Day One
_____As increasingly lovely as spending time with Wrath was becoming, Na'ima was quickly realizing she needed space. She was finding herself to be too...attached for her liking, not that she disliked being literally held at Wrath's side night and day and doing whatever else came with being so close to him, but she was becoming what she felt was 'clingy'. It was especially noticeable to her when she found herself constantly battling with sleep, her second favorite pastime, when the stallion was not around. It was getting out of hand; she wanted to be courted, but Wrath could not define her entire existence.
And so she had parted ways for the day and decided to get back to her favorite pastime; working. It had been far, far too long since she had stepped foot in the human world. There were things she needed to do, new recipes she needed to give a try. Besides, she had been neglecting her beloved little village for long enough, if she didn't do something soon they may begin to believe she was gone forever. That just wouldn't do. She needed to remind them of their place as her test subjects.
_____It was mid-day, terribly hot, with a blazing sun shining down upon the veiled and jewel-covered horsewoman. Golden eyes lined thickly with black kohl and a bright, shimmering color on her lids darted left and right, studying each individual around her as they ran obliviously past the woman they could not see. Delicate hands held an old journal in one and a pencil in the other, her notes regarding this village seemed to be written on every page; they would need updating after all of the neglect. And she was glad she had brought it as she watched all of the young children and toddlers running around playing, she had even flipped through pages to find that indeed several women had been pregnant when she was last here. Had it been so long? Clearly she had been slacking. Shameful. Ah, well. Guess it was time to make her rounds.
As she weaved through the people, dogs barked and snarled at her, drawing attention to themselves from the humans who noticed them, yet none of them could see Na'ima. She smiled from behind the cover of her veils. Cute. She continued on without care, only stopping when she recognized a subject; each time Na'ima would circle them, getting in their faces and checking their conditions. Many of them were still in good shape or they had recovered. Good. They would do well for new tests. Everything was noted down, even the fact that two women she usually tested on were pregnant. It would go against her rules to use them, a disappointment considering how well they reacted to everything before. Another time. Hopefully they were farther along than they looked and she wouldn't have to wait too long. No children, no pregnant or nursing mothers, no one who was sick of natural causes instead of her tests, none of the protectors of the village who kept outside dangers..out. Just a few of the rules she had put on herself to follow. It wasn't terrible, really.
_____It took her several hours to re-catalog everyone in her notes, but it was worth it if it meant she could have some fun again. Na'ima finally stopped in the middle of a set of houses, each one bustling with activity. In the middle of these houses was a gathering of young men stoking a fire likely meant for cooking. There was talk of a party, they were celebrating someone's birthday. Na'ima smiled, fixing her veils over her face as she approached the men and their fire. A fire, how perfect. She weaved through people to get to the fire, gliding effortlessly between them like a gentle breeze, something none of them would ever feel or see or hear. It was exhilarating to be among the humans like this again, to be able to circle them and interact with their lives without them ever being the wiser. Two of the men received a gentle, feather-light caress to their heads as she passed them, making her way to the third when there came a snarl. A dog. Her head whipped around to the side, at the angry hound snarling and glaring at her, pulling its lips back to reveal large teeth. "Tch." Dogs. It was always the dogs. But it got the attention of the men and a few others around them. Perhaps this would be more help than she thought. Thank you, hound. Na'ima let the men deal with the dog, one of them even got up and gave her space so he could bring the dog away and put it somewhere indoors, away from people in case it became aggressive and bit someone. She turned away, letting them deal with it, and began to sift through her bag. Which one, which one..
Finally she pulled out a small bottle filled with a red powder, reading the label with a little smile. Perfect.
The dog howled, trying to free itself from its master until he was finally locked away into a house. She looked back over her shoulder at it as it propped itself up to look out a window it wasn't able to jump through, and she smiled more, giving the hound a playful wink before turning back to the flame. No one in this area was pregnant or a child. It would do for now. The bottle was opened, half of the contents dropped into the open flame. Na'ima immediately stepped back, a hand coming up to pull her veils tightly over her face and even covering her eyes. The man returned, taking her place. He sniffed.
"You smell that?" His brow furrowed as he leaned in toward the flame and inhaled, breathing in the burning powder she had just dropped into it. "Smells like..metal?"
Noted. Na'ima nodded her head. She would have to do something about the metallic scent.
The other two men leaned in as well, inhaling as their friend did. "Yeah, I smell it.."
"I don't," said the third one. He shrugged.
The first man frowned. "Maybe it's from the other night. Think someone dropped a spoon in here or something."
She moved, her step silent on the ground, and came around close enough to see their faces but not enough to accidentally inhale or make contact with her own creation. She counted silently in her head. Thirty seconds...fifty...fifty five..
And there it was. A small drop of blood dripped from the first man's nose, falling into the flame. The second man remained unaffected, as did the third. Disappointing. Perhaps they would take more time. She stepped back again, seemingly satisfied. This would do for now. She would come back tomorrow.
Subjects; Three men. Aged roughly eighteen to early twenties. Names currently unknown.
_______They carry distinguishing features.
___________One. A skeleton tattoo on his left forearm.
___________Two. A scar from the back of his shoulder to the back of his neck.
___________Three. A gold necklace, he has no other distinctive factors about him. He is utterly ordinary.
Red Powder number five. No particular name yet.
_______Poured into a fire.
_______Inhaled by Two and Three.
_______Possibly inhaled by One, however unlike the other two he failed to notice anything peculiar.
_______Immediately described by Two and Three as a 'metal' scent. Will need to add a scent to the powder to disguise this.
_______Within one minute, exactly fifty six seconds, Two dripped a single drop from his nostril.
Will return tomorrow for further observation.
And so she had parted ways for the day and decided to get back to her favorite pastime; working. It had been far, far too long since she had stepped foot in the human world. There were things she needed to do, new recipes she needed to give a try. Besides, she had been neglecting her beloved little village for long enough, if she didn't do something soon they may begin to believe she was gone forever. That just wouldn't do. She needed to remind them of their place as her test subjects.
_____It was mid-day, terribly hot, with a blazing sun shining down upon the veiled and jewel-covered horsewoman. Golden eyes lined thickly with black kohl and a bright, shimmering color on her lids darted left and right, studying each individual around her as they ran obliviously past the woman they could not see. Delicate hands held an old journal in one and a pencil in the other, her notes regarding this village seemed to be written on every page; they would need updating after all of the neglect. And she was glad she had brought it as she watched all of the young children and toddlers running around playing, she had even flipped through pages to find that indeed several women had been pregnant when she was last here. Had it been so long? Clearly she had been slacking. Shameful. Ah, well. Guess it was time to make her rounds.
As she weaved through the people, dogs barked and snarled at her, drawing attention to themselves from the humans who noticed them, yet none of them could see Na'ima. She smiled from behind the cover of her veils. Cute. She continued on without care, only stopping when she recognized a subject; each time Na'ima would circle them, getting in their faces and checking their conditions. Many of them were still in good shape or they had recovered. Good. They would do well for new tests. Everything was noted down, even the fact that two women she usually tested on were pregnant. It would go against her rules to use them, a disappointment considering how well they reacted to everything before. Another time. Hopefully they were farther along than they looked and she wouldn't have to wait too long. No children, no pregnant or nursing mothers, no one who was sick of natural causes instead of her tests, none of the protectors of the village who kept outside dangers..out. Just a few of the rules she had put on herself to follow. It wasn't terrible, really.
_____It took her several hours to re-catalog everyone in her notes, but it was worth it if it meant she could have some fun again. Na'ima finally stopped in the middle of a set of houses, each one bustling with activity. In the middle of these houses was a gathering of young men stoking a fire likely meant for cooking. There was talk of a party, they were celebrating someone's birthday. Na'ima smiled, fixing her veils over her face as she approached the men and their fire. A fire, how perfect. She weaved through people to get to the fire, gliding effortlessly between them like a gentle breeze, something none of them would ever feel or see or hear. It was exhilarating to be among the humans like this again, to be able to circle them and interact with their lives without them ever being the wiser. Two of the men received a gentle, feather-light caress to their heads as she passed them, making her way to the third when there came a snarl. A dog. Her head whipped around to the side, at the angry hound snarling and glaring at her, pulling its lips back to reveal large teeth. "Tch." Dogs. It was always the dogs. But it got the attention of the men and a few others around them. Perhaps this would be more help than she thought. Thank you, hound. Na'ima let the men deal with the dog, one of them even got up and gave her space so he could bring the dog away and put it somewhere indoors, away from people in case it became aggressive and bit someone. She turned away, letting them deal with it, and began to sift through her bag. Which one, which one..
Finally she pulled out a small bottle filled with a red powder, reading the label with a little smile. Perfect.
The dog howled, trying to free itself from its master until he was finally locked away into a house. She looked back over her shoulder at it as it propped itself up to look out a window it wasn't able to jump through, and she smiled more, giving the hound a playful wink before turning back to the flame. No one in this area was pregnant or a child. It would do for now. The bottle was opened, half of the contents dropped into the open flame. Na'ima immediately stepped back, a hand coming up to pull her veils tightly over her face and even covering her eyes. The man returned, taking her place. He sniffed.
"You smell that?" His brow furrowed as he leaned in toward the flame and inhaled, breathing in the burning powder she had just dropped into it. "Smells like..metal?"
Noted. Na'ima nodded her head. She would have to do something about the metallic scent.
The other two men leaned in as well, inhaling as their friend did. "Yeah, I smell it.."
"I don't," said the third one. He shrugged.
The first man frowned. "Maybe it's from the other night. Think someone dropped a spoon in here or something."
She moved, her step silent on the ground, and came around close enough to see their faces but not enough to accidentally inhale or make contact with her own creation. She counted silently in her head. Thirty seconds...fifty...fifty five..
And there it was. A small drop of blood dripped from the first man's nose, falling into the flame. The second man remained unaffected, as did the third. Disappointing. Perhaps they would take more time. She stepped back again, seemingly satisfied. This would do for now. She would come back tomorrow.
Subjects; Three men. Aged roughly eighteen to early twenties. Names currently unknown.
_______They carry distinguishing features.
___________One. A skeleton tattoo on his left forearm.
___________Two. A scar from the back of his shoulder to the back of his neck.
___________Three. A gold necklace, he has no other distinctive factors about him. He is utterly ordinary.
Red Powder number five. No particular name yet.
_______Poured into a fire.
_______Inhaled by Two and Three.
_______Possibly inhaled by One, however unlike the other two he failed to notice anything peculiar.
_______Immediately described by Two and Three as a 'metal' scent. Will need to add a scent to the powder to disguise this.
_______Within one minute, exactly fifty six seconds, Two dripped a single drop from his nostril.
Will return tomorrow for further observation.
