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

[Aisha deCabre]

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...

Ohhh...

Well, no worries then...Icharus isn't like that; without going into too much spoilage he's mostly interested in himself; and only mildly interested in what's going on around him if it'll just concern him, or in this case, he owes a favor.  Dragon plus royalty for ya. x3

Plus If I'm not familiar with the story, Aisha wouldn't be. 

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Heh. I wasn't meaning Aisha being familiar with the story - more being concerned that what she's being told is not necessarily the truth. Or all of the truth...

[Aisha deCabre]

((Well, my writing muse struck again for a bit, and it came up with yet another one-shot short tale separate from the one I'm working on now.  I got to thinking about when in her history Aisha had found the truth about her mentor's true Creature form.  It's a nice, musing kind of chapter that I wanted to capture the serenity of thought.  And I love describing the monastery where Aisha and her friends live as a result.

Enjoy if you will.))

Tales of the Risen: Always Secrets

   The upper corridors in the abandoned castle monastery were especially quiet that day.

   It felt unusual to the panthress walking slowly through them.  It didn't seem at all foreboding.  Just one of those days that inspired thoughts that were out of the ordinary.  The kinds that drive and inspire some to break from their daily routines and just try something new.

   It was also raining outside.  Thunder could be heard in the distance, and the only ones on the grounds that were used to the weather were the guards and those healers who liked to challenge themselves in extreme elements.  The sick were kept extra-warm in their wards.  Everyone else stayed inside to do something else.  And Aisha herself had nothing better to do on a day off from training than to wander around.

   Her dark fur blended neatly into every shadow she passed in the stone hallway that linked the towers on the top floor of the chapel.  Her tail swung idly, limp and moving with the sway of her hips.  She wore her normal navy-blue shirt loose over her waist instead of tucked into the belt like always, to match the unusual comfort of the day.  Her cape and weapons were stored away in her room...the bounty hunter never needed them here, for it was a sanctuary away from the hells of the world outside.  It was the very middle of the day, but with the overcast look and the heavy smell of moisture permeating, it looked more like twilight.

   Aisha's walk was slow and thoughtful.  In her hand, held by the binder, a book was open.  The other hand was free to turn the pages when she was finished with those particular entries.  It was an old tome on the lore of the land in which she lived...it carried vivid descriptions observed from the old explorers about many Creatures.  The pages on demons she dwelled on for a few moments longer than the others.

   Know thy quarry, she thought with gleam of focus in her deep crimson eyes.  The books on lore were not only fascinating, but it made for invaluable knowledge.

   Angels were the focus of the next subject.  Aisha hummed upon starting to read their descriptions.

   They take on appearances like beings of a holy nature.  Their bodies and eyes adorn with bright colors and their wings are akin to a dove's, with admittedly beautiful feathers growing from the extra limbs.

   Nobody knows of their true origins.  They pride themselves on how they look, complete opposites of their dark neighbors, the demons, and almost completely opposite in disposition.  Yet they carry much the same strengths over others and have similar life spans as well as similar outlooks to the caste systems.  Their magic of light strikes like the wrath of a god in a fight, and their flesh boasts of natural armor.

   But one is not to be fooled... there are also many more angels dark in countenance.  Where demons have no qualms about getting their hands dirty, angels are manipulators and not always so straightforward.  Some notable rulers have been angel in blood and more are rumored so despite lack of wings and other physical evidence.  Like demons they seek power, magical and mental.  Their life spans may be lengthened through such acts as energy manipulation.  They are however, mortals.  Immortality may be gained, if only through the memories of the subjects they try to lord over.

   Individuals are different.  Some angels have been known to show kindness and some others have been attributed to great deeds.  But like much of the races born of magic (as rumored), not all that they say is truthful.  They use deceit and charm like a bluff before ever resorting to bloodshed.  Carnivores that are not hunters would be a valid description of their appetites.

   It went on like that, also going into some notable historical figures and the things they had contributed to society.  Still, it made Aisha start to think about the fine line between good and evil and the gray area within that line.  If any race could be considered the closest to being evil...she wanted to think of demons and their tendencies.  She remembered how the ones she killed would smell even very faintly of leftover blood.

   But then, there's also the deceitful and the cowardly way of never entering the fray.  Being a puppeteer of destruction, as it were.  These angels sounded just like the perfect description of that kind of evil.  In a way it was to be more hated than the direct approach.

   I wonder how many adventurers actually had to deal with troublesome angels, Aisha wondered as she turned the page and read on.  With so many ways to hide one's heritage now, perhaps not many.

   It wasn't too long before she came to the grand spiraling pair of stairwells that led down into the chapel proper.  The panthress paused to regard them, and then simply shrugged and started down them, closing the book in the process with a bookmark stopped at the chapter on angels.  It was a day to let one's feet wander, after all.

   An exercise of a walk followed.  Her pads kept on the center of the rich purple carpeting laid on the otherwise-ruined stone steps, testament to the renovations made a long time ago to make the place livable and turn it into a functioning monastery.  Yet the charm and ancient mystery left behind from the olden days hadn't disappeared with the coming of the changes.  Mistress Rynkura had a way about that, perhaps, when she founded it.

   At the bottom of the stairs, the chapel's interior was also just as grand.  The stained-glass patterns and tapestries were left behind, but the broken-down pews and benches were removed to make it like the great empty foyer of a castle.  Between the stairs though, the altar was left behind.  After all, it wasn't in her mentor's sense to desecrate a chapel.  Sometimes she would be seen on the benches beside the altar's large, decorated stone table just meditating, musing, or praying.

   Thunder could be picked up by Aisha's sensitive hearing, pealing outside like the fury of some animal, as her feet touched the base of the stairway and guided her into the main chamber.  The vaulted gothic ceiling above hung as imposing as ever.

   And on one of the benches, as expected, was Rynkura.

   The large, strong white tigress sat quietly, leaning with her elbows on her legs and her arms holding the staff upright, between her feet and onto the floor.  She wore those same blue and white robes, with very intricate Mayan patterns lining the sleeves.  Her head was bowed and eyes closed.  Prayer, perhaps.

   Aisha made sure she was quiet enough not to disturb her mentor, and made a quick sign of respect with her fingers towards the altar.  While not very religious herself in opinion, the black feline still knew when to be respectful, especially when it was so silent, and you felt like you were being watched...

   "How go your studies, young one?"

   The panther almost jumped, surprised slightly at hearing Rynkura's deep voice cut through the quiet.  She turned to notice the tiger regarding her with one bright emerald eye open, and the twinge of a smile tugging on her lip.  "Come, sit with me.  I do not think the gods will mind you intruding, as I could sense you fear so in your footsteps."

   Rolling her eyes, Aisha chuckled and did so, pulling the book out from under the crook of her left arm to show her.  "I'm not afraid of any gods, señora.  Anyway, they go fine.  I was just brushing up on some lore."

   "Ah?" Rynkura hummed, her ears perking up slightly as she glanced at the title and the location of the bookmark.  Her expression remained rather neutral.  "A very good book indeed.  I have peeked through it, once or twice.  At least it is good if you wish to listen to what the world looks like from one perspective."

   The panther looked up from the book and tilted her head.  "What do you mean by that?  Many lore books carry the same perspectives."

   "Ah-ah..." Rynkura corrected, waving an index finger.  "Similar perspectives, child.  But all from different experiences.  One thing to remember about authors of both fiction and non-fiction; their opinions are sometimes even just a little biased about the subject at hand.  May I?"

   Aisha let the tiger take the book and flip through some entries.  Much of the pages were on various known clans of Mythos.  "I have known a few authors of the stories in the library.  One or two of them I consider great fools, brilliant in mind though they were.  All were trying the same thing; to better understand the world.  But in ways, they could not keep it a secret to include the pillar of the opinions of the people as a whole.  Great hatred, awe, fascination...whatever have you, they will build upon it.  The truest way to know the lore is to live it."

   "Heh, I live it every day as an adventurer," the panther grinned.  "Magic and tales of beasts that strike fear into the heart of a Being.  Probably not going to write a book about it.  Still, I don't know as much as these people do," she pointed out, tapping the author's name on the binder.  "Haven't seen what they've seen.  It's why I like to read them."

   "And keep reading them you shall," the tigress said with a warm smile.  "I just instruct you to keep an open mind.  Believe only half of what you read, and nothing of what you hear, as it is said."

   "So I shouldn't listen to you?" Aisha smirked.

   "Oh," the tiger snorted indignantly.  "Impertinent thing, you."

   But then, she paused while thinking that over.  "I would like to say that I am the exception to that rule, being your teacher.  But then, I would be as big a fool as the author of this book," she chuckled while flipping through the pages again.  This time she landed closer to where Aisha was reading before.  "I have not seen everything that the world offers either.  And I never will, if I live to be as long as the oldest dragon...or even older."

   It was then that Rynkura's fingers stopped on the bookmarked page.  She turned quiet and opened to the page on angels, taking a closer look.  Aisha had a reply ready, but couldn't bring herself to speak it, instead observing the Healer and wondering as to her thoughts.

   There was something unreadable in the white feline's gaze.  It wasn't a troubled look, or one of sadness, hate, or happiness.  Just sort of empty.  Outside, thunder rolled again.

   "But yes..." she said, her voice gently breaking the quiet again.  "Take this manuscript on angels, for example.  He does mention the benevolent historical figures in his examples.  But he does not go far as to actually say that all angels as individuals are different.  Just like all Beings...and believe it or not, my girl, demons.  Though I have lived for very long...and have known such angels as he describes."

   Aisha's eyebrows quirked curiously.  "Really?  What were they like?"

   She glanced to her student with a sense of something akin to reminiscence in her eyes.  "They were descendents of nobility.  An aloof Baron and his family, a wife of his kin and an innocent child.  They were indeed charming to visitors, welcoming and kind...and schemers behind closed doors.  The parents were the most caring to their child, but undoubtedly wouldn't be the most open to their decisions in life.  Old magic ruled their hearts, when sickness didn't.  That is how the parents eventually died, in fact.  Some kind of lingering genetic illness."

   The tiger's focus returned.  "You see, there is something rarely told in those old stories about angels.  They are a dying race.  Many are born with strange defects, and some of the pure-blooded ones are born dead.  Others are born unable to bear children later in life.  I would think it the very same scenario for the Baron's child, being born a pure angel.  As a race, their pride is all they have left to cling to now.  As individuals, they slowly learn not to overestimate themselves.  If anything, they are a race to be pitied."

   The panther's ears flattened slightly.  She wouldn't admit it, but she did feel a little guilty right then about thinking of condemning the race to be a variation of evil, when she heard the dire facts.  "I'm...sorry to hear so, Mistress."

   Rynkura smiled in reply.  "Do not worry about it, child.  Perhaps it is simply a cosmic payback for their racial hubris.  But as the world and its creatures change, things are bound to die and others to flourish in unexpected ways.  Everything happens for a reason, I believe."

   Her gaze turned thoughtful again...almost sad.  But after a second, she returned to her own stoic self.  "At any rate, you may also trust me when I say that I have known an angel or two who do not match their predecessors.  Nor perhaps, do they wish to.  Keep an open mind, Aisha the Risen, and someday you may be surprised at what turns up."

   Aisha nodded understandably, not another word spoken as the white tiger returned the book to her hands and stood up from the bench with the help of her staff.  The panther watched her walk away and down the long quiet hall of the chapel with that tall and proud gait that she was always known for.

   For a small moment, the panther was the only one in the chapel, sitting alone on the bench at the altar with the book in her hands.

   She is right, the panther mused.  I probably shouldn't judge so readily.  But still...it does not mean that I will give up my mission against the demons that cause chaos.  Besides, there are still more secrets to discover...

   At that point, hearing another long and powerful roll of thunder at the edge of her senses, Aisha shrugged off her thoughts in favor of looking for something to eat.  The hour was slugging past lunch time, after all.

   But as she stood from the bench, something curious caught the panther's eyes.  She turned her head and bent down to look closer at what lay on the floor.  Eyes widening, she picked up the object and observed it in the fire light, twirling it in her fingers.

   It was a long, white feather...like a primary from the wing of a very large dove, much bigger even than that of an eagle.  Its edges had very bold, black stripes waving over them and across the width.

   Aisha's mouth was open slightly in fascination at its size and appearance.  It looked very much like...

   Her ears perked up, and her head slowly turned in the direction Rynkura had walked.

   Always, there are secrets, she thought, idly stroking the edge of the feather with her thumb.  Even here.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

...

Oh, that's very prettily handled, there, Aisha. Smooth as silk. I liked it a lot.

[Myr]

Hmm, finally got to read through most, if not all, of said stories. Interesting, and a wonderful insight into said feline's history and personality.

Also, I say your writing style is excellent-rather like mine. Now...I think I need some sleep. But continue the good work, eh?

[Gabi]

Nice story. I agree with what she said about books and perspectives.

And I'm glad I've finally managed to read it.

[Aisha deCabre]

((Thank you all for your awesome comments. ^^  I'm glad the story was liked, and I'm glad to have known that people still read it.

And now, here's part 7 of the current story, wherein the antagonist is finally revealed.  Enjoy.  Also, because putting the translation in the story beside the word itself would have probably ruined the effect, "Cállense" pretty much means "shut up".))

Part 7

   "So you as well are a succubus, young Miss Cheyenne?" Icharus questioned with a sort of emptiness in his tone.  After the pause, the four of them had pressed forward into the forest.  The lights that guided them were provided by various points of illumination from each person, courtesy of magic.

   The thylacine was the furthest behind the group, nearest to Aisha and Jake.  Near the two more skilled adventurers, she felt more protected.  "Well, both my mother and father were 'Cubi, and I have wings, so I suppose I will be too," the girl answered, shrugging.  "But come on, my clan isn't prone to violence; you have to believe me."

   "I suppose I should," Icharus, who was in the lead, sighed.  "Otherwise, you would have come with a lot more of a force to finish me off than these two warriors—obviously skilled though they are," he added as a second thought.

   "Thanks for remembering," Aisha muttered.

   She was still grateful to the man for helping them to save the village, as payment for saving him in return.  But as the stress of the mission mounted with each harrowing minute, and the panther's sleepy exhaustion started to grow upon itself in the depths of the night, she was also beginning to think that this one was a little too arrogant for his own good.  He was still walking with a slight swagger despite his haggard look.  That's a noble for you, I guess.

   Especially since the revelation seemed to keep the avian from speaking too much to Cheyenne and a little bit more to Jake and Aisha.

   The gryphon used the opportunity, at least, to search for a little more insight into their fourth party member.  "I am curious, Icharus," he started.  "If I may be permitted to ask a few more questions before we get there."

   "You have but to do so, Sir Jake," the eagle said, keeping his head forward.  "What do you wish to know?"

   The knight hummed in response.  "You say this succubus is rather powerful, and you imprisoned each other as if at equal status.  Am I safe in assuming you're no regular Being?  Or are you just extremely proficient at magic?  You never did explain that point to us."

   "Heh, I thought I did," Icharus chuckled...the laugh sounded a little more sarcastic in tone than embarrassed.  His long reptilian tail swished behind him.  "My mistake.  But yes, you could say I have earned quite the power reserve myself.  It was part of my family's prestige, our magic.  But sadly..." he sighed.  "Sadly the only magic I can use for the moment is that of my illusions.  And even then, those powers are limited.  Thanks to that succubus, whose trickery and enchantments still hide those powers away."

   He put a hand to his forehead, appearing to be in pain.  "It is as if...oh, how to describe it...if there is a barrier and padlock on the portion of my mind that remembers such things.  I can only hope that it will be dispelled, once she is slain."

   Jake's only response was a soft hum in thought.  His eyebrows quirked as he glanced over to see what Aisha was thinking, and her facial expression back to him was very much the same.  Icharus certainly didn't like to reveal all of the details, they thought together.

   In fact, from the beginning, the panther had her doubts.  They only had the rich-blooded avian's word and his insistence of gratitude to prove that he was not lying to them...or leading them into some sort of trap provided for the very adventurers waiting to stop the events unfolding in the village.

   Regardless, it was still their duty to try.  And if things went wrong...then suffice it to say they would be as ready as they could be.  Aisha's grip never lightened on the handle of her boomerang and the spine of the bow.  Jake's bladed pole-arm was kept close in his scaled talons.  And Cheyenne tried with nervous anxiety to remember all of the damaging light spells that she was ever taught.

   It was silent and tense for the next few moments.

   Then all at once, a blood-curdling howl rose up from somewhere deep in the forest, and echoed through the air around them.  Combined with the chilly breeze, it made the group freeze in their tracks for a second, tense and listening.  But the bushes only rustled with the wind, and not from the disturbance of a lone feral wolf as the sound suggested.

   As the sound died down, Icharus could be heard musing.  "I have a suspicion.  But that just gave me an idea on how to test it.  Behold the magic of the school of illusion at work."

   The three adventurers inwardly rolled their eyes at the declaration.  But they did admit after watching what he conjured that his skills were rather impeccable.  He raised his hands, fingers tapping at the air with the precision of a musician playing a piano.  In front of him, various points of light in the air began to morph and form a shape.

   It was a ghostly pale canine, as large as a wolf, and more or less distinct in that shape.  The eyes were black and empty like voids, but the expression seemed gentle and curious, if neutrally so.  Its entire frame wavered like it was made of a soft, smoky mist.  When Icharus stopped moving his hand and held it in the air, the creature glanced up.

   He then flicked his wrist and pointed with two fingers ahead of the group into the brush.  Right on command, the canine ghost turned and skulked through the shadows, disappearing.

   "The ghost dog will be my eyes on the path ahead," Icharus said, sounding like he was concentrating on something.  "If we are close, we will know through it."

   "Pretty cool trick," Cheyenne said.  "You'd think you were looking at a real dog."

   Jake chuckled. "I think he's showing off."

   "Ditto," Aisha agreed, crossing her arms with a smirk.

   The eagle couldn't help but laugh as well as snort.  "You three wound me.  I shall be dead by this mission's end, at the depth your words penetrate."

   Hope that's not a prophecy, Aisha thought, her eyes narrowing.  The group turned their eyes back to the brush and onto Icharus, wondering what would become of their illusory spy.

   The answer came in just a few short moments.

   Icharus suddenly jerked back, as if he were struck by something.  His eyes took on a faint flash of light before they returned to their normal golden shade.  And far up ahead there was the muffled sound of a snap, like a bear trap slamming together upon a victim's leg.  It made everyone's visible ears lie flat against their heads.

   The eagle turned his head back to them with a sigh, taking a few steps backward.  "Yes.  We are here.  And by the way, you might want to get your weapons ready."

   Aisha's eyes narrowed as she gripped her boomerang.  "Why is that?"

   "Just do as I say!" Icharus replied, turning his steps into a jog, rushing behind the group.

   Before anyone else could question further, a glowing white creature crashed out of the underbrush.  It looked much like the ghost dog...only it had become much bigger, its haunches and legs made even more muscular like those of a cat.  Its eyes were still black, but each had a menacing red tint.  Its fangs dripped with saliva as it eyed each of the warriors like prey.

   "...Oh mierda," Aisha cursed, raising the glowing boomerang in her hand.  Jake did the same with his halberd, the bladed axe-tip glowing blue.

   From nearby, Icharus hissed in contempt. "Yes, it seems we've stumbled onto the succubus's territory.  Her magic in this area is strong enough to have mutated my illusions and turn them on us.  I have figured so."

   Aisha growled, sparing a glance back at the eagle-like being.  "And you sent out a gods-damned feral wolf to test it instead of something a little less dangerous?  Thanks a lot, hombre!"

   She didn't listen for Icharus's reply.  With a snap of the wrist, she let her glowing boomerang fly.  The bladed weapon flew true towards the beast, which was quick to try evading it, but not quick enough as it nicked the side of its hind leg.

   Jake was more than ready for the beast's dodging, as he charged forward and made ready to thrust the halberd like a lance into the creature's heart.  But again it was too fast, turning and clamping its powerful jaws on the pole while thrashing its head.

   The gryphon held fast to his weapon with a grunt.  "Damn, for an illusion it sure feels real!"

   "But of course, that is the magic of her shadows!" Icharus yelled back, sounding obvious and also rather ignorant of the danger.  "You need more light magic, but I believe your companion is being a bit of a coward."

   Near true to his words, Cheyenne had shrunk back, halfway hiding in a shrub as the ghost wolf reappeared.  She was watching as Aisha kept the boomerang flying through the air with every flick of her hand, and Jake struggled to get it to dislodge from his own weapon.  The axe tip hit its shoulder and made it jump off, but the only thing the attacks seemed to be doing was making it madder.

   And the near-succubus...she was doing nothing.  Icharus's words only made the pain run deeper.

   Just like before.  I can't do anything except watch...

   ...Wait, that's not true.  Come on, remember your powers.  Remember Aisha's words!

   The thylacine's hands started glowing.  And to Icharus's faint surprise, she charged in full against the ghost canine.

   As her hands lay against the beast's flank, it let out a monstrous howl of pain.  Its outline seemed to shrivel, and the blackness in its eyes emptied on the ground like blood from a wound, dripping near their feet yet not getting the ground wet.

   Aisha called the boomerang back to her hand and watched as the wolf became no more than a cloud of mist.  Jake regained his composure with a long sigh, flicking his halberd blade free of what remained.

   "Well...that was fun," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

   Icharus returned, walking nonchalantly with his hands behind his back.  "Quite.  I had known that you would pass well, even if your friend here needed a push."

   There was a snarl on Cheyenne's muzzle.  "You want to call me by my name, Ick?  I think I deserve it, having helped save your life a few times."

   The eagle's head snapped back in slight shock.  "Oho, and I suppose I deserve having my name befouled like that, demon-wench?"

   "At least I actually did something!" she growled.  "While you stood there and watched like it was all a game...!"

   "¡CÁLLENSE!"

   Aisha's harsh voice once again brought silence to the forest clearing in which they were standing.  The group all had their eyes on the huntress, who had gotten sick and tired of the animosity between them.  It was clear from the dark look in her eyes that all she wanted to do was get to the mission's last fight and finish everything.

   She stood up straight again and took a breath, replacing the bladed weapon in her belt. "Good gods, you're all out of your minds.  This isn't the time to fight each other.  Cheyenne, we're grateful for your help, but don't call anyone names.  Icharus, your guidance is helpful, but you have absolutely no right to look down on us after what we've done for you.  Frankly it's driving me crazy."

   Cheyenne and Icharus glanced towards each other and back to the bounty hunter again, frozen in thought.  Jake nodded in agreement.  "You heard the lady.  Apologize or you'll both be held in contempt until the mission's over."

    "You would arrest me?" Icharus quirked an eyebrow.

   Jake quirked one back.  "I am a Knight of the Guard," he responded.  "Status or not, back from the dead or not, you're still a part of the region's laws.  And just for that I might have you detained as well.  Now apologize."

   The eagle looked stoic for a moment, and then looked like he was simply giving up on the issue.  He shook his head and took a short bow.  "I am indeed...sorry...for my behavior.  I quite honestly did not know I was being condescending.  I am used to being this way, you understand.  But should we succeed in this, I will be forever indebted.  Even...to the girl here.  Cheyenne."

   The thylacine smiled.  "Thanks, Ick."

   His eyes narrowed almost dangerously as he came out of the bow.  "So long, of course, as you never call me that again."

   "Sorry," Cheyenne said with a slight squeak in her voice.

   Icharus gave a short nod and walked ahead of the group.  "Come, let us continue.  My illusory magic will no longer be of use to us beyond this border."

   And so they walked cautiously on, no more words shared between them.  Their footfalls kicked the debris of the forest floor out of the way, and the underbrush was but a short barrier to them.  Ahead, they could see another dark clearing, but this one looked like it had been deliberately cut by the hands of mortals, instead of by the hands of nature.

   The closer they came, the more the forest started to feel like it was closing in on them.  There was a choking sensation that they tried to ignore, hoping that their minds wouldn't be taken as easily as one of the eagle's illusions.  The air became very chilly and yet difficult to breathe, until the trees seemed to part ways in front of them.

   As they came upon that clearing, the group stopped in a short moment of awe.  The clearing was cut in a circle, with naught but a fence of trees and shrubs as protection.  Within that large circle was what seemed like a graveyard.  Stones were arranged in elaborate rows, each cut to about the same size.  But other than that, it looked more dismal than sacred.  There were no names or dates carved into the stone.  No flowers had been set on the ground in front of them.  Grass was growing uncontrollably.

   On one side of the circle was a large, rocky cliff face reminiscent of what had imprisoned Icharus...but the walls were smooth and the rocks cut and put together like bricks.  Looking past the graves and upon that wall, the group wondered if they were looking upon the side of a ruined castle.

   The site could have been a holy one, worthy of respect.  Then Cheyenne's eyes wandered onto the shadows of one of the trees, and she had to clasp her hands over her muzzle to muffle a loud gasp.

   A body was hanging from it by the wrists on a strong vine.  Beside it, another was hanging by the heels and its flesh too cut up beyond recognition.  At the base of another tree was naught but a skeleton, with its neck tied straight against it.

   A few more bodies littered more of the base of the wall, all mostly skeletons battered and crumpled upon each other and piled up.

   "Oh my gods..." Cheyenne whimpered behind her hands, eyes wide and damp.  "Oh my gods, no..."

   "This is...this is horrible," Aisha murmured, just as disturbed by the look on her face as she took out her boomerang.  She shook her head.  "Beyond words."

   Jake nodded reverently, wrinkling the side of his face in a bit of disgust.  "And the stench is terrible.  A most dishonorable way to treat the dead.  Icharus, is this...?"

   "Yes..." he sighed, looking upon the sight with sadness.  "This is it.  That wall, like mine was, is hollow.  But behind it contains a succubus that is very much alive...having not eaten for so very many years she is forced to live upon her own emotions...and more recently the emotions of others.  No doubt these are the remains of the villagers that she has kidnapped and lured here."  He took a few steps forward.  "She has probably stolen their souls and left them to rot.  Something she would have done to me, if I weren't a match for her.  My punishment for her was to be left alive there, to go insane.  And it seems she has, more than I had anticipated.  I suppose she can move things well enough with her shadows to have moved the rocks and dumped the bodies outside.  Or have them tied up."

   "I don't condone torture as a form of punishment," Jake said with a growl as he followed after.  "Ever.  But if she is as wicked as you say, she may...well..."

   "Death would be better," Aisha finished.  Her boomerang edge glimmered in the light.  "I will be glad to help grant that mercy if it means no more people are killed."

   Cheyenne nodded, shivering a little and looking around.  "Does she know we're here?"

   "Yes," Icharus said, pausing to touch his forehead.  He looked like he was about to double over.  His eyes were scrunched shut.  "Yes, it is for certain she does.  My headache has returned...the pain is...oof...I can barely concentrate now.  She is more than likely just waiting for us."

   At that, there was a hiss from somewhere nearby.  Within the rocks in the wall, the shadows shifted slowly.  But it was only on the rocks...nothing else moved.  The inky blackness seemed to slide over each smooth surface like water.

   "You better keep your light magic handy, Chey," Aisha said.  "Looks like that's the only way we're getting through those rocks."

   "Okay..." the thylacine said, a little frightened.  Her eyes also scrunched shut.  "But, I hope I can do it.  I'm getting a headache too...really bad."

   Jake took a concerned glance toward her, then to Aisha.  "Are you feeling hurt too?"

   "Nope," the panther said, looking around.  "Are you?"

   The gryphon shook his head.  "Not me...I suppose it only effects those that the succubus has had ties with.  In this case, another of 'Cubi blood and the one she's held prisoner."

   Aisha nodded, and then looked at the others.  "We'd better get to it then, just in case it does affect others.  Cheyenne, just do the best you can and get over here with that magic.  Icharus, stay back if you can't fight.  Jake, raise the blunt end of your halberd, we may have to strike the stones apart."

   The adventurers approached the wall, raising their various points of weaponry.  The shadows hissed louder, forming various menacing shapes that only shrunk back at the sight of the holy magic emanating from them.

   It took a moment to gather her courage, but Cheyenne simply lunged at the wall and held her glowing hands against it.  The shadows released an annoyingly loud whine and shrunk back, allowing Aisha and Jake to pull and strike at the rocks respectively.

   Within moments the earthen barrier fell to pieces, causing the warriors and magic user to step back lest they'd be crushed.  Dust flew in their faces.  But the minor irritations were nothing compared to what assaulted them from inside the massive cavern.

   "DUCK!" Jake suddenly shouted.  The others immediately sank to their knees as a massive fireball careened from the mouth and blew past their heads.  The heat nearly singed their heads, but only just nearly.

   The words came then.  Easily discerned as female, but worn and high-pitched, as if out of the mouth of an angry and insane old woman.  The tone was a seething one, just like the shadows that she controlled on the inside.

   "Sso you foooound me...you escaaaped and you foooound me, bird...But like I have sssaid, it is fuuutile.  I shall have your ssoul.  Youuu and those of your ffffriends."

   Icharus snorted and stepped forward right then, swishing his arm in a gesture of defiance.  Ahead, there seemed to be nothing but darkness.  "It is we who have come for your life, you vile witch.  Once and for all.  There will be no more souls for you to steal this night."
   
   His raised voice echoed.  But what answered the brave tone was a sickening laugh.  The darkness then became illuminated, flashing with fire.  It lit the roots growing on the inside of the cave like torches.

   The adventurers could see clearly inside then, the individual that they had come to slay.

   She was a black hyena with white spots and wide, bloodshot green eyes that according to the rest of her thin face would have once looked quite beautiful.  Her hands were bound at her back by glowing silver gauntlets and chains, connected to the wall.  She was kneeling, looking quite helpless. But her two sets of wings were free, a large set on her back and a small set on her head.  They looked like they used to have feathers, only a few of those hanging off bare and fluffy frames of limbs.

   She looked somewhat emaciated, like any would expect to see a creature having lived on only her own energies and anything else she could scrounge.  Her mouth was red, lined with dried blood like she alternately fed on the flesh and emotions of feral creatures.  Likewise were the edges of her wings, and anyone educated on the powers of 'Cubi could know what that meant.  She wore naught but the tattered remains of a medieval noblewoman's dress.  Her hair was short and white, surprisingly the only thing that still looked healthy and in place.  Seen on her side was an elaborate golden clan marking.

   The Creature grinned in a way that made her very much look like a demon of nightmares, wide and filled with sharp teeth.  "Heehee..." she giggled, running her tongue over her upper lip.  "I can taaaaste your anger...all of you...come, cooome inside, sssso I can loooook better..."

   "You will taste your own blood soon enough, Tarise," Icharus answered, her arms crossed.  "These adventurers are sworn to kill you for the crimes you have committed."

   She laughed again, a sickening sound.  "Crimes that yooooou helped ccccoommit, Icharusssss...theeeey will kill youuuu too."

   Her eyes rolled around to regard the others.  "Your emotionsss say it all.  Theee gryphon is righteousss...heee hass thoughts of lockkkking you away...the paaanther hasss not believed youuu from the start, and when she findsss out what you really arrrre...she will kill you...and thisss one..." she said, staring hard at Cheyenne, her smile suddenly disappearing.  "Youuuu, girl...are a sssisster, just like me."

   Icharus's head turned hard to the girl, his expression telling her to keep quiet.  But at the taunt, a vengeful Cheyenne could not help but answer the Creature that she had wanted to get rid of from the start.

   "I'm nothing like you," she spat.  "I came to kill you too."

   "Ohoooooo," the hyena named Tarise snickered.  "But that won't laaaast...that righteousss heart."  She licked her lip again.  "You will get your powersss soon...and then yyyou will know the joooy of devooouring souls of the lesssssser creatures...in their sleeeep...I bet you willl do that to the villagerssss that would have haaad you dead..."

   "No!" yelled Cheyenne, holding her head against the 'Cubi's words.  Just as well, the headache got worse.  "No, I won't!"

   "Chey, don't listen to her!" Aisha demanded, stepping forward and brandishing her boomerang.  "Cease your talking, you soul-eating fiend.  It's time for you to pay for your crimes."

   The 'Cubi laughed again, sending chills up the adventurers' spines.  Her smile then vanished, and her eyes turned stark white.  "Your bloooood boils for a fight, oh powerful Rissssen?" she taunted.  "Your emotionsss are daaark...maybe your friendsss will end up killing you toooo...but verrry welll...I have been waaaaiting to do thisss..."

   Suddenly, the shadows in the cavern ran together and slammed shut behind them, casting the whole wide area in darkness.  The fires on the walls burned brighter.  The succubus's wings morphed slowly into large blades.  And the adventurers' own shadows morphed from the floor to face opposite them with weapons of their own.

   The hyena stood up and grew large claws on her feet.  Her face looked feral in nature.  And the slur to her words was suddenly gone, replaced with an echo in her voice.

   "I will take all of you.  I will make your minds reel in pain for years before letting you die.  And I will make you watch as I take the villagers one by one.  Starting...with...the...bird!"

   Her bladed tentacles swept towards Icharus...while the shadows converged on the adventurers like a blanket.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Oooo.

Sneaky succubus. Very sneaky. Can't wait to see what happens next...

[Gabi]

That was some threat! Yes, it does leave us wondering.

Technical detail: I think it would be easier to read your chapters if you separated them into paragraphs with blank lines between them. It's easier to understand ideas that are clearly separated, and it gives the eyes a chance to rest between paragraphs (not to mention that reading such a large block of test makes my eyes get lost and I spend an embarrassing amount of time and effort finding my way back to the last sentence I've read. -_-)

The illusory dog left me puzzled. How can an illusion perceive things that its caster doesn't?

Oh, I think you meant "¡CÁLLENSE!", but you were close.

In any case, it was an interesting chapter. Keep writing this story.

[Aisha deCabre]

That was some threat! Yes, it does leave us wondering.

Technical detail: I think it would be easier to read your chapters if you separated them into paragraphs with blank lines between them. It's easier to understand ideas that are clearly separated, and it gives the eyes a chance to rest between paragraphs (not to mention that reading such a large block of test makes my eyes get lost and I spend an embarrassing amount of time and effort finding my way back to the last sentence I've read. -_-)

The illusory dog left me puzzled. How can an illusion perceive things that its caster doesn't?

Oh, I think you meant "¡CÁLLENSE!", but you were close.

In any case, it was an interesting chapter. Keep writing this story.

Dangit, I knew I'd get that word wrong. x3  Necessito practicar más.

Anyway, yeah, I've begun to figure that I should divide the paragraphs too, as that's how it's easier to read for me.  The only problem is I divide paragraphs with an extra line to show a time shift, so I wouldn't know how to show that otherwise...but if it does bother people, I'll take the time to fix it at one point.

As for the illusion...I'm surprised you didn't bring that up back when Icharus was explaining how he knew that his own illusions were being taken over. x3  See, he's very adept at it...his illusions can seem very real, and he can use them to extend his vision over a rather wide area.  Thus, what they see, he can see.  He was using the dog as his eyes, before it got caught and turned on him.

I hope that helps. ^^  Glad you like the story, I'll certainly continue writing it. 

[Gabi]

I didn't bring it up earlier because I took so awfully long to get there that any comments I could have made would have been outdated.

You can always use some other separator to show a time shift. Like a series of dashes or something. I've gone as far as using ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø ,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø but that's probably overdoing it.

As for Spanish, puedo ayudarte a practicar cuando quieras.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Generally, "* * *" is a locale shift, "* * * *" is a time shift. Centered, that is.

Convention, but useful.

[Aisha deCabre]

I didn't bring it up earlier because I took so awfully long to get there that any comments I could have made would have been outdated.

You can always use some other separator to show a time shift. Like a series of dashes or something. I've gone as far as using ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø ,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø but that's probably overdoing it.

As for Spanish, puedo ayudarte a practicar cuando quieras.

Heh, many thanks Gab. ^^  I appreciate the help and will take you up on it more often. x3

Generally, "* * *" is a locale shift, "* * * *" is a time shift. Centered, that is.

Convention, but useful.

Well dang xP  Never thought of that.  Thanks Llearch, I'll use that when I'm fixing the chapters later.   Probably about time I made them easier to read...

[Aisha deCabre]

((Well, I finally managed to make all the chapters nice and easy to read with the divided paragraphs and whatnot.  I hope everyone's happy with it, and if you spot any mistakes, just let me know.

But now I present, part 8.  This one was fun to write...but I must admit...I can be pretty darn cruel to my characters sometimes... oO  But...buahaha, mind games...this one's also a bit longer than the others.))

Part 8

   They were buried in darkness.  A weight fell upon them that wasn't there, but certainly felt real.  In the eyes of Aisha, Jake, and Cheyenne, the world seemed to just vanish and their bodies along with it.  If it was death, it was more swift and painless than anyone could imagine.  Swift blindness...swift, deafening silence.

   It wasn't death...but they would soon realize it was close to it.

*    *    *

   Aisha awoke to the scent of smoke.

   Slowly she opened her eyes as she came to, her black-out disappearing almost as mysteriously and harshly as it had come.  She was lying on soft dirty, ashy-colored ground under a wide-open sky with the moon full and bright and the stars barely visible as a result.

   It would have been a beautiful sight...if a few things hadn't told her differently.

   It wasn't quiet.  She could hear screaming, running, and crumbling.

   It wasn't peaceful.  She could see black smoke rising and obscuring the sky in foul-smelling mist...and the flames that caused it, doing their emotionless deed of burning the houses all around her down to the ground.

   The panther's crimson eyes widened as she took in the scene, and questions flooded her brain.  ...Where am I?  Wasn't I in a cave, battling a demon...no, a 'Cubi, but same difference...where's Jake and Chey?  Are they alright?  What the HELL is going on?

   Immediately, she pushed herself up from the ground, dusting herself off and reaching for her silver boomerang, still thankfully on her belt.  The fires around her kept burning in her vision, illuminating the doomed village in bright orange and yellow lights.

   It seemed she wasn't alone, either.  Screams were close and far away, piercing the night with a heart-wrenching ferocity.  People, all but indistinguishable shadows and shapes of all sizes, were running.  And other shadows were running after them, casting them down like hunters after prey with one swift, bloody blow.

   Aisha's heart raced as she witnessed this.  As if out of a fear-defying instinct, she dashed after the deadly hunters with her arm raised.  Her boomerang flashed continuously in the light as the blade flew with deadly accuracy towards them...and came back without a single drop of blood on it, though she could have sworn she saw it hit.

   The weapon returned to her waiting hand, and the huntress's eyes narrowed in confusion as the action continued onward...one person ran past with fear in their eyes and blood spraying from their shoulder.

   "Hold on!" she shouted, reaching out and trying to catch the individual.  "What's happening?  Tell me!  Stop!  Please, I can help!"

   But he didn't pay the caped feline any heed.  Not even one quick glance, not one look of hope.  Just eternal fear.

   He just kept running until he was cut down in mid-step by another Creature, the scream causing Aisha's ears to flatten against her head.

   What is this?  Aisha wondered.  A dream?  Or is this real?  Was the other thing, the succubus...was that the dream?  But the smells, the feelings; this is all familiar.

   It only took a pause to notice a few things...just a few small clues...for Aisha's heart to freeze.

   ...This isn't just any doomed village...

   ...This is MY doomed village.

   "So you finally figured it out."

   A dark male voice echoed in the panther's hearing.  She swerved in surprise, raising her blade once more.  She was facing a beast of an individual that stood behind her, drenched in shadow save for one line on his body that was lit by a flickering blaze behind him.  His species was indistinguishable; as was his visage, save for a pair of glittering, dangerous green eyes.

   But his heritage was easy to spot.  A pair of gargantuan leathery wings spread from his shoulder blades, and his claws flexed as if he were dead set on using them.  He was nearly crouched like some kind of feral beast, ready and willing to fight.  And he reeked of blood.  His hands were dripping with it.  The dark energy was distinguishable, for her tail ring was glowing with intensity.

   And the blood had a familiar smell.  It was buried deep in her memory, from back when she was running from this demon.  That scent was the very last characteristic sense from her father when she left him for dead.

   A short gasp escaped from a throat that had had suddenly run dry.  Aisha's fingers seemed to tighten of their own accord just to keep her from dropping the boomerang at this discovery.

   "...You..." she coughed quietly, and the adrenaline from all of the hurt and anger she had suffered for all those years since came flooding back.  "It...can't be...no es posible..."

   The demon chuckled, standing up slowly.  The very sound of his laughter itself was like a knife sliding over her nerves, ready to strike her down.  "It is possible, Cabre," hissed the murderer.  His tone was a mocking one.  "Aisha the Risen.  Last of the Cabres.  Sworn to avenge them.  Heh, I can barely keep from laughing, you sneaky little brat.  You escaped, yes...but you knew it in your mind.  That someday you would be caught...and it would all be over.  This reckless crusade of yours."

   Aisha could barely conjure any words in reply.  Her breathing was shallow, and sweat ran in streams down her face.  A part of her wanted to cry in fear and run, for she was facing her father's very murderer.

   The demon walked slowly around her in a circle, eyes never once leaving hers.  "Nothing to say?  No clever retorts?  Good.  I like a woman who stays quiet and just takes what's coming."  He snickered.  "Your father didn't even fight back himself, did you know that?  Oh sure, he was such a good warrior when he was alive.  But this time, it was like he just gave up.  He even begged for me to end his life."

   "Shut up," Aisha whispered, glaring.  The demon just kept walking, and kept speaking.

   "He did, it is quite true.  He lost his beloved wife to a sickness...lost his son to some faraway battle...and he was about to lose his home...it is too bad he never knew that his daughter would still live..."

   "Shut up," said the panthress, a little louder but still with a blocked throat.  He still kept talking.

   "He lost everything and longed for the peace of death.  And such the generous man I am, I gave it to him...but not before promising that I would go after you next.  It was ever so nice to taste his blood...hear his screams..."

   The demon stopped, noticing Aisha's knuckles on her weapon growing white with strain as she gripped it.  "Oho, broke a nerve, did I?  It is truly so sad that he simply gave up without a fight...but maybe now I can finish it here, the last of his bloodline.  I'll do with you like I did with him.  I can rip your heart right out of your own ribcage, too.  Or I can torture you first.  It would be so easy...and so good..."

   It was then that Aisha could take no more.  She lunged forward, raising her blade with her teeth bared.  "Shut the fuck up!" she roared, breaking the hold that was on her voice.

   However, the shadowy killer leaped easily out of the way, going back into his fighting stance.  He mockingly tilted his head, like he was curious about her actions right then.

   The panthress regained her footing and turned to face him.  "I'm not going to listen to a demon.  All that your kind ever spews are lies, maldito.  I don't know how I came to face you, but for all that you have said and done, I will fulfill my vow and kill you.  Or heaven help me, I'll die trying!"

   At her last word, she let her boomerang fly once again.  The demon grunted as he avoided the throw, but she kept it in the air as it went after him.  Again and again it dropped with fervor out of the sky, yearning with all of Aisha's power to break his skin.

   And yet, again and again, he avoided each blow.  "Heaven help you?"  He echoed.  "That is quite a declaration, Cabre.  How do you know you aren't dead right now and in Hell?  You're certainly bound for it, having ended so many lives..."

   "Out of justice!" she snarled, moving to follow the demon as he ran from her blade.

   "Justice, she calls it," he continued to mock, his wings creating a small whirlwind as they attempted to lift him from the ground.  "Is it justice when you let your own hatred flow into your killing blows?  Is it for the innocent that you do your dirty work, or for your own fulfillment?  You should have just listened to the tiger and lived your life in peace...really, honor is such a pitiful goal for the chance of paying such a high price."

   "I'm not going to let a killer like you live," she answered with a shout, her arm never tiring from directing the deadly sawblade's course against the Creature.  "I still made a vow and I'm going to keep it, Hell or not!"

   "My, how brave," the demon said, his voice suddenly sounding a little sincere.  "My race does admire the power of bravery."

   It was then that he landed hard on the ground with one foot, and used that same foot to leap straight towards Aisha while she still concentrated on the boomerang.  "But still too foolhardy for my liking."

   His arm struck out, claws ready to gouge the panther open.  But she too was quick, and just barely leapt out of the way to the side, instead taking a hard blow that sent her reeling back.

   However, his strike was strong, and far too much so to keep her from recovering.  She tripped, landing on a piece of burning wood.  The sensation stung her instantly, and she cried out in shrill pain.

   The demon leaped back, laughing in triumph.  "You're nothing but a dreamer, you little bitch.  You do not yet have the skill to face a demon of my strength.  And I'm going to send you to Hell right here and now as the price to pay for making that mistake..." he said, a grin evident in his poisonous eyes as he slowly approached with his claws raised.

   Aisha could barely stand...the pain from the burn was unbearable.  She took a quick glance to her side, where the piece of wood still smoldered with the flames.

   But then, she noticed something strange.

   The flames, though they stung, hadn't even burned through her shirt, nor had they died.  The fabric was in one piece...not even a single black scorch mark scarred it.  It was then that the pain itself disappeared.

   Her clothes were also clean.  In a field of fire, it would have since been caked with dust and soot, turning patches of it dark black.  But no...the fabric still retained its pure deep blue.  And the Creature she tried to impale with her blade before...it hadn't been touched.

   And the running people hadn't paid any attention to her; like she was a ghost.

   Aisha looked up toward the demon, which then had stopped walking and was just standing there, staring with a look of deep malice instead of taking its chance to kill her.

   Then, it started clicking.  It's like this place isn't even real.  That's right, I was somewhere else before.

   Fighting a succubus.

   Against shadows and illusions.

   Don't 'Cubi like mind games?

   ...Gods damn it all to hell, I'm going to kill her for this after I get out of here.

   Her face suddenly twisted into a triumphant smirk, and she glanced toward the demon, thinking of a riddle of her own after just a second.  "You forgot something when you made this little world out of my memory, you sneaky Creature.  When I was running, I never really saw what the sky was like.  But I do remember that it had started to rain.  There had to be clouds.  So why in the world did you believe that the sky was so very clear?"

   The demon's eyes narrowed, and there was a heavily pregnant pause before he finally replied.  "You still won't win.  Not now, and never in the future."

   Aisha stood up, the boomerang in her hand taking on a greater glow of light, and it was her turn to laugh in the face of a fight.  Her voice was deep and had a dark edge to it.  "We'll just see about that, now won't we?  Adios, bastard."

   In a flash, she tossed her weapon again, straight up into the dark, starry sky.  But instead of hitting emptiness, it was like it had ripped a giant hole into space.

   Instantly, the scene around her melted.  The fires were extinguished, leaving Aisha in darkness and shadow.  Her senses came back to her, and the world suddenly felt more real and confined.

*   *   *

   By the time she had the handle of her weapon caught in her grip, the panther was back in the dark cavern, the shadows having melted away from her form due to the magic of light emanating from her blade.  She felt something was pried from the back of her head, like various worms or tendrils crawling out of her hair.

   It worked, Aisha grinned...though inside she was still a little shaken, having had her most hated visions played against her.

   The smile vanished right then...it was time to get back to the battle at hand.

   She looked about the huge cavern, her vantage point on an outcrop of rock.  Below, it looked like an ocean of shadows was surging in waves.  The powers of the succubus, she guessed.  Then a distance away she noticed the titular Creature still having a grappling match with Icharus.

   Aisha was relieved that the avian was alive...and he was doing a fine job distracting his foe.  The fact that she hadn't noticed one of the adventurers breaking their bonds helped, but the playing field was leveled as she was no longer chained to the rock, but moving freely.

   And with the way she was fighting, it was going to be a hell of a time trying to get close to her, let alone kill her.  Aisha's enchanted weapons were powerful, but if there were still shadows trying to catch her, she was going to need Cheyenne's help, and Jake's.

   Coldness spread through the hunter's body as she looked around for her friends...but the only other people she could see were Icharus and Tarise.  The former was running and jumping for his life, finding no way to get into the fray...the latter wasn't as swift, but she was certainly trying.

   And just in time, Aisha caught a few shadowy tendrils crawling after her in the area she was sitting.

   "Shit," the panther cursed and leaped from her spot, trying to keep hidden as much as possible...but when the shadows themselves could kill her, was there any place to hide?

   As she leaped into the light, Icharus noticed her and called out.  "Lady Aisha, find the others, they're trapped!  But stay in the firelight!"

   "You are all nuisances!" the hyena succubus roared, her wing tentacles lashing out against them both.  "There is still a chance that you will die, and I will find it!"

   "Why can't I just shoot an arrow and kill her now?" Aisha growled as she ran past, sticking to the lights of the sconces on the cavern walls.

   Icharus himself tried to keep an eye on Tarise as she kept attacking.  "She'll only block it.  She can easily fight three at once.  Just find the other two, I can keep her busy!"

   "Just how long can you keep that up?" the hyena mocked with her shrill witch's voice.  "Not long enough!  Your tricks will not help you here!"

   Aisha sighed inwardly and kept looking around, the light of her weapon and tail ring helping where the fires couldn't.  It seemed she was saved by a weakness of an enemy's inability to see in the dark.  I'll leave those two to their tiff, she decided.  Until I can free Cheyenne and Jake.

   And look around she did, for any kind of sign that her friends were at the very most alive.

*   *   *

   Cheyenne awoke in a classroom.

   "Miss T'Reav, will you please refrain from falling asleep in my class?" a female voice demanded harshly.  The thylacine blinked and lifted her head from the desk where she sat, her eyes meeting about a dozen others, all of them looking rather amused at her.

   The other students were of various species and many interesting colors.  And another distinguishing feature was that they all had small wings on their heads and larger wings on their backs.  They were 'Cubi, every single one...including the teacher, an alpaca with both pairs of wings feathered and bright red.  She didn't look the least bit amused, tapping her fingers on the desk up front.

   "Um...sorry," Chey said, shrinking a little bit in her seat.  But as she tried to adopt a posture of paying attention, she couldn't very well think of anything else to say.  Wasn't I doing something else just now?  Or maybe I was dreaming?

   The teacher was incredulous, and snorted.  "Hrm...I know some of my students have a want to sleep, but I assure you that you don't need to do that while you are supposed to be learning.  You are young though, and will lose the need to sleep in due time...such is the way here at SAIA."

   SAIA?  Cheyenne echoed in her mind.  Right, the Academy...my parents told me about this place.  They said I'd be going as soon as my powers came in.  Cool, I guess I really was dreaming.  I can't even remember coming to class today.

   "Well, if you're ready to pay attention now," the alpaca teacher said amidst the sounds of the other students snickering, "It is now time to get to our lesson for today.  I hope all of you have read the chapter and are prepared."

   Chey leaned forward in her seat, eager to listen.  I wonder what it is.  I don't even know what this class is.  Geez, I didn't read the chapter either, hope there won't be a quiz.

   But she soon found her answer.  "We'll be learning about mind reading and dream surfing today.  You will remember that mind reading is a much more difficult process than thought reading; I hope you remember the differences from the notes yesterday.  There are techniques to master it, but they in turn take years to master and the process itself is very dangerous.  Many 'Cubi do not even practice it...even whole clans whose natures are pacifistic.  But I guarantee it is still a useful skill."

   The alpaca smiled and turned towards the door as it opened.  "Today we will be doing some practicing of the easier techniques.  We have found some...willing subjects for the demonstrations today.  Do not worry about the dangerous portions.  We will be watching, and it will not count against you if the subjects themselves die in the process."

   Dream surfing and mind reading?  Wow...just like what Mom and Dad told me in stories about learning this in SAIA.  But...wait...we'll be practicing on actual people?  Who might die?  At the notion, Chey suddenly looked very unsure.

   Then, her entire being seemed to stop when she saw who the "subjects" were.

   There were five of them, all tied up in chairs and slumped over, asleep or unconscious.  Their faces were cast in shadow, but the thylacine instantly recognized them.

   Aisha.  Jake.  Icharus.  And her own father and mother.

   The teacher's grin seemed rather wicked just then.  "The Beings have been put to sleep and brought here.  They will continue to sleep until either the process is over, or...well, they die."  She shrugged, seemingly uncaring about the particular consequence.  Her voice was suddenly monotone and...very creepy.  "Do not be disturbed...they are only Beings, and the distracting feelings of remorse will pass in due time.  This class will be good practice for that."

   Chey's head was shaking slowly, her breath caught in her throat.  No...my friends, my family...my parents aren't even Beings!  They're making a huge mistake here!

   At that thought, she leaped up in her seat.  "Hold on!"

   The teacher didn't seem surprised at the outburst, only like she was responding to a student with a question.  "Yes, Miss T'Reav?"

   "I don't understand...these are my friends and my parents, and my parents are 'Cubi!  I don't want them to be subjects for this class!  Can't we set them free?"

   The alpaca succubus stared for a few moments, and then broke into a laugh, as did many of the other students.  "Young lady, are you joking?  These are all worthless Beings.  Fodder for we Creatures.  There is no worth in letting them go, especially for the feelings of only one student.  Now please be seated."

   The thylacine shook her head, eyes wide and scared.  "No, I won't!  I don't get this!  Do we have to be so cruel?"

   "It is not cruelty, child, it is nature," the teacher said, her voice taking a dangerous edge.  "We are predators, and they are prey.  Survival of the strongest, or the most clever.  Survival of the better.  These individuals will be subjects for the lessons today, and I won't be stopped because of your feelings."

   "They're still living things!" Chey argued, stepping out of her desk and walking to the front of the class.  "If you must experiment on Beings, go ahead, but I won't let you experiment on these!"

   The alpaca only seemed to grin.  "Well then...if you're so adamant, why don't you be the first volunteer to take the lesson?"

   At this, Cheyenne rocked back on her feet, horrified.  "I will not experiment on my friends!"

   It was then that the succubus teacher grinned with sharp teeth...a predatory feature that no species of hers should have.  Her wings started to morph into tendrils.  "Oh, but little girl," she hissed, her voice taking on a sinister echo, "You will.  If not now, then in due time, you will...it is in your very nature and blood as a 'Cubi, to enter the minds of the lesser and to feast on their fears and their souls."

   Cheyenne started shivering, her fears growing as the teacher advanced slowly towards her.  Many of the students followed suit, rising slowly out of their seats and morphing into sinister shapes.  Their eyes all started glowing white, and their teeth were gleaming.

   "You see?  This is what you will become too.  You are a shapeshifter.  A deceiver with magnificent powers that shall not be constrained to helping these mortals.  You are destined for so much more than that.  Be one of us, or you are no worthy of our time than your mortal 'friends'."

   But the young thylacine only kept moving back, shaking her head and causing tears to flow from her eyes.  "B-but...I don't...I won't believe that!  I'm not like that!  I won't turn on my friends!"

   "Then they shall surely turn on you..." the teacher grinned.  "Already the panther hunter thought of killing you before.  In due time she surely will."

   "No..." Chey murmured, stealing a glance at the motionless body of Aisha.  "She wouldn't.  She saved me."

   "She saved you only to kill you herself..." the teacher argued, laughing.  She and the students came closer, nearly pinning her to a wall.  "So will the gryphon and the eagle.  Adventurers are all the same.  And your parents here will only abandon you for your weaknesses.  Best to kill them all now."

   Cheyenne was at her breaking point.  She shuddered upon hitting the wall, holding her head in her hands.  "No, I won't!  Not my friends, not my parents!"

   Then, something clicked.  As she felt her head, she noticed something...or rather, the lack of something.  She still hadn't gotten her head wings...and she wouldn't have been in school unless she did.

   Ever so slowly, the thylacine remembered where she had been before.  And what was happening.  Just like Icharus had described...a mind trap.

   It was then that the girl's hands started to glow, their light magic becoming fierce with her emotions.  "I know what's going on here, and it's not going to get me.  I'm getting them out of here, and I'm gonna fight if I have to!"

   The teacher and students seemed hesitant right then.  They stopped in their tracks, keeping their sinister looks painted on illusory faces.  They started laughing.  "Fight if you want to.  It will not help.  You won't escape your destiny."

   Cheyenne raised her hands as they glowed fiercely, ready to drown the monsters in light...if it was the only way out of the illusion, so be it, she decided.

   But suddenly, she heard a voice.  A familiar one, strong, with an accent to it.

   "Chey!  Cheyenne, where are you?  Answer me, chica!"

   The thylacine's short ears perked, and she looked around for a sign.  "...Aisha?"

   On instinct, she glanced over at the chair where the panther's body was supposed to be sitting.

   The chairs were all empty.

   Then beside her, she heard a ripping sound.  Like space being opened...a flash of light appeared, and so did a blade and a black hand.

   As the classroom and its inhabitants vanished, Cheyenne took the hand, and she was pulled from the shadows, feeling once again like she had awoken from a very realistic dream.

*   *   *

   Aisha didn't think that it would work, for a second.  But the flashes of light she saw beneath one pile of shadows was hard not to distinguish...she knew it was Cheyenne.  And as she shook the undeveloped succubus back into consciousness, the tendrils of shadow vanished from the light she was bearing out of fear...and somewhere far back in the cave, another succubus uttered the strongest of curses.

   It took a final slap to the face to awaken Cheyenne fully.  With wide, scared eyes, the youngster was facing the red-eyed adventurer with one hand raised and another on her arm.  The panther sighed.  "Good, you're back.  I was afraid I would have to actually hurt you worse."

   Recovering slowly from her fear, Chey shook her head fiercely and rubbed the side of her face, looking around the dark cavern where the mayhem still took place.  "No...no, I'm okay.  But what's going on?"

   "Long story short, the bruja's been playing tricks on us," Aisha said, pulling her charge back into the firelight.  "She's trying to kill Icharus and we still have one more comrade to save."

   The girl's eyes widened.  "Right, Jake!  But where do we begin to look, the place is filled with shadow!"

   Aisha turned back to her with a grin.  "Then fill it with light, chica.  Don't be scared, just rush in and do what you do best.  I'll be right behind you.  Don't let your emotions get in the way."

   With vigor, Chey nodded and rushed into the battle to do as she was told, with no other thoughts but to find the gryphon and finish the curse that she just wanted over and done with from the beginning.

   But the dream left a few haunting fears on her mind as she did so, mingling with Aisha's words.

   ...Will you be behind me to plunge a sword into my back?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Oooo.

That's a very powerful last line, there. And while I saw the rest of Aisha's problems coming... I'm sitting in a chair, not actively embraced in battle, so I'm not criticising that at all...

[Gabi]

I love your descriptions, Aisha. That Succubus was really cruel. Of course she was supposed to be, but she managed it very well.

[Aisha deCabre]

((Thank you for your comments all. ^^  And now, next part.  The story will end with the part after this one.))

Part 9

   Jake wasn't even asleep, though it did take him a few moments to realize where he still was.

   As the seething shadows overtook and separated the adventurers, the first thing that he had tried to do was fly.  Whether it was out of instinct or the first thing to come to mind from his training, from both scenarios the notion escaped him that he couldn't get too far in the confines of a cave, large though it was.

   The blade of his halberd, glowing with more intensity than before, had swept out with intense fury against the oncoming shadow tendrils as all but one of his comrades seemed to disappear before his eyes.

   The feeling of dread combined with the sudden shift into battle was probably enough to cause the gryphon to knock the back of his head against a rocky stalactite and fall to a dark trench in a corner of the immense room, away from the sight of the succubus.

    "Urrrgh..." Jake groaned as he sat up from having landed his back, rubbing his head where it had come in contact with the rock.  Thankfully his wings were splayed so they wouldn't be broken, but the landing would still leave quite a bruise later.

   Looking around, he was sitting in a circle of light, surrounded by near-pitch blackness.  Every so often the dark would shift, allowing him misty glimpses into the twilit arena beyond and the battle that just wouldn't seem to end.  The sounds of taunting voices and shouting insults were muffled, but audible.

   The gryphon looked around for a moment, wondering why the shadows hadn't touched him...then it dawned as he looked at his upright weapon, his talon clutching the handle connected to the glowing silver blade.  It had activated a barrier against the shadows.

   A shortly relieved smile shone on the knight's avian features.  "Sanctoria, you always come through," he whispered.  Craning his head up, he squinted and tried to see through to the cave to see what was happening.  "That was lucky.  Now if you can just hold on a little longer...come on, Aisha, Cheyenne, where are you..."

   The trench he was in was shallow enough to crawl back over...but holding the barrier up with his weapon was like trying to hold up a tent while something was leaning on it.  Through magic, the dark tendrils seemed to have a sensation of weight, pinning him in that protective dome on a kneeling position.  All he had the power to do at the moment was watch and wait.

   He could catch glimpses of the battle through holes in the black sea at least.  Along with brief flashes of light, he could also make out the shapes of Icharus hopping and weaving away from the succubus.

   But as the minutes ticked past, there was still no sign of the women.

   Then, just as Jake was about to plan an escape of his own, he saw the shadows briefly shift to allow a body to fall back into the trench.  With a low avian screech, Icharus was thrust into the trench and through the barrier.  The darkness still kept outside of it and thus could only shudder with an echo of a triumphant roar from the Creature outside.

   "Of all the damnable luck," growled the eagle as he sat up slowly from the ground.  There were deep scratches on his side, shredding through what was left of his shirt.  It was enough to stain his arm and a part of the ground in red.  "I just can't fight her anymore."

   Jake let out a snort.  "You should know you're always going to lose when having a tiff with your lady, my friend."

   Having not noticed the gryphon there, Icharus turned to face him with a serious and pained expression.  "She is no longer 'my' lady, fool.  And you have obviously never been with a woman, then, anyway."  He sighed deeply, clutching his wounds with a hand.  "I see that you are alive though, sir knight.  That is fortunate."

   "Good to see you too," Jake muttered, glancing from him to the outside of the cave.  The windows though had all but disappeared.  "Have you seen Aisha and Cheyenne?"

   "Yes," Icharus said with a bit of a hiss at the pain he was in.  "They are both free.  It seems that the huntress has freed herself, and has helped the marsupial succubus.  The last I have seen of them, they were looking for you...though now I suspect they are just going to enter battle in my stead.  I am impressed with the Being; very few have had a will so strong as to break through Tarise's powers of suggestion."

   Jake grinned.  "Aisha isn't one to be underestimated.  She is a young adventurer yet, but someday I think every Creature of evil in the world will come to know just how dangerous it is to do so.  If anyone else could take the witch down, she can."  He turned his head back to face Icharus.  "Now, are those wounds bad?  I don't have magic healing, but I can help you bind it with your shirt until this battle's over.  Looks like we're stuck here for the time being, but my barrier will hold up well until then."

   "I will be fine," Icharus said dismissively as he sat himself up into a crouch.  He was holding his wounds still, the blood seeping in minor streams through his fingers.  "You are being rather optimistic about the outcome of this battle, Sir Jake.  Tarise is fighting and defending through blind anger now, which could be her downfall...but she is still strong and very manipulative.  Not to mention she is fighting a Being and what for the moment is equivalent to one with wings and a bit of magic.  How do you know that she will be defeated?"

   "Because she does not know what to expect," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.  "Because of your help, we do know what to expect of her.  She has also been stuck here for a very long time without food and water, and the emotional energy and souls of the people she had to kill for them.  She is weak and insane from isolation and bondage.  Because of that and her deeds, I do believe her neck is forfeit."

    Icharus hummed in thought.  "If your friends are clever enough to pick their way through her tricks, yes.  Well, I wish them luck if it is necessary.  Once she is dead, my mind and powers will at least no longer be held back."

   "Yeah..." the gryphon sighed heavily, trying to look through the shadows for a way to watch the fight as it unfolded.

*     *     *

   Meanwhile, the hyena was getting frustrated.  Her teeth were bared in a wide grimace, bloodshot eyes searching every perimeter of the cave and her waves of shadows.  She could find very little trace of the fighters.  And that meant that they weren't in her control.

   "Come out, wherever you are, little bugs..." she mocked over and over again.  Her form was covered in intricate dark patterns, protecting her from getting hit.  "If you don't, I will simply have to flush you out, and you won't like that..."

   As she searched, Aisha and Cheyenne were hiding in a niche in the cave just behind a torch sconce.  Close enough to the firelight to be safe from the manipulation of the cave's shadows; yet positioned well enough so as not to be seen easily.

   The panther stood in front of the thylacine, cape covering her face and her bow drawn.  "Madre mia, why won't she hold still?" she hissed through her teeth.  "I can't get in a clear shot."

   Cheyenne was turned away from the cave entrance, holding her head with her hands as if she were banishing a demon from her skull.  She let out a whimper, causing Aisha to perk an ear towards her.

   "Be quiet!  A succubus's hearing shouldn't be that good, but this place echoes."

   "I can't help it!" Chey hissed back.  "I'm scared, and this headache's absolutely killing me!"

   Aisha briefly turned around on the pads of her feet to face her, exasperated.  "Don't you remember what I told you, chica?  Break through the fear!  The headache's probably just another trick of hers."  She turned around again, repositioning the bow.  "If I can just take her down, then we can move in and maybe rescue the others in the process."

   Chey let out another whimper, her whole body shaking as her claws dug into her scalp.  "But...I can't...augh..."

   "Chey, shut the hell up, or..."

   "AH-HA!"

   That very second, a shadow-laden tentacle slammed into the rock face where the niche was, narrowly missing the two of them.  Aisha had pulled Chey's arm at the last minute, causing them to leap out of the darkness and into the open cavern.  The slippery rocks made it tough for them to stay out of the succubus's black sea below.

   As they found footing on another boulder beneath a torch light, the hyena faced them with a loud cackle, her eyes naught but hollow onyx pits.  "How lucky it is for the two of you to escape.  But it is futile.  I will not be the one dying today.  Surely, your other friends have already fallen prey to me."

   "Oh, like that'll work on me," Aisha growled, reaching for her boomerang and clutching it in the grip of her left hand.  "If you talk instead of fight, it'll just make your death that much more swift."

   "Such tongue," the hyena said with a "tsk" sound.  A black tendril rose up from beside her.  "I shall have to cut it out and make you choke on it, now won't I?"

   Aisha said nothing.  She widened her stance and stood in front of Chey, who was now curled up on the ground in mental anguish.  She raised her boomerang, the glowing silver surface catching the firelight, and her snarl deepened.

   The succubus just snarled back, crossing her arms in a very noble fashion...despite her haggard appearance only making her look frail and dark.  "You adventurers are all alike.  Very well then...a fight you shall have."

   With a flick of her wrist, the tendril formed fingers and dashed out against the panther with the swiftness of the wind.

   Aisha was just as fast.  As soon as the monster's last word was spoken, she leaped to the side and swept her own arm out, letting the boomerang fly.  Its luminescent magic blades sliced the shadowy projectile in half and slashed the hyena in the cheek before she could dodge.

   Tarise yelped in shock and rocked back, touching the side of her face gingerly.  A long slash mark was left on it, deep red blood slowly crawling out of it.

   Her head turned back in surprise to the panther, who had given her a dangerous smirk.

   "Magic of the light..." the hyena muttered, and then snarled again.  "I'll teach you to leave a scratch on MY face, you cheeky little who—ORGH!"

   With another swish of an arm, Aisha called the boomerang back, the blade still maintaining its dangerous speed as it sliced through the shadowy shielding on the succubus's shoulder.  It gashed deeply through the skin and caused the succubus to lose her concentration for a moment.  The darkness that protected her started to recede.

   Aisha still hand her hand raised.  Her claws were engaged in her anger, and the boomerang was spinning in midair where it was commanded to stay.

   "You're the cheeky one, bruja."

   She then dropped her arm in a slashing motion downward, again sending the sawblade against the hyena, where she barely avoided getting scratched.

   Throwing her hand out several times in intricate motions, Aisha used the boomerang's enchantment to rain like hell down on the succubus, faster and faster, again and again, slicing the shadows around her every time and not allowing her a single second to retaliate.

   "I'm not here to play games."  SLASH.  "I'm only here to stop you."  SLASH.  "And here's why."  SLASH.  "You don't kill innocents."  SLASH.  "You don't eat souls."  SLASH.  "You don't capture my friends."  SLASH.  "You don't play with my head."  SLASH.  "And you don't call me a whore."  SLASH!

   Again and again the boomerang came down against the succubus, easily cleaving through her shadow armor, blood dripping from several places on her body where it struck, either barely or deeply.

   As it went on, it looked as if the Creature was slowly losing her will to fight.  Her wings had transformed quickly from tentacles to armor, and still Aisha didn't stop the relentless assault.  Not until she could be weak enough to finish once and for all.

   But then, something unexpected happened.  Cheyenne, who was still too much in pain to watch, was suddenly captured by a lone tendril and drawn quickly back into the dark sea of shadows with a loud screech left behind.

   As Aisha heard the scream and caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, she stopped her assault instantly and tried to grab for the girl.  "Chey!"

   It was too late...the last of her had disappeared, falling short of the feline's grip.

   Snarling, Aisha whirled around again.  "Let her g...!"

   Her last word was cut short by Tarise, whose entire body was covered in shadow.  Her hand was clasped around Aisha's throat, having used those unfortunate few seconds to turn the tables on the adventurer.

   "You little brat," she seethed.  Four bladed tentacles formed over her head.  "You pretend to have such focus, and then break down the instant another is in danger.  Now that you're the only one left, I'm going to enjoy peeling your soul right from your body as you live.  I understand from doing it to those villagers that it REALLY hurts, too...and then you can see that I can do whatever I please!"

   The fire hadn't left Aisha's eyes, despite the witch's words.  She held her breath and reached out, calling the boomerang back to her hand.  The instant that the handle found her palm, she shot it up and embedded it in Tarise's side.

   Her eyes going wide, the hyena threw her head back and roared with pain.  Aisha's neck was released, and with a kick the Creature was sent reeling back.

   The panther coughed and stood up again, her voice returning with a coarse feel.  "Not while I'm here."

   The tentacles shot out again, one missing Aisha by inches and the other catching her on the hip, slicing through the fabric of her clothes and leaving a red streak.

   Aisha hissed in pain.  But, with the glowing weapon in her grip, and three friends captured, she wasn't about to go down.

*     *     *

   As a battle was fought above, another was fought below.

   Cheyenne was encased in a glowing ball within the dark, her fear and anguish causing her magic to rise with the stress.

   All around, it seemed that the enemy had won.  Aisha was fighting alone, and the two others were still not found.  They were either still trapped or dead.  And there was nothing more that she could do without getting hurt herself.

   I don't know how to fight...I don't know what to do!  Someone please help!  Someone please tell me—oh GODS MY HEAD HURTS!

   Aisha's words of advice were jumbled within the marsupial's mind.  She thought instead of her parents, who would probably be worried and disappointed in her.  The evil succubus's dream had also taken a toll, insisting that she would be a mad, soul-eating power-driven monster...just like her.

   And then, in her mind, clearer words cut through in voices that she could recognize.  The first was hurried and fast, urgent.

   "I don't know how long I can take this fight.  Have to stay above that black.  Mierda, she almost got me!  I'm bleeding!  Geeez, stop hurting...stop hurting!"

   The second was calmer, questioning.

   "I can't see anything.  I can hear though, the fight sounds bad.  Come on, guys, you can do it.  I wish these shadows weren't so damn thick..."

   Aisha and Jake.  It was like she could hear their thoughts.  The words were clearer than the ones that she was thinking of, and they definitely hadn't come from her own mind.  The sensation was hard to describe.

   The headache lingered.  But for a moment, she forgot about the pain as her fingers felt what had suddenly appeared on the crown of her head.

   Small limbs, connected by leathery skin.

   Wings...on my head...now?  I got them NOW?

   Now she knew, having remembered the warnings that her parents gave her about the headaches.  Sudden rushes of emotion, too much for her to control...and of course, the thoughts she could hear without abandon.

   She didn't know what to feel right then, excitement or nausea.  She had become a full 'Cubi, finally...but she was within the grip of another one.  The clan mark on her collarbone was glowing blue with newfound power.  And the emotions of pain and anger all around had a taste to them that was most bitter.

   Then, another rush of wild thoughts came through, again from Aisha.

   "She got me again!  Shit, this hurts...I can't move...can't breathe...strangling me, can't...must get this thing in her gut...!"

   Cheyenne's hands started glowing again, even more intense than before.  The shadows around her started to reel back quickly.  She's in trouble.  They're all in trouble.

   Dammit, Chey, don't be a coward anymore.  You don't have an excuse.

*     *     *

   Above, the fight had grown to a head.  Aisha was bleeding deeply in two places, scratched and bruised in more.  Tarise had to be even more injured, especially having just been halfway gutted by the boomerang's bladed tip.

   Aisha readied herself to throw it again, but a quick slam by one of the Creature's tentacles caused it to fly out of her hand.  Aisha fought against her restraint, putting scratches on the hyena's face with her claws...but a fed up 'Cubi was ready to end it all with but a strike if it meant her own death.

   Then, a blinding light erupted from the sea of shadows.

   From it came a shape that barreled straight into Tarise, the two individuals flying away from Aisha and hitting the ground hard nearby.  The magic illuminated the cavern and vaporized the shadows all around, turning the ground back into solid rock and causing Tarise to once again lose her control, helpless.

   The shape was revealed, to Aisha's surprise, to be Cheyenne.  Fully enveloped in her magic, eyes burning and mouth bared her widest in a snarl, and with a second set of wings on her head, she had pinned the shocked hyena to the ground by her shoulders.  One of her hands balled into a fist, and she aimed a punch for her opponent twice in the face.

   All was still for the moment.  Tarise was bleeding profusely from the gut, face bruised, and with a glowing fist just inches away from her nose.  Aisha stood watching, wondering if it was wise to interrupt.  She was frozen in awe.  Cheyenne was finally fighting back, and it seems strangely that quite a bit more confidence came from her transformation.

   "Isha!"

   The panther turned briefly to the voice, immense relief flooding over her at the sight of Jake and Icharus alive...hurt, but alive.

   The two of them stood next to the huntress with eyes wide open at the sight.

   "Bloody hell, is that Cheyenne?  She is actually holding Tarise at bay?" Icharus whispered.

   Jake hummed in agreement.  "Wow.  Hey, I told you, Tarise was weak and not expecting anything.  She may be older, but light certainly isn't her element.  And it looks like she got weaker, now that she's lying in her own blood."

   "Yeah, wow...what now?" Aisha muttered, taking a tentative step forward.  "Do we finish her...?"

   At that, Tarise snapped out of her stupor and lashed out against Cheyenne, tossing her a few feet away.  "So you have your powers now," she hissed.  "It doesn't matter.  Compared to me, you're just a baby!"

   "Yeah, well," Chey growled back, launching a ball of fire towards the succubus.  "You're just an old bitch."

   With a roar, the hyena dodged the flames and struck out again, causing them both to tumble head-over-heels.  The shadows around the room started growing again.

   "That's it," Aisha said with urgency, noting the changes, and grabbed her bow.  "Time to stop gawking and end this thing!"

   "Whoa!  Way ahead of you," Jake agreed.  With a hop, he flew into the air with his halberd raised against the antagonistic 'Cubi.  Icharus was silent and solemn, unable to do anything now but stand back and watch.

   Aisha took aim, making sure that she wasn't going to hit her friends.  The arrow was drawn back...and just before Tarise was about to plunge her claws into Chey's neck, the projectile whistled through the air to end up embedded on the inside of her shoulder.

   Growling in pain, she was thrown back.  Jake's weapon stuck itself in the base of her wing with a sickening crunch, eliciting a long and painful whimper from the hyena.

   "I believe she is done now, gryphon," Icharus called as he and Aisha approached.  "Any damage done from this point on now that doesn't kill her is just torment.  And you promised not to torment."

   Jake nodded, landing next to the immobile Creature.  "I know.  I just wanted to make sure she couldn't get up."

   "Sh...she won't," Chey insisted with a shudder in her voice...repulsed at what was going on.  The glow around her body faded, leaving her with just the new appearance of the quivering wings sticking out of her hair.  Her entire front was covered with Tarise's blood, and the smell was enough to make one retch.  "The pain I can feel...I think it's pain, anyway...is just too much.  She's too weak to even call up her shadows now."

   Tarise's breathing was shallow, but her face still hadn't lost its predatory edge and the snarl on her grotesque muzzle.  Her voice had gone back to normal, but had lost its hiss, instead sounding akin to a normal woman on her death bed.  "Gods damn all of you.  I never thought that it would happen...but I guess some part of me did...but I never thought that you, Icharus Stormclaw, would have a hand in my murder..."

   "Murder is what you've been doing," Aisha interrupted, calling the boomerang back to her hand again in a tight grip.

   The hyena hissed in pained laughter.  "You still call what you are doing justice.  It's always going to be murder, no matter how you look at it, adventurer.  Some day that will be your end.  And I can see this young girl here becoming a wonderful succubus.  A predator to her core.  I could feel the carnivorous energy when she looked at me."

   Things were silent as the words sunk in with the group.  But it only took a few moments for the solemnity to pass.  It was Jake who broke the silence, looking between his three comrades.  "Well...who's going to make the final blow?"

   Icharus sighed, his head downcast.  "No...the final words will be mine.  You three are the ones seeking justice.  She is your target.  It is between yourselves."

   The glance went to Cheyenne.  The thylacine succubus was still quivering as she reached for her pack and pulled out the crystal sword that Aisha had given her from the beginning.  With sad eyes, she offered the sword to the other two adventurers.  "One of you has to do it.  I'm a healer, not a killer.  I don't want to be like her."

   Jake and Aisha looked towards each other.  The gryphon put his talon on the panther's shoulder.  "This was your party."

   She took a deep breath and nodded.  "Yeah."  With darkness in her eyes, she took the sword from Cheyenne's grip.

   Slowly, she stepped up to the succubus and lined the blade up with the center of her neck, taking the hilt in both hands.  She met her gaze, still angry, but reserved and calm.  Accepting of her fate.  "What are your last words, before justice is carried out?"  Aisha asked.

   Tarise turned her head slowly to look at Icharus.  Her expression turned soft and sad, her deep breath making her pained words quiver.  "I loved you, you know."

   He looked up shortly.  "As did I," he said softly.  "But I could not love what you had done.  What you kept doing."

   "So you betrayed me."

   The avian paused for a few seconds before speaking again.  "It wasn't just your heart that was broken."

   Tarise laughed shortly and leaned her head back, her last words a whisper.  "No.  I guess not."

   Aisha glanced up towards the others as the quiet lingered.  All it took was a short nod from Icharus, and then from Cheyenne and Jake respectively.

   Her arms raised and her eyes closed.  Descansen en paz.  And Gods have mercy.

   The blade came down.  And one by one, the torches on the walls burned out, leaving the adventurers in darkness and a haunting silence.

[Aisha deCabre]

((And now, finally, the final part to this chapter.  I hope you all have liked the story.  If you did or didn't, or felt this part was rushed (as I thought at least...) tell me please. xP ))

Part 10

   Surrounded only by the light of their magic, the adventurers stood for a brief moment in solemnity.  They ignored the fact that each of them was hurt or bleeding in places, or at least tried to.  At their feet was the limb body of a dead Creature...a dead murderer.

   Yet still her words echoed in each of their minds where it did the strongest.  Cheyenne wondered if she was now a monster in the eyes of the warriors there.  Aisha wondered if it really was murder, and that perhaps this sealed her fate in the hands of not demons, but a 'Cubi clan.  It was only one more in a line of a few completed missions, and still she hadn't gotten used to the feelings of doubt.  And Icharus felt a brief pang of regret.

   And yet, the others couldn't help but notice that he looked...stronger.  A brief shudder had passed across his countenance the moment that Tarise was slain.  It was hard to tell if it was merely his own hurt, or something much more.

   "...Well," Aisha sighed, swishing the crystal sword through the air to clean the blood from the blade.  "It's done.  Now I suppose we bring her head back to the village as proof."  She cast a short smile to Cheyenne as she handed the sword back.  "And you can earn your place in the village again for helping."

   The thylacine shrugged.  "Maybe...I dunno.  With the way they've been acting, it's more likely that they'd just try to kill me again.  More so because of what I really am."  She pointed to her head-wings as an example.

   "Not while we're here," said Jake.  There was a sense of finality in his voice.  "That was a brave thing you did, taking the fight into your own hands in a time of trouble.  Let alone to even come with us and help.  As far as I'm concerned, you're as much a hero as we are.  They won't lay a single hand on you," he smiled.

   With the words, Cheyenne's lips widened into a smile.  In her eyes there lay an expression that they could easily tell was gratefulness and hope.  Her childlike happiness had returned.

   But before anything more could be said, there was a sudden rumble in the earth.  It started as a quiver beneath their feet, and with each second it grew louder.

   "...What the hell is that?" Aisha wondered aloud, looking around in caution.

   Then, Icharus's head raised, his eyes wide.  "Oh, no..."  He turned to the others, strangely calm.  "I strongly advise you all run, lest you be buried in rubble.  It seems Tarise was connected to her cave, and with her death she has made one last effort to take us with her."

   The rumbling grew stronger and louder.  Chey suddenly whimpered.  "Guys, I think we'd better do as he says!"

   "But what about you, Icharus?" Jake inquired hurriedly.

   The avian's look grew stern.  "Do not worry about me, I will join you shortly.  Go, now, or you will be trapped!  GO, I SAY!"

   With the very cave now crumbling around them, the adventurers could not afford to argue.  The three of them turned and ran without looking back, their feet flying.

   The surrounding rocks threatened to crush the warriors, each rock getting bigger and bigger.  All that they could think about was escaping and dodging the earth as rubble flew and boulders broke apart on impact.

   They were only a short few feet away from the entrance as the very roof behind them simply collapsed.  In a rush of decision, Jake's wings spread as he took one wrist, belonging to Cheyenne and Aisha, in each talon and dashed like a rocket towards the opening.

   The cool, clear air of the night came at them in a rush of darkness.  They landed and rolled on the ground, clear of the collapsing cavern as the very earth below quaked and buckled.  A few of the trees were toppled, taking the bodies of the dead that were hanging unceremoniously upon them and giving them a final burial of dramatic proportions.

   All they could do afterward was to duck into the edge of the woods and watch, taking cover, as dust obscured the clearing and the side of an entire cliff face crumbled into nothing.

   Then, as suddenly as it had started, all was still.  The clouds of dust cleared slowly to reveal half of the clearing covered in rock and soil.  Not one feral animal would dare make noise to break the silence.  But without Tarise, the area no longer felt dark and unholy.  There was just the emptiness that Nature herself would soon amend.

   "...Oh my gods..." Aisha whispered, squinting to see through the darkness.  "Did anyone see Icharus make it out?"

   "No..." Cheyenne squeaked.  "I don't think so."

   After their words, still nothing stirred.  No sign of life, no call for help.

   Jake lowered his head.  "A moment of silence then, for our comrade.  We saved him from a life of imprisonment to help him fulfill his final wish, and for him to aid us in our own mission."

   The other two followed his lead, Aisha making a short sign of blessing and Cheyenne doing the same.  "Rest in peace, Ick."

   When the moment had passed, the gryphon sighed.  "Well, I'm guessing it's almost dawn, or at least quite a bit into the night.  Time to head back to the village and tell them we succeeded.  Maybe get some sleep before figuring out what to do next."

   "Best thing I've heard all day," muttered Aisha.  Straightening herself up, the panther followed along with her two friends, trying to retrace their path through the woods.

   They made it to the low hill, at least, which led to the plateau they had been on before.  As they landed in the rocky circle, they paused to glance at Icharus's cave and the fair condition it was still in.

   From there, they tried to remember which direction it was.  But they didn't get too far in their thoughts before a powerful, rumbling roar echoed through the forest behind them.

   Surprised, the adventurers drew their weapons and stood at alert.

   What they saw eventually walking towards them through the trees from the direction they came made them stare.

   It had to have been standing fifty feet tall or more.  Immense talons left deep tracks in the earth as it walked and finally halted in front of the others.  It bore the colors of the stormiest clouds, gray all over with shining golden feathers in places.  A reptilian tail with a fan of those feathers swayed lazily behind it.  The wings it sported lay not on its back, but instead were made out of its arms.  Feathers lined the back of the wings, though they were of bat-like design and curled up lazily the flanks.  Its armored skin bore but a few scars, fresh, as it had come out of a fight.  Immense black horns sprouted proudly from the crown of the head of the wyvernesque beast, and from a serpentine neck and head, two glowing green eyes regarded the adventurers.

   It was beautiful and terrifying.  And yet...familiar.

   The gargantuan reptile chuckled in a booming voice.  "You three honestly thought that you were leaving without me?  Heroes though you are, your manners are truly lacking."

   Wide-eyed and wide-mouthed, the three of them lowered their weapons, unknowing of how to respond to these events.  But finally it was Aisha who said best what was all in their minds.  She had to snap out of an awestruck stupor, though.

   "...Icharus?  Why the hell, after all this time that we fought like mad against that succubus and nearly lost our lives, didn't you tell us that you were a GODDAMN DRAGON?!"

   The dragon Icharus Stormclaw tilted his head, then snapped his jaws with a crackling sound reminiscent of static electricity.  He leaned in close to Aisha with a wide grin on his maw, making her step back a few feet.  "I do not think it is very wise to speak to me like that, milady huntress.  I am after all, nobility.  But as for your question, I do recall telling all of you that Tarise locked my powers away in my head.  Only to be remembered upon her death.  The fact that I was a dragon being one of them."

   His head rose again.  "And even if I did have my full powers, it was not my place to interfere with the missions of you adventurers.  It was your honor to have solved it all yourselves."

   Then, in a grand flourish, Icharus spread his wings and released a loud, fierce roar.  He was encased in a ball of electricity, and in a flurry of feathers and lightning, his size diminished until he was back to his Being size and appearance of a gray-and-gold eagle.  His clothes were no longer in tatters, but stitched together with an intricate and expensive-looking design.  He wore a white tunic and a royal purple cloak over it.

   He faced their impressed and slightly annoyed gazes with a wide grin.  "Really now, do not be angry with me.  I helped enough, but to have interfered would have made for a very anticlimactic show, now wouldn't it?"

   There was a pause, and then three things happened at once.  Jake broke out laughing, Cheyenne cried out, "Well isn't THAT nice?!" and Aisha slapped a palm to her forehead.

   Amused, Icharus hummed and strode past them.  "Well, now that we have that out of the way, I do believe we were heading back towards the village."

*     *     *     *

   The sun was just rising above the hill by the time they made it back.  The light bathed the small town in orange and glared off of some of the metallic roofs.  It was still silent within its borders, but as the adventurers came upon it on the road from the forest, they knew that it was only the calm before the proverbial storm.

   All four of them paused and gazed upon it, none the worse for wear.  Along the way they had paused to heal their various wounds.  Thanks to Cheyenne's magic, only a scar could be seen on Aisha's lower hip where she was once bleeding.

   As they gazed, thankfully it seemed that there was very little damage, if any at all, from the specters and shadows that terrorized them the night before.  Aisha, Jake, and Cheyenne could only sigh in relief as they were to usher in their freedom, and stepped briefly into despair at the fact that the family members that had vanished couldn't be saved after all.

   As for Icharus, he hummed with thought as he gazed upon the twilit houses.  "A hundred years ago this town was not even here.  To see it with my own eyes, after only perceiving of it through my foresight...a long-lived thing like me forgets to appreciate that time changes things."

   "For better or worse, yeah," Jake agreed.  "The best thing to do is to just run with it, I guess."

   Cheyenne stepped up to get a better look at the village gate, wrapping her arms around herself.  "I'm still nervous, guys.  They're going to go after me, I just know it."

   "They won't," Aisha said with an insistent tone, glancing back towards her.  "Xenophobic or not, they would be crazy not to accept you after helping to save their lives.  You'll walk in there proudly, and you'll remember that you're protected by an adventurer, a gryphon, and a dragon."

   Cheyenne was silent.  Aisha took it as acquiescence, and turned to face the village again.  She idly readjusted the collar of her cape.  "Well, muchachos, time to face them.  Let's go."

   With the panther leading, the party came upon the gate.  The silence was as overbearing as ever, but Aisha's sensitive ears still picked up small traces of footsteps in places.  Nehemiah and his crew must be hiding, she thought.  I hope they didn't have much trouble.

   Aisha didn't have to wonder for much longer, for as soon as her foot touched the town proper, the rustling grew louder.  Within minutes, they were beset by bows aimed at them on all sides by Nehemiah's guards.

   Chey and Icharus flinched, but Aisha and Jake stood still.  They had expected it, after all.

   The panther took another tentative step and chuckled.  "Now really, is this how you welcome heroes back?  Where is your leader?"

   "You're not heroes," replied a familiar voice.  Two crossbowmen parted to reveal the black wolf, rather disheveled with a limp in his step.  He was being supported by a crutch under his arm.  "Not until I say so."

   Aisha's eyebrows quirked in concern.  "You're hurt?  If you'll allow us, we can heal you..."

   The wolf interrupted with a growl.  "Don't come near me.  You don't know what happened after you left last night.  My guards were beset on all sides by apparitions and all manner of wild beasts.  We fought tooth and nail to protect the villagers, and some were taken right from their homes and eaten.  Eaten!  And now the morning dawns with the lot of you returning, though we thought long into the battle that you wouldn't keep your word.  You return, with one more stranger and..."

   His eyes set on Cheyenne, and they looked to be filled with fire.  "The monster that we thought you had killed, Risen.  Now revealed to be a repulsive succubus!  Why is she not in chains at least?  You have deceived us all, and now I must inquire as to the reason we do not simply skewer you where you stand!?"

   "You do that and the rest of you will be in a heap of trouble," Jake relayed as he stepped up beside Aisha and in front of Cheyenne, with his staff clutched in both talons.  "Yes, we helped her, and we wouldn't have been able to vanquish the true enemy without her help in return.  Before you shoot, you ought to have the balls to listen to our side of the story."

   There was a heavy pause in the air, broken finally by a long sigh from Nehemiah.  "Then show me your proof.  Show us all your proof; that you had succeeded and we are actually free again.  And if you don't, I will give the order to shoot."

   As he said those words, the villagers were cautiously poking their heads out from their various homes and shops.  The news was going around quickly that the adventurers had returned with claim of their victory, and all were gathering with hope in their eyes.

   Among them was the ursine innkeeper, who had to clean his glasses a few times before he believed what he saw.  "Cheyenne!" he uttered loudly.

   The young succubus could do nothing but wave sheepishly when she saw him.  Her eyes turned back to the adventurers, wondering what they would do to prove it.

   Without another word, Jake produced a burlap bag they had taken with them that was now stained in dark crimson.  Opening it towards Aisha, the panther reached in and pulled out its contents by the hair...the head of the slain succubus, Tarise, head-wings and all intact...and held it up to the crowd.

   "By gods!" Nehemiah shouted, reeling in shock.  Much of the crowd covered their eyes, while many others couldn't help but stare at the grisly bit of proof.

   "It's true, you were beset by a 'Cubi," Jake announced.  "But it wasn't Cheyenne.  This countenance belonged to Tarise, a hyena succubus who could wield the shadows as part of her power, to lure people away and take their souls.  It took Cheyenne's magic of light, and our own blades to subdue her."

   "And I, Icharus Stormclaw, was her prisoner," the avian added.  "I owe my life to these young adventurers.  All three, as a matter of fact.  It just wouldn't be proper to condemn them for their brave actions.  And I as a noble am not normally that humbled.  Search the mountainside, you would find her body sooner or later."

   There was thoughtful muttering from the crowd and even among the guards.  Aisha lowered her arm and tossed the head on the ground at the black wolf's feet.  "There's your proof, lobo.  Believe us or not, we come with our word and plenty of bruises from the battle.  Tell us to leave if you want, but I think Cheyenne at least has earned her place back in this village.  The only other things I can offer are my condolences for the family members that we could not recover."

   The black wolf could find nothing to counter that argument.  His own guards were lowering their weapons of their own accord, already starting to feel convinced.  Looking around, Chey felt her heart warm up again, gladdened, for she finally once again saw the light in the villagers' eyes and could even feel...even for the first time, taste...their acceptance.

   She broke the silence again with her quiet voice.  "And, maybe if you want, I can heal your wounds, Nehemiah?"

   The black wolf glanced to her.

   "I'd believe her, young'n," the spectacled bear said as he stepped up to the guard with his arms crossed.  "I only feel bad that I couldn't stick up for my former employee earlier.  Succubus or not, I know for a fact she wouldn't hurt a fly."

   Nehemiah opened his mouth as if to argue, and stopped himself.  There was a part of him that still hated and distrusted the Creature for what she was.  But he also saw that it wasn't her head at his feet, but another's.

   He sighed.  "I have my doubts.  But honestly, I don't think I have a choice here.  Men, drop your weapons and tell the villagers they can finally sleep safely tonight and walk safely today."

   At that, the crowd that consisted of the entire village erupted in cheers.  Tears were rolling down their eyes and a few had dropped to their knees in thankful prayer.

   With a smile, Aisha turned back to Cheyenne, who also had tears streaming down her cheeks in relief.  "See?  After all the blood, sweat, and fear, this is what it all comes to.  Why adventurers must fight in the first place.  For hope."

   "Which you did a pretty good job giving them, I think," Jake added.

   The thylacine slowly nodded, humbled.  "Yeah...yeah, I see it now.  That's what I wanted in the first place, what they wanted, and now we have it.  It's hard to believe."

   Jake chuckled.  "You get used to it.  Well, come on then, everyone, I think a party's in order."

   "Mrgh, I just want to get some sleep, actually," Aisha said with a bit of a growl.  The crowd parted, allowing them to start walking back to the inn.  "Then we should be getting back to the Monastery."

   "I shall join you, if you'll permit me," Icharus said, following behind.  "I don't fancy staying in the middle of nowhere after I've been freed, and I do wish to visit your place of education, milady Risen."   

   "So long as you show a bit of respect," Jake muttered.

   "And you, Chey?" the panther inquired.

   The young succubus looked uncertain.  "Well...I love being able to stay here again, at least I think I will be welcomed...but this whole adventure made me want to do more than just sit around.  I want to come with you, too, Aisha.  Please?  There's so much I could learn!"

   Jake grinned.  "Heh, looks like you have your very first tag-along fan, Isha."

   Imagine my glee, thought the panther as her eyes rolled.  Still, she spared a smile back to the succubus.  "Sure, chica.  If you'll just do me one favor."

   "Anything!"

   She whirled around and looked the girl sternly in the eyes.  "You'll call your family.  You'll let them know where you are, what you've been doing, and ask what to do to control these powers.  Because I sure as hell am not a Creature's babysitter, nor am I about to ask my mentor to be one."

   "...Yes ma'am," Cheyenne squeaked back.

   "Good," the huntress said with acceptance as she turned back to walk to the inn.

   Cheyenne smiled after a while.  "Hey, before we leave after an adventure, don't we get paid?  That's how it works, isn't it?"

*     *     *     *

   It was hard to imagine Mistress Rynkura's surprise (and that of the whole monastery) when the very next day Aisha and Jake returned with Cheyenne on the back of a great storm dragon.

   But after things had settled down, they were gathered together in the cathedral's impressive entrance hall...save for Cheyenne, who had been directed and escorted to the message center.

   The white tigress who ran the monastery stood listening to the adventurers' tale with interest in her emerald eyes.  "And the village is safe now?"

   "Safe as can be with Nehemiah running it," Jake laughed.  "We spent the rest of that day healing the injured, relaxing, and listening to all the villagers' tales.  To see them able to walk about town again without fear would take some getting used to, or so the innkeeper said."

   "Quite fascinating," Rynkura chuckled.  "What a trial.  And I had much faith that all of you could pull it off.  I am especially impressed with you, Aisha.  The fact that you could teach a scared child the meaning of being an adventurer and to help her through it alive...it means that you truly understand the art of it yourself now."

   The panther simply shrugged.  "I had to anyway; else she'd get in the way."

   "You still do not feel fulfilled, do you, Miss Risen?" Icharus noted.  "Curse my draconic ways.  It is true; I had enough power to subdue a succubus, more than enough so in fact.  But until she was dead, I had no way to call upon them again.  Besides, even if I did, I would not intrude upon another warrior's rightful fight.  The honor is now and forever will be yours, Sir Jake's, and even Cheyenne's.  And I spoke the truth when I said that I owed my life."

    "Dragons are still mortal," Rynkura said with a grin, turning to Icharus and giving a bow.  "But it is an honor to have one from the House of Stormclaw gracing my monastery.  I have not heard of a single one alive for a long time."

   Icharus bowed back.  "The honor is mine, Mistress Msh'taan.  I know where to go if I need to call upon help again, and whom to ask," he said with a glance towards Aisha and Jake.  "And I have been gone for at least a hundred years, all the more reason to find out what happened to my clan."

   "I wish you luck with that," the tigress stated.  "I'm sure we all do."

   It was at that moment that Cheyenne returned, skipping down the massive stairs at the front of the church leading up to the second floor.  All eyes turned to her with expectance.

   "Well, I spoke with my parents.  They were worried about me, but happy to see I was alive.  They sent an application to SAIA for me; I should be going there soon."

   "That is good," Rynkura replied with a warm smile.  "I am quite familiar with clan Mraisae.  I believe you will handle your newfound power very well.  Perhaps even take up adventuring yourself, with what you've learned from Aisha."

   Cheyenne blushed.  "Thanks...but I don't think adventuring is really for me.  There's far too much hurt.  I much prefer learning the more advanced points of healing magic.  I'd be honored if I could learn to be a healer here in-between my classes at SAIA."

   "Do you?" the tigress hummed.  "Well, I don't see why not.  The world needs more healers, and a 'Cubi would make an interesting addition.  We shall have you take your vows tomorrow, and get you assimilated here today."

   "Awesome!" Chey grinned.  "I can't believe I'll be studying at the same place as the Risen!  And heck, I already know I like the company," she added with a sidelong glance at Jake.

   "Dios mio..." Aisha muttered beneath her breath, resting her forehead in her hand.

   "Well then," Icharus interrupted with a chuckle.  "I believe then it is time for me to take my leave.  I bid you all farewell and good health, and know that your monastery has the full recommendation from clan Stormclaw."

   As his final goodbye gestures, the avian shook hands with Jake and gave the back of Aisha's and Cheyenne's a kiss.  He spared a final flourishing bow to Rynkura, and to their ever-present awe, they watched as he transformed and walked out of the large cathedral doors in his massive wyvernesque dragon form.  The roar he emitted as he took off seemed to shake the foundations of the buildings and fill the sky with static.

   "Bye, Ick!" Cheyenne shouted before he was gone from sight.

   Rynkura kept her eyes to the sky as she spoke.  "Well, Aisha, I daresay you've made some very powerful allies this day.  Do you still not feel fulfilled?"

   Aisha leaned her back against the doorway and thoughtfully crossed her arms.  "No...I think I do.  I also think this'll be a very interesting life from now on."

[Aisha deCabre]

((I hope you guys liked the previous story. x3

There's a new short chapter, another one-shot.  I was thinking recently that Aisha seems to have had a little bit of experience in styles other than what she excels in...and it felt just a slight bit sue-ish for her to also know a bit of hand-to-hand combat almost all of a sudden, after having had it lampshaded by a reader on a previous chapter. xP

So, I wrote this to show how Aisha actually gains even a bit of knowledge on that aspect.  I researched a little on martial arts and other tidbits before I wrote this, and had fun with it by also adding a couple elements from shows I liked.  I know a few friends of mine know more on the subject than I do, themselves, and so I also appreciate a bit of critique from them.  I aim to please, after all, and I try not to offend anyone. ^^;

Enjoy!))

Tales of the Risen: Versatility

   Out in the Monastery courtyard one windy day, the sounds of hard practicing came to those with sensitive ears.

   The training ground was relatively empty of guards...though there were a few who still liked to sit there on their break and relax in the cool wind, relieving their aching muscles and drying off the sweat.  A few others had their eyes fixed with curiosity to one large sandy pit, in which a lone fighter was by herself, sword in hand.

   Aisha the Risen, a young black jaguar, stood in the epicenter of the ring with her eyes closed.  She had her sensitive ears perked and swiveling every which way, listening for any footsteps coming.  But since the place was nearly empty, she could hear naught but the wind and the distant forest trees relinquishing their leaves to it.

   She had her cape set to the side, hanging upon one of the wooden fence posts so it wouldn't get in the way as she practiced her sword training, the enchanted boomerang and its sheath along with it.  The Dragonblade was her hard-won prize from a long and recent adventure, and she was determined to master it.

   Aisha held the magic-proof sword in a beginning fighting stance, upright in front of her body with the right hand.  Her left hand was hanging out behind her for balance.  Her left food was flat on the ground, and her right slowly dusted the area before her and settled in a hard spot.  Judging from the position, it looked almost as if she were to execute a dance.

   And a dance it seemed to be.  As fast as she could open her eyes again, the panther lent her weight to her right leg and swung the sword into an outward arc to the left, counterbalancing her moves with her arm and tail.  She leaped and spun a near perfect 360 degrees, the side of the blade marking the end of the circle.  In her mind she had conjured an invisible enemy that she had succeeded in making bleed.  Usually, the panthress found it more fun and productive to spar with someone; but on days when people seemed too caught up in something else, her imagination provided a sufficient adversary.

   The bounty hunter kept up the exercises as she saw fit, countering her imaginary opponent's moves with her own.  The lithe and flexible form that gave her aid when sneaking up on a target gave her the fluidity to execute such moves quickly, however much she knew that it in turn sacrificed the power behind the swings.

   Now with two hands, Aisha thought as she stopped to catch her breath.  I have to work on strength.  Damn this femininity, sometimes.

*   *   *

   Meanwhile, as the panther practiced, another Healer was making his rounds.  An old ocelot had stepped into the courtyard with his arms held casually behind his back, eyes of gold calmly regarding everything.  He wore a sash around his neck with a gem over his normal robes, denoting him an old and fairly high-ranking member of the Monastery.

   But as the mottled cat came upon the fighting ring, his head tilted in curiosity.  This young student of Mistress Rynkura's was fast becoming an expert with the sword.  She reminded him of when he was training the gryphon Jakoba.  She had the same fire in her eyes and the same hotheadedness as he did.  He was in fact convinced that she could easily channel Luc Cabre's spirituality if she had to.  Yet...due to the way the old feline could spot inconsistencies in her movement, the adventurer did have some learning yet to do.

   I do wonder just how many fighting styles that child knows, he mused.  She knows her way with the ranged kind.  With my former student's help and with the Mistress at hand she slowly knows of the melee kind.  Yet...

   The ocelot stepped up to the fence, laying one hand on it as he calmly observed how Aisha executed her moves with the sword.  Yes, I do believe it would be beneficial to the Lady Cabre to learn a few new tricks.  With permission from the Mistress of course.

   Aisha herself wasn't aware of his presence until after she finished her moves.  She had executed a rather interesting technique, with her imaginary foe pinned in one spot as she feigned a slash with her blade, flanked it, and aimed a trip with her foot.  She ended with a leap back and the sword held in both hands, the blade coming down with a slap.  Particles were scattered around and she smirked as she glanced at the indentation made in the sand.  Dead.  I'd have to make sure the foe stood still for this one to work first time though, or I could be tripped up instead.  Maybe...

   "An interesting move you have, child," a voice interrupted.  Slightly startled, Aisha glanced up to spot the old ocelot with a look on his face that seemed to imply amusement beneath a stern face.

   Flicking her black and grey bangs out of her face, the panther's crimson gaze set upon the Healer.  "Señor Episticus...I didn't hear you coming."

   "Hrmh, you should have," he grunted.  "You ought to have your eyes and ears open at all times.  I could have snuck up on you with a devastating attack.  Rather unfortunate, it would have been."

   The panther snorted derisively and returned the Dragonblade to the scabbard on her hip.  "Last thing I remember, you weren't my teacher.  What're you doing out here, anyway?  Thought you had a class."

   "I gave myself a day off," he replied, "and decided to go walking instead.  I was rather fascinated in the way you handled yourself with that blade.  You are getting rather proficient with melee skills."

   "Thanks," Aisha said with a shrug as she went to pick up her boomerang and cape.  "I still prefer my arrows and boomerang to it, though."  She faced the ocelot again as she tied her cape on, quirking an eyebrow.  "There a reason you're here?  Usually you're stuck on something else and not on watching me."  She smirked.  "Not becoming a peeping tomcat, are you, old man?"

   "Ugh!" snarled Episticus.  "Insolence must run in the Cabre family."  He cleared his throat and regained his composure, regarding the panthress with a serious expression.  "I actually saw how you were improving.  And I was wondering if you ever thought of taking up practicing unarmed combat."

   Aisha blinked.  "Unarmed?  Like, martial arts?  Not really.  Anyone can throw punches and kicks.  I'm not an up close and personal kind of fighter, señor, not unless I have something to grip and keep my foe a good distance away," she said while patting the Dragonblade's scabbard.

   The ocelot hummed.  "Then what do you do if you happen to find your weapon knocked from your hands, and little time to recover it?  Your foe in an attempt to kill you will not simply move back and allow you to do so, you understand."

   Aisha snorted and shook her head.  "I find ways.  The boomerang is enchanted to return to my hand.  Not to mention they'll never know if I have hidden daggers and such."

   "I have no doubt that you are nimble and quick enough to solve it," Episticus pointed out.  "But I am curious.  Have you ever found yourself without a weapon?"

   Aisha's ears flattened.  She hated being scrutinized by the old Healer...what also irked her was that she couldn't really deceive him; just like she couldn't with Rynkura.  "Yes, actually...a demon once knocked the boomerang out of midair and stuck it in a pillar.  I was forced to run away from his magic blasts.  Bastard wouldn't come close enough for me to fight with my claws, but when he did, I was tossed like a rock."

   Episticus smiled knowingly.  "Well, there you go.   You must have been quite lucky to have survived that battle.  As you said, anyone can throw punches and kicks...but with the proper training and the right equipment, you can turn your fists and feet into very powerful tools.  And I...as a friend to the Mistress and thus to you, Lady Cabre...do suggest that you give it a try."

   "Psh," Aisha scoffed.  "Even if I wanted to, I don't know anyone around here who fights without a sword, bow, or staff."

   The ocelot quirked an eyebrow.  "Have you bothered to ask?"

   "...The subject hadn't been brought up until now," the panther pointed out as she crossed her arms.

   Episticus laughed.  "Well, child, you are lucky.  I happen to, myself."

   Aisha's arms dropped as she tried to process that information.  "You, old man?  I thought you taught alchemy.  And taught Jake how to use a spear, besides."

   "Do not take me for just what you see," he replied with a wave of a finger. "In my younger days I was a monk.  Hand-to-hand combat was my own natural method before I learned how to be versatile.  Versatility is one of the most useful things a warrior can carry on his—or her—person.  When you run out of magic, you use weapons that do not take up your energy.  When you run out of arrows, you use weapons that never need reloading.  When your blade is knocked from your hand, your very self is the most trustworthy part of your arsenal."

   "Mm-hm," Aisha hummed with a nod.  "The Señora told me so when she started me on sword training.  But really, I never thought that I'd have to use hand-to-hand fighting.  And I don't see why I have to start now."

   The ocelot's hands returned calmly to resting behind his back.  "Stubborn girl.  You could recall the memory of your battle with that demon as one fine example of why.  And if you can put your pride away long enough, I am extending an offer to teach you."  Episticus then started to turn his back to the panther.  "Whenever you have nothing to do, if you wish, come find me and we shall see."

   Aisha could be heard chuckling slightly, and the sound of metal being drawn from its protective sheath followed.  "Right.  Maybe if you could actually still fight in that old body, I'd consider it."

   There was a pause as Episticus halted in his steps, not a foot away from the gate.  Nothing was said in reply.  But Aisha was surprised when suddenly in three moves, he had swiveled, cleared the gate with a leap, and used one arm to hit the hunter's wrist and swivel her working arm around.

   The Dragonblade was forced from her hand.  As soon as it had met the ground, he had her wrist in one tight grip while his other hand was held flat and inches from her nose...had he not held the strike back, it would have probably been bleeding at least.  She had prepared to step away, but the suddenness of the movement had caught her off-guard, allowing herself to be captured by the old monk.

   Her eyebrows shot up.  "Hey, I was only joking!"

   "I know," he replied, eyes narrowed.  "I wasn't."

   Another moment of silence followed, the whistling of the wind being the only commentary on the event.  As he let the panthress go and straightened up again, he awaited a response.

   She sighed.  "Huh.  Guess I deserved that.  Alright, old man, I've got nothing to do today.  Tell me what you know."

   Episticus smiled in approval.  "Very well, then.  Behind the staircase in the main cathedral, there is a door and a set of stairs that leads down into a makeshift gym.  There should be a few gis--training uniforms--lying there.  Put one on along with a white belt, and keep the rest of your weapons off to the side.  I suggest you stretch first so that you do not strain yourself.  I will meet you down there after I meet with the Mistress for permission to become your teacher, if just for today.  If I take you away from her as a student, there is no doubt that she could hurt me," he chuckled.

   "Sometimes I wish she would," the panthress muttered.  Dusting herself off and recovering her sword, she watched Episticus walk away with that same elderly and arrogant air about him.  Then, taking her time getting there, she made her way back to the cathedral on the other side of the field; partially annoyed that she was outwitted so quickly, and partially eager to find out what the training would be like.

*     *     *     *

   The trip was uneventful, and the cathedral's interior as quiet as the outside when she stepped into it.  Except for a bit of scuffling on the upper floor as far as her ears could discern, there wasn't a soul in the place.

   It didn't take long to find the door that Episticus had mentioned, right behind the stairwells that crowned the cathedral's altar area.  Aisha regarded it curiously as she took the handle and pulled it open; she'd barely noticed the door there before and had thought it was a storage closet or something similar.  The thought of having a gym underground just made reminded the black feline that the monastery still had more surprises to offer.

   The stairwell was illuminated with a string of torches, making it feel vaguely like she was descending into a dungeon.  But soon enough she came upon another door.  Briefly wondering if she should knock, the panthress shrugged and simply pushed it open to reveal the room beyond.

   It had gray tones and was brightly lit by a magic orb in the center of the ceiling.  The walls were otherwise decorated with various banners, including ones that had the standard of the Shadowed Depths Healers.  A few other posters had rules of conduct written on them, so at least Aisha had the clue that the place could be used by anyone who wanted it.  Except for the humming of the orb on the ceiling, all was quiet.  There was a small messenger hub in the far corner that the huntress figured could be used to contact everyone above and vice-versa in case of trouble.

   The room was indeed big enough to be considered a gym.  There were large mats all over the place, a few shelves lined with weights, and a few gymnastic implements scattered around, including hanging bars and a wooden horse.  Benches lined all four sides of the room, and a side room was set for restrooms and baths.  She wondered briefly who it was that had the idea to include this place in the redesign of the cathedral grounds...and found that she wouldn't be surprised if it was Episticus.

   "This would beat having to exercise outside if it's raining, ser claro," Aisha murmured with approval.  "Wonder why it was never mentioned to me.  Well, okay, I was preoccupied during the tour the first time..."

   Dismissing the wandering thoughts, the jaguaress looked around for a bit before finding the fighting uniforms folded neatly on one shelf.  They were white, except for the intricate Mayan patterning on the sleeves and up the front in dark blue.  There also lay various-colored belts, ranging from white and darkening to black, but she had remembered that it was the white she was told to wear.  A leveling system, she supposed.

   Comfortable at least, she thought as she took her outer clothes, cape, and weapon belt to the side to put on the simple pair of pants and shirt.  As Aisha tightened the belt around her waist, she felt a little awkward with quite a bit more freedom of movement and no hilt in her grip.  She experimentally bunched up her fists and extended her claws, wondering if she was allowed to use them.

   She took the time to get the strain from her sword training session from her muscles with a few lengthy stretches, followed by a rest on the bench to simply wait for the ocelot.  Glancing around some more, and making plans to practice her exercises on the gymnastic equipment at one point, Aisha wondered as to which of the guards knew about that little place...after all, she hadn't.  Jake did, perhaps, but then wouldn't his wings have gotten in the way of proper exercise?

   "Meditating, child?"

   Aisha glanced up from her musings to see Episticus walking into the room.  At least her hearing had finally caught the old feline's footsteps that time.  "You could call it that, sí.  When do we start?"

   "When I emerge from changing into my uniform," he said.  "The Mistress also took the idea of my training you in hand-to-hand combat very well...she's coming down to watch your progress in a while.  With both her help and mine, we shall turn you into a very versatile fighter."

   Aisha snorted, resting her chin in her palm with patience as she flicked her tail.  "Funny, that just makes me feel like I'm being turned into a weapon for you guys."

   "We craft the weapon.  You're the one that chooses to use it," his voice retorted from within the next room.  The panther simply rolled her eyes without a comment.

   It was a moment before the ocelot re-emerged, dressed in a darker version of the uniform, where the color patterns were switched.  Despite his apparent age he still looked lithe and limber.  Rather thin, not too strong, and as he reached for a black belt to tie around himself he had a slight paunch in his belly.

   "Grah, don't say anything," he said upon catching Aisha's snide expression.  "It has been a short while since I've done any training, but it should come back to me."

   "Like a freight train," Aisha joked as she stood up from the bench and stretched an arm behind her head.  "What now?"

   "First things first, you will consider showing me a bit more respect," Episticus huffed as he pulled out a bunch of cloth strips from inside his sleeves.  "And second of all, take these and wrap them around your hands and feet.  Leave the toes and fingers uncovered though, as much as you can.  These wraps are enchanted with a bit of protection, like a shield.  Perfect for beginners to not get so bruised during a spar until they know their limits."

   The panthress hummed, regarding the wraps with curiosity as she wrapped her hand with them.  "They feel like bandages.  What are they for?"

   "Protection," replied Episticus.  She could tell by the level of his voice that he had gone into "teacher" mode.  "In lieu of gloves, thick cotton wraps protected the skin from scraping during a fight, and several layers could be worn under armor to protect from further injury.  When I was training, they were enchanted to add more power to a Being than just mere physical strength.  You could throw fire and ice punches, or poison someone with your feet."  His head turned back to regard the panther with a light grin.  "You should have a good idea of the protection of wrappings.  You do wear a sarashi under your shirt, if I recall."

   Aisha glanced up with a quirked eyebrow, pausing in the middle of wrapping her bare foot.  "Sa-what?"

   "Sarashi," Episticus repeated.  For emphasis, he pulled the cloth on his hands tighter.  "Chest wrappings.  In the cultures of the east, warrior men bound their torsos with them to protect from injury, as I said before.  Today they're more often than not a fashion statement among the...street hoodlums, but the significance of the meaning remains.  That one is strong, do not mess with them."  He chuckled.  "In a woman's case, I suppose, the sarashi served a more obvious purpose.  But if the woman was a warrior such as you, she could take advantage of the protection value as well."

   The panthress's head quirked back, and she took a quick glance down to where her own brown wrappings could be seen through the front of the gi.  "Funny, I always just thought this was more comfortable."  She looked up again with a snarl on her lip.  "Interesting information, at any rate, but a little awkward to think about."

   "I figured so, but I shall not risk myself to horrendous injury any more than necessary as a teacher, I promise," Episticus said with an air of casualness.  "Now, let's get to the mat.  I will throw a few moves at you, and you will show me how you react to them, and we shall start from there.  Do not be afraid to hurt me, either...I am wearing the same enchanted wraps as you are, so it shall be fair."

   "Wondrous," Aisha muttered, flexing her fingers as she followed the ocelot to the mat.  The wrappings felt comfortable on her hands and feet at least.  She could already feel the enchantment on them, like an invisible buffer.

   Episticus stood across from her with a straight posture before lowering his upper body at the waist.  "First, bow.  Much like when friendly swordsmen cross their blades before a spar, it is a customary gesture of respect.  As a sniper, I wonder if you wouldn't know of that," he added with a snide smirk.

   Aisha simply grinned back and returned the bow before adopting a generic fighting stance.  "We'll see how respectful I can be."

   No more words were exchanged as quiet settled around the student and the teacher.  The ocelot's posture was relaxed, yet ready, as his gaze focused on the lithe jaguar with intensity.  Aisha felt as if he could see straight into her mind.  She herself was trying to stay calm, but her body was tense.  She felt the eagerness of a fight welling in her limbs.  Her senses were attuned and fixed upon Episticus's every move.  What would he do?

   Then, with the kind of power and speed that only a practiced feline could accomplish, he sprang.

   Aisha could barely register it herself.  He came at her like a bolt of lightning, his fist coming around to her jaw.  Her response was to duck and swerve to her right, flipping herself head-over-heels back to her feet.  But as she did, she knew only at the last second that she had made a mistake.  He hadn't intended a punch.  His foot instead was coming to trip her, and hit her in the arm before she could complete the flip.

   "Oof!"  The panthress growled upon hitting the mat on her side.  He was right, the blow wasn't painful thanks to the enchantment of the wrappings, but she could still feel the force of it.

   The ocelot grinned.  "Not bad.  Your reflexes are fast.  But you need to be watching everything closely, for feigns.  Stand up."

   With an annoyed hiss through her teeth, Aisha stood to face him again, both adopting the same stances.

   And with only a grunt for warning, Episticus charged again.  But this time not full-on.  He was zigzagging, only just quickly enough for her eyes to follow.  His fists weren't raised, as she was watching for that...instead, as soon as he circled around and came to her side, he leaped and flipped around, his foot coming at her head in a roundhouse kick.

   "Shit!" the huntress growled as she rolled away, making sure she wasn't tripped, and in the same moment deciding to try countering.  She stood and leaped, aiming a fist at his head where he missed.

   But, all too quickly, his arm came up to block the blow.  She was met with a stern grin, and his other fist found her midsection.  The wind knocked out of her, she nearly doubled over.

   Episticus waited for her to get up again, making a thoughtful hum.  "Your movements depend on speed instead of immediate force, I see.  That is one of the best kinds of ways to balance your weaknesses, especially for females.  You're still trying too hard to observe, though.  Typical assassin, always taking the time first.  In this art, you need to act with as little time as possible.  With practice, you can guess your opponent's weaknesses in seconds.  At least you already gauged mine when you tried to hit me, after I've missed."

   Aisha sighed harshly as she gained her breath back, none too amused.  "Yeah.  I try to be observant."

   "And that is a good habit to keep," Episticus pointed out as he moved to the other side of the mat again.  "Especially as your future opponents may fight with dirtier tactics than mine.  Now, I'll let you try a first move, to test your speed and fluidity.  Then I will try to gauge a proper style of training for you."

   "Fine by me, I guess," the black jaguaress acquiesced with a slight shake of her head.

   Once again, as they got ready, the quiet and intensity settled around the hunter and her opponent...nay, teacher.  It was getting hard for her already in the heat of things to tell between either.

    She went over what she knew about the ocelot.  He was old, but he was still fast...not as fast as herself, and still strong, but lingering in strength.  Just as alert.  Just as spirited.

   I think I'll try what he did, Aisha decided.  Sounds like my kind of move anyway.

   The seconds counted down in her head, and she leaped into action, her muscles releasing like coiled steel springs.  She started on a forward charge, causing Episticus to immediately change his defense to that...then to his surprise, she leaped to one side, and to the other.  Using his zigzagging technique.

   Only going much faster.

   Bloody hell, child...he thought, nonetheless impressed that she had caught on rather quickly.  He also noticed that she used much more fluidity in her movements, courtesy of her training as a silent lurker.  It was easy for her to slide from one position to the next, barely missing a beat.

   Aisha ended up leaping to his right side, nearly clearing his head with her jump.  In midair, like slow motion, her body pivoted and the heel of her foot came at the side of his head.

   He ducked with only inches to spare and his hand came up, snatching her by the heel and pivoting his own body to use her momentum against her.  Aisha flew across the room as he let go, instantly righting her body around to land on her hands and feet.

   "Haha...trying to steal one of my own moves, eh, child?" Episticus chuckled.  "I have to admit you wielded it with quite a bit of prowess.  The force of your foot nearly strained my hand."

   The panther grimaced with some frustration.  "Yeah.  But you still caught it."

   "That's because I expected it," he smiled.  "Something that I think you will remedy in time.  Now, you can relax a moment."

   Aisha did so, using the time to stretch some of her overused limbs a bit more.  The old ocelot scratched his chin as he thought.  The girl didn't like to fight like this, he certainly sensed, but he also sensed that she could get used to it fairly quickly.

   He nodded, confirming his choice.  "I believe I shall equate your style to the art of Northern Shaolin Kung Fu...it is a fluid form of martial arts, dynamic and powerful.  It consists of leaping kicks and quick arm and leg movements and body posture.  I think of fire when I use it.  Swift, beautiful, and deadly.  Perfect for you, I believe."

   Aisha hummed, thinking about the description.  Like fire, huh?  She had a light grin on her face.  Okay...I admit I could get used to it.

   "I take it you approve," Episticus asked in a matter-of-fact fashion.

   The panther, slightly nonplussed, crossed her arms and nodded.  "Sounds good, I guess.  It was a pretty good rush."

   He chuckled.  "I always thought so.  The move you copied from me, I call it 'Birth of the Whirlwind'.  Your body is like a storm that the opponent knows coming, but if used well, he will not know how to stop it until it is too late.  It is most often only used once, unless you know how to improvise in more than one use in a fight."

   There's quite a bit more to this than I thought, Aisha mused.

   Episticus continued.  "No more fighting for the moment.  I shall just help you get used to some stretches and exercises to do, before and after sparring.  Then, considering you would like to move further with the training, there will be more from there."

   "Neat," Aisha said, nodding.  "I'll go along with it, for a little while anyway.  I don't want to forget the stuff that I'm more comfortable with.  So, what do I have to do to train?  Snatch a fly from your paw?  Chase a monkey around with weights on my feet?" she smirked.

   Episticus raised an eyebrow, and laughed.  "What an imagination you have, Lady Cabre.  And a lot of cheek.  No, no...if you can actually land a hit on me that knocks me from my feet...then I will consider your training done."

   "Heh," Aisha grinned and cracked her knuckles.  "Shouldn't be too hard to do then, hombre viejo."

   "Wait and see, you ankle-biter, wait and see," Episticus muttered with a dismissive wave of his hand.  "Now come, follow these exercises."

   For the next hour, that's what she did.  Aisha felt that she was already getting used to the feeling of being deprived of her weapons, as swings in the air with her fists became more and more forceful.  She allowed her imagination to conjure opponents again, this time concentrating on both power and speed in her hits.  Her feet flew as she kicked, though the panther also had to be careful not to trip up.  When dodging, her reflexes switched to the defensive and she learned a little bit more how to anticipate a move.

   In the midst of the exercises, another guest had come into the gym.  Rynkura's staff could barely be heard clicking as it hit on the stairs after her steps.  Nor was her presence immediately seen until after a moment.  The white tiger did however find a spot on a nearby bench to sit and watch the display.  She had to admit, Aisha before her eyes seemed to slowly be getting better.

   When the hour was done, Episticus called it off and walked back to the changing rooms.  "Class is over now, child.  The Mistress is here."

   "I noticed," Aisha said, shaking her head free of any remaining beads of sweat and turning to politely bow her head to the tigress.

   "Good afternoon, Aisha," Rynkura nodded back.  "I take it you had fun?"

   The panther snorted.  "Much as I could with the old snoot.  But at least I learned a few new things."  Her eyebrows were quirked in the same kind of thoughtful curiosity that Rynkura could always spot.  "Some of it useful."

   "Then you will be pursuing this new art?" Rynkura inquired, laying a hand on her student's shoulder.  "It is your decision alone, child.  But I do want you to keep in mind the usefulness of being a fighter of versatility.  Victory is oft achieved by eliminating as many weaknesses as possible."

   Aisha nodded, starting to take the wrappings from off of her hands and feeling the enchantment wearing off as she did.  "So you keep telling me.  Still, I don't know, señora.  I'll study this stuff a bit...but I'm not about to give up what I chose."

   Rynkura replied with solemnity in your voice.  "And I will never expect you to, my girl.  All I expect is that you understand."

   "At any rate," interrupted Episticus as he returned, clad once again in his Healer's robes, "You know where this place is and when I train.  You are welcome to this place, whenever you wish...and you can keep your gi and those enchanted wraps.  As the Mistress has stated, it is your choice, and each and every one of us only plans to help in your goal."

   Aisha looked between them, with understanding in her crimson eyes, and even a moment of self-realization.  But in a second, she had straightened up and moved toward the spot where her normal clothes were sitting, giving her head a toss.  "Don't worry.  I'm not going to be weak enough to need more help for long."

   As the panther moved out of the room, the emerald ring shimmering with a flick of her tail, Rynkura shook her head.  "I am surprised you haven't lost your composure with her stubborn nature, Episticus."

   The ocelot laughed.  "There were times I wanted to.  But then again, that is another part of the training's purpose; to focus the anger and darkness in her spirit into a more positive force.  And I think that in time it will work for her as she sees the need for versatility more and more in her career."

   "Hm," Rynkura grinned.  "Sneaky old snoot.  At least you cannot teach her everything.  Perhaps some younger buck will come and knock you flat on your tail, and she will learn from them instead."

   "I expect it," Episticus snorted as he started to walk out, the angel following behind.  "I am old.  And she is quick, and strong.  I will not be here forever, and it is time for the new generation to learn to be the hope of the world.  At any rate, it is time for me to eat.  I will starve myself babysitting these youngsters."

*     *     *

   Meanwhile, Aisha had made her way back upstairs to her room, setting her weapons to the side.  As she changed back into her adventuring clothes, the panther took a look at the gi before neatly folding it and putting it in the wardrobe.

   I still don't know if this style is for me...but...Aisha hummed as she glanced down at the hand and pair of feet that was still confined in the wrappings.  There was a pause, and then she wrapped her other hand up again, flexing her fingers so that she could get used to the feeling of the cloth bandages.  But...I'll keep it in mind.  Who knows, after all?

   The panther spared one more glance around her room before skipping around the second floor to the eatery, nearly forgetting her own hunger in the interesting events of the day.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I note that in the first section, Aisha sheathes the Dragonblade whilst talking to Episticus, then goes and picks up her cape and boomerang.

And then cracks a joke, and Episticus forces the Dragonblade from her hand. Magic speed draw? ;-]


Other than that... I liked it. Didn't spot any problems with the martial art forms, but then, the form I follow is not unarmed, not to mention entirely different in nature...

[Aisha deCabre]

...You too, Llearch?  I only thought certain GMs don't read closely.  

'Aisha could be heard chuckling slightly, and the sound of metal being drawn from its protective sheath followed.  "Right.  Maybe if you could actually still fight in that old body, I'd consider it."'

The bold part?  That was her drawing the Dragonblade again.

xP  Don't worry, I don't cut corners, even for the sake of coolness.

But anyway, thanks for the comment.  I'm glad you like it.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

nuts. I rescanned at least three times, and missed that every time. >.<

I'll just go crawl into a hole and pull it in after me, shall I? ;-]

[Aisha deCabre]

nuts. I rescanned at least three times, and missed that every time. >.<

I'll just go crawl into a hole and pull it in after me, shall I? ;-]

*Snerk!*  It's cool.  I've been guilty of the same thing.

[Gabi]

Sorry I took so long to reply. I hadn't noticed chapter 10 was up, so I had to print everything in order to catch up.

I enjoyed that chapter, by the way. Cheyenne is funny, and I loved everyone's reactions to Ick's return. Although Icharus's final gesture towards the girls has left me wondering... how does an eagle kiss?

"Versatility" was good too. It shows a measure of how prous Aidha is. I don't get what you meant by "ser claro". Maybe you meant just "claro" ("or course", "naturally")?

[Aisha deCabre]

Sorry I took so long to reply. I hadn't noticed chapter 10 was up, so I had to print everything in order to catch up.

I enjoyed that chapter, by the way. Cheyenne is funny, and I loved everyone's reactions to Ick's return. Although Icharus's final gesture towards the girls has left me wondering... how does an eagle kiss?

"Versatility" was good too. It shows a measure of how prous Aidha is. I don't get what you meant by "ser claro". Maybe you meant just "claro" ("or course", "naturally")?

I used ser claro literally.  "To be sure."  I guess it means the same thing as "naturally", 'course you know I never mind hearing an easier way.  Remember though that I'm more familiar with the Mexican/Central American way of speaking Spanish, or the more formal type, rather than other places.

As for the eagle kissing thing...I dunno, ask Amber or another furry webcomic artist and storyteller pulls it off. x3  I'm still an animal geek remember, I know that beaks don't work like lips.  I just envision him nuzzling the tip of his beak to the back of the hand briefly.

But anyway, many thanks for the comment and glad you liked the chapters. ^^

[Gabi]

I would have said "claramente", or "sin duda". There are some things you just can't translate word by word, and I don't think that "ser claro" can be used like that in Mexico or Central America either.

In any case, yes, I did like your chapters. Don't hesitate to let me know if I miss one again.

Edit: come to think of it, Mexicans may say "desde luego".

[Aisha deCabre]

I would have said "claramente", or "sin duda". There are some things you just can't translate word by word, and I don't think that "ser claro" can be used like that in Mexico or Central America either.

In any case, yes, I did like your chapters. Don't hesitate to let me know if I miss one again.

Edit: come to think of it, Mexicans may say "desde luego".

*snerk!* Thanks for the useful information; they don't teach you everything in college language classes I guess x3

I'll have to go through the stories and correct wherever I've used the phrase then, just to be sure...

[Aisha deCabre]

((New chapter! The majority of which was written while my right hand is bundled up in a cast, no less. x3  This one's gonna be more descriptive and exploration-oriented, and thus I was wrong when I thought it was gonna be just one part long, so I divided it up.  This is also my first time describing a large city, so I hope I get the impression of size down pretty well...large-scale things are a weakness of mine I think. x3 Enjoy!))

Part 1

   ...I think I've been sent on a fool's errand.

    A huntress, fur as black as the shadows that befell the jungle canopy beneath her feet, was making her way slowly down the narrow path of the cliff side.  Her eyes, crimson as the blood of her enemies, scanned the surroundings in the soft sunlight for signs of danger, or any sign of what she was searching for.

   But all was quiet, except for the disturbed wildlife that lived far into the depths of the niche in the earth.  Her ears could pick up nothing of sentient make.  She had to admit it was a beautiful sight when one took the time to look at it...here in the middle of a vast dry wasteland was an underground oasis.  She could barely make out the other side of the fissure where the other canyon wall rose upward.  It was guessed that a stream running through the floor and the streaming constant sunlight allowed captured seeds to grow there over the ages.  An oasis already grew about 200 miles away, so it wasn't far-fetched.

   It was hard to enjoy the sights, nevertheless.  With each step the jaguaress took, her feet loosened pebbles that fell into the shadows and narrowed her path.  Not one to carry a grappling hook and rope in favor of using her own skills to scale steep places, she had to stop and take the time to find a proper foothold, lest she make a fatal wrong step.  Her back was pressed straight back against the wall and her toes were carrying her weight.  At least her long-sleeved clothing and cape kept the sharp rocks from giving her skin a few gashes.

   Oookay, Aisha, deep breath, she chided herself.  First you have to get down.  And you're looking for a building of some sort.  I mean, it's an ancient library.  It shouldn't be too hard to find.  In all those trees...

   ...Yeah, these people put their buildings in interesting places.

   Aisha the Risen tried to remember why she was down in a crack in the earth in the first place, while maneuvering herself to another foothold.  Her memory took her back to two days ago in the evening.

*     *     *     *

   "...A book, señora?"

   Mistress Rynkura Msh'taan, an imposing white tigress who was the head of the monastery in which the panther trained, stood with her back to her as she scoured the library shelves.  She already had a couple of heavy tomes in one arm and was scanning the binders with one claw as she replied.  "Indeed, child.  I am running a bit of an experiment; my method of enchanting does not seem to work on this trinket that one of my guards have found in the catacombs.  It bears runes, but I sense no magical residue, hence it seems to be a normal piece of metal. So I have tried giving it several enchantments, all of which it rejected."

   The tigress's emerald eyes seemed to glaze over as she paused over another book.  "It is quite odd; usually nothing rejects my method unless it had something else already.  I could probably try re-forging it with gems, but that would take a long time and may ruin the finish.  And I refuse to use soul trapping...it has a resonance, but why the magic won't synchronize is a mystery to me...perhaps if I can read the runes..."

    Aisha sighed as she leaned back in her chair.  The Mistress always got like that when she spoke of enchanting magic.  It was her hobby before Healing, after all, a passion of hers.  As the huntress remembered, her father's eyes had the same look in them often when he talked about weaponsmithing.  Briefly, it made Aisha wonder if there's a hobby that she herself could take up...someday, when she was finished with her goal.  Writing was one option...

   Rynkura passed over the book eventually and continued, shaking her head as if coming out of a trance; simultaneously shaking Aisha out of hers.  "Anyway.  I wish to solve this mystery, for who knows if there is a higher power that could easily take advantage of something to resist magic altogether.  Someone that we wouldn't want to meet, more so."

   "Or maybe the dragons made it, like they did with my sword?" Aisha held up the ornate black and gold scabbard that held the Dragonblade as a point.  "It resists magic, and it has runes."

   The Healer glanced back and shook her head.  "No.  Dragons are no doubt nearly unlimited in their skills of magic...in fact my first thought went to them, or Fae.  But both are very heavily magical, and I could feel the residue when I looked at your sword."

   Aisha sighed.  "Right...so it's unknown, and it's ancient.  What's this have to do with a missing book?  Surely the Monastery library has every known piece of writing in existence."

   There was a chuckle from nearby.  Seren wheeled out from behind another shelf on a rolling ladder, replacing books as she went.  "I only wish I could claim that distinctive honor for my library, Aisha," the raccoon smirked.  "But nope, there's been things written since before many Creatures can remember.  Even the oldest we have, the dusty scrolls that are too fragile to open, are young compared to the things lost to history.  Oh, to be able to find them..."

   Aisha's eyebrow quirked.  "So why don't you?  Why send me?"

   "Because you are an adventurer," Rynkura interrupted, turning back to the jaguaress as she placed the books on the table.  "You know the outside world very well and are the best choice we have for an explorer who wouldn't worry about getting their hands dirty.  Adventuring is not just about finding trouble.  It is about finding everything.  It is about the journey, and not just the destination.  This would be a good opportunity for you to learn it.  And since you are getting ready to set out again anyway..."

   "I'm not going off to do someone's chores, Mistress," Aisha snorted.

   The tigress's eyes narrowed slightly.  "Someday, child, you will bite your own tongue off.  It is not like I am sending you to a nearby market to get milk and eggs.  This book I am thinking of is one of the oldest rumored to still be in existence, and it contains methods of enchantment so long forgotten that many of the 'Cubi clan leaders would have trouble remembering it; if any of them were even scholars.  My teachers have spoken of it when I was a child, and it would be most helpful in my research."

   "Huh," Aisha hummed, flattening her ears slightly.  "It would help you...but what about me?  What about everyone here in the Monastery?  Would it have helped the helpless?"  Her tail swished slowly.  "If this isn't a chore, then it's a mission, and you're my next client.  And I try to make darn sure that none of my clients have deadly secrets to keep."

   The statement made Seren gasp and turn to gape slightly at the panthress...the hunter's audacity was harrowing at times.

   Rynkura turned slowly and grabbed her staff, letting the tip drop to the floor with a loud clack to mark the silence between the felines.  The tiger's look was neutral, but serious...to anyone else, the glare would have been enough to shake their knees.  To Aisha, it was only the stern look of her teacher, something that she could easily stand up to with stoic defiance.

   "The power described in that book could have ended the Beliaste demons before they had a chance to start ending the Cabre line," the tiger replied in a perfectly deadpan voice, plain and simple.

   Aisha's eyes widened, and her arms went from being crossed to dropping at her sides.  "¿...Está hablando en serio?" ("You're serious?")

   Rynkura nodded solemnly and stepped back.  "Do not be so short-sighted, Aisha.  It will start off as research.  In the future, it may start to be the help we need to keep this place protected forever.  Keep the Shadowed Depths protected forever from the influence of any demon.  It is a short chance, but a chance worth finding.  If you are up for it.  If I am your next client, as you say, that should be considered payment enough."

   The panthress took a deep breath and gathered her composure, bowing her head slightly.  "Forgive me, Mistress," she muttered, none too happy about her mental defeat.

   The tiger smiled.  "Accepted.  Just as well, if you are up for going on a relic hunt, I shall still make it worth your own while once you return."

   "Heh, that's better," Aisha smirked back.  "Still, it'll be more than enough reward if ten years from now or more, I will see the head of the demon on a spike as a result."

   With the atmosphere now calm, Seren breathed a short sigh of relief and hopped off the ladder with a map in her hands.  "If it makes things easier, I'd start my search at the city of Esten, at the university there.  It's in the desert to the west.  They specialize in the ancient arts, and are always doing some archeology around the sand pits."  She held out the map to Aisha.  "Just be careful.  The open desert is bone-dry."

   "And take these notes," Rynkura added, holding a few folded pieces of paper to her.  "The exact title of the book eludes all known memory, but the descriptions should help."

   "I'll be fine.  Nature can't throw me anything that I'm not used to by now," the panther insisted, taking the map and putting it in her pack, and nodding to Rynkura as she took the notes.  "I'll be off as soon as I gather my weapons and gold, and I'll send a message once I get to Esten."

   "Do so," the old Healer assented.  "And good luck."

   Without another word said, or a look back, Aisha left to seek her next destination with the swiftness that only her feet could grant.

*     *     *

   It was only a day's hike to the outskirts of the desert, starting in the morning the very next day.  A dirt trade route through a forest that quickly faded into open plains also quickly widened to make room for travelers in larger carts and wagons.  It was an uneventful walk, free of brigands and other strangers willing to take advantage of a lone traveler...though Aisha suspected it was due in part to the easy sight of weapons on her person.  Cowardly thieves in those parts didn't tend to hassle an apparent fighter, identified by a stance of confidence in each stride if nothing else.  The dark bounty hunter didn't mind a quiet journey in the least, anyway.  Best if to save her energy for the real task ahead.

   She hadn't crossed into large cities too often, but Aisha still knew when there was one approaching.  As the golden plains grass turned to sand and the trees to rocks, the road signs became well-kept and the roads more paved and visible.  A fork in the desert road marked by a boulder twice her height was also marked by an iron post pointing out the direction straight ahead led to Esten, just ten more miles.

   Bueno, thought the panthress with a grin beneath the hood of her cloak.  The faster I get there the better.  Though, it wouldn't hurt to use this shade and rest a bit.  Getting peckish.

   With that, Aisha sat herself at the boulder's shaded right side in sight of the road, setting the Dragonblade and her boomerang next to her as she did so.  Rummaging in her pack produced a few sandwiches of different varieties, and with her water pouch she indulged in a snack...it was evening, the sky already showing signs of darkening, just far enough in the day to estimate suppertime.

   The quiet meal didn't last long, though.  In the midst of swallowing another bite, the hunter's sensitive ears could pick up the rumble of wagon wheels on stone and a rough voice shouting "Hey-ya!  Get a move-on, ya mules!" coming down the road.

   Ah, wonderful, someone headed towards the city, she thought, half-annoyed.  At least it's only one.  I hate having to travel crowded paths.

   So, Aisha kept eating to her satisfaction, every so often craning her ears to the sounds from the passing cart.  Every grunt of the two feral mules, every beat of the hoof kicking up dust, all of it was registered and studied by the alert adventurer as she hoped they'd just go by and not notice her.

   But as the driver pulled on the reins, eliciting an annoyed grunt from the mules as they halted, Aisha immediately knew there was no such luck for her today.  The driver seemed to snort in surprise as he noticed her.  "Heh, what's this?  Never seen a lone traveler comin' out this way these days, except the ones whose bones are bleachin' by the road.  What're you doin' out here?"

   The panther turned her head to glimpse the wagon driver from the edge of her hood.  He was a boar with muscular limbs and an equally rotund body from what she could see, with short fur colored in reds; like one mixed blood with copper in forging him.  A friendly grin hid behind a snout adorned with two sets of tusks, the left forth of which was broken in half.  His short black hair was cropped military-style and bound by a thick white band around his wrinkled forehead.  He wore a comfortable pair of brown slacks and a matching vest, nothing more on his torso.  Looking to be in his mid-fifties by age...and by the scent that caught Aisha's nostrils emanating from his open-backed cart and half-covered with a tarp, he was a vegetable merchant.  His voice was indeed deep and rusted with age, but sounded friendly enough.

   "I'm just resting here," Aisha answered with a light and level voice.  "Going on to Esten."

   The porcine male snorted a light chuckle.  "What a coincidence...so am I.  These cabbages and tomatoes and healthy crapola don't sell themselves anywhere else.  Travelin' by night, I suppose?  I oughta warn ya, by night it freezes to kingdom come out here.  Ain't the best in the heat by day either.  Lone travelers have trouble on that road."

   Aisha hummed in reply, her way of hinting she'd rather not be chatted to.  "Thanks for the advice.  I'm sure I'll make it.  You be careful too."

   "Heh, always," the merchant assented, and then tilted his head.  "Still, if you want, I can give ya a lift.  I don't mind pickin' up stragglers.  Do it all the time."

   That earned him a quirk of the eyebrow from the huntress.  "Offering a stranger a lift and expecting them to comply?  You could rob me, or I could rob you.  Or worse."

   The boar sat silent for a second before releasing a laugh.  "Just a gesture of kindness and good will from one desert traveler to another.  I can clearly see your sharp things in the dirt there...if you were a highwayman you wouldn't have been sittin' in the open.  And as you can see, I wasn't makin' much effort bein' quiet with my animals...only thing I have to defend me is my wit," he snorted again, "and a rotten veggie or two.  I'll let ya be if ya want...just thought you'd appreciate not walkin' ten more miles in nature's pit."

   Aisha had to admit, she would rather get to the city without much loss of effort and resources lost...which the desert had a reputation for doing.  And it was rather urgent for the sake of the Mistress that she got to the city.

   And there wasn't a reason to turn down a polite offer; she sensed no real danger from the boar anyhow.  "Alright then, twist my arm, I'll take the ride," the panthress replied, standing up and replacing the weapons on her belt.  She adjusted her hood so that her face wasn't so obscured in shadow, and gave a polite head bow.  "I appreciate it."

   "Bah, think nothin' of it," the boar chuckled.  "There's room in the back there; you may have to sit on a crate.  If you can get in the wagon okay, we'll get goin' straight and be at the city by...er, eight at the latest I suppose."

   Aisha did so easily with a hop over the wooden railing, settling herself on a short crate where she could still see out into the desert.  A shouted command from the driver kicked the mules out of their stupor and set the wagon at a brisk pace ahead on the trail.

   "So you're an adventurer, ain't ya?" the boar asked after a while.  "I won't ask what line of work, best to keep that kind of blood off my hooves.  But ain't many a normal traveler that goes around with even a small arsenal in these parts."

   "Yes," the jaguaress assented, keeping her eyes out into the desert landscape.  "And hopefully this adventure won't involve a fight.  I'm on retrieval, some business from the University of Esten."

   "Ah, knowledge hunting," the driver chuckled.  "My daughter went to that school.  Dear heart, I miss her so, but at least I see her every few weeks.  You sound like you come from pretty far away, judgin' from your accent, Miss...er, y'got a name?"

   Aisha always paused when asked that.  But, the porcine driver seemed like the type of aging man who appreciated any kind of company he could find to talk to.  Who only had a grown family and the desert otherwise.  It made her chuckle inwardly.  Kinda like what she had the possibility of turning into in forty years.

   "They just call me 'the Risen'," she replied.  "And you, cerdo?"

   "Oh?" the boar hummed, turning his head briefly.  "They call me 'cabbage guy'," he joked, snorting a laugh.  "But the name's Antoine...Antoine Menda.  Nice to meet ya, Miss Risen.  I gotta say, that ain't an unfamiliar moniker.  You're a mysterious scourge and shadowy defender, they say.  Very good at what you do."

   The panthress shrugged.  "I just do what I'm hired to do, señor Menda, like every adventurer does.  Gotta eat, you know.  At any rate, I don't hope to shed any more unnecessary blood."

   "The people I meet while haulin' veggies..." Antoine muttered thoughtfully as he gave the reins another crack.

*     *     *

   Not much more talking went on as the vegetable merchant's wagon rumbled over the cracks in the desert road.  His mysterious passenger shifted comfortably every so often on the surface of her crate, pulling her cloak further about her shoulders as the cold evening air became colder.  With every inch that the sun crept below the horizon, the temperature dropped, and Aisha felt more like she made the right decision to accept help for once.

   Still, she couldn't complain when observing things at sunset.  The cloudless sky took on a glow over the horizon that an artist could weep over, for he could never duplicate Nature herself at her best.  Winding bands of deep purple to blues and violets danced over a landscape that, while barren and harsh, still served as a brilliant canvas.  The golden sand turned red for a few moments under the setting sun's caress and looked like a sea of blood.  Morbid though the comparison was at first, the color itself for the sand at dusk was no less than beautiful.

   The stars that appeared came so like a glittering curtain pulled over the cloudless piece of earth.  Black at their backs, literally millions of the diamond pinpricks could be seen mingling amongst themselves.  The moon was half-full, but along with the stars still provided sufficient light for Aisha to still see her own black hands in the shadowy darkness.  And as per accompaniment to a performance, the nocturnal insects started up a chorus of rhythmic chirps and shrieks, consisting of only one or two notes.  The panther's own oft-torrential thoughts couldn't even interrupt the serenity of the show.

   And the last of it was yet to come.

   "Ah, good, we're finally about there," Antoine said with a sleepy grunt.  "Look up ahead."

   Aisha did, raising her head and moving the edge of her cloak.  What she saw made her eyes widen in awe.

   Like a grand finale to the trip, over the backdrop of the last of dusk, rose a towering example of a city.  A spire of stone marked the center of a circular area wider than Aisha could see over, and the spire looked more like another subsection of the city itself.  According to its colossal girth and the lights emitted from its many window-like indents, Aisha could only guess that the inside of the gargantuan central rock housed a village-sized community.  If one squinted their eyes, they could spot a statue on the pinnacle of the thin mount of a winged, feathered serpent watching over all in its shadow.

   At the foot of the spire and sprawling outward were more buildings, all of which were built in a mixed nature and varied in size and design...like so many cultures had come together in this isolated land to make it.  Beyond the city and around its walls there were several trees and plants, marking an oasis.  A river, or wide shallow stream moreover, divided the city in half and emptied into a reservoir that crossed back into the oasis, and several bridges cut over the water's clear surface at intervals...it had to serve as the lifeline.  The whole thing was carved out of a rock and sand hill and ended at walls so tall that they had to rival a colossus gryphon's height.

   Aisha leaned over to get a closer look at the city's layout from their view on a hill coming down, fascinated at the sheer size of it.  She could barely see the streets winding through each district like a maze, illuminated by a mix of torches and magical orbs.  More lights came from the windows of whatever buildings lined the roads, and she suspected that more than a few individuals still walked around so early in the night yet.  Just outside of the gates, a bunch more wagons, carts, and people of every species milled around like a suburban community all their own, some still on the path waiting to get in.

   "By gods," the huntress muttered approvingly.  "I wouldn't live in a city, but it's still impressive to walk into one."

   "Preach to the choir, Risen," the boar chuckled.  "Welcome to Esten.  Population just reaching 1000, home of the best cactus juice cocktails anywhere, and also home to more merchants and traveling gypsies than you dare shake a stick at.  Market's pretty variable if shoppin's your thing--just watch for pickpockets and such--otherwise it's a pretty safe place.  Creatures mingle with Beings too, and guards watch over everything like hawks.  Adventurers are pretty tolerated too, just gonna have to register all your weapons at the gate.  Fair warnin'."

   "Yeah, thanks," Aisha muttered with a snort.  "I'll be more concerned about finding where I need to go."

   "They offer maps down at the gates, if I remember," Antoine hummed and urged the mules ahead.  "And gryphon taxis, if you don't wanna walk."

   "I don't mind walking," Aisha assured, then added with a smirk, "I feel awkward enough having one person cart me around, with or without payment, señor."

   "Hah!" the porcine merchant snorted.  "Fair enough.  If you're talkin' about me, you don't owe anything for the ride.  Just having the company is good enough.  Besides, I wouldn't ask a girl who'd easily kick my old ass five ways to Monday for payin'," he said, turning to her with a wink.

   Aisha replied with a light chuckle of her own, turning her gaze back to the city.  "Bueno.  Still appreciated, old man."

   The cart continued its rumbling toward Esten, until the imposing gates obstructed the view of the inside.  Antoine stopped amid a small contingent of other carts.  The gates were nearby, with uniformed guards seen checking evening visitors in and out.

   Pulling the reins, the boar stopped the cart in the midst of what seemed like a small flea market for all it appeared.  "This is where we part ways I'm afraid, Miss Risen," he said, turning back to her with a bow of his head.  "They don't let merchants in until dawn, but you can still get in.  I wish ya luck, hope ya find what you're lookin' for."

   "Thank you, señor Menda," said Aisha as she stood up, returning the bow.  "And thanks again for the ride.  Take care."

   "Shoot, call me Antoine," he chuckled.  The red boar waited for her to leap from his cart before he continued off, looking for a place to settle.

   On her own once more, the black jaguar pulled her cloak closer to herself in the chilly air and approached the gates.  Other milling travelers briefly glanced at the curious figure in the cape, but otherwise paid her little mind.  One offered to sell a map to the innards of the city though, which she took and paid for with a few copper coins.

   Once it was her turn to be admitted, standing next to the tall entrance, Aisha faced a giraffe guard in a brown uniform with an issued sword at his hip.  "Name and business?" he calmly barked.

   "Aisha deCabre," she answered.  To a guard at least she didn't withhold her name unless she needed, and even then, it was a variation of her true surname.  She pulled back her hood and nodded a greeting, her voice cool and even.  "I've come to visit the University.  I was told as an adventurer I have to register my weapons?"

   "Correct, ma'am," he replied and pointed to the side.  "Just show them to my partner over there, he'll inspect and give them back to you, and then mark you as a visitor."  He gave her a stern look.  "Be sure you register all of them.  And be warned that if you cause trouble for any citizen, you'll have to face the law.  Clear?"

   "Very," Aisha acquiesced with an inward sigh and took her weapons--consisting only of the Dragonblade, her sword; her trusty bladed boomerang, Nex Ex Divum; and the dagger that she kept hidden in her leg--to be inspected.  The panther hoped that it all would go quickly; cities had more rules to follow than the small towns she was used to travelling through, and she just wanted to rush through the official lectures and whatnot so that she could find a place to stay the night.

   Thankfully, it did go quickly.  The other guard, a silver Akita-type canine, placed an enchanted rune made of disappearing ink on the back of her hand and waved her off.  "Everything's in order.  Enjoy your stay in Esten," he said with a tired tone and awaited the next newcomer if there was one.

   Glad to finally be there, with the city's illustrious view unraveling at her feet, the bounty hunter set to the task of finding her way around the ever quieting streets.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

   But all was quiet, except for the disturbed wildlife that lived far into the depths of the niche in the earth.  Her ears could pick up nothing of sentient make.  She had to admit it was a beautiful sight when one took the time to look at it...here in the middle of a vast dry wasteland was an underground oasis.  What amounted to a giant crack in the earth, a fissure too small to be a canyon, there sprouted a sizeable jungle.  She could barely make out the other side of the fissure where the other canyon wall rose upward.  It was guessed that a stream running through the floor and the streaming constant sunlight allowed captured seeds to grow there over the ages.  A jungle already grew about 5 miles away, so it wasn't far-fetched.

Is it in the middle of a vast dry wasteland, or 5 miles from a jungle, or what? both seems unlikely...

Also, the first bolded segment is... not as coherent as it might be, I think. The last sentence in it needs reviewing, because it doesn't (to me) make sense...

Other than that (very minor) couple of notes, I enjoyed it. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[Aisha deCabre]

   But all was quiet, except for the disturbed wildlife that lived far into the depths of the niche in the earth.  Her ears could pick up nothing of sentient make.  She had to admit it was a beautiful sight when one took the time to look at it...here in the middle of a vast dry wasteland was an underground oasis.  What amounted to a giant crack in the earth, a fissure too small to be a canyon, there sprouted a sizeable jungle.  She could barely make out the other side of the fissure where the other canyon wall rose upward.  It was guessed that a stream running through the floor and the streaming constant sunlight allowed captured seeds to grow there over the ages.  A jungle already grew about 5 miles away, so it wasn't far-fetched.

Is it in the middle of a vast dry wasteland, or 5 miles from a jungle, or what? both seems unlikely...

Also, the first bolded segment is... not as coherent as it might be, I think. The last sentence in it needs reviewing, because it doesn't (to me) make sense...

Other than that (very minor) couple of notes, I enjoyed it. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Actually, I probably should change the nearby jungle thing to nearby oasis...and it was originally closer to 20-100 miles away, but I thought I overestimated how far seeds could be carried by wind...like I said, I'm weak at estimating large-scale, even distance, and I was experimenting with ideas.  That experiment was a success, I'll make it 200, I suppose.

I don't see what's incoherent about the sentence you're talking about though, it's a brief idea on the size of a fissure where plants are growing, but I'll see what I can fix anyway.  Now that I see it, might be best to eliminate that sentence altogether.

Heh, I can go overboard when I get to describing something.  Thanks for pointing it out, and glad you like it so far. ^^