Northeastern Forests of Ionia

"The abundance of undeath, decay, and the twisted magical abominations from your home are what are missing in this land to resemble your home, " the beast man growled. "We ask again: Why are you here?"

Udyr's eyes narrowed, the smell of smoke now noticeable. "It would not be wise to lie to us, Spider."

"We inhabit these woods," Udyr replied, his arms crossed one over the other. "We smelt an alien presence. We followed it and found you."

The beast man let out a loud snarl, flames dancing around his shoulders. "We are reminding you that outside your land, outside your own home, you are not queen of anything. You do not rule here, not even an ant. You will pay careful heed to the ecosystem, not introduce your contamination any further, and once you quickly leave we will erase all traces of your presence."

Silence fell upon the two of them. Udyr stared at Elise, his eyes narrow slits. He would eventually crick his neck, and start speaking in his low growls.

"Do you know what the nature of living is, Spider?" Udyr lifted one of his hands away from his chest and turned his palm upwards. Fire danced about his fingers, not burning him in the slightest. "The nature of man is to destroy. Everything destroys. In order to continue one's existence, one must consume or destroy something or someone else. Whether they be foliage, vegetables, fruit, man or animal, they all must consume, destroy, others to sustain their own longevity. Everything is subject to this idea of destruction. First you are nothing, then you are born weak, then you become strong, and then you become weak again, and then? You are nothing once more. This is an eternal cycle, and it will continue its cyclical nature until everything has fallen prey to it."

Udyr rolled his hand about, his knuckles cracking, his voice taking on a surprisingly lighter tone. He was chuckling even. "We are not commanding you, we are telling you how events will occur. If you disturb the ecosystem of this land, you will most certainly accelerate its destruction, that is true, and therefore help reach its end conclusion of death all that much quicker. You, however, are an abomination, a weakling trying to cling onto whatever scraps of strength they have left in them. You are long past your point of death, and your prolonged existence is a hindrance on all. You have forgotten what strength is and try to deceive, and use petty threats in your attempt to make some cow and quake in fear."

The beast man's hand raised itself and set fire to the nearest web of Elise, setting it ablaze. The flames roared along each perfect seam and started to spread like wildfire about the webbing. Udyr's nearly jovial tone did not change, his chuckling continued. Unfortunately for the Spider Queen, his personal pronoun shifted. "We, I, do not threaten. We state fact. If you disrupt the ecosystem of this land I will find you. I, will end you."

Udyr's hands rose up to the sky and then slammed downwards, sending out a vicious gust of wind that overwhelmed the flames, shrieking as they passed whipped about the trees, tearing foliage out of the ground along. It would send the ashes of the web into the Spider Queen's face. The fire, as quickly as it spread, had been extinguished. "We will not stop you from visiting Karma, why would we? You wish to see her, that is your prerogative. You wish to consume her? We shall not stop you. If she wishes to live, she will defend herself. If she is deemed worthy to live, she will live. If not, she will die. Such as life. However..."

Udyr crossed his arms once more, staring at Elise with a smile on his face. It could have been easily misread as a happy expression if it were not for the smoldering, nearly sadistic glean in his eyes staring at her. "You are not queen of this land, Elise. You are allowed to visit her, and consume her, if you desire to do so. Just as we are allowed to rip your stomach open and crush the venomous sac that you dare call a womb with our bare hands. As some have said, this is 'our neck of the woods', and no one knows this land better than Udyr. You will not be able to run. You will not be able to hide. Within your kingdom, you are the 'Spider Queen'. Here, you are Elise. You are subject to all, and ruler of none."

Udyr spun on his heels and gave Elise a quick salute as he started to walk away. "We have heard that there are dangerous creatures in these woods. Do keep an eye out for them, lest you become the one consumed by them."

((Your call if you want to come on and slam, only if you wanna jam))

Udyr stopped. His lips parted. A chuckle, and then laughter. Flocks of birds for nearly a mile took to the skies squawking in fear. Animals once asleep woke shivering. The beast man was laughing.

"You? Not die?"

Udyr actually teetered and had to support himself using the nearest tree, his laughter growing ever louder. Nearly twenty minutes would pass before he would be able to rein himself in and speak once more. "You will never die?! Even gods die, Spider! From the smallest bug to the very idea of consciousness, all things will die!"

He raised a fist up and looked back at her, his lips still quivering from his mirth. "Enjoy your pond, little fish, with all of your sweetened lies. We shall explore the ocean." His index finger stretched out and he pointed at Elise. "We ask you the same question, Elise, who truly is the weakest in this situation? We, who are aware of our humanity, or you, who is a brat who is too scared of death to face it?"

Udyr actually winked at her, his grin still evident. "We do not fear death, which is why when our time comes, we shall accept it. You, however, are a scared, little, whimpering, spineless worm. Spider Queen? Heh. We shall respect you as the Queen of Worms, of those who are too weak, too scared to face life in its fullest."

"Death did not bow to you," Udyr laughed. "Death however, has a sense of humor. It is true, it is not something we have cultivated very well, but Death itself can be quite humorous. It will come for you, as it does for all. As you said, the answer is obvious."

The beast man gave her one last nod of his head, still smiling. "You, nor we, are the stronger. Nature, however, is. Everything we do, will find us and end us in due time. It is up to us on how we will die: a bug like you, or a man."

Udyr pressed his hand onto a nearby dead tree and ignited it. He pushed the tree down to the ground and allowed a forest fire to start to spread. "We were told by the other creatures that the forest needed to be cleansed. Destruction is not something to be feared, but rather something to be admired: a subject of beauty. If there is no death, there is no life. If there is no cycle, there is no renewal." Amidst the flames, the beast man's smile disappeared. "You simply convinced us to make today that day, rather than tomorrow, or the next day. This will not kill you, we know this, but it will remind you one thing: Nature, the nature of your being, the nature of our being, the nature of everyone's being, reigns supreme. That nature has a beginning, and an end. This is fact, this is not disputable. No matter how beautiful, how precious, or how sturdy it may be, all things have an end."

With a harsh sweeping motion, he fanned the flames to augment their strength and then walked away.

April 30th, 23 CLE (Fix the date =p)

A rough, calloused hand would clap itself on top of Tilly's head. Sausage fingers would hold her firmly in place.

"Who are you, what are you doing here," a voice growled. Meditating in Udyr's forests was not the best of ideas, though his aura read of no killing intent yet. This would perhaps lead credence to why he was able to so silently sneak up on her, he was not in a killing mood.

Yet.

The trees rustled, the only warning sign the monk would get. From the branches, a large, bestial man swung himself into the path of the monk. Udyr rolled his head and stood up, staring at the traveler. The large crimson bear paw print, the sign of the Hirana monastery, could be seen on his hakama. Udyr's eyes scanned the man quickly, and upon recognizing him, gave him a silent nod.