[b]Sel - Above Gandryll Castle[/b]

Sel soared through the air with the wings of a vulture. He had only just started to learn how to control his transformations and he thought this to be good practice, even if he was supposed to be wasting his time with the other canavar. Besides, it's not like any of the others were bothering to stay, either. Kucing and Gideon had both fled the cavern almost immediately after being given the chance. And who could blame them? He felt like a caged pet, as if the King assumed that because they could transfigure themselves into beasts meant that they [b]were[/b] beasts. It was not so, and Avalon seemed to understand that.

For all his shunning and silence towards the rest of the group, Sel felt the need to pester Avalon with questions about, well, everything. "How long have canavars been around? Does the type of animal you can turn into mean anything? Why am I a vulture? I don't even like vultures," and so on. He had sensed irritation from Avalon before, but he wasn't sure if he was the cause or if it was something with the king or the other canavars, but the questions were as necessary to Sel as training was. He had no intention of becoming the King's pet canavar. He just wanted to learn what he was and how he could control it, and then figure out a way to use it to get himself a better life. Making friends with the others wasn't important to him. He had no ill will towards them, and nothing against Empie or Kucing, it just didn't seem necessary to work as a team to him. If he saw the need he would certainly work with the others but so long as he could he preferred to stay on his own.

[b]Canavar Cavern[/b]

Sel attempted to draw as little attention to himself as possible when retrieving his clothes and re-entering the cavern, as he felt like he was wasting his time with the other canavar, especially Gideon. He slouched in a rickety wooden chair pressed against the cavern wall opposite the one named Empie, who was struggling with some wooden puzzle until she lost control over her temper. What was the point of playing a game if you got mad when you lost? Sel tried to avoid anger, if he could. That altercation with Gideon earlier was, of course, unavoidable. At least in Sel's mind. He could actually hardly remember what the argument was about to begin with, just that Gideon had acted like a brute and ended up harming Avalon in the process. That was stupid. Avalon was the one they depended on to help them train their abilities, striking at him would bring you no good. At this point Sel glanced down and noticed the purple bruises already showing on his arms and legs, and felt a little more humble. Gideon had fighting talent, that was undeniable, but skill gets you nothing except trouble if you can't control yourself.

Sel wished he had the sort of talent the others had. Kucing had almost seamless control over her transformations, but she was feral and immature. Gideon was strong but uncontrollable, and Sel hadn't quite figured Empie out yet. She seemed rather annoying at times but he put up with her, mostly because he was more sympathetic towards Empie than he was towards the others since she had been on the streets as well. But she was obviously much more successful than himself at surviving, and the bag of jewels sticking out from underneath her pillow was testament to that. He absent-mindedly wondered if he would be willing to steal them from her if he thought he could get away from it. Sel never liked to consider himself the kind of person who would steal, kill, or even harm others for profit but he knew deep down that he would be willing to do anything to avoid being as hungry as he was on the streets again. Empie and Gideon, on the other hand, seemed to even enjoy their memories of previous criminal exploits, and that worried him. If he ever gained full control over his abilities he would immediately flee from Avalon and the King so that he could make his own way, and this would probably lead to crime. He didn't really care to much about the law or government itself- his dislike of the King was proof enough of that- just the moral implications of someone enjoying stealing and a fear that he would just as easily become like that if he was capable of it.

Soon after Gideon came back in and prepared what was virtually a feast. Sel tried to seem disinterested (couldn't let every one else think he might be approachable), but ever since that time he almost starved he had been a bit over excited at the site of large quantities of food, and Gideon was certainly a skilled chef. He tried to avoid the meats, though, because his time eating rotting animals as a vulture had given him a mild aversion towards eating anything that was once alive. And anything sugary just caused him a crash later on, so he stuck to almost all greens and fruit, like the home-grown food he used to eat when he lived on a farm, but thinking of home proved to be a mistake when it led him to remembering his parent's strict adherence to Nightshade. His family would certainly have disowned him for being a canavar and he couldn't imagine getting much sympathy from his few neighbors, either. His thoughts towards his family grew bitter and he silently excused himself from the table so as to head out on his own.

He knew he was being over dramatic, of course, but the knowledge of it hardly stopped him. He picked up the ghost candle lantern and begin to head out the door for a stroll, but was stopped when the door opened to reveal Avalon. He could tell Avalon was in an urgent mood so chose to keep quite and simply lead him back towards the rest of the group. Upon Avalon's entering Sel noticed Empie glance nervously over towards her bag of jewels and Sel felt a pang of sympathy for her.

Sel was rather disinterested in the mission, it only meant they would find more canavar which meant more people in that stuffy cave and probably less opportunities to train on his own. But he went along with it well enough up until Avalon mentioned that they would be going disguised as Atropos. Despite knowing that most followers of Nightshade would gladly despise him for being what he was, he still felt a deep connection the religion and considered himself an almost legitimate follower of it. For a moment he opened his mouth to protest but knew from Avalon's stern appearance that it would probably do him no good. Sel was beginning to like him less and less. First it was being holed up in this cave with three others, then it was being told that it was now his job to help recruit more to join this dysfunctional team, but now they had to commit heresy by pretending to be Atropos. He almost wished he hadn't agreed to join Avalon at all, not that he had much choice in the matter. Anything was better than being on the streets.

Sel wasn't familiar with many weapons, but he used to chop trees for wood back at the farm. He assumed chopping a person and chopping a tree was virtually the same in principle, so Sel begin looking over the simple iron weapon racks for anything he thought he could use. The swords all looked like they required to much skill, the daggers were just to small to be effective, and bows and arrows wouldn't fit under the robes. In the end he choose a simple but sharp one-handed axe. It's handle was smooth, polished wood that allowed both a grip and the ability to slide your hand up and down the handle for control or force (holding the handle close to the head allows more control and holding it further down the weapon allows more force) without fear of splintering, and the head of the axe was made from strong steel with no decorations or extravagances adding extra weight.

[b]City Center[/b]

He was nervous in the middle of the city and kept pressing his arm against his cloak to make sure the weapon was still tied loosely tied to the inside of the cloak. He wasn't sure where he was expecting it to go, but something about being surrounded by Nightshade followers and knowing he was daring to impersonate an Atropos made him on edge. He nervously glanced around at real Atropos, certain that if he didn't they would somehow realize he was an imposter but afraid all the same that looking at them to much would make him even more obvious. A few of the festival attendees bowed to him in the traditional fashion- arms crossed over ones waste while lowering your head slightly- which only made him more certain that he would give himself away. 

When the snake girl yelled "Fly away! Flay away, now!" Sel almost took her advice and already could feel a few feathers popping out of his skin. He probably would have fled if it hadn't been for the gigantic suit weighing him down. Then chaos broke loose and eight Atropos stared storming towards the tea house. Sel glanced around in panic and looked to Avalon for leadership, but realized he seemed just as frightened. "Perhaps we can have one of us cause a diversion," Sel quietly suggested, "that way the rest can find an easier way in than open conflict."