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[size=9]You walk down the street of Barton returning from a busy day of shopping. The air is warm, and very humid; almost a silvery color, it's so saturated with water. Unfortunately, the constant drizzle shows warnings of becoming rain. Hoping for a shortcut, you turn down a barren dirt road, quickening your pace. After a moment you feel the strangest sensation, as though you were being watched. It's just like they always describe it in books: your stomach clenches uneasily and the hair on the back of your neck begins to stand up..
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/zeeally/skylionst4.jpg[/img]
You turn to look over your shoulder, hearing a soft rumble, much like approaching thunder. A lithe lavender striped cat-creature stands a few feet away; motionless, except for a rhythmic flicking of his tufted tail... His well toned muscles seem to ripple under the sheen of his fur with the slightest movement, and his glowing golden eyes lock in on your gaze, looking straight into yours. He tosses the long silky mane that branches down his back and it fluffs up with a mind of its own, as if filling with static electricity. You can almost hear the magic about this creature, humming through him with the beat of his swishing tail. You notice a tiny flash of light from the tail and realize it comes from a polished metal ring.
After a moment the lion-like beast is still regarding you in silence. You decide to chance a step closer. He lets you. You try another. The lion doesn't move. One more, this one faster. Now the beast seems agitated. He gives a halfhearted mix between a roar and a growl, a sound like a clap of thunder, and turns to leave, padding off quickly. You step back in disappointment, watching him go, but he turns before he departs and gives you one last glance with those haunting eyes. Then, in a rolling cloud of mist, he seems to simply vanish. You hesitate a full minute, then grudgingly continue on your way.
A quarter mile further down the road, the sky opens up. A torrential rain begins to pour down. You begin to run, trying to get out of the wave of water falling from the sky. After a few yards it's apparent that a building's up ahead. You run for shelter as the rain is seeming to increase in intensity, if that's possible. You've finally made it to the building. Forget about knocking; running up the few steps, you fling open the door and dash inside.
[b]Welcome,[/b] Says a girl from behind a counter with a hint of a friendly smirk. She reaches under the countertop and pulls out a towel, tossing it to you as if this were a common situation. [b]Here ya go. Dry off. Make yourself at home. It should let up in a few minutes.[/b] She notices you glancing around at the various pictures on the wall and stopping on one in particular. You can't believe it. It looks exactly like that cat-beast you saw. The girl notes your wide eyes and speaks up. [b]Well, while you're waiting; This is the Sky Lion Center. Never heard of a SkyLions? Don't worry, I do this for everyone. The species was discovered very recently and it's not very popular yet. So let me enlighten you![/b]
[i]SkyLions are magical lion-like creatures(thus the name) that are said to have unusual effects on the weather. They have heavily tufted tails and long half manes made of a fine silk-like material. These are constantly rippling with magic as if in a light breeze. The rippling becomes more intense with the coming of a storm, blizzard, or other violent weather phenomena. SkyLions come from a tiny faraway island called Callway. The SkyLions of Callway are much stronger than the ones we have here however. That is because the ancestors of the SkyLions we have available here were taken forcibly from Callway and bred with a species of domesticated lion to try to tame them as pets. The SkyLions, having tremendous independence and fiery spirits made very poor pets indeed. When bred with domesticated lions, the litter would be less magical and less intelligent than their SkyLion parent, but just as fierce towards humans. Here we've decided to take things step backwards. All SkyLions born here are equipped with a magical tail ring. This brings their magic back to around the level of the SkyLions remaining in Callway. It strengthens their intelligence back to norm as well. However we could never release these creatures back into the wild. If the ring was to be knocked off in a fight they would have an instant handicap and fall backwards to the dumber instincts they were born with not to mention loose their powers. That's why it''s important to give them to guardians who will check up on them every now and then and make sure they and the tailring are in top shape. I'd like the guardians to be as unobtrusive as they can otherwise, and for the most part let the SkyLions interact with eachother. I've secured a wildlife preserve where they can interact with eachother. The information we'll learn from observing these creatures will be priceless. Especially the information related to their weather controlling abilities.[/i]
The girl notes your dubious look. [b]Yes, I'm afraid this rainstorm was started by our mascot Amadeus.[/b] She shakes her head [b]He's pretty smart. That's one of the ways he brings people to us.[/b] She tilts her head, scrutinizing you thoughtfully. [b]Interesting though..he must have seen something in you. You wouldn't be interested in taking a look at our available kittens, would you?[/b] She smiles grandly, as though in her mind there's no doubt you'll be interested..
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