Deja Entendu

[Sage]

She gasped as she stumbled through the almost pitch-black tunnel, grasping at the walls for balance as she began to see the first glimmer of daylight. Behind her, death awaited. She could hear the throaty rumble vibrating hardly feet behind her, which her body mimicked in the form of increasingly frequent, violent, tremors. Her already scantily-clad was covered in steaming red lifeblood, which now threatened to burn her skin as she approached the freezing snow-covered ground just yards from her now. Her face was a mixture of terror and grief as she sobbed for the victim whom she'd seen disemboweled not farther from her than she could reach out and touch.

She felt the cold air rushing into her lungs for the first time since she'd that horrible tragedy unfold before her, every other gasp feeling like a simple gesture more than a successful endeavor. She could no longer scream, her voice raw and silent as she expelled her newly-found resource to no avail. The girl had been terrorized by this legendary creature before, and she knew she needed only to get into the light to be space, and so she flung herself into it as she reached the end of the tunnel. Collapsing in a heap and clutching at herself instinctively to ensure all her parts were still intact, she allowed the full force of what had happened to her, again, to take her over. As she finally reached her goal of daylight, it began to slip away from her once more, eyes slowly squeezing shut as her mind fought to protect itself.

[paradigm]

“You would abandon your clan, your family, Ko-san?”
“A weapon has no use for family.”
“Don’t be a fool, Ko-san. The Shogun has fallen. Your clan will need you more than ever.”
“A weapon is but a tool…”
“Your family needs you.”
“…it has no allegiances.”
“I need you!”
“…”
“Please, Ko-san. I cannot face this alone…”
“A weapon-“
“I do not speak of weapons!”
“…”
“Please?”
“I cannot.”
“Then you are dead to me.”

---

This, Ko reminded himself, is none of my concern. Yet, he couldn’t simply leave her there. What little honor he had left wouldn’t allow it. Kneeling down, the ronin made certain the girl was still breathing before rising to his feet again. The idea of getting mixed up in someone else’s affairs, yet again, held little appeal to him. Ko found himself, not for the first time in his life, cursing what few values he had. Settling down on his backside, Ko removed the stopper from the small jug of water at his hip and drank deeply.

Wiping his mouth with the back of a gloved hand, the young Cizok native sighed. He would wait for the girl to regain consciousness then do what he could to help her. With luck, he could simply escort her to a safe place then be on his way. Greater foes and glory awaited him.

[Sage]

Briefly, there was a stirring in the young victim, as she roused from sleep. Nearly inaudible whimpers and grunts escaped her lips as she compensated for her injuries, most painful of which at the moment seemed to be her freshly bruised ribs. She rolled over onto her side and a stream of thick red life poured from her already bloodstained face. Ko had, as of yet, gone unnoticed to her but as she forced opened her eyes and her blurry vision settled on the man with the large mane she screamed and fished out an unimpressive, almost decorative woodcutter's hatchet and brandished it wildly at him.

She attempted to scramble to her feet, though her equilibrium was off, and she immediately wavered to one side and slammed into a snowbank. Even as her vision cleared, they welled with tears and distorted her perception again. She'd not gotten a good look at her 'aggressor', though she'd seen the sun falling behind him. It was almost dark, and if this was the beast already, she was too injured to defend herself seriously. And so, she became resigned to her face, and buried her sobs in the freezing snow, hand still stretched behind her, threatening with the feeble weapon.

[paradigm]

Replacing the wooden cork on the jug, Ko tied it back in place with one hand, no easy task, yet the swordsman did it with ease. Placing his hands in his lap, the ronin sighed. “Had I wished to harm you, I would have done so by now.”

Ko’s crimson eyes settled on the weapon, waiting for her sobbing to lessen before speaking again. “It is clear trouble has befallen you.” The swordsman gestured to wear the young woman had been only moments ago. “My name is Genryūsai Kojiro and I offer you my services as a protector.”

Rising to his feet without the use of his hands, Ko adjusted the protector about his forehead. “ So, where are you headed and what pursues you?”

[Sage]

A voice. The youth turned toward what she assumed to be her tormentor, vision clearing. In her sight was a mortal, and a frightful-looking one at that. His hair was a glorious mane, and his eyes flashed red, though it did not seem supernatural. Not like the blazing eyes of the wolves. She quivered as she backed against the snowbank, staining it red.

" Th-the...Wolf-Kin. They pursue m-me. They sentenced me to d-death. " Anyone who knew of the Algerothian pure-blood Wolf-Kin knew of their primitive ways, and their absolute resolve. When they declared something, it was written in stone. Their law was separate from that of the local mortals, respecting only their own codes and boundaries. Another simple fact about the Wolf-Kin was that they were merciless killers, carnivores by nature. What they tracked, what they hunted, they killed. And it seemed this timid female had somehow drawn their ire, and so would be devoured, as ordered.

A final tear slid down her cheek, running red as it collected the blood along the surface of her skin. It would be obvious that she was traumatized, but that her injuries were few, and that the blood she was covered in was not her own. She shifted her gaze from to the ground as she pulled one arm around her knees, drawing them to her chest, but keeping the improvised weapon pointed directly at Ko, as though it were a gun.

" Wh-what makes you think you can s-s-save me? Night f-falls quickly here, and mere warriors are no match for the Wolf-K-kin. " Girl shivered as she spouted her doubts, the warm blood quickly cooling, and contributing to early signs of hypothermia.

[paradigm]

---

His laughter, though genuine, was soft and barely audible. It was not a common occurrence, his laughter. It very rarely touched his eyes, as it did now, and was almost never released in the vicinity of others. Yet, her words had amused him. 

"I have offered you my protection," He said, putting an ubrupt end to his laughter. " I am a man of my word. "

Ko could not blame the girl for misjudging him. After all, he had traveled a great distance to appear as nothing more than an ordinary warrior, but there were still fiefs and villagers in Cizok who spoke his name in whispers.

"If you are able, we should leave." His voice was sharp, with a sense of finality that could not be ignored.

Wolf-kin? he mused I may very well find the opponent I've been seeking.  

"Do you flee to any place in particular?

[Sage]

She shook her head as she pulled her cloak tight to her skin, wanting to be able to trust this random traveler, but doubting his capacity utterly. She'd managed to elude her aggressors for some time now, though she was in fitter condition times before.

" I can walk, but if they come for us...I won't be able to move fast enough this t-time. "

She had almost mastered use of her jaw again, though the fear of death set her teeth to chattering once more as she finished her sentence. She pondered realistically, daring a glance at Kojiro with hate in her eyes. It was not for him, but for the creatures whose borders she was now concentrating on.

" The Wolf-Kin are the ideal predator. They do not respect mortals...however. Their borders end just short of the first mortal settlement in this mountain range. They won't go there, not because they fear or respect us, but because they do not. They think advanced civilization is heresy, and their beliefs do not allow them to practice magic or witness technology if at all possible. They exile, or more often, kill those who break this law. That law...also stipulates the sentence for any Wolf-Kin who breeds with races that practice magic or live in civilized societies...and their offspring. "

A deep sadness ripped at the girl's insides as she explained this, having never been required to say aloud what had haunted her for so many years.

[paradigm]

"Who is that man?"
"Boy."
"What?"
"He is not yet old enough to earn his name"
"You're joking?"
"No. However he will be the first in our clan to earn his surname at so young an age."
"H-he moves..."
"It is frightening, neh?"
"Does the Shogun know of him?"
"Leaders rise and fall. So, too, will the Shogun. No, Ko-kun will remain within our clan and because of this our clan will never fall."

---

---

Ko listened to Girl's explanations before nodding. "Very well," he turned his back to Girl. "We should begin walking then. If the village is as close as you claim we can worry over your wounds upon our arrival."

Resting his lefthand upon the curved hilt at his hip, Ko managed to untie and hold out the jug of water. "You should drink some. We will not be stopping."

Ko would wait a few moments (enough time for Girl to drink and return the jug) before heading away from the area. " Let us depart."

Ko felt every bit as calm and collected as he looked. If there was to be a battle then he hoped it would be one worth remembering.

[Sage]

Girl's expression changed briefly from fear to annoyance, and finally amusement. " So you are my protector, my physician, and my superior now, are you? "

For the first time, she lowered the hatchet she'd kept leveled at Ko, finally trusting that one so arrogant could not possibly be an agent of the Wolf-Kin. She sighed and pulled herself up out of the pool of melted ice and blood. Against her better judgment, she stared into the tunnel from which she'd escaped. Perhaps she expected to see eyes staring back at her, just waiting for the final layer of dark to come over the pair before it bounced, but there was nothing.

Girl composed herself, and began to pull herself up the hill. The tunnels would be faster and warmer, but she did not know if she would ever be able to use them again. Not with the image of that poor soul burned into her mind.

Even wounded, Girl was extraordinarily agile, nimble. Though she was clearly bracing herself stiffly against the pain as she bounded from foothold to foothold, it was still agility no mere girl of sixteen would possess.

[paradigm]

---

One did not need to be a master of deduction to determine that the girl was Wolf-kin. Her story, coupled with her extensive knowledge regarding wolf-kin culture was more than enough proof. Thus, Ko was not surprised by her agility despite the wounds she had sustained. However, knowing that she was more capable than he had,at first,  anticipated caused him to quicken his own pace. The faster they moved the sooner the pair would arrive at their destination.

Although The likelihood of a lycan assault increased with every passing moment, Ko did not seem troubled. Whether this was foolhardy Cizokian pride or a personal arrogance cultivated overtime, it was evident that Ko was not threatened by his prospective opponents.

Despite his quick pace, Ko yielded remarkably little sound. The crimson armor gave off little more than the sound of rustling clothes and his footsteps were whispered pats.  

[Sage]

Due to the tattered and already revealing nature of her cloak, one who be hard-pressed not to notice the markings on Girl's back as the rear of her cloak fluttered up with each bound, revealing her naked back. ABOMINATION was branded in a sort of raised tattoo, attributed to venom being coated on a Wolf-Kin's claws as it scarred the wording onto her back, and then the raised scarring being healed down by Girl's mildly regenerative abilities.

Indeed, she was in fact an offspring of the Wolf-Kin, though that was a term referring to the clan of anthropomorphic canines, not lycanthropes. Lycans were resulting offspring of Wolf-Kin and humans, resulting in two appearances that the child could switch between, usually with either great difficulty or some sort of trigger. Girl's transformations however, had always been flawless. She repressed that side of her to the point of delusions, now, and was not aware of her ability to change at all.

Mixed-breeds and magic-users alike were banned from the Wolf-Kin already, but Girl was more than an exile. She was a freak of nature, even given what she was.

" We're almost there. I know you're confident Ko, but whatever happens, just keep moving toward the village boundaries. They will not follow us there. "

[paradigm]

Ko laughed, yet again. However, this time, there was no mirth in his laugh. Cold, frightening chuckles left his lips as the ronin’s body convulsed softly. “Do not be foolish, child. Battle is my purpose. There is nothing my sword cannot cut.” Pausing, the dark haired man turned. His crimson eyes peering deep into Girl’s. “I do not run from a fight and to suggest I am over confident is an insult to my honor.”

Raising a hand, finger extended in a scholar-like post, Ko’s eye lids fluttered. “I have killed for insults to my honor. I do not think I would find any enjoyment in killing you, Child.” Turning, Ko continued on his path. “I shall escort you to the village, but if your pursuers come within striking distance I will cut them and I will kill them.


[Short post is....really really short]

[Sage]

Girl had a lot of comments she wanted to make. She wanted to comment on his insulting her by attaching himself to her, and about not taking the Wolf-King seriously, a threat which she had dealt with all her life. A threat which she was intimately familiar with.

But she kept silent, as she appreciated the escort, on a deep level. And, if he was indeed as foolhardy and perhaps suicidal as he seemed, venturing from a foreign land directly to the heart of danger in Algeroth. A land that had it's own rules already, but was especially mysterious and dangerous in the New Eden region.

Girl bounded ahead, smoke rising over the next rise clearly visible, when an unreal pain struck her hard in the gut. She began crumpling mid-leap and was a heap when she slammed into the ground. She managed to scramble up to her hands and knees but could not do much more than archer her back as she was wracked by wave after wave of pain.

A spurt of blood rocketed from her already bloody face, and she grasped at her stomach with one hand, clawing away at her midriff. Her hand was met with a stream of blood, and she winced and planted her hand again, allowing the fresh opening to bleed out. It was a pain she had experienced before, an anomaly accompanied with her that she could never quite explain.

She let out a primal scream, bursting the blood vessel in her left eye as a definitive shunk noise hit the bloody snow. It was a broken-off spearhead, and it had belonged the girl that had been killed, though she could not remember now how it could have gotten into her stomach, always assuming when this happened that she was attacked with whatever tool by the Wolf-Kin, meant to be tortured by it's exit when her regenerative process started.

[paradigm]

Ko’s eyes widened slightly at Girl’s crumpled form. Interesting. Ko, noted moving to the girl’s side. Kneeling down, the ronin pulled the obstruction free from the wound, all the while remaining alert of his surroundings. It seemed he would not be able to put off tending to the girl’s wounds any longer. Hurriedly searching about his person, Kojiro removed the water jug and cleaned the wound. Placing his hands atop the wound he poured a small amount of chakra into the wound, forming a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding.

Rising to his feet, Kojiro Genryusai’s lips twitched into a wide grin. “Come then. Let them speak of this day for ages to come.” Sword drawn, Kojiro awaited those who would do battle with him.

[Sage]

Girl squealed as the wound began to close even quicker than usual, with her own regenerative nature combining with the medical assistance Ko had provided, however crude. She remained on her hands and knees, her back arched as the bleeding from her stomach slowed and tapered. Even her eye had already managed to heal, though the blood had already pooled behind her sight.

Briefly, her form swelled and changed, quicker than most would notice. As she rolled back onto her haunches, she faded back and forth between humanity and something much more dangerous. As each instantaneous flicker made her into a monstrous abomination that fit her namesake among the Wolf-Kin.

" Ko....you m-mustn't...please...just r-run. "

She all but vibrated, shook with the force of restraint, fierce growls tearing out of her tiny throat as the flashes became slower, to the point where no normal person would be able to make out her secret, but she had no doubt this was the point at which Ko's trained senses would catch her transformation. Normally, it took a lycanthrope close to a third of a minute, minimum, to transform. Girl never had any such problem. She tended not to take more than a third of a second to transform, and she could continue transforming back and forth as many times as was necessary, and for whatever duration.

And then it stuck, only briefly, but enough to make out her features. The monstrosity was easily ten feet tall, and rippling with long, bulging muscles covered with medium-length jet black hair. His claws were razor-sharp, and equally dangerous teeth poured out of his maw. She flashed back to a human, eyes pleading, more with herself than Ko. Then her face became completely blank, and she bounded at Ko as the youthful victim before exploding into her Wolf-Kin form, slashing at him in a broad arc from her right claw, threatening to shred Ko's toned flesh.