Between the Sea and the Stars {Private}

[Leto]

OOC: Sorry for longetivity of the post, just setting the premise xD

IC: Dusk had drawn into the early eons of night the twinkling of stars could be seen in the moonless heavens blurred only by the scatter of wispy clouds dancing on the breeze, the night forest was alive with the buzzing of nocturnal insects and animal life big and small, places like these never slept and the noise was quite a difference to the calming silence of the ocean depths. Quiet, almost inaudible steps could be made out from a clearing in the thick forest, marked by a single dead tree most obviously a landmark or crossing point. However the pacing creature striding back and forth had almost created a shallow ditch in the earth his steps visibly impatient. The animal or krajiin as it were was covered in markings that seemingly generate their own light piercing the darkness around him with a cold blue glow, nearly mirroring the stars above.

‘Where are they?!’ he cursed under his breath, with dark brows furrowed over ice blue eyes scanning the vast expanse of forest and ears trained on any sound, they had told him to meet here. Seeing this place himself, Lycurgus was near with suspecting this to be a set up or trap of some sort considering a high traffic waypoint was not the most discreet meeting place. Not that he suspected his own people of setting him up, yet when it came to issues dealing with dry land, his fellow diplomats could be inconsistent at best, at times it was as if he was the only one that actually gave two sh*ts about his job. Given their late arrival Lycurgus was beginning to suspect that they had left him out to dry, concluding that to be a fact the tiger-looking felid muttered an inaudible growl, the least they could’ve done was sent him a message about the change of plan! He had more pressing concerns on his agenda; however, they had said the meeting was urgent 'developments in the area'.

A yawn escaped the felid’s maw followed by an exhaled breath through a gentle stretch of tensed limbs, perhaps he should just leave but then it could be that they were only late or detained by something… or someone. Deciding to stay the bioluminescent krajiin flopped down under the dead tree grooming his fur clean of salt a never ending maintenance job. His cleaning job was kept short though as the crack of a twig followed by footsteps alerted him to the presence of creatures, the smell that enveloped the area soon enough betrayed the arrivals’ origins. ‘Finally!’ the krajiin muttered rising to his paws as two other krajiin emerged from the forest. “Sure took your time!” Lycurgus muttered through a half-sneer the krajiin however seemed unfazed by their brother's irritation. “Be thankful we’re here at all.” The scarred leader snapped back, his voice strained with fatigue, Lycurgus' brows narrowed it was just now he noticed how harried and exhausted the duo seemed. "What happened? Aion?" his gaze trailed to the younger of the two which was just a year his junior.

"Something is wrong, Lycur." the young krajiin exhaled eyes trailing the forest with a worried gaze. "What do you mean, wrong?" the diplomat turned to the older of the duo seeking answers; however the leader just shook his head. "I-I can barely explain it, but we have to let the Confederacy know. This area is not safe.” Aion muttered voice thinged with worry, “You don’t know what it is?” Lycur’s gaze trailed between the two, “Whatever it is, it’s dangerous.” the elder affirmed. A short exhale escaped Lycurgus’ chest causing the gills to expand. “Say, what if I look into it, you return to the Confederacy and tell them something is up. And I’ll return once I have some idea what’s going on.” His ice-blue eyes trailed between his fellows. The younger krajiin, Aion, frowned worried about the whole idea, but the older one seemed almost relieved he didn’t have spent a minute longer in this place. “If you want to risk your neck over this, fine.” The elder spoke, “What, you’re just going to let him do this?! But the Directives state-” a stern glare from the older male shut the youth up, “Lycurgus is right, we need more information, and he agreed to get it if anyone can survive this it’s him. Besides, there’s no way the Confederacy will listen to our report alone.” The youth resigned eyes trailing to Lycur, “You don’t have to do this yanno, we can just leave… it’s not like it's our problem.” The youth was right, realistically they only had to inform the Confederacy that something was up, and keep an eye on it, solving the problems that often beset the natives of this world was not their priority.

“We should get moving.” the elder gently nudged Aion, who nodded affirmative. Suddenly a shimmering distortion appeared near the dead tree, warping and shifting the scenery behind it; within its swirling centre was only pitch darkness with diffuse lights distorted like the disturbed surface of water, the smell of saltwater permeated the air. The duo approached the odd whirlpool however the elder stopped before he entered the distorted vortex, “Good luck, and may the Currents keep you.” Lycurgus nodded to the well-wishes in the next moments the two krajiin had vanished into the portal that swirled to a close behind them. With a last trail of the forest the krajiin disappeared into the foliage beginning his journey to get to bottom of what it was his fellows had witnessed.

[Leorgathar]

Following a careful selection, Phyllon looked at one of the trees in the forest. It was an old tree, but its bark was still intact, no bird nests in its branches, and definitely free of termites. It was perfect.

Smiling, the plant-lion dug the earth with his claws, and just as soon as he felt the moisture in the layer below, the tree was able to listen to him. In the mysterious language of plantae, he kindly asked for permission to open a small shelter high above in its trunk. At the tree’s acceptance, Phyllon tensed his claw, and a hole opened right where he wanted to, in the middle of two conveniently located branches. He then released the link he had formed with the tree and let out a sigh of satisfaction.

“There you go, little ones,” he told a young couple of squirrels, who had just moved to the area and were looking for a home in Phyllon’s forest. The squirrels climbed happily one after the other around the tree and into the hole. After inspecting their new home, they both darted out again over a branch and waved their tails squeaking with joy to the lion as a sign of gratitude. Soon they would start a new family, and the tree would provide them with the shelter and food they needed to live a healthy life. Phyllon smiled at the thought of that.

The Sun had just set, and it was time for the forest to rest. But before Phyllon himself could go to sleep, he still had to take a stroll around the main areas to make sure every living being in his forest was at peace. From time to time he stopped to dig his claws into the earth again to have a better look at what happened as far as he could see through the trees near him. Every bird nest, every badger den, every ant colony was within his reach, and besides a bunch of bats hunting in the dark, everything seemed to be in order so far. He kept up with that routine until he noticed the presence of three strange creatures at a clearing, near a single old dead tree.

Intrigued, Phyllon decided to investigate and have a proper look at the new visitors. He spied them from within the forest, shielding himself behind a tree at the clearing's perimeter. They looked like nothing he had ever seen before, similar to big cats, and yet different in anatomical features. They had gills like fish, and they emitted strange lights in various points of their bodies. Whatever they were, they weren't from around his forest. Not from the lands surrounding it either

He wished at that moment that the tree they were close to was still alive, that way he could use its signal to listen to what they were saying, but they were too far from his nearest living tree, and the grass just wasn't as useful as trees for that purpose. All he could do was watch. He usually preferred not to be seen by strangers in the forest unless it was necessary. If they were lost souls looking for a temporary shelter, he gladly would welcome them in and find them some accomodation, but he decided he would wait and see what happened.

Soon, as the lion thought through all the possible scenarios, something weird happened in front of his eyes. From thin air right beside the creatures, a hole appeared. Not quite a hole, more like a whirlpool, but on the air instead of water, he thought, and two of those strangers disappeared through it, leaving a single one of those behind.

"What in the name of everything that's green here did just happen?" He asked to himself. But his attention soon turned to a different kind of signal he recieved from another far away section of the forest, one that had travelled all the way to his location with a simple message: "Help!".

Alerted, Phyllon turned around and galloped as fast as he could to the source of that signal. His heart was racing much faster than ever since he began his woodland life. How could he be so distracted? Something sinister he had not forseen was happening. His pacing came to a sudden stop when he saw horrorized what it was.

"Oh no... No no no no no!"

His eyes sparkled with the reflection of the unforgiving fire, consuming every tree on its path.

[Tamber]

Dusk had been fruitful for the hunting pair. They had claimed two ostrich by the time the sun had set and buried one within a mile of the nearest forest. It was a good chance for Rhea's partner to practice his earth technique - she could only help him so much with the task, at least without digging the hole with her own paws, so the bulk of the job fell on Arthas's ability to control the soil with his own power. While he worked to recall his long-lost knowledge of earth manipulation, she could bear some of the burden by lightening gravity for him. Now they had the second bird to bury, and it had to be separated from the first, so they lugged it elsewhere.

"And you thought we couldn't take two in one trip," she said with a smirk as Arthas pulled the bird by its scrawny neck. "You almost lost us this one. Next time maybe I'll just do the hunting myself and leave the hiding to you, since you're getting so good at it."

It was the partners' wont to make jabs at each other, with good intentions. Rhea knew as well as Arthas that they made a great team - it was because of their partnership that they could spend so much time training. Sometimes they spent so little time hunting they could even take midday naps, something any other rogue would have trouble fitting into its schedule. Rhea had formed hunting alliances in the past, but Arthas shared her high aspirations, and he was one of few she had met who had abilities akin to her own. He was someone to grow with. So for the most part, they stuck together.

The moon had a fervid presence this evening. It had been as bright and orange as the setting sun, and Rhea wondered if that's what had made her performance so strong tonight. Now as darkness enveloped them, the moon climbed higher and grew a faint yellow, like a cub's pelt. It refused to be shrouded by the wispy clouds that threatened to hide it. Round and full, it almost seemed conscious, and it was like a third member of their party was walking alongside them. As usual, Rhea felt just about the way the moon looked. Tonight she felt broad and powerful, like a lioness with an inspiring future.

But she hoped those clouds hung around until her business was done. She didn't want to be around Arthas on a night like this, if the moon took over the sky the way it might without some moisture in the air to obscure it. She'd hidden that part of herself from him thus far, and she planned to keep it that way.

As they made their way past the opposite side of the forest, the smell of cinders and ash suddenly passed their noses. Disturbed, they turned to see a faint, orange glow building on the side nearest them. Within moments, animals began running out and into the open plain, completely disregarding the lions' presence. It grew so rapidly that flames were licking the sky before more than a few dozen animals could escape. This fire seemed to be seething with something besides its own fuel and plasma, and Rhea had to swallow hard before she turned to her partner.

"Water," she said. "We need to bring water."

[Hypercube]

Arthas dragged the large bird along the soft dirt, its feathers leaving a trail in the otherwise featureless ground. The fetters on his neck and around his ankles did make it somewhat difficult to maneuver such a large and unwieldy payload but the feline had grown rather accustom to their presence and as such it did not affect him much at all. Arthas's eyes looked to Rhea's as she spoke of their successful hunt and he smiled best he could with the avian creature occupying his maw as she passed him the compliment. Dropping the bird to the ground for a moment he replied with a similar jabbing nature.

"I may not be the most adept at hunting" he said speaking around loose feathers that had found a home within his mouth, "but we both are aware that I'm the one doing the majority of the work here." Satisfied with his comment Arthas moved in a deliberate way as he began to carry the bird once again, exaggerating the stress it put on his body.

As he slid the long bodied prey he could not help but stare into the distance at the heavens that just barely made appearances through the patchy tree cover. the moon was strong this evening, something that the pair had found made a very good condition for training both of their talents. It was through nights like these that the partnership the two lions sustained helped Arthas finally recover some of his lost powers. While the runic bindings on his collar and fetters tried to fight against it he had become very adept in his water manipulation techniques thanks to Rhea's ability to manipulate the Earth through the lunar gravity.

Arthas's pondering was brought to a halt when a strange scent entered his nostrils. It was definitely not natural for the forest and as they proceeded it became more and more apparent just what it was. Releasing the bird Arthas turned as Rhea did to face the ever increasing flames as they danced mischievously along the trees, as is something other than its own fuel was burning deep within the orange plasma. Before Rhea had even finished her sentence Arthas quickly began to scan the area. To his dismay there did not seem to be any water in the direct vicinity of the fire and it was growing too fast to leave it burning as they searched.

"Rhea" Arthas said with a serious tone as he stood in a ready position, "be prepared to assist me with the moon; I'm not sure how well this will turn out." Now in position the lion began to whisper the words he had most recently discovered into the noisy crackling of the fire as he focused all his thoughts on the processes: "Aquiberium." As he spoke the word he was immediately wracked with pain from the runes on his neck and ankles as they tried to combat his casting of the spell. The ancient letters burned a bright electric blue and filled the forest with light comparable to the flames that were steadily increasing in size.

After a few moments his spell began to take effect and the runes' intensity died down a small amount as Arthas overcame the act of casting the magic. With this hurdle passed small water droplets began to make their way out of the many living plants of the forest and started to combine in front of the feline who controlled them. After not too long he had created a large sphere of water capable of putting out the flame that threatened the forest under the assumption that the fire was natural. At this point the cat was in obvious pain by both the taxing act of collecting the water from the nearby plant life and the energy needed to sustain such a mass of water.

[Leto]

The smell of cinders was slowly choking the air, the unmistakable odor of burning wood lay as vast blanket over the forest. Lycurgus hadn’t gotten far from the meeting place by the dead tree when the frantic cries of birds all fleeing in the same direction caught his immediate attention, only to be followed by a dreaded scent. As creatures of the deep oceans fires were really only something the krajiin had come into contact with once they had ventured up on land, but people in Lycurgus’ profession often encountered this dreaded phenomenon several times. It instilled as much fear in the alien as it did to the natives, but the fires that were eating apart this woodland glade was unusually powerful and despite the still winds it was spreading fast unlike a normal fire which was always buffeted by the winds; this one had a life of its own, something was driving it.

Every fiber in Lycurgus’ body told him to clear the scene to run away like the rest of the homeless inhabitants of the glade, yet the krajiin couldn’t shake the feeling that this was no natural occurrence and as such should not be allowed to run its course; he had to find some way of stopping it. Unfortunately Lycurgus was at a considerable disadvantage he could only get within viewing distance of the massive blaze which was illuminating the night sky until the rising heat would force him back; it wasn’t so much the intense heat which was the problem but the rising temperature in general, the closer he got to the fire the more difficult it was to breath coupled with the ash in the air clogging his gills that were drying up with every inhale of the warm air was depriving the bioluminescent felid of oxygen, with every breath he was choking himself.

He was physically incapable of getting within range to use his biotics to confine the flames, but that was when he heard a word spoken, it was distorted by the air through which it was spoken making it sound broken in accent, but he recognized and even understood the meaning of the word; not like one would understand words of a fluent second language but on a much deeper level. In fact the utterance of the word in such a perfect way had the krajiin suspect he was not alone that one of his kin was present. His paws pounded the ground as he raced in the direction of the spoken word; he had to get them to leave as the krajiin could not do anything with this fire. However as he crashed through the underbrush what he saw caused to stop dead in his tracks; it was not one of his own, but the sight left him stunned a large blob of water suspended in the air, and two native felines.

He stared at the two before shifted his attention to the blob of water, seeing the strain painted across the face of one of the felines Lycurgus didn’t even think much less speak, a blue-purple glowing aura flittered around him and at the same time the blob of water would stabilize the ripples and flow of the water would dissipate leaving a blank transparent sphere; it was still a liquid but now kept suspended in a graviational stasis field and it’s mass decreased considerably allowing it to levitate as if cut off from the effects of gravity. This the krajiin hoped would take some of the burden off of the strained feline.

[Leorgathar]

“This isn’t happening… it can’t be!”

Phyllon gasped paralyzed in horror. The flames had already burned a considerably big portion of the forest since the call for help reached him, they had been spreading at an unnatural rate. This was not nature’s doing.

The plant-lion had to act now, or else the entire forest would be consumed along with himself, for no matter what he would not abandon it, not for anything in the world. He resumed his race again to get closer as he could, and as soon as he found the right spot, he planted all of his claws, front and rear, into the earth. This way he linked to four trees surrounding the fire, and desperately tried to shake their branches, twist their trunks, slam them to the ground… anything!

In truth, he did not know what to do. He had been involved in very few battles in his life where he used his magical bond with plant life to successfully win. But Phyllon’s mortal enemy, fire, was an entirely different thing. The few times he had faced it, he had only survived when in the presence of water, and otherwise he was helpless. And now there was this forest fire, threatening the lives of so many trees he had known since they were young.

It wasn’t long before one of the trees he was manipulating caught fire. He felt its leaves quickly burning and soon reaching its bark, the chlorophyll boiling inside. This fire definitely wasn’t normal. It became so painful that Phyllon had to release the link with that tree.
“Dead,” he said with his heart filling with sorrow. Another tree he was linked to caught fire as well, forcing him to release the link again. “Dead!” Soon, he lost the link with the other two, and tears began flowing from his eyes. He shut them tight and hung his head low, defeated, unable to do anything at all. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.” For the first time in many years, the plant-lion really felt useless. This forest had been his only real home, his life and legacy, and now he could not protect it. “I failed you.”

Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation through his body, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw that his tears were no longer falling down, but floating in the air as little droplets in front of him. They were flying away from him for some reason, and soon he realized that more fluids were being drained from his body. Confused, he quickly dug his paws again in the ground, and felt that the same was happening to all the trees surrounding him and the fire.

“What the… what is this? What’s happening!?” Phyllon panicked, but at the same time he realized the fire had nothing to do with whatever was pulling water out of him and the trees. There was an opening between the flames where he could faintly look through, and there he saw it, the water had gathered in a single floating blob, which then shaped like a sphere just outside of the forest’s edge. Phyllon stood with his dry mouth open, mesmerized and afraid.

[Tamber]

Crouching low and dodging frightened wildlife that rushed out of the forest, Rhea allowed her partner to take control of the situation. She cringed as she saw how much pain he must have suffered, fighting through the protests of his fetters. But she was encouraged to see the excellent work he had done, summoning so much water from the plants and holding such a massive weight in the air. His water source concerned her, however, as the lack of moisture in the foliage would only enable the fire to spread more easily. He would have to act quickly.

Just as Rhea prepared to help lift the water for Arthas, she saw a flash of blue light in the distance. There stood some sort of felid with a blue glow around him. She concluded that he must have been bearing some of the weight, since Arthas looked much less strained. Rhea felt a familiar lightness about her as the creature was glowing - it was similar to the floaty way she felt when she engaged with the moon's gravity.

Thinking of the moon snapped her out of her confused gaze at this strange, supernatural creature. Arthas was still waiting on her help, and she knew just how to knock this fire out.

Rhea turned to see the moon behind her. It was losing its yellowish tinge, and the clouds around it were parting. She was rushed for time - not just to extinguish this fire, but to hide before the moon took her away.

She crouched, lying her stomach and legs on the dirt. She felt the earth with her cheek, closing her eyes and listening for its contents. As she tensed her muscles and focussed on the moon's presence, she heard a faint trickle below her. Her focus was resilient, committed to the movement of the groundwater. Within moments, droplets arose from the ground around the lions and hovered in the air like tiny gems. They began to accumulate and dampen the lioness's pelt. Finally Rhea looked up to see the fruits of her labor, weightless orbs of water hanging all around her. Carefully she stood up, and with a roar and a leap forward, she flung the groundwater toward Arthas's orb and doubled its size. The momentum threw the orb forward and directly into the forest fire, soaking the trees and the animals still trying to escape.

The water came crashing down, flooding the ground and snapping the already weakened foliage. Some trees fell, while other looked to be damaged beyond repair. But despite a few burning embers and an intense haze of smoke, the forest was dark once again, the fire gone.

Seeing the job essentially finished, Rhea turned toward the moon once more. She could already feel herself losing control, and when she looked up she saw a bright, white moon with no clouds in sight. Who knows, maybe she had moved the clouds, too. As she began to lose consciousness and felt that familiar savageness about her, she turned and ran toward the moon as fast as she could. As she ran she blacked out, and the last thing she thought before entering her trance was to head for the nearest covering of trees. She couldn't let them find her.

Soon she forgot who it was she was thinking about. Her vision was gone, her steps furious, and she slipped away for the night.

[Hypercube]

Arthas felt more at ease and his eyes were able to open slightly to see the strange blue-purple aura that surrounded the water he had called forth. Such a power couldn't have been Rhea's doing but he was more than relieved to have some help with the still growing mass of water dangling in the air. He had nearly pulled all of the water from the trees that surrounded him, their leaves turning a pale green as the last few droplets made their way into the orb. While he sustained the orb he turned to see Rhea crouched on the ground, her muscles tense and her mind focused on her task.

He watched as the water he had forgotten in the ground rose and formed their own spheres of water, smaller but akin to Arthas's. Together they must have had nearly as much volume as his own and his postulation was proven correct as they were combined and pushed towards the fire. With a huge crash the water made contact with flames, their dying vocalizations echoing through the subsequent cracking of the bark and trees that came toppling down.

Arthas smiled as the last of the unstable plant life fell and all that remained of the burning fire were the embers that still glowed a dim red against the moonlight. Nearby he noticed the creature that must have been helping him; a very odd creature at that. He couldn't quite make out what the species was and he had never seen anything quite of his nature before. He turned his head to Rhea hoping that she shared his confusion but found that she was no longer there.

"Rhea?" he asked with complete disregard to the stranger that he had just encountered. It wasn't like him, but to think that his only true partner thus far had simply vanished into the night was not a thought he was willing to accept.

[Leto]

Holding this ball of water was child’s play for the Krajiin, sustaining it in a stasis field temporarily removing it from the effects of gravity made moving the sphere with several tons of water easy. It was as light as a feather; on cue he released his hold on the sphere the blue-purple aura around it as well as his own form faded away into nothing as his powers subsided. Lycurgus breathed a sigh of relief as the flames were quenched, dying off into nothing but smoking and sizzling embers. The male’s attention turned towards the two creatures but was likewise surprised to find that one of them felines were no long there; “Maybe I scared her off.” Lycurgus quipped his muzzle painted with a wry smirk, speaking in the tongue of these land dwellers was difficult although Lycurgus was borderline fluent in the various tongues one could find on this vast continent, the thick accent just wouldn’t leave him.

His pale ice-blue eyes never left the other male, “I am surprised, I thought either one of you’d be one of my own kind.” The krajiin shrugged indeed the thing that had drawn him here had been that word, even if he should be more surprised at these creatures and their capabilities in truth Lycurgus had seen enough strange things in his time wandering these lands; finding animals with powers was not as much of a shock anymore. Decides of his kind these things were natural or rather had been, “Aquiberium.” Lycurgus muttered under his breath, as his eyes trailed to the smoking forest though the word he uttered was slightly different in articulation to the one he had heard and in his mind the correct spelling; why would these creatures know this word? But the more importantly; how would they know it.

[Leorgathar]

More and more water was being pulled out from Phyllon’s body and the trees around him, he began feeling weak and withered, his eyes still staring at the mysterious water sphere. “First cursed fire, and now this? What magic is this?” He thought, almost resigning to his fate.

With a sudden blast, the sphere doubled in size and impacted into the forest fire, putting it out at last and soaking the affected trees and himself. The plant-lion gasped for air as he felt refreshed, letting the water run freely though his body and his mane-leaves, then he dug his paws into the mud. “Drink,” he told the trees nearby and quickly managed to stabilize the water levels within them. He could at least save those trees... The sight of all those trees otherwise destroyed and in embers made Phyllon feel an awful heaviness in his heart, the sorrow that comes after the nightmare.

He walked forward among the burned trees, mourning them silently or hopelessly trying to find life still in them. New tears flowed from his eyes as he pawed their charred bark. Moistened by the water, but dead.
The sight of a strange lion in the distance ahead interrupted him. He seemed to be outside the forest’s edge, right in the direction where he saw the floating water sphere. A maneless lion with metal bands on his limbs and neck who seemed to be looking for something. Phyllon growled... he could not know if this lion had either caused the fire or put it out, but he wasn't taking any chances. He sprinted towards him, then leaped over a fallen tree trunk and landed right in front of the lion, stomping the ground with his front paws. Some vines grew quickly from the earth around the strange lion, which tied tightly around his limbs and pulled them outwards, making him fall flat over his belly. More vines grew around his neck and torso, forcibly restraining him to the ground.

“Who are you, and what are you doing in my forest!?” Phyllon snarled. He was furious, which wasn't making him think rationally, it was very unlike him. “Did you do this!?” He didn’t notice the Krajiin watching the whole scene close to them.

[Hypercube]

Arthas listened to the creature, hi mind full of questions as he spoke. His words were of the same tongue as Arthas's but they were muddled by a strong accent that he could not identify. Even stranger yet was the physiology of the stranger; it seemed that he could pass for being at least partially feline, but the markings and features that didn't fit with that description far outnumbered those that did. The utterance of Arthas's last-used word of power further confused the feline. How could someone not from my society even know of these words? he questioned, his thoughts turning to what the icy eyes meant by "his kind."

Before Arthas could so much as form a question in his head, another strange figure pounced in front of him. This one was arguable as strange as the first; he had the body of a lion but the mane of a tree, as if he had come from the ground and took on the large feline shape. This entity was much more hostile though as vines sprout from the earth and pulled Arthas to his stomach, his entire body swiftly made immobile by the new set of fetters. Arthas knew his small control and power to conjure fire would be more than enough to free him from his current bondage, but that action would most likely make matters worse in more ways than one. It was obvious to the constrained lion that this attacker was some sort of protector of this forest and that diplomacy would win far faster than flames.

"I am Arthas" he said as calmly as possible while the vines continued to slither like snakes around his body, "I have caused no harm here. My friend and I were simply passing through when we saw the inferno. We couldn't just leave this forest and all its creatures to die in flames so we extinguished it." Through his statement Arthas attempted to make eye contact with his captor, failing to lift his head against the pulling of the roots. "I apologize for any harm we have caused."