[Story] Tales of the Risen (11/25/10) -- Chapter 12, one-shot: Of The Heart

[Aisha deCabre]

((I'd hate to think what'd happen if you did say it to her face. x3  Anyway guys, thanks for the comments, and now here's the second part.  Enjoy. ^^  This'll be a more slow-going story this time around.))

Part 2

   Soon it was apparent to the girl that exploring the monastery did in fact prove fruitful; as well as distracting from more dire thoughts.  Rynkura's smooth voice was easy to follow as she pointed everything out.  From the inside of the chapel itself, they had moved through a few of the hallways on the first floor.  Guards at the doors stood at attention when the Mistress passed, but glanced down at Aisha with only mild curiosity before returning to more important duties.

   She's definitely the head of this place, the young panther thought with a roll of her eyes whenever she saw those actions of respect.  And she said she's...my mentor?  What's that mean?

   "And this," Rynkura said, breaking Aisha out of her trance, "is the courtyard."

   So caught up in her thoughts, the girl didn't really realize where they had been walking for a while.  When a bright ray of sunlight hit her eyes and showed her the wide decorated field before her, she blinked in slight awe.  Not even the training field that Ayan had used back in the village was nearly the size.

   "Courtyard?" Aisha echoed, taking a couple of steps forward.  "It's huge."

   "It used to be a part of the old castle that stood here, as training for soldiers and knights," Rynkura continued, her arm sweeping over the area.  "But it has been converted somewhat.  We still have the field to train the warriors who guard the perimeter.  The long two-story buildings you see lining both sides of the field are all medical rooms, to treat the sick and the wounded.  Some of them are used as classrooms to teach apprentices, and those rooms are also where they sleep.  If you can see them past the trees, there are two more towers there similar to the one in which you slept; but these are quarantined and reserved only for the terminally ill or the highly contagious.  My healers are all trained to ward themselves against catching the sicknesses, and for certain in your time here, you will learn to do so too."

   "Wow," Aisha replied, although she was most interested in glancing around the huge training area.  She knew that her father and Ayan would have loved the place...and maybe she would be allowed to watch, at least...

   But the Healer brought her back to attention with a slight click from the staff on the ground.  "Do you have any questions, niña?"

   "Oh, yeah..." the black jaguar hummed, her gaze rising. "Uh, what about the woods?  There anything else there?"

   "Not much else," Rynkura shook her head.  "We often gather our best medicinal herbs from the forest.  But we try not to wander too far into it, especially at night; too easy to get lost and you never know what you may find."

   Just like the forest back home, Aisha thought with a slight grin.  Muy bien.

   The tigress was quick to catch the expression, however.  "And you will not be going exploring in there without permission, nor without an escort until you can handle yourself.  I wouldn't think about sneaking around either.  The guards have very sharp eyes, as do I."

   Aisha's ears swept back against her head then, expression falling.  "Mierda."

   That earned a stern nudge from the tip of the staff.  "You won't curse here, either, and not in both tongues.  I'm not often the disciplinary sort, but around here you will still learn some quick respect.  Now come," she said, turning away.

   "Ayan used to curse," the young panthress growled, following her.

   Rynkura chuckled.  "The last I knew, child, you weren't your brother."

   Aisha had nothing to say to that comment, but those words quickly chimed into her mind.  How'd she know I was talking about my brother?

*     *     *     *

   The tour went on until the girl was pretty sure that she knew where she was allowed to go and where she wasn't.  The weapons storage room was off-limits, as were the medical wards unless she was on her way there to learn something.  No matter what, the quarantine towers were definitely going to be kept out of her reach as well.  She could explore certain parts of the woods, walk in the courtyard, and go anywhere within the main chapel.

   At least there's plenty of places there I haven't seen yet, Aisha begrudgingly thought.  For a while she figured that she would easily get bored staying only in certain areas.  I'm twelve years old, por amor de los dioses (for the love of gods); Dad wouldn't have treated me like a little kid.

   At least she was also already mentally sticking a pin on what her favorite places would be.  The humongous library that took over an entire room on the second floor had caught her attention especially well; something that Rynkura also thought a good idea.

   By the time it ended, however, it was just about past the time for lunch; denoted by the low complaints given by her stomach.  They had stopped in the main chapel by that time.

   "There's an eatery up on the second floor, whenever you feel like going," Rynkura smiled.  "Just ask anyone you see for help if you're lost; everyone knows that you are here to stay with us.  Everything within reason is here to view as you will, and you know where your room is.  I'm afraid I have some work to do myself.  Today is yours to rest.  Tomorrow morning begins your tutoring."

   Aisha bit her lower lip, thinking all of it through, before she caught the tiger's attention again before she left. "So, I'll be living here now?"

   "Correct."

   The reality of that seemed to be coming into her mind through a sieve.  For all of the things she had seen in the monastery, and thoughts about what her family would have liked to see, and what she'd tell them...she had forgotten for a moment that they were dead.

   She gulped and tried to find another question.  Rynkura stood patiently, as if she knew that Aisha had more to say.  "And...tutoring.  En que?" (In what?)

   "Ah," the tiger nodded.  "In my trade, of course.  Mind you...I understand that healing may not be your choice of career someday.  But it's one of the skills which never hurts anyone to know; especially in bad situations.  Why they haven't made it a recommended class in many of the public schools, I have no idea..." she added with a small snort.  "At any rate, because you've been well sheltered in that village and I don't know the extent of what your parents have taught you, I also advise you to take time to learn other things about Furrae itself; the library as you are aware will help with that."

   Aisha hummed.  At least that was true.  There were other questions that were forming, but another hungry growl from her stomach cut off any memory of them.  She nodded, keeping her gaze away from Rynkura.  "Thank you, um...I think I'm going to go eat now."

   The tiger chuckled.  "Very well, I won't keep you.  Probably haven't eaten anything since yesterday, poor child."  There was a gleam of thought right then in her emerald eyes, regarding the young jaguar's nature towards her, and the whole situation.  Doubtless it was too hard for Aisha to take in all at once, however easily she seemed to be getting used to it already.  Rynkura would have to be careful mentioning that night around her...and truthfully, the tigress admitted, she could be a little more amiable.  No child who had gone through such a loss deserved to be put under more stress.

   "And, I suppose your tutoring can begin in two or three days, rather than tomorrow," she then corrected.  "That will be the time for you to make sure you can settle in well."

   At that news, Aisha's ears perked, and just the faintest hint of a smile was tugging her mouth.  "Thanks again."

   "Don't thank me.  I am only here to help.  Now, enough dawdling; go eat, and rest.  Farewell until later," the tiger smiled.  Then with a swish of her robes, she turned away towards the altar of the chapel, leaving Aisha to ponder...watching the elder walking away, something within told her that even if she was withholding a few things, she could certainly still be trusted.  Now all that was left was to find her way around.

   Second floor...right, she finally remembered, and started to take the winding staircase.  She had her nose to the air, trying her hardest to find a smell that would lead her to the eatery...if only to test the realization that her senses were no longer completely numb.

*     *     *     *

   It seemed like a lifetime since she had eaten...but yet, Aisha couldn't keep any piece of food down peacefully or without the slightest bit of pain, even though she knew her body needed it.  Regardless, those who prepared food in the eatery made sure that she was full before leaving.

   She easily took the rest of the day exploring the second level of the monastery...it was hard to decided where to go or what to see first, but the dark young jaguaress simply decided to walk until she found the first thing.  Trudging carefully through halls of roughly-hewn stone and passing windows whose light dared trespass into the dark, it wasn't long before she found the library; marked with a silver ensign of an open book over the door.  The child's crimson eyes looked up and down the halls before she took the handle and pushed it.

   What greeted her as the door opened was a flood of a scent that she had only a second to be familiar with before; it was that of pages and the dust accumulated on many of them, and of binding made with several different fabrics and colors.  Her sight beheld the maze of shelves as she walked in and looked around, making sure the door closed behind herself into a conclave of silence.  Sunlight streaming through the windows provided the only light, but there were torch sconces lining the walls for use after dark.

   The shelves were marked on their sides with letters of the alphabet, ordering them so by title; quickly changing as Aisha's crimson gaze swept over them.  Occasionally her tail would twitch with fascination.  Was Mistress Rynkura a collector...?  There must have been thousands of books, the back binders staring back down at her and almost beckoning to be picked.  More so from the shelves that nobody could reach without a ladder, wings, or insanely long limbs.  And then, on one side of the library, there was a small shelf that carried scrolls instead.  Some of the papers looked so old that they could crumble at the slightest touch.

   "Well, hello there."

   A voice jerked the panthress out of her trance and set her mind into defense...only to settle when she saw who had spoken.  Aisha hadn't noticed when she had come out of an aisle and into the library's central rotunda, where there sat a few tables and one ornate oak desk.  Sitting there at the desk was raccoon woman who looked somewhere in her thirties, with an interesting shade of bluish-silver fur and brown markings that deceptively tried to obscure eyes of a sunny gold.  She had on those same white and blue robes...another healer or just another worker at the monastery...whatever she was, for now she was a librarian, the child guessed.

   The raccoon tilted her head.  "Oh, did I frighten you?  I'm sorry, I should know better than to scare Mistress Rynkura's little student...I'm guessing that's what you are?  It must be; she never takes much of an interest in the children here otherwise.  I was one of those who insisted to take you to healing when she brought you here, all covered in blood.  But no, she kept you and healed you herself.  Must be something special, child."

   Aisha calmed down a little bit, but she couldn't help but listen to the woman's ramblings about the tigress.  She only vaguely remembered that it was she who picked her out of the wilderness.  The questions came again like a flood.  Rynkura...

   "Well, my manners are lacking," the librarian continued and shuffled the papers she had in front of her.  "Just call me Seren; I'm a historian, alchemist healer in training, and...yes, librarian," she rolled her eyes.  "The title just sounds so 'old' to me.  And you are?"

   The panthress's eyes darted.  She was still unsure of the people in the place yet, but like everyone else, Seren seemed nice enough.  "A-Aisha," she replied hesitantly.  "Aisha Cabre...and sorry for coming in, I didn't realize anyone was still here..."

   "Cabre?" the raccoon's eyes widened.  "Well, that's a familiar name!  Indeed...no wonder the Mistress was so adamant.  It was her duty after all..." she said, her voice starting to waver into a quiet, thoughtful tone.  Whether or not Aisha was supposed to catch the intonation and the words, she certainly did anyway.  In fact, this was the first instant that anyone had actually shown some interest when her last name came up too.

   Seren snapped her head up again though, before the girl could comment.  "That brings light to things.  But oh yes...you don't have to worry about anything, young Lady Cabre, the library is always open to anyone, anytime.  You can read whatever you like too, just don't destroy things or lose them; this library has a few books in which there are no other copies found anywhere on Furrae.  And of course I'm here most of the day, and most days, working on things.  So, look for me if you have a question."

   "...Sure thing..." she assented with a nod.  "Gracias...thanks, that is."

   "De nada," Seren smiled back while she stood and gathered some of the books and papers from her desk.  "Make yourself at home, young lady; I have to replace a few things here."

   "Just Aisha, please," the jaguar answered, but sent a polite wave as she watched the librarian walk off into the other half of the semicircle made by almost endless shelves.  With a hum, she sat in one of the slightly pulled-out chairs at a table and looked around with thought.  Perhaps if Rynkura would still provide a mystery, then the other Healers might just be as kind as to solve it.

   For now though, her eyes fell back on a book that was already lying open on the table.  Hm...well, I was looking for a place to start...she thought and reached over to glance at the title.  The Angels of Losiv, by Simone Crest.  Aisha looked around again, straining her ears; but there didn't seem to be anyone else in the library but herself and Seren.  Well, I hope that whoever had this won't mind if I lose their place.

   She made herself comfortable on the cushioned seat and opened the novel to the first page, settling her mind and eyes on the words.

*     *     *     *

   It was near to dinner time when the clicks from Rynkura's staff on the stones were heard on the second floor in the chapel and headed down the halls, looking for the young jaguar that she had left alone.  The sun was touching the horizon outside, setting the halls into slight darkness.  Soon the magic light orbs would be igniting.  By gods, I hope she's found something to do.  It would be bad for her if she spent the whole time mourning.

   The tigress finally caught a slight sound from inside the library doors, and the Mistress berated herself for almost missing the obvious.  With a shake of her head, she pushed open the great wooden door and made her way through to the rotunda.  Her sight caught the librarian at her desk, glancing down at her papers and occasionally at the only occupant at one table...who didn't seem to be moving at all save for her back rising with slow breaths.

   "Seren," Rynkura called softly, making the raccoon jump.

   She stood and spared a quick bow.  "My apologies, Mistress Rynkura, I didn't hear you.  What brings you here?"

   "Looking for Aisha," she said.  The two of them turned their eyes to the child, whose arms were folded over the middle pages of a novel and her head resting upon them, fast asleep.  "How long has she been here?"

   "Since a few hours ago," Seren chuckled.  "She neither said nor did anything.  She just read that book, stared at the ceiling a few times, and kept reading.  Like she was struck with an immense boredom or...something."

   The tiger shook her head.  "It is not boredom.  She is still trying to get used to things here...to get used to the reality that she had lost everything only a day ago...and to keep herself from breaking away and being lost at the same time.  To do that, she had to clear her mind of all realities; if not subconsciously.  What better way to do that than to escape to another world?" she gestured to the book.

   Seren blinked, and then nodded.  "That is true.  The poor girl.  Well, if it will help, I would like to let her borrow that novel."

   "That would be kind of you," the tiger smiled.  "Get a bookmark as well.  I will take her upstairs to rest...supper will have to wait."

   The librarian obeyed and helped Rynkura to move Aisha from the book and comfortably in the Healer's arms.  As they exited and traversed down the halls, the panther barely stirred.  It was guessed, her dreams for once didn't contain the essence of reality and the demons that fed on it.

[Gareeku]

I know I said it already on msn, but damn, that is some awesome writing. I love it. As always, I look forward to reading more of your excellent work. ^^

[James StarRunner]

Sorry, I haven't been commenting. I've been meaning to read this for awhile now. Been trying to catch up to everyones stories. Hope you don't mind me copy-pasting your stories into my flash drive so I can read on the go.

[Aisha deCabre]

Sure you know this by now, but I don't mind, James. x3  Thanks again for the comments all. ^^

Sadly though, writer's block has hit me in the head, and yet I'm only a page or two away from finishing the next chapter.  So, to keep this thread up, I started a Writer's 100 Themes project on DA, and the first (very) short tale I've done features Aisha.

Enjoy guys.  And I'll have the next chapter up sometime soon.

Also, I've put up the first few chapters of Origin of the Sword on DA.  All of my other stories will eventually be put up there as well as here, with one chapter added each week.  Feel free to check out my art too. 

[Aisha deCabre]

((Okay...well, thanks for the two of you who read the short story...here's the next chapter, pardon the double-posting, up as soon as promised.  I had a bit of fun with this one, especially with Jake's personality. x3  Enjoy.))

Part 3

   A couple of days passed quietly and peacefully for Aisha.  She had finished that novel in another half a day and would also go to read some more during the evening hours after eating.  The knowledge she gained from reading was interesting.  Aisha had never known of the history beyond her village; she knew there were Creatures and Beings, and many of the Creatures proved to be either strange or dangerous.  There was a layer of gray for some of them amidst either the light or the dark; angels could be power hungry, for example.  And then, at first she was afraid to read about demons, for she knew those were the things that destroyed her entire world...but soon she began to take an avid interest of knowledge—brought upon by a growing hate—for them.

   Sometimes she would bypass reading altogether and take walks around the monastery grounds.  The Healers she met were all as kind to her as before and would either let her pass into places that she wanted to see or gently coerce her away from places that they didn't.  It was like life had become interesting for the more elderly ones, having a youngster around to give advice to.  Some of the guards even began to spare her smiles and polite nods; almost as if she had already been integrated into the sect.  But still she was far away from the level of the higher healers or Mistress Rynkura.

*     *     *

   There had been little sign of the tigress one cloudy morning; Aisha felt slightly relieved at the fact, for now she had the time to get used to things herself.  Already she was starting to look forward to the tutoring; just for the thought of something to pursue.  That day was the last day she had to rest.

   The young panther found herself traversing into the training grounds in the old courtyard behind the chapel.  Her ears caught all of the sounds that she loved to hear; those which reminded her of her brother and father.  The metallic ring that came when two swords clashed together was the first thing to notice.  Further out there was the musical twang of a bowstring.  One of the guards she recognized was even testing the strength of a Morningstar by slamming it into the head of a training dummy; naturally the thing flew right off its shoulders with little resistance.  The area was full of energy and adrenaline.  Some would say it wasn't exactly the place for a girl.  But then again, only her brother used to say that; and it never stopped her.

   Walking along, she passed a large sandy arena for sword fighters with a few stray trees from the woods bordering it.  They made perfect seats for onlookers, as did a low wall belonging to the old ruins that covered a corner.  She made her way there out of curiosity to see what was going on.

   There wasn't an actual fight, to her disappointment.  But a lone knight was there anyway, testing his agility with an intricate dance of footwork while holding an impressive spear ahead of him.  The weapon wasn't the most impressive thing however; it was the fact that he had wings.  The silvery-black extremities were resting against his shoulders and looked much like a downy cape.  His head was an avian one, but any avian Being had feathers on their arms (phoenixes being the exception, she had read); not usually coming out of their shoulder blades.  And they didn't have a leonine tail.

   The fighter stopped for a while as she was thinking, having glimpsed the black feline out of the corner of his eye looking with confusion and curiosity; a little more of the former than the latter.

   "Well, if it isn't the new kid!" the Creature laughed and came up to Aisha with a polite bow, the weapon held in a respective upright position.  "Nice to see you're all healed up."

   Aisha blinked, rather surprised that he had even noticed her; none of the other fighters seemed to.  "Oh, yeah," she almost muttered.  "I'm alright."

   He tilted his head, noticing her apparent shyness.  "I'm guessing you've never seen a gryphon before, eh?  No worries; I'm a knight here at the monastery.  Well, more like a captain of the guard than anything that important, but it's nice that the Lady Msh'taan prefers to use that title anyway.  Name's Jake.  Just Jake...not 'Captain Jake' or 'Sir Jake', just 'Jake'."

   Aisha blinked and nearly slammed a palm to her forehead.  Gryphon, right!  Instead she simply let out a chuckle.  "Sorry, no, I've never seen a gryphon before...and I didn't know you were a knight, either," she pointed out with interest in her eyes.

   "Heh, nobody does.   I should wear a badge or something shiny," he joked, relinquishing his respectful stance to lean on the wall.  "And your name...now don't tell me, I know this one...Isha?"

   The feline quirked an eyebrow at his attempts to be funny, and laughed anyway.  "It's Aisha.  The 'I' is supposed to be silent."

   "Silent?" Jake grinned.  "Nah.  Letters aren't silent; they're sneaky, is what they are.  I just wanted to catch that 'I'.  Making that sound all weird by itself.  It should be ashamed to call itself a letter."
   
   Now Aisha couldn't help but laugh.  It was a funny feeling; she hadn't done that in a long time.  "You're crazy, Jake."

   "I prefer 'boredom-challenged'," he retorted with a wink.  "Anyway, what're you doing out here?  It's pretty noisy compared to that quiet library you hole yourself up in."

   "Oh, I just..." the panther began.  She wondered if the Mistress would allow her near one of the fighting rings.  "I just wanted to check this place out.  I like to watch fights.  My brother and I even used to spar a lot."

   "Did you?" Jake replied with a smile.  His eyes rolled upwards, his expression taking on something akin to reminiscence...he thought for a moment and chuckled, before his gaze regarded her again.  "Well, I can see it in your eyes, Isha, there's a fighter's heart in there somewhere.  Are you any good?"

   The young panthress blinked for a moment and looked away, embarrassed, and perhaps even a little sad.  "No.  My brother always knocked me on my butt when we fought; every time I tried, and he'd laugh at me.  But I always came back at him.  I hoped to beat him, but he left a long time ago.  Never saw him again."

   The gryphon hummed, taken aback.  The girl's life was indeed a sad one, but she still had quite a bit of life and spirit.  It was unimaginable that she'd spend her life holed up in the monastery.  Certainly not an adventurer's child worthy of Cabre blood.  She so reminded him of Ayan at a young age.

   He was smiling when she glanced back up again.  "Well, the fun of learning how to fight is practicing.  Certainly you must've learned a few things from your brother.  And I'll let you in on a little secret.  I taught him a few moves myself."

   Aisha's eyes widened then.  "No way!  You knew him?"

   "Yes way," Jake smirked.  "Good friend of mine, that Ayan; bit too proud though."  He bowed at the waist.  "In fact, if what you say is true, I'd consider it an honor to spar with his little sister."

   "Spar?" she echoed, her tail twitching excitedly.  Aisha looked then as if to jump straight over the fence bordering the ring, but she hesitated and glanced around, her face taking on an expression of uncertainty.  "But...but I don't have a weapon," she said.  "And I...thought I had one when I came here..."

   Jake tried his best to look like he hadn't known that.  Oh, good job...now she noticed. "You had a weapon with you?"

   "Yeah," she said, still looking around.  "It's...my papi gave it to me, when I turned ten.  It's all silvery and has three bladed sides.  And a handle.  A boomerang.  I..." she bit her bottom lip.  She had only just noticed that her most beloved possession was no longer with her, when she swore that she had run away with it.

   When she thought of that, there was a slight whimper.  "It's...I lost it...I lost my dad's gift..."

   "Hmh..." Jake thought out loud.  Rynkura had ordered the weapon to be kept away from her, but it was also the only thing she had left to her name.  Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to just ease her worry...and give clues.

   "Actually, you didn't lose it," he began, sounding nonchalant; he was even idly filing one of his claws on the blade of his spear.  "Ms. Msh'taan hid it away.  It's safe."

   Aisha swished around, gripping the fence and staring intensely at the gryphon.  "Where?" she demanded.  "Where is it?"

   "Will you calm down?" he said, suddenly hunching and speaking in hushed tones.  "Unfortunately I can't tell you where it is.  Just know that it IS here."  He stood up again and grinned.  "Think of it as a...treasure hunt, maybe."

   The young jaguar froze, thinking about that aspect, with a slow grin spreading on her face.  Finally, a bit of fun to be had around the monastery.

   "There you are!"

   Suddenly, another voice cut through her thoughts.  Familiar, strong, and just a little unpleased.  The two of them whirled and looked up to see the tigress herself, standing with a stoic expression on her face.  "I have been looking for you, Aisha.  You need to be prepared for tomorrow's first lessons."  She turned to Jake with the same kind of voice; the kind that adults used with suspicion on children they knew could cause trouble.  "I hope she hasn't been giving you any trouble, Jake."

   He stood up straight and bowed her head.  "Not at all, Mistress.  She's actually fairly good company.  I hope to see her around here more often."

   "Mm-hm," she replied with a sigh.  "Then you ought to be prepared to be disappointed, Sir Talothir.  Remember what I said, after all.  Come along, Aisha."

   Throughout the banter, the panthress felt like she was caught in the middle of something that she couldn't see.  At least Jake had unlocked a bit more of the puzzle.  If he knew her brother, than maybe it stood to chance that some of her family had indeed visited the place.  What Rynkura knew about it all, was still a mystery.

   She sighed and started to follow the white tiger, only to turn back and give one final glance to the gryphon.  He had his back turned, perhaps just going back to his training.

   But he was thinking of the girl while they were moving further away from him.  Good luck, Isha.  If you're anything like your brother, you'll find it.

*   *   *

   "So, señora, why can't I watch fights?"

   As the felines walked back into the hall that led inside the chapel, Rynkura glanced down toward her new charge.  "I did not say that you couldn't.  But the arena is no place for a child.  And some would argue a girl, for that matter."

   The panthress snorted slightly as her gaze passed back to the ground.  "That's what my dad used to say.  He thought that my wanting to learn the stuff my brother does was 'cute'.  At least he let me."

   The Healer stopped and glanced down to her with a neutral gaze, not at all angry, but still enough to make Aisha start to rethink her words.  Finally, she sighed.  "Sorry.  I'm just..."

   "I know, child," Rynkura smiled.  "With all that you've had to recover from, I doubt you truly mean any disrespect.  But, I am curious; why are you so interested in learning such a thing as fighting?  Personally I have to wonder about the adventurers' fixation on getting dirt and blood on their hands."

   The panthress hummed and shrugged.  "I dunno, I just always thought it was a good idea.  First time I ever hit someone...well, I'll just say there was a bully in town that walked away with a bloody nose.  I just wanted to defend myself, and, I got to liking fighting.  Plus it looked cool."

   Rynkura's eyebrow quirked.  "I hope you don't wish to pursue killing for killing's sake, niña.  That is not in the code of the Healers."

   "'Course not!" Aisha exclaimed.  "I'm no bully.  Or demon," she added with a snarl.  "I just don't wanna feel like..."  She shook her head sadly, closing her eyes.  "La cobarde que yo sé que yo soy (The coward I know that I am)."

   "I see," the tigress nodded in understanding.  "Well, I can't say that the reason for the obsession is a bad one.  I've known people who have gone into fighting for the sake of image...for vengeance...and just to serve some higher purpose; and to cleanse the world of wrong.  However noble or foolish the reasons, all have things to learn."

   She started walking again, motioning for Aisha to follow.  "But for now, you won't be worried about such things.  What you have to learn now will be more useful to you in the long run.  Knowledge is the real power, child, do not forget it.  No matter what anyone tells you, the brain is mightier than the fist; experience mightier than the blade."

   For that, Aisha wasn't all too certain.  But however she thought, there was really no choice left but to see what she could really learn.

*     *     *     *

   The first thing that Rynkura did to prepare Aisha for an education as a Healer was to introduce her to a few of the tutors she was going to know.  The young panthress was relieved to find that one of them was the librarian, Seren, who would be giving her a dose of Furrae's history (as well as having her become a study partner in her own alchemy lessons).  In the months to come, Aisha would have gotten her interest in the studies of ancient cultures from that experience.  Another person who worked in the hospital buildings would teach her from basic first aid and diseases to how to treat even the nastiest wounds.  And as her mentor, Rynkura would finally be teaching her a little bit of everything and then some...the only thing that she wasn't sure the girl wasn't capable of was magic, but for her safety the tiger wouldn't have bothered bringing it up.

   The girl's old clothes, damaged and blood-ridden beyond sensible repair, were disposed of in favor of a Healer's robe of her own.  Her hair was tied in a braid, another unofficial act of symbolism for the denizens of the monastery.  And though she did so with a bit of reluctance, Aisha promised them that she'd be diligent and hard-working while she was there until she could stand on her feet.

   But that night, the young adventurer's child could barely sleep.  She sat on the edge of her bed, looking between the darkness of the window, to the stone floor, and back again, while toying with her hair.  Aisha wondered if she was really even still ready to do anything other than ponder things.  To convince herself that all that had happened those few nights ago were not a dream...and that she wouldn't wake up to her family's voices ever again.  And furthermore, what the mystery was that Rynkura and the others seemed to be holding back from her since she got there.

   Eventually, the frustration from her thoughts made her get out of bed and wander to the doorway.  She pondered kicking the body of the wooden frame until it either splintered some or had her foot broken, the latter much more likely than the former.  But she just clenched her hands a few times and took deep breaths.  Taking her anger out on something wasn't going to help.  And if she wasn't going to sleep, then perhaps a bit more exploration was in order.

   Slowly, and with a grimace, she opened the door so that it wouldn't creak and peeked out into the hallway.

   It always looked so eerie at night.  Even with the illumination from the light-magic orbs, the place took on the look of a dungeon even with the feel of an ancient and sacred castle.  Another quick look around, and the feline dashed out into the darkness.

   The pads on her feet made barely a sound, but she was too fixated on just wanting to get somewhere that she hadn't noticed the sound of another pair of pads on the floor.  By the time she passed an alcove, something had grabbed her tail.

   "Isha?  Where do you think you're off to?" a familiar voice chided.

   Surprised, but rolling her eyes nonetheless, she turned and shoved Jake's paw away.  "It's Aisha.  And don't you guards ever sleep?"

   The gryphon smirked.  "Only when it's convenient.  Mistress Rynkura sent me up here to peek in on you and see if you were asleep.  Guess not though."

   "No, guess not," the girl sneered, and then sighed and turned herself back around to the direction of her room.  "Lo siento.  I'm just confused...and there are so many mysteries to solve around here, I couldn't help but let myself go."

   Jake's expression lightened.  He was in a bit of inner turmoil himself, trying to keep to Rynkura's word, and yet all at once not wanting to see any child of Luc Cabre at a loss for answers on her lineage.

   "Well, my best advice is to just do what you are told.  I'm pretty sure that those mysteries will unravel themselves in time.  Maybe you won't get anywhere with asking questions, and maybe you will.  But if I know anyone who has half the courage of her brother, it ought to be you.  Prove it by finding it yourself."

   Aisha lowered her head in thought.  It was probably the only way, thinking about it.  And she had her doubts as to whether or not it would work...but she had to try.

   If only to prove it to someone.

   The feline sighed, and let out a chuckle.  "Alright, I think I'll do that.  You're rather smart for a crazy knight, Jake."

   "Hey, I never said I wasn't," he winked.  "Now get out of here before someone more of a stickler than me finds you."

   But Aisha was already headed back from whence she came, a little more at ease, and thus a little sleepier.

   Soon though.  Soon.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I like Jake.

[Gareeku]

Another awesome piece of writing, Aisha. I, like Llearch, like Jake also. ^^

[Aisha deCabre]

((Thanks, I'm glad y'all approve of him. ^^  Anyway, new chapter, a bit of a long one since I might have gotten carried away towards the end.  Heh, one of the ways that I made Aisha much like me...she likes many of the same subjects, although I probably would prefer going to school in her world than in mine. x3

Enjoy.))

Part 4

   From that day on, time passed in both swift and slow undertones.  The days turned into weeks...and the weeks into months...shifting and dragging and waning through into and past the year.

   The seasons started to grow cold, and then warm.  Rain fell in equal days to the sun's soft light.  Holidays went celebrated and forgotten again, all a little different with both Aisha and the denizens that grew fond of her...and she of them in return.

   And ever so slowly, the work that the panthress was put through had helped to push the tragedy that she escaped from to the back of her mind.  She had recovered physically and mentally; the more she dug into her lessons early day by early night, the more she was able to finally sleep without nightmares to haunt her.

   Her least favorite subjects were science and mathematics, bar for a few things that she found herself good at, such as problem solving and things having to do with observing the interesting wildlife of the region.  Her most favorite were writing and history, particularly magic and lore.  There were a few old journals kept by well-known travelers in the library that she could read in her spare time to enjoy a combination of the two.  In the course of the monastery's true subject, healing, she was more proficient in Being methods of healing physical wounds than she was at mixing medicines in the background.  She found more enjoyment in going out and doing things rather than staying inside and standing or sitting for a while.

   But for all of the changes in her concentration, the only feeling that she couldn't escape from was that of being truly alone.

   Certainly, Mistress Rynkura had proven herself kind and accommodating, albeit fairly thorough with her lessons.  Jake had become like another older brother.  Seren, the other teachers, the guards, and even the occasional visiting family or group with wounded, or sick, or dying that she learned and helped to treat...they all treated her with respect as a student and as Rynkura's chosen apprentice.  But never would they replace those she lost.

   And no matter how hard it was, Aisha kept her determination in mind to look for her father's weapon and gain some answers along with it.

   There were nights when she just couldn't sleep.  And so, hesitant to go out sneaking again without being prepared, the girl spent the hours observing and memorizing each of the guards' movements and watch times, as well as who slept when and where, and any weak spots that their eyes and ears couldn't catch (which were very rare, but present all the same).

   In this endeavor, she honed the patience that would make her infamous.  And she used it to great advantage...the feline practiced using the shadows of the walls and the trees.  Her void-dark fur was camouflage.  If it wasn't quiet to her ears, then it could have been noisy to someone else.  Only a few times has she been caught, and even then the child had several perfect excuses ready to pick, a trick she always had to keep from getting put in the corner as a younger child.

   It would take a while, but it was one of Aisha's goals to master her own stealth...for the challenge, if nothing else.  And she managed to do so even amidst her other practices, under the noses of her superiors.

*     *     *     *

   It was sometime in late winter...just a month before Aisha would turn fifteen.  Outside of the library windows, the night's rain had turned into snow.  The drifts wouldn't be piled very high, but for the moment it was a quiet and peaceful sight to behold.  The days were getting longer and warmer, so it was predicted that it would be the last snowfall that anyone would see that year.

   "Aisha?  Have you finished studying?" Seren asked.  The raccoon had been watching the girl from another chair, where she had been crunching plants in a mortar.  A pleasant but strong smell had permeated a part of the building as a result.

   The panthress had been reading a book on the many types of Creatures.  But when she was called, her eyes were more or less staring at the words than taking them in.  Her head snapped up.  "Uh, oh...yeah, sí, I'm done."  She glanced up at the window, almost hypnotized by the snowfall, shining in the lights that broke the dark of night.  "What time is it?"

   "For a quick pop quiz, that's what," Seren grinned and set down her supplies.  "The Creature most known for entering and devouring dreams is...?"

   "Cubi," she answered without hesitance.

   "Mhm.  And the ones with the longest known life span?"

   "Dragons..." she answered, thought for a second, and then added, "debatably."

   "Great.  And the ones whose magic is said to have no limits?"

   "Fae."

   "Name two races that might be considered Being-like."

   "Two-legged gryphon and non-fire phoenix."

   "Brilliant," the raccoon smiled.  "I think you might do well on the exam later.  Just try to watch out for trick questions about mythos, hoo boy..."

   "Heh," Aisha answered simply as she closed the book.  In reality, her concentration wasn't all upon reading, as she lowered her head in thought.

   Seren could see it in the girl's eyes. "What's the matter?" she inquired with a tilt of her head.

   The panthress glanced up and gave an ironic laugh.  "Oh, you know me, muchacha.  What isn't wrong with me?"  She sighed, and bit her lower lip.  "I am wondering something about Mistress Rynkura though."

   Seren's tail started twitching.  Oh boy, did she find out about the angel thing?

   The raccoon's unease unbeknownst to her, Aisha continued.  "I just wonder why I didn't think of it more often...and why she saved me, all those months ago."

   There was a quiet pause, and then a laugh from Seren as she spooned the results of her mix into a glass bottle.  "She's a healer.  I doubt that she would have ignored a helpless, wounded child in passing.  None of us would have."

   Aisha flinched just slightly, feeling like the world "helpless" was used as a slap to the face.  Nevertheless, she shook her head.  "Yes, but I'm the one she wants to teach, too.  Master of a monastery, never has any other students, and leaves other children to the rest of the healers.  What's so special about me?"

   Ahh, I see...it is still hard to forget.

   Seren smiled.  "Well...that is out of my realm of knowledge, kid.  But, perhaps it's something you have to ask her yourself.  I know that she can be intimidating, but trust me...though the Mistress keeps things to herself, a liar is the very last thing she is."

   After a thought, the dark jaguaress nodded slowly.  That was true...and there was no shame in just asking.  She started to stand up.  "Yeah...yeah, I think I'll do that."

   But then, Seren's hand on her shoulder made her stop.  "You'll do that in the morning.  You asked what time it was...it's past midnight.  You were supposed to get to sleep."

   Her eyes widened.  "Yeah, two hours ago!  How come you didn't tell me?"

   "I did, and you simply muttered that you weren't tired.  And you looked so busy."  The raccoon smirked.

   Aisha snorted and pulled away, shaking her head in amusement.  At least the people weren't as dull as she once thought.

*     *     *     *

   The air was full of chill the next morning.  Though the sun's warmth tried to fight its way out of the clouds at every opportunity, the snow patches remaining on the ground were stubborn in melting, though the ones lingering on the roofs were slowly dripping onto the grass.  Thankfully there was no hint of a breeze...any sort of wind would have only made the cold worse, and made anyone having to stand out in it pray for an early spring.

   Outside in the courtyard, there weren't many people staying around, and so any voices were as fleeting as a whisper, despite some of the complaints from the guards about the cold, among other things.  But they managed to politely stand at attention when they saw a black feline in blue and white Healer's robes walk outside past them.

   Aisha regarded them with a nod and walked on.  There were times she envied those that worked there...nobody had any reason to complain when many of them had families to travel back to during the cold days, and more of an opportunity to do so, even though some still preferred to stay.  She had to admit that there was just something about the place, the sanctuary that it was, that must have felt enough like heaven to the living souls to not make them move.

   Still, she also regarded the unease was due to the fact that they had a rarity.  A cursed and dying patient was up in the quarantine tower...and when faced with a hopeless case, it tended to make the entire monastery fall very much out of order.

   Walking across the empty training fields, some of them with the snow stained in red as a remnant of a previous fight gone awry, the panther's red gaze finally found the one she was looking for.

   Rynkura was sitting on a ruined stone wall with her back to the shadow of the dense forest.  The white tiger seemed to blend perfectly with the snow, and in fact didn't seem to mind the cold either.  She had her legs crossed and her arms resting out on her knees, eyes closed and head dipped as if thinking deeply.  Her ears however kept swiveling around, catching every sound from every direction.  Looking much like an ever-vigilant and ancient statue, it was hard to imagine that the Mistress may have been a child once herself.

   Aisha took one step forward, the snow crunching underneath her bare pads, and the tigress's ears both swished up to rest in her exact direction.  Rynkura herself had not moved.  She knew that the girl was there, and waited patiently for her to come forward.

   Most appropriately like a timid student fearing to ask a teacher for help, the panthress cleared her throat and walked the rest of the way towards her.  "Señora?"

   "Hm," she answered, still having not opened her eyes.

   Aisha tilted her head.  "I hope I'm not disturbing you, but I have something that I want to know."

   "I figured so," the tigress chuckled as she looked up.  "One day you will probably train your ears to guess one's emotions based on how deliberately they walk.  And worry not; as long as you were concerned that I would be disturbed, then I certainly am not."  Rynkura smiled.  "What is the problem, child?"

   At least her mood is reasonable...Aisha wanted to smile back, but somehow she couldn't chase the seriousness from her face.  Rynkura listened, even though worry started to creep into her mind.

   "Why keep me here?" The panther started with a shake of her head.  "You make me think that I'm no different than any other kid that needs help.  But I know that's not the case."  Her crimson eyes locked onto the tiger's emerald ones. "I'd have thought that a coward like me, you could have given to a foster family or something.  But I've been given hints that I'm something special...peh," she spat, lowering her head.  "Why keep me, why teach me, why even care?"

   Before Aisha could say any more, Rynkura had stood up and took the girl's chin in her hands, lightly but still enough to have kept her mouth shut.

   The Healer's expression bore into hers with conviction.  "Now, listen to me.  First thing, you have to get any notion out of your head that you are a coward.  You wouldn't have tried to stand up to me now, to seek the truth as adamantly as you do, if you were.  And the second thing is, it was my choice to keep you safe here."

   Her grip softened, as did her gaze.  "Many of the healers here knew your family, as did I.  I was a friend to them for several years.  And I was not about to leave one of theirs out to their death.  Especially when I knew her since she was born, and was honored to be called her godmother."

   That caught Aisha by surprise.  As the tigress let go of her chin, she struggled to pick the words from her mind.  "Godmother...you knew me?  Well...why didn't you tell me?"

   "For your own protection," Rynkura answered simply as she reached down to pick up her staff. "I suppose it would have been better to let you know before.  I cannot deny making my own mistakes.  But had you known, would you have felt any better, anyway?"

   Aisha didn't reply...but her expression gave the old Healer the answer she needed.  No, you wouldn't have.

   Things were silent for a few moments as the felines contemplated their next words.  But then, they didn't need to.  A voice rang out from across the courtyard.  "Mistress!"

   The messenger, an old robed ocelot, stopped to regain his breath.  He regarded Aisha for but a moment, and then stood straight in front of the tigress.  "Mistress, your help is needed.  The white vixen in the quarantine tower has started shaking and bleeding through the mouth."

   "Is she?" the tigress sighed.  "Right, I'll be there as quickly as possible."  With a hum, she turned to Aisha, having already started to trot in the direction of the tower.  "Enjoy the rest of the day off, niña."

   "But wait...!  I want to know where..." her voice trailed off as soon as Rynkura was out of sight.  "...Where my boomerang is," she finished quietly.

   She didn't realize that the ocelot was still there until he spoke.  "Boomerang?" he inquired curiously.

   The panther glanced up at the Healer, whom she had learned was one of the longest-working members, and also one of the most fickle.  Jake had once told her that he was working for him before he became a knight.  She almost wished that it was in fact Jake she was talking to right then.  "Yeah...my father, he...gave me one, before he died.  I had it when I came here..." she decided to try for an innocent routine, her eyes widening.  "I don't suppose you know where they put it?"

   Catching the last of his breath, the ocelot tilted his head, and then hummed.  "I haven't the faintest.  I suppose the weapons storage still has the most space for extra things, though...but I warn you, it is often very well-guarded.  I doubt you will even be allowed a peek."

   Aisha grinned on the inside.  That's all she needed to hear.  "Well, thank you anyway, señor."  She gave him a polite bow of the head and turned away back towards the cathedral, feigning disappointment.  The Healer gave the girl a questioning look before remembering his duties, heading straight back towards the tower.

*     *     *     *

   Godmother?  Really?

   It was later that evening.  Aisha had taken a book to her room to read, but she could barely even keep her eyes on the pages.  She was staring out through the window, where the horizon was covered by several bands of color due to the sunset.

   "Did you have this in mind for me, father?" she whispered.  "Was it planned for me to come here?  Or was it just in case something happened to you?"

   She was answered by silence, and a very slight shifting of the light.  Aisha certainly didn't expect the window to answer her, but something keeping her there meant that it didn't hurt to ask, either.  Somewhere in her heart, there leaned the possibility that maybe it was all planned.  To keep her safe.  To protect her.

   But from what?

   There was a low growl in her throat.  This is weird.  I know I ought to just not worry about it, but it's impossible.

   The light in her eyes shifted again, as they turned away from the window and into the shadows of the room.  And then, the young panther pushed herself off of the bed, turning towards the window and putting her foot on the stone sill.  Below, she could see the giant stoop of the cathedral and several Healers walking around, just starting to light the orbs for the night.  Just beneath the window, there were jutting rocks and cracks in the building's old foundations.  Perfect for footholds.

   The last of the monastery's workers walked around the corner.  And she took that moment to flip over and out, already mapping her path.  After all, there was still something to do.

*     *     *     *

   There was something that only the adventurous would have thought about whenever they would pass ruins...such as old as the castle surrounding the cathedral and the other buildings: that there would be hidden passages.

   Aisha snuck with her back along the perimeter of the cathedral's north wall, her pads making as little sound as possible.  She knew that the entrance to the weapon storage room was somewhere in one of the corners of the courtyard.  In that corner, there were always two guards on the wall, and two in front of the door.

   The only way to get there was underground...and after a bit of snooping, the panther knew just where to go.

   As she pressed against the wall, her ears could catch some muttering, perhaps coming from the few individuals inside the cathedral who were still awake.  She froze in the shadows of the building until the coast was clear, and then made her move, swerving to avoid stepping into any increments of light.

   Aisha rounded the corner, only pausing to look a moment before doing so, and snuck to a circular portion of stone.  It looked like the base of a tower, only smaller in diameter, more like an unusually tall well.  The stones were rough and crumbling, weathered and destroyed with time, and were jagged and broken away at the top.  The lowest portion in fact only just matched her own height.

   She looked around once more before reaching up and hoisting her body over the edge of the wall, so that she was inside the small circle.  She landed hard on a heap of snow and dry moss, something much harder than grass as expected, and yet something a little more hollow as well.  Oh man, tell me I'm right...

   Tilting her head with curiosity, the panthress knelt and carefully brushed the moss, snow, and dirt from the floor.  It too was made of stone, with a large thin slab in the middle.  Slowly, her hands went under the thing and lifted it with a slight groan.  Underneath the stone was a rotted square of wood connected to rusty hinges.  And hidden under that, too far down for her to really see, an expanse of darkness.

   Uncertain about whether or not there would be light, Aisha made sure that the door was left open as she took a few tentative steps downward.  The old passage had to have some sort of purpose, for at one point her foot touched a crumpling ladder.  It was only until after about ten feet that it also touched a wet and slippery floor.

   Up ahead, there was a soft green glow from several places on the wall and up on the ceiling.  The room before her was cavernous...a musty smell permeated like mildew, moss, and dust, among other things.  The light was coming from a huge colony of glowworms that had decided to make their nests there in the walls, it seemed.  So long as they kept it up, Aisha's keen eyesight could discern the hidden passages.

   She had heard from some of the people who had discovered the place that it was a labyrinth down under the monastery, with hidden rooms.  There was too much intrigue to be found here in the underground, where the magic influence of the sanctuary was felt even there.  But she remembered the direction in which to go, and with a deep breath of the fresh air left from above, followed it.

   Her feet splashed in water that had been dripping from cracks in the stone for years on end, and yet hadn't even reached the level of her ankles.  Her ears caught nothing on each pause, no soul but herself...it made her shiver for a moment.  What if the passage were to suddenly crumble behind her...or on top of the girl, burying her there?

   "Calm down, okay?" Aisha whispered to herself, letting her voice echo and give her the illusion of not being alone at all.  "Calm down, you left the door open.  They'll find it, be curious, and look down here if that happens, okay?"

   Yeah...but how long would I be trapped?

   "Shut up...just shut up..." the young Healer's student growled.  "Just find the trap door."

   As she tried to keep her focus, Aisha kept ordering her feet forward through the straight passage, tempted but undeterred by the other shadowed doorways.  The only true light was made by those glowworms, giving her body and the stones a dark green outline.

   Then, something in one doorway made a clicking noise, causing Aisha to yelp and back against the wall, staring into the dark.

   "Who's there?"

   No response.  But there was a small rock at its entrance, having been dislodged from its place.

   A deep breath taken, and she inched forward again.  It had to be there somewhere; she had to have gone further than several yards by then.

   The dripping of water had grown louder the further she went, until the path started to narrow.  And there, at the end of it, was an anomaly.  Instead of the constant and soft green, there was a very faint, flickering orange, like a torch.

   Oh, good, at least I'm somewhere, the girl sighed with relief.  She kept an eye on that flickering light, walking towards it until she was amongst and under it.

   Just above her, a shaft rose up, similar to the kind that she had climbed down into, but it wasn't such a long climb back up.  The cut stones however weren't as steady.  Patiently, she inched upwards, making sure that her hand wasn't going to catch on something that would tumble under her weight, and would make her tumble along with it.

   The "ceiling" of the shaft was completely made out of wood.  But it wasn't rotten...it was cleaner, as if it had been more recently tended to.  But there were still plenty of splinters, and a large portion of it was cut into a perfect square, with a small area for hinges.

   Bingo.

   Holding herself steady on the holds in the wall, Aisha bit her lower lip as her right hand reached up to test the trap door with a push.  It moved, but only a little bit each time, as if she were pushing something rather heavy off of it with one push after another.

   Aisha tensed.  Hopefully, nobody was hearing whatever noise she was making by moving what it was out of her way.  When the trap door was finally open enough, her eyes were hit by a gentle torch light.  It was definitely somewhere on the grounds that she found herself.

   Using her claws and all of her strength, she leaned away from the wall and caught herself on the edge of the trap door's rim.  She pulled herself up as quickly as she could, shut the door, and crouched in the corner hidden behind a few crates.

   Her ears and eyes scanned for any hint of movement.

   Nothing.  She was alone.

   The breath she was holding ever since she had started climbing was released in a long sigh.  So far, so good.

   Carefully, she crawled from behind the crate and pushed a smaller one back over the entrance where it had been before.  And then, she tried to discern where she was.

   There were indeed torches, their flames flickering high above the room.  She was huddled in the shadows of a shelf...or more or less, an enclave in the wall.  The space in front of her was very large...certainly it had to be a storage room of some sort.  And below, there were shelves and racks carefully stacked onto every inch of the wall as far up as it would go.

   Further down, a metallic glare caught her eye, reflecting the firelight high above.  A flash of bladed steel.

   Realizing what that meant, Aisha grinned and discreetly pumped her fist in victory.  Perfecto.

   She gauged the distance downward.  The floor was wide and clear of any kind of debris, and just far enough for her to jump and not be hurt, as well as to be fairly quiet.  It was an exit that didn't involve the front door that was going to be the problem.  But, the feline would climb that mountain when she came to it, so to speak.

   Bunching the muscles in her legs, Aisha made a perfectly-timed leap from the wall and hit the middle of the floor, with only just a small bit of strain in her tendon and a loud "Ppp" that came from her pads hitting it...not enough noise to even alert the guards standing just out of the door.

   Around her was a paradise for warriors in a smaller space.  In many of the racks and lying around, there stood an expansive collection of weaponry, mostly consisting of blades.  From great broadswords to intricate daggers, and from a beastly zanbatou to a series of swift katanas, it was certain that someone definitely liked to collect blades of all sorts.  There were even a few blunt ones like morning stars, and even several sorts of bows that caught her eye.

   They weren't all weaponry though, considering the crates on the shelves and a few smaller cardboard boxes lined between the racks.  But as far as she remembered the size of her boomerang, more than likely that's where it might have been hidden.

   Careful not to let anything fall, Aisha combed through the boxes one by one...but she didn't have to look for long.  She had grabbed one of the slightly smaller boxes at the top of one pile, and as soon as she did, her eyes widened at the faded writing on the side.

   "Cabre".

   Aisha slowly sat down with the box, regarding it with a mix of curiosity and anxiety.  Did this belong to my dad?

   Carefully listening for anything that might disturb her, she opened the cardboard flaps to reveal what was inside.  One was a very familiar blade that still retained its shine even hidden in these dusty archives of weaponry.

   Elated, she took the boomerang out by the handle and examined it in the light, although she didn't need the torches to see it.  The bladed sides gave off a glow all of their own, a soft blue, filled still to the brim with its protective light enchantment.  On one side, there was a gently-carved ensign.  The signature that her father had put on all of the weapons he ever created.

   It kinda feels like you're here with me, Aisha smiled lightly, glad to have it back in her hands again.  Then her eyes drew back down into the box, as there was something else in there as well.

   With her other hand she fished out a smallish book with a black cover and binder, held together with a rubber band as if the pages could easily spill out upon removal.  Other than its color, the cover was featureless...no text or anything to give a hint on what could have been hidden on the parchment inside.  Curious, Aisha slipped the boomerang into her belt and removed the rubber band.

   Sure enough, the pages did start to fall out, but Aisha's fingers caught them before they could be tossed out of order.  They weren't too old, but the ink had started to run from the few words that she saw.  Slowly opening the front cover, there was indeed a title on the first page.  It was a journal, like those belonging to the library, written by explorers...though it looked like a rough draft, not like the published versions.

   It read in solid black letters, "Luc Cabre: Chronicles of an Adventurer, Part 5".

   The air in the room seemed to grow deathly still.  Her eyes scanned those words over and over again, her mind waiting for it to click.

   Adventurer?  Father...you were...an adventurer?  A monster slayer and a fighter?

   ...And I didn't know?

   The book closed, almost of its own volition, her hands feeling numb.  And all of a sudden, Aisha felt like she had known only half of all that she should have.  But most of the fog had started to clear.

   She remembered again, so clearly that it was painful, her father's cold-blooded murder at the hands of a demon.  A seemingly unprovoked attack, now brought into some light.

   A tear started to form in her eye, and she slowly put the rubber band back over the journal, hugging it to her body.  An inner fire had suddenly been given life, and she was more determined than ever to keep it lit.

   But before she could do anything more to acknowledge the revelation, voices from outside brought the girl back to reality.  The guards were either changing shifts, or were going to check things out inside.  Either way, Aisha was not going to get caught, and have the treasures in her hand taken from her again.

   Adrenaline rushing through her blood, she quickly closed the box and placed it back where she found it.  Carrying the book and the boomerang, she scrambled up the shelves and back towards the enclave that she had come from, knocking a few weapons down with an ear-shattering clatter on the floor in her carelessness.

   The guards rushed to unlock the door in investigation.  But by the time they did, it was silent again, and Aisha was gone from sight.

[Aisha deCabre]

Alright, well...thanks for all of you on MSN who read the chapter and told me it was alright, I appreciate it.

Sorry I don't have the final chapter with me...I'm finalizing the details while I still have some spare time.  Meanwhile, I decided to put up a poll.

More than likely, this is just to take a look at myself and see just what kind of writer I am, and if there's somewhere to improve upon.  I've been told before that the last chapter seemed a bit...out of character, but it hasn't been said why or where, and I'm just wondering if there were other places that seemed to stray away that people haven't told me about.

I wouldn't mind some good honesty, please.  Just based on what you all have read so far.  I won't treat everything as gospel, but I will keep them in mind.

So yeah.  Thoughts would be appreciated, and the last chapter, which may be short, will come up soon, or at least I'll try to get it so.   

[Aisha deCabre]

((Well...I'd like to thank the 2 people who cared to vote in the poll...I guess I should be happy that my story is what it is, though.  Lesson learned. ^^;

Also, for those who care to read it, here's the final chapter of Hunter's Beginning.  I don't know what tale I'll come up with next, but I do humbly ask that the poll be taken down for now.  Enjoy, I tried to make this end as well as I could.

Also, there's a small reference to 8-Bit Theater in there for laughs.  Cookies to the first to find it. ))

Part 5

    For the next few weeks, Aisha kept everything well-hidden.  Nobody-- even the Healers that she most confided in—knew about the things she kept.  There hadn't been any real fuss over what happened in the weapon storage area; they found nothing important missing and just credited it to creatures like feral rats sneaking in and looking around for food.

    The boomerang she kept in an open niche in the wall of her room where nobody was liable to go poking around while cleaning.  The journal, however, she kept with her.  It was small enough to hold within the pockets of her robes and to tuck into her pillow at night.  The young panthress kept her assigned reading materials in sight and still tried to concentrate on the things expected of her...but it was that small book, filled with memories in her father's own handwriting, which took much of her free time.

   In those pages, Luc Cabre wrote about things that she could have only dreamed about.  Encounters with powerful creatures, teaming up with rivals to combat a common enemy, treasure hunting, even things about what he loved about forging weapons (heck, it even came with pictures of blades so intricate that she would have loved to see them in battle)...it was all a side that she always suspected of her father, but was never told about even when asked...except she did remember stories of when he married her mother and when Ayan was a baby, all chronicled there.  Now it was all in her hands, and sometimes when she read, Aisha wondered if her father would have liked her to lay eyes on something considered personal.  Even if she had done so after his death, and even if it might've been written for the purpose of publishing.

    But, in what she figured was the last volume that he'd written, it was mostly just a collection of his own thoughts; at the end, those thoughts turned to one of the toughest decisions he had ever made...if not the toughest.

   One night, under the flickering light of a magic torch and the full moon playing its eye over her side of the tower, she carefully unbound the journal and flipped to the last page, which opened her eyes further into that decision:

2/12, Friday.

I regret to say that this may be the last entry that I write here as an adventurer.  Let me explain why.

Today I had a long talk with Mara...or, I guess, she had a long talk with me.  I guess I must've scared her, coming home late, 'cause she was pretty pissed when I staggered through the door.  She thought I got drunk and went off with another woman, too, 'til I finally told her that I was ambushed by a creature..."honest to gods, that's what happened", I said.  She believed me when she saw the bruises, heh.  Five-eyed mythos/demon, blind in all five of 'em.  El hijo de perra couldn't hit the broad side of a damn truck; he was easy to take down.

Anyway.

"Doctor says I'm pregnant again, mi amor", she told me.  There was a smile on her face when she said it, a glow that was probably kept inside until she could tell me the news.  But there was also something...sad, in her voice.  Uncertainty of how I'd take it, my guess.

Well hell, I took it with disbelief, and then sudden joy.  Me.  A father again...our son, whose sixth birthday was just a week ago, was a blessing the first time.  And now...another child.  What man wouldn't be happy about that?

Then she asked me a question that gave me the reason for her worry.  "What would you say if you had to give up adventuring?"

I didn't know what to say after that.  Adventuring wasn't just a career with me; it was a passion, even if it was life-threatening.  I did it for the sake of justice, and for the sake of righting the world's wrongs.  Okay, so maybe the world has plenty of heroes, but what was the cost of losing one?

"Just think about it," she told me.  "Para sus niños y niños futuros (for your children and future children).  You wanna live to see their faces, don't you?  Every day there's a chance that you may not come back.  And there are other ways to pay for our bread and bacon, por claro.  You were doing well for young Ayan, but you barely get to see him, or me."

So I thought about it.  I could barely concentrate on eating.  The news weighed heavily on me, and more and more, I was pulled towards the family I created and cared for.  And then I thought about the dangers...there've been demons after my head for years.  Marrying put me and my wife at risk.  And now my children are at risk.  I can just hear señora Msh'taan calling me a stupid darned fool.  Okay, well, maybe not that far, but definitely "fool" might be in there.

And really, I've lived a long life.  Probably longer than most adventurers out there, who don't even make it past their first battle.  Dying a veteran is just as honorable as dying in the heat of battle itself, right?

It was settled.  I told her that I was done with adventuring...sure, I'd probably do my duty if called upon again, but my life now belonged to her.  And anyway, I need to work on forging some of my dream blades.  Maybe go back to arguing with that damned idiot who thought combining blades and nunchucks was a good idea.

There's only one thing I won't do...I won't put my children's lives in danger.  Ayan already lives and breathes on the dreams of being a fighter like me.  But the second child...

No, the second child won't even hear the word.  Fighting may be a legacy of ours, but I fear the name will not be carried much longer.  If that would be their dream too, so be it...but it won't be pushed by me.

The days are now officially behind us.  So now I close this chapter on the last page, and I'll give it to the Mistress at the next chance.  To whomever reads this sometime in the future, though it is in great doubt that anyone will, remember my name and keep it safe.

One thing's for sure, I'm going to miss it all.

Luc Esteban Cabre.

   Aisha softly gulped, her eyes lingering on that last page before she closed it.  The young jaguar hardly knew what to say or to feel at that point, wondering if her father's last written words were even meant for her.

The facts in her head were all floating there, jumbled for what seemed like an eternity, before she managed to bring them all together again piece by piece.

   Adventurers...her whole family.  She wasn't meant to be one of them, just to keep her and the rest of the family safe from harm.

    But they weren't safe...her father didn't die of old age as he'd wished.  He did in fact die in the middle of battle, at the hands of the very demons that were always after him.

    She was the only one left, as far as she knew.

    The tiger, Rynkura, knew and protected her family.  She probably promised her father to watch over her, should something have happened.

    And to keep her away from the truth.  For her own safety.

    So all this time I thought we were just victims of a random attack...

    ...And we were targets.  He was a target.

    Father...mother...Ayan...Rynkura, everyone here...they kept it all from me.

    Then, after so long of trying to forget the events of the past, they came again in brief and horrible flashes.

    The fires, everywhere in sight...

    We weren't safe.

    Her father's face, frozen in anger and pain...

    He lied to me.

    The blood...

    They all lied to me.

    The demon's face twisted in a snarl of hunger and triumph...

    They killed him.

    The running...

    And they left me.

    Before Aisha knew it, her whole body was shaking.  There were tears welling up in her eyes.  But they weren't tears of pain or fear, as she had been holding back for all of those months.  What was building up inside was a torrent of adrenaline.  Strength from anger.  Her claws dug into the bed sheets...she saw the demon's face again.  But instead of feeling the need to run...she wanted to rip...his...face...off.  All of them, the intruders.  She wanted to take her father's weapon, the bladed side and...

    Father.

    Her eyes narrowed dangerously, at nothing in particular, but the illusions that her mind created and played before the panther.

    She remembered the words of the journal.  Aisha wasn't meant to be an adventurer; but it was still her choice.  And it wasn't her father that pushed the decision.

    It was his death.

    She lifted her head, eyes ablaze in the darkness, but she willed her bunched-up muscles to try to calm down, and looked over to the niche where she hid the boomerang.

    Tomorrow, she decided, and tried with little success to return to her peaceful mind and fall asleep.

    The only problem was that her mind would probably never be peaceful again.

*     *     *     *

    The next day was sunny and warm.  It was the kind of day that promised something good for the world.  At least, that's what it felt like to Seren when she took her bag and strolled up to the imposing doors of the library, humming the notes of a song and improvising the parts she forgot.  Other than the fact that Rynkura had a coming-of-age birthday celebration planned for Aisha, things were also bound to be normal.

    "Seren."

    The raccoon jumped and turned around...it wasn't the suddenness of the voice that surprised her, but it was the severity of its tone.

    She was looking at Aisha, having come up from behind as if out of nowhere...a shadow from the walls.  The panthress stood with a straight, staunch posture and had her blood-red eyes bore into those of the librarian.  Seren could tell that she had been doing a lot of thinking, a lot of crying—or even a bit of both—from the way her eyes were shot and frozen.  They were narrowed, concealing determination.

   Clenched in her right hand was the gleaming boomerang that Seren had been told was hidden.

   "...Aisha?" the raccoon said, finding her voice again and giving the girl a worried look.  Was this truly the very same girl, trembling with fear and reserved within herself, which they had brought to the monastery long ago?
She took a step towards her.  "What's...?"

   "Where is she?"

   Seren froze and blinked.  There was that harsh voice again, perhaps having deepened a bit since she last heard her speak.  She certainly didn't want to waste time.  "She who?  What are you looking for?"

   "Rynkura," Aisha said, still unmoving.  "Where is she?  I have something to say.

   Despite her tone, Seren scowled slightly.  "Young lady, you know better.  You will call her 'Mistress' Rynkura..."

   "I don't care," the panthress hissed.  "I'll give up the formalities when she gives up my answers.  Now where is she?  Last time I'm asking, muchacha."

   Now Seren was taken aback.  There was an energy coming from the girl that hinted every way that she'd better do as asked.  The raccoon's ears flattened against her head as she answered with hesitation.  "She's in the courtyard, talking to the healers and getting ready for your quinceañera.  But what's this all about?  What are you planning to do with that weapon?"

   But Aisha didn't hear the question.  As soon as she knew the tiger's whereabouts, she was off and past the raccoon with a shot, her feet flying like for all the world she was running from hell.

   "Aisha!" Seren called after her, but it was too late.  "Damn it..." she muttered and tossed her bag to the side, running to catch up to the crazed girl.  Whatever was going to happen, she hoped that she hadn't gone off the deep end...as was often bound to happen with someone of her past, sooner or later.

*     *     *

   Out in the courtyard, Rynkura had the Healers and some of the guards out for a conference; as a result, any practice and fights were cancelled that day.  Jake was lazing on the wall at the head of the crowd, his head turned towards the tiger; but his mind was starting to wander elsewhere, as it always did when things were standing still.

   But suddenly, silence settled over the group as the Mistress held her hand up.  Her ears swiveled against the cathedral, and Jake glanced up with curiosity.

   Two dark shapes were rushing towards them.  And as Rynkura caught sight of Aisha...oh, gods...

   "Mistress, be careful!" Seren yelled from behind the running feline.  "Aisha, she's..."

   The sentence wasn't finished.  The guards went on alert, but the healers all quickly stepped back.  More space was filled in the circle as the panthress leaped and sailed over the head of one person, landing in the center of it.

   The only sound at that moment was her raspy breathing as the exhaustion from running caught up to her.  Nobody made a step forward to even touch the girl; they didn't know what to do.  The hand carrying the boomerang twitched, as if she would use it against anyone who came near.  Jake gripped his staff closely...he knew the look in her eyes, and only he of all the guards and healers knew what was to come next.

   The Mistress knew as well.  It was too hard for her to accept...but she knew.  "Aisha..." she said, breaking the silence.

   "Callate (shut up)," Aisha snarled that instant, making Rynkura's head snap back in surprise.

   There was a short pause.  Ignoring all of the eyes that were now upon her, the panther held the weapon up in front of her face.  "You...you thought you could hide this from me?  You told me you didn't know anything.  You told me...told me that there was nothing that could be done."

   She held her breath short, trying not to let out the sense that she was about to cry.  "But you knew.  You knew that my father was hunted by those demons.  They were sent to kill him and they succeeded.  They wanted to kill all of us.  Where were you, if you were so adamant to protect us, huh?  Where were you?"

   "Aisha, please," Rynkura shook her head, "I didn't..."

   "I'm not finished!" Aisha spat, lowering her weapon as she continued.  "I know you were just trying to protect me, but do you know how I felt before I found this out?  I felt like a bug to be stepped on.  A coward that was just left behind to die and was only fortunate enough to live instead.  But after I found out...after I realized...we could have fought back."

   Her eyes gleamed.  "I could fight back.  Did you want me to believe I was nothing, forever, when there was actually something I could have done about that injustice?  Well?"

   The tigress opened her mouth to say something...but the words didn't come immediately.  Instead, her ears flattened and her gaze went to the side.  "I promised your father that you would still live," she answered neutrally.  "He didn't want another adventurer to come from his family line, only to die for a rogue cause.  Not another head from his beloved kin to be hunted."

   The gaze of the group around them switched back and forth between the Mistress and her student.  It was the first time that some of them realized that Rynkura was connected with her, and none of them made a move to either leave or to speak up.  They just watched.

   Aisha, however, was starting to calm down; but the inner fire was still burning.  "Well...it couldn't be helped.  He didn't know that he'd actually be killed, along with the entire village.  He didn't know that I would see that demon's face, that has so haunted my nightmares up until now...and he didn't know that I would vow vengeance.  Mistress..." she sighed and stood up straight.  "I'm eternally grateful for your saving my life, and protecting me.  But you couldn't have protected me forever.  I would have found out eventually, and I would have made my own decisions."

   Breathing heavily, her eyes met the tiger's again, and her voice became dangerously serious.  "I'm going to find those demons.  And I'm going to kill them.  I'm going to kill them for what they did to me, and for what they keep doing to other adventurers and their families, and the innocents that get in the way.  I can't rest until they pay for what they've done.  And what's more, the Cabre name's going to be safe, if I have anything to say about it."

   And then, the six words came that Rynkura had hoped to never hear again.

   "I want to be an adventurer.  Like my father before me.  Like my brother surely would be now.  I want to follow in their footsteps, my forefathers' and foremothers' footsteps, and finish what finished them."

   Those words that she proclaimed, they were full of strength; it was the strength that her heart lost and regained.

   Rynkura sensed the certainty...but she released a long sigh.  "Are you sure that this is what you want, Aisha?"

   The black jaguar nodded once.  "I've never been more sure of anything.  My family, my home, they're all gone...I have nothing left to lose but my own skin.  Up to now, I never knew what to do about anything except to go along with this education that's been offered me...and I will use all the knowledge to its fullest.  But now, as far as I see, I would have nothing more fulfilling for a future.  My spirit won't be satisfied if I don't even try."

   She loosened the grip on the boomerang slightly.  "I want to be an adventurer.  And I want to learn here.  Jake...all the guards....they can fight.  I can be taught by them.  Then go to school for real for it, or something.  Anything...just, please.  I want this.  For my father, and for Ayan.  Even if you say no, I will find a way."

   There was no doubt about it.  As Rynkura's gaze drifted from the girl in front of her to the others...Jake and the guards, they all understood her passion.  The Healers all looked more hesitant, having been taught to never stand for fighting in any form, but they still felt the reasoning.  Seren looked just as pained, but she could say nothing either.

   And there was something in the back of the tiger's head that echoed Aisha's words, and Jake's, and everyone else who warned her.  And for a moment, she could even picture Luc's voice saying the words.  You couldn't protect her forever...this is what she wants to do...what she has to do.  Her destiny to follow or die trying.

   The quiet seemed to go on forever.  And then, finally, she clutched her staff tightly.  "Very well."

   But before anything else could happen, Rynkura swiftly struck out at the panther with the rod, nailing her in the side and causing her to topple hard to the ground.  She tried to get up, but she couldn't move her arms or legs...she was pinned with some kind of force, as the tigress held the artifact full of light magic up to Aisha's confused face.  The group stepped back further, but watched in earnest.

   "You must then realize the terms of the adventurer," the Healer said, her voice stern and loud.  "What is your purpose for this choice?  Why do you want to be an adventurer?"

   Aisha blinked, unable to answer until her brain clicked.  "Vengeance," she answered.

   The magic bonds seemed to grow tighter, so that she stopped struggling to focus on the questions at hand.  "Do you understand the challenges that await you?  You will be hunted, you may be killed, and you may have to kill to defend yourself.  You may have to do things against your creed, beliefs, and your will.  If you put yourself in danger, you may put others in danger.  Do you know this?"

   Aisha's eyes narrowed.  "I do."

   "Do you vow then to seek justice, to never kill the innocent, to fight honorably when you are challenged and do anything for your life when you are not?  Do you promise to fight for your comrades and your loved ones, that the penalty for betraying your own may be death?  Do you promise that you will die with honor?"

   "I do, I do!" the panthress answered with an angry vigor.

   "Swear it!" Rynkura growled back as the magic bonds tightened.  The light magic seemed to encompass the tiger's staff and flare in her face.

   Aisha growled, clenching her fists as the fire in her only intensified.  "I swear it!"

   "What do you swear?" Rynkura asked, softer that time.

   With only a breath to spare, Aisha answered, "I swear to fight honorably and die honorably, to never kill innocents, to fight for my friends, and..."

   "And?  State your original purpose.  Swear it."

   "And I swear to kill the demons that killed my own."

   Rynkura nodded, regaining her stance.  "That will do."  She raised the staff and called back the magic bonds, allowing Aisha to move again.  "You are an adventurer by oath, and soon, by training."

   Aisha sighed with some relief and got up on her feet, still caught up in the surprise that the tigress put upon her.  Looking around, even some of the guards were amazed that their normally pacifistic Mistress had acted that way.

   "Did you have to be so rough on the kid?" Jake asked.

   "Yes," said Rynkura.  "If this is Aisha's choice, then she has to be prepared that there will be painful fights...more painful even than that."

   The panthress was watching her with some caution, but there was the familiar sense of warmth in Rynkura's eyes along with her serious voice.  "What's more, Aisha...you will be taught to fight here.  But I will be the one to teach you from now on."

   "...You?" Aisha breathed, disbelieving.  "But...but, you were an adventurer?"

   "I was a paladin for a number of years, perhaps fifty or sixty," Rynkura said, half-dismissively.  "But I was put through that same oath, and that same procedure, by a teacher even stricter than I am.  The way he taught could be considered unorthodox, but it was effective."

   She started to turn, and as she did, she addressed the crowd of healers and guards.  "Well, back to your posts and duties!  I will call you when the time comes!"

   With that, the crowd dispersed, with a lot more on their minds than they certainly hoped for that day.  Only Jake remained, wanting to see the outcome of the whole thing.

   Rynkura continued, glancing back to the bewildered panther.  "But, there is one thing that my master did, that I would rather not do.  To him it was an honor bestowed on his students for him to give them their first battle scars.  But you already have them."

   "...I do?" Aisha tilted her head.  "But...I don't remember scars.  All my injuries were healed."

   "Yes, but not all of them were sealed fully," Rynkura said, gesturing to her.  "Your lower back."

   The jaguaress paused, and then ran her right hand across her back, under her shirt.  To her surprise, there were a couple of portions in which fur was absent...which felt like indentations in her skin.  They were lines that ran the length from one corner of her hips to the other.

   And then, suddenly, she remembered what the wound was from.  A scene flashed through her head of her running...tripping...a demon's claws gleaming as they came down...

   Aisha shuddered and slowly retrieved her fingers.  They were only scars, but there was no blood...not anymore.  She looked back to Rynkura, questioning.

   "Those will be your marks of purpose," the tigress relayed.  "Given by your first adversary.  Thus, you will keep them as a reminder of your past and your actions for the future.  When you finish your life missions...if you do...then I will remove them if you so wish."

   The girl glanced down at her hand again.  The events that went past in her head that morning...it was hard for her to believe that she was actually going to go through with it.  There was fear and hesitance in her mind.  But that was easily pushed away by her desire, the will to live...and to avenge.

   Her fist clenched.  "Then...alright."  She nodded, respectively bowing her head.  "Thank you, Mistress."

   "You will thank me later, child," the tigress smiled.  "Now, come on."

   Aisha tilted her head.  "Is my training going to start?"

   There was a pause, and then a laugh from both the tiger and Jake, whom Aisha forgot was still there.  "No, it will start tomorrow, anxious girl," Rynkura chuckled.  "First thing.  But if I recall, today you turn fifteen.  Come and have your quinceañera...before you become an adventurer, it's recommended that you become a woman first."

   The panthress nodded and followed.  In all of her determination, she had forgotten her birthday...but thinking about it, she would have probably never noticed it before anyway.  Her life felt a little more fulfilled now, and that day was as good a day as any to celebrate.

   Then, something clicked, while she was thinking.  "Señora...you said you were a paladin for sixty-something years?  But...dang...that would've taken your whole life, let alone knowing my whole family, and you don't even look that old," She stopped in her tracks as that sank in.  "What are you?"

   Rynkura kept going with not a response, but a slight grin tugging at her lip.  Jake rolled his eyes and called Aisha back along.  "I think that's a story for another time, kid."

*     *     *     *

   And so, over the months and the years, Aisha's resolve was strengthened and her fears pushed back.  She was trained in stealth as a bounty hunter, in combat as a fighter, and in mind as a traveler...an adventurer, like all before her.  In the years to follow, she would be destined to find more paths to take and more goals to attain, but her road was always going to be as straight as she could make it, often lonely and far-faring, but always fulfilling.

   It was the death of a victim...and it was the birth of the Risen.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Heh. Sword chucks. *snerk*


Neat story, Aisha. Had me on the edge of my seat.

[Aisha deCabre]

Heh. Sword chucks. *snerk*


Neat story, Aisha. Had me on the edge of my seat.

Cookie for Llearch.

And thanks! ^^

[Aisha deCabre]

((Well, I hope you all liked the previous stories.  Since I want to try to keep both of my art topics up, and hopefully a little better after exams, here's another short story; this one's a little different.  Instead of being told directly by Aisha, most of it is told by mere civilians who've heard of The Risen.

It might seem a little egotistic (and I tried to avoid that anyway) ^^; but there are as many stories of notorious adventurers as there are notorious Creatures, and I was always curious as to what kinds of rumors would fly about Aisha when she started becoming infamous...and becoming inspired by another little tale certainly helped.

So, I hope you enjoy this short entry.))

Tales of the Risen: Rumors

   The rain was pounding hard on the pavement of the small city on the cold night.  Not quite cold enough for snow, but not warm enough for the cascading water to be comforting, especially to any travelers wandering around.

   Several of the lampposts weren't lit, leaving the streets in an eerie twilight for the one person who had nowhere else to go; a stranger from a neighboring town.  Darkness enshrouded his surroundings like the coat he wore.  The worried traveler, a stag by the look of the short antlers growing above his eyes and catching the drips of water falling, pulled the collar of the coat around his neck and shivered as he looked around for any kind of life that could have still been awake at that hour.

   Quite honestly, he didn't know what time of the night it was.  The moon was completely covered in dense clouds, and the giant clock in the midst of the fog that blanketed a portion of the place had the illusion of having stopped working.  It seemed too dark a place to stay; but then again, everything seemed dark these days.  He had been running for a day to find someone—anyone—to help him with a very big problem.  But what scared him was that after a while he had stopped trying to be scared.  After all, in a world with demons and other creatures that craved sentient flesh, it happened all the time.

   ...It just had to happen to them...

   Despite the darkness, he did suddenly see one bit of light that still denoted a building was still open to the public, and to his relief, it was as good a place to rest as any.

   There stood a tavern and inn, moderately-sized and having a slightly more welcoming presence than the town itself.  The sign hanging above the door was entitled "The Ruby Flask," with the ensign of a mug of some kind of reddish wine; what strangely looked like a mug of blood.

   Regardless, the deer paid little mind.  Once again pulling his jacket to himself, he hastily made way to the stoop and pushed the door open and closed behind him.

   He was instantly hit with the smell of warm food and alcohol, along with the sound of a few patrons still awake and laughing over their nightly drinks.  The bartender, a gangly lop-eared hare, still looked wide awake as he heard the stories that people told all around.  The brown collie barmaid however just looked exasperated at having to deal with a bunch of rowdy men all day.  She nabbed an empty tray from a table and wiped it clean in front of the gecko leaning backward over his chair asleep...all in about thirty seconds and without a passing glance.  Seems she was still used to it and on her toes despite the look.

   "Friggin' hell," the deer muttered as he lightly shook his clothes dry and hung his coat over the hook, stepping into the warmth of the bar and dining hall.  There were only five people in the entire place, six counting himself, and none of them seemed like the helpful sort.  They all just seemed the tired and drunk sort.

   Still, perhaps something to drink would indeed help his mind.  The traveler took a seat away from the two patrons speaking in hushed tones at the front of the bar and waited to be served.

   "Hey pal," the hare said once he was done washing one of the mugs and caught his eye.  "What can I get you?"

   "Shot of whiskey," the stag said, then again after a pause and a sigh, "Make that two."

   "Right," said the bartender as he immediately fulfilled the order.  "I must say you look pretty down there, pal.  Haven't seen a face that long since that..."

   "Don't say it, man!" said one of the two bar sitters, a rather irritable red panda.  "Ain't in the mood for no puns."

   "Aw come on, at least let the newcomer hear it," the hare argued back.  The other just snorted dismissively and set his nose back into his drink.  The bartender turned back to face the stag.  "Sorry, guess you don't get to hear it.  Anyway, what's up with you, stranger?"

   The deer wasn't amused in the slightest.  But he shook his head...who knew; maybe it would have done him some good to say something.  He took a sip of the whiskey.  "Meh, just call me Stephan.  And I just wanted someplace to escape the rain, is all."

   There was a short moment of quiet as the bartender regarded Stephan with a look, like there was more on his mind.  The deer continued, picking up on the mood.  What the hell...if he were killed for mentioning it, at least he might be able to join the ones he lost.  "Though I also thought by coming into this bar I could find the aid of an adventurer."

   A stunned silence settled into the bar area.  The hare's eyes darted back and forth, and he suddenly found something else to clean.  The two bar sitters had their eyes on him though.  It was the red panda who spoke up again.

   "An adventurer?" he said with a laugh in his voice.  "You don't see any of those around here.  This is a peaceful place.  Good luck with it."

   "Heh, maybe the bastard wants someone killed," laughed the long-haired cat that accompanied him.  "Don't see any of THAT kind around here either, and with good reason."

   "Oh, no, it's not that," Stephen said with raised hands, although they actually nearly hit the nail on the head.  "It's my family; my wife and daughter.  A few days ago they just went out shopping, and never came back.  The police couldn't help...found no traces of anything.  Only thing I can think of is the fact that I've been terrorized by a local gang...a pseudo-mob, I guess, or a thieves' guild..."

   His eyes narrowed and his voice tried not to crack as he put his fingers to his tired temple.  "Whose leader is a demon.  I've got some heavy debts to pay, see.  And I guess they decided not to wait for me and took my family to compensate.  I don't even know where they are...they could be dead.  If anyone could help me..."

   The deer looked up into the eyes of the small audience he had gathered, and only one pair of them looked sympathetic.  It was that of the bartender...the other two still looked markedly serious but still bemused at his plight.  Stephen shook his head.  "I know, it sounds nuts, but it's all I can think of if the local authorities and even the mayor himself won't look into it."

   Lifting himself to his feet and getting his customer the second shot of whiskey, the hare grimaced.  "I'm sorry to hear about it, pal...I know I'd probably do the same thing if that happened to my girl, Mercy."

   "Y' wouldn' sen' nothin' shor' o' yer feral dog after me, y' bloody miser," the collie barmaid suddenly spoke up in a thick but sturdy accent, watching the hare with a hand on her hip.  Her statement earned a few bursts of laughter from the others, along with the hare's reddening face, before she went on with her work.

   "Of course Mercy doesn't think so," he concluded with a shake of his head.  "But seriously, if I knew any adventurers that could help, I'd recommend them to you.  None of them happen to come out or into this city, really."

   "Well, actually," the cat at the bar suddenly said after he gulped his ale down, "One traveler who looked like the adventuring sort passed through here just this morning.  Very mysterious.  Had a cape of crimson red with a hood, and you could see a sword handle sticking out of the belt...and I think her tail had a green ring on it.  Just went on her way like nothing could stop her."

   "Her?  Green ring and a red cape?  Did she also happen to have dark fur and red eyes?"  The red panda inquired as he turned to his friend.  His eyes went wide when the other nodded.  "Surely you don't mean that the Risen came through here?"

   The cat's tail seemed to frizzle; it was hard to tell when the fur was long.  "The Risen?  No way.  I didn't even think about that."

   "Well, if it was, you just be glad that you didn't get in her way, you idiot.  Girl's vicious as all hell," his companion said.  "Just forget about her."

   "'The Risen'?" Stephen suddenly said.  His ears perked out of curiosity.  "Who's that?"

   The bartender chuckled.  "Now there's an adventurer who's quickly making a name for herself in parts of the world.  She came out of nowhere not too long ago.  The 'Risen' is what she calls herself, it is said, because nobody knows her true name.  A female warrior whose skills are very seldom bested...they also say she is always ready for battle, tough as nails, and has a temper shorter than a three-inch fuse.  She's a bounty hunter too, so you have to make sure your head's not on a list.  Hope that demon of yours in fact doesn't take out a hit on you, pal."

   "Oh come ON..." the panda snorted.  "Since when does a demon get someone to do their dirty work for them?  Besides, they also say that the Risen hates demons."

   Stephen's head tilted.  "She does?  How is it that's known about her?"

   "Oh, easy," the other continued.  "Demons speak her name in hushed whispers.  I hear that a couple of demon cities even have wanted posters of her.  The demons must have done something terrible, because that's what most of her bounties have consisted of, and including other creatures and general criminals whose heads were worth a small fortune."

   "Wow..." the stag murmured.  There were quite a few notable adventurers, of course, but hearing about this one seemed to give him a small amount of hope; the fact that she had likely been through the city earlier helped.  But he stayed, curious to know more.  And thankfully or not, the two bar goers seemed to have plenty of stories.

   The red panda shrugged.  "Of course that's all that's said about her.  There's lots of hearsay floating around, but nobody has ever met her long enough to really know her, they say.  And anyone who has probably keeps their mouth shut.  But I have heard stories about her exploits too...like one about how she can take down her targets with a single shot of an arrow and they would have never detected her.  A small group could fall to her attacks in minutes...and she's so stealthy that even thieves could not outwit her, and her hearing is better than anything.  That's how she can always detect people coming, and detect her next victim.  Demons that were even town leaders were killed, regardless of how the people felt.  She's a merciless one; very dark."

   The long-furred cat snorted in his drink and coughed before speaking.  The eyes of the bar turned to him next.

   "You want dark and merciless?  Here's this for a story; there are theories that the Risen could be a demon herself...I mean, you talk about her hearing; no Being has that good a hearing.  She's a black panther, or some kind of feline like that, with eyes as red as the blood she spills.  They say that her eyes glow in the dark; not like mine when light hits it, but actually glows, and it grows stronger with every kill she makes.  When she looks at you, those eyes are like lasers...she also looks into your heart and soul.  If you're evil, she might just kill you on the spot.  I heard a story where some guy tried to come onto her.  All that was found of him later was a very big puddle of blood."

   "Oh, that's ridiculous," the bartender waved his hand.  "She's a Being; mortal like the rest of us.  Adventurers are always out for justice, either theirs or that of others, there's nothing godly or demonic about them."

   "And the Beings that know magic?" the cat pointed out.  "I'm just saying; she's more than dangerous.  It's true, she's cruel.  I know this guy who knows a family who had to deal with the Risen killing one of their own.  They call her a cold murderer...the 'red-eyed shadow' was their word on her."

   "I agree with the bartender, you're exaggerating," the red panda growled.  "She can't be that bad.  I only agree that she could still be pretty dark in ways though," he hummed, looking at the smoothly-polished wood on the table.  "Like any adventurer would do, she does her job and doesn't worry about mourning the dead or being forgiven for any sins.  She does what needs to be done, no emotion to get in the way, no ties to anyone.  At least one story about killing demon town leaders is true.  In her eyes, it seems, evil is evil, and there is nothing around it."

   There was a small bit of thoughtful silence pervading the bar right then; perhaps the patrons were all finally starting to get tired and thinking of sleep.  Or perhaps they were tired of the subject, though the two men seemed to be very caught up in their stories.  Whatever the reason, it also left a lot for Stephen to think about.  This adventurer already seemed intimidating to try to confront, let alone ask for some simple help.  But the worry for his family, he found, still outweighed that fear.  The hope that had been planted in the stag's heart was slowly returning his confidence.

   "Well," he said, breaking the silence.  "Surely there has to be something good.  If she's out for justice, she has to be sympathetic to those who also want it."

   "That's what I agree with you on, pal," the hare bartender said, having been quiet for a bit.

   "An' m' 'usband's no' th' only one, disagreeable as 'e is th' res' of th' time," Mercy said, having come up again with a more thoughtful tone of voice.  The collie wiped her hands on a cloth and leaned herself against the bar in between Stephen and the two storytellers. "Wha' ye hear in bars an' in th' town square is only words.  Th' only way to truly find abou' some'ne is to find 'em y'self.  Y' wan' to 'ear a story o' mine tha' I 'eard abou' th' Risen?"

   Stephen turned to her, nodding.  "Sure, tell me."

   "Well," she began with a sigh, "For all th' things wot they say abou' this adventurer, they also say tha' she's truly jus' lookin' fer a purpose.  'Er life is fueled no' by greed for th' bounty or joy o' killin' things.  I's fueled by vengeance.  She kills demons because they wen' an' did somethin' first.  She looks fer justice 'cause she wants no other to suffer like she did, and somewhere inside tha' blood-red cape and th' bow an' th' blade, th' Risen 'as a 'eart.  I 'eard a story of 'ow she came upon a burnin' village, in which all th' people were ou' an' safe, bu' one.  She could 'ave run.  Bu' instead, she ran inside an' found th' lone survivor, 'alf dead from th' smoke.  Dragged th' lil' girl ou' all on 'er lonesome."

   Mercy smiled.  "An' like tha', vanished before she coul' be thanked.  N' who are ye gonna believe, wha' says she's a demon, when she goes an' does somethin' like tha'?"

   The red panda's eyebrow quirked.  "Pardon me, miss Mercy, but how do you know that story is as credible as the fluffball's, here?"

   She glanced back to him and turned.  "I know, y' bloody idio', b'cause th' girl tha' was saved was m' niece.  Tol' me th' 'ole story."

   Well, suffice it to say, the men had nothing to say about that.  The collie smirked.  "I though' so."  She turned back to the deer.  "Listen t' me mate, if yer gonna be lookin' fer an adventurer, these reasons 'ere are why 'tis better tha' ye don' look in a bar."

   The canine barmaid left it at that and turned to go back into the kitchen, leaving her husband and the others to watch her exit.  The hare chuckled.  "Well, she's a bit harsh, but she is wise."  He shook his head in dismissal of the stories, like he must have done so many times, and returned the cup he was washing.  "Now, that's enough stories for tonight.  Would you like anything else to drink, or a room?"

   Stephen didn't answer right away.  His eyes narrowed, and his countenance was silent and pensive.  All of the stories flashed through his head until they got tangled in knots, but it was Mercy's that drew him to make the decision.

   If not for his family, at least for sheer want of trying.

   "Tell me, someone," he said as he quickly drew the coins for the drink out of his pocket and set them down.  "Which way did she leave town?  How far away would the Risen be?"

   The patrons flinched and hesitated, but the cat spoke up.  "She was heading out of the north gate.  She probably could be miles away by now though."

   "Frankly," Stephen declared as he stood up and marched towards the door where his coat still hung, "I don't care.  She's the only hope I have."

   "You're nuts, pal!" the hare called after him.  "It's still raining!  But good luck, and take that lantern!"

   The only reply was the creaking of the door hinges, and the rain still pounding the ground relentlessly on the cold dark night.

*   *   *

   In the midst of the rain storm, some ways down the road from the town, a figure huddled in the nook of an old building.  Her cape provided some good insulation from the chill of the outside.

   That inn just HAD to be full...Aisha thought to herself, trying to get to sleep and failing...she wasn't all that tired despite the long day of walking.  So, her eyes, hidden in the folds of her hood, watched the raindrops as they each came down and shattered like the fragile things they were on whatever surface they came across.  And this little place just had to be barred shut, too.  Not everyday you find an abandoned building that you can't enter somehow, eh chica?

   The panthress was resting on the stone arch situated above a doorway to a small run-down building; too small for a house, but it was too elaborate to be a storage area...perhaps a small church.  The doors and windows were barred tightly shut with metal planks, too tedious for a tired wanderer to try to pry off just to get some shelter.  But the roof edges still extended a bit over the space of the door and created a niche in the archway, and so there she climbed and was sitting for the time being, at least until morning.

   There were times when the weather never worked with the little need to plan ahead.  Still, Aisha was used to worse.  She liked rain, being the jaguar that she was.

   And so she listened to the pattering, rhythmic sounds outside until she was almost ready to fall asleep...when suddenly her ears caught something different.

   Boots tapping along the wet road, kicking up more noise than even the rain drops with the quick and heavy splashes.  Their owner ran with an insane urgency, and she could spot the shining orb of light that was a lantern in the middle of the torrent coming her way.

   Her eyes narrowed and watched the running figure, as she wondered who in their rightful mind would be out at that time of night.

   That figure was Stephan, who meanwhile was at his wit's end.  He was running for a few miles now, and only just then was his endurance starting to fail; the darkness was everywhere but in his small bit of light that marked his feet courtesy of his lantern.  The stag looked around carefully in the pouring rain with only adequate eyesight, until he spotted something strange up ahead on the side of the road.

   In the middle of nowhere stood a small stone and concrete building, small at least for what it looked like.  It looked like a place that somebody would find shelter...and if he couldn't find anyone inside that might have seen an adventurer going past, at least he could stop and rest for a moment.

   Knowing not that he was being watched, Stephen trotted up to the small church and looked around for any entrances or ways to look on the inside.  He held the gently-flickering lantern up until it significantly lit every portion of the place at eye level.  But all the windows and doors were locked and barred tightly.

   He sighed in heavy frustration.  Was there anything that would go his way?  Would he ever find...

   "Excuse me, señor," a voice suddenly said to him as he rounded back towards the main porch.  "But if you're looking for shelter here, good luck.  I already tried breaking the locks."

   The deer's head swiveled, looking for the source of the voice.  It wasn't loud, but it was deep and just characteristically feminine enough for him to know it was a woman speaking, with a slight and smooth accent.  His eyes then fell upon the shadowy figure sitting hunched as still as a statue within the niche of the arch and the roof over the door, a cloak pulled over her form.

   Stephen didn't know whether to be relieved or suspicious that he found someone, but regardless, it was hard for him to find his voice.  He raised the lantern so he could try to get a better look at the stranger and called back.  "I'm sorry, I'm not here for shelter; I was hoping to find someone who could help.  I'm looking for an adventurer."

   There was a pause before the woman chuckled, only a short movement of her hood accompanying the reply.  "You'd do better to ask around in a tavern somewhere than in the rain at night, ciervo."

   "I know," he said, putting a hand up to the bridge of his snout.  "But I'm desperate, and I know that an adventurer went through here," he tried to get a better look at her again, but to little avail.  "Tell me, do you know who the Risen is?  Did you see someone go by in a red cape?  Please, tell me if you did, I'm looking for them!"

   If there was any response from the individual, it wasn't seen.  Her eyes narrowed under the cowl as her head turned fully to view the deer...though to him, her face looked like a shadowed void, like the cowl of a Reaper.  "Muchacho, the only one that I've seen come through here since I settled in is you," she replied coolly.  "But yes, I know of the Risen.  But for what purpose do you seek her?"

   Oh thank gods, someone does know, he thought, the words frantically trying to come to his mind.  "Oh, then, please, I beg of you, just tell me where she is!  She's the only adventurer nearby that could probably help...see, back at my home...my family was kidnapped by...by a demon!"

   Unseen by the deer, Aisha's claws flexed.  She sat up lightly, and her voice turned into a slight growl.  "A demon, you say."

   "Yes," he said, a little more calmly, and sadly.  "I heard that she is one of the best demon hunters, and I've tried everything else, short of going myself.  It's probably cowardly, but..." Stephen sighed.  "I won't bother you any more if you just tell me where she is."

   "Hmm..." the figure drew thoughtfully.  "This demon...is his head worth anything?  The Risen does do things for a price, you understand."

   The stag nodded.  "Yes, I understand perfectly.  She'll be rewarded well; his head is on a bounty list of two cities and my own."

   "And the town where you live...he lives there?  How far away is it?

   Stephen tried to catch his breath.  "It's not too far.  Just five miles down the road from the previous city.  It's a run, but there's no time to lose; they could be dead.  Will you tell me where the Risen is, please?"

   Watching for a reply, he saw the figure lift and push herself to her knees on the narrow stone outcrop.  She lunged, the cape unfurling and a braid of black hair flying, and with a drop and two jumps from the walls had landed nimbly onto the ground with a grunt.

   The apparent feline walked up to Stephen, where he could see better in the lantern light.  She was a young woman, perhaps in her early twenties, with a cape of crimson around her shoulders; she stood only a half-foot shorter than him, not counting his antlers, though she was lithe and strong.  Her clothes were dark blue, and on her belt there were items that shone brilliantly, like the bladed edge of the boomerang weapon and the elaborate decorations on a sword sheath.

   Her tail whipped from behind her as she stopped, and on it, was the emerald-green tail ring.

   Stephen already knew what answer was coming, but it still nearly made his heart stop when, through the lantern light, the panther's eyes flashed red and her fang-tips shone in an unsettling grin through the shadows of the cowl.

   "The Risen, señor, is right in front of you."

   The deer gulped and bowed his head with respect.  "I'm sorry to have disturbed you...but I need your help...and I'm not usually one to beg."

   "No te preocupe (don't worry yourself)," the black jaguar said as she brushed past him and started a brisk walk down the road.  "Just tell me where I can find the bastard."

   "Uh, right," Stephen said as he caught up, and their walk turned into a run back to the town for supplies, or perhaps just straight through it.  The adventurer definitely didn't mind the rain, and one thing to be added to the story he might tell someday, it neither stopped nor hindered her.

   It was hard to tell what the Risen was thinking.  She only kept that grin on her features as her hand tightly gripped the handle of the boomerang, and ran without hesitance into one more fight.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Nice story. I'm enjoying catching up on Aisha's backstory.

The only concern I have is that the characterisation of Stephan seems a bit... lumpy, in places. He's not quite acting consistently, but that's just a feeling; I'll be damned if I can put my finger on precisely how and where it's specifically off, and how. :-/

I think that it's the stepping into the inn; there's nothing there to explain that he might be looking for an adventurer, and specifically hoping to find one; he's just on the run, from something, and looking for anyone who can help.

I'll have a think about it, and see if I can come up with a better way of explaining the mild, vague unease I feel.

[Aisha deCabre]

Heh, well, glad you liked it, thanks. ^^  No worries, take your time and get back to me on it...the bulk of the thing was written in a day, so there's bound to be a mistake or two.

[Aisha deCabre]

((Alright, time for the first part of a new story!  This one takes place towards the beginning of Aisha's adventuring career, and it's also the story of how one of the monastery's inhabitants from a past story came to be there. x3  Enjoy!))

Tales of the Risen: Of Spirits and Creatures
Part 1

   A chilly wind blew through the cracks in the cavern wall where the huntress waited.  The dark feline had her ears pinned against her skull at the noise that resulted, for it sounded like several flutes and whistles playing off-key.  It didn't help that the inside of the place was mighty uncomfortable despite the relatively mild climate outside.  The air was thick with moisture, the rocks dripped with slippery water, and the air had a dank and musty smell that resulted from the numerous lichens growing in several waterlogged places.

   But she had learned to get used to such conditions rather quickly, especially when it came down to measuring one's level of patience.  If she proved impatient in this den, more than likely it would cost her life.  So the hunter silently waited high on a rocky outcrop, features hidden within the darker shadows of a cowl, while she watched her latest prey like a hawk.  A bow was clenched in her right hand.

   To the adventurer, this proved an easy assignment.  So easy, in fact, that it was almost disgraceful.  The thieves, nicknamed the notorious River Pirates, had taken that den as a hideout.  As she was told by the town officials, they seemed no more than mere Beings; but they were dangerous all the same, using the tactic of "fast and furious".  And it had been a long while since she had any challenge to her level of stealth.

   Her mission was a simple one, of course: retrieve the riches stolen from the town mayor's bedchamber the previous night, as well as any other pieces taken from the inhabitants.  The ringleader was wanted dead or alive, preferred alive, but could be killed if proven too dangerous to handle, and the noble wanted the thief's silver ring as proof that he had been exterminated.

   If she succeeded, it would be her fifth mission finished without a hitch, and another good reward.

   It's a living, she thought.  Though there's a little bit of a shame involved with killing a Being.  Por claro, hard to tell if the shame is theirs or mine.

   She waited in the moist darkness until the smell of the lichens threatened to make her sneeze...but she ignored the distraction the minute that a peal of laughter was heard somewhere down the tunnel.

   Quickly, the young adventurer propped herself up from a resting position and grabbed an arrow from her quiver, placing it on the string and keeping her bow horizontal.  Her eyes narrowed as the footsteps and the revelry grew louder.  Her ears were locked forward, catching every word of the conversation coming up from the depths as the darkness was broken by torchlight.

   "...Too easy!  I'm telling you, they need to hire some better security if they don't want us around.  I bet that town will be picked clean by the end of the week!"

   "And I bet they will hire some better security, after that one guy went missing.  Really, boss, did you have to dump the body in the river where they could find it?"

   "Better the river than the ground," the other replied gruffly.  "That river flows faster than the devil's catwalk.  The body's leagues away by now."

   "Still, it would be nice if we didn't have to resort to killing..." another voice piped up, a bit meeker than the first.

   There was a snort as the thieves finally entered the cavern's space and placed their torches in the sconces that ringed the place.  There were five of them.  The presumed leader, a sizeable river otter dressed in little but torn pants, a vest, and various bits of jewelry with a dagger at his belt, stood in the center as the others placed crates of loot around the area.  "We wouldn't have to kill anybody if all of you were just a little quieter.  But it doesn't matter; our spies say that they know where this place is now.  We have to hurry and get these things on the road tomorrow."

   "And tonight?" one of the other thieves inquired.

   The leader grinned dangerously and flipped his glittering dagger up into the air, catching it again with one hand.  "Tonight, you guys do your part.  I'm staying, and taking that meddlesome noble out once and for all."

   "But sir!" the meek young thief protested.  "I...was told that we never included killing in the creed!"

   The otter whirled and scowled at the diminutive rat.  "Well, now you know not to take a thief's creed for gospel.  To make a living these days, you either hunt the meat or become the meat.  Stealing and allowing our actions to go noticed is what lowered our numbers down to ten!  Now shut up and take inventory with the others."

   "Aye," the thief obeyed with a defeated sigh and started piling the crates and boxes of treasures.  The room itself wasn't all that much to look at; it was definitely a cavernous space, large enough to accommodate a hoard of mediocre size such as that, and was no more than a little piece of storage space.

   Still, it was big enough to put up a fight.  For the Risen, who was still out of sight on the highest nook and unnoticed by the brigands below, it was good enough.  She assessed the situation from all she heard.

   So, they've killed before, and plan to kill again.  Can't have that, now can we?  I predict the arrest will be a dead one.

   The bowstring was pulled slowly and carefully, knuckles barely quivering with the force that held the arrow in place.  The leader stood in place overseeing the movements of his underlings.  He was a perfect target...but it would be hard to do anything unless some of the others moved out of the room.

   Two of the four started to.  Grinning at her chance, the bowstring was pulled tighter.
   Suddenly, the leader paused and held up his hand.  "Hold on, guys.  Did you hear that?"

   "Hear what, sir?"

   Crap, Aisha cursed and shifted her stance just a little, to accommodate her change of plan.

   The rock beneath her feat shifted along with it, causing some pebbles to tumble to the ground.

   "That!" the otter exclaimed and immediately whipped his arm around, tossing the dagger up to exactly where he heard the noise.  It flew through the darkness and stuck to the rock up above.

   One of the underlings raised a torch to see the perch better.  But to their surprise, there was nothing there.

   There was a quiet pause as the otter considered the situation.  "What in the..."

   Another noise then caught his attention from behind him.  But before he could turn, an arrow had already sliced the air like lightning and stuck into his shoulder.  He immediately roared in pain and picked up another dagger.  "Get help, idiots!" he shouted to his thieves, who started to scatter.  To the air, he shouted, "Who's there!?"

   The answer came with a glaring light, as something steel with bladed sides flew in a wide arc across the cavern and struck two of the running thieves in their legs, causing them to fall and leaving them bleeding; unable to run.

   When the flying saw-blade returned to the hand that threw it, the unknown usurper had leaped from its hiding place and landed with effortless grace on the ground in front of the crippled leader and to the surprise of his wounded charges.  In the firelight, the individual was wrapped in a cloak of crimson.  In one black-furred hand was a bow, and in the other was the glowing bladed boomerang, dripping with blood.  An emerald ring adorned her tail, but it did nothing more than glitter from hitting the light.  There was no glow, which meant no demon among them.

   The adventurer's gender was revealed through her voice, which was deep and smooth, yet dangerous.  "I am a bounty hunter hired by the town of Crynzeth for your crimes of thievery and murder.  And you, muchacho, are under arrest.  Surrender, because I'd actually rather not kill you."

   The two floored thieves muttered in surprise as they tried to get up.  "Oh shit, a bounty hunter...they sent a bounty hunter...we're done for, they've got us..."

   But the otter leader only scowled and replied with laughter, however pained it was as he tried futilely to reach the arrow still embedded in his shoulder.  "I don't think so.  Nobody arrests me.  In fact, this is an insult, sending a little girl to do the job."

   "This 'little girl' just practically sawed the legs off of your companions in one throw," she answered with a hint of venom in her words.  It was true, she was only barely close to her twenties, but she had shown some rather rough skill.  He couldn't see her face, so it was only a guess at her age.  "Now I give you one more chance.  Surrender, or I bring your body back without its life.  Because sure as hell you deserve it."

   A flicker of uncertainty crossed the thief's eyes.  But it only held for about two seconds, as soon as he heard help coming from down the tunnel in the form of several of his underlings.  "I'm not going anywhere," he grinned.

   The huntress heard the commotion too, sparing a quick glance down the darkened tunnel.  She was frozen stark, feigning worry, and allowing the leader to let down his guard.

   Then, in a swift movement, she had leaped into the air and slammed her foot into his head.  The feline landed behind the stunned thief and took a hold onto his wrists, letting the dagger he was holding suddenly drop from his grip.  He was weakened only momentarily, but hopefully it would be enough time to pull off the stunt.

   By the time the cavalry arrived, the entire contingent of the final seven outlaws, she had the stunned otter in a tight grip.  His arm was twisted around his back while the blade of her boomerang was pressing against his neck.  They faced the scene, unable to move to help lest the blade slice his throat.  "Give in to my arrest, all of you, or your leader dies," the feline growled.

   The contingent paused, unable to know what to make of the situation.  Some of them looked like they wanted to risk it, for the otter didn't seem to be very well-liked as a leader.  A few of the others dared to step forward, but only with caution, for she had proven to be quite fast.

   It took them too long to decide.  The imprisoned thief came to his senses enough to attempt struggling out of her grip and to command, "Get the wench!  There's more of you than her!"

   The effect was instantaneous.  They converged into the room with startling quickness, brandishing their various blades.

   But the huntress had been prepared for such a thing.  She let the leader go and leaped backward, away from the wave of muscle, and let the boomerang loose on them.

   She smirked as she watched how the weapon affected the outcome of the fight.  As she kept moving, the boomerang kept in the air, enchanted to follow the movement of her hand.  With every downward slash of her arm, the blade sliced into flesh like a moving guillotine.  With every throwing motion, it moved out of the way of anyone trying to grab it, and sliced painfully through a few fingers in the process.  And the Risen was still moving, going untouched by the inept thieves.

   Or seemingly inept.  In her concentration, she had forgotten about the ringleader, who was using the dance of chaos to prepare his own counter-attack.  The huntress soon came into sight, and from his hiding place he had lifted a dagger to plunge into her back.

   But again, the huntress proved fast.  She retrieved her dagger at the last minute and whirled around to parry his blade, the silver edges sparking upon impact.

   He was close enough to see only small features of her face, including the eyes that seemed to glow red in the dim firelight.  "Heh, you should give up, Lady Bounty Hunter," he sneered and shoved her away.  "You're surrounded."

   It was true.  The thieves, injured and bleeding though many were, advanced in a circle around the feline.  They were blocking her routes of escape, and more than likely she couldn't try leaping over one of their heads without getting sliced pretty quickly.

   "Dammit," she growled under her breath.

   Then, before anything else could be said, she heard a loud SWOOP as another blade flew through the air with the quick precision of a master of the polearm.  A halberd had cut through the gathering like a knife and had sliced through the neck of one unsuspecting thief, dropping him to the ground and causing the others to jump back.

   There, a silvery-black and blue winged beast had emerged from the dark tunnel.  A two-legged gryphon clad in Healer's Guard armor withdrew the intricate blade only slightly, grinning as he regarded the feline adventurer.  "I thought I heard someone in need of help."

   The hunter was exasperated, though grateful, and rolled her eyes.  "You can berate me later, Jake.  Help me finish these easies off."

   "Your wish is my command, milady," he laughed and leaped from his spot, making a sweep of the blood-soaked weapon through the air and twirling it in his hands until he held it diagonally over his chest.  The other thieves were backed up significantly, surprised by this turn of events and beholding their slain companion in horror.

   The otter faced the gryphon with an angry sneer.  "What is this?! More of you?"

   "You yourself are now surrounded," Jake smirked.  "Give it up, and we may just let you keep your life."

   But the bandit, stubborn and mindful of his odds, exhaustedly stood his ground.  "I'd rather die than be arrested."

   The huntress shook her head with a sigh.  "Now why do they always do that?  Can't one of them ever just surrender and keep his life?"

   "Eh, you've just been getting all the ones cursed with pride," the gryphon answered with the same pitying tone.  "One of these days they'll come easy, just you watch."

   "Don't you DARE make fun of me!" the otter roared and gestured to the other thieves.  "Get them!"

   But the looks on their faces had changed from fierce determination to uncertainty.  One of the thieves, the rat, stepped forward.  "We're thinking of surrendering, sir.  The killing, all of this about taking over the town...it's just beneath us."

   "A wise choice," the gryphon said, leveling the tip of his halberd.  "You'd better follow your underlings, here, if you know what's good for you."

   The bleeding thief grimaced and raised his dagger.  "Cowards, all of you!"

   As he barked those words, he prepared himself to leap...and ended up once again sprawled on the ground.  A flash of silver caught his eye, and he once again watched the disarming boomerang return to its owner's hand.  It had cut his throat as he moved forward, and was now in his dying breath.

   "Damn...you...hunters..." he hissed through his teeth.  "Just...kill me."

   Jake looked upon the sight and sighed, turning to his comrade.  "Are you sure he can't quickly be taken to a healer?"

   Through her cowl, the feline shook her head.  "No; the nearest healer is too far away.  Besides, justice is to be served here.  He's killed people from the town, and has planned to kill the nobleman that heads it; and if he were to be healed, through his stubbornness I can tell that he would only live to do it all over again."

   "You'd be right," one of the injured brigands cut in.  "That town's been a bane of our leader's all his life until he joined us and rose through the ranks.  His actions were all about vengeance, and now he's got nothing left but shame.  It'd be merciful to kill him."

   The two adventurers glanced towards each other, before letting loose a quiet sigh between them.  "So be it," Jake murmured and stepped back.  "He's yours, Aisha."

   Nodding, the huntress stepped toward the dying bandit leader and placed her blade against the wound, ready to end it there and then.

   He wheezed from his position on the ground.  "Can't I at least be granted the privilege of laying eyes upon the one who bested me?"

   The feline paused, and then reached up to pull back her cowl.  Looking down at the otter was the face of a young jaguaress, a dark pattern of spots barely seen under fur of void black shadow.  Her eyes were indeed red, the same shade of crimson that spilled from the body of her prey and likewise hung around her shoulders.  Her hair was even darker and tied behind her head into a braid, the bangs hanging slightly over the rim of those dangerous eyes.

   "Heh," the otter laughed with his final breath.  "Pretty, for a killer."

   The final wound he was given in that moment clouded his vision, ended his pain, and stained her hands with its blood.

*     *     *     *

   It was later that day, after the reward for bringing the thieves to justice had been given.  Aisha and Jake were walking slowly along the road out of the town and toward the next one, a small patch of trees and green fields lining the sides of their view.

   Aisha had been characteristically quiet and solemn for most of the way, and Jake had barely known what to say to the young adventurer.

   "Thanks for back there," she finally said, her tone neutral.  "I could've taken them on myself, though."

   Jake chuckled...that was as close to gratefulness as he was going to get, after all.  "It's no problem, Isha.  But to be quite honest, I doubt you could have.  I'm glad I followed.  You still have a bit to learn about being an adventurer.  You have the tact down, but planning ahead, not so much."

   She whirled on him with a snarl.  "Callate.  I finished the job, didn't I?"

   He barely batted an eyelid.  "Yes...but if I may say so, you and that thief had more in common than you realize.  The both of you have vengeance to fuel your anger, and stubbornness.  He paid the price for it."

   Aisha snorted and started walking again.  "You're telling me that I'm going to end up with a blade at my throat someday, then?  Fall to the same fate as a mere thief?  Which by the way wasn't even a quest.  It was clean-up duty, that's what it was!  When their own guards are too inept to catch their own criminals and when they want someone else to pay to do it."

   "You knew that, and yet you took the challenge," the gryphon shook his head.  "It wasn't small change, and at least you got to keep some loot.  But listen, I'm not saying you were exactly like him...I'm just saying that you shouldn't let it blind you."

   "Hrm, you sound like Mistress Rynkura," Aisha said, sticking out her tongue with indignity.

   Jake rolled his eyes and laughed.  "I guess I do.  All I need is to be a woman and about 800 or so years older."

   The image made Aisha burst out laughing, despite her foul mood.  If there's one thing Jake knew how to do, it was to make a situation bearable.  "You had me at you being a woman, amigo."

   "I'm glad you think my misfortunes are funny," the guard said in mock sarcasm.

   Things turned quiet again after a moment.  But though Aisha had a hard time saying so, she was glad that Jake had decided to come along on her adventure.  It wasn't very often that she had someone that she could rely on, and she had the feeling that not many adventuring parties would take a novice.

   Soon, the path took them to a crossroad that split in two.  One sign led to the next small village, and the other led to an outpost.

   "That would be my destination, then," Jake said, gesturing to the latter path.  "Mistress wants me to pick up a message from there.  I think we made good time, it'll be an hour or two before it closes.  Are you coming with me?"

   Aisha shook her head.  "No, thanks; I think I'll stop to the next town and see if I can't spend a bit of the money I got from my tiny mission.  I'll meet you at the outpost later."

   "Hm," Jake hummed as he considered, "Scratch that, I'll meet you at the town.  It'll probably be darn near close to dusk by the time I get there.  Find a good inn, and try not to find any trouble in the process, okay?"

   She made a raspberry sound and rolled her eyes.  "What're you, my father?  I'll be fine.  Good luck with getting that message."

   As she turned down the path to the village, the gryphon shrugged and turned to the other path, setting his eyes on the small buildings sitting just past the horizon.  "I don't know about me being your father, but it'd sure be nice if he were still here," he muttered.
   
*   *   *

   Aisha, meanwhile, had pulled the cowl back over her head so she could gather her thoughts in shadow.  Jake had been sent on a few of her first adventures, and that set her to wondering if perhaps Mistress Rynkura didn't yet trust the young panther on her own.  She understood the monastery keeper's concern...

   But still, hadn't the girl proven herself a capable adventurer already?  She had passed her training and had succeeded in surviving a few encounters with only a few minor lacerations...and her stealth had been unmatched.  She had even matched wits with the marksmen of the Healer's Guard and had bested a few of them in archery contests.

   So surely, she didn't need Jake to act like a bodyguard anymore.

   Feh, don't worry about it, chica.  He's only running an errand for the Mistress, and besides.  You promised you wouldn't get into any trouble, and you won't.

   As soon as those words were thought, she caught a loud call for help at the edge of her hearing, followed by some scuffling sounds...all coming from the patch of forest to her left.

   The panthress paused and looked around, listening to the calls for help and considering just walking on past.

   But instead, she edged toward the sound and drew her weapon with a short smirk on her face.  Well, I have a good excuse; I didn't look for trouble, it found me.

[Aisha deCabre]

((That's right, I'm finally putting up a new chapter of this story after quite a bit of a haitus. x3  I got my writing muse back for a bit at least, so I hope people enjoy it.  Incidentally, I love developing Aisha's character as a novice adventurer.  Already she's not the hack-first-and-ask-questions-later type.))

Part 2

   Meanwhile, someone was taking a very different view of the forest.

   Trees whipped past the winged individual as she ran, nearly out of breath and scared out of her young mind.  Behind her through the air wafted the angry shouts of several men and women as they tried to keep up with the Creature.

   There was nowhere for her to run, nor to hide, for her footfalls weren't at all silent while they crunched through the leaf litter.  It didn't help that every bit of the way she was calling out around her for help, or for her pursuers to stop the hunt.  After all, she was far away enough from the village to be of any trouble.

   Of course, for many Beings, that still didn't mean that they wouldn't do anything to hunt a demon to its death, just to be sure.

   A tree root seemed to rise in front of the desperate runner right then, sending her sprawling forward.  Air caught on her wings to help lessen the fall, but it wouldn't prevent her from getting a few bruises, and perhaps worse...for the mob was catching up easily now.  The tan, bat-winged Creature, a canine to anyone who looked at her, simply cowered.

   "There it is!" one of the Beings shouted.  It was a small hunting group, about ten or so individuals.

   Aisha had been watching the whole thing from behind a nearby shrub, having finally reached the spot where she heard the calls.  The instant she saw the supposed Demon, her face contorted into a snarl.  Just for a moment the thought flashed through her mind that it was just another monster deserving of a death, and thus she thought to quickly exit.

   But she didn't. The panther kept herself there out of curiosity, finding a few things about the scenario amiss.  For one thing, demon hunts usually consisted of larger groups, because the Creatures were always too fierce and strong...the older, the more so.  For a second thing, the "demon" wasn't even fighting back.  She was on the ground, curled up in a fetal position, wings covering her like a futile shield.

   This looked less like a hunt and more like a murder about to take place.  Sure, she hated demons through and through...but she wasn't so short-sighted as to dismiss the possibility that perhaps...just perhaps...the Creature was just an innocent winged youngster caught into more trouble than what was worth.

   While the hidden huntress weighed her options, the group caught up and surrounded the frightened individual.  "There you are, you freak.  Why did you show your face in our town, after we ran you off once?"

   Barely audible, a murmur of an answer was heard.  "It's...my home..."

   "Don't give me that shit," another villager snapped.  "You were the only Creature living there, it has to be your fault that so many strange things are happening!"

   "Disappearances, screaming in the night...do you like your victims raw or well-done, demon?" a female of the villagers asked.

   "I'm not a demon!" the girl cried out again.  "And I didn't kill anyone!  If you'd just let me explain...none of you are being reasonable!"

   "We don't have to hear anything from you," the leader hissed.  "Ever since you showed up, these things started happening.  Whether it was you or not, we plan to keep you away from our homes and families, one way or another."

   "Just kill it!" someone in the group shouted, and the others exclaimed their agreement.

   These guys REALLY need to redefine what they call justice, a rather disgusted Aisha thought.  Yeah, time to end this thing.

   The young winged canine-looking girl shielded her head with her wings again, shaking like a leaf...truly the only thing that she could do while the antagonists brandished a few crude blades and sticks, along with several kicking feet, against her.

   Suddenly, a shrill whistle pierced through all the shouting, followed by a commanding voice exclaiming, "Hold it!"

   The villagers paused and turned to find the source of the demand, and found but a single individual cloaked in red, her face shrouded.  Her right hand was in the air, and her left hand was resting against what was easily recognizable as a weapon belt.

   "I heard some kind of skirmish as I traveled along this road," Aisha said as her hand lowered.  "What is all of this, pray tell?"

   At first, the expressions painted on the villagers' dirty faces were those of suspicion and incredulity.  But after a moment, the leader spoke up.  "You're an adventurer?  If you are, then you know what we're doing.  This demon is charged with crimes of kidnapping and murder of several individuals in our village.  We're just exacting justice."

   They parted to reveal the supposed demon, still cowering, but peering curiously across one wing.  The cloaked feline took a moment to glance over her, and then faced the leader.  "Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't the action of justice be handed out by an official trained in such things?  Villagers like you could be easily killed yourselves.  I'm surprised your bodies aren't on the ground already...and your demon instead seems to wish to be left alone, which makes this look more like an unrighteous beating."

   "It's a trick," the leader, a black wolf, said simply.  "She ran once only to return.  There's no reason to believe she won't return again to cause more trouble.  We don't need any of her ilk.  Now, are you going to stand there and lecture us, or are you going to help?  If it's the former, you can just leave, adventurer.  This is none of your business."

   "On the contrary," the panthress growled, letting her fingers clasp the handle of her boomerang.  "To help solve problems is the very backbone of my business, don't you think?  If you so want justice to be served, then let me do it."

   A whimper was heard from the demon on the ground, but she was silenced by a kick from one of the villagers.  The canine leader paid no mind, instead nodding to the warrior before him.  "Alright then.  Have at it.  We'll leave her to you."

   With a simple nod, Aisha stepped forward between members of the group and towards the grounded Creature.  She made a show of grasping the whimpering girl roughly by the neck and drawing her blade.

   "Any last words, beast?" the huntress inquired with a growl.

   That was what the leader and the others in the group could hear, anyway.  Beneath her breath, only just loud enough that the Creature could hear, Aisha whispered.  "Do as I say, and you'll walk out of this free and alive, got it?  Keep acting scared."

   As an action of compliance, the girl released a sort of bestial whine, but stopped moving...bar for her wing-tips nervously quivering.  Convinced by the act, the leader laughed.  "Come, all, let's return to the village and celebrate...we don't need to see any blood today."

   The villagers started walking away.  Aisha hadn't moved her head to see if they all did, but she decided to extend the act for good measure.  "Act like you're being choked and eviscerated.  Have to let them know you're getting hurt."

   Complying, the demon shook her head and started kicking and gagging furiously.  Aisha kept her ears swiveled behind her head, frozen until the last of the footsteps she could hear had disappeared.

   After a few moments, when the coast was clear, she released her grip on the girl.  "For someone who was lying there like a coward, you certainly know how to act quickly," the panther observed as she stood up.  "You're also very lucky that I'm too curious about this whole thing to not take you into custody myself."

   Coughing a little to open her airways, the girl looked up at the one who saved her life, still a little nervous, as Aisha observed her in turn.  She really did look like a very thin and very short-furred canine, perhaps no older than Aisha, with a long thin muzzle and short ears...though the pouch on her bare midriff spoke otherwise of a strange sort of marsupial.  Her fur was a dark gold-brown and her lower back had brown stripes.  Her tail was rat-like and tapered, with more stripes encircling it.  She wore simple blue denim shorts and a brown traveling vest, with a white shirt underneath that ended short of her midriff.  A blue and white-striped bandanna hung tight around her neck, and her eyes were wide and black in color, framed by locks of bright blue-green hair that fell to just around her shoulders.

   "...Well..." She finally said with a small gulp, "I took acting classes when I was little, so I can take directions easy.  But as for luck, I don't know about that.  Those villagers used to be so peaceful...I don't know why they'd just chase me out of my home like that."

   Aisha tilted her head.  She sheathed her weapon and crossed her arms, a little more curious than anything...the demon-girl seemed honest.  "Your home?"

   "Y-yes," the other stammered.  "You have to believe me, I've done nothing wrong.  I've been living there since before the strange things started to happen...all the disappearances they were talking about."  Still sitting, she wrapped her arms around her legs and drew them close to her body.  "I want to help, but it's hard when the blame suddenly shifts to the critter with the wings on her back...the one who can't even fight and defend herself.  My parents would be so disappointed..."

   "...Okay, back up," Aisha said, her voice a little snappish.  This girl's chatty when she's nervous.  "You're saying you don't have anything to do with it?"

   "No!  I just said so!" the canine snapped back, and then calmed a little bit as she lowered her head.  "I know you're not going to believe me if I told you anything...so maybe I should just drop it and leave."  Her head came up again, and she gave the panther a light smile.  "But thanks, so much, for saving me.  I didn't think I'd survive back there.  Then an adventurer shows up!  Listen, is there anything I can do for you?  A quest I can help with?  Maybe...maybe I can learn to fight too."

   Aisha interrupted her again with a raised hand, as she was starting to get a little exasperated.  "No, no...I don't think you could do anything to help me.  But...I think I may be just curious enough to want to check out these strange happenings back at this village of yours."

   "Oh, I can come with you!" the winged girl said as she practically hopped back onto her feet.  "I know the village very well."

   The panther turned back to her with a quirked eyebrow hidden under her cowl.  "You'd go back there after they specifically said that you were forbidden?"

   That seemed to derail her train of thought.  "Well...I...don't know, actually."

   "Thought so," Aisha sighed.  "Look, I think that it's best then that you stay as far away from there as possible for right now...ah..."

   "Cheyenne," the demon-girl answered.  "Cheyenne T'Reav.  My friends call me 'Chey', sounds like 'shy'.  I'm not a dog either in case you're wondering...they always wonder that.  A bush-wolf...thylacine."

   "Cheyenne," Aisha echoed, mustering at least a polite nod.  "As I said, you should stay behind.  They will go after you if you even try, unless you know of a way to hide your wings to make yourself less demon-like.  So just make yourself scarce and try not to run into any more anti-wing Beings."

   Chey rolled her eyes.  "Little hard to do around here.  I don't know how to hide my wings, or I would...at least, I don't know yet.  And it's really frustrating to get mistaken for a demon when I'm not one!"

   Aisha blinked.  "No?  Your wings give a rather clear sign, and..."

   Something had just occurred to the bounty hunter right then.  Her tail swished into eyesight, where the shimmering green tail ring rested...completely inert.

   "Well, I'll be damned," she muttered.

   "What's up?" Cheyenne inquired, glancing at the tail ring.  "That's a pretty jewel."

   "More than a jewel," Aisha hummed.  "See, I'm a demon hunter.  This ring is enchanted to glow whenever it comes near a source of dark magic, such as that a demon very often exudes.  And it's not glowing with you."

   The thylacine's eyes widened, and she laughed, despite the situation.  "Neat!  I guess it's because I've never learned any dark magic, though.  I know plenty of light magic...more defensive stuff, not offensive.  Oh, that reminds me, I think I may have cut myself when I tripped..."

   The girl turned her heel to reveal a long gash on her leg, which she would have been a little too distracted to notice.  She hissed through her teeth, fingers glowing just lightly as it brushed over the wound, closing it slowly.

   "It's basic healing," she explained to a slightly-fascinated Aisha.  "Nothing too impressive.  My mom taught me.  But I'd bet gold to diamonds that it still wouldn't have convinced those hunters."

   She shook her head.  "Probably not.  But then, if you claim not to be a demon but have the wings, but know more magic uses...then there are more things you can be."  Her eyes narrowed, catching the light and shimmering its deep red through the shadows as they did.  "So be honest.  What are you, exactly?"

   Cheyenne's expression fell.  "I could just be a mythos, or a cursed Being."

   "I have a suspicion otherwise.  I saved your life, so you could at least be honest with me."

   "You'll probably kill me anyway if I tell you."

   "Again, I must point out that I spared your life.  Plus you're not making an effort to retaliate on me, though we are alone in a deep forest.  I can give you the benefit of the doubt," Aisha answered simply.  "Now tell me."

   "Oookay..." the girl sighed and reached up to her bandanna, which she pulled away to reveal a marking right in the center of her collarbone.  It was circular in shape but broken in three places, with an intricate marking that looked much like a capital "A" in the center.  It was glowing a very bright blue in contrast to her slightly-dark fur.

   "Succubus," Aisha nodded.  "Thought so.  I'm guessing you're not a matured one yet either, else you would have had the power to shift and lose them.  Or avoid trouble completely before, thus."

   Cheyenne chuckled nervously as she replaced the bandanna.  "Yeah, you caught me.  I don't have the full powers that my parents do yet...but I'm still an adult, so even though they kept telling me it was a bad idea, I decided to seek a bit of a living outside the house.  I'm...kind of a runaway.  Bit of a mistake, I guess I learned all too late...especially since I don't know the first thing about fighting.  But I'm impressed.  You seem to be more learned of Creatures than most people I've met."

   A smirk was seen under the cowl.  "In my training I've been extensively taught about many kinds of Creatures, mostly to know what I'd be up against.  But I also have been taught to be more respectful than biased.  Angels are too rare to be worrisome...'Cubi elusive and avoidable unless their heads are on a list...Demons I hate."

   Aisha hummed, changing the subject as she turned and reached for the bag she left behind a tree.  "At any rate, you would still be a prime suspect for the village's troubles, which is why I was so insistent on knowing what you were.  I apologize for that, but now more than ever I just advise you to stay away, especially seeing as how trusting you seem to be."  She promptly turned and headed for the direction of the village.  "You should head back home, chica."

   "I'm not that trusting!" Chey called back in a sort of frustrated whine.  "Please, adventurer, let me help!  You could take me to the village and just pretend that you're bringing me to jail or something, and in turn I'll help, please?"

   Aisha continued walking, despite the girl's pleading.  "And you think that might actually work?"

   "Well, yeah...it has to.  What else can we do?"

   "I don't know...but there isn't any 'we'," Aisha reiterated, trying not to become annoyed.  She paused for a moment and dug into her pack, looking for a specific piece of loot that she had kept from the river pirates earlier that day.  She finally found the object: a short sword bound in cloth with a rough, rock-like hilt, and tossed it back to Cheyenne.  "Here.  If you're going to be walking around, at least do some practicing with that to defend yourself until you get back home.  That's all I can do for you now."

   Cheyenne was frozen in her steps as she looked down at the sword, wondering what to say and finding nothing.  Instead she simply watched the mysterious feline who saved her life wander off into what she knew was going to be very dire trouble.  Looking back from her to the gift and back again, she only became more determined to help...both to return the favor to this warrior and to save the village that had become her home.

   Aisha heard the footsteps catching up behind her, and the individual stubbornly keeping pace without much of a word.  The huntress gave an inward sigh...somehow she sensed that there wasn't going to be any way to shake the determined immature 'Cubi off.

   "If you're going to come," the panther finally said, "you're going to need some way to hide your features.  A cloak of some sort."  She stopped in her tracks and dug into her pack again, bringing out a blue cape with a hood and white markings...one similar to what the Healers wore given to her by the Mistress just in case her red one happened to get torn.  She handed it to Cheyenne.  "There.  If you keep your wings against your body, people will suspect that you're just a healer traveling with me...considering your abilities there's some truth to it.  Just let me do the talking...see if you're as good at taking directions as you say you are."

   Cheyenne chuckled.  "No problem.  Thank you for letting me help."  Her roughly canine head tilted as she tied the cloak around her neck.  "By the way, what do they call you?"

   There was a sort of tense pause.  After a moment, still walking, the panthress replied, "Aisha, the Risen."

   "The Risen..." the winged thylacine repeated, stifling a grin.  "That's so cool."

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Oh, dear lord. Cheyenne is _so_ young. >.<

[Aisha deCabre]

Oh, dear lord. Cheyenne is _so_ young. >.<

Heh, is that good or bad?    Either way I succeeded in showing that, so yay. xP

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

It's entertaining, in a "yay, I enjoyed it" way. And yes, it's something about her just... oh, my lord, does she need to grow up...

[Paladin Sheppard]

Indeed! Great work Aisha!!

[Aisha deCabre]

((Thank you guys! ^^  And now, part 3.))

Part 3

   The road was easy to find again, even in the small hours when the sun was just thinking of setting.  According to Chey, it was only a few minutes back to the village where she once lived, and so the journey was continued in near-silence.  Near, that is, except for the fact that she kept exchanging questions with Aisha.

   "So, where're you from, anyway?  This place is pretty out-of-the-way, I can imagine you walked far," the thylacine pointed out.  The cloak had hidden Cheyenne's features pretty well, although the panthress still had a few doubts.

   "I rest in whatever town I come across," Aisha answered, nevertheless.  "But as for where I am from, I would rather not say."

   A snort could be heard from the Creature.  "That's no surprise; you haven't answered very many of my questions.  Why be so secretive?"

   "Because if I wasn't, I could be dead," Aisha answered as-a-matter-of-factly.  "There are individuals out there who wouldn't hesitate, if they found out who I was."

   "Oh...wow," Cheyenne murmured.  "Sorry.  I didn't know.  But...you don't think I'm one of them?"

   Aisha kept walking in silence for a few seconds as she thought about that.  But she supposed honesty was best.  "It's hard to know," she replied.  "If someone wanted to kill you, certainly you wouldn't take any chances."

   "True," the thylacine said, biting her lower lip.  She hadn't considered that adventurers may have had to endure all of their life what she had endured only a couple of times.  "Is that why you hate demons, then?"

   Aisha nearly stopped, having not expected the girl to pinpoint that little detail, even if unintentionally.  But instead, she gave a long sigh.  "That'll be enough questions from you, amiga.  Now, I have a few, which may help me with this situation of yours."

   "Oh, of course!" Chey exclaimed, perking up a bit.  "Ask away."

   Aisha nodded.  "Hm...what exactly are these strange happenings that you speak of, anyway?"

    "Ugh, it's just creepy what's going on," Cheyenne said with a shudder.  "At night, people are always trying to stay inside, because they've been seeing several ghostly figures wandering the borders of the town and sometimes coming in, without a sound.  They are described as clear as mist and much defined in shape, with gaping faces.  The next morning, usually there's someone reported missing; mostly those people who were known to go out at night for their jobs, but also others.  And a weird part...the ghosts started coming days after the disappearances.  So it's easy to say if the two are related, but hard to know."

   "Really..." Aisha mused.  The situation was perplexing.  "Not that I believe in wandering souls, but what if they belonged to the ones who disappeared?"

   "Probably," Cheyenne hummed.  "But I don't want to lose hope for those people and their families.  Even if they tried to kill me."

   "That brings up something else I'm curious about," the panther pointed out.  "How long have you lived in that village?  Those xenophobic inhabitants seemed like they'd have ran you out the moment they saw you."

   "Well, I said they weren't always like that," Cheyenne said with a bit of obviousness to her tone.  "At most they were cautious of me.  But I got a job at the local inn anyway and was renting a room, seeing as I meant no harm.  That was about two weeks before those things started happening."

   Her voice started to become quiet then, as if she were mourning.  "Then, suddenly...everyone started acting scared.  Jumpy, like the slightest noise could spook them.  The neighbors that lived next door—you could smell them baking cookies every week, and would give one to anybody who asked, very nice people—were the first to insist staying inside all day, speaking to nobody.  One by one, and family by family, they just wouldn't come outside at all...anyone left who were trying to be helpful got doors slammed in their faces and general bad luck; everyone was just becoming reclusive, and nobody would tell why.  It took a day or two for news to come back to the inn about the disappearances.  Then, well, you know about the ghosts.  The citizens of the village responsible for law enforcement—you met their leader, that black wolf—started doing their so-called witch hunts after that, looking for the things responsible."

   Aisha finished the thought for her.  "So, since you've been living there for a short while before the happenings...and because you're a Creature..."

   "...They ran me out first.  Bingo," Cheyenne confirmed with a growl.  "And when I try to return to help them, well, they try to kill me...you saw that yourself.  Honestly, if something else happens, I'll probably just give up."

   Maybe we should wish something DOES happen, Aisha thought silently, believing that Cheyenne would still be better off going back to her parents.  Still, the mystery was getting a little stranger by the moment, she had to admit.

   "Well, we'll see what we can do," the panthress said with sincerity.  "But I am curious about one more thing.  Considering you're a pre-succubus and all."

   "It's not me!" Cheyenne said instantly.  Aisha stopped and glanced over at her with an eyebrow quirked.  "Sorry," the girl amended.  "Forgot we have to be quiet."

   "Indeed...no te preocupe, I know that it wasn't you.  But are you sure that anyone from your family haven't followed you here?  Nothing that would influence this?"  Aisha started walking again, listening to Cheyenne as she thought.

   "I don't think so," she said finally, trotting to keep up.  "My family's not dangerous...a little boring, compared to what other 'Cubi seem to be capable of, but not dangerous.  My mom's a nurse, in fact.  And my dad's in school to be a child psychologist.  They don't like to have fun at people's expense...and they wouldn't do so to find me.  At least, I hope."

   "Ah...acceptable," said Aisha, slightly relieved at the information.  "I guess we will have to see when we get there, then."

   "Yeah, we'll get to the bottom of it, or die trying."

   "Who's dying?" Aisha said with a smirk.

   Cheyenne giggled.  "Right, I forgot you're so tough.  So, 'the Risen'...is that your real name?"

   "I thought I said no more questions."

   "Oh...right."

   "Right."

*     *     *     *

   To Aisha's eyes, the village looked like any other small town stuck in the middle of nowhere, or at least the middle of the woods.  Houses could be seen up higher, nestled amidst the trees against a large, smooth hill.  At ground level was the central area, where paths through the town crossed to a point.  A nice-sized ornate fountain with what looked like a dragon statue stood guard there...but interestingly, no water flowed from the fountain and nothing was left in the basin but dry leaves and forest debris.  Surrounding the small plaza were shops small enough to be considered booths, and an inn only big enough to be considered a house in its own right.  Most of the residents seemed to have homes in the hills, but some also seemed to live in the shops which they kept.

   It looked friendly, even welcoming.  Even with what the two travelers knew, neither could deny it was once a lively and peaceful place.

   It reminds me of my own home...the panther thought.  Without the scorch marks.

   The eerie thing was that the hunter's ears could pick up voices and footsteps...but the voices were hushed and the steps fleeting, as if the residents were acting like insects scared of light and noise, having to rush to find things and survive.  Most of any real conversation snatches could be barely caught within the walls of the nearest establishments themselves.

   "This is the place," Cheyenne whispered from behind Aisha.  "Just as empty as I left it."

   The adventurer nodded.  "Good...now, remember, don't say anything.  If you're as good an actress as you say you are, act like a mute healer.  Should something happen, I'll stall, and you run as far as you can, as fast as you can.  Preferably home."

   "Okay," an uncertain Chey assented, closing the cloak around herself and huddling into the protective shadows.  She stayed close behind the panther and took those tentative steps through the town's threshold in her footsteps.

   Almost immediately, shutters were heard closing on the houses on either side of the road.  There was a loud scuffle as someone ran into a back alley and disappeared.  A child, eager to play outside, was pulled back into the confines of his house by his mother and the door shut...so quickly that neither of their faces was seen by the two trespassers.

   Cheyenne bit her lip to keep herself from saying anything, even the urge to emit a small whimper...her fear of getting chased out again and feeling such hatred had been getting to her.  She just kept her eyes on Aisha, who still walked along the road with that same calm gait.  The huntress was unaffected by anything going on around her, for they did not yet directly involve her.  The young succubus admired the hunter's brazen courage, hoping to someday be as stoic in the face of threat...hopefully after she had gotten her full 'Cubi powers.

   They made it to the fountain that marked the central plaza without any trouble, except for many curious eyes boring into their backs from various niches.  All was quiet, and the wind made a point to make the tree branches in the hills dance.  Aisha looked around, expecting something to happen, as did Cheyenne.

   Then, happening too quickly for the latter to register, they both had crossbows pointed at their faces.

   Surrounding the two were some very recognizable faces; the very law enforcement group that had chased the young thylacine out into the forest, along with a few new faces into the mix.  The sinewy black wolf was the one who held a bow to Aisha's face.  Yet the panthress had barely flinched.

   Chey herself was shaking like a leaf.  But she hunched over and tried as well as she could to fall into her silent guise, while she watched to see what Aisha would do.

   The wolf's muzzle contorted into a suspicious snarl.  "Who the hell are you?"

   "No doubt you remember me," Aisha smirked after a pause.  "The adventurer that did your demon in before?"

   "I know that," the other snorted, not moving an inch.  "Didn't think you'd be crossing into our village though.  We happen to frown on strangers."

   The panthress chuckled and slowly moved the point of the arrow away with the edge of her boomerang, which she had drawn as soon as she had seen them coming...and which Cheyenne hadn't seen.  "Do you?  Perdóname, but I thought that you would have been grateful enough to let me come to visit.  Perhaps check out a room from your inn for the night, at least.  Spare two exhausted women your mercy, if nothing else."

   The wolf's eyebrow quirked.  "And just who is your companion in the bright cloak, Miss?  I don't believe I've seen her when you came to our aid."

   "That would be because I told her to stay on the road while I investigated your situation," Aisha said without pause.  "She is a healer from a monastic order, here to accompany me on my travels.  She is however mute and shy, and poses no trouble.  No real combat training, but great to have on your side when near death.  Even you have to admit healers are useful for adventurers.  If anyone here is sick, perhaps she could even provide assistance.  Perhaps...even I could, for I've noticed an atmosphere here that piqued my curiosity.  Her name is Celina, and I am Aisha...they call me The Risen."

   At the thought of assistance, there was a small murmured agreement among the group, and a heavily pregnant pause as they all thought it over.  But Aisha could tell from the looks on some of their faces that, just perhaps, some use could come out of the situation somehow.

   The black wolf nodded before lowering his weapon, and the rest of them followed suit.  "Forgive me and my men for being suspicious; but we do have our reasons.  I...suppose we could allow you to stay.  But you must be warned that there is a very strict curfew.  In fact it takes effect in a couple of hours, as it's about sunset."

   "We understand," Aisha answered, with a nod from the disguised Chey.  "We shall abide by the laws of this place for as long as we confine ourselves to them."

   "S'all we need to hear," the wolf said with a slightly friendlier smile.  "The name's Nehemiah, and I'm the law here.  If you need me for something, just give a yell."  He pointed to the small building on the north side from the fountain.  "That's the inn right there.  The proprietor is just as jumpy as me, but if you tell him I sent you, and he'll see about a room for the two of you.  Maybe even some information, as well."  The smile faded from his face as he took his crossbow in his hands.  "But if there's any sign of trouble from you, I'll be on it quicker than you can blink."

   "No problem," Aisha chuckled, smirking in the shadows of her cloak.  "I'm that way with trouble too."

   At that, Nehemiah gestured for the group to disperse, allowing Aisha and "Celina" a path to the small, but cozy-looking building.

   Cheyenne released the breath that she'd been holding for all that time as she caught up with the panther.  She couldn't get it out of her head that she was spared from a very unpleasant encounter by a hair's breadth, and again by an adventurer's quick thinking.  She opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it as they pushed open the doors of the inn and entered, disregarding the surprisingly poisonous looks on the faces of the patrons within.

*     *     *

   "There you go...keys to the two-bed room on the second floor, first on the right," said the spectacled bear innkeeper as he handed them over to the cloaked adventurers.  "Best we could get for visitors; nobody's come to stay here in months."

   It was a little way into the dusk, and the curfew had nearly passed.  It had become a little frustrating, interacting with such suspicious people, the most of which were the inn's employees.  The two strangers paid no heed to the other patrons, who simply found excuses to slip out of the area at the slightest chance.

   It only made Aisha more curious to see how truthful Cheyenne had been.  As for the young succubus herself, she was saddened.  The urge to reveal herself was overpowering whenever she saw the faces of the ones that had been so kind to her, and the innkeeper who had been like a friend.

   "Sorry about the lack of hospitality," the bear said with a grunt.  "Been having a few problems around here of late."

   Aisha nodded as she flipped her key into her hand.  "Indeed.  I've been briefed a moment ago by the charming black wolf outside."  She smirked.  "I was also told that we could find a bit of...information about it here."

   The innkeeper paused for a moment and glanced up, giving them a suspicious look-over.  "Did he?  Hrm.  Never known that whippersnapper to trust anybody without bruising them up.  Very well...I've got a story for the two of you."  He took his glasses off to clean them and shook his head.  "At this point any kind of help is accepted; despite what you might hear from all the scared people outside.  To be honest, I just wish to the gods that it didn't have to go so far as to have Cheyenne run out of town."

   At those words, the cloaked thylacine visibly shook.  Aisha swung her head and gave her a hard look.  Don't.  Say.  Anything.

   "Something the matter with the healer?" the bear asked, also having noticed the girl's reaction.

   "No," Aisha replied with a light-hearted chuckle.  "She gets chilly easily, though, hence the reason she must always wear the cloak.  Now, who's Cheyenne?"

   "Ah," the bear nodded and replaced his glasses.  "Well...I don't know how keen you adventuring-types are when you hear about winged critters working with the rest of us.  Cheyenne is...or was, but I hope she's still alive...a girl of some sort of demon descent, I guess.  Skin-wings.  But she was very nice, one of the better workers at the inn.  Never caused trouble, not so far as I've seen.  But when the strange things started happening, all of a sudden she was blamed.  And I had no say in the matter; else I'd be implicated too.  I feel like a heel for not sticking up for her, but what could I do?  I had a family to look after, had to make sure they don't disappear too."

   "I see," the panther hummed.  "Don't concern me, I have no problem with it; some Creatures are friends of mine.  But, they think she's to blame?"

   "Yeah...but I just don't see how.  It's such a strange story.  But anyway, it's about dinnertime.  We may get some customers from the village if we're lucky...so if you're joining us, I'll have to give you a table in the corner there.  Afterward I'll tell you all about it...and where'd your friend go?"

   Quirking an eyebrow, Aisha looked around.  But "Celina" was nowhere in sight.  Her ears however could catch slow footfalls making their way upstairs.  A grimace played on her face, one tinged with annoyance, but mostly of concern.  The poor girl.  She acts like she doesn't hurt, but...

   "I think she just went upstairs to find the room and put her things in it.  Thank you, señor," the adventurer replied.  "That'll be my cue as well.  I'll be down later."

   "No problem, ma'am," he grumbled, waving a dismissive hand as he went to set up the inn's restaurant.

*     *     *
   
   Cheyenne had insisted to stay in the room for the night, even at Aisha's invitation to eat.  She finally realized just how dire the situation was, and that she couldn't spare a single chance to get herself caught.  Thus, the adventurer agreed, and went down to hear the innkeeper's side of the story alone.

   The tale that Aisha got from the bear was, not surprisingly, the exact same one given to her by the girl.  So there was little need to doubt her; but there seemed to be more to it as well.  Appearances of specters and mysterious disappearances seemed only the tip of the iceberg that held the town's worries.  And she also got the impression--despite how skilled she seemed--that this wasn't a job for two people.  But after all was said and done, she was discreetly hired by the innkeeper to investigate the trouble and would be paid very well...if she survived.  It was that latter part that seemed to unnerve her more than it ought to.

   Later that night, the panther decided to turn in, though her mind was sleepless and filled already with the beginnings of a plan.

   She found the door and turned the knob slowly, so she wouldn't awaken Cheyenne.  But the girl was still awake, the lamp on her side of the room flickering.  Her uncloaked head snapped around, startled by Aisha's entrance, but nonetheless she calmed down quickly.  "So, how'd it go?"

   "Very well," Aisha replied, hanging her cloak on the door as she closed it and setting her weapon belt and bag to the side.  "Everything checks out.  Tomorrow I'm going to start checking things out, and the only way I'm going to do that is to do so at night."

   Cheyenne's eyes widened.  "Are you nuts?  What if you disappear too?  I can't go out there!"

   "You won't need to," the panther answered as she sat on her own bed, taking out her bladed boomerang and examining the sharp edges under the light.  "We're not doing this alone.  I have a friend who'd probably be willing to help, considering he ought to be here by the morning as he said he would be."  And if he doesn't chew my head off, as I promised I'd stay out of trouble.

   "Ooh, a friend?" Chey smiled a little out of hope, despite herself.  "Who?"

   "His name is Jake.  I think you might like him."  The panthress yawned and placed the boomerang under her pillow, an easy hand's reach if necessary.  "Just get to sleep for now, that is if you still can."

   Cheyenne laughed.  "And here I thought you actually knew about 'Cubi."

   "I do.  That's why I'm comfortable falling asleep right now."  Aisha hid a smirk.  "G'night, Chey."

   "Alright.  G'night, Aisha."

   After that, the night seemed to go on peacefully.  That is, until she heard a small commotion from downstairs.  She got out of bed and put an ear to the floor, with a sleepy and curious Cheyenne watching.

   The words she got from the skirmish below belonged to the voice of Nehemiah.  "We gotta find someplace to put this gryphon we caught, he's struggling like all hell!"

   Sitting up slowly, Aisha slapped her forehead.  "Damn this place, I totally forgot he wouldn't be welcome here."

   Cheyenne tilted her head, looking nervous.  "Aisha?  What's up?"

   She quickly reached for the boomerang and headed out the door.  "Stay there, Chey.  I think you'll be meeting Jake earlier than expected."

[Aisha deCabre]

((And once again, new part!  You can probably tell that one of the things Chey will feed on in the future is irritation.  Most of the action will start next chapter.))

Part 4

   With a bewildered Cheyenne left behind as she was told, Aisha took the stairs down two at a time, rushing to Jake's aid.  She could hear struggling and his voice trying to reason with the others...though he had to keep raising it in order to do so, and the panther only heard him yell a few times; when a fight was about to erupt.

   Downstairs, they had the gryphon restrained.  His wings had beaten with such a force that a few of the bar's glasses had fallen off the shelf.  He had been forcibly calmed with the threat of crossbows pointed from all angles, and it took three of the village guards to keep his strong but spindly arms behind his back, yet a dangerous glower remained on his avian face.  From where she was, Aisha could hear questions asked on what to do with their prisoner, and if he had the company of a behemoth gryphon hiding somewhere to attack.

   Suddenly, a flash of silver filled the air for but a split second and thundered into the floor, a tip of the boomerang's blade shimmering in the firelight, causing the words to stop right in their tracks.

   It was Aisha's way of silencing arguments that could be silenced.  And true to the intent, it worked.  For all eyes suddenly fell upon the weapon in disbelief at the speed it had been lodged there, before rising to meet the eyes of the arm that threw it.

   The panther's hooded cloak was absent, revealing her face, and she looked slightly exhausted...but determined.

   "Adventurer!" Nehemiah shouted, out of relief.  "There you are...this Creature..."

   "—is with me," she quickly interrupted.

   That gained silence from the group, plus some noticeable relief on Jake's face.  The black wolf's eyebrow quirked in confusion, before he turned to his fellow officers.  "Lower your weapons, but keep them loaded."  He turned back to Aisha.  "Are you serious?"

   "Serious as it's possible to be, muchacho," the feline sighed, straightening up and descending the rest of the stairs to rest at the base.  "If you want me to help you with this problem of yours, then I'm going to need help of my own.  One fighter and one healer won't cut it, I'm sure a fighter like yourself would know.  The gryphon is Sir Jakoba Talothir, knight guard of the same order as we come.  An enforcer of the law such as yourself.  He's agreed to help me."

   "Just call me Jake, if you please," the knight said in his most professional tone, elbowing himself free of the villagers keeping him at bay and brushing his hands across his shoulders.  "And if you need more proof, I know my friend's name over there.  Isha the Risen."  He grinned.

   "Aisha, Jake, you're not helping matters," the huntress rolled her eyes.  Yeah, he's definitely going to chew my head off.

   The knight chuckled, knowing that he was making the situation humorous at least for her and for some of the townspeople.  Still, there were some whom he noticed would not easily be convinced.  It was then that he met eyes with Nehemiah and extended his hand, putting on a friendly smile despite the situation.  The other guards stood at cautious attention, but his gesture was a curious enough one to not act on yet.

   "Far be it for me to enter without being properly introduced to the law enforcement of the town," Jake chuckled.  "Your name, friend?"

   The wolf regarded the gryphon with narrowed eyes for a moment, leaning back as if to take a step away from him.  But after that, he extended his own hand and gripped the other's wrist instead of the palm...a gesture of suspicion, but a greeting nonetheless.  Jake understood, and did the same.

   "Name's Nehemiah," the guard leader said, in his own professional tone.  "Nice to meet you, Jake.  Sorry about the rude greeting, but I don't like messy details.  If you don't know what's going on, your friend will fill you in."

   "Oh, I'm certain she will," he admonished, sparing a quick glance to the panther as she leaned against the stairwell, her tail twitching with visible impatience.

   The wolf nodded and gestured towards the door, letting his followers leave before him.  "Just be careful.  Curfew's in effect and we should all have been in our homes long ago, including myself.  And remember, you guys are under contract, and will be watched."

   "You be careful too then, lobo," Aisha called.  She only received a dismissive wave of the hand as a response before the canine's form disappeared, leaving the inn empty and quiet again.

   Jake growled a little as he stretched, trying to get rid of the last bit of tension and adrenaline.  "Well, well...this place has a way with visitors.  Did you have this much trouble coming here?"

   The panther chuckled.  "Yeah, but I convinced them I was harmless."  She hummed and tiredly ran a finger through her hair.  "Few things I need to tell you though."

   "No kidding?" Jake smirked, crossing his arms.  "You can start with what you meant by helping them with their problem."

   "Hey!" another voice suddenly chimed in.  Through the skirmish, nobody had remembered that the innkeeper was nearby, watching.  The spectacled bear drummed his claws on the desk.  "You can tell your stories tomorrow.  It's late, and I ain't dealing with any more problems you adventurers cause around here.  Your friend can get a room key here."

   Aisha sighed.  "Right sir, my apologies."  Turning back to Jake, she crossed her arms.  "I'll tell you as much as I can in a bit.  But I say right now that I wasn't going to look for trouble this time, as I promised."

   "Really?" the gryphon laughed as he went towards the bar to pick up his key, as well as the halberd that had nearly been confiscated from him.  "I find that hard to believe."

   "Well, I couldn't leave a cry for help unattended, amigo," the panther shrugged and extended her arm towards the boomerang still stuck to the floor.  The blue glow around the blades became stronger.  "I was coming here anyway, so eventually I'd have found out about the trouble.  There's some sort of curse over the whole town, and I was hired to take care of it."

   The gryphon snorted as he came back, flipping the key into the air and catching it.  "Aaaand, you dragged me into it too."

   It was then that the boomerang snapped from the floorboards, as if of its own volition, straight back into Aisha's waiting hand.  The glow disappeared, and she turned back to him.  "You'd have been dragged into it anyway, feather-head."  She grinned.  "In fact, you were supposed to meet me here before dusk."

   The knight's head perked back, and he chuckled with a little embarrassment at himself.  "Yeah, true.  Sorry, I was a little held up at the station...but everything got through to the Mistress, I think.  I'm here now."

   "And I'm quite ecstatic," the panther smirked, and then laughed.  "Let's go, I think smoke's coming out of the bear's ears the longer we stay down here."

   "Lead the way, milady," Jake replied with a mock bow.

*     *     *

   Geez, I wish I had a demon's hearing, Cheyenne thought to herself, meanwhile, as she leaned with her back to the door of the room.  She could at least tell if anyone was approaching...especially after the noise had died down.  When a few moments passed, her ears caught footsteps coming ever closer.  The girl stood at the ready, her hand on the hilt of the crystalline sword given by Aisha.

   There were no voices...or else they were quiet, lest they had the slim chance of awakening everyone else.  Whatever the reason, nothing came of the footsteps...that is, until the knock on the door.

   "ACK!" Cheyenne choked out as she jumped back and dropped the sword, her heart racing.

   She calmed down though, recognizing Aisha's voice.  "Chey?  It's only me.  You awake?"   

   "Of course I am!" the thylacine whispered back harshly, recovering her weapon and sitting back down on the end of the bed.

   As the door opened, Aisha stepped in first and quirked an eyebrow at the girl.  "I hope you won't be this jumpy during the entire venture.  Anyway, there's someone you ought to meet, and tell your story.  Cheyenne, this is Jake; Jake, Cheyenne."

   Interested, the succubus-in-waiting glanced in the direction that Aisha gestured.  Leaning in the doorway was the gryphon...another winged Creature, much to the surprise of both parties as the feature was observed.

   Still, the gryphon chuckled upon being introduced and briefly held out his talon-hand.  "So, you're Chey.  Aish here tells me that she saved your life, and that you have a bit of a connection to this whole thing."

   The girl was visibly unnerved in the knight's presence, hoping that he wouldn't be anything like her previous encounters with strangers and what they always guessed of her.  Nevertheless, she extended her own hand and smiled.  "Charmed, Jake.  And...well, yeah, somewhat.  It's a bit complicated.  But if I tell you, I hope you'll be able to keep my presence here a secret from the villagers until it's over with."

   "Secret?" he chuckled and took her hand, kissing it.  "You have the word of a soldier and a knight."

   Aisha relaxed against the far wall and watched, slightly amused at Jake's gentlemanly attitude.  At least it seemed to calm the nervous Cheyenne down somewhat.  He had a way like that.  "You can trust this guy, chica," the panther assured.  "I told him everything about you up until this point.  But the rest of the story will have to wait until tomorrow, when we check the town out."

   "Indeed," the gryphon said as he yawned.  "Right now, it's about time to turn in.  I'll be right next door if you ladies need me."

   "We ladies can do well ourselves," Aisha snorted, feigning irritation.  "You just watch your own back.  See you in the morning, Jake."

   "'Til the morrow!" the gryphon grinned back, giving a short salute before moving away from the door frame and down the hall.

   As she closed the door to their own room, Cheyenne could be heard giggling as she went back to her bed.  "I like him.  He's funny.  He your boyfriend?"

   The question caused Aisha to double over a little, as if she were struck, with a loud snort given.  She replaced the boomerang back under the pillow.  "No, no...he's an ally from the monastery I come from.  He's been more like an older brother to me than anything, especially considering he'd be about as old as my real brother."

   "Oh, well that's cool," the thylacine chuckled and started to dig into her own covers.  "He's single then?"

   Aisha's eyes rolled and she turned to look across at the girl with an incredulous look.  "How old are you again?  We have other things to focus on.  So how about trying to be a little serious for once?"

   "Psh, you're no fun," Chey sighed.  "But you're right...I'm sorry.  I guess I find the need to be silly, as it helps me cope with all this darkness."

   "That's understood," Aisha nodded, fluffing her own pillow before lying down on it.  "It was humor that helped me cope with my own problems."

   "Exactly, it's good to joke around at least a little bit.  But, anyway, I'm guessing that's enough...G'night Aisha."

   Aisha answered with a bit of a grunt in her voice, turning away as she pulled the sheets over her own body.  "G'night, Cheyenne."

   There was a bit of silence.

   "He's still cute," the girl snickered suddenly.

   "Shut up and go to sleep, or I swear I'll put you to sleep," Aisha muttered loudly back.

   The rest of the night was finally peaceful...albeit tense, as everyone still had it in the back of their heads exactly what happened every night in that quiet village.  As a result, their ears listened out of pure instinct for any dying screams that could pierce the moonlit, mist-filled air.

*     *     *     *

   The small group found things rather quiet and eerie the next morning.  Whenever one woke up in a town, even a small one, there was usually the sounds of people laughing and wandering around outside.  The fact that the situation was just the opposite only drove the fact home to the adventurers that they were about to deal with something serious.

   The three of them ate breakfast in the inn's bar, at a table set nearest to it and drenched in shadow...if any of the town's patrons had the nerve to get food there, they wouldn't find the adventurers much trouble.  It was also easy to talk without being overheard.  Cheyenne was hidden well in her borrowed healer's cloak, and Aisha and Jake sat opposite her with their backs to the room.

   "Now, just so I have this all straight," said the gryphon, in-between bites of his toast, "This place is basically haunted.  People disappear whenever they go outside at night, and out their windows everyone sees these ghosts walking around.  They already ran a Creature out of town just in case she was to blame."

   Aisha nodded as she dug into her pancakes.  "You've got it; simple enough to understand.  And we think that it's because of these occurrences that everyone's become so paranoid.  Our job is to find whatever's responsible, and hopefully return their loved ones to them."

   "Sounds interesting enough," Jake hummed, leaning back into his chair.  "It makes me wonder though, why these people didn't just leave the town as it started happening."

   The panther's ears flattened as she thought about that.  Then, Cheyenne's voice could be heard in a very quiet rasp.  "Hope."

   They turned towards the cloaked thylacine, waiting for her to clarify on the subject.  Still keeping her voice as low as possible, she spoke again.  "They're bound by hope.  Nobody's going to leave if they don't think that their loved ones aren't going to return."  She shrugged, denoting that was at least her guess.

   "Bound by hope..." Aisha murmured.  "Makes sense.  If they aren't bound here by something else too, anyway.  Plus, many of the people here seem pretty poor.  This place may be all they have to survive, and it is pretty out-of-the-way from many trade routes."  She spared a smirk to Jake.  "Just because we can survive on the road, doesn't mean that others can too."

   "Yeah, I know that," the knight chuckled and ate the last piece of his toast.  "So then I'm guessing your course of action is to..."

   "Take a night watch, yes," Aisha finished his thought.  "So we might want to try to stay awake then.  Take a nap or something today."

   "Hey, don't worry about me," Jake admonished, raising his hands.  "But I am worrying about how we go about finding out what this thing is.  Even if we keep watch at night, it has to happen very fast, or else the person has to be very careless, if someone is kidnapped without them being seen by at least one witness."  He leaned over the table again so that his voice could be low.  "Plus, what'll we do with Chey, here?  From what I hear we're all in big trouble if she's discovered having returned not-dead."

   The panther sighed, putting two fingers to her forehead to keep her train of thought.  "Yeah, I'm working on it."  She glanced around the table at her two friends, one of whom was watching expectantly, and the other trying not to fidget in her seat, having finished her breakfast long before.  There were times that Aisha wondered if she was really up to the challenge of being an adventurer, herself.  This task, with the planning alone, felt like it would take more time than she was given to work out properly.

   Then it came to her.  She didn't really wish to risk it...but the thought stood out that if the people taken were normal, everyday townspeople...perhaps a warrior could do better.

   The black jaguar opened her eyes and met the gazes of the other two.  "Well, I can't see any other option here.  We have to do this without getting anyone else from the village hurt.  So tonight, I suggest that we have Nehemiah make sure that there's nobody in the square after curfew, bar for us.  In other words, we're going to have to go with the baiting approach," she said with a bit of a smile directed at Jake.

   His feathered ears swiveled back as he gave her a quizzical expression.  When it clicked as to what she meant, the knight leaned back in his chair again, almost slouching, but there was an expression of laughter in his eyes.  "This is getting more fun by the second.  And guess who gets to be the bait, ladies and gentlemen."

   Aisha smirked.  "You'll be right at the center square by the fountain, in plain sight.  I'll be on the inn's roof, keeping watch.  And you, 'Celina'...I guess you're staying with me.  You're just useful enough to not leave behind."

   I hope that turns out to be a good thing, the disguised Cheyenne thought, watching the two more experienced warriors work out the rest of the plan between them.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Good solid chapter Aisha! keep it up.

[Aisha deCabre]

Many thanks, Pal. x3  And to those of you who have said so on MSN and not here, as well.

I'm just relentlessly bumping my thread so it doesn't get lost letting peeps know that I've regained my writing muse and that a new chapter might be up in a few days.  It depends on how work treats me. x.x

Meanwhile I still hope that people enjoy the story, as I haven't heard as much from anyone else outside of the peeps I chat with.

[Aisha deCabre]

((Hokay, finally...a little later than thought, but here it is, a new chapter.  Enjoy.  I may write more even sooner now that I know exactly where to take the story.   ))

Part 5

   To say that the rest of the day was ominous was an understatement.

   Jake too soon realized just how serious things were almost as soon as they walked out of the inn to explore the town.  The absolute silence stunned them.  As was foretold, people had retreated to their homes and more than likely were huddling inside like scared animals.  Aisha could have sworn that she could hear a child from one of the houses begging to go outside and play...but the words faded along with the wind...eerily as if the child were but a ghost.

   "Yeesh...you'd think that the people here would try having fun to get their minds off of these things," Jake murmured as the three of them strolled across the grounds.  Cheyenne remained silent and humbled, sticking close behind Aisha.

   The black jaguar smirked beneath the darkness of her hood.  "Not everyone can forget such tragedies as losing family so easily, amigo.  Never mind being under the thumb of some kind of evil power.  Besides, there are still areas of Furrae where it is easily believed any kind of happiness will always be overtaken by Hell's fury."  Her voice turned serious.  "My home wasn't such a place...but thinking about it, maybe there's something to the old ways of thinking."

   "Heh, how dark," the gryphon chuckled, despite himself.  "You should write poetry or something."

   Cheyenne hadn't contributed to the conversation, but she did like to see a little playful banter between the warriors.  It was like nothing could ever pierce their personalities and confidence, wrapping them like thick and brazen armor.  It also made her feel a little better, despite the wringing and enveloping doubt.

   Nearby, they did hear a few people talking among themselves without fear.  It was Nehemiah and his fellow enforcers, taking an area at the edge of the town square as an easy vantage point.  As soon as the three adventurers caught his eye, however, the black wolf turned to regard them with a harsh glance...the kind which reminded them that he was always watching their every move.

   They weren't too fazed, however.  Aisha stopped in her tracks and glanced back, showing a small bit of a fang in a smirk.  "Having fun, O lobo negro?"

   He dismissed his group and turned to the panther and her comrades, crossing his arms as he walked close.  "So long as you're not, I'm happy," he answered.  "I just hope you three can actually keep your word.  It may seem like a game to adventurers, but there are lives at stake."

   "We're far too well aware of it," Jake replied, clutching his halberd tightly.  "Have a bit more faith in us, Nehemiah.  We have a plan, but truthfully we're going to need your help as well."

   The wolf's eyebrows quirked.  "Really?  Well, that's more like it, leaving some business to us.  What do you have in mind?"

   Aisha sighed loudly.  She really didn't like the guy's self-contained attitude, despite the fact that even he and his warriors couldn't fix the trouble themselves.  "We're going to try and face whatever is causing this on our own tonight.  You and your band just need to make sure nobody is out at curfew.  Only the three of us."

   Nehemiah's eyes widened...it was the first time they'd seen his expression as one of complete surprise.  "...Are you serious?  That's suicide."

   "It's the best plan we have," she replied calmly.  "Bait and switch, as they say."

   Jake nodded.  "So quit it with the distrust.  If you really didn't want help, you wouldn't have accepted it."

   The wolf's eyes narrowed, and he pinched the bridge of his nose.  "...Alright...I'll trust you guys.  Not like we have a choice in the matter anyway.  We're all desperate, even I and my fighters, to see this thing finished and the people's happiness returned."

   It fascinated the silent and disguised Cheyenne to see the egotistic officer brought down a peg without much effort.  As if the adventurers could read each other's minds, they all wondered just briefly what about the event had affected him.

   "I'll personally make sure no more lives are taken tonight," Nehemiah confirmed, turning his back to the adventurers with a swish of his tail.  "You lot just do your jobs and don't let me find you dead.  I'll have you brought back so that I may kill you myself."

   "You have our word," Aisha replied to his back.  Without another thing said, the wolf disappeared from sight.

   Jake turned his head after a moment to glance at the panthress.  "Well, you just made an oath to succeed.  I hope you know what you're doing, kid."

   She turned back and simply grinned.  "After this, you're never going to call me that again."

   "Wanna bet?" the gryphon muttered as they continued their walk through the town.

*     *     *     *

   By the time the sun started to set, of the small group, it was Cheyenne's heart that seemed to skip a beat while they all took shelter within the inn near the windows.

   True to his word, Nehemiah could be seen advising and practically herding any people who were left outside to their homes by the time the light of day faded.  And then he and his group too disappeared, the adventurers hoped, to safety.

   It seemed to take hours for night to finally fall completely.  They stood near the window solemnly, watching, frozen in anticipation.  Aisha's hand gripped the handle of her weapon tightly.  Even Jake found the situation too serious for him to find any humor.  It was as if the veil of darkness had sharp edges for them to avoid.  Except, they were going to be right in the path of those edges...and so help her, Aisha waited with as much excitement as nervousness.  Nothing at all compared to the blood-boiling anxiousness that came before a battle.

   Just a little bit before the last of the sun disappeared and the first stars took its place, the ursine innkeeper came to the dining room with a lantern and spotted the warriors.

   "Hey, adventurers...if you're going to do something, better do it now," he said in a sort of a nervous whisper.  "Curfew warning just ended and I'm about to close."

   The three of them gathered their breaths and their combined courage before nodding in assent.  "No worries, señor," said Aisha, "We're ready anyway.  You turn off the lights and lock the door behind us.  If you hear any noises, just try to stay out of the way."  To Jake and "Celina", she gestured to follow her.  "Time to take your places."

   The bear watched them step into the darkness, an eerie feeling having been left behind as the door closed.  It made him shudder, but there was just something about them...

   "Good luck," he murmured.  A second later, the lantern went out and the inside of the inn went still and black.

   The sound of the lock clicking nearly made Cheyenne jump.  "C-can we just get this over with now?" she squeaked, looking around.  "I feel cold."

   "Just relax and stay with me, chica," Aisha said with a bit of an uneasy growl.  "I won't let you get hurt, and neither will Jake."

   The gryphon snorted.  "She's not the one I'm worried about right now."

   And so, with as much silence as possible, the plan was in motion.  Aisha without much of an effort and with the use of a few leftover crates had bounded up to the inn's roof.  A less-than-graceful thylacine climbed up beside her, wondering how the panther's cape hadn't caught on anything.

   Jake, alone but with their eyes upon his back, made his way to the center square with his weapon gripped tightly in both talons and his eyes darting from side to side.  His footfalls were slow and cautious, acting to any watching threat like a nervous, untrained guard.

   Mist was starting to settle on the ground as the minutes of waiting went by.  The only lights were those of the flickering lanterns on the outsides of some houses and four lone lampposts surrounding the fountain square.  There, Jake was marching slowly around the dragon statue and occasionally walked on the edges of the empty pool, keeping a constant vigil.  The forest and hills around were dead quiet...not even so much as a chirping cricket pierced it.

   Aisha's eyes narrowed beneath her cowl as she kept one hand on her bow and the other on the feathered end of an arrow from her quiver.  Her nerves and concentration were at their peak, scanning the dark streets for any alien movements.  C'mon, any time now.

   It wasn't helped however by Cheyenne, who was trying to keep herself from shaking violently on her perch.  "Oh gods, oohhh gods..." she whimpered, all but hiding her gaze from everything.

   Aisha sighed, not moving her glance.  "Must you be so nervous?  Perhaps I should have left you at the inn."

   "N-no," the thylacine shook her head.  "I-I'm going to see this th-through to the end.  I...I want to.  I have to."

   "Wanting to do something and having to do it are rather different emotions," the panthress pointed out, observing Jake as he tried to make light of his situation and counted the bricks on the edge of the statue's moat as he walked over them.  "It's because I want to make a difference that I fight, and look death in the face several times.  It's the same reason that Jake became a knight of our monastery.  I can tell that you want to help.  But I can also tell that you're trying to convince yourself that you have to, when you actually don't."

   The young succubus stopped shaking and opened her eyes, glancing at Aisha and her ever-constant watch.  Down below, the gryphon feigned a bit of fear by hiding in the dry moat and peeking over the edge.

   "How do you know that?" Cheyenne whispered.

   The feline chuckled just slightly.  "Breaking down the barriers of fear and doubt are things you have to do even before you think of becoming an adventurer.  That I learned from my mentor, Mistress Rynkura.  You must constantly remember that you want to do this, want to help, and you must never lose focus."

   She took the arrow out that she was gripping as she spoke.  "You decided to stay...but I must tell you now that if you don't have the will to stay—and keep quiet—then I will personally drag you back into the inn."  The arrow went on the string and rested there.  "Because you're making me nervous with that chatter."

   The more Cheyenne heard, the more she realized how right the fighter was, however harsh her words sounded.  A part of her was yelling and berating, wondering why the hell she was there in the dead of night waiting for death to come to them.  But a larger part knew why.  Yes, she wanted to be there.  Yes, she wanted to redeem herself.

   "...Then yes, I want to help.  Definitely," she confirmed.  "And sorry about the chatter, I'll keep it down."

   "Good," Aisha nodded, scanning the area below again.  "Just keep your eyes on Jake and your hand on the sword I gave you.   You'll be fine."

   So a few more quiet minutes passed of anxious waiting.  The mist on the ground started to swirl in the soft wind, gathering more in some places and leaving others with patches of clear stone and dust.

   Suddenly, there was a high-pitched groan, the kind that sent a chill up the spines of all three warriors.  And in the dim cloud-filled moonlight, at the edges of the far gates, they could see what seemed to be white orbs encircling the perimeter.  There were no footsteps...just an occasional whistle in the wind.

   The echoing whine started again, a grating sound to the ears but consisting of a single haunting note.

   And in the swirling mist, within the dark town circle, the first of the specters appeared.

   There was a gasp from Cheyenne as Aisha drew her bow, but she waited to fire until she could see Jake was in trouble.

   Gripping his weapon, Jake himself hunched on the fountain's edge and faced the thing.  It looked very much like a ghoul as the thylacine had described; humanoid in figure, but with a very misty and shape lacking much definition and appearance.  Its mouth was agape and its eye sockets were empty.  It seemed to wander blindly, uttering a low murmuring tone.  It had the intonation of speech, but it was warbled and turned into gibberish as it floated and flickered like the light of the lamps.

   It seemed to only give a passing notice to the gryphon in its way, ignoring the threatening pose and the glittering pole arm.  Then, more of its kind materialized from the mist and came in droves from the gates.  Despite being transparent, they all cast shadows upon coming in contact with the dim lighting and appeared much like an army marching in slowly to take over the town...only none having dealt any damaging blows yet and ignoring the presence of the gryphon facing them.

   "Oh gods, this is creepy..." Chey whimpered again as she drew her borrowed cloak tightly around herself.  "The way they look..."

   "Focus, remember?" Aisha hissed as she drew the bowstring.  "Time for the show to start.  Very peculiar though, how they just seem to be wandering around.  But..." she glanced down at her tail ring, which had started to glow faintly.  "Something's wrong with them, I know it.  Dark magic."

   On cue, one of the specters seemed to try climbing over the fountain where Jake was standing.  With great precision, he leaped back and swung the axe blade over through the air, aimed for the thing's head.  He didn't know what to expect upon hitting it.

   He expected to hit nothing but air, considering the misty appearance of the ghouls...or if they were solid, its head to just fly off.  But instead, the blade struck its neck and sent it briefly crumpling to the ground, as if the blow came by a blunt instrument instead of a sharp edge.  There was no grunt of pain, just its form falling.

   It lay there on the ground in a ball of ectoplasm, quivering, like it was crying silently from being wounded. The other ghouls paid their comrade no mind, continuing to pass through the town.

   All was still.  For a second the trio thought nothing more would happen.

   ...That is, until the wounded apparition shot up from the ground with an ear-shattering, grating scream, stretching its form about nine feet tall.

   "AUGH!" Aisha growled, instinctively covering her ears from the shrieking.  The arrow she was holding flew prematurely as a result, striking another ghoul in the head and causing it to rear up and scream.  Jake and Cheyenne also crumpled in pain, hoping that their ears wouldn't bleed from it all.  The panther's tail ring was pulsating, bathing that small part of the roof in a bright emerald light.

   The unbearable sound thankfully only lasted another second.  But the ghoul that had started it looked changed.  Its empty eye sockets were now blacker than black, with a webbing of veins lining its edges and a similarly-designed mouth full of ghastly fangs open towards Jake.

   Faster than he could recover from the noise and register, a black tendril shot out from the ground where the beast's shadow was and gripped his wrists together.  Another tripped the gryphon and took him by the feet, then the neck, holding him in the air.

   "Oh damn...JAKE!" Aisha roared as she saw the events unfolding, leaping from her place on the roof and rushing to his aid.  But she too would fall to prey to the creeping shadows, for before she could reach the gryphon, a tendril had taken her by the right hand and was dragging her back.

   The same apparition that she had accidentally hit with the arrow was extending its own shadow, though she struggled with her might and dug her claws into the ground.  Attempts at attacking it only seemed to make it more determined and stronger.

   All the while, the rest of the ghostly figures just wandered about town, sometimes trying to talk but finding it impossible, sometimes staying silent as if they knew it was futile.  The shadows had all but enveloped Jake by then, taking him out of sight behind the statue.

   Damn it, damn it, damn it!  Aisha continuously cursed, trying in vain to return to her friend and finding it impossible.  "Jake!  JAKE!"

   Suddenly, a bright flash of light made everything freeze.

   Aisha was blinded for a brief moment.  But as she regained her sight, she noticed that the shadowy tendrils had released her and retreated.  Next to her was Cheyenne, her hands glowing gold.  The cowl on the young 'Cubi's cloak had flown off, revealing a face soaked in sweat and eyes wide with both fear and surprise.  "Oh my GODS, it worked!  Are you alright, Miss Aisha?"

   "I think..." the panther murmured, still recovering from the shock.  Looking around, she could see many of the ghouls had dispersed from their area, giving a wide berth.  She turned her gaze back to Chey and lowered her own cowl, crimson eyes narrowed with incredulity.  "What the hell happened?  You cast a spell?"

   "Er, yeah..." the girl grinned nervously.  "I know healing spells remember...part of my training included a smidge of holy magic.  I guess it worked in driving those things off.  I...I had to try something."

   Aisha rose to her feet, still relieved for her freedom, and gripped the marsupial by the shoulders.  "You're a genius, Chey.  But...b...Jake..."

   The feline's pupils shrank with absolute shock in her eyes as she remembered.  Still gripping the Creature by the wrist, she weaved and ran through the path back to the fountain where he had been.  "JAKE!"

   But the gryphon was gone.  In his place a halberd lay without an owner.

   And a very large shadow was crawling on the ground, through the fence and towards the forest.  A waving talon, gripping the air and trying to reach futilely for something to set it free, could be seen from within the mass.

   "Oh shit!" Aisha growled and gripped her boomerang, turning back to Cheyenne.  "Why didn't you save him too?  Come on, after it!  Take his weapon!"

   "Right!" she said, picking up the halberd and running full tilt to catch up with the hunter.  "But what about the town?"

   "They'll be alright as long as nobody comes outside and tries to fight those things," Aisha snarled hurriedly as they followed the mass, jumping the fence and heading into the deep woods.  "But right now I believe we now have our kidnapper, and it'll lead us to the place where it can hopefully be dispelled and whatever controls it destroyed.  Because I'll be damned if I'm going to let them take Jake."

   Or anyone else, Cheyenne silently added, her fingers still glowing with holy magic and lighting their path into the darkness.

[Aisha deCabre]

((I'm starting to wonder if people even care to read this anymore.  Ah well...can't stop the writing muse.  Here's a new chapter for y'all to enjoy.  The curse is explained, and another familiar face is revealed, after a rather long while of figuring out just how to introduce him...))

Part 6

   The forest's silence was unceremoniously broken by both the trampling of running paws and the slithering of a great shadowy mass through the underbrush.  Aisha could hear the thing ahead, growling as if it were something mortal.

   Illuminated by the combined golden-green glow of Chey's magic and Aisha's weapons and tail ring, they looked to any nocturnal creatures in the shadows like a giant will-o'-wisp.  Noisy, panting, stomping, they followed the thing as it plowed through the woods.  Jake's arm could still be seen sticking out from it, clawing at its seething amorphous body with ferocity.

   Cheyenne at one point nearly tripped, but still managed to catch up to the huntress and the monster.  "Is this thing ever going to stop?" she demanded with a harsh breath.

   "It had better," Aisha growled and raised her boomerang.  "Because I'm about to make it stop."

   A toss of the flying magic sawblade only seemed to cause the thing to move faster, unmarked and with no blood in sight.  Aisha dared not try again, for fear of hitting Jake.  They could only run and try to keep up until, hopefully, it would freeze in its tracks.

   It took a few jumps uphill into a rocky hillside clearing before the shadow finally stopped with a loathsome shudder.  It stood like a mass of black; the shifting sounds made both of the women's stomachs feel ill.  Jake could still be seen trying to struggle free of it.

   Aisha leaped onto the plateau and turned her run into a skid right then, facing the thing with narrowed eyes.  How to fight the shadows without hurting their prisoner?  The light spells seemed to work, but still the gryphon would be taking the brunt of the power.

   "Chey!  Get the hell up here!" the panther called down to the thylacine, who was still struggling up the rocky face.  Strangely but fortunately, the shadowy blob hadn't moved from its spot.  The very air behind it seemed to be morphing, and shaping the thing into something else.

   There was a clatter as Jake's halberd landed on the ground nearby, having been thrown by Cheyenne.  "Will you be patient?  I'm not used to rock climbing!"

   "Then get used to it!" the huntress snarled back as she grabbed the handle of the pole arm.  "We need your magic up here, something's happening!"

   In front of their eyes, the amorphous mass of black rose up, shaping itself into what seemed like a giant maw.  Large teeth stood before them, guarding a cavernous mouth...which still held Jake lodged in its grip.  It roared without making a sound, opening the maw wide and placing him in the path of being sliced through as if with the blade of a guillotine.

   Aisha's eyes widened.  "Oh no you don't!" she exclaimed, raising her blade and releasing it with a flick of her arm and a flash of steel and light.  Its cut stopped the shadow's actions, causing it to shudder as she called it back...again narrowly missing Jake.

   He recovered enough to turn his head in his struggling and shout.  "Isha, watch it!  I think it's toying with you!"

   Just as Cheyenne was climbing onto the plateau, finally, the panther was shaking her head in fervent frustration.  "Then what do you propose we do to get it to let you go?"

   Suddenly, there was a short burst of light.  The air looked unstable again, quivering like waves of heat.  It formed an invisible rope around the creature, freezing it in place and allowing for a better shot.

   There was a quiet, insistent voice in the air.  With an eerie reverberation, it spoke but three words.

   "All.  Light.  Attack."

   It took only two seconds before the adventurers took the gods-given clue to heart.  Jake's head swiveled again.  "Aisha, attack together!  Toss me my weapon, and you two do the rest!"

   Neither of them needed any more orders...even the uncertain young succubus had broken through her hesitance and was rushing forward, a glow encompassing not just her hands, but her entire body.  At the same time, Aisha did as she was told.  And with impressive speed she had taken her boomerang, aimed, and released it at a weak spot all in one motion.

   Jake, shielding his eyes and reflexively curling his one free wing over his back at the immense pressure of the attacks on the beast, gripped his weapon and uttered a short spell to enchant the blade and bathe it in a swarm of blue energy.  He twirled it in his talon and thrust it upward with a grunt, impaling the inside of the enormous maw.

   The combined magic was too much for Jake's shadowy captor.  With a great shudder, it shattered and fragmented, retreating away into the darker portions of the forest with a slithering akin to snakes.

   The three adventurers were left alone on the rocky plateau, surrounded by darkness and sudden silence, but kept protected in their lights of magic.  The glow from Aisha's ring had lightly subsided, but still left a low and constant hum as a reminder that there still had to be something left lurking.

   Jake lay on the cold ground, taking a moment to regain his breath.  He then let out a quiet laugh and sat up.  "I'd call that the scariest thing I've ever encountered...but I'll probably see something worse before the day ends.  Everyone okay?"

   The two others quietly acquiesced, taking a sigh of relief for themselves.  "I can't believe I did that," Cheyenne whispered in awe.  "If I could have just tried to use magic before, maybe I wouldn't have been exiled and almost killed by the villagers."

   "Actually, they'd have had more of a reason to if you did," said Jake as he helped himself back to his feet.  "Trust me.  But if there were ever a time to master such a thing..."

   "Damn straight," Aisha muttered, shaking her head.  "Anyway...we still have to figure out where that shadow thing came from.  And to do that..." she glanced around and behind her.  "...We'd have to know where we are."

   Jake hummed and scratched the back of his head.  "Yeah...that annoying little detail."

   The situation was looking unsolvable.  They were stranded on that little hillside clearing, with nowhere left to go but back down into the dark forest.  And even then, that was what surrounded them, those impenetrable night-ridden woods...there would be no hint of how to get back to town until morning, which was hours away.  Falling asleep there would probably mean certain death...and there was no clue either on where next to go.

   They were stuck in their silence, thinking, and listening.

   Suddenly, the voice came again, making each of them almost jump in surprise.

   "Look.  Around.  Rocks.  Loose.  Find.  Me."

   It almost sounded pleading, and sad.  It also sounded strained, like each word was an effort in itself to make.

   "Okay..." Cheyenne whispered after a second of observation, her ears flattened nervously.  "Did you guys hear that too?"

   "Yeah, I heard it," Aisha answered, and Jake replied with a nod.  "But...what is it?  Where's it coming from?"

   "Should we even trust it?" asked Chey.  "Maybe it also wants to toy with us.  I don't trust this forest at all."

   Jake hummed in thought.  "It helped us defeat the shadow beast.  And we have few other options...perhaps we should find it and see what it knows."

   "Sounds like a plan..." Aisha agreed, taking a few steps around the clearing.  "It said something about loose rocks."

   "You guys do what you want..." Chey muttered.  "I'm staying right here.  I don't like it."

   True to the suggestion, the side of the hill attached to their platform had a small incline made of embedded rocks and boulders.  A closer look revealed that a portion of those rocks dropped at a shorter angle and was made to look like a wall.  Various vines of ivy had made themselves at home, growing among the cracks.  And as the group stepped closer, they could feel bits of energy emanating from inside those cracks.

   "Hey...there's a cave or something back here," Jake said, craning his avian head upward.  "Neat.  Maybe if we try moving some rocks..."

   "Careful," Aisha warned.  "Try moving the ones further up first.  I'd rather my end not come from an avalanche."

   Slowly but surely, the group worked at the wall of rocks, breaking the ivy and caked mud in the process.  The hole in the hill grew larger and deeper as the rocks were rolled away and tossed down into the night.

   When the last boulder was rolled away, the three of them peered cautiously into the cavern, hands at their weapons.  It looked empty inside, but it certainly didn't feel empty.  Aisha's tail ring kept up its steady pulse, getting only slightly brighter as they all took tentative steps inside.  Cheyenne despite her words couldn't contain her curiosity either, and came up behind them.

   They didn't have to go very far, for it was a small fit inside.  It looked like such an ordinary cavern in the underbelly of a hill, smelling of moisture and mud.  However, the energies inside made everyone feel caged in and claustrophobic, as if the very air had been sucked from the room and their breaths held.

   And what they saw as they raised their points of light to better see what was there at the end...it made each of them gasp lightly.

   He looked like an avian Being, with a wickedly-curved beak belonging to an eagle.  His arms, feathers growing out of them to also make them effectively wings, were resting at an angle outward on outcrops of smooth rock and bound there by tight roots.  His eyes were only barely closed, pupils hidden under the shadows of his quivering eyelids.  His clothing, what was left of a royal purple cloak and black trousers, were in tatters; eaten by the elements.  He was very thin, but barely emaciated; it was as if his body was in a sort of static state.  Just enough in fact that he wouldn't have needed food for a long time.

   Looking closer from the light the adventurers carried, he was a very silvery gray all over, except for the dirty scruff around his neck which was a rather bright gold.  His tail was actually surprisingly reptilian in nature, with an impressive fan of feathers growing out around the sides and wrapped around his crossed legs.  He was sitting in the cavern, hanging only by his arms over the smooth boulders and chained to the wall around his midsection and chest by very thick roots.  Even his hanging head had a helm of ivy leaves wrapped around it.

   "Wow..." Chey said, breaking the solemnity of the moment.  "That's just...wow.  I can't find words.  Is he dead?"

   "No..." Aisha murmured, peering closer at his face.  "No...see, his eyes are twitching.  But, my gods...how long has this poor hombre been here?  This fate...is that what happens to the people who are kidnapped?"

   Jake shook his head.  "No idea..."

   Then, much louder and clearer than before, the voice cut in again.  "Cut.  Roots.  Free.  Me.  Explain.  All."

   All through the booming exclamations, the group couldn't help but notice that his eyelids twitched more than ever...no other part of his body even made a sign to be alive.  Just those eyes.

   The group glanced between each other, wondering what to do.  A captive person with enough power to employ telepathy as his means of communication was suspicious, perhaps even dangerous.  But he looked weak, and seemed to be on his last ounce of strength.

   It was Aisha who made the decision first, moving around to his side and drawing her boomerang and starting on the restraints on his right arm.  "C'mon.  I'm not sure if he deserves to be like this or not, but at the least he'd owe us his answers."

   "Yeah, I agree..." said Jake as he went to his other side and started work on the vines on the mysterious eagle's other arm.  "It doesn't sit well with me to leave someone hanging like this anyway."

   Cheyenne gulped as he looked at the inert body, slowly taking out the crystal sword that Aisha had given her before and setting to releasing the roots around his torso.  "This is creepy...but if he can help..."

   Snap after snap, the roots loosened and released the body of the avian Being...or whatever he really was...from his prison.  They worked to keep him from falling until the final root, tough and hardened as the earth itself, was broken.  The eagle sagged to the ground, barely able to support himself.  He took a long gasp for breath, as if he hadn't breathed in ages, and released a tight cough as a result.

   "Easy, buddy," Jake said with a comforting voice and took the unfortunate bird's arm around his shoulders.  "Aisha, take the other side, and Chey, go on ahead of us.  Let's get this guy out of here."

   Cheyenne was only happy to take the orders, scurrying quickly out of the cave.  With Aisha holding one arm and Jake the other, they slowly but steadily carried him out of the hillside and into the clear air, and the quiet of the night.  The eagle's breathing was still shallow, but slowly getting stronger.

   They set him down on the ground and sat in a loose circle on the rocky plateau for a few moments after that, watching him get his strength back.  It seemed like he would be on the edge of consciousness for a while.

   Then, he released a light sigh and moved his arms, carefully sitting himself up.  Blinking in the light, the eagle carefully rubbed his arms where the roots had tightly held him before, then turned his head to regard the adventurers around him.  They in turn watched him patiently, but intently.

   "Th...tha..." he muttered, before clearing his throat with another cough and trying again.  His voice was rather strained, but still pretty articulate and lacking fear despite his situation.  "Thank you, warriors, for setting me free.  Far too long, have I been waiting for help in escaping my bonds.  I forget how long, now."

   "You're welcome," Aisha replied, with nods of agreement from the other two.  "We thank you as well for assisting us in doing so."

   The avian bowed his head politely, a smile breaking on his beak.  "You too are welcome, milady.  You have a lovely accent, by the way...oh...but I must look barely presentable for any kind of pleasantry."  His eyes locked onto each of them in turn.  "We have much to talk about.  And questions to answer, I suppose."

   "You've got that right, friend," Jake chuckled.  "So I guess we'll start with introductions on our side.  I'm Sir Jakoba Talothir, but just call me Jake.  The panther next to me is Isha..."

   "Aisha, if you please Jake..." the huntress interrupted with a snort.  "That's really getting old."  She too then bowed her head slightly.  "But many know me as The Risen.  Pleased to meet you, muchacho."

   "And I'm Cheyenne T'Reav.  But my friends call me Chey," the thylacine finished with a toothy smile.  "No cool title or anything."

   Smiling, the eagle chuckled and made a bit of a wave of his arm.  "Honored and delighted, adventurers...and I see that at least two of you are the winged kind.  An interesting occupation to take for you, this."

   Aisha snorted, though Cheyenne pulled her wings back out of self-consciousness.  "They're the Creatures, really.  I'm just the Being in the middle, but I can still hold my own...and don't worry, they're both very trustworthy.  Anyway...you have our names, now what's yours?"

   The avian chuckled at the reply, and then stood up on his talons so that he could make a proper flourishing bow to his rescuers.  "I, my friends, am known as Icharus of the clan of Stormclaw.  I am in fact a part of the ruling family of said clan."  The eagle looked back up with a proud look, though he brushed his hand across his wrist as if to dismiss the fact.  "Or rather I was, perhaps.  Like I said, I cannot remember how long I have been trapped in there."

   "Wow, we rescued a noble?  How cool," Cheyenne chuckled as she stood up with the others.  "I think I might get to like adventuring if it means meeting such rich—I mean, interesting—people."

   "Blood for money," Jake laughed.  "Yeah, you're getting it now, kid."

   Aisha shook her head with a light smirk.  "Interesting indeed, Icharus.  Or should we call you 'Lord Icharus'?"

   The eagle blinked, contemplating if perhaps he was being made fun of.  But he just snorted and gave a light smile, his reptilian tail just swishing back and forth idly.  "Just 'Icharus' will do fine, milady Risen.  It is only proper to be upon equal standing with my saviors.  But while we are on the subject..." his look turned solemn.  "I am guessing that you have many more questions about my precarious situation."

   "A lot of them indeed," Aisha muttered, crossing her arms.

   Jake nodded.  "Yeah...we were chasing a shadow beast and ended up suddenly on your doorstep, so to speak.  Not that we plan to put you on the spot, but it is somewhat suspicious.  Long story short, the three of us were hired to determine the cause of trouble in a town, just downhill through the forest nearby."

   "Kidnappings and murders," Aisha summed up, quirking an eyebrow at Icharus.  "And here we end up having help from a strange voice on killing a shadow beast and setting you free.  Your voice I'm guessing.  So, you know about this?"

   The eagle stood calmly, his arms crossed and his look only mildly serious.  "Aye my friends, I do.  And in return for your help, I do intend to help you further, mark my words."  He thoughtfully combed through his neck feathers with his hand.  "Am I correct in guessing that your being harassed by this shadow beast happened after you tried attacking a glowing specter, down in the village?"

   The adventurers' eyes widened slightly, surprised that he hit the nail on the head.  "Yeah," Aisha confirmed.  "It kidnapped Jake here after he swung his weapon at it, and another attempted to do the same to me after I accidentally shot an arrow.  Only thing that saved us was our collective light-magic weaponry...and a spell courtesy of Chey here."

   "How do you know this, Icharus?" Jake inquired, his eyes narrowed and head cocked to the side.

   The noble sighed, resting his chin down on his neck scruff.  "It is a somewhat long story, my friends.  One that must be told, if you have time this night, in order to solve this mystery of yours."

   Looking between each other, the warriors paused before they silently agreed and turned their eyes back upon him.  Taking the cue, Icharus cleared his throat.  "Well...I shall give you the fine points first, then.  Those specters that wander the village at night...I regret to say...are of my own crafting."

   "What?" Aisha and Cheyenne both exclaimed at the same time, the latter shrinking back a little and the former drawing her weapon, pointing it towards Icharus.  "Hombre, you'd better have a good explanation.  Because if you are the cause of the disappearances..."

   The avian raised his hands, slightly shocked.  "I swear that I am not, milady warrior!  Please, let me explain further."

   Jake lightly took Aisha's wrist in his talon and lowered it, along with the weapon she held.  "Let him speak before we act."

   Aisha snorted, but Icharus was left to continue unabated.

   "You have seen a bit of my magic for yourselves; forming words to your hearing is only a short part of it.  I am, as a matter of fact, a very adept illusionist.  Some time after I was imprisoned and my magic restrained, I found that I was able still to focus my mind and conjure illusions to cast outside.  And so I did, using them as my eyes into the world...and I also used them as a call for help.  So thus I have tried, perhaps in vain but tried nonetheless, upon the very village from whence you came.

   "The problem was that the restraints on my mind were becoming so strong that the illusions were scarce and thin when exposed to light...thus could only be seen after dark.  I guess I had made them appear quite ghost-like...which would explain why the villagers fled.  Trying again only made it worse, perhaps.  And yet before I could perfect the art, my captor got wind of my scheme and...well, made it worse.

   "My captor is also very powerful, and a part of her magic includes mastery of the shadows, you see.  It is her beast that you fought, and it is her beasts that are responsible for the disappearances.  Soon she learned to manipulate her shadows to travel with my specters and overtake them...mutating them into wordless wanderers...and whenever anyone tried to interact with them, the shadows would attack and consume for her insidious will.

   "It was horrifying.  My attempts only became more desperate, and hers became more fervent.  More destruction.  More lives lost, more souls consumed..."

   Icharus stopped for a moment, placing a hand to his eyes to keep from losing his composure.  His head shook in pity and remorse.  "The villagers never came to help.  I was a very awake mind in a sleeping body.  And I could hear her taunting me through the roots that were her conduit to my head.  'The villagers are scared,' she laughed.  'They hide in their homes like scared little rabbits.  And I will pick them off.  One by one.  Soul...by soul...by soul...'"

   He took a deep breath through his nostrils, looking at the bewildered adventurers with a very sincere gaze and lowering his hand.  "I can still hear the echoes of those words in my head, though you have broken me from her.  It can only be a short matter of time before she finds that I have been freed...and then she will be free to simply use the shadows to attack the town openly...using my attempts was a very nice game to her, you see.  So adventurers, as I plead and pray you allow me, I will help you destroy her and free the town from her curse."

   Stymied, the three didn't know how to react.  Aisha was horrified that such a manipulative creature was left to exist, as was Jake, too much so even for one single word of humor.  Cheyenne was gripping her own arms, trying to take Aisha's previous advice to break through the fear.  But at that point, it was hard to break through any sort of feeling than pure revulsion.

   "If what you say is true," Jake began.  "Then yes, we could use your help.  A creature of your power may just be what we need for this sorceress, whoever she is."

   "Or whatever she is," Aisha added, stepping forward.  "I promised the village that I wouldn't rest until they are safe.  And I'm not about to go back on it now."  She glanced back over at the quivering thylacine.  "Cheyenne?"

   The winged girl stared back for a moment, then straightened herself up and nodded.  "Yeah, I'm there.  I promised too.  I'll follow you, Aisha, and Jake."

   Icharus smiled slowly.  "Then it is settled.  We are a party; you have saved my life, so thus I shall save the lives of all the witch threatens.  Come, I know the way to where she too is imprisoned."

   "Imprisoned?" Aisha echoed.  "She's trapped too?"

   The eagle nodded as he pointed out a path further up the rocky hill.  "Yes indeed.  But like me she is also clever enough to know how to make the most of it.  It is I who imprisoned her as well, as she has imprisoned me.  You see, the woman and I...long ago we were...well, I am embarrassed to say now that we were once as one, together.  Perhaps almost to be wed, despite the will of her prestigious family and of mine.  It was an agreement of our own, a gesture of peace.  But, it wasn't to last.  Something happened, she slowly became different...and we ended up hating each other."

   "Great, drama..." Aisha muttered.

   "Moving forward..." Icharus continued.  "We were in a ferocious battle a long time ago in this very forest...the fight ended in a tie, where our respective powers led each other into traps; I with an illusion, she with a...well, a memory.  Another long story, to be sure.  But anyway, it seems the battle that should have ended with a long death just kept going at the expense of those poor lives.  Oh...to be able to put that succubus in her place."

   That stopped the adventurers in their tracks.  "Succubus, you said?" Jake replied.

   "Indeed," said Icharus.  "I did say she ate souls, did I not?  The witch is a rather skillful succubus.  Bah, such powers of ours were never meant to be together, it seems."

   There was a pause before Aisha and Jake turned to look at Cheyenne, who was trailing behind them.

   The thylacine glanced back and forth between the two adventurers, confused, before it clicked.  She slapped a palm to her forehead.

   "For the LAST time, I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS.  Do I have to tell you people that with my hand on the Holy Scrolls?  'Cause I swear I'll do it."

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Heh. If nobody else, I'm reading - and enjoying - this story.

Incidentally, I'm curious about Icharus. In Aisha's position, I'd be having thoughts of Othar type situations...

[Aisha deCabre]

Heh. If nobody else, I'm reading - and enjoying - this story.

Incidentally, I'm curious about Icharus. In Aisha's position, I'd be having thoughts of Othar type situations...

Heh, many thanks Llearch, it's nice to know at least.

I'm at a bit of a loss as to what you mean however. x3

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Othar Trygvassen. When we meet him, he's tied up in the "big bad's" castle, and is released by the heroine.

Later, we discover that he was locked up because he's out to kill all the Mad Scientists in the world, because they're causing the problems. And then, himself, because he's one of them. So letting him out wasn't really such a bright idea, after all...