Russian Hide & Seek [OPEN]

[Scarlet Cross]

Far above Asia was a vast expanse of land named Russia, the homeland of Jazper Shadow. Icy winds brought snow up in a whirlwind around the male as he stood, staring out into the vast expanse of white land. His black hair whipped about his handsome face and his sapphire eyes squinted at the sharp wind. Bundled up in a well insulated leather jacket and a blue scarf that matched his eyes he was relatively warm. Though his hands did not have gloves the one that held his bag on his shoulder was accustomed to the cold. There were two silver studs in his bottom lip, one on each side where there would normally be rings. There were clingy jeans on his legs and black combat boots on his feet so he could trek through the snow.

A twinge of dread struck his heart as he spotted the tree line off in the distance that looked somewhat familiar. There in those dense trees was a small home where his father still resided he assumed. Jazz couldn’t quite remember where they had lived exactly, which was why he stalked along through the snow in hopes of finding his childhood home. The abusive bastard that had caused his brother to meet his ultimate demise and laughed as his mother sobbed in pain from the loss would be there in that house. He was the lowest person that Jazper had ever known. Oh what was he doing here? This was such a stupid idea. In all honesty he just wanted to see if his father still dared to breathe, he should be old and decrepit by now. Well that’s what he hoped for.

Taking steps through the thick snow he left large footprints behind him and as he walked pieces of clothing were removed one by one. He stuffed them in his bag until finally he was standing naked against the icy wind. With a violent scream of pain his body shuddered and morphed into what he truly was. Footprints were replaced by hoof prints as thick puffs of breath rose into the air from his nostrils. Jazper shook his mane and body as he adjusted to the new form. His massive head craned down and slipped the shoulder strap on his bag around his neck so that it hung there like a gaudy necklace, yet out of the way. From a distance he was nothing more than a stunningly beautiful wild black stallion in a winter wonderland, but up close, his swimming silver eyes revealed a human form under the surface.

Jazper’s body coiled and then sprang forward in a powerful gallop through the thickening snow, his long mane and tail blowing in the wind. In this form cold was nothing to him, he ran a high temperature. The equine crossed the empty valley in no time and soon was dodging trees through the snow covered forest. This was only a hunch he was running on, and if he was wrong he was just running blindly into nothingness and would most likely die out here without food or water. That, or he’d lose his life to another who prowled the forest, or even more embarrassing, an animal.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

does it seem like I'm looking for an answer to a question I can't ask

[/i][/color]YOU CAN TAKE ME AWAY[/font]
all the voices that are spinnin' around me trying to tell me what to say[/size][/color][/i][/CENTER]

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Was she even supposed to be in Asia? Had she known that she might get sent off to some foreign country Audrey wouldn’t have agreed to start work with that dumb unit her friend Aliyah had mentioned. . . . But she had always wanted to see new sights and travel, didn’t she? Just. . . in the middle of Russian winter? Pain in the ass. At least her fur kept her warm. It had been a day since she had performed the mission she had been charged with and she was free to do as she liked for one more day before she had to return back to New York. Wide open fields had called to her as she passed them. Why not take the time to see how fast she could go? There were trees on the edges of the field. . . . Could she maintain her speed while running through a forest? The cheetah could only assume not, but it was worth a try.

She was nearly two months into her immortal life now. Already she had wonderful control over her shifts and her hunger. Audrey had always had a good sense of self-control when it came to everything in her human life, and this new life was no different. She had shifted rather easily—not in the most clothes-saving manner, but it was simple enough—and when she had gotten over the pain of her bones breaking and re-formed and shifting around, she had gone off running. It was proving to be incredibly difficult in the snow, though. Parts of it were crusted over enough for her to just skim over the top, but when she reached a soft patch, she would just sink right in and then have to pull herself out. Note to self: hope that it never snowed when you have to make a quick getaway.

Movement from the corner of her eye caught Audrey’s attention and her head snapped to the side. There was a black horse running toward the tree line. With the heavy snow and the crisp air she couldn’t sense anything different about the horse. Maybe it was a wild stallion, or perhaps just some buck that a farmer nearby owned. Whatever the case, it didn’t particularly matter, did it? Audrey didn’t want to kill it. However, she wanted to see what kind of an advantage she had over it. She knew in the back of her mind that she could overtake the horse, but there was no harm in doing it just to make sure! Jumping out of the snow, Audrey landed on top of the tightly-packed frost and bolted across the field toward the horse, her legs pumping and as her aerodynamic frame did its job and she flashed across the land toward the horse, gaining every second.

[/color][/size]

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

[Scarlet Cross]

The trees seemed to go on forever as Jazper galloped through the frozen forest, his swirling silver eyes looking about for something that might be familiar to him. It was so hard to dig back into his earliest memories to figure out where that little cabin in the woods was where he grew up as a child. It wasn’t particularly a happy stage in his life, but yet again he hadn’t had many afterwards. Nonetheless an upcoming fallen tree triggered something in his mind, making him a little more confident in his direction.

As the tree grew closer there were soft crunches of fast approaching steps behind him. His ears pricked and then flicked back to listen, the animal gaining quickly. They were so close now that he could hear their light exhales of breath. Timing his defensive maneuver as best as he could Jazper leaped onto the fallen tree, shifting his weight in order to continue up the frozen and snow covered log. It was a steep climb and a bit slippery as he headed up, but his unshod hooves were large and sharp, digging in just enough to give him some traction on the snow.

Turning his massive equine head Jazper tossed his mane slightly to move the thick wavy locks of hair from his long face. His deep mercury eyes looked down at the animal that had been following him. His nostrils expelled a steady feed of steam for a few seconds as he breathed out and back in. Cheetahs weren’t a snow and ice animal, so it was quite obvious that this person was super natural like him. Another were-creature.

With his hooves turned to leap off of the higher part of the dead tree Jazper neighed in recognition at the creature. It was a noise simply stating “I know you’re here. Why are you following me.” His long tail flicked softly, his pose calm as the equines ears flicked around for sounds. Jazz’s eyes watched the cheetah carefully and quizzically as he balanced his massive onyx body on the log. He didn’t like the idea of getting eaten today, and was ready to run as fast as he could if a problem should arise.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

does it seem like I'm looking for an answer to a question I can't ask

[/i][/color]YOU CAN TAKE ME AWAY[/font]
all the voices that are spinnin' around me trying to tell me what to say[/size][/color][/i][/CENTER]

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

The horse seemed to get wind of her and he started up a fallen tree. Well, that was unexpected. But, whatever. Audrey took a big bound to gather her strength to jump up onto the log, but when she landed, she sunk up to her shoulders in snow. Dammit. This was why she hated snow. She kneaded the ground with her paws, trying to pull herself up and out of the hole she ended up in, and she managed to just move further into the bank. However, she looked up at the sound of huffing and saw the horse staring down at her. She gave the thing an annoyed huff, then looked back up at it. Horse. No, it wasn’t just a horse. Audrey’s skin was crawling slightly and within those dark eyes of the equine was an intelligence that she hadn’t seen in any animal before. The calm manner with which it regarded her seemed out of place as well, and the only thing she could think of was that this creature was not just a horse.

Audrey snorted and pawed her way back up onto the top of the snow, shaking out her short fur. Her fur wasn’t exactly meant to keep her warm on freezing-cold nights, but her immortal temperature made her warmer. When the bits of snow were tossed from her pelt and she was sure that she wasn’t going to be stuck in it any more, she sat down and gently flicked her tail around, tilting her head to the side and appraising the creature. A were-horse? That wasn’t that scary, was it? She had always thought that were-creatures were all meat-eating animals that were vicious and threatening. Of course, she was certain that a horse could easily trample her if it tried hard enough, but it would have to catch her first and probably avoid getting clawed and bitten to death, but that wasn’t exactly an impossibility, was it?

Communicating like this was going to be a pain in the ass, wasn’t it? Audrey sighed and wished that she hadn’t shifted with her clothes on. Her life sucked right then. Aliyah had been able to talk to her with her mind, but Audrey hadn’t quite picked up how to do that. So, she was probably have to shift back and deal with it. She was starting to think that it would probably be a good idea to get used to it by now, but Audrey was a fairly private and modest person. . . . This was going to be seven kinds of embarrassing for her. . . . Why hadn’t the horse just kept running? Maybe she could just attack it and make it run off, then she would get her chase and she wouldn’t have to get all nude in front of him. Of course. . . . there was that hole in the snow she had just crawled out of. . . . Turning tail, Audrey leaped into the hole and shifted, panting from the pain. However, sitting in the hole, just her shoulders and chest were visible.

“Well hello. . . I guess. . . . Sorry about chasing you. . . I thought you were just some horse and I wanted to chase something. . . . Wasn’t ever gonna hurt you.”

[/color][/size]

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

[Scarlet Cross]

Jazper watched as the cat huffed and grumbled in the hole it had fallen into, his eyes glittering curiously. If he could, one eyebrow would be arched in amusement but at the same time he would be pulling her out of the snow. Still, even if the feline would appreciate the help, she probably wouldn’t have liked that his big horsey teeth were being used to pull her out. As she took her seat there was a quiet spell that fell between the two were-creatures. It was apparent in the cheetah’s eyes that she didn’t believe that he was super natural. It annoyed him that he was often mocked for being a horse, and he knew that it was no good in a fight. But what did it matter? Even in his human form he was a terrible fighter.

The cat looked about and then leaped back into its hole after a few minutes, the equines right ear twitching back and forth in confusion. Once he saw a girl pop up in the hole Jazper understood and made a soft nicker which was a friendly noise. Shuddering Jazper struggled to keep his balance as his body shrank and rearranged into his tall and pale human form. He cried out in pain and finally leaned over with his hands on his knees. He panted, and then stood straight. Jazz had no problem with being naked in front of people, but luckily the bag that was around his neck with his clothes in it was placed perfectly over his crotch. His feet were numb in the snow and it was getting harder to keep his balance but he tried to stay perched.

“Heh…” His rough voice began, “Hi there.” A smile broke out across his face that was happy, as well as friendly. “Don’t worry about chasing me, that’s okay. I was just hoping you weren’t going to make me dinner. It’s not exactly the way I want to go out.” Jazper laughed. “Anyways, my name is Jazper. With a Z and not an S. Call me Jazz if you’d like.” He looked up into the gray skies that called for more snow and then back at her. “So what brings you out to Russia?” His language turned to Russian when he said the name of his homeland, the R rolled like a purr.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

does it seem like I'm looking for an answer to a question I can't ask

[/i][/color]YOU CAN TAKE ME AWAY[/font]
all the voices that are spinnin' around me trying to tell me what to say[/size][/color][/i][/CENTER]

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

“Don’t worry about chasing me, that’s okay. I was just hoping you weren’t going to make me dinner. It’s not exactly the way I want to go out.”

Audrey smiled and shook her head. Okay, so there were no hard feelings. Had she known that the horse was something more than a wild beast she probably never would have chased him. Well, she might have, but just to talk to him, not just so that she had something to do. Audrey seemed only slightly disgruntled by the fact that the man was naked, with nothing but a bag to cover him with. She lifted a hand and scratched at her scalp, running her fingers through her black hair at the same time, obviously not wanting to look at him out of some sign of respect or modesty or something. She wasn’t sure, but she was comfortable looking at him without clothes on, and that was why she was in the hole, sitting in the snow and freezing her bare ass off. Just so that he wouldn’t see her naked. Audrey was new to all of this and it might take some time for her to get used to being naked in front of strangers or in public.

“Ah well, no, I wasn’t going to eat you. . . . Just chase you around until I got bored or something.”

“Anyways, my name is Jazper. With a Z and not an S. Call me Jazz if you’d like.”

Raising her eyebrow, Audrey smiled slightly and leaned on the edge of the snow bank, her arms sitting on top of it with her chin on her arms.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jazper with a Z and not an S. I’m Audrey. . . . Forgive my embarrassment. . . I was only turned a couple months ago and haven’t gotten used to the. . . clothless thing.”

“What brings you out to Russia?”

“Business.”

Audrey left it at that, thinking that strange weres didn’t need to know about the unit she was part of in New York City to take out dangerous were-creatures. He didn’t seem at all dangerous, or even native to New York. The Russian accent gave it all away.

[/color][/size]

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

[Scarlet Cross]

Jazper simply nodded at her short answer to what she was doing roaming around in Russia. He wouldn’t pry, just because he knew what it was like to have something secret and not able to tell anyone, or just not want to tell anyone. Like when he used to go to school and had bruises all over his body from his fathers violent outbreaks the night before. He would tell people that he had fallen from a tree or something along those lines. They always pried though, and he didn’t like it when people tried to get into his personal life because it wasn’t something he particularly liked to share. This made his sapphire eyes drain of color for a moment before she luckily distracted him.

Her name was Audrey, and she hadn’t been changed too long ago. He’d never met anyone named Audrey and found that the name was pleasing to the ears. Jazper filed it away into the box in his mind that said “pretty names” before smiling. “Oh, that’s alright. It does take a little while to get used to being naked… Especially when it’s like, 20 below zero.” He stuck his tongue out as he looked off to the side, his silver stud in his tongue. Jazz was just being goofy as usual, a silly smile on his face. Looking back at Audrey Jazper thought about how could she must be. Unlike him, she probably wasn’t accustomed to the harsh Russian winters.

Opening his bag Jazper dug out one of two coats. It was all the way down at the bottom, meaning that his shirt was over one shoulder, his pants on the other, his leather coat under his arm and his boots in his teeth. Finally he retrieved the heavily insulated trench coat and tossed it down to her. His numb hands took the books out of his mouth. “Go ahead and put that on, I don’t mind. If it makes you more comfortable and warmer it was for a good cause.” After smiling he began to dress as well. The comfort of his warm leather jacket was more than welcome as he stepped off of the log and landed on the snow below. His boots were warming his toes as they spoke.

Snow flakes began to fall and the wind began to pick up. A storm was blowing in, meaning if they didn’t find shelter soon they were likely to freeze. “Listen, if you don’t have any place to go near by I think I know where I can find a deep cave around here. It’s going to start snowing and you’ll never get out of here. Even being born here doesn’t help with how thick the snow gets.” His russian accent wasn’t too strong, but being home made it bleed through a tad more in his rough voice.

Jazz’s brilliant blue eyes watched Audrey for a moment before looking off in the distance behind him. Sure enough there was a large land form not too far off with what looked like an opening. “So if you’ve got no place to go, I’d like to take you someplace warm at least.” He leaned down, offering him his large hand, a bit of his wrist and upper arm became bare, showing his new red irritated scars.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

does it seem like I'm looking for an answer to a question I can't ask

[/i][/color]YOU CAN TAKE ME AWAY[/font]
all the voices that are spinnin' around me trying to tell me what to say[/size][/color][/i][/CENTER]

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

“Oh, that’s alright. It does take a little while to get used to being naked. . . . Especially when it’s like, 20 below zero.”

"Yeah it is uh. . . pretty cold."

Audrey nodded her head and then her body gave a violent shake, as if the mere mentioning of the temperature reminded it that she was actually cold. Leaning on the snow didn’t exactly help, so she sat back a bit, crouching in the hole instead of sitting in it. Annoying. However, Jazper seemed to have an idea about how to fix that. He started to dig around in his bag, pulling out articles of clothing while he looked for something. It was all so very comical and Audrey gave a light chuckle, and then her hand snatched out to grab the jacket he tossed at her. It seemed to be a rather thick trench coat, and she didn’t need to be told twice to put it on. While Jazper busied himself with getting dressed, Audrey turned her back slipped her arms through the correct holes, then stood up and pulled it on the rest of the way, taking the time to button and zip it up before she glanced over her shoulder to see if Jazper was done.

“Listen, if you don’t have any place to go nearby I think I know where I can find a deep cave around here. It’s going to start snowing and you’ll never get out of here. Even being born here doesn’t help with how thick the snow gets.”

Looking away from the now-dressed Jazper, Audrey glanced back out of the trees to see where she had come from. The town was like. . . god knew how far away and she sighed quietly to herself. She had gone exploring and was now missing her clothes and she wasn’t sure how far away her hotel was. If there was a storm coming, then she probably should go with the man to keep from dying from exposure. Her phone was back at the hotel, too, so she couldn’t call her superiors or anyone else and ask for some form of assistance. . . .

“So if you’ve got no place to go, I’d like to take you someplace warm at least.”

Audrey looked back up at him, and when he reached out to her to help her out of her little hole, she reached out and took his help. It didn’t take much for her to climb out with the help of her cat-like grace, and she brushed off the snow that clung to the trench coat before smiling at him and nodding her gratefulness.

“Um, yeah sure that’d be fine. I don’t mind.”

[/color][/size]

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

[Scarlet Cross]

Jazper smiled as Audrey took his help with getting out of the hole. It wasn’t hard for her though as he watched her leap out. He turned then and broke off a branch from a tree, then the next as he went. “The cave is just ahead, you can go and settle in if you want, I’m going to get some fire wood for the night.” His arm was already full of sticks and other dry wood yet still he grabbed more. Jazper looked merry as he worked, humming a light tune as he made his way to the cave with his bundle of sticks. Looking about he couldn’t see an animal for miles around, meaning there was likely no meet for his carnivore acquaintance. In his bag was an assortment of snacks and goodies, so he could only hope that Audrey could find something to munch on.

Arriving at the cave he looked in and found it empty. Well that was good. He wouldn’t have to completely embarrass himself by getting his ass beaten by a bear. With a silly smile of victory on his face he took a step forward… and tripped. Jazz recovered quickly and laughed a bit at his clumsiness before heading deeper into the cave where the icy wind couldn’t reach them. Looking over at Audrey he once more dug into his trusty bag and tossed her a thick blanket. “Its all I’ve got in means of seating, buuuttt at least your behind wont freeze.” He laughed again, cheery as ever and began to strategically stack the sticks to make a fire. Once he was satisfied he reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter.

Jazper plopped himself down on the ground and began his failed attempts to light the wood. An adorable look of frustration came over his face until finally the sticks caught fire and roared to life. “AHA! SUCSESS!!!” He exclaimed, his hands in the air. Whilst enjoying his victory he neglected the fact that his pants were on fire. There was a pause as Jazz’s face went blank. “OH CRAP!” Jazper cried and rolled away from the fire before furiously beating his flaming pants. His hands and arms flailed about comically before finally coming to rest when the fire was extinguished. Flopping onto his back Jazper panted before pointing his finger accusingly at the fire. “How dare you mock me!” the flames seemed to flick about in laughter even now.

Gaining his composure once more Jazz sat up and folded his legs Indian style. “Now that that little squabble is over….” He chuckled to himself at his vocabulary before grabbing his bag. Pulling out an apple and biting into it he pulled out more goodies. There were bottles of water, a bag of trail mix, beef jerky, a box of crackers and of course more apples. Sometimes even Jazper wondered how he could fit so much into his bag. Not that he complained or anything. After pulling the apple from his white teeth he looked at Audrey. “This is all I really have in means of food, so I hope you can find something that strikes your fancy.” He bit into his apple again, this time taking a chunk out of it and chewing. Oddly enough, this horse liked apples.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

does it seem like I'm looking for an answer to a question I can't ask

[/i][/color]YOU CAN TAKE ME AWAY[/font]
all the voices that are spinnin' around me trying to tell me what to say[/size][/color][/i][/CENTER]

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

“The cave is just ahead, you can go and settle in if you want, I’m going to get some fire wood for the night.”

“Huh? Oh, I can help with that, too. Wouldn’t feel right mooching off your hard-earned fire without doing a bit of work myself.”

Audrey watched him as he started to break off sticks for the fire, and Audrey started to do the same. Whatever was on the ground would be useless until it was dried off and she didn’t want to carry around wet sticks, so she just broke off things from dead trees, being sure to get smaller twigs as well so they had some form of kindling, otherwise the fire wouldn’t last that long. Her pile of sticks wasn’t as impressive as Jazper’s by the time they reached the cave, though. She couldn’t hold as many without dropping them all, but together they had a pretty impressive pile of firewood. She felt a little strange walking around with nothing but a trench coat on, though. Like those pedophiles in the city that just wore trench coats and then walked around and flashed whoever they came across. She shuddered at the thought. What would possess someone to do that?

“Okay. . . that should work. . . right?”

Dumping her pile of sticks with her new companion’s own pile, she turned toward him to get a face full of blanket. She gasped and wrapped her arms around it before it fell to the ground and gave him an indignant look, then shook her head and started to fold it up neatly, but make it long enough so that she and Jazper wouldn’t be sitting on top of each other. By now Audrey couldn’t feel her feet, and she was a little surprised that she could walk at all. Setting the blanket down, she smiled over at Jazper and then started to collect big rocks to make a fire pit with. The cheetah had been camping a few times and they had always had that big circle of rocks around the fire.

“Its all I’ve got in means of seating, buuuttt at least your behind wont freeze.”

“Oh, it’s fine, I’m sure. Right now I’m more worried about getting frostbite on my poor feet. . . . Looks like I’ll be sleeping in my fuzzy form. Least then I have fur covering my body. . . . Not that this trench coat isn’t warm!”

After getting the small circle of rocks set up, Audrey crouched down and helped set him up the sticks in a teepee fashion, standing them up and setting their tips together, setting up the little ones throughout the little structure so the fire would be able to start at all. Jazper started to fiddle with a lighter in an attempt to light the little sticks on fire. By the look on his face Audrey would have guessed that he would have stuck his tongue out in concentration, and she raised her eyebrows in amusement as she watched him.

“This would be easier if we had some paper to start with. . . .”

However, it wasn’t but six seconds later that the first sticks caught on fire and then it started to pick up as the fire grabbed a hold of its power and started to build. Jazper called out in jubilance and Audrey laughed slightly and moved to sitting on the blanket, and then she noticed that her companion’s pants were on fire. Both seemed to just stare at it for a few seconds, as if they couldn’t believe that it was actually happening. When Audrey lifted her hand and pointed at his pants, she opened her mouth to say something, but he noticed and started to jump around the cave, trying to put the fire out by slapping at the pant leg and yelling and flailing around like a dead fish. . . .

“Jump in the snow!”

Jazz got the fire out, though, and Audrey sighed in relief and sat back down. Strange. She hadn’t noticed that she’d gotten to her feet. . . . Ah well. She probably had gotten up to help but hadn’t known what to do. The horse yelled at the fire and Audrey raised her eyebrows again. Talking to inanimate objects. Something she did on occasion, but it was usually just under her breath. She looked back at the fire to see if it had any sort of response, but it just flicked around and did its fire thing.

“Now that that little squabble is over. . . .”

“Don’t blame the fire! It’s not its fault you don’t pay attention!”

Audrey laughed slightly and shook her head, obviously just teasing him. He started to pull out some snacks and Audrey regarded them as he took them out. Regular camping kind of things. Audrey didn’t have to eat meat constantly like some of those carnivorous werecreatures did; she rather enjoyed eating everything she had eaten when she was human. Everything still tasted fine. She wondered, though, if he was expecting her at all to start eating the jerky instead of the other things he had, but her eye was on the trail mix he’d pulled out. Audrey wasn’t sure if he would even offer her anything, but he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would let her starve.

“This is all I really have in means of food, so I hope you can find something that strikes your fancy.”

“Oh it’s quite fine. Think I’ll have me a trail mix.”

Smiling, she reached out and plucked up a small bag, pulling off the corner and dumping out a handful into her hand before she started to pick at it, eating the raisins and the peanuts and the M&Ms all separately.

[/color][/size]

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

[Scarlet Cross]

The ripe apple crunched as Jazz chewed his mouthful, a smile pulling at one corner of his mouth. As he swallowed he began. “I wish I had some socks for you, but I didn’t exactly expect to get run down by a naked cheetah.” He laughed playfully, everything about him radiating the warmth of happiness. Perhaps that’s why he wasn’t so cold, you know, being warm with the fuzzy feeling of being happy. Who knew, anything was possible when it came to Jazper. After all, who had ever heard of a were-horse? “As for sleeping all fuzzy, it bothers me. I hear everything far too well and stupid horsie instincts make me paranoid.” The equine boy made a pouty face as he turned the half eaten apple in his hand. The pout turned into a dazzlingly handsome smile as her comment showed she was very appreciative of his coat. “I’m glad I could keep you from freezing something off.” He laughed before taking another bite out of his crisp apple.

Jazper was happy to see that Audrey had a sense of humor. When he yelled at the fire, which was clearly an inanimate object, all she did was tell him not to blame the fire for his own stupidity. Most people would have looked at him as though he were crazy, (which he supposed he was, at least a little) and walked out. As he finished off his apple Jazper chucked his apple core out into the storm for the birds to find and pick at as Audrey began nibbling on some trail mix. He noticed how she ate everything separately, one thing at a time. “Hey I do that too!” Jazper pointed out. “It tastes all funny if you eat it together.” He smiled, sapphire eyes twinkling in the fire light.

The snow fell in huge wet flakes outside the cave, the wind whipping them all about. Jazz was thankful they had gotten in when they did because the sun had disappeared behind the clouds and it was steadily getting darker. Carefully Jazper moved closer to the fire and enjoyed the warmth, the way the flames licked at the air and how the light flickered on the cave walls. In no time the cave was a comfortable temperature, the only thing that was still chilly was the ground. There was a long moment of silence before Jazper looked over at Audrey. “So, how do you like Russia?” he asked cheezily, with a smile to match.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

does it seem like I'm looking for an answer to a question I can't ask

[/i][/color]YOU CAN TAKE ME AWAY[/font]
all the voices that are spinnin' around me trying to tell me what to say[/size][/color][/i]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [/font][/b]
[/center]

[/i]

Audrey blushed at that and lifted a hand to run a hand through her hair and scratch her scalp. She hadn’t exactly expected to run into anyone, but now that she thought about it. . . . What was she going to do after having her little run? She’d shifted with her clothes on, consequently losing them. Not exactly a smart move, was it? It was growing more and more obvious by the second that she was new at this, and she sighed at her own stupidity. Audrey had to start getting smarter or else she knew she was going to end up being naked in front of a whole lot of other people. She glanced outside to see that the storm had started, and now she was incredibly glad that she had run into Jazper.

“It’s alright. I didn’t exactly expect a horse to turn into a man when I started chasing it. But I’ll be fine. Just sit on them or something.”

“Sleeping all fuzzy, it bothers me. I hear everything far too well and stupid horsie instincts make me paranoid.”

Audrey chuckled to herself and shifted around so that her legs were curled under her so she could sit on her bare feet. Walking through the snow barefoot had been just about miserable, but they were starting to get warmer. At least it didn’t feel like she was going to get frostbite. She supposed that she could thank her immortal side for that, making it easier for her body to take care of itself. She didn’t know what she’d do if she ended up getting frostbite. . . . It reminded her of that movie Mr. Deeds, where Adam Sandler had frostbite on his feet. . . . It made her laugh a little bit.

“Horses have to sleep standing up anyway, right? Hard for them to lay down for too long? I can’t imagine standing all the time would be very comfortable, but I guess it’s fine for horses.”

Though Audrey didn’t know everything about horses, she had always wondered why horses always seemed to be standing around. And cows. Though she’d seen cows laying down more than horses. At least, she thought so. Whenever she asked her mom about it, she would tell her it was bad for horses to lay down too long because they were so heavy and it was a little hard for them to get back up. If Jazper had any such trouble, Audrey knew that he could probably shift back to his human half and get up, but still that was a lot of irritation when it came to getting a little bit of rest. Audrey picked up her little pack of trail mix and poured herself another handful before setting the rest of it back down so she could pick at it, pulling out a few peanuts and popping them in her mouth. She seemed to save all the raisins for last, and then looked up at Jazper as he spoke to her again.

“Hey I do that too! It tastes all funny if you eat it together.”

“Oh I know. . . . I never much liked my food getting all mixed up unless it was for a casserole or something. . . y’know? It’s just weird. The raisins are my favorite, though. I always safe those for last.”

Smiling, she set her little pile of raisins on her lap, the fold in the trench coat keeping them from falling. It was like a little bowl, and she knew that they wouldn’t keep the coat too dirty. She could just stand up and brush the little seasoning off and then it would perfectly fine. She glanced at Jazper though, to make sure he didn’t seem bothered by it, and it didn’t seem like the guy was bothered by a whole lot. A silence fell over the pair and Audrey quietly finished off her trail mix, then tossed the small pile of raisins in her mouth, chewing them slowly as the silence dragged on. At least the little cave started to get warmer, and Audrey wouldn’t have to check in with anyone until the next morning, so she didn’t have to worry about a search and rescue. . . .

“So, how do you like Russia?”

Audrey looked up from the fire and over at Jazper, smiling slightly.

“It’s alright. . . . Really cold. . . . I don’t speak very good Russian— okay, I don’t speak any Russian—so it’s like pulling teeth trying to get any information. . . . And it’s really cold all the time. . . . But it’s not the worse place I’ve been.”
[/ul][/size][/blockquote]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[/font][/b]
[/center]

[/B][/COLOR] Finished
I'M TAGGING !? Jazper
WE'RE AT !? A cave in Russia
MY WORD COUNT !? 803
MY OUTFIT !? Trench Coat
THE BANNER !? moi!
THE TEMPLATE !? CARLEE BARLEY !? of CAUTION 2.0 ![/ul][/size][/color]

[Scarlet Cross]

Jazper smiled at Audrey when she talked about Russia. He loved his country, though it wasn’t always associated with good memories. The equine boy loved the vast forests, the snow, and the mountains. The cold was something that he could do without, but being born in such a cold place allowed you to grow accustomed to it rather quickly. “Yeah, the bitter cold gets bothersome sometimes, but it’s not too bad in the summer. Still cold…. Buuuuutt it’s bearable and you won’t freeze and become a human popsicle.” He smiled and set a thick log onto the fire. Instantly the temperature rose in the cave, becoming a toasty warm little makeshift home. The fire was burning hot and quick, but that log Jazper had put on would keep it going for awhile. “As for the Russian part, I’m fluent in it.” Jazz laughed and looked proud. He thought for a moment, before finally deciding on a phrase she could try to decipher.

“Ïðèâåò Îäðè, õîðîøî âñòðåòèòü Âàñ.” [this didnt quite turn out like it was supposed to...]

A slanted smile broke out across his face, as he waited for her to puzzle out his language. There was a long few moments where he waited. Leaning back on his hands and stretching out his legs Jazper yawned. When she finally gave up, he looked at her. “Hello Audrey, It is nice to meet you.” He laughed lightly. “See, not so hard… though you can’t always pick out what certain words sound like in English. Annnndddd it’s not really a pretty language. Kind of rough.” Jazper sat straight and rubbed his right forearm, the slices where sore from the cold. Another silence fell and Jazper really couldn’t come up with much more to say. He had run out of silly things to talk about, and really didn’t feel like catching himself on fire again for the sake of conversation.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

does it seem like I'm looking for an answer to a question I can't ask

[/i][/color]YOU CAN TAKE ME AWAY[/font]
all the voices that are spinnin' around me trying to tell me what to say[/size][/color][/i]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [/font][/b]
[/center]

[/i] Jazper said with a smile. Audrey raised her eyebrows and gave a slightly chuckle as he tossed one of the larger logs onto the fire. Audrey was beginning to feel a whole lot warmer, and with her feet now under her, at least she knew they wouldn’t get frostbite or anything. “Well, I guess that’s better than being somewhere like Alaska where it’s always freaking cold. I couldn’t live in a place like this. . . . I didn’t even want to go, but I had to if I wanted to get paid. . . and you gotta have money to buy things, so it was kind of a no-brainer,” she sighed, shrugging her shoulders. As if she had just realized what she said, she lifted her head and quickly backpedaled. “I mean, I don’t mean that in a bad way. . . . That’s cool and stuff that you’re from here. . . . It’s just not my kind of thing. . . .” Smooth. She sounded like a babbling idiot, now.

However, the conversation turned away from her little lapse and onto the language. Apparently this horse was fluent in it—and that was a no-brainer, as he had mentioned that he was from Russia, so it made only all the sense in the world that he would be able to speak the language—and then rattled of something in Russian. Audrey was a fan of men with accents, and hearing him speak the language made her smile slightly, but she didn’t have a single clue what he was saying. The cheetah girl just stared at him blankly, expecting him to translate for her. “Yeah I haven’t the slightest clue what you just said,” she commented, sounding slightly amused. “Hello Audrey, It is nice to meet you,” he explained. Audrey made a little “o” shape with her mouth and nodded her head. “Ah, okay. I guess I can kind of hear that now. Though. . . yeah no not really.”

“See, not so hard. . . though you can’t always pick out what certain words sound like in English. Annnndddd it’s not really a pretty language. Kind of rough,” he commented. Audrey smiled at him and shook her head slightly. “Oh, it’s not so bad. Better than German! I like how Russian sounds,” she replied, leaning forward to pluck up the bag of beef jerky. She smiled to herself and pulled the bag open, pulling out a long strip of the jerky to chew on one end. It was more like gnawing than chewing as she tried to work up all the flavor before she ripped off a piece with her teeth and swallowed. With beef jerky, she preferred to chew on it thoroughly rather than just tear it up right away. Audrey had always been a fan of beef jerky, so long as it wasn’t any of that spicy stuff you could get. Spicy things weren’t exactly something that Audrey loved to eat.
[/ul][/size][/blockquote]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[/font][/b]
[/center]

[/B][/COLOR] Finished
I'M TAGGING !? Jazper
WE'RE AT !? In a cave
MY WORD COUNT !? 528
MY OUTFIT !? Trench coat
SOME NOTES !? Sorry it took so long. And I usually just got the English spelling and used that when Anastasia was speaking in Russian. XD
THE BANNER !? moi!
THE TEMPLATE !? CARLEE BARLEY !? of CAUTION 2.0 ![/ul][/size][/color]

[Scarlet Cross]

Jazper nearly blushed with pride as the girl said she liked the way his native language sounded. He was proud to be Russian, even if those Russian memories were far from pleasant. For a few moments he was silent and watched the flames in front of him, curling his knees to his chest. Visions swam in the dancing flames as he could see his older brother hanging motionlessly from the noose he had made in their small cabin. The way Cole was hanging there, pale and breathless in his bedroom. Jazper had never seen death before, and it was no lie that it had scarred him horribly for life.

Shaking his head Jazz looked over to Audrey with a smile as she gnawed on the jerky he had provided.. The pain and sadness was wiped from his features now, as if it had never existed. “Audrey if you’ve got a long way to travel tomorrow you might want to catch some sleep. Getting through the snow is going to require all the energy you have.” he smiled kindly and nodded before adding only a few more small sticks onto the fire to keep it alive at night.

Jazz stood and walked a little farther into the cave where the shadows hid his appearance. He stripped there and let the were-creature inside of him take over. His rough voice cried out in pain as his body expanded and changed but as soon as it started it was over. Picking the clothes up in his horsey mouth the footsteps he left with were now heavy hoof beats. Once back in his place he dropped his clothes by his bag which was safely away from the fire. With that Jazper laid down with a massive huff, his hulking body looking like a massive shadowed boulder. His huge head curled around and rested toward the inside of his body but his now milky silver eyes watched the flames.