Shattered Innocence (IC) [M]

[Sprocketsdance]

The sobbing subsided as Chance listened to her two elders, letting the internal cuts land where they may but also knowing that she has to learn.. somehow. She stuffed her grief for Zanfib as far down as she could.. she could deal with that later. The life-expensive lesson would have quite the effect on her once she got her bearings again.

She protectively wrapped her arms around the child plopped in front of her. Nothing will ever make up for what I have done... but I am done crying... it's no use anyways. She understood Elian's stance, but it hurt no less. He was somewhat right. Her thoughts drifted a moment.. I hate to think this way.. but... she looked to the unresponsive being in her arms ... maybe it was better. None of them even seemed alive... but.. but they were..

As more thoughts rounded she became surprised at Garis' stance. Realization hit her that these elders were still willing to deal with her crap and teach her lessons. That offered her some condolence all things considering.  Thank you...

The snow leopardess stood, still holding the being child. Her tone was slightly cracked but she forced it out anyways. "Whether I stay with the group or not should likely be decided later, given how quickly we should be leaving and how not good it may be for you guys if I'm.. indeed.. tortured for information. If that were to happen this .. incident would be like nothing to me." She shook her head. "Please.. can we just go?"

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered nodded, as he turned towards the others. "She is correct. we cannot tarry here.  The conversation will keep, but if some adventurers show up here, our journey suddenly acquires numerous complications. Kassin is still unconscious? Wonderful."

Calmness, stillness, had to be forced. Still, he froze his face into a blank mask as he tromped over to Kassin, and slung the Angel over his shoulder with a grunt. He scrolled through his mind for any spells that enhanced physical strength, and found a minor charm he learned from a hedge witch a century ago. Not much, but it would help a little. His eyes turned a solid shade, and he mumbled the arcane words, and his muscles bulked, hardened. He took a few steps, and felt that his burden was not so heavy.


"Come, we need to be away from here."

[Noone]

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Eilan looked at Garis with a snarl. "This mistake isn't just going to affect her but everyone around her! How about everyone that she killed? Or Kassin who had to take the backlash of it all? Or the rest of us who are protecting him and have now had that job harder because we've lost our lead and alerted everyone around us to our presence?! How about everyone who will have to suffer while she learns an ounce of responsibility that she should have had already?" He shook his head in disgust. Damned cubi always stick together. I'll remember that when I'm risking my neck for their sakes. I hope they don't support her when she decides to target him next. "If she means so damned much to you then why don't you go run away with her and leave Kassin's safety to me?" He barked that at Garis like an order.

He then made a glance at Kedered, noting that he was holding Kassin. He seemed rather uneasy about it. Damn it... I suppose if I try anything he'll just kill Kassin. How the hell did he attract such a group  of degenerate bastards? I suppose I'll have to let them have their way for now... He made a defeated growl then shook his head. "Fine. We're moving. Follow my lead." With that, he moved some distance before looking at the orphanage. He balled his hands into fists in frustration.

The trip went across large stretches of open plains. It was well into the night, the air only seemed to get more bitter with distance. Eilan constantly made stray glances at Chance, they only seemed to get more hostile as the night went by. Fatigue was starting to wear on him as well. Marching went on for hours, and the journey only got worse with time.

This continued into the next morning. The sun rose up slowly. Eilan gave a good look towards the east. Not nearly far enough... He shook his head and kept moving. He glanced back at Chance and the child she was carrying. He didn't make a move the entire time, just stared ahead mutely. He didn't acknowledge the sun rising, his heart rate seemed to slow.  

Kassin would wake in Kedered's hold some time after that.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

 Kedered was glad when Kassin managed to awaken. Even with a strength enhancer, his shoulder was aching from the effort of carrying the angel. He set the boy down on his feet, let him walk off the ache he must have been feeling.

Rubbing his shoulder, he glanced towards Eilan. At least he'd be more ready if any sort of violence broke out, although with Kassin awake, he didn't think that quite as likely. Eilan seemed quite willing to indulge in Kassin's vulnerabilities, which reminded Kedered he needed to pump the angel more firmly for information, there were pieces that he needed, locked up in that head of his.

"How far do you think we made it from the orphanage? I think the little one is in some distress."

[Noone]

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Kassin stumbled about a bit once released onto the ground. It didn't take him long however, to fall face first into the snowy ground. He made a soft groan. It took him a while to pick himself back up again.

Eilan glanced towards the child Chance was holding. He couldn't refrain from scowling as he looked. Turning to examine Kassin, he then looked back towards Kedered. "Not far enough, we're still exposed in this open terrain. There should be some foliage not far off to the north. Lets keep moving." He made a glance sidewards towards the rising sun, then pressed on northwards.

Kassin picked himself up, then stumbled after the others. His eyes still looked wild, and he didn't speak either. His wings drooped, and his facial expression was pained, but blank. At times, Eilan would help him walk, making sure he kept his balance.
The child in Chance's hold was as inactive as ever as well, but still alive.

A short while later, some trees could be seen on the horizon. It took a short time to get close to them. "Right..." Eilan began, "Bit farther..." He shook his head, he was clearly running up against the limit of his endurance. It only took another hit however, as when he came close to the woods, there were two corpses in plain view. Both were beings, one had two arrows in him, the other looked like he had been stabbed in the chest repeatedly. Both of them had swords in their hands, one of them looked quite bloody. The blood on them was partially dried as well. Eilan let out a soft growl. "Great... as if the day couldn't get any worse...". Kassin meanwhile, had paced deeper into the woods. It took Eilan a moment from examining the corpses to notice. "Damn it all..." He chased after him.

At a clearing in the woods, there were four people on the ground. All of them had blood on them. Kassin was crouched down, he appeared to be tending to them. His ears picked up as he heard Eilan coming over. He looked up towards him. "They're alive."
Eilan shook his head, and let out a brief snarl. "Move", he said flatly, before moving in front of Kassin and shoving him backwards. Kassin stumbled to the ground. He looked up at Eilan with frightened, yet loosely coherent eyes. Both of them examined the four on the floor.

A wave of cold air rushes across your face. It's a harsh, but actually refreshing feeling. The last thing you remember was not feeling anything. There's still a considerable ache in your gut, and there's the feel of frigid snow across your back as you lie in the floor. However, you feel a jolt of energy, faint, but there. You realize you can open your eyes.
A wave of cold air rushes across your face. It's a harsh, but actually refreshing feeling. The last thing you remember was not feeling anything. There's still a considerable ache in your gut, and there's the feel of frigid snow across your back as you lie in the floor. However, you feel a jolt of energy, faint, but there. You realize you can open your eyes.
A wave of cold air rushes across your face. It's a harsh, but actually refreshing feeling. The last thing you remember was not feeling anything. There's still a considerable ache in your gut, and there's the feel of frigid snow across your back as you lie in the floor. However, you feel a jolt of energy, faint, but there. You realize you can open your eyes.
A wave of cold air rushes across your face. It's a harsh, but actually refreshing feeling. The last thing you remember was not feeling anything. There's still a considerable ache in your gut, and there's the feel of frigid snow across your back as you lie in the floor. However, you feel a jolt of energy, faint, but there. You realize you can open your eyes.

[Shachza]

A wave of cold air rushes across your face. It's a harsh, but actually refreshing feeling. The last thing you remember was not feeling anything. There's still a considerable ache in your gut, and there's the feel of frigid snow across your back as you lie in the floor. However, you feel a jolt of energy, faint, but there. You realize you can open your eyes.

"THEY CAUGHT ME!" thought Toalacuzlotlixao.

He tried hard to not groan at the pain in his stomach, and while he succeeded, he had to grind his teeth together to not cry out.  His head was still throbbing from the blow that had finally caught him.

"How do I live?  That felt like a warclub.  Solid hit." he thought as he cracked an eye open.  "Maybe I'm dead and this is my judgment."  He could see two dim shapes standing nearby, some trees in the background, and lots of cold rock-water.  "They call it Snow."  Such an odd thought.  It meant that he wasn't dead though, none of the priests had ever mentioned Snow as part of the afterlife.  His eyes snapped open when it hit him that he had been in battle, had been wounded, and now there was someone standing over him.  He was still in danger!

He tried to roll over into a crouch while examining the two figures before him.  One was a fox with black hair, and the other was a tiger with orange stripes on blue fur and yellow wings.  The latter was instantly recognizeable.

"SOULEATER!" he thought.

"Zo...!" he said as he stumbled instead of reaching a full crouch.  He turned the stumble into a roll to put more distance between himself and these two.  When he came up again he was a bit more steady, successfully using his tail to steady his wobbly legs, and he took a quick look around.  There were three more figures lying on the ground, a spotted female with blue hair who appeared roughly feline, a male meerkat, and a very large reptilian fellow with a white tattoo on his shoulder.  There was a lot of blood in the area.  Toalacuzlotlixao's bow was lying in the snow about 20 feet away now, his quiver near it, and while he could retrieve his bow, he was not confident about his ability to summon an arrow from the Gods at the moment.  Instead he put one hand out in front of him to distract with and the other slipped into his belt behind him, snatching a couple of darts and slipping the tip of one into a gourd of poison.  He wasn't exactly sure which gourd, but all the poisons back there would be unpleasant to any enemy he struck with it.

"Zo calao aht..."  he began, then remembered that these people didn't know the High Holy Tongue.  "You will not take my spirit, Souleater!  Temlocoul will be released from Mictlan to hunt you and rend your still living body if you deny me a warrior's afterlife!"

(Before you, crouched in a battle stance, is a short reptile covered from head to toe in leathers and furs and with several gourds hanging in his belt.  Other than large Yellow eyes, a pointed snout full of small teeth, and a large blood stain in the leather on the left side of his head nothing else notable is visible at the moment.  He speaks with a strange accent and appears unsteady on his feet.)

[Chairtastic]

Ba-bump.  Ba-bump.  Ba-bump...

He lay there, focusing on the consistency of his own heartbeat to escape the pain.  When he'd first regained consciousness, his experimental squirming had revealed the blunt force injury to his lower torso which had forced him into unconsciousness in the first place was still present.  The smell of blood impaired his ability to whiff out the persons around him, particularly the blood from when he had been punched in the nose.  So he would have to open his eyes, and look.

It was bright.  Bright enough that Orenio immediately closed his eyes to prevent damage.  However, he did not groan, or whimper.  The meerkat bit back such pointless vocalizations, and instead tried to sit up.  His body heat had melted some snow beneath him, thus dampening his unseasonable clothes, and making every minute breeze seem like a dagger in his back.  Once again, he tried to see, this time squinting heavily.

The resulting images were blurred, but he could still determine shapes.  A canine and winged feline were close by, the latter being so brightly colored, Orenio wondered how he could avoid being eaten by something larger than himself.  Darring to open his eyes a bit more, as they adjusted to the brightness of the day combined with the reflective snow, Orenio scanned the powder for his knives.

The cleaver was close by, as was his largest chef knife; the latter had a nick in the blade.  Sighing, he retrieved them, drew the strips of cloth he used to keep them protected from each other out of his satchel, then returned them to the carrying device.

Some lizardman spouting religious rigmarole drew his attention.  He suddenly remembered the events of the night before, and his survival instincts kicked into high gear.  Adventurers....Creatures...run; run now!  A blur of motion consumed Orenio, while he changed into his much more maneuverable primal form.  He would only be visible for an instant, before he cast Vanish on himself, and bolted for the trees.  Even with the sudden boost of power his primal form granted, Orenio only managed to force Vanish to the second degree, so his own shadow and footprints in the snow would likely give him away.

[Tipod]

Bart's scaled form lied amidst the snow, leather armor torn and ripped from the shoulders on down, skin scarred and scabbing from the numerous lacerations and bruises. Even as his sense returned, the entire world felt distant and desaturated; everyone's voice was a dull echo, their outlines vague. All he could see were three others from the grim melee, two of them already dancing about at the sight of some... winged thing. Another Creature.

The demon's head shakily tilted up before falling back into the snow with a quiet scrunch. Despite every tiny, organic process mending his broken body, he felt like puking and going back into Coma Land. The screaming of the hyperactive lizard did nothing to rouse him, either. Soulstealers? Even if these people were soulsucking monsters, he had a snowball's chance in Hell of fighting them off, much less crawl to safety.

There came an occasional twitch from his clawed hands, but nothing else as he stared blankly towards the sky.

[Ketchup-Crumbles]

First came the sounds: her heartbeat, the whistling of the wind, sounds of people moving, talking and shouting.
Then came the smell.

Snow, sweat, blood.
Death.
Run! RUN!

Panicky Phoebe crouched backwards. She managed no more than two or three feet before she bumped into a nearby tree.
And then the pain came back. Her head hurt from the impact. And there were major stabbing pains in her abdominal area. The few conscious thoughts she had mingled while she felt herself drifting back into unconsciousness.

Who di... it hurts... so much blood... why... ow, my head...
They, it was them...
No. Don't fall asleep. They'll get you. Wake up. Think!

Only then she started registering the sight. She saw all the blood, on herself, on the ground, on the others. She could see five figures, one was lying on the ground, probably unconscious, two more were in a crouching position akin to her own, just one was actually standing and the last figure seemed to shrink and then he just vanished.

Don't show any fear. They sense it, they'll smell it. Those two over there are not on friendly terms. What was the reptile shouting? Is the being protecting the creature? No way I can fight all of them! Not in this condition. Maybe I can't even run.

Steadying herself on the tree, Phoebe tried to get up, anxious to hide any weakness or fear she had.

"What do you want? You should've killed me, while I was unconscious! It will be harder for you now." At least a little harder.

[Lisky]

Throughout the hike, Garis kept himself rather quiet, pondering Eilan's line of thought.  Was he truly so dead-set against Chance's presence.  He pondered the situation while planting one foot in front of the other. The task at has was so mind-numbingly simple, he very easily could have been mentally asleep the entire journey.

Eventually, the sight of some battle came into view.  Garis spotted the bodies for a moment before watching Kassin dart off.  Following the angel-boy, Garis's eyes caught even more bodies.  Kassin claimed they were still alive.  He'd seen the wonders the boy could perform, if he declared them alive, they probably were.

He expected Kassin to do his thing.  What he hadn't expected, was Eilan's sudden, and violent response to Kassin's healing.  Coming forward, Garis helped Kassin up with a tentacle, there was no point in subtlety, these people were scared, weak, and in need of assistance.  His head-wings raised a bit as the cubi glared at Eilan. 

Addressing the new group as a whole, Garis reformed his wings, then replied, "we meant no harm.  In fact, we were trying to help.  We came across you all in a rather bloody state, perhaps from a few hours ago... not too much longer or you would have been dead...  Any chance you can tell me what happened to you?"

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered hung back initially, trying to keep himself interposed between Eilan and Chance. The stink of burned flesh and leaking blood assailed him, and he was hardly surprised at Kassin's rush forward, to whatever survivors there were. He didn't get a good look, but he only saw one set of wings of the supine figures, and Kassin working his magic on them. Odd, that so many survivors would be clustered about.

The cacophony of thoughts and riot of emotions caught him off guard, stunned him for a second as he adjusted his filters to compensate for the flow. A lot of fear, and aggression. Thin, sour soup mixed in with a coat of rime and dye and lime.  Aggression seemed to settle in on the odd, wingless reptile, with one shouting, another dazed..... Eilan would be able to handle things, if they were disoriented as Kassin's usual patients were, but one turned into something small, darted off.

He blasted out a wave of thought, hoping that none of the newcomers had the telepathic acumen to intercept his message. Past pattern indicates that whatever Kassin does, these will be traceable. We cannot simply allow them to leave, whatever we do. I am on the runner. He wrapped himself in a speed spell, and dashed off after the little rodent. Something was wavery about his form, but Kedered could still pick up shadow, outline, as well as a riotous burst of emotion giving a general location. As he ran, he shouted after his quarry, knowing the speed spell often made his voice distort. "Stop running you fool. You are still wounded, and if you burn up your reserves, we will need to fix you up once again. Just turn around. We will not kill you."

[Sprocketsdance]

The snow leopardess held the still, being child close as the group traveled. There has to be some way to save this poor kid... With every step her hope for the task dwindled. The glares from Elian did not help. Yes, she did deserve how he was treating her, but surviving meant moving on and not wasting energy on this.. vicious anger. Not a very good taste she decided. She tightened her grip on the child and would rub what she could - arms, legs, back - in hopes of taking the child out of his catatonic state as she saw done with kittens a few times. She wanted to ask Kassin for help, but he was just recovering himself from her mess, and this was her job.

Grateful for the presence of her kind, and their stances, she pressed onward. Until they reached the trees. Elian did not look like he was fairing well, yet he still chased Kassin protectively. Chance darted after them and came just in time to see Elian's outburst. Her ears held back as she neared them, but perked when the four bloody forms came to. She wasn't exactly sure what to make of them, but hoped that perhaps seeing a female with a child in the group they would not hold onto their panic.

"..besides, if he really wanted to eat your soul he could have done so easily enough without healing you.."

[Chairtastic]

Orenio didn't stop, not yet.  Newly remembered memories of being chased for hours, then forced into a battle kept him going.  Someone was chasing him; from the sounds of snow crunching behind him, the pursuer was moving very quickly.

He couldn't look back at his chaser, because even with the trees filtering most of the light, enough still hit the snow to sting Orenio's eyes.  While they were slowly adapting, the rate was so that Orenio had to travel a bit slower than he would like, and keep in a relatively straight direction to avoid hitting plant-life during the periods where he was forced to close his eyes and run blind.

Orenio dove through a bush as words hit his ears; the whipping of branches obscured some of the words, but a single sentence got through: "We will not kill you."  This made Orenio think.  Why would Adventurers or Creatures fix me up just to kill me?  Torture?  Slavery?  Neither was exactly pleasant, but running with severe soft tissue damage was beginning to take its toll, forcing Orenio to go even slower to avoid greater injuries.  Just when he thought he couldn't run any farther, something caught the meerkat's eye.  A burrow, at the base of a large tree approaching.

Relief surged, alleviating enough of the pain for Orenio to make one final sprint toward the burrow.  He didn't stop to consider the possibility that his follower could uproot the tree, or reach in the burrow and drag him out if he got there.  All of this was rendered moot, when a searing pain and a ripping sensation hit Orenio square in the gut, causing the meerkat to hit the ground and skid stopping three feet from the tree he'd been trying for, curled up in agony.  The Vanish upon him dissolved,  replaced by a translucent pale brown dome, fluctuating between lighter and darker shades, as Orenio tried to force the barrier through the pain.

[Shachza]

Toalacuzlotlixao nearly threw the dart when the anthro meerkat morphed into a feral version of himself and suddenly disappeared.  If it hadn't been for dulled senses he might very well have; he did not know who the other three injured were, they could be those he had been fighting.  His memory of the last day was pretty fuzzy too, come to think of it.  He watched the short and panicked retreat of the spotted feline-ish female with the edge of his vision, but kept his eyes locked on the orange-on-blue tiger.

The initial burst of adrenaline was starting to wear off as first a winged wolf showed up behind the tiger, who was followed quickly by a winged jaguar and a snow leopardess in a large cloak covered a still-obvious pair of wings.  So many wings!  But now his vision was getting a little fuzzy as well.  He shook his head to try and clear it, which turned out to be a huge mistake as he nearly pitched headfirst into the snow.  Only by planting his forward hand on the ground did he avoid this inglorious fate.  He slowly backed up to give himself more distance and (hopefully) more time to react to all these new people.

That's when he noticed that the jaguar was gone.  Was he imagining things now too?  He certainly wasn't totally well yet, but he might not have the time to spare for that.  The winged wolf's words slowly filtered first into his brain, and then through translation to a tongue he understood better.  It took him a long moment.

"You mean us no harm?  I should believe you?  You are convicted of many crimes!"

His tail was getting cold in the snow behind him.

[Noone]

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The sudden surge of activity strained further Kassin's already fragile composure, he twitched, and fell to the snowy ground,  his muscles locked in a frozen position, trembling in fear. A moment passed, and he was able to haul himself up to a standing position with Garis's help, but he still didn't appear to be any more calm.

Eilan kept alert, although his attentiveness was clearly wavering. He set a piercing stare over the four strangers, as if trying to evaluate how far they could be trusted. When he saw Orenio change form and then vanish, he fingered the hilt of his blade, keeping it ready to react to any hostile motions. His eyes shot from side to side, making quick notes as to where everyone was. Smart guy, knowing us... Kassin may be innocent but his company certainly isn't... When Garis glared at him, he snarled and looked to Chance. Reasserting his priorities, he looked towards Toalacuzlotlixao. He let out a soft growling sound before speaking.

"Conviction implies that there was a fair trial and verdict. There's nothing of the sort here." Eilan peered at  Toalacuzlotlixao with eyes adorned by purple bags, badges of exhaustion. "I doubt you'd care though, considering the reward offered."

Kassin made glances towards Bart and Phoebe. "L...L..." He shook his head, mustering his courage. "Look..." He said, he put his hands up shortly in front of himself, palms open, fingers pointed upwards.  "Y... you were all badly hurt, I was trying to aid you, I... " Kassin paced forwards, but Eilan soon extended his left arm to block him, and kept Kassin back.

Starting with a low growl, his eyes rolled back to Kassin momentarily. "Kassin stay *back*, don't you remember how much your death is worth to someone? Gratitude alone won't shield you." Kassin winced at the words, and muttered something plaintive under his breath.

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Traveling through the woods, there are more bodies strewn about. Most of them look several hours dead. There are more beings, their bodies appear to have been looted. At the speed you are running at, however, you cannot discern much in the way of details.

[Tipod]

It took so, so much effort for Bart to roll over and get on both hands and knees. Actually standing almost made him collapse back into the snow. As his eyes focused into something a cut above bleary exhaustion, he took a long, hard look at Eilan and Kassin.

These were the "criminals," no doubt about it. Even if the skink hadn't been freaking out over it, there was no mistaking those mugs and pelts of theirs.

"Look," he grumbled, rubbing his lacerated side, "I don't care what you chumps did or didn't do, but I do care about one of you. The black one, Raffiele Thom'sen. He and I need to have a little chat."

[Ketchup-Crumbles]

Trying to get up proved to be a bad idea. Phoebe almost instantly felt dizzy and nauseous.
Something seems quite wrong about those guys. I just can't place it. They don't seem to be a real group.
Just then Phoebe remembered where she had seen some of them. These were the criminals from the pamphlets. Torturers, murderers and souleaters. Fear overcame her once again. She had seen enough creatures to know what they were capable of. And while her thoughts still fluctuated between the odd behaviour of all the people around her and the mind-shattering fear, everything else about her went numb and she slumped back down against the tree.
They'll kill me. They surely will kill me and then eat my soul. But why does the worst of them seem so weak? And is the being guarding him? This doesn't make sense. They'll kill me...

[Shachza]

Toalacuzlotlixao slowly edged a little farther backwards as the large reptillian fellow shakily got up.  He felt a little better by keeping his movements slow and steady.  He tried evening out his breathing, but the bitterly cold air grated on his throat as it always did here.  He missed the warmer and more humid climate of his home.

"Who are you?"  he asked sharply, looking at Eilan.  "These convictions are recognized by the rightful leaders of this land.  Do you dispute their right to lead as well?  But why are you speaking for him," Toalacuzlotlixao looks at Kassin briefly, "do you control him?  If he disputes these charges, then let him defend himself as is proper."

Toalacuzlotlixao wished at this point to have the whole council of wise ones to confer with.  They would sort out who was telling the truth in short order, and if the worst came, then their combined magical abilities would be enough to stop these people.


(If Kassin starts explaining that he's not such a bad guy, Toalacuzlotlixao will do his best to determine whether Kassin is lying about not being a criminal)

[Lisky]

Giving a bit of a sigh as the avian and reptile seemed still convinced that Garis was both a murder and soul-theif.  Eilan's hatred of Chance had clearly not faded in the slightest, either.  He grunted a bit as he interposed himself the reptillian and Kassin.  He turned his attention towards the avian female, she appared to be struggling the worst.  Garis very gently shifted a tentacle over from his wing down under her, wrapped it gently under an arm, and helped steady her,  "I have no intention nor need to kill you.  Any of you.  I feed off emotions, the dead have no emotion, errgo, Killing you would -not- be beneficial to me.  Furthermore, again, if i was going to kill you, why would i have helped you up first?  If i'm some psychotic murderer, wouldn't i have cleaved you in half?  or taken you out while you were asleep?"

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but i ask you, why do you trust any group of strangers more than another?  They offer a reward, and you trust their word more than our own?"

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered was surprised when the little rodent he had been chasing suddenly shifted size  and skidded away from the hole it had been making towards. The supine figure was that of a wingless meercat, short, under five feet it looked like, although it was hard to tell with the figure prone. Some odd, brown, flickering dome almost immediately appeared, hovering above the meercat. Kedered stopped running, and dropped his speed enhancement spell, circling the dome while studying it. No indication of wings, but that rapid transition spoke of either practiced shapeshifting or advanced magic. Still, some beings were awfully skilled.


He remembered his father once, speaking technically, as a sorcerer saying "If you do not know what a spell does, do not touch it you idiot.", but he certainly did not recognize what was in front of him, other than as a barrier, almost certainly protective of some sort.  He wasn't sure whether or not it was simply deflective, or if it did something nastier, so he scooped up a handful of snow and tossed it at the dome. As he was doing that, he kept up a line of patter, trying to discern or distract his quarry. "Seriously, we mean you no harm. We just healed you, from a wound that looked quite serious from where I was standing. Why would we do that just to kill you later? Come, no ill will befall you."

[Chairtastic]

Orenio took deep breaths, trying to abate the pain in his gut, which was holding steady.  Though the shield muffled most sounds coming from the outside, the centimeter or two between the shield and the ground-a necessity to keep asphyxia from occurring-allowed him enough solid sound-waves to tell his hunter was circling.  The meerkat was reminded of oh so many smaller animals he had hunted and killed, and imagined this was how they must have felt. 

Orenio groped around in his satchel, for one of the trio of utility knives he carried therein.  The blade, while not having the stopping power of a larger knife, would be more easily concealed for when the Creature, for no Adventurer could have run nearly so fast, lost patience and simply broke his barrier with a powerful blow.  While he hid the smallish blade in his sleeve, he lifted his shirt to examine his latest hurt.

His belly was one enormous bruise, the fawn fur not being long enough to hide the purple-black of the damaged tissue beneath.  Visually, he could determine no damage, so he surmised it must be an internal wound, aggravated but his panicked flight to the point of rupture.  Tentative touches brought waves of such agony, his barrier nearly collapsed, loosing cohesion long enough for a sheet of snow tossed by the feline, as Orenio now saw him, to strike Orenio.  The cold actually made the wound hurt less, so Orenio braced himself and rolled onto his stomach fully.

Orenio's body-weight almost overpowered the numbing relief of the cold snow; almost.  He became aware that the colorful feline outside his dome was talking to him.  Instinct told him to engage the Creature, keep it from simply breaking in and ending this as long as possible.  Orenio F. Hatûk was not one to argue with instinct.

"Why?  Because you derive joy from torture rather than murder; because damaged meat is less sweat than pristine; because you will not kill me, the resulting infection will; or any number of things equally as horrid."  He couldn't take it anymore, and rolled off his stomach.  By now his entirety was damp with melted snow and was doing nothing to ease the pain, just making him shiver and sneeze.  It was becoming much more difficult to maintain the barrier through the fog of pain and cold now; and the brown dome no longer flickered between darker and lighter, but was steadily becoming lighter, more transparent. 

If touched at this point, it would be give easily, feeling like some sort of jelly, and resume its shape after pressure was removed; if struck, it would simply break apart into shards of brown energy that would dissipate before hitting the ground. Meanwhile, Orenio chanted within his mind what his Mob had preached to all prospective mages, Pain is a distraction; the physical body's way to seek attention, like an itch or urge.  Ignore it and it will fade.  Regardless, the collective pain and cold, and tiredness from lack of REM sleep would take their toll, and force him to cease the barrier or loose consciousness.  Rather than go defenseless, Orenio would drop the shield, and wait.

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance's ears perked at the name of Raff, then she looked to Elian and they drooped again. She didn't know what happened.. she couldn't say anything on the matter so she just held the child tighter, rubbing him a bit more. Please.. please respond... Her eyes stayed on the being child as she spoke again.

"Like I said.. if we were here to do evil to you it would have happened already.. and in fact.. if that was our intention you would have never woken up."

[Noone]

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The child you carry seems as mute and inactive as ever. He feels cold to the touch, though he is still alive. However, he doesn't seem at all aware of his surroundings. There's a rather palpable aura of misery around him.

Eilan raised an eyebrow as he looked at Toalacuzlotlixao. Is this guy for real? Shaking his head, he looked towards Bart. His face showed suspicion, mixed with interest. "What is your business with him?" Knowing that demon, he's probably someone he's angered in some way. Still, it pays to be careful...

Kassin still appeared frozen in fright. He kept glancing about. What do I do now? I have a feeling this will come to blows... but... what can I say to stop this? He kept contemplating what to do, but let events go by. He stepped back nervously, weariness was clearly evident in his eyes.

Eilan turned to Toalacuzlotlixao, he let out a soft snarl. "There are no *legitimate* authorities in Ithralia.  About the only one in this whole region is the Astarean government, but they have no part in Ithralian politics." And the Thularian one... best not mention it right now though. His fingers gripped his blade-hilt, he half drew the weapon, keeping part of it in it's sheath, but the edge was visible. This guy can't be for real. There's no disputing the reward money offered, anyone who lives in this place knows that almost all the governments here are those that muscle themselves up to the top... and that Kassin just healed him, possibly saved his life seems irrelevant to him... "I'm something of a guardian to him. And what do you want him to do, step forward so you can get an easy, free swing at him?" He stared at Toalacuzlotlixao intently. Eilan was clearly fatigued, but he tried to get what air of superiority he could.

"I'll make this simple, since I'm certain you're only interested in what rewards are offered to you. If you try to harm him, I, and those in his company will defend him, with lethal force if need be. I strongly suggest you muster whatever gratitude you have, back away, and find someone else to murder. We won't harm you if you do not assail us."

Kassin looked at Eilan with sad eyes. I hope he's not just making this worse... He shivered in the cold weather. His wings seemed to droop. He sighed and shook his head, but said nothing else.

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[Tipod]

"My business is just that: my business." These guys might have been framed the same way Rafa was, but that didn't mean they were trustworthy. "Is he with you or not?" He trudged forward slowly, as if he would find Raffiele somewhere behind Kassin and Chance.

"You two, the cats; you see my friend anywhere?" Ignoring Eilan's diatribe, Bart figured he'd probably get a straighter answer if he just passed over the fox entirely.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered was literally struck speechless, at the odd little figure accusing him of Demon-like cruelty, just for jollies. He could feel his brow muscles, wrenching free from conscious shapeshifter's control, to wrestle like insane caterpillars as the shock played through his brain. Perhaps it is disoriented, from its ordeal. Still, even if pity were appropriate, Kedered could muster little emotion other than spiteful mirth towards the fellow, something that was obviously inappropriate for his goals in this situation.

He stayed silent for another moment, watched the little meerkat roll off his belly, which seemed to be the source of the injury, before Kassin healed him. Odd, all Kedered remembered of his own feeling was exhaustion and disorientation, no lingering pain or injuries. Perhaps their traveling pace had taken more of a toll on Kassin than he had realized, was eating away at his abilities. But they seem to have rolled both ways, as the brown shield the thing conjured up became more transparent with each passing moment. Still, the silence was starting to become oppressive, and Kedered realized he needed some sort of response.


"That would be inordinately foolish, to gain pleasure at another's blatant pain. My own tastes run in subtler directions. But, ultimately, that is irrelevant. You do not trust me. This is wise, I would not trust a stranger either, but immediate flight, looks guilty, looks weak. I can smell it you know. I do not even think I need to raise my finger, just let the cold and exposure and exhaustion do its work. You cannot stand up, you cannot run further, and you certainly are not capable of mustering up the sort of violence necessary to drive me off."

Remembering the snow he hurled, he crossed over to the dome, pressed down on it, felt a tingling in his palms, then up to his elbows, crouched near the little defiant figure. "So come on, do the smart thing, and cut a deal.  Nobody else is going to come. If you want to survive, you will need our help. Of course it has strings attached, I will not insult your intelligence by implying that it does not, but let us discuss prices later. For now, choose life."

He kept balanced on his pads, in case the irrational little being decided to do one last attack at him, he wanted to be ready.

[Chairtastic]

Orenio was having trouble remaining awake.  Lack of sleep from days of travel, then a near fatal battle, and now this. All were starting to have their effects, his movements were sluggish, and he had to fight his eyes to remain open, in the face of the pain from light meeting snow.  He took deep breaths, keeping his mind awake through conscious exertion.

The feline's words hurt, because they were true.  At this point, he probably couldn't even shift forms, which may have been a good thing; healing magic did not work well on humans, for instance.  But the thought of surviving a continent's worth of travel, surviving Creatures and Adventurers, and the memories of what he'd done; and not being the stronger for it...it made him angry.  Angry at the feline for pointing it out, angry at the gods for not making him of sterner stuff, and angry at himself for shifting the blame from where it ought to be, with himself.  The memory, of turning his back on his own brother as he screamed for help, of choosing to run instead of take his punishment like a man, drove the point home; and anger boiled away into numbness, and his lack of motion making the internal agony more bearable.

"What sort of deal...is Sir willing to cut?"

[Shachza]

Toalacuzlotlixao tried his best to follow the barrage of words coming from multiple directions, but his fuzzy head and limited experience with the language made it slow going.  Things were happening way too fast for his taste and lacking the ability to get advice from those he trusted already he needed to make this decision on his own.  Despite Eilan's vehemence it was Garis and Chance that made his decision.  The former helping the catlike female to stand and the latter's obvious distress over the poor condition of the child in her arms marked them as very non-hostile.  He pondered a long moment on the possibility that this was some elaborate ruse, but Toalacuzlotlixao realised that thinking this way would simply lead him in a never-ending spiral that wouldn't resolve the situation.  Plus his tail was cold and he desperately wanted to rest a while.

He tried looking around briefly for a recognizable omen from any of the Gods he knew well enough but found none.  He wasn't sure if that meant there was no omen for good or ill, or whether that meant that the outcome of this situation was still in doubt.  Eilan's continued tirade took another long moment to filter through to him, and the message made him angry again.

"I do NOT murder!  That is a word for those given over to darkness!  When I kill it is with the proper blessings and a foe that upsets the natural order by their existence!  The rewards are appreciated, but they are not my main goal!"  He tried to stare down Eilan, but his lack of height and general wobbly nature made it ineffective.

"If my options are to run or to attack then I choose neither.  I will give you the chance to explain yourselves."  He carefully revealed his hand with the dart in it and placed the dart in the snow in front of him.  He didn't particularly feel like saying the next part, but he felt he had little choice.

"My weapons are down in front of you.  War is not my goal here, but you may pursue it if you wish.  If you do so before the next sunrise the Gods will note my sacrifice and you will lose your honor."  It was a traditional saying that both expressed his desire to avoid combat and warned those nearby that they risked their immortal selves if they did not leave their aggression behind.  Afterward he felt his anger drain away.  He was mostly resigned because he had to wait for a response now, and if the black-haired fox chose to attack then Toalacuzlotlixao wouldn't be able to fight back.

"And my tail is getting cold and it's uncomfortable." he added glumly.  The cold might be uncomfortable, but it was also great at helping keep his anger short-lived; it gave him something other than combat to worry about.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered smiled slightly; for once, he was dealing with someone who was amenable to reason, a circumstance he had thought fled some time ago in all the insanity surrounding Kassin.  Furthermore, he had pulled out of the little meerkat a name, Orenio, as well as a sense of guilt over something involving a relative. Remember not to mention it though, we can not afford a repeat of the mistake you made with Eilan.

"The terms are quite simple, and are not too onerous. We have enemies, and you will remain with us and not try to contact them until we are no longer hunted. While in our company, we would prefer that you not accost members of our party, and help defend against our enemies, although I would not personally require you to aid us in our own proactive efforts if you do not wish to. In return, we will treat you further, if you require it. Furthermore, we will protect you while you are in our group. That more or less sums it up." Kedered extended a hand, motioned to help Orenio up.

"Come, let me help you rejoin the others. I will introduce you."

[Chairtastic]

The meerkat let his mind roll the words over, having to force perception of what was being said, and what it meant.  On the surface, the deal seemed decent enough, for one of his position to be receiving anyway, and maybe that had been what the feline had meant, but Orenio saw something deeper.  He saw servitude, he saw arbitrary limits placed upon his ability to act, converse, pursue his own happiness; and they drove a flick of anger to reignite in his head.  However, the involuntary tensing of his abdominal muscles which typically accompanied such flares irritated his injury, and promptly killed the emotion.

"You sound like one accustomed to speaking for many," the meerkat observed.  "But regardless, I accept your deal.  Provided you will elaborate more on these 'enemies' you seem to have.  I might need to add a few to your list if I'm joining you."  Orenio straightened his shirt before he took the proffered hand, and forced his body to a standing position.  Nausea came to the forefront of his emotional spectrum, and unwitting warning to the meerkat's new 'ally'.  Twisting his head to avoid splattering on the other's clothes, Orenio retched, and expelled a small amount of blood onto the snow.  Internal bleeding...joyous.  The meerkat straightened, and did his best to ignore the howling pain in his gut, his teetering on unconsciousness.  There was a great deal of distance to travel before he was to be healed, after all.

"Terribly sorry...I do not think Sir graced me with His name?"  The meerkat was trying to be polite, really he was, but in his decrepit state he probably came off as irritated.  "Since I don't know how long I...ugh...will be able to talk, I am Orenio of the Hatûk meerkat mobs.  ...Thank you, for bothering with me."  Hopefully after the feline had introduced himself, Orenio would take a step in the direction he had previously fled from...and promptly face planted into the snow, passed out.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Anger, resentment, a touch of wry humor. At least the meerkat had divulged his name, which meant he could dispense with pretending not to know. Orenio, Hatuk,  they did not sound familiar, not at all. He wondered if this one was from outside Atharra itself. Sharp stabbing pain, intense enough that Kedered instinctively looked down at his chest, to make sure he hadn't been stabbed. He took a quick step back to avoid the falling meerkat, and noted the blood on the snow that he had coughed out.

Analysis went quickly. He must be bleeding internally, and still in bad shape. Odd, for Kassin. Kedered did not trust his own healing abilities, and while he normally wouldn't want to move an injured man, getting him back to Kassin seemed like Orenio's best chance. Still, the question was, save, or kill? He simply worded assent, and Kedered didn't need to be able to read emotions to tell that this was an agreement made of duress. He didn't even swear loyalty.

But they needed more people. The four of them were simply not enough to guard Kassin, especially with Chance's lack of control. And those barriers he could make, they could be very useful. No, bring him back was the order of the day.  Kedered shapeshifted his arms, made them broader, flatter, almost cradlelike, as he spun out a strength enhancing spell, and scooped Orenio up.

He made his way back to their last position, not moving slowly, but trying to avoid unnecessary jouncing of his passenger. Why under the sky do I have to be the one who carries all the invalids?