Welcome to The Jungle

(appropriately named for my monkey anima )

Sunlit patches scattered along the jungle floor and the air was thick and balmy, signifying that it was some point during the midday. Large canopy leaves were covered with fresh beads of rain and trickling down towards the centers, dripping slowly off the tips of the giant plant life. Underneath a gathering of large leaves and barely moving even though it was far past morning, a young, shaggy headed little boy lay asleep, randomly twitching his nose and fingers with his mouth slightly agape. What he was laying upon had been a former nesting place for a small family of lemurs.
Why the little boy was out in the jungle all by himself and looking perfectly fine (if not a little dirty) was beyond any normal person's comprehension. This little boy had a secret for his survival, a unique skill that kept him alive long enough to see another day. Aside from living only a quarter mile from a small village where he could find food much easier, there was something that you could call an animal instinct, an "ability" that very few possessed in this day and age.

A drop of rain water fell down from one of the large leaves above as he turned onto his back, the bead of water dropping directly onto his young face. He flinched and reached up, drying his face the best he could with his blue bandanna that was tied around his neck. Groaning and turning over onto his stomach, he tried to fall back asleep, but was hit with another bead of water on the back of his head. Grunting agitatedly he quickly pushed himself upward, sitting up erect and squinting ahead of him as he tried to open his eyes without somehow temporarily blinding himself.
"Grrr.... This spot is dumb. Why does it always have to rain in the rain forest?" He muttered.

Standing up slowly, he looked around, stretched as far as he possibly could, then started to shuffle his way across the bumpy and lively terrain, nearly tripping over a few tree trunks as he tiredly drug his feet.
"...uuugh... I'm hungry!" He moaned, immediately clutching his tiny stomach.

What a beautiful day Kita thought, wiping the sweat and fish-goo off her face with her free hand as she brought in her freashly caught fish to the busy street market. The 'plunge' in the river near the village did little to help cool Kita, and she wondered If the clouds in the sky would inch over the sun in she concentrated on them hard enough. Entertained by the thought, she put her fish string down on the large plank that was her shop, and stared at the blazing blue sky in concentration. Nothing. She sighed, disheartened by her failure, and began to set up her vending place.

Her village sat a ways from normal civilization, surrounded by a large rainforest. Normally, if someone wanted to leave the village, they would have to hire someone with the right equipment and an ATV. The same percausions had to be made for people who wanted to go to village. Normally. Kita had gone out to the cities before... but, being poor, she didn't have money to do it the 'normal' way. When she came back, the people that knew her had thought she'd died in the wilderness... and when they asked her how she servived being 'lost' for so long, the only thing she would say was "Secret.".

(my post is SOOO boring)

Much like Kita, he was broke. but at least her small business raked in a little cash. For the poor little boy he was just as fortunate as the little children walking the beaches up north. Waku had been walking all this time toward the small village where Kita was residing at the moment. He'd seen her a few times, but had never formally introduced himself or really ever interacted with her. Truthfully, he hadn't interacted with anyone past stealing their food.

The little boy peered over a young man's table. He must have only been in his mid twenties. he looked like he was a native here. At his side was a sturdy wooden broom resting against this stand. Waku knew what that was intended to be used for. He'd played this game with this man a few times. The game was called: "Steal the fruit" and Waku intended to win this time around. First, he had to wait for a customer to come along... There were a few people making their way to the man's table. Waku grinned with glee. If he was distracted with customers, it would be easier to nab food in small increments since his eyes were on another target.

As he began trying to work his magic, displaying fruit in front of their faces, offering them to try one fruit as proof it would be money well spent, Waku began working his magic. First, he grabbed an empty burlap sack from beside the table the man had carelessly left for him. Second, as the people were trying the fruit, he'd quickly pick a few choice fruit along side the dealer since his eyes were fixed in front of him to the prospective buyers. He continued to pluck fruit until the man's attention was off his customers and back on the alert. Waku hadn't tried to take form the man this way before. it was always during the afternoon when he'd be eating dinner off a ways with his fruits in crates left exposed.

Just a little moore..

While staring at the new coinage she had earned, Kita walked down the dirt road, looking for a place to treat herself to some good-quality food... or, at least, food that wasnt burnt or under-cooked, like the way her meals always ended up. Usually, she would suck it up and eat her blackened fish, but today she had made more than she normally did, and she was eager to eat something that actually tasted like food.

Kita came upon a fruit fruit vendor who claimed to have the juciest oranges, bananas and peaches in the village. She chuckled at the young man's mistake: bananas aren't juicy. Besides his sign's error, the rest of the table looked wonderful... well, at least the fruit did. The Bananas were a yellow-olive colour, only just beginning to ripen. The peaches were huge, covered with a thin layer of fuzz that protected the succulence inside. And the oranges! they were so bright in colour that they looked like they were neon compared to the small tanned hand that was slowly taking them one by one... Kita's eyes narrowed a bit, trying to make sence out of what she was witnessing. She pretended to pay attention to the man as he continued his sales pitch to her, glancing every so often at the slowly decreasing pile of oranges. She pondered whether to tell on the thief or let him be, and decided that if they were taking that many fruit, they must really need it.

"I'll have one bunch of Bananas, please." she said, smiling as she gave him 3 of the coins she held. Taking the perchaced fruit, Kita sat on a barrel close to the vendor, waiting for her chance to follow the thief so she could make sure she did the right thing.

(shouldn't this not be in semi lit? So much for 2-5 sentences, but oh well.)

The young +anima spread her huge paper-thin wings, soaring in the sky.Her big poofy pigtails whipped around in the wind, A flowing red sparkle in the sky. Her plain blue dress rippled in the sky as well. Through the conveniently placed holes in her clothing, Four Fragile, yet graceful wings pushed out, easily four times the girls length from shoulder to shoulder. A long and thin tapered probusceus lay coiled in her mouth, hidden from view while two antennae of equal proportions flitted back and forth on her head, taking in everything it felt. Yes, it's good to be alive, Kaaya thought, drifting elegantly on the winds.

Kaaya had never been a fast flyer. Her butterfly wings just weren't made for speed. The fastest she could fly, was about that of jogging, except that she didn't tire so easily. In fact, if the young girl didn't need to eat, she could fly for 3 days straight. So here she was, lazily flapping her wings in search of a home. In fact, as she opened her eyes downward, all there was to be seen was a lush jungle. Not that I couldn't live in the jungle, she thought. Her probuscus would turn ordinary flowers into a filling meal. It's just that variety is good, and a bed is nice as well. In fact, as she tuned her antennae towards the forest floor, she felt some interesting vibrations. Drooping lower towards the earth, She hovered just above the treeline to better discern the vibrations. Putting more effort into her "listening" she grinned. They were talking vibrations, just south-east of here. She turned towards the "sounds" and flapped faster. A town was near.

(yay, my first time on a rp forum! and my first time on a forum in general!

The vendor grinned with delight and took the coins, setting them away in a heavy metal box with a lock and key. Waku would have never gone for the money, he was more interested in just grabbing the food. Plus, with his reputation around these parts as a food stealer, they wouldn't take kindly to his patronage and would probably nab him for stealing money as well.

He reached up to grab one last fruit to stuff away in his bag that was now bulging with oranges and even a few peaches that he was lucky enough to sneak with the help of the girl's distraction. As his small hand reached for the fruit, a larger and darker hand that had seen much more years and sun quickly reached down to clasp his. He yelped, his eyes shot upward at the vendor and his mouth gaped wide and his eyes went as big as saucers. The man roared, "YOU!!"

Waku slung the bag over his shoulder as he recoiled from the man, jumping back quite a ways. The gap between them was closed quickly once the young man grabbed his broom handle and began to pursue Waku.
"Ack!" waku yelped agian, ducking the man's broom as it was swung at his head.

As Kaaya neared the town, she dwelled on past exploits. In a village in the past, she and her friends had been blamed for a crime they didn't do.
" You three! the guilty ones! give us back what you stole!"
"b-but it wasn't us!"
"liar! Here's a piece of butterfly wing, shredded off when it caught on a chair in my house!"
"and here's some fur from Your skunk tail!"
"this is your barb, sting ray +anima!"
Though they had been framed, the evidence was convincing. They had been chased literally by pitchforks because of a thief who stole precious family heirlooms. Kaaya never saw them after that. Which is why she had been travelling. To find +anima who would be her friends.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of the town. It was well hidden, in the thick of the forest. She carefully landed on a big tree in the outskirts of the town. Cautiosly the amber eyed girl peered into the town. She felt many vibrations, those from voices, some from walking, some from other animals. A yelling vibration cut through the rest. Even though her ability to feel vibrations were quite amazing, she never could discern words so she had to investigate to find out what the commotion was. She hopped off the tree, slowing her fall with her wings, then pulled her +anima powers back into her body and curiously ventured into the town.

Oh no... The thief was a dirt-covered child, a boy no more than ten, and he was about to get beaten. Badly. covering most of her face with her hood as a disguise, she ran toward the wide eyed thief, taking out her knives and creating her twinblade as she did so. Kita wasnt planning on actually using the twinblade on anyone, it was just a bluff to get the vendor to leave the child alone. in one swift motion, she cut off most of the broom shaft and positioned herself between the two people.

"I wouldn't do that if i were you..." she said as sinisterly as she could manage, pointing the twinblade directly at him. in a much softer, urgent voice, she wispered, "Run." All she could think of was the boy's safety. kita didnt know how, or even why, but the boy seamed like her somehow. She kept her stance, waiting for the shocked vendor to respond, and hoping that if it all went sour, the boy would do what he was told.

Maela let out a long, grumbling sigh. She stepped out of the water, and button on her vest, slipped on her shoes, and ran her hand through her wet, plum colored hair. Maela was out of money. Seriously, all the money she had taken when she ran away had been exhausted, along with the food she had stolen. She moved through the forest to get back to the twon; maybe, just maybe, she could get food from somebody.

As she stepped into the town, she heard a commotion to her right. Quickly, she hurried that way. A small boy was being beaten by a fruit seller! Maela wanted to help, but she had no weapon or any means to help. But, a a blonde woman wearing a short black dress stepped up instead of her.

Waku grinned big at the vendor from behind the woman's back and stuck out his tongue, then turning and running off into the forest with his bulging bag of oranges. The vendor was stopped it mid swing by the blond woman and backed up a little. He pointed at the boy with fuming hatred and shouted at him in his native tongue. Then glaring at the girl, he snapped at her bitterly. "Because of you, he got away AGAIN with my fruit. How am I supposed to support my family when my months of hard work is simply taken from me?"

Off in the forest, a little deeper than usual to make sure he wouldn't be followed by the vendor too easily, he started to climb up a large tree. But unlike other little boys his size, he did it very quickly and with very little difficulty. /once he came to a branch of his liking, he stopped and sat with the bag of oranges, pulled one out and began to peel it open with a big smile on his face. "Mmm mmm mmm!"

Kaaya had never been a confrontational person. Not that it mattered, since she never had a weapon. The red haired girl only reached the place just as the man shouted about his family and the boy ran off. This scene had gotten a lot of bystanders, that were quick to return to their tasks. Kaaya saw the woman facing the vendor, took a glance towards the forest the young boy had run off into, then made up her mind. She exited the town from a different area, then formed her +anima body and launched into the air. Turning past the town, she clutched a high tree for stability and focused her antennae. Swaying them carefully towards the general area she had seen the boy run to, she found it. A soft crunching a little ways from the town. The softness told her fruit was being chewed, and so she flew towards it.

Spotting him, she dove into the trees. She scraped herself on a thin branch before stabilizing on a thicker one. "ow!" She yelped instinctively, then covered her mouth. The boy looked around, shocked for a second, then turned back to his food. Kaaya hoped he had thought she was an animal and hadn't seen her. I'll just follow him for a while. Maybe he's a good person who'll be my friend, but maybe he's not. Content on following him, she sat on her branch, contemplating if this made her a stalker, and hoping against it.

Maela approached the blonde woman. Getting a closer look, she saw that she was wearing a black dress, as she had seen from a far, with teal buckles. The blonde girl turned, and looked curiously at Maela's right eye. Or, the lack thereof, though she didn't know that, since a layer of thick purple hair was covering it.

"Hey," Maela said, smiling, "That was really brave. I wish I could've helped, but I'm a big wuss." she extended her hand, "I'm Maela."

Kita stared at Maela... not really knowing how to respond after that huge case of nerves. Realizing she still had her weapon at hand, she snapped the twinblade into its two seperate knives and put them back in their sheaths. She then took off her hood shook the girls hand.

"Kita.. nice to meet you." she smiled. though Kita had lived by the village for many years, she had never made any friends. people always seemed to get a weird vibe whenever they were around her, and most of them chose to keep their distance. only a few people ever really spoke to her, but they were more 'aquaintences,' rather then 'friends'. Kita wondered if this new girl (a traveler, perhaps?) would be the same, but strangely, she didnt think so. Maela gave her that same feeling of fermiliarty that the thief had. perhaps she would become her first friend? Kita tried not to keep her hopes up.

the thief's face popped back into her head, and instinctively, she turned her head towards the part of the forest he ran into.
"Umm... i know this may sound really weird, but im going to search for the thief." Kita paused for a moment, trying to figure out whether she should ask the stranger to follow. sighing, she looked at the girl apolagetically, as though she were asking for a really large favor, "Would you like to come with me?"

Maela looked at her. The blonde woman - Kita, she had said - was taller than her. Well, of course she was; Maela was four-something, and everyone was taller than her. She wished that the docters had simply named her a midget, so she could tell people that, instead of saying, "Oh, I got it from my grandmother."

There was a strange vibe passing between the pair. Maela couldn't discern it, but when Kita asked her to come along to find the small theif, she found herself agreeing.

Kita grinned to herself as they walked through the forest. Normally, anyone and everyone would say no to doing something as risky as going into the rainforest. mabey we could be friends, after all kita thought. They stepped over vines and gnarly pieces of wood, looking over their shoulder now and then. every rustling sound would make one of them jump, a few times causing Kita to reach for her blades. Finally, they heard some crunching and mouth slobbering sounds from... above? Maela was the first to spot the dirt-covered child up high in the trees. kita stared, a bit baffled.

"how did he get up there?" she asked her new companion.

"Not only that, but what the heck is that thing behind him?" She pointed at the small fluttering thing that was hanging around behind him. "What are we supposed to do," she asked, looking at Kita. "And why did you want to find him anyways?"

Kaaya immediately zeroed in on the purple haired girl. Kaaya usually avoided confrontations, but was generally open with her thoughts. And these people seemed to have a comfortable-to-talk-to feeling about them. So she hopped off the branch and faced the girl. " I'm not a thing, I'm a +anima called Kaaya." What a mess, she thought. We all seemed to have followed the thief.. She turned towards the boy in question. "Well, we all have are reasons for following you, so why don't you come down?"

Kita stared at the girls wings. wings! so there were people like her! what did she call herself? an +anima? is that what i am? kita thought, her eyes actually brimming with tears of joy. not wishing for them to think she was crazy, she quickly wiped her eyes as the girls looked to the boy, then quickly followed sute. an anima... she repeated silently.

still facing upward, she answered Maela, "i dont really know... i just had this strange feeling about him," she paused, "the same feeling i got when i was with you..." trailing off, kita looked at Maela, then to the 'fellow' (as she would now call the girl) +anima, and back up to the strange little thief. why was it that she felt a sence of belonging when near them? was there a connection somehow? cupping her hands like a megaphone Kita yelled up to him, "please come down! we just want to talk to you!" she split the bunch of bananas she held, "ill give you half of my bananas if you come down!" she bribed.

Maela nodded in agreement at Kita, in response to her answer, even though she didn't see it. Maela knew what she was, +anima were feared in Peldon, and stories about the "dangerous beast-humans" were swapped through the elderly. But it seemed that Kita didn't know what she was at all!

But all thoughts of that were banished when Kita pulled out bananas to flash at the little dirty boy. The fresh scent of delicious bananas filled her nostrils and sent a thrill to her tastebuds that made her mouth fill up with saliva. Oh, how she wished that she could steal those yellow fruits and gobble them down, she was so hungry! As if in agreement to her thoughts, her stomach rumbled piteously.

"oh! sorry!" kita apologised, her face mimmicking the words 'oops, my bad!' as she tore off one of the bananas from the bunch she was intending to keep. she handed the piece of freash fruit over to Maela, then tore off another and outstretched it to Kaaya, "you want one?" Kaaya nodded, gracefully taking the banana from Kita. Peeling the last one for herself, she called up, "the rest are yours if you come down!" and took a large mouth-full.

Maela almost grabbed the banana that was being held out to her and shoved it in her mouth, peel and all, but thought better of it and tried to calmly take it and peel it. But when the peel was peeled, and the flavor reached her, she could not help but take a bite that filled her mouth to bursting.

She hoped that the dirty boy up there would come down. She wanted to make sure he was safe, and that the broom didn't cause any bad wounds. She took another bite an murmured to Kita, "Are you sure he cares? I mean, he has a large bag full of fruit, so would he even want bananas? I'd..." she cut herself off, about to say "I'd much rather have them." But that would be like taping a large sign that says PITY ME on herself.

"Please come down" she called instead. "We just want to talk to you."

(lol. you guys typed quite a lot while I was working. I'll be able to rp more consistantly with you guys tomorrow (wednesday) cause it's my day off xDDD also. also, they are in Madagascar. Just for some geographical grounding. lol. I figured you'd like to know what part of the world they were in)

Waku heard the noise the girl made, but didn't know what it was. He went back to eating thinking it was a large bird. There wasn't anything up in that tree that could have taken him down and done him any serious harm. Nothing life threatening could climb as high or as fast as Waku could. He was eating his third orange by the time the girls came around and started trying to coax him with their banana clusters. While he would have been content with his oranges.. It was something about the aroma of bananas that he couldn't resist. Unlike the three girls who openly talked about their special abilities, he felt it wise to keep his ability a secret. It was hard when he was born. He contracted this strange gift in the womb of a woman he'd never actually met. No, she wasn't dead and she didn't abandon him... at least he didn't think she did. It was hard to remember. He just knew this was something he had been born with... Call it animal instinct.

He sniffed at the air, looked down at his lap that held a bag full of oranges, looked back down at the girls and the bananas, then carefully twisted the bag and put it over his shoulder as he started back down the tree. It took him a little slower than normal. He didn't climb down head first or jump from the branch. He didn't want the attention, excitement and questions as much as he did crave for it.

Once he got down the tree by normal little human boy means, he held out his hand when close enough. "Banana pleaaase." He said in his sweetest sing-song voice.

aww! she thought as she gave the rest of the bunch to the little boy. she realized had forgotten to tell Kaaya that they were alike, but decided that mabey it was best not to mention it. at least, not untill she needed to. was this the connection they all had? being +anima? kita had no idea whether Maela or the thief were like her or not, so she couldnt be sure.

"are you alright? we were worried!" she knew she sounded a bit like a paranoid mother, but she didnt really care at the moment. after checking him for blood and bruises, kita relaxed, her smile creeping back onto her face, "My name's Kita, this is Maela, and this is Kaaya." she said, guesturing to each person as their name was stated,"what's yours?"

He looked up from his banana was he was asked his name. already halfway through eating it and having a mouth full as he tried to say anyway, "Waggu." He said in his muffled voice smiling obliviously to his name distortion. chewing a bit more, he swallowed it down and added, "Like that place in south africa."

This little boy was small and adorable - but not small enough; they were about the same height. He reminded Maela of her best friend's little brother, but this guy was blonde, not dark-haired. When she finished her banana, she walked over to him and asked, "Are you alright? Do you have a family to go to?"