ IKAIA | current track ♪ | current shape: serval | exploring. . . |
He felt satisfied she no longer looked afraid of him; better, she seemed to look to him as their expedition leader.  Given they were just a duo, he hardly felt that necessary, but he quickly began devising a way to decide which way to go.  His deep brown eyes flashed every direction, recalling sharply he came from the southwest.

With a deciding nod, he shifted into the shape of a serval; tall with keen eyes and acute hearing.  He threw Aine a grin before perking his large ears.  Even as an oncilla, he thought he heard the sound of running water.  "This way," he exclaimed, bounding into the grass with new purpose.  A stream seemed to run down the field, too wide to jump over but deep enough for him to stand, even if he was still an oncilla.

"We can follow it." A very good find, in his opinion, because it made the map easier to mark in his mind.  "Let's go downstream, for now, at least."  He wondered if the running water fed into anything; a lake or pond or larger stream or river.  He stuck to the serval form for the time being, appreciating his new height and keener senses.  Now he could properly lead the way for Aine without being surprised by anything.

⚓ IKAIA | current track ♪ | current shape: serval | explaining . . . exploring. . . |
Aine's renewed surprise threw him off-guard.  It brought to mind the first time he'd managed to shift, purely on accident. The serval grinned again, unbothered by the need to explain.  Indeed, she seemed to finally break out some questions, much to his amusement.  "Well not anything, I don't think, but most things."

Ikaia wanted to shift into something amazing like a dragon, but the form evaded him.  "I have to think and feel the change.  Some shapes just don't happen." Like attempting to catch sand.  "I like turning into a bird when I have to travel far, and when I swim I become an otter," he went on jovially.  The change became so natural to him, he barely remembered time before he could shift.

The sound of Aine's squeak was enough to make him jump a foot in the air, turning around sharply in concern.  His whiskers twitched as he realized what happened.  She'd wandered into the water on accident, but it seemed discovery came from it.  Immediately curious, he crept closer to the stream with an inspecting gaze.

"You're right."  Cool.  "We should collect a few!  I don't know how we'd carry them far though -- we could find a place to hide them for later.  Like buried treasure." Now they had a mission.

⚓ IKAIA | current track ♪ | current shape: fluctuating | scouting. . . |
A landmark was a good idea, especially since neither of them lived here.  "Good idea! I'll look for something, hold on." The serval let his body morph and change, trading fur for feathers once again.  The now peregrine falcon spread out his wings, taking off into the sky.  Now with a literally bird's eye view, the boy sought out something more unique than tall grass.

A lone tree certainly appealed to him as his sharp eyes scanned everything within view.  Determined not to come back without the answer, he flew further downstream while ascending ever slightly higher.  The stream remained shallow but seemed to spread wider through the field, a fact he stored in mind.  A few moments later and he spotted exactly what he was looking for.  A lone tree!

A willow tree, to be more exact, hanging over a larger body of water the stream seemed to feed into.  A shallow lake, or simply a pond.  Thrilled, the bird sped back upstream, dipping down where he shifted into a serval once more, touching the grass on four paws.

"There's a lake... Pond?  With a willow tree further down stream," he exclaimed breathlessly.  "We can store our rocks by it's roots." So I need a rock too, since Aine seemed to have found hers.

Keenly, he locked his eyes back to the stream.  His spotted fur quickly grew soaked, sticking to his lithe form as he trotted around within the water.  A silver-colored stone caught his eye eventually, smooth on one side while more rough on the other.  "Got it!" He grinned, pushing the rock towards Aine's.

Now, pushing two rocks sounded rather dull and tedious.  Ikaia's shorter tail flicked unhappily.  "I'll turn back into a bird so I can carry them easier," he decided, nodding matter-a-factly.  "Just follow me."  Plan in motion, he returned to his falcon form, locking his talons around both rocks before giving his wings an experimental flap. Yeah, okay.

"Alright!" He relished the feeling of wind through his feathers, flying only a few feet above the grass so Aine could keep an eye on his path.  "This way, down the stream."