The moment the creature changed its attention from Toya to anything else the boy would book it in the complete opposite direction. That was of course until his body began resisting his own command. "What in the?" He cursed as his hand struggled to reach for the backpack. "You vermin. You really think you can control me?" He asked feeling rage build up inside of him. He had entertained the notion of having a split consciousness for long enough. Atsuma was never meant to be real. He was just a projection for the world to see and smile. "Ah damn it!" He cursed releasing his hold and allowing Atsuma to grab several cans of yam from his bag. (5) He'd then chuck them all at the creature. (E rank throw)
Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 4:38 pm
_______________The Narrator Whispers... ||
______Atsuma's Narration tab You fight with your hand and overcome the demon that stills it with all the force your mind can muster. As your spirit overcomes your instinct you feel a weight leave your shoulders, if only for a moment, and your hand touches the aluminum of the cans with force [+35 exp!] Snatching it and hauling back you feel something within sloshing about where there should have been solid, only to ignore it and let fly the can towards the hell beast that storms towards the boy who was even now round housing his sword. tab What was likely surprising about this situation wasn't that you resisted the evil within you, but the explosion that took place upon the can landing. tabSquelch went the yams as the red, jelly-like substance erupted from the aluminum casing and covered the creature just as Kaileer slammed into it as a lightning bolt. It stuck, and immediately hardened, the surface becoming slick and shiny to your eyes. This also had the effect of allowing Kaileer to rebound off of the creature and retreat without it continuing after him. [+35 exp!]
______Kaileer's Narration tab You slam into the creature with all the speed and force of your lightning, your foot ramming the blade nearly completely through it. Only as you strike to you get close enough to realize the force with which you collided cracked the Fade's ribcage and caused several to pierce the head that rests in between them all. It screams silently as its body begins to turn to black, returning to the Shadow that it was born to be. Yet where once it had healed this seemed to do something else entirely, and it seemed that the creature's body was being leached of its color. Before your gaze it becomes grey, and then black, and then...nothing. It was gone, just like that, though what it meant and where it went would remain a mystery for now. [+75 Experience for Defeat].
【 S I X T E E N ⦁ C O U R A G E O U S ⦁ W A R R I O R 】 ◢ K a i l e e r C e i n ' l y s ◣ ⦉ All I'm seeing is grey, and all I know is I've been dragged down again.⦊ 【 D - R A N K ⦁O A T H K E E P E R - B L O O D L I N E⦁ H A K E M O T O 】
❝ I won't linger no more, I've been too long in my storm. I'll rise up and embrace the silence, and let peace find me again. ❞
[x] The creature faded away into nothingness, and I breathed a sigh of relief. My attack was successful, aided, evidently, by some sort of sticky substance that trapped it where it stood. With the last of its essence vanishing, I caught sight of the other person, the one the Fade had been chasing. He wore a mask, but was human as far as I could tell. Taking a deep breath to, finally, steady myself, I called out to him. "You alright?" Waiting for an answer from him, my gaze returned to the red substance, and the spot the creature had been standing. Maybe it was just paranoia, but I was almost certain it wasn't dead. It had just retreated for the moment to recover from the damage it sustained. While I had hit it spot on, it also clearly didn't have a human's structure. There was no way it was gone.
After a moment I relaxed my stance and retrieved my sword from where it had dropped to the ground as the thing vanished. Sheathing both blades, I turned my gaze to the masked figure once more, and then up at the ceiling as the building groaned. After all that damage, it was only a matter of time before it came down, and I didn't want to be anywhere near it when it did, both because of the threat to bodily harm and death as well as what it might attract given the things I'd seen so far. "We should get out of here. I have a friend who may be able to lead the way to safety." Taking a step back, I turned away and headed back out into the snow in search of Fiorzia.
It had started snowing again, and it was still bitterly cold. On top of that, the muscles in my hip in particular screamed from the stunt I'd pulled, though I did my best not to let it show. I needed better gear for the temperatures that whatever higher force that provided me with items must not have considered. Still, I couldn't risk putting my guard down. The sprite's intangible body and the fact the Fade could turn into an incorporeal shadow on the ground meant anything could come from anywhere. And I didn't like that in the least. At least people were readable, and often predictable. These new creatures were a different realm entirely that I hadn't had the time nor patience to delve further into, not with a monster that devoured desires on our tail. I was still convinced the one we'd just faced wasn't the only one.
There were two options at this point. Follow Fiorzia's lead and see if we could find a save place to retreat to, or follow the trail that had gone in the same direction as the building I'd separated from Soraru and Hono. It was the former that I preferred, if only for the sheer fact that I trusted Soraru to defend himself. He was Raikage at one point, too, and for much longer than myself, regardless of how hard it was not to view him as the Genin I knew him as while I had that seat. And of course, Hono had become a fine young man as well, working alongside Soraru. They had both done well against the hordes for Stragari, and returned alive and mostly unscathed.
For a moment again I wondered if anyone else I knew from Kumogakure, or even the Stragari survived. Most had grown to adulthood, but I had no way to tell how many were able to reverse their clocks. After all, mine had been an accident. I should have been dead, and it was a fate I'd expected at the time. I supposed I'd been given a chance to right the wrongs I'd done in my life, and so had many others. Besides, I had woken next to two others from Kumo. What was to say others hadn't survived, too?
Assuming Fiorzia hadn't left her hiding place, I glanced carefully into the building where I'd told her to go. "Fiorzia?" I called softly. "It's gone, for the moment."
❝ I've stopped running, I'm not hurting. I have my mind made up. ❞
Counter | 17 / 200
Active Effects: • Grim Ward → "No One Left Behind" [ 4 / 5 ]
One of the First Oaths, the Grim Ward is meant to protect one from what is to come, for it is the Oathkeeper who will stand between their charge and danger. Once the oath is spoken bonds of the user's Chakra color will manifest upon their body, coating it in what later becomes an invisible shield around their forms. This aura grants a C - ranked Defense Bonus that bears a scale of two [2], making it unable to last long but remain effective during its existence. The Grim Ward, thanks to its status as a First Oath, can be used as a launching point for further oaths noted with the name title Grim, chaining together and stacking without overriding.
Toya sighed at the sight. Another creature brought down by him. Technically at least. He looked at his right arm and squeezed his fist. The boy had full control over it once again. Something was beginning to dawn on him. If the world was infested by creatures that only knew violence over dialogue how would he manipulate them like he used to? There would be no way for him to gain a status of importance in the land of the damned unless he learned how to tame the creatures or overcome them. He listened to Kaileer's words and the moment he turned around Toya would as well. He was still too weak to be around others. They would take advantage he could trust no one. Gaining distance from the general scene he didn't look back. He wanted to get back to his reading in peace.
The boy came across another house. This time the building had no gaping holes like the other. The only apparent damage was the decay of time. With his sword in hand, the boy slowly drew the door open. The wood creaking and giving into its own weight. Ultimately crashing on the floor. Toya sighed at the noise. If anything was alive inside then it knew the boy was there now. Taking a slow step inside, Toya walked towards what he assumed was once a living room. It was the most spacious room in the house but gave him nothing to read on or sit. "The floor will do..." He spoke softly from behind the mask before removing the scrolls from his backpack.
_______________The Narrator Whispers... || ______Kaileer's Narration tab There is no word from the Sylph as you approach, no sign of her existence. In fact the door she entered through is left ajar, unwatched. Yet at your voice the air before you becomes solid, revealing the Sylph in her semi-nude glory. Her expression is neutral as she observes you, with fear and caution in her bearing, yet she looks at you with those flat, uncertain eyes. Cocking her head slowly to the side she fixes you with an unblinking stare before gesturing behind you towards where the Fade had been, and given the weight to her gaze it's apparent that the next question, for some reason, is incredibly important to her. "He's not dead," she whispers, the voice a strange mix of your voice and her own. "What will you do, Kaileer? And why?" tab tab
Royal Taorito
malavaes
Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2018 8:03 am
【 S I X T E E N ⦁ C O U R A G E O U S ⦁ W A R R I O R 】 ◢ K a i l e e r C e i n ' l y s ◣ ⦉ All I'm seeing is grey, and all I know is I've been dragged down again.⦊ 【 D - R A N K ⦁O A T H K E E P E R - B L O O D L I N E⦁ H A K E M O T O 】
❝ I won't linger no more, I've been too long in my storm. I'll rise up and embrace the silence, and let peace find me again. ❞
[x] The young man didn't respond, and he turned the opposite direction at my offer. As much as it annoyed me that he would prefer to run off on his own with the risk of death around every corner, there was nothing that I could do in the way of making him come along. In the end, he was his own person, and could make his own decisions. It didn't mean I hadn't hoped for a bit of cooperation, though. Just like that, he was gone, and I was on my own once more.
I grew worried when at first there was no response to my call for Fiorzia. I thought for a moment that she had left, too, or something had happened to her. But then she materialized out of air, not unlike when I first found her, and I relaxed in relief. Though that only lasted a moment before I caught the fearful air about her, even though her expression didn't reflect it. I followed her gaze back behind me to the scene of the brief battle, a hand going to the katana at my hip. Yet again, I had hoped to give my joints a chance to recover, but it seemed that wouldn't be the case.
Nothing stood where the Fade had vanished, not even a shadow on the ground, aside from the red substance the masked boy had generated. Slightly confused, I turned back to Fiorzia as she spoke once more with that voice that was half my own and half hers. I would have preferred she hadn't because it caused her pain, but the look I was given told me that my answer was important to her. She mentioned that the Fade wasn't dead--or at least, that's what I assumed by 'he'--and asked what I planned to do and why. My confusion grew, brows furrowing in thought. What was so important about my decision from here? "I figured as much," I answered after a moment, gaze returning to the scene behind me. "Call it a gut feeling, I guess."
I shifted my weight, crossing my arms in both reflection and an effort to warm my hands. I'm not sure why the question caught me so off guard. Maybe because up until this point I had only been reacting, and hadn't given much thought on actually doing. To be fair, being thrown into a snowy wasteland filled with monsters hadn't really provided the opportunity to think. My mind was still trying to process everything I'd seen, let along figure out what it wanted to do with that information. Even then, did she mean what would I do immediately, or what were my long term plans? Because if it was the latter, figuring out where my life was going was something I had never mastered. That came, I felt, from my time as a shinobi and, of course, as Raikage. I couldn't plan too far in advance because who knew if I was even going to be alive the next day.
Though I supposed that idea still applied.
Find other people seemed like a pointless answer. I doubted only four humans had woken, but the world was a big place. We may have just gotten lucky to wake near each other. I could wander in a direction for miles and probably never find another living soul. Thinking about the three others I knew were alive, the only one I knew of any motivations for was Soraru. If this was indeed Tsukihara, which I believed given the younger male's conviction, he would likely want to claim it back from the wild and the monsters who now called the place home.
Part of me had a desire to find Kumogakure, find out if it really did still sail the skies somewhere. Or return to the Stragari, though without a method of transport, that could take months, not to mention finding a way to cross the sea. Aside from that, there was some desire to find what remained of Kirigakure, see if anyone I knew from there was still alive. Though I supposed the list of names was rather short. I could search for survivors of Kumo, but most that were there when I was Raikage were close to, if not the same age as I was before I was crystallized. For all I knew, I was 'lucky' in having my age reversed. I could have been set to be claimed by the Plague right as it happened anyway, and the creature had saved me. Me being spared was likely up to chance, unless some greater being had a specific plan for the people it chose to bring back. With that in mind, for all I knew, they were all dead. Although, there was still that small spark of hope, given Soraru and Hono both survived.
"I...m not sure what I'll do, honestly," I admitted finally, rubbing the back of my neck. I gave a half-hearted, nervous laugh. "This is a lot to take in. It's... hard to see past the shock and despair of waking up in this world." Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly, watching a cloud of white fog bloom in front of me. As I did, the near invisible sheen of my chakra dissolved from my flesh. Whatever power my Oath had given me had faded away, and I was left with that uncomfortable sense of weakness again. "For now, I want to help you. Stop whatever did this to you. But I don't think I'm strong enough, not yet. Just getting away from that thing took everything I had." I faced Fiorzia once more. "I wish it didn't pain you to speak, so I could get a better picture of what's going on. But right now I think we should get out of here, put some space between us and these demons hungry for desire." Holding a hand out to her, I waited to see if she would take it again, watching her carefully for her reaction to my words.
❝ I've stopped running, I'm not hurting. I have my mind made up. ❞
Counter | 18 / 200
Active Effects: • Grim Ward → "No One Left Behind" [ 5 / 5 ]
One of the First Oaths, the Grim Ward is meant to protect one from what is to come, for it is the Oathkeeper who will stand between their charge and danger. Once the oath is spoken bonds of the user's Chakra color will manifest upon their body, coating it in what later becomes an invisible shield around their forms. This aura grants a C - ranked Defense Bonus that bears a scale of two [2], making it unable to last long but remain effective during its existence. The Grim Ward, thanks to its status as a First Oath, can be used as a launching point for further oaths noted with the name title Grim, chaining together and stacking without overriding.
_______________The Narrator Whispers... || ______Kaileer's Narration tab The Slyph's eyes were still frightened despite your words, thought it might well be from past experience that she now grows uncertain in your presence. She slowly raises her hand towards you in a gesture meant to ward off approach, the limb trembling as she does, before she rotates it till the palm remains upwards. Nervously she smiles, eyes hopeful, before she opens her mouth to speak in the dual tone that even now seems to be fading quietly. "I will put my faith in you, Kaileer," she whispered through trembling lips. Something about this clearly bites at her, reminds her of not so pleasant experiences in recent memory. Perhaps something to do with the way she presses her free hand against her chest where her heart lay, if she was human. Finally she lowers her hand and looks towards the horizon, her expression growing faint before she whispers...something. Something in a language you've never heard, nor will hear, for the sound seems to whisper through your consciousness without leaving a lasting impression. tab A language that transcends the living ear. tab Finally she inhales slowly till her chest is full to bursting...and lets it out explosively before a smile, more certain than the last she'd shown you, spreads across her lips. "We will save more this way. Please, pick a direction. I will follow..." Suddenly she cuts off, an annoyed expression marring her face before she taps her throat and shakes her head. The breath, at last, was gone. Good, too, for the bruising had gotten worse, and now was so dark it could be seen as something physical instead of translucent as she always was. Finally, she reaches forward and takes your hand in her grip, almost seemingly suddenly aware of its existence, and grateful for it.
Royal Taorito
Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 8:03 am
【 S I X T E E N ⦁ C O U R A G E O U S ⦁ W A R R I O R 】 ◢ K a i l e e r C e i n ' l y s ◣ ⦉ All I'm seeing is grey, and all I know is I've been dragged down again.⦊ 【 D - R A N K ⦁O A T H K E E P E R - B L O O D L I N E⦁ H A K E M O T O 】
❝ I won't linger no more, I've been too long in my storm. I'll rise up and embrace the silence, and let peace find me again. ❞
[x] I thought for a moment that she wouldn't accept my offer. She looked afraid, if anything, given the trembling of her body as she held up an hand to stop me from coming any closer. So I withdrew my own hand slightly. But then she smiled, albeit nervously, and declared she was willing to put her faith in me. It meant I had to do my damnedest not to let her down. Or worse. But I supposed that was my role now, from what I understood of the title I'd been given. Oathkeeper. It had the potential of great power, but at the risk of terrible drawbacks if I ever failed the Oaths I made. It wasn't so different, in the end, from the Hakemoto's abilities. While the clan I was born into weren't held to any obvious tenant, there had always been that certain expectation to use their abilities for good. After all, they were known for purging Bijuu and dangerous chakras from the world. And there were horrific drawbacks for relying too much on those abilities. At the end of the day, both simply came down to balancing the power we sought and the effects that came with it.
Regardless of Fiorzia's words, however, there was still a level of fear that made me uncertain. I didn't blame her for it; though she hadn't explicitly explained what had happened to her, I could only imagine. My guess was that Fades of some sort were the cause of her torture, but I had no way to be certain. I knew nothing of the creatures she was considered a part of. At the very least they weren't human, given we'd all vanished centuries before. But that was about the extent of my knowledge on what was going on. Her gaze turned away so that I couldn't see her expression any longer, and I heard her speak in what I could only assume was her native tongue. The word was lost to me the moment it left her breath, almost like I hadn't heard it in the first place.
It was that way we stood for a long moment as I finally lowered my hand to my side, thinking her faith in me and my ability was all the more affirmation I was going to get from her. I thought she had finally grown comfortable around me, but fears transcended most rational thought. I understood that as well as anyone else, given the bounty of irrational fears I had myself.
My eyes never left her as I waited, which is why I caught the sudden change in her demeanor as she inhaled as deeply as she could. She released the breath all at once and the smile that followed the explosion of air was the brightest I'd seen in ages--both literally and as far as my memory was concerned. There was a sense of surety in that grin that brought back the confidence I had lost briefly. She explained that we would save more by retreating for the moment, and that she would follow wherever I chose to go. My best guess was that she meant others like herself, who had also been tortured by Fades, or whoever had caused her harm. Those few words were all I needed to set my goal. I had to become stronger, and quickly, so I that could save her friends or family. It didn't matter if they were human or not. Nothing deserved to suffer in the way I knew she had.
The abrupt ending of her words, though, told me that the voice she had borrow from me had seen its end. She wouldn't be able to speak in my language anymore for the time being, and seeing the condition of her throat, I didn't want her to anyway. I already didn't like the fact I'd caused her pain at all. Maybe we could figure out another method of communication. Still, at last she reached forward with a slender hand, which I took with a small smile of my own. "Right. Let's get out of here."
The next issue was getting out of the city unseen. Although no other dangers were in immediate view, and I had only seen the two Fades thus far, there was no guarantee I wouldn't round a corner and run into more of them. The city felt alive with negative energy, and given the drums of war that had sounded earlier, there was no way they had been the only enemies. Not to mention, if they were able to sense and seek out desire, who knew what other Fades could detect. Drawn sword in hand, I pulled Fiorzia along, keeping her as close as possible so as not to get struck from behind. I was forced to stop at each corner, each turn or curve in the road to make sure nothing patrolled the streets we needed to cross. And, of course, I avoided wide roads, in case something inhabited the now ancient buildings that faced them. We were fortunate in that we were only in the outskirt village, and not higher up within the fortress that towered over it all. However, that mountain of a castle also meant there was really only one direction to travel--in the opposite direction of it.
Thankfully, we reached the main road leading out of the village unmolested and, assuming nothing blocked our escape, it was along that road in the brush that I intended to move for some time, until the city was out of sight behind me.
[Exit to Ikeinasu: Hallowed Path]
❝ I've stopped running, I'm not hurting. I have my mind made up. ❞
Counter | 19 / 200
Active Effects: • Grim Ward → "No One Left Behind" [ 5 / 5 ]
One of the First Oaths, the Grim Ward is meant to protect one from what is to come, for it is the Oathkeeper who will stand between their charge and danger. Once the oath is spoken bonds of the user's Chakra color will manifest upon their body, coating it in what later becomes an invisible shield around their forms. This aura grants a C - ranked Defense Bonus that bears a scale of two [2], making it unable to last long but remain effective during its existence. The Grim Ward, thanks to its status as a First Oath, can be used as a launching point for further oaths noted with the name title Grim, chaining together and stacking without overriding.
_______________The Narrator Whispers... || ______Hono's Narration tab To the poor, innocent Hono the time had not been kind. Or rather, lack thereof. Having followed Soraru around for the most part over the last few minutes many would likely have assumed that Hono would not have gotten lost. Those many would also be wrong. Perhaps due to the snow falling, or lack of attention, Soraru wandered off with the strange dog following behind him, leaving Hono along midst the snow and cold. A cold that was even now creeping into his bones. What was worse, perhaps, was that as he stood there shivering in the cold something moved in the darkness beyond, something that bore multiple legs and crunched softly through the snow. Shadows that ducked and weaved just out of sight, possibly more than one something that hungrily searched for an easy meal. tab With his protection gone, could it be that Hono would become that meal? tab
BlackFruity
Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2018 9:44 pm
The Iron Country must've gone through a few leaps and bounds in technology in the few hundred years after the date of his "redemption." The buildings were larger than any he had really experienced, and the only thing he could really compare it to was Konoha. Even then, the leaf village was dwarfed by the land he currently stood in. It was a dreary, dead place, muted in color and atmosphere. Still, he could imagine lights where there were none, a place of peace in which people could be protected and enjoy their lives. Blue eyes were directed to the smoke that tainted the sky off in the distance, and his "companion" informed that it was a processing area for fey and that it'd be the best place for a fight at the moment. He looked down at his hands, clenching and releasing his hands into fists a few times. "I'm incredibly weak right now, but I have to start helping this land recover somewhere. I'm not wasting time. If I can hurt the operations of these demons- these fades now, I'll take that opportunity gladly." Before pressing onwards, he looked back to the dog creature, noticing the absence of Hokori. They hadn't gotten too far, but he supposed that he may have been walking a bit too fast. I want to help, but... Every moment wasted was another that he could spend getting stronger, more specifically getting vengeance for everyone the yokai tormented. Hey, keep an ear out. Let me know if Hokori screams. For now, we have something to do." It wasn't a very heroic thing to say, but he couldn't afford to waste time holding anyone's hand, not in such a dire situation.
From what he remembered of the white-haired shinobi, he was rather sensitive. While that wasn't inherently a bad thing, Musunde knew that they'd come to disagreements in what they thought was acceptable sooner or later. In the pursuit of relinquishing power from the Yokai, he was going to want blood. Lots of it. Kaileer, Hokori, nobody would stop him from the slaughter he wanted to commence. So maybe it was the best thing for them to be separated. Through smiles and soft words, his blood felt like lava in his veins, impatience taking its hold for every moment that he wasn't claiming vengeance. Without another word, he took off towards the processing factory, turning his back on the other boy to selfishly indulge himself. A fight is expected, so I should really watch my chakra because of how shallow it is right now. I probably can't free all the fae's in one shot, so I should just try and create a big enough impact to shake things up. Let's hope this first assault isn't my last.
Pale, long limbs were wrapped tight and tucked away inside the Hari's wh- ite robes. There was slight unease to be felt from the dog companion along Soraru's side, but Honō believed it to be from the situation as a whole, not a lone creature showing compatibility and support. No, Honō would not lay his thrown senses and whirling mind at the blame of one entity. This is the situation, and Honō's shaking shoulders and quaking ribs could caused by either the cold or fear itself. Bad enough that every sound was like a string that tugged the glassblower's head - at one point causing him to stop his movements entirely to try and figure out if it was his imagination in action or there really was something moving around the trio. By the time the mind and the sounds had settled, Honō found himself alone, the silhoutte he had been so dependent on now gone, leaving behind a shivering clansmen of the Hari, leaning forward slightly, as though that would be enough to pierce the darkness and reveal his desired destination. Hesitant, several long, frozen seconds dropped down around him before blue-tinted lips parted - voice and breathing lodged themselves into the throat as the imagined threat of earlier felt all too real once again.
Only this time, there were shifting swatches of ink in the blackness, and the hands so firmly wrapped up in the robe were now on the move. One palm had slid to the handle of the simple Kodachi tucked in to his clothes at his waist, while the other moved outward, to help him find balance - though the wracking shivers were doing nothing to convince Honō he had much of a chance of him getting through any fight with balance or his life...
"Think think think think think think think." The boy repeated to himself as he paced back and forth between walls of the abandoned house he'd taken as refuge. "What is your name? Toya Takahashi. What is your name? Toya TAKAHASHI HAHA..." He was all alone in a world abandoned by man and overrun by creatures directly from Toya's imagination. It was a shame that they weren't under his command, however. For about an hour the boy had tried piecing together the puzzle that was his memory. It seemed that the longer he stayed in control of his mind the fogger his memories became and the more prominent the false memories of Atsuma became. It was as if his mind was decaying in one direction and then the other once the weight shifted. "Oh dear oh dear this is no good what will I do if I become that...THING? That pathetic existence known as Atsuma?! I made him! I made HIM!" He was trying to understand his dilemma and come up with a solution but so far his attempts have all but failed. Either he gave up control over to Atsuma and from time to time controlled his actions or the opposite would happen and he'd lose all memory and control over to Atsuma and there would be no going back from that. He knew this yet he fought it for as long as he could.
Atsuma's eyes opened up and were greeted by light coming from a hole in the ceiling. How long was I out? He thought to himself as he rubbed his eyes. He seated himself on the ground and looked around to understand where he was. The last thing he remembered was following Servus. "Servus?!" He shouted suddenly feeling panicked. Servus was technically his only friend in the world and now he was gone. "Did something happen to him?" The boy asked himself before noticing something odd. Several scrolls laid scattered about randomly on the floor as if someone had been trying to decipher them. It was true that before, Toya had been attempting to learn what they had written in them but his mind wouldn't allow him to focus and it drove him absolutely mad! Atsuma on the other head was much more clear headed. He opened up one and read the contents it provided to him. "Kugurinukeru Meikyou..." He read aloud to no one but himself. It all seemed like very basic genjutsu to him. Performing the necessary hand seals he watched as his vision of the world broke as if made of glass. "Wow." He said in awe of it. The technique if used against an enemy would be a nuisance but on himself and alone it was like his very own kaleidoscope of the world.
_______________The Narrator Whispers... || ______Hono's Narration || tab From the darkness comes something likely unsuspected: a white fox, though as large as a wolf and with eyes a bright cyan color. Four of these strange beasts pad in from the shadows, each silent, forming a semicircle around the shivering boy as he watched. Each was silent, staring, perhaps with fear, perhaps with hunger. It was difficult to say at best. Yet as he stood there they slowly began to shiver in their own way, causing little white whisps to release from their fur as they continued to stare. Each was crouched down with front paws touching the snow, leaving no trail behind them. tab And as he watched they continued to stare into his own eyes, boring into him as if they knew him. tab Would Hono notice the way his vision fuzzed at the edges, or the way the wind, as silent as it had been, seemed to work as an insulator now? All sounds, even his breathing, were muted. Would he notice the way the snow beneath their paws crackled with cyan energy like little cyan stars twinkling in the night?
______Atsuma's Narration || tab (Lemme know if you want me to write something here. I think you're training right now)
______Soraru's Narration || tab The path forward is dark, grim, the road stained black by the stamping of too many feet. Unending boot steps had stamped the snow perpetually flat, and even with the fresh snow the black set in almost immediately. Something dark, dangerous perhaps, tainted the very earth he walked upon as Soraru headed towards the processing factory. Each step brought him down avenues he knew, towards a destination he'd experienced once: a staging ground for performances both martial and otherwise. Yet the smoke that rose from the location might well put a damper to that memory, for the sheer volume bespoke some sort of pit. The scent on the air, a mix of ash and pitch, did little to assuage the concern likely forming in his gut, and as he wound his way through the old districts the drums and screams would grow louder. tab Behind him, the world erupted in light, and the sky above was filled with the aurora borealis in such beautiful displays it might well steal away his breath. tab For several heartbeats the drums stopped, the evening stilled in an instant by those lights. From behind him would come a pulse as something happened, followed by the roars of something towards his destination. A roar that seemed in one voice to declare war on the world at large.
Honō exhaled - his eyes widened and remained transfixed, stunned, at the beautiful, etheral beauty of the animals that were now standing before him. The fur of their coat made the surrounding snow look tainted, dirty, being only frozen water on dirt, earth, wood, and the natural grime of life and living. Their unnaturally-coloured eyes worked only in favour of enhancing their captivating aura. They awakened the love of art Honō always carries in his art, making his very muscles ache for his beloved forge and the warmth of his home and... and it all just made him feel all the more alone in this alien world and foreign concepts. Was this going to be the end? Would the numbing agent of the cold and frost keep the pain of being eaten alive at bay? Or would he finally get to learn the pain of teeth in his throat...
The effects of adrenalin were already slipping off of the Hokori's thin frame, leaving his vision beginning to narrow and unfocus while the wind and his own breathing was lost upon him - was hearing not the last of the senses meant to go when you die? It would not surprise Honō for him to be wrong, or just his own weakened body giving up itself in a different order to the assumed norm.
Even the foxes, slender and bright, were not immune to the harshness of their natural environment. They shivered, fur fluffing in silken distress that shook away the dusting of powdered snow that had collected on their coat, though it was dispersing like mist rather drifting down to the ground as Honō expected. The snow shouldn't be so fine to disperse like that while the overall temperature remained so low. If the air was warmer then it was more plausible. Moss-coloured eyes, dulled by the exhaustion of physical effort and the drain of the cold, blinked - 'don't show weakness or they might attack. A fox is meant to be a scavenger - but they are also meant to be half the size of what I'm currently seeing, so my logic is flawed from the start.' Whatever survival instincts that were trying to kick into him were being dulled by the very easy choice of just allowing the animals to devour him. 'Except they haven't attacked yet.' With the Kodachi at the ready, Honō slowly began to lower himself down into a crouch, his free hand out at his side for balance but also to scoop up some snow in perperation of throwing some of it at the four foxes standing before him. It was during this time that his eyes drifted low, and spotted that same, bright, etherial colour crackling like embers at the bottom of the forge, dying and rekindling.
Honō's vision flickered, switching to each of the foxes and their feet. Should he still go through with throwing the snow? Would that trigger an attack? Maybe feign indifference and attempt to walk away. With fingers going number from the scooped up snow, Honō stood back up to his full height and tested taking a few steps to the side, as though he was just going to walk on past the charming creatures. If he kept moving, he might have a chance to keep his body temperature up, or locate Soraru's tracks. Or find a hollowed tree or den to camp down in, out of the wind and the wilds.
_______________The Narrator Whispers... || ______Hono's Narration || tab A stalemate ended with a single step in the wrong direction. As Hono stepped to leave the four began opened their jaws and released...something. White noise, a whine so high that it rattled the eyeballs and the snow around them. Strange patterns formed in the snow that fell from their fur, causing it to wobble and wave despite the air being still. The whine increase with every step Hono took until at last they moved forward, all four shifting to the side in unison as they kept Hono within their midst. Vision dimming at the edges becoming more difficult as time progressed. AS they moved the wobbling snow obscured the foxes where it based before or near their body, almost as if they were becoming one with the snow, unable to be seen by mortal eyes. tab
