Arc 1 - Beast of a Thousand Knives (Completed)

[Ryssa Blackblood]

"Oh, um yeah...I think so," Hakka would reply as she took her focus and looked it over. She could almost feel it brimming with power. "Good luck finding her though....the tavern's kind of packed way full..." Despite her words, Hakka walked past the guard and went inside herself, pushing her way up to the bar.  

[PupSage]

((Kuori is probably downstairs drinking with Gloom by this point.))  

[Kowsauni]

"Thanks, I think I'll manage." The town guard bids Hakka adieu and moves into the inn. He strides across the dance floor to Kuori, the tallest person in the entire place. The town guard politely addresses her. "Good evening; you are Kuori, I presume? Poa sent me to retrieve your bow so that she may upgrade its magical proprieties. I'm ready to deliver it to her if you are still interested."

Hakka has no problem getting to the bar and is again offered free food and drink upon her return.  

[PupSage]

Kuori was in the beginning stages of getting deep into the cups when the guy came over. "Eh!?" She processed his words and took the bow from her back. The Goliath sized greatbow would then be handed over to the messenger. "I'll get it back tomorrow morning before we head out." It came out as more of a threat than intended when she said it and the table grew quiet. The she looked around and laughed, and the table resumed their merriment.  

[Kowsauni]

The guard would simply respond. "I'm sure of it." before heading out from the Inn. The festivities continue well into the night.

((I will now advance to the next morning unless anyone has something else they would like to do. ))  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

Hakka availed herself of the free food and drink, enjoying the festivities until she was too worn to continue. The girl then slipped away, leaving the inn and heading back for the edge of the woods to find somewhere to sleep for the night.

(I'm good until morning)  

[Kowsauni]

The party lasts long into the night and the rest of the evening passes without incident. Eventually things wind down and Lupa becomes a quiet peaceful town once more.

Dawn's light eventually finds it way through the windowsills of the Fat Fox and the canopy of Tapana Woods, announcing morning's arrival. Upon heading downstairs, Kuori would find her bow behind the counter where Emberlyn is manning her usual position.

Hakka would find the forest is now light enough to travel through safely.  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

As soon as dawn reached the fox girl, she got up and hurried deep into the forest. Hakka was making her way back to where the sisters were to meet her, and would shift to one of her more human forms after arriving.  

[Kowsauni]

Ying and Corsica

Upon arriving back at the pond clearing, Hakka sees Ying and Corsica are already there. They are back in their human forms and have crudely made backpacks that look to be made of wood, leather and chitinous parts of Razorclaw. The packs are stuffed to the brim with must be all their worldly belongings. Ying, sitting on a stump chewing a bit of dried meat, gets up and enthusiastically greets her friend. "Hakka!"

Corsica turns to face the fox girl as well. She is now garbed and armed with weapons and armor obviously taken from the fallen soldiers. Her stare is fierce but she greets Hakka warmly. "Ah, you have returned. Come, we have much to talk about."  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

Hakka ran towards her dear friend and jumped into the air as soon as she saw her. While in the air, a puff of smoke signaled her return to the fully human form she was known to use. She transitioned into the longer, taller stride effortlessly and grasped Ying in a tight, affectionate hug. "Ying!" she exclaimed, spinning around with the girl in her arms before catching Corsica's stern look and immediately stopping. "Go ahead, I'm listening," she said, serious now.  

[Kowsauni]

Ying and Corsica

Ying seems to be caught a bit off guard by Hakka's enthusiastic embrace, but nonetheless returns it. Her grasp is still amazingly strong even in her human form.

Corsica clears her throat and continues on. "We have given much thought to your request. We really appreciate your offer to lead us to the lands across the sea... but we have decided to return to our homeland. We know the area well and can hide from the soldiers with much greater ease. Though this might put them in danger, our people also have the right to know what happened--if anything, to help prevent it from happening to another. They will also help us disappear.

"Besides..." Corsica would look down at the ground and speak in a quieter voice. It seemed as if she was embarrassed to admit this next part. "We want to see our parents again and make sure they are all right. We do not know if they will accept us in our new forms, but we have to try."

Ying would then address Hakka directly. She would release Hakka from her embrace and look directly into her eyes. Her expression was both joyful and a little sad at the same time. "You have helped us so much. I don't really know how to thank you. You... you made me feel like I could trust people again. You truly are a great friend! I have no right to ask you of this... but I was wondering if you could help us a little more.

"When we escaped, my best friend Petra ran away with Abby. I worry about her. They had only begun to transform her when we escaped, and she does not have a full human form like us. Abby is very strong, but I don't think she is making good decisions right now. The paladin scares me as I do not know what he will do. I feel like Petra could use a friend like you. Could you show her, like you showed me, the world is not all evil on the outside?"  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

Hakka could feel her eyes welling up with a strange wetness as she listened to the sisters tell her that they wouldn't be coming, but she supposed she could understand. Even though they were like her in a way now, they were still humans at heart. Hakka knew from experience that humans seemed to have strong ties to these "family" things. Plus, they would have been strangers in the fox girl's homeland. "I...understand," she said, wiping her eyes dry, "but my offer is always open to you....If you change your minds..." She paused when Ying let her go and started saying something, looking her friend in the eyes and listening intently. "I will, Ying...for you...I'm hoping to find the other fox like me too...Can you show me who this 'Petra' is?" She remembered that Corsica had picked up a whole stack of those mugshots.  

[Kowsauni]

Ying and Corsica

Corsica produces the stack of sketches from a pocket. After sorting through them, she pulls one out and hands it to Hakka. "Here, this is her picture." On the piece of paper is a picture of a young girl, barley a teenager. Her form is small and thin and she would look almost human if it wasn't for the row of scaly spines protruding from her back and the reptilian ears and tail she possessed. Her expression in the portrait is distant and sullen.

Corsica would continue on. "Like my sister said, Petra was the newest arrival to the dungeon. They had just begun to fuse her form with that of another creature when we escaped. She was not faring well under the experiments, so Abby took her under her wing to try and take care of her. That was why she went with Abby when we all split ways after our escape. Though Ying was like a sister to Petra, Abby was like her mother.

"However, I feel Abby is putting herself and Petra at risk in her attempt to find out what she had lost. I... I feel I am partly to blame for this. When she lost her memory, I did not inform her of what she'd told me. At the time, I felt it was for the best... but I see now I was wrong. I did not expect her to obsess on her past like she has. Please, for my sister's sake and my own. You must make sure they find a place of true safety. The paladin has too much emotion staked in this--Abby, too. I feel you are the only one we can trust with this."  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

Hakka took the piece of paper with the girl's picture on it and looked at it intently while the sisters continued their story. As Corsica finished, the fox girl would nod and say quietly, "I'll do it...You guys and all of the others who had this done...You all deserve the chance to be safe and happy." She wrapped her arms around Ying again and kissed the girl on the cheek. "I'm going to miss you....a lot, so stay safe so I can see you again, Ying."  

[Kowsauni]

Ying returns Hakka's embrace and blushes at being kissed on the cheek. "I-I'm sure of it. We will meet again! Here, in case you want to come find us, our tribe is known as the Othkryza'm. We hail from the Molashyk mountains to the north. We will tell our people you are a friend. If you give them this phrase, I'm sure they will lead you to us!" Ying leans her mouth up to Hakka's ear and whispers into it in Giant: "Ché: lelezitha, lozuzitha tadata."

Ying continues to tightly embrace Hakka until Corsica mumbles to her. "Ying, we need to go..." When she releases Hakka, she has tears in her large, crystal blue eyes. "You stay safe, too! Thank you once again... for everything. I'm sure Petra will be glad to meet you."